The air on P9V-222 just plain *smelled* green. Fresh. Crisp. Just the faintest hint of floral and something akin to pine. Maybe even fruit? Berries, or something.
*Kind of like that bottle of pink stuff Sam accidentally left in the locker room shower last week…*
“The buildings shown by the MALP were North, correct, Major?” Jack asked, turning towards his 2IC, spurred by his own wayward thoughts.
“Yes, sir. Three clicks.”
In silent agreement, the four members of SG-1 headed north, the only sound their strides through the tall grasses around them. From the images and readings the MALP sent back, Jack wasn’t figuring on any technological breakthroughs on the planet, but at least it was warm and green while Colorado was typical January cold. As they walked, he scanned the horizon and tree line for anything that might send up a warning flag.
“Wow!”
Jack stopped mid stride and turned to Daniel. “What?”
Daniel was digging furiously through the pockets of his ALICE vest, finally coming out with his field glasses. He stared out over the horizon, and Jack followed his line of site, seeing the first up cropping of a stone structure a good two clicks away still.
“This is incredible! Look at the ramparts and crenellations, I mean, it has to be Medieval European. Possibly pre-Elizabethan, maybe later. But not by much. Even the Coat of Arms displayed on the tower depicts imagery prominent in Wales and Scotland after the 1600’s.”
Jack adjusted the shoulder strap of his P-90 so it sat against his torso, and used the weapon as a shelf to support his crossed arms. He squinted behind his sunglasses and glanced around the green landscape around them, not really listening to Daniel as he went on about King So-and-So and the Reign of something or other.
“Jack? Jack, are you listening?”
He spun back and adjusted the brim of his hat to better shield the bright sunlight. “What?”
“You’re not even listening, Jack. I mean, this is *huge*.”
Jack stared at Daniel, pretty sure that he didn’t really care. Carter, who stood beside him, turned her back to Daniel as if she was checking out the surroundings.
“Goa’ulds were on Earth as late as the fifteenth century,” she mumbled under her breath.
“Daniel, to you *everything* is huge,” Jack said, waving his hand. “Come on. It just means the damn snakeheads were still being a pain in the ass as late as, what, the late fifteenth century?”
The look of total shock on Daniel’s face was priceless. Jack popped up his eyebrows and grinned. In his peripheral vision, he caught Sam’s expression as she did her best to suppress her smirk.
“Um, yeah…” Daniel mumbled, his eyes darting from Jack to the field glasses in his hand.
“Well, it’s obvious…” Jack threw in for good measure and brushed past the silenced archaeologist and headed towards the... castle?… for lack of a better description.
Sam fell into stride beside him as they moved ahead, taking point. She shifted her P-90 in her arms, and they walked in silence for several minutes. Behind them, Jack heard Daniel explaining to Teal’c – in great detail – the feudal system of Europe.
As they reached the bottom of the steady slope, Jack heard Sam’s muffled chuckle. He glanced sideways at her.
“Careful, Major. You’ll give us away.”
She laughed softly, almost a purr, and cleared her throat. “His face was priceless.”
“I’m rubbing off on you, Carter.”
“I don’t necessarily consider that a bad--“
Sam stopped mid-sentence as a woman’s scream ripped through the quiet morning air. Jack scanned the area as Sam pointed to the nearby copse of trees.
“That way, sir!”
SG-1 took off at a dead run, Jack leading the way. As they reached the treeline, another scream echoed around them. It was a cry of pain, there was no doubt in Jack’s mind. He angled to the right, leaping over a small shrub and jerked to a stop to keep from stepping right on the woman they sought. Sam and the others fell in behind him as he went down on one knee beside the young girl who was quite obviously in labor, her hands clutching the sides of her rounded stomach.
“Holy Hannah…” Sam gasped.
“Help me!” she cried out in pain. “My baby! Something is wrong!” And again she screamed, throwing her head back as her body arched in the damp leaves.
Jack grimaced and looked up at the other members of his team. “Daniel?”
Daniel’s eyes rounded and he stuttered out “What? Jack, what do you want me to do?”
Jack whipped off his hat and let his sunglasses hang around his neck. The shaded forest was dim. “Well, Daniel… how many babies have you delivered now?”
