“Okay, you guys are definitely not gay,” Davis finally said, interrupting them.
“Not female, either,” Sam put in.
“What’s the problem?” Daniel asked.
“This has all the romance of a wet noodle,” Davis told him. “That piece of paper is only a minor part of all this; what about the rest of the ceremony?”
“What about it?” Daniel asked.
Paul shook his head in pity. “Turn in your toaster oven, Martha,” he huffed at Daniel. He took the pad and pen from Daniel’s hands.
“Do we have a location?” Davis began making a list, adding tiny boxes next to each item to be check-marked when completed.
“Off-world,” they said together.
“I was assuming that,” Paul said prissily. “Can we be a little more specific?”
“Well, since we’re taking family with us, how about Kelona? It’s civilized, it has hotels.” Daniel suggested after they looked at each other. Jack and Sam nodded.
“It even has indoor plumbing,” Jack said. Davis scribbled notes as Daniel swatted at Jack.
“We’ll need to double-check with Dr. Quinn to be sure we won’t be breaking any local ordinances,” Paul told them, ignoring his general as he made a notation. “Do you have a secondary location, in case this one falls through?” No, they didn’t. Paul nodded and told them they could work on that later.
“Do you have a guest list?” He was handed a piece of paper with three columns containing names. It was a short list; Paul approved.
“How about a choice of attire?” he asked. They were undecided. “If I may suggest, uniforms would NOT be good; it’s going to piss off our government enough when you guys do this, you don’t want a charge of disgracing the uniform. May I suggest a suit and tie for the men, and something pretty and feminine for Sam?” They could live with that.
“Atmosphere?” Davis asked. “Light and upbeat? Formal?”
They went round and round with questions and answers, stuff that neither Jack nor Daniel had thought about, like a cake and what flavor, did they want a priest or spiritual leader? Did they want music? A formal walk down an aisle? Inside or outside? After several hours of Q&A, Sam and Paul were satisfied with the first round.
“Did you go through all this before marrying her?” Daniel asked Jack.
“Believe me, a honeymoon is for sleep, not sex,” Jack told him.
Paul spun around as he was about to walk out the door. “Honeymoon!” He snapped his fingers. “Is there going to be one? If so, where?”
“We haven’t decided where,” Jack told him, scowling in annoyance. Davis nodded and continued his leaving. As soon as the door was closed, “Are we having a honeymoon?” Jack asked Daniel.
“I better damned well be getting a honeymoon,” he was told.
“How about Disney World?”
Jack looked at Stacy, doing homework at the table, and then back at Daniel.
“I don’t think so, guys,” Sam called out from upstairs.
Jack was stuck at home until Dr. Lam cleared him. Once more, Davis politely ignored whatever couple-huddle was going on whenever he walked in. Jack and Sam, Daniel and Sam, Jack and Daniel, and once, a three-way with a giggling Sam between the men. Samantha Carter never giggled.
“Okay, tell me something,” Davis finally said, coming to an exhausted halt in the middle of the living room. Jack took his hand off Daniel’s butt and both men turned to look at him. Davis refused to focus on the bulges in their pants. “Are you three on some sort of alien Spanish fly or something?”
“Why, does Nick need some?” Daniel asked innocently.
“You’re a turd, Daniel.”
When Jack was finally cleared for ‘duty’, Davis made it a point to stay away from the house altogether.
Having the ceremony on Kelona was fine with Jonas. He was so honored that they thought of his fair city that he convinced his prime minister to set aside a wing at their most prominent hotel, and with the permission of the intended, he offered a week at a mountain lodge for their honeymoon as his gift to them. Davis was happy to finally cross that one off his list. Jonas and his wife came out to the house with additional gifts for them; formal suits for the men and a dress for Sam. He wouldn’t be offended if they’d rather wear Earth clothes. Jack took one look at Daniel in the dark high-necked dress shirt and over-coat, and accepted the gifts. Jack didn’t want to try on his, yet, he was busy playing with baby Danna, blowing bubbles on her belly and making her laugh outrageously. He, Daniel, Sam, and Teal’c were her godparents, so Jack felt it was his sworn duty to at least make an attempt at eating tiny toes and fingers.
