34) Sean looked at the dashboard clock then over to his sleeping wife in the passenger seat of the Jeep. He smiled as his free hand trailed down to the bulge of their child resting peacefully within Trish's womb. He was so proud of her, of how well she was handling everything. Admittedly, he was just as scared as she was.

He pulled into the "driveway" of the second cabin and slowed the Jeep to a stop. He noticed it was just past 0330 as he walked around to the other side to get Trish out. Even six months pregnant, she weighed next to nothing and he easily picked her up from her seat. He walked into the cabin, noticing immediately his father had already been there to open the place up.

He laid Trish in bed in the nearest guest room, leaving the master bedroom for his grandparents when they arrived. He was too tired to do anything more than crawl in next to her and take a nap until later when they would go to see those who had already arrived at the other cabin.

It felt like only five minutes had passed before Sean was opening his eyes again to the soft snores of his wife still sleeping next to him. He looked at his watch, and noticing it was already 0800, he decided to get up and walk to the other cabin. He figured somebody would be up by now, though he wasn't sure exactly who was there. His grandparents were arriving later that day and everybody else would be driving up the day after.

He quickly left a note on the nightstand for her and headed outside. The morning was cool for the middle of summer, so he threw on a light jogging sweatshirt and made his way to the other cabin.

Getting Jay to agree to come up had been a chore in and of itself. His brother had been completely against even meeting the man who had fathered them, but after an hour on the phone, Sean had finally gotten him to agree to at least come up to the cabin. Of course the confusing part had been when Jay had admitted that he needed to see him and Trish to apologize for something. That conversation still had Sean reeling.

Oh well, he had until tomorrow to think about it. There were about a million things he could think of that they needed to clear up. They hadn't talked except for a casual greeting at their mother's funeral for a little over six months. He still didn't understand why Steph didn't make it to the funeral and Jay hadn't offered any explanation.

He carefully opened the front door to the cabin in case nobody was up yet, careful not to make any noise. Of course, he didn't expect to see the imposing form waiting in the kitchen for him when he headed for the fridge.

"AH!" Sean jumped back leaning against the counter, half sitting on it.

"Who the Hell are you?" The man asked him, folding his arms over his chest and glaring at the young man.

"Um, hello?" he responded, crawling back down off the counter.

Jack had heard Sean scream and came running in, but just about broke down laughing as he entered the kitchen.

"I'm glad you find an intruder in your home so funny," Jacob growled.

"Sorry." Jack smiled at the two. "Sean, I wasn't expecting you quite yet."

"We got in at 0330. Trish is still asleep for now. I just figured I'd come over and see who was here." Sean opened the fridge door and pulled out the orange juice, pouring himself a glass. "Anybody else want any?"

Jacob and Jack both waved him off as Jack sat down at the table.

"You still haven't said who you are," Jacob glared at the young man in front of him.

"Jacob, this is Lt. Sean O'Neill, our newest member of SG-1, personally picked by Sam. Sean, this is General Jacob Carter and Selmac." Jack proudly clapped his hand on Sean's shoulder and grinned at Jacob.

"O'Neill? As in?"

"My son. He's the reason I had to step down as the eval officer and let Sam take over."

"Wow." Jacob's head lowered signifying Selmac was taking over. "It is a pleasure to meet you Lt. O'Neill. If you are anything like your father, you will be a valuable asset to the war against the Goa'uld."

"Thank you, Selmac. I've read about you, and I must say I didn't think I'd get the chance to meet you this soon." Sean took a sip of his juice and leaned back in his chair.

Jacob sat down across from the two and shook his head. "Why didn't you mention him before?"

"Didn't know about 'em. Long story." Jack winced at the thought of what they were up there to do. He was going to meet his other son, and confront his own father.

"Speaking of us, you're going to have to be the one to approach Jay. He won't make the first move." Sean sighed into his glass and downed the contents, wishing with all he was worth it was a beer, or at least something alcoholic.

"Damn." Yeah, Jack definitely wasn't that great with all that confrontation stuff. He was having a hard time thinking of how to approach his father, now he had to think of a way to get his son to talk to him as well.

"If it makes you feel any better, he wasn't always like this," Sean supplied. "It actually took him sixteen years to hate you."

"Gee, thanks." Jack rolled his eyes and leaned his head in his hands.

"I think I missed something," Jacob said giving them a confused look. He glanced to Jack for the explanation, but turned quickly when Sean spoke up.

"Jay, uh, Colin is my twin brother, and none too happy to be coming up here to meet him. As far as he's concerned Rick is his father. We haven't really spoken in a while." The sadness Jacob saw in his eyes reminded him so much of Jack the first time he'd met the man.

"Sounds like Mark, Sam's brother," Jacob replied almost bitterly.

Hey, we're working on that, aren't we?

Yeah, Yeah, quit your whining. Jacob gave a purely mental laugh to show Selmac he did take him seriously.

"So, is he going to be Uncle Mark anytime soon?" Sean asked, a sly grin playing across his lips.

"What?" Jack cocked his head to the side.

"Oh, c'mon Dad. I know our presence makes you feel old, but you were only sixteen when we were born. You're still young."

"For cryin' out loud!" Jack stood up from the table and leaned against the kitchen counter. "Listen, Sean, we're not even sure Sam can have kids," he added quietly.

We can use the healing device.

What?

To see if your daughter can have children. I will be able to determine her fertility if we are allowed to examine her.

I'll suggest it.

"Jack, we'd be able to tell for you."

"What?"

"Selmac says he can check it out."

