A/N: Okay I'm sorry that I haven't had time to update as much as i would like. here's the next chapter. i will say tho, that im very disappointed in everyone who's been reading. there was an intentional typo early on, and NOBODY has caught it. i'm still waiting for someone to notice. i want to know if ne body can figure it out. Hint: it has something to do w/ when this story takes place, and i shall forever be disappointed if nobody figures it out.

Cassie came bounding in the door as Jay and Steph were biting into their sandwiches Sam had made for them. Jack was sitting at the table with them, holding onto Lilly. He didn't want to put her down, ever. She was such a beautiful little girl, and she was his granddaughter.

"Jack! Dad-" Jack cocked his head to the side and looked at Daniel for a moment. The young archeologist shrugged, the deer-in-the-headlights look flashing through his eyes. "-found this little sandwich shop in town, it was amazing, and they had the best ice cream-" She stopped suddenly as she noticed the baby in his arms. "Oh, she's adorable, who is she?"

Jack smiled proudly, his eyes asking permission from his son. Jay nodded and Jack turned to face Cassie so she could get a better look. "Cass, this is Lillian O'Neill, my granddaughter."

Cassie knelt down beside him and ran her hand over the downy brown hair on the top of the baby's head. "Can I?"

"You have to ask Jay and Steph." She looked over at the couple and when Jay gestured for her to go ahead, she squealed and took the baby out of the Colonel's arms.

Jack smiled and stood, taking Daniel away from the crowd for a moment. He clapped him on the shoulder, dragging him onto the back porch.

"So, what's with all this Dad stuff?" he asked, sitting in one of the deck chairs he had out back.

"I have no idea. She started it this morning when she woke up. Uh, Janet and I, uh, started seeing each other, um about a week before you and Sam did." Daniel looked nervously up at his best friend, trying to judge his reaction.

"And you didn't tell us?" Jack practically shouted in mock surprise.

Daniel just tilted his eyebrow and shook his head, laughing. "Okay, so I deserved that."

"So, is it serious?" Jack just grinned at his friend, so much like a little brother to him. The little brother who needed to be protected from everything and every one, including himself.

"I, uh, I think so." Daniel's grin grew, as he blushed.

"You think?" Jack asked sarcastically.

"Well, other than going out to dinner and movies, we haven't exactly had time alone." He winced, revealing what he felt was such intimate information.

"Obviously Cassie approves." Jack smirked back at him.

"Yeah, well, we should get back in there."

Jack stood up and opened the back door. "Afraid they'll start gossiping about you?" He left Daniel out on the deck and walked back to the table noticing his new favorite occupant was missing, along with her mother. He sat across from Jay as the young man finished his lunch.

"Lilly got hungry," he shrugged taking a gulp of milk from the glass in front of him.

Jack nodded in understanding and turned to Cassie. "So what else did you do in town?"

Her eyes got as big as saucers as she started recounting the events of their trip. "This HUGE guy started picking a fight with Dad, but Teal'c just stared at him and he backed down." She started snickering. "I think he thought Dad was gay."

Sean had walked into the room the same time Cassie had started talking and heard the whole thing. Huge guy? He shared a glance with Jay before the brothers both mumbled, "McGrady," at the same time as their father.

Jack stared at the boys, less surprised than he should have been he supposed, but enough for it to show.

"Who?" Daniel asked, coming in on the tail end of the conversation.

"McGrady," Jack practically spat. "That beast you ran into earlier. Just try to stay clear of him and you shouldn't have any more problems. Don't know how he connected you to me, though." ,

"He probably overheard me talking to Mrs. Hastings. She's really nice," Cassie added before taking off down the hall to her room.

Jay had obviously become uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was taking and got up to put his dishes in the sink. "I'm gonna go check on Steph." He left the room without another word.

Daniel, being the only one left besides Sean, decided to give the father and son a chance to talk and silently made his exit, searching for Sam and Jacob.

"What'd I miss?" Jack asked Sean when everyone had left.

Sean backed off, throwing his hands in the air. "Oh, no. Now that you and Jay know each other, I'm not getting in the middle." Sean sighed and sat down next to his father. "This is something you need to ask Jay about and until you guys talk about it, that little family down the hall-" he pointed in the direction of the bedrooms, having given Steph permission to use it when Lilly started crying. "- won't feel comfortable around you."

"Oh, this just got a little more complicated, didn't it?" Jack dropped his head to his hands and sighed. Of course, it was never easy with him. He wasn't allowed to have it easy just once.

"Yeahsureyoubetcha," Sean said, patting his father on the back and heading outside.

Matt came back in at that moment to retrieve more beer for himself and Jacob. The two men had hit it off immediately and hadn't stopped talking since Jay had arrived. It had surprised Sam, of course, to see her father open up to someone like he had, but all of his friends were either military or alien, it was good for him to have a friend outside for once.

He immediately noticed his son's somber mood and assumed the worst. "You okay, Jack?" He popped open his own beer and handed the bottle intended for Jacob over to Jack. "I take it, it didn't go well?"

