At home, Sam checked on each of her children, watching the younger ones sleep but finding the oldest ones awake. They had been through a lot lately – all of them. But they were safe now. However, the fact remained that the oldest two especially had been told things and had seen things which both Sam and Daniel hadn't been prepared to let them in on yet.

With a drowsy Greg in her arms, Sam stood in the doorway of Cammie and James' room, where the two were fiddling with their bedclothes. She sat on Cammie's bed and James looked up eagerly, his sister much less so. Eventually, with three of her children around her, Sam looked at her eldest children – the ones who had brought their parents together.

As James sat on his mother's lap with his brother, Cammie apprehensively hung back. This hurt Sam a lot, knowing that her daughter was now scared of her. Stroking James' hair, she kissed the little boy's head, and then said to Cammie,

"Cameron, come here. Come to Mommy."

Cammie timidly did as she was told, and Sam hugged her. Sam said quietly, "I really didn't want to explain things to you two like this. I'm so sorry." She looked down at her boys, and she then said, "Your Dad and I, and your brothers and sisters have what you would call 'super powers'."

Cammie once again shied from Sam's touch. James, however, asked, "How come Cammie and I don't have super powers? We're your children as well."

Cammie angrily said, "It's 'cos we're adopted... like Cassie."

Sam stared at her daughter in shock, shocked at the bitterness and resentment in her tone. The General said, shaking her head, "Holy Hannah, you're not adopted, kiddo." She smiled slightly as she looked at her daughter. "You look quite a bit like your Grandma – your Dad's Mom." She gently kissed James' hair, and said, "As for you, little man, you look like your Uncle Mark." She grinned as she tickled him, and he giggled. She continued affectionately, "Yes, you do, although hopefully you won't get all bald and tubby..."

Sam gazed down at Greg as he fell fast asleep against her chest. She then looked back at her eldest children, and said, "You're special, both of you. You don't need powers to be special."

She sighed, thinking back over reports she had read. She hadn't wanted her children to experience loss so early on in life either, but they had watched a teacher die at Pete and Merek's hands. She lie Greg down on the bed next to her. She patted her now free knee and said to Cammie,

"Cammie, come on."

The little girl finally complied and sullenly sat with her brother on their mother's lap. Sam held them both, and said, "I'm sorry you had to see what you saw. But I want you to know that those bad guys are gone now. I know that nothing I say will bring Mrs Allen back... but if you want to talk to me or your Dad any time, we're here for you."

Sam watched, worried, as a subdued looking James slowly played with her dog tags. A sullen Cammie, meanwhile, suddenly burst into tears. Tears in her own eyes, Sam rubbed their backs, and said, "I'm so sorry."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Daniel entered the house, having spent some time at the SGC Infirmary with the Mitchells, and then with Jennifer. Noticing the lights were off, and feeling some very heavy emotions from Sam, he quickly shrugged his jacket off and dumped his keys, and ascended the stairs.

He quickly checked in on each of his children, before making it to his and Sam's room. He found her seated on the bed, her back to him as she stared out of the window. Sensing his presence, she spoke in a strained voice. She said, glancing to the side,

"How's everyone?"

Daniel remained standing in the doorway as he replied, "Uh, good. Vala's getting the sleep she needs. The boys are doing well. Jen's setting out for Nebraska in the morning once Carolyn clears her and Helen to leave the SGC. Oh, and House is back to his old tricks – good and bad. Same goes for Jack."

Finally, he joined her on the bed, sitting next to her. He put an arm around her, and he said, "Sam..." He appeared wistful as he too thought back over all that had happened during his absence. He said, "I'm not happy about it either, but it happened. They're going to be okay. The child psychologist that Carolyn brought in has been quite encouraging."

Sam sniffed as she rested her head against his shoulder. She said, "Oh, I hope so. This whole thing's a lot, you know, with everything happening at the same time. The kids... and you." She groaned wearily. "I'm too old for all of this."

Feeling guilty, he kissed her forehead, feeling her raging emotions merge with his and then rebound. He held her tightly, and said, "Well, we're all here now, Samantha." He turned to face her as she looked up at him, and he played with her hair. He said, "Hey, heard you talking to Cammie and James. I wish I'd been there."

