O'Neill Residence
Colorado Springs, CO
March 7, 2004

Sam stretched languorously in the large bathtub, her hands resting on Jack's thighs and her head was lying on his shoulder while he was massaging her lower back. It probably wasn't the most ideal position for him to rub the sore muscles in her back but his chest was so firm, warm and comfy to rest against that she couldn't make herself lean forward to give him more room. Besides, he wasn't complaining either, although that could have something to do with how preoccupied his lips and tongue were with her neck and ear… "Hmm, this is nice," she murmured, flexing her fingers and playing with the sparse hairs on his thighs.

Jack chuckled in reply, his breath hitting her ear and eliciting a shiver that ran down her back. "I know, you've said that before… a couple of times, actually," he said in a smug tone.

"I think the pregnancy is turning my brain into mush," she retorted, smiling. It was definitely changing her body and heightening some of her senses but Sam was pretty sure it was his presence and those strong hands of his working their magic on her sensitive skin and sore muscles that had a detrimental effect on her cognitive functions.

"Well, we can't have that, now can we?" He questioned, pausing his ministrations.

She grunted something incomprehensible when he rested his chin in the crook of her neck. "Jack…"

He smiled against her skin in response to her complaining tone and placed his hands on her hips. "Guess that means you were enjoying what my fingers were doing," he muttered and she could feel his smile growing wider as she blushed. "Good thing I like having my hands on you then, eh?"

"Hmm," Sam murmured in agreement as his hands slid from her hips down to her thighs. After scooting back against him she pulled her legs in and placed her feet flat on the tub's bottom, to let her knees fall open with her outer thighs resting against his hairy legs. She smirked when she felt the evidence of his arousal poking against her lower back and pressed her rear against him. "Good things all around…"

Jack drew in a sharp breath at the contact, his fingers reflexively digging into her skin before he relaxed his hands and rested them on her inner thighs. Then he pushed back experimentally, grinding his erection against the swell of her six. "Carter," he growled against her shoulder.

She smiled against his instinctive reaction and turned her head towards him, catching his lips with her own over her shoulder. The kiss deepened quickly as she reached up to slide her fingers into his hair, pulling his mouth closer to hers. He rested his forehead against hers after they broke apart, both of them panting after the breath-stealing kiss that had left Sam's blood zinging through her body. "That was–" She gasped when one of his hands had found its way to her center and his fingers lazily started exploring her folds.

"Nice?" He asked teasingly, while his smile showed his dimples. His other hand slowly started its journey north again, trailing over her bump until he reached her breast and cupped it.

"Oh yeah," Sam said hoarsely. "It's really, really good." She arched her back, pressing her ass back against him while pushing her breast further into his hand, enjoying the way he was kneading it and playing with her hard nipple.

"Thought you might like it," Jack whispered against her lips. One of his fingers was teasing her opening, circling it, while he used his thumb to rub her clit.

Her own free hand came up to cup her other breast, heavy with arousal and yearning to be touched as well. She copied his movements and simultaneously circled her hips, wanting more from his teasing fingers. "Jack," she moaned, making a conscious effort to regulate her breathing as he intensified his ministrations but failing miserably. "Oh, don't- Ow!" Sam huffed, wincing at the sudden kick.

"Are you okay?" He asked worriedly, immediately removing his hands from her.

She grimaced as another hard kick followed and placed her hand on her abdomen, hoping to calm the baby. "It's just… the baby. Damn," she gritted her teeth at another kick. Doctor Rosenberg had warned her about the baby becoming more active soon on the phone when Sam had cancelled the abortion and the obstetrician had also requested she'd schedule an appointment for a new ultrasound and check-up this week. The woman had assured her that the baby was probably fine and the fact that she had already been aware of the baby moving and even Jack was able to feel it sometimes was most likely down to the placement of the placenta and a lack of space for the baby, as Sam's bump still wasn't very large. "I think she's stretching or maybe just trying to break out," Sam muttered, as she got another kick at the exact same spot.

"But you're okay, right?" Jack repeated, sounding scared, as he placed a hand near hers.

"Yeah, I'm… fine," she replied slowly. "The doctor said this was to be expected as there isn't much room in there. We're both fine," she reassured him. "It's just…"

He moved around to get a better look at her. "What?"

"I've got to pee."

"What?" he reiterated, frowning.

