--------------------------- THE GIFT OF THE ASGARD ---------------------------
"Get Daniel!" Sam screamed, dropping on to all fours, her face contorting as the contraction swept through her body with the force of a tornado.
"You need a medical doctor, not an archaeologist!" Jack protested, panicking as he saw a pool of bloodied water forming under her knees.
Sam was unable to speak until the contraction began to fade again.
"N-no time, Jack! Baby coming...now!"
"Shit!" he said, looking around him helplessly for some inspiration as to what to do.
It had been Sam's idea to keep working right through her pregnancy, and much as Jack protested, it was kind of comforting to know that she was near-by, working in her lab at the SGC, while he continued to lead SG-1 on missions through the Stargate.
The problem was, the baby wasn't due for another 3 weeks, and virtually the whole of the medical facility were off-base at Janet Fraiser and Daniel Jackson's engagement party. The party which they were supposed to be at, of course, only Sam had been distracted by some alien device SG-1 had just brought back, and she had forgotten the time.
"I thought you women were supposed to know when you were going into labour?" he said, anxiously.
Sam glared at him as another contraction passed through her body in an excruciating wave.
"I thought it was just backache," she replied, trying not to tense up in expectation of the next contraction.
"Doesn't it hurt your tummy, then?"
"SHUT UP!" she yelled. "It fucking hurts everywhere. My back's killing me. It feel like...Aarrgh!" she knelt up, clutching her back uselessly, unable to speak for a minute. "L-like someone's crushing my backbone!" she gasped.
He touched her, trying to rub her back to give her some relief, but she roughly pushed him away.
"Don't touch me! It's all your fault I'm in this mess!"
Jack jumped back and just stood there, helpless, wondering if there was any point in dialling 911 on the SGC phones. He smiled, despite himself, imagining giving directions to the paramedics.
"Where are we? That's classified."
Sam's screams of pain changed in tone to low moans, and she threw her head back, shutting her eyes in deep concentration.
"You're pushing, aren't you?" said Jack, struggling to remember what Sara did when she was having Charlie.
//Shit! Why didn't they teach you stuff like this in combat first aid?//
Sam nodded, and groaned even harder, instinctively moving her knees apart as she bore down, the pressure in her pelvis growing more unbearable by the second.
Timidly, Jack crouched down and placed a hand between her legs. She'd managed to get her underpants off at some point, he noted.
"There's something hard and round here," he said, feeling a slimy ball in her entrance. "I think it's the baby's head!"
Sam nodded grimly, panting with effort.
"The contractions have stopped," she said, with alarm. "Oh, no they haven't....Urrgh!"
She pushed with her whole body, in short bursts, groaning deeply with short gasps for air. She felt a ring of fierce burning pain in her vagina, and the baby's head cleared the birth canal.
"He's got black hair!" Jack gasped, so taken up with the wonder of birth that he momentarily forgot that Sam still had work to do.
She breathed hard, gathering her strength for the next push, sweat pouring off her.
"Okay!" she said. "Here goes nothing!"
She opened her mouth and screwed her eyes tight shut, a weird, primal noise emanating from her throat.
The baby shot from the birth canal, propelled by yet another gush of amniotic fluid, Jack barely catching the slippery infant as he fell.
He passed the baby under her legs, and Sam sat back on her heals, holding her newborn with a look of absolute amazement.
"It's not breathing!" Jack noted with alarm as the baby seemed to go blue. But Sam seemed unconcerned.
"He's Okay," she said, with the assurance of a mother's instincts, stroking his cheek with her finger.
//Cold, thought Jack, newborn babies get cold.//
He removed his jacket, wrapping the baby in it and went to search for a blanket to wrap them both in.
He was gone barely a minute, but when he returned, the baby was already pink again and breathing.
He sighed with relief, placing the old blanket around Sam's shoulders. He'd had awful visions of his child dying in his mother's arms.
"Well, you wanted a natural birth," he said, smiling at Sam. "Guess this is about as natural as it comes...Shit! I forgot! What is it?"
"A baby?" said Sam, laughing.
Jack frowned. This was not a time for teasing.
"He's a boy", she said, pulling back the jacket to reveal an impressive set of genitals.
"Oh," said Jack, a grin spreading from ear to ear. "What are you going to call him?"
"He's your son!"
"He's your's too!"
"Okay, we'll call him Jonathan Daniel." Jack raised an eyebrow at the second name. "Daniel doesn't really have anyone else in the world," she reminded him.
"Er, Sam..." said Jack, suddenly remembering the practicalities of their situation. "Aren't we supposed to cut the umbilical cord or something?"
"I don't know," said Sam. "They didn't really cover this in the classes."
They examined the cord together. It was white.
"I can't see any more blood in it," she said. "So I guess it would be safe to cut."
The baby started to fuss, opening and shutting his mouth like a baby bird.
"What's wrong?" said Jack, acutely aware of his lack of knowledge about such things, despite having already having been a father.
