Stargate Deadly Encounter Part 5

by DanielJackson56

Here are the next 5 Chapters of our story. Lothar again encounters Ba'al. Jack discovers Lothar's real identity.

CHAPTER 26

Jack, Lothar, and the children return from their shopping trip. Later, Jack gets out the pool they bought, and the children play in the pool.

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After about an hour, they finally made it home. Jack pulled the car in the driveway. He put on the breaks, then put the car in park, and turned off the ignition. He and Lothar got out, then while Lothar took Serena out of the car, he helped the boys out of the car. They were still a little tired, so he managed to pick them up in his arms, and carried them to the house. Lothar followed him with Serena in her arms. He briefly set the boys down, then unlocked the door. He opened the door, then he and Lothar carried the children into the house. Lothar took Serena to her room, and Jack took the boys to their room. He helped them get their shoes off, then put them to bed. At first he thought they would wake up, but it was obvious that they were pretty tired from all the shopping they did. The minute he put them on their beds, they immediately fell asleep. He had a feeling Serena did too. He sighed, and walked out of their room. He closed their door, then walked back to the car to gather up all their things they had bought.

Lothar took Serena to her room. When she put her into her bed, the girl woke up a little. "Mommy..." She sounded sleepy.

"Yes, honey, I'm here," Lothar said quietly, while she took Serena's dress and shoes off.

Serena mumbled something, but Lothar couldn't understand it and thought that the girl was dreaming. Almost on her toes, trying not to make any noise she wanted to leave the room. But then Serena started crying. Lothar sighed, so much for some rest.

"Mommy...," she cried. "Mommy, not go away..."

Then Lothar realized that Serena had a bad dream, and that was about the death of her mother. It almost broke her heart. She went back to Serena's bed and lifted the little girl in her arms. "Shhhhh mommy is here...," she whispered and took Serena with her to the main bedroom. "You can sleep here, with mommy..." She laid the girl down on her side of the bed, took off her own shoes and laid down against her.

In her sleep Serena noticed that Lothar was next to her and calmed down. Lothar took the girl in her arms and held her tenderly. She closed her eyes. The only sound she heard was her daughter's quiet breathing and soon she fell asleep too.

Jack had just finished bringing in all the things they had bought in the mall. He put the cheese and steaks in the fridge, so they wouldn't spoil. They would be using those tonight for the cookout. He took Lothar's dress, and hung it in the coat closet for safe keeping. The rest of the things they had bought, he left them in their bags. He decided to put them up later. He knew the boys were asleep, so he thought he would check on Serena. He hoped that Lothar didn't have any problem getting her to sleep. He walked to Serena's room and looked in her room. He noticed that she wasn't in her bed. He thought for a moment, then went to the main bedroom. He noticed the door was barely open, and quietly opened it and peeked in.

He smiled as he saw Serena sleeping with Lothar. It seemed to warm his heart knowing that Serena had bonded so well with Lothar. They were almost inseparable. Even when they were in the mall, Serena stayed close to Lothar. He liked the idea that his daughter thought of Lothar as her mother. That made him happy. He noticed there was still some space on the bed for him, so he crept into the room and quietly shut the door just half way. He walked over to his side of the bed, and sat down on the side, and took off his shoes. He stretched out on the bed, and yawned. It had been a long day, and everyone was tired. He glanced at his watch. They had gotten home around four, and he had a few hours for a good nap until he had to start getting his grill ready for the steaks. He found a comfortable position, then sighed, and closed his eyes. Soon he fell into a deep sleep.

They had been asleep for about an hour and a half, when Jack suddenly heard the phone ring. He never was a heavy sleeper. There were some nights when he had trouble sleeping. But he managed to get a few winks in later on when he came home from work. He woke up then reached over and answered the phone before it could ring a third time. "Hello?" he answered.

"Jack? This is Daniel. Are you ok?" he asked with concern as he noticed the sound of Jack's voice. "Did I wake you up?" he asked. He could always tell when his older friend had been sleeping. He had that raspy tone to his voice.

Jack managed to get the cobwebs out of his head and answered. "Daniel, hey. Yeah sort of," he replied. He was too tired to argue with his young friend.

Daniel sighed. "I'm sorry. I hate to bother you, but is this cook out a family event? I just wanted to know if I could bring Lucinda and the children," he asked.

Jack sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, then answered. "Yeah sure. You can bring them. No problem. We're just having a get together so feel free to bring the whole family," he assured.

Daniel sighed with relief. "Thanks. That's great. Lucinda will be happy to hear that. What time do you want us to come over?" he asked.

Jack thought for a moment. "I thought maybe seven would be ok," he replied.

"Sounds good. Sorry to bother you. I just wanted to get some confirmation on the time and details," Daniel stated.

Jack sighed. "No problem. We'll be glad to have you guys over," he said.

"Thanks. Talk to you later," replied Daniel. They finally finished their call, then said goodbye and hung up.

Jack looked at the digital clock on the table. It was a little past five. He rubbed his hand over his face, and noticed he needed another shave. Not to mention, he thought he would take another shower just to help him wake up. He still felt a bit groggy, and decided a good shower would do the trick. He glanced over and noticed that Lothar and Serena were still asleep. He smiled, then got up, and went to his dresser to get him some clean clothes.

A little later after Jack got up, Lothar woke up slowly. She opened her eyes and saw Serena still sleeping. Carefully she freed her arms from the little girl. She heard someone stirring around and decided that it must be Jack. She had some weird dream, but couldn't remember anymore what it was. She turned on her other side and saw at the pillow, that Jack must have been sleeping too. She looked at the clock on his nightstand and saw that it was almost five-thirty. She shoved over to Jack's side, trying not to wake up Serena. But this time the girl kept on sleeping.

She got up from the bed and decided to go to the kitchen for coffee, before she would take a shower and change her clothes.

Jack finally found all his clothes. He looked around and noticed that Lothar was up, but Serena was still asleep. He smiled, then went to his bathroom, to take his shower. He put his clean clothes on the counter, and then got out a towel, and wash cloth. He shut the door, then turned on the shower. He took off his clothes and put them in the hamper, then stepped into the shower. He closed the shower door, then quickly showered and washed his hair. A few minutes later, he finished his shower. He turned off the shower, and got out. He dried off, then put the towel around his waist. He took out his shave cream and razor, then filled up his sink. He put on some shave cream, and started shaving. He noticed some steam on his mirror, and wiped it off with a hand towel so he could see.

After a few minutes later, he finally finished shaving. That shower really helped. He was more awake now. He cleaned off his face, then cleaned off his razor. He dried his face, then put on his clean clothes. He put on his sport shirt, and jeans, and then put on his white cotton socks and boat shoes. He found his comb and quickly combed his hair. Once he was dressed, he brushed his teeth. When he was finished, he dried his face, then walked out of the bathroom. He decided to go to the kitchen to see what else they had to fix for the cook out. As he walked into the kitchen, the aroma of coffee filled the air. Jack quietly sighed. "Ahh. That smells good. I think I'll have some too," he said and smiled. He noticed Lothar drinking some coffee, and smiled. "Did you have a good nap?" he asked.

She looked up from her coffee cup. "Yeah," she answered. "I feel a lot better now. Serena is still asleep," she said. "Did you check on the boys?"

He still thought she looked pretty even after just getting up from a nap. He slightly blinked. "No. I forgot. I just came to see if there was anything else, we could fix for the cook out," he stated.

She emptied her cup and stood up from the chair. "I'll go check on the boys, I will wake up Serena later. I made you some coffee too, so if you like some."

Jack nodded. "Ok. Thanks. I really appreciate that," he replied. He happened to remember Daniel calling. "Oh, by the way, Daniel called and wanted to know if he could bring Lucinda and the children. I told him it was ok," he replied.

"Nice," Lothar said. She hadn't seen Lucinda for years. She wondered how she would be. She smiled when she remembered what a disaster she sometimes could be, but also how sweet she was.

She realized that she had really missed her friend and she was happy with this chance to see her again. Just let nobody notice that I know Lucinda, she thought to herself.

Jack poured himself a cup of coffee, and put in a teaspoon of sugar. He stirred his coffee, then took a drink. He quietly sighed, as he felt the caffeine kick in. "Ahh. Much better!" he remarked. He looked at Lothar and smiled. "Did I ever tell you that you make a great cup of coffee?" he stated and smiled.

Yeah, you did, she thought, but that was in another time. She laughed and shook her head. "No, this is the first time," she said. She walked up to him and kissed his cheek. "But thanks anyway, because it's the first time I made coffee for you. If you would say you don't like it, it would have been the last time as well."

She walked away from him laughing. By the door she turned around and blew a little kiss towards him. "I'll go check on those bandits and wake them up. If you want, you can start preparing the cook out."

Jack nodded and smiled. "From now on, I'm making you the designated coffee maker in this family," he said. "And you're welcome," he added.

She looked at him once more and then she left the kitchen and went to the boys rooms. When she peeked around Evan's door, she saw he was already awake and playing with his Star Wars action figure. "Hey young man, did you sleep well?" she asked when she came in. Suddenly shy he nodded. "Where's daddy?" he asked.

"Daddy is in the kitchen, you'll have to deal with me this time," she said and walked to his closet. Then she thought about the swim trunks they bought. It was still warm. Maybe the kids could play in the new pool they bought. She could ask Jack to fill the pool for the kids.

Jack happened to find a sack of potatoes in the pantry. He decided it would be enough for the cook out. He got them out, then started cleaning them and peeling them. He thought he would make some potato salad. He happened to remember that Lucinda was allergic to eggs, so he would have to make this salad eggless. But that was no problem. The eggs were just for taste anyway.

He finally finished cleaning and peeling them, then got out a big pot, and filled it with water. He cut up the potatoes in small pieces so they would get soft faster, then put them in the water to boil. He put in a small amount of salt, then turned on the heat on the burner. He put a top on the pot, then left them to boil. He didn't want them to get too soft, so he set the timer for around fifteen to twenty minutes.

While he had the potatoes going, he got out some celery, onions, mayonnaise, and sweet pickles. He also got out some dried parsley, and dill for seasoning. He got out a large salad bowl, and set it aside. Next he cleaned the celery then got out his cutting board, and started chopping the celery up into small pieces and put it in the salad bowl. After he had finished chopping his celery, he took his onion, and started cleaning and peeling it. When he was finished, he put it on his cutting board, and started chopping it into small cubes. As he chopped the onion, the fumes from the onion made his eyes water a bit. He had forgotten how strong onions could be.

While Jack was chopping his onion, Jona finally woke up. He saw Evan playing with his Chewbacca figure and wondered where his Luke Skywalker figure was. He looked around the room and finally found the bag it was in. He took out the figure and smiled. It was still in the box, but he wasn't sure how to open it. He saw Lothar in the room but he wasn't sure if she knew how to open his package. His dad always opened all their packages for them, and since Lothar was a girl, he decided that she wasn't familiar with these action figures. He walked out of his room with his action figure and went to find his dad. "Dad! Dad!" he called out.

Jack had just finished chopping his onions, and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. He heard Jona calling out. "I'm in the kitchen Jona," he replied.

Jona trotted into the kitchen and noticed his dad wiping his eyes and nose. "What's wong dad? Why you cwying?" he asked looking worried.

Jack chuckled. "I'm chopping onions. They make my eyes water," he explained.

Jona looked curious. "Why?" he asked.

Jack shrugged. "They just do. Onions are like that," he explained. He didn't have time to go into much detail.

Jona nodded. He held up his package to his dad. "Open dis for me pweese. It won't come out," he said with a frown.

Jack took out his handkerchief, and wiped his eyes and nose, then took the package and opened it to get the figure out. He noticed that there were some small parts to the figure and looked at Jona. "Be careful and don't put any of these in your mouth. You might get choked. We can't take a chance on you going to the hospital. And besides, we're having company tonight, and you'd miss all the fun," he said and smiled. He happened to think of Lothar. "Why didn't you ask Lothar to open this for you. She would have opened it for you"" he stated.

Jona shook his head. "She's a girl. She don't know how and you do," he replied.

Jack managed to keep from laughing, then nodded. "Well, I'm sure if she had studied the box, she could have opened it for you," he assured.

Jona shook his head again. "Uh uh. Her don't pway wif action figures. Dats guy stuff," he replied.

Jack snickered. "I guess you're right. Not too many girls play with action figures," he agreed. He got out all the parts and the figure and then handed them to Jona.

Jona took the figure and all the parts. He happened to remember hearing his dad say that they were having company. "Who's comin' to see us?" he asked curious.

Jack smiled. "We're having a cook out, and Uncle Rick, your cousin Wylie, Daniel, Lucinda and their kids, and Sam, and Teal'c and a few other people are coming over," he explained.

Jona nodded. He happened to remember that his dad had bought them a pool. "Can me, Evan, and Seweena pway in the pool?" he asked a bit hopeful.

Jack nodded. "Sure. Right now I have to get this salad ready. But after I finish, I'll blow up the pool and put some water in it. Then you can play in it for awhile," he assured.

