Jackson Junior: Past and Present, by DrGemini86 (DrGemini24)
Summary: Sequel to Jackson Junior: Separated, and loosely based on the movie, Stardust, Sam and Daniel are led on another adventure, but this time a lot closer to home than they could have imagined.
Pairings: SamDaniel, CamVala, JackSara, Teal'cIsh'ta, JonasCarolyn, ShWeir, McCarson
Crossover: Doctor Who (Ten), Charmed
Rating: T
Spoilers: Everything
Series: 10 of ? Preceded by Jackson Junior: Separated
Warnings: Oh… if you've read the previous stories… the usual…and a bit more
A/N: I only got the idea for it after re-watching the video for Take That's Rule the World and mulling over the bits of the movie in it… and I read the rather extensive synopsis on Wikipedia. lol.
Oh… and the first line of John Denver's Ponies inspired a part of this story (not this chapter though). It's just an image I got in my head about the 'greatest cowboy that's ever been…' Hee, hee.
Double oh… I wrote this chapter before I came across MaureenT's story about Daniel's paternity being in doubt. Any similarity between that and this is purely coincidental. It was actually quite spooky when I got the email alert the night I wrote this – transatlantic telepathy, anyone?
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-- March, 1965 – New England coast --
A young man with longish chestnut brown hair and glasses, his shirt sleeves rolled up, heaved himself up onto a pile of heavy boulders, his hand strongly grabbing the promontory at the top. With one last burst of strength, he pulled himself up onto the rocky outcrop overlooking a shingled beach that was beautiful and idyllic in the light of day, but not so now, in the all-encompassing darkness without the light of the moon.
Breathing heavily from the exertion, he leaned against a cave mouth, waiting, until he heard a woman's voice, saying softly from the darkness within, "I'm here."
Pulling a flashlight from his pocket, he carefully stepped in and then switched it on, illuminating the interior of the narrow cave. In front of him was a heavily pregnant woman with shoulder length blonde hair, who said, looking worried,
"Mel, we've got to stop meeting like this."
Gaping at her pregnant form, he asked, scared as he tentatively smoothed her bump, "Grace…?"
She kissed the hand that caressed her face, saying softly, "It's Jake's… I know it is. I haven't been with you since last summer…"
She closed her eyes as he set the flashlight down and hugged her, saying, "I've missed you so much, but this has got to stop… Jake's going to kill you. Luckily, he doesn't suspect a thing."
He kissed her tenderly and said, fire in his eyes, "I wouldn't just take it if he went after me."
She smiled slightly as she caressed his face, whispering, "I know you wouldn't… you're fit, but he's a serving Air Force officer."
He sat down against the cave wall, holding her in between his legs as he played with her hair. He said,
"I've missed you too. You're right though – we can't keep doing this, but it's going to be so hard to let go. I can't stop thinking about you."
She leaned back in his embrace, whispering, "Me too. I just wish we'd met before either of us had got married. Adultery just seems so sordid. How's your wife?"
He smiled sadly, full of guilt and pain as well as happiness, and replied softly, "We're going to be parents too. Claire's five months gone…"
She curled up in his lap, leaning her head against his chest as he kissed her hair, holding her tightly. She said, tears running down her cheeks,
"We've got to stop this now… this can't happen again. One day Jake and Claire are going to find us about us. I don't want to ruin things for you."
"I don't want to ruin things for you either, but it…"
"No, Mel. One day we'll slip up and I'll be carrying your child. There's nothing in the world that I'd love more, but we can't. It's… it's wrong. It feels wrong. What kind of an example would we be setting for our children? Mark's going to grow up to hate me."
He sighed, resting his head against the back of the cave wall as he said softly, caressing her bump, "I'm never going to see you again, am I? I don't think I'll be able to live without you. I need you."
They kissed, both of them sad, and she said, "You and I both know that we won't leave them. I love Jake, as crazy as he drives me sometimes, and you love Claire… but…"
He continued kissing her, murmuring, "I love you as well."
"I love you too."
"It's so hard to let go, but I need to get back to Claire… and you need to go back to your holiday cottage before Jake comes out to look for you."
They held onto each other, tears in their eyes, and she said, sniffling against his shoulder, "Make love to me, Mel."
He caressed her cheek and kissed her tenderly, asking, "Are you sure?"
"I know you'll be careful… but what about Claire?"
"I told her I was going out for a walk… I'm more worried about you."
"Jake won't wake up now, and if he does, it'll take him a while to find me."
They kissed and began to take each other's clothes off. When he had taken all of hers off, he gazed at her considerably large bump in amazement, saying quietly as he kissed it,
"It's beautiful… to think that there's a little person growing inside of you like that."
She smiled up at him and then laughed softly when he looked startled on being kicked in the head by her unborn child. He, smiling too, kissed her lips and gently began to make love to her, whispering,
"You're so beautiful, Grace."
She gazed up at him as he kneeled at her side, whispering in return as she smoothed his stomach, "You're a beautiful man, Melburn. Your baby's going to be just like you. There aren't enough people like you in the world."
