“Paul, if you don’t keep still, I’m going to tie you to a chair,” Daniel threatened. Davis was in the midst of a panic attack two hours before his hand-fasting.
Paul paused and then shook his head. “Don’t tease me, Danny.” He took it well, having his ‘day’ pushed back due to the off-world emergency.
Daniel yanked him still again and adjusted his tie. Across the room, Jack was having a glass of wine with Nick whose own panic was more subdued. Jack took the glass from Nick’s hand and shoved his head between his knees.
“Don’t you dare faint on me,” Paul warned him.
“You know, you’re being pretty mouthy lately,” Nick commented from between his knees.
“Just offering excuses,” Paul said helpfully.
The door opened and Inanna came in.
“Speaking of queens,” Jack commented. She swatted at him.
“You shush. Are you gentlemen deliberately being fashionably late or will you be joining us shortly?” she looked at Paul and Nick. They looked at watches.
“Oh, shit!”
Everyone hustled to their posts while guests watched in amusement as the wedding party hurried out to the yard behind Paul and Nick’s house. There were a couple of ducks in the pond. Jack wondered how they managed to get ducks to attend. Zu was in a tree, eying the ducks with a look Jack was sure boded ill for the ducks.
“And they pick on women for being late,” Cassie said from the sidelines. There were chuckles around her. Harper sat next to her, trying not to look uncomfortable with gays, lesbians, and people wearing leather, multiple piercings, and tattoos all sitting nearby. Others in uniform were also wiggling, trying not to stare at the small, select crowd. Some assumed that the oddities were from Nick’s side of the guest list.
The party was hastily reassembled, the grooms having been a week late due to off-world complications. Daniel stood at the front of the isle, facing the guests.
“We apologize for being late,” he said. There were smiles and soft laughter of understanding. Paul and Nick tried to rush to the front of the isle.
“NOT….. that late,” Daniel scolded them. Jack caught the backs of jackets and pulled. The men slowed and walked properly, much to everyone’s amusement. They came to a halt in front of Daniel and nervously waited as Jack and Paul’s cousin Rebecca stood a step behind them.
“Looks like a shot-gun wedding,” someone murmured. There was laughter and the tension was released. Paul smiled and hung his head for a moment before taking Nick’s hand.
“I’ve known Paul for a long time,” Daniel said. “If anyone deserves to be loved, Paul does. And having gotten to know Nick over the past year, I encourage everyone to see how his heart shines for Paul. This is truly a match made by the gods.
“As we all know, same-gender marriages are not legal in this state. This is a hand-fasting. Paul and Nick’s contract with each other can be viewed and witnessed after the ceremony. Marriage or hand-fasting, the words are merely semantics. Paul and Nick love each other and have invited us all here to witness their promises to each other. Please give them your attention and bear them your witness.
“Paul and Nick are here to confirm in the presence of witnesses a lovers' covenant between them and declare a partnership to establish a household together. This agreement into which Paul and Nick are entering is a holy covenant, made in faithfulness and peace to stand forever. It is a covenant of protection and hope. It is a covenant of devotion, joining hearts like the covenant David and Jonathan made, as it is said: And Jonathan's soul was bound up with the soul of David. Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. It is a covenant of mutual loving kindness.
“Get yourself a companion.”
“This teaches that a person should get a companion, to eat with, drink with, to study with, to sleep with, to confide all one's secrets, secrets of the heart, and secrets of worldly things.
“Paul and Nick commit themselves to a life of kindness and righteousness as a family and to work together toward the communal task of mending the world. Paul and Nick pledge that one will help the other at the time of dying, by carrying out the last rational requests of the dying partner, protecting each other from indignity or abandonment and by tender, faithful presence with the beloved until the end.”
Daniel paused, looking out at the guests and Jack and Sam for a moment, smiling quietly at them, before looking at the grooms.
“Paul, will you speak the words?”
Paul turned to face Nick, taking both hands in his and clearing his throat.
“I will espouse you forever. I will espouse you with righteousness and justice and loving kindness and compassion. I will espouse you in faithfulness and you shall know my heart is true. I shall treasure you, nourish you, support you, and respect you.” His hands trembled slightly as he slid a ring on Nick’s left hand.
