Thank you for all the reviews (grins) they were wonderful!

Well, I hope you like this chapter!

Carter was laughing harder then she had in years. Jack was telling stories about growing up with five sisters and he had quite a few to tell...

"-And Jennifer brings home this big guy. None of us liked him so we sabotaged it. She didn't speak to us for a week," he said still chuckling as he pulled into his driveway.

Carter unfastened her seatbelt and opened her door. "Are you going to have a big enough tree, sir?" she asked curiously.

"Trees, Carter, Not Tree," he said grabbing a few bags from the back of the full pickup. "We always have two or three."

The front door opened emitting Melanie. Sam studied her closely. She had long brown hair, now carelessly braided and brown eyes like her brothers. She also had his sarcastic wit. Good looks and that. Oy.

"It looks like you robbed every toy store in town." Melanie commented, her eyes widening. "Wow."

Jack plopped a large Care Bear in her arm, "In the house you go."

"Who's Simba for?" she asked quietly.

He shrugged and picked up the animal. "Hadn't decided. What do you think?"

"Give it to Nikki. She'd like it." And with that, she fled, into the house, closing the door with a 'bang'.

Jack looked after her. "Poor kid."

Carter gave him a curious glance. He saw it and explained.

"Mom and Dad died when she was twelve. Zack and Jenny did the best they could but..." he trailed off. "C'mon, let's get this stuff inside."

Å

Carter descended into the basement. "Whoa," she said involuntarily.

The basement was about the size of his house and was divided into several sections. One section was a bathroom, complete with toilet, sink and shower. Two other rooms bore the title 'Kid's Room's stay OUT!'. Carter peeked inside.

One was painted pink and purple and had all the traditional girl toys inside, including tea sets, a few dolls and a box of dress up clothes. The other one had been painted camouflage colors, wooden guns painted to look realistic, and miniature 'army' outfits. Nets criss-crossed the room.

"You like it?"

She spun around. "It's amazing, sir! Did you do all of this?"

He shook his head. "This was my parents house. They did this."

"It's... cool, sir."

"Cool?"

She shrugged. "I've been corrupted."

He pulled her into the next room. "Holy Hannah." she muttered.

He grinned. A dusty TV, a play station and many dusty beanbags littered the room.

"You were spoiled, sir," she said with a nod of her head.

"Just one more room, Carter. And we were not spoiled. The play station is leftover from… from the last gathering."

She laughed as she entered the next one, "This is what Janet needs."

The room was painted a light greenish color. At the end of the room, cots were piled on top of each other haphazardly.

Carter quickly counted. "18 cots, sir?"

He nodded. "We had 18 people last time,'' he explained; he looked around, "And the paint is glow-in-the-dark."

"Jack spoils the kids- he painted the room just from them," Melanie said from the doorway.

Jack looked up and gave her a mock glare. "Where's Nick?"

"On your bed."

Sam looked around. "This is going to need a lot of work, sir, to get it habitable."

Jack grimaced, "Ya think?"

"You two clean down here, I'll do the top," Melanie offered.

Carter nodded, already mentally planning on what to do. "All right."

"First one doesn't have to do the dishes the whole time the family is here?" Melanie tried.

"We are using paper plates," Jack said firmly, remembering the previous gatherings and the massive amount of dishes left over.

"Not on Christmas day!"

"Why not?" Jack argued. "They're dishes."

"Ellie would NEVER allow it."

The bantering would've continued, but a muffled giggle from Carter made them look up.

"What?" the both demanded.

She burst out laughing.

Å

3 hours later...

Jack and Sam both sighed simultaneously. "DONE!" they called.

They were halfway up the stairs when Melanie appeared in the doorway. "Done!"

"We're done first," Jack insisted. "We were almost in the living room."

Her eyes twinkled. "Did you change the linens on the cots?"

Jack kicked the wall, "No," he mumbled. "That doesn't count!"

"I win!"

Jack pushed past his sister, "Whatever-"

The door opened and a female voice called, "Hello?"

Jack and Melanie exchanged surprised glances. "Ellie?"

"Wilhem, bring her in!"

Jack and Melanie dashed up the stairs, leaving Carter to follow more slowly. She paused in the doorway.

A tall man was holding a car seat, which contained a small, jerking figure. A lady stood over the little girl in the seat… Ellie?

"Ellie!" Melanie cried hurrying to her sister's side, excitement on her face. "Good to see you!"

