Chapter six
It hadn't been surprising when Janet had arrived at the hospital bright and early the next morning. And it hadn't been a surprise that Dr. Daniel Jackson had arrived with her. But what had been a surprise was the news they had for Sam and Jack.
After hugs and kisses all around, Janet made an announcement. "We have some news to share with you too! We got married...yesterday," she said quickly, holding up her left hand to show off a wide gold band that was etched with some designs that Sam and Jack couldn't make out from a distance. "It has all these little Egyptian words around it," she explained as she offered her hand for Sam to see. Sam looked at it and smiled.
"You got married!" Jack yelled.
"Eh...the words mean 'eternal love,'" he explained quietly. "We wanted to tell you, but it was kinda sudden," Daniel said, his eyes crinkling as he smiled.
"I'll say it was sudden! I can't believe you two would get married without telling us!" Jack yelled again. Suddenly they all noticed that Sam was crying. Jack grabbed her hand and held it. "Honey?"
"I'm okay. I'm just so happy for you," Sam sobbed, trying to explain her tears. Janet snatched some tissues from the box on the night stand and handed them to her.
"I know it's a shock, honey, but we decided on the spur of the moment," Janet said. "...right after we found out that I'm pregnant," Janet added with a gleam in her eye. With that bombshell the room erupted into joyful chatter, until a nurse brought Sam and Jack's baby back from her check-up. Everyone immediately stopped talking, while Sam asked the nurse if everything was okay.
"She's fine, Mrs. O'Neill. She weighed in a five pound, three ounces at birth. She's lost two ounces...mostly fluids...but she'll put that back on in no time. She's 18 inches long, which, considering her weight, is quite long! I'm betting she'll make the high school basket ball team," the nurse said as Janet reached out to take the baby.
"Gimme my newest God child! Ooooh, Daniel, isn't she just beautiful! Actually, I don't think you're supposed to choose the same God parents for her as you did for Mellie, but I'm not about to try and change your mind, if we're who you want," Janet said as she opened the blanket and peeked inside.
"Yes, we want you and Daniel...traditions be damned!" Jack stated with conviction, stepping over to take a curious look at his daughter. He really hoped the kid would look like Sam, since he figured he wasn't much to look at.
"Thanks, Jack...Sam! To be asked again is really special," Daniel said softly as he looked over Janet's shoulder at the tiny baby. Then he kissed Janet on the side of her neck, and she turned to smile at him, a special sparkle in her dark eyes.
"Oh, General, I think she has your hair!" Janet cried enthusiastically.
"You mean gray?" Jack asked, a perturbed look on his face.
"No, silly! Dark brown like yours was before it turned gray!" Janet said, shaking her head at his foolishness.
Jack really wanted to hold his daughter, but he knew he'd get plenty of time with her later. Hell, he had the rest of her life! ...or his life, which right now he was wishing would be a lot longer than he probably had left. If only he'd asked Carter to marry him a lot sooner. Carter! Geez, where had that come from? He hadn't thought of her as 'Carter' for months now.
"So, Daniel, congratulations!" Jack said, reaching out his index finger to touch the baby's soft cheek.
"Thank you, Jack. Actually Janet and I had been talking about marriage for quite a while."
"I didn't mean on your marriage. I meant for knocking her up," Jack said in his usually colloquial manner. Everyone smiled at his comment but him. "Well, it's just nice to know you've got it in ya, Space Monkey," he added affectionately. No one was absolutely sure what Jack meant, but the other three could tell that he was sincerely happy for his friends.
"Thanks, I think," Daniel replied with a half laugh. "So, have you come up with a name for little princess O'Neill yet?" Daniel asked.
"Actually we're having trouble deciding," Sam said as she looked up at Jack. She had dried her tears, and now her face looked rosy and fresh...much better than it had looked yesterday, Jack thought with relief.
"Yah, I wanna name her after my Grandma O'Neill. Her name was Margaret, but for some reason Sam doesn't like the name," Jack told them. "She's taken a liking to Grace."
"They're both nice names," Janet said diplomatically. She sat on the bed and placed the baby in Sam's arms.
"The name Grace came to me in a dream," Sam said. "It was about a little girl who was lost or something, but now I don't remember what happened."
"See, you don't even know anyone named Grace, so why not give her a family name?" Jack argued.
"Why not combine the two...Grace Margaret O'Neill sounds good to me," Janet suggested.
"Or Margaret Grace O'Neill," Daniel suggested. Sam and Jack just shook their heads.
"How did you choose Malinda's name?" Daniel asked curiously.
"It was just a name that I liked," Sam said softly as she opened the front of her down and lowered one side below her breast. The next sound heard in the room was Daniel clearing his throat as he said he thought they should leave. He headed for the door with Janet following less quickly behind him. She turned and waved as Jack came to sit on Sam's bed.
"There's no need to rush into naming her, you know. See you guys later! We'll be staying at your place until you get home, if that's okay with you?"
"Of course!" And then they were alone with their new baby. Jack sat watching Sam nurse his daughter, entranced by what he was seeing. Sam had always been beautiful to him, but now she was beyond beautiful; she was perfection.
Sam came home from the hospital three days later, but she still had to stay in bed most of the time. Janet and Daniel had stayed until then, baby sitting Mellie and spending their nights in Sam and Jack's bed, while Jack stayed at the hospital with Sam and the new baby. Janet had also come to Tok'ona to work, so part of the time Daniel had taken care of Mellie, and everyone, particularly Janet, was happy to see how easily he took to caring for the child.
Janet's work involved a new computer program that would maintain a very complete medical record of every citizen on Egeria, including all Tok'ra, Jaffa and other races. The program was her idea, and she wanted to make sure her design would run smoothly for those implementing it. When she left for Earth, Janet was carrying the first CD of records, and she was eager to add them to her data base at the SGC.
