O'Neill Residence
Colorado Springs, CO
December 11, 1999

Jack was sitting at the kitchen table, staring out the window. He'd been preoccupied ever since Sam dropped her little bombshell on him about Skaara and Ife last night. Afterwards, she'd gone to bed and eventually, he'd called it a night too. He'd made breakfast but she hadn't come out until he went to shower and after breakfast she'd taken Ife to the Academy Hospital, for a check-up. Fraiser had arranged it to be on the weekend, so they'd have more time and less of an audience and interruptions. Meanwhile, he'd stayed home, doing chores around the house to distract himself.

He'd finished twenty minutes ago and while he'd like to blame his inability to focus on the fact that Sam had taken his truck, he knew the reason had nothing to do with someone else – who'd been off-world for nearly two and a half years – driving his truck. No, it was all down to Sam's confession about Ife's paternity.

Distracted, he reached for his coffee cup only to find the coffee had grown cold. He got up and poured himself a new cup. Earlier that morning, he'd had some Froot Loops and now he was starting to get hungry again, so he opened the fridge to find something edible. He ended up making himself a tuna sandwich, all the while thinking of his stay on Abydos.

Jack couldn't deny he'd observed Skaara from a distance the day before and he'd found no noticeable resemblance to Ife, but the little girl did take after Sam… Her eyes, coloring, nose and dimples were all Sam. Skaara's hair was jet-black, his eyes dark brown and his skin tone was different, too. The latter couldn't just be the result of living on a desert planet. The Abydonians descended from the Egyptians, after all. Then again, Shifu had very light coloring too despite Sha're and Apophis' host not being Caucasian.

Had Sam spoken the truth last night?

She'd let him – everyone – think Skaara was Ife's father, but why? Clearly, she knew about harsesises and it made sense that people would assume Ife was one because of her parentage.

Jack was about to take another bite of his tuna sandwich when he recalled the envelope Daniel had given him last week. He abandoned the sandwich on his plate and went into the guest room, where he'd put it with the rest of his things. Someone had taken pictures of their Thanksgiving dinner at the Doc's and he figured there had to be a picture of Ife among them. It didn't take him long to find one of Sam with Ife on her lap – perfect.

In the master bedroom, he rummaged through the bottom drawer of his dresser to retrieve the small lockbox with some off-world mementos in it. Mostly rocks, gifts and other small items, but also some pictures. Nothing too alien. But there was at least one of Skaara, from the first mission to Abydos.

He placed the two pictures next to each other on the table in the dining room, scrutinizing the features of the two adults and comparing them to Ife. Jack could see a lot of Sam in the little girl's face, but she wasn't a complete carbon copy. Skaara was a couple of years younger in his photograph, but there was absolutely no resemblance to Ife.

So, Jack's powers of observation hadn't failed him back on Abydos. If Skaara was not Ife's father, then who was and why did Sam lie about it? Or at least, let everyone believe Skaara was until the claimed paternity threatened to label Ife as harsesis.

Fraiser had estimated Ife to be fourteen or fifteen months old and that was almost a month ago, so she'd be fifteen or sixteen months now. Jack knew she couldn't be his because it had been almost two and a half years since he and Sam slept together. Not to mention the physical trauma Sam had gone through after her capture. He knew she and Bra'tac were close but he'd seen them together and there was no way the two of them had been intimate.

An idea popped into his head and Jack quickly went into the kitchen, going straight for the corkboard on the wall. He grabbed the The Simpson calendar – Christmas gifts from Cassie – hanging from it and reached up to grab the two previous editions from the shelf above. He detoured to the counter to get his abandoned tuna sandwich and poured himself a fresh cup of coffee, before going back to the dining room. He placed everything on the tabletop and went back to November 1999, circling the twelfth as Sam's return date. Sam's first mission was on August first, 1997, and a few pages farther he circled October fifteenth, the day SG-1 had saved the planet and Herit and Bra'tac escaped the ha'tak.

Counting back from November gave July or August 1998 as Ife's date of birth. Fraiser had told them that Sam had no idea if she'd carried full term or if Ife had been born prematurely and if he remembered correctly, they'd put July on the birth certificate. He used the 1998 calendar to count back to the moment of conception, which would then be somewhere in October to December 1997. He knew Sha're had given birth on June fifth 1998, because Daniel had delivered the baby on Abydos and Shifu had been born a little early, according to her.

