Author's notes: ' ' indicates mainly Jake and Selmak talking to each other but also internal thoughts of a person; italics indicate Selmak is talking or person on otherside of phone conversation


A month had passed since General Hammond worked his miracle at the SGC. He masterfully managed to smooth over relations with the Tok'ra convincing them it was in everyone's best interest if Jake and Selmak remained on Earth. In doing so, General O'Neill was allowed to keep his job without being reprimanded mainly because Major General Jake Carter had insisted that he ordered Brigadier General O'Neill to omit certain facts from the reports. And the Joint Chiefs weren't about to punish Jake. They didn't want risk losing such a highly valuable resource in Selmak.

As a result, Sam's father was given his own SG team and Selmak was given certain projects to work on with Sam and some of the other scientists at the SGC. During the month Sam had worked closely with her father and Selmak and was witness to many things involving them both. She also witnessed a few things about her good friend Janet and of course Sarah, Sam couldn't forget her little sister.

Sam was so happy to have her father around on a daily basis. Depending on their schedules, the two would have breakfast or dinner with each other a couple times a week. Sam was surprised at how much her father talked with her. He had never been much of a talker while she was growing up. And Sam was equally surprised at how vocal Selmak had become. The symbiote vary rarely spoke unless he had information to convey. Sam discovered that Selmak had a wicked sense of humor, never hesitating to crack a joke while the two were working together.

The main topic of their conversations, from either her father or Selmak, was almost always about little Sarah Carter. You had to be an imbecile to not notice how much Jake and Selmak loved that baby. And again, Sam's father surprised her with the amount of affection he had towards Sarah. He was never that affectionate before his blending with Selmak leading Sam to believe that the symbiote finally smoothed out some of those rough edges. Even though neither could hold the baby, Sam always saw her father's hand touching Sarah's head or holding her tiny hand while he talked softly to her. Sam learned from Janet that physical contact was extremely important for Sarah's natural development. But it was more than just tactile contact; Sam could see that her father and his symbiote absolutely adored Sarah.

Sam loved Sarah too; after all she was her half sister. The more time Sam was with Sarah the more she noticed how the baby resembled both her mother and father. Sarah had a stubbornness characteristic of a Carter and an energy about her similar to that of her mother. The baby's soft hair was raven black and she had these huge dark brown eyes, both characteristics of her father. However, Sam noticed that most of Sarah's physical attributes seemed to resemble Janet.

Janet's size, being a small woman, was one reason why Sarah seemed so much smaller than usual, even for a premature infant. But her size didn't hinder her development as the month had passed. And even though Sarah didn't have a lot of baby fat on her, she had grown into a slender, yet healthy, baby of six pounds, four ounces, much to the relief of her parents.

Sarah was the initial reason why Sam's father was spending time with Janet. Their relationship had started off with nothing in common except the baby. And in the beginning Sam watched her father working hard to keep Janet at arms length while at the same time Janet was trying hard to cope with Jake being around on a regular basis.

At first, Sam's father would only visit Sarah when Janet was sleeping so as not to upset her with his presence. But that wasn't working out because Janet insisted that Jake needed to be there when Dr. Warner had important issues to discuss regarding Sarah's health. Jake also felt it was his duty to be there during such discussions. Plus, Janet and Jake had their own issues to discuss like Sarah's clothes, diapers, food, and any necessary accessories needed.

The closeness to Jake was extremely difficult for Janet and on several occasions Sam had found Janet crying in her office. The woman was good at concealing her grief from everyone but Sam and possibly her father. She was certain her father noticed since he always seemed extremely gloomy when Janet suddenly left the room. Even Selmak refused to speak when Sam tried to cheer up both her father and his symtiote. They knew they were part of the reason for Janet's tears. Yet, there were many times when they were the only ones who could comfort Janet through her tears and always seemed to be around when she needed a hug.

However, last week Sam noticed a look in her father's eyes, one she hadn't seen since her mother was alive. Sam happened to arrive at the infirmary to pick Janet up for one of their many lunch dates. Jake was there with Sarah but he was watching Janet as she was tending to a patient. He didn't know Sam was watching him and Janet had no idea that he was watching her.

Only that long look of desire didn't surprise Sam; she was actually expecting it to happen. What did surprise her was the depth of sorrow in his face that followed that look. Sam wasn't expecting it, and realized she had seen it on several occasions when he was in Janet's presence and when Janet wasn't looking at him.

