The Ancient City on Beta was their home now.

Built into the side of a cliff and extended deep into the rocky mountain depths, the city was only about one- third occupied by the recently arrived Earthlings, survivors of the Goa'uld attack on Earth.

Jack and Sam were married now, and their cliffside apartment had one of the best views of the entire city. Daniel had also found someone and had gotten married, but not someone from Earth. Her name was Aliana and Daniel had met her on one of the Asgard protected planets that the remnant now frequented.

Jack had thought it odd that Daniel was visiting the same planet so often, so he and Teal'C accompanied him one day and learned the truth of his visits, much to their delight. Daniel bore their teasing manfully. Aliana was just as smitten with Daniel and soon surprised Daniel by asking to come to Beta with him and live with him.

"You would leave your people, your home?" Daniel had asked her with tears of joy in his eyes.

"You are my home, Daniel," she had replied in the age-old words of heartfelt commitment.

So now they resided in an apartment not far from the one Sam and Jack were happily occupying as husband and wife.

Teal'C had gone through a lot of restless soul-searching on Beta, and had left for a while to live off-world at an outpost of free Jaffa. But he had returned not long ago, to the joy of his friends, with a group of free Jaffa who all had decided to help rebuild the Taur'i world on Beta.

The new arrivals were few, but their strength and unfailing energy soon made them worth a group five times their numbers. One of the Jaffa who had returned with Teal'C was a warrior woman named Challa. Beautiful, strong, and talkative, Teal'C's friends soon observed that Teal'C was quite taken with her. Now they were waiting to see where this tentative romance would take the two warriors.

"Wake up, Sam," Jack prodded his wife who lay next to him in their warm bed.

"Go 'way," she murmured, turning from him and burying her face in the bedcovers.

"Sam, we've got a long journey today. Come on, you should be excited about this trip! It'll be fun!" Jack urged her brightly. He was walking around the room, grabbing the things he wanted to take with him.

"Fun? As in going to a world where the natives think washing themselves with soap and water is a religious no-no?"

"No, fun, as in going to a world where trinium and naquada are so plentiful you can pick it up like shells off a beach. I thought I was the one who got bored with rocks."

"We still have to 'meet and greet' the natives. The ripe natives."

"Since when did you become so picky about smells?" Jack scoffed at her. "Going soft, Colonel?"

Sam sat up, the covers falling downwards, and glared at him. He hadn't used her rank in a long time, and the fact that he was using it to goad her into getting a move on was...working.

Sam got up and stretched deliciously in front of the window, enjoying the soft breeze blowing in on her skin. Jack was behind her in less than a second, wrapping his arms around her from behind and sighing contentedly into her neck.

"Love you," he whispered, just as he did every morning when they awoke and every night before they fell asleep. Sam closed her eyes and savored the feel of his embrace, once again marveling at how right they were together.

"I love you too."

Within the hour, they met the others at the Stargate, all of them packed and prepared for a three or four day stay on the planet the natives called Quan. Teal'C and his friend, or whatever she was to him, Daniel with Aliana, and Sam and Jack all stepped back involuntarily as the Gate swooshed open and then stepped through the shimmering barrier without further hesitation.

They had visited Quan before, and were thus prepared for the sight that met their eyes on the other side of the Stargate. A jungle of bright colors and loud animal sounds filled their senses. A contingent of villagers was descending upon them, Jack having warned them of the time of their arrival, laden with bright flower necklaces and cups of a drink the travelers knew to go easy on.

"Welcome, Beta people! Welcome to Quan. We are happy to see you."

"We are glad to be among you," Daniel returned. "We have brought gifts."

Teal'C pulled a wooden box to the forefront and threw it open. Treasures unique to Beta were revealed: gems of unusual color, jars of oil that the people of Quan used for lamps, and even a crude form of chocolate which the natives had tasted on a trip to Beta and now demanded every time the two worlds met.

Sam and Catherine had found a way to grow cocoa plants and had succeeded in raising cows thanks to the Asgard's harvesting of plant and animal life from Earth. The resulting concoction wasn't as good as the real thing, but at least it was chocolate.

"MMMMM," the natives sighed collectively.

"What's this?" Their leader asked, holding aloft a bar of homemade soap.

Jack glared at a sheepish Sam.

"Just a ceremonial object which we will explain to you later," Daniel caught the fumble.

The entire group, after some more obligatory bowing and greeting, headed for the village. Sam was already wrinkling her nose from her vantage point in the center of the group. Jack tried not to laugh out loud at her sensitivity to the earthy aroma now surrounding them.

