Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Bag of marshmallows in hand, Jack hurried back to the fire pit in his, grinning at the sight of Sam and Tagan. It had only been a few short months since SG-1 had found the boy, the only survivor of a brutal attack, on Eudora and brought him back to the SGC, but he was adjusting well and was currently hanging on Sam's every word as she pointed out a few faint constellations.

Sam – it had been a long time since Jack had allowed himself to even think of her as anything other than Carter, but now, with Tagan in the picture, his resignation had finally been accepted allowing her to be Sam to him again. She, in turn, was now calling him Jack, and he'd never get tired of hearing her say his name. The first several months had been rough as they navigated their way through the changes in their relationship and helping Tagan acclimate to life on earth. It hadn't been easy, but they had finished unpacking the last of her boxes and tonight was the first night they were all officially under one roof which was why they were celebrating with a fire, just the three of them.

“Alright, kiddo,” Jack dropped into the seat beside Tagan, “you ready to try one of this planet's finest delicacies?”

“I'm not sure marshmallows count as a delicacy, Jack.” Sam rolled her eyes, taking the proffered roasting stick.

“Alone, no.” Jack skewered two marshmallows on his own stick. “But sandwiched between two graham crackers with chocolate – exquisite!”

Shaking her head, Sam watched as Jack explained the finer point of roasting marshmallows to the captivated five-year-old. While Jack's technique left the confection more charred than she would have liked, Tagan had no issues with it judging by his wide, sticky, grin. In short order he had both hand clasped firmly around the roasting stick while Jack did his best to keep it up off of the glowing coals. Three marshmallows in Sam slid the crackers and chocolate bars under the bench out of site, Tagan didn't need any more sugar if they wanted to get his to bed any time soon. She had just pulled back her perfectly toasted marshmallow when a car door slammed in the driveway.

“Did they guys say they were coming over tonight?” Sam asked, a little disappointed their first night as a family was being interrupted.

“Nope, but Cassie did call earlier. Something about having a gift for Tagan.” He ruffled the boy's hair. “We're out back, Cass!”

Sam turned to watch the young woman walk across the yard, a wriggling ball of fur in her arms.

“Hey, guys.” She dropped onto the bench beside Sam.

“Cassie...”

“Don't worry Sam, he's house broke...besides, it's payback.” Turning her attention to the boy Cassie smiled brightly. “Hey, Tagan, I got something for you.”

Tagan peered around Sam, eyes wide. “What's that?”

“It's a dog.” Cassie smiled, holding her hand out. “Come over here and meet him.”

Hopping off the bench, Tagan slowly approached. It took a little convincing, but soon he was running around the yard with the puppy hot on his heels. Passing her stick and the bag of marshmallow to Cassie, Sam scooted over so she could lean against Jack. Closing her eyes, she drank in the comforting sounds of the crackling fire, Jack and Cassie's banter, Tagan's giggling, the puppy's yips, everything coming together to make the evening perfect. She would never have guessed that finding that little boy hunkered down in the woods on the one planet she had longed to forget would have led her to this moment and having everything she'd ever wanted but thought she could never have.

She must have drifted off as next thing she knew Jack was nudging her shoulder gently.

“I'm going to head out.” Cassie brushed her hands on her pants. “Didn't mean to interrupt your family time...”

“You are family, Cass.” Jack admonished. “You're welcome any time, day or night, no matter what.”

“You're leaving?” Tagan skidded to a stop. “Are you taking the dog with you?”

Cassie dropped to her knees. “No, Tag, he's yours now.”

“Really?” He swiped at this eyes. “Why?”

“It's an Earth rule.” She smirked at Jack. “Every kid has got to have a dog.“

Chapter Text

When SG-4 evacuated a school from a village under attack, they didn't expect to have two little girls left waiting in the briefing room once parents had come to claim their children. When the village leaders reported that their parent's had been among the casualties they told General Landry to do as he saw fit with the girls as orphaned children were left to fend for themselves on the streets. Hearing the girl's plight Sam didn't hesitate to offer them a home. She knew she should have talked to Jack first, a decision like this they should make together as well as getting Tagan's input, but one look at Chandi and Abi and she knew what she had to do.

Surprisingly, Jack didn't even blink when she walked in with their new charges – later she'd discover that the General had called to give him a heads up – he just smiled and welcomed them to their new home. Tagan came dashing through the back door, Homer, tail wagging, hot on his heals. As much as Sam had worried about Jack's reaction, Tagan was the one she was most concerned about. He'd done well with the kids in his kindergarten class, but had never really spent much time with children outside of school. Of course he was his father's son and gave them his best O'Neill grin and immediately asked them to play outside.

“I'm sorry, Jack.” Sam leaned against the sliding door.

“For what?”

“I should have talked to you before telling the General we'd take them.” She smiled waived back as Tagan waved at her. “But we couldn't just send them back...Chandi's ten, she could take care of herself, but Abi's only 4...I couldn't stand the thought of them out on the streets.”

“It's okay, Sam.” Jack came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. “We've talked about giving Tagan a sibling – however that works out – you just saved us a lot of time and a lot of money.”

“You're okay that they aren't ours – genetically?”

“You're okay with the fact that Tagan isn't biologically yours, right?” He felt her nod. “Then I'm okay with the fact that those two aren't related to either of us.”

“I'd still like to try – for one of our own.” She turned in his arms. “Don't get me wrong, in the last year I've come to love Tagan as if he were my own, and Chandi and Abi...I feel like they were meant to be ours...”

“Okay.” He kissed her lightly.

She pulled back, “Just okay?”

“We can keep trying for our own, and show those three hooligan's in the backyard what it means to be a kid on Earth.” He pulled her in close again., dropping to a whisper “Besides...the trying is where the fun's at!”

Over the years Cassie had taken Jack up on his 'you're welcome any time' policy frequently, so a month after Chandi and Abi officially became O'Neill's Sam didn't think anything of it when she came home and saw the young woman's car on the street. The giggling coming form the living room brought a smile to her face that quickly turned to confusion as she now counted three children...and three dogs. Jack's stern voice in the kitchen drew her away from the front door.

“We already have a dog, Cassie.” Jack folded his arms, staring at the young woman.

“But Uncle Jack, every kid has got to have a dog – you said so yourself.” She smiled innocently at him, not phased by his stern glare.

“Well, yes, but...kids can share...” He looked pleadingly at Sam. “Help me out here, Sam!”

Turning to the living room Sam couldn't help smile as the two fiery haired girls tumbled about on the floor with two corgi puppies. Homer watched with his head cocked as if he was trying to figure out what the little fuzz balls were.

“Well...at least they're corgi's – they don't get too big.” She shrugged, putting the fate of the puppies back in his hands

The two girls looked to Jack with beaming smiles – how could he say no!

“Alright, fine we can keep the puppies.”

Chapter Text

With the exception of Cassie, SG teams returning with orphaned children had never been an issue. SG-1 returning from Eudora with Jack O'Neill's son, Tagan, seemed to herald in a new era without anyone realizing. Almost exactly a year later SG-4 's evacuation mission left them with Chandi and Abi which most people brushed off as a coincidence. Entering an abandon village on P3X-853 SG-3 wasn't phased when they were confronted by a burly eight-year-old bent on revenge for the death of his people. When General Landry called Sam and Jack to see if the boy could stay with them while they tried to figure out what they were going to do with him he, but no one was surprised when they decided to adopt him after less than a week.

Sam and Jack hesitated letting Cassie know they had added to their family, afraid of the gift they were sure she would bring. For nearly three months she visited at least weakly and hadn't shown up with another puppy the started to let their guard down – exactly what she'd been waiting for.

