Chapter Text
Note: This is a continuation of the Anunnaki series. You really should read that one before you read this, or you'll be completely lost.
***
Katie rushed down the stairs, swinging her book bag onto her back. Her friend Lydia was right behind her, having spent the night after a serious session of math cramming. Jerrie was waiting in the van for them.
"Bye, Dad!" she yelled as she grabbed her coat. "Hi, Malek!" Lydia looked curiously at the strange, and cute, man in the strange clothing.
"Thank you, general!" Lydia called out.
Malek gave a polite bow as he watched them, curious at the morning routine. The door slammed shut and he turned back to Jack. And took a step back from the pukku that was resting on Jack's shoulder.
"She's a child," Jack informed him. "Hands, and eyes, to yourself."
Malek raised an eyebrow and inclined his head. He cleared his throat.
"The council's main concern is that the voice of the Tok'ra will be lost in the vastness of this endeavor," Malek continued. The SGC had called Jack earlier in the morning to let him know that the Tok'ra wanted a word with him. Jack put a pot of coffee on and had Malek brought over by SF.
"One group, one voice," Jack said, tossing the pukku negligently onto the couch. He lifted Olivia from her playpen and kissed her noisily. She laughed and blew bubbles at him. "I don't understand the problem." He put her into the highchair and gave her a bottle.
"The problem is our numbers," Malek said. "We are fewer than ever and we need hosts."
"Yes, I know that," Jack said. He dished up scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and juice, and set them on the table. Malek looked curiously at it and took cautious bites of each item. He decided they were good and ate. "Malek, we've sent five hosts to you. I can't help it if Tau'ri have an objection to sharing their body with a snake. You're trying to fight a cultural issue; snakes have been bad things since forever. Why don't you join forces with the Masharu?"
"Thanatos has offered; some of us are considering it," he admitted. "Most don't wish to leave this galaxy."
Jack shook his head. "You people are so stubborn," he commented. "You'll cut off your nose despite your face. Look, the System Lords are gone. Those with power, anyway, and even the Anunnaki have offered to let you share their world. You can live above ground, stop playing trolls." Malek was still puzzling over the nose and face comment. "The Tok'ra have a place on the inner council, what more do they want?"
Malek sipped at the juice and made a face. "Too acidic, I'm sorry." He put it down and Jack got him a glass of water. "You need to understand, Jack, the Tok'ra have known nothing except fighting and hiding for thousands of years. We don't know how to colonize."
"Ok, fine," Jack waved a hand. "How about being on the main scout ships? We'll need forces to help put down problems on planets. Just because the System Lords are gone, doesn't mean all the bad guys are gone. There are others. The Aschen are still out there, and they will find a way out of their little corner of the galaxy sooner or later. Let those who want to relax go live on Kalam, fighters can be part of the Prometheus crew. The Europa is getting ready for her first tour, she needs scientists. There are lots of things the Tok'ra can be doing."
Malek nodded thoughtfully. "I can take that back to the high council," he acknowledged. He thanked Jack for the meal and headed back to the SGC. Jack had been receiving many callers lately, all of them having issues over the unification. They each wanted a say in what was happening, if they were going to be involved. Jack gave everyone translated copies of the treaty, making sure they understood that it was still in a planning stage, and if they wanted something changed, make the changes and send it back for review.
Jack disappeared.
"Thor, don't leave the baby alone," Jack said. "Put me back and come down yourself."
They both beamed back to Jack's living room. Thor looked around curiously. Olivia looked at him, not quite sure what to make of him.
"The Asgard are pleased with your progress," he informed Jack.
"Great," Jack said dryly. "Do the Asgard want to comment on the new plans, too? You guys joining the fun?"
"No, we must remain neutral," Thor said. "There are a few worlds that can now be lifted from protection, since the System Lords are no longer a threat. All the Goa'uld who agreed to the treaty are dead. The treaty is null and void."
"Does that mean you can give us more toys?" Jack asked hopefully.
"No," Thor looked at him. "I believe Erra delivered a package to Col. Carter. We are not sure that the timing is right, but it's already done. If she is able to understand the workings of it, you will have no need for our toys. I have no doubt in Col. Carter's abilities." Thor walked around, looking at the family pictures that decorated table tops and walls. Most were Jack and Sam's families, a few were of Daniel's parents and him as a child. The children decorated the wall next to the staircase with current pictures, including drawings by Stacy and Davy done directly on the wall with washable markers. Jack needed to wash the wall down.
"You have gained access to your memories," Thor commented.
"Sort of," Jack said. "I don't actually remember anything, but new things keep popping up and I seem to just do them. The kids are being weird, too, buddy, and not just ours. I had a talk with their teachers and other parents. Kids everywhere are starting to be weird. Daniel's learned another language; I think he's up to 27. He says sounds whisper to him; it's sensuous, he says. There doesn't seem to be anything Sam can't figure out, Major Davis has a gift for arbitration, the list of people with ancient genes is growing by leaps and bounds, and if it gets out that I'm healing people just by touching them, someone is going to kidnap me and lock me up to study me."
"You are tagged, we will find you and rescue you," Thor assured him.
