a/n: Sorry for the long wait on this one. I was moving and then I spent last week updating on the samandjackalways site. I'm not happy at all with this chapter, but I don't know what else to do with it, so you're all stuck with it as is. There is only one, maybe two chapters left to this story.
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"Come on, Sam. One more bite or I'll be forced to stick the IV line back in."
Sam cringed at Janet's words and lifted another spoonful of soup to her lips.
"There you go. Good girl," Janet cheered, a large smile donning her face. "Maybe tomorrow we'll be able to get you back on solids."
Sam felt her stomach flip at the mention of heavier foods and she set the spoon back down on the tray with her eyes closed, desperately trying to calm her upset stomach.
"You okay?" Janet asked.
Sam nodded her head slowly while lifting her eyes to Janet. However, before her eyes ever made contact……….
"MOM! MOM! MOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM!"
Janet stood up and turned around just as a small, fast moving figure came running into the infirmary. "MOMMY!" Jake yelled, a gigantic smile on his face as he saw his mother on the bed. He jumped around a few times before launching himself in the bed and right on top of Sam.
Jack arrived just in time to see Jake leap on his mom and the look of pain that flashed across Sam's face because of it. "Whoa, slugger! Be careful, your mom's still recovering. She's really sore."
Jake mumbled an apology and then settled himself next to Sam, his tiny arms wrapped around her and his head on her chest.
Sam hugged her son to her, although she was hurt and exhausted, just having Jake around had taken away a little of the pain she had been in for far too long. Jack sat down in the chair Janet vacated and talked to Sam while she clung to Jake, but the truth was, she didn't hear a word Jack was saying. Jake was okay. She was home. Jake was okay. She was home…finally.
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The first visit ended sooner than Jake liked. He was talking to his mom about Julie and Chase when he looked up and noticed that she had fallen asleep. His dad convinced him to leave with a promise that he would bring him back the following day.
The next day, their visit lasted a little longer, but still his mom got tired quickly and their visit was cut short. The following day, his mom, once again, fell asleep shortly into their visit, but Jake had other plans this time. As soon as Sam's eyes closed and her hand fell heavily on Jake's shoulder, he scooted out from under her, went to his back pack and pulled out the many drawings his class had made for his mom.
Jack watched in amusement as the five year old decorated Sam's private room with paintings and 'Get Well' greetings. He stood on chairs, jumped as high as his little legs would allow to get the tops of some pictures, and even wrapped his fingers accidentally in the tape a few times.
Every time Jack offered to help, the little guy would scowl at him and inform him in his little indignant voice that he was more than capable of doing it himself.
So Jack continued to watch with humor dancing in his eyes as his son used all of his pent-up energy to cover the walls in kindergarten artwork. When he was finished, he pushed the chair he had used as a ladder back over to his mom's bed and plopped down in it, sighing heavily, a small sheen of sweat glistening on his forehead.
"Finished," he exclaimed, looking proudly at his dad.
Jack grinned and looked around the room. There was paper covering almost every inch of the walls. "Nice," he complimented, his eyes traveling to one picture with green and yellow paint covering almost the entire paper and the words, 'Git Wl soom,' written across the middle in bright red.
Standing up, Jack walked over to his son. "Your mom will probably be out for another hour or so, why don't we go get some dinner and then we'll come back to see her reaction?"
Jake nodded and stood up. "Okay," he agreed, and with one last look at his mom asleep on the bed, he skipped out of the room and towards the elevators.
When they returned back to the room a half an hour later, they were both shocked to see Sam sitting up in bed, her cheeks a healthy rosy color, and her eyes sparkling with life.
"Mom!" Jake shouted in surprise, barreling into the room. "You're up!"
Sam's face perked up even more as a large smile took over. "I am," she said in the strongest voice yet. "And my room looks absolutely beautiful! I can't imagine who did it."
"Me! Me! It was me!" Jake squealed in excitement. "Dad wanted to help, but I told him no, I wanted to do it all by myself!"
Sam grinned at her son, but the word, 'dad,' had caught her by surprise and her eyes sought out those of Jack's. He didn't seem to notice how the word affected her because his eyes stayed on Jake while a proud grin lined his face.
"What's wrong?" Jake asked, immediately picking up on his mom's sudden downtrodden expression.
"What? Nothing, sweetie, I'm fine," Sam replied, scooting over and patting the bed for Jake to climb up and sit beside her. "I love my room. Thank you."
