Sorry - I posted this by mistake under my other story - have fixed that now - this is a stand alone story.

Just a bit of an interlude. No angst for a while – at least until next chapter. Hope you enjoy!

"You ready Carter?" he shouted up the stairs.

"I'm ready Jack. Did you pack the food?" she shouted back.

"Yup, everything's ready to go."

"Okay then", she said as she slowly walked down the stairs.

He couldn't help but grin. If there was one thing he loved, it was the fact that Sam never kept him waiting. She had too many years behind her as a soldier, learning how to quickly put a pack together, to spend hours on packing.

He reached out his hand and she took it as she reached the bottom of the stairs. She was still incredibly fit, but at 6 ½ months pregnant she was a little less sure on her feet. Not that she really needed help – but she was willing to go along with it to make him happy. It made him feel like he was good for something.

Actually, he knew she felt that he was good for a lot of things, least of which was keeping her happy. And she was happy, that she assured him constantly.

He couldn't believe that he'd spent so many years without Samantha Carter in his life. Since they'd been together things – everything really – had been so much better. He was happier than he'd been in years and it showed. He knew he was looking younger and more relaxed and, according to Daniel, wasn't nearly as grumpy as he used to be.

"Although you're still grumpy Jack", his friend had said. "It's just you're not quite as bad."

"Well gee thanks Jackson", he'd swiftly replied. Daniel simply grinned and took a bite of cake.

"You're welcome! Actually, I should be thanking Sam. She's the one responsible for it, I'm sure."

"Yeah", he'd agreed readily. "You should. You should also thank her for the cake!"

"What? She made it?" Daniel looked at it suspiciously. Sam wasn't known for her cooking or baking.

"Are you kidding? I mean she made me leave you a piece. Told me I'd have to sleep on the couch if I ate it all. We bought it from Mary Sue's – the bakery down the street."

No – life with Sam couldn't be better! Of course, they'd had a few rough spots since they got together, which wasn't surprising, considering how quickly it had all happened. At least – it hadn't been exactly quick, considering he'd loved her for years, but the actual coming together had. They hadn't really even talked things over before deciding to live together. Then of course there'd been the wedding and now the baby. It was a wonder he didn't look older than his years, considering all the changes he'd been through.

He thought back to the time he'd panicked about Sam's pregnancy and having another child. Although he still went through occasional bouts of pure, unadulterated terror, for the most part he was happy – thrilled even – about the prospect of another child.

Teal'c had helped him see how crazy he was being and he'd decided to embrace the idea of a new child. At first it had been a bit forced, although he'd hidden that well from Sam, but after a while he had begun to grown sincerely happy about it.

The morning he'd put his head down and had spoken to Sam's tummy (or the baby inside) he'd been surprised at her reaction. He was pretty sure that in all the years they'd served together he had only seen her cry once or twice and that had been a times of pure grief. Since they'd been together he'd pretty much lost track of the times she'd dissolved in tears. The good news was that Sam assured him it was mostly hormones and that it would pass once the pregnancy was done. (He didn't know whether to believe that or not, although he lived in hope).

Still, he hadn't known quite what to do until she'd assured him that she was happy (go figure!). He'd then told her, slowly, hesitatingly and somewhat shamefully, about how he'd been feeling. This opening up stuff was new to him, and he hadn't perfected it, but it seemed to work for Sam. After they'd talked for a while they'd spent the time enjoying each other – very closely!

"You sure junior isn't going to remember this and freak out", he'd said, as they lay there in the afterglow.

"Of course not Jack!" she swatted him. "The baby can't see us."

"You're sure? I mean, I wouldn't want to damage his or her psyche by fooling around."

She'd laughed, which is what he'd hoped (it was pretty much what he lived for) and had simply kissed him (okay – that was even more of what he lived for). The result was that the baby got a double dose that night!

It was a few days later when Sam announced that the doctor had scheduled her 18 week ultrasound and she wanted him to go with her.

