A/N: Okay here's the repost! thanks for all your wonderful reviews. there's one thing i forgot to add last time and i did clear some stuff up hopefully. Another thing is I know she'd already have her own OB n stuff, i understand a lot of that stuff, my future mother in law is the office manager at the local OB/GYN and i have 5 younger brothers.
Sam closed the programs she was working on and shut her laptop, ready to go home for the night. Before they'd left for Minnesota, that hadn't been something she'd done all that often. Her work had always helped her relax, take her mind off of things, but she didn't need to do that anymore. She wanted to go home, even if Jack wasn't there.
Things had changed so much since her accident. At first, she'd thought it was the worst thing that could have ever happened, but that had changed once she'd gotten her place back in the SGC.
She packed up her things and patted her leg, calling Rico to her side. The dog looked up from his bed in the corner and wagged his tail, ready to leave. He didn't like staying away from his charge, but he wasn't exactly comfortable deep within the mountain. He was always ready to go home.
The two greeted the passing Airmen as they made their way to the surface, most stopping to give Rico a pat. They all loved the dog, most not knowing where he came from, but seeing his dedication to one of their favorite SG team members made most of the mountain love him all the more.
Sam held the truck door open for Rico so he could climb up into the cab. If Jack had been there, she would have forced the big baby into the back seat but she needed the comfort being alone for the first time since Jack had come to visit her. There was no way she was going to force the dog into the back.
She drove silently, listening to Rico's breathing. It was calming in her hectic world. She reached the end of the road, and flipped the blinker on to turn left. Rico whined to get her attention and when she looked his direction, he barked to the right.
Well, she was lonely and Sean's house was in that direction. She could drop in on Trish, see how the young girl was doing. It gave her the perfect excuse to avoid spending the night alone.
The trip was short. Sean and Trish didn't live as far away as Jack did. Huh? She'd never even thought of her own house when debating where to go. She hadn't been back there since before they'd gone to Minnesota.
She pulled into the driveway and shut the truck off. She hoped Trish would actually be home; she hadn't thought to call ahead of time. That probably would have been a good idea. Too late now. She climbed out of the cab and let Rico down next to her, for the first time that day actually realizing how hot it had become.
It was only about 3:00, and she knew the schools got out early, around 2:45, so if Trish wasn't home, she should be soon. It couldn't hurt to at least ring the doorbell. She wasn't really comfortable around Jack's daughter-in-law quite yet only because Jack's family still seemed so foreign to her. The two weeks they'd stayed together wasn't enough to really get to know everybody. That and she and Jack had spent a lot of their time together.
Sam reached out to press the door bell when the front door opened to reveal a tired looking Trish O'Neill. Sam immediately reached out to the younger woman, rubbing her arm gently.
"Oh, Trish, are you okay?" Sam carefully pulled her into the living room and sat her down on the couch. Rico immediately hopped up beside her and laid his head on her lap, giving the comfort only an animal could.
"I'm fine, Sam. Don't worry about me," Trish brushed her off with a fake smile plastered to her face. Sam sat back and looked directly into her eyes. "Sorry about all the boxes, we haven't really had the time to unpack yet."
"Don't worry about it. The guys are going to be gone a few days, maybe we can get that done before they get home," Sam suggested.
Trish smiled and said, "Thanks, that'd mean a lot. We've just had such a hard time settling in."
The women sat in silence for a moment, neither really having any clue what to say. When Sam looked back up she noticed Trish staring at her like she was trying to figure something out, but couldn't
"What?" Sam asked perplexed. "I got something hanging from my nose?"
Trish laughed. "No, sorry. I was just thinking. And I'm uncomfortable staying here without Sean. I don't know the area, or the people yet."
Sam knew immediately what she had to do. Rico was there with her always, and he was a great guard dog. It would probably help Trish anyways.
"We'll stay tonight."
"What?"
Sam leaned down to pet the dog's ears. "Well, Rico's great, but with Jack out of town, he won't leave my side, so I figure, we could stay here until the guys come home."
"You'd do that?"
Sam shrugged. "Sure, why not?"
