AN: All Grace

Apples to Apples

"Miss Carter, you won't make friends by coming to the library every lunch period."

"O'Neill."

"Pardon?" The elderly librarian who wore her graying hair in a bun on top of her head said.

"It's O'Neill." Grace said with a disgusted eyeroll. "My last name is O'Neill."

"Your transcript says otherwise, young lady."

Grace's jaw set mutinously. "My paperwork will change literally days from now."

"And when your stepdad adopting you goes through I'll be happy to call you Miss O'Neill. Miss Carter."

"He's not my stepdad." Grace glared "He's my dad."

"Well that's nice that you have a good relationship with him. Having a stepparent is often difficult."

"Did I stutter? He's my dad… as in my biological father. You do know how babies are made, Mrs. Godbout? Because there's a book on that in the science section."

"That's enough, young lady. Go to the principal's office right now."

"For someone who works in a library you aren't very smart."

"NOW, Miss Carter!"

"Oh, fer cryin out loud! Whatever." Grace said and rolled her eyes as she walked out knowing the librarian would call the office. She pondered ditching. It wasn't like any of the classes she was taking were even challenging her. The mandatory ones were a joke and even the AP eighth grade classes weren't challenging her at all but the district had not allowed her to go to high school due to her age.

She went to the principal's office only because she figured her dad would lecture her if she didn't.

When she got there, the secretary looked at her in surprise. "Are you feeling all right, Grace?"

"Oh I'm fine. Mrs. Godbout probably isn't feeling great."

"Uh oh. What happened?"

"She kept calling me Miss Carter and when I corrected her she argued with me about my dad." Grace huffed a sigh. She actually liked the secretary. She was sweet and had a kind and genuine smile like her mom does. "Anyway when she clearly didn't get it I asked her if she knew how reproductive organs work."

Miss Hayes suppressed an amused smile. "Let me guess how that conversation turned out."

Grace grinned conspiratorially.

"A bit of advice, Goldilocks. Mrs. Godbout is old and cranky. Just flip her off behind her back like I do." Miss Hayes then put a finger to her lips and winked slyly as she waved Grace to one of the seats to wait for the principal.

Of course with typical Carter luck, instead of Dr. Hartell, the reasonable and nice principal, she got Mrs. Snerstine, the much despised vice principal. Oh swell. She thought dryly.

"Miss Carter… Mrs. Godbout sent you down here for speaking disrespectfully to her."

Grace leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms across her chest. "Just give me my detention slip and get it over with."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Look, I've only been here a couple weeks but I know how this works. Just give me my detention slip so I can go to shop class." Which is literally the only class I'm enjoying she muses. Well, and art except her art teacher forced her to make the stuff she wanted instead of stuff Grace actually wanted to make.

The slender dark haired woman narrowed her eyes at Grace. "Who exactly do you think you are, Miss Carter?"

"Well, for starters, I'm Miss O'Neill." Grace told her sarcastically. "Which is what started this. My paperwork is going to change any day now and my dad has been in my life since I was little. The least you guys could do is respect my decision to take my dad's name now that my parents are married."

"That is enough. I'm calling your mother."

"Oh no… you're calling my moommm… why don't you call my dad too? I'm pretty sure he'd actually rather deal with you than be in a meeting with someone from Congress. Which isn't saying much. Have you met those people? Buncha snake heads."

"I might." She threatens.

"Do it." Grace says leaning forward and staring the woman down.

"Go sit in the lounge, young lady." Snerstine orders her out.

"Yah sure you betcha…" Grace sing songs on her way out the door.

They drive home in silence, both glaring out a window. Finally Sam speaks. "I had to leave a classified meeting to handle this, Grace. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"I hate my school."

"You haven't given it a chance."

"Yes I have. I walked in first day, figured okay the kids are going to be a little immature compared to what I'm used to but so are you and dad so no big deal I'll just avoid confrontation with them. So instead… supposed grown adults are giving me crap for grasping that I'm going to be ignored at best in lunch or bullied. So I went to the library and this idiot who has no business with a librarian degree starts arguing with me about my last name when all I did was say I'd appreciate it if she called me by dad's name if she was going to insist on using my last name since the paperwork should be approved in a couple days anyway."

"That's not the point, Grace. You aren't an adult." And how did you manage to make that all one sentence? Sheesh Sam thinks.