Jona nodded and smiled. "Oh boy!" he said excited.

Jack knelt down in front of Jona and looked at him and smiled. "I sure was proud of you boys today. You were really good, and you didn't argue one time," he said and smiled. He held out his arms. "How about a hug," he said.

Jona put his arms around Jack's neck and gave him a big hug.

Jack gave Jona a hug and kissed his cheek. "I love you guys. And don't you forget it," he said with affection.

Jona kissed Jack's cheek and smiled. "I wuv you too dad," he replied. Jack smiled at Jona. "Why don't you go play with your action figure for awhile, and when I finish with this salad, I'll go work on the pool, ok?" he promised.

Jona nodded. "Ok," he said. He took his figure and all the parts, then trotted off into the living room. As much as he liked his figure, he was really looking forward to playing in their new pool.

Jack sighed, then stood up, and finished working on his salad. He managed to get the rest of his onion chopped up and put that in the bowl with the celery. He chopped up some sweet pickles and put that in the bowl too. A few minutes later, he heard the timer go off. It was time for the potatoes to stop cooking. He turned off the heat, then took the pot off the burner. He got out a large strainer, and set it in the sink, then with some hot pad holders, he carefully picked up the pot and poured the potatoes into the strainer.

Luckily they weren't too soft. He sat the pot down on the counter, then made sure the potatoes were cooled off before putting them into the bowl. After a few minutes, when the potatoes had cooled, he put them into the bowl. He took a large spoon, and mixed up the potatoes with the onions, celery, and sweet pickles. He took out his dried parsley, and dried dill, and sprinkled in some for taste. He also added some celery salt, garlic salt, and mustard then put in some mayonnaise and mixed it up. He even added some ground pepper for added taste. He took his spoon and mixed up the wet and dry ingredients.

When he was finished, he tasted the mixture, and nodded. It seemed to have a good flavor. He found some plastic wrap and covered the bowl, then put it in the fridge to chill for later. He walked into the living room and noticed Jona was sitting on the couch still playing with his figure. He looked at him and smiled. "Ok Jona, I'm all finished with the salad. Let's see if we can get that pool set up," he stated.

Jona practically leaped off the couch, and cheered. "Yaaaa!"

Jack found the pool still in the bag. He took it out of the bag, and started reading the directions. "Well, it looks like this will need time to blow up. Guess we'd better get started," he informed. He took the box, then looked at Jona. "Good thing I bought that air compressor, eh?" he said and smiled.

Jona nodded. He and Evan had watched their dad use that a few times when he would air up some of their toys that needed inflating.

Jack opened the sliding glass door, and gestured for Jona to follow. "Let's get that pool to the garage," he stated. Jona nodded, then he and his father went to the garage to air up the pool.

Meanwhile Lothar was still with Evan. "Hey, what about putting on your new swim trunks?" she offered. "I think daddy is going to blow up the new pool."

"YEAH!" Evan cheered.

Lothar smiled and helped him in his swim trunks. Then she reached out her hand to him. "Wanna come with me? We'll go wake up Serena first, she's still sleeping."

Evan nodded. Still a bit shy he laid his hand in Lothar's and looked up at her. She saw his shy look and went down on her knees. "Hey kid, you don't have to be that shy," she said quietly. "This morning you weren't too shy remember? And I'm still the same as this morning." Evan looked a bit hesitating, but then he suddenly wrapped his arms around Lothar's neck and hugged her. Carefully she hugged back and kissed the boy's cheek. When she broke the hug and looked at her son, she saw that the ice was definitely broken. She smiled at him and stood up again. "Come, let's go to your sister."

Again she took his hand and together they went to the main bedroom. "Wow, did Seweena sleep with you?" he said quiet, afraid to wake her up.

"Yes, she had a bad dream I think," Lothar answered while she sat down on the bed. Carefully the touched the girl's shoulder. "Honey wake up," she said quietly.

Serena slowly opened her eyes.

"Wake up Seweena, we gonna pway in the pool," Evan told his sister.

Lothar helped her daughter getting up from the big bed. Serena rubbed her eyes to wake up completely. Lothar held her in her arms for awhile. Serena had her thumb in her mouth again. "How about putting on your new bikini?" Lothar asked her. Serena just nodded. Lothar stood up and lifted the little girl up.

"Evan, I think Jona and your daddy are outside. Can you tell them, that I'm gonna dress up Serena?" Lothar asked her son.

Evan nodded and trotted with his action figure out of the bedroom, to go search for Jona and his father.

Lothar took Serena to the bathroom to fresh up the girl. Then they went to Serena's room and she helped her to get her new bikini on. About ten minutes later Serena trotted outside together with her doll.

After about an hour, Jack finally had the pool completely inflated. He punched in the button to make sure the air didn't leak out. He looked at Jona. "Well son, looks like we finally got this thing aired up. Now we have to get it to the yard," he stated.

Jona nodded. "I help you daddy. Dis will be fun!" he said excited. Jack nodded and smiled. He just hoped that nothing went wrong. He didn't want to see the boys and Serena disappointed. He picked one end, and Jona picked up the other end, then together they carried the pool to the back yard. As they walked to the back yard, they saw Serena, and Evan coming toward them already in their swim suits. Jack looked at them and smiled. "Say, you two look really nice in your swimsuits. Especially you, Serena. You look really cute," he said. He couldn't get over how cute she looked in her new swimsuit.

The two children jumped up and down. "OH boy! We going swimming!" they cheered.

Jack chuckled. "Well, not until I hook up the hose," he stated. He and Jona found a good spot in the yard, and set the pool down.

Evan and Serena immediately got into the pool and jumped around. "Huwey up daddy!" said Evan.

Jack chuckled. "Ok. Hang on," he replied. He finally found the hose, then hooked the hose up to the pool. He turned on the faucet, then watched as the water started pouring into the pool.

Evan and Serena squealed as some of the water from the whale sprayed them all over.

Jona looked at Jack. "I want to put on my swim twunks too, dad," he said excited.

Jack nodded. "Ok. I'll go help you," he said. He looked at Evan and Serena. "You kids stay in the pool. I'm going to go help Jona get his trunks on," he said. They briefly nodded then Jack and Jona went to the house to get Jona's trunks on. He knew it would be awhile before the pool was completely filled, so he didn't have to worry about any accidents.

When Jack and Jona came in, Lothar just got out of the bathroom. She had taken a shower too and with a big towel around her body she was heading for the bedroom, where her new dress waited for her. She blushed when she saw Jack looking at her. "Oops, sorry guys, I wasn't expecting anyone inside," she apologized.

Jack felt himself blush too. More because Jona was with him. He thought she looked really sexy in her towel. He slightly blinked. "Oh sorry. I didn't know you were in the bathroom," he said a bit modest.

Jona giggled. "Lothar don't got no clothes on," he chuckled.

Jack shoved Jona into his room. "Never mind about that. Let's get your swim suit," he said trying to change the subject.

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End of chapter 26

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CHAPTER 27

In this chapter, right before Jack and Lothar have their cook out, they are suddenly interrupted by a message received from the SGC that Cliff, aka, Ba'al, has escaped. Lothar later encounters Ba'al in the woods.

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Quickly Lothar sneaked into the bedroom. She put on the new underwear, that belonged to the new dress. When she was finished, she put on her new red shoes and then sat down before the mirror. She brushed her hair and put on a little make-up. She just had finished her make-up when the doorbell rang and the guests started to arrive. Suddenly she felt as if she had stage fright. She knew she looked good in her dress and no one would recognize her as Jack's former wife. Not even Jack had a clue. But still she had a bad feeling. She needed to get out. She needed space... and time to think.

Jack had just finished getting Jona's trunks on when he heard the doorbell ring. He looked at Jona. "Ok Jona. You can play in the pool. I need to see who's at the door," he stated.

Jona nodded, and smiled, then practically ran out of the house.

"Hey, no running! And be careful!" Jack cautioned as he followed Jona out of his room.

"Ok dad!" replied Jona as he slowed down to a trot and ran to join his brother and sister in the pool.

Jack sighed, then went to the door. He heard the doorbell ring again. "Coming!" he yelled. He finally made it to the door. He opened the door and smiled as he saw Rick and Wylie on the porch. "Hey! Glad you made it. You're the first ones," he greeted. He stepped aside and motioned for them to come in. He looked at Wylie dressed in her flowered blouse, blue jean shorts, and sandals. He noticed how tall she was and how pretty she was too. "My goodness! You're getting to be quite a lovely young lady!" he complimented.

Wylie slightly blushed and smiled. "Hi Uncle Jack. Thanks!" she replied modest. They gave each other a hug, then parted from their hug.

"It sure is good to see you. I'm glad you could come with your dad," Jack said and smiled.

Wylie nodded. "Thanks," she replied. She looked around and didn't see the children. "Where are Serena, Evan, and Jona?" she asked.

Jack pointed to the yard. "They're outside playing in their new pool. Sorry. I guess I should have told you to bring your swim suit. But they were so excited about it, that I went ahead and set it up," he said a bit embarrassed.

Wylie nodded. "It's ok. I don't mind," she replied.

She looked at Rick. "I'm going to go see them, dad," she stated.

Rick nodded. "Ok. But don't get wet," he cautioned and smiled.

Wylie nodded. "Ok," she replied. She turned then left to see her cousins.

Jack and Rick walked into the living room. Rick looked around and didn't see Lothar. "Where's Lothar?" he asked when he didn't see her.

Jack shrugged. "I think she's getting dressed. She just finished her shower," he said.

Rick nodded. "Ok," he replied. He happened to think of them getting married and smiled. "I still can't believe that you're getting married, Jack. That was quite a surprise. But I'm really happy for you and Lothar. I hope you have a happy marriage," he said sincere.

He and Jack gave each other a hug, then Jack looked at his older cousin. "Thanks Rick. That means a lot. Lothar is a lovely woman. And I don't mean on the outside. I know I've finally found the right woman. We really love each other and what's even more important, she loves the children too," he stated.

Rick nodded. "That's great Jack. I'm really glad," he said in earnest. It was obvious that his younger cousin was just crazy about Lothar. He just hoped that nothing went wrong to spoil their marriage.

In the bedroom Lothar heard them talk. She was ashamed of herself, that she had to keep up this façade. She wanted so much to tell him the truth about herself, that it hurt to hear him talk that way. Oh she was glad, that he loved her. But the only one who had found out, yet, was a two and a half year old girl. When she peeked out of the bedroom door, she saw that they all went outside again. Quickly she sneaked out of the house and a few moments later she had disappeared into the shadows of the forest.

While Jack and Rick talked and occasionally watched the children, they happened to hear more cars driving up. Rick put his hand to his chin. "That reminds me, I picked up some cookies from the bakery, and some fresh bread. I hope that helps. I need to get that from my car. I'll tell everyone we're outback," he stated.

Jack nodded. "That's great. That reminds me. I need to get the steaks going. Otherwise we won't have any meat," he said.

Rick nodded. While Rick went to get his food from the car, and inform the guests, Jack went back to the house to get the steaks. As Rick took his food from his car, he saw Sam and Teal'c arriving in one car and Daniel, Lucinda, and the children in another car. He smiled when he saw them.

Everyone got out then took out what they had brought for the dinner. Lucinda carried some food, then Daniel carried in the twins in their separate baby carriers. Cindy and Danick helped out, by carrying in some small containers of hors d'oeuvres that Lucinda had made. "Don't drop those children. Be careful. Your mom spent a long time on those," cautioned Daniel.

The two children nodded. "We won't," they replied.

Rick met the guests and instructed them to bring their food to the house for the moment. Everyone followed him into the house, then they put their food on the kitchen table.

Lothar walked through the forest, where she knew every bush and every tree. She hadn't been here for years, but nothing had changed. She thought back to the time that she lived here, and was happy with her husband and kids. Even if one of the boys, Evan, wasn't really Jack's son. But thanks to Jacob and Lantash, he had accepted the truth about Evan and raised the boy as his own son. Then she got pregnant again. This time it was a girl, and they already named it Sheryl, long before she was born. But due to an incident she had with Lucinda, she lost the baby. Later it turned out that she would have lost the baby anyway, because it wasn't healthy.

When she thought about that, she remembered that her symbiote was signaling her time after time again. But she didn't listen. She didn't want to listen. After the loss of the baby, they had a hard time. Jack wanted another child, but she was afraid to become pregnant again. Her symbiote protected her from becoming pregnant as well until she was ready to accept a new life. And that new life was Serena. Serena Lucinda Sheryl. Lucinda because her friend still felt guilty about Sheryl's loss, and Sheryl, just to remind her.

Jack got his steaks out of the fridge and took them outside to his large grill. He set the plate of steaks on a table by the grill, then turned on the grill. It took the grill a few moments to warm up, then when it was heated, Jack adjusted the temperature on the grill, so that he wouldn't burn the steaks. He wanted everything to be perfect. When the grill was the right temperature, he started laying his steaks on the grill. They sizzled as they touched the metal on the grill. He adjusted the temperature once more, then closed the lid just a bit to let them cook.

