Of Fruit Loops, Princesses, and Contentment…
In the not-too-far-distant future
Jack O'Neill poured two bowls of Fruit Loops, one with whole milk, one with skim. He grimaced. He might as well be pouring water on his, but Sam was worried about his cholesterol, so skim it was. After setting the bowls on the table he poured a steaming mug of coffee and a cup of orange juice. He eyed the pink plastic cup spattered with Disney princesses with suspicion before setting it on the table and taking his seat.
The chair opposite him pulled away from the table with a scrape and moments later, giant eyes framed by stick-straight black hair appeared opposite him. "New booster-seat more to your liking?"
The little girl nodded before picking up her OJ and drinking it down in big, thirsty gulps.
Jack nodded back at her before digging in to his Fruit Loops, and the little girl followed suit. They ate in companionable silence, the little girl staring at him while she ate, and Jack contemplating how he became the father of a four-year-old Chinese girl. Not that he and Sam were the first middle-aged couple in DC to adopt a little girl from China, but that he and Sam had become those parents.
The idea of children had never really played a major role in their relationship. When they initially became romantically involved, he and Sam had discussed children and decided that if it happened, it happened, but they weren't going to try any heroic measures to start a family. When Sam never became pregnant, they simply accepted it as it was. Even though they were no longer SG-1, the team was still their family, and they were happy.
So, when a colleague brought their seven-year-old Chinese daughter to Sam's retirement party two years ago and Sam learned about the plight of unwanted baby girls, she decided that they had to help. Just two months ago, they had brought home their new daughter. Sam hadn't wanted a baby, and so four-year-old Cai Carter O'Neill returned to Washington, DC with her new parents. The little girl was still absorbing English and didn't speak much yet, but she was learning, Jack could tell. She had been shunned in the orphanage, being seen as defective due to her mismatched eyes - one brown, one green. To Jack, though, she was perfection.
He sensed a deep intelligence behind those big, beautiful eyes. Cai was painfully shy and it killed him that her earliest years were spent so lonely and unloved. She had warmed to Sam right away and he would frequently come home from a late night at the Pentagon to find the two of them snuggled together in their bed. On those occasions, he'd lift the sleeping little girl out of Sam's arms and carry her to her own room, tucking her in before placing a kiss on her forehead.
When he'd return to the bedroom, Sam would smile and pull him into her arms, dress blues be damned. Having Cai in their lives these last two months had brought out a softer side of Sam. Motherhood suited her, and he wondered if they had made the right decision to not pursue IVF to have a baby sooner. Sam had always had the biggest heart in the universe when it came to children, and Cai seemed to settle a part of her that neither of them had known was restless.
He never thought that past his 60th birthday, parenting a small child was something he'd find gratifying. If Charlie was still alive, he might even be a grandfather by now. Sam worried that Cai hadn't opened up to him physically the way she had with her, but he would reassure her that the two of them were making their way just fine. He took her to her kinder-dance class every Saturday, and junior t-ball on Sundays. There was no way in hell he was missing out on any of the good stuff this time around, even if it involved way more pink and tutus than he was entirely comfortable with. Their breakfasts together were their primary bonding time. She might not go to him for hugs and kisses, but their silent communication at the breakfast table was their own special way of forging ahead.
"Skim milk," Jack mused aloud, "why bother?" Cai cocked her head to the left, but continued to munch on her Fruit Loops. "See, you get the good stuff to help you grow, but your mom is a worry-wort. She wants to be sure I'm around to watch you graduate from high school." Cai frowned. "Oh, don't worry. I plan on sticking around for a long time." She held out her empty cup to him. "More juice?" She nodded. He looked towards the kitchen entry to find it clear. "Okay, just don't tell her. Too much sugar and all that… says the man who feeds his daughter Fruit Loops for breakfast." He chuckled.
Jack pushed away from the table and ambled over to the fridge where he poured another glass of orange juice for Cai. Handing the cup back to her, he had a thought. "Which of the princesses do you like best?" She pointed to one. "Ariel? Hey! Mine too. She's pretty cool. Smart, clever, pretty, the whole package. Kinda like your mom."
A week before they'd gone to China to get Cai, Sam had brought the Disney Princesses Blu Ray box set. When they'd returned with their new daughter, they had proceeded to watch the entire set. Jack had to admit, the newer ones were pretty good. Well, newer than from when he was a kid. He liked that the modern princesses didn't seem to need rescuing by the handsome prince. And the jokes were often grown-up enough to amuse the parents yet go right over the heads of the children.
