The Culling
Begins
Unification Part 2
By
Michele
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Walter has a
surprise, Sam finally has her day in the sun, the curse of SG-9
strikes again, Dr. Lam finally gets her claws on Jack, Daniel blows
up, Jack melts down, and someone unexpected shows up for Jack's
command performance.
Everyone assumed it would be Daniel who had the first book published. To everyone's surprise, it was Sgt. Harriman's face they saw on display. Jack looked from the book to Walter and back to the book. Stargate.
"I did get prior permission, Sir," Walter assured him. "And the Pentagon examined the script before allowing the publication."
"I'm sure they did, sergeant," Jack said. He had skimmed through it and saw his name over and over again. Daniel, Sam, and Teal'c, too, as well as General Hammond's. "My, my, Walter, what a cleaver little bee you are. Well, don't just stand there, son, sign it." He thrust the book out to the airman. "These, too, for Sam and Daniel. Don't forget the big guy."
Walter flushed, pleased, and signed the books.
No one doubted the book would be Number 1 but it went there in a day. The entire English speaking world stopped to read. As soon as it was translated into other languages, they, too, stopped to read. Jack's office was bombarded with phone calls. Yes, every word was true, Sergeant Harriman had been accurate.
Most of the public hadn't understood why Jack's attitude had been put up with by the leadership, but they now understood. Stargate Command had saved Earth's collective ass more times than they had known, and Jack O'Neill was usually at the head of the game. All the internet information had been sketchy at best, the sergeant filled in the missing pieces. Most of them, anyway. While Daniel did have a book in the works, his was more intellectual; Walter had a gift for breaking down difficult concepts and making them digestible.
The second bomb came out of Sam's arena; not only was the legendary Area 51 being run by an alien generator that used no carbon fuels and released no pollution, Nellis and Las Vegas and everything within a 200 mile radius were also just connected to the generator. The generators were in short supply due to the materials not being available on Earth, but Area 51 was doing it's best to recreate them. Since the public had read Walter's book, they understood about naquadah and its importance, and were starting to piece together the entire bowl of alphabet soup and the potential benefit for the public. The average energy bill dropped from $200-$300 a month to $50, and that was just to help Area 51 with a few of their own bills and the expense of personnel to monitor the generator. Of course, the casinos still had a larger slice of the pie and had the nerve to complain about paying more than the average home owner.
Sam's name had been quietly thrown into the public on several occasions as the head of the team that created the ships, as well as being on O'Neill's team and as his wife, but between the generator and Walter's book, the public jumped into overtime. Sam's name was attached to almost all the gadgets, including the home-made dialing device for the Stargate itself. Luckily, the reporters couldn't get to her while she stayed in the bowels of Area 51. The recent interviewers were beside themselves; they had Sam for days and didn't realize what they had outside someone who helped to create the ships. Sam grumbled that if she had been a man, they would have been all over her for details. Jack had to admit she was right. He made a few phone calls and got permission to release a couple of private films of her teaching pilots the ins and outs of the 303s and the 302s, and an academy film of her teaching cadets the physics, what she knew of them, behind the wormholes. Jack wouldn't put it past her to figure out how to create the wormholes themselves.
Jack's phone rang in the middle of his lunch.
"Now, Jack, don't get upset," he was immediately warned. Jack paused.
"What happened?" he asked, resigned. Landry's angst was almost palpable through the phone.
"The locals tried to sacrifice him."
Daniel had been asked to go on a mission with SG-9. Jack knew it was a bad idea, everyone knew it was a bad idea; he was convinced that unit was jinxed. SG-9 had reported Mayan temples, so Daniel nearly went down on his knees begging to go.
"Daniel, didn't the Mayan's make blood sacrifices?" Jack asked. "Tear out beating hearts, that kinda thing?"
"That was here," Daniel said. "That doesn't mean these Mayans developed along the same lines. Come on, Jack, how often have we come across people from this side of the world? Almost never. I need to go."
Jack actually didn't have much of a say in the matter, he wasn't Daniel's supervisor.
He went to the Mountain and found Daniel sleeping off a minor surgery. His chest was bandaged.
"Alright, someone tell me what happened," he said, sitting next to Daniel's bed. Captain Wallace stood nearby, not looking forward to the general's visit.
"Sir, when we arrived the locals were getting ready to sacrifice a woman," Wallace said. "They were waiting for a sign from the gods telling them to stop the ceremony. When the Stargate opened and Dr. Jackson walked through….."
"They saw it as a sign," Jack finished.
"Yes, sir."
"The cut was superficial," Dr. Lam told him. "Abrasions on his wrists and ankles from restraints. They got him out in time. Someone dialed in and requested a UAV be sent through. It scared the locals enough to let him go. A chemical was poured into the wound on his chest; we had to dig it out a bit to get it all. He'll have a scar."
Jack took Daniel's hand and leaned back for a long wait.
"I don't care about a scar," he said. "He'll be alright?"
"Yes, sir," she nodded.
Jack called Sam and then home to let Jerrie know he would be late.
