“Well, I’ve discovered that being open with my kids has helped a great deal; I trust them with my secret places, and they trust me with theirs. Trust your kids, Colonel.”
“How do I tell them about this?” Caldwell asked, waving a hand.
“You tell them you were injured in battle,” Jack said. “The physical wounds are gone, but sometimes your emotions are hurting, and they should just love you and know that you love them. When they’re older and able to understand more, you can expound. Do they live in the Springs?”
“No, Wyoming. Sheridan.”
Jack nodded. “Well, unless you absolutely need to be back at Atlantis soon, I think you’re due some time off. Take three weeks. I’ll reroute Prometheus to check in on Atlantis. Give your crew shore leave and go see your kids, Colonel.”
They went back down to the planet where they found a game of touch football going on. Jack thought it was a little cold, considering there had been a death during the night, but Ninurta insisted that everything go on normally; the immediate family was taking care of things and there really wasn’t anything for anyone else to do. No body meant no funeral, and they didn’t do long, drawn out memorials. Ereshkigal’s memory would be kept alive by them speaking of her and remembering her.
Maggie had Olivia on a blanket where the baby was exploring on her newly found hands and knees. Jack tossed himself down onto the blanket and she grinned at him, crawling over to pound on his chest. Jack picked her up and swung her gently through the air, making her laugh, bringing her down to peck her little bow mouth before swinging her up again.
“So, Mom, what do you think?” Jack asked, airplaning the baby above him.
“Well, it certainly isn’t anything I’d have considered in my lifetime,” she said. She reached over with a cloth and wiped baby-drool from Jack’s cheek. “I think you have nice friends, though.”
“What do you think about Jonathan’s latest man around the house?” he asked, blowing bubbles on Olivia’s belly. She laughed and he set her on the blanket.
Maggie smiled and looked around until she found her newest grandchild.
“What’s he going to call you?” she asked.
“I’m a grandpa, Mom.” Jack suddenly leaned over his knees for a moment, squeezing his eyes shut in pain. “Oh, my God, I’m a grandfather.” He actually agreed to be a grandfather to his clone’s adopted son….
Maggie patted his back and Jack fell to the blanket. “If it makes you feel any better, Daniel and Sam were arguing with Jonathan earlier while you were gone. He referred to them as Grandpa Danny and Nanna Sam.”
Jack burst out laughing. He rolled to his back and stared up at the reddish sky as he wiped his eyes.
“Jack.” He looked and saw Sam heading toward him. “Honey, we need to get going if we’re going to be home at a decent hour,” she said. “It’s almost 1600 at home and the kids have school tomorrow.” It was the middle of the day on Kalam.
“Nanna Sam?” he suggested.
She glowered at him. “Not even,” she informed him with a wag of a finger. Jack caught the finger and pulled her down. She spilled onto his lap and he kissed her.
“Are all the kids ready?” he asked, pushing a strand of blond hair back.
“Pretty much,” she said. “Mom, are you coming home with us or staying for a while?”
“No, I’m ready for my own bed,” Maggie said, looking indulgently at them.
Jack went to find Mason and Ferretti. Lou was being fussed over by a couple of pretty girls from Chulak who seemed to feel the need to pay attention to the injured Tau’ri warrior. Lou was eating it up, if the expression Jack found on his face was any indication.
“You’re a dog, Lou,” Jack informed him.
“Woof,” Lou returned.
“So? Have you given my offer any thought?”
“I have,” Ferretti nodded. “I had a long walk around the Daedalus last night; Col. Caldwell said it’s pretty much the same design as the Europa. Talked with the med staff, got a tour of the infirmary. There’s some pretty radical stuff going on up there,” he jerked his chin toward the sky. “Equipment I’ve never even seen before, and that isn’t even a med ship. Yeah, Jack, I’ll do it.”
Jack stuck out a hand. “Good man.”
“Jack? There’s a little gray alien on the Daedalus,” Lou informed him.
