Author's Notes: Someone asked why I named him Liam? He's always just Jon and I wanted to do something different. I didn't realize at the time that we knew Jack's middle name so I picked an Irish name I liked. Through the course of having people preread this story someone pointed out that in middle name was James and that blew my theory out of the water but I kept Liam for something different. Liam means strong protector and it just fit who and what the Clone in the story was. I had already had the For the Grace of God part and so I added the second baby and had him named Liam.

Epilogue to follow soon. Oh and I don't know anything about military funerals I just took what I have seen on TV and tried to recreate it. If I'm way out in left field let me know and I will correct it.

I now have a poll to see which story you guys want me to post next. The race is between Faith and Hope, my gladiator story and Dreams of the Soul the sequel to Wishes of the Heart.

Exams and a Funeral

Once Sam was fully healed, the little family was returned to the SGC. When they all appeared in the briefing room, Janet was paged and insisted that everyone go to the infirmary for exams, Jack included. He went, muttering something about not needing any needles since he had not left the planet, well, not totally.

Janet did thorough exams of Sam and the two babies, but she could find nothing wrong. She did a basic exam of Jack and he was released, as well, although Janet was tempted to give him a shot of something, just because he complained so loudly.

Throughout Sam's exam, Jack was never far from her side. Even when Dr. Brightman checked him over, he insisted on still being able to see her and his two children.

The O'Neill's were just getting ready to leave when word came that they had to meet with General Hammond in his old office. They left Liam and Grace with Janet and her nurses, and made their way to the meeting.

General Hammond and Elizabeth Weir were waiting for them when they entered the briefing room. George motioned for Jack to enter the office and Dr. Weir followed, closing the door. Jack and Sam stood there, waiting to see what was going on. They looked from George to Elizabeth, waiting.

Finally, it was George who spoke. "We have an offer for you, Colonel O'Neill. Dr. Weir leaves on Tuesday for Atlantis and we seem to be in need of a new SGC commander."

Jack interrupted, "I know a lot of good men, Sir. I could recommend a few to you, if you like."

George smiled, "We already have our candidate, Jack. Are you interested, General?" He held out a piece of paper to Jack.

Reaching out, Jack took it, stunned, "Me? Are you serious?" He looked at the paper; it was all there in black and white. If he wanted to, starting tomorrow, he would be a Brigadier General and the new Commander of the SGC.

Sam put her hand on his arm, drawing his attention back to her, "Do you need to think about this?"

He looked back at the paper, then at George and Elizabeth, "Yeah, we'll go think about this." Still in shock, he let Sam lead him down to her lab.

When he stood there, still staring at the paper, she pushed a stool up and sat him down. Taking the paper from his hand, she asked, "Jack, are you okay? Say something, anything."

After a moment, he looked up at her, "Me, a General, in charge of all this?" He motioned to the whole room and then out the open door. "Think of all the paperwork I would have to do!"

Sam couldn't help but giggle. If this was his biggest worry, he'd already accepted the job in his mind. He immediately turned to her. "You know the rule. No giggling, Major. You know exactly what it does."

"Yes, General." Sam tried to stifle the laughter, but it only seemed to get bigger the more she tried to suppress it.

Grabbing Sam, he wrapped his arms around her. "So, do you really think I can do this?"

Sam immediately sobered, "I have followed you to hell and back, do you really need to ask me if I would follow you as a General? You can do anything you put your mind to. You are a great man and a great leader; those two things will make you a great General. We couldn't ask for a better man to lead us." At the end of her words, her smile was back and brighter than ever.

He relaxed and let the tension flow out of his body, "You're right. With you behind me, I can do anything. Shall we tell George that I accept?"

"Sounds good, besides I want to go home. Sooner, rather than later. We don't need to be back until Tuesday when we say goodbye to Daniel. So let's make the most of it, since we don't have to wait six weeks, thanks to the Asgard." She brushed a kiss softly on his lips, "I'll grab the twins and meet you in the briefing room. We'll need a ride home, General." And then she was gone.

Their homecoming was delayed because Sam had to feed the two babies before they could leave. While she did that, Jack made the arrangements for Liam's body to be transported to Arlington, Virginia. The funeral was easy to arrange, since he was still listed as on active duty. Jack also managed to catch Thor before he left orbit and asked for a ride to the funeral on Monday. The Asgard readily agreed to transport anyone from the SGC who wanted to attend.