"Sorry, Jack," Landry said when he came for a visit.
"Not much anyone can do, when he gets something in his head," Jack said, looking at Daniel's sleeping form. He laced their fingers and played absently with the ring on Daniel's right hand.
It was several hours later when Daniel began to wake up through pain meds.
"Crap," he muttered.
"Is that commentary on your physical state or your summary of events?" Jack asked, relieved.
"Summary," Daniel croaked. Jack got up and found a water cup and straw. "No pain," he said with a frown. "What happened?"
Jack gave him a rundown of the surgery. Dr. Lam came in, a tech having notified her that Daniel was awake. She checked his vitals and then looked under the bandage on his chest. She frowned, looked at the men, and then pulled the bandage up further.
"Is this your doing?" she asked Jack.
"What?"
She carefully lifted the bandage away. Except for a little bruising, Daniel's chest was whole.
"Keep it up, general, and you'll put me out of business," Lam commented, tossing the bandage aside. She poked gently at Daniel's chest. He winced slightly but said he felt fine.
"I want an x-ray, CT, MRI, the works," she ordered.
Jack was a little stunned himself as he looked down at his hand.
"General, I'd like to hook you up to a biofeedback," she told him.
"I'm not playing guinea pig," Jack informed her. "Not now, not ever."
"I could pull medical rank," she warned.
"Try it," he said. "There are thousands of people on this planet who are evolving, you want to hook them up, too? Whatever is happening, it's part of who I am, whether I like it or not."
"All the more reason to get current normals on you," she said.
"You have current normals as of two months ago," he told her.
It took several hours to put Daniel through all the equipment. Dr. Lam continued to argue with Jack.
"What are you two going on about?" Daniel asked, coming back from the latest imaging. Jack told him. "Jack, I'd like you to do it."
"Why?" he frowned stubbornly.
"Because. What if something happens to you that turns out to be related to whatever this is?" Daniel asked. "How will anyone know what's normal and what isn't, if you don't get tests done now? Jack, she isn't the NID or the Trust, she isn't trying to exploit you. You healed me, Jack; we need the normals, as many as we can get."
Jack growled and muttered as he submitted to Dr. Lam's tests.
"You don't even know what you're looking for," he accused her as she stuck electrodes on his hands, chest, and head. She paused and frowned thoughtfully as she looked at his chest. She shook her head and continued.
"Probably not," she admitted. "But I do know what's normal, and if something stands out, I'll know it's specific to you."
Did he notice any odd disturbances in his vision when the healing thing happened? Did his hands get warm? Did they get cold? Any odd sensations in his hands? Did he think any specific thoughts? No, no, no.
When all her tests came back normal, Lam looked around. Col. Reynolds was keeping Jack company while the tests were being done. She grabbed his wrist.
"Colonel, thank you for volunteering," she said to the started man. She looked at Jack. "He has an owie, general, heal him." Jack saw a small scrape on Reynolds' cheek. She attached electrodes to Reynolds. "What do you do from here?" she asked Jack.
"Well, I've only done it deliberately once," he confessed. "I just….touch." He put his hand over Kevin's face.
"Just don't think you can touch my face any ol' time," Reynolds informed him.
"But, Kevin, you know I've always had a deep, secret thing for you," Jack told him.
"Well, I sorta guessed that, Jack," Kevin told him. "But how could I hope to compete with Daniel and Sam? I feel so worthless beside them."
"You are worthless, Kevin, but that doesn't make my feelings for you any less…..ow." Jack rubbed the side of his head where a roll of bandages had been thrown at him.
"Would you like Dr. Lam to get normals for something else?" Daniel asked, leaning forward, an inch from Jack's face.
"Ooooh, baby, with video?" Jack crooned, touching his nose to Daniel's. "Is Kevin joining us?" Reynolds jerked his face away.
"Boys," Lam threatened. She looked at Reynolds' face and then back at her equipment. "The scrape is gone and nothing special showed up on the readout," she said. "General, you felt nothing? Not even something minor? A little whisper of anything?"
Jack thought about it. "A little of that tingly feeling," he said. "You know, that special feeling…."
Dr. Lam kicked them out of her infirmary.
"You're a menace, do you know that?" Daniel inquired as they strode down the hall.
"I'm cute and she likes me," Jack told him.
"Uh huh."
"Besides, I'm not the one who keeps getting hurt when off-world," Jack said. "So who's the menace, Dennis?"
Daniel put his hands around Jack's throat and threatened to strangle him.
"Good night?" Landry said as they walked by his office.
"Thank you for a wonderful, if unproductive, day," Jack said, taking Landry's hand.
"Yeah, I got a small pain, Jack, would you mind?" Landry asked, tapping his butt.
"Sorry, my ass is the only male ass he kisses," Daniel said, dragging Jack out of the office.
"Sorry, general, you can see I'm a kept man," Jack called out. "Another time! Another place…!"
Once they were in the elevator, Jack smacked Daniel on the shoulder.
"Will you please stop letting the natives kill you?" he begged. A couple of marines leaving for home looked at them.