The family of six had had a full day of check ups with Doctor Lamb and a trip to the zoo leaving the kids wired and reluctant to go to bed. An hour past their usual bed time Sam and Jack had finally managed to get the four kids settled down in bed and had been looking forward to some quiet time together when the door bell rang. Grumbling about having his evening plans interrupted, Jack rolled out of bed and shuffled to the front door. Their friends were kind enough to text before they came over unless it was an emergency – especially Daniel who learned the hard way that his friends were still trying for a baby.

Opening the door he found the front porch empty except for a box sitting right in front of the door with – MALIKI – printed in large, bold letters. Jack didn't even need to read the sticky note on top to know who it was from, and even before he heard the faint scratching he knew what it contained.

“Son of a...”

“Jack!” Sam's warning stopped the curse on the tip of his tongue.

Turning back to the stairs he found all four kids huddled around Sam, trying to see what was going on. Running a had through his hair, he scooted the box inside and closed the door.

“Come here, Maliki, it looks like it's for you.” He sighed.

The young boy approached the box cautiously, not sure what to think of the late night gift. Tagan and the girls knew exactly what the box meant, urging him to open it. When he finally lifted the lid a fuzzy black head popped up, pink tongue lolling to one side.

“Cassie strikes again!” Jack handed Sam the sticky note.

“Earth rule! Sorry, not sorry!” Sam read the note with a sigh. “Guess she decided to doorbell ditch this time so we couldn't tell her no.”

“If she keeps this up we'll have to get a kennel license.” Jack groused as he herded four child and four dogs back up the stairs to their rooms.

“How many more are you planning?” Sam asked amused as she pulled tucked Chandi in again.

“I dunno.” Jack shrugged. “How many we at now?”

“Four, Jack, and you know it.”

Sitting on the edge of their bed Jack rubbed his chin as if in deep thought. “A few more wouldn't be terrible...kids, that is.”

“How many is a few?” His vagueness was starting to worry her.

“Eight?” He smirked, he rarely rendered the brilliant Colonel Doctor Samantha O'Neill speechless. “That way we'd have an even dozen...or we can double it and have our own hockey team.”

The absurdity of Jack's statement broke Sam out of her stupor. “We'd need a bigger house.”

“Nah, we can remodel the basement.”

“You really want that many?”

Jack pulled her snug against his side as they lay in the dark. “We can have as many as you want, Sam. Any child that comes through the Gate alone will have a place with us for as long as they need.” He kissed her gently. “And we can keep trying.”

“The trying is fun...” Sam smirked. “Now, lock the door and shut off the light, hopefully we don't get interrupted again.”

“Yes, ma'am!”

Chapter Text

A betting pool started at the SGC – when would another orphaned child be found, and would Sam and Jack adopt said child – even General Landry participated. When more than a year passed after Maliki joined the O'Neill household many people were becoming discouraged. But, they didn't have to wait too long before SG-2 came back with a girl no more than two-years old clinging to their leader.

“Who do you have there, Colonel?” Landry asked over the intercom.

“Xyla, sir.” Colonel Griff pulled the girl's arms from around his neck. “She was going to be sacrificed...Bell found her tied to a stone alter and intervened before we could stop him...”

“You had no other choice but to bring her with you?” Landry tried hard not to get his hopes up. “Her parent's wouldn't take her back and protect her?”

“No, sir.” Griff passed the girl to the nurse that had been summoned. “They are the ones who sold her to the priest. Apparently any time a child like her is born they are sold to the priest who then raise them to be sacrificed – it only happens once every hundred or so years according to the chief.”

“What do you mean like her?” To the General she looked like an average child with pale blue eyes peering from under a mass of pale blond curls that framed her cherubic face like a halo, nearly glowing under the florescent lights .

“The people of P4X-256 have dark hair, dark eyes, darker skin...none of them look like the kid.” Griff looked back at the girl. “Their Chief said her birth was a bad omen, something about a herald of disaster and sacrificing her would appease their god to avert said disaster.”

“How did you end up with her?”

Griff rubbed his hand through his hair. “Bell managed to convenience them that we were...messengers of their god sent to bring this particular sacrifice through the Porta Dei personally. I don't think the chief really believed us, but he let us go as long as we promised never to return.”

“Very well, go with her to the infirmary...I'll make the call.” Landry smiled – he'd just won half of the pool, and if Sam and Jack agreed to take her – which he was sure they would – he would win the second half.

Thirty minutes later Sam was back at the SGC waiting for Doctor Lamb to clear Xyla to leave the mountain. When Sam had hung up after talking to General Landry, Jack knew from the look on her face what the call was about. With an encouraging nod they had gathered the four kids for a quick family council. All four agreed that they were ready for a little sister – Abi in particular was excited at the prospect of no longer being the baby of the family. Before Sam left the mountain with Xyla she had asked Landry to begin drawing up the adoption papers.

They only had to wait a week this time for a suspicious visit from Cassie. Both had accepted the fact that she would show up with a living gift for the latest addition to the family.

“Cassandra Frasier, there had better not be a dog in your puppy.” Jack's warning earned him a grin from the young woman.

“Oh, don't worry. There's no puppy.” She adjusted the moving object in her hoodie pocket. “Where's Xy?”

“In the living room.” He sighed.

Seeing Cassie, the kids eagerly gathered around knowing Xyla was about to receive her own puppy to satisfy their favorite earth rule.

“What kind did you get her, Cassie?” Tagan bounced on the couch.

“Xyla doesn't get a dog.” Cassie helped the little girl up on the couch. “Per Colorado Springs city code, subsection 6.7.106.F only four dogs over four months of age are allowed per property without a kennel license. I don't want to get mom and dad in trouble or make them have to get a spacial license...”

“But it's an Earth rule, Cassie!” Abi's dark eyes were wide. “Won't we get in trouble for not following the rule?”

“This rule is a bit flexible.” she pulled a tiny ball of fur from her pocket. “The rule can be interpreted that every kid has to have a pet, and there are lots of different animals that will satisfy that rule. That's why Xy gets...a kitten.”

Four years ago neither would have imagined they would be sharing the same bed at Jack's house after tucking in five hyper children, four dogs and one tiny grey kitten. Some days were crazier than others, but they would take it – dogs, cats and whatever else Cassie decided fulfilled her favorite earth rule. It was a wild ride for sure, one they were glad to be on together.

Chapter Text

“We need to talk.” Sam dropped onto the bed nearly toppling the stacks of neatly folded laundry.

Jack froze, a pink twirly skirt in his hand. “In my experience, nothing good ever comes from a conversation that starts like that.”

“What?” She looked up, surprised by the familiar emotionless mask that had slid over her husband's face. “Oh! No, it's nothing like that. It's the house...I think we should look for a bigger place.”

“Good news from the doctor?” He let the facade slip, a hopeful smile tugging at his lips.

“Actually...no.” Sam fiddled with a blanket she'd pulled from the laundry basket. “We knew there was a chance it wouldn't happen...Janet wasn't very optimistic when I talked to her before...but Carolyn was sure the newer treatments would work. It doesn't mean we stop trying, I can call and set up an appointment for another round of IVF, or we could look into a surrogate...”

“Sam,” Jack reached out and stopped her hands from worrying the corner of the blanket. “It's okay. We can keep trying if you want, or we can take a break and not think about it for a while. We have five amazing kids already, if they are all we can have then I'm okay with that. I know you want the full experience, and we've nearly had that with Xyla – she looks enough like you that Mark thinks we're lying about her being adopted - but you're the only one she's ever called mommy. Even Tagan and Abi have stopped talking about their first mothers.”

