The morning was a whirlwind of activity.  Sam Carter was everywhere at once it seemed.  She had received a phone call earlier that morning, letting her know she was pregnant.  At first she was shocked.  Now she knew that she had a lot of work ahead of her.

 

First and foremost she had to get to the rehabilitation center.  There was someone she had to tell.

 

***

 

Two months ago, Sam was the happiest woman on the earth.  She had found her hearts true love in her best friend, Daniel Jackson.  They had known each other since Col. O’Neill informed the new commander of the Stargate Program ten years ago, that Jackson was alive and living on the planet Abydos.

 

When Sam first met him, she immediately took to him, as a fellow scientist and explorer.  At that time, however, he was married.  So their relationship melded into that of the closest of friends.

 

A lot has happened since then.  And a lot of changes in feelings occurred also.  Sam never really investigated those feelings.  Daniel was her best friend and brother.  But somewhere in the last four years, that began to grow into something more for Daniel.  Sam was a little slower in realizing it.

 

When Daniel finally told her that he loved her, she was just beginning to admit that she was also in love with him.

 

It had been the most remarkable two months in her life.  Daniel was the quintessential gentleman.  Insisting that even though they had known each other for ten years, had been through hell and back countless times, they were going to do things right.  Starting with a date and progressing from there.

 

It seemed that all was in order in the universe.  Daniel asked Sam to marry him.  Everything was perfect.

 

Two hours later, Daniel was lying in a pool of his own blood, having been shot in the head by a teenage boy.  He had gone into an ally to help a young girl that three boys were knocking around.  Daniel told Sam to call the police while he tried to talk to the boys and calm the situation down.

 

Ever the peacemaker, Daniel just wouldn’t see that sometimes, talk is not the best way to go about disarming a gunman.  No matter how old they were.

 

***

 

Sam couldn’t believe how much her spirit had lifted since hearing the news of her pregnancy.  Even with all that had been relived the night before, she couldn’t help but be overjoyed.  She also knew that this news would be the turning point she needed to help her brake through the darkness.

 

The drive to the recovery center was the longest fifteen minutes of her life.  She just couldn’t wait.

 

As she walked into the home, the receptionist looked up and greeted her, “You are looking awfully chipper this morning Dr. Carter,” she smiled.

 

“I had some good news given to me earlier.”

 

“Do share!”

 

“Not yet.  I have to tell someone else first.”

 

The older woman smiled knowingly at Sam as she signed in and picked up her badge.

 

All of the staff seemed to sense the happiness radiating from Sam.  She tried to dodge them as politely as possible.  She just wanted to get to her destination.

 

As she pushed the door to the room open a nurse was on her way out.

 

“Dr. Carter,” she gasped, startled.  “I wasn’t expecting you here until this afternoon.  Is everything all right?”

 

“Yes, Anne Marie.  I just needed to see him right away,”  Sam replied, trying to step aside the nurse.

 

“Dr. Carter,” Anne Marie lowered her voice, “he is still unresponsive.  How much longer do you think you should put yourself through this?”

 

It was said in concern for Sam, but She had to breathe deeply to beat down the anger that was bubbling up inside her.

 

“As long as it takes, Anne Marie,” she replied evenly.  “I believe that what I have to tell him today will be the first step in reaching him.  Now, if you will excuse us, please.”

 

The nurse smiled tightly and stepped aside.  Sam nodded and entered the darkened room.

 

As she approached the bed, her breath caught in her throat.  She hated seeing her love, her best friend in all the world, her Daniel, in this condition.  In retrospect, she should be use to it.  But now it was different.  He was her Daniel.  And he needed to come back to her.

 

Standing by the bed, she took Daniel’s hand in hers.  She began to brush the hair off his forehead, smiling slightly.

 

“Daniel,” Sam whispered, “I have something to tell you.  I know you can hear me; you need to find your way back.  Now more than ever.”

 

Pausing, Sam leaned over him and kissed him lightly on the cheek.  “Daniel, we’re going to have a baby.”

 

She watched his face closely, looking for any signs of acknowledgment.  Nothing.  Not even an eye flutter.

 

“Daniel, please…” Sam quietly pleaded.  “I need you.  We need you.  You are going to be a father in six months.  Please come back to us.”

 

She was so sure this would bring him around almost instantly.  Hoping, wishing.  Maybe she was deluding herself.  Maybe Anne Marie was right.

 

No!

 

No, she was not!

