The Ark of Truth

Summary: SG-1 travel to the Ori galaxy and find the Ark of Truth, an Ancient device that can convince anyone who looks at it that the Ori are not gods. Daniel, Vala, Teal'c and Tomin find it, and use it on the Doci. The effect is transmitted to the Priors via his staff, which robs Adria of a good deal of her power. This levels the playing field and allows Morgan Le Fay to attack Adria, effectively neutralising her as Oma Desala did with Anubis. Meanwhile, Sam and Cameron battle replicators aboard the Odyssey, and due to needing to use the Asgard core to do that, are cornered by a group of Ori ships. They defeat the replicators and are saved from destruction due to the Ark's signal reaching the Priors commanding the ships. Back in the Milky Way, the device is used on a Prior at the SGC, which transmits the signal to the other Priors in the Milky Way galaxy. Without the Ori, and with the Priors now on side, the Ori threat is no more. Mitchell, who got thoroughly beaten up by a replicator controlled CIA agent on the Odyssey, recovers in the infirmary. Vala and Tomin agree to go their separate ways in terms of their marriage, effectively divorcing.

Sam brushed her long blonde hair back behind her shoulders, and took the pool cue from Vala with a wink. She was having a great time. Sam, Vala, Daniel, Teal'c and Jack were out at a quiet bar having a private celebration for their victory over Adria and the Ori armies. There'd be a proper party when Cam was up and around, but in the meantime they were blowing off a little steam with just the five of them.

"Just to warn you, you're not going to get another shot." Vala said to the tall man in motorcycle leathers who had been unwise enough to accept Sam's challenge.

"Carter!"

She had just been lining up her first shot when Jack jogged over to them. She looked up at him from her position bent over the table, eyebrows raised in annoyance at the interruption.

"What?"

Jack waved her phone at her. "It's your brother, he says it's urgent. He also said he's left you six messages in the last two hours."

Sam straightened up abruptly, frowning. That couldn't be good.

She put the pool cue down on the table and grabbed the phone from Jack.

"Mark?"

"Sam, where the hell have you been? I've been trying to reach you for hours!"

"I'm out with some friends. What's going on?"

She heard Mark take a deep breath on the other end of the line. "Do you know a 'Cara Fields' and 'Jon Smith'?"

The teenage clones of herself and Jack. "Yes." She said warily, wondering what trouble they'd managed to get into to find themselves on her brother's radar.

"A buddy of mine at the Pasadena police department called me, he was tasked with getting in touch with you, but he figured under the circumstances it would be better if I did it. Sam … you're listed as the next of kin for these two."

"What happened?"

"Have you seen the news about the mass shooting at the Pasadena mall?"

She walked back to Jack nervously. "No, why?"

"There were a lot of fatalities, and … I'm sorry, but Cara Fields and Jon Smith were among the victims. They need you to come and identify the bodies."

She reached out a hand and clutched Jack's arm. He looked at her in alarm, and her team mates approached too, sensing the sudden shift in mood.

"They're dead?"

"It looks that way. They got the names from their wallets, but they didn't have conclusive ID and the medical examiner couldn't identify them from their finger prints or dental records. Sam, how do you know these kids?"

Sam stared at Jack, absorbing the shock. "It's … complicated."

"Some freaky SGC thing?" Mark guessed. He'd had the bare minimum of security clearance for the stargate program since their father had reconnected with him all those years ago.

"Something like that. Mark, they have a baby girl, what happened to her?"

"Uh … I don't know, my guy at the Pasadena precinct didn't say anything about a kid."

Sam shook her head in exasperation. "Will you find out, please?"

"I'll ask some questions. Sam, you have to get to the ME's office in Pasadena."

"I'm on my way." She said. "Call me back when you have an answer about the baby."

"I will. How old is she?"

"Uh … three months, I think?"

"She's probably been taken by social services. What's her name?"

Sam shrugged helplessly. "I don't know."

"Ok, I'll see what I can find out and call you back."

"Thanks." She hung up and looked at Jack.

"What's going on?" Jack asked.

"Our clones are dead. There was a shooting at a mall in Pasadena, California. They listed me as their next of kin, so I have to go and identify the bodies, and Mark doesn't know what happened to the baby."

Jack stared at her in shock.

"Hang on … what do you mean your 'clones' are dead?" Daniel asked. "Are we talking about the teenage clone of Jack from a few years back?"

Sam nodded distractedly. "I had Thor make a clone of me too. They've been living together ever since and they had a baby a few months ago."

Daniel gaped at her. "Why is this the first I'm hearing of it?"

"I have to go." Sam said, and Jack handed over her jacket.

"I'm coming with you." He said.

"Sam!" Daniel protested, and Sam shot a look at Vala.

Vala nodded. "I'll explain everything to the boys, just go."

"Thanks." She looked at Teal'c, who was unreadable, and Daniel, who was still staring at her with alarm and confusion. "Sorry."

Jack ushered her out the door and into the cold night air, and she unlocked her car, jumping into the driver's seat.

"Take us home so we can pack a bag, I'm gonna see if we can get a site-to-site transport to Pasadena from the Apollo." Jack said, pulling out his cell phone, and Sam brought the engine roaring to life.

A half hour later, they stood in Sam's living room holding packed bags, and Jack had his phone to his ear, having just let Landry know they were ready for transport.

They hadn't heard back from Mark about the baby yet.