“I know, but I don't want them to forget the lives they had before they came to us…except Xy, I hope she never remembers where she came from.”

Placing each stack of laundry in the color coded baskets, Jack rounded the bed and sat beside Sam. “Chandi tells Abi about their parents every night while they're getting ready for bed, she says it helps her remember them and she wants Abi to remember them too.”

“What about Tagan?” She asked shyly, still jealous of what he had shared with the boy's mother.

"I've told him the little I know about Laira, but I didn’t really know her that well.” He laid back on the bed, pulling her to lay beside him. “What's this really about Sam?”

“Bruno and Franco.” She pulled a photograph from her pocket. “I met them when I went with SG-5 last week. Bruno is an absolutely amazing artist and Franco is so bright.”

“And this is important because?”

“They turn sixteen in three days and will be adults by their culture's standards. They will either be sent to the mines or the military, most likely one to each as family bonds aren’t important, nor encouraged after coming of age, at least not until they are given a mate by the government in order to start their own...”

“It's their culture, Carter, not our place to interfere.” He gently reminded her.

“I know, but I was showing Bruno some of the artwork from Earth and he was fascinated, particularly by all the colors. All he has to work with is charcoal he pulls from the fireplace and a few scraps of wood or bits of paper he can find, but his work is amazing.” She rolled to face him. “Bruno wants to come to Earth and study art, And Franco wants to stay with his brother. At sixteen they can't request asylum without a sponsor.”

Jack sighed. All of the kids they'd taken on so far had been younger, Chandi had been the oldest at ten. Their life was already wild and chaotic, adding two teenagers to the mix wouldn't make things any easier. No, he remembered being a teenage boy and it would definitely not be easy. But, if there was one person he could never say no to, it was Sam.

“I'll make some calls in the morning and see what we can do.”. He kisses the top of her head. “Not making any promises, but I'll try.”

The amount of red tape that came with adopting an orphan from another planet was nothing compared to the red tape and hoops Jack had to face to bring these two boys into their home. They were far from orphans, both knowing who their parents were and many of their siblings, but true to Sam's word, family bonds were meaningless in their society. When asked for permission to bring them to earth the parents merely shrugged and said what happened to the boys was no concern to them.

Jack was sure everything would fall through at any given moment, so much so that he didn't let Sam know what was going on with the situation lest she got her hopes up. So it was on one of her rare days off that Jack volunteered to do the grocery run after seeing the older kids off to school, only to return with two wide-eyed teenagers in tow.

“Lucy, I’m home!” Jack called as he guided the two boys into the living room.

As expected they found Sam trying to entertain a cranky Xyla—signs that another ear infection was on the horizon. Jack scooped the three year old up as he turned Sam around to face the boys.

“Franco! Bruno!” She quickly pulled them both in for a hug. “Jack, you didn’t tell me you got approval!”

Jack shrugged, tickling Xyla. “It was touch and go almost until we stepped through the gate. I didn’t want to get your hopes up.”

“Thank you.” Sam kissed Jack on the cheek before taking the two boys down the hall to get settled.

The next day Jack was secretive as he insisted everyone be ready to leave the house when it was time for school drop off. Try as she might, Sam couldn’t get him to even hint at what he had planned. Tagan, Chandi, Abi and Maliki complained loudly at having to go to school while Bruno and Franco got to stay home, but Jack promised them a special surprise after dinner that night. An hour later Sam’s face lit up as she realized where they were.

Jack dutifully pushed Xyla’s stroller as he and Franco ambled along behind Sam and Bruno as they examined each and every piece in the Denver Art Museum. Franco seemed to feed off his brother’s excitement even though he wasn’t interested in the art itself.

“So, Franco, what do you enjoy doing?” Jack asked as they sat to take a break.

“What do you mean?” The boy asked.

“Back at your old home, Bruno drew a lot, right? What did you do?”

Franco was quiet for a long time before he answered. “I would sneak out of the house at night and look at the stars…”

Smiling, Jack clapped him on the back. “Why don’t you go catch up with Sam and Bruno, I need to make a couple phone calls.”

He’d just hung up from his last call when Sam and the boys joined him by the entrance.

“Who was that?” Sam asked as she crouched down to check on the sleeping Xyla.

“Cassie. She’s going to watch the kids tonight.”

“Why? We should be home before they get home from school.”

“We have one more place to go, but we’ll have to wait until a little later.” He checked his watch. “Why don’t we go grab some lunch and then head to the zoo.”

Hours later when they’d finished lunch, seen every animal at the zoo twice, visited the air and space museum, and had dinner, Jack was finally ready to take them to their final location.

Sam gasped in surprise when he pulled up in front of the Chamberlin Observatory. “It’s not a public night, and those tickets are sold out almost a year in advance!”

Jack shrugged as he settled Xyla in the stroller once again, praying she’d fall asleep and not be grumpy. “I called in a favor from an old friend.”

Franco and Bruno followed close behind Jack, eyes wide as they took in the red stone building with the strange domed roof.

“Johnathan!” A tall pale man met them at the door.

“Mathias.” Jack retuned the greeting, shaking the man’s hand. “These are the boy’s I told you about. Bruno wants to be an artist, and Franco here,” he let his hand fall on the boy’s shoulder, “wants to look at the stars.”

“Well, Franco my boy, you got lucky with this one here. He knows almost as much about astronomy as I do.” He smiled broadly. “Now come with me.”

Franco wasn’t sure what he expected, but the large metal tube that nearly touched the domed metal roof above wasn’t it. He listened attentively as Mathias explained the history of the building and the function of the telescope, many words foreign to him. He jumped back to where Jack was standing when the roof started to move, sure that it was coming down on them. To his surprise it simply opened, exposing them to the clear sky.

He was still confused and fascinated by the mechanical roof when Mathias beckoned him over to the center of the room. That confusion was quickly replaced with excitement once he put his eye to the telescope. The longer he looked, the more questions he had, each of which Mathias patiently answered. Far too soon for Franco’s liking it was time to go.

Sam was thankful that Xyla stayed asleep as she was transferred back into the car seat. She’d napped a lot today, so Sam wasn’t sure her sleeping the hour and a half back to Colorado Springs was best, but it was better than her grouching and crying the whole way home. They’d deal with an energized toddler when they got home if they had to.

Franco and Bruno had talked excitedly about their day until they too fell asleep halfway home. When they fell silent she looked back and smiled, grateful Jack had managed to bring them into their family.

“Franco will want to stay up every night once he finds out you have a telescope of your own.” She teased.

“Could be worse.” He reached over and took her hand. “I was worried at first, that he wouldn’t find something to be passionate about, like Bruno with the art.”

“Not me. I figured he’d find something.” Sam sighed, settling back into the passenger seat. “What I worry about is that you called Cassie and not Daniel.”

“Why does that worry you?”

“Does she know about the boys?”

“I may have mentioned it to her.”

“So what do you think she’ll bring them? We’re already maxed out on dogs, and I am not paying for a kennel license just so she can exact Janet’s revenge.”

Jack blew out a breath. “I didn’t even think of that when I called…I guess if we’re lucky it will be something small, preferably in a tank or cage.”

“She better not bring mice into my house!” Sam couldn’t help but think of the worse case scenarios where Cassie and the pets were concerned.

It was late when they finally pulled into the driveway. Jack ushered Sam and the boys towards the house while he carefully got Xyla from the car, thankful they’d put her in pajamas before she’d fallen asleep at the observatory. He was surprised to find four pairs of eyes peeking at him from over the back of the couch, four pairs of eyes that should have already been in bed asleep. One look from Jack sent the four other children scurrying down the hall, doors shutting loudly waking the sleeping toddler in his arms.

