Cassie left the room to give Sam some privacy.
Sam was shaking. So many thoughts running around in her head, trying to process every possible scenario.
When she finished she opened the door so that Cassie could come in again.
"Sam, at least let's get comfortable while we wait. I made us a cup of tea, we can wait in the living room."
Sam just nodded, not able to speak. She placed that little stick, which was about to change her future, in the middle of the table.
They sat beside each other. Not once left Sam the test out of her eyeline, but it was too far away to be able to recognize anything.
The only noise was the steady tick of her clock on the wall.
Still two minutes to go. She was sure time slowed down and was about to stop.
She couldn't understand how Cassie could be so calm, Sam felt like she could jump out of her skin.
One minute to go.
The girl sensed how nervous Sam was and took her hand into hers. For the first time they had sat down Sam let her eyes wander to Cassie. The girl gave her a reassuring smile.
One quick look at the clock told her it was time. But Sam doesn't seem ready at all.
"Sam, do you want me to have a look first?"
A nod was her answer.
Cassandra reached out to the little plastic on the table, carefully lifting it up. She studied it for a brief moment and turned around to face Sam.
Sam felt her heart beat in her throat when she was handed the test. Cassie placed her hand on Sam's arm, gently squeezing it to show her her support.
"Congratulations, Mommy!"
For the first time Sam looked down to her hands.
There it was.
Two strong pink lines.
She didn't even realize that tears were streaming down her cheeks before Cassie's hands found their way to wash them away.
The girls eyes glistened with tears as well.
Sam held her hand over her mouth, not sure how to cope with the situation.
She couldn't believe it. Pregnant. A baby. Jack's baby.
"A baby!" was the first thing she was able to say. Her hand found its way to her abdomen where her little miracle was growing. "Oh god, Cassie, what am I going to do? What am I going to tell Jack?"
"First of all you gotta calm down. This is a good thing, you know?"
"I'm not ready for this."
"No one is, Sam. But I know you'll be an incredible mother! You're a mother to me and you're doing great. This baby gets the best Mom possible. And by the way, a great Daddy too."
"Thanks Cassie. At least one of us is confident."
She wasn't sure if it was because of morning sickness or because of the shock she was still in, but the wave of nausea made her take a trip to the bathroom again.
"Maybe you should go and see the doctor, Sam. Who knows, she might be able to give you something for your nausea. Are the doctors on base on duty on the weekends?"
"Yes they are, let me call her, she has to know anyway."
5 minutes later Sam came back.
"She said it would be ok for me to come in at any time. I thought I might go now."
"Do you want me to come with you? At least let me drive you there. I'm not happy if you drive alone, you aren't feeling well enough. I can wait in the car if you want."
"I would like for you to come with me. You don't need to stay in the car."
"Then come on, the sooner we get there the better."
The drive was quiet. Sam was nervously biting her lower lip as they waited for Dr. Parish.
"Colonel, you don't feel any better I assume?! And who are you, Dear?"
"Dr. Parish, hello. No, I really don't feel well. This is Cassandra, the daughter of Janet Fraiser. I'm her legal guardian now, she drove me here."
The doctor shook her hand "Hello Cassandra, I'm so sorry for your loss. Your mother was a wonderful person. You can wait here while I have a look at the Colonel."
"Thank you doctor."
"Well I think she can come with us." Sam said. "I'm pretty sure I know what's wrong with me and it's ok for me to have Cassie by my side."
Slightly confused, Dr. Parish showed them the way into her office.
"Ok Colonel Carter, how can I help you?"
Sam took a deep breath "I'm pretty sure I'm pregnant."
"Wow, so not stress related, huh? But don't you get shots to prevent a pregnancy? I thought I read it in your file."
"I did get shots, that's right. However, a few months ago I was engaged and as we planned on starting on a family I was allowed to stop getting shots. As I broke up the engagement it never occurred to me to start using contraceptives again. In Dr. Frasier's opinion I would still have problems getting pregnant because of the protein marker the Tok'ra symbiote left behind, obviously that was not a problem according to the test I took today."
"Good then, I think we have a look to confirm your test. How far along do you think you are?"
"It can only be a few weeks."
"Ok the first ultrasound has to be vaginal because your child should be too small right now to be detected through an abdominal examination. If you're not comfortable with someone else in the room..."
"No, no, no, I am staying." Cassie interrupted her "this is my brother or sister we're talking about here. I'm not going anywhere."
She looked at Sam to confirm it really was ok with her.
"Thank you Cass, you're welcome to stay."
As Sam was ready Cassie took a seat next to Sam's head. Dr. Parish started the ultrasound and the screen showed the little miracle instantly.
"Oh wow!" Cassie whispered in awe and Sam's hand found hers.
There it was, that little life she and Jack had created together. Sam's heart filled with joy. She knew she loved that tiny human being already, no matter what, and she was confident Jack would too.
"I would say you're about 6 to 7 weeks along. So far everything is looking perfect. Exactly how it should be."
"That's so damn fascinating, Sam."
This outburst came from Cassie and Dr. Parish had to hide a grin.
"It is, ist it?" she asked and turned back to Sam again, "Colonel, you've lost weight which isn't unlikely for the first trimester, but you said you're very nauseous in the mornings. You have to make sure to stay hydrated. As soon as the sickness comes to an end you will gain weight again, you'll see. However, I'll give you some prenatal vitamins you have to take. Due to your working habits in the last time I'll put you on medical leave for at least a week. So your body can adjust to the new situation. You're not allowed to work on dangerous projects anymore, so please make your work is safe for you and your unborn child. I'll have to report this to your commanding officer so he can have a look as well over your work. "
"Thanks, I do understand this. But would it be possible that you could give me a day or two before you tell my superior? Look, the baby's father is in the air force too. While he lives in Washington he gets all the reports too and I'd like to tell him myself. "
"I understand, I can give you two days." the doctor told her while Sam was dressing again. "and congratulations Colonel. I'll print you some of the pictures from the ultrasound to take with you."
After the last introductions from her doctor Sam and Cassie headed towards her car. The girl was not able to hide her excitement anymore and even Sam had a huge smile on her lips.
At home there was a call on her answering machine. Jack. Sam pressed the button to call him back and Cassie stood beside her, curious.
"Hey, I tried to call you a few times. Where have you been?"
"Hey Jack. I went to see my doctor today because Cassandra made me go." that earned her a frown from Cassie beside her. "I'm not feeling too well, tired from working so many hours the last few weeks. She put me on medical leave for the next week."
"I like that doctor already. You could come and stay with me. I know I have to work, but I can arrange to be at home in the early afternoons. You can stay in bed until I'm back and can care for you."
Cassie shares a knowing glance with Sam.
"I would like that, I'll get on the next possible flight. When you're at work I can get a taxi and let myself in."
"Don't be ridiculous, Sam. I'll send Jim. He can drop you off at my house. I'll make sure to be home soon then."
"Great, I will call you just before getting on the plane. I love you, Jack, I really do."
"I love you too. Can't wait to see you! Bye Sam."
"Bye Jack!"
"Sam..." Cassie shouted from the living room "I already looked up the flights to DC, there will be one tomorrow morning. I can drop you off at the airport before I have the first class. Go start packing. I'm so curious what Jack's going to say."
"Me too, sweetheart, me too."
