Author's Note: Here is chapter two enjoy. Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I woke up Monday morning and there they were 13 reviews. It made my day.
Oh and that first chapter wouldn't have been there is not for Almioo1971's great advice. The story would have started here!
To my anonymous reviewers: NightCat (); I hope it was worth the wait. SGAussie (); Here you go-More. Loolabelle (): I hope that this one is just as intriguing as well.
Charlie sat up, something had woken him up. Waiting tensely to see if he could identify the sound, he looked around the room and tried to remember where he was. The room came into focus, his father's house. He was safe here, they were safe. He felt the tension leave his body; no one was looking for them here.
It was the strangest thing. This house was his home, but it wasn't. So many things were different, but it was also achingly the same. His parents in the other Universe had lived in the same house. Morgan now slept in her own room but it wasn't her. Right now it was a spare room.
Beside him, he heard the sounds of Morgan's breathing; she had been having nightmares ever since they had left their home. She had been slipping into his bed at night to be close to someone familiar and to feel safe.
It had only been a week and she was still adjusting to what was happening. He hoped that this version of their parents would be back soon. He had called the base and asked for Colonel O'Neill only to be told that he should be returning from Washington later that day and he would be into work the following day but he'd already been delayed twice so his hopes weren't high.
On the front porch there were voices, the front door opened and keys hit the table by the door. Slipping out of the sleeping bag, he padded, barefoot, to the bedroom door, to hear them better. One of them was Jack O'Neill, his father, or at least the man who looked just like him.
He closed his eyes and listened to the familiar cadence of his voice. The other voice was Samantha Carter's, they spoke of their visit to Washington and then she bid him goodnight.
It was funny, his Sam had gone with his father on that first Abydos mission and they had married six months later. Sara, his mother, died while his father was in Iraq. Just after he left for his last tour in Special Forces, she had been diagnosed with cancer. She had put up a brave fight until they told her that O'Neill was dead, and then she just slipped away. Charlie had stayed with Sam until they found O'Neill alive four months later.
The first time Charlie saw O'Neill was in the hospital. A few days later, he came home to live in Sam's house.
The man who returned from Iraq all those years ago was a stranger, even more so than his father had been before. At first, O'Neill would do his job, and then come home and sit for hours, alone. There were months of silence with only a few happy moments sprinkled throughout, O'Neill not seeing how it was hurting his "son", until Sam made him see.
O'Neill could not cope with his experiences in Iraq, the loss of his wife, and he needed help. Six months after he returned, he married Sam, but they continued to have separate rooms. They had only married because Sara's father was trying to take Charlie away from O'Neill. He said that O'Neill was not a fit father and Charlie was in danger. After that, the good days had increased in number and frequency.
It wasn't long after that the Air Force had sent him to Abydos because of his deteriorating mental state. To both this O'Neill and his father, it was like a suicide mission but unlike Jack, O'Neill had had both Daniel and Sam to temper his blackness. The two of them pulled O'Neill back from the abyss that had almost consumed him. Charlie had stayed with Jacob while they were gone. In the short time they had known each other they had grown close.
Jack closed the door and Charlie could imagine him loosening his tie and throwing it across the back of one of the chairs in the living room only to have his coat follow. It was now or never.
This man would not be happy, but there was nothing he could do about that. The sofa creaked and Charlie could see Jack sitting there fighting his emotions. He had seen O'Neill sit like this so many times. His elbows would be resting on his knees while his hands would support his head, covering his face, hiding the silent tears. Jack was just as weary as his father had been before Sam, before allowing himself to love and be loved again. Pulling on the knob, Charlie closed the door behind him and stepped out into the hallway.
Jack was sitting on the couch with his back to Charlie, just as the boy imagined. Knowing he needed to announce his presence, Charlie opened his mouth, but changed his mind and watched this Jack for a moment, needing to see his father, alive and well, even if he was a copy. Charlie sighed, this would be harder than he thought.
At an unexpected noise, Jack stood to meet whatever threat was about to appear. Horror crossed Jack's face as he looked at Charlie.
Opening his mouth, Charlie looked at Jack. What could he say and how could he make him understand why he was here.
Jack tilted his head and gave him an 'I'm waiting look.' Charlie knew he was running out of time. Sighing, he tried again to explain, but a small voice called, "Charlie, where are you? I'm scared."