"Thanks but that isn't the point," Jack said. "Humans were scared enough at the thought of aliens, once they realize something is happening to everyone, especially the kids, they are going to freak out. I'm kinda hoping that all the excitement over this unification will take their attention from the changes long enough to just allow them to happen."
Thor took a moment to consider Jack's statement and then nodded. Jack sat, leaning forward with his hands clasped thoughtfully between his knees.
"Is it just our planet that these things are happening?" he asked. "Is it happening to humans everywhere?"
"A few others," Thor acknowledged. "Mostly just here. Humans elsewhere have been held back in their development."
Jack nodded. "What's happening with Langara?" he asked. "Niirti said something about the Langaran brain when she tried to mess with Jonas."
Thor hopped up onto a chair.
"Because of the concentration of naquadah and naquadria, the Langarans have been affected," Thor admitted. "They will be leaping, also."
"So it's a good thing to keep them close to us during all this," Jack commented.
"Yes. But their cultural development is not up to where it needs to be for their abilities," Thor warned. "You cannot help them in their development, they need to make the same decisions you are making; make a conscious change, or implode."
Jack nodded. "Double indemnity," he said. "They helped in the war and they've already asked to be part of the unification. That alone will alter their culture."
Thor looked thoughtful as his fingers tapped against the arm of the chair.
"Then there is nothing we can do, it is done," he finally said. "I can only hope that they have learned from their past mistakes and be judicious with their new toys."
"Jonas will be on the unification council to represent Langara," Jack said. "We can do our best to guide them from there."
Jerrie came back from the school run and stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of the little gray alien sitting in the living room. Jack introduced them.
"Uh, hi," she stumbled, a little white around the gills.
"Greetings." He jumped down. "I will leave you now," he said to Jack. "What is the Earth expression? Don't be a visitor?" He beamed out and Jack chuckled.
"Stranger," Jack said to the air. "Don't be a stranger."
He got up and took Olivia from her chair. He stuck his nose close to her diapered butt and decided she needed a change.
"Ok, I think that put a LOT of things into perspective," Jerrie said.
Davis stopped in soon after and Jack left for the office.
Jack didn't exactly put his dress blues on but he did make sure he was well-groomed and had his shirt tucked in. He and Paul spent the day walking around HomeSec and then the SGC, talking with a reporter and making an episode for a weekly TV news segment. Jack talked about the Goa'uld history with Earth, the recent battle, and the unification he was asked to help put together.
"Earth is putting a galactic union together?" Alejandro Ramirez stopped and asked in amazement.
Jack shook his head. "No," he said emphatically. "The other worlds asked for me personally to assist, not Earth. One of the treaty stipulations is that the world asking to join the union must demonstrate that the countries are united and that citizen rights are a priority. There are minor prerequisites about weapons, drugs, and terrorist activities. At the moment, Earth would be denied membership."
The reporter was speechless for a moment. "How do other worlds handle their issues?" he asked.
Jack shrugged. "Of all the worlds and cultures I have seen, only a few have been divided. Governments take a strong stand against all weapons except the hand to hand, personal safety weapons. Knives and small pistols, or their equivalent, are fine, larger, weapons, those made for mass destruction, are mostly outlawed except for extreme cases of country-wide protection. The governments appropriate funds more reasonably; the needs of the citizens comes first, not the pockets of the leaders. Most worlds take care of their environment by using anything other than fossil fuels. The major divisions are caused by religion dipping its fingers into political affairs. I have seen very few worlds that were theocracies, and even they put the citizens first."
"Are you saying religion is a bad thing?" Ramirez asked. Jack shook his head.
"No, I'm saying that without the absolute division of church and state, things go to hell in a hand basket really fast. Look around us, Alex; how many little tribal skirmishes going on in this world are caused by something other than religion? People need to get over themselves and refocus, or they're going to commit genocide. Get religion out of government and stop with the fear of God crap. Scaring the citizens isn't a positive thing."
As Ramirez struggled with the concept, they continued to walk. The reporter asked about the energy output of the Yards and the fuel use of the ships.
"No fuel," Jack said. "We use alien generators and crystal technology. Completely waste-free and completely safe."
"Will Earth be getting these generators for public use?" he was asked.
"Not yet," Jack said. "The problem is the mineral used to make them. Naquadah. Earth doesn't have the mineral and it's pretty rare on most planets. We already have alternate forms of energy available; stop putting the money into the oil companies, and start backing alternatives. My family uses electric. With all the water on this planet, I'd really like to see the hydro take off. There should be a way to use hydro-electric and clean the water at the same time."
They stopped at the main infirmary for the long-term care patients, and Jack ignored the reporter and camera to talk with the men and women laying in beds or sitting in wheelchairs. They brightened at Jack's entrance and took his hand, if they could. If not, Jack made sure to touch them. A shoulder, a leg, anywhere. They had sacrificed greatly, and they needed to know they were not alone.
Jack's next interview was two days later in DC with another news show, this one live. He knew his words about religion and fuels were going to add to the fire, and he was ready for it when a Senator and a religious leader were brought on to counter him. Thanks to Daniel and Paul, he was able to fight them with their own words. He threatened to go out and find a Goa'uld named Jehovah, and the religious leader walked off the set.