Daniel waited until Paul had himself together.
“Nick, will you speak the words?”
Nick was silent as he tried to find his voice.
“I will espouse you forever. I will espouse you with righteousness and justice and loving kindness and compassion. I will espouse you in faithfulness and you shall know my heart is true. I shall treasure you, nourish you, support you, and respect you.” His hands were also trembling as he put a ring on Paul’s finger.
“Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is stronger than death.” Daniel motioned to Davy to come forward and took a length of blue silk from the boy’s proud hands, and sent him back to Sam’s side. Daniel held the silk up to the sky for a moment.
“The Lover's Knot is a symbol of the harmony that is found between two people who, in acknowledging one another's individuality and uniqueness, acknowledge their own. With the closing of this ceremony, celebrating their commitment to each other, Paul and Nick intend to:
1. Continue living together and sharing all expenses and ownership of their assets.
2. Practice honesty and understanding with respect to their physical and emotional lives.
3. Strive to support each other's aspirations as they change, evolve, and possibly separate them professionally.
4. They intend to leave a space to re-evaluate these intentions on or around their anniversary each year of their lives together. With this Knot, they seal their promises to each other and embark on their journey unending.”
With their hands together, Daniel wrapped the silk around their wrists and arms, gently draping the end of the silk over their joined hands.
Together, Paul and Nick turned to face their guests and said together,
“We promise to try to be ever open to one another while cherishing each other's uniqueness; to comfort and challenge each other through life's sorrow and joy; to share our intuition and insight with one another; and above all, to do everything within our power to permit each of us to become the persons we are yet to be. We also pledge to establish a home open to the spiritual potential in all life; a home wherein the flow of the seasons and the passages of life are celebrated through the symbols we hold dear; a home filled with reverence for learning, loving, and generosity; a home wherein ancient melody, candles, and wine sanctify the table. We declare this union to be valid and binding.”
They faced each other and, looking into each other’s eyes before leaning in to press their lips to one another’s. Nick, usually reticent of public displays, flushed at the applause and cheering.
Jack was resigned when Jonathan and Ninurta stepped up to the front with a guitar.
Live in my house
I'll be your shelter
Just pay me back
With one thousand kisses
Be my lover - I'll cover you
Open your door
I'll be your tenant
Don't got much baggage
To lay at your feet
But sweet kisses I've got to spare
I'll be there - I'll cover you
I think they meant it
When they said you can't buy love
Now I know you can rent it
A new lease you are, my love,
On life - be my life
Just slip me on
I'll be your tenant
Wherever - whatever - I'll be your coat
You'll be my king
And I'll be your castle
No you'll be my queen
And I'll be your moat
I think they meant it
When they said you can't buy love
Now I know you can rent it
A new lease you are, my love,
On life - all my life
I've longed to discover
Something as true as this is
So with a thousand
sweet kisses
If you're cold
I'll cover you
And you're lonely
With a thousand sweet kisses
I'll cover you
You've got one nickel only
With a thousand sweet kisses
I'll cover you
When you're worn out and tired
With a thousand sweet kisses
I'll cover you
When your heart has expired
Oh lover I'll cover you
Oh lover I'll cover you
Before anyone could move, Ninurta shouted,
“Zu! NO!”
With a startled squawk, Zu dropped the struggling duck. Laughing, everyone surged forward to congratulate the couple.
“Parents didn’t make it?” Sam asked quietly, watching Davis with a small contingent of cousins that had come out from California to support him. She stood in front of the men and leaned back into their chests. Someone kissed the back of her head.
“Nope,” Jack said.
“Looks like the younger half of the family did, though,” Daniel commented. “That’s nice. I’m happy for him.”
“You and Stacey will be spending time with your family next week,” he reminded Daniel.
Daniel shook his head. “I wasn’t thinking about me,” he said. “I’m just finding it strange that it took so much for our families to either find us or accept us.”
“It’s mostly the younger ones,” Sam said. “Maybe it has something to do with the rest of the changes. A lot of the argument against the changes has been coming from the older generations and not so much from the younger ones. I still don’t talk much with Mark.”