She shrugged a little and smiled slightly as she rested her hand on his thigh. She said, "Well, they had to hear it from Mommy." She chuckled briefly at the irony of referring to herself as James' mother. "Jimmy asked me so many questions... like if we had costumes, and whether we could fly."

He remarked in amusement, "That's a curious Daddy's boy you've got there."

She shook her head a little and laughed. She said, "Cammie kept acting like she wasn't interested and kept ridiculing his questions, but she's as bad as he is."

"See, those two are gonna be fine."

She laughed, caught up in her narrative. She said, "And Greg! He fell asleep while I was talking to them."

He smiled, liking how she looked radiant whenever she talked about their family. He said, "I figured out why he goes to sleep last. It isn't because he needs me to rub his stomach. He needs to hear your voice." He kissed her gently. "Just like I do."

She smiled as she held onto him, kissing him back. Eventually, as he ended up lying across the bed, she looked down at him, grinning happily. As he touched her cheek, she said, "Eight Jacksons under one roof again. My kind of hell."

He retorted, smirking, "You know, honey, you're one too... so it's nine."

She smiled as she rested her head on his chest, her hand on his stomach. She closed her eyes as he stroked her hair. She mentally reached for him, feeling closer and closer to him with each breath she took.

And then suddenly, it was though they were free-falling together. She opened her eyes and all she could see was darkness and the rush of the air as she plummeted, but she could feel him with her; in every fibre of her being. He was more than a part of her – he was her; perhaps more than that even. She hadn't felt remotely like this since they had roamed the universe together while Ascended.

'Daniel...'

'Sam... I think this is the closest we'll ever be while corporeal.' He smiles and he can see her smile even though he can't physically see her. 'Beautiful, isn't it?'

'Oh, you have no idea.'

He chuckles. 'Oh, I think I do, Guinevere.'

They looked up and found themselves suddenly soaring upwards, faster than they had been plummeting previously. They then attempted to see each other again, and this time they saw one another's faces reflecting an unseen firelight.

'What's happening, Daniel?'

'You started it... we could be leaving the known universe for all we know.'

He winced when he felt Sam whack his shoulder. He then looked upwards as they neared what appeared to be colourful explosions of light in the inky darkness. They soared straight into the explosions, and then suddenly they felt as though they had been cleft asunder. Each called the other's name as they were sent spiralling in opposite directions in the exploding darkness.

And then all fell silent.

Daniel opened his eyes and found himself back on his and Sam's bed, with a trembling Sam lying on top of him. Feeling almost sick with relief, he hugged her tightly, feeling her own racing heartbeat against his, and feeling her emotions much more intensely than he previously had.

Sam whispered aloud, "Daniel?"

He exhaled, and said, "Oh... I think we connected on a far deeper level than we ever had while on this plane of existence. Your mind's still not used to being back in a body... we, uh, probably could've done with waiting a little longer." He rubbed her back. "It's okay. Just even less privacy than usual now."

She gently rubbed his stomach, smiling at the warm fuzzy feeling in her own stomach. She looked up at him and smiled shakily. She remarked, "Does that mean we'll have to invest in some soundproofing before we attempt to make love?"

She shrieked a little as he tickled her. He then replied silently, 'I thought that was on the cards anyway.'

She laughed, retorting aloud, "Daniel Jackson, your arrogance astounds me."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Cassie was seated on her bed cross-legged in the dim light of a bedside lamp as she worked on her laptop. She glanced up on hearing Simon enter the room, seeing him pull a t-shirt on as he did so. She chose to ignore him, resuming her work. She felt him sit next to her on the bed, and finally, she shut the laptop down, putting it away.

She looked at him, noticing that he was watching her with an expression of quiet contemplation. She said, climbing under the covers, "You know, I'm still the same girl I was last week. If you're having second thoughts... I'll understand, eventually, although you'll have my friends to deal with." She yawned, and said, not wanting to talk, "'night."

He continued to watch her, thinking over everything that had happened since he had attempted to break into the SGC. Wanting to put things into perspective, he asked,

"How come you wanted Yugoslavian music? You never quite explained that." He shrugged. "I guess you can now."

She sighed as she thought of a people that seemed a lifetime away but yet still a part of her. She turned to lie on her back, her eyes on the ceiling. She said, "It was a long time ago. I was a sophomore and I wanted to find out more about where my people were from. Like most human populations in this galaxy, they were taken through the Stargate by Goa'ulds."

