Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and settings are property of their lawful owners. This story is written for entertainment purposes only and no profit is made. No copyright infringement intended.

A/N: Thank you all for the reviews I've had during this journey!

This is the very last chapter of this story. Like someone guessed a long time ago, we return back to the camping site, a few years later. It felt kinda fitting to make a full circle.

So here you go, let's meet Caroline and the campsite again.

(Longer rambling at the end of the story, I thought you'd like to get started as soon as possible with the chapter)

EPILOGUE

"I'm sorry but we're closed this year," the old woman called as soon as the car door opened.

"Ah, too bad," Sam sighed as she got up from the car. "I really liked it here."

"Samantha?" Caroline asked, surprised.

"My friends call me Sam," she said with wide smile.

"Yes, of course, Sam." Caroline nodded and walked closer, a lot slower than the last time Sam saw her. "Oh, I've been thinking of you, dear," the woman sighed as she hugged Sam. "I always wondered what happened to you after I got the card. I see you brought your special someone with you this time."

"Same man," Sam confirmed with a grin.

"Oh, no reason to change when you find the best one." Caroline winked at Sam.

"I heard rumors about cookies," Jack said with a boyish grin as he straightened up, holding a sleepy little girl in his arms. "Jack O'Neill," he introduced himself with a firm handshake, balancing the girl against his shoulder with the other hand. "And this is our daughter, Catherine. We call her Katie most of the time. Along with a dozen other nicknames."

Her hair was blonde and pointing at all directions after a nap in the car. Her eyes were such a dark shade of blue that they looked more like his father's than her mother's. She was blinking sleepily and looking at the strange woman curiously.

"Well aren't you a beautiful little princess," Caroline sighed. "How old are you?"

"She's eighteen months," Jack answered for the little girl. "Doesn't talk much. But I'm afraid she's already smarter than me. She just can't tease me about it yet." Jack poked the girl's nose with his forefinger and she crinkled her sleepy face, obviously not amused about her father's sense of humor.

Caroline chuckled. "And when is the baby brother or sister due?" she asked Sam.

Instead of answering, Sam glared at her husband.

"I swear, you are not showing yet!" he yelped. "I wouldn't lie to you about this."

The old lady chuckled again at his panic. "He's right, dear. It was just a hunch. I have five of my own, you know. Good to know I haven't lost my touch."

"Yes, well," Sam sighed. "You're right. Twelve weeks and a day. We haven't told anyone yet."

"Except Katie," Jack corrected.

"Yes, except her."

The girl didn't seem to grasp the concept of being a big sister yet they were sure she'd grow into the role. She had also been very confused about the thought of a baby growing inside her mommy, especially when the baby refused to reply to her repeated "Hello?" -yells.

Sam was sure Jack had taken a video of the scene when Sam tried to explain the baby couldn't hear yet and Katie kept yelling at her tummy. She hoped he wouldn't show the video to anyone. Knowing Jack, he would probably use it to embarrass Katie in front of her first boyfriend in about fifteen years.

She chuckled and leaned in to kiss her daughter's forehead. Jack raised his eyebrows, silently asking what was so funny but Sam just shook her head.

Caroline nodded. "Come on in, I'll get you some coffee and tea. And I do have some cookies for you, young man," she told Jack with a very motherly smile and turned to lead the way to her house. "If Marty hasn't eaten them all," she mumbled as she went.

Young man, Jack mouthed to Sam as soon as Caroline turned her back. He sure looked like a five-year-old when he grinned like that, Sam thought, and only smiled back at him. Jack frowned when he realized it was the same smile he got from the nice lady. Did all women magically learn that smile when they gave birth for the first time or was it in the genes?

"Marty!" Caroline called from the door. "We have visitors!"

Soon the husband made his way to the hallway. He was skinny. Not in the natural way but like he had lost a lot a of weight too fast. He was very pale, his eyes circled with dark rings, and it made him look a lot older than Caroline. He looked sick, like he should be laying down, but his eyes were twinkling with the same humor and energy they saw in his wife.

"Cancer," he said in a way of greeting, noticing their curious gazes, and flashed them half a smile.

"I'd say I'm sorry," Jack started. "But I have a hunch you've heard that one too many times."

