Author's Note: I know it's been forever and a day since I've updated this story.....I promise that I didn't fall off the face of the Earth. Real life definitely got in the way big time this past year. In June, my mother passed away after an 18 yr battle with Multiple Sclerosis. Even knowing that it was only a matter of time, losing my mother hit me extremely hard. To make matters worse, I haven't spoken to my father or brother since July because of things I found out once my mother was gone. Add in my new step-mother to the mix and it was a recipe for instant disaster. Blood isn't always thicker than water. Needless to say, I'm grateful that you can choose your friends.....

But enough about me....

I want to thank everyone for their reviews. It warms my heart in a big way to know that quite a few of you love this story like I do. I promise that I will do my best to update this story regularly from here on out. And keep an eye out, I'll be posting the first few parts of a new story in the near future. As strange as it sounds, it's a crossover between Roswell, Stargate SG-1, and CSI: NY. I know that sounds nuts to most of you but don't knock it till you read it.

This chapter is small because it's mostly just a filler. Trust me, Chapter 12 will more than make up for it.

Much Love,

Jenn ;)

Chapter 11: That was Then, This is Now

The following day:

Liz laughed hysterically at the shit eating grin on Cam's face when her, Evan, John, and the kids entered the Commissary. She knew what it was all about as soon as she eyed her sister's ring finger. It had taken all her willpower to not to spill the beans to Sam when Cam had come to her and Ashley about a ring. Even before the news of their impending child broke, Cam had made his intentions clear. He wanted Sam, for the rest of his life. So, a whole week of keeping her mouth shut had nearly killed her. She dashed past everyone and wrapped Sam in a tight hug. "I hear congratulations are in order."

"I hear I have you to thank," Sam whispered in her ear. "From what Cam said, what ever it was that you guys talked about really pushed him along."

Liz decided to test Sam's powers in that instant. She spoke to her in her mind. 'I did nothing, sis. He loves you. I mean really loves you.'

Sam pulled back in shock and awe. "Can I do that too?"

Liz nodded. "Just concentrate it's not that hard. Trust me."

Sam concentrated hard on making her voice heard in Liz's head. 'Like this?'

Liz nodded enthusiastically and smiled brightly. 'Yep. See you got it.'

'That's kinda cool. Can Vala do it?'

'By now, she should be able to. Within the next few days you'll change more. Your eyes already have. And I'm willing to be that if I checked the back of your neck, you'd have a black crown with blue butterflies on it.'

Cam frowned. He wasn't stupid. The girls were giggling. Giggling was bad. Giggling meant they must be discussing him. He stopped short at the realization that Sam shared some of Liz's abilities. Oh he was so in for it now. Separately, the Carter sisters were forces of nature not be reckoned with. Together, well, they'd be damn near unstoppable. Yep, screwed didn't even begin to scratch the surface...

He could only imagine what they were saying. With a groan, he spoke up. "Okay ladies, can we not discuss me without me actually hearing it? Cause that's just not fair. I can't even defend myself."

Liz smirked in his direction before replying. 'Oh but you can hear us if we let you.'

Cam jerked in surprise. "Can we not do that either?"

The girls spent the next two hours torturing him as much as they could....much to Evan, John, Ronan and Daniel's amusement....

Later that week: the Gateroom:

As they stood in the Gateroom, Liz glanced at Sam who was wrapped up in Cam's arms. "Are you absolutely sure you two don't mind taking care of them for two weeks?" She knew they had no problems whatsoever. The problem lay squarely with her. It would be the first time since she'd learned she was pregnant with the twins that she'd be away from them. And while the rational part of her brain knew that she could talk to the kids at any time via their connection, the irrational part of her brain was screaming that her being away from them was a bad idea. But, like Ashley said it was high time she learn to live for herself again, without the guilt. This was merely a baby step in the right direction.

The pair nodded. "It's no big deal Lizzie. It's not like you aren't a gate trip away now. We'll be fine." Sam said in an effort to reassure her sister.

"And besides," Cam cut in "it's not like we don't need the practice." His hand slid down to Sam's abdomen and a huge grin graced his face.

It was all she could do to not laugh. Cam had that grin 24/7 now. With a baby on the way and a fiancé to go with it, why wouldn't he be happy? And it wasn't as if Sam hid the fact of how ridiculously happy she was either. Truth be told, Liz couldn't be more pleased for her sister and brother-in-law (yeah she liked the sound of that a lot) if she tried. They were really good together. Cam completed Sam and vice versa.

The gate sprung to life as Liz knelt in front of her children. They both wrapped their little arms around her. "Now I want you two to be very, very good for Uncle Cam and Aunt Sam okay?"

"Yes Mama." "Okay Mama." The kids replied as they assumed their place beside their Aunt and Uncle.

"We'll see to them as well Milady." Reille said as she threw a comforting smile Liz's way. Her brother nodded his head as if to affirm her statement.

