General Jack O'Neill's first day running the SGC was a busy one. There were a myriad of items that had been put on hold so that the new General could organize them the way he saw fit. However one of his more pleasant duties was formalizing the hiring of a new head of the science department, a Doctor Samantha Carter-O'Neill. One of the Doctor's first items of business after getting a warm greeting from her staff was to book a 'yearly check-up' with the OBGYN who was cleared to see the women of the SGC. By the end of the day Sam had the official results of her pregnancy test confirming she was seven weeks pregnant. Since Jack was technically her boss, the report would go no further than him and their secret was pretty safe for the time being.

They tried to settle into married life. As had been the case since the day they met, life at the SGC kept them from accomplishing that goal. While Sam was effectively grounded, Jack's new position required a lot of his time and he often felt like he was neglecting Sam. So when they did get an evening together he would try to make it up to her by taking her out to dinner or a movie. Since they hadn't really dated she enjoyed it at first. After a couple of months though she decided to let him know he didn't have to try so hard.

"Let's stay home tonight," she suggested when Jack returned home from the base and announced he would go change so they could go out.

"It's ok, Sam. I don't mind," he told her.

"Jack, it's sweet that you are 'courting' me, but I'm ready experience a quiet evening at home with my husband. I'm tired and you're exhausted. Let's order pizza and put our feet up," she urged, sweetening the offer by winding her arms around his neck and placing a kiss on his neck.

He didn't have to be asked twice. "That sounds like absolute heaven. Let me go get out of this straitjacket and I'll be down. Order whatever you want on the pizza," he told her with a grin and a kiss.

"Those are brave words when spoken to a pregnant woman, Jack O'Neill," she teased as he headed off to put some comfortable clothes on.

An hour later they were both curled up on the couch, pizza demolished. Both were in sweats and stocking feet, Jack was finishing off a beer, which Sam was looking at longingly. Taking a final sip of her diet pop, she snuggled into Jack with a contented sigh.

"Now this is married life," she commented.

"Not very exciting, is it?" he apologized.

She looked at him to see if he was kidding and realized he looked concerned and that he probably was wondering if she regretted everything she had given up. She didn't.

"It's perfect," she told him. "It's something I've been wanting for years," she admitted. When he still didn't seem convinced she sat up and took his hand in hers. "I've been alone in a lot of ways for most of my life Jack. Sitting here with the man I love and having his child gently kicking inside me has filled a hole that existed for a long time. When I was younger I was content to accomplish other goals in place of having a family, but as time went on I began to realize what I was missing out on. When you proposed I knew it was time to take the chance and not be alone anymore. I just had to trust that you would come back to me to complete that promise."

"It must have been hard when I came back and didn't remember," he sympathized.

"A bit. But you had done a very thorough job of letting me know how much you loved me that weekend, so I felt pretty confident that you wouldn't be too shocked or upset. Figuring out how to start the conversation was a bit confusing though. I was glad when you found your ring and gave me the perfect opening," she confessed.

Something else she had said finally clicked. "The baby is kicking?" he asked excitedly immediately pulling up her shirt and placing a hand on the slightly rounded spot there.

"Yes she is," she admitted moving his hand to the right spot.

"She?" he asked thrilled to feel a slight flutter under his fingers.

"This week. I think I'll alternate weeks. Next week will be a 'he' week," she grinned.

As his son or daughter once again fluttered against his palm he looked Sam in the eyes and smiled. "You're right. This is perfect," he whispered before leaning down to kiss her.



They let Daniel and Teal'c in on their secret a couple of days later, and told Cassie when they talked to her over the weekend. All three were thrilled to death for them and promised to keep it quiet for now. Sam's height and the fact that she was in a lab coat the majority of the time on base were helping to keep the pregnancy from showing, and it wasn't until she was five months along that they decided to announce it to the rest of the world. Sam blushed and admitted it was a honeymoon baby, and everyone with no knowledge of their first wedding did their own math. She never even had to lie.

Her father was a bit of a tricky issue. He came through the gate after he got their message and was equally filled with joy at the news. Of course he wanted to make sure he was back for the blessed event and that meant giving him a due date. She settled on giving telling him April. In reality she was due March 30th, but since this was a first baby she could easily be late (and she was keeping everything crossed on that one). Since Jacob thought they had gotten married a week before everyone else did if he did the math he should come up with the end of April, beginning of May. Sam assuaged her conscious by telling him they would update him as the time got closer.

The holidays came and went, and they finally did settle into married life. They squabbled joyfully over baby names, and set up a nursery. They joked about setting up a second one at the SGC. Sam found herself actually trying to learn to cook, something she'd never had an interest in before. Jack teased her that maybe there was something to that whole nesting thing.