Lothar was so taken by her thoughts, that she hardly noticed where she went to. And suddenly she found herself on the open spot in the woods, a place where she always went to, when she wanted to be alone. But now the place was different. In the middle of the open spot was a grave, with a small fence surrounding it. Only on one side it was open. Lothar walked up to the grave. An unpleasant feeling came over her. When she was close enough she wiped away the dust from the stone and read:

In Memoriam

Sha're O'Neill

25-04-1970 - 18-05-2008

my beloved wife

mother of my children

She fell down on her knees and started to cry. She reached out and touched the stone again. Oh Jack, what have I done, she thought with tears in her eyes. She sat there for a long time, when she suddenly heard a metallic voice behind her.

I knew you would come to this place sooner or later... Sha're.

Quickly she stood up and turned around. Ba'al stood there, with a satanic smile on his face. Her symbiote took over control. What do you want from my host, she said.

The man let his eyes go over Lothar's body. I see that time has treated you well. Being someone else shouldn't have been too difficult for you. Has Colonel O'Neill already found out, who you really are?

She refused to answer him and took a couple of steps back, to keep distance from the man she hated the most. What do you want, she asked again.

My son, was all he said and watched the horror on her face. I will make a deal with you, he continued.

You bring me my son, and Earth will be spared. I will even protect Earth from other system lords. My queen is already in orbit with the fleet. And I assure you she is dying to make from the people on Earth a new army of Jaffa's. And O'Neill will be the first. So what is one life if you can protect millions? You have until Wednesday midnight. I will wait for you here. For you and my son. Then he touched a button on his ribbon device and the transporter rings came down. A bright light appeared inside the rings and a moment later he was gone, together with the rings.

Lothar blinked when the symbiote gave up the control of her body again.

Soon more guests had arrived. Michael, Chris, and a few others from Gekko arrived and brought their covered dishes too. They put them in the house for a moment, then stepped outside to talk to the other guests. Jack felt a little bad that he had forgotten to tell Daniel and Lucinda to bring Cindy's and Danick's swimsuits. But Daniel had informed him that they had just gotten over a bad flu bug and he didn't want them to go swimming yet. Jack was relieved about that.

The two children played on the swings and had fun all the same. Jack checked on his steaks, and made sure they weren't burning. He was about the flip them over, when he heard his cell phone ring. He happened to see Rick nearby and gestured for him to come over. "Hey Rick, could you watch my steaks. I need to get my phone," he asked.

Rick nodded. "Sure no problem," he replied. He came over to the large grill, and stood beside it and kept a vigil on the steaks. He had to admit that they looked really good and he wasn't about to let them burn.

"Thanks Rick. Be back in a few minutes," replied Jack.

Rick nodded and continued watching the steaks.

Jack walked over to a vacant place in the yard away from everyone to answer his phone. He was about to answer it when he saw Sam walking up to him.

"Where's Lothar? I haven't seen her yet."

"She's probably still getting ready," Jack answered her. "There's something we have to tell you all," he said smiling. But before he could go on, his cell phone rang again. "O'Neill," he answered the phone. While he was listening the look on his face changed from glad to worry and at last anger. "What?... No, everything is ok here... Yeah... Ok, thanks for calling... Don't worry, we will find him," he answered the caller.

Sam looked worried. "Something wrong?"

Jack nodded. "Yes, get Teal'c and Daniel here, this is serious." Sam went to the backyard and told Teal'c and Daniel to come with her to Jack.

"What's up Jack?" Daniel asked as he noticed the worried look on his friend's face.

"Cliff has killed his guard and escaped from the SGC, with his security card. He could be anywhere by now," Jack explained to his team.

"Do you wish to go after him, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked.

Jack nodded. "Yes..." He looked around the yard, where only Rick, Wylie and the kids were. A bad feeling came over him and he rushed back inside to the bedroom where Lothar had gone to get dressed. Lothar was gone. He hurried back outside and over to Rick. "Rick, can you look after Serena and the boys for a while? Lothar is missing."

"Sure," Rick answered him. "Just let me kn..."

But Jack had already rushed back inside, took his sidearm, and started the search for Lothar. He had a strange feeling, where she could be and together with Sam, Daniel and Teal'c he went into the forest straight to the open spot. When they reached the place, they arrived just in time to see Cliff disappearing inside the transporter rings and Lothar laying on the ground unconscious.

For a moment Jack was stunned and a little confused as he saw Cliff vanishing before his eyes. This was the second time, Cliff had made an appearance here on Earth. The first time was at Lothar's apartment when he threatened to kill her. He wasn't sure how or why that Goa'uld was in her apartment. He thought it was very strange considering that Ba'al didn't know Lothar. Or so he thought. And now he had shown up a second time, and appeared before Lothar once more. Something strange was going on and he was determined to find out what it was.

As he saw Lothar lying on the ground, fear gripped his heart. He shoved his pistol in the waist band of his Jeans behind his back, and knelt down beside her. He noticed she looked a little pale, but still had some color in her cheeks. Just to make sure she was all right, he pressed his fingertips against her neck where the main artery was and felt a strong pulse. He sighed with relief, and gently patted her face to wake her up.

He was angry with Ba'al for causing his fiancée so much grief, not to mention, disrupting his cookout. But the fact that this Goa'uld had come to Earth and was harassing Lothar bothered and confused him even more. He wondered what the connection could be if there was one. "Lothar... Lothar! Come on baby, wake up," he said as he patted her face once more.

Lothar blinked with her eyes and looked up. "Jack... he was here..." She started to shiver. The memory of the happenings scared her to death. She got up in a sitting position and wrapped her arms around his neck. She hid her face against him and started to cry.

Jack put his arms around her and held her close. He stroked the back of her head trying to calm her down. "Shhhhh. It's ok. I'm here. You're safe," he assured her. He could tell she was in shock. He looked up at Daniel. "Get Janet. Tell her to meet us in the house," he stated in an anxious tone. Daniel nodded and quickly ran to get Janet. Jack scooped Lothar up in his arms, then slowly got to his feet. He mentally cursed the twinge he felt in his bad knee but managed to carry Lothar to the house. It took a few minutes but they finally made it. Jack carried her to the couch and gently put her down.

Janet was there with her medical bag that she always carried in case of emergencies. She noticed the look on Lothar's face too, and looked at Jack. "What happened?" she asked in a serious tone.

Jack shook his head. "I don't know. But you can bet it had something to do with Ba'al," he stated in an angry tone.

Janet took out her light pen, and sat on the couch beside Lothar. She looked in her eyes, and noticed that she was in shock. She checked her pulse, and quickly examined her for any injuries but didn't find any. She finally looked up at Jack. "I think she'll be all right Jack. She just needs rest. Maybe some water would help," she decided.

Sam and Teal'c had followed Jack into the house, along with Daniel. Sam quickly got a glass of water and brought it back to Janet. She handed her the glass, then Janet handed it to Lothar. "Here drink this. It's just water," she said.

Lothar thankfully took the glass of water from Janet and drank a few sips. Then she took a deep breath and managed to calm down a bit, when she saw that she was among friends. But she knew the nightmare had just started. Ba'al was again after her son. "Jack... where are the boys," she managed to ask.

Janet got up, and then Jack sat down on the couch beside her. He brushed a few strands of hair from her face, and smiled. "They're all right. Rick was watching the kids for me," he assured her.

Sam looked at Jack with concern. "Sir, I have a bad feeling about this. I have a feeling that Ba'al will be back," she stated serious. She could sense the fear in Lothar, and she too knew that there was something going on between the system lord and this woman.

Teal'c nodded. "I concur. We need to make plans for his return, O'Neill," he stated in his usual tone of concern.

Jack nodded. "Right. But right now Lothar needs some rest," he stated as he looked at his fiancée with concern.

Janet nodded. "Yes. I think we should give them some time alone," she suggested. They nodded, then returned to the back yard.

After everyone left, Jack felt sad as he noticed the dirt smudges on the pretty dress that Lothar was wearing. He knew she was wearing it just for him. He brushed a few specks of dirt off, and sighed. "Aw you soiled your pretty dress," he said and frowned.

Lothar shook her head. "I don't care about the dress, I want to see the boys," she cried in panic. She wanted to be sure that Ba'al hadn't taken Evan already. She stood up from the couch and rushed outside. She didn't care about the fact that her actions would betray her. She was ready to give up her disguise, as it was for the protection of her sons. She saw all three playing in the pool. Rick had taken a chair and watched them. Thank God, they were safe. She rushed to the pool and took Evan out. Crying she held the boy close to her. "You're safe," she whispered between the sobs. "Mommy is with you, no one is ever gonna take you away from me," she said so quiet, that probably only Evan could hear her.

Jack noticed how quick she had recovered, then remembered her symbiote, and decided that was the reason for her quick recovery. He followed her out of the house and noticed her holding Evan and crying. He looked at them with concern. "It's ok. The boys are safe, Lothar," he assured. He looked at her curious. "What happened? Why was Ba'al here?" he asked.

Lothar let Evan go free. "He wants his son..." Again tears ran over her face. "Jack... he wants Evan... I can't give him up... not now..." She hesitated, but then she continued. "Not now... I have them back..." She hid her face in her hands again. Her shoulders shook with every sob. "I can't... I just found them back..." she kept saying.

Jack took her in his arms and held her as she cried. This was so confusing. First Ba'al showing up at her apartment, then he showed up here and demanded his son. Even Lothar didn't seem to be making sense. He heard her keep saying that she couldn't give up her son to Ba'al.

Suddenly a strange feeling came over him. He couldn't think of any reason why Ba'al had wanted Lothar to give him Evan... unless... He gently pulled Lothar from him and looked at her with concern. "Lothar..what's going on? Why does Ba'al want Evan?" he asked. He wanted the truth. He didn't care about the consequences. He just wanted to know the truth. His mind flashed back to the memory of when he had first learned that Evan was Ba'al's son. He was angry at first, but then when Jacob explained everything, he realized that it was an accident that Sha're had gotten pregnant, and he made up his mind to raise the young boy as his own. He had never thought anything of it... up until now. Evan had never known about his real father. He had always thought of Jack as his real father. So Jack never told him any different.

As he thought about what Lothar had said, he suddenly had a sick feeling come over him. He wondered if Ba'al was here to claim Evan so that he could make him a host. The thought of giving Evan up to Ba'al made Jack sick. In no way was he going to give his son to a Goa'uld for the purpose of becoming a host to a symbiote. And especially Ba'al's symbiote. That made him feel even more ill. He gave Lothar a serious look. "Does Ba'al want Evan for a host?" he finally asked in an angry tone.

Lothar looked helpless at him. "I don't know, Jack. He only said he wanted his son. And gave me until Wednesday midnight. If I hand him over his son, he would leave and give up on taking over Earth. He said if I didn't obey him, he and Qetesh would attack Earth, to raise a new army of Jaffa's. And you would be the first."

Jack frowned. Despite what Ba'al said he had no intention, of giving up his son to a snakehead. "I don't give a damn what that slimy snakehead said. He's not getting Evan and that's final! And as far as Earth goes, we'll defend this planet to the end. No snakehead is going to take over Earth! That's a promise!" he said in defiance.

Teal'c happened to overhear Jack and walked up to him. "If that is true about Ba'al's threat, we need to take some action O'Neill. We need to inform Hammond of his plan. This could be serious," he stated.

Jack nodded. "Yes. We should inform Hammond immediately," he agreed.

"I will go with you," Lothar said when she managed to get herself under control again.

Jack nodded. "All right. We'll all go together. We'll have some major explaining to do. Let's just hope we can keep Ba'al and his fleet from attacking us," he stated worried.

They happened to see Hammond talking to one of their guests, and walked up to him. Jack gave his former commander a serious look. "General, we need to talk to you in private. Let's go inside," he stated.

The old general looked at Jack with concern. He could see the urgency on his face. He knew that look well. He nodded. He knew it had to be something serious if Jack used that tone with him. "All right. I hope you have a good explanation Jack," he stated.

Jack nodded. "Yes sir. A very good one," he replied.

Hammond nodded, then followed his team and Lothar into the house.

Once they were inside Lothar closed the door and locked it, so no one could come in. She sat down next to Jack and started to tell Hammond what happened in the forest. When she was finished she looked at General Hammond. "Please general, you have to believe me...," she said when she saw the disbelief in his eyes.

Hammond shook his head. "This is just too bizarre to believe. Just what is your connection to Ba'al? Why does he want Jack's son Evan? What connection does the boy have to Ba'al?" he asked.

Jack looked at the old General. "Sir, I know this will be hard to believe, but a long time ago, my late wife Sha're was kidnapped by Ba'al, and he raped her. I didn't know it until we found her. Later we had two boys, and she told me what happened. At first I was angry, but then Sam's dad Jacob explained everything, and after that, I raised Evan as my own. He doesn't know Ba'al is his real father. And I want to keep it that way. He doesn't deserve to have a Goa'uld for a father," he explained in earnest.

