AUTHOR: Kathleen Anderson
E-MAIL:sam_loves_jack@yahoo.ca
STATUS: This part complete
CATEGORY: Angst/Drama, Sam/Jack, Daniel/Janet, AU
SPOILERS: Fail Safe
SEASON/SEQUEL: Season five, a sequel is planned
RATING: PG
CONTENT WARNINGS: death, cataclysmic event
SUMMARY: A "Fail Safe" what if. What if Carter couldn't fix the cargo ship?
ARCHIVE: Heliopolis. Anyone else want it? Mail me!
FEEDBACK: Of course!
DISCLAIMER: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. We have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the authors. Not to be archived without permission of the authors.
Author's Notes: Yeah, I suck. It's been ages since I did anything with this fic. I had most of this part written already, but then Meridian happened and well, I just didn't feel like writing it anymore. For some reason, I felt like writing it again today! There will be another part, eventually.
I'm sitting with Sam's head resting on my shoulder. She's asleep, dozed off about an hour ago. The fire is still flickering, but it's not giving off much heat. I poke Sam gently in the ribs, she stirs but does not awaken. I poke her again, this time a bit harder.
Sam mumbles something incoherant and sits up fully.
"Hey sleeping beauty." I say, teasing her.
Sam runs her hands through her tangled hair and gives me a look.
"What time is it?"
I shrug, "Late. Bed time."
Sam blinks once and then pushes herself off the couch.
"You go ahead," she says, "I need something to drink first."
I nod and leave for the bathroom. Sam and I have been living together for just over a year now, since we got the first house built. Everyone insisted that we take the first house. I didn't argue. More houses followed rapidly after that. Some people elected to remain in their quarters on the base. I was glad for that, it meant that the base could always be staffed. You never know when we might be receiving visitors.
After brushing my teeth, and washing my face (to please Sam) I head for the bedroom and change into shorts and a t-shirt. I wanted to sleep naked, but Sam had a few things to say about that. 'What if someone came in here during the night?' 'What if you're needed immediately for an emergency?' 'What if we had to leave in a hurry?'
When I was almost asleep, Sam joined me in the bed, putting her cold feet against my leg. The rest of her body soon followed her feet as she pressed herself against me.
"Maybe you should take a hot bath before coming to bed. You might not feel like a giant popsicle that way."
Sam laughs. Her breath is hot on my shoulder. I can feel her breasts on my chest and further down, her gently rounded middle is warm on my own. Sam's pregnant. Five months along now, according to Janet's calculations. Our baby isn't the first. Daniel and Janet share that honour. They have a little girl, three months old. Her name is Cassandra, for the young girl that was left behind.
___________
Cassandra looks up at me, her blue eyes wide. I can't help but smile. My daughter is so beautiful, what mother wouldn't be proud? I say she looks like her father, but he says that she's the spitting image of me. Her blue eyes are definitely his though.
"Janet?"
It's Daniel, he told me that he'd be home in time for supper.
"In the kitchen!"
Daniel appears and grabs me around the waist.
"Hey, mmm, that smells good." he says, gently kissing my neck.
He lets go of me and moves to Cassandra. Picking her up, he plants a kiss on her forehead.
"Hey sweetie." he coos softly to her.
It's no surprise to me how much he loves her. He's always been great with kids and now that he has his own, he's even better, if that's possible.
"Did you guys get a lot done today?" The 'menfolk' and many of the women are building a church, it's been slow going for the most part.
Daniel nodded, not taking his eyes off Cassandra, "We got the floorboards laid down today."
"Good to know that it's got a floor, I'm assuming that no one was injured today?" I'm asking because this project seems to be plagued by injuries. Last week Siler took a tumble and hit his head, and the week before that, Paul Davis was brought into my kitchen with a towel wrapped around his hand that was doing nothing to stop the bleeding. He's somehow managed to slice his hand open and it required several sutures.
"Not a one" he answers, and I feel relieved.
"Do I have time for a quick shower before dinner?"
I give the pot a stir and nod. Cassandra begins to fuss, so Daniel puts her back down. He gives me a smile and then leaves the kitchen, removing his shirt on the way.
It's quite amazing really, what we've accomplished in the time that we've been here. There is now a small village surrounding the base. Every house has running hot water, thanks to some ingenuity by Grant Nelson and Jack. Everyone really pulled together and made this place home.