Daniel stuttered again, not really answering.
“By my count, at least three, sir,” Sam interjected.
Daniel shot her a sharp look.
“And how many babies have the rest of us delivered? None. That makes you resident expert.”
The girl screamed again, and it seemed to be enough to thrust Daniel into action. Even Teal’c obliged in obeying the orders and instructions Daniel gave as he knelt between the young girl’s knees. With each scream, Jack winced, remembering the day Charlie was born despite his best efforts not to.
It was obvious after several minutes, even to Jack, that something was wrong. No matter how Daniel coaxed, and the obvious strain on the young woman’s features, nothing was happening. The child wasn’t coming out. She looked pale and exhausted, falling back against Teal’c after each contraction as he did his job to support her.
Jack caught Sam’s expression as Daniel fought to bring the baby into the world. She looked nearly as pale as the young mother, her blue eyes wide and her lips a bright red in contrast to her cheeks.
“Oh, Lord have mercy on me!” the girl cried out through her sobs. Her dark hair was slicked back from her forehead, clinging damply to her cheeks and neck with sweat and tears. “Please! Please! Save my child!”
“I’m doing the best I can,” Daniel said through gritted teeth.
“Why the *hell* is she out in the middle of nowhere having a freakin’ baby to begin with?” Jack asked no one in particular.
“One more time! Push!”
The girl bore down, her body curling forward and her face flushing dusky red as she cried out with such agony it stopped Jack’s heart in his chest. With one last gush of air, she fell back into Teal’c arms, and a new sound took over.
The soft, quivering cry of a baby.
Jack released his pent up breath.
“The blanket, Sam,” Daniel said as he lifted the naked and wet child from beneath her mother’s legs and set her in Sam’s waiting arms.
Jack did his best to help, feeling pretty much useless. He handed Daniel the tiny set of medical scissors that were included in their first aid supplies, and Daniel snipped the umbilical cord. For someone who claimed he barely knew what he was doing, Daniel seemed to be doing a damn good job of it. Sam had regained her color, and quickly bundled the newborn in the blanket she had retrieved from one of their packs as soon as Daniel nodded his head that it was okay.
*Well, not exactly the mission he planned on…*
“The mother is weak, but she still breathes, DanielJackson,” Teal’c said as he touched the woman’s neck.
“We need to get her to a town or something, Jack. She lost *a lot* of blood. If we can find her family, her husband, and maybe the equivalent of a midwife… I don’t know… but there’d be a chance.”
Ice-cold fingers grasped Jack’s wrist and he looked down at the new mother. Her cheeks were ashen and sallow, dark rings forming around her eyes, and her skin still glistened with sweat.
“Please, M’Lord. You must take care of my baby.”
*<>*<>*<>*<>*
Sam did her best to wrap the amazingly small infant in the military-issue blanket, silently cursing over the coarse texture against such new skin, as she wiped away the mucus and fluid from the little girl’s eyes and nose. The infant mewled softly, her lips open and her mouth searching for a source of food each time Sam touched her cheek.
Daniel was telling Jack the mother needed help, they needed to move her, but as Sam looked at the woman’s face she doubted there was any use. The ground was saturated with her blood, and her limbs trembled with cold and fatigue. She was so young… looking no more than seventeen… and dressed in little more than rags. But she was frail and thin, despite the fact that she had just given birth, and her breath was shallow and ragged.
“Please, M’Lord. You must take care of my baby.”
The girl’s wavering voice drew Sam’s attention, and she looked up from the babe to see the mother clutching Jack’s wrist. Sam’s heart rose in her throat as Jack took the girl’s hand in both of his and moved closer to her.
“Please,” she pleaded again. “My Lord, care for my child. I beg of you.”
“We’re going to take you to your people,” Jack said, patting her hand. “You’ll be just fine.”
“No!” she cried, trying to sit up but only collapsed back into Teal’c’s arms. “You must take her, and go. They will cast her away.”
Sam looked to Daniel. “What could she mean?”
Daniel shook his head. “I don’t know. Milady, where are your people? Your family?” he asked, seeming to adopt some of her speech.
