Chapter Text
Blair's Father by dudette
Jack ignored the knock on the front door as he finished poring Daniel's
drink; whiskey sours, blech, but they'd been given the whole holiday
weekend off Flag day, who knewand he intended to do some serious
relaxing. He grabbed his beer and Daniel's drink and a bunch of napkins
knowing it was probably the pizza arriving. The perfect compliment to a
Friday night hockey game a few brews and a slightly tipsy Daniel.
When he went passed the door on his way to the living room there
wasn't a delivery boy standing there however. Daniel glanced over his
shoulder wearing that deeply quizzical expression he wore whenever he
came upon an unexpected puzzle. That should have clued him in right there,
but unfortunately it didn't. He was marginally denser on pizza night. It was
just one of the natural laws of the universe.
"There's someone here looking for you, Jack." Daniel couldn't
contain his curiosity. He'd met little Mama O'Neill briefly some years
before, before her death, and except for the fact that the younger man's red-
streaked brown curls were untouched by silver he was the spitting image of
Grace; The only O'Neill to have blue eyes in four generations except for
Sara and Charlie according to Jack.
"Yeah?" Jack stopped in front of the doorway nudging Daniel out of
the way with an impatient frown on his face. He didn't appreciate having his
precious down time disturbed by strangers with problems and he could tell
this one had trouble a mile away. The nervous shifting and the hurried
glances that kept flitting to and from his face kept screaming trouble to
someone who'd been trained by the right people in the wrong places and he
ought to know.
Daniel could tell Jack wasn't making the connection by the tone in his
voice and the look on his face, the transition of features from feminine to
masculine. Daniel had a good feeling for people and he could tell the
younger man was getting ready to bolt. He grasped Jack's elbow and tugged
him away from in front of the door while inviting him in, "Won't you come
in and we can be comfortable while you tell us what this is about?"
Jack's single outraged, "Daniel!" echoed as Daniel pulled the
fidgeting man into the house.
"Um, oh, well see, I just wanted to know if you were the um Jack
O'Neill that knew Naomi Sandburg in the late 60's. I, uh, have a picture of
her if you don't, you know, remember her name. The hand holding out the
picture shivered with nerves. Daniel tried to continue steering Grace's look-
alike into the living room so the coming drama would unfold inside instead
of standing in the entryway but it clearly wasn't to be.
As soon as Jack heard the name Naomi Sandburg he stopped dead in
his tracks and so did their visitor; his eyes went wide. Now he was really
looking at the stranger's face carefully and he got deathly pale as he studied
the half-familiar face. Daniel could almost hear the click as Jack made the
connection between this young man's more angular, masculine facewild
curls asideand his beloved mother.
"Who are you?" Jack demanded but there was a note of dread in his
voice that said he already suspected. He snatched the picture out of
'Sandburg's?' hand.
"Blair, Blair Sandburg." Sandburg answered. That was his name.
Jack's gasp as he looked at the picture was as loud as a shot. Daniel
leaned over his arm to look at the photo of a woman he obviously
recognized. A young, beautiful, red-haired woman was holding a curly
topped blue-eyed baby no doubt that it was Blair and smiling at the
camera.
"When was this taken?" Jack's voice was like gravel.
"Um, ' 74, the year after I was born. She mentioned your name a few
times when I was younger but_" He stumbled and looked down before he
gazed earnestly back up at Jack's face, glancing only occasionally at Daniel.
"She had a lot of friends and I was kinda, you know man, going down the
list to see if anyone knew, well. The thing is she never told me who my
father was and I could really use any information, a clue, you might have. I
know she doesn't think it matters after all this time, and that I've given up
looking but I wonder. Sometimes when Jim and I are arguing and I could
really use some advice or a sounding board. Don't get me wrong Naomi was
a great Mom. She really encouraged my learning and we did some
wonderful traveling together but she never answered my questions about my
father, until I gave up asking. I always meant to do this sooner but, things
have a way of happening when I'm around and I sorta got distracted."
"You call your mother by her first name?" Jack asked but Daniel
knew the signs. He was stalling for time, regrouping and doing a rapid threat
assessment. He handed Daniel his drink and tilted his beer toward the living
room. Daniel took the hint by immediately leading the little procession with
Jack firmly following and Sandburg cat footing in hesitantly behind them.
