General George Hammond looked around his office with a sigh. He was going to miss all of this. Still, he had to admit that at the age of seventy the long hours and stress of being in charge of the most top- secret military base on Earth was beginning to take its toll. It was definitely time to step down. His replacement, General Gordon Howard, would be arriving within the hour and they would start a two week transition of power at the end of which he would be officially retired.
He had originally hoped to hand over the reigns of the SGC to Jack O'Neill. He'd planned on doing so several years ago. But Jack had made it clear at that point that he wanted more time with his growing family and was thinking of retiring for a third and final time himself. It had taken the President and Hammond double teaming him to convince O'Neill that his knowledge was too valuable for them to let him go totally. Eventually Jack had agreed to a part time consultant position that allowed him to keep his security clearance, and meant that he spent no more than thirty to forty hours a month on base. Hammond had turned over Jack's other duties to a recently promoted Lt. Colonel Griff, content in the knowledge that he got on well with Colonel O'Neill and the two would work together without too much butting of heads.
The arrangement had worked nicely. Occasionally Thor would pop in and Jack would liaison between the alien allies and the SGC, but that was the only time he went off-world anymore. Unfortunately it had left Hammond without a clear successor, and he had postponed his own retirement once more until someone could be found that both he and the President were comfortable with. It had taken another three years and several failed attempts. Finally they had resorted to some pretty stealthy surveillance on the final candidate, a job he had given to Jack O'Neill. Hammond had been reviewing General's credentials when he came across the file on Howard. He had served with Gordon briefly in the early seventies, and had thought at the time the young lieutenant had potential. Seems he'd been right. Shortly after being promoted to Brigadier General, Howard had been put in charge of the base in Kuwait just as the last war in Iraq had been gearing up, so he knew what it was like to send troops off to war. He also had high security clearance because of a stint as a translator working on classified radio transmissions.
The only question in Hammond's mind had been if the now Major General had the right personality to take on the job. He'd met with Howard twice, and then sent Jack to do some real digging. The report back from O'Neill had been positive. The men under Howard's command respected him, and he had been known to bend a few rules in his day. Just the type of man needed to run the SGC. Hammond had called the President and made his recommendation, which after review, the President had approved. Finally, after over thirteen years as the Commanding Officer of the SGC, George Hammond was getting to retire. ******
Major General Gordon Howard sat in what was soon to be his new office in shock. When he'd received his orders he'd been less than thrilled. What did he know about Deep Space Radar Telemetry? Leading a base full of scientists sounded like the most boring assignment on the face of the Earth, and definitely a waste of his command talents. The only bright spot had been that the base was currently run by George Hammond, a man he had respected in the past and was looking forward to working with again if only for a few weeks.
What he had learned in the past few hours had shot all of his pre- conceived ideas about this new assignment to pieces. Exploring the universe, aliens, and a base that was comprised of not just scientists but officers from several branches of the US military as well as Russian and British teams made him suddenly feel woefully unprepared. Hammond had assured him that he had the best of the best to advise him, and that he could trust them to give him the information he would need to make risk assessments.
"I won't lie to you Gordon. You'll have to make some darn tough decisions. But it's an incredible command. I wouldn't have traded it for anything," George told him before leaving him with files to read while he went to check on a team just back with minor injuries.
General Howard tried to concentrate on the information in front of him which contained a list of the key people under his command, most of whom he would meet later that afternoon. However he found his curiosity getting the better of him, and eventually he wandered over to the window overlooking the gateroom. He stared out at the device housed there with a smile. He had a feeling his life was about to get very exciting.
Later that evening over dinner he discussed the staff members he had met that day with Hammond getting more personal information on each of them. He was surprised to learn that Colonel Conners and Lt. Colonel Fraiser were married and had just adopted a displaced brother and sister who had been orphaned when a minor Goa'uld had destroyed their planet. And it wasn't the first alien that Dr. Fraiser had adopted. Her daughter Cassandra, now grown and doing botanical research right here at the SGC was also from another planet. Finally he got around to asking George about the two officers that he hadn't met yet, Colonel Jack O'Neill and Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter.
