O'Neill Residence
Colorado Springs, CO
November 22, 1998

Sam looked up from the toy she had introduced Ife to when the front door opened and closed. She knew it was Jack coming home and it felt strange. Very… domestic. But kind of nice, too. Before everything, when she'd still been working at the Pentagon, she had never been the type to wait for her man, but she'd gotten quite a bit of practice of it off-world, waiting for Bra'tac to come back from one of his trips. She wasn't in a relationship with either man though and it felt different this time. Not only were they on Earth, but she was staying in Jack's house. She slept in his bed, wore his clothes, ate his food and was surrounded by his things. "You're back."

Jack looked up when he entered the living room. "Hey, you two."

"How did it go?" She'd almost asked him how his day went, but decided that was too domestic.

"Fine. Long day."

He looked rather tense. "Did you go off-world?"

"No. We don't have another mission until next week. Daniel made it back home from Abydos but I'm pretty sure things didn't go well or maybe Sha're didn't want him to leave; either way, he was in a bad mood."

"Oh," Sam said noncommittally. The subject of Sha're or Amaunet wasn't one she wanted to discuss and had tried her damnedest to avoid whenever Daniel visited her in quarantine. Early on, she had figured out that Amaunet had taken her pen pal's wife as host and she'd quickly deduced Klorel's host was Sha're's younger brother, but that didn't mean she felt any connection with them. Skaara was still the same person as Klorel in her mind and Amaunet… well, she hadn't seen much of Apophis' mate and she'd been too busy protecting her unborn child to stick her neck out for a woman she didn't even know.

Jack had some kind of way to read her because he'd proven time and again that he knew exactly what subjects she did and didn't want to discuss. "I spent most of my mornings in meetings, went sparring with Teal'c in the afternoon and combed through personnel files to find a fourth member for SG-1."

"What about that alien who came back to Earth with you? The one who'd helped Teal'c."

"Nyan? Nah, he's probably better suited to work at the SGC. Besides, even if he was good in the field, he'd have pretty much the same skillset as Daniel. I really don't need two of him or any another scientist with a different skillset."

She was reminded of how he'd mentioned wanting another military member on his team. It made sense since he already had an archaeologist and an alien warrior, but she couldn't help but think about how Kershaw had worked out. Just thinking about what that woman did was enough to make her blood boil… "You'll find someone."

"Eventually."

"Do you really need a four-man team?"

He shrugged, "It doesn't say anywhere in the regulations that an SG team has to have four members, but it works out best in the field."

"Is that why your next mission isn't scheduled until next week?"

"No, we wanted to give Daniel some time with Sha're… and whenever he's on Earth, he's researching Kheb in the hopes of locating the planet where Amaunet hid Sha're's son."

It didn't take much for Sam to imagine what Sha're had to be going through, but that was more a mother-to-mother thing than a former host-to-former host thing. She knew ignoring her ordeal with Herit wasn't going to make it go away, but it made it easier for her to move on – Sha're probably couldn't, not until she found her son. "I wish I could tell you more, but I've never heard of Kheb and I have no idea where Amaunet went to after I escaped."

"Yeah, didn't think you did. I mean, you wouldn't have kept that from Daniel if you knew."

"No, I wouldn't have," she said softly. The way he was looking at her made her feel bad about the secrets she was keeping from him. The only one that really applied to him was Ife, but there was so much other stuff she hadn't told anyone. She figured it would take time before she felt comfortable sharing any of that with another person. Doctor MacKenzie could probably tell her more but after the initial session, she'd blown him off and told him therapy wasn't for her.

"That's okay," Jack said. "We'll find him, eventually."

Suddenly, he went back to studying her and it unnerved her. Worried that he'd start talking about the possibility of the boy being harsesis, like Daniel had already done a week ago, she got to her feet and smiled. "I made dinner."

"I thought I smelled something coming from the kitchen."

"Are you hungry?"

He shrugged and lowered himself to Ife's level to properly greet her. "Sure, I can eat."

Sam left him to watch their daughter and headed into the kitchen. It was strange how she had no trouble thinking of Ife as theirs, even though she hadn't broached the subject with Jack yet. Pushing the thought away, she got everything she needed from the kitchen and set the table. She looked over the half-wall into the living room, smiling at the sight of Jack and Ife together. "Dinner is ready. You can put Ife in the playpen, she's already been fed."

After doing as he was told, Jack joined her at the table and eyed the food. "Soup, bread and… a fruit salad?"

