-- Chapter Eleven --
Daniel found Sam exactly where he expected her to be. She sat on the hill overlooking the tomb where they would one day hide the ZPM and video camera for their future selves, her knees pulled up to her chest.
"Mind if I join you?"
Sam looked up. The faintest hint of a smile flashed on her lips before it disappeared. "Of course not."
Daniel sat next to her and watched the work below. The sun was starting to set, and the workers were calling it a day. Earlier, the area had been a hub of activity, but now only a few people remained. He hoped that Jack and Teal'c were right. That Sam was finally ready to talk.
He stole a few glances at her, afraid that starting the conversation would cause her to shut down again. Just two months ago, they would gladly talk for hours about every topic imaginable. Lately, it was a good day if she said a dozen words to him.
"It's funny," she said softly.
He turned, waiting for her to continue, hoping that today was a good day.
"The way things work out," she said. "It never really goes according to plan, does it?" Sam laughed harshly. "Maybe it's not supposed to."
"What do you mean?"
"I never should have let us come here. It's impossible for us not to have an impact on the timeline. I should have known that." She looked at him and sighed. "We could have already changed our future to the point where we never even joined the Stargate Program."
"Sam, I know that it's possible we've changed things. But you can't keep doing this to yourself. You can't keep agonizing over the 'what ifs' about our being here. Those Jaffa—"
She silenced him with a raised hand and turned her attention back to the tomb below them. "It's gonna be a while before they finish that, isn't it?"
"Yeah. I'm guessing four or five years."
"And the rebellion?"
"I don't know. Maybe about the same time."
Sam weaved her fingers together, resting her elbows on her knees and leaning her forehead against her thumbs. "Five years," she said quietly. "Well, I guess it could be worse."
Tentatively, Daniel reached out, pulling her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his neck. He rested his cheek on her head, relieved.
"Sam, please forgive me. I just couldn't watch you be killed." His voice caught in his throat. It felt good to hold her again. "Talk to me. I miss you."
She pulled away from him, and he felt cold despite the desert sun beating down on his back.
Sam took a deep breath and held it for a moment. "I'm late," she said.
"Late for—" Daniel felt his eyes widen and his heart pound in his chest as he realised the full meaning of what she was saying. "You— How late?"
"Um..." Sam gave him a weak smile. "About two months."
"Two months? Why didn't you tell me?"
"I wanted to be sure."
"Oh God, Sam." Daniel struggled to find the words to express his feelings at this news.
She looked at him, a wary expression on her face. "Is this good news?"
"Wh— Are you kidding?" Daniel looked at her incredulously. "This is the best news!" He caressed her face and kissed her tenderly. When they parted, he looked down at her abdomen and flattened his hand against her belly. He locked eyes with her, his eyes welling with tears of joy and relief. "We're going to have a baby!"
Sam gave him a small smile. "Yes, we are," she said. "I just hope it doesn't cause us to cease to exist."
Daniel's heart ached, his joy about becoming a father evaporating at her unenthusiastic tone. He studied her carefully. "Are you okay with this?"
With a shuddering breath, she nodded. "Yeah, I think so." She looked again at the tomb below.
"This is why you've been so distant. This is why you agreed to help with the rebellion, isn't it?"
"We have to be very careful." Sam placed a hand on her stomach. "But at this point, I think it's unreasonable to believe we've made no impact on the timeline at all." She looked at him and shrugged slightly. "Like Teal'c said, maybe by being involved in the rebellion, we can help make sure things happen the way they're supposed to."
Daniel nodded, finally understanding the reasons for her behaviour the last two months and relieved that it wasn't because of him.
Her eyes lingered on him for a long moment. "Daniel, I'm sorry—"
"Shh." He gathered her in his arms again, holding her tenderly.
"I never should have pushed you away. I don't know what I was—"
Daniel shushed her again. "Sam, it's okay." He ducked his head to try to see her face. "Just remember you can always talk to me about anything, okay?"
"I know that. I've always known that. I just—" She sighed. "I'm sorry. I was stupid."
"Hey," he said, smiling. "You're anything but stupid, Sam. I can hardly imagine what your hormones are doing to your emotions right now." Daniel gazed at his wife lovingly and brushed her hair off her forehead, caressing her face. "I can't believe we're going to have a baby," he said softly.
