"I can't believe it's ours," Janet said, as the realtor drove away, having handed her the keys to their new house. "It's perfect, honey."

Sam smiled. "It sure is," she said. "Just like you."

"You mean I'm spacious with big old beams then, huh?" Janet teased Sam.

"Well I was thinking more of the 'very attractive features' that were promised on the realtor's website," Sam grinned.

"Any features in particular that attracted you?" Janet asked in a sultry voice.

"There are a couple I just need to check," Sam's eyes twinkled. Without warning she lifted a squealing Janet effortlessly into her arms.

"Sam!" Janet protested. "What if the neighbors see?"

"Well then they'll see me carrying a beautiful woman over the threshold of our new home," Sam said, leaning down and kissing her tenderly.

Janet smiled. "Well they're gonna find out about us sooner or later," she said. "It might as well be sooner."

Sam carried her lover inside their new house.

A few weeks later, Janet and Sam went to the dog pound in search of a lurcher, as Janet insisted that that was what she wanted. Sam was disappointed to learn from the girl at the desk that they had no dogs of that breed available. She was just turning to leave, when she saw Janet kneeling down at one of the cages, talking softly to a tiny puppy, who was shivering and frightened in the corner of his cage. "He's not a lurcher, Jan," Sam said. "They don't have any right now. We'll come back in a few weeks."

Janet shook her head, and pointed to the grey dog in the cage. "It says here his name's Angus," she fingered the nameplate on the cage. "That's a great name for a dog, huh? Hey, Angus," she said in a soft tone, coaxing the shivering dog out of his corner. He ventured to the bars of the cage and tentatively licked Janet's finger.

Sam smiled at her lover. "Looks to me like you've fallen in love Jan," she said.

"Can we have him Sam?" Janet asked, her big brown eyes looking at her pleadingly. At exactly the same moment, Angus's big brown eyes looked pleadingly at Janet, Sam noticed with a smile.

"You really want him Jan?" Sam asked. Janet nodded enthusiastically. "He looks real cute to me," Sam said. "Hey, Angus," she said softly, crouching by Janet, pressing her own hand up against the bars, and smiling as the small dog licked her palm. "You wanna come live with us?"

Sam and Janet talked to the officials at the pound, and found that Angus could come home with them in two weeks after he'd completed his series of inoculations, and once they had made the necessary alterations to their house, in terms of securing the yard and making sure that the house itself was safe. "Thank you," Janet said to Sam in the car as they made their way back home.

"For what?" Sam asked.

"For letting me choose," Janet said.

Sam smiled. "He's a great choice, Jan," she said. "I think we're gonna be real happy with him."

"You sure you don't wanna come?" Sam's voice was quiet and gentle. She and Janet had spent the last two days in court, giving evidence and watching the rest of the trial. David had employed very expensive lawyers, and had tried everything he could to discredit their evidence. His defense had centered on the relationship between Janet and Sam, and he tried to get the judge to believe that Janet had gotten together with Sam before the marriage fell apart, even though there was a clear six months between the two events.

Fortunately, the evidence not only from Janet and Sam, but also that offered by Colonel O'Neill, Teal'c (or 'Murray Teague' as he was called for the purposes of the trial), Sharon, Cora and, vitally, David's psychiatrist Jeff Allison, had been compelling. More than that, and much to Janet's distress, Janet's former doctor gave evidence of her multitude of 'unexplained' injuries, as did the doctor who had treated Janet on the night of the miscarriage.

David was found guilty at the end of the second day of the trial, and instructed to return the next morning for sentencing. Sam wasn't surprised that Janet didn't want to go. "I can wait here with you, honey," Sam pulled her into a hug. "Colonel O'Neill will call, let us know how it went."

Janet looked Sam straight in the eye. "You want to go, don't you?" she asked directly.

