Spoilers: very small one for Revelations, Meridian

--

Jack and David slowly pulled out of their embrace, staring at the expression on the other's face until Jack chuckled, patting his brother on the shoulder. "So this isn't going to be awkward or anything, is it?" he asked as he stepped back, sliding his hands into his pockets.

David looked down at the floor near Jack's feet, then around the rest of the room, making sure the universe was still in one piece. Yep, nothing earth-shattering going on in his living room. "We managed to avoid all that the first time."

"Yeah. So we did." He followed David's gaze to the middle of the room, where there were two cardboard boxes, the packing tape having already been cut open but the flaps concealing anything inside. "Still moving in?"

"No. They were just delivered a few hours ago." He hesitated nervously, unsure how Jack was going to react if he told him what was inside. "It's the letters you sent me, after you…I never received them, until now. Our father was a more deceitful bastard than I gave him credit for."

Jack merely looked at him, not needing to voice his own thoughts about the man.

"I can't imagine why he bothered to keep them all these years," David added, walking over to them and bending down to pick one up. It was dated May 30, 1965 on the envelope. "He never even opened them." He dropped the letter back into the box on top of the others.

Jack gazed at the box, hearing the disappointment and anger in David's words despite his composed delivery. "He probably kept them in case you ever figured out the truth. I'm guessing you confronted him about it, now he's trying to make it up to you. To show he really did care."

David flinched. "If I had known…"

"I know," Jack quickly interrupted him. "I never blamed you. I think we're both blaming ourselves for what happened between us and if it's okay with you I'd rather we just accepted it's all in the past and moved on. We're not kids anymore."

David studied his brother's face for a long moment. "No, we're not. But what happened back then changed us both."

"Hopefully for the better."

"I know it did for me."

Jack smiled. "I'm a colonel in the United States Air Force, leading the flagship team of the most classified project on Earth making first contact with aliens and fighting False Gods bent on galactic domination. You think I'd be where I am if I let people tell me I wasn't smart enough to do anything?" He glanced around the room again, his gaze settling on a few pictures hanging up on the wall.

David chuckled shyly, immensely proud of his brother, and of his younger self that had recognized Jack's greatness and, unknowingly, pushed him to his full potential. "You were always smart, Jack. You just weren't interested in things that weren't relevant to you at the time."

"And I'm pretty sure they're still not relevant," Jack said under his breath, walking over to study on the photographs on the wall.

One of the pictures was of David and a young woman in her late teens, his arm around her shoulder as they both smiled broadly at the camera, a mountaintop vista in the background and their clothes indicating they had been hiking. "That's my daughter. She's nineteen, a sophomore in college. Now that she's settled in at school I thought I'd get a new start somewhere else. Imagine my luck that the SGC came calling when it did."

"What's her name?" Jack asked.

David couldn't hide his grin. "Jacqueline. Jackie, for short."

Jack looked at him, appalled. "You didn't."

"I did. She's a great kid. Wants to be an artist, she loves to draw just about everything." He paused, before adding with feigned indifference, "She plays hockey. Her high school team won the league championship."

"Yes!" Jack crowed triumphantly, pumping his fists in the air. "I knew you had it in you. Hockey's in our blood, I'm telling you. I'd love to meet her someday. What about her mother?"

"We divorced when Jackie was fourteen, but stayed close. It just wasn't meant to be, but I wouldn't trade Jackie for anything, so I don't regret it. What about you?"

Jack kept his gaze on Jackie's still expression, trying not to see any of Charlie in her features. "I have plenty of regrets, but not about getting married or..." being a father, he finished silently. He couldn't talk about it now, he didn't want to carry that burden into this moment. He wasn't ready for that. "SG-1 has been my family for a long time now."

"Yeah, I noticed you guys are all pretty close. After everything you've been through, I'm not surprised." He hesitated, wondering if he should bring up the subject of Daniel, but decided it was still too soon to talk about it, judging from Jack's lack of reaction. "So."

"So," Jack echoed, turning away from the pictures. They stood there in an awkward silence for a while. "I'm hungry. I spent a lot of money on those stamps, so I think it's only fair that you buy me dinner."

David grinned and shook his head in amusement. "Fine. Though I'm planning on reading every one of those letters, so they won't go to waste."

"Oh," Jack said without enthusiasm, grimacing at the idea of reviving his childhood memories, even if he wasn't the one reviving them. "I'd skip the year I'm 14. I think the term angry young man comes to mind."

David cringed guiltily, wishing things could have been different for them both. "Maybe they'll inspire me next time I see Dad."

Jack choked out a laugh, trying to imagine the David he remembered from his childhood saying some of the words Jack had used with astonishing frequency in some of his later letters. He just couldn't see that happening. Things had certainly changed over the years. "You'll be able to quote me. I never blamed you for anything, David," he admitted seriously. "When I saved your life it never even crossed my mind how Pop would react. I wasn't trying to seek his approval, so when he threw me out I didn't care. I didn't care about the consequences to me, as long as you were alive. So I don't have any regrets. And neither should you."

"I don't regret you saving my life," David said slowly.

