When Sam arrived at her home, her father was already there.

"Hey kiddo! How was your day? I shall say 'hi' from Mark and the family. The kids can't wait to become cousins." He chatted on, but sensed that something was wrong. "Is everything alright, Sam?"

"I don't know, dad! It was a tough day. Would you mind if he drove up to the lodge tonight instead of tomorrow? I don't want to stay here tonight."

"I won't mind, Sammy. But will you explain to me what this is all about?"

"I will, I promise."

While it was just a weekend trip their things were quickly packed. They had rented a cabin up the mountains for three days, but originally planned on going up there on saturday.

Sam drove like she always did, fast and focused. So her father didn't even try to start a conversation. What could possibly have upset her this much, so that she just wants to flee from home?

They reached the cabin in under an hour, just in time for a beautiful sunset. Jacob got their bags inside and made some tea while Sam sat down in the patio chair. She was about to take some deep breaths to fill her lungs with fresh air and calm herself down. Her father handed her a cup while taking a seat next to her.

"So, will you tell me what happened that made you flee?" He asked, concerned.

Sam inhaled a last time before she answered. "I think I broke his nose!"

"What? Whose nose? What are you talking about?"

"Jack's nose."

"O'Neill?" He asked in disbelief and she just nodded.

"I have to admit I'm very confused, Sam. Would you explain to me how you mean this? I thought he retired off world with no way back?"

"I thought so too. Until he stood in my lab a few hours ago, apologized and tried to explain how this was all an undercover mission to reveal an off world organization led by the NID and some others. He had to find the mole in the SGC and was under orders since his return from Edora.

"So, everything he had said was because this was all a plot?"

"Obviously!"

"That's great!" Jacob was relieved.

"What? How can this be great? He lied to all of us. He should have trusted us."

"But Sam, he had to lie. You would also not break the rules if you were told not to tell your team."

"Except we're no team anymore and he said things, I'm not sure if I can forgive him, even if he didn't really mean them. Just saying them was like a punch."

"Speaking of punches. Did you say something about breaking his nose?"

"Yeah, not my best moment perhaps. He was shouting at me, angry, thinking that I left the team on my own will and when he came closer he recognized that I'm pregnant and assumed I slept with someone while he was stuck on the planet and I had work to do to get him home. He accused me of making my way through the beds, even if I wasn't….I didn't even get to correct him and tell him that it's his. I was just so angry and then my fist collided with his face. I mean I didn't know I'd ever see him again and, oh god, I might be court martialed. It still is against regulation and besides that I have hit a superior officer." And suddenly she was scared. "Now that he's home I probably will have to tell him."

"Okay, while you punched him, I won't have to do that myself, so that's good. Are you sure that it wasn't just a knee-jerk reaction from him? I mean, how could he have expected you being pregnant? It must have been a shock for him, I happen to know that he cares deeply for you. And beside all that, it's Jack we're talking about. By all means he's not the most diplomatic guy we know."

"Are you defending him, dad? And how would you know how he feels about me? He…."

"Because he told me. And I believe he's not saying this sort of thing lightly."

"He hurt me a lot, dad! By what he said when he was undercover and by accusing me of sleeping with another man. I'm not sure I can forgive that easily this time."

"I haven't said you should. I just pointed out that you might have to look at the situation from a different angle."

She was about to reply and had just put her empty mug down as she gasped. Her hand flew towards her belly.

"What's wrong?" Jacob wanted to know, obviously on full alert. He leaned forward to have a better view of her face. She looked up at him and a slight smile crept onto her face.

"I think I felt the baby move. It was like a flutter in my stomach. I felt it earlier in my lab too, when Jack came to see me. But I thought it was just me being nervous."

"So the little one sensed its father's presence!"

Stunned and a bit overwhelmed Sam placed her hand on her baby bump, stared at the sun that was about to set right now. Painting the sky in a deep orange and pink color. She needed time to think, but staying here also didn't feel right and when her father told her he might have to go in on Sunday already they agreed to spend tomorrow in the mountains and go back on Sunday morning.

Meanwhile Jack had welcomed Daniel into his house.

"Beer?" Jack asked, obviously nervous.

"Sure!" Daniel just replied.

"It's still warm outside, wanna sit on the patio?"

"Sure!"

Jack knew Daniel wouldn't make this easy on him, but he had thought he would be a bit more talkative.

