Epilogue

Jack trailed slowly behind a six year old Grace. "What story do you want to hear tonight?" he asked her as he rounded the corner into her room.

The little girl bounced on to her bed and sat with her back against the headboard as she told him, "Tell me again about the day that I was born."

Jack sighed as he glanced at the extensive library adorning the shelves of her room. "Wouldn't you rather hear one of those stories?" he said as he nodded towards the books.

Little Grace shook her head and said, "Nope."

Jack smiled and said, "Alright, how about you get into your jammies and when I come back I will tell you a story."

Grace jumped up and yelled, "Sweet!" and hopped off the bed towards her dresser.

Jack smiled and shook his head at her choice of words. He turned out of the room and shut the door behind him. When the door was closed he leaned against it and shut his eyes. Images from six years ago came slamming to the forefront of his brain.

oOo ~ FLASHBACK ~ oOo

Jack was pacing in the small airport hangar waiting for his flight back to Colorado. He never should have approved the mission! What the hell had he been thinking? Twenty minutes earlier he had received an urgent phone call from Walter. SG-1 was blocked off from the gate by local population. Apparently this routine mission had gone to hell once Daniel figured out that the people there actually worshiped the Goa'uld. This in of itself wouldn't be such a big problem. They had faced much worse. The problem was that Sam had gone into labor and NEEDED to get back to Earth.

Finally the plane landed and Jack quickly boarded. Now he had three hours to brood. He put his head in his hands and second guessed everything he had done. Sam had been adamant about needing to see the mines containing the new metal that would rival naquadah. Apparently it was as good as the naquadah but as light as aluminum. Or something like that. And the planet was peaceful and welcomed relations with Earth.

Jack had wanted to say no. In fact he did say no but Sam wouldn't have it. Was he keeping her from going because she was pregnant or was he keeping her from going because she was his wife? If it was because of the baby well then she still had six weeks to go so she would be fine. And if it was because of was the fact that she was his wife, well, she told him in no uncertain terms that that could be fixed too! Evidently Sam didn't appreciate it when he got all "alpha male" trying to "protect what was his. Those were her words!

Jack was sure that Janet would have agreed with him but she was off helping Cassie with something or other. Janet had assured him that she would be back in plenty of time to deliver the baby. Dr. Warner smiled and waved and just LET Sam go! He actually gave permission! And now she was stuck on a planet millions of miles away and unable to get back!

He should have felt better that Daniel and Teal'c were with her, but that didn't ease his mind at all. He felt like his entire family was stuck out there, his son, his wife, his unborn daughter and a man that was like a brother to him. For the first time since he retired he really regretted it. He should have gone out there with them! He would have except the President had called an emergency meeting. There was a problem with the NID and Jack didn't want to have any more problems with them.

If only they had been able to put off this expedition for a couple of months. Sam would have already had the baby, the problems with the NID would have been resolved and Janet would be around if needed. That would have made the most sense but there was something about the seasonal patterns on this planet that would prohibit the group from reaching this particular cave. Apparently heavy rains flood the area making the cave inaccessible. That was why the trip was planned for now. In one month the weather would start to turn and they wouldn't get another chance for six or more months. Jack sighed again. They should have waited.

The plane landed and Jack was already on his cell phone to find out any new information. As of that moment there was no news. Jack pressed down harder on the gas pedal forcing the jeep to drive faster. He arrived at the mountain in record time.

The usual stop points to get to the lower levels were absolute torture. Jack didn't talk to anyone, just signed by rote and kept heading towards the elevators. Finally, when his patience was about to wear out he headed out of the elevator and nearly ran into Teal'c.

Teal'c's face showed nothing as he said, "O'Neill. MajorCarterO'Neill is in the infirmary now. DanielJackson is waiting there for you."

Jack could have hugged the Jaffa. Instead he smacked his arm and ran towards the infirmary. As he rounded a corner he spotted Daniel pacing in front of the infirmary doors. He shouted out to him, "Daniel!"

At the sound of his name Daniel spun around to face him and he answered, "Dad! I am so sorry. I didn't know…"

Before he could finish the sentence, Jack had grabbed him into a big bear hug then pulled back to face him asking, "Are you alright?"