He was pretty proud of how well he'd reacted and the fact that she was convinced he was all better. In actual fact, he was still having a hard time dealing with the idea of another child. He kept envisioning all the things that could go wrong. So, the thought of actually seeing it sent waves of terror and nausea running through him.

"You sure you want me there?" he'd asked. "I mean, there's not really anything I can do. Won't I just get in the way?"

"Jack! Of course not. I want you there. Don't you want to see the baby?"

When she started to look worried again he'd quickly backtracked and told her 'of course I do'. As he made his way home that day, to pick her up, he wished for an alien invasion – just a small one – which would force him to call and tell her to go on without him.

Of course, the aliens just weren't cooperating that day. Damn, you could never count on them for anything. What was the use of having villainous enemies if you couldn't at least have them show up when you needed them?

They sat in the waiting room, surrounded by uncomfortable looking pregnant women. Sam had explained that earlier on in pregnancy you had to drink water before an ultrasound which was a killer when you were pregnant. Fortunately, she had just been told not to go to the bathroom for an hour or so before. Even that was hard on her.

"Mr. and Mrs. O'Neill?" the nurse came and got them. "Mrs. O'Neill, you can put on a robe in the cubicle there. You can have a seat in the room and wait for your wife."

So, here he sat in the darkened little room, waiting for Sam and the technician. He didn't remember ever being quite so terrified before. Maybe waiting in the cell for Ba'al's minions to take him back to get tortured – no, he didn't think that had been quite so bad.

A minute later Sam came in and sat on the table. She was soon followed by the technician, who introduced herself as Greta.

"Just lie down Mrs. O'Neill and cover yourself with the blanket."

Sam pulled up the paper blanket and the technician lifted up her robe and squirted jelly on her tummy. She gave a big grin, excited to see her baby. She didn't notice Jack's look of panic, although 'Greta' did. She gave him a reassuring smile.

"It'll be just fine. This doesn't hurt the mother or the baby. It'll just allow us to see him or her."

Jack nodded, but didn't have the heart to tell her that was what was terrifying him. He squeezed his eyes shut as the first few pictures appeared on the screen.

There was silence while the technician moved the wand around until she got a clear picture.

"There we go", Greta said casually. "There's your baby right there." She began to point out the head and arms, legs, etc.

"Oh Jack", Sam reached over and took his hand. "That's our baby!"

He continued to hold his eyes closed. Maybe he could get through this without anyone noticing.

"Jack, open your eyes!" Okay, so there went that theory. "What's wrong, don't you want to see it?"

Damn! He slowly opened his eyes, but looked at Carter, rather than at the screen. "Uh, I don't know, I kind of thought I'd like to be surprised."

"Surprised?" she laughed. "You mean you don't want to look? But he – or she – is beautiful." Her eyes moved back t the screen and he heard her sharp intake of breath. "Oh my God", she breathed. "You can see the face."

Okay, that did it – he had to look. He was just too curious not to! He slowly turned and faced the monitor. For a second his eyes refused to focus, but then he saw it. He could see his son or daughter plainly. The little features were sharp and it had its hand up to its mouth.

"Look Jack, it's sucking its fingers."

He stared, entranced. He'd never gone to an ultrasound appointment with Sara. In fact, he didn't know if she'd even had one. Now however, he again felt shivers run up his spine, but this time they were of joy, not of fear. That was his child – his and Sam's. He stared at the miracle in front of him. This – this child – they'd created it together. Their love had made this tiny human being.

He could feel tears gather in his own eyes. He had a fleeting thought that it wasn't just Sam who'd cried more in the past few months than in all the years before put together. But this – this was his child. He, the man who had killed his only son, even if by a tragic mistake, had been given another chance.

He clutched Sam's hand tightly and continued to gaze at the small body on the screen. If Sam was feeling the pain of his grasp she didn't complain. Both she and the technician were looking in wonder at the man in front of them – a man purely and absolutely in love with his child.

"Jack?" she whispered. He finally moved his head and looked at her. "He – or she – is beautiful", she continued.