 

Sam would not let any of them be right.  Daniel was a fighter.  For crying out loud, he’d already died half a dozen times.  He must have at least three more lives to use up.  Provided he was a cat.  Plus he didn’t die this time.  It was a complete miracle that he didn’t.

 

The bullet hit him on the right side of his head and lodged in his skull.  The shot was not aimed.  Had it been, he would definitely been killed.

 

***

 

The girl told Sam that the boys did get scared when he came down the alley.  He tried to talk to them, even offered them some money to go and get something to eat.  Two of the boys wanted to leave.  The one that ended up shooting him was not so receptive.  He got in Daniel’s face.  Started pushing him around and yelling insults at him.  The young girl watched, terrified.  She cried in Sam’s arms at the hospital as she told her what Daniel did.

 

Keeping his voice even and unthreatening, Daniel asked if he could help resolve the situation without anyone getting hurt.

 

“Come on guys, do you really think this is the way have fun?” Daniel questioned them, keeping his hands held up in a peaceful gesture.

 

“What the fuck do you care, asshole!”  The older boy was obviously the one calling all the moves.  “Get the fuck outta here and mind your own business!”

 

“Okay, okay.  I’ll go,” Daniel replied, then moving slowly towards the girl he added, “but not without the girl.  I’m not going to let you hurt her.”

 

“Bullshit!  You ain’t touchin’ that bitch.  No one tells me I can’t have whatever piece of tail I want!  The whore thinks she owns me… Don’tcha bitch? ”

 

Daniel could tell that the other two were getting nervous.

 

“Come on, Paz.  Let’s go.  She ain’t nuttin’.  Just drop it, brah…”  The smaller of the two wanna-be thugs whined.

 

“Paz, is it?  That’s a great street name.  How’d you get it?” Daniel asked, trying to inch towards the girl and keep the boys, especially Paz, just off balance enough until the cops showed up.

 

The kid laughed, he knew what Daniel was doing, “Fuck you, asshole!!  Who do you think you are?  You ain’t wearin’ tights, can’t be a superhero.  Maybe ya got’em under your clothes,” Paz smirked and looked all around the ally, “ain’t no phone booth here.  Must be a real bitch for you superhero types with everyone havin’ cell phones now.  And speakin’ of cell phones, I’m guessin’ you ain’t got one, that’s why you ain’t called the cops.”

 

“No, but my girlfriend is calling them now.  You seem pretty smart.  I mean, you got your own crew and by the looks of your clothes and watch, you know how to take care of yourself.  You leave right now, without the girl, and I’ll have a sudden case of amnesia when the cops get here.”  Taking a step towards the boy, Daniel lowered his hands and added, “Or better yet, you let the girl go, and you can beat the shit out of me.  Okay?  I won’t even defend myself.  What do you say?”

 

The briefest look of confusion flashed a crossed Paz’s face.  Then he turned and smiled at the other boys.  Even though Daniel was a good bit taller and had at least 15 pounds on the the kid, he still looked like a geek.

 

“You a fuckin’ idiot, ya know that?”

 

“Yeah, my best friend never lets me forget it,” Daniel mumbled.

 

Before the girl could scream a warning, Paz pulled a gun from behind him and shoved it into Daniel’s face.

 

The SG-1 team member’s training kicked in automatically.  He grabbed the boy’s wrist and twisted the gun out of his hand.  Shoving him away, Daniel raised the gun up in his hand, holding it not as a weapon, but as acknowledgment that he had it, and could use it if he needed too.

 

All three boys went white with shock.  Then they all heard the sirens blaring.  The youngest boy took off running.  Paz grabbed a gun that was in the other boy’s belt and fired at Daniel.

 

Daniel didn’t even see the gun come up.

 

***

 

Shaking her head to bring herself back to the present, Sam went about her daily routine with him.  Brushing his hair, shaving him.  She fussed at the nurse’s aide about his needing a haircut.

 

Always she spoke with him.  Telling him what was going on.  Relating any news she’d heard from the SGC.  Even sitting and reading to him for hours out of various archaeology magazines.  Anything to guide him home.

 

The whole day, Sam was hoping that by continuing to tell him about the baby, he would show her somehow that he understood.  It was close to 7:00 in the evening when the night shift nurse came in.

 

“Dr. Carter, have you been here all day?”

 

“Yes,” Sam sighed.  “I was really hoping that today would be the day I could break through,” Sam was near tears, but pushed them away.

