-- Chapter Two: Something's Missing

Jack smiled deviously, preparing to put his plan into action.

"Show time," he said softly. "Okay, Little Danny, you ready for action? Daddy will be here any moment."

Jack picked up his infant son from the crib that sat in the living room. Aislinn was playing quietly with the mobile that hung over it, and Jonny was with Daniel. They had gone outside to enjoy the nice weather with Bijou and Katie, tossing their ball back and forth in an attempt to show Jonny how to do it, not that it took at this early stage in life.

Jack looked covertly into the yard and saw Daniel was headed inside, so he acted like he was deeply involved in a conversation with Michael.

"Now, these are DVDs. Yes, I know, MICKEY, that you don't know what they are yet, but ..."

"What did you just say?"

"Hmm ... let me think. Oh, DVDs. I was explaining them to Mickey."

"Mickey? WHO is Mickey?"

"Our son."

"His name is Michael."

"You know me and nicknames, Danny. You already said 'no' to Mike and Mikey so I've decided on Mickey, and I'm going to insist!"

"Jack, our son is not a mouse!"

"No, you're not a mouse, MICKEY," Jack bounced his son in his arm, mirroring what Daniel was doing with Jonny, "but you're going to make a great baseball player." Jack heard Daniel sigh, and opted for a short-term change of subject, still related to the topic. "How'd Jonny do with the ball throwing?"

Daniel laughed at the silly attempt he'd made with his son, even though it had been fun. He explained, "I think he's still a little young, but Katie had a great time."

"Just wait until we give you a shot, MICKEY. You'll be great. Baseball's in your blood. Mickey Jackson-O'Neill!"

"Michael."

"You can call him Michael. I'm calling him MICKEY."

Jack turned around towards the DVD collection again, a big grin on his face.

"No, Jack. That's a horrible name."

"Hey, there are a lot of famous Mickeys."

"Such as?"

"I told ya ... one of the best Yankees of all-time, Mickey Mantle!"

"Great ... I admit he was a Hall of Famer, a great baseball player, but his lifestyle wasn't exactly a role model for our son."

"Mickey Dolenz."

"Who?"

"The drummer for the Monkees."

"For the who?"

Jack laughed, muttering, "Never mind."

"Jack, try someone real here."

"He is real. How about Mickey Rourke?"

"Who?"

"He's an actor. Or even better, Mickey Rooney. Now c'mon, you have to know the Mick!"

Daniel was about ready to scream as he retorted, "Do you know how many times Mister Rooney has been married, Jack?"

"About as many as Lizzie Taylor."

"Lizzie? Oh, gawd. Let me make this simple. Our son's name is Michael. End of story. Period. Finis." Daniel raised his voice slightly as he emphasized, "The End!"

Jack was loving this exchange. Daniel was weakening with each example Jack gave. He just needed to reel in his lover like he would a mighty bass.

"Hey, Mickey Gilley. Can you picture little Mickey here singing in a honky tonk night club somewhere? We should get him a ten-gallon hat, Danny. Or ... I got it ... Mickey Spillane, a real rough and tumble character to raise our son after. You have to admit, he's an author."

"You aren't helping your cause, Jack. Our son is NOT going to be called Mickey."

"Mickey Jackson-O'Neill," Jack repeated determinedly.

Daniel closed his eyes as he put Jonny down in the crib next to Aislinn. He smiled at the two babies, little Aislinn smiling back. Then he walked over to his husband and their middle child.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you, Jack?"

"Would you like to hold Mickey?" Jack asked, ignoring Daniel's question.

"Michael," Daniel said sternly.

Jack carried Michael over to the other side of the room, pretending to want to get the newspaper.

"Don't worry, Mickey. It's a real man's name."

"Michael!"

"I'll protect you from Daddy, Mickey!"

"Over my Goa'ulded dead body will Michael be called Mickey!"

"I'm calling him Mickey!"

"Michael!"

"Mickey!"

"Michael"

"Mikey!"

"Michael!"

"Mike!"

"Michael!"

"Mickey or bust"

"Michael!"

"Little Danny or Mickey!"

"MICHAEL -- M - I - C - H - A - E - L!"

"Hey, Mickey, your daddy knows how to spell! I'm so proud of him, Mickey."

Jack grinned a self-assured smile that made Daniel want to kill him; that is, if he didn't love him so dang much. Daniel sighed, trying one more time.

"Michael."