Sam had to admit she was confused by it. She thought he would be happy if he fell in love again. General O'Neill, of all people, explained to Sam that her father wanted to act on his feelings but didn't because in his mind, he would be taking advantage Janet in her situation. That made sense to Sam, knowing the kind of honorable man her father was. Her only wish was that she could do something to help him. Perhaps to help them both since Sam notice the pained look in Janet's eyes every time Jake entered the room or sometimes when she looked into that little baby's eyes.

Perhaps today would be a wonderful day for all of them. After all, it was a very exciting day. Today, Sarah was being taken off the oxygen supply. She already had the feeding tube removed over a week ago and had been able to feed from her mother on a regular basis now. But those had been the only times she had been held.

Today, Sarah was going to be placed in her mother's arms for good. Sarah no longer needed her special bed and, in a few days, would be allowed to go home. It was a big day for Sarah and for Sam. She and her father were both going to get to hold Sarah for the first time since the little girl's arrival in this reality. The only down side was that Sam wished her brother Mark could have been here too. However, because he knew the Janet in this reality was dead and he didn't have security clearance, he couldn't be present.

Sam remained to the side knowing how anxious her father was. He had been looking forward to this day since becoming Sarah's father. And though he was extremely anxious, he was also careful to not overstep his bounds regarding Janet and the baby. Sarah was Janet's baby. Jake was simply allowed to be a father to Sarah. A duty he fulfilled by worrying about her, loving her, or being there to comfort her through her tears. In every way that mattered, he was her father. Besides, Sarah would never know the difference having never met her real father and not knowing anything about alternate realities. In Sarah's eyes Jake would always be her daddy.

At least that's what the plan was and had been for the past several weeks. Sam suddenly had doubts about it the moment after Janet placed the baby in Jake's arms. Janet instantly broke down into tears. Sam wasn't exactly sure what to do for Janet or her own father.

Sam saw the anguish in her father's face when he looked at Janet then to Sarah. Sam felt so helpless and nearly came to tears herself when she watched her father hug that baby, kiss her lovingly on her forehead, then gently placed her back in Janet's arms.

"She's your baby, Janet," his voice trembled, then he quickly left the private room before Sam or Janet could say anything to him.

"I'm sorry Sam…all I could think of was Jacob," Janet wept cradling Sarah who was beginning to cry softly. "I didn't mean to upset Jake. I honestly want him to be a father to Sarah! She needs him!"

"Janet, you still need time to…"

"No, Sam. He needs to be here, please!"

"Ok, I'll go get him," Sam nodded.

"No, I'll go," Janet insisted as she put Sarah in Sam's unprepared arms. "Just rock her, she should stop crying. I'll be back soon."

"But…"

That was all Sam got out of her mouth because Janet ran out of the room. Sam was left awkwardly holding a squalling baby with no idea what to do! Well, she knew one thing: no amount of mathematical calculations was going to help her stop a baby from crying!


"Daniel, I don't have a problem with you going on this mission with SG-4," Jack said as he and Daniel walked slowly down the hallway. "Teal'c will be visiting Ry'ac for a few days. Apparently there's some important news Ry'ac has for Teal'c. I'm betting Teal'c's about to be a grandfather."

"How much?" Daniel asked.

"What do I usually bet?"

"Fifty bucks."

"I'll go for a hundred that Teal'c's going to be a grandfather. I can afford it now that I'm a General," Jack joked as they started to turn a corner.

Before he could round the corned completely, Jack was nearly knocked over by Jake.

"Whoa! Where's the fire?" Jack asked grabbing hold of Jake's arm.

Jake didn't reply and purposely kept his face turned away from both Jack and Daniel as he struggled to get free from Jack's grasp.

"Jake, what's wrong?" Jack asked, very concerned for his friend.

"Nothing…just let me go!" Jake pleaded looking directly at Jack.

Jack instinctively let go and watched Jake walk for a few steps before breaking into a run.

"Isn't he supposed to be holding Sarah right now?" Daniel asked, as Jake quickly disappeared around a corner down at the end of the hallway.

"Yeah," Jack sighed. "I guess maybe Janet changed her mind."

"She wouldn't do that," Daniel adamantly said. "She would never take Sarah away from him. She knows Jake loves that baby!"

