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That which was now Janet Fraiser floated ethereally nearby.
"I wouldn't have missed this for the world," Janet murmured with a beaming smile.
"Fishing in Minnesota," she continued, although only she could hear herself.
"It's about time!"
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Ch 75: EPILOGUES!
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He stared at the mud-encrusted dirt bike.
They'd been married for six months and he was helping her clean out her garage in preparation for selling her house. And there 'it' was. The same bike they'd ridden on in that interdimensional realm.
"What did you find over here?" she came up behind him and snaked her arms around his waist while peeking over his shoulder.
He simply pointed at it.
"What? The bike?" she asked curiously.
He raised an eyebrow at her, "Please tell me that you don't really ride that thing like you did when we were… you know," and he held her arms to his waist with his own. He felt her silent chuckles shake gently against his back. "Sa-am," he growled, "Unlike in that… other realm, you could get seriously hurt here."
"Have you ever known me to take time off from work because of a motorcycle accident or injury?" she challenged.
He narrowed his eyes at her careful wording… which didn't preclude the possibility of a motorcycle accident or injury, just that he didn't know about it. He turned in her arms and studied her intently while she looked back at him with an innocent smile. He briefly considered mentioning that she was too old for such reckless activities, but quickly recognized the dangers of such words.
"I don't want to see you get hurt," he finally settled on simplicity and truth.
The tender kiss told him that he'd chosen his words well.
And then she pulled back and met his eyes again, "First, I have never ridden a 'real' bike like I did that dirt bike that we rode through the mud… I was taking advantage of the fact that it wasn't real and that we couldn't get hurt like we would here," she confessed.
He looked slightly mollified, but then asked, "So then how did this bike end up looking …like this?"
"Well, I did take it out to the local track for a spin after a good rainstorm had turned everything to mud," she admitted and then elaborated, "But it was a set of fairly flat trails, with wide, easy turns," she clarified with a grin.
"Mmm," and he mulled that over for a moment. "What would you say to keeping the Indian, but getting rid of the dirt bike?" he asked hopefully.
She looked at him for a moment and then laid her cheek on his chest while contemplating the mud-encrusted bike. "What would you say if I agreed not to ride either of my motorcycles for the next 8-12 months?"
His mind stopped at the unexpectedly strange question and then his brain caught up, "Sam?" and he pulled away to look in her eyes again.
She nodded, "I think the coffee and caffeine are going to be harder to give up than the motorcycles."
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This had quickly become one of his favorite activities over the past several years.
Lying with his arms around her.
And watching her sleep.
She was currently sleeping on her side and he was spooned up against her back. With his arm curled over her waist, his hand rested on her swollen abdomen. She was seven months pregnant and he loved every single inch and every single curve and swell.
He checked the clock. He still had a half hour before he had to get up.
He fully intended to relish the next half hour lying here with her.
He rubbed his hand tenderly over her swollen abdomen and listened to her soft breathing.
After all they'd been through in their lives, each moment with her felt magical.
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She woke up to find herself alone in bed.
His warm presence decidedly missing.
She checked the clock. O'Dark Thirty. Wearily she pulled herself into a sitting position and sat on the side of the bed for a few moments as she woke up a bit more. Pulling on her robe, she yawned and then made a trip to the restroom before heading for the hallway.
Light streamed out from under the closed door just past their bedroom.
She opened the door quietly and then smiled at the scene before her.
Jack was asleep in the rocking chair, with one of his arms draped into the crib where the twins were sleeping.
She leaned against the doorframe and watched the three of them sleep.
The twins owned her heart in a way that only a mother can know.
But that man shared her soul in a way that she would never have thought possible just a few years ago.
They'd both been worried that something would happen once they returned to Earth. That circumstances would continue to keep them from exploring a life together. Or that one or the other of them would discover… that it just wasn't right.
But instead, they'd simply grown more in love. Building on their friendship, they'd slowly opened more and more of themselves to each other.
Tears welled in her eyes as she silently acknowledged how lucky she was.
He was a special man with a true and honest heart.
He would always be an intergalactic hero, but he had become so much more to her.
He truly was her other half.
A part of her that she couldn't envision being without.
She'd had to take her father on another trip to Alaska to convince him that she knew what she was doing. And she was fairly certain that both Jacob and Selmak had had some fun threatening Jack before the wedding. But now both Tokra were nothing but doting grandparents and the twins had them wrapped around their little fingers.
Her eyes traveled over the three before her now with an affectionate smile.
