Beyond A Hundred Days
by Lena Smith
Part 2

Hammond's face broke into a huge smile. "Son, it's about time! I thought you were never going to get around to it! Congratulations!"

"Thank you, sir."

Janet spoke up. "Sir, if it would be all right, I would like for you and Jacob Carter to give me away."

"My dear, you have no idea what this means to me. I would be honored."

Janet smiled. "Thank you, sir. If you don't mind, sir, we would like to go pick up Cassie and tell her."

"Not at all, Doctor. Dismissed."

After Daniel and Janet left, Jack walked into the office. "What do you need, Colonel?"

"Sir, I need to talk to you about the Edorans. Um, one Edoran, Laira."

"The treaty signing went well, didn't it?"

"Oh, yes sir. It's nothing about the treaty. Sir, when I got there, I found out that Laira is six months pregnant. Um, it's my child, sir."

"Yes, I know. I approved Dr. Frasier's trip to Edora. I had to know the reason why it was necessary. How is this situation going to be handled?"

"I asked her to marry me, sir. She refused. She intends to raise the baby alone, there on Edora. Garan and Paynan will be there to help her, of course. I would like to be able to visit as often as possible, sir. I would also like to request that Dr. Frasier be allowed to give her regular prenatal check-ups, sir."

Hammond nodded. "I think that can be arranged, after all, she is one of the leaders on that planet." Hammond cleared his throat and looked closely at O'Neill. "How has Major Carter taken these developments?" Neither O'Neill nor Carter had admitted their feelings for each other, but Hammond wasn't stupid. It didn't take an astrophysicist to realize that they were in love with each other. Hammond had realized it, long before Carter and O'Neill had themselves. He had decided to do nothing about it unless it started causing problems with their work.

O'Neill shook his head, a mixture of confusion and disbelief on his face. "They've become fast friends, sir. When you watch them, it's like they've been friends for years."

Hammond chuckled. "Good, I'm glad to hear there won't be any problems. If there is nothing else, you're dismissed, Colonel."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." With that, Jack left the office. Hammond shook his head. Life with SG-1 was never boring!

Sam spent the next four days on Edora. She, Jacob and Selmac worked out the logistics of the Naquadah production facility in record time. When she wasn't working with Jacob, Sam could be found down by the river talking with Laira. Laira told Sam about Jack's experiences on Edora. Sam described her struggles to bring Jack home. They talked about their childhoods and their parents. Jacob found them there one evening. Laira was holding Samantha in her arms, comforting her. Samantha was crying about her mother. Jacob backed away, not wanting to disturb them and upset Sam further. He shook his head. Sam always tried to be so strong and never show how much her mother's loss still hurt. He wished that she would open up to him about it. Selmac said, "Jacob, she doesn't want you to think she blames you for her mother's death."

"I know, Selmac. Hell, I still blame myself for not picking her up that night. If I had, she wouldn't have died."

"You don't know that, Jacob. For all you know, the accident might still have happened and Samantha could have lost both of her parents."

"Yes, you're right but it doesn't make it any easier. It hurts to see Samantha still in so much pain, 21 years later."

"Yes, it does. But I think this time with Laira may help her, may let her heal somewhat. She's always felt she had to be strong for everyone else. Laira never really knew that Sam, never really knew "Major Samantha Carter". Laira got to know Samantha Carter, the person. Samantha doesn't have to be strong for her."

Slowly, Jacob nodded his head. "Yes, you may be right, Selmac."

On the fourth day, Laira and Jacob walked with Sam back to the Stargate.

"Sammie, when you come back, I won't be here. I have to go back to Vorash tomorrow. The Tok'ra have some other assignments for me." He kissed his daughter. "Take care of yourself, honey."

"I will, Dad. You take care too. Selmac, will you keep him out of trouble?"

Selmac laughed, "As much as I possibly can, Samantha."

Sam turned to Laira. "I'll see you in three days, OK?"

Laira hugged her. "I'll be waiting. I'm looking forward to seeing your world."

Jacob activated the Stargate. Sam gave him a last hug and walked into the `gate.

Jacob and Laira turned back to the village.

Halfway back, Laira said, "Jacob, you're an important man in your military. Isn't there something you can do to help Jack and Samantha? She loves him so much."

"I know she does. I don't know yet how to help them, but I will try." He paused. "Laira … I appreciate the friend you've become to my daughter. I'll admit I don't really understand how it happened given the circumstances. She's confiding things to you that I doubt she's told anyone else."

"Her feelings on her mother's death?"

"Yes."