"Come in. Blair. Sit down, take a load off." Jack picked up the remote and
turned down the sound from the game so they could hear without strain.
"Yeah, well, if you remember Naomi, she believes that people should
respect each other, and that if I acknowledged that she was a person as well
as my mother it probably wouldn't damage me too badly. She still has a bit
of her flower child past mixed with say her naturalist leanings," Blair flashed
them a lighthearted grin.
Daniel's breath caught in his throat; for a moment he'd seen Jack's
beaming smile. He felt Jack still imperceptibly beside him. He'd seen it too.
"How did you find me?" Jack asked casually.
"A friend of hers knows a friend of yours, a Major Renault, that you
lived in Colorado Springs but he didn't have any details, or he wasn't giving
them to Perry. He wasn't sure. Anyway, I've been to see two other Jonathan
O'Neill's today and there's one more left on the list. I was beginning to
wonder if Perry had sent me on a wild goose chase. So how long did you
know Naomi and when was that?" Blair's eyes were alert. He watched them
patiently with the air of a trained observer; waiting for answers. Daniel could
swear he knew him from someplace.
"I knew her for about a year and a half in ' 71. I met her while I was
in flight school." Jack answered softly. Before he met Sara. He'd figured it
out. And he was being careful, careful. He wasn't going to risk losing
another son.
Jack was torn between a cautious flood of joyA Son! He had a
Son! And fury. She'd never told him and he'd lost so much, so much
time. She'd never told Blair when the boy had asked directly. She was right
was the silent whisper in the back of his mind. Look what happened to
Charlie. He forced himself to concentrate on Blair. He didn't intend to loose
any more time, not to old pain or guilt and certainly not to inattention.
He heard the young man ask, "So you're a pilot?"
"Yes, Air Force Colonel." He replied evenly, calmly.
Blair blinked at him clearly taken aback, "Oh, um, so do you know
who my father was? Did you meet him? You must've heard who Naomi was
involved with back then!" Blair was jittering with excitement by the end.
Jack had only ever seen Daniel quite that hyped over an idea. But Blair was
still on the wrong trail.
Jack wasn't sure exactly how to break it to Blair. He'd obviously
dismissed Jack as a candidate for father when he'd learned of his service in
the Air Force. Jack could understand that attitude, the kid knew his mother,
and that had been the breaking point between them. Naomi had been
horrified to learn he intended to stay in the Air Force instead of becoming a
commercial pilot. That he would choose killing people over peacefully
serving the public.
"I graduated flight school the year you were born. Then it was off to
officer's training school." He watched awareness flood Blair's face as his
answer registered.
"Oh My God, You're My Father! That's why she never told me
or_or you! You've spent your life doing everything she s abhors." Blair's
face was dazed and outraged as he saw the confirmation in Jack's eyes. He
clasped his head between his hands and slowly shook it back and forth as if
his worldview had just been turned on its side. Jack could sympathize. He
was still reeling a bit from the shock to his own worldview. He was just
more used to it.
"She's been pretty scarce since the dissertation disaster but I got my
damn P.H.D. before I joined the department. I thought she was taking longer
to process." Blair muttered to himself as he tried to take in the concept that
Naomi had known whom his father was the whole time (he'd kinda
wondered if she just wasn't sure) and had deliberately kept it from him
because she didn't agree with his lifestyle choices. So much for live and let
live.
"God, does that mean I'm out because I joined the jack-booted pigs?
I'm her son!" Blair muttered to himself with disbelief.
"You're also my son," Jack returned quietly. He waited until Blair
blinked and focused on him abruptly.
"Joining the pigs?" He asked softly. "You're a police officer?" He
kept the sudden clutch of fear off his face but it wasn't easy. That was a
dangerous profession to be in almost as dangerous as his own, and Blair had
mentioned a knack for being in trouble. He felt Daniel stir beside him and
knew he hadn't hidden it quick enough to fool his observant lover. But Blair
didn't know him yet and he missed the telltale.
"Yes, yes, I probably am your son. Do you mind if we check?" Blair
replied with a hint of wonder, like he might have found the answer to a
dream he hadn't even known he still had.
