The timer caused Janet to jump up, wine glass still in hand, and head for the kitchen to check on the lasagna. Sam settled more comfortably on the sofa and stretched out her legs, consciously trying to relax her lower back muscles. She was glad the week was almost over and, while already tired, had some time to catch up with Janet.

"Okay," Janet called out from the kitchen, "the lasagna is done. It just needs to cool off a bit."

"Do you need a hand with the salad?"

"No, you just relax. I can handle it."

Sam smiled, relieved she didn't have to get up yet. She had spent most of the day switching between her lab and the control room, working on projects and a diagnostic of the gate. It hadn't taken her long to realize the stool in her lab – or the chair in the control room for that matter – wasn't too comfortable in her current condition. Perhaps she could request a different one, she thought while sipping her drink.

Feeling a light fluttering in her belly, she looked down and placed her hand on her abdomen – the baby! Her sister-in-law had told her it might feel like butterflies in her stomach, but to Sam it felt more like little bubbles were bursting. She tried to exert some light pressure with her hand but the baby didn't seem to respond to it yet. Still, the feeling was incredible!

"Sam?"

She looked up, grinning. "I can feel the baby."

"That's amazing, honey," Janet said.

"Do you want to feel it?"

Janet quickly came over and sat down next to her. "I don't know if I'll be able to feel it yet," she warned. "From what I recall, they say it usually takes a little longer to be able to feel the baby from the outside."

Sam grabbed her hand anyway and placed it on the spot where she felt the bubbles. "Here."

They both fell silent, eyes glued to where their hands were resting on Sam's abdomen. "I don't feel it yet," Janet said after ten seconds, shaking her head sadly.

"Maybe in a few weeks then," she said, letting go of her hand and placing her own on the spot.

"I'm looking forward to it."

Sam closed her eyes and focused on the connection to her child, until after a few seconds the fluttering feeling was gone. When she opened her eyes, she found her friend looking at her. "What?"

Janet shrugged, a small smile on her face. "You just look… so happy. I haven't seen that look on your face in a while."

"We've had a rough year."

"Yes, but now we have something to look forward to!"

Rubbing a hand over her belly, Sam nodded slowly. "Yeah."

Janet checked her watch before getting up. "Well, dinner is ready and I don't think Cassandra will be back in time, so we might as well get started."

"Is she still out with Colonel O'Neill?"

"Yeah, he picked her up from school to go to the Garden of the Gods." She smiled softly, "That place reminds her of Hanka."

Sam gave her shoulder a sympathetic squeeze. "How has she been since… Nirrti?"

Leading her to the dining room, Janet gestured for her to take a seat at the set table. "She's doing okay. Still has her rebellious moments like any teen, but strange as it may sound I feel like we've actually grown closer because of it."

"That doesn't surprise me," she replied as she sat down. "She went through a lot. So did you. Cassie probably heard about you threatening Nirrti to force her to cure her."

"She did. Thought it was pretty 'bad ass'," Janet said, making air quotes. "After she got over being normal again, anyway."

Sam smiled, reminded of Cassie's disappointment over losing her telekinetic powers. "Well, I'm glad she's doing well."

After serving them both with a large piece of lasagna, Janet sat back in her chair and added some salad to her own plate. "She missed you last week for your usual chess game, though."

"I know." She took the salad bowl from her and sighed. After the Colonel left her apartment she had called Cassie to cancel, completely exhausted. The tension had started building inside of her the moment she found him at her door, knowing full well what he would assume at seeing Anders with her early in the morning. "I'm sorry."

"You're busy and pregnant, she understands."

"This is very good," Sam said, after taking a bite. "Did you make this?"

Janet laughed, shaking her head. "I wouldn't know where to find the time to make lasagna! No, one of my neighbors brought it over as a thank-you after I helped when her son fell off his bike. He's fine," she added.