Sam looked at her for a long moment before replying. "Truly?" she asked. Janet nodded. "Yeah," Sam said. "I want to see his face. I want him to know that I know, we know, that what he did was wrong. It was heinous. What he put you through," she swallowed as she tried to keep control of her emotions, "was the worst. So yeah, I'd like to see his face as they take him away. But I don't have to go, baby. I want to be here with you, take care of you, make sure you're okay. That's more important. Much more important. I know you don't want to go, Jan, and I understand that. So we won't go," she kissed Janet tenderly.

Janet responded to the kiss, and then took Sam's hands in hers. "You go, honey," she said softly. "You need closure just as much as I do. I'll be fine here. Anyway," she smiled, "I've got Angus to take care of me," she gestured to the puppy sleeping in the basket in the corner of the kitchen.

"Are you sure, Jan?" Sam asked. "I'll happily wait with you."

"You go," Janet said. "I'll be here, waiting for you."

"You're an extraordinary woman," Sam kissed her again.

Sam returned to the house nearly four hours later, and was greeted as she opened the door by Angus the puppy. He was still a little unsteady on his feet as he slithered along the wooden hallway, but he was clearly delighted to see her. "Hey boy," Sam smiled as she bent to pet him. "Didja miss me?" She picked him up, and carried him through to the kitchen, where Janet was half hidden by the refrigerator door as she rummaged inside. "Hey Jan," Sam called softly, as she placed the dog in his basket.

"You want green salad or potatoes with your steak?" Janet replied, her voice a little tense and clipped.

"I don't care," Sam replied. "Are you okay honey?" she approached the refrigerator and stood behind Janet.

"I'm fine, just trying to plan dinner," Janet still didn't turn. "And you're not helping," for the first time in their relationship, Janet sounded pissed with Sam.

"Jan...," Sam said in a quiet voice.

"Or we could have rice if you prefer?" Janet said, trying to keep her tone even. She was appalled with herself for snapping at Sam.

Firmly but gently, Sam placed one hand on Janet's back, and used the other to turn her round to face her. Sam was shocked to see the tension in her lover's face and saddened, though unsurprised, to see evidence that she had clearly been crying not too long before. "Jan," her voice was tender and loving. "It's over baby. He's in prison," she took both of Janet's hands in her own, and looked deep into her eyes. "He's never going to hurt you again," she said.

For almost a minute, Janet just looked into Sam's big blue eyes. She could see the compassion and the love in them, and her heart melted. "How long?" she asked eventually.

"Two years four months," Sam said, "with a recommendation that he serve at least half of that before he is even considered for parole. He'll also see a shrink twice a week, whether he wants to or not." Sam reached out with one hand and shut the refrigerator door. She guided Janet out of the kitchen and led her to the couch in the living room. "You are safe now Jan, truly you are. And we're gonna look after you," she patted the couch next to Janet and grinned as the small Angus managed to climb up next to her and rested his head on Janet's leg, looking up at her adoringly, "aren't we Angus?"

Janet reached out with one hand to stroke Angus. "We should take him to classes," she said, irrelevantly.

"Okay," Sam said, "we will. I'll look into it tomorrow. You want a drink?" she asked.

Janet shook her head.

"Is there anything I can get you?" Sam's tone was loving and kind.

"You," Janet whispered. "Just you."

"You've got me, Jan," Sam knelt at her feet, and took her hands in hers again.

"Will you make love to me?" Janet asked, her voice small and hesitant.

"Are you sure that's what you want?" Sam asked, realizing what a fragile state Janet was in, and not wanting to take advantage of her distress.

"Yeah," Janet said. "I want to think only of you from now on. During the day. At night. In bed. Only you. I want to banish him from my memories."

Sam pulled Janet into her arms and held her tightly. "Whatever you want, baby," she said in a soft voice.

"It's real nice, for once," Sam smiled over dinner a few weeks later. "Daniel has managed to persuade the inhabitants of PX8 987 that they aren't all going to die in a terrible apocalypse, it's just an eclipse during which they'll be able to see a black hole. He got me to explain all about it to them, and I really think they understood Jan. It's amazing. A whole planet was in fear, and now most of them realize it's just an astronomical phenomenon, and they'll be fine."