"Mickey!"

Daniel looked at the baby boy.

"Give me our son." Daniel gently took Michael from Jack. "You dad is sooooo darn frustrating, but I love him to pieces," he said as he walked away holding his namesake.

"Hey, Mickey, do you ..."

"Jack, you're going to confuse him. Gawd!" Daniel groaned as he walked over to the crib with Michael. "Dad drives me insane sometimes! Okay, I give up ... Danny."

"YES!" Jack exclaimed, his hands going to his head, fists clenched and pulling down dramatically.

"Gawd, Jack," Daniel laughed, "You act like you just won a million dollars."

"I did ... the day you told me you loved me."

Daniel sighed an embarrassed breath, and said softly to his namesake, "Look what your dad does to me ..." Daniel looked at Jack and back at the infant, "... Danny. Jack, it's going to get confusing," Daniel said as he put the baby once known as Michael and now known as Little Danny in the crib with his siblings.

"No, it won't. You'll see," Jack said confidently, standing by Daniel's side and rubbing the younger man's back.

Jack reached out and caressed the babies, and then looking at their middle child, he said, "I told you I could change his mind, Little Danny."

Daniel sighed again, leaning his head against Jack's shoulder, compliantly stating, "We have Jonny so I guess Danny is fair play."

"You don't really mind, do you, Angel?"

Daniel shook his head, as he admitted, "No, not really. It ... I love that you want us to call him that so much. Gawd, Jack. I love you, even when you are more aggravating than a System Lord."

Jack laughed as he kissed his husband, the babies watching and cooing in wonderment.

"Hi, Sam, it's Daniel ... laughter ... They're great. Jonny is incredibly agile, Ash smiles all the time, and Little Danny loves to watch everything ... yes, I gave in. Jack worked overtime to con me into calling him that ... persistent? More like nagging to the max! Um, Sam, I need to ask you a favor. I was reviewing some notes about a mission we went on years ago and ... Yes, I know I'm retired, but there's something bugging me, so could you call up the mission reports to P9X-418 and send them to me? ... Thanks, I appreciate it ... laughter Yes, I still have clearance. They keep thinking Jack and I are going to unretire! They are delusional, Sam! ... laughter ... Thanks."

The babies were almost three months old, and the Jackson-O'Neills were making daily progress in figuring out how to function as a family. It still wasn't easy, but once they had realized they didn't have to be super men and do it all themselves, it began to get much easier. They really did have some great friends, and sometimes they needed those friends to help them as they settled into a new routine.

It was 2:30 a.m., and Jack awoke, not to the sound of crying babies over the monitor, but to the emptiness of his bed. His husband was missing. Jack slipped on his burgundy robe and walked into the nursery, delighted to find three healthy, beautiful, sound asleep babies ... but surprised that his husband wasn't there.

He returned to the master bedroom, and this time opened the door to the roof deck, and sure enough, there was Daniel, sitting in their favorite spot against the wall, legs drawn up to his chest, his head leaning forward into his knees.

"Danny?" Jack called out softly, concerned at the pensive look of his husband.

Daniel looked up and smiled just as Jack slid down the wall to sit next to him. Daniel watched every inch of the move, their eyes connected. As soon as Jack held out his arm to wrap around Daniel's shoulder, Daniel leaned into his spouse, wanting to be held.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, not the way you're thinking. The Munchkins are sound asleep," Daniel informed, nodding to the silence coming through the portable baby monitor he had brought outside with him.

"Yeah, they're beautiful, like their daddy."

Jack kissed the top of Daniel's shaggy hair. He couldn't help it ... Jack laughed.

"What?" Daniel looked at him with question.

"I love your shaggy hair. I didn't know how much I missed it."

"Me, either. It's who I am. I just ... it took me a while to realize I wanted me back ... this way. Besides, it's not as long as it used to be, but it's how I like it now."

Jack's lips connected with Daniel's.

"Yeah, it is shorter than it was at the beginning, but I like it better this way, too." Jack brushed the locks of hair out of Daniel's face. "I'm not sure you could even describe it as long by today's standards. It's just ... fluffy," Jack teased as he laughed.

The two sat and enjoyed their togetherness. They hadn't had many of these moments since the triplets had been born, so every second was precious to them.

"Danny, are you going to tell me?"

"You'll think I'm silly, ridiculous, crazy ... totally gone," Daniel sighed.

"Try me."

