Several thousand light years away, in Atlantis, Sheppard and McKay walked down a corridor. Sheppard calmly walked, his hands in the pockets of his black fatigue trousers as he mentally went to his happy place in an attempt to curb a rising desire to strangle his friend. McKay, on the other hand appeared aggravated and under considerable stress. The Physicist remarked, sounding highly annoyed,

"I don't know what all the fuss is about. If we do this every time someone comes for a visit, we'll never get any work done. I know there aren't any Wraith or Asurans any more, but..."

Sheppard replied calmly, almost as though he was explaining something to his five year old daughter, "We're just meeting him at the 'gate. Surely you can spare a few minutes for the guy who found this place?"

McKay retorted, frustrated, "We're not just meeting him at the 'gate! I've been pulled from my regular duties to help him with his database research! Me – the Chief Scientific Advisor of the City!" He grunted in annoyance, feeling utterly let down, and admittedly apprehensive at meeting the Archaeologist. "I've got stuff on the go, you know; important, vital projects for the—the betterment of the human race..."

Sheppard sarcastically quipped, "Apparently there are other people doing equally important work, Rodney, as hard as that is to believe." He said in a quieter tone of voice as they entered the gateroom of the City, "And enough with the crabbiness... this guy's wife married you and Carson... wait 'til he finds out all the gossip."

"Ha ha, smarty pants... just because you and Elizabeth are all rosy. I don't know how she stands you."

As they joined Elizabeth in front of the 'gate, Sheppard greeting her with a nod, he replied softly to McKay, "Neither do I." He patted his friend on the back. "Now play nice. It's not every day that we have a part-Ancient round here. Could be fun."

"Just as well if we have a fun fair the next time he decides to swing by like a rich kid on his Daddy's plantation."

Sheppard smirked as he glanced at his wife, who smiled back. Elizabeth said, looking excited, "An exciting day!"

Sheppard smiled at her again. "Absolutely."

McKay rolled his eyes at the small affectionate display between the two leaders. Chuck, the 'gate technician, appeared over the edge of the balcony of the control room. He called as he looked down at McKay and the Sheppards, "He's ready to beam."

Elizabeth replied with a smile, "Very well."

McKay muttered under his breath, "I don't know why he just doesn't do it himself with all of his fancy Ancient powers..."

Sheppard remarked quietly fixing the Physicist with a pointed look, "Speaking of Muttley..."

The three turned back to the gate ramp just as a burst of white light appeared, slowly fading to reveal Daniel, his bag slung over his shoulder. The Archaeologist grinned happily as he gazed around at his surroundings. Elizabeth said with a nod,

"Doctor Jackson, welcome to Atlantis."

Daniel replied, still grinning, "Thanks, Liz... you can drop the formality though. It's too weird after everything that's happened in the past few years." He grinned at Sheppard and McKay. "Sheppard, Rodney..." Daniel sensed that there was little warmth behind McKay's forced smile, but carried on grinning nonetheless, happy to be in Atlantis with no sign of an emergency in sight.

Sheppard asked, "So... how's the brood? Still seven? How's the General."

Daniel said, running his fingers through his hair, "Yep, they're great. Sam too. How's Charlotte?"

Elizabeth remarked, shooting a look in her husband's direction, "As much of a trouble maker as Sheppard Senior."

Daniel continued to grin and he asked McKay, "How are Carson and little Sam?" His grin finally faded on sensing something especially untoward from the Physicist, with echoes from the Sheppards. He appeared a little awkward, knowing now that his and Sam's suspicions of the decline of McKay and Carson's relationship had some truth in it. "Oh." His tone brightened a little. "How's little Sam?"

McKay replied, looking away, "She's... fine. Fine." The Physicist snapped to no-one in particular, "Can we get going now, please? I do have a life, believe it or not."

Sheppard and Elizabeth exchanged a look, and Elizabeth said to Daniel as the two left the gateroom with a furious looking McKay, "Daniel... Rodney will show you to your quarters and..."

