Sorry about the wait - progress reports and conferences have to take precedence over writing! And this week I have more conferences and company coming for Thanksgiving, so it might be another week or so before I get something else written.

The setting of this story is Circus Pizza - a place similar to Chuckie Cheese - and a place where my own children held a few much enjoyed birthday parties (enjoyed bythem at any rate!). This is dedicated to all the parents who put aside their own misgivings and throw their children a birthday party...of any sort! You are indeed brave souls!

(You will find several misspellings - they are purposeful to show how children this age mispronounce some words.)


Chapter 13 – Birthday Bash

JJ was hopping eagerly from one foot to the other, barely able to contain his excitement. Today was his sixth birthday and he was going to have his first, real birthday party. Sure, he'd had parties to celebrate his birthday before; parties where Uncle Daniel, Aunt Janet, Cassie, Katie, Teal'c, Papa, and sometimes Uncle George came. They would eat dinner together, have cake and open presents. And it was a lot of fun. But this time…well, this time, JJ was going to have a party with kids his own age. And it wasn't going to be here at home, it was going to be at Circus Pizza! The place with all the arcade games, mechanical puppets that sang, and tons of neat rides to go on!

JJ had been there this past school year, when Billy had a party. He had loved the mechanical space ship that rode up and down and side to side. They had a little train, too that you could ride; it went around a track that even had a tunnel to go under! And so many games to play! JJ had played both the bowling game and the basketball game until his arms were so tired he thought they might fall off. But he had won 60 tickets at the games and bought a really neat water gun with his winnings. It was black and green and he was able to shoot Gracie with water from halfway across the yard! Daddy didn't really like the fact that he had bought a water gun; there was something about JJ holding a gun that brought a frown to daddy's face. He had scolded JJ when Grace had complained about being shot with it. After that, JJ had only been allowed to shoot it at things, not people, but he didn't care…it was still really neat!

And now he got to go back to that most wondrous place…for a party all his own! He had invited 3 of his bestest friends from school, along with Grace of course. Billy had whined when he heard Grace was coming too, but JJ didn't mind. She had never been to Circus Pizza and he was anxious to show her all the wonderful things there. Sometimes, he wondered why Billy didn't like Gracie very much. Sure, she could be a pest, following them around everywhere, but she could run and climb just as well as any of the boys…sometimes even better.

Grace too was excited for the birthday party. JJ had told her so much about Circus Pizza that she could almost visualize it in her mind. And daddy had agreed to let her invite her friend Brittany to come along, just so she'd have someone her own age to play with. Grace couldn't wait to go into the ball pit. McDonald's had one, but Circus Pizza had an even bigger one, according to JJ. He thought it might be as big as their living room, and that was pretty big!

"Is it time to go yet, daddy?" JJ asked fervently as Jack came into the room, tucking his wallet into his back pocket. He looked at the two children, their eyes alight with excitement, and smiled down at them.

"Just as soon as your mother gets back, JJ. She should be here any minute." He grinned as their chorus of "Yeahs!" filled the house.

Sam had gone to drop Maddie off at Janet's for the afternoon. The baby was only 2 months old and they didn't want to subject her to the noise and chaos of Circus Pizza. Truth be told, Sam had tried to wheedle her way out of the excursion as well, citing her need to nurse the baby every three hours. But Jack had adamantly refused to let her off the hook. He figured Maddie would be just fine having a bottle this once. Besides, if he was going, she was going. He had no illusions that this was going to be a walk in the park. Six children ages four to six in the over stimulating atmosphere of a carnival billed as a restaurant was a recipe in disaster…or at least a massive headache. And there was no way in hell he'd endure it alone. He was just grateful that they had had the foresight to ask the parents of the other children to meet them at the restaurant. Driving six highly excited children there and back would be almost as bad as the party itself. His two he could handle but six? The idea itself made him shudder.

"Daddy, is you cold?" Grace asked innocently when she saw him shiver.

