AN: Day a zillion in the endless shift. Last day of the long haul and then back to my normal amount of crazy hours. One thing about the holidays, I do make up any shortfall from the dead 2 months at the beginning of the year. I'll be renovating my house during that time though so it will still be busy. Nothing major. Reworking a closet as I'm turning my office into a game room for hubby and my sewing room into my office/game room and mucking out the formal living room to make the back half of it my sewing room though I'm putting my brand new saved 70% on it drafting table somewhere down there as well. I'm giving the student drafting table to my youngest who is always creating something. Yesterday's customers were an odd mix of Karen and super awesome. The whole month has been like that though.

Chapter 8

"This is ridiculous, Harry." Jack hissed.

"Keep it down." Harry hissed back.

They were in an incredibly seedy bar watching their quarry.

"Someone's missing, I can't figure out who." Harry admitted under his breath.

"Well you better figure out where they are." Jack loud whispered to be heard over the hum of conversation by the other man.

"Look I'm not their mom, I can't keep track of everything." Harry argued. He'd spent two days lurking in seedy alleys and dives trying to figure out their pattern of movements. He'd finally narrowed it down and was able to show up at the bar a little before the guys. "Why don't we wait and see if he shows up."

A large hand descended on Harry's shoulder and a familiar voice rumbled in Jack's ear. "Or you boys could tell me what you are doing on a Lucian Alliance controlled world without my daughter." He said affable.

Harry stiffened. Jack sighed. "Dad." Was all Jack said.

"Jack. Fancy meeting you here." Jacob was dressed similarly to Jack, Teal'c and Harry in local linen clothing of an indiscriminate shade of grey. He snagged a nearby chair with his foot and slid it over to block Harry in just in case he planned to escape.

"How long have you been shadowing us, Dad?" Jack asks in seeming disinterest.

"Oh… a while…" He waves vaguely. "Where's Sam?"

Anyone else would have missed Jack's wince.

"Jack…"

"Home, Dad." Jack said, his tone short.

"Okay… why?"

Jack huffed out a sigh, frowned and looked upward as his shoulders dropped. Dad was going to kill him either way but he didn't want to lose track of their targets. "Later, Dad." He finally said.

"We aren't done here." Jacob warned him.

"I know, Dad, but I'm kind of doing something here."

"They are leaving." Teal'c informed them.

"Wanna bag and tag now? Harry asked.

"Wait until they leave the city. It will be easier on the open road." Jacob suggested.

Jack bit back his sarcastic 'thanks Dad, I've never run an op before knocking up your daughter' reply. Instead he just nodded agreement.

They shadowed the four men in question out of the low ceilinged tavern into the cool evening air.

"You boys go back to your room. I'll keep an eye on these guys until they get ready to leave town." Jacob told them.

"Jack…"

Jack waved Harry off. "He's Tok'ra, Harry. If anyone can keep track of them, it's him."

"It's just…"

"Harry?" Jack said it slowly and noticed Harry's cringe. "All right, spill it." He ordered the other man after Jacob left.

"Look, it's not like—"

"Harry! Spit it out!"

"Well, I didn't exactly tell you everything."

"Why am I not surprised." Jack said in frustration. "You better tell me now because if I find out later I'm going to be really pissed." Teal'c hovered over Harry for emphasis. They were still in an ally on the way back to their room.

"The Trust is in cahoots with the Lucian Alliance." Harry finally told them.

"How did you find out about those guys?"

"I read your trial transcript." Harry admitted.

Jack's redacted trial transcript. "So? And therefore?" letting the obvious problem go.

"They seemed familiar. They were moving in on the vacuum you guys have been leaving as you bump off system lords. I had some of my contacts look into it." Harry hedged.

"Harry…" Jack growled. The other man was clearly still holding something back.

"I think I know where our missing guy is." Harry admitted.

"Where, Harry?"

"We need to gate to Orbistus."

"We just left Orbistus." Jack yelled at him.

"Look, I know that, but it's tied to the Lucian Alliance selling babies and—" Jack shook him.

"Why is the Trust involved in selling babies? They steal tech!" Jack shook Harry again.

"They weren't looking for just any baby." Harry admitted with a gulp.

"It is Major Carter's baby they seek." Teal'c said.

"Not Sam's." Jack said.

"Your ancient gene is pretty valuable Jack." Harry told him.

Jack looked like he was going to be sick. "And we left her home."

"She is not alone, O'Neill."

"Danny isn't going to be there twenty four seven, Teal'c." Jack said, clearly pissed.

"I do not refer to Doctor Jackson."

"What?" Jack asks him, risking a glance at the larger man who gives Harry a menacing scowl.

Jack turns and looks at Harry. "What else?" He demands.

"The nanny is CIA." His hands pop up in supplication. "Hammond knows about it. We thought Sam needed a bodyguard but didn't want to alarm her."