"I'll let you form your own opinion on Jack O'Neill. I will say that he's one of the finest officers I've ever had the pleasure of serving with. That said, he is also the most exasperating. Colonel O'Neill will be in tomorrow to meet you and then will attend the staff meeting. He sits in on most of them to keep up with the base operations. As for Lt. Colonel Carter, there is only one word to describe her, brilliant. If ever you need a solution to save the planet, she's the one you will turn to. I've seen that woman pull off some incredible miracles in the last thirteen years. She's currently on maternity leave, which just means that we try not to call her too often, and not in the middle of the night if we can help it. She's sleep deprived enough with a newborn to care for. She and the baby will be in on Wednesday for a check-up. I'll introduce you then," Hammond explained. "Oh, and I suppose I should mention Lt. Colonel Carter answers to many names around here. Most people call her LC, so if you hear that you know who they are referring to. She also goes by Carter-O'Neill, as she is married to Jack."
"Another couple? What were you running here, George, The Dating Game?" General Howard quipped.
"You have no idea, Gordon. The people of this command disappear for days on end, and come back injured and shell shocked. That's a hell of a lot to explain to a significant other and try to keep up the façade of working in Deep Space Radar Telemetry. Add to that the frat regs, and you'll find that we spend a lot of time trying to keep the morale up for a bunch of very lonely, stressed out field personnel. I've had to break up more that one team over the years to allow officers to pursue relationships. If I didn't we would have lost too many good people. Luckily O'Neill and Carter have set the standard for keeping it professional over the years, so we really don't have too many problems. There are actually six married couples on base at the moment," Hammond told him.
General Howard was amazed. He had only dealt with one married couple under his command over the years, but after giving the matter some thought he realized that what Hammond had explained to him made sense. He mentally made a note that this was another part of the job that he was probably going to need advice on. He'd never been much in the romance department, and he had two ex-wives to prove it.
******
The next day Jack O'Neill strolled into the SGC several hours before his scheduled meeting with the two generals. If there was one thing he had learned in the past seven years it was that on his first day back after the birth of a new baby he would need to allow plenty of time to get wherever he was going. The other thing he had learned was that he had better have a picture on him. True to form, it took him an hour to make his way down to the locker room, as he was stopped at least a dozen times. Not that he minded showing off his new son. The grin on his face would have been a shock to people who knew him 10 years ago. Now though his colleagues were used to seeing a happy Colonel. He assured everyone that Sam and the baby would be in the next day, and finally made it in to get changed. SG2 had taken over SG1's old locker room, but Jack kept a change of clothes in there for the days he was on base. Today as he was putting on his boots, the four members of SG2 all walked in, just back from a mission.
"Colonel, sorry we didn't realize you were in here," one of the younger team members exclaimed.
"No problem, I'm just about done anyway. It's all yours," Jack told him with a sweep of his hand.
"So you'd better have a picture of that baby," Griff warned him with a grin.
Jack reached into the locker and pulled out the picture of Matthew George O'Neill with a smile. Griff took one look at the baby and shook his head.
"He's an O'Neill all right. He looks just like you, poor kid," he teased. "How's Sam?"
"She's great. Although she is making threatening noises about what she'll do to me if I even think about having another baby. She swears that this is it," Jack admitted.
Griff snorted. "I think she has a valid complaint," he pointed out.
"Hey, this last one was totally her idea!" Jack protested.
Griff just looked at him in disbelief.
"Ok, so I brought up the subject. But she didn't need any arm twisting," Jack confessed with shrug.
"I know. She told us when she got pregnant this last time that she couldn't resist having one more baby before she was too old to even consider it," Griff acknowledged.
O'Neill left SG2 joking around in the locker room and headed down to the General's office. It was going to be tough having someone else as his CO after all of these years, but he'd already decided that if the new guy gave him any grief he would just retire for good and stay home to be a full time Mr. Mom. He loved that job anyway, and it wouldn't be a hardship. He smiled thinking of his wonderful family. He thanked his lucky stars every day for the second chance that Sam had given him to be a husband and a father. The smile remained as he was beckoned into the General's office.
