Bitter Fruit, Part 7
By Tracy
See disclaimer and notes in part I
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Sam opened here eyes in the infirmary and came face to face with a large, purple, stuffed bunny. The bunny looked down at her unblinkingly. Sam looked back, then realized there was an envelope hanging from a yellow ribbon around the bunny's neck. She sat up and untied the ribbon to remove the envelope, opened it and smiled as she read the note, written in a familiar hand:
Hidee-Ho! The name's Beans. Jelly Beans. You can call me J. B, or just Beans, if you want. I got the name from both the candy I deliver and the stuff I leave behind after a big meal, if you get my drift. My good friend Jack (O'Neill, not Rabbit) told me you and the bambino might need some company, so here I am. Oh, and don't let the purple or the flowers around my neck fool you. A tough, macho, fuzzy bunny like me is great protection. I totally have your back. I won't make a lot of demands, just a carrot here and there, and maybe a Cadbury Crème Egg now and then. Chocolate-Caramel, if you have it. Other than that, I'm a fool for love, so squeeze away at will. I won't mind a bit.
Oh. And no pulling the ears, okay?
There was a paw print as signature at the bottom.
Sam grinned and stroked Bean's purple fur. The baby's first present. She was glad it was from Jack. He was nowhere in sight, but it was a sweet, thoughtful thing for him to do.
She hadn't seen him since they'd been back from Abydos. He'd gone to meet Janet at the gate, and came back with her to show her where Sam was, then he left them to it. Janet hadn't looked too happy.
"Janet," Sam gave her friend her best innocent look. "You're not going to say 'I told you so,' are you?"
Janet stood with hands on hips, looking much bigger than she really was. She huffed out a sigh. "Well, I should, but no, I won't. Colonel O'Neill tells me he got angry with you and upset you. He told me he takes full responsibility for the incident, is that how it went?"
"He said that? Yeah, he was mad that I risked going through the gate, but I wouldn't say he's responsible, no."
Janet sat down beside her and took her hand. "Honey, you haven't told him yet, have you?"
Sam dropped her head. "No, and I'm not going to. It's not fair to him."
Janet squeezed her hand. "Oh Sam, come on, it's not fair to not tell him he's going to be a father, either. Ah!" She held up a hand as Sam started to speak. "Before you say it, even if he's involved with Kerry Johnson, he still has a right to know the truth Sam, you know that."
"Janet…"
"I know, I know, it's none of my business, but think about it, Sam, please. Not telling him is just going to cause more trouble than it saves, believe me." When Sam didn't respond, looking mulish, Janet sighed. "Okay, enough said. Let's take a look at you and see how the baby's doing."
Janet couldn't do a complete exam, but thought Sam and the baby seemed strong enough for a trip through the gate. She insisted Sam go via stretcher, and Jack, Teal'c Daniel and Reynolds had insisted on being the stretcher bearers. Sam felt silly, but gave in to Janet's request.
Once back at the SGC Janet had confined Sam to bed rest for a couple days, and wanted her to spend the remainder of the week at home. Sam couldn't wait until she was sprung from the infirmary today. At least at home she could work on her computer and do what she wanted. Here in the infirmary she was bored to tears.
Janet pulled back the curtain and approached the bed, smiling.
"Hey, who's your friend?"
Sam realized she was clutching the bunny to her. "Oh, this is Beans. He's come to watch over me and the baby, thanks to Colonel O'Neill. I'm told I can call him J.B."
Janet's smile turned wry. "As in, 'Jelly Beans,' I take it?"
"You take correctly." She handed the note to Janet, who read it, chuckling.
"Well, you need to put Beans aside for the moment. I want to do a sonogram."
Janet pulled back the blankets and Sam's hospital gown to put some really cold gel on Sam's stomach. Sam flinched. "Sorry." Janet said.
