“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Kevin said with a nod. The tech gulped, not understanding, but knowing they were talking about him.
“We knew it was only a matter of time,” Daniel said.
“I’d like a little more time,” Jack stated.
Mason came into the room, wearing BDU’s with SGC insignia. He looked at Kevin’s face and didn’t say anything. Jack looked at the stitches going up Mason’s forearm.
“And what did you do?” Jack asked.
“Mauled by a mountain lion,” Mason said. Jack looked at him. “Really. I was running around the mountain and I ran into a mother and cubs.”
“How’re Mel and the boys?” he asked. His cousin still didn’t want his wounds healed in warp-speed time. “Settling in?”
“They’re well,” Mason nodded as he watched the healing. “Mark will be starting his senior year at Penn State soon, so he won’t be here for long.”
“What’s Keith doing?” Jack asked.
“He doesn’t know yet,” Mason said, trying not to growl in disapproval. “He doesn’t want to go to college, he doesn’t want to sign up…… I'm ready to kick him out.”
“He’s nineteen, Mace, give him a break,” Jack said. “He’s still a kid. Why don’t you send him off-world for a while? I’m considering sending some kids to the Alpha site to help with farming. Kalam also needs new blood. Although, they are a little male-heavy….”
Mason gave Jack a look. “I am not sending my son to Kalam,” he stated. “It’s bad enough I have to watch out for my ass when I’m around those guys, I’m not giving up my son’s ass.”
Jack shrugged. “It really isn’t that bad. Feels pretty good, actually.”
Mason made a quick exit.
Daniel smacked Jack’s arm. “Quit terrorizing him.”
Jack chuckled as he slid off the exam bed. “Doc, you’re done with me, right? Yes, you are. Colonel, find my cousin someone to beat up, will you?”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Reynolds’ smiled.
“You going to make it to Paul’s handfasting?”
“If I’m on the planet, sure,” Reynolds nodded.
They checked in with Landry, and Daniel found himself cornered by Nyan. The young man had a wild, almost desperate look around his eyes as he grabbed Daniel by the shoulders.
“You have to tell me,” Nyan pleaded. “Does she like me? Do I have a chance? Is she seeing anyone? Please, Daniel, tell me, I can take it.”
Jack and Landry looked at each other and then at the short alien scientist.
“Who?” Daniel asked. He patted Nyan, settling him.
“Ronnie!” Nyan moaned. He collapsed into a chair. “Dear gods, she’s a dream! Beautiful and brains…..”
Daniel looked at the generals.
“Oh, boy…..”
Jack left Daniel to explain the facts of life to Nyan, and followed his nose out of the Mountain and down to Mason’s new house, which was at the far end of Jack’s neighborhood. Having Mason and his family nearby was another good thing for Maggie; she just needed to remind the boys not to fight whenever they ran into each other. Jack had to admit he wasn’t feeling as antagonistic toward Mason as he usually did. Maybe they were beginning to understand each other.
“Hi, Jack,” Melanie greeted him from the flower bed.
“Hey, Mel, you need some help?” he asked.
“Would you bring that bag of mulch over here?” she asked, pointing to a large plastic bag. He lifted the thirty pound bag and grunted as he plunked it on the ground next to her.
“Is Mason alright?” she asked, digging a spade full of mulch into the ground.
“He’s fine,” Jack assured her. “I just came by to see if Keith was around.”
Melanie paused at the unusual request. “Yes, he’s playing a computer game, last time I checked.”
“Okay if I go in?”
“Yes, of course.”
Jack remembered Mason and Melanie’s wedding, the moms having talked Mason into inviting Jack, but he wasn’t around for the births of their sons. Both boys were born overseas while Mason was on tour. He didn’t know them well, but neither seemed as hard-headed as their father. He heard computer sounds and followed them. Most of their things had been unpacked; a few boxes still sat in corners.
He watched the boy from the doorway of the bedroom. Keith sat back on his bed as he played with a hand-held game control.
“Hey,” Jack said. Keith looked up, surprised to see him.
“Jack, hey.”