The next interview was a week away and was conducted at their home. Jack was actually a little scared of that one; the woman had a reputation for turning even the hardest of men into little boys blubbering for their mommies. Jack, Sam, and Daniel were all interviewed. Sam told her about Jacob and his role in everything, and Daniel stood in front of the Stargate and told her about its birth. Walter turned the gate on and the woman and her camera crew almost fainted. She wanted to know about the children and how they deal with it all, so Jack let her ask them. It irritated them, sometimes, that the parents were always occupied with alien stuff, but someone was always home and they got lots of attention. Especially after report cards came out.
Two weeks later, came the last interview Jack agreed to do only because Teal'c begged him with large, silent, dark eyes. It was on TV, in front of a live audience. Teal'c came out onto the stage with the others, and handed Oprah a large bouquet of flowers along with a deep bow. Jack had to explain that she and Dr. Phil were Teal'c most favorite Earth people. Aliens and the Jack/Sam/Daniel relationship were the main topics. Oprah looked at their rings as Daniel discoursed on spirituality, love, and the concept of togetherness. She asked Teal'c about the alien thought on marriage and partners.
"Humans are stubborn," he rumbled disapprovingly. "They have a short life which they waste arguing about someone else's life. I do not understand." He also didn't understand the applause he received but after a look from Jack, he graciously accepted it.
Parts of their hand-fasting ceremony were played, much to the delight of the audience. Jack covered his face at the recording of him singing to Daniel.
"You're dead," Jack told him after all the laughter and applause.
"What? I like it when you sing to me," Daniel said innocently.
There were many ooohs and aaahs at the kissing and ring presentations, gasps at the sight of obvious aliens, and more gasps at the sight of double moons in the sky.
"Now, your kids were there," Oprah commented. "Do they visit alien worlds often?"
"They've been out a few times," Jack nodded. "And that was before the baby was born; her mother was my niece. Megan and my father died in a car accident on her way to her final check-up before delivery. I adopted my great-nieces and nephews."
A hand went to her throat. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she said. "Was this long ago?"
"During the summer," Jack said. "Olivia is almost 6 months, now. I'm Dad, Sam is Mom, and Daniel is Uncle Danny, except Olivia's been identifying him as da da, also, which is fine with me. Daniel's daughter, Stacy, calls me Dad, too. Actually, she uses the word Adda. One of Daniel's languages is Sumerian, and it means Daddy. Sam is Mom to Stacy, too."
"Soooo, they basically see all of you as their parents," she said, glancing out at the front of the audience.
"Yes," Jack nodded. "I know I'm in trouble when someone calls me Uncle Jack instead of Dad."
Everyone laughed.
"Now, don't you have another son?" she asked, frowning in thought. "Our research said you have an older teenager."
"My oldest was Charlie," Jack said. "He died in an accident about 12 years ago. Jonathan is new to me; he was a surprise that showed up on my doorstep a few years ago."
More condolences were expressed. "And Jonathan didn't come with you today?" she asked. "Just the younger kids?"
"He's actually on another planet," Jack said. "He's 18, out of school, and his boyfriend is bigger than me, so I wasn't going to argue. Hey, playback the ceremony?" he asked, looking around in the shadows of the production crew. "The long-haired irritation playing guitar." The image was quickly found and played for the audience. "Yeah, that's him," he told Oprah. "And that doe-eyed barbarian in leather is Shara, his boyfriend. Shara is actually one of the Anunnaki warriors; allies of ours."
The audience laughed as they watched Jonathan scamper around with his guitar, Shara always watching him. Jack looked at Daniel and Sam; they had completely missed the looks of affection coming from the warrior.
"He's a cutie, Jack," Oprah said.
Before anyone could say anything, someone in the audience stood up and came down the isle.
"Cut!" the director yelled. "Hey, buddy, you can't...." there were screams as the man pulled a gun from the back of his jacket. Jack jumped, shoved Oprah down behind the couch, and stood at the front of the stage.
"Nooo, nooo....." he could hear the man whispering in terror to himself. Jack looked into the man's face; it was contorted as he struggled with himself. Jack made a slight hand signal and the man was abruptly on the floor. The audience continued to scream and scramble away.
"Quiet!" Jack yelled. No one was paying attention. He put two fingers into his mouth and whistled. "Pipe down and sit down!" he ordered. Shocked, the audience slowly returned to their seats. He jumped off the stage and went to the downed man to check his pulse. He took the gun and looked at it. "Lieutenant," he called over an SF who had been in the wings and gave the man orders. The SF holstered the zat and several other SF came out to help haul the man off. Teal'c went with them.
"Oh, dear Lord, what was that?" Oprah asked, her eyes wide, body trembling. Daniel handed her back into her seat and poured a glass of water for her while Sam went to the children; she took the screaming baby and walked off, holding Olivia close and murmuring to her.
"Is he dead?" Oprah asked in shock.
"No, he isn't," Jack assured her. He turned to the audience. "He isn't dead. My men only stunned him. From the look on his face, he was probably brain-washed into doing this. We'll get him fixed and he will be sent back home."