Sam was smiling widely, and Janet could tell that she was so happy to have alleviated the fears of the inhabitants of Hanka. Janet reached over and touched Sam's hand. "That's great, baby. I'm so pleased. Score one for science, huh?"

Sam grinned. "Yeah," she agreed. "Of course some of them still don't believe, but that's only to be expected. They'll realize soon enough. Daniel's so excited, he really feels he's done some good for once."

Janet smiled.

"We estimate about a thousand dead," Sam was pale as she responded to Janet's question. As it turned out, the devastation that had taken place on Hanka, and had also killed all of SG-7, was hardly less than an apocalypse. Janet had been summoned to the planet, together with a large medical team, and SG-1 were required to undergo a medical examination before proceeding with a recovery operation. Not that there were likely to be any survivors to recover, Sam thought glumly.

"Hello? Hello, it's okay. You can come out. Look, I know I must look pretty scary in the mask, but I'm not going to hurt you. It's okay," Sam tried to keep her voice light as she saw the young girl dart back into the bushes. As Teal'c was the only one among them not dressed in a biohazard suit, he approached the frightened child and persuaded her to come out. Sam couldn't begin to imagine what horrors this young girl had seen.

"It's okay. Don't worry, everything's going to be fine," Sam said to the girl once they had taken her back to the makeshift infirmary. "Can you hear me?" she asked. "You're very brave."

"This can't be," Janet said in a low voice from across the room.

Sam walked over to her, fear in her heart. "She's infected, isn't she?" she was so afraid of what Janet's answer would be.

Janet put a hand on her arm to reassure her. "No, honey, she's not," she said. "But there are traces of the element the Stargate is made of in her blood. It's possible that that is how she managed to resist the infection."

They brought the girl back to Earth, and it became immediately apparent that she had formed an instant attachment to Sam. Even through all the horrors of what she had witnessed, the death of her own family - though they didn't yet know any of the details as the child had not yet spoken - she craved stability and love, clinging desperately to Sam as the fear of being abandoned all over again remained very close to the surface. Sam was distraught, not knowing what she could do to help her. So she just did what she could. She stayed by her side as much as she could; on the rare occasion she had to be away, she made sure that either Janet, Daniel or Teal'c replaced her. And she always explained to the mute girl where she was going and just how long she would be gone.

"How are you holding up?" Janet asked her lover tenderly after two days had elapsed. Sam had come to her office briefly while Teal'c remained with the girl.

"I'm fine," Sam said, though the dark circles under her eyes gave lie to the statement. "She hardly sleeps, Jan. She gets the most awful nightmares. I can't imagine what she's been through. And she's so young. How old d'you reckon she is?" she asked.

"I'm not sure. Ten? Eleven at most," Janet replied.

"I wish I could help her," Sam tried to keep her voice even.

Janet took her hand. "You are helping her honey, more than you can ever know. Nothing will ever make what has happened better. Horrors like that can't be erased. But you're helping her to move forward. She trusts you to take care of her."

"They'll never let me adopt her," Sam said miserably. "Not if I'm gonna stay at the SGC. And," she snorted at the irony, "they'd never let me adopt her if I left the SGC, clearance and all that. I don't wanna turn her over to another family, Jan. She'll think she's been abandoned yet again."

Janet pulled Sam into a tight hug. "I have an idea," she said. "They may not let you adopt her. But they might let me. My job's much less dangerous than yours; I hardly even go offworld. Between us we can offer her a stable home life, even if you're away on missions from time to time. Then she can live with us, be our daughter. What do you think Sam?"

The look of hope in Sam's face made Janet realize just how serious she was about the young girl, and how much she loved her already. "I'll go talk to General Hammond," Janet said firmly.

"She what?" Janet's voice was icy with fear, as she sat outside the abandoned nuclear complex in the ambulance.

"She went down again," Daniel's voice crackled through the radio. "We don't know why yet..." Janet didn't hear the end of his sentence as she leapt out of the back of the ambulance and sprinted down the corridor of the complex. Within seconds she was by the elevator with O'Neill, Daniel and Teal'c.

