The Youngest SG1

Chapter One: Holding Them Close

Author's Note: Here were are with book 8 of the Gate to Vannas series, so glad to have picked up a few more favorites and follows since I published my last story and I am hoping to write a little more but RL is taking up quite a bit of it so we shall see. I love comments and reviews so if you loved it please tell me why. Anyway, enjoy this story about what's going on with Malachi.

Jack O'Neill-Jackson loved his son; well to be fair he loved all of his children with everything he had inside. He loved Zale's spirit and Zada's sass, how his two eldest children were getting older by the day and turning into young pre-teens pretty darn soon. He loved the sweetness inherently a part of Janet and Claire and the unflinching positivity of Johnny but Malachi was unique. He was born of Jack and Daniel, Jack carried him and nurtured him with his body and almost died for it. It was hard not to feel a soul deep specialness with the newest O'Neill-Jackson.

He was just buttoning his shirt over his distended pectorals where Malachi fed from and wasn't that a ridiculous mess but after seeing the sweet boy feed, Jack decided it was worth the discomfort and the self-consciousness when the bedroom door opened. Daniel walked in, Jack knew it was him since no one came into the bedroom without knocking and Jack's husband immediately made grabby hands for their son. Jack shook his head with a smile as he handed their youngest over and watched his beautiful Danny as the man burped their baby. After the youngest Jackson-O'Neill had been with them for the last month Jack had been reminded one of the reasons that Daniel was so attractive to Jack was what he was like when he was playing Daddy Daniel. With Johnny at seven, it had been a long time since they'd had a baby in the house, their youngest godchild was walking and chattering already and even when Neil, Jack's namesake, had been a baby they hadn't done much of the child caring as DK was the equivalent of a stay-at-home mommy.

Now with the one month old, three seven year olds and two eleven year olds in the house, Daniel and Jack had basically let everything else besides being full time parents just slip into the background. Jack couldn't seem to feel bad about that though and as Daniel cooed and kissed their little one, Jack figured that Daniel didn't mind so much either.

"What?" Daniel asked finally with a chuckle when he realized Jack was watching him with undoubtedly a goofy smile on his face.

"I love you Danny," Jack whispered as he stayed in the chair and rocked gently. The motion of the rocking comforted him and the action of just watching Daniel smile over at him, and hold their son left him slack jawed with awe. He wondered sometimes if the power of his emotions were left over from the magical pregnancy but then everything he'd ever felt for Daniel and their children had always been huge and life affirming.

"You just love when I come in here in time to burp and change him," Daniel said with a wink even as he moved over to the changing table to get the little boy's diaper changed if necessary.

Jack grinned and got up to walk over go to the dresser and grabbed some clean clothes and quickly changed before he turned to watch as Daniel settled in the rocking chair that was located in a quiet corner of their bedroom and leaned down and kissed his husband gently before pressing a kiss to Malachi's light brown hair. The little boy peaked over at Jack and gave a gummy grin; Jack smiled in return as the tears pricked at the corner of his eyes. It wasn't that long ago that they'd been preparing for the worst, the cursed pregnancy meant to kill him and now thanks in no small part to Daniel's ferocious need to protect Jack and their children, Jack and Malachi had both survived the awful circumstances that led to this moment. Jack was pleased to know that his magical womb had deteriorated safely after the C-section and there was no way to get pregnant again because for one thing, they had enough children and another it wasn't the most pleasant way to spend months of his time.

"Why you getting dressed?" Daniel suddenly asked and Jack turned to glare at his spouse.

"What? Is it so bizarre for me to get out of my pajamas and bed?" Jack demanded in mock offense.

Daniel rolled his eyes in answer, "You just looked very ready to go somewhere, as far as I know Ben is taking the Z-Twins to the castle for their morning training and the girls and Johnny are already in the backyard with Sam and Teal'c's brood. What you up to?"

Jack shrugged a little and heaved a sigh; "I was hoping you'd be up to having some time for you and Malachi. I would love to get out of the house and have a little me-time."

