Living Life After

Chapter Two

Third in the "Life After" series.

Based upon Stargate: SG-1.

- . - - - . -

This had been a bad idea. From the beginning. Did she really expect Siler, John and herself to take care of eight kids off world for a day? Come on, Jorge, what were you thinking?

Well, she was thinking that the galaxy was a safe place. She knew it wasn't. Her parents had always taught her that it was a dangerous place with dangerous people. But the places they went had always been safe, until now.

The three of them had taken eight kids, including four of Siler's children, off world for a little field trip. Things went wrong about there.

Now she was sitting in a cell on a ha'tak with eight terrified children, trying to pretend that she wasn't just as scared as they were. John and Siler were still gone. It seemed like they'd been gone for hours, but her watch told her it had only been about forty five minutes. Okay, it was forty three minutes and thirty nine seconds, but it wasn't like she was checking her watch every two to four seconds.

The doors opened. Jorge jumped to her feet, taking a few steps forward, placing herself between the door and the children. John and Siler were pushed in by a pair of Jaffa. John stumbled, but stayed on his feet. Siler, on the other hand, hit the deck.

Jorge rushed to Siler and helped him over to a wall. He leaned against it, his eyes closed. "You okay, Sergeant?" she asked.

He nodded slowly. "I think they broke a few ribs."

Jorge turned and saw Siler's four kids huddled together and scared. "Emily," she said to the youngest, who was three and a half. "Come sit with Daddy, he needs you to make him feel better." Emily didn't move.

Siler held his hand out. "Come here, Sweety," he gave her a little smile. She got up and climbed into his lap. He kissed her forehead. "It's gonna be okay, Sweety," he told her. "Colonel O'Neill and Colonel Carter are gonna come get us."

She clung to him, tears still streaming down her face.

He kissed the top of her head. "They're gonna come get us and take us home to Mommy."

- . -

"We're gonna go get them, Doc," Jack said to a nearly hysterical Janet Fraiser. She was clinging to her six week old infant as if she loosened her grip he would disappear.

Jack sat waist deep in the small pond where everyone went swimming. Jorge sat on his thigh, splashing gently. She was giggling and playing with two wooden boats people had whittled for her; one in each hand. He was watching Sam swim John around deeper in the water.

Sam held him under his arms and moved backwards, skimming him through the water.

"Dada."

Jack's head shot down to his daughter. She was looking up at him and reaching for a boat that was floating away. A grin broke out on his face as he grabbed the boat and handed it to her. "That's my girl!"

He lifted her up over his head. She reached for him. "Dada," she repeated.

A grin consuming his entire face, he brought her to his face and kissed her cheek a dozen times or so. "That's my smart girl!"

It was her first word.

He sat her on his forearm held up against his chest and kissed her a few more times. "Daddy loves you," he said in a shamefully childish voice, "my big smart girl."

She giggled in his arms, blissfully unaware of why her father was showering her with kisses. He kissed her once more for good measure and settled her back on his thigh, and drove one of her boats around in the water making amusing sounds. She giggled uncontrollably.

"Janet," he said firmly. "We're gonna go get them." He double checked his weapon, looked at the group behind him, which included his wife, and stepped up to the 'gate. "Alright, let's go."

- . -

John and his sister sat on the floor of their Goa'uld prison with six children sitting between them. The two smallest, Siler's youngest children, were cuddled against their father. Siler and the kids were dozing.

"Dad and Mom are gonna come get us, right?" Jorge asked quietly.

John didn't look at her for a second. He thought back to a memory he probably didn't actually have. It was something his parents had told him about, so he may have imagined the memory.

He was scared. He couldn't remember what scared him, which was part of why it was so scary. He was trying to be brave, like Mama - and Daddy too. But he wasn't doing a good job.

Just then, a figure appeared in front of him. Daddy. "Hey, kiddo," Daddy said, crouching down right next to him. "None of that," he said, "we don't want to wake up Mom, do we?"

John shook his head. He kind of did want to wake Mama up, but Daddy was here, so he was going to be okay. Daddy scooped him up in his arms, and put a blanket around their shoulders. John grabbed onto him tightly, just to make sure Daddy didn't go anywhere, and he stuck his thumb in his mouth so he wouldn't cry.

He felt safe held tight in Daddy's arms, wrapped inside a blanket with him.

"What's the matter?" Daddy asked once they got outside.

"Scary," he said without taking his thumb out of his mouth. He still didn't want to cry.

"You had a scary dream?" Daddy asked.

John nodded. It was a very scary dream. So scary he wouldn't be able to talk about it, even if he could've remembered.

Daddy rubbed his back, which felt nice and warmed him up a little. "Yeah, I have those sometimes, too."

John stared wide eyed at Daddy. That couldn't be true. Daddy was a grown up. Daddy was . . . a daddy. He wasn't afraid of things.

Daddy nodded. "Yep. Do you know what I do when I have scary dreams?"

John shook his head, still in shock that Daddy had scary dreams too.

"I remember that they're not real, and they can't hurt me. But I usually still feel bad. So, to make myself feel better, I think of you and your mom."

If it worked for Daddy, it had to work!

John thought of Mama. She was so great. She was nice and funny and she tickled him and kissed him and he always sat on her lap when it was time to eat. She kept him warm when it was cold and she made him feel better when he was sad. He loved her so much. He thought of Daddy. Daddy was making him feel better right now.

"So when you have a scary dream, you can remember that it's not real and it can't hurt you. And you can think about me and Mom, and how we will always be here to protect you from anything."

"Always?" John asked, feeling better already.

Daddy smiled and kissed his forehead, just like Mama always did. "Always."

John looked at his sister and smiled like Daddy smiled. "They will always protect us." Before Jorge could ask how he was sure, he answered her, "Dad promised."

- . - - - . -