A/N: Hullo. Okay... Chapter two is ready to get started. I hope I finish translating Chapter three tonight. So, I hope you enjoy my little story.

I want to thank my beta who is so patient with me and my writings. Thx Carmilla!

Without further ado...

CHAPTER TWO

After I finished my shopping, I once again bought more than I really needed, I sped up to my apartment, earning a ticket on my fast way home, and began to get ready. I mean, I showered, waxed my legs (ouch!) and got dressed, at least seventeen times. Then got my hair done and then after a good two hours I was ready to go. I wore a knee long jeans skirt, long leather high heeled boots, a black blouse. Accessories: a turquoise stone on a leather ribbon dangling between my collar bones and turquoise eye shadow. My hair a bit curled. It was curly no matter what I did, but they looked more in... order.

Before I left, I took a last glance at myself in the mirror and I had to admit that I liked what I saw and I hoped Jack did, too.

Where did that come from?

It was 9 P.M. when I finally arrived at Jack's house. The moment I opened my car door loud music reached my ears. Laughter and loud conversations could be heard over to where I stood. I wondered why the neighbors weren't complaining about the noise but they were probably at the party too and didn't care or were part of the noise making.

I was nervous, really stomach wrenching nervous. But why was I so nervous? Okay, I hadn't seen him for over ten years and I really wanted to make a good impression. I wanted him to like the person I had become.

So I combed with my fingers one last time through my hair, checked my blouse and skirt and tested with a skillful movement if my bra held what it promised. Okay, ready to go.

I walked over to the house, my car was parked where all the other cars were parked, my clicking shoes echoing between the houses, I didn't even try to ring the doorbell and walked around the house to where I assumed the garden was where all the din came from.

Well, Jack had way more "some friends" than I would have guessed. The garden, a large one, was packed with people. The music and the crowd was louder now that I was at the actual epicenter. Without really counting I guessed there were about a hundred people, eating, drinking, laughing and talking.

That was something I wasn't prepared for. But maybe it was easier to talk to him with loads of people around than only ten close friends who observed me, watching my every move.

The garden was very beautifully decorated. Everywhere lamps were lighting the scenery with a nice, soft glow. Tables had been set up, candles burning on them. The sunset setting everything in a deep red light.

After my stunned pause I dared to continue my search for Jack. I began to look through the crowd of unknown faces. Some smiled at me and I returned the smile but I was not eager to talk to any of them at the moment...I wanted Jack. (pout!) And the last thing I wanted was to get confronted with questions about who I was and where Jack and I knew each other from. Way too complicated and way to hurtful to be reminded of Charlie by some stranger. No thank you.

And finally I found my salvation. The mass parted in slow motion and there he was, standing illuminated in a ray of light... well, not really. He stood next to the grill, a beer in one hand, a plate filled with steaks in the other hand and was talking vividly with a younger man with glasses. Once in a while they laughed .

I like his laugh.

I proceeded my walk towards him.

"Hey!" I said and making my last step towards him.

Both men turned.

The younger man, really, really good looking I had to admit, stared at me, just like Jack had done only hours ago. His mouth was slightly agape. This one was kinda cute.

"Daniel, that's Hannah."

Daniel, Sweety got a name, and we shook hands.

"She's an old friend of the O'Neill family. She was a buddy of Charlie."

Daniel listened interested.

"Wow, you must be good friends."

"I met her today for the first time since ten years. She was a regular guest when... Charlie..."

He didn't finish the sentence and took a sip of his beer, while he turned his gaze into the distance for a moment.

"... was still alive." I finalized the sentence for him. My own words rang in my ears for several moments and I almost couldn't bear them.

Jack looked at me, relieved.

Daniel was gone by the time both of us returned from our memories to the real world, maybe being a intuitive man he felt that we needed some time alone. Intuitive man, gee what am I talking about?

"Here!" he said and handed me a beer.

I thanked him and took a swig.

Jack gestured for me to sit down on the bench next to the grill.

"It's great to see you again." I said as soon as we were both sitting.

"Yeah, you read my mind. Especially when you're greeted with a sight like this." he said and pointed at me.

I blushed and looked at the grass, but soon meeting his gaze again.

We were both quiet before he spoke up again.

