“That is the band you wanted to see, right?” he asked. Her excitement told him it was. “You may take three friends and I expect you home after the end of the concert. You will have an SF escort, four teenagers are not driving to Denver and back. It’s an hour drive, you get an extra hour for playtime. No ditching the guard.”
She jumped up and hugged him. “I couldn’t love you more if you were my real Dad,” she told him.
On the way home, she had a question.
“I heard you the other night,” she confessed. It was dark, but Jack could feel the heat from her face. “You were yelling pretty loud. You sounded like you were in pain. Were you?”
“Knew I should have paid the extra for the sound-proofing,” he commented, feeling his own face burning. “No, I wasn’t in pain. Daniel is an excellent lover, honey, he knows how to hit all the right spots. He had me extremely turned on, that’s all.”
“Alright.…… It doesn’t hurt? What you guys do?”
He reached over and took her hand. “No, it doesn’t hurt.”
“Okay. Do you watch x-rated stuff?”
Jack laughed and shook his head. “No, honey. I used to, but not anymore. I’d say about ninety-nine percent of that stuff is so ridiculous, it’s funny. Real life is much more interesting.”
“Okay. When I… I mean, last year…. it was alright, but I didn’t understand what the fuss was about,” she said after a minute.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“My first time… first couple of times…. it was nice, but I didn’t get it.”
Jack wasn’t getting it, either, so he tried reading her. He nodded, enlightened.
“The sex was pleasant, just nothing to write home about?” he asked. She nodded, looking out the window. “The first time is almost never good, baby. First of all, at your age, your body isn’t really ready for it. The hormones are there, the will is there, but all the connections haven’t been made yet. And then there’s the lack of training. People don’t become adults with a built in knowledge of how to make love, they have to learn. Honey, you know Daniel is the first guy I was ever with, right? So, I was honest with him. We talked about it and he was gentle and easy with me. He taught me what to do. It’s okay to say ‘teach me.’
“That’s why I keep asking you to wait. When you’re older, you’ll probably find a partner who is more experienced or one who isn’t afraid to admit his own inexperience, and you can take it slow and easy and learn with each other. Sex is fun, baby, you don’t need to be afraid of it or hesitant to jump in, not if it’s what you want. Listen to your body; if you’re body isn’t comfortable, don’t do it.”
She nodded and leaned against his shoulder.
“You know, most of my friends say they can’t talk to their parents about sex,” she said. Jack slid an arm around her shoulder. “They say they’d die before asking their parents anything, and their parents insist that they wait until they’re married. I’m glad you guys are so cool. It’s a little embarrassing, but at least we can talk.”
“Any time, baby.”
“How come you know all this stuff?” she asked.
Jack chuckled. “Years of listening to Daniel. He goes off on any subject at the drop of a hat.”
“Cassie said her first time was with Jonathan and it was really nice even though she was scared,” Katie mentioned. “How come he knows more than she does, and he’s younger than her?”
“He spent a lot of time without a parent, so he learned a lot of things early,” Jack said carefully. “He was on the streets for a few years until he found me. I got him set up in an apartment because he didn’t want to live with me, so he lived as an adult before he was an adult. Cassie was a little shy about letting people get close to her, so she waited until she was an adult before she had sex. She knew Jonathan because she’s part of our family. She got to know him through us, and they became friends.”
Katie frowned in thought. “How come you didn’t make him live with you?” she asked. “He was fifteen when he found you, right?”
“Yes,” Jack nodded. “I wasn’t ready for a kid in my life, so part of that was my fault. Also, I didn’t want to scare him away by pressuring him into something he wasn’t ready for. He didn’t have a normal childhood, he wasn’t raised in a house with parents. It would have been like bringing a wild cougar cub into the house and expecting it to become a house cat.” Remember what you’re telling her because you’ll have to clue in your partners, Jonathan, and Cassie…..
“Do you love him?” she asked.