She shook her head, tears rolling from her eyes. “There is no one. I am alone. I am unclean, unworthy. Please, do not allow my sin to shame my babe. You are not of our shire. Please, please take her to your home.”
She was near hysterics, and as if on cue, the child cried out. Sam made soft shushing sounds and gave the baby her pinky finger, which the child greedily latched onto.
“Okay, okay.” Jack held a finger to his lips. “Take it easy.”
Daniel shook his head. “Jack, this isn’t good.”
“I know, Daniel. I know. What’s your name?” he asked of the girl.
“I have no name,” she said softly, her strength waning. “I am outcast.”
“Ah, hell,” Jack mumbled under his breath.
“But you must have had a name,” Sam said, still bouncing the baby in her arms. “Come on. Your daughter needs to know her mother’s name.”
She turned her head and reached a shaky arm out to the baby in Sam’s arms, and Sam moved closer so she could touch the still damp head. A weak smile spread her lips and her eyes glistened with tears. This woman knew she was going to die, Sam could see it in her face. Giving her the only and only chance she would ever have, Sam shifted the baby in her hold so she was partially in her mother’s arms.
“Tell her, someday, that her mother’s name was Elspeth.”
“It’s a beautiful name,” Daniel said.
The very feel of the air around the six of them had changed. Without a word being spoken, they all knew that trying to even move her was pointless. That this would be the place that she would die. One life came into the world, and one leaving. As Elspeth held her daughter, Sam stole a glance at Jack.
He knelt on one knee in the leaves, his elbow on his raised leg and his head in his hand. She tried to see his eyes, to read what thoughts might be swirling and churning behind them, but he didn’t look in her direction. Sam looked to Daniel. His emotions were clear, and she knew he remembered the last time he took part in this kind of miracle. Delivering Sha’re’s child.
“What will you name your daughter?” Sam asked, bringing her focus back to Elspeth and the child she helped her hold.
The look of peace and joy on Elspeth’s face far outweighed the wane exhaustion as she stroked her daughter’s cheek. “Lorelei. T’was her grandmother’s name.”
Sam swallowed hard.
“It is indeed a fine name for your child,” Teal’c said, and the heavy weight of his voice surprised Sam after his long silence.
“It’s beautiful.”
Elspeth looked up, meeting Sam’s gaze. “Promise me, Milady, that you will not allow harm to come to her? My sin should not be her sin. My sentence not her own.”
Sam looked to Jack, and he raised his head. His dark eyes met hers, and he nodded almost imperceptively. She looked back to Elspeth. “I promise.”
Elspeth pressed her lips to the baby’s head, then with tears streaming from her eyes, she pushed the child towards Sam. With Lorelei in Sam’s arms again, Elspeth took one long shuddered breath and her body went limp. Daniel reached for her hand and felt for a pulse. Sam held her breath.
“She’s gone.”
“Ah, damn…” Jack mumbled, rubbing his hand over his face.
Sam closed her eyes and slowly released her breath. The baby in her arms filled the forest with her cries.
*<>*<>*<>*<>*
“You okay carrying her, Carter?” Jack asked as he fell back in step with his 2IC.
Sam shifted the infant in the crook of her arm so she could soothe her with her pinky to suck on. “I’m fine, sir.”
‘Here. Hang on.” He touched her shoulder so she would stop, and took her P-90 from where it hung behind her. “Better?”
Sam looked up at him and smiled, the kind of small grin that usually managed to effectively punch him in the gut. “Thank you, sir.”
Jack nodded and slipped the weapon strap over his head so the gun lay at a diagonal across his back. Up ahead of them, Teal’c paused to turn back to them.
“O’Neill. There is a village just over the next hill. The inhabitants appear to be primitive by Tau’ri standards.”
“Sir, I need just a minute before we get there,” Sam said, kneeling on the ground as she pulled the blankets back from Lorelei.
“She make a mess?”
“Not yet, but I think I know what to do to make it… um… less of a mess,” she said, grinning up at him.
Jack looked back to Daniel and Teal’c. “You two go ahead. See if you can ask around and maybe find Elspeth’s family, or someone who knows them. Someone in charge.”
