"Carry the one..." Jack murmured aloud as he mentally tabulated the figures on the budget report before him. He always did the first two tallies in his head before triple checking with a calculator, just for the mental exercise.
A lot of what he had to do in his new job was boring as hell, but it brought a fat pay check and much-needed administrative assistance to General Hammond, and Jack knew the man had enough headaches to deal with these days. It also kept Jack apprised of how things were going with the stargate program, so he wouldn't be totally in the dark about developments off world. And there was always the excitement of working with the trainees, teaching new groups of snot-nosed kids what it meant to think outside the Earth-bound box.
He finished the tabulation and picked up his water bottle for a drink just as the klaxons went off, announcing an incoming wormhole. Jack quelled the instinctive reaction to run to the gate room and see what was happening. He wasn't part of that anymore, and if they needed him for anything, the people in the control room knew where to find him.
The phone rang a moment later. He reached for it as he closed the folder on the budget report.
"O'Neill."
Hammond's voice was carefully modulated. "Colonel, your presence is requested in the gate room." There was a note of stress in that formal address that brought Jack to his feet instantly.
"Be right there, sir." He hung up the phone and left his office at a jog, moving down the long corridor toward the elevator. He glanced into Daniel's office as he passed and saw his lover hard at it, lights low, lamp on his desk burning, head bent over books and papers while his pen scrawled across a notepad in front of him. He paused in the doorway and gave a soft knock, just enough to make Daniel look up. Jack flashed him a smile filled with love, which Daniel returned.
"Something going on?" he asked, sitting up straighter in his chair.
"Hammond wants me downstairs," Jack told him quickly. "I'll let you know what's up when I find out." He winked, gave Daniel a small wave, and headed on his way to the elevator.
The sight of Daniel always brought Jack an instant of peace, and he carried that with him down to the 28th floor. The elevator doors slid open and he stepped out into the corridor, which was rapidly filling with people in simple homespun clothes, mixed in with SGC personnel in white lab coats – the emergency medical staff. Tension rose inside Jack as he recognized the faces of some of the aliens exiting the gate room.
They were Edorans.
Janet Fraiser pushed past him and hurried into the gate room, her face composed and professional.
Jack saw that many of the Edorans were dirty. Some were bleeding, holding broken arms close to their bodies or limping on makeshift crutches. Fear inched up inside him, squeezing his stomach. He searched among the Edoran faces for those who'd been closest to him while he'd been marooned on their world so many years back, but far too many were missing.
He looked for a woman with curly honey-brown hair but didn't see her, not even when he stepped inside the gate room.
"Laira!" he called, standing on tiptoes to look over the heads of the milling crowd, vaguely aware of the gate shutting down after the last of the refugees came through it. "Laira!"
"Jack!" called a raspy male voice. "Thank the ancestors! We have found you."
Whirling around at the summons, Jack made eye contact with Paynan, the gruff old man who had reluctantly befriended him during his stay on Edora.
Paynan stood off to one side, holding a small child in his arms. There were tears streaming down his filthy face and a ragged cut on his scalp, crusted over with dried blood. The little girl he was holding wasn't moving, just lying limply across his shoulder, her eyes wide open and staring.
Jack rushed over to his friend. "Paynan, what happened?"
The old man shook his head. "We do not know. Your people, the miners who stayed among us, they called it 'earthquake.' Our village is gone, Jack. Gone. Swallowed up in a great cleft in the ground." He began to weep openly, his whole body shaking with grief. "Laira is gone with our village, my friend. I am truly sorry, for I know you were close to her."
With a sinking feeling, Jack went to the old man and put his arm around Paynan's shoulders. "Here, let me take her," he suggested, reaching for the little girl. Jack transferred her to his embrace without really looking at her, and she didn't protest. He hugged Paynan, rubbed his back, oblivious to the sweat, blood and grime. "Garan?" he asked. "Natha?"
Paynan shook his head. "They and their two children are dead. All so young. So many of us, Jack. All gone." He gestured to the few dozen people spilling out of the gate room into the corridor beyond. "We are all that is left of Edora. The ground... it just... took everything. Our world no longer wants us, my friend. So we have come here. You will know where we should go now, yes?"
Jack could see the shock, disbelief and enormous grief in the old man's eyes, mixed with trust and a faint glimmer of hope. Jack's own mind was reeling, trying to make sense of what had happened. "We'll send rescue parties, Paynan. Medical teams. We might find more survivors."
With a sigh, the old man just slumped over, head and arms hanging in utter defeat. "We have already saved all who were left. The miners, they helped us dig out those who still lived, and to bury the others. Your people will be coming soon. The mines were not affected. Just our village. Edora is no more."
Janet Fraiser appeared with her penlight, shining it into Paynan's eyes, checking the cut on his head, asking him questions.
Jack turned away, looking at the Edorans, remembering those who had been his closer friends during his stay there. Only a few were in that number. His heart squeezed up inside him.
Laira was dead, along with her son, Garan, his young wife, Natha, and the children they'd had together in the four years Jack had been gone. He assumed they'd married, since they'd had a family together. He wished he'd been able to see them with their little ones, but just the thought of it now was painful, knowing they had died so young, and that Paynan had seen it with his own eyes. He'd probably helped pull the bodies out of the debris and bury them.
Jack started to turn back to Paynan, but Janet told him to stand still while she examined the child in his arms. His attention fixed on the little girl for a moment, felt her regular breathing, the dead weight of her against his body. She was filthy, her curly hair matted and streaks of grime cut with tear tracks across her cheeks. Her clothes were caked with dirt, and her bare arms and legs were an even brown, just the color of the Edoran soil.
He reached up and put his free hand on her back, gently rubbing her, offering what comfort he could, leaning his head against hers, not caring how dirty she was or how funky she smelled. Her hair was just past shoulder length, honey-brown and curly under the dirt, and it tickled his nose and chin.
"There doesn't appear to be any physical injury," Janet stated. "She just looks like she's in shock."
"She is," agreed Paynan. "The child watched her mother die in the ruins of her home. She was still sitting with the body, holding her dead mother's hand, when we dug her out a little while ago. She has not spoken since."
Jack's guts wrenched as he imagined the child's suffering. His voice was deep and soft as he spoke. "Oh, God. Poor baby." Jack felt Janet's hand patting his shoulder, and he turned around to face the old man, still rubbing the child's back, trying to cuddle her closer.
Paynan's brown eyes were brimming with tears, burning a hole in Jack's. The Edoran suddenly looked much older, the lines in his face deepening into a grimace of terrible, unbearable grief.
"I am sorry, Jack," he said, sniffing. "Laira was a proud woman. She chose to keep the child to herself and bade us all not tell you about her, should you return." His gaze dropped to the floor. "It is both blessing and curse that you did not, for now you must take up your role as father and raise your daughter in your world. She has no one else."
Jack stopped moving. For a moment, he couldn't even think. Couldn't breathe. His heart was suddenly in his throat. His eyes locked on the old man's face, trying desperately to process, to deny, but his mind was a jumble, and he couldn't quite make sense of what he'd just heard.
Daughter.
Paynan had said this child was Jack's daughter.
Laira had never told him, never sent word, because she had to have known it would bring him back against his will to live in her world, in a life he didn't want, with a woman he cared for and admired, but didn't love.
The smell of the child was strong in his nostrils, unpleasant with sweat and dirt and dried urine, but underneath it was something familiar, something that smelled like...
Laira, and her home.
Paynan's watery eyes shifted to the child in Jack's arms. He reached out and patted her back, lifted his chin and made eye contact with Jack again. "Yes, Jack. She is your child, and Laira's. Her name is Jakaira." Then he moved away, following the rest of his people out into the corridor, leaving Jack alone with Janet... and his daughter.
Janet moved around in front of Jack and looked up into his face. She smiled, her eyes filled with compassion, understanding instantly what a shock this was to Jack. "She could probably use a bath, maybe something to eat," Janet prompted gently, her eyes warm and sad as she looked up at him. "I know this is hard, Jack, but you need to shake it off and concentrate on her for the moment. The rest will sort itself out later."
He took a deep breath. After a moment, coherent thought engaged, the trained military tool adjusting to circumstances and selecting options. He nodded and hugged the child tighter for a moment, his large hand protectively splayed across her small back. "Of course. And a thorough medical exam," he said softly. "She'll need that, too, right?"
Janet nodded. "Along with catching her up on vaccines. This is her world now, and she'll need to be able to live safely in it." She gave Jack a hopeful smile. "Take her to the infirmary and one of the nurses will help you get her cleaned up. Then why don't you take her to the commissary for something to eat, and see if you can get her to talk to you? We'll do the rest when she's had a little time to adjust."
Jack nodded numbly.
Daniel.
"Will you... call Daniel and ask him to meet me in the infirmary?"
She shook her head, her eyes solemn but kind. "I've got my hands full at the moment, Jack. Why don't you ask one of the nurses to do that for you, or just go by his office for a few minutes? We're not in a big hurry here. She's home now." Janet patted the child's back and walked away, following the crowd out of the gate room.
Jack looked up into the control booth and watched Sergeant Davis give him a grim nod, but the general was nowhere to be seen. He turned and started to follow the Edorans and the medical staff out into the hallway, almost bumping into Hammond as he stepped through the gate room door. From the look in George's eyes, Jack knew he'd heard everything.
"Take whatever time you need, Jack," Hammond assured him, patting his shoulder. "Anything any of us can do to help, just let us know." The general's blue eyes shifted to the child on his shoulder. He smoothed an errant lock of her hair back into the rest of her wild, dirty mane. He smiled. "Welcome home, Jakaira. I'm sure you'll be very happy here, now that your daddy has you with him."
A chubby arm moved, and then the other. The little girl moved back in Jack's embrace, both hands pressed against his chest, so she could look her father in the eye. For a long time, she just stared.
Jack's eyes roved over her face hungrily. Jakaira was the image of him. She had his intense brown eyes, his thin lips, his long face and slightly cleft chin. There was very little of her mother in her, except for the color and curl of her hair. He wondered if she had his dimples, and ached to see her smile.
His heart shattered in his chest, sharp-edged shards of joy cutting his insides to ribbons. He smiled at her, his eyes filling with tears that ran freely down his face. He lifted one hand to touch her cheek in abject wonder, laughter bubbling up inside him to spill out of his mouth in sobbing little gasps.
"Oh, God, she looks just like me," he keened softly.
"Yes, she does, Jack," said George gently. "She's beautiful."
Jack wrapped his large hand around the back of her little head and pulled her close, kissing her dirty cheek and nestling her head against his face. He wept openly, thanking God in the privacy of his soul for this blessing, unable to quite believe it was real.
He had a child! He was a father again, and tragedy had brought her to him, just as tragedy had taken Charlie from him. Jakaira was damaged now, and would need his help and his love if she were to recover.
"I love you, baby," he whispered into her hair, swaying with her in his arms. "Daddy loves you, and you're safe with me now. I'll keep you safe, I promise. I promise."
A hand at his back pushed him gently down the corridor toward the elevator. Hammond walked at his side and pressed the button for him while Jack stood and rocked and cuddled his baby girl. His daughter, Jakaira.
He thought about Laira as he stepped into the car and nodded his goodbye to the general. He'd slept with her thinking he would be marooned on her world for the rest of his life, and the very next day, he'd deserted her. She'd gotten her wish to bear a child of his blood, and had never told him. Perhaps, if he'd gone back, if he'd kept his word, she might have.
But then, if he'd kept his word, he would have known. He would have seen her rounded belly with his own eyes and understood. Only he'd never gone back. He'd broken his promise, because some part of him had known the possibility was there for a child. And he'd left her behind, never looking back in the four years that had gone under the bridge, because that wasn't a life he wanted.
The doors slid closed and for a moment his finger hovered above the button for level 21, the infirmary level. Instead, he pushed 18. He had to tell Daniel, had to show Jakaira to him, had to give him time to make his own decisions about what this meant. Jack had the responsibility of raising Jakaira, and he wouldn't abandon her to the care of anyone else.
Daniel, however, wasn't bound by the same ties. Jack was afraid he wouldn't want the burden of a child in their home, especially one that wasn't his own. If that were the case, he wouldn't ask the man he loved to stay with him. It wouldn't be fair; but then, nobody had a heart as big as Daniel, and Jack was hopeful he'd be okay with it.
~~**~~
Jack stepped into Daniel's office and closed the door behind him. He turned around to see Daniel sitting at his desk, his head lifted, pen being laid aside. There was concern on his face as he caught sight of what Jack had brought with him.
"Edora," said Jack hesitantly, answering the unspoken question in those worried blue eyes shifting between him and the bedraggled child in his arms. "An earthquake. Bad one."
Daniel's gaze shifted to the child whose face he couldn't see, then back to Jack. "How many survivors?"
"Not many," Jack answered, his throat tight. "Laira..." He shook his head. He couldn't say the words. His throat had closed up.
Daniel stood. He reached for his cane and came out from behind his desk. "I'm sorry, Jack. Are they in the infirmary?"
Jack nodded, swallowing hard, shifting his grief aside to give necessary information. "For now. I'll be going there in a minute, but I wanted you to know." He cuddled Jakaira closer. "Daniel, this is... my daughter, Jakaira. Mine and Laira's."
At Jack's words, Jakaira twisted around a bit, turning solemn eyes on this new stranger.