"They didn't kill me, they only cut me open a little," Daniel said, peering down the front of his shirt. The cold of the outside air began to reach them and they zipped their coats. "Hey, did you really not sense anything during Lam's experiment?"
"A small whoosh," Jack said, wigging his fingers.
"A whoosh?"
"Yeah, like an exhale or the sound of the tide, and my attention seemed to be focused completely on the problem for just a brief second. Davy has a scraped knee; I'll try it again when we get home." They checked out with the desk and continued their ride to the top.
"I don't think I was consciously doing anything when you were down," Jack said. "I was thinking to myself that you had better damned well not get any weird alien infection, but that was about it. I napped for a little while. That's it."
"Jack, you have a natural sense of goodwill," Daniel told him. "You want people to be well. Unless they're holding a gun to you. But all in all, you reach out to anyone in need. Since we are bonded in other ways, maybe something inside didn't need permission; it healed me because you wanted me whole and healthy."
They walked to the cars. One of the perks that Jack liked was that he had a reserved spot right up front.
"Sirs?" one of the Marines called out. The men stopped. "May I ask a question, general?"
"Sure…" Jack looked for the name tag but it was hidden beneath the coat.
"Corporal Avila, sir," the marine said.
"Go for it, corporal," Jack said.
"Yes, sir. I'm fairly new around here, sir, but I've been hearing about this evolution thing," Avila said. "Is it true, sir?"
"Yes, it is," Jack nodded. Daniel nodded silently beside him. "You got kids, corporal?"
"Yes, sir, I do," Avila nodded. "Three. And they're all doing things that should be beyond their age and understanding. My wife is afraid, sir. She's from South America. A lot of people are afraid, whispers of the children being possessed by the devil. I've started hearing rumors of very bad things happening to children, and I have to tell you, sir, I'm scared."
Jack gave the corporal his full attention after glancing at Daniel.
"What's happening is normal," Jack quietly stressed. "It's happening to some adults, too, but it isn't as noticeable. There are no devils, son, we killed the worst of them just a short time ago. Let the kids develop as they will and don't punish them for doing what is coming naturally to them. The changes must happen for the greater good of our species."
"Tell your wife this," Daniel said. "These things are coming from their brains. God gave them their brains, so God must want this to happen. It comes from God, so don't be afraid."
Avila nodded, a little relieved.
"Thank you, sirs," the corporal said.
"You're welcome," Jack said. "And I'll have a talk with the Brazilian ambassador and see what she has to say."
"Corporal, someone should have told you about the Kid Tree," Daniel said. "It's not only for the safety of the kids, but also for the parents to talk with each other. Captain Bogner's wife, Gina, recently took over the calendar and phone list, why don't you give them a call? I believe the next parent-kid outing is next weekend. This thing with the kids is a hot topic."
Avila thanked him, and he and his partner continued to their cars as Jack and Daniel got into Jack's truck.
"God, Jack, I didn't think about third-world countries," Daniel groaned. "We need some fast intel."
Jack already had his cell phone out and was dialing Major Davis.
"Danny, I want you to write up a release," Jack said after giving Paul his orders. "Make it honest and simple, something the common person would understand. I'll have Sam write something more appropriate for the medical community. Send it to me and I will forward it. I'll have Paul translate them for a public press release."
"I can do that."
The children were relieved that Daniel was alright. They insisted on seeing his chest for themselves, so he pulled his shirt up to show them. All that was left was a small line that would soon disappear. They weren't told the entire story of his healing; Katie had guessed but she was proving to be very good about keeping quiet. It was Davy they were concerned about; it didn't seem to occur to him that some things were better left unsaid. Davy was still concerned, though, and occupied Daniel's lap during their evening TV watching. He kept touching Daniel's chest, running a finger along the center line. Stacy occupied Daniel's side, huddled up under his arm.
"I'm fine, guys," he insisted. He kissed heads.
"I don't like you going off-world," Stacy informed him.
"I know you don't," Daniel acknowledged. "But sometimes I need to go. This was an important cultural find. We will watch them, and if there is a time in the future when they seem a little more receptive to visitors, we will try and introduce ourselves again. We scared them, so I don't blame them for trying to hurt me."
When Jack went into the bedroom, he was careful not to slam the door. It would wake up the baby. He showered, taking his time under the hot water, not doing much more than leaning against the wall.
"Are you going to prune yourself or are you going to come out here and yell at me?"
Jack shut the water off and got out, pushing past Daniel as he dried off and found his pj's.
"Jack, I don't do it on purpose," Daniel told him. Jack got under the covers and pulled them up, turning his back to the center of the bed, and turned the light off. He was suddenly shoved to his back and covered with a larger body.
"We are going to discuss this," he was informed.
"Get off me."
"Are you going to talk to me?"
"Off."
After a moment, Daniel slid to the side. Jack could feel himself being watched in the dark.
"I have a vested interest in you," he said quietly.
"I know."
"Every time you go out, you get hurt."
"Not on purpose."
Jack turned his head.
