Sam left smiling on the veranda. Her arms tightly wrapped around her body as she watched as the two faded in the dark night. Again a wave of grief took over her. To see her friends so happy, hurt. Not because she didn't like the two of them together, but because she didn't want to be alone at this moment.

She just felt so empty.

"Jack ... I miss you ..."

It came whispering over her lips as she watched the gentle snow that hovered before her, before she turned around and closed the door.

Chapter 5 - Surprise

Flashback, Stargate Center

"So no alcohol in the drink?"
Daniel stood up and walked toward Sam. His eyes wide open, he now looked at her head-shaking.

"No no alcohol. Have you two spoken to each other or why do I hear this question now for the second time today? "

Sam had taken a small step backwards and looked at her friend questioningly.
"For the second time?"

Daniel sighed and straightened his glasses.
"Jack was here about two hours ago and asked exactly the same."

Daniel noticed Sam's face darkened and her eyes seemed to turn into panic.
"Sam ... everything okay? Maybe you should go to the infirmary again if you had such a headache? "

Carter shook her head slightly.
"I ... um, so if you didn't have a headache and you had the same drink as we did, then it must be so. No alcohol."

Daniel shook his head but didn't know exactly why she was acting this way.
"Um ... no alcohol."
He said again. He was feeling great in the morning and he had certainly had 4 or 5 cups of the drink. But something seemed off here. He just wanted to say something when Sam said good-bye and then stepped out of the lab with quick steps. There was definitely something going on here. Perhaps he would look into that matter again. That was just to unusual to be a coincident.

Sam's House

16 December 2010

When Sam awoke the next morning by the loud beeping of her alarm clock, she immediately closed her eyes. Her heart contracted painfully for a short second and began to bounce harder in her chest.

Today was not a good day, this day was never one of the good ones. After endless seconds she just laid there, she then switched on the lamp next to her bed and turned off the alarm clock. Yawning, she ran her hands through her hair and then stood up. A quick glance into the mirror, told her that the few hours of sleep she'd had didn't do any miracles. Two deep gloomy eye-rings were visible, and her face seemed pale and without life. Sighing, she washed her face with cold water, hoping to put some color into her cheeks.

After she'd dressed, she ran down the stairs and went to the kitchen. After pouring herself a cup of coffee, she sat down on the couch. A sigh escaped as she sat down - not the first one today. She hadn't turned on the light- the darkness in the room felt soothing. If she would cry here, nobody could see her tears. The lights of the street lamps brightened the living room gently in a dreary yellow. A quick look outside told her that it was still snowing.

The first sip of coffee felt good and with each further sip, she realized how she became a more awake. Lost in thoughts, she now stared into the half-empty cup. She was glad to be alone in the big house. She wouldn't be able to force herself to smile. Her heart felt heavy and the first tears were already making their way over her cheeks. She had stopped fighting. Here at home she didn't had to be strong, now she could mourn. One day a year, which belonged only to her, in which she could be selfish. A day in 365, in which she didn't need any power to persuade herself that everything that she every desiered did come true.

It simply didn't.

Flashback,

15 December

"Carter! Wait a second!"
Jack shouted as he ran trough the corridors toward Sam.

It had been two months since they had been on PX379. The first three days after they had stepped trough the gate had been very tense. He hadn't been able to speak with Carter without his own feeling taking the best out of him. After he'd said to himself, however, that the strange pictures he saw from time to time, could only match his imagination, he'd decided to forget the whole matter. It wouldn't do any good anyway and he would just go mad. Whatever had happened that night - or not - would probably never be clear.

The only thing that reminded him about it was Carter.

She smiled less than usual, didn't seem to look at him so often, and was more serious than usual. He had the feeling that she was hiding something. Somehow he didn't get rid of the feeling that she perhaps knew more than he did. Daniel had told him that she had also had asked about the mysterious drink they had shared that night.

To the archaeologist, the whole thing seemed to bother him more and more. He had asked Hammond to go to the Makiri later this month. He wanted to learn more about the people and about this celebration. He also wanted to learn more about their customs and cultures, and if he could perhaps find out what they had served there to drink, the better.

Jack had told him what had happened and Daniel had stared at him with questioning eyes. He found it just as odd that Jack awoke naked in the tent. He was sure something had happened, something Carter might have had an answer to?