“Yeah, that’s Hermiod,” Jack nodded. “He’s a riot. I just hope he and Thor stay out of each other’s hair while Thor is here.” Thor was currently in the main house visiting with the family.
Jack found Mason in deep conversation with Teal’c and Bre’tac. Whatever the Jaffa had said to him, Mason seemed to have some of the wind taken out of his sails.
“We’re getting ready to leave,” Jack told him.
Mason stood, slightly uneasy with his hands resting behind his back. “Jack, I….. I was an asshole. I’m sorry.” He glanced down for a moment. “I think I was a little jealous of you and I allowed it to affect my judgment. I’d like another chance at this. General O’Neill.”
“Alright,” Jack said after a moment as he studied his cousin. “I’ll let your CO know where you are. Any message for Melanie and the boys?”
Mason shook his head. “Just that I love them and I’ll be home as soon as possible.” Jack considered him, wondering what the hell Teal’c and Bre’tac said to him. He held out his hand and Mason took it.
“Take care of him, old man,” Jack told Bre’tac. The old man chuckled.
“I will, human.”
Jack had one more duty to perform before he left. He went to find Inanna.
“Okay, where’s the cup?” Jack asked, finding her in her solarium. She was laying on a table where Ninurta was massaging her bare back.
“The what?” she asked.
“You wanted DNA, I need a cup,” he said.
“Do you need any help?” Ninurta asked helpfully.
“Nice try,” Jack told him.
Inanna’s mouth twitched and she sent him off with one of the staff to find Enki. He found the old man in Ereshkigal’s suite lighting candles and a pleasant incense.
“What are you doing?” Jack asked. Enki turned to him as he wiped a damp cloth across a table.
“Old habits,” Enki said. “Talking to her, blessing her way to wherever she is.” He tossed the cloth out the door where a servant picked it up. Until the room was cleansed and blessed, only certain people were allowed in. “Thor just left,” he commented. “Interesting about your Col. Sheppard.”
“Never mind Col. Sheppard,” Jack said. “How are you?”
Enki smiled. “I’m fine, Jack, really,” he said. “She had been weak for a long time, and this one pushed her over. We’ve been expecting it so we had time to prepare.”
“And how much bullshit is that?” Jack asked. “No matter how much time we spend preparing ourselves, death is still a shock.”
Enki shrugged. “Point of view, Jack,” he said. “We don’t see death the same way you do. You were raised to believe death was an ending, an unknown to be feared. To us, it is merely a transition to another aspect of life. We continue to talk to her and include her in our daily activities. She’s still part of our lives. She helped me to build this world; her very breath is in us with each breath we take. I really am fine, didila.” He patted Jack on the cheek as he walked by.
“If you say so,” Jack said, not quite believing him. “You’re not the only one who can listen, you know. So…. Inanna wants some genetic goo from me. I have a couple of questions.”
Enki nodded and motioned for Jack to follow him.
“Inanna and Ninurta will be raising the child as theirs,” Enki said. They walked past people going about the daily routine of keeping the house clean. More like a small castle, Jack thought, but still a house. “Inanna cannot carry the fetus, but several young ladies have volunteered. You are family, Jack, so you are more than welcome to be part of the child’s life. Just not as the ‘official’ father. Are you alright wi
th that?”
“I guess,” Jack said. “That’s what I’ve been mostly thinking about. I think if it were anyone else, I’d refuse. I’m feeling a little proprietary, here.”
“Understandable,” Enki nodded. “Inanna and Ninurta have raised many children; they are very good parents.”
“Yeah, I’ve watched them with the kids around here,” Jack said. “I think Ninurta tends to be suckered by them, but he’s got ‘Dad’ material in him. Sam and Daniel think that you’re after the Ancient gene to combine with Ereshkigal’s Furling gene.”
Enki chuckled. “I’m doing a little genetic engineering,” he admitted. “You have to admit it’s an interesting scenario.”
Jack gave a nod. “Admitted,” he said. “You looking for something specific to happen?”
