She was mad, really mad. He knew enough to tread lightly around her, although to be fair, she hadn't directed any of her anger at him – thank God. Although Sam rarely got angry, when she did you'd better watch out. Many aliens had learned that lesson over the years, as had her former team mates – especially her former commanding officer, one Jonathan O'Neill.

The difference now, of course, was that she no longer had to bite her tongue and go along with him, no matter how she felt. Although even back then she'd had a way of making him feel very uncomfortable, even if she stayed strictly within the bounds of proper deference to a superior officer. But now if he did something to anger her she'd let him know it, in no uncertain terms. He had quickly learned to be very wary of one Sam Carter-O'Neill, POW - pissed off woman.

He smiled as he thought back to the first time she'd let him have it. He could barely remember what it had even been about – but he did remember her letting loose at him and telling him what she thought about whatever it was he'd done. What had been funny about the whole thing wasn't her anger – no, that hadn't been pleasant – it was her look of pure and absolute terror when she'd suddenly realized she'd told him to 'go to hell'. She'd started to stutter an apology when he'd calmly reached over and covered her mouth with his fingers.

"No", he'd said. "You have every right to tell me when I'm being an ass. I'm not your commanding officer anymore so you don't have to worry that I'll report you." He'd paused and then continued – "of course I might have to punish you in other ways" he waggled his eyebrows suggestively at her.

She'd realized at that moment what she'd done and hadn't known whether to stay angry or to laugh. Fortunately she'd chosen the latter – and the make-up sex had been great. Since that day she'd learned to be open with him and hold him accountable for the stupid things he sometimes did. The flip side was that she was also able to be much more open with him about the good stuff too, and she did that much more often.

So today she was very definitely angry, but it was at the 'powers that be' including the President, the IOA, and definitely the Chinese, rather than at her husband. She also included the Tokra and the Asgaard in her anger – and any other alien ally or enemy that she'd ever come across – just for good measure.

She was angry because she was being pulled from a very important project that she'd been working on for months and one that would probably be finished this week – and she'd miss it. What was bothering her even more, however, was something she hadn't mentioned to Jack. She hated the fact that they continued to turn to her husband anytime there was a big problem in the universe. He'd already sacrificed so much – almost everything in fact – in service to his country and his planet. She thought it was time they got someone else to clean up their messes. Let him enjoy life for a change she pleaded, although silently and to herself.

He was happier now than she'd ever seen him in all the years she'd known him. To no one's surprise, there was nothing he loved more than being a husband and father. He thrived on family life and on spending time with her and the children. He didn't need to be pulled back into missions, politics and the bitter wrangling between allies. He needed to be left alone, or at least left with her and Alex and Kate.

The only thing that kept her from saying anything this time was that Jack had decided to make this whole trip into a family vacation and laughed when she'd asked him whether they wanted him back permanently. He told her 'there's no way in hell', which she had to be content with, although she still doubted. As for the mission itself, he hadn't said much of anything about the negotiations, not because the information was classified, but because he really wasn't all that interested. He'd told her he'd been briefed by the President's people but other than that hadn't wanted to talk about it. Instead, he'd chatted about what they would do with the kids when they were on Othalla.

"We'll have to take Alex' train set", he'd said that night after supper. "We'll probably be gone for a week and he'll need his toys. Kat will too. I doubt they'll have too much there for the kids."

"They can probably manufacture anything they need", she'd said quietly as she cleared the table.

He stood up to help and replied, "maybe, but what's the fun in that? No, I think we need to take some stuff – the Asgaard will want to see 'earth toys' anyway. Who knows, maybe we'll create a fad on Othalla."

"With Thomas the Tank Engine trains?"

"Nah, I think Thor's already done that – he loves Thomas. No, I was thinking we could take some other stuff. How about Elmo?"

"Elmo?"

"Yeah, Kat loves her talking Elmo. I'm sure the Asgaard would love him too."

"You're crazy Jack", his wife said lovingly. "They're some of the smartest aliens in the universe and you think they'd like Elmo", she shook her head disbelievingly.

"You think they'd prefer Ernie and Bert?"

They'd spent that evening deciding what all they needed to bring for the children. By the time they were done Sam was sure that they were taking half their house. "You're sure we'll need the stroller", she'd asked.

"Yeah – those corridors are long. You don't want to have to carry Kat around all day."

"Okay, but car seats? Do the Asgaard even have cars?"

He looked a little unsure but finally shrugged. "They must have something. I mean – you don't think they really walk everywhere do you? Their legs are kind of – uh - "

"Short?"

"Yeah", he grinned, "short – and spindly. I bet they have really snazzy sports cars. They're probably red and they zoom all over in them. We'll have to see if we can bring one back with us."

