Connor 1

Origins

by Sistine

URL: http://www.area52hkh.net/ass/sistine/origins.php
Summary: Daniel receives an unexpected gift

Friday, August 10th, 2001

"Now, these are my kind of people," Jack O'Neill declared as he watched the celebrations going on around him. The inhabitants of P4Y-210 were of Irish descent so he felt right at home, especially in the middle of the party. There was drinking and dancing and drinking and gossiping... and did he mention drinking? Liquor was flowing freely amongst the adults and even the members of SG-1 had tried some. Teal'c, unsurprisingly, had been the only one able to tolerate more than a mouthful.

"They certainly know how to party," Daniel Jackson agreed. As the team's anthropologist, he was thoroughly enjoying this insight into the local culture - even if Jack wouldn't let him drink any more of the alcohol. Still, he was enjoying himself immensely and planned on joining in the dances soon; after being on the planet for nearly two weeks while helping the locals recover from a large earthquake, Daniel knew many of the people by name and he had promised some of them a dance. That was, if Jack would let him.

In the year since they had been together as a couple, they'd had their ups and downs, usually whenever Jack became overprotective. The catalyst for their involvement had been when Jack, in a fit of pique, hadn't been around to protect Daniel from Osiris. That had caused the older man to realise his feelings for Daniel and to make a move. They had proceeded slowly in their relationship as their friendship had needed repair first but now things were going along smoothly... well, most of the time anyway. The important thing was that they didn't stay angry with each other long.

This mission was the first one after saving Earth from being destroyed by a naquadah-enhanced asteroid. General Hammond had given them two weeks off and Jack had promptly whisked Daniel away to the cabin in Minnesota for a thorough 'de-stressing' vacation. It had been great because they had been able to reconnect in more ways than one after some very stressful missions.

And now they were here with the rest of SG-1, celebrating the rebuilding of the village and to an alliance with the people. Although Daniel hated that many people had died in the earthquake, at least the rebuilding had given him time to enjoy and learn about the culture. There had been several other teams involved with the rebuilding but they had all returned to Earth earlier that day, leaving SG-1 to finalise the treaty.

"Ah hope yer enjoyin' yourselves," Brennan, the middle-aged clan chief and ruler of the surrounding countryside, came over to ask the two men from Earth. His pale blue eyes sparkled - whether from the alcohol or a natural high, Daniel wasn't sure - but the accent was still as broad as ever. He mentally groaned when he thought about how often Jack had imitated that accent over the past two weeks.

"Very much so," Jack replied honestly. He liked Brennan and the man's twin sister, Brenna, who was the village healer. They were very personable and intelligent, and had a great sense of humour.

"Then how come yer not dancin'," Brennan inquired cheerfully. He nudged Jack and then nodded meaningfully towards Daniel. "Go on, dance wit' him."

"What?" Jack and Daniel said in unison, glancing at each other and then back at Brennan.

"Ye gotta keep him happy," Brennan continued as if oblivious to the question. "Then ye'll be happy too." He looked over his shoulder at his wife, Maighdlin, who was bouncing around like a teenager.

"What do you mean?" Jack asked guardedly, making sure the rest of his team wasn't in earshot. He and Daniel had worked hard not to let their relationship show but it seemed that Brennan had worked it out.

Brennan looked surprised at the question. "They do not know, the others?"

"No, they don't," Daniel stated.

"And we'd like to keep it that way," Jack added.

"Oh dear." Brennan now looked worried. "Excuse me." He hurried over to his sister.

"Why don't I think this is good?" Jack said dryly.

"Probably because it's not," Daniel replied, equally as suspicious as his partner. "I hope they weren't planning on marrying us or something."

Jack glanced over at the twins, then back at Daniel. "They wouldn't... would they?" That would certainly be a spectacular way of outting him to Teal'c and Carter.

"Let's hope not." Daniel didn't want to see Jack's career ruined so soon, not when there was still so much to do in the fight against the Goa'uld. But he couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't going to like what the locals had planned.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Everything went swimmingly for a while longer, much to Daniel and Jack's relief. There were more speeches and drinking, and Daniel found himself relaxing as he danced with some of the locals, his bad feeling having disappeared. Until Brennan made the final announcement, that was.

"When the old gods left, they gave us the ability to grant a wish to those who needed it," Brennan stated, his voice carrying throughout the hall. "As a thank ye, we have granted this wish to Daniel." He turned and nodded to Brenna, who disappeared off the stage, and then he gestured for the linguist to join him.

His bad feeling back, Daniel went slowly up onto the small stage area with trepidation. What were they going to give him? If it was created with Goa'uld technology, it probably wouldn't be good.

Brenna came back holding a bundle of cloth in her arms. And sticking out of that bundle was... a small chubby hand? What the--?

"Daniel, ye told Maggie that ye occasionally wished ye'd had a child with yer wife," Brennan was saying as the linguist stared at the bundle in shock. "We canna grant ye that precise wish but this child is created from yer life essence and is truly yers. We have named him Connor as it means 'highly desired'." Brennan caught Jack's eye meaningfully.

Jack was too stunned to process what the look meant. They were giving Daniel a baby? Why couldn't they have just given him a nice statue or something?

Daniel, too, couldn't believe it. He looked at the baby that Brenna held and felt his mouth go dry. "I--" He didn't know what to say.

"He has grown to one of yer years," Brennan continued, waiting expectantly for Daniel to take the baby.

When Brenna realised that Daniel wasn't going to move, she put Connor in his genetic father's arms. "He will bring ye much joy," she blessed Daniel.

"I--thank you," Daniel finally managed to say before looking down at the baby in his arms. Blue eyes that were just a shade darker than his looked serenely back at him, and one chubby hand waved around. This was his child. His clone, if he understood Brennan's words properly. Grown in less than two weeks, for it couldn't be any longer than that. "Will he continue to grow quickly?"

"Nay, he is now as a normal child," Brennan replied, a huge grin on his face; their gift had been accepted.

"Good." Daniel held out one index finger and as Connor latched onto it, he felt his heart melt. His son. This was such a miracle. "Hi there," he greeted his son.

Connor grinned, showing six baby teeth, two of which had just started to grow through.

Jack couldn't contain his curiosity any longer and so he went up onto the platform to look at the baby. The chubby face that looked back at him showed a definite resemblance to Daniel, which begged the question of how they had managed to grow a stable clone. "Brennan, how did you...?" he gestured towards Connor.

"Ah dinna know how it works, O'Neill," Brennan replied. "We just put some of Daniel's life essence into a tube and Connor was grown from that." His expression denoted truth.

Daniel remembered cutting his hand on the first day after the earthquake as he was helping to clear away wooden debris. Brenna had treated his hand, using a piece of material to wipe away the blood, which would have given her the 'essence' that they had needed.

"You really don't know?" Sam asked as she came closer to get a good look at the baby. She smiled at Connor, who waved in response.

"We were not given the knowledge," Brenna answered Sam's question, "just the ability. And before ye ask, it only creates one child from the life essence. To create more children, more must be given."

That knowledge eased Daniel's mind greatly; he didn't want to have lots of 'mini-mes' running around the planet with or without his knowledge.

Teal'c was frowning at the origin of the technology. "I do not believe that the Goa'uld left the technology here for the benefit of the population."

Jack glanced at him in agreement. "Are you saying the Goa'uld that were here might have been like Nirrti and trying to create enhanced hosts or something?"

"It is a possibility." Teal'c wouldn't put that past any of the Goa'uld.

Jack shared a worried look with Daniel before turning to Brennan. "Have any of the children you've... created , shown any signs of unusual abilities?" If Connor was like Cassie had been, it wouldn't be safe for him on Earth.

Brennan frowned. "Unusual abilities?"

"Like moving things without touching them," Sam elaborated for her CO.

The twins shared a glance and then shook their heads at the same time. "Children who are born this way have no... unusual abilities," Brenna replied for both of them.

