“Special report at noon,” Jack told everyone as they left for their daily schedules.
The main summary of Jack’s official report on recent events was sent out to his HomeSec council, and from there to other heads of state. By noon, Jack was in full dress uniform and standing in front of a podium in the largest meeting room at HomeSec. His war council stood behind him; Markham, Caldwell, Galanakis, Inanna, Ninurta, Jonathan, Bre’tac, Teal’c, Malek, Alleria, Thanatos, and Athena. Everyone wore their own version of dress uniforms. Jonathan was in leathers. Jack told the reporters to keep their questions and then gave a brief report of events after introducing his council and their race. The inclusion of eight aliens, even if they are human, gave the reporters pause. After the summary of events, Jack informed the reporters that the families of those that died were still being located and informed. When that was complete, there would be a public disclosure of Earth’s heroes. Allies also lost good men and women, and they would also be remembered. Billions had died since the Goa’uld began taking slaves and destroying worlds, and Jack would like someone to come up with a proper memorial so that history would remember them.
Inanna, Bre’tac, Malek, and Thanatos each took a turn, thanking Jack and his Tau’ri for their assistance in the war, especially Jack for his leadership and guidance in their battle to conquer the Goa’uld once and for all.
The reporters yelled for more information as Jack and the others left the room. Davis had already handed out press kits; when the reporters could think up decent questions, Jack would consider responding. Inanna, Bre’tac, and Malek requested Jack’s presence in private. Inanna handed him a piece of paper listing names and planets.
“Jack, everyone one of those worlds is asking for a united federation,” she told him. “Each wants autonomy of their world, but has agreed to work out a general protocol for federation membership. Most of them want you to lead this federation. The only planet that has not been heard from is Tau’ri herself. If this planet does not agree to membership, the other planets still want you specifically. You can relocate off world, if it comes to that.”
Jack needed a drink. Inanna reached out and touched his hand.
“I have agreed to you as the council leader,” she informed him. “Never once have you allowed your position to interfere with common sense. You are cool in stressful situations, you have no issues about asking for advice before making hard decisions, and you know when to push and when not to. All I ask is that you keep a personal council and that the unification protocol includes a clause that allows for the leader to be removed, if there is a no-confidence vote from the membership.”
Jack groaned and stood to pace as he cranked a hand over the back of his neck. His spine cracked. “Alright, start from the beginning,” he requested.
“We had a meeting after we took care of the remaining Goa’uld,” she told him. “Several allied representatives called everyone together and made the proposal. The worlds want the freedom to develop as they will, while recognizing that this sudden free-fall, as it were, could be detrimental if there is no one for them to call for help. It is a coalition asking for a neighborhood watch, and they would like you to be the president of the neighborhood watch.”
“The Tok’ra argued about this,” Malek admitted.
“As did the Jaffa,” Bre’tac said.
Malek nodded. “Yes. Many stood up and insisted that THEY were the best suited for such an endeavor. The Tok’ra high council is actually arguing host and symbiote. My own host is usually… laid back, you would say, but he and I argued over this. We are much older than you, General, as a race, and it stands to reason that elder heads should prevail. My host has convinced me that maybe we are too old for leadership. We have become lost. Our focus is lost. We have prevailed over the Goa’uld, where do we go from here? We need time to find a new way of life.”
“And my people feel the same,” Bre’tac said gravely. “We have been slaves and hosts for the Goa’uld for so long, that we have no vision for ourselves. Nothing beyond our immediate reformation. Our own people are scattered across the galaxy. We are in no position to lead a unification. We would still like to have a voice, if we are to agree to this.”
“And the Tau’ri have been left alone to grow,” Inanna said. “You are able to watch from the outside, see the bigger picture. I cannot lead this, my people number under one hundred and we have a new world to establish. We are dying, as a race, and we would like to pass on what we can to the future. My duties lie at home, not in the galaxy at large. You are learning to see, Jack; you see clearer now than you ever have in your entire life.”
