First of all, I am going to apologise profusely for not updating this sooner. Blame uni, work, life, video games and other fanfiction. I was meaning to get this chapter up before I went on holidays but as it would happen, I didn't. And now, I'm at the end of my holiday and I am back at work tomorrow, I really wanted to get this out before I got swamped with stuff. This chapter has taken me forever to write, it just didn't want to get written.

I hope you enjoy this next chapter. It's just this one and an epilogue to go.

Where we left off:

Jack guided her by the arm until they came to the edge, "You ready for this Katie-girl?" he asked as she stared wide-eyed at the rippling event horizon of the Stargate.

"I suppose so." She took a deep breath in as she stepped through the Stargate for the first time.

Chapter 10: We're definitely not in Kansas anymore, Toto.

When Kate emerged from the Stargate, she took a step forward and collapsed to her knees, throwing up what little she had in her stomach. Jack leant down and soothingly rubbed her back; "It's always like that the first time."

"It's always worse if you're already suffering from morning sickness," Vala added, "Believe me. That's how I found out I was pregnant with Liam."

Kate nodded and wiped her mouth and took a drink from the water bottle that Jack had handed her. "Thanks." She took a deep breath before standing up and surveying her surroundings. "So we're on another planet?"

"Yeah-sure-ya-betcha," Jack fished his trusty green cap from his back pocket and put it on, letting it mould to his head, as if it had a memory. He then steadied his weapon in front of his chest before following the Tok'ra down a path.

"It doesn't look too much different from anywhere on Earth," she looked around a little more as she followed the group, noticing the lush green trees that reminded her of pines. Daniel coughed a softly behind her and as she turned to him, he pointed up. Kate gazed into the sky and saw two moons. "Well there's a noticeable difference."

The group walked for about twenty minutes before they came to a small, circular clearing. They all huddled together, with Kate in the centre, as Anise pressed a button on her left wrist. A set of five rings came up around them, then there was a flash of light and the rings went down again. Kate let out a gasp of surprise when she realised that they were no longer in the forest, but in a tunnel made out of crystals.

"Whoa," Kate exclaimed in awe as she took in the sights around her.

Jack grinned. "Cool, huh?"

Kate could only nod in reply before following their Tok'ra leader and SG-1 down the tunnels. Anise led them down a series of passageways for a couple hundred metres until they reached their destination.

"You will all wait here until the council members are ready to perform the procedure," she told them succinctly before turning on her heel and heading out of the room.

It was a spacious area with benches and chairs for the group sit on. Kate was the first to take a seat, her nerves getting the better of her. Running her fingers through her hair, she let out a large breath. Sam noticed her unease and sat down beside her and rubbed her back soothingly.

"I know this is scary, but the Tok'ra know what they're doing. You and your baby are going to be fine."

Kate nodded. "I hope so. This baby wasn't planned but I love it already." She placed her left hand on her stomach and looked at Sam, "I can't wait to meet it."

Sam smiled. "Judging by the look on Rick's face when he found out, I don't think you're the only one."

"Yeah," Kate chuckled, "he was pretty ecstatic. I couldn't ask for a better father for my baby."

Sam and Kate continued to talk quietly and the rest of the team occupied themselves while they waited for the Tok'ra to return.

An hour later, Anise returned. "The council is ready." She turned to Kate, "If you will follow me."

Kate stood and wiped her hands on her pants, getting rid of the sweat that unknowingly built up. Taking a deep breath she silently followed Anise, aware that Jack was right behind her, silently offering his support. They headed down more passageways; it was like a maze and Kate's head spun a little as she tried to recall the route they had taken.

The Tok'ra council was set up in a large room; to the left was a long table where eleven of the twelve members sat and at the end was a device that looked like a large needle. Anise led Kate into the centre of the room, in front of the council.

"You are Katherine Beckett of the Tau'ri, are you not?" one of the Tok'ra asked.

"Yes, sir."

"You are here to get a larva Goa'uld removed, is that also correct?" another confirmed.

Again, Kate answered in the affirmative.

"And how did you happen to be blended with this parasite?" a third asked.

Kate stood with her hands clasped in front of her, "I was kidnapped by the man who orchestrated my mother's murder. He was working for an organization known as the Trust. He had me implanted with this Goa'uld to try and control me, but it didn't work because I'm pregnant. And now, all I want is for this thing to be removed so I can move on with my life."

