Jack found Daniel talking to a few farmers about all the advancements Byron and Lena could make to their village. "Daniel, have you seen Sam?"
"Uh, yes, I spoke to her," Daniel replied then he excused himself from the farmers and pulled Jack off to the side. "She told me about Laira and the baby. How are you doing, Jack? It had to be quite a shock."
"It was for a minute, but everything is fine now or it will be once I talk to Sam."
"Fine now? I think it's probably anything but fine. How are you guys going to do this, Jack? A baby is a big deal."
"Daniel, I need to find Sam. Where is she?"
"She left, Jack. I think she needed some time to process all of this. I'm a little worried she'll do something foolish."
"Crap! The baby isn't mine. I've got to get to Sam."
"She's probably back at the SGC by now, and you're right you need to talk to her quickly. But, Jack, I'm having trouble convincing these people they can trust Byron and Lena. You're probably the only one who can convince them, and I don't think you want to broadcast this particular conversation to the entire gate room. Sam would kill you."
"Let's get this done as fast as we can. I've got to talk to Sam before her genius brain over thinks this mess and does something royally stupid." Jack sighed. This was an even bigger mess than he expected. He needed to convince these people quickly and that would definitely require help from Laira and Garan.
Earth
It had taken Jack over twelve hours to get things settled on Edora. He was exhausted and terrified by the time they entered the gate room, but Hammond was still around, waiting to welcome him home.
"Good to see you back, colonel. We were pretty worried," Hammond said as he returned Jack's salute. "Daniel, Teal'c, nice work. Go on to the infirmary and get checked out. I need a word with the colonel before he joins you."
"Certainly, sir. Jacob sends his regards. He needed to get back to the tok'ra and inform them that the mission was a success."
"Very well. Follow me colonel." Jack followed the general to his office. Once the door was closed, Hammond continued, "Jack, Major Carter gave me the basic rundown of the last few days then she brought me a typed mission report and this." Hammond handed Jack a letter but continued talking as Jack read. "Major Carter's mission reports are usually very concise. I've read it several times and, for the life of me, I'm not seeing anything in her report that would cause one of my best officers to resign her commission. Perhaps you can shed some light on it for me."
"Yes, sir," Jack sighed. "I have a pretty good idea why she resigned. Can I see her mission report, general."
The general handed him the report. It was short and factual. She wrote about the jaffa, the missing gate, Traven, and how they had helped the people of Atenos build an irrigation system and overthrow their corrupt leader. She went on to detail the events with Apophis and the weapon. She left out some pretty pertinent details in Jack's opinion, however, because there was absolutely no mention of their marriage. "Sir, I believe there are a few things I would add to Major Carter's report."
"I had a feeling there might be more to it. Was the major hurt in some way, colonel?"
"No sir. Most of the locals were friendly. Um, general, can we have a conversation off the record?"
General Hammond sighed. "Have a seat, Jack. We can keep whatever it is off the record for the moment. Right now, I just need to understand what's happening."
Jack sat down and awkwardly looked at the general. "Sir, the man we overthrew, Lord Beyer, had a bit of an eye for the ladies. Traven suggested Major Carter might be his type. Sam and I had to pretend to be married to keep her safe."
"Pretend?" Hammond asked.
"Yes, sir. We managed to fool Beyer, but we were informed that if Sam were not pregnant within a year of our marriage, he could legally take her as part of his very large concubine. Our friend Lena, the woman who became a tok'ra, became concerned when Sam didn't get pregnant. Of course, at that time we were only pretending, but Lena didn't know that part."
"At that time? In other words, your relationship with your 2IC changed while you were away."
"Um, yes, sir. Lena decided to help us along a bit. She made us a cake. We thought nothing of it at the time, sir. Lena and Byron were trusted friends, but the cake was a wedding cake with effects very similar to the one I had with Kynthia, sir. Well, there wasn't any rapid aging, but, you get the drift."
General Hammond put his head in his hands for a moment then looked at Jack. "So, you engaged in intimate relations as a result of alien influence? Is that what you're telling me, Jack?"
"Yes, sir."
"And, I'm guessing Major Carter thought resigning would protect you from a court marital."
"I'm afraid there's more to it than that, sir. According to Abydos' law, we are legally married. We had planned to discuss the matter with you if and when we were rescued, and I planned to retire if one of us needed to be punished."
"But, Sam beat you to the punch," Hammond finished for him.
"More likely, she's trying to avoid me, sir. Laira had a baby with her when we arrived on Edora. Sam thought he was mine. He isn't but she was gone before I could tell her. I need to get to my wife, general. Whatever the punishment is, I'll take it. But, please don't accept her resignation until I can get to the bottom of this."
