Chapter 21 - Bets and Discussion

Before going to the commissary, the trio chose to check up on Daniel. He was in much better shape, though he was sleeping, so they couldn't talk to him. Janet joined the group so she could hear an explanation of the earlier events, not having had time when Cynthia stopped by earlier. As they left the infirmary she asked the now BDU-clad Cynthia, "I hear you're responsible for Siler's latest bruise."

"Yeah… Though I guess I'm not the first prisoner to escape."

"No, but you're the first prisoner to impersonate a nurse."

"Sorry about that. I didn't know I was among friends."

"In your defence, you were imprisoned," Jack pointed out.

"How did your daughter come to be a prisoner?" Janet wondered.

"Prometheus beamed her up by mistake when I chucked a beacon through the 'gate to check if it was safe to go through," Jack explained.

"I didn't take kindly to suddenly being elsewhere, and they didn't take kindly to me beating up their men," Cynthia finished

"Beating up?" Janet echoed.

Cynthia shrugged. "I wouldn't last a few seconds against any of these guys in a fair fight, but I took them by surprise. Then someone zapped me with a zat."

"Zatted," Jack corrected. "It's shorter. Shorter English is better English."

"Janet, you don't seem surprised at Cynthia's parentage," Sam commented.

"I already figured it out, though I didn't know if you had a boy or a girl until you told me before the funeral," Janet explained. "So… what are you going to do about the situation? Does General Hammond know about it yet?"

"I fully briefed Hammond, Woolsey, and the president on our girl-wonder. They were impressed. She has full clearance now, and we get to keep her."

"And what did they think of you and Sam having a child together?" Janet pressed.

"It was… awkward. They're reducing her off-world participation and put her under Hammond's direct command. Although Hammond has decided to take control of Prometheus for its mission to Pegasus."

"He has? I knew he had it in him. Wait, did you say Sam is no longer under your command?"

"Effective immediately," Jack affirmed.

Janet's face was overtaken by a disturbingly wide grin. "Ferretti had better be in the commissary."

"What's going on, Janet?"

"You seem extremely… pleased, Doc."

"This is the face of a woman who is about to be rich. And I'm happy for you as well."

"Rich?" Jack questioned.

"Janet, you didn't!"

Janet nodded. "You bet I did. A couple of months ago."

The group entered the commissary and spied Major Ferretti speaking with Teal'c. Jack waved and his group began heading in their direction. "What did she do?" he whispered to Sam.

"You'll see in a moment," she whispered back.

"How's Daniel," Ferretti asked when the newcomers were within talking distance.

"He's doing well," Janet replied. "Considering that he was hit by a staff blast and knocked around by an explosion, and didn't receive treatment for a few hours."

"I heard that the girl we were rescuing showed up. Is this her?"

"Yep, this is Cynthia Sanders, girl genius." Cynthia smiled shyly at her father's words.

"I heard some rather interesting stories about her. Teal'c won't tell me anything."

"It is not my place to say," Teal'c stated, obviously not for the first time.

"Don't believe a word of it, Lou" Jack recommended.

Louis Ferretti nodded. "I heard from a few people that she's yours and…"

"And?"

Lou looked back and forth between the two tall blonde scientists. "And Lieutenant Colonel Carter's."

"That part was true," Jack admitted. "Heard anything else?"

"Uh… you mean it's really true, Sir?"

"That is what I said."

"Oh." Lou looked uncomfortable. "I also heard that she KO'd Siler with his wrench and stole a nurse's uniform."

"That's true too," Sam replied.

"Did she really take down three men on Prometheus?"

"Hello, I'm right here. You can ask me, you know. And yes, I did."

"Okay… did you really blow up a stargate, causing Daniel to be in the infirmary right now?"

"What? No, he did that himself."

"Though the Jaffa were on his six, so it could have been their fault," Jack added.

"So, you and Carter actually have a daughter? How old is she, exactly?"

Jack gave him an odd look, but Sam answered, "She's fifteen."

"And Sam's already been taken out of the general's direct command," Janet mentioned significantly.

"You don't say." Lou pulled a black book out of his pocket and started thumbing through the pages. "Here we go: 'Sam and Jack will be able to get together after it is revealed that they have a 15-year-old daughter who was given up for adoption at birth.' Submitted by Doctor Frasier over two months ago. We have a winner!"

"You bet on us?" Jack questioned. "Hey, give me that." He snatched at the book but Ferretti was too quick.

"Sorry, no one sees this but me. There's a lot of ongoing wagers in here which I can't reveal."

"You used inside information, didn't you, Doc?" Jack asked Janet.