Gordon Howard had read Jack O'Neill's file the night before. It had given him nightmares. The man had seen things most people on Earth couldn't even imagine in their wildest dreams. He'd been subjected to torture very few human beings could fathom. Even with his extensive battle experience the General had been sickened by what he could read in between the lines of the official reports. He was prepared for a battle hardened man with a chip on his shoulder. He was so not ready for Jack O'Neill. The gray hair and a few visible scars were the only outward signs of the battles the man had fought. The devil-may-care smile that reached his eyes and the relaxed body that was still in excellent shape made the General wonder if this was the right man. (Oh, Jack might complain about the knees and back but between his little vacation at Resort Ba'al eight years ago and Thor's generous lending of medical technology over the past couple of years, he was really in great shape, which Sam could attest to if she was asked)
As the General was trying to get a fix on the man, Jack O'Neill was sizing up his new commander. Howard looked to be only a few years older than Jack, which didn't really bother him. Everyone he had spoken to when Hammond had asked him to check out the General had spoken highly of him, but he hadn't been dealing with the daily excitement that was standard operating procedure at this command. Jack hoped he could think on his feet. There was only one way to find out.
General Hammond made the formal introductions, and then Jack grinned and threw General Howard his first curve ball. "So… 'G.H.', how convenient. We won't have to order new stationary or monogrammed towels," he quipped.
Hammond closed his eyes in frustration. Leave it to Jack O'Neill. But General Howard recovered from his surprise and couldn't help a small smile of his own.
"Hopefully it will be enough to keep us under budget this year. I always like to do my part in cutting costs," he acknowledged.
He watched as a fleeting look of approval passed over the Colonel's face before the grin and the casual air of indifference were resumed. He realized that he had just been tested and had passed initial muster. His opinion of Jack O'Neill was formed instantly. He would remember to never underestimate this man.
The three men ended up in the commissary where General Howard questioned O'Neill about their various allies out in the universe, having been told by Hammond, Griff and Conners that the Colonel had the closest relationship with many of them. At first he found it hard to believe that this man was the one that a race as advanced as the Asguard trusted, but after hearing his frank and insightful views on the strengths and weaknesses of each race he was impressed. They were discussing the Tok'Ra when something in O'Neill's attitude made him curious.
"What exactly is your gripe with the Tok'Ra, Colonel?" he asked.
"There are only a couple of them that I trust to give us a straight story. The rest all have their own agenda which they are not too fond of sharing until its too late," Jack answered truthfully.
"Which Tok'Ra o you trust?" General Howard inquired.
"Well, Selmak, because we've had the most contact with her, um, him. And I trust his host, Jacob Carter," Jack explained.
"Any relationship to Colonel Carter?" Howard questioned.
"Yeah, her Dad. At least we know he's got Earth's best interests at heart," Jack continued. "And Malek is alright. He's been a big help several times over the years and seems to be a straight shooter," he concluded.
"I'm looking forward to meeting them. And our other allies," Howard admitted.
"Well, Thor's a bit unpredictable, but Jacob will be here in two weeks for Thanksgiving and to see his latest grandson," Jack told him.
That reminded General Howard of something. "Yes, I understand congratulations are in order. General Hammond told me I'll be able to meet your wife and new baby tomorrow," General Howard commented. "Do you have other children?"
"Thank you. Matthew is our sixth, and Sam swears our last, child," Jack informed him.
"Six!" Howard exclaimed in amazement. "How old is the oldest?"
"The oldest are twins, and they will be seven in two months," Jack admitted. At the General's astounded look Jack grinned over at Hammond then shrugged. "What can I say, we had a lot of lost time to make up for!"
Jack just smiled. He was used to the reaction most people had to his suddenly large family. He hadn't been surprised when the twins were born to find out that Sam was a natural as a mom, but she had confessed to him later that she was surprised by how much she loved babies. She'd always suspected that infants would be a bit boring. She really didn't have any experience with them having only gotten closer to her brother again when her niece and nephew were already preschoolers. So she hadn't been prepared for loving Jake and Kate instantly and completely, from their little fingers and toes to the peaceful feeling of cuddling them as she rocked them to sleep. That was why she hadn't been a bit upset when she and Jack had come back from their belated 1st anniversary celebration at the cabin with the eight-month-old twins to discover that her new birth control had failed spectacularly and she was pregnant again. She *had* been relieved to find out she was only carrying one baby that time however. That baby girl had been followed almost two years later by another daughter and twenty-one months later by another.
