Unification Chapter
28
By
Michele
Rated: NC-17
Summary: the men are having
tummy issues, the hot tub is a new playground, Matty is having a
spiritual identity crisis, the crew get a look at the new Goa'uld
and make a terrible discovery, Jack losses his temper with the
Furlings, the Furlings lose their temper with Jack, Michael overhears
something he shouldn't have, and a butterfly holds Jack's
attention.
Sam dug hungrily into her bowl of cottage cheese and fruit while the men stared white-faced at the curds. They forced their stomachs to behave.
"Here." Maggie put dry toast in front of the men. "It'll help settle your stomachs."
"This isn't fair," Jack muttered. "We're not supposed to be sick."
"It's only a few more weeks," Maggie told him. "Big baby. You always were a pain in the butt when you were sick."
"But morning sickness?" Daniel whined. He winced as Maggie tweaked his ear.
"You two can play but you can't pay?" she demanded. "Get your ya-ya's off and sit back?"
"Mom!" Jack put his toast down, shocked. Matthew stuck a finger in one ear while he ate his cereal with the other hand.
"Guys, I'm sorry you're the ones who are sick," Sam said, putting her spoon down. "I've heard that this happens but I didn't expect it. I thought I'd be sick."
"No," Daniel said, standing. He walked behind her and put an arm around her, pecking the top of her head. "You have nothing to apologize for. We're being whiny. I'm sorry."
"Me, too," Jack said, giving her his sad dog face. A strange look crossed his face and he bit into the toast.
Upon informing Jack's mother that Sam was pregnant, Maggie was ecstatic. She was still a little confused over the paternity issue but Jack assured her that the child would be her grandchild no matter who was the father.
"But whose name will be on the birth certificate?" she asked, trying to understand.
"Just Sam's," Jack told her. "The baby will have her name. We'll probably have a fight with the hospital over it but this is how we are dealing with it. If we fail with the hospital, we will have the baby's name changed in court to Carter. There is no law that says a child must have the father's name. Our handfasting contract covers this, both our Wills are being changed to cover this; Daniel and I will both be father to the baby. Just like Olivia is calling both of us daddy, so will this baby."
Maggie and Michael were both astounded at the gift from Ireland. Jack had a nice talk with Eachann O'Neill and promised they'd visit once morning sickness had settled. The chief gave his congratulations. Jack didn't tell him whose morning sickness needed to be settled. He then invited the chief to the US and a tour of facilities. Maybe even a ride, if a ship was around.
Jack then had to argue with Sam about using the arch to get to work. He didn't want hers and the baby's molecules scrambled.
"Inanna and Enki AND Thor said it was alright!" she insisted once more. "And there is nothing in our computations that say it would harm the baby."
"Jack, let's think about this," Daniel said calmly, getting between them. "Will the two of you compromise on something?" He waited until he had a reluctant nod from each of them. "Sam, just for the next couple days, you take the al kesh to work. Jack, you get into some serious head space and dig into those buried archives and find out if there is anything that warns against gate travel during pregnancy. And, Jack, remember this –she'd been using the arch every day during the past six weeks, so if there's going to be a problem, it would already have occurred. Can you both do that?"
"Alright," they grumbled.
"And the ultrasound shows a perfectly formed six week old fetus," Sam reminded Jack.
The kids were excited and promised to help Sam. Even Fang displayed curious behavior as he kept sniffing at Sam's stomach.
"He smells the baby," Daniel told the kids when they asked why Fang was doing that. "Animals can do that. They have good sniffers."
They marked the kitchen calendar with her due date, June 4th, and Stacey and Davy took turns marking off the days. Stacey was especially excited because this was going to be a real sibling. Daniel reminded her that the other kids were real siblings but he understood. To the surprise of the adults, Jerrie started knitting a blanket.
"Just because I'm a dyke doesn't mean I can't do arts and crafts," she told them. They raised hands in surrender and let her knit in peace.
The Pentagon was making a fuss over the arches. They wanted toys, too, and they were salivating over the arches and the new bug stunners. All the major powers wanted arches, once the word got out. Sam assured them that more were in the works and everyone would have arches. She and Jack also swore that ten was the limit on programmed addresses. Even the paperwork said the arches could hold only ten. The few techs who worked on that part of the arches also swore to ten addresses. The military wanted to know if the arches were portable. Can they be taken on missions? No, Jack told them; they needed to be a permanent fixture or the coordinates would be thrown off and who knows where someone will end up, if they reappear at all. The arches were also set with blocking codes, in the same way the Stargate had a doorbell. Someone had to call before hand and ring the bell, before being let in. That eased the military minds a little. No one would be invading through their arches. Jack didn't point out to them that that was the same reason they had asked for portable arches. Maynard knew when Jack was rewriting information and didn't bother to question him; he had learned that Jack had good reasons. Jack wasn't hiding behind rose-colored glasses, he fully expected someone in a government think tank to realize that the arches could be moved and could hold more addresses. Before that happens, though, he hoped to have laws put into effect that would govern the use of the arches. He sent a private recommendation to Henry.
