The ride up to Bear Lake was one that Jack had made many times. A lot of
those times, he'd made it with Jaffer and he knew from experience that the
dog would need him to make at least one stop before they reached the lake.
Luckily, there was a handy rest stop about halfway there, and the two of
them pulled into the parking lot of the rest stop about an hour and a half
after they'd left Cheyenne Mountain.
Jaffer rarely needed a leash, but Jack carried one in his truck anyways, just on the off chance that he'd need it, and the rest stop was one of the places he used it. There were usually a lot of people at the stop, and sometimes there'd be families, stopped there to make lunch so the kids wouldn't have to eat in the car – which cut down on the chances of motion sickness episodes. Jaffer loved families with little kids and lunches, because his natural good looks and his sorrowful brown eyes were magnets for little kids and women, and he was almost certain to get something to eat from these people.
Even though Jack was still feeling a bit depressed and worried about Shawn, Jaffer wasn't. The big lab jumped out of the truck the moment Jack opened the door – before he could snap the leash on - and he made a beeline for the nearest picnic table. Which held a small family with two little girls and their parents. The parents looked a little concerned when Jaffer came rushing up, his tail wagging furiously and his eyes grinning happily, but the little girls squealed with delight and instantly wrapped their arms around him, cooing over him and making a big fuss over the bandages that were wrapped around his belly and chest.
O'Neill came trotting up – which wasn't fun when you were already aching and sore – and apologized. By then, though, the parents had been won over by the lab's friendliness and the obvious care he took to keep from bowling the little girls over, when it was easily apparent he could. They smiled at Jack, and asked all the usual questions – what was his name? How old was he? Lab, right? Purebred? He's beautiful! But with the bandages came new questions – what happened to him? How long would he have to wear them? You been have been so worried!
Jack invented a story on the spot (A spectacular battle between Jaffer and a barbed wire fence) and then tried to hustle the black lab out of there so the family could enjoy their meal in peace. Before he managed it, though, Jaffer's bandages and good-natured flirting had convinced the girls and their parents that he needed their extra cheeseburger far more than they did. The helpless burger disappeared immediately after it was offered, and Jack shook his head at his dog's shamelessness.
He gave the girls a chance to say goodbye to Jaffer, apologized again to the folks for interrupting their meal, then snapped the leash to the big dog's collar and hauled him out of the area and into the pet run area so he could stretch his legs and run around without Jack needing to chase him. Which O'Neill was grateful for.
When he put the dog back into the truck, Jack realized that the stop had served another purpose besides giving Jaffer a chance to pee (and steal someone's food). O'Neill was feeling a little better than he had when they'd stopped. He was still worried, of course – Jack was a worrier by nature – but he'd relaxed a little while watching Jaffer run around playfully, allowing the dog's natural exuberance for life cheer him up. When he started the truck, he reached his hand over and slapped the big black butt warmly, then pulled out of the parking lot. Jaffer took the affection as his due, and settled in the seat with his head out the window watching the scenery pass as they drove the rest of the way to the lake.
~*~
Dotty Adams was on constant guard for trouble. She didn't know how things were going for Jack O'Neill and the others at the SGC so she didn't know if any more of the Ashrak had decided to leave Cheyenne Mountain and come up looking for her son in his smaller, more vulnerable form. As such, she was standing on the shore of the lake, watching as her son and husband fished from the boat only a few hundred yards offshore. She was close enough that she could keep an eye on Shawn, but far enough away that if she needed to deal with something – or someone – she could probably do it without them even noticing.
When she heard the truck pull up beside the cabin, Dotty turned instantly, her hand in her pocket and her fingers lightly caressing the device that was never far from her reach. Then she saw who it was and a true smile creased her face. Jaffer jumped out the window of the truck, unwilling to wait for Jack to open the door, and rushed over to Dotty, who knelt down and caught the big dog's friendly attentions with an ease that belied her small frame. She loved Jack's dog, and made no secret of it, to Jack or to Jaffer. Her brow creased in concern when she saw the bandages wrapped tightly around the dog's belly, though, and her sharp eyes didn't miss the rest of the cuts that hadn't been covered. By the time Jack made his way over to Dotty, she'd already convinced Jaffer to sit still long enough for her to give him a thorough going over, so she could see just how hurt he was.
