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"Jack!"
The love and the anguish in that cry made Allison sit upright in her bed, her heart beating a mile a minute.
"Honey? You okay?"
Allison patted her husband on the shoulder. "I'm fine, Joe. Go back to sleep," she said, watching with fond amusement, and not a little envy when he did just that.
A klink of glass and childish voices from the kitchen made her get out of bed to investigate, none of her children should be awake at this time of night. She grabbed her robe and slipped it on, closing the bedroom door behind her. When she got to the door to the kitchen she stared and shook her head. At Allison's kitchen table was her daughter Bridgette, who should be in bed, and a little boy her age drinking milk and talking.
"Hey, mom!" Bridgette gave her mother the classic milk mustache smile.
"Bridgette," Allison greeted her daughter. She then smiled at the little boy, "And you are?"
He grinned angelically and Allison could tell that in life this little boy had been a firecracker. "Hi, I'm Charlie O'Neill. With two l's."
Allison chuckled. "Hello, Charlie O'Neill with two l's."
"He's here to ask you for help, Momma," Bridgette said, dipping her nose into the oversized glass of milk and slurping.
"Bridg..." Allison began but then Charlie did the same thing and both kids giggled madly, making her sigh. "Okay guys, no more disgusting noises. Bridgette, you go rinse your mouth and get back into bed. I'll see what Charlie wants, alright?"
About to open her mouth to whine, a look from her mother stopped her and Bridgette sighed loudly. "Yes, mom. 'Bye, Charlie."
"'Bye, Bridgette," Charlie said with a wave, then looked seriously at Allison. "I didn't mean to get her into trouble."
"Oh no, sweetie," Allison said reassuringly. "It's just that she has school tomorrow."
"Okay," Charlie said, huffing a sigh of relief.
Allison smiled. He was a cutie, this Charlie O'Neill with two l's. "What can I do for you, Charlie?"
"I need you to call my dad."
"Hmm," Allison said, nodding. "And?"
"Nope, that's it," Charlie said cheerfully.
Kids, Allison thought as she rolled her eyes. "I need a name, and oh, maybe a phone number?"
"I don't know. I know he's gonna move to Colorado Springs. His name is General Jack O'Neill, with..."
"Two 'l's, I get it," Allison smiled, then remembered that fragment of her dream when someone called out 'Jack', and sighed. She looked up and found that Charlie had disappeared, which meant she had to start digging for her own answers.
~*
"Mom! Where are my shoes?"
Allison quickly fixed Bridgette's ponytail. "Joe, can you find Ariel's shoes?"
Her husband came into the kitchen and gave her a kiss. "I'd say they're still on the porch from when she stepped in the Barney's pile o' poo," he said, starting toast and getting the bottle out of the microwave for the baby.
"Get a different pair, Ariel!" Allison called. She grabbed bowls and sat them on the table, smothering a smile when her oldest daughter wailed about not matching.
"Are you gonna help him, Mama?" Bridgette asked brightly as her dad poured her some cereal.
"Who honey?" Allison asked absently, pouring her milk while Ariel swept into the kitchen, radiating her displeasure over her shoes.
"Charlie!"
Joe made an interrogative noise through his toast and Allison blinked. Charlie.
Bridgette squirmed around on her chair to peer at her dad. "Do we have a gun?"
Allison and Joe exchanged startled glances at this out of the blue question. "No honey, we don't keep a gun in the house," Joe said gently.
"Good, 'cause Charlie said that he played with his Dad's gun and accidentally shot himself. It's how he died," Bridgette said, matter-of- factly, not seeing the horrified pity on her parent's faces. "He knew he wasn't s'posed to but he opened the drawer anyway."
Joe looked at Allison who had tears in her eyes. "Who's Charlie?"
She shook her head. "I'll explain later," she whispered. She got up and hugged each of her children quickly before disappearing into the bathroom.
"Is Mama okay?" Bridgette asked, her cute face crumpled into a frown.
Ariel sighed and patted her sister. "She's fine. Let go finish getting ready for school, okay?"
Joe gave his oldest a grateful smile, "Thanks, Ariel."
She was in an office and a handsome man was bent over something on his desk, talking to himself while he quickly wrote at the same time. After a minute Allison realized it wasn't any language that she recognized when the man's door banged open, making her jump.
"Danny!"
Danny looked up and it was almost painful to see the love on his face. "Jack! What are you doing here?"
The man who Allison finally knew as Jack, she could see where Charlie got his charm from, grinned roguishly. "I'm all yours, Dr. Jackson!"