"Then how do you explain why he was on the verge of tears?" Jack snapped as he started stomping down the hall towards the infirmary, which was his intended destination anyway. "I've come to know Jake very well lately, he's not the kind of man that cries so easily. I bet you the only time he's cried during his adult life was when his wife died!"

"Getting mad at Janet isn't going to help!" Daniel said as he attempted to keep up with Jack. "This situation is hard on her too!"

"I'm not mad. I just want to know why she's doing this to him."

"Jack, you can't do anything…Sarah is Janet's baby. Jake knows that…"

"Here she comes," Jack interrupted, when he spotted Janet putting her winter jacket on.

He didn't care if Sarah was Janet's baby. Jack already knew that. Everyone knew that. But everyone also knew how much Jake was already a part of Sarah's life. Jake loved Sarah…deeply. It was apparent in his actions around her or whenever he was talking about her.

Just last week Jack had helped Jake paint the nursery at Janet's house. Every time the two men talked about Sarah, Jack saw how Jake's face would smile and light up. Jack even sat back and patiently watched how Jake took over an hour to arrange the stuffed animals in Sarah's room over and over until they were just right. Jack was then quite surprise when Selmak suddenly took control of Jake's body only to rearrange the stuffed animals again! Then Jack had to laugh when Jake was back in control, bitching to Jack about how much of a pain in the ass Selmak was while he was rearranging the stuffed animals for a final time.

During those few days, Jack learned a lot about Jake and a few things about Selmak. Jack learned that Jake was a man of deep emotions who spent his whole life keeping those emotions well hidden from others, even after he became a Tok'ra. Jack learned that such feelings weren't just shared with the symbiote. The symbiote actually felt those feelings intensely and in turn the host felt the symiote's feelings.

Sarah changed Jake and eventually Selmak too. Jake had opened up more. He was always smiling and it was infectious. Selmak didn't have much choice but to fall in love with Sarah, just like Jake did. Hell, Jack almost considered that the Tok'ra were right about Jake being too much of an influence on Selmak. But now Jack knew better after he caught glimpses of how much Selmak was his own individual person when he refused to obey many of Jack's orders with a rather arrogant line of "You and what Air Force!". None the less, Jake and Selmak were both happy. Everyone seemed happy on the base. Jack couldn't remember a time when all SGC personnel were so happy.

At the moment, Jack wasn't concerned with everyone at the SGC, just his good friend, and a friend who lately needed for someone to look after him despite the fact that he had his own little personal lucky charm of a snake in his head. Some time during the past month, Jack became Jake and Selmak's guardian angel. Always making sure the pair returned to Earth after a mission, even if Jack had to send a team to go get them. Jack didn't want Sarah to be without her father.

"What's going on Janet? Why is Jake so upset?" Jack demanded, then lightened up when he noticed that Janet had been crying. "What happened?"

"I was just…overwhelmed when I placed Sarah in Jake's arms. I realized that she was meant to be in his arms because it was what Jacob wanted. My husband didn't just want me to be happy, he wanted to make sure I was going to be taken care of."

"Who better to take care of you than his alternate self," Daniel smiled.

Janet nodded.

"You better hurry, I think he was headed for the elevator," Jack said moving aside and allowing her to quickly pass.

After a few moments, Daniel finally spoke.

"So, how much do you want to bet about Jake and Janet getting together?"

"There's no doubt they'll get together," Jack smiled. "It's just a matter of time before Jake finally gives into his feelings."

"So, how much? Another hundred? You can afford it right? You are a General."

"Sure, they'll be together in six months or longer."

"Really, you think it will take that long?"

"Daniel, Jake is one stubborn man! Come on, I have a feeling Carter shouldn't be alone with the baby! She's too much of a scientist! Probably trying to come up with some mathematical formula to comfort Sarah!"


Selmak remained quiet. Jake was quiet too. The only sound was his heart pumping furiously as he hurried up a well hidden mountain trail. Even when they reached their favorite secluded spot, their own personal sanctuary when they wanted fresh air and to be alone, she still didn't know what to say to comfort Jake during his anguish. His emotions were her emotions. She felt his pain…intensely. In the end it was their pain. And she couldn't comfort him when she needed comforting herself.

'You were right,' Jake finally said to her as he slid down against the tree, sitting down on the frozen dirt with his knees bent. 'I shouldn't have gotten involved. I was wrong to want to be Sarah's father.'

