"Yes," Sam said, almost reluctantly. "I'd have to say I've found more than
one of the non human allies to be... interesting." She was blushing slightly,
but Dotty only nodded.
"Then you can understand how it could happen. And it did. But only a few times. Such interbreeding – as it were – isn't all that common." She pointed to herself. "I'm the result of one of those couples. Not directly, of course, but one of my ancestors."
"So you're Asgard and Ancient?" Sam asked, completely fascinated, now.
"I'm far more Ancient than Asgard, Sam," Dotty said. "Because my ancestor stayed with the Ancients and not with the Asgard and the resulting progeny were all from full Ancient bloodlines."
"Except that there is some Asgard DNA in you, because of the initial pairing." Sam said.
"Exactly." Dotty looked at Jack. "And Shawn carries that same blood, because he is my son. Mixed liberally with Human DNA."
"Which they got from me through that device." Jack said, unsure whether to be angry because they used him, or smug because he was the one they'd chosen. He opted for neither, but he did scowl.
"Yes."
"But Jack's right, Dotty," Sam said, confused. "That was only a couple years ago. Shawn's eleven. It doesn't add up."
"There's more to the story, Sam." Dotty said. "I was just giving you the background so you'd understand what had happened. Otherwise the rest won't make sense."
"None of this makes sense," Jack complained.
"I'm sorry, Jack." Dotty said, looking like she truly was. "I didn't plan on having this conversation for at least another couple years, maybe even longer."
"So, how old is Shawn?" Sam asked.
"He's eleven."
"How is that-"
"The Ancients have studied time travel, Jack," Dotty said, interrupting. "More than once, and most of the times the studies have failed. There are some common ways of producing a time travel affect – extreme gravity being the most popular – but it's very difficult to get an exact time when you're trying to go backwards. Mainly because gravity doesn't always react exactly the way it's supposed to, even in a controlled environment. What we-"
"Never mind," Jack held up a hand, shaking his head. "I don't want the details. I don't understand them, anyways. You can explain it all to Sam another time." He rubbed his forehead, wondering if he should ask for an aspirin. "How is Shawn eleven when you've only had my DNA for a couple years?"
"I was sent back in time to have him so he'd be old enough to attend the camp we found out you were being sent to." She looked at Jack and Sam both. "SG-1 is rarely outside Cheyenne Mountain like you were for that week, and we recognized it as a perfect opportunity to introduce Shawn to you. The hard part was making sure we didn't go too far back, and keep him from being too old."
"Why would he need to meet Jack?" Sam asked. "You already had everything you needed from him, didn't you?"
"Not at all. We wanted Shawn to get a military background early – the United States Military, since they were the ones controlling the Stargate, and Jack was the perfect way to do that. Once Shawn met Jack, we knew he'd be drawn to him – blood calls to blood, after all – and Shawn would be more interested in the military, and the Air Force in particular, and since Shawn is a good kid, we knew that Jack would do whatever he could to help him. We assumed he'd grow up with a slight influence from Jack, eventually join the Air Force, and from there go into the SGC, where he'd eventually meet the Asgard. By then we would be ready to tell him what he was, and see if he was the final key to fixing the Asgard problem, or if more was needed."
"So what happened to change that? Sam asked.
"Shawn met the Asgard way earlier than they intended," Jack said, answering the question before Dotty could.
She nodded. "We didn't expect that, and were unprepared. At first, we were ready to pull him out and start with him elsewhere, hopefully waiting for him to grow up, maybe changing his name, so everyone would forget about him. Then we saw that the Asgard had taken an interest in him as well, and were already starting to teach him what we hadn't planned for him to know for many years."
She looked at Jack. "I assumed that you were all for it, and didn't know they were doing it behind your back until after the Asgard lost him."
"You know about that?" Jack asked, surprised.
She nodded. "I was a wreck, and couldn't tell James why. Not without telling him far more than I wanted to."
"Why didn't you help us find him?" Jack asked. "You must have all sorts of technolo-"
"We didn't know where he was, Jack. The Ancients don't know everything, and they're no more gods than the Goa'uld are. I was so afraid he was lost to me."
