Chapter Twenty-seven

Ser'in was laying on her side panting heavily. She was obviously in pain, but she didn't cry out. Tai was sitting on the bed next to her with a cool cloth that he pressed to her forehead. Ser'in was frightened but Tai kept reassuring her that everything was going to be just fine. She closed her blue eyes and concentrated on taking a few deep breaths.

Sam wished that there was something she could do. However the pair of dragons seemed to have everything under control. They had moved off the ship and into a grand hotel with a room that looked out over a crescent shaped bay. It had only been a few days since Ser'in had announced that she was pregnant but the big day seemed to already be upon them.

"If I had known that Ser'in was so close to giving birth I would have never suggested we leave."

"I get the feeling that this is short notice for them as well." Jack said from his place on the couch.

"When did you see them together?"

"About two months ago."

"Amazing. I hope everything is alright and she's not having a miscarriage or anything."

Tai noticed that Sam was starting to fret as she paced back and forth. He left Ser'in's side for a moment to sooth her. When Ser'in moaned in escalating pain he took Sam into the bathroom and turned on the water, instructing her to let him know when it was full. Tai left Sam to her task and returned to Ser'in.

Sam tested the temperature of the water falling into the large tub. She adjusted it to keep it warm, but not hot. Just as it was getting about full Tai entered helping Ser'in along. She had her eyes weld shut and was trying her hardest not to scream. Sam realized that the pair probably didn't want to get caught having a child in a hotel room or two humans for that matter.

"The water is ready."

"Tank you, Saman'tha." Tai said.

"Tai..." Ser'in whimpered.

There was a sense of urgency in Ser'in's voice this time. Tai untied the belt to the robe that Ser'in was wearing and pulled it off her shoulders. Sam had never seen one of the dragons without their clothing and was a little surprised by lack of a belly button, nipples, or anything that would even hint at the exsistance of genitalia beyond a small slit in the scales low on her pelvis.

Ser'in didn't look pregnant other than an almost imperceivable swelling in her stomach. However she was acting more and more like they were going to have this baby at any minute. Sam stepped out of the way and Tai helped Ser'in lower herself into the water. Figuring they deserved some privacy Sam left them alone.

"Everything going okay in there?" Jack asked as he sat up.

"I have no idea."

"I was a nervous wreck when Charlie was being born. Of course that was back in the day when the men still stayed out in the waiting room and just paced back and forth."

"I fully expect you to be there holding my hand." Sam said firmly.

"Okay, but I can't promise not to pass out." Jack chuckled.

Sam smiled but turned around to face the bathroom door again when there was a single sharp cry. Jack got up off the couch and walked over to her. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist while they waited. There was a small shrill noise, that was little more than a tiny squeak followed by excited chatter from Tai.

It was a few more minutes before the new parents emerged from the bathroom. Ser'in was in her white robe once again and in her arms was a bundle of towels. Ser'in nuzzled at the towels and purred loudly. Tai looked like he was going to start jumping up and down at any moment, his eyes were completely emerald with no signs of his pupils.

Ser'in came up to Sam and Jack with Tai right behind her, his hands on her shoulders. It took her a moment to unwrap all of the swaddling that they'd hidden the new life in. Sam's whole face lit up at the sight of the tiny creature in Ser'in's arms. The baby dragon was a bright aqua colour with shiny new scales. Unlike a human baby this little one was almost the same body proportions as an adult, only much smaller. Less than a foot in length the little dragon rolled over in her nest of towels, exposing the fact that she had a long tail. Sam was a bit surprised by this, but then decided that the dragons probably grew out of their tails as they aged.

"Mazal tov!" Jack congratulated. "It's a...well I guess it's a boy and a girl, isn't it?"

"She's so tiny." Sam smiled. "Congratulations you two."

"Tank you." Ser'in beamed.

"Jac'antha." Tai announced proudly.

"What does that mean?" Jack asked.

"I think it's her name." Sam replied. "It's a combination of our names."

"Yess, yess." Tai nodded. "Tank you."

Sam was speechless and simply pulled Tai into a warm hug. He chuckled and returned the affection. Ser'in sighed heavily and her eyelids started to look heavy. Tai led her over to the bed and took Jac'antha from her so that she could lay down. Within moments she was fast asleep.

Tai walked back over to Jack and Sam. They all sat down on the couch and Tai stared at his new child. It looked to Sam like something he had wanted for a long time, his emerald eyes held nothing but pure wonder as he watched the tiny dragon's every move. Jac'antha opened her slightly over sized eyes, revealing them to be emerald just like her father's.

Tai squawked quietly in delight and leaned in to nuzzle the young dragon. Jac'antha reached out with her tiny hands and clamped them down on Tai's lip. The new father licked his child causing the little dragon to squeak. Exhausted from being brought into the world the aqua reptile curled up with her tail hugged against her chest. Tai sighed contently.

