"I'm just taking a little time off, is all..." Sam explained to Daniel for the five hundredth time.
"Sam, the 'gate just became the next big thing to make a summer movie about; you can't just 'take some time off'!"
"Indeed."
"Daniel, Teal'c... its you guys that wanted me to get checked out in the first place; I guess you were right."
"Will you at least tell us what's wrong with you?"
"Daniel..."
"C'mon Sam."
"I'll see you soon," she pushed the door close button on the elevator to make sure she got it to herself, or at least was in a separate compartment from Daniel and Teal'c. She was joined on the next level by none other that Jack O'Neill, the last man she wanted to see at the moment and the man she most needed to talk to.
"Hey Carter!" He smirked at her in his way, making her knees begin to feel like jelly. "I hear you've been looking for me?" He glanced down at her civvies before continuing, "Trying to make a run for it before they wake up?"
She smiled, that was why she had chosen to leave at this ungodly hour. It was almost two o' clock in the morning, and it was likely that there were only one or two media vans in the parking lot standing guard on them, instead of the small village that seemed to take residence there during daylight hours. "Yes, sir," she set her messenger bag on the floor next to her; it was a long ride to the surface.
"Looks like you're taking a few days off."
"Yes, sir. Doctor's orders; I was just on my way to tell you."
"What's goin' on?" This was the part she hadn't been looking forward to.
"Sir, we need to talk..."
"I thought we were," she gave him a look. "I thought we had," he revised. She nodded.
"Yes, but... things have changed."
"What do you mean?" The elevator doors opened on the next level that they came to, revealing Daniel and Teal'c looking a little sweaty from their jog up the stairs in order to beat the elevator. Sam glared at them and pushed the close door button before they could get on. "What was that about?"
"They can get on when they meet us at the next level."
"What's going on, Sam?"
"I need to talk to you, but not here."
"Well, both our houses are being staked out... it's gonna be hard not to get a press report on it twenty minutes after I walk into the same house as you."
"I didn't mean not at the SGC, just not in the elevator with Daniel and Teal'c on the next landing," she smiled.
"Okay, your lab then?" the door dinged open again and, sure enough, Daniel and Teal'c were standing there waiting. "You guys trying to make sure the doors work on every floor or something?"
Daniel shot him a look and glared at Sam as they both crossed the threshold. "Whether that was our intention or not, O'Neill, we have discovered that the elevator is working perfectly on every floor we have yet to visit."
"Thanks, T," Jack smirked. Teal'c merely inclined his head.
"So, what's going on inside the elevator that we can't come along for the ride for?" Daniel asked, refusing to drop it.
"Daniel, I already told you to stop asking."
"C'mon..."
"You'll know soon enough," Sam told him.
They continued like this until they finally reached their stop. Daniel and Teal'c were extremely disappointed when Jack reached over and pushed the door close button again, this time to keep the pair of them in. "Jack!"
Jack gave him the 'I'll tell you later so stop whining' look before turning around and following Sam to her lab.
- - -
He'd never seen her so nervous. She took off her messenger bag again and started loading her stuff into it; laptop, notes, she put her stapler in and took it out again twice without even realizing it. "Sam?" She wouldn't make eye contact.
"The doctors told me that I should take a few weeks off to rest before considering coming back on... on maternity stand down."
"On what!" He sat down on his favorite stool hard, almost missing the seat, not able to look away from her.
"Jack, I'm pregnant."
"Jack...?" Sam finally made herself look at him. He had a confused look on his face; it registered that she shouldn't be calling him Jack, but it also registered that she would be calling his that if it were something personal, something to do with their journey back to Earth. "Is it... is it mine?"
"You're the only one I've... you know..."
"You don't look pregnant, and that was almost four months ago!"
"I know. Doctors say its because I didn't want to accept I was pregnant, so my body.. something or another. I wasn't really paying attention. They said it happens to teen mothers when they're in denial."
