Chapter 25

Life at the SGC returned to normal-or at least as normal as it could be.

Except Major General Jack O'Neill was much more efficient at completing his paperwork some days-because once it was done, he could go the on base nursery that housed Ryan and Jake, if they were on base. Once there, he usually had to glare at someone to get a chance to hold one of his two sons. He had yet to see the twins on base and not be in the arms of an SGC employee. The nurses from the infirmary even fought to change the boys' diapers because it meant they had a sensible reason to pry the child from whichever higher ranking officer had come in to dote on the boys.

The biggest surprise to most though was that Sam Carter was working only four half days a week in an attempt to lengthen her maternity leave and spend as much time as possible with the twins. President Hayes had suggested the arrangement and Landry had approved the measure both agreeing she deserved to take as long off as possible, until the SGC desperately needed her again.

Which basically meant that Sam would have as much time off as she wanted at least until the next Ori threat showed up. Sam refused to think about that possibility, and instead reveled in the time she got to spend as a new mother. For her, work became mostly about processing the paperwork that landed on her desk and a refusal to examine any new artifacts or devices. It's not that working in her lab wasn't fun anymore; it was just that it wasn't nearly as much fun as spending time with Jake and Ryan.

Suddenly she understood why so many women gave up their careers to raise their children. And Sam wondered what she would have done if the world didn't need her. But she couldn't let herself think about it too much because the world did need saving-and that was her job. And now she had a lot more to fight for than ever before.

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One week passed, and then two, before Jack called Sam at home and told her she needed to come into the base. It took Sam over an hour to pack up the twins, drive to base, and get them through the first security checkpoint, and to the second where Jack met her to take one of the baby carriers from an Airman.

Once in the elevator, Sam turned to Jack and asked, "What happened?"

"Funny thing actually. Remember Vala?"

"Yes."

"Seems she somehow-don't ask me how- has currently taken over Daniel's body," Jack managed to spit out, trying not to look overly pleased with himself. "She took control of Daniel's body, went into the guys locker room, and ogled Mitchell. Scared the crap out of him."

"Are you sure that it's her?" Sam asked in disbelief.

"Pretty sure," Jack answered.

And then Sam proceeded to shoot off her theories of what had happened and why, through dropping off the twins and walking to the interview room where Vala, occupying Daniel's body, was waiting for them along with Teal'c and Cameron.

The news that Vala brought was anything but good. The Ori were coming-and Sam's desire to be a mom was going to have to take a back seat to saving the universe.

But before Sam did that-she made Jack take the day off and they celebrated Nate and Lindsay's birthdays, an event that had been previously scheduled for the weekend after the twin's birth, but had been pushed back when Sam and Jack had spent so much time with the twins.

Luckily, Lindsay and Nate had been good sports about the whole thing.

Born exactly one year and one day apart, Lindsay was now thirteen, and Nate had turned fourteen. In the fall, Nate would be a freshman in high school, and there was a discussion of Lindsay skipping the eighth grade and joining him. Yet that particular Saturday wasn't the day for a discussion about school, it was about celebrating another year gone by for the two Carter children.

The two teenagers declared themselves "Too old for little kid birthday parties," so instead, Jack and Sam catered to the two teenagers by sending them with Cassie to the movies, where they met up with their friends. They returned later in the afternoon to a meal composed of all their favorite foods. Jack had grilled hamburgers, steaks, chicken, and hot dogs in an attempt to meet everyone's varied tastes for meat. Salad and fresh fruit completed the meal-at least until everyone made room for cake.

Two large cakes were brought out, both with re-lighting candles on them, so that every time Nate or Lindsay thought they had the candle blown out, they would flicker to life again.

"Uncle Jack!" Lindsay objected, "Why couldn't we have normal candles, like normal kids?"

Jack shrugged his shoulders, hiding his smirk, and instructed the pair, "Blow out those candles so I can have some cake!"

Sam shook her head, and attempted to hide her grin at the attempts by her niece and nephew to hide their amusement over candles. Eventually she ended Jack's fun with the pyrotechnics by removing the candles from the cake and dropping them in a glass of water. It didn't take long for the cake and ice cream to disappear or for Nate and Lindsay to open their presents and appropriately thank everyone.

