Teal'c and Daniel were pumping iron in the gym, working out the frustration of the past few weeks. Teal'c had experienced a classic teacher-pupil conflict that he thought only happened in movies, and Daniel, well, he became 'Priorised', but returned after each member of his team pleaded with him that turning against the Ancients wouldn't help matters, and that he was sorely needed on Earth.

"So Teal'c, how're Ry'ac and Kar'yn?"

"They are fine, DanielJackson. My grandson is fine too."

"What name did Ry'ac choose?"

"It was in fact Kar'yn who chose the name... Ish'tac."

"Oh... that's nice... 'immeasurable strength', right?"

"Indeed, but whether he will be able to wield a staff weapon like his grandfather, is negligible."

Daniel chuckled and remarked, "Ooh, the Jaffa hubris!"

He continued with a smile, "He'll have brilliant teachers - you, Bra'tac, not forgetting Ry'ac and Kar'yn - he'll be fine."

"Indeed."

While Teal'c still worked hard, Daniel stopped and stood up, saying, "Well, I've got to translate the inscriptions on that artefact from 823 - I think I've worked something out."

Before Teal'c could reply, Daniel's knees buckled and he collapsed on the floor, unconscious. Teal'c rushed to his friend's aid, calling to a passing Airman, "Call Doctor Lam!"

The Airman grabbed a nearby telephone and said into it, "Medical emergency, Doctor Lam to the gym."

- 0 -- 0 --- 0 -- 0 -

Daniel laid in the Infirmary, still unconscious, hooked up to a lot of equipment. His team-mates watched from behind the Observation window as Lam briefed them.

"Doctor Jackson has a grade four Astrocytoma, more commonly known as Glioblastoma Multiforme..."

Cam remarked with a frown, "Doc, in English!"

She bluntly replied, "He has a brain tumour."

Sam held her hand to her mouth in shock at the revelation, tears pricking her eyes. Teal'c just stood there in stunned albeit stoic silence, while Vala couldn't even think of anything to say.

Cam asked, "Can you operate?"

Lam gravely replied, trying to fight back the tears, "Any surgery would be a palliative measure. The normal survival rates are five years, but in his case... taking into account the rate of growth, he's only got three months."

She turned away, not wanting anyone to see her tears. Dammit, why did it have to be so hard? It was times like these when she wished that she could do something, but what? She had become a Doctor because she wanted to help find a cure for incurable diseases, but this... she felt frustrated at not being able to do anything. She didn't know Daniel that well, but she knew how much of a good man he was. She remembered Cancer patients that she had treated previously, and it hurt her to think that he had a painful road ahead.

Sam whispered hoarsely, "Isn't there anything we could do? Vala could use the healing device..."

Lam shook her head and replied, "No Colonel Carter, from what I've seen, it wouldn't help him at all... he's dying. The intracranial pressure is rising."

Teal'c, angry that he could lose his best friend, stormed out, and Vala followed him, not wanting anyone to see her tears. After all, if it wasn't for Daniel, her memory would have taken much longer to return, if at all.

Sam looked down at her friend, wishing that there was something they could do, and Cam put a comforting arm around her as the tears began to silently flow.

He looked at Lam and asked her, "Would surgery give him more time?"

She replied, her emotionless mask beginning to slip, "Perhaps but even with surgery, his chances are slim."

"Do it then."

"No, you're not his medical proxy."

Sam looked up and asked, "Who is his medical proxy? Is it General O'Neill?"

Lam shook her head and replied, "It's you. In his Will, he has requested you to be his medical proxy. In ordinary circumstances, he would need your permission to do so, but this is far from ordinary. I think he never got a chance to tell you."

Sam, a little overcome at the latest revelation and at the fact that Daniel had written a Will, said, "Do it."

Lam nodded, and turned away again as the tears began to flow.

- 0 -- 0 --- 0 -- 0 -

After performing the procedure, Lam only allowed Sam to come into the Infirmary, leaving the rest of SG-1 and General Landry to watch through the observation window.