"I can't really even explain it. You'll think I'm nuts, psycho, ready for the funny farm."

"Daniel, you've been hanging around me too much!" Jack chuckled, as did Daniel. Then the younger man took a breath, almost afraid to speak. Jack gave him an encouraging nudge as he urged, "Come on, Love. We don't keep secrets from each other."

"I love our babies. They're our dreams, our little miracles."

"No argument there."

"It's so beyond belief."

"That we have a family?"

"That I ... that I feel like someone is missing. Oh, gawd," Daniel buried his head in Jack's neck, holding on tightly, almost as if he was afraid Jack would get up and run as far away from Daniel as he could.

"Missing?"

"I told you it was crazy." Yet, Jack hadn't flinched, surprising Daniel. He hadn't grown sarcastic or flippant, nor had he laughed or teased. In fact, the older man almost seemed ... understanding, as if ... "Jack? Do you know what I mean? What I'm trying to say?"

Jack kissed his lover, then said, "You feel like as much as we love the Munchkins that there's still another little life out there who belongs here. Maybe ..." Jack paused, his own insecurities sneaking out, "... a little baby girl?"

At the same time, both men smiled, and in unison, spoke the name, "Jennifer."

"Danny, who's Jennifer, and why can't I stop thinking about her?"

"I'm not sure, but I can't either ... exactly. Jack, remember years ago we went on a mission to a planet ... um, P9X-418?"

"Yeah, strange place."

"Well, a while back, I was rereading some of my journal entries. There were notes in there about things I don't remember. I ... I asked Sam to pull the mission reports so I could review them, but ... Jack they don't say anything about what I wrote in my journal. I mean it's like my journal is about something entirely different. Jack, I don't ... I mean, my journals ... they're the most accurate records I know."

"I think ..." Jack spoke softly as he worked through his own thoughts. "Choices. We made choices, Danny. It was ... like an alternate reality except ... it wasn't. I ... I remember choices. I ... made a choice." Jack shook his head as if trying to jog the memory. "I don't remember, Danny. I can't put my finger on it, but ... I know it's there."

"It's elusive. I can't grab hold of the memory, either except for ..."

"Jennifer," both spoke at the same time.

On Planet P9X-418, the team had been captured by aliens and separated from one another. Individually, each had then been given the opportunity to make the life of one of their teammates ideal.

Jack's sacrifice had given Daniel the perfect childhood. His parents hadn't died, and with the change, the young man had married, had children, and was working happily in the archaeological field. One of his daughters had been named Jennifer.

For Daniel, his sacrifice had meant Jack could have his happy family. Charlie had never pulled the trigger on Jack's gun, and the O'Neills (Jack and Sara) had gone on to have other children, including a daughter named Jennifer.

The sacrifices had been huge and come at a price, and even in their supposedly ideal lives, each member of SG-1 had known something was missing. When all was said and done, their memories of what had occurred on the planet had been wiped out, lingering only for a few days. It had been during this time that Daniel had written in his personal journal.

As more days passed, Jack and Daniel had forgotten the truth about what had happened on the planet, except for Jennifer. She was a bond between the two that, even in a strange, altered, unknown universe, had again tied them together.

"Jack, we're missing our daughter. I feel her. I can't explain it, and I know it doesn't make any sense."

"No, it doesn't. Some crazy mixed up mission on a world that messed with our minds, but I feel her, too, Danny. She should be with us."

The two men looked at each other.

"We're nuts," they both said, each breaking out into laughter.

"Kayla said she's willing. She doesn't know about the DNA tests, though."

"We need to tell her. Jack, we can't ask her to go through another pregnancy without her knowing the truth. She'd be doing it thinking she was honoring the original agreement, but we're ... we're both ..."

Daniel sighed as his words trailed off.

"We're both not just parents to our Munchkins, but each of us also had our little tadpoles working just fine," Jack spoke proudly.

"Tadpoles?" Daniel laughed. "Where do you get these lines?"

"Movies," Jack teased. "Okay, we tell her the truth: tell her the DNA results, about Jennifer, and then we honor her decision. If she agrees, no problem. If she says no, then we have another decision to make."

"Jack, what if we get a ... Fred ... instead of Jennifer?"

"I don't think we will, Love, not with how I'm feeling about this. If we did get a Fred, I'd love him just as much, but I think we'll get our Jennifer. I know there aren't any guarantees, but ..."

