“Did I hear my name?” Jonathan came in and added a name to the list. Ninurta summarized the conversation and Jonathan nodded. “Yes, that one did rock his world a little. He knew I was with Shara, but knowing and seeing are sometimes two different things. His spirituality makes him more open to alternative pairings than most people would accept, so he didn’t wig out.”
“Have you corrupted him yet?” Jack asked.
“Not quite,” Jonathan said. “He’s questioning himself, at the moment. He sees that it’s fun and pleasurable, but he isn’t sure if he wants to go there. I did kiss him. He wanted some empirical evidence. He admitted that it wasn’t bad. A little weird, but not bad. I related.”
“Jack? He knows,” Jonathan confessed.
“He knows what?”
“About us,” Jonathan said. Jack frowned. “He took it from my head before we got a clamp on him. In fact, it’s the main issue that made Aba threaten to wipe his entire mind and make it a blank slate. Grant’s been behaving himself since then. He slips from time to time, but he’s doing better.”
Jack strummed the table top with the tips of his fingers. “Alright. I don’t want him on security until he proves he’s completely reliable. His ethics are still in play and I want to be able to trust him.” The men at the other end of the table scratched through Grant’s name which was at the top of their short list.
“We do have someone that is almost as good,” Ninurta said. “There is a Langaren woman, Jenessa, who is able to pick up immediate thoughts. She is highly ethical and she’s been practicing for a while. Her talents are much like Zu’s in that she hears immediate thoughts the way he sees immediate images.”
Jack looked at Jonas. “She’s from a small mountain community,” Jonas said. “She’s their local wise-woman. When she heard what was going on with the unification, she came in and introduced herself to me. Said the ancestors told her to do it. I wasn’t going to argue with the ancestors.”
“Her heart is an honest one, Jack,” Enki said. “We approve of her. In fact, she’s been helping with Grant. She actually whomped him on the head a couple of times when he slipped.”
“She reminds me a lot of Mom,” Jonathan said with a smile.
As their security list was negotiated, Jack signed off on several reports handed to him by Ninurta. Pirates had begun taking advantage of worlds unsupported by Goa’uld masters and the new UW had stepped in a couple of times to chase the pirates off. Jack told his security boys that they also needed to come up with a prison planet; scattering the flies won’t do anything except bring them back to the feeding ground. A prison planet needed a court of law. Jack felt a headache coming on and understood Jonathan’s bureaucracy comment. Inanna recommended a high court of twelve legal experts from membership planets. Member worlds could have the choice of prosecuting in their own courts, each world being under their own laws, for the most part, or they could request a trial by the high court. Jack was finding new respect for the Founding Fathers of the US.
Another problem they would need to deal with was the Aschen pirates. The group in a far corner of the galaxy was slowly growing as they captured worlds. The report said that one of these worlds had entered a zero-population growth. Jack made a note to have Landry send a team to check it out, and to have someone check out the planets in Aschen space and see if any would be supportive of a UW outpost.
He signed off on a list of new member worlds, pausing as he noted Edora had signed the treaty as a protectorate. He signed them in. Many worlds with under a million citizens had agreed to the treaty. Many had not. Earth didn’t have a perfect record with some of those worlds, and others were either xenophobic or simply wanted to be left on their own and attempt to go it alone. The Unified Worlds would keep an eye on those and wait for a signal that they would be open to talks once more.
Many other abandoned planets, whether to extinction of the race or to disease and pollution, had been claimed by UW teams for future colonization. Science teams were excavating whatever the previous civilization had left and any diseases that were still present were being treated with new anti-viruses. They were then left to the natural forces of the planet until they were needed. Hanka, Cassandra’s homeworld, was one of those planets being decontaminated. All of Niriti’s toys needed to be rooted out before anyone would be allowed to live there. Technically, Cassandra was the ‘owner’ of the planet, being the only survivor of the colony. Jack made a note to see if she wanted to do anything with it; knowing her, though, he was sure she’d look at him as though he were out of his mind and turn the planet over to the UW.
Hands slid over his shoulders. They reached down over his pecs and to his stomach. Jack halted the hands before they reached any lower.