With a flash, Sam's living room melted away and was replaced with a deserted, dark alleyway. With the GPS on her cell, Sam led them out into the dimly lit street, and navigated the few blocks to the Pasadena Medical Examiner's office.

Inside, she identified herself to the reception desk, and they were led into a small waiting room. She sat down on a plastic chair and closed her eyes.

Jack paced for a few minutes, and then stopped and looked at her. "Sam … this baby girl … have you considered that it might be …?"

"Beth?" Sam whispered. "The thought had crossed my mind, yes."

"I wondered, back when you first told me they were expecting." Jack admitted. "But I never really thought …" He trailed off, shrugging uselessly and sitting down beside her.

"We don't even know her name. It might not be Beth."

"And if it's not? Where was she in 2034?"

"Maybe we won't get to keep her." Sam said morosely.

"Who else could they possibly have named as guardians?" Jack demanded.

Sam shrugged.

A young man in a white lab coat opened the door and poked his head in. "Miss Carter?"

"It's Lieutenant Colonel Carter, actually." Jack said frostily. "And I'm her husband, General Jack O'Neill."

"Sorry, Lieutenant Colonel." The man said, nodding. "I'm Dr Horner. Would you follow me please?"

Sam exchanged an apprehensive look with Jack and followed.

The morgue was exactly what she'd expected – cold, utilitarian, and fastidiously clean. Dr Horner took them into his office and explained the procedure, and then showed them first Cara's body, and then Jon's. It sent shivers up Sam's spine, seeing her own nineteen year old face, cold and lifeless.

Even though she knew that mentally Cara had been as old as Sam herself was … she looked so young. They both did. Jon had grown up and filled out since the last time she'd seen him, and even through the mask of death and the chasm of 30 years she could see the outlines of her own husband's face. She slipped her hand into Jack's, and nodded stiffly to the ME.

"It's them."

She signed what paperwork she needed to sign, and was handed a bag of their personal effects – keys, wallets, and cell phones. She emptied the bag onto a table in the waiting room, and she and Jack went through it all, looking for a clue about the baby. They found pictures, but no name.

It turned out not to matter though, as Sam's cellphone rang while they were putting everything back in the bag.

"Mark, tell me you found her." Sam said as she answered.

"She was taken from the crime scene straight into the custody of social services. Her name is Elizabeth Janet Fields."

Sam closed her eyes and inhaled with a tiny sob. "It's Beth." She said to Jack in a whisper.

He grasped her upper arms and touched his forehead to hers.

"Where is she?" Sam asked her brother. "Can we take her?"

"She's in a facility a couple of miles north of the police precinct. The custody issue is a little complicated though … do you know if they left special instructions about guardianship?"

"I can't imagine that they didn't, and if they did I'm certain they would have named Jack and I as guardians." Sam insisted.

"Ok. Well, as you are listed as next of kin they'll probably let you take her on a temporary custody basis until the will is located. Have you managed to catch a flight yet?"

"We're in the Pasadena ME's office right now." Sam said.

There was a beat of silence. "That was fast." Mark commented.

Sam grimaced at the unavoidable slip. Mark's minimal security clearance didn't really cover the X303 program, let alone Asgard transporter technology. "You said the social services facility was a couple of miles north?"

"If you ask at reception they should be able to direct you. Listen, Sam, San Diego is only a two hour drive away. If you want I could come down there and lend you a hand."

Sam looked at Jack, questioning. He was close enough that he could hear Mark's side of the conversation, and he canted his head and shrugged. "Up to you." He whispered.

"Yes please." Sam said to Mark. They could use the help navigating the California legal system.

"Ok. Sit tight, I'll be there as fast as I can."

"Thank you." She said.

"You're welcome, sis."

A couple of hours later, Sam was almost dozing in the social services waiting room when Mark arrived. He spotted her and made a beeline to her as she stood up tiredly, and he wrapped his arms around her in a very welcome hug.

"How are you doing?" Mark asked.

"They haven't let us see her yet." Sam said, her voice muffled in his jacket.

He pulled back, frowning. "What's going on?"

"It's the night shift." Sam said, with a helpless shrug. "They won't release her till morning. Jack's out buying formula and nappies and all that stuff at a 24 hour supermarket."

Mark nodded and sat down, and she sank back into her own seat with a sigh.

"I'm sorry, I feel like a jerk for asking you to come down here in the middle of the night when nothing's going to happen until the morning." She apologised.

"Don't worry about it." Mark assured her. "If this kid's going to be my niece I want to help any way I can."

Sam smiled. "Thanks."

"Have you got a hotel room or something?"

Sam shook her head. "We'd only be in it for a few hours. They said we could just wait here, and I'd rather not leave."

Mark shook his head, bemused. "I don't understand how you can be next of kin to two people I've never heard of, or how you could have been named as legal guardian to a kid whose name you didn't even know?"

Sam winced. "It's … very complicated."

"Yeah, I got that."

Sam looked at him contemplatively for a moment, but then decided there was really no harm in telling him. They had kept Cara Fields a secret from the US government, so how much worse was it really to keep Mark's unauthorised knowledge of the clones a secret too? She glanced around, but there was no one in earshot.

"Jon Smith and Cara Fields were genetically identical human clones of Jack and myself. They were created a few years ago, with the appearance of Jack and I aged fifteen, but with our full adult memories and personalities. We didn't really keep in touch, because that would have been weird for all of us, but genetically speaking, their daughter is our daughter."