McKay snapped, agitated, "Oh, I will, will I? How does everyone else know what I should do?"

Elizabeth sighed quietly, preventing herself from saying something unkind. Daniel glanced at McKay in mild concern and said, "Actually... I'd like to get started right away... if that's okay with you, Rodney."

McKay rolled his eyes and sarcastically remarked as Elizabeth hid a smile, "Oh, sure, sure. What have you got planned? An exciting exploration of insignificant Ancient historical events? Honestly... you Archaeologists... it's not even a proper science..."

Daniel replied, keeping his personal comments to himself and managing to keep his cool, "No, a lot more exciting that. I'm sure you're both familiar with the Ancient named 'Janus'?"

Elizabeth perked up with interest as McKay asked, guardedly curiously, "The inventor?"

"Yes. He was a lead scientist and apparently a bit of a renegade."

McKay sighed impatiently as though he was talking to a child. "Yeah, and I've been over all of his logs." He glanced at Elizabeth. "Look, this is work we've done already."

Daniel replied, trying not to sound smug despite getting a headache from feeling so many conflicting emotions from the Physicist at such close quarters, "Well, I'm pretty sure I have information that could lead us to his secret lab."

McKay stopped and turned to look at him incredulously. "Secret lab? Secret lab in the Lost City?" His shoulders drooped. "Danny... the last few times you've pulled rabbits out of your hat were flukes. You can't just say stuff and expect it to be true just because you want it to. Life doesn't work that way... believe me, I've tried..."

Daniel replied to McKay's initial question with a small smile, "Yes, a place where he conducted and subsequently hid a significant portion of his unauthorised research. And if I'm correct, it's right here, on Atlantis." McKay stormed away, muttering under his breath, and a concerned looking Daniel asked Elizabeth, "What's going on?"

Elizabeth grimaced a little and replied, "Oh... he's under a lot of stress at the moment." She looked up at the Archaeologist. "You probably already know by now that he and Carson have all but split up... Rodney and Jennifer have been having an affair. Jennifer and Colonel Lorne are already separated after Evan suspected that Jennifer was having an affair with Ronon." She smiled and then covered it up, feeling bad about finding any sort of amusement at her friends' expense. "It's all turned into a farce."

Daniel raised his eyebrows slowly, surprised by what Elizabeth had told him. Just then, House, now used to not using his cane, came across them in the corridor. The doctor ruffled Daniel's hair with a gruff affection, and said, "Heard you were dropping by, Danny. How's tricks?"

Daniel smiled briefly. "House. How have you been?"

"Great. This place is pretty cool... also for analysing behaviour too." House looked at Elizabeth meaningfully.

Daniel raised his eyebrows a little and asked Elizabeth as House eventually sauntered past, "How's he been? Sam's still worried about him being sent out here."

Elizabeth smiled as they resumed walking. "Oh... you can tell Sam that Doctor House has certainly grown on us." She glanced at Daniel, raising an eyebrow briefly. "... after a few... incidents... shall we say." She chuckled briefly. "He and Carson get on like a house on fire. They can come up with some pretty imaginative insults between them when the tension's running high, I can tell you." Her smile faded. "But he's a brilliant doctor. If it hadn't had been for him... I would have lost John."

Daniel frowned as he mentally flicked a series of reports that the SGC had received from the Lost City. He then made a stunned realisation. "Oh..." He looked at her. "The Genii injected him with a mutated version of the Hoffan drug." He appeared concerned. "You could have called. I could have..."

She shook her head, her gaze distant. "I know you would have... and believe me, during the danger hours, it was so tempting... but John wouldn't let me. That damn stubborn fool of a man. If it hadn't been for House..." She felt her usually calm composure slip and she reigned her emotions back in. She looked at Daniel and asked in a brighter tone of voice as they approached McKay's lab, "So... how are things on Earth?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Back on Earth, having settled her children and the Mitchell children down for the night, Sam returned to her own room to find Vala fast asleep. Smiling slightly at this, she tenderly smoothed the alien's hair before making sure that she was covered by the sheets. With a lingering glance, the General, concerned for her friend's welfare, got up and left the room, gently closing the door behind her so as not to wake her.