Sure she was about to be embarrassed, a touch on her back brought her upright in her chair and wide awake.
"Mom, you fell asleep at the computer," Ariel said with a sly smile.
"Ow," Allison agreed, rubbing her neck. "Not a good idea. Thanks for waking me up."
"Mm," Ariel said, peering at the screen. "Have you found Charlie's dad, yet?"
"No, but I have another name to check," Allison said with renewed enthusiasm.
She felt her daughter pat her on the shoulder. "Good luck, Mom."
Tired, Allison rubbed her eyes and looked at the phone number she had. It was a Colorado number and her best lead so far.
"Honey, it's late. Come to bed," Joe said, moving behind her and rubbing her shoulders.
Letting her head drop forward, "Mmm," she moaned. "Feels great. Thanks for taking care of the girls for me."
Her husband pressed a kiss to her head. "It's my job. How's the search?" She had informed him of what had happened in his kitchen the night before, and with his daughter's breakfast comments he could only feel bad for the poor guy.
"I think I've found a lead," she said. "I'll call in the morning," she added and stood up, appreciating her husband as he let her lean on him.
Allison woke up and went blearily into her bathroom to go pee. She turned on the light and looked at her toilet, only to have it whoosh into the air before settling flat, looking like a puddle of light.
"Okay, I must be dreaming," she muttered to herself. Just as she was about to flush it, she heard the scream again.
"Jack!"
And she sat up in her bed, panting for breath. "~What~ was that?"
"That's the Stargate," a child's voice said and she smiled. Charlie O'Neill was sitting crosslegged on the end of her bed.
"Hello, Charlie," she said. "What do you mean by Stargate?"
"That's what they call it," he said, as if it made sense. Allison was about to ask another question when the alarm went off and she woke up for real this time.
Just before she left for work, Allison called the number she'd found. "Hi, you don't know me but my name is Allison Dubois. I need to speak to General Jack O'Neill, with two l's. It's about the Stargate." She hung up, grabbed her purse and closed the door.
*~*
D.A. Manuel Devalos was up to his ass in alligators when the two Air Force officers showed up at his door.
"Are you District Attorney Devalos?" the Major asked politely.
Manuel slipped off his glasses. "That's what it says on my door."
The officer's exchanged a glance. "Are you acquainted with Allison Dubois?"
Resisting the urge to sigh, Manuel held out his hand. "Let me see some i.d." The first officer handed his over, and when Manuel made a 'yours too' motion the second one offered his as well. He carefully checked them over. "So, Major Altman and Major Conner," he said, handing the i.d.'s back. "Why do you want to know about Allison?"
Altman cleared his throat. "She attempted to get in contact with a former officer in the Air Force and we had some questions for her."
"And that's against the law?" the Hispanic lawyer asked archly.
The two officers exchanged another glance. "It's classified, sir."
"Of course it is," Manuel replied dryly. "Allison Dubois is an exemplary employee and a valued member of my staff. And as we do security checks on our own people, being a government agency and all, I can assure you that she's not a national security risk."
"Yes, sir," Major Altman said. "Thank you for your time," he added respectfully and the two men left.
Scanlon came into the outer office at the same time and watched curiously as the two officers left. "Hey Boss, what's up with the flyboys?" he asked as he leaned into Manuel's office.
Manuel waved the policeman in. "Apparently Allison is trying to contact a retired Air Force officer and it's classified."
Lee rolled his eyes. "Of course it is."
~*~
Allison was cooking dinner, helping Bridgette with her homework and listening to Ariel's spelling words. At the same time she was pulling out potatoes the doorbell rang and the smoke alarm began to blare.
"I'll get it," she said over the alarm. "Bridgette..." she began but her daughter was already getting the props for her favorite job. She opened the door and looked at the two serious faced Air Force men. "Can I help you?"
"Are you Allison Dubois?"
"Yes."
"Can you come with us, ma'am?"
Allison's eyebrows winged up. "You're kidding, right?" she opened her door wider. Behind her was a crying baby in a high chair, Bridgette was on a chair with a large fan, waving it over her head at the smoke alarm and Ariel was at the stove.
Both men blinked and Allison smirked. "I want to speak to General O'Neill, not you guys," she said, and sighed with relief when the alarm abruptly stopped. "Good job, Bridgette!" she called over her shoulder.
"Thanks, Mommy!"
"Told you we should've asked Dr. Jackson to come with us," one of the men murmured.