Sam didn't even know her neighbors' names and probably wouldn't be able to identify them in a police lineup but she figured it was different when you had kids. Something she would find out for herself soon enough. She could start over in a new neighborhood, with neighbors who would think of her as the pregnant woman rather than the suspiciously injured woman who came and went at all hours.

"She gave me a dish twice the size and this," she indicated the dish on the table, "should be more than enough for the two of us and Cassandra, if the Colonel hasn't fed her yet. Remind me to get you the other half from the fridge before you leave, for dinner tomorrow. Friday night is pizza night in the Fraiser household, so it'd probably just go to waste here."

"Well, if you insist," she said, after a beat. It had been at the tip of her tongue to object but the prospect of not having to cook tomorrow and probably having leftovers for in the weekend was too enticing. "What time do you expect Cassie home?"

Janet shrugged. "It depends. She usually tries to spend as much time with him as possible, but he always has her back before twenty hundred hours."

"The Colonel adores her." The affection with which he looked at Cassie always warmed Sam, but at the same time reminded her of what he'd lost. He was so good with her and, really, all the children she had ever seen him interact with – Daniel said it was because he is a big kid himself but Sam thought it was more likely the fact that he always listened and never talked down to them. It made the loss of his son all the more cruel.

"And she's got him wrapped around her little finger." Janet took a sip of wine, before glancing down and toying with the food on her plate. "I think he reminds her of her father. He's the closest thing she's got to a father figure, I know. It's more than that, though. She doesn't speak of her family a lot but what little she's told me about him sounds quite a bit like Colonel O'Neill."

Sam smiled, not surprised at all. The Colonel seemed to instinctively know what people, but especially kids, needed from him and she imagined that Cassie filled a void in him as well. "He's a good man."

Janet nodded in agreement and they continued to eat in silence, until she'd cleared her plate. "Speaking of which… you didn't finish telling me about Saturday."

Grimacing, she ran a hand through her hair. She'd hoped that the brief update she'd given before the food was done would be enough. "There's not much more to say," she said, shrugging. "Anders and I talked a lot about how we want to go forward and decided that the best course would be for him to give up his parental rights."

"And that's when Colonel O'Neill showed up?" she asked, managing to look simultaneously sympathetic to the awkwardness of the situation as well as a little excited.

"Just as Anders was getting ready to leave," she confirmed. "The timing could have been a little better."

Janet took another sip of wine, looking far too pleased with herself. "I swear I didn't send him there on purpose."

Sam chuckled along with her, "I wouldn't have put it past you."

"Oh honey, I'm not that devious."

"Sure."

"In my defense," she said, pointing at her with her fork, "I couldn't have known Anders would spend the night."

Focusing on her meal, Sam simply made a noncommittal noise. She was not going to let Janet bait her into giving any more details other than what she'd already told her earlier. The comment did, however, remind her of how incredibly tense that moment had been. She hadn't expected the Colonel to show up at her door but she hadn't wanted to send him away either, after seeing the effort he'd made and the fact that he'd shown up at all under the pretext of returning her coat. "God, it was so awkward, Jan."

Janet winced in sympathy. "I can only imagine. Do you think he knows—"

"Oh, he knows." She could clearly recall the way he'd looked between her and Anders. He hadn't given anything away with his words or facial expression, but she'd seen the realization in his eyes and felt a flare of embarrassment – as well as a stab of guilt, despite not owing him anything. "The Colonel reads people the way I read energy readings. He definitely knows."

"But you said earlier that you two had a good talk?"

Smiling, Sam nodded slowly. The memory of his promise to be there for her despite his own feelings flashed through her mind. "Yeah, we did."

She narrowed her eyes. "Like an actual conversation about your…" she waved her fork around, "situation and not just work-related things?"

"No, we really talked."

"Thank God."

"Janet-"

"Honestly, I thought it would take an act of congress."

"Oh, come on," Sam said. "That's not fair. You know it's not that easy."

Finishing her glass of wine, Janet sat back in her chair. "I know it's complicated, but it's also pretty obvious the man still loves you."

