My apologies to those of you who have been waiting for this next chapter. I have been insanely busy with the holidays and of course I had the stomach flu for over a week. I even missed my son's birthday party! Luckily hubby stepped up to the plate and eveyone had a great time. This chapter settles things down a bit but if you are patient I have another arc waiting in the wings. I just have to get through Christams and then I am hve promised myself some uninterupted writing time over the holiday.
As always, thank you to Katy for being a great beta!
: : : : : : : : : :
Jack sat in the ISO room playing with his Nintendo DS. Sam had tried to visit once and it was a complete disaster. Jack had immediately gone after her and though he was not aggressive or violent, he was determined. He had ended up apologizing and asking Janet to give him another mild sedative. He had already relieved himself more times than he felt comfortable sharing and was actually afraid he was going to hurt himself. As long as he was kept in a twilight state, Sam was able to sit with him to keep him company.
Janet said that it was reminiscent of something SG2 had brought back. The Brocca virus had infected a lot of the personnel causing them to revert to a Cro-Magnon state, which of course caused the personnel to act like hormone crazed teenagers.
"Can you imagine what would have happened if I had been here?" laughed Sam as she and Janet watched Jack doze in and out. "You would have had to use a blow torch to get us out of my lab."
: : : : :
Thor and Loki arrived the next morning. Jack, Sam and Janet were beamed up to the research vessel and Jack was put into stasis.
Loki had tried to discuss Jack's condition with Sam but she was far past having a debate. "Please," she ground out, "just make him approximately 28 years old. This way we are at a fair compromise. With Jack being younger we will most likely have more children and you will have more permutations of DNA to work with. This would have worked out much better if you would have just left his hormone and endorphin levels in a normal range, and please don't ask me to explain why. I don't think I could handle that right now. I have eighteen guests arriving for Thanksgiving in less than three days and I am still trying to figure out what we are going to tell those without clearance."
Loki must have been briefed by Thor because he seemed much more agreeable. "As you wish Dr. Carter."
It took several hours but finally, Jack was ready. Sam and Janet went over to the stasis pod once the light dimmed. He was still unconscious.
"He looks older," said Janet plainly.
Sam looked down at the man in the pod. His features had matured a bit, though if possible, his chest looked broader. "Why are his physical features changing like this?" she asked.
"I have accessed his DNA memory," droned Loki. "I have reverted him to his physical state at the age of twenty-eight, minus any injuries of course. He is physically perfect," though if an Asgard could sound excited, he was.
"My goodness," sighed Janet.
Sam turned and looked at her in disbelief.
"You have to admit Sam," sighed Janet, "Jack was in better shape at twenty-eight than he was at twenty."
Sam bit her bottom lip. "I know this Janet," she whispered seriously. "Trust me," she groaned, "I am doing a happy dance on the inside. I just don't want the Asgard getting the wrong idea."
"Understood," said Janet with a smile. Then she had to put in a final little tidbit. "I bet you feel just like Peggy Carter when Steve Rogers was released from the Super Soldier capsule."
Sam looked at her in shock but then blushed. There was definitely truth in that statement.
"Colonel O'Neill should rest for at least 8 of your hours. I will beam him down to your infirmary unit," said Loki.
Sam contacted the base so they could expect his arrival. Shortly afterwards, they were all in the infirmary.
"General," asked Sam. "I was wondering if we have developed a suitable backstory for the Colonel's transformation. What are we going to tell people without clearance?"
George handed Sam a file. "I was able to put something together while you were with the Asgard. SG1 and all necessary staff have been briefed."
"Thank you General," she said with a sigh of relief. "I will review this with Janet."
: : : : :
When Jack awoke he was much calmer. Sam was sitting in a chair by his bed and was glad to see him open his eyes.
"Hey beautiful," he said groggily.
"Hey yourself," she said with a smile. "How are you feeling?"
Jack tried to sit up but was a bit dizzy so Sam lifted the head of the bed for him then brought him a drink of water. "Thanks," he said after a grateful sip. "Aging eight years in a few hours will take it out of you."
"Not to mention being made twenty-two years younger the day before," she said teasingly.
"That too," he grinned. "So how do I look?"