She ran a device over the gelled area and showed Sam the image on the sono screen. She tried to point out the baby's developing features but Sam couldn't make heads nor tales of the brown blobs. Janet smiled at her. "As the baby grows it will become clearer, I promise. You're about nine weeks along now, Sam, I want to show you something." She put something on Sam's stomach, turned a switch on a machine, and a thump, thump, thump, could be heard. Sam's eyes filled with tears when she realized what it was. "The baby's heartbeat."
"Yep. Pretty amazing, eh?" Janet was smiling down at her.
"Oh God." Sam sniffled. The tears wouldn't stop, and she swiped at her cheeks. "Janet," she reached for her friend's hand. "It's real, isn't it?"
"Yeah, as real as it gets."
"I just hadn't, I never…" She sniffled again.
"I know, honey, it all seems pretty abstract until now. But that's your baby. He's alive and his heartbeat is strong. Seems like a pretty healthy kid."
Sam looked up at Janet. "Thank you. And it's a 'she.'"
"No problem, anytime. And how do you know it's a girl?"
"Malara, the midwife on Abydos told me, and I just…feel it."
Janet's smile was a bit doubtful, but she didn't contradict Sam. "Okay, 'she' it is."
"Hey," The curtain was pulled back a fraction of an inch and Daniel peeked through. "Can I come in?"
"Daniel," Sam smiled. "Come on in. Hear the baby's heartbeat?"
Daniel's smile faded as he realized what he was hearing. "Oh God. That's amazing." He reached over and squeezed Sam's hand, beaming at her.
"Major Carter?" It was Teal'c, standing just outside the curtain.
"Come in, Teal'c." Daniel answered before either Sam or Janet could. "Hear that? That's the baby's heartbeat. Isn't that amazing?"
Teal'c tilted his head for a moment and smiled. "Most amazing, Daniel Jackson." He looked at Sam and she could swear his eyes were shinier than normal.
"Well, gang's almost all here. Where's Colonel O'Neill? He should be in on this, too," Janet said.
"O'Neill has left the base in order to 'run an errand,'" Teal'c intoned. "He said he will be back soon to transport Major Carter to her home."
Sam was surprised at how disappointed she felt. Janet must have sensed this, because she squeezed Sam's hand and patted her shoulder. "Well, maybe next time." Sam nodded sadly.
Jack emerged from the gas station store, pocketing his receipt. He'd talked to Vernon about NASCAR for a while, and hockey, and baseball, so he was smiling as he walked toward his truck, that is, until he saw Pete Shanahan filling the tank of his car at the far pump. His steps slowed for a moment, then he walked purposely toward Pete's car.
"Shanahan," Jack's voice was flat.
Pete looked up. "Colonel O'Neill." He didn't look overly pleased to see Jack, which was fine, since Jack wasn't too pleased to see him, either.
"What brings you to Colorado Springs?"
"Missing persons case. 16-year-old runaway."
"Ah. Well, then," Jack turned to go.
"How's Sam?"
Jack turned back. Funny you should ask. "Fine."
Pete nodded. "Good. Tell her I said 'hi.'"
Jack's fist clenched at his side and he counted to ten. "Yeah. She's fine, but…"
Pete was in the process of putting the nozzle back, but looked up. "But?"
"You should go talk to her while you're in town."
"I should? Nah, I don't think so. I don't think she wants to talk to me."
Jack stepped closer. "Listen to me, Shanahan. It's not my business to say more, but Sam needs you to go talk to her, okay?"
Pete looked a little confused. "Uh, okay. I guess I could find the time."
Jack nodded and turned toward his truck. "You'll find her at home later this afternoon."
Jack loaded Sam's things into the SUV, and turned to watch Teal'c push her wheelchair toward the truck. Teal'c and Daniel got into the back, while Beans rode shotgun with Sam in front.
Jack got into the driver's seat, put on his sunglasses and smiled at Sam. "All ready to go?"
Sam nodded, and Jack started the engine.
