Epilogue – two years later

Jack O'Neill navigated his way through all of the various healthy food items, bottles of expressed breast milk, and juice boxes in his fridge to find his elusive target. 'Finally,' he thought as his hand closed around the two bottles of beer he had been hunting for and headed back to the family room to hand one to Daniel. The archeologist was looking at a half-dressed Barbie doll he had just pulled out of the couch with equal parts of interest and dismay.

"Here you go Daniel. Trade ya," Jack smirked, taking the doll from his friend and tossing it in the toy box in the corner next to the baby swing.

Daniel looked around the room and shook his head. Things sure had changed in the last two years he thought with a grin. Who would have guessed all those years ago that Jack would now be happily living in a house with four females. Amazingly, Jack seemed to thrive on it.

Sam and Jack had gotten married as planned in the backyard of Jack's house on a sunny day in August. Sam's entire family had been there, along with Cassie, Teal'c, Ishta. Daniel, Sarah, and General Hammond. The newlyweds had opted for an on-world honeymoon, renting a private home on a private beach on Maui. They had come back tanned, relaxed, and with permanent grins on their faces. A week later they settled Cassie into her dorm room for the year, and returned home to settle themselves into married life. They'd had all of two months before a chance visit had tossed their lives into chaos.

Ishta had come through the gate with young An'ya in tow, having receiving permission from General Walters to bring her for a visit. The lttle girl was the last of the children that needed to be placed and Teal'c had suggested that maybe a home could be found for her on Earth. Of course the crafty Jaffa had the perfect parents in mind for the girl, and it had only taken one visit to the O'Neill's with the three and a half year old for the prospective parents to come up with the same thought.

An'ya never returned to Hak'tyl, and Jack and Sam had formally adopted her as fast as the paperwork could be put through. Their lives were instantly turned upside-down, but they had loved every minute of introducing the child to life on Earth. From television to macaroni and cheese, An'ya had absorbed it all like a little sponge. Now at just over five, you would never know that she had ever lived anywhere else. To Jack's dismay and Sam's amusement, as the child's tastes developed, she turned out to be all girl. She loved dolls, pretty dresses, and anything pink. Jack's attempts at teaching her to play baseball hadn't met with much success. She did however think that the Simpsons were hysterical and had proved to be a natural on skates when Jack had strapped a pair on her over the winter. She might prefer figure skating, but Jack was still pleased as punch.

When a couple of months after their first anniversary Sam had given him the joyous news that after fifteen months of no birth control they were finally pregnant, he'd naturally been rooting for a boy. However any disappointment he felt flew right out the window the instant that he held his newborn daughter Grace in his arms the first time. It really didn't matter to him if she never laced up a pair of skates or held a baseball bat in her hands. As far as he was concerned she was darn near perfect.

Daniel and Teal'c had watched the couples progression from fierce warriors to weary parents with amusement. Sam had left field duty when she got pregnant and had decided to stay in the lab now that she had her hands full at home. Not that Jack didn't do his share, he was a great dad, and only worked at the SGC about two days a week on average. But the care and feeding of Jack O'Neill was pretty much a full time job in it's own right. (One she enjoyed immensely) Add in two small children and a twenty-year old that popped in occasionally for a home-cooked meal and free use of the washer and dryer and she didn't really feel any desire to risk her life on a daily basis anymore.

Today Sam, Sarah, Cassie and An'ya were out shopping. Daniel and Sarah's wedding was a week away and there were final fittings and last minute accessories to organize. Jack was home watching Grace and Daniel had come over to keep him company.

"I can't believe that you are the last hold out of SG1, Danny boy," Jack teased, taking a long sip of his beer.

"Yeah, well, it wasn't for lack of trying," Daniel answered with a grimace.

"What finally made Sarah change her mind and say yes?" Jack asked.

"Grace. She held that baby in her arms, and just stopped being scared. Said if Sam could do it, she could too," Daniel admitted.

"Way to go Gracie," Jack smiled proudly. "She is a pretty convincing argument."

"Yes she is," Daniel agreed. "Sam told me you two are already trying for another one. Isn't it a bit soon? Grace is only three and a half months old," Daniel pointed out.