"No, not at all. As soon as we can get to the Academy Hospital in the
morning we'll get a blood test to check it. Or maybe you wouldn't mind if
we called my doctor instead sometimes she actually makes house calls and
she has access to a lab that would get the test results a lot faster." Jack
ignored the melting sensation in his chest at the wonder in Blair's voice.
Jack was sure Janet would keep the results to herself and they wouldn't find
their way into any records. That was important if he was going to keep NID
out of Blair's hair. It sounded like he was trouble magnet enough on his
own.
Blair shook his head with a wry smile and answered Jack's other
question. "Not exactly. I'm a police consultant, and UW graciously asked
me to teach in their anthropology and police science departments since my
diss ended up being on the interactions of the Major Crimes Unit and its
relation to the public in Cascade, but Rainier wouldn't touch me with a ten
foot pole after they lost the lawsuit. They didn't look too good when Mr.
Ellison's lawyers got through with them. I doubt they've forgiven me but
they jumped the gun on a dissertation I hadn't officially submitted and was
trying to get changed."
"What? What happened?" Jack tried to keep a ferocious frown off his
face.
"The Publishing Company wants to settle out of court and William's
lawyers are thinking of letting them. Their PR department is screaming that
it wasn't the company's fault if one bad agent didn't follow the law and that
he acted without their consent." Blair shrugged rather resignedly. He was
sick of the whole mess, but if he wanted to preserve the Sentinel research for
publication latermaybe when we're both deadhe thought
sarcastically. He, they (Jim too once he understood what was at stake)
needed to do this. There were too many other people who would be affected
to let it go like he'd initially intended. Unborn children, people in
institutions who didn't need to be, and the worried, terrified friends and
family of those as yet unknown people.
"Who's William?" Jack asked. He didn't like the sound of someone
assuming a father role he'd never even had the opportunity to play. He
realized he was being ridiculously jealous but he couldn't help it.
Simultaneously Daniel snapped his fingers and blurted, "Blair
Sandburg! The Sentinel Research. I knew your name sounded familiar. I was
disappointed when all my checks showed the research appeared to be the
mistaken publication of fiction material. Are you saying it's not?" Daniel
demanded excitedly.
Blair's face abruptly took on a wary cast. "No, no, I'm just saying its
unfortunate that Naomi sent what she thought was my dissertation to a friend
to look at, who then tried to get me to publish fictionalized work by printing
excerpts and attempting to make a totally unauthorized movie deal." This
time there wasn't one stutter or hesitation and Blair sounded coolly furious
and determined as if he'd answered the same question over and over. He was
also lying through his teeth.
"Daniel!" Jack had a built in lie detector that he'd honed in some
pretty hairy situations and the team had come to trust. He'd always known
when his mother was lying to him no matter how good she thought was at it,
her eyes flickered and got just a little darker and so had Blair's, catching it
even when his father floundered under the little white lies meant to comfort
him. Or maybe he'd simply let her comfort him. It was something to think
about, there were reasons he and Sara hadn't made it without Charlie as a
buffer between them.
Jack willed Daniel to drop it, not wanting to alienate his son right off
the bat. But Daniel had the bit between his teeth. He knew about Jack's
ability to cut through the bullshit, and he'd seen Jack register the lie.
"Your partner, his name was all over that research. Ellison wasn't it? The return of the tribal guardian with enhanced senses; sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell wasn't it? It was to protect him. After your mother accidentally let out what was essentially classified research to a publishing agent who was savvy enough to know what he was reading and dishonest enough to try and take advantage of it. You must have been devastated. How could she make such a mistake?" Daniel's lightning intelligence and warm sympathy were going to
save the day again as Blair relaxed.
"I'm not saying that's what happened you understand?" Blair replied
carefully though it was obvious that it was. "It was a big misunderstanding
and Naomi trusted someone she shouldn't have, but I know she was only
trying to help. The second lawsuit isn't officially settled yet and I'm not
supposed to talk about it. But it hasn't been easy on either Jim or I, and I am
thoroughly sick of the whole mess. Mr. Ellison is justifiably unhappy with
me but he pulled through for us like a trooper once he understood what was
at stake. At one point the DA was talking about reviewing every case Jim
had ever worked on!" Blair's voice was tight with outrage while his face was
calm. He'd learned some control over the years.