Sam rolled her eyes and pressed back at where she felt the baby. "She's kicking my bladder and now I've got to pee."

"Now?"

"I can make it to the toilet," she said irritably, trying to get up. "I'm sorry…"

Jack supported her as she stood and climbed out of the tub. "Not your fault," he said, smiling as his eyes roamed her body.

Sam made a shooing motion at him before sitting down on the seat, not really wanting or needing an audience. "It kind of ruined the mood, though," she replied.

"We'll just have to wait until she's asleep or at least quieted down a bit," he said, shrugging. "Besides, it is somewhat cliché," Jack added with a smirk, waving his hand around to encompass their surroundings. "The water is also cooling down, so I'll just turn on the shower."

Huffing in reply she tried to relax and empty her bladder in the hopes of calming the baby. Trying to focus on something else her gaze soon landed on Jack as he slowly rose from his seated position, the water and suds slowly dripping down his toned torso and muscled calves in what Sam could only describe as a mouth-watering picture. She only got a brief glimpse of his impressive erection and the wiry dark and silver hair surrounding the base of his cock before he turned around to start the shower. However, the view of his six was almost equally appealing, especially as some of the suds from his shoulders were still making their way down his tanned back at an impossibly slow rate.

It was only when the water from the shower hit the tiles that Sam snapped out of her hormone-induced haze, for which she also blamed the baby – or more like the pregnancy itself. Fortunately, now that her bladder was empty and she cleaned herself up the baby had stopped her acrobatics as well. Feeling relieved Sam got up, flushed the toilet and cautiously walked over to the sink to wash her hands, all the while aware of the fact that she was leaving behind an equally wet trail of water as the one from the tub to the toilet. By the time she had made her way back to the shower without slipping on the slippery bathroom tiles she was disappointed to realize she had missed Jack lathering up and rinsing off; soapsuds were circling the drain and Jack himself was just wet and slippery – and tanned all over.

"Hey," he smirked at her over his shoulder, stepping aside to give her some room. "I was just ensuring all the water wasn't going to waste without you," he said, grabbing her hands and pulling her against him.

"I'm sorry," Sam apologized again, aware that he was still aroused with the way she was pressed against him with the water hitting her back.

Jack shrugged dismissively and gave her a quick kiss. "Won't be the last time the little munchkin is gonna interrupt us," he replied. "Although I was kinda hoping it wouldn't start until after she was born. Our precocious little girl clearly takes after you, eh?"

"She clearly has your impatience and the need to bug me when I'm doing important stuff," she quipped.

"Making out with me is important stuff?" He asked, smirking.

Sam narrowed her eyes at him but the effect was somewhat lost when her stomach growled loudly. "I do believe we were doing a little bit more than simply making out, Jack O'Neill."

His smirk turned into one of those rare smiles as he brought her hands up to his chest. "Maybe," Jack drawled, placing his hands on her hips. "And while I would love to pick up where we left off," he said, emphasizing the word by grinding against her, "I think it might be best if I start dinner before you pass out in the middle of more 'important stuff'."

"But-"

"You finish your shower," he said, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead.

Sam had barely blinked before he'd wrapped a towel around his waist and dashed out of the bathroom…

Jack had quickly dried off in the bedroom and put one of his many black long-sleeved shirts and a pair of sweats, knowing that if everything went according to plan he wouldn't be wearing his clothes for long anyway. He'd also gone into his home office to collect some stuff before moving into the kitchen to start on dinner. As far as he could tell Carter was still in the bathroom and probably still finishing up her shower for as long as she had hot water, but he really didn't want to dwell on that too long – if he hadn't gotten out of there when he did he would have taken her right there up against the wall. Not that he would've expected her to object to it and he certainly wasn't averse to hot and steamy shower sex, but considering how tired she'd been lately he thought the bedroom would be more appropriate and then they would just call it an early night.

Even though he might have some trouble falling asleep or wake up way too early after having rested long enough in that case, he also knew he wouldn't mind passing the time simply lying in bed with Samantha Carter snuggled up to him. At least she would get plenty of shuteye that way, which was good for both her and the baby. Besides, who said they couldn't have hot and steamy shower sex in the morning? After all, they were finally in a relationship and as far as he was concerned they would have the rest of their lives together – and that would include many hot showers.