"It shouldn't have happened..."
"Because of the timeline?"
"Because of biology." She rested her head comfortably on his shoulder. "It's funny how things turn out."
"Are you happy, Sam?"
She pulled away again and regarded him seriously. "Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that the existence of this baby isn't going to end the world as we know it."
Daniel nodded slowly. That was something he had absolutely no problem agreeing with.
"With that assumption in place, all that remains is that I'm having your baby." Sam's eyes sparkled at him in the light from the setting sun. "And that makes me very happy, Daniel."
He laughed in relief. "I love you, Sam." Daniel reached out to her and was thrilled when she leaned into his embrace. His lips pressed against hers in a tender kiss.
Sam moaned quietly and intensified the kiss, her arms pulling his body against hers. Her lips moved hungrily over his before migrating over his jaw and down his neck.
"Oh, Sam..." he murmured.
"I love you," she said, her lips still on his neck. Sam climbed onto his lap and leaned into him, pressing him backwards to lie on the sand. She lifted her head and looked down at him. "Can you forgive me for pushing you away?"
Daniel brushed the back of his fingers over her cheek, smiling. "I already have."
A slow smile spread across her face, and her hands began to work their way under his robes. Sam lowered her head and gently nipped at his bottom lip with her teeth. Daniel laughed softly, tightening his arms around her body.
As they made love in the sand, all of Daniel's fears and insecurities melted away to release the near constant state of wonder and happiness that had been buried within him during their estrangement. He knew that everything was going to be all right now.
--------------------------------
They lay at the top of the hill, watching as the stars appeared in the darkening sky. Daniel took a deep and contented breath, then let it out slowly. In his arms, Sam uttered a happy hum and cuddled even closer against him.
"Jack and Teal'c will be getting worried about us," he said softly.
"Yeah, I guess we should head back."
"Are we going to tell them the news?"
"Can you imagine what would happen if we didn't?"
Daniel chuckled. "Good point."
After another moment in each other's arms, they stood up and brushed the sand from their robes. They headed back across the desert toward the encampment. Sam hooked her arm under Daniel's, holding him close as they walked.
Their tent was glowing with the flickering light of a lamp burning inside. Jack and Teal'c looked up as they entered. They had undoubtedly been waiting to learn the results of the mission they had sent Daniel on – to talk to Sam. Teal'c smiled, and Jack's eyes moved over the couple.
"Well," said Jack. "Looks like that worked!"
"Sir, I'm sorry for my, uh, erratic behaviour lately. I had a lot of thinking to do."
"Carter, if there's ever a time you stop thinking, the world would probably stop turning." He paused and glanced briefly at Daniel. "Everything figured out now?"
Sam inhaled deeply and looked up at Daniel, her arm wound around his waist in a half hug. "Yeah, I think so."
Daniel smiled down at her and squeezed her shoulder. She nodded at him, and her arm dropped from his waist. They turned back to Jack, who was looking at them expectantly.
"Jack, Teal'c," began Daniel. "How would you two like to be uncles?"
Jack's eyes widened.
Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "You are with child, Colonel Carter?"
Sam smiled. "Indeed."
"This is joyous news." Teal'c stood and engulfed both Sam and Daniel in a giant Jaffa hug. "I offer you both my congratulations!"
"Thanks, Teal'c." Daniel knew he was grinning like an idiot, but he couldn't help it. He looked at Jack, trying to gauge his reaction.
His friend stood up slowly, looking over both Sam and Daniel.
Daniel glanced at Sam. She looked very nervous. He reached out to take her hand in his. She gave it a grateful squeeze, her eyes never leaving Jack.
"A baby," said Jack. "This is big." His expression revealed nothing of what he was thinking.
Daniel nodded cautiously, unsure as to whether or not 'big' also meant 'good'.
Suddenly, Jack's face broke out into a huge grin. "This is huge!" He pulled Sam and Daniel into their second three-way hug in the last two minutes. Releasing them, he squeezed their shoulders. "Good for you two."
"Yeah?" asked Daniel.
"Yeah!" said Jack. "Of course, you realise the kid is probably going to invent cold fusion or something."
Sam winced.