He nodded, and said, "Hmm, yeah, Jack explained that to me in his own unique way."

She glanced at him, and continued, "Well, one day, I sat down with Daniel, and he worked out from where my ancestors had been taken. He played me clips of Yugoslavian folk music and it brought back so many memories." She found herself crying as she remembered her biological family. She looked at Simon. "You honestly don't know how many times I almost told you."

He hesitantly reached out to caress her cheek, and he said, "Cass, you should have told me. I'm sorry about my reaction though, but you know how much stress we've both been through lately."

She looked away from him, and said, "So... do you want to cancel the wedding? I figure it would be easier on both of us."

He reached for her hand, and he said, "Hey, I love you... irrespective of whether you're from Toronto or the rings of Saturn." He smiled a little as she laughed, and he continued sincerely, "And we've had enough breaks already. Let's do this thing."

She found herself smiling as she sat up to face him. He wiped away her tears, and she asked, "Seriously? I mean, you don't think it's all crazy weird or anything?"

"Hon, it's crazy weird alright, but I was expecting some sort of crazy weird when I knew I wanted to spend the rest of life with you. Or at least 'til we get stupendously rich and divorce each other for a string of trophy spouses and half of the other's fortune."

She laughed as she smacked him on the shoulder. She then said, "As crazy as this is gonna sound, I still wanna marry you too."

They kissed, and he said, "Yeah, you're right. That is crazy."

She straddled his lap and kissed him once again. She said, still grinning, "Maybe we're both crazy."

He smiled into their next kiss. As they began to divest each other of various items of clothing, he found himself chuckling. They separated, Cassie looking at him curiously. He shook his head, and said, "I don't think there's any maybe about it, Doctor Frasier."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

House, meanwhile, lie against the windscreen his car, a hand under his head. He looked up at the night sky, one leg crossed over the other. He wasn't entirely sure that the time away from everyone had done him any good, but he had experienced much more than he would have done working with his old friends. But he would never be able to tell them what had happened. Not that that made any difference seeing as he tried to avoid any sort of social interaction with any of them... other than Wilson of course. But Wilson was busy playing 'Happy Families' with Cameron, or Wilson II as he thought of her now. And of course, House had been away for a long time.

Wilson quietly hopped onto the bonnet, and sat next to House, looking up at the sky. House glanced at him as Wilson handed him a beer. House said after a pause, "I thought you had to feed the five thousand."

His eyes still on the sky, Wilson took a drag from his beer. He replied after a pause, "Allison's at home with the babies. She's got the vital equipment."

"IVF?"

Wilson retorted drily, "No, women pushing fifty regularly conceive with ease."

House hummed, and said, "You should see my new boss."

Wilson stared up at the sky as he said, "So... you still can't tell me what you've been doing?" He looked at House curiously. "I've tried calling you for months; I didn't know what had happened to you. Some Air Force Major told me that you were out of the country."

House shrugged, thinking of his time in Atlantis – in a completely different galaxy. He also thought of working at the SGC before that, and his first trip through a Stargate. He mentally shook himself, and said, "Well... that much is true."

"Well, aside from avoiding the people close to you, have you seen visited Cuddy?"

House didn't reply as he casually looked upwards, drinking his beer. Wilson nudged him, and said a little louder, "House!"

House replied, "I'll just end up getting the third degree from her anyway."

"Dear God, House, she's the mother of your child!"

House snapped, "That little bastard only has a biological relationship with me. Doesn't mean I have to feed it."

Wilson appeared shocked at House's attitude, despite knowing him for so long. Wilson said, "Okay... I can almost hear Jerry Springer's audience tearing you to pieces." He sighed. "House, Greg's your kid. You could at least try to break the House parenting cycle. I know you still resent your Dad."

"Hey, that's 'cos on some level, he knew I was a bastard child belonging to that Sean Connery clone. Even I figured that out at the age of twelve. To think, if Mom had had the guts to leave that idiot, I would have had a different last name.

"Just think about Greg growing up..."

House scoffed, "I try not to."

"... he's going to want to know his father. Hell, you did a DNA test on a piece of your dead father. If he's half the ass you are, he'll be swabbing coffee cups soon."

