The next morning the team was up early. They gathered in the village with Nigel and Enid and the others for breakfast.

Jack and Colonel Reynolds sat talking after they ate.

"How did the negotiations go about getting the naquadah?" Jack asked.

"Very well. We told them that in exchange for the naquadah, we can work with them about getting electricity, telephones, better ways to plant and irrigate their crops and better ways to heat their homes."

"Great. I guess we'll be seeing these folks quite often" Jack said with a grin.

"I hope so. We really don't know until we start checking, exactly how much naquadah they do have, but I like these people, Jack. They're friendly, honest and hard working and everyone seems to get along really well."

Just then, Nigel came to get Jack and Sam to meet with the elders.

"Hope it's good news" Daniel said as he stood up and gave Sam a hug.

Sam smiled at him. "Thanks, Daniel."

Nigel, Sam and Jack walked into the meeting hall once again. The elders were all standing around the large table.

Nigel remained standing as he spoke. "Please, everyone be seated."

He turned to face Jack and Sam.

"The elders met for quite some time after we talked with you to decide the fate of the children. I will let Thomas tell you of our decision."

Nigel sat down and Thomas stood.

"These last several days have been most interesting. No one had ever come through the stone circle and now we find out that there is a civilization that is willing to help us better ourselves in exchange for an ore that we have no use for. I believe our association with your people will prove to be most beneficial."

"We agree" Jack said.

Thomas paused. "Now, about the children."

Jack reached for Sam's hand.

"After hearing all the good things said about you from your friends, and having seen for ourselves how caring both of you are with them, and after having spoken with Enid and Astrid about your conduct when you were with the children, we believe it would be best for their wellbeing if we do allow you to take these children as your own."

Tears came to Sam's eyes as Jack hugged her.

Thomas held up his hand and raised his voice. "With certain conditions."

Jack and Sam turned their attention back to Thomas.

"This decision by the elders was not made lightly. These children will grow up in a place that we know nothing about. Out of respect for their parents, Eli and Ann, we need to know that these children will be loved and well cared for. Therefore, every six months for the first five years of their lives, you will return here with the children so we may see for ourselves if this decision was the correct one. If you do not return on schedule or if we see evidence that these children are not happy and healthy, we will cease all trade and will sever all contact with your people. Is this agreeable with you?"

Jack and Sam looked at each other then looked back at Thomas. "Yes, it is" they said together.

"I speak for all the elders when I say that we wish you well. May God bless you as you undertake this responsibility. Tonight, the villagers will join together for a celebration in your honor. Now, I'm sure you are most eager to see the children. You may go."

Jack stood up. "Sir, may I say something?"

"Certainly" Thomas said as he sat down.

"Sam and I just want to thank all of you for giving us this opportunity to take these children as our own. We promise that we will do our best to be good parents."

All of the elders smiled and slightly nodded their heads.

Jack and Sam came outside. The team was waiting and they saw the smiles on their faces.

"They're ours!" Sam said as she hugged Daniel.

"This is most wonderful news" Teal'c said as he gave Jack a hug.

"Congratulations Jack and Major" Colonel Reynolds said he slapped Jack on the back.

Jack smiled. "The elders and the villagers are having a big shindig tonight in our honor so we all need to stick around for that."

Sam grabbed Jack's hand. "Come on, Jack, I want to see our babies."

The team smiled as they watched Jack and Sam hurry down the dirt road.

They knocked on Astrid's door and she opened it, holding her youngest.

"What did they say?"

"They said yes" Sam said as she hugged her.

"This is most wonderful news. Congratulations. The twins are awake."

They hurried inside. Sam picked up the girl and Jack picked up the boy.

Tears came to Sam's eyes. "I can hardly believe it, Jack, they're really ours."

That night, everyone gathered in the village to celebrate. Jack and Sam sat at the table with the twins, as people came by to speak with them. After everyone had eaten, Nigel stood and asked for everyone's attention.

"Jack and Sam, we wish you well with the children. I know that Enid, Astrid and the other women who have helped care for them will be sad to see them go. But it also makes us happy to know that they have found a home. We will be seeing you every six months so this isn't goodbye."

The next morning the team stood at the Gate as Teal'c dialed Earth.

Sam turned to Enid and gave her a hug.

"Thank you for everything you did for us" Sam said.

"You are most welcome. We'll see you soon."

She then said goodbye to Astrid and hugged her.

"I will miss these little ones" she said as tears pooled in her eyes "but I know that you will give them all the love they deserve."

"Thank you" Sam said as she hugged her again.

The villagers waved goodbye as they stepped through the Gate.

They arrived back at the SGC to see General Hammond standing at the bottom of the ramp. When he saw Jack and Sam carrying two little bundles, a big smile came to his face.

"Welcome back SG-1 and Jack."

"Thank you, sir" Colonel Reynolds said.

General Hammond smiled. "I see everything went well."

"Yes, sir." Sam pulled back the blanket so the General could see the baby. "This one is a girl."

"May I hold her?" the General asked.

"Certainly, sir." Sam gently placed the baby in his arms.

"She's beautiful. What have you named them?"