An hour later, everything was done as Jack and Sam sat in the car while it pulled up in front of their house. When the car pulled to a stop, Jack insisted that he go through the whole house before he allowed Sam to bring in Liam or Grace.

Once that was done, he grabbed both of the car-seats, that Janet had magically produced from somewhere while they were meeting with Hammond, and carried the babies into the nursery, where he set them down.

Gently, he lifted each of the children and laid them together in the crib. Liam immediately threw his arm around his sister and cuddled closer to her.

Backing slowly out of the room, he closed the door and let them continue to sleep and dream.

Sam was waiting for him in the living room; he gathered her in his arms, "We're home, Sam, and I love you."

Grabbing a hand full of his hair, she whispered, "Yes, we are. I love you, too."

Jack lifted her up into his arms, not breaking the kiss until he stood in the doorway of their bedroom, "Now, let's just make this house a home as it was meant to be." And they spent the next little while showing each other just how much they loved one another.

When the time came, Sam and Jack dressed in their service dresses and waited for Janet and Cassie to arrive. They were going to watch Liam and Grace while Jack and Sam went to the funeral. They hoped to be gone only an hour or two, so Janet shouldn't have to feed them before Sam returned.

Once Janet and Cassie were settled, Jack took the Asgard stone from his pocket, "We're ready when you are, Thor."

"Very good, O'Neill. I just need a moment. I have never transported so many people at once. Please be patient." The Asgard's voice was flustered and Jack couldn't help but smile.

"We'll be here." Jack took Sam's hand and waited. It was less than a minute later when they disappeared and reappeared on Thor's ship, only to vanish and reappear once more, this time on the green lawn of the Arlington National Cemetery.

They had decided to keep it small - Liam wouldn't have wanted a big fuss, Jack knew. George, Elizabeth Weir, Daniel, and Teal'c were the only people there, other than the soldiers officiating.

Everyone was silent as the chaplain spoke; then, he turned to Jack and motioned for the General to speak. Stepping forward, he removed his sunglasses, "Liam was a good soldier and a good man. Even when his life was turned upside down, he still found a way to keep serving his country to the best of his ability. He never gave up and he died living up to his name. I named my son after him, hoping that he would become a man like Liam, a better man than me. I'm proud to call him my brother." Reaching out, he touched the flag-covered coffin. "We'll miss you. I wish I could have known you better."

He turned and walked back to his place beside Sam and replaced his sunglasses to hide his tears. The bugle began to play Taps and Sam took his hand in hers. They stood straight as the jets flew overhead and one dropped away to symbolize the lost man.

Jack, Sam, and all the military people present saluted as the two soldiers folded up the flag. Once they were done, it was presented to Jack. He accepted it and saluted once more.

After that, everyone drifted away. Daniel and Teal'c stopped momentarily and offered their condolences before joining George and Elizabeth as they left. Soon, it was only Sam and Jack, standing alone at the grave's side.

The two of them stood side by side, silently thanking the man in a boy's body for his sacrifice.

After a while, Sam squeezed his hand again before asking, "Are you ready to go?"

Jack turned his eyes toward her. Even though his eyes were obscured by his sunglasses, Sam knew that there were tears in his eyes, "In a minute. There's one more thing I need to do."

Letting go of her hand, he passed her the flag and crossed over to the coffin. Reaching out, he opened it. Jack took a moment to study Liam; he was dressed in full service dress with a rack on his chest, just as there should be. The only difference between Liam's and Jack's was that all his medals were there on his own, even the ones Jack wasn't sure he deserved.

From his pocket, Jack removed a picture of himself and Charlie. He lifted one of Liam's hands and tucked the picture in between them. "You deserved so much better than you got. I hope that somewhere you will find the happiness you deserve. Good-bye, Liam."

Closing the coffin, Jack nodded to the two men who stood at a respectable distance, waiting to lower the coffin into the ground. He took Sam's hand and they both saluted the coffin one more time before walking away from the grave of Liam Jonathan O'Neill.

As I said at the top Eplilogue to follow and if I got it wrong let me know. Leave a review and make me smile before I go. Kelleth