Alternatives

What She Deserves

Based upon Stargate: SG-1

Rating: G

- RMI - Based on everyone's favorite "somehow-their-child-from-another-reality-shows-up-and-they-start-a-relationship-so-they-can-raise-the-child" fanfiction storyline. Season 8. -

- . - - - . -

"Who is it?" Jack asked Walter, looking at closed iris of the unscheduled offworld activation.

The loud thud of something impacting the iris startled everyone in the room.

"What was that?"

"I don't know, Sir," Walter said, checking his screens. "Sir, it's one of our Welcome Boxes," he corrected himself. "They all have a specific isotope we recognize."

"Well, open the iris before the next thud is a person."

"Opening the iris, defense teams stand by," Walter said as the iris opened.

The iris opened and a man came through, carrying something. The teams stood fast, waiting for the word or a threatening move.

The man collapsed and an all too familiar but seldom heard sound filled the gateroom, a baby's cry.

"Stand down!" Jack yelled repeatedly, rushing to the gateroom, barely hearing Walter call for a medical team.

One of the SF's had turned over the man and picked up the baby, whom he was trying to quiet. The baby, who was maybe seven to nine months, if Jack was any judge, saw him and cried out. She struggled against the airman, desperately trying to reach him. He put out his arms and took the girl. She clung to him, wailing incoherently.

When one of the other airman rolled the man over, Jack was shocked to see his face, Major Paul Davis.

- . - . -

Jack stood in the infirmary, holding the baby that came through the gate with Davis. She was asleep with her little blonde head on his shoulder now, but had panicked every time he tried to hand her off to someone or put her down. He was looking around, trying to decide what to do. He couldn't just set her down on a gurney and walk away.

Doctor Brightman came over to him. "Sir, Major Davis is awake."

He started towards the bed where Davis had been recovering for the past hour or so, but stopped when he remembered the baby. "Can you," he nodded to the baby "hold this?"

"Of course, Sir," she took her from him. Thankfully, she remained asleep.

Davis was partially reclined, on oxygen, and hooked up to multiple meters and an IV.

"I have so many questions for you, Davis, I don't even know where to start. So, we're going to go with who are you, where'd you come from, and what's with the kid?"

"I am Lieutenant Colonel Paul Davis, United States Air Force, and I work for you, Sir, on SG-1. I came from an alternate reality. Don't ask me how I got here, that Carter's doing."

"Samantha Carter?" Jack asked.

Davis nodded. "Yes, Sir. And the baby is yours."

"Mine?" he repeated. "Who's her mom?" Perhaps that wasn't the most important question he could have asked, but it was the first thing that came to his mind.

Davis stared, utterly confused that Jack at the question. "Yours and Doctor Carter's."

- . - . -

Sam sat with General O'Neill at the bar in his house, watching Daniel play on the floor with the little girl that was supposedly their daughter; well was their daughter. The girl responded well to him, squealing in delight and babbling at him. Teal'c supervised from the couch.

They were quiet from some time.

"I want her," he said quietly.

"Me too," she agreed just as softly.

"She deserves a normal life."

She chuckled. "As normal as we can give her."

"We," he repeated.

"I don't want her to be raised by divorced parents. I don't want to have to fight for weekends." For the first time in several minutes, they looked at each other. She knew he knew what she meant. She meant that she wanted to raise her together, as a family. "We don't have to be together together," she said, dropping her eyes. "At least, not right away," she amended quickly, not wanting to close that door too soon.

"You can move into the guest room and we can turn the office into a nursery, then we can take it from there."

"You have an office?" she asked with a smile.

"Yeah, it's where I do my taxes. That and play minesweeper."

She laughed.

"What about Pete?" he asked.

She took a deep breath. "I . . . I gotta tell him that it's over."

"Carter . . ." he started, not finishing because he obviously didn't know what to say.

Sam knew that he was trying to give her the opportunity to not have to break off a serious relationship, a good relationship. But, at that moment, Pete didn't come close. "I think we should call each other by our first names, Jack."

"Are you sure about this?" he asked.

She nodded. "It's not a difficult decision, she's my baby."

After another few moments of silence, he spoke. "I'll call Hayes in the morning and see what the options are. I'm sure there won't be any issues working our way around things."

"I'll talk to Pete tonight. There's no need to drag that out any longer."

Without saying anything else, she got up and walked over to Daniel and her baby. Sam picked her up, and was rewarded with a happy squeal, "Ma!"

Sam grinned from ear to ear and laughed. It was very possible that that word had just been the syllable to chance out of her daughter's mouth, but maybe she really did recognize her as her mother. Either way, Sam loved it, so she took the opportunity to nibble on her daughter's cheek, causing her to giggle and squeal.

Sam kissed her and squeezed her tight. "I'll be back later. You be good for Daddy and Uncle Daniel and Teal'c, okay?" Daddy, she liked saying that.

Her daughter babbled something in response. Sam kissed her again and handed her back to Daniel. She headed towards the door, she had a conversation to have.

- . - . -

Pete opened the door with a smile on his face. "Sam!" he was excited to see her.

"Pete, we need to talk."

His smile faded. "Okay," he said, letting her into his apartment. They sat down on the couch. "Can I get you something?"

She shook her head, collecting her thoughts. "Pete, you know my job's weird, right?"

He chuckled. "That's the understatement of the century."

She smiled, "Yeah." Sam took a deep breath. "This morning a friend if mine showed up from an alternate reality. He brought someone with him, my daughter."

Pete's mouth dropped open.

"In the reality he came from, Samantha Carter and Jack O'Neill had a baby. They were attacked by the Goa'uld and he was the first sent through. They were going to send through more. He doesn't know why no one followed him. But the point is that we're not sending the baby back."

He nodded slowly, waiting for her to continue.

"The General - Jack - and I want to raise her as a family." She paused. That was it. That was the bombshell. She waited for him to respond.

"You mean together," he said after several long seconds of silence. "The two of you."

"It's not that I don't love you," she said at last. "I do, a lot."

"But you love him more," he said with more than a little bitterness.

"No!" she replied forcefully, looking him in the eyes. "No," she softened her tone. "I love her more."

He sighed, whether in defeat or acceptance she really couldn't tell. "You're making the right choice, Sam. Your daughter deserves more than every other weekend."

"Thank you," she whispered, relief washing over her.

"For what?"

"For understanding." She smiled and kissed his lips.

They stood and he walked her to the door. "Good luck, Sam." He hugged her tight and kissed her cheek and she left.

Sam took a deep breath as the door closed behind her and she turned home, to her . . . Jack, and her baby.

- . - - - . -