Author's Note: Merry Christmas! I hope you all are having/had a great Christmas! May your New Year be better than the last!

I hope you enjoy this last chapter and the story overall.

Until next time.

o0o

Part III: Home

The time to leave finally came.

They even got to leave a week early due to good weather. The horse-like animals were packed with supplies, they had a guide who'd also take back the spare animals, and they already had the nice dinner the previous night to say goodbye and thank you to the village who hosted them for over half a year.

Daniel, for one, couldn't wait. He'd missed Earth more than he'd imagined, his friends even more. Although, he wasn't crazy about all the teasing he knew was headed his way – especially from Jack. The man was never going to let him hear the end of him.

The typical four-day journey became five days since Daniel insisted on going slower for Vala's sake. She rolled her eyes at him multiple times and assured him she was fine, but he wouldn't have it. Vala Mal Doran was one of the toughest women he'd ever met but the situation called for more caution, and he knew she wouldn't take it easy.

They finally made it to the Stargate and the people were right – there was still a lot of snow, and it was freezing, but they were prepared for this and bundled up in their winter coats, hats, and gloves.

"You ready for this?" he asked her, helping her down from the horse. "No second thoughts about Earth?"

She kept her arms around his neck after her feet were on the ground. "No second thoughts on me?" she retorted with a sly grin.

"Never!" he teased but was still serious at the same time. He pecked her lips. "You step through that 'gate with me, you never get to leave."

"Ooh," she purred seductively. "So, I'll be your captive?" she arched her eyebrow at the thought. "Never would've thought you had a dark side, darling."

He laughed and kissed her again. "I'm full of surprises," he stepped back but grabbed one of her hands. "Let's go home." Home. Earth used to be his home but now it was just a place he would live – because his wife was his home.

They said goodbye to their guide and Daniel dialed the Beta site since he long ago lost his GDO and he didn't feel like being a bug on a windshield. Before stepping through, he warned Vala there would be armed Airmen and not to freak out – it was just standard protocol. Emerging on the other side, he felt so much closer to home. Especially when everyone was astounded to see him.

Honestly, with the amount of times he reappeared after long absences, you'd think they would at least be used to it by now. Despite them dying of curiosity and wanting to know the details, Daniel had them dial Earth and send them through – it was time to go home. Before going through, the commander of Beta site did warn him that the SGC was under a new command – a fact he knew was coming but hadn't gone into effect when he was last there.

It was a little sad – he was kind of hoping to see Jack's face when he stepped through the Stargate to Earth, but he would just have to wait until later. General Landry's reaction was at least fairly good, especially when he introduced Vala as his wife. Colonel Mitchell's, the new leader of SG-1, was even better.

"General, I'm more than happy to debrief you, but I'd really like medical to take a look at Vala first," he cut off the man somewhat rudely. He understood, he really did, but standard protocol dictated that a thorough medical exam should be conducted, and dammit, that's what was going to happen.

The sooner he laid Vala's fears over the baby's health to rest, the better.

Luckily, the man didn't seem to be offended. "Of course. You two must be exhausted anyways," he gave them a good-natured smile. "We can debrief tomorrow morning. I have a feeling there will be a few other interested parties who'll wish to attend."

Daniel had no doubt. "I don't suppose you'll give them a call for me?" he didn't have time to chat with Sam or Jack for that long. "Maybe leave out Vala?"

Landry chuckled and Daniel got the feeling he knew where he was going with this.

"We're not even on Earth for a full ten minutes and you're already trying to hide me," Vala grumbled as he led her to the infirmary.

"It's not for the reasons you think," he told her. "If Jack knew, we'd never get any peace. I'm not sure about you, but I'm exhausted and would rather not deal with my childish friend."

That seemed to mollify her. "Well, when you put it that way…"

He slung an arm around her shoulder. "For the record, I could never be ashamed of you," he whispered into her ear.

The CMO met them at the infirmary's entrance. It was the first time meeting her. After Janet, they had a harder time keeping someone who could handle the demands of the job, but it looked like this one was in it for the long haul. She reminded him a little of Janet – though Janet was a lot warmer – when she started giving out instructions, taking charge of the infirmary and commanding respect.