"I know, I know," she said, rolling her eyes. The diet the doctor had prescribed didn't include the kind of meals he was probably used to, but they filled her up and the taste was pretty similar to what she'd been eating the past two years. According to the doctor, it wasn't strange that her taste buds had adjusted and some of the Earth food she'd previously enjoyed didn't taste appealing at all anymore. "Another strange combination."

"Hey, whatever floats your boat. Did Ife have some soup?"

"Uh, no."

He eyed the fruit salad. "Is the fruit enough to fill her up?"

"I fed her."

"Well yeah," he said, "but Doc Fraiser said Ife needed more calories and stuff."

Sam rolled her eyes. "No, I meant I fed her."

Jack frowned in confusion for a moment, before his face cleared and his eyes dropped to her chest and he cleared his throat awkwardly. "Oh, um, right."

"She'll be fine. Shall we eat?"

"Yeah, I'm starving."

She suppressed a smile and reached for a piece of bread. His reaction shouldn't have surprised her considering she hadn't breastfed Ife in his presence. Not that she went out of her way to do it when he wasn't around, but she was taking the doctor's advice about weaning Ife off breastmilk and giving her more solid foods to aid in her development. Jack just usually wasn't around when she did breastfeed Ife.

Jack made some small talk during dinner, including telling her about the latest SGC gossip, but once they were done he retrieved a large envelope for her. "This is for you. Major Davis said he got all the necessary paperwork for you and Ife."

"Oh."

"You don't want to open it?"

The envelope weighed next to nothing, an odd realization considering it held all the proof about her and Ife's existence. She skimmed the paperwork relating to her until she found her daughter's birth certificate.

Ife Carter.

Mother's maiden name Samantha Carter.

Father's name unknown.

"Sam? Hey, you okay?"

It wasn't until Jack gently touched her arm that Sam realized she'd been staring at the piece of paper and holding it in a death grip. The look on his face spoke of his concern for her and it only served to make her feel guiltier. She cleared her throat and gave him a small smile, "Yeah, I'm fine."

Uncertainty flashed through his eyes as he looked from her to the certificate. "Is it because of…," he trailed off, unwilling to say the words, and sighed. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"No, it's okay. It's… well, I guess Ife has a birthdate now." She knew it was a lame excuse but it was the first one that popped into her head. While it was true that she had no idea when exactly Ife was born, she was pretty sure the date was a month or two off since she knew on which date their daughter was conceived. Sam's calculations put the birth somewhere in April, even if Ife had been early or overdue. "I better clear the table."

"Sam…"

"I'm fine, Jack. Thank you for bringing me the paperwork," she said as she collected their plates.

He followed her into the kitchen a few minutes later, carrying the soup pot. "Davis said they're still working out your financials. General Hammond has also informed your brother about your, um, situation."

She nearly dropped the plates and set them down on the counter before turning to him. "Mark? Do you know what he told him?"

"The cover story: you were on an undercover mission and we had to fake your death somewhere along the way."

"Ife?"

"No, Hammond thought that would be up to you."

Grimacing, she leaned against the counter. Mark had always painted her with the same brush as Dad because she'd joined the military, too. They'd drifted apart once she'd been commissioned and hadn't stayed in touch much. How was she supposed to explain the whole situation to him? He'd never been very understanding when it involved the military and since he and Dad had recently made up, he would probably find fault with her for letting Dad think she was dead. "Great. I'll just tell him that while Dad was dying, I couldn't be bothered to reveal the fact that I was alive, but somehow found a way to get knocked up and keep the baby a secret too."

Jack made a face, "Cut him some slack, Sam. It's gotta be a shock to get a phone call like that. And who knows, he might not react the way you think. Maybe he's just happy that you're alive."

"You don't know my brother," she said. "General Hammond said he didn't even attend my funeral."

"I know."

"You do?"

He shrugged, looking a little uncomfortable, "I was there with Hammond, Catherine and some others from the SGC."

No one had told her. She'd only asked the General if Mark and her dad had been there. "Oh."

"While you were gone, your dad and Mark reconciled, Sam. Maybe Mark's perspective changed after… what happened. He forgave your dad, didn't he? Now you're all the family he has left."

"Mark hasn't needed me for a long time and he has his own family."

Jack leaned his hip against the counter, standing close to her. "Just… give him a chance, okay? He might surprise you."

