Thank you to all my readers who so faithfully review! I wanted to let everyone know how appreciative I am of all the encouraging comments. Sadly, my Mom isn't doing well and has only a short time left. Although life is crazy right now, I do find some comfort in writing so will try and update more regularly. I also really thank you for taking the time to write.

On with the story ...

Jack was still feeling the euphoria of being a father again. He looked down at his newborn childe and couldn't help the grin that split his face. He had another son. He thought of Charlie and felt a swift pang of grief, but then the soft mew of the baby in his arms brought him back to the present. He suddenly felt gratitude to the damned aliens for meddling with them. Because of them he had Sam in his life and this new little precious life. He was not going to screw this up!

Just then the phone in his pocket buzzed, and he frowned. Who the hell could be calling him? All his friends and everyone on the base knew he was with Sam and that they'd just had a baby. He sighed as he shifted his son and grabbed the phone. He stood up and walked out of the room so as not to disturb a sleeping Sam.

"Hello?"

"Colonel O'Neill? It's Clarice Berenson here."

"Ms Berenson, what can I do for you?"

"Well, I think it's actually something I can do for you. It's Amy, you know, the young girl who -"

"Yes, I know", he interrupted. "What about her?"

"She wants to see you", Clarice told him. "Can you and Samantha come?"

"Uh, not Sam I'm afraid. She just had our baby. I can come though, if it's important?"

"It is and congratulations. I hope everything went okay?"

"Yes, just fine. We had a baby boy." He couldn't help the smile that sounded in his voice.

"That's wonderful. Uh look, I know this is a bad time, but the sooner you get here the better. Do you have a pen? I'll give you the address."

Jack wondered what in hell this was about. He knew it had to be something to do with Saeena and that he had to go and check it out so he slowly made his way back to Sam's bed. The baby in his arms was starting to move. He was waking up, clearly ready to eat again. "You are my son, aren't you", he whispered, giving the baby a gentle kiss.

"Mommy', he murmured in Sam's ear. "Someone's hungry."

She hummed softly and took a deep breath. A second later she opened bleary eyes and looked at him. Her voice foggy and soft she spoke. "Colonel?"

He grinned, realizing she was still rather out of it. "Major", he acknowledged with a smile. "There's someone who wants you."

She frowned, still looking rather confused. "What Sir?"

With a short laugh Jack showed her the baby. It only took a fraction of a second for the realization to seep back into Sam's awareness. "Oh God Jack – the baby. We have a baby!"

"That we do Sam, and I'm afraid he's getting hungry." By this time David's eyes were open and he was starting to whimper. Jack helped Sam by raising the bed and helping her sit up. "Here you go." He transferred their son into her arms.

Once she got everything organized and was feeding the baby Jack sat beside her. "Uh, I have to go out for a bit", he told her. "Something's come up and they need me. I shouldn't be too long."

Distracted by the reality of her son, Sam just nodded. "Nothing dangerous?" was all she asked.

"Hmm? Oh, no. It's not a mission, I just need to check something out. Will you be okay?"

"Of course", she gently kissed the baby's head. "Are Daniel and Teal'c going with you?"

He actually hadn't given it any thought but realized that it would be good to have one of them. "I thought I'd ask Daniel."

"Okay then why don't you send Teal'c in – or Janet. Jack, we have a baby!"

He grinned again and reached forward and kissed both his wife and baby. He then stood up. "We do. I'm gonna tell Janet I'm leaving and I'll ask Teal'c to pop by. You have my number if you need to call."

"Okay", she smiled at him. "I love you."

"Of course you do", he agreed genially. "And you know that I love you. Now look after that boy of ours Major!"

"I will Sir", she grinned back at him, her eyes already focusing on her child before he'd had a chance to get to the door.

"Supplanted by my own son", he complained jokingly to himself.

"What about your son Jack?" Daniel asked, stepping in beside him.

"Nothing", he smiled. "I'm just afraid Sam is in love."

"Of course she is", his friend agreed. "She's loved you for years."

"I didn't mean me", he explained. At Daniel's quizzical look he laughed. "I meant David. I don't think she even noticed I left."

"Of course she did Jack."

"Oh, don't worry Daniel, I'm not worried."

"I'm happy for you, you know."

"I know", Jack slapped his friend on the back. "Uh Daniel, would you do me a favor?"

"Sure, what is it?"

I just got a call from Clarice Berenson. She wants me to go and see her."

"She – why?"

"I'm not sure, although it must have to do with Saeena."

Daniel nodded. "Have you heard anything about -?"