Sam giggled, fondly. "I think he might be hungry."
Jack frantically glanced around the room.
"Oh, sure, I'm sure there's some bottles of formula in the Mess fridge," he said, sarcastically.
Sam giggled again, only this time, at him. She unbuttoned her rather soggy dress.
"I think we've got it covered," she said, exposing her breast and turning the baby to face her nipple.
"Er, actually, Sam," said Jack, nervously, "Sara tried that and she said it wasn't that easy at all..."
His voice trailed off, as Jonathan latched on and started suckling as if it were the easiest thing in the world.
"See," she said, raising her spare palm upwards. "The kid's a natural!"
"Must get it from his mother," Jack murmured, his jaw aching from smiling too much. "Now, what are we going to do about that cord."
"Will you stop worrying!" she scolded him. "Oops!" She knelt up and moved to the right, the baby still latched on to her breast. On the floor was an object the size of a grapefruit. It looked a bit like some kind of offal, covered in white veins.
"OK, now we have...what the heck is *that*?" he exclaimed.
"Well, I presume it's the placenta," she replied. "I think you're supposed to check it to make sure it's all there."
Jack prodded it with his finger, pulling a face of extreme distaste.
"I think I'll find a bucket to put it in - the docs can check it over later. Oh, and can I now cut that damn cord? It must be all right now the thingy's come out."
"If Daniel were here, I'm sure he'd be recommending you casserole it," Sam remarked, a wicked glint in her eye. "That's what women on Abydos did. He was telling me all about it."
Jack looked slightly nauseous at the thought, and cut Jonathan's umbilical cord with his pen-knife. It was surprisingly tough to cut.
"I think we'll skip the Cordon Bleu and just put it in this," he said, pulling a face as he scooped the placenta into a metal waste paper bin.
"Can you stand," he said, a little later, noticing Sam shivering with the cold as she sat in her damp clothes.
She nodded assent and he helped her to his feet.
"Let's get you cleaned up then," he said.
****
Jack gazed lovingly at mother and son, now peacefully sleeping in the narrow bed in his quarters. It had been a bit of a struggle to get her showered and clean, with Jonathan protesting loudly every time he was removed from her arms and Sam threatening to faint all the time, but he'd managed and actually felt quite proud of himself.
Sam was now wearing one of his old uniform shirts and a pair of underpants lined with several sanitary pads, raided from the machine in the women's bathroom. The baby was still wrapped in his jacket, with a makeshift diaper made from wound dressings and some torn-up towels from the infirmary.
Her face was one of contented exhaustion, as she lay on her side, protectively holding her infant in the crook of her arm. Jack had noticed that, even in her sleep, she had prevented him from removing the baby by tightening her arm, so he figured he was as safe there as anywhere.
A dribble of creamy yellow colostrum ran from his son's small, puckered mouth, as Jack knelt down and put his large index finger in the tiny, wrinkled palm. Jonathan's fingers automatically curled round to grip as Jack smiled at him adoringly.
"Hey, son, it's your daddy here," he whispered.
He lent forwards and kissed his baby on his surprisingly chubby cheeks. For a baby supposedly three weeks early, he certainly seemed a good size.
She probably got the dates wrong, he mused, remembering the battle they'd had, earlier in the pregnancy, when Sam had refused an ultrasound scan to confirm her dates.
Jack gently swept the hair out of her eyes with his hand. She was so beautiful. He knew he loved her, but looking at her now, sleeping so peacefully, he thought he would burst with love and pride.
"Thank you for making an old soldier the happiest man in the universe," he breathed, as she smiled in her sleep.
He got up to leave them to their rest, when he heard voices at the door. It was Daniel and Janet, giggling.
"You're rotten!" Janet was saying in a stage whisper. "You just leave them alone!"
"Well, it's dish-gusting, her being heavily pregnant and all!" Daniel was protesting, his voice heavily slurred, presumably from the Champagne he'd been drinking.
"I'll have you know there is no reason on earth why a pregnant woman shouldn't carry on her love-life just as before, provided the pregnancy's normal," Janet announced with medical authority, and then somewhat spoiled it by adding a rather dirty laugh.
"Mmmmm...tasty..." she said, with noises that suggested they were kissing - Again.
Jack opened the door, and the courting couple nearly fell into the room. Daniel attempted to regain some of his self-control, pulling himself up to his full height, supporting a wobbly Janet under one arm.
"Hi," she said, grinning inanely.
"Hi," said Jack, rather sternly.
"We were jusht coming to see if you fanchied joining the party," Daniel slurred. "General Hammond's sent us over wisth a driver to drag you over."
"Thanks," said Jack, rather brusquely, "But we've been a little busy."
Janet giggled. "I did tell Sam to carry on as usual," she admitted.
Jack smiled sardonically, and gently pushed the door open to reveal the sleeping pair.
"Wow!" said Daniel, sobering up fast, his arm dropping from Janet's shoulder.
