Notes: I've hurried this chapter along because Ithought the last one was rather stagnant. I really enjoyed reading everyone's input about the names. I believe the name that received the most attention (so far) was Morgan. I've had a name and gender picked out for a while now, but I still enjoy people's new suggestions or choices from the names I have mentioned. It's so much easier to name a fictitious child than one who might grow up to hate you for it!

Ch 23: Little Projects

Jack woke up feeling warm and cold in all the wrong places. His legs were warm because there were no cold bare feet touching them anywhere. He felt no cold nose pressed into his neck, back, chest, or either shoulder. There were no warm arms around him and no soft body was pressed up against his, although he was nicely cocooned in the comforter for a change.

He forced his eyes open and looked around. No Sam. Well, he already knew that. He looked at the clock. Just after midnight. Bathroom door open, no light on. Crashes in the kitchen.

He got up and stumbled sleepily through the cabin, not bothering to put anything on besides his boxers. He rubbed his face as his eyes adjusted to the light from the kitchen.

Sam was clearly in the middle of some sort of scientific experiment. In the kitchen. With perishable items such as butter and eggs. Large bowls and spoons were involved. "Sam, what do you want, I'll fix it," Jack said around a big yawn.

She jumped and looked at him in surprise. "Did I wake you up?"

"No. Not really. Just missed the cold feet and blanket hogging."

"Sorry, I couldn't sleep."

"And you had the sudden urge to bake? What are you fixing anyway?"

"Cookies."

"Cookies? Why?"

"Because I'm having a baby, Jack!"

As if that explained everything.

"O...kay," he said carefully.

"Kids are supposed to have cookies. In their lunch. When their friends come over."

"You can buy cookies at the store though, hon. Or get those log things you just cut up and throw in the oven..."

"This isn't about just cookies! Our child can't live off pizza and take away! I have to be able to cook!"

"I thought I was okay..."

"You are. But what is our kid going to think when he asks me for toast and I have to get you to come make it?"

"Sam, that toaster is like... older than you are. It's not you. It's the toaster," Jack said, referencing the truly ancient toaster that had become Sam's arch-nemesis since they had arrived at the cabin.

"Well, it's not just the toaster. I'm a lousy cook."

"You don't NEED to cook, Sam..."

"But it can't be that hard. I should be able to do this," she muttered, turning her attention back to the open cook book.

"Sam. I'm sure you can cook if you really want to. But you've got plenty of time to teach yourself how to do all that before the baby comes... even after. You know, they don't need home-cooked meals for a looong time. So. Let's go back to bed and in the morning we can ask Thor for a whole mess of cookbooks and whatever else you need."

"I want to finish these first," Sam insisted.

"All right," Jack said with a heavy sigh, getting up to come help.

"Alone." He cringed and she smiled apologetically. "Sorry, I just... I need to know I can do this without you watching every step of the way and fixing all my mistakes."

"Can I be the official taste tester then?" he offered, propping his chin up on his hand, his elbow on the table.

"Sure. This is going to take a while though, why don't you go on back to bed."

"Okay," he agreed, getting to his feet. He was chilly already, in just his shorts. "Love you. Don't burn the cabin down."

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Jack had been wondering, now that she had read practically every book ever written about being pregnant, what the next project would be to keep her occupied at the cabin. Never in a million years would he have guessed it would be cooking. Jack had shrugged and asked Thor for a bunch of cookbooks and supplies and asked that Sam leave breakfast as his thing. After that he mainly stayed out of the way.

His prediction that she'd figure it out if she really wanted to had been accurate. Sam was nothing if not precise, and as long as she meticulously followed the directions to the letter, whatever she fixed actually came out pretty good. She seemed especially good at baking, since there was little room for error once you put the item in the oven.

Of course, there were still a few mishaps if something (or someone, Jack thought with a 'heh') distracted her during the process, but it didn't take long for her to get quite competent in the kitchen. And Jack, as the official taste tester (since a large number of the things she cooked actually made her nauseous - she was having terrible food aversions) kept complaining that he was going to end up gaining more weight than her during this pregnancy.

As she did start to get bigger herself, Sam gradually started spending less time 'experimenting in the lab,' which was what Jack had dubbed her cooking attempts, no doubt trying to reassure himself that she had not suddenly gone completely mad and that the person he had always known was still in there somewhere, underneath all the wacky hormones. It hurt her feet and back to stand and cook for very long, now that she was about to enter the third trimester and had gained a whopping fifteen pounds.

Sam was secretly glad she had lost those ten at the start, as she couldn't imagine gaining fifteen pounds otherwise. She kept that to herself though, knowing Jack was still concerned that she wasn't eating enough. Her total weight had only increased by about five pounds, but everything had just sort of redistributed itself, so that the baby was growing perfectly (according to Thor) and she had finally switched to maternity clothes.

Sam had cried when the clothes arrived. She had known Janet had to be the one picking them out, but had been touched at the note she found tucked inside one of the blouses, which promised her that everything was going just fine, told Sam how happy Janet was for them, and promised to see them soon.

