A/N: This story is in honor and memory of Don S. Davis.
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters in the following story.
The Family Bond
Lieutenant George Hammond sighed as he stepped off the ship; many of the men that he has served with over the past few months were being greeted by loved ones. He had another day of travel to go before he could see his wife and new baby. He wasn't even sure of the baby's gender; it had been hard to receive mail during the last few months on the field.
Hammond missed his family terribly, so when he saw that one of the men he had served with staring out into the vast expanse of ocean in front of him instead of finding his family, he was surprised. He knew for a fact that Lieutenant Jacob Carter lived in the area.
Hammond approached to the right of Carter and leaned on the guardrail, mimicking Carter's stance.
"Hi, Jacob," he said in greeting.
"George," Carter responded without looking over.
"Where's your family?" Hammond asked.
"Not here yet," Jacob said.
"Did you look for them?" Hammond asked.
Jacob started. He looked over at Hammond with an expression on his face that asked, "How did you know?"
Hammond smiled. "There's something bothering you." Hammond knew that Jacob had a wife and a son, and that his wife was expecting; the two had bonded over the fact that they had left pregnant wives behind.
Jacob nodded. "It's hard. Leaving, and coming back."
"I know what you mean. But you do want to see them, don't you?"
"Of course. It's just hard to face them after being gone for so long."
"Come on, Jacob. You're the one who wanted this job."
"Yeah. But it doesn't make it any easier."
"Go find your family. They'll be excited to see you."
Jacob nodded and turned away from the ocean. He stopped short when he saw his very pregnant wife holding their son's hand. She smiled when their eyes met.
George, who had turned with Jacob, smiled as well. The woman had to be Jacob's wife. She was as beautiful as Jacob had described her, tall with long blonde hair and sharp blue eyes that he could make out, even at a distance.
"Come on," Jacob said.
Though he did not want to intrude on the family moment, George followed Jacob.
Jacob immediately threw his arms around his wife as best as he could and kissed her deeply. He then bent down to pick up his two year old son and gave him a hug as well.
After releasing Mark from the hug and balancing him on his left arm, Jacob turned to his wife. "Mary, this is Lieutenant George Hammond. We served together."
Mary smiled at her husband's friend. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Likewise, ma'am," Hammond said.
"Mary, please," she responded.
"And George, this is Mark. And this," he added, pointing to his wife's stomach, "is Samuel."
"How do you know it's a boy?" George asked.
"He doesn't," Mary said with a laugh. "He just thinks that if he wishes hard enough, the baby will turn out to be a boy."
"Girls aren't so bad," Hammond said.
"Of course not," Jacob responded. "But girls can't follow you into the Air Force."
"Things are changing, Jacob. You never know."
"Right," Jacob responded, in a tone that communicated that he did not believe that anything had changed. "At any rate, we'll know soon enough."
"Just a couple more weeks," Mary affirmed.
"My wife just had a baby," Hammond said.
"Boy or girl?" Mary asked.
"Not sure yet. I guess I'll just have to wait until tomorrow and see."
"You won't be able to go home until tomorrow?"
Hammond shook his head. "The transport ships out to Colorado in the morning."
"Well, then you have to come and stay with us for the night," Mary said.
"That's all right, Mary. I was going to stay on base."
"Jacob," she said, looking at her husband for support.
"Come on, George. We'd love to have you."
"All right," George said with a smile. "Thank you." Hammond was grateful to have hospitality shown to him like this, when he missed home and his own family so much.
The woman looked very familiar at first glance, but George could not put his finger on why until she told him her name. Samantha Carter. From the future… She had to be Jacob's kid, the one who was being born just as he had gotten on the transport that took him home to his own wife and daughter. She was the spitting image of her mother, whom he had last seen going into early labor and being rushed to the hospital.
George could not help but smile, wondering what Jacob's reaction had been, knowing that he had had a daughter and not a son. And what Jacob's reaction would be when his daughter joined the Air Force.