Daniel runs downstairs when he hears a crash. He is pretty sure that his house is being robbed right now. But what he sees is his wife sobbing and staring at a broken cup.
"Janet?" he asks nervously.
"I didn't mean to wake you. I'll clean this up and go to bed."
"Did she lose the baby?" he asks.
"No, Shelby and her twins are fine," Janet says, grabbing the broom and starting to clean her the floor quickly.
"Twins?" he asks, raising his eyebrows.
"Yep," he says.
"Well, that's great," he says enthusiastically.
Janet looks up at him with wet lashes.
"Honey," he says, moving over to take his wife into his arms, regardless of the broom and shards of plaster.
"I'm a bitter old women. I don't want to be like that," she sobs.
"You're not bitter, and you are so far from old," he coos.
"Well, thanks, but today I'm dealing with a freaking 20-year-old who's scared she can't take care of four children, and I all can think of is how bad I want four kids!"
"I think Shelby is older than twenty," he says. His wife gives him a glare, "That was so not the point of the conversation. Look, I know we've been trying to have a baby for a while…"
"And I can't even tell you about it, because you get all guilty, and it is not your fault. I mean, I knew going in that having kids would be hard for us."
"Are you sorry you married me?" he asks, pulling away to look in her face before he asks the probing question.
"No," she answers with absolute certainty. She smiles at him, "We have three great kids. I said that I was going to be happy with one. And we have three, and l love them so much."
"But you still want more," Daniel says.
She nods.
"You know, there is more than one way to have a kid," Daniel says softly.
"Now, that's not fair; we agreed that if we had another kid it was going to be a genetic one," Janet says quickly.
He shakes his head, "I know honey, I wasn't trying to undermine that. I was talking about in-vitro."
She stares at her husband in shock.
"That would take care of my mobility issue, right?"
"Yeah, it should. But are you seriously considering spending thousands of dollars for a baby when we already have three?"
"Yeah, if that's what we want."
"When there are already so many kids in the world who need loving parents?" she asks.
"We've already got two of those, and I made a deal."
"You don't have to walk on eggshells around me. I would be fine if we don't have another baby… despite my freak-out," she says, looking at the shattered plaster around her with no small amount of embarrassment.
"I like the idea of having another baby with your genes," he says.
"I don't think we need to take drastic measures, at least not yet. We just need to try longer," she says.
"I said we have options, and there is another we should talk about… I could carry the baby. I mean, I don't know if that would make it easier or not."
"It wouldn't. That would only help if I had problems carrying the baby, not conceiving it."
"Ok, well, I didn't know that."
"I appreciate it. We'll have another kid, Daniel," Janet says.
He smiles. "Let me take care of this," he says picking up the broom.
"And this from the man who is always telling our kids that the person who made the mess has to clean it up."
"I actually think I had a part in making this mess," he says.
"No, this is exactly 0% your fault. Go to bed; I'll go join you in a little bit."
One Month Later
"Mommy, we got you the best present ever for mother's day!" Emma says, jumping on her mother's bed at six-fifteen in the morning.
"And part of the present was supposed to be letting mommy sleep until nine," Jack says, coming up behind his daughter and mouthing the words "I'm sorry" to his wife.
"That's ok; I've got to go see this best present ever, don't I?" she says, following her overly-excited offspring out to the garage, where her eye fall on a bunch of boxes and the body of a 1940 Indian.
"What?" she asks, turning to her husband in shock, not being fooled for a minute that her children actually had anything to do with this.
"Do you like it, Mommy?" Ty asks excitedly.
"Jack, I can't just go around riding a motorcycle. I'm a mother, for crying out loud."
"Well, in case you didn't notice, you do have two other adults in the house," Jack says.
"And we'll be super-good when you're working on the 'cycle, Mommy. That's our part of the present."
"I don't need this, guys," she says, turning away from the present, and realizing only then how much she had missed it.
"I think you do. I mean, I've got my telescope and my National Geographics. Jacob here has his poker game and his soap operas."
"What?" Sam says, turning to her father in shock.
"Right, well it's not exactly a soap opera, it's a telenovela," Jack corrects himself.
"You know Spanish?" Sam asks in surprise.
