“Look at you, buddy,” Jonathan said, smiling at Matthew who had come over to them. Jonathan brushed at the boy’s shoulder. “Very snappy. What are you doing this summer? You going to come over for a while?”
“I’m going to play baseball.” Matthew colored and groaned. Jonathan smiled and gave Matthew’s neck a pat.
“Started this morning,” Jack commented.
“Look at it this way,” Jonathan said to the boy. “It doesn’t last long, and your voice will be deeper when it’s done.” He took Matthew’s jaw and turned his face back and forth, looking carefully and stroking the smooth jaw line. “No, not yet. That’s okay; mine’s still a little thin, too.” He touched his own jaw and gave it a rub, the thin strip of dark hair rasping slightly. He leaned in, glancing around conspiratorially. “Know who’s visiting on my ship?” Matthew shook his head. “The Sua.”
Matthew lit up and turned to Jack, once more the child that he still was.
“Go,” Jack said, giving him a wave of his wrist.
“Did we really change his diapers?” Jonathan leaned in to ask. “He’s growing up too fast.”
“I… changed his diapers,” Jack said.
“Whatever,” Jonathan said with a shrug. “He’s starting to look like Michael.”
“That’s what Daniel said. What’s really going on?”
Jonathan looked hurt. “Oshu is on the ship.”
“And?” Jack questioned. “My space is filled with alien ships. Are they all accompanying Oshu?”
“No,” Jonathan admitted. “Word spread fast about the explosion and you have a lot of friends. They wanted to pay their respects and offer to help. What’d you do with the weapons?”
“A couple of my guys rigged a few zats,” Sam said. “We set them for continuous disintegration on a wide beam. No one knows; we told them it was an alien agricultural tool.”
Jonathan stared at her. “You know? There are times I think I’m more afraid of you than I am of anyone or anything else.”
“She’s the new CO at 51,” Jack said proudly.
“Yes, I know. Very cool,” Jonathan said and gave her shoulders a squeeze. Jack remembered and reached into his pocket. He took out a pin and attached it to Jonathan’s lapel.
“Give one to Grant,” Jack said, handing him a second pin and showing its position on his uniform. “They’re official. I can’t take off now to see Oshu, so keep him on ice for a few more hours. Is he behaving?”
“Yes,” his clone nodded. “Jack, he was loyal to Lord Yu out of a sense of honor, not because he believed Yu was a god. Yu died last year. He was in a sarcophagus for a long time and apparently he just didn’t wake up. Replicator Sam did quite a number on him and his symbiote was already too weak from the battle with Anubis. Oshu’s been hiding it from the rest of the snakes but I don’t think anyone was fooled. Oshu wants to join Thanatos out of self-preservation, I think.”
“The Jaffa would tear him apart,” Sam commented. Both men nodded.
“Right,” Jonathan said. “To say nothing of the remaining Goa’uld who are in hiding.”
“Do I really need to see him?” Jack asked.
“No,” Jonathan shrugged. “It was just a thought. He pin-pointed several large naquadah mines, a few hidden outposts, and handed over the keys to Lord Yu’s palace. Sam, Teal’c is on his way with a full cargo hold of naquadah. I also brought back something for Daniel.” He pulled a piece of paper from an inside pocket. It wasn’t paper, Jack and Sam saw.
“That’s…. what? Parchment?” Sam asked, lightly touching the scroll.
“Sort of,” he said. “Our trees are slightly different, so our paper doesn’t come out quite the same as Tau’ri paper. I copied this from a very old piece of rice paper in the palace. It was disintegrating. I thought Daniel might like to go treasure hunting.”
Jack unrolled the parchment; Sam looking over his shoulder. “A map?” they asked. “Are you serious? A treasure map? This looks like China.”
“It is,” Jonathan nodded, looking pleased with himself. “Apparently when Lord Yu was still living in ancient China, he had quite a collection that was hidden before he was chased off the planet. From what little I remember of history, I don’t think it’s ever been found.”
“Great,” Jack groaned. “Just what Daniel needs; another adventure.”
Sam told Jonathan about the old ship in the Alps.