Jack glanced at her in confusion for a moment before he realized that he had not kept the shudder to himself. "Uh, just a bit, princess. Must have the air conditioner set too cold."

He was saved from further comment by Sam walking in the front door, followed shortly by a rather disgruntled looking archeologist.

Jack quirked an eyebrow at his friend even as JJ and Grace ran to him with cries of excitement. "Danny?" he said over the noise of his offspring. "To what do we owe this unexpected pleasure?"

Daniel got down on one knee to greet the children, then frowned up at Jack. "They ganged up on me, that's what happened. Sam oh so subtly mentioned how nice it would be to have an extra adult with on this little outing of yours. Tried to get me to believe it'd be like the old days…SG-1 on a dangerous, highly stimulating mission." He snorted at the remembrance. "Unfortunately, Janet agreed. Said it'd be good for me to gain the experience, for when Katie has her first party." He shook his head ruefully as he got to his feet. "Frankly, I think you're both crazy, agreeing to this. What's wrong with a little at-home party, cake and ice cream, pin the tail on the donkey…that kind of stuff?"

"That's boring," Grace said, wrinkling her nose at the thought. "We wants to go on the rides, and play the games! They has really big puppets that sings songs, too!"

"It will be fun, Uncle Daniel," JJ added. "They have a mummy video game where you have to find articfacts before you escapes the tomb. You has to be really, really smart to get past level 10," he offered with a smile. For a moment, Daniel almost thought he was Sam, the way the little boy was buttering him up and all.

"Yeah, Danny, you can play the articfacts game," Jack teased, purposefully mispronouncing the word as JJ had done.

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Oh boy, I can hardly wait," he returned sarcastically.

"I wishes Uncle T could come," Grace sighed wistfully.

"I'm afraid Uncle Teal'c is back home, sweetheart. He had to go and help some of his friends with a problem," Sam said.

"Lucky him," Daniel muttered under his breath, receiving a glare from Sam in the process.

Clapping his hands together, Jack said with feigned excitement. "Ok troops! Time to head out and get this party underway!" JJ and Grace yelled with excitement and led the way to the cars, the three adults following at a more sedate pace. Although Jack and Sam thought they were prepared, they had no idea what they were getting themselves into.

------

It was even worse than he imagined it would be. Jack grimaced as he walked in the door of Circus Pizza. The first thing that assailed his senses was the noise; loud overly cheerful music coming from the eating area of the restaurant, chiming and dinging coming from the many video games and rides scattered about the entertainment area, and the excited screams of children coming from just about every square inch of space in the complex. The lighting was almost as bad as the noise: bright overhead lights and flashing lights from the various games made Jack almost reach for his sunglasses.

Daniel winced as he followed on Jack's heels, bringing his hand up to shade his eyes. "Oh my God. How long did you say we have to be here?"

Jack glanced over at him. "Two hours." Both men heaved sighs of resignation.

Sam, holding tightly to Grace's hand, came up next to them. "Oh come you two, it's not that bad." She stood looking around the restaurant, trying to catch sight of JJ's little friends and their parents. JJ stood to her other side, his neck craning in search of his friends. "Now don't go spoiling the kids' fun with your complaining. This is JJ's first party. I want him to have a good time," and she gave them both a warning look.

"Daddy and Uncle Danny can play wif me and Brit'ney," Grace stated. "We will has lots of fun!" she declared, her eyes alight with excitement.

"Thank you, Grace," Sam said to her daughter, shooting a look of amusement Jack and Daniel's way. "I think daddy and Uncle Daniel would appreciate that." Just then, Grace spotted her friend Brittany coming across the room.

"Brit'ney!" she shouted happily, letting go of Sam's hand and racing across the room. Sam felt a moment of panic when she lost sight of the little girl, but Jack was fast on her heels and, after speaking briefly to Brittany's mother, brought both little girls back to where Sam, Daniel and JJ waited.