 

The nurse came over to her and gave her arm a small squeeze.  “When my dad was in an accident, he was in a coma for several weeks.  My mother would not entertain the idea that he wouldn’t come back to us.  She sat by him every day, just like you have.  The day before he woke up she had tried something a little different.  She brought in a bunch of candles, some of the flowers that he loved from our garden, and a homemade apple pie.”  The nurse paused and smiled at the memory.  “The thing that I think really pulled him back, though, was when she started singing his favorite song.  The next morning when she got to his room, he was awake and smiling.”

 

Giving Sam a hug, she whispered, “Don’t give up.  He wants to come home to you as much you want him too.”

 

The nurse left the room, giving Sam and Daniel their space.

 

Staring at his face, Sam sat on the edge of his bed.  She took his hand in hers and leaned down to kiss his lips.  “Goodnight, my love,” she whispered, “I’ll be back in the morning.  Please keep fighting, Daniel.  Please come home to meet your child.”

 

One last kiss for the night, and she left to go back to her house.

 

On the way home Sam turned the radio on, thinking maybe it would inspire her with something for Daniel.  She was almost home when a requested song began to play.  Turning it up she listened to the words and started to cry.  She wasn’t sure why it affected her like that, but just knew this was what she wanted to learn for him.

 

Turning into her driveway, she was greeted with a surprise.  There, sitting in the back of a truck, was Jack O’Neill, Cam Mitchell, and Teal’c. 

Hastily wiping her face, she jumped out of the car and ran into their open arms.

 

It was the most wonderful, four-way hug she had in a long time.  The levee broke.  She couldn’t hold back the tears.

 

“What are you guys doing here?”  She laughed as she went to each of them and hugged them individually.

 

“Well, if you don’t want us, we could go…” Jack smirked.

 

She slapped his arm, “NO!  Of course I don’t want you to go.”

 

Leading them up to the house, she continued to beam at them.

 

“You know, I could have you up on charges for striking a superior officer,” O’Neill held the door open for all of them to go inside.

 

“Sorry, Jack,” Sam replied making sure he noticed that she had used his first name, “not in the military any more, remember?”

 

Making a great show of slapping his forehead he said, “Oh, yeah.  I keep forgetting.  Pity.”

 

Setting down with her old teammates, Sam felt better then she had since that fateful night two months ago.

 

Deciding to break the silence, Jack fixed Sam with a serious stare.  “We’ve sorta came here with an agenda, Carter.  It’s something important.”

 

Feeling an instant foreboding welling up inside her, she shifted uncomfortably in her chair.  With a nod from Cam and Teal’c, Jack steeled himself for what he figured was going to be a very short discussion.

 

“Carter, I’m taking back the command at the SGC.  General Landry has retired and the President has asked me personally to take over.  Things have not been real good there since…” he paused, not sure how to delicately finish, “since you and Daniel have been gone.  So, I’m here to ask you, as a favor to me, to come out of retirement and rejoin the SGC.”

 

Mitchell nodded his head emphatically, “We really need you back, Sam.”

 

The request was like a ton of bricks falling out of the air.  The three men sat quietly, expectantly.  She looked at each of them, noticing the mixture of anticipation and dread.

 

“I… I, I don’t know what to say,” she answered quietly.  “This is coming completely from left field.”

 

“You don’t have to answer us now, Carter,” Cam said to her.  “We’re going to stick around a few days.”

 

“Indeed, it is a request that will need your careful consideration, Colonel Carter,” Teal’c inclined his head slightly to her.  “We would not expect you to answer right away.”

 

Shaking her head and kneading her hands together, she debated on telling them no right then.  But something kept her from doing that.  She had really missed being with the SGC.  Missed the camaraderie, the family of SG-1.  Hell, she missed the long hours of mind racking work hunched over some new alien technology.

 

But what about Daniel.  She brought him out here because this was the best recuperation home in the States.  She resigned so that she could be with him and help him recover when he woke up.  And now, she had to think of the fact that she was pregnant.  There would be no way Jack would let her go off world now.  So what would the point be?

 

She looked at each of the men that meant so much to her.  Knowing that right now she could really use the support of friends… or whether family, how could she say no?

 

“Look,” Jack broke into her thoughts, “it’s late.  We need to go and find a motel.  We’ve been driving for twenty-two hours and we’re pretty wiped.”

 

“Don’t go,” Sam told them a little stronger then she had meant to.  “You guys can stay here.  I’ve got plenty of room.  It will be nice to have someone around for a few days.”

 

Three sets of eyes glanced around at each other, gauging various reactions.

 

“If it would be no trouble for you, Colonel Carter.  We will be happy to stay with you here,” Teal’c answered for all of them.

