After their couch sex comeback, Jack had no more complaints in that department. Things were starting to fell in their places and Jake was growing like a usual kid. His hair was starting to be more a dark blond and his eyes had changed from dark blue to brown like his father. Jack was very afraid he looked like Charlie but he had more of Sam than of him. So it was only sometimes that Jake reminded him of his other son. That no longer was with them.
Sam continued very tired although she tried to downplayed it. But one weekend, Jack walked in into the bathroom to find her pants down, slumped over the toilet paper holder, passed out asleep. He didn't know if he started laughing or he just picked the phone and started looking for a sitter. In the end, he gently woke her up and put her to bed. She never opened her eyes.
And then there was the pediatrician calls. Pediatricians get middle-of-the-night calls from new parents all the time, right? Sam was sure that she had raised that bar with Dr. Astor pretty higher. Like when she was sure Jake had RSV-induced pneumonia and was dying. What did the ER doc say? That Jake just had a lot of boogers and hadn't yet acquired the manual dexterity needed to pick his nose. Nose picking, it turns out, was a serious life skill. Sam left the hospital feeling the stupidest mother of all. Jack had the common sense of not opening his mouth.
She had been home with Jake for nine months when she started to get pressured to return to work part-time. She had been inflexible that she would stay home for the first year of Jake's growth. The brass wasn't happy but her work had been excellent until she went on maternal leave so they reluctantly accepted. But now, they were pressuring her every day.
Her panic attacks had decreased substantially as she grew more confident with her skills as mother and felt more comfortable with Jake. But she still panicked. Sometimes she would tell Jack, others she would kept it to herself.
One of her recent panic attacks was because Jake who had already started crawling now was pulling up to standing and Sam had caught him walking holding onto furniture. Even with all the baby proofs she had installed in the house, Jake was a sprinter.
And the adorable jibber-jabber that he liked to use with her and Jack had already turned into a very clear "Mama" and "Dada". And "ball". So lots of changes in her growing son.
Which made her more defensive to get back to work. Even if it was part-time. So she decided to talk with Jack about it.
One night they were both lying in bed after putting Jake asleep when Sam decided to approach the subject with her husband.
"So you probably already know that they want me to start working part-time…", she started, caressing his hair and looking at him.
"The subject has been mentioned", he said.
"Right. And what do you think? Can you tell me?", she asked.
He had his hands on her waist. His fingers started to move, like gentle caresses.
"You're putting me in a difficult position, Sam", he started.
Sam bit her lip.
"So I can't talk with you about anything regarding work? Is that it Jack? Because I will always be speaking to General O'Neill and not my husband…", she said bitterly and moving her body away from his.
He didn't let her go.
"Wait. That's not what I've said. We can always talk, Sam but there might be things I won't be able to tell you. That's it. That was always it and you know that. It was the only way for us to be married. Keep things separated", he said holding her in his arms.
"Yeah, right. I've married General Jack O'Neill and can't forget that", she said in a bitter tone.
"No, you've married Jack O'Neill who happens to also to be a General. Different things", he corrected her.
"Not so different in reality, Jack", she pointed out.
Jack sighed.
"You wanted my opinion about returning to work part-time. I can give it as your husband not as Head of Homeworld", he said moving his lips closer to her ear.
"I don't care what the Head of Homeworld thinks. I care what my husband thinks", she said getting away from his arms and sitting on the bed.
Jack adjusted the pillow behind his head.
"Fine. Then you're speaking with your husband. He thinks that maybe isn't a bad idea starting the part time. It will easy the process with Jake when you'll have to start full time", he said looking at her.
"He already started to stand up, Jack. He'll be walking in no time. What happens if I'm not here?", she asked anxious.
"I know he's a speeder. Like his mother. But we can enroll him at the Pentagon Child Development Center daycare. So he's close to both you and me. For the time you're at work. He's growing, Sam. We do the best we can. Don't you think I want to be here all days, watching him doing all those things? That I didn't miss when he started crawling and I wasn't here?", he asked in a painful voice.
