Chapter Ten: Agony of Expectation

It didn't take long before all the other children were tumbling through the front door and Jack did what he had to, to greet them with smiles and hugs. It was hard, given the dragging exhaustion still nipping at his heels but it was enough to hold his children again. They had been such troopers during all of this, they deserved some fun time out of the house but at the same time, Jack knew that they would rather be at home with Jack, Daniel and Malachi. He looked up towards the stairs as Daniel came down with a hand stuffing the little purple-vapor filled vial into his pocket before he nodded to Jack and they all settled around the living room. Ben walked towards the basement door, and waved to them and Jack nodded in thanks. His Pop was a smart man, knowing they didn't need to have this conversation with more people than was absolutely necessary, the only reason that all the kids were here at the moment was because Zada needed to know about her mother and they all deserved to know about Malachi.

Jack didn't understand the magic thing anymore than he liked it most days so he didn't know if what they were asking the girls to take something that they could never give up without the pain that Daniel had witnessed when the bio-moms had been disempowered. He didn't want to put them through more pain and confusion then absolutely necessary.

"How is Malachi?" Zale asked gently as he took Zada's hand in his gentle grasp.

Jack smiled, "He is resting, nothing new has happened but we are still deeply concerned about the damage that Erica warned us about in his mind and heart. We've had news though."

"Desire is dead," Zada stated matter-of-factly and Jack stared at her in shock.

"What?" he choked then looked over at Janet and Claire and they were nodding as well, like everyone knew. "What do you know about that? Why do you think that's true?"

"We felt the bond die slowly, it was hard to tell what it was because it was never very strong. Janet and Claire did not even share with me that they felt something as well at the same time. I did not wish it to be true, for Malachi."

Jack and Daniel immediately rushed over to their daughters and hugged them though Zada seemed to be completely detached from the loss while Janet and Claire were just sad. None of them were crying, there were no hysterics to be settled and the only thing they cared about was that their little brother was in danger and they had no solution.

"How can you not care?" Daniel asked gently.

Zada shook her head into Jack's shoulder before he pushed away from his loose grip and he looked into her dark brown eyes. "It is not about not caring. The sadness comes and goes but the damage she has done to Malachi is what we care about more. Janet and Claire had almost no bond with Desire, feeling little to nothing of the death of the bond. There was enough to notice a change but that was all for them. Mine was stronger and it was still a whisper's death in my heart. In the end I am sorry we were never more than connected through our DNA but it was her choice. She did not want us until it was too late. Neither of them did."

Jack resettled in his chair and Daniel followed his lead, not knowing what to say to their daughter. She had a point but he also didn't want her to be uncaring about the death of her mother. Sadly though that wasn't today's biggest concern. It was also increasingly bizarre to hear his baby girl talk like a grown up with grown up ideas. He didn't want her to be a grown up, he wasn't ready for that though to be fair she was close to her teen years age wise so he had better get ready either way.

"If Desire is dead then she cannot break the curse on Malachi," Zale finally said, bringing all of them back on track with his quiet and kind reminder. He was still holding Zada's hand, picking at the sleeve of his shirt while he stared at his lap.

Jack looked to Daniel and his husband started speaking since the scientist had spent so much more time learning about the ways of this world, "We have another option, one that we hoped would never come to pass but here we are without choice."

"Whatever it is, we have to do it," Zada determined with a single nod of her head, dark curls bobbing around her shoulders and cheeks.

"I'm sorry Z-Princess, it's not your choice to make. Someone has to take Desire's powers and break the curse. The only people capable of doing so are Janet and Claire, Zada you can't because of your Magis."

Zada nodded, "I should have realized, Sarafina would fight any other power within even if it was genetically passed down. She rewrote the rules for me when she woke."

"We can save Malachi?" Janet and Claire asked in eerie unison, thankfully they didn't do it all that often mostly because they knew it freaked him out when they did it.

"If you can figure out what Desire did and undo it."

