Chapter Thirty-seven

The small group was on their way up to the surface as it was getting late and Nana and Kiera had to be heading home. The trip was made in silence as everyone was lost in their own thoughts.

At the top, Nana pulled Sam aside before getting into the car. "Samantha," she said quietly so she wouldn't be overheard. "I've never seen my Jonathan this happy. You've done a lot for him. He truly loves you and you him. So, when's the wedding?"

Sam smiled at the woman who had filled part of the empty hole her mother's death had left. "We haven't set a date yet. Actually he hasn't 'officially' asked me yet."

"But you've talked about marriage?"

"Yes, he even gave me an eternity ring, but the actual proposal hasn't come yet."

Nana smiled and touched Sam's cheek affectionately, "It will come soon, my dear, don't worry."

Sam grinned in response, "I try not to."

"Come on, Mom." Kiera called from the limo's door, "We've got to go home."

With one last smile for the three left, Nana got into the car and it drove off.

Sam turned to Jack, "Did you realize that we're getting transparent?"

"What?"

"You're mother knows."

Kristie giggled, "When you two got called to the control room during lunch Kiera asked what was going on between the two of you and Nana answered that you two must be dating before I even had a chance to respond."

"She didn't!" Sam said, shocked at the younger woman. "It could cause a lot of trouble right now if our relationship becomes public knowledge!"

Jack shook his head, "My family is very good about keeping secrets, Sam. We don't have to worry about my little sister or my mother."

Halfway through the ride back down, Kristie spoke, "You do realize that after your relationship is made public knowledge, they'll probably want to televise the marriage, right?"

Sam's big eyes met Jack's. Now there was a scary thought.

Back in her room, Kristie found a nurse waiting for her. "Ma'am?" the Lieutenant said nervously. "There's been a young woman calling on your cell phone for the past half hour wanting to speak with you. Her name is Clara Smith."

Kris was overjoyed to hear this news. She had missed talking to the head cheerleader, one of her best friends. "Patch her through."

Kris was nearly bouncing off the walls in glee as the Lieutenant brought the telephone back with her before leaving Kristie alone again. "Hey Clara!"

"Kris? Oh, thank God! I've been trying to reach you for like the past half hour!"

"I know, I was with my Nana and my uncle. Sorry."

"Well, I have some pretty big news so, you're probably going to have to talk to your uncle again."

"Why, what's up?"

"Well, Cheyenne High is having a rally because of the announcement about the whole Stargate Program, and they want your uncle and his team… what was it called. Oh yeah! SG1, to be there. It's kinda in honor of them."

"I'll have to ask him, but when is it?"

"It's in two months. On February 20th."

"Okay, I'll talk to him and get back to you about that." Kristie settled back against her bedding, "So, care to fill me in on all the gossip going around the school?"

"Well, there's this outrageous rumor that you and that hunk, Mr. O'Neil are related."

Kris laughed outright at that, "It's not too far from the truth, Clara! But it's not my place to tell you what the truth is."

"Okay, well, there's also a number of rumors spread around about why you're not at school anymore. One of which is that you're an alien and needed to go back to your own planet. Another is that you're really a spy working for the government and that you're pregnant with an alien hybrid."

Kris's laughter was music to the ears of all the tired infirmary workers who knew that as soon as they stepped out of that mountain they'd be bombarded with paparazzi wanting to get their pictures and their 'personal stories' of what it's like working in an underground facility with real live aliens.

Chapter Thirty-eight

"What do you mean, 'they won't let me ascend'!"

"I mean exactly what I've told you, Todd. HE won't let you ascend. There was no they in the discussion, Todd. HE won't let you."

If they had been on the physical plane, Todd would have broken something in his rage. "But why, Oma?"

Oma just stood there, as calm as a tree in summer. "Why doesn't the humming bird trust the falcon?"

Todd thought that over for a few seconds, his anger increasing once he had found the answer, "I'm a danger to you?"

Oma shook her head, "No. But your temper is a danger to the work I do and to the lives of the Others. Whether you want to believe it or not, HE takes a part in every being that reaches the level of ascension. If HE doesn't want it to happen, it won't." Her celestial form smiled softly, "That is, if it doesn't infringe on HIS gift of free will. If you were to ascend with your current beliefs and ways, you would become a being worse than the Ori." Her eyes became saddened as she looked at the angry energy before her, "And that is something that HE will not and cannot allow."

"Who is HE?"

"HE is everything. Always watching you, always there. You cannot hide anything from HIM. And HE doesn't want you to ascend."

Todd sighed, resigned to his fate, "What happens now?"

"You get a second chance."

"At what?"

"At life. You get a second chance to make amends for all your past wrongs. A chance to have a relationship with your children. A chance to do good or evil, depending on which path you choose to follow."

Todd nodded, "Will I ever see you again, Oma?"

Oma smiled, "It depends on what HIS will is. Does the bee know if it will go to the same flower again the next week? Only HE can tell the future, and thus, only HE knows."

"Alright then, I'm ready."

"Goodbye, Todd."

"Goodbye, Oma."

"And that is why I think you should let me take a team to the mineral planet, ma'am!" Lt. Haley concluded her rehearsed speech to Sam.

Before the Brigadier General could reply, there was a flash of white light and a naked man appeared on the table that separated her from Haley. Sam immediately recognized the man as Todd Howardson. Quickly, she pressed the security alert button on the wall and waited while the SF team got there.

Chapter Thirty-nine

"O'Neill!" Teal'c called as he spotted Jack getting in the elevator. Jack stopped the door and waited for his friend to enter.

"T! What's happenin'?"

"O'Neill, what is 'happening' is the reason I have called out to you."

Jack got serious, wondering what his Jaffa brother was so worried about. "What's wrong, T?"

"I do not know. I was summoned to Kristina O'Neill's chamber a few minutes ago. Do you know what has transpired?"

Jack's grin came back, full force, "Yep. Kris was talking to me about it yesterday; I just got the go ahead from the White House. She'll fill us all in when we get there."

Teal'c bowed slightly, "Very well."

When the two men arrived at Kristie's private room, they found a very unexpected surprise. Standing beside Kristie's bedside was Jeff and Todd, arguing loudly about who was the babies' father.

"I'm their biological father, not you!"

"Yeah, well, I'm their father in every other sense of the word. You freackin' raped her! That makes you a sperm donor, not a father!"

Before the argument could go any further, Teal'c did something he had rarely done since his days as being Apophis's First Prime. He shouted, "Kree!"

Both men stopped their shouting instantly, and Kris gave Teal'c a thankful expression.

Jack shot a glare at Todd before turning to Kristie, "What's he doing here?"

"Oma wouldn't let him ascend so she sent him back here."

"Oh." He turned to Sam, who was waiting patiently on beside Kris, "Does no one stay dead in this place?"

Sam smiled, "Well, I can think of a number of interesting things that could result from Todd being alive." The glint of anger in her eyes made Jack shudder. Oh, yeah, no one besides them knew that Todd was alive – or where he was.

"Airman!" Jack called, keeping his eyes on Todd (who just so happened to be cowering in fear). When the young man came up, Jack turned to him, "Escort Mr. Howardson to holding cell alpha. I want a guard of at least four SF's watching him at all times. Is that understood?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" The man said before turning to Todd and another SF in the room. The two of them escorted the boy away, having a fairly good idea of what was in store for him.

After the three of them had left, Jack turned his attention back to Kristie, "So, we all here yet?"

Kristie smiled at her uncle's ability to change the subject so abruptly after such an interesting experience. She looked around sarcastically, "Do you see Daniel hiding somewhere I don't?"