House ignored his friend as he slowly emptied his bottle. Tossing the now empty bottle to the side, he finally looked at Wilson. House said, "He's going to need someone to show him the underhanded ways of obtaining DNA samples without whining about how it's wrong and how it's apparently betraying the patient's trust."

Wilson cocked his head sceptically, and remarked, "Well, not perfect, but it's a start." Wilson sighed. "He's a bright kid, House. He's going to start asking questions."

House shrugged, replying, "Cuddy can tell him the truth."

Wilson looked at him in partial disbelief. He remarked, "What, that she got lonely one night and you obliged? Jesus, House, that woman adores you. She might not show it when you're around on account of you being the biggest ass in history, but..."

An exasperated House raised his gaze to the heavens once again. He snapped, "Oh, cut the crap, Jimmy!"

"You know, just once, after all these years, you could try being vaguely nice to her. Take her out for a meal... no hidden agendas; no analysing her facial expressions, clothing and motivations." Wilson chuckled humourlessly. He said, "Of course, Gregory House is incapable of such things..."

Now quite annoyed, House said, "Look, I'm an old ex-cripple."

Wilson nodded, realising something. He said, "No, I get it. You think you're somehow a lesser man because you've lost the one thing that society looked down on you for, and which gave you an excuse to be the misanthropic son-of-a-bitch that you are. Now the military's somehow cured you of your leg pain and drug addiction, you're scared because there's no smoke screen; no excuses for you to hide behind. This is you, and you're scared now that you have no excuses for you, that Cuddy won't like it. I've got to tell you, she fell for you – not your leg."

House retorted, "You should consider doing Shakespeare on stage with your flair for dramatic oratory. Then you wouldn't be here, annoying me."

"Oh-ho, you like me annoying you. It gives you a reason to mock me."

"You're forgetting, Jimmy, that I don't need a reason to mock you."

Wilson chuckled as he focussed on the stars above him. He glanced at House. "You missed me, didn't you?"

"As long as you don't go telling everyone." House looked at him with a tiny smirk. "Seriously, or I'd have to kill you. It would be very messy and I don't have Cuddy to cover legal expenses."

"Well, just one week in the life of the legendary Doctor House." Wilson looked at him with a faint smile. He said, "Come on, I'll drive you to mine and you can see Allison and the babies."

House quietly scoffed at him. "I'd rather not, I've just eaten."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

In Atlantis, Lorne sat alone by himself in the darkness of his quarters. Curled up on his bed, and now off-duty, a deluge of previously repressed thoughts and feelings haunted him. He had let her go. She had apologised – she had tried to make things right, but he – stubborn fool that he was – had let her go. Truth be told, he had never stopped thinking about her – never stopped thinking of the life that they had had.

And now she was three million light years away, in their home galaxy, with their daughter.

He had never been known to give up in his entire life. His mother had recognised his tenacity from an early age when he had survived many childhood illnesses. Later, he had trained night and day when he didn't make it to the high school football team, eventually being chosen and playing right through college.

But now, he couldn't do it. That sense of determination – that never say die spirit – had left him. All that was left on that bed was the battered husk of a man who had had his heart taken and smashed right in front of him. All he could do now was live out his life, alone, on Atlantis. There was no point in going after her – why should he? She needed a fresh start, and truth be told, so did he. If it meant never seeing Helen again either...

He found himself crying silently as he looked towards the window, out into the sea of lights from the City. This was how things were meant to be right now. He would just have to pull double shifts so he wouldn't be conscious for long when alone like this. The pain was unbearable, and sleep refused to come.

He hadn't heard the bleep of the door opening, nor had he noticed the light from the corridor outside. Or an expedition leader quietly telling her husband that she wouldn't be long.

Finally, when she sat on the edge of the bed, he flinched, instinctively sitting up. Elizabeth reached over to switch a light on, and the Colonel squinted at the sudden light. Surprised, he said, "Doctor Sheppard? What are you doing here?"

She raised an eyebrow at him sceptically. She said, "I might ask you the same question, Colonel." She sighed. "Okay, look, we've lost our best linguist. Sure, we've got enough Ancient readers, but she's had a lot of experience." She raised a hand when Lorne was about to speak. She continued, "But, I'm not here about that."

He asked slowly, "What then?"

