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: Still transferring from the notebook. I know this one is kind of short, but I really wanted to get an update in. I'm going to work on transferring the next chapter from my notebook on my days off. So, hopefully I will get another chapter or two out in the next few days. Thanks for the reviews, and your patience. :o)
Take The Long Way Home by Oz Lovi
Last Time: Silence descended upon the group and Jacob decided they should give Sam and Jack a chance to digest the information of their new found freedom. "George, would you like something to drink? I'm sure we can find something in the kitchen." Getting a nod, he led the way into the other room.
After a moment Sam spoke very quietly, "I guess you were right."
"They way we were looking for just got dropped in our laps," Jack whispered in response.
Chapter Eight
Turning toward Sam, Jack took in her shell shocked look. He was guessing he looked pretty much the same. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders he was relieved that she leaned into him with a small sigh. Gently he slid his hand on top of the one she had on her belly. Without even having to exchange a word they laced their fingers together. Staring at her until she looked up square into his eyes, he gave her a small smile, which she returned. Taking a steadying breath he decided it was confession time. "I love you, Sam. I have for years, and I just wanted to finally tell you."
There were tears in Sam's eyes as she took in the slightly misty look in his eyes as well. "There's something I want to tell you too. I love you, Jack, and I have for such a long time." As she leaned into his embrace they smiled at one another.
"That felt good."
Sam chuckled a little, "Yeah, it did."
"Would you…like to have dinner with me?" Jack relaxed when he saw the smile on her face.
"Did you just ask me out on a real date?" Sam loved it when he squirmed.
"Well, yeah. I mean we've been sharing meals for weeks, so since this is a real 'date' it will need to be a little fancier."
Changing the subject a bit Sam sobered a little, "Do you still want what you mentioned before?" When he turned to looked in her eyes she added, "Us, both of us, here with you?"
"Yes, I do. Especially now that we know it can really work that way."
Sam nodded, "Now, about this date."
"Anywhere you want, even if I have to wear a suit." Jack grinned at the look on her face.
"You dressed up in something besides class A's? That's worth squeezing myself into a fancy dress. Would you mind giving me a lift to that clothing shop again?"
"Of course not, when?"
"How about tomorrow?" Getting a nod, Sam smiled at him again.
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From the kitchen the two generals listened intently and eagerly to the discussion in the living room. Jacob smiled, "Well, I guess that's a yes to the offer, George."
With a matching smile George said, "I'm glad we could arrange it. The big question now is how will this effect their desire to continue working at the base. I also need to have Dr. Fraiser discuss something she brought up when I spoke with her earlier. Both men turned back to the doorway as Jack entered. "I take it things went well, Jack?"
"Yes, Sir." He couldn't keep the grin off his face as he answered.
"Good. There is something else we need to discuss, but I think it will be easier if Dr. Fraiser explains."
"If something were wrong, she would have told us. So, what's up?" As calm as Jack was trying to sound, he still held that hint of concern for his little family.
Knowing that Jack wouldn't let it go, considering this was about his family, George said, "After the baby is born we'll need to make some arrangements for her medical care."
Joining them in the kitchen, Sam followed enough of what was being discussed to realize where he was going with this. "You mean like the fact that I can't use doctors outside of the SGC because of the protein marker and naquadah in my blood."
"Exactly. As it was explained to myself, and the President, your baby will most likely have to grow up around the base and it's occasional insanity, due to the likelihood that she will have the similar physiological changes as you do. With that in mind one of the provisions in the letter I gave you is that your child will be able to know what we do in the mountain, but only once she's old enough to understand that it's a secret." With a slightly uncomfortable look, George added, "There is also the concern that there may be certain unscrupulous individuals that might wish to study her, depending on what she is capable of." George really didn't want to make them paranoid, but after Sam's run in with Adrian Conrad it would be wise to keep people like him in mind.
Jack looked at him with a frown, "You mean because she'll likely have both the protein marker and the Ancient gene. She might be able to use both types of technology."
Next to him, Sam shuddered, "That would get some unwanted attention from people like the NID." Staring at the group she protectively touched her baby belly.
"You know we'll do everything we can to make sure that doesn't happen, honey." Jacob gave her a reassuring smile.
"If they do, they'll not only have the SGC to worry about, but the oal office as well," George added.
Deciding to change the subject, Jacob turned to his friend, "You know, George, we were hoping to go see Mark and his family in a few days. Do you think Janet will let Sam go that far?"
"That could be a tall order considering how far along she is." Turning back to Sam he suggested, "You may want to go talk to her soon."