"I'm here!" Daniel announced loudly as he made a big display of walking into the room, having heard the last thing Kristina had said.

Sam grinned as Kristie started giggling. The two J-men just looked at Daniel like he'd gone crazy.

Jack rolled his eyes, "So, are we all here now, Krissy?" he asked after she had gotten her laughter under control.

She nodded, and then winced suddenly. Jeff was at her side instantaneously. "What's wrong, Kris?" he asked worriedly as everyone else started crowding around the bed.

She shook her head, "Nothing, it's just beat up on Mom day – again." She looked at all of them in turn, seeing the skepticism in their eyes she asked, "Do you want to feel it?"

The J-men, as was expected, were the first to place their hands on Kristie's swollen belly. She moved them so that they were over the spots she knew would be next hit and waited as one of her children felt the pressure and responded to it.

Jeff took his hand off his girlfriend's belly, grinning like a fool. He looked up at his boss and found the same shit-eating expression mirrored on his face.

"Daniel, give me your hand," Kris told him sternly.

"But, it hurts you when they kick," he said, taking a step back from the bed.

Kris looked at him pointedly as she placed Teal'c massive hand over her stomach, "They'll be kicking anyway, Daniel. It doesn't exactly matter if there's a hand there or not."

"Okay," he said, still worried that he would be causing the woman pain.

After Teal'c had felt the punch from one of the children, he smiled, "It would seem that your children are learning how to fight even in the womb, Kristie O'Neill. That was a properly executed Jaffa punch that I taught your uncle five years ago."

Kris shrugged, replacing Teal'c's hand with Daniel's and Sam's. "Yeah, they've done drop kicks a few times as well."

As soon as everyone had had a turn 'feeling the babies', Kris smiled knowingly. "So, I bet all of you are wondering why I've asked you down here. Well, all of you except Jack and Jeff. Jack already knows, and I asked Jeff to come down because I wanted pie."

Everyone chuckled at that, then she continued, "My high school, Cheyenne High, wants to hold a school rally in honor of SG-1 and the public announcement of the Stargate." She grinned, "Apparently the cheerleaders are coming up with a brand new cheer in honor of you guys."

Daniel was flabbergasted, "Why?"

"Well Daniel, it seems that the head cheerleader, who happens to be one of my friends, thought that you were cute."

"WHAT!"

Chapter Forty

Kristie was lying in bed, trying to sleep when she heard a knock on the door. She opened her sleepy eyes and found Jeff standing in the doorway smiling.

She smiled lazily back at him, "Come on in." She moved over slightly on her bed and motioned for him to join her.

He hesitated slightly, "Are you sure?"

She glared at him; "I've been stuck in this bed for over a month, only seeing you when you can find time to visit. If I want to snuggle with my boyfriend, I will. Now get your flyboy ass over here and hold me, damn it!"

"Yes, ma'am!" he said quickly as he snapped a salute and went to obey.

As Jeff settled into the bed beside Kristina, she snuggled up against him. Sighing she said, "That's better."

Jeff gently stroked Kristie's arm with one of his hands. "I went and saw Melanie today," he said softly.

"Hmm? What happened?"

"They got all of the cancer out. She's going to have to do chemo for a while to make sure they really got it all, but she'll be okay."

Kris turned to the Airman lying next to her and kissed him gently on the lips, "Excellent."

They laid there like that for a good, long while, in silence just relishing the ability to hold one another. It was Jeff who broke that wonderful nothingness of sound by saying, "Kristie? Have you thought about what you're going to do after the babies come?"

She nodded, turning so her head was lying on his chest. "Yes, I really don't know what to do though. I thought about buying a house, but I don't like the idea of living alone. Then I thought about hiring a nanny, or maybe even four, to help me with the children. I just don't know anymore."

Jeff made her look into his eyes before responding, "Would you be completely adverse to the idea of buying a house and moving in with me?"

Tears started to form in Kris's eyes, Damn hormones, she thought to herself as she nodded, "That's the best idea I've heard in a long time, Jeff. Do you already have a house picked out?"

The tan man grinned sheepishly, "Maybe. I actually was looking at three. They're rather large, so the four babies can be in the same rooms while they're small, and then expand later." He looked down as he added, "And so you can have your own room if you want."

Now it was Kristie's turn to make Jeff look at her, "I really do love you. I know that we've only known each other for about three months, but that's how I feel. Living with you and the babies is the first step, sharing a bed with you will have to come later. It's not that I don't want to – really it's quite the opposite. But I think that we need to learn a bit more about each other before taking a plunge like having sex."

Jeff smiled, nodding, "I was thinking along those same lines, it's just I feel like I've known you for my entire life, and can't imagine life without you. I love you too, Kris."

The young woman smiled again, kissing him lightly, yet passionately, on the lips. "I know. I've known ever since you first touched my neck and calmed the babies down."

After finally falling into a very fitful sleep in Jeff's arms, Kris was very surprised to wake up and discover that she was alone. Seeing a note on her 'dresser', she picked it up and saw it was from Jeff:

Hey girl,

I'm sorry I'm not here with you right now, but SG10 had to go on a rescue mission for SG7. I should be back soon. I love you.

-Jeff

She smiled fondly at the handwriting before noticing a persistent knocking on her door. Kris looked up to see that on his way out, Jeff had closed the door to give her some privacy. "Come in!" she hollered at whoever was on the other side.

In walked one person Kristie knew she had to talk to, and was actually happy to see – Sam.

"Hey, Sam, how are you?"

The blonde smiled at the younger woman, "I'm good, how 'bout you?"

The pregnant teen grimaced, "As well as can be expected, I guess. You know, I actually wanted to talk to you about something."

"Really?" Sam said, sitting down in a chair near the bed, "What?"

Kristie took one of Sam's hands and placed it on her belly, "I know a great deal more about the nature of my children then I've told Jack. Within my womb is a child for each element. Jeff only knows that there is fire within one of my children." She looked Sam in the eye, "But there's air, water and earth, as well."

Sam was truly dumbstruck, "How do you know all this?"

"In the first stage of my pregnancy, I would alternate between throwing up nothing at all to dispelling clear water from my body. I've been requiring ten times the amount of fruits and vegetables that any pregnant woman should have to eat, and my ability to withstand the heat has increased five fold."

The astrophysicist nodded, trying to piece everything together. "And you wanted me to know?"

The younger woman smiled impishly, taking Sam's hand that was laid on her stomach in one of her own. "That and I wanted to ask you something that's very important."

"What is it?"

"I've been doing a lot of thinking recently about what to name my children. I picked out both of the names for my sons, and two names for my daughters, but I would like your permission for one of them."

"What is it?"

"I would like to name one of my daughters 'Samantha Cosette'."

Tears welled in Sam's eyes; "You want to name one of your daughters after me?"

"Yes," Kris nodded, pulling Sam into a hug as her eyes started to replicate the tears in Sam's.

Sam smiled warmly; thrilled that the girl before her would think her an appropriate person to name a child after, and that she would only do so with her permission. "I'd be beyond honored if you named your daughter after me."

Chapter Forty-one

"Ding dong, the witch is dead! Which old witch? The wicked witch! Ding dong the wicked witch is dead!"

"I don't think that's a Christmas song, Kristie," Jack said with laughter in his eyes, as he watched his niece untangle the lights for the Christmas tree Janet was letting them put up in her room.

She just stuck her tongue out at him, "Shows how much you know, Jack! Don't you know that pregnant women are always right? And I said it was a Christmas song! Ha!"

