Jack was stunned, his eyes shifting from the horrified expression on her face to her chest. His mind was searching for words and apparently, so was Sam's because she was gaping clearly grasping for the right words. This had only happened once before in his entire life! Well not once, but during one specific time; when he was married to Sara and they'd had Charlie.
Breaking her gaze on her breasts, Sam brought up her hand as she sat up. "Jack?" She asked, looking at him to make sure she wasn't imagining things.
"Christ," he mumbled, dragging one hand through his hair and then realizing where his other hand was. "Sorry," he muttered and slid his fingers from her, wiping them on the sheets.
Grazing the milky fluid with her fingertips, Sam stared at it and rubbed it between her fingers. "God," she smelled at it before darting out her tongue and tasting it. "Jack?"
"There is only one thing I can think of," he whispered in a defeated tone. This couldn't really be happening, could it?
She swallowed hard, frowning as she looked down again. "That would mean that I-"
"Yeah," he confirmed. Finally snapping out his daze, Jack started pacing. Reaching the nightstand he grabbed some tissues and handed them to her. "Here."
"God, I can't believe it," Sam whispered as she took them from him and wiped herself clean. "And you didn't know?"
"Of course not!" he barked, glaring at her. "Sorry," he mumbled, seeing her wince. "You need to see Janet."
"No, I'm sorry," she said, getting up and grabbing his arm. "I know you would never lie about this."
Jack simply nodded and, shaking off her arm, leaned down to grab his boxers. "I'll contact the Prometheus to have us beamed over to the SGC."
"Okay," Sam gnawed her lip, looking around for her own clothing as he pulled on his boxers. "I'll just jump in the shower," she mentioned before slipping into the bathroom. She was feeling sticky and certainly didn't want the petite doctor to give her a physical without showering first!
"Yeah," he replied before putting on a pair of jeans and a sweater. Spotting the tissues Sam had used, he grabbed them and, going downstairs, put them in a plastic bag to hand over to Janet before contacting the ship as well as the SGC, to let them know Sam needed to see Doctor Fraiser. He still couldn't wrap his head around what had just happened. Surely this couldn't be? No matter how hard he tried, though, there wasn't any other explanation he could think of. He had no idea what to do next and decided to just wait and hear what Janet would make of this before drawing premature conclusions.
"I'm ready," Sam told him as she walked down the stairs, also dressed in a pair of jeans and a simple sweater.
"They'll beam us up in," Jack glanced at his watch, "six minutes. I already called the SGC and if everything goes according to plan, Walter has just called Janet and she should be on her way now. I haven't given any details yet just that it was urgent."
"I understand," she gave him a wan smile and sat down on a chair. Her hands were shaking with anxiety, not knowing what to think about what had just happened. One minute they were making love and the next… God, could it really be true? How could she not have noticed before? Not that she had any experience with this, but still. "I don't know what to think," she admitted softly.
"Me neither," Jack confessed, padding over to her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. He really didn't want to think about what this would mean. Before he could say anything else, though a bright white light enveloped them.
"Let's go into my office," Janet said after her brief exam. "Come on."
Jack waited for Sam to hop off the bed and then they both followed the doctor.
"Have a seat," she motioned towards the two chairs in front of her desk as she leaned back in her own chair. "After what you," she looked at General O'Neill, "and Sam told me about what happened and my quick exam, I am pretty sure you were right."
"Pretty sure?" Jack echoed.
"Yes, General," Janet emphasized his rank as she glared at him. "Since it only happened once we'll have to wait for the lab results of the fluids on the tissues and-"
"Doc," he interrupted her, "how the hell can you not have noticed it before?"
"Jack," Sam protested, grabbing his hand, scowling at him. Surely Janet had done her best with all the regular exams she'd performed?
Janet sighed and linking her fingers, leaned forward placing her arms on the desk. "Sir, with all due respect I never imagined this either."
"I thought you had done several physical exams right after they brought Sam here!"
"Yes Sir," she said in a placating tone. "However, there was nothing that indicated this."
"So what are you saying, Janet?" Sam asked hesitantly, glancing at Jack.
"Well, considering everything we know I'd say…" She took a deep breath, her eyes shifting from Sam to the General and back. "I'd say you indeed had a let down reflex."
"Oh God," Sam gasped, burying her face in her hands. "That means we," she motioned between her and Jack, "have a child?"