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After George left, Jacob rode with Jack and Sam back to the base. On their way down to Janet's office they ran into Feretti. "Major, how are you doing?"
"Good. Thanks for asking."
"You know, some of the teams have put together a baby pool," he mentioned casually.
Jack shook his head, "Why am I not surprised."
"Come on, you have to admit, this is the first baby born to a female SG team member. Everybody is trying to guess the baby's sex and birth date." Grinning conspiratorially, Feretti asked, "You wouldn't happen to have any ideas yet about…"
"That would be cheating, Feretti," Jack scolded good naturedly.
"It was worth a try. See you later." With that he continued down the corridor.
Making their way on to Janet's office, they found her pouring over a large stack of files. "Hi, Janet."
Looking up Janet smiled at her friends, "Sam, hi. I didn't think you were coming back in today."
"Well, we were planning to go see my brother in a few days, but I didn't know what you'd say about that." Sam slowly lowered into the chair across from the desk.
"He lives in San Diego, right?" Seeing Jacob nod, Janet eyed her friend, "Why don't we take another look at the baby and then I'll see if you're too close to go." Getting a hopeful nod from Sam, she stood and motioned them toward an exam bed. She grinned as Jack helped Sam on the bed, but didn't let go of her hand once she was settled. As she prepared the sono machine, Janet asked, "Did the General talk to you?"
With equally broad smiles, Sam and Jack answered together, "Yes."
"I'm happy for you both. Now, did he mentioned what he and I discussed?" Janet asked as she pulled out the gel and wand she would need.
"He did, and we honestly should have thought of it ourselves." Jack shrugged.
Smiling, Janet squeezed the gel onto Sam's exposed belly. "You had other things on your minds." As she moved the wand they could all see the baby moving on the monitor. "She really moves a lot."
Sam grinned, "Yes, she does. But I can show you how to quiet her down, or even get her to move when she's already quiet."
To Janet's surprise it was Jack that spoke next. "You see, she seems to like me." Everyone could see the baby pause in it's movements on the monitor. Then he spoke directly to the baby, "Isn't that right, little one." They all saw a solid kick and the others looked at Sam then Jack with grins.
Wiping away the gel, Janet put the wand away. "Everything looks good, and the baby's growth has leveled out. Still, I don't want you gone for more than a few days." Handing Sam a set of pictures from the sono, Janet patted her leg. "Have a good trip." As they got ready to leave Sam handed Jack and Jacob each a picture. Janet was observing them discreetly as she headed to her office.
Putting the picture in his pocket, Jack gave Sam a hand off of the exam bed. As they made their way out into the hall an excited voice called them over. "Colonel, Major."
Giving the young woman a questioning look Jack asked, "What's up, Hailey?"
"Sorry, Sir. I didn't want to miss giving this to you both. Feretti told me where to find you." Holding out a gift bag to Sam, she explained, "It's mainly for the baby."
Opening the bag, Sam let out a chuckle, "Thank you, Hailey." She held up a little pair of miniature BDUs, causing everyone else to chuckle as well.
Jacob was very curious, "Where in the world did you get them so small?"
"Some of us thought we could find them on-line, but we didn't have much luck. Feretti got the real pattern shrunk for us and we found some fabric." Seeing the appreciative looks from the others she grinned happily. When Sam handed the bag off to Jack, Hailey motioned toward her stomach and asked quietly, "Would it be alright to…"
Before the younger woman had even said a word, Sam had guessed what she was going to ask based on her motioning hand. "You can feel if you'd like."
Gently placing her hand on Sam's stomach, she felt a number of kicks and small movements. As she moved her hand away, Hailey looked up at Sam with a smile. "Have you picked out a name yet?"
"We've got some ideas, but since we didn't want find out the baby's sex until it's born we don't have a final choice yet."
Jack held up the little uniform jacket from the gift bag. "Did anybody else notice the patches?"
Sam smiled as Hailey fairly well beamed at the fact that he'd noticed. "We figured the baby should have an official outfit just like you do, for when you bring it on base."
"Thanks, Hailey."
"You're welcome, Colonel, Major."
After putting the tiny outfit back in the bag the group headed on to the elevator for topside. "I wonder if she's in on the baby pool?" Sam mused aloud. Seeing the grin on Jack's face, she guessed he thought the young woman probably was.
SGSGSGSGSGSGSGSGSGSGSGSGSGSGSGSGSGSGSGSGSGSGSGSGSGSGSGSG
Like I said, it's short, but it gives us some setup for the next chapter. After all, they have a date coming up. :o) Please review, and I hope you liked it.