"I have," the old man nodded. "But I'm on the mend already. The last treatment was a rough ride but they got it all out." He offered his hand. "Marty."

"Jack." He managed to balance Katie with one arm again while he shook the man's hand. "And this is Katie." The girl was still half asleep and Sam reached to sweep her hair behind her ear so she could look at Marty.

"Nice to meet you both," he said with a smile and then turned to Sam. "And let me guess, you're the Sam I've heard stories about."

"I guess I am," she nodded.

"Nice to finally meet you," he said softly and gave her a gentle hug. "I see everything worked out in the end."

"Yeah, it did." Sam turned to flash Jack a loving smile. "We had bit of a rough beginning but we've made it this far."

"Am I right if I assume the little princess here is going to be a big sister later this year?"

Sam snorted. "Let me guess, five of your own?"

"Six," he said, lips curling to a little smile which looked a little guilty. Sam raised her eyebrows, wondering if she understood correctly.

"I told you we had our moments," Caroline said in a way of explaining and reached for Marty's hand to give it a squeeze. "But some things are worth fighting for."

"You had your fiftieth anniversary last year, right?" Sam remembered.

"We had our... dating anniversary last year. The fiftieth wedding anniversary is this fall," Caroline explained and from the look she shared with Marty, Sam could tell there had been a time not so long ago when they weren't sure if he'd make it until the date.

Then, like she suddenly realized they had audience, Caroline broke the eye contact. She patted Marty on the arm before she turned around and headed to the kitchen. "You didn't eat all the cookies, did you?" she called over her shoulder. Her tone was firm, almost like she was giving an order, but there was no mistaking about the loving look in her eyes.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure I left one or two," Marty answered and winked at Sam and Jack. "I don't have much of an appetite nowadays," he spoke softly. "I'm pretty sure those cookies have saved my life a time or two."

"Mama?" Katie said softly and kept pulling her mother's sleeve.

"Would you like something, sweetie?" They were sitting at the kitchen table, sipping their coffees and teas and munching the delicious cookies.

The girl made a sign with her right hand.

"Milk?" Sam asked and the toddler nodded enthusiastically, then made another sign, rubbing her chest in a circular motion. "And you remembered the please. Well done, Katie."

"Could she have a cup of milk?" Sam asked Caroline. "I have sippy cup in the diaper bag."

"I have a few, too. I'm a grandma, after all." She quickly found a cup in one of the cupboards and filled it with milk. "There you are, Katie."

"Tank," the girl said, looking very grateful.

"You're welcome," she said and sat down before she spoke to Sam. "What was that with the signing?"

"Ah, she has no trouble hearing," Sam explained. "Our friend is a linguist and he claimed using simple sign language from the birth has many advantages because the child can communicate before she's able to speak properly."

"Sounds interesting. Is it working?"

"Yes, it is," Sam admitted.

"I'm just glad she's not speaking Ancient," Jack grunted and Sam tossed him a look which made him correct himself. "Chinese. Ancient Chinese."

Sam rolled her eyes and decided to change subject. "So, is the campsite closed for good or are you just taking this year off?"

"We'll see," Caroline said softly and smiled at her husband. "Marty has taken care of all the maintenance and he doesn't have the energy right now so it will stay closed for now."

"That's sad," Sam said. "It's such a wonderful place."

"It is," Marty spoke softly. "I can open the gate for you if you want to stay a few days," he offered. "I know this place is important to you."

"That would be wonderful but you don't have to." Sam flashed him an understanding smile. "We can just continue our road trip someplace else."

"You're welcome to stay here if you wish," Caroline spoke softly. "The campsite is not in good condition but you can stay if you want to. I'll just mow the lawn to make space for your tent. Or you can stay here in our guest room."

"What do you say?" Sam turned to speak to Jack.

"I'm fine with staying as long as I can mow the lawn."

"Nonsense," Caroline snorted "You're our guests."

"Marty here needs to get some color on his cheeks," Jack nodded towards the pale man sitting next to Caroline and winked at him. "So I suggest you keep those life saving cookies coming while I mow the lawn and Sam here fixes everything that needs fixing."