Vala took the scrubs offered and went to the designated area to change. She gave me a wary look, but he smiled to let her know everything was okay, and the second she was out of sight, he turned to the doctor and blurted out, "She's pregnant."

He got the feeling she wasn't one easily caught off guard, and he had definitely done that. "O-oh okay," she stared at him oddly. "I'll add a few more tests and do a–"

"You need to start with an ultrasound," he cut her off before quickly explaining the situation. The woman's demeanor softened as he did. "She's good at hiding it, but she's absolutely terrified something will be wrong with it. She needs to hear its heartbeat and to know it's actually alive."

"It's understandable when she's been told it's impossible," she murmured sympathetically. "We'll do the prenatal exam first, and I'll make sure we explore all our options to assess the fetus' health."

He felt his body relax more than it had been in months. "I need you to make sure she's healthy too," he practically begged. "I can live without kids, but I don't think I can live without her." Not anymore.

"Of course."

o0o

True to her word, Dr. Lam did the ultrasound first. Once they were both dressed in scrubs, she led them to a more private section of the infirmary and closed the curtain around them, and immediately got to work. She explained exactly what the ultrasound did and what she would be doing. He saw Vala's body tense in anxiety and he felt helpless. He was sure there wasn't anything he could say to relieve it.

"And there's your baby," Dr. Lam said with a smile. "And this is its heartbeat," she pressed a button, and the small space was overcome with a sound Daniel never believed he'd ever hear.

He saw all the tension leave Vala's body, and he leaned over to kiss the top of her head. "I told you it was alive," he whispered lovingly to her. "Its strong, just like its mama."

Vala glanced between him and Lam. "Is it okay?" she asked in a shaky voice. "Is there anything wrong with it?"

Dr. Lam moved the wand around, making notes as she went. "Not that I see. Baby looks healthy to me. I can run some more extensive tests to check for any abnormalities."

She went through a list of tests she could perform to assess the overall health of the fetus. Daniel could tell Vala was nervous about some of them – who wouldn't be terrified of a needle going directly into your stomach? But they both agreed it would be worth the risk. Having as much information on the health of the baby, genetic and otherwise, was the right decision.

"Okay, I'll get those scheduled, but I'll get your blood and urine samples today," Dr. Lam glanced between the screen and them. "Would you like to know the sex?" she asked curiously.

At roughly twenty-two weeks, it shouldn't be a surprise that she could tell, but Daniel hadn't even thought of it. He met Vala's eyes. He didn't even have to ask her to know that she wanted to know. "You wanna?" he asked with a small smile and almost laughed at her enthusiastic nod. "We'd love to know," he responded to Lam.

Dr. Lam smiled at them. "Congratulations, it's a girl."

Daniel let out a breathy chuckle of pure happiness and leaned his forehead against his wife's. "A girl," he murmured to her.

Vala pecked his lips. "A girl," she repeated in awe.

Their eyes met and without words, they both knew what their daughter's name was. "Our little Ferrah."

Tears filled Vala's eyes. "Ferrah," she mumbled before sniffing and pulling him closer. "Thank you."

o0o

The sound of bickering woke him up.

As much as he wanted to be amused and say he missed it, he couldn't, and he didn't. Instead, he was grumpy and annoyed at being woken up – worse, that Vala was probably going to wake up any second. The trip to the Stargate took more out of her than either of them realized, and she crashed hard once they were finally alone in his old quarters.

"Jack!" he heard Sam's furious whisper traveling through the small door opening. "I swear to God, I will hurt you!"

"Like you don't wanna see him," his old friend practically taunted back. "He's used to no sleep, he'll be fine."

"This is not wise, O'Neill." Great, even Teal'c was here.

"Do I need to worry about them?" Vala mumbled as she shifted next to him.

He sighed, frustrated with his so-called friends. "No, you need to be worried for them," because he was seconds away from physically harming them. "Sorry they woke you up."

He felt what he believed to be a shrug. "Just make them stop."

Daniel was trying to avoid that. He was kinda hoping Sam would be able to persuade Jack into leaving, but when the man got stubborn, it was almost impossible.

