A/N This is the end of the story. At the end there is a hint of J/S if you squint and turn your head to just the right angle but blink and you'll miss it. I mention this because I do have the audacity to have her say the "J-word" (Jack) and I know that there are a handful of readers who do not want to read ship. And that is not what this is. The producers acknowledge that in their minds the two got together after Threads. As that's when the story is occurring I want the characters to act appropriately. For example, there's nothing overt but you'll notice Sam does not say the word "Sir" once this whole time.
This has been first and foremost a story about Jack's past and secondly a story about their friendship as a team.
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy!
Daniel stared in disbelief. Pieces of the story began to fall together to form a picture very different than the altruistic older officer offering guidance to a lost soul. Daniel didn't even know the man but he found himself refusing to believe the truth; the betrayal of trust which had been laid plain to see.
Jack smiled at his friend's empathy as he watched him struggle with what happened. He found himself with a new found appreciation that after all these years of war Daniel still somehow managed to have a gentle and trusting soul.
With heartbreak in his eyes Daniel looked at Jack, "Why?"
Jack shrugged as if he wasn't as bothered by it as they all knew he was, "Because that's what we do. We fill ourselves up with the notion that the more secret the mission the more important the mission and the more important the mission the more important the men on the mission are. We convince ourselves we are the best of the best and keep an eye out for anyone who fits the right profile and belongs with us.
It's no different than what Carter does when she gives her talks and comes back with lists of potential candidates for the Stargate program or when I go to the academy to evaluate pilot candidates and I'm really looking for future x-302 pilots. You've done it yourself when you go to conferences and come back all excited about some guy whose work would fit perfectly and how we should reach out and hire him."
Daniel shook his head, "But we don't deceive people! We don't play with their loyalties and emotions. We don't manipulate them!"
Jack locked eyes, "We don't? What about Captain Hailey? You don't think that she's here now because of some manipulation on our part? Do you begrudge Carter for getting involved?"
"No!" Daniel argued, "Because Sam brought her to the SGC and through the gate. She not only told her what she was getting into but she showed her. She gave her a choice."
Jack shrugged, "I had a choice too. Jenks never forced me into anything. Everything I did was my own decision."
Daniel slumped, too exhausted to argue, "But he mislead you. Manipulated you."
Jack nodded, "That is true."
They sat in quiet contemplation for a few minutes before Sam asked, "So was Jenks black ops himself then?"
Jack nodded, "Yeah. Turns out several of the operations from our base were some of the less savory elements of the war. Earlier in the 60's that's where a lot of the Agent Orange was dispatched from and by the time I was there Jenks was leading many of the missions for the secret bombings of Cambodia and Laos. They pulled him in from the field to assist with that effort and some of the more nefarious drops.
After we came to his rescue and he saw how I operated in the jungle he made it his personal mission to ensure I ended up where he thought I should be.
As Daniel as rightly deduced, that's what all of it was…every bit of his friendship with me was a play to get me to make the decisions he wanted me to make. Like a college scout hunting high school talent with cars and gifts Jenks gave me the attention and support that I unknowingly craved. He was a smart man. I look back now and I realize that he is your average slick charmer and I got played.
He didn't care about me achieving my dream of becoming a pilot; he just had an idea and seized upon it. I gave him the tools to manipulate me each time I confided in him. Bob Sr had sensed it when Jenks came for that visit to the Bryant's…everything was a staged manipulation. I didn't listen to what he was trying to warn me about because I didn't want to see it. He had passed on by the time I realized what had happened and never had the opportunity to tell him he was right and thank him for trying to look out for my best interests.
Before I had even graduated Jenks had made sure the right men knew my name and saw my dossier. Sure I've had my fair share of flying but it wasn't too long after graduation that I was no longer identified as a pilot, instead identified as "special skills" and began doing way too many ground based missions which have technically never happened."
Jack paused, taking a long drink from his beer. No one spoke.
"So yes Danny, as you now understand I'm hesitant and reluctant to refer to Jenks as a positive force in my life. Yes, if it wasn't for him I may have never gotten a degree, had much belief in myself or met you fine folks. And for that I need to forever be thankful.
But also if it wasn't for him there is a very good chance that I could be a happy shopkeeper living with my wife and son in Northern Minnesota.