"It was still a big gamble that she would be revealed before her next birthday, plus you could have had a boy. So I didn't cheat," the CMO justified.

"I expect a cut," Sam demanded.

Cynthia chimed in with, "Me too."

"How about I take you two and Cassie for a shopping spree?" Janet suggested.

"Who's Cassie?"

"My daughter. She's a few years older than you. You'll get on great. Now, I'd check back on my patients."

"Missing Dannyboy already?" Jack teased.

"There's not much to miss at the moment," she shot back.

On a more serious note Jack told her, "I suggest you give him as much extra care as possible. Hammond's taking him."

"To Atlantis?"

Jack nodded. "He's been pestering me about it for weeks. I tried to keep him but Hammond pulled rank. Daniel doesn't know yet, but you can tell him if you want."

"I… I'll do that. Thank you for informing me, General." She quickly left the room, looking somewhat upset.

Jack sighed. "I knew that would go badly. On the bright side, this should keep Daniel from staying in Pegasus indefinitely. Hey, Lou, is there a betting pool on those two?"

"Carter already won the bet on them getting together, but there's a couple of new ones involving them."

Jack shook his head at this news. Trust Carter to cash in when she was the one who'd caused the couple to start dating. "Why wasn't I informed?"

"Because you didn't place a bet, Sir. Do you want to bet on the doctors' engagement?"

"Uh… no, I'll leave that to Carter. And I thought you said there were two bets. What's the other?"

"Well… that would be the details of they – currently hypothetical – first child. I can reveal that a large number of people are expecting Daniel to name his firstborn after you."

"Jack Jackson? I don't think so. Teal'c is a perfectly good name."

"Indeed."

Cynthia choked on her bottled water.

When things had calmed down, Ferretti asked Cynthia, "So, young lady, are you thinking of working here at the SGC?"

The teen smiled. "If they want me badly enough…"

"We certainly do," Sam quickly affirmed.

"I hadn't finished. I was going to say, if you want me badly enough to let me go on the expedition to Atlantis."

"Atlantis? You want to go to Atlantis? Why?" Sam questioned in shock.

"Why not? It's the lost city of the Ancients, full of Ancient technology, and I have the Ancient gene. It's part of my family history. Very distant family history. It would be awesome!"

"It would be very dangerous," Jack countered.

"And working here wouldn't be? If anything, I might be safer away from Earth for a while."

"You're only fifteen!"

"Dad, I invented my own stargate. Is there a minimum age for trips to other galaxies?"

"Well, no, but… you're a civilian. A civilian with a very valuable mind."

"So's Daniel."

"And I don't want him to go either. Look, Cynthia, we only met you two days ago and you've been kidnapped twice since then. Your mother and I don't want to let you go off on your own to another galaxy."

"You've only known me for a few days, so you can survive without me for a while. And no one can kidnap me if I'm not on Earth."

"We've got no idea what's actually happening in Pegasus," Jack pointed out. "We haven't heard from the expedition since they gated to Atlantis. We only know that the Ancients abandoned the city."

"Then they might need my help," Cynthia put forth. "In any case, I want to go, so if you want me to work here, you'd better find a way for it to happen."

"I think it's time you were in bed, Cynthia," ordered her mother.

"But…"

"You've had a big day. This discussion can wait til the morning," her father instructed.

"But I don't have a bed," said Cynthia practically.

"Then whoever's in charge of this facility should get you one."

"That would be you, Sir."

"You make a good point, Carter. We could put her in one of the VIP rooms. How does that sound, Cynthia?"

The teen yawned. "Anything sounds good at the moment. Good night everyone."

"Good night, Cynthia. May you have pleasant dreams," Teal'c replied.

"You too… if Jaffa have dreams."

Once their daughter was comfortably installed in a well-guarded VIP room, Jack and Sam let out a collective sigh of relief. "I'm glad that's over," Sam admitted.

"Me too. Although you could say that it's only just begun. I can't believe she wants to go to Atlantis immediately after hearing about it."

"Yeah, that was a surprise. She must have her parents' adventurous nature."

"Talking of which, would it be considered too adventurous if I was to kiss you?"

"Only if you did it in front of Hammond, the president, or my dad."

"Your dad… Perhaps I should be thinking of going to the Pegasus Galaxy. For my own safety. Nah, he'd hunt me down even there."

"Jack…" Sam uttered in a dangerous voice.

"Carter? Sam? What?"

"I'll hunt you down, if you don't kiss me soon."

"Can't argue with that."

AN: wow, over 100 reviews! Many thanks to all my readers :D
Next chapters have spoilers for Gemini...