Sam had decided that it was finally time to tell her team that she was expecting. She had been getting weird looks from Vala for the past month, and Daniel kept offering to go to the gym with her; she had been offended at first but they meant well.

Landry had been told by the doctors as soon as they knew and SG1 had been restricted to less active missions immediately, to the dismay of everybody else on the team. It was during on of their usual complaining sessions over lunch that Sam finally got up the nerve to ask after stirring her jello around without eating it for at least ten minutes.

"I mean, why should we have to go do this 'make sure they're okay' thing? We should be the team out there looking for Merlin's thingamajig, not SG3," Mitchell said for the fifth time.

"Sorry guys, that's kind of my fault…" Sam blurted. She hadn't thought about how she would do this yet, and had been avoiding thinking of ways to tell them.

"What?" Daniel asked, his mouth half full of his own dessert, "How could it be your fault?"

"Well…" She sighed and pushed back from the table, wishing she hadn't even started. "I'm pregnant."

That phrase drew the most humorous reaction she could've imagined. Daniel began coughing and stared at her, Mitchell, who had been leaning his chair back so that the back two feet were all that supported him, tipped his chair over, Teal'c just raised an eyebrow; "That's great!" Vala said louder than necessary, Sam smiled at her appreciatively.

"You're what?" Daniel finally found his voice. Mitchell righted his chair and plopped himself down on it, staring at Sam.

"You heard me," now that the whole room was staring at them due to Mitchell's pageantry she didn't want to repeat it.

"Yeah, but, did you say what I think you said?"

"She did indeed, DanielJackson, congratulations Colonel O'Neill," Teal'c actually smiled at her; she could've hugged him, but she knew better. It had taken awhile for her to get accustomed to being called 'Colonel O'Neill,' almost as long as it had taken people to get accustomed to calling her that, "It's nice to have an O'Neill on the team again," Daniel had told her. Teal'c, of course, had made the transition effortlessly.

Sam had run to her lab when none of her teammates had been able to think of anything to say. By now the rumor mill of the SGC had guessed everything from Sam's retirement, to her transfer to Washington to be with her husband, to the truth, though it was the least popular idea. Sam was amused when she bumped into a nervous-looking Sergeant in the elevator, apparently he'd heard that she had set all the naquadah reactors to go off simultaneously unless Landry retired and made her General.

Sitting alone in her lab hadn't been her plan. She stared at her doohickeys and wished something would break in the control room so she could fix it and have something to keep her mind off of her friends' reactions. She poked one of her projects with a pencil and it sparked, she set out to fix what she'd broken.

A few minutes later, Daniel and Teal'c entered.

"Sam, we didn't mean to…"

"I know, Daniel," she sighed, spinning around on her stool to face them.

"We should celebrate," Daniel decided.

Sam's mood got better throughout the evening as Teal'c and Daniel dragged her around Colorado Springs to various non-alcoholic entertainment centers. She was glad that her friends supported her as well as they did.

"So we'll have a min-Jack or Sam running around pretty soon, huh?"

"Actually, we'll have two mini-Sams…" Sam told them. Daniel's face froze in surprise as it had earlier that day, at least this time he didn't end up coughing.

"That is good news, Colonel O'Neill," Teal'c put a hand on her shoulder.

"Thanks, Teal'c."

It took another month but Jack and Sam finally had time together, and they were using it to visit Wisconsin, where Sam would meet Jack's mother and brother.

Sam had told her husband about the team's reaction and he had thrown her one of his smirks, "To be there to see Mitchell fall off his chair…" he chuckled.

"I didn't find it that funny," Sam recalled how their reactions had hurt, even though she hadn't really shown it; the situation had been funny though, in retrospect.

"Oh, c'mon Sam… You know they love us," he gave her a light squeeze, being careful of her now quite swollen belly; Sam had known it was going to be an uncomfortable trip, she was coming up on seven months pregnant with two girls inside of her that seemed to like to kickbox. She had gotten pitying looks from all the Airmen as they boarded their hop.

Sam was nervous, more nervous than she had been the first time she stepped through the stargate. At least this time nobody would try to shoot her.