She sat next to his prone form, tears pricking her eyes, as she held his hand. Dammit, she was going lose him - after ten years of having the most amazing adventures, this was going to be the end. It wasn't fair - why did life have to be so tough for him? He had bounced back from everything life had chosen to throw at him - Sha're, Hathor, ascension, RepliCarter, and still life decided to give him hell. She admired him for his strength of character, his morality and how he saw things differently from everyone else.

He had saved their lives more times than she had had bad hairstyles, and now he was going to die, with no hope of ascension. The end was nigh, and it hurt. There were so many things left unsaid, but she felt it was her fault - if she hadn't had been so preoccupied with selfishly using Jack as a safety net, maybe her and Daniel could have had something. Maybe... but then you know what they say about 'should've, would've, could've'...

She caressed his jaw and whispered, "Daniel, don't you dare die on me this time!"

She put her head down on the hand she was holding and wept, not caring whether anyone saw, although SG-1 and General Landry had turned away out of respect.

"Sam? Are you alright?"

She looked up, drying her eyes, and saw Daniel looking down at her, concerned. Typical unselfish Daniel, she thought, always asking about others, regardless of himself.

"I think the question to ask is how you are doing."

He glanced around the Infirmary and asked, "How did I end up in here?"

She replied, "You collapsed in the gym - you..."

Her voice cut off as her emotions got the better of her, and he asked, "What?"

"Doctor Lam will tell you."

Before he could persist in his questioning, Lam appeared and checked his bandage. She was about to get Sam to leave but thought better of it when she noticed her holding his hand. Lam said,

"Ordinarily, I'd tell you to come to my office, but you're still weak."

He said a little testily, "No offence, but get to the point."

She nodded and replied briskly, "You have a grade IV Astrocytoma... a Glioblastoma Multiforme..."

He raised an eyebrow and she continued, "A brain tumour."

He closed his eyes, reeling from the revelation. Sam held his hand firmly, silently assuring him that he wasn't alone.

Lam continued, "Colonel Carter, as your medical proxy, gave us permission to operate, and we managed to remove seventy-five percent of the mass."

He bluntly asked, "How long?"

"Taking into account rate of growth, four months now that you have been operated on. I'm so sorry Doctor Jackson..."

"It's ok - it's not like you wished for this to happen or anything, so what next?"

"Well, we will have to perform a biopsy on the tissue to ascertain how it is reproducing itself so quickly, and I think surgery would be in order to remove the remaining tissue... soon."

He nodded, the news sinking in and the realisation emerging that he only had a third of a year to live. Suddenly he sat up, feeling very nauseous, and Lam produced a bowl just in time.

Sam, wide-eyed, asked, "What's happening?!"

Lam replied as she smoothed his brow, "It's one of the symptoms of Astrocytoma... Doctor Jackson, do you remember having a headache before you passed out?"

As a Nurse cleaned him up, he replied, "Not in the gym, but coming to think about it, I've been having migraines over the past couple of days..."

Lam took notes and asked, her emotionless mask threatening to slip again, "Numbness? Dizziness?"

Before he could reply, his body began to convulse violently. Sam was pushed out of the way as a medical team began to treat him. She stood there, her hand covering her mouth, her free arm hugging herself, and tears rolled down her cheeks.

- 0 -- 0 --- 0 -- 0 -

Due to the short time that he had left, Lam discharged him from the Infirmary when his nausea and convulsing had stopped, and he was fit enough to walk. Usually, she would have kept him in, but the thought of him spending the last four months of his life tied up to a myriad of machines, was too much for her.

He insisted that he wanted to go home to think things through alone, but his friends wouldn't have any of it. O'Neill was informed, and they all took him out to O'Malley's, where they tried to keep things cheerful, although it was hard, considering.

After reading up on Astrocytomas, Daniel opted not to have Chemotherapy, saying, "What's the point? I'm going to die and I'd rather that my last days be as low-stress as possible, without being even more sick and going bald, and not forgetting being pricked by more needles than I have hairs on my head."

He had wanted to be alone, but his friends insisted that he shouldn't be. After much arguing on his part, Carter managed to get him to agree to move in with her. He reluctantly put his apartment up for sale, knowing that doing so sealed the deal, so to speak, making the idea of him dying seem more real.