Everyone figured they were done and then Sam had announced this last pregnancy. Several people were ready to shoot Jack until Sam admitted that he had merely joked that another son would help even out the numbers a bit and she had capitulated. (After pointing out that another daughter would mean he and Jake would be woefully outnumbered for the rest of their lives) He and Jake had gotten their wish though, and two weeks ago Sam had given birth to Matthew, bringing the grand total of O'Neill offspring to two boys and four girls. Thor was thrilled. Jack was sporting a permanent grin. Sam took it all in stride. She never had needed much sleep, a characteristic that had come in handy over the last seven years. Now with three of the kids in school and Jack home a lot, it meant that she could continue to work without feeling like she was abandoning her brood to be raised by a stranger.
Not that she spent anywhere near the amount of time she used to in the lab. She had a wonderful staff now, and she could limit herself to working on the really big important projects and leave the rest in their capable hands. And with all of the major System Lords defeated, they were kept quite busy as the majority of teams were now exploring instead of fighting the Goa'uld. The technology being recovered, studied and put to practical use was more than paying for the program. Better still, Kinsey had retired from public life after a disastrous run for President. Unfortunately, they still ran into some of the minor Goa'ulds once in a while, and they had managed to butt heads with another violent race, the Lanoins several years ago, so they still had a need to concentrate on defense technology. All in all though, Sam was able to pretty much work 9 to 5 now, except for the stray page or phone call on weekends and evenings. And the more frequent ones when she was on maternity leave.
So she wasn't surprised to find that there was a queue of people waiting to grab 5 minutes of her time when she got to the base on Wednesday. She patiently explained to each that she would stop in her lab after her appointment in the infirmary, and headed off to get Matthew weighed, measured, poked and prodded. It seemed that everyone wanted blood and tissue samples of her offspring, so Janet dutifully marked test tubes for the Asguard, the NID and for herself to study. So far, the NID had been the only ones disappointed by the results. Janet was always happy to find that the babies were healthy and normal, with just a trace of naquada in their blood. Thor was thrilled that the Jack's genetic anomalies were being passed on to each child. The NID had been hoping for a Harcesis. Sam could have told them they were doomed to disappointment. Jack retained nothing except for a few blurry memories from his time with Kanan. And the research she and Janet had done indicated that both parents would need to be hosting living symbiotes at the time of conception to pass along the genetic memory anyway. As Janet finished up checking Sam's vitals they chatted.
"So is Jack home with the other five kids by himself today?" Janet asked.
"Not really. The twins are at school until 15:00, and Molly is in morning kindergarten and won't need to be picked up until after lunch. So he just has Brie and Grace," Sam explained.
"Lucky him, they're the easy two," Janet protested.
"Yes, but Bridget is at that wonderful 'Why?' stage and all day yesterday I told her to 'Ask Daddy tomorrow' so he should be tearing out his hair about now," Sam grinned.
"You are evil," Janet laughed.
"I'm just getting him back for teaching Molly to climb trees over the summer. I had to watch her like a hawk for weeks," Sam protested.
"That girl is pure O'Neill," Janet pointed out, shaking her head.
"Luckily she got the O'Neill Irish charm or she would constantly be in the doghouse. As it is she just gives me that puppy dog look with those big brown eyes and I forget why I'm punishing her," Sam admitted.
"You're lucky the other four don't take after Jack as much. Then you would really have your hands full. Speaking of which, is it just my imagination or have Matthew's little legs been kicking the whole time you've been here?" Janet inquired.
"Oh definitely not your imagination. Remember I told you this one kicked ten times worse than the twins? He's like the Energizer Bunny, he never stops. And you know he looks just like Jack and Charlie's baby pictures. He's going to be my little Jack clone," Sam sighed.
"Not such a bad thing really," Janet smirked.
"No, not such a bad thing," Sam agreed. "I'd better get going, I have a whole queue of people waiting to talk to me," she complained.
