The next day
Klaxons! Claire though jumping out of her bed and running toward the bridge. No…that wasn't right. She was in her apartment, which didn't have a bridge, and that was the doorbell. It meant someone was at the door, no one was in danger.
She flings the door open.
"Jack!" she says greeting him warmly.
He looks at her, wondering how she recognized him. "Claire, didn't your father teach you to look through the little hole to see who it is before you open the door?" he asks gruffly.
"You are exactly as Sam described you," she says with a laugh. Then she catches sight of the dog. Only she doesn't have a word to put to it. Her mother and father have attempted to describe dog as well as many other animal species to her many times, but she never actually understood it until now. She jumps up on a chair.
"It's ok Claire, it's just a dog," Jack says soothingly. The puppy is not doing much to help his case as it is desperately trying to crawl up on the chair.
Her eyes are still showing pure terror, so Jack pucks up the bundle of fluff. It starts licking his face. Now Claire feels a little bit ridiculous.
"He's…cute," she says tentatively.
"Why don't you pet him?" Jack asks.
Claire carefully extends her hand, and buries it in the dogs fluff. He turns his tongue upon her. She jumps back in horror.
"Why does it do that?" she asks.
"Lick? I don't know, it's a dog's way of saying they like someone," he says.
"Will it stop?" she asks.
"You are not a dog person," Jack says looking at her.
"Good thing I don't have a dog," she says.
"I got this dog for you," Jack says looking at her carefully.
"Oh," she says with a look of disgust that she masters as quickly as she is able. "Well, in that case, thank you."
"You don't have to accept it," he says.
Relief comes to her shoulders, "So you will keep it, Jack?" she asks.
"Maybe, I'll have to ask Sam, if not I'll make sure he get a good home," Jack says.
He looks over at Claire and notes the remarkable expression that has crossed her face as soon as Jack uttered the words, "ask Sam."
"What?" he says.
"You and Sam…" Claire begins.
"We're engaged," he says with a grin.
"Took you long enough!" Claire exclaims.
"Don't I know it!" he says, "Look apparently I have you to thank for this. So thank you!" he says giving her a little hug.
10 minutes later
A night without nightmares. Vala is still surprised every time she wakes up and finds this true. It's happened so infrequently in her life. But she should really stop being surprised, because it has happened every single morning when she wakes up in Daniel's arms.
When she opens her eyes his are looking at her, with that adoring worshipful look she is so unused to.
"Dan'yel," she whispers.
"Yeah," he says with a smile.
"Do you have nightmares?" she asks.
His face clouds over, and he's wearing that exact same look he wore the time she told him what Adria did to her. It's his protective angry look, and it's almost always directed at a Gou'ald. "Tell me about it," he says softly kissing her temple. She'd told him last night why that spot had such an effect on her. That he was the only spot no one had touched before him.
"I haven't had any nightmares since we've been together, which is weird for me. And I haven't heard you have any nightmares either. With everything you've been through," she says running her hand down his arm, "I didn't know if I kept your nightmares away too, or if you just have them silently."
He studies her for a minute, "I don't make noise when I have nightmares. Even when SG-1 is on a mission, and I'm a foot away from whoever is on watch-they never notice I'm having one. I just wake up with a feeling of panic, and pretend I just woke up because I have to go to the bathroom."
"You'd wake me up if you had one when we were together," she asks concerned.
He looks away.
"You didn't already? Dan'yel, it's ok to have nightmares," she said.
He closes his eyes and whispers the next words so quiet she almost can't hear him, "I dreamt Apophis came. He…implanted you, and Claire with Gou'alds. I tried to stop him, but…" he begins.
She pulls him close to herself. "It's ok Dan'yel, Apophis is dead. The Gou'ald are all dead. No one is ever going to take me from you. No one is ever going to hurt Claire, ok?" she asks pulling his head away so she can look in his eyes as she says it.
"I…I couldn't save Sha're," he says.
"No, you weren't there," she says, "horrible thing happen. But I'll protect you, and you protect me, and we'll both protect our daughter, and we'll be ok," she says. "Besides, we've surely met out quota for crappy things happening to us. We've got to be getting to the easy part of our lives now," she says it as a joke, in order to coax a smile out of his grim mouth. And it works at that. But it would have worked just as well as prophesy.
An hour later
"And what exactly did you need to see the General about?" Walter asks with a finger just a millimeter above the call button.
"Just some…paperwork," Sam practically stutters. Walter gives her a really weird look. He knows everything about the SGC, and particularly its flagship team. Paperwork doesn't get Sam nervous. Cameras do, sometime meeting her father does, but definitely not paperwork.
She gives big nervous smile. He shrugs. It's not like he won't figure out what this is all about before too long anyway. "General Landry, Colonel Carter is here to see you," he says into the intercom.
"About?" the general asks. Walter almost always includes that in his page.
"Paperwork, sir," Walter says in a tone the clearly implies what he is really saying is "I don't have a clue, ask her in so I can find out."
"Send her in," the General says.
Sam walks into his office, and Landry's eyes are focused on her. Not for the first time since Landry took over the SGC does Sam find herself wishing it was Hammond behind that big desk.
