A/N: Hello everybody (who's still reading this!) It only took me 10 months (to the day), but I finally had time to sit down and work on the next chapter of this story. And then FFdotnet and Safari apparently got a divorce and I couldn't upload. So helpful hint for any Mac users: download Chrome to upload stories. It's still on friendly terms with FFdotnet. :)

Hope you enjoy and I will do my best to continue updating. I think this story may end up being shorter than I expected, but we'll see. The fic bunnies are starting to stir.

A/N #2: Special shoutout to booklover777 who spotted a continuity mistake. See? It's been so long that even the author forgot what she wrote. :D


It had been twenty-four hours since Jack had checked in on Carter. He had gotten a not-too-subtle memo from Frasier telling him to back off a little bit, and he wisely obeyed. He remembered how volatile Sarah had become when she was pregnant with Charlie. The bittersweet memory made him smile slightly, but he was still mindful of the awkward situation that they had found themselves in.

Walter's comment from a few days ago had proven true; more than a few personnel had ended up on the receiving end of a stern reprimand from the base commander due to some unsavory comments about Colonel Carter. O'Neill had reminded them of the nature of their work and that unusual events were not rare and to show some more respect and understanding.

As he walked down the corridor on Level 19, he considered whether or not to voice these discussions to Carter, but quickly shut down that idea. She didn't need any more burden on her.

"Carter?" Jack popped his head into her lab. "Got a minute?"

"Of course, sir," she responding, looking through the lens of an electron microscope.

As he walked further into the room, he was caught off guard by Carter's baby bump. It was Tuesday, meaning that it had only been five days since the miracle baby had been "conceived", but her latest ultrasound with Doc Frasier placed the baby in the 25 to 30 week age bracket.

Crazy.

He shook his head and walked up next to her. "Whatcha working on?"

She opted to stand instead of sitting on her stool. "I'm examining the samples that we retrieved from the caves on 482. There's an unknown substance that we think may be a mineral remnant. Whether it's from the ... pollen bug, I'm not sure," Carter replied, turning to look at him.

Jack nodded, bracing his forearms on the counter next to her. "Is that what we've decided to call it?"

"Well, the teams on 482 haven't seen a trace of them since our run-in with the one in the caves." She shrugged and stood as straight as she could, stretching her back. "Honestly, sir, we don't have enough information on them to hazard an accurate guess about what their purpose is."

"Yeah, I gotcha. How you feeling?"

She cocked her head to the side. "The blue jello cravings aren't as strong as they were. And I seem to have developed a liking for macaroni and cheese with bleu cheese dressing."

Jack shook his head and exhaled through his mouth. "Yikes."

"Yeah, I know." She turned back to her computer. "Just keeping busy the best way I know how."

Jack was about to leave it at that, nod and tell her to keep up the good work, until Carter turned and looked at him. "Because I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing."

Jack let out a sigh. "Carter, nobody would know what to do in this situation," he slowly answered, dragging over her work chair and taking a seat. "And if nothing else, you carrying on, business as usual, is probably what's keeping me from losing it."

Carter raised an eyebrow, humored. "'Losing it'?"

"Going nuts. Three fries short of a happy meal." He smiled to himself. "Completely wacko." Standing, he gingerly placed a hand on her shoulder, careful to not let it rest there for too long. "You're good at keeping me sane. That's one thing you can keep doing."

She smiled. "Yes, sir."

"Oh, and at some point, we should probably talk about what's going to happen afterwards."

Carter gulped. "Afterwards?" she repeated.

"Yeah. After the birth. Well, not the afterbirth. I've already seen that once and I'm – never mind. What I mean is—"

He couldn't finish. Carter started giggling, then tried to repress it, so it came out as a snort instead. And then she started laughing so hard that O'Neill worried she was going to wet herself.

It was contagious. He smiled, then laughed too. "Sorry, Carter. Bad slip of the tongue."

"It's okay … sir," she replied, trying to catch her breath. "Right now, it was just what I needed."

"So you good then?"

Nodding her head to the side, she replied, "For now."

"All right. I'll be around if you need anything, okay?"

She smiled up at him, then gasped loudly just before he stepped outside. "Sir!"

