A Few Years Later...

"Chevron six encoded!"

Jack checked over his gear once last time as the gate finished dialing. Not that he really needed to. He knew exactly where they were going and was pretty sure they'd have very little use for their weapons. But it was just habit after all these years.

"Chevron seven locked!"

The Stargate suddenly came alive, the wormhole 'splashing' outwards before stabilizing to look like a pool of water. A sight he'd seen hundreds of times, but it still got him excited.

"Good luck, SG-1," Hammond called from the control room, and Jack gave him a nod.

"Let's move out," he told his team before heading up the stairs and towards the gate. Sam, Teal'c, and Jonas followed.

On the other side of the wormhole, they found themselves standing in the Abydos Gateroom, and they weren't alone. However, the welcome party wasn't exactly what Jack had been expecting. "It is good to see you again, O'Neill," Skaara told him from his place beside the DHD.

"Likewise," Jack replied. He noticed a small figure beside Skaara, clinging to his robes. "Hey, there," he told the little girl as he knelt at her level. "You remember me? It's been a little while."

With a small grin, four-year-old Catherine Jackson nodded, brown curls bobbing. "Jack," she whispered.

"That's right. Can I get a hug?" After only a moment's hesitation, she went to him. Jack pretended to struggle as he picked her up. "Oh, God, you've gotten so big!" She giggled.

"Dan'iel and Sha're wanted to be here to greet you," Skaara told the group. "But they are…a bit preoccupied at present."

"Oh yeah?" Jack asked, with one eyebrow raised. "Where're your mom and dad, princess?" he inquired of the child in his arms.

Catherine smiled. "I got a little brother."

Jack looked to Skaara, surprised. "Is she serious?"

The younger man just laughed. "Come."

Back in Nagada, Skaara led the way to Daniel and Sha're's tent. Motioning for their visitors to wait, he ducked through the opening, with his niece in tow. "Dan'iel," he quietly called to his good brother. "They are here."

Daniel carefully got up from his place beside his sleeping wife, gently taking their six-hour-old son from her arms. "Easy, it's just me," he soothed when her grip started to tighten. "Catie, you stay here with your Mama," he told his daughter. The four-year-old nodded, crossed her legs, and plopped down to sit on the sand, keeping watch.

Daniel blinked at the brightness of the sun as he stepped outside, shifting the bundle in his arms. "Well, I see you've been busy," Jack commented. "When was the last time you came to Earth?"

He frowned, thinking about it. "Um, six months ago, was it?"

"And you didn't say anything?"

"We didn't know! We were going to surprise you with the news this visit, but…apparently Jonathan here had his own surprise planned."

Jack was left tongue-tied. "Jonathan?" he finally asked.

"Sha're's idea," Daniel explained. "I got to name Catherine – who I think has already decided that J.J. is a good nickname for her brother."

Sam laughed. "He's beautiful, Daniel."

"He is indeed, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c added.

Jack nodded. "Good thing he and his sister take after their mother."

Late that night, after the evening meal had been cleaned up and everyone had retired to their tents, Sha're realized that she hadn't seen her husband or daughter in a little while. After looking around the city a little bit, she bundled up her newborn son and headed for the most likely place to find them. A smile crossed her face as she entered the caves and saw Daniel talking to Catherine about the writings on the walls.

Her husband had gotten his wish – a little girl that looked just like her mother – but Sha're was also happy that Catherine seemed to have inherited her father's curiosity and studiousness. The two of them were so similar and enjoyed spending time together talking about the history in the caves or the galaxy beyond their planet. Someday, there would be a discussion as to whether Catherine – and now her little brother – would be better off going to school on Earth, where the opportunities were far more numerous than on Abydos, but that day hadn't come yet.

"How did I know you would be here?" Sha're asked her husband, making her presence known.

He grinned. "Well, somebody – who shall remain nameless – " he pointed to the little girl in his lap, "Decided that she wasn't quite ready for bed yet, and I didn't want to disturb you. You should be resting; it's been quite a day."

Sha're smiled. "I am fine. The bed is cold without you." Daniel laughed at that, knowing that she was teasing him; it was very near impossible to ever be cold on that planet.

Catherine adorably waved her mother over. "Come listen to story, Mama."

"One of your father's famous tales?" Sha're asked as she settled herself on a rock beside them, cradling her son. The child nodded.

"We've finally made it to more recent events," Daniel told his wife. "And I was just getting to the good part. As I was saying, there was a brave and very, very beautiful princess who lived on this world. One day, some strangers came through the magic ring."

"The chaapa'ai?" Catherine asked.

"Uh-huh. The princess' father, the king, thought there was something special about one of the strangers, and wanted to give him a gift." He looked up at his wife. "Something priceless, so important that the man could never repay him."

"What was it?" the little girl inquired, and Daniel was happy to note that she was starting to sound sleepy.

"The king gave him the princess. And the stranger loved her more than anything in the universe. He promised the king that he would follow her to the ends of the universe and always take care of her."

"Did…did the princess…love the man?" Catherine asked, her eyes closed.

"Very much," Sha're answered for her husband. "He gave her freedom, knowledge, kindness."

"The princess took a very big risk by showing the man the writings in these caves," Daniel continued. "So he took a risk and gave her his heart."

"What…what happened then, Daddy?" Catherine whispered.

"They lived happily ever after," he told her. "Go to sleep, sweetheart." The little girl couldn't help but comply.

Daniel and Sha're sat in silence for a while, just enjoying their sleeping children. "You know, that is not exactly how the story went, my Dan'iel," she whispered at one point.

He shrugged. "She doesn't need to know the complicated bits. All that matters is the ending."

FIN.

Thanks so much for all of the feedback that I've recieved. I'm working on a sequel to this fic, which I should be posting soon.