Jack waited quietly while O'Neill and Landry walked through the pleasantries, desperately pushing away the old feelings of inadequacy that sprang up as he watched his counterpart laughing and joking with his peer. O'Neill was a General, and Jack wondered how it would feel to be in his shoes. He ended up staring at his hands, wondering at the jealousy that was coursing through him. He had thought that was all behind him, at least during the last couple of years when he was struggling to make a new name for himself.
"Everything okay, Jack?" O'Neill asked, causing Jack to look up.
"Yeah," he said, as he stood up from his seat in order to be on the same level as everyone else. "What's the final verdict?"
"Depends," O'Neill replied evenly. "What's the question?"
"Taria," Jack responded. O'Neill didn't respond right away, so Jack pushed a little harder. "General Landry tells me that the powers that be are against having her stay here."
"She is from an alien planet," O'Neill said, pointing out the obvious. "They are concerned that she won't keep the national secret a secret."
"So she goes off with the others," Jack said, doing a great job of hiding his disappointment. Maybe it would be better this way.
"I didn't say that," Landry spoke up. "I just said that the Joint Chiefs would prefer that she not be allowed to live here." Jack stared at him curiously, trying to figure out what the man was telling him, and Landry took pity on him. "Apparently Jack here, called in some markers," he clarified.
"Not necessarily some markers," O'Neill said, trying to deflect the attention that was now on him. "I merely reminded them who you used to be and how many times you helped save this piece of rock we live on." Jack could only stare at the original O'Neill in surprise, which caused the original to fidget, now that he had been caught. "I had a moment of weakness," he said, with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Yeah," Jack said, nodding his head as he continued to stare at O'Neill. The man was full of surprises. Jack knew O'Neill was feeling a little embarrassed over having been caught helping someone, but even though he could relate, he still needed clarification of what exactly Taria's status was. "So she can stay?"
"Yes," O'Neill said, sobering as he stared at Jack. "I was listening when you were yelling at me in that cell," he added.
"I yelled at you a lot, Jack. Which incident are you referring to?"
O'Neill smiled at him, but didn't answer; leaving Jack to wonder what he had said to prompt his counterpart into helping him with this. The only thing he could think of was when he mentioned the fact that O'Neill was rewarded with the stars on his uniform, while Jack had been left in Handar's care.
"Have you come to a conclusion as to whether or not you want her to stay?" O'Neill asked instead, clearly wanting to know the answer to this.
"Yes," Jack responded. "We talked about it last night and we both agreed to give it a try."
"Good," O'Neill said. "I'll get the red tape started."
Okay, now this was way too strange for Jack to even try to contemplate. "That's it?" he couldn't help but ask. "You're not going to make me beg, grovel or threaten to beat the crap out of you? Be still my heart," he added sarcastically, not quite believing it was going to be that easy.
"That's it," O'Neill insisted, anger, amazement and amusement flashing across his features. "I just needed to make sure that this is what you wanted."
This was way too easy. "What's the catch?" he asked suspiciously.
"If I were you, I'd take it and run with it," Landry advised.
"No catch," O'Neill responded. "Well, besides the fact that she has to stay here at the SGC for a few months to learn as much about our culture as she can. The higher ups feel that it would make her adjustment into our society much easier if she had some one-on-one teaching."
"No catch," Jack repeated, still having a hard time believing it.
"None whatsoever," O'Neill responded with a smug look. "She stays."
"Okay then," Jack said, as he made the conscious decision to follow Landry's advice, "I'll just go give her the good news."
"Hold up a minute," O'Neill said, and Jack waited, knowing that there had to have been more to it than just getting the red tape started. "Did she tell you why she gave that stone to Patterson?"
"Yeah," Jack said, surprise clouding his mind as he wondered what this had to do with the red tape. "She said she gave it to him to pass on to me. Apparently he didn't 'hear' that part." This was said with a little heat, as Jack still harbored some anger toward the Marines who had forced him to leave Taria behind, despite what he'd told Reynolds.