“Hiya, Jack!” Cassie greeted warmly. “Let me take Xy while you deal with the hooligans.”

“You sure? She’s slept a lot today, so she might not go to bed any time soon.”

“That’s okay, I had a nap earlier too.” She grinned at the little girl. “Besides, it will be good practice.”

“Where are they?” He asked in resignation.

“Where’s who?”

“The animals, whatever it is you brought Franco and Bruno.”

“Oh, that…in their room. I figured that would be the best place to set up the enclosure. Reptiles do better with a quiet area so I figured the main living areas weren’t the best place for them.”

Jack groaned. The only pet Sam despised more than mice was snakes. For his sake he hoped there wasn’t a snake.

Reaching the boy’s room he found Sam standing at the back of the group of kids surrounding the glass tank. Looking closer he was relieved to see the reptiles it held had legs. Lizards weren’t much better than snakes, but they were better.

“They’re called bearded dragons.” Tagan explained excitedly. “Cassie said they eat vegetables and crickets and worms. She didn’t bring any crickets, but she put a cup of meal worms in the fridge.”

Jack chuckled as he felt Sam tense beside him. He had a feeling he would need to get the boys a mini-fridge to keep the snacks for their new pets.

“I’ll take care of it.” He assured her quietly. “Why don’t you take Chandi and Abi to their room and I’ll wrangle the boys.”

Exhausted from a long day in the city and trying to get the excited kids settled down, Sam was more than happy to leave Cassie with a now wide awake Xyla. She wanted a shower, but she also desperately wanted to fall into bed. In a week they’d gone from five kids to seven. Seven! True, Franco and Bruno were practically adults, but they still had a lot to learn about living on Earth. It also helped that six of the seven would be in school most of the time.

She was still sitting on the foot of the bed, fully clothed when Jack came in.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” He carefully sat beside her.

“Seven kids, Jack! Seven! What were we thinking?”

“We were thinking that we wanted a family, and we wanted to give these kids a life that they wouldn’t have known otherwise.” Jack wrapped an arm around her. “Are there any that you would have willingly let go to another family?”

“No!” She adamantly denied. “I knew everyone of them was meant to be ours the first time I met them, and I can’t imagine our lives without any of them. It’s just…”

“A bit overwhelming? I know, but it will get better. I’ll call up a realtor tomorrow and start house hunting.”

“We’ll need at least five bedrooms, Franco and Bruno are old enough they shouldn’t have to share with the younger boys.” Sam let her mind wander to what they would want in a new house. “And a big backyard, one where we can put a swing set so the kids can tire themselves out.”

“Big backyard, lots of bedrooms, anything else?” Jack asked as he pulled her to stand up and started undressing her.

“Maybe a living room and a family room, that way those who want to read have a quiet place away from the tv?” She swatted his hands away when he reached for her bra.

“Whatever you want.” He kissed her gently. “We’ll make a list first thing in the morning.”
Jack knew that a new house wouldn’t fix everything. It would still be crowded and full of energy between seven kids, four dogs, a cat and not two lizards—well, at least the lizards wouldn’t add to the craziness too much. As crazy as it was, the house was overflowing with love and laughter, and as Jack drifted to sleep with Sam cuddled up next to him he fervently prayed that it would never change.

Chapter Text

To some, the O’Neill household would seem to be utter chaos with seven kids, four dogs, a cat, and two lizards with a penchant for escape, but those who knew them could see it was a well organized chaos. Jack was the first one up each morning, packing lunches and setting out the bowls and cereal. The boys would follow soon after.

Franco downed his cereal as quickly as possible before he needed to head out for the morning shift at the University coffee shop where he worked until his classes in the afternoon. Bruno was more sedate, having carefully scheduled his classes so he could help out by dropping the younger kids off at their schools and then working in the evenings. Tagan and Maliki would put away at least two bowls of cereal each—one being a healthy cereal at Sam’s behest.

The older two girls took their time. Chandi, at seventeen, had discovered make-up and dresses, and had a tendency to monopolize the girl’s bathroom until it was time to go, then complain about only getting a power bar and piece of fruit to eat in the car. Abi always rolled her eyes at her sister. She would live in her dirty torn up jeans and t-shirt if they let her, and would argue six ways to Sunday when told she needed to change. Most morning she would be sent back to her room to change at least twice before her outfit was deemed school appropriate.

Sam was always last to the table with Xyla on her heels. The little girl had been Sam’s shadow since the day they brought her home, and Sam wouldn’t have it any other way.

With a thunder of footsteps, hollering back and forth about forgotten lunches and homework, the kids were off for the day leaving Jack and Sam to pick up KP duty for the morning. Most mornings Sam would have an hour before she had to report for duty at the Academy, and it was an hour in an empty house they both looked forward to.

It had been a crazy nine years, but Sam and Jack were starting to feel that they were finally getting into the swing of things, at least until General Landry called one afternoon requesting their presence in the infirmary at the SGC.

Arriving at the infirmary they were greeted by the shrill cry of an infant. Sam made a beeline for the curtained off bed.

“Morning, Hank!” Jack drawled, stopping beside the General. “Can we assume that’s the reason we were called?”

“That would be one of three reasons.” Landry chuckled, leading Jack to the curtain Sam had disappeared behind. “Jack, Sam, I’d like you to meet Liam, Tali and I see you’ve met Kaiyla.”

“She can’t be more than a few days old, sir.” Sam looked up from the whimpering infant in her arms. “Where’s her mother?”

“Gone.” Came the answer from Liam, who looked like he was trying very hard to be brave.

“What happened to her, Liam?” Jack squatted down to address the boy, ignoring the crackling of his knees.

“The bad men took her…she should have still been at home with Kaiyla, but she heard…”

“What did she hear?”

“Me!” He was fighting a losing battle with the tears building in his eyes. “The bad men were taking me away. I cried out. She took me from them, and they took her instead.”

Jack wrapped the boy in his arms, letting him sob into his shoulder. “You’re safe now, buddy. These are your sisters, right? You kept them safe after they took your mom. You did good!”

Landry smiled when all Sam and Jack needed was a brief look and a nod before saying the kids would go home with them. He’d anticipated their choice and had the paperwork with him, ready to go, and a few days of supplies ready for the infant.

It was later than they would have liked by the time Sam and Jack made it home with the three new additions. Liam and Tali pressed closer to Jack as they moved through the living room towards the cacophony coming from the dining room.

“Hey dad!” Franco popped up from the table, smiling brightly when he saw the two clinging to Jack’s legs. “We had baked chicken tonight, I’ll go dish some up.”

In a move that seemed well practiced, chairs scraped and suddenly there were two more spots at the large table.

“Everyone, this is Liam and Tali.” Jack encouraged them to sit in the empty chairs next to his as he introduced the other kids.

“Where’s mom?” Tagan looked around, realizing Sam was missing.

“She’s in our room with Kaiyla, Liam and Tali’s little sister.” Jack answered as he cut up the chicken for Tali. “Bruno, Franc, will you bring the crib down from the attic? Kaiyla is little, little, and will be sleeping in our room for a while.”

“How little?”

“Little like Xy was when she came?” Abi asked.

Jack chuckled as the questions kept coming. “She’s even littler than Xy was. Kaiyla was born…” He turned to Liam.

“Four days ago.” Liam supplied softly.

“Four days ago.” Jack nodded. “When Xy first came home she was two years old…that’s about seven-hundred and thirty days.” He anticipated the next question. “Now, let’s finish dinner so you lot can finish your homework and get ready for bed.”