"We haven't had time to discuss names yet" Jack answered.

The General dismissed everyone in the Gate room and people crowded around to see the twins.

Janet examined the children and found them to be completely healthy.

General Hammond gave Sam two weeks off.

Teal'c and the new parents got into Jack's truck. Teal'c held the boy and Sam held the girl as Jack drove. Daniel followed behind in his car.

They drove to a large baby store to buy two cribs and other things they would need.

When they arrived home, Daniel and Teal'c got busy putting the cribs together as Jack and Sam put formula into bottles to feed the babies.

Soon the cribs were ready. They pushed them together in the middle of the bedroom with enough room to walk around them. As soon as the twins had eaten, they put them down for a nap.

Jack and Sam sat down at the kitchen table with Daniel and Teal'c.

"Time to pick the names" Jack said.

"I have an idea" Sam said as she sipped a Diet Coke.

"And that is?" Jack asked.

"I think we should name them after their parents, or one of their names should be."

"Sounds like a good idea" Daniel said.

"Okay. May I suggest something?" Jack asked.

"Not Marge and Homer again" Sam said with a laugh.

Jack grinned. "No, I gave up on that. I've always liked Elizabeth."

"Elizabeth" Sam repeated. "And Ann could be her middle name, after her mother. We could call her Lizzie."

"Okay, Lizzie it is" Jack said.

Daniel smiled. "Okay, now the boy."

"I know what I'd like to name him, Jack."

Jack raised his eyebrow as he looked at her.

"Jonathan for you and Eli for the middle name, after his father. We can call him Jon."

"I like it" Jack said as he leaned over and kissed her cheek.

"Jonathan Eli O'Neill and Elizabeth Ann O'Neill" Daniel repeated.

The first night at their new home, the twins were awake at different times. Sam and Jack had very little sleep.

"I guess we better get used to it, Sam. It will be this way for quite awhile."

"I don't mind losing sleep, I'm just so happy to have them."

Jack put Lizzie on his shoulder to burp her. "I was just thinking about something."

"What's that?"

"We need birth certificates."

"Oh, I haven't thought about that. We'll have to ask Janet next time we see her, maybe she'll know what to do."

"Or, George could check with someone in Washington who has clearance."

"Maybe Major Davis could check into it for us" Sam said.

"That's a thought."

§§§§§§§§§§§§§§

Two days later, General Hammond asked Jack and Sam to bring the babies and drop by the base at 1400. He wouldn't give them any details of why he needed to see them.

When they arrived and signed in, they were told that General Hammond had asked for them to meet him in the commissary.

Just as they walked in the door, everyone yelled "surprise!" They looked around to see that the commissary had been decorated for a baby shower.

Jack and Sam just stood there until Daniel led them to a table where there were lots of gifts.

The twins were in their carriers, sound asleep.

"I don't know what to say" Sam said as everyone became quiet and tears came to her eyes.

Jack put his arm around Sam. "This is so nice of you to do this for us."

"Have you decided on the names yet?" General Hammond asked.

Jack looked down at his sleeping son. "Yes. Everyone, this is Jon."

"And this is Lizzie" Sam said just as Lizzie opened her eyes and started to cry. Sam picked her up and held her against her shoulder and gently rubbed her back.

General Hammond took Lizzie from Sam while she opened a gift. Janet picked up Jon when he started to whimper and gave him a bottle.

They took turns opening the many gifts. After they finished, Jack stood to thank everyone when General Hammond put his hand on Jack's shoulder to stop him.

"You're not finished yet, son" he said with a grin. "Bring 'em in" he ordered and the doors of the commissary were opened by two airmen. They came in carrying a rocking chair and behind them were two more airmen carrying another rocking chair.

"Oh my" Sam said as she put her hands over her mouth.

George smiled. "Those are from me."

"Oh, General, that's so nice of you, sir" Sam said as she gave him a hug.

"George, I don't know what to say. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Jack."

Several people volunteered to carry everything to Jack's truck. With the two rocking chairs and everything else, there was not enough room. So they loaded up Siler's truck and he followed them home. He and Jack unloaded the chairs, put them in the nursery and they piled all the other gifts in the living room for Jack and Sam to sort through later.

§§§§§§§§§§§§§§

A few weeks passed and Jack and Sam loved being parents. Jack stayed home with the twins when Sam was working but she was finding it harder and harder to go off-world.

She and Jack were sitting on the deck one evening after having just put the twins to bed.

"Jack, I've made a decision."

"Oh?"

"I've decided to talk with General Hammond about just working in my lab instead of going off-world any more. If something should happen to me, I don't want the twins to grow up without a mother, they've lost one already. As you know, I lost my mom at a young age and I don't want our kids to go through that."

Jack smiled. "Good. I was wondering how long it was going to take before you would do this."

"You thought I would all along?"

"I hoped you would."

"Why didn't you mention it?"

"Because, honey, I know how much you love your job and giving up Gate travel had to be your decision. I'm glad that you'll be here on Earth permanently."

Just then, the doorbell ring so Sam got up to answer it.

"Dad!" Sam said as she put her arms around Jacob.