"What? What is it?" he asked quickly, rushing back to her side. "You okay?"

She looked up at him with a smile of amazement. "The baby's kicking again," she responded softly, holding a hand over her swollen abdomen. Then without hesitation, she reached for his hand and placed it on her stomach. "Can you feel it?"

Jack stayed still for a moment, suddenly unable to speak. He was about to voice his slight discomfort until he felt a small jabbing movement against his palm and he breathed in sharply, laughing. "I forgot what that felt like," he exclaimed quietly.

Sam sighed and seemed to relax. "He's kicking." Then she looked up at Jack in shock. "I'm 28, 29 weeks along and I haven't even had a sonogram."

"Frasier didn't offer?" he asked, slowly pulling his hand back.

"I'm sure she did, but I was probably still in shock and denial." She bit her lip. "Maybe it isn't a good idea.

He paused for a moment. "Actually, that's a great idea. Let's go.

Carter's jaw slacked for a moment. "Sir-"

"Carter, I don't know how to say this, so I'm just gonna say it. You've been acting like this is temporary when in reality, we have no idea what's going to happen after the baby's born. It could grow normally, it might accelerate like it has now, but you're still experiencing it all: the nausea, the emotional roller coaster, the act of giving birth to another life." Jack smiled kindly at her. "You need to do it the right way. And that includes finding out if your - well, our son - is gonna have your nose or mine."

She laughed.

"C'mon. If you want me to, I'll keep a lookout in the corridors."

Carter shook her head. "It's okay, sir. You're right. I need to accept that this is really happening." With her hands encircling her stomach, she chuckled. "If anyone asks, Mommy ate one too many pies."


Jack stood on one side of the bed as Janet rolled the machine over and began the procedure. He allowed Sam a moment of privacy as the doctor raised her shirt and applied the gel, for which Sam was silently thankful. She had finally started to accept the insane hand of cards that life had dealt her in the last week, but knowing that the general was somehow the father of her baby still slightly unnerved her. If she had the explanation in front of her, it would help.

A little.

Sam winced slightly as the cold scope touched her enlarged abdomen.

"He's smiling."

Sam smiled. "Really?" she asked, suddenly excited as she stared at the screen.

Janet responded with a kind smile of her own. "A healthy, twenty-eight week old boy who only has two days to go until he meets everyone."

Sam gaped in awe at the tiny person that she had suddenly come face to face with. For being so little, the facial features were already very evident: he had his mother's eyes, his father's mouth, and as Sam thought about it, she realized she saw her own mother's nose on him. She sighed. "He's so cute."

"Takes after his mother," Jack replied quietly.

Sam swatted a hand at him but still chuckled.

They debated other facial features and the thumb-sucking habit until Janet offered to print a copy and ended the procedure.

After she put the machine back in place, Janet walked around the exam bed. "I do have to admit, I am a little worried about the amount of stress that this pregnancy is putting on you. The human body is not designed to go through the stages of pregnancy as rapidly as you have. So far, there aren't any major issues, but I want to keep a closer eye on you."

Sam groaned. "Bed rest?"

"Not yet. But I'd prefer if you stayed over here just in case any complications arise. I've already been in touch with Tessa and she should be arriving this afternoon."

Jack put his hands in his pockets. "You want me to run to your place, pick up anything?"

"No, that's okay. I've actually had a go-bag in my trunk since this all started." Sam shook her head. "He's 28 weeks old and I'm due in two days. What universe am I living in?"

"One of the craziest," Jack reminded her with a smile.


Sam retreated back to her lab as soon as she could, and the beeping of her computer alerted her to the fact that not only had she left the search running but it had managed to finish it while she was gone.

She sat down at her desk and consulted the results on the screen. Her eyes widened as she finally made the connection.

Picking up the phone, she dialed two extensions by heart and the two people arrived in her lab less than a minute later.

She glanced up in surprise. "I literally just put the phone down. Were you waiting outside my lab?"

Jack shrugged. "We were nearby."

"I figured it out. The mineral remnants from the caves on 482. I think I know why I got pregnant."


Anyone care to hazard a guess? Leave a note in the reviews!