At first, he had decided not to talk to her about the evening, but when he went to her lab before, and he'd found his t-shirt pinched between two drawers he didn't know what to do. She had been nowehere to be found, so he had taken the T-shirt in his hands and decided to look for her. He needed answers and that immediately or he would go crazy.

Sam's house
16 December 2010

When a tear fell into the cup, she wiped her tearfully face clean. She had to put it together. If she'd arrive with tears in her eyes to the SGC, it wouldn't be professional at all.

And Samantha was always a professional soldier.

With a deep fron on her forehead she stood up took her jacket and car keys and walked out of the house.

The snow bounced off the front window and Sam had to concentrate to avoid getting off the road. Today it would have been better to stay in the house. Save and warm.

After she'd needed longer than expected, she now ran fully geard up into the gateroom.
"I'm sorry for the delay Major. I could hardly manage to get here."

Major Swan smiled slightly.
"No problem Colonel, with that weather, it is a miracle that we all made it here at all."

Landry's voice came out of the control room seconds later and Carter looked up at him.
"Colonel Warren, Major Swan, you have a go."

Sam nodded and lifted the suitcase which was equipped with all the measuring devices. SG-6 was already walking through the gate when Sam stopped short. Exactly today, at this point, she had seen him for the last time.

He had turned to her, smiling, and then disappeared - exactly to the planet to which she was going now.

Flashback, Stargate Center

15 December 2006

Sam stopped abruptly as she heard the Colonel's stern voice in the hallway. The hard pitch betrayed nothing good. She hesitated for a moment, she could go on, pretending she'd not heard him, but sooner or later he'd find her. She had avoided him the last few weeks since it was just too hard for her to deal with the whole situation. His presence brought her back to that crazy morning. She knew something had gone wrong there. She tried to persuade herself that she imagined everything, but to wake up naked next to him was proof enough. She bit her lip and turned around. Maybe she had to talk to him about it?

Jack jogged toward her, then stopped in front of her. Sam's eyes wandered to his hand, where he ... oh no! He had the t-shirt that she had found in her tent that day in his hand.

"Carter ... I uh ..."
Now that he was standing in front of her, he regretted it. Perhaps it was not a good idea to discuss the matter? But ... it had to be.

"Sir?"

"Yes, um ... why is my T-shirt in your lab?"
His eyes remained unmoving on her face and he tried to read her facial expressions. But she remained unaffected and lowered her gaze instead.

"Sir ... I.."
She breathed in briefly and then looked straight into his eyes. She had to tell him something but not the truth.

"Your shirt, are you sure?"
Okay Sam ... you could've said something a bit more convincing, she thought to herself still watching the Colonel carefully.

Jack's eyes grew bigger. It was his shirt, it smelled even after his aftershave.
What was going on here?!

"Carter? You know just as well as I do that is my shirt. Why is it in your drawer? "

Sam was getting nervous, she avoided any eye contact. Instead, she stared holes in to the ground.
"I found it on a mission, it lay on the ground when I packed my stuff. "

She felt the piercing look and she looked up again.
"It's been a while, I forgot to give it back to you, sorry Sir."
She smiled slightly, hoping he would buy the lie. To her astonishment, he nodded.

"Hmm ... All right. "
Jack was no fool, her eyes betrayed her stroy somehow and he didn't buy her little story. Anyway, whatever reason she had to lie to him, he knew she would't tell him the truth so quickly.

Without big protest, he nodded and was about to turn around as he paused. The past few weeks he had missed her, clearly they've had a lot of work to do, but the otherwise so relaxed gestures between the two of them had stopped. It was these little things that made his days so exciting and worth living. He wanted this moments back. He missed her typical Carter smile more than he'd ever thought. Perhaps an out-of-the-way conversation would loosen up things?

"Fancy cake?
He then asked with a gentle grin on his lips.

For a short second he could see how her blue eyes began to radiate and she smiled briefly.
"That sounds g..."
Sam paused and her cheerful expression turned to stone. Jack looked at the suddenly pale-faced woman and just saw how she turned and ran down the hall.

What the hell was going on with her ?!
He shook his head. Where was the Sam he knew and loved? At least not here and she definitely did't want to have cake with him.

