“How come you don’t let more people see that smile?” Daniel asked, playing with Jack’s hair, smiling in response to the soft, open smile on Jack’s face, touching a dimple with the tip of a finger. When Jack opened his eyes in the morning, he automatically smiled sweetly at seeing Daniel watching him.
“Because I’m the big, bad general and I’m not supposed to be human,” Jack said, stretching until his spine cracked.
“You’re so full of it,” Daniel informed him. “Do you think Ms. Thing is awake?”
“Don’t know,” Jack managed to say. He wrapped his arms around Daniel’s waist. “We have a few more days until we can play with her, anyway. There’s soap and water, though; no reason she can’t play, too.”
A hand reached over and managed to smack Daniel on the butt.
“This is Me time,” they heard.
“Is that all I get?” Daniel asked. “One smack? Come on, Sam, don’t tell me you’ve never had the desire to redden my ass.”
She peaked at them from under a pillow. Before he knew it, she had jumped him and started bongos on his butt. Daniel screeched in laughter and tried to get away, but Jack held him down. They rolled around on the large bed, getting the sheets all tangled and pillows thrown to the floor.
“Wait!” Jack called out. The other two paused. “Isn’t it someone’s birthday next week?”
Two sets of blue eyes widened.
“No!”
“Why, Jack, I do believe you’re right. For once.” The men turned to Sam. She tried to untangle herself from the bedding.
“Don’t you dare!”
The men tackled her and turned her over.
“Wait!” Daniel’s hand paused in midair and he looked at Jack. “Twenty-one each but how do we divide the one?”
Jack thought about it. “Make it one each, that way she knows she’s special.”
Before Sam could kick out at either of them, one hand each landed gently on her butt.
“One!” they yelled. And released her. She waited but nothing happened. She spun over in their arms.
“Well, honey, I said one each,” Jack said reasonably.
“That’s what he said, I heard him,” Daniel agreed.
Sam squeaked, jumped up and swung at both of them. “Oh, you….!”
The men jumped out of range and off the bed.
“You two get back here!”
Jack picked up his dressing robe and followed Daniel to the bathroom.
“Daniel, as an older man with more years of experience than you, I hope I can give you a little advice,” Jack said, tossing a companionable arm around Daniel’s shoulders.
“Sure, Jack,” Daniel responded gravely.
“This PMS stuff never changes,” Jack advised him. “You will never be able to please them when they’re in this kinda mood, so don’t even try. We’ll find some chocolate, rub her back, rub her belly, rub her feet, whatever she wants rubbed. We will even go fishing, if that’s what she wants. Ooof.” A pillow hit them. “It will be a sacrifice, but we can do it.”
Daniel nodded soberly. “You are a wise man, O’Neill.” Jack gave him a pat.
“I know where you sleep!”
As they showered, shaved, and brushed suspicious smells from their mouths, the kids were being fed breakfast by Maggie, and Sam was getting the baby up. Jack listened to the chatter of happy kids as he kissed Maggie’s cheek and put together a plate of fruit and muffins.
“Good morning, dear,” he said, pecking Sam’s cheek.
“Brat,” she informed him and yanked on his ear for a proper kiss. “Mom, how did you keep him in line?”
“By continually reminding him that I brought him into this world, I could take him out,” Maggie said.
“Well, I didn’t bring him into the world, but I can certainly take him out,” Sam commented. Jack smiled.
“Yes, dear.”
“Daddy, are you a brat, too?” Stacy asked.
“More often than not,” Daniel told her. He gnawed on her neck and she giggled, twisting away from him.
“Dad, Mason said he’d help me train for my purple belt this morning,” Katie said. “Is that okay?”
“Yeah, sure,” Jack nodded. “Matt, eat what’s on your plate before getting more.”
“How come you guys don’t like each other?” Matthew asked, looking at his heaped plate and then at the platters of food. The boy couldn’t seem to get enough food and then spent the day running it off.
“It’s just a personality thing,” Jack said. “Don’t worry about it. He’s your cousin, you can like him. Have you been telling him about your jROTC?”
“Uh huh,” Katie and Matthew both nodded. “He said Mom and Papa would have been proud of us,” Matthew said.
“They were always proud of you,” Maggie said, touching his hair as she walked by.
“We’re all proud of you two,” Jack said with a nod. “You made a commitment and you both stuck with it; a lot of kids don’t make it this far, so you can be proud of yourselves. Matty, I promised you a ride if you kept your grades up, and looks like they’re still up. Katie, do you want a treat, too?”
“Can I watch a surgery?” she asked hopefully.
Jack paused in bringing a piece of jam covered bread to his mouth. “You want to do what?”
“Watch a surgery,” she repeated. “I keep watching shows on TV about surgeries and I want to see one up close. I want to watch an autopsy, too.”
“You really are interested in medicine, aren’t you?” The news was finally registering on him. He put down the dark red jam covered bread.