Elizabeth touched Lorne's forearm, and said, "Go after her, Colonel. Whether you bring her back or choose to stay on Earth is irrelevant right now. It's just important that you not lose sight of who you are, and who can make you happy."

Lorne nodded, feeling awkward discussing personal matters with someone with whom he had always kept a professional distance from. He then said, "With all respect, Doc, this isn't a movie. Jennifer isn't just going to instantly..."

She found herself rolling her eyes. She said, "Goodness me, I'm not saying that. Look, do this for Helen at least. But perhaps you and Jennifer can finally talk it out like adults rather than children. I know that Jennifer still loves you and she wanted to make things right. Unfortunately, she has a tendency to be rather naïve about it."

Lorne nodded sadly once again, but didn't say anything. Instead he began to mull over his next course of action. Looking concerned, Elizabeth patted him on the arm and then got up. She said quietly before leaving, "I see you have a lot to think about. Come to my office when you've made a decision."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Jack quietly let himself into the darkened house, grimacing a little on noticing that all the lights appeared to be out. It reminded him of all the times he had come home late during their previous marriage. Lives may change over time, but people didn't. He knew she would be upstairs, pretending to be asleep but listening out for the slightest indication that he had come home.

He had promised her – wordlessly, of course – that she would be number one in his life... but he and she were both painfully aware that putting her first would always be hard. Especially after all those years of being on and associated with SG-1; after saving the world time and time again, and laughing in death's face together. What he had been through with Carter, Daniel, and Teal'c; and later, with Mitchell, Vala and Jonas, was something beyond words and ordinary comprehension. Those six people and he had been through unique experiences, which had brought them closer together as a family.

But Sara was his life. He knew that, and he hoped that somehow she knew it too. Sure, he had his friends and their unique experiences, but she gave him that edge; that reason to keep living, to keep jumping into SG-1 escapades without a second thought.

He slowly crept up the stairs and peeked into his and Sara's room. He saw her familiar figure hunched under the sheets, and he heard her attempts at regular breathing. As usual, however, he didn't want to give away that he knew she was awake. He took his clothes off, folding them neatly and placing them on the dresser.

He then climbed in under the covers. However, instead of just going to sleep like he usually did, he turned over to face her – or rather her back. He put his arm around her and held her close to him. In an uncharacteristic move, he whispered, "I love you."

He raised his eyebrows a little in surprise when she began to rub his arm. She then turned over to look at him in the darkness. She whispered, "Funny. I love you too. What's brought this on?"

He shrugged a little. He said, "What, I can't tell you that I love you?"

"You don't, unless you're very drunk, or when you're falling asleep after sex."

"Change of tactics... it's my plan B."

She snorted with laughter, and said, "What, the element of surprise? Shock and awe?"

"You've been married to a General for too long. Careful of those military types."

She kissed him, and asked, "So... what happened?"

He frowned in thinly veiled confused. He said, "What, you're not mad?"

She blinked, and said, "What, you want me to be?" She shrugged. "Baby, not a lot of wives have an intergalactic strike force to compete with." She nudged him. "Or a pretty archaeologist." She smiled as she wrapped an arm around his waist. "So, you gonna tell me what happened out there? Or am I going to have to guess?"

"Funny. If you guess correctly, I think we win a speed boat." Jack sighed quietly. He said, "A lot of stuff. Thought I'd lost Daniel and Carter again, but, you know how those two are. Anyway, long story short, rescue mission was a success – they're both back home. T's staying on base as long as he can before going home to see the missus... and Vala had twin boys."

She smiled a smile tinged with pain, and memories of a time now gone. She said, "Oh yeah, Daniel told me."

He blinked in surprise. He said, "He did? When?"

She rolled her eyes at the suspicion in his tone. She said, "Honestly, Jonathan O'Neill, the boy's fine." She smiled. "He dropped by earlier on his way back from Mitchell's. He and Sam regularly do that when you find more interesting things at Cheyenne Mountain than your wife."

Feeling bad about coming home late, he said, "Sara..."

She kissed him once again and then caressed his jaw. She said, "Hey, forget about it. You're here now... and I have blackmail material for when you annoy me the next time."

"Smooth move, putting all your cards out on the table. What have I told you about that?"

She retorted, "You're forgetting I regularly whup your ass at poker. I've got plenty of cards you're not gonna see yet."