"And then get rid of the magic?" Claire asked.

Daniel shook his head, thankfully since Jack didn't really know. "If the magic accepts you, it will bond to the abilities you already have and become a part of the whole. You will either keep it all or lose it all, and it will be painful if you choose to leave the magic behind. I don't say this to sway you to either decision, only to be honest about what we know."

Claire swallowed convulsively, clearly afraid of the ability and what it had done to Desire and Lust. They knew from the moment Jack and Daniel met Lust and Desire, they had powers that had forced them into the world of Damnation and Infidels, it wasn't something that Claire and Janet knew about because it had never been relevant but maybe Claire thought that by taking the powers, she could become Desire. Jack faltered, thinking that fear through as well, wondering what he could possibly say to alleviate it besides forget it, he wasn't going to lose two children like this.

Daniel reached out and took Claire's hand in his, "You could never be her, baby girl. You are too sweet and courageous. If you decide to do this, Papa and I will see you through the transition, we will start training and learn to deal with everything but you put that thought from your mind right this instant. This is her power it isn't her history and her actions. If and when you choose to take it, it will become yours without the strings of Desire. It would be your choice to turn them into something beautiful instead of something ugly and hurtful."

Claire nodded and leaned forward and pressed her forehead into Daniel's chest and he pressed a kiss to the back of her dark blonde head, Jack's heart melted at the sight and a tear threatened at the corner of his eye but it didn't try all that hard to escape. Sometimes the all the emotions that Daniel and the children could inspire in Jack were overwhelming and that one little touch had Jack's heart expanding at the sight.

When she sat back down next to her sister they looked at each other and smiled. Jack knew what they were going to say, he'd always known same as Daniel. It was why Daniel was so concerned that they were going to have to let their daughters' save their son by taking on the powers of the woman who bore them and only remembered them when she wanted something. They were brave and beautiful children and he didn't know how he got so damned lucky to have them in his heart and life.

"We will do what we must to save Malachi," Claire stated with a single nod of her head.

Janet nodded, "Me too Daddy and Papa. I don't want to say goodbye to Malachi now, he has to stay with us forever."

Jack smiled tremulously and everyone converged on the girls to hug them and kiss them. Jack got up when he heard the whimper float out of the baby monitor and walked upstairs just as the sound tripped into a cry and he opened the door. Walking across the room, talking loud enough to let Malachi know he was coming, he was okay until he stopped next to the crib and shouted for help before he pressed a hand down on Malachi's body, which was stretching his sleeper to the limit. He'd had another growth spurt, his littler hands trying to rub at his eyes, a little trickle of blood coming from his nose and another coming out of his ears. Jack's heart thundered in his chest, his breath choking off in his lungs as tears blurred his vision.

"Jack!" Daniel shouted as he burst into the room, thankfully Elle was following close behind and there was a blur of other bodies who tried to shift Jack to the side but he couldn't take his hand off his son, so desperate to pick him up but they'd learned that when the unnatural growth spurts happened, holding their son made it harder, made it all hurt that much worse. Then Daniel was at his side and tugging him out of the way of the blurred people, those who came to help his son. He should move but he couldn't. He wasn't going to abandon Malachi, he couldn't let the child go then Daniel was whispering in his ear, an arm around his shoulder and a hand on the arm that was attached to Malachi's screeching body.

"Let them work, come sit with me on the bed, please?" Daniel pleaded, the echo of a sob on his husband's words so he listened, his hand sliding slowly away from Malachi and the other hand loosened the death grip he had on the side of the crib. When his hands fell away, the control he had on his emotions snapped, ripping a cry out of him that any other moment he might be deeply embarrassed about but when Daniel just pulled him close for a hug, Jack just ignored his misplaced ego and took all the love and care Daniel was willing to dole out. He sank into the contact and gripped at Daniel's shirt to keep his husband close.