The general population was taking things well, considering. They surprised Jack who thought there would be more of an outcry over all the alien stuff and new technology that was suddenly appearing. When Jack told the Yards to express fun and enjoyment, and let their communities see the happenings, he didn't realize that it would work so well. Another thing Daniel was right about. It was the religious community that was having issues. Attendance in churches, temples, and mosques were down by almost 70 percent. Of course fingers were pointed in Jack's direction. According to Rabbi Melnik, however, only a handful of those people had given up on religion. Most of them had continued with their own spiritual quest. The Rav found it humorous -"God is not found in a building," he said, chuckling at himself. "Christians are finally hearing the words of Jesus." Jack liked the short, skinny rabbi with the scraggly beard; he didn't take himself too seriously and thought that life was the funniest thing he had ever run across.
After dinner, Jack and Daniel got into the hot tub, which was finally fixed, and Sam stood looking at them.
"I feel like I'd be boiling an egg," she said, spreading her hand across her stomach. "You guys enjoy it. And Matthew wants to know if it's safe for him to come out."
"Sure," Jack said after looking at Daniel. The men just wanted to relax after spending the day nibbling on crackers. "You feeling ok?"
"I'm good," Sam said, giving him a smile and leaning over the edge to kiss him. "I'm still in high altitude. Also a little worried that something will go wrong." Daniel reached over his shoulder and took her hand.
"This is a planned pregnancy, you have a healthy uterus, and you're completely in tip-top shape," he told her. He glanced over his shoulder, letting his eyes wander. "Very tip-top shape."
Sam laughed and took her hand away, smacking playfully at his chest.
"Ow," he complained, rubbing delicately. "Nipples are sore."
"Really?" Jack asked, giving his own chest a rub. "Mine, too."
Sam looked at them. "You guys are too much. I'm sending Matty out, so don't start anything."
"Aren't you having any symptoms?" Jack asked her. Sam thought about it.
"No," she said cheerfully and walked back into the house.
"I don't care what mom says, this is so not fair," Jack muttered. He looked at the offending points hiding in the fur.
Matthew stuck his head out the door and Jack waved him over.
"Want to get in?" Jack asked. Matty looked down at his clothes. "Just take them off and get in," Jack said. "It's a guy thing. It's ok."
"No, that's ok," Matty said, a little reticent. He looked around and pulled a chair up. "I uh, I'm not sure how… remember when we talked about me going to Kalam for a while?"
"Sure," Jack nodded. Daniel leaned his head back and shut his eyes, letting the hot water and bubbles get to the back of his neck.
"I'm uh, wondering if….something is wrong with me," Matthew said.
"What makes you think that?' Jack asked.
"Because it… doesn't interest me all that much," Matthew said.
"What doesn't?" Jack asked.
Matty shrugged and tried to look anywhere except at Jack. "Sex. Stuff."
Jack frowned. "What do you mean? Can you tell me what you're feeling?"
Matthew slouched in the chair, letting his gangly legs stretch out. "I'm not sure," he said. "I don't know the words, I guess."
Jack nodded thoughtfully and reached out a feeler. "Maybe the words you want are not exactly disinterest, but maybe your mind is preoccupied," he suggested. The boy thought about it and seemed a little relieved.
"Yes, I think so," Matty said. "I mean, I like kissing girls and stuff but I keep thinking there's something more important I should be doing."
"Like what?" Jack asked. "Matt, you don't need to get torqued over this; some guys don't get interested until they're a little older."
Daniel opened an eye and Jack offered him the conversation.
"Matty, can you give us an example of what goes through your mind when you're with your girlfriend?"
Matthew held out his hands. "I don't know how to explain it," he said. Daniel nodded.
"Jack, what else do you get from him besides preoccupation?"
Jack sank further into the hot water, thinking about it.
"That's actually the best word," he said. "But I get the same sense that I get from the Rav."
Daniel crooked an eyebrow up. "Open? Accepting?"
Jack thought about it and nodded. "Yeah, those work."
"Matt, you spend a lot of time at church with your grandfather and you seem to enjoy the council meetings. Any chance you're considering being a priest?"
Matthew considered it. "I don't know," he said. "I like how it all makes me feel but I don't want to be a priest like grandpa. Maybe I'll want to get married someday. Have kids. I like helping with Olivia, even though she's a pain sometimes."
The men smiled and nodded. "There are lots of different kinds of priests," Daniel told him. "Only a small few have celibacy rules. Matt, what do you get when read the different myths?"
"That they all say the same thing," he said. "I mean, a lot of them talk about people and how they lived but they also want us to be kind to each other and to be honorable."
"What about deity?" Daniel asked. Matthew shrugged.
"I think that there's something that feels alive," he said in cautious contemplation. "I'm not sure how else to describe it. I'm not sure that a single God fits, though. It's like…. this is stupid but all I can think of is Star Wars and the Force."
"An energy that connects all things and binds them together?" Daniel suggested. Matthew lit up.
"Yes, that's it," he said.