Mark stared at her, speechless. "Jesus, Sammie."

Sam smiled wryly. "Tell me about it."

Mark chuckled. "Well, I guess that goes some way to explaining what I just heard from my guy at the precinct."

"What's that?"

"An eye witness account has your 'clones' saving a couple of dozen lives by taking on the shooters themselves. That's how they got killed."

Sam let out a deep breath and let her head fall back against the wall behind her. "I can't say I'm surprised."

"It sounded weird, for a couple of nineteen year olds with a baby in tow, but now …"

"They were us, with all of our training … and they knew if anything happened to them we'd take care of Beth." Sam sat up straight suddenly. "Oh my God, she knew. I told her Jack and I were having trouble conceiving, and then she went and had a girl, and she named her Elizabeth because she knew something was going to happen and her baby was going to end up being my Beth."

Mark looked completely confused. "What?"

Sam grimaced awkwardly. "Nothing, never mind."

"You and Jack have been trying to get pregnant?" Mark asked.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, for about a year now."

Mark squeezed her hand. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"It doesn't matter now. I've got a three month old that any DNA test will confirm is genetically my daughter."

"You can't do anything the easy way, can you?" He teased.

"Nope." She grinned a little at him.

Sam and Jack met their baby daughter for the first time at 0930 the following morning. She was screaming her little head off in the arms of a nurse, red faced and wriggling in a little pink onesie.

"May I?" Jack asked, reaching out to take her. The nurse nodded, looking a little relieved, and transferred the squirming infant into Jack's arms. He settled her tiny form against his chest, and adopted a swaying, bobbing motion that had little Beth calm again inside a minute.

Sam watched it all with her heart in her throat, Mark's arm around her shoulders supportively. "Cute kid you've got there." Her brother whispered in her ear. She just nodded, transfixed.

Mark left them to talk to the social worker about the terms of release, and Sam approached Jack cautiously. He smiled at her with a sparkle in his eye. "I think she likes me."

Sam looked at the tiny creature, and suddenly Beth turned her head and looked right at Sam, with impossibly blue eyes.

"Hey there." Sam breathed, and stroked the little girl's arm tentatively.

"Do you want a turn?" Jack asked. She looked up at him, startled.

"Yes." She said, but then shifted uncomfortably at the reality of it. "Um, I'm not sure how to … I mean I've never …"

Jack nodded. "It's easy. Go sit down."

She complied, and Jack shifted the baby in his arms with the confidence of experience, laying her with her head supported in the crook of Sam's elbow. "She's so tiny." Sam said with a chuckle, as the little girl wriggled and kicked in the new person's arms.

"She'll get bigger real quick, trust me." He said, with a far-away tone in his voice. Sam looked up at him in sympathy, knowing he was thinking of Charlie.

Beth grew impatient with the situation, screwing up her face with the threat of a scream.

"She probably needs feeding." Jack said. "Stand up and rock her for a bit, I'll get her some formula and then after we feed her we'll see about getting out of here."

Sam nodded, shifting Beth more securely into her arms so she could stand. She tried to mimic the rocking motion she'd seen Jack use before, and after a couple of minutes Beth's angry wails had faded, and she went back to staring at Sam curiously.

Sam wondered idly if the baby thought she smelled like Cara.

A couple of hours later, they had Beth strapped into a brand new baby carrier in the back of Mark's car, with Jack in the back next to her and Sam up front but twisted almost fully around in her seatbelt to stare at what little she could see of the tiny wonder in the baby carrier, as Mark drove them to Cara and Jon's address.

"This is it." Mark said, pulling up outside an apartment building in a nice residential suburb of Pasadena.

"Nice place." Jack commented, as he started unbuckling Beth from the seat.

"Cara told me they were doing pretty well for themselves, financially." Sam said. She didn't mention in front of her brother, the cop, that her clone almost certainly wasn't paying any tax on her 'under the table' earnings.

They went up to the apartment, and unlocked the door with the keys they'd got from the ME's office with the couple's personal effects.

"At least we won't need to buy a whole bunch of baby stuff." Jack said, as they took in the scene. Every surface seemed to sport something baby-related.

"We should try and find their legal paperwork." Mark said. "If they've got a will, there should be a copy of it, or at least some details about the solicitor's office holding it."

Sam nodded, and quickly located the office. It was organised in her own familiar system, so she had the paperwork in hand within minutes. "Here we go." She called, and Jack appeared in the doorway, holding Beth.

She scanned through the will quickly, and then let out a sigh of relief, smiling at Jack. "We were right, they left her to us. Along with everything else they own."

Jack grinned, and kissed the top of Beth's head. "Guess you're ours now, sweetheart." He whispered.

"I'll call social services and get the ball rolling." Mark offered, and Sam squeezed his arm with a smile.

"Thanks Mark, I really appreciate it."

She walked up to Jack's side, and put a hand to her daughter's back, kissing the baby's forehead herself before resting her head on Jack's shoulder.

"We're still going to have Jake the old fashioned way, right?" Jack muttered to her.

Sam chuckled. "I very much hope so."

Sam and Jack lived in Cara and Jon's apartment for a while as they packed up the young couple's belongings, made arrangements for a small funeral, cared for their new daughter, and went through the process of legally adopting her. As the war with the Ori was now officially over, it hadn't been too difficult to arrange some last minute maternity and paternity leave.