“Yeah, it’s fascinating!” she exclaimed excitedly. “All these little pieces have to come together and work together in order for a body to be alive!”
“Is this your influence?” Jack cocked an eyebrow at Sam.
“Not me,” she said, shaking her head. “She came to us this way.”
“Pleeeeezzzzzz?”
“I’ll talk with Dr. Warner when we get home,” Jack said. Katie jumped up with a squeak and tossed her arms around his neck for a loud kiss on his cheek. “No promises!” he called after her as she ran to find her shoes. “Warner’s a pill, he might say No!”
“He is not a pill,” Sam reprimanded him. “He’s a little on the serious side, but he isn’t a pill.”
“I’m doing good, can I have something special?” David asked, slouched in his chair. He was still a little sleepy, morning not being his most favorite time of the day.
“You are doing very well,” Jack agreed. “Sit up. What would you like?”
David scooted into a seated position. “I want to ride a camel.”
Jack smiled at him. “I think I’ll hand you over to Uncle Danny for that one.”
“We can go camel riding,” Daniel said with a nod. “Camels are nasty creatures, though,” he warned. “They bite and spit.”
The boy was much happier as he sat up and finished his breakfast.
“And what about Stacy?” Jack asked. “What would you like for your fifth year graduation? Another year and you’ll be in junior high.”
Stacy shrugged and finished her juice. “Can we go camping this summer?” she asked.
“Of course,” Jack said. “Is that all?”
“That’s all.” She asked to be excused, it was granted, and she ran outside.
“She wants a puppy.”
The adults looked at Davy. He used a finger to scrape up some runaway jam from his plate and licked his finger clean.
“She’s mentioned puppies before. What puppy?” Daniel asked.
“From Mr. and Mrs. Weber,” the boy said. “They have brand new puppies. Stacy wants one.”
Jack looked at Sam and Daniel. “They have what? Pugs?”
“English bulldogs; so ugly, they’re cute,” Sam said. “Sweet dispositions.”
“We’ll take a look at the pups when we get home and see if any of them fit in,” Jack said. His partners agreed.
“When are we going home?” Davy asked.
“This afternoon,” Jack said. “You guys have school tomorrow. Are you going to visit with the horses before we leave?”
“Uh huh,” Davy nodded. “I like riding with Jonathan and Shara. It’s fun. Can we get a horse?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Jack said. “We don’t have the room for a horse. But I think there are stables on the other side of town, so we can see if the owners will let you ride once in a while. No promises.”
“Okay!” Davy hurriedly wiped his mouth and ran out the door. He ran into someone coming in. “Sorry, Ninurta!” and scurried around the warrior.
“Good morning,” Ninurta said, coming into the room. He stood more formally than usual. “Ereshkigal Ascended during the night. Jack, when you are ready for the day, Inanna would like to see you.”
Jack sat back and nodded soberly.
“We’re sorry for your loss,” Daniel said. “Is there anything we can do?”
“No, not at this time,” Ninurta said. “Thank you, though.”
“What does that mean? Ascended?” Maggie asked, looking at them.
“Inanna’s sister died last night, Mom,” Jack said. “I can come now,” he said to Ninurta, pushing his chair back. They found Inanna in her family’s section of the building, in a sitting room. She was standing at the window, looking out over the lake and the children playing.
“You okay?” Jack asked quietly. She glanced over her shoulder with a half smile.
“I’m fine, thank you,” she said. “I was thinking that this is the first death for this new world. She gave the last of her energy for us and the planet took her as a sacrifice.”
“I don’t understand,” Jack said. He leaned against the wall next to the window and looked at her. “What do you mean? Sacrifice?”
“I tend to anthropomorphize,” she said. “My sister was the oldest of us. It takes energy to use our so-called gifts, just like it takes energy to walk and talk. Both Aba and Ki were needed to rebuild this planet. Their talents were mirror opposites; Aba builds, Ki ends. She was already sapped before we were caught in that temporal field, and to come out after all that time, with no time to replenish herself with the energy of life, she put what energy she had left into the formation of this world. We asked her not to, we could find an appropriate planet that was ready for us, but she insisted that we needed to be here. She had no energy left when she was done; not even enough to keep her alive. We all tried, but we couldn’t give her energy. Erra came to us this morning and announced her Ascension during the night.”
Jack had forgotten –Erra was Ereshkigal’s consort. “How is he?”
“In mourning,” Inanna said. “He will be alright. Ninurta and I will take care of him. There are four of us left, myself, Aba, Ninurta, and Gula, our healer, who is also older and not doing well. Unfortunately, none of us are capable of procreation. Ninurta had fathered several children before Aba changed him. Those lines have been lost, though. He made beautiful children.”
“Did you ever have children?” Jack asked, following her away from the window. She took an apple from the bowl on the table and cut it in half, handing half to him.
