Jackson Junior: Lost and Found
Summary: Daniel goes to Atlantis to research an Ancient, but he, House and McKay get more than they bargained for. Meanwhile, Sam helps Cassie prepare for her wedding while Teal'c and Ish'ta prepare for theirs, and the Trust continues to show interest in the Carter-Jackson children. HouseAtlantis Xover. SamDaniel, CamVala
Pairings: SamDaniel, CamVala, Teal'cIshta, JonasCarolyn, JackSara, miniJackHailey, CassieOC, ShWeir, McCarson, McKeller, RoKeller, Royla, Lornifer, possible threesomes and moresomes
Rating: T
Timeline: SG-1: season 18 (2015)/SGA: season 11/House: season 12-ish
Category: Established Relationship
Genres: Action/Adventure, Angst, A/U, Crossover, Drama, Family-focussed, Friendship, Humour, Hurt/Comfort, PWP, Relationship-focussed, Romance-focussed, Sci-fi, SongFic, Thoughts
Crossover: House M.D., Stargate: Atlantis... and probably Doctor Who (Doctor's a bit of a wildchild... never know when he could drop in)
Series: 14 out of... who knows? Preceded by Jackson Junior: The Doctors Dance (story 13 is actually Ode to Samantha, which is kind of a standalone)
Spoilers: SG-1 seasons 1-10, Ark of Truth, Continuum, SGA seasons 1-5, House seasons 1-4, Jackson Junior series
A/N: Reviews are always welcome. As with previous stories in the series (this being number fourteen! Very excited here), italics delimited by apostrophes denote telepathic conversation. Thanks for the votes to everyone who voted in the poll re: where the Jackson Junior series should go. Loved everyone's ideas... will try to incorporate as many as I can here, but others will be in the next story. Thanks!
The Atlantis side (or at least the bulk of it) is based on the First Contact/Lost Tribe arc from season 5 of Atlantis... which is going to be markedly different here seeing as we're in a much later season, timeline-wise, and there aren't any Wraith... amongst other differences.
Because it's been a wee while since I've written the last installment of this series, I might get some of the JJ 'canon' mixed up. Hopefully it won't be noticeable, and hopefully too, I'll start remembering a few more things. Anyway, I'll stop my gibbering...
Happy New Year!
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Daniel leaned against a wall in the busy dining room, watching Claire and Jake enjoy being the centre of attention. Well, to be precise, Claire seemed to enjoy it the most as Jake intermittently smiled shyly and hid his face in his arms, his party hat having to be readjusted by Jack or James every so often. Daniel folded his arms across his chest and smiled, revelling in the sound of his seven children, and godchildren, nieces, nephews, and friends. He rarely tired of the sounds of his family, having missed a lot during his time away with the Doctor.
Sometimes, of course, it verged on the nightmarish... particularly when one of his babies started crying, and then the other joined in, in solidarity, which then would usually spark off the Mitchell and Quinn babies. The sound of four babies screaming, topped by a herd of toddlers, was certainly not a sound that anyone would revel in. It was more a sound to send everyone running away and wondering who had started the rumour that childrearing was so rewarding.
He couldn't help but smile as he did a circuit of the table. He kissed Claire and Jake, whispering proudly, "Happy Birthday, you two." He received some squeals, and a kiss from Claire in reply, and a pat on the back from Jack.
Jack, his arm around Sara, who was chatting to Mark's wife Emmie about making jam, remarked to Daniel with a wink, "Very tempting there, Daniel. Both our old women would kill us."
Sara replied, briefly putting her conversation on hold, "Damn straight." She turned back to Emmie, resuming what she had been saying, and Daniel shook his head a little as he moved on, retorting,
"You must be desperate if you're trying to woo me. How much have you annoyed Sara this week?"
Jack sceptically looked at his wife, who was smirking knowingly as she continued to talk to Emmie, and he remarked, "Not enough to be more interesting than preserves. Damn, gotta keep the material fresh."
Daniel patted the heads of Cammie and James, feeling incredibly proud of his eight year olds, who had settled into Junior High quite quickly, after a rocky start which had involved much fighting, detentions, and much humiliation of teenage bullies when they got beaten by a couple of then seven year olds. He smiled as he caught some of Cammie's words as she gesticulated with a fork full of cake, relating something to James,
"I told Penny Jacobs that she was a fruitcake. You wanna know what she said? She told me that humans walked with dinosaurs..." Cammie snorted derisively. "That's impossible. The dinosaurs were wiped out long before humans came on the scene. The earliest known humans lived..."
