T minus 5 minutes and 0 seconds

"Carter, how bad is it?" His expression was taunt, serious. The only indication of his concern was a deep vertical crease between his eyes. Despite years of practising the fine art of facial schooling, he wasn't able to shake his tell.

Her clear blue eyes were wide and unblinking. "It's not looking good, Sir."

Although their feet were firmly planted on the 'romantic' side of the relationship fence, she often reverted to calling him 'sir' in high-pressure situations. It was a hard habit to break. She'd willingly followed him into the bowels of hell for 7 years. It didn't bother him. He had the same problem. She'd always be 'Carter' to him.

His stance shifted. His jaw was set, his back straight, his shoulders squared off. "Were there any...casualties?"

She held his soft, warm gaze for a few extra seconds, desperate to find some heat in their cold, hard reality. "Just the one."

His gaze dropped to the floor and a puff of air escaped his lips. Losing hard-working personnel had never gotten any easier. It may have been the nature of their job, but there was nothing natural about a life cut short. It was equal parts noble and tragic.

She swallowed hard to keep the tears from breaking their levee. "We were only a few hours into the first mission…"

He placed a comforting hand on her slumped shoulder. "...try not to dwell, Carter. We need to focus on the task at hand. There'll be time to get sentimental latter."

Her chin dropped in understanding.

"What do we know so far?"

She righted her posture and cleared her throat. Her movements were fluid and deliberate. In that instant, she transformed from Samantha into Colonel Carter. "Well, Sir. I'm not exactly sure what happened. There was definitely an explosion of some kind."

He cast a cautious eye over the room. "Do you think it's still a threat?"

"I'm not sure, Sir."

"Let's figure out what we're up against."

T Minus 4 Minutes and 20 Seconds

"Sir…" The 'r' fell slowly from her lips and went up an octave. "I think we have a problem."

His pulse was beating hard and fast against his rib cage. "Carter..?"

"I think it's going to blow again." Her voice was louder now, more urgent.

"How long do we have?" He was trying to remain calm, but there was a nervous fluttering in his stomach that was threatening to override all logical thought.

"It's hard to tell, Sir." The colour of her eyes shifted from blue to grey as they eagerly searched the room for inspiration.

"Do you think you can diffuse it?"

"I don't know, Sir." Her eyes were on him now. There was a hint of regret, anxiety and love lurking behind them.

"Do what you can, Carter. I have faith in you."

T Minus 3 Minutes and 10 Seconds

Her head tilted as she carefully studied the undercarriage, ensuring she understood every inch. The corner of her bottom lip slipped between her teeth in concentration.

He started to pace in an effort to dislodge his nervous energy. He flipped back the Velcro cover from his watch. They were cutting it close.

"I'm getting that helpless feeling, Carter. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Actually, could you grab my pack?" She nodded in the direction of her bag, her hands still occupied.

He tore open the mouth of the pack and thrust his hand into its depths. "What did you need?'

He tried to anticipate her needs and extracted an item. "Did you need one of these?"

Her features puckered as she carefully considered the object in his hand. "...not yet. Could you pass me the..?"

He removed another article and her face lit up with appreciation.

"Yes! Thank you."

He watched her nimble hands as they worked.

"Are you going to cut the red one?"

"I'm thinking about it. I don't want to, but it might be our only option."

He noticed a few droplets of sweat forming on her brow and reached across to dab them away.

"You're doing a great job, by the way. I don't want to rush you, but we're running out of time."

"I'm moving as fast as I can, but I've never seen anything like this before!"

T Minus 40 Seconds

Her hands suddenly went rigid.

"Carter?"

She shushed at him sharply through gritted teeth.

He stilled and turned an inquisitive ear towards her.

All the colour drained from her cheeks. "Did you hear that?"

He shook his head.

"I think we're out of time."

Their eyes met - and for the briefest of moments, there was clarity amidst the chaos.

"Carter, I love you."

He reached for her hand.

"I love you too."

A thunderous applause, followed by a chant of "more, more" broke through the tension.

Jack and Sam turned to face their audience and bowed in gratitude.

"Thank you, thank you - we'll be here all week!"

"Umm...guys? What's going on?"

They spun around to face the familiar baritone.

Jack checked his watch again. "Daniel. Are you early?"

The archaeologist took a few tentative steps into the nursery.

"Nope." He looked around the room, taking in the mess of clothes and baby supplies. "Although I'm starting to wish I was late. What are you up to?"

"Just defusing a nuclear diaper. We lost one brand new jumpsuit...and a little dignity."

Daniel gave Jake a high-five before walking over to the changing table. He gently ran a hand over the baby's wispy blonde hair. She looked up at him. The tiny fist in her mouth couldn't suppress the smile that lifted the sides of her lips. "Nuclear diaper?" He noticed the mutilated red jumpsuit and the plastic bag filled with used wipes and diapers on the floor. He scrunched up his nose in disgust. "You know what? I don't want to know."

"Good call."

"...but why the theatrics?"

"We were just putting on an act for Jake's benefit. You know, reliving the glory days. It's the only way to make this situation fun."

Sam nodded in agreement with her husband.

Daniel thoughtfully scratched the side of his head.

"Wait, reliving the glory days? When did SG-1 ever change a diaper?" He leaned towards Jack, "Did you lose bladder control when you had that ageing disease?"

Sam coughed to mask her amusement.

Jack defensively crossed his arms. "You're the one who's always acting like a big baby."

"Am not."

"Are too!"

"Do I have to separate you boys?" She said, picking up Gracie and throwing the clean baby onto her left shoulder. "It says a lot about you two when the toddler and baby are better behaved."

The two men were still sizing each other up when the sound of bubbles, followed by a foul odour emanated from the baby.

Sam's eyes widened and her face soured as the smell hit her nostrils. She offered the baby to Jack with outstretched arms.

"Okay, Daddy - your turn."