“No, I didn’t,” she said. “I was always too busy with the army or with politics. I regret it now. I’ve adopted a few, but Ninurta always ended up raising them. Not that he minded; he loves kids. I minded, though. I think I was never ‘mother’ material.”
She shook herself and turned to him, smiling regally. “Enough of that,” she pronounced. “I spoke with Aba last night regarding Col. Sheppard; he agreed that it would be quite possible that there are more with this particular genetic code living on Earth. He suspects that it took this long for the code to show up again in this sequence. The circle has come back around.
“I listened to Sheppard’s heart and he is a good man, Jack. He has a high moral code, like you. He just needs a little more ‘fermenting’ as it were. To settle him. And he will settle, in time. He's still young. It’s probably a good thing that he is in a different galaxy most of the time. More like the two of you will probably start to make themselves known, likely through their deeds. I’m not sure how to test for them, though; there are a lot of people on Earth. It would take a long time to test each individual.”
“We usually just hand people a toy and see if it will turn on,” Jack said. “It’s faster than a DNA test which takes about a month. The list is growing.”
Inanna nodded thoughtfully. “Now that Sheppard has been identified, it is possible that the specific gene can be sequenced by comparing yours and his, and then sought out in others. It’s a little time-consuming, though. And I’ll get Sam a program for a genetic test that only takes minutes. And I don’t agree with the gene therapy Atlantis is using to initialize it in the general population; it defeats the main purpose, but that’s my opinion.”
Jack looked at her for a moment longer and then stepped close, putting his arms around her. Inanna caught her breath and was stiff with inner struggle before allowing her head to fall onto his shoulder. She held on tight and Jack was still, letting her cry as he held her. When she began to calm, she stepped back, holding a wrist to her nose.
“I’m sorry,” she said huskily. She turned away, wiping her eyes. “I don’t even have her body to bury. You’d think after all these centuries a death wouldn’t bother me.” She pulled a piece of cloth from a pocket and blew her nose.
“When Daniel Ascended… the first time…. we didn’t have his body to bury, either.” Jack poured a glass of water from a jar and handed it to her. “It was rough. We boxed up his apartment and put everything in storage until we could figure out what to do with it. I kept a few odds and ends that reminded me of him. Something told me he was still around, though; probably because he kept visiting me. He didn’t even have family of his own to mourn for him, it was just us. The second time he Ascended, I refused to let anyone do anything; I knew he’d be back. He keeps turning up naked. Kind of amusing, actually.”
“That was something I didn’t understand,” Inanna frowned. “I didn’t know anyone who Ascended could appear on this plane.”
Jack nodded. “Yes, well, Daniel was never very good at obeying orders; broke the rules on this plane and that one. You had a brother? Did he and your parents Ascend when they died?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “Utu’s ship was blown up and our parents were killed in a blast to the base. We didn’t find bodies, but the damage was so great that they could have been turned to ash.” She smiled at a memory. “Utu was my twin. I used to attend weapons training with him, and our mother bemoaned the fact that I wasn’t turning into a proper young lady. Ki was many years older than us and had already been groomed by Mother to attend court; Utu and I were a surprise. Ama finally talked Aba into fostering me with Enki and his wife, Damkina, Ninurta’s mother. I loved her very much. They had quite a few sons and daughters, so they didn’t mind another girl in the house. I think I fell in love with Ninurta the moment I saw him,” she chuckled. “I was in attendance at his birth soon after we came to Earth. He was born on Earth. You’re not the only one who can tease about changing diapers.” Jack smiled at the image.
“We were about fifteen of your years when we came to Earth. Father was asked to oversee the watch on your forebears after Enki was caught tinkering with your brain. The Ancients had already declared your ancestors to be non-viable, so Enki played. Ada wasn’t happy about it; he had the armies to deal with and didn’t have time for babysitting. I was able to scan large crowds more easily than he could, so he placed me in charge of the day to day events. Ada was so angry with Enki.”
“And was Ereshkigal born blind?” Jack asked, sitting back on a lounge chair and hooking his hands behind his head.
“No,” she said. “She was in an accident. She spent a couple of months in a coma while Enki repaired her, and when she woke up she was blind and had unexpected gifts. Your ancestors were more afraid of her than they were of the rest of us. Enki was beside himself about it; I don’t think it was his doing, though. Sometimes accidents, especially ones that involve the brain, can turn up strange things.”
“And how did she meet Erra?” Jack asked.
Inanna smiled. “She was spoiled, even more than I was, and spent many years feeling sorry for herself. Everyone from palace slaves to the elite would attend her, but she raged at everyone. Erra came along a few years before we came across the Asura. He was a warrior visiting from another kingdom. Ki threw one too many temper tantrums one day and he told her to get her head out of her ass, brush her hair, and be a lady.”
Jack laughed, picturing it. Inanna reluctantly chuckled.