Sam found it hard to say no when he was looking at her like that, so she nodded. "Okay. I'll call him tomorrow."

"Good."

"He's probably upset that he was told over the phone and not in person."

"Yeah, can't blame him," Jack said, grimacing. "But Hammond had to inform him before Mark found out some other way."

"Well, unless the Air Force is going to make a nation-wide announcement, I doubt Mark would have heard about my return," she scoffed. "We don't have any friends in common and the only contact we had before I left was through holiday cards."

Jack cleared his throat and jerked his head in the direction of the table, "Davis may have mentioned something about Mark."

"Davis?"

"After you were declared dead, all your savings and assets went to your dad-"

Sam suddenly realized what he meant and felt stupid for not thinking about it earlier, "And when Dad died, everything went to Mark."

"That's one of the reasons why it's taking them so long to get your financials done."

She bit her lip, wondering how Mark would react to that news. "Right."

Jack bumped her shoulder with his, a small smile on his lips. "Davis did say the Air Force was gonna pay you retroactively since your cover story implies you were on active duty and I wouldn't be surprised if they toss a promotion in there as well."

"Oh." She couldn't say it came as a surprise exactly, but it wasn't something that had been on her mind either. General Hammond had told her she was technically on medical leave, but they both knew there was a good chance she wouldn't come back to active duty. So much had happened and she didn't feel like a captain in the United States Air Force anymore. But with her money and assets gone, getting paid for the past two years and a half years would be nice. So far, she'd let Jack pay for everything because she couldn't do it herself, but she'd never relied on a man to keep her and she wasn't about to start now.

"But like I said, it'll probably take a while until they've got it all figured out."

"Yeah, it would be good to have my own money, though."

Jack gently clasped her shoulder and squeezed it. "Don't worry about any of that for now. You and Ife can stay here for as long as you want. The house is big enough for the three of us."

She looked up into his warm eyes and smiled. "I know, but I don't like to be financially dependent on others."

"Well, you and Ife barely eat anything, so it's not like it's costing me an arm and a leg to have you here."

She rolled her eyes at his teasing and pushed off the counter. "Speaking of which, I think it's about time for Ife's bath."

O'Neill Residence
Colorado Springs, CO
November 23, 1999

Jack looked down when he felt something settle against his side and smiled when he saw Ife had fallen asleep against him. He maneuvered the girl a little until she was more comfortable and settled back into the sofa. The Simpsons was on and he tried to keep his attention focused on the television, absentmindedly stroking Ife's hair while listening to Sam pacing in the dining room.

He hadn't been surprised, exactly, to learn Sam still hadn't called her brother by the time he got back from the base considering the things she'd told him last night. After dinner, he'd offered to look after Ife so she could call Mark. That had been two episodes ago.

Her nerves were understandable, especially concerning Ife, but from what Jacob had told him it seemed like Mark had changed. They hadn't spoken about the other Carter a lot but from what little Jacob had shared, Jack knew Mark regretted not staying in touch with Sam and that he'd been too stubborn and upset with their dad to attend her funeral.

Sam was too focused on how her relationship with her brother used to be to be convinced of it, though. Jack couldn't blame her, after all he had some experience with being the one left behind and coming back to find everyone had moved on with their lives. In her case she'd been gone for over two years. In that time, she'd gone to hell and back, but all of it without being in touch with her friends and family on Earth. For her, nothing had changed in their relationships. But others, like Mark, had mourned her death, moved on and reflected on their regrets. Unlike a lot of people, Sam and Mark had been given another chance.

Jack was about to tell her to just call already when she stopped pacing and he heard her dial the phone in the kitchen a few seconds later. "Your Mommy is worried over nothing, your Uncle Mark will love you, munchkin," he said, kissing the top of Ife's head as she slept.

"Um, hi," Sam said in a small voice. "It's me, Mark. Sam."

Eavesdropping was hardly ever a good idea, but Jack figured this was an exception. Besides, Sam might need his support.

"I'm… doing okay… Honestly, Mark… Yeah… I found out after I got back, I didn't even know he had cancer…"

Jack could hear the emotion in her voice and once again found himself wondering if he'd made the right decision by not telling her about Jacob's illness when they met off-world. He hadn't wanted to make it harder on her because, at the time, going home to visit wasn't an option. Jacob told him he didn't want Sam to be distracted or distraught when she had a mission to complete, so Jack felt like he'd made the right choice. But he and Jacob had both expected Jacob to pull through, at least until Sam got back.