Jack could see that it had upset her, and still upset her. He understood completely how she felt, because every time he allowed himself to think back to that weekend, he couldn't help but be angry at how much a foolish Asgard error could have cost him. More than he'd known, as it turned out.
"I came to Cheyenne Mountain that weekend," Dotty said, continuing. "On the pretense of bringing him his jacket and homework, remember? I was going to tell you everything, then." She shook her head. "But you came to the guard shack with Daniel, and you looked so upset, and tired, and you were trying so hard to act like nothing was wrong. I couldn't tell you. I couldn't do that to you. It was bad enough you were so fond of him. To learn what he really was..." She trailed off, shaking her head.
"That won't ever happen again," Jack told her.
"I know. Because you've got complete control over what's happening to Shawn. Which is more than we – I – could ever have asked for. You can keep him safe until he's old enough to keep himself out of danger."
"What are you going to do to him?" Jack asked. "I mean, you've pretty much built him. What for?"
"I'm not going to do anything to him, Jack. I'm going to let him grow up from a normal little boy into a mature man. His own man. I don't believe in controlling people any more than you do. What he does will be up to him. When he's old enough to decide, I'll tell him what he is, and what the Asgard problem is, and allow him the choice of helping to fix it or not. Of course, knowing the boy he is, I am fairly certain what kind of man he will be, and I'm sure he'll choose to help."
"I didn't get to choose," Jack said, somewhat petulantly.
Dotty shook her head. "I know. I didn't have much choice in the matter, either. But it was necessary, and still is necessary, and I won't tell you I'm sorry it happened, because I'm not. Shawn is a wonderful little boy, who means everything to me, and without that part of you in him, he wouldn't be the same person that I love today." She smiled, gently. "He's a lot like you."
"So everyone keeps telling me."
Jack wasn't sure of what to make of the story he'd just been told. He had no doubt it was all true. Why would Dotty make something like that up? He also had no doubt that Dotty cared for Shawn just as much as he did. That sort of thing was hard to fake. He rubbed his head again.
"So did you send the grown up Shawn back through time in the Stargate?" Sam asked during the silence.
"What?"
"The Shawn that's lying in our infirmary," Sam said. "Did you send him?"
"Sam, I don't have a clue what you're talking about. What grown up Shawn?" She looked confused enough that Jack was sure she was telling the truth. Yup, the Ancients might be more advanced, but they weren't all knowing.
"This morning, a badly injured Shawn came through our Stargate. Apparently from the future, since he's in his early twenties as near as we can tell."
"I don't have contact with the people of the future, Sam." Dotty said, looking concerned. "I couldn't tell you who sent him – if anyone. Is he all right?"
"The Asgard used some kind of healing doohickey on him," Jack told her, reaching out and touching her hand, reassuringly. "It didn't work completely, but it did work. He was sleeping when we left. And he's being guarded, just in case."
"Are you sure it's him?"
"Why do you think we needed the blood sample in the first place?" Jack asked.
"Oh. Yes, I didn't think of that." She flushed. "I assumed you noticed that Shawn looked like you, and finally decided to see why."
"I didn't notice at all," Jack admitted.
"It's obvious, now," Sam said, smiling. "Especially when he's being stubborn."
Dotty smiled as well, and again Jack could see the proud mother who loved her son. True, Shawn was an experiment of some sort, but he wasn't being used. Dotty cared about him.
"Well, if you didn't send him, then I'm going to have to ask him who did." Jack said, standing up.
Dotty and Sam stood as well.
"What about this, Jack?" Dotty asked. "What are you going to tell Shawn?"
He looked at her in surprise. "Nothing, Dotty. I gave you my word. I'm still a bit numb, I suppose, but that doesn't change anything. Does James know?"
"He knows Shawn isn't his," she said, looking relieved. "Shawn was a baby when I met and married James."
"Then he won't hear anything other than that from me," Jack promised. "They're up fishing?"
"Yes, at Bear Lake." She suddenly had a slightly worried look in her expression. "Do you think they're in danger?"
Jack shook his head. "I don't know. I was concerned about whoever was keeping the secret getting worried that it was out and doing something about it, but since that was you, I don't have to worry about that, now. Don't worry, Dotty. I won't let anything happen to him."