He simply nodded and lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. "Thank you", he said.

They decided not to find out the sex of the baby, although according to Greta, little O'Neill didn't want them to know anyway. "It's got its legs held tightly together. I guess it wants you to be surprised!"

They'd shared a laugh at that but had left the office walking on air. Jack had insisted on taking her out to a fancy restaurant for lunch. "To celebrate the little 'Carter-O'Neill'. Sure to be the world's smarter, most beautiful baby, just like her mother."

"Or handsome and brave like his father", Sam had replied.

Since that day he'd grown more accustomed to the idea and more excited. He'd even gone out shopping with her a few times to check out baby things, although it was too early to actually buy anything.

So here they were, he thought, as he backed the car out of the driveway, an old married couple, expecting their first child, and heading out on a summer vacation. Could life get any more clichéd – or wonderful, he asked himself?

Jack was looking forward to a whole month off. It had been a difficult year, at least as far as work was concerned, and he needed some time to rest and relax. They'd decided to do a road trip. "I want to see some of our own country Jack", Sam had said. "I've spent so many years travelling all over the galaxy and yet don't feel I know America that well.

This trip was the result. They were headed out of Washington and were going to make their way west, ending up in Colorado. At first they'd thought about camping, but with her being pregnant she had nixed that idea.

"I don't mind sleeping on the ground", she'd said, "But not when O'Neill junior spends all night kicking me."

"Hey, that's the Carter side", he'd defended. "Us O'Neill's don't kick!"

"Really?" she said. "What about the other night when –"

"Ah ah ah!" he shook his finger at her. "That was totally unusual and purely as a result of the anchovies. You know I don't like anchovies."

"So, the anchovies made you do it?" she laughed.

"Yup!"

The end result was they were going to stay in hotels on their trip. Unfortunately, they had to make a couple of stops on the way. General Schwartz, the Air Force Chief of Staff, had asked him personally to visit a couple of Bases and do an unannounced inspection.

Jack hadn't been too thrilled, but Sam had convinced him it would be okay. "Look, it'll only take a couple of days" she said. "And you'll probably meet some old buddies. It won't be so bad." What she hadn't said, of course, was that it said a lot about her husband that he was being asked to do this. She knew it was both a mark of the respect in which he was held as well as an indication that he was being looked at for possible promotion.

They were to stop at Scott AFB in Illinois and McConnell in Kansas. Although the General had wanted to throw in a couple more, Jack had pleaded that this was supposed to be a vacation. So, they'd ended up with just the two.

They travelled slowly, stopping in interesting, unusual places. She couldn't travel for too many hours before her back started aching so they took a leisurely trip across America. It was relaxing and fun and she loved seeing a playful Jack, not hemmed in by duty and responsibility.

He'd always been a man who liked to laugh and who had a sense of the absurd. She also knew that there was an innocent, childlike side to her husband (usually seen by Daniel, who bore the brunt of it!). However, since she'd been in Washington she'd seen more of the serious, responsible Jack. She knew it was important, in his present position, and he didn't have the leeway to be quite so irreverent as he had been in his previous life at the SGC. Sadly though, she missed the old Jack, so it was nice to see him return.

After travelling for a couple of weeks they were going to spend time in a cabin they'd rented in the Colorado mountains and Teal'c and Daniel were going to join them and hang out. With the mood Jack was in, he was going to drive Daniel crazy. She couldn't wait!

"So tomorrow we'll be at Scott?" she asked.

"Yeah. We'll arrive tonight in Bellevue and I'll head over tomorrow early. Best to get there first thing in the morning and then I can be finished early enough so we'll have a bit of time."

"Showing up first thing in the morning, that's evil Jack", she said. "You wouldn't like if someone did that to you."

"True, but now that I'm the man, I can do stuff like that", he smirked. "Anyway, Briggs is a good man and he'll have everything in tip top shape."

"I didn't know you knew him?"