“After she was done breaking everything breakable in her suite, he convinced our parents to allow him to take over as her personal guard. It was unheard of and raised more than eyebrows when he kicked out all of her chamber slaves and took over as her caretaker. One day, she stopped her tantrums long enough to realize that if she used her unwanted talents to her own advantage, she got much farther than screaming and yelling. She learned how to see where she was going by seeing herself through the eyes of others. She didn’t like what she saw and she pulled herself together. When she regained her court training, Erra pledged himself to her. He has been at her side since.”
“What’s he going to do now?”
“I promised Ki I would look after him until he is able to stand on his own,” she said. “The boys will see to him; he is their brother. He’s welcome to stay with us, as far as I’m concerned. He is family.”
The door opened and Ninurta walked in carrying a cloth. He stopped before her and held out his hands. She took the cloth with trembling hands and he bowed.
“Erra took off on a horse,” Ninurta said quietly. “Gibil and Zu are keeping an eye on him; I think he’ll be alright once he crosses the continent a couple of times.” She brought the cloth to her face for a moment before hugging it to her. She straightened and squared her shoulders, taking a deep breath.
“I have a favor to ask,” she said.
“Sure,” Jack shrugged. When she told him what she wanted, Jack’s jaw snapped shut. “I need to talk with….,” he jerked a thumb.
“Of course you do,” she said with a nod.
He tugged on the neck of his shirt as he walked outside, his mind racing. Several people welcomed him to the morning, but he didn’t hear them as he searched for his partners.
Hammond and Abigail had already left for home, someone told him. The children were playing with a frisbee and a couple of the Daedalus crew, Jonathan and Shara were rough-housing with one of the local children and David, and Ferretti was talking with Sam and Daniel, as Jack saw when he looked out across the field. He looked around and saw Katie sparing with Mason. Their cousin stopped and said something, obviously pointers when he repositioned Katie’s hips.
“Hey, how’s the queen?” Daniel asked when Jack was within range.
“Dealing,” Jack said. “I need to talk with you guys.”
Sam and Daniel excused themselves and walked with Jack to a more private location. Jack turned to them, rubbing at his jaw.
“Inanna wants a sperm donation.”
His partners were blank.
“She wants what?” Daniel asked. Jack repeated it. “Why? She can’t get pregnant.”
“She wants to use someone’s egg, take out the DNA, replace it with Ereshkigal’s, and fertilize it with my DNA,” Jack said. “I’m pretty sure that’s what she said.”
“Sounds right,” Sam said. The men looked at her. “It’s experimental, but it can be done. It's a cloning process, Jack. Earth has been experimenting with it for a while; remember that sheep, Dolly? She was a clone. Only the physical form is cloned, though, not memories, so she won't be like Jonathan. Enki can probably do it without any problem. The egg would be fertilized in a dish and planted in a donor womb. A surrogate mother. Inanna could, if it works, have a partial clone of her sister. Not the memories, just the physical body. And she wouldn’t be completely Ereshkigal, because the parentage is different, and with an alternate upbringing, she’d have a different personality. A sister-clone.”
Jack wrinkled his nose. “Isn’t that taking things a little too far?” he asked. “How can she get past the death, if she does this?”
“Sounds more like creative tinkering,” Sam said. “Think about it, Jack; she asked you, no one else. Why you? I think you’re special, but she’s probably looking at the Ancient gene, not specifically you. Your Ancient gene combined with Ereshkigal’s Furling DNA…. Sounds interesting to me.”
“It does sound interesting,” Daniel agreed. He frowned in thought. “I’m sure she’d give you visitation, but can you step back and allow your child to be raised by others?”
Jack grabbed his hair and ruffled it, making a small sound of pain. “I need to think about it,” he finally said. Sam and Daniel agreed.
“And look at it this way,” Sam said. “Jonathan will be here, and he can keep you updated. If you’re looking for our permission, I don’t have a problem with it.”
“Neither do I,” Daniel agreed. He put his hands on Jack’s shoulders and turned him around to face the kids playing on the grass. “Now. Do you see that little guy playing with Jonathan and Shara and David?” Jack looked at the little boy. The child appeared about five years old; a sturdy little boy, dusky-skinned with a mop of black hair. “That’s Daarai. The guys are adopting him. Everyone around here is adopting. Apparently, Inanna is taking the ‘no child left behind’ command a little more directly. Before you are introduced, Jonathan said you need to decide if you are Jack, Uncle Jack, or grandpa.”
Jack looked sharply at Daniel and then at Sam. “Jonathan said that?”
Sam smiled and took his hand. “Honey, who else knows how badly you want a grandchild? Jonathan is already known as your son; if you want to be grandpa, it’s fine with him.”
Jack walked over to the small group, Sam and Daniel in tow. The little boy laughed as he tripped over his own feet as he tried to catch David.
“Middle Eastern?” Jack asked quietly.