"I know that but you attract attention like a magnet," he said. "Since you won't stay on-world for me, I'm pulling the kid-card."
Daniel fell forward and put his face in a pillow.
"That isn't fair," he said, lifting his face. Jack could see a brightness on the dark of Daniel's face. "You just spent three months fighting Goa'uld, you could have been killed. Would you have stayed home, if I had asked you? Would you have stayed if the kids had asked you?"
"I'm replaceable, you're not."
Daniel sat up quickly and pushed at Jack's torso.
"Bullshit!" he yelled. "Don't you pull that fucking crap with me, O'Neill! I need you, goddammit, you are irreplaceable to ME and yet you don't even ask our opinion, you just find the nearest spaceship and high-ho silver, you're off!" He punched Jack on the chest. "I had the decency to ask your blessing before I went off-world, you DIDN'T! This is supposed to be a partnership, you ASSHOLE, I put a fucking RING on your finger! You promised we would discuss things and you LEFT! You left your FAMILY!"
Daniel stormed off the bed and out the room. Stunned, Jack laid there for a moment. He heard another door slam and he got up, scrubbing at his face before rubbing his chest and wincing. He leaned his head between his knees, running his fingers through his hair. Two rings stroked his scalp and he brought his hands down and looked at them. Two rings gleamed in the darkness of the room.
He checked in on the baby and found Jerrie tending to her.
"I have her," she said quietly. Jack nodded and shut the door.
The door to the den was unlocked, which he was grateful for; he wouldn't have to bust down the door. Daniel was sitting on the floor in front of the small couch, his knees drawn up. Jack locked the door and quietly came down into the room. He undressed and knelt next to Daniel, reaching for the pajama tops. Daniel knocked him away.
"You can call me every name in the book, but we are doing this," Jack quietly informed him.
"My body," Daniel spat out hoarsely.
"You wanted to talk, we're going to talk," Jack said. "Get your clothes off, or I'll tear them off."
Daniel tore his clothes off, angrily throwing them across the room. He pulled a pillow to his chest and buried his face in it as he rocked. Jack wiped his face and slid down beside him.
"I'm sorry," he said softly. He put an arm across Daniel's shoulders and pulled him over. Daniel released the pillow and put his face in Jack's chest. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
Daniel continued to cry, his hot tears sliding down Jack's chest and stomach as Jack held him. He opened up enough to get a hard smack in the face of the pain Daniel had been hiding.
"I want you safe," Jack whispered when Daniel had begun to quiet. "It would kill me if you died."
Daniel lifted his head and glared angrily, his face wet, eyes red.
"And you think I feel any less for you? You're a self-centered asshole!"
"Danny, you are a blessing on this world," Jack told him. "I wish I could have met your parents, because they created a miracle. If my running out onto a battle field will make you safe, I'm going to do it."
Daniel leaned back and stared in disbelief at him.
"You don't get it, do you?" he asked. "I don't have a language for this, so you are just going to have to try and comprehend –I love you. As much as you love me, I love you. It doesn't seem to occur to you that when your life is in danger, we can only stand and watch. If Sam is out with you, I'm here alone, Jack. I have no one to understand my fear of seeing one or even two caskets. You have no right to get angry with me about going off-world. I need you here, Jack, not scattered across the galaxy, so don't you fucking read me the riot act about off-world. You said we were a team and you haven't once consulted with me, except to TELL me what you were going to do. You are no longer my commanding officer, GENERAL, so quit giving me fucking orders and start communicating! I LOVE you, you fucking son of a bitch, so keep your castle towers and let me IN! You fucking trained me as a soldier, I'm not delicate! I don't need a white knight, you don't go onto a battlefield without me! Asshole!" He punched Jack in the stomach and jumped to his feet. He angrily wrapped a blanket around himself and stormed across the room. Jack took a breath and rubbed his stomach.
"Just because I like it up the ass, doesn't make me the girl in this relationship!" Daniel continued to rage. "I am your partner, goddammit, not some screeching female on the railroad tracks! I don't need my head patted, or my ass, for that matter! I'm tired of feeling as though I'm a blond with not much more than two brain cells! I have three Ph.D's, Mister Master's degree, and you haven't once asked me my opinion on an Earth matter! I'm your resident anthropology expert! Today's issue of the children is the first time something has come up that you actually asked me to help with and all you wanted from me is a letter! I have to go off-world just to get an anthro fix!" He threw something across the room and it shattered against a wall. Daniel slid to the floor against a bookcase, sobbing incoherently.
Shocked, Jack sat for a moment. He stood, wincing slightly, and walked to Daniel.
"Danny, I'm sorry," he said. He squatted down. "I didn't know you were feeling so hemmed in. It's a poor excuse, but I didn't know I had to ask before you would offer an opinion on anything. Danny, you have always been welcome to join in on council meetings, I'm sorry if I didn't say it. I thought you wanted to be at the SGC and teaching; if I had known otherwise, I would have asked you right away to come to HomeSec. My God, Daniel, anything you have to say will always be the primary opinion, it always has, don't you know that? I always look to you first; when you don't offer anything, I look elsewhere. Just tell me what you want. Do you want to be at HomeSec? You can start tomorrow. Just tell me."
