Part 6: Relativity

5 years later…

Jacob never thought he'd see his daughter again. Mark and his family had survived the Great Invasion, and Jacob was relieved to see them alive and well. But if Jacob were to be completely honest with himself, his daughter would always be of greater concern, and greater joy. Knowing Sam was lost was simply unacceptable.

Therefore, over the last six months, Jacob teamed with Daniel and Teal'c to investigate the clandestine operations that were rumored to have information about his daughter. They first searched Earth, looking for people, papers, or computers that might hold key information. Eventually, they spread out their search via Jacob's ship, meeting with allies on other plants, hoping to learn any scrap of information, any clue or hint they could find no matter how seemingly insignificant.

Whether Jack was taken by the same secret operation was still unknown, but he'd been last seen with Sam in Laos. So Jacob hoped that Jack might have been with her at least for some part of the last five years. If Jack was able to have any contact with Sam, Jacob knew that would be a comfort to his daughter. He prayed for Jack's safety as well.

The trio had recently learned about the off-world breeding program and the bits and pieces of information caused Jacob to envision the worst. Sam quite possibly was being forced to give her body over to an experiment, being used and abused.

Jacob's heart clenched at the mere thought. He tried to clamp down on his emotions– Slemak assisted in that department– and stay focused on the task at hand. But every time Jacob Carter looked up and caught a certain expression on Teal'c or Daniel's face, he knew they also were thinking the worst, imagining Sam held in a prison, beaten, bloody, and raped.

They couldn't get to his daughter fast enough when Teal'c finally found the address of the world being used for the experiment. The Stargate wouldn't engage and so they were forced to go by ship.

Jacob landed in a forested area, and along with Daniel and Teal'c, began to walk toward the place where sensors had indicated life forms could be found.

As the three men walked down the streets, they were amazed at what they were seeing. Houses, families, dogs, it was the perfect tree-lined suburban neighborhood. Daniel stopped and asked someone if a Samantha Carter lived nearby and after some initial confusion, was finally given directions to the home of one Sam O'Neill.

Daniel kept that piece of information to himself, though it lifted his hope that they might find Jack as well. He wimped out and let someone else be the ones to break the news to Sam's father that she might have gained a new last name sometime in the last 5 years.

Sam opened the front door and froze at the sight of her father and her two former teammates.

"Sweetheart," Jacob was so relieved to see her in one piece, he hugged her tightly and wouldn't let go. Relief washed over him, his visions of the worst-case scenario seemingly wrong. She was not only alive and not battered and bloody, but looked healthy and beautiful as always.

Sam recovered. "Dad, it's good to see you. Daniel and Teal'c…" Shaking her head in disbelief, all she could manage was a simple, "You found us?"

"After a lot of hard work," Daniel admitted. Finally, Jacob let up and allowed Daniel to give her a hug too. Daniel was amazed that even five years later, Sam still looked like the same young, radiant woman she'd always been. But there was a gentleness about her that was new.

Daniel commented, "You look good, Sam. We were worried. About Jack too, is he–"

Jack appeared at that moment, and was initially just as shocked as Sam had been. As Jacob started to ask about what had happened to them and what this suburbia façade meant, they were all interrupted.

"Daddy?" asked a little boy that appeared at the top of the stairway.

The adults turned their heads. The boy came down the steps and over to Jack's side. He clutched his dad's leg, hiding from the strangers behind it, but peaking out.

"It's all right, JJ," Jack said, placing a hand on the boy's head. "This is… well, this is your grandfather." Jacob's eyes went wide.

Jack added, "And Daniel and Teal'c. They're, ah, they are pretty important too."

JJ emerged from his hiding place and stepped closer to Teal'c. The large Jaffa lowered himself to his knees and bent his head reverently. JJ reached out, and touched the gold emblem on his forehead.

"Sweet," said the little boy.

"Indeed," agreed Teal'c. "Would you care to join me outside, Master JJ? It seems to be a most enjoyable afternoon."

JJ took the hand of Teal'c and went with him through the hall, and out the sliding door to the backyard.

Daniel, sensing the need to clear the room as Teal'c did, said, "I'll just–" He pointed and then followed them out. Jack didn't say a word but snuck off too.

Sam smiled at the retreat. Then she faced her father, without apology, fear, or justification.

"Dad–" But Sam was cut off by the sounds over the baby monitor in her hand. "Come with," she amended and started up the stairs.

Her father followed, automatically moving due to his state of shock. The house was a far cry from the dirty prison Jacob had built in his mind. He just wasn't sure what to make of all of it.

When they entered the nursery, Sam lifted a baby girl out of the crib and placed her in the arms of her grandfather.

"This is Lilly."

Jacob's eyes snapped to Sam's. "You named her after your mother."