That was a relief to Daniel. But there was still one little thing that he was worried about although he would discuss that with the rest of his team later. There was no way he was going to leave Connor here even if there was the threat of the NID taking his son away once they found out he was a clone. Daniel looked up at Brennan and stated, "You didn't have to do this."

"Don't ye want him?" Brennan questioned, hoping that he hadn't done the wrong thing.

"Of course I do, I'm just... not prepared for looking after a baby," Daniel replied, the enormity of what he was taking on just hitting him. He didn't know the first thing about taking care of a baby, and he didn't have room in his apartment for one either.

"Yer friends will help ye, Ah'm sure," Brennan said, looking pointedly at Jack.

The colonel caught the look and realised that he had just been given the opportunity to openly live with Daniel without revealing their secret. "You can come live with me, Danny. I've got plenty of room," he suggested casually.

Daniel frowned, not quite on the same wavelength. "But won't the--"

"Baby be a nuisance?" Jack interrupted before Daniel could say anything he shouldn't. "Nah. Besides, Connor's past the sleep-disruption stage, so it'll be fine." He grinned at the baby, who was currently trying to put Daniel's fingers in his mouth.

"That sounds like a great idea," Sam enthused, totally oblivious to her team-mates relationship. "Your apartment's way too small, Daniel," she pointed out truthfully. Plus, if Daniel was living with the colonel, she could call around to see Jack under the excuse of visiting Connor.

Daniel looked at Teal'c for his input and the Jaffa slowly nodded. Knowing that meant that Teal'c approved, Daniel said, "Thanks, Jack, that will be good." He would need all the support he could get, and if Jack was there with him, it would make things much easier.

"Good, that's settled," Brennan enthused, pleased to have helped the two men. "Let us celebrate!" Music started up again and the locals began to dance.

Connor had succeeded in getting Daniel's finger into his mouth and now he was happily sucking on it while observing the big people around him. He was warm and safe, and that's all his infant brain needed to be happy.

"You know, we're going to have to do some serious shopping when we get back," Jack commented, thinking back to when Charlie had been this old. "Diapers, teething rings, toys, clothes, a cot and changing table, a high chair, bottles..."

"Just as well the Air Force pays me well," Daniel said dryly. He hadn't realised babies needed so much.

"We can organise those thing as soon as we get back," Sam stated, her mind already sorting things out. There were plenty of places where they could shop online and get the essentials, and then they could get the rest later.

"Perhaps we should give Connor Jackson a birthday party," Teal'c suggested, just as pleased as everyone else that Daniel had been given such a wonderful gift. "Is that not appropriate since he is one year old today?" he questioned when the other three just stared at him.

Jack nodded; that was actually a great idea. "If we invite the whole SGC, then that'll take care of the toys." And some of the women would give clothes, which would help...

"The whole SGC?" Daniel wasn't too sure about that.

"Sure, why not?" Jack hoped that the more people they could get to fall in love with Connor, the more people there would be to protect against threats like the NID. That particular organisation was going to salivate over the prospect of a Daniel they could train and manipulate. "We'll tell them that he's an orphan after the earthquake and you decided to adopt him," he continued, stating the technical lie they would tell everyone instead of the truth.

"And when he grows up to look exactly like me?" Daniel queried.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Jack answered.

"Jack, we can't--ow!" Daniel jerked his hand back as little teeth clamped down on his finger. "He bit me," he said in surprise, much to his friends' amusement.

"Babies like to experiment," Jack said, speaking from experience. "And they love to put things in their mouth to see if they're edible."

Daniel examined his injured finger; fortunately, there was no damage. "Great," he said dryly; he would have to be very careful with all his books and artifacts then, not to mention body parts.

Connor whimpered and waved his hands around, trying to reach for Daniel's finger again. Then he got distracted by some long fingers waving in his face. He babbled nonsensically as he tried to catch the moving digits.

Sam grinned as Connor tried to catch her fingers. "He's so adorable, Daniel," she commented and then stiffened, realising what she had just said in front of her macho team leader. "I mean--"

"He is indeed adorable," Teal'c sated, coming to her rescue. He knew that Major Carter didn't like coming across as 'girly'.

With a burgeoning sense of fatherly pride, Daniel had to agree with them, which was weird because that meant that he had been adorable at that age too.

"He needs a middle name," Sam put forward, one of her fingers now being tugged on by the baby.

"Daniel," Jack immediately suggested but his lover shook his head, vetoing it.

"I'll think of something later," Daniel said, needing some time to process everything. Things like that couldn't be rushed. Ideally, he would like it to honour his lover but he would need to work out a way that wouldn't arouse suspicion. Then he was distracted by a pungent smell. "Ah, Jack?"

The colonel grimaced; ah, the fun of a dirty diaper. "I think he needs changing, Dannyboy."

"And how do I do that?" Daniel might have delivered a couple of babies in the past but he had never looked after one before.

Jack grinned; this would be fun. "Brenna!" he called across to the healer.

A few minutes later, Daniel found himself changing his son's cloth diaper. Armed with some helpful hints from Jack and Teal'c - such as keeping himself out of the line of fire - Daniel braved the smell to successfully change the diaper under Brenna's watchful supervision.

"Well done," she praised when Daniel had finished. She had just known that Daniel would be a natural father.

Once again wrapped in the blanket, Connor babbled his agreement as Daniel picked him up. This time, Daniel held his son upright - one had on the baby's back and the other under his bottom - so that Connor could gaze at the big wide world. Connor thought that was a wonderful idea as he turned his head in an effort to look at everything. Then his attention was caught by Daniel's glasses and he reached up to grab them.

"Oh no, you don't," Daniel said, catching his son's hand. "I need those." He headed back out to his friends, who were all clustered around waiting for him.

"He giving you trouble?" Jack asked as Daniel headed towards them. Although he hadn't contemplated the idea before, the sight of Daniel holding a baby filled him with a longing he had suppressed since Charlie had died. He wanted to help Daniel raise this child to be every bit as wonderful as the linguist. Could he do it though? After all, he hadn't been around much for Charlie. "You know, I think he has your curiosity and penchant for disobeying orders," he commented as Connor persisted in his attempt to reach Daniel's glasses.

"Technically, I've never disobeyed your orders," Daniel point out as he shifted his son to face outwards.

Jack didn't feel like arguing over semantics at the moment. He smiled at Connor as the baby made a valiant effort to turn around in Daniel's arms. "He's persistent too. Reminds me of someone I know."

Sam chuckled at the glare Daniel sent Jack; the verbal sparring between those two often provided much amusement. "Maybe he's hungry?" she suggested as Connor changed tactics and attempted to pull Daniel's thumb into his mouth.

"I don't know about him but I am," Jack commented. He lifted Connor out of Daniel's arms and said, "Come on, squirt, let's go get some food."

"Jack--" Daniel started to protest at having his son taken away but cut himself off. Jack had every right to hold Connor, especially as they would be living together back on Earth.

"Tell Daddy he can come too," Jack instructed Connor. "Say, 'Daddy, come with us'."

"Dada!" Connor stunned everyone by saying.

After a few seconds of silence, Jack commented, "Okay, that was unexpected." He wasn't sure how long it would take a baby clone to pick up words but that had been fast. Talking to Connor, Jack asked, "Who's Dada? Point to Dada."

Connor reached out for Daniel. "Dada!" he requested.

Everyone, including Daniel, was surprised. "Just how smart were you as a baby?" Jack questioned as he handed the squirming baby back to its father.

"I don't remember," Daniel replied somewhat absently, still in shock at being called 'Dada'. It gave him a warm feeling inside and he instantly knew that he loved Connor. It didn't matter that the baby was a clone of himself; this was his son.

Not able to get any food, Connor started sucking on his own thumb while bouncing up and down in his father's arms, his little feet having found a resting place on Daniel's hipbone.

"Okay, I get the idea," Daniel said, shifting Connor slightly so as not to end up with bruises on his hip. "You want food."

"Dada," Connor agreed happily, content to have learnt one word for the day.

The whole of SG-1 went with Daniel to find suitable foods for Connor to eat. Eventually they decided on a porridge-like substance which Brenna recommended.