"Well, Jacob. I have to admit I don't understand how we became friends either. I was jealous of Jack's feelings for her. Although I know that telling him no when he asked me to marry him was the right thing to do, it doesn't mean it was easy. I do love Jack. Not as the grand passion of my life, no. He is in Samantha's life. My grand passion was Garan's father Malek. He always will be. But I love Jack and I love this child we made. But I knew he loved Sam and I could see how much she loved him. I knew it was right that they be together and I knew that I was the only one who could explain it properly to Samantha. When we talked, it was like we were opposite sides of the same cloth. We just came together. That's the only way I can explain it."

They stopped at Laira's door. Jacob took Laira in his arms.

"Thank you, my dear, for trying to ensure my daughter's happiness. It means so much to me."

Laira smiled at Jacob. "You and your daughter have come to mean a lot to me. I know you have to leave tomorrow but will you be coming back soon? You are always welcome here."

"Thank you. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Jacob turned and walked to Paynan's house.

Sam brought Laira through the Stargate three days later. General Hammond was waiting at the foot of the ramp.

"General Hammond, may I present Laira of Edora. Laira, may I present General George Hammond."

"Laira, I am honored to have you here."

"General Hammond, it is a pleasure to meet you. Samantha and Jack have spoken of you often, with great respect."

"Thank you. Shall we go to the infirmary? Dr. Frasier is waiting." The General offered his arm to Laira and then led the way.

Laira had to agree with Samantha's friends. She had not enjoyed the procedure. It really irritated her when Janet kept telling her to relax. Finally, she lost her temper and said, "RIGHT. Have someone stick a four inch needle into YOUR stomach and see how well YOU'RE able to relax!!!!"

Janet chuckled and said, "Yes, I see your point but it really will help if you relax your stomach muscles."

Laira rested in the infirmary for a couple of hours and took a short nap. Sam was going to show her the sights in the afternoon.

Laira had to admit that she was amazed by the technology of the Tau'ri. Sam had already given her a tour of Cheyenne Mountain. Now they were going to Sam's apartment. The view from the winding road was spectacular. Up ahead, Laira saw a large house with a sign out front. "Samantha, what is that?"

"Oh, that house just went up for sale this week. Isn't it lovely?"

"Could we stop for a minute and look at it?"

Sam shrugged, "Sure, why?"

"I don't know. I just want to look at it."

They pulled into the driveway. An older man was working in the yard and straightened as they came over.

"Hi, can I help you ladies?"

"We were wondering if we could look around the house," said Sam.

"It is a lovely home. Why are you leaving it?" Laira asked.

"I'm retiring in a month and my wife and I are moving to Arizona. She wants the warmer weather. Come right this way ma'am, Major Carter."

"I'm sorry, sir. How did you know my name?" Sam asked in astonishment.

"I'm Brigadier General Wright, Major."

"Oh, yes, sir."

General Wright was one of the few people outside of the SGC who knew what went on in Cheyenne Mountain. He commanded the nearby airbase and his facilities had been needed for refugees several times. He gave them a tour of the house and grounds. When he returned them to their car, Laira said, "Thank you for your kindness, General. It is a lovely home."

"My pleasure."

Sam started the car and pulled out onto the road.

"Laira, what was that all about?"

"I felt drawn to the house. Once we were in it, I knew."

"Knew what?"

"That this will be the house that you share with Jack."

"Oh come on, Laira!"

"It is just a feeling I have."

Sam shook her head.

They had a wonderful, relaxing day. Sam showed her the apartment, the Air Force Academy, and many of the other sights around Colorado Springs.

As they entered the Gateroom, Laira said, "Thank you, Samantha. This was a lovely day."

"You're welcome. Are you ready for the trip back?"

"Yes, I'm tired and the baby has decided to do somersaults right now. Here, put your hand right here." Laira guided Sam's hand to the right side of her stomach. Samantha smiled, feeling the baby move beneath her hand. General Hammond came in to the room and smiled at the sight. He understood the confusion Jack O'Neill felt. Here were two women who should logically hate each other, and instead, they were friends.

"Laira, I'm glad you could be with us today. We enjoyed having you very much."

"Thank you, General."

"If you should need us, the mining crew has a GDO to send the signal to deactivate the Iris. They will assist you, just ask."

"I will, General. Fair day!"

"Fair day!"

Sam took Laira back to her home on Edora.

During the next six weeks, Sam went with Janet for Laira's checkups unless she was on a mission. The times that Sam was unavailable, General Hammond accompanied Janet. He wanted to know more about Laira. As she had done with Samantha and Jacob, they quickly became friends. The amniocentesis had shown no problems with the baby, a boy, which seemed to please Jack to no end. The DNA test had confirmed that it was Jack's baby.

Janet popped her head into Sam's lab. "I'm getting ready to go see Laira. Are you coming?"

