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The next day Sam had packed a few things for Jack's house. They had decided to get most of her things that weekend, intending on roping Daniel and Teal'c into helping. So, with just her laptop, her suitcase, and all the food Jack had bought the previous week, they headed home to Jack's house. Once inside, Jack set down the bags of groceries he had brought in and looked nervously at Sam.
"Uh, you can go ahead and unpack your bag in my room, Carter."
"Sir?" she asked, looking at him with a shocked expression on her face.
"My bedroom, Carter. I'll take one of the guest rooms," he replied, still nervous and not making eye contact. The thought of Sam sleeping in his bed, whether he was in it or not, did strange things to his libido that he did not want to think about.
"Sir," Sam started. "That really isn't necessary. I'll be fine in a guest room, I don't want to take your bedroom from you."
"Carter!" Jack interrupted. "I want you to take my room. Look…..the bed is big and comfortable, you'll like it. Plus, the ensuite bathroom has an enormous Jacuzzi tub, you'll love it, I swear," he finished, looking at Sam with pleading eyes to accept his offer.
"Okay," Sam caved. "But, I'm fine switching whenever you want your room back, deal?"
"Yeah, sure, Carter, deal," Jack laughed, trying, unsuccessfully to hide his grin as he grabbed Sam's bag and headed down the hallway to his bedroom.
After Sam had unpacked her things, she headed out to join Jack on the back deck grilling steaks. "Hey," he greeted, as Sam opened up the patio door and walked out.
"Hey," she replied quietly as a wave of shyness overcame her.
"Get all unpacked?" Jack asked, trying to start up a conversation.
"Uh, yes, sir," Sam answered, taking a seat in one of the patio chairs.
Jack noticed how awkward Sam was acting and was worried she was having second thoughts about moving in with him. Trying to break the ice, Jack asked, "So,…..you and Junior must be hungry?"
Sam groaned. "Oh, please, sir, DO NOT call the baby Junior. I immediately think of Teal'c's symbiote."
"Ah, Okay, sorry," Jack made a sick face as he replied. "So, then," he started again after a few seconds with a smirk, "You and Bart or Lisa must be hungry?"
Sam looked up at him trying to hide her smile. "No."
"Marge? Homer? MAGGIE?" Jack continued, a full-fledged smile donning his face now.
"No, no, NO," she replied back.
"Aw, come on, Carter," he tried again. "What about mini-Sam or mini-Jack?"
"Um, no…sir."
"Ooh, I got it!" he excitedly yelled. "Little Thor!" he proudly announced, grinning exuberantly at Sam.
"JACK! You are NOT calling our baby Little Thor," Sam exclaimed, laughing quite hard by now.
They spent the rest of the night much more comfortable around each other. They still had a few tense moments through the night, but, they wouldn't be Sam and Jack if they didn't!
Sam decided she made the right decision moving in with Jack. That is, until, she went to bed in Jack's bed. Even with clean sheets, his bed still smelled overwhelmingly like Jack! She couldn't get away from his smell, not even in her sleep. She had awakened three times from dreams involving Jack.
Three times, she dreamed he was laying in bed with her, his arm laying across her stomach, his legs intertwined with hers. Three times, she dreamed he ran his hand up her arm to her face. Three times, he rolled her over, whispering how much he loved her. Three times, he leaned in to kiss her. Three times, she woke up right before his lips touched hers. How was a woman supposed to sleep like this?
Sam growled lightly and rolled over, burying her face in her pillow. No, not her pillow, JACK'S pillow. Jack's pillow that smelled just like JACK! Sam's senses were on overdrive. She was half-tempted to get up and drag him into bed with her just to finish her dream. "Oh, God," Sam groaned, as she rolled over again. "I really hope I'm not getting into the horny part of pregnancy!"
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The next day, Jack met up with Daniel in the SGC hallway and decided to mention getting him and Teal'c's help with the rest of Sam's stuff. "Hey, Daniel, you got plans this weekend?" he asked, falling into step with the younger man.
"Uh, no I don't think so. Why?" Daniel asked, curiosity overcoming him.
"Um, well, I thought you and T could help me get the rest of Carter's stuff over to my house," Jack said, no emotion in his voice, but not looking at Daniel either.
"Sam's stuff?" Daniel asked, playing dumb.
"Yes, Daniel, Sam's stuff, to my house," Jack answered, sarcasm dripping from his words.
"Why would you be taking Sam's stuff?" Daniel replied, still playing dumb.