Hammond nodded. Jack's story was even more unreal than Lothar's. But he understood Jack's decision to keep the truth from his son. "I see. I understand your decision. I think you made the right choice. But now we have a very serious problem on our hands. We need to inform the president, and let him know what's happening," he replied worried.

"NO!" Lothar almost shouted the word out. "No, general. You can't do that, Ba'al and Qetesh have a fleet of cloaked ships in orbit. They will know immediately when Earth will be mobilized and attack before Earth can defend herself." But then she thought about the man who saved her two years ago. Too bad she didn't know his name. But he was strong and fast, maybe he could help. Then she shook the thought away. That was only wishful thinking.

General Hammond shook his head. "I'm sorry ma'am, but the fate of the planet is at hand. If we are about to be attacked by this system lord and his queen, we need to prepare for action. This is a serious issue. We need to prepare to defend our planet with whatever it takes to keep it safe," he argued.

Jack looked at Lothar and nodded. "He's right. We can't just let those snakeheads take over Earth. We need to get ready for them," he stated in a firm tone.

Teal'c nodded. "I concur. Ba'al is a fierce opponent. And he will stop at nothing to get his son. If O'Neill refuses to hand over his son to Ba'al, then we need to prepare for the worse," he stated.

Jack briefly glared at Teal'c. "I'm not giving him my son. He can take me instead. I would die before some freaking system lord takes my children," he argued.

Hammond looked at Jack. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that Jack," he said with compassion. He looked at Jack and the others with interest. "Say, I couldn't talk you people into coming back could I? We could really use you right now," he suggested a bit anxious.

Jack nodded and smiled. "Yes sir! I can't speak for the others, but I'll be glad to come back to the SGC to help defend our planet," he stated proudly.

Teal'c, Sam, and Daniel nodded.

"So will we sir," replied Sam in a serious tone.

"Yes," replied Daniel.

Teal'c gave a deep bow as a sign of approval. "As will I," he added.

"No Jack," Lothar cried out. "Don't, he'll kill you." Then her eye fell on the Daily Planet that was still on the table. She looked at the picture and the headline. It was a picture of the man in red and blue, the man, who had saved her back then. He was holding a woman with long dark hair. The woman was chained. The picture was taken, at the moment the eyes of the woman glowed. Lothar picked up the newspaper and read the headline:

SUPERMAN SAVES METROPOLIS FROM TERROR.

Then the picture was placed and beneath the picture was the text.

Last night a gulf of terror hit Metropolis. Young men were stunned by an energy weapon and 'beamed' away. It looked as if they were selected. Those who were probably 'not needed' were killed. The strange murderers were led by a woman who called herself Qetesh, a Goa'uld.

Luckily Superman arrived to prevent more killing and kidnapping. He captured the woman and the strange army disappeared without the trace.

"Here!" Lothar suddenly said. "Here's a picture, this must be Qetesh. And that man, is the man who saved my life two years ago!"

Jack took the newspaper and looked at the article. This was unreal. The man flying resembled a character he had read about in a comic book. But this man was real and he was flying. Or so it appeared in the article. He shook his head and slightly blinked. "No, this can't be real! No human being can fly. Not to mention Goa'ulds. This must be some tricked up article. There's no such human," he argued. He was having a hard time wrapping his head around this concept. He thought about what Lothar said about this man saving her. He looked at her with disbelief. "What do you mean this was the man who saved you? What happened?" he asked.

Lothar took a deep breath. "I told you that I saw a murder. The murderer came after me and wanted to kill me too. Then this man came out of nowhere and caught the bullet and the murderer. I know you think I'm crazy, but I assure you. This man is real. Maybe I can find something about him on the Internet." She looked at Sam, who was reading the article too. "I hope you can help me with that?" she asked her.

Sam looked up from the paper. "I have to agree with Colonel O'Neill, this seems too good to be true. But I will help you search for that guy." She turned to General Hammond. "Sir, if this man really exists, and he really caught Qetesh, as this article says, then maybe he could really help us to defeat Ba'al. But first I think someone needs to go to Metropolis and make sure that this woman can't escape."

"I'll go first thing in the morning," Daniel said. "Together with Teal'c, if you allow me General."

Hammond nodded. "That's ok, Dr. Jackson." Hammond turned to Teal'c. "I expect from both of you, that you will bring this woman in, Teal'c."

Teal'c bowed his head to the General. "We will," was his short answer.

While Teal'c and Daniel talked over their plans for going to Metropolis, a strange feeling came over Jack as he thought about what had happened to Lothar, and that strange man saving her. He remembered the police telling him that Sha're had been a witness to a similar murder, but that one of the gangsters in that murder had found out and had killed her. Ever since he had met Lothar, he had been having these strange feelings come over him.

Everything about her reminded him of Sha're. But in some ways she was different. But now the similarities seemed to be outweighing the differences. He thought it was ironic that both Sha're and Lothar had experienced similar tragedies, but the only difference was Sha're had died, and Lothar was saved by this mysterious stranger who had the ability to fly. He thought it was bizarre but if Sam could find any evidence that this man was real, maybe he would be more willing to believe it. And maybe this mysterious man could help them fight Ba'al. But time would tell.

In the meantime, he had other pressing issues. He looked out the window, and saw all the guests they had invited. He glanced at his watch, and noticed it was getting late. Not to mention, he had left Rick in charge of the steaks, and the kids. He just hoped that Rick wasn't letting his steaks burn. He would feel embarrassed if he was to serve charred steaks to his guests. He happened to remember his potato salad he had made. At least that was in the fridge, as was all their cheese they had bought. He noticed all the extra food that everyone had brought too. He was sure there would be enough for everyone. He got up from the couch, then looked at everyone. "With all due respect to you General, and everyone, I think we can work on our plans later. But right now, we have a cook out to attend," he stated.

Hammond, Daniel, Teal'c, and Sam, nodded. "I agree Jack. We can't just leave all of our guests waiting," Hammond agreed.

Jack nodded. "No sir," he replied.

As the others left the house to go to the backyard, Lothar stayed behind. She could see at Jack that there was something wrong. "Jack... wait," she said quiet and put her hand on his arm to hold him back. "Are you sure you wanna tell everybody about... us?" she asked him. "I can feel, that something is bothering you."

Jack shook his head. "No. There's nothing wrong. On the contrary, I'm looking forward to telling everyone about our wedding. In fact, I have a feeling that they'll be just as surprised as Rick," he chuckled. Despite how he felt, he didn't want to spoil their special day. He was a little nervous about telling everyone, but also excited about marrying Lothar. He truly loved her, and wanted everyone to know that he had finally found someone to share his life with and how happy he was to have found someone like Lothar.

Lothar took his face between her hands and looked in his brown eyes. "I love you," she whispered. "No matter what happens, I will always love you. Please, don't forget that."

He put his arms around her and looked into her eyes. "I love you too. And don't you forget that. I won't let anything spoil this day. For now, we'll just pretend that snakehead never came. I'm not about to give him the satisfaction of letting him know that he ruined our cookout. No way!" he replied and briefly smiled. He tenderly kissed her lips, then sighed. "We got some hungry people waiting. I just hope Rick didn't let the steaks burn," he said anxious. Lothar smiled. "I hope so too." She took a step back and took his hand in hers. "Let's go outside and surprise everybody." Together they went outside to their waiting and hungry guests.

---

End of chapter 27

---

CHAPTER 28

They continue with their cook out, and give everyone the good news about their wedding.

Jack nodded and smiled. As they walked outside, Jack looked over at Rick with concern. "How are the steaks coming?" he asked.

Rick raised the lid of the cooker and noticed they were almost finished cooking. "Looking good, Jack. They're almost done," he said and smiled.

Jack sighed with relief. "Thanks. I'd never live that down, if those steaks got burned. That would be the buzz all over the complex," he joked.

Rick nodded. "Well, you can relax. They're doing fine," he assured.

Jack nodded. "Good," he replied. The smell of the steaks drifted in the air, and Jack was starting to get a little hungry. He knew their guests were too. He looked at Lothar. "Let's wait until after we eat. I think everyone has waited long enough," he stated with concern.

"I agree with you," she said. "And I have to admit, I'm a bit hungry too."

Jack nodded. He noticed the kids still splashing around in the pool. He thought he would at least get them ready before dinner. He smiled as he noticed how much fun they had been having playing in the pool. He briefly chuckled. They reminded him of a drowned rat. Their hair was pasted to their scalps and they were soaked to the bone. But they were having fun. He clapped his hands. "Hey kids, how about getting out for awhile. It's almost time to eat, and it's getting late anyway," he stated.

Evan and Jona briefly frowned. "Aww. We were having fun," said Evan. Jack noticed that Serena was shivering, and looked at Evan. "You can play in the pool tomorrow. Your sister is getting cold. Besides, we got a lot of good food waiting, and I bet you're getting hungry," he replied and smiled.

The two boys and Serena nodded. They had toadmit that they were starting to get hungry too.

Wylie had been playing with Serena, and looked at Jack. "I'll help get Serena dried off," she offered.

Jack nodded. "That would be great. Thanks. I'll get the boys," he said. Jack and Wylie took the children's hands then took them into the house to get them ready for dinner.

Lothar had gone back inside and came back with three big towels. She handed one to Wylie and one to Jack. "Well guys, who wants to be with me?" she asked the boys.

They looked at each other for a moment but then they both yelled "ME!"

Lothar laughed and shook her head. "And what about your father? He's waiting for one of you..."

Jack chuckled. He looked at Lothar. "Hey, don't let me slow you down. I have a feeling you can handle those two," he said and winked. He thought of all the food everyone brought, and his prize potato salad. "Besides, I need to set out that extra food everyone brought. Not to mention, my famous potato salad," he said and smiled.

"Ok, you win," she said and took the towel back. She wrapped one around Evan and started to dry Jona. When she was finished with Jona, she dried Evan. Then she took the boys to their room to help them get dressed. Wylie had followed her with Serena.

When Wylie had finished drying off Serena, she took the little girl to her room. She looked around her room until she found an outfit for Serena to wear. She dressed her in a pink T-shirt with a picture of a character named Strawberry Shortcake on it, her pull up, and a pair of pink shorts with small ruffles on the pockets. She found some pink socks and white sandals and put those on Serena too. She found a brush and carefully brushed her little cousin's hair. When she was finished, she looked at Serena. "There. All finished," she said.

Lothar was busy dressing the boys up. She found in their closets similar T-shirts but with different colors and different characters. Jona had a blue tee shirt with Superman on the front, and Evan had a red tee shirt with Spiderman on the front. Then she put on their blue jean shorts. She helped them to put them on, and then helped them with their little brown sandals. She decided that the evening was warm enough, so they wouldn't need socks. "Hey, I see you're all finished with Serena, thanks Wylie."

Wylie walked out holding Serena's hand and smiled. "You're welcome," she replied. She looked at Lothar with curiosity. "Are you the lady who is going to marry my Uncle Jack?" she asked. She had heard about this woman but didn't really know her that well.

Lothar smiled at her. "Yeah, that's me. But don't tell anyone yet ok? Jack and I will tell everyone after dinner."

All together they went outside, where Jack had put all the food on the picnic table. It looked as if there would be enough for everyone.

Rick had finally finished grilling the steaks and put them on the platter that Jack had brought them outside with. He turned to everyone and smiled. "Hey people, the steaks are finished. Time to eat!" he announced.

There were a few people, who clapped, then they all got in line and started filling their paper plates with steaks, and extra food that everyone had brought. They even ate some of Jack's potato salad. Jack had put some beer in a large cooler and had set a pitcher of tea on a table for those who didn't want beer. He also had a pitcher of water too. He had some ginger ale in some cans in the cooler too. He even put out some juice for the kids. He thought it was a good thing that everyone hadbrought something. He noticed everyone filling their plates with all the food that was there.

He and Lothar helped the children with their plates and cut some meat up for them to eat. Luckily Jack had set up a small children's table so they could eat there. They took the children and their food to the table and helped them sit down. Lucinda and Daniel fixed some food for their children too, and they set at the children's table too. Wylie decided to sit at the children's table too, and helped the little kids with their food.

Lothar looked around at the guests, while they were eating. At the children's table there were Daniel, Lucinda, and their kids. Her mind drifted away to the past again. She remembered how scared Lucinda was in the first place, when Sha're told her about her symbiote. But then they became good friends and Lucinda was her witness at her first marriage with Jack.

She looked further around. There was Teal'c, the dark and muscled Jaffa. When she was just a few weeks at the base, he once had scared her to death. It was during Halloween. He had been sneaking up to her in the dark. She was so scared at that moment the she didn't even listen to her symbiote, who had already recognized the Jaffa.

And then there was Sam. She had always seen Sam as a possible threat between her and Jack. But then there was that unfortunate accident where Lucinda wanted to protect Sam, and Sha're lost her baby. They had a long talk and ever since that day, they had become friends too.