"Why didn't she ask them to take her with them?" O'Neill asked. Apparently the man had been doing some thinking on this subject.
This could be dangerous, Jack thought, as he stared at O'Neill. "Well," he said, as he glanced over at Landry, before turning his attention back to O'Neill, "She figured they wouldn't want to help a slave." O'Neill nodded at that, and Jack hoped he wouldn't push it. If they thought that Taria may not be emotionally ready to handle the world, as they knew it, she may be forced to live with her mother after all.
"Slaves aren't worthy enough unless there is a value attached to their heads," Landry said, causing both Jack's to stare at him in surprise. Landry looked from one to the other, before shrugging his shoulders and saying, "One of my professors said that when we were discussing the Civil War."
"You can remember that far back?" O'Neill said, grinning at the now glowering Landry.
"You don't have too much room to talk," Landry snapped back, then grinned when O'Neill's smile grew wider.
"I'm still young at heart," O'Neill said, prompting an undignified snort from his clone. Jack knew from experience the hardships and tragedies the General had gone through. They would never be young again, no matter how young he personally looked. But then again, they did have that 'just a big kid' reputation to live up to. He grinned at O'Neill who was apparently thinking the same thing, judging by the wicked grin he had on his face. "Is there a problem, Lieutenant?" O'Neill asked innocently.
"No sir," Jack replied, deciding that tact was his best option at the moment. That wicked grin made him just a little uneasy. "I guess I won't have to play my ace after all," he said, in an effort to change the subject.
"What ace?" O'Neill asked, rising to the challenge.
"I'm interested in hearing this myself," Landry said. "It's not everyday I get to see Jack O'Neill in action."
"I am not Jack O'Neill," Jack insisted fervently at the same time that O'Neill snarled, "He is not me."
"My mistake," Landry said, holding up both hands to ward off the evil looks he was receiving, at least from O'Neill. Jack was still a Lieutenant, and knew better than to antagonize the General, although the glare he wore on his face belied that fact. He just directed the glare toward his counterpart.
O'Neill stood there staring back at Jack, giving him a questioning look when Jack didn't enlighten him. Jack briefly thought about making O'Neill beg for once, it would be just desserts, but he knew the man would simply walk away. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Taria's pregnant."
"Congratulations Jack," Landry said.
"Hey, that's great!" O'Neill agreed, with a great deal of enthusiasm and a huge smile. Jack tried to hide his own grin, but gave up in the end.
"Thanks," he said, as he smiled back at the original Jack O'Neill. "I had hoped that bit of news would help me convince you that Taria belongs here."
O'Neill's smile disappeared as he stared at Jack with a thoughtful frown, which prompted Jack to wonder what was going through that guy's head now.
"What?" he asked.
"Nothing," O'Neill replied, which was not the correct answer as far as Jack was concerned. He was tired of being the insignificant one whenever he was around General O'Neill. O'Neill had the power of his position to fall back on, while Jack was low on the totem pole. Just once, he wished he could get the best of the man he used to be.
"Okay, fine," Jack said. "Whatever." He turned to Landry and said, "Sir. I'd like to go and tell Taria of your decision." Landry nodded, and Jack turned to leave.
"I'll walk with you," O'Neill said.
"I can find my way on my own," Jack replied, still a little irritated with the man.
"Humor me."
Jack shrugged then turned to lead the way. O'Neill followed him out, walking along side him as they made their way toward the elevator. "Are you sure that this is what you want?" O'Neill asked as they waited for the doors of the elevator to open.
Jack turned to stare at O'Neill in surprise. "Yes," he said. "I've given it a lot of thought, and this is what I want."
"It's just that you were so angry with her," O'Neill said. "Admit it. You hated her, didn't you?"
Jack didn't answer right away. He was too busy dealing with the raw feelings that he still felt on this topic. "Yes I did," he confessed. "For awhile there, I hated her guts."