Daniel smirked even more on seeing Grace, her head against Francis' as she showed him a toy that she had found inside a Happy Meal that Jack had got her a week previously, and for which Daniel wasn't sure whether he should be entirely happy about. He gently patted her shoulder and as he passed a heavily pregnant Vala, the raven-haired SG-1 member remarked,
"Doing the fatherly thing again?" She rolled her eyes as she smirked mischievously, catching Cam's gaze as he fed Samantha Mitchell. "Just go to Samantha already. You make it so much more obvious when you try to be casual. It is your Anniversary too after all."
Daniel smiled, his cheeks reddening a little. "Just checking on my kids. By the way, how are you feeling?" He appeared concerned, all present knowing of the pain that Vala had gone through when she had lost her last baby.
Vala replied, glancing down for a moment, not wanting to ruin the atmosphere by appearing worried, "Quite good, surprisingly." She smiled a little as Cam reached over to hold her hand as Jonas and Carolyn attempted to casually slip into the room together. "Much better than yesterday."
Daniel gave her shoulder a supportive squeeze as Jack and mini-Jack both embarrassed Jonas and Carolyn about the alleged mating habits of historians and doctors; both Jacks ensuring not to mention anything of a classified nature in front of Mark's family, or Cassie's boyfriend who was around somewhere. "That's good." He lowered his voice. "You know, if you ever need anyone to talk to or to hang out with, don't hesitate to drop by. Sam and I love to have you over. You could even stay the night."
Vala looked genuinely moved by his words, and she slowly smiled, remarking as she tried to laugh it off, "You've already said that to me... on many occasions. I may be pregnant, but I'm don't have a memory like a sieve." She smiled even more as Daniel was about to move on, and she stood up to hug him, whispering, "Thank you. I do appreciate everything that you and Sam do."
Daniel returned her hug and helped her back into her seat. "It's nothing. You're family."
He patted her shoulder and as he passed Cam, he heard the Colonel say gratefully, "Thanks, man."
Daniel nodded, nodding again when he came to Teal'c, who nodded in return, a small smile on his lips. Daniel then at last came to the youngest of his children, whom he could barely believe had already had their first birthdays. He took a moment to watch them use different techniques of mashing cake with plastic forks, both Dani and Greg taking to smearing it mostly on their plates, to Daniel's relative relief. He kissed them both before slipping out of the dining room. He walked through the lounge, smirking mischievously when Cassie and Simon leapt apart from rather an intimate moment on the couch. He didn't miss the glare from Cassie, who knew as well as he did that there was another route from the dining room to the kitchen that he could have used.
Daniel found Sam in the kitchen, washing plates as she hummed to herself, Susan, their eldest niece, leaving for the dining room. He mentally shut the door to the lounge and groaned softly as he wrapped his arms around Sam. He whispered in her ear as she smiled happily, carefully putting a plate down before she could break it,
"Happy Anniversary, honey."
He moved her hair from her neck, his smile widening and his eyes admittedly moistening, on noticing that she was wearing the emerald earrings that he had given her that morning as an anniversary gift. He kissed her neck and she murmured contentedly, holding onto the arms that were around her,
"Happy Anniversary." She looked up at him. "I love these earrings. Thank you."
His head resting against hers, he said with a smile as he looked up at her, "Thanks for the watch." He held her a little tighter. "I can't believe it. Six years."
She gently rubbed his arm, her eyes closed. "Six years yesterday."
"Can't believe, after eighteen years of doing what we do, that we still get floored by a contagion coming through the 'gate." He gazed at her, remembering their old adventures with Jack and Teal'c. "Remember when it seemed to happen every other week?"
She nodded, remembering too as she watched her children, nieces and nephews run out into the backyard. "I remember. We always managed to find a way though. Janet was always the best at solving the medical drama of the day." She sighed softly as she remembered their friend. "Can't believe it's going to be twelve years next month. Sometimes it feels like so long, like we've done so much since she's been gone... but other times, it feels like it was just yesterday." She turned around in his embrace, her head resting against his chest as he hugged her tightly, his cheek resting against her hair.
He kissed her softly, feeling her pain as well as his own laced with a guilt that had only faded a little with time. "We know she's out there somewhere, being absolutely great and not getting as much recognition as she deserves." He changed the subject, not wanting it to rain heavily outside where all of their friends were with their children. "There's something else I can't believe."
She looked up at him with a knowing smile. "Five years since Claire and Jake came into our lives." She appeared a little insecure. "I'm going to be fifty in a couple of months. That's something else that's scary."