"Now, c'mon. Tell me, what are you doin'?"

"Well, I'm working for a big company, becoming a photographer. I'm still learning but some of my pictures have already been published. It's not much but I like it and I travel a lot. See the world." I fiddled with my fingers, hoping, praying almost that he wasn't disappointed or something alike.

"Wow, that's great." he said and his expression was almost proud. He was proud. I was so relieved. I took a deep breath and felt some of the nervousness cease.

"Jack!" a blonde woman called from the far end of the garden. He turned and looked at the woman questioning.

"Damn." he cursed under his breath. "A host's duty!" he said and looked at me with regret, assured me that "I'll be right back!" and was gone.

"Have fun!" I heard him shout over the crowd and didn't see him for the next hours.

After a while Daniel found me and we had a very nice chat. He is a very interesting man. He told me about the Pyramids, about the ancient Egyptian culture, about the landscape in egypt. It must be a very beautiful country, and his eyes were shining when he talked about it. He offered me to join him on a trip down to Africa to take photos. We talked for good two hours about all kinds of stuff. After some time I thanked Daniel for the nice conversation and promised him that we would some time repeat that talk. But I needed a break. Daniel was the cutest but at that moment I had to think about all the weird feelings stirring deep down in my brain, which slowly began to bubble to the surface.

I walked around and eventually found a wooden staircase up to a little platform on the roof. Slowly I walked up, trying to avoid anymore attention about my person. More than once I heard people talk in hushed voices behind my back, they kept shooting strange glances at me while I passed. I had the feeling they were, well I dunno, talking about me. I don't know how I got that farfetched idea, but I just couldn't get rid of it. That was only one reason why I was looking for a refuge. I sat down on a little bench that was part of the banister on this platform. I rested my back on the handrail and watched up in the sky. The sun had already begun to set and the last sun rays cast a strange glow on the rooftops and the trees around. A slight warm wind blew and tousled my hair. The nightly air began to clear up and I took a long breath.

Not for the first time in the last 12 hours I found myself thinking about Charlie, and what would have happened if he was still alive. If he and I would have grown up together, started to become adults together and if we would have ended up together. I always thought that Charlie and I would have at some point become an item. But now, now my thoughts kept wandering to another O'Neill. I shook my head. This was just too strange.

I sat there for a while, the voices from under me began to quieten, the music softened and the light dimmed. The grill had stopped an hour ago to broil meat and sausages and the scent of fat faded.

Then the wooden stairs cracked and I feared that my solitude was about to find a sudden end and I was right, but I welcomed the intruder.

"Here you are. Daniel's been asking for you. He's very 'smitten' with you. Means he really, really likes you!" he said with a grin and lay his index finger on his mouth, showing that he wasn't allowed to tell me.

I laughed. "I just had to get away. Too many unknown faces. I had to escape." I continued to look up to the now star besieged sky.

"I'm sorry." He sat down beside me, laying, out of habit probably, his arms over the banister right behind my back. The breath caught in my lung for a heartbeat or two.

He started to pout, I could see out of the corner of my eye. That was just too much, a pouting man was something I couldn't look at. "Don't worry. It's okay. But stop that."

He smiled and joined my sky surveillance.

"How are you?" I asked, not able to hide the concern in my voice, and turned to looked at him, his eyes suddenly searching something on the floor.

"Naw, I'm okay. I'm contend the way everything is right now, I have great friends, a good job..."

"... that's still top secret!" I finished and he smiled at me.

"Yeah, it is!"

"Gee, I envied Charlie for having such a cool dad. Secret Agent Dad." Remembering that I had to refrain from laughing out loud and Jack had problems himself to hide a bright smile. What a nice smile.

But our laugh stopped abruptly and the mumbling from the garden engulfed us.

We sat there for some time in understanding silence.

"I still have the letter you wrote me back then!" he then so suddenly broke it.

He had to be kidding me. "What?" Surprise wasn't even close to what I was feeling. Utter shock was closer.

"You never answered, you never..." I stuttered. I had always thought that he never got it, or... whatever.

"Nothing could have helped me back then. I drowned in self pity and your letter..." he looked up at me, straight into me eyes. His look was so intense, so sad that I nearly stifled my breath. Then he broke the eye contact again. "It was so cute and, well it didn't help." I wasn't able to hear the last part properly because he spoke barely above a whisper.