O'Neill was working on something, Jack could just tell. He didn't ask, though, just stood there in silence as they waited for the elevator to arrive.
O'Neill finally decided to just say what was bothering him. "Forgiveness doesn't come easy for us," he said, as he stared at the closed doors of the elevator, "Especially when we've been betrayed."
Jack nodded at that. He remembered the hatred he carried around in his heart and his battle to hang on to the hatred, while refusing to give in to Taria's efforts to win him back, only to find himself wondering many times if he had forgiven her, just too stubborn to admit it.
"Frank Cromwell tried to make me understand why he did what he did," O'Neill said, as he stood there still staring at the elevator door.
"I remember," Jack responded quietly. He remembered all too well Cromwell's expression as he was being pulled into a wormhole that led to a planet being destroyed by a black hole. His expression reflected total defeat. Not only was he going to die on that planet, but he was never going to be able to get the opportunity to make Jack understand why he had left him behind all those years ago. It had been important to Cromwell that Jack understand, but Jack wouldn't let go of his anger long enough to listen to Cromwell's reasons, let alone understand them.
"I should have listened to him," O'Neill said sadly, voicing Jack's thoughts.
"Yeah," Jack agreed, as the doors of the elevator opened. He got in and watched as O'Neill pushed the button to take them to their destination. "Uh… Jack?" he said, as panic began to set in. "You pushed the wrong button. The conference room is not on that level."
"No it's not," O'Neill replied with a grin, causing Jack's anxiety to increase. "Mackenzie's office is though," he added wickedly.
"I really should go talk with Taria," Jack said. "She's anxious to know whether she'll be allowed to stay here."
You'll have plenty of time to tell her after your visit with Mackenzie," O'Neill responded. "In fact, I can tell her for you. Don't worry about a thing."
"Just peachy," Jack grumbled, as he watched the numbers on the display panel decrease. "The words 'mental institution' never came up when you and Mackenzie were talking about me, right?"
"Not once," O'Neill promised. He glanced over at Jack, then told him, "You're not crazy, Jack. He has no reason to send you to that place."
Jack nodded, not really believing the man. O'Neill had never experienced flashbacks that had left Jack feeling totally alone and helpless to stop them from happening in the first place. "He's going to want me to give him every last detail about my feelings and what happened to me while I was living in Hulmeshur," Jack said, trying to ignore the fear that was racing through his mind. "I'm not sure that I can give him what he wants."
"All you can do is try," O'Neill insisted. "He's good at what he does, Jack. He'll help you get through this. Just give him a chance."
"That's easy for you to say," Jack said. "You're not the one who is facing the 'Demon Chaser'."
Jack grinned when O'Neill laughed. "I had forgotten about that," O'Neill said, still grinning at the memory. "What was that shrink's name?" Jack shrugged, as O'Neill continued, "I couldn't believe it when he told me that it was his mission in life to chase away the demons of the mind." He shook his head, then added, "Like he had any."
"That guy wasn't one of the better shrinks we had to talk to," Jack had to agree. "Long on ideas and short on brains."
"Mackenzie is good at what he does," O'Neill said again, and Jack had to agree with him, especially when compared to that other Bozo who had tried to convince Jack that the trauma he was dealing with was only a figment of his imagination that could be conquered if only Jack would realize that it was a figment of his imagination. God, that guy was such a jerk.
The doors of the elevator opened and Jack knew that it was time to deal with this unpleasantness and get it over with. He stepped out and turned to see that O'Neill hadn't followed him out and was, in fact, pushing another button. "Coward," Jack accused, as the doors of the elevator closed. O'Neill just smiled at him and Jack found himself grinning as he realized that he didn't blame that guy one bit.
He walked down the hall toward the office that Mackenzie used when he was on base and tried to calm himself so that he could deal with whatever Mackenzie threw at him. Mackenzie was in, Jack realized with dashed hopes, and called out for him to enter when he knocked.
"Have a seat," Mackenzie said, as he pointed at the chair in front of his desk. "Would you like some coffee?"