It was a great day for everyone present to forget about the war they were currently fighting, and to remember exactly what and who they were fighting for.

----

The next few months were filled with constant life or death situations.

Jack felt like he lived in constant fear. Every time he sent Sam through the gate, he knew there was a chance she might not come back to him or to their family. There were close calls like when she got stranded in space, fulfilling her childhood dream of being an astronaut, when she almost slept her way to oblivion, and then finally encountered the Wraith in a trip to the Pegasus galaxy.

The trip to the Pegasus galaxy had cost her Thanksgiving with her family but she and the rest of SG-1 did make it back in time to celebrate Christmas. Jack ordered the mountain be left with minimum staff to give as many people as possible the chance to be at home with their families, something which everyone seemed to appreciate as they came back recharged and ready to take the fight to the Ori.

But before they could do that, there was the whole ordeal with the multiple Baals, and after that was over, Jack put his foot down. He hadn't seen his twins in a week, ever since the whole Baal thing started.

The President had ordered him to accept extra protection for himself and his family. And because it seemed like Baal didn't know about Ryan and Jake, Jack endured the separation for the safety of the kids. All of the Carter-O'Neill children had been swept away to an undisclosed location at the first hint of trouble, so other than a phone call two days ago in which Cassie, Nate, and Lindsay assured him that they were all okay, Jack hadn't spoken to them either.

But if Jack knew one thing, it was that no matter how hard this week long experience had been on him, Sam had suffered even more the past few months. The trip to Atlantis alone had required her to be separated from the twins for almost a month; not counting the other various missions she had went on. He knew Sam had given a lot of thought over the years to what she would do about gate travel if she ever had children of her own. In a dream world, Jack imagined she would have given up gate travel and taken a full time position in the labs.

Right now though, Sam knew she didn't have that option. No matter how much she wanted to give it all up and spend time with her family, her planet needed her more.

So she made it her goal in life to finish the Ori off as quickly as possible so she could get to living the fairy tale life that she was so close to having with her family.

The return of Vala had been a welcome thing for Sam. And Sam silently cheered Vala on every time she gave the male members of SG-1 a headache. The two women had much in common. They both had children, and were forcefully separated from them, either directly or indirectly by the Ori. That common bond quickly brought them together, although Sam did still have her doubts sometimes about the women's motives, Sam had never been so glad that her children were mostly normal. Vala's daughter was quickly becoming the galaxy's greatest enemy as the leader of the Ori, and Sam hoped she would never need to know what it felt like to hunt your own child down.

Yet in the course of all of this, Sam had never been so grateful for Jack's stubbornness until the day he practically ordered the President to give him and SG-1 some downtime. Unsurprisingly, the President agreed to grant the time off, even going so far as to offer them his own vacation home.

Jack turned him down though, in favor of making the trip to his cabin in Minnesota. A nice relaxing vacation with his 'family' was just what the General ordered. Now all he had to do was see his kids again.

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The reunion of Sam and Jack with the kids was one that brought tears to Cassie's eyes as she watched the couple coo over Ryan and Jake, proclaiming how much each had grown, and nearly flatten Nate and Lindsay in bone crushing hugs.

A week later, during the weekly, when on world and not experiencing an emergency, Wednesday night 'family' dinner, Jack made an announcement.

"Pack you bags," Jack ordered, "We're going to the cabin this weekend."

Cam looked on in shock, Teal'c opened his mouth to protest, but it was Lindsay and Nate that made the decision final.

"Really?" Lindsay asked, almost in disbelief.

"Can we go fishing?" Nate begged.

"It might be a little cold for that Nate," Sam said.

"We can go ice fishing," Jack offered.

Sam stage whispered to Nate, "I wouldn't want to sit outside in the snow and ice trying to catch a fish that isn't there."

"Hey! There are fish in my pond-they're just hard to catch!" Jack objected.

"If you say so Jack," Sam laughed and patted her husband on the shoulder before carrying Ryan out of the room.