"So what? Why is everyone so fixated on my age? I hate that school. My classmates look at me like I'm a freak. I try to at least talk to the teachers and they talk to me like I'm some kind of problem. The shop teacher and my history teacher are the only ones who don't act like I'm some kind of freak or science experiment. The rest of them think I'm some kind of joke or spoiled brat."

"What—" Sam grunted uncomfortably. "—exactly do you expect me to do, Grace? There's not another school for miles. The only other solution is for you to move to DC with your dad until my assignment is done."

"Why did you even take this job? Once dad took the job in DC you didn't have to switch assignments." Grace demanded.

"I'd already signed the paperwork, Grace. You can't just tell the government - Oh, I changed my mind, can I have my other job back? It's only a couple years, Grace. Just suck it up." She grunted again, uncomfortably. "Your little brother doesn't appreciate this."

"Oh well good for him." Grace said dryly.

"Catherine Grace O'Neill!" Sam said sharply to her.

"The first adult to get my name right ALL DAY!" Grace snarls.

"All right. That's enough of that attitude, young lady! This has been a big adjustment for all of us and I don't appreciate you acting like you are the only one with problems!"

"At least I didn't MAKE my problems."

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" They were now shouting at each other in the car. Sam pulled up in front of the house and slammed her car door then winced and rubbed her stomach.

"Oh like you don't know?! You drag me off to this devil's butthole hot state away from my friends and family, we only live with dad on weekends and the rest of the time all you do is work then come home and pretend everything is perfectly normal which was fine until I found out my teachers are jerks, my classmates are shallow idiots and the vice principal is evil not to mention the only two classes that are even remotely interesting aren't even academic ones!"

"Everything IS fine! You are so ungrateful. You finally get what you wanted for years and now you're mad that things changed because of it? What was I supposed to do? Lose my commission so I could shack up with your dad!?"

"You may as well have! It's not like you guys weren't sleeping together anyway!"

"You just earned yourself a grounding!"

"Good!"

"Fine!"

Grace stormed into the house, past her mother to her room.

"You can just forget about going to the library this weekend, young lady!" Sam shouted up the stairs.

"So I got a call from the school…" A warm male voice said to Sam.

Sam snarled something that sounded like 'just great' to Jack but said nothing else as she stomped into her office to try to do some work as she'd not be going back to her lab now.

"Okey dokey…" Jack huffed and scratched the back of his neck. Puberty and a pregnant wife were clearly not a stable chemical mix. So Jack did the only thing he could think of since he was here anyway. Whistling he walked into the kitchen and turned on the oven, then started getting out what he needed.

Flour, walnuts, cocoa powder, chocolate chips… Jack hummed happily while he creamed the butter, sugar and vanilla together with the baking powder and soda and a dash of cinnamon/nutmeg mix. It wasn't the way the book said but his grandma had always made them this way and grandma made better cookies than anyone but Sam. When he'd figured out she was the magical bakery the cookies came from he'd showered her with appreciation. She'd walked funny for a couple days and hadn't been able to stop smiling either.

This seemed like a 'lots of attention needed' thing so he made the scoops of dough a little large and checked the freezer for vanilla ice cream. Excellent.

When the first batch was done, Jack put them on the stove then he put the second batch in.

His first customer was a sullen pregnant wife who sat at the island and silently ate a cookie without looking at him.

A few moments later, an equally sullen Grace slunk down the stairs and tried to silently snag a cookie when her mother wasn't watching. Jack put a glass of milk in front of her and motioned her to sit. He switched out another batch and leaned against the counter. "All right you." He points at Grace. "What happened?"

Sam starts to open her mouth but Jack makes a cut motion. 'Her first' his eyes warn his wife who scowls at him.

Grace shrugs. "Mrs. Godbout is a dumbass."

"Ah!" He put up a finger. "Without the language."

Grace huffed. "Fine. I told her not to call me Miss Carter, that in a week it's going to be O'Neill and I'd prefer to be called that and okay, I was a little rude probably but it's not that hard to call people what they want to be called. No one struggles with the idea that I go by my middle name. So that's what I got in trouble for. She got all 'oh it's so nice you get along with your stepdad' and when I tried to explain you're my bio dad she argued like I don't know so I told her there's a book on reproduction in the science section." Grace huffed.

