Mornings and Love, Part 29

As the two entered the cabin, Sam looped her arm with Jack's. He pinched her arm and threw her an irked look, and she giggled all the more, swatting the hand that pinched her. She wasn't going to give him any thoughts of escape.

Standing at the door were two elderly people between two suitcases of luggage. The woman, "Ma O'Neill" had slightly wavy white hair, gentle brown eyes, and a happy smile. She also had the wicked sparkle in her eye that Sam recognized as Jack's. Huh. Must run in the family.

Sam found out very quickly that Dad O'Neill did not share that sparkle. His eyes were closer to cold, dark black and his mouth seemed permanently frowning. His hair was sticking out at odd ends, however, much like Jack's (well, what little hair he HAD…). Sam didn't like the way his permanent frown deepened into a scowl.

"Hello, Samantha. Oh, sorry! Sam. It's an honor to finally meet you in person!" Mrs. O'Neill exclaimed, stepping toward them in the slow, cautious gaits of age, and hugged her as fiercely as a five year old would. "Oh, sorry," she said, rubbing Sam's swollen belly. "I see you're expecting!"

"Lydia!" snapped Mr. O'Neill.

"Oh, what is it, Ernie?"

"I thought you said 'Sam' was coming," he said, glowering at Sam. "You said nothing about it being a woman."

"Hush, Ernie! I'm sure Sam's a very nice young woman. Ernie, you haven't even been properly introduced yet, don't go making a fuss."

"Making a fuss? That idiot son of yours impregnated a young woman and they're not even married! He probably ruined her life!"

"Far from it, sir," Sam cut in. She let go of Jack and stepped forward. "Sir, Samantha Carter. It's a pleasure, Mr. O'Neill." She held out her hand for him to shake, and he bluntly ignored it.

"Samantha, the best thing you can do for yourself is to walk out this door right now," Mr. O'Neill said, glaring. "Jonathon is nothing but trouble."

Sam ducked her head and gave an irritated huff, her smile still on her face. When she looked up, she said, "Far from it, Mr. O'Neill. Jack…ahm, John, is a wonderful man. I don't think I could find another man I'd rather have as the father of my child if I walked the edge of the galaxy." She looked back at Jack and winked. Even he had to grin at the inside joke. What was left unsaid was, And we've done that a few times, too.

Jack's father grunted and said, "We'll just put our things in the master bedroom," and picked up the two small suitcases and began to totter over.

"No we won't!" exclaimed Mrs. O'Neill.

"And why not?"

"Saman – Sam is pregnant, Ernie! How far along, dear?" Mrs. O'Neill asked as a second thought.

Sam smiled and dipped her head, rubbing her belly. "Six months," she said somewhat shyly.

"Six months? – Ernie, we are not taking the master bedroom. Sam and Johnny are!"

"What?" Mr. O'Neill said irritably. "He's kicking his own parents out of the most comfortable room in the cabin? Look in the mirror, Lydia, we're old!"

"He's not; I am," Mrs. O'Neill said firmly. "Johnny, will you take our suitcases to one of the guest rooms, please? That is, if Lizzie doesn't mind taking the couch," she added questioningly to Liz.

"If it means THIS argument is over, I'll sleep on the porch if I have to," Liz replied.

"Excellent!" Mrs. O'Neill exclaimed. "Come on, Ernie!" With that, she dragged her mumbling husband to a guest bedroom, Jack following with the bags.

Later That Night

Sam closed the door to the master bedroom gently. She was glad that she could finally spend some quiet, alone time with Jack. After meeting his other brother (and Robert wasn't much better), Sam felt like she was on pins and needles the entire day. Every minute was an opportunity for one of the male relatives of Jack's to ask her a question to be used against him. She tried to answer fairly, but also made it bluntly clear that she was Jack's and she wasn't budging.

Jack was sitting on the bed, his head hung, eyes angry. Sam waddled over, sliding onto the bed, and gently lay her hand on his back, rubbing between his shoulder blades comfortingly.

"He's right," Jack said, finally looking up at her. "I did ruin your life."

Oh, no... "Jack, you didn't ruin my life. You made it better."

"If I hadn't seduced you, you wouldn't be pregnant. You'd still be on SG-1, still be in the Air Force. You could've gone higher than I ever will now."

"If you hadn't seduced me, I wouldn't have the chance to have this baby with the man I love!" Sam argued. "Jack, don't try to back out now. I need you – we need you."

He stared at her disbelievingly.

Sam sighed inwardly, and tried a different approach. "Would I have come here and sat through a day with your brothers and dad harassing me to get at you if I wasn't ready to stick by you forever?" She saw the wheels turning in his head and smiled, relieved at the fact he was beginning to understand.

"No…" He looked at her, a mix of admiration and happiness in his eyes. "So…my family's not going to chase you away?"

Sam smirked. "Jack, I can kick Gou'ald and Replicator ass, remember?"

His angry, upset face fell into a smile at last, and he laughed. "Yeah, you can."

"So we're okay?" Sam asked. Again?

Jack smiled tenderly, brushing a lock of hair from her face. "Yeah, the dumb idiot's finally seen reason!" he joked.

"Na-ah!" Sam said. "I see right through that dumb act of yours, flyboy."

"Really? Aw, rats! Now I have to find something else as a cover."

Sam chuckled, then yawned. "Well, mister flyboy, I'm tired. Let's get some shuteye and hope for peace tomorrow."

"I'm all for that," Jack agreed, somewhat grimly. He swung his legs onto the bed and scooted across it, beckoning her to join him. She did so gratefully, and eased into his arms.

As they were falling asleep, Sam heard Jack murmur in a singsong voice, "The sun will come out – tomorrow! It's only – a day away!"

Their weary lull was interrupted as they both fell into fits of whispery laughter.