"He had to learn so he could understand what Maria said to Felipo," Emma says as if it's obvious.
Jack quickly rushes on to avoid Jacob's piercing glare, "The point is, we all have lives beyond kids and work. And you've given up a lot of your life for your kids. But they're a little older now. All of them are in school for a least a couple hours a week, and they're getting a lot more independent. You can afford to spend a little bit of time away from them every now and again."
Sam smiles sadly, and reaches out to them, "Thanks!"
Two Days Later
Shelby makes a dash for the bathroom in the middle of the night. She just barely makes it in time. When she's done losing last night's supper, she walks back into the bedroom, and sees Teal'c sitting in a chair, reading some sort of textbook he got from the library.
"I didn't realize you were in here," she says.
He doesn't even respond.
The Next Day
"Janet, can I talk to you for a bit," Shelby says the next day as their lunch break begins. Janet nods her head, and they go into Janet's office. "This is awkward. But I don't know what else to ask. I mean, none of my other friends have had kids. Well, except for Sam, but she didn't have a man in her life back then."
"Ah… how awkward is this going to be?" Janet asks, not sure that she wants to talk about anything sex-related with the much younger women.
"Like, when you blew chunks, did Daniel come into the bathroom with you?" Shelby blurts out.
Janet blinks, "Yeah, not that I really wanted him to. That's actually something I would have been more than happy to do by myself."
"Teal'c doesn't. I mean, he doesn't even sleep. He's just sitting there, awake, and doesn't even come and check on me. I get pissed, but I don't know if maybe I shouldn't be. Like maybe I shouldn't expect him to do that. Maybe most guys don't."
"You know what, honey? It doesn't matter what most guys do. All that matters is what you want Teal'c to do. If you want him in there, tell him."
"I guess he might not know anything about this. I mean, he comes from a place where the women don't get morning sickness. Maybe he even blames me for this; I mean, he told me to take a symbiote so I wouldn't have to deal with morning sickness."
"Just tell him what you want. That's where Daniel and I ran into trouble. I wanted him to talk to me more, and I didn't ask for it."
"You and Daniel had trouble?" Shelby asks in surprise.
"Yeah, honey, a couple of years ago. We almost broke up."
"I had no idea," Shelby says.
"Just talk to your husband," Janet advises.
-0-0-0-
"How are our fetuses?" Teal'c asks as Shelby returns home.
"Well, they're fine, but I'm not," she says with a sigh.
"What is wrong?" he asks.
"I'm exhausted, and my feet hurt, and I feel like I am going to throw-up."
Teal'c nods his head.
Shelby sighs, "Teal'c, I want you to feel sorry for me, and bring me crackers, and rub my feet."
"Will any of these things help ease your symptoms?" he asks stoically.
"Well no, probably not."
"Then why should I partake in these activities?"
"Because, Teal'c, I'm pregnant. I'm completely miserable, and it's all because I'm bringing your children into the world. I know it's not your fault. And I want to have these kids. But you're not suffering, so I would really appreciate it if you would sympathize with me."
"Empathy is not something that I am very good at," Teal'c reveals.
"I know that," Shelby says reaching over, and stroking his forearm.
"It does not mean that I am not extremely grateful for the fact that you are carrying my children within you."
"Sometimes I feel like you think it's my fault for being sick. Like, if I just took a symbiote, I wouldn't have to deal with it."
He pauses, "I am still quite unfamiliar with the ways of Earth. But I have come to respect them. There is beauty in the act of being sick. The women of Earth have much difficulty in bringing children into the world. I think this makes people realize how precious their children are. Perhaps if Jaffa women had to undergo as much turmoil as human women, they would not allow the wars between the gods to continue. A child that costs this much would not be spent so easily."
"You realize that all children are worth the same amount, even if they were born easily. Ry'ac is just as precious as our children are," she says.
"I am aware of this fact, but I had never realized the worth of my own child before," Teal'c says, "Now sit down in the chair, and I will begin massaging your feet. I want to engage in the acts husband do on this planet."
"Janet was right, talking works."
"I have found the doctor to be very wise on previous occasions. And I hope you will always feel comfortable communicating with me."