Grace Mackenzie Carter O'Neill defied all the rules of first babies and sped into the world a week before her due date on March 23rd. Sam's water had broken as they were sitting down to dinner the evening before. Hard labor had started by the time they had turned everything off, grabbed her bag and made it to the truck. When they reached the SGC her contractions were only five minutes apart. Seven hours after labor began, Grace was giving her first hearty wail. At 7lbs 5 oz she was perfectly healthy and could in no way pass as a preemie.

To Jack's surprise, Jacob, who had arrived just as Grace was being born made no comment about the obvious discrepancy in the amount of time that had elapsed between Sam's resignation and Grace's birth. Not that Jacob hadn't been tempted, but one look at his granddaughter and the joy that lit up his little girl's face as she held her had quieted any concerns. As Selmac wisely pointed out it didn't really matter how they had gotten to this point, just that they had. He even thanked Jack for giving the baby his wife's maiden name, Mackenzie, as a middle name and keeping the Carter in there. Jack breathed a sigh of relief that Sam wasn't going to have to face her father's anger and he made a mental note to ask her if they could tell Jacob the whole story sometime in the future.

Jack wasn't naïve enough to think that would be the end of it, and when he was called to Washington when Grace was six weeks old he had no doubts as to what the meeting would be about. He took the marriage certificate from Vegas with him and a copy of his own retirement papers that just needed to be signed, prepared for anything. He knew that the President and Joint Chiefs could all add.

The meeting was in private in the oval office, so at least he didn't have to face an entire array of Generals. In addition to General Jumper and the President, Hammond was the only other person present. At least he could take comfort in the fact that the three men looked more uncomfortable than he did.

Hammond broke the silence that had settled in after the initial greetings. "I think you know what we want to discuss, Jack. I swore that the two of you had never broken the regs, but it looks like I'll have to eat those words," he stated with a sigh of disappointment.

"If it makes you feel any better, it wasn't under your command, Sir," Jack confessed causing all three men to raise their eyebrows.

Jack pulled out the marriage license and handed it to the President who noted the date in surprise and passed it around. "You have to understand I don't remember any of this, so I'm just going on what Sam told me after the Asguard got me out of stasis and patched me up," he explained. He turned to Hammond. "Remember that day you stopped by to tell us you had been relieved of command?"

When Hammond nodded Jack continued. "Well that makes one of us," he quipped. "Apparently after everyone left Sam came back." He gave a brief summary of events of the next 24 hours. "I think the game plan was for me to retire if I made it through the whole ordeal. Of course that all went out the window when I didn't remember any of it on my return and accepted the promotion to General."

"You don't remember getting married?" General Jumper asked in surprise.

"Not the first time, no Sir. The second time was as much for my benefit as for appearances," he admitted.

Hammond had been sitting quietly but now he couldn't help but comment, "I would have loved to have heard that conversation," he chuckled.

Jack grinned remembering. "It was a bit surreal," he agreed. "Poor Sam was still coping with being captured and held captive by the Replicators and then comes home to have to deal with a husband who doesn't remember marrying her."

The President had been brainstorming furiously during the entire conversation. Suddenly the answer dawned on him. "Alien influence," he exclaimed in excitement. When all eyes turned to him he smiled in triumph. "The Colonel was obviously under the influence of alien technology, proven by the fact that he can't even remember the events. We just write it up as alien influence and no disciplinary action is required," he stated firmly. He looked around at the surprised faces. "What? He doesn't even remember anything! I can sell it if I have your backing. I'm assuming neither of you actually wants to court marshal the man?"

Hammond and Jumper simultaneously shook their heads and stated emphatically "No, Sir!"

"Well then, since Doctor Carter is no longer in the Air Force, and we can explain away the General's lapse, it's settled. Now, I have yet to see any pictures of the little one that caused all of this fuss," President Hayes announced.

Five minutes later the three Generals exited the Oval office. Hammond offered to take Jack out to celebrate but wasn't surprised when the younger man declined.

"I want to get back Colorado right away if you don't mind, Sir," he told him.

"Of course, Son. Give Sam my love, and kiss that beautiful baby for me," Hammond told him.

"I will. And General, thank you," Jack said sincerely.

As he waited for transport an hour later Jack found a quiet spot and whipped open his cell phone and hit his speed dial.

"Hey. I'm on my way home, but I wanted to call because I knew you'd be worrying. They went with an 'under the influence of alien technology' defense although it makes no sense whatsoever," he told Sam.

"Why not?" Sam asked.

Jack laughed. Did the woman ever look in mirror? "Well if that's the case I guess I've been under the influence for about eight years now."

At the other end of the line Sam couldn't help but smile. "A line like that will get you far, General."

"I'll be home in four hours," he informed her.

"I'll get Cassie or Daniel to take Grace for a few hours," Sam suggested.

Jack couldn't help but whistle as he made his way onto the plane that would carry him home to the blond, blue-eyed influence he would gladly be under for the rest of his life.



The end