Jack shook his head lightly. Every fiber of his being told him there was a little girl out there just waiting to be born. Daniel agreed, feeling the same, strong emotions.

"Me, too. I love you, Jack. You do realize that not only is Kayla going to think we're out of our minds, but Sam, Sara, and Mark may all disown us?"

"That's the beauty of it, Angel. They're already hooked. Carter positively coos around our babies, Sara already is planning on how to get Jonny and Angela hooked up, and Mark beams every time he gets 'stuck' with them. They are completely, utterly, totally smitten with our Munchkins."

"But they'll still kill us," Daniel said gleefully.

"Yes, they will," Jack acknowledged with a laugh, leaning his head against Daniel's as they enjoyed the night sky.

"Surprise!"

Jack and Daniel smiled as they stood outside Kayla's apartment door, their stroller full of babies in front of them.

"Well, hello!"

Kayla laughed gaily as she leaned forward to greet the littlest Jackson-O'Neill family members, then she hugged Jack and Daniel and motioned for them to come inside.

"We should have called," Daniel said.

Kayla smiled as she responded, "You two never call, and I love it. Who says life has to be so formal, especially among ..."

"Family," Jack said, seeing an approving nod from Daniel.

Kayla reached into the stroller and picked up the middle child, "Hey Michael."

"Um," Daniel gulped, "that's ... he's ... gawd."

Kayla looked at Jack who had the silliest grin on his face. In fact, he looked downright smug. The young woman glanced at Daniel and laughed, "Oh my, you convinced him, didn't you, Jack?"

"More like conned, nagged, and blackmailed," Daniel stated.

"Well, Little Danny, how are you today?"

The infant seemed to laugh as Kayla bounced him slightly in her arms.

Within minutes, Jack was holding Jonny and Daniel had Aislinn while Kayla continued to play with Little Danny. They talked about the babies quite a bit and Kayla's progress with her novel, which had her gushing a mile a minute for quite a while, but then she quieted as she observed her visitors.

"Guys, I'm getting that vibe again. There's a reason for this visit. You ready for the second go around?"

Jack and Daniel exchanged a look, and then Daniel said, "We ... need to tell you something."

"Kayla, after the babies were born, we did a DNA test."

"DNA? Why? Daniel's the father." Seeing the two men's expressions, she added, "Isn't he?"

"Well," Daniel sighed, "there was a mix-up at the clinic the day you were inseminated the second time, and, well, when we were told about it, we ... I mean, at first we were upset, but then ... it just didn't matter. We wanted babies, and we had them. It didn't seem very important which one of us was the birth father, so to speak."

"Wait a minute. You mean they used Jack's sperm the second time?"

"Yep," Jack answered matter-of-factly.

"So, these are your ... I mean, it was your sperm that ..."

"Yes and no."

"Excuse me?"

"Kayla, the DNA tests show that Jack and I both are the fathers."

"Both?"

"Sylvia said it's not that rare," Jack explained, "and as it turned out, one of us scored two, the other one."

"Jack, this isn't a sporting event."

"Now that depends on how you look at it."

"Jaaaack!"

Daniel looked at his devilish husband, but couldn't help but smile in response.

"Wow. So who belongs to who?"

"We don't know," Jack said.

"And we don't want to, either," Daniel added. Seeing Kayla's quizzical look, Daniel continued, "It's just ... Kayla, we love them, all of them. They are our miracles, and ... we know that we brought them into this world, that they belong to us, and that's all we need to know."

Jack added, "Sylvia has the test results under lock and key. If we ever need to know for medical reasons, or if they want to know when they're older, then they can find out, but for us," Jack looked with adoration at his husband, "we know everything we need to."

"Exactly. We have three beautiful, healthy babies that we both brought into this world. There's nothing more we need to know ... except for that."

Kayla's admiration for the two men grew even more as she listened. They were unique in her book, and she was happy she had agreed to be their surrogate.

"So, guys, why the visit?"

"Because," Daniel glanced at Jack, "Someone's missing."

"We want another baby, Kayla. I know it may seem unusual," Jack acknowledged, "but we've talked about it, and we both feel there's a little baby girl out there that belongs to us and needs to be here."

"What if it's a boy?"

"Then we'll love him," Daniel said with confidence, "But it'll be a girl because ... she's the one we're missing. I ... we ... feel her. Gawd, it doesn't make sense, but it's real."