Jake climbed up and hugged his mom. "You're welcome. All the kids in my class helped me make the pictures and Cassie helped me put them in a binder so they'd fit in my back pack. Dad said they wouldn't fit but me and Cass said they would and now he owes us both ice cream cones and he has to grill us hamburgers while singing 'Amazing Grace' in the backyard with Daniel, Teal'c and Aunt Janet over. That was Cassie's idea."
Sam laughed and looked up at Jack, who just shrugged, a lop-sided grin on his face. "I think I want to be there for that too," Sam said coyly.
Jake giggled. "Okay! We'll make him do it when you come home. When are you coming home, mommy?"
"Maybe next week," Janet announced, walking into Sam's room.
Jack and Sam both looked at Janet in surprise.
"Really?" Jack burst out.
Janet beamed a huge smile at the three of them and nodded happily. "Yes. The infection's gone. Your body is recovering very well. You'll have to take it easy for a few weeks, but I can't see why you can't do that at home with these two capable men to help you."
Sam's eyes immediately shot to Jack's in surprise. Jack was going to stay with them? She hadn't expected that. She just assumed, now that she was back with Jake, that he would be returning to Edora. He had his own family. He had Laira and…….and……Wow! In her injured state, Sam realized that she had never once seen hide nor hair of Laira and Jack's child. She didn't even know if they had a boy or girl!
And now that Jack knew about Jake, and they seemed so close already, would he just leave him? Sam was relieved that the monitors were no longer hooked to her as she felt her heart pick up its pace. Would Jack try to get custody of Jake? Would he want to take her son to Edora? What had she done?
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Sam kissed the top of Jake's head as the small boy snoozed in her arms.
"He wore his little butt out decorating for you," Jack commented in a soft, quiet voice.
Sam smiled and pulled her son a little closer into her arms. "I can tell," she practically whispered, her eyes never leaving her son.
"You should get some more rest soon. Especially if you want to come home next week."
Sam turned her head to face Jack. "You know, I appreciate everything you've done, sir. But, you don't have to stay and take care of me. I know…..I know you have your own life now."
Jack chuckled. "It's nothing I can't walk away from Carter. In fact, Hammond has already suggested setting up a base with my men."
"What?" Sam asked, completely confused. "There going to put a base on Edora?"
"Edora?"
Sam crinkled her eyebrows and stared at Jack, more confused than ever. "Edora," she repeated, having no idea what else to say.
Jack sighed and shuffled his feet, moving his body agitatedly in the chair. "Carter," he sighed again. "I haven't lived on Edora in years."
"What?" Sam gasped, still quite confused. "But…..Laira…..your child?"
"No child, Carter. There never was. Laira was going through menopause, not pregnancy. She just didn't know it until after I was already stuck on Edora."
"Stuck?" Sam breathed.
Jack nodded, his face taking on a sad expression as he gazed at Sam. "Yeah, Carter, stuck. I had no way home. I tried, believe me, I tried. Eventually I met some people and we made a home on an abandoned world. But every time, every day, I looked for some way to get home, someone who might know how I could. I was beyond thrilled when Daniel and Teal'c finally showed up. Well, thrilled until they told me about…"
"I know," Sam cut in, relieving him of saying anything too emotional.
Jack bent his head down, resting his hands on his forehead. "I dreamt of coming home so many times, but I never wanted to come home this way."
"I'm sorry," Sam whispered. "I didn't know. I would have come for you."
Jack lifted his head back up, and in a soft, loving voice, replied, "I know."
Sam felt her breath hitch in her throat at his tone, her eyes refusing to break contact with his. When she couldn't take anymore, she closed her eyes, her head dropping back onto her pillow in relief. "So…….you're staying on Earth?"
Jack let out a short cough. "Yeah. Hammond's already offered me a civilian post and I can use the gate to check on my guys and …….Edora from time to time."
Sam nodded, refusing to open her eyes. "That's good," she croaked out. "Jake will be happy."
"Jake's absolutely amazing, Sam," Jack announced, his voice low and husky, her name coming out of his mouth in a way that made Sam's heart stop.
"He is," Sam replied, her voice shaky.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
Sam opened her eyes and looked at Jack in confusion. "For what?"
Jack paused for a moment. "Everything."
After a long, uncomfortable pause, Sam asked, "that night?"
"No! God no, Carter. Maybe for everything that caused that night, but never for that night. That night was……" He stopped when he realized how much of himself he was about to expose and quickly changed what he was about to say. "That night gave us Jake."
"Us?" Sam whispered.
Jack leaned over and took her hand in his, squeezing it gently, yet firmly. "Us."
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