On their first night together, they sat up late in front of the TV, talking about old times. He lowered his gaze when the topic strayed to his parents and Sha're. He realised that he had no-one to carry on the Jackson name, and this hurt. No-one to carry on his work, his passion, his life. He considered his parents lucky to have him following in their footsteps, but after him, there would be no-one.

Thoughts strayed to how many times he and Sha're had tried to have a baby - she had thought that she was cursed, but then he thought the problem was with him when he saw her two years later, pregnant with Apophis' child.

Sam brought him out of his reverie by holding his hand. She had sensed what he was thinking and said,

"I... I could have your child."

He stared back at her, surprised, and she continued, dropping her gaze, "It's ok... I shouldn't have said that. A little forward of me, and..."

He interrupted her, "Sam, it's not that. I just don't think I could do that to you. How would you care for it by yourself? In four months, I'm... I'm not going to be here, and it's not going to be easy..."

Tears pricked his eyes and she hugged him, murmuring, "It's the least I could do for you, Daniel. I love you so much and I'm going to lose you - I don't want it to be easy."

He pulled back and asked, astonished, "You love me?"

She nodded, holding back her tears, and replied, "Of course."

He hugged her and whispered, "I love you too."

She ran her fingers through his hair and whispered, "I don't want you to go."

- 0 -- 0 --- 0 -- 0 -

Daniel woke up the next morning, feeling rather weird. He put it down to being in a different bed. He looked down to see Sam's sleeping form draped over him, and he smiled. He felt whole again. He silently talked to Sha're as he did whenever he was alone, telling her that he would be seeing her soon, and that he was happy.

He caressed Sam's hair, thoughts of the previous night filtering into his consciousness. He was surprised as he had felt weak earlier that evening, but he had soon forgot it when they were in each other's arms, Sam trying to be as gentle possible, constantly aware that he was sick.

He smiled again, wishing that they could have affirmed their love for each other long before now. He continued caressing her hair, and she began to stir. Her eyes opened and she looked up at him, concern reflected in her blue-grey orbs, orbs that could take a man's breath away, as they were currently doing to Daniel.

He smiled down at her and kissed her tenderly, before murmuring, "Thank you, Sam."

"For what?"

"For everything... I..."

She shushed him, putting a finger to his lips, before she kissed him with an ensuing passion, as his hands caressed her back.

He eventually stopped her, and said with a chuckle as they gazed deeply into each other's eyes, "As much as I would love to stay here all day, we really do need to eat."

Before she could reply, her stomach growled as a tell-tale sign of her hunger, and she giggled. He caressed her face as she kissed him again, before she finally let him get up.

As he stood up, his left leg buckled and he collapsed. She rushed to his aid and asked, frantically,

"Daniel! Daniel! Are you alright?"

He looked up at her and replied with a small smile, before his face contracted, "Hemiparesis - it's one of my symptoms. It's paralysis of half of my body, which includes some rather gnarly face twitching. It'll subside in a minute."

She crouched next to him, caressing his arm and asked, "Should I call Doctor Lam?"

He shook his head as his face twitched again, and replied, "I've got some anti-convulsants in the drawer if this goes on for too long."

She quickly grabbed a bottle of pills from the drawer, but by that time, he regained the use of his limbs and his face stopped twitching. He sat up, his back resting against the side of the bed, and chuckled.

She looked at him, concerned, and asked, "What?!"

He replied with a grin, right before she threw a pillow at him, "You'd make a great Nurse."

He stayed down after the blow, and she, horrified that maybe she had hurt him, said, "Oh my Gd, I'm so sorry!"

Just as she was about to help him up, he pulled her down and kissed her. After they parted, she playfully hit him on the chest and remarked, "Next time, I'm leaving you there!"

He kissed her again, and she remarked with a grin, matching his, "Although a girl could get used to this."

He replied with a wistful smile, "We're acting like a couple of teenagers!"

She touched his lower lip as he gazed down at her, her emotions welling in her, knowing full well that in four short months, she would be alone once more.

- 0 -- 0 --- 0 -- 0 -

When they eventually got changed and down for breakfast, it was midday. They would have taken longer but the doorbell was threatening to ring itself into extinction. After she needlessly made sure that he was seated at the breakfast table, she opened the door to find Jack waiting there, his arms folded and his foot tapping.