“You settling in alright?” Jack asked, coming into the room. He took a chair and turned it around, straddling it. Keith shrugged. “There’re a few older teenagers in the neighborhood. Nice guys.”
“I saw your dad a little bit ago,” Jack tried again. Keith punched at the buttons.
“Complaining about his lazy-assed son?”
“No,” Jack shrugged. “He sounded frustrated, more than anything. A father wants his son to be happy and successful. He doesn’t understand you not wanting to go to school or sign up.”
“He wants me to have his life,” Keith muttered, his father's scowl on his face. “I don’t want to hold a gun and I don’t give a shit about more school.”
“What do you give a shit about?” Jack asked. He sent a feeler out and then drew back, slightly confused. “Keith, what’s going on? Son, you do know that a lot of people are going through some unusual changes, don’t you? If something weird is going on inside….”
The boy who didn’t want to hold a gun made short work of the trolls on the computer screen. “Music,” he said after a moment.
Jack waited. “What about it?”
“Can you really do…. things?” Keith asked, trying to hide something in his voice.
“Some,” Jack admitted. “Got any scrapes or cuts on you?”
“Huh?”
“You’re a kid,” Jack pointed out. “Anything half-healed?”
Keith considered his body and then pushed out a leg. He pulled the denim leg up to show a scrape on his calf. Jack touched the hairy leg for a moment. To Keith’s amazement, he watched the scrape heal before his very eyes.
“Cool,” he said, poking at it experimentally.
“So, you going to tell me about music?” Jack asked. The boy pulled his jeans into place and tried to disappear into the corner of his bed.
“Are you going to tell my dad?”
Jack frowned. “Keith, I’ve known your father all my life; I can’t imagine him hurting you.”
Keith shrugged. “I’ve had my share of red butts,” he said. “I guess I earned them. I …. hear music.”
Jack waited. “What do you mean, you hear music?”
“Music,” the teen repeated. “Everywhere. All the time. I figured out how to fix the car because it sounded wrong, so I kept tweaking things until it sounded right again. I can’t… shut it off. I think I’m going crazy.”
Jack took his cell phone out and dialed. “Honey, did Keith’s test come through yet? Uh huh…… okay, thanks.” He put his cell down and looked at the boy. “Keith, some people are just developing a small section of their brain, that’s all. Didn’t you read about the evolution thing happening? For some people, it’s little things, like being able to study better and understand more at an earlier age. For others, it’s a little more concentrated. You hear music. Well, okay, so let’s find out what that means for you. Is there anything that doesn’t sound like music?”
Keith thought about it. “It’s only electronic stuff,” he said. Jack looked around the room. He turned off the computer, unplugged it, unplugged everything else that was plugged in, and shut the light off.
“How’s that?” he asked. Keith looked inward.
“Quieter,” he said, a little surprised. Jack patted him on a leg.
“Come on, kiddo, we’re going to my place.”
“My place” turned out to be HomeWorld Security. Melanie wasn’t quite sure what the boys were doing, but she went along when Jack encouraged her. They b
oth signed in and had pictures taken for ID’s. For reasons they didn’t understand, their tags were also imbedded with a copy of their DNA.
“Sometimes prints and pictures just aren’t enough,” Jack said, considering how many times they had run-ins with an evil copy of Samantha Carter. “Don’t worry about it.” He led them down to the labs, being inevitably stopped along the way for signatures. Paul ran downstairs and slid to a halt. He held up two pieces of cloth.
“Which one?” he urgently requested.
“For what?” Jack asked.
“The table cloths,” Paul said, slightly impatient.
Jack shrugged. “You’re the one getting married,” he said. “Why don’t you ask Nick?”
The cloths dropped. “Are you kidding, sir? His side of the closet is black for a reason.”
“Oh. Melanie, which one?” Jack asked her. Paul helpfully held up the cloths again.
Unsure of the pronouns being used, she hesitantly gestured toward the teal lace.
“That one looks nice with your eyes,” she offered.
Paul smiled and sighed in relief. “That’s what I thought, too. It looks nice with Nick’s eyes, too. His are very green. Thank you.” He ran back to the stairs, happily petting the cloth. Jack shook his head; his colonel was in queen mode.
