A/N This is my first try at a Stargate story! Let me know what you guys think!
BREAKING NEWS
Landory Chemicals has caught fire! Officials are not sure what caused the fire, yet. We do have a report that even though it was after hours, there are several casualties and more injured. We will report when we find out more.
Jack O'Neill sat in the briefing room with Daniel and Teal'c, waiting for General Hammond to get off the phone and for Sam to arrive. He hadn't seen Sam all morning which was very unCarter like. Just as Hammond hung up the phone, Sam walked into Hammond's office. Jack watched her from the window; she did not look like the same Carter he had seen yesterday. She was pale with dark rings under her eyes, which were red rimmed and puffy. Her hair stood up all over the like she had been running her hands through it impatiently. The fact that she stood stiffly instead of her usual confident stance at Hammond's desk caught the attention of Daniel and Teal'c as they began to watch the window, too. As Sam spoke, they saw the General's face go from a small smile to his eyes being filled with sympathy and a small frown. He walked over to her and patted her on the shoulder. She then left the office, never once looking into the briefing room.
"What's wrong with Sam?" Daniel asked, frowning from his chair at the table.
"Major Carter has some personal things she needed to take care of and will not be joining us for a few days." Hammond's tone indicated that he wanted no more questions on that matter.
"She didn't say what was wrong? What if it's serious? Should we contact Jacob?" Daniel babbled, ignoring the General's glare
"I'm sure she is fine Daniel." Jack reassured even though he was frowning.
Teal'c had not said a word, but worry for his friend showed on his face.
"Let's continue with the debriefing," General Hammond stated firmly.
The sun was beginning to set by the time Jack was able to get off the base. He parked in front of Sam's house. He frowned when he saw Doctor Fraiser's car at a house across the street. He waved to her as she got out of the car.
"Colonel O'Neill, what are you doing here?" Janet looked both ways before crossing over to him.
"I was going to ask you the same thing. Carter lives over there." He pointed to the house across the street.
"Actually sir..." She stopped when the garage door started opening.
"Hi Janet!" called a little boy in a Spiderman helmet as he rode up on a scooter. Following behind them was Samantha Carter, pushing a tiny little girl in a stroller. The girl was waving and smiling. Both children were small in size with big brown eyes, black hair, and tan skin.
"Hi Daniel. Hi Malea. Did you take a nice walk?" Janet watched the little boy wiggle in front of her.
"Daniel, go to the potty." Sam urged as she helped Malea out of the stroller. The little boy ran into house.
"Carter?"
"Come on in, sir." Sam picked Malea up and walked into the garage, parked the stroller next to a pink riding toy, and then went into the house. The garage looked like normal family garage. Sam's car was parked by two adult bikes and two child size bikes. Helmets and toys were scattered around the floor with the occasion tool tossed in a box. It even reeked of oil and gas.
Which was all good, except, when did Carter have a family? He was a little hurt that Carter didn't tell him about the children or the obvious fact that she was living with a man. Especially since they had a ended up wrapped in each other's arms; hell, they went further than that only a couple months ago when she showed up to talk to him after that crazy billionaire kidnapped her. He walked into the house to see the kids were at the kitchen table eating pretzels while Sam and Janet were at the sink rinsing dinner plates and putting them in the dishwasher.
"Nice place." He glanced around the cozy well-lived in house.
"I'll explain everything, sir, just let me get the kids in bed first." Sam's eyes pleaded with him to stay.
"Take your time. I have nothing else to do tonight." He proved his point by flopping onto the brown couch.
Sam smiled softly as she walked past him toward the back of house which he guessed was the kid's rooms.
"Hey, Carter, how old are the kids?" he called, picking up a picture of her and the much younger children.
"They're four and two, sir," Janet said, coming in to the living room carrying Malea. Malea wiggled to get down and walked toward Jack cautiously.
"Hey there." He smiled.
"Malea this is my friend, Jack. Sir, this is Malea." Sam introduced as she walked back into the living room her arms full of pajamas and diapers.
"Jack from your team? You look at stars, too?" Daniel raced into the living room and leaped over the arm of the couch to sit next to Jack.
"And that is Daniel. He loves space and stars." Sam chuckled as she grabbed Malea and started undressing her.
"And rockets!" Daniel stood up on the couch, putting his hands over his head to form a triangle and made a noise that sounded more like a balloon deflating than a rocket ship.
"That is a great rocket, but rockets fly." Jack's eyes sparkled as he lifted the little boy in the air over his head. Daniel's laugh made Jack smile, and he gave the boy a toss which made Daniel laugh harder.
"Sir, please don't wind him up right before bedtime." Sam's tired voice floated from the floor where she was sitting with Malea in her lap who was twisting her hair and sucking her thumb in pink leopard print pajamas. Sam looked beyond tired and pale. Jack wondered how long she had been awake. He put Daniel back on the couch, and the child sat down pouting.
"You want me to put Mea to bed?" Janet reached for the Malea.