He remarked with a raised eyebrow, "Movie night last night?!"

She blushed and said, before letting him in, "Hi Sir... we were talking about the mission to 732 out back."

"Sure you were."

Jack walked into the kitchen where he clapped Daniel on the shoulder and said, "So Dannyboy, how're you doing?"

Daniel remarked, barely restraining a smile, "Apart from a huge tumour on my brain, I'm doing just fine - I was thinking of taking up scuba diving."

"How about hockey?"

"I may be dying, but I'm not desperate!"

Sam grinned at the exchange, as Jack raised an eyebrow. He knew he was going to miss Daniel, but had a hard time showing it. However, he had noticed something else - a frisson of sorts between two members of his old command. Hmm, well they did spend a night together, and... would that be 'together' together or just a couple of friends at a Slumber party together? She did take half an hour to answer the door, and they were both freshly showered at midday, which was odd as he knew them both to be early risers.

He smiled to himself as he once again noticed the little looks between the two, and reasoned that if they were happy, who was he to rain on their parade?

Before he could tease them, the doorbell rang again, and Sam rushed to answer it. She found Cam, Teal'c and Vala smiling, in varying degrees at her. She wordlessly invited them in and they sat at the breakfast table with Jack and Daniel.

Soon the room was full of witty and not-so witty banter, with Teal'c succeeding in making everyone laugh by telling a Jaffa joke that could be found funny by the Tau'ri. Vala told funny stories about her exploits, leading all of them to wonder how many of them had actually happened.

As everyone laughed, Jack noticed Sam edging closer to Daniel, and his suspicions of their newly found closeness were confirmed when she leant down to kiss him.

Jack smirked as everyone fell into a stunned silence, staring at the now blushing scientists.

Vala was the first to find her voice, and she remarked with a knowing smile, "Ooh, love is most definitely in the air!"

Jack continued smirking at them, and Cam asked, very obviously amused, "How long's this been going on?"

Daniel replied with a shy smile, "A day."

Jack couldn't contain himself any longer and he remarked, characteristically deadpan, "No wonder Carter took half an hour to answer the door!"

They blushed furiously, as Cam, Vala and Teal'c exchanged looks, the latter saying "Indeed" with a very amused expression.

Daniel caught Jack's eye and mouthed, "You are so dead!"

Jack shrugged and smiled, as Teal'c asked, "Has DanielJackson's condition led you to this decision?"

Before either of them could stammer in reply, Jack said in their defence, "Leave 'em be... it's obvious this is something that has been simmering for a while but none of them could face it."

The rest of SG-1 nodded, before he continued with a smile, "So I suggest no-one stays the night unless they don't like sleeping!"

Everyone, including Teal'c started laughing, leaving Sam and Daniel very embarrassed, both of them plotting their friend's demise as gruesomely as possible.

- 0 -- 0 --- 0 -- 0 -

Despite surgery, Daniel's condition gradually deteriorated, the tumour growing faster than it could be removed. He finally decided not to have any more operations, much to his friends' concern, not least Sam's. Lam reassessed his condition and concluded that he now only had two months left to live.

He re-drafted his Will, leaving his Archaeological paraphernalia to his unborn child, should Sam conceive, or to Jonas Quinn as a thank you for helping out during his ascended year. He left a present, a token of friendship, to each of his friends, including Generals Hammond and Landry. But his most precious possessions, which included photos of his parents, Jackson family trinkets and his mother's wedding and engagement rings, he left to Carter, despite her protests.

As for conception, they hadn't had much luck, despite their best efforts, and Lam theorised that perhaps Sam's Naquadah was inhibiting it, although she continued silently, that that didn't prevent Sha're from conceiving. She prescribed fertility drugs, and everyone waited with bated breath, unsure of the outcome.

One morning, Daniel woke up and realised that he couldn't see anything, which he thought odd to say the least. He could feel Sam draped over him but he couldn't see her, so he gently caressed her. When she stirred and kissed him good morning, he asked her,

"Sam, what time is it?"

She looked back at him, concerned and replied, "10 am... why?"

He frowned slightly and said quietly, "I think I'm blind... it must be the tumour pressing on the optical nerve."