Jack supposed it was possible that Apophis or Amaunet had told Klorel and Herit about the harsesis, prompting them to… He made a face at the thought, but had to acknowledge it was still possible that Klorel – Skaara – had fathered Ife. It could have been why Herit fled the ha'tak during the attack on Earth.

But that would mean Sam had lied about Ife's paternity last night.

Sighing, he leaned back in his chair and took a bite of his sandwich. He understood Sam's instinct to protect her daughter but the idea that she'd been lying to him – either in the beginning or last night – didn't sit right. Did she finally trust him enough to come clean or was it just an attempt to make people believe Ife wasn't harsesis? They knew now that a harsesis wasn't just a myth but that didn't mean the SGC suddenly had the means to test whether a child was one or not.

He sipped his coffee, his mind going a mile a minute as he thought it all through. In the end, the only other reason he came up with for Sam letting them think Skaara fathered Ife, was that there had been someone else. That after escaping the evil Goa'uld, some other bastard had raped her or Herit had engaged in sex with someone else – either way, Sam was the victim. Perhaps she was embarrassed about it, especially since they all knew what had happened with Klorel…

"Jesus," he muttered. The thought made him sick to his stomach and his anger flared at the reminder of all the shit she'd gone through. She carried herself so well that sometimes it was easy to forget that she'd gone to hell and back.

After pushing the plate and coffee away, he got up and grabbed the photograph of her and Ife at Fraiser's. Sam had worn a simple black dress that night and no makeup but she'd looked beautiful to him and even more so in the picture as she smiled down at her daughter. He hadn't looked through all he photographs Daniel had given him, but he knew Sam hadn't been in many since she'd avoided the camera – and company – whenever she could. The picture in his hand could very well be the only one of her and Ife in existence.

He looked down at the two smiling faces and walked over to the master bedroom. There, he placed the photograph upright against the light on the nightstand.

Back in the dining room, he started putting away his 'research' and made the decision not to ask Sam anymore questions. Like Teal'c had said, Ife's paternity was none of his business. If Sam wanted to talk to him about it, then he'd be there for her but he wasn't going to push her for answers. She didn't owe him an explanation.

Half an hour later, he heard the front door open, followed by Ife running into the house. He easily caught the girl when she launched herself at him and hugged her tight. "Hey there, munchkin."

Sam followed her daughter a little more sedately into the living room and gave him a small smile when she found them together. "Hey."

"How did it go?"

"We're both fine," she said.

Jack waited for her to elaborate and when she didn't, he prompted her, "…but?"

She shrugged and started taking off her coat. "But we're still underweight and in need of some extra iron and vitamins. Doctor Fraiser also wants to schedule a dentist appointment for me because of my missing molars."

"Ah," he said, eying the small paper bag she had in her hands. Knowing the Doc, she'd given her everything she needed right away.

"Need to pee," Ife said, pushing herself upright in his lap.

Jack helped her down but by the time he got to his feet, the girl had already run off to the bathroom. "Guess she doesn't need any help," he mumbled.

Sam crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, "She's been doing fine since you placed those wooden steps in front of the toilet."

"Oh." That hadn't really registered with him, mostly because Ife spent most of her time with Sam and hadn't asked him for help since that first day. He'd assumed Sam had been helping her. "Well, that's good."

"I'm just going to put my things away."

He watched her move back into the entryway to put her coat away and followed her into the kitchen, where she put the new prescriptions with her old ones. From the fridge, he pulled two bottles of water and offered her one. Their fingers brushed when she accepted it and he forced himself to take a step back. "Sam..."

She took a quick sip of water before reaching into her jeans pocket to retrieve the keys to his truck. "Thanks for letting me borrow the truck," she said, placing the keys on the counter.

"Sure." He hesitated for a moment, recognizing the way she was avoiding his gaze. "About last night," he said eventually, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed, I was simply concerned. But Ife is your daughter and it's none of my business."

"I, um…" She frowned and shook her head a little. "Thank you. I appreciate it."

