“No,” the children informed him with more giggles.
“What kind of bribe do I need to make?” he asked.
The kids looked at each other. “Hot fudge sundaes?”
Jack scowled. “A little steep, but I might be able to manage it.”
The report from the man in the studio was in Jack’s email. John Glandon was in counseling and rehabilitation. A simple janitor, he had been completely unaware of what had happened to him. He didn’t know where the urge to be at the studio came from, he only knew he had to be there. There was no way to tell who had set the implant. The technicians were sure they had wiped Mr. Glandon’s mind clean of all commands, including the self-destruct command. The man had been horrified at what he had tried to do. HomeSec councilors took time with him and made sure he was aware that it wasn’t his fault and that General O’Neill would not be holding him responsible. They’d keep him for a week or so, making sure he was well on his way to normal before sending him home. Jack signed off on the report and forwarded it to the Oprah legal offices out of courtesy.
“Jack.” He looked up. Daniel was standing in the doorway to his office, quiet and sober. He looked behind and pulled someone forward. He shut the door and left them.
“Michael. Are you alright?” Jack asked, standing up and moving to his brother. Michael’s hair had grown out an inch, clothes weren’t as neat and tidy as they usually were, and he was in civilian clothing instead of clerical.
“Jack, I….” He collapsed to the couch and buried his face in his hands, sobbing. Jack went to him and took him into his arms. Michael put his face into Jack’s chest.
“Aw, Mikey.”
It was a while before Michael stopped howling into Jack’s chest. Jack knew Michael would show up sooner or later; Michael had always been the one to run away in denial until he figured out that life wasn’t going to take pity on him.
When Michael was reduced to sniffling, he pushed away and wiped quickly at his face. Jack got up and found a tissue box.
“I’m not as strong as you, Jack,” Michael said, tossing a tissue away. “I never have been. I can’t do this.”
“You can,” Jack told him. “Stop fighting it. You’re trying to make the universe conform to your needs. Stop fighting it and swim with the tide. I’ve learned that surrender is not always a bad thing. Listen, why don’t you go wash your face and get ready for dinner? Spend time with the kids, they miss you. Does Mom know you’re here?”
Michael shook his head.
“Alright, I’ll call her and have her over for dinner, too.”
The kids were excited to see their grandfather and clamored over him with stories and wanting to know where he was. He needed quiet time, he told them, so he had been at the family cabin. He held Olivia and almost started crying again as he saw Megan on her face. It startled him to hear the children referring to Jack as Dad.
“They asked,” Jack told him quietly. Michael nodded.
“I saw Andrew a couple times. He was pleasant and didn’t once ask about them,” Michael told him.
“My lawyer has to fight every month to get child support out of him,” Jack said. “We don’t really need it, but it’s the principle of the thing. I split it up between the kids when it comes in. Make sure they take responsibility for a bank account. Davy doesn’t understand the concept of money; Katie and Matty are doing well. Not sure of Livie’s take on it, yet, but she’s doing well, barely spends a cent.”
Michael reluctantly smiled. Maggie came out from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel.
“Michael, will you be staying with me tonight?” she asked.
“Sure, Mom, thanks,” he said.
It was late when Jack got to bed. As he stripped and pulled out fresh pajamas, Daniel watched him from the bed.
“Have you been working out?” he asked.
“No, why?”
Daniel got up and held Jack’s hand from putting the shirt on. He poked at Jack’s chest and arms.
“Your skin seems to have a new-found elasticity,” he said. “I haven’t seen your muscles stand out like that in a long time. Look, your skin even seems smoother.”
Jack looked down at himself. He had been resigned to the middle-aged droops and hadn’t really looked at himself in a while. Daniel touched his face, studying his jaw and eyes.
“Okay, this is weird,” he concluded. “You suddenly have 20/20 vision, your knees don’t bother you, you carried Katie to bed last week and your back didn’t go out, and now your skin is flexible again. I think I’d like you to go for a physical. At the SGC.”
