A/N: Thanks for the reviews and the encouragement to continue! A little more family time follows!

Chapter 2 – Anything But Ordinary

Sam slowly rolled over in bed, hearing the distinct tones of JJ and Jack coming from beyond the door. She blinked her eyes open and looked at the clock. 8 am. She hadn't slept this late in quite a while! JJ was an early riser and, with Jack away this past week, she had gotten up with him every morning. She smiled to herself as she stretched and lay back against the pillows. She shouldn't be surprised that Jack had gotten up with JJ and let her sleep. In addition to enjoying the quiet moments spent with his son, Jack was ever mindful about how hard she worked and tried to help out with the baby in any way he could. Sam knew she was very lucky.

Sam's ruminations were disrupted by the opening of the bedroom door. "Ah ha! Mommy is up JJ! She was just pretending to sleep so I'd have to change you, feed you, and get you dressed…Let's tickle her, shall we?" Jack carried the little boy to the bed, flying him like an airplane, and set him on Sam's stomach. Jack then proceeded to tickle her sides. He didn't know who laughed louder, Sam or JJ, but he was enjoying watching the two of them immensely.

"Stop, stop! I'm awake already!" Sam shrieked. Jack stopped tickling her and flopped down on the bed next to her, careful not to jostle JJ from his position on top of her. He lay on his side with his head propped up on his elbow and bent forward to give her a kiss.

Now that his mommy was lying still, JJ flopped to his belly on top of Sam and scooted up her body to give her a rather sloppy kiss of his own. Actually, he opened his mouth and sucked on her chin, but to Sam, it was a kiss! After returning a not so wet one to him, she pulled JJ up to lie between her and Jack. JJ chortled with glee to find himself looking up at his parents. Sam laid her head down next to his and ran her hand through his soft hair. "I think I could stay here all day, just snuggling with my two favorite guys," she sighed wistfully.

Jack laughed, "I wouldn't mind myself, but I don't think JJ could stay still for that long." Indeed, JJ was starting to squirm, trying to roll himself over so that he could sit up and investigate this large bed that he was rarely allowed on. Jack bent over and blew a raspberry on the little boy's belly, causing more giggles to erupt.

A few minutes later, Sam sat up and helped her sonsit up as well. "Yeah, I've noticed that he doesn't stay still for long. Reminds me of how you used to be in briefings; always squirming in your seat or playing with something," she smiled wryly at him.

"Can I help it if you and Danny couldn't hold my attention? Well, you usually could. But not for reasons you were supposed to!"

Sam tossed a pillow at his head before leaping up to avoid his retaliation. She snatched up JJ as an added barrier. "Hey! No fair using a baby as a shield!" Jack teasingly glared as he put down the pillow he had been ready to toss at her.

"I seem to remember you doing much the same thing when we first introduced the other JJ to my dad a few years ago," she reminded him.

"Yeah, well, that was entirely different," he huffed good-naturedly as he came around the bed. Taking JJ from her arms, he pushed her toward the bathroom. "Go shower, woman. We have a busy day ahead of us! JJ and I will start making some pancakes, won't we little man?"

Sam groaned as she moved toward the bathroom. The last time her two 'boys' had made pancakes; it had taken her several hours to clean all the batter off the various appliances.

After the requisite post-pancake clean-up (Jack had tried to get out of it on the argument that he had cooked – to no avail), they spent the morning and early afternoon at the park: swinging JJ in the baby swings, feeding the ducks that congregated in the pond, letting JJ play in the sandbox, and having a picnic lunch. After they ate, they loaded JJ into his stroller and took a long, lazy walk along the trails that encompassed the park before heading home.

Although it was an ordinary, everyday occurrence for most people, Jack and Sam reveled in the time they got to spend as a normal family. Looking at them, they appeared to be a typical family, out spending a beautiful May Saturday at the park. Jack pushed the stroller while Sam loosely hooked her elbow around his. They talked about their friends, their work, and most of all, their son, who had nodded off in his stroller shortly after their walk began.