“You guys knock it off?” They looked to see Cassie standing with her hands on her hips. “It’s a party. Go have fun and stop analyzing everything to death. And, Jack? We took a vote. You’re singing at least once today.” She turned on her heels and strode back to Harper.
Jack watched her. “It does say General on my uniform, doesn’t it?” He was beginning to wonder about it.
“……well, I’m hungry, too.” They turned to see Shara trying to reason with the bird. “If you cannot wait, then go into the mountains to hunt. Leave the ducks around here alone. Just make sure you clean off the blood before you come back or you’ll scare the civilians.”
Zu squawked something at him and flew off toward the tree line. Daniel winced.
“He really does have a colorful vocabulary,” he commented.
“You have no idea,” Shara groaned. “You try living with him for a couple thousand years.”
They made the rounds, meeting and greeting before finding food and settling at a table. Olivia was in a mood to be held and fed by Sam, so Jack took care of Davy while Daniel answered as many of Stacey’s questions as he could. Starting with why she couldn’t go with them. Her age didn’t seem to be the answer she was looking for.
“Daniel, have you ever heard of that old wives tale about having children just like you?” Jack asked.
“I am not like this,” he protested.
“Yes, you are,” came responses from several other tables nearby. Daniel looked around and glared. He pushed his glasses into place.
“An intelligent mind needs a constant flow of information,” he said.
“Daddy, my flow is blocked,” Stacey informed him, patting him on the arm.
There was laughter all around them as Daniel tried to come up with more answers. Jack noticed Harper was intent on something in the distance. Cassie was walking with Jonathan, talking and listening, their arms around each other’s waist.
“Oh, chill out, Dean,” Jack told him. “He’s her best friend, that’s all. Go dance with someone.”
Harper glared for a moment and then took a breath.
“Yes, sir.”
Children screeched as they ran around and played, mindful adults keeping them from getting too close to the pond. Without Jonathan to sing, several of the Anunnaki beamed down drums and stringed instruments and got a strong beat going. A few of the women and a couple of elegant, pretty men, danced in a seductive blend of middle eastern and off-world styles. Colonel Reynolds, although as exhausted as the rest of them, was continually running after Harley who had a toddler’s energy and kept trying to get in the way of the dancers.
“Kevin, let him dance, if he wants to,” Ninurta called out. “He’s fine.”
“Can I dance, too, Daddy?” Davy asked, looking over his shoulder at Jack.
“Sure, go for it,” Jack said. Davy slid off his lap and ran out to the dancers. He held his arms out and twirled around. The dancers smiled at him and helped him to coordinate his feet.
“Well, this looks familiar,” Jack commented, slinging an arm across Daniel’s shoulders.
“Almost a déjà vu,” Daniel smiled. “He’s come a long way, Jack.”
“Yes, he has,” Jack nodded.
“Sir?”
Jack saw Paul standing nearby.
“May I introduce you to my family?”
“Absolutely,” Jack immediately said, and stood for the presentation.
All in all, seven more people came down at the last minute from Oregon and California. Most of Paul’s family were either his own generation or the next younger. They were proud of Paul as they stood somewhat rebelliously behind him.
“While everyone was away, Cassie showed me around,” Rebecca told him. “Seeing how many people were standing with Paul made me realize how wrong our parents are being. We decided to make a united front. If the parents are going to condemn one, they’ll need to condemn all of us.” Even the man in the yarmulke agreed.
“Power to the people,” Daniel said, smiling and shaking hands.
“I think some of this may have been my own fault,” Paul admitted. “I assumed that since my parents and their siblings rejected me, my own generation would, too. I didn’t ask.”
Daniel tugged gently on an ear in reprimand. “Martyr complex,” Daniel informed him.
The man in the yarmulke, Shafir, put an arm on Paul’s shoulder. “He was always reticent to express himself. It probably didn’t help that our faith is very opposed to homosexuality. I’ve known people to commit suicide over the internal war. I’m glad Paul has found his peace.”
“Shafir is a councilor,” Paul told them. “He talks like this all the time.”
“I have a question,” Jack said, raising his hand. Daniel and Paul were slightly worried. “Why do you have a name from the New Testament?”
They relaxed.
“It’s just the Anglo-Saxon version of Saul.”
