EPILOGUE
ABOUT ONE YEAR LATER
SAM
It is Jacob's second birthday. It is a very bittersweet moment for me. My dad died with Selmak after they helped me with the Dakara superweapon. I was sent on that mission with dad. We were successful, but it came at a huge cost. That hit me hard, but I had my family to pull me through.
My dad did get to meet his grandson before he died and spend some wonderful time with us as a family. Mark and his family came to the funeral and got to meet little Jacob and Jack. I miss my dad so much.
Shortly after dad died we found out that Jack was nominated for his second star, and was nominated and approved as the replacement for General Hammond as the head of Homeworld. He accepted. So we have been splitting our time between Colorado and DC. It has been tough with a toddler. But we've also never been stronger.
Ceti and Matta stayed on Odeni for a long time. Ceti did find a correlation between the ATA marker and his genetic work with reversing the sterilization. Those with the ATA had a higher rate of reversal than those without. Those without the marker had about a 7% rate of reversal with Ceti's therapy. Those with the ATA, combined with Ceti's genetic therapy, had a 90% rate of reversal. That included Mardi.
Doctor Beckett also found out some very interesting things with the ATA. Jack has a very high amount of the marker in him. He did pass that on to Jacob, although not quite as high. Jack's family is somehow linked to the Ancients. And now, so is my son.
We sent a message to Beckett about the sensation that Jack had when Jacob was first born, as well as how Jack knew I was alive when I was missing. Maybe there is something more to the ATA that we don't really understand yet. I think one day I would like to try to be assigned to Atlantis to see how it all connects to Jack's family.
Mardi would go on to find a Match. He loves her very much. She is two months pregnant right now. Jarred is in school again. He wants to be a historian like Itsak when he gets older. Speaking of Itsak, their baby is a little girl. The baby turned out to have blonde hair. So perhaps changes are already happening on Odeni.
Joph did get a prosthetic leg before we left last year. Now he is the magistrate of Markham. He pulled himself out of his depression and anxiety, and has therapy to help him when he needs it. He and Jannelle are doing just fine.
How do I know all of this? Well, they found the Stargate about four months ago. Ceti and Matta were there to help them with it. There was a DHD buried with it. Earth was the first place they dialed.
I did program an erasure for the address that has been locked out of our system, the one that we think is the address to the Aschen world. I'm hoping that the correlative update will erase it for good across the entire system.
Right now we are in Colorado for Jacob's birthday. We decided to show him daddy's telescope. He doesn't really understand it yet, but he loves walking up the new stairs that daddy built to the astronomy platform. Much easier than climbing the ladder with a toddler in one of those child backpacks.
I have spent the last ten minutes looking through the telescope looking at Saturn. It's so clear outside tonight. I've always thought that Saturn looks like a sticker that I might have had as a young kid. Through the telescope it just doesn't look real. But it is real because I have flown by it more than one time. Even once or twice with my dad.
I sit up at the thought of my dad. I inhale deeply and let it out. I glance over at Jack. He is leaning his head against one of the taller deck support posts. His eyes are closed.
Jacob is sitting sideways across his dad's lap, his little legs over Jack's legs. He is leaning on Jack's chest. Jack has his arms around Jacob, supporting him close. This has to be the cutest thing I've ever seen with these two. I love them with everything in me.
I stand up and I pick up the blanket I have been sitting on. I drape it over my boys. I do wake Jack with my movement, but he just smiles at me. I take the other blanket and wrap myself in it. I sit next to my husband and lean into him, facing Jacob's face. I gently stroke my son's cheek with my finger. I lay my head on Jack's shoulder, and I feel him lay his head onto mine.
I have no idea how long we sit like this. I don't want to move. I'm still not sure if I believe in all of that destiny stuff that Jannelle spoke of to me and Jack. But if I did, this moment would be it.