"I know, Jack."
"Then you can understand how it could happen. And it did. But only a few times. Such interbreeding – as it were – isn't all that common." She pointed to herself. "I'm the result of one of those couples. Not directly, of course, but one of my ancestors."
"So you're Asgard and Ancient?" Sam asked, completely fascinated, now.
"I'm far more Ancient than Asgard, Sam," Dotty said. "Because my ancestor stayed with the Ancients and not with the Asgard and the resulting progeny were all from full Ancient bloodlines."
"Except that there is some Asgard DNA in you, because of the initial pairing." Sam said.
"Exactly." Dotty looked at Jack. "And Shawn carries that same blood, because he is my son. Mixed liberally with Human DNA."
"Which they got from me through that device." Jack said, unsure whether to be angry because they used him, or smug because he was the one they'd chosen. He opted for neither, but he did scowl.
"Yes."
"But Jack's right, Dotty," Sam said, confused. "That was only a couple years ago. Shawn's eleven. It doesn't add up."
"There's more to the story, Sam." Dotty said. "I was just giving you the background so you'd understand what had happened. Otherwise the rest won't make sense."
"None of this makes sense," Jack complained.
"I'm sorry, Jack." Dotty said, looking like she truly was. "I didn't plan on having this conversation for at least another couple years, maybe even longer."
"So, how old is Shawn?" Sam asked.
"He's eleven."
"How is that-"
"The Ancients have studied time travel, Jack," Dotty said, interrupting. "More than once, and most of the times the studies have failed. There are some common ways of producing a time travel affect – extreme gravity being the most popular – but it's very difficult to get an exact time when you're trying to go backwards. Mainly because gravity doesn't always react exactly the way it's supposed to, even in a controlled environment. What we-"
"Never mind," Jack held up a hand, shaking his head. "I don't want the details. I don't understand them, anyways. You can explain it all to Sam another time." He rubbed his forehead, wondering if he should ask for an aspirin. "How is Shawn eleven when you've only had my DNA for a couple years?"
"I was sent back in time to have him so he'd be old enough to attend the camp we found out you were being sent to." She looked at Jack and Sam both. "SG-1 is rarely outside Cheyenne Mountain like you were for that week, and we recognized it as a perfect opportunity to introduce Shawn to you. The hard part was making sure we didn't go too far back, and keep him from being too old."
"Why would he need to meet Jack?" Sam asked. "You already had everything you needed from him, didn't you?"
"Not at all. We wanted Shawn to get a military background early – the United States Military, since they were the ones controlling the Stargate, and Jack was the perfect way to do that. Once Shawn met Jack, we knew he'd be drawn to him – blood calls to blood, after all – and Shawn would be more interested in the military, and the Air Force in particular, and since Shawn is a good kid, we knew that Jack would do whatever he could to help him. We assumed he'd grow up with a slight influence from Jack, eventually join the Air Force, and from there go into the SGC, where he'd eventually meet the Asgard. By then we would be ready to tell him what he was, and see if he was the final key to fixing the Asgard problem, or if more was needed."
"So what happened to change that? Sam asked.
"Shawn met the Asgard way earlier than they intended," Jack said, answering the question before Dotty could.
She nodded. "We didn't expect that, and were unprepared. At first, we were ready to pull him out and start with him elsewhere, hopefully waiting for him to grow up, maybe changing his name, so everyone would forget about him. Then we saw that the Asgard had taken an interest in him as well, and were already starting to teach him what we hadn't planned for him to know for many years."
She looked at Jack. "I assumed that you were all for it, and didn't know they were doing it behind your back until after the Asgard lost him."
"You know about that?" Jack asked, surprised.
She nodded. "I was a wreck, and couldn't tell James why. Not without telling him far more than I wanted to."
"Why didn't you help us find him?" Jack asked. "You must have all sorts of technolo-"
"We didn't know where he was, Jack. The Ancients don't know everything, and they're no more gods than the Goa'uld are. I was so afraid he was lost to me."