~ * ~

The first month passes quickly. Tagan and Maliki took Liam under their wing and were more than happy to make room for a third bed in their room, even offering Liam the top bunk. Xyla and Tali were two peas in a pod, and often were confused for twins by people unfamiliar with the O’Neill family. Chandi and Abi fell in love with Kaiyla and were more than happy to take care of the baby and give Sam a break, though Sam was reluctant to hand the girl over to anyone.

“Have you heard from Cassie lately?” Jack asked as he stole the baby from Sam.

“She calls at least once a day with questions.” Sam chuckled. “She said she doesn’t know how we do it with seven—now ten—kids, her two are running her ragged.”

“They are only a year old, all of ours were older when we got them. Except for you little miss!” He tickled Kaiyla’s stomach, earning him a sleepy smile. “Maybe she’s forgotten about fulfilling the earth rule.”

“Don’t bet on it. They’re coming for dinner on Saturday.” She flinched when a crash was heard from elsewhere in the house, reaching for the baby. “I’ll take her, you can go deal with whatever that was.”

Jack sighed, passing her the baby before kissing Sam gently. “It’s a good thing I love you.” He grumbled good naturedly.

~ * ~

Saturday dinner with the O’Neills in the summer meant one thing—grilling. Jack took every opportunity to break out the grill, insisting that Bruno and Franco needed to learn the fine art of cooking meat over hot coals, and who better to teach them than the master himself. Tagan and Maliki stayed close to make sure not all of the burgers and hot dogs burned.

By the time Cassie arrived with her family the table was filled with at least a dozen different sides and salads—something each of the kids would eat. Sam was in the kitchen supervising the older kids with Kaiyla in a wrap on her chest. Cassie joined Sam in the kitchen while her husband, Justin, joined Jack at the grill.

“She’s so tiny!” Cassie brushed a hand over the top of the sleeping baby’s head. “And so much hair! Jan and Jake’s hair took forever to get that thick!”

“I know!” Sam gently removed the baby from the wrap. “I know you want to hold her. Now, where are my grandbabies?”

“Did you ever think you’d be a grandmother?” Cassie laughed, taking the sleeping baby while Sam scooped up one-year-old Janet and Jacob.

“I never even thought I’d be a mother.” She hugged the twins. “I thought ‘Aunty Sam’ was the most I’d ever be.”

“You’ve always been a mother to me, even before we lost mom. Since she can’t be here, there’s no one else I want them to call grandma.”

Sam smiled softly. Sixteen years ago when they’d brought a scared little girl back through the Stargate she would never have thought they’d be standing here, in a house she shared with Jack and their ten kids, holding that little girl's own children and that those kids would call her grandma.

“Alright, loves.” Sam gave each of the twins a kiss. “Go with Chandi, she’ll get you set up at the table.”

Sam watched her second oldest daughter—she’d always think of Cassie as her oldest herded the twins and her younger sisters out into the backyard. Chandi always grumbled and complained about having to take care of the little kids, but it was just for show, she loved spending time with Abi, Xyla and Tali. She often offered to watch all the younger kids so that Sam and Jack had the opportunity to go out, just the two of them.

“Come on, let’s go get our food before the horde devours it all.” Sam took Kaiyla, tucking her back into the wrap as they joined their clan in the backyard.

~ * ~

The food was long gone and the younger kids had run through the yard until the sun set and the stars came out. The four adults sat around the fire pit visiting as the youngest children climbed in laps and drifted to sleep and the older kids laid out in the yard pointing out constellations and talking in hushed tones about far away places they once called home.

“This is really great, you know.” Cassie tucked the blanket around the sleeping toddler in her arms. “They can talk to each other about before…I had you guys and mom, and Daniel and Teal’c, but it would have been nice to have someone my age who understood…”

“I’m sorry, Cass…” Sam squeezed her hand.

“It’s okay, really. You all did the best you could, and look at us all now.” She smiled at her husband beside. “At least they read Justin in, now he knows why I was so weird about getting married.”

“Hey, you weren’t the only weird one.” He grinned.

“No, but you did tell your family you were marrying an alien.”

“As far as they know you’re from Toronto, so technically that makes you an alien to them.” Justin shrugged. “They’ll just never know how out of this world you really are.”

“You’re such a dork.” Cassie shook her head, leaning over to kiss him.

“So…Jusin, how’s the practice?” Jack asked, changing the subject abruptly.

“Not bad, though somedays it seems we’re more of a rescue than a vet's office.” He chuckled. “Just the other morning I went in early to check on the overnight patients and when I got to the back door there was a carrier with a cat and six tiny kittens. Of course the camera on the back door wasn’t working, so we have no idea how long they’d been there or who dropped them off.”

“Kittens?” Xyla’s head popped up off Sam’s lap. “For Tali?”

Jack groaned.

“Tell you what, Xy.” Cassie grinned. “I’m going to put Jan in the guest room, why don’t you go get Liam and bring him and Tali to meet me in the living room.”

Soon the twins were tucked into the guest room bed and ten curious children were gathered around the coffee table as Cassie and Justin brought in two covered boxes. Through some jostling, Liam and Tali were pushed to the front, eyes bright with excitement.

“I take it they’ve all explained the Earth rule to you?” Cassie smirked as they both nodded. “Alright, since you’re the oldest, Liam, this one’s yours.”

Liam eagerly pulled off the blanket to reveal a glass ten gallon terrarium. The boys, and Abi pushed closer, oohing and aahing over the creature within. On the other side of the living room, Jack felt Sam tense beside him. He wrapped an arm around her, murmuring reassurances in her ear.

“What is it?” Liam squinted at the tank.

“That is a corn snake.” Justin reached in and pulled the small cream and orange snake from the enclosure. “She’s little now, so eventually we’ll need to upgrade her enclosure, but not for a little while. Tomorrow I’ll show how to handle her and feed her…but I think we should put her away for now.”
“I don’t want a snake.” Tali shrunk away from the second covered box.

“Don’t worry, Tali, I have something even better for you and Kaiyla.” Cassie uncovered the second box, gently lifting out a pair of grey and white kittens. “Now, Kaiyla is too little to take care of her kitten, so you’ll have to help take care of him until she gets bigger.”

Tali took one of the kittens, carefully cuddling it to her cheek. “It’s so soft!”

The two kittens, nearly identical except that the grey patch on their faces were over opposite eyes, wandered around the couch while the older kids tried to help Tali come up with names. Kit, Xyla’s fluffy grey cat stared at the new additions in disgust from her spot on the back of the couch before.

“Alright, kiddo’s.” Jack stood, lifting Xyla from where she had fallen asleep on the floor. “Time for bed. Say goodnight to your mother and take the new recruits upstairs.”

An hour later Kaiyla was the last to be put to bed, her crib still tucked into the corner of Sam and Jack’s room.

“I can’t believe they actually gave Liam a snake!” Sam collapsed on the bed.

“Not super excited about it myself.” Jack admitted. “But, Maliki and Tagan promised they’d help him take care of it. You won’t have to even look at it.”

They were about to turn off the light when there was a soft knock on the door before Franc popped his head in.

“Can I talk to you guys for a minute?”

“Sure.” Sam scooted closer to Jack so Franc could sit on the edge of the bed. “What’s up?”

“You know Bruno and I love you guys…we’re grateful for everything you’ve done for us…” He stopped, not sure how to say what he and Bruno had discussed.

“The house getting too crowded for you?” Jack asked, knowing this day had been coming for a while.

“Yes…no…we just think it’s time.” He relaxed a bit. “We found an apartment close to campus, it would make it easier to get to work…date…”

“There it is.” Sam smirked. “I thought that might be the case when you started pulling some late nights.”