"So your in denial and you weren't paying attention?"
"This is serious, sir."
"And now we're back to sir?"
:"Stop it... Please."
He ran a hand through his silvery hair, dark eyes giving nothing away. He was good at blocking things out. He flashed a brief smile, looking her in the eye, "I'd be a lot closer right now if the security cameras weren't already up and running again, due to some ultra gorgeous egg-head who works too much, I might add."
"You would?" She had learned long ago to ignore the extra things that he tagged on to sentences, even though they usually made her blush.
"Of course, Sam. We're going to be parents."
"We?"
"It takes two to tango."
"But... what about the regulations? What about our careers? What about the press?" The last one concerned her most. If the Stargate Program wasn't public they might've been able to get by with 'we've saved the world how many times and you can't let us do this little thing?' But now the world would judge them.
"You weren't planning on telling anybody else who the father was?"
"I... I hadn't decided. I could've done it alone."
"No, you couldn't."
"Jack I..."
"I'm gonna drive you home. You're exhausted, you need to rest, buy a couple of pregnancy books; maybe you could learn how to knit- I hear pregnant women like to knit socks and blankets and things..." He smiled, picturing Sam in a rocking chair knitting a huge row or baby booties over her swollen belly.
"Knit?"
"Sure." Sam wanted to ask if Sara had ever knit anything, but knew that would probably going to far. Instead, she just shook her head.
"I can't make any promises about knitting, sir, but I will take that ride home."
"Even though the press are probably going to be outside?"
"Well, I just walk out looking like hell and it'll be easy to tell them I had a breakdown or something."
"Only one problem to that."
"What?"
"It is impossible for you to look like hell."
"Shut up," now she was blushing.
"That's insubordination, Colonel."
"I learned from the best, sir."
They walked out of the room to find Daniel and Teal'c both waiting, leaning casually against the wall across from her door. What did they hear? Sam panicked, but Jack covered for her.
"What's goin' on, guys?"
"We'd like to ask Sam that," Daniel was trying to be suave.
"The doctors ordered me off base for at least a week."
"Why?"
"They think I had a breakdown, or was about to have one, or was in the process of having one... something about breaking down."
"Why am I not surprised."
"What?"
"We keep telling you that you work too much."
"And you're so much better Daniel?" She narrowed her eyes at him.
"Well, I know my limits."
"Shut up, Daniel. I'm gonna take her home, stop by my place; I'll be back in a few hours. Don't let anything explode."
"Yes, sir!" Daniel mock saluted. Teal'c bowed his head, standing up and wandering down the hall in his own way. Daniel jogged after him after a moment, leaving Jack and Sam to make thier way to the surface.
- - -
They encountered only one reporter, and the poor man was half asleep. He didn't try to follow them, barely noticing that only one car left the parking lot even though he'd seen two figures leave the building. There weren't even any reporters stationed outside her house when they arrived.
"This is just not fair, Carter... Yesterday night, my driveway was full of people asking me how I felt about the frat regs..."
"Why were they asking you about the frat regs?"
"Kinsey's been running his mouth again."
"With good reason..."
"Yeah, but it's Kinsey," Sam chuckled in response, pulling her bag out and slamming the door behind her.
"Thanks for the ride sir," to her surprise he shut off the engine and followed her inside. "Sir?"
"We need to talk, and besides- there's no security cameras here," he closed the front door quietly and took her bag from her before holding her close. She went weak in his arms, the emotions that had been suppressed over the course of the day flooding into her once again. He pulled her closer, lifting a hand to tilt her chin back; he looked into her eyes, communicating pure happiness before kissing her tenderly. "We should probably start talking before the base wonders where I've got off to..." Unfortunately he had a beautiful blond distraction in his arms and even his superb military discipline couldn't bring the subject back around for another half an hour.
"You're really going to be here for... us?" Sam asked eventually. They had ended up in the kitchen, and Sam was busying herself with tea.