After several hours of enduring the hospitality of the friendly natives, the six Betans headed out with permission to farm the ore that lay among the outcrops of the hills further to the north. Sam was finally looking less peaked as they strode off in search of the ores they had come to collect. Jack caught up with her as they began to climb the slowly rising terrain towards the mountains, ruggedly beautiful in the distance.

"Is everything okay, Sam?" Jack asked quietly. She seemed not quite herself.

"Actually, Jack-"

"Isn't this beautiful?"

Challa had come up behind them and was gushing in her melodious accent. "I have never been to a planet with so many colors before," she exclaimed. Challa had been born and raised on a cold, tundra planet and Beta was lush in comparison. Quan must look like a paradise to her, Jack realized.

"It is, Challa," Sam answered with her sweet smile. "And the mountains we are going to are even more so. There are streams that run everywhere, and the water is a purple color that I've never seen on any other planet. The animals in these higher elevations are so varied. You're in for a treat."

"Yes, and the rocks are...to die for," Jack added with an exaggerated sweep of his hand.

"Oh, shut up," Daniel turned and commanded. They all laughed together and it was a good feeling.

The group pitched tents and made camp a few hours later, as the days on Quan were shorter than Beta and they did not want to be caught setting up camp in the dark. Tomorrow they would devote to the harvesting of ores.

Gathered around the campfire that night, the talk turned to Earth. The three members of the company who had been born on Earth told story after story of its beauties as well as its problems. Jack described his cabin and even told a story about when Charlie was little and had first learned to fish. Tears were threatening in the eyes of more than one listener by the time he finished. Jack rarely talked about the son he had lost so tragically so many years ago.

"What?" Jack turned to Sam and asked, watching the smile playing around the corners of her lips.

"Oh, I was just thinking about a fishing trip Mark and I went on with Dad when we were little."

"You know how to fish?"

"Oh, I didn't say that. We didn't even get to break out the fishing rods before Mark stood up and tipped the boat over. I tried to yell at him, but a glob of algae washed into my mouth. I gagged for the rest of the day trying to get the taste out. Dad decided we'd had enough fishing at that point and took us into town to watch a movie, but that was almost worse. I could smell my pond-drenched self all during the movie."

"I am sorry that your world was devastated. Perhaps all was not lost. Perhaps someday you will be able to go back and see what has become of your planet."

At these words of Challa, the Tau'ri of the group fell silent, each lost in his own thoughts and fears concerning Earth's fate.

"I am sorry," Challa finally offered. "I did not mean to sadden you." She looked truly repentant, so much so that Jack stood up and went to sit next to her.

"Hey, don't worry about it. We've all had plenty of time to deal with Earth's fate. I just don't think any of us wants to see how bad it really is, that's all."

"I understand."

"Tomorrow is going to be a lot of hard work. Let's all get some sleep." Jack stood and walked to his tent.

"Good night."

Sam followed him into their tent as the others went to their respective tents. Jack and Sam bedded down quickly and slipped into the sleeping bag, actually two bags done up as one so they could be together.

"So, you gonna tell me what was bothering you earlier today?" Jack asked his yawning partner.

"Maybe tomorrow. I just want to get to sleep now," she sad in a sigh, closing her eyes.

"Okay," Jack responded, feeling just a touch of hurt at both her refusal to talk and at how fast she'd fallen asleep.

She must have been more tired than he'd realized.

The next day went by quickly with all that they had to do before leaving. Their plan was to spend one more night on the planet and then head home, after indulging in the required civilities with the villagers. This usually meant the communal drinking of a few sips of that wild drink the natives brewed from a flower in the forest. Jack thought it was almost as good as chocolate.

He spent the morning helping the others pack several specimen boxes with the sought-after metals they had come for, then stood guard on the perimeter after lunch, an almost unnecessary exercise but Jack insisted that they never get too comfortable anywhere. Too many times his excessive caution had proven itself warranted.

"Jack?"

Daniel's voice carried through the underbrush from the dry riverbed the team was working in. Jack, with one last look around the jungle, walked towards Daniel's voice.

"Jack!" Daniel called again, a bit more urgent. "Sam's not feeling well."

Jack broke into a jog for the last few hundred feet of his approach, unable to quench the cold apprehension that was suddenly filling his gut.

"Sam, hey," he greeted her as he sank down on his haunches next to the huddled woman. Sam was holding herself in pain. Jack pulled her very carefully to his side.