'Jake, you were not wrong to want to love Sarah.'

'Yes, I was! Look at what I did to Janet! All she sees in me is her husband. And don't tell me you haven't noticed when she suddenly leaves a room. We both know she's crying!'

Selmak sighed. Jake's suffering was overwhelming. As a result, Selmak couldn't pull herself out of her own gloomy mood. She knew how upset Janet was during those first few weeks. Jake and Selmak had tried to purposely visit Sarah when Janet wasn't around. That only lasted for a few days because both parents need to be present during certain discussions with Dr. Warner about Sarah.

However it wasn't only that. Jake not only felt responsible for Sarah but he also felt responsible for Janet. He took it upon himself to comfort her when she needed it, thinking he was the only on who could. Selmak didn't have the heart to tell him differently because he often was the only one who could comfort Janet. But then afterwards, Jake would feel guilty for comforting her or a failure for not being able to comfort her all the time.

Jake had fallen in love with Janet, pure and simple. He tried everything he could for such a thing not to happen. Only it happened. And when it did, he tried denying he had feelings for Janet. Then when he finally admitted he loved Janet he tried to fight those feelings, not allowing them to control him.

However, recently it's been harder for him to be near Janet because he wanted to tell her how he felt but wouldn't allow himself to. Selmak could feel that Jake was losing the battle; he couldn't fight what's in his heart and hope to win, no matter how stubborn he thought he was.

Selmak had actually believed that Janet was getting better and beginning to respond to Jake's closeness. Always the gentleman by being careful of her feelings. But by just being with her and making no gesture towards her actually seemed to get more a response from Janet. During the past week she seemed sincerely happy around Jake, which made him feel infinitely better and in turn made Selmak feel better too.

She had kept a close eye on the pair when they had even gone shopping together in the hopes that something might happen between them. Nothing happened but Jake had been in an unbelievably good mood for the first time in weeks. All they had done was pick out a baby stroller, clothes for Sarah, and Jake even helped Janet pick out some nice dresses to wear, with some helpful suggestions from Selmak of course. And when Janet had asked Jake to paint the nursery, he didn't even hesitate.

'Selmak, we should leave…I…I can't be here anymore! It's too painful! I think it would be best for both Janet and Sarah if I was gone. Sam can give them the money from my bank account…'

'You don't want to leave anymore than I do.'

'What I want is irrelevant!'

Jake began crying before Selmak could reply. She felt so sorry for him when an intense emotional wave of anguish and despair washed over her. He couldn't contain his emotions any longer. For a human he was able to keep them bottle up extremely well. But eventually those emotions needed to be released one way or another. Selmak wished Jake had been able to express them rather than keep them inside.

Instead of words to comfort him, Selmak sent him her love through their emotional bond, letting him know he wasn't going to be alone in this matter. He gladly accepted her love and reciprocated the gesture. After all, they both loved Sarah…and they both loved Janet. His tears became their tears.

It was a deep emotionally intense moment between host and symbiote. So intense that neither was bothered by the cold temperature and neither noticed the approaching figure.


There was a secluded place on the mountain. A hidden place far off the main trail. A place, in Janet's reality, where Jacob and Selmak would go to argue with each other without interruptions until Janet came into their life. Then it became a place where she and Jacob and Selmak often came to just be alone together. It was their secret rendezvous spot. The same spot where she told them that she was pregnant. The same spot where they proposed to her on a bright summer day then made love to her in the shade of the trees after she accepted the proposal.

It was where Janet found Jake.

She approached quietly and watched him carefully and grateful she had already been dressed for the weather as the first of the season's snow began falling. Jake, who was not dressed for the cold weather only wearing his blue fatigues, sat extremely still against the tree with his arms resting on his knees. If the cold air was bothering him he didn't show it. Tears were streaming down his face as he stared blankly at the ground in front of him. Jacob always had that vacant look when talking with Selmak. Janet concluded that Selmak was attempting to console Jake or that they were attempting to console each other. However, from the amount of tears, neither was doing a good job at consoling the other.

Janet sighed, her heart sank a little.

She hadn't expected it, but the pair ended up being more different from the pair in her reality. Unfortunately, it took time for Janet to get used to their differences only because she was having a hard time seeing past their similarities to her husband and his symbiote. She still grieved for them even though her grief had diminished some. Then to make matters worse, she felt badly for not seeing Jake or Selmak for who they were.