"That is spirituality," Daniel told him. "I think it's great that you found that wave to ride. And I agree that it can be heady enough to overshadow everything else. If you're worried that there's something wrong, we can certainly get your hormones tested and make sure they're where they're supposed to be, but I think you're a little young to be concerned about that. Jack's right; lots of boys are late bloomers. Not a problem. Unless you do plan on being celibate, though, you should learn to adapt that spirituality to the rest of your life. There's a thing called the God-gene that triggers your mind to be aware of spiritual things. Not everyone has it, which is why there are atheists. Matty, if you are meant to be a priest of some kind, don't fight it. We will encourage and support you."
Jack echoed him and Matthew ducked his head. "Can I ask you something?" Matthew asked Daniel.
"Sure, kiddo."
"About your book. I've read it a couple of times and I keep thinking that something is missing. Something about the Ancients, I think. I keep thinking that maybe they did something more than build the gates."
Daniel spread his arms along the side of the tub. "Like what else?" he asked.
"I don't know," Matthew said, lifting a shoulder. "I mean, I know you had to leave some things out. Classified things. I've lived here long enough to hear when things are NOT being said. I think there's stuff you didn't say. And I think there's something about the Ancients that you don't want people to know."
"Well, when you can expound a little more on that, I don't mind listening," Daniel told him. Matty looked at him.
"Uh huh." He stood and unexpectedly pecked Daniel's damp cheek. "Thanks, Uncle Dad."
Daniel was smiling as the boy went back into the house. He opened an eye to see Jack also smiling. "He's going to lead the children out of darkness," Daniel predicted.
"How about we deal with getting his new brother or sister out of darkness first?" Jack suggested. Daniel agreed and turned toward Jack with glittering eyes.
"The kids are still up," Jack warned. Daniel didn't seem to care as one hand slid down while his mouth found Jack's neck. Daniel was obviously feeling better. Jack gave a growl and pushed back, splashing water over the edge of the hot tub. They gently stroked each other while kissing, playfully mirroring each other's movements. Jack cupped the head of Daniel's penis in the palm of his hand and 'polished the door knob,' causing Daniel to swear softly against Jack's mouth.
"Hey." The men jumped and Sam put her face between them. "No sperm in the water," she told them. "Or you two can empty the tub and clean it tomorrow. We don't want the kids wallowing in it, do we?"
"Kill-joy," Jack informed her. "Where are they?"
"Getting ready for bed," she told them. Jack looked around and then stood to sit on the ledge. Daniel immediately took the offering that was proudly presented and Sam shook her head, keeping watch for innocent eyes. Mindful that Daniel didn't like his head held, Jack grabbed the edge of the tub as Daniel sucked hard, trying to get his cream as quickly as he could before any of the kids attempted to interrupt. Sam held Jack against her chest, watching over his shoulder. He gritted his teeth, keeping silent as he came in Daniel's mouth.
"Your ass is mine tonight," Jack hissed at him. Daniel flicked his tongue at the wilting flower, gathering up a drop of white dew.
"Promise?"
Darkness hit a new high, or low, when Jack was called to the SGC late the next morning. The conference room held Landry, SG-1 and 3, and their Indian trainees.
"Morning, Jack," Landry said as Jack acknowledged everyone and waved them down. Landry pulled slightly at Jack's collar and shook his head at the purple bruise that was poking out. "Aren't you a little old for that?"
"Hey, talk to Daniel, I'm just his toy," Jack informed him. Reynolds and Bosco snickered. "Besides, Sam is being extra careful for the next seven months so we are being considerate by letting her rest." It took the others a moment and then congratulations were offered. The trainees were a little perplexed.
"Does this mean you can't go out for a ride with us?" Reynolds asked.
"A ride? To where?" Jack asked. With a nod from Landry, Reynolds pointed at the screen.
"You need to see this," he told Jack.
Video from a hidden camera showed the Indian-descended locals of the Vishnu planet working hard in a factory. Tanks bubbled gently as shadowy forms swam freely in the water.
"Are those…?" Jack leaned in.
"Yep," Reynolds said grimly.
The image changed to someone's hands, long, slender fingers holding a Goa'uld larva gently, examining it before setting it back into a tank. The image zoomed in on another, larger tank at the far end of the room. A bloated form occupied the tank.
"That's…. where the hell did they get her?" Jack couldn't believe it. Someone had found a queen!
"We haven't gotten that far, sir," Reynolds told him. "Since only one queen was ever found, and she died before we could talk with her, we don't actually know how many others there were, if there were any at all. Nothing the Tok'ra or the Goa'uld ever said made us think there were more. According to Malek, the Tok'ra didn't think there were any more."
"Could one have been bioengineered?" Landry asked.
"Don't know, sir," Reynolds said apologetically. "Not my area of expertise. We can ask the Tok'ra once they get finished reviewing this footage. This isn't the best part, though, Jack. Keep watching."
They all winced as they watched a snake take the human offering. Vishnu himself appeared, dark, with long black hair and a blue robe, inspecting the slaves. Jack had to admit that he didn't know the face, although the over-the-top clothes were in character for a Goa'uld. The scene changed to more of the lab. Someone was bent over what was obviously a microscope, completely out of character for the technological level of the planet. The person was female and…blond?
