Sam took the rest of the evening off and just enjoyed her time with Jack, Daniel, and the babies. He next morning the tape recorder and camera reappeared.
"Please join me Colonel Carter." The captain had a table in the center of the room that was half covered in technology and paper with food laid out on the other half. "I apologize for the mess but I rarely eat in my quarters and I tend to use my table mainly for work." He pulled out a chair for her and she sat.
"Thank you, Captain, for the invitation and the meal."
"It is my pleasure. Please call me Ranin. I spent days listening to you and your men explore the planet wishing I could meet you. I hate it happened under such circumstances though."
"You can call me Sam. I do appreciate being rescued."
"I strongly recommend trying the plangent, it is a little spicy but pleasing." He held out a plate of green berries in a red sauce. Sam took a little of everything offered and sipped at her drink. "I took a big risk bringing you on board, but I think you will find a place among our people. You may even help my government see that there are benefits to letting other planets know of our existence."
"I would love to help with that, but I won't be able to stay long. My people will send a ship for me once they realize they can't reach me by stargate."
The captain bit his lower lip and moved the food on his plate. "Your ship came and went many days ago."
Sam's eyes widened. "What? But why didn't you…"
"I was not allowed." He raised a hand to forestall her anger and questions. "It takes many days for messages to be sent from here to my planet and to then recessive a response. When the volcanoes first erupted I asked permission to rescue you but there was not time to wait for a response. I acted without having gained permission. When the message was received I was told to not interact with an alien under any circumstances, but it was too late, you were already on board. However, when your ship arrived my orders were clear."
Sam nodded. She understood following orders. "But if you had given me to them that would have eliminated the problem of explain why you rescued me."
"I had already sent a message saying you were on board so there was no taking that back. I was also concerned about how your people would react to your condition. You came very close to dying because of my indecision and the differences in our physiology."
"They would have been pleased to have me returned, regardless of my condition. They would not have blamed you."
He nodded. "I hoped as much, since I would have felt the same about one of my crew, but I could not take that risk. We stayed cloaked until your people finished surveying the planet and left. If it makes you feel any better they did a thorough search."
Sam took a deep breath. "So where does that leave me?"
"I hope you can find a place on the ship where you are comfortable living and working but I order for you to keep that freedom I must have your word that you will not attempt to contact your people."
Sam twisted her hands under the table. It felt childish, but she crossed her fingers. "Of course, I understand the need to follow rules. I do hope I will be allowed to try and show your leaders that my people can be trusted in the hopes one day they will allow me to make contact."
"I would be happy to help you campaign for this. It is time for my people to show themselves. It is time that we recognize the past without letting it hold us hostage."
"The past?"
He sighed. "Many generations ago, before my people were capable of space flight, we were visited by people from a planet outside of our system. They seemed friendly, but they left behind a plant that consumed our planet and three neighboring planets. We were lucky, we found a way to harvest the plant and use it as a food source to keep us alive. The other two planets were not as lucky. Even now we struggle to keep other plants alive because this invasive plant covers so much land and grows so quickly."
"I can see why your people fear interacting with other worlds. Hopefully I can show there are benefits that can outweigh the risks."
The captain lifted his glass towards her. "Here is to you changing our approach to other worlds."
"Is this why you did not communicate with Earth, a promise?"
Sam shook her head, "No, their communication technology was fairly antiquated. I found a way to work on it, without permission at first, but the best I could do was get their message delay to under a day. At that speed it would have taken hundreds of years for a message to have reached Earth."
Colonel Marlin nodded. "I see. So. what happened after dinner with the Captain?"
Sam took a deep breath. "I was given a tour of the ship the next day, in the hopes I would find a place to work. In the morning we visited all the biology based labs. A few of them were interested in having me join them but I got the feeling I would be more of a specimen than a peer." Jack grimaced. "In the afternoon I visited the chemistry and physics based labs as well as the mechanics area. The mechanics were not interested in my help even though I was interested in working with them but then I met their astrophysicist and found my place. This was his last tour and he was not scheduled to be replaced. Their computer systems had taken over navigation, so he was basically just observing and recording celestial phenomena."
Sam face lit up with a broad smile. "Sarkin was a sweet older gentleman with lots of stories. He let me circumnavigate a few of the rules placed upon me. I had trouble with the low oxygen levels on board and I had to carry around an oxygen tank. He helped me make it more compact, so it fit in a backpack. He showed me the ropes and covered for me a few times when I didn't understand their social protocols. Together we made videos to send back to their planet about me, Earth, and gate travel. Sarkin, the doctor, and the Captain were my biggest allies on board."
"I see." Colonel Marlin made a few notes. "What was your daily routine like?"
