Disclaimer - All rights belong to the rightful owners, Except the characters of Alice and Ellie O'neill etc etc

Author Note - This is a follow up to my story Taweret's Gift. You don't have to have read it for this story to make sense. Tawaret's gift saw Sam become pregnant with Ellie off world due to intervention by an artifact of a benevolent Goauld (Taweret) which ultimately ended with Sam and Jack getting together and get married. I've tried to post the link to Taweret's Gift but i'm not allowed but the file path on here is after the fanfiction address /s/10734573/1/Taweret-s-Gift if you would like to read it. In time frame wise, Ellie is now 4 years old this story is set season 8 ish but AU. Anyways Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 1

The ear splitting scream reverberated around the house like a gunshot. Jack slowly peeled his eyes open, the room was pitch black and just over his wife's awakening frame he could make out the red display of the alarm clock, 2:45am. His voice floundered in his throat as he tried to form a word but it turned into a guttural groan. With extreme effort he lifted his head off the soft pillow.

"I'll go." Sam's voice sounded as scratchy as his felt.

"My turn," Jack grumbled, trying to force his arms to lift his body off the warm inviting mattress.

"I didn't fly to Washington and back today." Sam placed a cool hand on his back making any movement seemingly impossible for her husband. "Try and go back to sleep."

Jack made a grunt in an agreement and slumped back into his sleeping position. He barely heard Sam as she staggered out of the room to tend to the screaming child in the other room. What felt like moments later a small hand touched his face and Jack peeled his eyes open once more. "Elles Bells," he mumbled.

"Daddy," Ellie O'Neill whispered. "I come in?"

Jack didn't answer verbally, instead holding the covers up so that his little girl could crawl into the gap at the edge of the bed. Instantly she snuggled into him and Jack curled his arms around her, holding her as if she was the most precious thing in all of existence.

"Daddy," Ellie whispered into his T-shirt, "Alice…"

"I know," Jack interrupted, sleep calling him, he registered a change in the cry, Sam clearly comforting their younger daughter, "she's Ok, Mommy's got her."

Sam cradled her 19 month old daughter tenderly as the child sobbed out her terror. It had been like this every day since her birth crying through the night, waking screaming. At first they had thought that Alice had just been a colicky baby that she would grow out of it, settle into a routine but she didn't. Now nineteen months later she was still like it, still waking up screaming in the night. It was exhausting, Sam had barely slept more than two hours in a row since Alice had been born but there was nothing that they seemed to be able to do for her. They had tried every method they could think of, different cots and cribs, different sleep covers, different clothes, having her in with them, in with Ellie, in her own room, different foods, different drinks, but nothing worked. Every single night without fail Alice would wake up screaming. The look of sheer terror on her daughter's face was enough to banish any annoyance away from her and from Jack when either of them came to comfort Alice each night. Sam just wished that her daughter could articulate her troubles, whatever they were. Alice had words but not many and the only word she seemed to have at the moment was 'Mama,' as she sobbed her little heart out.

"Ali Bongo," Sam spoke in a sing song voice using Jack's nickname for the child. "Can you tell me what scared you?" Alice shook her head and buried her head into Sam's shoulder her incessant tears soaking into Sam's pyjamas. Sam tenderly coaxed her daughter's face from her shoulder, lifting her little chin up so that she could look into Alice's deep brown eyes. "If you tell Mommy, Mommy can help."

"No," Alice shook her head fiercely. "Soww Mama."

Sam repositioned the toddler, carefully pulling down the toddler's pyjama top that had been dislodged during her crying fit. "You have nothing to be sorry for Alice," She cradled the child, her fingers stroking the toddler's smooth soft bare arms.

"Mama love?" Alice whimpered plaintively, as she gripped hold of Sam's nightclothes.

"Mommy loves you," Sam kissed Alice, hoping the child could feel the strength of feeling in the simple action. Wishing it could do more than comfort, wishing that she could take away her problem and help her baby girl to for once get a peaceful night's sleep.

Jack opened the bag of chips with such force that they exploded from the bag and scattered across the kitchen counter. Crunching the bag and the remaining chips into a ball he cursed under his breath and braced himself against the granite work surface. The barbeque had seemed a good idea a couple of days ago; it had obviously been a rare moment when he wasn't exhausted to his core. He was too old for this, as much as he loved and adored his girls, he was just too old to deal with the not sleeping. Of course the not sleeping had not supposed to last this long but it still bothered him that he was the wrong side of fifty and they were still technically babies. Hell, when he walked them down the aisle he was going to need a Zimmer frame. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of a small hand creeping up to spirit away one of the errant snacks. He turned his head whip fast and Ellie froze, her brown eyes widening as she realised she had been caught. Slowly a smile crept across her face, rapidly transforming her startled features into one of dazzling beauty. Jack gulped, both the girls had got their smile from their mother, and not for the first time he was forced to think about what weaponry he could procure as an Air Force General that would help with keeping horny teenagers away from them when they reached the dreaded age when they could date.