Paul’s family also relaxed at discovering that the general wasn’t intimidating like generals were shown to be in movies. A few of them had books to be signed, which Jack, Daniel, and Sam willingly signed before Paul excused the group to go and find Walter.
“Jaaaaaack…….”
There was good-natured laughter as Jonathan leaned against the microphone. Jack pointed to his throat and waved.
“Get up here, Jack.”
“You may as well,” Sam said, jiggling the baby on her knees.
People clapped, laughing as they encouraged Jack to his feet.
“Jonathan Charles!”
“Shit,” Jack moaned, putting his face in his hands. Maggie stood up and pointed to the stage, much to the entertainment of the crowd.
“On one condition,” Jack said, standing up.
“What condition?” Jonathan asked.
“Daniel plays the piano.”
Daniel went to the front and started pounding out Chop Sticks as people laughed.
“Hey, Daniel.” He looked up and saw Harper waiting. “I’ve been meaning to ask –why the piano? You can’t take it on digs. Wouldn’t a guitar have been more useful?”
“Maybe,” Daniel acknowledged. “But I had run into a couple of finds that seemed to be musical and there was a piano nearby, so I learned the scales in order to use the tones. That was an interesting…..”
“Daniel!” several people yelled, laughing. Daniel pouted for a moment.
“Okay,” he said. He turned and pounded on the keyboard. “And now, the end is near, and so I face the final curtain….. Oh, sorry, Paul, wrong theme….”
“Come to me, cover, hold me, Together we'll break these chains of love…. No, not that one…..”
“I said Hey Dizzy Mama let me go into your…. Oh, no, not in front of the kids….”
“Dizzy, dizzy, let’s see….Dizzy, I’m so dizzy my head is spinning, Like a whirlpool it never ends….” Daniel paused and looked at Jack.
“I know that one,” Jack said, shaking his head at Daniel’s antics as the guests laughed. They entertained with a few oldies with Daniel finally losing Jack with the Purple People Eater. Jonathan kicked them off the porch and went back to Paul’s requested list.
“Why does he goad me into that?” Jack asked as they caught their breath.
“For the same reason Davy likes to dance,” Daniel said. “It’s good for you.” He planted his mouth on Jack’s for a moment and then released him to go and dance with their kids.
“I don’t know why you fuss about it,” Sam said. Olivia was asleep in the crook of her arm and Sam wasn’t of a mind to set her down anywhere. “You have fun, so what’s the deal?”
“I sound like a frog,” Jack complained.
Sam smiled at him. “You sound fine,” she assured him once more. “Your voice is a little husky, but you’re enjoyable to listen to. In fact, I like it even more when you croon into my ear when we’re taking a bath.” Unable to resist, Jack smiled and kissed her while Mary smiled indulgently next to them. Sam was discovering the friendship of other women, a welcome change from her life with mostly men.
“Oh, way TMI,” Matthew said as he came up to them.
“Hey, you just wait,” Jack told him, pulling the boy into a loose choke hold. “Bubbles are a good thing.”
“Noooo, Daaad,” Matty complained as he wiggled. “I want to go to the mall with Vinnie and Rob and Tommy.” The young boy was enjoying his visit to his old home and seemed more relaxed. Even Tommy’s mother seemed to have a healthy glow about her.
“Alright,” Jack said, releasing him. “Go home and change your clothes, first, and call me if you go anyplace else. Eight PM. You may have $40 out of my stash.”
“Thank you!”
“Don’t spend it all on crap!”
“I will!”
“I thought he’d sleep for days, after the weekend you guys had,” Mary said. Harley was finally asleep and napping against her shoulder.
“He’s a boy,” Jack shrugged. “He slept for about nine hours and then he was on the go again.”
“Jack’s brother Michael was down for the count until just before the ceremony,” Sam told Mary. “Called this morning and did nothing but complain about all his aches and pains. He forced himself out of bed.”
“He’s an old man,” Jack said, the side of his mouth tipping up in amusement. He flexed an arm, making a muscle. Sam shot a napkin at him. Jack’s cell phone rang.
“O’Neill. Hey, Andy, what’s up? Who? Where is he? Alright, thanks; I’ll deal with it.”