Jack watched the street lights go by, hoping she wasn't able to see the wrinkle of his indecision on his face. “That’s a hard one,” he finally said. “I’ve only known him for a couple of years, and I really didn’t spend much time with him. I like him, I’ll say that. And I think that his recent choices in his life have been courageous choices, ones I don’t think I would have made for myself. I can respect him for that. I think I see him as more of a friend, than a son. Maybe I can grow to love him, in time. And since he doesn’t look to me to be his father, I don’t think I’m hurting him. He knows he can come to me, if he needs anything, and he has come to me a couple of times. It’s okay if you love him, I know you like spending time with him; he’s your cousin, you’re allowed to love him, and you’ve gotten to know him, probably better than I do.” Jack knew his clone had spent time getting to know the kids as a peer, rather than an uncle, and Jonathan probably knew things about the kids that Jack didn’t. He did know that if Jonathan had discovered anything important, he would have told Jack. He hoped his clone knew enough to tell him. She made noncommittal noises and he knew she didn’t quite understand. By the time they got home and ready for bed, she was asleep, and happy, as soon as her head hit the pillow.
The next day Jack took down a globe from Daniel’s library, closed his eyes, spun the globe, and stopped it with a finger. He opened his eyes and looked.
“How does Iceland sound?” he asked Sam.
“I’ve never been to Reykjavik,” she said.
They flew the long way into the Naval Air station at Keflavik, Iceland and then took a jeep to Reykjavik where they rented a cabin and sent the bill to General Maynard (who rolled his eyes and sighed when he saw it). The station would have been more than honored to host them, but Jack wanted a cabin for him and his wife and much needed alone time. The station commander understood. They found a restaurant with lobsters, and then settled in for the night.
“How do you feel about anniversaries?” Sam asked, trying not to wake up. Jack cranked open an eye.
“Did I miss something?”
“No,” she shook her head. “Our wedding anniversary is next month. We also have the day we met, the day we told each other how we felt, our first date, our first together with Daniel, our hand-fasting…. which one should we celebrate?”
Jack thought about it. “That is a little confusing, isn’t it?” he acknowledged. “I wasn’t aware women kept track of all those ‘firsts.’
“How about our wedding anniversary and our hand-fasting anniversary?” she suggested, ignoring his commentary. “Just private dinner dates, not parties. With all the birthdays, we have plenty of parties.”
“That sounds doable,” Jack said. “We’ll check with Daniel, but I think he’ll agree.”
Snow was falling outside, making a soft shushing-tinkling sound on the roof as they fell back to sleep.
“My insert needs to be changed in a couple of months,” she told him later as she slid back into bed. It took him a moment. Both his eyes opened.
“And what would you like to do about it?” he asked carefully.
She sighed into his chest. “I would have considered a baby, but we have a full house,” she said.
“Yes, we do, but don’t let that stop you, if that’s what you want,” he said.
She was silent for a few minutes. “If I do decide to have a baby, I think I’d like both you and Daniel to try. Let those little swimmers decide who g
ets the egg.”
“Sounds fair to me,” he said.
“Cassie said the same thing,” Sam commented.
“Said what?”
Sam tilted her head back and looked at him. “This is private, but apparently Harper is infertile. Childhood illness. Trip to Africa with his family left him with some infection. She’s depressed; first Jonathan gets himself clipped because he doesn't want to subject the world to cloning errors in the genetics, and then her new fiancé is infertile. She was talking with me and was considering asking you and Daniel for donations when she’s ready for motherhood.”
“Cassandra?” Jack squeaked as he quickly sat up. “Cassandra Frasier??”
“Yes, Cassandra Frasier,” Sam confirmed, amused at his shock. “She doesn’t want to sleep with you, she just wants your DNA. I think it’s a good idea, Jack; she knows you and Daniel already, knows your history, and she knows she’ll be able to count on you, if there’s a problem with the child.”
Jack was speechless. He fell back to the bed, blinking rapidly at the ceiling.