"It means," Jack groaned, glancing at her, "that you gave birth to a child." This was like his worst nightmare; first Sam was abducted when they were finally together, then comes back without her memory and now it turns out she had a child while she was missing! He had imagined a lot of things that could've happened to her, what Ba'al could've done to her but never in his wildest dreams had this scenario crossed his mind. But whose child?
Janet leaned back, letting this new information sink in while her own mind was racing a mile a minute. How could she have missed this? After all the exams, all the tests, the blood work, everything she had done and this major event had gone unnoticed? "Actually Sir," she started after a minute of silence, "considering Sam has only been gone for a little over seven months and the technology Ba'al has at his disposal, I'm inclined to agree with her. As far as we know, the Goa'uld aren't capable of affecting time in this manner to speed up the pregnancy. Bearing in mind that Ba'al is already capable of producing his own clones, he wouldn't, ah," she shifted uncomfortably, trying to find the right words. "He wouldn't need Sam to, ah… carry them for him or use her for anything like this at all. Not to mention that he can make adult clones, why would he need to go through the stages of pregnancy to end up with a baby? I mean, have we ever encountered a Goa'uld that cares for a child? With the exception of Apophis and Amaunet's attempt to bring forth a harsesis there is no evidence that they, ah," she stammered a bit, not wanting to use the term ' father' realizing the emotional distress the General was already in, "want or need a human child. It would therefore not make any sense for him to use Sam to give him a child."
"If you say so, Doc," Jack replied, still not convinced. He wanted to believe Ba'al wouldn't do such a thing, then again… he was Ba'al. There wasn't anything the snake wouldn't do.
Steeling herself, Sam finally spoke up. "Could these Goa'uld even care for a premature baby?"
"I doubt it," Janet snorted. "They aren't known for their patience or their medical knowledge. Sure, they have a sarcophagus but that wouldn't be effective enough."
Sam simply nodded, still having no idea what the hell a sarcophagus was, only knowing that apparently it had something to do with medicine or healing and that it has addictive properties. "Are you really sure about this Janet? I mean, wouldn't there be any evidence that I've carried a child? You did do an ultrasound, several scans and physical exams…."
Hearing her voice trail off, Janet glanced at General O'Neill. If she hadn't known the man for almost a decade, she wouldn't be able to see how he was fuming on the inside. He was tense, angry, confused and… hurt? "Yes, I did," she replied, waiting for both of them to look at her. "I've been thinking about this too since you got here and I have to admit that there are certain things that – in hindsight – make sense now. Your blood work for example; I thought it was all messed up from the sarcophagus, as we've already experienced with the General and Daniel in the past. But there were also differences to that, which I assumed were because of your different physiology and your sex. After you went through withdrawal, though, your hormones were still unbalanced. Namely oxytocin and prolactin were too high, while the rest of your hormones were within normal range if slightly elevated compared to your records. Because we've never had a female going through sarcophagus withdrawal I simply assumed this was because due to your different sex. Now, however, it makes perfect sense; after childbirth most of the hormones drop to their normal levels – before the pregnancy – within hours if not days, but not these two because they are needed for bonding, recovery and breastfeeding."
"Yet you didn't think of it before," Jack mentioned, a hint of anger tingeing his voice.
"No Sir, I didn't," she calmly replied. "Sam was unusually skinny when Colonel Reynolds and his team found her, quite the opposite from what you would expect if a woman has given birth recently. Not to mention that the use of the sarcophagus has probably restored her body and in a way, got rid of any evidence of Sam ever giving birth."
He had to admit that it made some kind of sense, but he still wasn't sure about all of this. On one hand he wanted Sam to have been pregnant, that this meant they had a child together. On the other hand he wanted Fraiser to be wrong, because this all meant that Sam had given birth to a child that was out there, somewhere and probably in the clutches of the most hated snake. "When will you know for sure?"
"Like I said, Sir, we'll have to wait until the fluids on the tissues have been analyzed and I also took another sample of Sam's blood and told the analysts to check for any signs that might indicate she's been pregnant. Considering the first tests we did when Sam got here there's a good chance the delivery hasn't been that long ago," she explained. "Most of the hormones drop down to their normal levels quite fast and prolactin returns to pregravid levels within three weeks if one is not lactating. Even when lactating they return to pregravid levels eventually, and Sam's were still elevated the last time we checked."