"I started most mornings with a trip to the infirmary followed by breakfast. Dr. Loen kept a close eye on my oxygen levels, having me check in at least twice a day. After breakfast I usually went to Sarkin's lab and work on different projects. We'd have lunch together most days and after a bit more work and a visit to the infirmary I would go work out and get a shower before dinner with the Captain."
"What types of projects?"
"As I mentioned earlier I worked on their communication systems and I made what were essentially publicity videos. I helped Sarkin analyze and catalog some celestial events. I taught him about the stargate coordinate system and together we designed a similar navigation system for his people. After a few weeks I was allowed to make suggestions to improve their engine efficiencies. That put me on the chief mechanics radar. He was not a fan and he made it clear." Sam rubbed her left leg. Jack's eyes moved with her hand, she was rubbing a set of scars that she hadn't had when she left nine months ago.
"In what way?"
"He would not allow me to inspect any of the machinery, including the engines. I think he thought I was a spy or something. Sarkin had told me about their fuel efficiency and shared schematics with me so I had a basic idea of how I could help but I was only allowed access to the engine rooms when the Captain escorted me. The Captain and I were discussing some of my ideas to improve efficiency when one the techs got nervous, probably because the ships captain was standing behind him, and opened the wrong valve at the wrong time. There was an explosion. The tech died." Sam paused for a moment. "He was just a kid really." She took a breath. "I was able to push the captain out of the way, but I got hit with some shrapnel."
The base doctor leaned forward. "That's how you got the scars on your leg?"
Sam nodded. "Yes, that's also how I found out I was pregnant." Jack's brow knitted as Sam's hand slid from her leg to her stomach. "My cuts and burns earned me a few days stay in the infirmary and way too many tests, with one of those tests being a positive pregnancy test."
"How did the aliens react?"
Sam grinned. "There was an initial worry that my child was not of Earth's origin, but I made it clear quickly that I must have been pregnant before I was brought on board."
"Do you know how it happened?" Sam glanced over at the doctor and raised her eyebrows. "What I mean is you were on birth control when you left so this shouldn't have happened."
Sam nodded. "When my long-term birth control implants needed to be changed a couple years ago I was in a long-term relationship and thought I might be in a position to try to get pregnant within a year, so I switched to patches." Sam glanced over at Jack. "When that relationship didn't work out I stayed with the monthly patches since they seemed to be working fine. I noticed the patch was missing a couple days after I woke up in their infirmary, but I didn't worry about it. I assumed they had taken it off. After I found out I was pregnant I asked if there was any mention of the patch in my records and there was not. I don't remember when it came off but it was before I was rescued."
"But you are sure you were wearing one when you left?"
Sam nodded. "Pretty sure."
"She was." All eyes drifted to Jack. "I remember it…being on her arm I mean." Sam's eyes twinkled as the doctor quickly wiped a smirk off his face.
"I guess that means copulation happened on Earth, but conception happened a couple of days later on the other planet." That made Jack's eyebrow lift. His babies were his but had started out on another planet, which was seriously cool. "What happened once you knew you were pregnant?"
"We kept moving on to different planets to do surveys as I kept getting bigger. After saving the captain and getting the engines working more efficiently I was given more access to the engine room. The Chief still didn't like me, but he left me alone. There were rumors about the baby, I mean babies, being the Captain's, since I had dinner with him most nights, and nobody wanted to do anything to make the Captain mad."
"So how did you get yourself back here?"
"Sarkin and I built a naquada detector, to help me look for another stargate. I knew the chances were slim of having a second gate in the same system but on the seventh planet we surveyed we found a positive signature. Sarkin and the doctor helped me steal a shuttle. The gate was in a museum. I broke in during the night and thankfully the DHD was with it. I had to rig up some power but that wasn't too hard. My contractions started before I broke into the museum, which was cutting it a little closer than I would have liked."
The Colonel was shaking his head. "It is still hard to believe you are alive."
The doctor leaned forward. "I have a couple more questions if you aren't too tired."
Sam could hear one of the babies beginning to fuss, but she wanted to get as much answered as possible. "Go ahead."
"We have found an unusual protein in your blood, in addition to the naquadah and protein left by your previous Tokra host. Do you have an explanation for this protein?"
Sam nodded. My ability to handle the low oxygen environment decreased as my pregnancy advanced. The supplementary oxygen pack was not enough, and I was left bed ridden on an oxygen mask for a few days. The doctor designed a protein that helped me carry more oxygen without increasing my red blood cell count so much my blood got too sluggish. I had a small scare around he seventh month of my pregnancy because my red blood cell count was so high, and my oxygen levels were still so low."