Unlike doctors, when Healers' took action there was always word very quickly whether it be good or bad. It only took a few miserable terrifying moments before Malachi's screams downgraded back to whimpers and Jack opened his eyes, pressing the heel of his hand into his eyes, getting the tears off his face as he turned towards the crib again, barely catching sight of the kids at the door but they were frozen and wrapped around each with terror and tears written all over their faces. Part of him wanted to go over there and hug them but the other part of him needed to hear what was happening with his youngest son. He needed to know the damage.

It was hard to think of Malachi's face scrunched up in pain and agony, his multicolored eyes closed to the world because of the stress on his body so far and Jack just wanted to hug him until life stopped kicking him. He hoped that would be soon.

He caught and held onto Erica's relieved blue gaze and moved forward enough to take her hand in one of his, while the other remained locked around Daniel's hand. "His body is turning on him, it cannot hold up to the aging process anymore. If you are to do something, it has to be done as soon as possible."

Jack nodded and turned to look at Daniel who nodded in return. "Do we need Akina to give the power to the girls?" he asked Erica.

She shook her head, "Do you have it?"

Jack's gaze hopped between the two of them while they spoke and watched as Daniel pulled the little vial from his pocket, the shivering purple vapor pressing against the sides of the container, as if it knew it was going to be freed. The problem was that it was going to be freed into he daughters. "Will they both receive it?" Jack asked.

Erica shook her head while she took the vial from Daniel and motioned for the twins to join them in the room and Ben scooted the rest of them towards the stairs. Jack didn't have the wherewithal to thank his father for being here for them through everything but he knew he didn't have to right now. Erica waved the other healers out of the room and suddenly the space was large enough to house them all once again. Jack and Daniel stood next to the bed, Janet and Claire stood at the foot of the bed between their parents and the healer next to the crib. Malachi was breathing the slow breaths of the exhausted and recently healed, they had gotten used to that rhythm in the past several months and Jack was sick of it all. He didn't like what they were doing, that it came down to putting their daughters at risk but it was just too much for him to contemplate losing his son, the child he nurtured to life with his unfit body. He'd done everything he could to get him here, he gave up the idea of being alive when it was all said and done, as long as Malachi survived and he wondered if the sacrifice would be worth it. His head and emotional heart said yes but then they gave the choice to their ten-year-old daughters.

"Give them the benefit of the doubt Jack, they wish to save their brother as much s you do. They understand something big is about to happen and that is more than some adults can truly understand. They want to see this through," Erica whispered after she moved in close enough to whisper the words to him. Jack nodded and turned to his daughters.

"Do they choose, which one will take it?" Jack asked finally.

"No, the power will seek the host in which it will bond and link to the power already residing there. This will become the most powerful ability one of your daughters will carry, the other power will become secondary because the mother's abilities is more pure Vannas. Now shall we see who the power chooses?"

Jack and Daniel nodded, the twins nodded and Erica opened the vial. At first nothing happened and Jack admitted it would jerk out into the world and attack his daughter but that didn't seem to be happening thankfully, then she tipped it upside down and the power finally moved. They watched as the slithering vapor wiggled and shifted into the air, moving quickly towards the twins and Jack forced himself to not bat it away from them. He wanted to call it back, make it all stop. Then realizing that by stopping this moment, Malachi's future would unravel and his present would come to an end sooner rather later, Jack just tightened his hold on Daniel and prayed for something and to something he didn't really understand.

He just knew he wanted to put off saying goodbye to his son, in fact he hoped he would be dead and barely, with Daniel the elderly widow before any of his children met their end. He couldn't survive another son's death so here he stood and watched as that vapor circled and turned into a fine bubble around both girls. He looked to Erica who shook her head before he looked back again to watch as the thing opened and changed into small particles on the air and then they all started slipping in through Janet's skin. She watched it in fascination while Claire reached out and touched her sister gently on the arm. Janet gasped and smiled, while Jack held back once more. Daniel tightened his hand around Jack's wrist and they watched as both girls lightened. Their skin didn't change, it was nothing as simple as a shape shifting feature, Jack had seen that more times that he could count in this magical land, this was as if sunlight had taken up residence under their skin and they were the source on earth for now. The daylight outside actually seemed to dim in comparison to them, then the particles were gone and both girls' returned to normal and looked over to Erica and smiled.