"That means you too Mitchell," Jack ordered and then quickly followed his wife out of the room, carrying Jake. "And don't even think about trying to get out of it Teal'c-there shouldn't be any mosquitoes to bother you this time."

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'A long weekend at the cabin is just what the doctor ordered,' Sam thought as she packed things for herself and the twins. And then something occurred to her. "Just how are we all going to fit into your cabin Jack? It was fine for the five of us, but…"

"Ah! We'll be a little tight, but things will be fine," Jack promised, waving off her concern.

"You know you can't stick Cam in a tent with Daniel outside. The forecast may be for slightly warmer weather than you're used to for this time of year, but it is not going to warm enough to stick them outside," Sam reminded him, thinking that even though Minnesota was experiencing a short burst of spring like weather in winter, there was no way she could let anyone but her husband sleep outside.

"Wouldn't dream of it!" Jack promised as he grabbed the first of the bags and proceeded to load them in his SUV. They would drive all night long, in hopes that the twins would sleep through most of it.

And they did.

If there was one thing Sam could appreciate about her sons, it was that they seemed to defy everything that anyone had ever told her about babies. They rarely cried, loved to be held, didn't fuss about being passed from person to person, and stuck to their schedule like clockwork. Jack was convinced it was a sign they would be great Airmen when they grew up and Sam just groaned every time he made the joke.

When they pulled up outside of the cabin, Sam barely recognized it. She recognized the route they took to get there, and the scenery around the cabin, but the very large cabin in front of her wasn't the one she remembered from her last visit.

"Jack?" she asked in an accusing tone.

Jack quickly leapt from the SUV as quickly a he could, intent on having one of the twins in his arms when he answered her questions. She wouldn't attack him while he was holding one of their babies, would she?

By the time Sam had made her way around to Jack's side of the vehicle, he was indeed holding Ryan. But Sam held out her arms and sent him a 'hand him over now' glare that told him he had better do as she wanted or else he would be sleeping on the couch tonight or maybe in that illusive tent. Sheepishly, Jack carefully placed Ryan in his mother's arms.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" Sam asked.

"I love you?" Jack tried.

Sam's 'hand him over now glare' turned into a fierce 'don't be stupid Jack' glare, which meant the possibility of him sleeping on the couch had diminished-only because his chance of sleeping in that tent outside had grown.

"For cryin' out loud! I put an addition on the cabin at the same time I put one on the house. I thought we might need it someday," Jack explained.

"And you didn't think to discuss it with me first?" Sam demanded.

Jack opened his mouth to answer several times but before he could say anything, Cameron Mitchell pulled in, driving his black Mustang, and Cassie riding shotgun.

"I love this car," Cassie exclaimed as she opened the door on the passenger side.

"Don't get any ideas young lady," Cam interrupted, "I'm not selling."

"Aw man!"

Jack turned to look at the two other teenagers that had emerged from his SUV and dealt them a blow. "And the two of you can forget it. My parents let me have a car like that when I turned 16 and I know what I did. For-get it!"

Lindsay looked slightly longingly at the Mustang. Nate tried to hide his disappointment by readjusting Jake who was sleeping in his arms.

"In the cabin everyone," Jack ordered, realizing that this was his best chance to escape Sam's wrath.

----

It didn't take long to get everyone situated, especially since right after breakfast, Jack got a phone call. There seemed to be some trouble back at the SGC holding Teal'c and Vala up-meaning Cam was now stuck alone with the entire Carter-O'Neill family. Daniel had found some excuse to remain in England where he was doing research.

Sam and Jack spent most of the day avoiding each other, creating an uncomfortable atmosphere to say the least, and as evening approached, a storm set in.

Jack and Cam took up a chess game, and it was obvious to everyone Cam didn't feel comfortable as he lost two games in a row, probably because he was still uncomfortable thinking about Jack as anything more than 'General O'Neill'.

When Jack revealed a hidden love for the PlayStation 3 which Cam had thought was there for Nate or Lindsay, the two finally hit it off. The two men ended up engaging in battle in front of the television until the early hours of the morning, when Cam once again conceded defeat, although the score was much closer than during the chess game.

