"General Carter." The young man in Sam's office gave her a crisp salute.
"Yes, Captain?"
"We got a data dump from the Odyssey today. There was a message for you and I had it sent to your computer."
"Thank you, Captain."
Sam turned to her computer and opened the video file.
"Hello General Carter. We have finished surveying the last of the planets listed in the Asgard data base as research sites. We are bringing back numerous items of interest that will keep the scientists happy for decades." Sam was pleased to hear it, but she was curious about why Moore would be messaging her, she wasn't in charge of the Odyssey or the science departments outside the mountain, running Stargate Command was enough to keep her busy. "We found a large metal container that we can't penetrate with our scanners that seems to have a biological lock on it. We didn't want to leave it behind, but we also don't want to open it on Earth, since we don't know what it contains, so we are taking it to the alpha site along with most of the rest of the cargo. I sent you pictures of the box. We anticipate arriving at the Alpha site at noon on Wednesday this week, Earth time. I think the box will interest you a lot. Colonel Moore out."
Sam opened the pictures. It was a large silver metal box without visible seams. There was a control panel on the side of the box. The close-up pictures of the controls showed two finger sized indentations. There was writing just below the indentations, but it was too small to read. Sam magnified the picture and saw the words, Jack O'Neill was written under one indentation and Samantha Carter was written under the second indentation. She sat back in her chair as she stared at her name.
Sam escaped the mountain early and got home just before dark, making it an unusual day. She dropped her keys in the dish by the door, "I'm home."
"Was it a good day?"
"Interesting, as usual." He met her at the entrance to the kitchen and gave her a short quick kiss. "I thought I might get here in time to cook us dinner, but it smells like you beat me to it."
He grinned. "It's a new meatloaf recipe."
"Mmmmmm, meatloaf." She lifted her chin and leaned in for a longer kiss. "How long until it's ready?"
"About thirty minutes but I need to go ahead and start the green beans and mashed potatoes."
"I can help." She started peeling the potatoes while he put the water on. He got out the plates and set the table while the water heated. "I got a message from the Odyssey today."
"Oh, anything wrong?"
She shook her head as she washed off the potatoes. "No, they're going to be dropping off some Asgard tech at the Alpha site on Wednesday."
"Bet the geeks will be in niravana."
"Probably." He started cutting the potatoes as she got them peeled.
"Is that's why you were told, because of the science stuff?"
She glanced over at him, "No, there was a box that they couldn't open."
"And?"
"Our names are on it."
He stopped cutting and raised his eyebrows. "Our names?"
She nodded. "Yep, right below what appears to be a biolock."
He put the knife down. "And that means?"
"The consensus is that it will take one or both of us to open it. Do you have plans for Wednesday?"
"Nothing I can't get out of, one of the perks of being retired."
She grinned at how good Jack looked, he still helped with training a couple days a week so the fatigues weren't really something unusual but there was something about seeing him getting ready to go through the gate again that gave her a bit of a thrill. She looked up at the control room. "Please dial the alpha site, Sergeant."
Sam looked to her right, "Colonel, I would prefer for the mountain to be standing when I get back tonight."
"I will do my best General but with Dr. Felger working on a new project I can't make any guarantees."
Sam refused to smile, even when she saw Jack turn his head as he sniggered. "I'm sure you'll be fine."
The gate came to life and Sam led the way up the ramp.
"So, this is it?" The silver box was a little larger than a loveseat. Jack laid his hand on top and the box began to hum. He quickly picked his hand up.
"Guess that confirms it, there's a biolock." Jack looked over at the Major who was virtually bouncing on his toes.
"It didn't open." Jack felt the need to point out the obvious.
"Oh, ummmm, no sir, but I suspect it will when both of you touch it."
"I see. Do you have any idea what's in this box?"
The Major shook his head. "No, sir."
"And yet you want us to open pandora's box?"
Sam put her hand on his arm. "I can assure you this has been debated for days and the decision was made to open it off world, in this secure room, just in case we find pandora inside."