About to close her door, Allison turned, "I'll talk to him, too. Have a nice day." And she shut the door.
"Yeah, that went real well," Conner said to his partner who shook his head.
"Let's call General Landry and see what he wants to do next."
~*
Hank dropped the file on the coffee table in front of Jack. "Here's what we have on Mrs. Allison Dubois."
Daniel handed the General and Jack a beer then sat down and watched Jack pick up the file and open it.
Jack groaned. "You're kidding, right?" he said.
The current head of the SGC smiled. "Yep, she's a psychic."
Daniel ignored the loud sound of disbelief and took the file from Jack, reading it over with interest. "I don't think that a DA would be snowed by a fake psychic. And a Texas Ranger? I hardly think she's pulling the wool over everybody's eyes here, Jack." He flipped through the pages, making interested noises. "Her only military connections are her husband who works for an aerospace company in Phoenix that has the normal government contracts and her brother who served in Iraq, nothing about the SGC." He looked up at the two skeptical men. "I think we should see what she wants."
The General's exchanged commiserating eyerolls. When Daniel declared something then you had no choice but follow along or get left in his dust. "Fine, we'll fly out to Phoenix. In fact, I'll fly us out there," Jack said with satisfaction.
"No trainers," Daniel said without looking up from the file. "Or I'll throw up on you, on purpose."
"Dr. Jackson, you're no fun," Landry teased.
"Yadda," was Daniel's reply, much to Jack's fond amusement.
~*
Allison found herself in a field, lying on a blanket and gazing at the stars. Next to her was Charlie and he was kicking his sneaker shod feet. "Hey, kiddo," she said, rolling to her side to look at him.
"Hi," he grinned at her. "You're so lucky, you get to meet my dad."
"Hm," she said. "I'm not sure what I'm supposed to tell him."
Charlie laid back and sighed. "He was so lonely after I died. He and mom got a divorce."
"Sometimes grown-ups have problems after a tragedy," Allison said gently.
"Yeah," the little boy said softly but then he smiled. "But then Daniel came and he and Dad fell in love and Dad wasn't alone anymore. But if Dad goes through the Stargate again then something bad is gonna happen, and then Daniel will be alone."
Amazed at what a sweet and generous boy Charlie was, Allison playfully ruffled his hair, making him giggle and roll off of the blanket into the grass. "What about your Mom?" she asked when they got situated again.
"Mom got married again and had a baby to replace me," was the matter of fact reply.
The tone of the reply had Allison sitting up and pulling Charlie up so she could cup his face. "Charlie O'Neill, with two l's," she began seriously. "As a Mom I will promise you one thousand percent that ~your~ Mom does not consider the baby a replacement for you." She saw his eyes start to get shiny. "Honey, she has a Charlie sized hole in her heart and always will. There will never be another Charlie O'Neill in the world and it's something that will always make them very sad. Understand sweetie?" Allison asked, wiping his tears with her thumbs.
"You promise?" he asked softly.
Allison knew this answer. "I cross my heart," she crossed her heart with a finger, "and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye."
Charlie snickered and gave her a quick hug then made her lie back onto the blanket and showed her the constellations.
Allison awoke with a start, then smiled before rolling over and falling back asleep, only to dream of the Stargate and some kind of gray skinned man and Daniel calling out for Jack again.
*~*
"In one hundred yards, turn left," the GPS in the rental car said.
"Sure, honey," Jack replied good- naturedly.
Daniel chuckled. "Quit flirting with the GPS, Jack." He rolled down the window and ignored Jack's sigh as the searing heat came into the car. "It reminds me of Egypt," he said wistfully, thoroughly enjoying the bone baking heat.
"Reminds me of Iraq," Jack snarked back as he pulled into the driveway of the southwestern style ranch home beside a minivan. The men got out and walked up to the doorway, and Daniel knocked.
The door opened to reveal a pretty blonde. "Hi, you must be Jack and Daniel. Come in!" she said, much to their surprise. They walked inside and saw a typical family home, toys here and there, comfortable furniture and pictures of children on the walls.
"You have beautiful children," Jack said sincerely.
The woman dimpled. "Thanks. I'm Allison, by the way. Can I get you anything to drink?"
Both men declined and went to sit on the couch. Jack stood back up and pulled out a naked Barbie, showing it to Daniel with a grin.
"Whoops," Allison said and snatched the offending toy and chucked it out of sight down the hallway. "Sorry about that," she smiled. "So, I guess you want to know why you're here?"
