Thank you all so much for the reviews – I went to school with a smile on my face for the first time in ages. Please keep them coming, my self esteem is higher than it has been in a while. Saying that, I would still appreciate any constructive criticism you have. Please enjoy!!

Chapter 5 – What could be.

"Happy Birthday mommy!" She said. "I made you breakfast. Well, daddy helped a little bit". Jack laughed. "Mommy? What do you mean mommy? What, what's going on? What's happening to me? Daniel! Where are you? There was a flash, and she was back in the white room.

"I told you, I'm showing you what could be" Daniel said "The dream you had the other night, I gave you that dream. I gave it to Jack as well. I thought that might show you, but you're both too damn stubborn, so I had to take further measures. This was the only thing I could think of. Please Sam, just play along, and them I'll send you home, I promise"

"You promise?" "Yes. Just one day, and then I will send you back". "OK, I'll do it" There was a flash of light again, and she was back in that room, the room she now recognized was a bedroom.

The small girl had climbed on to her bed, leaving Jack holding the tray. Once she was sitting next to Sam under the covers she said "You can pass me the tray now daddy" Jack did a mock salute, muttered "Yes mam!", and set the tray down on Sam's lap, and sat at the end of the bed.

"We made pancakes, you're favorite, and daddy made some coffee that tastes disgusting" Sam smiled, and then wondered why the hell she had done. She began to eat her breakfast, while the girl sat chattering away happily. Jack still sat at the end of the bed, alternating his gaze between her and the girl, smiling contentedly.

She had never seen him smile that way before. There was so much love in that smile. He's smiling that way at me! She realized suddenly, and blushed. She liked him smiling that way at her.

"Come on you, time for school" Jack said to the girl. She skipped out of the room happily, and Jack turned to smile at her as she left.

"She was so excited about doing this. She got me up at 5 am!" Sam laughed, aware again that she had laughed, and wondered why. "Listen, we have to be on base in an hour, I'll take Katie to school, but I need you to be ready when I get back. Bye sweetie"

He kissed her, and walked out of the room. She went a deep shade of read right the way to the roots of her hair. Still slightly giddy at having him kiss her, she got up, and wondered in to the bathroom.

She stared at herself in the mirror. Her hair was now long; it hung all the way to her mid back. She decided she liked it this way. Her skin shined, and her eyes sparkled. She stared hard at herself in the mirror, and came to the conclusion that she looked better than she had done in ages.

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Sam wondered in to the base. So she was still at the SGC then. She was glad, as she knew however much she loved Jack; she would still miss this job. She found her office, and sat down. It looked much the same as it did before, with a few minor adjustments that caught her attention immediately.

Littered around her desk in various places, were several photos. She picked the first one up, nearly dropping it with surprise. The photo was a picture of her and Jack. He was in his best tux, and she was wearing a long white dress. They had their arms around each other, and were laughing.

This was our wedding day! She realized suddenly. The next picture she found was of her in a hospital bed, and Jack with his arms around her. In her arms, lay a small baby. They look so happy, she thought. We look so happy. A single tear slipped down her cheek.

Next was a picture of Katie, age 5, with a big birthday cake in front of her. Jack and her dad were standing by the side of her, and they were all giggling.

This was what was missing in her life. She had always known she loved Jack, but she underestimated just how happy he would make her. She carried on for the next few hours, leafing through the photos.

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When she got home, the girl, Katie, was already sitting on the sofa, watching cartoons. "How did you get home?" She asked. "Danny Petersen's mom gave me a lift. Come watch TV with me mom!"

"Oh, I erm, I've got some things..."

"Please mom, just for a while"

Deciding she had no choice, and, if she admitting to herself, she did really want to sit with her, she sat down. Katie then snuggled up in her arms. The wave of happiness Sam experienced then was not like anything she had ever experienced before.

She had known this girl less than 24 hours, but she loved her already, and couldn't explain why. It's because she's my daughter, she thought to herself. I love her, because she's mine.

