Junior

By Lingren

Previously:-

Once there, they were all shocked by his appearance when Jacob removed the too big a cloak that had been wrapped around him to keep him warm on his journey through the chilly wormhole. His whole body was thin, dangerously thin for a child of about 4 years old; his simple but ragged and dirty homespun clothes hung on his tiny frame. The boy refused to leave Jacob and sat curled up on his lap clutching an equally grubby toy while they talked, though once again his eyes were locked onto Jack sitting at the head of the table as if no-one else existed in that room.

Chapter 2

"Okay Jacob, so spill. What's with the boy?" Jack asked once more.

"I and several other Tok'ra discovered him on a planet which had been attacked and then was later abandoned by the Goa'uld. We had a tip-off that there was to be a battle. Well, you couldn't really call it a battle; those people weren't a fighting race at all. They lived simple lives, so we gathered together a few troops and went along to offer help, but our intelligence was way off..."

"Really?" Jack asked. "How unusual!" he added sarcastically, making Jacob scowl at him, but the Tok'ra continued without comment. Jack shrugged and listened to the rest of the report.

"We arrived far too late and all we found was this child. He was the only survivor of those people Jack. He's only spoken two words since we picked him up."

Jack's heart went out to the child who by the look of him had seen far too much harrowing death and destruction for his young years. It reminded him of Cassie all over again, when they had found her all alone among the dead of her world.

"Do we know which Goa'uld we are talking about here?" Jack asked, needing to know who was to blame for such unwarranted annihilation of a peaceful race of people. He vaguely wondered if the boy really understood much about what had happened and whether he'd seen his parents; his family killed.

"It sounds pretty much like Ba'al was responsible, he's been on the rampage ever since you guys took out Anubis, though I couldn't swear by it. He's trying to conquer as many worlds as possible. If he does, then he would almost be invincible Jack," Jacob sighed. He'd seen some sights in his time as a member of the armed forces and even more atrocities since he became a Tok'ra; but the senseless killing of these simple 'peasants' had sickened him. "We screwed up and got there too late by a long shot. All we could do was gather up the remains and bury the bodies. That's when we came across this lucky little chap."

Jack shuddered at his own memories of Ba'al's cruelty and flashed a sympathetic smile at the boy, who tentatively responded with a shy grin of his own.

"We found him wandering through the desolation. We can't tell how long he'd been there on his own, but the smell was pretty appalling. It had been at least a week by my guess. As you can see he's rather emaciated, poor kid."

"He was there all by himself?" Sam gasped incredulously, her heart going out to the boy, whoever he was. "With all that death and devastation round him?" she shuddered at the thought of this poor child scavenging for food among the decaying bodies.

The child craned his head round to face Sam when she'd spoken and there was something in his eyes that stirred a memory deep inside, though Sam couldn't think what it was right now. She smiled at him but he shied away, turning back to watch Jack.

"Is he...um...?" Jack asked, wondering if perhaps he might pose a danger to them, just as Cassie had done when they discovered that she was carrying an explosive device that would detonate when it came into contact with the Stargate.

Jacob shook his head in denial.

"He's clean Jack. We checked him out, and he is human, that's just one of the reasons why I brought him here."

"And the Goa'uld just left him behind alive?" Daniel asked with a deep frown furrowing his brow. "Isn't that a little odd?"

"Indeed," agreed Teal'c. "It is most unusual."

"We have no idea why he was left alive, Daniel. Maybe his parents hid him away somewhere. The village wasn't very large. There couldn't have been more than a few hundred people living there at most."

"And they're all dead?"

"As far as we could tell, yeah. There a possibility that some could have escaped, but we saw no sign of anyone else there."

"What planet are we talking about Dad?" Sam asked without taking her eyes off the boy. Those eyes of his haunted her mind, and she was wracking her brains trying to place them.

"It's only a small, insignificant planet really. There's nothing there to speak of. No Naquadah, Trinium or anything of value to anyone. I honestly have no idea why Ba'al decided to raid it." He paused for a moment to swallow a mouthful of water from the glass in front of him, thoughtfully put there by Sam. "It's tucked away on the far side of the Galaxy, the local's called it Edora. The people there..."