"Jac'antha is beautiful, Tai." Sam said softly.

"Tank you, I love. I fear I never have...never had true mate before."

"Well you have a wonderful mate now."

"Tai," Jack said "we can't take you away from this. Your family needs you."

"He's right, Tai. Just let us go"

"No. I never be true mate if promise make never keep."

Jack sighed and shook his head sadly. There was clearly no talking Tai out of taking them to Ketch. Tai cuddled his new child to his chest again and then offered the little one to Sam. At first Sam was hesitant to take her, but Tai insisted. She took the small creature into her arms along with the bundle of fluffy towels.

"I be back." Tai announced.

"Where are you going?"

"Need food for Jac'antha."

"Of course. We'll keep Jac'antha safe."

"I know." Tai beamed.

Tai got up and leaned into nuzzle Jac'antha once more. He went over to Ser'in and gently licked the side of her face as she slept. After he was gone Sam looked down at the alien child in her arms. The sky coloured reptile curled up a little tighter and then yawned. Opening her green eyes she looked up at Sam and made a quiet purring sound. Closing her eyes she went back to sleep.

"Isn't she adorable?" Sam cooed.

"She's a lizard...not high on my list of 'cute things'."

"Oh come on."

"Alright, alright, she does has a certain charm."

Jack reached out and gently brushed the side of Jac'antha's face. The new dragon wriggled happily at his touch. She looked more like a lizard than her parents with her slender body and long tail. Before Jack could pull away she wrapped her arms around his finger and held on with a surprising grip. A grin lit up Jack's face as the dragon started gnawing on his finger. The reptile was determined to draw blood, but was unable. Once released Jack put his arm over Sam's shoulders and hugged her close.

"I think I'm a little less nervous about the possibility of being pregnant." Sam announced.

"Really?"

"Yes." Sam smiled. "I want this for us."

"Maybe something a little more human?"

Sam chuckled.

"Do you have any thoughts on if you are or not?" Jack asked quietly.

"No. One minute I am convinced that I must be, the next I can't even imagine that I'm capable of it."

"Capable?"

"I've lived in a man's world for so long, trying my hardest to deny my femininity because I always felt it held back my Air Force career. I don't know...it's just hard for me to imagine myself as a mother."

"You are going to be a wonderful mother." Jack smiled. "And you are all woman."

"Is that why you call me 'Samantha' instead of just 'Sam'." Sam teased.

"That's part of it." Jack nodded. "The other is the fact that you get a different look in your eyes when I call you Samantha."

"I do?"

"Oh yeah, and you flush ever so slightly each time. I love it."

Sam turned away because she knew was flushing right now. Jack smiled and leaned in to kiss her cheek. They spent a few moments just watching the aqua dragon sleep. Jac'antha kicked her legs as some unknown dream tickled her mind. She furrowed her brow as if she was going to start crying but she quickly calmed when Sam ran her fingertip down the bridge of her broad nose. Jack kissed Sam's cheek again.

"I hope you are pregnant."

"Even so far from home?" Sam asked.

"We'll be home before you know it." Jack said confidently.

"I've been feeling guilty about the position I've put us both, possibly the three of us, in."

"I know," Jack nodded "but it takes two to tango and you didn't make the decision alone. Either way it is going to work out. Unlike Ser'in we could have two months or more before you even begin to show."

"True." Sam sighed.

"You don't sound very happy."

"I never thought that I would have children, I figured my career would always keep me from being able to be a parent. Faced with the reality that I could already be on my way is...well...frightening."

Sam was staring down at Jac'antha as though the new life was going to break. Jack flashed Sam a sad smile, her mood instability was concerning him a bit. He held her closer and looked down at the baby dragon held so naturally in her arms. Kissing her temple he rested his forehead against her.

"You are going to be a wonderful mother. And being a father is the greatest experience of my life." Jack said quietly. "I never thought I'd have the heart to try again. Now I can hardly wait."

Sam nodded as she took a deep breath and tried to keep tears slipping from her bright eyes. Jack reached out and caressed the side of her face. He turned her face to look at him and touched his nose to hers. She chuckled but at the same time started crying. Jack moved so that she could hide her tears on his shoulder. He rubbed between her shoulder blades.

"Do you even know why you're crying?" Jack asked gently.

"No."

"That's okay, you don't need a reason."

It didn't take Sam long to cry herself out. Jack rubbed the tears stains off her face and smiled at her. She bravely smiled back. Ser'in purred in her sleep and rolled over onto her back before waking up. It took her a moment to sit up and when she saw Sam and Jack cuddling together with her new child her eye dilated and she smiled.

Sam got up and brought Jac'antha over to her mother. Ser'in reached out and took the bundle with care. She laid down on the bed on her side and placed Jac'antha down on the bed as well. She worked the towel open and exposed the sleeping dragon to the warm tropical air. Ser'in ran her fingertips down the child's back as she purred.