Daniel leaned forward to answer that when the door opened and two chattering girls tumbled into the room. "Mom, whose car is..." the older one began.
The younger one brightened visibly when she saw Jack and interrupted, "Hey, that's Ch..."
"Bridgette!"
The younger one pouted. "But I wanna..."
The older one steered the younger to the hallway. "We'll just do our homework, Mom."
"Thanks, Ariel," Allison said gratefully. "Check on Marie and make sure she's okay, please?"
"Sure, Mom."
Jack smiled at the interaction. He and Sara had wanted more than one child but they never could co-ordinate it, then Charlie had died and everything had fallen apart. "They're cuter in person," he said.
"Thanks," she said and found herself studying the men on her couch and thought about Charlie, and how terrible she would feel if she lost any of he girls. "So, you go into the Stargate. Jack, you can't go."
Both men blinked at her. "Why not?" Daniel asked.
"Something is going to happen when he goes with you," Allison answered Daniel.
The front door opened and Joe came in, setting his briefcase down. "I'm home!" he called and the girls came scrambling out to welcome their dad home.
"Excuse me for a minute," Allison told her guests and got to her feet just as Joe asked the fatal question.
"Hello, who's parked in my spot?"
"That's Charlie's Dad," Bridgette stage-whispered, loudly. Joe straightened slowly and looked at his wife, who was making a face.
"Charlie?" Jack snapped. "What does Charlie have to do with this?"
"Girls, go to your room for a few more minutes," Allison asked, her eyes pleading with Joe who silently asked if everything was okay.
"Mrs. Dubois," Jack said grimly.
Allison nodded and Joe herded the girls to their room while she turned around to face Jack. "Bridgette is the first one who met Charlie."
"Your daughter is psychic too?" Daniel asked curiously. "That's interesting. Jack, I wonder if they have the gene?"
"Not now, Daniel." Jack didn't look away from Allison. "You've seen Charlie?"
"Sit down, Jack. I'll explain everything," she said and smiled suddenly. "The first time I saw Charlie he was sitting at that table slurping milk with Bridgette."
Jack turned his head to stare at the kitchen table. "Why?" he asked, not sure if he believed.
"Kids naturally gravitate to one another," she shrugged. "He's been coming around a lot, especially lately. He just wanted me to call you and convince you to not go and leave Daniel alone, and my dreams say if you're going to go through the Stargate you might die."
There was a stunned silence from the men, then Daniel exhaled. "Maybe you could start from the beginning?"
"Charlie O'Neill, with two l's," she began with a smile and saw Jack's eyes widen as she told them everything that Charlie had spoken to her about, and her dreams and why she'd called. By the time she'd finished Jack had been pacing distractedly while Daniel had watched with concerned eyes and Joe had come out and taken the girls outside to give them some privacy.
"Mrs. Dubois," Daniel said quickly. "This is all classified."
She nodded agreeably, her worried eyes darting to Jack. "It's Allison, and that's no problem."
"I thought," Jack swallowed harshly. "I believed that Charlie was somewhere else. Maybe not heaven because I'm not sure I believe in God..." he trailed off, obviously upset.
"I don't know, Jack. I believe in good and evil, and I've even met the Angel of Death. He looks surprisingly like Kelsey Grammer, but beyond that..." Allison shrugged. "What I do know is that sometimes if there is unfinished business then the loved one stays until it's finished. Charlie was worried about you, so he stayed."
"I don't get it!" Jack said with anguish. "He died, because of ~me~! And yet he wants me to be happy?"
"Jack, stop," Allison remonstrated gently. "He knew he was not supposed to go into the gun drawer! He is, was, a child, a curious child and he made a mistake. It was a fatal mistake but it ~was~ a mistake."
Daniel leapt up because Jack's face had gone ashen. "Jack? Babe? Are you okay?"
"The gun was out!" Jack croaked. It had been Jack's fault, he'd left the gun out and Charlie had died. It was what his brain had accepted all of those years ago. He'd fucked up and his beautiful Charlie had paid for it with his life.
Allison shook her head, a puzzled look on her face. "No, Jack. Charlie specifically said that he went to the drawer and got the gun out. Not that it was left out. He told Bridgette that he knew wasn't supposed to go into the drawer."
"Ohgod," Jack said and Daniel wrapped his arms around his lover, crooning wordlessly.
Understanding struck Allison. Jack had thought he'd killed Charlie with negligence all of those years ago. Poor, poor man.