"What ever you say, dear," Jack chuckled as he strung more popcorn onto the string he was holding.

"So, what are you two up to?" Sam asked as she walked into Isolation Room 3 (a.k.a. Kristie's residence until the quadruplets were born) with Daniel. They each had a big box full of presents that they set down by the tree, Sam stopping to give Jack a quick kiss.

Kristie smiled, "Just arguing about 'Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead.' Jack doesn't believe me that it's a Christmas song."

Sam looked at the pregnant woman in mock horror before turning to Jack, "Don't you know that pregnant women are always right? Not to mention that the first time I saw that movie was Christmas day."

"Ah."

The rest of the day sped by rather quickly for Kristie. She was so happy that it was getting closer to Christmas and she was thrilled that she would get to spend said holiday with Nana, Jack, Jeff, Sam, Teal'c, Daniel, and even some of her school friends were getting special permission from Jack to be able to come down to celebrate with her.

All in all, it was very easy for Kristie to fall into the Christmas spirit.

Christmas Eve came around in no time at all for Kristie. Of course since she was doing all of her shopping on line and having everything shipped to Janet's house so she could wrap and label everything for the very pregnant girl, there wasn't much for Kristie to do. It had been agreed on that Christmas eve should be spent doing more of a family thing, so Kris waited patiently as Jack, Teal'c, Sam, Daniel, and Jeff all came by to see what the teen had picked out for them and to drop by their gifts for her.

Jeff was the first one to show up, purposefully coming long before he expected anyone else to show up. "Hey, Kris," he whispered as he bent down to give her a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey, Jeff, what's up?" Kris said as she returned the kiss. "I was expecting at least another hour before people started showing up. And I was planning on using that for a nap." She smiled lovingly at him, "But time with you is a nice alternative."

Jeff smirked, "Glad to know that you'd consider sleep deprivation in order to be in my company. Hey, look, I brought you pie."

She smiled her thanks as she began eating. When she was done, she looked back at Jeff, waiting for him to get to the point of his visit.

He was sweating like a pig, and the deodorant wasn't helping very much at all. "Look, Kris. I know that we've only known each other for four months, but not a day goes by now that I don't think about our future together. Not mine, not yours separately, but ours. This may be a bit sudden, but I wake up in the morning with thoughts of you, and I go to sleep each night thinking of you. Now, don't get embarrassed, I don't think of you in a perverted, or stalkerish way. I just think about you. I love you, so much. No, don't interrupt me. If I don't say this all now, I may never find the nerve to say it again. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you." He got down on one knee, "Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Her answer was immediate and without hesitation, "Yes." She pulled him off the ground and into her arms, kissing him passionately. "I love you, too."

Little did they know – well, little did Kris know, Jeff helped plan this – under the same tree he had given her the promise ring under all those months ago, Jack O'Neill and Samantha Carter were sitting again, gazing up at the sky as the stars came out to twinkle down upon the earth.

Sam looked up at them, not thinking of the molecular composition of the stars, but just basking in their beauty and light, letting everything else just fall away. It was ever easy for her to realize why Jack had taken up stargazing during his years in Special Ops.

The silver haired man simply gazed at the woman beside him. He loved her so much it hurt to think about. And right then and there he knew that the ring he had been carrying around for this night was going to be given right on time.

"Sam," he whispered, causing her to look at him curiously. He knelt on the snow in front of her. "Sam, I know we've only actually been in a romantic relationship for a short time, but we've known each other for years and I can't even imagine living another day without you." He took out the ring and she gasped when she saw its simple elegance as the small diamond glittered in the star and moonlight. "I'm not a man of many words so I'm just going to ask. Will you marry me?"

Sam stared at Jack, trying to form words with a mind that was still in shock. "Yes," she said as he slipped the ring onto her finger. It was a simple silver band with three small square cut diamonds on it, along with a small script that she couldn't read. "What's it say, Jack?"

He smiled lovingly at his fiancée, "It says, I'll never leave you, nor forsake you."

She studied it closer, "It looks like it's written in Asgard."

"It is."

Sam's head shot up to look at him again, wondering just how long he'd been planning on doing this and loving him all the more for it. "I love you, Jack."

"I love you, too, Sam." When they came up for air after a passionate kiss, Jack dragged Sam off the ground, "Come on, I want to see what Kristie thinks of her ring."

Sam smiled faintly then his words echoed in her ears 'her ring', "Kristie's engaged?"

Jack smirked at Sam before saying, "Jeff certainly hopes so."

The two ran through the nearly deserted halls of the SGC. The only people still on base were those that didn't have families to go home to (or didn't celebrate Christmas) and had volunteered to work that night. Jack and Sam didn't meet anyone on their long trek to the isolation room.

There they found the newly engaged couple still locked in each other's arms. To break them apart, Jack coughed loudly before stage whispering to Sam, "Think we should take a picture? The kids might like to know that Mom and Dad were caught in compromising situations before."

"Nah, too easy!"

Jeff and Kristie broke apart, blushing as they did so. Jeff's face bore a shit-eating grin as he looked at Jack and said, "She said 'yes'!"

Jack's grin mirrored his soon to be nephews', "So did she!"

Sam and Kris exchanged a look that clearly asked if the other knew how long the two J-men had been planning this little adventure.

Before anyone else had a chance to continue this conversation, however, "Off-world Activation" came over the loud speaker and the klaxons started blaring. Sam and glanced at Kris briefly to see if she would mind them ditching her. At her negative response, both of them dashed out of the room to see what was the matter with their base.

Jeff put his hands in his pockets in a very Jack like moment and looked down in terror as he felt the little velvet box therein.

When he looked back up, he found Kris grinning at him like he just did the most adorable thing in the world. The problem was, Jeff didn't know what he had done.

"What?" he asked irritated.

Her grin just got bigger, "Nothin'. It's just you remind me so much of Jack sometimes it's a little bit scary. Not to mention I'm pretty sure that you just found the engagement ring you forgot to give me."

Jeff blushed, "Yeah." He knelt down by Kristie's bedside again and opened up the box to reveal a gold band embedded with a small ruby that was surrounded by tiny diamonds. It was perfect.

"Oh, Jeff," Kris cried as he slid the ring onto her finger. "It's wonderful." They gazed lovingly into each other's eyes only to have the moment broken by a cough from the doorway.

Looking up, both were met with the laughing eyes of Jacob Carter, Sam, Teal'c, and Jack. "Forgot to give her the ring?" Jack asked Jeff.

"No!" the young man said indignantly. Kristie's laughing look told Jack the exact opposite. "Hey!" Jeff said when he saw her look; "I just gave it to you! All it was was a delayed reaction."

"Don't worry, son," Jacob said, his eyes still laughing, "When I got engaged to Sam's mom, I completely forgot about the ring for two weeks. Only finding it when I let Margarete wear my jacket when we were walking home after dinner one night and she found it."

Everyone laughed at Jacob's folly, but they were once again interrupted by the arrival of more visitors for Kristie and her little Christmas celebration. This time it was Daniel and two women Jeff hadn't met before with one wheeling Nana in a wheelchair.

Jack's countenance changed as he saw who was entering the room, "I thought you just invited Nana, Kris?"

Kris was just as upset to see the two women there as Jack was, "I did," Turning her attention to the two new women, "What in the world are you doing here, Mother?"

The woman who was pushing the wheelchair looked at her counterpart, the younger woman shrugged. Her raven black hair done up tightly in a bun, making her look like the feared librarian that made everyone stay away from the library.