Jack turned back to them, his arms folded. “Yeah about that,” he said. “I can suddenly read without my glasses, my knees are NOT bothering me, I lifted my mother and my back didn’t protest, I’m anticipating problems with the children and I’m fixing it before it’s a problem, and I exorcized a demon from the American ambassador to Rome and said demon turned out to be a weird alien entity made up of smoke or something. And you want me to lead this thing? What the hell is going on?”
Inanna gave an inscrutable smile. “That’s exactly why you are the only person to lead this thing.”
Jack tossed his head back and groaned. “Do you know how irritating you can be at times?” he asked. “There is no way this planet will unite and agree to this.”
“Over half of this planet has already united under the HomeWorld Security banner,” Inanna reminded him. “Your issue will be with the leaders of the various governments, not the people. From what I have seen of newscasts, the people are sick and tired of the lies and deceptions their governments are handing them.”
“Yeah, well, I’m no messiah and I’m not leading the children of Israel out of Egypt,” Jack informed her, a thumb jabbing at the center of his chest. She twitched her mouth. The men didn’t understand the reference.
“Moshe, you are not,” she agreed. “But like the rabbis, we are asking you to guide the flock, not beat them into submission. We know what we need to do; sometimes, though, we may need an outside voice to settle a difference when we become blind.”
“And what exactly would I be doing?” Jack asked.
“Taking care of Tau’ri,” she said, spreading her hands to encompass the whole of the world. “Just as you have been. If one planet decides to invade another, you step in to reprimand them after receiving permission from the council. If one planet goes to war with itself, they’re on their own. It is their business unless it affects another world. Planets must develop on their own; no sharing of technology that is beyond their knowledge. The governments of Tau’ri cannot take you out of office; only a no-confidence vote of the unified worlds can make that decision. You would be under no obligation to any one government of Tau’ri. You are under no obligation to Tau’ri at all. Your loyalty would belong to the unified worlds. Those are the basics that we have so far discussed; the specifics would need to be hammered out by councils.”
Jack continued to pace. “And why isn’t Thanatos in here?” he asked.
Inanna shrugged. “He considers himself to be part of another galaxy, not this one,” she said. “He is willing to be an ally, not a member.”
“Fair enough,” Jack admitted. “Have the Asgard put in their two-cents?”
“If they know of this, we haven’t heard,” she said.
“This is insane, you know that, right?” he asked, eying each of them. “I’m not agreeing to anything. I need to talk with a hell of a lot of people, starting with my family.”
Inanna shrugged. “Seek your truth.”
After dinner, Sam and Daniel were taken into Jack’s office. They stared at him once Jack was done running over the conversation.
“Okay,” Daniel said.
“Okay, what?!”
“Okay, I think I understand what they want to try and do, and I can see why they’re asking you to lead,” Daniel told him.
“Can I still play with my toys?” Sam asked. “I really don’t thin
k I can be a queen or anything like that.”
Jack looked at his partners. “Did you two understand what I said?” he asked. “They want me to be Senator Palpatine.”
Sam put a hand to her mouth, her eyes twinkling. “Honey, I don’t think you’ll become a Sith lord,” she told him. “We wouldn’t let you. I think it’s a good idea; different worlds getting together for their own growth and protection. If you don’t want to do it, that’s fine, but I still think they have the right idea.”
“I agree,” Daniel said. “It’s a step forward, coming out of their darkness. They have realized that they’re no longer alone; they have friends. If they want you to help unify their voices, I think you should at least consider some sort of role, if not the lead role.”
Jack still stared at them. He picked up the phone and dialed. “Major, come over here, please.” He hung up. “This is insane,” he told his partners and then hit his comm. “Jonathan!”
His clone showed up, looking slightly rumpled and well-kissed. Jack was afraid to ask.
“You rang, o wise one?”