"It's gonna be okay, Jack," Daniel whispered, his eyes meeting Allison's sympathetic ones.
"I don't have much alcohol in the house, but I can offer you some wine," she said quietly. When Daniel nodded Allison went to the kitchen and poured two glasses, taking a moment so Jack could compose himself then walked back out and handed them to the two men.
Daniel sipped his and his eyebrows raised. "This is nice."
"My husband is a bit of a wine snob," Allison said and laughed when Jack nudged Daniel obviously. "Oh, you are too?"
"I prefer discriminating," Daniel said haughtily before snickering.
Jack chuckled, then leaned back in the couch with a tired sigh. "I'm retired, Allison. I'm not planning on going through the gate again." He lifted a leg stiffly. "Getting old and have bad knees."
Allison shrugged. "I can't see all sides of my dreams, I catch bits and pieces and try to fit them together. Maybe the whole thing was about Charlie, but I don't think so."
Daniel patted Jack's leg. "I won't let him go, don't worry."
Which made Jack roll his eyes. "You don't ~let~ me do anything," he faux whined.
About fifteen minutes later the doorknob turned and Joe and the girls came back in, Bridgette coming over to perch on her mother's leg. "Can I talk to him ~now~?" she asked demandingly.
Jack smiled at the precocious kid who reminded him of Charlie. "Hey kid, I understand you met Charlie?"
"He's funny," Bridgette said with a grin. "I showed him the story I helped write and he told me about the planes you used to take him on."
"Yeah, he loved planes," Jack said softly.
"He told me to tell you that he loves you," she grinned. "And that he really likes Daniel. Oh, and the next time you see his mom to tell her he's okay." And with that she hustled off to her room.
"Well," Jack smirked. "I guess she's finished."
Joe handed Marie to Allison. "She's her own person," he agreed. "I'm Allison's husband, Joe."
The men shook hands and Daniel looked at his watch. "I know you need to feed your family and I want to thank you for taking time out to speak with us."
"Thanks for coming to see me," Allison replied. "Just be careful." Marie made happy noises and reached out her hands.
"Careful is my middle name," Jack smirked at Daniel, who rolled his eyes even as he tickled Marie, making her giggle.
When the men were gone Allison was standing at her stove, stirring the macaroni and cheese absently.
"I liked them," Joe said from behind her, making her jump and slop some of the macaroni and cheese onto the stove.
"You need a bell around your neck," Allison scolded with a smile, cleaning up the mess. "I liked them, too," she agreed. " I just wish I knew more."
"Well, I know that the mac and cheese is about to boil over," Joe said, chuckling as his wife muttered a curse and turned down the stove. "Girls, come set the table," he called and life in the Dubois household returned to normal.
~*
Charlie was in Bridgette and Ariel's room when Allison went to tell the girls good-night. The three were playing Go-fish and Allison watched for a long moment, before clearing her throat.
"Hey Mom," Ariel said. "We're just keeping Charlie company." Her eldest daughter's tone said that it wasn't the first time that Charlie had visited the girls without her knowing. Alison couldn't be mad, having someone see and talk to probably made Charlie's day.
"That's fine. Clean up and get into bed. Charlie, will I see you later?" she inquired politely. He nodded and disappeared.
"You haven't fixed it, Mom," Bridgette announced from her bunk, tiredness making her blink owlishly at her mother.
"I'm trying, sweetie," Allison said as she kissed her daughters good-night.
~*
On her back again in a large field, Allison could smell the crushed grass underneath the blanket and hear the cicadas trilling away in the trees. If she turned her head she could see the Rocky Mountains with their first dusting of snow. "Where are we?" she asked Charlie.
"In my backyard in Colorado Springs," he said. He pointed up, "Look, that's Orion, see the three stars that make up his belt?"
"Honey, you slept through the alarm," her husband said as he woke her up and she squeaked and jumped out of bed.
"I'm going to be late," she complained as she got into the shower.
"Still star-gazing?" Joe enquired from where he was shaving in front of the mirror.
"It's got to mean something," Allison complained. "But Charlie's not even sure, just says he needs to show me the stars."
"You'll figure it out," her husband said reassuringly.
"I hope so," she said.
~*
Daniel was working in his office when the door banged open and Jack stood there. "Hey, Danny!"
"Jack," Daniel said. The joy at seeing Jack just sometimes took his breath away. "I thought you weren't going to be here for a few more days?"
"Eh, got the stuff packed faster than I thought. Drove on ahead," Jack admitted with a smile for his lover. He shifted slightly and Daniel knew that someone was close by.