"What?" Jack cried in disbelief. "Edora? You're sure?" His eyes flicked across the table to meet with Sam's; shock and guilt flooded him. She'd worked so hard to get him home back then and he'd all but ignored her efforts afterwards. He still felt like a heel for his ignorance of what she'd gone through to get him home. Once more he berated himself and he could see there was a glimmer of the hurt he'd caused in her eyes, as well as what looked to be sympathy for the fate of those people mixed in as she returned his shocked look. He dropped his gaze with difficulty and turned back to study the boy.

"Positive. Why?" Jacob asked with a frown.

"Because that's where Jack was stranded for three months, what...five years ago now?" Daniel stated.

Jack merely nodded, too shocked to speak yet. Laira. The memories of her came thick and fast.

Jacob sighed, letting out a long low whistle.

"You were? Geez, I'm sorry Jack. I had no idea. I mean we knew that you must have visited the planet, but I hadn't realised..."

Jack nodded again, holding up a hand to stop Jacob from continuing but he still couldn't utter a word just yet. His thoughts of the happier times they had spent there before the 'fire rain' and the disaster that followed. Feelings of grief swept over him and he found it hard to believe she was dead. Ba'al had for some reason wiped out the whole community; his friends; those who had made him feel welcome and even Paynan who had spurned him to begin with and then had finally accepted him as one of their own after all the work he'd put in to help them get the harvest ready, and their houses repaired.

And here was but one survivor of this latest holocaust; this small child, now an orphan. No wonder the boy and his clothes had looked familiar. He wondered just to which of the many families he'd met did this boy belong. Maybe Garan and Naytha had gotten married after all; perhaps this child was theirs? There were other young couples too but he couldn't recall their names anymore.

"Jack?" Jacob called. "You okay?"

"Yeah, sorry Jacob, you were saying?" he said recovering, and mentally shaking off the dust of his visit there from his feet.

"I guessed you had been there at some stage because that's all the boy says."

"Whoa...back up there Jacob. What is all he says?"

"Your name Jack. That's all he's uttered since we found him. 'Jack O'Neill'. That's the reason I brought him here. I was kinda hoping you could explain? Maybe his parents told him to seek you out or something."

"It was a long time ago Jacob. It was over five years ago, the boy's far too young to know me," Jack frowned. "I can't say I recall anyone who was pregnant or had just given birth."

"Did he not have any form of identification on him Jacob Carter?" Teal'c asked, intrigued by the turn of events.

"Just this toy..." Jacob sighed pointing to a battered woollen Teddy Bear-like toy being held onto like grim death in the small hand. "It's all he has by way of possessions," Jacob confirmed, "So no, he had nothing by which we could identify him."

Before Jacob could add anything further to his statement; the boy slipped off his lap and tentatively approached Jack. Everyone focused on the boy instead of the Tok'ra.

He looked back at Jacob for guidance.

"Yeah, go ahead kid, that's Jack O'Neill," Jacob confirmed with a nod.

The child tentatively laid his small hand on Jack's arm and looked up into the dark eyes. For a minute he searched for something in those depths, then leant forward to whisper in his ear.

"You're my Daddy!" he said smiling up at him and begging for some sort of warm reaction rather than rejection.

Jack nearly fell off the chair in shock on hearing the statement.

Jack grimaced sadly and shook his head in disagreement.

"I'm not your father kid," he sighed, feeling himself flush under the almost startled gasps that emanated from his team, but the boy kept looking at him with something akin to hero-worship and hope; something he hadn't had much of until now and it made Jack squirm uncomfortably.

The boy merely nodded and repeated the words, gently prodding Jack's chest with a small thin finger.

"You're my Daddy!" he said again with more confidence. "Mommy told me you comed from Earth. She said that 'Jack O'Neill who comed from the stars through the big ring was my Daddy'!"

"Me?" Jack gasped in surprise. "Yeah, I mean, that's my name? But I don't..." he shot Sam an apologetic look then closed his eyes as he suddenly remembered Laira saying she'd wanted a child. Had he succeeded in impregnating her that night? God it was just the one night for cryin' out loud! He gasped inwardly.

"So, who was your mommy kid?" Jack asked waiting anxiously for the boy to respond. He already pretty sure he knew the right answer, but just didn't want to hear his suspicions confirmed.

"Laira," the boy whispered shyly, with a tear in his eye and a quaver in his voice.

"And who was Garan?" Jack asked, wondering if he really knew the family.

"Garan was my big bruver. He and Naytha had lickle Calia," he confirmed in all seriousness, but Jack could see more tears beginning to gather force behind the boy's eyes as he remembered his loss.