Jack shrugged as if it was nothing, but in reality he was a little disappointed that she seemed to have changed her mind about whatever it was she was going to say. "Look, earlier this year I put in a request for two weeks' leave to spend some time at my cabin. Figured I'd come back in time for the holidays."

Surprised, she simply looked at him. "Um, okay. Right," she breathed. "Of course. You should go. Enjoy your leave. You didn't ask for any of this-"

Jack put a hand on her arm to stop her. "Hey, I did ask. I wouldn't have made the offer for you two to stay here if I didn't mean it."

Sam nodded but shrugged off his hand. "I doubt you'd counted on us staying here for a month… Look, we'll be fine. It's time for us to be on our own, anyway. And I swear, as soon as I get my 'back pay' we'll be out of your hair. That probably won't be until January, though. I can rent an apartment or something and pay you back for everything. According to my calculations, it would be more than enough for a down payment on a house, but I'm not sure if we'll be staying in Colorado in the foreseeable future, so…"

"Oh."

"Would it be okay for us to stay here while you're at your cabin?"

The idea of them moving out hadn't crossed his mind yet. He didn't like it one bit. It was just that he'd gotten so attached to them that he was starting to stick his nose into things that were none of his business, like Ife's paternity and whether or not she was harsesis. "Um, of course."

She gave him a tight smile. "Thanks."

"I don't want you to leave," he blurted out.

"Jack?"

He blew out a breath and ran a hand through his hair, trying to find the right words. "I just thought that you might want some space… It feels like you've been avoiding me since last night and I understand that maybe I crossed a line, but I don't want you to go. I like having you and Ife around," he added, softly.

She blinked at him before looking away, her eyes suspiciously watery. "Oh."

"You could come with me," he offered. "Both of you. The cabin is pretty isolated and the surrounding area is private land, with lots of trees and a lake. Ife might like it."

"Ife might like it?" She repeated, a small smile on her face.

He grinned, "Yeah sure, you betcha."

O'Neill Cabin
Silver Creek, MN
December 13, 1999

It was dark outside when Sam woke up, her head bumping against the passenger window. She blinked sleepily, trying to get her bearings. They were heading down a dirt path and a look at the dashboard told her it had been a few hours since Jack took over the wheel.

"We're almost there," Jack said softly, glancing in her direction.

"Oh," she said, rubbing her eyes. "I didn't mean to fall asleep on you. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it."

She twisted around in her seat to see Ife still fast asleep in her car seat. The little girl had been nodding off for most of the ride, much to Sam's relief. They'd left on Sunday but she'd offered to alternate so they could keep going, rather than finding a motel for the night. Jack had taken her up on her offer and they'd only stopped for meals, bathroom breaks and to stretch their legs. He'd told her he usually drove up to the cabin when he could afford to take the time on the road and he rarely found a motel, preferring to get some sleep when he arrived at the cabin. This time, they got to alternate their time behind the wheel, while the other caught a few hours of shuteye.

Suppressing a yawn, she stretched her frame as best she could in the cab. His knuckles brushed against the outside of her knee when he changed gears and she quickly moved aside. "I wouldn't mind stretching my legs."

"Yeah," he said, throwing her an indecipherable look. "Just a few more minutes and we'll be there."

"Is there anything edible in your cabin?" Her stomach was growling and it had been way too long since lunch.

"I called ahead and asked Mary and Joe to get the cabin ready." He must have noticed her confused expression and elaborated, "They're from town and retired years ago. Joe keeps busy with fishing and some carpentry and Mary does the cleaning and stocking, mostly for people like me who can't get up here on a regular basis. So, whenever I get some leave, I call ahead and they get the cabin ready."

"Oh. That's nice of them."

He shrugged, "They say it keeps them busy."

She was pretty sure her old neighbors in DC hadn't even noticed she'd 'died' and she couldn't imagine any of them doing something similar for her, especially not if she only came around a few times a year. Even before her time off-world, she didn't know anyone like that. Well, maybe Catherine, but the woman had her own maid and probably didn't know the first thing about dusting or changing the bedding. "Well, I think I can take Ife straight to bed when we arrive, but it's good to know that there'll be food. I'm starving."

"The bedrooms should be ready, so that won't be a problem."

"How many bedrooms are there?"

