Once out of the studio and away from people, Gabriel picked up a newspaper from a vendor before they got into the cab.
“Jack, I don’t know what you’re hiding, something to do with religion, but is it that serious?” he asked quietly. “I get the feeling this is more than personal preference; you know something.”
“Enough to destroy the world,” Jack said after a moment. Gabriel studied him for a moment and then nodded.
“Alright.”
After contacting most of the world’s religious leadership, Jack was confused. None of them wanted to attend a meeting with him. As far as they were concerned, there was nothing he could tell them that would make the world a better place. Their own faith was more important than anything he could say and if his words and whatever he had that he was calling facts would do nothing more than cause war, then they didn’t want to hear it. Jack took a step back. He had to admit that he was wrong to try and force this on them. They were right –if it would not bring peace, don’t bother them with it.
“Religion and society have a symbiotic relationship,” Daniel had told him. “One does not grow without the other. If society is in a growth spurt, it will need religion to grow with it. Take away the religion and the society falls apart. As important as that ship is, we need to destroy it. It kills me to say it, but I’m saying it. Destroy the ship.”
They were all conflicted about the ship, changing their minds in mid-sentence, having no previous experience to rely upon to guide their decisions. None of their allies were helpful, not even Thor or Enki. They even sent a message to Thanatos. He didn’t know about the ship, either, and also recommended getting rid of it. No good could come of it, if the information brought death and destruction. Society would revert to the Dark Ages and have to start over again. Jack called in the Prometheus and had the ship towed to a far solar system that had no habitable planets, and dropped the ship into the giant ball of fire. The explosion seared several nearby planets to a crisp, making Jack and Sam thankful that the ship wasn’t sent to their own star.
Jack’s day wasn’t any better when he got home. Malek was sitting on his couch and Katie was sitting close by. Jack did feel a little better when Josh Reynolds came out of the bathroom and sat next to Katie after greeting Jack.
“Who needs what?” Jack asked.
“Pardon?” Malek looked blankly at him.
“Well, you only visit when you need something,” Jack said. There was a squeal and Olivia toddled across the living room at him, arms waving, trying to keep her balance. Jack picked her up and kissed her before setting her on his hip. “I’m feeling used, Mal. You don’t write, you don’t call…..”
“Dad,” Katie reproved. “He brought Uncle Danny some archaeology things they can’t translate.”
“Oh. Alright. Staying for dinner, Mal? Hey, where is everyone? I assume Daniel is holed up downstairs.”
“Yes, and Aunt Sam is taking care of those cult boys,” Katie said, following Jack into his bedroom. “She’s getting them tested. Finding out what they can do and everything. Matty is with grandpa at choir, Davy went to a movie with Nanna, and Stacey is at Major Brice’s house with Jerrie. Helping, I think.” Jerrie had been excused for a few days while the major took his wife on a small vacation. Aunt Jerrie was watching over her nieces.
“Good,” Jack commented. He put Olivia on the floor and found a fresh shirt.
“Why is Josh smiling at Malek?”
Katie’s cheeks pinked.
“Can we talk about that later?” she begged.
“Now, please. Have a seat.” Katie flopped onto the bed. “What’s going on?” Jack asked, standing in front of her.
“I like both of them,” she whispered. “Josh likes both of us.”
“He’s bisexual?” Jack asked. Katie shrugged.
“He isn’t sure,” she said. “He thinks he might be.”
“And where is Malek in all this… liking?”
She shrugged. “We haven’t talked about it,” she said. “I’m not an idiot, Dad; Malek doesn’t even live on this planet. Long distance relationships don’t work here, much less across the galaxy.”
“Watch it,” he warned. He went to the door and stuck his head out. “Joshua! Front and center. Malek, please hang for a moment.” He waited until Josh was in the room and shut the door. Josh looked from Jack to Katie, wondering what was going on.