Jack stopped to think for a moment before rubbing his eyes and replying, "That's up to Sam. I would personally love to know, but it's really her decision."

"I'll talk to her when she wakes up." Jacob nodded and rested his head in his hand.

"Talk to who?" Sam walked in, rubbing her eyes.

"Hey, what are you doing up so early?" Jack pulled her into his arms for a good morning kiss and held her against him as he leaned back against the counter.

"No meds, remember? Anyway, talk to who?" She shifted in Jack's arms so she was facing the other two in the room and shot a questioning glare her father's way.

"You. Come with me, Sam." Jacob stood up and led her out of the room.

Jack and Sean sat together in silence neither really having any clue what to say.

"So," Sean started, fiddling with his empty glass.

"Yeah, so, uh…" Jack trailed off not really sure what he should do now that he was alone with his son.

"What are you guys doing today?"

"Fishing. What else is there to do up here?" he replied with a grin.

"Right. Mom always mentioned that you loved to fish. Guess that's where Jay got it from." Sean smiled up at his father. "I s'pose we're all a lot more alike than we realized."

"Yeah, I guess. So, why does your brother hate me so much? For that matter, what happened between the two of you?" Jack's hands roamed the tabletop, searching for something to fiddle with. It wasn't normal for him not to have something in his hands.

"It's a pretty long story," Sean replied.

"Not like we won't be here."

"Right. Well, you already know we grew up in the same small town you guys did. Our whole lives were spent being compared to you and Mom. Everybody knew you were our dad. If they weren't told, they figured it out pretty quick. I was always more like her and Jay was just like you, or so we were told. It was great when we were kids, but Jay got sick of being compared to a ghost.

"High school was the worst. Jay would walk all the way around the school just to avoid the trophy case. He broke or tied all your hockey records just so he could try to get rid of you. Seven different colleges were fighting over the two of us, but I chose to go to the Academy. That's what finally set him off.

"He said I was taking after you, that I was just like you. He told me I'd abandon my children like you did, and that Pape Matt and Nan were just covering for you. I punched him and we didn't speak for over a year. Mom invited him to my wedding, but we barely spoke. After my Charlie, we made up, but still haven't really spoken to each other like we used to."

Sean sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I don't know what he wants to talk to me about, but I figure tomorrow I should see him before you do."

"Yeah. Listen, I think I'm going to check on Sam." Jack stood and clapped his son on the shoulder.

"I should probably get back. Trish will be up soon. We'll head back over later." He shook his father's hand and headed for the front door. He stopped and turned like he was going to say something, but waved it off and left the house.

Jack shook his head and headed back to the bedroom where Sam and her father were talking.

"Hey," he whispered, leaning against the doorframe.

"Come 'ere," Sam whispered back, choking on the words.

"Oh, Sam, I'm so sorry." He rushed to her side and wrapped his arms around her, automatically assuming the worst.

"He hasn't checked yet, Jack, but I wanted you here." The tears were threatening to spill over the edge of her eyelids as he sat and held her.

"Shh. It's okay. No matter what happens we're in this together, remember that." He held her face in his hands and gently kissed her lips.

Selmac chose that moment to make his appearance. "Colonel, if you don't mind I would like to check you first." At Jack's incredulous look, he continued. "It will help me to determine your compatibility."

Jack nodded. "Um, what do you want me to do?"

"Just lay back on the bed and close your eyes. It will not take as long for you, the male anatomy is not as complex."

"That's just a little too much information," Jack sighed as he lay back, eliciting a giggle from Sam. He smiled at the wonderful sound.

Jack closed his eyes as he felt the warm glow of the healing device over an area he never thought he'd need it. Thankfully it was over before he knew it. He rolled over on his stomach beside Sam and held her hand as she lay back against the pillows. He could tell she was nervous. Hell, so was he, but he had to be strong for her.

She gave him a nervous smile as her father held the healing device above her abdomen. She squeezed her eyes shut facing Jack and waited for her father to finish.

"Samantha, I have noticed something unusual." Sam's eyes got wide as Selmac spoke, afraid of what he might say. "Your father tells me you would get extremely ill before your monthly cycle when you were younger. I have attempted to rectify the situation, but we will not know if it worked. All we have done was relax your abdominal muscles. If it has not worked, we will be able to try again in a year." With that Jacob's head lowered and he returned to face his daughter and Jack, a huge smile plastered on his face.

"Congratulations, Sammy. Selmac told me everything was wonderful." He leaned over and gave her a hug as she sat up. Jack beamed behind her.

As Jacob let go, Jack enveloped Sam in a huge hug and breathed in deep. "This is wonderful," he whispered into her hair.

"Yes," Sam barely choked out through her tears.

"Sam?" Jack pulled back and looked at her tear stained cheeks, confusion written all over his face.

"Happy tears, Jack. I didn't realize this meant so much to me." She ran her hand across her eyes, wiping away her tears.

Jack sat cradling her in his arms when it finally hit him. "Sam, you can be a mother. I… I can be a father again." He kissed her softly and whispered, "We can be parents."

They touched their foreheads together and smiled. Jacob saw the joy in his daughter's eyes as he watched the couple together. Though her military dreams were now dashed against the rocks, he could tell she now had more to look forward to than ever before. The events that brought the two of them to this point may have been horrible and difficult to live through, but they were stronger because of them. No matter what he thought of Jack O'Neill, he was perfect for his daughter.

"I think we'll leave you two alone for the time being." Jacob smiled as he left the room, knowing his daughter was in good hands.