"I can't ask you that," the lady whispered, looking like they had just promised her a million dollars.

"You're not asking, Caroline," Sam spoke softly. "We're offering."

"Look," Jack started, serious for a change. "I don't know what happened here three years ago but Sam came back home and we made it through. Somehow I feel like everything I have now I own to this place."

Sam reached to squeeze his hand under the table. In a way that was true. She couldn't even imagine what would have happened if she hadn't found the campsite and had spent the week in motels instead. She had a hunch the journal would have been very empty and her head would have been very full of the chaos.

Caroline was looking at them with a slight frown, obviously trying to make a decision. Sam felt Katie move in her arms and glanced at the toddler. She was staring at Caroline with the puppy eye expression that usually got her whatever she wanted, and signing please.

"Would you like some more milk?" Caroline asked when she recognized the sign but the girl shook her head.

"Mama," she spoke firmly, then pointed at Caroline before she signed please again.

"You want me to say yes to your mother?" Caroline asked and raised her eyebrows. Katie nodded. "Do you know what we're talking about?"

"Mama fix," Katie said firmly and then made a sign again, one Caroline hadn't seen before.

Sam chuckled. "That means good. I fix her toys all the time so she knows I'm quite good at it."

"Would you like to stay here a few days, Katie?" Jack asked his daughter. "Camping."

"Tinkle," the girl said and signed something with both of her hands.

"Yes, you'd see the stars," Jack answered. "The twinkling things."

The girl nodded and then turned to look at Caroline again. Please, she signed one more time.

"Alright, alright," she sighed. "But I'm cooking dinner for you all."

"Now that's a deal I can live with," Jack replied with a grin.

"How does chocolate cake sound for dessert?" Caroline asked.

"Sam, we're moving here," Jack announced.

"Dada, cake!" Katie called and Sam rolled her eyes. Even their daughter knew those two words belonged together.

Caroline offered to babysit Katie while Sam and Jack tended to the campsite. There wasn't that much that needed fixing, really. The gate needed some oil for the hinges and the the fridge made a weird sound every now and then. Sam made a list of stuff they needed to buy and then gave the kitchen and showers a thorough scrubbing.

Meanwhile Jack mowed the lawn on the whole campsite. Then he noticed the window frames could really use a fresh layer of paint. He managed to find some sandpaper in Marty's shed and started to remove the old paint. They would make a quick trip to the town the next day and buy some paint. The building would be as good as new in no time.

They'd just have to find a way to sneak out of the camping site the next day to buy some supplies without Caroline catching them because they wanted to surprise the woman. But Jack had no doubt they could manage that part. They had escaped from highly secured prisons, too. Well not with a kid, luckily, but anyway.

The dinner was delicious and they stayed a long while even after the dessert was gone, just chatting. Marty and Caroline told stories about the busy old days when the campsite was buzzing with life. Sam could easily imagine it all, the barbecues, the crowded kitchen, children laughing when they played in the water.

It made her sad to think they might be the last guests at the campsite. But there was no sadness in either of their hosts, just gratefulness for the good memories, an odd sort of peace about one phase coming to an end. They had had their share of busy, like Caroline had said earlier. It was time for something different now.

All evening Katie sat on Sam's lap and listened carefully. She loved hearing stories and Sam was blaming that on Daniel who had started reading to her when she had been barely hours old. Now story sessions with her uncles were the girl's favorite times.

Even Teal'c had managed to come up with age appropriate stories from Chulak, though Sam had a hunch he was just twisting the Disney movies around a little, replacing the bad guys and evil witches with snakeheads.

As the evening progressed, Marty got more and more quiet, letting his wife do most of the talking. In the end he started nodding off around the same time with Katie and they decided to call it a night.

Katie did, however, wake up as soon as they stepped outside again. It was a warm night but still definitely colder than at daytime. There was a slight wind that turned the lake surface into soft waves.

They went to set up their tent. Katie was a devoted helper and even though she slowed them down more than actually helped, they didn't stop her.

They had practiced camping a couple of times on their backyard, first just spending some time in the tent, then afternoon naps and in the end they had slept three nights in a row in the tent. In the backyard, of course, but that wasn't so different from the conditions here. They had a kitchen and bathroom and if the weather got very bad, they could move to the Caroline's guest room.