Daniel's heart felt a little lighter at the question. He felt so much guilt dragging Sam to this planet then not being able to get her back to the SGC and the medical attention she so desperately needed. "I'm fine. We weren't hurt. It's just that… That Mom is in labor… and it's too soon. They told me to wait here for you. They are trying to stop it now."

Hearing that his wife and son hadn't been hurt was a huge relief. Now they had to wait to see if the labor could be stopped. He needed to do something but knew he would only be in the way in the infirmary. "What happened?" He asked quickly before his heart won the struggle to tear through the doors and find Sam.

Daniel pulled his dad over towards some chairs and started to explain. "We were at the cave entrance when I spotted some writings." He went on to explain how he followed the new writings to an alternate vein of the cave walls and realized that this could be a planet that still worshipped the Goa'uld.

Jack decided to hold the lecture on leaving the main group to follow the writings. Well, at least for now. That boy was always wandering off! Right now he needed to figure out what all had happened before he explained, AGAIN, that wandering off leads to bad things.

Daniel was still talking as Jack had mused on Daniel's usual exploits and meandering. It seems to sum up the entire tale that the locals figured out that capturing SG-1 would please their 'god' so they came up with the story about the new metal to lure the team out. Once Daniel figure out the possibility he did everything in his power to get Sam back to the gate. The locals figured that something was up and tried to force them to stay. They got their warriors and cut the SG teams from the gate. Sometime during this she went into labor. Daniel radioed back to the SGC at the check in time that they would need Dr. Frasier ASAP.

Daniel paused again and looked at his father with watery eyes as he said, "I am so sorry…"

As much as he wanted to join him in his hysterics, Jack knew his boy needed him. He put his hand on the back of his neck and gently squeezed, "Not your fault, Danny." He felt his own tears welling up but willed them away, "Doc Frasier has them now. They are going to be fine." He wasn't going to allow Daniel to carry this guilt. No, this was his and his alone. He let Sam go on this mission. He knew there were dangers whenever you stepped through the gate. He should have never let her go.

Their foreheads touched as they embraced. A tear ran unchecked off Jack's cheek and onto Daniel's arm. Daniel realized that he needed to be there for his father now more than ever. "It wasn't your fault either. She would have never forgiven you for treating her like she was a china doll. This was supposed to be a safe mission."

One year ago none of them would have even considered this scenario as a possibility. Of course one year ago they hadn't yet stepped out onto planet designated PX3-466. Sure, Jack and Sam were getting closer. He had even shared his most closely held secret; a secret that she couldn't help but look into.

Jack often wondered what would have happened if they never went to that planet. Would they still become the family that they became? In the end, nothing happened on that planet. Well, nothing real. But to Jack, Sam and Daniel it was real. To the three of them they spent months in the past playing family with Danny as a little boy and a baby on the way. It was factual to them but they found out that no time had passed when they were on that planet. Teal'c had no memory of any of the events and General Hammond only had the vaguest recollection of a dream consisting of parts of their 'reality'.

Things happened pretty fast after they realized that the three of them shared the same memories. It is actually funny how everything happened almost the same way in this time as it had before. After reading the email from the hospital, Daniel and Jack had a paternity test done. Thankfully this time the only rush was due to them wanting to know the answers and not a fight for Daniel to stay out of that quack's hands. The DNA test confirmed that Daniel was the baby that Jack had given up so long ago. Not that it would have mattered, the two had already come to the conclusion that family didn't need to have a chromosomal link.

Jack was the one that submitted the paper work for his retirement, not Daniel but the result was still the same: One astonished General Hammond. It didn't take long for the trio to fill the rest of their 'family' in on what had happened to them. They decided to keep that information as need to know from the rest of the military. None of them felt guilty for it either. General Hammond explained to Jack how his retirement would pave the way for General Hammond to retire. The loophole of the IOA wanting a civilian to lead the SGC was filled. Jack was retired for one full week before he took over the role as head of the Stargate Command.

Jack and Sam were married one month after all the paperwork cleared. Sam loved her engagement ring even more knowing that it was the same ring Jack's father gave to Jack's mom. Two months after that there were two pink lines announcing the positive pregnancy test results. The timeline was the same. Three months after arriving in the past Sam had realized she was pregnant. Now three months after arriving back from PX3-466 she was elated by the news of a baby being on the way.

