Author's Note: Okay, here it is, the final installment. When I first wrote Unbalanced I wasn't pleased with the ending, it felt too abrupt. It still is, but I like this epilogue, and I hope you do as well.


Epilogue

"Why did I let you get me pregnant!!" the voice screamed from the gurney. "What the hell was I thinking marrying you?!?!"

"I don't know honey, but it's going to be okay," her coach told her trying to calm her down.

Sam glared at her husband momentarily before reaching up and grabbing at his shirt. Through gritted teeth she yelled at him, "You're not the one trying to push a watermelon through a ten centimeter whole in your body! Agh!!" Another contraction hit her right then as she reached out and grabbed onto one of his arms.

Jack cringed as her nails dug into his skin. He tried not to grimace, she was going through much worse right then. Besides, he knew she didn't mean anything she was saying ('Well maybe except for that watermelon comment,' he told himself) and it would all be worth it once their new baby was brought into this world.

"Come on Sam, you can do it… Just breathe through the pain… It's almost over… See there you go, it's over now…" Jack coached her as he watched the monitors.

Sam leaned back in her bed as the pain left her, at least for the moment. "God this hurts Jack…" she told him as her eyes started to glisten with tears of pain.

Jack's heart fell as he saw the pain his wife was in, he felt it was partially his fault. He had been at the base when she had called him to let him know she was going into labor. He had insisted that she wait for him before going to the hospital, after all Janet had assured him that most first pregnancies took a long time. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case for Sam. By the time Jack and Sam arrived at the Academy Hospital the doctor told her she was too far along to receive an epidural. So here they were now, one hour later, about to deliver their new baby the old fashioned way, naturally-without any drugs. "I know baby, just a little bit longer… You can do this… Have I told you recently that I love you?"

Sam's tears no longer stopped at her eyelids, they now came rushing down her face as if a dam had been broken. "I love you too Ja-aagh!!" another contraction assaulted her body at that moment.

The doctor who was going to be delivering Sam and Jack's baby walked in then and picked up the printout from the monitors that Sam was hooked up to. "Well, everything looks good Sam… We'll be taking you into the delivery room in a couple minutes."

Janet Frasier walked in as the doctor was making his last statement, "Isn't the baby going to be too premature? She's not due for another five weeks!"

Jack's eyes went wide, but before he could say anything, the doctor spoke as he walked out, "Oh no, Sam's due in a week."

Janet turned and stared at her friends wide-eyed, "What?"

Jack momentarily left Sam's side and walked up to Janet, "Janet, listen, I'm sorry we lied to you, but we uh…"

"She's due in a week? How could you lie to us?"

Jack turned and looked at Sam, hoping for some help. Lucky for him, his prayers were answered, "Janet we told everyone the baby was due a month from now because I got pregnant before the wedding… You know my dad…" Sam explained.

Janet looked at Sam and understood, she most definitely knew Sam's father and how he would have reacted if he had learned that Sam was pregnant before her wedding. First of all there probably wouldn't have been a wedding on account of Jacob killing or seriously maiming one Jack O'Neill. Janet's face softened as she approached Sam, "I understand Sam, it just took me by surprise. Jacob's out there freaking out!"

Sam tilted her head back and looked up at the ceiling, "Jack, why couldn't our child have my patience and wait a few more weeks to come out?"

Jack smiled as he walked to her bedside and took hold of her hand, "He probably couldn't wait to see his mommy from the outside, I know I wouldn't be able to wait ten months to see your face!"

Sam smiled as new tears started to form in her eyes, Jack was positive that they were going to have a little baby boy. The sweet moment was interrupted though by another contraction. This time both Sam and Jack (who was nursing his hand) yelled out.

Janet looked down at the readouts, "This baby is ready to come out and into this world!"

Two minutes later Sam was wheeled to the delivery room. Janet was following the pair when she saw Jacob and the rest of the team waiting impatiently for any news as they ran towards the retreating gurney. Janet took a deep breath as she waited for the barrage of questions, "Is everything okay?"

"She's fine Jacob, they're taking her into the delivery room now. It should be over soon."

"Isn't it too early for the baby to come out?" Jacob asked her again.

Janet momentarily panicked as she tried to come up with something to tell him. "Uh…. Actually, no. Babies born as far along as Sam's rarely have any difficulties," she told him confidently, technically she wasn't lying. "During the last few weeks, the baby has generally finished with all the developmental phases," so that last part was a small extension of the truth, but he didn't have to know that, did he?

Jacob let out a sigh relieved to hear what the petite doctor was explaining. "Everything's going to be okay Jacob," General Hammond reassured his old friend.

Janet looked down the hall where they had taken Sam before turning to the four men in front of her, "I should get over there. It won't be long now." She then took off at a brisk pace down the hall.

The company of men weren't that far behind her. They waited outside the door that Sam was going to be delivering the baby in. At one point several nurses came by to escort them away to the waiting room, however being a general had it's privileges. Waiting outside the delivery room they could hear Sam's yelling and screaming, which scared them slightly, but also made them smile as they listened to Sam swear at her husband of nine months.

Fifteen minutes later they heard a small baby's wailing as it took in its first breath of fresh air. The men standing outside the waiting room all looked at each other and smiled before they all shook hands with the proud grandfather before them. Five minutes later the door to the delivery room opened.

Jack emerged back first as he opened the door, when he turned around to face their family he was holding a small bundle of joy wrapped in a pink blanket. He looked up into their eyes and they could see that this seasoned Air Force Colonel (Retired) had been shedding tears of his own. "Jacob, this is your granddaughter Stella Perrin," he told him as he carefully placed his daughter in the arms of her grandfather.