"No thanks," Jack responded, with a shake of his head. He just wanted to get this over with.
"I want to thank you for agreeing to talk with me," Mackenzie said, surprising Jack. "I know how hard this is for you."
"Yeah, well I didn't have much of a choice, did I?" Jack responded, as he sat there tense and guarded.
"I was under the impression you agreed to this," Mackenzie said, his expression carefully neutral.
"It was part of a deal," Jack admitted. The tension was getting to him and he just wanted out. "Can we just get started?"
"Of course," Mackenzie said, as he grabbed his pen and pad of paper. "Let's start at the beginning."
"The beginning?" Jack replied. "Well, let's see. I was born in Chicago… that's the Windy City, you know out there in Illinois? Anyway…"
"Hulmeshur," Mackenzie said, interrupting what Jack had hoped would be the best stall tactic in his career.
"Hulmeshur," Jack said with a resigned sigh. "Are you sure you don't want to hear about my childhood traumas?" he asked, still giving the stall tactic the old college try.
Mackenzie just shook his head as he stared quietly at Jack. The psychiatrist had that patient look on his face, and Jack thought about continuing with his rambling just to piss the guy off. If nothing else, it would wipe that expression off of his face. Jack always hated the patronizing look Mackenzie plastered on his face every time they sat down to talk.
"Tell me about your capture," Mackenzie prompted, probably thinking that this would be the easy part, especially since Jack had willingly given up this information when he had his debriefing.
"I was knocked out during the battle and when I woke up, I was in a building with a bunch of other people," he began. "They were being held there to keep them away from stray bullets and from being rescued. Handar didn't want to lose any slaves to the strangers who had come through the Gate."
Mackenzie was writing something down and Jack didn't even want to know what the psychiatrist picked up on. "I was taken to see Handar not long after I had wakened and was told what was expected of me," Jack continued. "Do as I am told, when I am told, no questions asked and no trying to escape – standard slavery orientation material."
Mackenzie smiled at that, then asked, "I take it that you didn't follow the rules?" Jack nodded, prompting Mackenzie to ask, "What did they do to you when you refused to be a slave."
Jack couldn't help the sigh that escaped from his soul. He didn't want to do this, especially with Mackenzie, but he knew he didn't have a choice. The one thing he wanted more than anything was to leave the base and get back to his life, the one he'd had to rebuild from the ground up after he had been cloned. The only way to do this was to convince Mackenzie that he was better. So he made the effort to cooperate and give the man what he wanted and was successful to some degree. He told Mackenzie of the punishments he had dealt with and of the long days working in the fields and in the mines. He told him of the relationships he built up with the other slaves and with Taria. And he gave Mackenzie the reasons he fought off his rescuers and why he had to go back. Jack managed to avoid telling Mackenzie of his thoughts and feelings when he had believed he had been left behind and forgotten, as well as refusing to talk about his escape attempt and subsequent torture session when he was caught, even when Mackenzie came right out and asked him about it. Jack was not ready to talk about that experience just yet, especially when he was afraid he'd have another flashback if he did.
"General O'Neill told me what happened to you when you got caught trying to escape," Mackenzie said. "I already know about it, why won't you tell me about it now?"
"If you already know what happened, why do you need to hear it again?" Jack asked, hoping to bypass this whole thing altogether.
"I think that this is the experience that brought on your flashbacks," Mackenzie said, surprising Jack. "You need to deal with it and put it behind you. I can help you with this, Jack. But you have to be willing to let me."
"I thought they were brought on by my guilt of leaving Taria behind," Jack mused out loud.
"It could be a combination of both, but we won't know for sure until we've worked out everything that has happened to you while you were in that place."
"I've been through worse situations," Jack said, as he watched Mackenzie carefully. "Why is it I've never experienced flashbacks before?"