"What's wrong?"

"Cramps," she choked out. It almost sounded like she was crying. Jack's eyebrows rose in surprise. He hadn't been aware it was 'that time of the month.' He usually was up to speed with this stuff.

"Just relax. Do you want some painkiller, some water?"

"You don't understand," Sam began to cry in earnest. "Jack, I was going to tell you but there never seemed to be a good time..."

A mind-blowing revelation suddenly hit Jack full force.

"You're..."

"Yes, for a couple of months now."

Now he really felt like a heel. How had he missed the signs?

"Daniel, Teal'C, we've got to get her back to Beta, now."

"No, don't move me yet, it hurts," Sam protested feebly as Teal'C stepped up and reached down for her. Jack put his hand up to halt his advance.

"Okay, okay, Sam, we'll give it a minute. But we really need to get you back as soon as we can." Jack's hands were in constant, nervous motion rubbing her back and shoulders.

After a minute or two, he could feel Sam's tense muscles relaxing a little and she looked up shakily.

"Okay, I think it's stopped now," she told them. Teal'C was immediately by her side, and he carefully scooped her into his arms as if she weighed no more than a sack of flour.

The walk back through the jungle was far different than the easy trek of the morning before. The beauty of the forest surrounding them was lost on them now as they all concentrated on getting back to the Stargate as quickly as possible. Jack had even forgotten about his preoccupation with the Quanish flower potion that he had so been looking forward to sampling.

They were within sight of the Stargate, glistening on the horizon far below in the valley, when Sam cried out again and the small caravan came to a halt. Jack took Sam from Teal'C and lowered her to the ground, holding her against him in a comfortable embrace.

"It's not as bad, just give me a minute," she asked. This time Sam seemed much calmer and stronger as they waited for the pain to subside.

"Maybe it will be okay," she ventured to wish out loud, prompting a renewed hug from Jack.

"Sure it will, sweetie," he whispered back.

The others stood around feeling helpless and desperately sad at what seemed to be occurring before their eyes. Daniel looked out to the Stargate, so near and yet so far, and then back at Sam with an anxious frown. He knew as well as Jack that getting Sam back through the Stargate wasn't an automatic panacea, like it had been in the old days when SG1 would come barreling through the Gate. Then, Janet was there, coolly fixing broken limbs and stopping their wounds from bleeding. And sometimes technology from other worlds came into play, always combining to keep them alive and ready to fight another day. Almost always.

Technology from another...

"Jack, we've got to get Jacob back here with a healing device. Let me make a run for the Gate while you keep Sam here," Daniel almost shouted.

"I'll go with Daniel," Aliana added predictably.

"Go, go," Jack implored them, before his eyes returned to the pale face of his wife. Her eyes were closed now, and her features still registered pain.

"Hang in there just a little bit longer, Sam," Jack urged her. A barely perceptible nod was her answer.

"This isn't how I wanted this to happen," he heard her say so quietly he had to strain to hear. "I was waiting until we were back on Beta, and I was going to make your favorite meal..."

"Shh, Sam, it's okay. You can make me roast beast with those weird onion and carrot thingies as soon as we're home and you're feeling better. And I'll whip up another batch of chocolate for you."

Sam smiled. "You don't know how," she accused.

"You insult me! Well, I'll just have to prove how good I am at making chocolate. I'll take that as a challenge. Sam." Jack cupped her cheek so she would have to look at him.

"Listen to me and hear this. There is no bad way to tell me we're going to have a child."

Jack's eyes were sparkling with anxious anticipation.

"I'm scared." Sam admitted shakily.

"Me too."

From their overlook, Jack observed the distant Stargate flash into operation.

"They made it," he announced. Jack looked down at his watch, set to Betan time now but still meaningful to him. "It took them 25 minutes, so with any luck, your Dad will be here inside an hour. Just relax, Sam," he soothed.

Sam was looking better and better as they waited quietly. The color was returning to her cheeks and after several minutes she made an effort to sit up more fully, which Jack recognized and aided her in doing. Now Sam could see the Stargate too, and she had been able to watch the Gate open and close not too long ago when the team had returned, presumably with Jacob.

"I should have suspected you were pregnant when you got so prissy abut visiting people who don't know what soap is," Jack finally broke the silence.

"I've always preferred good, clean smells," she protested.

"Hey, who doesn't? You just never turned green thinking about it before."

"Guess not."

"And you've been so tired. I noticed but I just pushed it out of my mind. We have been pretty busy lately, after all."

