Chapter 3 - Spartacus and Star Trek

The outside of his house was finished, but not inside. Even that was mostly finished by the time his father had arrived.

"It looks great," Jacob said as he came in. He noticed that most of the valuables were hidden. "How many people are coming?"

His granddaughter still ran up whenever she saw them. "Grandpa!"

Jacob picked her up. "You are getting so big!"

She kissed him on the cheek. "How's Grandma?"

Selmak took control. "I'm doing well. Thank you." She loved truly being part of the family.

Tina grasped the back of Jacob's neck as a way of giving Selmak a hug. "You wiggled!"

"I did."

Tina laughed as Jacob put her down.

Tom was more reluctant to approach, having had to get off the computer.

"Hi."

"Hello Tom."

He grinned. "Your voice is cool. It's too bad you can't use it all the time." Aside from that, he honesty still had a hard time telling them apart without it. Not that it mattered too much, as he had to call them both grandpa in public. Oddly enough, his younger sister never seemed to have an issue, though she couldn't explain why.

"Come in. Come in," Betty said as she approached the group. "Dinner is almost ready. Oh, right. You asked how many are coming. Um…"

"We don't really know," Mark admitted. "More and more people are getting invited. More neighbors are getting involved. We decided to move most of the party outside as a result. We really don't want hundreds of strangers moving freely in the house."

"We are going to make a spooooky pathway to the downstairs bathroom," Tina giggled, wiggling her fingers as she had seen her dad do.

"That sounds great." Selmak smiled. "Just tell us how we can help."

"Mostly, it'll be getting food and candy ready in the morning. That's going to be a lot of work."

"We'll make a list."

-x-x-x-

The next day, they all had a bunch of little jobs to do. Teal'c was still intimidating, but Mark could not help but smile while watching him sort candy while looking completely serious. He went over and helped.

"Did you, um, get a costume?"

"I will be a warrior from Earth's ancient times," Teal'c replied with almost a tone of pride. "A man who stood against an empire for his freedom and that of others."

"Spartacus?"

Teal'c made the smallest smile. "It was Daniel Jackson whom informed me of his courageous tales."

Mark smiled. "You know there's a movie and a tv show about him. I mean, if you like that sort of thing."

"I would like to see them both."

"The show still isn't finished, but I have the movie. We can watch it tonight. After the kids have gone to bed."

x-x-x-x

That evening, Sam arrived with Malika, Jack, Daniel, and a flock of Tok'ra. Mark and Jacob had gone out earlier and bought inflatable beds for most of them.

Mark immediately picked up his niece. "She's getting bigger."

"She has been a bit cranky since the plane. I'm going to try feeding her." She gestured to the Tok'ra in the order they happened to be standing. "Some you have met. Some you haven't. Aldwin and Gete. Jarvo and Korra. Garshaw and Yosuuf. Kel and Lona."

Mark highly suspected that Jarvo and Kel were Garshaw's bodyguards.

Sam named a few more, not bothering with Lantash or Malek. Mark had met them multiple times.

"You can just refer us by our hosts," Aldwin said, seeing that Mark was a bit overwhelmed. "That's our official names on our identification cards anyway, and that's what we'll all be using at the party."

"Thanks." That would be a lot easier. "Come in. Selmak arranged where you all sleep, so blame her if you don't like it." He stepped out of the way. "We're having pizza for dinner, then watching Spartacus with popcorn."

"Teal'c's idea?" Sam asked.

"Sort of. I suggested it to him."

"Spartacus?" Malek asked.

"It's a movie based on someone from Earth's history."

"We know who he is."

"You know about Spartacus?" Daniel asked.

"He fought against and defeated Glaber, a young Goa'uld who had disguised himself as a human on Earth."

"It was his deeds that gave Egeria the final inspections to create, well, us," Aldwin added.

"Did she meet him?"

"She never met him," Selmak answered. "She was on another planet, fighting a much larger scaled battle. By the time she had won, Spartacus had been defeated. I was born 75 years after that defeat. Each of us were born with the knowledge of his story."

"I'm going to have a lot of questions," Daniel replied, then looked to Sam. "Why did you say anything?"

"There's a lot of Goa'uld and suspected Goa'uld throughout our history."

"Lots of questions," he repeated.

-x-x-x-

Before dinner arrived, Aldwin started the television and put on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. How, Mark didn't know, but all the Tok'ra quickly became interested in the character of Jadzia Dax. He sat down, watching them watch.