"But Daniel and I agreed that you had to know the truth about the DNA thing so that you could make a fair choice. You've done what we asked. It wouldn't be fair to ask you to carry another baby for us thinking it was the ..." Jack tilted his head, trying to find the right words, "I don't know, the rest of the deal. You've fulfilled your promise to us."

"But you want another baby?"

"Yes," both men responded emphatically.

Kayla smiled as she played with the contented infant she held in her arms. Laughing, she said, "Well, Little One, it looks like you get another little sister to take care of."

"Kayla?" Daniel asked, hope shining in his eyes.

"I look at it this way. I agreed to two pregnancies. We've done one. I'm well prepared and willing to do it again."

"Gawd," Daniel stood and went to sit next to Kayla, the two babies making little noises as they saw each other. "Thank you so much," Daniel placed a kiss on Kayla's cheek.

"I love you guys. I hope you know that."

"That's good, because we love you, too," Daniel admitted.

"Ditto ... what he said," Jack agreed.

"When do you want to do this?"

"We thought we'd call Sylvia today. She said originally that we could do it as quickly as three months after as long as you checked out okay."

"Works for me. It should time out perfectly with the book, too. Uh, one question. Who's donating the sperm this time?"

"Me!" both men said with a smile.

"Huh?"

"Well," Jack grinned, "it worked so well the first time, we thought we'd do the same thing again, only on purpose."

"Somehow, Kayla, it wouldn't be right to know who, exactly, so ... this time, Jack will be the first treatment, and I'll be the second. Hopefully, one of us will, um, connect," Daniel blushed, "and we'll have a baby."

"Like we did this time, we'll have Syl do the DNA test and keep it for the kids if or when it's needed, but we don't want to know."

"Um, we have to have it for the adoption, too," Daniel sighed, frustrated at the laws that meant he and Jack had to adopt the children legally fathered by the other.

"We love all of our children equally," Daniel said sincerely. "It wouldn't be right to know the birth parentage of just one."

"You don't want to take any chances of playing favorites?" Kayla asked gently, her voice low.

The two men looked at each other, and then Jack admitted, "Look, I ... I don't think that would happen, but we'd be stupid to deny the fact that we're human. We've been through too much to deny basic emotions, so ... in a way you're right, Kayla. We don't want to take chances on letting something that doesn't matter get the best of us."

Kayla smiled her agreement, then her expression changed as she felt something. "Oops," she said, laughing, "time for a change, Little Danny."

"Oh, sorry, I'll trade you," Daniel started to get up to tend to Little Danny, but Kayla shook him off. "I'll donate this ... change."

"Thanks," Daniel laughed as he sat back down with Aislinn.

"There we go, Love."

"It's perfect. Thank you, Jack," Daniel said as he observed the latest version of the Jackson-O'Neill Tree of Love Jack had given him for a wedding present. "I'm glad you thought ahead when you did this."

"I knew we'd have the four kids, but I thought you might want more than one set of photos."

Jack had just put in the baby photos of the triplets, and a new one of Bijou and Katie, too.

"Ready for our snack?"

"Long overdue. I'm starved."

The lovers were planning a cozy rendezvous in front of the fireplace. They had chilled a bottle of St. Julien's, Daniel's favorite wine, and had some of their favorite "cozy" treats. The archaeologist was eagerly looking forward to the Godiva truffle he had purchased for himself that afternoon. He hadn't had one in months.

On their way downstairs, Aislinn began to cry.

"I'll see what she wants," Daniel volunteered, heading back upstairs.

Jack made sure everything was in place, setting several of their treats on a tray that he placed next to the soft comforter that was in place on the floor. He made sure the baby monitors were all on and then checked on the beagles, making sure they were okay.

"She's fine. Just woke herself up moving around a little," Daniel informed his husband as he joined him in the living room.

"Good. Danny, I think the girls want to come in. They've got that look."

Daniel sighed. If the girls were in, they couldn't follow through on their plans. Well, they weren't really plans as such, but he had ulterior motives. Still, he couldn't resist the pleading looks the two canines were giving them.

"Oh, well. We can't leave them out if they want to come in."

"The best made plans," Jack lamented, opening the door.

"Hey, girls!"

The lovers were greeted with warm, wet kisses, and then, they were surprised to see Bijou and Katie quickly go up the stairs.

"Oh," Daniel said, a smile on his face.

"Oh yeah," Jack said, his own ulterior motives coming back into his mind.

