Jack walked into the house with a small sigh. The doctors had sent him from Sam's room so that they could both get some "much needed rest". He rubbed his eyes as he closed and locked the door. He wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. At least not for long.

"How is she, sir?"

Jack looked up to see his assistant standing at the top of the stairs. "Uh...she'll be fine," he muttered. "I'll bring Grace to see her tomorrow."

"She lost the baby, didn't she?" She asked, noticing the lines on his face.

He'd been so proud when he'd announced to her that he was going to be a father again.

He paused for a moment as he moved to get up the stairs. "Yeah."

"I'm sorry to hear it," she said, softly.

He managed a thin, but somewhat grateful smile as he got to the top of the stairs. "Thanks. How was Grace?"

"She was a little hysterical for a bit. She's worried about Colonel Carter."

He nodded, absently.

"I went ahead and made some breakfast casserole for the morning. It's just eggs, hashbrowns, and sausage, but I didn't think that you'd want to cook when Grace was ready for breakfast in the morning."

"That's nice of you. Thanks." He heard himself saying.

"I'll be going, if that's all, sir?"

He nodded before fumbling for his wallet. "Thanks for coming. Not exactly in your job descript..."

He felt a hand on his arm. "Please." She said, shaking her head. "Don't even think about it."

He nodded numbly as he put the wallet back in his pocket. "Thank you," he finally managed, wearily.

"I'll cancel your meetings until further notice," she said, checking with him, but he'd ceased to listen a long time before she got to that point.

He nodded slowly, though he wasn't sure what he was agreeing to. "That'll be fine, Lieutenant."

She studied him for a moment before she walked down the stairs and slipped out the door.

He walked slowly to the bedroom, briefly pausing by Grace's room on the way there. Soft moonlight streamed in through the giant picture window, and for a moment, he could have sworn that a cherubic angel lay in the bed. That was Sam's official nickname for the girl, after all. Grace was her little angel.

He felt tears coming again, and he looked away. He probably didn't want to wake Grace. It was nearly six o' clock in the morning, after all.

She stirred as the floor beneath him creaked lightly. "Daddy?"

He took a few deep breaths as he walked slowly toward her bed, and sat beside her. "Hey there, how's my princess?" He managed.

Her eyes were open with worry. "Is Mommy okay?"

He swallowed. "She will be."

"What about my new baby brother or sister?"

He inhaled. "You're...you're not going to get a new baby brother or sister anymore, Grace. Not right now, anyway."

She looked up at him with wide eyes, but she could see that he didn't want to talk about it. "But Mommy's okay?"

He nodded slowly. "She's still at the hospital, and will be for a little while, but...she's been through worse."

"She's strong," Grace said, nodding.

"Yep. That she is."

He sounded so much more matter-of-fact than he wanted to be, he thought to himself.

"I'm not sleepy anymore," Grace murmured softly.

"Me either," he admitted.

"What should we do?"

"I need to call some people..."

"That can wait," she said, wisely.

"I suppose it is a little on the early side for anyone in Colorado." He reasoned, absently. But his friends kept such strange hours because of their jobs that it wouldn't surprise him if someone was awake to take his call. Especially since he'd already started telling Daniel about Sam.

"Do I have to go to school?" Grace asked after a moment.

Jack looked over, suddenly back in the real world, before he shook his head. "No, sweetheart. Today, I won't make you go to school."

Grace nodded slowly. "Maybe we can eat breakfast, take Doc for a walk, and then...go see Mommy?"

"I think that would be a very good idea," he admitted.

She looked at his blood-stained shirt. "You should probably change," she said, softly.

He looked down absently. "You're probably right about that, kiddo." He sighed before he looked back at her. "Get dressed, then I'll get you some breakfast."

"Okay, Daddy."

He stood slowly. He was stiff from a night of waiting, hoping and praying. He walked into the bedroom, almost afraid to see the mess that had been left behind in the hurry to get Sam to the hospital. He was surprised to find that the bed had been remade, and that any trace of the night's events had been cleaned up.

