To my very devoted readers, let me first say that it does my heart good to know that you each have waited patiently for this next chapter. Due to illnesses, I have not been able to keep up with the writing the way I would love to have done, the way I did when I first started this fic. I apologize for that and hopefully – with God and doctors I will be able to get back to writing as I once did.

Again, thank you for being patient, for reading and for those of you who review thank you again. It really does mean something to know someone enjoys what I put on paper.

Until the next chapter – enjoy

Nessa

Chapter 35 - Heaven is where the heart is

Sam looked around her. She knew she was dead, there was no doubt about that. But had she been ascended? She, like Jack, never actually wanted that type of life. If she could not help the people, she loved or had to risk memory loss if she did – then she would rather die. And yet – from what Jack had told her of when he had been ascended, this did not seem quite the same.

Sam realized that she was seeing and hearing all that was going on around her. And what she was seeing was not where she had been before going into labor. This place was beautiful. The grass was the greenest she had ever seen, the sky the brightest blue. Walking across a bridge – she saw that the water below her was crystal clear, she could see the fish and stones on the bottom of the creek. She continued walking, seeing a place a little way down the road. Maybe someone could tell her what was going on – whether she was ascended or not.

"Hi Sam!"

Turning around, Sam saw a young child heading towards her. Looking at the face, it seemed as if she should know him, but she just could not grasp who it was. Slowly she started walking towards him, it could not hurt to see if maybe he knew where she was – since he obviously knew who she was.

When she finally reached him, she gasped in surprise. It was as if she were looking at a mini Jack. And then it dawned on her who she was facing.

"Charlie?"

"Yes Sam, what are you doing here?"

"Where is here, exactly?"

Sam's breath caught in her throat when she heard the child laugh. His dad would have that type of laugh if life had not been so hard on him. She would love to hear Jack laugh that heartily, just once. With laughter still bubbling and his brown eyes bright, he took Sam's hand and started walking. He had a job to do and he planned on doing it.

"Sam, you do not need to worry about where we are, because you will not be staying. You need to go back to my daddy. He needs you, especially with that whinny baby he has now."

"Baby?! The baby – our baby?!"

Charlie giggled again and then became very serious. He had to make her understand that she was not needed here. He was worried that if she saw her dad or mom, he would never get her to leave. Although, he knew deep down she loved his dad enough that she would still choose to go to him.

"Oh, for crying out loud! What is wrong with her? Sam, you need to wake up. I don't know why they took her away from dad – she was so quiet with him. She needs to laugh."

Sam looked at Charlie, then it dawned on her what he was telling her. The baby had lived. Their baby had survived, hers and Jacks. She could not stay here! She had to go back to Jack. How could she do it?

"It's ok, He will let you go, he told me He would. If you are sure you want to go back to all the pain and strife, war and hate that is down there – He said He would let you go. Sam, you have to go – I don't want to see my dad without you."

Sam listened to Charlie and her mind was already made up. She wanted to go back, she wanted to live her life with her man. So, what if there was strife, and hate and war – there was also love, and happiness and peace. She and Jack made sure their world was safe from anything that might attack – so she had to make sure his life was happy. She had to make sure he did not need to feel the pain of loss again, not because of her.

"Charlie, can you show me what I need to do to go back home – I really don't want to stay here, I want to be with your dad for as long as we can be together."

Charlie continued to hold her hand as he walked silently towards a spiral staircase. He knew once she took the first step down, there was no coming back. He had not been given this choice. For some reason, the fates had decided to make sure he stayed here with his grandparents. And it was okay, he liked it here. Oh, he would have loved to be able to stay with his mom and dad a lot longer, but he didn't feel sadness about it anymore.

"Just start down, taking the stairs and you will be back with my dad."

Sam started towards the first step, looking back at Charlie. He was so much like his dad – she would love to have been able to spend time with him. But she also knew that if Charlie had not died the chances of her and Jack meeting would never have happened.

Sam heard a voice calling Charlie's name and turning around, she saw a beautiful little girl running towards her and Charlie. Long blonde curls that bounced with every step she took. As she got closer to Charlie, Sam saw that it was Grace – the little girl that had kept her alive on the Prometheus. So it was true what she had thought – it was not her imagination that had conceived the child. She had been sent from above to help Sam. Grace was smiling at Sam and in one hand she held a bottle of bubbles. Sam watched as she took Charlie's hand with her other small one and pulled gently.

"Come on Charlie, you said we would blow bubbles together."

Charlie looked at Grace and then back at Sam. He turned slowly and started walking away. Looking back over his shoulder, and with a tender smile he watched as Sam took the first step on the staircase.

"Goodbye Sam. I was glad to meet you. And don't worry – you will always have your angels. You and dad deserve to have angels."

"Thank you, Charlie, and please know I will always love your dad."

"I know Sam, just let him know that I love him – always."

Sam started down the spiral staircase, taking one slow step after another. When she had gone about three steps – she looked behind her but all she saw was a dense fog. It was as if she were in a dream and was slowly waking up. With each step further down, she started to feel sleepy. By the time Sam would have reached the bottom step, she was fast asleep laying on the bed where only hours before she had been pronounced dead.

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Cameron begun his long decent in the mountain, thinking all the time about the men and women who had been stationed here, had fought for their world here and sadly some had died here. And what really pissed him off is one of the main reasons that so many had died, had escaped again. Kinsey and Loki! Two of the worst demons in the world and they were somewhere out there, together, plotting their next attack. What the hell had Thor thought allowing Loki to do what he wanted? But then, Earth had no right to be angry at Thor – look how often they had allowed Kinsey to roam free.