"He tried to kill you!" she protested.
"Well, you can press charges if you want, but I won't," Jack told her. He gave her shoulder a pat and sat back down. "Alright, calm down, it's ok," he once more assured the audience. "We've seen it before; someone gets captured at some point and gets brainwashed. They don't even remember it happening. When the trigger is pulled, the person is aware of their actions, but they have no control over their actions. They are being forced into doing whatever it is they are doing. I saw his face; he didn't want to be doing that, he was terrified. We will do our best to repair the damage to his brain, and he will be returned home. The bad guy in this is the person who did the brainwashing; this man was only a victim."
Sam returned. Olivia was down to sniffles and a little whimpering.
"She's ok, just scared," Sam said. She sat and held the baby close. "Katie, bring me a bottle?" she asked. Katie dug one out of the bag and brought it up onto the stage. "Thank you."
"Are the rest of you kids alright?" Oprah asked.
"Yes, ma'am," Katie nodded. She returned to her seat with her brothers and sister.
"Look, can I suggest a break?" Jack asked. "Get things calmed down, order reestablished, and we can continue."
Oprah thought that was a great idea and called for a break. The police were soon on the scene and Jack pulled them aside. The police soon left.
"How long do you think he's been in waiting?" Daniel asked quietly.
"Hard to say," Jack said. "It would take months to check the rest of the audience for zatargs, so we'll just have to wing it. Should have thought of scanners, though; that gun was a Glock."
"Ceramic," Sam commented. "Got through the metal detectors." Jack nodded.
"It did look like you were the target," Daniel said. "He was looking directly at you."
"Wonder what the trigger was?" Jack asked thoughtfully. "Sam, do you have a scanner on you? Give it to an SF and have him scan the rest of the audience. Won't spot a zatarg, but it'll pick up weapons. If anyone protests, it's Homeworld Security. If they still protest, they're welcome to leave."
Jack had a talk with the director. If any cameras were rolling, the footage needed to be cut and sent to his office. If any footage escaped, Jack would take it personally and the director would never work again. Oprah ordered it done and the director reluctantly agreed. Jack tried his own brand of scanning but came up with only frightened people; if any more zatargs were in the audience, they were not yet triggered and the information was buried deep enough that Jack couldn't read it.
Most of the audience returned and the show went on. Jack had given their hostess a few topics to pursue, so the subject was medicine was taken up which Sam readily jumped into. She talked about the recent distribution of protocols to health officials and then mentioned some of the more interesting medicines that they had been privately working on, such as diabetic and heart related medicines. The audience perked up.
Jack mentioned that Sam was the mother of the ships, and attention was permanently turned away from him.
When the taping was finally complete, Jack assured their hostess that she did a great job at keeping it together.
"Do you deal with this all the time?" she asked, fanning herself with a magazine.
"Actually, this was a fairly good day," he said.
The main topic of discussion was General Jack's attitude toward everything from weapons to religion to child rearing to sexuality. A private phone call with Hayes told him that there was a quiet buzz happening in DC over the public's attitude; the country seemed to be fairly divided as to whether or not Jack needed to be strung up or crowned king. The oil industry was on a warpath as, overnight, people began demanding that research into alternative fuels be made completely public. They didn't believe the industry had been honest with them about the value of alternative fuels.
"Duh," Jack informed Hayes.
"Jack," Hayes hesitated. "I've been rereading the SG-1 reports, listening to your speeches and interviews. You're really sincere, aren't you? Although we are technologically more advanced than a lot of other worlds, we're behind socially, aren't we? In my position, there really isn't much I can do to make changes happen globally, and because of how our government is set up, I can't take a leak without getting someone's permission. Listen, Jack.... If I don't run for the next term, is there something I can do from your end? I loved being out on the Prometheus and meeting representatives from other worlds. My God, Jack, listening to them talk about galactic issues was incredible. I felt like a child learning something from my grandpa's knee. Earth could be learning so much from other worlds. I'd really like to be in on all that but I don't know where or what I could do to help."
Jack looked at the phone. "That's an interesting offer, Henry," he said. "I honestly don't know what you could do, they're pretty much putting this together out there; they only come here when they need an issue straightened out. Let me think about it, see if there's a specific format all this is headed toward, and I'll let you know."
Jack knew Hayes himself was sincere when, two days later, the papers and news channels were exploding with the news that President Hayes had fired all his religious advisors and replaced them with a couple of comparative religions professors, both of whom practiced no specific denomination themselves.
"The government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion," Hayes was quoted. "As per the 1797 Treaty of Tripoli, a ratified treaty, this administration will stand in support of the separation of church and state. Jesus himself said not to pray in public, as the hypocrites do. We are the first country in the world to establish a secular government, and that is our strength and that was the official intent our founding fathers had for this country."
Daniel chuckled to himself as he turned the TV stations.
Jack continued to deal with visiting aliens. This time it was Thanatos that was requesting permission to ring in to HomeSec.