Jack shook Harry then dropped him. "If anything happens to either of them while I'm gone I'm shooting you, Maybourne." He said in an almost casual tone. "And not in the arm!"

Harry, for his part, straightened his clothes. "Can we go back to our room now?" He whined.

Jack grunted and stalked back to their lodging, still furious that Sam and Gracie were in danger because that no good slimy weasel hadn't told him everything he needed to know.

A hand descended on Jack's shoulder.

"What?!" Jack snarled.

"Had you known, you would not have left them for this mission."

"Of course I wouldn't have left them, Teal'c. It's Sam and our baby!"

"That is why Hammond ordered Maybourne not to inform you unless it was necessary."

"You knew?"

"I suspected."

"Great." Jack snarled again and stalked off. "That's just great."

Teal'c turned a baleful eye to Harry. "If there is other information pertinent to this operation, you will tell O'Neill immediately." He ordered the other man.

Harry bobbed his head a few times. "Absolutely." He agreed quickly.

"We will return to our lodging until General Carter returns for us." He told Harry and made sure that Harry proceed him on their way.

Several hours later, Jack heard Jacob make a hissing noise outside their door. He rolled off the bed to his feet in a somewhat smooth motion, his bad knee still giving him problems. "Time to disco." He told the other two men absently. Years ago, Teal'c wouldn't have understood the reference. Now he simply nodded.

They skirted the outside of the city to avoid their target noticing them specifically among the other late night wanderers. "We'll meet up with Dad outside the gate." Jack told Teal'c and Harry.

Teal'c gave Jack a short nod.

Harry was on the verge of asking Jack why General Carter was 'dad' when they had to duck down to avoid being seen. "The other guy must have gone ahead." He said thoughtfully.

"He's going to notice his buddies missing." Jack pointed out.

"He doesn't know them that well. We could try to disguise ourselves." Harry suggested.

"Do you think this is Star Trek?" Jack asked him.

"It was just a thought."

"A stupid thought." Teal'c told Harry.

"You have any better ideas?"

"Literally anything." Jack told him.

Five minutes after their targets left the town, Jack, Harry and Teal'c slipped out past the sleeping guards. They stayed by the wall until Jacob joined them and silently signaled them to follow him. They moved off silently into a copse of trees.

"They set up camp about a mile from the Gate. We'll wait until they bed down, Teal'c can take out their watchman, you two handle two of the others. I'll handle whoever's left." Jacob told the others.

Jack wondered when his father-in-law took ownership of this op and if that meant the Tok'ra were taking the blame if it went sideways. That didn't seem like their usual MO. "What's going on, Dad?"

"We're after the same guys, Jack. There's a cell of Lucian Alliance that is black marketing babies. I'm trying to get the guys at the top."

"Londaris isn't running the baby ring."

Jacob turned slowly and looked at Jack in the darkness. "You want to tell me how you know who the administrator of the Orbistus rehabilitation center is or why he's not involved?"

"We have some catching up to do." Jack hedged.

"Jack…."

"Not right now, Dad." Jack ground out. He really did not want to talk about this with Jacob until after they bagged these guys.

"Londaris helped O'Neil gain an acquittal."

"Thanks... Teal'c" Jack said with gritted teeth which earned him a short bow and an 'I'm screwing with you intentionally' smile from Teal'c.

"What were you on trial for Jack? And so help me if it's sleeping with my daughter I will kill you." Jacob saw Jack flinch at the reason and lunged at Jack. "We made a deal, Jack!" He growled at him as Jack dodged and hid behind Teal'c.

"Dad, I can explain I swear. Teal'c was there. He'd never lie to you, he can verify everything I tell you."

"Uh, guys, I hate to break up this family tête-à-tête but don't we have a job to do?" Harry cut in.

"I hate to admit it but the idiot is right." Jacob says. He glares at Jack for a moment then scoots out from the copse of trees and silently works his way down the road.

Jack huffs out a sigh. "Thanks a lot, T."

"You must tell him, O'Neill. He will find out when we deliver our quarry to the SGC."

"I know I know but timing, big guy. Timing."

"Indeed." Was all Teal'c said in reply.

Half an hour later, they were in position. Teal'c who while the largest was also the most stealthy was slowly creeping up on the lookout who was dozing on a log by the fire.

Jack and Harry rushed the tent when Teal'c silently zatted his prey.

Jacob, being older and wiser, just cut the back of the tent with a knife and punched one of the men with a satisfying crunch. Harry accidentally woke his guy up which woke up Jack's leading to a muffled struggle in the dark. Jacob tried to get a bead on either of the struggling men but both Harry and Jack kept getting in the way. Finally in exasperation after Jack got his man into a headlock, he punched the man whose eyes rolled up in his head and he went down.

