"Why would they stay?" Shawn asked. "Why didn't they go with the other Ancients?"
"My guess would be they were still looking over their solution to the Asgard problem, Shawn. Remember, I told you that part of that solution was the fact that that some of them were half Ancient and half Asgard."
"Yeah."
"Well, these people – the mixed ones – they stayed with the Ancients and they... um... had kids with other Ancients, and not Asgard, so the next generation was a little less Asgard and a little more Ancient. And then those kids grew up and had kids with other Ancients... until they were a lot more Ancient than Asgard by the time they got down the road a ways. There was still Asgard in them, but most of their blood was Ancient blood." He frowned, realizing how badly he'd put that. "Did that make sense?"
"Yeah. Sort of. They stayed with the Ancients, so they thinned the Asgard part out a bit."
"But it's still there, apparently. Once you have something like that in your blood, it'd always there."
Shawn nodded, then frowned.
"But what does that have to do with that device you got your head stuck in?"
Jack squirmed a little. Now he was getting to the personal parts. The parts that involved the people Shawn loved most – mainly his mom.
"Well, remember I said that the device took the person's DNA when it scanned them?"
"Yeah."
"It took mine. Without me knowing about it."
"Why would the Ancients want your DNA?"
"Because the next part of their plan involved them mixing the DNA of one of the half Asgard, half Ancient people with the DNA of a Human. A human picked by their device as the best possible choice to carry on the next part of the plan."
"You?"
Shawn looked shocked.
Jack nodded.
"The machine collected my DNA and then... um... used it to..." Jack squirmed a little more, definitely way out of his comfort zone, now.
"They mixed it with one of the half and half people?" Shawn hazarded.
Jack nodded. "She became pregnant."
"With your baby?" Shawn's eyes were wide.
Jack nodded.
"So where is it?"
"What?"
"The baby? Your baby, Jack!" His face suddenly fell, as a terrible realization came upon him. "Was it your son?" He asked in a soft whisper. "The one... the one who... you know, shot himself?"
Jack felt the familiar pang of loss, but he shook his head, realizing that Shawn was pretty far off the mark, but handling it a lot better than Jack had when he'd first heard the story. Of course, he didn't know his role in events, yet, so that might have made it easier for him.
"No, Shawn. It wasn't Charlie." Jack said, just as softly. "I didn't know about this child, remember? The Ancients used their technology to send the pregnant woman back a little ways in time, just far enough back that she'd have her baby at a specific time, so he'd be the perfect age to meet me in the only place they could think of that was outside of the SGC..."
"So you've met it?" Shawn asked. "The baby?"
"He's not a baby, anymore, Shawn." Jack said, nodding. "Yes. I met him. Although when I first met him, I didn't know he was even related to me. I just thought he was this great little kid, who just happened to remind me of my own son. I didn't even realize he was related to me after I'd known him for a couple of years, although everyone else thought he sure looked a bit like me, and acted a lot like me when he was in trouble, or about to get into trouble."
Shawn's eyes grew a little sad, although he didn't realize it.
"You know who he is? And you've never let me meet him?"
Was Jack ashamed of him? Was there a reason he hadn't introduced the two of them? Maybe Jack hadn't told Shawn because he didn't want Shawn to worry that things would change because of the other kid? He did mention that he'd only recently known the kid was related to him. Shawn hadn't ever seen Jack with any other kids, though, unless you counted some of the other kids that had been at camp with him when he'd met Jack. Maybe it was one of them? He thought about all the boys who had been in China that year, but none of them looked all that much like-
Jack reached out and rested his hand on Shawn's head, gently, reacting to the hurt he suddenly saw in those very expressive brown eyes.
"Hey... don't look so stricken, Shawn," Jack said, softly. "There's a very good reason that I haven't introduced the two of you."
"What reason?" Shawn couldn't help but feel hurt. "You could have trusted me to keep the secret, Jack... I never would have told anyone."
"Everyone I care about already knows, Shawn. Sam knows, Daniel knows, Teal'c, Janet Fraiser and General Hammond all know. Even your mom knows."
"My mom knows? She's met him?" Now he really felt excluded, and maybe that hurt was turning into a little anger of his own. "How could you keep me in- "
"Shawn." Jack interrupted before he could say anything more. "Your mom knows, because it's her son. She's the one that was sent back in time by the Ancients with my DNA – with my baby, if you will – and she's the one that gave birth to him, and is raising him."
"What!?" Shawn looked horrified. "Where is he, Jack? I have a brother, and no one told me about him?" He started to stand up, but Jack's hand went from the top of his head down to take hold of his hand, holding him in a firm grip so he couldn't bolt. God! He had a brother! Some kid who was part alien, and even worse, part Jack! When Shawn would give anything to be Jack's son, he suddenly found out that there was some kid out there who actually was! It was so unfair!
"Let me go, Jack!"
"No, Shawn, sit down."
"NO!"
Tears were welling up in Shawn's eyes, now, and he struggled against Jack's powerful grip, trying to break loose of the hand that was holding his.
Jack pulled him into his embrace, wrapping his arms around the struggling boy and holding him tightly.
"Shawn, listen to me," Jack said, pressing his cheek against the boy's and feeling the wetness of tears. He'd done a shitty job of explaining this, but he was almost done, now, so he was going to finish it. "It's you. I didn't introduce the two of you because I can't. It's you. You're my son. You don't have a brother. It's you."