"Sure!" Jack said, tossing a hand in the air. He went down to the ring room to meet him. His technicians were staring when Jack got there. Thanatos had a horse with him. A horse with a human, sorta, upper half. Jack took Thanatos' forearm in a friendly clasp.
"Jack, may I introduce Frayn, the Ras representative to the Milky Way galaxy?"
Jack put his hands behind his back and gave a formal bow. The Ras echoed the movement, a pleased shiver to his withers.
"Welcome to Earth," Jack said. "I trust your journey was uneventful?"
"The journey was peaceful," Frayn said with an incline of his head. "I am told you took the time to care for my people during the recent unpleasantness. My government wishes to give thanks. We are strangers to you and yet you made no distinction."
Jack ushered them out of the ring room. "Hey, listen, your people didn't have to help us, this was our problem not yours, so it's us who should be expressing gratitude."
People jumped out of the way of the centaur walking the halls and talking pleasantries with their general. Paul came out and greeted Thanatos and was introduced to Frayn. He ordered up refreshments to the main meeting room.
"Our people monitor our galaxy just as you do here," Frayn said. "Or should I say, as your people are preparing to. Although we do not interfere with other galaxies, we are aware of our neighbors and we have outposts along the galactic borders. Our galaxy borders yours here." He traced the side of a spiral galaxy that sat near the Milky Way on the galactic map that was hanging on the wall. "I can tell you that these two galaxies hold several presences that are not friendly, this old galaxy is fairly empty, and the far galaxy, although old, still contains a few friendly races." Frayne touched each galaxy on the map as he spoke.
"I do not wish to presume, but only suggest; if you are to patrol your galaxy, border outposts are wise."
Jack nodded thoughtfully and glanced at Paul who was taking notes. "I appreciate the information and advice," Jack said. "I don't believe we have been to the borders, yet. Major?"
"No, sir, we haven't," Paul told him. "We've been concentrating on gate worlds."
Jack tapped the map. "This galaxy is what we call the Pegasus galaxy," he said. "We do have an outpost there and we are aware of the threat from that galaxy. Our people accidentally woke up the hives so we have begun working to fix that problem."
"Indeed," Frayn gave an interested incline of his head. "May I inquire as to how they fair?"
"They are fairing well," Jack said. "It's been a little hard, but we are learning to use ancient technology and the creatures we call wraith are being fought off with a degree of success."
"Thanatos mentioned that Tau'ri are gaining knowledge of the ancient devices. Impressive," Frayn commented. "We have discovered a few items in our galaxy but have had no success with any of them."
Jack lifted an eyebrow. "Really. Feel like sharing?"
The Ras wanted coffee beans for planting. Jack rounded up a ton of plantable beans and someone to give instruction on the care of coffee bean plants and the multitude of uses humans have for the beans. Jack sent the new toys to Sam.
When he got home, Jack cornered Daniel and they fell onto the couch, lips locked. Stacy and Davy giggled from the kitchen table where Jerrie was helping with homework.
"I have students downstairs," Daniel got out. Jack took advantage and slid his tongue in. Daniel dropped his notepad and slid his arms around Jack's back. "There are children in the room," Daniel managed around the active mouth.
"Alright, alright," Jack grumped. He took a nibble from Daniel's neck and then got up. "The children will be going to bed early tonight, right?" he asked the room.
"No," the children informed him with more giggles.
"What kind of bribe do I need to make?" he asked.
The kids looked at each other. "Hot fudge sundaes?"
Jack scowled. "A little steep, but I might be able to manage it."
The report from the man in the studio was in Jack's email. John Glandon was in counseling and rehabilitation. A simple janitor, he had been completely unaware of what had happened to him. He didn't know where the urge to be at the studio came from, he only knew he had to be there. There was no way to tell who had set the implant. The technicians were sure they had wiped Mr. Glandon's mind clean of all commands, including the self-destruct command. The man had been horrified at what he had tried to do. HomeSec councilors took time with him and made sure he was aware that it wasn't his fault and that General O'Neill would not be holding him responsible. They'd keep him for a week or so, making sure he was well on his way to normal before sending him home. Jack signed off on the report and forwarded it to the Oprah legal offices out of courtesy.
"Jack." He looked up. Daniel was standing in the doorway to his office, quiet and sober. He looked behind and pulled someone forward. He shut the door and left them.
"Michael. Are you alright?" Jack asked, standing up and moving to his brother. Michael's hair had grown out an inch, clothes weren't as neat and tidy as they usually were, and he was in civilian clothing instead of clerical.
"Jack, I...." He collapsed to the couch and buried his face in his hands, sobbing. Jack went to him and took him into his arms. Michael put his face into Jack's chest.
"Aw, Mikey."
It was a while before Michael stopped howling into Jack's chest. Jack knew Michael would show up sooner or later; Michael had always been the one to run away in major denial until he figured out that life wasn't going to take pity on him.
When Michael was reduced to sniffling, he pushed away and wiped quickly at his face. Jack got up and found a tissue box.
"I'm not as strong as you, Jack," Michael said, tossing a tissue away. "I never have been. I can't do this."