"Oh God!" Janet explained running to her friend's side. "Is she...I mean...are they...?"
"Oh, they're fine," Jack assured her. Sam opened a lazy eye and smiled a sleepy smile.
"Hi," she yawned, not really awake enough to acknowledge her visitors.
"H-h-h....h-h-h....h-h-how'd you manage it?" Daniel stammered, this time his voice affected more by surprise than alcohol.
"Oh, we coped," said Jack, his lop-sided grin betraying more than a little pride at their achievement.
"He looks just like you, Jack," Janet cooed, tickling the little squished-up chin of the chubby newborn, a feeling of over-whelming broodiness rising in her breast.
"Ya think?"
"I think, Jack," she replied.
"Actually, I was a little worried he'd take after Thor," said Daniel, as the others shot a look at him. "W-well, it was Asgard technology that enabled Sam to get pregnant," he explain. "A-and I just wondered if..."
"If Thor was the father?" Jack finished, a look on his face that said 'Don't even go there'.
"I guess not," said Daniel, frowning, looking at the perfectly normal, albeit somewhat red-faced, human child laying in Sam's arms.
Daniel had delivered babies. He knew what a newborn looked like - funny shaped heads, ears bent down, bright red faces and white, cheesy "vernix" plastering down their hair. But he never thought he'd see one that meant as much to him as the child born to his best friends.
"Wow, Jack! You did it!" he exclaimed, beaming. "I'm so happy for you." He flung his arms round Jack and gave him a brotherly hug.
Janet turned to her friend, and kissed her on the cheek. She thought back to that awful time she'd had to tell Sam she might never have children, due to the chemical imbalance left by Jolinar the Tok'ra, who had inhabited Sam's body for a time. She thought of Sam's brave optimism then, and the devastation later, when, married to Jack, she'd had to meet, head-on the grief that she might never give him a child.
And Jack so wanted another child.
"Well done, girl, you did good," she whispered, tears in her eyes, as Sam sunk back into a contented sleep.
"Jack?" She stood up, and opened her arms to hug him. "Congratulations to all of you!"
The words seemed insufficient to describe her joy and relief for them.
// Thank God for the Asgard, she thought. //
"Now, tell me," she asked, "What did you call him...her?"
"Him," Jack replied proudly. "He's called Jonathan Daniel."
Daniel choked. "Jack Daniel's?" he smirked.
Jack glared at his soon-to-be erstwhile friend.
"We're calling him Jon for short, and the Daniel in his name was her idea," he retorted, indicating his wife. "You are supposed to be flattered."
"Opps, sorry," Daniel flustered. "I-I am very honoured. And sorry, I'll never confuse your son with a drink ever again." He hiccoughed.
"Well, I think it's a lovely thought," said Janet, grabbing her somewhat inebriated fiancé round the waist and giving him a warning look. "Daniel, let's leave these wonderful people to have a bit of rest and get back to the party in our honour. Is it Okay if we tell everyone, Jack?" she asked, turning to him.
"You can tell the whole damn galaxy as far as I'm concerned," he grinned, glancing over at Sam, "And I am sure I can speak for my wife and son on that too!"
"Thanks, Jack," Janet replied, "And just to put my mind at rest, I'll get one of the nurses to pop in and give Sam and the baby a quick check. Nurse French is a qualified CNM." She patted him on the arm. "Personally, I've drunk far too much, but they look find to me. More than fine. They look absolutely gorgeous."
"They are," Jack agreed.
"By the way," she said as she was leaving. "Did you keep the placenta? She'll need to check it to make sure it's all come away properly."
Jack nodded, indicating the bucket.
"You should casserole that," observed Daniel, drunkenly, as Janet dragged him from the room by his arm. "That's what Sha're told me!" he protested, as she marched him down the corridor. "Well, she did!"
The sound of hysterical giggling echoed down the corridor, along with the sounds of doors being bumped into, loud crashes and drunken groans.
Jack laughed to himself, shaking his head.
Life was good.
********************************************************************
THE END Feedback always appreciated ;o) -- Anna H., Alien Visitor
mailto: anna@ratbag.demon.co.uk
http://www.ratbag.demon.co.uk/anna/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Any technology, if sufficiently advanced, will seem like magic to those that do not understand it. - Arthur C. Clarke
Story Notes: Email: anna@ratbag.demon.co.uk
Status: Complete (1/1)
Category: SJ established relationship, DJ romance
Season/Sequel Info: Season 4
Spoilers: Tok'ra I and II, Jolinar's memories
Archive: SJ Yes
With thanks to Bella Luna for beta'ing this fiction for me.
Status: Complete (1/1)
Category: SJ established relationship, DJ romance
Season/Sequel Info: Season 4
Spoilers: Tok'ra I and II, Jolinar's memories
Archive: SJ Yes
With thanks to Bella Luna for beta'ing this fiction for me.
DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognisable characters, settings, etc, are the property of their respective owners. Any original characters and plots are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended. ... [ read more ]