"This cannot be, they have done the impossible," Erica said, the shimmer of tears in her eyes making Jack nervous all over again.

"What happened?" Daniel asked.

"They share Desire's power, it has now become something in both of them, each will retain parts of the whole but they will be capable of doing greater things together than apart."

"Story of our life," Daniel said with a snicker and Jack smiled a little in response. It had been a long time since those words were spoken but it was still true to this day, as long as Daniel was with Jack, then they could do amazing things. They could do impossible things.

"The powers have accepted them both, they can find the way to help their brother. The power started to choose Janet but when Claire touched her, it seemed some bond they carry was strong enough to split Desire's power. It is fascinating."

Jack cleared his throat, and Erica refocused as she turned and grabbed Malachi from the crib and brought him over to the bed. Daniel and Jack moved to bookend the baby, who was now about the size that the twins were when they turned a year old, it was shocking to say the least, realizing that his aging had progressed so quickly and as Daniel predicted all those weeks ago, Malachi was mentally behind. Their baby boy didn't know how to make his body function and they hadn't had the opportunity to help him learn because of the constant pain he'd been in for weeks now making every instant harder than the last.

Janet and Claire climbed up on the bed as Erica sat down close to Malachi. She spoke softly and slowly to the girls, not like they were stupid just that she wanted the twins to understand her. "Place your hand on him, both of you." When they did so, Erica continued, "Now I want you to close your eyes and look inside him."

Both girls gasped and Erica clucked her tongue gently, "Do not focus on the pain, it is residual and Elle will help with that as she can. I am sadly without power but she is coming back," the last was directed to Jack and Daniel. She turned back to Janet and Claire who still had their eyes closed with a hand on his stomach and slightly touching each other. They both had matching baby frowns on their face; scrunching their noses and making Jack's heart swell even more.

"Listen to his heart, his soul and body. Find the angry place inside, the one that continues to harm him. Look for it, seek out the darkness in your brave and beautiful brother."

Everything was silent, each of them watching the twins and Malachi, breathing quietly and slowly despite Jack's desire to throw himself head long into a panic attack. Daniel reached over and pressed his hand into Jack's thigh so he wrapped the other man's hand in his and squeezed a little, trying to offer comfort in any possible way.

"It feels like anger, hate and it's hurting him," Claire and Janet said simultaneously.

"That is it, does it look like something in particular?" Erica asked gently.

"A woven rope with fraying edges, it is pulling him apart."

"Pull the rope apart, disconnect it slowly. We do not wish to do more harm as we attempt to break the bonds."

The girls were nodding, eyes still closed and focused entirely on the job set down before them. Jack wanted to touch Malachi the urge was the only thing pounding through his head, making his fingers twitch and ache even after Daniel wrapped his hands around Jack's to hold him steady.

So instead he watched his girls, he watched his little boy and ached all over from the tension singing in his veins and muscles. He gripped at Daniel's hands like a lifeline and hoped there would be good news soon and he knew without a shadow of doubt that though the curse might be broken it would not undo the damage already done. Malachi had essentially lost a year of his life, had aged so quickly and they weren't going to know for a long time what kind of damage that had done. Jack sucked in a deep breath and just thanked something bigger than him that his daughters had been brave enough to do this for their little brother. When Daniel spoke to Claire only moments ago when she was sure she would become her mother if she took her power, he knew his husband was amazingly smart because it was true that Janet and Claire could never really be like that. They cared about everything and everyone too much, it hurt them to hurt others and they were tough little cookies. They were like their sister and their Daddy in that respect, it was something Daniel and he had argued about more than once, Daniel saying that Jack was always brave and he would always do what had to be done but Jack knew that had been trained into him. He became strong and capable; Daniel just rushed in headlong to save others whenever the option presented itself.

