"Who's coming to the cabin?" Grace asked, looking up from her book as they drove from the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport toward the secluded hideaway.
"Our friends, Daniel, Murray and Vala." Sam said, turning back to look at her.
"They used to work with you, right?"
"That's right, kiddo." Jack grinned, looking back at her in the rearview mirror.
Sam turned her head back to the front of the car, inducing a small wave of nausea to bubble up within her unexpectedly. She pressed a hand to her mouth for a moment before it finally passed.
"You okay?" Jack asked, looking over at her.
She managed a weak smile. "Fine. A little motion sickness, I guess."
He raised an eyebrow, skeptically. He'd flown with her before. She'd never shown any trace of motion sickness then, and they'd been flying in death gliders, F-302s, and all sorts of alien aircraft.
"It happens, sometimes," she defended. "When I'm driving on gravel roads."
They'd only just turned onto the gravel roads which would take them to the cabin, and he shrugged. "Next time, we'll bring some Dramamine."
She nodded. "Sounds like a good idea."
They drove in silence for a few moments before Grace looked up from her book again. "Is Murray' nickname Teal'c?" Grace asked, nonchalantly.
Her parents looked at one another before Sam turned back to her. "Where'd you hear that name?"
"In my dream."
"Dream?" Sam asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Yeah. About the cabin." She said, coloring in her coloring book. "Daniel and Vala were kissing and a big black man with a gold symbol on his head walked into the room. Daniel yelled "Teal'c" and then, Daddy went in to talk to them."
"I did?" Jack asked, looking back at her through the rearview mirror again.
"Yeah. I didn't hear what you were saying because Mommy had started throwing up in the bathroom."
Sam's smile fell. "Great...so, not motion sickness."
Jack patted her knee, sympathetically.
"Who's Cassie?" She asked a few moments later.
"She's our friend, Janet's daughter. You'll meet her sometime."
"Oh."
"Why did you ask?"
"You talked about her. With Daniel. In my dream." She paused for a moment before she looked up at Sam with a thoughtful look on her face. "Do you like dogs, Mommy?"
"Sure, I like dogs." She said with a shrug.
"So, would you like it if Daddy and I got you a dog for your birthday?"
"Are you and Daddy planning on getting me a dog for my birthday?" She asked, turning a pointed look to her husband.
"What?" Jack asked, defensively. "I think she came up with that one on her own."
"If I promised to take care of it and love it, would you let me keep a dog if someone gave it to met?" Grace asked, rephrasing the question expertly.
Sam bit her lip as she looked at Jack for a moment. Then, she turned back to look at Grace. "How about we cross that bridge when we come to it?"
Grace sighed softly. "Fine..."
Sam managed a small smile as she turned back before another wave of nausea hit her. She groaned softly as she wrapped her arms around her stomach and cradled her cheek against the seatbelt.
"You wanna stop?" Jack asked, looking over at her.
"No. I'll be fine." She murmured, obviously feeling worse than before.
"We've still got fifteen minutes to go before we get there. You gonna be okay until then?"
"Yeah..." She whispered as she started to drift off to sleep.
-
They pulled up to the cabin as Sam began to snore softly in the front seat. Jack smiled and affectionately brushed away a strand of her hair which had slipped into her face before he turned to Grace in the backseat. "Ready?"
"Ready," she whispered, careful not to wake her mother.
"Hop on out and open the front door so I can carry your mom in, okay?"
"Okay." She said, getting out of the car and hurrying up to the porch.
Jack got out of the car and slipped his keys into his pocket as he hurried around to open his wife's door. He easily unbuckled her seatbelt and pulled her into his arms as she stirred. "Jack?"
"It's me," he whispered, kissing her forehead as he cradled her in his arms. "We're at the cabin."
"Grace..."
"Is in the cabin as we speak."
"I..."
"You are going right to bed." He insisted.
"Okay." She murmured as she rested her cheek against his chest, settling further into his arms. "Tired..."
