AN: Don't ask me why but I always think 'only dumber' with the title expression. lol

Like a Rock

Grace had gone to her room. Jack was sitting on the couch with a beer. Sam was cuddled on his shoulder. "Okay, out with it." He finally said and paused the DVD he'd been watching.

She shook her head. "It doesn't matter." She said. Her voice soft and edged with sadness.

"Samantha…" He said slowly. "What is the worst thing you are imagining about this because I know how you over think everything." He tilts her head towards his. "Hey… We talked about this. It doesn't matter to me."

Sam sighed. "It does to me though Jack. What if this isn't your baby? It will matter to me." Because if it's not your baby then it's another man's son not yours I've given you.

"Are you going to leave me if it's not my baby, Sam?"

"No!" She looked horrified. "God no, Jack."

"Okay." He grinned at her and kissed her gently. "So what's the problem?"

"Why are you being so calm?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"What?"

"Sam… My Samantha… I waited for you for a reason. Because I love you. Always. That means no matter what, Sam. I mean, short of you drowning the kids in the bathtub and really, as moody as Grace is being, I might be able to let that one slide."

Sam snorted softly. "What's with that anyway?"

"My guess is puberty. Cassie got really moody too. The only reason you don't remember being that way was because you had way more important stuff going on. My mom was ready to strangle me when I was twelve." He slid his hand into her hair. "Sam… I don't know how to soothe how worried you are about this. I've never been great at words. I'm more a lame jokes kind of guy. You know that though. I guess what I'm trying to say, Sam, is if dealing with Pete is what's bugging you I get that, but you don't need to worry about me." He put a hand on her belly. "I already love this baby. I don't care if I made him or not."

Sam sniffled, buried her head in his shoulder and cried softly. "I'm so sorry, Jack."

"Don't be. Don't ever be sorry for this. This is what led you to finally realizing you really do love me back that much. I don't regret it one bit." He kissed her temple. "And you shouldn't either."

Sam sighs and puts her head back down. An hour later she's asleep and Jack gets up to hit the head. On his way back, he pokes his head in his daughter's teal and white room. She's sitting at her drafting board that Jack had used a biscuit joiner to add a side piece she could attach a tray for her tools to. She smiles. She's drawing family members.

She's a good artist. Probably better than he ever was really. He needs to get his pottery wheel out of the basement of the house in Colorado so he can work a little on the weekends or encourage her to try another way to express herself. He watches her patiently shade a drawing of Teal'c. She's managed to catch his habit of looking amused with hardly any change to his expression.

"Settled in?" He asks her softly, making sure he doesn't startle the girl. Like her mother she could be jumpy when engrossed.

"Yah." She says with a sigh.

Uh oh. Jack walks in and sits on her bed. The bedspread is white with large teal and grey poppies. It's sophisticated and understated and a bit adult for an eleven year old but Grace was an odd juxtaposition of nearly adult thinking and tastes combined with a wholly childlike desire to enjoy herself playing. "I'll check on Marge next or Daniel as they are down the road at the motel…" He teases her.

"Mom is still worried about the baby being Pete's."

"Yah. Not that I can blame her. The math doesn't work and she knows that but it's your mom. Until she has the answer, she's going to worry."

Grace huffs a sigh. "I don't know why she doesn't just use one of the Lantian genetics testers from work." She gets up from her stool and grabs the can of Copic markers off her desk.

Jack looks at her funny. Dammit Jacob, how much did you tell this kid? "Lantian?"

"Uh huh. Grandpa Jake checked me when I was really little. He said if I was then I was very special."

Jack looked up at the ceiling and rolled his eyes. It did no good to tell her or her mother that her dad had run a Tok'ra paternity test on his daughter. "I don't see how that would help."

Grace huffs. "Microchimerism."

"Microwhatchamisim?" Jack says, screwing up his face in confusion.

Grace huffs out a sigh. "Daaadd… come on, I don't need to explain this to you. The baby's cells transfer to mom's blood. If he's your kid, mom should be able to work a Lantian doohickey until she stops breast feeding."

"How do you figure that?"

"Because most of the cells lodge in breast tissue to trigger lactation. When you stop breast feeding, your breast tissue changes back to normal and the invasive cells are reabsorbed."

"What on earth has your mom been letting you read?"

"Auntie Marge actually. That reminds me, I need a library card."

Jack chuckles. "Next weekend. I promise."

"Mom isn't going to have any time for me."

"That's not true, Grace. She works long hours but she always makes time for you."

"Babies take a lot of time dad. Like… a loootttt of time."

"Yup which is why your mom is looking into a daycare so you don't have to watch your baby brother all afternoon until she gets home. She'll probably just use the base daycare though."

Grace comes over and flops on her bed next to her dad.

"All right… spill it."

Grace sighs dramatically. "It's not anything like I thought it would be."

"What isn't?" Jack was pretty sure he knew though.

Grace waves her arm dramatically to indicate all encompassing. "I always thought…" she sighs.

"That you guys would move into my house with me and still live in Colorado?"

"Yah…. I guess."

Jack twined his fingers around one of her wheat colored curls. "Sometimes, kiddo, life doesn't turn out the way you expect it to." He looks at her. She's gotten too tall and was very pretty. "I thought sure your granddad would walk your mom down the aisle." He shrugs. "Your mom asked me what about us if things had been different. I said I wouldn't be at the SGC and she didn't realize I'd have retired for her years ago if she'd just asked." He pats her hair affectionately. "This isn't bad, Catherine Grace, it's just different than we thought it would be."

"You haven't called me my full name in years, dad."

"You haven't called me Uncle Jack in years." He pointed out. "Did you figure out I was your dad because of what Grandpa Jake did?"

Grace bites her lip and looks amused.

"Go ahead and laugh. You won't be laughing doing pushups in basic."

Grace giggled. "It's free tuition."

"That's how I ended up there." He agreed. No need to tell her it had been that or a jail sentence for joy riding other people's hot rods. She'd get ideas. "You know your idea isn't a guaranteed positive. I might not pass on the gene every time."

"No but if it works mom will quit crying herself to sleep when you aren't here."

"When has…"

"I know what mom looks like when she's been crying. She's not good at hiding it."

"Hopefully with you here she'll do that a little less." Jack said.

Grace shrugged. "I think that's just going to be a thing until she knows for sure."

Jack leans over and kisses the top of her head. "Don't stay up too late."

Grace makes a rude noise with her lips and teeth. "Whatever."

Jack laughs. Oh yah, no drama with this one.