1441 hours
Daniel's Lab, Level 18

Jack was pretty sure he was still in shock over Carter's pregnancy revelation when he arrived at Daniel's lab but at least he'd managed to inform Hammond about Carter's absence for the upcoming mission without giving anything away. It looked like Teal'c and Daniel had been waiting for him and if he wasn't mistaken, T even appeared to be relieved with his arrival. Probably because the archeologist wanted to talk feelings and stuff. Great.

"Jack! Did you talk to General Hammond?"

He nodded and sat down on a chair. "Told him Fraiser hadn't cleared Carter for the mission yet and he said he would await the Doc's report. I didn't even have to come up with an excuse."

"I still can't believe Sam's pregnant!" Daniel exclaimed, looking bewildered.

Well, that made two of them, Jack thought grimly. Talk about shocking and unexpected news! He hadn't suspected a thing… Hell, he hadn't even realized she was seeing someone, let alone that the relationship was this serious. Not that he begrudged Carter her happiness or a family, but it still hurt. It may have been three and a half years since that damned zatarc test, during which they had been forced to admit to have feelings for each other that were considered inappropriate given their working relationship and military ranks, but he still cared a hell of a lot more about her than he was supposed to. If anything, his feelings had only grown stronger since then, not in the least because of the things they had gone through. Just last month he'd been terrified of losing her when they lost contact with Prometheus and it had only brought his emotions closer to the surface.

Apparently Carter didn't have the same problem as it seemed she had moved on. Not that he had expected anything from her; the fraternization regulations were there for good reason and he would never jeopardize her career. He wasn't stupid enough to think the war they were fighting would be over anytime soon, either. Jack had more or less resigned himself to his feelings for her and the fact they could never be acted upon since neither of them was planning on leaving the SGC anytime soon – as 2IC of the base he would remain in her chain of command, no matter what team she was on – and by the time the frat regs wouldn't apply anymore it would be too late. Their sixteen-year age difference was troubling enough to him but the only possibility he foresaw was him retiring, which wasn't an option right now, and by then they would be in different places in life.

He would never be able to give her what she deserved; a normal life with a family of her own. It was something he had accepted a while ago but it hadn't changed how he felt about her. He should have realized she had moved on already but for some reason he hadn't seen the signs. "A heads-up would have been nice."

"Jack?"

"Hm?"

Daniel looked at him funnily and pursed his lips pensively. "Janet had just told her she was pregnant, so how could Sam have given us a heads-up?"

Oh crap, had he said that aloud? "Er," Jack leaned back and ran a hand through his hair, thinking of a reply. "I meant about her plans to start a family. That way I would have had time to find a replacement for Carter on the team, since she can't go through the 'gate when she's pregnant." He silently congratulated himself on the nice save and shrugged. "You know I don't like scientists – Carter could have helped me with a selection process, or better yet found someone herself to spare me the hassle. Now we'll either get someone forced on us for every mission or get removed from the mission roster until we find a suitable candidate. It was bad enough when you went all glowy but it's going to be worse to find someone to fill Carter's spot."

"I don't think the pregnancy was planned, it was probably an accident," Daniel said.

"Oh come on, someone with Carter's intellect would certainly know how to use protection."

That earned him a glare from the pissed off archeologist. "Still, I'd like to think she would confide something this huge to her friends."

"Carter can be very private when it comes to personal matters," Jack countered. The disbelieving look he got in return told him that was probably only when it came to him, not Daniel. "I didn't even know she was seeing someone."

"Me neither, but it takes two to get pregnant…" Daniel's voice trailed off, still sounding hurt at being left in the dark.

Jack sighed, trying to think if there had been any indications in Carter's behavior lately. Maybe he had purposely stuck his head in the sand because he didn't want to know? "Well, I guess we shouldn't be surprised about this; she turned thirty-five over a month ago and probably feels her biological clock ticking." Not that the thought had ever crossed his mind but it was probably different for Carter.