Shaking himself he tried to forget about how hot she'd looked completely naked, with the pregnancy undeniably visible on her slim figure because of her swollen abdomen and full breasts. Jack started to chop the vegetables more aggressively as he tried to block the image from his mind, only barely keeping his arousal under control. When he was done he added the veggies to the frying pan, put a lid on it and turned down the stove. After clearing the counter and wiping it clean, he double-checked the stove's settings and collected the items he'd brought with him. Then he went into the corridor to retrieve the old books Sara had given him and made his way to the guestroom.

The room itself was a bit bare, with simply a dresser in one corner, a desk and chair in the opposite one and one of those easy-to-stow away fold-out beds on the left of the door opening. It had been a while since someone had used the room but he always made sure to clean it afterwards and strip the bed… he just never really made the effort to actually stow away the foldable bed and it was still right where he'd left it, nothing covering the bare mattress except for a bare pillow but upon taking a closer look he saw the difference; right there in the middle of the bed.

Baby booties.

One pair of yellowish knitted booties with little lion heads with brown manes atop the feet. Smirking Jack entered the room and picked up the tiny-sized booties, taking a good look at them for the first time. Seeing something pink in his periphery he turned and noticed the little piglet booties lying on the pillow. After a quick look around he noticed another yellowish pair sitting on the dresser and upon closer inspection he realized these booties had a giraffe head.

Jack put the three pair on the dresser and placed the other items he'd brought with him next to them. With his hands free he went over to the bed to fold it up and stow it away. It took him almost five minutes – and nearly cost him a finger – before the darn thing was folded up correctly and now he remembered why he'd never bothered in the first place. Not to mention it weighed a ton! Easy to fold up and stow away, yeah right! For now it would just have to sit there, he decided. Maybe he could store it in the basement or something, later. Perhaps make a new guestroom there for when Cassie or Teal'c were staying over… or Carter's family once she had moved in here! Oy! He hadn't really thought about having Jacob and Selmak under the same roof… Ah well, once they would finally come to Earth and learn of these new, er, developments between him and Carter good ol' Jake might not even want to stay over. Ha!

Okay, that probably wasn't fair to Carter. Clearly they still had some things to work out before the baby got here. Like when she was moving in here and how they could possibly fit all her stuff into his house. Didn't she have bookshelves in every room of her house? And all of them filled with actual books? The thick and heavy kind? Hum, maybe they should look into transforming the basement into a library for her. He had no doubt that if anyone could work their magic on fitting their furniture and other crap together it was her, though. Knowing Carter she probably had some kind of formula to decide who got to keep what and how many things…

Besides, if sacrificing some furniture, closet space, his basement and guestroom meant he got to have Samantha Carter and their baby in his life then Jack O'Neill certainly wasn't going to complain!

"Jack?"

Startled by her voice, he silently chastised himself for getting lost in thought and not hearing her exiting the bathroom. "Coming," he called out, taking a last look at the dresser before leaving the soon-to-be nursery. The door to the bathroom was open and he could see some droplets of water on his wooden floor, leading to the master bedroom. Apparently she either hadn't noticed him in the guestroom or she hadn't wanted to disturb him until now, he thought to himself as he made his way over to her. "What's up?"

"Oh, hi," she smiled shyly at him from the center of his bedroom. "I can't find my overnight bag." Frowning, she glanced around for no doubt the umpteenth time and held up her hands in a helpless gesture.

"I put it away," he explained.

She had an adorably confused look on her face and he knew he was enjoying this far too much. "I had put it on the bed for when I got out of the bath," she said. "I was going to put it away later, honest. But I don't understand where the clothes I laid out have gone." She gestured at the oversized robe she was wearing now as if to explain why she had borrowed it. "Did you put them back in the bag or something?"

"Er, no," Jack said, suddenly feeling a bit uncomfortable. He strode over to his dresser and opened the second drawer. "Here are your things."

Carter suddenly appeared at his side. "Oh, okay… um, why are they in there?"

"Because."

"Because… why?" She questioned, scrunching up her nose in confusion.

Jack shrugged shyly and gestured at the dresser. "Because I got you a drawer."

"You got me a drawer?"

"Yes, I got you a drawer," he said patiently.

She frowned uncomprehendingly. "Why?"

"So you can, um, put your things in here instead of dragging an overnight bag with you every time you come over," Jack explained awkwardly. "I promise to, er, make more space for when you decide you're ready to move in but I thought, you know, that a drawer would do for now."