"Look Daniel, I know I said some mean things and I want you to know that I didn't mean any of it. I had to talk like I didn't care about all of you. I couldn't know if my place was bugged or if someone around me in the SGC was a traitor. After being gone for so long, coming back and acting like I didn't care was one of the hardest things I had to do in a long time. And do you know why? Because you are my best friend! I haven't had a lot of friends in my life and after Charlie I didn't want to have friends. Then you turned up in my life, annoying me like the little brother I never had. I will ever be thankful for that and I hope I haven't destroyed that."

"I do understand that, Jack. And for me that's a good enough reason to forgive you. However I won't say it didn't hurt. It did. You're my best friend too and we all missed you a lot when you weren't here. And then you came back and were being an ass. That was hard. I appreciate your effort to make it up to me. You're forgiven, Jack. But I think this time I'm not the one who's a hard piece of work here. There might be someone not as forgiving."

Relieved that at least Daniel was on his good side again he drew out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. It gave him hope. And he nodded at Daniel's last statement.

"Sam!"

"As I've been told you've been an ass to her even back on that planet and you haven't been better when you came back this time."

"I wasn't expecting to see her pregnant. You could have warned me."

"When, Jack? When you fought me off in the gate room? We wanted to hold you back, but you had nothing but Sam on your mind. Or when you were yelling at her and accusing her of sleeping her way around?"

Jack leaned forward in his chair and looked at Daniel.

"I… I was shocked… I didn't expect something like that. Hammond promised me everything will be okay and back to normal when I'm home. He gave us leave until we're ready to be a team again and now this won't happen."

Daniel can imagine what it feels like to see the woman you love pregnant and you're not responsible for it. He went through this with Sha're and delivered the baby himself. So in a way he could understand Jack O'Neill.

Because the wind was getting louder Daniel nearly missed Jack's whispered question. "Is it mine?"

"If it is your child, it's her business to tell you. It's not up to me. But Jack, do you want it to be?"

Daniel knew exactly the paternity of the baby, but wasn't going to tell Jack. This privilege should be on Sam. But he was worried how a baby would affect Jack after losing his son.

Unusual for Jack, his reply was very unsure and quiet.

"I don't know if I could do it again, Daniel. I fucked up big time the first time being a father. I never thought about becoming a father again. I'm afraid to love so deeply again, because I couldn't stand it a second time if something happens. And this time it would be Sam who'd have to deal with this. I thought I loved Sara, I did love her, but my feelings for Sam goes beyond what I had with Sara. These feelings are so much deeper, it scares me sometimes. She's too good for me. I'm old and worn out, what would a brilliant young woman want with me?"

"Jack, I didn't know you back then, but I know you were a wonderful father. It was a horrible accident and I know you'd make sure this wouldn't happen a second time. I've seen you with other kids, they all adore you and you're a different person around children. So if this is your child you'll be the best dad. But to find that out you'll have to talk to Sam. That will be the difficult part."

"I'll talk to her first thing on Monday. Hammond said Jacob has to return to the Tok'ra Monday morning, so I make sure not to run into him. I want to live at least so long to be able to talk to her."

"You have to understand that it was a tough time for her. She didn't tell anyone of her pregnancy for the first few months, only Janet knew and she had to promise Sam not to tell the General."

"Why?"

"Because she wouldn't have been able to do what she did. Working night and day on a solution to get you back. If this is your baby or not, Jack, she cares a lot about you. So much that she risked her baby's life in the process."

"I know, Hammond told me that she nearly lost it. That's crazy, my life isn't worth more than a child's life. She shouldn't have done that. And see what I meant earlier, I would have been responsible for another child's death. If it wasn't for Janet, I would have been."

"Talk to her when she's back. There's no need to assume things that thank god didn't happen."

They sat on his patio and drank their beer in comfortable silence until it got dark outside.

"Pizza?" Jack asked.

"Pizza!" Daniel replied and got up to place the order.

The rest of the night felt almost like old days. Jack wondered if there were going to be team nights again in the future. Daniel, Teal'c, Sam and him. He hoped for it.

Jack took the next day to clean up his house, mowed the lawn and did some grocery shopping. He was away too long and a lot of work has been left undone. He kept himself busy to not think about Sam and her baby. But from time to time the image of her with her rounded belly popped up in his mind. She looked good, pregnancy suited her. He felt a pang in his heart and in this moment he realized he would give anything to be the baby's father.