Sighing softly, Sam went downstairs to find Cassie asleep on the sofa, a troubled expression on the Hankan's face. The General kneeled in front of the sofa and draped a blanket over the younger woman. Cassie stirred at the movement and as Sam stood, Cassie woke up, squinting in the dim light of a floor lamp.

"Sam?"

Sam said with a smirk, "You fell asleep." Cassie suddenly looked sheepish as she sat up, and Sam said with a concerned expression as she sat down next to her. "It's okay. We can talk in the morning... or whenever you want to." Sam looked at her. "But believe me... this is all normal. The fights, the nervousness and cold feet... everything that you're going through right now."

Cassie shook her head and folded her arms across her chest as she replied defiantly, "You and Daniel never argued before your wedding."

As Sam snuggled under the blanket, her head resting against the back of the sofa, she said with a soft smile, "We'd known each other for far too long, and to be honest, there was no time to argue... we'd arranged everything around our jobs and pretty big missions... by the end, and after Cammie and James were sick over us the night before, we just wanted to get it over and done with." She chuckled briefly. "That's not to say that older people argue less... look at Teal'c and Ish'ta for instance." Sam gave Cassie's hand a reassuring squeeze as her smile softened once again. "Simon will come around though. Just remember that as you're going through all this stress and everything, he's going through more or less the same thing too... so conflict is inevitable."

Cassie sighed as she looked up at the ceiling. "But I wish he would more accommodating." She looked at Sam. "I want to tell him about... you know..." Cassie looked at Sam meaningfully.

Sam appeared concerned once again. "Honey, do you think that's wise? You're both pretty stressed at the moment... that could just add to it."

"But I have to tell him at some point... and at least if I tell him now, it's easier if he..." Cassie sighed once again, looking down at her lap dejectedly. As Sam looked increasingly concerned, Cassie said softly as she looked at the General, "If... if I have another child... he or she is going to have Naquadah in its blood, just like your children, and Vala's, and Jonas' boy. I won't be able to give birth in a civilian hospital, and I can't let my children have blood tests outside of the SGC..."

Sam continued to hold Cassie's hand, knowing the Hankan's pain. "Jack and I have talked about giving Simon security clearance... but Jack wasn't sure whether either of you were ready for it... you, for revealing that you're not actually from Toronto... and him, for knowing that the delightful doctor that he's been dating for a few years is in actual fact an extraterrestrial. It shouldn't matter of course, but you can imagine how that could be a bit much to take in, especially right now." Sam's expression softened. "Whatever you decide to do though, we'll all be with you, okay?"

An emotional Cassie nodded, giving Sam's hand a squeeze in return. "Thanks, Sam."

"Don't mention it... you're family."

Cassie smiled a little as she looked down. She then asked, wanting to change the subject, "How are you doing?"

Sam replied as she affectionately tucked Cassie's hair behind her ears, "I'm doing okay. I miss him like crazy though. Hopefully I'm a lot wiser than the last time he was away. Everything was such a mess because we'd left it hanging... there were so many things we hadn't dealt with because of something always cropping up, and, well, we're just not that good at facing emotional stuff. It's anyone's guess how we managed to have a relationship as long as we have."

Cassie asked, looking curious as well as concerned, "Do you regret it?"

Sam shook her head, a slight smile on her face for a little while. "No. Things had to happen. Unfortunately, they were pretty explosive at some points, but that's how things worked out. There was just so much emotional fallout from how Cammie and James were conceived... his guilt surrounding Atlantis and not being there during a couple of my pregnancies... his Ascension... Greg and Dani... his time with the Doctor... We just didn't deal with it with all our wanting to be 'normal'."