Trish nodded. The rest of the night was spent eating pizza (with extra marshmallows on Trish's half), and getting to know each other. Sam found she truly enjoyed Trish and they had a lot in common. All she'd known before was that Trish worked at the high school. Now she found out that she'd previously been a Chemistry teacher at the high school where Sean had last been stationed.
She was only working part time teaching summer school until the baby was born, but didn't know what she'd do after that. Sam held the same reservations. When she and Jack finally had kids, she wasn't certain what they'd do. She still wanted to work at the base, their war was hardly near the end, but she didn't want to feel like she was neglecting their children either.
That was her last thought as she stretched out on the couch for the night. Rico was in with Trish, having sensed her discomfort, and she was just bone tired.
The next morning dawned bright and early and woke Sam with a cold nose to the cheek. Rico needed out, bad. She smiled as she maneuvered her way around the boxes to the back door to let the poor whining pup out.
It was a nice day, too nice, and Sam decided she wanted to take the day off, maybe a few days. She had plenty of time saved up, even though she'd just gotten back from leave. She had no experiments running and SG-1 wouldn't be back for a few days. She was always just a few minutes from the base no matter where she went.
The smell of coffee reached her and she knew immediately Trish was up, although why she was making coffee was entirely beyond her.
"You know you're not supposed to be drinking that stuff," Sam chastised as she brought Rico back inside.
"It's not for me," Trish smiled. "I have orange juice to drink."
"Oh, well thank you." Sam poured herself a cup and leaned back against the counter, while Trish sat at the kitchen table. "I was thinking, maybe we could work on the nursery today. It'd be good to at least get that done."
"It would put my mind at ease just a little."
After a light breakfast of toast for Trish and cereal for Sam the two headed up the stairs to where the nursery was, across from the master bedroom.
"We have everything we need from Charlie, we just haven't put anything back together again." Trish opened the door wide and Sam could see the array of baby appliances that littered the room.
"Actually, the only thing we had assembled before was the crib. When I found out I was pregnant again, we knew where we were was only a temporary stationing, so we just kept everything packed up. We haven't done anything with this now because I'm still a little apprehensive that something will go wrong."
Sam gave the younger woman a comforting hug and said, "Well, don't worry. Whether you have the nursery set up or not won't play any factor in the health of your little boy. We'll have everything straightened out in no time."
Sam assigned Trish the task of putting everything together in the spare room while she set to painting the baby's room. She didn't want the fumes to get to Trish, so she closed the door and opened the window. The walls were going to be a shade of baby blue while the trim was a beautiful shade of cerulean blue.
After only a few hours both women were finished. Trish had all the furniture put together, it just needed to be moved and Sam was done painting the room.
"Now we just have to wait until the paint dries completely to put together the rest of the room," Sam said, smiling at Trish.
"I can't thank you enough, Sam. I didn't really want to do this without Sean here, but I know without extra motivation neither of us would have built up the nerve until too late."
Trish had stopped halfway through to eat a lunch, but the paint fumes had turned off Sam's appetite so neither was hungry. They decided to call Janet and have a girls night with her and Cassie.
They figured it would be easiest to stay over at Jack's since Sam could still smell the paint fumes drifting down from upstairs and the master bedroom was right across the hall from the nursery. She knew Jack wouldn't mind and it wasn't like they'd really spent any time at her house in the last month anyway.
The ride to Jack's was short and Rico decided to spend the whole trip in the bed of the truck.
"Sam, please, you don't have to do this for us," Trish pled as Sam started getting the house ready for visitors. There wasn't a lot to be done, but they'd left their dinner sitting out on the table the night before when they suddenly lost their appetite for food and gained one for each other.
"Nonsense. They need to get done and Cassie and Janet will be here any minute with movies and 'appropriate junk food.' You wouldn't have to suffer the doctor's version if Jack hadn't been so giddy about the whole thing." Sam smiled, elbows deep in soapy water, and nodded at Trish's stomach.
"Jack? Giddy? Now there's a sight I'd love to see," Trish laughed.
Janet and Cassie chose that moment to show up and ring the bell. Trish surprisingly beat Sam to it and opened the door to the pair.
