Chapter 8

Daniel went to bed on Christmas Eve a happy man. Sure, he had a moody teenager and an irritable wife, but other than that, life was pretty good. This was going to be their second Christmas together as a family, and he was determined to make it the best darned Christmas ever.

Until he was ripped out of a deep sleep by a hand gripping his shoulder so hard it made him cry out in pain.

"What? What is it?" he spluttered as he became aware of his surroundings.

"Daniel... I... I think I'm in labour."

Daniel sat up and looked at Janet in shock. It didn't take him longer than a second to see that she was, indeed, having a contraction. "I... I thought they were just fake," he said, his mind still a bit foggy with sleep.

"So did I," Janet said, relaxing back against her pillows as the contraction eased off. "But that was definitely not fake."

Daniel rubbed his face to wake himself up more. "But... it isn't time," he said.

Janet sent him a glare. "I don't think the baby cares what time it is," she snapped. "Could you please call the hospital to let them know we're on our way?"

"Okay," Daniel said, reaching for the phone as Janet slowly dragged herself out of bed.

From that moment on, everything happened so fast it made Daniel's head spin. He quickly called the hospital and helped Janet get ready, and then tapped on Cassie's door to tell her they were leaving. He gave the girl a choice of whether to come with them or stay home, and received a mumbled reply that included the words "stupid baby ruining Christmas." He decided it would be best to leave her at home rather than put up with that attitude at the hospital for the next few hours, so he collected Janet and helped her out to the car.

Thirty-five weeks... he knew that the baby might have come a couple weeks early, but five? Janet didn't seem very worried, though, so he figured it couldn't be a very big deal.

Still, he noticed the doctors at the hospital were quick to meet Janet at the door and rush her off to a maternity room. Before Daniel could even grasp what had happened, they had Janet in a gown and hooked up to IV's that were supposedly going to stop her labour.

They didn't.

Daniel winced as Janet's grip on his hand tightened along with her latest contraction. "Is something wrong?" he asked as one of the doctors announced that they had to get Janet to a delivery room right away.

"We're not sure yet," the doctor said. "Something is causing your wife to go into premature labour, and it's happening pretty fast."

The first thought to enter Daniel's mind was that the baby had contracted the disease after all, and was dying or already dead. For Janet's sake, he kept this fear to himself, but it was all he could think about as they hurried off to the delivery room.

Thankfully, he had presence of mind enough to coach Janet through the delivery, but even as he gently cheered her on, he was dreading the end result.

He should have known. He shouldn't have allowed himself to hope.

But he did hope. He hoped so hard it made his lungs ache. He just wanted the baby to be healthy... please, God, just let the baby be healthy...

Barely five minutes later, after one last long push from Janet, their daughter was born. Daniel only managed to catch a glimpse of her limp little body before she was whisked away.

It was all happening so fast that he was unsure for a moment whether he was really awake. It had to just be a dream. That couldn't have been his baby he just saw. None of this was really happening...

A sudden shriek changed his mind on that score in an instant. That brand new baby cry was coming from his baby. He caught Janet's eye and gave her a tearful grin. Janet laughed and squeezed his hand. If nothing else, they at least knew their baby was alive.

It felt like years before the crowd of doctors on the other side of the room parted, and one of them walked towards them carrying a little bundle. "Her tests are all clean," she said with a smile. "It's like she wasn't born early at all. She's perfect."

Daniel gaped at this brand new person as she was passed over to Janet. Perfect? Tests all clean? This was definitely a dream.

"Look at her, Daniel," Janet breathed. "She is perfect."

The baby had been making pathetic little whining sounds until she heard her mother's voice. Then her little eyes started trying to seek out the place where the sound had originated.

"Hi there," Janet said. "I'm your mommy."

Daniel grinned as he watched his wife and daughter get to know each other. If it really was a dream, he hoped he'd never wake up.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

The sound of the food cart rattling past her door woke Janet out of her doze. At first she felt so groggy and disoriented that she couldn't remember where she was or what was happening. Then it clued in that her entire body felt sore and exhausted, and she remembered. She'd just had a baby.

She felt a warm glow pass over her entire body at the thought. She opened her eyes and turned her head to the side, searching for Daniel. There he was, fast asleep in the chair beside her.

"Daniel?" she said quietly.

He grunted, and his head snapped up as he slowly awoke. "Hmm?"

Janet smiled. "Wakey, wakey."

Daniel chuckled and took off his glasses to rub his eyes. "Hey," he said as he found a more comfortable position in the chair. "Sorry, I guess I dozed off."

"Where's the baby?" Janet asked.

"She's down the hall," Daniel said as he put his glasses back on. "They said she seemed fine, but they wanted her in NICU just in case."

Janet nodded and licked her lips, suddenly realizing how dry her mouth was.

Daniel took the hint right away and helped her take a few sips of water. She had to admit, she was enjoying being waited on for a change.

"I started the paperwork," he said with a smile when she'd settled back against her pillows. "Chloe Elizabeth Jackson."

Janet beamed. "I thought you didn't want to use Elizabeth," she said, remembering their various name discussions from the past few weeks.

Daniel shrugged. "Chloe Claire didn't sound right, and none of the other names meant anything to us. It's better that she be named after your mother."

Janet reached out for his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Thank you."

Daniel leaned in to kiss her cheek, and then motioned for her to move over.

She laughed as Daniel climbed up onto the bed beside her and draped his arm around her shoulders. She felt like chiding him for having his shoes on the bed, but he was being so sweet that she just didn't have the heart. Instead, she snuggled into him and tucked her head under his chin.