"You're sick." He said, carrying her into the master bedroom. "You're allowed."
A small smile flitted onto her lips as he set her on the bed. "Wake me when everyone comes..."
"I will." He assured with a small chuckle as he gently closed the door behind him.
"Mom's sick, isn't she?" Grace said, looking up at him from where she stood in the hallway.
"Yeah, kiddo." He said with a sigh. "Looks that way."
"She'll be okay." She said, confidently.
"She does have a tendency to get better quickly." He said with a grin as he picked her up.
"What do you do here at the cabin?" She asked from atop his shoulders.
"Well...usually, we fish."
"Fish?" Grace asked, curiously.
"Yep. And when Daniel, Teal'c, and Vala get here, I'll show you how it's done."
"Even though there are no fish in your pond?" She asked, wryly.
"Hey! How'd you..."
"I had a dream," she said, shrugging her shoulders.
"That's it. No more dreaming for you." He said with mocking sternness.
"Daddy, you're silly." She said, shaking her head.
"Why...thank you." He said, walking out the front door. "Wanna help me keep a lookout for the fellas?"
"Isn't she a little young for boyfriends, Jack?" Cassie asked, walking up to the cabin.
"Cassandra!" He cried with a grin.
"Hi, Jack." She said with a smile of her own. "I heard about the family reunion, and I thought I'd stop by. Where's Sam?"
"Inside. Asleep." He managed a smile of chagrin. "She's not feeling well."
"Ah. Then, we should let her sleep." Cassie said, looking up at the girl atop her father's shoulders. "And this must be Grace."
"Hi." Grace waved.
"Hi." Cassie said with a smile. "My name's Cassandra, but you can call me Cassie."
Grace wiggled, struggling to get down, and Jack let her down from his shoulders. She walked over to Cassie and extended her hand in greeting. "Nice to finally meet you, Cassie."
Cassie grinned. "Backatcha."
A dog's bark could be heard from nearby, and Cassie turned.
"Oh, you didn't..." Jack murmured, suddenly knowing exactly why Grace had been asking about the dog in the car.
"Didn't what, Jack?" Cassie asked, looking back at him with a twinkle in her eye. "Break the rules?"
"Sam's gonna kill you." Jack said with a laugh.
"She can try." Cassie chuckled. "But I have a feeling she's not going to be able to say "no" to the three of you."
"You brought a dog!" Grace cried as the golden retriever puppy raced toward her.
"It's a rule, Grace," Cassie said with a mischievous smile. "Every kid in the O'Neill family HAS to have one!"
The five-year-old giggled as the puppy licked her face affectionately.
"Oh, you are SO lucky that Grace and I like dogs and that Sam seems to have a particular fondness for you," Jack said, shaking his head as he walked over to the duo playing in the grass.
Cassie grinned. "I know."
"I promise to take care of him. Feed him, water him, take him for walks..." Grace said, looking up at him with her big brown eyes. "Please, please, PLEASE can I keep him?"
Jack swallowed. How could he refuse her?
"Uh...we'll ask your mom, okay?"
"But it's a rule!"
"And...your mom has broken a few of those in her day," Jack said, seriously. "I'll talk to her tonight, okay?"
Grace looked down at the dog with a small sigh. "I won't name you until tomorrow, okay?"
The dog barked happily.
She wrapped her arms around the small dog and nuzzled her face in his fur. "I love him!"
"He's a cutie," Jack agreed.
"Why'd you think I picked him?" Cassie asked with a laugh.
"To torture us." Jack laughed as a truck pulled up.
They all turned to see the travelers, and neither Jack nor Cassie were surprised to see that Vala got out first. "I am NEVER doing that again."
"Oh, come on, Vala. It's a road trip...it's supposed to be fun."
"Well, I'm sorry if I'm being difficult, but being stuck in a small vehicle with you and Muscles, for more than an hour, though somewhat amusing, is an experience I will NEVER do again."