They sat that way for about an hour, when there was a knock at the door. Sam went to open it. "Cassandra!"

"Hey, I know I know I'm late, sorry; I got held up at school. There was this incident in the girl's bathrooms, and, you don't want to know the rest... Anyway, I'm here now, so lets get started"

"Started with what?" Cassandra smiled. "Getting ready silly! You know, you might be the world leading expert in the field of wormhole physics, but you sure are scatterbrained!" Reading Sam's still blank expression, she continued.

"Jack is taking you out for dinner, for your birthday, and I'm going to give you a makeover, and look after Katie for you. Now let's get started. Oh, by the way, you don't have a fire extinguisher do you, because this thing kind of happened in my car, which was totally not my fault by the way..."

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Sam opened the door slightly. Jack was pacing up and down in the kitchen, looking at his watch every 10 seconds "Hey Cassie, how's it going in there?" He yelled, trying, and failing miserably, to sound irritated "We're going to be late"

"OK, we're ready" She said to Sam, putting the finishing touches to her hair. Not giving her a chance to look in the mirror, she dragged her by the hand, in to the kitchen. "Jack O'Neill, may I please present your date for this evening"

"He looked at her, and sighed. "You look... beautiful" He said after a pause. She was wearing a long black dress that Cassie had given to her, and Cassie had pulled her hair up off her face, leaving only a few hairs trailing down. "I mean it, you look, wow!" She blushed again. I have to stop doing that, she thought.

"Your Cab's here" Cassie called from over by the window. Jack took her arm, and led her to the cab.

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They had been eating for half an hour. Jack chatted about simple things, like what was going on at the base, how smart Katie was getting, how much Cassandra had grown. Sam was perfectly happy to listen to him and smile and nod back.

She had never felt this comfortable with anyone before, she realized. She had never been completely relaxed, there was always something going on in her mind, always something she was thinking about. She had never before been so happy to just let someone talk, and listen to them, without saying anything.

A band had started playing some soft jazz music in the corner of the bar. Some people were already up, dancing. Jack suddenly stool up, and offered out his hand. "Can I have a dance with a beautiful lady" he said, winking at her.

She got up, and he took both her hands, and led her to the dance floor. He wrapped both his arms around her, and she laid her head on his shoulder. They were barely moving, just swaying, in time to the music. I don't want this night to end, she realized suddenly. I have never been this happy before in my life. She held on to him even more tightly, then leaned up, and kissed him.

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Once they were home, they just crashed on the sofa. "I had a great night tonight" He said softly. "So did I", She said, and leaned her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her again.

"I love you Jack" She said. "I love you too" He said. With that, she fell asleep in his arms, feeling more safe, happy and contented, than she ever had in her life.

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"I told you he would make you happy" He said. "Daniel! Thank you. Thank you so much!" She wrapped her arms around hi, and pulled him in to an embrace. "It worked then. You're going to listen to me?" "Yes, yes I am. Oh Daniel, he makes me so happy!" He smiled. "I knew he would. It's time to go home now Sam. Are you going to be alright?" She smiled. "Yeah, yeah I am. Will I see you around? " "I don't know. Maybe" He smiled at her, and there was another flash.

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Jack had been sat at Sam's bedside for 2 days now, refusing to move. He was so scared now, more scared than he had ever been. She had been 'asleep' for two days now, and like it or not, it was starting to occur to him that she might not wake up.

She looks so beautiful, he thought. How could anyone not love her? If she was mine, I would love her so much; I would never let her go.

She stirred suddenly, and Jack froze. "Jack?" she whispered. "I'm here. You scared us for a while there Carter" "Oh god" She cried, and flung her arms round him. He held her as tightly as she held him. "Shh, it's going to be OK, you're going to be fine".

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What do you think? I'm having loads of fun writing this story; I hope you're having fun reading it!! You know the drill, please rnr!!