Lyrics featured are For Baby (For Bobby) by John Denver, Sur la Pont d'Avignon, and Cyfri'r Geifr ('Counting Goats'… it's a Welsh rhyme

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After Jack and Sara had gone out for the evening, leaving Elizabeth pretending to sleep so as to avoid being a subject of one of Cassie's experiments, Daniel sat downstairs with the twins seated on his knees as Cassie called one of her friends. They were beginning to grow drowsy, and he gently smoothed their hair, gazing down at them with a hint of sadness in his eyes. In a low voice, he sang to them:

"I'll walk in the rain by your side,
I'll cling to the warmth of your tiny hand,
I'll do anything to help you understand,
I'll love you more than anybody can

And the wind will whisper your name to me,
Little birds will sing along in time,
Trees will bow down when you walk by,
And morning bells will chime…"

Cammie whispered, whimpering as she gazed at a fistful of his shirt, "'want Mommy."

James just clung onto the Archaeologist, and Daniel whispered, "Mommy's working, but she'll be coming home again. She's got to help Auntie Liz's friends."

Cammie began to cry, and in the process she woke up James who had been dozing off. He joined in, and Daniel, fighting back the tears in his own eyes, shushed them as he smoothed their hair, and he said,

"Please don't cry… you'll set me off. Come on… 'Sur la pont d'Avignon, on y danse, on y danse, sur la pont d'Avignon, on y danse tous le monde…'"

Their cries eventually died down into whimpering so he dried their tears and said, smiling slightly, "How about if we go to the Zoo on my next day off? We can go and see lions… you remember those lions on the TV?"

He then did a poor impression of a lion roaring, making them both laugh, and he smiled a little more, holding them tighter as he said, "You'll see – we'll have fun."

They grew drowsier and he carried them both upstairs, gazing at their fair heads with a fatherly smile. He lay them down in their cribs and gently sang as he gazed down at them, smoothing their heads,

"Oes gafr eto, oes heb ei godro?
Ar y creigiau geirwon
Mae'r hen afr yn crwydro.
Gafr wen, wen, wen,
Ie fin wen, fin wen, fin wen,
Foel gynffon wen, foel gynffon wen,
Ystlys wen a chynffon,
Wen, wen, wen…"

Just as he finished, he felt his mobile buzzing in his pocket so he, smiling slightly, gently leant down and kissed them on their foreheads, whispering, "Goodnight, my sweet babies."

Carefully closing the door, he pulled his mobile out as he went downstairs and answered it, "Hello?"

"Hey Jackson."

"Reynolds? What's up?"

"Doctor McKay and Mrs Miller have come from Atlantis, and they've got Colonel Sheppard with them."

Surprised, Daniel asked as he entered the lounge, "Oh, um, is Sam with them?"

"Nope… boy, have you got some fun in store… you alright to come to the mountain?"

Glancing through to the kitchen to see Cassie still on the phone, Daniel said, "I don't know… I'll have to ask Cassie if she can watch the twins…"

He called to Cassie as he leaned in the doorway between the lounge and kitchen, "Cassie… sorry… can you watch over the twins for a couple of hours? I'm needed at the mountain."

Cassie, placing her hand over the mouthpiece of the receiver, replied, "Sure, I'm nearly done… go ahead."

"Thank you… can you tell Liz where I've gone too?"

"'course."

"Thanks."

Daniel said to Reynolds via his mobile, "Yeah, I'll be there in ten."

"Thanks Jackson."

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Daniel arrived at the mountain to find that McKay and Jeannie had already left for Vancouver, leaving Sheppard chatting up the Nurses in the Infirmary. Reynolds accosted the Archaeologist and as they walked down a corridor, the Colonel said,

"They got a close call over on Atlantis."

Surprised, Daniel looked at him, scared out of his head as he asked, "What happened?"

"The city got attacked by three hive ships."

