After a late brunch, Daniel and Sam washed the dishes while Jack and Teal'c went outside to chop some wood to fill the shed in prevision of a campfire in the evening.
"Who are those kids Jack?" Daniel called. He was standing in the hallway to the bedrooms at the back of the cabin, pointing at the wall. Old pictures of children where disposed in a triangle pointing down. Jack was busy carrying wood from outside to the trunk by the fireplace.
"That's my family tree. Grand-parents on top, then my parents, then me"
"Really? That's funny, why are they all kids?"
"Cause when I moved in, Momo wanted me to know where I came from, so she made me a family tree, but since I was only seven, I would have been the only kid on it, she thought it'd be better if we were all kids because it's easier to see the family resemblance when you are the same age. There's another tree with the adult version of us on the wall by Teal'c's room"
Sam had heard parts of the conversation and went looking where the Colonel was pointing. She immediately spotted the picture of him, about twenty five, dashing in his uniform.
"Wow, that's cool, and your grand-mother was right" Daniel commented, still watching the children. "I can really see that you are related to all of them. Is there any name or date? How old are you on those?" he asked before Jack left. He was on his way out to get some more wood already.
"The kids are between six and twelve I think. Should be written behind each picture, Momo was a very organized lady" he said from the front door.
Daniel picked the picture of Jack's mother, and since the hallway was quite dark, he moved toward the little window behind him to get some light.
"Clara, 8 y.o. 1931-1977" he read. Sam moved over to take a look at the little girl. Jack had his tan and dark eyes from her, as well as his mischievous smile. She picked the picture of little Jack from the wall. He was already very much himself, although his hair had been blond back then.
Daniel picked the picture of little John at age nine, they placed both pictures side by side to compare Jack with his dad. The jaws, cheek bones and forehead were clearly a paternal trait, but John had blue eyes, and although the picture was black and white he clearly had light brown hair. He looked very much like Charlie, who's picture had been added under Jack's.
"This must be Momo" Daniel said, replacing John on the wall to look at a girl with obvious Native features. "She was beautiful, look! She seems so serious though... Mary, 12 y.o., 1912-1973. She died just a few years before her daughter. Must have been tough on Jack"
"Yeah I'm sure. He was probably at the academy back then" Sam commented. "Here is Moffa. What a handsome boy! He really had the Nordic features, tall and blond. Johan, 10 y.o, 1905-1981. He buried both his wife and his daughter, poor man"
"Conor, 8 y.o., 1904-1974. Look at that guy, no doubt he's an O'Neill! Despite the dark hair and clear eyes he's the spitting image of Jack!"
"You are right! What a bright idea to have a family tree with pictures of kids" Sam agreed, replacing Johan on his nail. "I should try and do the same for my nephews when I get home" She picked the last picture and gasped.
"What is it?" Daniel replaced Conor on the wall and studied Sam, who looked astonished. "Who's that?"
Taking a moment before she answered, Sam didn't seem to be able to take her eyes from the picture. "That should be... the Colonel's father... grand-mother"
"His father's mother?" Daniel provided. "She's very cute, what's her name?"
Sam turned the picture over and dropped it. The glass shattered in thousand small pieces.
"Oh my god!" she said, jumping back.
"Shit!" Daniel exclaimed at the mess. Jack popped his head to see what all the commotion was about.
"Colonel! I'm sorry... so clumsy of me" Sam said, terribly embarrassed. "I'll replace the frame of course.."
"The picture is not damaged Jack, it's OK Sam" Daniel comforted her. Jack didn't seem too happy with the incident, those pictures had been there for nearly fifty years and none of them had ever been damaged. Daniel edged his way past him to fetch a dustpan and brush from the kitchen, leaving the two officers standing in the hallway. Sam replaced the picture on the wall clumsily under Jack's gaze.
"I'm really sorry Sir, I don't know wha.."
"Carter, what is it? Are you OK?" Like a deer in the head lights, she stopped babbling and stared back at him.
"I.. it's.. I just... It slipped... from my hand.." Daniel returned with the brush and she took it from him, insisting that she was the one who'd made the mess in the first place. The two men exchanged a look and Jack left. Shortly after, Sam took the shattered glass to the bin in the kitchen, Daniel standing dumbfounded in the hallway. He heard the door of Sam's room closing softly and he picked the picture from the wall again. The little girl had a bow in her blond curly hair, she was lovely with chubby cheeks and large blue eyes. She sported a cute white dress and was probably the youngest of all the children on the wall. Daniel turned the picture to check his assumption. It read Grace, 6 y.o., 1914-1968. Satisfied that he had been right, he replaced the now glass-free picture back on its nail and went to help Jack and Teal'c outside.
.
The axes were rhythmically chopping log after log, the sweating men barely grunting once in a while in their effort. Teal'c was his usual stoic self, Jack had the blank mask he put on when he didn't want to talk. Knowing better than to say anything, Daniel was collecting the freshly split firewood and stacking it up in the shed.
"What happened back there Daniel?" Jack asked out of the blue. He was balancing a log on his chopping block, trying to find the best angle to keep it standing until he'd split it.
"I really don't know. I guess the frame just slipped"
"I don't believe that"
"Yeah well, we were chatting, watching the pictures and everything was fine until she slipped the picture. After that she was absolutely mortified, especially when you popped in, she didn't know what to do with herself"
"You sure everything was fine before?"
"Yeah... She seemed surprised when she picked the picture but I guess that's because the girl was so young and so stinkin' cute!" Both Teal'c and Jack's eyebrows went up at their friend's description, then the three of them smirked and resumed their work. After a while, the door of the cabin opened slowly and Sam sporting a checked shirt hanging over her jeans joined them with four cold beers.
"Time for a break, boys. I thought we were here to relax, and you are working like beasts of burden"
"You are here to relax Carter. I took those two with us to do chores" Jack smirked, a twinkle in his eyes.
They all sat on logs and savored their beer in the scent of freshly chopped wood.