Once Janet saw past the similarities, she discovered that those differences helped her to see Jake and Selmak for the odd pair that they were. Yes, they were an odd pair, especially knowing the secret that Janet knew about Selmak. At least, she believed this Selmak had the same secret as the one in Janet's reality.

Yet, Janet hadn't been able give into these new feelings she was beginning to have for Jake and Selmak. She lay awake many nights during the past week asking herself the same question over and over:

Was it considered a betrayal of the love for your husband and his symbiote if you fell in love with their alternate selves in another reality?

She was never able to fully answer the question. All because of something her husband told her before he pushed her into this reality.

"Be happy my love…no matter what!"

She was never able to respond to him during that moment. After she touched the mirror she was instantly transported to this alternate reality. She only saw Jacob's image for a brief moment before it disappeared forever. But even now, Janet could still feel the intensity of his kiss, of his arms around her, and how he affectionately caressed her belly. She knew he had loved her deeply and that he had expressed both his love and Selmak's love to her during that brief moment.

And when Janet first arrived in this reality, she didn't want to imagine what the pair had been thinking when they sent her here. She often asked herself why they sent her here but never wanted to hear the answer. Her grief refused to let her see clearly.

'No matter what' she thought looking at Jake.

Now, Janet saw it all so clearly. It had taken nearly two months for Janet to realize that Jacob sent her to a place where she could start again, a reality where she could fall in love with him and Selmak all over again. And she didn't realize that that was what Jacob and Selmak had wanted…not until she put her Sarah in Jake's arms.

In that moment, Janet had been so overwhelmed when she realized the real sacrifice her husband made for her and their child. He made sure Janet and the baby would be cared for and who better to care for them both than Jacob's alternate self, Jake.

When Jake hurried out of the room, Janet realized just how much he loved Sarah. Janet also realized how much he cared for her. All those quick looks in the other direction, not allowing her to see to deeply into his eyes now made sense. Jake was always the gentleman to her. The kind of man who would never take advantage of her no matter what deep emotional suffering he had to endure.

From his tears, Janet knew he was suffering and had finally been pushed too far. He couldn't endure it any longer. He wasn't going to, not any longer. And neither was Selmak. Janet wasn't going to allow either of them to suffering needlessly. Not any more! Not when she could do something about it!

"So, how does Selmak like being an Auntie?" Janet asked when she was within a few feet of Jake.

Jake's head slowly lifted up to look at her. His face was flushed from the cold air. His eyes were red from his tears. The anguish in his dark narrow eyes was like a dagger in her heart because she knew she was the reason for his despair.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" he asked, slowly wiping his tears.

"Selmak, how does she feel about being an Auntie?" Janet asked slowly, having a good idea how he was going to respond.

Jake blinked in surprise and his mouth fell open slightly. Exactly as Janet imagined.

"Don't worry," Janet giggled moving even closer to him. "I won't tell anyone. I never did before and I won't now. But I'm still curious. She was just as excited about the baby as Jacob and I. Although, she was a little vague on the details of how I got pregnant, blaming it on Jacob, as always."

"She's thrilled," he said, still unsure of himself as he got to his feet.

"She's always vague on the details when she's made a mistake, don't you agree?"

Jake slowly nodded.

"Even now, she's being adamant, saying that she never makes mistakes, right?" Janet smiled at him.

He simply nodded again.

Janet sighed, hugging herself because the cold air was beginning to bother her. There was no point in beating around the bush with Jake. He seemed to like things to be straight and to the point. And Janet was determined to get her point across.

"Jake, you have no reason to be second guessing yourself about the choices you've made. Both of you."

He looked away from her, again not wanting her to read his eyes. A habit she wasn't going to allow him to get away with any longer. Janet gently turned his face back towards her and held his chin so he had no choice but to look at her..

"Jake, you are Sarah's father," she persisted. "I don't want you to ever doubt that!"

"I thought I was causing you too much pain when you started crying," he said lowering his eyes, trying to avoid hers again.

"It wasn't you…it was me!" she explained, grabbing his face with both her hands and again forcing him to look at her. "I finally realized that Jacob wanted you to be Sarah's father!"

"But I remind you of him!" he countered, his eyes fixing directly onto her eyes.

This time, Janet had to turn away as she let go of his face.

"In many ways you do…and in many ways you don't," she spoke softly.