Jack was still kicking himself for letting Sam go. He was sure he wouldn't have let any other woman that pregnant go off world. He wanted to put his fist through the wall. He and Daniel took turns pacing and peeking through the windows to the double doors.

Two hours passed and both men had taken up identical stances. Both were sitting with their heads in their hands waiting and berating themselves when they heard the doors open. Their heads shot up and looked into Janet's face; Janet's smiling face. The baby was small but perfect. They should have known with her parentage that this little one would be a fighter.

No one spoke as Janet led the father and son to the recover ward. Jack was the first to enter and he looked over at Sam. She had a tiny bundle in her arms that she was looking at. When the door opened she smiled up at her husband and son. As both men entered the room she turned the little girl towards them and said, "Look, there are Daddy and Danny."

The smiles were so wide they were almost painful. Jack carefully took the baby out of Sam's arms and cooed at her. Daniel went over and gave Sam a hug saying, "Congratulations, Mom." All the while he was covertly examining her for any more damage that may have been done under his watch.

Sam noticed the scrutiny and said, "Stop it. It wasn't your fault." She looked up at Jack and said, "Or yours. Besides, were both fine."

Any retort the either man was going to give was stopped by the sudden emergence of a huge bouquet of pink balloons. Teal'c handed the bundle to Daniel and peered over the tiny blanket covered form in Jack's arms as he said, "GraceCarterO'Neill, it is good to finally meet you."

Janet stepped in the room and stared at the pink monstrosity of balloons before saying, "Ok, I think we have had enough excitement for now. We need to let our patients get some rest."

Jack gave a look over to the doctor but even he knew when to quit while he was still ahead. He handed the baby to Daniel and gave his wife a hug and kiss.

Daniel murmured to the baby. Teal'c took the moment to acknowledge Sam before heading out the door. Janet cleared her throat in a commanding way. Daniel grinned sheepishly and handed his little sister back to their mom. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and followed Teal'c out of the room.

Janet smiled over at the loving couple and said, "I will give you guys a few minutes but they really do need their rest."

Jack gave her a grateful nod before turning back to his wife and new daughter. His brown eyes full of concern as he asked, "Are you sure you're alright?"

Sam reached up and kissed him, looked back down at their daughter one more time before staring into her husband's eyes as she said, "Never better."

oOo ~ END of FLASHBACK ~ oOo

Sam walked into the room and saw Jack sitting down on the bed next to Grace. "Jack, Daniel is here, he needs to see you."

Jack jumped off the bed with a saved by the bell look on his face. Sam gave him an inquisitive look. Jack kissed Grace on the forehead and said, "Oops, looks like I need to talk with your brother. Mommy will finish the story." With that Jack breezed past her quickly. Sam watched him walk away then turned back towards her little girl.

"So, what story did you want to hear tonight?" Sam asked as she glanced towards the bookshelves.

Grace gave her best smile and said, "Daddy was going to tell me again about the day I was born, Mommy."

Sam's face froze as she shot a glance back towards the door as if she could pawn the story back on Jack but she could already hear him greeting their son. She blew out a breath and gave a warm smile. She sat down on the bed and put her arm around her daughter's shoulders and said, "It was a beautiful day and Danny and I were out on a mission far away from the hospital…"

Jack all but raced to the living room and gave Daniel a big bear hug. Daniel returned the hug but gave him a questioning look. Jack smiled back sheepishly and said, "You just saved me from story time with Gracie."

Daniel gave him a quizzical look and said, "You usually like story time, Dad"

Giving a sheepish look, Jack said, "Yeah, not when it's the history of her arrival to this world."

Daniel chuckled and said, "Just wait till you have to tell her about the time when I was downsized."

Jack only smiled, patted Daniel on the shoulder and said, "No, Danny. I have a feeling that one will be your story to tell…"

The End.

A/N:

Wow, what a ride! This story was only supposed to have about 7ish chapters but apparently my muse had more in mind. Thank you to everyone that has read and big hugs to those of you that have reviewed. This is my first multi chapter story and I have appreciated all of the comments and advice offered along the way.

To those of you that may be interested, my muse has been whispering a little something about a sequel (or more accurately a prequel)… Hmmm, guess we have to wait and see :) She can be a fickle thing, but I honestly don't want to see the story end :)