"I do not believe Major Carter is 'seeing anyone'," Teal'c remarked. "I must agree that she would have confided in Daniel Jackson or Doctor Fraiser, yet neither appear to possess knowledge about this supposed relationship."

Trying not to take offense at not being included in Carter's inner circle of trust according to the Jaffa, Jack considered his statement. Not that he really wanted to think about Carter being in a relationship with another man, let alone carrying that man's child, but that was beside the point. "I guess there were several opportunities for her to come out with the relationship, like her birthday or the Christmas party."

"Well, I can't imagine Sam having a fling or a, eh… one night stand," Daniel mumbled, clearly uncomfortable.

"Just because she isn't falling for every off-world damsel in distress doesn't mean she's a nun, Daniel," Jack said pointedly. Although, in his mind, Carter was certainly not doing any of those things. Her being touched by a man or being intimate with some stranger were so not thoughts he wanted to contemplate. Yet he felt the need to defend her here; she had every right to do whatever she damn well pleased without being judged, especially by her friends. You'd think Daniel of all people would be a bit more open-minded about the role of women in today's society, but maybe their resident anthropologist didn't want to think about that aspect of Carter's life.

Teal'c cocked his eyebrow in surprise and then glanced at the man with a small smile. "Indeed. However, I do not believe Major Carter was aware of her condition."

"Really, why's that?" Daniel asked.

"She was not pleased upon hearing the news and did not accept Doctor Fraiser's diagnosis."

Jack's eyebrows shot up in surprise and for a moment he was stunned. "You… were eavesdropping, T?"

"In such a small confined space with so few people I cannot prevent overhearing certain conversations," the Jaffa said.

After all these years of working together Jack had learned to read his facial expressions and he could tell Teal'c had overheard much more than just that with his superior hearing, but he was far too honorable to spill all the details and Jack respected Carter too much to ask for them. Now that he thought about it she had looked kinda piqued but he'd assumed it was because Daniel had barged in on her private conversation with the Doc and then practically announced it to the entire infirmary. The guy was lucky there hadn't been too many people around!

Instead of paying attention and supporting Carter in whatever she did in her private life, Jack had been too preoccupied with his own hurt feelings and upset at hearing the news. Even now he and Daniel were arguing about it while she was left dealing with the shocking news on her own. At the time all he could think of was keeping the hurt and blame from his face and the accusations out of his tone, not once thinking about how this affected her and how small and pale she had looked on the infirmary bed.

"I was under the impression Tau'ri women could not accidentally fall pregnant," Teal'c continued, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Why, have you been watching Oprah again?"

"I have not, O'Neill, I was merely referring to the events that occurred during the infection with the Touched Virus."

Daniel bobbed his head in agreement and lifted his finger as if getting ready to give one of his speeches. "That's right! Female personnel have to be on birth control, right?"

"Um, I guess, yeah," Jack shrugged.

He rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation. "As team commander you are aware of certain medical stuff, right? Like my allergies and medication, Teal'c's tretonin-"

"Daniel, we all know about those things."

"Yes, but you would also know if Sam had asked to stop taking her birth control, right? I've never seen her take a pill off-world and Janet told me it's not safe when someone relies on daily medication in case of meds getting lost or the team getting captured – hence my allergy shots and I'm guessing Sam has, er, other… um, methods of birth control."

Jack nodded slowly, finally catching on to what Teal'c had been implying. "Um, yeah. Female personnel on SG teams have to take a reliable form of birth control."

"So, in Sam's case it couldn't have been an accidental pregnancy if she's not taking the pill but a more reliable method that can't be skipped, right?"

"I guess. I think she gets shots every few months," he replied, shuddering at the thought of more needles. Then again, it was probably preferable to having them insert one of those wire thingies his ex-wife, Sara, used to have.

Daniel was wearing his usual pensive mask as he was processing this information and after a minute or two he broke the silence. "How reliable are those pregnancy tests?"

