Their van jolted along the narrow backroads of the Rockie Mountains. The trio had been driving all morning, and as Sam surmised, all night too. As they neared a small town, Ba'ril turned to the Major sitting stiffly on the bench beside her.

"Are you hungry, Samantha?" she asked, "It has been a long while since you had any nourishment." They hadn't stopped for breakfast.

"Sure," replied Sam. I am rather hungry, and if we stop, it may give me a chance to escape.

"Do not even consider it," said Horeb aloud, just like the other three times she'd thought about how to get out of here.

Why do I even bother...

The three of them marched in at about one one o'clock, which on a Sunday afternoon means I'm the only one in the old diner. It was an odd trio, the larger of the two men was constantly fidgety, and neither ate a thing. The pregnant blonde munching on her sandwich looked pointedly unhappy, but not a thing was said by the other two, and only a sympathetic, "Bad car ride, dearie?" was given by Maria, the elderly waitress. Maybe I'm just one of those people, but something was definitely wrong here. When the woman quietly excused herself to the washroom, I waited a minute before following. One of the men rose slightly, as if to stop me, but was halted by his companion.

She was standing at the sink, looking at a haggard refection in the mirror.

"Hi," I said. The woman jumped.

"Oh my god, I didn't hear you come in." I shrugged.

"Ninja training." She frowned. "It's a joke," I assured her, "Guess they don't make maternity uniforms," I said, nodding at her military outfit, rolled up at the sleeves.

"Oh, no," she replied softly. The woman looked nervous, so I cut right to the chase.

"Look, you all right?" I asked, "'Cause you look like your on the run or something. And those men are so... odd, so quiet." The woman looked slightly shocked for a moment, then came to a quick decsion.

"No," she replied hastily, "I'm fine. We're just in a big rush to get to L.A."

"Then why don't you take the main highway?" I inquired, "I can't see anyone in a rush passing through here."

"Yeah," she replied, placing a hand on the door, "look, a friend might come by looking for us. Tell him where we've gone, okay?" I nodded and the woman pushed open the door. The tall black man she'd come in with was standing right outside, glowering at us.

"Come," he said flatly. I looked straight at the man, meeting his eyes. Show him you're not afraid, I thought. Hm, this man had really strange eyes, all dark blue. They gave me this feeling, this lightness. They told me to forget. Forget what? Forget ... forgetting ... okay...

An hour later several military officers came into the diner and asked about three missing persons; two men, one woman. Both the old waitress and the teenage customer reported never having seen them.

Two days on the road. Carter had always hated car trips. Hot, sick, and cramped was always how they made her feel. On the evening of the second day, the van passed a sign announcing they'd reached the outskirts of Los Angeles, and Sam gave into her frustration.

"Can we please stop?" she almost whined. "I'm tired and cramped, and there's no way I can spend another night in the car."

"Be patient, we have almost arrived and cannot stop at the moment." Ba'ril told her.

Sam began to protest, but a sudden wave of pain hit her and rolled through her abdomen.

"Oh no, we're stopping," she grunted.

"Why?"

"'Cause there's no way I'm giving birth in the car."

Horeb just sped up.

Later on the van pulled up in front of an old building in downtown Los Angeles. By now Sam's contractions were quite frequent, and the Ancients had trouble getting her out of the car. The Major herself was only vaguely aware of what was going on. She'd heard birth was hard, but not like this. This was like the energy was being drawn out of her, had no regard for what she was going through. Whatever was draining her only wanted to live. It cared for nothing else.

The Ancients laid Sam in the middle of the unused lobby, as Ba'ril began summoning her strength for the rite. The Major was sweating profusely and whimpering quietly every now and then. Why didn't they help her? Didn't they care? Wasn't someone else going to come?

Hurry up Jack...

Horeb heard her call out and smirked.

"He's not coming to help you," he said, "the demon inside that man would kill him rather then set him free."

"Right'o!" said a familiar voice from the door. Speak of the devil.

Jack...

"Hey!" the Colonel grinned cockily, "I've come to help you people with your little destruction ... ritual ... thing." Horeb frowned.

"I believe you have taken on the persona of O'Neill a little to well, Tannik."

Oh no, oh god no...

"We do, however, require your assistance. Did you bring the materials needed?" Jack O'Neill snorted.

"As if."

Yes...

Jack raised the rifle in his hand and fired quick shots into the Ancients. Horeb fell on two, but Ba'ril's strength held her out for almost five. He was about to radio in the rest of the troops when Major Carter let out a sharp cry. The weapon clattered to the ground as Colonel O'Neill ran over to Sam.

"Carter," he said softly, "You gonna' be all right?" She shook her head weakly. Jack slid his hand over to Sam's belly then drew it away hastily.

"Holy shit! Wha-" Light was beginning to gather above Major Carter, growing, pulsing. Every time it grew larger, Sam sobbed and grew weaker. Then she let out a final cry and whatever it was grew brighter than ever. A wave of power burst from the light, and Jack was thrown across the polished stone floor of the lobby, trying to shield his eyes. When he looked back the light had gone. Standing there, with his back to the Colonel, was a young man. He was naked, skinny, and pale, with a shock of yellow hair. Running over his body were the same lines that were now fading from Jonas and Teal'c, except they were in a vivid blue.

The boy held up his hands, inspecting his newfound body. He hadn't seen O'Neill yet. Jack took that instant to grab his weapon from the ground beside him and fire at the boy. With lightning speed the reborn Ancient whipped around and threw a barrier at the bullets, slowing them enough to step out of harm's way. He then turned on Jack, lunging and grabbing the man around the throat and hefting him into the air. Just as Colonel ONeill thought he was going to have the life choked out of him, a hoarse voice spoke from the center of the room.

"Please don't hurt him," croaked Major Carter. The rage fled as the boy turned to face the dying woman. What he was now thinking was hard to tell. It seemed he had a choice; kill the Colonel in revenge or go to Sam. Finally he dropped Jack and walked purposefully to the center of the room.

Kneeling down beside the Major he whispered softly, "Thank you for carrying me and not bearing hatred against my kind."

Jack looked on in disbelief. What was he talking about? Well, he supposed Sam was his mother to an extent. Hell, he even looked like her. How could a mother bear hatred against her son, even if he was an ancient, evil force? Still...

The man leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Sam's forehead. Soft, white light flowed across the point of conyact, and her breathing becoming even and steady once again. Then he waved a hand through the air, a shimmering portal opening before him.

"My sister's not here anyway," he muttered before stepping through.