Jack helped her out of the rental car, and put an arm around her waist as she waddled up to the door. She was glad for the contact, it reminded her that he was there, and she loved him all the more for it. They could hear the doorbell ringing inside; it shouldn't be taking anybody this long to get to the door…

"You did call them, right Jack?" He still got a twinge up his spine whenever she used his first name, he smiled over at her.

"'Course I did, I didn't even know the street number… I had to call for that," Sam shook her head, even though they hadn't always gotten along; she'd always at least known where her brother lived.

A man with Jack's dark brown eyes and graying hair answered the door a few seconds later; then he slammed it in their faces. Sam and Jack stood on the doorstep, completely dumbfounded.

"Who was it?" A woman's voice called from somewhere behind the door.

"Salesman."

"What were they selling?"

"Dunno."

"Oh, fercryinoutloud, Chris, you have to listen to their pitch or they wont go away," Jack knocked again, and the door opened. "Jon," his mother said, surprised. She looked to be in her mid-seventies, she had short white hair with a little gray at the temples, she was almost a head shorter than Sam, and her light brown eyes had anger somewhere behind the mask she put up.

"Hi Mom, good to see you!" Jack's voice held forced cheerfulness.

"I thought I told you that you didn't have to drop by…"

"We were in the neighborhood."

"We?" His mother glanced around him and spotted Sam, and her eyes widened when she noticed that Sam hugely with child.

"Hello," Sam said awkwardly, shifting on her feet, still half hidden behind her husband.

"Can we come in?" Jack asked as his mother continued staring at Sam.

"I guess…" the older woman moved aside to let the pair of them in. His brother groaned audibly as they entered, though he didn't give up his spot at the kitchen table, where they all sat.

"How've you been Chris?"

"Fine," his mother joined them, sitting across from Sam, still staring.

"You seem to have been busy, Jonathan," Sam blushed.

"Mom, this is my wife, Sam."

"How did you get stuck with my ungrateful brother?"

"We work together…"

"You're military?" His mother asked, looking shocked.

"Lt. Colonel Sam O'Neill, mom," Jack filled in.

"How did you get pulled into such an awful thing as the military?"

"My Dad was Air Force," Sam began to explain.

"So was mine, and I didn't end up there."

"Thank God," Jack said under his breath so that only Sam could hear.

"So…let me guess, you're a scientist," Chris finally asked.

"Yes."

"What do you do at that mountain again, Jon?"

"She's the head of the science department."

"Really?" there was no interest behind the words.

"So what have you all been up to?" Jack asked after another moment of silence.

"I teach high school math," Chris said bluntly. Either he didn't like his job or he didn't want Sam or Jack to know that he loved what he did. Must be an O'Neill thing, Sam decided.

After another hour of awkward conversation Chris decided that he had to get back to grading math assignments, and his mother decided that she wanted to do gardening; this left Sam and Jack sitting in the kitchen alone.

"I suppose we should just go," Jack said, looking extremely put out. On the drive back to the airport he apologized for his family's behavior, "Sorry, Sam," he said, "I really expected them to be a little more… hospitable, especially since we were there."

"Its okay, Jack, now I understand why you didn't want to call them about the wedding," she really did understand, and she was only concerned about Jack's reaction to his less that pleasant family.

"At least they did something right," she commented after a few minutes down the road.

"And what's that?" He asked, doubting that she had found anything positive.

"Well, you came out all right," he smiled and they continued back to their hotel.

"What's the plan for the rest of this leave then?" She asked him after flopping down onto the bed in relief; her ankles and back had been complaining all day.

"What do you want to do?" He looked at her with pity before pulling a chair towards her and taking her feet in his lap. He then began to give her the best foot massage she had ever had.

"I love you," she told him, lying down the rest of the way on the bed.

"Yes, but do you love me because I can rub feet or because I'm me?"

"Definitely because you can rub feet," she smiled at the ceiling.

"So, about the rest of our leave…?"

"I don't know, you know this place better than I do…"

"Well, they have a lot of cheese shops…"

"I'm not really a cheese person."