The candidness took her by surprise, but she couldn't help remind her of the current situation. "I'm pregnant, Jan. With another man's baby."

"Like I said, complicated. Not insurmountable."

"I don't know that it is," she said, frowning.

Janet reached out and squeezed her hand. "Hey, trust me. He was willing to die to save you. Those feelings don't just go away. Why do you think he's struggling with the situation? Because he loves you."

The words hit her hard and she pulled her hand away, feeling a sudden need and some space to think it through. "I don't know," she said, shaking her head. "It's not a relationship or anything like that – I'm having another man's child, that's… I don't know, a lifetime commitment."

"You said it yourself; he's a good man," Janet said, backing away a little. "And he loves kids. What makes you think he couldn't love yours?"

"I…" Looking into her friend's eyes, Sam could tell she believed what she was saying. But was it fair to expect such a commitment from him before they had even tried dating? Was it fair to her child to risk it? Should her focus not be on her baby, rather than possibly, maybe someday? She shook off the thoughts and questions, not ready to contemplate them yet. "I'm surprised you're encouraging it… why now? We've never really talked ab-"

"Well," she interrupted her with a smirk, "technically you're not on SG-1 and he's not your CO at the moment; there is nothing disallowing us to discuss it now when there's no obligation for me to report any violation of the frat regs."

"That easy, huh?" Sam asked with a raised brow.

Janet got to her feet and collected their empty plates. "I wouldn't go that far… but I'm here if you want to talk about it, you know that, right?"

Nodding, she got up as well. "Thanks, Jan."

"Now, help me clear the table and clean up before Cassie gets home."

Just as they were finishing up in the kitchen a truck pulled up in the driveway, quickly followed by the loud slamming of a car door – Sam winced at the force – and a "Sorry!" and then the light at the backdoor turned on automatically and they saw Cassie running towards them.

"I hate it when she does that," Janet muttered.

"Oh, I bet the Colonel does too," Sam said, recalling a number of times he'd told off Daniel for carelessly slamming the doors of his truck. "But I doubt he'd tell her."

Before Janet could respond, the front door opened and Cassie entered. "We're back! Oh, Sam, you're still here!"

"Hey, Cass," she replied, before being engulfed in a hug by the teen. "I was hoping I'd get to see you tonight."

"Oh my god, you're getting so big," Cassie practically squealed as she pulled back, looking at her belly.

"That tends to happen when one is pregnant, Cassie," Colonel O'Neill said as he entered the kitchen. "Hi Doc. Carter."

Sam flushed, suddenly feeling very aware of her growing bump and new maternity wear. "Hi, Sir."

"Hi Colonel," Janet said.

Cassie was still holding Sam's hands and beamed at her, "How are you feeling? Can you feel the baby already? Can I feel the baby?"

"Cassandra-"

"It's okay," Sam said as Janet tried to calm her daughter down. "I'm not sure, Cassie. I felt the baby move earlier, but your mom couldn't feel it yet. But we can try."

"The baby might be sleeping," Janet said as she reached for the bag Cassie was carrying to free up her arms. "I'll put this away."

Sam tried to focus, to see if she could somehow sense her baby as she moved her hand over her belly but to no avail. "I think your mom is right," she said. "Maybe next time, Cassie."

"Too bad." She pouted for a moment, but then got out of her coat and pulled both Sam and Jack with her to the living room. "Jack took me to the Garden of the Gods. It was great! We had so much fun. It's really beautiful up there, you know. Have you ever been, Sam? I know mom hasn't."

"A little busy saving lives," Janet mumbled as she sat down.

Cassie rolled her eyes and sighed in a dramatic fashion. "Mom doesn't like hiking. Or biking. Or anything outdoors."

"Well, then it's a good thing you have the Colonel to take you," Sam said.