Sam splashed some cold water into her face and then clened it with a fresh towel.
She didn't know what just had happened. She had to trow up several times.
She wondered what she'd for breakfast ... a piece of toast with jam, nothing new - nothing harmful.

Perhaps she'd caught a flu? Her face was still a bit pale, but slowly color came back into her cheeks.
What a great scene, the Colonel probably had to think that she'd lost it down the way. She breathed a few more times in and out before she marched outside. She'd to move quickly since she'd a mission starting in two hours. She just hoped her stomach would't play no more funny games.

A few hours later...

"Welcome back SG-1. Go to the infirmary and then report back at 1600 "

Sam walked down the ramp next to Jack as they always did. Even if the mood between them was still tense, she enjoyed nevertheless his company. But she didn't miss the fact that he'd been very silent all day long. She'd noticed how he'd often patterned her, but she'd tried to ignore it as well as she could.

Just as she continued down the ramp, she stopped as she suddenly felt quite dizzy. She closed her eyes to suppress the rising nausea and took a deep breath.

Woah ... that had just felt very scarry she thought. She suddenly got goose bumps, but tried to get her strength back as fast as she could. When she opened her eyes shortly thereafter, she looked into two worried brown eyes. She could feel the Colonel's hand on her forearm, and she could see him looking at her from head to toe.

"Carter everything okay with you?"

Came it quiet but still serious.

Sam forced a smile on her face and looked eyes with him.

"I'm fine Sir, I was only felling dizzy for a moment, I probably drank too little water today."

It was the only thing Sam could think of and this time it wasn't even a lie.

Jack continued to look skeptical at her, but nodded a little while later. He hadn't escaped him that Sam had been quiet all day. She'd taken her samples, but even when Daniel had shown her an old stone plate with some wierd writing on it, she was rather absent. Normally she was always interested in Daniels tales - not this time.

Her face looked pale and Jack hoped she wasn't going to be sick.

"Well, Major, please let Janet examine you thoroughly."He said with a softer tone, then added:

"Do you have time for a quick chat after the briefing with the General?"

He wanted to talk to her privately, Sam was acting strange and it was really time to figure out what was going on in her brilliant mind of hers.

Samantha felt her heart stop for a moment. He'd never ask her somehing like this before. His grave expression didn't make it any easier. Without showing any reaction, she nodded quickly.

"Of course, sir."

"Good." Jack nodded and they both marched on toward the locker room.

When Jack ran to his spit after taking a shower, he couldn't stop thinking about his major. Carter had been absent for the whole mission. He didn't like it at all. He hand't been able to rely on her today and this wasn't something he would just ignore.

What the hell was wrong with her? The otherwise so talented woman he knew, didn't seem to have been present in the last months. He was worried.

He didn't see another way to figure things out than to ask for a personal conversation. After all, he was primarily her superior and he could't go on like this. He had to know what was going on with her or he would be forced to take further measures. Yes, he was her friend, but apparently Sam saw it different, since she'd never told him anything, especially not what was bothering her.

Sam was still sitting on the infirmary bed, looking impatiently at her watch. Teal'c, Daniel and O'Neill had left the infirmary 30 minutes ago. Janet said she must look at something and she shouldn't worry. Sam let her gaze wander through the quiet room as Janet finally came out of her office. Her face looked a bit tense - not as relaxed as a few minutes before. She grabbed a chair that was next to the bed and sat down. The young astrophysicist felt her heart begin to beat faster. Had she really caught a flu? The timing couldn't really be better, since she had to go to Alphaside with her father in two days and she'd looked forward to the short time away from the SCG.

"Sorry Sam that you had to wait so long," Janet said with a quiet but still professional tone.

Sam raised her eyes and played nervously with her fingers."Janet? Is everything ok?"

The worried doctor tried to make a soothing smile. What she'd to say to her friend nwasn't going to be easy. Still, she breathed calmly in and out before she started.

"Sam, I've checked your blood levels ... 3 times and ..."

Janet tried to maintain eye contact while she saw Sam getting increasingly nervous.

"And…?"

The tension that spread in Sam was now pushed to the top - thanks to Janet.

A short silence followed, while the brunette continued to looked at Sam who still sat on the bed. She breathed out again before she looked straight into her eyes.

"You're pregnant Sam."

A/N Surprise! Let me know what you think ! Reviews are always welcome!