Their honor guard gave a shout, startling the civilians, and fired zats into the air. The party was on.
While food was being set up, a reception line was formed, and formal thanks and best wishes were given. The SG teams were actually on their best behavior as they shook hands with Jack, Sam, and Daniel. Hammond looked at the trio, smiled, and gave a shake of his head.
“I don’t know what Jacob would have thought about this, but if anyone deserves this happiness, it’s the three of you,” he told them. Sam put her arms around his neck and hugged him.
“Did Reynolds give you that refund?” Jack asked him, shaking his hand.
“Yes, he did,” Hammond assured him with a chuckle. “You could have blown me over with dead air when he showed me the tape of you two men in the gateroom. I was joking when I made that bet.”
He held his hand out to Daniel. “Son, you deserve this most of all. I hope you know you can count me in as part of your family. Your parents would have been proud of you; I couldn’t be prouder if you were my own.”
Daniel hugged the general. “I would have been proud to have had you as my father, sir.”
During lunch, Jonas had local musicians play for them. It wasn’t too different from Earth, human ears and vocal cords being the same throughout most of the galaxy. For the sake of politics and good neighbors, Jack made nice with the Prime Minister and several cabinet members who stopped by to congratulate them. Sam handed a new MRI to Jonas along with the schematics. The PM was tickled to play with it, aiming it at people and peering at their insides, comparing human and Sua skeletal structures.
They were surprised to see T’Keet, almost didn’t recognize her; she had sprouted several inches and could no longer lounge on shoulders. A lot of her kitten playfulness had been replaced with that of an older child as she played with the other kids out on the lawn. One of the Sua cubs had recently undergone HIS changes and joined the ranks of adult Sua while his new mane had begun to grow in. M’Net said he hoped they were still around when it T’Keet’s turn came, because she wanted Daniel to be at her initiation rites. M’Net told him that only very close family and friends were witness to an initiation rite, and T’Keet still looked to Daniel as one of her fathers, although she now understood that he was not.
Jack danced with Sam and then his mom, Katie, and Stacy. Daniel danced with his daughter and found himself upset that there would be a day when he’d be dancing with someone’s new wife.
“Are you guys okay?” Jack asked, sitting next to his parents. He kissed his mom’s cheek. She was behaving and not asking questions about her ‘grandson,’ although she kept looking at him with a strange longing in her eyes. Jack was only sorry he couldn’t satisfy that longing.
“This…. has made it all so real,” she said, indicating the alien landscape. “I don’t know what I was expecting, maybe purple skies and pink grass or something, but this is all so normal.”
“The aliens are just as human as we are,” he told her. “When they were taken off Earth all those centuries ago, they needed someplace there they could live, which meant an Earth-type planet.” He put an arm around her and gave her a squeeze and put his mouth to the side of her head.
“J’ck!” T’Keet bounded over, jumped onto his lap, and spouted at him. “Me kiss!”
“You?” Jack questioned. “Why would I want to kiss your furry face? I’ll get a hairball.”
“Cute face,” she told him, serious as she teetered on his lap and put her paws on his shoulders. “D’nl say so.”
“Oh, well, if Daniel says so, it must be true,” Jack told her, looking into the dual colored eyes. She had sprouted several inches to about two and a half feet tall and could look Jack in the eye as she stood on his legs. He put noisy kisses all over her face as she hooted and wiggled. He put his nose to hers and rubbed the side of his face against hers in a Sua caress.
“Love J’ck,” she said. “Love D’nl, love S’m.”
“We love you, too,” Jack told her, stroking her back. Michael had a strange expression on his face as he watched and listened.
The peaceful background music was replaced with drums. The Anunnaki had decided they wanted to dance, particularly since a couple of them had been making goo-goo eyes at a couple of local women. There was absolutely no way Jack was going to shake his booty to drums, so Daniel made Jack pay for it; he kicked off his shoes, tossed his coat and shirt down, and made sure Jack was paying attention, much to Jack’s eternal embarrassment as his family and military people laughed and whistled at Daniel’s half-strip tease in Jack’s face.