And there, talking with Rick, was General Hammond. A true leader of the facility. Everyone could trust that man. Lothar smiled. Sha're had seen him always as a father figure. He had a huge responsibility by running the Stargate program, but he did that with heart and soul.

And then Walter, and Siler. Both technicians. Walter was mostly in the control room. Siler was about everywhere. When the gate was dialed, it was Walter, who always announced: "Chevron seven... locked."

Lothar smiled at all those memories. She felt like she had come home, from a very, very long journey.

As Jack ate his steak and the rest of his food, the thoughts of Ba'al coming to his house and wanting Evan haunted his mind. He tried not to think about it, but every time he saw his son, he was reminded of the fact that Evan wasn't his biological son, but the product of Goa'uld. And a Goa'uld whom he hated most of all.

Despite Ba'al's threat, he wasn't about to hand his son over to this Goa'uld. He loved Evan as if he were his own, and in no way was Ba'al going to take Evan away from him. For the moment, he managed to push Ba'al's threat to the back of his mind until he could deal with it later. He looked around and noticed everyone seemed to be having a good time. And no one seemed to lacking in anything. There was enough food to feed an army. He noticed Teal'c had his usual mound of food on his plate and smiled. He could always count on his Jaffa friend to take up the slack when it came to eating what was left over.

He happened to think of a show he saw on TV called Man VS Foodwhere this young man named Adam Richmond took on the challenge of eating mass quantities of food in different restaurants. He looked at Teal'c and smiled. He had a feeling that Teal'c could eat circles around that guy and still have room for more.

Teal'c noticed Jack looking at him, and nodded. Jack nodded and smiled back. He took a drink of his water, then wiped his mouth. He happened to notice Lothar being quiet, and wondered if she was all right. Despite her quick recovery, he worried that the event with Ba'al might have some kind of delayed reaction on her and she would suffer some trauma later on. As he studied her features, he noticed she seemed to be enjoying herself. She didn't seem to be worried or afraid. He also noticed how pretty she looked, despite her ordeal. He picked up his glass of water and took another drink, then looked at her and smiled. "So... you come here often?" he quipped as if he had just seen this really beautiful woman sitting in a really swanky bar.

Lothar laughed and looked him over in a brutal way. "This is my first time in the place, Mr.," she said. "How about you?"

Jack smiled. "I come here quite a lot. I like the atmosphere. Not to mention the people," he replied.

She looked around. "I see what you mean," she answered. Then she looked more serious. "You have wonderful friends Jack," she said. "I bet they've been a great help after Sha're's death."

He nodded. "Yes. They were really nice and understanding. Especially Rick. He gave me some time off to be with the kids. I really appreciated that," he said in earnest.

Lothar noticed that meanwhile everybody had finished eating. She put down her own fork and knife and took a sip of the juice she had. She had hardly touched her food. She might have looked relaxed, but on the inside she was still shaken up. And the fact that they had to make their announcement didn't make it any better.

Jack noticed the anxious look in her eyes and took her hand. "It's ok. You don't have to be afraid," he assured.

"I'm not afraid," she said while she shook her head. "I guess I'm still shaken up by Ba'al this afternoon." Then she took a deep breath and managed to calm down again. "Maybe we can tell them, now that they all have eaten?" she asked him.

Jack looked at her with compassion and nodded. "Yeah. Sometimes he upsets me too. But don't worry. We'll figure out a way to beat him. He hasn't gotten the best of us yet," he assured. He thought about what she said about their announcement. He noticed most of the people were finished and nodded. "I guess you're right," he agreed. He slowly rose from his seat, then looked at Lothar. "Guess this is as good a time as any," he said and sighed. He was a little nervous too, but excited as well.

Lothar stood up too. Her heart was pounding way too fast. She looked around at the people and saw their curious faces. Then she looked into Lucinda's eyes. Lucinda looked strange at her, Lothar could tell that the woman was suspicious about her. She knew she could scare the living daylights out of her, just by letting her eyes glow. But there were not many people, who knew she had a symbiote. But still she had the feeling that Lucinda knew who she was. Somehow the younger woman had recognized her. No one else of her former friends had recognized her, not even Jack. Then she shook the thought away from her and looked at her husband-to-be. "Well, what are you waiting for?" she whispered.

Jack nodded and took her hand. He led her to a place where he thought everyone could see them better. He held up his hand and smiled. "Hey! Can I have everyone's attention please? I... I mean we... have an announcement to make. We'd like your attention please," he announced.

Everyone finally got quiet then looked around at Jack and Lothar. "What's the announcement Jack? We're on the edge of our seats here," said Daniel and smiled.

Jack managed to compose himself and swallowed. He briefly smiled. "Well, you all know how I LOVE to give speeches... so I'll try to keep this brief," he began. He quietly sighed. "We're so glad that all of you could be here. And we really appreciate you bringing all this good food to make this cook out possible. And thank God the weather cooperated," he said as he seemed to be stringing out his announcement.

Rick looked at Jack and smiled. "Oh for crying out loud Jack... get to the point! We're dying to know what you're going to tell us," he prompted.

Jack just sighed. "Keep your shirt on Rick, I'm getting there!" he argued.

Rick smiled. "Well, any day now," he teased.

Jack took a deep breath and sighed. He gave Lothar's hand a little squeeze. "We'd just like to tell everyone, that Lothar and I have decided to get married," he announced.

There was a quiet hush that fell over the crowd, as everyone looked at Jack in disbelief. Just to break the silence, Hammond, Rick, and Daniel stood up from their seats, and started clapping and smiling. Soon everyone else started clapping too. "YAAA! Whoohoo! Congratulations!" they said and cheered. Jack let out a big sigh. Everyone got up and came over to the couple and started shaking their hands. Sam and Janet gave Lothar a big hug. "We're so happy for you and Jack," they said. Hammond nodded. "Me too. I never would have thought it possible, Jack. But I hope you and Lothar will be happy together. You deserve it Jack," he stated in earnest.

Jack nodded. "Thank you sir. I appreciate that," he replied.

Rick and Wylie gave them a hug too. Wylie looked at Lothar and smiled. "Congratulations Lothar. I just know you'll be happy with Uncle Jack. He's my favorite Uncle in the whole world," she said and smiled.

Jack's children ran up to them and squealed. "Mommy, daddy!" they shouted excited. Jack picked up Serena and gave her a hug. Then put her on her feet.

Teal'c showed his surprise by raising an eyebrow, then bowing deeply before Jack and Lothar. "My congratulations to you and Lothar, O'Neill. May you live a long and happy life together," he stated in earnest.

"Thankyou, Teal'c," Lothar answered and kissed his cheek. The boys ran to Lothar, and she went down on her knees so she could hug the boys. "I love you, kids," she said with tears in her eyes. She never felt more happy, in her life than at this moment. It was as if the time stood still when she got the hugs from her boys. But then a shadow fell over them and when she looked up she saw Lucinda looking down at her. Slowly she stood up and smiled at the younger woman. "Hello, you must be Lucinda. Jack told me about you," she said and reached out her hand. Lucinda looked her over, from head to toe. "I know it," she whispered so soft that only Lothar could hear her. Then Lucinda took Lothar's hand. "Congratulations..., Lothar." Then she walked over to Jack and left Lothar with a bad feeling.

After everyone congratulated the couple, they stood around and talked for a few hours. Jack gave Lothar a hug and kiss, and sighed. "Well, that went over well," he said with relief and smiled.

"Yeah, it did," she answered. But she wasn't sure about Lucinda. She only hoped that if the woman had found out, she wouldn't tell anyone about it.

Jack noticed Lothar looking uneasy. "Is there something wrong?" he asked with concern.

She shook her head. "No, everything is fine," she lied.

Jack nodded. He noticed she still looked a bit unsettled, but he just thought that she was still shaken from her incident with Ba'al and maybe a little nervous about their wedding. He felt nervous too, but he was happy that they were getting married. Now he would have a family again and that made him feel happy.

"That's good. You must be tired. You've had pretty much excitement for one day. If you want, I can tell everyone you're tired, and you can go take a nap," he suggested.

She took his left arm and looked at his watch. She nodded. "Yes, it is getting late already. I didn't notice that. Time is really flying this evening." She saw the children rubbing their eyes too. "Oh they should have been in bed hours ago," she said shocked. She left Jack behind and walked to Serena and lifted the girl up.

Sam noticed how tired Lothar was and together with Janet she went to Lothar. "We can help you with the kids if you want us to," she offered.

"Oh please," Lothar said. "Would you take the boys?I already have my baby here." She hugged the almost sleeping girl on her arm.

Sam looked a bit confused at her.

Janet had already taken Evan with her.

Sam lifted Jona up and together they entered the house. Again Sam looked at Lothar. "There is something familiar about you, the way you are with the kids. Especially Serena. But I can't put my finger on it," Sam said quietly.

Lothar just smiled at her. "I assure you, I have never seen Jack's kids before." Sam watched her again, how she undressed the sleepy girl. But then she shook the thought away and went to Jona's room to put him in bed.

When Sam had left the room, Lothar dared to breathe again. For a moment she thought that Sam would recognize her too. Carefully she put Serena in her bed and kissed her for goodnight. Serena had her thumb in her mouth again and was deep asleep. Lothar left the room and wanted to go outside. She saw that almost everyone had left, so she decided to go to the bedroom. She entered the bedroom and closed the door. She sat down on the bed and took her purse. She opened it and took out a picture. She stared at that picture for a long time.

After Janet and Sam had put the boys to bed, and had tucked them in for the night, they kissed them on their cheeks, then walked out of their room, and closed the door. They noticed that Lothar had gone into the bedroom and had closed the door. They guessed that she must have been pretty tired, considering everything that had happened with Ba'al, and also, telling everyone about the wedding.

They still couldn't believe that Jack was getting married. It had seemed like he was destined to be a single father forever. But they were happy that he had finally found someone he loved and it was obvious that Lothar loved him too. They could tell by the way she looked at him that she loved him. They walked back outside and saw all the empty tables, and some still had plates and plastic cups on them and a few plastic utensils. They saw Jack talking to Rick and Wylie and walked over to them. Since Daniel and Lucinda had small children, they congratulated Jack once more, and said their good-byes. It was getting late and they had to get their children to bed too. Jack thanked them for coming and said good-bye.

Sam looked at Jack and smiled. "Hey Jack. We would be glad to help you clean up. You did a wonderful job on those steaks. They were delicious," she stated and smiled.

Jack looked at Sam and smiled. "Thanks Sam. But you can thank Rick for keeping them from getting burned," he replied.

Rick looked at Sam modest and smiled. "It was nothing. I was just doing my good deed for the evening," he replied.

Sam nodded. "Well you did a good job," she replied.

Rick nodded. "Thanks!" he replied.

Jack looked at Sam and Janet. "I really appreciate you helping out. That would be great," he stated. He looked around the yard and sighed. "Looks like most of our guests took whatever they had left over home. I think we just need to clean off the tables," he stated.

Rick and Wylie looked at Jack. "We'll help too," he offered. There were a few other people there, and they offered to help too. Everyone pitched in and cleaned off all the tables, and threw out all the empty paper plates, utensils, and plastic glasses. Jack had a recycle garbage can so anything they could recycle, they did.

There were some left over steaks, and some left over cheese, so they put them in some baggies, then put them in the fridge. It took some time, but they finally got everything cleaned up, and whatever regular utensils they had, were put in the dishwasher. They took all the left over canned drinks and beer that were in the coolers and put them in the fridge too. The pitchers of juice, they put in the fridge also. After awhile, they finally finished cleaning the tables, and putting everything away.

Sam and Janet looked around and sighed. "Guess that's about it," Janet commented. Sam nodded. "Yes. I think we got everything," she stated.

Everyone smiled. Jack looked at his friends. "Thank you so much. I really appreciate that," he said modest.

Rick nodded. "Think nothing of it. We were glad to help," he replied. He looked at his watch. "Guess we'd better get going. It's getting late for us too," he informed. He looked at Jack. "Tell Lothar that we're sorry we missed her. And again, congratulations to both of you. And I really mean that! You deserve to have someone in your life Jack. And it's obvious that Lothar loves you very much," he stated in earnest.

Jack nodded. "It's mutual, Rick. I really love her too," he replied and smiled.

Rick nodded. "That's great!" he replied. He looked at Jack. "Well, you two take care. We'll be looking forward to getting those invitations," he said and winked.

Jack nodded and smiled. "You and Wylie will be the first to get one," he assured.

Rick nodded. "I'm looking forward to it," he replied.

Jack thought for a moment. "Actually, I was thinking of asking you and Wylie to be in our wedding. I want you to be my best man, and maybe Wylie could do something too. But we'll have to figure that out later," he stated. "Maybe Lothar might have some ideas," he stated.

Rick felt humbled by his cousin's request. "Thanks Jack. That means a lot. I would love to be your best man," he replied.