"There are no set rules to be followed when it comes to this disorder," Mackenzie replied. "Most people are able to handle the stress that comes with the traumatic event. From your behavior whenever we sit down to talk, you are the type that has to be in control of your feelings and your actions. This factor, alone, makes you an unlikely candidate for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Yet, you are suffering from it," Mackenzie added when Jack opened his mouth to discredit his statement. "General O'Neill tells me that you believed you had given up and gave in to your captors."
"Yes, I did," Jack admitted with a snarl.
"You were vulnerable at that point," Mackenzie continued. "Add on to your belief that you had given in and lost the control you normally hang on to with the fact that you left your wife behind to die at the hands of your tormentors…"
"Flashbacks," Jack finished for him.
"In your case, yes."
Jack just sat there, taking it all in and wondering where to go from here. He remembered the conversation he had with Taria when she told him in no uncertain terms that he had never given in to his captors. Yet, Jack believed with all his heart that he had. He couldn't help the small smile when he remembered the anger and hatred he held for Handar and his guards, and the punishments he went through when the anger and hatred flared up. Maybe Taria was right. He hadn't truly given up, he just let them have their way in order to keep the peace.
That just left the fear he had of escaping.
He looked up to see Mackenzie sitting there patiently waiting for Jack to work through his thoughts. The man was way too good at what he does, Jack thought, with a wry grin.
"Are you ready to tell me what happened when you escaped?" Mackenzie asked, when he saw Jack's grin.
Jack just stared at the man incredulously. "No," he said with determination. "Not yet," he added, as he got up to pace. He'd been through it once already and all it brought on was a flashback from hell. There was no way in hell he was going to end up in an institution.
"Then tell me about being left behind and forgotten," Mackenzie insisted.
"Isn't my hour up yet?" Jack asked instead.
Mackenzie shook his head, then told him, "I've set aside the whole morning for you."
"No you didn't," Jack responded, knowing full well the guy had never done anything like that before. Jack had been surprised when Mackenzie spent a whole hour and a half with him when he first got back from Hulmeshur and here this guy was saying he had set aside the whole morning? Not likely.
"I had thought about it," Mackenzie acknowledged. "That one-on-one 24/7 session you spent with General O'Neill helped you more than my weekly one hour sessions ever did. You're very lucky that you have a support system like that. Your friends wouldn't give up on you no matter how much trouble you gave them."
"What makes you think I gave them any trouble?" Jack asked, as he sat back down in the chair. He had successfully steered the conversation away from the subject he was still hiding from and he relaxed somewhat with that thought.
"I've known you for years, Jack," Mackenzie said, "I've been trying to get you talk about your feelings and traumas long before you were even cloned. You gave them a hard time."
Jack couldn't argue with that, so he sat there waiting to be set free. He wondered what it would take to convince Mackenzie to release him from his confinement on base, and he looked up to see that Mackenzie had resorted to silence. Oh great, Jack thought. He even has that patronizing look on his face. He grinned as he remembered O'Neill's efforts at trying this technique and decided to give into Mackenzie's tactics. "Are you going to recommend that I be released from my imprisonment here?" he asked, enjoying the look of shock on Mackenzie's face.
"I've been giving that some thought," Mackenzie answered, as he visibly pulled himself together. "You are much stronger, emotionally, which may be a great deterrent for the flashbacks." He stared at Jack critically, then said, "I can see that you are more in control of your thoughts and feelings, based on your actions today."
"So I can get out of here?" Jack asked, trying to control the excitement building up in him. Mackenzie could still say no.
"Let's get through the rest of this meeting," Mackenzie replied, warily. "I would like to hear a little more about your life on Hulmeshur before I make that decision."
"I won't have any more flashbacks," Jack said determinedly. This guy was starting to get on his last nerve.
"Then you have nothing to worry about," Mackenzie answered amiably. "Tell me about your thoughts of being left behind and forgotten."