He hesitated before touching the brown head. Daniel sobbed louder. Jack leaned down and put his head against Daniel's back.
"Baby, I love you," he whispered. "I'm sorry if I've been going overboard on the protection. You're mine and I want the entire universe to know it, even if that means putting my stamp of protection on you. Yes, I can get a little white knight about things. You're not a wuss, Danny, I know that, and I'd have you at my side in a battle any day. If it wasn't for the children, I would have considered bringing you and Sam with me. I trust you so much, I place the lives of my children in your hands. Yes, I didn't want you to die in battle, but if something had happened to the children…. I can't go through that again, Danny; once was once too many times and losing Megan was almost as hard as losing Charlie. I thought you understood that. I should have said it. I may be on the front line but you are my defense line. If it gets through me, I know you'll stop it. You carried my ass off the field, I know you'll save my children. I will do my best to stop with the over-protection, if you will try and understand why I need you here. Please, Danny."
Daniel finally turned over and knocked Jack back. Jack held him hard, a fist in his hair, continuing to whisper apologies into Daniel's ear. Daniel finally began to quiet as he stayed plastered to Jack.
"I didn't know you had been so scared," Jack whispered, looking at the ceiling. "You never let on."
"I…didn't want you to…lose confidence," Daniel whispered hoarsely. "I hated…you being out there. I buried myself in work and the kids so I didn't have to think of you probably dead. I have first hand knowledge of being the spouse of a soldier and I don't like it. I had Sam, but we didn't have you."
Jack stroked his hair and pressed his mouth to Daniel's neck. "I'm here, Danny."
Eventually, Daniel used his torn pajama top to wipe his face and blow his nose. Jack pulled on a nearby blanket and covered them.
"Things have been happening here, too, but you haven't asked about them," Daniel said. "I've had a few studios contact me, asking for information that they can adapt for their shows. Use facts in a fictional environment. I had someone contact me with the idea of public service announcements. They were talking about aliens in general, but the announcements could easily be educational for other things. Col. Chekhov has asked me to come to Russia, the Queen of England wants tea, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, basically all the European nations, Australia, New Zealand…I've heard from almost every nation in the world, Jack. They all want education. The countries that have tribes are very concerned. Chekhov says he's had reports of exorcisms and sacrifices coming from the outback, and the Chinese border is horrific."
Jack frowned as he looked at Daniel.
"What the hell has been happening while I was gone?"
"Exactly," Daniel nodded. "Hell. It's been breaking loose. Jack, haven't you read the reports sitting on your desk? Everyone is screaming for information. I started training my students for service here, not off-world."
Jack stroked Daniel's hair and pressed his mouth to his forehead. He turned them over and leaned over Daniel.
"I will read them tomorrow, I promise. I wish you could do that sensing thing," he said. "I'm sorry if I do things that make you feel…mmm…less-than. I'm a grunt, Danny; I don't think you realize how much power you and Sam have over me. I do what I need to do, and I just assume that if you guys what something else, you'd tell me."
Daniel looked up and touched Jack's ribs. "Sometimes that's hard," he said. "We want you to be happy, too."
Jack leaned down and gently kissed him. "Tell me something recent that I fucked up," he said, looking into the red-rimmed blue eyes. "I must have done something that brought on this blow-up, the pressure has obviously been building, so tell me what it is."
Daniel was silent for a moment, speaking volumes to Jack.
"You countermanded me after I issued a punishment to Katie," Daniel finally said. Jack thought about it and then nodded.
"Yes, I did, and I'm sorry," he said. "You're right, I'm wrong. WE are her parents, not just me. Punishment is on, we will tell her at breakfast."
Daniel nodded and slowly slid his arms around Jack's waist. "I know this is wimpy, but just hold me," he quietly asked.
"It isn't wimpy," Jack assured him. He settled down, pulled the blanket tight around them, and held Daniel close.
Early in the morning, they woke up and quietly made love, nothing more than gently touching each other. Jack did his best to pour his entire self into Daniel as he touched and kissed the man. There was something extremely intimate about looking into each other's eyes as they rubbed their genitals together, something more intimate than one being inside the other.
They wiped themselves off with Daniel's torn shirt and put on their pj bottoms before heading upstairs. The children were quietly eating breakfast, not sure what was happening, having heard the yelling in the night.
"It's ok, kids," Jack said, their quiet extremely loud in the morning air. "We had an argument, that's all. We're ok now." He went around and touched heads and cheeks before getting his robe. He brought out Daniel's robe and found coffee waiting for him.
"Katherine, I believe Daniel gave you a punishment," Jack said. "I was wrong to take it away. You were an hour late for curfew and Daniel caught you. His punishment stands."
Shocked, Katie stared at him for a moment.
"But….that isn't fair," she said in disbelief, looking from one to the other. "It was only an hour."