"No," Sam said, sighing. "A week and a half ago… The quarantine was just a precaution, I told you I'm fine now… No, I haven't had time yet. I was only released this weekend… Arlington? With Mom?"

At the mention of Jacob's funeral, Jack felt his own guilt rise. He'd been undercover at the time and attending the service wasn't an option. General Hammond had mentioned it briefly afterwards, but that wasn't the same. He'd wanted to be there himself, to pay his respects and be able to tell Sam about it once she came home. Instead, he had nothing to tell her and had to rely on Hammond to fill in the blanks for her.

When he heard Sam asking her brother questions about the funeral service he decided he was going to give them some privacy. It was almost bedtime for Ife, so he lifted the sleeping girl into his arms and carried her to the master bedroom. He hadn't been in there since Saturday, to get clothes, and while nothing had really changed, it felt different to him. The bed was made like usual, a pair of sweats were folded on a chair – clothes for Sam, probably – and the window was still open. After closing the window, he pulled down the comforter and found one of his button-up long-sleeved shirts lying there. The thought of Sam wearing just his shirt in his bed made his mind go places it shouldn't, so he tried to focus on Ife instead.

The little girl was still fast asleep, so he exchanged her outfit for what looked like one of his black t-shirts. He was pretty sure that was the same shirt she wore on the first morning at his house, when she'd surprised him by asking him for help and the memory elicited a smile. "Sleep tight, munchkin."

After putting Ife to bed, Jack closed the door and followed the sound of Sam's voice. She was still on the phone with Mark but it sounded like they'd moved on from Jacob to Ife, which put Jack on the alert. He found Sam in the kitchen, sitting at the small table there, head in her hand as she spoke. She looked small and vulnerable, her tall yet skinny frame drowning in his oversized clothes and a sad look on her face.

"It's… Yes, Mark…" Sam sighed in frustration and ran a hand through her hair as she listened to her brother on the other end. "That's really none of your business… I know, I… That's not what I meant, Mark… No!"

Jack was itching to go over to her and give Mark a piece of his mind, but he managed to suppress the urge. He knew it wasn't his place and he certainly didn't want to overstep or make Sam feel uncomfortable about staying at his house. So, instead, he simply watched her and was ready to step in if it became too much for her.

"Look, Mark, all you need to know is that she's my daughter and… Yes… I know… I really don't want to get in to that right now… No- I meant over the phone… yes…," she straightened up, a small smile on her face. "Of course… I don't know… Soon… Oh… Thanksgiving?"

Jack shrugged when she looked to him, as if to ask if she should spend the upcoming holiday with her family. Seeing her brother in person would probably be a whole lot better to explain things than speaking to him over the phone, but Jack didn't think Sam was ready to go out to San Diego yet. She hadn't even left his front door yet. Taking Ife on a plane probably wasn't a good idea, either. The little girl hadn't seen anything beyond the SGC and his house since arriving on Earth, and she hadn't fared well at the base with all those strangers around. "Up to you," he said. "They're welcome to come here, too."

Sam's eyes went wide at his suggestion and for a moment, he thought he'd overstepped, but then she shook her head and turned her attention back to Mark. "No, I don't think that's a good idea… Why? Because I'm not ready yet and neither is Ife… yeah… too much, too soon… Maybe, I don't know. I'll have to think about it… of course not… I swear, Mark… No, it's not because of you… Yes… Like I said, maybe… We need to get settled and adjust to being back first… Sure… I'll let you know."

Keeping his ears open, Jack headed for the fridge to get himself a beer. A quick glance at Sam made him put on some water, having noticed she liked to drink herbal tea in the evenings. His interest piqued when she avoided his gaze, her cheeks coloring.

"At a friend's… No, no one you know… It's fine… No, there's plenty of room for us… You don't have to… Oh," she frowned, biting her lip. "Don't worry about it, Mark… Um, because it had to look real… I know you didn't mean to… Honestly, it's fine… Yeah, we'll make do in meantime…"

Jack set a mug of tea in front of her and waited until she looked up at him. "You gonna be okay?"

Sam nodded and mouthed 'Almost done', before refocusing on her phone conversation.

He took his beer with him and left the kitchen, figuring she could use some privacy now that her biggest concern – Ife – was out of the way. He went to the master bedroom and found the little girl was still sound asleep, so he cautiously entered the room and opened the glass sliding door. Ife didn't seem to notice, to his relief. Jack grabbed a fleece blanket and left the door slightly ajar after stepping outside. It was cold but that also meant a good view of the night's sky, which was a good thing considering his telescope was still packed up.