"NOOO, MOMMY!" Malea cried, burying her face in Sam's shirt.
"Will you let Janet help you brush your teeth and then I will read you a story? Sam stroked Malea's hair.
Malea held her arms up to Janet. Janet picked her up and headed for the bathroom.
"Good girl. Daniel come put on your pajamas, please." Sam held up his dinosaur pajamas. Daniel crossed his arms and continued to pout.
"One, two..."
Daniel ran over to her.
"Thank you. I'll give both of you a bath in the morning before preschool. Now let's put on your pajamas."
Daniel took off his clothes and let Sam help him step into his pull-up and pajamas. She looked off balance as she stood up to go brush Daniel's teeth. While she was in the bathroom the doorbell rang.
"I got it." Jack went to the front door to see Teal'c and their Daniel standing there, looking confused.
"Jack?"
"Daniel?"
"Daddy?" Little Daniel ran out of the bathroom with tooth paste on his face.
"Daddy? Whose is that?" Daniel looked over Jack's shoulder.
"That is Carter's, Daniel, and don't call me Daddy." Jack stepped to the side to let them in.
"Major Carter does not have children." Teal'c looked at the small boy in front of him. Little Daniel took one look at Teal'c, turned around, and ran back to Sam in the bathroom.
"Apparently she does now T. Have a seat, it's our story time after the kiddo's" He pointed to the couch.
Sam carried little Daniel back into the living room his face buried in her shoulder. Janet followed behind them, carrying Malea.
"Daniel, these are my friends I was telling you about. Guys, this is my Daniel and Malea." Sam introduced gently rubbing Daniel's back.
"Since when?" Daniel asked confused.
"This morning actually. Just give me twenty minutes to get them to bed and then I will explain everything, I promise." She sounded desperate.
"Take your time, Carter, we'll be here."
"Thank you, sir, there's beer in the fridge help yourselves." She walked back to the kids' rooms with Janet behind her. Janet came back into the living room a few minutes later.
"You and the kids seem close." Jack walked to the fridge and grabbed four beers.
"I met them about nine months ago. Just out of the blue one day, Sam wanted to know if Cassie wanted to babysit her neighbor's children. I met them when I dropped Cassie off. Apparently, Sam and their dad, Paul, had a date," Janet explained and then took a sip of her beer.
"I bet the kids love Cass." Jack smiled.
"Paul said he had never seen the kids respond so well to a sitter. The kids are used to the nanny during the day when he is at work, but that is about all the adults they're around. "
They sat drinking their beers in comfortable silence until Sam walked back into the living room. They all noticed the tired and haunted look in her eyes as she sat on the large tan foot stool in front of them.
"I met Paul Phum a year ago when he knocked on my door in the middle of the night asking if I would come stay with the kids while they slept. He had an emergency with a project he was working on at his job. He was one of the head chemists at Landory's Chemicals. So, I agreed to come over that one night. I fell in love with those kids." Sam spoke quietly as she looked down at her hands.
"Landory's is the place that burned down last night. Sam, I am so sorry." Daniel took Sam's hand into his.
Tears leaked down her face freely as she took a shaky breath.
"I was his emergency contact, so I got the call from the hospital early this morning. I'm glad the kids are still little. Malea slept, and Daniel played with some toys he brought to the waiting room. They didn't understand what was going on. They put Paul in the ICU with burns covering most of his body and smoke inhalation. He made through the night, but by the time I got back from dropping the kids off at preschool, he was gone." A small sob escaped as she put her face into her hands. Daniel moved over to the stool and pulled Sam into his arms. She cried into his chest for a few minutes and then pulled away.
"The kids keep asking for Daddy and don't understand when I tell them he's not coming home. I've been able to keep them distracted all day. Tomorrow I'm going take them to preschool to keep them on routine and get things prepared for the funeral." Sam yawned.
"What about his family?" Janet reached out to take Sam's hand.
"He was an only child, and his parents died in a car crash right after he graduated from high school. He never talked about any other family. The kids' mother gave her rights up right after she had Malea, so I could try contacting her, but I don't think she would come," Sam said sadly.
"When was the last time you slept, Carter?" Jack noticed that her blinking was getting heavy.
"Just a little over twenty-four hours." Sam shrugged.
"Sam, that's not healthy for you, in your condition." Janet glared darkly at Sam.
"If you're wondering what Janet is talking about, yesterday afternoon I found out I'm pregnant." More tears dripped down Sam's face as she stared at the floor.
"Hey." Jack gently lifted her chin up so that she was looking into his deep brown eyes. "We are here for you, whatever you need." Jack leaned in and hugged her. She always felt safe in his arms. Jack felt Carter's body relax; he looked down to see that she had fallen asleep mid-hug. He carefully carried her to the master bedroom. Janet followed behind him and untucked one side of the bed while Jack laid Sam on the other side to remove her shoes. He gently moved her to the exposed sheets, and Janet tucked her in then stroked Sam's hair. Sam was exhausted and never flinched.