"Yeah, we served together in the Gulf. He's a good guy."

Brigadier General Stan Briggs was seated at his desk, going over supply lists, when his assistant knocked on the frame of his door, which was open. "What is it Marquez?" he asked.

"Uh, there's a General O'Neill here to see you Sir", the man said nervously. He'd only been assigned to the General's office recently and wasn't much used to senior officers. He'd never met a three star before and O'Neill looked like a mean one.

"O'Neill?" Briggs looked stunned for a second and then a big smile appeared. "Tell the General to come on in." He stood up and waited until Jack came through the doorway and then gave a quick but respectful salute, which O'Neill returned.

"General", Briggs said, still grinning. "Welcome to my humble abode. Have a seat Sir." Once they were both seated Stan looked at the man he'd known as Major O'Neill, many years ago. "What brings you out to our fair base? I heard you were working in the big leagues in DC now."

They chatted for a while, Jack telling him a highly edited version of his career over the past few years.

"I was surprised when I heard you were in Washington General", the other man said. "I'd heard you were doing some crazy thing with space telemetry or something - didn't sound like it was a particularly good place to build your career."

After Jack just grunted, Briggs looked at him seriously. "I was sorry to hear about your son. I kinda figured that's why you took that job."

Jack took a deep breath, not really wanting to talk about this, but he'd always respected Briggs. "Yeah, that's why I did take it", he said. "But it turned out to be a good gig and when General Hammond was promoted I got his job and then followed him to DC. Never thought I would have made it this far either."

Briggs laughed then and they reminisced about some of their crazier adventures as younger men. Finally, Stan looked at him seriously. "So really, why are you here O'Neill? Something wrong?" He knew it wasn't usual for a three star General to just show up out of the blue like this. It usually meant either something bad – like he was being demoted or moved – or good. But he really didn't think he was being looked at for promotion.

"I'm actually on vacation", Jack explained. "And when Schultz heard I was travelling across country he wanted me to check in on a few places. You know – basically take a look see and check on how things were going. Nothing sinister, I promise, but I will need to have a tour and have you show me what's going on here."

Briggs nodded and stood. "Okay General, why don't we get going now? I'm happy to show you my base. I'm pretty proud of it."

After a few hours of taking a look around the base and meeting some of the Airmen and officers, Jack could understand why. It was well run and it was obvious that the men and women on the base respected the General. Jack would make sure to tell Schultz. Briggs would be a good man to have in a more senior position.

"It looks good Stan. You're doing a good job here and I'll be sure to tell Schultz. I'm sorry to have sprung this on you" he grinned. "My wife told me I was evil to do this."

"Your wife?" Stan said, surprised. "I thought I heard you and Sara … ?"

"Yeah, you heard right. Sara and I have been divorced for quite a while now. I've remarried as of just this year, although I've known Sam for a long time."

"Sam?" Briggs raised his eyebrows, but didn't want to ask.

Jack laughed. "Samantha – I haven't changed that much Briggs!"

"Okay, well you never know. Things are a lot more liberal these days. So, where did you leave your wife?" he asked. "You said you were on vacation so I'm assuming you've brought her along?"

"Oh yeah. She's back at the hotel."

"Why don't you have her come over for lunch", he said. "My wife is around – we have a house here on base. I'm sure she'd love to meet Sam."

"That'd be nice. Let me call her." He pulled out his cell phone. "Just one thing – whatever you do, don't start talking about any kind of science or technology", he said.

"Why? She hate shop talk?"

"You have no idea!"

In the end they had a nice lunch with Stan and his wife Patty. The Briggs had three children, 11, 13 and 15 and Patty was very definitely involved in her children's lives. She spent a lot of time chatting to Sam about babies and life as a military wife. "Did you know General O'Neill when he was in Colorado", she asked.

"Yes, I've known Jack for about 10 years", she explained, "back when he was a Colonel."

Over dessert General Biggs turned to Sam. "So, what is it that you do? How did you meet O'Neill here?" he wanted to know.