"Red sports cars!" She shook her head. "Okay, bring the car seats."

Everything was packed and ready and they had put the children down for a nap when there was a flash of light and Thor suddenly appeared in their kitchen.

"Thor!" Jack jumped but calmed down as soon as he realized it was his favorite – after Teal'c – alien. "Hi – have you come to get us?"

"Indeed I have O'Neill." He turned to Sam. "Hello Samantha, it is good to see you again."

"You too Thor. Uh – I hope it's okay that the kids and I are tagging along?"

"Tagging along?" the little alien asked, puzzled.

"It means we're coming with you and Jack to Othalla."

"Oh, I see. Yes, it is fine you are tagging along. In fact the Asgaard people are very excited that you are coming. We want to welcome young Alexander and baby Katherine to our planet. So, if you are ready now we will return to my ship."

"Uh – before that Thor I need to get the children up and then change them. While I'm doing that why doesn't Jack show you their things and you can beam – ur – send them up."

Thor blinked at her but nodded. He then turned to O'Neill. "I will be happy to have the items transported to the ship if you will show me where they are."

As Thor was following Jack he suddenly asked. "Why does Samantha want to change your children? Do you not like them the way they are?"

Jack stopped and stared briefly at the alien, wondering if Thor was cracking an old joke. When it appeared he was serious he couldn't help but grin. "Uh – yeah, we're pretty happy with them – but they could be a bit wet and smelly – that's why she's changing them."

"I see." Thor blinked and continued to follow O'Neill but after a couple of steps stopped again. His blinking showed his confusion. "I did not know humans were able to change a person's physical condition so easily."

Now it was Jack who was confused. "Change a physical condition? Sorry Thor, I don't know what you're asking."

"You said that Samantha was going to change them from being 'wet and stinky'. How does she do that?"

This time Jack simply shook his head. "She's just changing their diapers Thor", he sighed. "They're not potty trained yet and so they need to use them still."

Thor nodded as if he'd just been told the secrets of the universe. "I understand. I remember watching you 'change' Alexander's diaper. It was not a pleasant experience."

"You must have witnessed a dirty one", Jack answered. "He sometimes has some doozies."

"Yes, it was definitely a 'doozy'."

Jack finally led Thor into the living room where the pile of things was sitting waiting.

The alien stopped and stared at the enormous amount of items required for four humans, two of whom were smaller than he or his fellow Asgaard. "My understanding was that you and your family were to stay for only a week on Othalla", Thor stated.

"That's right. I'd like to stay longer but Sam needs to get back to work", he explained.

"I see – then why, may I ask, are you transporting such a large quantity of items."

"Large?" Jack looked at the pile. "No – that's just for the week. Kids need a lot of stuff Thor."

"I see", he blinked again. "In that case I will transport it up and see if I can find adequate room. I have prepared quarters for you and your children but I am afraid there will not be enough space for all of this. I shall return."

Jack went upstairs to help Sam ready the kids but he couldn't help the small chortle of laughter that escaped as he thought about his conversation with Thor. He'd have to tell her, knowing she'd get a kick out of his misunderstanding of English. As if either of them would want to 'change' their children" he thought. They were perfect the way they were.

"YOU GET BACK HERE ALEXANDER JACOB CHARLES O'NEILL."

His wife's angry voice could be heard sharply over the squeals of a two-year old who suddenly zoomed out of the bedroom and down the hall, stark naked – his little dimpled bottom bouncing merrily as he escaped his mother.

He was running so fast he didn't see his father and the next thing Alex knew he was being lifted up high. He squealed again but then went silent when he saw his father's stern face looking at him.

"Oh good, you've got him", Sam said from the doorway of Alex' room. "Can you please finish getting him dressed while I do Kat?"

"Oh sure – you get the easy one", he complained.

"Hey – he's your son and definitely has your personality so you deal with him!" his loving wife told him. He had a brief moment of yearning for the days of 'Major Carter'. She would never have argued with him then.

"My personality? What's that supposed to mean?"

"That means I can't remember the number of times you'd disappear when it was time for your shots or medical tests. Janet used to pull her hair out trying to track you down."

"Hey – that was totally different", he answered indignantly.

"Why was it different?" she asked, looking at him narrowly. "It seems to me it was exactly the same. Just like your son you were avoiding something you hated."

"Yeah, well maybe, he replied ungraciously. "It still wasn't the same."

"Why not", she sighed.

"I never once ran away naked!" he said with a 'so there' tone to his voice.

She began to laugh until the tears came. A little put out, he asked her why she was laughing.