Sam volunteered to hold Connor while Daniel fed him. Despite not being comfortable around children or babies, she was quite taken with Connor, perhaps because he was Daniel in miniature form, which meant that he was doubly adorable.

Connor co-operated with the feeding for awhile, the novelty of it intriguing him, but when his tummy grew uncomfortable, he pushed the spoon away from him.

Daniel looked to Jack for guidance as to why Connor might have done such a thing.

"He's probably full," Jack stated. "I wouldn't recommend trying to feed him any more unless you want to wear the porridge." That fact, he knew from experience.

Daniel didn't want that so he put the bowl and spoon back on the table, then took Connor in his arms again. "Now what?"

"Now we wait for it to go through to the other end," Jack said with a straight face. When he saw Daniel's look of horror, he amended, "You let him explore, Daniel. Put him on the floor and let him crawl or walk wherever he wants to."

Daniel looked at the floor, which was covered in dirt, and then at Connor's bare feet. No, he decided; he wasn't quite ready for the lesson on how to bathe a baby. "Any other suggestions?"

Brennan came over just then, interrupting the conversation. "Do ye like yer gift?" he asked of Daniel.

"Very much," the linguist replied truthfully as he tried to stop Connor from grabbing his glasses. Thwarted in his mission, Connor stood on his father's lap and started bouncing as best he could; his chubby legs were not yet quite strong enough to support his weight so he kept sitting down.

"Good." Brennan was very pleased about that. "Will ye be leavin' soon?" he questioned Jack.

"That depends. Why?" Jack asked, hoping that this wasn't going to be the wedding ceremony.

"All children require a naming ceremony," Brennan stated. "We would be honoured to conduct one for Connor."

It only took Daniel a couple of seconds to think about it. "That would be great, Brennan, thank you."

Brennan nodded in acknowledgement. "Then we will perform it on the morrow. Ah will make the arrangements with Brenna." He hurried off to get everything prepared.

"What is this naming ceremony?" Teal'c asked his friends.

As Daniel launched into an explanation, Jack picked Connor up and set him down on the table, having noticed how the baby wanted to be moving. Connor sat down with a 'plop' and then instinctively shifted onto his hands and knees so that he could attempt to crawl. He rocked back and forward a few times, trying to work out what to do, and then looked at Jack for guidance.

Jack had to laugh; that expression was so Daniel. "Come on, you can figure it out," he encouraged Connor. "You have to move one foot and hand at a time."

Connor stared blankly at him for a few seconds and then went back to rocking.

"Carter, film this," Jack quickly ordered his 2IC before turning to get his partner's attention. "Psst, Daniel, watch."

"Watch what?" Daniel queried as he turned his head. Then he saw where his son was. "Jack, get him off the table now!"

"Just wait," Jack instructed as Connor continued to rock. He had seen videos of Charlie doing the same thing and knew it was a precursor to crawling. If Connor had picked up talking so quickly, maybe he would with crawling as well.

Daniel opened his mouth to say 'wait for what' when Connor propelled himself forward a short way. The little boy looked thoroughly startled with his achievement - no less so than Daniel.

"The boy's quick," Jack commented, turning to see if Carter had filmed it. He got a nod from her so he looked back at Connor. "Come on, squirt, see if you can go a bit further."

But Connor had decided that was enough excitement for the moment. He moved so that he was sitting and then held his hands out to his father in a clear demand.

Jack got there first and lifted the baby to his feet. "See, this is standing. Standing is good," he encouraged.

"What are you doing, Jack?" Daniel questioned as Connor lifted his feet off the table.

"Just teaching him what to do," Jack replied, moving Connor a little lower so that his feet would touch the table. It brought back memories of doing a similar thing with Charlie; he had loved spending time with his son. "Come on, put one foot down at a time," he instructed Connor.

"I do not think he wishes to listen, O'Neill," Teal'c observed, his eyes betraying his amusement.

"He's Daniel," Jack agreed, thinking of all the times his lover hadn't listened to his instructions.

Daniel's eyes narrowed at the comment. "Would you care to rephrase that?" he said, his tone implying that Jack had better unless he wanted to sleep alone.

Jack simply grinned, knowing that Daniel wouldn't stay mad at him for long. "Come on," he encouraged Connor, "put your feet down. That's a good boy," he praised when the baby did so.

Connor babbled happily, bending his knees and then straightening them repeatedly. This was fun and he enjoyed all the attention from the big people.

"See, we'll have you walking in no time," Jack said proudly.

Daniel watched his lover interact with Connor and smiled. Children was not a topic they had ever discussed for various reasons, not the least of which was the dangerous nature of their jobs, but he knew that Jack was very good with kids. Between the two of them, they should be able to do a good job of raising Connor.

~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time the celebration started to wind down, Connor was fast asleep in Daniel's arms so SG-1 decided to call it a night. One of the rebuilt houses had been temporarily put aside for the visitors; Jack and Daniel had been sharing one bedroom, Sam in the other while Teal'c kelnoreemed in the communal area.

When Daniel and Jack went through to their bedroom, they found that a cot had been set up between their two beds. Jack stared at it for a long moment before shaking his head. "They were pretty confident you weren't going to say 'no', weren't they?"

"Well, it's not likely that anyone's rejected it before," Daniel pointed out as he carefully put the sleeping child down in the cot. Then he gazed down at his new son, his heart filling with love. His and Jack's son; Daniel wasn't going to see him as anything other than that.

Jack moved to stand behind Daniel, wrapping his arms around his lover's waist as he looked over his shoulder. "You know, I think he has your features but my nose," he commented innocently.

"Oh really?" Daniel shook his head as the smile spread across his face. He rested his arms over Jack's and relaxed into the embrace. "You know this is going to cause talk."

Jack knew exactly what Daniel meant. "People are always going to talk. We'll just have to be extra careful."

"And what about the NID? When Connor gets old enough for the resemblance to show..."

"We'll deal with that when the time comes," Jack replied. "Until then, we enjoy raising our son." He was planning on giving Connor the childhood that Daniel missed out on.

Daniel felt a surge of love for Jack for using the word 'our'. It had taken him a long time to trust that Jack was in this relationship for life, and the fact that Jack accepted Connor as their son confirmed that his trust wasn't misplaced. "Just wait until he can hold a rod before you take him fishing, okay?" He could just imagine Jack sitting on the jetty at his cabin, fishing rod in one hand and Connor in the other.

"If you insist," Jack agreed easily. However, he hoped that Daniel didn't have any objections to 'The Simpsons'.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, the whole village was up early for the naming ceremony. Connor, dressed in a small white robe, was carried by Daniel to the village square where the ceremony would take place, and the rest of SG-1 accompanied them.

It was all very boring to Connor but not to Daniel as he translated the Celtic ceremony for his friends. As well as being a naming ceremony, it was also a welcoming ceremony, with Daniel officially claiming Connor as his own.

"What do ye name him?" Brennan asked Daniel in English.

"Connor Eoin Jackson," Daniel replied. He had thought about Celtic names earlier and had consulted with Brenna, eventually deciding on Eoin as a middle name. It was a derivation of John, thereby including Jack without being obvious.

Connor clapped his hands at the mention of his name.

"I think he approves," Jack murmured in Daniel's ear. He was standing on Daniel's right side, with Carter on the left and Teal'c the other side of her. Jack knew why Daniel had chosen Eoin and was honoured that his lover wanted their son to have that connection to him.

Daniel favoured his partner with a quick smile. It did indeed seem as if Connor had approved. But surely the baby didn't know what was going on... did he?

Connor started getting restless by the end of the ceremony. He didn't like being still for so long; he wanted to move.

Just as Brennan was finishing up, Daniel suddenly found himself struggling to hold onto a wriggling Connor. "Hey, stop that!" he quietly ordered his son.

Of course, Connor paid no attention.

Jack took the youngster out of Daniel's arms and put him on the ground. Connor immediately went into a crawling position, wanting to explore. He rocked back and forward a few times, looked up to see whether all attention was on him, and then rocked some more. Eventually he got himself moving, much to the admiration of those around him. Once he knew what to do, he crawled over to everyone in turn, making sure they were watching him.