"I don't understand," he sighed in frustration. "How could I not remind you of him? I am him!"

Janet quickly turned and glared at him.

"No, you are not him!" she insisted. "I ought to know! I was married to him! I loved him as deeply as two people could possibly love each other! And I loved Selmak too!"

Jake flinched and blinked his eyes rapidly. Janet realized she was too harsh on him. She didn't mean to. Her emotions always got the better of her.

"You are different," she continued, gently taking his hand into hers. "Both you and Selmak are different from your counterparts in my reality."

"Janet, you have us at a disadvantage here. We don't know really know you, yet you seem to know everything about us. I find that…"

"Unsettling, I know. You always liked being in control in this reality and the other. But I think you do know me better than you're leading me to believe."

Again, he turned away. Again, Janet had the distinct feeling he didn't want her to see what he was feeling. Janet watched Jake as he removed his hand from hers and stepped away from her. He seemed to be taking in her words. At least, Janet was hoping he was considering what she had just said.

She decided it was best to wait for him. There was a long awkward moment of silence before he finally turned to her.

"What do we do now?" he asked.

"For starters, you have a little girl who…if I'm right, wants to be held by her daddy," Janet smiled, grabbing hold of his hand.

"I do hope you're talking about Sarah and not Sam!" he joked, making her laugh as they began walking down the trail.

He smiled. He finally smiled. For the first time Janet saw a genuine smile from Jake. Not forced, not for her benefit but purely for himself. Perhaps it was his smile that prompted her or perhaps Janet couldn't help herself, she could never stop being the person she was, when she opened her mouth again.

"Next! You can ask me out for a date!"

"I don't know, Janet," he said, looking extremely nervous.

"How else are you going to get to know me?" she teased.

"We would gladly take you on a date!" Selmak blurted out, surprising Janet…somewhat.

Then she saw this completely astonished look on Jake's face immediately followed by his cheeks turning bright red. Janet laughed at him, instinctively knowing Jake was back in control of his body.

"I hate it when she does that!" he complained trying to sound annoyed but failed because he was smiling. "Selmak has this bad habit of speaking out of turn!"

"Well, I have to at times! No one else will kick Jake in the ass to get him moving! He does tend to drag his feet. I honestly don't know how the man got along without me!"

Janet laughed even harder. It was a good laugh too because she it had been a long time since she felt this good. And as Jake and Selmak prattled on about each other to her, Janet felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her heart allowing it to open up to both Jake and Selmak.


They arrived just in time. Sarah was crying at the top of her little lungs, being juggled from Sam to Jack to Daniel and back to Jack because he was the only one who actually had real-life baby experience. The volume of Sarah's cry grew even louder from one person to the next, though Jack really made her wail.

Jake wanted desperately to rush in and take Sarah into his arms. To console her, to hold her tightly against his chest and tell her he loved her. Her cries were always heart wrenching to him because of all she had to endure during the past several weeks. And he had been so looking forward to holding her.

However when they arrived to witness the situation, Jake hesitated. The memory of what happened earlier when he first held Sarah was still fresh in his mind. How her warm tiny body felt so wonderful in his arms. How his heart ached to have to put her back in Janet's arms when she started crying. All those lingering doubts were present now more than ever in his mind. Even Selmak wasn't entirely sure what Jake should do.

Suddenly, he felt a hand giving him a gentle nudge. Looking down, he was a little surprised that it was Janet who gave him a nudge. He gave her a worried look, unsure if he was reading her correctly.

"Go ahead, she's your daughter too," Janet smiled.

"Are you sure?" he asked just to be certain it was what she wanted.

Janet nodded.

'Jake, we better hurry! It pains me to hear babies cry!' Selmak said to him. 'Especially Sarah!'

After one more gentle push from Janet, Jake finally entered the room.

"Thank God! Jake, I think she needs her daddy's touch!" Jack exclaimed quickly, but gently, plopping Sarah into Jake's expecting arms.

It took some gentle rocking and soft cooing until her cries finally subsided. Jake had Sarah cradled securely against his chest with one arm. His free hand was tenderly stroking her hair as he continued to speak softly to her, telling her everything was fine now, daddy was here to take care of her.

Her soft skin was still flushed from her crying. Even her eyes were still moist from her tears. But those eyes stared up at him and she started making her gurgling baby noises at him. He allowed her tiny hand to grab hold of his finger, like he had done on so many other occasions.

