Summary: Sam goes missing during a mission and the consequences of her experience will change her life forever (and someone else's too).

Warnings: None yet.

Pairings: J/S (what can I say, I'm a Jack/Sam shipper, but I do write others too)

Season: Seven-ish Spoilers: Wee bit here and there from the whole series.

A/N: As promised here is the next chapter so please don't throw anything after the cruel cliffhanger in the previous chapter. Much appreciated. :o)

Take The Long Way Home by Oz Lovi

Last Time: "Your girls." Ba'al sneered with satisfaction.

Grabbing for her outstretched hand, Jack tried in vain to get to her. "Stay away from my family you son of a …." Ba'al laughed and pulled her through the Stargate which shut off before Jack could even run toward it. "No, Sam!"

Chapter Five

Jack woke with a jump. His hands were shaking and he felt like he was going to be sick. Quickly looking around he realized he'd fallen asleep in Sam's lab while he was waiting for her to go change. They'd agreed to go somewhere else to talk and had left the General's office in search of Janet, to get her approval for Sam to leave the base. Getting a hesitant yes, they'd split up to go change and agreed to meet at her lab when they were done. Now he'd nodded off, had a nightmare, and was still shaking noticeably.

As Sam walked in she could tell that he was upset. He hadn't even noticed her entrance. She saw his hands shaking as he reached for a pencil on her desk. Now she knew she had to fin out why he was so upset. "Sir?" When he looked up at her she saw a hint of utter terror in his eyes. He hid it as quickly as he could, but she had already seen it. Walking over to him, she looked him straight in the eyes. "You had a nightmare, didn't you?" she asked gently.

"How did you even know I fell asleep?" he asked in surprise.

She pointed to his cheek, "There's an imprint from the button on your sleeve on your cheek." He nodded lightly then stood, grabbing his jacket. Standing in front of him she put her hand up. "What was the nightmare about?"

"Not now." Seeing the look she gave him, he eyed her in return with a pleading look. "Not here," he said quietly.

She got enough of an idea from his behavior that this likely wasn't something they should discuss here. "Alright, Sir."

Motioning for her to precede him to the door, he finally took in her appearance as she walked ahead of him. Jack grinned as he realized she was waddling ever so slightly. It wasn't very obvious, but if you looked as intently as he was at the moment, you could tell.

By the time they made it to his truck, Sam's stomach was growling and the baby was letting her know she wasn't the only one that was hungry. As he climbed into the driver's seat she turned to him. "Sir, would you mind if we got something to eat?'

"No problem." As he drove away from the base, he glanced over at her. "I'm guessing you might have a specific craving for dinner?"

She grinned, "Salad."

Shaking his head with a smile he headed to a little café in town that had a salad bar. "Does this mean she's going to like rabbit food like you do?"

Sam smiled, "Maybe. So,….you think we're having a girl too?" It dawned on her that she'd said 'we're having' and from the look on hi face he'd caught it too. She was pleaded to see him smile broadly.

"Yes, I think we're having a girl too, and it's not just because I heard you refer to the baby as she earlier. Even in my dream I called the baby as a her." He cringed at the memory of what had happened in his nightmare.

"What was it that upset you?" She really wanted to know, but she didn't want to push too much. Jack was a private man and he only opened up when he really felt comfortable, or he was forced into it. Like Anise forced them both into, she thought in frustration. Knowing that his dream had involved the baby gave her some insight into why it had shaken him emotionally.

As they pulled into the café parking lot he tuned off the truck and took off his seatbelt, but didn't get out. Glancing over at her he said, "This is likely the best place to talk about it." Seeing that Sam was undoing her seatbelt and turning to give him her utmost attention, he took a steadying breath. As he launched into his recounting of his nightmare she seemed to sense his nervousness. He'd only gotten as far as then entering the 'gate room when she reached over and took his hand. Looking up into her eyes, he realized she was trying to give him some added emotional strength to, to recount his dream. With a small smile he squeezed her hand before returning to his retelling of his dream. To his amazement when he started talking, he told her everything he remembered from the dream. Along the way he even forgot that they were holding hands. As he got to the part where he'd woken up he noticed Sam had her other hand protectively on her stomach, rubbing it in little circles.