“Mr. Reynolds, teenage crushes are usually cute, but I have a lot going on,” Jack informed him directly. “Save me some time playing guessing games and tell me what you have in mind for Katie and Malek.”
Josh’s face changed colors as he tried to look anywhere except at Katie and Jack.
“Sir, I…..”
Jack shook his head. “Come on, Josh; consider my current lifestyle. I’m the last person to judge you. My main concern is Katie getting hurt.”
“I wouldn’t hurt Katie, sir,” Josh immediately said. Jack sensed the truth in him.
“I know, son, but you and Katie are both interested in a man with a snake in his head who happens to live on another planet. Do I need to forbid Malek from stepping foot on this world?”
“No, sir,” Josh said, shaking his head. “I haven’t said anything to him. I don’t want to make him uncomfortable. I…. I wouldn’t know where to begin.”
Jack studied him for a moment. “Kate, go keep our guest company,” Jack told her. “And do not mention this conversation to him. Talk about…. medicine.”
“Yes, sir,” she said and reluctantly left Josh alone with Jack.
“Have a seat, son,” Jack said, giving a nod toward the foot of the bed. He was pretty sure Reynolds wouldn't mind this chat. Josh sat. “You’ve never gone out with another boy?”
Josh hung his head. “No, sir,” he confessed. “I’m not even sure…..”
“Be sure,” Jack told him. He pulled up a chair and turned it around, sitting backwards on it. “I can’t guide you in gay relationships, I’m not gay. I can tell you that communication is a little different. You talk with your friends differently than you talk with a girl you like, right? That kind of difference. I certainly don’t have an issue with multiple relationships. My concern is your age. You don’t have the experience to know how to manage one relationship let alone two. I’m fifty-five, son, and there are days I’m still running in circles. Have you talked with your father?”
“No, sir,” Josh said, shaking his head. “He knows that I…. look at other guys. Sometimes.”
“Well, I think you should talk with him about this,” Jack said. “Your father is a good man. He may be a little confused by all this, but he’s trying. I trust him at my back; you can trust him, too. And I’d like to trust you with my daughter. She’s been hurt, she doesn’t need more pain.”
He gave Josh money and told him to take Katie out for dinner. Josh’s stomach bottomed out, knowing that the general was going to open a discussion with Malek.
“Malek, I want to talk privately with you,” Jack said, sitting on the couch, keeping an eye on Olivia. “Just us, toss formalities out the door.”
Curious, Malek nodded. “Alright.”
“Those two are both just barely entering adulthood,” Jack told him, jerking a thumb at the door. “They are confused with hormones and I don’t want to see them hurt. They both like you. I mean, they are both sexually interested in you.”
“I know,” Malek said, not sure where Jack was going with the conversation. “I have been mindful of your wish to not invite Katie’s advances.”
“Yes, you have, and I appreciate it,” Jack acknowledged. “I’m not sure what to do about this. Same gender preferences, while not new, are becoming more and more prevalent in young adults. I don’t have a problem with that. My concern is it’s new enough that our kids, and their parents, don’t understand it much less how to deal with it. Josh is very confused. He knows he likes girls, he certainly likes Katie, but he also has a growing crush on you and that’s a new thing for him.”
Ma
lek took a thoughtful deep breath as he slowly nodded. “I, too, do not know how to proceed,” he said. “I admit that I…. we… could possibly have feelings for Katie. She is young, though, by your planet’s standards. Joshua is a handsome young man, and he has a kind heart, but he is also young. If he were able, I would invite him to the Tok’ra and consider him as a bedmate. I do not wish to risk the wrath of Colonel Reynolds. What is your recommendation? Should I stay off this world?”
“No,” Jack sighed and rubbed at the stubble on his cheeks. “They need to learn how to control and focus their feelings. Absence won’t help them to do that. You just continue to be yourself and let them deal with their emotions.”
“Good,” Malek said. “Because there are few that I would trust to bring you private information. There is evidence that new Goa’ulds are taking planets along the outer rim.”