"I came to see my daughter, Kristina," she said in a crisp, English accent. "A mother is allowed to do that."

Kris shook her head; "You were there right along with Dad when he called Mr. Stevens to have me legally disowned. I'm not your daughter." With that she reached out and grabbed Jeff's hand with her left, unknowingly flashing her new engagement ring to her relatives.

Kristie's mom was too shocked to answer her daughter, but when Kayley (Jack's sister for all of you that forgot) saw the band, she blanched, "So, you had to go and find a guy willing to let you play the whore, Kristina?"

There was no warning for the woman before the punch came. She had mere milliseconds to analyze the giant strides Jack was taking across the room before his right fist connected with Kayley's jaw. She dropped like one of Daniel's most important rocks – artifacts – in the hands of one Jack O'Neill.

"Don't you ever say anything like that again, Kayley," Jack said in an unearthly low tone. Kayley brought her hand up to her jaw as Nana and Kris's mother looked in horror at Jack.

Jack's glare turned on his brother's wife, "And you, Beatrice. You have no right to be here. Only my mother was invited to attend this celebration. You were not."

"Jonathan O'Neill!" Nana cried in furry. "I did not raise you to treat your sister and sister-in-law like this!" Before he could say anything to that she continued, "Provocation is no reason. The fish can choose not to take the bait." Turning to her daughters she said, "I told you both it would have been better if I had gotten James to drive me here. Please leave. I'll get this nice young man to drive me home," she said, patting Daniel's hand like the loving grandmother that she was.

As the two women turned on their heels and left by way of the general infirmary to grab an ice pack, Nana turned to her granddaughter, "It's good to see you, my dear."

Kris smiled, relieved at how easily her grandmother had eased the rising tension in the room. "Merry Christmas, Nana."

Chapter Forty-two

"Oh, Sam! You look just like Cinderella did when she went to the ball!" Kris cried joyfully as she looked at her uncle's girlfriend dressed magnificently in the gown Kristie had procured for her all those months before.

"Indeed, Colonel Carter," Teal'c said, bowing his head slightly, "You look most beautiful."

Sam beamed at the praise being bestowed upon her by her soon to be niece and one of her best friends. Tonight was the night of the black and white ball that President Williams was hosting at the White House in honor of the tenth anniversary of the SGC… and probably because it was public now.

"I feel kind of like an imposter in all of this jewelry and this dress," Sam admitted as she smiled at Kris, sad that the younger girl couldn't go with them.

Kristie dismissed the comment with a wave of her hand, "Nonsense! You look beautiful in that dress and in the jewelry. You're like the Queen of the SGC in a sense, and every queen needs her jewels."

Sam blushed rather prettily at the compliment but was saved having to respond by the arrival of Jack.

"Hello, campers!" he said cheerily as he walked into the room. When his eyes fell of Sam they grew wide, soaking in every little detail about the dress and her. Jack's eyes lingered a little longer than necessary on her left hand.

"You look like a goddess," Jack whispered when his eyes found hers.

Sam blushed again, this time coming up with a smirk, "I wonder if I'll have the same effect on men that a certain 'ex-goddess' did…"

Jack and Daniel shuddered simultaneously at that comment. "That's just wrong on so many levels," Jack said to Sam.

Janet showed up then, dressed just like Sam – to the nines – in her own black based ball gown. The difference lay in that Janet's gown had an empire waist and the fabric inside of the tapered skirt was white as snow.

"Ready to go?" she questioned. Because Jack wanted to stay with Kris as much as he possibly could considering her condition at six months pregnant with quadruplets, the two remaining members of SG1, the two CO's and the CMO of the SGC would all be using Asgard beaming technology to make their 'big entrance' into the Black and White Ball.

"Yeah, sure, you betcha," came out of the mouths of Sam and Jack simultaneously. They looked at each other and grinned before Sam blushed lightly and looked away.

Teal'c skillfully raised an eyebrow, "Indeed."

All Daniel could do was stare at the apparition that was before him, dressed in the most beautiful black and white gown he had ever seen (but not nearly as beautiful as the woman who wore it). "Wow."

Now was Janet's turn to blush, "Thanks. Let's go. General O'Neill, sir? Do you have the beaming device?"

Jack nodded, patting his pocket, "Yep, let's get going."

"Have fun!" Kris called as her family disappeared in a flash of white light. She sighed contentedly as she leaned back into her bed. Without a doubt in her mind, she knew she was one of the luckiest women in the known universe.

Katie Currick was thrilled beyond belief that she had been the one allowed to cover the 10th anniversary black and white ball that President Williams was throwing for the SGC. She was still a bit frightened by the whole prospect of aliens being out there and wanting to take over Earth. I mean, it was her job to look pretty as she delivers the news to the millions of people in the US sitting safely at home drinking their morning coffee as Matt, Al, Ann and herself prattle on and on about the goings on of the world. Little had any of them known that they should be hearing about the news from all over the galaxy instead of just the planet.

Oh, well, two months ago all of that had changed and now she was among the top twenty elite reporters given permission (and a very pretty invitation embossed with gold) to cover the ball. Not all of the reporters were from the US; there were two from the States, one from Canada, three from France, four from Russia, another two from China, one named Sandra Sully from Australia, one from South Africa, one from Great Britain, two from Spain, one from Italy, a German reporter, and a Japanese reporter.

Having spotted a man in a white tux who seemed to want to stand out from the rest, she started making her way to him, only to be stopped dead in her tracks by a blinding white light appearing from the center of the room. When it had dissipated, she turned to where it had been only to see five people standing there, two women dressed in very expensive looking black ball gowns that almost put Katie's to shame, along with three men looking equally attired in black tuxedoes, except for the big black man who had come with the group. He was dressed in another pure white tux with a black undershirt. It just served to make him look darker and scarier – if that was possible.

The room erupted with applause as the SGC personnel at the ball recognized their leaders. It wasn't everyday that they caught something like that on tape. The man in the group that had just appeared with silver hair bowed mockingly, only causing laughter to increase the volume.

One of the women in the group whispered something in his ear to which he just shrugged, kissing her cheek lightly. The applause grew with cat calls and wolf whistles added in for good measure. It was all Katie could do to not cover her ears at the ever-raising decibel level.

The woman the silver-haired man had kissed raised her hands, calling for silence. When the noise level had gone back down to a much more reasonable level, the silver fox, as Katie dubbed him in her mind, began to speak:

"Thank you all for the warm welcome. But I don't think that President Williams would like it if we kept the volume at that level. So just have fun!"

With that the band started playing a song for those inclined to dance and everyone went back to their individual conversations.

Katie tried desperately to make a path through the throng to reach the group she had now recognized as SG1 and the leaders of the SGC. She patted her light brown hair to make sure it was still in place before touching the blond haired woman, she remembered to be named General Carter, on the arm. "Excuse me, General Carter?"

Sam turned around and smiled, "Yes? It's Katie Currick, right?"

Katie smiled, "That's right. I was wondering if I could get a short interview with you about the Stargate program?"

Sam's smile was forced to such a degree that even Katie could recognize it, "I'm sorry, ma'am, but I'm not here to cater to the desires of the paparazzi. If you want an interview, why don't you do what all the other journalists have done and schedule it through the base?"

"SG1 and the joint CO's of the base – I think that's what you're called – haven't given us any interviews other than the initial press conference. The people want to know who you are and what you specifically do." Katie's voice was strained; she really didn't expect to have someone deny her the right to an interview.

"That's simple, they save the world." Katie and Sam turned at the same time to the voice. When Sam saw whom it was, her face lit up with a genuine smile at the man who had spoken.

