Open up your eyes
Awake, arise
Love like a hand reaches down
And pulls us up from the dirty ground
Now is the time
To step from the dark into the light
Cause you can't change what you've done
But you can choose who you'll become...

Sam walks quickly to the front door and pulls it open.

"Sorry, I'm running a little behind this morning," she says as Daniel steps into the house.

"It's fine, you have plenty of time."

"Okay," she says as she moves back into her room.

Daniel closes the front door.

"So there is a house that we can look at after your appointment if you'd like," he says.

Sam comes out of her room as she pulls on a grey cardigan, "How many rooms does the house have?"

"Five bedrooms, four bathrooms."

"Okay, where is it?"

"It's in that neighborhood at the base of the mountain. There are several parks near the house and the elementary school in the area is really nice."

Sam smiles at Daniel, "You took time to check out the area?"

"I thought it would be good for you to know what the area offers before we decide to see the house."

"That was sweet of you. What's the asking price?"

"They are only asking $460,000 for it."

"Well that would be do-able. We can go look at it this afternoon."

"Alright I'll call Scott and let him know after the appointment. So are you ready?"

"Yes, I should drive. We are going to the hospital on base."

"We can take your car but I'll be driving," Daniel says, snatching her keys out of her hand and handing her a bottle.

"Besides you need to drink this before we get there."

Sam looks at the drink and then back to Daniel, "You bought me a juice?"

"It's pineapple, apple, beet, ginger, and lime. It' organic, sugar free and good for you. Besides I had a feeling you would need something like this morning."

Sam takes a sip, "Mmm, it's really good. Thank you."

"No problem."

A short while later Daniel pulls into a parking spot and turns the car off then looks at Sam.

"Okay, so if they want to know the fathers medical history what do I say?"

"Well from what Jack told me there were no medical conditions to worry about from either of his parents, so you can just put down your medical history if that would be easier for you."

"I think that might be best. None of my issues can be tested for until after birth and eyesight and lack of allergies can be explained by the baby taking after you more," Daniel says.

"Okay, then if you are ready..." Sam pauses.

Daniel smiles, "Take a breath; this is going to be fine."

Sam nods and they exit the car.

After checking in at the front desk they wait and soon Sam is called back by a nurse. She and Daniel follow the nurse to a small room where she smiles and closes the door leaving them alone to wait for the doctor. Daniel looks around the room. On the wall there are several posters depicting what is happening inside Sam as the baby grows. Sam sits down while Daniel roams around the room looking at all the posters. Finally the doctor comes in, and smiles at them both.

"Major Carter and you must be Dr. Jackson. It's wonderful to meet you both. I'm Dr. Clarke, but you can call me Esther," She says extending her hand first to Sam then to Daniel. After shaking both their hands she sits in a chair at the desk in the corner.

"Okay first I need each of you to answer a few questions about medical history," she pauses as she types something into the computer. "Wait Major; can I call you Samantha?"

"Sam is fine."

"Okay, Sam, I have your history here; so I just need yours Dr. Jackson. You can just fill this out while I examine these two and then we can listen for the heartbeat."

Daniel looks at Sam for a moment and smiles as he sees her face light up. He turns his attention to the paper on the clipboard in his hand. As he fills out the answers to all the questions he hears Sam and the doctor talking while Sam is being checked. Finally he hears the doctor say, "Okay I need a urine sample then we can listen for the heartbeat."

Sam takes a small cup from the doctor and steps out of the room. Daniel lays the paper down on the desk.

"Okay, here you go. So how is she doing?" he asks.

"She is doing great. She said she's been having some morning sickness?"

"Yeah for a couple of weeks but it seems to have eased off a bit the last week."

"Okay and you know it's best to keep her stress level down. I know it's a little harder with a woman that is in the military but that's where you come in. If something at work gets her worked up give her a back rub or foot message; sometimes aroma therapy can help after a busy day at work."

Daniel smiles, "We've been having a cup of tea before bed to unwind. She likes chamomile best."

"That is perfect. If you have any questions, either one of you, you can always call here. There is always at lest two people on duty so someone can take a few minutes to help with what ever you need."

"I'll keep that in mind," Daniel says as Sam walks back into the room.

"Okay, Sam if you want to lay on this table; lift your shirt and unbutton your pants a little, that's perfect," Dr. Clarke directs as she brings a small fetal Doppler out of the drawer in her desk. She puts a cold gel on Sam's lower stomach and then places the small probe in the gel and turns on the little device. Daniel listens intently as the whooshing sound of the placenta fills the room.

"Okay here is the mother's heart beat," the doctor says.

The sound of Sam's heart mixes into the sounds coming out of the Doppler.