"Aldwin's been watching the show when he comes to Earth," Sam explained. "He's very curious about the show's take on a blended character."

"I see he's already in season 2."

"I bought him the DVDs."

Aldwin spoke often, explaining the backstory of the each character as they were introduced.

The doorbell rang, and Betty answered.

"Pizza here. I have the rest in the car."

"I can help you carry it," Jacob offered as he got up.

Tom came down from the stairs. "Star Trek?" He said in annoyance.

"You haven't even seen it," Mark replied.

Malek paused the show. "What's wrong with Star Trek?"

"It's just not cool…" Mark paused. "I mean popular among his friends to watch it. You can keep watching it while eating pizza." He enjoyed watching them watch it.

"Come get your pizza," Jacob said as he came in.

"Pepperoni?" Tom asked as he followed.

"No, I got all anchovies," Mark teased. "Yes, peppers, onions, and lots and lots of anchovies."

Tom rolled his eyes, then opened a box. He was dismayed to see a vegetable pizza. "I thought you were kidding."

Jacob laughed. "I think this one is pepperoni."

Tom rushed over as Tina came into the kitchen. He took a bite before anyone else grabbed a plate.

"Tina? Come get your pizza." Jacob made up plates for Mark and Betty, knowing that they would wait to be last if he didn't.

Tina took a slice of cheese.

"You might as well grab two."

She smiled and grabbed a pepperoni as well, then put her plate down to pour herself some soda.

Jacob and the other Tok'ra began loading up their paper plates with pizza. Mark had worried that they had gotten too much food, but he realized that his father had been right.

"How do you eat that much?" Tom asked.

"Tom," Betty scolded.

"Our metabolisms were greatly increased after blending," Martouf explained. "Lantash also has to eat, and he burns many calories himself."

"Can you feel him chewing?" Tina asked as she touched the back of her head. "What's it like?"

"He absorbs everything through his skin, but I do feel him when he wiggles."

"Does it tickle? I think it would tickle."

He grinned. "No."

She followed him out the kitchen, almost forgetting her plate of pizza. She ran back for it, then sat by him.

Aldwin started the show, and a few minutes later…

"You can't steal a symbiote!" Malek exclaimed. "It'll kill you!"

Mark almost laughed. "I don't think Dax has that amount of control."

"It could still attack his mind," Garshaw replied.

"You can't kill someone's host and expect them to get along with you," Aldwin added. "The man is insane for even thinking that's possible."

Mark watched curiously as the new Dax came out of surgery, only feeling a little bad.

"That's it!"

"It doesn't feel angry!"

"That is a bad symbiote!"

Mark laughed. "It's just a show, guys."

"That is offensive."

"I don't like Dax anymore."

"Maybe you should just pretend this episode didn't happen," Sam suggested. "That's what Kela'an does."

They watched another episode before turning it off for Spartacus. They watched with complete interest, not even touching the popcorn.

"I wonder what he was really like," Anise said after. "We don't know that much more than you do.

Mark yawned. "It is time for bed. At least for me. I still have work in the morning."

"Where are we all sleeping?" Anise asked.

Mark's house just wasn't big enough to give privacy to all the couples. Selmak arranged everyone as best as she could to be the least awkward.

Nothing is going to be awkward, Jacob denied.

Anise and Daniel don't get to see each other as much as they would like. Let's do the best we can for them.

The best they could do was still sharing the guest room with Malek and Aldwin.

"You two can have the bed," Aldwin offered. "I am curious to try this…air mattress."

"It is plastic filled with air," Malek said.

"A most unusual bed." Aldwin changed into his nightclothes before laying down in it. "It's quite comfortable."

"Did you clean your teeth?"

"Argh." He rolled, feeling the bed almost move out from under him as he grabbed his back. He pulled out a small device and cleaned his teeth as Malek got on the bed. When he laid back down, he noticed the bed was much firmer.

"What's wrong?"

"I liked it softer."

"Do you want me on the floor?"

"Yes, but not for the reason you are thinking," he replied, making Malek blushed. He knew nothing would happen to them while in Mark's house, especially with a Tau'ri in the same room, even one that they knew wouldn't care.

"I just want to sleep." Malek closed his eyes, then smiled when he was kissed.

"Goodnight, loves."

"Goodnight."

To be continued…