"So this protein is temporary?"
"Yes, I had to get it injected a couple times."
The doctor nodded. "Good, because currently it is throwing off your blood results."
Sam's daughter began to cry I earnest. Jack brought her over to Sam, ending the morning interview.
Both babies were fed, burped, and changed.
"I don't think you were understanding what the doctor meant Jack. My blood results are different than when I left."
"Ok, so?"
"So, that is evidence that I'm not me."
"That's nuts, of course you're you."
"Jack, the whole point of the MIA protocol is to prevent imposters from accessing Earth. If my biological scans and tests don't match up to those done before I disappeared, then there will be reasonable doubt about my identity."
"That's just ridiculous."
"Actually, she is quite correct." Colonel Marlin stepped into the room.
Jack ran his hand through his hair. "She usually is."
"Your interviews have not brought up any major issues, but your medical tests have given us some inconclusive results, among them was the foreign protein."
Sam sat up straighter in her chair. "What else?"
"Your CT scan showed some changes, to your brain as well as to your body. The doctor says pregnancy would account for most of what the changes, but that has still left many worried that you could be a clone or an alien. The doctor is going to do some additional brain scans. Hopefully that will add some more useful data and we will be able to get you home soon. Please keep documenting your time away to go along with the interviews."
Sam nodded. "Will do."
Sam cooperated with all the testing and typed up reports between feeding the babies and discussing potential names with Jack.
"When is Daniel coming back?"
Jack shrugged. "I dunno, he has a lot to do."
Sam snickered. "I know babies take a lot of stuff but it shouldn't take him more than a couple days." Jack grimaced and turned away from her. "Jack?" He didn't turn around. "Jack, what are you not telling me?"
Jack rubbed the back of his neck. "Daniel might have a bit more to buy than a couple of cribs."
"Such as?"
"Ummmm, maybe a house."
"A house? What happened to yours? Or mine even?"
"I sold you're a few months ago."
Sam sighed. "Makes sense really. I'd been dead for a while."
"That's what I kept telling Daniel."
"And your house?"
"I retired and I was moving to my cabin permanently. I was actually closing on the house when Daniel called to say you were here. My packed truck is sitting in the SGC parking lot."
"Interesting."
"Interesting? That's all you've got? Interesting?"
"I'm not sure what you want me to say Jack."
"You aren't mad?"
Sam shook her head. "I expected things to be different when I got back. I used to daydream about what would have changed."
"Give me an example."
"I imagined my funeral. I hope you took care of Cassie."
"She stayed strong all day, but I found her crying late that night. We sat up on the roof discussing different missions where you saved our asses for hours."
"Who took over the science department?"
"Kilbourn."
"She was on my list of top three choices."
"What else did you imagine?"
"I hoped you were ok, that you found a way to be happy." Sam's face fell and she whispered, "Found someone to make you happy."
Jack waked up behind her and put his arms around her. "Your imagination led you astray on that one."
She leaned back against him. "I wouldn't have blamed you."
"I know but it didn't happen." He kissed her neck. "There's just you." Sam smiled and tilted her head to give him better access. "Were you tempted?"
"Tempted?"
"It sounds a lot like the Captain might have been interested."
"I think he was, but he was married and I made it clear I intended to come home to…" Sam turned in his arms.
"To?"
"To my fiancée." She kissed Jack. "Once he found out I was pregnant he looked the other way as I built the naquadah detector. He knew I was getting home, one way or another."
It took four weeks to clear the foreign proteins from her system and establish that she was producing the same blood as before she was captured. The transfusions she was given were still giving her odd blood test results, but they were explainable. The repeated CAT scans and brain scans continued to give predictable results and were close enough to baseline to satisfy the pentagon, although Sam did have to agree to 24/7 monitoring for the time being.
Daniel had found them a three-bedroom apartment not far from the mountain. The concept of finding them a home was too much pressure, so he opted for a short-term lease, so they could house shop later. There were two bassinets plus cribs, high chairs, bouncy seats, play mats, and more toys than Sam wanted to count. The babies weren't even old enough to use half the stuff Daniel had purchased.
Jack and Sam had a naming ceremony for the babies when Teal'c visited. They named their son Jacob Charles O'Neill and their daughter Kathryn Janet O'Neill. Teal'c and Daniel helped them move three months alter to a two-story home with a large backyard with a deck. Jack was already planning a playhouse and swing set for the backyard.
Sam took six months off before going back to work part-time. She decided to stay on Earth and work on the science aspects of the gate. Jack stayed retired and loved being a full-time stay at home dad. He was called in to consult and helped a bit with training but he mainly played with his kids and enjoyed all the things he missed when Charlie was growing up.