"He's going to be an attention seeker," Jack commented, greatly amused by his new son's antics. Watching Connor grow up was going to be a great insight into Daniel; any attention seeking tendencies seemed to have disappeared, probably during his foster years. Now, Daniel tended to be the opposite except when he was facing down bad guys.

"No, he's not," Daniel automatically denied as Connor headed for Teal'c. "He's just curious." That wasn't a bad thing, no matter what Jack said.

Connor used Teal'c's trousers to pull himself up on unsteady legs. He stared up for a long moment, realised it wasn't his daddy, and then looked around. When he spied Daniel, he squealed in delight, then dropped to the ground and rapidly crawled over to him.

When his son got close enough, Daniel crouched down and lifted Connor into his arms. "Having fun?" he asked, unable to resist kissing the soft blonde-brown hair.

"Dada," Connor agreed, snuggling in close. His daddy smelled nice and he liked it very much.

"We're going to have to toddler-proof my place," Jack observed out loud. When Daniel looked quizzically at him, he continued, "The speed he learnt to crawl, he's going to be walking in no time."

"Oh." Daniel hadn't thought about that. There was a lot he didn't know about babies. He didn't know how much Jack knew but at least his lover sounded knowledgeable.

Brennan, closely followed by his sister Brenna, came over to the SG-1, a wide smile on his face. "Ye are very happy with the gift?"

"Very," Daniel replied. He hadn't been to start with but after only twelve hours, he had become used to the idea of being a father. "Thank you."

"It is our pleasure." Brenna had just known that Daniel would appreciate their gift. "Perhaps you will return often so that we may see him grow?"

"We'll do our best," Jack promised. Because this world was of no strategic importance, return visits would be deemed unnecessary but if the right people be could convinced that Connor needed to learn about his 'heritage', it might be possible.

Brenna smiled and kissed Jack on both cheeks. "Take care of them," she requested.

"Always." He wasn't about to lose this family too.

She nodded, instinctively knowing that Jack would keep his word. The healer then turned to Daniel and kissed both him and Connor. "Cherish your gift."

"I will," Daniel vowed, and Connor added his promise with an unintelligible babble.

The rest of the team made their goodbyes and then SG-1 headed through the Stargate to Earth.

General Hammond was there as usual to greet them. "I take it everything went well?" he inquired as the flagship team came down the ramp.

"Yes, sir, very well," Jack replied with a grin. "So much so that the locals decided to give us a gift." He stepped aside to reveal Daniel holding a baby.

"Doctor Jackson?" Hammond couldn't believe his eyes.

"This is Connor, sir," Daniel stated. "He was left an orphan by the earthquake, and with no relatives to take him in, the villagers asked me if I would adopt him." It was a solid cover story, one he and Jack had worked out together.

Hammond looked at the baby's intelligent blue eyes and wondered whether he was being told the whole truth. "You had better take him down to the infirmary, get him checked out. We'll debrief in an hour."

"Yes, sir," Jack answered for his team before leading the way out of the gate room. They would have to tell Janet the truth because of the blood tests but other than that, they had decided to tell no-one else; Connor's life was too precious to risk.

With a baby in his arms, Daniel received more glances than usual as he passed through the base's corridors. Unlike Daniel, Jack wasn't oblivious to the attention and it made him smug; he was the one who got to go home with Daniel.

When they reached the infirmary, Jack took Janet aside and quietly filled her in as to Connor's origins. She nodded her understanding and then accompanied Jack back to the rest of SG-1. "So this is the newest member of SG-1," she commented, looking at Connor.

Daniel shifted a wriggling Connor in his arms. "This is Connor, yes."

"He takes after Daniel already," Jack commented, seeing the baby's curiosity at the new surroundings.