Color leached quickly from Daniel's face. His eyes went wide, and his mouth dropped slowly open. He turned his gaze to the little girl and stared at her for a moment.
"She's yours, Jack?" Daniel swallowed hard and then stepped a little closer. He slowly reached out a hand and brushed one of Jakaira's little hands with one finger, as if to verify the reality of her presence. "She's beautiful," he whispered. "Just like her mom." He glanced at Jack's worried face. "She looks just like you, Jack."
She moved her hand away as she turned to hide her eyes in her father's shoulder again.
Daniel's face took on a determined set. Behind those burning blue eyes a decision was made and chiselled into stone. "Are there any other children who need homes?" he asked, his voice thick with emotion, eyes radiant behind his glasses. "We'll take them, too."
"Oh, Daniel. I love you so much!" Jack was never more fiercely proud of his partner than at that moment. He reached out with his free arm and Daniel stepped fully into his embrace, pressing his face close to Jakaira, kissing her shoulder, patting her gently.
"Let's go find out. But first..." Jack turned around so that he had his back to Daniel, while Jakaira would be able to see him as she peered over Jack's shoulder.
"Jakaira, I want you to meet someone very special to me. His name is Daniel," said Jack gently.
She lifted her head again, and Daniel smiled and waved at her. "Hi, Jakaira," he returned. "Your daddy and I live together, and we love each other very much, just like we do you. We're glad you've come to live with us."
"Yes, we are," Jack added emphatically, patting her back. "Jakaira, can Daniel be your daddy, too?"
"I'd like that," Daniel told her. "I'd like that very much."
Jakaira didn't answer, just continued to stare at him with those Jack O'Neill eyes that saw everything and took it all in.
Daniel came closer, his movements slow and graceful, and stroked her grimy cheek with his fingertips. "It's okay," he murmured. "I know all this is scary and very different from your home on Edora, but I promise you'll feel better soon. We'll get you clean and feed you, and then you can take a nap, and we'll both be right there with you the whole time. Okay?"
She nodded, a little weary sigh slipping out of her.
Daniel shut down his office and turned the lights off for the rest of the day, his work done for the time being while he helped take care of their family. The two men walked toward the elevator together, both of them petting and talking quietly to the little girl in her father's arms, doing their best to make her feel loved and wanted, and at home.
~~**~~
Daniel watched the freshly bathed child in Jack's lap, her bright, intelligent eyes moving all around the noisy commissary, watching everyone, missing no detail. Daniel could see so much of Jack in her, but she was so weighted down by her grief that she was obviously having a difficult time dealing. She mindlessly munched on the buttered bread in her hand, looking around at her strange new world, and Daniel's heart ached for her.
He knew exactly how she felt.
Memories of his own childhood surfaced, but this time, instead of being pushed back into the dark corners of his mind, he stepped into them, trying to remember his thoughts and fears immediately after losing his parents, when he'd been thrust into the alien world of foster care. All of that came rushing back as if it had happened yesterday, fresh and raw, gleaming in Jakaira's brown eyes.
"Jack," he said softly, "put your arms around her. Hold her gently. Just being in your lap isn't enough."
He watched Jack do as he'd asked and saw the relief in Jakaira's face. She leaned back against Jack's chest, resting now as she ate, but she didn't look at Daniel except to glance at him in passing.
He needed to fix that. He needed to let her know that he understood what she was feeling, even though he was a grown-up. For that, he would have to talk to her.
"Jakaira," he called quietly.
She looked at him, then back down at her plate. She tugged distractedly at the neck of the oversized black T-shirt that Jack had given her to wear after her bath, since there were no child-sized clothes available on the base.
Daniel's voice was soft and warm. "When I was a little boy, something happened to me, just like what happened to you, so I know how you feel. My mommy died real suddenly, too, when I was just a little older than you are now."
This time, her eyes moved directly to his face and stayed there. She stopped chewing and just stared at him. Jack had one of his big hands wrapped around her belly, the other moving up and down her arm, petting her gently. He bent down and gave her a kiss on top of her head, and Jakaira's face relaxed a little more. That was just what she needed, to feel that she was loved, protected, understood, and safe.
"I'm so sorry about your mommy," Daniel told her honestly, unable to stop the tears gathering in his eyes. He blinked them away. "I know you feel scared and lonely and lost, but you're not lost. You're with your daddy, Jack O'Neill." He pointed over her shoulder, indicating Jack, who kissed her hair again. Daniel tried to smile a little. "I know your mother told you about him, didn't she?"
Jakaira swallowed. She looked down at her plate, then back up at Daniel. She put her food down and moved her hands to her lap below the table. Then she nodded, her slightly damp blonde curls bouncing.
"Your mother wanted your father to take care of you, so that's why you're here," he explained patiently. "This is a whole new world, different from Edora. Do you understand that?"
She shook her head.
"Well, it is. Soon your father and I will be taking you to our home. You'll see wonderful new things like cars, trucks, and airplanes. Those are machines we use to take us places really fast." He smiled. "And when we get to our house, you'll see a small box with moving pictures that talk. It's called a television, or TV for short, and it's lots of fun. It tells us stories and brings us news from far away places, and teaches us about things we don't know. Do you think you'll like that?"
"Daniel, is all this really necessary?" asked Jack uncertainly. "You might be scaring her."
Raising his eyes to his lover, Daniel shook his head. "We've been to Edora, Jack. We've seen what it's like there. If we take her out to the truck and put her in it without explanation, that's what will scare her. Hearing about it now will make it easier. There's a lot we have to teach her, and doing it this way will help soften the blow. Trust me on this, okay?"
Jack nodded. "I do, vidámo." He reached up to touch the little girl's soft, clean hair in wonder.
Daniel turned his gaze back to Jakaira, who was still studying him. He smiled at her again and wondered what she was thinking. He crossed his arms on the table and leaned his chin on them, bending down so he could look her in the eye. "There are a lot of people here, aren't there?" he asked.
She glanced around the commissary and nodded. She stuffed the last of the buttered bread into her mouth, took a big drink of milk and turned around on Jack's lap, swinging her legs off over his thighs. She seemed to be looking for something, so Daniel asked her about that.
Jakaira didn't answer.
"What do you need, baby?" asked Jack, leaning over to make eye contact.
Her little face screwed up, her need obvious, slowly building up into panic.
"Tell me what you need, honey," Jack prompted again.
Jakaira's eyes filled with tears. She slipped down off his lap, reaching up to clutch his hand, her eyes moving all around the room, seeking but not finding.
"Um, Jack..." Daniel stood up, watching her body language, the way she squeezed her legs together and wriggled. "It occurs to me that I have no idea how the Edorans referred to going to the bathroom. Do you know?"
Jack cleared his throat. "Make waste," he said quietly.
"Makes sense," Daniel said, turning his gaze back to Jakaira. "Do you need to make waste, Jakaira?"
Her blonde head bobbed emphatically.
Daniel glanced up at Jack, reached down and took her hand and started to lead the way out of the commissary. "We call it going to the bathroom," he informed her conversationally. "Or going potty. That's what parents teach their children to say here. Can you say that, Jakaira?"
She seemed to ignore him, her eyes darting to and fro, looking for the familiar outdoor toilet facilities that her people had on Edora, and not finding one. Daniel knew that had to be upsetting her, but he couldn't help that. She'd just have to learn about the wonder of modern toilet facilities when she saw one.
"Take her into one of the men's rooms with stalls," Daniel suggested. "She may be a girl, but you're her father, and you've got to do this."
Jack's walked with them out the double doors and down the corridor until their destination registered. Jack's face flushed crimson. "I can't take her into the men's room. She's a girl!"
His glance fell on the child, now starting to dance as she walked, her legs drawn together from the knees up. "Now, Jack, unless you want to clean up an accident."
"Oh, fer cryin' out loud!" he groused. "You come, too, then."
"What do I need to come for?" Daniel stopped outside the restroom door.
"Because I said so, now move your tight a—" Jack coughed, suddenly aware of his little audience. "Move your butt, Jackson. You get to run interference and chase all the men out of there. And when you're done, you can help me figure out what to do with her."
"Do with her? I don't know anything about kids," Daniel argued, aware of the heat rising in his face as he pushed through the restroom door. "Especially little girls."
Picking up Jakaira, Jack settled her in his arms, covering her eyes with his hand as they entered the men's room. "You seem to be doing just fine with this one," Jack returned irritably, glancing around for an open stall door. "Now, let's get this over with, shall we?"
An hour later, Daniel was on his way to their house to put fresh sheets on the guest room bed. When Jack arrived with his daughter a little while later, they put their heads together and made a list of all the things they'd need for a little girl, then realised neither of them were equipped to know what all a little girl required. They'd bought the necessities for overnight and a few days after, but for wardrobe help and other sundries, they'd need a professional, someone who knew the territory.
That prompted a telephone call to Sam, who arranged to take the afternoon off and promised to bring Cassie along as soon as she got out of school. Had Janet not been tied up with the Edoran refugees, she'd have been right there with them.
Jack and Daniel were still making lists, examining the guest room and planning ahead when the two women arrived. Cassie greeted them with hugs and kisses, and then squatted down to be eye level with the child. She smiled and gave a little wave.
"Hi, there. My name is Cassie Fraiser, and I'm from another world, just like you are," she said gently. "And I promise, you're going to love it here. It's hard to get used to, sometimes, at first anyway, but there's so much fun stuff to do and see, you won't mind the yucky stuff." She made a face and stuck out her tongue, trying to tease a grin from the little girl.
Jakaira just stared at her. She turned big eyes up to Sam and reached up with one hand.
Sam bent down to her, and Jakaira touched her hair in wonder.
"Hi, Jakaira. I'm Samantha Carter. You can call me Auntie Sam, if you want."
The little girl drew away, ignoring her words, and padded over to the living room window, looking out at the colorful garden.
Sam looked disappointed as she straightened.
"Give her time, Sam," Jack advised.
With a slow, serious nod, Sam took a seat on the sofa with Daniel, while Cassie and Jack took the chairs, and then the new team began planning for Jakaira's transition to living on Earth.
After a few minutes of initial discussion and accompanying list-making, Sam took Jack shopping while Cassie and Daniel introduced the child to books, music and the wonders of television. Jakaira wouldn't let Daniel out of her sight except when he had to go to the bathroom, and even then she stood outside the door, knocking on it and trying the doorknob until he finished.
As the day went on, he did his best to explain everything to her, anything he touched that he knew was different from her homeworld. The refrigerator fascinated her, and she spent several minutes opening and closing the door, feeling the radiating cold and then shutting it up inside the mysterious machine.
He made sandwiches, simple fare like they had eaten on Edora, wondering aloud to Cassie if Jakaira would ever learn to enjoy the typical American child's fare, like pizza and hot dogs.
Since Cassie was an alien herself, she gave him some valuable input on that as they ate dinner, and helped Daniel plan the introduction of new foods and other experiences. Jakaira just watched them and listened, making no attempt to offer opinions of her own.
Just as they got through eating, Jack and Sam returned from the various stores, their arms loaded with boxes and bags. They began unpacking all of Jakaira's new things into her room, putting her clothes into the closet and bureau, showing her the toys they'd selected and making her the center of attention until she began to yawn and lean against things wearily.
The ladies took their leave with fond thanks from the new fathers, and Jack and Daniel escorted Jakaira to her newly outfitted room to tuck her into bed.
Jack took Jakaira into the tiny guest bathroom and set her on the counter to brush her teeth, relating to Daniel how he used to do the same thing with Charlie when he was that age. Then he took Jakaira back to her bedroom and read her a story that Sam had picked out. Before he finished it, she was sound asleep against his chest. Carefully, he arranged her on the sheets and covered her up with a kiss on her hair.
He got off the bed and stood gazing down at her, while Daniel watched from his post in the rocking chair nearby. When Jack left the room, Daniel was right behind him.
Out in the hallway, Jack turned around and put a hand on Daniel's waist. "You go on to bed, babe. I'll be there in a minute. I bought some nightlights, and I just need to put 'em in the sockets so Jay can find her way through the house in the dark." He kissed Daniel lightly on the lips and disappeared down the hallway toward the living room.
Daniel went into their room and prepared for bed, slipping beneath the cool sheets. He clasped his hands behind his head and thought about all the day had brought them. This was a life-altering event, and it would undoubtedly change a great many things in the way they moved through their days... and their nights. Daniel had never been a parent before, so he was clueless about what they could and couldn't do, even in the privacy of their own home. Jack would have to guide him in that.
He watched his lover come into their room and disappear into the bathroom for a few minutes, and then, as Jack started to undress, he went over to the bedroom door and closed it. Then he turned the lock. He took off his pants and underwear and tossed them into the bathroom hamper, then came to bed naked.
"I was wondering how this might affect our love life," Daniel murmured as Jack got into bed and pounced on him, the bed bouncing for a moment.
Jack gave a little growl, delight in his eyes as he looked down at his naked lover.
"Takes all the spontaneity out of it, for one thing," Jack told him, reaching down to nip Daniel's nipple and draw a gasp of pleasure from him. "Gotta remember to lock the bedroom door before we do anything." He started to suckle that nipple, his fingers dancing lightly over Daniel's smooth belly and moving steadily lower.
"And unlock it when we're done," Daniel added before his mind stopped working. "Mmmm..."
Jack lifted his head and stopped moving. "Oh?"
