Chapter 15 - Epilogue

Ten Years Later

The car's locking system beeped as Brigadier General Samantha Carter pressed the button on her keyfob. Thirty-six hours on base was catching up to her. As stressful as it was to have any teams missing, it was even worse when that team was SG-1.

Thank goodness for the weekend.

She walked in the door and dropped her briefcase by the kitchen counter.

Jack raised an eyebrow as he looked over at her. "I'm sorry. Do I know you?"

Though she could have dropped face down into bed, she looked over her shoulder in fake surprise. "Leave it to my real estate agent to sell me a house someone already owns. That's the last time I google house for sale."

Jack shrugged and pointed to his wedding ring. "Hey, I wouldn't mind sharing, but my wife's kind of jealous. So, you should probably go before she comes back."

Sam raised an eyebrow as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Oh. Jealous wife, huh? But she leaves you here all alone?"

Jack snaked his arms around her waist. "Well, not all alone. I should mention the kids."

He went in to kiss her, and she put a hand on his chest. "Hey there, flyboy. What was that about kids? I mean, a jealous wife is one thing. . ."

Jack kissed that spot in the crook of her neck that made her brain fritz out. "Don't worry about them. They're fascinated by the house guests."

Sam pulled away, dropping the act. "House guests? Jack, what—"

Jack grinned as he nipped at her lips. "I win."

Though she smiled, Sam groaned. "Aw, come on! That wasn't fair."

"Yeah, well, last time we did this little gag, you called me sir. We're even." Jack guided her to the breakfast bar. "Saved you a plate. You want it now or later?"

She massaged her temples as she sank into one of the stools. "Is it your famous beer-drenched steak?"

He shook his head. "Fish sticks and mac 'n cheese, but I can grill you something if you want."

She shook her head, her eyes drifting closed as she rested her cheek on the raised heel of her palm. These all-nighters were getting harder and harder to pull off. "I'm too tired to chew."

Jack chuckled. "You should go to bed then."

She didn't move, only half able to hear him. "Mm-hm. . ."

"So, that's a no on dinner?"

"Mom!"

"Mom!"

Sam managed a tired smile as nine-year-old Deborah Kate and seven-year-old Fraiser Hammond ran into the dining room. "Hey, you two!"

They threw their arms around her neck simultaneously. "Did Dad tell you about our visitors?"

Now fully awake, Sam turned to Jack. "I thought that was part of the bit."

He shook his head as two figures emerged from the basement.

Sam stood, pleased by the sight that met her. "Maggie, Jacob. Hi! What are you—How did I not know you were—?"

Maggie laughed, her gray curls bouncing on her shoulders. "I asked Colonel Mitchell not to say anything. I was hoping to surprise you."

Fraiser tugged on her dress jacket. "Were you surprised?"

Sam smiled down at him. "Yes, kiddo. I was."

Jack swept in behind her. "Alright, kids. Time for bed."

Deborah let her upper body go limp, a sure sign that the girl was about to argue against bedtime. "But Mom just got home."

"Yeah, and it's still your bedtime, young lady."

Sam raised a finger as she scooted past the twins and followed Jack and the kids to their bedrooms. "Excuse us."

Jacob's eyes danced with amusement. "Oh, don't worry about us. We know the routine."

Sam could have sworn she heard Maggie mutter something like smart aleck.

She leaned down to kiss her son's sandy blond forehead. "Goodnight, sweetheart."

Fraiser looked up at her. "Dad said you were gone so long because someone wasn't safe on the base. Is that true?"

Sam sat on the edge of her son's bed. "Yes. The doctor we named you after did the same thing. She would stay on the base for as long as it took before we were all safe and healthy again."

"And the people on your base are safe now?"

She ran a hand over his cheek. "Yep. All safe."

He settled into his bed with a sigh of relief. "Good. I don't like it when you have to be gone a long time."

She swallowed down tears as she looked down at her son. "Oh, honey, I don't like it any more than you do."

She kissed him once more before she ducked across the hall and into Deborah's room. "How was school today?"

Deborah shrugged. "Same old, same old."

Sam winced. The nine-year-old knew more about science than almost anyone in her class, and while she felt a great deal of pride, she knew how hard that could be socially. "Still having trouble with that Barclay kid?"

The nine-year-old rolled over so she could hide her face from her mom. "I don't want to talk about it."

Sam tensed. "I know it's hard to be smart at school. Your teachers love you, but all of the kids try to ignore you. Trust me, I know."

"You're a general. How could you possibly understand?"