Jack chuckled as Daniel sighed, and turned to his friends. "Hey. Where's Sam?"
"Doesn't anyone come to the cabin to see me anymore?" Jack whined.
"Daddy, Mommy doesn't like it when we whine." Grace reminded him from where she played with her new puppy.
Daniel couldn't help but smile. "Looks like she's got your number, Jack."
"Ooh! A puppy!" Vala cried, rushing over to Grace and the dog.
"My name's Grace," the five-year-old introduced.
"I'm Vala. Pleased to meet you." She said with a grin as she scratched the dog behind the ears.
"So...where's Sam?" Daniel asked again after watching Vala, Grace and the puppy for a few moments.
"Inside, asleep. She's not feeling well."
"Not feeling well?" Daniel asked, curiously.
"Yeah. Started getting nauseous in the car. Tried to say it was motion sickness, but..."
"She's an Air Force pilot, and you didn't buy that."
"Exactly."
"Does she have the stomach flute? Because I don't really want to experience that." Vala said with a small shudder as she rejoined the adults.
"It's flu," Cassie corrected softly.
"Oh, right...flu..."
"It looks like that's what it might be," Jack admitted. "We'll put you up in a hotel if you need it..."
Vala opened her mouth, but Daniel beat her to the punch as he shook his head. "No, we'll be fine."
"Indeed," Teal'c said, nodding.
"Now...I think we came here to meet your daughter," Daniel said, looking over at Grace. "Gonna introduce us?"
Jack looked over at Grace for a moment before he looked back at Daniel. "May...be..." He drawled out.
"Jack..." Sam murmured from where she'd just appeared on the porch, wrapping a sweater around herself.
"Okay, okay..." Jack smiled. "Daniel, Teal'c, Vala, this is our daughter, Grace. Grace, these are the guys."
She looked over with a proud grin. "Hi, guys."
As the team began talking to Grace and playing with the dog, Cassie walked over to the porch. "Hi, Sam."
Sam smiled, tiredly, as she gently embraced the young woman. "How are you, Cass?"
"I'm doing really well."
"That's good to hear." Sam said, nodding. "What's going on?"
"Well, I'm at Johns Hopkins now, so I'm not that far from where you guys live now."
"You'll have to come and visit," Sam winked.
"At least babysit Grace while you and Jack go off for a weekend sometime."
"You don't have to do that," Sam laughed softly.
"Well, you're on adoption leave, right? You might want the chance to get away just the two of you before you're reassigned..."
"We'll think about it," Sam promised, looping an arm around the younger woman.
"I'm, uh..." Cassie began. "I'm dating...a guy...out there."
"Oh?" Sam asked, interested.
"Yeah. His name's Cameron. He's in law school."
"And he's at Johns Hopkins?" Sam asked, confused.
Cassie shook her head. "University of Baltimore Law School."
"You should bring him down sometime. I'm sure Jack would love to meet him."
"Considering how much Jack likes lawyers," Cassie chuckled.
"Well, it might not be perfect, but he'll do his best," Sam laughed.
"Yeah..." Cassie looked back at Sam. "You don't look like you're feeling too well..."
"Jack spilled the beans?" Sam asked, looking back at her husband with an affectionate smile as he talked to Daniel and Vala while Teal'c and Grace played with the dog on the ground beside them.
"Well, everyone was asking where you were." Cassie pointed out.
"I think I was just a little motion sick. I'm fine." She said, shaking her head.
"How long have you been feeling sick?" Cassie asked, looking over at her.
"Look at you, one semester in med school, and already sounding like your mother," Sam chided, softly. "I'm fine, Cass. I fell asleep in the car, and Jack thought I should get some more rest, but then I heard you guys pull up, so I'm here. But I'll go to bed early, try to get some fluids down, and be better in the morning."
"Okay, okay." Cassie said, throwing up her hands in defeat.
"Now...please explain to me why my daughter is playing with a dog?" Sam asked, looking over at Cassie, with a small amused smile playing on her lips.