“Do we have anyone in orbit?” he asked Sam.
“Just the Heaven’s Bow,” she said. “What’s going on?”
Jack looked around and motioned to Reynolds. “Colonel, take a couple of guys and get over to the Mountain Deli on 3rd. Corporal Servi has apparently parted with a fuse and is zatting the cold cuts.”
As Reynolds nodded, kissed his wife and touched his son’s head and left after motioning to his team, Jack had an image in his head. He looked around and swiped a crayon from the kids’ table. Sam and Mary watched him begin drawing on a napkin. It only took five minutes before he paused, considered his sketch, and then nodded. He handed it to Sam.
“It’s a zat,” she said, looking from the napkin to Jack.
“It’s how to turn off the third setting,” he said. “I don’t think they were meant to stay on a 3-zat setting. It was probably a war-time thing and the Jaffa didn’t know to change it back.”
She looked at it again and patted his shoulder. “Good Jack. It’s a start.”
“And let’s find out why Corporal Servi has a zat, shall we?”
Daniel came up behind Sam and gently lifted the baby from her, handed Olivia to Jack, and took Sam’s hand. Jack watched them head to the dancing section of the grass.
“So. Mary. How’s tricks?”
The party list had been small, just immediate friends. Paul wasn’t too sure that anyone else would be interested, but Daniel convinced him to invite a few of the SGC and HomeSec personnel that he had worked closely with over the past year. Paul was sure they would make an excuse not to attend, but to his surprise almost everyone on his list accepted.
Some of the old-timers like Mrs. Arthur politely refused. The new Mrs. Hammond made her regrets only because the timing was bad; her youngest daughter was in labor and she and George were heading to Maine to greet the new grandbaby.
Ronnie showed up, and on the arm of Nyan who was almost a complete head shorter. Jack wondered exactly how much Nyan was aware of with his new date.
What stunned Paul more was the addition of his own family. His cousins chided him for not contacting them sooner. Not all of them were so conservative. They lived in California and Oregon, for the love of G-d! Jack made a mental note to send out invitations to his own family for their summer cookout. Joey had already knocked him in the shoulder and threatened to arrest him, if he didn’t keep the lines of communication open.
“Mary, is it a good thing for our kids to be making eyes at each other?” Jack asked, looking out over Olivia’s tiny shoulder. Mary followed his gaze. Katie and Josh were sitting close and smiling shyly at each other as they talked.
“Well, I supposed I can deal with you as a possible in-law,” Mary informed him.
“Much better than Malek,” Jack muttered.
“I’ve met Malek,” she said. “I thought he was a very nice person.”
“He has a snake in him, Mary.”
Harley was waking up and she wiped the sleep-sweat from his face with a napkin dampened with water.
“Isn’t there a difference between Tok’ra and Goa’uld?” she asked.
“Yes,” he reluctantly admitted.
“So you’re damning him for the color of his skin?”
Jack looked at her from over Olivia’s shoulder. “Kevin has lived with you for how long?”
“I have allowed him to live for twenty years come this November.”
“I thought this was a patriarchy?” he asked the sky.
“That’s a fallacy,” Mary commented, pressing kisses to her son’s round cheeks.
Jack looked suspiciously at her.
“Davis!” he called out. “Remind me to have a conference with Colonel Reynolds.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Jack.” Inanna came up and sat, buzzing Olivia before handing Jack her palm pilot. “We need to talk.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Jack sighed. He put Olivia down and she immediately grabbed legs, trying to keep on her feet before falling to her knees. She wasn’t happy about it, and then spotted Daniel and Sam and began a determined crawl toward them. Adults carefully stepped around her and made sure she was safe from big people feet.
Henry would be relocating to Colorado come the following January after officially transferring the reigns of the presidency to whomever won the November elections. The HomeSec council had accepted Henry’s nomination as the Tau’ri representative to the United Worlds Council. When not dealing with galactic issues, Henry would be a full-time grandpa.
The world was beginning a steadily increasing demand for alien technology and alien cures, and Henry’s current job was to study up on projects and determine the order of what would be released to the public, when, and the timeline. Henry thought it would be easy until he was handed the list of projects verses needs. Once he was the Tau’ri representative, he was going to have to think as a Tau’ri, not an American.