“She’s only one hundred and five,” Jack said. “She’s a little thing.”
“Jack, she’s one hundred and twenty,” Daniel told him. “I went with her to her physical a couple months ago. She’s filling out those gangly limbs. And she’s five foot six, not exactly a little thing.”
“Danny, I had a physical when I got back,” Jack told him, continuing to dress. “I’m fine.”
“Did you actually sit and talk with the doctors, or did you take it for granted that you were fine because no one said otherwise?” Daniel asked.
“Are you complaining?” Jack asked.
“No, I’m not,” Daniel shook his head. “I’m a little concerned. Jack, the Ancients lived a couple hundred years. Enki did insinuate that you’d be living longer than you’re expecting.”
Jack paused, not yet ready to discuss that side of things. “I don’t want to live a couple hundred years, what would I do?” he said. “I’m fine, come to bed.”
Actually, Dr. Warner had called him a couple times requesting his presence, but Jack didn’t want to hear it, whatever it was. Maybe he should. Katie weighted one hundred twenty? Granted she was a little taller, but she was so slender.
In the morning, Jack looked at her as she hurried to gather her school stuff. She seemed to have a few more feminine curves than he remembered. “What’s wrong?” she asked, seeing his stare. “Did I spill?”
“No,” he shook his head. “I was just thinking that I’m not sure I’m happy about you growing up. When did you become such a beautiful young lady?”
She flushed and kissed his cheek before hurrying out the door.
“You do remember that her birthday is coming up,” Jerrie said as she cleared the table.
“What?” Jack jerked his head around. “It can’t be April already.”
“April 23rd is in two weeks,” she told him.
Jack groaned. “Have I missed anything else?”
“Well, let’s see –Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, David’s birthday….no, I think that’s it; Katie is next, then Daniel, Sam, and Matthew,” he was told. “You and Stacy are in the fall, right?”
He nodded. “We went to dinner together, I didn’t miss that one. Any idea what I should get her?”
It took Jerrie a moment….. “She said something about a concert, but the ticket prices were ridiculous. I don’t remember the band, but I can find out.”
Jack felt really bad about not being home for the holidays and David’s first birthday with them, but he had planned ahead and had presents stashed on the chance he wasn’t going to be home. Daniel and Sam had recorded all the events and had sent them to him while he was on the Prometheus. When they got home, Jack had them all burned onto disks, along with all the family messages and then made sure to take Davy out for a special day all their own.
He made a few phone calls and stopped by his mother’s on his way to work. He handed Michael a list of names and numbers.
“The SGC and HomeSec has a group that meets a couple times a month,” he told Michael. “It’s made up of various religions and they all sit around and talk about redefining their religions. These people still have their faith, Michael. Rabbi Aviram Melnik is the coordinator, he’s a nice guy. He says to come on by and you two can talk. I highly recommend you do this.”
When Jack got to his office, he discovered General Hammond talking with Mrs. Clark.
“George!” Jack took his hand.
“Jack,” Hammond greeted him. “Interesting interviews, Jack. The Oprah thing was fun; Teal’c must have been in heaven. Did something happen? There seemed to be a lot of tension at one point and Teal’c disappeared.”
Jack ushered Hammond into his office.
“A zatarg showed up,” Jack said. He poured coffee for them and sat, telling Hammond about the taping. Hammond shook his head.
“And there’s no way to find the author of that plot,” he concluded. Jack agreed. They talked for a while, catching up on kid activities. Tressa was joining the air force. Jack sat back, floored.
“She’s a baby, George,” he protested.
Hammond nodded ruefully. “She’s a nineteen-year-old baby; can you believe that, Jack? She’ll be at the Academy the same time I’ll be commandant.”
Jack smiled. “You took the position.”
“Yes, I did,” he sighed. “I can’t believe I’m doing this. Did you have a hand in it?”
