Discovering Secrets Chapter 10

AN: So this is set in the past of this story, but comes from a scene at the end of the episode Seth and the entire story was inspired by the scene where Jacob and Sam visit Mark and he comes to the door with a little girl aged about 4. In this story that little girl is Annie.

Sam knew the time was coming to reveal all to her father, and she wasn't really looking forward to it. She'd put it off when they had been in Colorado and now they were driving up to Mark's house from the airport and Sam was very nervous.

They knocked on the door and Sam was not overly surprised to have it opened by Mark and Annie. She smiled weakly at him and said "Hi Mark." What did surprise her, however, was when Jacob pulled a totally shocked Mark towards him and hugged him before leaning down to speak to Annie.

"Hi there, what's your name?"

"I'm Annie." Annie said shyly before turning to smile up at Sam and saying what Sam hadn't as yet gotten around to explaining. "Hiya Mommy. What are you doing here? You didn't tell me you was coming" She put her arms up waiting for her Mom to pick her up, totally oblivious to the shocked silence her innocent words had produced. Once she was safely snuggled in her mother's arms, she turned to face Jacob and asked, "Who are you?"

Jacob stood stock still.

Sam decided not to reply but simply started to walk into the house, giving herself a few moments to work out what she was going to say. She paused when she heard Mark's whispered words as she passed. "You did tell him didn't you?"

"No…..I didn't get around to it.." Sam said sheepishly, looking back at her father who had still not moved.

Mark followed her gaze. "Oh! Well this should be interesting." Then addressing his father he surprised himself by inviting the other man into his house to see his family.

Chloe and Dylan were sitting at the dining room table when Sam entered the room.

"Hi Sam!" Chloe greeted her cheerfully, barely looking up from the homework that she was helping Dylan with. "Did you get some time off, we didn't know you were coming.".

"Something like that." She said joining them at the table with Annie on her knee. "I brought someone with me." She added.

"Oh?" Chloe perked up, hoping it might have been a potential love interest.

"Yeah….my dad….and Annie just said Hi Mommy."

"Oh…"

"Yeah…"

Both Sam and Chloe looked through the gap in the wall between the dining room and the main family room to see Mark and Jacob eyeing each other up.

"Ok, kids I think it's time we went out to play, let's go." Chloe stood and tried to encourage the kids away from the table, Dylan was quite happy to leave his homework so jumped down and moved towards his mom. Annie, on the other hand was more reluctant to get down from her mother's lap. Sam tried to ease Chloe's exit. "Don't worry sweetie, I'll be here when you finish, I might even come and join you once I'm finished here with Daddy Mark."

Annie looked from her mother's to her father and the strange man. "But mommy I want to know who that is."

"I know baby." Sam tried to placate her extremely curious child. "But I need you to go and play with Dylan and Mommy Chloe right now, we have some grown up things to discuss."

"Okaaaaayyy" Annie reluctantly agreed. "But you will tell me who he is won't you?"

Sam had no intention of introducing them if her Dad did not accept their situation so it was better that the little girl left now before getting attached at all, but she couldn't say that to a 4 year old so she settled for, "Later honey, now off you go."

Finally satisfied the little girl turned on Sam's lap and slid off, walked over and took Chloe's hand and left. Sam watched the three leave the room for the garden, took a fortifying breath and moved into the family room.

"Dad, I'm sure you have questions." She broke the silence that had descended on the room.

"QUESTIONS!" He bellowed in response then turned from his children desperate to keep his temper and not blow this chance to have a relationship with his family.

"Ok, let's get one thing straight." Mark started quietly. "You are in my house, by my invitation, and you will listen to this story before you make any judgements okay?. If you cannot accept what is said then you will leave, before you see the children again. Is that understood?"

Jacob got control of himself, nodded then turned to face his children, saying quite calmly, "We'd probably all be more comfortable sitting down, don't you think." His comment surprised both his children but they did as he asked and waited for him to continue with his questions.

"Annie is yours?" he addressed Sam.

"Yes." Sam replied simply.

"Can I ask when, how, who?" Jacob stumbled through his questions.

Sam took a moment before whispering, "You might not the answer."

"Try me." Her father asked.

Sam only hesitated briefly, then tried to explain as simply and as quickly as she could. "Her father is Jonas, just before we split up he attacked me and she is the result. He never knew and he died on a mission out of the mountain." She said trying to tell her father how he died without mentioning their classified work, hoping her father would understand.

"When…when did this happen." Jacob asked, trying to contain his rage that he felt at his daughters violation.

"Before I got transferred to D.C." she answered, knowing that he would understand when.

"That's why you were transferred." Jacob said quietly realising his reaction at the time would have been a devastating blow to his daughter.

"Yes, once my maternity status went through I was moved to the Pentagon, I tried to tell you but…"

"I wouldn't listen….." Jacob couldn't believe the damage he had done to his family. "I'm so sorry Sam."

Mark stood up, it was going to take more than one apology to make up for the last few years of no communication. He looked down at his father asking him the same question Sam had earlier in the day "Is your family more important than your job?" .

Without the slightest hesitation, Jacob looked directly at Mark and said, "Yes… I can't promise to always be around but I swear if it is a choice between protecting you or my job, you come first. My one regret is that neither you nor Sam ever knew that."

Mark sighed, there were tears forming in his eyes, he had never expected in his wildest dreams that his father would say that. He smiled at the older man, "Then I think your grandchildren would love to meet you." He took a breath, keen to explain the arrangements with Annie before the two met. "Annie lives here, she has since her birth, Chloe and I are her guardians and she is treated like our own. All three of us make the decisions about her care and Sam is fully involved in her life even when she can't be here. Both Annie and Dylan know that Sam is Annie's mother."

Mark looked at his father, half expecting him to make a comment in complaint at the arrangements. So he decided to lay it all on the line. "You may feel the decisions we have made are strange but this arrangement works, we are all happy and you are welcome if you promise to respect this arrangement."

Sam looked at her older brother and could see he was struggling with his emotions so went to give him a hug. "Nothing is changing." She whispered in his ear, "I'm not here to take her away." She could feel Mark sag against her and hugged him tighter. The siblings turned to their father.

"So what do you say Dad?" Sam asked. "Would you like to play with your grandchildren? I've gotta warn you, they love to beat adults at any game they choose."

Jacob looked up at his children and could not have been more proud of them, they had turned a horrible situation in to one which appeared to benefit them all. "I'd love to meet them, and if you are all happy then I am happy with whatever arrangement you have. I would just like the chance to be part of it." He walked over to them and put one arm around each of them and hugged them to him with Selmack cheering in his head.

AN: So from Season 3 Jacob knows about Annie, and therefore visits and hears news of her anytime he is able too, (I know that Jacob visiting Mark is not shown in the show much but is implied). One more chapter to go. Thanks for reading.