Yes, I know this chapter is short, but stories/chapters have their own will sometimes, and this one begged to be ended where it was. ending it anywhere else didn't seem right. I think you'll forgive me when you read the last sentence or two though. ;) So anyway, ejoy this chapter, one of the moments you've all bee waiting for...but the story isn't over! In case you haven't noticed, I changed the description, so still have to actually fulfill it. There's more Danny-whumping to come! (and stuff) So please tell me what you think of this chapter, this story, whatever. The more reviews, the more excited I am about geting the story done, and the faster I can write. ;)

Chapter 5

Cameron seemed the first to recover. "What?"

Sam angled a raised eyebrow at him. "Don't go question his decision, Cam. I'm older than you have eight more years of experience in the SGC than you do."

"No, no, I know that; that's not what I meant. I just wasn't expecting that particular announcement at this particular time."

Jack was grinning; he'd already known about this. They'd already had several long talks on the subject. Even though Sam wasn't quite sure about this yet, he was proud of her and enthusiastic, so that helped.

"You would fill that position well, Samantha," Teal'c offered, nodding in smiling agreement.

"That's great, Sam," Daniel grinned. "We'll miss you on the team and all, but Teal'c's right. There's no one better for the job."

"Wow," was all Vala had to say, but she was nodding.

Carolyn, Cassie, and Skaara made similar positive comments, but Sam shifted in her seat a bit uncomfortably. "I haven't said I'm going to take it yet."

Jack's arm went around her shoulders. "I don't know what her problem is; I keep telling her to go for it."

"It's not that simple, Jack."

"It only took five minutes of team discussion to convince him to do it," Daniel smirked.

"I know…but this is different."

"Why?" Cameron asked.

Sam shrugged. "What about field work? Being with you guys?"

"I had to give a lot of that up, too," Jack pointed out. "But that didn't mean I never went on the field again."

Vala spoke up. "You'll be in charge, Sam. You can do whatever you want."

"Except neglect my duties."

Daniel looked thoughtful. "True, but there will be low points, where you could come with us maybe. And of course there will be instances where you're needed offworld. It wouldn't be the end of your field work."

"But what about my research?"

"Sam, you're you. You'll make time for your research, regardless of whether it exsists or not," Cassie chuckled.

"She has a point. You always have time for science, Sam. Besides, like I said, there'll always be those slow days where you'll be able to spend time in your lab--and you have a lab at home too, don't you?"

"It's still in the basement," she grinned.

"See what I mean? It'll be fine, and you'd do great. To put it in your own words--we could end up with someone a lot worse," Daniel grinned back, eyes twinkling.

Sam laughed. "Good point." It really was--and the reminder of the last discusiion like this SG-1 had had a long time ago helped.

Jack pulled her closer. "So what do you say, Sam?"

"All right," she sighed. "You guys are right. And it's not like I have to do it now--General Landry doesn't retire until next month."

"Almost four weeks to get used to the idea," Vala smiled.

Sam nodded. "And besides, Cassie can pull the slack in our department," she added, smiling over at her adopted daughter. "I swear she's even more intelligent than I am and just won't tell us."

Cassandra blushed as her husband grinned. "Well…"

Jack poked her with his free hand. "Oh come on, Cassie, don't you dare go and sell yourself short. You've gotta be awesome--you were part of SG-1 once."

Skaara's grin gave way to confusion then. "You were part of O'Neill's team?"

Cassie nodded. "For a little over a year--but it wasn't still dad's team then."

"Yeah, that would be me," Cameron said, raising a hand for a second.

"Ah, I see…but when exactly was that?"

When no one else seemed able to give an actual explanation, Sam launched into the simplest one she could think of. "I joined the Atlantis expedition in 2007, so SG-1 went back down to four people then and that was fine, but then Daniel came over in '08, making it three, and they needed somebody else."

"And I'd just gradated from college recently, so the timing worked out just right and all," Cassie finished.

Skaara nodded. "Yes, but then why is it as it is now?"

"I came back in '09, and Sam decided to come back to SG-1 too," Daniel said.

Vala grinned and nudged her husband with her elbow. "Of course, he came back because he realized what an idiot he'd been leaving me behind here on earth, and came back and married me."