"Hi Dad. I expected you to be caught up with doing the rounds until later," Sam said as her father kissed her cheek.

Jacob scoffed, "Nah, there's plenty of time to do them later. And it's not like I didn't see over half the people here two days ago."

Katie's eyes widened as she realized a real live alien was in front of her, "Pardon me, but you're Jacob Carter, right? Host to Selmak?"

Jacob half smiled, "That's right. And you are?"

"Katie Currick. So, is there actually a snake inside of you?"

Jacob's eyes flashed menacingly, "We only tolerate that word from General O'Neill. And his is a special circumstance. I am Selmak, and we are Tok'ra."

"Ex-excuse me, sirs. I meant no disrespect."

"Yes, you did. You're a reporter, it's what you do. That doesn't mean we have to accept it, miss."

Across the room Jeff and Jack (who had been spending a growing amount of time together since Jeff started dating Kristie) could see the rising tension radiating off of the two Tauri and the Tok'ra and decided to do something about it.

"Jacob!" Jack called out happily as the two J-men neared their counterpart. "I was wondering if you could help us. See, we were wondering exactly how many times Anise tried to hit on Daniel last week. I say ten, but Jeff here thinks it was more around the lines of thirty. Care to settle this for us?"

Selmak bowed his head and Jacob took over, "Actually you're both wrong, it was fifty-two – and I have documented evidence for all of those encounters."

Just as the three J-men were leaving and Sam was dreading the next round of idiotic questions to come out of the mouth of the reporter, Teal'c came up next to them. "General Carter," he said with a bow of the head, "Would you care to dance?"

"I'd love to, thank you, Teal'c."

Katie growled low in her throat with annoyance at how obstinate these people were being. All she wanted was an interview for goodness sake!

Jacob sent a relieved look to the two other men he was walking with as they approached the bar, "Thanks. Can you believe that woman had the gall to call Selmak a 'snake'?"

Jack looked horrified, "No! I thought only I was allowed to do that?"

"I know! Does no one read the memos around here?"

The three men sat there talking about nothing unparticular for about half an hour before Jacob's mind started going back to a question that had been nagging at him for weeks, "Jack? Why'd you punch her?"

Without needing to be reminded of who 'her' was, Jack paused before answering, "It wasn't just what she said. I could have handled that and much more from Kayley – and have for most of her life. But that was all about me and how I was living my life." He shook his head, "She was just being such a hypocrite and a bitch that I let my instincts take over and I did what I did."

Jacob nodded, "I can live with that. Now, about your mother –"

"Please, tonight I'm supposed to enjoy myself. Don't talk to me about my mother," Jack cut in quickly before the older man could say what Jack knew he would. The Brigadier General rose from the stool he had been sitting in swiftly and walked off, saying, "I think I'm going to go dance with my fiancée."

Jeff looked at Jacob, he had come to view this man as the father figure he had never had growing up. Jeff's own father had been a one-night stand with his mother – it was a miracle Jeff even knew the man's name. As it was Jeff O'Connor had never known his father even in the abstract sense and as a result had been given his mother's last name at birth. There after life had been… interesting at church for the lad. At home, though, his grandparents and his mother treated him with respect and love. She never once left him alone.

"Sir?" Jeff said. It was his custom to always begin a conversation with Jacob by calling him 'sir'. Frankly, he didn't know what else to refer to him as. 'Hey Gramps!' just didn't cut it in Jeff's eyes.

Jacob smiled slightly, "You know, Captain, it's alright to call me, Jacob. I only bite when I have to."

"Sorry, sir – I mean Jacob. It's just that maybe I can answer your question about Nana?"

Jacob eyed the young man suspiciously. It was Selmak who finally convinced her host to give it a shot. "Alright. She has cancer, right?"

"Yes."

"Then why isn't she doing chemo-therapy or radiation treatments?"

Jeff looked down, remembering when Nana had pulled him aside at Christmas Eve to ask him to take care of Kris and explain to him the answer to that very question.

Flashback:

"Jeff, darling?" Nana asked quietly as everyone oohh-ed and ahh-ed over Sam and Kris's rings.

The young man got up and knelt in front of the woman who would soon be his grandmother. "Yes, Nana?"

"Will you do something for me, dear?"

"What?"

"When I'm gone, look after Kristina? She's so much like her uncle – and her grandfather for that matter. Taking after those two can be a very good thing," she looked him in the eyes, "but it could also get her into some trouble. Make sure she's alright, please?"

Jeff smiled, trying to still the tears that were coming into his eyes, "Always and forever."

He got up to leave, but Nana grabbed his hand and pulled him back down to her level, "I need to explain something else to you, as well, dear." When she was positive she had his attention, she continued, "I am going to die because of this disease. There is no stopping that. It's my time and God is calling me home."

"What about chemo or other treatment options?"

Nana shook her gray head of hair; "It wouldn't work even if I tried it, now. The cancer has spread all throughout my lymph nodes. It's progressing a lot faster than they first believed. She gave a small, shaking smile, "By all rights and purposes I should be dead now. I'm holding on to see Kristina's children. One last ray of light before I surrender the Ghost."

End Flashback.

Jeff turned to Jacob, "The cancer invaded her lymph nodes. There's really nothing the doctors can do."

Jacob furrowed his brow as he silently debated with Selmak. There was a Tok'ra who was in need of a host, but Jacob didn't think that Jack O'Neill would let his own mother go through the blending process. It's her decision in the long run, Jacob. And you know as well as I that it could save Iah's life! Jacob grumbled silently, 'Fine! I'll let them know that the option's available.'

Jack arrived right at the end of the song Teal'c was dancing with Sam to… briefly Sam thought Jack had picked up on timing from Thor or Daniel.

The song the band started to play was one of Jack's favorites, To Make You Feel My Love by Billy Joel. The solo vocalist was doing such a good job of singing the lyrics he couldn't complain and as they danced to the song oblivious to everyone around them, Jack whispered the words into Sam's ear:

When the rain is blowing in your face
And the whole world is on your case
I could offer you a warm embrace
To make you feel my love

When the evening shadows and the stars appear
And there is no one there to dry your tears
I could hold you for a million years
To make you feel my love

When the SGC personnel listened to the song, they slowly exited the dance floor, and at their cue, the reporters and other politicians left the floor as well. This just left the infamous couple too occupied with each other to care about their surroundings.

I know you haven't made your mind up yet
But I would never do you wrong
I've known it from the moment we met
No doubt in my mind where you belong

I'd go hungry, I'd go black and blue
I'd go crawling down the avenue
There's nothing that I wouldn't do
To make you feel my love

SG1 and the assembled Tok'ra and Jaffa heard that verse and thought of the many times Jack and Sam had literally put their lives on the back burner to save or rescue the other.

The storms are raging on the rollin' sea
And on the highway of regret
The winds of change are blowing wild and free
You ain't seen nothing like me yet

I could make you happy, make your dreams come true
Nothing that I wouldn't do
Go to the ends of the earth for you
To make you feel my love

Sam looked into Jack's eyes and saw only love there, love that was mirrored in her own. As they shared a passionate kiss, all that could be heard in the room was the thunder of applause as the workers at the base realized that the rumors were true, the Tok'ra and Jaffa were thrilled that what they had known to be fact since the first time they had met SG1 was openly known and the reporters tried desperately to remember anything and everything they knew about Air Force regulations.

All in all, this ball was turning out to be one of the best ideas President Williams had ever had, if he did say so himself.