"I'm out here Morgan." Charlie waited to see Jack's reaction and it was just as he expected. If his presence was a surprise then, Morgan's was an even bigger one.
At the sound of another child , Jack froze and was unable to speak. Charlie was dead, and he should not be standing here in his living room, years older, and not in the company of another child. Just what was going on here? He had just caught a glimpse of the blond braids and blue eyes before Charlie had knelt down and blocked his view of the child.
Using his body to block Jack's view of Morgan, Charlie tried to steer her back to bed so he could explain what was happening before the two of them saw each other. Morgan stopped and put her thumb in her mouth, talking around it. "You said you wouldn't leave me until mommy and daddy came back. Charlie, why are you out here?"
"I was just outside the door talking to someone, now you need to go back to bed, it's late. Daddy will be home tomorrow and you can see him. You don't want to be grouchy do you?"
Shaking her head her braids fluttered. "Who were you talking to?" she asked as she fought him steering her back to bed. "I thought I heard Daddy's voice and Mommy's. I want to see Mommy and Daddy."
She bit Charlie's hand and tried to get around him and see who else was in the room. Her eyes lit up when she saw Jack. "I knew you would be safe. Those snake men could not hurt you. I missed you and Mommy." Before either of the older O'Neill's could stop her she launched herself into Jack's arms and the only thing he could do was to catch her.
Confused by the child's reaction to him, Jack looked at the child in his arms. Her blue eyes met his brown and he could not miss his own features echoed back to him as well as Carter's smile etched on the child's lips. Turning to his dead son he asked, "Just what is going on here?"
The little girl pressed a kiss on his cheek and laid her head down on his shoulder, "Daddy we came home. We were lost for a while with Mommy's sister. She looked just like Mommy, but her hair was longer. She said to call her Dr. Carter. She helped us get home, and we waited for you to come back. Where were you? Can we all stay here with you now? I didn't like living in the mountain."
Swallowing, he looked over at Charlie and without words he demanded an explanation. Rubbing the back of his neck Charlie said, "I hoped that I would be able to explain it all to you before you saw her. We came through the quantum mirror with Dr. Carter. She helped us..."
He was interrupted by Morgan's, "Ah," She held up her finger in a perfect imitation of Jack. "Stop it, Charlie. You sound like Mommy. Nobody cares about how we got here. Where is mommy?" she asked looking around the room for her mother.
Jack's eyes met the child's again and he felt his heart melt. She was his, even if he had no part in her birth. A wave of love washed over him, only to be followed by sadness. She was what they had given up, what could have been.
Holding her close, Jack fought the tears that collected in his eyes. He and Carter had given up so much, lost so much time, but this little girl and Charlie might be their chance for love and redemption.
Morgan seeing the tears said, "It's all right Daddy. We're all safe now. You, me, Charlie, and Mommy." Looking around the room she did not see her mother. "She was with you and the snake men. I saw her fall down, but you saved her, didn't you?"
Opening his mouth , Jack tried to come up with a reason for Carter to be missing without worrying Morgan. His mind came up with nothing and he closed his mouth again.
How do you explain to a little girl that her parents are dead and she will be raised by two unmarried people who look just like them? Also that her mother knows nothing about her yet and has gone home to her own house.
Lifting his gaze to Charlie, he asked what to do. Shrugging, Charlie came over and tried to take Morgan back to bed. Morgan sensing something was wrong would not let go of Jack. "Mommy, I want Mommy," became her mantra at ever increasing volume.
Managing to loosen her grip enough to speak, Jack said, "Bring me the phone, I'll call Carter and get her over here to calm Morgan down. We'll have to explain everything to her."
Nodding, Charlie crossed to the table beside the couch and grabbed the phone. He had just handed it to Jack when there was a knock at the door. Morgan's cries had quieted down, but she still had more than enough volume so that they could not hide her from whoever was at the door.
The door knob turned and the door slowly opened. Sam stood in the doorway, too worried about bothering the Colonel than listening to what was happening in the house. "Sir, I'm sorry to bother you but my car won't start. Can I use your pho..." Her eyes fell on the Colonel with a screaming little girl in his arms and a teenage boy standing beside him.
At the sound of her voice, the girl began to renew her fight to be let go. "Mommy, I want Mommy. Daddy, Charlie I need mommy. Put me down." she was now fighting to get down but Jack tried to hold on to her.