"But you're sure there isn't another reason this could have happened?" Sam asked cautiously.
"To be honest, this is the only reasonable explanation honey. It even explains the tenderness you felt in your breasts the last couple of days as well as the stomach aches you've been having."
She nodded absentmindedly, fidgeting with the hem of her sweater. "So it wasn't the birth control pill you gave me?"
Janet shook her head and reached out to grab her friends hand over the desk. "I don't think so, Sam. You're stomach has been bothering you since you got here and it didn't stop when you came out of withdrawal. It was probably contractions of your uterus."
"Why didn't this," Jack made a vague hand gesture towards his wife's chest, "happen earlier?"
"A lot of reasons, Sir," Janet replied. "Sam was going through withdrawal and her hormones were all over the place. She was malnourished and underweight; lacking the strength to breastfeed. If a body is severely underweight, like with anorexics the brain will make sure to use all the nourishment it can get to keep itself alive. There is no energy or sufficient nutrients to keep up some bodily functions and the distorted hormone balance won't allow a anorexic woman to have her menstrual cycle; there is no need to be able to reproduce when the body isn't strong enough to carry a child. In Sam's case it means that her body wasn't up for the task of breastfeeding. Not to mention that there wasn't a baby to breastfeed or any other kind of stimulation," she narrowed her eyes at him. They hadn't told her the exact circumstances in which they'd found out Sam was lactating, but she had a pretty good idea. After all, Sam hadn't been in contact with babies and she doubted that it had happened during a hot bath or shower, considering she hadn't been lactating before. She did know however, that oxytocin – which is responsible for the milk ejection – was also released during an orgasm.
"So," Sam looked at them nervously, "now what?"
"Well, when the test results come back positive I want to do a more thorough exam now that I know what to look for," Janet informed her.
"Okay," she nodded, knowing it was necessary even if she didn't like to be poked and prodded.
Jack scrubbed his face with his hand, sighing loudly. "We'll have to inform Landry, the President and the JCS. If this," he waved around, "is all true we can't let that bastard get away with this." He'd be damned if he'd lose another child! "I wouldn't trust Ba'al to feed his own Jaffa, let alone care for an infant."
Janet nodded, agreeing with him. "I will also need to go over the time before Sam disappeared," she continued. "With you, Sir." She needed to know when they'd had intercourse so she could calculate how far along Sam had been when Ba'al had taken her and how old her child probably was. It still felt so unreal. They were talking about a child, a pregnancy, a delivery and so on, while this was Sam! Her best friend, Jack's wife. It was most likely their baby, something they should be excited about not worrying about where it was and what the hell had happened with it!
"Of course," he mumbled, deep in his own thoughts. His hands were shaking in his lap and he wasn't afraid to admit – to himself – that he was terrified this all might be true. That he and Sam had a baby together! One she didn't remember, didn't know what happened to it. Hell, they wouldn't even know if it was a boy or a girl until either Sam remembered something or they found Ba'al. If he still had the child, that is! Oh God, he didn't even want to think about what Ba'al might have done with his baby!
Jack was grateful that it was in the middle of the night, because at least now there was only a skeleton crew around the base and he didn't have to acknowledge a soldier on every corner of the corridors. Balancing his tray with blue and red jello, two cups of coffee and a piece of pie in his hands, he continued his way back to the infirmary. He and the Doc had been going over the last few months before Sam had been abducted and one of the nurses was examining Sam in the meantime. They'd taken a break so he could get them something to eat and drink – well, Sam only wanted jello – before continuing. Once he reached the infirmary he immediately went to Janet's office. "Hey Doc, got you a piece of pie or the red jello – they were the only things left – and a cup of coffee. Where is Sam?"
Janet immediately took a sip of the black liquid, enjoying the taste as well as needing the caffeine shot. "I gave her a sedative."
"Why?"
"She needed to rest, Sir and she couldn't stop thinking long enough to close her eyes and lie down."
"I'll be right back," he mumbled, getting up with the blue jello in one hand. He placed the cup and spoon on her nightstand and kissed her forehead. The Doc was right; Sam was tired and she needed her rest if those dark circles under her eyes were anything to go by. He was still freaking out over this whole thing, it all felt so surreal and he couldn't imagine what she must be going through. No doubt she'd be blaming herself for something that wasn't her fault, for not remembering such a crucial thing – person, he corrected himself. Brushing her bangs out of her face, he walked back to the office.