"Hey, Sammie."

"We tried to get a message to you right after we brought the babies home."

"It took awhile for the Tok'ra to get a message to me."

Jack came into the house and the two men shook hands, then went to the nursery.

Jacob looked at the children as a smile came to his face.

"Dad, meet your grandchildren."

"What are their names?"

"The girl is Elizabeth Ann. Jack likes the name Elizabeth and her mother's name was Ann, so we put them together, we call her Lizzie. We named the boy after Jack. His name is Jonathan Eli. Eli was his father's name. We call him Jon."

§§§§§§§§§§§§§§

That night, Jack and Sam were getting ready for bed when Jamila wandered in and looked up at Sam. She picked her up to pet her.

"Have I been neglecting you, Jamila?"

Jamila looked at her as if to say 'yes.'

Jack was in the bathroom brushing his teeth and he came to the door and watched as Sam talked to her cat.

"I'm so sorry. It's just that I have these two tiny people to take care of and they take up all my time."

Jamila turned her head and stared at Sam.

"That's not good enough? Well, I'll try to do better. Will you forgive me?"

Jamila began to purr as Sam set her down on the foot of the bed. "You can sleep on our bed tonight if you wish."

It was if Jamila understood her as she curled up and closed her eyes.

Jack grinned at Sam. "I knew you'd spoil that cat."

A few weeks after Sam had talked with Jack about not going off-world any more, she met with General Hammond and told him her reasons why she wanted just to work in her lab. Although it meant finding a replacement for her, he understood that for her own safety and the wellbeing of her family, she wished to leave SG-1 and he gave her his approval and support.

General Hammond met with Colonel Reynolds and although he was sorry to lose Sam from the team, he understood. Sam was replaced by a member of SG-10 who had requested a transfer.

Daniel and Teal'c would miss Sam but understood that her priorities had changed when she became a mother.

§§§§§§§§§§§§§§

Mining on the planet for the naquadah was going well.

The President and Joint Chiefs had recognized the value of building good relationships with the villagers, so people with top level clearance had been sent to the planet to help with getting electricity, indoor plumbing, telephones and other modern conveniences to the village. It would take time to finish all the projects, but everyone recognized that, except for the Asgard, this was the most important relationship that Earth had had with any other planet.

With Thor's help and with the use of one of the Asgard ships, the SGC transported all kinds of equipment to the workers.

Working side by side, everyone from both worlds had begun to build strong friendships.

Janet and a medical team had been to the planet several times to teach the villagers about vaccinations and medicines and had taught first aid to several of them. Janet had helped deliver a baby that had been born breech and the mother's life had been in danger. If Janet had not been there, the mother probably would have died. To show their thanks, the woman and her husband named their baby girl after Janet.

§§§§§§§§§§§§§§

The twins were now almost six months old. It was time for Jack and Sam to return to the planet, as they had promised. They knew they would probably be gone for a few days, so Jack had taken Jamila to their neighbor, Mrs. Russell, so she could keep her while they were away.

Sam dressed Lizzie in a pink dress. Jack dressed Jon in a blue and white baseball uniform with a little baseball cap.

Sam and Jack stood at the bottom of the ramp with the babies in their carriers, two over-stuffed diaper bags and a large suitcase.

"I feel like we have to take the whole house with us every time we go anywhere with the twins" Jack said with a grin.

George chuckled. "But you love every minute of it, don't you, Jack?"

"I certainly do" he said with a twinkle in his eyes.

George watched as Jack and Sam stepped through the Gate with the twins.

When they came through, several of the villagers recognized them and came running.

As they stood there talking, Sam heard someone call her name. She turned to see Enid and Astrid running towards them.

Astrid smiled and hugged Sam. "It is so good to see you again."

Sam returned the hug. "You too."

Enid reached for Jon and Astrid held out her arms to hold Lizzie.

"Oh my, how the little ones have grown" Enid said as she hugged Jon.

Everyone remarked at how happy and healthy the twins were.

Jack felt someone slap him on the back and turned around to see who it was.

"Welcome back, my friend" Nigel said as the two men shook hands.

"It's good to be back" Sam said as Nigel gave her a hug.

They all walked into the village. Everyone inquired as to the names of the twins and thought it was so kind of Jack and Sam to name them after Eli and Ann.

The teams that were there from Earth helping the villagers, joined them for lunch.

Nigel arranged to have Jack and Sam meet with the elders that afternoon and they had left the twins with Astrid and Enid.

Thomas stood as everyone sat down.

"I must say, it does not seem that six months have already passed since you were given the children. I think everyone would agree with me that they look healthy and well cared for. Jack and Sam, you are to be commended for giving these children a good home. The elders made a wise decision."

§§§§§§§§§§§§§§

A few days later, Jack and Sam were back on Earth.

Sam was giving Lizzie a bottle while she rocked her and Jack had just put Jon in his crib.

"It finally happened, Jack."

"What's that?"

"We finally got what we wanted. We loved each other for a long time and were willing to wait until the time was right to be married. Now we have two precious children. It was all worth waiting for."

Jack smiled. "Yes it was, Sam. Yes it was."

THE END