She blinked several times, trying to will herself to stay awake as she kept working on the schematics for the ship that the Pentagon had wanted started. She finally set her pencil down as she stood, placed her hands on her hips, and gently arched her back in an effort to stretch the tired muscles.
"Burning the midnight oil, Major?" General Hammond asked, walking into the lab with an amused chuckle.
"Sir." She said, snapping back to attention.
"At ease, Major." He said, shaking his head. "I just wanted to inform you that you have a visitor."
"A visitor, sir?" She asked, curiously.
"Hi, Sam." Her father said, walking in from behind the General.
"Dad." She said with a smile as she walked over and hugged him. "How are you?"
"Just fine." He said with a smile of his own. "What about you? Taking it easy, I hope."
She tensed as he looked down at her rounded belly. "Yeah."
"Well, I'm off to a briefing." Hammond said, seriously. "But Jacob's been cleared to go off-base if you'd like to go home, Major."
"I have a lot more work to..." Sam began.
"It can wait until the morning, I'm sure." Jacob said, looking over at her. "You need your rest."
She sighed at his patronizing. "Yeah. I guess it can," she said, managing a troubled smile. "Just let me clean up my workspace, and then, I'll be ready to go."
She quickly organized the drawings and papers on her desk as her father looked over at her. "So...boyfriend?"
"Not anymore." She said, succinctly.
"Sorry to hear that." He said, earnestly. "Didn't want kids?"
She sighed in irritation. "Do we really have to talk about this right now?"
"Right now? No, but it would probably be good to get it out in the open." Jacob said, soberly.
"And I'm sure that we will..." She said, sardonically, as she finished clearing her desk. She removed her lab coat and reached for her winter coat. "Let's go..."
She stepped out of her office as Jack stepped around the corner.
She inhaled sharply as she managed to keep from colliding into him. "Sir."
"Carter." He said, surprised. He noticed her winter coat. "You leaving?"
"I thought it was time.." She said, managing an uncomfortable smile as she allowed her eyes to flicker back at her dad.
Jack followed her gaze. His eyes widened in surprise. "Jacob. Didn't know you were gonna be in town."
He looked at Sam, who shrugged. "I didn't either, sir. Must have gotten some time off from the Tok'ra."
"Don't sound so excited." Jacob said, raising an eyebrow.
She sighed as she closed her eyes, trying to keep from losing her patience. She finally opened her eyes. "What can I do for you, sir?"
"Wanted to know if you wanted to get some Chinese. Daniel's translating some tablet, and Teal'c and I thought it might be fun to have Chinese."
"As much as I would love that..."
"It sounds like fun." Jacob interrupted.
Sam inhaled as she managed an irritated smile. "I guess we're coming with..."
"I'll drive?" Jack asked, studying Sam as if offering to be the buffer between her and her dad.
"And leave Sam's car here?" Jacob asked, seriously. "Nah. If she doesn't want to drive, I'll drive. We'll follow you."
The look on Sam's face said everything she wasn't able to. It said that it was going to be a long few days.
"Carter?" He asked, looking over at her.
"Fung Chow's on Main?" She asked, looking at him.
"Is there anywhere else?" He asked with an amused smile playing on his lips.
"I guess we'll meet you there."
"Okay, then." He said, nodding as he continued to study Sam. He let his gaze return to her father for a moment.
"Thank you for the invitation, sir." She said, smiling softly at his protectiveness.
"No problem, Carter." He said, looking back at her. "You're still part of the team...even if you don't go on missions anymore."
"Would you and Teal'c like to ride with us?" She asked as he turned to leave. "I mean, we can drop you off here again after dinner..."
"Let's ask Teal'c." Jack said, pointing with his thumb over his shoulder.
She nodded as she looked over at her dad.
"I'm coming." He said, walking forward.
She let him follow Jack as she cast her eyes gently on her stomach. She placed her hands on either side of the bump as she inhaled. "I have a feeling we're gonna have a heart-to-heart with your grandpa...even if we're not quite ready for it..." She sighed softly. "And just in time to ruin my Christmas plans with your daddy."
She reached for her car keys, which were sitting on the desk. "Here we go." She muttered as she followed her father out of the lab.
-
Sam pulled up to the Cheyenne Mountain complex an hour and a half later after a dinner which had turned out more pleasantly than she'd expected with her father's periodic patronizing comments in her direction. As if she didn't know what it was like to be pregnant. Maybe she hadn't gone through the whole thing yet, but she was pretty knowledgeable about the parts she'd gone through so far...
"Thanks for the ride, Carter." Jack said from the backseat.