Jacob and Hammond looked at him with slightly confused faces upon hearing her name.

"That is a wise choice O'Neill," Teal'c told him as he recalled his lessons in Latin during the time loops he and Jack had endured for months.

George was the first to ask, "What's it mean?"

Daniel smiled, "It means 'Star Traveler.' It's perfect," he leaned over the baby in Jacob's arms and stroked his finger on her cheek. "Stella, there's a whole galaxy out there for you to discover."

Jacob nodded as he learned the meaning of his granddaughter's name, "She's beautiful Jack!" He then looked up at Jack as his own eyes glistened with tears, "How's Sam?"

Jack chuckled, "She's fine, a little tired but fine. I should actually get back in there," he told them as he motioned over his shoulder.

"Can we see her?" Daniel hopefully asked.

"I don't know, I'll ask the doctor. Janet'll probably be out in a sec to take Stella to the nursery."

A few hours later Sam, Jack and Stella were surrounded by their extended family, Jacob, General Hammond, Daniel, Teal'c, Janet, and Cassandra. At one point the doctor walked in to check on the new family. Pleased to see that mother and daughter were doing fine he left, Jacob however followed him out. They walked down the hallway to speak in private, but Jacob didn't notice that Janet followed him out.

"Doctor are you sure she's going to be okay?"

"I assure you General Carter, your daughter and granddaughter are in perfectly good health," he told him with a smile as he placed his hand on the General's shoulder.

"What about later on? Stella won't have any problems when she's older because she was born five weeks early will she?" the concerned grandfather asked him.

The Doctor flinched, that was the second time that had happened surrounding this particular baby. "Stella was only born one week early. Her birth falls within the normal ranges of full term babies." The doctor looked down at his waist where his beeper was clipped, "Excuse me General, I have an emergency to attend to," he told him as he took off running down the hall.

Jacob stared intently at the ground as he processed what the doctor had told him. He was so focused that he didn't notice Janet walk up to him and place her hand on his shoulder. "Jacob?" she gently called to him. "Don't be angry at them."

Jacob looked up at the doctor before him, "Why would I be angry?" he gently asked her.

Janet flinched as she knitted her eyebrows, "You're not angry that they told you the baby wasn't due for another month?"

"They're grown adults, they can do whatever they want… He's just lucky he waited for them to be engaged before he got her pregnant. Now if he got her pregnant first and then got engaged, I'd seriously doubt that Jack would be out of the hospital by now."

"Well… you're taking this a lot better than I thought, and definitely better than I think they thought you would take it… They were terrified to tell you, hell I only just found out right before the delivery."

Jacob's face softened, "They were that scared to tell me that they lied to everyone else?"

Janet shrugged her shoulders, "I guess so."

Jacob started walking back to Sam's room. Just before they were about to enter Sam's room he stopped the doctor and turned to her and shared an evil smile, "Want to see Jack scared out of his pants?" Without waiting for a response, he forcefully opened the door as he sought the room for Jack. He finally found him sitting on the gurney next to Sam who was cradling Stella. "What the hell were you thinking lying to me?"

Jack looked up stunned, "Huh?"

"I mean Sam's due date was a week from tomorrow! You've only been married for nine months!" he told him as he neared the gurney.

Every pair of eyes in the room went wide as everyone held their breath upon hearing the bombshell that Jacob had revealed.

Jack slowly got off the bed, either to protect Sam or to put distant between himself and his irate father in law. Sam wouldn't have any of that as she reached out and grabbed his hand and held firm, "Dad," she calmly started out.

"Don't you dad me! Jack got you pregnant before you were married!" he then turned to Jack, "How could you do this to her?"

Jack searched for words, "Look, dad, it was an accident that she got-"

"An accident? I expect that answer from teenagers! Not grown adults!"

Jack worriedly looked over at his wife, "I love Sam more than anything in the world! I'm not ashamed that we got pregnant a little earlier than we anticipated. Stella-"

He was interrupted by Jacob, "Yes what about Stella?… She's the most beautiful little girl I've ever seen," he told them as his face and voice softened. "Sorry Sammie, I think she might even be cuter than you were when I first held you in my arms." Every jaw in the room dropped. Jacob calmly walked over to the bed with a wide grin on his face, "I'm not upset you two, I could never be upset with you when we have this new life to celebrate!"

"You're not angry?" Sam stammered out finally as she looked between her father and her husband.

"I'm hurt that you thought you had to lie to me, but I kind of think it's sweet. Well, at least Selmak does, and you know how much of a softie she is." He leaned down over his daughter and placed a kiss on the top of her forehead, "I love you Sam, you could never disappoint me." He then walked around the bed and held his hand out to Jack.

Jack warmly accepted the hand and felt Jacob pull him into an embrace. He had a smile on his face when he heard Jacob whisper into his ear, "I'm very happy for you Jack… But if you ever lie to me again…" Jack's face became dead serious as he heard the unspoken threat.

Jacob released him and looked at him with a huge smile on his face, "Gotcha Jack! Lighten up, you're a father now!"

Jack's face broke out into a wide grin, "Yeah I am! You really had me there Dad!" he told him as he waggled his finger at him.

Jacob nodded his head as the grin spread even wider across his face, "I know… You'll understand when Stella starts dating!"

Jack's eyes went wide as the thought of her future boyfriends crossed his mind. Sam merely laughed out loud as she looked down at her daughter, "I'm so sorry Stella! I don't know if you'll ever find a man strong enough to stand up to your father, grandfathers and uncles!"

The End

Author's Note: Thank you everyone who stuck around and finished this story. I hope you enjoyed this little epilogue, I thought it added a little humor to their story.