Chapter Forty-three

Sam walked purposefully down the corridors of the SGC. She was a woman on a mission. That mission may get her in a lot of trouble, but it was necessary and had to be done. She was going to deal with Todd Howardson once and for all.

She arrived at holding cell Alpha ready to extract revenge on all the wrong and pain the boy had caused her soon to be niece. Flashing her ID at the guards before walking in as she checked the camera to make sure Daniel had done his job to get them off-line.

She dismissed the guards inside the room with a wave of her hand, they hesitated, "I just told you to go, Airmen. I may not be the military leader of this facility but I am a General."

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir," both men stuttered as they rushed from the wrath of the most powerful woman on base and probably in the whole country… if not the galaxy.

Sam turned her attention to Todd, who was watching her with fear in his eyes. "What do you want?" he asked, his voice betraying his emotions.

Sam's eyes were so cold it was hard to believe that this was the same woman who risked her life to stop the beating of an innocent. "Revenge," was all she said.

Much to the surprise of Todd, she didn't advance on his cell (which still had the security system in place in case he tried to escape), she just sat down in a chair and watched him, waiting for something unknown to Todd.

"What are you waiting for?" he asked when he couldn't take the silence any longer.

Her smile was colder than her eyes, "Not what, but whom."

Moments later there was a knock on the door, and Todd felt the pit in his stomach grow as he realized that this was the 'who' she had been talking about. The door opened and in walked Jack, Bra'tac and Teal'c. The holding room door was closed again and Teal'c stood in front of it, blocking off any ill-conceived notions of escape.

"What's this?" Todd asked, surprise in his voice.

"This," Bra'tac spat out, "is the Jaffa custom known on Earth as a duel. There's only one rule – someone must die. And you, hat'aka, are that someone. We are here as witnesses so that the honor of the victor will not be damaged."

Todd gulped, somehow he knew that he was about to die. The feeling only grew when Jack stepped forward, removing his jacket to reveal the knife he had in his waistband.

The fight was over fairly quickly. Todd hadn't stood a chance. Jack loomed over him, prepared to make the final cut with his knife. But first, he was going to do the honorable thing and give Todd a chance to hear Jack's thoughts.

"Bastard," Jack spit out. "Bet you didn't realize that Kris talks in her sleep, did you?"

Todd's eyes widened. He hadn't been counting on that.

When the younger man looked up, Jack's eyes were colder than Sam's had been. "She started remembering two months ago. You scum. I should kill you now – but that's not good enough for you. I'll feed you to the wolves."

Jack rose, removing his knife from Todd's throat. He turned to Teal'c and nodded. The big Jaffa stepped forward as Jack motioned for Sam to follow him out of the room.

Sam turned to Jack when they were in the hallway, handing him a towel so he could remove the small drops of blood that had accumulated on his hands. "Why did we leave?"

Jack looked at her, his eyes still cold. It was a very good thing she knew that coldness wasn't directed even remotely at her. "Because if they ever find out the fewer witnesses the better. And Teal'c and Bra'tac are Jaffa – they know how to kill a lot better than we do, Sam." His eyes softened, "It had to be done. When Kris started having those nightmares…" he trailed off, unable to say the rage he felt when he figured out what had really happened that night. "Let's just say it's a very good thing we thought Todd was dead at the time."

Sam went to visit Kris after the 'encounter' with Todd. When Jack had first told her the plan for disposing of the rapist, Sam thought she would feel a little guilty after it all. It wasn't until Jack had told her why he was going to kill him that the guilt started to dissipate. Now she was walking to Iso room 3 with the knowledge that the father of her niece's children was dead.

When Sam walked in, she was surprised to find Jeff absent from Kristie's side. The pregnant teen looked at her uncle's fiancée and said, "He's dead, isn't he?"

"Who?" Sam asked, trying to play innocent.

"Todd."

Sam suddenly grew uncomfortable, placing her hands in her pockets and rocking back and forth on her heels. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do, Sam. It's all right, though. Uncle Jack asked me if it's what I wanted after he found out that I was remembering what happened that night. I told him to do what he thought would be best." Sam stopped her rocking and went to kneel at Kris's bedside. "He raped me, Sam. There's no way around that. Todd put something in my drink – some kind of sedative – and he raped me." Kristie shook her head, "I think for a while I didn't remember because my subconscious was trying to protect me. I only started to remember after he died the first time."

Sam hugged her tightly, "I'm so sorry you had to go through all of this." Tears started to flow from both of their eyes, each remembering the day that they were taken advantage of by a man they had trusted.

One mantra was playing through both of their minds, 'It's not my fault. It's not my fault.'

Sam pulled away, "There's a local group for rape victims, Kris. I attend it when I start to digress into depression. They're meeting tonight if you want to come with me."

Tears flowed anew from Kris's eyes, "I'd like that. You know that Nana refused to take a symbiote, right?"

Sam nodded, "Hearing her say that was so hard. She could be dead at any time, and even when she's given an opportunity at life she refuses. Jack's so much like her in that way."

"She's had a good life."

Annabelle Watson looked at her group of seven women, so sad to see that Sam had brought someone with her, yet happy that the woman had finally shared her trial with her friends. It had been something Annabelle had been trying to get Sam to do ever since she first moved to Colorado Springs.

It broke Annabelle's heart that the young woman her friend had brought with her was confined to a wheel chair – and obviously pregnant with more than one child. Maybe triplets, Annabelle thought.

The group sat down and Annabelle started to speak, "I'm very pleased that all of you decided to come tonight. As you can see we have a hero in our midst – along with a new member."

"Annabelle, you've known me for years – I'm no hero," Sam said as she recalled how Annabelle thought Sam had entered another violent relationship when the astrophysicist started showing up to meetings sporting casts and bruises. Annabelle, a South African woman of about fifty-three, had been the abused in two failed marriages.

"A hero is simply someone that others can look up to, Samantha," Annabelle said, wisely. "And who is our young friend, dear?"

Kristie looked at the group and saw only faces filled with sadness at her presence and concern, "Hello. My name's Kristina. And I was raped six months ago by my best friend's brother."

"Hello, Kristina," the group replied in unison.

As the meeting progressed and each woman shared how she was feeling since her rape – or rapes in the case of Sam and two others (Annabelle included) – Kris felt for the first time since she started to remember that yes, maybe it really was going to be okay.

Chapter Forty-four

Marriage was the only thing on Jack's mind as he waited with his groom's men for the president to arrive. He was getting married in little less than an hour – marriage to his wonderful Carter better be the only thing on his mind. He was sweating like a pig in his dress blues.

"Are you well, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked when he noticed that the younger man was not moving at all except to breath.

Jack glanced at the large Jaffa sideways, "Fine, Teal'c. By the way, did I mention that you look really nice in that suit?"

"Indeed, you have, O'Neill. Samantha has told me thus as well on many occasions."

"Well it's true."

"And I don't?" Daniel asked mock indignantly.

"Aww, Danny. I didn't know you cared!"

"Sam! Just breath!" Janet commanded as the other woman started to hyperventilate.

Sam looked at Janet with fear and joy in her big baby blue eyes, "I'm getting married today. I'm marrying Jack O'Neill. I'm about to marry my Colonel – and you're telling me to be calm!"

"Yes!"

"Okay!"

Kris shared a look with Cassie (who had come to the SGC for the wedding from college), both of them laughing silently at Sam's antics.

"Come on, Sam," Janet said, coaxingly. "We need to get you dressed. You're getting married in little less than half an hour."

"You've seen The Princess Bride too many times," Sam muttered as she rose, discarding the robe she had on over her under garments.