"Oh…"

"If you need more space I can probably empty another one," he hastened to say.

She smiled brightly and shook her head. "No, this drawer is perfect," she reassured him. "For now."

"For now," Jack agreed with an impish smile. "We should probably go to the kitchen before dinner burns or you faint from eating too little today, whichever comes first."

"I had lunch," she protested. "Besides, I'm not dressed yet."

He smirked at her and tugged lightly on the robe's sash. "You look absolutely perfect to me."

"Jack…"

"Oh c'mon, we both know you'll be naked and in my bed soon after dinner anyway, goldilocks."

She rolled her eyes in mock exasperation and grabbed his hands to lead him out of the room. "Well, when you put it like that…"

"Exactly!" Jack replied, squeezing her hands and bringing them up to press a kiss on them. "Aw, look you're all prune-y. How long had you been in that tub before I got home?" He questioned as they walked down the corridor and towards the dining room.

"I honestly don't know," Carter said, shrugging. "Long enough to enjoy your vanilla-scented bubble bath."

"Ah," he murmured. "Why don't you sit down while I get us some dinner." He waited until she sat down at the dining table to grab some plates and get the food off the stove. A moment later he was back and placed the stuff on the table before dashing off to get both of them a glass of water.

She was grinning when he finally took a seat opposite her. "Omelets, again?"

"Well, it's not like I had a lot of time to do some grocery shopping," he said sheepishly.

"Can you even make something else?"

He huffed mockingly at her teasing tone. "Hey, I'm only doing this for you, ya know? I could have a nice juicy steak in a few hours because I've got those in the freezer but I figured that would take too long for you and it might be a bit cold with the grill on the deck… but I didn't want you to starve. Besides, I added some pathetic-looking vegetables to the omelet, just for you and the baby."

"Gee, thanks," she grinned, shaking her head.

"I could order takeout," Jack offered cautiously, unsure whether she was being serious or not.

Carter's eyes widened in surprise. "No, don't be silly! I was just teasing. I actually really like your omelets… Oh!" She gasped, putting a hand on her abdomen. "I think that means we both like your omelets."

"Excellent," he smirked, rubbing his hands together in glee. "Now, let's eat."

After dinner Jack told her he wanted to show her something and dragged her off to the guestroom. Sam barely had time to wonder whether he had already been in here and seen the baby booties she'd placed there or not before he opened the door and led her inside. To her surprise the fold-out bed was neatly stowed away in a corner with the pillow lying atop of it and the knitted booties she'd placed on them were now sitting on the dresser, along with a stack of worn children's books and… two picture frames.

With two steps she was standing in front of the dresser and picked up the frames. Both were framing a sonogram, the classic black and white picture in a dark brown frame decorated with childish strokes of paint spelling out 'dad' at the bottom and a few colorfully painted stars and what looked like a baseball, bat and glove on the other sides while the yellow-orange 3D ultrasound picture was in a black frame with Jack's name painted in white letters at the top and seemingly random stars on the other three sides. Upon closer inspection of the frame Sam recognized the Pisces, Aquila, Cetus, Equuleus, Centaurus and Sextans constellations – the glyphs to dial Hanka, minus the point of origin. "Cassie made you this," she said, holding up the black frame but still confused about the sonograms. "I don't understand…"

"I took the ultrasound pictures with me after your amniocentesis three weeks ago," Jack said from behind her.

She turned around in surprise and tried to read his face. "But… we didn't even know she was yours at the time," Sam replied slowly. "Or even mine, for that matter."

He shrugged and took the pictures from her. "After you told me you didn't care about keeping the sonograms I figured you'd end up regretting that decision, so I pocketed them before taking you home."

"But you knew I was already contemplating an abortion at the time, so how could you-"

"I suspected you would regret not having the pictures no matter which decision you'd make in the end."

Sam smiled warmly at him. "So you were going to keep them safe for me?"

"Yeah," he smiled shyly, "I thought that once you had processed everything you might want them back."

"Doctor Rosenberg wants me to make a new appointment this week and she said she'd perform another ultrasound then. We should ask her to print it and then we can add it to our little collection here," she suggested.

Jack's smile grew and he neatly placed the two frames back on the dresser. "I'd like that."