Sam swallowed loudly. "That's a god reason to be shaken up by a nightmare." Giving his hand a light squeeze, she grinned.

With his own grin he let go of her hand. "Why do I have a feeling I know where this is going?"

With an even bigger grin she shrugged then looked him in the eyes. "Your girls."

"I knew it. There was no way I was getting out of this discussion without a comment about that." Shaking his head with a small smile he reached out to put his hand on her stomach.

She smiled tenderly at him as he leaned a little closer, staring at her baby belly as he did.

"Mommy I picking on Daddy. Do me a favor and don't pick up that habit. At least not until you're old enough for me to pick on you too, sweetie."

Sam's eyes misted a little. She'd never heard him talk like that, it was endearing. As she looked at him he seemed to realize it and quickly moved his hand away. She felt a little disappointed. This was a side of him he didn't show often, a side of him she was really enjoying seeing.

"Ready to eat?" He smiled as he changed the subject before either of them said anything about the little scene they'd just shared.

With an answering smile she nodded in agreement. "Sure, besides, somebody is reminding me she's hungry."

As they ate their desserts some time later, Jack's cell phone rang. Turning his attention from his Jell-O, he pulled the item from his pocket. "O'Neill…..Yes, Sir."

Sam tried not to eavesdrop, but the smirk on his face made her curious.

"Of course, I'll be at my house. Thank you, Sir." As he hung up he noticed Sam was trying to act like she wasn't listening in. "The General said he has something he may need to talk to me about later. He said it's nothing bad, but he figured I might not stay on base tonight, so he wanted to know where I would be." Pausing for a second he asked, "By the way, would you like to go talk as we planned?"

Without commenting, she nodded. Picking up her purse, she followed him to the register then out to the truck. Just as they were getting belted into the truck her cell phone rang. "Carter…..Hi, Janet. Keeping tabs on me?" With a smile she glanced over at the Colonel. "Alright, I'll ask him. Bye." As she slid her phone into her purse she grinned. "Would it be alright if we dropped by Janet's house for a minute?"

"Sure, what's up?" He waited for her answer as he drove.

"Apparently Cassie knows now and is demanding to see us." Sam patted her stomach with a smile. Seeing him smile in return, she leaned into the seat as they neared the house.

"Did Doc tell her everything? I mean….." He motioned from her belly to himself and back again.

"Yes." That was why she was demanding to see them as Janet had put it. When they pulled up he gave her a hand out of the truck. Walking up to the door Sam grinned when Janet opened the door before she'd even knocked.

"I saw you pull p," she said in explanation. "Cassie is driving me nuts with questions. It's your turn to answer them, because I've never been pregnant. That makes you the expert." As they stepped into the living room the object of their conversation practically bounced into he room.

"Sam! Jack!" Cassie froze as she saw Sam's baby belly. Her eyes were wide. "Mom told me you were getting close to delivering, but I didn't expect that." She pointed toward Sam's stomach.

"Do you want to feel?" Sam smiled as Cassie's eyes lit up.

Stepping closer, Cassie put her hand on Sam's baby belly and smiled as she felt the baby move. Turning her gaze to Jack, who was standing quietly beside Sam, she asked, "Have you felt this?"

"Yes. She likes to kick, doesn't she?" He looked toward Sam, who smiled.

"She?" Turning to her mother Cassie glared. "I thought you didn't find out."

"We didn't, Cassie. We think we're having a girl."

They both noticed her glance at Janet and mouth 'we' as she smiled. "Mom told me the baby should be here in a few weeks. How do you feel about all this?"

Smiling Sam said, "Excited, nervous, pick one at any given moment and I'm probably torn between them."

"What about you?" Cassie turned her attention to Jack.

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I know this wasn't the longest chapter, but I wanted to get that little scene with Ba'al taken care of so nobody would get too upset with the cliffhanger. Please review and thanks.