Sam looked him up and down trying not to look too overexcited. "Like the twenty-eight year old Jack O'Neill I want to marry," she whispered as she leaned over and gave him a quick kiss.
"Good," he smiled. "That's what I was going for. At least now when people see us they won't just think I am a dirty old man."
"Jack," she argued but then smiled. "You are still a dirty old man on the inside."
He smiled wickedly. "Thanks honey, good to know." He sat up a bit straighter and tried to swing his legs over the bed. "Help me up?"
"You should probably stay in bed a bit longer, but I know that is a lost cause."
"You know me well then, because you are right," he said smugly. "Now hand me my clothes so I don't moon the nurses and get them all excited."
"Brat," she said with a smile as she got up and then handed him his fatigues.
"You love me and you know it," he said as he slipped on his boxers and then his pants. When he stood up he swayed slightly but he was all smiles. "I love it that my knees don't crack anymore."
"It's all part of the package," she teased as she handed him his shirt.
He couldn't help but notice her eyes following him as he slipped his shirt over his head. "Admit it. You think I'm hot."
"That was never in question, even when you were forty-two."
"Yes, but now I am twenty-eight," he smirked and then flexed his biceps a few times.
"Stop that!" she insisted and tried to hide her blush.
He was just about to continue teasing her when Janet, Danny, Chuck and Teal'c walked in.
"Hey, if it isn't the luckiest son-of-a-bitch on the planet," deadpanned Chuck as he walked in the room. "I still think Loki should turn us all back."
"Stop you're whining," said Jack good naturedly. "Trust me, it wasn't all fun and games."
"Well," said Chuck as he clapped his friend on the back, "It's good to have you back, and even at twenty-eight I can still kick your ass old man."
"I was going to say that you were now the oldest on the team but Teal'c still has us all beat by a good hundred years. So you'll have to settle for second oldest."
"So what do you think of the backstory?" asked Danny.
"I don't know," said Jack as he pulled on his boots. "I just woke up a few minutes ago and I haven't heard it yet."
Janet looked at Sam, "What do you think?"
"I am going to let Jack give you his opinion first," she said as she handed him the folder.
Jack opened it up and gave it a quick read. "Man, I forgot how good my eyes were," he mumbled out as he read the file. "So we really think people are going to believe that I had experimental reconstructive surgery after a lab explosion?" He said doubtfully as he looked around the room at his friend and colleagues. "What about the rest of me?"
"Rehab," added Janet.
"It's thin, but passable," he looked at Sam. "What about Gracie? Isn't she going to notice that her Daddy is fourteen years younger?"
"I think if she notices it will only bother her for a minute. She's smart, but she is only fifteen months."
He smiled, "Well, as long as you and Grace are ok with it, I'm good. Everyone else will just have to deal with the new me."
Jack got a full check-up from Janet. There were stress tests, CAT scans, an EKG, and several vials of blood, just to name a few. "You must be in your glory," he teased her. "I must be like a blank canvas that you get to poke and prod for the fun of it."
Janet tried to hide her smile, "These are just the preliminary tests. Just you wait till after the holiday, that's when the fun ones come out. We want to see just how 'new' they made you and also make sure our friend Loki didn't get carried away and add a few extras."
"Thanks Janet," he said with a sigh as he pushed down his sleeve. He slid down from the bed and waited, smiling widely at her.
She rolled her eyes, "I didn't forget. Nurse Monroe is bringing your orange juice and cookies."
Jack was in deep thought as he walked down the hallway munching on his extra cookies. Nurse Monroe was always good for a few extra, especially if he flirted with her. It was all in good fun because she was in her sixties, married with ten grandchildren. She was the nicest of all of Janet's staff and he loved to make her blush. He never gave her a hard time but she always promised not to tell, Jack didn't want Janet thinking he had gone soft.
He smiled when he got to Sam's lab. Again, he was amazed at just how lucky he was. His mom had always said that it would take an exceptional woman to be a perfect match for him. Either he had been born 16 years too early or she had been born 16 years too late but somehow the age difference hadn't bothered Sam one bit. Now he was the perfect age it was awesome. Never again would he have to feel guilty about marrying someone so young. If he had heard one more robbing the cradle joke he was going to pull out his P90 and cause some serious damage.