"Sam's worried it will take a year for her to get pregnant again," Jack shrugged.

"And if it doesn't?" Daniel quizzed.

"That's fine too. They'll just be Irish twins," Jack grinned.

"Well that would be appropriate," Daniel agreed with a smile.

They were interrupted at that point by a soft wail coming from the monitor. Jack was instantly up and off to get Grace from her nap. He emerged a few minutes later and Daniel watching in amazement as Jack efficiently heated a bottle and settled in to feed his daughter.

"You really are a pro at that, Jack," he commented.

"Not the first time I've done this Daniel," Jack reminded him softly.

"Sorry," Daniel apologized with a frown.

"It's ok. You know I was worried that having Grace would dredge up all these painful memories, but instead it's let me remember all the good times with Charlie. And it's so great to be here every day with her. I missed so much of Charlie growing up," Jack told him.

Daniel nodded in understanding. In the eleven years he had known Jack he had never seen him as happy as he was now. Coming out of retirement to take on the job at the SGC had started Jack back on the road to living all those years ago, but marrying Sam had made a huge difference in the man. Grace's birth had completed the transformation. The desperate, grief-stricken, lonely man that Daniel had met all those years ago was nowhere to be found. In his place was a man that had everything, and knew it.

The serious moment was broken when the front door opened and the four other females in their lives entered amid a burst of laughter and piles of shopping bags. Daniel jumped up to help them and as soon as Sam's arms were free she headed over to where her husband was feeding her daughter. An'ya raced past her to give Grace a kiss on her head and start in on an excited recounting of her afternoon.

"An'ya, why don't you go try on your new shoes to show Daddy," Sam suggested, which caused An'ya's eyes to light up and gave Jack a breather.

Sam leaned down and gave both father and daughter each a kiss. "You owe me," she sighed.

"I'll take her to the park later and wear her out," he offered. "I'll take Grace too and you can have a nice long bath."

"Whatever you are after Jack O'Neill, it's yours," she agreed gratefully. Shopping with a five year old was more exhausting than running from a squadron of Jaffa.

"I'm going to make you keep that promise later," Jack said with a wink, then looked up to find an amused Cassie shaking her head.

"Please, you two, behave. You are worse than you were when you were newlyweds," she protested. "My friends all want to know what vitamins you take."

"They're just jealous," Jack smirked, causing Cassie to roll her eyes.

In the end Cassie went with him to the park, and then helped make dinner so that Sam and Jack could relax. The evening was spent playing 'Go Fish' with An'ya until it was time for Cassie to meet up with her friends for a movie.

While Sam fed Grace and rocked her to sleep, Jack gave An'ya a bath, read her a story, and then went back and cleaned up the mess they had made in the bathroom. By the time he joined Sam in bed he thought she had already dozed off. Instead he was pleasantly surprised to climb into bed and to find her awake, and very naked. It only took her a minute to remove his t-shirt and boxers too.

It was another half-hour before he finally could think straight enough to comment.

"I was kidding before, but I'm not complaining," Jack chuckled.

"Better enjoy it while you can, flyboy. Another eight months and we won't have even a minute of peace," she warned.

Jack looked at her in shock. "Sam?" he questioned.

"Irish twins, Jack," she confirmed with a moan. "What was I thinking?"

Jack wanted to laugh, but he was afraid Sam would hurt him. "Are you ok with this?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah," she said snuggling into his side. "I just hope this baby is as good as Grace."

"Grace is an angel, Sam. There is no way this baby could be that good. Especially since it's going to be a boy," Jack announced.

"Dream on O'Neill," she chuckled, although some maternal instinct was telling her he was right. "By the way, do you know what tomorrow is?" she asked.

He racked his brain. In two years he hadn't forgotten a birthday, anniversary or other important occasion, but this one eluded him.

"Uh, no," he admitted feeling guilty.

"Ten years ago tomorrow I walked into the briefing room at the SGC to meet my new CO," she informed him. "Who would have guessed at everything that would happen in those ten years," she added.

It was amazing. He thought back to where he'd been at in his life ten years ago compared to where he was now. There had been a lot of adventures and misadventures in between. Still there was one thing that hadn't changed in that whole time.

"You still owe me an arm wrestle," he told her.



The end