Stopping in front of the door, he swallowed hard when he realized what name was still on the office door and on the desk where General Hammond now sat. Brigadier General Jack O'Neill. Would he ever sit in that chair again? Would SG1 ever walk through the gate again? How had all of this happened and why was it allowed to happen?

"I see the questions running through your mind, son. And I can guess they are the same questions that have played in my mind. Unfortunately, they are questions that will never be answered unless some miracles happen."

Cameron looked at General Hammond and then over at General Landry. Both Generals looked as if they had not slept in days – but than who had.

"Generals, I am sure you have already read the report of the underground compound that Kinsey was using. Although in a different location than the one he held General O'Neill in, it was plain to see that it too had been used as a torture prison."

"Do you have any idea where he may have gone?"

General Landry asked the question – knowing the answer already.

"No sir, like I told General Hammond on the phone – He was beamed out of the compound. Who beamed him out I can only guess but it is a pretty good guess. I have a bad feeling he and Loki are wreaking havoc together.

"We know for a fact that Loki was beamed out of here but unfortunately we have no way of knowing where. Dr. Lee and the other scientists are trying to pinpoint the location of the beam, but they are getting nowhere."

General Hammond looked at both General Landry and Colonel Mitchell. There seemed to be no hope in either face. If he looked in a mirror – would he see the same hopelessness in his own face?

"I know we all feel that without Colonel Carter, the brain power on this base has gone down tremendously but we still have an ace up our sleeve. I think its time we use it."

General Hammond picked up the phone, waited a few minutes and then begin speaking. Both Colonel Mitchell and General Landry looked at each other.

About ten minutes after putting down the phone – there was a knock on the office door.

"Come"

Opening the door First Lieutenant Jennifer Hailey entered, stood at attention and saluted all three officers.

"Lt Hailey, as you know we are experiencing some difficulties here at Cheyanne Mountain and as I told your commander – we could use that scientific mind of yours."

"Yes sir. I will be honored to help in any way again to find the location of SG1, all of them"

"Then I suggest we get busy and put your head with the others around here and see what we can find. While looking for SG1, we need to also see if we can locate Senator Kinsey. You will find Dr. Lee and the others in the science lab on level 24. Dismissed."

Lt. Hailey saluted again and left the office.

"Well, gentlemen, the brain power just increased, and we may just have a chance after all."

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Jack and the baby had been sitting quietly in the corner of the hideaway that Teal'c had showed him a couple of hours before. Between the tears, he had memorized almost every part of his daughter. She was so tiny, could not weigh more that five pounds at the most and he was exaggerating at that. She was not what you would call a beautiful baby, but she was so darn cute that it made him feel even more protective. His baby, his little button. That's what her nose looked like, a small button.

"Jack, you need to return to Sam now"

Jack heard the voice, but he saw no one. He knew who it was but why did she not show herself. If she thought for one minute, he was going to stand by and allow her to ascend Sam then she was about as crazy as they came.

"What are you doing here, Oma? Where is Lya?"

"They have left. There is nothing else for them to do here. Like I said you should go to Sam now."

Jack than saw the white light as it started slowly drifting up. If she had taken Sam, there would be hell to pay – some how he would find her. Jack headed back to his and Sam's room, passing Daniel and Teal'c. They both fell in step behind him as he opened the door. There seemed to be a different feeling in the room. Before it had felt cold and depressing but now there seemed to be a warm glow through the whole room, not just a little but radiating through everything – including the person laying on the bed. Jack started towards the bed, not wanting to give into the small seed of hope that seemed to be growing inside of him. Could it be possible?

Jack had just reached the bed when Sam gave the loudest snore anyone had ever heard. Jack started laughing, while tears of joy ran down his checks. Falling down on his knees beside the bed, he pushed Sam's hair from in front of her face. It had gotten so long since they had left the SGC. He watched her as her eyes slowly opened, seeing the beautiful blue looking up at him, he could barely stop himself from shaking as the tears became more fragrant and he cried with joy. He didn't care who saw.

Laying Button on the bed so her mom could see her, he introduced the two of them together.

"Button? You're calling her button?"

Sam's voice sounded throaty because of how dry she was. Lifting a glass that had been given to him earlier he held Sam's head while she took a drink. Daniel hurried from the room to get Dr. Lam. He knew she would want to examine Sam to make sure she was ok. He had no doubts. Sam would not be here if she was not okay.

"Well, mom you weren't in any shape to give her a name and I like Button – she has the same nose her mom has."

"You can call her Button as her pet name from you but the name on the birth certificate will be Charlotte Grace O'Neill – for my angels."

"Charlotte Grace, Charlotte for Charlie but where does Grace come from?"

"I will have to tell you that later. It is too long of a story for now. I want to hold my baby and my man and forget about the world for a while."

Sliding up onto the bed, Jack kissed Button lightly on the forehead and then pulled Sam closer to him and kissed her lightly on the lips. He would wait until Dr. Lam had a chance to examine her before the kissing would be any more than that. But for now, he was satisfied just holding his two ladies. His heart was alive, she was with him again, and they had a little one to raise together. It did not matter where in space they may be at the moment - after all, heaven is where the heart is.