"Of course I'll be here. I told you before, I'll always be here for you and anybody else that comes along."
"Thank you," there were tears in her eyes. He hugged her close again, parting when the kettle started whistling at them.
"How do you want to do this, Sam?" He was watching her make the tea and had realized that her belly was looking bigger than he'd noticed, but it didn't look like a baby could be hiding inside. He immediately began worrying; she wasn't big at all, she could pass saying she'd gained a little weight recently, pregnant women were supposed to look at least a little pregnant by four months. She seemed to notice his staring at her midsection because she put her hand over her belly and came to sit by him at the kitchen table.
"I don't know."
"I don't think I've ever heaerd you say that before."
"I don't think I've ever been pregnant before."
"You mean you're not sure? You might've...?"
"Okay, I don't know because I've never been pregnant before," she chuckled.
"What are you going to tell the base? What are you going to tell Daniel and Teal'c?"
"I hadn't thought about it yet... probably just claim to have been seeing somebody who was killed in the attack..."
"You're going to get endless amounts of pity, you know."
"Yeah... that'll be annoying."
"Especially if its pity about somebody that never existed," Sam smiled.
"Pity for not being able to tell them who really does exist," he returned her smile.
"I think we should tell Daniel and Teal'c- eventually. If you don't want to tell anybody else I'm fine with it, but they should know."
"I agree," she sighed. This was all way too complicated.
"Sam..." he said after a moment of contemplation.
"Hmmm" she was lost in her own thought.
"What are we going to tell Dad?" He nearly laughed at her reaction. Her face went tight and then she jumped up and started pacing.
"I don't know! I hadn't thought about it... What'll he say, Jack!"
"I don't know- he's your dad."
"Yeah, but..."
"He'll probably kill me..." Sam smiled.
"Yeah, your pretty much dead right now."
"So, what's up with Sam?" Daniel asked for the five hundredth time since Jack had gotten back.
"Daniel, we told you- the doctors think she's having a breakdown / had a breakdown / is getting dangerously close to having a breakdown..."
"Yeah, that's what you told us..."
"Daniel..."
"Jack, if you don't want to tell us..."
"I already told you!"
"Jack-"
"Daniel! I'm late for a briefing," Jack stormed out of his office and into the briefing room where the SG-3 marines were waiting;; they'd been throwing impatient glances through the window since they'd arrived. "Sorry about that..."
"Jack, I need you to bring my second laptop back when you stop by tonight."
"Okay. Why, may I ask?"
"Because, its got all my research on it."
"You're not supposed to be working, you know."
"Yeah, I know. But I'm bored out of my mind- I was already all caught up on reports and stuff."
"I told you; knitting is the perfect escape."
"You just don't want to have to go all the way down to my lab..." Sam teased.
"Well, I'm worried about the elevator. It seems to get an awful lot of use..."
"That's just because you're bored and you push all the buttons..."
"Hey, hey! I always get stuck in there when the guy before me pushes all the buttons!"
"Of course you do."
"Well, I do!"
The banter continued for another few minutes before Jack realized he was getting weird looks from the people in the corridors around him. "Hey, I've got to go... I'll talk to you later."
"Sure, sir."
"Bye."
"Love you."
He hung up; had they been too obvious... then he realized that nobody knew who he'd been talking to and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Who're you talking to?" Daniel asked, coming up behind him and following him into the elevator.
"What?"
"On the phone? Who were you talking to?"
"Oh! Nobody."
"How's Sam?"
"What?"
"C'mon Jack..."
"Daniel..."
"Fine, fine! I won't ask anymore. When you guys are ready to talk you just come and tell me."
"Thanks."
"We still on for Friday night?"
"Course... what's happening Friday night?"
"Jack!" Jack darted out of the elevator, Daniel looked like he was going to kill.