Grace twisted and wiggled in her sleep, and Jack started awake. "Hey," he looked up at her sleepily.
"Hey," she leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. "The bed's more comfortable," she suggested with a smile.
Jack blinked up at her and then looked over at their sleeping children. "They were restless, and I didn't want them to wake you up again," he explained as he yawned.
Sam put a hand out to her husband, "Come on let's see how much longer they will stay asleep."
Accepting her hand as he levered himself out of the comfortable rocking chair, he pulled himself up and then used his momentum to pull her into a kiss.
Sam broke off the kiss a few moments later so that she could whisper in his ear, "Do you know how much I love you?"
"I-," he started, but was dramatically interrupted.
"WAAAAAA AA AAA! WAAA AAA AAA AA!
WAAA AAA AA AA A A! WAAAAAA AA AAA!
WAAA AAA AAA AA! WAAA AAA AAAA A!"
"I'll have you know that your daughter started that," Sam informed him and he didn't doubt that she could identify exactly which baby had started crying first.
"Yeah well, your son has the stronger lungs," he retorted as they each reached in to retrieve a squalling baby from the crib.
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Jack parked his SUV in the driveway and pulled a sack of groceries into his arms before heading to the front door. The kids were spending the day playing with some friends down the street.
The day that just happened to be their fourth wedding anniversary.
The twins would also be spending the night at their friends' house. The parents traded off taking care of their children on anniversaries, birthdays and other such special occasions.
The only snag in this scenario was that Sam hadn't been home in over a week. She hadn't even been on the planet. Not that the kids knew that. He had just told them that their Mom had had to go on a trip out of town for work. And P-something-X-3-whatever-whatever certainly counted as out of town.
She didn't get sent off planet much anymore, but SG-7 had discovered some new alien technology… and some of it was too large to bring back though the Stargate. Consequently, The Powers That Be here on Earth had requested that Sam personally visit the site to evaluate the possibilities.
It was only supposed to be for two or three days, but then that had dragged on to four and five and then six and seven and eight.
He opened the front door and quickly headed to the kitchen to put away the groceries.
And then he stopped short.
She was asleep on the couch.
She was still in green fatigues and a black t-shirt, but she'd made it home for today. For their anniversary. A smile slowly replaced his stunned expression and he quietly put the grocery sack on the counter. There were no frozen foods in there, so he would put the stuff away later.
Stepping quietly around to the front of the sofa, he stood and watched her for a moment. Even after all of these years, some of his favorite moments were still the times when he could simply watch her sleep.
Intending to join her, he sat down on the chair next to the couch so that he could take off his shoes first. And then he stopped and looked over at her again.
She still had her boots on.
On the couch.
And her car was not in the driveway, he suddenly realized. He stepped quickly over to the interior door that led to the garage and took a quick peek… her car was not there... Which meant that she'd had someone drive her home.
Stepping quietly back over to the couch, he raised an eyebrow and studied her more critically. Not seeing anything overt, but with a definite feeling growing in the pit of his stomach, he slipped out of the front room and into the kitchen where he quietly phoned the SGC.
Within just a few short moments, he found himself speaking with Dr. Brightman… or rather, listening to the good doctor's ranting over the behavior of certain patients.
A few minutes after that and he was standing in front of the sofa watching her again. The doctor couldn't tell him the specific details over the unsecured phone line, but there'd apparently been fighting with asundy explosions and shrapnel. The SGC personnel had all made it back to Earth alive, but with injuries ranging from simple scrapes and bruises to one broken leg to one projectile wound.
And Sam had ended up somewhere in the mid-range, with some cracked ribs and a multitude of bruises and contusions. Dr. Brightman had apparently ordered that she was to stay in the infirmary overnight for observation, just as a precaution. Unfortunately for the good doctor, there were several new additions on the infirmary staff who were simply no match for an SGC infirmary veteran such as the woman who lay before him.
He kneeled by the side of the couch and carefully untied and loosened the laces on her boots before gently slipping them off. She didn't stir. And as long as she was asleep, he wasn't going to wake her. With the cracked ribs and bruises that the doctor had described, however, he revised his plans to join her on the couch.
Making a quick trip to the bathroom, he got out some of the prescription pain medication that was dosed for her naquadah-laced system. Placing a couple of those and a glass of water on the coffee table for when she woke up, he retrieved the groceries and then busied himself in the kitchen for a few moments putting things away.
With that done, he sat in the chair next to the couch again, settling in to watch her sleep for awhile.
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Loaded with packages, Sam followed her seven-year-old twins into the house after a day of shopping.