"The lab just called," Janet said the moment he sat down. "The blood work isn't done yet, but the fluids on the tissues were analyzed; I'm sorry, Sir, but we were right."
Jack closed his eyes and tried to calm himself, process this new information. Or rather, confirmation. After all, hadn't he known the minute Sam panicked and he'd seen it with his own eyes? It had happened in the past with Sara, when she had been breastfeeding Charlie and he doubted Sam would suddenly lactate without any reason. "Christ," he muttered under his breath. He didn't know what to do now, how to feel. Should he be happy, knowing that Sam had most likely given birth to their baby somewhere in this galaxy and that Ba'al probably still had the child? The idea of Ba'al having anyone's child sickened him, but to know that he had his child, stolen it from them was almost too much. Janet had already made the calculations and if the entire pregnancy had progressed naturally, the child was definitely his and Sam's. Even taking in all the possibilities, she'd also suggested that it hadn't been that long ago that Sam had given birth. It may have been the reason – her motivation – to escape only to end up alone, without the baby and her memory on that gateless planet where Reynolds had found her.
Janet fidgeted with the cord from the telephone, not knowing what to say. She'd just – more or less – told one of her good friends that he was a father to a child they hadn't known the existence of. They didn't even know where to begin looking for the baby with Ba'al hiding out in one of his secret bases, playing hide and seek with his clones all over this galaxy. Was she supposed to congratulate her friends because they finally had a child together, the epitome of their strong love for each other? Or should she tell him how sorry she was about the news? After all, how can anyone – especially someone with Jack O'Neill's past – be happy knowing that he had a child out there somewhere in the hands of one of his worst enemies? A child his wife didn't remember carrying, giving birth to. They didn't even know if it was a boy or a girl! "Perhaps it's time to inform General Landry and the President, Sir."
He grimaced, dragging a hand through his hair as he leaned back in his chair. "What about Daniel and Teal'c? T said they'd beam back here from the party in DC. Do you know if they stayed on base?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact I ran into them right after they got here. Daniel had been drinking and decided to stay on base to work on some translations in the morning and Teal'c, well, he's not leaving the planet just yet. Something tells me he's staying here until he knows Sam is doing better or if he gets word from the Free Jaffa that they've spotted Ba'al."
"Good, I want them to be there as well. They need to know too."
She nodded and grabbed the phone. "I'll call them right now while you contact General Landry and the President. Sam will be out for a few more hours, but I don't think she needs to be there anyway. She's already heard much of it and the confusion and everything is taking its toll on her, I'm afraid."
"Yeah," Jack agreed, "she already was pretty tired when we got back from the party."
"Oh, really?" Janet asked, raising a brow while she dialed Daniel's room. "Apparently not too tired," she muttered under her breath.
"Hey, I'm only human Doc," Jack replied, getting up from his seat. "I'll be in the briefing room."
"And you're sure about this?" Daniel asked, finally breaking the silence.
"Yes Daniel, as sure as I can be without knowing what happened to Sam while she was missing," Janet replied, glad to hear everyone was finally coming out of the shock. She realized how shocking it must be – hell, she was shocked – but after calling Daniel and Teal'c, she'd gone to retrieve the report analysis from the lab and she was now even more certain.
"God, I can't believe this," he muttered, glancing at Jack. "I-I really don't know what to say, Jack."
"Do not worry O'Neill. We will find Ba'al and retrieve the child," Teal'c's tone of voice was quiet but resolved.
Jack nodded absentmindedly. He didn't even know what to think or say, so he could only imagine what his friends were thinking.
"What about Colonel Carter?"
Janet turned towards the video screen to face the President. He had insisted on hearing the full story and thus they were using the videoconference screen. "I haven't been able to tell her about the lab results yet, Mr. President," she started, "but she was quite shocked after our first conversation. After a quick exam I gave her a sedative to relax her while General O'Neill and I continued, Sir."
"I see, when will she wake up?"
"Not for at least four more hours, Sirs."
"You know," Daniel started, feeling like he had an epiphany. "This actually makes a lot of sense!"
"Yeah, the Doc already told us that, Daniel," Jack rolled his eyes, annoyed by his excited voice.
He shook his head and held up his hand. "I don't mean medically speaking. I was talking about Sam and Ba'al. Didn't the clone say that Ba'al wanted Sam as the new host for his queen?"