"Who…?" Jack leaned in. He then sat back, stunned. "Crap." He picked up the phone and dialed. "Daniel, come to the SGC. Now."
"This is not good," Jack informed the room.
When Daniel came in, via the new arch, and saw the footage, he sank into a chair. "Oh, crap," he said, echoing Jack. "Oh, I was hoping that it wouldn't happen."
"Well, if she had a twisted wire or something, a little amnesia wouldn't fix it," Jack told him. "Look, I know you don't want to hear this, but we should have killed her."
"Don't pull the I-told-you-so routine with me, please, Jack," Daniel begged, running a hand over his hair and giving it a pull in frustration. "Is there a plan in the works?"
"Not yet," Landry said. "We need to know about that queen and we need to know if there are any more. We also need to get Dr. Frankenstein out of there and question her. From what we've seen of security, not too many people get near to her and she doesn't go out into the general public."
"I can get to her," Daniel said.
"Over my dead body," Jack informed him.
"Jack, you know damned well I'm the only one who can do this," Daniel said, knowing Jack was going to fight it.
"There is no way in hell I'd let you go without me and I'm not going anywhere until our baby is born," Jack told him, his voice beginning to rise. "With five kids running around and one on the way, we …WE!…. cannot leave Sam to play mother-hen by herself. Absolutely not!"
"I'm not an asshole, of course I don't want to leave them!" Daniel shouted back. "I'd be gone a week! No one else can get close to her except ME!"
The men around the table tried to look anywhere except at Jack and Daniel. "Uh." Reynolds raised a hesitant hand. "I don't mean to interrupt family stuff, but I might have an idea."
Jack and Daniel scowled at each other for a moment. "What," Jack snapped.
"Well, why do we have to actually go down to the planet?"
Everyone looked at Reynolds.
"Explain, colonel," Landry said.
"Well, sir, why can't we just beam her up? From the surveillance, we know that she's in her lab at certain hours so we set a wide beam and bring up anything registering body temp in the vicinity. We did the same thing in Korea and it worked there."
Jack lost his scowl.
"And the Aschen?" Jack asked.
"They seem to steer clear of that planet," Reynolds said. "We still haven't figured out why. We can plot a route to the planet that will get us around the Aschen once we check on their current shipping lanes."
Jack drummed his fingers on the table as he thought. "I'm not happy," he finally said. "Even if I consider allowing Daniel to go, and I do agree, however not happy I am about it, that he is the only one who can talk to her, I won't let him go without me and I'm not going anywhere for the next seven months."
Daniel folded his arms, shoving his hands peevishly under his pits. Bosco held up his hand.
"Can I put a recommendation into the hat?" he asked. Jack grunted. "Why does the talking need to be done there? Why not beam her up, put her on ice, and bring her here?"
"Why didn't you do that already?" Jack asked.
"Because kidnapping is not a nice thing to do," Daniel reluctantly said. "We have a play-nice treaty and it doesn't extend to that planet. We can't take someone, legally, from a planet which doesn't hold a treaty with the UW, and the citizens of that planet have not called a mayday."
Jack thought about it, trying to remember the odds and ends of the treaty. He tapped on the computer, searching for the file.
"There's a loophole in that," he finally said. "Ke'ra is not wanted anywhere but Linea is a criminal and there are who knows how many planets that she has wiped out. I'd say Linea has destroyed Ke'ra and escaped Vyus. For all we know, she's the one who brought that snake to the planet. She's open game."
He turned the computer toward Daniel for his own perusal of the treaty's exact wording. Daniel considered it thoughtfully.
"Alright," he said. "Just to keep things kosher, though, maybe run it by the council and make sure they're reading it the same way. Jack, don't look at me like that. Whatever her past, Linea has not harmed us so we cannot excuse a vigilante raid. Even with the Goa'uld hunting, it was for a specific System Lord, not an all-out extermination. We have a treaty that says we will follow certain rules, and since you're the Big Cheese, it might be a good idea to set an example."
Jack didn't like it at all but he knew Daniel was right.
The teams were excused to make things happen while Daniel stood at the window, looking down at their old familiar friend. Landry glanced at him and then at Jack and got out of firing range, closing the door silently as he left them alone.
"I'm sorry," Jack said, seeing the tightened muscles across Daniel's back. "I didn't mean to imply that you're an asshole. I'm an asshole. And I think I understand how you were feeling when I went hunting last year. If you want to go with SG-1, I won't argue. It's been a long time since you've been on a mission. Go. Go play, bring the bitch home."
Daniel took a breath, the window fogging for a moment. "You're right. My responsibilities are here and I have no business being on the front line, not with our kids waiting for me. I'll wait until the Prometheus gets back with K… Linea. Experiencing our new child growing is more important to me. And yes, you are an asshole."
Jack's mouth twitched. "Love you, too. Can we blame this on hormone changes?"