“Yeah, Ninurta said something about it,” Jonathan commented as he nodded thoughtfully. “Neither Inanna or Enki know anything about it. Well, it does stand to reason that if the Ancients and the Goa’uld were ruling on Earth for centuries before humans took over, there should be more evidence of their presence.”
“That’s Daniel’s argument,” Jack said. “He’s putting together his own department for Earth-based exploration. I think he plans on turning over every pebble on every mountain, desert, and beach on the planet.”
“And you have Earth’s security and now Sam has Area 51,” Jonathan said. “Between the three of you, I’d say Earth is in good hands.”
After watching the process for a couple of hours, Jack declared that it was time everyone went home. Let the ships do the ugly job of cleanup. When most of the visitors were gone, a small Sua bounded into the main room and passed out nose-rubs with the cold tip of her nose. Daniel groaned under her weight.
“I think you get heavier every time I see you,” he told her.
“Dan’el heavier,” T’Keet told him, poking at him.
“Did you just tell me I’m getting fat?” he squinted at her.
“Yes.”
Sam laughed and quickly bit her lip, covering her mouth with a hand. Jack patted his stomach as he walked by.
“Don’t worry, Danny-boy, I like you fat and sassy.”
“That’s it –I’m on a diet,” Daniel declared.
Daniel knew his pants were a little tighter, but not that tight. He had gained maybe ten pounds. Unfortunately, he tended to gain weight at the mere thought of chocolate.
“Sam cub,” T’Keet said, giving her a pleased sniff.
“What?” Surprised, Sam touched her stomach. “T’Keet, I’m not pregnant.”
“Cub,” T’Keet repeated. “Sick cub.”
Sam looked at the men. “I….. haven’t felt any different,” she told them. “My period isn’t due, so I can’t go by that.”
“Why don’t you go to the infirmary and have someone check you out?” Jack suggested, suppressing a new panic.
“If there is a fetus and it isn’t formed right, like T’Keet says…..” Daniel stopped, also finding his mouth suddenly dry.
“You’re right,” Sam said, looking down worriedly at her stomach. She headed off to the infirmary.
“Gabriel warned us this might happen, the first time out,” Daniel told Jack, giving his arm a rub.
“I know,” Jack said. He looked at the cub. “Thank you, T’Keet. Sam might have been hurt and now she won’t be.” Hopefully. Physically, anyway.
Daniel looked closely at Jack and then put his arms around the man.
“She isn’t Sara,” Daniel murmured into his ear. “There won’t be continuous repeats of miscarriages. It’s too soon after the cessation of a bad implant for her to have a healthy pregnancy. Sam will be fine. Come on, we’ll go with her.”
While T’Keet bounded around the ship to greet old friends, and spook the few civilians who were still on board, much to her own amusement, the men went to the infirmary. She had just laid on a table and pulled her blouse up while Dr. Rand got the ultrasound machine ready. The men stood by as they clasped Sam’s. They couldn’t make head or tails of the black and white, grainy image on the screen.
“There’s something in there,” the doctor announced. “I can’t tell the age of the embryo; the image is…. How sure is that nose on the cub?”
Sam looked at the men.
“Get a scope in,” she told Rand. “I want to see a real-time image.”
She got her clothes off an
d into a hospital gown. When everything was ready, a thin scope was inserted through Sam’s vagina and carefully through the cervix. They all looked at the monitor. Sam looked at the men again.
“D&C,” Sam said. Dr. Rand agreed.
“Jack, would you call Carolyn and see if she needs the… embryo… for anything?” Sam asked. Jack stepped into the hall as Sam was prepped.
Daniel leaned over Sam, looking into her scared eyes. “From the looks of things, I think you would have miscarried,” he quietly told her, stroking her hair. He pressed his mouth to her forehead before touching her lips.
“I think he’s right, Colonel,” Rand said. “Please don’t blame yourself; you’re doing the right thing.”
Jack came back in. “Dr. Rand, please make sure the embryo is made available to Dr. Lam.” He went to Sam and she held out a hand to pull him down. He kissed her and smoothed her hair as Daniel had done.
“This is routine,” she assured him. “I’ll be fine.”