Sam was watching the houses fly by, content to be in the care of her friends, when Daniel piped up. "Oh, Jack you missed it. Janet did a sonogram on Sam and let Teal'c and I see. Then we got to hear the baby's heartbeat. It was the most incredible thing."
"Oh?" Jack's whole demeanor changed. Sam could feel a chill, as if he had suddenly withdrawn from her, and when she looked, his lips were compressed tightly. Oh crap. He was obviously feeling left out and disappointed, and Sam suddenly felt terribly guilty. She'd wanted him there more than anything, but it just hadn't worked out.
"I…I didn't know Janet was going to do that today or I would have let you know. I really wish you'd been there, too, sir," she said softly, squeezing the bunny a little tighter to her.
Jack nodded, but said nothing. The rest of the trip was taken in complete silence. Daniel seemed to have realized he'd put his foot in it, and although Teal'c was never a big talker, he, too, seemed to have sensed the undercurrents around him.
They arrived at Sam's house, unloaded her and all her things and got her settled on the couch in her living room, Beans at her feet. Jack went back out to the truck and came back with grocery bags. He'd gone to get lunch for them all. That's the errand he'd run when Sam was having her sono. That made Sam feel all the more guilty. She watched him put the stuff in the kitchen, watched him move around getting out plates and cups and silverware, assisted by Daniel and Teal'c.
Jack turned toward her. "You have a choice. Chocolate milk or regular?"
"Milk?" Sam wrinkled her nose.
"Okay, orange juice or apple juice?"
Sam smiled. "Apple, please."
He brought her a plate with a sub sandwich and chips, along with her apple juice.
"You guys don't really need to wait on me like this, I can do it."
"Ah!" Jack held up a finger. "Doc says you're to rest and take it easy, and that's just what you're going to do. That's an order, Major."
Sam sighed. "Yes, sir."
Sam munched her sandwich watching the guys eat theirs as they leaned against the kitchen island. "You can all come in here and sit, you know."
All three men exchanged smiles. "The last time we tried to eat in your living room, I thought you were going to go get a zat and shoot us," Daniel said around a mouthful of sandwich.
"Maybe more than once," Jack added. Sam was glad to see he'd seemed to have gotten his good humor back.
"Okay, okay, but I think we can make an exception, just this once."
The men exchanged glances, and shook their heads. "Nope, no way." Daniel spoke for them all.
"Cowards." Sam was glad when they all smiled.
Eventually Jack appeared with a plate containing one of her favorite caramel brownies, from her favorite bakery, Shamanes Bake Shop. He'd gone to get those for her, too. Sam wanted to cry. She looked up at him as he handed her the plate. "Thank you, sir. These are my favorite."
Jack smiled. "I knew that." He watched her until she took the first bite, then returned to the kitchen to get his own. "Teal'c won't admit it, but he's pretty fond of them, too."
Teal'c who had been about to take a bite of his own brownie, paused. "I have no qualms admitting my liking for these, O'Neill," and he proved it by shoving a whole brownie into his mouth.
Daniel barked out a laugh, and Jack chuckled. "I stand corrected." He looked at Sam and they exchanged a smile. She felt better.
All too soon lunch was over, the guys had cleaned up the remains and done the dishes. Sam didn't realize she'd dozed until Daniel's voice roused her. "Sam, we're going to take off and let you rest. Call us if you need anything, okay?" Sam opened her eyes. "Yeah," Jack added. "I can make an emergency Haagen-Dazs run in less than fifteen minutes."
Sam smiled. "Thanks for everything, guys. I really appreciate it."
"Get some rest, Carter. When you're up to it, we'll come back later with some movies, okay?" Jack said softly. Daniel wiggled his fingers at her and Teal'c nodded to her regally. The door closed behind them and she was alone.
She actually fell asleep after that, only to wake up when there was a knock at the door. She figured one of the guys had forgotten something, so threw back her blanket and padded to the door in her stocking feet. When she opened the door, she couldn't stop the look of surprise on her face. "Pete! What are you doing here?"
TBC
