When Daniel brought Abbie back, the toddler was half-asleep and happily curled up on Sam's bed. "You have any problems?" Jack asked his friend as he draped a blanket over her.

He shook his head. "Oh, to be two years old again. Nothing to worry about and all it takes is a hot dog with ketchup to completely make your day."

Sam smiled. "Thanks, Daniel."

"No problem. I think I'm gonna go home, but I'll come and visit in the morning before the team heads out." SG-1 had a mission the following day.

Jack watched as Abbie lost her battle with sleep, while Sam remained at Jake's side, holding his hand. They stayed quiet for a long moment. "Carolyn was talking about releasing you tomorrow," Jack finally spoke up.

"I know. I'm still going to stay with Jake during the day." He nodded, having expected that.

Sam abruptly stood up as she noticed something different – Jake's eyes were slowly opening. "What is it?" Jack asked.

"He's waking up." The little boy's brown eyes were still half-lidded, but they swept from side-to-side, looking at one of his guardians, then the other. "Hey, Jake," Sam said. "We're right here with you."

He blinked once, and when his eyes closed again, they didn't reopen. "Jake?" Jack asked, but he didn't respond.

"Get Janet," Sam told him.

A minute later, the doctor hurried back over with Jack. "It's possible it was just a reflex," she warned them as she started checking the different displays.

Sam shook her head. "No, Janet, he woke up. It was just for a minute, but he woke up. He looked right at us."

"Well, his O2 stats are looking better… This could be a good sign. We'll do another scan tonight and test his breathing response in the morning."

Jack nodded. "You think he's about to wake up for good?"

She smiled a little. "Like I said, it's a good sign. We're still in the waiting game, though." Janet made a couple notes on Jake's chart before leaving to get things set up for an MRI.

Sam sighed as she sat back down in her chair. "You saw it, right?" she asked Jack. "I'm not losing my mind?"

"No, I saw it. He's just… he's still got some more healing to do."

She nodded. "Thank you, Jack."

"For what?"

"I know we haven't talked about it, but… I assume this brings up some memories you'd rather forget. Thank you for being here."

"I wouldn't be anywhere else," he assured her, then sighed as he considered the first part of her statement. "Charlie… he didn't make it to the hospital. So this doesn't exactly foster déjà vu, but…"

"It's still hard?"

He looked down at Jake, motionless and pale on the bed. He still saw Charlie sometimes when he looked at the little boy, but he was gaining strength every day that he still managed to get up, come sit here, and not lose his mind. It wasn't easy, but he WAS managing. "Yeah," he told her. "Yeah, it is."

In the morning, Janet's tests went well and they were able to take Jake off the respirator. Even though he still wasn't truly awake, the fact that he was breathing on his own was a positive sign.

Jack went to get breakfast while Sam and Abbie stayed with Jake. "When Jakey wake up?" the toddler asked as she sat on Sam's lap.

"Well, we're not sure. He's still sick, so he's sleeping so that he'll feel better."

She pouted. "I want him 'wake."

Sam hugged her. "I know you do, sweetheart. So do I."

Jack came in with a tray from the mess hall. "Okay, cheerios for the princess," he said as he picked up the bowl for Abbie, "And eggs, hash browns, and coffee for you," he added for Sam as he put her plate down on the table beside her.

"Thanks." She sat Abbie down on the side of Jake's bed and let her feed herself.

"Have you seen Carolyn yet?" Jack asked as he and Sam had their own breakfasts.

"Yeah, she came by. She wants to check my stitches and a few other things, but she said I could sleep at home tonight. I can't imagine leaving Jake, though."

"You've gotta take care of yourself," he pointed out.

"I know, but… I don't want him to be alone."

They both looked over at Abbie and Jake when they heard the toddler whimper. She'd put some of her cereal in her brother's good hand and was trying her best to steer his arm toward his mouth, but it wasn't working. Sam quickly went over and stopped her.

"Sweetie, what are you doing?"

"Jakey need breakfast," she explained, as if it were obvious. Sam took the cheerios away before she made Jake choke.

"He's sleeping, princess," Jack told the toddler. "He'll get some breakfast when he wakes up."

Abbie frowned. "He hungry?"

Sam shook her head. "He's okay. The doctors are making sure that he's not cold or hurt or hungry. He just needs to sleep so he can get well."

It didn't seem like that made her feel much better. She curled up beside her brother on the bed and closed her eyes. "Are you okay?" Jack asked her.

"Me sleep, too. Make Jakey better."

Sam smoothed her hair back. "I think knowing we're all here with him will make him want to get better as fast as he can."

Mark came a bit later and volunteered to take Abbie up to the surface and let the little girl see some sunlight and run around a little. She'd been an angel so far about being cooped up inside all the time, but they knew it wasn't fair to her.

Sam and Jack stayed with Jake, each sitting on one side of his bed. They were silent for a long while until she finally spoke up. "Have you ever wished that they were really ours?" Sam quietly asked.

"What do you mean?"

"That they were born here, to us. That we'd been there for their whole lives. That we knew every story, every memory."

Jack sighed. "Sometimes." And sometimes, despite everything they'd been through, he was glad that Jake and Abbie hadn't been his to screw up, because he knew that he certainly would have.

"I'm worried that that's always going to matter, that there's always going to be a line."

"There are other things that matter more."

"Maybe. Will they see it that way?"

"I don't know." Jack looked down as he noticed a bit of movement. It was possible he was imagining things, but he could have sworn that Jake moved. "Sam," he got her attention, motioning toward the little boy. She sat up a little straighter.

"Jake? Buddy, can you hear me?" she asked. His brown eyes slowly fluttered open and he looked around for a moment. His gaze finally came to rest on Jack, and he smiled.

"Hey, pal. We've been waiting for you to finally decide to wake up."

Jake looked to the person on his left, and Sam smiled. "Hi, sweetheart. You probably feel pretty crummy right now, but you're going to be okay." She was holding his unbroken left hand, but let go when he wiggled his fingers out. He slowly raised his hand and used his index finger to trace away a tear that she hadn't even realized had fallen.

"Hi, Mommy," he whispered.

Sam wasn't sure if he meant it, or if he was just confused from a dream. She'd lost count of the number of times over the past few months that he had he woken up in the middle of the night and forgotten that he wasn't in his home reality. "Sweetie, it's Sam," she corrected him. "And Jack's right there." She pointed to the boy's other guardian. "There was an accident, and you're at the SGC."

Jake slowly shook his head. "No," he told her. "Mommy. You're my mommy now."

Sam caught his hand again and kissed the back of it. So I wasn't imagining it, she thought. She wasn't sure why this whole event had gotten him to start calling her that, but she wasn't going to question it. Not now.

"Okay," was all she told him, nodding. "Mommy and Daddy are right here with you."

Jake smiled.

TBC...

A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting! It was a holiday weekend and my muse ran away... but I'm back to finish up the story. As always, thanks to everyone who's been leaving feedback!