The walk through the park and home took about 45 minutes. Once they reached the house, Jack carried JJ inside and put him in his crib for his nap. Then he joined Sam on the couch, gratefully accepting a cold beer from her. He took a deep drink before leaning back against the cushions and sighing with contentment.

"Ah, just the thing to make the day complete," Jack stated as he closed his eyes.

"Hey, it's only just after1300 hours. The day is not nearly over yet," Sam reminded him.

He cracked an eye open and looked at her. "Oh? Anything specific you have in mind?" he asked suggestively.

"As a matter of fact, yes." She shifted closer to him and snuggled against his side, then looked up at him with wide eyes. "I want you to tell me all about your mission between the Asgard and the Makesh."

Jack groaned as he leaned back once again. "Boy, you sure know how to disappoint a guy."

Sam chuckled as she leaned against him. "Sorry, but I really want to hear about it. We didn't get much of a chance to discuss it yesterday," she reminded him.

Jack shifted his beer to his left hand and put his right arm around her. "There's not much to tell. The Asgard agreed to help the Makesh, who seem to want to further develop technologically. They have access to gate travel but not to ships."

"Why is that so important to them?" Sam asked quizzically. Most races that dressed rather primitively, like the Makesh, seemed to be content to stay on their own planets and not venture forth into the unknown.

"I'm not quite sure, but it had something to do with the future of their people. They live in fear of someday being annihilated," Jack stated. "They apparently have some ruins on their world that contain prophecies about their future, much like the planet we finally relocated Maybourne to. And the prophecies are not exactly cherry," he added somewhat drily.

"So do they want to be able to leave if they have to?"

"I think they just want the opportunity to do so should the need arise. They seemed interested in a defense system for their planet as well," Jack admitted.

"Hmm," Sam answered distractedly as she thought about these people. "So, why did Thor want you there if it didn't involve an alliance with Earth?"

"I guess the Makesh requested my presence. I told you, my diplomatic skills are renowned throughout the galaxy!" Sam snorted at that, which earned her a look from Jack. "Hey, their leader, the High Chancellor... or something, was very interested in me, I'll have you know! He asked my opinion on many subjects and even let me hold one of their doohickeys for a while!"

Sam sat up and stared at him in mock anger. "What? And you didn't ask to bring it back so I could look at it?"

Jack pulled her back down to rest against his side. "Sorry dear, but they didn't seem real eager to give it up. Maybe next time."

"Geez, I always try and bring you back a souvenir!" Sam complained teasingly.

"Yeah, like that nasty little alien flu you gave me last time? I had hair growing out of places hair is definitely not supposed to be! No thanks." Jack replied with a grimace.

Sam hid her face in his chest as she giggled at the reminder of that incident. Thankfully, it had not affected Jack for long.

"No giggling Carter," Jack growled at her.

"Sorry, Jack," she stated in a voice laced with humor. "So, will the Makesh be calling on you again, do you think? Maybe I could come along next time…you know, just to help out?" she suggested as she toyed with the buttons on his shirt.

Jack set his beer on the coffee table and brought her further into his embrace. "As long as there is no giggling, you're more than welcome to come along." Little did they know how well they would come to know the Makesh in the weeks to come.

Later that night, as dusk gave way to evening and the first faint stars began to appear in the sky, Jack lay back on his lounge chair on the deck and sighed in happiness. JJ lay on his chest, covered by a light blanket and sleeping soundly. Sam lay on her own chair next to him, their hands entwined as they enjoyed the warm evening. He looked over at her, across the top of JJ's head and shared a contented smile. To the casual observer, the evening had ended as it began; an ordinary day in the life of a small suburban family. But to Jack and Sam it was something rather special. In fact, for two people who led the life they did, it was anything but ordinary. In the following days, they would come to cherish the memory of this warm, May day.