Jack was roused from his slumber by Sam retching in the bathroom. When he stumbled in, she was splashing her face with cold water.
"What's wrong?" he mumbled, his eyes still half-closed.
Sam began to brush her teeth and replied, "I felt sick."
Jack ran a hand over his face.
"You felt sick? Is that all?" he inquired, observing her through the large bathroom mirror as she cleaned her mouth with a towel. Sam left the bathroom and returned to bed, her voice laced with sleepiness.
"I might have to stay home today."
Jack was instantly wide awake. His wife mentioned staying home, which set off his alarm bells.
"Alright, that's it. I'm calling a doctor to examine you properly," he declared, reaching for his cell phone.
Sam closed her eyes and sighed.
"I just need some rest, Jack. I've been pushing myself too hard. I'll be fine." She pulled his pillow over her head, seemingly attempting to block out the world.
Jack, however, was already absorbed in his cell phone, scrolling through his contacts. He found the number for his doctor and dialed it.
"Hello, Doctor Rodrigues? It's General O'Neill. I'm fine, but it's my wife. She fainted in her lab yesterday and woke up vomiting. Could you please come to our house as soon as you can?" he requested.
The doctor assured him that he would arrive promptly. There were advantages to being the Head of Homeworld Security, after all. Jack ended the call and then contacted his secretary to inform her that he would be absent in the morning, urging her to get him on his cell if anything urgent arose.
Meanwhile, Sam mumbled from under the pillow, "You're overreacting."
Jack headed to the bathroom and turned on the shower.
"I don't care," he stated firmly. Sam groaned in response and closed her eyes.
Doctor Javier Rodrigues arrived at the Carter-O'Neill residence about an hour later. Jack was waiting for him and quickly led him to the bedroom, where a visibly irritated Sam awaited his examination.
"Doctor Rodrigues, this is my wife, Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter-O'Neill," Jack introduced, offering her a warning glance. The doctor extended his hand and settled into Jack's chair beside the bed.
"Hello, Colonel. I've heard you're not feeling well," he said as he opened his medical bag.
"Hello Doctor, my husband is just being a little too..." Sam glanced at Jack. "Overprotective," she stated, though she had another word in mind.
Doctor Rodrigues smiled slightly.
"So, tell me, Colonel, do you have previous episodes of fainting or vomiting?" he inquired, using his penlight to examine her eyes.
Sam blushed. "It has happened before, but that was years ago due to stress," she admitted. The doctor nodded and took notes.
"Very well, and what about your dietary habits, particularly the last meal consumed before fainting or vomiting? Have you experienced changes in appetite or eating patterns?" he asked, jotting down notes in a small notebook.
Sam blushed even more and avoided Jack's gaze.
"I skipped lunch yesterday and had something light when we got home—soup, a sandwich, and a banana," she explained. The doctor noted down these details.
"Have you been ill recently? Running a fever?"
Sam shook her head. Then, the doctor inquired, "What about your menstrual cycle? When was the date of your last menstrual period?"
Sam's heart began racing. She hadn't considered that aspect. It couldn't be, could it? She swallowed hard. The doctor was still waiting for a response.
"I usually have an irregular cycle. I believe my last one was about three weeks ago," she lied. The doctor recorded this information, moving on to ask more questions, but Sam answered on autopilot as her mind wandered.
The doctor eventually recommended rest and a few blood tests. Jack thanked him and escorted him to the door. As he returned to the room, he noticed a change in his wife. She sat with her head in her hands and her knees drawn up.
"What is it?" he asked, slowly sitting on the bed.
Sam was breathing rapidly despite her efforts to calm down. She wasn't sure how to handle this. They hadn't discussed it, and she didn't want to give false hope. She raised her head and looked at her husband, who seemed deeply concerned.
"Jack," she began.
He held his breath. "What?" he inquired.
Sam closed her eyes.
"I don't know; we've never talked about this before," she said, biting her lip.
Jack's anxiety was escalating.
"About what, Sam?" he asked. "What the hell are you talking about?" he pressed.
She closed her eyes again, realizing this wasn't how she had planned to reveal this.
"I might be pregnant," she finally said, her gaze fixed on him.
Jack's eyes remained locked onto hers, his chest rising and falling rapidly as the room fell into silence.
"What?" he eventually managed to ask.
Sam grabbed his hand.
"I lied to the doctor. I haven't had my period in more than two months. And remember when the other night you were joking about my breasts looking bigger?" she said, her eyes searching his for some sign of understanding. Jack swallowed hard; he did remember and had liked it quite a bit. Pregnant?
"Are you sure?" he asked, his voice low and cautious.