"You're welcome, sir." She said, turning a faint smile to him.
"I am also grateful for your kindness." Teal'c said from behind her.
"You're welcome, Teal'c." She said, looking at him through the rearview mirror since she couldn't turn around as easily as usual.
"Well, T, I guess this is our stop." Jack said, touching the Jaffa's arm gently. He looked up at Sam. "Carter? A word?" He said, motioning to the outside.
She nodded as she undid her seatbelt. "I'll be right back," she said, looking at her dad.
"Actually, Jake, it's official business. Maybe you could take the car to her house, and I'll drop her there later..."
Jacob looked between Jack and his daughter. "Actually, Dad, that sounds like a good idea." She said, seriously. "I know how travel affects you...go home. Relax. I'll be right behind you."
"Okay..." Jacob said with a small sigh as he moved to get out of the car.
Sam, Jack and Teal'c all followed suit, and Teal'c entered the complex while Jacob took the wheel. "Call me if you're going to be longer than an hour, okay?"
"Won't take more than half that." Jack assured.
"All right..." Jacob said, turning on the engine.
Sam looked over at Jack as she pulled the coat tighter around her. "What is it, sir?"
"Obviously, it's not official." He murmured as he led her to his truck. "Just thought you might want to get away from your dad for a few minutes."
"Bless you," she sighed softly.
"Looked like he was closing in pretty tight."
She nodded slowly. "I didn't get a chance to tell him that I'm pregnant before he showed up. He wants to talk about it."
"And you don't."
"Not right now," she admitted. "Not really..."
"We can call him and tell him that you have to stay overnight on the base for an early meeting..." Jack offered. "You could take my guest room."
She managed a grateful smile. "Thank you, sir, but...I think if I avoid it for too long it will just get harder."
He nodded as he opened the door for her. "True."
He helped her into the front seat before she turned to him. "I don't know what he'll want to do for Christmas..."
He looked up at her, earnestly. "Just...keep me updated."
She nodded slowly. "Okay."
"You sure you don't wanna hang out at my house for a little while."
She smiled softly. "Maybe some other time. I think I've just gathered up enough courage to talk to my dad."
He nodded as he moved to close the door.
"Jack?" She asked, stopping him as she took the opportunity to use his given name for once.
"Hm?" He asked, looking back at her.
"How...do you feel about this?"
"This?"
She swallowed. "The baby...and the fact that I need..."
"Your space?"
She nodded.
"I understand." He said, evenly.
"That I need my space." She finished. "But..."
"The baby...worries me."
She studied him closely.
"But I guess that's just because I, uh...lost my only kid..."
She looked down at her stomach as he looked away. "I wish..." She murmured.
"What?"
She looked over at him. "I wish...t-that I...that I could...fix this for you."
"Nature of the beast, Carter." He said shrugging.
"Give me your hand," she whispered, looking over at him.
"Why?"
"Just do it," she said, softly.
"Okay," he said, offering her his hand.
She inhaled softly as she took it and hesitantly brought it to her belly. His eyes widened as he looked at her. "It's...moving..."
"A lot." She chuckled softly.
His eyes went back to her belly as he stared at it for a few moments.
Sam's eyes moistened as she noticed the tears that were pooling in the corners of his eyes.
He swallowed after a few moments as he pulled his hand from her belly. He coughed. "We should get you home. It's cold out here..." He muttered gruffly.
She inhaled, wincing as he slammed the door closed.
-
The drive was silent as they drove sedately on the snow-covered roads.
Sam finally gathered up the courage to speak first. "If you want...you can spend Christmas at the cabin. I don't mind."
"Didn't realize I needed your permission, Major."
She grimaced. "I-I d-didn't mean to imply..."
"You don't want me at your house?"
"I didn't...I didn't say that." She stammered, looking over at him as she caught her bottom lip between her teeth somewhat nervously.
"If you don't want to be a part of this baby's life..."
"I don't know what I want, Carter."
She swallowed as she ran her fingers over the bump created by her unborn child. "Right..."
He looked over at her for a moment. "Look, I'm sorry...I'm not the best company right now, and it has nothing to do with you."
"Nothing to do with me?" She asked, skeptically. "You were perfectly good company only a few minutes ago." She sighed. "And then, I...made you face something that maybe...you weren't ready to deal with."
"Carter, it's not you." He assured.
She swallowed. "Small comfort," she murmured.
He looked over at her for a moment before he continued to drive to her home.
-
She walked in the door to her home.
"What'd you have to do?" Jacob asked, looking over at her from where he sat in an armchair by the door.