Tears streamed down her face and she put her head down on his chest, not wanting him worry, but he felt wetness. He smoothed her hair and said soothingly,

"Sam, please don't cry - we both know that I don't have much time left."

She replied, sobbing into his chest, "But it's so unfair! Why does it have to be you of all people?!"

"It's just nature."

"Screw nature! I'm - we're - all going to lose you!"

He caressed her shoulder as he replied, tears rolling down his cheeks, "You'll manage just fine without me. You're a strong person, and..."

She interrupted him, tracing his lower lip with her index finger, as she replied, "I can't go on without you - that year when you were gone was bad enough. Some mornings it took an inordinate amount of effort just to get out of bed... and then when I got to work, Jonas was there - the same so-and-so who was responsible for you being killed!"

"We both know that it wasn't his fault. He was protecting his government and..."

"Oh Daniel, will you stop being so considerate, for a brief moment at least?! It should have been him leaping through the window - the Kelownan physiology is just that bit more tolerant of Naquadria radiation."

He squeezed her shoulder and replied, "It still wasn't his fault - he was scared and I did a Bruce Willis impression."

He caressed her face as he continued, "Dry your eyes and let's go get something to eat."

She nodded with a sniffle, before drying her eyes and lifting her head to look at him. The tears threatened to spill again when the idea of him being blind finally sunk in. She gently reached up to kiss him, before murmuring,

"I'll help you up."

"There's no need, I can..."

She shushed him again, placing a finger on his lips and reminded him, "You're blind, remember? Come on, don't be shy."

He grinned and remarked, "How could I be shy with you, Colonel-Doctor?!"

She was about to help him up, when she began to feel nauseous. She paused and he asked,

"Sam, what's wrong?"

She replied, taking a deep breath, "Just a little bit of nausea - it's probably from lack of sleep."

Before he could reply, she fled to the bathroom, quickly saying, "I'll be back."

"Sam?"

- 0 -- 0 --- 0 -- 0 -

During the day, his eyesight returned for brief periods, and Lam ran a battery of tests on him. She also roped Brightman in to run a few tests on Sam.

Brightman invited Sam and Daniel to Lam's office, where she told them, barely restraining a smile,

"Colonel Carter, Doctor Jackson, congratulations, you're going to be parents!"

Daniel grinned at the prospect of fatherhood, before he realised that he wouldn't be there for the most part of her pregnancy. He wistfully wondered how she would manage by herself, what with the morning sickness, cravings, swollen ankles, mood swings... and then the baby would entail sleepless nights. For the first time since agreeing to the whole thing, he began to regret doing so.

He instinctively reached over for Sam's hand, and he sensed that she was overcome with emotion. He was right. Tears ran down her cheeks and when she eventually found her voice, she said with a smile to Doctor Lam who was also present, "Thank you, thank you so much."

She glanced over at Daniel, wishing he wasn't blind, and squeezed his hand. He grinned at her and remarked,

"Certainly explains you running off like that this morning!"

They left the Infirmary and soon discovered that her pregnancy wasn't news, thanks to some gossiping nurses. There was a mini-baby shower in her lab, and Cam, Jack and Teal'c, as well as the other male personnel, took turns in patting Daniel on the back, congratulating him, with varying degrees of rudeness.

Even Cassie was there, and she hugged them both, saying, "I knew you guys were made for each other, and this just proves it!"

Jack remarked, "I hope you're not doing any of that sort of thing, young lady!"

She retorted, feigning innocence, "Oh no, not me Jack! I'm way too into College!"

She hugged them once again, murmuring, "Mom would be so proud of you two."

- 0 -- 0 --- 0 -- 0 -

Later that evening, when Sam and Daniel were back home, talking avidly, the topic strayed to dancing experiences. She remarked,

"Well we Air Force Officers have Waltzing 101 as a core module at the Academy."

He chuckled and replied, "I was never much good at it... strike that, I was never any good at it. It's one of the reasons why I never went to my high school prom."

She asked, a curious expression on her face, "What were the other reasons?"

He raised his eyebrows and replied, "Well, for one, everyone was older than me because I was skipped ahead three grades, therefore, I didn't have a date. But the all-encompassing reason was that I was effectively a geek."