"Huh," Jack replied irrepressibly. William Ellison sounded like an
uptight prick who'd taken out Naomi's mistakes on Blair.
"Maybe so, but it sounds like he'd needed a lot of convincing first and
he did it to save your partner's backside more than your own. Don't get me
wrong I'm glad he was there to help no matter why he did it. Sometimes the
results are all that matters not how you got them. This sounds like one of
those cases. But don't you think you've punished yourself enough over this
fiasco?" Jack said shrewdly reading Blair's expressive eyes no matter how
he'd learned to control his face. And not that well to Jack's experienced
eyes.
He started as if Jack had nailed it right on the head. Blair was shocked
that he was so transparent to someone he'd just met but looking into those
shrewd brown eyes he couldn't attribute it to the probable genetic
connection. Those knowing, intent brown eyes were peering into him
looking for glimpses of his soul. "Maybe, Jim keeps saying the same thing
despite the way he flipped out when the story broke. He says between his big
mouth and the um, so and so Chancellor at Rainier they have the whole
punishment thing totally covered." He essayed a weak grin.
Jack's lips smiled back but his eyes were gentle as he looked at the
son who looked so much like his mother that he couldn't believe he didn't
see it right away. "I can understand Jim being cranky from being outed but
as for the so and so Chancellor. She better hope I never meet her." He let
that sink in a moment. Then he couldn't stop himself from letting some of
his questions flow. "So how long have you and Jim been partners? You
work on a lot of cases with him? I guess what I'm asking is just how
involved with the police work end of the business are you?"
Blair sighed softly. He wasn't sure how he was going to explain his
life to this man, or, he glanced at Daniel, how Jack's life was going to look
to him but he was sure he wanted to try. Jack O'Neill was making a
Herculean effort for a man who'd just been flabbergasted with the reality of
an adult son trying to track him down.
Blair could barely wrap his mind around the fact that this man was more than likely his father. Jack certainly thought so, judging by the careful way he was handling Blair and his questions. And Naomi hiding the truth all these years; he didn't know how to process the fact that Naomi had essentially taken away his free will by hiding his choices from him, a betrayal of everything they both believed in, a betrayal of the trust they once shared.
"Let's see, hm, Jim and I will be coming up on five years as partners
soon about another three months. As for how involved I am in the cases it
really depends on how much they need me and how heavy my class load is. I
won't lie to you and tell you I'm never involved with the dangerous stuff
because that just isn't true, but everything usually comes out all right. I
know what you do isn't particularly safe either. I guess we'll both have to
learn to live with that." Blair's expression turned apprehensive.
He looked like he was thinking of every Air force disaster he'd ever
heard of. "So how active are you? I mean you're a Colonel so you're in
charge of something right? You don't fly missions anymore do you?"
Jack felt his expression turn wry. It was odd to have a grown son
hoping you were safely inactive the way your silver hair indicated you were.
By all rights he knew he should be sitting behind a desk somewhere but
that's not what fates and the Stargate had had in store for him. "Yeah, I'm
still on active duty. I keep my wings by taking the jets out for a spin to
maintain my flight status." Blair paled a little.
"Not a good flyer, huh?" Blair shook his head, no, looking confused
again. Probably wondering how in heck he could have a pilot for a father.
"Sometimes it skips a generation. My mother hated flying. You look
like her too, and you've got her height." Jack said to fill in the gaps and
answer some of the question in the kid's eyes.
"Oh, do you have pictures?" Blair asked eagerly.
"I take it the height thing skips a generation too." He added ironically
as he compared his absolutely average 5'9 height with the tall, lean frame of
Jack O'Neill. His father was 6'2 if he was an inch. Jack smiled and shrugged
ruefully.
He retrieved one of the photo albums he kept in a side-table. It was
one of his old ones showing himself as a boy, his sister, his brother, and his
parents. He thought Blair would be glad to know that he had an Aunt, an
Uncle, and cousins. Jack hadn't stayed in touch with either of his siblings
after Charlie's death, but it wasn't because they hadn't tried. And when Jack
had finally pulled himself out of his suicidal depression courtesy of Daniel
and the Stargate; Jack had found his sibling were strangers that he loved, but
no longer knew intimately.