He was hanging out in Sam's lab because she needed get some work done. Unfortunately, Jack wasn't allowed off the base until some of the results came back and they weren't expected till the next morning.
"It's amazing," he said as he spun on his favorite stool. "I've gone from having my own cabinet drawer mapping every injury and gun shot for the past twenty-four years, to a single file saying I am in perfect health," he said proudly. His last test had him on the treadmill for almost two hours and he barely got winded. "They did a good job with the upgrades, that's for sure," he joked. "But there is still one more test to pass."
Sam looked at him questioningly. "Oh, please tell me?" she asked sarcastically as she continued to type.
He gave her sexy smirk.
"Jack O'Neill!" she exclaimed. "I thought Loki fixed your libido."
"Trust me babe, this is all me," he said as he got up from the stool and stood behind her. "Like I said, forty year old me was just as much of a maniac as the twenty-eight year old me is." As he said this he snuck his arms around her and turned her around to face him. He leaned against her so that he trapped her against her lab table. "The only difference is that now I have absolutely no doubts about being able to keep up with my insatiable twenty-six year old fiancé."
She couldn't help but share in his excitement. He just seemed so happy with this turn of events. Their age difference had never bothered her, but she had never realized just how much it had bothered him. Now that it wasn't a problem, she had a feeling she was in big trouble.
It was 2300 hours and most of Sam's staff had retired or gone home for the evening and Jack was still not on active duty.
She smiled as she watched him go and seal her blast door. They were now in a soundproof room. She easily deactivated her security cameras and waited for her fiancé to come back to her.
"You get the cameras?" he asked in a husky whisper as he pulled her to his chest.
"They would need a blow torch to get in here, and I am the only one who can reactivate the cameras."
Before he took her in heated kiss he whispered, "Have I mentioned lately how sexy I find it that you are the smartest person on the planet."
"It does have its advantages doesn't it?" she whispered back as she lightly trailed her fingers up and down his strong back and slid them under his t-shirt so she could pull it off of him. His sweatpants, which were still a bit loose in the waist, were riding low on his hips. She almost swooned when she noticed something new. Where before he had a well-defined six pack he now had the rippled definition of a V between his hip flexors and his even more defined six pack. She had her very own Vitruvian Man, every inch a specimen of perfection.
"You know," she said against his skin, "I was in such a haze the other day that, though it was wonderful," she punctuated this by kissing him deeply and running her hands up and down his firm back, "It didn't seem real." She slowly trailed her fingers up and down his biceps. "I may just need a refresher to help with the comparison."
The sexual energy sizzled through the air as their minds went blank and their body's began to move on instinct. Jack's new body was magnificent, from his broad shoulders to his tapered hips. He was solid and rippled and Sam was having a hard time not feeling guilty about how turned on she was. She had found forty year old Jack sexy, but twenty-eight year old Jack was a walking orgasm.
They were both completely nude and somehow, standing up, with Jack holding her.
"What is it babe?" he asked as he slowed his movements.
"What?" she asked still in a haze.
"You're distracted," he said seriously. But then to lighten the mood, "You've got me worried because this is one of my best moves. Well, not really because it is my first time trying it, but I'm pretty impressed, if I may say so myself."
Sam couldn't help but laugh, then groaned at the sensation it delivered. "Jack," she whined, then rested her forehead against his shoulder, "If you must know, I am feeling a bit guilty."
He stopped but did not put her down. "Guilty, about what?"
"How turned on I am," she whispered, still a bit ashamed of herself.
"Ok, you lost me," he said as he pulled back a fraction of an inch so he could look at her, face to face.
"I fell in love with a different you Jack," she said as she bit her bottom lip. "I feel like I am cheating on you, if that makes sense?"
Jack found a stool and leaned against it. The shift caused them both to inhale from the new sensation, but their conversation was too important to drop.
"Samantha," he said seriously. "I am still the same man you fell in love with and agreed to marry." He shifted so that one hand could support her back and the other could stroke her soft cheek. "The only difference now is that I have a younger body. This is a good thing babe, trust me."
"I know and I do," she said quietly.
He thought about it for a second. "I can sort of understand why, but let's not worry about that right this second." He stood up again, causing Sam to clasp her legs tightly around him and let out a sweet little whimper, which caused him to smile smugly. "We are currently in a soundproof room and I plan on putting it to good use."