Jac'antha woke up with a squeak. Rolling over onto her back she played with her mother's hand with her long tail whipping around happily. It didn't take long before the little dragon wanted to start exploring. She couldn't stand, but she was already good at crawling and climbing.

"Sam'an'tha, join us." Ser'in offered.

Sam smiled and sat down on the edge of the bed. Jac'antha instantly saw Sam as an obstacle to be surmounted. She dug her sharp nails into Sam's pants and hauled herself into her lap. Sam laughed as the dragon slithered her way up her shirt and over her shoulder. Jac'antha reached up and grabbed onto Sam's ear and then pulled herself up to put her small mouth on it.

Ser'in removedJac'antha from Sam's ear and placed her back down to the bed where she continued to hunt and crawl around. When she came to the relatively gigantic pillow she sunk her teeth into it and started to try and shred the feather stuffed pillow. Ser'in pulled her away from her prey and she squawked unhappily.

"Jac'antha hungry."

"Tai left to get something to eat."

"Tai wonderful mate." Ser'in purred. "You make me know Tai. Tank you."

"You're welcome."

Ser'in held Jac'antha in one arm and pulled Sam into a hug with the other. Sam hugged her back and then chuckled as she felt Jac'antha gnawing on her neck. She and Ser'in actually had a little trouble this time getting the tiny hungry dragon off of her. Luckily Jac'antha's teeth weren't big enough to do any real damage.

"Dali, sorry, Sam'an'tha."

"It's okay." Sam replied as she rubbed at the scratch on her throat.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say that little Jac'antha there thinks we're prey." Jack laughed. "She was chewing on me earlier."

"I'm willing to bet that Tai's vegetarian diet is not the norm among this race."

"Well I hope this little predator doesn't mind fruit."

Tai knocked softly on the door before rejoining the group. He had gone a little overboard with his shopping spree. With four bags in his arms he put them down on the table with a huff. Before showing off his prizes he came over to tickle Jac'antha and give Ser'in the alien version of a kiss. Jac'antha squeaked desperately and snapped her tiny jaws.

Chuckling Tai went back over to the bags and produced a fruit that looked a lot like a kiwi crossed with an orange. Using in nails like a knife Tai peeled the fruit. Ser'in spread out the towel on the bed and placed Jac'antha down on it. Tai placed the green fruit in front of the dragon. The fruit was bigger than her head and she looked at it doubtfully.

"I think she wants a steak, Tai." Jack teased.

Tai tilted his head to the side and picked up the fruit to take a bite himself. When he put it back down Jac'antha got the point and attacked it with vigor. Everyone laughed as Jac'antha munched down as much of the fruit as her stomach would hold and then just tore apart the rest. There was sticky green fruit all over her by the time she was done.

Ser'in lifted Jac'antha up high and the aqua reptile squealed with delight. Ser'in disappeared off into the bathroom to wash up the messy newborn. Tai started unpacking the bags. He had bought several soft blankets, a week's supply of food, a few objects that Sam couldn't identify, and several plush animal toys.

"Those toys are going to be in tatters." Jack commented.

"Yess." Tai shrugged. "Jac'antha needs to...uh...learn. We born wild."

"I can see that."

It took Jac'antha just two days to destroy the toys that Tai had purchased. He left to buy more, only this time when he returned he also had a long package with him. Ser'in and Jac'antha were firmly bonded now and spent most of their time playing with one another. Jac'antha purred with delight when given a fire coloured plush dragon that looked a lot like her father. She did not destroy this one, but rather held it tight and fell asleep.

Tai pulled Ser'in out onto the high balcony of their hotel room. Sam listened to their quiet conversation while Jack inspected the long package that Tai had placed on the table. Ser'in had broken down into tears but she was agreeing with everything Tai said. Jack unwrapped the package and discovered it was a long rifle. When Tai returned to the room Jack turned a disapproving look on him.

"Tai, we only ask that you take us to Ketch not a step further."

"Ja'ck..."

"No, kak." Jack said firmly. "I am not going to be responsible for Jac'antha growing up with a stuffed animal as her only memory of her father."

"Promise..."

"No, time for a new promise. You need to promise Ser'in you're coming back. Take us to the Ketch border, no further."

Tai thought carefully about what Jack had said. Ser'in had come back inside and was bitting on her lower lip nervously. Sam had no doubt that Tai would follow them into the heart of Ketch to deliver them to the Stargate, but then they would have no way to help him safely home. He'd be alone in the jungles of Ketch. Tai seemed to be having this thought as well. He looked down at Jac'antha as she slept peacefully with her present.

"Dak, yes. Tai take Ja'ck, Saman'tha to edge Ketch. Promise Ser'in, Jac'antha to return."