“No,” Enki said. “It’s just curiosity. It’s mainly Ki’s DNA we’re trying to save. The child will be loved no matter what happens. This isn’t the first time we’ve engineered a child; I don’t do it too often because it messes with the familial lines. We will love the child, Jack.”
“You going to make it a girl?” Jack asked.
“I won’t take it that far,” Enki said. “Let the sperm and egg meet and decide for themselves. I tried making a specific gender before, and it was a mess. Ended up with hermaphrodites, and confused boys who wanted to be girls and girls who wanted to be boys. Which does happen in nature, and can be fixed with surgery, but it's a cruelty to do it deliberately. If nature decides that Herself, all well and good, but what I did really was a mess. It shamed me.”
Jack looked at him. “You know, it’s probably a good thing you have a sense of morality and ethics. At least the kid’ll be smart, growing up with you for a grandfather.”
“Don’t knock yourself short, Jack,” Enki said, leading him into another room. “Do your partners know how high your IQ tests run?”
“Been snooping, have we?” Jack asked.
“Just a little,” Enki admitted with a grin. “Drop your pants.”
“What?”
“Drop ‘em.” Enki fiddled with instruments on a table.
”I think I can do this part myself,” Jack told him.
Enki paused and thought about it before shaking his head. “Jack, if you want to pleasure yourself, that’s fine, but I have other means of getting to your wigglers.” He held up some sort of syringe.
“And you plan on sticking that where?” Jack asked in horror, taking a step back.
“Your groin,” Enki emphasized, giving his head another shake. “You won’t feel a thing, I promise; I can get your sperm directly from the duct, it’ll only take a few seconds. Stop being a baby, and show me your stuff.”
Jack scowled as he ripped open his jeans. “You know, for an old man you have a kinky streak.”
“I have a very kinky streak,” Enki informed him with a side-grin. “Ask Jonathan.”
Jack groaned and put a hand over his eyes. “Let’s not go there,” he begged. He felt Enki’s hands on his groin, pushing hair aside. He peeked through his fingers and saw the syringe against his skin. There was a slight pinch, a moment, and then the thing was taken away.
“Alright, you’re done,” Enki told him. “Thank you for your donation to a most worthy cause.”
Chapter 42
Having one Jackson pissed-off in the morning was bad enough, but there were two pissed-off Jacksons. First, Jack insisted that Daniel have an escort when he went back to Kalam to buy women, then Stacy glared at Jack from a seat in the principal’s office when he and Sam went in, summoned by the school.
“They were picking on him, so I punched them,” she informed her parents. “They told Davy we were all going to hell because of you and Daddy. All Davy did was ask them why they were scared and they pushed him down. Three against one isn’t fair.”
“Couldn’t you have gotten a teacher instead?” Jack asked.
“There wasn’t one around,” she said. “And by the time I went inside and came back out, they would have beaten the crap out of him.”
“Why was there no supervision?” Sam asked Mrs. Herbert.
“Schools are short-staffed,” the principal said. “If someone needs to go to the restroom, the kids may be left alone. But it isn’t for long,” she stressed. “We can’t be in two places at once.”
Jack considered offering to clone her.
“I’m sorry, but policy states that we do need to suspend them for fighting,” Herbert said.
Sam shook a finger. “No,” she stated. “Because of your lack of supervision, our kids were forced to defend themselves. They shouldn’t be punished for it. Punish the ones who started it.”
“They will be,” Herbert said. “Colonel Carter, I allowed Dr. Jackson to talk me into forgoing suspension once before. I must insist that the letter of the law be enforced. Three days suspension.”
“I think we’re going to attend the next school board meeting,” Jack said. He ushered the kids up and to the door.
“General?”
He turned back to Herbert who had the grace to look uneasy in calling his attention back to her.
“We’ve been unable to locate Mrs. Bosco or the colonel.”
“The colonel is off-world. We’ll take Jessica with us,” Jack stated. They rounded up the unhappy girl on their way out through the outer office. Jack took out his cell phone.
“Kearney, find Mrs. Bosco and have her call me. Don’t scare her, it isn’t an emergency.”