Daniel smiled that dazzling smile that he has only for Jack, "Of course Jack, is there milk in the cooler for Malachi if he's hungry before you get back?"

Jack nodded, shuddering to think on the silly awkward contraption he has to attach to his chest to pull the milk. He'd rather just attach the kid to his hip than use that thing all the time but he and Daniel hadn't done anything together, just the two of them in ages and that was the real reason he was going out. It was around the time of year when they first said 'I do' over eleven years ago and he wanted to do something special for his husband.

So he pressed another kiss into Daniel's neck and Malachi's head and walked out of the bedroom. He walked to the front door and out into the sunny day. He stopped and just enjoyed a moment of being without his children for a moment. He desperately loved those children so much but sometimes he missed just being Jack, sometimes he missed just being Jack and Daniel. His plan was to set up childcare for all of the children except for Malachi who was going to be home with Ben because Jack hadn't been away from his baby since he was born and he didn't want that to change quite yet. He was a good sleeper though so Jack was planning an evening out then the rest of the night with a mostly empty house and right now he was going to make that happen.

Jack just smiled thinking about it.

Daniel watched as Jack walked out of the bedroom with a little hop to his step and smiled. He didn't know what Jack was up to but he was sure there was something going on. He shrugged it off and refocused his attention on Malachi. He kept rocking in the chair and he enjoyed the silence of the house, he knew all his other children were safe with their guardians and Jack was happy off scheming whatever scheme he was seeing to so Daniel just stayed here in the moment with his baby boy. He sometimes struggled a lot since Malachi was born with the fact that he'd tried so desperately to have Jack destroy Malachi and now here he was. Thankfully Jack had forgiven him; the kids too in their own ways and Malachi would hopefully never have to know. Jack told him gently that the curse had caused part of the crazy need to destroy the spark and the other part was horrifying fear of losing Jack. Daniel knew it was true but sometimes he still felt awful especially when he looked into those wide eyes, something unique and in Jack's words: 'freakin weird', Malachi had been born with one brown eyes and one blue. Daniel hoped it wouldn't cause problems for him later in life but figured they lived in a magical world where the community did pretty much anything to protect Jack, Daniel and their children. Johnny had already proved that even a child with a disability was going to make it through a lot of things and actually flourish despite his muteness.

Daniel just kept rocking, listening to the cooing sounds his son emitted and thought back to when he first held Zale and Zada then the twins and Johnny when they were this age and though there was no way him and Jack could have ever decided on purpose to have a sixth child, he wasn't upset because he'd fallen in love with Malachi the first time he held the little boy.

"Daniel?" someone called and he started, not expecting to hear from anyone.

He didn't get up though when he spoke since he knew that voice, "In here."

Adrian opened the door with his little boy in his arms. "Why you here all by yourself?" he asked with a smile. Daniel smiled in return; Adrian after all the years together was still much like their son as well. The man who was a father now as well was one of the reasons that Jack had found his way to being a father to Zale and Zada when they were young, Adrian helped to heal a lot of wounds that Daniel couldn't do anything to help with. So Adrian was welcome in their home and to any information he asked for.

"Jack has gone off to do some scheming and left me here with my favorite little guy."

"Scheming?" Adrian asked.

Daniel shrugged, Malachi wiggled a little at the movement but he was content to stay where he was as long as Daniel didn't move very much. Adrian walked over and pressed a gently hand to Malachi's head and took a deep breath. Daniel just watched his children's godfather and smiled. Adrian, as a magic drinker, had always had a tough time being around the other children because he was forced to fight the need to drink from them but now Daniel knew without a shadow of doubt that Malachi wasn't magical.

"Does Jack know about this?" Adrian asked gently before he returned his hand to just underneath Neil's butt while the small boy's leg dangled around his father's waist.

Daniel shrugged, "We haven't really talked about it but I imagine he suspects it."

"Daniel, there's something you should know."

The father waited with a frown on his face, "Know what Adri?"

"Malachi has no magic, that is true but there is magic affecting him somehow. Have you noticed anything strange?"