Liz gave the kids one more watery smile before turning towards the gate. Daniel and Evan were sort of dragging her along as she hesitated just before stepping through the event horizon.

Cam couldn't resist saying "Have fun kids," as Ashley and Ronan followed them.

He then turned to Sheppard who had an arm slung over Elizabeth's shoulders. "So how long before the two of them combust?"

John laughed knowing who his friend was referring to. He too had seen the sparks that flew between his little cousin and Ronan whenever they were in the same room.

Sam merely slapped Cam's arm. "What?" He asked innocently.

"Don't do that. Leave them be. They'll find their way to each other." She told him with a smile.

His eyebrows arched up in surprise. She just laughed at his expression. "What? You don't think that I know that Ronan has it bad for her and she's got it just as bad for him? Please," she shook her head with a beaming smile "they're so transparent. I just hope he's got patience because she has built up quite a few walls in the last nine years."

Elizabeth smiled at Sam. "I think you'll find that Ronan knows a lot more than he lets on."

"Amen," John chimed in.

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Earth:

Jack clapped his hands together as he walked into the gateroom to greet them. "Hey kids. How's things?"

Ronan nodded in O'Neill's direction. He tended to find the General amusing. Like Sheppard, Jack O'Neill had an offbeat sense of humor.

Jack acknowledged the Satedan's presence with a friendly "Ronan," as he clapped the larger man on the back.

Ronan merely smirked.

Then the good General zeroed in on his next target.

Evan immediately snapped to attention which made Liz and Daniel laugh. He couldn't help it he supposed. His own father was a Major General at the Pentagon.

Jack smirked. He had always liked Evan Lorne. Seemed like a good kid despite being John Sheppard's partner in crime. None the less, he couldn't resist a little teasing. "At ease Lorne. Welcome back to Earth. And I hear from Dr. Weir that you and our Lizzie go way back."

Evan shifted nervously and coughed uncomfortably before replying, "ah. Yes sir." He looked anywhere but at the General. Mitchell had told him that O'Neill had a major soft spot for Liz. So his question scared him a little.

With mirth in his eyes and a smirk on his face, Jack than said the one thing that Evan Lorne had been least expecting. "My apologies."

Evan couldn't help but laugh in response. His whole demeanor changed as he realized the General wasn't going to give him a hard time.

Liz playfully slapped his arm. She was about to say something but was cut off by a female voice.

Aurora O'Neill stood in the doorway, laughter dancing in her baby blue eyes. Her excitement could barely be contained when Jack had told her that Liz and Ashley were coming back for some business. She had been upset that she hadn't had the opportunity to meet them before. The only other aliens she had met being here on Earth were Teal'c, Vala, and Cassandra; but they didn't share her heritage. Growing up on Ankara, her mother and grandmother had told her many tales of the once great Antarian Empire. Her grandmother had fled Antar when the war had started. She was saddened to learn that her grandmother's people had simply self-destructed. It was a side of her that she never got to really explore beyond her grandmother's recollections from her own childhood.

She had served on SG-2 for a short spell, but when she found out she was pregnant, she no longer wanted to do anything but be a stay at home Mom, much to Jack's delight. It wasn't so much that he wanted her to give up life at the SGC. No, he would never ask that of his beautiful young wife. She was a force to be reckoned with and he would never even think of asking something like that of her. So when she had initially broached the subject with him, he had acted like he'd support any decision she made. On the inside however, she knew that he was doing a jig. She wasn't stupid by any means. She knew that Jack would rest a little easier knowing that the love of his life wasn't putting her own life at risk on a near daily basis. The kids needed at least one parent around. In all reality, they had two. With him being CO of the Stargate Program, he held fairly regular hours. Which, afforded him to spend more quality time with Kyle and Madison than he had ever spent with Charlie. The O'Neill family was ridiculously happy, plain and simple.

In an accent that sounded akin to Irish, the redhead spoke as she joined her husband. "You'll have to excuse my husband Major Lorne. Seems he has no manners and takes joy out of taunting people."

Jack, meanwhile, regarded Ashley next who was standing next to the good Major. "Ashley."

Ashley smirked and replied, "Jack," in the same amused tone.

He then turned his attention to Liz. "So, how's things? Liz you're looking well. I assume the kiddies are still in Atlantis." He then turned to Daniel. "Space Monkey, how the hell are ya? We need to have a little chat later. I've, ah, heard some interesting news shall we say." Yes he just had to push the Vala button.

The look on Daniel's face was nothing less than priceless. He opened his mouth to retaliate but was quickly cut off.

Before Daniel could begin what Liz felt would surely be an argument , she replied, "We're good Jack. Now I'm assuming since you asked for me specifically this isn't just a social visit I'm making?"

He shook his head. "What I can't just want to see ya?"

