EPILOGUE

Eight months later…

Sam laid her head on the infirmary pillow while Dr. Lam palpitated her abdomen, pushing uncomfortably down around her stomach and bladder. "Have you been eating regular meals?" asked the good doctor.

Sam frowned. "Well, you know me…"

Lam shook her head. "Sam, you have got to stop doing this to yourself." She pulled Sam's shirt down and helped her sit up. "You're not a child, you have to eat and sleep just like every other human. Stop working yourself to death." Sam looked down at her hands clasped in front of her while Lam scribbled something down on her chart.

"I'm fine, Carolyn. I didn't even pass out! Just a dizzy spell." Sam tried.

"Sam, Mitchell said you had to hang on to the Teal'c to keep from falling over. Have you had any other symptoms?" Lam asked. With the Ori Prior plagues, they had to be sure to take every sudden illness into account, no matter how minute.

"No, just tired. Like you said, I probably should get more sleep." Sam was trying to end the conversation and get out of there.

Lam eyed her and finally asked, "Is there any reason to believe you could be pregnant?"

Sam's head shot up so fast Carolyn thought she might get dizzy again from the sudden movement. Then she noticed how Sam's manner became guarded, her eyes small and gloomy. "No. There's no chance of that," was her only answer.

Lam cleared her throat uncomfortably. She knew Sam and General O'Neill were married, and although they still did not live together 100% of the time, the couple saw each other frequently. "Okay… I'll run the blood work and let you know if I find anything. Now, go get something to eat before you fall over again."

Sam jumped off the infirmary bed and was to the door faster than Carolyn could believe for someone who had just nearly fainted, a "Yes, Ma'am" could be heard near the exit.

It was several hours later when Dr. Lam strolled into Carter's lab, a folder clasped in her hands. She knocked briefly on the open door and Sam looked up from her spot. She was hunched over a piece of technology, and Lam knew it was the Prior disrupter Sam had been working on, an attempt to stop the Priors from using the power emitted through their staff weapons. "Hey, Carolyn," Sam greeted.

"Sam," Carolyn nodded and moved inside, closing the door behind her. Sam noticed the action and furrowed her brow, sitting on the stool behind her and squaring her shoulders. "Did something show up on my blood work?" she asked.

Carolyn moved deeper into the lab, coming to stand by Sam's bench, still a few feet from her patient, and placed the folder she had been holding down on the table. Sam looked at it while Carolyn began, "Yes, something did show up." Sam looked at her then, mildly concerned. "But it's fine; you're just fine." Carolyn added, when she saw the panic etched on Sam's features.

"Oh, okay. So, anemia again? I think I still have some iron pills from the last time…" Sam looked around, as if the iron pills were in her lab.

"Hey, Sam," Carolyn interrupted her, "it says on your chart that you aren't on any form of birth control, but you were pretty certain that—"

"Carolyn," Sam stopped her from rambling. "I can't get pregnant. It won't ever happen, so there's no reason to take pills…" Sam explained, with a voice that was shakier than Carolyn was accustomed to hearing from her.

"That's interesting. Who told you that you can't get pregnant?" Carolyn asked, she was never one to be intimidated.

Sam sighed audibly, "Carolyn, can we not do this?" Sam turned her head towards her monitor.

"You're pregnant, Sam." Carolyn stated, picking up the folder next to her and holding it out for Sam. "I ran the test 3 times. When I felt your abdomen it was swollen; there's no mistake." She added, knowing Sam would try to deny it.

Sam was silent. Her eyes had grown larger and she stared at Lam's hand, the folder still dangling between them. She reached out and took it, opening it and scanning its contents. Having confirmation, she looked up at Lam, wide-eyed. "The brochures said…" she stopped, trying to remember what exactly the brochures had said.

"What brochure Sam? Who told you that?" Carolyn demanded.

Sam ran her hands down her face, her palms resting on her cheeks while she answered Lam, "Cancer pamphlets. Jack's chemo. Something about sterility." Sam knew she was having a hard time making complete sentences and just hoped her broken words made some sense to Carolyn.

Carolyn's mouth made an "oh" shape, though no sound came out. She bit her bottom lip, then smiled at Sam. "Sam, chemotherapy can lead to sterility if there is significant damage to the reproductive organs… but it's not an assured thing. And General O'Neill only had a handful of treatments, right?"

"Six," Sam answered, shocked but this news.

"Well, you're pregnant. He probably was not exposed enough to cause permanent dama—"

Lam had to stop as she was suddenly concerned that Sam would pass out, and she took several steps until she was directly in front of Sam, and held onto her forearms.

"I can see this is a huge shock. But it's a good surprise, right?" Carolyn wasn't sure how to handle this situation. She never dealt with pregnancies, just your run of the mill doomsday plagues, gunshot wounds, nanites... This was a nice break for her, she thought.

Sam looked up at her and gave her a huge smile. "Yes, Carolyn. This is very, very good news."

Sam got up, now completely ignoring Dr. Lam, and set about shutting down her computer. She turned off the device she was working on for the Ori fight, picked up her keys from a drawer on her desk, and flipped the lights off on her way out. She had a plane to catch. She had to tell Jack that their future just got a little brighter.

THE END.

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