God bless Marcie Johnson, he thought to himself. When he got back to work, she was getting recommended for whatever he could get her. Promotion, vacation, pay raise...

His cell phone rang, and he considered not answering. He wasn't really in the mood to talk to anyone.

The insistent buzzing of his phone finally made him look at the caller ID. Cassandra.

He inhaled before opening the phone. "Hi, Cass."

"Jack, I just got Daniel's call. Is she okay?"

"She's stable," he murmured. "For now, that's good enough for me."

"Daniel said she miscarried."

"Yeah." Jack said, softly. "Yeah, she did."

"I'm coming down there."

"She'd want you to finish the week with your studies," Jack said with a small sigh. "We'll survive..."

"Jack..."

"This is med school. It's not like your GE astronomy class that Sam could help you with when she got shot."

"I'm coming down this weekend." Cassie promised. "No "ifs", "ands" or "buts" about it."

"Okay."

"How's Grace? Have you told her yet?"

"She's taking it better than Sam or me..." He said, soberly.

"Well, she's younger, and she hasn't had a lot of time with the information, I would guess."

"That's true." He said, softly.

"Jack, I...I just don't know what to say," she murmured. "I wish..."

"Yeah. That's about as far as any of the rest of us have gotten," he said, softly.

"Tell Sam to call me, okay?"

"I will."

"And if she doesn't call by lunchtime, I'll call her."

"Got it."

"All right. Let me know if you need anything."

"I will."

"Bye, Jack."

"Bye, Cass."

Jack walked over to the closet, and winced slightly as he saw some of the new items which his wife had hung carefully in the closet in anticipation of her blossoming pregnancy. He closed his eyes before reaching into his side of the closet and pulling out his faded blue jeans and a t-shirt. He didn't care which one today, not that he ever really cared, but today? Today was a day for sweats, honestly.

He emerged a few moments later in a black tee and jeans. Grace was already sitting at the table, having served herself and her father some of the breakfast casserole which Marcie had left for them.

She'd even poured them both some orange juice.

Jack walked over and pulled out his chair, haphazardly plopping down on it with a weary sigh. He raised his fork in an effort to try and eat something, but he was only really able to push the food around on his plate.

He could feel Grace's eyes on him, and he reached for his cup. "Thank you, Grace," he murmured as he took a sip.

"I don't know how to make coffee," she said, softly. "So I got you juice."

He managed a small, but grateful smile, though pain was in every line of his face. "You did a good job, Grace."

"We don't have to go anywhere, Daddy." She whispered with understanding. "Not if you don't want to go."

"Doc needs a walk," Jack said, shaking his head. "And I could use the exercise."

She got off her chair, silently, and took her plate, cup and utensils to the sink. She tried to reach for the kitchen faucet, but Jack stood behind her. "Leave the dishes. It'll give us something to do when we get back from seeing your mommy."

She nodded, soberly.

"Ready, kiddo?" He asked, trying to sound more lighthearted than he really was.

"I'm ready," she said, nodding affirmatively.

"Come on, Doc!" He cried, half-heartedly, as they walked toward the front door.

The boisterous golden retriever must have sensed the emotional turmoil in the household because he didn't just bound into the room as usual, but walked unusually slowly with his tail dusting the floor behind him sadly.

Jack reached for the dog leash and bent down to connect him to it. His fingers fumbled clumsily with the latch, and he sighed and pulled away. He inhaled and exhaled before leaning in to try it again. Within a matter of seconds, the dog's collar was connected to the leash. "Let's go," he murmured as he stood.

He wasn't paying much attention on the walk, but Doc's good nature and Grace's tight clasp of his hand kept them all in line. He felt like he was watching his life pass slowly ahead of him instead of actively participating in it. It was times like these when he knew he believed Sam's ramblings about the relativity of time. How else could one explain how twenty-four hours could feel like a year under one set of circumstances while in another set of circumstances it could feel like an hour?