"Because, Daniel," Jack said, anger creeping into his voice as he looked at his friend. Then lower, "Sam moved in with me last night, we're getting more of her stuff this weekend. You going to help or not?"
"Sure," Daniel answered, cheerily. "So, does this mean……..you and Sam?"
"No, Daniel," Jack interrupted him in a calm voice. "She is moving in so I can help her with the pregnancy, that's it."
"Why?" Daniel asked.
"Why?" Jack asked back, arching his eyebrows.
"Yeah, Jack. Why? You both care about each other. She's having your baby without breaking your precious regulations. She's moving in with you. She's no longer under your command. Why are you not doing anything else?"
"DANIEL," Jack yelled.
"JACK," Daniel yelled back.
"This isn't the time, Daniel," Jack quietly barked at his friend as he opened the door to his office and quickly went inside, trying to shut the door behind him before Daniel followed.
Daniel, however, was ignoring the hint from Jack and pushed his way into Jack's office, slamming the door behind him. "Why not, Jack! Or, better yet, when will it be the right time?"
"NOT NOW, DANIEL!" Jack screamed at the archaeologist.
"JACK!"
"DANIEL, DAMN IT! NOW IS NOT THE TIME," he yelled, his entire body tense in anger. Daniel just looked at him, not breaking eye contact, waiting, knowingly, for Jack to calm down. "Daniel," Jack began a few seconds later, his voice calmer and his body starting to relax. "She is pregnant. Now is not the time."
Daniel looked confused. "Why not?"
"Because," Jack started, agitation still evident in his tone. "Her hormones are all out of whack, Daniel. The last thing she needs is me throwing myself at her."
"I don't think she would see it that way, Jack," Daniel interrupted.
"You don't know that. She's going through a lot right now," Jack replied, in a low, almost sad voice.
"She's not the only one, Jack. You know, you're going through a lot, too. Your life is changing because of this, too. You've been so worried about Sam, but this affects you, too," Daniel lectured.
"I know that Daniel, but she's the one who's pregnant." Jack sat down in his chair and started sifting through papers. Daniel just stood there, not taking Jack's subtle hint to leave. "Daniel, just leave it alone for now, okay?" Jack said calmly to his friend, without looking up from his paperwork.
"Okay, Jack. But, I really think you should talk to her," Daniel answered in a friendly tone and then headed out of Jack's office. Promising himself not to let the subject drop completely.
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Daniel, Teal'c and even Janet, had all agreed to help with the move on Friday. They had all met at Sam's house right after work. Sam and Janet came in Janet's car, while all the men rode over in Jack's truck. It didn't take them long at all to pack up what Sam thought she might need at Jack's in the next few months.
When they had finished, they decided to have the girls run out and pick something up for dinner, while the guys ran to the mall and picked Cassie up from her part-time job.
The men walked through the mall to Cassie's store. Jack was the first one to see Cassie standing outside the store talking to a guy. The guy looked much older than Cassie and Jack immediately didn't like him. After nudging Teal'c and Daniel to notice the scene before them, Jack picked up his pace and approached his god-daughter.
"Hey, Cass, got a new friend here?" Jack asked, smiling at Cassie, but then glaring at her companion.
"Hey, guys! This is Chris, he works down at the music store," Cassie said. "Chris, these are my father-figures. This is Jack, Daniel, and the really big one, we call T."
Jack couldn't help but grin when he saw fear cross the young man's features. Especially, when he took in Teal'c.
"Uh, uh, n-nice to meet y-you….Ah….I-I'll catch you later, Cass," Chris replied, still shaken by the size of Cassie's 'fathers'. He turned and headed, at an incredibly quick pace, back towards the music store.
Cassie watched his retreating form and laughed. "Thanks, guys, I knew the sight of you three would scare him off. He's been chasing after me since I started working here. He just doesn't get the meaning of not interested."
Teal'c bowed his head and Daniel and Jack laughed along with Cassie.
"Ready to go, squirt?" Jack asked after the laughing died down.
"Yeah, I'm starving," Cassie replied, flinging her arms around Jack and Daniel's waists and walking away from her store.
Just then, Jack noticed the store opposite Cassie's. "What's that?" he asked Cassie.
Cassie grinned from ear-to-ear and looked up at Jack. "That is the Baby Emporium. Largest baby store in the country," she announced, not taking her eyes off Jack. "Come on, let's go check it out," she said, pulling the guys towards the store.