“Yeah.” He blushed.

“You know this will always be your home, you can always come back here, no matter what.”

“We know.” He smiled shyly.

“Good.” Jack stood, pulling him into a tight hug. “We’ll expect you on all the major holidays—thanksgiving, christmas…pie day…cake day…”

“We’ll be here…goodnight, dad…’night mom.”

Jack slowly made his way back to bed. He knew when they took in Franco and Bruno that they’d only have a few years before they would be ready to go out into the world, but he hadn’t expected it to go so fast. He wasn’t quite sure he was ready.

“Our first to leave the nest.” Sam sniffed, trying to hide the tears she felt filling her eyes.

“We knew it was coming.” Jack pulled her against her side. “They won’t be too far away, just be on the other side of the city.”

“I know, I just don’t think I was ready for it so soon.” She swiped the tear from her cheeks. “Chandi graduates next year…she’ll be gone soon too.”

“It’s not like the house will be empty, we’ll still have seven rugrats.”

“Three more years and Maliki will be gone, then Tagan, Liam, Abi…one right after another.”

Jack silenced her with a kiss, taking her breath away.

“Stop thinking about it, Sam. We have plenty of years left with all of the kids, especially Kaiyal. You have eighteen years, at least, before you have to worry about her moving out.” He groaned. “I’ll be nearly eighty by then!”

“Stop thinking about it, Jack.” She teased, leaning over to click off the bedside light. “Let’s get to sleep, it’s going to be a busy day tomorrow.”

“Every day’s a busy day.” He grumbled, a smile on his face as he wrapped his arm around his wife, thankful for every minute of chaos their life had become.

Chapter Text

The spacious back yard was neatly mown, the flower beds carefully planted with bright cheery blooms. White folding chairs laid out in neat rows in front of a white arch, draped in flowers and tulle, were filling up with friends and family as Tagan, Maliki and Liam led them down the flower lined path.

Chandi was anxiously fluttering around the kitchen putting the final touches on the wedding cake, insisting that it had to be perfect. Abi, Xyla and Tali were excited to be included in the wedding and were holed up in the master suite with the bride and her other attendants. Sam was busy making sure everything was ready, while making sure Kaiyla didn’t get her dress dirty. Down in the basement Jack was trying to keep Franco from fussing with his bow tie.

“Take it easy, Franc, you don’t want to make it too tight.” Jack batted Franco’s hands away and adjusted the tie.

“I’m sorry.” Franco let his hands drop to his sides. “I’m just…”

“Nervous?” Jack offered.

“Yeah, I guess. I don’t know why though.” He sank to the end of the bed. “I love Emma , I shouldn’t be nervous.”

Jack eased down next to him. “It’s perfectly normal to feel nervous, every groom does.”

“Were you nervous when you married mom?”

He laughed. “I shouldn’t have been. I’d known her for years, been in love with her nearly as long, and we’d been living together for months taking care of Tagan. By the time the ceremony came around, it was really just a formality, I had no reason to be nervous.”

“But you were? Why?”

“I’d done the whole marriage and family thing before, ya know.” Franco nodded, remembering being told of Jack’s first wife and son. “I wasn’t even sure I wanted that again, until I met Sam. Even after all those years, finally being in a position to act on our feelings, and her agreeing to marry me, I still felt like I didn’t deserve what she was offering.”

“But it all worked out in the end?”

“You’ve been with us nearly five years, what do you think?”

Franco smiled. “Yeah, it did.”

There was a knock at the door before Bruno came into the room.

“The officator’s here.”

Jack stood up, patting Franco on the back. “It’s time, son.”

* * *

“The ceremony was beautiful.” Sam sighed, laying her head against Jack’s shoulder as they danced.

“It was.” Jack agreed, pulling her closer.

“He’s only been with us for five years, but I still feel like I’m losing him.”

“So now would be a bad time to tell you that Bruno is thinking about proposing to Taylor?”

“Really?”

“Afraid so.”

Sam sniffled, wiping the tears from her face. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I just can’t seem to stop crying!”

“Your son just got married, Sam. Even if it’s only been for a short time, he’s still a part of our family. It’s normal for mothers to cry at these things.” He pulled back slightly, offering her the handkerchief from his pocket. “It’s okay.”

“I’m not just talking about today, Jack!” She huffed, taking the handkerchief. “It seems like I’m crying all the time lately—Kaiyla’s first step, Xyla and Tali not wanting me to walk them to their classroom, Chandi moving out, Tegan bringing me flowers from the garden, Maliki getting a B on his math test…”

Jack was silent for the rest of the song as he skilfully moved them around the dance floor. He had noticed that Sam had been a bit more emotional lately, and just not her propensity for tears. They’d already gotten their hopes up so many times before that he hesitated to even think of the possible cause of her mood swings lest their hopes get crushed once again.

“Have you talked to Carolyn?”

“Why would I talk to her?”

“Sam, it’s more than you’ve been a bit more teary lately.” Jack held her tightly when she tried to pull away. “You’ve been more tired lately, passed on coffee, and you aren’t eating very much…I know you haven’t been feeling well the last couple weeks. I just thought that maybe…”

Sam stopped their movement and stared at him. “I’m forty-six years old, Jack, I doubt that I’m…that it’s that.”

“Stranger things have happened, ya know.”

“Like what?”

“Like you and I actually ending up together…with ten kids between the ages of one and eighteen…”

“Eleven.” Sam corrected him.

“Eleven?” He cocked his eyebrow. “Since when?”

“Monday.” Sam led him to a table at the edge of the dance floor. “Cam called right before the ceremony. Seems SG-3 picked up a stowaway on their last mission. She’s ten, but has been living on her own for several months as far as they can tell…she was dehydrated and malnourished. Carolyn wants to keep her in the infirmary until Monday. I was hoping we could go meet her tomorrow. Chandi and Bruno can watch the younger kids for an hour or so.”

“You really want her, don’t you?” Jack knew he’d never say no to her.

“I really do.”

“Alright.” He leaned towards her. “On one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“While we’re there you talk to Carolyn and get checked out—just to be sure.”

Smiling, Sam closed the distances and pressed her lips to his. “Deal!”

* * *

The meeting with the girl, Ana, had gone well. She’d lost her family in a hurricane when their city was flooded, and she’d been left to fend for herself ever since. As much as she missed her family, she was excited at the prospect of having a passel of siblings, and couldn’t wait until she got to meet them. Leaving Jack sharing stories of their family and home, Sam sought out Carolyn who’d drawn a vial of blood and told her they’d have the results later that day .

When Sam made it back to Ana's bed she was surprised to find the girl dressed and ready to go, anxiously holding Jack's hand. Carolyn simply smiled and handed her a folder with the recommended diet for the girl’s first weeks. She was confident that the girl would thrive in their home and saw no reason to keep her on base any longer.

By now they were used to the initial drive home filled with wonder and questions. Ana, though, was different. The society she'd come from was far more advanced, so she was familiar with much of what she saw as they drove. She took the vehicles and lights in stride, shrugging when Sam asked her if she had any questions about what she saw.

As they approached the house Jack groaned at the sight of a familiar car parked along the curb.

"Did you tell Cassie what was happening today?”

"No.” Sam sighed. “ I don't think she's ever delivered on day one before… maybe that's not why she's here.”

"If only we were so lucky.” Jack muttered as he pulled into the drive. "Alright Ana, here's the deal with Cassie. She has a habit of showing up with some kind of critter whenever we add to the family. “

"Critter?” Ana seemed confused by the word for a minute, then brightened when she figured it out. "You mean an animal? Like a dog? I like dogs!”