"Jack's the best," the teen affirmed. "Anyway, we got there around four thirty and-"

Their conversation was interrupted by the ringing of Sam's cell phone. After muttering an apology, she checked the phone and noticed it was her realtor. "I've got to take this."

"Yeah, go ahead."

She went into the kitchen to answer the phone and to her surprise, her realtor had found a place that might be a good match. Earlier in the week she'd gone to her first viewing but that house had not ticked many of her boxes and she'd made sure to tell the realtor. In the past moving had never been much of a problem – she was a military brat, after all – but this was the first time she was considering buying. And she wanted the house to be perfect for her and the baby. "And how far is it from Cheyenne Mountain?"

The Colonel entered the kitchen and headed for the percolator with an apologetic look on his face. She waved off his apology and mouthed 'realtor' to him, all the while listening to the realtor as he went over the property's features. "Drink?" The Colonel asked, pointing at the fridge.

Sam asked about the rooms and whether there had been any recent remodeling while indicating the pitcher of lemonade to the Colonel. The house was apparently in a kid-friendly neighborhood, not too far from a daycare center, had three bedrooms, two baths, a basement, family room, study and garage. It also had a fenced backyard with a deck and was near a park. She took a glass of lemonade from the Colonel as the realtor gave her a few options to view the house. "Um, Saturday will be fine."

"So," the Colonel said after she hung up, "found a new place?"

"Maybe."

"What about the one you went to on Tuesday?"

She shook her head. "It only had two bedrooms and no study, a family room, two baths, no attached garage," she listed, "and it was too far from the mountain."

"And this one?" he asked, as he leaned against the counter, slowly sipping his coffee.

Sam told him about the features the realtor had mentioned and pointed out which ones were the most important to her. Naturally, it had to be close enough to base, but she also wanted her own study, a guestroom for her dad, a backyard for her child, and a garage for her motorcycle and car. And she didn't mind if the place needed some work – just not too extensive because she wanted the house ready before the baby was born – but that had to be reflected in the price. "So, I guess we'll see."

"Shouldn't be too hard to find something to your liking." He paused and slipped his hands in his pockets, rolling on the balls of his feet. "And, um, if you need any help… the offer still stands."

"Thank you, Sir," she said, ducking her head. "I'll have to find a house first and then it'll probably be a a month at best before I can move in, but I'll definitely let you know if I need help moving. Uh, all of you, I mean."

He reached out and briefly touched her arm, drawing her gaze up to his. "I mean, whenever. Not just for the move." Some of her surprise must have shown on her face, because he frowned. "I own a house, Carter. I do have some experience with the housing market and… you know, stuff."

Looking into his eyes, she could tell he was genuine and it warmed her heart that he was willing to make the effort. He definitely had more experience with it than she did and she couldn't deny he had excellent taste either – she'd always been fond of his house. "Yeah, okay. I appreciate it."

"That's what friends are for, right?" He asked, smirking.

"Yes, Sir. And I'll definitely ask if I need any help… with stuff."

He rolled his eyes playfully at her tone. "Good! That's… good."

"Yeah."

"So." He looked like he might want to say more, but then he glanced at his watch. "I should probably head home. Early start tomorrow and I need my beauty sleep."

Sam thought he was pretty damn handsome already, but held her tongue. "Yes, Sir."

"I'm just gonna," he pointed in the direction of the living room, "say bye to Cass and the Doc. G'night, Carter."

"Good night, Sir."

Jack swung his legs back and forth on the infirmary bed and played with a wooden tongue depressor, impatiently waiting for the Doc to clear him. The mission to P2X-338 hadn't been entirely successful and the adrenaline had kept him going for a while but after a long debrief and post-mission exam, the adrenaline was fading and exhaustion – and impatience – was kicking in. It had been a long mission and aside from he himself getting knocked out by a ribbon device, no one on his team had gotten hurt. He couldn't say the same for the Russians or Marduk, though.