"It sounds like you've got a fine mess here, Jack. Go to the infirmary, get checked out then find Major Carter. There were certainly extenuating circumstances that should give us a good chance at avoiding a formal court marital. Let me see what I can work out. In the mean time, I'm giving you the next 7 days personal time. Work this out with Sam, Jack. I'll handle the brass."
"Thank you, sir. We really didn't mean for this to happen."
"I know, Jack. I knew we had a problem when Sam nearly worked herself into an early grave trying to get you home. I also know you would never have acted on your feelings if you hadn't been in this situation. I'll talk to the president personally. Now, get to the infirmary."
Jack was relieved that the general was going to bat for them, but he sure wished Janet was on duty. He could make her understand his need for speed. The infirmary was taking forever, and he desperately needed to talk to Sam. As soon as he was released, he borrowed Daniel's car and headed for Sam's house.
The lights were out, but Jack wasn't surprised. It was nearly two in the morning. Of course, it didn't stop him from pounding on her door. When she didn't answer, he grabbed the spare key she kept under the flower pot and let himself in the house. He made his way to the bedroom. The door was open, so he walked in. "Sam?" he said softly without turning on the light. When she didn't respond, he walked over to the bed. It was still made. Quickly, turning on the light, he realized she wasn't there. After searching the house, he panicked. His first thought was to call Janet, but he didn't think it would be wise to disturb her at this hour. She'd probably been worried sick about her best friend for eight months. Surely, he could let her get one good night's sleep before telling her Sam was missing.
With a heavy heart, Jack drove home. He didn't feel much like sleeping, but he figured it would be nice to change into some comfortable clothes so he headed straight for his bedroom. He flipped on the light and saw the most wonderful sight he could imagine. There, lying in his bed was Sam. The light disturbed her sleep, because as soon as he flipped it on, his still sleeping wife covered her head with the blanket.
Jack immediately joined Sam on his bed. "Sam, honey, wake up."
Sam yawned as she opened her eyes. "Jack, you're home. I wasn't sure when you'd be back."
"I see that. How did you get here?"
"I had Janet take me to get some clothes. She dropped me off. We never discussed where we were going to live," she said sheepishly. "We need to talk."
"Oh, I'd say," Jack said, smiling at his wife.
"Me first, okay. I've been practicing this for hours and I just need to get it out. I resigned. I know you planned on retiring, but you need access to the gate so you can keep tabs on your son. I don't want to keep you from him. Honestly, I was going to end things between us-"
"Sam," Jack interrupted.
"Please, just let me finish. This is hard, Jack. I was going to end things so you could be with Laira and baby Jack, but something happened today that changed everything. I realized leaving wasn't the answer. If I leave you so you can be with your son then I'd be cheating you out of another child. I'm pregnant, Jack. I know this is complicated and I don't know how to do it, but we will find a way to make things work so you can be a father to both of your children. If you want to be with Laira then I understand. I won't keep our child from you. You can-"
Jack interrupted her with a kiss. "I think it needs to be my turn now. We're having a baby." Sam nodded. "You're sure?"
Sam nodded again. "I know this complicates things. I'm sorry. I can't imagine how you're feeling right now."
"I'm feeling excited. I'm in my bed, my really comfortable bed that I've missed desperately, with my beautiful wife, who I've only fantasized about having in this bed since the day I met, and we are having a baby. Sam, I'm ecstatic."
"But, Laira and the baby?" Sam protested.
"He's not my son, Sam. If you'd stuck around instead of running, you'd have known that hours ago."
"You're positive he's not yours?" Sam asked, doubt clouding her face.
Jack kissed her again. "I'm completely sure he is not my son. Laira is raising him, but she didn't give birth to him. He belonged to some friends who passed away, Sam. Even if he'd been mine, I would still want to be married to you. We'd have just had to do a little juggling to make things work. You're my wife. I'm not giving us up."
"Jack, I'm so sorry. I should have stayed."
"I say we blame the pregnancy hormones and move on," Jack said softly. "Hammond knows. He's not accepting your resignation. He's going to bat for us. We are on leave for the next 7 days then he'll let us know what the brass say."
"Janet knows, too."
"Good. As soon as things are settled with the brass, she can help you plan a real wedding. The marriage cake was really great, but I'd like to share our day with our friends. What do you say?"
"Yes, Jack. I say yes."
I almost cut this one into 2 chapters, but I was afraid a third cliff hanger in a row might be too much. This one is nearly finished folks. I have an idea for an alternate 2010 fic, but I also have some major projects going on around here. I won't post that one unless I have the first several chapters written first.