__________
"Jack!"
"Mmmphmmm.."
Something is prodding me in the ribs.
"Jack! Wake up dammit!"
I roll over and find Sam sitting up with a frightened expression on her face.
"What's wrong" I ask immediately, "Is there something wrong?"
Sam nods, "I think I felt a contraction."
"Are you sure? It's too early!"
Sam looks at me, a tear rolls down her cheek, "I'm sure."
"You stay here," I say, jumping out of bed, "I'm going to get Janet."
Sam nods and I lean over and kiss her gently. Pulling on a pair of pants and shirt, I race out of the room and out the door.
It doesn't take long to get to Daniel and Janet's house, it's just through a small patch of forest. Before I can catch my breath, I'm banging on their door.
"Janet!!"
I pound my fists against the wooden door.
"Janet!!"
As I reach up to pound again, the door opens, revealling a sleepy looking Janet.
"What is it? It's 2:00 in the morning and you're going to wake Cassandra."
I take a breath, "It's Sam. She's having contractions."
Janet's eyes widen, "She can't be. She's only at eight months, it's too early."
"I know. Sam's scared." I was scared too and I think Janet knew that.
"Just let me put some clothes on and I'll come right over."
Janet hustles away from door, and she is soon replaced by Daniel who is rubbing his eyes.
"What's going on?" he asks sleepily.
"Sam might be having the baby."
"I thought she wasn't due for at least another month."
"She's not."
Daniel looks a bit shocked, but before he can say anything, Janet breezes past him, clutching her medicine bag.
"Let's go." she says. I know she's in doctor mode now.
_________
I'm afraid of what I'll find when I arrive at Sam and Jack's house. I'd been fearing something like this. If I had more sophisticated medical equipment, this wouldn't be a problem. Most babies who are born at eight months survive, but I don't even have an incubator. I clutch my medicine bag tighter and hope for the best.
Jack pushes open the door to his house and leads me to the bedroom where I find Sam curled up into a ball on the bed.
"Sam, sweetie." I rush over to her and she looks up at me, there's fear in her eyes.
I put my hand on her forehead, she's not hot, that's a good sign.
"My water broke."
I look at the bed and see that it looks damp. There's no stopping it now, Sam's having this baby whether it's ready to come out or not.
I turn to look at Jack who's standing nervously behind me, "Can you get me some clean sheets and boil some water?"
He nods and looks relieved to be doing something.
"Sam, I have to check how much you're dialated, can you lay on your back for me?"
Sam complies and I find that she's already at 5 centimeters. I don't know why she's gone into labour, her pregnancy had been normal since the beginning.
"Janet? Is my baby going to be alright?"
Sam's looking up at me, her blue eyes are wide. I don't know what to tell her.
"I don't know Sam, but I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure it is."
I clasp her hand in my own and help her through a contraction.
_________
I'm standing in front of the stove, willing the pot of water I have on it to boil. They say that a watched pot never boils. God, I hate cliches. I hear Sam cry out in pain and Janet's soft murmering. I don't know if I can get through this. I wasn't with Sarah when Charlie was born, I arrived at the hospital about an hour afterwards. I missed all the 'good' stuff.
Tiny bubbles begin to form on the bottom of the pot and I continue to stare at it. I'm afraid. More afraid than I think I have ever been. We knew there was an element of risk involved with pregnancy here, but it wasn't like we planned it. Our baby could die. Sam could die. Sam cries out again and Janet tells her to breathe. I have complete confidence in Janet, I know she'll do everything she can.
After another five minutes, the water comes to a full rolling boil, I call Janet into the kitchen and she comes armed with several scary looking instruments. She tosses them into the water and lets them sit there.
"I'll go grabs the sheets now."
Janet nods and reaches for a spoon to fish the instruments out with.
Sam keeps the sheets in a cubby in the hallway. All of them are neatly folded and spotless. I grab an armful and head back to the bedroom. Janet is spreading a towel out onto the night table and Sam is laying on her back, breathing heavily. I set the sheets down and go over to her.
The bed creaks softly as I sit down next to her. She opens her eyes and tries to smile at me.
"Hey", I say in what I hope is a not too concerned voice, "How you doing?"