The telltale sound of heels entering the infirmary had him looking up, just as Fraiser was heading his way. He quickly dropped the wooden toy and gave her an expectant look. "Well?"

"You're free to leave, Colonel," she said, nodding.

He waited until she'd scribbled something on the chart she was carrying to reply and craned his neck to locate his teammates in the rather busy infirmary. "My team?"

The CMO graced him with a smile and indicated the exit. "Already cleared and hitting the showers."

"Great," he said, sliding off the bed. "I guess I'll go do the same."

"If you happen to see Sam, could you tell her I'm sorry but we just had another team come in hot and I'm swamped?"

Jack frowned, wondering what the heck she was referring to. "Carter? Why would she be here at oh dark hundred?"

"She was called in because of an emergency earlier and she said she'd drop by before she leaves, but I haven't seen her yet."

He vaguely recalled Hammond mentioning something about a gate malfunction but he hadn't paid much attention to it as the problem had been resolved while he and his team had been off-world. "Um, okay. I'll let her know if I see her, Doc. Thanks."

"Good night, Colonel."

Giving her a jaunty salute, Jack headed towards the elevators and swiped his card through the reader. The car had to come from level eleven, so he quickly went over to the phone in the corridor and called the security checkpoint topside to check whether Carter had signed out for the day – which was not the case. So, when the elevator finally arrived, he pushed the button for level nineteen and made a detour to her lab.

He didn't see any light coming from the ajar door but he peeked inside anyway. It took his eyes a moment to adjust to the dark room - only lit by some of the blinky equipment lights – but then he saw her, slumped over her lab table. He suppressed a flare of panic, reminding himself that she was probably just tired and gently laid a hand on her back. Relief washed over him as her back rose in time with her breathing and he took a deep breath before he spoke her name, "Carter? Wakey-wakey, Major."

"Mmphf?"

He caught himself rubbing circles on her back and pulled his hand away, hoping she hadn't noticed. "Carter?"

She lifted her head and blinked sleepily at him. "Sir?"

Taking a step back, he gave her some space to fully wake up. "Yup. Just got back from P2X-338. Didn't think I'd find you here."

"Gate emergency," she mumbled, scrubbing a hand over her face. "I got called in a little after midnight."

Jack made a face and checked his watch. "Well, how about you go home and sleep in your own bed, huh?"

Her eyes widened when she looked at her watch. "I have to be back here in three-and-a-half hours."

"I'll talk to Hammond; tell him you'll start a few hours later because you got called in tonight."

"No, Sir," she said, shaking her head. "I mean, thank you, but I have to be back. I'm running a simulation and if my theory about the cause of today's gate malfunction is correct, then I need to implement a new dialing protocol or there's no telling how many more will follow."

"I thought Hammond said you fixed it?"

Carter sat up and stretched her arms, yawning. "Sorry. No, I managed to circumvent a different dialing protocol that prevented the gate from engaging to the gate on the other side. That was just a temporary solution for that particular planet, Sir."

His eyebrows climbed up in surprise as realization dawned on him. "Oh. Guess SG-1 got lucky then."

"Yes, Sir. General Hammond said there were only two other teams still off-world-"

"And you stayed in case the same problem would occur," he concluded.

"Yes, Sir."

Jack ran a hand through his hair, trying to come up with a solution. There was no doubt in his mind that she'd refuse to leave to get some sleep at home – and really, he couldn't blame her – but she couldn't very well be expected to sleep on her stool when she was twenty weeks pregnant, for crying out loud! The VIP quarters weren't available and since she wasn't, technically, on an off-world team anymore she didn't have her own quarters either. "Okay, let's go."

She got to her feet and did a quick check on her computer, before turning to him. "Go where?"

"We're gonna find you a bed, Carter."

"That's really not necessary, S-"

He raised an eyebrow, "Oh, I beg to differ, Major. Come on."

Carter looked like she was about to argue, but then she just slumped a little and he couldn't help but notice her pressing one hand to her lower back and the other rested on her belly. "Yes, Sir."

