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The light shining through the bedroom window woke Sam up. Blinking, she immediately registered that the sun had the brightness of the late morning or even early noon. It had been almost a year since she’d slept in like that. Then again, she had felt utterly exhausted when she came home late last night.
She stretched languidly and got up. As she reached the kitchen, craving coffee and rubbing her eyes, she expected the usual noise in the house. But there was no DVD playing with Jack reciting his favourite Simpsons episodes, no sizzling pan with his “secret recipe” omelette. Maybe he had gone to the park? Or decided to get a head start with grocery shopping?
That would be relief to her because, though Sam only admitted it to herself (and Janet, as her doctor), she still struggled a bit here and there physically since returning to work after her leave. She was only working four days a week at the base for now and commanding the SGC from home the rest of the time.
But whenever she entered the mountain, there seemed to be an emergency waiting for her - yesterday, it was a mining probe from PT-1410 that turned out to be surprisingly…clingy. (It had clung both to the SG personnel and the gate itself.) The day before it had been an aggressive cactus.
A week before, it had been Henry Hayes doing a surprise visit. She really liked the man who had been nothing but supportive of her relationship to her former CO, but the President visiting a top secret base like Chayenne Mountain was also a nightmare to organise.
Needless to say, Sam was more than happy that it was Saturday and her day off.
A mug of coffee in hand, she stepped into the living room, actually looking forward to having something as mundane as household chores to do. The scene she encountered was one of homeliness and belonging, but slightly different than she had anticipated.
Rationally, she knew that it was also Daniel’s day off, and she had hoped for a “team night” (even if the four of them weren’t strictly SG-1 anymore) at some point over the weekend. Still, it surprised her to find her best friend in the armchair next to the sofa now, firmly asleep. From the book in his hands, she could tell he had been reading “Nighttime stories from the past - tales from ancient Egypt for 21st century babies”, written by himself, to the latest, if honorary, member of SG-1 not long ago. Sam fondly ruffled Daniel’s hair and gently removed the book and his glasses. The archaeologist’s lips curled into a smile before they relaxed in sleep once again.
How anyone could sleep that peacefully with the snoring going on next to him on the couch was a secret to Sam. Then again, Daniel had years of experience in tuning Jack out. She giggled at the man who had his long legs stretched out in front of him. After all, he had his arms around an empty milk bottle and a burp cloth resting on his shoulder that read “All Chevrons Locked”.
She pressed a kiss to his forehead, still amazed at how smoothly Jack had taken to his new full-time job barely a year after he had retired as Head of Homeworld. Of course, she hadn’t expected to end up pregnant at her age just weeks after being promoted to the General’s post as CO of the SGC, either.
Over the snoring, a low hum reached her ears. Turning, she saw Teal’c, his arms gently cradling a baby. Her daughter glanced up at her honorary uncle, her big blue eyes wide open in fascination.
“Another present from the SGC?” Sam asked, spotting the brand new onesie. She stepped next to Teal’c who hadn’t stopped humming and merely gave her a nod as an answer. “Classified,” Sam read the print and laughed quietly. Only a few weeks old, little Grace Carter O’Neill was already everyone’s favourite. For a few moments, she stood next to her friend, stroking the soft hair on her daughter’s head, and simply enjoying the peaceful moment with her former team, her family. Teal’c’s humming hadn‘t stopped, but she still couldn’t place the tune even though it sounded vaguely familiar.
“Is that a lullaby from Chulak?” The Jaffa answered her with an amusedly raised eyebrow, and the snorted laugh behind her told her in no uncertain terms that her husband was awake. “Carter, so many years of team nights and you don’t recognize the Star Wars tune!”
It was Sam’s turn to snort a laugh. She really loved Saturdays at home.