"Jack!" She looked up at him from where she was kneeling, and then looked over towards the boat to make sure that Shawn and James were still plenty far enough away that they wouldn't hear their conversation. "Is he all right?"
"He will be, Dotty," Jack said. "Things got a little hairy for a while there." He looked around, noticing Shawn's position immediately, and then his brown eyes went to Dotty. "How are things here?"
"There are twelve Ashrak, Jack." Dotty told him, standing up and looking Jack over as carefully as she'd just examined Jaffer.
"Then there's still five on the loose," Jack told her, scowling and looking around, concerned. "We killed six on the base – thank you for the Atarii things, by the way – and we found one dead by our gate."
"Then there aren't any more. I killed five last night when I arrived here."
"Five?" Jack couldn't hide his surprise.
"The last one stayed with me just long enough to assure me of their numbers and how they arrived, then he joined his fellows." She didn't try to hide her satisfaction. "They came through the gate accidentally with Shawn – the older Shawn. Is he safe?"
"A note came through the Stargate telling us all was clear and to send him back. It had the coordinates to the same world he'd been on when he gated here in the first place."
"And you believed the note?" She could sense his unease.
"Everyone else did. I... well, I was a little skeptical. The note was from me. In my handwriting, with my signature."
"But you're still worried?"
Jack nodded. "I just sent him back to the planet that he'd been ambushed on in the first place."
"The you in the future probably had to use the gravity field that sent him here in the first place, and in order to do that, you'd have had to send him back to the place he'd come from before bringing him back to Earth."
"The Earth Stargate coordinates were on the note as well, along with what is probably the planet's point of origin."
"Then it's probably an authentic note, Jack." She reached out and put her hand on his arm to reassure him, and her eyes narrowed slightly.
"You're injured?"
"How did you know that?"
She ignored the question. "Open your shirt."
Jack scowled and Dotty laughed. "Do it, Jack."
"If I didn't know you were happily married..." He grumbled as he untucked his shirt and unbuttoned it.
"And of course, that'd be assuming you weren't madly in love with Sam – which we both know you are." She smiled again, and then grew serious as he revealed his bloody bandages.
"Ashrak?"
"Yeah. One of them had a knife. Wasn't much we could do."
"You and Jaffer?"
"And the others."
"Everyone else okay?"
Jack nodded.
Dotty put her hand gently against O'Neill's bare skin, just below the bandages on his stomach, and closed her eyes for a moment. Before Jack could ask her what she was doing, he felt the ache that he was almost growing accustomed to beginning to fade. In only a moment, it was gone entirely, and Dotty opened her eyes once more and looked at Jack with satisfaction.
"Better?"
"How did you do that?" He put his hand against his side and pressed gently, but he didn't feel any pain at all.
"It's a gift."
"Wow."
Dotty smiled and knelt down next to Jaffer and repeated the process with the black lab, who held unnaturally still for her. When she opened her eyes again, she stood up and slapped the dog's side happily.
"Thank you, Dotty."
"It's the least I can do, Jack. I owe you so much."
"You don't owe me anything." He smiled down at her, and looked around once more, wanting to change the subject. "Do you need any help up here?"
"No, Jack. But you're welcome to stay."
"It's a family trip, Dotty. I'm not going to crash it."
"You're family."
"It's not the same..." Jack thought he did a fair job of hiding the slight ache of not being able to acknowledge the relationship between him and Shawn at this age, but Dotty must have caught it, because she reached up and touched his cheek gently.
"You can have him any time you want him, Jack. For any amount of time. I promise I'll tell him who his father is as soon as he's old enough to understand."
Jack caught her hand and squeezed it gently. "There's no rush. Let him be a kid for as long as you can. I'll take what I can get for now."
"Are you sure you don't want to stay? We have plenty of food for four."
"Nope, I'd better not." Jack grinned. "You don't have enough food to satisfy Jaffer's appetite, and I know you don't have enough healing gift to take care of him if we let him anywhere near a fishhook."
She laughed; knowing from Shawn all the stories of Jack and Jaffer's previous fishing trips. "If you're sure."