“’Kay, Jack,” Daniel said, lifting his hand in a wave.
Teal’c just bowed his head and turned to walk away with Daniel. Jack watched Sam as she dug through the various pockets of her ALICE vest, pulling out some of the first aid items. She unfolded a large gauze and plastic pad designed for absorbing blood in a trauma situation and worked at wrapping it as best she could around the little girl to form a short-term diaper.
“Good thought, Carter.”
“Yeah, well, I’d rather do this than deal with a soggy blanket later.”
Jack pulled a roll of bandage tape from his vest. “Here. This should hold it in place.”
“Thank you.”
He watched her as she worked on – to use one of her favorite terms – MacGyvering a diaper of sorts. Jack suppressed his chuckle. *Maybe she needed some duct tape…*
But her tight expression and intent focus drew his attention. She pulled her lower lip through her teeth with almost a vengeance, her forehead drawn together tensely. Jack crouched down beside her, watching her as she seemed almost unaware of his closeness. He tapped her arm.
“Hey. Carter. What’s up?”
Sam glanced at him. “I was just thinking about the things Elspeth said. That she was an outcast. For us to take Lorelei so her sin wouldn’t be her daughter’s sin. What do you suppose all that meant?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t think I’m going to like it when I find out.”
The way her blue gaze met and held his, as she barely dipped her chin, told Jack she felt the same way. Something didn’t sit right. Sam turned her focus again on Lorelei and finished bundling her.
“You ready to move?” Jack asked, still crouched beside her.
“Yes, sir.”
“Do you want me to carry her for awhile?”
Her eyes flicked in his direction, and a small smile tipped her lips. “You know, Colonel, if I didn’t know better I’d think you’re itching to hold her. You just don’t want to admit it.”
“I just thought you might be tired of—“
Before he could finish, Lorelei was in the bend of his right arm and Sam was taking back her P-90. He could have bristled, acted awkward, made some sarcastic remark… but all such thoughts just disappeared.
It had been years since he held a baby. There had been nephews and nieces since Charlie was an infant, but they were all much older now. The slight weight was familiar, bringing back flashes of memories. Sitting in the rocker at two in the morning, rocking and talking in hushed whispers so Sara could sleep. Lying on his stomach on the living room rug so he could be face to face with his son, who was just learning his arms could hold him up. Wiggling, squirming bundles of energy with no way to burn it off but to giggle, smile and dance.
“Colonel?”
Jack looked up, immediately locking gazes with Sam who knelt beside him. Her hand rested on Lorelei, but her eyes were on him. Silent communication moved between them, just as it had grown to be for them over the years, and they both stood. Side by side, they walked in the direction Daniel and Teal’c had gone.
As they took a turn in the path, Sam spoke to say she saw Daniel and Teal’c approaching. Daniel in the lead, his long strides eating up the distance. As they grew nearer, Jack saw Daniel’s expression twisted into an angry glare. He marched up to them, his floppy had crumpled tightly in his fisted hand.
“Daniel…” Jack said slowly. “What’s up?”
“You might as well just *turn around* now, Jack. No use wasting your time,” he nearly shouted, his voice several octaves higher than any of them were used to hearing. “Don’t take her anywhere *near* that village!”
“Whoa, Daniel. Take it easy,” Sam said, touching Daniel’s arm. “What happened?”
Teal’c reached them, his pace not quite as angry and fueled as Daniel’s. He stood behind Daniel, the end of his staff weapon set on the ground, and his usual stoic expression on his face.
“Teal’c, care to explain?”
Lorelei fussed, and without much thought, Jack slowly and gently bounced his arm, swaying her back to silence.
“The inhabitants of this planet are ones of great conviction. When Daniel Jackson told them of the woman we found in childbirth, and the daughter which came from her womb, they were most adamant we should bring the child at once.”
“And this is bad, because…?”
“Because, Jack, they want to kill her,” Daniel shouted.
“What?” Jack and Sam said in unison, then glanced at each other.
“In this place, Elspeth and her child are outcasts,” Teal’c went on to explain, and Elspeth’s words whispered in the back of Jack’s thoughts. “Her child was conceived outside the vows of marriage, and when she would not name the father, for fear of death for both of them, she was cast from the village to live in the wilderness.”