He smiled cheekily. "Tell me about it. I seem to have a penchant for older women."
She smiled in disbelief as she clung onto him, not having the heart to hit him. "Two months. You make it sound like two decades."
He kissed her ear. "I'd still love you if there were two centuries between us." He continued in a murmur, "Seems like that someti..." He winced when she slapped him on the shoulder.
"Daniel!" She continued to smile as she snuggled in his embrace once again. 'I don't care how I am... how old you are. What we have, regardless of time and space, is good... it's better than good.'
He smiled blissfully as he looked over her shoulder, out of the window as mini-Jack yelled at Cammie while Francis and the Carter-Jackson children, barring the youngest, played a game of hockey. As Cam and Teal'c were about to calm the clone down, Cammie, despite being only eight, threw her hockey stick to one side and angrily body-tackled him.
Daniel murmured in disbelief as he let his wife go, "Oh, not again."
Sam looked at him for a brief moment in concern and then rolled her eyes as she followed him out of the house, having sensed what had happened. The Jacksons ran to where Jack, Cam, Teal'c and Jonas were struggling to pull a screaming Cammie from on top of a now scared and helpless mini-Jack. Daniel sighed and grabbed her by the scruff of her t-shirt, pulling her off the clone.
He set her down on the ground as Sam went to check on a panting mini-Jack, and he said sternly, "What have I told you about attacking people?" His expression melted into one of anguish. "You're better than that. You are so much better than that. Why can you never seem to understand that?"
'Oh God, Daniel... Grace just kicked mini-Jack in the shin, and Jimmy stamped on his foot... oh, and Jake distracted him while Claire headbutted him. Our kids are insane.'
His mental voice dripping with sarcasm, he retorted, 'I wonder where they get that belligerence from...'
'Well, judging by Cammie's right hook, I'm looking at you Mister...'
Cammie, now faced with her father, stood teary-eyed as she muttered, her fists clenched, her gaze downcast, "Little Uncle Jack said I was worthless." She stamped her foot, her furious gaze meeting her father's. "I'm not. I've got an IQ of 165. I could kick his ass any d..."
Daniel snapped, "Cameron! I won't have any of that language out of you, or violence! You go and apologise to Uncle Jack the Younger right now." When Cammie looked to argue with him, Daniel stood up and said firmly, an eyebrow raised, "Right now, young lady. You know the drill. You're grounded for two weeks."
Cammie groaned in protest, her gaze now earnest. "But Dad... I have to play soccer on Saturday."
Daniel cocked his head sarcastically. "Should'a thought of that before you tackled your uncle, shouldn't ya? Move it."
Cammie sullenly went over to mini-Jack, who was being nagged simultaneously by Hailey and Sam. The three adults looked at her as she neared, Sam getting ready to grab her daughter in case she got violent again, when the little girl mumbled, her eyes on the ground, "Sorry."
Sam sighed and said, looking stern and feeling bad about being so, "Cameron, I'm not sure even you heard that. A little louder, please."
Cammie stubbornly raised her head and said, "I'm sorry, little Uncle Jack, for hitting you."
Mini-Jack was about to nod in acceptance when both Sam and Hailey nudged him, and he, grimacing a little then kneeled in the grass in front of Cammie and said, sounding awkward, "I'm sorry about saying you're worthless. You know you ain't."
Sam bit her lip as she watched Cammie continue to frown, knowing that the little girl felt like crying but was too embarrassed to do it in front of everyone. Sam scooped her up in her arms and carried her back in the house as Cammie tiredly rested her head against her mother's shoulder.
'Sam...' Daniel sounded guilty.
'I know. I feel the same way, but they have to know the difference between right and wrong. Cammie's such a good girl, but when she gets rubbed up the wrong way, she's a loose cannon. I guess she'll grow out of it. I hope she does. Not completely though because it could come in useful one day.'
Inside the house, Sam sat Cammie down on a worktop in the kitchen as the girl finally began to cry. Sam sighed softly and said as she dried her daughter's tears, "Cammie, you know what he's like. He says things without thinking. You've just gotta stop rising up to it like that. Remember what Daddy told you."
Cammie, blubbering, shook her head. "But he gets me so angry, Mom... and talking doesn't do anything."
"Daddy knows what he's talking about... he's shown us all how words are far more effective than weapons and violence a lot of the time. Oh, and if Uncle Doctor could see you now..."
'Here we go... the Doctor.'