The eleven council members murmured amongst themselves for a few seconds before turning back to Kate. One of the women spoke, "We are satisfied with your answers. Please stand with your back against the far wall, facing the device."

Kate did as she was told, her heart thumping wildly. She locked eyes with Jack as the twelfth council member took his place beside her. The Tok'ra councilman went through the ritual chant and started up the extracting device. It hummed to life and a bright blue laser beam shot out of it and hit Kate squarely on the forehead. It took all of Jack's will power and military training not to rush to his goddaughter's side when she let out a heart-wrenching scream of pain.

The procedure took all of about thirty seconds to complete, and when it was over, Kate collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down her face. The Tok'ra pulled the canister out of the machine, which held the dying Goa'uld symbiote, and threw it to the hard floor, shattering it to pieces and killing the parasite in the process.

When the ceremony was finally complete, Jack made his way over to Kate and gathered her in his arms, letting her cry out all her tears. "How 'bout we get you home, huh?"

Kate only nodded and gingerly stood up as her stomach felt like she was on a boat on the high seas without any stabilisers. She and Jack picked up the rest of the team from where they were waiting before heading back to the Stargate. It was slow going with Kate having to stop on occasion to throw up; now that the Goa'uld was gone, her pregnancy symptoms took immediate affect on her body.

SGC

Jim and Rick sat unmoving in the briefing room, occasionally sipping their cups of coffee that the SFs would bring them every hour or so. They lost track of how long they had actually been sitting in there.

"Do you think Kate will be okay?" Rick asked.

Jim smiled. "If I know Jack, he would move a mountain to make sure she would be."

"He's a good man."

"One of the best." Jim took a large mouthful of his coffee and grimaced. It had gone cold. Taking a brief glance at Rick who sat opposite him, facing the Stargate and staring at it intently. "Thank you, Rick."

Rick looked up, confused. "What for?" he asked.

"For the first time in a very long time, Katie is happy. And I have you to thank for that."

"The feeling is mutual. I've never felt so alive as I have when I'm with her. We were friends before anything else, and I think that made all the difference," he replied.

"Well whatever makes it work, I know you will be the best husband and father to the both of them," Jim told him.

"That means a lot. Thank you."

Jim and Rick sat in silence for another hour before the klaxons started blaring and Walter's voice was heard over the intercom, "Unscheduled off-world activation."

The two men jumped to their feet and ran down the stairs and stood next to General Landry. "Is it them?" Rick asked.

"Receiving IDC now," Walter paused, "it's SG-1."

"Open the iris," Landry ordered. Looking at Rick and Jim, he said, "Come with me."

They followed him down another flight of stairs and through the metal doors to the Gate Room. Standing at the foot of the ramp the three men watched as SG-1, led by Teal'c, then Mitchell, Jackson, Vala, Sam and then Jack, carrying a pale looking Kate walked through the event horizon.

Rick let out the breath he had been holding as Kate came nearer. When she finally reached him, she threw her arms around his neck and drew him in for a tight embrace. "I'm so glad you're ok," Rick whispered in her ear, "I love you so much."

Kate pulled back slightly and placed a soft kiss on his cheek, "I love you, too."

Jack came up behind them, "We should get you checked out in the infirmary so that you can get home."

Kate held Rick's hand tightly all the way to the infirmary and only let it go momentarily to put on the gown Doctor Lam gave her. It took about an hour for all the tests to be done and Rick and Jim refused to leave her side the entire time. When Carolyn came back with an ultrasound machine the eyes of all three lit up.

"So who wants to see this baby?" she asked. Not waiting for a reply, she covered Kate's lower half with the sheet before pulling up the gown. "Now this is going to be a bit cold."

Carolyn squirted the gel onto Kate's abdomen and she shivered at the contact. Running the wand over Kate's stomach, she finally found what she was looking for. "Here we go, can you see this here?" she pointed to a bean-shaped object on the screen. "That's your baby." Carolyn showed them its head and back and little hands and feet. Flicking a switch, she asked, "Can you hear that whooshing sound?" When the three nodded, she replied, "That's the heartbeat. And by the look of it, it's a strong one. Your baby is a fighter."

Rick looked at Kate; both had tears in their eyes. "That's our baby. Can you believe it?"