She, surprised, said, "You're not a geek! I've never really seen you as that..."

He interrupted her with a remark, as he shielded himself with his arms, "Maybe because you're one too?"

She, feigning disbelief, hit him with a sofa cushion, saying, "Hey, a geek wouldn't be able to fight!"

He stayed down, and she became worried that she had hurt him, so she crouched next to him, asking if anything was the matter. He, grinning, quickly grabbed her and they kissed passionately, before she remarked,

"Ever heard of the boy who cried wolf?!"

He caressed her face and murmured, "Sorry."

She exhaled, running her fingers through his hair, as she replied, "The only thing you need to say sorry for is for not letting me experience those kisses before!"

He grinned at her, and she continued, "Hey, let's do it."

He looked confused and asked, "Sam? Are you sure? On the sofa?"

She, realising what he meant, playfully hit him, exclaiming, "No, silly, I'm going to teach you how to dance."

He raised his eyebrows and remarked, "I don't have a year."

She chuckled and whispered, "It won't take anywhere near that long."

She helped him up, before switching on her stereo, and to the sounds of Sam Cooke singing 'Wonderful World', she gently held him, silently telling him which way to go.

"Don't know much about history

Don't know much biology

Don't know much about a science book

Don't know much about the French I took

But I do know that I love you

And I know that if you love me too

What a wonderful world this would be

Don't know much about geography

Don't know much trigonometry

Don't know much about algebra

Don't know what a slide rule is for.

But I do know that one and one is two,

And if this one could be with you,

What a wonderful world this would be.

Now i don't claim to be an "A" student,

But I'm trying to be.

So maybe by being an "A" student baby

I can win your love for me.

Don't know much about history

Don't know much biology

Don't know much about a science book

Don't know much about the French I took.

But I do know that I love you,

And I know that if you love me too,

What a wonderful world this would be."

He leant his head on her shoulder, and they savoured each other's company, knowing that they didn't have a lot of time. He thought of all the good times that they had in the past, all the shared experiences, and he chastised himself for not telling her sooner of his feelings.

She in turn regretted not telling him of her feelings, and she fought back the tears as she contemplated him not being there any more in two short months. She gently brushed his lips with hers, before he kissed her tenderly, saying, "I love you so much, Colonel-Doctor."

"I love you too, Doctor Squared."

He smiled, before reaching into his pocket, and producing a velvet box, as she instinctively switched the stereo off. Before she could even think, he opened it to reveal his mother's engagement and wedding rings; the former a gold band set with a cluster of emeralds, the latter made of Welsh gold, and intricately carved with a Celtic pattern.

He held her hands as he said, "Sam, I'm not going to be here for much longer, as you well know, and I want our baby to have a good start. I know I've bequeathed these rings to you already, but if it helps when non-SGC people start asking you questions, I'd like you wear them. I really wanted to propose, but I can't make you a widow, and..."

Tears streamed down both of their faces as he slipped the rings onto the ring finger of her left hand, and she hugged him, whispering,

"I'm going to miss you so much."

He was so overcome with emotion that he couldn't speak. He was dying, and his words swam around his mind "I don't have long enough", "I'm not going to be here for much longer"... He closed his eyes, trying to fight back the tears, but she kissed them away, murmuring,

"You don't have to hide anything from me."

- 0 -- 0 --- 0 -- 0 -

One morning, Daniel woke up, maybe for the last time. His eyesight had returned and he gazed down at Sam, and smiled. He had a feeling that he would die today but he didn't care - well, he did, because how was she going to manage by herself? She was barely a month pregnant and... he forced the worries to the back of his mind, and concentrated on memorising everything about her.

He felt the darkness overwhelming him, but he fought it as best he could, "Not yet, I have to say goodbye to her."

He caressed her hair and her shoulder, and she stirred, and blinked, looking up at him. Cerulean met blue-grey, and he said with a smile,

"Samantha Carter, I love you so much."

His eyes closed and his breathing stopped. She stared at him, realisation dawning on her, and she screamed,

"Nooooo! Daniel!"

She checked his pulse and finding none, she sobbed into his chest, saying between sobs,

"Dammit Daniel, don't leave me again!"