There were seven other kids all sitting in unhappy silence, waiting for parents to show up. Jack and Sam had been on their way to work when Jack’s cell phone rang with the school calling. Daniel had already left through the gate, taking a thrilled Ronnie with him. Daniel was not happy about the SG-1 escort, though, and Jack was sure he would be hearing about it when Daniel got home from his female-buying trip. Jack hoped the Ra’batinu women appreciated this because Jack sure didn’t.
“Okay, start from the beginning,” he said, looking in the rear-view mirror at the kids in the backseat.
“Bullies!” Stacy declared. “Three of them cornered Davy and started shoving him around and talking about you.”
“Uh huh. David, tell me what happened,” Jack said.
“I asked them why they were scared of us and they hit me,” David said softly.
“They’re scared? Of what?” Sam asked.
David shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said. “They told me we were going to hell because you and Daddy and Uncle Danny all live together and do things together. Grown-up things. They said it was bad and we were bad because we live with you. I didn’t understand so I tried to feel, like Daddy does. They were scared so I asked them why. That’s when Billy hit me. Stacy ran and hit him back. She did a really good hit right on his mouth.”
Jack considered whether or not it was a good idea to allow the children to be hanging out with alien warriors.
“And other kids came and helped,” Stacy said. “Like Jessica. She doesn’t hit good, but she helped.” Stacy gave her friend a pat on the hand.
The adults looked at each other. They couldn’t punish the kids for defending themselves, and they couldn’t punish Stacy for staying with David instead of running to find a teacher. David could have been seriously hurt by the time a teacher made it out to them. But they needed to do something.
“David, a lot of people are afraid of changes and they’re afraid of people who are different from themselves,” Sam told him. “I know that doesn’t make much sense, but it’s how things are. I’ll bet the boy who was most afraid is feeling changes inside himself and that’s what made him afraid. If it happens again, try and run away and find an adult.”
“Aunt Sam, can I learn to fight?” he asked. The two in front looked at each other.
“Are you sure, buddy?” Jack asked. “It’s hard work.” The boy was sensitive and still physically weak from his childhood of allergies and not being able to eat the foods that would have made him strong.
“Mayb
e something like Tai Chi?” Sam suggested quietly. Jack nodded.
“That’s a possibility,” he said. “Buddy, how about I take you to the gym after work and we’ll talk with Major Bryce. See if someone can set up time with you? Okay?”
David was a little happier. The more Jack thought about it, the more he acknowledged that something like Tai Chi might help the boy; it was a low stress discipline, it would teach him focus and balance, and it just might strengthen his muscles. It would certainly help him to find self-confidence.
They dropped the kids off at home, told Jerrie they were house-bound, and left again for work. Jack answered his phone again as they went through the security check-point. He listened to Maj. Kearney.
“Is she alright? I’ll contact the SGC. No, leave Vinnie in school; Connie will be dealing with enough, there’s no reason to take him out of class.”
Jack tapped his ear piece and it disconnected.
“Connie had a miscarriage,” he said quietly to Sam. “Kearney said she’ll be fine. He found her on the floor and called 911.”
“Should we keep the kids for a couple days?” Sam asked.
“We’ll see,” he said. “I’ll have to see if the colonel can be recalled, and find out what he wants to do.”
Sam nodded. “I’ll call home and have Jerrie prepare, just in case.”
Jack pecked her mouth and they parted at the stairs. Jack went to his office and Sam took the stairs down to her labs; Sheppard should already be down there, getting tested by her crew. Jack was in his office for just a minute before backing up and looking at his admin’s desk.
“Where’s Abigail?” he asked Cassandra.
“Becoming Mrs. Hammond,” she told him. “They eloped.”
“They what?” Jack’s eyebrows went high into his short-cropped hair.
“Eloped,” Cass repeated with a grin. “The general said he’d have her back next week. You and Paul get to share me, unless you want me to find someone from the pool.”
Jack shook his head. “No, we can share, unless it’s too much work for you. Don’t let Harper get any ideas,” he said.
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