"In that case we're going to need more frames," she said pensively.

"After Fraiser gave us the results of the paternity test I got these two frames out for the sonograms, but if you want different ones then-"

Sam placed a hand on his arm and interrupted him. "No, I think they're very fitting. I know Cassie made you the black one and I'm guessing the other one was made by Charlie?" She asked gently, never sure about how to broach the topic of his late son with him. But she hoped him showing her the frame meant he was trying to let her in.

"Yeah, for Father's Day… Charlie was on the baseball team and we used to play catch in the backyard all the time," Jack explained, gesturing at the painted frame, "and he was the reason I got interested in astronomy. We did a lot of stargazing together. Cassie made that one for my birthday a couple of years ago."

"I know; she gave all of us homemade picture frames for our birthdays that year."

He righted the frames and placed the booties around them. "Well, I'm sure she wouldn't mind me using it for this picture."

"She doesn't know about the baby yet," she cautioned him. "Janet and I didn't think it was a good idea to tell her unless I decided to keep the baby."

"She'll probably be thrilled," Jack said, smirking. "I wouldn't be surprised if she offered herself as babysitter."

Sam nodded in agreement, knowing the alien girl had experience babysitting from before she had lost her planet and had started doing it part-time on vacations or in the weekends for a couple of people in Janet's neighborhood. At least that meant someone would be happy with the news after they told them, as she doubted her Dad and brother would be very happy about it once she screwed up the courage to tell them. Fortunately those closest to her and Jack seemed to be excited about the news, she thought to herself as she glanced at the booties. Daniel would probably be pleased to know he gave them their very first baby gift. "Did you see the other two pairs?"

"Pairs of what, booties?"

"Yes, two white ones," she explained. Looking around she spotted them a few feet away, the bunny pair on the desk and the elephants on the desk chair. "Ah, there they are."

Jack followed her line of sight and quickly retrieved them, adding them to the collection. "Well, it's definitely a start… we might need to do some painting and maybe buy some more furniture and clothes, but I guess we have plenty of time to prep the nursery."

"About four months left," Sam said, suddenly feeling a bit anxious.

"Don't worry about it, Carter," he said gently, sliding his arm around her waist. "I know it's gonna take some time for you to adjust after… you know. So, there's no rush, we'll just slowly but surely transform this room into a nursery. Baby steps."

She smiled and tried to relax as she leaned into him. He was right and she briefly wondered how he'd known that the idea of going shopping for baby things as soon as possible was scaring her a bit, but then she realized he probably just knew her very well. Or maybe the idea was a bit daunting to him too; after all, neither of them had expected things to take this turn and for them to end up parents-to-be. "Baby steps," Sam agreed.

"We're all going to have to readjust," he said. "Not just you and me, here, in our personal life but everyone at work too once your transfer is through and you feel comfortable announcing your pregnancy."

"I know."

Jack nuzzled her hair and pressed a kiss to her temple. "No matter what happens, though, you and I are going to be just fine. Or hadn't you noticed how smoothly we've transitioned from CO and 2IC to just Jack and Sam?"

"I was pretty amazed at that," she admitted with a soft smile. It was true that she was surprised how easily the change in their relationship had occurred and how comfortable they were together. It didn't feel strange or forbidden to reach out and touch his arm or lean into his chest. The real test would probably be when they both got back to work and their romantic involvement became public knowledge but for the moment Sam was still reveling in how right it felt to be with him.

"Amazed, eh?" He asked with twinkling eyes. "Then maybe it's time we go back to that 'important stuff' we were doing before we were so rudely interrupted by our little one…"

Sam grinned after he briefly touched her bump and grabbed her hand to tug her towards the door. "We should probably move it to the bedroom this time, though."

"Yeah sure, you betcha!"

The End…

A/N: Well, I hope you've all enjoyed reading this angsty and dramatic story as much as I enjoyed writing it! Perhaps I will write a sequel in the future that will deal with the fallout of the pregnancy news and how Sam and Jack's careers are effected by it (I certainly have ideas) but for right now I am pleased to have completed the fic and I'm looking forward to sinking my teeth into some of my other fic ideas. I'll be back sometime next month with my contribution for GW's Secret Santa and a Shipmas one-shot, but I can't say yet when my next bigger fic will be because of RL and all the holidays that are just around the corner. Thanks everyone for reading and reviewing!