Janet hid a smile at the glare Daniel sent Jack; watching these two as parents was going to be interesting.

~~~~~~~~~~~

A while later, only Daniel and Connor were left in the infirmary. Janet had done all the standard tests and now she needed to draw some of Connor's blood.

"Is it going to hurt him?" Daniel asked with concern as Janet prepared the butterfly needle. He had Connor sitting on his lap, one hand on the baby's rounded stomach.

"Only a little." Janet had selected the least invasive needle for the job.

Connor watched curiously as the lady came towards him with the long thing. When she stuck it into his arm though, he wasn't impressed. His face crumpled and he let out a wail, signalling how much it hurt.

Daniel's heart wrenched at the sound; it was the first time he had heard Connor cry. As he couldn't move Connor, he was restricted in the way he could comfort his son, so for the moment all he could do was rub Connor's stomach. After Janet withdrew the needle, Daniel turned his son around hugged him close. "It's all over now, it's alright," he crooned, stroking the baby's back.

As Connor's wails died down to hiccoughing sobs, Janet commented, "I think you're a natural with him."

Daniel wasn't so sure; it felt like he was floundering at times. He waited until Janet had put a Band-Aid over the tiny puncture mark before saying, "I don't know how to be a father."

"You're doing fine so far, and I'm sure Colonel O'Neill will give you plenty of advice," Janet commented, careful to keep her expression neutral; she knew about the two men being lovers but never teased them where anyone could overhear.

"Oh, I'm sure he will." Daniel had no doubts about that.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Connor slept through most of the briefing and woke up hungry. General Hammond adjourned the briefing so that Daniel could feed Connor, knowing that the rest of the team would want to help too.

In the commissary, Connor was a big hit with the women. Most were nurses but there were a few soldiers and Marines who found the sight of Daniel with a baby irresistible.

Jack allowed the fawning for a few minutes until Connor started fussing and then he dismissed the women, mentioning the birthday party as well. He knew that word would spread and that Connor would end up with more presents than would fit into Jack's house.

After Connor had finished eating, SG-1 went to Sam's lab to do some online shopping. Jack pointed out the things they needed most urgently: a cot, stroller, change table, some clothes and shoes, and plenty of diapers. The rest could wait until after the party. It took a little while for Sam to track down the items, Daniel to approve them, and for immediate delivery to be arranged.

While they were waiting, Jack instructed Daniel - and a curious Sam - on how to bathe a wriggling one-year-old boy. They took Connor into one of the labs with a large sink, much to the protest of the two scientists there. Jack simply stared at them until they left, and then began his instruction.

"First, run the water about half full. Don't make it too hot - test it with your elbow just to make sure. Put some bubble bath in if you have any during this time." He was planning on getting some as soon as possible.

"When everything is ready, undress the squirt and put him in."

"Ert!" Connor agreed, picking up on Jack's nickname for him. He clapped his hands, happy that he had learnt a new word.

Daniel groaned; they would have to watch what they said from now on. He stripped Connor of his 'naming day' robe and diaper, and lowered his son into the water.

Connor kicked out at the feel of the water on his legs; this was totally new to him. It wasn't bad though, not like the thing that had been stuck into his arm. In fact, it was nice and warm, and Connor decided that he liked it. Once he was wet, he brought his hands down into the water, which created a little splash. Surprised, he squealed with delight and tried splashing again. This was fun!

Daniel jumped out of the way when Connor started splashing, as did Sam, who had been standing too close. "How am I supposed to wash him if I can't get close enough?" he complained to Jack.

"That's the fun of giving babies a bath," Jack replied smugly, having stood well back. "Now get back in there and wash him."

Normally Daniel would have ignored Jack's order but he knew that he couldn't just let Connor sit there and splash all the water out of the bath. So he carefully moved back towards the makeshift bath, trying to avoid getting wet.

He wasn't successful.

"Connor, stop that!"

At the sound of his father's voice, Connor paused in his splashing. Seeing Daniel coming towards him, Connor lowered his arms.

"No."

Connor frowned, arms paused in mid-air. It didn't sound like his father was happy.

Daniel used the time to get close to Connor. "That's a good boy," he praised. "Splashing is bad."

"Don't take all the fun out of it," Jack complained on Connor's behalf. He ignored the glare Daniel sent him. "It's an occupational hazard, Danny. Babies plus water equals getting wet."

"Easy for you to say, Jack. You're back there," Daniel grouched. He wasn't really mad with his partner, just annoyed that Jack was all talk and no demonstration.

"Hey, I've had my fair share of getting wet," Jack defended himself. "But now I have a reputation to maintain."

Sam couldn't help the snort of laughter that escaped at the banter between the two men; they sounded just like an old married couple.

"Something funny, Major?" Jack asked, a little miffed that she seemed to be laughing about his reputation.

"No, sir." Sam shared a quick grin with Daniel. Then she focused her attention on the baby boy, who was getting ready to splash them again. She stepped forward to grab Connor's small hands. "Uh-uh. How about we let your Daddy give you a wash instead?"

"Dada."' Connor turned his head to smile up at his father.

"That's right," Daniel agreed as he caught a piece of material thrown to him by Jack. Then he used that to rub over his son's body, paying special attention to legs and hands that had been crawling around in the dirt.

Jack grinned; Daniel was such a natural. And that reminded him of something. "I'll be back in a few minutes. I have to get something."

"What?" Daniel inquired, turning his head to look at Jack but his partner had already left. A splash brought his attention back to his son. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked as Connor lifted his hands again.

"Ert!" Connor announced, liking this new word. He grinned up at his father, his baby teeth visible.

"If Jack teaches him to quote Homer Simpson, I am not going to be happy," Daniel muttered, looking down at his son with love.

"He wouldn't... yes, he would," Sam amended, knowing her CO only too well. "Do you want Teal'c and I to confiscate the colonel's collection?" she volunteered.

Daniel thought about it seriously for a moment and then shook his head. "No, better not. He's letting us move in with him - he has to have some compensation," he joked.

They played with Connor for a few minutes until Jack came back, hiding something under his shirt. He walked over to the makeshift bath and revealed the hidden object: a yellow rubber duck. "Here you go, squirt, enjoy," Jack said, handing it over to the baby.

Connor looked at it quizzically for a few moments and then squealed with delight at the brightly-coloured object. "Ert!" he exclaimed as he plunged it under the water.

"Yes, Ert loves the water," Jack agreed, a huge grin on his face.

"Jack, where did you get the duck from?" Daniel queried. He knew that Jack couldn't have gone out and bought it in that short time.

"Supply. There's always a couple on hand in case we have kids here," Jack replied truthfully. "I would have got one of Teal'c's but he's on the surface waiting for Connor's stuff."

Both Daniel and Sam were surprised by the revelation. "Teal'c has rubber ducks?" Sam said incredulously. The huge macho Jaffa?

"Several of them," Jack stated off-handedly as if there was nothing strange about that. "I think he's collecting them - something to do with the strangeness of Tau'ris."

As Teal'c was also a big fan of talk shows, his friends accepted this new thing easily and with great amusement. Connor, however, didn't understand what they were talking about so he tried to bite the toy to see whether it tasted good.

It didn't. He held up the toy. "Dada?"

"You're not supposed to eat it," Daniel explained, taking the rubber duck and putting it in the water so it could bob around.

Connor watched the toy for a minute and then reached out for it. The toy moved. Surprised, Connor reached for it again only to have it move once more. The baby looked up at his father and pointed to the duck. "Ert," he demanded.

Daniel lightly pushed the duck towards his son. When it was within reach, Connor grabbed it with both hands and grinned with triumph. He pushed it under the water and then let it go. The speed with which the duck 'swam' to the top of the water surprised him and he stared at it for a few seconds, trying to work things out. How had it done that? Curious, he pushed it under again and once more it came to the surface. His face was a picture of puzzled delight as he looked up at his father.

It was Jack who spoke though. "Ducks don't like being under water for too long," he explained. "They love to swim though." He made the duck swim around the bath until Connor got the idea and took over.

"What about the quacks?" Daniel grinned at his partner.

"Colonels don't quack," Jack replied loftily, ignoring the look Daniel shared with Carter. Even if these two were his friends and had seen him in some strange situations, he had some standards to maintain.

Teal'c appeared in the doorway, bearing several plastic bags. He brought them into the room and placed them nearby on a lab table. "Is Connor Jackson enjoying his bath?" he asked, observing the baby playing with the duck.

Connor held up his duck. "Ert!" he introduced his toy to the big man.

"Otherwise known as Squirt," Jack interpreted.

Teal'c inclined his head towards Connor. "A suitable name," he complimented the choice.

Daniel, meanwhile, had checked out the bags in order to find suitable clothing. He found a diaper, a red t-shirt, denim overalls and red pre-walkers, and pulled them out for approval. "These?"

"Perfect," Jack agreed. He grabbed one of the towels, spread it out on the table, and then picked up a second one. "Okay, squirt, time to get out."

"Ert!" Connor splashed the water with his duck and then laughed as he got the big people wet.

Teal'c reached in and lifted Connor from the makeshift bath, holding the baby at arm's length until O'Neill had wrapped the towel around the small body.

A short time later, the four adults had Connor dry and dressed in the cute outfit. Then they all stood back to look at him. "The women are going to be queuing up tomorrow," Jack predicted. The others nodded in agreement.

Connor put up with the staring for a short while, less than a minute, and then shifted into a crawling position. Time to start exploring!

"Uh, no, you don't," Jack said as Connor headed for the edge of the table. He scooped the baby up and settled Connor against his chest.

"Dada," Connor disagreed, looking around for his father. Upon seeing him, he leaned that way.

Daniel obligingly stepped over and took him out of Jack's arms. "I think we need to find someplace safe for you to explore," he commented to his son.