Daniel looked over his shoulder, a small smile warming Jack's heart. Before Jack could respond, both men suddenly ran for the men's room down the hall. When they finally lifted their faces from the toilets, they found Dr. Lam holding up the wall in the hallway. She gave them her famous inscrutable dark eyes and handed them each a package of crackers.
"We are not amused," Jack informed her.
"Oh, but we are amused," she told them. "Congratulations. Be sure you replace the liquids and keep your electrolytes balanced. I know you'll be feeling tired and not wanting to even look at food, but rest any time you can and eat anyway. Lots of protein. Eat through the morning sickness and you should find that the nausea lessens. Keep crackers or dry cereal by your bed and eat something before getting up. It should help. Sometimes eating and drinking at the same time can trigger it, so try not to drink at mealtimes. Some women find that sniffing lemons, fresh grated ginger, or mint also helps when they feel it coming on."
"We're not women," Daniel reminded her. Her stare told him to shut up. He wasn't quite sure what Jerrie saw in her, only that Dr. Lam made Jerrie happy. According to Jerrie, Carolyn had a good sense of humor, a passion for life, and a romantic heart. Maybe being on base with her father, General Landry, put her on edge.
"It's a proven fact that some men also experience some of the pregnancy symptoms," she said. "We're not sure why, only that it happens. As close as the three of you are, this should have been expected. Besides morning sickness, you might experience some sleeplessness and indigestion, hormones will fluctuate causing emotional upheavals including depression, and there is a possibility of post-partum depression. Read the baby books, talk to each other, and, above all, take it one day at a time. And considering the fact that one of you is the bio-dad, if you think anything unusual is happening with Colonel Carter, bring her in. Otherwise, she should be fine with her regular OB/GYN."
The men promised to behave and obey.
Instead of heading out, Jack side-tracked to the control room and had Walter dial out.
"Anyone home?" Jack asked into the mic when the channel was open.
"Are you alright, Dr. Jackson?" Walter asked whispered as Daniel sat and leaned forward until his head was between his knees.
"Morning sickness," Daniel told him. Walter's eyes opened in shock. "Sam is pregnant, not me," Daniel said. "I don't think the universe has gone that far out of whack."
"Oh. Congratulations, sir. Sirs."
Jack also had his head between his knees.
"Come on over," they heard Ninurta from the speaker. The men reluctantly sat up, slowly, and headed to the gateroom.
"This is not going to be pretty," Jack said under his breath, staring at the gate with apprehension. The moment they were on the other side, they immediately ran past a startled Ninurta and out of the building to find bushes. Ninurta followed them, watching, perplexed.
"Are you ill?" he asked.
Jack turned to look at him. "Alright, stupid question," Ninurta acknowledged.
"Sam's pregnant," Jack told him.
"Congrat…. ahhhhh, yessss…. Jack, you are bonded to her. Bondings produce this level of sharing," Ninurta said. He stepped up to the men and put a gentle hand on their backs for a moment. "Better?"
"A little," Jack said, feeling the nausea subside. "Thanks."
"Come," the warrior said. "I will make a calming tea for you."
They followed him into the modest manor house and through to the private family room. Ninurta spoke quietly to a servant who gave a nod and left them. The men sat gingerly into over-stuffed chairs and relaxed once they found that their stomachs weren't going to go AWOL on them again.
"Papa!" A little boy ran into the room and climbed onto Jack's lap. Jack winced as he accepted the hug around his neck.
"Easy, Daka," Ninurta said. "Papa isn't feeling well. His tummy is upset. Uncle Daniel's, too, so sit gently."
"He's fine," Jack said as the boy settled down beside him. "Where is everyone?"
"His fathers are on their way home," Ninurta said, nodding toward Daka. "Aba is in his lab, everyone else is in the fields. Wheat harvest. I was here overseeing the silos when your call came in." The servant came in carrying a tray which he placed on the table. Ninurta took the ingredients and began their tea.
"A bonding brings those involved closer than your average pairing," Ninurta told them as he gently pressed the herbs into the hot water. "I will bet anything that the bond's energy surrounded you during your lovemaking in which the baby was conceived."
The men considered him and then each other. "Surrounded all three of us," Daniel confirmed.
"Ah," Ninurta smiled and nodded. "Which is why you are both experiencing it. And in the same waves, if you haven't noticed. This pregnancy was planned."
"Per Sam's request," Jack said. "She was ready."
Ninurta handed the men each a cup. "Sip slowly."
"Now, Daniel, about this possible Ancient site of yours," Ninurta said, petting his beard thoughtfully. "We honestly don't know what to tell you. Aba said that when he arrived on Earth, in his initial tour, there were only small pockets of primitives around. Barely out of the trees. Most of the Ancients had left by then, those who had not died in the plague, and a few stragglers were rounding up survivors for the final ship to the Pegasus galaxy. Our people, the Asgard, and the Nox were given the task of monitoring the lifeforms that seemed to be immune to whatever was killing the Ancients. They didn't have high hopes for the primitive forms on primordial Earth. Not only were the brains of the primates not viable but the planet was undergoing a major tectonic upheaval. The Ancients couldn't have stayed there even if they wanted to; the planet was turning itself inside out.