"Uh, well -"

"She served with me Stan", Jack explained calmly. "Sam's a Colonel in the Air Force."

"A Colonel?" Patty said in surprise. "I had no idea. Are you still on active duty?"

"Yes. I work in R&D in Washington."

"Not only is she a Colonel", O'Neill said with pride, "She's a scientist – one of the foremost astrophysicists in the country – probably the world!"

"Really?" both Sally and Stan looked at her in awe. "And you married him?" Stan asked in surprise, forgetting for a moment that he was talking about a superior officer.

Sam laughed. "Yes. Although Jack pretends not to know anything about technology, he's pretty smart."

"Not as smart as you Colonel", he answered.

"Well, not in physics – but you're much better in other areas."

"Name one", he challenged, a gleam in his eye.

"Uh – yo yos – you're much better at yo yo's. Oh, and you know a lot more about the Simpsons than I do."

"True, true. What else?"

She glanced at the Briggs and couldn't help but grin at the bemused expressions on their faces. "He's just pulling your legs you know", she confided. "He's brilliant as a strategist and he's held in great esteem in DC."

Jack made a rather rude noise and soon the conversation turned to other things. It was mid-afternoon by the time they left, having enjoyed a lovely time with the General and his wife.

"I'm sure you'll be hearing from someone soon Stan", Jack shook his hand. "I'm very impressed at what you've done here. I also want to thank you for a great afternoon – and give my thanks again to your lovely wife."

"He loves her very much", Patty said as she watched the O'Neill's drive away.

"Yes, he does. I'm glad", Stan answered. "He had a rough time of it, losing his son and then his marriage falling apart. He's a decent guy – one of the best. He deserves all the happiness he can get!"

The next day Jack and Sam were on the road again. They continued to travel slowly and to visit various landmarks and interesting places along their route. For the most part they kept off the major highways and travelled some of the back roads of the country.

As they approached Kansas Sam could tell that Jack was a little uptight. Nothing unusual had happened, as far as she knew, so she had trouble figuring out what was happening. She finally asked him outright.

"What's wrong Jack? You've seemed tense all day today. Is something the matter?"

"What? No. It's – we're going to be at MacConnell soon, and I'm not looking forward to it, that's all", he answered.

"But won't it be similar to Scott? Just a quick tour and then you're out of there."

"Yeah, it wouldn't be a problem except for the officer in charge."

"Who's that?" she asked.

"General Jeremiah Williams."

"Williams? I think I've heard about him, although I can't quite remember - "

"Oh, wasn't there something a few years back?"

"Yes. There was an accusation of sexual harassment but it was covered up and the woman who'd accused him suddenly recanted. I'm pretty sure she was either threatened or bribed - either way, he came out with nothing against him, even though I know the bastard was guilty."

"You know him too?" she asked softly.

"I know him alright. I served with him on a mission in Central America – practically got me killed. He did get some of the men in my unit killed although again, nothing was proven against him. I tried to say something but was ignored. I was a young officer, just out of the Academy and he had big names backing him. I was lucky not to have been put up on charges myself. As it was, I made an enemy in Williams. He swore that one day he was going to get me for trying to 'get him in trouble'.

"Did he try anything?' she asked, her eyes big.

Jack laughed ironically. "Tried and succeeded. He was the one in charge of the mission in Iraq – the one where I was left behind. He ordered the chopper to leave me, even though I'm sure he knew I was alive. I couldn't prove anything, of course. The man is slippery as an eel."

"So tomorrow isn't going to be pleasant?"

Jack's face changed – and it wasn't an expression she'd seen in a long time – not since the defeat of the Goa'uld. It sent a spike of fear up her spine. It was times like these that she truly realized that Jack had seen and done some terrifying things in his life. As gentle as he was, and even with his sense of humor and sometimes childlike actions, he was a tough and hardened soldier.

"Pleasant? No, it won't be pleasant, at least not for good old General Jerry Williams. Not pleasant at all!"