"The child will, in all likelihood, possess an above average intellect," said Teal'c.
Daniel ducked his head at the compliment and addressed Jack. "We know that having a child can dramatically alter history. But the way I look at it, it's like the Grandfather Paradox."
Sam turned to him, a frown creasing her brow. Slowly, her face cleared, and she looked at him with shining eyes. She stepped closer and wrapped her arm around his waist again, resting her cheek on his shoulder silently. Daniel placed his arm over her shoulders. It felt so good to have her near him again.
"Wait a minute," said Jack. "Doesn't that say something about going back in time and killing your grandfather?"
Sam lifted her head from Daniel's shoulder to look at Jack and nodded. "Yes, sir. But in less specific terms, it describes a paradox wherein a time traveller sets in motion a series of events that will cause him to never exist. And if he never existed, he could never have set those events in motion in the first place." She glanced at Daniel, smiling slightly, then dragged her teeth over her bottom lip and turned back to Jack. "A common solution to the paradox is that no one who travels back in time would alter their history in such a way that they'd never have existed to change the past in the first place."
Jack blinked slowly. "Which means...?"
"Which means that while we might have changed history, the fact that we're here might indicate that it's still possible for our timeline to exist unchanged. We just have to make sure that's what happens."
"So, you're saying that maybe we were supposed to help out with the rebellion?"
"I don't know if I'd go that far, sir. But I think we can help them create a strategy that will fit with our history. We should go back to our original plan and use the rebellion as a distraction so we can steal back the Jumper. We'll bring the ZPM back to our time with us." She glanced at Daniel and placed a hand on her stomach. "Putting it in the tomb will just undo everything that's happened to us here."
Daniel squeezed her shoulder, smiling broadly at her. When they got back to their time, they'd have a family. He couldn't remember the last time he felt so happy.
Jack grinned. "Okay. Well, this is just a great day. Not only do I get to do something to get the resident snakehead off my planet, but I also learn that I'm going to be an honorary uncle!"
"There's nothing honorary about it, Jack," said Daniel. "You and Teal'c are family to Sam and me."
"Well, if we're family, I have one request to make."
"What's that, sir?" Sam asked.
"That you stop calling me 'sir', Carter."
Sam just laughed.
"I'm serious. The Air Force doesn't exist. Hell, America doesn't even exist!"
"Does that mean you're going to start calling me 'Sam', sir?"
"Ah!" Jack raised a finger in the air. "You were saying? Sam?"
Sam laughed again. "It's a deal. Jack."
"Excellent. Well, Teal'c, why don't we leave Daniel and Sam to celebrate."
"Indeed," said Teal'c with a smile.
After the four friends said their goodnights, Sam and Daniel began preparing for bed.
"I should have talked to you right from the start," Sam said as Daniel settled himself into their bed.
"It doesn't matter now." He reached his hands out to her, and she let him pull her down next to him.
"You're right about the Grandfather Paradox. I should have thought of it before. If I hadn't pushed you away—"
Daniel silenced her self-punishing words with a kiss. When he pulled away, he ran his fingers over her lips and smiled, hoping she'd realise that she wasn't going to fix anything by feeling guilty. "I love you, Sam."
She squeezed her eyes closed for a moment before looking up at him. "I love you, Daniel," she whispered.
Lowering his head, Daniel kissed her stomach. "And I love you," he said to her belly.
Sam smiled and ran her fingers through his hair and over his face. "You're going to be an incredible father."
"I hope so." He wove his fingers together over her abdomen and rested his chin on his hands, looking up at her. "You're going to be quite the fabulous mother. And a gorgeous pregnant woman, too." Daniel waggled his eyebrows at her.
She laughed, tugging on his hands to pull him closer. "C'mere, you."
--------------------------------
Daniel woke up to be greeted by the profile of his wife next to him. He pushed himself up on one elbow to gaze down at her. Now more than six months into her pregnancy, she was even more beautiful than he could have ever imagined. Even as she slept, she glowed. Daniel placed his hand on her swollen belly. He still had a hard time believing that in a matter of months, he'd be able to hold their child in his arms.
The beam of sunlight that had awoken him finally made its way over Sam's face. With a little groan, she turned her face toward Daniel and away from the light. Daniel settled down onto his pillow again to watch her wake up. With a sigh, her eyes opened. And she smiled at him.