She smirked as Jack did his best to arch an eyebrow ala Teal'c. And as much as she loved to be in the company of the good General, a reunion of the Carter-O'Neill gossip network was not her reason for being here. She knew that and so did he. "Fraid not Jack."

"Okay ya got me. Shall we head to the briefing room?"

They followed him out and up the stairs to the briefing room. Jack took a seat at the head of the table. Daniel sat next Jack on his right side and Aurora did the same on his left. Liz sat at the opposite end of the table with Ashley and Ronan flanking her sides. Evan sat next to Ronan. "Okay so I've had a chat with our friend Agent Barret from the NID."

"And?" Liz asked as she leaned forward in interest. She'd had butterflies all day from anticipation. As much as she loved Atlantis, she wanted to be once again able to come and go as she pleased on Earth without having to worry about being abducted.

"It seems that a few years ago they apprehended some of Khivar's little cronies."

Her eyebrows shot up. "They have Skins?" As far as they knew, any surviving Skins had been on the run since Khivar abdicated the throne and made a break. Once Antarian forces had retaken the major cities on all the continents, he fled the planet with his lackeys in tow. That had paved the way for her and her family to reclaim their rightful places as the ruling House of Antar.

He nodded. "Yeah his little buddies made you out to be the bad guys and gave up some false info in order to save their own hides. Sent the NID on a bonafide witch hunt. But they lost you when you guys disappeared after going overseas."

"So it was Khivar's men that found us in Egypt. Any idea where they are?"

"According to Barret, a ship was in orbit around that time for a few days. They must've hightailed it out for some reason or another. So the good news is you're home free in that respect."

"I'm sensing a big but here Jack."

"Well as far as the NID is concerned, you're the Antarian ambassadors to the SGC. I kinda failed to mention to Barret that Antar was in ruins. So thanks to President Hayes and myself, and mounds of paperwork might I add, you two are now on the SGC's payroll. So you're free to come and go as you please. A team from Home World Security will be here later on to set up all the necessary paperwork for Ashley and the kids."

Ashley still felt there was something else. He caught Ronan's eye across the table. The look he was met with told him that the other man was thinking the same thing. "General there's still a but there, isn't there?"

He took a deep breath. "I know you guys aren't gonna like it but you're gonna have to have a chat with Barret and fill in some blanks. That's the agreement. They leave you be and you give them some info. What you give them is completely up to you."

"That's it?"

"Yep."

She could handle that. This would be a chance to set the record straight. It was a chance to clear Max, Isabel, Michael, and Tess' names once and for all. "Fine. But they go nowhere near my children. Ever." The look on her face told all that she was deadly serious.

Jack nodded. "I already told him as much. He also may have gotten some choice words from the Head of Home World Security on the subject too. He told Barret in no uncertain terms that he'd rot in a cell in the basement of Area 51 if he ever went near his niece's kids." He had a smile as he finished. This was another surprise he had in store for Liz.

"Niece?"

As if on que, the man in question walked into the room. "And just when did you think you were going to tell me that you married an alien and had his children, young lady?"

A bright smile graced Liz's face as she jumped up to hug him. "Uncle George. You're the Head of Home World Security?"

He hugged her tightly in return. George Hammond was genuinely happy to see his best friend's youngest child. He pulled back to get a good look at the girl he hadn't seen in nearly seven years. He was definitely pleased to see that she looked healthy and happy. The last time he'd seen her she looked neither. "Yes I am Lizzie. You have no idea how good it is to see you Munchkin."

"It's good to see you too Uncle George. It's been too long."

He motioned for her to sit down again and he too took a seat at the table. "Imagine my surprise when I got a called from Jack to tell me that not only had my Lizziebell shown up out of nowhere, she had two kids. I thought he was joking for a while until he emailed me that picture that he had taken of the three of you. They're beautiful Lizzie. Jacob would've been so proud." His voice lowered as he spoke her father's name. He wasn't sure that he should've brought him up. It was still a sore spot with Sam. Especially since she felt like Liz had been treated horribly in the wake of their father's death. He too was still disappointed with Marc.

Meanwhile Ashley turned to Daniel, Evan and Ronan and mouthed 'Lizziebell?' The grin on his face was almost contagious.

Daniel nodded, desperately trying to keep in check his urge to snicker. He'd been looking to get Liz back for picking up where Jack left off with 'Space Monkey.' It seemed that General Hammond had unknowingly provided the perfect opportunity.

Ronan merely smiled content to sit back and watch.

Liz watched as her Uncle's expression changed and felt the swirl of emotions within him. "It's okay Uncle George. Sam told me what Dad had been up to with the Tok'ra. He lived a good life with purpose. Some people never have that. I won't lie and say that I don't wish he was here but my father was an amazing man who did amazing things. He lived a good full life. I can only hope to make that kind of difference."

Little did she know, that she would be making an enormous difference in the not so distant future.

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