"I now, me neither. Damn cheeseheads…" Sam chuckled at this, she would've leaned up and hugged him, but the foot rub would've stopped then.

"I can get us a flight to San Diego, if you want to visit your brother…" He suggested, this did get her to sit up.

"You want to meet Mark?"

"Well, I saw him on base that once, and at the wedding…"

"Yeah, but… Mark at home with his family is completely different from the Mark that visits me."

"How so?"

"He gets a little overprotective- I'm surprised he didn't grill you the first time you met, or even at the wedding."

"I was kind of surprised about that myself… Hey Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you think your Dad would've thought?" Sam did give him a hug this time.

"You know Dad liked you."

"Yeah, but he was my friend, I don't think he ever thought he'd have to chase me away from his daughter…"

"He knew better," she smiled, leaning in for a kiss.

"You really think he…"

"Why is it so important?"

"He was your Dad, Sam. You gotta respect that…"

"Yes, Jack, he would've been very happy for us."

"You sure?"

"Yes; eventually, after he got used to the idea, he would've been very happy," she wouldn't let him speak anymore, keeping his mouth busy for the next few minutes.

"So, did you want to catch that flight to California?"

"Are you sure, we could just… I don't know, be tourists for a day…"

"I'm just wondering," he smiled at her. "It's just that usually, when you're a tourist, you walk around and sight-see, and I get the feeling you're not going to be up for a day of walking."

"Oh yeah," he smiled at her.

"So, shall we catch the hop?"

"Sure. Why not, if you want to see Mark that bad."

"I do believe I've come into the possession of a few nieces and nephews that I'd like to meet too…" He smiled.

The flight was uneventful, they weren't able to get a hop but they didn't mind putting up for commercial tickets, at least Sam would be a little more comfortable in the first class seats they booked. "Is all this flying really a good idea for the babies?" She wondered aloud as they took their seats.

"Y'know, I don't know. We should probably pick a spot soon…" He smiled.

Mark was extremely surprised to see them. First he was surprised that he was seeing so much of his sister lately, who he had previously not heard from for months on end; and secondly he was surprised that she was pregnant, a fact that she had definitely not mentioned in their last conversation.

"Hi!" She said cheerily.

"General O'Neill, what the hell did you do to my sister?"

"Ummm…"

"Mark! There are kids around!"

"No, actually, Pete took them for ice cream…" Sam blanched the moment Pete's name came out of his mouth. If Pete had taken them for ice cream, that meant he'd be bringing them back, and he'd see her in her current state. She had felt awful about the whole situation, but she had called off the engagement before she and Jack had been stranded together. Jack had twitched slightly when Pete was mentioned, as he always did, Sam wasn't sure if it was jealousy, or just sensitivity.

"Now isn't a bad time, is it?" Jack asked.

"No, 'course not; we haven't got any plans or anything, at least not for another week."

"You don't mind us just dropping by, do you?" Sam sounded worried. If her brother even mentioned a slight discomfort she would be on her way, especially if it meant avoiding Pete.

"No way, Sam, it's great to see both of you," he stood there smiling for a few seconds before he realized they were still outside. "Why don't you come in?"

The three of them walked in and Jack took in the place, the walls were covered with photos of the family; Mark's kids; his wife, Laura's, nieces; Sam and Mark in a tree when they were young; a young looking Jacob and a woman who looked remarkably like Sam, their mother, he figured. It was a big difference from the O'Neill household, where the only things on the walls were lights fixtures.

"Do you want something to drink?" He asked, as they settled onto the comfortable sofas in the living room.

"I'm fine, thanks," Jack said.

"Could I have a glass of water?" Sam requested.

"Sure," her brother nodded and went to get it. When he returned they fell to casual conversation, light and cheery; nothing like Sam had expected. Apparently her brother did actually like her husband.

"You know what would be really good right now?' Sam asked after about a half an hour. Mark and Jack exchanged knowing looks, ready to hear the latest craving.

"Pickles and tuna fish."

"What?"

"Pickles and tuna fish, doesn't that sound good?"