"Good enough for me," Jack said, slapping him on the shoulder again. "Besides, I think I may need your help."

"Because of what happened to Daniel Jackson?"

"Yeah," Jack responded uncomfortably. "But first, you were taking me to dinner. We can talk about work later. Right now, I want to get to know my big brother."

After dinner, they talked long into the morning, catching up on the nearly 40 years they had spent apart, until Jack fell asleep on the couch, already exhausted from his latest mission to rescue the Asgards Thor and Heimdall from Anubis.

David gazed at the sleeping form of his brother, still able to see the little boy he had once known through the tough exterior of the Air Force Colonel. "Good night, Jack," he whispered as he draped a blanket over his brother, turned off all the lights except a lamp on the other side of the room, and went to bed.

--

Four days ago

Daniel looked up the ramp towards the Stargate, considering his future if he followed Oma's path, a future that took him away from his friends but led him to the wisdom he always sought, the knowledge he craved. Then he looked at Jack, whose presence had always tethered him to the SGC like a lifeline, who had offered him a home and a shoulder to lean on and had given him the chance to prove so many times and to so many people that they could make a difference, that he could make a difference.

That there were still things worth fighting for.

As Jack watched Daniel's internal struggle, in his mind he saw the metaphorical car of his childhood, the one that was taking his family away from him, slow down.

Daniel took a step down the ramp, his eyes still glistening in the blue glow of the active Stargate. Again, he turned and looked up at the wormhole that lead to a journey he could only imagine. Yet it was a journey that would still be available to him years down the road. For now, he already had a purpose, he was already making a difference and using his knowledge to make the galaxy a better place. Maybe that was why he had been so reluctant to accept Oma's offer at first. He still had so much he could do with this life. He still had to prove to himself that he was the man Oma and his friends believed him to be.

The metaphorical car turned around as Daniel turned back to Jack and finally admitted the truth to himself and to his best friend.

"Help me, Jack. I want to stay."

Jack took a deep breath in relief, smiling slightly. "I want you to stay, too."

Daniel smiled, his eyes far from dry. "I couldn't leave you behind now, could I?"

"Do me a favor? Next time you think about catching the next plane of existence out of here, do it without the theatrics of radiation poisoning. It's such a mess."

"I'll try to remember that next time I want to die. So how do we do this?"

"You think happy thoughts and tell yourself there's no place like home." In the dream state of the Gate Room Jack placed his hand on Daniel's shoulder. "This is your home, Daniel. I hope you know that."

Daniel glanced back at the active Stargate, wondering if Oma was still waiting for him on the other side, and wishing her well. Suddenly, he and Jack were swept away to the infirmary where Jacob was still healing his decaying body. His friends were all gathered around him, his teammates, the General and Janet, and he couldn't imagine ever leaving them. This was his family. "I know."

Jack watched the healthy, dream state version of Daniel disappear as the younger man returned his mind to his body. He stepped forward, gently pushing aside one of the monitors so he could get close, standing side by side with Jacob. He recognized the irony of the moment: Daniel was almost like a son to Jacob, and a brother to Jack. This was his family now, in the same position his real family had been in almost forty years ago. Only this time, they weren't going to screw up. Daniel wasn't leaving them behind and Jack wasn't giving him a reason to.

He placed his right hand over Daniel's forehead, giving Jacob room to continue with the healing device over Daniel's chest.

"Colonel?" Janet asked warily.

Jack didn't respond as he closed his eyes, feeling the familiar warmth and passing it on to Daniel, instinctively knowing what he needed to do.

"Sir? What are you doing?" Carter asked.

"Holy Hanna," Jacob suddenly gasped.

"Don't stop," Jack ordered, his eyes still closed, as a warm, white glow surrounded Daniel's head, accompanied by the red glow of the healing device in Jacob's hand.

"He's stabilizing," Janet announced in awe, torn between watching the monitors or the actual healing.

"Don't stop," Jack repeated absently, focusing on the power within and Daniel's strength, binding the two.

Daniel slowly regained consciousness as the pain dissipated until there was nothing but warmth and well-being. He gasped out, sucking in a deep breath. It was always a shock coming back from the dead, or the near-dead as the case may be, and it took him a moment to orient himself and remember his conversation with Jack.

Meanwhile, Jack was falling, exhausted from his efforts, but unlike his own father so many years ago, Jacob was there to catch him.

Author's Notes: Okay, so I'm a big liar, and an update in a week became an update in a month, despite the 34 reviews I was so graciously given for the last chapter, and a million thanks for those. I'm trying really hard to keep my writing interesting and poignant with each chapter, because I hate it when a really good story starts to lose its edge.

I had planned to finish this story in the next chapter, and I probably will, but there was a lot of interest in learning more about David so I'm trying to work out a plotline to give him more screen time with Jack. I may decide to post it as a separate story, because I really love the relationship between Jack and David and there are so many possibilities but it would be difficult to continue in the same style as my previous chapters, which would throw the whole story out of whack. Anyway, hopefully I'll get the next part out sooner, and my sincere thanks for sticking with me on this. As always, reviews are appreciated.

Bixata