“Shut up. What the hell are Inanna and those two talking about? No, wait for the major.”
Which was five minutes later.
“Okay, talk,” Jack told Jonathan. Paul had to sit down within minutes of hearing what the topic was. Jack’s phone rang several times and he finally silenced the ringer.
“So, basically, they’re looking for a chairman of the board,” Jonathan concluded. “It’s a majority rule, you chair the council. You go along with the majority, unless it goes against the contract of the group. If, for some reason the military is needed, you would lead the military.”
“How Sumerian of them,” Daniel commented. “I hear Inanna’s input in that one.”
“Why me?” Jack whined.
A short while later, Jack went into the bedroom. Sam was reading in bed with the baby on her chest. He kept looking at her as he changed into his pajamas. Every once in a while, Sam would absently press her mouth to the top of Olivia’s head, mouthing the soft fuzz. Sam seemed to curl around the baby, their energy becoming one. Jack softly smiled.
“When did you fall in love with her?” he asked quietly. Sam glanced up.
“Hmm?”
He climbed into bed and put an arm across both females.
“You’re in love with her,” he informed Sam. “You’ve become her mother. I was just curious as to when it happened.”
Sam put her book down and carefully turned onto her side, nestling the baby between them.
“I think it was during a bath time,” she said, caressing a small hand. Little fingers curled trustingly around her index finger. “I’m not sure what happened. One minute I was washing her, and the next I was crying. It felt like my heart was breaking, and I knew she was mine.”
Jack leaned in and slowly kissed her. “When Megan was learning to talk, she immediately identified me with Da,” he said. “It nearly killed me to correct her. She already had a father; I couldn’t rightfully take the title even though I was performing that role. When Charlie was born, I held him, covered in blood and white stuff, and I snipped his cord. He opened his eyes and looked straight into mine. I had never been in love like that in my life. When he identified me as Da, I cried; I had waited so long, an eternity, to hear that word. An eternity since the day we knew Sara was pregnant. She had lost a few before, and the doctor had warned her against becoming pregnant again, but when she was still carrying at five months, we knew he was going to be in our lives. Honey, I have loved one of my own and one that wasn’t mine. Both were appropriate for me to love. It is appropriate for you to love her as your own. If you can, allow yourself to love the other kids. If you can’t, don’t fake it; be their friend, their sister, their aunt, whatever you can be to them. And don’t punish yourself.”
Sam put an arm across his hips and leaned into his shoulder as she nodded. Olivia was happily snug between them, drooling over a fist in her mouth.
“I thought I could only fall in love with a child I carried,” she said after a minute. “I watched you and Daniel, both of you so natural with kids, and I guess I was a little jealous. I want to love Stacy like this, but how much would I be taking away from Daniel? She calls me Mom. I haven’t earned it.”
The bed on the other side of her dipped slightly. The scent of Daniel washed over her as he leaned his freshly showered body against her back.
“Do you think I’ve earned the right to be called Dad?” he asked, sliding an arm under hers. “Just because we share DNA doesn’t make me Dad. I’m doing my damnedest to earn it. Sam, have you considered that your fear of parenting stems from the fact that you didn’t have the best of father-daughter relationships with your own? Sure, Jacob came around, but you also had to do a little forgiving. Of yourself. My adoptive parents may not have been the greatest, but they are what I had. I was old enough to remember my parents and, yet, I loved Mom Dora and Dad Howard in my own way. I resented them for a long time; I wanted my own parents. They kept me, though, weird as I was, and after a while I no longer had a problem accepting them. Just keep steady with Stacy, make sure she knows you’re available for her and that you hear her. Hug her and kiss her. She needs cuddling so bad, as much as she can get. You do that, and you’ll earn the Mommy’s. I’m still earning the Daddys.”
Jack reached over and touched Daniel’s damp hair.