Jack blinked in surprise when two pairs of eyes settled on him. "How should I know?" It had been over a decade since Sara had been pregnant with Charlie and even then he hadn't been there when she got the test; like most of their marriage he had been off on another continent, fighting for his country on some secret mission. "But Fraiser wouldn't have told her if she wasn't sure."

"Indeed, Doctor Fraiser referred to performing several blood analyses and said they had all been positive; there was no doubt in her mind about Major Carter's condition."

"So, if Sam's on birth control and not seeing anyone… then how could she have gotten pregnant?"

"That's a damn good question, Daniel," Jack said.


1452 hours
Isolation Room 2
Level 21, SGC

Now that she was alone for a minute and settled on the examination table after taking off her pants again, Sam slowly hiked up the hem of the infirmary gown she was wearing. She was still reeling from the diagnosis but having a quiet moment to herself to process it helped. After going over everything Janet had told her earlier in her head she realized that denying all the symptoms wouldn't make them go away. Reading the results on her chart had helped as well; she could see the truth in Janet's words after seeing the outcome of all the analyses in black and white.

Sam cast a critical eye on her stomach and had to admit her lower abdomen was protruding slightly, even with her practically lying down. Normally she didn't pay too much attention to how flat her stomach was or if her waistline had increased or decreased and as long as her clothes fit merely focused on her weight and condition, knowing she had to stay in shape if she wanted to pass her physicals and be allowed to work in the field. The fact that her life or that of her teammates could be on the line when being chased by Jaffa or Replicators if she neglected her fitness was quite the motivation as well. However, she always made sure to work out regularly and that included abdominal exercises and running, either on the treadmill or outside.

Therefore her weight had been in the same range for years and only fluctuating when there were extenuating circumstances, like being held captive, having a deadline, a couple of unexpected strenuous missions in a row and getting carried away with a new project in her lab. Overall, it was more likely she was a bit under her optimum weight than above it, sometimes even getting a reprimand from Janet or the other medical personnel for not eating – regularly – enough and thus getting a bit too skinny for their taste.

But Sam couldn't recall the last time her belly hadn't hollowed out with her pelvic ridges sticking up and her ribcage showing when lying on her back. Lowering herself on the table until she was lying horizontally she noticed her abdomen still looked flat but not as concaved as she was used to. Of course, she had noticed she gained weight more easily now as she got older and had just turned thirty-five, but even sucking in her stomach didn't change much. Poking the tiny bump slightly she realized it felt different too, firmer and not flabby or anything.

That really couldn't be blamed on all the snacks her sister-in-law had been feeding her or the commissary donuts Sam had been eating lately…

Sighing, she sat up again and self-consciously pulled her gown down to cover her thighs. She reached for the chart Janet had handed her and checked the results of her blood tests again. It was just too fantastical – and not in a good way – to wrap her head around. How could she possibly be pregnant? The last time she had been intimate with a guy was with Pete and Janet had mentioned something about being able to detect hCG just a week after conception, but Sam doubted the pregnancy hormone's levels would be this high in such a short period of time. Not to mention them using protection. Even if something had gone wrong with the condom without either of them realizing it, she still shouldn't have been able to conceive due to of her Depo-Provera injections – not to mention the abuse her body had been through the past seven years.

Before Pete there hadn't been anyone in a long, long time and not just because she had been too busy at the SGC; her feelings for Colonel O'Neill had stopped her from dating other men and she had been fine with it. Content. But not truly happy. Clearly, jumping headfirst into a relationship with the first guy that came along after her epiphany aboard Prometheus wasn't the answer either. In short, all the evidence seemed to indicate she was pregnant but technically that wasn't possible – as far as she was aware. That frightened her. It simply wasn't possible, not the natural way at least.

Her left hand automatically went to rest on her stomach while the other held the chart. What did this mean? How had it happened? Shaking herself Sam focused on the papers in front of her and browsed through them, hoping to find a clue. It didn't take her long to find another abnormality, something Janet hadn't mentioned yet; not only was hCG present in her blood but the progestogen from her birth control was… absent.