Ellie gave her a distracted hug. "Wilhem, put her on the sofa."

The man nodded and sat her on the couch. "Hey baby, it's okay," Eleanor crooned, smoothing her daughter's hair. "We're here." She looked up and saw her brother there, a big smile on his face. "Jack!" she cried, rising up and giving him a bear hug. "Sorry, we came early. You know how long it take Emma to get used to new places."

He wrapped his arms around her. "It's fine."

"Muuuummm..." the jerking figure mumbled, instantly catching the attention of the raven-haired woman. She unstrapped her daughter, and pulled her into her lap. "It's all right," she whispered. "Mama's here."

Melanie looked up as she heard a little cry and hurried away, Eleanor followed her with a puzzled glance. She was looking quizzically at Jack when she caught sight of a beautiful blond woman easing into the room. She raised an eyebrow. Jack followed her gaze and saw his second-in-command heading back into the basement.

"Carter, wait!" He hurried over to her and pulled her in the room, ignoring her protests. "Ellie, this is Samantha Carter. Carter, my sister Eleanor."

"Ellie," Eleanor said instantly, giving her a smile.

"Sam."

Ellie handed her daughter to her husband. "It's nice to finally meet one of Jack's friends," she said standing up. "This is my husband Wilhem and my daughter Emma."

Carter knelt and looked at the little girl. "How old is she?"

"Seven," Eleanor's husband answered. "She is seven years of age."

Carter almost frowned. The little girl looked like she was four. "Hi, I'm Sam."

The little girl continued jerking and moaning. Sam looked at her mother with concern written across her face.

"Emma is-has... problems. She's uh… mentally retarded and she..." Ellie sighed, "Don't worry, she's fine...Sam."

Carter nodded and rose to her feet. There was a brief awkward moment. "So," Jack began, "why don't we-"

Ding Dong

Jack, surprised, walked across the room and pulled the door opened. Three boys raced in, followed by a smiling man and a tall woman holding a young girl.

"Jennifer!" Ellie cried, hurrying over to her sister's side. "Long time, no see!"

Both sisters hugged tightly while the husbands nodded to each other.

Jennifer looked curiously at Sam. Adjusting the little girl, she stepped forward. "I'm Jenn."

"Sam." Carter looked at the little girl. She had long blue curls and blue-gray eyes. "Who's this?"

"Nikki or Nicole," Jenn said with a smile. "Boys are Joseph, Max, and Connor in that order of height. Husband is Ken."

The boys grinned at her companionably. "Hello, Miss Sam," they said simultaneously.

Wilhem stood up, still hold his daughter. "Is there a place I may put her?" he asked in his clipped, precise English.

"Second bedroom," Jack answered, pointing down the hall. Wilhem gave a slight bow and carried his daughter out of the room. Jennifer turned to Sam.

"So," she began, with a grin on her face, "are you and Jack dating?"

"JENN!" Ellie and Jack cried while Sam blushed.

"I guess not," Jenn said in a stage whisper. "Sorry if I made you uncomfortable-" she paused. "Melanie?"

All the occupants turned to see Melanie wander into the room holding Nick. Both women froze. Nicole looked up.

"Mama?" she whispered. "Aun' Jenn, i's Mama!"

Jennifer unconsciously tightened her grasp around the little girl. "Hi, Mel," she managed to get out. "It's been a while."

"Who'd da baby?" Nicole asked, giving her mother a brilliant smile. "Who da baby?"

Melanie managed a trembling smile. "Come to Mama, honey," she half ordered, half pleaded.

Jennifer slowly released the toddler and she ran to her mother. "Who's baby? Pitty baby!"

Melanie knelt down. "This is Nick," she said slowly. "He's your baby brother."

Nicole wrinkled her brow. "He my brodder?"

"Nicole, go with the boys to the basement." Jennifer ordered.

"Bu-" Nicole began.

"Please, baby, just-"

Melanie stood up suddenly. "She's my daughter, Jennifer!"

"And I've been looking after her for the past year and a half!" Jenn began angrily when Ken placed a hand on her shoulder. She instantly looked ashamed. "Boys, just go," she whispered. "Please." They nodded and hurried towards the door.

"Go with them Nikki," Jenn said softly.

Nikki nodded and toddled away. As soon as the door closed, Jennifer and Melanie glared at each other.