They had built lives and families for themselves half way across the
country. Which was nothing to a pilot, physical distance could be easily
breached; it was the emotional distance that was hard to overcome. He'd
consciously decided to leave it there when he realized the circus that was his
life courtesy of the SGC. As the years had passed and Jack and his team had
saved the earth one more time and retirement grew closer he began to
reconsider his decision. Jack slowly began trying to close the distance
between himself and his siblings. They were gratifyingly eager and had
welcomed him into their homes. It had been awkward at first and it was still
hard going sometimes but it had been worth it to get to know his nieces and
nephews, and reacquaint himself with his brother and sister. He actually
answered his e-mail now, at least the personal ones.
There was a wedding picture of his parents in the front of the album
before all the kiddy shots began to show up; Blair gasped as he got his first
glimpse of his grandmother Grace. He had a lost look in his eye as if he were
very far away imagining what it would've been like to know his
grandparents. Jack felt a pang of regret that Blair had never met his parents
followed by a zing of frustrated fury had never been allowed to meet his
parents. He was going to strangle Naomi the next time he saw her. And he
would be seeing her. He had no doubt. She wouldn't be able to stay away
when she found out her little plan to keep them apart had fallen through.
God, he didn't know whether to celebrate his luck, and his son's persistence
or wallow in regrets and make plans to punish Naomi for her selfishness.
They went through the album chuckling over the childhood antics of
Jack and his siblings, but he didn't miss the wistfulness in Blair's eyes or the
intent way he studied the sibling pictures. Daniel didn't miss it either, and
when he glanced up he saw Daniel's understanding, and sadness because
Daniel knew exactly how Blair felt. He hated that look in his lover's eyes,
and he hated seeing it echoed on his son's (HIS SON'S!) face. He was just
about to pull out the newest photo album with current pictures of his nieces
and nephews when the doorbell rang.
Daniel popped up. "I'll get it, it's probably the pizza."
Blair looked startled and embarrassed peering at his watch as if he
couldn't believe the time. "Oh man, is that the time already? Jim is going to
flip his lid and I can't believe I just co-opted your afternoon this way. You
guys obviously had plans..." He trailed off looking first into Jack's scolding
expression; he wasn't tolerating such nonsense when they'd just discovered
each other. Then Blair's eyes flicked up towards the doorway that still
wasn't filled with the pizza deliveryman.
Instead a tall well-built man stood there looking concerned,
exasperated, and impatient, "Chief, are you alright? Your cell phone's off
and you're forty-five minutes late." The man paid little attention to Daniel
having catalogued his presence while maintaining his peripheral
surveillance. His attention centered on himself and Blair. He scanned the
scene alertly, actually glancing down to the photo album in Blair's lap as if
he could see the pictures then studying Jack's face.
Jack's instincts were screaming at him, and he found himself on his
feet before he could stop himself. He recognized the way the other man
stood, his lightning assessment of the room, the way he kept track of Daniel,
and the wary way he'd categorized Jack sitting next to his partner, as a
threat.
Jim Ellison stiffened when Jack came to his feet in a rush, and his
hand flew to his waist band clearly going for a gun, and Jack cursed himself
for being so caught off guard as he started forward; both pausing and stalling
when Blair exclaimed, "Jim, no! It's okay, man, this is_ this is_we think
he's_" Blair took a deep breath as Jack hesitated before jumping in brashly,
wanting to hear Blair say it again.
"This is my father, man. Naomi didn't tell him. He's in the Air Force.
He's a Colonel." Blair stuttered to a stop torn between excited and horrified
as his met his lover's gaze. He finally recognized the tension between the
two men as one deadly man recognizing another. The clues about his father,
Jack O'Neill, had sailed right over his head. He saw Jim's comprehension of
his dilemma and his forgiveness for his denseness. Jim's silent comment on
how the circumstances would rattle anyone.
Jack observed the silent communication between his son and Jim
Ellison and wondered if he was more than his son's partner, if they were
lovers? Like father like son? Christ, he hoped not. It sounded like the kid's
life was dangerous enough without adding alternative sexual preferences,
and a man like Jim Ellison to the mixdangerous and trained to use it.
Ellison's eyes flitted back to him almost as if he could hear Jack's
thoughts. The cool evaluation in his eyes offended while simultaneously
comforting Jack. Those eyes were determined to protect Blair at any cost.