“Nope,” Jack shook his head. “By the time I got around to mentioning it, I was told you were already under consideration. I think it’s a wise decision, though. And Cassie is engaged, did she tell you?”
“No, when? Who?” Hammond asked, as floored as Jack.
“Major Harper.”
Hammond picked his chin up from the floor. “What? He’s what, thirty-five? What does Sam have to say about it?”
“She says their age difference is the same as hers and mine,” Jack informed him. “I couldn’t argue that one. Nate approves, so…. Jonathan.”
“He does? What’s been going on out here, Jack, invasion of the pod people?”
Hammond left a while later and Jack heard giggling outside his door. He got up and poked his head out. Hammond was sitting on the edge of Mrs. Clark’s desk and she was giggling like a girl.
“Is there something I should know about?” Jack asked, lifting an eyebrow.
“I think I can make a date without your help, Jack, thank you,” Hammond told him.
Jack shook his head and went back into his office. He thought for a moment and then walked out the other door and down the hall.
“Is there something going on between my admin and George?” he asked Cassandra.
“They’ve been making goo-goo eyes at each other since soon after he started temping for you,” she told him.
“I thought Mrs. Clark was married,” he said. Cass reached out a hand and absently drew a coffee mug to her from across the room. Jack looked. The door was closed.
“She’s widowed, he’s widowed,” Cass told him. “I think they’re cute together.”
“Wow.” Jack shook his head and went back to his office.
Sam called and insisted that Jack come out to Nevada. She was excited about something, so he left Paul in charge and went out. She was practically dancing off the ground when he walked out of his al'kesh, and completely forgot protocol as she grabbed his arm and pulled him forward. She led him to her underground work room which was the size of a football field. There was a stone arch standing in the middle, with wires attached to it.
“Isn’t that the thing from the moon… thingy…,” Jack asked, looking at it.
“Yeah,” Sam said breathlessly. “Erra gave it to me. Jack, I figured it out.”
“Of course, you did. Figured what out?”
“How it works!” she said excitedly. “Watch!” She fiddled with her computer and then stepped through the arch. And disappeared.
“Hey!” Jack protested.
“Over here!” He turned and saw her standing across the room beneath another arch. She ran back to him.
“I think I can build more,” she told him. “It’s on the same lines as a DHD and gate. Dial in coordinates and step through. It isn’t quite a wormhole, more like a TV station sending signals through to a local receiver. If I can program it to accept longitude and latitude, and build more, they can be placed anywhere on the planet and people will have instant distance travel!”
“Please tell me you used a MALP before stepping into it yourself,” Jack begged.
“Of course, I did,” she assured him. “And I’ve taken the second arch all over the base and it works each time. They are programmed to each other, but I know they can be reprogrammed. I want to take the second arch to the SGC and see if there’s still a good connection.”
“Well, it did send me from a planet to a moon,” Jack reminded her.
“Oh, yeah, right,” she nodded.
She dragged him to another area of the work room and jumped up onto a small platform. She pressed a button on the computer and the platform suddenly rose off the floor. Jack took a step back. Sam jumped on it. Not even a wiggle.
“It’s the same technology that keeps the Goa’uld ships in hover mode,” she said. She pressed buttons and the platform went higher into the air. She took it for a test drive across the room. Several technicians ducked their heads and ignored her. “I haven’t been able to find a height limit,” she said, bringing it back down. “Just think; we can get rid of those clunky satellites and install a few of these around the planet. We can make a base on the moon, install an arch to get there, and set up a monitoring post for the solar system. With one of the platforms, we can set up the mikku. I’ve had a few technicians with the gene playing with the chair, and they’ve got the mikku down pat! Come on!”
She pulled him again. “Burkett!”
“Ma’am?” A sergeant stepped out from behind a panel. He was startled to see Jack and immediately saluted.