“We can either go home and have sex or I can drag you out into the forest and bend you over a log.” There were snickers around the room as Daniel nuzzled Jack’s neck.
“I recommend logs,” Shara commented.
“Yes, they do have their uses,” Jonathan agreed. The others also murmured their agreements.
“Oooooh,” Shara paused, his eyes widening. “Over the lower rim of the Stargate.”
“That could be a rush,” Erra agreed. “Who knows when someone will dial in?”
“Especially a busy gate like the Chulak gate,” Shara said. “Why didn’t we think of that before?”
“Wait until the guests are gone,” Inanna told the boys. “You’ll scare some of them.”
Daniel tipped Jack’s head backwards and pecked his mouth upside down. “Ignore those reprobates,” Daniel told him. “If you are done signing that thing, let’s go. One would think that with all their talents, one of them would have learned to forge your signature.”
“Actually, he has a very easy signature,” Ninurta said. “I do have a few manners, though.”
Jack signed the remainder of the reports and handed the tablet back to Inanna.
“Alright,” he sighed. “Since I’m a kept man, I suppose I should pay for my upkeep. It’s a chore, but someone has to do it. I’ll take one for the team.”
“Just one?” Daniel asked. “And here I had gone out and bought flavored oils.”
Chapter 58
A soft clattering sound came from the direction of the sink. Jack looked out from the shower.
“Whatcha doin’, buddy?” he asked Davy. The boy had carried a chair in and knelt up against the sink to see into the mirror. Jack rinsed and turned the shower off. He gave himself a quick rub down with the towel and wrapped it around his waist before stepping out of the shower. Davy had a can of shaving cream out.
“Shaving,” Davy told him.
“Oh, I see,” Jack nodded. He took a clean razor, left the protective cap on it, and waited until Davy had his smooth face covered in white foam. Jack stepped behind the boy and held the razor to Davy’s cheeks. He carefully instructed the boy in the art of shaving, leaving the smooth skin gleaming. Davy rinsed his face and studied himself proudly. Jack wiped foam from his ears and lifted the boy down.
“My turn,” Jack said as he pushed the chair out of the way. Davy rushed off, patting his cheeks. Jack smiled and shook his head as he spread foam on his own face.
“What was he doing?” Daniel asked as he stumbled in. He used his head against the wall to prop himself up as he leaned over the toilet.
“Shaving,” Jack said.
“And he came to you for lessons?” Daniel said. He flushed and turned the shower on. “I’m surprised you have a face left, the way you shave.”
The smell of peppermint filled the room as steam began to come from the shower. Jack’s butt was still feeling a little sore from their evening of romping through various scented oils.
“Shower is slippery,” he heard Daniel comment.
“The oils,” Jack said.
“Oh, right. Jack? My ass hurts. How many times did we go at it?”
“Don’t know,” Jack said. “There were six flavors of oil and I think we went through all of them. I don
’t think I’ve slept, yet.”
“Sam was already gone when I got up,” Daniel said.
“She got up just before I did. I don’t know how she does it, Danny; she was all wide-eyed and bushy-tailed.” He leaned over the sink and spat out the toothpaste.
“This is her fault,” Daniel informed him. “She’s the one who insisted on tasting each of the oils.”
“Did she have to use us as her tasting boards?” Jack asked. “This isn’t her fault, this is your fault. You bought the damned things.”
“Is that a complaint?”
Jack opened the shower curtain. “No, it isn’t,” he said and leaned in to peck at Daniel’s mouth. “But you do know that she’s a little behind schedule in jumping one of us with one of her fantasies.”
Daniel paused. “Oh, dear. We’ve created a monster and she hasn’t fed in a while.” Jack flicked soap from a nipple and left before he was tempted into doing something his body wasn’t up for.
Jack put Fang on his runner and filled his dish while Olivia ran barefoot in the grass. She fell on her diapered bottom, her face stunned for a moment before something in the grass took her attention. Jack was at her side before she could eat the worm.