Jack took his revenge later that evening.
Chapter 25
The mountain lodge turned out to be a cabin on government property and not much else. Jack was happy with it. After much romping and hikes through the forests of Kelona, they had to admit it was time to go home. Daniel had introduced Sam to the joys of out-door sex. None of the local animals seemed to mind the screaming. Even Jack had enjoyed getting bent over a large rock. The stream had been a really good excuse for them to get naked; they hoped they didn’t scare the fish too badly.
“I can’t believe you sang to me,” he whispered. Jack flushed and banged his face into Daniel’s shoulder. “No, Jack, you were good; you don’t give yourself enough credit. You have a pleasant voice and that was a beautiful song.”
“I croaked,” Jack informed him.
“No, your voice is a little raspy, but good. Some people can pull off that smoky sound, and you do. And I officially have a family of my own; God, Jack….”
Jack stroked the brown hair. “I’m a little stunned, myself,” he said. “It’s been less than a year and, yet, it’s been years. A few years ago, Reynolds told me we argue like an old married couple. I feel like an old married couple. I’m glad we did this, Danny; the three of us have made a family with each other, and this is how it should be.”
He slid off Daniel and curled up next to him, wrapping an around across Daniel’s stomach.
“Jack, Stacy has been wondering about what to call you and Sam now that we are married. I know, the word doesn’t quite work for what the three of us are doing but… Anyway. She referred to us as the Dads last week. Momma Bear and the Dads. Jack, I’d like to hear her call you Dad, if you want it.”
Jack leaned up on an elbow, frowning. “Danny, she’s your daughter. For her to call me Dad would take away from you.”
“I don’t think so,” Daniel said with a shrug. “I love hearing it; it’s the most beautiful word I have ever heard. Jack, as you wouldn’t share your wife with anyone else, I wouldn’t share my daughter with anyone else. We are a family and she’s your daughter, too. Pick something else, if not Dad, but she wants to recognize you as part of us. You’re not Uncle; she wants to call Sam Mom, and to call you Uncle would be slightly exclusionary.”
Jack sighed and put his head down, thinking. “Let me think on this,” he said. “I do love her, and I would like to hear it from her, but I need to work it out.”
Sam turned weepy when she woke up and learned that she was a mommy.
“Her own mother was a drug addict, Sam,” Daniel told her. “It’s only been a few months, and I do find that incredible, but you’ve been a constant in her life and she’s needed that. She was starving for a mother. I know you’re afraid of it, that you’ll be a bad mother, but you helped to raise Cassie, and now Stacy already loves you. You’re a wonderful mother, Sam, and I can’t think of anyone in the world I’d entrust my daughter to other than you.”
Sam gave a shaky nod and wiped her face. “It didn’t even occur to me,” she said. “I know you’ve been referring to us as step-parents, but this is real. We ARE parents. I’ll mess it up.”
“I’ve made a discovery,” Daniel told her. “I’ve discovered that the words I’m Sorry I Messed Up work very well. I think the parents who mess up are the ones who can’t say the words and mean them. Stacy and I talk, honey, I’m open with her just as I’m open with you. I’m no expert, but I
think it’s working. You don’t need to change anything; you’ve been doing a great job.”
It had been quite a while since they could all be together without the crisis of the day happening, so they took advantage of the time, had a Naked Truth session for a check-in with each other, and promised to make more time for each other. It was especially difficult since Sam was out of town so much, but they would work on it even if they had to take turns going up to Nevada for a few days to spend time with her there. Sam lived in base housing, but they would get a small apartment in town. There was no reason Jack couldn’t do some of his work there, and no reason Daniel couldn’t write and do research while Sam was at work. Jack would have Paul call the CO of Area 51 and see about setting up a small office for HomeWorld Security.
“Jack, I think Michael’s crisis of faith is worse,” Daniel commented as they cleaned up and waited for Jonas to come and take them to the gate.
