"The next time Jack calls me asking me to do something for him, remind me to tell him no…"

Teal'c looked at Daniel as the two of them stood in an almost empty corridor in the train station.

"An empty restroom facility would seem to be an ideal place to teleport us to, Daniel Jackson. There was no one present to see us materialize."

"Yeah, well…" Daniel looked back over his shoulder at the little blue figure on the door. "A women's restroom isn't my idea of a great landing spot."

At least there hadn't been anyone outside the bathroom when they'd emerged from it, because Daniel didn't have a clue how he would have explained that.

"We need to find out where Kinsey's staying…"

Which they should have done before they left.

"Do you truly think that Ian Brooks is heading for Vice President Kinsey?"

Daniel shrugged.

"Jack does. That's what matters…"

The sun was going down as they left the train station – in Colorado it was already down.

OOOOOOOO

"Randy. Mae." Jack was neutrally polite as he gestured for them to come in, curious as to who the man with them was. From the briefcase he was carrying and the suit he was wearing – which wasn't a funeral suit – Jack was certain his first guess was correct.

"Colonel O'Neill," Randy offered his hand to Jack as they walked in. "I'd like to apologize for my behavior earlier." For the first time, he looked uncomfortable. "I… it was a rough day for me. No man should ever have to bury his own son…"

Jack felt a pang. An ache that was so old and yet so well remembered that it felt like it had just been that week. Didn't he understand that completely?

He shook Randy's hand, unaware of the sorrow in his eyes – although Sam and Shawn both saw it and knew it for what it was.

"It's been a rough week," Jack said.

"That it has." Randy gestured to the man who had held the door open for Mae as she walked in and had then followed them. "This is Vernon Roberts. James and Dotty's attorney. I thought I'd invite him over to answer any questions you or Major O'Neill might have – and Shawn, of course."

Roberts offered his hand to Jack, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Colonel O'Neill. I've heard many fine things about you. And you, too, Major."

"Call me Sam."

The lawyer smiled, and nodded.

"Thank you."

They introduced Shawn, who nodded a hello, and then with Jaffer and Jack following curiously behind them, the group made its way into the living room.

"Did you get a new dog?" Mae asked, looking at Jack. (the dog)

"We're dog-sitting for a friend."

"He's very well behaved, isn't he?"

Jack had taken a seat right beside Sam when she sat down, and Jaffer had joined Jack, who had pulled in a couple of chairs for he and Shawn, leaving the sofa for Mae and Randy and Vernon.

"Yeah."

"Colonel O'Neill," Vernon Roberts wasn't a man to waste a lot of time with small talk. Not unless he was getting paid by the hour – which he wasn't. "The will Dotty and James Adams left clearly names you and Major – Sam – as their choice for legal guardians in the event that something should happen to them. What I need to know is a) do you accept that choice? And b) does Shawn? Because even though he's a minor, he's old enough in the state of Colorado to have some say in the matter."

Jack looked over at Shawn, and then at Sam before turning his gaze to Mae and Randy.

"We talked it over – alone, and then with Shawn – and Sam and I are more than willing to have him come live with us." He smiled at Shawn. "We're ready to do whatever we need to to make it legal."

"Shawn?"

Vernon looked at the cadet, who looked at Sam and Jack, and then at his grandparents, feeling just a little guilty by the drawn tired expressions on their faces.

"I want to stay with Jack and Sam," he said, and he was proud that his voice only quivered a little. "It's not like I'd be here all that much, anyways – because I'm not going to leave the Air Force academy – and I can still come see you guys in the Summer and on holidays, when you're not out visiting other relatives…"

Randy scowled, looking like he was going to say something, but Shawn put his hand up to stop him.

"Grandpa… this is what mom and dad wanted. What they thought was best. It's all I have from them as a sort of last request, and I'm not going to turn on that last request just because it's not what you and Grandma wanted to hear."

It was obvious to everyone that Shawn had been giving this a lot of thought, and it was an astute observation coming from someone as young as he was – although Jack knew he was a lot more intelligent and introspective than some might have given him credit for. Of course, a lot of that had to do with the extraordinary circumstances in his life, but some of it was also his own nature – not Dotty, not Jack, but Shawn.

"But we want you, Shawn…" Mae said, softly. "Don't you understand?"

He nodded.

"Of course I do. But you and Grandpa get tired of having me around after a while whenever I come to visit, and I know that." He smiled gently at them. "And I understand it. You've raised your kids, and you deserve a chance to be able to enjoy the rest of your life – just worrying about how to spoil your grandkids – not worrying about raising one of them."

He looked at Sam and Jack.

"Sam and Jack are just starting their family. Their baby will need someone to watch him. To be the big brother. To spoil him when they're not looking. I won't be any extra hassle for them, because for the next four years – 3 and a half – I'm going to be learning what they already know. They'll understand me better, and they'll have more energy to deal with my terrible teenage years that I'm sure are still to come. Besides… I love them. And if I can't have mom and dad, I'll settle for Sam and Jack. And I'll still have Grandma and Grandpa if I need them… won't I?"

For the first time, he sounded uncertain, asking them if this choice he was making was going to be the end of their relationship. And of course, Mae and Randy reacted to that with the natural answer that any grandparent will give when faced with a grandchild who needs reassurance.

"Of course you will," Mae told him, reaching over and taking his hand and squeezing it tightly. She didn't look happy with his decision, but she looked satisfied that he had thought it through, and that her grandson would be in good hands – because it was obvious that Sam and jack loved him, and more importantly that he loved them. "And their baby, too… if he needs a grandma to come get cookies from – or just a little spoiling."

Sam smiled, and couldn't help but feel gooey inside, and Vernon Roberts smiled, glad there wasn't going to be a custody battle. Especially since there was very little chance that Randy and Mae would win. Dotty Adams had inserted a sealed envelope in the will, with a stipulation that the contents only be revealed in the event of a contesting of the will upon their deaths. Roberts had read the contents, and knew the relationship between Shawn Adams and Jack O'Neill, and while he had no intention of sharing it – now that he knew he didn't have to – he was surprised no one had guessed. They did look a lot alike, after all.

"There's a few other things we need to go over," he said, drawing everyone's attention back to him. "Mostly what to do with the estate – which is left entirely to Shawn. Of course, he's not old enough yet to actually own most of it – since he's still a minor. What I suggest is a trust. Either leave the house as it is, and continue paying taxes on it, or sell it and put the funds into an account that will be turned over to him when he's of age…"

And the conversation turned to financial matters. Things that really didn't matter to anyone. Not Randy and Mae. Certainly not Jack and Sam. And not to Shawn, who wouldn't be able to do anything with a house, anyways. They listened, of course, but they were more or less just going through the motions, now that the real matter had been solved with far less hard feelings than any of them had thought possible.