 

Sam smiled warmly at him, “It would be no trouble at all.  At least not until you guys want to eat.  It’s slim pickings here right now.”

 

Cam stood up, “Me and Teal’c will go into town and rustle us up some grub, Sam.”  Turning to the Jaffa he slapped his arm, “Come on T.  I’ll drive.”

 

Once they left, Jack turned to Sam.  He knew that something was amiss.  “What is it, Sam?”

 

Taking a deep breath, she met his eyes, “Jack, I’m pregnant.”

 

Stunned silence.

 

Sam watched her former CO closely.  His face was carved granite.  She couldn’t read it at all.

 

“Sir?” she reverted back to her customary address of O’Neill, “Sir, did you…”

 

“I heard you, Carter.  I just…  Pregnant?  You sure?”

 

“Yes, sir.  Two months.”

 

“Wow.  Congratulations… Wow,” Jack stammered.  “Have you told Daniel?”

 

“Today.  I just found out today.”  She turned away from him, feeling the emotions rising to the surface.  “I really thought that telling him would bring him back.  But, there was no reaction.”

 

Throwing an arm over her shoulder, he could feel her sobs coming in earnest.  “You’re sure you’re pregnant?  Maybe it’s just indigestion.”

Sam couldn’t help but choke out a laugh.

 

“He’ll come around, Sam.  Daniel can’t stay away for long.  He’s like a bad penny,” Jack told her quietly.  “Every time I think I’m finally rid of that colossal pain in my ass, he shows up again—” narrowing his eyes, Jack added, “and he’s usually naked.  What’s up with that?”

 

Sam laughed at the memory of Jack pulling the SGC flag off the poll and handing it to Daniel.  As Daniel stepped from Jack’s office with it wrapped around his waist, it took everything in her power not to fall over laughing.

 

Pulling herself together she asked, “What would I do with Daniel?”

 

“He’ll come back with you if you decide to return to the SGC.  He could room with Teal’c.  Couple of party animals.  Just kidding.  I’ll have a private room made up for him and get any and all specialist to work on his case.”

 

Sam took a steadying breath.  She looked up at the General.

 

“I will have to think long and hard about returning, sir.  Right now, my whole life is centered around reaching Daniel.  And now, I have to also think about this life within me.  I’m not sure if adding all the chaos of the SGC would be smart.  But having you guys around, even for this little bit of time, has made me realize how much I’ve missed the support and friendship.”

 

Jack took a deep breath and sighed, “Look, Carter, I really wanted you to come back and be a part of SG-1 again.  But with you being… you know,” he waved his hand at her stomach, “how about coming back and heading up our science and technology department.  You stay on base.  No-off world missions.  Would you consider that a little more optimistically?”

 

She was quiet for a long moment.  Leaning back and looking at her friend she nodded.  “Yes.  I would seriously think on that.”

 

“Good.”

 

After Cam and Teal’c got back loaded with groceries, they all had a great meal and great time talking, laughing, being together.  Sam set them up in the two spare rooms she had and hugged them good night.

 

Right before she left for her room, Jack stopped her.  “Can I see Daniel tomorrow?”

 

“Sure.  He’d like that.” She said with a sad smile, then headed off to bed.

 

***

 

In the peace and quiet of her room, Sam took her laptop to the bed and began looking for sheet music on the web for the song she heard on the radio.  When she found it, Sam thought to herself, this is silly.  I haven’t played in years.  There’s no way Daniel would respond.

 

Still, she had to try.  Getting up and pulling a case from under her bed, she carefully opened it to revel a beautiful, dark wood guitar.  Taking it out and settling back on the bed, she tuned it.  Slowly, looking at the laptop screen, she started to play.

 

It was well after two in the morning when her fingers protested enough to make her stop.  She didn’t play well, and knew she hated her voice, but it was for Daniel  and she hoped it would work.

 

***

 

Jack drove her to the home after they all had breakfast together.  Cam and Teal’c remained behind, not wanting to overwhelm Daniel with a lot of visitors.  Jack noticed that Sam packed a guitar case in the back of his truck.  He turned to her, “I heard music last night.  Was that you?”

 

A flash of red warmed her face.  “Sorry.  I had hoped you couldn’t hear me.  It’s just something I want to try with Daniel.”

 

Jack nodded and was quiet for a moment.  “Well, it will either help him, or… drive him further…”

 

“One more word and you will need a doctor!” she grinned at him.

 

Sam and Jack walked into the reception room and signed in.  The glances of all the nurses amused Jack.