Before he knew it, they had arrived back home, and he'd taken the dog's leash off.

"You should eat something, Daddy." Grace said, looking up at him.

"I'll...try again." He mumbled, heading upstairs. He forced a few bites of the casserole, and Grace watched him, carefully.

When he'd set his fork down for the last time, she looked over at him. "Should we go now?"

He inhaled before he nodded. "I think that would be a good idea. Your mom's probably waking up right about now." He looked over at Grace with a worn smile. "I'm sure seeing her angel would brighten up her day."

Grace nodded, looking considerably older than her five years.

"C'mere." He invited, opening his arms to the little girl.

She hugged him, resting her cheek on his shoulder. "I'm sorry you're so sad," she whispered.

A lump grew in his throat as he held her tightly. "I love you, Grace," he whispered, hugging her tightly as tears slipped down his cheeks.

"I love you too, Daddy," she whispered, returning the hug.

-

They walked slowly into Sam's room. Her eyes were closed, and Jack bit the inside of his cheek. The nurses had suggested she might be asleep. They'd had to sedate her again to get her to sleep through the rest of the night. Jack sighed softly. He should have been here. He should have been there to hold her hand and tell her that everything would be all right.

Grace walked slowly toward her mother's bed, studying her closely. "She's asleep," she said, looking back at her father, who still stood in the doorway.

He nodded. "Looks like it," he said, nodding.

Sam stirred at the sounds of the soft voices, and opened her eyes to find Grace peering over at her.

"Hi, angel," Sam murmured, her words slurring lightly with the effects of her sedation.

"Hi, Mommy," she said softly, taking another step forward.

"Why aren't you in school?" Sam asked, gently stroking the five-year-old's cheek.

"Daddy said I didn't have to go today. 'Cuz you're sick."

Sam nodded slowly, still in the haze of her drug-induced sleep. "I see."

"Are you feeling better now?"

"A little," she murmured, closing her eyes for a moment longer than usual.

"Daddy, she's awake," Grace said, turning to her father.

"I see that," he said, walking over and sitting in the chair beside her bed. He gently brushed the hair from her face as he leaned in to look at her. "Hey," he whispered, gently.

"Hi."

"I heard that the nurses had to sedate you last night. Get you to sleep."

She swallowed, silently.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here when you woke up," he whispered, gently. "They kicked me out. Told me to go home and get some sleep."

"Did you?"

He looked away. "Went home..."

"Couldn't sleep either?"

"Yeah."

She looked away for a moment, and he took the opportunity to kiss her forehead. "I love you, Sam."

She managed a fractured half of a smile. "I know. I love you too."

"Daniel called when we were on our way," he began. "He and Vala and Teal'c have all gotten leave for a little while. They're coming out today."

"Nice of them," she murmured, drifting slowly back into her dreamless sleep.

"Cassie wants you to call her. Or she'll call you. And she's coming this weekend..."

"She should study."

"I tried to tell her..." Jack said, limply.

"Mark...call Mark..."

"I left a message for him last night. I'm still waiting for a call back."

Her eyes had slipped closed a few moments before, and now, he could hear her breathing even out in the regular deep breathing of the sleeping.

He kissed her forehead once more before he looked over at Grace. "Let's go home, kiddo. We'll let your mommy rest."

"Are you sure she's going to be all right?" Grace asked, looking up at him with worried eyes.

"You remember what you said earlier?" He asked, looking down at her with as much of a reassuring smile as he could muster.

Her brow furrowed.

"Your mommy's strong." He said, kneeling down so that he could look at her on her level. "And with you and me to help her get better, she'll be just fine."

"Promise?" She asked with a trembling lip.

"Cross my heart," he said, marking an "x" on his chest.

Grace's eyes welled up with tears as she threw her arms around his neck. "I don't want to lose Mommy like I lost my other mommy!" She sobbed.

Jack held her tightly as tears welled up in his eyes again. "Oh, baby, I don't want to lose her either."