Chapter 59
“Come on, move your ass!”
The men groaned under the whip master’s evil rule. At five a.m., they were rousted from their cozy bed and forced to don sneakers and sweats. Much to Jack’s surprise, he made only three miles before he ran out of breath. Daniel was wheezing at two miles. Both men staggered to a halt and forced themselves to keep on their feet and walk it off. Sam stopped when she noticed her troops weren’t behind her and then jogged back until she found them.
“Wusses,” she informed them.
“Hhhhheartlesss,” Daniel sputtered, waving a dismissive hand in her direction before collapsing onto the dirt path and wincing at the bright sky above.
“I’m old,” Jack informed the woods.
“So?” Sam asked. “I’m heading up to the pond for a swim before we turn around. And no, I’m not wearing a swimsuit.” She turned and continued her run along the path. The men looked at her and then at each other.
“Now there’s incentive,” Jack said, groaning as he forced himself to his feet. He held out a hand and hauled Daniel to his feet. The pond was a small lake about two more miles into the forest. The path was on a slight incline and the men were feeling it in their legs as they half-walked half-jogged their way to the pond.
By the time they found the pond and attempted to drown themselves by sticking their heads into the water, Sam was already wet and splashing about. Her sneakers and clothing lay neatly on a nearby boulder.
“Cool off before you get in,” she called to them. “The water’s a little chilly and you’ll get muscular cramps if you’re too warm.”
“Yes, Mother,” Daniel called back. He fell back onto the dirt and huffed at the sky.
After about fifteen minutes, their bodies were at ‘room’ temperature and they began to undress. Sam came out of the water, dripping wet, Aphrodite stepping out from the foam as the sunlight sparkled from the drops of water clinging to her skin. She straddled Daniel’s legs and he fell back to the dirt.
“We have an anniversary next month,” she informed him.
“Yes?” Daniel caressed her cool, wet back.
“Are we adding five years to the contract?” she asked. Jack leaned on an elbow, watching them.
“I’d like that very much,” Daniel said. Sam leaned down and brushed their mouths together. Daniel relaxed, offering whatever she wanted to take.
“I’m ovulating,” she told them after a moment. “Are we going to do anything about that, too?”
Jack brought himself closer and put a hand on Sam’s lower back. He kissed a nearby hip and then Daniel’s mouth. He looked into Daniel’s eyes for a moment and then up at Sam.
“Is this what you want?” he asked her. Sam took a deep breath and nodded.
“It is,” she said emphatically. “Clock is ticking and I’d like to have a baby at least once in my life. I have a desk job and I’m not running around the galaxy anymore. This is the time.”
“We do have that report from the Tok’ra,” he reminded her.
“I know,” she said. “We have thirty-two SG teams, now, not to mention our new Unified Worlds. We are a power. I’ll go on the mission if you need me to, but I’m needed here more than I’m needed in the field. We’ve handled a baby, four children, and our jobs for a year, we can handle another baby. If I get pregnant in the next few days, the baby will be born around May. Olivia will be in preschool next fall. We can deal with two babies for the summer, with Jerrie’s help. If you guys are not ready for another baby, it’s okay, I understand.”
Jack nuzzled her belly and licked a drop of lake water. He felt fingers on his back and looked at Daniel. The younger man smiled at him and pulled him down for kisses before turning their attention to Sam.
When Sam was ready, Daniel helped her onto Jack. She rode him, gently, firmly, taking him, her mind centered on their connection. Part of her imagined energy flowing from him into her. She felt the energy flowing from them and into her. Even more strangely, a greater energy wrapped around all three of them, fusing their energies together, gaining strength as she switched partners.
“Are you doing that?” she whispered to Jack, looking into his dark eyes. Her own blue eyes were darkened with passion as Daniel caressed her from the inside out.
“No, honey,” Jack said. “We’re doing it.”