“Nasty,” he told her, swinging her up onto an arm. “When you are in a remote village somewhere, you can eat the worms. Not at home, though. It makes Daddy cringe.” She babbled and pointed. Not having much else to do, Jack let her steer. They explored the trees, discussed the mailbox in great length, and watched a neighbor’s cat stalk a bluejay and fall head over tail as it missed the feathers. Olivia thought it was a very humorous moment and pointed at the humiliated animal as she blew raspberries at it. The rocks on the driveway crackled and he saw an SF coming up the drive.
“Good morning, sir,” the man said with a salute. Jack returned it.
“It is a nice morning, isn’t it, Major?” he asked. Olivia jumped against the arm under her butt. Jack tightened his grip. “Livie thinks so, too.”
“Sir, may I speak freely?” the major asked, almost breaking a smile as the baby babbled.
“Sure.”
The SF glanced at the baby. “It’s….”
“She’s eleven months old, Major,” Jack pointed out. “Speak.”
“Yes, sir. There’s been a few complaints,” the major said. “Well, more like grumbles.”
“About what?” Jack asked, switching Olivia to the other arm.
“Colonel Davis, sir.”
Jack thought about it, waiting. “What about him?”
The SF shifted feet, clearly uncomfortable. “It seems he and Nick like to… play outside? They’ve startled a few families a couple of times. Parents don’t know what to tell their kids when they ask why they can’t play in the woods.”
Jack chuckled and nodded. “I’ll talk to him. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. Any complaints about my house?” The major hesitated, shamefaced. “It’s okay, Major; we will keep it closer to home, too. How’s your wife?”
The SF brightened. “She’s fine, sir, thank you.”
“When’s she due?”
“In October,” he said proudly. “It’s a girl.”
“Congratulations,” Jack said, shaking the man’s hand. He gave Olivia’s fuzzy head a stroke. “It’s a strange species, but well worth the effort.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Dad!”
Jack looked back at his house. Katie stood in the doorway, wrapped in an orange robe with her hair in a green towel. She was holding a small mirror up and poking at her face. “Dad! I need you!”
“What?” he called.
“I have a date with Josh! Freakin’ pimples! Fix it! Pleeeeeeze!”
Jack sighed and looked at the SF. “Honest. They really are worth it. Face the teenage years with courage, soldier; they will be the most trying.” He went back to the house and redacted the red blemish with a peck on her head.
“You know chocolate does that to you,” he reminded her. She scowled at him and went back to watching her skin heal.
“When a boy gives you chocolate, you eat the chocolate,” she informed him. She pulled the towel off and fluffed her hair as she spun around and rushed back up the stairs.
“Daniel!” Jack called out. Daniel looked out from the library. “You haven’t bought me chocolate in a while.”
“Yes, I did,” Daniel said. “I ate it.”
Jack set Olivia on the floor and she toddled quickly to Daniel. He caught her and lifted her, putting noisy kisses on her face as she inspected his face with curious little fingers. The TV was on and Jack looked over to see Davy sprawled on the floor watching his Saturday morning cartoons.
“Where’s Stacey?” Jack asked.
“Bike riding with some of the girls.”
“Which girls?” Jack asked. Daniel shrugged.
“Girls up and down the street,” he said. “Her usual cohorts.”
“Oh. Would one of those girls happen to be Molly Than?”
Daniel held Olivia up and blew on her belly. She screeched and kicked.
“I think so, why?”
“Nothing,” Jack said. Daniel slowly lowered Olivia to the floor.
“Why?” Daniel asked again.
“It’s probably just coincidence,” Jack said. Daniel moved in until they were nose to nose.
“Why? And don’t make me use the full name.”
Jack frowned. “That’s mean, Danny. The Thans live next door to the Kaplans.”
It took Daniel a moment….. “As in Simon Kaplan?”
“Could be.”
Daniel headed for the door and was pulled back.
“She’s fine,” Jack assured him. “She’s doing normal little girl things with other normal little girls. Giggling over normal little boys happens to be one of those things.”
“Daddy, Sheriff Richardson wants you,” Davy informed him without taking his eyes from the TV. Jack looked at him and then at Daniel. Daniel shrugged.
“Did the sheriff call, buddy?” Jack asked.
“No,” Davy said, shaking his head.