"Hi, Trish!" Cass beamed as she started to run into the house with the movies and goodies. "Oh, yeah, this is my mom."
Janet held out her hand to her and grinned. "Janet Fraiser."
"Oh yes, I've heard a lot about you from two very reliable sources."
Janet shot an eye at Cassie who peered out from the kitchen. "Don't worry, Mom, Dad and I didn't say anything about your needles!"
"I know she's doing that on purpose," Janet said as she entered the house.
Sam finished the dishes rather quickly and the four women sat in the living room, watching chic flicks and talking about the men in their lives, or in Cassie's case, her most current crush in the 8th grade.
Trish was the first to conk out halfway through the first movie quickly followed by Cassie. Sam leaned over Trish and gently shook her shoulder trying not to startle her.
"Trish, c'mon, let's get you to a bed," she whispered. To her surprise, Trish seemed to wake up fully and tried to stand on her own. That was the first clue she wasn't truly awake. She swayed as she stood and Sam had to reach out to hold her up. The woman's pregnant form made it difficult to get her up the stairs, but they managed and Sam laid her down in the guest room.
She ran across Janet helping Cassie up the stairs as well.
"How is she?" Janet asked.
"Tired. This mission did not come at a very good time." Sam sighed and rubbed her hand over her face. "Oh, I need to run to the store quickly, need anything while I'm out?"
"What are you getting?"
Sam started ticking off the items on her fingers and spoke quietly hoping not to alert the still sleepy teen. "GummiSavers, Gummi worms, Gummi bears, chocolate, and something I didn't think I'd be needing right now." The disappointed look in her eyes alerted the doctor immediately.
"I'm so sorry. I know the two of you were very optimistic after Jacob left."
"It's okay."
Janet thought for a moment and finally answered Sam's question. "I think we're fine. We brought enough junk over tonight anyway."
"The other rooms are all set up. I should be back soon, but I'll be going to bed as soon as I can."
"How 'bout I come with you after I get Cassie settled?"
Sam nodded and headed downstairs after Janet helped Cassie into the guest room. Janet joined her minutes later and the two left to go to the store in momentary silence.
Janet let her doctor's side take over and turned in her seat towards her friend. "Maybe I should give Trish a quick check up."
"I'm sure it would make her feel better." Sam kept her eyes on the road, making sure she took good care of Jack's baby. "Trish and Sean have already lost one child."
"They sued the hospital here in Colorado Springs."
"Yeah, how'd you-"
"Sean was still at the Academy. I remember the case. I was called in to testify on the procedures started once the child was brought into the ER. I didn't make the connection until I saw Trish today."
Sam sighed and glanced over at Janet as they stopped for a red light. "Trish just passed Charlie's mark. She's terrified."
"I'll check her over tomorrow."
The two walked into the store and as Sam grabbed her essentials Janet decided to broach the next touchy subject.
"How are you going to tell Jack?"
"Not sure yet, but I can't put it off."
They finished getting supplies and left for Jack's, chatting about what the next day would entail.
Sam didn't sleep too well that night. Nightmares from Jolinar's past plagued her mind, mixed with her fears of what Jack was doing while on Edora. She knew there was no reason for her to doubt Jack's commitment to her, but she also knew how devoted he was to all children, but especially his own.
What her body had been through with Jolinar still worried her even though her father had given her a clean bill of health. This had just proven it would take time, and a lot of sleepless nights.
When she woke up the next morning she could smell the bacon and eggs cooking in the kitchen from Jack's room. His bed felt empty without him and she wrapped her arms around his pillow seeking the comfort his essence would give her. She always hated the hormones about this time, she always got depressed, but it was worse now.
A lone tear escaped from her eye as she pushed herself up on her elbows, forcing herself to get up for the day. A knock came at the door and at her prompting, Cassie stuck her head in.
"Mom says breakfast is ready. We have to leave though, so she can drop me off at school."
Sam nodded and forced a smile for her "niece." She would have really preferred to shower first, but she was suddenly starving.
Trish was standing at the stove when she entered the kitchen and sat down at the small table. Janet poured her a cup off coffee and set it down in front of her. "I know you didn't sleep well." She patted her shoulder and grabbed Cassie to drag the teen off to school.