"Uh, I don't know, Cas, the women are waiting on us," Jack said, trying to talk Cassie out of it, but at the same time allowing her to drag him in the store.
All three men were speechless when they got inside the store. The place was huge! None of them had any idea there could be so much baby stuff.
While Jack followed Cassie through rows and rows of baby toys, Daniel and Teal'c had headed in different directions. "I really need to bring Sam here," Jack jubilantly muttered to himself while picking up two different baby toys and playing with them.
About a half an hour later, Jack and Cassie had finally run into Teal'c and Daniel. Jack was pushing a cart filled with all sorts of baby items and Cassie was sifting through racks of baby clothes when Daniel came rushing up to them.
"Hey, Jack, you just have to get one of these outfits," he said excitedly, holding up two small outfits. The outfits had the well-known camouflage design, but, instead of the original green or desert brown, one outfit was different shades of pink, and the other, different shades of blue.
Jack grinned when he saw them. "Oh yeah, mine and Carter's kid has to have that. Throw 'em in the cart, Danny!"
"Uh, which one, Jack? Do you know what the baby is yet?" Daniel asked, looking from one outfit to the other and then back at Jack.
"Uh, no," Jack answered.
"O'Neill," Teal'c's voice rang out from behind Daniel. All three turned their attention to Teal'c, standing in front of a rack of books. "This parenting manual states it can determine the gender of your unborn child."
"What's it say?" Daniel asked, walking closer to Teal'c.
Teal'c turned to a page and began reading. "It states that if the mother-to-be carries the baby high, it will be a boy. If the baby is low, it will be a girl."
Daniel and Cassie averted their eyes from Teal'c back to Jack with expectant expressions on their faces. "Uh, well, Carter isn't showing, yet. What else does it say, T?" Jack asked, a dumbfounded look on his face.
Teal'c read more on the page and then looked up at the other three. "It also states that if the mother-to-be craves chocolate and other sweet foods, the child is likely to be female. If the mother craves salty and spicy foods, the child will be male."
"Well, Carter's definitely got a sweet-tooth. I'm going to have to apply for a new credit card just to cover her ice cream and cookie cravings," Jack replied.
"So, then, it's a girl!" Cassie squealed.
"Uh, I don't know," Daniel cut in. "Sam sent me to the store twice last week to buy her
potato chips, and those are salty."
"I am in agreement with Daniel Jackson, Major Carter has depleted my supply of barbeque pork rinds," Teal'c announced in his normal monotone voice.
"Okay, so…..back to square one," Jack replied.
Teal'c read a little more from the book and then looked back up. "I do not believe this manual holds accurate information," he announced with a disapproving look, as he put the book back on the rack.
"So, then. Which one do we pick?" Daniel asked, holding up the two outfits again.
"Just throw them both in the cart. Whatever this baby doesn't wear, maybe the next one will," Jack said nonchalantly while rummaging through another rack of clothes.
Jack's comment did not fly over Cassie and Daniel's heads. At the end of Jack's words, they immediately looked at each other with astonished expressions plastered on their faces.
Daniel tried to send Cassie a silent message not to inform Jack of his 'faux pas', but Cassie, being the sarcastic teenager that she is, couldn't let the opportunity pass.
"So, um, Jack?" she started, grinning widely at her father figure. "The uh, next baby….were you planning on getting the asqaards help, or were you going to make it the old-fashioned way?"
Jack turned and stared at Cassie with a blank expression on his face. After a few seconds, it changed to a more freaked-out, deer-caught-in-the-headlights look.
"Cassie," he said calmly, looking at the young woman with an incredibly serious look on his face. "I want you to forget what I just said……BUT…. just to clear one thing up…..I do NOT need the asgaards help," he finished with a smirk overtaking his face.
Cassie grinned up at him and laughed. "Okay!…..Daniel, throw them both in the cart," she ordered, just as Jack's phone started ringing.
Jack answered the phone with a laugh still evident in his voice. "O'Neill."
"Sir, Hi," Sam's voice came over the line.
"Hey, Carter. What's up?" Jack answered back.
"Oh, nothing," Sam said, with a hint of laughter in her voice. "Janet and I were just wondering if you guys got lost in the mall or something."
"Oh, shit!" Jack exclaimed, looking at the time on his watch. "We totally lost track of time. Uh, we're on our way."
"Uh, sir, if you don't mind me asking, where are you?" Sam asked, curiously.