"Baby brother?" Jenn began, "We didn't even know you were married!" she stopped, "Were you?"

Melanie flinched. "Yes, I was, and I didn't tell you for a reason."

"What reason? I'm your sister! I am mothering YOUR child!"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Jack cried, stepping between them. "First of all, this is not how my holiday is going to go- I am NOT going to referee you two the rest of this holiday, okay?"

Ellie and Carter both exchanged glances. Ken stood uneasily in the background.

"Okay, we obviously have a problem with Nikki," he took a deep breath and wished for a moment that there was such a thing as a normal family. "Mel," he began gently, "you are her mother but-" he stopped, " Well… Jennifer has been taking care of her for the past eighteen months."

Melanie looked down. "I know," she whispered, "I know. But-"

Ding dong

"Oh for cryin' out loud!" Jack muttered. Ken rolled his eyes and opened the door.

"HI!" Zack and his wife chirped.

Everyone stared wide-eyed as four more children streamed in.

"Uncle Jack!" "Aunt Ellie!" "Uncle Ken!" "Aunt Melanie!" filled the air.

After all the chaos calmed down a bit. Both Zack and Leslie looked meaningfully at Sam.

"Oh," Jack mumbled, well aware that his brother would be talking to him later. "This is Samantha Carter. Carter, my brother Zack and his wife Leslie."

"Is she your girlfriend Uncle Jack?" one of the boys cried.

Jack reddened. "That one's Cody. The twins are Corin and Tyler and the little angel is Ariel."

Ariel, like her mother and Disney self, had red hair. "Hi, Uncle Jack."

"Go play in the basement," Leslie said giving Tyler a quick squeeze.

Carter watched as the twins trudged by her followed by Cody. Brown, brown, and brown... red...

Zack laughed. "Yes, the red hair is a bit odd but we'll keep her."

Ariel grinned at her father and followed her brothers down to the basement. Zack greeted his sisters in turn. He stopped at Melanie. "A baby?" he whispered.

"Yes, Zack, I have a baby. His name is Nicholas!" and with that she stomped off.

The man shrugged. "What's eatin' her?"

Ken sighed. "Jenn and her had a fight over Nikki."

"Oh." Zack looked uncomfortably at his sister and then at the floor. That was a touchy subject with the O'Neill time.

Everyone nodded.

"Coffee?" Jack offered.

Å

Carter studied the O'Neill's clustered around the table.

Zack looked just like Jack only grayer. His wife was a redhead. She wasn't beautiful but she was definitely charming.

Jennifer and Ken looked like brother and sister. Both had brown hair and brown eyes. Jennifer laughed a lot while Ken was more serious.

She sipped her coffee and turned to looked at Ellie and her husband.

Wilhem looked old, the cares of dealing with a retarded child were certainly not easy. Blond and blue eyed, he was the complete opposite of his black haired, green-eyed wife.

Melanie sat kind of by herself staring at her coffee. Carter felt a twinge of pity for her. She clearly was still brooding over her earlier fight with her sister. Carter picked up her mug and joined her.

Melanie looked up, as the Colonel took a seat opposite of her. "Hey."

"Hi." She took a sip of coffee. "It looked like you need some company."

Melanie darted a glance at her sister. "Mind if I talk a bit?"

"Go ahead."

She sighed. "I know... I know I've made mistakes. But... I couldn't take care of Nikki. She was a mistake. I-I had the baby and.. After a few months, I got… restless." Melanie looked down. "That sounds bad… I loved her but- I dumped her father, she was only a few months old… no place to go… I thought she deserved to had a normal life so…Jenn agreed to take care of her and then I got married and… " She shrugged. "Married, divorced and baby. My life."

Carter stared sympathetically at her. "Sounds like you have had a tough life, I-"

A door opened and a moment later a voice called: "Hello? Jack? It's us…I know we're early, but…"

A young looking woman appeared with a tall man and three children ranging from a teenage girl to a girl about five.

"Anna!"

Carter laughed. Never a dull moment at Jack house.

Okay, here's a great exercise. It's called Press the Button. What you do is move your little arrow or whatever your cursor is over the little button down at the corner that says go. Then you press the left mouse button. Pretty easy, no? The next part to this is you type a little something called a review. It's really easy. Just tell me whether you hate the story or love it. Feel free to add any other comments you may have. Press the send button and you're all done! Now don't you feel better? ; )

I love that. Twas written by another writer.