: : : : :
A little while later, they made their way to Jack's on base quarters and fell asleep quickly. They wanted to be up and ready early so that Jack could get his test results and be signed back into active duty. As soon as that was done, they were going to finish up his paperwork, sign out of the base, and head home.
Jack looked down at his new license. "I still hate the picture," he grumbled and then slipped it into his wallet with his new military ID. He hated that picture as well. "Let's get out of here and head home," he said with a sigh of relief. He had been cooped up in the mountain for several days now and needed some fresh air.
Sam looked over at him as they drove home. "Nervous?" she asked.
"Nope," he said quietly.
"Liar," she laughed. "Your left leg is shaking and you keep looking at yourself in the mirror." She reached over and rubbed his shoulder. "Gracie loves you," she reassured him. "It doesn't matter what you look like, you will always be her Daddy."
"Thanks honey," he said with a sigh. "I look like me to me, if that makes any sense, but the forty-two year old me is all she's ever known."
"And she will love the twenty-eight year old you just as much as I do," she said with a reassuring smile.
When they got home Sam went in ahead and Jack waited in the foyer. She picked Gracie up and brought her into the kitchen. "Gracie," she said excitedly, "Guess who is home?"
Gracie looked around, "Daddy?"
"That's right, Daddy's home," she said as she held onto her so she couldn't wiggle away and run after him. "Munchkin, Daddy is going to look a little different," she said hoping she would understand. "But he is still the same Daddy that loves you, ok Gracie?" She could tell that the toddler was barely grasping her concept.
"Jack," she called out.
Jack slowly walked into the room trying not to be upset when Gracie didn't run to him like usual. He squatted down so he was at her level.
"Hey munchkin," he said gently. "It's me, Daddy," he continued. "I know I look different but I am still your Daddy and I love you very much."
Gracie toddled over to him and immediately reached for his face. Jack got encouraged as a spark of recognition registered in her young eyes. He just sat there and let her look at him, pushing and pulling at his cheeks, nose and lips. Finally she smiled and pulled him by the ears for a hug.
"Dada!" she said excitedly.
Jack felt himself relax as he scooped her up into a hug. "That's right munchkin, Dada."
Sam could hear the relief in his voice as he hugged Gracie tightly to his chest. "Come on you two," she said happily. "Why don't you go hang out in the living room and get out of Nana Molly's way so she can make lunch."
Jack let Gracie go and was thrilled when she took his hand and pulled him towards the living room. "Play Dada," she commanded. "Sing with Timba."
Sam hung back as Jack took Gracie to go play Disney Karaoke. "What do you think?" she asked Molly.
"I'm glad you called me to let me know first," she said still in a bit of shock. "I would never have believed it. He really does look twenty-eight!"
"Amazing isn't it," said Sam as she sat at the counter. "It's still sinking in. Sometimes I turn around and for a split second I don't think it's him."
"You miss him don't you," asked Molly.
Sam was amazed at the insight this woman possessed. "Yes, I do," she said guiltily. "I know it is completely irrational. How can I miss someone who is still with me?"
"You miss the face of the man you fell in love with," said Molly simply. "There is nothing wrong with that. Eventually your heart will catch up with your brain and it will realize that this younger looking Jack is still that man. For now, you just have to keep reminding yourself. But just think, you know exactly what he is going to look like in fourteen years and that is pretty special. No matter what, he is the Jack O'Neill you fell in love with, just consider his new hot bod a really nice bonus," she teased.
"Molly!" exclaimed Sam.
She just laughed. "I would definitely count on some aggravation coming your way." She looked at Jack and sighed, "Your man is an Adonis. Is it possible for someone to be too good looking?"
Sam put her head in her hands. "It is crazy, isn't it? I have never been obsessed over appearance and have always been rational about it. I never really wear make-up and I wear comfortable shoes and clothes," she said as she motioned to herself. Then she pointed to Jack, "And now look at him. He would look amazing in a Hefty bag. I feel like I need to go get a complete make-over just to not look like a frump when I stand next to him."
"Samantha, you are a very beautiful woman!" exclaimed Molly.