"Yeah! Sure! I'll meet you in the Gateroom."

Janet walked down the hall. She was concerned about Sam. Since Martouf's death three days ago, Sam had been withdrawn and distant. She wasn't eating very much and judging from the dark circles under her eyes, she wasn't sleeping either. Sam wouldn't talk to Janet about what was going on, what she was feeling. Janet was pretty sure it was because Sam was uncomfortable about Janet having been present for the second Zatarc testing. Janet had assured Sam beforehand that whatever was said in the room would go no farther, not even in her reports. While this would normally be against regulations, Janet felt comfortable listing it as Doctor/Patient confidentiality. Sam had been embarrassed about the whole situation. God knows it wasn't how she wanted to find out that Jack cared for her. She certainly had not enjoyed having to reveal her feelings for Jack, and all of this under Anise/Freya's watchful eyes. Janet had never liked the witch during the armband testing. Janet could have strangled her fiancé for telling Sam that Freya had made a pass at Jack. It had made Sam both angry and more withdrawn. Janet hoped that Laira might be able to help her over this rough patch. Someone needed to.

Laira and Sam sat on the bench in front of the fire. It had finally turned cold on Edora and the fire was pleasant both for warmth and to look at. Laira hoped that Sam would relax.

"Janet said you had an interesting experience with some armbands that Anise wanted you to test."

Sam laughed thinly. "Yes I guess interesting could describe it." Sam proceeded to tell her about their adventure. She did have to laugh when she described the "scuffle" at O'Malley's.

"Daniel felt so satisfied when he beat up those Marines. Usually he's the one who gets the worst of it. It was satisfying for me to take out my guy so easily too."

"Especially when you won his money too?"

"Yep, especially then!"

Sam described the chewing out by Hammond, the plans for the raid and the trip to the complex.

"Then my armband fell off and I passed out. Jack came back to try to get me but his fell off too. When we both came to, there was less than 2 minutes before the explosive was to go off. I tried to get Jack to leave but he wouldn't. He just kept trying to destroy the control panel. We heard the sound of Jaffa coming down the corridor. We were standing there, looking at each other. Here we were, about to die, and I couldn't tell him how I felt. I couldn't tell him I loved him! I still thought about those stupid regulations!"

Laira hugged her close. "Jack could read it in your eyes, Samantha."

"It still doesn't make it any easier to take. And then there was this whole Zatarc thing."

Tears welled up in Sam's eyes.

Laira said quietly, "Jacob came by yesterday and told me some of what you went through, Samantha. I'm so sorry about Martouf. I met him several times with your father and I liked him very much. I know it was hard for you."

Sam nodded, "I've lost another person I care about. He asked me to kill him, Laira, and I did."

Sam started to cry. Laira held her and let her cry it out. Finally, Sam quieted.

Laira said, "Jacob told me they thought you and Jack were Zatarcs. Why?"

"Because of the armband situation. We had to describe what went on during the mission. The machine is looking for false memories. What we didn't realize was that the machine was also looking at emotions. We had told what went on, but not how we felt when we were going to die. Because of that, the machine thought that we had false memories. Jack had volunteered to go through the "cleaning" procedure (for lack of a better term) while I was sedated. It was then I realized what was happening and told Janet. She stopped them just before they started on Jack. I had to explain to him what was going on and that we had to admit how we felt then. I requested that Anise retest us. That was the hardest part, having that witch Anise there."

Laira said, "Yes, I can understand that. She came here once with Jacob. I told him I didn't like her and I don't want her to return to Edora, ever."

Sam smiled. "I'm glad it's not just Janet and I who can't stand her. I stood beside Anise while she tested Jack. She asked him why he didn't leave me and save himself."

"What did Jack say?"

Sam looked at the fire, remembering. "He said, "I didn't leave because I'd rather died myself than lose Carter." Anise asked, "Why?" And Jack said, "Because I care for her. A lot more than I'm supposed to." Anise verified Jack wasn't a Zatarc. Then it was my turn. She asked me what I was feeling when Jack wouldn't leave me. I told her that I wanted him to leave, that I didn't want him to die. She asked me why. I said, "Because I'm in love with him." Then Anise said, "There is something else." This is what hurts the most. I had to admit to them that I wanted to have a baby with Jack." Sam looked up with tears in her eyes. "This was not how I wanted to tell Jack I loved him. It wasn't the way I wanted to find out that he cared about me. Hell, I don't even know if I can have a baby!"

"What do you mean?"

"When Jolinar died within me, the Naquadah and other chemicals were released in my bloodstream. They've changed my blood chemistry."

"What does Janet say?"

"She isn't sure of what it has done to my reproductive system."

"Have you run tests?"