"Even as a general, I've had people who don't like how smart I am. It's still hard, but you learn that you can't be someone you're not."

"Can we not talk about this?"

A hand squeezed Sam's shoulder, and she looked up into her husband's face. He gestured out into the hallway.

Sam bent over Deborah's body and kissed her temple. "I love you, sweetheart. I'll be here when you're ready to talk."

She followed Jack out into the hallway, and he pulled her to his chest. "I'll call her teacher and see if she knows what's going on."

Sam managed a thin, grateful smile. "Thanks. I just wish she'd talk to me."

"It's hard to be nine."

She nodded. "Yeah. I guess so."

They took another moment before Jack tugged on her hand and guided her back into the open concept living area. "Thanks for being patient. The kids like it when Sam and I can both be there to say goodnight."

"Oh, don't worry about us." Maggie laughed.

Jacob smiled himself. "We might have a better idea than most about how demanding your children might be."

Despite her concerns, Sam chuckled. "Well, they're not twins, so things are a little different this time around."

Maggie's face crinkled in disgust. "Yeah, that's a little weird. Not gonna lie."

"And Fraiser is the younger. That's going to take some getting used to."

Jack raised his eyebrows as he sat beside his wife. "Jacob, you're older?"

Maggie rolled her eyes. "Only by ten minutes."

"Eleven, if we're precise."

Sam couldn't help but laugh. "I've missed you two."

"Not for nothing, but what's the occasion? It's nobody's birthday. There's no holiday."

Jacob cleared his throat. "I'm getting married."

Sam blinked. "Congratulations, that's great! When did you two meet? What's the date?"

Jack put a hand on Sam's arm. "You might get the answers you want if you let the man speak."

Sam blushed. "Right."

Jacob brushed her concern away. "Her name's Brenda Potter. We actually met at R&D. We were just friends for most of our time there, but her husband passed away a couple of years ago, and we were really the only people who didn't have a reason to go home right away. Instead of staying in the labs, we started going to dinner or for a few drinks. One thing led to another, and she said yes. As of right now, the ceremony's scheduled for the Saturday before Labor Day."

Sam smiled. She'd never seen Jacob quite so at-ease, and it was refreshing to see. "That's great. Really."

Maggie nudged his shoulder. "Tell them what else you'll become when you say I do."

Jacob's smile grew bashful. "I'm skipping straight to grandparenthood. Brenda has four grandkids between the ages of five and twelve."

"Sam, you have to tell these kids to stop growing. I'm too young to be a great-granddaddy."

Sam snickered. "How do you think I feel?"

"Anyway, I was already planning a trip to hand-deliver the invitations. Brenda couldn't come because—"

"It's hard to explain your relationship to us?"

He shrugged. "I mean, she knows, but it's one thing to know. It's another to see."

Sam squeezed her husband's hand. "We'd be happy to come. We'll probably leave the kids with Teal'c for the weekend though."

Jacob shook his head. "Oh, bring them. It's going to be pretty casual. Besides, they'll fit in with the grandkids."

Jack grimaced. "I already feel old when I take the kids to school. You did not need to phrase it that way."

Maggie laughed. "So, Deborah and Fraiser? You wanna explain the names?"

Sam shrugged. "Well, we figured that in one lifetime, we'd given tribute to some special people in our lives. Since we still had a few people in our lives we loved and respected, we thought we'd try out a new set of names. Deborah and Kate for our mothers. Fraiser and Hammond for our friends in the SGC."

Amusement crinkled at the corners of Maggie's eyes. "What? No Simpsons characters?"

Sam exchanged an affectionate look with her husband. "Well, he tried to tell me he had an uncle Bartholomew once."

As Maggie and Jacob turned amused looks to Jack, he shrugged. "Hey, it was worth a shot."

"A noble effort, for sure."

Even just talking about her kids made Sam's mind circle back to young Deborah. How often had Sam's parents tried to convince her that they knew something of what she was going through, and how often had she shut them out the way Deborah was shutting Sam out?

"Oh, I recognize that look."

Sam looked up at the twins. "Excuse me?"

"Mom would get that look all the time. You're wondering if you're a good mother. If you're doing enough for your kids."

Sam stiffened. "Is it that obvious? I mean, I have a demanding job. Just today, I came home after a thirty-six hour stint on the base. That can't be fair to my kids."

Jack wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "They're fine, Sam. Trust me."

Jacob leaned forward. "Speaking as someone who was raised by Samantha Carter, trust me. You're doing better than you think you are."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Your mom had nowhere else to be except with you two."