Daniel nodded. “Egyptian,” he said. “Lots of homeless kids on the streets.”
“I probably shouldn’t know if they had permission to take the boy,” Jack commented.
“Don’t ask, don’t tell,” Daniel said. “’Rai, hina!” he called out and waved the boy over. Daniel squatted and put an arm around the boy’s waist. “’Rai, this is Jack, your grandpa. Inta gidd.”
The boy looked shyly up at Jack.
“Hey, buddy,” Jack said gently, squatting down.
“Ahlan,” Daniel told him. “It means Hi.”
“Ahlan,” Jack repeated. He brushed a lock of black hair from the boy’s eyes. “Do you speak English yet?”
“A little,”’Rai said softly, carefully.
“Good, because I don’t speak Egyptian,” Jack told him. Daniel said something to the boy and Jack had his cheek kissed. Jack picked the boy up and settled him on a hip after a hug. Big almond colored eyes stared back at him, studying his face.
“Are you sure about this?” Jack asked Jonathan.
“I’m sure,” Jonathan said with a nod.
“Daddy, Jonathan said Daarai is my new cousin,” Davy told him with great importance as he leaned into Sam’s side. She caressed his hair and smiled.
“Jonathan didn’t get that right, son,” Jack said. “Daarai is your nephew because Jonathan became your big brother when I adopted you. You are Uncle Davy, and your brother and your sisters are aunts and uncle, too.”
“Really?” Davy’s eye grew wide. “I’m a uncle? But how can Olivia be a aunt? She’s still a baby.”
“Sometimes it works out like that,” Jack assured him. He forced himself to look at his young clone. “I don’t…..”
“Jack, it’s okay,” Jonathan said. He considered his words for a moment. “Look…. I miss him, Jack. As much as you do. I need this; for my own sanity, if nothing else. I know you as well as I know myself, and I know that if I didn’t have the vasectomy, some part of you would have considered any child of mine to be your grandchild. In some weird fashion. So…. even my adopted children are as much mine as any child you adopt is yours. And there will be more children, Jack; Daarai is just the first so get used to the word Grandpa.”
Jack gave a nod and swallowed hard as he looked down at the boy in his arms. Daarai was suddenly taken away from him by Uncle Danny.
“Will you get over yourself and hug him?” Daniel said, jerking his chin at Jonathan. “You’re being a twit.”
Jack glared at Daniel; he was uncomfortable about hugging himself, but he did it. When he stepped back, Shara made a noise.
“What am I, horse meat?” Shara asked, holding his arms out.
“The term is ‘chopped liver,’” Daniel helpfully offered. Jack rolled his eyes and hugged Shara.
“Thanks, Dad,” Shara said. He stepped out of arm’s reach and hid behind Jonathan.
Jonathan chuckled and held out a hand. “Ta’aala,” he said. Daarai wiggled away from Daniel and took Jonathan’s hand.
That moment was chosen for Jack to disappear.
“Thor,” Jack acknowledged when his new surroundings came into view. “I’m a grandfather.”
“Congratulations,” the little guy said. “Would you like the child tagged?”
Jack thought about it as he stepped up to Thor’s console. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “Jonathan and Shara adopted him. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to have him tagged. Sure. Ask them, though.” He glanced around, noting that nothing had changed since the last time he saw the ship. “Soooo…. how’s tricks?..... Oh, right, you’re here for Col. Sheppard. I think I saw him on the ground, he’s usually at Atlantis but he came in on the Daedalus. We think he has the same Ancient gene that I do. Hey, do you happen to know what this is?” He pulled out the new necklace and showed it to Thor.
“I do not,” Thor said. He held up one of his egg things to it. “I detect Ancient technology, though.” Different colored half egg-shaped tools were scattered across the console, used to work the controls. Once, on a mission, Sam had been stuck on the ship and learned how to use them. Within a day.
Jack frowned and looked at the pendant. “Yeah, we know that much. Sheppard found a bunch of them on Atlantis. They turn on equipment around the place, but only he and I can activate it.”
Thor blinked his big black eyes at Jack. “Indeed.”
“We guessed that it’s a remote control but what use is it to me, if it only works on Atlantis? Hmmm…. I wonder if it can be reprogrammed to work with the TV….”
“O’Neill.”
“Hmmm? Oh, right. Sheppard.” Jack hit his radio. “Col. Sheppard, this is O’Neill, come in.”
“Good morning, General,” he heard a moment later.
“Good morning. Where are you?”
“Hanging upside down from a tree branch while your kids play piñata with me.”
“Careful,” Jack warned. “Matthew’s been taking Jaffa staff lessons with the Marines, and Katie’s been kickboxing with her cousin, Col. Addison, who happens to be one of the world champs, and God knows what Stacy’s been picking up. I can wait, if you’d rather play with my kids.”
“Uh, no, sir, I’m all yours.”