“It’s amazing she lasted as long as she did without shelter and care,” Daniel said, his voice just barely below a shout now yet still heavily laced with anger. “Jack, if she had lived long enough for us to bring her here, they would have stoned her on the spot. Those were her options, banishment or death by stoning.”
“Just because she got pregnant?” Sam asked, her voice shooting up an octave.
“I knew many older civilizations had strict beliefs when it came to religion, and the punishment for breaking the laws of the church, but my GOD, Jack. They want to kill her. We can’t leave her here.” Daniel had reached a state of livid frenzy, waving his arms in argument, thrusting his finger back towards the way they had come.
“We’re sure about this?” Jack ventured to ask.
“Indeed, O’Neill. In fact, I believe they may come in search of the babe if we do not take our leave of this planet.”
Almost on cue, the sound of multiple people pushing their way through the undergrowth came from down the trail.
“Sir…”
“Jack, we need to go…”
But before either Sam’s or Daniel’s words were out of their mouths, Jack pushed Lorelei into Sam’s arms. “Take her and head for the Gate. Go!”
Sam and Daniel took off, Daniel’s hand pressed to her back to help her along. Teal’c and Jack hung back enough to make sure their progress would go unhindered. Jack didn’t want to hurt any of these people, but if it came down to one of them or one of his people getting through the Gate, his people won.
They managed to stay ahead of the hunting party. Just far enough ahead that Jack saw them, but hopefully their departure had remained unseen. There were at least three-dozen men making their way through the forest.
As they neared the Gate, Jack and Teal’c closed the space between them. Lorelei was fussing again, and Sam stood at the base of the Gate steps with the baby curled against her shoulder as Daniel dialed.
“Let’s move it, Daniel!”
Just as Jack shouted, the hunting party crested the hill and shouted out for them to stop. He made out only a handful of words from the cacophony of cries, but ‘devil’ and ‘sinner’ and ‘death’ burned in his ears. The DHD’s center glowed red, and with a familiar and almost comforting ‘kawoosh’ the Gate engaged.
“Move it, kids.”
Daniel and Teal’c moved up the steps, and Jack moved beside Sam to follow. As they reached the top, a volley of crude arrows buzzed by their heads, and on instinct Jack wrapped his arms around Sam and Lorelei as they both jumped through the event horizon.
*<>*<>*<>*<>*
“Unscheduled Off –World Activation.”
General Hammond stood from behind his desk and left his office, heading down the stairs to the Gate Control Room.
“Do we have an IDC?”
“Coming through now, General. It’s SG-1.”
“They left less than three hours ago. Open the iris and call a medical team to the Gate room.”
“Yes, sir.”
General Hammond left the Control area and headed directly for the Gate room. Two things made him nervous. Teams that came home later than they were supposed to. And Teams that came home early.
An array of armed soldiers took up their posts along the base of the Gate ramp in anticipation of whomever came through, on the off chance they were not friend but foe. The even horizon shifted, and Dr. Jackson came through with Teal’c right behind. They both stepped clear and stopped, turning back to the Gate. General Hammond assumed in anticipation of the rest of the Team.
What he saw next shocked him. Colonel Jack O’Neill came through, with Major Samantha Carter held against his chest in what seemed to be an almost intimate embrace. Her body was turned into his and her face turned away.
“Shut the iris! Shut it down!” Colonel O’Neill ordered.
A split second later, the Titanium iris swirled into place and the electrifying buzz of the engaged Gate silenced as the connection was lost.
General Hammond approached the ramp as the doors opened and Doctor Frasier came in, leading her team.
“Colonel, report. What happened?”
But Jack was speaking to Major Carter, his arms still partially around her and his hands pressed against her back. Her head was down, and she nodded as she spoke, but no one could hear what they said.
“Colonel, what is going on?”
Colonel O’Neill finally dropped his hold on his 2IC, just as Dr. Jackson said “Well, General. It’s an interesting story.”
Just then, a collective gasp moved through the Gate room as a soft cry rang out and Major Carter turned, a bundled baby in her arms.