Daniel could see Jack's eyebrows rising. "Well, yeah. If she wakes up in a strange place, she's going to need access to you right away. Which also means if she wakes up, and we're in the middle of doing each other, Jakaira gets priority. Okay?"
Daniel felt Jack's hand smooth firmly down his belly to take possession of his rising cock, making him shut up, all coherent thought suddenly gone.
"Okay. We'll talk about it later," Jack whispered as he used his hand to slowly pump him. "Love you, Daniel."
"Jack." Daniel reached up and embraced him, bringing him down into a kiss that set Daniel on fire.
Jack was a father again, and Daniel found that incredibly sexy. He would get to see a whole other facet of the man he loved. There was still so much Jack kept shuttered in the depths of his soul, things he never talked about, and fatherhood was one of those things. Charlie was a painful subject, but having Jakaira with them would revive that again in all its pain and joy. He would see Jack being tender and playful with his child, and that would be a beautiful thing, indeed.
Daniel imagined it, visualising Jack taking her to the park, teaching her to ride a bicycle and play hockey. Emotion rose and spilled over inside him, and he clutched at Jack, wrestling with him for dominance, pushing him back against the bed.
He nipped and clawed his way down Jack's body, devouring his cock like a starving man. He heard Jack whispering his name, begging for him to slow down, take it easy, but Daniel was beyond restraint now.
Jack's hands were in Daniel's long hair, trying to hold him back yet not hurt him. He groaned and arched his back off the bed, gasping with pleasure. Daniel ran his right hand over Jack's belly and thighs, cupping and squeezing his balls, knowing exactly how Jack liked to be touched and doing it all. By now Jack should be moaning loudly, but he was only making soft, smothered grunts, keeping quiet to avoid waking Jakaira.
Using a prearranged signal, Daniel tapped Jack on the thigh and a moment later the tube of lube dropped onto the bed between Jack's legs. Daniel grabbed it, flipped the cap open with one hand and then let Jack's glistening dick slide out of his mouth. Breathing hard, he balanced on his left elbow, shook his hair back out of his eyes, transferred the tube to his left hand and squeezed some of the clear gel onto his right fingertips. He closed the cap on the tube and dropped it beside Jack's thigh, then leaned back over his lover's body, nibbling along the length of his straining cock.
"Love you, Jack," he breathed against that hot, slick flesh. A nudge of his right hand made Jack bend his left leg and Daniel pushed his slippery fingers into Jack's ass to the sound of a ragged gasp of pleasure. Daniel placed a row of wet, sensual kisses along the length of Jack's throbbing erection, listening for the wonderful grunts and gasps that came from his passionate attention.
Hungrily, Daniel swallowed Jack whole, relaxing his throat while his fingers probed, seeking and finding Jack's prostate. Daniel rubbed it while he sucked and licked his love's cock, sensing Jack's control gradually vanishing.
Jack arched his head back, eyes closed in bliss, one hand threaded through Daniel's hair and the other clutching at the sheets at his side. "Need to come," he moaned in a soft voice. "Please, Danny," he added helplessly.
Daniel hummed in agreement, his fingers plunging deeper, adding a third and then a fourth, stretching him wide. Daniel matched the rhythm of his mouth to that of his fingers, deepening his thrusts until Jack lay helplessly clutching at him, his body rigid, almost there.
"Daniel!" he gasped in a desperate whisper. "Oh, God!"
Jack's hips thrust him fiercely down Daniel's throat, almost choking him. Jack curled up, his head and shoulders coming up off the bed as he came, eyes wide open and staring at the sight of his lover's mouth around his cock. He poured sweet fire into Daniel's mouth, his ass clenching in spasms around Daniel's fingers. He flopped back against the bed as the pulses began to ebb and Daniel held his head still, using just his tongue to swirl around the sensitive head of Jack's cock. His fingers still stroked Jack's prostate, and he was rewarded with a startled gasp and twitch as another strong wave of pleasure shot through his lover's dick.
"Jesus, Daniel," Jack panted in a whisper. "I came already. You can't possibly want more." He chuckled hoarsely.
Sucking off and swallowing the last drops of come, Daniel finally let go of Jack's softening cock, withdrew his fingers and slithered up beside his lover. "Of course, I want more," he rumbled huskily, nibbling on Jack's shoulder. "What are you in the mood for tonight?"
With a soft, breathless little laugh, Jack sighed, "You gotta ask?" He turned his head, struggling to pry open his eyes and focus on the man hovering above him. With a groan, he rolled slowly over onto his left side, putting his back to Daniel, who sat up and groped in the bed for the lube.
He slicked himself up and pushed into Jack hard and fast, holding onto his hip and pulling Jack back against him.
Jack swore again, his eyes closed, head thrown back as this new pleasure pulled him back under its hypnotic current.
Daniel devoured him with his eyes, memorising all the wonderful bulges of firm muscle, the forest of curly silver hair covering Jack's chest, belly and groin. He took in all the scars and the evidence of his slow advance into late middle age and saw only beauty. The way Jack moved against him, the additional little twitches of his cock as Daniel thrust into him, the softly sensual moans he made, all evidence that Jack loved what Daniel was doing, how he was touching him. Jack was giving himself up to Daniel, giving all of himself, and to Daniel, as always, there was nothing more arousing than that total surrender.
The tight, wet heat of Jack's body surrounding him was bliss itself. Daniel wanted this to last all night, but he was already getting close, pressure building in his balls, focus narrowing to his cock. He let go of Jack's hip and plastered himself against Jack's back, holding Jack hard against him with one hand flat against his chest. He could feel Jack's heart pounding against his palm and closed his eyes, curling over Jack's shoulder.
"Fuck me, Danny," Jack rasped softly. "Wanna feel you come." Jack's hand covered Daniel's, squeezing. "That's it, just like that. Love you. God! Love you so much..."
Daniel's whole body seized up. With a startled cry of pleasure, he jerked against Jack's ass as he came, the pulses radiating out all through him, dissolving his bones, stealing his breath and his mind, leaving nothing in its wake but his fiercely beating heart. His head fell forward, resting his forehead against Jack's shoulder.
It took several moments before Daniel could open his eyes, lifting his head so he could look at his lover. He was still embedded in Jack, who had turned his head on the pillow and was eyeing him over his shoulder. His dark eyes were black and heavy lidded, sparkling with peace and satisfaction, the slightest little smile playing around his lips.
"Have I told you lately how damn good you are in bed?" he asked softly, that smile dawning bright and beautiful on his face. His smile faded. "Or how much I need you?
Instantly Daniel felt his heart swell. "Almost every night, Jack," Daniel reminded him as he sank down behind him onto the same pillow, brushing his tangled mane out of his eyes with an impatient swipe of his fingers. He placed a small kiss on the nape of Jack's neck. "But I never get tired of hearing it."
Jack lifted Daniel's hand and kissed his palm, gently, sweetly, returning it to his chest, and dropped his head against the pillow with a sigh. He held Daniel's hand against his sweaty chest, rubbing his thumb over the back of Daniel's wrist.
The two men rested together, listening to each other breathe, content and sated. Daniel kissed Jack's shoulder and ran his nose along his hairline. His shrinking cock slipped out of Jack with a small rush of hot semen. "Love you so much. We're gonna be okay, you know. Everything's gonna be all right. As long as we're together, we'll be fine. All three of us."
Jack tensed in his arms, remembering his little girl, lying asleep in the next room. "I don't know if I can do this, Daniel," he murmured. "I screwed up once in the worst way possible, and I don't know if I could survive—"
"That wasn't your fault, Jack," Daniel cut in adamantly. He pushed back a bit and then urged Jack to roll onto his back so they could see each other better. He propped himself up on his elbow to look down into Jack's face, smoothing Jack's damp hair away from his forehead, and looking deep into his eyes in the dim light of the bedside lamp. "Listen to me. What happened to Charlie was a horrible accident. It was stupid and tragic, but you didn't do anything to hurt him on purpose. You would have given your own life for it not to have happened." He held Jack's chin in his hand, looking down at him with every morsel of conviction he could muster. "And do you honestly think, now that you've seen Jakaira, that you could just hand her off to anyone else to raise?"
Swallowing hard, Jack shook his head, rolling it back and forth against the pillow. "No. I couldn't do that. She's mine."
"Then we'll find a way," Daniel assured him fervently. "I know you're scared, Jack, but your daughter needs you, and I know you want to be there for her."
"Yeah." Jack lifted his hand to press his palm against Daniel's cheek, threading his fingers into Daniel's wild, sweaty mane and combing it back from his face. Daniel leaned into his touch. "This is different, in every way possible. I have a daughter, Daniel. I don't know how to raise a daughter. And she's traumatized by what she's been through. I know that, and I don't know how to deal with it."
"We'll figure it out together," Daniel promised. "We'll get help for her." He sat up and looked down at the bed, picking absently at wrinkles in the sheets. "I've been in her shoes, so I know something about how she's feeling. The difference between Jakaira and me is that she has you. I had no one. That's why it's so important to be there for her if she wakes up, because she's lost right now, and she knows she's connected to you. She just doesn't feel it yet. But she will in time. Don't worry."
Daniel knew Jack was watching him, aware that Jack would understand that Daniel was allowing the memories of his parents' deaths to come back and fill him up, to shatter him all over again, because he needed that connection to be able to relate to Jakaira. And he knew Jack loved him even more for opening himself up to that pain, for the sake of Jack's child.
Jack sat up, reaching for him, but Daniel was already moving, getting off the bed and searching for his sweat pants, hurrying because he knew she was coming. Even as exhausted as the child was, her sleep for the first few nights would be broken up by nightmares that would make her relive the terror all over again. He glanced at Jack, just sitting there in the bed, but before he could urge his partner to get dressed, a little knock sounded on the door.
Jack bolted off the bed and had his pants on in a flash, racing for the door. "Just a minute, honey!" he called, hurrying over to jerk open the door. He bent down to pick up his daughter and hold her close.
She was crying, hiccupping silent sobs and holding onto his neck for dear life.
Daniel dutifully fetched T-shirts for both of them while Jack comforted Jakaira, then Daniel stepped into the bathroom for a quick shower. He took Jack's place on the bed with her afterward, sitting up beside her and reassuring her while she settled down. In a few minutes, she was fast asleep again, right between their pillows.
Shortly afterward, Jack was showered and dressed again and got into the bed with Daniel and Jakaira.
Once they were both on their pillows and still, Daniel gazed over at Jack, lying with his hand on his daughter's ribs. In the low light from the bedside lamp, he could see his lover looking back at him over the top of the little girl's head. Daniel smiled, his gaze moving from father to daughter, taking note of his stamp on her and how beautiful she was.
"I love you, Daniel," Jack whispered. "Thank you for accepting her into our lives."
"Thank you for letting me be part of raising her, Jack," he returned, his heart filling up with emotion.
"How could you not be?" asked Jack simply. "You're my other half. The brains of the outfit. And I honestly believe this is just like everything else in my life. I couldn't do any of it without you."
"You'd find a way," Daniel assured him, "but thanks for the vote of confidence. Now, let's all get some sleep. I have the feeling our lives just got a whole lot more complicated on a lot of levels."
Jack smiled and closed his eyes. "You have no idea. But you'll be surprised at how easily it all comes to you, too."
Daniel didn't point out that Sara probably did most of the parenting and nurturing while Jack was off God knew where with his Special Ops teams. Now he would be at home most of the time, and they'd be sharing parental duties, but there would be times when it would be just Daniel and Jakaira, and that worried him. He wasn't a nurturer by nature. He tended to get absorbed in his work and forget about other people. That had ruined his love life more times than he could count, and while children tended to be more forgiving, this would not be an easy thing for Daniel to learn.
For Jack and his child, however, he would put forth the effort and make Jakaira a priority.
Daniel looked at both of them a little longer before turning off the bedside lamp. He sighed and closed his eyes, hoping he could be as good a friend to Jakaira as Jack would be a father. Neither of them were quite prepared for this, but they'd learn because Jakaira needed them.
And whatever she needed, he and Jack would provide. That was what parents did for their children. Daniel's eyes opened and he looked down at the mop of curly hair illuminated by moonlight coming in through the slats of the window shutters, and the low glow of the nightlights Jack had put in the bathroom, bedroom and hallway. His heart swelled as he realized what that meant.
Not only had Jack been granted a second chance at fatherhood, but Daniel was also getting an opportunity to try it for himself.
Daniel Jackson had just become a father; something he never believed would happen to him.
Tears seeped from his eyes as he closed them. He was exhausted, overwhelmed, but full of hope. He reached out blindly, trying to hold his emotions inside. His fingertips touched Jack's knuckles, and he trailed down those long, rough fingers to press lightly against Jakaira's little chest, moving in and out with the motion of her breathing. Daniel sighed, content to be touching her... and then Jack's fingers parted and slipped downward, easing between Daniel's fingers, holding him and his daughter at the same time.
"Family," whispered Jack. "That's what we are now, Daniel. We're a real family."
"Yes," agreed Daniel softly. "We are. I love you, Jack. And I love Jakaira, too, because she's yours."
"She's yours, now, too, you know. I hope you'll like being a daddy. I think you'll be great at it."
Daniel's throat closed up, keeping him from telling Jack that he was certain he would love it, so he just squeezed Jack's hand and nodded. He closed his eyes, his fingers still laced with Jack's around Jakaira's ribs, and he drifted off to sleep, smiling through his tears of terrified joy.