"General! It's good to see ya," Cameron Mitchell boomed from behind him and Jack gave the man an evil smile.
"Heard ya comin' a mile away, Mitchell. Nice try and thanks for playing."
"Darn," Cam grinned and nodded at Daniel. "So, have you seen..." he began when the warning claxons started going off.
"Unauthorized Off-world activation," blared from the speakers.
The three men headed off to the controlroom, getting there at the same time as Landry, Teal'c and Sam.
"Sir," Sam said in surprise. "I didn't know you were here?"
"Yep, moving back to the 'Springs," Jack announced with a smile.
Teal'c bowed his head. "That is very good to hear, General O'Neill."
"Chevron seven encoded," the tech announced.
"Who is it, son?" Landry asked.
"There's no IDC, sir."
"Close the iris," Landry ordered. After a minute they could tell there was a problem because the iris didn't close and Sam and the techs were busy at the computers to try and diagnose the problem. "Security to the gateroom!"
Nothing happened for a long moment, then there was a noise like the sound of a bell. And then a voice.
"I would speak to Daniel Jackson."
Daniel paled. He knew the voice, the Ori that had made him a Prior. The one Daniel had betrayed and in the process destroyed the Ori race. Without a word he headed down to the gateroom, not realizing that Jack and the rest of SG-1 was on his heels.
In Phoenix Allison was at work when she felt something very wrong. Something that made her skin crawl and set off all of her alarms.
"Allison?" Lee Scanlon gently shook her shoulder and made her squeak in surprise. "Are you okay?"
She shook her head and fumbled with her phone. "No, something's wrong." Allison quickly dialed and made a frustrated face as she got an answering service.
"Daniel, this is Allison. Call me."
*
Back in Colorado, Daniel's internal alarms were going off as well. "I am here, Gebel."
"Daniel Jackson, you have dishonored the Ori."
Daniel sighed and shoved his hand in his pockets. "I couldn't let the Ori enslave and use people."
There was a pause, then the Ori's voice rang out, "Then you have yourself to blame, Daniel Jackson for the destruction to that what you love most."
As soon as the words were spoke, Daniel's eyes widened and as he spun to stare at Jack a shockwave came through the open gate and knocked everyone unconscious.
*
Allison jumped. "Jack," she said aloud. She didn't realize that she was shaking like a leaf until she grabbed and dropped her cell phone twice. She pressed the redial and got the recording again and left another message.
*
Dr. Lam and her staff were starting to revive everyone when Daniel moaned and pushed himself up and tried to stand. "Oh hell, what happened?"
Carolyn came over and helped steady him as he wobbled. "I don't know, everyone was unconscious when we arrived in the gateroom. Once it was determined it wasn't a gas the doors were opened."
Through his headache he could hear the others starting to come to, and he started to look for, and not find, Jack. "Jack? Where's Jack?" Daniel spun around and realized his instincts were correct-Jack had disappeared.
It took several minutes to reboot the computer systems and figure out that no gate address had been recorded. They were in the conference room and Daniel was pacing back and forth as he described the Ori who'd made him Prior.
"What I don't understand is why it took the General when it said it was going to take what you loved most," Sam said.
There was an uncomfortable silence, then Daniel turned to Sam. "Jack and I. we...we were going to tell you, we just haven't had the chance..." he trailed off at the look on Sam's face.
Sam stared at Daniel, then glanced at Landry, who she realized had already known-of course, the General and he were friends. Which twisted the knife a little deeper.
Cam was confused for a long moment, then his face cleared. "You bagged a General! Way to go, Jackson!" This made Landry snort.
Daniel rubbed his face then looked at Teal'c who merely nodded. "I anticipated this occurrence when General O'Neill stated he was moving back to Colorado Springs. Congratulations, Daniel Jackson."
"Thanks, Teal'c," Daniel said. Good old Teal'c, the Jaffa had probably realized that the men loved each other long before they'd know themselves.
Sam shook her head. "How long?"
"Really, that's none of your business, Sam. And the priority is getting Jack back," Daniel pointed out. Then he snapped his fingers. "Allison!" and he scrambled for the phone.
"Who?" Mitchell asked as Daniel frantically rummaged through his wallet.
"The psychic?" Landry asked as Daniel held up the number and began to dial.
"A psychic? I don't understand?" Sam asked, trying to catch up.
Daniel waved a hand for quiet. "Allison?"