Connor clapped his hands as if agreeing and then stretched one hand out towards the bath. "Ert," he requested.

Sam, who couldn't hide her grin at how cute Connor was, fetched the rubber duck and handed it to him. Connor immediately latched onto it with both hands and started to chew on the beak.

"Poor Squirt," Jack lamented as he watched Connor happily chew the toy. "I think teething rings are definitely on the list."

"Anything so long as it's not my fingers," Daniel agreed. Or, he added silently, my books and artifacts as many were irreplaceable.

Jack seemed to know what he was thinking. "We definitely need to baby-proof my house too. We'll put your stuff in a safe place where he can't reach." They would also need to sort out bedrooms. The spare bedroom could be turned into a bedroom-cum-study - for appearance's sake, as Daniel would actually sleep with him - and the study would become Connor's room.

The group beaded down to one of the VIP rooms, which was temporarily being converted into quarters for Daniel and Connor. There, they found that a white cot and change table had been delivered, as well as a playpen that already had several stuffed toys in it. On top of the table were some more clothes, including a pair of pyjamas, and a large packet of disposable diapers.

"Wow," Daniel absently commented as he took in the items. He had only been Earthside for a few hours and already he had half the nursery. "That was quick."

Jack went over to the playpen to see whether the toy he had requested was in there. Yes, there it was - a brown monkey. Daniel might not speak to him for days after seeing that but Jack figured it would be worth it. "How about we give this a test run?" he suggested, going back over to Connor and retrieving the baby from Daniel's arms. Then he put Connor in the playpen to see what he would do.

Connor looked startled with the change in his location and he stared up at Jack for a long moment. Then his attention was caught by the other things that were in the new place with him. Curious, he crawled over to them and reached out to pat them. They were soft and didn't move so Connor judged it safe to move closer.

The four adults crowded around the playpen as Connor grabbed hold of the toy monkey first.

"Yes, I knew it!" Jack crowed, careful not to be too loud.

Daniel, who vowed to make Jack sleep on the couch for even daring to buy a toy monkey, stated, "It was at the front of the group, Jack. He was just reaching for the closest one."

"If you say so." Jack knew that it was really because Connor was a little Spacemonkey at heart.

Connor examined the brown toy for a minute and then put it aside to look at the next one, which was black and white.

"Where did they find a zebra?" Sam wanted to know as Connor picked up the unusual toy.

"Same place as they got the lion, polar bear and seal," Daniel guessed upon viewing the other toys. What ever had happened to the traditional teddy bears? He watched his son examine the other toys before going back to the zebra and crushing it to his chest while trying to suck on its nose.

Jack chuckled as Connor got a mouthful of fur. "I don't think Stripes is too tasty," he informed the little boy.

"Stripes?" Daniel and Sam echoed as one, while Teal'c merely raised one eyebrow.

"Why not?" Jack refused to be repentant over his penchant for naming everything. "Connor, you think Stripes is a good name, don't you?"

Connor stared up at him and blinked.

"See?"

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Jack, he didn't agree."

"But he didn't dis-agree," Jack pointed out with a grin.

"Just be thankful it is not worse, DanielJackson," Teal'c stated, thinking about the myriad of names O'Neill had come up with in the past.

Looking at the toy monkey, Daniel was glad Connor had chosen the zebra; the name 'Spacemonkey' would have been too embarrassing to hear around the house all the time... in the few days Jack would have before Daniel killed him. Jack still hadn't explained where that nickname had come from either, much to Daniel's annoyance. "There is that," he agreed.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Very little work got done for the rest of the day. Jack and Teal'c went to the former's house to start setting up the nursery while Daniel and Sam shopped online for more baby items and played with Connor at the same time. They also looked up baby-care sites so that Daniel had some idea of how to raise his son. And Janet called around to give Connor his immunisation needle to protect him against Earth diseases.

At dinnertime, SG-1 gathered in the commissary for food and afterwards, adjourned to the VIP room. Connor was getting sleepy by this time, so Daniel cradled his son and told him a story about false Egyptian gods as the rest of his team sat around him on the bed - well, Teal'c stood nearby while Jack and Sam sat. Then, when Connor fell asleep, they all just watched him for awhile, transfixed by his cuteness.

Finally, Sam managed to pull herself away to do some sort of science experiment in her lab, leaving the three men to look after the sleeping baby. In the end, they decided to watch a movie - quietly.

After 2200hours, Teal'c excused himself to kelnoreem, leaving Daniel and Jack alone. "Finally!" Jack exclaimed, flopping back onto the bed. "I thought he'd never leave." All he had wanted all day was some time with his lover and no-one had co-operated with that wish.

Daniel knew what his partner had on his mind. "We can't do anything, Jack," he pointed out. "Besides..." he gestured towards the cot.

"I know, I know," Jack sighed. "But we can kiss, right?" He sat up and sidled closer, hoping for permission.

"Sure," Daniel caved. He leaned in and accepted Jack's kiss, moaning softly as he became aroused. He had missed this, had missed having some alone time with Jack. Obeying the gentle hand pushing at his shoulder, Daniel lay down and Jack settled at his side. They had a couple of hours to themselves and, within limits, they were going to take advantage of that.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, Jack arrived early having spent the night in quarters nearby. He hadn't slept well - he had missed Daniel a lot - but he knew he would be more awake than his lover, and Connor would need someone to tend to his demands soon.

Taking advantage of the cameras still being off, Jack gave his lover a good morning kiss as the linguist stirred. "How did you both sleep?" he asked as he sat on the edge of the bed.

"Fine," Daniel replied truthfully, stretching his sleepy body; it was way too early to be awake. He looked over at the cot where Connor was still sleeping peacefully. "You?"

"Could have been better." Jack had missed the comforting warmth of his partner. He rested his hand on Daniel's stomach and rubbed gently.

Daniel smiled at the caress; Jack was a very tactile partner and it had taken awhile to get used to that, not to mention reciprocate. He shifted a hand and rested it on Jack's thigh. "So, what are we doing today?"

"The party's scheduled for 1100 hours, before which a couple of SF's will transfer this stuff -," he gestured to the baby furniture, "-to our house. Then we can have lunch and go home in time for Connor's nap. Carter and Teal'c will help shift some of your things tomorrow."

"Sounds good," Daniel said, stifling a yawn. He would have to make a list of essential items, such as clothes, that he could take over immediately while the rest could be carefully packed for transport.

"Oh, and since we won't have room to put a closet in 'your bedroom', you'll have to put your clothes in mine," Jack stated, having already planned that cover story.

Daniel nodded, understanding immediately what Jack meant. The secrecy part of their relationship was annoying sometimes but it was how it had to be. "There'll probably be a few things arriving in the mail today or tomorrow as well," he stated.

"Sweet." Jack started to lean down again for another kiss.

"Dadadadadadada!"

Both men looked over at the cot where Connor was bouncing up and down while holding firmly onto the rails.

"So much for privacy," Jack commented dryly as he went over to pick Connor up. "Good morning, squirt."

"Ert," Connor agreed happily. He snuggled into Jack's chest briefly and then reached out for his father. "Dada!"

"Good morning," Daniel replied as he reached up to take Connor from Jack. "Sleep well?"

Connor stuck his thumb into his mouth and sucked it by way of reply.

"He may be hungry," Jack observed, "And probably in need of a change. Do you want to get some more sleep?"

"No," Daniel said, trying to hide another yawn. "I'm awake. I'll just..." he gestured towards the bathroom.

Jack nodded and then swung Connor into his arms. "Come on, squirt, let's get you presentable."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Thirty minutes later, the family headed down to the commissary, collecting Teal'c on the way. While a still-not-quite-awake Daniel entertained Connor, Jack and Teal'c got the breakfasts organised. One of the cooks had brought in a bottle for Connor - word travels fast in confined spaces - plus some baby food, while the adults had their usual meal.

Daniel had his coffee first as Jack fed Connor some of the baby food, then he was awake enough to hold the bottle as his son drank eagerly.

"He has a good appetite," Teal'c observed with amusement.

"Yes," Jack agreed, looking over at Daniel who usually had little for breakfast and wondering when his linguist had stopped eating so much. "I'll have to keep the cupboards well stocked."

Daniel glanced up at that comment. "He's not going to eat that much... is he?"

"You'd be surprised, Danny," Jack replied. He was going to have to baby proof his house too - maybe he could get someone to do that today.

Connor pushed the bottle away and looked up at his father. "A-da?" he asked.

"Um... What?" Daniel looked over at his partner to see if he could interpret the question.

"Don't look at me," Jack grinned.

Connor stood on his father's lap and reached for the shiny circles. "A-da?"

Glasses - right. Daniel shifted Connor so that he was facing outwards. "No, they're not for you to play with," he stated.

"Dada!" Connor protested, trying to turn around; he wanted the shiny things.

Teal'c handed the baby a spoon as a distraction. Connor stared at it for a long moment, attempting to figure out what it was, and then he leaned forward to wrap his chubby hand around it. "A-da?" he queried of the Jaffa.

"Spoon," Teal'c solemnly supplied the correct word.

"Ooo," Connor tried to echo. He put the tip of the spoon in his mouth and sucked on it. It didn't taste as good as his bottle but it was still okay.

Daniel figured he was soon going to be adding another language to his repetoire: baby-speak. 'A-da' appeared to mean 'what is this?'; 'Dada' was self-explanatory.

"Dada?" Connor held the spoon up to his father.

"No, thank you," Daniel refused politely.

Connor offered the spoon to the others who all refused as well. Unconcerned, Connor went back to sucking on the new objects while the others finished their breakfast.

"Okay," Jack said when everyone had eaten. "I'd better get started shifting Connor's stuff. T, you wanna help?"

"Indeed."

"What am I going to do?" Daniel questioned, feeling useless already.

"You can pack up the stuff on this end," Jack suggested. "And keep the squirt entertained."

Daniel looked down at Connor. How was he going to do that?