“He’s usually more together,” he said. “He’s getting married in two days.”
Halfway across the lab, Jack noticed that he had only Melanie at his side. He stopped and looked around. Keith was standing still, slightly dumbfounded.
“What is it, son?” Jack asked.
“The sound is different,” Keith commented. He absently tapped on his ears.
“Boggs!” Jack called out.
“Biggs, sir.”
Jack opened his mouth and then paused, eying the man suspiciously. “Shut everything off.”
“Sir?”
“Everything, Captain. Shut it off. Power down.”
They waited until all the machinery was off.
“Almost normal,” Keith said.
“Honey, I don’t understand,” Melanie said, brushing at her son’s hair. “What’s going on?”
“He hears music, Mel,” Jack told her. “It’s one of those new things that’s been happening. Electricity sounds like music to him and it’s been causing him to question his sanity. We’re going to try and fix it.”
“Captain, this is Keith Addison and his mother Melanie. Colonel Addison’s family and my cousins,” Jack said. “Be nice to them and help Keith.”
Chapter 53
“Paul, that doesn’t make sense,” Jack complained over the top of his newspaper. “You were going to tag her so she can beam around.” Davis' parents were refusing to attend, but several of his cousins and old school friends caught wind of the handfasting, and let him know, in no uncertain terms, that they were behind him. Much to Paul's surprise, he had burst into tears when his cousin said she wanted to stand up with him. He hadn't allowed his stress over his parents to be shown for so long, that he didn't realize he had been holding in a volcano of pain.
“And she doesn’t want to get beamed around,” Paul said. “She started quoting Star Trek and talking about her molecules getting mixed up. She told her father she’s going to Utah for an interview, and she's flying in to Denver, driving here.”
“That’s pretty weak,” Sam commented. “Never worked on my father.”
Jack looked up again. “Oh? Where did you go?”
She smiled and took a bite of her jam-covered toast. “To Miami,” she said. “Spring Break.” She held the toast for Olivia. The baby liked the taste of the sweet strawberry as her excited wiggling attested.
“You rebel, you,” Jack said. “Wish I had known; I like you in a swimsuit. If we could only get you into a bikini….”
“Nice try,” she informed him. Olivia held her sticky fingers out for Fang to wash. “Honey, don’t do that,” Sam told her. “Doggy germs.” She took the baby into the kitchen and put her hands under the faucet. While Sam’s back was turned, Jack fed Fang a finger-full of jam.
“How’d your day of Ancient go?” Paul asked.
Jack rolled his eyes. “It went,” he said. “Gave myself a headache. I didn’t know I knew all those words.”
“I’m not wearing this!”
They turned to Nick who came out of the bedroom with Daniel and a tailor behind him. He was tugging at the dark teal cummerbund around his waist.
“Why? You look very handsome,” Paul told him, standing to go and adjust Nick’s tie. “And the color does match your eyes.”
“I look like a southwestern poser,” Nick informed him. “I want it leather.”
“Would you rather I had chosen pink?” Paul asked, arms crossed. Nick’s eyes narrowed.
“Alright, guys.” Daniel separated them. “Nick, we would tell you if something looked wrong on you. The teal is fine. Paul, you need your pants adjusted a little; you’ve lost a couple pounds.” Jack raised an eyebrow and buried himself in the paper again.
“Nerves,” Paul complained, rubbing his stomach as he followed the tailor into the bedroom.
“Nick, are you sure there isn’t anyone we could fly in to be with you?” Sam asked. Olivia held out her arms and Nick took her.
“There isn’t anyone, thank you, Sam.” She draped a cloth over his shoulder, protecting his suit from baby drool.
Someone beamed into the middle of the living room.
“Hello.”
Jack groaned. “It’s Lenny and Squiggy.”
Jonathan flicked a finger at him and took Olivia from Nick. He pressed kisses to her round cheeks, making her gurgle and smile.
“Squawk!”
“I wanted that,” they heard Ninurta complain from the kitchen. Jerrie came out, hands on her hips.