Jack nodded. "It was an hour in which you could have been dead in a ditch somewhere," he said. "You didn't even call to let us know you would be late; we might have extended the deadline, if we had known. No driving for two weeks and you stay home Friday after school until school Monday morning. Without guests."
Katie slammed her spoon down and ran from the room. A second later, her bedroom door slammed.
"And Matthew, yes, you may have a sleep-over Saturday night," Jack continued. "Five guests only and you may pick three movies from the video store."
While the kids got ready for school, Jack held Olivia and got in some daddy time before he needed to go to the office.
"Thank you," Daniel said softly. He leaned over and pecked at Jack's mouth before heading to a shower.
"Were there discipline problems while I was gone?" Jack quietly asked Jerrie who was clearing the table.
"A little, at first," she said with a shrug. "Daniel may appear a little soft-serve, but the kids quickly discovered that he stands his ground. They settled. Sam was a little unsure of her place but she found her rhythm. I think she had a few parental talks with General Hammond. She's known him a while?"
"Yes, she has," Jack nodded. "George served with Sam's father, Jacob, for years. He knew Sam and her brother Mark when they were toddlers."
Jerrie nodded.
"He's moving back here," Jack said. "He's taking the position at the Academy. Sam misses her father, and she really didn't have time to get to know mine, so I'm glad George will be here for her. Do you think you'll ever want kids?"
"No," she shook her head with a smile. "I love them, but I'm happy taking care of other people's kids. And if you don't mind my saying so, your kids are surprisingly good kids," she said. "I've met a lot of brats, in my day, but these guys are a breath of fresh air. You'd think military kids would all be well-disciplined, but usually they're over-disciplined and they strike out at the bonds early in their teenage careers. It's nice to see parents who actually talk to their kids AND listen. And stick to their guns."
Jerrie started the dishwasher and Jack handed her the baby.
"Thank you," he said. "I don't think I've had them long enough to take the credit, so I'll forward your compliments to their mother and hope to live up to her expectations."
He stopped by his mother's house on his way to work.
"How did you discipline us without feeling like crap for doing it?" he asked her.
"I didn't," she said. "Made me feel like crap every time."
He kissed her cheek and continued to work.
He knew he wouldn't like it, and he didn't when Davis handed him a quick over-view of world events.
"Oh, my fucking Christ," Jack moaned, tossing the paper down. Paul nodded gravely.
"It's bad enough some of those countries are still killing female babies, but this? Entire generations are suddenly gone," Paul said.
Jack scrubbed at his face and tuned out for a moment.
"Send that report to Dr. Wagner," he said. "And get me…who's the worst?... Get me…no, I'm going to pay them a personal visit."
"Sir…," Paul hesitated.
"Well?"
"Jurisdiction, sir," he said. He knew the general wasn't going to like it. "Our job is to protect Earth from invasion and, through the SGC, explore the galaxy. Anything else is outside our jurisdiction. We should inform the World Health Organization and let them deal with it. That would be proper procedure. Sir."
"Out."
Davis inclined his head and left the room.
Almost one million children worldwide had been killed in the past three months. Jack felt sick to his stomach. He went into his private bathroom and got rid of his breakfast. He brushed and rinsed his face before going back into his office. He sat at his desk and leaned back in his chair, his eyes closed. His phone rang. He pressed the intercom.
"No calls, Abigail," he quietly requested.
"Yes, sir," Mrs. Clark responded after a moment.
An unknown time later, the door quietly opened. A tissue touched his face, gently stroking his cheeks and eyes.
"A few times while I was growing up, I resented and hated humans," Cassie said softly. Jack opened his eyes and looked at her. "I was angry. I didn't understand why you couldn't have come just an hour sooner. One hour, that was all I wanted, and maybe I wouldn't have been alone. If there are gods, I think they wanted me to be here, for whatever purpose. I needed Janet in my life, I needed all of you. I wouldn't have needed rescuing, if Niirti hadn't destroyed my world. One life, Jack, just one. It's a blessing."
Jack took a shuddering breath and pulled her close, burying his face in her belly.
"I can't tell you how to fix this, I don't know," she said softly. "But I know you, and I know that when the time comes, you will do the right thing."
"Too fast," he whispered. "It's happening too fast."
"No, it's been happening for years," she told him. "Do you remember Daniel talking about cultural implosion? When a culture builds to a point where it either implodes or explodes? If it implodes, it dies out. If it explodes, it becomes something else and continues to grow. The difference between a black hole and a supernova. This planet is so over-crowded, it needs to explode or it will implode. Scientists can't keep up with all the new diseases cropping up. All the death and destruction of entire nations through war and famine. Pollution killing the ozone in turn creating a heat bubble; this winter is no where near as cold as it should be. Natural disasters tearing apart coastlines that would have been protected, if people hadn't messed with them. Nature is saying some of us need to go. I don't mean to sound cold, but that's how life works and you should know that. Clean your own backyard, first."
He nodded shakily and tugged her blouse back into place.
"Generals aren't supposed to break down in front of little girls," he said huskily.
"That's ok because I love the ones that do," she informed him. She kissed his head and turned.