"Daniel!" Allison said with relief. "Is Jack okay?"
"No," Daniel said wrenchingly. "Did Charlie say anything else? It's an emergency."
"I saw him again and we were in his backyard in Colorado. He was showing me the stars again but I don't know why. Daniel, I don't what else..."
Sinking into his seat, Daniel was trying to think through his headache when it came to him. The fragment of conversation they'd had in Phoenix. "Allison?" he interrupted. "You mentioned before that Charlie was telling you the constellations that Jack had taught him. Can you remember specifically which ones?" He snapped his fingers and Teal'c passed him a pen and pad of paper.
"Yes," Allison said, struck by the question. "He taught me the same ones over and over. I can find them easily now."
Daniel closed his eyes. Smart Charlie. "Tell me the order exactly," he said and she did. He was right, seven constellations corresponding with the glyphs on the Stargate which constituted an address. "You're a star, Allison."
"You call me when you get him back," she ordered.
"I will," Daniel said and hung up. He held up the pad. "Jack's here."
"C'mon, Daniel," Sam scoffed. "Psychics have no real scientific basis."
"She's seen Charlie," Daniel said defensively. "Jack and I believe her beyond a shadow of a doubt."
"Daniel, if this is where you think we should go then let's do it," Landry interrupted.
"Sir!" Sam protested.
"Carter, you don't have to go. In fact, it's better that you don't," Mitchell said as he stood. "Stay here and check the computers and such and make sure they're okay." His blue eyes were kind but held an order that she couldn't mistake.
As she and the General watched the group, a squad of Marines, Teal'c, Daniel, and Mitchell go into the wormhole, she felt sucker punched all over again.
"Colonel Carter," Landry said softly. He waited until she made eye contact with him. "There was nothing inappropriate until the General retired."
Sam nodded but wondered if she really believed it. "Yes, sir."
The planet was filled with trees and mist, and Daniel could virtually hear Jack complaining. Old rusty looking Ori technology by the gate was probably what had been used to disable them before.
Mitchell looked at Daniel who held up a finger. He closed his eyes and wished upon a star. C'mon Charlie, help me out here.
"Listen, you son of a bitch!" came Jack's voice loud and clear and Daniel's eyes popped open.
"Did you hear that?" Mitchell asked, then grinned as another string of curses came sweeping through the trees.
"Indeed," Teal'c said with a half smile. And they followed the dulcet sounds of Jack's voice.
~*
Jack was pissed. The place was covered with fog and tall trees with no discernable trail, and since he'd been unconscious during his trip he had a little problem, which was currently wrapped up in front of him. He'd regained consciousness and zatted the weakened Ori, hog-tying him with the rope he'd concealed on himself before he gone to the SGC. Just in case.
Now he paced back and forth in front of the Ori and abused him verbally. "You screwed up and made ~Daniel~ a Prior, and sealed your own doom. You were supposedly," he held up fingers which radiated sarcasm, 'all-knowing' and you picked a man who'd been ascended ~twice~! The man who chose not to stay ascended because he didn't believe in ~them~. And you thought he'd believe in ~you~? You're an ~idiot~!"
"Worship me," the gray guy said weakly.
Rolling his eyes Jack walked up and peered into the hazy eyes. "You -are -an- idiot. One person worshiping you wouldn't light up a flea."
"O'Neill," Teal'c's voice called.
"See? I told you that you're an idiot," Jack said triumphantly. "Oooh, Daniel Jackson will never find you."
"We had help," Daniel's voice came clear and cold making the Ori flinch.
"Danny," Jack smiled.
"Hey, Jack, hope you weren't waiting long," Daniel smiled at him.
"Nah, just hangin' out. Knew you'd show up eventually."
Daniel walked over to stare down at the man who had made him a Prior. "No one will worship you ever again. You will get no more adulation, no more power, no more people who will blindly throw themselves into the fire for you. I may not be a Prior but I still have something you never will have, Gebel."
The Ori glared at Daniel. "You have nothing. You threw it away."
Daniel smiled. "I realized it was worthless and gave it back. Good-bye, Gebel." He looked up into the sky and held up a hand. "If you do not handle this, I will."
The sky darkened and the clouds boiled and Gebel's eyes widened and he began to struggle.
"Let's go," Daniel said and he turned his back on the last of the Ori.
As they walked back to the gate Daniel gave Jack a smile. "Where did the rope come from?"
Jack hummed, his face serene. "You can never be too careful."