"Not really," Mark muttered under his breath.

"Do you have any pickles and tuna?" Jack asked, the dutiful husband.

"Ummm, we've got tuna salad but nobody really likes pickles… Sam you don't even like pickles!"

"I do now," she said with a smile, Jack jsut shrugged.

"I'll go to the store and get some pickles, do you want sweet or dill?"

"Sweet."

"Will do, I'll be back soon," he grabbed his jacket and headed for the door. Halfway there, he spun around and faced Mark, "Where's the store?"

After he got directions and was on his way, Mark and Sam started talking again. "So, you're finally settling down… starting a family."

"Yup," Sam smiled at her brother.

"So, how far along are you? You look great, by the way."

"Seven months," when she got the 'you're-huge-but-I'll-never-say-it' look she clarified. "But I'm expecting twins so…" she gestured to her large abdomen. He nodded understanding.

"Boys or girls…?"

"Two girls."

"Do you have any names picked out?"

"No, we haven't really talked about it yet… we really don't get that much time together, with work and all," she frowned slightly. "Anyways, I suppose we'll get to that soon enough."

"Yeah," he sighed, obviously happy for his sister.

A gentle knocking at the front door interrupted their conversation before the door burst open, letting two little girls and a little boy into the room. All were smiling broadly and had ice cream on their shirts. Pete followed the three children, looking apologetic; he froze when he saw Sam. Her pregnancy was hidden by the couch but that didn't stop him from going stony-faced at the sight of her. Their last meeting had been when she dumped him.

"Hey kids, Pete, how was ice cream?" Mark asked, trying to ignore the awkward looks the other two adults were giving each other.

"Good!" The littlest girl, Kara, said, giving her father a hug, and getting ice cream on his shirt too.

"Uncle Pete had three scoops!" The boy, Tyler, said.

"How many did you have?" Mark asked, Tyler looked sheepish and glanced at Pete before answering.

"One…"

"How may did he have?" Mark asked Pete, who finally looked away from Sam to grin as sheepishly as the boy at his friend.

"Three and a half."

"What!"

"I had chocolate ice cream," Liza, the oldest of the three at ten years, told him before noticing Sam. "Auntie Sam!"

There was no more avoiding it, Sam stood up, plastering a huge smile on her face. "Hey kids!" She held out her arms for hugs.

Before long she was just as covered in ice cream as Mark. "Are you having a baby, Auntie Sam?" Kara asked. Sam nodded.

"Yup, I'm having two."

"You're having twins?" Liza asked, trying to look mature.

"Daddy, I wanted to be a twin," Kara informed her father, who just smiled, still ignoring the tension between the other adults.

"Are they going to be boys?" Tyler asked hopefully, he didn't like being the only boy in the family.

"Sorry," Sam said, "You're still stuck. We've got two little girls on the way."

The kids cleared out after a second, running to change their shirts on their father's orders. The three adults stood in the living room awkwardly.

"How far along are you?" Pete asked, trying to find out if he was the father.

"Seven months," she assured him. He nodded.

"Congratulations."

"Thanks."

"O c'mon you guys…" Mark started, but Jack chose that moment to walk in carrying a jar of sweet pickles.

"I'm back!" He said before looking around. Pete's face went stony again, and Mark and Sam both looked uncomfortable.

"So you're the father, huh?"

"What?" Before Jack could react Pete had thrown a punch to where Jack's face would've been if he didn't have impeccable reflexes. He held the pickle jar close and removed himself to the other side of the couch.

"Pete…" Sam used her best peace-making voice but it didn't do much for her ex's temper. He gave them a hurt look and stormed out. Sam glanced at Jack apologetically before following him out, closing the door behind her. "Pete…"

"What do you want, Sam?"

"I'm sorry…"

"I'm sure you are," he started his truck and drove away before she could respond. Sighing, she returned to the house.

"Pickles?" Jack asked her, holding out the pickle jar.

"Thanks, Jack," she took the jar and headed for the kitchen to find the tuna; she was upset about Pete, but the craving was driving her mad.

Okay, there it is, sorry for the wait.