Gone.

How was that possible? Even if she had been at the end of the three-month period there should still be traces in her system, especially after having used it for years. There was a good reason it normally took the body several months to a year to recover from the use of long-term birth control before a woman was able to conceive, yet it almost looked like it had been flushed from her system!

Maybe it had.

Sam was just wondering whether that was possible when the door opened and for a moment she held her breath, waiting to see who it was. She relaxed when Janet entered the room, holding a folder in her hands and walking over to a chair to move it closer to the exam table. The Doctor was still busy going over the file as she absentmindedly sat down, clearly following her routine.

The silence and delay gave Sam the time to analyze her own reaction and she slowly realized that she'd feared it would be one of her teammates, or maybe all three of them. From his reaction it had been clear Daniel was shocked and a bit hurt, probably because he thought she hadn't trusted him enough to confide in him about the pregnancy. If she had known or suspected she certainly would have told him! He was one of her best friends, after all. Teal'c hadn't really said anything at all, now that she thought about it, but she figured that wasn't too surprising.

The Colonel, though… there had been no emotional reaction, at all! That in itself was probably reaction enough, she realized. His face had been blank, expressionless. The mask he usually wore when he… when he couldn't afford to show emotion! Upon Daniel's announcement he had immediately shut himself off from her, simply accepting it as if she had told him the weather forecast for tomorrow. Considering their confessions during the zatarc testing and everything that had happened since – including memory stamps and life or death situations – it probably was to be expected from him. They had never laid a claim on each other or made a promise for some day, even if that was how she felt on the inside.

Wasn't that what her epiphany had been about?

But, she realized, what really bothered her was how he, Daniel and Teal'c seemed to have just accepted it. Congratulated her, even. Sure, they had been surprised but had easily switched gears, without asking any questions. Did they care that little?

Sam had simply expected more from her teammates. If any of them had told her they were going to be a father out of the blue she would have done a double take and asked more questions, like who was the mother, how long had they been seeing each other and why hadn't they told her? She certainly wouldn't have simply nodded and congratulated them, or said "Good for you, Sir!" to Colonel O'Neill.

"… Major?" Janet placed a hand on her knee to get her attention and smiled. "Deep in thought?"

"Sorry."

"That's okay, I was just asking if you were ready to pick up where we left off."

Grimacing, Sam turned fully towards her. "Right, of course."

Janet looked at the chart abandoned on the bed and waved a hand in its direction. "Have you seen the blood work?"

"Yes, and I still find it hard to believe," she said, "but I know that a pregnancy is the only plausible explanation for the hCG in my system. And look at this," Sam lay back again and showed her the miniscule bump she had discovered.

"I had noticed it during the palpation of your abdomen," the Doctor admitted. "I called the Academy Hospital from my office but Doctor Rosenberg, the consultant I told you about, wasn't available at the moment. I left a message for her to call me back to set up an appointment for you. As you probably already know most of the experience I have in this area stems from my days as an intern and resident, so whenever a situation like this occurs I prefer to rely on Doctor Rosenberg's expertise. Not that we often deal with pregnancies on base; despite the relatively high percentage of women there aren't many that end up pregnant due to birth control methods and possibly because this is a once in a lifetime assignment they aren't willing to give up just yet. However, unfortunately accidents still occur and there are, of course, the occasional off-world cleansing or fertility ceremonies or alien influences and viruses that have unexpected outcomes."

Sam nodded in understanding and sat up again. "Speaking of which… have you seen the absence of birth control in my blood panel?"

"It was on my list."

"What list?"

Janet smiled thinly and indicated a paper atop the folder she was still holding. "Just some questions I need answers to, Major Carter. Now, I brought your medical file with me from my office to verify some things. Including your Depo-Provera injections; it says here you haven't missed one since I proposed the policy in the Program's first year and that you received the last one… in the second week of December, is that correct, Major?"