"Whoops," Grace pulled up short with an apprehensive look on her face. Jake quickly stepped over next to her for a look and then raised his eyebrows and quietly looked back at their mom with an empathetic look.
Uh oh.
The twins silently picked up the packages with their new belongings and hot-footed it for their bedrooms, sending their mom apologetic looks as they disappeared.
Steeling herself for the inevitable, Sam quietly stepped over for a view of the couch. Where her husband was stretched out, still in his fatigues -sans boots- and sound asleep with the cat curled up on his chest.
She glanced around knowingly… the house was a wreck… toys and kids clothes were strewn all around. The kitchen table sported a half-finished science project. Video game controllers were arrayed on the floor in front of the TV.
Her eyes traveled back to the man on the sofa and she almost jumped when his eyes met hers.
"We got done a day early," he informed her sleepily, and with a knowing smile tugging at the edges of his mouth.
She smiled ruefully back at him and then sat on the edge of the sofa by his side, "The SUV?" she asked.
"In the garage," he replied with that still too-knowing smile.
"I am glad that you're home and safe," she said softly.
"Someone had to save you from those two," he stated, his smile growing wider.
"The house is still standing," she mock-protested as she softly ruffled the sleeping cat's fur from tail to head… against its natural grain.
"You spoil them rotten and they sooooo have your number," Jack snorted at the same time the cat mewled indignantly at being woken up.
She opened her mouth to protest, but he interjected, "Where did you just come back from?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
Sam sighed and looked down, watching the now-annoyed cat stretch and make its way off of his chest and onto the floor. "Jake needed a new jacket and Grace needed a couple of sweaters."
Jack snorted again, "Jake did not need a new jacket – Jake wanted that new jacket and Grace has a dresser full of sweaters," he informed her with amusement.
Sam started to protest, but then just gave him a small shrug and a small, self-effacing smile that admitted that she knew that what the twins were up to.
"Cm'here," and he held out his arms and she lay down beside him and then laid her head on his chest… that was the whole point of waking the cat up, after all.
Sam listened to the beating of his heart. She loved this man more than life itself. Of course, she would have rather have had some warning of his return, so that she and the twins could have cleaned up after his week off-planet, but having him home and safe was worth a little embarrassment.
Jack, on the other hand, sighed happily. His home looked like a bomb had gone off in it and the twins had cajoled their mom out of some new clothes that they didn't need, but he couldn't imagine anywhere he'd rather be.
Cuddled together on the sofa, the two drifted off to sleep.
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Some time later, Jack awoke to late afternoon light. Sam was still asleep in his arms. He glanced around and his eyebrows rose. The area of the room within his view… was neatened up… everything was put away…
Somehow the twins had quietly put everything away while their parents had snoozed on the sofa. Jack bit back a chuckle so that he wouldn't wake Sam up yet. Who would have thought that Sam would be the 'easy touch' of the two parents? Wasn't it usually the Dad? He looked around with amusement.
But not in this family. Whether it was Sam's childhood growing up without her Mom, or some other factor, the end result was that Sam was a push-over when it came to their kids. When they wanted something, they would always ask Sam first, because she was the most likely to say 'yes'. The twins loved having Mom take them shopping, because they got almost everything they asked for.
He knew that over the past week, they'd probably eaten take-out every night… with pizza on two or three nights. And he knew what he'd find if they'd gone grocery shopping… sugar coated cereals, cookies, chips and four kinds of ice cream in the freezer.
Sam woke up a few moments later and looked up to see him smiling affectionately at her. "I'm really glad you're home," she repeated quietly and with a small smile of her own.
"I'm not sure that the twins would agree with you," Jack replied with amusement. Her brows furrowed as she tried to understand why he would say such a thing. "Take a look," and he gestured at the room with his head and eyes.
Curious, she turned and propped herself on an elbow as her eyes traveled over the now neat room. "Wow," and she let her tone show a little of how impressed she was that the twins had done all this while the two of them were asleep. Turning back to him, she snaked an arm around his waist and looked up at him impishly, "Have I told you that I'm really glad that you're home?"
He rolled his eyes good-naturedly, "Tell me again why you spoil them rotten?"
Sam laid her head on his chest again, simply reveling in the feel of him for a few more moments before answering. "Jack, I love you and the kids and our life here more than I can put into words… and I just want to… to cherish how special it all is…," and here she looked up and met his eyes.She could see his love as clearly as she'd felt it all those years ago when they'd been in that interdimensional realm. She reached up and captured his lips for a tender kiss.