Jim Ellison didn't intend to put up with any bullshit from him either. While
it was a sentiment he thoroughly condoned Jack wasn't so pleased to have it
aimed at him. His own opaque gaze would be equal warning to the other
man.
"Jack O'Neill, Colonel, USAF." He offered neutrally, noting Blair's
watchful look bouncing back and forth between him and Ellison.
Jack continued his assessment. Ellison was a full head taller and had
some fifty pounds on Blair. He was approximately 12 years younger than
Jack, probably a little older than Daniel. He had the sharp, cut look of a man
who used his body as a weapon and cared for it accordingly. His senses were
stripped open like a man who routinely dealt with dangerous situations; the
way he still tracked Daniel's movement without looking, and the speed with
which he reached for his weapon were silent testament.
How often did he drag Blair along with him into Dangerous situations? The thought made Jack's stomach tighten. And what exactly was a Sentinel? It was obvious that both Daniel and Blair thought it gave Ellison some sort of advantage but he'd been more concerned about learning who Blair was than digging up Ellison's secrets. He thought he'd have to make time for Daniel to tell him
the whole story.
"Jim Ellison, Detective, Cascade PD." His response was level but he
didn't offer a handshake either.
Jack flicked a glance at Blair. "Cascade PD? Isn't that in Washington
State?"
"Yes, it is." Ellison replied wryly.
Already anticipating a lot of traveling? Time to throw his secret
weapon into the mix, he pointed to Daniel. "This is my teammate, Dr. Daniel
Jackson. We have the afternoon off." He offered as a distraction. It was
Friday, he didn't mention Saturday, or Sunday, because he'd told Blair in
passing that he and Daniel had pulled the odd long weekend. Ellison didn't
need to know anything just yet.
Daniel put on his best friendly persona, "Nice to meet you, Detective
Ellison. We heard a bit about you from Blair. How long can the two of you
stay in Colorado? Blair said he spent the afternoon tracking Jack down so
the two of you must have made a special trip. I know that we sometimes
have a hectic schedule but we got lucky, and got some time off. A nice
coincidence wouldn't you say?"
Ellison didn't appear to be put off or distracted by Daniel's patter, and
he rated a quick thorough study before Ellison's gaze returned to Jack. Of
course, he'd heard Blair talk so Ellison would be used to the quick patter,
and excited intellectual babbling.
"Nice. We'll be here for a few days." Ellison absently answered
Daniel but he'd refocused his attention on Blair. "Blair, we're running late.
We'd better get going if we're going to meet our contact on time."
God, his son was more like his lover than he was; Jack felt an odd
clutch of pride and grief. Daniel and he were more alike than they liked to
admit but they wore the cloaks of their professions; the soldier and the
scholar from habit and for comfort; no matter how well they understood
each other. No matter how often they'd had to assume some of each other's
roles, the scholar soldier and the learned warrior.
Ellison was changing his son the same way, and he desperately
disapproved. What a tangle of worms that was going to be, and what would
he have done if he'd had to face Daniel's Father, Melbourne Jackson, alive
and healthy, as ferociously disapproving as he felt, over the changes he'd
wrought in his friend and lover?
"Wait, what contact? Is this police business? Is it going to be
dangerous? Do you need back up? Where are you staying? What are you
doing working in a strange city?" Jack fired off the questions with his usual
command style, quickly and decisively, expecting to be answered.
Ellison ignored his questions alternating between watching him and
watching Blair. But Blair's eyes got wider and wider with each question he
fired off until he managed to drag himself to a halt.
"You sound just like me." Blair breathed in amazement. Then he
coughed and dipped his head trying to hide his blush.
Jack felt an answering heat but grinned as he concentrated on holding
it away and not much of it made it to his skin. Well, no one said O'Neills'
couldn't be loquacious when the mood suited them.
Ellison looked amused, but he answered some of Jack's questions,
"We're staying at the Hilton near 60th. Blair's doing some research; we're
meeting one of his contacts."
Jack noticed Jim didn't say if it was going to be dangerous, and he
was carrying his gun. It was probably just a precaution but still, Jack
immediately began to worry.
"What kind of research?"