"That makes it totally better." Sam wasn't sure the Major understood Jack's sarcasm, but she knew it was his way of expressing his concern, after everything he had seen his concern was warranted.
"Major, are you ready for us to open the container?"
He glanced over his shoulder at the two guards near the door. "Yes, General."
Jack scowled as he placed his hand back on the top of the box. Sam placed her to the left of his and there was an audible click. The top of the silver box rose to reveal four side-by-side rectangular boxes and one much thinner box.
"Now what?"
Major Jordan leaned over and looked inside. "More biolocks. I recommend we start with the first one."
Jack looked at Sam and she nodded her agreement. "I the beginning is as good a point as any."
Jack reached to the box on the far right and Sam followed suit. As they laid their hands on the box Major Jordan reached out. "Wait."
He spoke too late. The click was followed by a puff of cold air and fog from inside the silver box. Sam's eyes widened as she looked inside. "Oh God!"
Jack reached in and lifted the small boy out. He was young enough to still have the remnants of his umbilical cord attached. Jack looked over his shoulder at the guards. "Get medical in here now!"
Both guards looked confused until Sam confirmed his order. "Now!"
The boy was very cold. Sam reached out and felt for a pulse, but she couldn't locate one. She put her ear above his mouth and did not feel a breath. She shook her head as she looked at Jack. The base doctor and a nurse came in pushing a gurney. Jack quickly handed the baby to the doctor. She took the bundle and ran out of the room, performing her initial assessment on the run. Sam and Jack followed her to the infirmary.
"I need an intubation kit." A nurse handed her a kit, but she shook her head, "Smaller." The nurse tried again. "Smaller."
"That's the smallest we've got."
"I'll make it work." She tilted the boys head back and inserted the probe. Jack looked away. Sam kept counting the tiny chest compressions being done by a second nurse. "I'm in, keep the pressure very low and continue compressions. Prepare half a cc of epinephrine."
Jack stepped back as they worked but Sam stayed just outside the circle the medical team made around the bed. She smiled when the nurse stopped the chest compressions and the heart monitor continued to beep. She looked back at Jack and was surprised to see him still scowling. She was about to go to him when the doctor reached out and touched her arm, bringing her attention back to the baby.
"He's on life support for now but he might improve as he warms up. We have a saying in medicine, you aren't dead until you are warm and dead, and that is even more true for infants. That doesn't mean I can make any promises. I'll run some tests and keep a close eye on him though."
"I understand, thanks." Sam gave her a warm smile and went out in the hall, following Jack. "Jack, wait up."
Sam was about to follow but she was stopped by Major Jordan. "General?"
Sam tried to hide her annoyance. "Yes, Major?"
"The Asgard read and write from right to left."
Sam shrugged, "Ok, and that means?"
"Well…." He looked down at his feet. "You see that means we should have…"
"We should have started at the right not the left."
Major Jordan nodded and grinned. "There is a small container on the right side, it's too small to hold a…well…" He looked over his shoulder towards the infirmary.
"Too small for a baby."
"Yes."
"So, you think it contains information."
"That's our best guess."
Sam looked towards the door through which Jack left. "Give me a few minutes. I'll find you back in the lab."
Jack was standing at the tree line with his left hand stretched out, resting on a tall trunk. Sam moved up behind him, they were far enough away from the base to not be heard but close enough to still be seen.
"What the hell were they doing? Why did they have a baby?"
Sam shook her head. "I don't know, Jack, I don't know." She stepped a little closer and placed her hand between his shoulder blades.
"Why us? I know they liked us, but this is beyond nuts."
"Major Jordon thinks we opened the boxes in the wrong order."
Jack pushed off the tree and spun around. "You can't possibly be suggesting we open another one of those boxes!"
"The one on the right is too small to hold a child. He thinks it's our best bet for finding out why." She placed her hands on his shoulders. "I need to know why, and I need to know if there is anything we can do to save him."
Jack let out a long slow breath before nodding. "Ok, but just the small box."
"Agreed."
Sam placed her fingers on the small rectangular box on the far right of the container. Jack added two fingers, making sure to not touch the adjourning larger box. They both let go and stepped back as the image of an Asgard appeared before them.