~~~~~~~~~~~

There wasn't much to pack so Daniel was quickly left with nothing to do. Picking Connor up again, who was holding onto Stripes, Daniel decided to head down to his office and get some work done.

Shutting the doors to his office so that the little boy didn't get out, Daniel put Connor on the floor and headed over to his desk. He spied a video camera with a card attached sitting on a pile of files. Frowning slightly, he opened the card. It read: 'To keep an eye on Connor with. J.' Daniel smiled; his lover knew him so well.

"Alright," he said, turning the camera on and crouching in front of his son, "let's make Daddy-Jack happy."

Stripes held firmly in one hand, Connor crawled over to his father in order to investigate the new object. He paused when his father moved away, confused, and then continued crawling.

Daniel had led Connor around the whole office when Sam arrived. She almost tripped over the little boy as she entered but saw him just in time. "Oops!"

Connor shifted into a sitting position and stared up at the tall lady, Stripes' nose in his mouth again.

Sam squatted down in front of him and smiled. "Hey there, Connor." She felt like she should say more but nothing came to mind; she wasn't used to dealing with babies.

Smiling in response, Connor offered her his slightly soggy toy.

"Thank you but no," Sam declined. She looked up at Daniel. "I just came down to see if you needed any help. The colonel thought you might head down here to work."

"So I gathered," Daniel said dryly, thinking about the camera. "He wants to make sure we're not late for Connor's party too, doesn't he?"

"Probably," Sam agreed. She ruffled Connor's hair and then stood up to take the camera from Daniel. "Do you want me to keep an eye on him?"

Daniel glanced between his son and the work piled up on his desk. Much as he wanted to spend time with Connor, the lure of translations was almost irresistible. That was something he would have to think about too - what would he do about work? Should he continue to go through the gate or retire from missions? That was something he would have to discuss with Jack within the next few days. In the meantime... "Do you mind?"

"Not at all," Sam assured him. "I'll take him for a tour of the SGC." She picked Connor up and settled him onto one hip.

"Thanks." Daniel realised he hadn't been out of Connor's presence for over a day and he figured some time alone would be good.

Connor allowed himself to be carried out of the room but when he realised that his father wasn't coming too, he started wriggling. When that didn't work, he added whimpering as he didn't want to be parted from his father. "Dada!" he protested.

Sam rubbed his back, trying to soothe the little boy. "It's alright, we're not going too far..."

"Dadaaaa!" Connor called again, tears coming to his eyes and his bottom lip trembled.

Sam sighed and headed back to Daniel's office. When the linguist looked up, she explained, "I don't think he wants to leave you."

"Da-<hic>-daaa." Connor reached out towards his father, Stripes falling to the floor.

Daniel took his son and Connor immediately snuggled close, his fear easing. A thumb made its way into the little boy's mouth - a source of comfort.

"I guess he's used to being around me," Daniel commented, automatically rocking his son and rubbing his back.

Sam nodded in agreement. She picked Stripes up, held it out to Connor, and then put the toy zebra on the table when it became apparent that he wasn't going to take it from her. "Looks like we'll have to stay here then."