"You can," Jack told him. "Stop fighting it. You're trying to make the universe conform to your needs. Stop fighting it and swim with the tide. I've learned that surrender is not always a bad thing. Listen, why don't you go wash your face and get ready for dinner? Spend time with the kids, they miss you. Does Mom know you're here?"
Michael shook his head.
"Alright, I'll call her and have her over for dinner, too."
The kids were excited to see their grandfather and clamored over him with stories and wanting to know where he was. He needed quiet time, he told them, so he had been at the family cabin. He held Olivia and almost started crying again as he saw Megan on her face. It startled him to hear the children referring to Jack as Dad.
"They asked," Jack told him quietly. Michael nodded.
"I saw Andrew a couple times. He was pleasant and didn't once ask about them," Michael told him.
"My lawyer has to fight every month to get child support out of him," Jack said. "We don't really need it, but it's the principle of the thing. I split it up between the kids when it comes in. Make sure they take responsibility for a bank account. Davy doesn't understand the concept of money; Katie and Matty are doing well. Not sure of Livie's take on it, yet, but she's doing well, barely spends a cent."
Michael reluctantly smiled. Maggie came out from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel.
"Michael, will you be staying with me tonight?" she asked.
"Sure, Mom, thanks," he said.
It was late when Jack got to bed. As he stripped and pulled out fresh pajamas, Daniel watched him from the bed.
"Have you been working out?" he asked.
"No, why?"
Daniel got up and held Jack's hand from putting the shirt on. He poked at Jack's chest and arms.
"Your skin seems to have a new-found elasticity," he said. "I haven't seen your muscles stand out like that in a long time. Look, your skin even seems smoother."
Jack looked down at himself. He had been resigned to the middle-aged droops and hadn't really looked at himself in a while. Daniel touched his face, studying his jaw and eyes.
"Ok, this is weird," he concluded. "You suddenly have 20/20 vision, your knees don't bother you, you carried Katie to bed last week and your back didn't go out, and now your skin is flexible again. I think I'd like you to go for a physical. At the SGC."
"She's only 105," Jack said. "She's a little thing."
"Jack, she's 120," Daniel told him. "I went with her to her physical a couple months ago. She's filling out those gangly limbs. And she's five foot six, not exactly a little thing."
"Danny, I had a physical when I got back," Jack told him, continuing to dress. "I'm fine."
"Did you actually sit and talk with the doctors, or did you take it for granted that you were fine because no one said otherwise?" Daniel asked.
"Are you complaining?" Jack asked.
"No, I'm not," Daniel shook his head. "I'm a little concerned. Jack, the Ancients lived a couple hundred years. Enki did insinuate that you'd be living longer than you're expecting."
Jack paused. "I don't want to live a couple hundred years, what would I do?" he said. "I'm fine, come to bed."
Actually, Dr. Warner had called him a couple times requesting his presence but Jack didn't want to hear it, whatever it was. Maybe he should. Katie weighted 120? Granted she was a little taller, but she was so slender.
In the morning, Jack looked at her as she hurried to gather her school stuff. She seemed to have a few more feminine curves than he remembered. Dr. Lam did say some girls sprouted later than others.
"What's wrong?" she asked, seeing his stare. "Did I spill?"
"No," he shook his head. "I was just thinking that I'm not sure I'm happy about you growing up. When did you become such a beautiful young lady?"
She flushed and kissed his cheek before hurrying out the door.
"You do remember that her birthday is coming up," Jerrie said as she cleared the table.
"What?" Jack jerked his head around. "It can't be March already."
"March 23 is in two weeks," she told him.
Jack groaned. "Have I missed anything else?"
"Well, let's see -Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, David's birthday....no, I think that's it; Katie is next, then Daniel, Sam, and Matthew," he was told. "You and Stacy are in the fall, right?"
He nodded. "We went to dinner together, I didn't miss that one. Any idea what I should get her?"
It took Jerrie a moment..... "She said something about a concert but the ticket prices were ridiculous. I don't remember the band, but I can find out."
Jack felt really bad about not being home for the holidays and David's first birthday with them, but he had planned ahead and had presents stashed on the chance he wasn't going to be home. Daniel and Sam had recorded all the events and had sent them to him while he was on the Prometheus. When they got home, Jack had them all burned onto disks, along with all the family messages and then made sure to take Davy out for a special day all their own.
He made a few phone calls and stopped by his mother's on his way to work. He handed Michael a list of names and numbers.
"The SGC and HomeSec has a group that meets a couple times a month," he told Michael. "It's made up of various religions and they all sit around and talk about redefining their religions. These people still have their faith, Michael. Rabbi Aviram Melnik is the coordinator, he's a nice guy. He says to come on by and you two can talk. I highly recommend you do this."
When Jack got to his office, he discovered General Hammond talking with Mrs. Clark.
"George!" Jack took his hand.
"Jack," Hammond greeted him. "Interesting interviews, Jack. The Oprah thing was fun; Teal'c must have been in heaven. Did something happen? There seemed to be a lot of tension at one point and Teal'c disappeared."
Jack ushered Hammond into his office.
"A zatarg showed up," Jack said. He poured coffee for them and sat, telling Hammond about the taping. Hammond shook his head.