"Greeting Jack O'Neill and Samantha Carter. I am Malon, leader of the research team on Anke. Our goal was to correct the genetic flaws preventing the Asgard from ascending and restricting our continued cloning efforts. To that end, we have been using your tissues to create cell lines, based on the fact that Jack O'Neill's brain structure allowed him to carry the knowledge of the ancients and Samantha Carter is an exceptional human specimen. We felt if your genetic codes were mixed we might find the genetic combination we needed. We created over fifty different cell lines, but none contained a genetic code that would further our research. Most of those cell lines were abandoned at the eight-cell stage, once it was determined they were of no use to us, but some among us felt you deserved a gift for your contribution. Four cell lines were grown to completion and placed in stasis, so they could be delivered to you. The first two specimens are female and the last two are male. The fourth specimen has a heart defect but because of the timing of the replicator threat we were unable to correct the defect before placing the specimen in stasis. I apologize for not being able to personally deliver the specimens to you and we hope you find this container in good condition." The Asgard image disappeared.
A shiver ran down Sam's spine as she looked at the three unopened boxes. Jack spun on his heel and stalked out of the room. Sam turned to follow him as he pushed into the small infirmary. He headed straight for the doctor's office.
"I want the baby tested."
"For?" The doctor could tell Jack was barely holding back his anger.
"I need to know if he is related to me or General Carter." The doctor's eyes widened. "Apparently the damn Asgard have been playing around."
"I see." The doctor stood and walked out the bed where the baby was still on life support, Sam was standing beside him holding his small hand.
"Is there anything you can do about his heart defect?"
"Heart defect?"
Sam looked over at Jack and back at the doctor. "The message said he had a heart defect."
"Ok, I will run some tests." She glanced between the two officers, "Several tests. It will take me a couple hours though and I will need cheek swabs from both of you."
Sam decided to sit with the baby while Jack paced the halls. He checked on her a couple of times but couldn't bring himself to stay and watch the child suffering. He also didn't like seeing the longing and despair on Sam's face, just thinking the child could be theirs was hurting her. It was a dream she had given up years ago and now she was being taunted. Sam watched them take blood from the baby and do an ultrasound of his heart.
Jack was standing the doorway watching Sam as the doctor came back in carrying a chart. He moved to stand behind Sam as the doctor opened the chart.
"The child is genetically yours," Sam glanced back at Jack as her heart clenched, "and he does have a serious heart defect. I'm afraid without a heart transplant he won't survive and even then, his chances would be very slim."
Jack put his hand on Sam's shoulder, "So, you're saying?"
"Now that I know what is wrong with him I know leaving him on life support won't change his outcome."
Sam took in a shuttering breath. "You want to disconnect him?"
The doctor nodded. "I can't save him, and it seems cruel to keep him like this."
"When you take him off can I hold him?"
"Absolutely."
Sam looked up at Jack. His eyes went from the baby back to her. She saw his pain and knew her face reflected the same. "There's no reason to wait, is there?" The doctor shook her head. "Go ahead."
The doctor began the process of disconnecting the small boy. When she finished she wrapped him in a blanket and placed him in Sam's arms. Sam used her index finger to brush his fine black hair. His eyes never opened as his breathing ceased. Sam's throat burned as she sat staring at her child. Jack wanted to run, he wanted to get as far from this sight as possible, but he couldn't bear to leave Sam. She opened the blanket and counted his fingers and toes, spending several minutes rubbing his tiny feet. Jack kept an eye on the clock and after fifteen minutes he interrupted her musing.
"Sam." She avoided looking at him as she stood and laid the small boy back on the bed. The doctor stepped up to the edge of the bed and wrapped him back up, leaving his small still face visible.
"He needs a name, for the death certificate, right?" Sam was still looking at him as she spoke.
"It…it would be good, yes."
"Martin Landon…" Sam wasn't sure what Jack would prefer and she didn't want to upset him any more than necessary, "Carter, after Martouf and Lantash."
"O'Neill or Carter-O'Neill."