Jack could see that it had upset her, and still upset her. He understood completely how she felt, because every time he allowed himself to think back to that weekend, he couldn't help but be angry at how much a foolish Asgard error could have cost him. More than he'd known, as it turned out.
"I came to Cheyenne Mountain that weekend," Dotty said, continuing. "On the pretense of bringing him his jacket and homework, remember? I was going to tell you everything, then." She shook her head. "But you came to the guard shack with Daniel, and you looked so upset, and tired, and you were trying so hard to act like nothing was wrong. I couldn't tell you. I couldn't do that to you. It was bad enough you were so fond of him. To learn what he really was..." She trailed off, shaking her head.
"That won't ever happen again," Jack told her.
"I know. Because you've got complete control over what's happening to Shawn. Which is more than we – I – could ever have asked for. You can keep him safe until he's old enough to keep himself out of danger."
"What are you going to do to him?" Jack asked. "I mean, you've pretty much built him. What for?"
"I'm not going to do anything to him, Jack. I'm going to let him grow up from a normal little boy into a mature man. His own man. I don't believe in controlling people any more than you do. What he does will be up to him. When he's old enough to decide, I'll tell him what he is, and what the Asgard problem is, and allow him the choice of helping to fix it or not. Of course, knowing the boy he is, I am fairly certain what kind of man he will be, and I'm sure he'll choose to help."
"I didn't get to choose," Jack said, somewhat petulantly.
Dotty shook her head. "I know. I didn't have much choice in the matter, either. But it was necessary, and still is necessary, and I won't tell you I'm sorry it happened, because I'm not. Shawn is a wonderful little boy, who means everything to me, and without that part of you in him, he wouldn't be the same person that I love today." She smiled, gently. "He's a lot like you."
"So everyone keeps telling me."
Jack wasn't sure of what to make of the story he'd just been told. He had no doubt it was all true. Why would Dotty make something like that up? He also had no doubt that Dotty cared for Shawn just as much as he did. That sort of thing was hard to fake. He rubbed his head again.
"So did you send the grown up Shawn back through time in the Stargate?" Sam asked during the silence.
"What?"
"The Shawn that's lying in our infirmary," Sam said. "Did you send him?"
"Sam, I don't have a clue what you're talking about. What grown up Shawn?" She looked confused enough that Jack was sure she was telling the truth. Yup, the Ancients might be more advanced, but they weren't all knowing.
"This morning, a badly injured Shawn came through our Stargate. Apparently from the future, since he's in his early twenties as near as we can tell."
"I don't have contact with the people of the future, Sam." Dotty said, looking concerned. "I couldn't tell you who sent him – if anyone. Is he all right?"
"The Asgard used some kind of healing doohickey on him," Jack told her, reaching out and touching her hand, reassuringly. "It didn't work completely, but it did work. He was sleeping when we left. And he's being guarded, just in case."
"Are you sure it's him?"
"Why do you think we needed the blood sample in the first place?" Jack asked.
"Oh. Yes, I didn't think of that." She flushed. "I assumed you noticed that Shawn looked like you, and finally decided to see why."
"I didn't notice at all," Jack admitted.
"It's obvious, now," Sam said, smiling. "Especially when he's being stubborn."
Dotty smiled as well, and again Jack could see the proud mother who loved her son. True, Shawn was an experiment of some sort, but he wasn't being used. Dotty cared about him.
"Well, if you didn't send him, then I'm going to have to ask him who did." Jack said, standing up.
Dotty and Sam stood as well.
"What about this, Jack?" Dotty asked. "What are you going to tell Shawn?"
He looked at her in surprise. "Nothing, Dotty. I gave you my word. I'm still a bit numb, I suppose, but that doesn't change anything. Does James know?"
"He knows Shawn isn't his," she said, looking relieved. "Shawn was a baby when I met and married James."
"Then he won't hear anything other than that from me," Jack promised. "They're up fishing?"
"Yes, at Bear Lake." She suddenly had a slightly worried look in her expression. "Do you think they're in danger?"
Jack shook his head. "I don't know. I was concerned about whoever was keeping the secret getting worried that it was out and doing something about it, but since that was you, I don't have to worry about that, now. Don't worry, Dotty. I won't let anything happen to him."
"I know, Jack."