“Let’s show off, Sergeant,” Sam told him.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Burkett slid into the chair and quickly fiddled with the controls. A few yards away, a ball rose into the air. Sam opened a hatch in the roof and the ball went whizzing through it and disappeared. Another touch on the chair and there was a star field hovering in mid-air before them.
“Now, as the mikku turns, the star field will change to show what it’s seeing,” Sam said. Jack watched and the field changed. Jupiter came into view. “That asteroid,” she told Burkett. A moment later, a beam shot out of the mikku and obliterated the small asteroid.
“Platform,” she said excitedly. “Chair on platform, platform orbiting planet, solar system guarded!”
Jack looked around and noticed that several ancient devices were being played with by technicians with the Gene. A pile of heavy equipment being moved across the room was on a platform suspended in mid-air. There didn’t seem to be any problem with the weight of the equipment, and it all remained steady.
“Officially impressed, here,” he said, looking around in amazement. “I… wow. Pizza and beers are on me.”
Sam kept a small apartment near by, so Jack spent the night with her instead of heading straight home. It was quiet and it took Jack a while to realize that nothing was wrong, there simply weren’t any children running around. Their presence was still in the room, though, in the form of photos and drawings.
“Are you behind the latest from Hayes?” Sam asked as she unpacked their take-out. Jack got out the dishes.
“Not completely,” he said, and told her about the unexpected phone conversation with the president. “I don’t know where he pulled that Tripoli thing from, I hadn’t heard of it before. It was a good one, though.” He went up behind her and put his arms around her, nuzzling the back of her neck.
“I am so proud of you,” he said. “I cannot believe what you’ve accomplished out here. It’s incredible.” He turned her around and held her. “Baby, the applications for all your toys are too numerous to count and that’s just in the public sector. You have more than paid for the existence of this project. When you figure out how to build a generator from scratch, the oil industry will collapse, electricity will be a thing of the past…”
She looked up at him, slightly guilty.
“I’m pretty close to it,” she admitted. He pulled back to look at her.
“Are you serious?”
She took a few steps away and rubbed her arms. “Jack….. When I look at this stuff, I can almost see the building instructions and the mathematical equations. My crew doesn’t understand it, they just follow my directions. I don’t have the gene, so I can’t work the ancient stuff myself, but I understand it and I can work the stuff I’ve been able to duplicate. I’m actually a little scared.”
“Why didn’t you say something?” he asked, putting his hands on her shoulders. “Honey, there’s a hell of a lot of changes happening, did you think it was just me and the kids?”
“No,” she shook her head and then leaned into his chest. “Mark and Susan called me. Mary and Raymond are both doing odd things. I told them to just let the kids develop as they will and not to try and force them into anything.”
“What are they doing?” Jack asked.
“Ray is playing piano and hearing music in his head, and Mary is drawing buildings complete with architectural notations. God, Jack, children are starting to do things at the genius level.”
“And that’s going to be average, by the time nature is done with us,” he responded.
“Want to know what’s scaring me?” he asked. She looked up and nodded. He took her to the couch and sat down. She curled up in his lap and snuggled into his arm.
“All this…. Wait.” He lifted her up and stood, quickly removing his clothes until he was naked. He then stripped her and sat down, pulling her back onto his lap.
“Much better,” he said. He pulled a nearby blanket over and enfolded them in it. “I don’t know how far this healing thing will go,” he said. “Cuts and scrapes are one thing, but what if I can heal something life-threatening? What if I can heal cancer? Sam, I can’t let it out that I’m doing this. Sure, there are rumors among the soldiers about what I’m doing, but I don’t want to walk down the street and suddenly be buried beneath a pile of people all crying out to be healed. It terrifies me. And if I can heal something serious, should I? At what point do I step back and let nature take its course? When should I step in? Should I step in at all? Just because we can do something, does that mean we should do it? I understand your fear at being able to read the devices, I really do.”
The Anunnaki Unification, Book 2: A Staraget SG-1 Fan Fiction Story Page 21