He took a turn to the right and suddenly the cabin was visible, eliciting a smile from him. "Two bedrooms."

Sam leaned forward in her seat to get a better look at the cabin while he parked the truck and had to admit it looked charming. A bit rustic maybe, but she thought it fit Jack. After all the places she'd used as temporary housing off-world her standards weren't very high, but she could definitely see why he'd spoken fondly of his cabin. She interpreted the drumming of his fingers as restlessness and figured he wanted to get out of the truck, so she quickly unbuckled her seatbelt. Jack, however, remained seated and that was when she started wondering if he was… nervous, maybe, about bringing them up to the cabin.

The invitation had caught her off-guard initially. Perhaps there was more to it, though. Last night, he'd briefly spoken about how his late son, Charlie, had enjoyed their summer vacations at the cabin. Had he ever brought anyone other than his family up here?

Taking a deep breath, Sam reached out to still his drumming fingers on the gear stick, covering his hand with hers. "It looks great, Jack. I take it Mary and Joe left the lights on?"

"Mary doesn't believe in coming home to a dark house."

"I like that," she said softly.

Jack shared a smile with her before turning off the engine. "Want me to take Ife inside?"

"No, I'll get her. Could you take our bags inside?"

"Sure."

Inside the cabin, everything looked just as she'd imagined. Very Jack. A little less modern than his house, but the style wasn't too different. She could hear the wood crackling in the fireplace and welcomed the warmth after their brief walk from the truck. She placed the car seat on the floor and started taking off her coat and boots, smiling when Ife blinked at her sleepily. The movement or cold outside must have woken her up.

Sam unbuckled her daughter and lifted her up, balancing her on her hip, before following Jack into the kitchen. He'd stopped midstride and was staring off to the left. When she followed his gaze she saw the dining room table, set with candles and flowers. Oh. "The cabin looks… nice."

"Mary, um, left a roast in the fridge," he said, after snatching up a note from one of the plates. He seemed intent on ignoring the romantic setting and turned on the oven, moving onto the fridge to take the roast out. "Do you want to put the munchkin to bed right away?"

"Um, yeah." She glanced at Ife who seemed more sleepy than hungry and brushed a hand over the girl's hair. "That's probably best."

He placed the roast on the counter and moved past them, "The bedrooms are back here," he said, leading the way and beckoning her to follow. "I figured we'd use the same arrangement as back home. You and Ife take the master bedroom and I'll crash in the guestroom."

She felt ill at ease at kicking him out of his own bedroom again. "The guestroom is fine. Trust me, we've slept in worse places."

"Maybe." He indicated the door farther down the hall, "The guestroom only has a single bed, but the master has a double. It'll be more comfortable for you."

The single bed probably belonged to Charlie once upon a time as did the 'guestroom' and she couldn't help but wonder if anyone had stayed there overnight or if Jack had even been in there since the boy passed away. "Jack-"

"You two will take the master bedroom…"

Sam's eyes widened after he opened the door and revealed all the unlit candles around the bedroom. Laughter bubbled within her at the look on his face and she couldn't resist teasing him, "Jack, what exactly did the note say?"

He groaned and scrubbed a hand over his face, before facing her and handing over the note. "I told Mary that I'd be coming up with a friend and her daughter, but I think she misinterpreted."

"'Lady friend'?" She asked, after reading the note.

"Guess I should have been clearer on the phone."

The embarrassed look on his face amused her and she chuckled softly, "It's fine. I take it Mary is a romantic?"

He rolled his eyes and went into the bedroom. "Let me clear up this stuff and then you can put Ife to bed. The bathroom is through that door."

"No, it's okay," she said, stopping him with a hand on his arm. "I'll make good use of them for my kelno'reem."

"Okay," he drawled, looking at her strangely. "I'll just get dinner ready."

Sam took Ife into the bathroom with her and they showered together. The bag she'd packed was waiting for her when they got back into the bedroom. She'd barely finished getting Ife dressed in pajamas when the girl nodded off on the bed. Sighing, Sam exchanged her own towel for leggings, a tank top, fluffy socks and one of Jack's hockey jerseys and then she tucked Ife in.

The smell of food hit her as she stepped out of the bedroom and her stomach rumbled in appreciation. Jack was standing at the counter, making gravy when she joined him in the kitchen.