“If those two are going to mess up my kitchen, they can clean it,” she declared.
“Don’t mess the kitchen!” Jack yelled back.
Running steps were on the stairs and Davy came in and flung himself at Jonathan. Sam took Olivia from him and let Davy climb over Jonathan who groaned under the weight and fell to the floor.
“Where’s Daka?” Jack asked.
“On the ship,” Shara said, watching the two on the floor. “We didn’t exactly get permission to adopt him, so we’re a little concerned about showing his face on the planet.”
“No, really?” Jack asked, his eyes wide in mock-surprise. “Bring him down, let him play. If anyone says anything, we will deal with it.”
More people beamed in. Inanna, Enki, and Erra. Inanna passed around a few royal kisses and plucked at Nick’s collar.
“Look at you, handsome,” she commented. “I like the leather, but this works, too.”
“See?” Paul informed him as he came out to see what the commotion was about. Inanna planted a sisterly kiss of congratulations on his cheek. His cell phone rang and he excused himself. “No!” everyone heard from the bedroom. Paul came out, white-faced. “The rabbi has tonsillitis!”
Daniel took the cell phone and tossed it to the couch. “You have a house full of people capable of handfasting you guys, so relax and pick someone.”
Paul immediately grabbed Daniel's arms, a wild look in his eyes. “You do it! Please please please!!!”
Ninurta came out of the kitchen munching on a bagel.
“He is NOT wearing that to the ceremony,” came a shocked voice from the bedroom doorway. They looked at the tailor. The man was staring aghast at Ninurta.
“You don’t like it?” Ninurta asked, flicking at his worn leather kilt.
“No, he won’t be wearing leather,” Paul assured the man. “He knows how to dress up. Let’s just deal with my pants.” He ushered the man back into the bedroom with Jonathan trailing behind.
“Must he sing?” Jack asked plaintively.
“Yes!” Paul called out from the bedroom.
Jack looked around. “I am still the general, right?”
“For the moment,” Daniel said,
tossing a spoon at him.
Enki sat at the table and stared at Jack. Jack stared back.
“Fang needs a walk,” Jack decided.
“He went thirty minutes ago,” Sam reminded him. “Do we need to sit on you to keep you down?”
Jack considered it. “Would you?”
She smiled and squeezed his cheeks, puckering his lips, and pecking them.
“I don’t know how I did it, it just happened,” Jack informed Enki. He assumed the old man was staring at him in expectation of conversation regarding the red line in the grass.
“You’re stubborn, Jack,” Enki told him. Someone snickered.
“Not,” Jack said, frowning. “A little. Maybe.”
“Want to see something interesting?” Daniel asked Enki. He tossed the old man a magazine. “He finished that book in two days.”
Enki flipped through the puzzle book, taking a moment to figure out the various types of puzzles.
“Even the advanced puzzles,” he noted. “Relatively easy, actually. These are advanced for you?” he asked Daniel.
“For a lot of people,” Daniel said with a nod. “We’ve been working on his vocabulary for a few years through crossword puzzles, but it’s only recently that he’s been speeding through these.”
Jack looked at the men and shrugged. “What? They were easy.”
“And two years ago you would have been trying to find someone to cheat off of to get them finished,” Daniel reminded him. “Jack, those advanced pages are Mensa puzzles. And you whizzed through them –with a pen. You were not really a slouch in the brains department before this, you were just lazy about it. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were closing in on Sam’s IQ. You’re definitely past mine. A couple of those puzzles were giving me headaches.”
“I don’t know what it is with you guys,” Sam commented. “Col. Shepherd hides it, too. I had an email from McKay…..”
“He emails you?” Jack questioned.
“Unfortunately,” Sam said. “He discovered that Shepherd coasts through Mensa tests, too. Rodney is feeling snubbed. Shepherd won’t join the Atlantis Mensa club.”
Jack considered asking the obvious questions and changed his mind.
“What’s menses puzzles?” Davy asked, climbing onto Jack’s lap. The adults smiled at the verbal error.
Unification: The Anunnaki Unification Book 5 Page 5