Cassie was the first to come visit, and doted on the baby for hours while Sam and Jack took the opportunity to get some work done sorting through Cara and Jon's things. Daniel, Teal'c, Cameron and Vala were next. Daniel was still sulking that he'd been the last to know – not counting Cameron – about Sam's clone and their baby. It turned out this was one more secret that Sam had blabbed about to Teal'c, during the fifty years that Teal'c alone remembered spending on the Odyssey.

Cameron - still pretty beat up from his recent ordeal with the Replicators but well enough to have broken out of the infirmary at last - embarrassed Sam, treating her like a queen and calling her Mama, and he turned out to be a baby whisperer. All he had to do was pick Beth up and she would immediately stop crying and gaze at him. Jack teased that it was his daughter's first crush.

They held the funeral at a nearby cemetery. Sam had half expected it would only be SG-1 and Mark, but while going through the paraphernalia of Cara and Jon's lives they'd discovered quite the network of friends and colleagues, and the crowd that turned up for the funeral was upwards of twenty strong. They had decided that Sam would identify herself as being Cara's aunt, since the smaller age gap meant Sam bore more of a resemblance to Cara than Jack did to Jon, and the funeral guests all accepted that without question.

When the adoption had gone through and they were finally ready to move back home, Sam took Beth on a flight alone, while Jack drove a truck full of the baby things and the few possessions of Cara and Jon's that they'd opted to keep, on the long journey from Pasadena, California to Colorado Springs, Colorado. The flight was a nightmare, Beth cried almost the entire time, and by the time they reached the terminal at the Colorado Springs Municipal Airport, Sam was close to tears herself with the stress of failing to keep her daughter quiet and happy.

Vala and Daniel met her at the terminal, and Vala plucked the baby from Sam's arms happily while Sam fell into the hug Daniel offered.

"Rough flight?" Daniel asked, at Sam's uncharacteristic silent clinginess.

"I'm a terrible mother." Sam moaned softly, and Daniel had the audacity to laugh.

"Don't be ridiculous Sam, you're a great mom. All babies are nightmares on flights."

"How would you know?"

"Archaeologist, remember?" He said, pulling back from the hug and grinning at her. "I've flown all over the world. Trust me, babies and flights don't mix." He nodded his head in the direction of Vala, who was cooing happily at the little girl in her arms. "See? She's fine now."

"That's because Vala would be a great mom." Sam argued, with a sly sideways smile at Daniel, who was staring at the pair with a slightly sappy smile on his face.

He jumped, suddenly realising Sam had spoken and he'd been caught staring. "What?"

"Nothing." She laughed. "Let's get out of here before Beth decides she wants feeding again."

It quickly became apparent once Jack turned up with the truck, that Sam's house was too small. She hadn't realised how much clutter came with such a tiny person, and her house had already been a little on the cramped side with the addition of so many of Jack's things, due to the time he split between her house in Colorado Springs and his in Washington DC.

And then there were the gifts. With Sam on maternity leave, word had spread around the SGC like wildfire about the new addition to their little family, and Cassie had set up shop in Sam's house while she and Jack were in California, to receive and catalogue a deluge of presents of toys and clothes and various baby paraphernalia. Sam worried that this meant the cat was finally out of the bag in regard to her relationship with Jack, but there wasn't a great deal she could do about it if that were the case, and doubtless it was bound to happen eventually. Most likely it would have happened if she had ever succeeded in getting pregnant.

Still, a decision had to be made.

"It's obvious, really. We'll buy a new house." Jack said, after they'd got Beth down to sleep one evening.

"That's not actually the part I wanted us to talk about." Sam said, raising her eyebrows at him significantly.

He stared back blankly. "What?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "Our jobs. We were supposed to have a nine month pregnancy to figure out what we were going to do with our jobs and our living situation when the baby arrived …"

"Didn't we already agree years ago that I was gonna retire and move back here when the first kid came along?"

Sam frowned and put her hands on her hips. "That's my point. It was years ago, and … things have changed a little since then."

"What things?" Jack asked, confused.

"Well … you don't hate your job nearly as much as you used to, and now that we've won the war – again – I'm not really needed on SG-1."

"Ok, but you can't quit. You've got to make General." Jack reminded her.

"I'm not suggesting that I quit, but I don't necessarily need to stay posted here."

"Sam, I hate DC. I don't want to raise our kid there." Jack protested.

"Ok, but …" She sighed in exasperation. "I just worry that if you retire you'll be bored and you'll end up resenting me for it."

"I have retired voluntarily on more than one occasion before, you know. And that was without having a baby to occupy my time."

Sam just looked at him carefully. He chuckled and kissed her. "It's cute that you're worried, Carter, but honestly, what I want right now is to live here in the Springs with you and Beth. I don't care about anything else."

"Ok." She conceded. "Then I guess we need to buy a house."

"Yeah, like, yesterday." Jack said, surveying the general chaos with a disgruntled air. They couldn't move for cardboard boxes and packing crates full of baby stuff. It was ridiculous.

They ended up buying a big five-bedroom house, not far from Jack's old place. The theory (in Jack's mind at least) was that they needed a room for themselves, a room for Beth, a room for Jake when he eventually came along, a guest room, and a room for Cassie (although Sam protested that this wasn't strictly necessary as the 21 year-old had her own apartment now, and could have used the guest room on visits). The reality was that they had one bedroom in use (at least while Beth's crib was set up in their room) and four empty or used as storage, which Sam hated, but agreed to learn to live with on the basis that it wouldn't be that way forever.