“Uncle Danny,” Jack crooned. Daniel jerked his head up, his eyes widening.
“No.”
“Danna, your namesake is going to change your diaper,” Jack informed her. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, I’ve changed hundreds of diapers on two beautiful baby girls, so why don’t we take this opportunity to share this wealth of knowledge?” Sam and Jonas were no help, snickering and laughing as Jack instructed him on the cleaning of a baby girl.
“Hey, at least there’s no fountain shooting up,” Jack tried to assure him.
“Just make sure the diaper is on before picking her up, or there will be a waterfall,” Jonas offered. Jack shushed him; he was scaring Daniel.
During the month leading up to their ceremony, Jack tried but couldn’t get permission for the civilians of their families to use the Gate for such a personal purpose. If, say, some alien came along and scooped them up, making them disappear for a while during an ‘alien abduction’, what could Jack do?
They talked to their families about the plan and all except Megan were agreeable. She was hesitant to risk the baby who was already on shaky ground. Jack asked Enki to take a look at her.
“I have to agree with her, Jack,” Enki said after listening to Megan’s body. She had a hard time believing the old man wasn’t human. His presence made her miss her grandfather even more. “The baby isn’t quite ready to be born; her lungs are still a little immature.”
“You can’t do anything?” Jack asked, wiggling his fingers in a ‘magic’ demonstration.
“No, I’m sorry,” Enki shook his head. “Growing a baby is woman’s work, not mine. At this stage, if I were to interfere in Olivia’s development she would become, basically, immortal, like us. Believe me, Jack, you don’t want that for her; it’s been difficult enough on those of us whom I tampered with once we were adults. I can fix something minor after she’s born, if I need to, but not this.”
Jack was disappointed, but he understood.
A call from the Tok’ra brought Jack to the SGC a week before they were due to take off to Kelona. Jack and SG-1 stepped into the gate and came out at the Tok’ra’s latest encampment. Two escorts were waiting for them and led them quickly to the entrance to the underground caverns. Malek was waiting for the team. He took the group to the main meeting room where a tall form was waiting for them.
“Thanatos,” Jack greeted him. “How’s the Gathering?”
The Masharu didn’t understand the reference but gave it a shot. “My brothers and sisters know I am here in this galaxy,” he said. “Baal is quickly losing not only people but also ships.”
Several more people came into the meeting room. Jack and SG-1 stiffened, knowing Goa’uld when they smelled them, even when they tried to hide in Tok’ra clothes.
“They are with me,” Thanatos told Jack. “My siblings. Apollo, Athena, Taranus, Morrigan, Hecate, and Lugh. So far. I believe there are a few more but we have not been able to get them through. Baal has tightened his borders.” This explained to Jack why Baal had been quiet lately.
“What happened to Bastet and Kali?” Nyan asked.
“Unfortunately, they have been lost to us,” Thanatos said.
“Baal had them killed some time ago,” Taranus said bluntly. “He knew they were conspiring, so he made an example of them. Didn’t work.” The large, broad shouldered man with
flaming red hair seemed to fill the room all by himself.
Malek leaned forward and laced his fingers as he looked at Jack.
“A battle is coming,” he warned Jack. “We are approximately five thousand strong, Tok’ra and Masharu, these war lords, plus Jaffa loyal to them. We have not been able to get an agreement from Dakkara. They seem to be having a little problem of their own.”
“Gerek and Bre’tac are not happy with each other,” Jack told him after a thoughtful moment.
“Civil war?” Malek guessed. Jack was non-committal, although Malek was right. Teal’c had filled him in the last time he was on-world. Bre’tac was taking those loyal to him back to Chulak while Gerek and party remained on Dakkara. Gerek did not have the field experience Bre’tac had and was going wild with the sudden, false sense of power that freedom brought to those newly freed. Gerek was out of control, from what Jack understood; he seemed to believe he could take Baal on all by himself.