"Me too! They're my favorite people!” Jack confided with a conspiratorial grin.

"It may not be a dog.” Sam warned. "She's also brought cats, lizards, and … a snake.”

"I don't like snakes. “ the girl shuddered.

"Neither do I, but don't worry, the snake stays in Liam's room. He and the boys take care of it.”

The house that had seemed so quiet the night before was echoing with laughter and the unmistakable bark of a puppy. The trio found the rest of the household in the living room, a sleek black puppy running between them.

"Mom! Dad!” Tagan saw his parents enter. "Cassie said that since Franco is taking Asto with him when he and Emma get back from their honeymoon Ana gets a dog!”

Suddenly everyone was talking at once. Sam kept an eye on Ana, making sure she wasn’t getting overwhelmed, but the young girl didn’t seem phased by the chaos. While Everyone gathered around Jack, Ana slipped to the other side of the room where the little black puppy had curled up on a pillow that had fallen to the floor. Ana picked up the puppy, cradding it gently in her arms. The puppy looked up at her, seeming to study her for a moment before yawning widely, dropping its head to her arm and going back to sleep.

"Of course the dog stays!” Jack finally said over the ruckus. "When have we ever turned away one of Cassie's 'gifts'? All I'm saying is that we need to have a discussion on when not to call her, okay?”

Cassie simply smiled as she heard the kids back to their seats.

Jack and Sam stood in the doorway watching the kids introduce themselves, they were old enough they didn’t need their parents help. Kaiyla, typically the shyest, seemed to take to Ana right away, demanding her attention above all else.

“I think this is going to work.”, Sam sighed, leaning her head on Jack's shoulder.

"A little late to worry about that, don't ya think?” Jack wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "So, what did Carolyn have to say?”

"She drew some blood, said she'd call me with the results some time today.”

Jack squeezed her shoulders, kissing the side of her head. He knew how much she hated waiting. Getting Ana settled would help distract her for a while, but not long enough.

It didn't take long to get Ana set up in Abi's room. Between her and Chandi, they had enough clothes to share until Sam could take her shopping on Monday. As Jack predicted there was plenty of time for Sam to fret over the expected call.

The rest of the day had progressed slowly for Sam. She tried to keep busy helping Maliki and Liam with their science projects, watching Xyla and Kaiyla practice for their dance recital, or organizing her notes for the next week’s lectures. The later it got, the more frustrated Sam became.

It wasn’t until after the kids were all in their rooms, and Sam was pacing their bedroom venting her frustrations to Jack, that the phone rang. Sam picked it up on the second ring. She spoke very little, only giving short answers, before thanking the caller and hanging up.

“Was that Carolyn?” Jack asked as a stunned Sam sank to the bed.

“It was.”

“And?”

“How does an even dozen sound?”

Chapter Text

Grace Charlotte O' Neill made her entrance to the world in a way that only seemed fitting for the child of Colonel Samantha Carter and General Jonathan J. O'neill, retired.

In the end the mandatory evacuation had been a false alarm, but no one figured it out until the first wave of critical personnel had already been sent through to the Alpha Site. Sam, having been on base for a check up, and to assist with an issue with the dialing program, was in the first group to be sent through despite her objections. She was only slightly mollified by the knowledge that if all went well Jack and the kids would join her once all critical personnel had made it to the Alpha Site. It should only be a day, two at most, and she was still two weeks away from her due date, they had plenty of time.

Grace had other ideas.

Middle of the first night at the Alpha Site Sam awoke to contractions. Much stronger contractions than the Braxton Hicks she'd been experiencing for weeks. Not long after she got out of bed her water broke.

"Ma'am, let me escort you to the infirmary.” The lieutenant manning the control room offered quickly.

“No. Just dial the SGC and tell them I'm coming back.” Sam grimaced through another contraction.

"I can't do that ma'am. Once the evacuation began we were placed under strict orders - One way traffic only… I'm sorry.”

"Unacceptable Lieutenant!” Sam grasped his arm tightly as the next contraction took her breath away. "My husband isn't here yet, and I'm not about to do this without him… or without Doctor Lamb.”

“Let’s just get you to the infirmary for now, ma’am, and I’ll see what I can do about getting you clearance to go back to the SGC.” He pleaded as he led her back to the main building.

Reluctantly, Sam allowed the lieutenant and site medic help her onto a cot. Everything with the pregnancy had gone exactly as expected and there had been no complications. There was no reason she should be in labor two weeks before her due date other than the fact that her daughter seemed to have her father’s patience.

It seemed like an eternity that Sam alternated between walking and laying on the cot trying to breath through the contractions. By the time the welcomed face of her husband came through the door the contractions were significantly closer together, and stronger.

“Can’t leave you alone for a minute without you finding trouble, can I?” Jack teased as he wiped the sweat from her face with a cool cloth.

“Where are the kids?” Sam panted.

“VIP quarters with Uncle Danny and Aunt Vala checking in on them.” He kissed her hand as she squeezed his with all her might.

“When will they be coming through?”

“They aren’t.”

“Why not? They’re on the list!” She demanded.

“They are, but the evacuation’s been canceled. Seems like somehow, some idiot triggered a false alarm, they’re still trying to figure out what exactly happened.” Jack situated himself on the edge of the cot. “The kids and I had just got to base and were getting ready to come through when they figured it out, right around that time we got a call from here saying your daughter decided she didn’t want to wait any longer.”

“She gets that from you.” Sam sagged against him as the latest contraction ended. “Now, can we go back to the SGC so I can have this baby?”

“Hate to break it to you, Sam, but you’re not going anywhere.” Carolyn smiled apologetically.

Hours later, settled in Sam’s temporary quarters, she couldn’t help but stare in awe at the sleeping bundle in her arms. It may have taken longer than she had hoped, more heartache than she thought she could bear, but she was certain that every minute it took to get to this point was absolutely worth it.

“You’re amazing, ya know.” Jack spoke softly, brushing a finger against the sleeping baby’s cheek.

“I can’t believe we did it, Jack.” She leaned back against him. “She’s perfect.”

“Just like her mother.” He pressed a kiss to the side of her head. “Carolyn said we should be able to go home tomorrow. Let me take her so you can get some sleep.”

Sam was reluctant to let Jack take the baby, sure that this moment was a dream, and she didn’t want to wake up. Sliding down under the covers, she watched Jack pace slowly for a moment before sinking into the chair across the room.

“You, Miss. Grace, are going to be so spoiled.” He smiled down at his daughter. “You have five brothers and seven sisters eager to meet you…”

“Six sisters.” Sam corrected sleepily.

“Seven.” Jack said firmly. “Cassie is every bit our daughter as the others, even if it's not on paper.”

Sam laughed. “Guess we already had an even dozen.”

“A baker's dozen is good too.” Jack grinned.

Carolyn had let them go through the Stargate to the SGC the morning after Grace was born, but insisted they stay in the infirmary for another two days just to be safe. Much to everyone's disappointment the O’Neill brood had already been sent home and weren’t allowed back on base to meet the newest family member.

The morning of the third day found Sam and Jack walking up the steps of a suspiciously quiet house. They found all twelve kids, plus two spouses, a fiance, and two grandkids, in the living room. A large banner with ‘Welcome Home Grace’ hung over the mantle flanked with bouquets of pink and white balloons.

“She’s so little!” Tali exclaimed as she watched Sam take Grace out of the carrier. “Kiayla wasn’t even that little!”

“You’re right, Kiayla was bigger.” Jack picked Tali up. “Gracie wasn’t supposed to be born for two more weeks, so she’s a little small, but Doctor Carolyn says she’s perfectly healthy.”