Inanna needed Jack to look through a few borderline admissions to the Unification. The council was split down the middle and unable to come to an agreement. Just before Jack put his two-cents on the board, he paused.
“I’m missing something,” he guessed, seeing Inanna in her ‘waiting for him to get it’ mode.
“Are you?” she asked. “What?” She was speaking Ancient. Daniel or Sam had gotten to her.
He thought about it. “I can’t reach across the galaxy,” he told her. She shrugged.
“Maybe, maybe not,” she admitted. “The Ancients can tell when someone violated their laws from anywhere in the universe.”
Jack carefully considered her. “Why don’t you read them?” he asked.
She smiled. “I could,” she said with a nod. “But how would that help everyone else? If we know that one proposed representative has a negative agenda and we refuse to allow the planet in because of that person, how do we know that the person wasn’t set to be immediately replaced by someone who DID represent the good of the planet? We can’t judge an entire civilization based on one idiot. Take your former president as an example.”
Jack lifted an eyebrow and considered only the summary commentaries on the screen. “Point,” he acknowledged. Both Inanna and Bre’tac gave a tentative thumb’s up, so Jack granted a provisional status.
“You contacted Argos?” he questioned: the planet, not the ship. “Do you really think they’re ready to take on the galaxy? They haven’t even cut their primary molars yet.”
“They are an innocent people, yes. A visiting SG team mentioned the United Worlds and the people all agreed that they wanted to discover what they’ve been missing.” Inanna frowned in memory. “It’s a terrible thing that was done to them, I agree; I have volunteered to look after them myself. I explained to them how a few of us take on the role of mentor for certain civilizations and they were grateful for the guidance. Their growth should prove interesting. Jack, I do ask that you grant me this favor.”
He thought about it. “This will be a seriously big favor,” he warned. “I don’t think they’re ready.”
“No, they’re not,” she agreed. “Which is why I’d like to be their guide. And I accept the onus.”
“Alright,” he said, shaking his head as he signed the list.
“Jack, you should know that Edora is on our agenda.”
He sat back, watching the party settle into small, friendly discussion groups. Paul and Nick were surrounded by cousins all intent on updating Paul with information and getting the low-down on his life during the past ten years.
“She asked after you. She’s happy, Jack; she remarried. Would you like to….”
“No,” he said, shaking his head. After being stranded on Edora for three months when their Gate was buried, he fought it but knew he had to survive. She wasn’t the woman he wanted, but he could have survived with her and her son. He may have even fallen in love with them. Almost. “I’m glad she’s doing well. Add Edora to the Protected Worlds list. I’ll sign it.”
Inanna nodded and stood. She pressed her mouth to the top of his head and took her note pad back.
“Salim, ahu,” she murmured, touching his cheek and going to find something to eat.
Jack searched himself and found that he was at peace with his decision. He had been right to leave Laira. It was loneliness that had made his initial decision to stay on Edora, and it had been Sam and Daniel that made him return home. He was fine with it. Davy leaned against his knees, holding his face up. Jack smiled and stroked his cheek.
“Daddy, will I get married one day?” he asked.
“I hope so,” Jack said. “Do you have anyone in mind?”
“No,” Davy smiled and shook his head. “Is it okay if I marry a girl and a boy like you did?”
Jack studied him. “Do you like boys, too?”
“I guess so,” Davy said, lifting a shoulder. “I think some boys are pretty just like I think some girls are pretty.”
“As long as you are happy, you can marry anyone you want,” Jack told him, stroking a lock of silky hair from the boy’s face. “You need a haircut again.”
Later in the evening, Jack was still smiling to himself as he stepped out of the shower and returned to the bedroom.
“What are you smiling about?” Sam asked, taking off her earrings.
“Davy,” Jack said and told them about his conversation with the boy.
“Not surprising,” Daniel said around a pen in his mouth. He took the pen out. “He sees a person’s heart, not their gender.”
Since Sam was ‘indisposed,’ Jack crawled onto Daniel, dislodging the notebook.
“You know, one of these days I’m going to make you say pretty please first,” Daniel informed him as Jack wiggled Daniel’s pajama bottoms off.
“Pretty please.”
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