a/n: By this time in season 7, Janet is supposed to be dead. However, I don't have the heart to admit she's dead. So, instead, I wrote the doctor scene without actually saying it was Janet. If you want it to be Janet, it's Janet, if you want to go along with Janet being dead, it's a different doctor. Your choice!

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As soon as they entered the mountain, Sam became sick. So far away from everyone, she was easily able to forget that Jack could very well be on borrowed time. But, once they were back home, the reality of their situation came crashing back down on her.

It didn't help that once they entered the briefing room, they were greeted by Senator Kinsey and told that General Hammond had been reassigned and in his place was a civilian.

Dr. Elizabeth Weir seemed nice enough, but Sam was worried that Sen. Kinsey was going to influence her not to let SG-1 go through the gate when Jack figured out where the Lost City was located.

During the meeting, Jack started speaking Ancient, surprising everyone at the table. Knowing that the Ancient knowledge was now beginning to take over Jack's brain caused Sam to worry even more. Something that Jack was concerned about. He knew stress wasn't good for the baby, but with Anubis on the way, it was now the whole planet in danger, not just him, and he had no idea how to keep her from stressing out.

He tried to talk to her, soothe her with his witty humor. But, when he started spouting foreign words in the middle of his jokes, his plan backfired and he could tell he was just causing Sam to stress out more. So, he decided the best thing was to remain as quiet as possible.

Before either of them knew it, Jack had come up with a gate address and with Master Bra'tac's help, they had procured a ship to take them there. The stress was getting to be too much for Sam. She was trying so hard to stay calm, but the truth was, her heart was racing, her back was aching and her stomach had knots the size of basketballs in it. No matter what she tried, she couldn't relax!

Jack had gathered all the supplies they would need on their trip and had them ready to go in the gate room. Dr. Weir had given them the 'go-ahead' and Walter was dialing up the gate. Jack turned to look at Sam standing beside him. She looked absolutely terrified! Jack was certain he had never seen her look so afraid. Her face was as white as a ghost and her eyes were red from crying so much.

"Hey," he said softly to her, pulling her towards the wall in a lame attempt for some privacy. "I love you," he said softly to her.

"I love you, too, Jack. I wish I could go with you. Please, promise me you'll be back," she cried softly, wiping the tears out of her eyes before they fell down her cheeks. She hated how emotional being pregnant made her.

"Colonel. You have a go!" came Weir's voice over the intercom. Jack looked up at the control room and lightly nodded his head.

"I'll be back, Sam. I promise," he told her as he looked back into her water-filled eyes. He leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips. "I've gotta go," he whispered, his forehead pressed against hers.

"I know," she whispered back. "Ahh!" she yelped in surprise and then looked down at the ground. "Oh my God! Jack! My water just broke!"

"What?" he shrieked in surprise and then stepped back to look at the puddle at Sam's feet. "Get a medical team down here," he turned and yelled up at the control room. "Sam just went into labor!"

"Colonel!" Came Weir's voice from the control room. "The gate is still on, are we postponing this mission?" she asked in a very professional manner.

Jack looked at the freaked-out and completely scared look on Sam's face. "Sam," he said softly to her. "I want to be here so much. I've looked forward to this day for so long……..But…I have to go. I have to save you and Gracie. I have to go," he murmured, the saddest look on his face.

"I know. We'll be fine. It's okay. Go do what you do. Go be my hero," she whispered in his ear just before her face scrunched up in a look of pain. "Oh God! I'm having contractions!" she cried.

Jack squeezed her hands while a feeling of dread grew in his gut at having to leave Sam like this. The medics came running into the gate room with a wheel-chair. Jack reluctantly let her go as the medics put her in the chair and wheeled her out of the room.

He stood, frozen in his spot, until the blast doors were shut behind their retreating forms. Then, he looked up at the control room, a complete look of despair on his face. "Take care of her!" he croaked loudly to all of them.

"We will, Colonel, don't worry. Good luck, now go save the world." And, with that, he walked up the ramp and through the gate. His body was leaving Earth, but his heart remained with his wife and what she was about to go through.

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Dr. Weir could hear Major Carter screaming as soon as she got off the elevator. With the world in imminent danger, everyone was on high alert and Weir was just barely able to squeeze in five minutes to come and check on the mother-to-be.

Anubis' ships had been detected on Norad's deep space radar and they still had received no word from SG-1. "How is she, doctor?" she asked, coming into the infirmary and approaching the first person in a white coat she saw.

"Well, she's going to have a really bad sore throat by the time that baby decides to join the world," The brunette doctor responded jokingly, as Sam let out another scream.

Dr. Weir smiled.

"All in all. Major Carter is extremely tired. Twenty hours of active labor can do that to a person. We've given her drugs to speed up delivery, but it appears that the protein marker in her blood is somehow interfering with it's effectiveness. Her blood pressure is slightly elevated, but it's still within range, so at this point we're just keeping a close eye on it. The baby's heart rate is beginning to become erratic and if she doesn't have the baby in the next few hours, we're going to have to do a C-section."

"Do everything you can, doctor. If Col. O'Neill succeeds on his mission, I would hate to have to be the one to tell him we were unable to take care of his wife and child."