"Hi Daddy," Ellie smiled sweetly as her cheeks blushed pink to match her pink fairy T-shirt. "When are Teaulk, and Daniel gonna be here?"

"Little bit," Jack told her as he brushed the chips out of her reach, "you helped your Mom?"

Ellie nodded earnestly, her two curly blonde bunches bobbing furiously. "I gived her all my clothes and I maked my bed and I putted my toys in the box," she smiled up at her father. "I just gotted to put my drawing away."

"Why don't you go do that." Jack told her, he watched as her brown eyes scanned across the counter to the chip. Slowly he lifted one of the chips, chuckling to himself as he watched Ellie's eyes follow his hand intently, he held the chip out to her, "here you are."

"Thank you Daddy," Ellie tentatively took the chip. She nibbled on the edge of the chip, "Daddy can my steak be not burnded please?"

Jack grinned at her. "It won't be burnt Elles Bells, it will be flavour," he chuckled as her face twisted into an expression that told him she thought he was lying. "Go tidy up."

"Kay!" Ellie scampered off nearly colliding with Sam as she came through the door holding Alice on one hip and a basket of laundry on the other. "Hi Mommy."

Sam raised her eyebrows as the chips scattered across the kitchen but said nothing, instead shifting her hip indicating for Jack to take the toddler from her. He complied, lifting Alice into his arms and then settling her on the counter. The toddler looked down at the counter and traced her short chubby fingers through the chip residue. "Dada," she whispered softly, as she looked up at him solemnly, "Soww Dada."

"Watcha sorry for Ali Bongo?" Jack smoothed her light brown curly hair.

"No seep," Alice sighed heavily, her baby features looking far too grown up for Jack's liking.

Jack tickled her under chin and the child's face creased involuntarily as she squirmed. "Can't help bad dreams Ali Bongo," she giggled and Jack reached to pull her up into his arms for a tight hug. Her little chubby arms gripped around his neck and he inhaled her still baby smell, the smell of baby powder and no tear shampoo. Opening his eyes he could see Sam watching him, her blue eyes trained intently on both of them as she sorted through the laundry. He gave her a happy smile and the tightness in her face vanished she looked like the same old Sam, but deep in her eyes he could see it, the ever present underlying concern over Alice. She looked away to concentrate on the laundry and Jack studied her as he swung Alice onto his hip, she looked as he did, exhausted but she still to him, looked utterly beautiful. Her hair was longer now, grown down passed her shoulders, at work she wore it in a neat plait or twisted up into a low bun, but at the weekend and at home she let it free and when the sun reflected off it, it was like liquid gold in a shade far more becoming then the innumerable gold walls he had seen over the past 8 years. He had to look away and clear his throat, no matter how tired he was, now that he knew what was there he couldn't help himself when it came to Sam, and company was coming.

"Mama pretty," Alice voiced, what he was thinking.

Sam looked up startled and blushed, Jack chuckled at her bemused look. "I reckon so too," he bounced the toddler. The doorbell sounded and Alice pointed towards the front door. "Should we get it you reckon?" he bounced Alice and she laughed heartily. "Ok, lets go say hi to your honorary uncles."

The indignant squeak stopped Daniel from pushing further into the bathroom. He pulled the door back too and turned away. "Sorry Ellie," Daniel apologised to the occupant. "I didn't realise you were in there."

"I nearly done," the little girl called through the door. Sure enough within moments there was the sound of the toilet flushing followed by the sound of running water which lasted just long enough for the child to dip her hands under the flow.

Daniel made a mental note to make sure Sam caught the girl with one of her omnipotent baby wipes before Ellie ate anything. He smiled at the little girl as she sidled out through the bathroom door. "I'm sorry, the door was open."

"Yeah," Ellie sighed sadly. "I can't do the handle," she scowled at the silver globe style handle before looking up with a beaming smile. "You havin fun?"

"So far," Daniel nodded, over her shoulder he caught sight of a pile of papers by a doorway unusual for the normally organised Sam.

"But we haven't eated yet," Ellie glanced sideways. "I think Daddy's gonna burn the steaks."

"Goes without saying," Daniel answered distracted as he took a closer interest in the papers on the floor, his eyes training in on what was clearly a childlike representation of a stargate address. "Ellie? Are those your drawings?"

The little girl pivoted on her heel, the soles of her trainers flashing. "Nope, Alice, she used my pencils," she looked back over her shoulder up at Daniel. "She supposed to use her crayons, but she likes my pencils."

"Don't like having to share huh?" Daniel ruffled her hair; Ellie nodded. "Can I look at them?"

"Uh huh," Ellie crouched down and collected the mostly scribbled drawings, putting them into a roughly neat stack and holding them out to Daniel. "Why?"

"Just something interesting I want to look at." He looked down and caught the look that Ellie was giving him. Sometimes it unnerved him to see Sam's intelligence looking out at him through Jack's eyes. "Why don't you go back outside, I'll be out in a few," he inclined his head backwards towards the bathroom so that he could get some privacy, firstly for the reason he had approached the bathroom in the first place and secondly so he could study the drawings that had been drawn by a toddler who should have no knowledge of what she had produced.