"No, what do you mean, affecting him?" Daniel demanded as quietly as he could hoping not to upset the baby. If he didn't have magical abilities like his sisters and brothers then he wouldn't be as affected by their emotions but babies, normal babies, were capable of sensing feelings and tension as well.

Adrian shook his head, "I am unsure as to what I am sensing, has he been to Erica for a check up?"

"Not since he was born," Daniel replied, worried now that there was something wrong with Malachi, grateful to know of the possibility but sad that his peaceful time seemed to be at an end. He hoped he was just overreacting, hoped that Adrian didn't know what was really going on.

"Thanks for ruining my good day Adri," Daniel griped.

Adrian flinched, "I did not wish to ruin anything for you, he was born of a magical pregnancy and it was meant to kill Jack and rip your family apart. I believed that you would want to know instead of being blindsided by it later when you can do nothing for him."

Daniel nodded, "I suppose you're right but I am going to go out on a limb here and say I hope you're wrong."

"Me too Daniel," Adrian replied. He proceeded to settle across Daniel and Jack's bed and started chattering to Neil who was toddling around the bed with his father making sure he didn't fall off the edge. Daniel just listened to Adrian and Neil's little baby babbling and kept pressing kisses to Malachi's head. He chose not to think about the random awful possibilities that could be going on with his son, which would be his and Jack's problem together. He finally felt centered enough to rock Malachi back to sleep and placed him in the crib for his midday nap and closed the door on the sleeping baby, bringing the magical baby monitor with him as well as Adrian and Neil. They walked downstairs and headed for the kitchen so everyone would have some food ready for lunch. He was putting together some sandwiches when the front door slammed open, making Daniel flinch and keep an ear focused on the baby monitor. Like so many of the magical devices, he had no idea why it worked, just that it did.

Zale and Zada came running into the kitchen full of crazy energy and panting from exertion, "Guys, Mal is sleeping, you need to stop slamming the doors around here. I shouldn't have to tell you that over and over," Daniel scolded the two of them and Zale looked sheepish and Zada looked guilty.

"Sorry Daddy, did we wake him?"

Daniel listened again and recognized the sleeping sounds from the device and shook his head. He pressed a hand to his son's head then his beautiful daughter's cheek then motioned to the table where the food was laid out for them. Zada and Zale smiled in thanks and rushed over to start filling their plates. They were getting so big, it was unbelievable sometimes for Daniel who remembered holding Zale when he was first born or when his Magis was slowly making him sick. Of course the next thought was that of Zada not that long ago, standing in front of her bio-mom declaring the woman not fit to remain alive, Daniel didn't know what to do with all that, not yet.

Ever since the sisters had been disempowered and sent off the island, Zale and Zada had been spending time with Erica and Alec for counseling and then spending a little time training magically but a good chunk of their day was spent with their family now. Daniel walked out to the back and crossed over to Sam's backyard where he could hear the kids playing. Sam is there with Teal'c and Jacob, they wave at each other and Daniel waves in return. "Come on babies, its lunch time. Say goodbye to your friends."

Janet and Claire waved at Jacob, Ishtar and Haikon before they raced towards Daniel. Johnny hugged Ishtar gently before he grabbed Greer's hand and tugged his friend after him. Daniel smiled, pressing his hand into Johnny's head gently and patted Greer on the shoulder. It was easier to have the prince in their home now that he was living in the castle again with his family. If Greer stayed the night, he asked and asked his mother and father before he came over. Greer had learned to respect Johnny's boundaries and also Jack and Daniel's boundaries for Johnny.

Sam walked over and smiled at Daniel, "They seem to be doing well."

"Good, I'm glad to hear. It's been nice to have everything settle down quite a bit. It's giving us a chance to figure things out and work through everything that happened with Desire and Lust. How's it going for you and your father?"

Sam shrugged, "He and Ben get along great, they love hanging out with the kids but we are still working through some things and of course Teal'c and I have been seeing Erica to work through everything that happened. It seems that we both have a lot to work through but I am glad to have the opportunity at least, and not just with Teal'c. I'm glad to have the chance with you guys too and I am so glad none of you were hurt in the fire and there were no lasting damage from everything with the sisters."