Deciding not to go too far for fear of the welfare of the unborn child, he held her in his arms as she smiled slightly against his chest. She whispered,
"I love the feeling I get after being with you."
They kissed, long and deep, and he whispered back, resting his forehead against hers, "Same here. I don't know how I'm going to live the rest of my life without ever seeing you again."
She kissed his chest, replying sadly, "We're going to have to. It's too risky and too many people are going to get hurt. We've got our children to think of as well…"
Her voice broke with emotion as she continued, holding onto him, "… it's for the best. In two months, I'm going to be a mother again."
He caressed her waist tenderly and kissed her shoulder, tears in his eyes before he said gently as the wind picked up in intensity outside, "Come on, I've got to get you back."
Scared, she asked looking up at him, "Mel?"
He held her face in his hand, stroking her cheek with his thumb as he replied, "There is no way that I'm letting you go back by yourself. Anything could happen."
"Including you being caught."
"That's a risk I'm willing to take. You're heavily pregnant… it's the least I can do."
She remarked, smiling emotionally, "Oh, Melburn, don't ever change… you're so damn stubborn… and caring."
He helped her back into his clothes, putting his own on, and when he had slipped his glasses back on, he said, reaching into his pocket, "I figured this would be our last meeting, so I got you something."
Dismayed, she said, shaking her head, "It's too risky."
"It's ok – it'll be our little secret. You could always say you found it."
He pulled out a slowly yet brightly flashing deep red stone from his pocket and, as she gazed at it, mesmerised, she said as he looked at it, agape, "Oh Mel, it's beautiful. How does it flash like that?"
He said, surprised as he looked from the stone, to her, and to her bump, "It's not supposed to… oh."
"Where did you get it?"
"I found it in Egypt last summer… it was so strange. It was a small chamber beneath Deir-el-Medina, and this was in the centre. The hieroglyphs that I saw told a story of a baby destined to be born who would grow up to be a saviour of the universe with her husband, and they would have two very special children. Unfortunately, the chamber was gutted shortly afterwards because of an accident with the Jeep of one of the French Archaeologists leaking gas. All that was left was… this."
She gazed at the stone in amazement and said, "That's a nice story… but why is it flashing?"
He gazed back at her and replied in a low voice, "I think it's your baby."
She asked, worried and spooked, "Won't Claire know the stone's missing?"
"She thinks I lost it on the way back. I don't know why but I thought of you when I saw it and knew I had to give it to you. I remembered how you like rubies, and even though this might not be a ruby…"
She kissed him and replied with a small smile, "I'd treasure anything from you in the same way."
He placed the stone in her hand and then they gaped in surprise when it glowed even more, rose a few feet and then dissolved into her abdomen. She looked at him, panic-stricken, asking,
"Mel? What about my baby? What did it do?"
Worried, he replied, "I don't know. I swear, I thought it was just a stone."
A yellow glow of some unknown energy burst from her abdomen as they both looked fearful, and they stared as the energy hit the opposite cave wall. He held her, scared for the baby's welfare, attempting to keep her calm as the energy spread across the wall and then formed an image of an unborn baby in the womb. They stared at the image and at each other in shock, and then the image changed.
A woman, looking similar to Grace, appeared, dressed in what appeared to be a wedding gown, long blonde hair cascading down her shoulders. Holding the hands of the woman was a brown haired man who resembled Mel as well as his wife, the man dressed in a tuxedo. What appeared to be the couple's friends and two children were gathered in the foreground of the image, five men, two in Air Force dress uniforms stood next to the man; five bridesmaids next to the woman. In the background, the man officiating the ceremony, closed his book with a small smile and the couple gazed at each other with a smile and kissed tenderly as the guests cheered.
The image disappeared, leaving Mel and Grace breathing heavily in fear and shock, and the yellow energy gathered from the wall and returned to her bump. He held her firmly, whispering,
"It's ok… just breathe. I don't think it was meant to hurt you. Take a deep breath, Grace."
She took a deep breath to calm herself and asked, fearful, "Mel? What was that? That woman… and that man… they looked like us. Oh my God… it can't be…"
Spooked too, he replied as he rested his chin on her shoulder, "I think so. They're our children. Our children get married… you're carrying a little girl. I think she's going to… oh my. We're the parents of the kids in the prophecy."
After a long pause, she said, "Don't be ridiculous…"
"Hey, you saw what happened. I think we got a glimpse of the future. I knew there had to be more to that instinct I had about giving this to you."
She asked, looking up at him, "What are we going to do?"
"We're just going to act as normal as possible. It's 1965… if we told anyone, they'd only assume that we were taking drugs. Come on, let's go."
He helped her up and she said, still looking spooked, "Jake's going to be disappointed. He was hoping for a boy. He's already got the name picked out – Samuel."
"Oh, that bible-thumper."
"He isn't really… it's just tradition in his family. His brother's called Isaac and his sister's called Ruth, and my wonderful mother-in-law is called Naomi."
