Last chapter.
Year 14 (2010)
Jack O'Neill was roaming the grocery store, picking out a turkey for the coming week's Christmas dinner. "What do you think Grace? 12 pounds?" He asked his infant daughter who was asleep in the cart.
"What a beautiful girl." An elderly woman commented, stopping next to him to watch his daughter. "I have 5 grandchildren myself."
He didn't bother to correct her. He was looking his own near 60 years of age. His cellphone rang saving him from a reply. He checked the caller ID. It was Sam. "Excuse me." The lady smiled and carried on. "Tell me the quarantine's done." He answered in lieu of hello. The SGC had been infected with a virus that manipulated DNA so that anyone infected started developing reptile like aspects and therefore the SGC, along with his wife, had been in quarantine for the past week.
"Lam and our gene therapist expert found a cure. I'm waiting the 24 hours and then I should be able to lift the quarantine." Sam replied.
Jack blew a sigh of relief. It had been a tough week without her home.
"How's Grace?" Sam asked.
"Fast asleep." Jack replied. "At least for now."
"I miss you both."
"We miss you too." Grace had been increasingly problematic the longer her mom was away. Thankfully Cassie and Andrew were coming over later that day to help out.
"So is Cameron back to normal then?" He had been patient zero and had faced the worst of the disease compared to everyone else. Last he heard, Cameron was resembling a reptilian grinch.
"Still a little green but he's stopped tasting the air every other second. He was starting to look like the Gadmeer."
Jack searched his mind for the reference. "The lizard people who threatened the Enkaran world?" A passerby gave him an odd look. Right. He grabbed the turkey he had been eyeing and made his way to the next aisle.
"I was thinking there might be a connection. It could explain why those infected had started to crave food with sulphur." He continued shopping as she explained her theory. It felt just like old times. He missed work sometimes. Weeks like this when it was just him and his daughter he felt happy but in need of a bit more action. It had been years since he had done any field work but he found he missed it more now than when he worked a desk job. "I think I'll have SG-1 contact the Enkarans and get Lotan's input." She finished. Lotan… the robot made to speak with the Enkarans. Jack congratulated himself on remembering. Distracted the cart bumped into something in the aisle, which jostle Grace awake. Jack let out a curse under his breath. He picked up his daughter and soothed her until she stopped crying.
"Cassie is still staying for the week right?" Sam asked him once Grace had calmed down a bit. "How about Christmas Eve we have an evening just the two of us?"
"What? Not tomorrow?" He teased.
"I haven't seen my daughter in over a week. Not tomorrow. But I think the boys had a guys night idea."
"Paintball?" Jack asked incredulously, although it was partly masked by his sunglasses.
"Can you believe Teal'c has never played?" Cameron replied.
"Really?" Daniel asked, both eyebrows going up.
"It seems quite futile when compared to the projectile weapon range." Teal'c replied, filling his gun with paintballs.
"Shooting range. Funny." Cameron commented. Jack rolled his eyes but jumped when he received a paintball in the chest.
"Whoops." Daniel commented, lowering his paintball gun.
"14 years of handling guns and all you say is whoops?" Jack asked, looking angry.
"I've never played paintball either." Daniel explained, raising his hands in surrender before being shot twice in the chest by a smiling Jack.
"I've changed my mind Cameron. This was a great idea." Jack smirked, placing his gun on his shoulder. "Let's go shoot people." This may just be what he needed after all.