On Sunday morning he got into the mountain to keep himself busy. He had to write a few reports about his undercover mission and by midday he went to the gym to relieve some stress. As he stepped out of the gym an hour later, sweaty and with a towel around his neck, on his way to shower he bumped into a man because he hadn't watched where he was going. He mumbled a quick "Sorry." and was about to move on when the man grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Jack, just the man I was looking for."

Jack wasn't sure if his heart skipped a beat or stopped for a few seconds. He'd recognize the voice everywhere, but it couldn't be. He shouldn't be here. And when Jack looked up he saw Jacob Carter's face. He flinched, prepared to be greeted with his fist, just like his daughter had done two days before. But that didn't happen.

"Jacob!"

"I was hoping to find you on base today. Can we talk?" At least didn't sound angry.

"Of course, just let me have a quick shower. Why don't you wait in my quarters?"

"Great. I'll see you in a few."

"Yes, Sir!"

Jacob raised his eyebrows. "Sir? What happened to 'Dad'?"

"I'm not sure if I screwed up too much to call you this." Jack answered honestly. "I know you must have been talking to your daughter."

"Oh Jack, Sam's not really herself right now. No pregnant woman at this stage is. Just go shower and meet me in your room. Then we can talk about it."

"Okay, I'll make it quick."

Under the shower Jack's mind was racing, he had hoped to avoid seeing Jake, but the older man didn't seem to be too angry with him. So maybe Jack really wasn't the baby's father, otherwise Jacob would have already hung, drawn and quartered him. When he had dried off and clothed he made a detour to the mess hall and grabbed a coffee and tea for Jacob. He entered his room, ready for the conversation.

"Thank you Jack!" Jacob said, taking the steaming cup from him.

"You're welcome! So…you came to talk… let's talk."

"Sam told me what happened in her lab on Friday. Did you really accuse her of sleeping her way around?"

Jack exhaled loudly. "I don't know what got me there. I think I should explain it from the start. You know what happened after Netu and I promised you this wouldn't endanger our careers, it had to be a one time thing and it was. However, I'll never stop loving her. And then that mission to Edora happened, I had to go back to the caves to look for the leader's child. I couldn't leave the kids there. But the fire rain got too heavy and we were stuck. After a while we got out and when I went to the gate it wasn't there. Right where it had been there was a crater, I dug for weeks without result. I didn't know if my team had made it back in time or if they died and were buried there somewhere. We had to start rebuilding the village. And after three months I lost hope, I'm ashamed to say, but I gave up hope. After 100 days there was a feast, I drank too much and ended up in bed with a woman I don't love. Just one day later your daughter came to save me. I was so devastated that I acted like a jerk. Upon my return Hammond ordered me on this undercover mission and I had to act like I didn't care about all of them. I had to make this believable, the trust of our allies was at stake. Hammond promised me all the time that I needed afterwards to get my team to forgive me and when they told me Carter was off the team and it would stay that way I exploded. Then I found her pregnant and all my hopes of someday fell apart. I screwed up, Dad. On so many levels and this time I think she won't forgive me."

"Wow, that's quite a story, Jack. And maybe Sam needs to know your side of the story, she only knows hers. I had quite a few arguments with my wife while she was pregnant and let me tell you it's not easy then to argue on a rational level."

Jack thought about Sara and remembered that too. "Yeah, I know."

Just then Jacob realized that there was more to Jack's fears about losing Sam. Being a father again must be scary. He leaned forward and placed a hand on Jack's shoulder. Jack looked up. With fear in his voice he whispered. "Is it mine?"

Jacob knew this was something Sam would have to tell him, so he tried to avoid the question and asked him instead.

"Do you love my daughter?"

"With all my heart."

"And do you think she loves you?"

"Yes, I think she does."

"Then that's all you need to know. Go and talk to her, Jack. Tell her what you just told me. Maybe she's a bit emotional right now, but she will understand. I have to go back to the Tok'ra, but I'll drop by in a few weeks. I promised her. And I'd love to see you around then."

"Thank you, Jake!"

Both men stood up and Jacob gave him a fatherly hug before he left for the gate room and Jack made his way up to the surface, determined to talk to Sam.