"No, it went fine." Jack popped the top off his bottle and took a swig. "Daniel bumped into McGrady. Jay got real uncomfortable and left to find Steph."

"Ah." Matt sat back, sipping his beer quietly.

"You know what this is about." It wasn't a question. Jack could see it in his father's eyes.

Matt just nodded, never taking his eyes off Jack. Jack in turn sat forward and splayed his hands out on the table, pointer finger and thumb tips touching, like he usually did when he got increasingly frustrated.

"Care to elaborate?" His tone was biting, but he really didn't care. His life had been thrown upside down the past few months and it just didn't seem to be easing up as time went on.

"Nope." Matt stood up, retrieved another beer for Jacob and left his son to think about what he was going to do.

Ah, hell. Now he had no clue what he was supposed to do. Whatever was bothering Jay was serious, and that meant more talking. He couldn't stand talking and it seemed that's all he'd been doing since he got back from Minnesota after Karol's funeral.

That was just one of the many reasons he loved Sam. There were so many times when all they had to do was look at each other and they could carry on an entire conversation.

He decided with a final grunt to go search out his son and find out just what was going on. He got up and headed down the hall, knowing they were somewhere in the house.

He heard muffled voices from one of the bedrooms, knowing Cassie was alone in hers, he was guessing it was Jay and Steph. He gently knocked on the door, not wanting to interrupt if she was still feeding Lilly; he remembered how fussy Charlie used to get if he got distracted from eating.

"Come." Jack slowly opened the door to see Steph standing up from the bed where Jay was sitting, holding his daughter close to him. The sight before him brought a smile to his face.

"Hey," he practically whispered. He wasn't quite sure how to broach the subject he was sure was touchy. Jay wasn't a talker either so he was pretty sure this wasn't going to be easy.

"Hi." Steph smiled at the two men as they greeted each other. If there had been any doubt in anyone's mind that Jack was Jay's father, it flew out the window in that instant. The two of them were so alike it wasn't even funny. She picked up the baby out of her husband's arms and started to head out of the room.

"Steph, wait." The pure anguish in Jay's voice stopped her in an instant. His eyes begged her not to leave him, which was so rare in his position. He never let anyone see his vulnerable side.

She turned around, the question in her eyes and sat back down next to him. He gently smiled his thanks, as he wrapped on arm around her and rubbed his hand over their daughter's soft hair.

"What's going on?" she asked softly, scared of the answer. If her husband was this upset, no doubt it was big. He just squeezed her shoulder in comfort and gave her a little half smile.

Jack grabbed a wooden chair from the corner of the room and sat down in front of the two. He wanted to know what Jay's little reaction to McGrady was all about. No doubt the jerk had given his sons a hard time when they were younger, that was obvious, but if he had physically hurt his boys, there'd be hell to pay.

"What was that all about?" he asked, the Colonel in him coming out. He wanted answers, and though he knew getting aggressive wouldn't help his standing with his son, the fury he felt towards Darren McGrady was overwhelming.

Steph looked between the two men, her confusion apparent. She looked to Jay for answers and he knew he had to explain to her what had happened before he'd come and found her.

He wasn't sure how to explain anything to her, and hoped that she picked up on what he was saying as he told his father what he needed to. This was another reason he hadn't wanted to meet the man. This situation could get out of hand, and he didn't want Steph to get stuck in the middle.

Jay took a deep breath and took comfort in the fact that his wife was next to him, his solid rock amidst the storm. "Steph, uh, she was a McGrady. Darren's daughter." He heard her gasp as Jack's eyes shot up to them. He should have warned her he was going to tell him about her past, but he didn't think Jack would ask quite that quickly.

He decided to continue on while Jack just sat there dumbfounded. He was letting the information sink in, but knew there was more that needed to be said.

"Everybody knows Darren McGrady hates you. It's been common knowledge since before we were born, so when Steph and I started dating, we tried our hardest to keep him from finding out. When I asked her to marry me, we knew there'd be no way we could keep it from him. Everyone else was happy for us, especially Grandpa Corin. I wanted to be there with her when she told Darren, but he wouldn't even let me on the property. He told her if she married me he'd legally disown her, have her stricken from all records, and he'd never acknowledge that he'd had a daughter."

Jay looked sad for a moment, remembering the pain that decision had brought his lovely wife.

"I offered to let her go. They'd always been close and I couldn't bare to see her in so much pain-"

Steph cut him off, finally entering into the conversation. She'd noticed Jack's eyes take on a softer hint, almost as if he was recalling some distant memory. "But I wouldn't let that brute take over our lives anymore. I love him, but I never understood his hatred of the entire O'Neill family and it just didn't seem fair that he hated Jay just because he's your son. Even though I haven't seen or spoken to him in over six years, I've never been happier."

Jack's smile was genuine, looking at the two in front of him. He, of course, knew the reason Darren McGrady hated him and his family. Hell, he was the reason. He could tell they were scared he'd give them the same ultimatum, but he could never do that. He'd just have to be sure that Steph could come to him any time she felt the need.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." His voice was quiet, yet his words were heard more clearly than if he'd shouted them. He wanted to tell them everything, but didn't know how they'd feel about it. In the end, he decided that it would probably help Steph to know why there was such a feud between the two families.