"Honey, I need Daniel, Sam, Dr. Lam, Dr. Warner, Dr. Wagner, the Surgeon General, and reps from the NIH and WHO," he told her. "Our people need to prepare a presentation for the others; I need everyone here for an urgent meeting at 8am local time tomorrow and keep it to themselves." Cass nodded and left the room.
Jack decided to close shop and work at home for the rest of the day. His main excuse was that he needed baby time. The world always seemed a better place when it smelled like a baby. He staggered into the house and found her in a swing watching Jerrie clean the living room. Olivia saw Jack enter and squealed, holding out her arms.
"Da!"
Jack picked her up and held her close, breathing in her scent.
"Did you just say that?" he asked her. He experimented with the sounds as she watched his face closely.
"Da!" she squealed in delight.
"Oh, baby, I needed to hear that," he told her. He collapsed onto the couch and sat her up on his stomach. She bounced enthusiastically and patted his chest as she babbled.
"You left a couple hours ago, bad day already?" Jerrie asked.
"You have no idea," he said. "Jerrie, how much of what we talk about around here do you understand?"
She sat in a chair and thought about it.
"Quite a bit, I think," she said. "Current conversations are revolving around evolution and mainly the kids. Kids in general, not just yours. And it's happening to some adults. Whatever IT is."
Jack gave her an overview of the entire situation. She frowned as she followed.
"But I'm getting the impression that whatever is going on, there is a difference between the kids and the adults," she said. "Sam's toys, for example. They seem to have nothing to do with evolution."
"Correct," Jack nodded. "When the Ancients came back to Earth to live out the remainder of their days, they bred with the locals. Those genes have survived in certain members of the population. Everyone has the ability to make the leap, but it takes genetic tinkering to make people without the ancient gene do ancient things. It's easier just to find people with the gene."
"How does one make the leap?" she asked, confused.
Jack shrugged. "It really isn't as dramatic as it seems," he said. "It's easiest for the kids because their brains are so active, and they're doing it without thinking about it. The average IQ is being pushed forward a little, that's all. You've noticed the kids are all working ahead of their grade? That and they seem to be picking up things intuitively. Katie seeing an illness inside of someone, Matty understanding spirituality."
"And you feel other people's emotions," she said, looking at him. Jack nodded.
"I was jumpstarted a few years ago," he said. "The kids are using more of their brain than previously known. Seven to ten percent was the normal; that's being pushed forward to about fifteen percent. Twenty will be considered high genius level."
Jerrie nodded. "And where does this gene come into play?"
"Not quite sure yet," he admitted. "Two different things are happening; the leap and the gene. I think, eventually, they'll meet up. The toys were created by a race that used a lot more of their brain than we are using. The Asgard are unable to make the toys, if that gives you perspective. Sam is a little scary, actually; she doesn't know how to create them, but she is able to recreate them once she reverse-engineers them. It's like she's able to look at something and know how it was made. The difference between creation and reproduction."
"Since you're the main object of discussion and tip-toeing around, I think you're not telling me everything," she said.
"The toys are our inheritance," he said, not responding. "Our ancestors created them, ancestors for some of us. They really are not necessary for our future, but they're nice to have and they will make the world a better place, environmentally speaking, if we can get them duplicated. The problem is, only people with the gene can use them. I could be wrong in all this, I'm not a scientist. You should ask Sam, if you want more details. Did she test you, by the way?"
"Not that I'm aware of," she said. Jack heaved himself up, telling Olivia how perfect she was which she accepted gracefully, and went into his office for a moment. He came out and held out something small.
"Just hold it," he said. "There's no on button, just think ON. Will it."
Jerrie held it for a moment, looking curiously at it. There was suddenly a party on the floor. Olivia squeaked and pumped her legs excitedly. Jack set her belly down on the carpet and she patted at the figures.
"Instant baby entertainment," he said. "Congratulations, you have the gene. That means your siblings will also have it, if they are full-blood and not halves."
"What is it?" Jerrie asked, watching in awe as Olivia tried to catch the figures.
"Just a toy," Jack said. He went to find coffee.
The phone rang and he answered it.
"O'Neill. Just write up something from the cultural perspective," he said. "Everyone from their own specialty. Did Paul send you the quick report he gathered? It's killing me, Danny, I tossed my breakfast when I read that report. No, I'm fine. Olivia called me Da. I felt a lot better after that." He smiled and went into his office, shutting the door.
He began reading through the reports that had been sitting in his in-box. Jack hadn't been ignoring them, he was just hustling to find the time to deal with current issues, not things months old. Daniel had been right; hell was breaking loose. Suicides were way up, murder was at an all-time high, and those were just the modern countries. The non-HomeSec countries were clamoring even louder for inclusion, but those were the countries that had a high degree of infanticide and abuse against females of all ages. One of the reports was from Russia. Jack picked up the phone.