"No. And damnit but I'm nervous. Sam doesn't need this right now."

"Neither do you."

"No, but – hell, let's go and find out what's up. I just need to tell Janet I'm leaving and to ask Teal'c to check on Sam and the baby."

Saeena wanted to scream. The pain was worse than anything she'd ever experienced. She knew that having a child was painful. She'd seen her mother going through it and had talked to the women at the home she was in. But knowing it and experiencing it were two different things.

They told her that if she went to the hospital they would give her something for the pain. She almost agreed but then decided that first she had to see them. She couldn't do this without first facing O'Neill and his wife.

For so long, since she'd found out she was pregnant in fact, she'd resented what had been done to her. She'd been jealous over the fact that the others, especially Samantha, had friends, a place, a man, a life here on this planet while she had nothing. Her family didn't care about her, she had no friends – not now, not here. She was nothing but an alien, living on a distant planet, with nothing and no one.

Except for the child growing within her. She'd held on to that thought all through her time on Earth. She had a child and it was hers. It would grow to love her. It would be her family. No one and nothing was going to take that away from her.

But that thought had begun to change after she ran away. Suddenly she was faced with what it was like to really have no one. Although the people here were nice, they cared for her only because they thought she'd been abused. They didn't know her, they couldn't know that she wasn't from this planet. She thought back to her time with Janet and Cassie Frasier and for the first time felt a terrible pang of guilt. They'd reached out to her with kindness and friendship, which she'd betrayed and thrown back in her face. She also realized that, alone as she was, it would not be fair to keep the child.

Then there were the O'Neills. They had treated her better then she knew she deserved, especially since she was trying to take their child away from them. She grimaced, realizing this was the first time she'd admitted to herself that the child was theirs and not hers.

Another pain swiftly followed that realization and she whimpered her way through it, one of the counselors from the home at her side. The woman kept urging her to go to the hospital. Well, she would, but only after talking to them.

"This is it", Daniel said, the address in his hand and his eyes looking at the addressed on the houses.

Jack nodded and pulled over to the curb. He glanced in his rear view mirror to see another car pull up behind him. It took only a second to recognize Clarice Berenson. "Let's go."

"Colonel O'Neill, Dr. Jackson, thank you for coming." She hurried up the walkway. "Normally we would never allow a man here, let alone two, but there's no one else here now and we couldn't move her."

"I assume you mean Saeena? Uh Amy?" Jack asked.

Clarice nodded as she took a key out of her purse and opened the front door. "Follow me."

The two men did as she asked and headed up the stairs after the woman. They hadn't even reached the top when they heard the sounds of a woman clearly in pain.

"Miss Berenson?" Jack asked with a frown. "What's going on?"

"It's Amy – Saeena. She's in labor and wants to talk to you. Come on."

"Amy?" Clarice knocked on the door and stuck her head in the room. "Colonel O'Neill and Dr. Jackson are here."

"What about Samantha?" the young woman asked, her face flushed and sweaty.

"Uh, she couldn't make it", Jack said, still standing outside the door. "She just – the baby came."

He heard some more sounds in the room and then finally Clarice motioned them inside.

The girl in the bed looked impossibly young, and very frightened. For the first time since he had met her he felt a strong wash of tenderness and concern come over him. She was all alone and clearly scared of what was happening.

"Hi Saeena", he said gently. "Daniel Jackson is also here. Can he come in?" He saw a wave of relief wash over her face and felt a momentary twinge of jealousy.

"Yes", she answered, definitely sounding pleased.

"Saeena!" the archaeologist walked immediately up to the bed and took her hands in his. "How are you?"

"Fine", she answered softly. "The baby is coming."

"I can see that. Don't you want to go to the hospital?"

"Yes, but first I must speak with Colonel O'Neill. Is your baby alright?" she asked, turning abruptly to the older man.

"He's fine", he told her. "Healthy and big."

She nodded. "They are worried that the baby will be too big for me", she confessed. "I am small and – both of you are tall. The baby will be big, I am sure."

Jack didn't know what to say. It was the first thing he'd ever heard Saeena say that acknowledged that the baby wasn't hers. He kept silent, worried that anything he might say could screw things up.

"You're healthy Saeena", Daniel told her. "Things will be fine."

"I am frightened", she confessed suddenly. "It is painful and I want my mother here with me, but she is so far away."

"I know. I'm sorry", Daniel reached out and stroked her hair. "We're here with you and so is Ms Berenson. We won't let anything happen to you."

"That's right Amy – or I guess I should say Saeena. We'll be with you and you'll be fine."