Jack nodded at Thor. Sheppard appeared on the landing pad with a thud. He rolled to his feet as he rubbed his head. He stared at Thor and belatedly remembered to acknowledge the general.
“This is Thor,” Jack said. “He’s an old buddy. Wicked sense of humor, and don’t get him started with puns.”
Thor blinked. He took another of his eggs and walked to Sheppard. The egg was momentarily pressed to Sheppard’s arm.
“Ow!” The colonel rubbed his arm and glared at the little alien. Thor put the egg back on the console and looked at the readout.
“You are correct, O’Neill,” Thor said. He went to Sheppard again and touched him. Sheppard looked at his arm.
“What’d you do?” John asked, rubbing his skin.
“He tagged you with an Asgard tag,” Jack told him. “It’s better than ours and it can never be removed. It’s attached to your DNA as an extra protein marker, just like a symbiote does when it dies in you. Ask Carter for details. Don’t worry, it won’t affect any kids you may have. Colonel, we need to talk.”
While Sheppard contemplated his new situation after hearing what Jack had to say, he was beamed back down to the planet. Jack beamed over to the Daedalus and logged onto a computer to update Sheppard’s file to a HomeWorld Security Level 8, the next to highest security level. Jack was the only 9.
“General, may I ask what a Level 8 entails?” Caldwell asked when Jack informed him of Sheppard’s new status.
“Level 8’s are Col. Carter, Dr. Jackson, Gen. Hammond, Jonathan, Col. Davis, a few others….. Do you really want the details?”
Caldwell shook his head upon hearing the names involved. All involved with legendary SG-1 events. Except for Jonathan, which he still wasn’t sure about. “No, sir.”
“Good.” Jack entered a few more things into the computer. “Sheppard is your main priority, if things come down to a command decision. Don’t baby him, let him do his job, but just keep him in mind. What I do need from you is to try and teach him better leadership skills. I can’t have him running around like a loose canon, and this new security now places him in a position where he just might find himself higher on the chain than he ever imagined himself being.”
Caldwell thought about it. “No disrespect, sir, but the thought of John Sheppard as the head of HomeWorld is a scary thing.” Jack snorted.
Caldwell hesitated. “General, were you ever taken? By a Goa’uld, I mean?”
Jack looked at him and considered. Caldwell was a large, powerful presence, but this was obviously bothering him.
“It isn’t to be made general knowledge, but yes. Twice. So has Col. Carter. I hated it, she found it interesting, once she got over her disgust. She got a dying Tok’ra, not your run-of-the-mill Goa’uld. Her father Jacob was a Tok’ra operative for a few years.”
“Her father?”
“General Jacob Carter,” Jack nodded. “Air Force. Retired. He was dying of cancer, Sam came up with the idea of letting him in on all this and offering him the chance to take a symbiote whose host was dying. The symbiote, Selmac, saved his life and he saved ours a few times. He was the first Earth human to volunteer to be a Tok'ra.”
The colonel slowly paced, his arms crossed as he worried on his lip. “The entire time I felt myself screaming inside and no one could hear me,” he admitted quietly.
“I know,” Jack said. “I did the same thing. Steven, I was a POW for a few months a long time ago, and I was raped repeatedly by guards. When the symbiotes took me, I guarantee you it was a rape.
“While you are on Earth, I want you to see Dr. Anthony Edmonds; he’s my shrink and he has clearance for our kind of unusual problems. Call my office and get his number from my admin or Col. Davis. And you are surrounded by people who know how you’re feeling; you can talk to me, Daniel, Sam, Jonathan, Col. Reynolds was taken once, and Ninurta and his boys have a long history. And your crew are behind you one hundred percent, Steven; I’ve seen them back you up, so don’t let them down by disappearing on them.”
Caldwell seemed uneasy and a little embarrassed as he nodded. “Yes, sir. Thank you. Sir… Jonathan?”
“No questions, Colonel,” Jack gave an easy warning. “Just know that you can say anything to him that you would say to me.”
“Yes, sir.” After spending three months in battle with Jack’s ‘son,’ Caldwell knew something fishy was going on, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. And damned if old-time SGC personnel weren’t talking about something they were obviously in on. Okay, the kid was smart, but why would seasoned soldiers take orders from someone who wasn’t even military? And why does the general’s son have a Level 8 clearance?
“Any family?” Jack asked, sensing Caldwell’s thoughts still on Jonathan.
“Ex-wife and two girls,” Caldwell said, diverted. He smiled softly. “My girls are eight and ten. They live with their mother. I don’t get to see them very often.”
“Well, I’ve discovered that being open with my kids has helped a great deal; I trust them with my secret places, and they trust me with theirs. Trust your kids, Colonel.”
“How do I tell them about this?” Caldwell asked, waving a hand.
“You tell them you were injured in battle,” Jack said. “The physical wounds are gone, but sometimes your emotions are hurting, and they should just love you and know that you love them. When they’re older and able to understand more, you can expound. Do they live in the Springs?”