Daniel sat in the waiting room, holding tightly onto Jack's hand, rubbing his thumb in random patterns over Jack's knuckles. He glanced at Jack in the chair beside his, back straight, eyes aimed at the door where Jakaira had been taken through almost an hour earlier. He'd barely moved from that position since the child psychologist had taken her away to examine her.
It had been a week since the child had come to live with them, and aside from sobs when she cried, Jakaira hadn't made a sound or spoken a word, no matter how they'd tried to get her to talk. Janet had done an additional check to rule out any physical causes for her muteness, but found nothing. She'd referred them to a child psychologist at Peterson AFB, and they'd brought her here. The psychologist, Doctor Stella Novotny, had told them she would need to observe Jakaira at play and have her complete some tests before she'd be able to give them any answers, and so they waited, separated from their daughter, both of them tense and worried about what they might hear.
Looking around the room at the other parents, Daniel saw that all of them were male-female couples, and that many of them were staring at the two of them holding hands. This was a military base, and homosexual relationships were unwelcome, but Daniel didn't care. They were both civilians now and Jack needed him, needed this contact and support, and there was no way Daniel would deny him that for appearance's sake.
He turned his gaze to Jack's face and murmured, "S'gonna be okay, Jack. She's strong, you know, just like her father."
Daniel could see how worried Jack was. That echoed in Daniel, because both of them knew there was a problem. Jack's stony expression didn't change, but without blinking or looking away from the door that led to the treatment and exam rooms, Jack lifted their interlaced fingers to his mouth and kissed Daniel's knuckles, then set their hands back on the arms of the chairs.
Message received, Daniel knew. But Jack's concentration was elsewhere, and Daniel waited quietly with him until at last the door opened and the receptionist stepped through with a polite smile.
"Colonel O'Neill, the doctor will see you now. Would you come with me?" she asked cheerfully.
Daniel let go of him instantly.
Jack stood up and reached for his hand again. "Come on, Daniel," he urged gently.
"They won't let me back there, Jack. You're her father. Go." Daniel patted his hand and pulled his out of Jack's grasp.
His expression hardening with anger, Jack muttered, "It's not fair. We need you." Then he moved away and followed the woman into the depths of the clinic.
Not five minutes later, she reappeared at the door to call Daniel back, too. There was a trace of disgust in her face that he didn't miss, but he ignored it. Let them disapprove of same-sex relationships all they wanted. As long as he and Jack had each other and Jakaira, nothing else mattered.
Daniel took his seat next to Jack in front of the doctor's desk, putting his cane aside as he sat down. Jakaira was not present, so he assumed she must still be in the playroom with some of the staff for this confidential chat with her parents. He studied the psychologist and her relaxed, open expression. She was young, thirty-something, with short auburn hair and warm brown eyes, and she smiled at him kindly. He reminded her of Janet.
Jack shot the doctor a smug look, then turned to meet Daniel's inquiring eyes. "I explained to the doc that you're as much Jay's dad as I am, and that you have experience we can use to help her. I hope you don't mind me telling her about your parents."
With a shake of his head, Daniel answered, "No, of course not. Anything to help Jakaira."
The psychologist smiled at both of them. "Look, I don't share the same prejudices a lot of people in the military do, Colonel O'Neill," she told him. "I think gay and lesbian couples can raise children just as well as single mothers and grandparents and straight couples, so please don't think my initial reluctance to have Doctor Jackson here with us has anything to do with that. Okay?"
"Thank you," said Daniel immediately, a wave of relief settling over him.
"Then what's the problem?" asked Jack.
Doctor Novotny glanced at Daniel before turning her gaze back to Jack. "I think she may not be connecting with you like she needs to, because she's getting more of what she needs from your partner."
"But that's a good thing," Jack insisted. "As long as she's getting it, she'll learn to bond with me eventually. Don't you think? I mean, she's only been here with us for a week."
"Yes, I suppose that'll evolve in its own in time." Doctor Novotny glanced down at the drawings on her desk. She was thoughtful for a moment. "She didn't react to the crayons and paper like any child I've ever seen before, though. That was a little surprising."
"Her mother was foreign and lived in another culture," Jack supplied instantly. "Simple agrarian society. They didn't have paper and crayons, or TV or cars or any of that. She's come to a whole new world here, doc."
Daniel smiled, knowing how well Jack could dance around the truth. He was good at keeping the government's secrets, telling the doctor just enough to help her make sense of things, while giving nothing away.
"I gathered that," she returned quietly. "She's got a lot of adjustments to make, living in this strange new world with two people she's never met before, both of whom have suddenly been thrust into the role of parent. I'm sure this hasn't been easy for you two, either."
Jack didn't answer immediately. He turned his gaze down to his lap, his hands clasped lightly together. He made eye contact briefly with Daniel, then looked back at the doctor. "I've been a parent before," he said softly. "My son died in an accident when he was ten. My wife and I divorced soon after his death."
"Then you do have something in your past to help you bond with her," the doctor suggested warmly. "You just have to look for that connection. Don't worry or try too hard. It'll develop in time, something you haven't had much of yet."
She sighed and her expression turned solemn, obviously getting ready to deliver the bad news. "Now, as to her silence, my preliminary diagnosis is hysterical muteness. She isn't refusing to talk. She simply can't. She doesn't remember how."
Daniel and Jack both looked at her at the same instant.
"This is not always a treatable condition," she told them, glancing from one face to the other. "Sometimes the mind simply cannot process certain events, and she's suffered quite a shock. She may, one day, regain her ability to speak. It might happen suddenly, or it might not happen at all. You have to be prepared for either possibility."
Jack's swallow was audible. He reached over and laced his fingers together with Daniel's, holding on for the strength he needed to get through the rest of this ordeal.
Daniel's chest tightened as he looked deeply into Jack's eyes. This was what he'd been expecting, but hearing it said out loud tore him up, and he knew Jack was barely holding himself together, too. He squeezed Jack's hand, reminding him that they were together, that they would deal with this latest tragedy like the team they still were.
Daniel cleared his throat and, with effort, tore his eyes away from Jack to look at the doctor. "What about teaching her sign language?" he asked. He knew some rudimentary signs already, some picked up out of curiosity and others from dealing with tribal cultures that used gestures to communicate with other, nearby tribes that spoke different languages. He'd always intended to learn ASL, and now he'd have an excuse.
"That's an excellent suggestion, Doctor Jackson, which I was going to make to you both," Doctor Novotny answered. "Jakaira has a lot to learn in her new country. She'll need some way to communicate her needs, and signing will be an excellent bridge. However, you may find that it will also become a crutch for her. Once she learns signing, she'll have no need to try to find her voice, and until she does, she'll always use signing to communicate, because it's easier than trying to speak. When she's old enough to read and write, she may have a breakthrough, but as long as she can communicate some other way, she won't be trying as hard to talk."
"But if we don't teach her to sign, she'll be isolated," Jack added. "She won't have any way of telling us what she needs." He glanced at Daniel, fierce love and determination gleaming in his eyes. "So where do we sign up for classes?" he asked the psychologist.
Doctor Novotny handed him a business card with a name and phone number handwritten on the back. "These people can help you. They have classes the three of you can take together."
Jack took the card, looked at it, and handed it to Daniel. "So, what else can we do to help her?"
She described a program of therapy disguised as play sessions and gave them some tips on activities they could use to try to prompt her to use her voice. After some additional discussion on the condition and its ramifications, they thanked her and went with her to the playroom to collect their daughter.
Jakaira ran to Daniel, who picked her up, gave her a hug and handed her to Jack. They walked out to their car together, Daniel's head down in thought, contemplating how they were going to help their wounded, precious daughter, and gearing himself up to learn a whole new language, just for her.
The morning dawned bright and clear, and even though there was the chill of impending autumn in the air, the family decided to have breakfast on the deck rather than indoors.
Daniel closed the patio door behind Jack as he appeared with a platter stacked high with blueberry pancakes and a bowl of freshly hulled strawberries. Daniel hobbled over to his chair, pouring another glass of juice for Jakaira while her father filled her plate, cut up the pancake into bite-sized bits and helped her pour the maple syrup.
Daniel had been on the internet late the previous afternoon, after their session with Doctor Novotny, already looking into websites with information on sign language. What he'd found had prompted him to go out and buy an ASL CD. He'd stayed up late learning as much as he could so he could get started with her and Jack and help her learn to communicate with them.
"Jakaira," he began, drawing her gaze to his face, "we have people here who can't hear, and because of that, sometimes they have trouble talking," Daniel explained. "So we have a whole language made up of hand movements, so deaf people can still talk to their families. Here's the sign for 'hungry.'"
Daniel cupped his right hand into a 'C' formation and brought it up just in front of his collarbones, then pulled it down a little, to simulate food going down the esophagus.
"Hungry," he repeated. Then he pointed to Jakaira and repeated the sign as he asked, "Are you hungry?"
She nodded emphatically.
He smiled. Closing the fingers of his right hand together as if he were holding something with his fingertips, he gestured toward his mouth. "Eat," he said, making the motion again as the child picked up her fork, speared a piece of pancake and stuck it into her mouth. "Jakaira is eating."
She looked down at her plate, then put her empty left hand to her mouth in a copy of the gesture Daniel had made. She nodded, swallowed, and watched him for more.
Daniel glanced up at Jack and saw him smiling slightly, nodding in approval. Daniel flattened out his right hand and touched the tip of his thumb to his forehead, his fingers sticking straight up. "This is the sign for 'daddy,' so if you want to talk just to him, do this to tell him, okay?" He wiggled his fingers a little, like a cock's comb waving in the breeze.
Jakaira copied the sign and turned to make eye contact with Jack while she did it.
A big grin spread from ear to ear as Jack looked back at her. "Yes, baby. I'm your daddy." He leaned over to kiss her on her syrup-smeared lips. "You're her daddy, too, Daniel," he observed casually. "What do we do about her distinguishing between us? She'll need to at some point, you know."
Jakaira stuffed another bite of pancake into her mouth and signed, 'Daddy eat.' Then she handed a ripe strawberry to Jack, who thanked her for it and stuffed the whole fruit into his mouth, making appropriately delighted noises. Jakaira nodded in approval and turned back to Daniel. She pointed at him and made the sign for 'daddy' again.
"I love the idea of that," Daniel returned with a smile, which faded quickly as he looked at Jack. "But I have no legal standing in her life. Just like at the clinic, the doctor wouldn't have let me back there unless she knew there were special circumstances. If there were an accident and I was the only one available to take Jakaira to the hospital, I couldn't sign any kind of releases or even go with her into an exam room."
Jack's gaze moved slowly from his child to his partner and lingered there, thinking, calculating. He took a sip of orange juice, thoughtfully swirling it around in his mouth before swallowing. "Then we have to fix that. We'll get a lawyer and see what we can do to get you legal guardianship or something, so that if anything happens to me, you'll raise our daughter. And I want to give you access to my bank accounts, make you executor of my will, do everything up all nice and legal so you're as much a part of my life as our laws will let you be." His smile widened as he added, "Including sharing your name. How does Jack O'Neill-Jackson sound to you? Are you okay with that, vidámo?"
The morsel of food that Daniel had just swallowed while Jack was talking got stuck halfway down his throat, constricted now with emotion. He couldn't take his eyes off Jack's expectant face, and just nodded, struggling to compose himself to speak. He swallowed a mouthful of milk to push the pancake the rest of the way down, and when he could manage, he reached across the table, covered Jack's hand with his and returned huskily, "Same goes for me, Jack. I want to make a living will so that, if decisions have to be made about my health and I can't choose for myself, I'll leave it to you to do for me. God, I never thought about this stuff before."
Daniel looked at Jakaira, happily munching away on her breakfast, ignoring their conversation about things she didn't understand. "Daniel O'Neill-Jackson. I like the sound of that." He smiled a little, a sense of awe filling him all the way up as he feasted his eyes on the child they now shared. "And our daughter will be Jakaira O'Neill-Jackson, huh? We're parents now. That really does change everything, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, babe," Jack agreed, standing up and bending over the table toward him. "It does." He leaned over for a kiss that tasted of strawberries with the sweet stickiness of syrup around the edges. "I love you," he said as he sat back down in his chair.
Daniel's mind was whirling, the top of his head spinning from both the conversation and the kiss. Jack always had that effect on him whenever they touched. He stared into his expressive brown eyes, sparkling now with a touch of playful mischief, and dragged his mind back to the business at hand. He sat for a moment, trying to remember what they'd been talking about, when Jakaira pointed at him and made the sign for 'eat.'
He remembered the lesson he'd started, cleared his throat and went on, "Some of our words don't have signs, like people's names. For those words, we spell them out. Now I don't know if you can read or not—"
"Daniel, she's barely four years old," Jack cut in. "Of course she can't read."
He glanced up at his lover, surprised for a moment. "I could when I was three, complete with comprehension," he announced in a matter of fact voice.
Jack gaped. "You could? Why am I surprised? Never mind. Go on with the lesson, Doctor Jackson. We're all learning here." He waved a hand at Daniel to continue.
Daniel looked back at the child. "Okay, so we have to learn to spell people's names. This is what mine looks like." He patiently made the signs for D-A-N-I-E-L, saying the letters as his hands formed the gestures, then repeated it while she copied him.
"Very good!" he cheered enthusiastically. He hesitated, looking at Jack and back at Jakaira. "How about if you call us Daddy Jack and Daddy Dan?"