It was well into the afternoon by the time everyone had had a chance to hold their new sister. Sam had sat on the sofa helping Xyla and Kaiyla hold her, smiling as they chatted happily to the baby. Cassie stood back through the whole thing, snapping pictures while keeping her own kids occupied.

“Alright, let’s get you all the kids in there for a picture.” Jack clapped his hands, getting their attention. As everyone gathered around the couch he smiled. “It seems we’re missing two.”

“Everyone’s here.” Cassie looked around in confusion from her spot across the room. “Sam took Gracie to feed, but she should be back soon.”

“We’re here.” Sam came to a stop beside Cassie. “Here, you take her and sit in the middle.”

“Jack wants a picture of all of the kids.” Cassie turned to hand the baby to Chandi.

“We do, so hurry up and get in there so we can take the picture.” Jack said, pointing to the open spot on the couch between Chandi and Abi.

“It wouldn’t be complete without you Cass.” Sam squeezed her arm. “Janet will always be you mom, but we still consider you one of ours.”

Cassie wiped a tear from her face. “Don’t make me cry…now I feel bad.”

“For what? The little fur ball you have stowed away in our bathroom?” Jack threw her lopsided grin.

He’d discovered the little flame point kitten curled up on his bath towel that it had somehow managed to pull off the towel bar, when he’d taken Sam’s bag to their room. He wasn’t surprised by the new addition to the menagerie, and honestly he found this one to be the cutest—aside from the dogs of course.

They managed to get through a few more pictures—all of the kids with Sam and Jack, and a few of just the two of them with Grace—before Grace decided she’d had enough attention. Cassie eagerly swooped in, claiming oldest sister privilege and rocked the baby back to sleep as Chandi gathered the others in the kitchen to organize the food for lunch.

“Pretty good bunch we got here.” Jack wrapped his arms around Sam, pulling her to lean back against his chest.

Sam smiled brightly as she watched her family. “Yeah, they are pretty good.”

“Only one problem though.”

“What’s that?” Sam turned, looking a bit concerned.

“Well, while a baker's dozen is good for donuts…thirteen does have a bad rap as an unlucky number…”

Chapter Text

After the disaster of reading Emma into the origins of the O’Neill children, which nearly led to her calling off the wedding, they’d perfected the ‘talk’ future spouses would get. Taylor had still taken the whole thing with more than a bit of skepticism. It had taken the whole error with the planetary warning system and learning that they were on a list of individuals to be evacuated ‘off world’ before she truly believed Bruno was not from Earth.

Things had gone much smoother when Chandi’s fiancé Logan had been let in on their secret. It did help that he had been recruited to the SGC right after graduating from the Air Force Academy, so he was already aware of the Stargate and everything that entailed. Jack just hoped they had a few more years before the next wedding.

Pulling up to the curb in front of Cassie and Justin’s house, he was pleased to see the oldest three were already waiting for them.

“Hiya kids!” Jack called, taking Grace from Abi as the girls filed out of the van. “The boys will be here shortly. They had to make a quick stop.”

“I have a feeling there’s more going on here than just a kid’s birthday party.” Logan looked between the odd smiles on the O’Neill’s faces.

“That, Lieutenant, is because the time has come for us to fulfill the ever important earth rule.”

“More like revenge.” Sam sighed, taking Grace from Jack.

“What earth rule?” Logan turned to Chandi. “Revenge for what?”

“Back when Cassie first came to earth dad got her a dog, told her there was an earth rule that every kid had to have a dog.” Chandi answered. “Her adopted mom, Aunt Janet, warned him that she would get her revenge. So when he and mom started adopting us ‘intergalactic orphans’, she decided to fulfill her mom’s promise of revenge.”

“Cassie had to modify the rule though” Abbi chimed in. “Otherwise we’d have ended up with a dozen dogs, so in the end she interpreted the rule to be every kid needed a pet.”

“Your family is so weird.” Logan laughed.

“Yeah, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Chandi kissed his cheek.

They didn’t have to wait long until the boys showed up in Tagan’s Jeep. The three teenagers tumbled out of the vehicle, lugging a hard sided pet carrier.

“Everything go okay?” Jack asked, nodding to the carrier.

“Yeah.” Tegan nodded. “But, Justin’s a much better vet, these guys wouldn’t have been so freaked out if we’d gone to his office.”

“True, but then it would have ruined the surprise.” Jack grinned. “Now, shall we?” He motioned towards the door.

Knocking twice, Jack opened the door, standing back to let the rest of his brood enter first. He hoped to sneak the carrier in before Cassie caught on, but she was standing in the entry as he closed the door.

“No!” Cassie said firmly when she saw the carrier. “Absolutely not!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about?” Jack feigned innocence. “Now, where are the rugrats?”

Sam stopped beside Cassie, Grace on her hip, as Jack and the others filed into the living room where Justin and the twins waited.

“Just remember, Cass…you brought this on yourself.” Sam wrapped her free arm around the younger woman. “Just be glad I talked him out of puppies from the neighbors.”

“The ones with the corgi’s or the other one?” Cassie asked.

“The other one.” Sam grinned as the look of horror on Cassie’s face. “I convinced him that two great danes would be too much for a pair of three year olds to handle…it also helped that we still had a few kittens from Gracie’s cat that we hadn’t rehomed yet.”

“Thank you!” Cassie hugged her. “There is no way the dogs would have worked.

“Come on, let’s go see your newest additions.”

The party went smoothly with so many hands to help out. The birthday boy and girl thrived on so much attention, as did the pair of little flame point kittens.

“Alright, can we call a truce?” Cassie asked, flopping on to the couch beside Jack.

“What do you mean a truce?” Jack looked up from his place on the floor with the little kids.

“No more animals…kids can share.”

“What, you don’t want a puppy for your next kid?” Jack teased.

“With all the surrenders Justin gets at the office, I’m sure we’ll have more than one soon enough.” She smiled as she watched the kids.

Everyone had enjoyed the party, only leaving when Grace and Kaiyla started to fuss. Despite how exhausted the two toddlers were it still took a while for them to wind down enough to fall asleep. With those two down for the night, Sam and Jack went room to room telling the older kids good night. With all finally quiet, they were finally able to collapse into bed.

“I had a call from the SGC this morning.” Sam rolled towards Jack.

“Oh, yeah? What did Cam want this time?”

“SG-6 came back with a little girl around four. He wanted to know if we were ready for another.”

“What did you tell him?”

“That I’d talk to you and get back to him.” She sighed. “So, what do you think?”

“Well, we have a pretty good bunch, but I think we should ask the kids.”

“We’ve never asked them before.” Sam’s brow furrowed.

“Not the ones here, the other ones—Franco or Bruno might be ready to add to their family, I know their wives have mentioned they wouldn’t mind doing what we’ve done. Maybe even Cassie now that the twins are older.”

“I hadn’t thought about that.”

“I’m sure between Cassie, Franco, Bruno or even Chandi the kid will find a loving home.”

“We’ll have them all over for dinner tomorrow, Abi and Ana can watch the younger ones while we all talk.” She leaned over and kissed him. “That was a great idea, jack.”

“I’ve been known to have them every once in a while.” He grinned, clicking off his bedside lamp.

“You’ve had a few today, like calling a truce with Cassie.” Sam rolled over, scooting so her back was snug against his chest.

“You’re sure you don’t want one more?”

“Of course I do.” She pulled his arm over her hip so it rested on her stomach. “but I can wait seven more months.”

“Sam?”

“Well, you did say thirteen was an unlucky number…”