Sam grimaces, "It's not so bad, most of the time. Janet says that it shouldn't be much longer until I can start pushing."
I smooth her hair back from her forehead and gently kiss her. She's strong, she'll be alright.
__________
I smile as I watch Sam and Jack cuddle their baby. Their little boy is a tad small, but from what I can determine, perfectly healthy. I've asked them to bring him to the infirmary on the base tomorrow, I can run more thorough tests there. I put my various instruments back into the medical bag and give Sam another once over and tell Jack that if she experiences anything unusual to come and get me without delay. Giving them one last glance, I leave the room and make for the door.
"Hey."
Daniel is sitting on a chair cradling Cassandra.
"Has she been fussing?" I ask, slightly concerned about having to leave her for so long.
"She started to cry about an hour ago, I figured she was hungry so I gave her a bottle. How is Sam? Is she alright?"
I nod, "From what I can tell, she and the baby are both fine."
"Is it a boy or a girl?"
"A little boy, they haven't decided on a name for him yet. Sam was so sure that she was going to have a girl, so they had pretty much only discussed girl's names."
Daniel chuckled, "You were so certain that Cassandra was a boy. What was the name that you wanted? Jeremy?"
I reach out and take Cassandra from him, she moves slightly and snorts softly but doesn't wake up, "Yeah, Jeremy. I've always liked that name, I should suggest it to Sam and Jack."
Daniel stands up and kisses me, "Who says that you won't get the chance to use it?"
I really can't imagine myself having more than one child, "You think that Cassandra would want a little brother?"
"What kid doesn't?"
I shrug, "I'll tell you what, I'll think about, but I am not having another kid while this one's still in diapers!"
Daniel yawns, "I'd better get dressed, I'm supposed to helping Paul build some more chairs today."
Daniel walks away and heads for the bedroom. I look down at Cassandra, asleep in my arms. If someone had told me two years ago that I would be living on another planet, married to Daniel Jackson and have a baby, I would have laughed and recommended that they speak with Doctor MacKenzie immediately.
___________
"Do you think he's dreaming?" Sam is standing over Cameron's crib, gazing down at him.
"Sure, I guess that babies dream."
"What would they have to dream about?"
I point at Sam's chest and she laughs. It's been two months since Cameron was born. I can't remember being this happy. When Charlie was young, I wasn't around much. I'm making up for that now. I made a promise to Cameron, when he was only a few hours old that I would never let him down. I intend to keep that promise.
"Did Paul say what he wanted to talk to you about?"
I shake my head, "No, all he said was that he wanted to see me in the briefing room to discuss some important matters."
"Well then, I guess you'd better go. He's probably concerned about the design of the houses or something."
"Yeah probably."
I lean over and kiss Sam before heading out the door and towards the base. I really can't figure out why Paul would want to speak to me in a secluded area of the base. He must have something really important on his mind. I enter the base and make for the briefing room.
Paul checks his watch as I enter the room, "Geez Jack, I was beginning to think that you'd never come."
"Yeah sorry, I was busy with Sam and the baby."
Paul smiles, "He's a cutie Jack, you'd better watch him the future, gonna be a real heart breaker."
"I'll be sure to have Daniel and Janet warn Cassandra."
Paul laughs, "If Cassandra looks anything like her mother, they'd better keep her locked up!"
Well, enough of this bantering I decide, "What was it that you wanted to discuss with me Paul?"
He sits down and motions for me to do the same, "It's about Earth Jack."
"About Earth, okay."
"I think that we should go back."
"Are you kidding me?"
"No, I'm serious. Look, it's been almost two years. I know that Earth's co-ordinates are locked out, but with my authorization code and yours, we can change that. I think we owe it to ourselves to go back, at least once."
"And what are you hoping to find? There can't be anyone still alive. All we're going to find is ruins."
"I just want to look Jack. You don't have to come if you're not comfortable with it."
"The hell I'm not going. If anyone is going off this planet, I'm going too."
"So we can do it then?"
I sigh, "I'll talk to Sam about it, see what she thinks."
"Great, thanks Jack." Paul stands up and heads for the door, "I'll see you around later, I've got some more chairs to build."
I put my head in my hands. This is a really bad idea. We can't go back, not now, it's still too soon. We were just starting to feel at home here. We don't need to visit ghosts.