It had a big backyard, was less than a ten minute drive from the SGC, and had a massive garage for Jack's truck, Sam's car and her two motorcycles. Other than the empty bedrooms, Sam loved it.

The President had talked Jack down from retiring, instead asking him to have a trial period of doing a slightly downsized version of his previous role, working out of the SGC. Jack harboured some serious doubts about the feasibility of that plan, not only because the Head of Homeworld Security really needed to be on the ground in DC to take meetings and brow-beat idiot politicians and members of the IOA, but also because he was acutely aware that his presence at the SGC would step on Hank Landry's toes somewhat. Still, the President wanted a trial period, so a trial period the President would get.

Sam, meanwhile, had left SG-1 and was in limbo a little, assigned provisionally to the science department, but only working part time, so that she could take care of Beth. That was the other reason Jack wasn't wild about his own job continuing – he didn't like that his working full time was making Sam feel that she had to cut back her own hours, so that Beth had a parent around and wasn't essentially raised in daycare.

It was a trial period, but he was pretty damn certain how the trial period would end.

SG-1 came round a few days after they moved into the new house, to help with the decorating. Sam, Cassie and Vala had gone on a very intense shopping trip, with little Beth in a pram, to plan the interior design of each of the four currently empty bedrooms and to buy paint and furniture. If Cassie and Vala thought it odd that she picked pale blue for one of the guest rooms and refused to buy furniture for it, they didn't comment, although from the looks the two women exchanged when the subject came up, Sam figured they knew she was hoping it would be another nursery at some point in the near future.

Sam choreographed the work being done, setting people up with paintbrushes or furniture to build, and carefully made sure that Daniel ended up alone in a room with Jack. Then she stood in the doorway with the baby on her hip, caught Jack's eye and looked pointedly in Daniel's direction.

It was time to give the archaeologist a nudge. Or maybe a shove, if necessary.

Jack smirked and nodded. He was on it.

Later that evening, Sam and Jack were sitting side by side on the couch, exhausted, watching Cassie play with Beth on the living room floor, when Vala seized them both from behind in a rough hug, one arm around each of their necks.

She planted a sloppy kiss on the top of Sam's head, and ruffled Jack's hair. "Thank you." She said, and then released them and vanished just as quickly as she'd appeared.

Sam looked at Jack with raised eyebrows, and he grinned. "Mission accomplished." He said simply.

"I have nothing to wear." Vala announced dramatically, when Sam arrived at her friend's SGC quarters later that week to help her prepare for her date with Daniel.

She smiled at Vala indulgently. "Don't be ridiculous, you have plenty. In fact, most of your wardrobe consists of what I would consider appropriate date attire."

"Yes, well, that's because you dress like a man most of the time." Vala argued.

Sam glared at her. "I do not." She protested.

Vala rolled her eyes. "Just help me pick something Daniel will like." She pleaded, and Sam relented and picked through the clothing.

"I can't believe how nervous you are." Sam teased. "It's just Daniel. You've been the best of friends for ages, it's not like you're going to be struggling for things to talk about."

"Yes, but this is an actual date. He has finally agreed to date me, and if I screw it up …"

"You're not going to screw it up." Sam assured her.

Vala laughed hollowly. "I wouldn't be so sure. We're both more than a little afraid of commitment – I'll probably freak out and sabotage it, and he'll let me because it gets him off the hook."

Sam frowned at the dress she was holding. She wished it wasn't so easy to imagine that exact scenario from happening. She turned round with a smile, and deposited the dress in Vala's lap before taking the other woman's hands.

"Then don't sabotage it." She said. "And don't put too much pressure on the date, either. Just … talk to him the way you always do, and things will happen on their own."

Vala looked sceptical. "So you're saying I shouldn't try and seduce him."

Sam's eyes widened. "Not on the first date, no. Just be yourself."

Vala huffed. "I don't know why I'm accepting advice on taking things slowly from you. You got engaged to Jack before ever going on a date with him, and you married him and had a baby with him before you moved in with him."

Sam squinted. "Technically I didn't 'have' a baby with him. We just sort of … happened upon one. Anyway, don't use me and Jack as a model, we've done everything backwards, we're a terrible example to follow."

"Worked for you though."

"It wouldn't for most people. We're weird." She said grinning, and released Vala's hands and stood up. "I think that dress is your winner."

Vala held it up against herself as she looked at it in the mirror. "It's a little long, isn't it?" She said, fingering the hem that came down just past her knees.

"Daniel's already seen all there is to see, you don't need to show off your body for him. This makes you look classy but beautiful."

Vala smiled. "See? This is why I need you."

"Glad I could help."

Sam was nervous that night. Beth seemed to pick up on it, and wouldn't go down, screaming every time Sam tried to lay her down in the cot. Sam ended up sprawled on the couch with Beth laying on her, a comfortable warm weight on her chest. Jack was in DC, taking some meetings and finishing packing up his house, so the two girls were alone.

She was expecting a call from Vala after Daniel dropped her off back at the mountain after their date, but her phone remained stubbornly silent. She was worried it had gone badly and that Vala was moping, but she didn't want to call, in case it had just run long and she interrupted them.