Daniel winced. "Well, that's not the direct reason why Sam and I came back, but that was the result."

Sam shivered. "The initial reason why we came back is a whole different story," she gulped. The memory wasn't one of the most pleasant. Before the disaster on Atlantis, she hadn't even been considering going back to earth--but when Daniel went back as a result, loyalty and concern for one of her best friends had driven her to go with him.

"Yeah, let's not go into that part," Daniel said understandably, a similar shiver that she could see going up his spine.

Cameron snorted and changed the subject for them. "We offered to let Cassie stay--I mean really, there wouldn't have been anything wrong with a six-man team--but a spot opened up on the team she's on now, and she decided to switch."

Cassie shrugged. "And I don't regret it. The SG-13 guys are great. They're more like distant relatives though--you guys are my family." She smiled wistfully. "You have been since I lost my birth parents. I can never thank you enough for that."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Oh hush girl. You've been one of us for a long time--stop thanking us."

Vala saw Cassie smirk at Jack's comment, then look up to exchange glances with her and Carolyn before standing.

"Well, as much as I hate to interrupt this melancholy moment, we have an announcement to make," she said matter-of-factly.

Skaara grinned up at her before the expression was once again washed over with confusion. "'We'?"

Vala stood as well, and Carolyn followed her lead.

"Yes, 'we'," the doctor answered.

Skaara stared at them for a moment, before realization dawned. "All three of you?" he asked incredulously.

"You got that right, big boy," Vala replied, winking at him briefly.

"Wait…what?" Jack questioned. "I don't like inside jokes. What's going on here?"

"Jack, hush. We're about to find out," Sam shushed him, looking just as bewildered as everyone else--beside Skaara, who just looked downright shocked.

Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "What is it you wish to announce?"

Vala glanced at her two standing friends. "All at once?"

"Sure," Carolyn agreed.

"Let's go for it," Cassie nodded as they moved slightly away from the couch, loveseat, and cushioned chairs so they could see everyone at once, and everyone could see them. The others just blinked at them with no clue. Vala smothered a grin and crossed her arms, then glanced at the other women before turning back to face their six-strong audience.

"What???" Jack questioned again.

"We're pregnant," they said at once.

Dumbfounded silence greeted them.

Jack let out another "What?" but this time it considerably more surprised.

"Excuse me?" Daniel echoed.

"You're kidding," Cameron added.

Vala shook her head. "Not in the slightest."

"All three of us," Carolyn nodded.

"B-But how is that possible?" Cam fumbled, as his and everyone else's expression slowly morphed to shock.

"That's what I wondered, too," Cassie giggled.

Sam finally recovered. "The snowstorm," she muttered--but the others heard her. At that Cameron, Skaara, and Daniel exchanged glances with each other, and promptly all three went red.

Jack grinned suddenly and clamped his wife into a bear hug. "You hear that Sam? We're gonna be grandparents!" Sam gasped at the sudden impact, but then just laughed.

Cassie went back toward her husband, who stood and wrapped his arms around her. Teal'c was grinning like an idiot. Daniel and Cameron stood slowly, but still didn't seem to have taken it all in. Their wives went over to them.

"This isn't a joke?" Cameron question.

"Nope," Carolyn answered, wrapping her arm around his neck. Cameron grinned finally and bent to catch his wife's lips in a kiss.

Vala pulled her own husband a few feet away, smiling to herself in amusement when he just sort of stumbled obediently in the direction she pulled him.

"So….you're not kidding?" Daniel blinked finally, eyes still wide. Vala mirrored Carolyn's action with her arms.

"No, Daniel--not kidding," she assured him gently.

Finally he smiled widely as his arms went around her waist. "I thought we were done," he commented.

"Apparently not," Vala replied, mouth quirking.

Daniel laughed softly and kissed her.

Teal'c happily retreated upstairs to watch the children and make certain none of them came downstairs; the ground floor of the Jackson home was rather non-pg for the rest of the party.

Authors Notes: The reference Sam thought about to 'disaster on Atlantis' is another story I still have to go back and write, of how, in my/this world, Daniel and Vala 'figure it out' and got together. It will be told in a later installation of this series. Anybody interested?