“Let’s just say I’m grateful that Carter managed to shut down that ancient device on Dakkara before anyone got it into their head to start pressing buttons,” Jack said.
“Will Tau’ri be able to join us when the time comes?” Malek asked straight forward.
Jack leaned forward, meeting him on equal ground. “I can’t answer you,” he said honestly. The new protocols would not allow it, not unless the 303s became involved by accident. If they came across allies asking for help during a battle, then the 303s could assist; they could not fight someone else’s battle, however. “My job is to protect my planet, not send ships out to defend others. I would need to bring this before other committees. You get me a battle plan, and if it’s good, I will set up a meeting for you with those who ARE in the position to okay our participation, and I will recommend we start putting our money where our mouths have been. I’m not happy with the Tok’ra in general, but you personally have always done your best by us, so I will do what I can.
“The problem that I foresee is that my planet is new to the idea that we are not alone in the universe. Our people are still pretty scared of what’s out here. Those in charge of making this decision may refuse it on the grounds that the battle may bring Baal’s wrath down on us, and Earth is not prepared to defend herself against an entire armada. I can remind my people that the Tok’ra did assist us with the Enlil problem. We have three battle cruisers, Malek, and a handful of gliders. That’s it. The fourth cruiser won’t be ready for another year. I can let Inanna and Thor know what’s going on and ask them to contact you.”
There was no set battle plan, yet; sides were still being determined. Malek would get back to Jack when they were better prepared. Jack had a long talk with the Joint Chiefs when he returned. They were willing to hear what the Tok’ra had to say, but would make no promises. A few of the more enterprising ‘chiefs’ felt that they needed to see the ‘scene of the crime’ before making a decision.
When it was finally time to leave for Kelona, Jack, Sam, and Daniel each went in three different directions to be with their families and help them with the preparation for beaming up. All the adults were nervous about the experience, the children were excited. Daniel and Stacy stayed a few days with Martin and Joy, meeting more family before leaving for Kelona. The cousins were distant on the Tree, but Daniel was just happy that they shared a few common genes. If they were expecting a stuck-up, stuffy scientist who wanted only to talk about himself, they were mistaken; Daniel wanted to know about everyone else and made everyone tell him their life story. He even wanted to hear about school from the children.
Daniel gathered Martin, Joy, and the boys together when he was notified that it was time. He once more assured them that it wouldn’t hurt. They wouldn’t even notice it other than they would be in one place one minute and in another place a second later. It was a little disorienting, that’s all.
It wasn’t so much the ship and the beaming that stopped families speechless, it was the site of the little gray alien with the big black eyes.
“Hi, Thor!” Stacy gave the little alien a hug and ran off to find the rest of her parental units. Hugging wasn’t an Asgard thing, so Thor stood still during the quick skin pressing. The child didn’t seem to notice.
“The Roswell aliens are real?” Martin breathed, wide-eyed.
“Yep,” Daniel said, giving his shoulder a light pat. “This is Thor, the Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet. Thor, this is Martin, Joy, Dennis, and Stewart Applegate. My cousins.” It thrilled him no end to say that word –cousins. Family.
O’Neills, Carmichaels, Carters, and one Frasier were all on the bridge looking at the Earth through the main window. Nate had Davy balanced on a hip, pointing out the window at different land marks far below. Jack was keeping particular watch on his parents, but they seemed to be taking it well. Michael was looking a little green around the gills. The rest of the guests were all SGC personnel, so they would be gating in. Daniel couldn’t convince Mrs. Arthur to join them; she said she loved her boy but she wasn’t going to participate, and she was too old to be gallivanting around the galaxy. Daniel understood and left Mrs. A at the Mountain where she was making sure everything was ship-shape. She had even given Gen. Landry the ‘clean your room or else’ eye when she walked into his office and saw the state of his desk.
“How long will the trip take?” Joy asked, concerned. “We brought only a couple days worth of clothing changes.”
Before anyone could answer, they were over another planet.
“We’re here,” Sam announced, and gathered up her niece and nephew for the short walk back to the beaming room.
“God, I love this ship!” Jack declared, giving the console a pat.
