A/N: Sorry about the wait on this one, combination of RL - Doh! - and I had some trouble with this chapter.

Chapter Sixteen.

SG-1 stepped out of the 'gate, flattening the fresh grass under their heavy boots. There were the ruins in the distance and the same mountains with the haze over them starting to lift. There by the DHD stood Colonel Reynolds and the rest of SG-3

"It worked." Daniel said smiling in relief.

Sam grinned at him, "What happened to that confidence?" She teased.

"Colonel Carter?" Reynolds said trying to ascertain whether these were the right SG-1.

"Colonel Reynolds." Sam replied. "It's ok Colonel, it's us, it worked." She said approaching him.

Reynolds smiled slightly and nodded.

"We'd better get back to the base Colonel." Sam said.

Reynolds waved a hand at one of his men who began dialling.

Sam took a mental inventory over her body as the 'gate turned. She had her vest and P90 secured to her chest. She wasn't sore or tired, she felt completely normal. This was her body; she got it back, fit and healthy, so why did she have this feeling that she'd lost something?

She shook it off as the wormhole established and the feeling was replaced with the hundreds of butterflies suddenly fluttering around in her stomach at the thought of seeing the General. Not waiting for SG-3, she and her team stepped through the 'gate together.

The shimmering event horizon rippled, casting blue waves over Jack's face as he stood impatiently waiting for SG-1 to appear.

They emerged together, Sam in the middle, and proceeded down the ramp with SG-3 behind them. Daniel was smiling and Teal'c looked…pleased – good sign. Carter gave him a thin smile as their eyes met. He figured she'd be happier to be home…well…he'd hoped.

Sam's heart rate shot up when she saw him, his eyes meeting hers – nothing unusual there, she thought wryly. She was afraid to look at him, afraid at what he might see in her eyes if she did. How would she ever be able to tell him she'd just given birth to his child? She was dreading the debriefing. She mustered up a small smile.

Jack could tell something was wrong just by looking at her, her blue eyes didn't carry their usual radiance and the tight grip she had on her P90 turned her knuckles white.

"So…are you, you know, you?" Jack asked.

"Yes sir." Sam replied.

"It worked Jack, we're back." Daniel put in.

"We entered the Stargate on P3X 292 in the parallel universe sir and exited right back on P3X 292." Sam explained. "I'm assuming the other Carter explained things sir?" She asked haltingly.

"Yeah," Why did she sound nervous? "Unfortunately." Crap! No smile. "Well then welcome back," Jack said with a smirk, the knot he had in his stomach released at the knowledge that these were his team, though he still felt uneasy – there was something wrong with Carter. "Have a nice trip?"

"Oh yeah Jack, very relaxing." Daniel said sarcastically. He wondered how Jack would react when he found out what had happened, but more importantly he wondered if he should have a little talk to Jack about a few things.

Jack's eyebrows rose and his head tilted at Daniel's sarcastic reply. His eyes shifted back to Carter but she wouldn't meet them. Of course, he thought, the other Carter was…was…crap! That must have totally sucked for my Sam…my Carter…uh, Carter.

"We'd better head to the infirmary sir." She said her eyes resting on his chest. She had a sudden urge to reach under his olive shirt and feel what lay beneath. God! Get a grip girl! She scolded herself and forced her eyes away.

"Yeah, we'll debrief in half an hour…"

"Ah excuse me General," Came Sgt Harriman's voice over the comm. into the 'gate room, "You have a briefing with SG-nine and Dr Lee in five minutes sir and the President is expecting your call about the situation with SG-1…"

Jack waved a frustrated hand up at him, cutting him off, and his mouth twisted in distaste. "Alright, alright, I get it Walter." He yelled up through the glass separating the control room from the 'gate room. The little guy must have ears like an elephant. He turned back to SG-1, "Carter is there anything urgent I need to know…now?"

Sam noted the silent plea in his eyes and for the first time since her arrival, gave him a genuine smirk "I'm afraid not sir."

Jack noticed some of the light returning to her eyes as she smirked at him – the meeting with that geek Dr Lee would almost be worth it just to see that, almost. "You sure Carter? Nothing that can't wait? Nothing I need to hear about…right now…or in…say…five minutes? No alternate reality emergencies?" He continued.

Her smirk grew and her eyes sparked – mission accomplished.

"Sorry sir," She said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"We'll debrief in one hour then. Oy!" He said as he sauntered out of the 'gate room.

SG-1 headed for the infirmary for their post mission checks.

"Sam, are you doing ok?" Daniel asked as they neared the infirmary. He was paying close attention to the interactions between Sam and Jack in the 'gate room and had noticed the light Jack had managed to return to her eyes, but it was brief and almost as soon as Jack turned away from her the light had faded.

"I'm fine." Sam replied. Daniel wondered why he'd expected any other answer.

"Sam, you just…"

"Daniel please, not here." She interrupted as they entered through the double doors of the infirmary.

Dr Brightman had been expecting them and strode toward them purposefully.

It should be Janet Sam thought. She suddenly felt a tightening in her chest at the thought of her friend and a lump formed in her throat. She missed her so very much as she looked around at the infirmary that once belonged to Janet - familiar, but it would never be the same again. She forced the tears that threatened back and felt some triumph at being able to do that again as Dr Brightman spoke.

"Colonel Carter, I'm told you have successfully returned to your own bodies?" The General had called her himself.

"Yes Dr Brightman, our plan worked." Sam replied, "Its late Doctor and we're a little tired, could we get through this as quickly as possible?" As polite as it sounded it wasn't really a request and the military doctor knew it.

