At the beginning of being 8th months pregnant Sam had an appointment with her gynecologist. Another ultrasound where they were going to see their baby. Both, Sam and Jack, we're looking forward to that.

The more weight Sam gained the grumpier she became. Despite Jack's attempts to show her how beautiful she was, especially while carrying his child, she felt fat. Her growing belly limited her in many ways, she had to pause more often because she's quickly out of breath and hadn't seen her feet for quite some time. Her breasts were so sensitive and had grown at least one size. Everything was aching and she didn't feel sexy at I'll. Not all the time, there were times she really enjoyed being this pregnant and then she could see what Jack sees, but definitely not today. Today she felt huge.

And only Jack O'Neills child could move as much as this baby does, he hardly ever sits still, how could she expect it from his child then? And now Jack had called her just one hour before their appointment. He couldn't make it! He had one meeting after another and no chance to escape briefly. Said he can't get away from his desk for even half an hour. Sam was disappointed, she was feeling more miserable now than she felt before. They had planned to grab a quick lunch afterwards. She would have been okay with canceling that, but that she had to go to see her baby alone that made her sad - damn hormones.

So here she sat alone in the waiting room when she was called in to the doctor.

"Hello Mrs. O'Neill, ready to see your little baby boy?" the Doc asked.

"Yeah, let's get it over with." She murmured.

The doctor sensed that Sam wasn't as enthusiastic as she should be, he recognized the absence of Sam's husband and immediately made the connection that this is what bothered her. Jack O'Neill was one of the few husbands who actually made it to every appointment his wife had and so he didn't need to guess what had put her in such a mood.

"Your husband couldn't make it this time, Sam?"

"No he's stuck in meetings at the pentagon, he has obviously more important things to do."

Oh oh, he knew he had to be careful what to say next.

"You are lucky he has been with you to every other check up. Most husbands haven't nearly been here as much as yours. So let's check out your little boy and make sure we print a few extra pictures out that you can show him tonight, huh?"

"You're right, just ignore my mood today. I don't even know why I'm so cranky." Sam told him and got ready, lifting her shirt up over her belly.

The cold gel for the ultrasound brought her back from her thoughts and her gaze was instantly fixed on the monitor. There he was, their perfect little boy. The doc reassured her that everything looks exactly like it should and he was very pleased with the baby's development. The baby was sucking one tiny thumb in his mouth, right beneath his little snub nose. Sam was in love, and forgotten was all the anger about Jack not being able to make it. It's his bad luck that he couldn't see this, but she was looking forward to showing him the pictures later.

After Sam was done and it was noon by now she decided to just go eat alone then. When she was about to enter her favorite restaurant she immediately recognized his salt and pepper hair. She would recognize her husband everywhere. What was he doing here? He called to tell her he would be stuck in that damn pentagon the whole day. One meeting followed by the other, that's what he'd said. But he was here, sitting across a woman with long brown curly hair. A very thin and beautiful woman, what Sam could see, while she was sitting with her back towards her. At that moment, her husband made this woman laugh and he too was beaming from ear to ear when she put her hand over his. They were very familiar with each other.

Sam's heart seems to stop the moment she realizes who exactly this woman was. She had turned around to call for the waiter so Sam was able to see those bright brown eyes of Kerry Johnson, CIA Liaison to the Stargate Center and her husband's ex-girlfriend.

She hastily exited the restaurant to not get caught staring at them. When the door closed Jack looked up and thought that those blond hairs of the woman who had left right now looked almost like his wife's.

Sam didn't stop walking until she was one block away and there was a bench where she could stop and sit for a moment. Uncertain of what to make of it all, Sam's thoughts began to swirl.

Why did he lie to her? Meetings, my ass! Why hadn't he told her that Kerry was in town and he was meeting with her? Why did it have to be exactly on the day of her doctor's appointment? Sam could understand why you would want to be seen in public with a very attractive woman instead of your grumpy pregnant wife, but it hurt. She took a cab home, skipping lunch because she was too engrossed in her thoughts to care about eating. All she wanted was to soak in the tub with lots and lots of bubbles.

In their bedroom she started to undress and folded every piece of clothing neatly onto the bed. With just her panties left she stepped in front of the mirror and took a close look at her body. Yes, she wasn't pleased with the weight she had gained, but if she was honest to herself most of the weight was added to her belly and to her breasts. You could barely tell from behind that she was pregnant at all. And that's what Jack always tries to tell her. He definitely loved her fuller breasts and wasn't getting tired of showing her.

She let her hands roam over her firm belly. There was no stretch mark, just her satin skin enveloping her baby. She felt him move within her and just the thought of raising him alone…of her husband betraying her…the possibility of having to let go of Jack made her cry. She sank down in front of the mirror, crying about something that she didn't know if it was even true.

Eventually she made it to the bathroom and filled the tub with hot water and bubbles. Soaking for one long hour she got out when her fingers were already shriveled from the water.