*<>*<>*<>*<>*
“She appears to be in good health. Perhaps a little underweight by our standards, but if I understand the mother’s living conditions, I’d say she’s doing very well considering,” Janet explained, seated at the debriefing table with a brand new medical folder open in front of her.
“Do you have any reason to suspect she might be a danger? Speaking strictly biologically,” General Hammond asked.
Sam sat silent, her hands clenched tightly together in her lap. They had returned with Lorelei and hour before, and she wanted to see her. She didn’t understand the almost overwhelming need, but it twisted in her chest and made her tense and nervous.
“Not at all, sir. My only concern is feeding her at this point. We don’t know what will be compatible to her genetic make up. Right now, we’re putting her or an easily digestible newborn formula. We’ll have to wait and see how she reacts.”
Sam shifted in her chair, feeling hot and smothered. She needed air. Like a gentle touch on her shoulder, she felt his gaze move on her. Sam swallowed and glanced in Jack’s direction.
He sat across from her, his tall frame bent forward over the table top, his hands clasped together loosely in front of him. But his dark gaze was on her. Watching her. Reading her. She knew it as well as if she were doing it herself.
One eyebrow arched. *You okay?*
She dipped her chin in an abbreviated nod. It was enough for him to see.
“What do you suggest we do now, Doctor Frasier?” General Hammond asked.
“Well, sir… in a way, this is a similar situation to when we brought Cassandra through. And yet, it’s different. Lorelei will never remember where she came from, or this place, unlike Cassie. But she is, in all actuality, an alien. Whoever becomes responsible for her care should be made to understand where she came from and how she came to be here. It’s an interesting situation.”
“And one I intend to discuss with the President. But until such a time as a suitable home is found, we need to put her somewhere. The SGC infirmary is far from an appropriate nursery.”
“Well, she should stay a little longer, sir. She is, after all, a newborn.”
“Understood, Doctor. I’ll let you know as soon as I have a temporary placement.”
“Yes, sir.”
Everyone around the table moved to their feet. Before Janet could leave the room, Sam managed to dodge moving chairs and departing bodies to catch up with her, touching her friend’s arm.
“Janet?”
“What’s up, Sam?”
“Could I visit Lorelei?”
Janet smiled. “Of course. I feel badly, because as young as she is she really needs that human contact, but I’m not exactly staffed to run a nursery.”
“Thank you.”
She walked with Janet to the infirmary and immediately moved to the makeshift bed they’d created on a cot in the furthest corner of the room, away from most of the hustle and bustle. A white curtain was pulled around to partially block the bassinet, and Sam slipped behind it, looking down at the sleeping baby.
Lorelei was all cleaned up now, better than Sam had been able to manage on the planet. She slept on her back, swaddled in a white blanket. Bright red lips pulled together into a heart-shaped pout, her chin working to suckle on something only in her dreams. Her skin was fair, with a rosy flush in her cheeks, and a soft downy layer of light brown hair dusted her head.
Something Sam didn’t understand pushed out from her chest. A yearning she had never experienced before. She leaned over the bed and laid her palm over Lorelei’s head, stroking the soft hair. Lorelei pulled in a deep breath, her body shuddering as she released it in sleep.
“She doin’ okay?”
Sam knew he was there just an instant before he spoke, so his softly spoken deep voice didn’t surprise her. Jack stepped behind her, close enough to look over her shoulder but not so close that any part of him touched her.
“She’s sleeping. Isn’t she beautiful, sir?”
“Yeah.”
The heavy quality of his voice brought Sam’s head up, and she looked over her shoulder at her commanding officer. His dark gaze was on Lorelei, his hands shoved into the front pockets of his BDU’s. His arms worked in small motions, as if antsy.
*He wanted to touch Lorelei…*
Sam hid her smile by turning away. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, watching Jack with Lorelei while they were still on the planet had effected her. How, she couldn’t quite define, but it happened nonetheless. The way he automatically began to sway his body when she fussed, so natural and easy. Sometimes she forgot that he had been a father, and seeing his ease with Lorelei, she was willing to bet he had been a great one.