"Mark never did, but I thought you'd like that one of your granddaughters is named after Mom."

"I do like it. I think your mom would've liked it too."

"JJ is short for Jacob Jonathan. That was Jack's idea."

Jacob appeared overwhelmed by all the information. "Any other surprises? 'Cuz I'm not sure my old ticker can take much more."

Sam ducked her head, placing a hand on her barely protruding belly. "We've got one more on the way."

"Sam," he sounded dazed. "We've got…?" He shook his head, not believing what he was hearing. "Has someone been forcing you to–"

"No," she stopped him emphatically. "It's not like that."

"So, you and Jack… you just… Three kids." He was stammering. "Do you two ever stop?"

Sam's eyes went wide, "Dad!"

"What?" He shook his head. "Can you blame me? You're my little girl he's been taking advantage of."

Sam said flatly, "Not that I necessarily minded." After minute of watching her father struggle with what to say in response, she decided he deserved the whole truth.

"Dad, we were together long before we came here. We were in love, and we were planning a future together one day when everything was over. Our plans were a secret for obvious reasons. So, no, Jack didn't take advantage of this situation. We wanted a family, only, I never imagined it would be under these circumstances."

"You're happy." Jacob finally put all the pieces together, realizing they didn't have children simply to survive a terrible, forced experiment. This was truly a loving family.

"We're both happy. Jack's good to me and you have every reason to trust him. Try to resist the urge to slug him, please."

"Good to you? Sweetie, he could've resisted the urge… I still want to murder him for not protecting you from all of this. He is– was your commanding officer."

"You cannot blame him." Sam countered, "It wasn't like that."

Jacob forced his words, "Does he at least help out with the kids?"

Sam smiled. "More then helps out, he's amazing. He reads to them, plays games, and watches cartoons with JJ and Lilly. Every Saturday morning he and JJ go fishing together, just the two of them. It's adorable, but don't tell Jack I said that."

"You're happy," Jacob repeated, finally starting to absorb all his daughter's words. Except that nothing was more convincing then the relaxed smile on her face. Motherhood looked good on Sam.

Sam replied, "More than I ever imagined possible, on this, or any world."

"All this time I was worried." Jacob shook his head in amazement. "Maybe you're better off here than in the middle of all the destruction at home."

"Is it bad?"

"Yeah. But it's getting better."

They carried Lilly downstairs and sat in the sunny kitchen drinking coffee and filling each other in on what had transpired over the years.

Sam described how she and Jack had uncovered the plot. But, had been essentially left alone all these years. The small community of Weston Heights had focused on supporting each other and raising their families. Lately, there had been a disturbing lack of any contact or supplies coming from Earth.

Through the windows, Sam could see her little boy playing catch with her former teammates. It was a surreal sight, reminding her how much had changed in her life, and how much would never change no matter what happened.

Sam redirected her gaze to her father. He looked good, weary but good. A great deal of stress and worry was now lifted from Sam's shoulders after finally seeing him again. She'd often thought of him, particularly at key moments like the birth of her children. How much her father would have wanted to be there in those moments was a nagging reminder of the desolation of their situation.

Other than pangs of missing loved ones, Sam and Jack sincerely had a decent life here. They had managed to enjoy their time. But no matter how much they were lulled into a sense of serenity, the truth was they were brought to this place forcibly with no means to leave. As long as they stayed here and played along they had been left alone. But with a sudden way out, Sam wasn't going to hesitate.

Even though the next step they would take was a necessary one, it was also a dangerous one. In fact, Jack and Sam had talked about it a lot over the years, wondering and praying that someone from home or an ally like the Asgard might come and rescue them. They had discussed quite a number of options and had formulated a plan.

"Dad, our kids are special," Sam said, setting down her mug. "We have reasons to believe that they have unusual abilities, so we can't ever go back home. I have to keep my family safe.

"If we ever found a way to leave here, Jack and I decided that we didn't want to take the kids back to Earth. Jack wants us to go to one of the worlds where SG-1 had a good relationship with the natives. We want the kids grow up somewhere safe and away from those who want them for the wrong reasons."

Jacob was nodding in agreement. "I think between Teal'c, Daniel and myself, we can help you figure out the best place to relocate."

"The other couples here, some of them will want to go back home. But some I'm sure will be frightened for their children's safety."

"We'll find them a place too," Jacob agreed. "I'll ask the Tok'ra High Council to send some ships to assist in moving everyone. But we're getting you, Jack, and my grandchildren out of here today. Someone may have already been alerted to our presence when we landed. I don't want to take any chances. There's a cloaked cargo ship waiting not far from here."

Sam smiled, and reached over to squeeze her father's hand. "Then lets get the boys back inside to help with the packing."