"Oh!" Jack said into the phone, embarrassment taking a hold of his body. "Cassie dragged us into a store, we're leaving now, we'll be home in a few minutes. Bye, Carter," Jack quickly replied and hung up his phone before Sam could ask him anymore questions.
Cassie, hearing the conversation, gave Jack a funny look and laughed.
"We gotta go," Jack said to everyone as he tucked his cell back into his pants.
"O'Neill, I believe some of these reading materials may be beneficial for you and Major Carter," Teal'c announced from his place, still in front of the book rack.
"Uh, sure, T. Just grab what you want. We'll meet you at the check-out," Jack responded, turning the cart around and heading towards the cash registers.
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Janet and Sam were shocked when Cassie and the guys got back home. They all came marching into the house, each carrying two or three shopping bags with the 'Baby Emporium' label on the front.
"Getting a little shopping done, Colonel?" Janet asked, holding the door open for them and laughing.
"It's all Cassie's fault," Jack exclaimed, smiling over at Cassie.
Cassie ignored Jack's blame and started rummaging through the bags, pulling out all the things they bought and showing them to Sam and Janet. "Look at this! Oh, and isn't this adorable! Oh, and Jack picked this out," she squealed as she pulled one thing after another out of the bags.
Janet had picked up several different outfits, both boy and girl, and looked at Jack with a confused expression on her face.
Jack, seeing her look, responded. "Well, we didn't know if it's a girl or boy, so I bought both."
"All you had to do was ask Janet," Sam announced, laughing at Jack's expression as she played with one of the baby toys.
"What?" Jack asked, looking over at Sam, completely confused.
Sam grinned at him. "Sir, Janet knows the sex of the baby. If you really want to know, all you have to do is ask her."
"What? How?" Jack asked, looking from Sam to Janet.
Janet just grinned at him.
"The amniocentesis, sir. The results included the sex of the baby," Sam answered.
"What? Really? So…so, does that mean, you….know?" Jack asked, still a little confused over the conversation.
"Uh, no. I never asked," Sam replied.
"You don't want to know?" he asked her, his voice becoming lower as he looked her in the eyes.
Sam felt her cheeks flush under his gaze. "Uh, well, I don't know, I guess, I just didn't want to find out without you," she managed to stutter out under his intense gaze.
"Oh," Jack replied, a little surprised over Sam's confession. "So, do you want to find out now?" he asked.
"Uh, well," she stuttered, looking up at Jack and then smiling, shyly. "Yeah, I think I do!………… At least then, we'll be able to return all the extra clothes," she announced, spreading her arms out and motioning at all the clothes spread throughout Jack's living room, and laughing.
"Actually," Cassie butted in. "Jack already has plans for the extra clothes," Cassie replied with the biggest smile imaginable.
"Really?" Sam asked, she and Janet looking at Jack for an explanation. Jack just glared at Cassie while Teal'c raised an eyebrow and Daniel coughed to suppress his laughter.
"Um, anyways," Jack started, after it was apparent no one else was going to say anything. "Doc, you going to tell us the sex of our baby or what?"
At this, everyone's gaze switched from Jack to Janet.
"Okay, are you two sure you really want to know right now?" she asked, looking at both of them.
"Yup," Jack replied and then looked over at Sam with a soft expression on his face. "Carter?"
Sam looked at Jack, her heart melting from the look he was giving her. "Yeah, I'm sure, Janet," she answered, not taking her eyes off of Jack.
"Okay, well then," Janet said as she walked over and picked up one of the camouflaged outfits. "I think your baby will look great in this outfit here," she announced, handing the little pink outfit to Jack.
"Pink?" Jack asked and looked down at Janet. "It's a girl?"
Janet smiled. "It's a girl, colonel."
Jack looked over at Sam, and for the first time since finding out Sam was pregnant, put his hand on her stomach and gently rubbed the small pudge. He looked her deep in the eyes with a loving smile on his face. "It's a girl," he told her, his voice low and gentle.
"A girl," Sam quietly repeated, smiling up at Jack, a single tear escaping down her cheek.
Jack lifted his hand up and wiped the tear from Sam's face, then he pulled her into a hug and whispered in to her ear. "We're having a little girl, Sam."
Sam choked back a sob. "Yes we are, Jack," she responded, tightening her hold on him and turning her face into his neck.
During their intimate moment, Jack and Sam completely forgot about the rest of the group who had quietly left the room, allowing the couple some privacy as they rejoiced in the new information.
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