“So, how do you know he wants me?”
“Don’t know. He does.”
Jack reached. He then looked at Daniel and picked up the phone. “Andy. Jack. Oh, you know…. Yeah, sure, how many? Tell them to come by my office on Monday and let me get a look at them. I’ll decide what we can do with them. Anytime.” He inclined his head and walked toward his office. Daniel shut the door behind them.
“You know those ex-cult boys around here?” Jack asked, perching on the edge of his desk.
Daniel thought about it. “You mean the boys who were kicked out of their homes? The off-shoot Mormon cult?”
“Yeah, them. Andy’s boys arrested a few of them last night. B&E. He wants me to see if I can do anything with them. The boys are so clueless, they’d be eaten alive in jail.”
“And they’ll probably need some remedial classes to catch up on what they were not taught in school. If I remember right, there is no more draft,” Daniel said. Jack waved a hand at him.
“I’m not going to draft them,” he said. “Just find them a job. You can help me interview them and see if we can come up with an appropriate place for them.”
There was a knock and the door opened. Sam stuck her head around the door.
“Hi, honey,” the men said. She came in, wiping the sweat from her neck with a towel.
“How was your run?” Jack asked.
“It was very nice,” she said. “You two need to start joining me.”
Jack lifted his shirt and looked at his flat stomach while Daniel pulled self-consciously at his t-shirt. Weight had always been his enemy.
“What are you saying?” Jack asked her.
“I’m saying you two are starting to huff and puff when you walk a long distance,” she informed them. “If we were still at the SGC and going off-world every week, would you qualify us for duty?”
Jack thought about it. “No, I guess I wouldn’t. Alright,
we’re back on a regimen.” He looked at his watch. “Matty’s game is in three hours. Are we all going?” Sam and Daniel would be going with him. Sam went for a shower while Jack reminded David of his brother’s ball game. Daniel was still lying on the couch in Jack’s office. Jack went back in and looked down at him.
“What’s the problem?”
Daniel lifted an arm from his face. “Nothing. Just tired.” Jack went back into squatting position.
“Danny, you know we love you,” Jack said. He put a hand under Daniel’s shirt and stroked the smooth skin. “A few extra pounds won’t change that.”
“I know,” Daniel muttered. “I like the muscles and all, but I don’t want my life to revolve around the gym.”
“Then don’t,” Jack said with a shrug. “I like your muscles, too, but you’re no longer required to live up to military standards. You’re a civilian, not a meat-grinder. Sam’s right in that I need to start working out again; I need to set an example for the men and women under my command. And who knows when I’ll need to be in combat again? I don’t have a problem with your extra inch, Danny. I believe I heard Paul refer to you as a teddy bear. You’re our teddy bear.” He put a kiss on Daniel’s stomach.
Daniel glared at him from under an arm. “Alright. I’ll give myself to Major Brice’s tender mercies.”
Jack leaned in and kissed him. Daniel reluctantly responded and began to relax under Jack’s attentions. “Only if you want to,” Jack told him, holding Daniel’s eyes. “A few extra pounds isn’t going to get you kicked outta bed. Danny, you’re not lazy and you’re not a junk-food junkie. Any more than the rest of us, anyway. We have our days. Relax and enjoy life. You’ve earned it.”
“Daddy.”
Jack looked toward the door where Davy stood. “How come you didn’t tell us you were going to be on TV?” the boy asked. Jack looked at Daniel. Daniel got up and they went into the living room. Jack didn’t know he was going to be on TV because whoever had the camera had hidden it.
“….and this isn’t the only so-called healing that has taken place,” the reporter was saying over a shaky, grainy video of Jack picking up a little girl from a fallen bike. She was crying and holding her arm. Jack knelt in front of her, talking low and reassuringly as he gently touched her arm. The girl soon stopped crying and nodded, flexing her arm. The camera zoomed in and the image was split: one side showing a bloody gash in the arm and the other side doing a fast forward, showing the wound seeming to repair itself in seconds. Jack recognized the girl from one of the neighborhood families.
The Anunnaki Unification, Book 3: A Stargate SG-1 Fan Fiction Story Page 40