"Wow…she's so beautiful," he said looking up and was startled to see he was alone in the room.

Even Selmak was surprised. Little Miss Know It All didn't notice any one leave either! Only they weren't alone for long. Janet returned with a bottle in her hand and a smile on her face.

"Here, she's hungry," Janet said handing him the warm bottle. "She might not like it. It's her first bottle."

'Is it mother's milk?' Selmak asked Jake.

'Selmak! I'm not going to ask Janet that question!'

'Why not? It's a valid question!'

"Its breast milk, so hopefully she'll take to the bottle," Janet continued and Jake internally sighed having avoided an embarrassing moment. "She needs all the nutrients from me she can get and this way you can feed her too."

"Well, let's see if it takes," he smiled.

Jake gently pushed the bottle's nipple into Sarah's mouth. She immediately spat it out, as expected. She had to learn it was a form of food.

'Try squirting some of the milk in her mouth,' Selmak suggested.

'Right, once she tastes it, maybe she'll understand.'

Sarah still didn't understand. But the sudden flavor of her mother's milk made her frustrated because she wanted more. Her eyes suddenly filled with tears and she wailed.

"Shh, Sarah, I'm not torturing you I promise," Jake cooed putting the nipple in her open mouth again.

He squeezed the bottle a little harder so that more milk would come out this time. Plus he slowly slid the nipple against her gums giving her a hint. She reacted like she did before, not liking the taste or feel of it. Jake wasn't deterred, even after Janet suggested they try another time.

It was battle of which Carter was more stubborn, Jake or Sarah. He kept speaking softly to her, keeping the bottle in her mouth no matter how much she tried to spit it out. Until finally, her instincts took hold, probably due to her hunger. Her little mouth latched on. Every so often she would let out a cry of frustration because the bottle required a little more effort on her part to get the milk. But once the bottle was half gone, Sarah was suckling like a little pro. From the look on her face as she looked up at him, she was extremely content to be her father's arms.

Jake smiled. Not only did he feel extraordinarily happy but he also felt Selmak's joy. He even heard her sigh when Sarah gurgled and spit up some of her milk.

"I'm impressed," Janet said, as she quickly wiped the milk from Sarah's chin, being careful to not disturb the baby's feeding. "You're a natural Jake!"

"Not really. I had some help from Selmak," Jake admitted, feeling Selmak's perpetual bliss for acknowledging her assistance. "Plus I've lived longer. I know how to be stubborn much longer than Sarah!"

"She does seem to have the Carter gene for stubbornness! According to Sam, the Carter stubbornness never diminishes from one generation to the next!"

"It may not diminish but at least in the girls it doesn't completely control them," he smiled down at Sarah, noticing the bottle was now empty. "Can I burp her?"

"Sure, you fed her you can burp her," Janet replied moving to retrieve something for Jake's shoulder.

Jake felt awkward letting Janet put the small towel on his shoulder and was grateful Selmak was in there keeping his nerves steady. Her hand even gently brushed against his when she helped to reposition Sarah. Their eyes briefly connected and Jake felt his stomach flutter.

'Jake, what's wrong?' Selmak asked when he started patting Sarah's back.

'Nothing!'

'You didn't imagine it. She touched your hand on purpose. She's trying to reach out to you.'

'I don't know Sel. Is it really me she's reaching out to?'

Selmak didn't reply. She had doubts too, he could feel them. Hell, they were his doubts!

Doubts that were abruptly put on hold the moment Jake felt a warm substance go down inside the front of his jacket. Janet laughed quickly moving to get another towel.

"Nice shot Sarah!" Jake complained with a smile as he wiped her face.

"General Carter! Sir!" a nurse called from the doorway.

"Yes?" he asked, never taking his eyes off Sarah as he cleaned her.

"General O'Neill needs you in his office right away, Sir."

"Thank you," he smiled then looked to Janet. "I guess you get stuck with the diaper!"

"Typical!" Janet joked at him taking Sarah into her arms. "Why are men so afraid of changing a baby's diaper?"

"Wiping a baby's butt needs a delicate touch," he grinned. "Something only a woman can do!"

"When you get back we need to talk about it. Sarah is your daughter too! You're going to have to get over your fear of changing her diaper!"

"When I get back, Selmak and I will both make an effort to learn how to do it properly. We promise."