Daniel sighed, and she could feel him relaxing bit by bit. "Can you believe this is happening?" he said. "The baby is healthy, you're okay... I keep waiting for the other shoe to fall, but at the same time it's like a weight has been lifted. You know?"

"I do know," Janet said. "It's hard to go from worrying about something for months to finding out there was nothing to worry about in the first place. I think I'll suspect I'm dreaming until the day she graduates high school."

Daniel laughed. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves," he said. He gently squeezed her shoulders and kissed her forehead. "Merry Christmas, Janet."

"Merry Christmas."

Janet smiled and closed her eyes as Daniel leaned his head back and started to doze again. She'd almost forgotten that it was Christmas. She wondered how Cassie was doing right now. She knew Daniel had called Colonel O'Neill and asked him to stop in at the house before coming to see them at the hospital, just to make sure she was okay, so that made her feel a little better about it. She hoped the girl wouldn't be too angry with them or the baby for interrupting the holiday like this.

A few moments passed in silence before Janet heard footsteps and wheels approaching her room again. This time it wasn't the food cart - it was one of the nurses bringing the baby to her.

"Since she's doing so well, we thought maybe you could try feeding her," the nurse said softly as she lifted the baby out of the plastic box-on-wheels and passed her over to Janet.

Daniel woke up and stared at the baby in awe as Janet took her and started coaxing her to feed. Miracle upon miracles, it only took a matter of seconds for her to start sucking, and for such a tiny little bundle, she had quite an appetite. Everyone was amazed, and Janet could have burst with pride. Their little girl was doing so much better than expected.

Janet spent the rest of that day alternating between dozing and feeding. She couldn't believe how tired she was, but she assumed it was because of the stress leading up to such overwhelming relief that was to blame.

Chloe slept a lot, too, so Daniel was on his own for most of the day. Janet woke up at one point to find that he'd gone home to see Cassie, but he'd returned a short time later with a forced smile and a vague comment about Cassie going to spend the night at a friend's house. Janet knew from his attitude that Cassie had been giving him a hard time, but she chose not to press him for any more information. They could deal with that when they got home.

Day two of Chloe Jackson's little life passed much like the first. Janet didn't understand why she still felt so tired and strange, but she ignored it for Daniel's sake. He was so happy it was contagious. Colonel O'Neill, Sam, Teal'c, and General Hammond all came by for a short visit, and flowers and cards poured in from SGC personnel until there wasn't an inch of space left on the floor or tables of Janet's hospital room. Everybody seemed to be over the moon about the latest addition to their makeshift family. It took both Janet and Daniel very much by surprise.

And then there was the baby herself. Her big blue eyes looked around at all the new faces with true Jackson curiosity, and as long as she was fed, changed, and frequently held, she didn't cry at all. She was simply too good to be true.

After five days of being monitored and poked with needles more times than Janet cared to count, Chloe was finally allowed to go home. SG-1 was waiting at the door when they arrived, and even Cassie made an appearance before running off to her friend's house again. They had a belated Christmas that day, and Janet had never felt such love for her friends and family in a long time.

Janet was still feeling lethargic, and her entire hospital stay was already a blur in her mind, but Daniel seemed to find this the perfect excuse to pamper her. He set her up in their bed with the baby's cradle less than two feet away, and waited on both of them hand and foot. It was like he suddenly had enough energy for both of them.

"I don't know how you're doing it, Daniel," she said as he climbed into bed on their third night home. "Taking care of me, Chloe, Cassie... all of the housework, everything. I feel so bad leaving it all to you..."

"Don't worry about it," he said, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. "You just need to rest for a few days. Trust me, this time next week you'll be the one doing all the work."

Janet laughed and swatted him. "Gee, thanks," she said. "That's something to look forward to."

Daniel chuckled and started slowly stroking her back. "You know," he said, "a few months ago, I honestly didn't think this new year would bring us anything but pain. Now it's here, and I've never been happier. Though I feel like I'm jinxing it now... but it's true."

Janet smiled and patted his chest. "Me, too," she said. How did they ever doubt it?

Once again, she quickly drifted off to sleep, something she was becoming accustomed to doing day or night since the baby was born. Though something felt different tonight. It was like she was asleep, only she felt as though she was awake at the same time.

She was vaguely aware of the sound of Daniel's heartbeat and the steady rise and fall of his chest as he slept. She felt as though she were floating rather than dreaming, and she found it rather peaceful. She was almost tempted to stay that way forever.

Then something changed. Daniel's heartbeat quickened and his breathing became more erratic. She wasn't disturbed by this - actually, she found it rather fascinating. The steady ba-boom, ba-boom, ba-boom was hypnotic, drawing her deeper and deeper into this peaceful place.

"Oh God... Janet?"

She heard Daniel's voice, but for some reason she found she couldn't react to it. She didn't even want to react to it.

"Janet, wake up!"

She felt him shake her by the shoulder, and it made her angry. What was so important that he would try to make this wonderful floating sensation go away?

"Oh God, this can't be happening!"

Janet finally woke up as Daniel rolled her over onto her back. "What? What?" she asked, flailing her hands in the air as if to swat him away.

But in a moment he was gone from the bed. It took her a few seconds to realize what was going on, but as soon as she heard that all too familiar sound...

"No. No, please, no."

She flew from the bed to join him and snatched her baby into her arms before he had the chance.

"Please, no!"

Chloe was wheezing.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

To be continued...