 

“Guess they’re not use to seeing you with another man, huh?”

 

She smirked at him, “They are not use to seeing me with anyone.”

 

When they reached Daniel’s room, Jack hung back for awhile to let her go in and say good morning.  He was nervous.  He wasn’t very good with the bedside comfort stuff.  He should be, considering how much practice he’s had.  Especially with Daniel.

 

Sam came out and told him to go on in.

 

“You’re not coming too?” he asked.

 

Shaking her head she replied, “No, you can talk to him alone.  Too much noise would confuse him anyway.”

A small smile flickered across his face, then he turned and walked in.

 

Jack hated hospitals.  And he hated seeing his friends in hospitals.  He hated all the wires and tubes, the constant beeps and smell of disinfectant.  It was just too damn sterile.

 

As he approached, he desperately tried to think of something to say to his friend.

 

“Hey, Danny.”

 

Well, that was lame.

 

Taking a deep breath, he looked down on the quiet face of the one man he could truly say he cared for.

 

“Danny, you in there somewhere?  You need to come back.  Sam misses you.  We all do.”

 

Feeling foolish, Jack started to play with some of the wires leading from the machines.

 

“You know I’ve never been any good at this.  How ’bout you throw me a bone here.”

 

Still no reaction.  He couldn’t understand how Carter could do this every day for two months.  It would drive him nuts.  It was already driving him nuts.

 

Time for a tactical change.  Daniel was never one for subtlety.

 

“All right, Daniel.  Enough is enough,” he growled at the young man.  “You’ve got a beautiful woman pining for you.  A kid on the way.  Friends all over this freakin’ universe, and can’t bother to wake up?”

 

Jack tried to keep the growing anger from his voice, “so what?  You got some hunk of rock with scribbles on it inside that melon of yours?  Or are you waiting to see if anyone’s gonna curl up and die because you’re not around?  Come on, Danny, been there, done  that.  It’s time to snap outta this!”

 

He started to walk away then stopped.  Turning back he rushed over to the bed and got right up into Daniel’s face,  “Now you listen to me, boy.  I loved Carter long before you had any inclinations that she was a woman.  But I knew it wouldn’t have worked between us.  When she told me that you two were together, I just about jumped on the earliest plane from D.C. to come back and kick your ass.

 

“After a few shots of J.D., I realized that it was actually the best thing that could have happened for her.  For both of you.  Now you go and pull this bullshit?!

 

“Nah ah, Danny boy.  You will not leave her to pick up the pieces of your scattered brained life.  I will not let you do that to her again.”

 

Voice choked with emotions that he would not allow to surface, Jack took Daniel’s shoulders in his hands and shook him none to gently.  “I will not let you destroy Samantha Carter!  Do you hear me?"

 

Sam rushed in when she heard Jack’s raised angry voice.  She stopped short when she saw him pulling away from Daniel.  He looked at her once, then stormed out of the room.

 

She was about to go after him and demand to know what he was doing, when the EKG monitor began to beep an increase in Daniel’s heart rate.  She ran over to him looking for signs that he was coming around.  The nurse came in also and started going through the readouts.

 

“Daniel?  Can you hear me?”  Sam whispered.

 

Then the EKG settled back to its normal cadence.  Sam looked to the nurse, searching for some conformation that he had reacted to whatever Jack had said.

 

“He started to, but I think he’s slipped back,” the nurse said with a sad smile, and left quietly.

 

Sam’s head dropped onto his chest.  Clinging to the blankets of the bed, she let herself collapse against him.  She was beginning to wonder how much more heartache she would be able to take.  Her head down and eyes closed, Sam silently whispered a prayer to anyone that was listening.  A slight breeze ruffled her hair and she looked up in surprise.  Nothing had changed.  The windows weren’t open.  Then she noticed Daniel’s finger petting the back of her hand.  Only for an instant, but Sam knew that he was there, and that he was trying.

 

***

 

An hour later Sam went in search of O’Neill.  She found him sitting in his truck, staring at a couple of photos.  She walked up beside the driver’s door and looked at the pictures.  One was of he, his ex-wife and son at a happier time.  The other was of herself, Teal’c, Daniel and Jack all standing at the base of the ramp in front of the Stargate.  Both photos showed smiling faces, full of life and love.

 

“Jack, what happened?” she asked laying her hand on his arm.

 

“Ah, Carter, you know me.  Never had much of a bedside manner,” he answered.

 

Cramming the photos in the glove box, he turned to her, “You ready to go home?”

