A/N: Okay, so sorry it's been a while, life's been hectic. i'm sorry they've been short and cliffhangers, but i'm not that far ahead in writing for you guy, so i figured i'd take my time now, instead of making you wait forever later. enjoy!

Jay startled when the two figures sitting on the porch stood up. He wasn't expecting anybody to be waiting for him. Hell, he didn't even think Sean would show up for a while once he was there. He'd wanted to talk to Poppy Matt once he first got there, but now he wouldn't have the chance. Matt stood, patted Sean's shoulder and went inside the cabin, effectively leaving the two brothers alone.

Jay was the first to speak. "Sean."

Sean nodded back and held up a fresh beer they had brought out for him. "Jay."

Jay stuttered momentarily, not quite sure what to say. He knew he should apologize; the whole mess originally was his fault. "I, uh…"

"Yeah, don't worry about it," he waved him off, beer spilling out of the lip of his bottle.

"No, it wasn't right. I know you're nothing like him." Jay popped open his beer and took a deep gulp.

"That him is our father." Sean was frustrated with his brother's inability to forgive one man for never knowing about them.

"He was a sperm donor, that's all!"

"He does have feelings, you know!" Sean shouted back at Jay. The two were easily escalating into an all out argument.

"And I should care about them why? It's not like he gave two shits about us." Jay paced in front of his brother's still seated form. He hated arguing but it seemed to be what they did best. He took another gulp from his beer.

"He didn't even know about us," Sean countered adamantly. He'd just spent over three weeks with the very man they were arguing about and had gotten to know him better than he thought he would going into it. "You know what, this is stupid. I didn't ask you all the way up here to fight."

Jay sighed and sat down next to Sean. "Yeah, I know. I'm sure he's an okay guy and all, but I'm not just going to warm up to him immediately."

"He's not expecting you to. He won't even be surprised if you don't utter a single kind word to him at all. He just wants a chance to get to know you." Sean stared out at the trees before turning to face his brother. "Besides, you know he's gotta be decent, Mom fell in love with him."

"People change."

"I know." He paused letting everything sink in. Jay had a lot to think about and he didn't want to rush him. "Well, you did say you wanted to talk to me, and I'm sure it wasn't about Dad, so what's up?"

Jay stood gesturing his bottle around. "Care to take a walk?"

Sean smirked, "If you don't mind the possibility of running into Dad. He wanted to give us a chance to talk first."

Jay shrugged and started down to the docks to pick up the topic of conversation. "Eh, we'll handle it if we see him. C'mon, I left Steph down at the dock, talking to Trish and some other woman."

Sean laughed, knowing who it was he was talking about. "That would be Sam. She's Dad's…" He trailed off, not really sure what he should reveal. In the end it didn't really matter, he figured there was more going on with his father and Sam and it'd all be out sooner or later.

"His what?"

"I'm not quite sure. There's been no announcement, but I wouldn't doubt if she became his wife soon. She was his 2IC for almost three years, but she was in an accident about two months ago and was medically discharged a few days ago. She hasn't been under Dad's command since the accident though. I'm her replacement."

"How's that work? I though that was against the regs since all those brothers died in WWII."

"Special dispensation," Sean explained. "Besides, they already started training me when I told Dad who I was."

"There wasn't anybody better for the job?" Jay asked skeptically.

"The other two team members are civilians, they need another military member and I have the scientific background they were looking for."

The two men approached Steph and Trish from behind, Sam having left to find Jack just moments before. Steph turned to face them, holding a small baby in her arms.

"Hey, Steph, why don't you and Trish relax together, Sean and I'll take her for a walk," Jay said, taking the infant from his wife's arms. He cuddled her close, a small smile breaking out across his face.

"Sure, Hon," Steph replied grinning back at her husband's smiling face. "Buggy's in the trunk, carrier's in the back seat."

Jay nodded and headed off towards their car carrying the most precious thing in his life.

Sean broke in, curious as to why he'd never known about the beautiful child in his brother's arms. "So, who's this precious little girl and how come you never told us about her?"

"Sean, meet Lillian Karol O'Neill. Lilly, this is your Uncle Sean." Jay turned to face the child towards Sean, proudly showing her off. "I'm sorry, but it just never seemed like the right time. I did try, especially since you kept us in the loop with Charlie. Mom knew about her, so did Rick."

"Bet Mom was surprised when you told her her name." Sean smiled, thinking of his beautiful mother and her wonderful smile.

"She never got to find out. When Rick told us about the accident, Steph went into labor. Lilly was born four weeks early, perfectly healthy. I know Mom never liked 'Lillian', but we loved it, and it suited her." Jay's smile turned sad. They'd named the little girl after her grandmother in honor of the wonderful woman she'd been. He leaned into the backseat of the car and got out the sling to carry Lilly around while they walked.

"Mom woulda been delighted."

"She couldn't wait 'til Lilly was born. We were so upset she never got to meet her."

"So that's why Steph wasn't at the funeral," Sean whispered to himself, but loud enough for Jay to hear it. "I'm surprised you kept the O'Neill. I woulda thought you'da changed it by now."

Jay shook his head adamantly. "No, Mom felt too strongly about that. I couldn't go against her on it."

"Yeah, I guess you couldn't." Sean glanced at his brother and new niece as they walked. "So, you know what you're going to say to Dad?"

"Nope, ball's in his court."

"What about Lilly?"

Jay shrugged, rubbing his daughter's head lovingly. "I'm not sure yet."

"He was pretty broken up when he heard about Charlie. He wouldn't show it, but I could see it in his eyes. At least give him the option of being in his granddaughter's life," Sean pleaded for his father.

"Easy for you to say, you guys live in the same town," Jay bit back almost accusingly.

"You don't think he'd make an effort to see her?" Sean whipped around wanting to grab his brother's arm, but knowing it would disturb the child. "Maybe we should get back. I'm sure Dad's worried about what we're up to."

Jay turned to Sean as they started heading back. "You know what irks me the most, though? Everybody's always singin' his praises and sayin' what a wonderful guy he is. Even Rick was always tellin' us how great he was, but Charlie , our brother, died, in his house."

Sean shook his head, turning serious. "Something about that just doesn't sit right with me."

"Yeah," Jay sneered. "Our little brother's dead because he was careless."

"No, I mean there's more to the situation than that," Sean declared, certain their brother's death wasn't an accident, and had nothing to do with their father or whether he was careless or not.

"Sure, whatever," Jay replied snidely. "We should really get inside. I don't want to keep her out in the sun too much. C'mon, Lilly, let's go meet your grandfather."

A/N: Okay, so how'd you like it? i hope it's okay! Don't worry, Jay and Jack are in the next chapter, along w/ a little conversation with Sam! Have fun!