As Daniel felt as though his insides were contracting, Reynolds continued, "McKay and his team were fighting against the clock to install that spare ZPM they got, so Colonel Jackson hooked up Merlin's device to a Puddle Jumper."

He continued with a grin, "She kicked ass Jackson. From what I've seen of the latest reports, and from what McKay said earlier, it worked. They shot right through the city and then McKay's team managed to sink the city. They're all safe."

Daniel took a moment to collect his thoughts. Taking a deep breath, he said, "Wow."

Reynolds looked at him, concerned and asked, "You ok?"

"Yeah… um, I will be. It's… Ok, I'll admit, I'm scared."

Reynolds nodded and remarked, patting him on the back, "It's ok to be scared Jackson. Only a fool ain't scared. Come on, coffee – I'm buying."

Daniel smiled slightly and replied, "Maybe some other time… I've got to drive Sheppard to my house to see Liz, and catch up with those mission reports."

"Hey, they'll still be here tomorrow… go home, get some rest. We got it all covered here. If you had a choice, you'd work yourself to a bone."

He continued, grinning, "Seeing as your wife isn't here, I'm the one who has to force you to go home."

Daniel rolled his eyes as the Colonel patted him on the shoulder, before the latter wandered off to his office. Daniel continued on his way to the Infirmary to get Sheppard.

Stepping into the Infirmary, he found Sheppard seated on a gurney and chatting to a very sceptical Carolyn. Daniel closed his eyes briefly as he caught some of the boasts the man was coming out with, and he said,

"Hey Sheppard."

Carolyn, thankful for the interruption, smiled gratefully at the Archaeologist before rushing away as Sheppard replied, "Hey Jackson… how're you doing?"

"Not bad – you?"

"A little out of sorts. How's Elizabeth?"

"Oh, morning sickness aplenty, but it isn't too bad now. You ready to come to my house?"

Surprised, Sheppard asked, "Now?"

"Well… yeah, of course. Would you rather flirt with more medical personnel?!"

Sheppard glared at him for a moment before slipping off the gurney and remarking, "The Colonel kicked ass."

Daniel's expression softened, and he replied, "I know… Reynolds filled me in on the way here."

Sheppard said, seriously, "You should be proud of her – she's saved our asses so many times already."

As they left the Infirmary, Daniel replied, "I'm proud of Sam already."

Walking down a corridor in silence, Sheppard glanced at the Archaeologist and said, "Thank you."

Confused, Daniel asked, "For what?"

"For taking care of Elizabeth… you… you've been great."

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Daniel arrived home with Sheppard in tow to find Cassie curled up on the sofa with a book, the baby monitor on the arm, and she looked over the back of the couch at them, surprised on seeing Sheppard, and said,

"Hey Daniel."

"Hey Cassie… everything ok?"

"Oh yes, the twins are asleep, and Liz is pretending to be asleep to avoid me… all's well."

Daniel smiled, and said, gesturing to Sheppard, "Oh, this is Colonel John Sheppard from Atlantis… uh, Sheppard, this is Doctor Cassandra Frasier, Janet's daughter."

Cassie and Sheppard nodded and smiled at each other, the latter saying, "Hi."

Cassie replied, a touch shy, "Hey."

Daniel, rolling his eyes at Sheppard's expression, said to Cassie, "Cassie, could you come upstairs with me a second?"

He gestured for Sheppard to sit as Cassie followed him upstairs. On the landing, Daniel said quietly, "Cassie, he's a good man but he's a flirt, so watch out."

Cassie replied, raising an eyebrow, "I'll kick his ass if he tries anything… I know who he is."

Daniel placed a hand on her shoulder briefly, saying with a smile, "Your mother would be proud."

"Yeah."

Smiling again, she went downstairs as Daniel knocked on Elizabeth's door, calling, "Liz? I'm not Cassie."

Elizabeth called, "Thank goodness… come on in."

He entered to find her laid holding a pillow. He asked, "How are you doing?"

