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A month later, Sam and Jack had become quite comfortable living together. Even small things like touching and hugging that had been taboo before, were now becoming quite regular.

Back massages were given without a second thought, and cuddling on the couch was becoming a normal ritual. If Sam was at the sink rinsing the dishes, Jack would sneak up behind her, wrap his arms around her waist and whisper "Whatcha Doin'," in her ear without thinking twice. And, Sam had no quarrels about plopping herself down on Jack's lap when she felt the need for human contact. Whether getting a back rub or just cuddling.

As close as they had become in the past month, there were still lines that neither of them were ready to cross. They both still dressed behind a locked door and stayed far away from the bathroom when the other was bathing. Even staring at each other was avoided. And, in a meager attempt to avoid any sexual tension, the channel was changed whenever anything sexual came on the television.

Without even realizing it, they had fallen into a routine. Every weekday morning, Sam would wake up first and waddle into the kitchen to make coffee. Then, she would head back to her room and hop in the shower. As soon as Sam would get in the shower, Jack would wake up and make his way to the kitchen, not even bothering to change out of his t-shirt and boxers.

He would start breakfast, usually something light and easy like oatmeal or pancakes. Then, he would pour two cups of coffee and head into the master bedroom, knocking on the bathroom door. On cue, Sam would open the door as soon as he knocked, and walk out, completely ready for work. She would smile up at Jack, thank him and take the proffered cup. Then, she would follow him out of the bedroom and back into the kitchen, where they would both eat breakfast. After breakfast, Jack would hop in the shower while Sam picked up the kitchen. Soon ready, they would head off to work.

Once they got to work, Sam would usually go check things out in the control room and then head up to the labs while Jack usually headed to the gym.

Work, generally, went the same as before. And, as before, all of SG-1 would get together for lunch. Including Sg-1's new officer, Lt. Hailey, who had joined the team after Sam's recommendation.

After lunch, they would go back to their work. Sometimes, on slow days, Jack would take a pile of his paperwork to Sam's lab and work on it at her table while she fussed around with one doohickey or another.

No matter where he was in the mountain, everyday, shortly before 1700 hours, Jack would arrive in Sam's lab, ready to take her home.

Sometimes, they would go out for dinner. But, most of the time, they would go home and cook something together.

At night, they would relax in each others company. Some nights, Sam would work on her computer or take a refreshing bath. But, most of the time, they would both crash on the couch, cuddled up, watching TV.

They were even sleeping together. Nothing else, just sleeping (get your mind out of the gutter!). It had happened by accident and was completely innocent.

A few weeks after Sam had moved in, Jack had fallen asleep in his chair watching a hockey game. He awoke in the middle of the night to an infomercial blaring from the television, the game long since over. He groggily got up and lugged himself to bed. Crawling in and pulling the blankets up, he was just about back to sleep when he heard Sam's voice break the silence. "Uh, sir?" she asked, rolling over and looking at Jack.

"Carter? What're you doing in my bed?" he sleepily asked.

"I've been sleeping here for weeks now," Sam said, still wondering what he was doing there.

After a few seconds, Jack rubbed his hand over his eyes. "Crap!" he said, and then looking over at Carter, "I'm not in the guest room am I?"

"No," she replied, a small smile appearing on her face.

"Sorry," he said as he pushed the blankets off of him.

Just then, Sam put her hand on his arm, stopping him from taking the blankets all the way off. "Um….you can stay….if you want," she suggested, a hopeful look in her eyes.

Jack looked from her hand to her face. "Are you sure?" he asked her in a soft voice, more than willing to stay in his bed (he had really missed it), but at the same time, not wanting to take advantage of Sam.

Sam looked at him for a moment before answering. "Yeah, I'm sure, you're warm," she told him, as if that explained everything.

Jack scrutinized Sam for a few more seconds, then he pulled her close to him and laid them both back down on the bed. After they adjusted their positions so Jack was spooned up against Sam's back, Jack leaned down and kissed Sam on the back of her head and whispered in her ear. "Go to sleep, Sam." And, they both did.

The next morning, they had woke up so comfortable in each other's arms, they silently agreed in the looks they gave each other, that they would be sleeping like this for now on. So, every night, they would climb into bed and cuddle together as they drifted into slumber.

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Without either noticing, the amount of Sirs and Carters in the house had quickly declined, while the Sams and Jacks were on the rise. On base, or off, everyone had become used to seeing Sam and Jack almost always together.

Jack was happier than anyone could ever remember him being, and Sam was beginning to include Jack in all of her future plans, thinking nothing could go wrong. That is, until one particular Saturday morning.

Sam was cleaning up the kitchen from breakfast while Jack was in the shower. As soon as Sam had started the dishwasher, there was a knock on the front door. Opening the door, Sam's eyes fell on a very attractive woman standing on Jack's porch. The woman had long, light brown hair and dark brown eyes. She was about Sam's age and height, if not a little taller and she was quite skinny. In fact, looking at her, Sam thought she could very easily pass as a supermodel.

