Thank you, THANK YOU for reviewing!
I'm sorry it took longer then normal to update... I found this a hard chapter to write and I wasn't extremely pleased with the results but I don't think I could write a better ending.
Anyways, I hope you like it. (-:
Janet Fraiser rolled over. Sam had invited her and Cassie to stay over at her house so they wouldn't have to drive over the next day. The clock on Sam's wall proclaimed it was Christmas day and had been for the past eight minutes.
"Mom?" A voice yawned. "What is that?"
Dori sat up. "Someone's phone."
Automatically, the three half awake 'women' checked their phones.
"Mine," Janet half groaned. "Hello?"
Whatever was said on the other side made Janet scramble to her feet. "I'll be there in 15 minutes!"
She closed her phone and grabbed her bag. Two minutes later, she was dressed and heading out the door.
"Mom!" Cassie hissed. "Where are you going?"
"The SGC," The Doctor took a deep breath. "Dori, keep your phone next to you. I'll call you in a bit... okay?"
And the store slammed closed behind her.
"Who was that?" A sleepy voice mumbled from the couch.
Dori hesitated. "Uh... Janet got a call to work... she'll be back in a bit."
"Oh."
Å
Janet Fraiser hurried through the halls, her tennis shoes squeaking. General Landry had been cryptic- only saying that a long gone visitor had returned and needed a medical check. Immediately, she had thought of General O'Neill.
She pushed the door open the stopped short.
"Oh God, it is you."
Jack blinked. "Hi doc... Long time, no see."
She moved forward. "General?"
"Yeah doc... it's me."
She fumbled with her cell phone and punched in a number. "Dori? It's Janet... get Sam up and tell her to meet me here, ASAP!"
She closed the phone without saying anything. "So, let's get on with this."
Å
"Why?" Carter said sharply. "What happened?"
Dori shrugged and hit the gas. "She just said to get you there ASAP."
Cassie was silent in the backseat. Daniel and Teal'c sat on either side of her, each thinking their own thoughts.
Å
"You are General Jack O'Neill," Janet announced.
"Gee doc, thanks." He looked at her. "How long was I gone?"
"Over twenty months General."
"How's Dori? Sam?"
"Your daughter is fine." A small smile came onto the doctor's face. "She's driving, she's a senior, and she plays volleyball… she has a boyfriend."
"And Sam?"
"She's good. Misses you."
Jack toyed the bottom of his shirt. "I-"
The infirmary doors flew open and a tall girl hurried in, her dark brown braid a mess, and her eyes staring straight at him.
"Jack?" She whispered. "It's you?"
The General stood up. "Dori?"
She covered her mouth. "Oh Jack…"
He opened his arms and she flew into them. Sam rounded the corner, Teal'c and Cassie right behind her.
"Sir?"
Jack's head snapped up. "Carter!"
She stood in the doorway, frozen. Jack began walking towards her, his arm still around his daughter.
"Yeah Carter… it's me."
She let out a shaky breath. "I thought you were gone for ever."
He brushed a piece of hair out of her face. "I'm back."
"I love you Jack O'Neill," She whispered before throwing her arms around him and kissing him passionately.
Å
"Start from the beginning," General Landry ordered, still looking rather shocked from the strange turn of events.
Sam and Dori sat on either side of Jack, each holding onto his hand tightly.
Teal'c, Daniel, and Cassie had been overjoyed to see the return of their beloved friend. Jack had requested that his debriefing take place as soon as possible so they could spend the rest of the day together.
By the time the General was finished, Sam's eyes were filled with tears. "We left you behind," She whispered. "All this time… you were alive…"
"Oh Carter," Jack said gruffly. "It wasn't your fault."
"Jack's right Sam," Daniel said giving her a small smile. "It was a terrible mistake… but it was no one's fault."
Jack looked over at Hank. "Can I go?"
The man nodded. "Merry Christmas Jack."
Å
Jack noticed on the way home that his second-in-command was unusually silent.
"Okay Carter," He said looking over his shoulder. "What is it?"
The Colonel sighed. "Sir… while you were… gone… I uh… some things have happened."
"Like what?"
Dori barely took her eyes off of the road. "Like… I'm enrolled in a private school."
Jack didn't say anything for a few moments. "Do you like it?"
"Yeah," The teen said. "I do. I'm a senior now… and I have the cutest boyfriend."
"Boyfriend?"
"Yes daddy dear, I do."
Jack watched as his daughter skillfully navigated around a patch of ice. "When did you get your license?"
Dori shrugged. "Months ago."
Jack felt a pang. He had looked forward to teaching Dori to drive… something he had never been able to do to Charlie.
"So, what else Carter?"
Sam bowed her head. "I… adopted Dori."
"I thought you would... hoped you would."
Carter stared at him.
"Oh, come on Carter… am I suppose to be angry or something?"
"I kind of expected more of a reaction."
"Carter… I knew that you would do what you thought was best for Dori… and you did."
"Oh."
Jack had remembered things being a little awkward after he got back from Maybourne's 'Paradise' and things were definitely awkward when he got back from Edora.
But he had only been gone for a few months then.
Å
"Are you all right Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c inquired as he followed the Fraiser's and the 'O'Neill's' back to Sam's house.
Daniel gave him a questioning glance. "Uh, yeah... why?"
"I sense that something is bothering you."
The archeologist shrugged. Teal'c gave him a scrutinizing glance before continuing, "Is it that O'Neill has returned?"
Daniel's head shot up. "What?" He yelped. "I can't believe you said that! Jack's one of my best friends!"
"Indeed. But you have become a father to Dorothy... whether you admit it or not. You and Samantha have become very close... and while I do not feel that you love her beyond a natural, brother like affection, you-"
"Enough!"
