Eighteen hours later, Sam was awake and groggy from the medication.
Jack sat at her bedside, slumped down in the chair, sleeping restlessly.
She smiled, trying to sit up a little. She hissed through her teeth, grimacing when Jack opened his eyes. "Hey, you gotta lie down." He said sleepily.
"I'm okay, I just needed to sit up." She replied, looking at him. "Jack, have you slept at all, besides just now?" She asked.
He nodded. "Yeah, slept on the plane." He said, stretching.
"Jack-" She started, but he cut her off.
"Sam, don't argue, an don't try to lecture me. I couldn't sleep. I just kept thinkin bout you an the baby. By the way, 6lb. 4oz. 18 inches long. Tall an skinny." He said.
She smiled. "Where is she?" She asked, looking around anxiously.
"Doc Lam took her to do some tests." He said. Sam thought for a moment.
"How are we going to explain your genetic marker and the protein marker left by Jolinar? What if she can sense a symbiote too? What happens if the IOA finds out?" She asked.
"Sam, relax. Nothin's gonna happen, she's fine. So are we." He said. S
am nodded, taking a deep breath. They sat in silence for a moment. Jack heard heels clicking on the cement floor, and looked up to see Carolyn Lam carrying their baby in.
"Dad?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.
He shook his head. "Nope, mom's first." He said.
She smiled, nodding her acquiescence. She placed the baby in Sam's arms, smiling.
"Now, I'd love to stay and watch over my newest patient, but I've got an infirmary to run. If you need anything, please feel free to ask." She said.
He nodded. Sam smiled, waving him over to sit on the bed next to her. He sat gingerly, not wanting to jostle her or the baby.
"Hi Bekkah, it's your dad." He whispered, looking at her.
"She's perfect." Sam said, smiling through her tears.
"Just like her mom." He whispered in her ear. She smiled up at him, leaning her head on his shoulder. He rubbed the side of Bekkah's face gently, smiling when the infant turned toward his touch.
Sam smacked him playfully on the arm. "That's mean." She said. He turned with a mock scowl.
"Is not." He replied. She shook her head.
"Daddy's mean already. You know, this is going to be a love/hate relationship with you two, you're gonna love her, but she's gonna hate you." She said with a smile.
"Are you kiddin? She'll be daddy's little girl." He smiled, raising his eyebrows as the baby stirred in her arms.
"Sorry kiddo, didn't mean to wake ya up." He said. Her eyes opened, and both parents were startled to see a bright emerald pair staring back at them.
"Well, she's got some of my features and some of yours." Sam said, smiling at Bekkah.
Her hair was dark brown, just as dark and messy Jack's had been, her face was shaped like her mom's with her mom's ears, but her little mouth and nose were mirror images of Jack.
"She's a good lookin kid." He said, smiling proudly.
Soon, Daniel, Vala, Teal'c and Cassie walked in the iso room door, standing around the bed. Vala smiled, leaning over the side of the bed.
"Daniel, look at her eyes." She said. Daniel peered over Vala's shoulders, eyebrows rising past his hairline if it was possible.
"Well, she must've got it from Jack's side because nobody in our family has green eyes." He said.
Mark, their older brother, had dark brown like Jacob, and Sam and Daniel had blue like their mother.
Jack nodded. "My dad had green eyes, but nowhere near that bright. Or that pretty." He said. Cassie smiled, standing by Jack.
"She's so little, dad." She said, smiling.
"Jack, do you want to take her?" Sam asked. He smiled, noticing the drowsy look on her face.
He nodded, holding out his arms to take the baby. Sam laid back, watching her husband with the infant, smiling as the comfort of that though pulled her to sleep.
Jack watched Sam fall into sleep, smiling.
His life could never be better than it was at that moment.
Watching his wife sleep, his surrogate daughter sitting on the stool next to him, holding their newborn baby girl close to his heart, and having the knowledge that they were surrounded by friends and family…safety. Bekkah shifted in his arms.
"Stay here." He told them. He wandered over to where Dr. Lam was checking Sam's vitals on the charts.
"Hi, General." She said, smiling as she glanced at Bekkah. "Hi Doc, got a question for ya. Got any bottles?" He asked. She nodded.
"Yes I do. Need one? We have baby formula too." She said. He nodded. She filled the bottle with warm tap water, putting the formula in and shaking the bottle. She handed him a blanket to put over his shoulder to serve as a burp rag.
He took them and sat in the rocking chair next to Sam's bed, watching Bekkah eat. He smiled, watching her eyes drift closed as he rocked with her, feeling her relax until she felt more like 7lbs instead of 6. Cassie smiled, watching Bekkah sleep.
"Wanna hold her?" He asked. She shook her head. "No, she's asleep." She said.
He smiled, shaking his head. Bekkah sighed, shifting in his arms again.
Sam walked slowly around the house with Bekkah, sighing.
She had earned her father's attitude, which wasn't necessarily a good thing.
Sam had been walking with the baby for an hour, waiting for her to fall asleep, and much to Sam's bad luck she was still awake.
Jack walked in the door, dropping his keys on the table next to the door, and smiled when she looked over at him, shaking her head. "C'mere Bekkah, how long have you been trying to get her to sleep?"
He asked. "An hour, maybe more." She replied. He nodded.
"Well, it's after midnight, so you should probably get some sleep. I'll take her." He said.
She nodded, stretching. "Will you be in soon?" She asked.
He smiled. "Soon as she falls asleep, yeah I will." He said. She nodded, heading into the bedroom.
"How's my baby?" He asked. He walked around with her, smiling when her eyes started to drift closed.
Sam stepped out of the bedroom after waking up alone. It was two thirty in the morning, and she walked into the living room to find the television on, volume down, and Jack lying on the couch, Bekkah asleep on his chest.
She smiled, grabbing her camera and taking a picture before waking him up.
"Jack." She whispered, touching his cheek. His eyes opened slowly, widening when he realized he wasn't in bed. "Don't move."
She said, smiling and pointing to Bekkah. He glanced down, smiling. Bekkah had fallen asleep just before he had, but he was so tired he hadn't known.
He stood quietly, taking her into the nursery and laying her in her cradle.
He walked across the hall to their bedroom, stripping down to his boxer briefs and crawling into bed next to Sam.
"When she wakes up, I'll take care of her." Sam said. He nodded, pulling her against his chest.