"Yeah, I'm sure. I'll see you sometime this week. But if you need anything, call and I'll come running."
"I will, Jack."
Jaffer rarely needed a leash, but Jack carried one in his truck anyways, just on the off chance that he'd need it, and the rest stop was one of the places he used it. There were usually a lot of people at the stop, and sometimes there'd be families, stopped there to make lunch so the kids wouldn't have to eat in the car – which cut down on the chances of motion sickness episodes. Jaffer loved families with little kids and lunches, because his natural good looks and his sorrowful brown eyes were magnets for little kids and women, and he was almost certain to get something to eat from these people.
Even though Jack was still feeling a bit depressed and worried about Shawn, Jaffer wasn't. The big lab jumped out of the truck the moment Jack opened the door – before he could snap the leash on - and he made a beeline for the nearest picnic table. Which held a small family with two little girls and their parents. The parents looked a little concerned when Jaffer came rushing up, his tail wagging furiously and his eyes grinning happily, but the little girls squealed with delight and instantly wrapped their arms around him, cooing over him and making a big fuss over the bandages that were wrapped around his belly and chest.
O'Neill came trotting up – which wasn't fun when you were already aching and sore – and apologized. By then, though, the parents had been won over by the lab's friendliness and the obvious care he took to keep from bowling the little girls over, when it was easily apparent he could. They smiled at Jack, and asked all the usual questions – what was his name? How old was he? Lab, right? Purebred? He's beautiful! But with the bandages came new questions – what happened to him? How long would he have to wear them? You been have been so worried!
Jack invented a story on the spot (A spectacular battle between Jaffer and a barbed wire fence) and then tried to hustle the black lab out of there so the family could enjoy their meal in peace. Before he managed it, though, Jaffer's bandages and good-natured flirting had convinced the girls and their parents that he needed their extra cheeseburger far more than they did. The helpless burger disappeared immediately after it was offered, and Jack shook his head at his dog's shamelessness.
He gave the girls a chance to say goodbye to Jaffer, apologized again to the folks for interrupting their meal, then snapped the leash to the big dog's collar and hauled him out of the area and into the pet run area so he could stretch his legs and run around without Jack needing to chase him. Which O'Neill was grateful for.
When he put the dog back into the truck, Jack realized that the stop had served another purpose besides giving Jaffer a chance to pee (and steal someone's food). O'Neill was feeling a little better than he had when they'd stopped. He was still worried, of course – Jack was a worrier by nature – but he'd relaxed a little while watching Jaffer run around playfully, allowing the dog's natural exuberance for life cheer him up. When he started the truck, he reached his hand over and slapped the big black butt warmly, then pulled out of the parking lot. Jaffer took the affection as his due, and settled in the seat with his head out the window watching the scenery pass as they drove the rest of the way to the lake.
~*~
Dotty Adams was on constant guard for trouble. She didn't know how things were going for Jack O'Neill and the others at the SGC so she didn't know if any more of the Ashrak had decided to leave Cheyenne Mountain and come up looking for her son in his smaller, more vulnerable form. As such, she was standing on the shore of the lake, watching as her son and husband fished from the boat only a few hundred yards offshore. She was close enough that she could keep an eye on Shawn, but far enough away that if she needed to deal with something – or someone – she could probably do it without them even noticing.
When she heard the truck pull up beside the cabin, Dotty turned instantly, her hand in her pocket and her fingers lightly caressing the device that was never far from her reach. Then she saw who it was and a true smile creased her face. Jaffer jumped out the window of the truck, unwilling to wait for Jack to open the door, and rushed over to Dotty, who knelt down and caught the big dog's friendly attentions with an ease that belied her small frame. She loved Jack's dog, and made no secret of it, to Jack or to Jaffer. Her brow creased in concern when she saw the bandages wrapped tightly around the dog's belly, though, and her sharp eyes didn't miss the rest of the cuts that hadn't been covered. By the time Jack made his way over to Dotty, she'd already convinced Jaffer to sit still long enough for her to give him a thorough going over, so she could see just how hurt he was.