Slightly surprised by her friend's formality, Sam swallowed hard as she realized she was dealing with Doctor Fraiser now and not her friend Janet. Normally she wasn't like this, not even during procedures, but Sam figured it was because of the nature of her condition and the discussion they'd had earlier in the infirmary. "Yes, I'm not due for another shot in three to four weeks."

"And when was your last menstrual period?"

"Um," she looked away as Janet made some notes and tried to gather her thoughts. "In January, about a month ago."

This seemed to get the Doctor's attention. "You're not late yet?"

"No, I don't have my cell phone with me so I can't check the exact date, but I know it's supposed to be next week."

"You have a history of slightly irregular periods, was there anything unusual about your last one?"

Sam shook her head, thinking back. "No, none that I can think of. It looked normal, not just spotting in case that was your next question."

"And when was the last time you had sex, Major?"

"In the beginning of February, during my medical leave, I had safe sex – once," Sam said, embarrassed. "As far as I know everything was in order with the condom," she added, realizing that would probably be asked next with the suggestion she could have been ovulating around that time. If only she could blame that mistake on her hormones at the time!

Janet nodded while scribbling down a few more notes and then stood up to get both of them a cup of water. When she sat back down next to the bed she looked more relaxed, her face a bit softened. "Sam, why didn't you tell me about this guy… what was his name, Pete? You've been back a week and we saw each other every day, yet you never even hinted at seeing someone. Weren't you staying with your brother and his family?"

"Oh, I'm sorry; is this Janet or Doctor Fraiser I'm talking to?" Sam asked snippily, but the moment the words left her mouth she regretted them and covered her face with her hand upon seeing Janet's reaction. "That was totally uncalled for, I'm sor-"

"No, you're right," she interrupted. "I won't deny I'm disappointed that you kept this from me, both as your friend and your doctor, but I had no right to start treating you as some patient I barely know because of it and then change my tune to your best friend. It's just… I don't know, I think it was the shock and I just kept wondering what else you've been keeping from me."

"I know, I think I'm still in shock and you were also right in that I should have told you; if not as my friend then as my doctor. I shouldn't have overreacted earlier in the infirmary and just now."

Janet waved away her apology and grinned. "At least you can use your hormones as an excuse. I don't have one-"

"Oh please, at least it got a reaction out of you," Sam replied. Seeing the confusion on her friend's face she tried to clarify, blushing slightly. "It's just… well, you were there in the infirmary when Daniel barged in; I know it stunned them momentarily but then they just accepted it, all three of them. I can't wrap my head around that reaction. I mean, they're my teammates and I trust them with my life but I also consider them good friends, yet it's almost like they didn't really care. Or maybe they had never expected me to confide in them about my personal life and introduce them to the guy I was seeing? A pregnancy is something big and certainly something I would share with my friends if I had been planning or suspecting it."

"Don't worry about that right now, honey. They were probably stunned by the news and I could tell from Daniel's tone that he was a bit hurt, but I'm sure he'll come around soon. I didn't really have a chance to gauge Teal'c's reaction but I think Colonel O'Neill just didn't know what to say, think or do… so he tried to be as neutral as possible, like a normal and supportive commanding officer is supposed to be." Janet reached out and squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Just give them some time to process it. You were unwilling to believe me until I gave you a moment and some tangible proof to let it all sink in, remember."

Sam nodded and gave a small smile. "I hope you're right." She didn't want to think her teammates didn't value their friendship as much as she did, especially when it came to the Colonel – despite her realization that she had to move on from him. "It's just that if the roles were reversed… I'd want to know and I wouldn't just nod and smile."

"Yes, well, they're men and they don't have your big brain," Janet quipped, trying to lighten the mood. "Now, drink some water and then we can continue."

By the time Sam had explained about how she met Pete and what happened between them they were interrupted by one of the nurses who told Janet there was a call for her from a Doctor Rosenberg, so she left to take it in her office.