"Thank you, but you are frightfully biased, almost as much as Jack," she countered. "My fiancé looks like he just fell off of the cover of Men's Fitness and GQ, and I qualify for Geeks Weekly." She looked over into the living room, "Oh my God, look at them," she said as she pointed to Jack and Gracie.
They were holding microphones, singing and dancing to You've Got a Friend in Me. Amazingly, Jack was on his knees, which obviously were not bothering him one bit.
"The Asgard said that all they did was revert him to his twenty-eight year old self, but I have a feeling Loki slipped him something extra. He kept on saying that Jack was perfect, like he was proud of his creation. A little too Dr. Frankenstein for my taste. I was so focused on getting him back to normal and monitoring his vitals to make sure his hormones were level that I must not have paid attention to what was turning out to be too perfect."
"What are you saying," asked Molly. "That Loki improved Jack too much?"
"Sort of," said Sam. "I looked at his past medical records and Jack has always kept himself extremely fit. But like any normal human, not every one of his vital functions was 100 %."
"Now they are?" asked Molly, still a bit confused.
"They are actually at 150% and climbing," said an obviously worried Sam. "His metabolism is extremely high and his cell mitosis is off the charts. Thor said that Loki was no longer focusing on cloning but on cellular manipulation and regeneration and I think he put a little bit of it into Jack."
"So Jack is some kind of Super Soldier, like Captain America?" said Molly curiously.
Sam looked at her in shock. Had she been talking to Janet? "Not to that extreme, she said, "God forbid Jack can't get a buzz off his favorite Guinness. I think he would personally hunt Loki down and make him fix it. But I certainly think he's going to have to drink a heck of a lot more to compensate," she gave a little laugh. "He might actually appreciate that. But Jack's reflexes are now super sharp, his hearing is comparable to canine accuracy, and his eyesight is that of the average bald eagle. So yah, we may have our very own super soldier." Sam picked up an orange from the fruit bowl on the table. "Watch this," she instructed as she pulled her arm back and hurled the orange at Jack's head. She knew the results so she had no fear of Gracie being harmed. As expected, Jack caught it and then turned and gave her a curious look.
"Sorry, just testing a hypothesis," she said apologetically.
"I am not wearing red, white, and blue tights," he teased. "I didn't for Halloween and I am not going to now, no matter what you guys think."
: : : : : : :
Jack spent the entire afternoon with Gracie. He and Sam thought it would be best so that it would reinforce their bond. He was thrilled with his new appearance, but if Gracie shied away from him, he had no problems going back into stasis and having them cook him a little longer.
Sam kept herself busy with Thanksgiving preparations. She had two days to get ready and was as nervous as a cat in a room for of rocking chairs. How cliché, she thought, inwardly rolling her eyes. Mark and his family were arriving Wednesday afternoon and would be staying in their guest rooms. At least with Jo now living just ten miles away it solved the problem of what to do with Jack's sister and her family. Jack's house had four bedrooms and a pull out sofa in the game room. Jane and Michael were in one, the twins would take the pull out sofa, and the three little ones were in the other guest room. Jarrod helped pick out a triple bunk bed so they all had a place to sleep.
She also tried to keep herself busy for other reasons that she didn't want to share with Jack. All she could think about were his test results and how they had changed him. He was perfect, and she was as far from that as possible. She never realized what Jack must have felt, until now. Not that she was perfect, but she was sixteen years younger and he had a tendency to obsess about it. He was always saying how old he looked next to her and would tease her about being afraid that some young hot guy was going to come and sweep her off her feet. She had always just brushed him off. Why would she ever look at anyone else? He was the love of her life.
But now the shoe was on the other foot. Jack was as close to perfection as humanly possible. He was absolutely gorgeous, the perfect soldier, intelligent, kind, funny, loving and a whole list of other wonderful things. She was a lanky super geek with a toddler. Certainly there was someone out there better than her. Had she fallen in love with Jack because he was a safe bet? No, she fell in love with Jack because he was her Jack and she loved everything about him. Even his quirky faults. She just shoved them into the small stuff category of life and looked past them. Yes, he was mildly obsessed with the Simpsons and comparing them to the SGC always made him laugh. He was insanely obsessed with hockey and spent every morning training with Jarrod. At least now he wouldn't have to ice his knees and back when he got home. He was consistently sarcastic at times when she thought seriousness was warranted, but somehow he always came out on top.