 

“No.  I want to stay here for a while longer,” she looked at him curiously, “Sir, what did you say to Daniel?”

 

Jack shifted in his seat.  “Told him he was being an asshole.  You sure you don’t want to go home?”

 

“You can go, I’ll call a cab.”

 

“Suit yourself,” that said, Jack started the truck, and drove away.

 

***

 

Sam grabbed some lunch in the cafeteria.  When she finished, she headed back to Daniel’s room.  Closing the door and dimming the lights, she went about setting up her laptop and guitar.

 

Not really sure why she felt so embarrassed, she murmured an apology to him.

 

“I’m not that good of a singer, Daniel.  And I haven’t played for a long time.  It was just a suggestion that maybe music would help guide you home.

 

“Remember the night we first made love?  You sang to me.  It was the most beautiful thing.  I’ve drifted off to sleep many times with your voice… those words… that song, playing in my head.  I won’t be able to sing for you in any other language, but I know you won’t mind.”

 

Taking a deep breath, Sam began to play quietly.

 

Do you always trust your first initial feeling?

Special knowledge holds truth bears believing
I turned around and the water was closing all around
Like a glove, like the love that had finally, finally found me

Then I knew in the crystalline knowledge of you
Drove me through the mountains
Through the crystal like clear water fountain
Drove me like a magnet to the sea

How the faces of love have changed turning the pages
And I have changed oh, but you, you remain ageless
I turned around and the water was closing all around
Like a glove, like the love that had finally, finally found me

Then I knew in the crystalline knowledge of you
Drove me through the mountains
Through the crystal like clear water fountain
Drove me like a magnet to the sea

 

As Sam finished the last chords, she sighed.  She didn’t want to look at him.  Didn’t want to see that yet again, he stayed away.  Steeling herself for the heartache, she glanced up, and gasped.  There, in the dim light, was a pair of deep, shinning blue eyes staring at her.

 

“Daniel?” she whispered.

 

He blinked his eyes once, then closed them.  The deep sigh he gave was more beautiful to her then the sweetest tune.

 

The shock of the moment had paralyzed her.  Then she jumped from her chair and went to his side.  Taking his hand in hers she leaned close.

 

“Daniel?”  Her voice hoarse, “Danny?  Please…  Please open your eyes again.”

 

She waited as her heart seem to have stopped beating.  Or rather it was travelling up into her throat.  Even though only a few seconds had passed, it felt like an eternity.

 

“Please, Daniel…”

 

A movement.  She watched him closely.  A flutter of his eyelids, then he opened them and looked at her again.

 

Gasping a cry and laugh, Sam wrapped her arms around him, holding him close.  She backed away, but only slightly, and stared into his eyes.  Though he was looking directly at her, she could tell that he wasn’t all the way back just yet.  Confusion and fear were on the surface of those clear blues, pain, and sadness under that.

 

“Daniel, I have to get the doctor, okay.  I’ll only be a minute.  Will you stay awake for me?”

 

He just stared, blinking slowly.  As Sam stood up to leave, she heard a very faint whimper.  Looking at him, she saw a single tear escape.

 

“Oh, Daniel, it’s alright.  I’ll be right back,” she felt him trying to squeeze her hand.

 

Her tears were flowing freely.  Happy, relieved, scared.  It dawned on her to use the nurse call button.

 

She reached over Daniel and pressed the red button.  His eyes followed her every movement.  Her heart broke seeing the absolute fear on his face.  She began to pet him gently.  Running her fingers through his hair, tracing the contour of his jaw line.  He leaned into the touch and closed his eyes again.

 

“No, no, no, Daniel.  Stay with me, baby,” she pleaded with him.

 

Just then, the nurse came in.

 

“Get the doctor, quick.  He’s awake,” Sam urgently told her.

 

Startled, the nurse turned and left.

 

“We’re going to get through this, Daniel.  Both of us.  There is nothing you and I can’t do when we put our heads together.”

 

She kissed him gently and watched as he opened his eyes again.  The faintest look of recognition appeared on his face, and a very slight upward turn of his lips flickered briefly.

 

Sam smiled back at him, snuggled close and sang softly, “How the faces of love have changed turning the pages.  And I have changed oh, but you, you remain ageless…”

 

Humming the rest of the song to him, she felt a new sensation.  A warm, tingling radiating from her womb.  An overwhelming feeling of peace embraced her.

 

The road ahead may be long and hard, but at least, they… the three of them, would be together.

 

 

Crystal

Witten by Stevie Nicks

Preformed by Fleetwood Mac