Jack smiled broadly. "I think I like that, Daniel. Show me the sign for 'd' again."
He did, and throughout their breakfast, they went over many of the signs Daniel had already learned, getting a good head start on their newest language adventure.
Tyler O'Neill set the last of the big cardboard boxes on the living room floor and straightened, smoothing back his thick silver hair. He studied the towering Douglas fir set before the front window, parting several of the branches near the base to look at the root ball in its burlap bag, nestled snugly into a large pot. This would keep the tree alive until it could be planted after the holidays, sometime after the ground thawed but before the sap began to rise.
Stepping back, he cast an appraising eye on its shape, and was pleased with the symmetry. It was a big tree this year, but then the whole family might be home to see it. Hopefully Jack would be able to make it, too.
Jack had missed the last couple of Christmases with them, and it wasn't the same without their eldest child visiting. Tyler and his wife would be calling their son later in the evening, taking a chance he'd be home this time.
By most folks' reckoning it was a bit early to start with the Christmas decorating, but his wife loved the season and always wanted to make it last as long as possible. So right after Thanksgiving, on the first day of December, the tree went up and didn't come down until New Year's Day.
With a sigh, Ty bent down and started opening the ornament boxes. They'd let the grandchildren undress the tree last year, and there was no telling what might not have survived their less-than-careful handling. Most everything looked intact, but the tree topper looked like it had seen better days. He lifted the angel gently from the box and saw that its blonde hair was starting to come out in places. Its dress was wrinkled and one wing had been folded into an awkward crease.
As the O'Neill patriarch handled the precious heirloom, he remembered how Jack had presented them with this ornament the year Charlie was born. That sad memory touched his heart, and he knew he couldn't bear to part with this piece of family history, even though it was a painful reminder of what they'd lost as well. He'd find a small box for it and put it back into the attic with their other sentimental keepsakes.
Charlie would have been a man now, if he'd lived. He'd be almost twenty years old, in college, no doubt. Ty was sure he'd be all long legs and attitude, with a glistening mane of his mother's blonde hair and his father's intense brown eyes. Ty sighed, missing the boy and wishing things had been different, but accidents happened and lives went on in spite of tragedy. He'd accepted the boy's death ages ago, but it never got any easier, especially on Charlie's birthday and at Christmas.
Ty carefully unfurled the bent wing, arranged the angel's curls so that the bald spots were better covered, and smoothed the wrinkles out of its pristine white gown. When he called Jack to ask if he'd be able to come for the holidays this year, he'd ask his son if he'd like to be the one to replace the angel. If not, it would be a simple thing for someone else to pick one up the next time they were in town. He stood looking down at the little doll in his hands, still missing his grandson and the sound of his laughter.
It had been snowing earlier that day, the sky overcast and dull. Tyler didn't look outside very much during this season since there was little to see but shades of white, black and gray. As he stood there beside the tree, still holding the little angel, a ray of sunshine broke through the clouds and streamed through the large living room window at his side. For a moment, for one blessed moment, golden light illuminated the figurine in his hand and made it sparkle and glow with radiant fire.
Tyler smiled, watching the light slowly fade and disappear.
He was a big believer in omens and signs from Above. This Christmas would be different, special somehow. He was sure of it, just as he was sure of the unseen Presence who had brought him the message.
"Love you, Charlie," he said quietly, and hugged the doll to his chest, looking up at the ceiling and, in his mind's eye, seeing a smiling face instead. "Miss you, son. Look after your father for us. He needs you, most of all."
After a few moments, he wandered off to look for his wife and ask her where he might find a sturdy storage box for the angel, where it might quietly retire after a life well spent watching over the Clan O'Neill.
"Jack, are you sure you want to do this?" Daniel's face was drawn with apprehension, concerned about the trip to meet Jack's family but sure Jack would do what was best for everyone. Daniel yawned as he held his coffee cup listlessly, not quite awake yet, and almost spilling some of the fragrant brew on the kitchen floor.
"Yes, I am," said Jack certainly. "I think all of us need to know what's going on here."
"You can't tell them everything," Daniel reminded his lover sagely, gazing over the tops of his glasses.
"Well, duh! I still want them to meet you both. I want them to know as much as they can know." Jack smiled a little, picturing his mother standing in the snowy Minnesota woods, lobbing a snowball at him, a devilish smile on her lined, beautiful face. "My mother's gonna love you. She'll be nuts about Jakaira and pissed off at me for not marrying her mom, but she'll get over that."
Daniel straightened, taking in a deep breath and holding it for a moment, puffing out his cheeks before letting it go explosively. "Whoa. Meeting your mother. That's... scary."
"Nah. My dad, he's the scary one," Jack teased him, watching his eyes widen with a trace of amusement. "Still tops me by two inches. 'Bout Teal'c's size, last I saw him."
Turning away, Daniel emptied the rest of his coffee into the sink and rinsed out the cup. "When was the last time you were home?" He pulled a leather thong out of his pants pocket and quickly tied his hair back with it, the short ponytail now draped well past his shirt collar.
"A couple of years now. Christmas, before I retired." Jack pulled a box of Froot Loops out of the pantry and set it on the dining table next to the empty bowl and spoon he'd already placed there for Jakaira.
Daniel eyed him unhappily. "You haven't seen them the whole time we've been together. How come?"
"I couldn't leave you," Jack said simply. "And I wasn't ready to bring you home to them. Now I am." He shrugged. "And working for the military's always a convenient excuse why I can't get time off."
"You're sure you're ready, considering they could be very unhappy with both of us?" Daniel came closer, slipping his arms around Jack's waist. "It could be a disaster. Might not be good for Jakaira."
"I know, but it's not like I'm gonna walk in the door and cram our relationship down their throats," Jack assured him, settling his arms on Daniel's broad shoulders and reaching around to play with his ponytail. "They've met Teal'c in passing, and my mom was charmed right out of her mind. They've heard me talk about you and Carter, and are expecting two extra mystery guests. They just don't know how close you and I are. I'll leave you and Jay at a hotel in town, and go break the news alone. Hopefully they'll be so blown away by Jay, they won't care their son has switched sides."
"This is some pretty big news, Jack." Daniel snuggled in close, nuzzling Jack's cheek. He sighed. "What if it does make a difference?"
"Then you and Jay and I will have a nice Christmas by ourselves in Thief River, see some of the countryside and have a leisurely drive back home," Jack whispered back, rocking him a little, his fingers massaging Daniel's shoulders and neck. "If they don't accept me as a gay man, then they won't accept my family, and I won't have you or Jay hurt by their bad attitude."
"Don't you think that's kind of holding them hostage?" He kissed Jack lightly on the lips and drew away with a ragged sigh. "I don't mind if you take Jakaira to see them without me, you know."
"Well, I mind! Besides, we both know she wouldn't go without you," growled Jack, "and I'm not gonna haul her away from you, screaming and crying, just so they can see her. We're a package deal, Daniel, and that's that."
He stepped into the dining room and poured a Jakaiara-sized portion of the cereal into the bowl, set the milk jug on the dining table beside it and headed into the back of the house to fetch her to her waiting breakfast.
As he went out into the hall, he glanced over at Daniel's piano in the back of the living room, facing the fireplace. There had been just enough room to accommodate the elegant square grand near the deck doors, and Daniel had already started giving Jay music lessons on it.
Smiling to himself as he recalled the touching sight of Jay sitting on Daniel's lap, pecking at the keys with two fingers, he moved on down the hallway to the little guest bedroom that had been decorated just for her. It now had pale pink walls sporting hand-painted images of rabbit-like creatures with long, barbed tails called metlars, often kept as pets on Eudora.
Daniel had painted those for her, to remind her of home.
Much of the furniture in the room was handmade and rough, salvaged from the ruins of her home on Eudora. Jack had wanted her to have as much from her homeworld as possible, to help with the transition to this culture that was so alien to her.
Jack had done his best to bond with the child, but she remained distant and silent, and part of him was grateful for that distance. He knew he should be working to deepen the connection between them, but he was afraid of letting her get closer, afraid of the price he might have to pay if anything happened to her. It was safer to keep her at arm's length and let Daniel do most of the parenting. He was surprisingly good at it, and when he did need guidance from the voice of experience, Jack would speak up and tell him what he needed to know. Daniel and Jay had bonded deeply, and that was just fine in Jack's book.
He knew he should be doing more with her, but he couldn't. He just couldn't let her all the way in, and the child felt it. His love for her was idealistic, caring because she was his flesh and blood, but he kept a lot of his heart from her behind a wall of painful memories. He would observe and make sure Daniel got the chance to be a full-fledged father, while he stood by and watched.
Maybe it wasn't fair to Jay for him to be so reserved, but he was doing the best he could, and she was getting the healing love she needed from Daniel. It would have to do.
Standing in the bedroom doorway, he took a moment to watch her, sitting on her neatly made bed in which she started each night, invariably ending up in her dads'. Her gold-brown hair fell in shiny waves down her back, and she was already dressed in a pink T-shirt over darker pink sweatpants. She had a homemade doll in her lap, carefully brushing its brown yarn hair and smoothing it down with her chubby little fingers.
"Mornin', baby," he called softly.
His eyes looked back at him from that tiny, solemn face. She gave him a little wave, laid down her doll and brush and used both hands to sign, Good morning, Daddy Jack, as Daniel had taught her.
Jack copied the movements, smiling at her and saying the words as he made the exact same signs. "Good. Morning. Jakaira. Breakfast is ready."
She shook her head and repeated the phrase again, showing him how to finger spell her name, rather than using the sign for 'Daddy Jack' that he had intentionally repeated, to tease her.
He came into the room and sat down on the little bed in front of her. "Show me again, honey." This time he patiently duplicated her movements, spelling her name with each gesture. "How about if we just use the 'j' for your name instead of spelling it all out? That makes my fingers tired."
He meant it to be funny, to try to coax a smile out of her, but she just shrugged and slid off the bed, leaving her toys behind. She padded barefoot out of the room without a look backward. Standing up and pausing in the doorway, he watched her go down the hall toward the living room, then turn right and disappear into the dining room where Daniel and her breakfast awaited.
Jack went into the master bedroom and started tugging on the bedclothes, straightening them, pulling them tight against the mattress, smoothing out all the wrinkles as he made their bed. He pulled the little Disney Princesses pillow out from between their two big ones and tossed it onto the foot of the bed, to take with them on the trip.
At some point each night, Jay still got up and hurried down the hallway to their room with her pillow tucked under her arm, crawling up between them in their bed to finish the night. Though the men usually managed to find time for making love, door locked against any intrusions, it was often hurried or interrupted, and Jack longed for a time when he and Daniel could enjoy each other at leisure. And while Jack thought it was best for them to take Jay back to her own bed and teach her to sleep there, Daniel's soft heart convinced Jack that she needed their closeness and the security, so she would always end up finishing the night with them. Even now a crack of thunder could send her into a panic, clinging to the closest adult if she were at day care, or to Jack or Daniel if they were at home.
Jack's heart went out to her. Had he been raising her alone, he might have been less indulgent, but she'd settled into life on Earth quickly and easily, mostly due to his lover's patience and caring. Daniel had been amazing with her, teaching her sign language that she picked up rapidly. He doted on her, talking to her in a stream of constant chatter, half of which Jack didn't even understand, but Jakaira seemed to get enough of it to remain entertained, or at least happy that someone was communicating with her. When they were at home, she followed Daniel around like a puppy, sometimes so close to him that she'd accidentally tripped him a couple of times, causing him to fall, which wasn't good for his damaged knee.
Invariably, Jack had been out in the garden or in the garage, and Jakaira had come running to him, tugging on his pant leg or arm to get him to come inside and help. She was always upset afterward, crying and inconsolable, but Daniel made sure to hug her as soon as he could manage, telling her that it wasn't her fault, that he just had trouble walking and sometimes he fell. She would sit on his lap for hours afterward, refusing to leave him.
Jack was thrilled that Jakaira had grown so close to Daniel. It took the pressure off him and let him function in the role of back-up parent. They were slowly defining their roles, learning how to help each other.
Jack couldn't have asked for a more obedient child. She never seemed to get angry about anything, which Doctor Novotny had assured him was a side effect of her emotional withdrawal. Jakaira was still adjusting, and it would be a long time yet before she felt secure enough to jump the hurdles of past tragedies, and heal. With love and support from her two daddies, Jack knew she would make it. She was an O'Neill, after all.
He grinned to himself. Daniel and he had agreed that shortly after the holidays, she would be an O'Neill-Jackson, and so would both of her parents. They'd already set the wheels in motion to have all three of their last names legally changed.
Jack straightened and went to the closet, pulling out the clothes he intended to wear during the holidays, matching up shirts or sweaters and pants, adding the folded underwear and socks to each stack, then setting out the shoes and boots he'd need to bring. That done, he headed for the bathroom and packed up his shaving kit, leaving it on the bed with his clothes for Daniel to put into the suitcases when he finished packing his own and Jakaira's stuff.
He went into the garage to prep their new SUV for the trip. The F-350 was still parked in the driveway and functioned as Jack's personal transportation or when he needed to haul gardening supplies, but the SUV was now the family car, allowing more room inside for Jakaira's car seat. They'd both decided that a long car trip would be preferable to travel in an airplane, thinking air travel might only add to her stress.