"I'm sorry, Doc," O'Neill said. "She won't listen to me."

Janet thought she might pass out. "How can she do that?" she whispered eventually.

"Cassie woke up," Daniel said in a gentle voice.

"Oh God," Janet swayed on her feet, and was grateful when Teal'c put a steadying hand round her waist. "That poor child."

"Doc," O'Neill said. "I know it's playing dirty. But maybe you can talk to her? She'll listen to you." He motioned to the intercom on the wall.

Janet nodded, and took a step toward it, fully intending to say anything and everything to make Sam come back up. She pressed the button. "Sam?" she said tentatively. "Are you hearing me?"

After a few seconds, the intercom crackled. "Jan?" Sam's voice was so full of anguish Janet thought her heart would break to hear it. "I'm sorry, baby," Sam said. "It'll be okay. I swear it. I'm so sorry to do this to you, truly I am. But it'll be okay," she repeated, "we all will."

Sam was holding a terrified Cassandra in her arms, whispering reassurances into her ear. "We'll all be okay, Cassie," she said.

"Are we going to die?" Cassie asked.

"No," Sam said firmly. "We are not going to die," she prayed that she was right. Her heart and mind were split. If the bomb did go off, she could barely imagine the anguish that that would cause to Janet. But she just couldn't leave the child. And she really did believe too that they were both safe.

The intercom crackled again, and Sam heard Janet's voice. "I know how hard this is for you," Sam could tell Janet was only just holding it together. "But you must do what you need to do," Janet continued. "Just remember that I love you Sam. More now than ever before. And we'll be together for ever."

Janet stepped away from the intercom, almost blinded with tears. Teal'c took her in his strong arms, and held her as she wept.

Sam tightened her hold on Cassie. "We're okay," she whispered to the child. "We'll be okay."

"So how did you know, Carter?" O'Neill asked.

"It occurred to me that she first slipped into the coma when we brought her closer to the Stargate. As soon as we got her far enough away from the Stargate, she woke up. And I ... knew," Sam said. "I just knew."

"So how do you like your room?" Janet asked Cassie nervously as she showed her round the house.

"It's nice," Cassie replied, a little overwhelmed.

"It's a lot to take in," Janet said gently. "Come back down to the kitchen. Sam wants to introduce you to the other member of the family."

"Hey," Sam smiled, as Janet and Cassie entered the kitchen. She had the puppy Angus in her arms. "You remember when Uncle Jack told you every Earth kid should have a dog?" Sam asked with a twinkle in her eye.

Cassie nodded.

"Well this," Sam smiled. "This is a dog. His name's Angus. You wanna come meet him?"

Cassie nodded again.

"Why don't you sit down, and I'll put Angus in your lap, okay?"

"Okay," Cassie whispered.

Sam lowered the excited and wriggling puppy into Cassie's lap. He gave her one of his big, goofy grins, and started licking her hand enthusiastically.

"He likes you," Janet said.

Cassie smiled widely. "I like him too," she said. "Does he live here?"

"He sure does, honey," Janet replied, kneeling at her level. "Just like you do too, now. With me and Sam. Is that okay with you?"

Cassie nodded again. "Yeah," she said. "I like it here. And I love you and Sam. And Angus," she said with another small smile.

"It'll take a while to get used to everything," Sam said gently. "Some things are gonna be real hard for you, we know. And we know we can't replace your family, nobody could. But we would really like it if you became part of our family now."

Cassie nodded once more. "That'd be good," she said, quietly.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Sam asked Janet. For the third night in a row, Cassandra had woken screaming from a terrible nightmare. She had eventually calmed, and finally fallen asleep in Sam's arms.

"I think so," Janet's voice was small and sad. "It's so hard to watch her go through all that, huh? All we can do is love her," she said.

"Kiss me?" Sam asked.

Janet took her face in both hands, and kissed her tenderly. "I love you Sam," she said softly. "We'll all be okay. We'll make her happy. Our daughter."

"Our daughter," Sam repeated. "We'll take real good care of her."