The woman looked at Sam for only a few seconds before stating in a jolly voice, "You must be Samantha Carter!"

"Uh, yes," Sam answered, still looking wide-eyed at the pretty woman and wondering why she was on Jack's porch.

"Oh, it is SO great to finally meet you! Jack has told me so much about you over the years. You look exactly like he described you." Then, looking down at Sam's stomach. "Well, almost. Oh, you are just as beautiful as he said you were!" she squealed on, jubilantly.

Sam just looked at the woman, incredibly confused, with jealousy starting to veer it's ugly head inside her. The woman noticed the confused expression on Sam's face and quickly introduced herself, holding out her hand in a friendly gesture. "Oh, I'm so sorry, in all my excitement, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Elizabeth Wade. Is Jack here?"

Sam, trying to process her name through her memory in a vague attempt to pull up anything on this woman, merely nodded her head. "Uh, yeah, he just got in the shower."

"Oh, good, I love interrupting his shower! Do you mind if I come in?" the woman, Elizabeth, asked.

Before Sam could form a coherent reply, the woman walked into Jack's house and headed down the hallway. Sam noticed immediately, that the woman knew her way around Jack's house quite well, and Sam was quietly fuming. She followed behind the woman after shutting the front door and muttering to herself, "Sure, come on in."

Sam was quite shocked when she walked into the bedroom and saw the woman knock on the bathroom door and then open it and yell in "Jonathon, get your scrawny, Irish ass out of the shower before you use up all the water in the county!"

Jack's voice sounded out into the bedroom. "Lizzie! What the hell?"

After Jack's retort, the woman shut the door and grinned over at Sam, who was still standing at the bedroom door, gaping.

A minute later, the bathroom door opened and out walked Jack, dripping wet and only wearing a towel around his waist. Not even noticing Sam at the door, Jack grinned widely at the woman in front of him.

"Lizzie, what the hell are you doing here?" he squawked and pulled her into a hug.

Sam stood there, frozen in her spot. Not only was Jack hugging this strange woman, but he was hugging her while only wearing a towel!

Sam felt a jealous rage overtaking her body. She was honestly thinking about pulling this woman away from Jack by her hair! As if Jack read her thoughts, he finally looked towards the door at Sam.

Instead of a look of guilt, that Sam was expecting to see on Jack's face when he noticed Sam, Jack actually had the audacity to look up at Sam and smile exuberantly. "Lizzie, did you meet Sam?" he asked, pulling slightly away from the woman.

"Oh, yes! We met at the door. She is just as beautiful as you said she was," Lizzie answered, turning around and smiling innocently at Sam.

Sam just continued to stand at the door with a dumbfounded look on her face. 'Who WAS this woman? Why had she never heard of her before? And, most importantly, WHY was she hugging a nearly-naked Jack?'

"Sam, you okay?" Jack asked, a concerned look coming over his face as he noticed Sam's weird expression.

"Uh, I'm fine, sir," Sam replied, a slight hint of ice in her voice.

Jack looked at her, confused by her reaction and wondering why she reverted back to calling him sir. Deciding to let it drop for now, Jack turned back to Lizzie. "So, what are you doing here?"

"I was asked to come down and do a consult in Denver this week. Since, I hadn't heard from you in awhile, I thought I'd stop by and see what you've been up to." And then, looking pointedly at Sam's, now obvious, pregnant belly continued, "If what I'm thinking is true, I'd say you've been up to quite a bit."

Jack followed the woman's gaze and visibly flushed. "Uh, yeah, well, it's not exactly what you think. But, yeah," he confessed, looking from Sam back to the woman.

"So," the woman continued. "You two are having a baby?"

"Yeah, we are," Jack said softly, his loving eyes drifting to Sam.

Sam, who was still raging silently in the doorway, looked up at Jack after his response, seeing the soft look in his eyes, her anger slowly started to dissipate.

"So, does mom and dad know?" the woman asked Jack.

Sam looked up at Jack, confusion evident on her face.

"Uh, no, not yet. And, you'd better not tell them either," Jack ordered, looking at Lizzie with his colonel-glare.

"You know they're going to want to know before the baby's born," Lizzie replied, placing her hands on her hips and glaring back at the man before her.

Sam continued to stare, open-mouthed, from her spot in the doorway. Feeling like she just woke up in the 'Twilight Zone', having absolutely no idea what the hell was going on.

Jack looked at Lizzie and then started walking towards the bedroom door. "I know, Liz. I'm planning on telling them……I just haven't found the time yet," he retorted.

Reaching Sam at the door, he wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. "Sam, I hope my sister stopping by unannounced doesn't bother you," he whispered into her ear and then looked deep into her eyes.

All the tension that had been building up in Sam was gone immediately following the word sister. Sam gazed deeply into Jack's eyes, relief flooding over her face. "Of course not, I'm very excited about meeting her," she hoarsely replied, and then grinned happily at Jack.

Jack grinned back and squeezed Sam with his arm. "Good! I'm sure you two are going to love each other," he said, letting go and heading down the hallway to get dressed.

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