Doctor Novotny had told them Jakaira was making great strides; that she was adjusting to her new home life well. That buoyed Jack's spirits, but he still ached to see her smile, hear her laugh, to know the sound of her little-girl voice. Only Jakaira wasn't ready to talk yet, at least not with her voice. Jack could translate the signing enough to get by, but he wasn't nearly as adept at conversation with her as Daniel was.
Jack hoped she would find her voice soon, aware that might never happen, but still wanting that miracle of wholeness for his child.
~~**~~
Inside an hour, the SUV was packed and ready to go. The trio loaded up, with Jack fastening Jakaira in her car seat in the middle of the back seat. Daniel belted himself in the passenger seat up front. They took off just after breakfast and Jack drove all day, stopping periodically for meals, to get gas, or to stretch their legs and take potty breaks.
Daniel busied himself with a book, memorizing new words in the American Sign Language dictionary, and turning around occasionally to teach ones he thought were most useful to Jakaira. She busied herself with her toys and watching Disney DVDs when not working on a new language lesson.
Jack glanced at Daniel to his right, on the road again after a brief stop for lunch and a little walking. "So, wanna know about my family?"
Grinning back, Daniel told him, "I didn't want to ask, but of course I want to know about them. You've just... you don't talk about this stuff, and I know you prefer to keep things to yourself."
"Well, you're gonna be meeting 'em in a few hours, so I might as well do the mission prep."
"Where do they live?"
"Way out in the country, about halfway between Angus and Thief River Falls. Northern Minnesota. Mum and Da moved there when Da retired, after he left the Air Force."
"Mum and Da?"
Jack chuckled a little. "My mother came here when she was about ten years old, fresh off the boat from the old country. She didn't like the way 'mom and dad' sounded and insisted on Mum and Da, the old Irish way."
"Cool. Does she speak Gaelic?"
"Only when she's pissed off." Jack glanced over at him. "That's something you don't wanna see, trust me."
"Sounds like she's a formidable woman." Daniel closed the book and gave Jack his full attention.
"Think Janet Fraiser, only louder and with lightning shooting out of her eyes. That's me Mum when she's mad."
Daniel laughed. "God, Jack, you sounded so Irish just then."
"Well, that's because I am." He reached down to turn the radio off. "Erin go bragh, you know?"
"You speak Gaelic?"
"Only what I learned from Mum. Not for polite company, if you get my drift." He grinned and gave Daniel a wink. "Uh, Mum's a very smart lady, in case I never told you. She was raised in a time when women didn't get much in the way of education or career guidance, but I grew up seeing her with a book in her hand most of the time. Bet she'll give you a run for the money in conversation topics."
"I look forward to meeting her," Daniel told him, hoping he'd find some way to garner her approval. "What about your dad?"
"Career military. Retired at the rank of major. Kinda quiet, but everybody listens when he talks."
"So you outrank him, huh? Is he okay with that?"
"He's proud of me, yeah." He glanced over at Daniel, then patted his thigh. "Give 'em time, Daniel. They'll fall in love with you just like I did. You're impossible to resist."
Daniel blushed, smiling back at him. "Jack, you're a romantic sap. I'd never have guessed you had it in you."
Jack reached out and clasped his hand, his fingertips rubbing against Daniel's palm. "That's still classified, just for you to know, vidámo."
"Love you, ionúin," murmured Daniel. Even softer, he whispered, "It's gonna be a long holiday without you-know-what."
"We'll manage," said Jack softly, glancing away from the road for just for a moment. "What's that word mean that you just called me? I recognize it from Mum, but she never told me what it meant."
"It means 'beloved'," said Daniel huskily, stroking the skin on the back of Jack's hand with his fingertips. "I love the way Gaelic sounds, the way it rolls around on the tongue, and isn't pronounced anything like it's written. Wonderful language."
"Ionúin," repeated Jack. He smiled, eyes on the road. "Now look who's a romantic sap." He cleared his throat and continued. "So, anyway, back to my family. Mum and Da keep a few horses on the farm and ride nearly every day, except in the winter. Da makes fiddles that he sells through a music shop in Thief River, and Mum's an artist."
"Any brothers or sisters?" Daniel looked down at their clasped hands, treasuring the moment, being able to touch him even in that small way. He turned his gaze up to Jack's profile and watched his eyes move, always scanning, flicking from the road to the rear view mirror, the side mirrors and back to the road. Jack was an excellent driver with great reflexes, and since Daniel's disability prevented him from doing any long distance driving, he'd grown accustomed to having his lover chauffer him most everywhere.
"One of each," Jack admitted. "I'm the oldest—"
"No surprise there," cut in Daniel teasingly. "Did you call your siblings 'kids' and 'campers,' too?"
Jack flashed a grin at him. "Yeah. Got that from me Da."
"And 'for cryin' out loud'?" asked Daniel with a grin.
"That's Mum's. It usually preceded something colorful in Gaelic." Jack pulled Daniel's hand up toward his face and leaned over to kiss his knuckles. "Sister Kelly is six years younger than me. Married Xavier Santos about twenty years back. Four kids. Let me see. Jamie's 18 now, Kieran's 16, Liam's 13, and Riona's ten. They kept tryin' till they got 'em a girl."
"So her husband's Hispanic?" Daniel smiled at his hand, as if he could still feel the tingle of Jack's lips where they had touched him.
"Yeah. Works for some big software company or other. Kelly's a doctor. The M.D. kind. Family practice. They live in L.A."
"And your brother?"
"Brennan's eight years my junior, the baby of the family. Played semi-pro hockey for a while right out of college, did four years in the Air Force, but he just wasn't cut out for that kind of disciplined life. Tried being an actor, and eventually got into building houses. He and his kids live in Thief River, about a twenty minute drive to my folks' place."
Daniel noticed Jack didn't mention a sister-in-law's name, and waited. His lover's expression grew dark.
"Brennan's wife, Jesse, died in an airplane crash. Right about the time I went missing on Edora. I found out when I got back."
Daniel rubbed his thumb over the back of Jack's hand. "I'm sorry. It must've been a nightmare for your brother." He gave Jack's hand a squeeze.
"He's stepped up to the plate and has been doing okay. Got three kids: Connor's 16 now, Sorcha's 12, and Finn's six. I'm hoping he and Jay are close enough in age to want to play together."
Jack lifted his hand and kissed Daniel's knuckles again. Then he smiled at Daniel. "I want them to love you. I'm sure they will, Daniel. Don't worry about anything, okay?"
"Trying not to. What does your family do for Christmas?"
"Well, let's see..." Jack glanced over at the side mirror a couple of times, let go of Daniel's hand, then pulled out into the passing lane, speeding up to go around an eighteen-wheeler. When he'd pulled back into the driving lane, he caught up Daniel's hand and continued. "Today's the 20th, and we'll get there about midday on the 22nd. After I break the news, we'll settle in and visit. The kids will play. We'll stuff ourselves. The next day we'll sleep in till kids come and jump in the middle of us and drag us outside to play in the snow. Might go to Thief River to see a movie later in the day, maybe shop, look at stuff. Same thing till Christmas Eve. Then we exchange our gifts from each other, and there's more from Father Christmas in the morning."
"I hope I brought enough books to keep me busy," Daniel teased.
"If not, we'll go into town and buy you some more," Jack assured him with a grin. "Oh. And on Christmas Eve, we dress up and go to church." He took his eyes off the road for a long look at Daniel. "You okay with that?"
"I've participated in all sorts of religious ceremonies. I think I can handle a Mass or two."
"Who said we were Catholic?" Jack's expression was so huffy, it made Daniel do a double-take.
"Aren't you? I figured you were Irish Catholic. You're not?"
A big, wicked grin split Jack's face, and he chuckled. "Yeah. About as lapsed as it's possible to get and not actually be in hell, but yeah. Irish Catholic."
Daniel let go of his hand and playfully punched his shoulder. "You got me, Jack."
"And that makes me happy as a clam." He frowned suddenly. "Are clams happy, Daniel?"
"I have no idea."
They settled into a companionable silence, still holding hands until Jakaira tossed her little stuffed camel at Daniel, requesting his attention. Turning to talk to her, he dutifully changed the DVD in the player for her and tucked the camel back into her lap until she needed something again.
They made good time in the clear weather, grateful for the dry roads. By early evening they stopped off at a hotel and relaxed for a few minutes, unpacked and took Jakaira to the heated indoor pool for a long swim. Afterward, they went out to dinner and by the time they made it back to their room, she was asleep on Jack's shoulder.
He tucked her into the bed, and then he and Daniel retreated to the bathroom for a little privacy. They quietly made love in the shower and cleaned up afterward, dressed in sweats and eased into bed on either side of her. In minutes, the whole family was happily dreaming together until morning.
The next day was a repeat of the first, and on the day after that they arrived in Thief River Falls, Minnesota in early afternoon. Jack checked them in at a Ramada Inn and unloaded the luggage into the room.
Daniel got Jakaira out of the car seat and took her into the hotel to wait for Jack's return. He kissed them both goodbye, climbed back into the SUV, and headed for his parents' home.
~~**~~
Jack stamped his feet on the porch to get the snow off his boots and threw open the front door.
"Woman of the house!" he shouted into the foyer.
"Wipe your feet!" came the expected response from the depths of the house.
Though he had already done that, he made a great show of doing it again as a small woman with long brown hair, just streaked with silver at the temples, came into the foyer from the den. She was dressed in an ankle-length black velvet skirt over a pair of black leather boots, one with a silver chain around the ankle. An emerald velvet blouse set off the green in her eyes, and at the back of her head, her hair was pulled back with a bright red bow.
Africa O'Neill's face was alight with joy, and she reached for her eldest son with open arms. "Jack! Heavens, I've missed you, boyo. Give your old mother a hug." She wrapped her arms around his neck as he bent down to her.
He embraced her tightly and lifted her off her feet, swinging her around in a circle. He snuggled into her neck, breathing in his mother's familiar, beloved scent. "Love you, Mum. Missed you like crazy."
Africa pulled back from him, wide-eyed and obviously surprised. Jack hadn't declared his affection for her out loud since he was a little boy, and he knew it was a shock for her to hear it. Being with Daniel was changing him in all kinds of ways, and this was one of them. What he'd once found nearly impossible to say aloud was now almost second nature, still not always easy for him to get out, but it filled a need and felt damned good.
He could tell from the stunned look of joy in her eyes and the blush in her cheeks that she enjoyed it, too.
"Son! Welcome home." His father's booming voice filled the foyer and as soon as Jack had set his mother on her feet again, he was being squeezed so hard he could hardly breathe.
"Da!" he wheezed. "Air. Now. Please."
Jack sucked in a deep breath as his father chuckled and let go.
"So where are your friends?" asked his mother, peering out the still-open front door onto the porch. "We're eager to meet them. Did you bring that Murray fella with you?"
"No, Mum." Jack's joy at being home again subdued instantly. "Let me get my coat off, and we'll go inside and talk. Are Kelly and Brennan here?"
"Oh, yes. Everyone's waiting for you, as you asked." She hugged him again briefly and reached for the earring dangling from his left lobe. "This is a different look for you." Her eyes went to his hair, longer now, but still just within the regs. "I like it, Jack. It suits you."
His father just frowned at the changes, then shrugged them off as he led the way into the den at the back of the big house.
Jack took off his scarf, gloves and coat, and left them hanging on the rack in the entryway. Filled with a kind of dread, though it was well laced with pride and happiness in Daniel and Jay, Jack followed his parents into the den. He listened for the sound of young voices and heard none. Glancing out the big picture windows at the back of the big room, he saw the children all outside, skating on a small frozen pond not far from the house.
He took a moment to hug his sister and brother and shake his brother-in-law's hand, then retreated to the center of the room, wondering how the hell to start.
"So what's this big news you've got to tell us, Jack?" asked his sister. She was sitting on the couch now, a cup of hot coffee in her hand.
"You better set that down, Kelly," he warned her.
Expressions all around grew solemn. All eyes were fixed on him. Kelly obeyed and clasped her hands in her lap.
He stuffed his fingers into the pockets of his jeans, his shoulders inching up around his ears. "So, do you want the good news or the great news first?"
A bright smile broke out on his mother's face. "The good news, darlin'."
"Okay." He forced his shoulders down and his chin up proudly. He pulled his hands out of his pockets, letting them dangle loosely at his sides, knowing he needed to be ready for anything. "I've fallen in love again."
Cheers went up all around him. Everyone came forward to hug him one at a time, clap him on the shoulder and wish him well. He had to wait for that reaction to subside and for everyone to return to their places before he could continue.
He swallowed hard, wishing there were some easier way to temper the rest of it. He finally decided there was no way to sugar-coat it, so he simply added, "Only this time, I'm in love with a man."
No one even blinked for a moment. His father began to laugh and others picked it up, carrying around him in a nervous wave.
Jack didn't smile. He stared his father right in the eye, his stomach doing flip-flops. "This isn't a joke, Da. I'm dead serious, and it's for real. This isn't a fling or curiosity, and it's not a casual relationship. He loves me, and I love him, and you and Mum both know how hard it is for me to say that out loud. This is for the rest of our lives."
His mother closed her eyes. "Sweet Mary, mother of God!" she blurted under her breath as she crossed herself, her face going pale. Her lips started moving in silent prayer as she bowed her head.