“No, Wyoming. Sheridan.”
Jack nodded. “Well, unless you absolutely need to be back at Atlantis soon, I think you’re due some time off. Take three weeks. I’ll reroute Prometheus to check in on Atlantis. Give your crew shore leave and go see your kids, Colonel.”
They went back down to the planet where they found a game of touch football going on. Jack thought it was a little cold, considering there had been a death during the night, but Ninurta insisted that everything go on normally; the immediate family was taking care of things and there really wasn’t anything for anyone else to do. No body meant no funeral, and they didn’t do long, drawn out memorials. Ereshkigal’s memory would be kept alive by them speaking of her and remembering her.
Maggie had Olivia on a blanket where the baby was exploring on her newly found hands and knees. Jack tossed himself down onto the blanket and she grinned at him, crawling over to pound on his chest. Jack picked her up and swung her gently through the air, making her laugh, bringing her down to peck her little bow mouth before swinging her up again.
“So, Mom, what do you think?” Jack asked, airplaning the baby above him.
“Well, it certainly isn’t anything I’d have considered in my lifetime,” she said. She reached over with a cloth and wiped baby-drool from Jack’s cheek. “I think you have nice friends, though.”
“What do you think about Jonathan’s latest man around the house?” he asked, blowing bubbles on Olivia’s belly. She laughed and he set her on the blanket.
Maggie smiled and looked around until she found her newest grandchild.
“What’s he going to call you?” she asked.
“I’m a grandpa, Mom.” Jack suddenly leaned over his knees for a moment, squeezing his eyes shut in pain. “Oh, my God, I’m a grandfather.” He actually agreed to be a grandfather to his clone’s adopted son….
Maggie patted his back and Jack fell to the blanket. “If it makes you feel any better, Daniel and Sam were arguing with Jonathan earlier while you were gone. He referred to them as Grandpa Danny and Nana Sam.”
Jack burst out laughing. He rolled to his back and stared up at the reddish sky as he wiped his eyes.
“Jack.” He looked and saw Sam heading toward him. “Honey, we need to get going if we’re going to be home at a decent hour,” she said. “It’s almost 1600 at home and the kids have school tomorrow.” It was the middle of the day on Kalam.
“Nana Sam?” he suggested.
She glowered at him. “Not even,” she informed him with a wag of a finger. Jack caught the finger and pulled her down. She spilled onto his lap and he kissed her.
“Are all the kids ready?” he asked, pushing a strand of blond hair back.
“Pretty much,” she said. “Mom, are you coming home with us or staying for a while?”
“No, I’m ready for my own bed,” Maggie said, looking indulgently at them.
Jack went to find Mason and Ferretti. Lou was being fussed over by a couple of pretty girls from Chulak who seemed to feel the need to pay attention to the injured Tau’ri warrior. Lou was eating it up, if the expression Jack found on his face was any indication.
“You’re a dog, Lou,” Jack informed him.
“Woof,” Lou returned.
“So? Have you given my offer any thought?”
“I have,” Ferretti nodded. “I had a long walk around the Daedalus last night; Col. Caldwell said it’s pretty much the same design as the Europa. Talked with the med staff, got a tour of the infirmary. There’s some pretty radical stuff going on up there,” he jerked his chin toward the sky. “Equipment I’ve never even seen before, and that isn’t even a med ship. Yeah, Jack, I’ll do it.”
Jack stuck out a hand. “Good man.”
“Jack? There’s a little gray alien on the Daedalus,” Lou informed him.
“Yeah, that’s Hermiod,” Jack nodded. “He’s a riot. I just hope he and Thor stay out of each other’s hair while Thor is here.” Thor was currently in the main house visiting with the family.
Jack found Mason in deep conversation with Teal’c and Bre’tac. Whatever the Jaffa had said to him, Mason seemed to have some of the wind taken out of his sails.
“We’re getting ready to leave,” Jack told him.
Mason stood, slightly uneasy with his hands resting behind his back. “Jack, I….. I was an asshole. I’m sorry.” He glanced down for a moment. “I think I was a little jealous of you and I allowed it to affect my judgment. I’d like another chance at this. General O’Neill.”
“Alright,” Jack said after a moment as he studied his cousin. “I’ll let your CO know where you are. Any message for Melanie and the boys?”
Mason shook his head. “Just that I love them and I’ll be home as soon as possible.” Jack considered him, wondering what the hell Teal’c and Bre’tac said to him. He held out his hand and Mason took it.
“Take care of him, old man,” Jack told Bre’tac. The old man chuckled.
“I will, human.”
Jack had one more duty to perform before he left. He went to find Inanna.
“Okay, where’s the cup?” Jack asked, finding her in her solarium. She was laying on a table where Ninurta was massaging her bare back.
“The what?” she asked.
“You wanted DNA, I need a cup,” he said.