“He was a little spooked,” Jack said in agreement. Much to his surprise, though, his brother wasn’t spooked enough to insist on going home early.
“He was talking a sabbatical leave,” Daniel said. “And monks.”
Jack paused. “Yes, that sounds worse. I don’t know what to do about it; he has always run away from whatever he couldn’t deal with. I thought he was dealing with this alright.”
“You ran away, too,” Sam said to Jack. She put a hand on his leg. “You tried to run away when Charlie died. The ultimate escape.” Jack leaned back and shut his eyes for a moment. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean for this to hurt you,” she said. “Yes, Michael ran away when his wife died, but his sanctuary has been violated again by a force he has no control over. The force of facts. He’s what? Sixty-two? You’ve been doing this for eleven years; he needs time to sort out his heart.”
Jack reluctantly acknowledged her as Jonas came up to the cabin. In his sweet, sincere disposition, it didn’t occur to Jonas to tease the threesome. He made sure everything in the cabin had been to their liking, and then ushered them into his vehicle for the trip back to town where they could say their good-byes to a few people before walking through the gate and into the SGC.
Stacy was happy to see them back home. She had stayed with the Boscos; she thought it was an extended sleep-over with Jessica, but for her parents, it was security measures. Nick had yet to spot Nate’s shadow and he was becoming cranky about it, so all the kids were being closely guarded.
Davis had taken over negotiations with Poland for a Yard, and had ten pilot candidates for Jack for final interviews. And the president wanted to talk with Jack.
“Jack, I have about half the senate and congress jumping at my throat for this latest stunt of yours,” the president told him.
“What stunt?”
“This marriage thing.”
“Oh, that stunt. We taped it, I’ll send you a copy,” Jack offered. “Fast forward through me singing, though. And it wasn’t a wedding, it was a hand-fasting. Nothing has changed, Henry, so I don’t know what their problem is. We aren’t filing any papers with you, we made a contract with each other, exchanged rings, our families are happy, and our stunt was blessed by a spiritual leader. Four, actually. The senate and congress can get over themselves.”
The president sighed. “Jack, we really need to get this settled,” he said. “I have a US Air Force general sleeping with not only his wife but also another man, and they are open about it. Now the three of them have gone and gotten married together. My general is not only bisexual, he’s polygamous….”
“I’m not bisexual and I’m not polygamous,” Jack interrupted. “We handfasted, we didn’t marry, therefore no polygamous marriage has occurred. And bisexuality implies that I am attracted to both sexes, which I am not. Only one man.”
“Jack, they’re calling for your head again,” Hayes told him, ignoring the minute details.
“Let them,” Jack declared in frustration, tossing his arm in the air. “I’ve had offers from Chulak, the Anunnaki, the Tok’ra, and Langara to be in on their armed forces and all I need to do to leave this planet is press a button for a beam out. My wife and my partner have already agreed to leave with me, if it comes down to that. Col. Samantha Carter and Dr. Daniel Jackson, in case you’ve forgotten who they are. If the senate and congress want to continue to play nice with aliens, they’re going to have to get used to the fact that your Bible is not running the show. I’ll tell them myself, sign me up for a hearing. And while you’re at it, remind them exactly who is responsible for the forty percent increase in armed forces recruits.”
Jack told Davis to call Larry and Barbara and set them up for interviews. He had been refusing all interviews, but it was time to get in faces. At the pleading look on Teal’c’s face when he was asked to make himself available, they also called Oprah.