Eventually, she started falling asleep herself, and she gave up waiting. Beth was soundly asleep enough by then that Sam managed to get her down in the cot without waking. Sam climbed into bed, and fell into a restless sleep, worrying for her two friends.

She needn't have worried. Vala turned up on her doorstep the next morning, apparently having been dropped off by Daniel, to take Sam and Beth out for breakfast. Or at least, to have Sam take her and Beth out for breakfast.

She was grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"I take it the date went well?" Sam asked, sliding into a booth seat in the café and pulling Beth's pram closer.

"Very well indeed." Vala said, sounding very self-satisfied.

"Did you take my advice?" Sam asked, curious.

"You mean the bit about taking things slowly, not rushing into things, just having a nice talk as friends and letting things evolve on their own …?"

"Yeah, that."

Vala cocked her head. "Sort of? But … not really."

Sam just looked at her, waiting for her to elaborate.

"Did you know he speaks Ancient in his sleep?" Vala asked coyly.

Sam's eyes widened. "You didn't sleep with him."

"Well, if I didn't, it was his twin brother."

"Vala!" Sam said, scandalised.

"Hey! Look who's calling the pot a kettle!"

Sam was surprised out of her mortification by the mangled cliché. "You mean the pot's calling the kettle black?"

"Is it? Who cares what colour the kettle is? Anyway, you slept with Jack and got engaged to him on your first date, so you're hardly in a position to judge."

Sam sighed. "I suppose not. So … you guys are ok? You're gonna keep dating?"

"Mmm-hmm." Vala confirmed. "And he won't be able to walk in a straight line for a week."

Sam groaned and hid her face in her arms on the table. "Vala, please, he's like a brother to me."

"Although I must say, he's very talented himself. I was pleasantly surprised."

"Vala!"

"Oh, grow up Samantha. I need a girlfriend to talk about my excellent new lover with, and I'm afraid you're it. Get used to it."

At five months old, Beth was sleeping more or less through the night, was sitting up, and had developed the most adorable giggle. She was doted on by her two honorary grandfathers (Hammond and Landry), three honorary uncles (Daniel, Teal'c and Cameron), and two honorary aunts (Cassie and Vala), not to mention her actual Uncle Mark, and Sam was seriously concerned that her daughter was going to grow up spoiled. When she voiced that concern to Jack, however, he laughed at her and told her it was better to have too much love than not enough.

It was hard to argue with that.

Sam had gotten into a routine, working short days at the mountain four days a week, and taking care of Beth the rest of the time. She knew Jack didn't like that arrangement, and after over a month, Sam was in two minds herself.

On the one hand, she knew Cara had been planning to be a stay-at-home mom. Although it wasn't a choice Sam would ever have made for herself, Sam felt she owed it to her deceased clone to honour that wish to a certain extent, and not let Beth be raised by a nanny, or spend most of her time in daycare.

On the other hand though … she knew that career-wise, she was slipping. As she was only on the base part time, she wasn't available a lot of the time to assist with any crises that arose, and she wasn't a logical choice when there was need for someone to take a command position, to cover Landry or lead a mission – not when she needed to pick up a baby from daycare at 1530 hours every day and only worked four days a week.

Jack's trial period of running the Department of Homeworld Security out of the SGC was coming to an end, and Sam knew he wanted to retire. It was good to have tried this … but it wasn't working. Jack was stressed and never home, and Sam was feeling more and more like a spare part at the SGC.

They had a plan, worked out in late night conversations when they had lain in bed in each other's arms and listened to their daughter sleep over the baby-monitor. Jack would retire, Sam would go back to working at the SGC full-time, and they would work on conceiving baby number two on their own terms.

Which is why it was a particular shock to be summoned one morning to the office of the Head of Homeworld Security, to be faced with Richard Woolsey, her husband, and Major Davis who was sitting in the corner and pretending not to take notes on a tablet, and to be offered a long-term assignment in another galaxy.

"I'm sorry, General, you want me to go to the Pegasus Galaxy?" She asked incredulously.

Jack looked chagrined.

"It's a compliment, Colonel." Woolsey assured her. "While the IOA as a whole is reticent about the idea of putting a military officer in charge of Atlantis, your credentials are hard to argue with. You have by far the most experience in the stargate program of any candidate on the shortlist, you have a proven track record in diplomacy with other human and alien civilisations, you are an expert in Ancient technology, you've had numerous command experiences over the last few years, and more than that, the IOA and the Department of Homeworld Security agree that we trust you, more than anyone else, to do an excellent job. As you know, Atlantis postings are always voluntary, but we really hope you'll accept."

Sam looked at Jack. "We?"

He looked about as uncomfortable as she'd ever seen him. "It's a great career move for you, Carter." He said, sounding strained. "Command of our most important off-world facility. With this under your belt, the sky's the limit."

"We know this won't be an easy decision for you Colonel, given your recent adoption of your daughter." Woolsey cut in smoothly, trying to sound sympathetic. "That's why we're suggesting a six month interim posting, rather than a permanent one. You'd be there for six months, which would buy us the time to find a suitable permanent replacement."

Sam had to wonder if Woolsey and Davis knew that the father of her daughter was facing her on the other side of the table. Davis looked uncomfortable enough with the conversation that he might, but Woolsey had to be oblivious, surely.