Sam mentally rolled her eyes at Daniel's petulant tone. 'We've been over this.'
There was a pause and Daniel said, sounding tired, 'I'm sorry, Sam. I guess he still gets to me sometimes.'
'Ya think?'
She smiled wistfully as she smoothed Cammie's hair, tucking it behind her ear. "You're going to find that there are a lot of things to learn about men... chiefly that they tend to say things without thinking, especially little Uncle Jack. What would make him think about his words isn't violence, although being beaten up by an eight year old must have been humiliating enough for him... but you see how Daddy and Uncle Jack are." Sam smirked a little as she heard Daniel groan in her head. "Uncle Jack used to be a lot more insulting, but Daddy insults him back without cursing. It works out a lot better than fighting, don't ya think? It's fighting with words instead of hands or weapons."
Cammie made a face. "That isn't going to help during a hockey match."
Sam grimaced a little as she looked to one side for a moment. "Uh... well, you see, there are times when violence is, well, okay, not appropriate per se, but the only thing you can use. I know Daddy doesn't always understand..."
Daniel's mental voice took on a dangerous tone. 'Sam...'
"... but..." Sam paused, suddenly feeling old at having to impart wisdom to her daughter as she ignored Daniel's protestations. "Sometimes words just don't cut it. As you get older, you'll understand what different situations require."
Cammie nodded with a pensive frown and she then said, looking vulnerable for one very rare moment, "Mom... I'm sorry 'bout what I did out there. I just don't like little Uncle Jack when he's playing hockey. Even big Uncle Jack doesn't yell at me like that."
"Well, he has issues."
Cammie sighed, her gaze downcast. "Daddy's really mad at me, isn't he? I don't wanna be grounded."
Sam smiled a little. "You're not supposed to want it. That's the point. It's punishment." She picked up her daughter, remarking as she kissed her cheek, "Oof, you're getting too heavy for Mommy to pick up too." Sam smiled as she watched her daughter smile, and felt Daniel smile too.
Cammie asked quietly, "Mom, could you talk to Dad? He never gets mad at you."
Sam chuckled with a sigh. "Oh, your Daddy's been mad at me quite a few times; a lot more than he's ever been with you and your brothers and sisters." She kissed Cammie's hair as a concerned looking Mark entered the kitchen from the back door. "Go and talk to him... he might change his mind about your punishment. You did hit your uncle after all."
Mark asked from the doorway as he checked on his sister and niece, "Hey, Sam... everything okay?"
Sam turned to look at her brother with a smile as Cammie kept her head on her mother's shoulder as she played with Sam's St Christopher. "Yeah, it's fine. Jack's, uh, nephew has a habit of shooting first and clamming up later." She put Cammie down on the floor and said with an affectionate smile as she readjusted the girl's bunches, "Go on... little Uncle Jack won't do anything now. I think he's scared of you."
Cammie left the house, running around in the backyard after a moment's hesitation when James and Jake dragged her away to look at something. Sam watched her children through the kitchen window before turning back to her brother once more. Mark remarked with a smirk,
"Like mother, like daughter. The amount of trouble you used to get into at that age..."
Sam shrugged, a touch embarrassed. "Come on! I wasn't like that. She's definitely got some of her Dad's spirit in her too. Anyway... how are you doing?"
Mark shrugged as well. "Well... definitely feeling the age factor with Susan and Junior both at postgraduate school."
"Tell me about it... feels like just yesterday when Dad and I visited you in San Diego."
Mark appeared reflective. "Yeah. I miss Dad."
Sam felt sad too but for another reason too, that Mark had no idea of their father's Ascension and that she regularly received visits from him. It would have been too complicated to explain, and Mark had already got his closure from the loss of Jacob Carter, without having the carpet pulled from under his feet with the knowledge of Jacob's present existence after so long of 'knowing' of his death. "Me too."
"I've been having a lot of dreams about him for a while now. I guess I have been thinking about him more now that Junior and Susan are older."
She frowned a little. "What kind of dreams?"
"You know, the ones you used to have after you had Cammie and James, where you were telling Mom, and sometimes Dad, the things that had happened since either of them had passed. Only these ones were more vivid than that. It sometimes feels, and you're gonna think I'm nuts for saying this, but it feels like he's really there sometimes."
Sam was inwardly surprised and admittedly, concerned. 'You don't think...'
'It's possible, Sam... if it's the only way he could stay involved with Mark without attracting unwanted attention.'