Sam grabbed a fork and went into the living room with the plate she was carrying. "This is the last piece of cake, and I don't think I'm going to be making any more for a while," she said, stifling a yawn as she handed the plate to Jack. "I think I know enough not to make our child die of embarrassment at a bake sale or something, and it's not very comfortable standing around the kitchen."

"Good, cuz one of us is getting fat and it's not you," Jack commented, taking a big bite of cake. "Are you sure we have to do this?" he added, gesturing with his fork at the television, which was turned off.

"Yeah, I think we should. We don't have that much time left, and we can't put it off forever." They had finally agreed to watch the birthing video, but they were both rather scared about it.

"Haven't you seen all this before anyway?" Sam asked, shaking her head slightly as Jack offered her a bite of cake.

"Not really. Sarah didn't want me anywhere near her during the delivery. She actually threw a vase full of flowers at my head."

"Oh my God."

"Yeah. Well, I can't blame her. I missed a lot of the stuff leading up to it, being gone on missions and stuff. And I did duck out of the way. She had her sister with her, so all I heard was the screaming and stuff from the hall, where her dad and I were waiting."

"Oh." Sam got very quiet after that.

Jack glanced at her sideways and took a guess at what she was thinking. "You're going to have to throw something much larger than a flower vase at me if you plan on getting rid of me."

She smiled in relief and said, "Thanks."

Feeling better, she picked up the remote, which Jack promptly snatched from her fingers. "I want to finish my cake in peace."

"Right. Sorry. Want to have another go at the names?"

"Yeah, okay. But you know, we could eliminate half the fighting... I mean, half the fun... if we let Thor tell us the sex of the baby," he pointed out for the millionth time.

"Don't you want to be surprised? He already told us he or she is alone in there."

"Yeah. Guess we'll have to save Luke and Leia for next time."

Sam sighed and said, "What are your favorite girl's names?"

"Ainsley, Bethany, Cordelia, Miranda, and Tabitha."

"You're serious?"

"What's wrong with them?"

"They're just so... girly. It's not what I expected from you, that's all."

"They're pretty," Jack insisted defensively.

Sam leaned forward and kissed him. "I thought we were arguing here," he said, confused.

"Yeah, but you're still cute."

"I'm not cute!"

"Yes you are. But Cordelia? Really? I didn't know you were a fan of Shakespeare, Jack."

"I'm not. It's from 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer.'"

"Are you putting me on?"

"Nope. I like the name."

"It's from King Lear. She was the only good daughter."

"Well, then, it's perfect."

"She dies at the end, Jack; it's one of the saddest moments in literature!"

"Oh. Okay, then, maybe not Cordelia."

She studied him for a moment and said, "I'm fairly certain Miranda is from Shakespeare as well. The Tempest, I think."

"Oh. My favorite is Tabitha."

"Now I KNOW you're joking about that one..."

"What's wrong with it, I love it!"

"Jack, my name is Samantha, I cannot have a daughter named Tabitha!"

"Why not, you... OH!" He smiled sheepishly. "Okay, yeah, I used to watch 'Bewitched' a lot. But I swear it was a subconscious connection!" he insisted.

Sam laughed and scooted closer to him as he set the empty plate and fork on the coffee table. They got comfortable to watch the movie, which took more adjusting than usual these days as they had to work around 'Baby Carter O'Neill,' as Jack insisted on calling Sam's stomach. When he wasn't still calling it Homer, of course.

"Let's hear yours."

"Okay, well, you know Jordan. I also like Avery, Dylan, Skylar, and Taylor."

"Those can ALL be boys' names. I know some of them mostly aren't anymore. But still. Which one's your favorite?"

"I don't know... probably Skylar, but I like Jordan, and you DID have it on your list for a boy," she reminded. "And if I suggested any of those for a boy you would just tell me they're girls' names."

"Yeah. Let's watch this thing before I chicken out," Jack suggested, picking up the remote.

An hour later, he was seriously regretting that decision. Sam had her face buried in his shoulder and was refusing to look at the screen and begging him to mute the television as well. Jack was too frozen to move, completely freaked out by the images on the screen. Finally, he snapped into action and paused the DVD.

"That's... the scariest thing I've ever seen," he finally said.

"And you don't even have to do it!" Sam wailed into his shoulder. She lifted her head up and looked at him seriously. "Forget what I said about drugs. I want them all!"

"Okay. Whatever you want, Sam! I can't believe you're going to... I mean I know you CAN, but..."

"No, I can't! I don't want to do this anymore!" Sam insisted.

"Yes, you do."

"No thank you."

He laughed at the polite refusal and pressed his hand to her stomach. "Yeah, you do. Come on, you're way tougher than that video lady, it probably won't be as bad for you..." he tried.

The baby started kicking and he smiled. "See, the kid wants out already. Maybe it'll be really fast and... not too bad."

"Yeah, right," Sam snorted, but she did feel a bit better. At least the sudden, blind panic was starting to fade. "All right, you can turn it back on."

Jack took a deep breath and reached for the remote.