Sam leaned back just enough to feel him against her back and looked over her shoulder. "O'Neill."
Jack stayed two steps behind her as she walked down the hall, knowing his proximity could break through the veil of control she was maintaining. She went to the temporary office she had been assigned. When she heard the door latch she turned towards Jack and moved into his open arms. He felt her shudder as her tears touched his neck. He gave her a moment, knowing she just needed to get it out.
She lifted her head and searched his face. "He had your lips." Her finger came up and traced the outline of his lips. "I love your lips."
He wiped the last of her tears off her cheeks. "Sam, what do you want to do?" Her chest tightened. She wanted to scream her desire to wake up those babies, their babies, but she didn't want to force him into something he didn't want, and she knew he would do anything for her. She blinked as she stared at him. "Sam?"
She swallowed. "We're kinda old to be new parents."
"Ya' think, I am retired."
"Three would be a lot, especially all at once."
"Yep, we'd be out numbered." His thumb caressed her cheek. "But they are ours."
"Yours and mine."
He grinned at her, "So, we're agreed."
She hugged him tightly. "Yes."
It took two weeks to get all the approvals and have the box shipped to the SGC. Sam and Jack both preferred for the babies to be revived on Earth, where they had more access to the necessary medical equipment and facilities, should they be needed. They were also allowed to bring Martin Landon O'Neill to Earth so he could be buried a few plots away from Charlie.
Sam and Jack were in scrubs, along with three medical teams, each assigned to a different baby. The whole medical bay held their breath as Sam and Jack placed their fingers on the first box. As promised it contained a newborn female child, who was quickly taken by a team to monitor her resuscitation. Once she appeared stable Sam and Jack opened the second box, revealing their second daughter. As expected the third box contained their son. Sam and Jack paced between the three beds as the babies were being weighed, measured, and thoroughly checked over.
Dr. Lamb handed Sam and Jack bottles. "They all seem perfectly healthy and hungry. If you each take one I will as well." Sam picked up one of her daughters and Jack picked up his son. All three babies sucked down the formula and fell asleep after being burped. They spent two days in the infirmary, just to be sure they were fine, before being loaded into Jack's SUV and taken to their new home. Sam and Jack had used the two weeks to set up a nursery, that would for now hold all three babies, but they had enough space for the kids to get their own rooms when they were older.
Three days after bringing the babies home Sam was exhausted. They were doing their best to keep the babies on the same schedule, but it felt like as soon as they got all three of them fed and their diapers changed it was time to start again. Sam walked up behind Jack as he was loading the dishwasher.
"I think they're winning, Jack."
He grinned and turned around, "Seventeen years and three hundred and sixty days until they are eighteen and we can tell them they're on their own."
"If I survive that long." He opened his arms and she collapsed against him. "The Goa'uld were less demanding."
He kissed her forehead, "Totally worth it though."
"Agreed."
"Go take a long bath. I'll take care of them if they wake up before you're done."
"You're sure?"
"Positive."
She did as he suggested and had started to fall asleep until she heard crying. She got out and quickly toweled off. She made it out in time to see all three babies lined up in their bouncy chairs, with Jack feeding both girls while their son was beginning to figure out he had been given a pacifier. Sam picked up the third bottle and fed her son. She began the process of changing all three diapers as Jack got a quick shower. They both went to bed as soon as the babies were all asleep, knowing their sleep would be short lived.
After a month they were a well-oiled machine and the babies were all sleeping at least five hours a night, enough to let Sam and Jack make it through the day. Sam took three months of maternity leave before going back to work. She loved coming home every night, even though the house was usually in some type of disarray. Jack had stopped helping with SG training and was doing his best to document every baby achievement, from favorite foods to rolling over. Sam was sure he had a picture of every outfit the babies had worn.
It had been a long nine months and Sam got home later than usual, thanks to a team being stuck off world. Jack was on the floor with three babies sitting in bouncy chairs around him, all three were awake and happy as he was reading them a book. Sam grinned at the sight. She joined him on the floor and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I love you, Jack."
He kissed her. "I love you too."