"I know", she whispered, looking down. "I just want to find a place that I can call home", she lifted her head sharply. "I do not think Earth is that place."

"Uh, we'll help you however we can", Jack told her. "There are a number of places you can go which would welcome you with open arms."

"And my child?"

Jack closed his eyes, not quite sure what to do or say. At that moment Saeena had another contraction and this time it was Daniel who helped her through it. Jack wanted to offer her something, some kind of comfort, but he was pretty sure she didn't want it. At the same time he felt this incredible anger towards her and the mix of emotions was making him feel uncharacteristically uncertain.

When the contraction was finished Daniel took a cloth and wiped her face. She ignored him and instead looked towards Jack, as if waiting for his answer.

"Saeena I –", he took a deep breath. "Now isn't the time to worry about that. You need to concentrate on having that baby."

"Will you stay?" she asked.

"Yes, if you want me to."

She nodded, licked her lips and again spoke. "Yes, you should be here. It is your child."

It was. It was his child. He felt strange, not sure how to handle this whole thing. It was so different then what he'd just gone through with Sam and for that he felt terribly sad. This birth should be met with every bit as much joy as his son's had been. "Yes, it is my child", he said gently. "I will stay."

"It is also Samantha's child", she told him, her eyes boring into his. "She should be here as well."

He swallowed, still hesitant about saying anything. He glanced at Daniel, whose brows were raised and who was looking rather surprised. "Yes", he agreed finally. "She should be but she's still resting."

"Yes. She already has one child."

Jack felt like he wanted to scream. What did Saeena want? What was she trying to say? "Yes, she does but that doesn't change the fact that this child is also hers."

"Will she love it?"

"Of course?" he frowned. Did she mean -?

"Even though I gave birth to it?"

"Doesn't matter", Jack said softly. "It is our child. We are grateful that you carried it – you could have decided to terminate, but instead you looked after it. But it doesn't change the fact that it is our baby."

"No", she whispered, "no it does not." She looked over at Daniel and gave him a small smile. "Will you help me find a home?"

"Of course", he told her. "We all want to help you Saeena."

She nodded and turned her face back to Jack. She opened her mouth to speak when another contraction hit. They were coming closer together and more painful.

"Saeena, we should call for an ambulance", Clarice told her. "It's not going to be long before this baby comes."

She shook her head. "Colonel O'Neill, promise me you and Samantha will love this child as much as the one she gave birth to!"

"Of course we will. Saeena, we want this child. We will love it as much as David, I promise."

She nodded. "After it is born, I would like to hold the child and then you can take it to Samantha. Please tell her I am sorry. I – what I did was wrong. Also tell Janet and especially Cassie that I am so sorry. I did not mean to betray them or to hurt them."

Jack stepped forward and took one of the young woman's hands in his. "Thank you Saeena. You don't know how much this means to us. We'll do whatever we can to help you. We never wanted you to suffer."

"I know."

Saeena finally agreed to have the ambulance called. It arrived a few minutes later and Jack accompanied her to the hospital. He'd offered to let Daniel or Clarice go, but she'd smiled and said no.

"You're the father. You must be with me when the child comes."

Afterward he had trouble remembering anything clearly about the birth. It was very different from that of either of his sons. During both of those events he'd been supporting the woman he loved and they'd looked forward, together, to the event. This time was vastly different. He barely knew the young woman giving birth to his child. But for all of that, and even though he didn't remember the details, he did remember that it was beautiful. His only regret was that Sam couldn't be with them.

"Alright Saeena", the doctor said calmly, "one more push and your baby should be here.'

Saeena pushed with all her strength and a few moments later his daughter came squalling into the world. Jack cut the cord and watched as the baby was placed on Saeena's stomach. He felt a momentary twinge, worried that she'd change her mind and decide to keep the child.

She smiled and touched the infant. A few seconds later she lifted her head. "She looks like Samantha", she said gently. "Take her to her mother, please." Tears were running down her face, but she was smiling. She was confident that she was doing the right thing.

Daniel appeared as if he too wanted to cry and he glanced over at Jack, silently asking what he should do.

"Would you like Daniel to stay with you?" Jack asked gently.

She nodded. "Please, take her. I can't bear this anymore."

Jack nodded and reached down and gently lifted the little girl. He could feel the tears gather in his own eyes. He wasn't sure if he felt like crying with sorrow for Saeena or joy at the birth of his daughter.

His little girl. God – how lucky could he be. She was beautiful and Saeena was right. She did look like Sam.

"She's gorgeous", Daniel whispered softly.