“All that earning never stops,” he told them. “I’m in love with both of you. If we didn’t work at it, together, every day, we would fall apart. It’s the same with kids; we work at it. Stacy calls you Mom because she knows she can trust you. It’s the trust we are earning; the love is a side-effect.”
He took Olivia into the nursery, off to the side of the bedroom, and tucked her into her crib. When he returned, he kissed them both and started to burrow into Sam’s t-shirt. He had yet to make love with them since his return, and the familiar scent and taste of them both made him ache inside.
Chapter 30
Jack was still sound asleep in the morning. They straightened his covers and tucked him in. Sam checked his pulse, slightly worried at all his sleeping, but she shook her head at Daniel’s look. He was fine, as far as she could tell.
The kids clamored for breakfast, including one hungry baby, so Daniel and Sam got them settled. A neighbor stopped and picked up Matty for church. They had dealt with Father Joe when Matthew started becoming a regular at St. Peter’s. The Father was a little concerned that Matthew might be getting negative messages from the family, and so was more than once welcomed to meals at the house. He left bemused, enjoying his lively conversations with Daniel, convinced that the family supported Matthew’s decision to continue with the Church, and respectful of those who did not wish to join him. Now that Jack’s mother was in town, she, too, began joining her great-grandson at St. Peter’s. Sometimes a few of Daniel’s SGC geeks would come over to the house and Matthew enjoyed some of the conversations he would get from Khalid. Although two different religions, Khalid respected the boy and was teaching him that it was okay to Believe and still live in the modern world.
Stacy enjoyed language day in their house when SGC translators and Daniel’s class all came over. Everyone took turns trying out words and phrases on her, but she picked up whatever she heard. It wasn’t unusual for students to drop in at odd hours, if something was bugging them. Sam had visitors, too, when something technical came up, but Jack had misgivings about blowing the house up so Sam usually did her consulting on-line. Everyone was told that if they were going to bother the family at home, they’d better be prepared to pitch in. The traffic had lessened since the baby came to the house, but a few brave souls still managed.
The university wasn’t sure about Daniel’s teaching methods. He used testing only because the board insisted, rarely used a text book, and rarely used the classroom. Daniel had taken the text books, edited them, returned them to the board, and told them that when the authors got it right, he’d use them.
While Jack was still sleeping, alright maybe unconscious would be a better word, Maggie and Fr. Joe came in with Matthew just in time for lunch. There was a screech of laughter from the front yard and Daniel stuck his head out the door. Davy, Stacy, and, surprisingly T’Keet were pelting snowballs at several warriors and children that had popped in to play in the snow. One snowball hit a neighbor.
“Manners!” Daniel shouted. “Ooof!” A cold, white blob had hit him square in the chest. He shouted a challenge and jumped down, rolling and ducking for cover as he put together some ammo of his own.
Paul had come up the sidewalk, took in the scene, and decided that the kids needed help more, so he joined their ranks.
“Traitor!” Daniel shouted.
Something red flew past.
“Zu!” the children shouted in delight. “Erra and Zu are back!”
Zu landed close to Daniel, turned, and scratched at the snow, sending a flurry of snow flying at Daniel. Zu snickered at the sputtering and flew back into the house. A warrior stuck his head out.
“Erra! Be on our side!” the kids shouted. Erra dove at them and started shooting balls across the yard.
“Hey! No fair!” Daniel shouted.
“And three men against a couple of kids is fair?” Erra asked. “I’d say things are evened out, now.” He shot a snowball and it landed on a neighbor. “I’m Erra! Nothing personal!”
“Where have you been?” Daniel called out.
“Destroying archaeological evidence!”
Several snowballs were volleyed at him. Matty and Katie came out. Katie went to Paul and Matty went to Daniel.
More people appeared in the yard and chose their teams. The children had discovered that they could sneak around the grownups and shove snow down sweaters and pants. The ship’s kids came down and joined up. Neighborhood kids heard the commotion and came out for the fun, too. A couple of people from Daniel’s class came up and also joined in.
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