"Yeah." There went his chance to work.

~~~~~~~~~~~

It turned out that Daniel did manage to get some work done. Connor was clingy and quiet for awhile, then when he got restless, Sam played with him on the floor.

All too soon, it was time to go to the party. Connor had his diaper and clothes changed first, then Daniel and Sam took him up to the commissary. There was quite a turn-out - nearly all the base personnel, Daniel judged - and a large pile of presents. Everyone had been busy, he thought, touched by the effort they had gone to in giving his son a gift.

Connor looked around with wide eyes, realised that everyone was staring at him, and suddenly hid his face against his father's shoulder.

A ripple of laughter echoed through the room at the adorable action. Daniel rubbed his son's back and smiled at the crowd. "He's a little shy," he apologised.

That caused a surge of women to flow towards him and he instinctively took a step back. He and Connor were soon surrounded. Daniel sent a panicked look towards Jack but received no help from his partner.

Jack assessed the situation and decided that he didn't want to get between the women and the object of their affection - fortunately for them, Connor; he was very possessive about Daniel.

"Should we not save Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c inquired from his place next to O'Neill.

"Someone has to guard the cake," Jack replied, sparing a glance for the large ice-cream cake behind him. There was another cake in the kitchen - chocolate - if there were too many people at the party. Any leftovers, Jack was planning on taking home.

"O'Neill."

Jack sighed. "Okay, I'll rescue him." Oy, the things he had to do! He cleared his throat and called out, "Ladies, let the birthday boy through!"

Daniel also sighed, with relief, when the women parted to let him and Connor through to where Jack was waiting. "You'll keep," he muttered to his partner when he was close enough.

"Promises, promises," Jack replied equally as softly. He stepped to the side so that the cake was revealed. "Hey, Connor, have a look at this."

Connor, recognising the voice, turned his head and stuck a thumb in his mouth. He gazed at the man with grey hair and then in the direction of the pointing finger. "A-da?" he questioned.

"It's a cake. You eat it," Daniel explained.

"Yummy," Jack added, rubbing his stomach. When that only received a blank look, he put his hand to his mouth as if eating and said, "Yum-yum."

Connor's eyes lit up. Something he could put in his mouth! "Um-um," he echoed, leaning towards the food.

Daniel quickly shifted him upright again. "Not yet," he stated.

"Dadaaa!" Connor protested, starting to wriggle.

Making a command decision, Jack led everyone in singing 'Happy Birthday', which successfully diverted the almost-toddler for a minute. Then he helped Connor blow out the candle before setting about cutting the cake.

Daniel sat down, settled Connor onto his lap, and then accepted the first piece of cake. The plate securely on the table in front of them, Daniel got a tiny spoonful of the ice-cream cake and held it up to Connor's mouth. His son opened wide and Daniel slid the soft ice-cream inside.

Connor's blue eyes widened at the coldness that was suddenly in his mouth. He swallowed it, noting that it tasted nice, and then abruptly sneezed.

Those nearby chuckled at the cute, startled expression, except for Daniel who looked worriedly up at Jack. "He couldn't be allergic to ice-cream, could he?" Daniel asked his lover.

"I doubt it," Jack replied. "Sometimes kids just sneeze for no reason." But the question reminded him that they would have to be alert for allergy symptoms knowing that they were something Daniel suffered from.

"Oh." That was okay then.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of the party went well. Connor - with some assistance - unwrapped all his presents, revealing a good assortment of clothes, toys and books. The biggest hit was the wrapping paper though, which made funny sounds when one scrunched it up.

The presents were all bundled into the trunk of Daniel's car, with a few on the back set as well. Connor's car seat was properly attached to the back seat as well and then the little boy was put in it by the expert General Hammond, who had joined the party towards the end. Then Daniel and Jack were finally able to take their son home.

Worn out by the party, Connor was asleep by the time they arrived at Jack's house. Daniel carefully carried his son inside and took him straight through to the nursery.

He wasn't prepared for the sight that greeted him. Blue wallpaper with clouds and rainbows covered the walls, and there were new blue curtains on the window. The white furniture - the cot, changing table, toy box, and chest of drawers - complimented the walls nicely. And next to the cot was mahogany rocking chair, which would be perfect for reading Connor bedtime stories in. "Jack..."

"You like?" He had arranged for the wallpaper to be delivered a few hours earlier. It had cost a bit to get the job done but it was well worth it. Jack stood beside Daniel and slid an arm around the linguist's waist.

"It's perfect." It was exactly what he would have chosen. "Thank you."

"Anything for my family," Jack replied, squeezing Daniel's waist affectionately. He let Daniel drink in the room for awhile longer, then said, "Put the squirt down and come see the rest of the things."

Daniel nodded and shifted away from Jack so that he could lay Connor down in the cot. Then he followed his partner out of the nursery and into the former study. A double bed had been put under the window, meaning that the desk had been shifted off to the side so that Daniel - if he was actually going to use the room as a bedroom - could literally stop working and fall into bed. Every remaining inch of the walls held bookcases, although Daniel noted that one had been moved into the nursery to make room for the bed. "My kind of room," he commented, pleased with it.

Jack grinned. "I've cleared some space for your books," he said, gesturing to the two empty bookcases. "The rest of the stuff will have to go in the basement until we figure out something." He was already planning to build an extra room on the back especially for Daniel's artifacts and books, something he would talk about with the linguist at a later time.

Daniel was virtually speechless at the amount of effort Jack had gone to over the past twenty-four hours. "I love you so much," he managed to say.

"Likewise." Jack took the opportunity to give his lover a long, lingering kiss. When they drew apart, he suggested, "Let's unpack the car real fast and have some 'quality time' before Connor wakes up."

"Sounds good," Daniel agreed. They hadn't made love for two weeks, and after that kiss, his body didn't want to wait any longer.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The car was quickly unpacked, the presents dumped in the nursery, and then the two men spent an hour in the main bedroom reaffirming their love for each other. Afterwards, they were both a little sleepy but neither of them let their eyes close in case Connor woke up soon.

Daniel lay on his side, spooned up against Jack, and lazily traced circles on his partner's chest. "I hope we didn't wake Connor," he commented after a few minutes.

"If he's like you, he'll sleep through anything," Jack stated with a grin. "Besides, we'll be able to hear him when he wakes up. Baby monitor," he pointed in the direction of his bedside table.

Daniel looked in that direction and saw the small white speaker sitting there. "Oh." He hadn't even thought of that; one more reason he was glad he had Jack.

"We'd better make the most of these times too," Jack continued, thinking back to when Charlie had been a baby. "You wouldn't believe how busy we're going to be, especially when he starts walking." Which looked like being pretty soon.

"I'm getting an idea," Daniel stated, flopping over onto his back and putting an arm across his eyes. He mentally multiplied everything he had done with Connor so far by about four and figured that Jack was right. How was he going to fit any work around being with his son?

It was Jack's turn to roll onto his side, and he put a hand on Daniel's chest. "Listen, Hammond's given us a few days to get Connor settled in. We'll get his things put away today and then just spend time with him tomorrow. Then we'll figure out about work, okay?" He knew what his lover would be thinking about.

Daniel sighed. "Am I a bad father for thinking about how this will affect my work?" Archaeology and linguistics had been his whole life until joining the SGC, and even then it had dominated his waking hours - when Jack didn't, that was. Contemplating giving at least part of that up wasn't easy.

"No," Jack assured him. "It's just natural. Everyone goes through that stage."

That was a relief. Daniel opened his mouth to say something more but was beaten to the punch by a demanding, "Dadadadadada," coming from the baby monitor.

"I think that's our cue," Jack joked as he got out of bed. He went into the ensuite to clean up and then came back to get dressed. The babbling from Connor was getting more distressed as he did so.

Daniel followed Jack's lead as his lover went to get Connor. Spending quality time alone was going to be difficult from now on and he would miss that, just like he would miss working. But hopefully, spending time with his son would give him plenty of compensations.

By the time Jack reached Connor, the almost-toddler was upset and scared, on the verge of tears. Jack immediately hushed him, drawing the baby into his arms and rubbing his back. "It's okay, Papa's here," Jack soothed. He had made a decision earlier as to what he wanted Connor to call him.

Connor relaxed into the comforting arms and stuck a thumb in his mouth. He was in an unfamiliar place and had been scared when he woke up. Now that he was looking around, it seemed to be a nice place filled with lots of bright things.

Daniel walked in as Jack took Connor over to the changing table. The floor was littered with toys and piles of clothing that they had just brought in and dumped there. He found Stripes, put it in the cot, and then started packing the toys into the white chest. "I didn't realise Connor had got so many presents," he commented.

"What can I say, he's a popular lad," Jack stated with a grin as he changed the diaper. "Did you see what Carter gave him?"

"I did." Daniel found the camel mobile and held it up. "I wonder where she got it from?"

"Me too." Jack expertly secured the diaper on Connor, dressed him, and then swung the baby into the air. "There, that feels much better, doesn't it?"

Connor squealed with delight at the fun activity. He lifted his hands up, wanting to do that again.

Jack obliged two more times and then set Connor on the floor. "Dada and I have to do some tidying up first, then we'll play some more," he promised.

Connor looked confused for a moment before crawling over to his other father. "Dada," he demanded as he latched onto one leg and pulled himself into a standing position.

"Hello," Daniel replied, scooping Connor up with one hand and two toys with the other. "Do you want to help us?"

"Dada." Connor snuggled in close.

"O-kay." Daniel dropped the toys into the chest. "How about we ask Daddy-Jack to pick up the other stuff and we put the books away?"

"I thought I'd go with Papa," Jack chimed in.

Daniel frowned slightly as he carefully picked up some books. "Isn't that a bit old-fashioned?"

"Yeah, but it's easy to say," Jack pointed out, gathering up some toys.

The linguist had to agree with that. He put the books on a shelf that Connor wouldn't be able to reach. "I'll try to remember," he promised his lover, although he thought that Daddy-Jack sounded better.

Fifteen minutes later, working together, the two men had the room tidied up. Stripes and three other toys were lined up in the cot with the camel mobile hanging over them, while Connor had explored every inch of the room.

Once that was done, the men took Connor to investigate the rest of the house and the backyard. The almost-toddler wanted to explore the yard but Daniel wasn't keen on getting the new clothes dirty so soon, so Connor was carried.

A high chair was delivered that afternoon, which was set up in the kitchen, as was a supply of baby food suitable for a year-old child, and some diapers which were stored in the nursery.

Time flew by. Connor was played with, fed and bathed in what seemed like an hour instead of several, and soon Daniel found himself in the rocking chair, his son in his arms ready for the bedtime story.

He glanced over at Jack, who had brought in one of the kitchen chairs and was sitting close by. "Any suggestions?"

"How about our story?" Jack said. He reached over and tickled Connor's stomach. "You'd like to hear that, wouldn't you?"

Connor giggled sleepily and then snuggled closer to his father.

Daniel smiled; their story it would be then. "Once upon a time, there were two men. One was an officer in the Air Force while the other was an archaeologist who didn't like the military. They were just travelling along their chosen paths until one day, they were both asked to join a secret project. The archaeologist, whose lecture had just gone very bad, decided that he would join the projects and see if he could translate this large coverstone."

"Which he did, in two weeks," Jack interrupted proudly.

"Much to everyone's surprise," Daniel continued, inwardly smiling at pride in Jack's voice. "So he and the military officer, a colonel, went on a mission to another planet where they defeated a bad man called Ra. As a result, the archaeologist was asked by the village leader to stay and marry his daughter, and not having anything to go home for, the archaeologist agreed. And in time, he grew to love the woman, whose name was Sha're, very much."

Jack reached over and rested a hand on Daniel's knee as the wistfulness in his partner's voice. It was two years since Sha're's death and Jack knew that Daniel still felt guilty about not being able to save her.

Daniel shot Jack a grateful glance and then turned his attention back to Connor. "A year passed, and a bad man named Apophis came to Earth through the giant ring. The officer was recalled to duty and had to admit that the archaeologist was still alive on the other planet. He was sent through to the archaeologist and while they were viewing a great discovery the latter had made, Sha're was taken by Apophis. So the officer, the archaeologist and some friends went to rescue her, only to find that she had been turned into a bad person. So the officer took the archaeologist home and promised to help him find her again and change her back.

"But it didn't work out that way and they couldn't save her. But while they were searching, they became very good friends and gradually fell in love. They were both scared of admitting it to each other but the archaeologist decided to take the chance and talked to the officer." Admitting his feelings to Jack had been one of the hardest things Daniel had ever done. "When they realised that they both loved each other, they kissed."

"And they lived happily ever after," Jack added, noticing that Conor's eyes had closed. At Daniel's glance, he indicated the baby's current state.

Daniel had been so involved with telling the story that he hadn't realised his son was asleep. He smiled down at Connor, then lifted his head to Jack. "Do you realise that's the first time we've told our story to anyone?"

"Yeah." And they wouldn't be able to tell anyone else for a long time either, although maybe a select few might be able to know. Carter and Teal'c would have to be told, as would Hammond if he and Daniel were going to share parenting duties.

Daniel was silent for a moment, thinking. Then he asked, "Everything's going to work out, isn't it?" He wasn't too confident, what with the hand Fate had dealt him already.

"We'll make it work out," Jack promised. This time, he was not going to lose his family.

Next: Father's Day