Cam was just about to change clothes and go to bed, when the electricity went out and he heard a sound. He grabbed his sidearm from his bag, where it had been discretely tucked upon arrival. Cam crept out of his room, towards the kitchen, listening carefully for any noise from the upstairs loft, where all the older kids were sleeping in the same large room that could be turned into a playroom during the day.

Cam was in the kitchen when he once again thought he heard a sound, turning around in a rush, but quickly lowering his gun when he found General O'Neill and his wife standing there.

"I thought I heard a noise," Cam quickly explained.

"So did we," Sam explained.

"One of the neighbors had a bear come through the kitchen door last summer," Jack explained as he relaxed his grip on the shotgun.

"Oh," Cam said, like that explained everything.

"Don't shoot me before morning Mitchell," Jack ordered before turning around and heading back to bed.

"Yes sir," Cam agreed.

Sam hung around for a few more minutes, apologizing for Jack's behavior as she handed over a flashlight for his own use while taking one for her and Jack back to their room.

Cam shook his head and went back to his room. 'When will one of them just apologize to the other and get it over with?' Cam wondered.

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Sam shut the door to their bedroom softly, and turned to look at her husband who had already returned the shotgun to its original location, and slid into bed.

"Do you know how hard it is to be mad at you?" Sam accused Jack as she put her own gun in the nightstand. "No matter how hard I try to stay mad at you, I can't. I love you too much. Do you know how frustrating that is?" she asked.

Jack looked up at her from under the covers with a serious case of bed head. His hair was as ruffled and unruly as ever. "It's all part of my charm," he claimed, smirking as he said it, pulling back the covers on her side of the bed so that she could crawl in with him.

"You're hopeless, you know that right?" Sam sighed as she slid over next to Jack.

"Hopelessly in love with you," Jack responded, grinning as he said it.

"That was such a cliché," Sam accused him as she snuggled closer.

Jack's arms wrapped around Sam, pulling her closer to him, "Sorry," he apologized.

"No you're not."

"You're right I'm not," Jack agreed, placing a kiss in Sam's hair.

----

By the next morning, Jack and Sam were back to normal, even if the cabin wasn't. The phones were still out, along with the electricity, luckily Jack had a generator, so all he had to do was go out and start it up. Thankfully, it started without any problems and the 'family' was able to have a breakfast of pancakes and bacon.

When news came that the road into town was washed out, Jack wasn't worried. He called the closest Air Force base and tried to swing a chopper, but the base commander refused unless there was an emergency.

Which there wasn't-really.

Sure, Teal'c and Vala were fighting some alien monster off world, possibly caused by the Ori, but that was almost par for the course.

Surprising warm weather allowed Jack to show Cassie, Lindsay, Nate, and Cam the finer points to fishing while Sam spent two solid hours on her cell phone and in front of her computer trying to help Dr. Redden, Vala, and Teal'c discover the reason behind the creature's mutation.

Two hours was all it took for Cam to get board and decide that a run would better serve his needs. What he found was enough to worry Jack as he talked to the local sheriff, Wade.

Hunting wasn't something that Jack enjoyed doing; he had killed enough during his day job to last a lifetime. But he knew that taking Cam and going after the bear was the safest thing he could do for everyone's sake. So he left the kids with Sam, giving them all strict instructions not to leave the cabin.

A couple hours later, by use of his cell phone, Jack was able to relay to Sam that there had been a Trust operative way too close to their cabin-and she explained that they weren't dealing with an ordinary grizzly bear.

After Wade was attacked, it took Jack all of five minutes to get Cassie, Lindsay, Nate, Ryan, and Jake beamed out of the cabin and back to the SGC where they would be safe. He also ordered SGC troops beamed to the command tent that was being setup around his cabin, along with the other troops that were being trucked in from the closest military base.

They ended up hunting through the night, and by morning had killed two of the mutant creatures and sent the troops packing, leaving all of SG-1, except the still absent Daniel, with the reunited Carter-O'Neill family. The next two days were the most relaxing in recent memory for Jack. The family fished, taught Nate and Lindsay how to play poker, and bonded in a way that they had all been missing out on during the past few months.

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