"Jack, we don't know what he's been through," Sam hissed. "He'll still be here later."

He heard Jack scoff. "This is Daniel. He's likely to disappear in a puff of smoke!"

Okay, now he wasn't even trying to be quiet, and Daniel lost it. "For fuck's sake, Jack, trying to sleep here!" He felt Vala shake, and it took him a second to realize she was laughing at him. "Shut up," he mumbled to her.

"See!" Jack exclaimed smugly and pushed the door open more. "He's awake!"

"No thanks to you," he grumbled and sat up, leaving Vala hidden by the blankets – the darkness in the room also helped. "As much as I missed you guys, can this wait until tomorrow? Sam's right, and I'd like to go back to sleep."

"Oh, come on!" Jack retorted flippantly. "Can't make time for your best friend?"

"I believe you've been demoted from that position," Vala made her presence known with a huff. "Not for this atrocious act, mind you, though it would've warranted it."

"Really? You're gonna make me do this now?" he mumbled to her. Did she not realize what she'd gotten them into?

Ignoring his friends' shocked reactions, she simply shrugged. "I'm your best friend. He doesn't get to steal my sleep and my title."

"Now wait just a cotton picking moment! Who the hell are you, and what makes you think you can take my position as best friend?" Jack asked in an offended manner. "Daniel, who does she think she is?"

When Vala sat up, he knew where this was going. "Please don't," Daniel begged her. He just wanted to sleep.

Vala didn't spare him a glance. "I'm his bloody wife," she dropped the bomb like it was nothing. "The position of best friend defaults to me. Now, if you marry him and carry his child like me, I'll gladly concede the title."

Silence fell as his three friends struggled for words.

"I thought you loved me," Daniel pouted to her.

She shrugged again. "Yes, well I love sleep more right now."

He nodded. "Fair."

Jack made a noise of outrage. "Daniel." What the hell?

"Jack." Not now.

"Daniel." Yes, now.

"Okay, you two are being childish!" Vala snapped. "I get you have questions, and I'll gladly answer every single one, right down to the dirtiest details of our sex life later, but if you three don't leave this room right now, I won't be responsible for my actions!"

Jack blinked at her before looking at Daniel. "She's kidding, right?

Daniel raised his eyebrows. "Have you ever had a hormonal pregnant woman pissed off at you? It's not pretty."

"Don't forget sleep deprived!" Vala added in a growl. "Daniel, I swear I'm gonna hurt someone."

She wasn't kidding…and he wasn't going to stop

"Annd, we're out," Sam finally jumped in and grabbed her husband's arm. "We'll leave you to your sleep."

"But Carter," Jack whined.

"Not a word," she ordered as she shoved him out of the room. She spared the couple. "Daniel, good to see you. Congrats on the marriage and the baby. We'll talk later." With that, she shut the door.

Silence fell and he sighed in relief.

"So, that's them?" she asked before getting comfortable.

"Yep."

She hummed thoughtfully. "I like them."

"Of course, you do."

o0o

The next morning as they got ready, Daniel did his best to prepare Vala for Jack – he wasn't worried about Sam or Teal'c.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" he asked as he finished tying his shoes. "'Cause I can come up with a dozen pregnancy excuses to get you out of it."

She snorted. "You're overreacting, darling," she rubbed his shoulders. "Besides, I want to meet your family properly."

He smiled. "They weren't being very family like earlier." He paused and thought about it for a moment. "On second thought, that's exactly what they were like."

Vala kissed his cheek. "Stop worrying. That's my job."

Daniel grabbed her hand from his shoulder and pulled her until she was in front of him. "You don't need to worry either. Knowing I love you will be enough," he promised before leaning forward and pressing a kiss to her bump. "Morning Ferrah."

When he looked up, she had a strange look on her face. He gave her a questioning look of his own, and she sighed. "A-Are you sure about the name?" she asked with hesitance. "I don't want you to feel like we have to name her that."

He started shaking his head seconds into her question. "I'm more than sure," he assured her. "Without Ferrah, we wouldn't be here. I don't know about you, but I can't imagine naming our daughter anything else."