“Do you need any help?” Ninurta asked helpfully.
“Nice try,” Jack told him.
Inanna’s mouth twitched and she sent him off with one of the staff to find Enki. He found the old man in Ereshkigal’s suite lighting candles and a pleasant incense.
“What are you doing?” Jack asked. Enki turned to him as he wiped a damp cloth across a table.
“Old habits,” Enki said. “Talking to her, blessing her way to wherever she is.” He tossed the cloth out the door where a servant picked it up. Until the room was cleansed and blessed, only certain people were allowed in. “Thor just left,” he commented. “Interesting about your Col. Sheppard.”
“Never mind Col. Sheppard,” Jack said. “How are you?”
Enki smiled. “I’m fine, Jack, really,” he said. “She had been weak for a long time, and this one pushed her over. We’ve been expecting it so we had time to prepare.”
“And how much bullshit is that?” Jack asked. “No matter how much time we spend preparing ourselves, death is still a shock.”
Enki shrugged. “Point of view, Jack,” he said. “We don’t see death the same way you do. You were raised to believe death was an ending, an unknown to be feared. To us, it is merely a transition to another aspect of life. We continue to talk to her and include her in our daily activities. She’s still part of our lives. She helped me to build this world; her very breath is in us with each breath we take. I really am fine, didila.” He patted Jack on the cheek as he walked by.
“If you say so,” Jack said, not quite believing him. “You’re not the only one who can listen, you know. So…. Inanna wants some genetic goo from me. I have a couple of questions.”
Enki nodded and motioned for Jack to follow him.
“Inanna and Ninurta will be raising the child as theirs,” Enki said. They walked past people going about the daily routine of keeping the house clean. More like a small castle, Jack thought, but still a house. “Inanna cannot carry the fetus, but several young ladies have volunteered. You are family, Jack, so you are more than welcome to be part of the child’s life. Just not as the ‘official’ father. Are you alright with that?”
“I guess,” Jack said. “That’s what I’ve been mostly thinking about. I think if it were anyone else, I’d refuse. I’m feeling a little proprietary, here.”
“Understandable,” Enki nodded. “Inanna and Ninurta have raised many children; they are very good parents.”
“Yeah, I’ve watched them with the kids around here,” Jack said. “I think Ninurta tends to be suckered by them, but he’s got ‘Dad’ material in him. Sam and Daniel think that you’re after the Ancient gene to combine with Ereshkigal’s Furling gene.”
Enki chuckled. “I’m doing a little genetic engineering,” he admitted. “You have to admit it’s an interesting scenario.”
Jack gave a nod. “Admitted,” he said. “You looking for something specific to happen?”
“No,” Enki said. “It’s just curiosity. It’s mainly Ki’s DNA we’re trying to save. The child will be loved no matter what happens. This isn’t the first time we’ve engineered a child; I don’t do it too often because it messes with the familial lines. We will love the child, Jack.”
“You going to make it a girl?” Jack asked.
“I won’t take it that far,” Enki said. “Let the sperm and egg meet and decide for themselves. I tried making a specific gender before, and it was a mess. Ended up with hermaphrodites, and confused boys who wanted to be girls and girls who wanted to be boys. Which does happen in nature, and can be fixed with surgery, but it's a cruelty to do it deliberately. If nature decides that Herself, all well and good, but what I did really was a mess. It shamed me.”
Jack looked at him. “You know, it’s probably a good thing you have a sense of morality and ethics. At least the kid’ll be smart, growing up with you for a grandfather.”
“Don’t knock yourself short, Jack,” Enki said, leading him into another room. “Do your partners know how high your IQ tests run?”
“Been snooping, have we?” Jack asked.
“Just a little,” Enki admitted with a grin. “Drop your pants.”
“What?”
“Drop ‘em.” Enki fiddled with instruments on a table.
”I think I can do this part myself,” Jack told him.
Enki paused and thought about it before shaking his head. “Jack, if you want to pleasure yourself, that’s fine, but I have other means of getting to your wigglers.” He held up some sort of syringe.
“And you plan on sticking that where?” Jack asked in horror, taking a step back.
“Your groin,” Enki emphasized, giving his head another shake. “You won’t feel a thing, I promise; I can get your sperm directly from the duct, it’ll only take a few seconds. Stop being a baby, and show me your stuff.”
Jack scowled as he ripped open his jeans. “You know, for an old man you have a kinky streak.”
“I have a very kinky streak,” Enki informed him with a side-grin. “Ask Jonathan.”
Jack groaned and put a hand over his eyes. “Let’s not go there,” he begged. He felt Enki’s hands on his groin, pushing hair aside. He peeked through his fingers and saw the syringe against his skin. There was a slight pinch, a moment, and then the thing was taken away.
“Alright, you’re done,” Enki told him. “Thank you for your donation to a most worthy cause.”
No comments:
Post a Comment