"And now we should hear the heart beat of the baby," she says moving the little probe around to a different spot.

Daniel watches Sam's face as the sound of a tiny heart beat plays from the Doppler. He notices a tear in her eye so he steps closer to her and takes her hand in his. Sam looks up at him and he squeezes her hand gently.

"Well that is a good strong heart beat," Dr. Clarke says turning off the Doppler.

She hands Sam some paper towels to wipe away the excess gel and then moves to her desk.

"Alright so if you'd like I can schedule an ultrasound for you in two weeks," she says looking back at Sam.

"I would like that."

"Okay so Friday, two weeks from now 1100. Then we take our first look at this little one," She says smiling at Sam and Daniel.

"Thank you, Sam says as she stands up. Daniel smiles at the doctor as they leave.

Once they are in the car he looks at Sam.

"Are you okay?" he asks.

"Yeah, but I had the strangest thought when we were listening to the heart beat."

"And what was that?"

"I was glad that it was you with me."

"Well who else would it have been?"

"I mean," Sam takes a breath, "I couldn't even picture Jack beside me. Just you."

"Maybe that is just your minds way of handling this situation. In any case I'm glad I got to be there with you. That was the most amazing thing I have ever witnessed in my life."

Sam takes a breath, "It was so amazing."

Daniel smiles as he watches her lay a hand on her stomach then he pulls out his phone and snaps a quick picture. Sam looks up at him.

"Why did you do that?"

"I thought that was a moment you would want to remember. Also I should call Scott about that house."

"Oh, of course. And thank you for the picture."

Daniel smiles at her as he dials Scott's number and waits for him answer.

"Hi Scott, it's Daniel Jackson, we spoke yesterday about a few listings you have available...Yeah we would like to look at the one you mentioned that was near Cheyenne Mountain...yep that's the one...we can head over there now...okay see you in a few minutes then."

Daniel hangs up and starts the car, "He said he can meet us there now. If you want when we are done we could grab some lunch."

"That would be great, I am starting to get hungry more often."

"Okay next stop, possibly our new house."

Sam smiles at Daniel as he pulls out of the parking lot.

After a short drive Daniel pulls the car up in front of a tall wooden clad house. Sam gets out of the car and walks up the walkway to the red double front door and turns to look at the street.

"So far so good?" Daniel asks.

"Yeah, it's quiet here. I like it," Sam responds as a little blue car pulls into the driveway. A tell man with a goatee climbs out and smiles at them.

"So I see you found the house. I'm Scott, you must be Daniel and Mrs. Jackson," he says holding his hand out to Daniel as he joins them by the front door of the house.

Daniel shakes his hand, "Actually we aren't married."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I just assumed; well then you would be.." he holds his hand out to Sam.

"Samantha Carter," she says shaking his hand firmly.

Daniel smiles as Scott takes his hand back and rubs it for a moment before reaching in his jacket pocket.

"Well it's wonderful to meet you both. Now, shall we take a look at the house?" Scott says as he unlocks and opens the front door.

"Would you like me to give you the tour or would you just prefer to look around on your own?" he asks Daniel.

Daniel looks at Sam for a moment then back at Scott, "I think we'd like the tour."

"Okay then, right this way. I like to start upstairs first," he says as he leads them thru the door and to the left, around the edge of a large living room and up the stairs. He turns right and leads them into a large room.

"Okay, here we have the master bedroom. As you can see it is quite spacious and has a wonderful view of the beautiful Cheyenne Mountain. The master bath has been completely redone just before the house went on the market. And the large walk in closet has just had new carpet. The previous owners had a small dog that liked making messes and so they decided to replace that carpet as well as all the carpet in basement. Okay and just down the hall we have two more rooms with a Jack and Jill bathroom," he pauses as Daniel and Sam walk thru the rooms.

Sam stops in the second room and looks thru a small window that looks down on the living area below.

"This would be perfect as an office," she says to Daniel.

"And the other room would be good to make into the nursery," he replies.

Sam nods as Scott joins them.

"Oh are you expecting?" he asks.

"Yes, we are," Daniel answers.

"Well congratulations. You know there are some wonderful schools in this area," he says quickly.

Sam smiles at Daniel then looks back at Scott, "That's wonderful. Should we continue on?"

"Oh of course, of course."

He leads them down the stairs and around a corner and down into the basement.

"Here we have a family room and it has a door that leads to the back yard. And just here down the hall we have another bedroom and bathroom."

Daniel looks around the family room with its built in bookcases in the walls, "This would be ideal for all my books."

Sam smiles, "The basement could be your domain if you'd like."

Scott smiles, "Now for the main level."