- 0 -- 0 --- 0 -- 0 -

Daniel's body was transported to the SGC, where it lay in state in the Infirmary. SGC personnel, Tok'ra representatives, Thor, Chaka, the President, White House staff, Woolsey, Pentagon officials (including Paul Davis); Russian, British, Chinese and Canadian representatives, and General Hammond all filed past to pay their last respects.

Jack was having trouble restraining his emotions at losing his friend, so he took to beating the gym's punching bag into submission, as did Teal'c. Vala hid in Daniel's office, crying, as Sam and Cam stood in the Infirmary, the former barely restraining tears.

A memorial service was held in the gateroom, where Jack, Hammond and Landry all made speeches in his honour. But the most heart-rendering one was from Sam, where she reminded everyone how much they owed the brilliant Archaeologist, and everyone was touched to say the least when she broke down into tears, unable to finish, and was silently escorted out by Cam.

Preparations had been made to bury him in Arlington, the resting place of America's heroes.

The night before his funeral, she went to see him, and whispered to him how much she loved him, and that she would never see anyone else. She traced his lower lip before tearfully saying,

"Goodbye Daniel."

She kissed him before walking out of the room, tears falling copiously.

- 0 -- 0 --- 0 -- 0 -

Roughly six months later, Sam gave birth to twins: Melburn Daniel Carter-Jackson and Claire Danielle Carter-Jackson. As she held them, she wept that Daniel wasn't here to see them, to finally be able to enjoy fatherhood, after being repeatedly hurt in the past.

She whispered to them, "Your father was the best Dad you could possibly wish for, but it looks as though you'll just have to believe me on that, although I'm sure there are millions of people out there who could tell you about him."

The rest of SG-1, Jack, Landry and Hammond filed in to congratulate her, but their celebrations were subdued for obvious reasons. Sam had just told them what names she had decided on, when everyone heard a scream coming from Lam's office. Vala stayed with Sam as Jack, Cam and Teal'c went to check things out.

After hearing some laughing and whispering, Sam wanted to know what was going on, and Vala was about to oblige, when Cam appeared and said, feigning nonchalance,

"Oh, it's nothing - Carolyn just found something I put in her drawer."

He looked sheepish when Landry glared at him, and then Brightman appeared and seemed to be in a rush to get her out of the Infirmary, which she thought was odd.

After a shower and a change of clothes, she was shooed out of the Infirmary, along with Vala and the Generals. Brightman offered to look after the babies, leaving Sam very confused, so she sat in her lab, going through paperwork, all the while wondering what was going on.

She was reading a report on a device from 931, when a voice made her jump out of her skin. She looked up and nearly had a heart attack on seeing none other than Daniel in her doorway, wearing BDUs.

After a moment's pause, she rushed over to him, their eyes locked, and they hugged.

She eventually realised what had happened, and she remarked with a grin, "I'm beginning to think it's very hard to kill you Doctor Jackson!"

He caressed her jaw and retorted with an equally large grin, "Only beginning to?!"

He continued as cerulean orbs met blue-grey orbs, "Thetis ascended me at Arlington -- turns out that Thetis, mother of Achilles, is a real person, and one of those few willing to toe the line like Oma."

She chuckled and kissed him tenderly as he wrapped his arms around her, tears pricking his eyes.

Only then was she aware that they had an audience, an audience consisting of most of the SGC, every one of them grinning, not least SG-1, with Jack and Cam holding the babies.

She put her arms around his neck and asked, "Do you want to see your children?"

He kissed her again in reply, before she led him to Jack and Cam, the former remarking, "Congratulations Dannyboy, you're a daddy! Savour this moment, 'cos soon enough they'll have sufficient language skills to answer you back!"

They carefully passed the babies to the parents, as the parents hugged the Air Force officers with their free arms.

Before Sam could say anything, Daniel said as he gazed at each of his babies, "Wait, don't tell me. Melburn Daniel Carter-Jackson and Claire Danielle Carter-Jackson."

She looked at him, surprised, and he continued, "Did you really think I was going to miss the birth?! It would have taken more than death to stop me."

They kissed over the babies, as everyone cheered raucously.