"Jack!" She looked up at him from where she was kneeling, and then looked over towards the boat to make sure that Shawn and James were still plenty far enough away that they wouldn't hear their conversation. "Is he all right?"
"He will be, Dotty," Jack said. "Things got a little hairy for a while there." He looked around, noticing Shawn's position immediately, and then his brown eyes went to Dotty. "How are things here?"
"There are twelve Ashrak, Jack." Dotty told him, standing up and looking Jack over as carefully as she'd just examined Jaffer.
"Then there's still five on the loose," Jack told her, scowling and looking around, concerned. "We killed six on the base – thank you for the Atarii things, by the way – and we found one dead by our gate."
"Then there aren't any more. I killed five last night when I arrived here."
"Five?" Jack couldn't hide his surprise.
"The last one stayed with me just long enough to assure me of their numbers and how they arrived, then he joined his fellows." She didn't try to hide her satisfaction. "They came through the gate accidentally with Shawn – the older Shawn. Is he safe?"
"A note came through the Stargate telling us all was clear and to send him back. It had the coordinates to the same world he'd been on when he gated here in the first place."
"And you believed the note?" She could sense his unease.
"Everyone else did. I... well, I was a little skeptical. The note was from me. In my handwriting, with my signature."
"But you're still worried?"
Jack nodded. "I just sent him back to the planet that he'd been ambushed on in the first place."
"The you in the future probably had to use the gravity field that sent him here in the first place, and in order to do that, you'd have had to send him back to the place he'd come from before bringing him back to Earth."
"The Earth Stargate coordinates were on the note as well, along with what is probably the planet's point of origin."
"Then it's probably an authentic note, Jack." She reached out and put her hand on his arm to reassure him, and her eyes narrowed slightly.
"You're injured?"
"How did you know that?"
She ignored the question. "Open your shirt."
Jack scowled and Dotty laughed. "Do it, Jack."
"If I didn't know you were happily married..." He grumbled as he untucked his shirt and unbuttoned it.
"And of course, that'd be assuming you weren't madly in love with Sam – which we both know you are." She smiled again, and then grew serious as he revealed his bloody bandages.
"Ashrak?"
"Yeah. One of them had a knife. Wasn't much we could do."
"You and Jaffer?"
"And the others."
"Everyone else okay?"
Jack nodded.
Dotty put her hand gently against O'Neill's bare skin, just below the bandages on his stomach, and closed her eyes for a moment. Before Jack could ask her what she was doing, he felt the ache that he was almost growing accustomed to beginning to fade. In only a moment, it was gone entirely, and Dotty opened her eyes once more and looked at Jack with satisfaction.
"Better?"
"How did you do that?" He put his hand against his side and pressed gently, but he didn't feel any pain at all.
"It's a gift."
"Wow."
Dotty smiled and knelt down next to Jaffer and repeated the process with the black lab, who held unnaturally still for her. When she opened her eyes again, she stood up and slapped the dog's side happily.
"Thank you, Dotty."
"It's the least I can do, Jack. I owe you so much."
"You don't owe me anything." He smiled down at her, and looked around once more, wanting to change the subject. "Do you need any help up here?"
"No, Jack. But you're welcome to stay."
"It's a family trip, Dotty. I'm not going to crash it."
"You're family."
"It's not the same..." Jack thought he did a fair job of hiding the slight ache of not being able to acknowledge the relationship between him and Shawn at this age, but Dotty must have caught it, because she reached up and touched his cheek gently.
"You can have him any time you want him, Jack. For any amount of time. I promise I'll tell him who his father is as soon as he's old enough to understand."
Jack caught her hand and squeezed it gently. "There's no rush. Let him be a kid for as long as you can. I'll take what I can get for now."
"Are you sure you don't want to stay? We have plenty of food for four."
"Nope, I'd better not." Jack grinned. "You don't have enough food to satisfy Jaffer's appetite, and I know you don't have enough healing gift to take care of him if we let him anywhere near a fishhook."
She laughed; knowing from Shawn all the stories of Jack and Jaffer's previous fishing trips. "If you're sure."
"Yeah, I'm sure. I'll see you sometime this week. But if you need anything, call and I'll come running."
"I will, Jack."