"Meeting." She murmured, taking off her coat.
"That only took a half-hour?" He asked, skeptically.
"I'm a grown woman, Dad." She said, looking over at him. "I think I've earned the right to do as I please."
"Right. I forgot..."
She walked into the kitchen and got herself a glass of water before she returned. "Dad, we need to talk."
"About?"
"This baby..."
"Ah." He said, nodding. "You want to talk about it, then?"
"Not really." She admitted. "But I figured we should get it out of the way or this is going to be a long visit..."
"I agree." He said, nodding.
She sat down on the couch. "I usually get birth control injections every so often, but whenever I'm captured, there's a possibility, depending on the amount of time I'm gone, that its effects can be lessened over time. Or, for that matter, completely inert."
He nodded.
"I was captured about the time that I needed another of these birth control injections. When I returned home, I had...a welcome home date with my boyfriend, Brock, and...well...here I am."
"And where is he?" Jacob asked, skeptically.
"I broke it off. He wasn't terribly interested in having a family, and I wanted to keep the baby."
He raised an eyebrow. "How long had you been dating?"
"Four months or so..."
He shook his head, slowly. "I don't believe you. This is worse than the Deep-Space Radar Telemetry story you fed me two years ago."
"Dad..."
"Sam."
She inhaled softly. "Okay...it didn't happen that way..."
He raised an eyebrow, expectantly.
She swallowed, nervously. "A little more than six months ago, Colonel O'Neill, Daniel, Teal'c and I were captured."
He nodded. "I heard. Something about...amnesia?"
"Not exactly." She sighed. "We were imprinted with memories and personalities which would suit the agenda - which was to work in this underground labor camp. I...I was Thera..."
He was quiet as she retreated back into her memories.
"While we were there, we started to remember some things...but we couldn't make sense of them. Letters...numbers...images..." She sighed. "It was hell, Dad. And so...without ranks and regulations...I guess, we just wanted to find some comfort...something more...natural than our manmade prison."
"Colonel O'Neill's the father of your baby?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
She nodded. "But it was completely consentual. And I didn't want to ruin his career so I didn't tell anyone. Just made up a boyfriend."
"Does he know?"
She swallowed. "Now? Yes. But he figured it out when his memory returned, and he realized I'd made up the boyfriend."
"And..."
"And that's all." She said, shaking her head. "We were thinking of spending Christmas together. Just the two of us, but that was just because it's been a confusing year."
He raised an eyebrow.
"And...now that we're not in the same chain of command, Colonel O'Neill, uh..." She swallowed. "Wants to...persue a possible relationship."
"Don't see the problem in that." Jacob said with a shrug. "I mean, he's right. You're not in the same chain of command anymore..."
"Yes, but I don't know what's going on in my head or my heart right now." She teared up. "Martouf died around the same time that I found out about Colonel O'Neill's feelings for me...officially..."
"And you don't know if your feelings for Martouf were Jolinar's or if they were your own." He inferred.
"It's something I think I should figure out before I head into any serious relationship." She swallowed. "It's the least I can do...even with all of my other baggage."
He nodded slowly.
She sighed as she hoped that the conversation was over. "So...what are your plans for Christmas, Dad?"
"I'll probably go to Mark's house." He said, absently. He looked over at her. "I can make your apologies if you want to keep your quiet Christmas plans..."
"I'll think about it." She said, nodding.
"Did you and Jack have a falling out?"
She inhaled. "Not...exactly..."
"Something happen on the drive home?"
She nodded slowly. "I guess, he's...he's just not sure he's ready to be a father again."
"A little late to make that realization."
"This wasn't in our plans, Dad."
"I know. But..."
"I think he's getting excited at the prospect of being a father again," she interrupted. "But part of him feels guilty that he's getting so excited."
"How so?"
"If he moves on with his life, he's putting Charlie in the past." She said, simply.
"He told you this?" Jacob asked, studying her.
She shook her head. "He didn't have to."
"Be careful putting words in Jack O'Neill's mouth," he warned softly.
She inhaled before standing. "I'm tired, Dad. I think I'll head to bed."
He nodded slowly. "Okay."
She walked over and locked the door before she walked down the hallway to her bedroom. She quickly prepared for bed before sitting on the bed, and glancing at the phone on the nightstand. She brushed off the overwhelming desire to call Jack. He needed his space, and she needed to respect him enough to give it to him.
With a small sigh, she curled up in bed and closed her eyes. Hopefully, the physical and spiritual weariness of her body would compensate for her emotional turmoil, and she would be able to sleep once she hit the pillow.