She had never thought herself too good or above him, they were evenly matched. But now she was frightfully lacking.
As Sam was blankly staring in her pantry, the doorbell rang.
"Mom!" she heard Jack call from the family room.
Sam had called Jo and filled her in on Jack's transformation, but she was sure it was still going to be a shock.
"Oh my heavens," said Jo as she saw her son for the first time. "You look fantastic. But…" she said a bit tongue tied. "You're huge!" she exclaimed.
"Mom," he laughed. "This is just what I looked like when I was twenty-eight."
"No Jackie, it is not," she insisted. "I remember you at twenty-eight and you were never this large. What did those tricky little supreme beings do to you?"
Sam had to hide her chuckle, leave it to a mom to get straight to the point.
"I am fine Mom," he said trying to reassure her. "In fact, I am better than ever."
"Jackie," she warned. "Don't mess with your mother. I want to know what those beings did to my boy."
"They may have tweaked me a little bit. We are not completely sure because some of the tests are still coming back."
"Sam," said Jo in relief as she walked into the room. "Please tell me what they did to my son. No offence Jackie, but I know Sam won't sugar coat for me like you do."
Jack went back and sat on the floor with Gracie, trying not to laugh at his mother's overprotective nature.
"It's true Jo," said Sam as she gave the woman a hug hello. "Jack is in better than perfect health. I was just telling Molly about it. His body is functioning at about 150% efficiency so far. His reflexes, hearing, sight, even smell are honed to perfection."
"Why did they do this? I don't trust those little grey guys after what they tried to do to my Jarrod."
Sam took a deep breath. "I have been thinking about it. I believe it has something to do with the fact that they want us to produce perfect children so that they can utilize the DNA to fix their cloning problems. But I have gone over the tests results several times and I can't find fault in their process. What they did to Jack was just enhance what would be the natural evolution and in some cases, de-evolution of our species. As you know, Jack already possesses the Ancient Gene, making him an evolved human. All Loki did was tap into this. He did not add anything, but simply perfected what was already there." She took another deep breath. "Jack is the perfect human," she said with a sigh.
"Well, perfect or not he still needs to go out to the garage and get the turkeys if want to eat before midnight tomorrow," said Jo with a big grin.
"Hey," asked Jack as he looked around. "Where is Jarred?"
Gracie looked up from her coloring, "Unca Jawwed?" she said excitedly.
"Guess?" smirked Jo.
"Hockey rink," said Jack, because that is where the boy lived. He would sleep there if they let him.
"He's being dropped off after meeting a friend at the mall," she said with a big smile.
"The mall;" said Sam suspiciously, "he's a fourteen year old boy and there is only one reason for a boy to actually want to spend time at the mall."
"What?" asked a clueless Jack.
"He's got a girlfriend!" squealed Sam which caused Jack to look at her in complete shock.
He hated to sound like a typical guy, but really? That was certainly not his first reaction. Making sure he took young Jarrod aside and explained the real facts of life and threatening him within an inch of his life, was now first on his agenda. Gracie was the only baby they needed right now and if young Jarrod maintained any of Jack's amorous tendencies… God help them all. His father had pulled him aside at the same age and he would never forget that conversation for as long as he lived. It included; I love you son, but so help me, if you get a young girl pregnant, I will kill you and hide the body from your mother. There was no joking tone in his father's voice that day, he was dead serious, and he had thought about it every time he took a girl out.
"What's her name," asked Sam excitedly.
"Her name is Madeline and she is an exchange student from France and she lives a few houses down. They met when Jarrod was outside raking leaves and she was going for a run," said Jo excitedly.
"I think he needs to spend more time on the ice," said Jack seriously.
"What?" asked both Jo and Sam.
Just then the door opened and Jarred barreled through in typical teenage fashion. He mumbled a hello and headed straight for the fridge.
"I'm going to go have a talk with my little brother," said Jack as he got up from the floor.
As soon as he entered the kitchen, "What the hell did they do to you!" exclaimed Jarred. "Hey, now at least you don't look like Sam's dad!" he joked and then "OUCH! I was only kidding!"