Ty's eyes were wide and staring. "Jesus, Mary and Joseph!" he whispered, obviously shaken to his soul. He put his arm around his wife and pulled her close. They clung to each other in shock and despair.
This was exactly what Jack had feared, but also expected. He was prepared for whatever came next and held his head high, pride and love filling him up, strengthening him. His gaze fell on the face of each family member in the room.
Kelly's husband, Xavier, pointedly turned around and put his back to Jack, looking down into the fireplace, hands stuffed into his pockets.
His brother, Brennan, wouldn't even look him in the eye. His face was a mask of disgust and dismissal, completely closed off and unreasonable. He remained completely silent, staring at the floor.
His sister, Kelly, on the other hand, looked right at him, understanding and acceptance plainly written on her features. "Are you happy, Jack?" she asked gently.
"Yes. We both are." He smiled at her in gratitude. "Daniel is one of the best things that's ever happened to me."
"Then that's all that matters to me." She stood up and came to him, putting her arms around his neck. He hugged her back fiercely, glad that someone in his family was okay with this.
Kelly leaned back enough to look into Jack's face. "Daniel? That's his name?" she whispered.
Jack nodded, swallowing hard, overcome with love for his sister.
"Such a nice name, Jack. And if he loves you, and you love him, I'm sure he's a wonderful person."
"He is," Jack murmured, tears prickling the back of his eyes, hyper-aware that the rest of his family had turned to stone, right where they were sitting. No one had moved a muscle or flickered an eyelid since Kelly had stood up.
She pulled away and kissed his cheek, then stood at his side with her arm around his waist, looking back at the rest of the family. "I love my brother," she declared to them. "I know the rest of you do, too, and you can bet your life this wasn't easy for him to tell us. Why don't we listen to what he has to say and at least try to have open minds, all right? Because I'm sure Daniel has to be someone truly special for our Jack to have given his heart to him."
Jack looked down into her lovely face, so much like their mother in her younger days, and smiled. He slipped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. "I love you, baby girl," he said in a soft voice. "D'ya know that?"
She leaned her head against him with a sigh. "Yeah, Jack. I do." She hugged him and remained standing by his side, her eyes glowing from his rare expression of affection.
He turned away from her, comforted by her support, and made eye contact with his father, who was staring aghast at his sister. He looked like he'd bitten into something with a really bad taste as he pulled away from his wife's embrace, sitting stiffly upright beside her.
"Open minds!" Ty spat incredulously. "Open minds? You've lost your mind, girl." Ty was furious, his face darkening with rage as he turned to glare at his son. "How could you, Jonathan?" he demanded hotly, fists clenched at his sides, eyes glittering with emotion. "You're nearly fifty years old! You've had an eye for women all your life. How could you suddenly turn queer? I can't believe it. I won't believe it. Not my son."
Jack's gaze didn't waver, even though he flinched inwardly at the mention of that label and the use of his given name. Even as his father's disbelief and anger washed over him like a white-hot tide, Jack drew on the inner peace he had from both Kelly's support and Daniel's abiding love. "Sometimes things happen, Da," he said quietly. "When teams depend on each other for life every moment of the day and night, you get close. I loved my team, every one of 'em, way more than I should have as their commander. They were like family to me, all of them, and we were the best because of that." He looked at his mother with a tiny smile. "Murray in particular."
Her eyes were wary as she looked up at him. "I thought you said it was Daniel. Isn't he that archaeologist fella on your team that you've told us about?"
"I meant that Murray was the best soldier on our team, but yeah, one of Daniel's PhD's is in archaeology. He's also a linguist and does a lot of our translating for us. You haven't met Daniel yet, but I hope you'll want to, because Kelly's right. He is a very special man. Really smart. Triple doctorate and king-sized pain in the ass." He smiled, shaking his head, proud to at last be talking about Daniel to his parents. "When I first met him, eight years ago now, I thought he was an arrogant, snotty little geek – which he was, actually. But right from our first mission together, I also learned he was a brave man, a good man, someone I could trust with my life."
He took a deep breath and moved his gaze down to the floor. Kelly was rubbing his back now, her fingers moving in small circles between his shoulders. He sighed and went on, his voice deepening. "He was the one who helped me survive Charlie's death, made me see that life was still worth living, that I still had a purpose. I owed him for that. Big time."
His mother's head came up, the wariness in her eyes fading a little. She gave a small nod. "Then we're indebted to him for that, too, son. But why this-- this--" She hesitated, obviously unsure of what to call what Jack and Daniel were to each other. "When? How? I don't understand, Jack. There's been no indication at any point in your life that you might be attracted to men. I'd have seen it, I think, and it's not been there."
Jack nodded. "That's because I've never been attracted to men, Mum," he answered quietly. "Just this one." He put both arms around his sister and rocked her fondly as he spoke about the love of his life. "Daniel's an amazing man. He's a hero, many times over. I can't tell you any specifics, but I'll let you in on a little secret." He couldn't stop the smile of pride tugging at his mouth. "One day the history books will show that Doctor Daniel Jackson may well be one of the most important people ever born, in the whole history of the human race. Top five, for sure."
Astonishment softened Ty O'Neill's rage for a moment, but was nudged stubbornly aside. "That's a pretty big boast, Jack. What's so special about him?"
"Classified, Da, but I've got facts to back it up. I wish I could tell you, because you'd be begging me to bring him home just so you could shake his hand and get his autograph for posterity. You'd be thrilled out of your minds that he's my..." He couldn't say the word to them.
Faces shuttered as they automatically supplied it themselves.
Jack turned back to his mother. "You wanted to know when. I've worked with Daniel for eight years. He's saved my life more times than I can count, figured things out that nobody else could, and managed to always find ways to bring me and the rest of the team home, when it looked like that just might be impossible. I grew to admire him. Then I learned to like him. And one day about eighteen months ago, he was injured. I thought he was going to die, and that's when I realized I loved him and that we were way more than just friends. That was hard. Took me a while to realize just how deep it went. Scared the crap out of me, too, but I got all right with it after a while."
"Then you told him," Kelly surmised, "and you got together."
"That took a while, too, because Daniel was just like me. Straight as an arrow. He'd never looked at any man as anything but a friend. He'd been married before, too, and his wife died tragically, right in front of him. I was there to help him through that, about four years back."
He glanced at Brennan, knowing that was around the same time his brother's wife had passed away. Brennan's anger vanished, and remembered grief took its place.
"Daniel didn't know what to think at first, when he found out how I felt. He was recovering from a serious injury that had left him permanently handicapped, and I was taking care of him." Jack eyed his father. "He got hurt on my watch, on my team. He was my responsibility, and I couldn't leave him to fend for himself because he couldn't be part of the team anymore. Plus I knew by then that I -- well, I -- I needed him with me. So I retired from the Air Force to take care of him."
For a moment, he didn't say anything, waiting for that unspoken acknowledgment, one soldier to another. Jack's father had been career military, too. He understood command responsibility, of taking care of his people and their families, especially if what happened to them was the CO's fault. It hadn't been Jack's fault, not really, but he bore the responsibility just the same.
Tyler O'Neill nodded, his expression softening. That part of it he obviously understood. "You're just feeling guilty, son," he offered sympathetically. He held out his hands, palms up, in a beseeching gesture. "That's all this is. It'll pass."
Jack shook his head. "No, Da, it's not. I know what happened to Daniel wasn't my fault. It just happened. As you know, things can go wrong in a heartbeat, and sometimes people get hurt. They die. We were lucky enough to get home alive, but there's no guilt here." He patted his chest. "This isn't like anything I've ever felt before, Da. It's real, and it's deep, all the way down to the roots. He makes me happy. He loves me, and I love him back."
All of Jack's praise and explanation were falling on deaf ears. His parents' faces were closed and filled with bitterness. His mother wouldn't look at him, and his father was glaring, his eyes proclaiming his leashed anger.
Kelly gave Jack a little squeeze. "So you're retired, huh? What're you doing now?"
"Still working for Uncle Sam, same program, same people, just as a civilian advisor."
"And they let you work there, knowing you're shacked up with another man?" his father spat in disbelief. "The military doesn't tolerate queers kindly, Jack. They'll kick you out on your ass when they find out."
Jack shook his head. "Not with this program," he assured his father. "It's so specialized, and there are so few experienced people with the necessary skills that... allowances have been made. As civilian special advisors, Daniel and I can still offer our expertise without the same restrictions for military folks. Me, they could actually do without, but not him."
"I thought you said Daniel wasn't on your team anymore?" asked Brennan, slumped into his chair now, speaking to Jack's shoes.
"He's sidelined, yes, because of his bad knee," Jack explained, "but he's the very best in the world at what he does, far too valuable for the government to let slip away because he has to walk with a cane, or because of some damned homophobic discriminatory policy. He's the single most important person in our whole operation, and has been from the beginning. Daniel still works there, too, in another department. I'm pretty sure everybody knows about us. I know our CO does, but nobody says anything. They know what the stakes are, and as long as Daniel's there and working, nobody really cares who he loves."
Kelly pulled away to look up at him. "Wow, Jack. You've really built him up to be extraordinary."
"No building up necessary," Jack told her frankly, pride and love swirling its glowing warmth around his heart. "He just is."
Ty sat down heavily on an ottoman and sighed. "Well, I don't care how extraordinary he is, I'll not have him in my house. I'm sorry, Jack. He'll never be welcome here."
"Tyler O'Neill, how dare you!" snapped Africa, her head whipping around to face him, green eyes flashing in warning. "This is my home, as well, and you'll not be deciding for both of us. I don't care if you are the head of this household -- I'm the heart of it, and by God, we'll agree before anything's decreed."
Go, Mum, Jack said in the privacy of his mind. He dared not hope for a decision in their favor, though. Not just yet, anyway.
Ty had the good grace to look a little embarrassed. "Sorry, Bonnie. But I don't see how we can allow that kind of fornication in our house. There are children about, for God's sake." He waved toward the windows and their grandchildren skating on the nearby pond.
"We'll hear him out, we'll talk and then we'll decide." Africa crossed her arms over her chest and tilted up her chin, doing her best to look down her nose at her giant of a husband.
"We won't be 'fornicating' in the house," Jack assured his father, too aware of the heat now rising in his face at that thought. He and Sara had never had sex in his parents' house when they visited, and he couldn't imagine doing it with Daniel under his parents' roof, either. "And if I know Daniel, he probably won't be comfortable with me touching him in front of you, either, so you'll have nothing to worry about. The kids will be safe from any hint of anything going on between us. We'll introduce him to them as my friend, which he is, and let it go at that. In time, they'll get it, and if they ask, we'll direct them to their parents so you can explain it however you want."
He looked at his mother, but her expression was still closed.
She cocked her head and sighed. "Well, if this was the good news, I shudder to think what the great news might be. You might as well drop the other shoe while you're at it."
Jack thought about Jakaira, picturing her sweet little face, and smiled. Tears prickled at his eyes. "I have a daughter," he said simply. "She's four years old, and we've brought her with us, so you could meet her."
Eyes and mouths went wide on every face. Africa gasped and pounced to her feet, a stream of Gaelic pouring from her astonished lips. "God in heaven, Jack! How? When? Dear God!" She rushed to him, throwing her arms around his waist, his previous announcement apparently forgotten.
His father sat stunned on the ottoman, shock overpowering his disapproval. "All right," he said after an explosive sigh. "This is unexpected."
"It was for me, too," Jack said solemnly. "Her name is Jakaira, and you'll have to understand, there are things I can't tell you about her. I was on a mission, all the details are classified, and I was stranded with her mother's people for three months." He looked down at the floor. "I thought I was never coming home, so I... started a relationship with Laira. That was her mother's name."
"Jakaira. That's a combination of your name and her mother's," guessed Brennan.
Jack nodded. "I didn't know about the baby," Jack went on. "When my team came for me, I asked Laira to come with me, but she chose to stay with her people. I would've done the right thing, if she'd come with me, but it was her choice to stay."
"So you were never married?" asked his mother.
"No." He cleared his throat. "I promised to go back, but never did. Then Laira was killed a few months ago in an earthquake." He swallowed hard, remembering what Paynan had told him in the infirmary afterward. "Jakaira watched her mother die. She'd been trapped in the ruin of her house for two days before they dug her out. She didn't have anyone else, so Laira's people brought her to me."
Tyler O'Neill paled and wiped a hand over his face. "Poor little thing. God bless her." He looked at his son. "We'll be right careful with her, son."
"There's more. She can't talk because of the trauma," Jack told them. "She's seeing a psychologist back home, and-- Daniel's helping, too. He--" They had discussed this, deciding what to tell his family, and Daniel had assured him it was all right, as long as it helped them understand the bond between this other man and Jack's daughter. He was still reluctant to tell them, because he knew how sensitive Daniel was about his past. "His parents died right in front of him, too, when he was eight years old. He's known how to help her better than anyone else, because he's been where she is. She's very attached to him because of that, but also because everybody loves Daniel. He's just that kind of person."
Africa O'Neill crossed herself. She sighed and nodded. "I can see how his experience would be a useful tool for her recovery." She levelled a warning gaze at him. "As long as it's not taken too far. You're her father, Jack. Not him."
"I know, Mum. We just haven't bonded yet. We're working on that."
"Does Daniel live with you?" asked Brennan.