Jack nodded. "You're welcome, Rick," he replied. They gave each other a hug, then Jack gave Wylie a hug too.

Rick took Wylie's hand then looked at Jack. "We'll see you later, Jack. Give Lothar our best. We had a really good time," he said.

Jack nodded and smiled. "Thanks again for coming. And we'll be seeing you," he replied.

Rick and Wylie nodded, then they walked to Rick's car. They got in, then Rick started his car, and soon he and Wylie were off and headed for home. Janet, Sam, and Teal'c said their good-byes too, and thanked Jack again for a wonderful evening. They congratulated him and Lothar once more, and soon they were off heading for home.

The rest of the people said their good-byes, thanks and congratulations, and left for home. The house was finally quiet once more. Jack sighed, and looked around the yard. He noticed the hose was still on and turned it off. He decided to leave the pool up. He thought maybe the children might want to play in it again tomorrow. He noticed the grill was on, and turned that off too.

After everything was turned off, he thought he would go check on Lothar. She seemed tired not to mention worried. So he thought he would make sure she was ok. He walked into the house, and shut the glass sliding door behind him and locked it. He turned off all the house lights and locked the doors for the night then he walked back to the children's bedrooms and checked on them. He noticed that they were fast asleep. He smiled as he noticed that Serena was sleeping with her doll and still had her thumb in her mouth. He thought she looked so cute that way. He sighed and quietly closed her door.

As he walked to his bedroom, he noticed that the door was closed. He wasn't sure if Lothar was asleep or awake, but he had a feeling that she might be asleep. He thought about knocking on the door, but he didn't want to wake her up if she was asleep. So instead, he quietly opened the door to see if she was asleep.

When Lothar heard the door open, she quickly put the picture back in her purse. She didn't want Jack to see it. It was a picture of the kids. The only picture she had allowed herself to keep, together with the golden bracelet Jack had given her after the birth of Serena. It had the letters J.E.S. written inside, which stood for Jona, Evan, and Serena. She smiled when Jack entered the room and hoped that she didn't look too guilty.

Jack noticed that she was still awake, and was holding her purse in her lap. He guessed she was looking for something, or putting something away, for safe keeping. He knew women kept all kinds of things in their purses. Some personal and some not so personal. But he decided not to pry not unless she wanted him to look. He was like that. He never pried into women's personal things unless it was necessary. He looked at her and smiled. "Hi. I thought you were asleep. Didn't know you were still awake. Are you doing all right?" he asked with concern.

She nodded. "Yeah... I'm all right," she answered and put her purse in the nightstand. "I was just about to go to the bathroom," she said and stood up.

He nodded. "Ok," he replied. He looked at her with concern. "Say, if you're not feeling well, I can sleep on the couch. I don't want to be a bother," he said looking at her worried.

"No, Jack, you don't have to sleep on the couch. I'm ok, believe me..." she tried to convince him. "It's just..." She hesitated. "It has been a long time ago..."

He nodded. "I understand. It's been awhile for me too. But don't worry. I'm pretty tired myself. So maybe we can just have a nice quiet night. I'm sure you're pretty tired too," he said with compassion. He walked over and put his hands about her shoulders and smiled. "I just want to tell you that I sure thought you looked really pretty tonight, despite what happened earlier," he said.

She looked up at him. "Thanks, that means a lot to me," she said quietly. "And yes, I'm pretty tired indeed. All I want is to sleep and as long as you're with me, I know it will all be all right."

He nodded. "You're welcome, and you're right. It's going to be all right. I promise," he said in earnest. He kissed her on the cheek, then smiled. "Don't worry. I have the house all locked up for the night. Not to mention, the kids are all asleep. So all we have to do is just go to bed," he stated.

He wasn't sure how urgent her bathroom need was, but he decided to let her carry on. He knew women always had certain things they did before going to bed. For that matter, he did too. For now, he just looked at her and smiled. "Take your time. I'm going to the bathroom too. See you in a few minutes," he said. He turned, then walked out to the other bathroom in the hall. He shut the door, then relieved himself. He washed his hands and dried them, then picked up his toothbrush, and brushed his teeth.

When he was finished, he dried his mouth, then sighed. He suddenly felt a few butterflies in his stomach as he walked back into the bedroom. He decided that he was a bit nervous thinking about sleeping with Lothar, after sleeping alone for so long. He wondered if she was nervous too. He had a feeling that she was nervous about the wedding. He was too. But since they both loved each other, hopefully that nervous feeling would pass.

He walked over to the bed, then sat down, and took off his shoes and socks. He stood up and walked over to his dresser, and got out his navy blue pajama pants. He took off his regular pants and underwear, then put on his blue pajama pants. He took off his shirt, then put his shirt and the rest of his clothes on a chair nearby. He walked back over to the bed, then took the covers, and pulled them back. He took time to fluff the pillows, then slowly eased himself into bed. It had been a long day, and with all the excitement good and bad that had happened that day, he was pretty tired. He felt bad for Lothar having to endure Ba'al's threat. He just hoped that snakehead didn't come back. But he had a feeling that they hadn't seen the last of that system lord. But he was determined that Ba'al wasn't going to get his son. That was one thing he was sure of.

He quietly sighed, and managed to dismiss the thought for now. He pulled the covers up around him, then found a comfortable spot in bed, and closed his eyes. He had turned out the ceiling light, but had left the small table light on for Lothar, that sat on the table by the bed. Despite how tired he was, he tried not to let himself fall asleep too deep. Due to his insomnia, he was a light sleeper as it was, so any disturbance or sound would awaken him. He laid in bed and listened for Lothar to return and get in bed. Then he would shut the light out for the night.

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End of Chapter 28

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CHAPTER 29

Jack and Lothar get ready for bed. Later that night, Ba'al shows up and tries to kidnap Jack's son Evan, but Jack and Lothar stop him in time.

---

When Jack went to the bathroom, Lothar took the bathroom near the bedroom. She had taken some clean underwear and her nightshirt with her. First she relieved herself, then she took a quick shower. It had been a warm day and she always loved to take a shower, before going to bed. When she was finished and had dried her body, she put on the clean underwear, and her nightshirt. While she was brushing her teeth, she heard Jack stumbling in the bedroom. Immediately she felt nervous. The thought of being together with him again, made her feel like a schoolgirl at her first date.

When she was finished she dried her mouth and grabbed her hairbrush to brush her long hair. Normally she didn't take much time to brush her hair before going to bed, but now she wanted to delay that moment. She was scared and excited at the same time, by the idea of sleeping together with Jack. But at last she couldn't stay in the bathroom all night, so she laid down her hairbrush and took a deep breath. She opened the door and stepped into the bedroom. She tried not to show to Jack how she was feeling.

Jack had been sleeping on his side, with his back to the bathroom. He heard Lothar come into the bedroom, and opened his eyes. He rolled over and saw her standing there with her nightshirt on and smiled. "Nice shirt," he said. He thought the rest of her looked nice too, but tried not to make her feel uncomfortable. He happened to think that she might have a special place she liked to sleep. "I hope I didn't steal your side of the bed. We can switch if you'd rather sleep on my side," he said thoughtful.

Lothar just shook her head and slipped under the cover. In a brief moment her shirt curled up and showed a little piece of naked skin. She saw the look in Jack's eyes and blushed. "No, this side will do," she answered quietly. She laid down on her side and looked at him. "Besides, it's your bed..." she reminded him.

As she climbed into bed, he noticed the tattoo and birthmark on her lower back. It seemed to flash by him a bit quick so he couldn't quite make out what it was. But in his mind they seemed to resemble something similar he had seen before. It had been a long time, since he had seen them. He remembered that Sha're had a birthmark and tattoo on her back but it had been such a long time ago, that he had forgotten what they were. He just slightly blinked, and looked at Lothar. "You're right. But everyone has their own special place. If you want to change, I don't mind. As for me, when I'm tired, I can sleep anywhere. It doesn't matter to me," he assured her and smiled.

"No, Jack, we don't have to change sides," Lothar assured him. Then she thought about the way he had been looking at her, when she climbed into bed. "Something wrong?" she dared to ask him.

He shook his head. He had to admit that she looked really pretty laying there next to him. She even smelled good too. He could still smell the fresh scent of the scented bath soap on her skin. "No. I'm fine. I just... you just look so pretty," he replied. He felt himself slightly blush. He quietly sighed. "Well, if you're ready, I'll turn out the light," he said a bit nervous.

She nodded. "Yeah, that's ok," she said. Butterflies seemed to be everywhere in her stomach, when Jack turned out the light and darkness filled the bedroom.

Jack waited until his eyes adjusted to the darkness. Years of being in the military had trained him to see in the dark. He could see just as well in the dark as he could in the daylight. He laid on his side facing Lothar, looking at her, and thinking how beautiful she still looked. He quietly sighed once more. He wondered if she was still upset from her incident with Ba'al. "Say, if you need anything, don't hesitate to wake me up. I'm used to it," he assured.

In the dark she reached out her hand and touched his shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll be fine," she said. But that was a lie. She was far from fine. She was nervous and scared at the same time. Luckily it was dark, so she hoped he wouldn't notice it. But the hand on his shoulder was shaking a bit, so she pulled back quickly and turned on her other side. "Goodnight Jack," she whispered.

He could sense her nervousness. He put his hand on her shoulder, and looked at her with concern. "Lothar, you don't have to be afraid. I'm here. You can sleep next to me if you want. I won't hurt you," he assured.

She turned again to him. "I know you won't," she said. "And there's nothing I want more, then to sleep next to you."

Jack felt a big smile tugging at his lips. He was glad that she wanted to be that close to him. "I would like that very much," he replied.

She shoved a bit more to him, she could hardly hold back to touch him. She wanted to be with him, like she used to be in the past. She wanted to feel his arms around her, his hands stroking, his lips kissing her. She quietly sighed. If she could only tell him the truth. But she knew she couldn't.

When she was closer, he put his arms around her and gently pulled her closer. He just wanted her to feel safe. He felt the warmth of her body next to him and quietly sighed. He kissed her cheek and smiled. "It's ok. You won't have any nightmares as long as I'm here," he assured.

"I hope not," she answered. "I'm having nightmares ever since I saw the killing," she said, still scared. Then she dared to reach out again and laid one hand in his neck. "I feel so safe with you," she whispered. Then she pulled his head to her and kissed his lips tenderly. "I love you, Jack. With all of my heart."

Jack had to calm his beating heart. He wasn't quite expecting that kiss. He felt himself blush, and hoped Lothar hadn't noticed. He quietly sighed and managed to stay calm. "I love you too, with all my heart," he replied softly. He wondered what she meant when she mentioned her nightmares about a killing. That seemed to stick in his mind. For now he just wanted her to feel safe. "I hope you have a good night," he said and smiled.

Lothar pulled her hand back. "I hope so too," she said and closed her eyes. Her heart pounded loud, so loud that she was afraid that Jack could hear it.

As he held her in his arms, he could feel her heart pounding. He wondered if maybe he was making her feel uncomfortable. He tenderly stroked her back and the back of her head to calm her down. "Shhhhh. It's ok. Just relax. No worries. Ok? Just relax and try to sleep," he said in a calm voice.

In the dark she nodded. His stroking hands calmed her down and soon she fell into a deep sleep. But then the dreams came back again. This time it wasn't about the murder she saw. This time it was Ba'al entering her dreams. She saw him lifting Evan from his bed and there was nothing she could do to prevent it. Ba'al looked at her and reached out his hand. Come with us, my queen, he said with his echoing voice. "Mommy," she heard Evan's voice. "Mommy, come..." In her sleep she tried to scream, but no sound came over her lips. When Ba'al moved up to her, she tried to run. Her feet were kicking under the covers, she didn't notice that she kicked off her cover. Then suddenly a scream came over her lips. "EVAN!"

Jack had just fallen asleep himself, after getting Lothar calmed down for the night. It was obvious that this incident with Ba'al had really taken a toll on her. Something else bothered him too. He kept thinking about what she said about a killing. He thought maybe she was thinking of Ba'al killing everyone, but he wasn't sure.

He was just about to drift off into a deep sleep, when he suddenly heard Lothar scream out in her sleep. It gave him such a start, that he sat straight up in bed, and briefly shook from the shock it gave him. It was almost as if some had poked him with one of those Goa'uld torture sticks, but not quite as bad.

He quickly turned on the light, then put his hands about Lothar's shoulders, and gave her a gentle shake. "Lothar, it's ok. You're just having nightmare. Evan is all right," he assured her. He could see that she was still shaking from her nightmare, and put his arms around her to comfort her. "It's ok," he said trying calm her down. He started rubbing her back, and held her close. Despite the fact that Ba'al wasn't even there, he still managed to make his presence known by harassing Lothar even in her dreams. Jack briefly frowned. He was determined that he would make Ba'al pay for all the damage he had caused. For now he just concentrated on Lothar.