"Janet said she'd like me to stop by the Academy Hospital for a check up this afternoon," Trish said as she set down a plate of eggs in front of Sam and sat down next to her. "Do you think anything's wrong?"
"No. We were talking last night. I figured with Sean being gone, it might help settle your nerves if she checked you out." Sam poured ketchup over her eggs and stuffed a bite in her mouth.
She swallowed and looked the younger woman straight in the eyes. "I'm just trying to help."
"I know. Thank you, it's just that we've already been seeing a specialist. We have an appointment set up for next week."
"We thought it'd be a good idea since Sean's out of town at the moment. Just a quick little check up so we can give the guys some good news when they get back." She shrugged, suddenly feeling this wasn't the best of ideas.
"It's okay. I guess it wouldn't hurt."
The two finished breakfast and washed the dishes. After both had showered they headed back over to Sean and Trish's to move the baby furniture back into the nursery. Sam did all the moving, refusing Trish's offer to help. She didn't want anything to happen to her or the little boy.
They were done in no time and headed over to see Janet. Trish was tense the whole ride over and the wait in Janet's office was dead silent other than the tapping of mTrish's foot on the tiled floor. Sam sat there rubbing her back. The air was so thick she could cut it with a knife. Had she known she was so nervous, she would have made sure she called Janet before they left. It was a good thing Rico was waiting for them in the back of the truck.
The petite doctor chose that exact moment to enter her office. "Sorry I kept you waiting." She sat down behind her desk and opened the chart she'd requested from Trish's regular OB.
"Trish, I'm going to tell you, it's been a long time since my stint in obstetrics but I'm still licensed. I've had your chart faxed over. We're going to do an ultrasound and a general exam and hopefully give your husband some good news when he gets back." Janet smiled at her and led them all to the exam room she'd set up prior to their arrival.
Trish sat up on the exam bed and moved her clothing around her protruding stomach. Within minutes the ultrasound was all set up and running.
"You're going to like this," Janet said as the picture showed up on the screen. It was a different color than she remembered her last ultrasound being and as she watched her baby, she gasped. They could see the baby's features clearly and in 3-D.
"That's him? I can see everything. His little nostrils, the folds in his fingers." Tears started flowing from Trish's eyes and Sam held her hand, smiling at her joy. Their free hands traced the picture on the screen as Janet moved the wand around on Trish's stomach. "I've never seen one like this."
"It's still in the testing phase. They're seeing how well it goes over on bases before releasing them to the public. Everything looks fine," Janet announced as she wiped the gel off of her stomach. She handed her a gown and turned to give her her privacy while she changed.
"Okay." Trish was clenching the gown in her sweaty fists.
Janet rubbed her patient's leg and sat down at the end of the bed. "It's alright. We'll just check everything out here."
Sam stood up by Trish's head grasping her hand.
After a few minutes Janet stood up and smiled at the two women. "Everything's in order. There's no dilation or any other signals that you'll be going into labor anytime soon. You're progressing wonderfully."
Sam leaned down and gave Trish a hug as best she could in their positions as the young woman sobbed her relief. "Sean'll be so happy."
Sam nodded and smiled up at Janet, a silent thanks passing between them. They were all going to sleep wonderfully that night, and SG-1 was supposed to return the next day. Yep, life was looking up.
A/N: Okay again i'm sorry there was such a huge lag in getting any of this chapter up. i was in Tennesse right after Christmas to visit with my dad, stepmom, and 4 of my little bros, so i was spending as much time with them as possible, plus one of them turned 5 while i was there. Then like the day i got there we ALL got sick, i think my 6 1/2 year old brother was the only healthy one, we rang in the new year with that Airborne stuff. i didn't get back into town until the 14th, and i found out that my fiance had boughten me a whole buncha stuff for my new place, tv, bookshelves, unpacking my stuff, so that was really sweet. i just didn't really have the motivation for this chapter unfortunately, then add that to planning our wedding, it's just been hectic. i'll get the last 3 chaps up asap for y'all! thanks again!