She stared at Jack, trying to read his mind. If I'm on a shortlist, he knew about this before today. Why is this the first I'm hearing about it?

"Woolsey, perhaps you could give the Colonel and I a few minutes to talk it over?" Jack said.

Woolsey looked startled. "General, with all due respect, the IOA is as much a part of this decision as the Department of Homeworld Security. It wouldn't be appropriate to shut me out of the decision making process."

"Richard." Jack said. "I don't want to talk to her as the Head of Homeworld Security. I want to talk to her as her husband."

Woolsey gaped like a fish. If she wasn't so rattled Sam would have laughed.

"Mr Woolsey, perhaps we could go and discuss the plans for the next X-303 over some lunch?" Davis cut in smoothly.

"Um … yes, of … of course." Woolsey was still looking between Sam and Jack sharply as he was led stumbling out of the room.

The door closed, and Sam let loose her glare.

Jack winced. "Before you start yelling, let me just say, this was mostly Woolsey pushing the idea, and I really never thought the IOA were going to settle on you because of the military thing. Almost every other candidate was a civilian."

"Still, some warning that I was even on the shortlist would have been nice." She said acidly.

"I'm sorry about that." He conceded. "But the thing is Sam, it really is a fantastic career move for you."

"You honestly think I'm going to voluntarily miss out on an entire six months of Beth's life? She'll have forgotten who I am by the time I come back!"

"Not necessarily." Jack argued. "There's Midway, you'll come back for reviews, and meetings. We'll get you back here to visit with every chance we get."

"This is Atlantis we're talking about here, Jack. You of all people know how dangerous it is. You can't promise me this is a quick six month walk-in-the-park assignment with a visitation plan. I could get killed out there, and then what? Beth grows up without a mother, and Jake never gets born?"

Jack looked down at his hands. "I know it's dangerous. But that's just one more reason why you're the best person for the job. There's no one I'd trust more to keep that expedition safe. I certainly wouldn't trust any of the quacks the IOA are looking at as their fall-back options. And …"

He stopped, and Sam raised her eyebrows. "And …?"

"2034." He muttered. He looked up at her. "We know you survive. We know Jake gets born."

"It doesn't work like that, Jack." Sam replied in a whisper. "We can still screw it up."

Jack shrugged his shoulders in exasperation. "We take a risk every time we cross the street, or get in a car, or come into work on this death-trap of a base. Six months on Atlantis isn't a death warrant."

"I know." Sam conceded. "But … Jack, six months …"

"She won't forget you." Jack assured her softly. "I'll make sure she doesn't. And you will come back to visit at least a couple times during those months."

"And what about you?" Sam asked desperately, feeling her resolve weaken. "Are you still planning to retire?"

"Mostly." Jack said. "I'll certainly step down as Head of Homeworld Security. But I'll consult a little. I'll keep my security clearance, so I can still keep an eye on you and be there for your check-ins, but I'll spend most of my time taking care of Beth."

Sam shook her head, feeling cornered, and stood up, pacing a little. She hated the idea of leaving Beth, and being gone so long … but in all honesty, this was a perfect job for her. And Jack was making it as easy as humanly possible for her to say yes.

"Do you want me to do it?" She asked, looking at him helplessly.

"It doesn't matter what I want, you need to decide whether you want it."

Sam shook her head. "No, Jack, this can't just be my decision. I need to know what you're thinking. I need us to talk about this together, as a team."

Jack sighed. "Personally, I don't want you to go, of course I don't. I'll miss you like crazy. But I honestly think this is the best thing for you, career-wise, and if you turn it down … you won't just be shutting the door on Atlantis. You might not get another opportunity like this. It will be sending a message that you're stepping back from your career to be a mother, and I'm not sure you'll ever be able to fully walk that back."

Sam closed her eyes and leaned over with her forearms on the back of her chair. "What if I say yes, and then when it comes right down to it, I can't leave Beth?"

Jack smirked. "Sam, you're practically genetically programmed not to let people down. If you say yes, then even if it kills you, you'll go."

Sam canted her head in oblique acknowledgement of the truth in that. She sighed.

"I can hardly believe I'm considering this."

Jack smiled sympathetically. "I'll take thousands of photos. I'll keep a video diary of her and send it through with the data bursts to Atlantis. I'll do whatever you need me to do to make it tolerable."

The reality of leaving her baby hit her, just then, and she lowered her head as her chin started to quiver.

Jack stood up and pulled her into his arms, uniforms be damned. "Hey, none of that. It's ok."

She took some shuddery breaths and hastily wiped away the few tears that had fallen. "I really don't know if I can do this."

"Look, they don't need an answer today. Take some time to think about it."

She nodded, pulling back from him and swiping at her eyes again. "So Woolsey didn't know about us, huh?" She said, attempting a smile.

"Nope." Jack smirked. "His face was a picture."

"Hilarious." She agreed. "God bless Paul Davis. Do you think they're really going over X-303 plans, or do you think Woolsey's peppering Paul with questions about us?"

"Oh, probably the latter."

Sam spent the next week as an emotional wreck. One day she'd be excited about the adventure, and the command post, and the opportunity, and then the next she'd clutch her baby daughter all day, imagining leaving her and feeling devastated just at the possibility.

Daniel and Vala came over for dinner one night towards the end of that week, with exciting news of their own.