"We'll come with you." He and Daniel spoke at the same time. Blair
looked a little overwhelmed though he was doing his best to hide it. But Jack
was studying that oh so different-but-familiar face as if his life depended on
it. And maybe it did, he'd never thought he'd get a second chance to be a
father. Never. He found it didn't matter a damn how it'd happened either.
Oh, he regretted the lost time, lost chances, and he was going to kick
Naomi's ass when he saw her, but he was grateful for this chance to be a
father again, this opportunity.
"Um, well, I'm studying the effects of having a large government
substructure and the knowledge the continuing universe has on a nearby
population." Blair sounded a little nervous.
As well he should, Jack wasn't entirely sure but it sounded as if he
was studying populations that lived next to observatories.
"You're studying populations that have access to telescope tracking
stations?" Daniel asked casually as if it were the most natural thing in the
world while Jack wondered a little wildly if Blair were going to end up at the
Mountain asking about their deep space telemetry.
"Sort of. I'm doing a cross-section of unusual stories per capita in
populations near or around observatories as opposed to the run of the mill
unusual stories. I have a theory that more direct access to the universe leads
to not only stranger legends, or urban myths, but to a more open-minded
attitude in general. Besides I needed a good excuse to come out here and I
figured I could get a paper out of it." Blair sounded a little sheepish, and lot
determined as if he were embarrassed to be caught making a working trip
out of trying to find his father but since he had he was going to satisfy his
intellectual curiosity or know the reason why.
"Well, that's alright. Hitting two birds with one stone is a good
practice if you can manage it. Will your contact be okay with you having a
couple more people along? Hey, we can bring the pizza." Jack's timing was
prefect. Just as he announced they'd take the missing pizza with them the
doorbell rang.
Blair looked at him kinda of funny but politely moved out of the way
as Jack went to answer the door fully intending to chew out the deliveryman.
It was the mid-week teenager looking so shamefaced and blushing
that Jack really didn't have the heart to tear a strip off of him, but he
couldn't let it go either. He raised an eyebrow, "Run into traffic?" Jack
asked him seriously.
The boy, Timothy, blushed harder, "Ah no, my uh regular shift is
midweek and uh, well they called me kinda last minute. I was um, with my
girlfriend. Things are kinda of stacked up. I apologize for being so late Mr.
O'Neill but they've been waiting to make the pizzas until the last minute
when they finally got someone in. It should be fresh n' hot." He finished
earnestly.
"Okay, that's not your fault. No reason you should take the blame if
the other guy turned up sick or didn't call in. They didn't make the pizza
until later?" Jack asked pulling open the lid, and finding a piping hot pizza
done just right, with melted cheese, sausage and mushrooms. The only
toppings he and Daniel could agree on when they didn't feel like splitting
the toppings down the middle and getting half and half on their pizza.
"No, sir." He replied.
He tipped the boy for his trouble and closed up the pizza and grabbed jackets for Daniel and himself. He wasn't going to lose Blair now. They hadn't had nearly enough time together.
Besides this way he would find out what his son was really like. There
was no quicker way to find out about someone than to get to know him
under working conditions. Jack found that could make or break many a
relationship, especially in the service where another man's working habits
could mean your life. This would give him an up-close and brutally clear
look at his son. He wasn't sure Blair was ready for that so soon but his need
to know was riding him. He wanted to be as close to his son as he could as
quickly as possible. He just hoped Blair would forgive him his haste, his
pushiness. But if he were reading Blair right it wouldn't be a problem. He
looked starved for paternal affection, well, Jack's affection.
Jim Ellison, on the other hand, was going to be another story. He
didn't look particularly welcoming as Jack packed Daniel and himself up
with the obvious intention of following along. In fact he looked rather
forbidding as Jack invited himself and Daniel along; his expression warning
Jack that he better not get in his way. He was encroaching on Ellison's
territory, and any injury or hurt received by Blair would be returned tenfold.
Jack kept his expression calm and peaceable as he returned Ellison's
threatening stare. His best let's make nice with the natives face. Blair
blinked and got on the ball. He organized everything telling Daniel where
they were going and getting directions. He and Daniel burbled about his
subject for a minute then he even swiped several pieces of pizza out of the
carton to take with him and Jim in Jim's pickup. Daniel pointed out Jack's
pick-up and arranged to show them the way, bundling out paper plates and
napkins to go. Jack locked up the house and they were off.