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"Dr. Fraiser, would you like to join us for 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade?'" Teal'c asked.

"I thought you were watching all of them last night," Janet said, looking up from the file she was reviewing.

"Daniel Jackson fell asleep during 'Temple of Doom' so we are finishing the trilogy tonight. I believe I have heard you say that the final film in the series is your favorite, have I not?"

"Absolutely. Sean Connery and Harrison Ford in one movie... it's hard to pass that up. I'd love to watch the movie with you guys, Teal'c, but can you help me keep Daniel from bugging me about the thing I've been working on with the General?"

"Of course. Daniel Jackson knows I require silence while watching anything produced by George Lucas."

"Speaking of which, Teal'c, I was wondering... have you ever seen 'American Graffiti?'"

"I have not," Teal'c stated, holding the door open for her.

"Interesting," Janet said as they started walking down the hall. "We'll have to watch that one some time."

"Indeed."

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It had been three days since they had watched The Video, and Jack still shuddered as he thought about it. He was so worried all of a sudden. Daniel had been right when he described Jack as a man whose first instinct was to protect. Protect in general, sure. Protect the people he loved, even more. Protect Sam most of all. And there was just no way this was going to be easy. And there was nothing he could do about it. He had known this already, of course. And he had read the books. But actually seeing It was another matter entirely.

Sam seemed the opposite: she had calmed down considerably and actually seemed more determined now that she 'knew what she was up against,'as she had so grimly stated. She had admitted she might have been a bit hasty when she had suddenly decided she wanted to be as drugged up as possible, and was dead set, once again, on doing this 'naturally.'

Jack didn't understand why. He was terrified for her; if he knew he'd be doing that in less than two months he would be going completely insane, and trying to find out if Thor had a way to sort of... beam the baby out, or something. Speaking of which, it couldn't hurt to ask...

Sam joined him in the living room. Yesterday, she had tried to calculate how many miles she had walked to and from the bathroom. It was ridiculous. "You look nervous," she commented, sitting down next to him and squeezing his hand.

Jack swallowed and looked at her. "I am," he finally admitted. He hadn't wanted to let her know. All the books said he was supposed to be supportive and encouraging while she had the baby, and it wouldn't be very encouraging and supportive to let her know that he was terrified out of his mind, would it?

"I am too," Sam said quietly, leaning her head into his shoulder.

"You are?"

"Yeah... of course. I mean, you'd have to be pretty insane not to be. But I think everything's going to be okay."

"Yeah."

"You'll be there. I'm not worried."

He snorted.

"I'm serious. You've got all of us out of much trickier situations than having a baby. And whenever I start to freak out, you always calm me down, no matter what sort of crisis we're facing. So I'm not worried about that, and you shouldn't be either."

"I can't help it."

"You also can't help the fact that it's going to hurt," she said simply. "You've got to get over that."

"I know."

Sam scratched her stomach absently through her sweater. She had been very itchy lately, and apparently some lotions weren't safe for the baby. She'd already gone through most of a bottle of baby oil.

"Hey, Sam?"

"Yes?"

"What do you want to name the baby?"

She looked at him in surprise. "Excuse me?"

"We've been arguing over names for months, and it's not like I'm going to agree to one of those crazy names you suggested like Gwydion or Dakin, but... I was just thinking. You should have the final say."

"I was thinking too," Sam admitted.

"No!" Jack said sarcastically.

She nudged his shoulder and continued. "I think we should just wait until we meet the little guy. Or girl. Maybe something will just... seem ri-YOW!" she grabbed her back suddenly.

"What, is this it!"

"No, God, you jumped up like a jack-rabbit. I just got kicked rather hard is all."

"Oh. Are you okay?" he asked as he sat back down.

"Yeah."

"I'd apologize for the fact that the baby kicks so hard but I think it's your fault," Jack said mildly, settling back into the couch and wrapping both arms around her.

"It's probably some of both," Sam agreed.

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"Those giraffes are obviously not real," Teal'c stated.

Janet squinted at the screen and had to agree.

"They're endangered so it was probably much easier to use models. I doubt that's a real rhino either," Daniel said.

"Definitely a real lion though!" Janet put in, passing the bowl of popcorn to Teal'c. "I haven't seen this movie in forever."

"The child playing young Indiana Jones bears a striking resemblance to the adult actor," Teal'c commented.

"Yeah, his name's River Phoenix," Janet told him. "Cassie fancied him for a while."

"River, what a name," Daniel commented.

"Yeah, can you imagine if..." Janet started. She froze and stuffed popcorn in her mouth.

"If what?" Daniel asked.

"If... your parents had called you that," she finished nervously. General Hammond wouldn't be too impressed if she ended up blowing their cover by joking about names for Jack and Sam's baby.

"Yeah, I would have got picked on at the playground even more than I already did for having glasses and sneezing all the time," Daniel said lightly. "What if yours had called you River, though. Isn't there a Fraiser river around here somewhere?"

"I believe there is, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said as Janet laughed at Daniel's joke, relieved that she hadn't said something incredibly stupid.

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