"My guess would be they were still looking over their solution to the Asgard problem, Shawn. Remember, I told you that part of that solution was the fact that that some of them were half Ancient and half Asgard."
"Yeah."
"Well, these people – the mixed ones – they stayed with the Ancients and they... um... had kids with other Ancients, and not Asgard, so the next generation was a little less Asgard and a little more Ancient. And then those kids grew up and had kids with other Ancients... until they were a lot more Ancient than Asgard by the time they got down the road a ways. There was still Asgard in them, but most of their blood was Ancient blood." He frowned, realizing how badly he'd put that. "Did that make sense?"
"Yeah. Sort of. They stayed with the Ancients, so they thinned the Asgard part out a bit."
"But it's still there, apparently. Once you have something like that in your blood, it'd always there."
Shawn nodded, then frowned.
"But what does that have to do with that device you got your head stuck in?"
Jack squirmed a little. Now he was getting to the personal parts. The parts that involved the people Shawn loved most – mainly his mom.
"Well, remember I said that the device took the person's DNA when it scanned them?"
"Yeah."
"It took mine. Without me knowing about it."
"Why would the Ancients want your DNA?"
"Because the next part of their plan involved them mixing the DNA of one of the half Asgard, half Ancient people with the DNA of a Human. A human picked by their device as the best possible choice to carry on the next part of the plan."
"You?"
Shawn looked shocked.
Jack nodded.
"The machine collected my DNA and then... um... used it to..." Jack squirmed a little more, definitely way out of his comfort zone, now.
"They mixed it with one of the half and half people?" Shawn hazarded.
Jack nodded. "She became pregnant."
"With your baby?" Shawn's eyes were wide.
Jack nodded.
"So where is it?"
"What?"
"The baby? Your baby, Jack!" His face suddenly fell, as a terrible realization came upon him. "Was it your son?" He asked in a soft whisper. "The one... the one who... you know, shot himself?"
Jack felt the familiar pang of loss, but he shook his head, realizing that Shawn was pretty far off the mark, but handling it a lot better than Jack had when he'd first heard the story. Of course, he didn't know his role in events, yet, so that might have made it easier for him.
"No, Shawn. It wasn't Charlie." Jack said, just as softly. "I didn't know about this child, remember? The Ancients used their technology to send the pregnant woman back a little ways in time, just far enough back that she'd have her baby at a specific time, so he'd be the perfect age to meet me in the only place they could think of that was outside of the SGC..."
"So you've met it?" Shawn asked. "The baby?"
"He's not a baby, anymore, Shawn." Jack said, nodding. "Yes. I met him. Although when I first met him, I didn't know he was even related to me. I just thought he was this great little kid, who just happened to remind me of my own son. I didn't even realize he was related to me after I'd known him for a couple of years, although everyone else thought he sure looked a bit like me, and acted a lot like me when he was in trouble, or about to get into trouble."
Shawn's eyes grew a little sad, although he didn't realize it.
"You know who he is? And you've never let me meet him?"
Was Jack ashamed of him? Was there a reason he hadn't introduced the two of them? Maybe Jack hadn't told Shawn because he didn't want Shawn to worry that things would change because of the other kid? He did mention that he'd only recently known the kid was related to him. Shawn hadn't ever seen Jack with any other kids, though, unless you counted some of the other kids that had been at camp with him when he'd met Jack. Maybe it was one of them? He thought about all the boys who had been in China that year, but none of them looked all that much like-
Jack reached out and rested his hand on Shawn's head, gently, reacting to the hurt he suddenly saw in those very expressive brown eyes.
"Hey... don't look so stricken, Shawn," Jack said, softly. "There's a very good reason that I haven't introduced the two of you."
"What reason?" Shawn couldn't help but feel hurt. "You could have trusted me to keep the secret, Jack... I never would have told anyone."
"Everyone I care about already knows, Shawn. Sam knows, Daniel knows, Teal'c, Janet Fraiser and General Hammond all know. Even your mom knows."
"My mom knows? She's met him?" Now he really felt excluded, and maybe that hurt was turning into a little anger of his own. "How could you keep me in- "
"Shawn." Jack interrupted before he could say anything more. "Your mom knows, because it's her son. She's the one that was sent back in time by the Ancients with my DNA – with my baby, if you will – and she's the one that gave birth to him, and is raising him."
"What!?" Shawn looked horrified. "Where is he, Jack? I have a brother, and no one told me about him?" He started to stand up, but Jack's hand went from the top of his head down to take hold of his hand, holding him in a firm grip so he couldn't bolt. God! He had a brother! Some kid who was part alien, and even worse, part Jack! When Shawn would give anything to be Jack's son, he suddenly found out that there was some kid out there who actually was! It was so unfair!
"Let me go, Jack!"
"No, Shawn, sit down."
"NO!"
Tears were welling up in Shawn's eyes, now, and he struggled against Jack's powerful grip, trying to break loose of the hand that was holding his.
Jack pulled him into his embrace, wrapping his arms around the struggling boy and holding him tightly.
"Shawn, listen to me," Jack said, pressing his cheek against the boy's and feeling the wetness of tears. He'd done a shitty job of explaining this, but he was almost done, now, so he was going to finish it. "It's you. I didn't introduce the two of you because I can't. It's you. You're my son. You don't have a brother. It's you."