"Yes, he does. Has for nearly a year and a half. Weeks before we got together as more than friends." Jack shifted a little, back and forth on his feet, staring at the hardwood floor. "I'm at home in the Springs now almost all the time except for a few trips a year to the Pentagon for the job. I just... I hadn't been ready to tell you about Daniel and me yet, but now, with Jakaira..." He waved a hand and dropped his gaze to the floor. "I just needed to come home. It's been a rough year. Really rough. And I wanted Jakaira to know her whole family. Where she comes from. I wanted her to know her roots."
"There isn't a better Christmas present than that," Africa declared, looking up at him from beneath his arm. "So when are you bringing her to meet us?"
"That's the thing, Mum," he answered hesitantly. "She's bonded with Daniel. Rarely lets him out of her sight, except at day care when she's with other kids. She ends up in our bed half the time and won't go anywhere without him, if she's got a choice. If you want to see Jay, you have to accept Daniel here, too. None of us has a choice in this. He's what she needs right now, and I won't traumatize her by taking her away from him just to meet you." He hesitated. "I need him, too, and I won't have him left out of family gatherings. We're a package deal, a family. All three of us, or none of us."
Africa looked at Tyler. He stared back at her. Jack couldn't read a thing in their expressions, didn't see a single gesture, but his parents had been together for fifty years, long enough to communicate on a level that went far beyond body language and words. They were discussing the situation without saying a thing. At the same moment, they gave each other a brief nod and turned to face their son.
"We don't like being held hostage like this, son," said his father tightly. "It smacks of blackmail, but you know your daughter far better than we do. If that's the only way we can see her, then your... friend will be allowed into our home. We'll be civil to him. There will be no insults or arguing about the path you've chosen for your life, but we don't have to like him. We'll make this sacrifice for our granddaughter; not for anyone else."
"I understand that, and thank you," Jack returned formally. "I know this isn't easy for any of us, but we have to do what's right for Jay. She needs her family. Her whole family. I want her to know you. We're all she has now. And all I ask for myself is that you treat Daniel with respect."
Africa O'Neill sighed as she pulled away from her son. "I'm sorry this couldn't have been a truly happy occasion, son, but we'll get through it, for Jay's sake."
Jack patted her cheek as he stepped away, heading toward the foyer. "Well, I may be coming home a lot more often now," he told her. "But that'll depend on a lot of things. Jay needs her roots, but we've still got some hurdles with her, yet."
"We'll be careful with her," Ty promised.
"I'll be back in about an hour," Jack assured them as he shrugged into his coat. "We can discuss it further if you want, but just give Daniel a chance. For Jay's sake, and for mine."
The stunned looks on their faces were evidence that he had rocked their whole world. Jack stood in the doorway to the living room, aware of how completely blown away they were by the two pieces of news they'd been given and the unfortunately necessary blackmail they'd had forced upon them. He was sad that they thought of it that way, but as he raised his eyes to Kelly's face and saw her smile, the tears gathering in her eyes, he knew they'd all get through it somehow.
She was happy for him. He could be okay with just that little bit of acceptance, and God willing, the others might have a change of heart, too. If they didn't, it would be their own choice. He would protect those he loved from harm, even if it were from his own flesh and blood.
Jack wrapped himself up in scarf, coat and gloves and headed out to the SUV, still parked in front of the house. He started up the engine and let it warm up a bit before heading off down the country road toward Thief River Falls and his family. And as he drove, he said a little prayer that things might turn out all right in the end, because his daughter would need that, and because he selfishly wanted acceptance among his kin for the man he loved.
~~**~~
The SUV rounded a bed in the salted and sanded road, cutting through the landscape dotted with patches of white, bringing the O'Neill family homestead into view through a light veil of falling snowflakes. The late morning sun was only a pale glimmer in the overcast gray sky, casting indistinct blue shadows behind everything. The scene through the car windows was still except for the idly cascading flakes and a curl of smoke from the chimney. Nothing living moved in the silent landscape outside.
"Here we are, kids," Jack called to his passengers.
"Oh, wow," said Daniel in a hushed voice, his eyes roving over the house and the snowy setting. "Jack, it's beautiful."
Jack couldn't help smiling at Daniel in the seat beside him. He winked, too. "More beautiful, now that you two are here," he said softly.
Daniel winked back, reached over, and patted Jack's shoulder, his fingers lingering on his soft sweater, warmed by Jack's radiant body heat. He took off his seat belt, his eyes going to the impressive house once again.
The O'Neill's home was very unusual, a huge, two story split log building with a deep porch running the length of the front, reminding Daniel of some of the modern Finnish style homes. On the southern end, a rounded tower made of vertically set logs projected one story taller than the house, with a wrought iron cap on top of it, serving as an observation deck. Four gables projected out of the second story roof, each with a big round window overlooking the scenery.
The scene reminded Daniel of a Thomas Kincaid painting, filled with light and warmth, inviting them to enter.
To the north of the house was a smaller white clapboard building that served as a garage, and beyond that was a big red barn with white trim. Beside it was a corral where he could see two shaggy horses in their thick, rough winter coats. Twisting around in his seat, Daniel pointed them out to Jakaira. He didn't think she'd ever seen a horse before, except on television. All Earth animals were an adventure to her, something new and exciting.
Her big brown eyes grew wide, and she just stared at the big beasts. Daniel waited for her to ask a question or show some other interest, but her hands remained still, clutching her homemade doll that Daniel knew her mother had made, and her floppy stuffed camel. He turned to look back at the O'Neill family home, wanting to memorize every detail and truly savor his first look at it. This was the place where Jack spent the last years of his youth, before joining the Air Force after high school.
Daniel could imagine him here, a tall, lanky youth tossing snowballs and chopping wood. Jack would've had a good time in this quiet, isolated place. He enjoyed solitude, but liked it even better when he had someone to talk to when he wanted.
The area around the house was cleared of trees and showed signs of an interesting garden underneath the netting and coverings protecting the more delicate vegetation. On all sides around the compound, thick woods sprang up, isolating the property from that of the nearest neighbors. Not far from the tower, the yard sloped steeply down to a rushing river dotted with snow-capped boulders.
After pulling up in front of the house and turning the car off, Jack slipped on his coat, gloves, and scarf while Daniel turned around to extricate Jakaira from her car seat.
Jack came around and opened Jay's door. "We're home," he called softly, reaching out for his daughter. She hadn't been wearing her coat in the heated car, so rather than put it on her and then take it off again moments later, he wrapped her up in a fluffy pink blanket to keep her warm between the heated vehicle and the house.
Daniel watched Jack carry his daughter up onto the porch and knock on the door while he got carefully out of the SUV, fearful he might slip. He shut Jay's door and that movement unbalanced him slightly and made him twist a bit, even with the gritty footing of the sanded driveway beneath his feet. The movement sent a warning twinge up from his artificial knee to his hip. He stood still for a moment, lips pressed firmly together, waiting for the pain to pass. Slamming his own car door behind himself, he slowly trudged through the falling snow to the porch, leaning heavily on his cane.
Jack got the door open, and Daniel followed closely behind him. He couldn't see past Jack in the narrow hallway, so he waited, inching forward so he could close the door behind them all. Then he backed up and leaned against it, waiting for the introductions.
"Mum, Da, this is Jakaira." Jack pulled the blanket down and patted her on the shoulder to get her to turn around.
Meeting her eyes over her father's shoulder, Daniel nodded and gestured to her to obey.
She stopped clinging to Jack's neck, pushed upright and faced the crowd behind her.
Hushed whispers in Gaelic erupted. "Oh, Jack, she looks just like you." There was a definite Irish lilt to the woman's speech, though it was faint. Daniel knew that must be Jack's mom.
"It's our angel," whispered a deep man's voice. "Remember, Bonnie? Jack was to bring us a new angel for Christmas, and he has!"
Jack looked into his daughter's eyes and glanced away, leading her gaze to his parents. "Jay, this is your Gramma and Grampa O'Neill. They're my mother and father." He looked past them and pointed. "And that over there's your Aunt Kelly and her husband, Uncle Xavier, and that goofy-looking guy over there's your Uncle Brennan."
Everyone took turns waving to Jakaira as they were introduced and then approaching her to speak in turn, greeting her warmly.
Jack turned and looked behind him at Daniel, his face filled with warmth and love. "And, everybody, this is Daniel." He turned to the side to let Daniel peek out from behind him.
Daniel smiled self-consciously and gave a little wave. "Hello," he said quietly. "Merry Christmas, everyone."
"Hello," said the big man who was Jack's dad. He had a head full of snowy white hair and a deep, James Earl Jones voice. He looked past Jack and Jakaira, studying Daniel's face with cold and forbidding brown eyes, doing a threat assessment that looked eerily familiar to Daniel. "Why don't we all go into the den so we can actually see each other? This hallway's too damn narrow."
"Ty, watch your language," snapped the woman with the Irish accent. "Mind little ears."
"Yes, ma'am. Thank you, ma'am."
Slowly, everyone began to move forward. The warm yellowish hallway gave way to a big sunken corner room with two walls filled with picture windows looking out on the landscape behind the house. In the distance, Daniel saw a skating pond, with several children on ice skates twirling and speeding around on its frozen surface. "Looks like the kids are all out there, Jack," he said softly, with a nod toward the windows.
"Of course, that's where they'd be," Jack agreed. He leaned down and gave his mother a peck on the cheek. "We need a little time to break the ice in here first, so they'll be in later to meet you and their new cousin." Jack turned around, looking for his partner, and nodded him forward. "Daniel."
He stepped up beside Jack and hooked his cane into his coat pocket, freeing up his right hand.
"Mum, this is Doctor Daniel Jackson. Daniel, I'd like you to meet my mother, Africa Shaugnessy O'Neill."
"It's a genuine pleasure and an honor, Mrs. O'Neill."
When she offered her small hand, he took it gently and shook it in greeting, smiling down into her serious, searching eyes. Jack's description of her had been dead-on. The O'Neill matriarch was only a little taller than Janet Fraiser. Her big green eyes widened as she looked straight into his, her stony expression softening as she gazed back at him. He continued to smile at her. She smiled back, shyly, with a girlish tilt of her head. Daniel could see where Jack got that irreverent mouth and those dimples, but that was where the resemblance to his mother ended. There were few lines in her face, making her look much younger than her 70 years.
"Were you named for the continent or the eleventh century Irish princess?" Daniel asked as she withdrew her hand from his.
Shock skittered across her face, followed quickly by a bright smile and a hearty, musical laugh. "By God, he's the only person I've ever met who knew it was an Irish name!" she said happily, looking around at the assembled group.
She gazed up at Jack, suspicion in her eyes. "You didn't tell him?"
Jack shook his head, grinning hugely. "Nope. Daniel knows this kind of stuff. He has unbelievable amounts of little tidbits like that filed away in his genius brain."
Africa turned to her husband and patted his arm. "That's a point in his favor, Ty." She held up a finger and raised her eyebrows at him. Turning back to Daniel, she told him, "To answer your question, young man, I was named for the princess, of course. My mum was quite a reader, and fond of unusual names."
Daniel was warmed by her friendliness and the small measure of acceptance she'd granted him. He felt that things were going well, so far.
"Da, this is my partner, Daniel," Jack went on, gesturing between the two men. "Daniel, Major Tyler O'Neill, USAF, retired."
"It's a privilege to meet you, sir," said Daniel, looking up at the imposing man. He was every bit Teal'c's size, and except for his full-lipped mouth and his extra girth, his resemblance to Jack was startling. He shook the man's beefy hand and felt rather small and fragile while in his grip. Even at his age, Tyler O'Neill could probably snap him in two. And looked as if he wanted to do just that.
Jack motioned to a younger woman coming closer. She had green eyes, just like her mother, and Daniel knew this had to be Jack's younger sister. She was much taller than her mother, however, and sturdier of build. She reminded Daniel of Sam in an odd sort of way, all big eyes, friendly smile and short, spiky blonde hair. She was grinning at him, eager to meet him, and that felt good.
"This is Kelly," said Jack simply.
"Welcome to the family," she whispered in Daniel's ear as she put one arm around his neck and hugged him. "Be patient. They'll come around." And then she was stepping back to look at her big brother standing there with his Daniel, apparently thrilled with what she saw in his eyes.
"Xavier Santos, Kelly's husband," said a small, dark man just a little taller than his wife. He came forward to shake Daniel's hand, then stepped back beside his wife. His Hispanic heritage was obvious, as was his disapproval.
"And baby Brennan," Jack finished, obviously teasing his sibling.
"Knock it off, Jack," the younger man shot back with a trace of good-natured irritation. Brennan looked much like a younger version of Jack, but with Africa's green eyes and dark blonde hair. Daniel shook hands with him, reaching for his cane again as soon as that formality was done.
Jack nudged his arm. "Daniel, if you'll take Jay, I'll go unload and get the car parked in the garage," he said. He handed Jakaira off to him and headed for the foyer.
Once Daniel had her in the crook of his left arm, he glanced at the child to make sure she was okay.
She seemed to be taking it all in just fine. He hooked his cane into his pants pocket and finger-spelled 'ancestors,' gesturing toward the elder O'Neills with his head. "Ancestors," he said softly.
Jakaira nodded, understanding.
"I'll help unload the car," said Ty, heading for the door and putting on his coat.
"Me, too," called Brennan. He frowned on the way past and hurried after his father and brother. Xavier also put on his coat and followed the other men outside.
"Daniel, would you like to sit down?" asked Kelly, gesturing toward the sofa.
He sm