"Hey," Jack said softly, stepping up behind Sam as he slid his arms around her waist, pressing his palms to her rounded sides. "You okay?"

Sam put her hands over his and looked down at them, loving the picture of his hands cradling their unborn baby. She massaged his hands, now rough and calloused from six cycles of hard work, but just as gentle and elegant as they had ever been. He rested his chin on her shoulder, and she tipped her head so their cheeks rested together.

"I'm enjoying the Ornorean. It'll be gone soon."

"So will we," he added.

"I know," she said. "Jack, we both always knew we were going to go back. But... we thought it would be years after we left. Things would be different. Now, they're not different at all."

His hands shifted over her stomach and he started to sway slowly, taking her with him. But she felt the slight tensing of his body. Jack kissed her cheek, just in front of her ear.

"Does this change things for you?"

Sam turned in his arms, curling her fingers into the front of his shirt. The homespun fabric was soft from a season of use, and she leaned her forehead against his chest and drew in the scent of the soap they used to wash it that mingled with the scent she knew simply as 'Jack'.

He held her head in his hands and gently urged her to look up. The light from inside the house lit half his profile, leaving the other half in shadows. Jack's lips were parted, straight and he drew a shallow breath before speaking.

"Sam, does this change things for you?"

She shook her head in his hold. "No, Jack. Never. I told you. Here. Earth. Doesn't matter. We'll deal with the consequences."

Sam leaned into him again, and closed her eyes as his hands gently stroked her hair and back, soothing her with the touch. It seemed like a lifetime ago that she had spent every moment with Jack doing her best to avoid contact. Not even allowing their arms to brush each other if they stood side by side, or their knees to bump beneath tables. Every touch was a temptation, a taste of something she couldn't have. Now, the thought of never being touched by Jack again brought tears to her eyes. She took in a shuddered breath.

"What?" he asked.

"For six cycles, I've thought about what I miss at home. Pork Eggs Foo Yong and spring rolls. Diet Coke. Hot baths. Hair conditioner."

"The Superbowl. The World Series. The Stanley Cup. Guinness. Pizza. The Simpsons," he added to the list.

Sam laughed, enjoying the game. "Central heating. Central air conditioning. Microwave popcorn with butter. Ice Cream. Real chocolate cake with thick frosting." Jack moaned loudly, hugging her tighter. Sam smiled, but then the heaviness crept back into her chest. "But now, as much as I want to go home, I don't want to leave." He held her closer, and Sam wrapped her arms around him. She took in a deep breath, releasing it slowly. "But, it's time."

"We'll leave tomorrow."

Sam nodded against his chest. "Okay, Jack. Tomorrow."

"And besides, it's not like we won't ever be here again. The negotiations to set up the Naquida mine are still a go, as far as Earth is concerned. There are going to be teams coming and going, and we can come back whenever you like."

"Not for awhile. I'm not worried about making a single trip through the Gate to get home, but until the baby comes..."

"Well, you know Sarai will want to see the baby."

"Jack, what if they don't let us. I mean, we haven't exactly conformed to military regulations while we're here."

"Extenuating circumstances."

She looked up at him. "Extenuating circumstances?"

"Oh, come on. I've been on a beautiful planet for years, with a beautiful woman – a beautiful woman that I have loved for a long time, I might add – just how long was I supposed to last? Hell, Uncle Sam is lucky I lasted six months!"

"You've loved me for a long time?"

Jack shrugged, raising one eyebrow. "Yeah."

Sam stood on her toes and offered her mouth for a kiss. Just before their lips touched, she heard Daniel clear his voice from inside the cabin. Sam caught Jack's grin just before covered her lips with his and kissed her deep, moaning softly against her mouth. When she pulled back, Daniel stood in the doorway, trying very hard to look everywhere but at them.

"What's up, Daniel?"

"Um, Uncle Teal'c..." he said, a smile popping his lips up, crinkling the corners of his eyes behind his glasses. "Says that Hannah is ready for bed and she wants you, Jack."

Jack kissed Sam's temple and let her go to head back into the house. He patted Daniel's shoulder as he went by. "Thanks, Daniel."

Sam leaned back onto the porch railing behind her and watched Daniel watch Jack head for Hannah's room. When he turned back, he crossed his arms over his chest and looked at her with the same big smile. He stepped out onto the porch, and stood near her.

"So," he finally said.

Sam hitched up her chin to look at him, stroking her hand over her stomach. The baby was active tonight. Maybe he or she sensed something was about to change.

"So..."

Daniel looked back at the house, hitching his thumb in the direction Jack had gone. "You and... ah... Jack, huh? This is... this is..."

"It's good, Daniel."

"Well, I can't really say that I'm surprised. I mean, I'm surprised to come here and find you two – what, married? – and with a little girl. But you and Jack, I can't say I'm surprised. God, Sam." He touched her cheek. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you."

"And Jack. I almost didn't recognize him. Actually, I didn't recognize him. Sam, have you looked in a mirror?"

Sam nodded. "I've written it all down. It took about a year... over a cycle here... before I really noticed. I saw it in Jack first. That his knees stopped hurting. He didn't come home as tired. The lines on his face faded. His body..."

