Sam felt the hand rest on her shoulder and finally lifted her head from her hands. She looked up to see Jennifer looking down at her with a mixture of admiration and sympathy.

"Want to talk about it?" The doctor asked, sitting down on the chair beside her.

Sam shook her head and resisted the urge to hide her face again. "I'm sorry," she stuttered, "This is... just...." She sighed and tipped her head back, leaning back against the wall with her eyes closed. "This is just unexpected."

"The Lord works in mysterious ways..." Sam pried an eye open and peered over at her companion. "Or so my Grandmother used to tell me..." Jennifer added.

"Are you religious?" Sam asked, both eyes now open.

"No," Jennifer shook her head. "Are you?"

Sam also shook hers and let out a big sigh, "No..." She chewed on her lip. "Did you always want to be a doctor?" She asked suddenly, changing the subject.

She watched as a puzzled expression formed upon Jennifer's face and couldn't help but smile. "Since I was a kid," Jennifer replied.

"Me too," Sam admitted. "Well, I wanted to be an astronaut I mean, not a doctor. Well not that kind, anyway. I always wanted to go out into space and study the stars. I read every book on science and the moon landings that I could find!" Sam half laughed at herself and the excitement that could be heard in her own voice, and shook her head sadly. "My friends were always into dolls and make up and boys..."

"I don't think that's anything to be ashamed of... " Jennifer added softly.

"No," Sam agreed, "But what most people don't realise, is that girls like you and me, despite being career focussed and eager to learn, we still dream of the other stuff too..."

A small smile emerged on Jennifer's lips. "You mean, the white wedding, followed by lots of kids?"

Sam snorted. "Sounds stupid doesn't it?"

Jennifer simply stared at her commander. "Not at all," She said softly.

"It does," Sam argued. "I mean, it wasn't until I got older that I realised how the real world works and that to get anything in life, you have to work hard and earn it-"

"Don't say you haven't earned this!" Jennifer waved a finger in the air in Sam's direction. "You're a high profile commander who's fought many wars and who has saved the lives of millions several times over-"

"That's just it!" Sam cried, launching herself onto her feet. "I'm a commander! Of a military base in another God damn galaxy!"

"So what?! That doesn't mean that you can't have a child or a family!"

"There are life-sucking aliens out there!"

The doctor had stood up on her own feet and the two women now stood staring at each other in the enclosed room. Sam could feel tears welling up in her eyes and she blinked them back, turning herself away before Jennifer could see.

"Nothing is turning out as I planned..." Sam uttered, sounding defeated. She sat back down on the chair against the wall and sighed.

"You had a plan?" Jennifer asked casually, a hint of a smile in her voice.

"Not really, no," Sam groaned. She looked up as Jennifer came to sit back down beside her again, and the two of them shared a smile. "I just thought..." she sighed, "I just thought I'd get married first, you know? Before all this..." she waved her hand in the air, gesturing at herself. "God, we haven't even had this conversation!" Sam cradled her head in her hands again and closed her eyes.

"What's his name?" Jennifer asked, "The father?"

Sam let out a shaky breath, "Jack..." She watched the doctor tilt her head, deep in thought. She was quite clearly going through the names of the people on base. Sam couldn't help but smile at the thought. "He's back on Earth," she said, putting Jennifer out of her misery.

"Oh..." an embarrassed smile crept onto her face, "It's just when you mentioned the Ancient gene, I just assumed..."

"I know."

"Oh..."

Sam smiled. "We've been in a long distance relationship for almost three years now..." She looked up from the hands clasped in her lap. "Which is why this whole thing is even harder. We haven't even lived together long term yet, let alone talk about getting married or having children..."

"What does he do?" Slightly shocked at the question, Sam looked up into Jennifer's eyes. The doctor simply shrugged, "I figured it must be pretty important for you both to spend so much time apart..."

Sam merely nodded, "He knows where I am, if that's what you're asking?"

Jennifer quirked her lips. "Not going to give anything away, huh?"

A small laugh escaped from Sam's mouth, "Trust me, its better this way..."

"For who?"

"Both of us," Sam said simply. "It's a long story..." Jennifer tilted her head in question. "We didn't bank on me being in a different galaxy, let's put it that way..." Sam looked up at the young woman before her, knowing she should probably say more and yet unable to. "I'm sorry – I know I'm not making much sense..."

Jennifer simply smiled, "Sense? Nah, you're making perfect sense..."

Sam raised an eyebrow in concern, causing Jennifer to shrug her shoulders.

"Let me see... You've worked hard at your career; assumed you'd lead a normal military life; meet some guy of your dreams and settle down, get married and have some kids... Instead you get drawn into the Stargate program; spend your time fighting aliens; fall in love with someone, who right now I'm assuming you wasn't supposed to; get shipped off to another galaxy and get yourself pregnant because, well, let's face it, being away from someone you love for that amount of time sucks big time!"

Sam could only open and close her mouth like a goldfish.

"It's perfectly natural to be confused."

"You're telling me..."