When they finally got the tent together and prepared the inside for the night, they gathered some evening snacks and a cup of hot chocolate for each of them before they retreated to the dock. They had left their shoes at the tent because the night was warm and there was no reason to wear them, really.

Both Sam and Jack had their feet in the water at the end of the dock but Katie was sitting a little further back, banging her feet against the dock in the same rhythm with her parents' swinging legs. They had been to a cabin a few times already and she seemed to understand that she shouldn't get too close to the water alone.

Katie was the first to down her cocoa and offered the cup to her mother.

"You tired, Katie?" Sam asked and the girl nodded. "Bedtime?" The girl shook her head.

Sam chuckled and glanced at her husband. They had had this conversation before, the famous 'where did she learn to be so stubborn?' conversation. They didn't even need the words anymore, it was just that one special look she tossed Jack and he blinked his eyes, all too innocent, with the typical 'who, me?' look. Sam rolled her eyes and wrapped her arm around their daughter to pull the girl against her side.

"Wanna stay here and look at the stars then?" Sam asked. It was a warm night, there was no reason they couldn't stay outside.

Katie nodded. So did Jack. Sam glanced at him again and saw him grin like a little boy.

They lay down on the dock, Sam and Jack's feet still hanging over the edge, and just looked at the night sky.

"Tinkle?" Katie asked softly, pointing at the stars.

"Yep," Jack sighed. "Remember when we went through these at home?" Then he started explaining the different constellations to the girl, making up some in the process, too. At least Sam was almost certain she hadn't heard of Teddy Bear before.

"See that, Katie?" Jack whispered. "That's the treehouse I'm going to build you when you're old enough to climb up the ladder. See? It has all these cool windows... And a little tower..."

He kept pointing at the stars with Katie's hand, drawing the patterns to the night sky like they actually made sense. And if she stared at it long enough, Sam had to admit they kinda did. But she'd never let Jack build a treehouse with windows like that!

"Dada!" Katie suddenly exclaimed and pulled her hand free, pointing at another section of the night sky.

"Ah, that's a shooting star, Katie," Jack explained. "Quick! Make a wish!"

Before Sam could start explaining that technically it wasn't a star but a piece of junk burning in the outer layers of atmosphere, Jack silenced her with one look. It was, also, one of those conversations they had had enough many times that they didn't need words anymore.

Jack claimed Sam had to hold back the technobabble until Katie went to school, just so she wouldn't lose her child-like amazement about the world. In the end they had compromised and Sam was allowed to introduce the girl to science as soon as she learned to read. If she was anything like her mother, Jack feared that moment wasn't that far away.

"Sing," Katie demanded. "Tinkle."

"Twinkle, twinkle little star?" Jack asked for confirmation and the girl nodded with a giggle.

"Mama, too, or just me?"

"Mama, Dada." Katie reached to grab both of their hands with determination.

"I'm sorry, sweetie, but Mama doesn't sing," Sam apologized and gently stroke her daughter's hair.

"Ah, come on, Carter. Just this once. She wants you to."

"Is that an order, sir?" He rarely called her Carter nowadays but every now and then he slipped.

"Nope. Just a suggestion," he said with a smile.

"Ah, fine. Whatever. Your bad. You start, Jack."

And so they sang, two soldiers, lying on the dock in the middle of a summer night, a giggling baby girl between them. They went on and on and on until Katie was fast asleep and then finished the verse after that.

As they turned to look at each other over the head of their sleeping daughter, both were smiling happily and Sam could see it in Jack's eyes that he was thinking the same thing:

Is "happily ever after" too vague a thing to wish for?

A/N: And it's a wrap! I hope the ending wasn't too sappy.

Also, I have no idea where Marty's cancer and Katie's sign language came from but they just crawled into the story and refused to leave.

Thank you all for reading this story! Your support has meant the world to me.

I want to thank especially all of you who shared your own experiences about miscarriage with me. I regret that I didn't reply to you all but I just didn't know what to say. The fact that you trusted me with your painful memories makes me feel very humble.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you! Each and every one of you!