"Yes Ma'am." Was all she said before directing her nurses to help. She performed the standard post mission checks and then released them from the infirmary.

The three headed to SG-1's ready room in relief.

They removed their jackets, hanging them up. Daniel slipped on his shirt, leaving it open in the front, while Teal'c and Sam both opted to remain in their standard black t-shirts. Since these bodies had only been off-world for two minutes a shower was pointless.

"The briefing's in twenty minutes." Daniel said, glancing at his watch. "We should check our labs Sam."

"Go ahead Daniel." Sam replied, not turning to face him and fiddling aimlessly with the contents of her locker. "I might check mine a little later."

Daniel and Teal'c shared a concerned glance.

"Do you not wish to ensure none have tampered with your laboratory ColonalCarter?" Teal'c asked, stepping closer to her. Both men knew that under normal circumstances her lab would be the first place she'd want to check.

"Guys, really…" She began and finally turned to look at them, but she couldn't continue. It was ridiculous to lie to them she realised; they were there with her through it all and they had heard her confession. The memory of it still burned in her heart.

Her shoulders slumped in defeat and she lowered herself onto the bench seat, tucking her hands under her thighs.

"I just had a baby." She whispered. Her words were barely audible and her lip trembled as she swallowed her tears. "With him…"

Teal'c stood by the bench to her left, while Daniel sat on her right bringing an arm up to rest on her shoulder. "Sam?" He prompted gently.

"It's easier now that I'm in my own body and actually I feel a little sorry for the other me, its just…how do I…?" How was she supposed to look him in the eye once he found out, and he would in less than half an hour. If it were Hammond and something like this had happened, nothing about it would even be mentioned in the briefing let alone written in their official reports. It had always been an unspoken agreement between them – deeply personal incidents remained within the team. But this wasn't General Hammond or some other CO, this was General O'Neill and they all knew if he asked they would tell him. "God! How did this become my life?" She exclaimed, her head falling into her palms. "He married her. Did you know it was him who wanted the baby? Janet told me."

"Sam why haven't you told him how you feel?" Daniel asked.

Sam snorted derisively, "He's my CO Daniel, I'm not supposed to think that way about him, I'm not supposed to feel this way, let alone voice it aloud, especially to him – God I can't believe I'm even talking about this now. Do you know what kind of position that would have put him in? I can't do that to him. Besides, he doesn't…feel the same." She finished in a whisper.

Teal'c took a breath to object, but to his surprise, Daniel beat him.

"Yes he does Sam." He said definitively.

Sam shook her head in denial. She never really believed that she'd had a chance with him. How could Jack O'Neill love her? She thought when her father had died and they'd gone to the cabin together things might change, and in some ways they had, if only in her own mind, but essentially he was still her CO and therefore out of reach. If it wasn't for this whole alternate reality debacle she wouldn't have thought too much about it – it was just the way things were, but now she knew that they could be different.

"I tried to tell him, that time on the Tel'tac to Proclarush Taonas but he wouldn't let me. That must be why he didn't want me to say it." She had tried to tell him when she thought she might lose him to the ancient repository and at his house before they'd left for the mission. But he stopped her. She was a coward, she thought. The Sam of the other reality hadn't allowed him to stop her. "The other me did tell him, and the other him let her. And then when he remembered…that's why he resigned so he could be with her. He told me he knew, but he never did anything about it, so what am I supposed to think now, either he doesn't feel the same or…" Or he didn't really know. It occurred to Sam that the other Jack said he had thought she was just going to brush him off. God! How could he think that!

"No ColonelCarter you do not understand." Teal'c rumbled gently, squatting in front of her so that his eyes could connect with hers. "O'Neill is a man of honour. Were you not in a relationship with DetectiveShanahan at this time?" Teal'c spoke softly.

And suddenly all the fragmented pieces came together in Sam's mind. "I wasn't ever with Pete in that world." She whispered, a light of understanding entering her eyes.

Teal'c gazed into her ayes for long moments before he nodded. Her alternate hadn't been with Pete, and Sam understood now what Teal'c meant; General O'Neill is an honourable man.

"You're right Teal'c." Sam said, "Listen guys, I think I need a few minutes, I'll meet you at the briefing."

Teal'c gave her a soft smile before rising to his full height and heading to the door.

Daniel squeezed her shoulder, "Ok Sam." He said before both men left her to her thoughts.

She sat for some time replaying events in her mind. Remembering words spoken between her and Jack…the General. If he did still feel something for her, he'd done a brilliant job at hiding it. He was always telling her to 'get a life' and when she was with Pete he seemed genuinely happy for her. Well maybe he was, but not in the way she had thought – at least she hoped that was the case. Teal'c was right; she knew the General would never involve himself in her private life, not when she was seeing someone; just as she would never have gone to his house that day if she had known about Kerry Johnson. She felt a stab of jealousy but pushed it away – she had no right.

Her relationship with Pete had been a mistake from the beginning. She had never really held any hope that she and Jack…err the General…would ever be together and she had convinced herself that he no longer felt anything for her. But she had been stupid to think that she could ever just settle for someone else. She still didn't know for certain how the General felt for her but she knew one thing she loved Jack O'Neill. In fact she was completely in love with him, she had been for so very long and she understood now with absolute certainty that, whatever happened, she always would be in love with him.

The heavy weight she'd felt pressing on her chest since she got back to her own reality suddenly lifted with her resolve. She would find a way to let him know and the rest would be up to him – if he felt the same, he would do what the other Jack did, he would find a way.

She stood, she would check on her lab before heading to the briefing.

A/N: I'm not sure how this one came off, I hope it wasn't too boring.