"Sergei," he said when it was answered. "It's Jack. Sorry to wake you. What's going on with your outback?" He rubbed his eyes as he listened. "Get the word out that it's normal," he said. "Well, tell them smarter kids will make Mother Russia proud. A lot of people are afraid; I thought we were more advanced. I'm having a hard time swallowing these numbers, colonel, and Russia was the last place I expected to see them. Your outback is so primitive? Alright, do what you can. Oh, hey, what about all the alien stuff, what are they thinking about that? Listen, even your people way out there still turn up the pride when they hear about honored military, don't they? We're not at war, at the moment, so why not get the pilots to do a little PR? Take them for a meet and greet with the peasants. The pilots can praise the kids and let them know how proud Russia is of them. I don't know, maybe it will, maybe it won't. Ok, thanks."
He took a breath and called out again.
"Hank, I need a favor. I have a meeting at 8am and I need Enki here. He started this snowball, he needs to help. Thanks."
The children were relieved to see the Dads snuggling, although Katie was still in poor abused teenager mode. Jack demonstrated his new status as Da! and Sam took Olivia, coaching her with, "ma ma ma ma…."
After attention was given to all and the kids were in bed, Sam and Daniel worked on their reports for the morning.
"Are you as pissed with me as Daniel is?" Jack asked Sam as he watched her type.
"Why is Daniel pissed at you?" she asked, not looking away from the screen. Jack told her. "Oh. A little," she said. "But my point of view is different; I was raised in a military family and I'm military. Remember that Daniel isn't military, no matter what he's been doing over the past ten or so years. He doesn't think military. As your wife, I would have liked a little discussion before you headed out, my opinion taken into consideration; as an officer, it didn't occur to me to question it, although I would have liked to have gone with you and gotten my shots in."
Jack was standing behind her chair and he leaned his head on her shoulder for a moment. "Ok," he said. "I can't stop and discuss every move I make, Sam. I have a job to do."
She paused and turned her chair.
"Jack, he's lost the people he's loved most in his life," she stressed. "His parents, Sha're, his grandfather, Kasuf, everyone. I honestly don't think he'd recover if we lost you. The next time you go gunning for a snake, just try and find a few minutes to talk with him. Give him a little reassurance. He's strong, except where you're concerned, and he hides his insecurities very well. You're his lover, father, brother, best friend; if he loses you, he loses everything. He might stick around for Stacy, but it wouldn't be with a full heart. I'll pay more attention, if something like this happens again, and do what I can, but you need to stop and consider others, too. You have a family, now, not a team trained not to question, and unless you want to find yourself with children and lovers who resent you, you need to do a better job at communicating. Use Dad as your example."
He stretched his back and shoulders, wincing, and nodded.
"Ok."
He went down into the grotto. Daniel's face was plastered to the computer screen, a pen lodged between his teeth. Jack leaned against the desk and watched him. He reached out and stroked a stray lock of hair.
"You're getting shaggy again," he commented. The hairline had gone up a centimeter or two, but Jack didn't mention it.
"I like it shaggy," Daniel murmured. He made a notation on the pad next to him. Jack was amused to see Daniel's notes were being taken in what looked like Egyptian.
"So do I, actually," Jack said. He touched Daniel's chin. "Hey." Daniel paused and looked at him. "Enki told me that my life span has reached that of the Ancient's themselves." Daniel sat back, his eyes widening. "I didn't want anyone to know because I'm kinda creeped out by it. I guess my body is starting to react to the regeneration. I also didn't want to be confined to a cell while doctors took me apart. Danny, if I do die before you, I am giving you this guarantee here and now –I will ascend and I will spend as much time with you as I can until you join me. I'll come back, if I can figure out how. I promise you, I'm here and you're not getting rid of me. No matter what happens."
Daniel took a shuddering breath and accepted the arms around him. Jack pressed his mouth to the top of Daniel's head.
"Get back to work," he said. "We'll take time together as soon as someone gets the ball rolling with this mess. Our major informed me that I'm not that person. He's a little irritating, sometimes."
Neither Daniel nor Sam got any sleep as they hustled to put together as much information as they could. Daniel wrote from a cultural view, how different cultures would probably react and suggestions of ways to counter-act, along with a proposed public statement that was written at an 8th grade level for the Western countries, and a 3rd grade level for the third-world countries. Sam wrote from a physics view, Dr. Lam from a medical view, and Dr. Warner was putting together examples from various imaging techniques along with footage of children and adults working on a level that they had previously been unable to attain. Jack knew some of the footage of brain activity, neurons lighting up, were his own. All identification would be removed from the images.
Jack watched Davy sleeping and felt a heavy heart. Davy had shone no signs of advancement.
They rushed to his office in the morning. Enki was waiting for them, dressed in his Tau'ri best. Paul tried to take Jack aside.
"Are they here?" Jack asked.
"Yes, sir, but…."
"Ok, let's do it."
"Sir….."
Jack moved past and they filed into the main meeting room where four men sat at the table. He knew one face and stopped in his tracks. The man stood up.
"General O'Neill," the man said, holding out a hand. "Dr. Gabriel Thorn, chief advisor to the Director-General of the World Health Organization."