Sam looked at him for some seconds and she hugged him strongly, hiding her head in his neck.
"I'm sorry, Jack. I'm being selfish. I didn't think that you were missing all that", she said kissing his neck.
He held her, caressing her hair.
"I asked for the retirement papers again but it was denied", he said in a low voice.
She looked at him surprised.
"YOU DID WHAT?!", she asked shocked.
"I don't want to miss my son growing up. I've already made that mistake with Charlie. I don't want to do that again", he said passing his thumb over her lips.
Sam swallowed hard.
"You aren't deployed abroad anymore. You come home every night. You're the one that changes his diaper, gives him bath and puts him to sleep. You won't miss his growing up, Jack", she said very gently.
He put his head on her lap and she started stroking his hair, slowly passing her fingers through his short hair.
"Eventually there are things we'll both miss, Sam. We can only try to do our best for him", he said closing his eyes.
"I'll see if they have any vacancies at the Pentagon's daycare", she said slowly.
"In that situation, General O'Neill may be able to help you", he said with a smug smile.
She started to smile.
"Oh is that so?", she asked.
"Yes, I've heard he has some pretty influences over there", he said with his eyes still closed.
Sam started to take her top, taking advantage that he had his eyes closed.
"So, in that case please don't tell my husband but tonight I might have to sleep with General O'Neill. You know to made a stronger case for my son", she said lowering her head and starting to kiss him.
Jack smiled in her mouth and returned the kiss, opening his eyes.
"Oh I believe General O'Neill will have no objections of hearing your arguments, Colonel", he said grabbing her head and pulling her down to the mattress.
They kissed for a while until Sam cupped his face, making him look at her.
"I can make very strong arguments, General", she said in a serious tone.
"Please elaborate, Colonel. I prefer the physical ones", Jack said with his General's voice.
She kissed him deep. "No problem", she said straddling him.
The rest of the night was passed in a very heated military physical discussion. With very few words and lots of action.
And so Sam returned to her lab during the mornings, carrying 9 month old Jake that had his introduction to daycare. On the first day, Sam was so nervous that she went more than 20 times to the daycare to see if her son was OK. He was more than OK. He was happily napping, eating or playing with some toys. On that afternoon when she arrived home with him she took him to their bed and spend the rest of the time there with him. That was where Jack found them. He had also been at the daycare several times but somehow they manage to never go at the same time.
"So how was the first day?", he asked from the door.
Sam was sitting on the bed with some papers and a pencil in her hand. Jake was on the bed, surrounded by pillows and lots of toys.
"Dada", he said as soon as he saw Jack.
"Yes, dada is here", he said picking him up.
Jake had a car in his hand and started to move it around Jack chest, messing with his medals. He quickly dropped the car and went for the medals.
"It was…OK", Sam said putting the papers down,
"So this little fort in our bed…", Jack said slowly moving Jake away from the medals.
"I missed him", she simply admitted.
"Perfectly natural. I went to see him too", he said putting him again in the bed and taking his jacket.
"The staff there told me that he behaved quite well", Sam said picking and putting him her legs.
Jack took his dress blues and changed to more comfortable clothes.
"Yeah, I got the same report", he said getting also into the bed.
Sam, holding Jake's hands turned him to his dad.
"Maybe this can work", she said kissing her son's head.
Jack started to play with one of his feet. "I think it will, honey", he said smiling.
"Dada", Jake said again.
Sam let him crawl in the bed and he went quickly to Jack who picked him up and put him on his chest.
"Miss you buddy", he said in a low voice, caressing his back.
Jake was busy playing with his father's hair.
Sam had lay down and was looking at the two loves of her life while they 'talked' with each other. Her life had changed a lot since she had returned from Atlantis but now she wouldn't trade it for anything. She might even thank Woolsey if she ever saw him again. She was now a mother and lived with her husband every day and not every odd weekend or month. She definitely liked her life much more now.