Maybe I would have stayed in the AF as an enlisted man, some day earning stripes. Maybe I would have left and been a bum on the streets. I don't know. Perhaps one day we'll run into alternate realities where that all played out. I don't have much use for maybes, they lead to regrets and I could too easily be consumed by all the maybes and what-ifs in life.
Things aren't always black and white Daniel and when you ask about my hesitation surrounding Jenks it's just because I'm very, very, conflicted."
The room was still for a while and each of the original members of SG-1 reflected on their thoughts. Daniel was again the first to break the silence. He leaned his elbows on his knees and pressed his palms together. In an even and sincere voice he spoke, "I'm very sorry for you Jack."
Jack sat uncharacteristically still, his only movement coming from the methodical picking away of his beer label. After a protracted pause he pursed his lips together and squinted at the bottle in his hand before taking a deep breath and smirking.
"Don't be."
Daniel cocked his head to the side, "But Jack…"
Jack cut him off with a wave and a shake of his head. "Nah, Daniel...I've had a lot of crappy moments in my life. That's something you've all known for nearly as long as we've known each other. With slight exception, my life story is one complicated or unhappy chapter after another but that's not important. That's all behind and leading up to this. This is my epilogue. My clichéd happily ever after. I'm entering my twilight years a two star general stationed at the pentagon with a direct line to the president. I've gone from having nowhere to go to owning two homes. I've gone from being completely alone without family to having you all the best friends and family a man could have. Now I'm here, I'm not sorry about anything and neither should you be."
Teal'c raised an eyebrow, "That's quite saccharine of you O'Neill."
Jack chuckled, "Sappy Teal'c, the saying is that I was being sappy."
"Indeed." The Jaffa agreed causing the tension to break and the whole room to laugh.
"Hey! I believe I have a standing order about giggling at my expense." Jack mocked.
"I'm sorry but I think that order has expired." Sam joked.
Jack shook his head, "Yeah, yeah, well, whatever. Regardless, that's it! No more story time! And man did that kill the whistle while you work mood. Tell you what, break times over but I'll clear this up if you guys grab those boxes Carter packed in the attic and we'll go grab some milkshakes to celebrate the end of this packing insanity."
Everyone nodded in agreement and got up while Jack cleared the coffee table of the discarded bottles. He was removing the trash bag from the can when he heard someone approaching from behind.
"Jack?"
He turned to see Sam still standing in the doorway. "Hey. Spent enough time in the attic already?"
She shook her head but ignored his question. "Is it okay…I mean, do you mind if I…" She stammered in a way which she hadn't in a long time.
Jack was confused until he saw the letter from her father still in her hand. "Do you want to keep the letter?" he guessed.
She breathed deep and nodded quickly, "I do. I'm sorry, I know it must be important to you and it's pushing it to ask but, I just…"
He smiled and took the letter from her fingers and unfolded it, reading over the familiar words, "'Do you KNOW that she is a genius? … Sam could be changing the world with her mind. I want what is best for my child…'"
Jack looked away from the paper to Sam who was biting her lip. "Let me guess, you just don't have anything from him where he speaks about you like this?"
Not trusting herself to speak Sam just nodded her head.
Jack smiled, "Of course you can have it. You should have it. It's about you after all." He held out the paper to her.
"Thank you." She whispered, lightly taking the letter from Jack's hand and carefully folding it back into its envelope. "And thank you again for sharing your story. It means a lot that you trust us like that." Try as she might to steer the conversation back to him she couldn't keep the waver out of her voice.
Jack paused, unsure how to help, knowing that Sam was still filled with fighting away her own grief. After all it was barely 3 weeks since Jacob's funeral.
"C'mere," he said grabbing her arm, picking his keys from the counter and guiding her outside. "Let's see how long it takes for the guys to notice if we get a head start on those milkshakes."
The End.
AN – Thank you for joining me on this journey through Jack's past! I've used this to explain a lot of the character's quirks to myself and hopefully it's acceptable to you as fellow fans of the show and characters!
PS – I am considering a sequel as the original scene that lead to this whole thing actually never made it into the story! It would be about the boy, Howie, from Jack's foster home in Chapter 3 tracking him down and them meeting again. I was going to tack that on to the end of here but I figured it didn't fit with this story and would be awkward. If that is something you think would be interesting I think I will call it "The Next Chapter" or "New Beginnings" and will hopefully put it up in the next couple of weeks so keep your eyes open!