Sam shook her head.
"No, I said I might be," she replied.
"But aren't you taking something?" he inquired, confused.
Sam swallowed.
"Yes, I was, but I forgot to refill my subscription with the move and everything. I never thought about it again, honestly. Hell, Janet told me I'd probably never be able to have children, so I just forgot," she added with a bitter half-laugh, her face buried in the pillow as the first tears began to fall. "I'm sorry, Jack. I'm so sorry," she said, her voice muffled by the pillow.
Jack looked at her, taken aback.
"What are you sorry for?" he asked slowly.
Sam was sobbing into the pillow now. Jack shifted his body next to hers, his hands on her shoulders and back, gently caressing.
"Honey, don't cry. Sam, why are you crying?" he asked, kissing her arms. Sam didn't move, but her tears slowly subsided.
She sniffled, her head turning to look at him. He gazed at her with a depth of love in his eyes that made her heart ache even more.
"Jack, do you want to have another baby?" she asked, her words slow and cautious.
Jack tenderly brushed a strand of hair from her wet face.
"With you? Of course, I want to have a baby with you," he replied, leaning in to kiss her.
Sam felt tears welling up again.
"I don't know if I'm pregnant," she said, her voice trembling as their lips barely parted.
"Well, I can run to the supermarket and grab one of those tests to find out," he offered, his smile warm and reassuring.
"Are you sure?" she asked, drawing herself closer to him.
"Oh, yes. I'm curious now," he said, his hand resting on her belly.
Sam blushed and said, "Okay."
Jack kissed her deeply before getting out of bed.
"I'll be right back. Don't move," he said with a grin.
"Jack," she called just as he reached the door. He turned to look at her. "I might not be," she confessed, not wanting to give him false hope.
"I know," he replied, though secretly hoping she was. "Wait for me," he added before almost running out of the house.
Sam sighed heavily with a hand on her flat belly and tried to calm her racing thoughts. Jack arrived at their local supermarket and headed to the Health Section, where he randomly grabbed three pregnancy test packages. He then proceeded to the cashier, returning home in under 20 minutes.
Back in their room, Sam was pacing when Jack entered with the pregnancy tests. He placed the packages on the bed.
"Three?" she asked, her surprise showing.
"Just in case we have doubts," Jack explained his hands in his pockets.
"Oh," she said, selecting one package and beginning to read the instructions.
"What does it say?" Jack asked, his nerves palpable.
Sam swallowed and read aloud, "To use the test, hold the absorbent tip downward in your urine stream for 5 seconds. Lay the test on a flat surface while it develops, and your results will be confirmed in just 3 minutes."
She looked at Jack.
"I guess I'll go to the..." She gestured towards the bathroom.
Jack nodded. "I'll be here," he said, unsure what to do.
"Okay," she replied, taking the package with her. She gently closed the bathroom door and tried to follow the instructions. Her first attempt resulted in the test falling into the toilet because her hands trembled.
"Ah, fuck," she cursed aloud.
"Are you alright?" Jack asked immediately, now glued to the door and having heard her exclamation.
"Yeah, fine," she replied, taking another test. "Get a grip, woman; it's not a bomb," she whispered. The second attempt was successful, and she placed the test on the bathroom sink opening the door. "It's done," she said, washing her hands.
Jack stared at the test as though it were an alien artifact. Sam grabbed her cell phone and set a timer for three minutes. They both sat on the bed, waiting anxiously. When the alarm rang, neither of them moved.
"We should go see," Jack suggested after a while.
"Yeah," Sam replied, though she remained seated, her legs feeling unsteady.
"Oh, for crying out loud!" Jack exclaimed. He got up, headed to the bathroom, and took the test. Sam continued to sit, afraid her legs wouldn't support her.
Jack examined the test intently.
"What is it?" she asked.
"I don't know," he admitted, handing her the test. Sam took it and looked at the result.
"So, are you pregnant?" Jack asked, his voice full of anxiety.
Sam gazed at him and then back at the test.
"I don't know, give me the box," she said.
Jack growled, heading back to the bathroom to retrieve the box. He handed it to her, and Sam reread the instructions. For heaven's sake, she had a Ph.D. in Astrophysics; how hard could it be to decipher a pregnancy test box? She looked at the test in her hand again, and her heart began racing. "Any positive line, no matter how faint, means your result is pregnant," she slowly read aloud, then looked at Jack. There was a clear positive line in her test.
"I'm pregnant," she said, a smile spreading across her face.
Jack let out a triumphant "YES!" and swept her up, kissing her passionately. Sam dropped the box and test on the floor in the heat of the moment. They were having a baby!