"My mom didn't allow me to visit you. She wouldn't let me. I was furious and mad at her. I still am for that. And then we moved." I began to ramble but he stopped me with a smile and a kind: "S'okay!"

For the sake of God and for everything that was holy I wasn't able to take my eyes off of him. I felt like we were starting a staring contest although no starring contest I'd ever done made me blush like this one. In my opinion and for the good of all women on this forsaken planet this eyes of his should be proclaimed forbidden. No one should be allowed to have eyes like that. Deep brown and so, so... warm.

Again no one dared to say anything further.

I kept thinking, apart from how to get my eyes to look at something else, about what he might be thinking about. I thought about how he felt about this whole situation. Meeting the old best pal of his son, his dead son, he hadn't seen for over ten years and talking about mentioned son. It was so hard to talk about him for me. How must he feel? I thought. But at the same time, I not only felt grief for Charlie and Jack but relief to finally have the opportunity to tell him how sorry I was and that Charlie would always be a part of me. To tell him how long I kept these feelings hidden, that all these years I yearned to reveal everything to him, and that I was thinking about them so often.

But at that moment I was tongue tied. Not a word of all that left my mouth. He kept staring me down until

he said: "God, you're freezing!" and gestured at my half bare arms and my legs. I had goose-bumps all over and not ever realized that because I actually didn't feel cold, no cold at all. I was rather... hot!

"Take this!" he offered and began to pull his of beer, barbecue and him smelling sweater over his head.

My eyes wandered downward and I got a glimpse of his lower torso. Holy Mary...! I can tell ya! What a sight. Not the least what I had expected of a man in his early fifties. I had no idea that he was undressed as hot as dressed.

I was lucky that he couldn't see my staring, the sweater still over his head.

He then handed the sweater to me and I pulled it over my head, giving him a thankful smile because I really started to feel a little cold. When I had my head halfway in the sweater a wave of weird feelings began to stir. I took a deep breath and inhaled his scent, as much as I could get. Dreamily I closed my eyes and sank into that new sensation. I started to feel dizzy and light headed and I felt want.

And that was the moment when the uneasy feeling started, because... what the hell was I thinking? That was Jack O'Neill, my dream daddy. He wasn't supposed to look good, not to mention sexy. And I wasn't supposed to be interested in him in the slightest, and feel attracted to him. No, no, no. Hannah, that's a big no.

The result: I kinda freaked out.

"Hey,... uhm... listen Jack. It's okay. It's not that cold and I gotta go anyway!" I mumbled while I pulled the sweater back over my head, very inelegant, very Ally McBealish, and gave it back to him.

"I've got a shooting. Tomorrow. Very early. Yeah. And you know big girls need loads of sleep... and I gotta go!" I stuttered ineloquent. Nice one Hannah, I scold myself.

I got up but didn't miss the almost disappointed look on his face when he retorted a small: "Okay."

He also rose to escort me to my car.

"Have fun with your friends. We'll see each other again, yes? I know now where to find you!" I tried to give him a smile but failed miserably and only accomplished a stony, half hearted grin.

He seemed confused and a little lost for a moment, but nodded anyway.

"So, see ya!"

I had to get away from him. Gosh, he was such a good looking man. If he wouldn't have been who he... was, then I wouldn't have taken bets on not taking him then and there.

Where is a cold shower when you need one? Huh?

"Ciao!" he said and embraced me. He hugged me tight, tight enough for me to lose my breath again.

"It's been good to see you again, Hannah!"

Why on earth did he have to breath my name out like that. In my ear. With the hot breath of his.

Another thing that needed to be on the "Forbidden List", now.

He released me sometime later and I got in my car as fast as I could master with dropping the key twice on the way and fumbling with the starter.

I waved my last goodbye when I drove past him. I watched him through my rear-view mirror. His hands in his pockets and watching my car until I was out of sight.

Relieved to be out of his range I let out a long, long breath. I shook my head: "Get a grip, Hannah!" I whispered over and over like a prayer until I reached my apartment.

I would like to tell you, that my prayers worked, that someone would've been nice enough to make these strange feelings and thoughts go away.

But they didn't. Not really.