The noise stopped immediately when Jack O'Neill walked into the conference room. He had decided to visit with Taria to hear her thoughts on whether or not she really wanted to stay with his clone and he ended up walking into the 'Twilight Zone'. The silence was deafening, while every single person in the room stood stock still as they waited for Jack to make his intentions known. This was so not good, Jack thought, as he shut the door behind him.
"Hello everyone," he said, with a broad smile, hoping to ease their fears. "How are you all holding up? Do you need anything? Just let me know if you do and I'll make sure you get it." His efforts seemed to be working, because one of the men looked up and stared at him with just a little defiance in his expression.
"I am Dargan," the man said, as he stood up a little straighter. "When will we be allowed to leave here?"
"Soon," Jack promised. "Probably within the next couple of hours." He looked around and saw Taria sitting on a cot near a wall, and his smile grew wider as she stared back. He nodded at Dargan, then walked toward Taria, but stopped when he was just a few feet away from her. "My name is Jack O'Neill," he told her, just in case she had forgotten. "I'm Jack's cousin. I want to thank you for taking care of him and keeping him safe." She didn't respond, but he could see that she was surprised by his words. "Thank you," he said again.
"It was my pleasure," she finally answered warily.
Jack waited, but she didn't add on to her statement, so he tried again to get to know her a little better. "I was hoping we could have a little talk before Jack gets here," he said, in an effort to get things moving. She nodded and Jack sighed inwardly as he realized he was going to have to be the one to keep this conversation going. He really wasn't all that great when it came to conversations. "Congratulations on the baby," he told her, saying the first thing that came to mind. Bull's eye, Jack thought, as she beamed at his words.
"Thank you," she replied, her smile lighting up her features. At that moment, he could see why Gallagher had fallen in love with this woman. She was gorgeous. He sat down next to her, as she continued. "This baby will be born in freedom and I am happy that my mate wants us to live here with him," she added, effectively answering Jack's unspoken question. He had come here to determine what it was Taria really wanted.
"Are you sure that this is what you want?" Jack had to ask. He didn't think she really knew what she was getting into. She was marrying a military man, someone whose comings and goings weren't entirely of his own choosing. "There will be times when he is gone for days, sometimes weeks. It could get awfully lonely."
"Jack has told me of this," she said, her expression taking on a look that almost rivaled Mackenzie's patronizing look. Jack had to grin at this thought. It looked so much better on her. "But I want to stay with my mate and I can live with the loneliness," she added.
"Can you?" Jack asked, wondering if he should tell her of the loneliness his wife, Sara, had dealt with. He remembered all too well the aching loneliness he himself lived with when she had left him all those years ago.
"Yes," Taria responded resolutely. "I have lived with a loneliness so deep that I sometimes thought that I would not be able to survive it, and this was while I lived with Jack." She stopped and stared at him for a moment, her eyes taking on a haunted look and Jack realized that she was a kindred spirit in terms of dealing with total loneliness. "I will be able to live with being alone while he is away because I will have his love to keep me company. I did not have that before." She smiled broadly at him then, and said, "And I will have our child to take care of. I will survive the loneliness, Jack O'Neill. I have done this before."
He grinned at her, as he realized that she was right. She was definitely going to make it. "You can call me Jack," he said.
She frowned, and Jack had a sudden desire to find something to bring back her smile. "Jack said that your name is General," she ventured, causing Jack to wonder at that statement, then remembered when his clone had introduced them.
"General is just my title," he clarified, then told her, "My name is Jack."
"General Jack," she said, as she watched him fearfully. He nodded at her, and she smiled at him again, making him wish he was a few years younger and she wasn't married to his clone. But then memories of his night with Carter flooded his mind, and thoughts of Taria were pushed out of the way, making room for the real love of his life.
He smiled back at Taria though, then looked toward the door when it opened. A nurse and one of the refugee's came in and the others, who had gone back to whatever it was they were doing before Jack had come in and scared them half to death, went over to welcome the man. Jack grinned and shook his head as he realized that the others had accepted that he was no longer a threat and had relaxed while he had been talking with Taria. He turned back to Taria to see that she was back to watching him again.