She also remembered, with vivid detail, the way he had protectively pulled her and Lorelei to his chest as they stepped through the gate. Protecting them both from the meager attack. And he hadn’t released her on the other side, not until he knew she had her bearings and that they both were okay. His hands had supported her, the effect of his touch not diminished by the heavy layers of material that kept his skin from hers. And he bent his head to look down at Lorelei, speaking softly and making sure they were fine.
“You can hold her if you want,” Janet said from the edge of the curtain.
Sam looked up, and sensed Jack’s single step backwards, creating just a little bit larger buffer zone between them.
“She’s asleep.”
“That’s okay. Babies grow stronger and faster when they’re held. Even if she’s asleep, she knows someone is loving her.”
Sam’s chest pulled again, and her throat tightened. What was wrong with her?
“Go ahead. You too, Colonel. Feel free to pay as much attention to her as you’d like. In fact, it’s time for her to eat,” Janet said as one of the nurses came over with a small bottle of formula, handing it to her. “Would one of you like to feed her?”
Sam shook her head. “Oh, no. I couldn’t. I’ve never… not even my nephew and niece.”
“Well, then. Colonel, you win,” Janet said, handing the bottle to Jack. “I’ll have Amy bring in a chair.”
“O…kay,” Jack said, taking the bottle.
As the nurse went to retrieve a chair, Jack handed the bottle to Sam to reach for Lorelei. Sam stepped back as he deftly lifted Lorelei from the bed, setting her against his shoulder as she mewled softly, coming awake. Jan returned with the chair, sliding it behind the curtain, and Jack sat.
Minutes later, Sam was sitting on the end of the cot watching Colonel Jack O’Neill feed a baby. It was a surreal and silencing thing. She couldn’t keep her gaze from his face. His features were relaxed, the smallest hint of a smile at the corner of his nice lips. He held her in the bend of his arm, high on his chest. Close enough to his heart that with just the slightest bend of his neck, he could press a kiss to her forehead if he wanted.
Lorelei’s mouth smacked as she momentarily lost her suction on the nipple, and Jack chuckled. The sound sent a shiver over Sam’s entire body. She licked her lips and swallowed hard before finding her voice.
“She’s hungry, huh?”
“Sure is. I think Doc Frasier’s gonna have to move her up to six ounces soon.”
Sometimes, Sam thought she knew Jack better than anyone else she had ever known. She had learned to read his body language, anticipate his decisions, and sense his presence. He was a strategic genius, and an amazing leader. A man of few words, yet a man who could say a thousand things in a single glance. She knew, they had shared many a conversation that consisted of little more than a dozen words with everything else expressed in the very things not said.
Yet, she found herself amazed as this new Jack. A man who knew to stop and burp a baby half way through a bottle. Who knew just how to stroke her back in an upward circular motion to relieve the pressure and produce the soft, delicate belch. And who knew just how much formula a baby would eat.
“You’re good at that,” she said before her rational mind kicked in and told her to keep her mouth shut.
Jack looked up again, and their gazes held for two heartbeats longer than was prudent. “Yeah, well. It’s been awhile. I’m rusty.”
Before Sam could say anything, apologize for her lack of tact, Janet returned.
“I have news. We’ve found someone to take Lorelei.”
Sam straightened and stood. Jack remained in his spot, Lorelei again asleep in his arms.
“Who?” Sam asked.
Janet looked at her for a long moment, then smiled. “You.”
Sam’s eyes popped wide and she stuttered. “What? Me?”
“I just spoke with General Hammond. He thinks it’s a good idea. Lorelei is already familiar with you, even though she’s not even a day old. That makes a difference. He has taken SG-1 off the mission schedule until we find a permanent home for her, and until then, you are her caregiver.”
Sam slowly turned her head and looked down at Jack, or more at Lorelei, but she couldn’t look at one without seeing the other. Panic collided with a giddy kind of happiness she couldn’t explain. She crossed her arms over her body to try and rein it all in.
“She can go home today. I don’t have any reason to keep her.”
*Panic just took over completely….*
*<>*<>*<>*<>*
Sam paced the floor, walking from the kitchen to the living room, and back again. Lorelei’s tiny head rested on her shoulder, and her arms ached from the constant bouncing and swaying. But nothing would soothe the screaming child. Loud wails ripped through the house, making Sam wince. Tears of pure frustration burned her eyes.