"So Aba tinkered, amusing himself with a species that was about to become extinct anyway. I know, I know, not very humane of him. He's mellowed in his old age. I think that my mother had a lot to do with 'humanizing' him. I think that once his own children began to be born, he realized the error of his ways. My own opinion, of course.
"Anyway. The Ancients eventually returned, checking out their old homestead, and you can imagine their surprise to find that not only had life remained but it flourished. And it didn't take them long to realize what was done with the proto-humans. They were angry about it. Not even the Ancients approved of tampering with natural evolution. But not too many Ancients were left to disapprove. In the long run, it proved to be a boon. There may not have been enough of them left to repopulate their species, but humans were advanced enough to be recognized as modern humans. Homo-sapiens.
"Our people weren't around, at the time, I don't know. Something about another project. So before the Ancients de-evolved back into the human race, where their DNA would at least be kept alive, they gave the Asgard the task of watching over the planet. The humans grew, the Ancients disappeared into the woodwork, so to speak, and when Aba and Nanna finally brought their troops in, your people were beginning to understand the concept of crops and villages. The Asgard returned the watch to Nanna and we spent time guiding your people. Until the Goa'uld, and you know the rest."
Ninurta sipped from his own cup of what smelled like cinnamon as he contemplated his clan-son napping against Jack's side.
"And the site in northern Scotland?" Daniel asked.
"We don't know," Ninurta said with a shrug. "At the time that site is dating, it would have been much further south. Perhaps near the equator. If so, it is possible that it is part of a larger Ancient site that has long since been turned back into molten rock. From the images you sent, it could be quarters for slaves and their families in attendance to a main house. Aba didn't speculate much more than that. Don't think it degrading to the primitive humans, Daniel; remember that the Ancients would not have brought them further than they were capable of understanding for their time. Considering the fact that most of your forebears were still camping out in caves and straw lean-tos, that kind of a structure would have been a castle to them."
Whatever was in the tea, it was helping. The men were feeling halfway normal again. Except Jack's brain which was trying to push an idea at him, and a sense of something that he's missing. He hissed and put a hand to his head.
"Jack?" Daniel touched his arm. Jack leaned forward, holding his head. Daka slid from his resting place and looked confused.
"Time," Jack muttered.
"What?"
"Something about…..time," Jack said. He squeezed his head between his hands, trying to get the information out.
"Relax and center," Daniel told him. "Just let the information come through. You can sort it out later."
Jack breathed, forcing his awareness to the center of his being. A flood of concepts rushed over him, not offering definition only of being.
"Time," he said again. "Something….. I don't know… not being said." He opened his eyes and looked at Ninurta. "You're withholding again. I'm going to assume this is one of your games and I'm supposed to figure it out. Ok. Time. Timing….. timeline…. time…. travel. Enki isn't hundreds of thousands of years old, only a few thousand. He went back to tinker with people, didn't he?"
Daniel considered it and was stunned. Ninurta didn't say anything, only sipped calmly at his tea.
"He changed our past," Daniel guessed. "How much of the future did he see that caused him to change the past of an entire race?"
"Well, Daniel, I don't particularly give a flying…." Jack looked down at his side, "you know what, I'm getting a little tired of word games and half-truths. In fact, I'm rather pissed about it."
"Jack, I can't give you anymore than you can access from your own brain," Ninurta reminded him. "Go ahead and get angry with me but there are things that I am unaware of myself. I give you clues when I can. If you would do as Aba continually asks you to do, spend time excavating your head, you would figure these things out for yourself. The history is in there, dammit; quit being a turnip."
Becoming furious, Jack opened his mouth to object.
"Ok, ok," Daniel held up a calming hand. "We will work on in, right, Jack? Let's back up a minute because I have a question."
Jack crossed his arms in a fit of pique while Ninurta's eyes narrowed and threatened daggers at him.
"I thought the Ancients invented time travel," Daniel said.
Ninurta pursed his lips for a moment.
"It was a group effort," Enki said from the doorway. The old man came in, wiping his hands on a cloth, and poured himself something to drink. "Look, Jack, I'm sorry you're feeling a little in the dark but it can't be helped. We need you to do this yourself, and you know it. Now, putting the time relay into the ships was the Ancients idea. Why would they do that, if they weren't going to use it? Why equip the seneschals with it and not the other ships? Have you thought to ask yourself that? That answer is in your head. Figure it out."
Jack stormed out of the room. Daniel murmured an apology and thanked the men before following Jack. Once in the gateroom, "….put them back into that fucking phased whatever the hell…..! bring that fucking Goa'uld back and let him…..! fucking old con artist….! tired of his bullshit….!" The SF did their best to ignore the ranting as Daniel signaled up at the window and hurried to follow Jack who had stalked through the arch. "…who died and made him almighty creator….?! …..fucking around with our brains…..! creating an entire species and for what….?! why didn't he just go back and get rid of those fucking snakes on their own planet…..? did we ask him to create us? I don't recall asking him to play God….! go back into OUR past and play fucking Pinocchio….!"