“It’ll be a while before she’s going to want this,” Sam assured him, amused at his shock. “They aren’t even married, yet. She said she’ll consider a baby in about three years. They’re talking about a Fall wedding.”
“First my clone gets neutered, then he turns down a pretty girl and goes for orgies with Conan the Barbarian and his brothers, Huey, Dewy, and Louie, and then a little alien girl that I helped raise wants me and my male partner to inseminate her with a baby who will call a third man Daddy. God, I wish I still smoked.”
They eventually went out and found breakfast and then walked around the town, holding hands, and meeting the friendly natives. Jack didn’t shave and a beard soon covered his cheeks, helping to keep his familiar face from the public’s view.
Much to Jack’s surprise, Sam didn’t know how to ski. They found a lodge, rented skis, and hit the bunny slopes. He was a lousy teacher, unable to put to words the mechanics of the process, so after Sam yelled at Jack for the hundredth time, an instructor took pity on them and took over. Once more she fell in the snow, laughing as she looked up at him and tossing a handful of snow at him. Her cheeks were red from the cold and her eyes were sparkling. Jack fell in love again. He hiked her up into his arms and kissed her.
“What’s that for?” she asked, smiling at him.
“Just because,” he said with a shrug.
They went out to dinner, having made reservations under Mr. and Mrs. O’Neill, and found themselves in a quiet dining room overlooking a fiord.
“Does it bother you that I didn’t change my name?” Sam asked after dinner, over dessert. Jack looked up from his pear with raspberry mousse and shook his head.
“It would have at one time, but not now,” he confessed.
“Why?” she asked. “I mean, why doesn’t it bother you now?”
“I appreciate you for who you are,” he said. “Whether or not you change your name, doesn’t change who you are, but you earned all your credentials under Carter, not O’Neill. I married you, I didn’t buy you, so your name is your decision.”
“Why did Sara change her name?” she asked.
Jack thought for a moment. “Probably because it was expected; she’s a good Protestant girl, and we were both a little on the conservative side. She’s engaged, so she’ll probably change it again.”
Sam smiled. “How did your Catholic family take to a Protestant wife?” she asked.
“Not well,” he admitted. “At first. After they got to know her, they accepted her. She and my parents got along fine. She had only her father, and he and I became friends. Mike, her father, not my brother, was almost a father to me, a big brother.”
“Do you still see him?” she asked.
“Around town, once in a while,” he said. “I think divorcing a family is harder than divorcing a spouse.”
“Jack, I don’t mind if you remain friends with him,” she said gently.
“Honey, I can’t do that,” he said. “It would be too painful for both of us. Him and me. It’s better to have made the clean break.” He picked up her hand and brought her knuckles to his mouth. “You are too generous,” he told her. “I’d feel better if you got jealous a little more often.”
Something flickered across her face. “I’ll see what I can do to accommodate you,” she told him. “Why don’t you hire what’s her face from the CIA? I can make your life hell over her.” He poked at her nose with a spoonful of raspberry mousse.
“You and Carrie on opposite coasts is a good thing,” he said. While they were a team at the SGC, and unable to do anything about their attraction, he had begun seeing a CIA agent for mutual satisfaction with no ties. “If for no other reason than for her continued well-being. I’ll leave the status quo.”
Sam smiled softly at him. “Did you love her?”
Jack carefully licked his spoon. “I wasn’t IN love with her,” he finally said. “We started as a convenience, we liked each other. I think I could have lived with her. She knew I was in love with someone else, though, someone I couldn’t have. She’s the one who told me not to let opportunities slip through my fingers, and if I had to go into the private sector to do it, then I should do it.”
“Maybe I should send her a thank you card,” Sam suggested.
“She’s still chasing down NID and Trust, so just be nice,” he suggested back at her. She stuck her tongue out at him. Jack’s eyes darkened.
“I have plans for that tongue, so don’t dry it out, hanging out there,” he said.
“Promise?”
When they got back to their lodge, Jack pressed Sam against the door and plastered his mouth to hers, groaning at how beautiful she was.