"Do you want me to keep Matthew here?" Janet offered.
"No, it's time for his bottle anyway, and if I have him with me people will keep it short," Sam suggested optimistically. Then she headed for her lab.
That's where the two Generals found her a bit later. Hammond had called down to the infirmary and been told she was done with her exam and it hadn't taken much thought to realize where she was and that she probably needed rescuing. They found her sitting with Matthew in one arm, waving his bottle at the calculations on the board trying to point out the error. Matthew was sound asleep.
"Don't tell me you are starting him this early on Quantum Physics, Colonel?" Hammond chuckled.
Sam smiled and started to stand, but Hammond waved her to stay seated. She smiled down at the dozing baby. "I'm trying my best, Sir. But just like another O'Neill I know it just seems to put him to sleep," Sam confessed, shifting Matthew so that his legs were free to wiggle in his sleep.
"General Howard, this is Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter, and Matthew George O'Neill," Hammond proudly introduced. He had been so honored when they had told him Matthew's full name.
At the introduction Sam did get to her feet, and George stepped in to take the baby for her. She gave her new CO a smile, but ignored the salute since she was indoors and in civilian clothes.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Colonel. I've heard nothing but good things about you from your colleagues," General Howard nodded.
"Ah, well then I'm sure there are a few you still haven't talked to," Sam quipped turning to the group behind her. "After I leave you can tell the General what I'm like in morning before my first cup of coffee," she teased them.
Noticing that the group was all still waiting on Sam, Hammond turned to them. "Is there anything that you can't address in an e-mail to the Colonel later?" he queried. When no one came up with anything he cleared the room by announcing, "Good, because General Howard and I need to talk to her for a bit. Dismissed."
"What the problem?" Sam asked when they had left.
"Absolutely nothing, Colonel. I just wanted you to be able to leave before this one gets cranky," Hammond told her.
Sam smiled one of her brilliant smiles in gratitude. "Actually he's going to wake up soon wanting to finish that bottle now that the technobabble is over. Maybe we should head down to the commissary and we can talk while he eats," Sam suggested.
General Howard was grateful as he had some questions that he felt she could answer better than the reports he was trying to wade through. An hour later he actually felt like he was starting to understand how the gate worked. The Lt. Colonel and Hammond had also thrashed out plans for the day after Thanksgiving when the original members of SG1, Doctor Fraiser and their extended families would gather for their annual feast. The General was a regular, and General Howard had been happy to accept an invitation as well. Hammond had assured him that Lt. Colonel Griff and Major Taylor would be taking duty shifts that day, in return for getting Thanksgiving day off. Colonel O'Neill and one other officer would cover the actual holiday. It was a tradition they had started years ago when it got too hard for them all to get Thanksgiving Day off. It also meant that since they worked on Thanksgiving, they were excused from taking Christmas duty, which suited them all just fine.
General Howard turned to Sam. "Your holiday's must surely be chaotic with six small children, Colonel," he commented.
"You have no idea, Sir," she said rolling her eyes. "It's the big kid that gives me the most grief though!" she proclaimed with a grin.
George Hammond laughed at that turning to General Howard. "I won't miss having to keep Jack O'Neill in line. He's all your headache now Gordon!"
Gordon Howard looked dismayed. Then he looked at Sam. "I have a feeling I know where to go to if I need any suggestions on controlling him," he thought aloud.
Sam put on her best innocent look and responded with a twinkle in her eye, "I have no idea what you mean General."
The holiday season was indeed an exercise in organized chaos at the O'Neill house. They had long ago sold Jacks original house, using the proceeds from it and Sam's to purchase a five bedroom home that they had figured would be big enough for their growing family and still leave one guestroom. After Grace was conceived they'd added on to give them two more large rooms, one a den where Sam and Jack could work from home when needed, but which also contained a sleeper sofa for when the number of guests overflowed from the other room which was a permanent guestroom. (Except for when it occasionally doubled as a fort if the twins and Molly could get their father to help them construct rooms out of sheets and blankets thrown over ropes)
This Christmas they were guest-free however, having just had Maureen and Charles for a visit right after Matthew was born. They would probably not see the rest of the O'Neills until the summer when a large family reunion was planned for Charles' eightieth birthday. As for Sam's brother, they had managed a nice get together when Jacob and Mark and family had come to Colorado Springs for the long Labor Day weekend. Sam had been almost eight months pregnant and had happily let the men in her life wait on her hand and foot, a feature that her sister-in-law had whole heartedly approved of, as she sat back and chatted with Sam letting the men cook, clean and chase children.