Sam's eyes met Jack's over the screaming child. "Colonel what-- I'll just go." She tried to duck out the door, but before she could Morgan bit Jack.
"You're not going anywhere Carter. That is an order." He tried to control Morgan's descent to the floor as much as he could, but she stumbled as she tried to run to Sam.
"Mommy don't leave me. Stay, please stay." Watching the little girl come closer while holding out her arms to be picked up, Sam knelt down, catching her in her arms as Morgan leapt the last few inches. "Mommy, you're safe. I knew you would be. Those bad men could not hurt you or daddy. Now we can be a family again."
The little girl buried her face in Sam's neck and sighed contently. After a moment, she looked up and pointed an accusing finger at Jack, "Daddy wouldn't tell me where you were. I thought that you might be dead like Uncle Daniel. I saw you fall down and Daddy yelled just as we went through the mirror thingy. I met your sister. She had longer hair than you do. I called her Dr. Carter like she told me to."
Holding on to the little girl, Sam tried to right her world now that it had been knocked sideways. In her arms was her child - their child - her and Jack's child, and she had just heard what must have been her alternate's death as well as Jack's. Her mind shut down and all she could do was hold onto the little girl in her arms. At that moment it was her only reality.
At the sound of another voice, Charlie turned and saw Major Samantha Carter, not Major Samantha O'Neill. Tears filled his eyes as his brown ones met her blue. This Sam was safe and so was this father. He moved his gaze from her to Jack. Both were wearing their dress blues and they were a striking pair.
It was interesting to watch them. After letting go of Morgan, Jack moved closer to Sam without a thought. He watched as Jack helped Sam to sit down on the couch and sat close to her. After a moment, Jack turned to him. "Can you get her a glass of water, Charlie?"
The boy nodded and disappeared into the kitchen. The boy's name seemed to break through her daze, "Charlie? You're Charlie?"
Rubbing his temple Jack answered, "Sort of. That mirror thingy, didn't I blow it to kingdom come?"
Looking at the now sleeping girl and the kitchen door, "Yes I was there with you, but they had to come from somewhere."
Coming back into the room with a glass of water, Charlie said, "NID found another one before Dad shut down their secret operation a few years ago." his eyes flicked to Jack at his slip, who just waved for him to continue, "The mirror was stored somewhere in a NID warehouse. In my reality, Dad hid the mirror because we losing to the Goa'uld. Mom, Carter, was able to mask the gate so they could not find it. Three months passed and we lived in the mountain. Launching attacks from there. We could not use the gate without giving ourselves away."
Tears filled Charlie's eyes, "Then we were all betrayed, some of the people made it through the gate. Dad knew we were out of time and so we headed for the mirror which was closer. We had met Dr. Carter when she was looking for worlds that had won the war. She told Dad that if he ever needed, she would find us a place to live. But the Goa'uld found us. Mom fell first. Dad yelled at me to get through the mirror and he tried to help her, but he was hit, too. The last thing he did was smash the mirror. We can't go back."
Jack reached out and touched the little girl's hair. He wasn't sure just what they were going to do, but there was no way he was going to let these children go now that he had them. He was not the biological parent, but as of this moment, he was their parent. His eyes met Car- no Sam's and he knew she felt the same way, she was never one to argue with herself either.
"Why don't you get her back to bed. It's late and I should call the General. He will want to know about this." He motioned to the two children.
Nodding, Sam stood and carried Morgan into the spare room. She laid the girl down on the bed and covered her with the blanket up to her chin. Touching her hair, Sam was amazed at how much she loved this little girl already.
Morgan curled up on her side and said, "I love you mommy. I'm glad that you and daddy are safe. I was worried when you did not come and find us right away. I thought we had lost you like we lost Uncle Daniel."
Tears came to her eyes. Was this what they had given up and denied themselves to save the world? Was it too late or was this little girl their second chance at the life they had given up when they chose the Air Force over a life together.
The Goa'uld were still out there, but others could take over the fight on the front lines, the children were more important now. They had not asked for this, but now that it was here, she was planning to give up her whole career for her children.
Fatigue washed over her and she decided it was time to get a few moments of shuteye. Jack would wake her when General Hammond arrived. Lying down beside Morgan, Sam relaxed for the first time in a long time and slept soundly.
There you are. Another one bits the dust. This story is 20 chapters long so there is more for you all to enjoy. Leave a review and make me smile. ~Kelleth~