Both men turned on Harry who was still struggling to get a handle on the situation. Jacob tripped him when he squirmed away from Harry and Jack zatted the guy.

"Well that went well." Jack said sarcastically, looking at Harry with his brows down in exasperation.

"He was a light sleeper." Harry insisted.

"Kids…" Jacob said.

"Stay out of this, Dad. This pain in the ass has been a thorn in my side for years."

"You can talk about it when we get them back to earth."

"We need to question them first."

"Fine, do you have a base of operations?"

"See, I told you we'd need a secure location. We've got one." Harry assured Jacob.

Teal'c was busy tying up and gagging the Trust flunkies.

"Great. Let's get them out of here. Everyone drag a prisoner." Jacob grunted as he threw one of the men over his shoulder and started walking.

"I'm dragging mine." Harry muttered.

"Don't care. Just grab one and let's get going." Jacob said over his shoulder.

Jack, knowing his knee would never survive, helped Teal'c lash two guys together and used their tent poles and part of the damaged canvas to sling them over their shoulders between Jack and Teal'c. Harry was left with a pair of poles and some rope so made an impromptu travois and dragged his prisoner.

They reached the Gate sweaty and covered in dust that vaguely matched their clothing so they all looked grey and nondescript, even Teal'c.

"Dial us out, Colonel." Jacob ordered Maybourne.

Harry, for once, did what he was told without the theatrics.

They dragged and carried their unwanted charges through the blue puddle with them.

Their base of operations looked less threadbare than the bivouac they had snagged the Trust members from the night before. Teal'c had sat up watching over them while Jack and Jacob went for a walk and Harry crashed for the night.

"Jack…"

Jack sighed. "I know what you're thinking, Dad, and if you want to punch me go right ahead."

"What happened?"

"Ah, the Lucian Alliance scooped us up while we were hunting down a minor system lord hiding out around Orbistus. If he didn't have intel on some of the other guys we wouldn't have even bothered with him." Jack's knowledge of said alliance was severely limited but he'd put together what had probably happened.

Jacob nodded and just let him continue.

"Anyway, they dumped us in the baby factory. We had to beat the crap out of guy to protect Carter from being raped." Jack stopped talking for a moment, waited for his emotions to settle some. He raked his hand into his filthy hair that was as much dust as it was grey hair. "We spent months trying to figure out how to get out of that place but every plan we cooked up involved risking one of my team getting hurt or killed or sacrificing innocent civilians or some other undesirable outcome."

"And eventually they found out you weren't sleeping with her." Jacob guessed.

"Nah, they found out that was all I was doing with her. Sex with your boss or rape isn't a choice, Dad. I—"

But Jacob cut him off. It wasn't that he wasn't angry, he was, but not at Jack who had only been trying to protect his little girl and it wasn't like Jacob didn't know how they felt about each other. He'd known since he'd seen the way Jack looked at Sam the first day they met. "Jack, I know my daughter well enough that if she didn't want to consent she wouldn't have." Jack was already punishing himself far more for this then Jacob ever could have.

Jack sighed. "There's more, Dad." He admitted.

"How can there be..." And then it dawned on him. "How far along is she?"

"Your granddaughter was born five weeks ago." Jack admitted to his soon to be father-in-law. "We're getting married as soon as I get back. It was one of the conditions of them dropping the conduct unbecoming charge."

Jacob was silent for a long moment. "How long were you missing?"

"Almost a year and a half."

"They didn't even tell me she was missing." Jacob admitted, realizing again that the Tok'ra had hidden important information from him and Selmak.

"I'm sorry… I…"

"It's not your fault, Jack. I'm sure George tried to get in touch with me and they put him off. If I'd gone to the facility sooner, I'd have found you before this was a total disaster. I'm getting a little tired of everyone overruling Garshaw."

Jack nodded. "Do you want to see a picture?"

"You have one?" Jacob's eyes lit up and not with the light of his symbiote, Selmak.

Jack grinned a little and fished it out of a pocket close to his heart. It was a photo of a very tired Sam looking lovingly down at a somewhat small baby in her arms. He handed it over.

"Can I keep this one?"

Jack debated. He kept that photo with the one of Charlie close to his heart for a reason. "Uh…"

"Make me a copy when we get back to Earth."

Jack imperceptibly sagged with relief.

Jacob nodded. If Jack needed their photos to keep him going then that's what he needed. "I don't think we will find out much from these goons, Jack."

"Yah but we still gotta check."

Jacob nodded. "Congratulations."

"Thanks. That means a lot coming from you, sir."

"It's a little late to go back to 'sir', Jack." Jacob admonished him with a chuckle.

"Sorry." Jack said and his shrug was more relieved than he'd have liked. He hadn't been this nervous asking Mike for Sara's hand. He chose not to explore why that was.