Just to be sure, Jack and Daniel walked to the nursery, and sure enough, the two dogs were on the bed, relaxing and keeping watch. Bijou looked up and wagged her tail, letting out the tiniest little "woof" sound.

"Thanks," Jack mouthed before leading his husband back downstairs.

Daniel looked over at the tray of comfort food delights, salivating at the layout.

"I can't wait. Strawberries, chocolate-covered cherries, and ... and ... Jack?"

"What?"

"Something's missing."

"What?"

"My truffle. Where is my truffle?" Jack gulped and smiled innocently. Daniel turned, his eyes dark, and not from lust. "I WANT my truffle, O'Neill."

"Jackson-O'Neill."

"NOT if you don't find my truffle!" Jack chuckled nervously, rubbing the palms of his hands together. "Jack, WHERE is my truffle?"

"It's ... missing."

"Like your body is going to be. You are SO dead, O'Neill," Daniel charged his lover.

Jack took off, running outside. They'd done this before -- the chase through the backyard, but it never lost its appeal.

"Daniel. Danny. You'll hurt my body!" Jack pleaded as he dodged the determined archaeologist.

"Hurt is going to be the least of your problems, you ... you ... truffle thief!"

As usually happened, Jack tried unsuccessfully to elude Daniel's grasp, the younger man tackling him near Katie's play yard. Daniel straddled his husband.

"You STOLE my truffle!"

"I was ... hungry."

"But it was MY truffle."

"I thought we shared everything!"

"NOT my truffle!"

"Angel ..."

"I'm NOT your angel, for crying out loud. Jack, I was looking forward to that stupid truffle. I haven't had one in months. Geez, O'Neill." Daniel got off his husband and pulled his knees up to his chin, burying his head in his arms. "I know it's dumb, but I really wanted that chocolate truffle."

Jack leaned forward and kissed his sad lover. Softly, he apologized: "I'm sorry, Angel."

"I'm sorry, too. I'll always be your angel, at least I ..."

"Always, Danny."

The two kissed, their passion growing, but Daniel remembered something that stopped their motions.

"Jack, the monitors aren't on out here."

"Let's go back in the house."

Daniel went back to the fireplace and sat down. A bit sadly, he reached for one of the strawberries and ate it.

I'd rather have a truffle.

"Angel?"

Daniel twisted his body to look behind him where Jack was standing, a huge smile on his face, and in his hand, he held, not one, but an entire box full of Daniel's very favorite chocolate truffles.

"Truffles!" His entire face lit up, and reaching upwards, he extended his arms out fully as he ordered, "Gimme!"

"Your wish is my command," Jack said, kneeling down so that the two men were facing each other.

Daniel's eyes were lit up like a child's on Christmas morning.

"Mmmm," he moaned as he slowly enjoyed a truffle, closing his eyes. He moaned as the first piece glided down his throat. "Oh, gawd."

"Daniel, let's not go overboard. I'll feel ... geez."

"Sorry, Love. Jack, you teased me."

Jack grinned mischievously, his Irish eyes sparkling brightly. He explained, "Danny, I couldn't believe it. When you came home from shopping this morning and had one lousy truffle for yourself, I almost screamed. One truffle? Daniel, you're addicted to these things, you haven't had them in ages, and when we do you come home with one truffle?"

"I didn't want it to look like ... I mean ... I don't know."

"I do. You never think it's okay to splurge on yourself. Well, it is. Don't you ever come home with one truffle again."

"Yes, Jack." Daniel leaned forward and gripped Jack's head in his hands as they kissed, the taste of chocolate on his lips and in his mouth. "I love you so much, especially when you spoil me."

"It's extremely mutual, and I live to spoil you. I mean it, Angel. Don't you do that again. You're worth so much more than a lousy box of chocolates. I don't ever want to see you doing something that says you aren't important or worth it."

"A lecture? Did you just lecture me, O'Neill?"

"You have a problem with that?"

"No," Daniel said, rubbing Jack's cheeks, his thumbs gently tracing the edge of Jack's mouth. "It makes me love you even more, and it makes me realize how lucky we are to have each other. Jack, we have so much."

"And more to come," the older man promised.

"Jack?"

"Hmm?"

"I have plans for us tonight."

"So do I."

"I vote we get to it."

"It's unanimous."

"Make love to me, Jack."

"Your wish is my command."

On to Chapter Three ...