The wedding dress was a simple white empire waist gown that Sam's mother had worn on her wedding day. Strapless and stunning, it left just enough to the imagination of the groom. The floor length material shimmered in the light as Sam's leg was able to be seen through the narrow slit that ran up the front, allowing her movement in the tight dress.

All the bride's maids could think of was that she was beautiful. If there was a true goddess named Aphrodite, she would find Samantha Carter (soon to be O'Neill) competition enough for the title of 'fairest in the land'.

Janet was dressed in a peridot maid of honor dress that came to just above her knees, and was strapless with no slits. It had a faint tapering at the waist, and a slight flare for the skirt, made with silk like material, it made her look like a princess or a queen. Cassie and Kristie would both be acting as bride's maids during the ceremony, Kristie braving the short fifteen-minute ritual and standing. It must be that O'Neill stubbornness but she refused to be confined to a wheel chair during her uncle's wedding. Both teens were dressed in peridot gowns like Janet's and made of the same material, but in different styles to portray the differing tastes of the women. Cassie's came down to mid-calf and looked very much like the dress a 50's housewife would wear. Kristina's had more of a pixie flare to it coming exactly to her knees.

"Knock, knock?" Jacob asked as he opened the door to the room the bridal party was waiting in. When he saw his daughter he was speechless, she looked so much like her mother. "You look beautiful, Sammie."

Sam smiled, tears forming in her eyes, "Thank you, Dad."

Moments later there was another knock on the door and when Jacob opened it, he found Daniel Jackson on the other side, his eyes screwed shut so if Jack asked him what Sam looked like he could honestly say he didn't know. "Umm, President Williams just arrived. We're all ready to start. John got here five minutes ago so it looks like plan A is up and running."

Sam started giggling it was so like Daniel to say something like that. "I'm not marrying you, Daniel. It's alright for you to see me before the wedding."

He shook his head, a blush rising in his cheeks, "Nope, if Jack finds me and wants to know how you look I want to honestly say I don't know."

Amazingly enough for the famed members of SG1, the ceremony went off without a hitch. By the end of it, there was one less Carter and one more O'Neill, so all were very thrilled with the results. Kris even managed to get through the whole evening on her poor ankles that hadn't held her weight for so long in months.

"Have fun you two!" Daniel called as the newlyweds were whisked away through the Stargate to the planet they had previously spent a week on with Teal'c, after they had successfully blown up Thor's ship eliminating the Replicator threat to Earth… for the most part.

"Yeah! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Cassie called from beside him.

"You wish, Cass!" Jack called back before Sam dragged him through the wormhole.

"Hey! What was that for?" he complained when they were on the other side. Jack barely noticed the bottle of champagne that rolled to a stop at their feet from the wormhole before it disengaged.

Sam pulled him into a lip lock that set his mind reeling at what they should be doing at the moment. "Sometimes you can be such a child," she whispered before pulling him back down, not concerned in the slightest about her pure white dress. It's just a dress, she reasoned in her mind. After all, this was the start of her marriage.

January 21, 2009 – their wedding day.

Exactly three weeks to the day, Sam and Jack returned home from their honeymoon to find that the SGC had not blown up in their absence and that everything was well under the control of Hammond, Teal'c and Daniel. Or so they thought.

The first thing Daniel did upon their return was hug Jack and Sam until they thought they were going to pop in two – only to have the experience replicated by Teal'c and then General Hammond.

"Okay, campers," Jack said seriously, "What did you do to our base?"

Daniel and Hammond shared a look that reminded Sam of two children just caught doing something they really shouldn't have been doing… like playing with Mommy and Daddy's very expensive 'toys'.

Teal'c was the only one of the three brave enough to answer (probably because he was the only one who didn't do anything terribly wrong), "The most pressing concern is that Kristina O'Neill has just gone into labor again."

Before you could say 'DHD' Sam and Jack had dropped their bags and were running for all they were worth to Kristie's room.

Daniel looked at Teal'c, "Thanks for not blowing our cover, T."

Teal'c grinned, looking really scary, "Indeed. But, as the Tau'ri are known to say, you now 'owe me one'."

"Have you been hanging out with Allie again?"

"Indeed. She is most excited now that she knows the truth about what and who I am."

"Janet!" Kristie cried in pain, "It hurts. It hurts so bad."

Janet looked sadly at the girl whose water had broken only minutes before, "I know it does sweety, but I can't give you an epidural, it's too dangerous. Dr. Warner is on his way, and he'll deliver your babies safe and sound in a caesarian section. It's going to be alright." Janet tried to calm the girl's fears, but knew she was fighting a loosing battle.

"Where's Sam? Where's Jack? And where the hell is Jeff?" Kris yelled again as another contraction hit – this one was worse than the last ones by far. If Dr. Warner didn't show up soon when he did he wasn't going to be able to reproduce – ever again.

"I'm here!" Dr. Warner said as he quickly strode into the room. "How far along is she, Dr. Fraiser?"

"Her water broke a few minutes ago. We need to get her into surgery right now if we're going to save their lives."

Dr. Warner made the mistake of getting a little too close to Kristina's hand. It shot up and grabbed his collar, bringing him down to her level, "GET THEM OUT OF ME!"

At that moment Sam, Jack and Jeff all ran in to find Kris yelling at a very frightened Dr. Warner.

"Kristie," Sam said calmly, "It's going to be alright, but Dr. Warner can't deliver your babies if you don't let go of him. We're here now, everything's going to be all right."

"It hurts, so much," Kris cried as she released the good doctor from her death grip. Jeff and Jack flanked Kris, and held both of her hands as Dr. Warner prepped for the C. Section.

Two hours later, Kris was gazing sleepily down at her children. It was a tight fit, but she had just managed to get all four of them into her arms at once – of course they were also leaning against her knees for support.

"They're so beautiful," she said softly to Jeff who was sitting on the bed beside her, gazing at his new charges. "I can't believe the doctors found them all in perfect health so quickly." She looked up at her fiancé, "I mean, they just got born two months premature. And they're perfect."

Jeff looked down at Kristie, "Just like their mother."

The family enjoyed a few more minutes of peace before there was a knock on the door and Jack poked his head through, "You guys up for visitors?"

Kris smiled, "Come on in. Oh, and tell Ferretti that he can come in, too. I know he's just dying to know who won the pool on the names."

Jack wheeled in Nana, and was quickly followed by the rest of SG1, and the leader of SG2, along with General Hammond.

Jack and Nana were the first to approach the bed, looking at her great-grandchildren, she whispered, "Now I can die in peace."

Kristie shook her head, "There will be no talk of dying today, and you haven't even heard their names, yet."

Asking permission through his eyes, Jack picked up one of the babies, "Hey, little one," he cooed softly, knowing perfectly well that the babe was deep in the land of slumber.

Kris nodded to Jeff when he also silently asked if it would be alright if he were to hand the babies to their namesakes. He picked up one of the twins in a pink blanket and handed her to Nana before handing the other child wrapped in pink to Sam. The last one, the second boy, Jeff put in the loving arms of General Hammond.

The mother smiled, "And now you know. Jack is holding Michael Jacob-Daniel, or as Dr. Warner referred to him – 'Baby C'. Sam is holding little Samantha Cosette, or 'Baby A'." She turned to her grandmother and tears came to her eyes as she whispered, "Nana, you're holding Jacqueline Rose." Nana gasped at how sentimental her granddaughter could be. She was, after all, named Jacqueline, and Rose had been the name of her own dearly beloved mother.