"Sir, I was wondering if I could take a little time off," she says.
"Of course, Colonel, you don't use your leaves as it is. You probably have a quarter of a year of down time saved up. How much?" he asks.
"Two weeks," she says.
He looks at her in surprise. Sam has never taken more than two days off, and that is only when she's spending them in the infirmary. He can't image what might have happened to make her take off two whole weeks.
"Everything alright?" he asks. He feels sort of responsible for Sam in a way. When her father Jacob died he asked Hammond to look after her. Hammond and Jacob were old friends. When Landry had taken this position Hammond had impressed upon him the importance of looking after Samantha Carter. Landry had never known the Carter's before he took this post, but Hammond he had known, and he was more than willing to do this favor for his friend.
"It's fine, and while I'm gone I'll like to submit a little paperwork," she says handing him a packet of papers.
He looks at the first one, and finds himself no closer to solving the mystery, "New uniform requisition," he says.
Sam isn't surprised he doesn't know what is going on yet. She sort of counted on him not reading down to line eighteen of that form.
He flips to the next one, the one that would be a dead giveaway, "Name change form?" he asks looking at her. Apparently he didn't read far enough, she thinks looking at his face as he goes back to reading it. She knows exactly the moment he gets to "new name: Samantha O'Neill," because a wide grin covers his face.
"Son of a gun, you guys are getting married?" he asks looking up at her.
She nods her head.
"Are you sure you don't want more time for your honeymoon, you've certainly earned it saving the world,' he says.
"No thank you sir," she says, "We'll be at Jack's cabin. I can't imagine I'll be able to keep myself entertained fishing for two weeks, let alone more. Besides, there isn't that great of a chance we'll even get the two weeks what with the way this word has of constantly being in danger."
"I'll do my best to make sure you get your two weeks, Colonel," he says with a grin, "And you could do other things besides fishing at Jack's cabin."
"All those forms have to do with things related to the marriage. They will actually need a copy of the wedding certificate and governmental name change form to go through. I'll send it to you as soon as I get it," she says ignoring his previous comment as she heads toward the door.
"Congratulations Sam," he says. She turns to him, and gives him a wide smile before she heads out of the door.
"Walter," Landry says dropping the stack of paperwork on his desk, "When Colonel Carter's wedding certificate comes through the mail put it with these papers, and send them to the appropriate offices," he says casually.
"Yes sir," Walter says. He waits until the General is safely out of sight in his office before he paws through the stack of papers until he comes to, "Name of husband," and sighs with relief. Good, so they'd finally got together.
Two hours later
Claire asks a passing Airman the way to the gym. She's never gone running except with Cam, and she misses it in the days since she's left the Odyssey. She doesn't figure she's likely to go running with Cam ever again. On the ship there was an awkwardness between them ever since Cam found out about her childish crush. Since they'd come to earth it was way more than awkwardness. She'd caught Cam ducking down corridors more than once to avoid her. She hated that. It was bad enough that the Cam she'd grown up with was gone. Exploded into bits or time traveled out of existence, she could never decide which was a more accurate description. She needed to see this Cam, alive.
As she rounded the corner of the gym she saw the very subject of her thoughts, running as hard as he could on a treadmill. When he sees her he almost trips. His face turns red. He turns the machine off, and tries to make a hasty exit into the boy's locker room. The one floor where they aren't co-ed, and that's where he's headed, she thinks with a groan.
"Cam! Wait up!" she says.
"No, 'uncle' this time?" he asks. She knows there is something in these words. If she had her father's genius head for such mysteries she could probably figure it out. As it is she just answers the question he asked with his words, and hopes it also answers the question he asked with his tone.
"No, I think I mostly called you that to get rid of the awkwardness we had after my crush," she says with a disarming smile.
"Right, ridiculous crush," he says blushing a little at this words.
Claire looks at him for a little bit before she says carefully, "You know it's weird to see you so young. On the Odyssey you were thirty-eight years older than me. Here you are…" and she pretends to do the math in her head, although she's already done it enough to memorize it.
"Ten years," he finishes for her.
"Right, ten years, that's nothing," she says with a smile.
"Claire…" he begins.
And she knows, she can see it in his eyes. "I would really like to get to know this Cam. I know my earth Dad is different from my Odyssey dad, same with my mom, and Sam, what are you like Cam?" she asks looking at him.
He looks away.
And then Claire kisses him.
It's only on the cheek, but the moment it is done she panics. She is terrified she misread all the signs, and has ruined her relationships with this Cameron Mitchell in the same her childish crush ruined her relationship with the last one. But she pulls away, and she sees that this is different. This time Cam likes her too.
"I've got to go find Daniel," he says running out of the room
Claire's stomach does a flip flop. What is her father going to think about this?
10 minutes later
Daniel is bent over, doing some careful reading on an artifact when suddenly the door to his office is flung open with such force he almost drops the artifact in surprise.
Cam comes into his room. He's flushed and speechless.
"Are we under attack?" Daniel asks, although he's never seen Cam stunned by combat before. Daniel waits no explanation is forthcoming. "Should I call Dr. Lam?" he asks.
"She kissed me," Cam blurts out.