"I understand, Ma'am. Trust me, I have absolutely no intention of letting anything happen to mother or daughter."

"Ahhhh!" Came a scream from Major Carter. "GET THIS THING OUT OF ME!" she screamed as another contraction hit. "THAT'S AN ORDER!" she yelled, as if it would help her at all.

"Sam, Sam. Breathe! Honey, you have to breathe. You can do this," the petite doctor said after leaving Dr. Weir's side and running over to Sam's bed and holding her hand.

One of the machines hooked up to the major started beeping loudly. The doctor grabbed an oxygen mask off the table beside the bed and placed it over Sam's mouth. "Sam, you have to take deep breaths. Sam, the baby needs more oxygen. Breathe! Damnit, Sam! Breathe!"

"It hurts," Sam hoarsely whispered.

"I know, Sweetie, I know. But, you can do this. You've been through way worse than this, Sam."

Elizabeth Weir watched from the other side of the room as the doctor put on a glove and checked Sam. "Sam, honey, your 9 centimeters. You're almost there! It's almost over, Sam. You're going to be ready to push very soon."

"Oh God! That's not soon enough," Sam cried as her body was taken over by another contraction.

Dr. Weir felt horrible for Major Carter. She couldn't believe everything this woman was currently going through. She was going through a hard labor while her husband was on a mission on the other side of the galaxy. Not to mention, she was fully aware of the threat to Earth and had to worry that she was bringing her baby into a world that was about to be destroyed.

Elizabeth was sure if she was in this woman's place, there was no way she could handle it all. After watching Major Carter in pain for a few more minutes, she realized she needed to get back to the control room. Taking one more look at the pain-filled woman on the bed, Dr. Weir scrunched up her face and promised herself to adopt if she ever had the desire to be a mom before heading out the door.

"OH GOD!" Sam screamed again, writhing in pain. "I WANT JACK! DAMN IT, HE SHOULD BE HERE! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU COLONEL?"

Dr. Weir could hear her yelling as she walked back towards the elevators. "That's a good question. Where are you, Colonel?" she whispered softly as she hit the button for level 28. Unaware that the man she was asking about was hurriedly on his way back to Earth, trying to save the planet in time.

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Jack could no longer speak English and his ability to understand it was decreasing at an alarming rate. They were in Antarctica, under the ice, in an Ancient room. Jack was incredibly tired. He had never felt so completely drained before in his life. He had to save the world. Save Sam. Save Gracie. So much was going through his brain. It hurt! He couldn't process it. He just wanted it all to be over. He walked to the chair in the middle of the room, sat down and leaned back.

He could hear Hammond's voice over the radio. He was excited. The ships were being destroyed. They won! They beat Anubis! Jack was tired. So tired. He wanted to sleep. He needed to sleep. His head hurt. Too much! It was all too much. He could hear Hammond's voice. Sam. He heard him say Sam. What did he say? He tried, so hard, so hard to understand.

"Jack." He heard his name. "We just received word. Your daughter was born 30 minutes ago. Sam and the baby are doing fine. Congratulations, son!" He could hear Hammond's voice. He could make out the words. His daughter was born. She and Sam were fine. They were both alive. He saved them. He saved them all!

A smile spread across Jack's face and his eyes closed, a single tear rolling down his cheek.

"Jack, Jack! Did you hear? Sam had the baby! Anubis is destroyed! We won, Jack! We won! Jack, wake up. Jack, don't die now. Sam needs you! Grace needs you! Jack!" Daniel's voice rang out through the pain in Jack's head.

Images of Sam came into his mind. The first time he met her. The look of remorse in her eyes when she reset his bone in Antarctica. Sam laying in the infirmary, flatlined after Jolinar died inside her. Sam hugging him after he killed Hathor. The uncomfortable look on her face when he kissed the alternate Sam. Sam behind a force field. The way she looked at him when he admitted his feelings during the Za'tarc test. The sad expression on her face when they discovered they weren't Jonah and Thera. The look of relief when Teal'c and he were rescued from the death glider. The disappointed look she gave him when he didn't believe her about Orlin. The look of helplessness when Daniel was dying. The happy sparkle in her eyes when he stepped off the tok'ra ship after being stranded with Maybourne. The bravery he saw in her when Niirti almost killed her. The confused and embarrassed look she had when Janet told her she was pregnant. The way she choked on her cake when he told her his intentions of being with her. The peaceful way she looked sleeping in his bed, wrapped up in his arms. The look of contentment after they made love the first time. The way she looked on their wedding day. The scared look on her face when her water broke in the gate room. The way she looked at him when he promised her he would come back……promised her……..he would come back….Sam…..Grace…….He promised……come back.

He opened his eyes and looked at Daniel. "Dormata," he whispered, weakly.

"I believe he wants us to put him in the stasis chamber," Teal'c's voice sounded from behind Daniel.

They lifted Jack from the chair and carried him over to the chamber. Standing him up inside the small space, the chamber came to life, freezing Jack in time.

At that very moment, on the other side of the planet, deep underground. A baby girl cried loudly in hunger as her mother held her close preparing to feed her for the very first time. Grace Louise O'Neill suckled, contently, on her mother's nipple, unaware that on the day she was born, her father saved the world.

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