~*
Allison smiled when she saw Charlie. "Hey, what are you doing here?" The bright smile that he gave her eased her worry.
"It's time for me to go," he said. He gave her a big hug and she held him just as tightly.
"I'm going to miss you," she whispered into his hair. The ring of the phone made her look over and when she glanced back down, Charlie O'Neill, with two l's, was gone.
"Allison Dubois."
"It's Jack."
"Jack," she sighed with relief. "I take it you're okay?"
Jack smiled over at Daniel who was debriefing Landry. "Yeah, I'm good. I want to thank you for everything."
"Don't thank me. Charlie did the hard work, I was just the messenger," Allison said softly.
"Tell him thank you for me," Jack said quietly. He turned and saw Carter staring at him through the window, an indecipherable look on her face. What was going through her razor sharp mind?
"He knows," she replied. "Have a good life Jack and be good to Daniel."
"I will. Give your girls hugs from me and tell Bridgette hi."
Allison laughed. "I will, good bye, Jack."
Jack hung up the phone, a half smile on his face.
"So, Jack. Mrs. Dubois came through," Hank said jovially.
"Yeah, yeah. I was wrong, Daniel was right. What a surprise," he drawled as he sat down.
Daniel laughed. "Wow, Jack. Remind me you said that, would you?"
"Not even on a bet," Jack said firmly. "Your head would get so swelled that you would ascend by default." Hank threw his head back and laughed.
"Hey!" Daniel protested though he couldn't help but smile.
The door opened and the General waved Mitchell, Teal'c and Sam in. "Make sure the door is secure, Colonel," he said and Sam nodded and made sure it was locked.
Once everyone was seated, Landry turned to Jack. "So, how did you take down the Ori, Jack?"
"Yeah, Jack. I'm kind of curious myself," Daniel said. He didn't look at Sam, a maneuver that Jack caught and asked about silently but Daniel gave a minute head shake.
"Well, kids," Jack began. "I knew that I wasn't supposed to go through the gate. That was a no brainer, but since I was coming to the mountain anyway I decided to be better safe than sorry." He stood up and out of the inner pockets of his leather jacket he pulled out the zat, then some zip ties, a pistol, his Asgard communication device and a candy bar. "Oh, hey. I was looking for that," he said and stuck the candy bar back into his pocket.
"And the rope too?" Cameron asked. "Pretty sharp there, O'Neill."
"I've had long and painful practice at this, Mitchell," Jack said before sitting down.
"A zat, Jack?" Landry asked archly.
"I've had it for a few years, Hank. Didn't see any reason to give it back."
The General waved a hand. "I didn't see it."
There was an awkward silence and Jack sighed. "Okay, out with it."
"I may have let it slip that you and I are a couple," Daniel said. His blue eyes were locked on Jack, worry in them.
Jack sat back. Huh. He and Daniel were planning on telling everyone, since they were going to live together but it looked like the cat was out of the bag. He knew that Landry was okay with it, and as he scanned the faces around the table he realized the fly in their soup was Carter.
"Sweet," he said, relieved to see the tenseness melt from Daniel's shoulders. "We don't have to have a cook-out after all. I didn't want to feed you guys anyway."
Mitchell chuckled. "Oh no, feeding us is still a good idea. Bribery is encouraged."
There was more laughter and Jack looked at Sam. "Do we need to talk, Carter?"
Sam wasn't sure how to feel. The General had made it clear years ago that nothing could happen between them, and she'd just assumed that he meant he was waiting until he retired to be with her. Apparently she'd been totally, irrevocably wrong and she felt like an idiot. "No, sir. It won't be a problem." It hurt but because she adored Daniel she would just have to deal.
A lie, but a polite one and Jack nodded. "Okay."
"Well," Landry said heartily as he pushed to his feet. "When is the moving party?"
Jack's smile turned sly. "How does Saturday grab you?"
Teal'c nodded. "Vala Mal Doran should be returned by then. I will bring a beverage."
"Vala?" Jack whined. "She's gonna give me a pain in the mikta, isn't she?"
This made Sam smirk. "Oh, she's going to be all over Daniel. Good luck with that, sir."
Daniel groaned. Vala was gonna want to watch.
~*~
Allison's arms were full of a large blanket as she herded her family into the backyard. "Ariel, turn off the lights," she asked as she flipped the blanket up and let it float to the grass. Bridgette laughed and jumped onto the blanket.
Once the lights were out and everyone lay on the blanket and she began to show them the constellations she now knew very well. Thanks to Charlie.