"Don't remind me," he scowled.
"No, think!" Daniel looked around the table expectantly. Meeting only blank faces, he sighed. "When Sha-Amaunet," he corrected himself, "was pregnant Apophis sent her away in hiding, remember?"
Jack shrugged, reminded of that particular event and how much it had hurt Daniel to see his wife pregnant with another man's child. "Yeah, so?"
"Sha're told us that Amaunet had to go in some sort of sleep state to prevent a rejection of the child or a premature birth and that she was in full control," he summarized, ignoring the pain he felt from the memory.
"Of course!" Janet exclaimed. "Ba'al couldn't use Sam as a host because she was already pregnant!"
"Indeed, the symbiote would most likely reject the human as a vessel," Teal'c added.
Realizing they were on to something, Jack felt himself agreeing. "Which would be another reason for Sam to try and get out of there as soon as she was able."
"She was probably guarded most of the time and I doubt she would've been able to get very far while highly pregnant," Hank Landry mentioned. "She must have known that once the baby was born Ba'al would try again; after all, she's already proven to be suitable as a host with Jolinar."
"But maybe the snake wouldn't want her because of that… stuff left inside of her?"
Janet frowned at the President's words and opened the file in front of her. "No Sir, I don't think so. The Goa'uld in Steveston didn't mind her as a host."
"Well, they were immature and cloned, right?" Daniel asked from memory. He'd been on a higher plane of existence at the time but had read all the reports from the time he'd been gone.
"Indeed," Teal'c inclined his head in acknowledgement. "However that does not mean they did not have the knowledge of all the Goa'uld that came before them."
"Right," he mumbled. "Probably would've been just as picky."
"Either way," Janet wanted to get back to the topic at hand, "the baby is probably the reason Sam didn't end up as Ba'al's queen."
"The timeline fits?" Hank asked, looking from Jack to the doctor. "You know, with the…."
Janet nodded, holding up the file. "Yes Sir, General O'Neill and I have gone over the last few weeks before Sam disappeared and the time of conception coincides with, ah… her downtime. I've also had a chance to look at the report from the lab before coming here and it lists the components of the milk. I know this is not my area of expertise, however I do know that it indicates that this is not just the milk but probably the last of the colostrum."
"You lost me, Doctor," Henry Hayes admitted via the video link.
Looking up, Janet noticed all the puzzled faces around the table. Right, men… "The colostrum is the first milk a baby receives and it's full of white blood cells, several antibodies, prolactin, lactoferrin, complement, cytokines, growth factors and very rich in protein. Ah," she stammered a bit realizing they were still staring at her, "mostly components of the immune system to protect the baby until it has its own immune system. Compared to normal milk it also contains lower amounts of carbohydrates, lipids and potassium. Over the first two weeks of the birth the colostrum production gives way for mature breast milk and the test results show the end of that transition, which would put Sam in the last phase of lactogenesis. All of this means that the delivery has been very recent and due to her malnutrition and physical condition the process was probably halted or at least slowed until she recovered."
"This would further prove that the child is indeed O'Neill and Colonel Carter's offspring," Teal'c concluded.
"Well, I think I can safely say that we will have to make have to prioritize the goals of the SGC to capturing Ba'al or one of his clones and find baby O'Neill," Henry remarked. "Teal'c are the Free Jaffa still pursuing Ba'al?"
"Many of our Jaffa are continuing the search for Ba'al, his planets and secret facilities but we have not been able to complete our earlier pursuit and are unaware of his current whereabouts."
"Jack, you will confer with the NID to see what they know in the morning."
"Yes Sir, Mr. President," Jack nodded, still slightly dazed by today's events. "After that Hank and I will discuss our next plan of action and we will try to contact our allies."
"Very well, good luck and keep me posted. Good luck people," Henry said before the screen went black.
"We're going to need it," Daniel mumbled, still trying to process the idea of Sam and Jack having a baby.
"Yes, well, I think it's safe to say that we can all use some rest before getting up in a few hours. Jack, why don't you and Colonel Carter use one of the VIP rooms?"
"Thanks Hank," Jack replied and got up from his chair. "I'll go see how Sam is doing."
Janet jumped up from her seat as well and quickly gathered her papers. "I'll go with you, Sir."
A/N: Hope the plot twist was worth the wait! I know some of you already suspected that maybe Sam had been pregnant during her time away when she was first found…