"... and the dreams don't repeat. I tell him something new each time. It's like a conversation in parts. Emmie says it's the stress of moving house, having a mid-life crisis, and joining a new partnership. She said to me 'most men buy a red sports car and grow a ponytail, but you have recurring conversations with your late father...'. She always knows how to make me sound like a nutjob."
Sam shrugged, hoping that one day she would be able to tell him about their father. "Well, to be fair, Mark, she still has both of her parents... and she's not particularly close to either of them. Despite everything that went on, we were pretty close to Dad. He was our last connection to Mom."
Mark nodded. "Fair point." He smirked. "I could imagine the jokes Dad crack about my herd of nieces and nephews. Any more on the way?"
Sam chuckled, turning away from him. "It's pushing it... really pushing it, but maybe when we've settled down some more after the crap that's been going on."
'God, Sam... I can't believe you want more kids with me. I still haven't lost all of the weight from the last two.'
The General hid a smile at Daniel's joke as she went into the dining room to tidy up as Mark followed her. 'Well, Jack did say that if we'd met when we were much younger, at our present rate of baby making, we would have had enough kids to populate the entire state.'
'An army of your children is the last thing this country needs.'
'Why are they only my children when they get into fights?'
'You just answered your own question, General...'
Mark asked in concern as the General's attention snapped back to her present surroundings and company as she began to load the dishwasher, "How are you guys doing anyway?"
Sam replied as she tried not to think of the problems that she and Daniel had had, "We're good... a lot better. Things were kinda rocky but we're on an even keel now." She glanced up at Mark. "What about you and Emmie? She seems alright."
Mark looked out of the window, his fingers toying with an unopened cigarette packet. "It's a front, Sam. I'm surprised it's lasted this long. We're not the same people we were when we met. She barely tolerates me."
Sam rolled her eyes, hiding a smile. "Emmeline always barely tolerates you."
He shook his head sadly. "No, it's different." He sighed.
She sighed too, wondering when her brother started over-worrying about things. She switched the dishwasher on and stood up. She approached him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Mark." He glanced at her. "Talk to her. Women aren't psychic." She bit her lip briefly to stop herself from smiling at the irony of her statement as Daniel began to chuckle in her head. "You have a good thing... trust me when I say that you don't want to waste time with self-doubts and recriminations."
Mark chuckled humourlessly, his eyes still on the goings-on outside. "You know, this is kinda surreal when I think of all of those years when I doubted whether I would get some nieces and nephews outta you. You've not only beaten me by three kids... well, five counting those older, travelling ones of yours... you've not only done that, but you're also giving me advice about the state of my marriage." He turned to face his sister, pain and insecurity in his eyes. "Thanks, Sammy. I appreciate it."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Winding down after a full day of loud children and of hosting their friends, Daniel sat at the kitchen table as Sam wiped a worktop. The General suddenly turned to look at him with a little smile on sensing something, her smile fading a little when Daniel looked guilty. She put down the cloth that she had been using and drew up a chair next to him and held his hand.
She looked at him earnestly, silently encouraging him. "Go for it, Daniel. I know you think about it when you think I don't know. You need to do this."
He met her gaze, grateful that he was married to her. "But Sam... if I go, you'll struggle to deal with work and having to look after our babies."
She looked away from him, an air of wistfulness around her. "I managed fine when you were with the Doctor."
He shook jealous thoughts and memories of his own bitterness out of his mind. He said as he touched her cheek, "I want to go to Atlantis with you. I know it could further my research, but it's all for nothing when I consider just what that City did to me in another timeline. It took you away from me." She was about to utter words of comfort when he shook his head. "I'm fine." He sighed as he put an arm around her. "Maybe I should go. I don't know. I guess I'm just confused."
She rested her head on his shoulder, her arm loosely draped around his stomach as she gazed up at him with a little smile. "You're always confused, Daniel." She smoothed his stomach. "Don't let me hold you back. We're all going to be fine... and Atlantis is much safer."
He chuckled as he gazed down at her with a cheeky smile. "You just want to know how those guys are doing."
She shrugged. "Well, come on, while I am well-versed in what happens there on a professional level... I don't really get to see them on a personal footing much, and McKay and Carson were kinda weird the last time they dropped in."
He hummed in agreement. "They did seem a little distant." He stifled a yawn and stretched a little before saying, taking her hand, "Come on." With a wave of his hand, he switched the light off as they went into the lounge. He sat her down on the couch and went about locking up the house and checking on his children before re-joining her.