But Lothar didn't want to calm down and she pushed Jack away. Her symbiote had noticed another one, inside the house. Quickly she got out of the bed and went to the door of the bedroom. There she saw Jack's gun and grabbed it, without thinking. She stormed out of the bedroom, straight to Evan's room. And there, just like in her nightmare, was Ba'al. He was about to lift the sleeping boy from his bed.

"Don't you touch my son!" Lothar shouted and aimed the gun.

With slow movements the dark haired man turned around. He looked at her. You're not gonna use that for real, are you? he said. Lower the gun, my queen, and come with us. You know you belong to me.

"I am not your queen, I never have been and never will be!" she answered angry. "Now step away from my son, before I really get mad!"

Our son, his answer was. He turned to lift up Evan, but before he could do that, Lothar shot him. She wasn't able to point that good, but she managed to shoot him in his arm and in his stomach. She didn't care that she would wake up everybody. She would do anything to protect her son, from becoming a host for a Goa'uld.

Jack immediately followed Lothar into the bedroom and saw her shooting Ba'al in the arm. For a moment, he was in shock. He couldn't imagine how Ba'al had gotten in their house. He slightly blinked, then glared at Ba'al. "How did you get in here?" he said in an angry tone.

You should close your windows at night, Colonel O'Neill, Ba'al said painful.

Jack glared at Ba'al. "If you're here for Evan, then you can forget it! You can't have him! Lothar may not be a good shot, but I am," he stated. He took hold of Lothar's hand, then carefully took the gun from her. He pointed the gun at Ba'al's chest then fired several shots into his chest. Ba'al grabbed his chest, and started stumbling backwards as the force of the bullets shoved him backwards. Jack finally emptied the entire clip into Ba'al hoping to do some serious damage. He saw him fall to his knees. He had a feeling that he wasn't dead yet, but at least he had taken him down a few notches. Once Ba'al was on his knees, Jack lashed out with his foot, and landed a forceful kick to Ba'al's head, knocking him to the floor.

When Ba'al was down, Lothar rushed to Evan and took the boy away from the horrible scene. Evan had already awakened when Lothar had fired the first shot and he was scared to death. Quickly she took him out of the room to the living room. Evan cried loud and Lothar wrapped her arms around him to ease him. "It's ok, mommy is with you," she whispered and stroked the boy's dark hair. Jona came out of his room and climbed on the couch where Lothar and Evan were. He had awakened from the sound too and it had frightened him as well. But Evan was in shock, he had seen the shooting. And that was too much for a four year old boy. Lothar held him in her arms until she felt that the little body had stopped shaking. Then she reached out one hand for Jona.

"What was the noise, mommy?" asked Jona.

"There was a bad man in Evan's room, honey," she answered. "Daddy is still with him. But don't worry, daddy's ok," she assured him. Or at least I hope he is, she thought.

Jack ran to his bedroom, and found a belt, then ran back to the boys bedroom. He grabbed Ba'al's hands and put them behind his back, then tied him up with the belt. He knew that wouldn't hold him for long, but he had him restrained for now. He went back to his bedroom and found his cell phone, and quickly dialed the SGC. A few minutes later, a guard answered, and Jack reported what had happened and requested some assistance. They finally hung up then Jack hurried back to the boy's room.

Luckily Ba'al was still there. He happened to see the ribbon device on Ba'al's hand and removed it, then drug Ba'al to the bathroom and shut the door so he couldn't get away. After he shut the door, he went back and got the ribbon device. He picked it up, then went to the living room to check on Lothar and the boys.

As he walked into the living room, he saw them sitting on the couch with Evan clinging to Lothar as she held him in her lap. He looked at Lothar. "He's down, but not for long. I called for some back up. They'll be here soon," he stated. He showed Lothar the ribbon device. "Do you know how to use this?" he asked. He had a feeling that since she had that symbiote, she would be able to use that device, but he had to make sure.

She closed her eyes for a moment. When she looked up, she put Evan on the couch with his brother and took the device from Jack. She nodded. She didn't want to answer in front of the children. They were already upset enough, without hearing her talk with a strange voice. She stood up and went to the bathroom, where Ba'al still laid unconscious on the floor.

Jack followed her, then looked at her with curiosity. He noticed she didn't speak. "Jadzia, is that you?" he asked quietly.

Yes, Colonel. But I did not want to scare your children, she answered.

At that moment Ba'al became consciousness again. He had heard Jack call her Jadzia. Jadzia? he said weakly. Your name isn't Jadzia, your name is Lothar.

Meanwhile Lothar had put the device on and lifted her hand towards Ba'al. She concentrated and a flash of light came out of it and touched Ba'al's forehead. He screamed out for pain.

Jack stood for a moment stunned by what Ba'al had said. He wondered how Ba'al knew Lothar's name. He watched as Ba'al laid there screaming. Despite how much he hated that snakehead, he couldn't bear to see him being tortured by that device. He had been tortured by the ribbon device as well and knew how painful it was. He grabbed Lothar's hand. "Stop! Don't kill him! I want him alive. He has information that we need," he stated. He suddenly heard Serena waking up and crying. All the chaos in the house had awakened her. He went to her room, and turned on her light. He saw her sitting up in her bed and crying. He went over and picked her up in his arms, and tried to calm her down. "It's ok baby. Daddy's here. You're ok," he said in a calm voice as he patted her back.

"Daddy! Dat woud noise waked me up," she whimpered.

Jack kissed her cheek. "I know. But it's all right now," he assured. He carried her to the living room, then put her on the couch with her brothers. He looked at them and sighed. "It's ok. You're going to be all right," he assured.

Meanwhile Lothar had lowered her hand. She knew that Jack was right. They needed him alive. But he was also a threat to her identity. He knew who she really was and would not hesitate to reveal the truth to Jack. But she would tell Jack the truth herself, once she was ready for it.

Ba'al moaned from pain. Never mention that name again, if you know what is good for you, Lothar warned him.

A weak smile came around his lips. He will kick you out, when he finds out that you're lying.

Shut up!! she said, and raised her hand again.

Ba'al saw that she wanted to use it again and wisely kept his mouth shut.

Jack had no sooner spoken to the children when he heard a loud pounding on the door. He had a feeling that it was someone from the SGC. As he opened the door, he saw Colonel Reynolds, Major Warren, Major Coburn, and Major Griff standing on his porch in their black ops uniforms and holding their weapons in their hands. "Colonel, we got here as soon as we could. Where's Ba'al?" asked Colonel Reynolds.

Jack stepped aside and gestured for the men to come in. "He's in my bathroom," he replied.

As the men came in, Major Griff cracked a smile. "What's he doing? Taking a shower?" he joked.

Jack brushed off his remark, and directed the men to where Ba'al was. He looked at Lothar still holding the ribbon device on Ba'al. "Lothar, the men are here," he informed.

Lothar relaxed when the men from the SGC came in. Once more she closed her eyes when she got control back again. She took of the ribbon device and gave it to Jack. "Please, put this away. I hate to use it."

Jack took the device, and nodded. He could see the pained look in her eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry I had to ask you to use that. I couldn't take a chance on Ba'al getting away. I just hope I won't have to ask you to use that again," he replied with compassion. He put his arms around her and gave her a warm hug. He had a lot of questions in his mind that he wanted to ask her, but for now he had to think of the children. He briefly released her from his embrace, then turned his attention to the soldiers. "Get this goa'uld out of here. And make sure he doesn't get away again!" he ordered.

Colonel Reynolds nodded. "Don't worry Jack. We'll put extra guards on him this time, and we'll put him in tight security. So tight, that even Ba'al can't get out," he assured.

Jack nodded. "That's what you said last time!" he briefly grimaced.

The younger Colonel sighed. "Right. But don't worry. We'll get it right this time! That's a promise!" he stated in earnest.

Jack nodded. "I'm going to hold you to that Reynolds," he replied giving the younger man a stern look.

The soldiers quickly gathered up Ba'al, then put some stronger restraints on him. Major Griff handed Jack his belt and smiled. "Here's your belt Colonel. Nice job on apprehending Ba'al," he stated in earnest.

Jack took his belt and nodded then shrugged. "All in a night's work, Major," he replied and cracked a brief smile. He was glad to see Ba'al go. He just hoped that this time, Ba'al stayed in lock up for good.

The soldiers finally got Ba'al out of the house. Jack thanked them, then watched them take Ba'al to the heavily secured van that they had for dangerous criminals. He made sure they had him inside, then he watched them drive away. He sighed and closed the door.

While Ba'al was taken away in the van, Lothar went to Evan's room. She sighed when she saw the blood on the floor. This needed to be cleaned right away. She went to the closet where Jack kept the cleaning supplies and took what she needed. In the bathroom she filled a bucket with warm water and then she went back to Evan's room. Luckily the blood was only on the floor and was easy to clean. But it wasn't a job, that she liked to do in the middle of the night. Then she walked into the bathroom, to clean the mess there too. There was not as much blood as in Evan's room, so it took less to clean it up. When she was finished cleaning she went back to Jack and the kids. "Evan's room is clean again," she said, while she picked up Serena. "Maybe you can get the boys back to bed? I will take care of Serena," she said.

She didn't wait for an answer, but went straight to Serena's room. She saw that the girl had been crying. "It's all over, sweetie. You can go back to sleep," she whispered. Serena was already asleep again, when Lothar put her back into her bed. She took the cover over her daughter's shoulders and stayed for awhile, to be sure that she wouldn't wake up scared.

Jack looked at his belt and sighed. There were a few bloodstains on his belt, but he could clean that off. He noticed that Lothar had cleaned up all the blood on the floors where Ba'al had been shot. It made him angry to know that this goa'uld had disrupted his household again. And the fact that he tried to take his son, made him even more angry. He heard Lothar say that she was taking Serena to her room, and that the boys needed him. He sighed once more, then went to their room to make sure they were all right.

As he walked into the boy's room, he noticed that they were in their beds but they were still awake. He went over to their beds and made sure they were covered up. Jona just stared at him with fear in his eyes. "What happened dad? What was all that noise? And who was dat man?" he asked in a shaken tone.

Jack caressed Jona's head and sighed. "It's ok Jona. He's gone now. He was a very bad man. But don't worry, he won't ever come back again," he promised.

Evan looked at Jack. "I hope not. He scared me!" he stated.

Jona nodded. "Me too!" he replied.

Jack leaned over and kissed the boys cheeks. "Yes. He scared me too," he agreed. "But everything is all right now. You're safe. That bad man won't be coming back ever again," he promised once more.

The two boys sighed. They finally relaxed then snuggled in their beds. Jack kissed them once more. "I love you," he said with affection.

The boys smiled. "We wuv you too," they replied.

He finally got them calmed down, then got up, and turned off their light. He left a small nightlight on for them, then sighed, and quietly walked out of the room.

---

End of chapter 29

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Chapter 30

In this chapter, Jack finally discovers that Lothar is really Sha're. Sha're tells Jack what happened, and why she was gone for two years.

---

The house was finally quiet once more. But because of all that had happened, he couldn't sleep. Everything had happened so fast, it all seemed like a blur in his mind. He decided to go check on Lothar. He knew she had suffered the most.

Lothar noticed that Jack had taken care of the boys and went back to their bedroom once more. She turned on a nightlight and waited for Jack to return. She looked at the clock on Jack's nightstand. Two-thirty a.m. she saw and sighed. She had too much adrenaline in her blood to go back to sleep again. She stretched out her body and laid down on her stomach. She didn't notice that her shirt had curled up again and that the tattoo on her lower back was visible.

As he walked back into the bedroom, he noticed the light was on. He looked at Lothar and noticed she was sleeping on her stomach. He noticed part of her shirt was raised up and happened to see the tattoo on her back again. He looked at it a bit closer, and suddenly widened his eyes. An image of a rose reflected in his mind. All at once he happened to remember that Sha're had a tattoo just like that on her back too. He stared for a moment at the tattoo, then slightly blinked. A strange feeling came over him. Maybe this was just a coincidence. Lots of women get tattoos, and lots of tattoos were flowers. But something about this one, made him feel uneasy. He wasn't sure what it was, but he didn't have a good feeling about this. He managed to shake off the feeling. A lot had happened tonight, and maybe he was just feeling the after effects of Ba'al's visit. He was tired and stressed out. He needed sleep. He knew Lothar needed sleep too. He climbed into bed, then turned out the light. After tossing a few times, he finally got settled in then sighed, and closed his eyes.

Despite he was asleep, he was having trouble just trying to get some sleep. Everything that happened kept disturbing his sleep. He tossed and turned a few times more, then finally got up. It was no use. He couldn't sleep. And he didn't want to disturb Lothar anymore than he already had. He went to the living room, and sat on the couch, then picked up the remote and turned on the TV. That was always a good antidote for insomnia.