“Yes, the Daniel Jackson is our best ship,” Thor proudly said. The others all looked at Daniel. He reddened.
“I had nothing to do with it,” he insisted, holding his hands up in protest.
They were met by Jonas and Kianna in the courtyard of the hotel. The families stopped, startled at the sight of the large moon in the daytime sky.
“That’s Ramara,” Jonas told them, his usual congenial smile plastered on his face. “She’s almost always in the sky during the day. If you will follow me? I will take you to your rooms while Kianna gets you registered.”
“Thank you for doing this, Jonas,” Daniel said as they walked into the building.
“Daniel, I owe you so much, this is the least I can do,” Jonas told him. It was his fault that Daniel had died, the first time, and no matter how many times Daniel forgave him, Jonas wouldn’t hear of it.
SG-1 and 3 were waiting in the hotel lobby. All the teams had insisted on being honor guard for these three while off-world, but Landry sent 1, 3, and 15. There were also several scruffy-looking types all in leather kilts hanging around the lobby. Stacy ran over to one and jumped at him. He swung her around, trying to get the clinging weed off of him while she giggled and hung on.
“Just how many aliens does your daughter know?” Martin asked, leaning over to Daniel.
“Quite a few, actually,” he said, smiling at his daughter. “That’s Erra, one of the Anunnaki. The Heaven’s Bow must be in orbit.”
“Oh, right, the ones from the picnic,” Martin remembered.
“They’ve been sweeping the place,” Jonas told them with a wry grin. “They’re just a little over-protective of you guys. SG-15 is sweeping the ceremony site, Jaffa are sweeping the mountain lodge, and General Hammond is overseeing the food prep. Col. Reynolds and Col. Bosco have already been through your suites with a fine toothed comb, Major Davis has been storming through red tape getting everything together; and with Nick glaring at people from over Davis’ shoulder, the tape is being burned away rather quickly. The four horsemen of the apocalypse, over there, have been sitting around scaring the natives.” Shara, Gibil, and Ninurta were lounging while Erra played with Stacy and David. He was pretending to be down for the count on the floor as children piled onto him.
The families got situated in their rooms and spent
a lot of time on the balconies looking at the strange moon, and flocks of night birds that would zip by as the sun set over the industrialized city. Fragrance filled the air from flowered bushes and trees in the courtyard. Some kind of animal yowled in the night, but they couldn’t tell where it was coming from.
Dinner was unusual, none of the foods at all familiar. Jonas assured them that the foods were all safe for them; he was as human as they were, and, having lived on Earth for a year, he could attest to their safety. If he could eat it, so could they. Medical aid was prepared for the odd allergy, though, just in case.
Jack was disappointed that Megan was unable to make it, but the children were having fun. His parents had begun to relax; he wished Michael would. There were a few non-humanoid aliens wandering around, visitors on vacation or business; Michael lost more blood from his face at the sight of each alien.
“Michael, you’re over-analyzing,” Jack told him. “Pretend you’re in a different country, instead of on another world.”
Michael was hesitantly trying various foods on his plate as he contemplated life. “This is the world where Daniel was hurt?” he asked.
“Yes.” Jack had taken Michael aside during the summer and showed him the footage of Daniel’s first ascension. Michael didn’t take it well. Watching a body die and then disappear, leaving a collapsed sheet, was unsettling the Catholic priest.
“Why did you choose this world for this… ceremony?”
“We’re a little pissed with the former government, not the current one,” Jack told him. “This is an ally planet and they’ve bent over backwards to apologize for the past. Besides, Daniel returning to life sorta spooked them.”
“It’s spooking me, Jack,” Michael said.
“Did you talk with him about it?” Jack asked. Michael shook his head. “Well, you should. He knows you’ve seen the tape, he’s probably waiting for you.”
Michael was silent for a few minutes as he nibbled thoughtfully at his food. The meat roll was pleasantly spiced, nothing too unusual for his palate. It reminded him of a favorite Greek restaurant in Chicago.
The Anunnaki Unification, Book 2: A Staraget SG-1 Fan Fiction Story Page 4