He grinned at Taria as they sat there, and he learned a lot about his clone as they talked about the man she had been given to. He stayed there until Gallagher showed up; watching as Gallagher smiled back at his wife and Jack knew that their relationship was going to survive. He hoped it would be for a long time.
Jack Gallagher walked down the corridor from Mackenzie's office when his hour was finally up and set off to look for Daniel or Teal'c in order to have someone accompany him when he left the base. Mackenzie had agreed to set him free as long as he had someone to stay with him. Jack didn't care, he just wanted out to feel the wind through his hair and to see his house again.
He ended up in the conference room instead, finding Taria with his counterpart laughing at something O'Neill had said. The others were milling about and Jack grinned when Padral came up to him and slapped him on the back, congratulating him on finally seeing the light and making up with Taria. Jack just grinned, then told Padral where he could put his congratulations, causing Padral to laugh as he walked over to talk with his friends.
Jack shook as head, then headed over to join Taria and O'Neill. "I see you two have met," he said, wondering at the smile Taria gave O'Neill. Apparently O'Neill didn't give off the aura of power that Landry did. No one seemed to be afraid of him.
"General Jack has been telling me of the wonders of your world," Taria said, as she turned her smile on him. Jack smiled back at her, then turned his attention on to his counterpart.
"Wonders of our world?" he asked, suddenly very worried about what O'Neill could have said.
"Yeah. I've told her all about hockey, pizza and beer," O'Neill replied with a grin. "Just the good stuff. I haven't had a chance to tell her about the mediocre stuff yet."
"Oh," Jack said, putting on a relieved expression. "And here I was worried for a second there."
"I am very happy that I will be allowed to stay," Taria said shyly, as she grabbed Jack's hand and squeezed it in hers. "I would like to see this world that my mate spoke so highly of."
"Your husband," Jack corrected her, smiling at her confusion. "Mate just sounds weird when you say it that way. I am your husband and you are my wife."
"My husband," Taria dutifully repeated.
"Did you guys have a ceremony?" O'Neill asked with a frown. His face brightened as he said, "We can have one here. A wedding ceremony with the works." His smile dimmed when a thought came to him, "That is if you want to be married," he added.
Jack nodded, while Taria asked, "Will there be wedding bells? Jack has told me of the rituals the people of this world go through when they are wed."
O'Neill's expression sobered as he stared at Taria. "Yes," he said. "There will be wedding bells if I have to import them from somewhere." He smiled at her then, and told her, "I promise."
She grinned back and Jack realized once again how much he loved this woman. They had been forced on each other, but she had always been there for him no matter how badly he treated her. She never gave up on him and this meant a great deal to Jack, as he watched her interact with the original Jack O'Neill.
Her betrayal had forced a wedge between them that Jack had never wanted to remove, his anger driving the wedge in deeper every time he thought of it. But then she had been willing to die a slow and tortuous death to give him the one thing he wanted more than anything in the world – his freedom. He didn't know if he would ever be able to repay her for that one act of love.
She was not the only person he owed a great deal to. O'Neill, Carter, Daniel and Teal'c all played a major role in freeing Jack from the demons that had followed him here. He was on the road to recovery and he knew without a doubt that he wouldn't be where he was today, if it wasn't for the friends who banded together to help him through it. He smiled at that thought. He was going to be okay and he was determined to make life wonderful for his wife and their child. He placed his hand on Taria's belly. Oh yeah, he was so looking forward to that.
"So Grandpa," he said with a grin at O'Neill. "Will you give the bride away?"
O'Neill gave Jack a wicked grin, then said, "If you call me that again, there won't be anybody to give her away to."
"All right, already," Jack said, still grinning at his counterpart. "I was just kidding." Taria was looking from one to the other, worry etching her features and Jack felt bad for marring her day. "He won't hurt me," Jack told her, "He's really just a big teddy bear. Nothing to worry about."
She nodded at him, then asked, "What is a teddy bear?"