"What did you all have planned for tonight?" he asked when they broke for air.
She looked at him speculatively, "Well, I'm not sure what the twins were hoping for, but I was thinking along the lines of more of this," and she proceeded to give him one of those kisses that stopped time and warped reality.
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The cabin was freezing.
It was the middle of November and the temperatures had dropped considerably during the night. The only sources of heat were small space heaters and the fireplace. And for safety's sake, they didn't leave the space heaters on overnight… nor did they leave the fire burning in the fireplace.
So the cabin was freezing.
Jack, however, was not complaining. Because she was spooned up behind him, with her arm curled possessively around his waist.
"Good morning," she sent to him drowsily.
"Good morning," he sent back, pulling her arm tighter around him and she responded by burrowing even closer to him.
"Do you know how much I love you?" he heard her ask him sleepily.
And he couldn't help teasing her, "How much of that is love for a 6'4" hot water bottle?" and he felt her silent laughter against his back and decided again that it was one of his favorite feelings.
"Oh, I love you for other things, too," she replied in a like tone.
"Name a few," he challenged affectionately.
"How about the past twelve years?" she returned softly and she kissed the back of his neck and he felt his heart melt. "And for getting Daniel and Teal'c to stay at the house for a week to watch Grace and Jake," she added and he felt more of her silent laughter.
The twins were now ten and a half. Grace was happy, impetuous and strong-minded like her father. Jake was quieter and more analytical, like his mother. Together, however, the twins made a potent combination that constantly challenged their parents' patience and forethought. Daniel and Teal'c definitely had their work cut out for them watching over the two rapscallions for a week.
She slid a hand under his shirt and he flinched reflexively, "AH! You're hands are like ice," he accused and her hand stopped its movement as she giggled against his back.
"Sorry," she managed.
He turned over, "You don't sound very sorry to me," he observed critically as he captured her mouth for a kiss and then jerked his head back, "And your nose is freezing too!"
She rolled her eyes, "Well, I guess the 6'4" hot water bottle is falling down on the job," she retorted.
He darted back in to give her a quick kiss and then jumped out of bed, "Be back in a few minutes," and he heard her muttering something unintelligible as she burrowed down into the covers.
Moving out to the front room, he quickly got the fire restarted and turned on one of the space heaters near the wide, comfortable couch. Next, he got some hot water heating on the stove and then headed into the bathroom where he turned on the shower to get the water warming up.
Back into the bedroom.
And there was no overt sign of her.
Just a lump in the middle of the mussed up covers.
He leaned over and pulled on the covers, only to meet resistance. "It's too cold out there to get up yet," she protested.
"There's a nice hot shower waiting," he promised.
"You're not coming back to bed?" she asked.
"Nope," he replied and then waited.
More unintelligible mutterings came from beneath the blankets and then she slowly pulled the covers back and looked up at him accusingly, "Don't the marriage vows say anything about not abandoning your spouse in bed on cold mornings?"
He furrowed his brow thoughtfully, as if seriously considering her words, and then sent back, "Nope," with a smirk and quickly left the bedroom.
Ten minutes later, she emerged into the front room, her face a rosy pink from the hot shower. Dressed in warm sweatpants and a thick knit sweater, she found him on the couch in front of the fireplace.
He handed her a mug of hot chocolate as she sat down and snuggled up against him.
He leaned over for one of those kisses that bent time. Where all other thoughts ceased and they each focused completely on the sensations of this moment.
"That's better," he said as he pulled back.
"Mm?" she asked, suspicious of his teasing tone of voice.
"You're all nice and toasty warm," he explained as he wrapped his arms around her and they shared another heart-stopping kiss.
"Jack?"
"Mm?" he returned.
"Thanks."
"For what?"
"For hot chocolate, and a warm bed, and two wonderful kids, and a warm crackling fire, and for retiring so that we could be together, and for hot showers on cold mornings, and for loving me, and for warming my cold hands at night, and-,"
"I'm sensing a theme here," he interjected with amusement.
"I do love you," she said tenderly with a smile.
"As long as I keep you warm?" he challenged teasingly.
"Side benefits," she returned his teasing as she slid her hand inside his shirt.
"Mmm, warmer now," he assessed without taking his eyes off of hers as she leaned into him for another passionate kiss.
Moments later, he sucked in a breath, "Wow. Look what happens when I warm you up."
And this time he got a challenging growl for a response as she pushed him down on the couch and followed that with a kiss that told him exactly how she felt.
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