“I know; I’m allowed to worry.”
She smiled at him and touched his cheek. “Yes, you are. I love you, too.”
“General? Dr. Jackson?” Dr. Rand motioned for the men to stand aside.
An hour later, Sam was on pain meds and ready to go home. Dr. Rand wanted to keep her for a day. The excised tissue was put on ice and sent down to the SGC.
“Honey, will you just stay put for a day?” Jack requested.
“I’m not sick,” she insisted. “I’m a little uncomfortable, that’s all. Carolyn can watch over me at home.”
Jack looked at Rand. He wasn’t happy about it, but he agreed.
T’Keet came in holding onto Jonathan’s hand, and Daka holding Shara’s hand. She sniffed at Sam and pulled her ears back at the smells. She gave a delicate sneeze.
“No cub?” she asked.
“No, the cub was too sick,” Sam told her. “It’s alright, T’Keet. Thank you for telling us about the cub. Maybe next time, the cub will be healthy.”
“And are you well, Ahatu?” Shara asked.
“I’m fine, Shara,” she said. “I keep telling everyone I’m fine, but no one is listening.”
Jack leaned in close, staring at her, waiting. Her chin wavered. “I’ve never been pregnant before,” she whispered. Jack gathered her into his arms as Jonathan and Shara ushered the children from the room.
They got Sam to agree to staying in the bed and allowing the doctors to look after her for a day. Dr. Rand stopped by her bed once more.
“Colonel, I can’t say I know how you’re feeling, but I can say this –your pregnancy would not have progressed much further. You probably would have miscarried within a week and since I estimate you were about four weeks along, you would barely have noticed. If you think about this as a benign tumor, and not an embryo, it would be more accurate. I’m sorry, Colonel. Gentlemen.”
The pain meds hit and Sam fell asleep.
“Come on,” Daniel said, giving Jack’s hand a tug. “She’s asleep. There’s nothing we can do here; we need to make sure everything else is going according to schedule. We can cry about it later.”
Jack knew Daniel was right and they kissed Sam once more before heading back to the main part of the ship. They found most people had gone except the Buddhist contingent; they had discovered the cub. The old man was beaming from ear to ear as T’Keet and Daka entertained him. She jumped at Daniel when she saw him, and Daka shyly went to Jack’s side.
“Smell nice,” she informed him, using her tail to point at the man.
“Yes, he does,” Daniel agreed. “Her people use scent to get to know other people,” he told the man. “She means you’re a good person.”
He laughed. “I am glad to hear that,” he said.
“No,” T’Keet shook her head. “Smells like mersu. Mersu good.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Daniel said to her. “I think mersu is a spice.”
Whiskers arched forward as she studied him.
“Daniel-Jack sad,” she said. “Sam o-k.”
Daniel lifted her and gave her ears a nuzzle. “Yes, Sam will be fine,” he said. He told the Dalai Lama what had happened and the old man’s smile turned down.
“So sad,” he said. “May I pray for her and the lost one?”
Daniel inclined his head. “All good thoughts are welcome, Your Holiness, thank you,” he said.
Jack was never too sure what to say when someone asked him that question, but Daniel tended to respond with that particular comment and Jack was finding that he liked it. It did seem to keep Daniel out of sticky conversations.
He went to the front screen and watched the process going on below. With all the people off the ship, there did seem to be a sense of finality. It was a day of death. And yet, as the bodies disappeared and sterile land was left behind, it was a day of new beginnings. Arms went around his waist from behind and his neck was kissed.
“If it’s a choice between Sam and a baby….”
“I know,” Daniel said. “Jack, she’s going to be fine. We were warned this might happen. We weren’t using precautions, so it was bound to happen.” He turned Jack around to face him. Jack stared into the blue eyes. “We’re in this together,” Daniel told him. He laced his fingers with Jack’s, their rings clinking lightly together, and leaned in. As he was kissed, Jack felt himself relaxing. For some reason, kissing Daniel always seemed to put life into perspective. Maybe Ninurta was right and the three of them really were connected by that internal bond that Jack wasn’t sure he believed in. He tried to find that bond that rang SAM within him and drew her in. She was asleep on the meds. She relaxed into the men, cocooned in love.
