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So They Say

Chapter 5 – Possibilities

"Pregnant?" Sam asked incredulously, her pretty eyes wide with surprise at his suggestion.

"Yeah, as in 'with child'," Jack teased her softly, tucking a lock of blonde hair behind her ear affectionately.

Her frown belied her next words as she thought through the possibility. "No, it's just the flu. I'm sure its just flu."

"You were sick this morning, been dizzy a few times. I think you should at least have it checked out."

"Jack, I can't be pregnant, I'm taking…" Her voice trailed off, seconds before she turned to meet his eyes as a thought struck her. "Last month, when I dislocated my shoulder, the painkillers they gave me… she told me they could interfere with birth control pills. I didn't even think about it, all those times I've had to be in the infirmary, it's never been…"

"O…kay." Jack watched her expressive features for clues as to where her powerful mind was taking her. When she didn't speak for another few minutes, he added; "So you could be?"

"I think… it is possible, so maybe…" Her sapphire eyes met Jack's, a mix of anxiety and turmoil playing over her face.

He wrapped her in a strong hug, pressing a kiss to her hair as they tried to think through their thoughts on the bombshell that had just befallen them. Sam clutched at Jack's dark-coloured shirt, thankful simply for his presence as she tried to work out how likely this idea was.

"Would it be a good maybe or a bad maybe?" Jack asked her gently, with a soft smile as he moved his left hand up and down her spine, only vaguely aware of the odd hotel guest passing them where they sat on the stairs leading away from the pool.

"I'm not… I don't… I think a good maybe… I really don't know."

"Maybe we should fly back to Colorado tomorrow, get you to the infirmary at the SGC."

"No, Jack, we can't just leave your family like that, they're expecting us tomorrow night."

Jack pulled back from her to look her in the eye. "Sam, you need to see the doc about this."

"Another few days won't make a difference, whether it's just flu or something else."

When he fixed her with a patented O'Neill stare, she smiled and tilted her head back to kiss him soundly on the mouth.

"Jake is going to kill me for this." Jack exclaimed dramatically.

She smiled wearily at the thought of her father's reaction. "Can we talk about this tomorrow? I just want to sleep."

"I think we can manage that." He replied, pressing a slow kiss to her lips before helping her to her feet.

The following morning Jack awoke to find himself alone in the large hotel bed. Bright sunlight streamed in through the sliding glass doors separating the balcony from the room, the light curtains moving in the draft from the open door. Climbing off the bed, he grabbed a t-shirt and pulled it on over the boxers he'd worn to bed, and then stepped out on to the balcony. Sam had curled herself into a chair and had been staring out at the ocean for nearly an hour, so deep in thought that she didn't hear Jack come up behind her.

"Jack! You scared me," she laughed, his hands on her shoulders jolting her from her thoughts. "I thought you were still asleep."

"Can't sleep if you're not next to me, gorgeous," Jack dropped a kiss to the top of her head. "You feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I just couldn't sleep. I was thinking we could try to find a drugstore, so we can find out one way or the other."

"Pregnancy testing time, huh?" He ventured softly, unsure how Sam was feeling about the possibility. Personally for him, the prospect of having a baby with Sam was a wonderful one, but he couldn't imagine being that lucky. In his own mind, he wasn't the sort of guy who got to marry a woman like Samantha Carter, but that had come to be; children he had never… they had never even talked about.

She tilted her head back to meet his eyes as he stood behind her, a sad smile playing across her lips. "I'm sorry about this, Jack."

"Sorry? Sorry about what?"

"This situation, I know you don't want- "

"Don't want kids?" He knelt in front of her, astonishment written plainly across his face. "Sam, what on Earth makes you think that?"

Jack instantly regretted the sharp tone as he spotted a flash of hurt across her pretty face.

"I… after Charlie… I thought you didn't want to have anymore children."

"Sam, listen to me," He placed his palm against her cheek, rubbing his thumb over her high cheekbone tenderly. "Maybe that was true a few years ago, but that was before I could even hope we would be together like this someday."

She smiled at him in reply.

"And besides that, even if I wasn't so keen on the idea of kids, you know I'd do anything for you. And you'd be such a cool mom," He continued, his grin widening as he imagined it. "Just think of all those science fairs, the other kids wouldn't have a chance."

"You'd be the dad that lets his friends watch R rated movies and then make them all watch the Simpsons with you," Sam laughed, leaning forward in her chair to loop her arms over his broad shoulders.

"Well if you won't watch any with me…" He feigned a pained expression before moving forward to kiss her, a gesture she happily returned.

"I love you, Jack." She told him seriously.

Jack kissed her again in response, pulling her to her feet and leading her back into the room. "You know what we haven't done yet?"

From the decidedly mischievous glint in his eyes, Sam couldn't help but smile in confusion.

"I'm pretty sure I saw a hot tub in that bathroom last time I checked."

She laughed as he held her hand, propelling her towards the bathroom, determined to make use of the early morning.

"I could get used to seeing you like this," Jack said in her ear as he lowered his face slightly to hers. She wore a flowing white sundress, with large pink sunflowers embroidered over the bodice and skirt, looking a world away from the Major Carter he was so accustomed to. Sam pointedly threw her gaze over her boyfriend, who was also looking very relaxed in a casual hockey shirt and tan coloured shorts. His warm hand clasped hers as they walked the short distance to a local pharmacy, as instructed by the hotel receptionist. "Don't be nervous."

"I was just thinking how I had the flu one minute and now I might pregnant."

"It's definitely an O'Neill family reunion with a twist." He responded, glib as ever.

"There it is." Sam pointed out, not quite masking the nerves in her voice. "I'll be back in a second."

Jack watched her enter the small pharmacy, a little concerned at her anxiety; this was, after all, supposed to be a vacation. She returned a few minutes later clutching a paper bag. He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close to his side as they turned to walk back.

"When are we leaving to see your brother?" She asked, trying to get her mind off the subject of her possible pregnancy in the hopes it would quell the knot of apprehension in her stomach.

"The party's tonight, but Dave was saying he could show us around, give us the ten cents tour if you're up for it." When she nodded, Jack pressed a kiss to the side of her head; glad her unease would be over once they got back to the hotel room.

"How long do we wait?"

"The box says two minutes."

"So what does a blue line mean?"

"Blue is positive, pink is negative."

"How long have we waited?"

"About thirty seconds." Sam couldn't help but smile at Jack's questions. She was pretty sure he only asked them to amuse her, but he succeeded in putting her slightly more at ease.

"Would now be a good time to mention Danny and T are coming round to see the game next week?"

"Pizza and beer again?" She laughed, remembering the last time had resulted in a drunk Daniel, a bemused Teal'c and Jack protesting every few minutes at something one of the players was doing.

"Only way to watch hockey, gorgeous." Jack looked towards the bathroom counter where Sam had placed the white stick. "Two minutes is up."

"I'm not sure I want to know." She held her gaze to his, enjoying the feeling of his hand gently brushing back strands of hair from her face. Contrary to her words, she took a deep breath and reached for the stick. "It's pink."

"Pink? That means…"

"I'm not pregnant." Sam hadn't anticipated the rush of deep disappointment she felt at that moment, or the sudden tears prickling at her eyes. Jack stood from his perch on the side of the bath, slipping his arms around her.

"It's okay," he tried to comfort her, his heart lurching painfully as he felt her cry against his chest.