Daniel smiled, "I'm sure there was damage, we just haven't seen it yet. Zale had to kill a man and Zada almost destroyed her bio-mom because of it. I don't know what the complete lack of interest in Janet and Claire and what happened to Johnny. I don't think we've seen the end of all this Sam."

Sam touched his shoulder gently, giving a gentle squeeze before Daniel turned back to the house. When he gets there, the children were all at the table eating and speaking in Aramaic and Daniel smiled. He just started teaching them the language not that long ago and they were taking to it well but then again his children were fluent in multiple languages and they knew a lot at this point about the transitions from one language to the next, how to find similar roots and so on. Plus they were incredibly intelligent.

Then Zale jumped back into English, looking to Daniel, "Where's Papa? He has not been away from Malachi since he was born."

Daniel smiled, "He is off scheming about something, grinning like a loon before he walked out of here this morning."

"Yay! Papa's schemes usually means good things for all of us!" Claire said while she clapped her hands and her brothers and sisters chuckled at her good spirits. Daniel enjoyed their laughter as well, munching on some vegetables until he heard Malachi mumble and cry from the other room. He pressed a quick kiss to Zale's head who happened to be closest then he headed upstairs and opened the door and walked into the room as the whimpers tripped into unhappy crying. "Okay my little Spark, I'm coming." He whispered and moved to the crib and checked Malachi's diaper, changed him before he lifted him up and into his shoulder. He rocked his son for a few minutes, waiting for him to calm down then walked him back downstairs and sat down at the table so his brothers and sisters could coo and whisper to their baby brother.

Daniel watched Zale and Zada the most, there were moments when Daniel worried that his eldest children were really seeing their brother for the beautiful addition that he was, he wondered if they still felt like they were trouble makers who were going to somehow be replaced by Malachi. Daniel didn't honestly known how to deal with that until they told him what they were feeling so for now he watched them and loved on them constantly.

They heard the front door open and Jack's voice shouted into the house, "Hey I'm home. Where are my babies?"

Daniel smiled and kept a gentle hold on Malachi as the rest of the children raced through the house and threw themselves at their Papa. Daniel followed at a slightly more sedate pace and let all the children get in their hugs and stories about what they did that morning so far. Daniel walked over when Jack caught his gaze and gave the younger man one of those patented Jack smiles that made Daniel grin happily. He crossed the room quickly and pressed into Jack's side, with Malachi tucked between them safely. Jack pressed a warm hand into the side of Daniel's neck and they shared a quick kiss before the children scattered and Daniel pressed Malachi into his husband's waiting hands. Jack got that sappy Papa look on his face as he whispered to the little boy, "Malachi, you hungry little man?"

"He hasn't had his food yet, he just woke up."

Jack nodded then headed towards the stairs, then upstairs. Jack may have learned to accept his own body and knew that Daniel found him beautifully attractive no matter what but he did not feed Malachi in front of the other children. Daniel wasn't sure it was the best idea, didn't want the children to think that Jack was ashamed of what he was capable of doing or didn't want the other children to think there were secrets to be kept and so on but he also wasn't the one dealing with 'female' body parts on his male body so it was Jack's choice and Daniel respected that. He walked back to the kitchen and finished cleaning up and waited to hear from Jack and Malachi when he realized the words whispered through the baby monitor were coming from Jack. He reached over to switch it off because Jack deserved the privacy with their son when he heard his name mentioned.

"Malachi, I know you don't know everything there is to know about your Daddy Daniel yet but he is the most wonderful man I have ever known. I don't know what I would've done all those years ago when Daniel disappeared or when we thought he was gone. All those awful moments happened before I even knew I was in love with him."

Daniel twitched forward, thinking he should really turn off the monitor but couldn't seem to make himself do it. He sniffled as he tried to hold back the tears at the words his lover was saying. He'd been feeling just as off about a lot of things as their children had been feeling and Jack whispering those things to their son made him sigh and smile. He could hear the soft sound of the rocking chair moving back and forth, and the soft sucking as their son fed from Jack.