For the first time since she'd met the twins, Maggie and Jacob shook their heads. "No. She had to work. She was really the only one who had to work."

Sam inhaled sharply. "Right. She was the only one who could get them home."

"And our mom felt just as guilty about leaving us to do that as you feel about saving the world."

Sam opened her mouth. "I'm not saving the world."

Jack eyed her. "Having done that job, I get why you think that, but you're a pretty important part of the process."

She sighed. "You all think that I'm doing fine?"

Maggie inhaled. "If you're not sure, why don't we have some fun tomorrow? I can't promise my knees will be happy, but we can play softball or go bowling or something. Dad always said he wanted to take us bowling."

"That's literally the one sport you could have done on the ship without any problems."

Jacob shrugged. "Well, we tried once, but Mitchell didn't get the memo. There was a broken foot and a few curse words Mom didn't think we should have heard."

Maggie giggled. "Dad clapped a hand over Mitchell's mouth to help protect our ears, but Mitchell licked his fingers, and it grossed Dad out so bad. We were rolling on the floor. I can't even remember the words Mitchell was saying, but it was pandemonium and it was awesome."

"How old were you?"

Maggie pondered the question, silently conferring with her brother. "Um, six, maybe? Five?"

Jacob nodded. "Five."

"Sounds about right. Chaos is a five-year-old's playground."

Jack grimaced. "Tell me about it. Fraiser inherited every mischievous bone in both our family trees. I'm still not completely sure how we all survived him being five."

Sam giggled prematurely, knowing the story Jack was about to tell. "I'm not completely sure how Teal'c survived Fraiser being five."

Jack covered his mouth as he laughed. "Yeah. . ."

Maggie eyed Sam with a raised eyebrow. "If Mom's laughing now, this one's gonna be good."

"So, we're hosting this barbecue for the members of SG-1 at the cabin in Minnesota. Sam's just been promoted, and we think it would be a great time to celebrate, right?"

The twins nodded in tandem. "Right."

"Teal'c's going on about some sort of problem he's encountering in the Jaffa High Council, and Fraiser pops up out of the bushes asking some question about why the Jaffa High Council gets to make said decision, and Teal'c, who's about ten seconds into his first-ever beer loses his balance and falls backward into the pond."

Maggie and Jacob's eyes widened. "Teal'c fell backward into the pond?"

Sam flicked away tears of laughter. "Well, it might have helped that when Teal'c tried to catch his balance, he stepped onto Fraiser's toy ambulance which zooms off in the other direction under his weight."

Jack's shoulders shook in laughter. "So, after this monstrous splash, Deborah jumps in after him saying, I'll save you, T!"

"Jack tries to catch Deborah before she gets in, but she's too fast for him, and he falls in. Well, you can guess the rest."

Jacob snorted in laughter. "All of the members of the illustrious SG-1 were in the pond?"

Sam nodded. "Yep. Pretty much. And we've been banned from throwing a barbecue until Fraiser is at least, uh, twenty-nine."

The twins grinned. "That's amazing."

Sam chuckled as she patted Jack's knee. "Poor Teal'c has also sworn off every going back to the cabin. No matter what the reason."

Without warning, she yawned, and all three of the other adults in the room yawned alongside her. Jack nudged her with his shoulder. "As much fun as this has been, you'd better head to bed before you turn into a pumpkin."

She knew he was right, even though everything in her wanted to stay and relive more of these delightful memories.

Jacob seemed to read her thoughts because he caught her gaze. "We'll still be here in the morning. Go get some rest."

There was a gentle sense of rightness that seemed to settle over Sam as she, Jack, their kids, and the members of SG-1 all gathered at the bowling alley.

Deborah had come to her in the middle of the night with a nightmare. Sam had held her as the protective shell she'd tried to use to guard against the pain cracked. Sure enough, the girl was as lonely and insecure as Sam had believed her to be.

It was agony to her mother's heart to hear it, but at least her daughter was talking. If there was one lesson Sam had learned in her time at the SGC, it was that as long as people were talking, things could change.

She watched all the laughing and joking between teammates and family members. If someone had told her what her life would turn out to be, she never would have imagined that getting trapped in a time dilation field in an alternate timeline would have been one of the best things to ever happen to her.

"You okay, Carter?"

She smiled at her husband. "More than okay, Jack. In fact, I think it might be pretty great."

He leaned over and kissed her, and when he pulled away, she slipped his arm over her shoulders and settled in beside him. Yep. Pretty great.