Jack was strong; he had always conceded that point but Daniel…

Daniel had always been courageous.

"It's withering, releasing its hold on Malachi," the girls whispered in that disturbing unison, echoing across the expanse of the bed and the pinging gently off the walls to die away.

"Good job girls, now let it go, it should fade away. Curses are not natural, they are not meant to continue in the soul, they were meant to be broken, always."

Claire and Janet nodded for a second then with another gasp they opened their eyes, looking worn around the eyes and mouth but happy. Erica reached over as Claire and Janet pulled away and Jack waited, his breath caught in his lungs before her shoulders sagged and she smiled, "It's broken, the curse won't hurt him anymore."

Jack slumped forward, dragging Janet into his lap and hugging her to his chest, trying to keep the relieved sobs from escaping out of his lips. Daniel was hugging Claire against his chest and each father reached out and pressed a hand to Malachi's stomach. Jack pressed a kiss to his daughter's head before he looked to Erica, "Can I pick him up?" he asked, scared that whatever the last attack had done was still going to be hurting him.

Erica smiled and nodded, he nudged Janet back down in front of him as Daniel whispered something to Claire and she grabbed her sister's hand and dragged her out of the room. Jack reached down and lifted the not-so-little boy from the bed and cuddled him to his chest. He listened to Malachi's breathing, felt the light thudding of his heartbeat and sagged against the headboard. Daniel was right there with him, pressing a gentle hand to the back of their son's head and pressing a wet kiss to the side of Malachi's head the another to Jack's cheek.

"We made it here Jack, it's going to be okay," Daniel whispered and Jack shuddered as all the walls inside came crashing down. He felt the fear he'd been living with as it slunk back into the shadows in the beautiful light of day. He looked over at Daniel, Malachi's head tucked into his shoulder and pressed his lips to Daniel's in a desperate kiss that was over before he could enjoy it. He didn't need to make out with Daniel right now, he would do much more later when he wasn't so exhausted but the moment they were in right now, the one that was fleetingly moving on to the next already was too important to just let go of without something. He'd wondered a little at a time if they could make it through this, if he could make it through this but at the same time he'd trusted in something bigger than himself, not God, not really. He didn't know what he believed about what was out there in the world that could see his son die at a young age and so many people die who Jack loved. He hadn't even trusted in the magic, he knew it was a chance but he had put a pin in it very quickly when they had to trust Desire and Lust to return and save Malachi. He had trusted all this time in the power of their family, that together they could make it through this and that was something he'd rarely had in his life, it came close to what he'd felt for SG-1 but not really because he'd been the leader and had to make the decisions about their lives all the time.

The strength of the Jackson-O'Neill's came almost effortlessly and it wasn't a power that knew what to do or knew the future or any such crazy thing even with Johnny. The power was that together they would continue to get through everything one step, one day, one minute at a time and all he had to do was take that step and hold out his hand. They would be there to catch him, and that wasn't just Daniel and the kids. Their family was also Sam and Teal'c and their kids, but also Pop and Adrian's family. He'd always hoped, before Charlie, for a big family and it had just taken some extra time to get here. It wasn't meant to be with Sara, Daniel was the partner strong enough to weather everything with Jack and he'd known that for a long time.

He held no ill will to Sara for not fighting for him because he hadn't been willing to fight for her either, a failing he always had to live with but Daniel was it for him and he always would be.

They really would make it through anything as long as they were together, and the knowledge burst through his mind in a wash of relieved exhilaration that had Daniel looking at him in confused happiness at the manic smile Jack could feel spreading over his features. Jack didn't care though, he would tell Daniel later when they weren't sharing Malachi with his siblings who burst through the door a second later, closely followed by their Grandpapa.

For now he would share Malachi with everyone and bask in another crisis averted.