"Morning," she murmured.
Daniel leaned in for a kiss. "Morning," he whispered against her lips.
"Mmm..." Sam smiled. "You know, I think I could wake up like this every morning for the rest of my life."
Daniel chuckled and pushed himself up on his elbow again. "I think I can handle that," he said, running his fingers over the curve of her hip.
She looked around their tent, frowning. "It's late."
"You looked so peaceful. I couldn't bear to wake you up."
"I should get ready to go."
"You don't want to stay just a little longer?" Daniel gave his best puppy-dog look.
Sam laughed, her eyes dancing. "I would love to stay here in bed with my brilliant and handsome husband all day long." She pulled him down for a sweet and lingering kiss. "But Teal'c's going to be waiting."
The last four and a half months, SG-1 had spent most of their time working with Katep to help organise the rebellion against Ra. They began to make contact with a number of other rebel groups, coordinating their efforts and stockpiling weapons.
Today, Sam and Teal'c were meeting some rebels from a nearby village. They had contact with people sympathetic to the rebellion from closer within Ra's forces and would prove to be valuable allies. Haji, a friend of Katep's, was going with them. Jack and Daniel were to meet with another group of rebels with Katep.
There had been some concerns that they might be doing too much too fast, and splitting up to meet with two groups at the same time was evidence of that. But ultimately, they had all agreed that even at this rate, it would probably take years for them to build up the resistance to the point where they could effectively lead an attack to force Ra off of the planet.
"Yes, and I suppose Jack is waiting for me." With a reluctant sigh, Daniel stood and reached down to help Sam out of bed.
"Thank you," she said, smiling. Sam stretched her back, making her stomach stick out even more. Daniel kissed it, and she playfully swatted him away. "Go get dressed, you."
As Sam finished getting ready for the day, Daniel came up behind her. He wrapped his arms around his wife's waist, spreading his fingers over her protruding belly, and nuzzled her neck.
Sam turned around in his arms and pulled him close. Her fingers tangled in his hair as they shared another kiss. Sam's tongue caressed his, probing his mouth. Daniel moaned softly. His hands moved over her back, his lips over hers hungrily. Then, with Herculean effort, he pulled away and rested his forehead on hers. "You keep that up and neither of us will be going anywhere today."
"Would that be so terrible?" Sam raised a playful eyebrow.
Daniel chuckled. "Not in the least." He kissed the tip of her nose. "But Jack will have our hides."
Sam sighed melodramatically. "Well, I should be back after noon. Maybe we can pick up where we left off."
"It's a date."
"I love you."
"I love you, Sam."
With one more kiss, they went outside. Sam headed off to meet Teal'c for their day's mission. Daniel wandered over to the middle of the encampment where Jack was watching some women engrave intricate designs into bowls.
"Well, well, well," said Jack as Daniel approached. "Look who finally decided to join the land of the living."
"Good morning to you too, Jack. You ready to go?"
"Yeah, in a minute. Look at this." He nodded his chin in the direction of the women.
Daniel silently watched them work for a moment.
"It's pretty incredible."
Daniel turned to his friend in surprise. "You think this is incredible?"
"Well, yeah. I mean, I know throwing pots can take a while to learn, but that's nothing compared to what they're doing."
"Wait, you know how to throw pots?"
"Sure. Don't you?"
"Since when?" Daniel scoffed.
Jack waved his hand in vague circles. "Oh, I learned during the time loop that only Teal'c and I remember."
Daniel just stared at his friend, dumbfounded.
"I don't think I ever realised how much work goes into making these things." Jack pointed at the bowls the women were engraving.
"I thought you said you'd never understand my fascination with 'rocks'."
"They're artefacts, Daniel."
At that, Daniel burst into laughter. "Jack, you're a never-ending source of astonishment."
"Right backatcha, Danny-boy." Jack clapped a hand onto Daniel's shoulder and they headed off meet Katep. "How's Sam doing?"
Daniel grinned. "She's more beautiful every day."
"Just a few more months and you'll learn I wasn't kidding about how much work a baby can be."
"Work that's well worth it, I'm sure."
"That it is, Daniel. That it is."
To be continued...
Please read and review.