He frowned as she smirked at him, and he rolled his eyes as he sat down. She smiled as she became surrounded by a familiar warmth, a physical and a mental one combined, and she remarked, "You worry too much." He shrugged as he held her in his arms and she continued coyly, "Jackson, you have a go."
He kissed the top of her head. "Thanks, General." He then groaned a little. "If Jack were in your place, he'd never let me go... ergo, I'm only being allowed to go because I'm sleeping with the base commander. That does wonders for my self esteem."
"Oh, quiet you. Jack's not a scientist... and he worries about you about as much as I do."
He raised an eyebrow sceptically. "About as much?"
She shrugged. "He worries a lot. I'm not sure whether I'd be taking away from it or exaggerating if I said that I worry as much. It's hard not to worry about you though, the number of scrapes you get yourself into." She suddenly chuckled. "And I'm breeding troublemakers."
He groaned. "Seriously, we've got to do something about Cammie's temper." He smiled as he kissed her. "You did great today being Mommy."
She sounded unsure as she asked, "You think so?"
He nodded solemnly as he played with her hair. "I don't say 'great' a lot. You're the Mom that the other Cammie should have had. I watch you sometimes, and I think just what I could have missed. Each day I'm with you..." He touched her cheek, the Archaeologist now having reached a state where he could talk about his loss in another timeline and not cry. "... I appreciate you and the effect that you have on me, more and more." He changed the subject as he felt her worry in strong waves crashing against him, a sensation which made his heart clench with guilt.
"So..." He began brightly. He then grimaced a little. "Cassie hasn't decided on who she wants to give her away, has she?" He sighed, feeling a little put out as Sam smirked knowingly. "I'd be honoured, of course I would, but one: it makes me feel old; two: Jack got her her first dog... three:..." He sighed again. "I don't need to go on. But Jack won't do it because he says it makes him feel weird... and that I should do it because Cassie lived with us and I frown enough to be her father. Teal'c's busy with attempting to get married in between annoying Ish'ta." He shook his head and asked, "What do you think?"
She rolled her eyes as she placed a hand on his chest. "You know what I think."
He rested his head against hers. "But..."
"Oh, for crying out loud, Daniel... it doesn't matter if either you or Jack do it." She frowned. "I mean, honestly... this is exactly the reason Cassie didn't ask either of you specifically. She knew you were going to be childish about it."
He retorted defensively, "I'm not being childish!"
"Oh, please! Spare me the defensive." She lifted the back of his shirt so that she could rub his lower back. Her voice softened. "Just toss a coin or something, Daniel. It's getting ridiculous." She smiled teasingly. "And besides, it'll be good practice for you... you have four daughters."
He appeared sceptical. "And that, my fair Guinevere, is assuming that any of them would want to get married... and that they marry men... and that they'd want me to give them away."
She yawned a little and closed her eyes. "You're funny."
He smiled as he gazed down at her, rubbing her back as she contentedly snuggled into his chest. "How are you feeling?"
She chuckled, her eyes still closed. "You've been an empath for a while now." She groaned, the General getting tired. "Let's go to bed. I'll look in my diary and let you know about when it's feasible to carry out our Anniversary celebrations. Oh dear God... it sounds so cold having to schedule that sort of thing."
"Don't worry about." He stroked her hair. "This is good... some peace and quiet, especially after the fiasco on base yesterday... and having to deal with ten kids in the house... plus mini-Jack. That boy better watch himself the next time he wants to yell at Cammie though." He smiled slightly. "At least we're safe in the knowledge that should any of our babies be insulted or attacked, the others won't sit idle." He kissed her forehead and leaned his head back onto the couch. "I married an Air Force officer... whose Level 3 Advanced combat skills are apparently genetic."
She cleared her throat. "Excuse me, but it's Level 5 now... and don't be silly." She yawned again and then held onto him a little tighter as they disappeared in a flash of bluish-white light. Seconds later, they were on their bed, and Sam, thoroughly tired, lie flat on her back and fell fast asleep almost immediately.
Daniel shook his head a little as he watched her for a moment. He then proceeded to undress her, carefully dressing her again in her pyjamas, before tucking her into bed. He took his own clothes off and joined her under the covers, switching the light off with a blink as he settled down with his wife in his arms. He smoothed her shoulder and then kissed it, whispering,
"'night, Guinevere."
She replied in his head, something which still spooked him when she did it whilst being asleep, ''night, Galahad. Sleep tight. You're going to have to make up your mind about Cassie's wedding soon otherwise we'll never get it organised.'
'I know, honey. I guess we'll figure something out.'