Molly and Sam looked at each other and laughed, "Is it strange how easily they fell into the roles of typical brothers?" asked Sam.
"He was the same way with James and Jacob," said Jo with a sigh. "I know you may look at it as a second chance with a son, but I see it as a second chance with the brothers he lost in Vietnam. They had such a great relationship and I see so much of that in him and Jarrod.
In the kitchen Jarrod was still having fun at his older brothers expense, "Chuck texted me and told me about your new uniform," he joked and then pulled out his phone and showed Jack a picture of his new face superimposed on Captain America's body.
"Ha ha," droned Jack. "But guess what? Janet wants you in her office after school on Monday so that she can poke a bit more. She has a feeling that they may have hidden some of this inside of you and it won't come out till after puberty."
"Shit really," said Jarrod, not really knowing what to think about it. It was kind of exciting, but he was still a bit jaded with anything Asgard.
"I wouldn't be surprised of anything from our friend Loki. He seems to like us O'Neill boys and can't wait for Sam and I to start producing super babies. But don't even think about teasing you sister in law about this because she will think nothing of kicking your ass, no matter how motherly she acts around you. She's already ripped Chuck a new one, luckily I was there to diffuse the situation before she really got into him. I think this holiday business is stressing her out and I am just waiting for her to explode."
Jarrod just shrugged his shoulders and continued to look for snacks, Sam loved him and though she had a tendency to baby him, he enjoyed the attention. He had thought about it the other day and he was grateful that Loki had taken out all of Jack's memories. At first he had been upset that everything was gone, some of Jack's experience would have come in handy. Especially combat skills, hockey and girls. But the thought of feeling anything other than brotherly love for Sam turned his stomach. Sure, she was hot, there was no denying that. But she was marrying his older brother and that was just, yuck. He was very glad he had absolutely no romantic feelings for her. Now Madeline was a different story…
Jack eyed his younger brother and his now goofy expression. The very same one he remembered wearing when he was that age. "Please tell me you are not thinking about Sam."
"Ew, gross Jack," protested Jarrod. "No offence, she's extremely hot and all but I'm like fourteen and she's twenty six. That's just sick. So you're what, twenty-eight now? Sweet."
"I know, but let's get back to our previous subject, and who is Madeline?" as soon as Jack asked this, Jarrod's goofy expression returned.
"Just a friend," said Jarrod calmly as he made himself another sandwich and then started to rummage for some chips.
"Why did you meet her at that mall?" asked Jack.
"Just because," said Jarrod, still trying to play it cool.
"Let me give you the very same lecture that I got when I was fourteen, with a little something from me thrown in for good measure," said a very serious Jack. "Rule #1: When you are with a girl you will treat her with respect at all times. I don't care what these new metrosexual shitheads say; you will act like a gentleman, dress nicely, open doors, pay for everything, bring flowers, watch your language and not act like a punk. No exceptions, end of story. If I hear or see otherwise, expect an even longer lecture than you are getting now and depending how far you stepped out of line, an ass kicking may be included. I also know that right now your hormones are going wild. Trust me, if anyone on this planet understands this, it is me. I am not telling you that you can't fool around. We're O'Neill's, it's in the blood. So here is rule #2: NO means NO. No exceptions, end of story and then go back to rule #1. Someday if you're lucky, that no may turn into a yes and then you will again, see rule #1. When the time comes, use protection, no matter what the girl says or what she claims she is on. Nothing is foolproof and two rounds of defense are better than one. I love you little brother, but so help me, if you get a girl pregnant, I will kill you and make it look like an accident. Remember which one of us is Special Forces. I have had to kill more men and super-powered aliens, in more ways than your over active imagination could fathom. You break our mother's heart by getting some girl in trouble and I'll make you regret you even got a hard on. Remember this anytime you start thinking with your dick and not your brain and you should be ok."
Jack grabbed a beer from the fridge, gave Jarrod a pat on the back and left the kitchen.
A few minutes later Jarrod followed, white as a ghost and certain he wasn't even going to think about sex for the next twenty years. Shit, he was even nervous about the kisses on the cheeks that he and Madeline had shared. Having the country's top officer as your big brother had its advantages. Knowing that he would kill you a thousand different ways if you hurt their mother was not one of them. "I'm going to go hit the treadmill for a little bit," he said as he headed downstairs to the exercise room.