"You have dealt with it now... right?"

Sam smiled once again. "Oh, Cassie... you may have grown so much since you've been on Earth, but you're still that young girl sometimes." Her smile faded. "We're dealing it... a day at a time. It's going to take a long time, but we're in no rush."

Cassie smiled yet still looked worried. "I wish that me and Simon could be like you and Daniel..." She grimaced. "Okay, without the yelling and the guilt complexes."

"You know, Cass, there are going to be days when you'll want to dot Simon. It doesn't mean you love him any less."

Cassie stared at her in surprise. "You feel like punching Daniel?"

"Not all of the time, thankfully... but when he gets all guilt-ridden and starts pushing me away, or when he gets childish... and I mean, really childish about things. There have been times where I've had to leave the house to scream because it got so bad. I'm sure he feels the same way about me sometimes... but it's one of the trade-offs of living with someone day-in, day-out."

Cassie sighed. "I'll admit there have been times when I've wanted to throw, and have thrown things at Simon. He can be a stubborn ass when he wants to be."

"Do you want my honest opinion?"

"Well, it would be better than a dishonest one."

Sam chuckled briefly. "Honey... if I were in your place, I would tell him. I know it's not the best of times... but I keep thinking of how I share things with Daniel. I really can't imagine not sharing things with him, and I'm talking about before we got all this Ancient stuff. It won't solve your problems, but hopefully he'll be more understanding about things like the Yugoslavian folk music."

Cassie suddenly appeared scared. "But what if it drives him away from me? I don't think I could take that."

"If he can't or won't accept you as you, then, let's face it, he doesn't deserve you. You shouldn't have to hide who you are."

"It's easy for you to say... Daniel works with you. He knows what you do already. He knew that before you started going out."

"Well, nothing works out perfectly." Sam looked at the younger woman. "Are you sure you don't want to stay in Greg and Dani's room? They're a lot quieter at night now."

Cassie smiled a little. "No, it's okay. I'm fine here."

"I could always move them into mine with me and Vala, and then you could have your old room back."

"No, I'm fine, really. I don't think I'll sleep much anyway – I've got to think things over, and Simon will probably call when he thinks I'm past throwing plates at his head." Changing the subject once again, Cassie asked, her tone brighter, "When's Cam coming back?"

Sam remarked, amused, "You know, he's married, and you're engaged... oh, and he's like twice your age."

Cassie glared at her. "It was a perfectly innocent question."

"Sure it was. Anyway... Cam and Woolsey should be back in a few hours from the renewal of our treaty with the Tok'ra."

"I can't believe you're looking after nine children and Vala."

Sam chuckled tiredly. "Well... after seven kids, numbers lose all meaning." She patted Cassie's knee as she got up. "Speaking of Vala, I better get back before she wakes up and thinks she's been kidnapped again." She sighed. "We had to replace the front door last time..."

Cassie's eyes widened in shock as she hid her mouth under the blanket. "Oh my God!"

"Yep." Sam glanced at the lamp. "Do you want me to keep the light on?"

"No, it's okay. 'night, Sam."

"'night, Cass." Sam switched the lamp off and she paused in the doorway, turning to look back into the darkness where Cassie lie. As old thoughts stirred up again, of how she had once wanted to adopt Cassie, and of Janet and her passing, the General quietly closed the door and ascended the stairs, a thoughtful expression on her face once more.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

As Sam lie awake, thanks to Vala snoring loudly next to her, she gazed at her friend in the darkness. She smiled as she gently smoothed the alien's abdomen. As she did so, she closed her eyes, feeling even the slightest movements that the unborn children made, and hearing their hearts beat. Much to her surprise, she began to see the children themselves, the babies sitting upright in their amniotic sac, their eyes closed as small particles floated around them in fluid. Sam smiled more on seeing this, tears in her eyes as she witnessed what she felt was nothing short of a miracle. She whispered silently,

'Hello, you two. I'm your Auntie Sam. I'll see you soon.'