“You…. really think I’m… beautiful?” she asked. Jack picked his head up.
“Sam, didn’t you know that?” he asked. “You are the sexiest, most beautiful woman I have ever met. Next to you, I feel like something Daniel dug up on one of those digs of his. What’s wrong?!” he grew alarmed as she began to cry. She buried her face in his shoulder, crying. Jack didn’t know what to do, he didn’t know what made her cry. What the hell did he say?? Damn, he wished they came with care instructions….
“Sam, talk to me, honey,” he begged. “Did I say something wrong? Tell me.”
He held her while she cried. He tried reaching, but didn’t understand the onslaught of emotions that hit him. When she was reduced to hiccups and sniffles, she slid further onto the hard wood floor.
“I know… I’m fairly attractive…. men have made that clear,” she whispered huskily. “But I never felt beautiful before. I never felt… sexy. You’re sexy. Daniel’s sexy. I’m not sexy. My shoulders are too wide, I put on weight just looking at candy, I’m too tall, it took me so long to stop falling over my own feet…..”
Jack picked up her face, unable to believe what he was hearing. He had never heard her express uncertainty about herself before. He undressed both of them and took her into his arms as they sat on the floor, leaning against the couch. “Now. I don’t know who sold you that bullshit, but get a refund,” he told her. “Maybe I spent a little too much time admiring your brain, but don’t for one minute think that I don’t find you physically beautiful. You are perfect, beautiful, and the sexiest woman I have ever met. If you want to go off-world for a romp, we can do that. I’d like to go back to that waterfall and make love under it. I always wondered what you would have done, if I had come out of hiding and seduced you in the water. Honey, I don’t have these fantasies about just anyone, so in case it has escaped your attention, you are my fantasy.”
Sam turned and buried her face in his chest. He pressed his mouth to the top of her head and stroked her back.
“Want to tell me where this is coming from?” he quietly asked.
“Sometimes…. I get a little jealous… of Daniel.”
Shocked, Jack paused. “What? Why?”
She sniffled and rubbed her face. “Because. He’s wit
h you every day. You’ve become so close to him. When you were gone, he and I spent a lot of time together, and I can understand why you’re close to him; he’s an even better partner than he was when he was just a friend. I had his complete attention and it was incredible. He’s so understanding; he makes a great girlfriend. I just… I can’t compete.”
“Oh, my God, Sam,” Jack groaned. He held her tight. “No, baby, don’t think like that, please, there’s no competition. Honey, come home every day. You’ll see. I don’t want you to compete, there’s nothing to compete against. I spend time with him because we’re guys, that’s all, you’ve always been welcome to hang with us. He doesn’t irritate me any less, I’ve just gotten used to him. Baby, you need to tell me… Do you want to change our agreement? You are first, honey, always.”
“No,” she said quickly lifting her head to look at him. She shook her head. “No, Jack, I don’t want to change the agreement. I love him, I love being with him. I just…. the two of you are so beautiful together… I…..”
“Sam, wait,” he said. He threaded his fingers through her hair. “I think you’re feeling insecure, and honestly, I don't understand why. You’re feeling left out because you’re gone so much. You get all the family information second hand, instead of being part of it. Listen, how about this? Why don’t we divide Area 51? Leave Nevada for building ships, and bring the toy factory to Colorado. We have a large underground room that’s only being used for storage; it used to be a pool and gymnasium. I can have it cleared out and you can take it for your space. I can talk with Vidrine, you’ll still be under his command, and you’ll just be borrowing HomeSec space. With all those toys of Anubis’ that Teal’c is rounding up, you’re going to need space. Would that help you feel more part of things? You’ll be home every day, the kids can visit with you when they visit with me, and sometimes I bring Olivia in, instead of leaving her home; you can bring her in, too. We can have lunch together every day… Does that sound good?”
The Anunnaki Unification, Book 2: A Staraget SG-1 Fan Fiction Story Page 30