"Just the picture of you running through the halls of the SGC stark naked", she gasped when her laughter was under control, "with Janet running behind you holding a needle." She began to laugh again, obviously the mental picture was too much to handle.

Even he couldn't help but grin at the thought and eventually he started to laugh as well. "She would have done it too", he gasped. "And you would have let her!"

"Let her? I would have followed right behind her and helped", Sam said.

"You wanted to poke me with those damned needles too?" he asked indignantly.

"No – I wanted to see you naked! The thought of that cute butt flying past – Mmmm!"

It was only the voice of his indignant – and ignored – son that kept his wife safe. With an 'I'll get you later' look he proceeded to take Alex back into his room to finish dressing him.

"Da angwy?" the little boy asked when he was placed firmly on the change table. As much as he loved his Da – he also knew that he could only get away with so much.

"Da wants you to lie still and let me change your diaper", his father said firmly. "It is very naughty of you to run away Alex. The next time you do it you will have to sit in the 'naughty chair' and you won't be able to play with Thomas!"

His son's mouth turned down in a pout but he remained still until his father had changed his diaper and had dressed him. When he was placed on the floor his 'Da' knelt down and looked him in the eye. "I want you to go and say you're sorry to Mama. That was a very naughty thing you did and that makes Mama feel bad."

Tears appeared in his son's eyes and fell down his soft cheeks. "Mama sad?" he wanted to know.

"When you're bad it makes both Mama and me sad. You have to obey us and not run away."

"Da wun away?" Alex asked, his eyes big.

Ooh – he and Sam had to remember to watch what they said around their children. "Yes Alex – sometimes Da used to be naughty too and he ran away."

"Da nawty – you sit in nawty chair too?" This seemed to please the two-year old and he waited for his father to answer.

"Yes Alex – Da got in trouble too, although I didn't have a naughty chair. I just got stuck with bigger needles! There, now you go in and see Mama – she's getting Kat ready and she'd feel better if you gave her a big kiss and helped her with Kat."

The little boy ran off happily, pleased to be released from the 'diaper changing' torture and thrilled over knowing that his father had been naughty and had gotten in trouble too, even if he wasn't quite sure what 'bigger needles' meant.

Jack watched his son go with a grin. He was like him, he realized with pride. He stood up, grateful for the hundredth time that his knees no longer bothered him and he was able to squat down with impunity. He slowly made his way into help Sam – again thinking that he wouldn't want to change a thing with his children – his wife – or his life.

"Okay Thor", he said, carrying Alex down the stairs, "We're all ready." Sam followed closely holding a happy-looking little girl.

"TOR!" Alex screeched when he saw his little alien buddy. "Hi Tor! You come pway wif me?"

"Hello young Alexander", Thor smiled and moved over to the little boy and gently touched his head. "I will be pleased to play with you. And hello baby Katherine", he looked up at the little girl, who grinned in greeting. "I am so glad you and your children will be visiting us Samantha", he told the woman in front of him.

"I'm glad we can come Thor. I hope we don't cause too much trouble."

Thor assured her that it was no trouble at all. Little was he to know what a toddler and a baby could do on a planet that hadn't seen children in millennia!

They were soon all happily ensconced in their room on the Asgaard ship. They had comfortable quarters, with a big bed for the two adults and two 'cribs' for the children. Thor had gone out of his way to make the space not only livable, but beautiful too. The colors and fabrics were lovely and spoke of much thought and care.

"This is amazing Thor", Sam turned to the small alien. "You must have gone to so much work!"

"It was not me, Samantha", he exclaimed. "A number of the Asgaard wanted to welcome you and thought this would be a nice way to do it."

They all settled in and were happily playing with the children when there was a 'knock' on the door. Jack went and hit the control and the door opened.

"Daniel, Teal'c – hi guys – come on in."

"Hi Jack, Sam."

"Uncow Danow, Uncow Teewc!" Alex ran over and threw himself at Teal'c, who lifted him up high.

"Hello young Alexander Carter-O'Neill. How are you today?"

"Ays fine", he answered seriously. "Ays gonna see Tor's house. Kat's comin' too. Is you's comin' too Uncow Teewc?"

"Yes young O'Neill, I am coming too, as is Daniel Jackson."

"Uncow Danow comin too? Goody! We's can pway Thomas!"

"Hi guys", Daniel grinned and reached out and took a smiling Kate. She leaned forward and kissed her 'Uncle Daniel'. Although she eyed his glasses longingly, Daniel knew enough to keep her from grabbing them. When she tried to reach for them he shifted her in his arms. "She's just like you Sam", he said. "She can't keep her hands off of anything that interests her!"