"Jeez, Daniel; don't worry about it. Six o' clock, my place- how could I forget? I have to pay for Teal'c's pizza habit," they both chuckled. Jack moved off onto towards Sam's lab while Daniel continued on the elevator to the commissary.
In truth, Friday night was the thing that was keeping his mind off of everything else; that and the fact that Sam was waiting for him at home. They had smuggled her in under dark of night during her second week of leave. The press had become more urgent for interviews now that they knew she was on an undetermined amount of leave. Therefore, she'd agreed to live with Jack for awhile, at least until the press vans stopped gathering around her house in such amounts; it was bothering the neighbors. Jack was extremely happy to have someone to go home to, and he was even happier that it was Sam, and that she was carrying his child. Remarkably, he thoroughly enjoyed helping her with her morning sickness, keeping her short hair out of the way and brining her dry toast for breakfast because it was all she could keep down.
- - -
Friday came faster than it ever had before. Sam hadn't stopped pacing since Thursday night, she'd fluffed all the pillows in the entire house at least four times, and had called Jack three times while at the SGC. She had finally switched to maternity clothes, the baby seemed to explode within her as soon as she had come to terms with the fact that there was a baby growing inside of her. Even though she wasn't 'huge' yet she still felt like it, and she wasn't sure she was ready for Daniel and Teal'c to see her in her current state.
She didn't have a choice; they were on the doorstep. "Jack... I'm not sure..."
"Sam, they're going to find out eventually. If we don't tell them now they're going to give us a ton of crap about it later," she groaned, knowing he was right. "Hi guys!" Jack smiled and stepped aside so their friends could come in. Sam had seated herself on the couch, hiding the small bulk of her stomach behind the arm. She twisted around and smiled as they entered.
"Hey, Sam. Didn't see your car out there..."
"Oh, no..." She didn't get to finish the statement because Daniel had come around in full view of the couch and gasped.
"What is it DanielJackson?"
"Sam...?"
She could feel her face flushing. Daniel and Teal'c were both shamelessly staring at her belly which she had unconsciously covered with a hand. Jack cleared his throat and closed the door.
"This is why you left the SGC," Teal'c stated, his voice calm despite his facial expression. Actually his expression was calm as well, but the people in the room knew him too well to be fooled by his 'expressionless' face, clear but for a cocked eyebrow.
"Who's the father?" Daniel asked with a glance at Jack. Sam cleared her throat, biting back a taunt; something about how he shouldn't care about who the father was. Her silence was immediately taken for guilt, and Daniel glanced at Jack, who avoided eye contact.
"Is it not you, O'Neill?" Neither wanted to jump to conclusions, they knew the relationship would be illegal, the child would be illegal. If what they hoped was true was fact, the SGC would probably loose the top two people in the chain of command. Jack cleared his throat and looked at Sam before responding.
"Um. Yeah. Yeah I am."
"WHAT!" Daniel just about combusted.
"Daniel, settle down- its not..."
"What about the regulations? What about the SGC? How is this going to work? I mean, I'm happy for you- I'm glad you two finally got together but... there were some pretty good reasons keeping you apart..." He was looking between the two of them. Sam was staring at her middle, running a distracted hand over the child growing beneath the surface. Jack was switching between watching Sam and watching his feet. Teal'c's other eyebrow had risen to join its brother impossibly close to his hairline. "Guys?"
"It only happened because we thought the world was going to end..." Sam started.
"During the attack!" He couldn't think of a single opportunity they would've had, or imagine that either would want to stop fighting Ba'al long enough to... do the deed.
"On that ship..."
"Aw, guys- I just spent four hours on that ship..." his face crinkled while he tried not to think about what had been done in the same space he'd been. Jack grinned and Sam couldn't keep the humor from her eyes. "I think I need another shower... and a lot of disinfectant for that ship..."
"Daniel!"
"Jack, it's gross."
"You still sleep in your bed after..."
"Yeah, but you're my best friends!" He shuddered, "Four hours!" Jack actually chuckled.