Daniel's husband kept talking softly, "You are a miracle, so much like Zale and Zada, Janet, Claire and Johnny but you are a little piece of me and Daddy Daniel. And we're not going to let anything happen to you."

Daniel nodded even though he wasn't in the room and no one could see what he was agreeing to. It was even more important to protect Malachi, because he had no personal defense in a magical world and unlike Jack and Daniel and the rest of the non-magicals in their little group, he was innocent and helpless. Even though Jack and Daniel hadn't really talked about it, Jack knew in some small part of himself that Malachi was indeed unique among their children for more than one reason.

Jack continued speaking softly, with the comforting sucking sounds as a backdrop to the lulling sound of the older man's voice and Daniel tuned out the words and just let his husband's voice soothe him. Even before they were together, Jack's take charge attitude had always comforted Daniel, it annoyed the hell out of him too but mostly he knew that Jack was always going to do everything he possibly could to keep them all safe, the comfort had doubled when they came here and acknowledged how they truly felt about each other.

And here they were, almost twelve years later and Daniel just smiled at the thought, Jack walked back down, his buttoned shirt back in place and Malachi tucked quietly against his side. Daniel knew from the past couple of weeks that Jack was using the brace to contain his small mammary glands, to keep them from leaking all over his clothes and to keep them from sticking out and making him look like he had boobs.

Daniel smiled at them both and offered to trade Jack the baby for a sandwich. Jack smiled, "You read my mind, or rather my stomach."

"I didn't have to work hard, I could hear your stomach grumbling from across the room," Daniel said with a snort as Jack took the plate and Daniel scooped Malachi into his waiting arms.

Daniel sat down and watched as Jack ate his lunch, they chatted about nonsensical things and then rejoined the kids in the living room for some afternoon games together. Daniel and Jack had both agreed to refocus much of their afternoon to the kids, the mornings were for friends and training and then the Jackson-O'Neill clan spent their afternoons doing whatever they wanted, as long as they were together. It seemed to help Zale and Zada drop their shoulders and the tension would leave them, Janet and Claire were not as wild and Johnny was able to spend time with Greer and he smiled more. Daniel was glad to see all of them relax a little more every day as the time since everything with Desire and Lust passed farther and farther into the past. And today was no different as they pulled out a card game Jack had created with the Z-twins after the fire because all of their board games from the 21st century had been in the house. Jack had been bored so they started making up games.

Daniel and Jack took turns holding Malachi, letting Zale and Zada hold him every once in a while. Daniel watched as Zale tucked his little brother into his lap, pressing him against Zale's thin chest. "Daddy," Zale whispered as he looked up and over at Daniel.

"Yeah Z-Man," Daniel whispered in return. The rest of the family were still playing, shouting every once in a while and generally just enjoying each other. Daniel was grateful for a quite moment with two of his sons.

Then Zale spoke in his mind instead of out loud, "Do you love Malachi more than the rest of us because he is your son and Papa's son?"

Daniel sighed and pulled Zale closer to him and watched as Malachi slapped a little fist into his brother's cheek. Zale smiled gently and just gripped his little brother's hand in his. Daniel sought out the subtle link between Zale's mind and his own, something he'd been learning to use slowly since he took the connection from Lust months before.

"Zale, you are Papa's son and my son. I could never love any of you more than the others. Malachi is so young and he's helpless, without power. You and Zada had powers to protect yourself but Malachi doesn't, that means Papa and I are going to be more concerned for him. Please don't do this to yourself, I love you so much Zale."

Zale looked up at Daniel and nodded; Daniel leaned down and pressed his lips to Zale's forehead gently. They stayed close for a long time, Jack looking over at them with a slight frown on his face. Daniel just shook his head; Zale didn't need all this to be verbalized in front of the family. Daniel and Jack would just keep doing what they were doing now, loving all of their children to the best of their ability.

Jack didn't say anything about his out of the house activities but Daniel wasn't concerned about it. He figured Jack would tell him when the retired General wanted him to know.