"Ife asleep?"

"Out like a light," Sam confirmed. "Speaking of lights, I left the bedroom door open and the light in the hallway on. Just in case she wakes up in the middle of the night."

He nodded in understanding, "Think she will?"

Feeling a little lost just standing there, she took a seat at the table. "Maybe. She's slept a lot already. I don't want her to be afraid if she does wake up, though."

"I get the feeling neither of us is going to stay up late tonight, so I doubt that'll be the case. Not when you're with her."

"Food first, though."

He smirked and turned off the stove. "It'll be ready in a few minutes."

Sam watched him as he checked on the roast, her gaze lingering on his backside when he bent over and she felt herself blushing when he looked over his shoulder at her. "Um, good. I'm starving."

"What about Ife? She hasn't had anything to eat yet before you put her to bed." The corners of his mouth were pulled up in a ghost of a smile and his eyes twinkled when he looked at her, but he made no mention of her staring. Instead, he took the roast out of the oven and came over to the table to collect their plates.

"I fed her at our last stop, so she probably isn't hungry yet anyway." She'd elected to breastfeed Ife when she was hungry on the trip because it was a hell of a lot easier than finding a place to eat or taking food for Ife with them. Also, breastfeeding seemed to calm her and make it easier to fall asleep – Sam wasn't sure if that was merely a comfort thing or not, she was just happy not to be in the car with a crying and unsettled toddler.

Jack's gaze dropped to her chest before he realized and looked away, clearing his throat. "Right. She probably had more to eat than either of us."

She smiled at his back as he started scooping food on their plates, knowing he'd caught more than a few glimpses of her breastfeeding in the backseat. He'd gone to stretch his legs when Ife was hungry, but not every time. Even now, she wasn't sure how to feel about it. It didn't bother her because he wasn't the first person in front of whom she'd nursed – and he'd already seen her naked all that time ago – and she knew he hadn't been leering at her. As a matter of fact, there had been tender look in his dark eyes most times. Perhaps that was why.

"Wine?"

"Hm?" Sam asked, jerked from her thoughts. "Oh, I don't know…"

He gave her a roguish grin and offered a half-full glass of red wine, "Come on, Sam. You know you want it."

She bit her lip, watching as he swirled the red liquid in the glass. "It's tempting."

"Just a little bit. Not like it would affect Ife if you'd, you know," he said, gesturing in the general direction of her breasts, "nursed her tonight."

"Thank you," she said, accepting the glass, their fingers brushing. She was still focusing on the feeling of his fingers when he returned with two plates of food and set them on the table. Her eyes widened at the amount of food, but it smelled so good. "Mary really went all out."

He nodded, a thoughtful look on his face, "Yeah, she even found my grandma's nice plates."

Sam couldn't see much of the plates with all the food on them, but she'd noticed the quality and fancy design earlier. They reminded her of the good tableware her mother used to cherish – she idly wondered if they were in Mark's possession now. "It's beautiful."

"Eat," Jack grunted, in between bites. "I can hear your stomach from here."

"Is that so?" She asked, smiling.

His gaze locked on hers and a smile played around his lips. "You betcha."

Sam took a bite, closing her eyes as the delicious food hit her taste buds, "Ohh, this is good."

"Very."

They ate in silence, catching the other's eye every now and then and Sam ducked her head when he grinned. She reached for her glass and took a sip. "The wine tastes good, too."

Jack followed her example, licking his lips as he set his glass down. "Mmhm."

She found it difficult to look away, breath hitching when his tongue peeked out. It could have been the wine or the intensity in his gaze but before she knew it her fingers were on his hand, where it rested at the foot of his glass. His hand was warm, the skin rough under her fingertips and she felt her heart skip a beat when he entwined his fingers with hers. Heat rushed through her body at the contact and she felt her cheeks burn.

"Sam," he said, his tone rough as he squeezed her hand, "we should probably call it a night. You've had a long day and you need your rest."

"I guess you're right." She felt the loss of his touch immediately.

Jack got to his feet and held out his hand, pulling her up from her seat. "Go on, I'll clean up here."

"I'll see you in the morning," she said.

"You betcha." Jack smiled and started clearing their plates, "Good night, Sam."