EPILOGUE Six weeks later

The original SG-1 sat together on one side of the SGC briefing table; Daniel cradled a sleeping Kyra in his arms. Across the table sat the current Secretary of the Air Force, retired General George Hammond, General Landry and General Maynard, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Hammond leaned forward, clasped his hands together, and addressed the group facing him. "As you know, we," he gestured to the men sitting on either side of him, "have come to a decision about the consequences you all must face for the theft of the Odyssey."

Looking straight at Daniel, "Son, you were not a part of the, um, unauthorized 'plot' to commandeer the ship and therefore you will face no disciplinary action. Your job is waiting for you when you're ready to return."

Sam reached over and quietly squeezed Daniel's hand while Jack flashed a grin in his direction.

Hammond then turned to Teal'c, "Teal'c, while you are currently a part of SG-1 on occasion, you are officially the ambassador from Chulak and therefore have diplomatic immunity."

Teal'c acknowledged the amnesty with a stately nod of his head. The others on his side of the table all grinned and Jack nudged him with his shoulder.

"However," Hammond turned to Jack and Sam, "you two are active military and know there are serious consequences to your actions." He stopped and glanced at the impassive men seated on either side of him. Sam and Jack kept their eyes locked on their former base commander's face.

"We have decided that you shall each receive a strong reprimand on your records – nothing new there for you, Jack – and you shall both be placed on one month's leave-of-absence without pay." He understood the shocked relief that flicked over Colonel Carter's face and the smirk on Jack's. "Dismissed."

As the group made their way out of the room, Sam turned to Daniel and reached out to caress Kyra. "Daniel, are you going to take her back to her home world at all?"

Daniel looked down at the sleeping infant in his arms and brushed her cheek with his fingertip. "No. Ashling's dying wish was that I keep her safe. When I checked with her father before the Odyssey left for Earth, he agreed. One of his other daughters will be trained to lead their people."

He shifted the bright pink diaper bag on his shoulder. "Plus, I expect another Prior will show up eventually. Landry's making arrangements for Earth to help protect Aeire, but I'm going to keep my promise to my wife and raise our daughter here, on Earth."

Sam leaned over and enveloped her friend in a hug. "Daniel, you are going to be such a great father. I know Ashling would be proud."

XXXXXXXXXX

That night, as Daniel settled on his couch to feed Kyra, the doorbell rang. He sighed and stood, still holding the baby and her bottle. He pattered barefoot to the door, tucked the bottle under his chin to free up a hand, and unlocked the door. As soon as he began to open it, Jack pushed his way in followed by Sam, Teal'c, Cameron, George and Vala, who had returned from the Ori galaxy while Daniel was missing.

"Come on in, Jack. Don't be shy." Daniel frowned as the group invaded Daniel's home.

"We knew it would be difficult for you to meet us somewhere with the baby, so we brought the celebration here. We come with beer and junk food." Jack stood there holding a stack of pizza boxes, while Cameron and Teal'c each clutched several cartons of beer.

Daniel began walking back to his living room. "You guys know where everything is." Sam reached over and took the hungry infant from her father and settled herself on the couch.

"I wasn't around my brother's kids when they were tiny and now they're almost all grown." Sam said by way of explanation and gazed with wonder at the tiny infant in her arms. Daniel took a seat in a chair as Jack dropped the pizza boxes on the coffee table. Cam and Teal'c came back into the room with a beer for everyone and sat on the floor. Jack plopped on the couch next to Sam and watched quietly while she fed Kyra.

"So, people, now that SG-1 is on downtime for a month, what are y'all planning." Hammond sipped his beer.

Daniel glanced at his daughter, "Well, sir, I'm going to be taking care of her and deciding if I want to continue going off world. If something happened to me, she'd have no one to take her."

Three faces turned to him, and three voices declared, "I would take her." Jack, Sam and Teal'c snapped their heads around and glared at each other as the competition for the child heated up.

Vala and Cam just smirked.

"Hey, guys, just thinking out loud. I know any of you would take her and I'll figure something out legally, but this is the only shot I'll probably ever have at being a father and I'm going to be here for her." Daniel's face softened as he watched Kyra drift off to sleep, full and content. "I won't leave the SGC. God knows there's plenty for me to do at the base."

Glancing back to Jack, "I guess I won't be going to Atlantis any time soon."

Jack's face immediately went blank. "What? I'd never stop you from going." Thrusting a thumb toward Vala, "She's the one who stopped you – twice!"

Vala took a sip from her beer, "I am totally innocent of all charges."

Cameron decided to step in before things got out of hand. "Jack, you got any plans for your downtime?"

"Funny story. You see, there's this fish…."

THE END

A/N: In the show, we don't know what position Hammond has now. Since Jack has been made the head of Homeworld Security, nothing has been said about Hammond, however, in "The Forth Horseman" he makes a speech dressed as a civilian. Wikipedia speculates that he might now be Secretary of the Air Force, a civilian position that reports directly to the Secretary of Defense. So for the purpose of my story – that's what he is.

I have no idea if Teal'c is the representative from Chulak, but it gets him off the hook – so he is now!

Many, many thanks to those of you who suffered through my writer's block and continued to read this story. Good luck and god speed.