"Congratulations," Teal'c said, looking at Sam. She hadn't really spoken yet, and it was always Teal'c that read her the best. She smiled up at him gratefully.
"Thank you, Teal'c," she stood up then, hugging her friend. At first he looked a little uncomfortable with the mass that pressed into his stomach when she hugged him, but he quickly accepted it.
"Congratulations," Daniel smiled. Sam hugged him too.
"I told you they wouldn't mind," Jack told her after she'd finished hugging them.
"Four hours..." Daniel muttered again, getting a glare from Teal'c. "So... what's the plan from here?" He asked, Teal'c's eyebrow raising in Sam's direction.
"Well, we're not telling anybody else who the father is," Sam said. "I told the doctors at the SGC and will be telling my midwives, if they ask, that I had a one night stand, and that I'm pretty sure the guy died in the attack."
"But..." Daniel started, staring between Jack and Sam. "How's that gonna work?"
"What do you mean?" Jack spoke up. "The press has settled down, I can pull off long visits to her house, especially for helping with her new kid. There's nothing against trying to help out a friend."
"What about at the SGC?"
"Well, I'll retire eventually... till then we're just going to find a really good daycare- after maternity leave ends."
"Are you coming back before the baby comes?"
"Yeah, Monday. I'm bored out of my mind here..."
"Here?" It was Teal'c's turn to catch her slip.
"Yeah." Sam said.
"She's been living here for a few weeks now... it's just easier. Morning sickness and stuff. Plus she usually makes me dinner!" Jack smiled broadly. Sam had turned out to be a remarkably good cook, despite her clumsiness with camp-cooking, giver her a cookbook and the right ingredients and she could whip up just about anything.
"You cook?" Daniel asked, remembering a few of the camp meals she'd botched.
"Yes I cook... I had a mother you know..." her eyes glazed a little at the memory of her mother, but this was a happy memory and it didn't stay long. "I made us dessert."
Right on time, the pizza guy arrived with six large pizzas with everything on them. Between Teal'c's appetite, and Sam's need to eat for two, Jack had aimed for leftovers though he doubted he'd have any. The pizza guy looked inside and saw Teal'c and realized who he was delivering to.
"Whoa! Can I have your autographs or something?" Jack glowered at him and closed the door in his face. Such occurrences were becoming more and more rare, but every so often somebody would make it around. He'd found one young woman, not even out of high school, following him for an entire weekend. She'd followed him from his house to a team day mini-golfing to O'Maley's (the place had decided to let them back in because they were famous now, and they were good for business and had started a wall of SG-1 memorabilia) and back home; when he'd awoken the next morning she'd followed him to the gas station and grocery store before he'd yelled at her to get a life.
They settled down to eat the pizzas, conversation straying away from the pregnancy and to other things. Sam finally relaxed.
Sam got out of her car Monday morning and caused an immediate uproar with the gathered press. She was glad that she'd though to come early. Setting her watch to go off in fifteen minutes she told the gathered crowd that she'd answer their questions until her alarm went off and then everybody started yelling at once.
It wasn't much better inside the mountain. Most of the reporters in the parking lot had been recording live and so the entire complex already knew what was going on before she even stepped off the elevator. The entire base seemed to have come up with a good reason to be on her route to her lab. She ignored the stares, and the questioning eyes, locking her lab doors behind her and unloading her bags before she realized who was waiting on his usual stool.
"Sir!" She jumped back, nearly dropping her laptop. "You gave me a heart attack!"
"Sorry," she glanced up at him. Usually he would've poked fun at her for being surprised, but now he seemed genuinely apologetic about it
"It's fine, Jack..." she pursed her lips, remembering where they were. "Sorry."
"This is going to be more difficult than we thought," he said, finally giving her a smirk.
"Yeah," she sighed.
Okay, now i'm turning my computer over to the tech guys- sorry!