"Jack!"
Jack slammed the refrigerator door, rattling the various bottled inside.
"What!"
"Geppetto, not Pinocchio," Daniel told him. "And we seem to have guests."
Around the dining room table sat Michael, Maggie, Sam, Cassie, and Harper. Blood had drained from Michael's face leaving him ghostly white.
Daniel leaned into Jack and said quietly, "And for the same reason Enki withholds information from you, you withhold information from others. You are going to destroy a hell of a lot, if you don't make a few changes. I will deal with this, you go find a quiet corner and take a time out. Get a grip, Jack."
The last thing he wanted to do was to hurt his brother. Which was exactly what he did. Jack left out the back door and headed toward the woods. Daniel was right; he needed head-space. He wasn't sure what was making him so angry; the old man was always withholding information and although it was irritating, Jack usually enjoyed working it out and playing with the new ability it usually brought. He considered the hormone factor and acknowledged the possibility of his mental processes being affected by it, and then decided that it was too early to be having hormonal temper tantrums.
He was about two miles from the house when he finally sat and rested back against a tree. The back of his head made contact with the bark of the trunk and he shut his eyes. When he opened them again, the light made him look around. Something was different. The sun was at a different angle. He must have taken a nap. Small movement caught his drossy attention and he watched a dark pod wiggle on the thin branch that it was attached to. It tore open and a brightly colored wing appeared. The new butterfly fell to the ground and hobbled upright, spreading its wings to dry before it could use its weak, newborn strength to fly. Jack looked around, making sure there were no creatures waiting to take advantage of the hatchling. An hour later it stretched its wings and took its first haltering flight. Hesitant at first, it grew more daring and flew away.
"Have a nice flight," he told his fellow flier. He stood and slowly walked back to the house. The house was quiet. There was no one in the livingroom or around the dining table. He found Sam in the study working at the computer.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
He nodded. "I'm sorry if I interrupted anything."
"We were going over wedding plans," she told him. "Only five weeks until Cass is married. She's a little upset. She wants to lose a couple of pounds for her dress."
Jack frowned. "Lose a couple pounds from where?"
"It's a bride thing," she told him.
"Oh. Where are the kids?"
"Out playing. Mom has the baby. Daniel's downstairs. And I think Michael will be alright. He knew you were hiding something from him, something to do with religion. I think he was beginning to guess but was in denial. Are you alright?"
Jack thought about it. "I think I need to be in Truth-space," he confessed. Sam shut the computer off and took his hand. They went downstairs where Daniel was also working on a computer. His desk was covered in old papers and a few artifacts. He looked over the top of his glasses at Jack and Sam.
"Feeling better?" he asked.
"Feeling…. distant," Jack said, considering his condition. Sam told Daniel what Jack wanted and the computer was turned off while Jack began to take his clothes off. There was always a slight chill in the air of the den, which was technically underground. Daniel usually had a dehumidifier running to keep the moisture from his collection. Jack sat between Daniel's legs and relaxed into the warmth of his body. He positioned his legs over Daniel's while Sam sat in front of them.
"Alright," Daniel said once Jack was settled. "What's got your knickers in a twist?"
Jack pillowed his head against Daniel's shoulder and clenched his fingers around Daniel's knees.
"I don't want to leave you two," he said. Daniel tiled his head away to look at Jack.
"You planning on a trip?"
"Only a major head trip."
Daniel looked at Sam as he considered. "The files in your head," Daniel guessed. "You're afraid you'll fry your brain if you open the files."
"Twice bitten," Jack said.
"Jack, you've had access to those files for quite a while now," Daniel said. "Besides the fact that the CT scans show your brain to be wired in ways no one has ever seen before, you speak fluent Ancient, you've been doing mechanical drawings of things Sam's spent years trying to figure out, and you can do things that science fiction writers can only dream about. You made one of my ties the same color as my eyes."
"And if I open those files completely, what will happen to me?" Jack asked. "I can't handle that much information, we proved it before."
Daniel slid his arms around Jack's chest. "Jack, you're not thinking it through. I told you –your brain is able to handle it. The wiring is there. It's in place. The computer has been built, you only need to access it."
"And how much more will I need to keep my mouth shut about?" Jack asked irritably.
"You're afraid," Daniel pieced together. "You don't want to access those files because you're afraid."
"I'm not….!"
"You're afraid, Jack. Scared. That thing no military officer should feel, no warrior should feel. Admit it, Jack. Say it!"
"I'm not…..!"Jack spit out, struggling against the arms that held him tight. "Let me go! Who the fuck are you to call me a coward! Let me up! I won't…. I'm not…… God, dammit!" A fist grabbed the top of his head and Daniel's legs abruptly changed places with Jack's, putting Jack into a body lock.
"Say it! I'm scared! Say it!!"