So they were glad to not be entertaining out-of-town guests this Christmas, just sitting back and enjoying their children. Well, not exactly sitting back. They had been awoken at 05:50 by the joyful shouts announcing Santa had come and gone, leaving a mound of presents behind. Now three hours later, after stockings had been emptied, presents oohed and ahhed over, and breakfast devoured, they were all back in the family room as Sam and Jack surveyed the clutter in dismay. Sam was about to dig in and start clearing away wrapping paper, when a wail from Matthew let her know that he was ready to eat too. Jack took charge, telling her he would watch the rest of the kids and clear up a bit while she went upstairs and fed Matt and put him down for a nap. She gave him a relieved smile and a kiss on the cheek.
Her rest in the peace and quiet of the nursery sitting in the rocking chair with Matthew had revived her enough that Sam was ready to once again face the chaos downstairs. She frowned as she shut the door behind her after grabbing the baby monitor. She'd suddenly noticed that it was pretty quiet in the house. She crept softly down the stairs and peaked into the family room not wanting to disturb whatever miracle had occurred to cause all six occupants to be relatively silent at the same time. The site that met her eyes was a pure mother's delight. Most of the mess had been placed into large garbage bags, although the balled up pieces of paper still remaining told a story of an impromptu game of 'basketball' that she was sure Jack had instigated to get the kids to help him.
Now the twins were spread out on the floor with one of the board games Santa had brought happily playing to their own rules. Rules she was sure no one else would ever comprehend, as the two seemed to operate on their own special wavelength. Daniel had been astounded when they were small to observe them as they learned to talk. He had never gotten to actually see a case of twin-speak, and Jake and Kate had joyfully let him in on their own private language. As close as they were to their siblings, especially Molly, they still had a bond with each other that often required no actual speech at all. Thinking of Molly made her eyes search out her little rabble rouser to see what trouble she was up to. Someone had helped open up the new set of plastic building blocks, and a very impressive structure was taking shape in the corner. Sam smiled in relief. That was an activity that could occupy her for hours.
Bridget was sitting curled up in Jack's favorite chair with a pile of books. She noticed that she had Molly and the twin's new books as well as her own, and Sam had no doubt that she was attempting to read them. If Molly was Jack's child, Bridget was hers, all blond curls, endless curiosity and single-minded attention to detail. The pre- school she attended had tested her reading ability and been astonished to learn that she read at a second grade level. Sam hadn't been surprised. Bridget would only need to know you for about ten minutes before she would crawl up onto your lap with a book and trustingly ask you to 'Read?'
And that just left Grace and Jack, who were stretched out on the couch together, sound asleep. The toddler was curled up on Jack's chest, sucking her thumb. Jack had one arm protectively around her to keep her from falling off, and there was a look of total peace on her face. Sam smiled. 'I know how you feel little one, that's my favorite place to nap too', she thought. Then her eyes alighted on the camera sitting on the table a few feet from where she stood. She carefully reached for it and managed to snap off several pictures without disturbing anyone, or so she thought. Jack opened one eye to see what she was up to and grinned.
"Kodak moment?" he inquired.
Sam just nodded. In truth she was too choked up to answer him, the overwhelming happiness that had welled up as she surveyed the scene having rendered her momentarily speechless. Darn hormones. Then she smiled. She couldn't totally blame hormones for these intense feelings. Ever since Janet had placed her baby daughter in her arms and she had looked up to see Jack holding their son, these moments had been occurring with great regularity. She was just plain happy.
She shook herself out of her reverie and headed into the kitchen to pour herself a cup of coffee. If she was lucky the peace and quiet would last long enough for her to finish it and then she could throw herself whole heartedly into whatever the kids had in mind. It was snowing, so she was betting that snowman building was on the agenda. Janet and Stan would be over soon with Cassie and their two new adopted children, but neither Teal'c nor Jacob had made it to Earth this year.