Sam almost burst into tears the first time Stacy called her Mom. The girls went out for a girl’s day: shopping, ice cream, and a movie. Daniel met with his students and caught up on their work. His students enjoyed his class; the schedule was so open, they got more work done outside the classroom than in, and checked in with Daniel when he called them, often using the computers for video chats. At times, he brought them out to the house and they sequestered themselves in his den for the afternoon. They informed him that he was to give them mid-term tests, so he made one up on the spot. Daniel also had a request for a second semester transfer. The student was unable to get into any special permission classes, and really wanted to be in his class. Daniel looked at the transcripts and didn’t understand why she wasn’t able to get into classes; her GPA was at 3.8 and she had all the necessary background classes. When she came in for an interview, he understood the problem. She was transsexual. Daniel didn’t particularly care; she understood the difference between modern Egyptian and ancient Egyptian, and spoke well in both, so he welcomed her to the class. The old fogies in his field could be so conservative. She became slightly teary when Daniel told her she was welcome.
Three weeks after the handfasting, Jack was rousted from his office by a phone call.
“Jack, you need to come home,” Michael told him in a subdued, husky voice.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, immediately suspicious.
“It’s bad, just come home right away.”
Jack called Inanna and asked her to beam him to Michael. His older brother was startled to see him. Jack found himself in a hospital waiting room. Several other people waiting bit off a screech at his ‘entrance.’ Only his uniform saved him from being rushed by the security guards. They did consider asking him for the sidearm attached to his thigh, but decided against it.
“Well?” Jack demanded. He was in a hospital.
“I forget that ‘right away’ has taken on a whole new meaning for you,” Michael said. He took Jack by the arm and steered him into a private consult room.
“There’s been an accident,” Michael told him. His eyes were red, his face pale. “Dad was taking Megan to the doctor for a last minute check-up. They were hit by a drunk driver.”
Jack sat down, his heart trying to beat its way through his chest as his mouth went dry.
“Olivia is fine, she’s here. Megan and Dad…. They didn’t make it, Jack. Mom collapsed, she’s in ICU.”
Jack tried to catch his breath. “I want to see them,” he whispered. Michael nodded.
“I knew you would.”
Jack wasn’t paying attention to where Michael led him; he only knew when he saw Megan lying on a bed. Her belly wasn’t as full as it had been just weeks before. He stepped up to her and took her hand. It was cold. He stroked her hair, pushing it from her face.
“Where are the kids?” he asked, barely able to speak the words.
“With Joey and Rita.”
“Where’s Dad?”
Michael shook his head. “Driver’s side was hit, Jack. He was gone in an instant. Remember him as he was. Megan died from hemorrhage. The baby was an emergency C-section on scene. She’s fine.”
Jack hit
his comm. “I need Enki.”
Moments later, the old man took his hand from Megan’s chest and head and sadly shook his head.
“I’m sorry, Jack,” he said. “She is beyond my reach.”
“No!” Jack yelled hoarsely. “You can bring an entire planet to life, bring me Megan!”
“Give me your hand.” Enki held his out. He took Jack’s hand and placed it on Megan’s still chest. “Reach for her, Jack; tell me what you sense.”
“This isn’t the time..!” Jack yelled, swiping at his eyes and jerking his hand back.
“This is exactly the time,” Enki said calmly. “That’s why you called me here, now DO IT!” he roared.
Angry at the old man, Jack reached out from the inside. He found only silent, empty darkness. He fell forward, his face against her as he cried. A baby girl crawled on the kitchen floor, banging on pots and pans, resting against his chest in a warm bath during a difficult night, toddling toward him, arms outstretched, Da! a face covered in strawberries as she generously offered to share, dancing a happy dance around the potty chair in the middle of the living room, crawling into bed with him, watching her marry, feeling a baby playing inside of her, holding her first born, minutes old.
“I hate you,” Jack said from Megan’s chest.
“Good, at least you can feel,” Enki said softly. He put a light hand on Jack’s head, gave a short bow of apology to Megan’s grieving father, and beamed out.
Jack had a headache by the time he was cried out. He hit his comm and quietly requested three people be brought to him. Sam, Daniel, and Nate were with him moments later. They looked startled, and then looked at the bed.
“Oh, my God,” Daniel breathed. Nate went up to the bed, hesitant, his eyes streaming over. Jack pulled him into his arms.
The Anunnaki Unification, Book 2: A Staraget SG-1 Fan Fiction Story Page 6