Sitting in her backyard, she was nibbling on a sandwich as the sun was going down. Still no Jack. He had said that he was going to work overtime today, but was he really? What if he was somewhere with Kerry? The idea wouldn't let her go. That's why she reached for her phone and dialed Jack's office number.

"Office of General O'Neill, Lieutenant Sanders speaking. What can I do for you?" It was his secretary who answered.

"Oh hello Amy, I didn't know that you're also still there. It's me, Sam."

"Hello Colonel O'Neill, I'm afraid your husband is still stuck in the meeting. It was a long hard day and I think everyone is looking forward to going home. But I don't think that I can interrupt them right now." She replied apologetically, thinking about the General's pregnant wife for a moment. "Wait! This isn't an emergency, is it?"

Sam sighed. "No Amy, it isn't. Not really, and at least not already. I'm crossing my fingers for you, that you can go home soon. Don't bother and tell my husband that I called. It wasn't important."

"Alright then. Good night ma'am!" Sam thought she could almost hear Amy saluting her and had to smile.

"Good night Amy."

A few hours later, she had been asleep on the couch for quite some time. She was woken by the sound of their front door and the steps of Jack's boots. He saw the light in the living room and walked in to greet his wife. Exhaustion was written all over his face when he leaned down to kiss her. She tried to evade his kiss, but he didn't get it.

"Hey honey, you shouldn't have tried to stay awake, I told you it was going to be a long day."

"I didn't try on purpose, just fell asleep and you only just woke me up." She explained, not wanting him to believe she had been waiting for him.

"Alright, then let's go to bed. I'm nothing but tired. You're coming?" He asked, already on his way down the hall towards their bedroom loosening his tie in the process.

Sam couldn't believe it. Yes he might be exhausted, but he didn't even bother to ask her about her appointment, if everything was okay with the baby or her. He just disappeared into the bedroom. So she stood up and followed him and crawled immediately onto her side of the bed and turned off her light. As a last try to get any information out of him she asked: "So, how was your day?"

Through the bathroom door which he left ajar he called "You know how it is, Sam. Just a chaining of a lot of unwanted and really boring meetings."

"That's all?"

"What else should there be?" He frowned, answering her while he spat out the toothpaste and wondered why his wife was behaving not like herself today.

"Nothing, everything is just fine, Jack." She told him in a tone that left no interpretation that this woman was not amused. But he was too tired to figure it out tonight.

His alarm clock got off very early and he decided to get up and get dressed. Letting his wife sleep a little longer as she had stopped working a while ago. He could start on making coffee and while entering the kitchen it struck him like lightning. Sam's purse was lying on the kitchen table, right next to a few printed ultrasound pictures of their son. As Jack sank into the chair, he reached for the ultrasound with one hand. The other hand ran over his face, squeezed his eyes shut, and rubbed his stubbled beard. He was an ass! How could he possibly forget this? He was cursing as his wife joined him.

"I see you found them! Doctor Miller thought it would be nice to print out a few more pictures as you couldn't make it." She stated coldly.

"Sam… I… "

"No Jack, don't say anything right now. I'm sure you had a lot going on yesterday. Important things to do… People to meet…"

"The same boring people as always Sam. I wished I could have been there with you.."

"Yeah," she interrupted him, "Sure Jack! Go get going, you'll be late otherwise."

"I'm sorry Sam. I'm an idiot." Jack was trying.

"Yes, you are, but I don't think you recognize how much!"

When he was about to answer his driver honked to tell him he's waiting. Sam turned around to go back to bed. Jack was fast enough to grab her wrist and turn her towards him. "Please let's talk later. I don't want to leave you with you being mad at me, but I have no other option. I'll be home early today. I've got nothing scheduled after my 2 o'clock meeting and already told the president I'm leaving after this. Just tell me if everything is alright with the baby!"

"He's just fine Jack. Everything as it should be."

Another honk from the car outside interrupted them again. His brown eyes locked onto her until she broke eye contact and disappeared into the bedroom.

She didn't feel like leaving the house today, but she had ordered a book for Cassie that the young woman was searching for. It needed to get picked up and sent to her. Opening the garage door she sighed at the sight of their cars next to each other. Knowing that there was no chance she was able to get into her vintage Volvo being this pregnant she opened the door to Jack's truck.

At the mall she exited the bookstore. She not only bought Cassie's book, Sam also found a few for herself and was juggling them when she heard her name.

"Colonel O'Neill!"

Sam turned around not familiar with the voice that obviously belonged to a woman. It didn't stop the woman from talking while she put her hand on Sam's back.

"What a nice coincidence meeting you here. I was hoping to get a hold on you while I'm here in DC."

Those were the same brown eyes Sam had seen yesterday. Those eyes who belonged to Kerry Johnson. The woman Sam was trying again to forget was smiling brightly at her. The books slipped out of her grasp and with a loud bang they landed on the gray concrete floor as Sam was trying to process who she was standing in front of.

"Sam? Is everything alright?" The woman asked her, picking up the books.

"Yeah… ahm, hello miss Johnson."

"Please, call me Kerry!"