Jack smiled and then took in a deep breath of air and walked over to where the nurse was standing. "Here", he handed her off to the nurse who took her and began all the tests needed to make sure she was healthy. A few minutes later she handed her back. "You're little girl is just fine Colonel."

"Thank you Saeena." Jack stood looking down at the young woman in the bed, his tightly swaddled daughter in his arms. The alien woman was all cleaned up and the doctor and nurse had left. She was looking much brighter and much happier. "We will always be grateful for what you did."

"Just look after her and love her – and maybe tell her one day about her Aunt Saeena."

"We will. And don't worry, we promise to find you a good place where you will be loved and happy."

"I'll stay with her Jack, don't worry." Daniel gave him a grin. "I think you'd better get back to Sam."

Jack was able to borrow a car seat from the hospital to drive back to the SGC. He kept glancing in the mirror, still not believing all that had happened. He wondered what had changed Saeena's mind. He'd have to make sure that young woman was looked after. She had ended up by surprising him – both with her strength and her generosity. She'd given them an amazing gift.

"Colonel." The young soldier at the front saluted and then looked in surprise at the bundle he carried. "Everything okay Sir?"

"Just fine Airman", he said. "Just taking my daughter to her mother."

He got an eyebrow raise and a grin for that. "Of course Sir. And – congratulations. I thought I'd heard you'd had a boy."

"I did", he grinned. "Twins."

"Oh, well then congratulations again Sir. You have your work cut out for you."

"Yes we do indeed!"

He made his way down the elevator until he reached the floor with the Infirmary. He could feel his heart beating madly. He didn't know why he was so nervous, but he was. He was also happy and couldn't quite stop himself from grinning like an idiot all the way down.

"O'Neill?" Teal'c's voice, coming from behind him startled him.

"Whoa – didn't see you there Teal'c."

"What is that you are carrying O'Neill?" the big man frowned down at the blanket -covered object.

"This? Oh, it's just my daughter." He pulled down the top of the blanket to show his friend the tiny little girl. "No name yet. She was 7lbs 9 oz, 21 inches long and healthy."

"Saeena agreed to let you have her?"

"Yes, she did and it was totally her decision."

"Congratulations O'Neill. You must be very happy."

"That I am Teal'c. Uh -"

"You must go and show Major Carter."

"Yup. I'll see you later."

He heard talking coming from behind the door and realized that Janet was in with Sam. Slowly opening it up he peeked his head in, not wanting to intrude in case Janet was doing an exam or something. She wasn't, but was simply standing by the bed, looking down at the baby sleeping in Sam's arms.

"Colonel!" It was Janet who first noticed him. "We wondered what had happened to you. You've been gone for hours."

Jack grimaced, hearing the note of censure in the doctor's voice. "I had to go get something", he explained.

"What was it Jack?" Sam gave him a puzzled look, clearly wondering why he was still standing out in the hall.

"Well", he grinned, "I saw how happy you were with having a baby -"

"Of course", she answered, a small smile on her face.

"Well then", he said, pushing the door open and walking in. "I thought I'd bring you another one." He moved toward the bed until he was standing next to her and then leaned down, showing her her daughter.

A huge smile on her face, Janet reached down and scooped up David, leaving Sam's arms free. Jack immediately followed by giving the bundled baby to her mother.

"Jack?" Sam gazed at the baby and then at her husband. "Is this -"

"Our daughter", he beamed. "Saeena realized she's ours and told me to bring her to you. She was born just over an hour ago and she's totally fine. She looks just like her mom and is as beautiful as you are." He leaned down and kissed his wife. "I was there when she was born. So was Daniel."

Sam started to cry, all the while studying the tiny baby she was holding. The baby yawned and then her eyes opened and she looked directly into her mother's face. That, of course, caused Sam to cry even harder, although the tears were interspersed with laughter. "Oh my God Jack – we have a daughter!"

"A daughter and a son. Could we be any luckier?" He quirked his eyebrow at Janet, who smiled at him and handed David to him. "Nope, couldn't be any luckier."

Janet left the room, more than pleased with how things had ended although she did worry about Saeena. She'd find out more shortly, although for now she simply wanted to enjoy the happiness of her friends.

"You realize we're not going to get enough sleep for a long, long time", Jack informed her. He was sitting perched on the side of her bed, his daughter now back in his arms.

"It's worth it", his loving wife said, the tears gone and her face glowing with joy.

"Mmm hmm. You say that now. Just wait until they're teenagers."

"Oh God Jack, we have two babies. What are we going to do?"

"Love them Sam, just love them."