"And there's no way to find the author of that plot," he concluded. Jack agreed. They talked for a while, catching up on kid activities. Tressa was joining the Air Force. Jack sat back, floored.
"She's a baby, George," he protested.
Hammond nodded ruefully. "She's a 19 year old baby; can you believe that, Jack? She'll be at the Academy the same time I'll be commandant."
Jack smiled. "You took the position."
"Yes, I did," he sighed. "I can't believe I'm doing this. Did you have a hand in it?"
"Nope," Jack shook his head. "By the time I got around to mentioning it, I was told you were already under consideration. I think it's a wise decision, though. And Cassie is engaged, did she tell you?"
"No, when? Who?" Hammond asked, as floored as Jack.
"Major Harper."
Hammond picked his chin up from the floor. "What? He's what, 35? What does Sam have to say about it?"
"She says their age difference is the same as hers and mine," Jack informed him. "I couldn't argue that one. Nate approves, so.... Jonathan."
"He does? What's been going on out here, Jack, invasion of the pod people?"
Hammond left a while later and Jack heard giggling outside his door. He got up and poked his head out. Hammond was sitting on the edge of Mrs. Clark's desk and she was giggling like a girl.
"Is there something I should know about?" Jack asked, lifting an eyebrow.
"I think I can make a date without your help, Jack, thank you," Hammond told him.
Jack shook his head and went back into his office. He thought for a moment and then walked out the other door and down the hall.
"Is there something going on between my admin and George?" he asked Cassandra.
"They've been making goo-goo eyes at each other since soon after he started temping for you," she told him.
"I thought Mrs. Clark was married," he said. Cass reached out a hand and absently drew a coffee mug to her from across the room. Jack looked. The door was closed.
"She's widowed, he's widowed," Cass told him. "I think they're cute together."
"Wow." Jack shook his head and went back to his office.
Sam called and insisted that Jack come out to Nevada. She was excited about something, so he left Paul in charge and went out. She was practically dancing off the ground when he walked out of his al kesh, and completely forgot protocol as she grabbed his arm and pulled him forward. She led him to her underground work room which was the size of a football field. There was a stone arch standing in the middle, with wires attached to it.
"Isn't that the thing from the moon...thingy...," Jack asked, looking at it.
"Yeah," Sam said breathlessly. "Erra gave it to me. Jack, I figured it out."
"Of course, you did. Figured what out?"
"How it works!" she said excitedly. "Watch!" she fiddled with her computer and then stepped through the arch. And disappeared.
"Hey!" Jack protested.
"Over here!" He turned and saw her standing across the room beneath another arch. She ran back to him.
"I think I can build more," she told him. "It's on the same lines as a DHD and gate. Dial in coordinates and step through. It isn't quite a wormhole, more like a TV station sending signals through to a local receiver. If I can program it to accept longitude and latitude, and build more, they can be placed anywhere on the planet and people will have instant distance travel!"
"Please tell me you used a MALP before stepping into it yourself," Jack begged.
"Of course, I did," she assured him. "And I've taken the second arch all over the base and it works each time. They are programmed to each other, but I know they can be reprogrammed. I want to take the second arch to the SGC and see if there's still a good connection."
"Well, it did send me from a planet to a moon," Jack reminded her.
"Oh, yeah, right," she nodded.
She dragged him to another area of the work room and jumped up onto a small platform. She pressed a button on the computer and the platform suddenly rose off the floor. Jack took a step back. Sam jumped on it. Not even a wiggle.
"It's the same technology that keeps the Goa'uld ships in hover mode," she said. She pressed buttons and the platform went higher into the air. She took it for a test drive across the room. Several technicians ducked their heads and ignored her. "I haven't been able to find a height limit," she said, bringing it back down. "Just think; we can get rid of those clunky satellites and install a few of these around the planet. We can make a base on the moon, install an arch to get there, and set up a monitoring post for the solar system. With one of the platforms, we can set up the mikku. I've had a few technicians with the gene playing with the chair, and they've got the mikku down pat! Come on!"
She pulled him again. "Burkett!"
"Ma'am?" A sergeant stepped out from behind a panel. He was startled to see Jack and immediately saluted.
"Let's show off, sergeant," Sam told him.
"Yes, ma'am."
Burkett slid into the chair and quickly fiddled with the controls. A few yards away, a ball rose into the air. Sam opened a hatch in the roof and the ball went whizzing through it and disappeared. Another touch on the chair and there was a star field hovering in mid-air before them.
"Now, as the mikku turns, the star field will change to show what it's seeing," Sam said. Jack watched and the field changed. Jupiter came into view. "That asteroid," she told Burkett. A moment later, a beam shot out of the mikku and obliterated the small asteroid.
"Platform," she said excitedly. "Chair on platform, platform orbiting planet, solar system guarded!"
Jack looked around and noticed that several ancient devices were being played with by technicians with the Gene. He just noticed that a pile of heavy equipment being moved across the room was on a platform suspended in mid-air. There didn't seem to be any problem with the weight of the equipment, and it all remained steady.
"Officially impressed, here," he said, looking around in amazement. "I... wow. Pizza and beers are on me."