The rainy season had begun once again, and Jack moved their bed over by the window, so Sam could lean against the pillows and look out at the rain. For some reason that Jack didn't understand, Sam found the view to be restful and soothing. Jack thought it was dreary and depressing, but Sam would stare out at the constant drizzle for hours...even while she was nursing the baby, who he had begun to call 'munchkin'. Every time Jack said it, Sam would give him the evil eye, but still they got no closer to agreeing on a name.
Now that the Tauri and the Tok'ra were equals on Egeria, and the Tok'ra were no longer running from the Goa'uld, Jack thought the Tok'ra should be more open about everything. But they still didn't seem to trust the Tauri, and that really steamed Jack's buns. One day, the week after the baby was born, they got a surprise visit from Jacob Carter, who had been off on some hush-hush Tok'ra mission. When he showed up at their door, Jack had almost slammed it in his face.
"Jacob, what the hell are you doing here?" Jack asked him upon opening the door. Jacob didn't wait to be asked inside. He simply walked right in, causing Jack to take a step backward to get out of his way. "Hey! You can't just come barging in here any time you damn well please!" Jack yelled. Sam, who could hear Jack yelling from the bedroom, called out to him.
"Honey, who is it?"
"Tell my daughter that I'm here to see my grandchildren," he said as he came to a stop in the middle of the living room.
"Go to hell!" Jack said in a low rumble.
"Jack, I've got a right to see my daughter and my grandchildren," he said quietly. "If you want, I can just go on into the bedroom," he suggested.
"How do I know you won't upset her?" Jack asked. "She had a rough time with this one. She's still not over it."
"I heard, and I'm sorry about that. I promise you I won't say or do anything to upset her. Now will you please go tell her I'm here?"
Jack didn't answer, but he did go into the bedroom, where Sam was pulling on her robe. She stood up just as he walked into the room.
"Who is it?"
"It's your father. You don't have to see him, if you don't want to. I can throw him out. Just say the word. Just say it, and he's outa here," Jack said, his tone sounding as though he was begging her.
"No, I want to see him. I need to see him, Jack. I've wanted to talk to him ever since I found out what he did the day of our wedding," she informed him. Tell him to come in," she said as she sat down in the rocking chair next to the bed. Jack didn't like the idea, but he did as she asked. He decided he'd stand outside the room. And if he heard even one harsh word from that asshole, he'd throw his skinny ass out into the street!
"Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that someone would tell you about the baby," she said before Jacob had a chance to speak.
"I heard you had a hard time. Are you okay?" Jacob asked gently.
"Yes, I'm fine."
"And the baby? How is she? May I see her?"
"In a minute. But first I want to know why you won't accept that I love Jack? He's never done anything to hurt me, whereas I... Well, I've done plenty to hurt him...things that I'm very ashamed of, by the way."
"I know that, Sammy. But Martouf was a good match for you, and he loved you a great deal," Jacob assured her.
"I know he did, Dad, but I loved Jack even before I met Martouf. I should never have listened to you. And I shouldn't have let Jack's jealousy drive me away from him. He was right about Martouf; he was out to separate me and Jack from the very beginning. I was a fool to fall for him, when I had everything I ever wanted in Jack. He is a wonderful husband, Dad, and he loves me. He loves us more than you can imagine. He would do anything for Mellie, even though she isn't his natural child. He's a good man, Dad. I don't know why you can't see that."
"I guess I just had such high hopes for you, Sammy. You know it was hard for me after your mother died. I tried to be a good father to you...to guide you in the right direction."
"What you did was try to do my thinking for me. You never let me be bme/b!"
"What are you saying? Are you saying you're sorry you joined the Air Force?"
"There have been times when I was sorry, yes. But it's not just that; I was always trying to please you, Dad. But no matter what I did, you just didn't seem happy with my decisions."
"Sam, that's not true! I'm very proud of your decisions...with the exception of your marriage to that one," he added, tipping his head toward the hallway.
"Why, Dad? Why don't you like Jack?" Sam asked. Jacob sighed and then sat down on the corner of the bed facing the chair where she sat.
"I guess it's because I always pictured you marrying some brilliant scientist, or a senator, or..."
"What about a General, General?" Jack asked as he came into the room. His tone was friendly, for which Sam was grateful.
"No, I never wanted Sammy to marry a military man. Maybe that's what I don't like about you, Jack. You're too much like me," he said with a chuckle. At that remark, Jack's eyebrows shot up toward his hairline. "But I have to admit that you've changed, Jack. For the better. Retirement seems to agree with you."
"Yah, I like it. Mainly I like having the time to spend with my family."
"See, that's what I never liked about myself; I was always too busy and too single-minded to spend time with my kids when they were growing up," Jacob said with a frown.
"You tried, Dad. It wasn't your fault that your career in the military took you away from home a lot," Sam told him, throwing him a bone.
"It's nice of you to say that, sweetheart, but I know where I failed. And I'm very sorry, honey. I'm sorry to you too, Jack. I never really understood until right now that I was blaming you for the things I did. I guess I just figured you'd make the same mistakes as me, especially with your track record. Sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I've been a fool...still am one. Can you forgive an old man who was only doing what he thought was best for his only daughter?"
"Yes, Dad. I forgive you," Sam said, her voice choked with emotion. There were tears in her eyes as Jacob stood up and moved to bend over her, giving her a kiss on the top of her head. When he turned and walked over to Jack holding out his hand, Jack accepted it willingly.
"Friends?" Jacob asked.
"I'd like that, Jacob," Jack replied sincerely.
Sam was astonished! This was a day she never thought she'd see.
TBC