Cai was entranced by the music, and had recently started singing along with the DVDs. She rarely spoke, but she sang all the time. He was thinking about downloading the soundtracks to his iPod for her, so they could listen on the stereo without having a movie on. Of course, maybe he should start playing some classic rock so the kid would grow up with good taste in music. Not that he could fault her. The Disney tunes were catchy, and she also seemed to truly enjoy the cello sonatas that Sam was so fond of listening to.
"Maybe next year, you can be Ariel for your first real Halloween. Trick-or-treating would have been a little much this year, but you are gonna love Christmas! It's hard to believe that you're four years old and have never celebrated Christmas. You are going to love the crew." She frowned. "Well, you know Danny and Vala, but Teal'c is going to visit from Chulak. He can't wait to meet you." She picked up her cup with both hands and drank deeply, peering over the top at Jack. "And Cam and Emma will be coming with their girls. He says Camilla and Molly are very excited to come and play with you."
She set her cup down, looking concerned. "Of course, they are five, so don't let them take advantage of your youth. It's your house, so you call the shots." She nodded solemnly. Jack knew beyond a doubt that his little girl understood nearly every word he spoke. He was pretty sure that one day soon she was just going to bust out speaking in complete sentences, sounding like a mini Carter, and surprise them all. He could almost hear it now: "Daddy, I think my Barbies have entropic cascade failure. Look, they're all the same."
Jack got up to start clearing the dishes while she continued to sip her juice. "I'm only working until noon today, even Home World Security can understand that this is my daughter's first Christmas, and I am going to make sure it's great. I unpacked the star for the top of the Christmas tree last night, so we'll put it up tonight. You can do it, if you want." He glanced at her and she smiled. "Of course, you'll need a little help from your tall, handsome dad, but teamwork is what it's all about."
He finished loading the bowls into the dishwasher and grabbed his uniform jacket from where he'd lain it on the kitchen island and slipped it on. When he finished buttoning up, he sat back down opposite Cai and took a sip of his coffee. "Any special requests for your first Christmas Eve dinner?" He paused, watching her closely. "Chicken Nuggets?" She wrinkled up her nose. "That's my girl," he grinned at her. "I know: burgers on the grill?" She smiled broadly. "A girl after my own heart. Just wait until you're old enough to share a beer with your old man. We'll have some stories to tell." To his surprise, Cai held out her arms in the universal pick me up sign. He looked to the doorway and saw no sign of Sam. "Me?" He asked her, pointing to his chest. She just thrust her arms out more urgently. Jack set his mug down and got up and lifted the little girl out of her seat.
She wrapped her arms around his neck snuggling her cheek against his shoulder and Jack felt his chest tighten and his eyes well up. He wasn't sure how he would feel when Cai finally opened up to him. It was a million times better than he'd imagined. He simply stood there with his daughter in his arms, looking out the window and stroking her back gently. She sighed a deeply content little-girl-sigh, and his heart grew to bursting.
He wasn't sure how long they stood there before a gentle voice prompted him from the doorway. "Breakfast was good?"
Cai looked up from Jack's shoulder and nodded at her mom. Jack shifted her slightly to the side and turned to face his wife. She strolled over to them and gave them each a kiss. "Dad gave you two cups of juice?"
Cai's little eyes opened even wider, and Jack laughed. "We are so busted!" He gently tweaked Cai's nose. "Your mom is the smartest person in two galaxies. We'll never be able to put one over on her, unfortunately."
"You'll be late," Sam prompted. "Home early?"
"Yeah. I'll pick up fixings for burgers for dinner on the way home." Sam gave him a puzzled look. "Special request," he tilted his head towards the little girl resting against his shoulder.
"Hey, I love burgers!" Sam protested. She held out her arms to Cai who first tensed her arms around Jack's neck and then went eagerly to her mother.
"My two girls," Jack smiled giving Cai a kiss on the nose and then a soft, slow kiss to the greatest wife in two galaxies, well, probably more, but at least the two they knew about. When they broke apart, Jack turned to walk to the foyer where he put on his coat and got ready to be taken to work by the Town Car at the curb. Sam and Cai followed him to the door to see him off.
"See you ladies later," Jack winked at them.
"We can't wait," Sam murmured.
"Love you, daddy," came a high-pitched little voice.
Jack grinned the biggest grin he'd had since the day Sam agreed to marry him. His heart swelled to bursting. "Best. Christmas. Ever."