She wasn’t cut out for this. Obviously, she should never be held responsible for the care and well being of another human being and the maternity gene had skipped her all together.
Lorelei cried out again, and something in Sam’s gut told her they weren’t cries of hunger or because her diaper was wet. Or that she was tired. They were cries of discomfort. But what to do? What the hell could she do?
“Shhhhh,” she whispered against Lorelei’s warm skin, her downy hair brushing Sam’s lips. “Oh, Lorelei… I wish I knew what to do.”
Sam stopped short half way to the kitchen. She didn’t know, but she knew someone who would.
She dressed Lorelei in the pink bunny bunting Janet had given her and tucked the baby into her car seat. Lorelei continued to cry, but Sam hoped the relief would come soon. She covered the seat with a warm polar fleece blanket and headed out into the cold.
Ten minutes later she was on his doorstep, the crying baby nestled in her arms. It was late, nearly 2200 hours, and his house was in almost complete darkness. But she saw a blue flicker of light from his television and hoped that meant he was awake. Balancing Lorelei with one arm, she knocked on the door.
No sound came from inside, and she saw no movement. Lorelei’s cries were just long strains of quivering pleas that ripped at Sam’s heart. She swallowed against the tears. Why was she crying?
Sam closed her eyes and pressed her cheek against the soft fleece of the baby’s blanket. Big, fat tears squeezed free and rolled down her cheeks. She was crying because she felt useless and stupid and …
The door opened. “Carter?”
Sam opened her eyes, hoping she didn’t look as pitiful as she felt. “I don’t know what to do…”
Then he reached for her, his arm coming around her shoulders to draw her into the house. His other hand touched Lorelei’s blanket just as she cried out again. Jack led her into the house and down the steps to the living room. He must have been asleep on the couch.
“How long has she been crying?”
“Over an hour. Sir, I don’t know what’s wrong. I fed her. I changed her. I rocked her…”
“When did she eat?”
“About an hour and a half ago.”
“Did she burp?”
“Yes!” she nearly shouted in frustration.
“Okay, okay… Let me see.”
Sam hated the sense of relief that swept over her when he took Lorelei from her arms. She wiped viciously at her cheeks and crossed her arms over her body, watching him as he sat down on the couch and peeled away the warm layers of material. He shifted to lie her down on the cushion beside him, and Sam watched in wonder as his experience showed through. He lifted the tiny little sweatshirt she wore, exposing the one-piece underwear beneath, and laid his large hand across her tummy. Long, strong fingers spanned Lorelei’s entire body.
Then he stood, bent over so his hand was still on her, motioning for Sam to come to him. She did, and tried to hide her reaction when his hand curled around her wrist.
“Sit down with her. I’ll be right back.”
Sam nodded, sinking down onto the cushion warmed by his body. She leaned over Lorelei, stroking her hair and wishing to God she knew what to do. Weren’t women supposed to instinctively know all this stuff? Was she some kind of female reject? She could fix a tri-phase Naquida generator in less than ten minutes with a single screwdriver and a paperclip, but she couldn’t soothe a newborn baby.
Jack returned, folding a fluffy towel as he came down the steps.
“Pick her up.”
Sam followed his instructions, and he laid the towel on the couch. It touched her leg and she was surprised to feel the heat radiating from it.
“Lay her down on her stomach on the towel.”
Again, Sam did exactly what she was told. The crying didn’t stop, didn’t even slow down.
“Okay. I’ll be right back.”
Sam’s head snapped up. Jack sat on the coffee table beside the couch, so close his knee bumped hers.
“Where are you going?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be right back.” He reached out and took her face in his hands so their eyes locked. The warm of his skin was immediately soothing. “She’ll be fine. I won’t be gone twenty minutes.”
His thumb stroked her cheek, and she realized with embarrassment that she was still crying. She nodded within his hold. Then he stood, and she felt immediately bereft at the loss of his touch. She circled her hand over Lorelei’s back, hoping it might in some way help.
It was going to be a long twenty minutes…