Before he started speaking, a memory flashed through his head. A little girl, about four years old, sitting on her grandfather's shoulders, smiling at him. Stephanie McGrady. Another one, she's nine and just fell out of a tree.

"Uncle Jack, it hurts!"

"I know, sweetie. We're goin' to see Grandpa Corin, just hang on."

"Oh my…" he trailed off, his eyes widening. "Stephie? Holy shit."

Her jaw dropped at the use of a nickname only one person besides her grandfather had ever used. It had been seventeen years since she'd heard it out of that mouth. "U… Uncle Jack?"

He nodded suddenly seeing the little girl he would play with so long ago. He hadn't recognized her when they'd met. Obviously they'd both changed so much since they'd last seen each other, she hadn't recognized him either. Of course, years of battle, death and hardship were worn across his face, making him look older than he really was.

"I never knew you were Jack O'Neill. After I broke my arm, Dad said he wouldn't let Grandpa Corin see me again, unless we stayed away from you."

Jay just looked back and forth between the two, not sure exactly what was going on. "You two know each other?" He groaned visibly. "What the hell is going on?"

"What do you two know about the McGrady's and O'Neill's?"

"Nothing except Darren hates you." Jay shrugged. Darren McGrady was no longer part of their lives; he didn't see why he should care.

"Corin McGrady was supposed to marry my mother. She got pregnant with me and her parents demanded she give into my father's pleas and marry him. Darren was four. I took away his new mother."

Jack looked decidedly uneasy as he waited for his son's reaction.

"Holy shit! What the Hell? I mean, oh man." Jay shot up pacing the room. He grabbed his wife's shoulder and pulled her to standing, making sure he didn't jostle his daughter on the way up. "C'mon Steph, let's get out of here."

Jack jumped up with them, trying to figure out what had just happened. He thought it was going fine. "Hey!"

"You were pretty convincing back there, using Lilly to win me over. We were hoping maybe Lilly would have one of her grandparents around, but I guess we should get out of here." He pulled his wife and daughter out the room and into their car, fastening their daughter into her seat as soon as possible.

Sam had seen the whole thing from the dock, where she sat talking with Trish and Cassie while Daniel and Teal'c talked amongst themselves. She stood up and marched herself over to Jack who was just standing there, a grimace gracing his features. She smacked him in the back of the head before scolding him.

"Jonathan O'Neill, what the Hell did you say to him?" She grabbed his shoulder trying to turn him around, but he wouldn't budge. Stepping in front of him, she tried to catch a glimpse of his eyes. The glare he held there followed the dirt trail down the drive and off into the distance.

He turned from her and stormed away to the cabin. "Nothing, Carter! That's the problem!" He yanked the door open and slammed it behind him with all his might, causing the wood framed to rattle on the foundation.

Sam stood, rooted where she was, circling and throwing her hands up in the air. She didn't know what had caused this latest outbreak. They had seemed to be getting along fine when she'd made them lunch, though Jay had been just a little wary of his father holding the baby. She could tell the young man still wasn't sure how to handle Jack.

She didn't know whether she should go after Jack or not, the unwelcome tears springing to life at the way he had shut her down. Of course, she hadn't helped any, yelling at him the way she had. She jumped when she felt two hands come down on her shoulders, one her father's, the other Matt's.

"I'll go talk to him," Jacob offered, giving her shoulder a squeeze. "You should try to find out what happened from Jay."

He headed off towards the cabin to follow Jack, leaving Sam staring after him. She was supposed to talk to Jay? What was she supposed to say? She barely knew him. And then it hit her. Though she was not in the exact same position Jay was, she knew how he felt to an extent. She'd lost her mother. Her father was military, and he'd never been around. She knew, that of everyone there, she was most likely to get through to the man in areas even his own brother could not reach.

She turned and headed to Jack's truck, knowing she was the only other person allowed to drive it, thinking of Jack's last words to her. Carter. He hadn't called her that since he'd introduced the trainees to her a month before. It stung, more than she thought it would. It was like he'd taken everything they'd built together and thrown it away, like it hadn't happened. She knew that wasn't true, but that didn't make the feeling go away.

"Sam! Wait a minute!" she heard Sean's muffled cry from where he'd been watching the exchange. As the young man caught up with her, she couldn't help but see the hurt in her eyes reflected in his own. She knew he'd gotten closer to his father in the time they'd known each other and the rift with his brother hurt him more than he'd allowed himself to acknowledge.

"He's not going to the other cabin." He pulled out a scrap of paper and an old pen from his pocket, quickly writing an address down for her. "It's Steph's grandfather."

She took the paper from Sean, hopped into the truck and turned it on, the engine roaring to life. As she flew down the dirt drive, she could only wonder if this rift was about to end with the two conversations, or if it would forever continue till long after the originators were dead and buried, forgotten by the setting sun of too many years.

A/N: Okay, so i know it might be a little confusing. Jacob and Jack talk next and then Jay and Sam after that! Thanks and please review!