As he set watching TV, thoughts of Ba'al, and Lothar stirred in his mind. He remembered hearing Ba'al say that her name was Lothar. But that was when her symbiote Jadzia was talking to Ba'al and Lothar had allowed her symbiote to take control. He wondered why Ba'al would say such a thing. He also remembered hearing her tell Ba'al that she wasn't his queen, and that Ba'al said that Evan was their son. Something wasn't right. It was as if he had this huge jigsaw puzzle in his head, and none of the pieces seemed to fit. Why would Ba'al say that Evan was his and Lothar's son? Evan was Sha're's son. Not Lothar's. His mind wandered back to that tattoo he saw, and tried to remember that birthmark he had seen earlier.

He happened to remember a video he had made of him and Sha're when they were on vacation before the boys and Serena were born. Rick had given them the keys to his beach house in Malibu, and they had spent the week there, just the two of them. He got up and looked in the cabinet where he kept his home movies, and finally found the video. He took out the tape, and popped it into the video player, then punched a few buttons on the remote to turn on the player. He sat back down on the couch and watched his home movie. As he sat watching the movie, it was all he could do to fight back the tears. He smiled as he watched Sha're waving back at him, and smiling.

He missed her so much. He loved Lothar, but it was obvious that he still missed Sha're. He reached up and wiped the tears from his eyes. This was just too hard to watch. He was about to turn it off, when something caught his eye. He had made a video of them at the beach, and Sha're was wearing her new bikini she had bought just for their trip. She looked so beautiful as she pretended to pose for him. She turned and started to walk toward the water and he had punched the zoom in button to do a close up.

As he zoomed in on Sha're walking away, he happened to notice something on her back. He pressed the pause button on the remote, then hit the zoom in button so he could see the images close up. He adjusted the screen so he could see what was on her back. He stared for a long time at the small rose tattoo and the birthmark she had. That strange feeling suddenly came back. He stared for a long time at her birthmark. The longer he stared at the birthmark, the more that strange feeling started to get stronger. It was almost overwhelming. Tattoos like that rose were pretty common, but not everyone had a birthmark like Sha're's. It was different than any birthmark he had ever seen.

A cold chill ran through him as if he were standing in a meat locker with no coat on. He got up and walked up to the TV to get a closer look. He was almost sure, that was the same birthmark, he had seen on Lothar. He kept the video on pause, then walked back into the bedroom. He happened to have a small flashlight that he kept on his dresser. He walked over to his dresser and picked it up. He quietly walked over to where Lothar was sleeping, and turned on his flashlight. He didn't want to turn on the lamp on the table for fear of waking her up. He adjusted the beam on low, and shined it on her back where her shirt had left her back exposed. He quietly gasped as he saw the birthmark. It was just like the one that Sha're had. People had birthmarks, but they were like fingerprints. All birthmarks were different. And Sha're's was definitely different.

For a moment, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. He turned off his flashlight, then walked back into the living room. The video was still paused on the image. He just stood there and stared at it as if he were in some hypnotic trance.

All at once all the pieces of his mental puzzle started coming together. He pressed the pause button on the remote once more, to play the video. Sha're looked at him as she walked away. He suddenly felt his heart pounding. He noticed the color of her eyes. He had never forgotten those beautiful eyes. They were so hypnotic. He always loved just staring into them.

He walked back over and sat down on the couch, then watched the rest of the video. Anger began welling up inside him. All these years of believing that she was dead and now, here she was alive. He briefly closed his eyes. This wasn't happening. They told him she was dead. He had watched them lower the coffin into the ground. He and the children stood there and listened to the minister as he read from the Bible. He was so grief stricken he couldn't even remember what the man said but he was sure it was something kind and comforting. Other than that, his words were meaningless. His beloved wife had died. Or so they had told him. The tears began to roll down his cheeks. He opened his eyes and just sat there in the dark watching his movie. Why did they lie to me? Why did they make me believe that she was dead? Why! Why! He happened to remember what Lothar, or rather Sha're had said about how she had to change her identity and move to another city, because she had been a witness to a killing. Now he was beginning to wonder if everything that Lothar had told him was a lie. If the police had lied to him, then Lothar must have lied too. For that matter, he wondered if she was lying when she said she loved him.

This was a nightmare. He knew he should be happy now that he had found out that Sha're was alive. But for some reason, all he could feel was anger. Angry because everyone had lied to him, and most of all he was angry with himself for allowing himself to become emotionally involved with someone who didn't even love him. He felt embarrassed not to mention betrayed. He finally turned off his movie, and the TV. He needed some air. He felt as if the house was closing in on him. He got up and walked over to the sliding glass door, and slid it open, then walked out of the house. He made his way to the dock that he had built by the lake. As he walked out on the dock, he came to the end and sat down. He just sat there with his hands in his lap, dangling his feet over the water. He stared out over the sparkling moonlit lake, and wondered if things could get any worse than they already were.

Lothar woke up by the sound of the sliding glass door. She raised her head and listened alarmed to the sound. She reached out for Jack, but noticed that his side of the bed was empty. Why hadn't he come to bed, she thought. Fear rose inside her, that something bad had happened. She noticed that her shirt had crawled up more in her sleep and she suddenly remembered that her tattoo had been visible. Ohhhhh no, she moaned inside. He certainly must have seen it. The tattoo and birthmark were close to each other, and she knew that he would recognize it as Sha're's.

She got up in a sitting position and thought about what to do. Leaving him was no option, he was hurt enough. But she also knew that Ba'al was right. He would kick her out, because everything she told him the last days was a lie. The only thing that was true was that she loved him. She had never stopped loving him. In the two years that she had been alone, there had never been another man. Oh, there were men who had asked her out on a date. But she always had said no thanks. She wasn't interested in another man. No matter how handsome or rich that man was.

She stood up from the bed and walked barefoot out of the bedroom. Indeed, the sliding door was open. She waited for a moment to let her eyes get used to the dark, then she stepped outside. She saw Jack sitting at the end of the dock. Something about his attitude told her that he was upset, and angry. She sighed quietly then she took a deep breath to calm down, and then walk up to him. When she reached the end of the dock, she sat down next to him.

"Guess I own you an explanation," she started without looking at him.

Jack didn't answer he kept staring out over the lake.

Lothar sighed again. This would become difficult, she thought. But she had decided to tell him the whole story, the whole truth. She started to tell him her story, not knowing if he would believe her.

"Remember when we went to Metropolis? A little more then two years ago? To celebrate our third anniversary... The kids were staying with Rick... So we could have a few days on our own." She paused when she got overwhelmed by the memories that came up to her. Then she continued to tell. "Despite how dangerous Metropolis is at nights, I insisted on going to that store late at night, to buy us a bottle of Champaign. I never made it to that store..." Again she paused. "What I told you and Hammond in the SGC the other day... that is true, every single word of it. I was a witness to that murder, and I could identify the man.

And if it wasn't for... Superman... I probably would really be dead. He caught the bullet that was meant for me, grabbed and tied down the murderer and brought me to a safe house, where the local authorities took care of me."

Jack still kept quiet, but Lothar knew she had his attention. Her eyes were getting wet from tears and she blinked a few times. "When I was in that safe house, I wanted to call you. Let you know what happened and that I was safe. That I would be back at the hotel as soon as possible. But they didn't allow me, and later they told me that they had already informed you. That they told you, that I... I..." Her voice broke and she started to cry silently. But her story wasn't over. She had to tell him everything, now she had started.

After a few minutes of silence she continued her story. "After the trial they drove me to a private clinic, where my face was changed. They forced me to take a new identity. The only thing they allowed me was to choose a new name for myself. So I decided to use my symbiote's name, as my own and as a last name O'Neil, with just one L. So I could still feel a bit connected to you... and the kids. Leaving you and the kids behind... it was the hardest thing I ever had to do."

She pulled up her knees and wrapped her arms around her legs. "For two long years I went from state to state... from city to city... I took every job I could get. I was afraid to stay in one place longer then a month, or mostly two months. Then I saw in the paper that Rick was searching for a personal assistant, and I decided to write. I had a short conversation with him and he hired me. For the first time in those years, it felt good. With Rick's help I got that apartment and I was glad that he decided to hire me full time. I hoped it could be a chance to see you... and the kids... sometimes... if only from a distance... The last thing I expected was to see you as head of security at Rick's company."

Again tears rolled over her cheeks and she laid her head on her knees. Several emotions went through her. Fear, because she was afraid to lose Jack and the kids again. Anger, because of Ba'al, who had forced her into this situation. And sadness, because she'd hurt Jack again. She looked up at Jack and when she spoke again, her voice was hardly more then a whisper. "I love you Jack... I never stopped loving you... I understand it, when you're angry... And now I understand, that is wrong to come back..." She stood up and carefully she laid a hand on his shoulder. "I will leave... first thing in the morning... You don't have to bring me back to my apartment... I'll call a taxi..." She turned around and took a few steps but then halted and turned again towards him. "I love you...," she whispered between two sobs. "I will always do..." Then she turned around and hurried back into the house. Once she got back in bedroom, she started to pack her stuff in the suitcase again. She couldn't sleep anymore. She'd better call a taxi right away...

Jack sat and listened to Lothar's story. Despite his attention was focused on the lake, he heard every word she had said. He had to admit that it was an incredible story. Especially when she mentioned the part about being in Metropolis and being saved by this person named Superman, whom he had seen in the newspaper the day before. He was still having a hard time wrapping his head around the idea of this human being with super human powers, and who could also, fly. As far as he was concerned the jury was still out on that. Until Sam could give him more information about this Superman, he still felt a bit skeptical. As she continued to explain to him what had happened, and why she had to pretend to be dead, and also about changing her identity, he began to understand why she couldn't contact him, and let him know that she was all right. Yet all those years of thinking that she was dead had taken its toll on him.

And it was obvious that it had taken its toll on her too. He felt sad knowing that she too had to endure the pain of being separated from him and the children. He wished that there could have been some way that they could have secretly communicated with one another. But he knew that would have been too risky. He never would have forgiven himself, if her identity had been compromised because of him, and she would have been killed...for good. He couldn't have lived with that. Whoever this Superman was, he was grateful that he had saved Sha're's life.

Jack stood up and noticed that Lothar had already gone back into the house. He had heard her say that it had been a mistake for her to come back, and that she understood if he was angry. Not to mention, he heard her say that she was going to leave. He ran his fingers through his uncombed gray hair and sighed. He had lost her once. He wasn't about to lose her again. He smiled as he remembered her quoting that phrase that Rick had framed on his wall in his office. Life's Too Short.

They were both right. Life was too short for him to stay angry over something that he had no control over, and especially something that wasn't Lothar's fault. He had no right to blame her for what happened. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. And it was a very dangerous place indeed. Now he was just glad that she was alive. He had never stopped loving her too. Secretly that was the real reason he had fallen in love with Lothar. She reminded him so much of Sha're. Now that he had found out who she really was, he just hoped that she wasn't angry with him for falling in love with this woman he had known as Lothar. But then again, it was Sha're whom he had fallen in love with. So maybe she wouldn't be so angry after all. He found himself quickening his pace as he started walking back to the house. His heart pounded once more, as he walked into the house and made his way to the bedroom. He felt the butterflies fluttering in his stomach. He still felt a little confused, not to mention, nervous. He had so much he wanted to say to her, and tell her how much he loved her and how much he had missed her.

As he walked into the bedroom, he arrived just in time, to see her packing her clothes in her suitcase. He quietly sighed trying to calm the anxious feeling inside him. "Lothar...please...don't go! I thought about what you said and...It wasn't your fault. You did what you had to do. I'm not angry. I still love you too. I always have and I always will. I still want to marry you...that is...if you still want me," he stated with passion and sincerity. As he looked into her eyes, he saw the same beautiful eyes that he had stared into for so long. He just hoped that she wanted him as much as he wanted her.

Lothar looked up with tears in her eyes. "Oh yes, I still want you..., but I jeopardized you and the kids..." she said quietly and went on throwing clothes in the suitcase. Then she closed it, got her jeans, and put them on. She picked the suitcase up and started to walk to the door. "Jack... please... try to understand it. It's better, when I disappear... Tell Rick I'm sorry." She put down the suitcase and took something out of her purse. It was the golden bracelet. "Keep this... as a memory...," she said between the sobs. Then she lifted her suitcase again and wanted to leave the bedroom.

Jack didn't take time to look at the bracelet. He laid it on the table by the bed, then quickly grabbed Lothar's arm. "No! I'm not letting you go. I lost you once, but I'm not going to lose you again. You're not leaving. I love you, and so do the children. We'll find a way to work this out. But I love you too much just to let you leave," he replied in earnest.

"Jack! That is just the reason, why I have to leave. To many people already know who I am... and you've seen what happened!" she cried out. "Please, let me go, I'm doing this for you and for the safety of the kids. I couldn't live with myself if something should happen to them!" With a power she'd never known she had, she pulled her arm out of his grip and ran out the bedroom, leaving the suitcase behind. She ran for the door and went outside, into the cold and dark night. She was scared to death that either Ba'al would get free again, or Qetesh would find her. She heard the door slam behind her and knew that Jack had followed her. She started to run as fast as she could. She looked back for the last time, then suddenly there was a bright flash. A few moments later she found herself back on a ship.

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End of part 30