The morning was spent loving, swimming, talking, and just being together. It had been a long time since they had spent quality time without interruptions. Sam had dibs on their little wigglers. Come hell or high water… or snakes….. she was going to be pregnant by the time they left the lake.
“I have a request,” she said, being lazy and staring at the sky. Jack had thoughtfully found a small log and brought it over for her to raise her legs. She insisted that there was no medical evidence that raising the legs made the little swimmers flow faster, but Jack wasn’t taking chances.
“Another one?” Jack asked. He turned his head, blinking sleepily. She made a half-hearted swipe at him.
“If we have a boy, I’d like to name him Jacob.”
Jack smiled and took her hand, lacing their fingers.
“I thought that was a given,” he said.
“Jacob Charles?” she said, turning to look at him. Jack stilled and then leaned over to brush her lips.
“Thank you.”
“And if it’s a girl, Claire Marie,” Sam continued. Daniel spread a hand across her belly and nuzzled her shoulder.
“Last name Carter?” he asked.
“Would it bother you?”
“No,” Daniel said. Jack echoed him and leaned over to press his mouth along Daniel’s spine. “This is new territory for us. Two men, one woman -it makes sense for the baby to have the mother’s name. Jack?”
“I'm fine with it.”
Daniel lay his head close to hers, smiling as Jack couldn’t decide whose skin to lick. “What do you remember about your mother?” he asked.
Surprised, Sam considered it. “I remember that she was beautiful,” she said. “I always felt like an ugly duckling next to her, but she insisted I was her greatest creation. She liked to paint. She wasn’t very good, but it made her happy to paint. She was better with gardens. And she could sew. She made a lot of my dresses and jumpers. She also made the curtains and bedspreads. I remember that she would go on a sewing spree during the summer and donate things for the Christmas clothing drive. She despaired that I didn’t have a talent for fabric.
“I remember her being sad and angry that Dad was away so much, and when he was home he couldn’t talk about his work. I remember that family get-togethers were always a little weird. My grandmother, mom’s mother, was Jewish, and there was always an argument breaking out between a Jew and a Christian. I went to classes for both religions just to please both sides of the family, but I didn’t want to go. One time when Dad was home, I told him I didn’t want to go to the classes and he told Mom I didn’t have to go. They fought over it but in the end Dad won. He said he wasn’t going to fight for the Constitution only to have his kids be denied their rights. Hmmm. Now that I think about it, I can see why Mom was so frustrated. She was h
ome, raising us, making the decisions, only to have Dad come home and over-turn everything when he didn’t know what was going on in our lives.”
Jack squeezed her hand. “She should have been around to know the man he eventually became,” he said gently.
Sam nodded. “Yeah, he turned out pretty good. Selmak did a good job raising him.”
The men chuckled in agreement, remembering the odd arguments between the man and his symbiote.
“And how did Mark fit into everything?” Jack asked. Sam stopped smiling.
“Not well,” she said. “He understood even less why Dad wasn’t home. He wanted to do father-son things, like the other boys on the street. Dad always made promises and then Mark would get stood up. I’ve tried. It was hard for me to get together with him after I became involved with the Stargate. When I was home I would call him and invite him over. Spend some time together. He was always busy with his own work. I guess Dad did teach him something. I may have helped.”
Daniel leaned up to look at her. “No, Sam,” he said. “Mark is a big boy, he makes his own choices. Don’t give up on him. Keep trying. Have you told him what you just told us?”
Sam thought about it and shook her head. “No, I don’t think I have,” she admitted. “We were never very communicative.”
“Maybe someone needs to make the first move,” Daniel suggested.
“Dad and I tried, just after Selmak healed him,” she said. “But with Dad off-world so much, Mark went back to his old self.”
“Alright, so keep trying,” Daniel told her. “He knows why you two were distant, now make him understand that you need him, too.”
Unification: The Anunnaki Unification Book 5 Page 16