They follow him up the stairs and into yet another bed room with a small bathroom attached.

"This is the last bedroom but the set up is perfect for a guest room or office. The laundry room is just across the hall and leads into the two car garage. And now if you will follow me into the main family room; then here we have the kitchen. And thru that doorway we have the dinning area and back into the living room by the front door."

Sam and Daniel look around the main floor and finally end up back in the kitchen with Scott.

"Well what do you guys think?" he asks.

Daniel looks at Sam, "I like it, what do you think?"

"I think it's exactly what we need."

Scott claps his hands together, "Okay, perfect. Then we just have one more thing to talk about and that is the financing."

"Well what is the asking price?" Daniel asks.

"They are asking $459,000. If you'd like I can figure out with 20% down what you would pay each month on a 15 year fixed rate and also a 30 year fixed rate."

"That's fine; would you excuse us for a moment so we can talk?" Sam asks.

Scott nods and opens a folder from the kitchen counter as Daniel follows Sam toward the front door.

"$459,000, that's not a bad price," Daniel says.

"It's a really good price."

"So what are you thinking?"
"Well my little house is almost paid off because I doubled the payments every month. I think if we can put enough down we could get the payments low enough to do the same here."

"Okay, so I think we should split the cost of everything to make it fair."

"Sounds good to me."

"How much can you put as a down payment?"

"If we could come up with two hundred thousand or even two-fifty down then our payments would be low enough that we could double them."

"Ok, wow that's a lot. Well how much can you put down?"

"A hundred and fifty."

"So then if I put a hundred thousand with that..."

"Then we would have more than 50% paid upfront and our monthly payments would be low."

Daniel blows out a breath, "If that works for you then it works for me."

"Okay let's go talk to him."

They walk back into the kitchen.

Scott turns to them, "Okay, so here's what I've come up with. If you put 20% down that would be $91,800. So I assume you are going to want a fixed rate loan?"

"Yes," Sam replies.

"Alright so if you put the 20% down and choose a 30 year fixed interest rate your payments would be, at 4% interest, taxes and insurance, $2064 a month. And if you want a 15 year fixed rate at 3.1% you would be paying $2834 each month."

"Okay now what would the monthly payments be, on a 15 year fixed rate, if we put $250,000 down?" Sam asks.

Scott starts to laugh but cuts himself short as he realizes that Sam is serious. He clears his throat.

"Um, let me work on that for a minute," he says pulling a calculator out. He begins taping numbers into is and after a few minutes he looks back up at Sam.

"With $250,000 down and everything included your monthly payments would be $1731 a month."

He turns the calculator toward Sam so she can see it.

"Okay, that's much better," she says looking at Daniel.

Daniel nods "Okay that sounds good to me."

Sam turns to Scott, "We'll take it."

"Wonderful, I need a day to get everything in order. Would it be possible for you to stop by my office tomorrow to sign everything and make the down payment?" he asks.

"Sure," Sam holds out her hand to him.

He takes it and smiles as she shakes his hand and then she and Daniel turn to leave.

Once they get in Daniels car he looks at her, "I can't believe you have that much money set aside."

"What would I have spent it on? I've been single most of my career."

"True, so after we sign the papers what will you do with your house?"

"I can sell it. I should be able to get out of it what I putting down on this house."

Daniel chuckles, "Well that's good. So just when we were finished packing we get to start again."

"Yeah, but can just reuse the boxes that will use for our houses so we really only need a few."

"True, so do we want to hire a moving company for most of our stuff?"

"That's probably best."

"Okay, we can figure it out over lunch."

"Oh thank god, I'm starving," Sam says as Daniel pulls away from their new house.

"Okay, what sounds good?"

"There's this great little café downtown. They have the best gyros."

"I think I know the one."

A short while later they are sitting at a table eating lunch.

"So you know there will be a party once we are moved in right?"

Sam smiles as she swallows the bite in her mouth, "Yes, everyone loves a good party."

"Doc Fraiser is bound to ask why we are sleeping in separate rooms."
"Well I have been having a hard time sleeping so you have been sleeping in a different room so I can rest comfortably."

Daniel smiles, "That should work. So the bedroom in the basement will be mine and the family room can be my office. I think it has enough book shelves for all my books. And then you and the baby will be in the rooms upstairs. What about the extra room on the main level?"

"When my dad comes to visit or if we have someone come watch the baby while we are at work over night."

"Okay that works. So we will need to get a bed for that room and stuff for the baby's room. I think I will let you make that list, but I will help you buy everything."

Sam smiles, "Okay, well first things first. Let's figure out what moving company to use."

AN: Alright, so a lot is happening here and also in the next chapter which in already in progress. Let me hear your thoughts.