Daniel smiled against Jack’s mouth. “I felt that,” he murmured. “You’re getting good at it.”
“I’m not really sure it’s real,” Jack said. “Ten years ago, I would have called anyone crazy who thought such a thing was real.”
“Ten years ago, you were an ass,” Daniel informed him. “You’ve grown up very nicely, though, and I think you’ll do.”
“Do what?” Jack asked.
“Oh, I’m sure I can think of something,” Daniel said. He leaned in again.
“Treasure map.”
He leaned back.
“What?”
Jack took the paper from his pocket and held it up. “Treasure map. Ancient China. From Oshu. What do I get in exchange for this?”
Daniel was almost hyperventilating.
“You are soooo easy,” Jack informed him.
Chapter 51
When they had returned home, Sam spent time resting in bed and Jack updated his mother. Maggie put her arms around him, knowing how it hurt him to lose another child. She then went into the bedroom and spent some female time with Sam.
Jack took Daniel by the arms and looked him in the eyes.
“She doesn’t understand,” he said gently. “You lost a child, too.”
“I know she didn’t mean any harm,” Daniel said. He leaned on Jack’s shoulder. They decided that they didn’t want to know who the paternal donor was, not unless it was necessary for pathology. As far as they were concerned, all three were the parents. They had been honest with the children and told them that a newly created baby had died. They were a little more detailed for the older kids, but Davy wasn’t quite sure how Sam could have been pregnant if she didn’t have a big belly. They took out the picture books and reminded him of what an embryo looked like and how big it was. While it was still the size of a pea, they wouldn’t have known Sam was pregnant just by looking at her. Davy nodded thoughtfully and then kissed Sam on the cheek.
With the kids all out, they lay quietly in bed for a while, Sam resting against Jack’s chest as he stroked her hair. She lifted her head and rested her chin on her hands as she contemplated Jack’s face. Although something about his unusual genes had taken about fifteen years off him, there were still enough lines on his face to make him interesting. She found it interesting that the scar on his left eyebrow had remained; a white l
ine of hair amidst the dark blond. She traced a delicate fingernail along his lower lip. Jack’s lips were relatively thin, while Daniel had full lips, and yet they both kissed exceptionally well. Although they were both male, their differences made them unique.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” Jack asked.
She nodded. “I’m feeling fine,” she said. “Besides. Any leftover wounds have been healed by you.”
Jack pushed the hair from her eyes. “I’m talking about a little deeper inside,” he said. “Honey, no one expects you to get over this immediately. If you want some time off from work, I can make it happen.”
“I need to work,” she said. “I didn’t even know I was pregnant, much less had time to love the baby. I’m fine. Really.”
He gave a nod.
“Go on,” she said. “Find out for yourself.”
His mouth twitched and he sent a feeler inside. She was a little raw, and mostly confused.
“What are you confused about?” he asked. She was still for a moment and then slid off to lay next to him, her arm across his chest, fingers playing with the curls on his chest.
“I’m supposed to be…. sad,” she whispered. “No, that isn’t the right word. I don’t know… depressed. I am depressed. But I know that it’s hormones. Am I such a bad person that I can’t….”
“No,” Jack said, shaking his head. “Honey, you can’t second-guess yourself like that. You said it yourself; you didn’t have time to love the baby. I’m sad, Daniel’s sad, and you’re sad. Honey, I don’t know when a baby is a baby. When it’s a person. Is it a person at conception? At birth? When its heart begins to beat? Dr. Rand said to think about… the fetus… as a tumor. Sam, I saw what was sent to Dr Lam; take Dr. Rand’s advice. No one will think less of you for it. Sure, it wasn’t much more than newly split cells, but even I could see that it was forming wrong. We will have a baby, and he or she will be beautiful and healthy.”
He took her face between his hands and looked into her blue eyes. “I’m going to be selfish and say that I want to see you pregnant. I want to see our baby born. It’s your choice, but that’s my say on the matter. Now. My dear Colonel. How are my ships coming?”
The Anunnaki Unification, Book 3: A Stargate SG-1 Fan Fiction Story Page 27