Oh God...Jack couldn't breathe. How was this possible? There had to be a reasonable explanation for this. He did a quick calculation in his head coming to realise that this child must be his son. He was about the right age and now Jack looked closer, he saw his own dark eyes looking up at him for reassurance. The boy's tears flowed freely this time, though waiting silently for his reaction.

Jacob couldn't help smiling at the myriad of emotions playing across the General's face.

"Something you wanna share with us Jack?" Jacob grinned.

"Ah...It looks like I might have a son!" Jack stated with a strangled voice, still bewildered by the turn of events.

"Well, it kinda brings a whole new meaning to the term 'distant relative' now, don't it? Jacob snorted in amusement, though the room remained unnaturally silent.

Daniel and Sam tried to hide their embarrassment, but something sad lurked at the back of their minds when they looked at the utter pain on the face of their Commanding Officer. Sam knew he must be having a hard time dealing with this. To suddenly discover that Laira had died an horrific death; and then to realise he had fathered her child and that now said child was his sole responsibility which must be hard for him to come to terms with.

The child continued to look up into Jack's dark eyes with longing, looking for comfort from his once alienated father and with perhaps a hint of adoration; something which Jack had all but forgotten could come from an innocent child, especially when that child was a stranger. Laira must have told the kid all about him. To Jack it was looking in the mirror; those deep hazel eyes were like a reflection of himself. Charlie had been the only other one with those eyes. Now here was another he could see, and so like Charlie too in that respect. He was looking to Jack for some comfort and a return of that unadulterated affection hidden in the depth of that look. Proof positive in those dark haunted eyes, said that this child was indeed his, though the doubts still assailed his logic mind.

Jack found he couldn't deny the child anything and if this young boy was indeed his, then he had been given, by some unimaginable and horrific tragedy, a second chance to redeem himself. He placed his palm against the child's face, using his thumb to wipe away the moisture and the next thing he knew the boy had climbed up onto his lap and was hugging him fiercely, the threadbare toy wedged between their chests. As if drawn by something inexplicable between them, Jack found his arms responding, moving of their own volition to enfold him and return the hug; his hand brushing the back of the child's head while his heart melted at the sheer innocent trust of this, his impossible, yet seemingly probable offspring that he never knew existed. Moisture gathered at the corners of his own eyes, but he swallowed harshly, blinking them away rapidly.

"What's your name son?" he asked a few minutes later with just a slight tremor in his voice that spoke of his emotions running nearer to the surface than any of those seated round the table had ever witnessed before.

"Jack," the boy smiled shyly again. "Like yours."

Jack winced and bit his bottom lip but smiled back. He guessed it was only natural that Laira would name the kid after him. He half wished that he should have been told sooner and yet at the same time he resented the fact that she'd kept him in the dark. She'd had the opportunity several times over the past few years to inform him. Why hadn't she told him?

"Okay..." he sighed resignedly, "...but we're gonna have to call you Junior for now so we don't get mixed up!"

The boy nodded and grinned approvingly then hugged him with all his might, releasing all Jack's doubts.

While Jack and Junior hugged each other, Jacob and the others spoke softly of the disaster, among themselves giving them some space allowing Jack time to compose his thoughts and corral his feelings back into something resembling the personification of 'Hard-assed General O'Neill' who had gone missing only a few moments before.

"Right, now," Jack interrupted their conversation, his voice stronger and more determined, "I think we'd better get Doc. Brightman to give him a thorough check up. He looks as if he could do with a good meal too," he sighed.

He stood, keeping the boy wrapped in his arms, and ignored the twinges of pain in his worn out knees as he bore the extra weight, not that the child weighed much at all. No, 'not the child'; not the little boy; his child; HIS Son!

The child responded by hugging him tighter, not wanting to be given over to anyone else, now that he had found his father and hopefully a new home.

Jack brushed off any offers of help to carry the boy, marching towards the elevator, happier than he had been these past ten years despite the circumstances; knowing the others members of his 'family' were following behind in silence.

TBC

Thanks to everyone who reviewed. And all those who read the first chapter. I hope you will enjoy the rest. It's a long story with lots of fluff, some sap, and some H/C. I will in a later chapter introduce some new characters – namely Jack's parents, John and Melissa O'Neill who feature quite prominently.

Thanks again and please, please R & R for me. I need to know your thoughts.