Vala smiled smally. "I can't either." He stood and started kissing her but knew him too well and pulled away. "Oh, no! I know where a kiss like that leads, and your friends are waiting for us. C'mon, let's go."

He sighed. "Fine," he reluctantly agreed. "But you remember the things not to say or bring up with Jack, right?"

"Don't mention we met on Prometheus, don't mention we didn't know we were getting married or didn't know about it until after the fact," she started ticking off items on her fingers, but he kissed her to shut her up.

"Good, as long as we've got that covered."

She pffted at him. "It's like you have no faith in me."

o0o

"So, how did you two love birds meet?" Was the first question Jack asked the second they sat down in the commissary.

Daniel barely restrained a groan as the questioning began.

"Prometheus," Vala answered without missing a beat, and this time he did groan.

"Vala, I thought we agreed," he hissed in her direction.

"I don't feel comfortable lying, Daniel." She was the picture of innocence as she said it.

He gaped at her. "Since when?"

"I knew you looked familiar!" Sam exclaimed and then blushed shortly after her loud outburst. "Sorry."

Jack dropped his fork and held up his hand. "Wait, wait," he pointed his finger at her. "You're the woman who hijacked Prometheus and foiled Daniel's attempt at Atlantis?"

Vala shrugged innocently. "That would be me."

Jack gave her a thoughtful stare before nodding in approval. "I think we're gonna get along just fine," he said lightly. "My thanks for keeping Space monkey in this galaxy?"

"Space monkey?" his wife whispered curiously to him.

"Don't ask," he retorted.

She smirked but turned back to Jack. "Wasn't my intention, but I suppose it worked out well for me, obviously," she gestured to her belly.

Jack's eyes went to her stomach and peered at it curiously. "How long you two been married?"

They shared a look. "Uhh, seven or eight months?" she guessed.

"Seven and a half," he corrected nonchalantly before taking a sip of coffee. God, he missed that stuff.

Jack's eyebrows shot up. "Oh."

Vala's face scrunched and she stared at Daniel in a questioning manner. "Oh, he thought we slept together first, got pregnant, and then got married," he explained what he knew his friend was thinking. "Pretty sure he assumed I was intoxicated when conception happened."

"That's not true!" Jack denied, but at the weight of everyone's disbelieving stares, he cracked. "Well…maybe."

Vala's face twisted. "I'm gonna pretend that's a dig on Daniel and not me."

Sam laughed. "Trust me, it definitely is," she assured the woman. "What I wanna know is how you locked him down."

Vala's head whipped to Daniel, and she had a devious smirk on her face. It was never a good thing when she had that look.

"Don't say it," he begged, knowing exactly where she was going with this.

"But I really want your friends to like me," she whined.

"I think you should be more worried about me liking you at the moment."

She made a dismissive noise. "Please, I'm carrying your daughter." He couldn't argue with that. "To answer your question, Samantha, I did nothing to secure him. I didn't even know I did until after the fact. Technically, Daniel is responsible."

At the sharp glances sent his way, he sighed. "I really hate at this moment," he muttered to her.

She patted his hand. "You'll get over it."

"Wait, wait," Sam's eyes pingponged between them. "How was it Daniel's fault?"

Daniel groaned at what was to come, and Vala squeezed his hand, giving him a fond look. "He mistook a ceremony they performed. Turns out, it was a wedding ceremony."

Sam laughed. Teal'c looked amused. And Jack had that look on his face.

"Daniel," the General said calmly. "Did you get married again without realizing it?"

Daniel gritted his teeth. "Go to hell, Jack."

The man's guffaw startled everyone in the commissary.

o0o

After the teasing ended, they all ended up getting along with Vala. Each of his friends told him separately that they liked her. As much as he hated it, Jack's words meant the most.

"She's good for you," he said. "I can see she makes you happy."

And he was right. Daniel couldn't remember the last time he'd felt like this, and he stupidly thought it couldn't get better – he was wrong.

The moment he held his newborn daughter in his arms while his wife slept next to him was by far the most joyous and amazing moment he'd ever experienced in his life – and he got to experience it for the rest of his life.

The End.