"Feeling terribly grotty."

He sat on the edge of the bed, gazing at her, and he said, "Sheppard's here."

She sat up, surprised and asked, an almost desperate glint in her eye, "He is?"

He nodded, replying, "He's downstairs. Do you feel up to seeing him?"

Suddenly her face fell, and she said, almost whispering, "Maybe not. He's probably come to say that he's moved on or…"

He shook his head and replied, "No, no, he wasn't expecting to come here. He just accompanied McKay and Mrs Miller back to Earth. Those two are en route to Vancouver, and he's here."

He continued, smiling, "Come on… Cassie and I will make ourselves scarce."

Smiling gratefully, she replied, "Thank you."

"It's nothing. If I was pregnant, I'd want to see the father."

She laughed as she got up, remarking, "Somehow, I can imagine you being pregnant."

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After a few awkward minutes, Elizabeth and Sheppard, as Cassie and Daniel took to playing Poker out back, began to talk, talking about practical things with regard to the arrival of the baby which seemed a lifetime away. Suddenly he remarked,

"Look at us… we're like Radek and Rodney talking about one of their projects."

She replied with a shrug, holding a cushion to her stomach, "Maybe it is. How are we going to work out? We didn't get much of a chance to talk before Sheppard Junior started dividing cells."

They gazed at each other for a moment, and she said, looking down at the floor, "I love you, John, but this is…"

She met his gaze and continued, "We've got a baby coming, and you're thousands of light years away. I don't think I can go back unless I take the baby with me, and we'll be in a professional environment once more. For the moment, however, I'm alone here. You're going to miss the pregnancy and perhaps even the birth."

He sighed and asked, his gaze firm, "What then? I resign? I…"

He stood up and looked out of the window between the drapes, continuing, sounding increasingly frustrated, "What the hell do you want me to do? You stopped me from resigning!"

Fighting back her tears, she closed her eyes and replied in a level voice, "I want to know that you want our baby, that you're ready to be a father… that you love me."

She squeezed the cushion tighter, unable to stop the tears that coursed down her cheeks. He, forcing himself to be calm, knelt down by her side, touched and to be honest, out of his depth, and he said,

"Elizabeth, I love you, but I can't promise you anything. I'm not sure whether I'm ready to be a father… it's not something that I've done before. To tell the truth, I'm scared. Not only that, there's no guarantee that I can be here for you without resigning. It's your choice Elizabeth – do I resign?"

"John, that is one of the worst questions you could possibly ask! How am I even going to answer that? If I say 'yes', then you're going to get twitchy being Earthbound after a month or so, but if I say 'no'… Look, we both know that the city is more important than both of us."

He gently cupped her jaw and kissed her, whispering, "I'd do it for you."

"I know you would."

She sighed and continued, "We'll have to take each day as it comes. You've got a job to do and I don't have a right to impede it."

"Elizabeth…"

She smoothed his jaw and said, taking a shuddering breath, "John, they need you out there… your field experience and skills are invaluable. I'll wait for you, and well, whether you wait for me…"

"Dammit, I know I'm a flirt but I love you, and I will wait for you."

Tears once more running down her cheeks, she whispered, "That's all I needed to hear."

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Translation

"Oes gafr eto, oes heb ei godro?
Ar y creigiau geirwon
Mae'r hen afr yn crwydro.
Gafr wen, wen, wen,
Ie fin wen, fin wen, fin wen,
Foel gynffon wen, foel gynffon wen,
Ystlys wen a chynffon,
Wen, wen, wen.."

"Where is the goat? It's time for milking
Off among the craggy rocks
The old goat is wand'ring.
Goat white, white, white
With her lip white, lip white, lip white
With her tail white, with her tail white
With her tail and flank white,
White, white, white…"

There's more verses… with different colours. Lol. Every Welsh schoolchild learns this song (I did when I was still living in Cardiff)