"I know that look," said Jo. "You had the talk with him didn't you?"
Jack just grunted into his beer, "Had to be done," he mumbled. He remembered how he had felt after his father had given him the talk, he hadn't been able to wank off for a week.
"Oh," said Sam making a mental note to talk to Jack about what was said. "While you were talking to Jarrod my dad called. He has made arrangements for both our families to be picked up from the airport. They should be here by 1800 and then we are going to order dinner. My dad thinks it best to get the explanations out in one go. This way we can introduce everyone to each other and then go into you and Jarrod's stories.
"Sounds great honey," he said still a bit distracted. "I think I'll go get the turkeys out of the beer fridge in the garage."
"I guess that means we need to get started," said Jo.
Sam looked over at Gracie who was lying on the floor with Bobo and her favorite blanket. "I'll put Gracie down for her nap and then we can get started. I had asked Janet and Cassie to come over after lunch so that Cassie could watch Grace while we cook."
Once she got back downstairs, she pulled out her tablet and started going over her planning chart. She had a list of what everyone was making, how many people it would feed, where she was going to store it, how it was going to be warmed for dinner and where it was going to sit on the buffet. She was looking at her list when she realized something. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed. "How could this happen! I can't believe I was so stupid."
"What is it?" asked Jo a bit alarmed.
"I miscounted!" exclaimed Sam. "I'm a scientist, I never miscount!"
"Calm down Sam," reassured Jo. "It can't be all that bad."
"I forgot to count myself, Jack and Gracie and what if Chuck does decide to come, should I have counted him?"
Sam began to pace, "What if I run out of food. We only have two turkeys."
"Sam," urged Jo, "Calm down. Do you really think that you and Jack could eat an entire turkey? Think about it. Come on, let's go through the list. Who do we have?"
"Jack, Gracie and I is three, you and Jarod make five, Danny, Janet and Cassie make eight, the Mitchel's make fifteen, the Carters make nineteen, my dad makes twenty and then Chuck and Teal'c make twenty two. TWENTY TWO!" she exclaimed as she fell back onto her stool. "Where am I going to sit twenty-two people?"
Jo just smiled at her, "You'll do what I did every holiday at the lodge. You turn the kitchen into a buffet. Everyone gathers around it to say grace. The kids grab their plates first and we set them up in the living room with a few extra dishes of their favorites and then the adults get to relax and enjoy their meal in the dining room. The kids will finish way before we are done with our first glass of wine so as soon as they are done we clear their area and set them up with board games and toys. If there is snow we bundle them up and throw them outside so we can enjoy some peace and quiet. Adults take shifts going to check on them but I have actually used Duck-tape across the threshold of my dining room so the kids know not to cross the line, otherwise their curiosity gets the better of them and they are sitting on your lap at the table. I am all for family togetherness but one night a year we can enjoy some good food and adult conversation at home. Left-overs are perfect for big casual family meals on paper plates in the living room."
Sam looked at her in shock, "Jo that is brilliant," she said with a relieved sigh. "I have never had a big family so it was easy for all of us to gather in the dining room. Gracie will love eating with all the kids and I trust Cassie and Jarrod to keep a good eye on her."
Jo was thrilled that Sam liked her idea. She had not been looking forward to cramming everyone into the dining room. But this was Sam's first Thanksgiving and she didn't want to offer unsolicited advice. "It's a rite of passage for kids to be old enough to sit in the grown-up room and half the time they get so bored they end up joining the kids playing games. I don't think Jackie stayed in the dining room through the entire dinner till he was about eighteen."
Jack walked in holding a turkey in each hand, "Ugh are you talking about the grown up table?" he asked as he easily put the two pans holding the 25 pound turkeys on the counter. "The kids' tables were always more fun. I mean, you always wanted to go try out the adult table but then you had to listen to boring conversations and you had to sit still for too long. I still like eating at the kids table."
T.B.C
Thank you to all of my faithful readers for sticking with me. More to come soon.
Well, unfortunately, that is all I have written. For this anyway. I have the next arc done, but I need to write the segway. I am waiting for some quiet time over the holiday... LOL!