"Boy, is that the truth", Jack had exclaimed. "That is so like Sam. When I think of all those years she had trouble keeping her hands off me!"

"Jack O'Neill!" his wife exclaimed. "That is so untrue. I kept my hands off you just fine."

"Oh I don't know – there was that time in the locker room -"

"That was years ago – and I was under the influence of an alien disease!"

"But Janet said it just made you go for the 'Alpha male'. It allowed your secret desires to come out!"

"My secret desires?" she scoffed. "Hey, I wasn't the one who kissed me in the time loop! There was no alien influence there – that was all you. You were the one who couldn't keep your hands off of me."

"They are doing it again Daniel Jackson", Teal'c said with a long-suffering sigh.

"I know Teal'c – it's quite – sickening. Let's take the kids for a walk and leave them to sort out the 'who couldn't keep their hands off of whom' discussion."

"Hey – where are you guys going?" Jack suddenly realized that his two friends had taken the children and were leaving.

"We are going for a walk O'Neill", Teal'c answered. "You and Samantha can resolve your issue in privacy. We will knock before we enter."

"Uh – okay", Jack and Sam both watched, bemused, as their friends left. They then turned towards each other and grinned. "So, we have some time Mrs. O'Neill!"

"We do indeed Mr. O'Neill. I suggest we make good use of it."

"Yes – let's" he grinned. "See", he said a moment later, "I told you you couldn't keep your hands off of me!"

"Jack!"

"So the kids don't seem to mind travelling on a space ship", Daniel said to them later as they were all eating supper. Vala and Cam had joined them and they'd spent and enjoyable time catching up with one another. They'd also had fun playing with the children earlier, but both of them were now in bed, asleep. Thor had a monitor on them so that Jack and Sam were able to join the others.

"Oh, we figure they're going to be little space travelers when they grow up", Jack said, taking a bite of something which was delicious – although he wasn't quite sure what it was. "They love speed and travel. They take after Sam."

"I believe they take after both of you O'Neill", Teal'c said definitely, refusing to allow another argument to occur between his two friends. "It is not surprising", he continued. "I expect that one day they will do great things."

"I'd rather them just be happy", Sam said quietly. "Most people who've done 'great things' have had a lot of bad things happen to them." Although she didn't look at him, she was thinking of Jack, although her words held true for all of them.

"Oh, I don't know" Vala suddenly joined the conversation. "I've done some great things and I've had fun doing them."

"Great things?" Daniel asked skeptically. "I'd say you've done a lot of – questionable – things. That's different."

The conversation then deteriorated into a comparison of all the 'great' and 'not so great' things each of them had done. They were careful to keep the conversation light, knowing there were areas for each of them that were too painful to explore.

"That was fun", Sam said later as she lay in bed, watching her husband get changed. "I've forgotten how much fun we have together."

He turned and looked at her seriously. "Do you miss it?" he asked. "Do you – would you want to go back?" It was his secret fear that she'd tire of their life and want to return to the exciting life she'd led before they got married. Oh, he knew she'd never leave the children, but she might want to go back to work full-time in the field. He knew he wouldn't stop her, but he was afraid that she'd tire of him and the more mundane life she lived now. He could never quite be totally confident that something wouldn't happen to screw up what he – they had together.

"Go back?" she thought seriously for a moment. "No, I don't think so", she said. "I remember all the things we did and how – great – it was but my life is a lot better now. Although there are days I've had enough of diapers and picking up toys, I wouldn't give up my life for anything. You and the kids are all the challenge I need! I just wish we could be closer to those guys so we could get together more often – but I wouldn't want to go back out into the field."

He studied her face closely, wanting to make sure she was being totally honest with him. When she began to frown, clearly worried at his expression, he smiled. "Sorry", he said softly. "I just want you to know that whatever you decide to do – I'll support you. I'm just glad you want to stay with me."

"Was there any doubt?" she asked. When she saw the brief flash of guilt on his face she sighed and sat up. "Jack – what more do I have to do to convince you that I'm happy – that this is where I want to be in life. I have you – who I love dearly, even when I want to shoot you, and I have two of the most beautiful children in the world. I also have a job that interests me and gives me enough outside work to keep me from getting bored. I do not want to go back to the life I had before. I just miss our friends, okay?"

"Okay", he finally grinned. "I know, I'm an idiot. It's just that I still have trouble believing that you want me. I'm not much you know."

"No – you're not much - you're just everything - and all I ever wanted." She leaned forward and grabbed him and pulled him down beside her. "Now come to bed you irritating man. I'm having trouble keeping my hands off of you!"

His 'I told you so' was soon muffled as he was smothered by the warm, and very sexy body of his wife.