Jack took the time to lock her lab and then they quietly headed towards the elevator, which took them down to level twenty-five. Every time he glanced in her direction she was either blinking sleepily or rubbing her belly. He recalled what she'd told Cassie last week, about feeling the baby move and he idly wondered if he'd woken up both Carters or if it was simply a subconscious gesture.

"Sir?"

He ignored her question and used his card to open the door to his quarters. "It's not much, but I'm guessing it's a whole lot more comfortable than that stool of yours."

Carter warily stepped inside, cast a look around and turned back to him. "Sir, these are your quarters."

"Yes, well."

"Sir-"

"Carter, you need to sleep. I'm not using my quarters."

Her gaze automatically went to the bed and he thought she looked at it rather longingly, before she looked at him again. "I'm not sure this is appropriate, Sir."

"I'd offer you Daniel's quarters, but I'm pretty sure he's staying on base tonight. Teal'c's are occupied too-"

She sighed and fiddled with the hem of her jacket. "Okay, but that's…"

"Not the same?" he supplied, grimacing. "Look, the sheets are clean, I can't even remember the last time I slept here and I'm just going to the locker room to shower and then I'm going home. In the meantime, you can catch a couple of hours of shuteye. If it'll make you feel better, I'll report it to Hammond in the morning so that it's all on the up and up – and I'll put in a request for your own quarters, in case this happens again."

"Okay," she said softly. "Thank you, Sir."

"Yeah, sure." He watched as she sat down on the bed and bent down to undo her boots. "Make yourself comfortable. Do you need anything before I go?"

She paused and looked a little flushed when she looked at him, "Um, maybe a shirt to sleep in?"

"Right! Yes, of course," he muttered, heading to the chest of drawers on the other side of the room. He always kept a stack of backup BDUs and sweats there. Skipping the drawer containing underwear and socks, he checked the other two and managed to find one of his black tees among the long sleeved shirts. "Found one."

"Thank you," she said, as she took the shirt from him. "I really appreciate it, Sir."

"Don't mention it," he said, shrugging. "Well, I'm gonna go… sleep tight, Carter."

She rewarded him with a brilliant smile and nodded, "Good night, Sir."

Jack closed the door behind him and headed towards the locker room, trying to ignore all thoughts of Carter asleep in his bed. He ran into Isaacs who was in civvies and bade him a goodnight as well, and Daniel and Teal'c were getting dressed when he barged in.

"O'Neill."

"That took you long enough, Jack."

He rolled his eyes as he headed for his locker. "Good to see you too, Daniel."

"Seriously," Daniel said, "is everything okay?"

"Yeah, just had a little chat with Hammond about the Russians and the infirmary was a bit hectic."

"Lieutenant Isaacs has already retreated for the evening," Teal'c informed him.

Jack nodded, "Yeah, I just saw him."

Daniel yawned and pulled a box of crackers from his locker. "I think I'm gonna crash in my quarters. Want one?"

"Why are these crackers shaped like animals?"

Jack looked up at Teal'c's question, only to find the box nearly in his face. "Nah, thanks." Then, he recalled Carter's embarrassed confession at Siler's party. "Wait. Gimme that."

"Sure, take the whole box," Daniel said, bemused.

Ignoring him, Jack quickly made his way back to his quarters and knocked. "Carter?"

She opened the door and let him in. "Sir?"

It only took him a microsecond to realize she was dressed for bed and notice how his shirt was pulled tight around her round belly. It barely reached mid-thigh and gave him a really, really good look at her long legs. He averted his gaze and cleared his throat, showing her the box. "Brought you something."

She took it from him, looking a bit befuddled.

He shrugged, aiming for nonchalance, "In case you wake up hungry."

"Thank you, that's…" She trailed off and looked at him with wide, round eyes. "That's very sweet of you, Sir."

Jack quirked a smile and headed for the door, "Think nothing of it, Carter. G'night."