Jack looked down but cut his eyes to Sam. He noted she was biting her lip trying not to chuckle. "All right, so what happened with you and the vice principal who… don't assume I'm on her side. That woman needs a personality transplant…" he mumbled. "A snake would be an improvement."

Sam snorted but still refused to meet his eyes.

It was a start, he supposed. He decided he'd have a little visit with some of these fine educators tomorrow. Grace didn't need rescuing but adults shouldn't pick on kids and if he needed to remind some of them he employed the parents of most of their students they might think twice the next time they bullied a kid. He made a rolling motion to Grace.

'So then Mrs. Snerstine acted the same way and I just couldn't take it anymore, dad. The only classes that aren't a total waste of my time aren't even academic ones. It's bad enough the kids think I'm a freak but the adults are just jerks and I'm not learning anything except in shop class." She huffed. "And the boys already hate me for being better at it."

"In your defense you come by that completely naturally." Jack looks thoughtful. "Sam, did you ever look into the community college?"

"They said she's too young for credit courses. I don't see what good it does to send her if she just has to take them again in a couple years. The cut off is twelve."

Jack thought while he scooped out ice cream and added cookies to each bowl. He snaps his fingers and dials a number on his cell phone. "You know the regs better than me on this one. Does remote learning apply to family members too or just to GIs?" He paused for a while. "Okay, great, can you get me the paperwork? My secretary is terrified of me." Jack laughs at something the other person says. "Thanks again. I owe yah." He clicks off his phone. "I owe Walter a bottle of scotch." He grins. "Grace, you can take remote classes at Cassie's school as soon as it's drawn up. The university doesn't have an age requirement the way the community college does. I looked into it before I left."

"You used a computer?" Sam asked him incredulously.

"I know how, Carter." He gives her a boyish grin. "I'm just slow at it. Half my classes were before we had 'em, and the other half when I was in the field or when I was retired. I wasn't exactly in a hurry."

Sam gives him a dry look.

Jack just shrugs and grins at her again then gets himself a beer. "You're still grounded for mouthing off to your mom like that. Next time talk to me Kiddo, instead of blowing up at your mom. Pregnancy isn't exactly easy on the body and she's got enough going on."

"Yes sir." Grace says contritely.

"Eat your ice cream." He tells them both as he picks up a cookie and leans back against the other counter.

"I didn't figure you would stay the night." Sam told him while she brushed her teeth.

"Yah… well… I was already here." He shrugs. He gets out a fresh razor and Sam thinks he's replacing the head but instead he takes her hand and nicks her finger.

"What was that for?" She demands.

"Testing a bright idea." He mumbles. When blood wells up on her finger, he dabs it onto something in his hand that he's being careful not to touch. It's wrapped in plastic.

Sam looks. "Jack, how did you?!"

"Hush, I stole it from your lab. I'll put it back tomorrow." He watches the small egg shaped device intently. Slowly it started to glow. "Ah. There we go. Now you can stop worrying about that."

"Jack, that's a Lantian puddle jumper call device."

"Yup."

"It lit up from my blood."

"Yup."

"But I'm not…"

"Nope… but that guy is." Jack says and points to her stomach. "Grace called it… what was it? A micro chimera."

"A what?"

"You know… a mini changeling. When you're pregnant, the baby transfers cells to your body so it knows when it's time to lactate. I wasn't sure if there was enough if you just touched it but your blood should have had enough if it was my kid."

"Jack, that's… that's brilliant."

"Yah, well, she probably got the idea from Cassie. She's taking this stuff."

Sam nodded.

"Carter…. Let her take whatever she wants. Classes and stuff. She's a smart kid. She's acting out because she's bored." He'd done the same thing. He hadn't embraced high school but he'd been so bored. Nothing he took challenged him and he'd been something of a dork so he'd played hockey and read comic books and learned how to hotwire cars instead of socializing.

"I know but I can't have her smarting off to the teachers. I'll be over there all the time."

"Nah. She's suspended tomorrow anyway. I'll go talk to the librarian in particular about her comments. She has a right to be called what she wants."

"You're really enjoying her wanting to be an O'Neill, aren't you?"

"She always was one anyway, Carter. Why fight it?"

Sam chuckles. "Please tell me this openly defiant thing only lasts a couple years."

Jack gives her a long look.

"Right."