Teal'c pushed on. "Are you prepared to give up your role in Dorothy's life? Will you let O'Neill take his rightful place?"
"I can still be in her life," came the muffled answer.
"Yes- as a beloved uncle. But she will no longer turn to you for all her problems, her joys, her sorrows..." Teal'c stopped. "I do not mean to hurt you... only to prepare you for reality."
Daniel was quiet for a moment. "I don't know Teal'c… I honestly don't know."
The Jaffa inclined his head. "Very well."
Å
"Here we are!"
Jack looked at the house. "You repainted it- the trim I mean."
Carter looked over at her house. "Oh… I suppose I did." She had- nearly nineteen months ago.
The not quite ex-General followed his daughter up the steps and into the house. Inside, it was dark but showed signs of abrupt departure. The coat rack was on the floor, the small table next the entryway was moved from its original place and various articles of clothing littered the floor.
The Colonel blushed. "It was clean this morning, sir."
"I should know," Dori groaned. "I had to help."
"Poor baby," Sam mocked punching her daughter's shoulder affectionately. "Will 'ou live?"
"Oh… be quiet."
Jack watched the bantering with some surprise. Dori had liked Sam when he had left but was still rather reserved around her. To her at ease, laughing, smiling, enjoying herself… it was an odd experience.
"Coffee, sir?"
He started. "It's Jack, Carter… I'm retired, remember?"
"Not quite, sir." She reminded him starting the coffee pot.
Jack shrugged and looked around. Dori moved with ease- pulling out mugs, getting the creamer, sugar, and milk out…
"So, tell me Dori… what's this about a boyfriend?"
She blushed deeply. "His name is Rick."
"Last name?"
"Anderson."
"Address? Social Security Number?"
"No, daddy… you can't go over there and beat him up."
A smothered giggle made the two looked up. Jack's 'former' second-in-command was trying to stop herself from laughing- unsucessfully.
"What's so funny?" Dorothy demanded.
She shook her head. "Nothing…"
And as Cassie, Janet, Daniel, and Teal'c stepped into the house, the first thing they heard was laughter.
Å
"Here you go."
Jack watched as Daniel handed cups of coffee to both to Carter and his daughter. Apparently they had spent a fair amount of time together- both announced theirs just right.
"So…" He began. "What were your plans for today?"
Dori suddenly looked horrorstruck. "Jack!" She cried. "We don't have any presents for you!"
Jack smiled. "Dori… I got everything I ever wanted right here."
Sam took the seat next to her CO. "The new 'Simpson's' season wouldn't hurt thought, would it?"
He perked up, making Cassie laugh. "Oh, Uncle Jack… we've missed you."
"Oh yeah," Daniel said sincerely. "Not much fun at briefings… General Landry likes to listen to me 'ramble for an eternity'."
Carter laughed. "He actually has his briefings down to seven minutes, sir."
"You all still go off-world?" Jack asked, slightly surprised.
Teal'c answered first. "Daniel Jackson and I must go off-world twice a month. We are rarely gone for more then a day."
"I've only gone on one mission, sir."
Jack looked at the blue-eyed Colonel next to him. "I'm sorry, Carter. I know how much you love to go off-world."
She was quiet for a moment. "If I had to do this over again, I would do the same. Dori is worth every trip to any planet in this galaxy."
Dori looked over and smiled at her mother. "Thanks mom."
The silence was getting a little awkward when Janet announced, "Come on, back to bed… it's past 2:00!"
With a few joking complaints, they obediently retired.
Å
The day passed swiftly for Jack. He enjoyed watching the others open their presents and smile their thankfulness. He couldn't help but compare it to the Christmas two years ago at the cabin… how melancholy they had been… and so much that had happened since then.
Slowly, day-by-day, the old year left and a new one was ushered in.
Jack was finally 'officially' retired. He was offered command of the SGC as a civilian, which he politely, but emphatically, turned down.
It wasn't an easy time for anyone- the life of the past two years was changed as Jack adjusted to Earth life again.
Dori brought Rick around mid January to meet Jack and the seventeen year old boy had to endure a 30 minute questioning session before passing 'inspection' and was allowed to continue to date Dori.
Daniel left at the beginning of February on a two-week archeological dig. Teal'c joined him for a week then went to spend some time with Rya'c, both promising to home in time for 'young Dorothy's birthday'.
Sam and Jack slowly worked their way back to where they had been relation-wise before his disappearance. Dori was trying to speed them up- she wanted them married… and soon!
The teenager herself was kept busy studying. Unknown to everyone but Rick and Cassie (who was at college, studying to be a doctor), she was planning on joining the Air Force… like her mother and father.
Å
Dori looked around. Teal'c, Daniel, the Fraiser's, Dakota, and Rick were gathered around the table, waiting for her to blow out her candles.
"Where's Jack?" She asked. "He and Sam just disa-"
The two immerged from the living room, looking slightly disheveld. "We have an announcement," Carter began.
"We're… re-engaged!" Jack called.
Daniel and Cassie whooped while the rest of the table flocked around the two. Dori smiled then turned to look at her cake, the candles almost melted away. She hesitated, closed her eyes, and then blew them out. As she opened them, she saw everyone looking at her.
"What?"
"What did you wish for?" asked Rick.
She looked over at him. "I wished…. That we could always be together… all of us."
The answering smile seemed to ensure her this would always be the case.
"So… who wants cake?"
So... what did you think?
End it here, do an epilouge...? Advice dear readers!
I really hope you weren't disappointed in this chapter.
Well...
PLEASE review!
Note: Thank-you WarmTea for everything you have done for me!