Sam kept a small apartment near by, so Jack spent the night with her instead of heading straight home. It was quiet and it took Jack a while to realize that nothing was wrong, there simply weren't any children running around. Their presence was still in the room, though, in the form of photos and drawings.
"Are you behind the latest from Hayes?" Sam asked as she unpacked their take-out. Jack got out the dishes.
"Not completely," he said, and told her about the unexpected phone conversation with the president. "I don't know where he pulled that Tripoli thing from, I hadn't heard of it before. It was a good one, though." He went up behind her and put his arms around her, nuzzling the back of her neck.
"I am so proud of you," he said. "I cannot believe what you've accomplished out here. It's incredible." He turned her around and held her. "Baby, the applications for all your toys are too numerous to count and that's just in the public sector. You have more than paid for the existence of this project. When you figure out how to build a generator from scratch, the oil industry will collapse, electricity will be a thing of the past..."
She looked up at him, slightly guilty.
"I'm pretty close to it," she admitted. He pulled back to look at her.
"Are you serious?"
She took a few steps away and rubbed her arms. "Jack..... When I look at this stuff, I can almost see the building instructions and the mathematical equations. My crew doesn't understand it, they just follow my directions. I don't have the gene, so I can't work the ancient stuff myself, but I understand it and I can work the stuff I've been able to duplicate. I'm actually a little scared."
"Why didn't you say something?" he asked, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Honey, there's a hell of a lot of changes happening, did you think it was just me and the kids?"
"No," she shook her head and then leaned into his chest. "Mark and Susan called me. Mary and Raymond are both doing odd things. I told them to just let the kids develop as they will and not to try and force them into anything."
"What are they doing?" Jack asked.
"Ray is suddenly playing piano and hearing music in his head, and Mary is drawing buildings complete with architectural notations. God, Jack, children are starting to do things at the genius level."
"And that's going to be average, by the time nature is done with us," he responded.
"Want to know what's scaring me?" he asked. She looked up and nodded. He took her to the couch and sat down. She curled up in his lap and snuggled into his arm.
"All this.... Wait." He lifted her up and stood, quickly removing his clothes until he was naked. He then stripped her and sat down, pulling her back onto his lap.
"Much better," he said. He pulled a nearby blanket over and enfolded them in it. "I don't know how far this healing thing will go," he said. "Cuts and scrapes are one thing, but what if I can heal something life-threatening? What if I can heal cancer? Sam, I can't let it out that I'm doing this. Sure, there are rumors among the soldiers about what I'm doing, but I don't want to walk down the street and suddenly be buried beneath a pile of people all crying out to be healed. It terrifies me. And if I can heal something serious, should I? At what point do I step back and let nature take its course? When should I step in? Should I step in at all? Just because we can do something, does that mean we should do it? I understand your fear at being able to read the devices, I really do."
"Daniel hears little whispers behind languages he hasn't learned yet, and the whispers are telling him the rules of the language," she said. "When he hears someone speak it, he also hears the intent. He says it's the whispers and the intent that's teaching him the language. Cassie hears the same thing. She's up to five languages. And I think she has a little of the empathy thing, too, because she handled a lot of the minor delegation issues when you were gone. Ambassadors have begun asking for her."
Jack nodded. "I've noticed that," he said. "She also seems to be settling into some kind of contentment mode, and I don't think it has anything to do with Harper."
She snuggled in deeper and absently stroked his hard chest, letting the hair slide through her fingers. "I'm still scared," she said. "Evolution says that there will be people who will be left out. They'll put up a fight. There may be a witch hunt before this hits a turning point, and the new humans will suffer before they succeed."
"I know," he nodded. "I had a talk with Hayes about all this. The only thing we could come up with was reorganizing the public education system and gear it toward the support of the children and their abilities. Start with a few quiet changes and work on it, one at a time. If we can make it seem like the education system is responsible for the heightened awareness of the children, the general public may be more accepting of it."
"The public school system needs an overhaul, anyway," she said. "It's a medieval mess. Have you been working out?" She poked at his chest, noting the smooth skin and more prominent muscles.
"Daniel asked me that, too," he said. "No, I haven't. He did make his own close inspection, if you'd like to offer a second opinion."
"Flip that switch and tell me what I'd like," she said with a smile as she wiggled sensuously across his lap. Jack gave a small push and she seemed to light up and radiate toward him. His smile faltered as he looked at her, naked and perfect.
"I'm not beautiful," he whispered huskily.
"You are," she told him. She took his hand and pushed it between her legs. "You turn me on, Jack, can't you feel it? Inside and outside, I can't get enough of you. You look at me, and I see you standing at the center of the universe, strong and steady, lighting my way to you."
He felt the wetness between her legs and stroked her, sliding fingers into her and watching her open to him, her heart shining out to him. He bent down and kissed her, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight to him. She sat up and straddled his lap. He sucked a nipple as she took him into her. Her breasts were wonderful and heavy in his hands, fitting perfectly.
"I married up," he whispered, stroking the sensitive globes. "So far up, it makes me high just thinking about it."
She took his face between her hands and stared into his dark eyes.
"Together," she whispered. "We can do this together."