The blanket provided enough warmth for him on the cold wooden chair, as he rested his feet on the railing and stared up at the dark sky. It had been months since he'd last had the time or inclination to go up to the platform and simply stargaze and he felt the usual calm settle over him as he did so.

About twenty minutes and half a bottle of beer later, Sam joined him. "It's cold out here."

He looked at her, where she leaned against the railing with her arms wrapped around herself. She was still wearing his sweats, the only new addition being his boots on her feet. Offering to share his small fleece blanket probably wasn't a good idea… "Yeah."

"I didn't know you had a platform up here."

"For my telescope."

"Oh."

He shrugged and took a swig of beer. "It's still in the guest room. I rarely have enough time to go up here and certainly don't want to waste any by putting the telescope up every time."

She nodded in understanding. "The equipment is too sensitive for these temperatures."

"How did it go with your brother?"

"Better than expected, I suppose."

"Yeah?"

Sam reached for his beer bottle and, after a moment's hesitation, he handed it to her. "Yeah." She took a swig and made a face at the taste – or perhaps the alcohol. "He didn't like the fact that he was told over the phone and by someone he barely knows."

Jack recalled Mark's dislike of the military and its procedures. "Most people don't even get that courtesy."

"Most people don't come back from the dead," she said, raising a brow.

"True."

"I told him he was lucky General Hammond gave him the news himself, instead letting some unknown person inform him."

He held out his hand and waited until she gave him back his beer. "Hammond would have gone to see him in person if he could have, but the man's got a base to run and such a visit isn't something he can justify with his superiors."

She watched him as he finished off the beer. "That's what I told him, too."

"Is he gonna fly out here to see you?"

"He invited me over for Thanksgiving, but I told him I wasn't ready. Ife isn't ready, either. Mark has already gone through most of his leave for the year and his job won't allow him to just fly out to Colorado."

"Oh."

She gave him a wan smile as she rubbed her arms against the cold. "It's for the best. I don't know what to tell him. I need more time to figure out a good lie for my cover story. One that he'll actually believe."

Jack got to his feet and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders. Out of the two of them, he was the one who could easily withstand the cold. "He didn't buy it, eh?"

"Not all of it. After I'd told him about Ife, he brought up the money. He wanted to know why, if my death was faked, my assets had gone to Dad and upon Dad's passing, to him, instead of being secured elsewhere."

"Good point."

She chuckled softly and snuggled deeper into the blanket. "He's smart."

Jack slowly reached out and, when she didn't flinch or pull away, placed his hand on her back and rubbed it in circles over the blanket, to generate some additional heat. "Guess it runs in the family."

"I told him that was just to make it real, because I had no idea what else to say. Of course, then he confessed that he'd already used a big part of it to renovate the house and build an extension to it."

"Oy."

"I don't care about the money," she said. "If I get paid retroactively for the time I was… missing, then I'll have enough to start a new life for me and Ife."

He ignored the dread he felt at the thought of her and Ife starting a life elsewhere and decided to change the subject. It would be at least few more weeks before Davis had her financials all figured out anyway. "So, you said no to Thanksgiving?"

"Yeah. Thank you for suggesting Mark and his family could come over to celebrate it here, but I didn't think I was quite ready for that either. Mark suggested Christmas, though."

"That'll give you another month to get your story straight."

She gave him a knowing look that told him she was well aware that he knew her apprehensiveness wasn't just about the cover story. "I suppose."

"I didn't say anything earlier because I was pretty sure you hadn't even thought about the holidays yet, but Doc Fraiser invited us over for Thanksgiving dinner at her place."

"She did?"

He nodded. "Yep."

Sam frowned, caught off-guard by the invitation of a woman she barely knew. "Are you sure it wasn't just meant for you?"

"Nah, she said to extend the invite to you," Jack said. "I just didn't know if you and Ife were up to it."

"I don't have anything to wear."

He chuckled and gave her a onceover. "Well, I'd say you're welcome to borrow anything of mine, but I don't think that's what you meant."

A small smile tugged at her lips as she shook her head. "I was thinking something more… festive."

"I'm sure we can find you something. We could even go shopping tomorrow if you want," he added, making a face at the prospect. "Just, think about it. I'm sure the Doc won't mind if we let her know we can't make it."