I'm sorry for the long wait, but i've been lacking motivation with this for a while now.. anyway here is the next chapter, hopefully another'll be on the way soon.. Please read and review, thank you x

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Pete had signed the papers, albeit with a little help from Teal'c, and Sam was back to being Colonel Samantha Carter. Samantha Shanahan died as soon as his pen touched the divorce papers. Sam bought champagne and invited Janet, Daniel, Teal'c and Jack round to celebrate. She knew everything wouldn't just fall back into place, but she would be damned if she didn't try to make it. They all sat in her lounge, Daniel and Janet on her small couch, Teal'c was in an armchair and she and Jack were on the larger couch. An empty place between them where Abi had sat before she had ran off to get something she wanted to show them.

"Sam, we shouldn't have let you go so easily." Janet sat after a few moments. "None of us tried." She looked around, Daniel had his eyes down and Jack played with his hands. Even Teal'c looked uncomfortable.

"I shouldn't have left, Jan. I made the biggest mistake of my life." Sam replied.

"Jan's right," Daniel began, "we let you go, and we didn't even try to stop you. I guess we all though, well I thought you would change your mind, realise how much you missed the job."

"I missed the job, of course I did. Someone who saves the world and works with extraordinary people to being an air traffic controller? I used to command spaceships. Controlling planes, and their flight paths was nothing compared to that." She paused briefly. "In that control tower I wasn't Colonel Samantha Carter, US Air Force, I wasn't a woman who had fought in wars, who had saved the world, I was just Samantha Shanahan, housewife and mother, and another 'dumb blonde'. A PhD and military honours didn't count. I missed Sam Carter and I missed her life."

"Why didn't you come back?" Janet asked.

"In some weird way I thought I was happy. I thought we were happy." Sam answered, closing her eyes for a second. Suddenly Abi came running back in, in her arms was a black box. Sam blinked and knew immediately what the contents were.

"Found it," Abi said excitedly, "back in Denver this box used to be at the back of her wardrobe, Mom used to show me it sometimes, for as far as I can remember she showed me at Christmas and on my birthday." Abi smiled and returned to sit between Sam and Jack. "So I went to look for it in the wardrobe but it was beside her bed. So it took longer to look for."

"Abi, I don't think the General, Daniel, Teal'c or Janet want to see," Sam began reaching for the box.

"Sure we do," Jack said smiling at the little girl. Abi beamed back, and lifted the lid. Inside the box was everything that had survived Pete's destructive tendencies. A stack of photos, cards, a badge with 'Carter' on it that she would have worn with her dress blues, anything that reminded her of her life before, her life now.

"Mom always showed me these on my birthday." Abi began, taking out the stack of photos held together by an elastic band. "Mom told me all about you. All about who you are."

"You never forgot." Janet whispered, tears coming to her eyes as Sam shook her head.

"What did your Mom say about that one?" Jack said as he looked at a photo of the team caked in mud, well himself, Sam and Daniel caked in mud. Teal'c must have been the one taking the photo, as he wasn't in it.

"She said you all went to a place that was very muddy and that Daniel tripped over pulling you down with him. Mom said she went to help you up and ended up falling over in it to." Jack chuckled.

"I think it was Jack that fell over," Daniel said to Abi, shielding his mouth from Jack in an attempt to hide what he was saying.

"Me? Fall over? Never!" Jack replied dramatically earning a laugh from the little girl.

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R&R please, as usual.. thank you for all your lovely reviews, they are the reason I continue writing.. x