"Dr. Lam?" Daniel asks.
Cam shakes his head, "No your DAUGHTER! Daniel.
"Claire kissed you?" Daniel asks processing.
"It was only on the cheek, I swear, I didn't tell her to do it!" Cam explains.
"Ok, so she told me she had a crush on you on the Odyssey you are just going to have to explain to her, that…" he looks at his friends face, "You're not here to ask how to let Claire down easy are you?"
Cam looks startled, "If you think that is best…"
"Oh my gosh!" Daniel says, "You're asking my permission to date my daughter!"
"I never said that Daniel!" Cam says flinching as if Daniel was about to punch him.
"Wow! This is weird," Daniel says.
"You're telling me!" Cam says.
"Just tell me you guys weren't together on the Odyssey," Daniel practically pleads.
"I don't remember any more than you do. But I can pretty much guarantee I wouldn't date someone thirty-eight years younger than me," Cam says.
"Right," Daniel says, "What is the age difference now?"
"Ten years," Cam says ducking again.
"Jeez Cam, I'm not going to fight you. It's not like I'd have a chance to win anyway," Daniel says exasperated.
"I don't know," Cam says, "Angry Dad's tend to have the power of 5,000 mortal men."
"And you know this by personal experience?" Daniel asks.
"No!" Cam exclaims. He definitely doesn't need to give Daniel any less reason to like him.
"Look, you like her, she likes you. It's weird, I'll grant you that. But I suppose she's going to date eventually. Better you than someone I don't know, don't trust. And you aren't going to think she's nuts, because she afraid of driving in car, and has never been to a restaurant before," Then Daniel takes a deep breath, "But if you ever hurt her Cameron…" he says.
"Don't worry Jackson," Cam replies.
Two months later
SG-1 has always functioned as a family, since returning from the Odyssey this effect has doubled, even tripled. So when Christmas rolled around there was really no question of having it in different places.
Sam insisted on hosting at the house that used to be hers, but which had quickly become her's and Jack's. They teased her about her cooking. But it is the best kept secret of the SGC that Sam is a very good cook.
Cassie was spending the whole of her Christmas break with the O'Neills. When Janet died both Sam and Jack had independently decided she was their daughter now. She was ecstatic that her "parents" had gotten married. Back when Janet died Jack had looked to see if there was any legal way to adopt an eighteen year old. He hadn't found one. After he and Sam had gotten married he had found one. It was a custom on an obscure far off planet. But Cassie herself was not of earth, and she considered being officially declared an "O'Neill" o n any planet to be a pretty awesome Christmas present.
Two months had not quite been long enough for most of SG-1 to adjust to the concept of a member of SG-1 dating the daughter of two other members of SG-1. But they were trying. Cam and Claire made sure to keep the public displays of affection down to a pretty much non-existent level in front of the rest of their teammates. Once in awhile they would hold hands but that was all.
Claire was excited to be called, "Dr. Jackson" again. Sam's old professors had given Claire tests in all the classes needed for a bachelor, master, and doctorate in astrophysics. Claire had passed those tests, and then defended her two theses on the subjects. She'd earned her new distinction only a few days before the Christmas break began.
Claire was also pretty excited about the whole Christmas tradition. On the Odyssey they'd had an Asgard beam version of Christmas. It was nothing like the real thing. With a real Christmas tree with light and glass ordainments all over it. She lay underneath the tree looking up through the branches. Cam is laying down next other, and they are giggling.
Teal'c is the only member of SG-1 absent. He's off world with Rya'c his wife, and Ishta.
The O'Neills are doing dishes in the kitchen, their laughter making it out into the living room.
"Daniel," Vala whispers, "Did you ever think about having kids?"
"Before Claire, no, but I'm so glad we have her," he says.
She smiles first at him, and then at her daughter, "I suppose I should rephrase, what I meant to say was, 'Did you ever think about having more kids?'"
He grins at her, "You want to have a baby Vala?" he asks excitedly.
She doesn't answer him, she just takes his hand and put it on her stomach. Daniel's eyes grow big, and he lets out a loud war whoop type sound. Two heads slam into the Christmas tree, and the sound of a plate crashing to the floor can be heard from the kitchen.
Jack runs out of the kitchen carrying a potato masher, and looking like the soldier he is. He's scanning the room for threats. Jack and Sam's puppy (Sam did let Jack keep it, as if she could say no to those puppy dog eyes, or the dog's either) is leaping around Jack thinking this is a new sort of game.
"Sorry," Daniel says, "Just found out we're going to have a baby," he says grinning at Vala.
"You have no idea how long I BEGGED for a sibling!"Claire exclaims sliding in between her parents to give them a big hug with each arm.
"Way to go Danny boy," Jack says slapping him on the back.
"Next time wait to tell him until Jack isn't handling my fine china," Sam scolds Vala with a wide grin on her face.
"Hey now, you're going to blame that on me?" Jack says with mock offense.
"Oh come on Jack, of the two of us which is most likely to break china?" she asks.
"Doesn't matter how you try to manipulate the minds of these fine people out here, you and I both know who broke that dish Mrs. O'Neill," Jack says.