"Thank you, Kristina. That's one of the best gifts you could have given me."

Turning now to General Hammond, Jeff concluded, "And to conclude the naming, we'd like you all to meet Baby D, Elijah George-William. Got that, Ferretti?"

"Yep, I got that." Ferretti couldn't help himself. The family just looked so perfect as they stood there, marveling in the new names. Slowly he got out his camera and snapped a few pictures of them all just standing there. Kris caught his eye and smiled, telling him it was perfectly fine for him to take them. After all, she needed something to remember her grandmother by, not to mention something to mark the enlargement of Jack's forever growing family.

Fin

Epilogue

"Hurry up!" Jeff yelled down to SG7, who was having a race to see who could put together their crib the fastest. "Kris is coming home with the babies tomorrow! We still need to organize all the babies' things!"

Major Windsly from SG7 muttered, "Why in the world did we let you talk us into this, Jeff?" as he put the final bolt into place on the crib he was putting together. "Done!" he cried out happily.

Jeff shook his head at the other man, "Because if you didn't SG10 would tell the base what we were really rescuing you guys from."

Captain Lee looked up in horror at that right after she put the final touches on her crib, "You wouldn't dare!"

Colonel Lee, the CO of SG10, smirked at the Captain's unease, "Care to test that theory, Captain?"

The black haired woman just glared, "You may work with them, Joseph, but remember, dear: You live with me."

Joseph Lee gulped as his wife stared him down. Oh, boy, he was definitely sleeping over at Bob's house if that piece of information got out.

"Yes, Martha."

Martha Lee smiled, pleased with herself, "Good. Now, what's next?"

Jeff looked at the checklist he had made up two days before. With only three days to get everything ready for the babies' and Kris's arrival at their new house, Jeff had been required to call in reinforcements to get everything done on time. "Umm, I think the only things left now are sorting the clothes and the toys and putting in their containers.

The CO of SG7, Lt. Colonel Smith, looked at his team, "You heard the man, let's move!"

SG10 was busy putting up the star constellations on the ceiling of the large nursery when SG7 made their appearance. Martha took charge of the situation right off the bat. She may only have been the 2IC of SG7, but she was the only woman there and had a very good idea how to organize things for the children in a way that Kristina would like.

"Okay, I want Bob and Leo sorting out the toys into two groups – one loud, play toys, the other stuffed animals that do not, and I stress not make noise. Micah, you and I are going to sort out all of the clothing first, then fold it before putting it away in the proper dresser. Two piles to start off with – boy and girl. From there we need to sort out what needs to be hung up, and what can be put in the dresser. Let's move, people!"

Jeff smiled thanks at the other Captain before going about his job of putting up the shelves for the stuffed animals.

Two hours later, everyone was done with the nursery which was the last room that had needed decorated. They all sighed in relief and pride at what their hard work had accomplished. Jeff had chosen the second largest room to house the nursery because it was closest to the master bedroom and had a window facing east. Four cribs were aligned a few feet from the wall the window was housed on. Each crib had a different initial; J, S, E, and M carved into the wood. Separating the cribs for his sons from his daughters' cribs were two rocking chairs set at an angle, an afghan thrown over the backs of each. There were four antique dressers on opposite walls, two of which flanked the closet door.

Murals of Thor and Lya adorned the unadulterated wall. Their hands were brought up in a motion of protection and offering and above their hands were the shelves for the stuffed animals. At the base of the wall stood two hope chests filled to the brim with other toys that the newborns couldn't play with just yet. With the semi-sheer curtains drawn, the room looked perfect the only thing it was missing, was the babies it was designed to keep safe and sound. One of the eyes of Thor in the mural was three-dimensional. The only people who knew what that eye really was were SG1, Jeff, and Hammond. He would tell Kris as soon as she saw it, if she didn't figure it out on her own.

"We did good, guys," Jeff whispered, afraid he'd ruin the moment, "Thanks."

"Come on, Jeff," Kris whined, "I didn't see you all day yesterday and you won't even tell me where you were!"

He smiled at her impatience, "You'll see." A growl was emitted from Kris's closed mouth as she grew even more frustrated with her fiancée.

"We're here." Jeff said as he pulled up to their new house. It was two stories tall with six bedrooms on the second floor, and then the living room, family room, kitchen, and laundry on the first floor. It also had 3.5 bathrooms and 4,000 square feet of space. In anyone's books, it was huge. There was a loft that Jeff and Kris had decided to convert into a play area for the children when they grew older, and a basement that would be used as the 'den' or Jeff's personal space. Kristie chose to convert one of the spare bedrooms to an office area for her to use. Jeff and she had already decided that the girls would share one bedroom and the boys another so they didn't feel isolated in the big house.

The house lay on an acre of wooded area, with a stream running through the middle of it. It was Kristie's dream house and she knew when she saw it on-line that it didn't matter if it cost her a small fortune (which it did) she was going to buy it.

Right behind the new Grand Caravan the couple had purchased, pulled up Jack's truck with the members of SG1 inside. As they got out of the cars, all they could do was whistle in admiration at the find Kris had made.

Jeff smirked at his soon to be in-laws, "Just wait until you see inside. That's the real treat. Come on, the nursery's our first stop."

SG1 (even though all of them were no longer technically on the team they were still referred to as such) each took a baby from the Grand Caravan (except for Daniel – he was still a little scared that he might hurt the baby) as Jeff unlocked the door because Kristie had her arms full with Jacqueline.

Being led through the house, Kris couldn't help but think that it looked so much bigger and perfect then the virtual tour she had taken before.

Jeff led them all up the stairs to the third door on the right it had a big green bow tied to it to make it look like a present. "Ready?" he asked everyone. They only nodded in response.

There was a universal gasp as Jeff opened the door to reveal the surprise he had been working on for three days. "Do you like it?" he questioned nervously as Kris walked in and put Jacquie in the crib designated 'J'. The others holding the sleeping babies followed suit and placed them in their perspective cribs. To keep the four of them easily recognizable, Janet had them each wrapped in a different color blanket.

When Kris turned around, Jeff could see tears running silently down her face. She opened her arms wide as he came over and gave her a hug, "What's wrong? You hate it, don't you?"

The new mother laughed at Jeff, "No, no I love it. It's just so beautiful. And these damn hormones have me crying at every opportunity! Thank you."

Before he could respond, there was a flash of white light and Thor appeared in the middle of the room. The couple broke apart and Kris smiled watery at her friend, "Thor. Thank you for everything."

The Asgard bowed his head slightly, "My gifts to you are not over yet, Kristie. Notice the left eye in the mural Daniel Jackson painted of me." Kris turned, saw the protruding portion of the wall and looked back at Thor. "It is a teleportation device. If there is ever a need, it will transport you, your mate and your children to either the SGC, my ship, or the Prometheus, whichever the device deems to be the most secure." There was a smaller flash of light and suddenly Thor was holding four tiny bracelets, "These will protect your children further. Once they are placed on their wrists, they will only be able to be removed by the wearer. If the children are ever in any kind of danger, the bracelets will transport them to safety."

"Thank you, again, Thor. This means so much to me." Kristie replied as Jack and Sam put the bracelets on the sleeping babes.

"But what happens when they start to grow?" Daniel asked curiously.

"The bracelets will grow with them, Daniel Jackson. And they will become the most comfortable fit for each child. I designed them specifically for the purposes of comfort and security for the children. They are very important people."

"Yeah," Jack said, "The beginning of a whole new race."

A/N: For those of you who would like to find out what happens next check out the sequel: A New Life.