"Yeah, okay," Daniel said, holding up his hand. "I get it. But, you see it in yourself, too, right?"

Sam nodded. "I do, and now that I know the Ornorean changes the entire timeline, I can't wait to look into it more. Of course, the Ornorean won't happen again for another 100 cycles. But there may be enough information recorded on the MALP to use for study."

Daniel chuckled. "Ever the scientist."

She shrugged. "I guess so."

He came to sit beside her, crossing his ankles in front of him. Sam took his hand and laced her fingers through his, leaning her head on his shoulder. "It's good to see you, Daniel. We've missed you."

Daniel laughed. "You really think Jack missed me?"

She nodded against his jacket,. "He did. Weeks after we realized we were going to be here awhile, I told him one night that I was afraid that you and Teal'c were dead. That the wormhole had failed. He told me that he knew you were alive, simply because the alternative –- the two of you being gone – was unacceptable. His way of saying he didn't want to think of you being gone any more than I did."

"Huh," Daniel huffed. "Who'da thought?"

"Are we really going on a trip tomorrow, Daddy?"

Jack sat down on the edge of Hannah's little bed, the mattress so low his knees were almost level with his chest. He pulled the blanket up around her chin and tucked her in tight, setting Anna, her favorite doll, on the pillow beside her cheek.

"We sure are, baby. Do you remember me telling you about the place that Momma and I came from?"

"Erf."

Jack smiled. "Yeah, Earth. That's where we're going. And we're going to live there."

"We ever gonna see Raeya again? Ever?"

"Sure. Just not for a little while. But we will come back. I promise. Now, you get some sleep."

Hannah lifted her arms for a hug, and Jack leaned over to kiss her cheek as she squeezed his neck just as hard as she could. "Love you, Daddy."

"Love you, too, baby."

He stood up, giving her blonde curls one more stroke before heading for the door. Teal'c stood in the doorway, and stepped aside so Jack could come out.

"Can I get you anything, T? I've got water and milk. Sorry, fresh out of beer."

Teal'c smiled and dipped his head. "Water would be most refreshing, O'Neill."

Jack took a cup from the cabinet and let the water run from the pump until it was cold before filling it. "Here ya go."

"Thank you.

"Follow me, T. Keep me company," Jack said, heading for the closed and locked door off the main room.

He led the way to Sam's lab, lighting several oil lamps she kept by the door. Teal'c stood in the doorway as Jack took a wooden box from beneath the workbench. He wanted to get the lab packed up. First, so Sam didn't try to do it herself. And second, so they didn't have to worry about it in the morning.

"This would appear to be a laboratory," Teal'c said from the doorway.

"Got it in one, T. I built this for Sam about... oh, I don't know... five or so cycles ago."

"It is quite impressive, O'Neill. You have accomplished much with very limited resources."

"I can be innovative when I want to be," Jack said with a grin. "Sam needed it. She never said it, but I knew after about three months here, she was starting to go stir crazy."

Teal'c raised one eyebrow in question.

"Bonkers. Bored out of her gourd."

"Indeed. I would imagine that Colonel Carter would find it difficult not to study her environment."

Jack paused, a stack of journals in his hands. "Wow."

"What is wrong, O'Neill?"

"Colonel Carter. Haven't heard anyone call her that in so long, it almost sounds... wrong... ya know?"

"As does, I'm sure, General O'Neill."

Jack thought about it a moment, and nodded. "Sounds like someone I don't even know. Hey, so, Daniel radioed the SGC that we're heading back tomorrow?"

"Indeed."

Jack tried to look casual, flipping through some of the pages of her latest journal. "What'd he tell them? Do you know?"

"I believe he said only that you and Colonel Carter would be returning with us, and that you were well. Daniel Jackson said to me that there were no words to adequately explain the situation until such time as General Hammond could 'see it for himself'."

"Ah. Good enough."

He continued working on collecting Sam's equipment and notes, and the remains of experiments she had conducted and completed. Teal'c picked up a wooden toy from beneath another table and held it up. Jack took it and smiled.

"Hannah's. I had to put a lock on the door last year. She'd sneak in here whenever Sam wasn't looking. As inquisitive as her mother."

Jack set the toy down, and when he looked up, Teal'c watched him just slightly more intently than usual. "What..." Jack said as he picked up the box and headed for the door.

"It pleases me greatly to see that you and Colonel Carter--"

"Stop calling her that, will ya?"

"Have chosen each other."

Jack set the box down on the table in the main room, bracing his hands on the edges. "Wanna know the truth, Teal'c? I chose her a long time ago. Whatever the Ornorean did to keep us here, I'm glad as hell it happened."

Teal'c bowed his head and Jack set his hands at his waist, looking around the room to see what else he needed to pack up. Besides some of Hannah's toys, most everything in the house could stay behind. His life for the last four and a half years in two boxes.

Scratch that. His life was Sam and Hannah. Boxes were just extra. Sappy as it sounded, there it was.

Daniel and Sam came in from the porch, Daniel shutting the door behind them. With a smile, Jack reached out his arm and Sam came to his side so he could pull her close. This time tomorrow, they'd be back on Earth.

And all hell would probably break loose.