Sam could tell something was going on, there were a lot of loaded looks being exchanged across the dinner table between her two friends, but they kept tight-lipped all the way through the main course, and the four of them were in the middle of a very mundane conversation about the state of Sam and Jack's dining room table when Vala apparently reached the end of her patience.

"I'm pregnant." She blurted out.

The three of them, Daniel included – as he had expected her to wait until an agreed upon time to announce it – stared at her in shock.

Then Daniel recovered from being beaten to the punch, and Jack slapped his best friend's back enthusiastically in congratulations, and Sam hugged Vala, and everyone was talking at once.

And then Sam thought about how she'd spend practically the whole of Vala's pregnancy in another galaxy and might even miss the birth, and about how it would now be another six months before she could even try to get pregnant herself, and another wave of grief hit her at the thought of leaving the baby she already had … and she burst into tears, and ran from the room in humiliation.

Daniel stared after Sam in shock. "What was that about?" He asked Jack.

Jack winced. "It's just bad timing. Don't take it personally."

"Is she still having trouble getting pregnant?" Vala asked, looking terribly worried. Daniel squeezed her knee reassuringly.

"It's not that." Jack answered. "She's been offered command of Atlantis for six months, and she's upset about leaving Beth for that long."

Jack moved to go after Sam, but Daniel stood quickly and intercepted him. "May I?" He asked. Jack nodded.

It struck him as odd suddenly. Once upon a time he wouldn't have dreamed about asking Jack's permission to be the one to comfort Sam if she was upset. Once upon a time Daniel had been the only one who would even try. But, times changed, and now Sam's emotional well-being was Jack's territory, just as Jack was Sam's. In a way, he missed being the one they both would turn to for that basic human need for comfort and reassurance.

He found Sam in Beth's room. The baby was sound asleep, and Sam was sitting on the floor by her crib with her head resting against the bars, watching her and crying silently.

"Hey you." He said, sitting down beside her.

"I'm so sorry Daniel, I didn't mean to ruin your news." Sam said haltingly as she tried to stop crying.

"It's ok. Jack told us about Atlantis. I know it must be heartbreaking thinking of leaving Beth for that long."

"She's just a baby." Sam said, fresh tears falling. "She needs me."

Daniel put an arm round Sam and tugged her into his side. He let her cry for a bit in his arms, and then she pulled back and shook herself.

"I'm really happy for you, you know that don't you?" She said.

Daniel grinned. "I'm pretty happy for me too." He admitted gleefully.

"You're going to be an amazing dad."

He smiled, and tucked a lock of Sam's long hair behind her ear. "Taking the Atlantis job wouldn't make you a bad mom." He told her firmly. "It's not for long, and when she's older she won't even remember you were ever gone."

Sam looked at her knees and sniffed. "I'll probably miss her first steps, and her first words …"

"We'll videotape it." Daniel promised. "And Vala will visit all the time to make sure Beth still gets lots of feminine attention, and Jack's retiring so he'll be taking care of her 24/7 like some kind of Superdad …" He took her hand and smiled sadly. "You'll miss her like crazy, and she'll miss you, but then before you know it you'll be back, and she'll still be your little baby."

Sam nodded and put her head on Daniel's shoulder again. "I should go apologise to Vala for spoiling her big moment."

"I don't think she's mad, but it can't hurt." Daniel agreed. Sam stood up fluidly and Daniel clambered after her, feeling awkward and old.

"I'm really glad you two have each other." Sam said smiling at Daniel warmly.

He ducked his head sheepishly. "My life will never be boring." He conceded. "And it's nice to have someone to care about that way again."

"Oh please, you couldn't live without her." Sam accused him. "She wormed her way into your heart months before you even admitted it to yourself."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'm head over heels in love with her. Happy?"

Sam beamed. "Yup." She hooked her arm through his and escorted him out of the room. "You better hope you're not having a girl. Vala will teach her to wrap you around her little finger." Sam teased.

"Ugh, I'm so doomed." He groaned. Then he gave Sam a sideways look. "But then again, between you and Beth, Jack is definitely doomed, so I guess he and I can keep each other company."

Sam laughed, and Daniel grinned to hear it. That's better.

When it came time to leave, Sam refused to let Jack come to the mountain to see her off. She was in floods of tears saying goodbye to Beth, and little six-month old Beth didn't understand what has happening other than that her mama was crying, and so she wailed in misery herself, which only made it harder for Sam.

After that ordeal, Sam was certain that looking at Jack would set her off again, so she said her tearful goodbyes to him and Cassie in their house, and then had Cameron, Daniel and Teal'c drive her to the mountain.

The car journey was just about sufficient for her to pull herself together. She sat in the back with Teal'c, and he held her hand in silent support, and she drew strength from his calm and solid presence.

Vala of course, being pregnant and prone to the dramatic anyway, cried with abandon as she said goodbye to Sam on base, and that was almost enough to trigger Sam herself again, but she managed to hold it together. It helped that Teal'c stayed glued to her side. He was her rock.

She caved and called home one more time before actually leaving, stopping in the corridor to use a phone on the way to the gateroom, and Jack told her firmly that he loved her and she should go kick some slimy Wraith ass.

In the gateroom, she paused at the event horizon and looked back at her boys, smiling at her from the bottom of the ramp. "Take care of them for me." She said, meeting Teal'c and Daniel's eyes.

"We've got your back, Sam." Daniel said.

"Go." Teal'c said warmly, a real, gentle smile gracing his features.

She went.