"No, I figured there was no need because I refused to consider having children."

"Well you want children now. Have the tests done and find out for sure. That way you will be working from a position of strength instead of fear."

"You're right Laira, I should. I'll ask Janet to start them tomorrow."

They sat there quietly for a while, just looking at the fire.

"Samantha I have something to ask you. If something should ever happen to me…"

"Laira, nothing is going to happen."

"Hush. Just listen. If something ever happens to me, I want you and Jack to raise the baby."

"Me and Jack?!?"

"Yes, Jack is the baby's father but he would need a mother as well. I can think of no one better to raise my son than you, Samantha. If the two of you still cannot be married, then file to adopt with joint custody. I have talked to Jacob about this and he believes it can be done that way. Jacob has my will, which specifies that request. Will you do it?"

Samantha looked at her. "Yes, of course I will do it. But don't say things like that. Everything will be just fine."

"It's just that I'm getting one of those funny feelings and I want to be prepared."

Sam sat there quietly.

"Have you decided on a name for the baby?"

"Yes, Jacob Jerran Hammond O'Neill."

"Have you told Dad and the General yet?"

"No. I will tell them when they visit next."

"I like that, my father, your father, and the man that has been like a surrogate father for Jack. They will all be honored."

"I've become very close to your father, and I respect General Hammond greatly."

Janet poked her head in the door. She had been doing checkups on the children in the village.

"Sam, we need to get going."

"OK."

Sam and Laira rose and went to the door.

Laira hugged Sam. "Be careful, Sam. Thank you. I love you."

"I love you too, Laira."

Sam walked out the door. Janet came in and held Laira close. "Thank you, Laira. She looks better already."

"I hope I helped ease her mind. Janet, please run tests on her. Make sure that she can have children."

"I will. Take care. If you need me send Garan to get the mining crew."

"I will. I love you, Janet."

"I love you too, Laira. You know, it's funny. It's like we are three sisters."

"Yes, except we are closer than a lot of sisters I know."

"True. I'll see you next week."

"'Bye."

Janet and Sam walked toward the Stargate.

"Janet, I want you to run the tests. I want to know for sure whether I can have a baby."

"Laira just asked me to do that. I can't give you 100 percent guarantees but I'll do what I can."

"Thank you."

Sam was feeling better. The visit to Laira had helped. The nightmares about Martouf had gone away. Sam was undergoing the tests. Sam wouldn't be able to go with Janet tomorrow to see Laira. SG-1 had a mission so General Hammond would go with her. Sam smiled. Hammond would be pleased when Laira told him about the baby's name. She was in the control room when the Stargate activated. The "Unscheduled Offworld Activation" message came on.

"Close the Iris," she ordered.

"Receiving an IDC. It's Jacob Carter's, and he's transmitted the emergency medical code."

"Open the Iris," Sam ordered. "Medical team to the Gateroom immediately!"

Sam ran down the steps to the Gateroom to meet her father. Her heart was pounding in her chest. The medical team came running in the room. Janet said, "What's going on?!"

Jacob Carter came through the `gate with Laira in his arms. Garan and Paynan were right behind him.

"She had a severe headache and then passed out."

"Get her in the infirmary now!" Janet ordered.

They ran up the hall. Laira moaned, "Sam, … baby … promise."

"I promised Laira. Don't worry, you'll be fine!"

At the door to the infirmary, Janet said, "Wait here. I'll tell you as soon as I know anything."

Sam ran to the nearest phone and called Jack, Daniel, Teal'c and General Hammond to tell them.

She walked back to her father.

"Dad, what happened?"

"We were sitting in front of the fire talking. She said she had a really bad headache, and then she cried out in pain and collapsed. I sent Garan to get Paynan and brought her here."

"Oh God, I hope everything will be all right."

"I know. I want a chance to play with my namesake."

Jack, Daniel, Teal'c and Hammond came running up.

"We don't know anything yet," said Jacob. He told them what had happened.

They stood around; they paced the floor, anxiety driving them to distraction.

One hour passed, then two.

Janet came out wearing bloody surgical scrubs. There were tears in her eyes.

"Garan, Jack, everybody." She took a breath. "Laira had an aneurysm in the brain, a big one. We were trying to bypass it when it burst." Tears started to fall. "I'm sorry. We couldn't do anything. We lost her." Janet went into Jacob's arms and sobbed. Jack and Paynan held Garan. General Hammond went to Samantha.

"What about the baby?" someone said.

"We did an emergency C-Section and got the baby out. He's a little early but he's doing fine."

They all stood there, crying. All they could do was comfort each other.

In a little while, Nurse Carter came out holding the baby. "Colonel O'Neill, would you like to hold your son?"

Go to Part 3



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