Sam watched, stealing herself to remain focused and not respond to Jack's struggles. Jack choked, fighting the arms and legs that held him. Daniel pulled the fist of hair tight, putting his mouth next to Jack's ear to whisper gently, "Say it, baby. It's ok, we have you. Just say it."
The internal fighting blackened his thoughts as a whirlwind spun within. The small voice within told Jack that this was exactly why he put himself into Daniel's arms, so why was he fighting it? He wasn't a coward, he put himself on the frontline time and time again! You're scared, not a coward, he told himself. Daniel never called you a coward, Jack O'Neill, so just admit to what he wants to hear. You're afraid and that's the truth of it.
"I…don't want to lose myself," he whispered. The hand gripping his hair eased and caressed. "I…don't want to not be human. I'm afraid…of not being me. I'll still be in my middle age when you two are at the end of your lives. I'll see five or six generations of grandchildren, if the rest of the world allows me to live here that long. Part of me isn't human and I'm not sure I'm happy about it. I'm afraid that if I access my brain my remaining humanity will be gone."
Sam went to them and curled up around them, helping Daniel to hold Jack. "Whatever happens, we will be at your side," she promised. "You need to do it, Jack. If you don't, the pressure will grow and grow until it reaches a critical threshold and blows up. Release the pressure a little at a time. Find a way to access the information in bits and pieces. Like the internet. Search a word or phrase and see what comes up."
"Control it," Daniel told him. "Don't let it control you. Find a way to bring it in line and offer information at your bidding."
Jack closed his eyes and leaned back. "This shouldn't have been me," he said quietly. "I don't deserve this. You or Daniel should have it. I'm not…. I'm just a grunt."
"Don't pull that," Daniel told him. "I couldn't use this kind of information, I'm bad at leadership. We all know what happened when I was shown an alternate future. I blew us up after I became lost in the power. I couldn't do this."
"And I couldn't because I'm not the same kind of leader you are," Sam told Jack. "I'm only just now learning how to lead. Jack, sometimes we can't think clearly around all the information in our heads. We become so focused on one thing that we're blind toward everything else. You know how we get sometimes."
"And am I supposed to sit on the information I get?" Jack asked. Daniel tightened his arms and pressed his mouth to Jack's head.
"No, you help guide us," Sam told him. "Like you've done for years. Jack, we aren't the Ancients. We shouldn't create technology just like theirs. So you can come up with all the schematics, does that mean we should follow them exactly? I wouldn't. We can, however, use the schematics to adapt technology we already have and make it user-friendly. As for the history, who cares? Sorry, Daniel. The history of the Ancients has very little to do with us. Only about 10,000 years of history belong to us, anything before that is of a different culture. A different species. Sure, it's interesting to learn about it, but it doesn't help us. I don't care when and where the Ancients came from; I care about our children and their future."
Jack breathed, feeling calmer, and leaned over to put his head on Sam's stomach. There was a small, hard spot just below her belly-button, big enough to be felt and yet small enough not to be showing. He kissed the spot. Sam caressed his hair.
"When can we find out if we have a Jake or Clair?" he asked huskily.
"Gender is visible at about 14 weeks," Sam told him. He could hear the smile in her voice. "We have about 8 weeks."
Daniel turned onto his hip and slid his legs around Jack's. "Does it really matter to you why we were created?" he asked. "For all we know, we've already accomplished the task. If the problem is centuries in the future, we still don't need to worry about it. All we can do is our best to make a decent planet for our kids."
"I don't like that old man's advice," Jack said, scowling. "I refuse to be that cold."
He felt Daniel's forehead against his shoulder. "Jack, I think he's been trying to make you find your humanity. Even in the myths, Enki pushed people. You really should read some of those stories. He was a bastard, mainly to Inanna and Ninurta. He's the king of psychological warfare and he's been taking it easy with you. In case you haven't noticed, he hasn't once reprimanded you for doing things opposite of his advice. He knows if he pushes one way, you're going to head in the other direction. He doesn't hold hands; he expects people to stand on their own two feet and be the best person they can be, and if he has to goad you into it, that's what he's going to do."
Jack thought about it. "So, does he want me to dig out the information or not?"
"That's up to you," Daniel said. "Either way, I don't see that it makes a difference. The difference comes in what you decide to do with the information. If it's important to you to know what the Ancients were doing, dig it out. Otherwise, just stick to schematics and help Sam get the planet's pollution problem under control."
"Don't you want to know about them?" Jack asked, sliding his arms around Sam's waist and warming himself between his partners.
"Sure," Daniel said, shifting to cover Jack's back. "But it's an intellectual curiosity, not something necessary for existence. We no longer need to go searching for Ancient weapons, you can design them, so there's no need for me to put puzzles together. I wouldn't mind a history of the Ancients. I can live without it."
"You're trying to make me feel better," Jack accused.
"Yes," Daniel admitted. "But I'm also being honest. That site in Orkney? If it needs to remain an enigma, so be it. I'll live. Stonehenge? I'll live. Pyramids around the world? I'll live. What I'm finding more interesting is that people with these new talents that are cropping up tend to be accentuated when they spend any extended time around Olivia. Have you noticed?"