Making sure that the babies were okay, Sam closed her eyes, mentally retracting from Vala's womb. She opened her eyes again, hearing Vala's regular breaths, and she smiled again as she settled down on her side of the bed. She was about to close her eyes once again when a very familiar sound pierced the silence of the night. She sat bolt upright, her heart pounding, her eyes wide with fear. Next to her, Vala stirred. The alien eventually woke, asking drowsily as she tried and then failed to sit up,

"Samantha? What's wrong?"

Sam glanced at her as she got up, throwing a dressing gown over her pyjamas. "Stay there. I'll be back in a minute." As Vala rolled her eyes, resuming her attempts to get up, Sam bolted from the room, running down the stairs as fast as she could before remembering that she could have orbed down. Noticing that Cassie had fallen asleep and had somehow stayed asleep, the General closed her eyes, disappearing in a burst of bluish-white light.

Almost instantly, she was in the back garden of the house, where the TARDIS now stood. Surprised, despite having heard its engines, she stared at it as the door opened, the light from inside illuminating the back of the house and part of the garden. And then a blur of white and yellow light rushed at her, but she didn't flinch or shy away from it.

Sam gazed down at the form of older-Cammie in her arms, and, she, overwhelmed, tightly hugged her daughter from an alternate timeline as she murmured, now tearful, "You came back to me." She kissed her daughter's hair and then asked, now looking scared when she didn't see the Doctor, "But why? What happened?" She held older-Cammie at arm's length so she could look at her.

Older-Cammie replied, glowing tear tracks on her face as she avoided her mother's gaze, "I want to come home again."

Sensing so much turmoil and heartbreak from the younger woman, Sam hugged her once again, whispering now that she understood on some level what had happened, "Oh." Seeing a curious Vala at the back door, Sam whispered, "Go inside with your Auntie Vala. I'll make you some Cocoa and you can tell me all about it, okay?"

Older-Cammie nodded, wordlessly walking past Vala into the house. Sam turned back to the TARDIS, noting that the Doctor still hadn't emerged. Sighing softly, Sam stepped inside, remarking as she glanced down at her clothes, "Now this is very Arthur Dent." She looked up to see the Doctor leaning over the TARDIS engine, gazing at her wistfully. He said, slowly standing up,

"Nice to see you again, Samantha Jackson."

Sam folded her arms across her chest, the General looking annoyed. "I'd like to say the same about you... but you've hurt Cameron. I don't care about the technicalities. She's my daughter. You mess with her, you'd better wish for a lot more regenerations."

The Doctor replied, still looking sad, "What was I supposed to do? Samantha, you've got to understand that my human companions... they can go home and settle down. They age, they die... I can't do that. I have to go on."

"But she's not human any more. While she isn't exactly immortal, she's as good as."

The Time Lord swallowed and looked away. "But she's not you."

Sam closed her eyes and turned away from him, her fists clenched. "Oh for cryin' out loud!" She turned to face him, moving closer to where he was standing. "No! We are not going through this again! Do you know how much trouble there was the last few times Daniel believed that you were interested in me?! He thought that I returned your feelings and it almost killed him!" Her tone softened, her eyes pleading. "Doctor, please... just let it go. I can't love you like that... and you need someone with you."

She turned to leave the TARDIS. When she reached the door, she said, turning to him as he gazed at her, "Just make your peace with Cameron before you go, okay? I know I'm part Ancient but I struggle with that girl's temper at age eight... never mind as a non-corporeal twenty year old." Without waiting for a reply, she left the TARDIS, going back to the house. As the TARDIS engines started up, she smirked as she waved her hand discreetly, the engines stopping abruptly.

As she reached the house, she heard the TARDIS doors open, and the Doctor call as he ran after her, "Fine, fine, you win... but if she forces me to regenerate, it's all your fault."

"I'll make you regenerate if you don't stop your yammering and go talk to her now."