"What you don't know is I've been laying down during the day and napping almost every afternoon. It felt almost like I'd been drugged. I didn't know pregnancy did that. Oh, Jack, I want this baby so much."

Jack choked up.

"And we're going to do everything we can to make it happen. Look. Here comes Jacob now."

They could see the undergrowth just below them swaying, marking the passage of the hikers as they made their way up the slope. Soon Daniel burst into view, anxiety written all over his face, followed closely behind by Jacob and Aliana.

"Dad!" Sam crowed happily.

Daniel's expression eased visibly as he viewed the improvement in Sam's condition.

"Sammie, tell me what happened to you?" Jacob was down on his knees next to her before he finished greeting her, already slipping the healing device onto his right hand.

"Well, first I got myself pregnant-"

"Spare me the details on that part," Jacob instructed her playfully, after shooting Jack a look that said 'scoundrel' in the tradition of fathers everywhere.

"And now I'm cramping. I think I'm about two and a half months along, Dad."

"Let me check it," he said as the device on his hand sprang to life and scanned her abdomen.

After a minute, he sat back.

"There's no detectable damage. I think it's safe to say those cramps were just a normal part of your pregnancy. But let's get you back home, to bed, where you're going to stay until you feel absolutely fine again."

"Normal?" Jack protested incredulously. "She was doubled over in pain!" His protective stance was almost comical.

"Look Jack, I'm no expert, and there's a midwife on Beta who can tell us more, but this much I know for sure: there's no separation or damage. The baby's fine for right now."

"The baby," Sam repeated dreamily.

"Yeah, a baby," Jack echoed, stars in his eyes.

"I love you."

"Oh, I love you, too."

"Oh, brother, let's get these two home," Jacob groaned, giving away his real feelings through a smile he couldn't repress.

Once again, but under much more hopeful circumstances, Teal'C scooped up the mother-to-be and the group made their way back to the Stargate.


"Waaah!"

The high pitched sound reminiscent of a mosquito crossed with a jet engine pierced through the dark of their cozy home for the third time that night.

Or maybe it was the fourth, or the fifth.

"I just fed you, Grace, go back to sleep," Sam whined into the crook of her arm.

"I'll get her," Jack mumbled. He fell out of bed, catching himself clumsily and then stumbling to the crib.

"Come here, you Napoleonic Power Monger," he chastised the baby girl. "Shoulda' named you Janet."

Delivering Grace to her mother, Jack fell back onto his side of the bed like a stone, not moving until Sam's voice roused him again.

"I'm thirsty, honey," she pleaded.

Without a word, Jack obediently got to his feet again and went to the side of the apartment where a pitcher of water stood waiting, and poured some into a glass. After handing it to Sam, he crossed the room and looked out over the valley below, knowing it was useless to go back to sleep until Sam was ready to sleep too.

The view, as always, mesmerized him. Beta's atmosphere had a mysterious purple-blue tint to it that deepened into a mysterious night-time hue, lit by stars that were still unfamiliar to the refugees. It was winter again, and as far as he could see ice crystals twinkled on stone and tree alike.

Life was good. Hard, but good, he admitted to himself yet again.

Maybe someday they would find out if there was anything left of Earth.

Maybe someday Beta would be a great world, ready to take its place among the other intelligent races of the galaxy.

But, right now, his world was complete in this little room, and that suited him fine.

Just fine.

Turning back to Sam and little Grace, he watched mother and child for a few minutes, curling up beside them.

"I was thinking Grace is almost old enough to go beastie-hunting with me next week," Jack joked, soothing her impossibly tiny, impossibly soft, downy head with his calloused hand. Sam snorted.

After a minute, Jack broke the silence again.

"Thank you, Sam."

"For what?" She responded curiously.

"For this. For Grace, for being you. For giving me a second chance at a family. I'd given up on this. I didn't think I deserved it. Still don't."

"Just remember that the next time Grace wakes us up from a good sleep," Sam smiled mischievously.

"I will," he said seriously, all joking gone. "I always will."


Author's Notes: I can't believe I wrote this. Sorry for those readers who don't like mush! I couldn't help myself! Sam and Jack needed a family out there on Beta, and I just left them hanging all those months ago when I wrote the first six chapters...I blame it on those of my reviewers who insisted the story was simply not finished. Thanks for your comments! I'm not sure this story is finished even yet...I'll leave that open to further inspirations.

Okay, now I can go back to the WIP I'm still writing that has much less mush in it.