Janet hit him playfully in the side, while the three children looked dumbfounded at their uncle. "Jaffa humor," Janet said simply.
All throughout the movie, JJ was paying rapt attention, and Abby and Esther had glazed over looks on their faces. Finally, half way through the movie JJ looked over at his sisters and said sharply, "Will you two just shut up?"
Abby looked at him innocently, "It's not our fault that you chose a boring movie that neither of us likes. If it's bugging you that much – just tune us out."
JJ growled low in his throat and turned his attention back to the movie.
After the action flick was over, Esther turned to her mother, "I think it's time for more cake." In his head, Teal'c thought that Esther was most like Jack O'Neill in personality.
When more cake had been consumed and Masada viewed, Janet and Teal'c left to get back home to their children, whom they had boldly left in the care of Jack. Daniel was about to leave when Abby asked him where he was staying.
"I was going to get a room at the hotel down the road," he said, glancing between the three women.
Sam, Abby, and Esther all said, "No you're not," simultaneously.
"You can stay here, we have a guest room with an Egyptian theme," JJ piped up.
When accommodations had all been sorted out (Hammond was living just twenty minutes away) George looked at the three children in turn. "I think it's time that I put you all out of your misery and gave you your presents," he said seriously.
"Presents?" Esther piped up. "Where are they?"
George laughed at the girl before handing her his car keys, "They're in the trunk. You'll know as soon as you see them."
Two minutes later Esther returned with a rather large box containing three smaller boxes. She set it down on the coffee table in front of her grandfather and sat down by her siblings.
Hammond reached inside and pulled out the box marked, 'JJ'. The boy nodded in response and began tearing it open. Inside lay a BDU jacket with the name 'Col. J. O'Neill' emblazoned on it.
"It was one of your father's BDU jackets while he was commanding SG-1. I have high hopes that one day you'll have that same title." JJ gave his grandfather an affectionate hug before donning the jacket.
Next came Abigail's present. Inside of her box was a hockey jersey autographed by her favorite player. She hugged him with the same affection her brother had given George before also donning her gift.
Esther was last, mostly because she always chose to be, and what she found inside of her box brought tears to her eyes – two things, the first was an arrowhead necklace with the point of origin for Earth carved into the center, it was made out of trinium and kid skin straps, the second gift was an early acceptance letter to the University of Oxford in a silver frame.
"Thank you so much, Grandpa," she said giving him a hug for all she was worth after passing the letter on to her mother and Daniel.
Daniel whistled, impressed by the letter, "Wow, George! How many strings did you have to pull to get this through?"
Hammond smiled, "You don't want to know. And it was all worth it to see that look on her face. All of this was – just to see the looks on their faces when they got their gifts. It's what grandfathers do."
So it was, in this state that Hammond left them because of the late hour – 2200 hours.
The triplets went to bed soon after he left, claiming exhaustion from the emotionally long day. That left Sam to show Daniel where his room was, and where the closest bathroom was before the two of them sat down to talk over coffee.
"So, Sam," Daniel started, "You want to talk?"
Sam nodded, "It's been hard for all of us. Especially those first four years. Not telling Jack that I was pregnant was a stupid act of selfishness – but I didn't want his career to suffer because of my 'situation'. So I left. I can't tell you much about those first four years; it still hurts to even think about them." She looked up from her coffee and into Daniel's baby blue eyes, "I started off at my brother's house, but then I moved out when you guys got too close for comfort. I spent a few weeks in a shelter near Denver, and there I met a police officer named, Pete." Tears began to fall, "Moving in with him was one of the worst mistakes I've ever made – apart from leaving in the first place. I left the first time his guard was down and there was a chance for escape. It took me four years in hell to find my chance and have the courage to take it."
Daniel reached his arm across the table and gently squeezed Sam's hand. "It's okay, Sam, that's all over now."
Sam shook her head, "I know, but it's just so hard sometimes. Anyway, after we got out, I found General Hammond in Washington D.C." She smiled fondly remembering the day, "You should have seen his face when I showed up on his doorstep twenty pounds lighter than when he last saw me, carrying Abby with Esther and JJ walking beside me. The first thing he did was buy us some new clothes – Pete wouldn't even give the children that much. After that he took us out to get a real meal." Sam shook her head sadly, "That was the first hot meal any of them had ever had, and the first I had had in three and a half years."
She sighed, taking a long drink of her coffee; "We stayed with Hammond for about two years. He was there when Abby finally came out of her shell and said her first word at three and a half. He was there when JJ got scared when he had a bad dream and wet the bed – Pete would beat them when they did that. George was even there to coax Esther to eat from a plate when all she had eaten before came from the ground with Pete. George helped us so much."
Daniel was enraged at the monster being laid bare before him with Sam's words. He wanted to send Pete to Ba'al's homeworld and let Ba'al know that Pete was Tau'ri.
A/N: Okay, the plot is going to be starting in the next chapter - this one was really just so you all knew what the set up was. Review please. Man, I wish more of you would review...hint, hint.