They hugged, and he said softly, "We'll just have to forget what we saw. It's for the best. Who knows what will happen if we change that future unwittingly?"
She smiled shakily as she kissed him, saying, "You're going to have a son… a very handsome son…"
"… and your daughter is going to look just like you – breathtakingly beautiful. My son's going to have good taste."
They kissed and she asked, "How can we be apart? It looks as though the future's going to bring us together again."
He sighed, whispering, "Maybe one day things are going to work out for us… although, I think I'm glad that we're not married now. Our kids would have been siblings, and that wedding would be gross."
She held onto him, crying softly as he caressed her back, and he continued, kissing her neck, "Grace… I'll always be with you. Always."
They gazed at each other and he said softly, "Come on, let's get you home before Jake finds us and throws me off those boulders out there."
He put an arm around her as they left the cave, the Archaeologist using his flashlight to light their way as they neared the treacherous rocks. He remarked, frowning in concern as he looked down the rocks,
"Remind me again how you got up here."
She chuckled, replying, "I was careful."
"I've said it once and I'll say it again, Grace Montgomery-Carter – you are insane."
"And you're overly-cautious."
"Can you blame me?! You're not only pregnant but your baby's turned."
He sighed, lowering his head in defeat, and he said with a pout, "At least it isn't raining."
Sighing again, he was about to lead her down when it began to rain, and she remarked with an impish grin, "You were saying…? Your pout should be part of a rain dance."
"You're not helping."
He was about to lead her back into the cave again when she took a step and slipped, stumbling forwards as she called his name, panicking. Calling her name, he grabbed her, pulling her back from the edge as she held onto him, both of them panting. He led her back into the cave as she began to cry, and he said, tears in his eyes as he ran his fingers through her long hair,
"Oh God, Grace, I can't lose you."
He dried her eyes as she said in a small voice, "I nearly lost the baby. If I'd fallen… oh God."
She held onto him and he kissed her softly before saying, "We can't stay here. Jake's definitely going to come to look for you, and Claire's going to be worried about where I've got to. We're… I'll carry you."
"Mel?"
"No arguing. I'll carry you."
"But…"
"I don't want to take the risk but you have to get home... if not for your sake, then for the baby at least. Please."
She gazed at him, sadness in her eyes, and he, sad too, picked her up in his arms, and asked as she looked up at him, "We're going to be fine, ok? I'll take it slowly."
She nodded, scared, and he exhaled, walking purposefully back to the top of the pile again, both of them getting wetter because of the rain. She guided him to the easier part of the rocks that she had climbed earlier, and he carefully scaled them as she used the flashlight to light his way. He finally reached the bottom, breathing a sigh of relief, releasing the breath that he hadn't realised that he had held, and he kissed her as she switched the light off, slipping her arms around his neck.
In the distance, they heard a man call, "Grace! Grace! Where are you?"
Melburn muttered a swearword in another language and he said, standing her up carefully, "I've got to go. He can't see me."
Tears in her eyes, she kissed him, whispering, "I'm going to miss you."
He touched her cheek, replying softly, kissing her again, "Me too. I love you. I'll always love you."
"I love you too."
As the voice nearer, he ducked behind some rocks, making sure that he was lying flat so that he couldn't be spotted, and he peeked up at Grace, who looked at him in worry. He hissed,
"Act natural. You just went out for a walk."
She nodded and then sat down on a nearby rock to take the weight off her feet. He held her hand until the beam of a flashlight landed on Grace from the other side, and a strong looking man with light-to-medium brown hair said, dripping wet in only his t-shirt and a pair of shorts, military dog-tags visible,
"Grace! What the hell were you thinking of?!"
He put a blanket around her as she replied quietly, "I just went for a walk, Jake."
Jacob said, worried as he stood her up, "You are one crazy woman, Grace. Anything could have happened. Are you ok?"
She nodded and he continued, his arm around her as they walked back the way he had come, "Come on, let's get you back to the cottage. We've got to drive to New York tomorrow. Honestly woman, you could have woken me up."
"Sorry Jake."
She glanced back just as Mel peeked up from behind the rocks, their gazes meeting for a brief moment, and then he crept away silently, running back to his beach-house, feeling sad as well as guilty.
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Mel arrived home to find a woman sitting on the porch, her hair dark blonde, her abdomen swollen. He said, forcing a smile onto his face which soon became genuine,
"Claire! What are you doing up?"
Claire replied, looking worried as she smoothed her bump, "I was worried about you. You said you were going for a walk well over an hour ago…"
She trailed off on seeing the state of his clothes, and she asked, amused, "Did you trip over a rock again? Oh Mel."
He said, feeling too guilty to touch or kiss her as he made to walk in, "I'll… uh, I'll go get cleaned up."
She was about to follow him in, but he tenderly draped a blanket over her, saying softly, "No Claire, you rest."
He smoothed her cheek and then went in to shower and change his clothes, all the while thinking of Grace and what they had both experienced. He sighed in the shower, groaning as the hot water hit his skin, and he closed his eyes, thinking of the image of what appeared to be the future.
'We must not have been in shot.'