"It's amazing." Kate turned to her father. "See that, dad. That's your grandchild."

Jim squeezed her hand lightly and kissed her forehead, "Thank you for sharing that with me, Katie."

Carolyn packed away the machine and wiped the gel off Kate. "When you get home, make an appointment with your OB/GYN and they'll be able to follow your progress. If they have any issues with your medical history, which I don't think they will, just let me know and I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks Carolyn, you've been great," Kate replied.

"Any time. Now, you're free to go, but don't overdo it. Your body is still recovering." With that, she turned around and headed out to see her other patients.

"So how 'bout we blow this joint and head home?" Rick suggested.

"Sounds like a great idea. But first, I need to get dressed. Can you hand me my clothes and I'll meet you in outside when I'm done."

Rick and Jim did as they were told and not five minutes later, Kate emerged outside the infirmary. "We need to see Jack and the others before we go," Jim told her.

"I was planning on it," she replied as she entwined her fingers with Rick's.

The trio walked the halls of the SGC until they reached the mess hall. They found Jack and SG-1 sitting at one of the tables, which was piled with every dessert imaginable.

"Pull up a chair, guys. There's plenty to go around," Cam told them when he spotted them walking over.

Kate grabbed one of the red jello cups and started eating. After swallowing her first mouthful, she started to speak; "I just wanted to thank everyone for everything you've all done. From finding me after I was kidnapped to getting that thing out of me, you've shown me what true heroes are. So, thank you."

"And if any of you find yourselves in New York, you'll always have a place to stay," Rick added.

Vala's eyes lit up and she elbowed Daniel, "Did you hear that Daniel? We have somewhere to stay when you take me to New York. Now we definitely have to go."

Daniel groaned and buried his face in his hands as the rest of the table laughed.

When the dessert was all polished off, Jack stood up and turned to the Beckett/Castle clan, "So how about we see to getting you home tonight?"

Rick's eyes lit up, "We get to beam again?"

"Yeahsureyabetcha."

"Sweet!"

Kate rolled her eyes, "It's like I'm marrying a child."

Sam leaned over to Kate and whispered loud enough for all to hear, "Welcome to the club."

Kate laughed and Castle became indignant. "Hey!"

"Shut up, Castle. You know it's true," she told him jokingly.

He shrugged his shoulders as he stood up in preparation to leave. "What about our stuff?" he asked.

"It's all been brought to the base, so we'll transport it with you," Sam replied.

"Looks like everything is all sorted then." Rick went around shaking everyone's hands, thanking them, followed by Jim doing the same.

When Jim got to Jack, the two men embraced. "Thanks for bringing her home, Jack."

"Any time."

The goodbyes were finally all said Jack and Sam took the two Becketts and Castle to the designated pick-up point on the base. "We've scanned your apartment and no one is home, so it's safe to beam you directly there," Sam told them.

Kate nodded and Castle added, "Beam us up, Scotty," causing Kate to roll her eyes at him again. "What? I've always wanted to say that for real."

Before Kate could reply, a bright light engulfed them and she found herself standing in the living room of the loft. "Whoa. What was that?"

"Pretty cool, huh?"

"You could say that." Kate dropped to the couch, still in shock from the events of the last few days.

Rick came and knelt in front of her, "Why don't you go have a nap? The rest will do you and the baby a world of good."

"Which world?"

Rick chuckled. "Go on. Off to bed with you."

Kate grudgingly stood up and headed to the bedroom, stopping to give her father a hug. "I love you, daddy."

"Love you too, Katie."

When Kate shut the door behind her, Jim said to Rick, "I should probably go too. You look like you need as much sleep as she does."

"Yes, dad." Rick joked as he shook the older man's hand. "I'll call the car service for you."

Rick helped Jim with his luggage and saw him off downstairs before trudging back up to the loft, content to just crawl into bed with his fiancé and unborn baby and sleep for the next few days. He was happy. Things were most definitely looking up.

There you have it. This is also the longest chapter of this story; when I was struggling at a thousand words, I never imagined I'd be here.

This is the official end of the story, but as I said at the outset, there will be an epilogue coming, which will pretty much consist of snippets of the future for both the Castle and Stargate characters.

I hope you enjoyed it.

Please review if you so desire.

Sam