Daniel was off spending the holiday's with his new in-laws, having gotten married the previous spring to a psychiatrist of all people. To her credit, Dr. Wilson was also a sociologist, and had brought in specifically to help integrate some of the alien refugees that passed through the SGC into life on Earth, whether their stay be temporary, or in a couple of cases like Lucas and Ella, permanent. Janet had nothing but good things to say about the help Annie Wilson had given her. Although Cassie had turned out just fine with just SG1 and Janet to guide her, it didn't hurt to have a professional support system.
Sam's thoughts were interrupted by voices and the thunder of feet heeded her way.
"Mom can we build a snow fort??" came the inevitable inquiry.
Sam looked at Jack questioning his sanity. He hadn't suggested a snowball fight had he?
"Just a fort, we promise. Please Mom?" He assured her reading her mind.
Sam shook her head in resignation and with a smile pulled out the bins of hats and gloves.
"I'll be out to see how it's going in a bit. I want to check on Matthew first," she told them as she and Jack worked flawlessly beside each other to pull on boots and zip up coats.
"Good. I doubt Gracie and Brie will last long and you can bring them back in with you," Jack strategized, earning thankful looks from the older three.
The Conners/Fraisers arrived just as Sam was bringing the younger girls back in, and Janet helped put them down for a nap while the rest of her family joined in the outdoor activities. Everyone had decided that Luke and Ella needed to build their first snowman, so the two women had time to organize food, and tend to Matthew when he woke up before the architects and builders came swarming in. The day was a great success, but it was four weary parents who bid farewell to each other that evening.
Later, as Sam and Jack collapsed into bed together, Jack kissed Sam gently and as she snuggled into his warm embrace he whispered, "Thank you."
She didn't need to ask what for, it was the same thing she was thankful for, so she just smiled into his neck and murmured similar words that he also understood without hearing. The twins weren't the only ones who could communicate perfectly without really saying a word. They both often wondered what would have happened to them if Sam hadn't gotten so ill after that nasty mission where they killed Nirrti. It wasn't anything they dwelled on, because any life other than the one they had now was unimaginable. But both knew that Sam's leaving SG1 had been the defining event that had led them to the life they led today. From that day forward they had been able to start living the life they could only dream about before.
And wasn't that what they had been fighting for all along?
The End
Story Notes: Season: Future
Sequel to: In Sickness and in Health, To Have and To Hold, For Better or For Worse, With This Ring
Author's Notes: The end of another series! (I'm on a roll) For all of those that have been writing me asking about this fic, I'm so sorry for the delay. I think it was jinxed. I have lost disks with it on it (And had one disk go bad on me) not to mention the hardware problem I had and a power outage. But here it is. Hope it was worth the wait.
Sequel to: In Sickness and in Health, To Have and To Hold, For Better or For Worse, With This Ring
Author's Notes: The end of another series! (I'm on a roll) For all of those that have been writing me asking about this fic, I'm so sorry for the delay. I think it was jinxed. I have lost disks with it on it (And had one disk go bad on me) not to mention the hardware problem I had and a power outage. But here it is. Hope it was worth the wait.
End Notes: For those of you trying to keep track, here is the cheat sheet!
Sam and Jack were married on August 2nd, 2003.
Jacob Charles and Katherine Marie – born January 23rd 2004.
Molly Maureen – born July 8th 2005
Bridget Claire – born June 25th 2007 (Claire is for Daniel's mom)
Grace Lorna – born March 15th 2009 (Lorna is for Teal'c mom Lor'nac which I totally made up)
Matthew George – born November 2nd 2010
Sam and Jack were married on August 2nd, 2003.
Jacob Charles and Katherine Marie – born January 23rd 2004.
Molly Maureen – born July 8th 2005
Bridget Claire – born June 25th 2007 (Claire is for Daniel's mom)
Grace Lorna – born March 15th 2009 (Lorna is for Teal'c mom Lor'nac which I totally made up)
Matthew George – born November 2nd 2010
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 ]