"Look mommy! Brit'ney's here!" Grace needlessly informed her mother.

Sam smiled down at the little girl with the dark brown ringlets and big green eyes. "We are so happy you could come along and play with Grace, Brittany. I think you'll have lots of fun." Brittany smiled shyly up at Sam before clutching Grace's hand tightly.

Just then, JJ shouted out an exuberant, "Billy!" All the adults turned to see Billy approach, along with JJ's other two friends from school, Tyler and Andrew. The three boys, birthday gifts in hand, huddled around JJ and talked about what they would do first. Their parents discussed pick up arrangements before turning and gratefully leaving the noisy atmosphere. Once the greetings were over, Jack went over to the counter and let the manager know they were here for JJ's party.

The group of 3 adults and 6 children headed to the back of the restaurant where they would have a lunch of pizza, soda, and ice cream. A young teenage girl led them to a long table and informed them of their menu choices, as well as the activities they had at their disposal for the next two hours. Each child was given 12 tokens which they could use to play any of the games or ride on the mechanical toys located on the other end of the entertainment complex. She informed them that most parents ended up purchasing many more tokens throughout their time at Circus Pizza.

Both Jack and Sam were more than a little overwhelmed by the whole process. Neither one of them had ever attended any type of event at a place like Circus Pizza. It had been JJ's most fervent wish for his first "real" birthday party, so they had readily agreed with his request, but now they were feeling a bit over their heads. And of course, Daniel was absolutely no help at all. He was looking around with a dazed expression all his own. The only ones not looked confused were the 6 children, who all had various looks of eagerness on their faces.

At the bewildered look on Jack and Sam's faces, the waitress offered helpfully, "Most parties order their food first, then take the children to the games and rides. We'll page you when your order is ready."

Jack quirked an eyebrow at that comment. "And we'll actually hear it?"

Sam elbowed him in the ribs, then quickly replied, "That will be fine." She placed their order for 4 large pizzas and 3 pitchers of soda. When the waitress had left, she turned to JJ. "OK birthday boy. What would you like to do first?"

All four little boys responded as one, "Games!"

"Ok then. Games it is," Sam replied with a smile.

Grace tugged on Sam's sleeve. "Me and Brit'ney wants to go to the ball pit, mommy."

Sam looked over at Jack, raising one eyebrow in question. While she hated to split the group up, she knew it wasn't fair to make the girls do everything the boys wanted to do.

"Why don't Danny and I take the boys to the arcade area and you take Grace and Brittany to the ball pit," Jack offered. "We can meet up once they call us." While he wasn't looking forward to chasing after 4 active boys for two hours, he figured if he and Daniel each kept an eye on two of them, not too much could happen.

"But daddy, I thoughts you was going to play wif me and Brit'ney," Grace protested with a pout.

Jack hunkered down next to the little girl. "I think for now mommy should get to play with you and Brittany, princess. But I will later, OK?"

Grace regarded him thoughtfully for a moment before breaking into a smile. "OK, daddy." She threw her arms around his neck, gave him a quick kiss, then pulled away. "Let's go mommy!" she said with excitement as she pulled Brittany along with her. Sam shot Jack a look of amusement before following after the two little girls.

Jack got to his feet, wincing as his knees cracked. "Ok guys, we'll head off to the games. But everyone sticks together, got it? I don't want any missing kids on my watch!"

JJ led the way through the maze of tables to the arcade area, where he quickly staked out a miniature bowling game that all four boys could take turns playing. As Daniel and Jack stood watching the boys play, Daniel looked around with open curiosity. "You know, Jack, this place is really indicative of the way our society has become. Our children are subjected to bright lights and loud noises at a very young age. They are becoming conditioned to think that electronic entertainment is much more stimulating than any other activity."

With a quirk of an eyebrow, Jack said, "Geez, Daniel, they're just having fun. Lighten up, will ya?" He looked at the game next to the one they were currently at. "Hey look, there's that mummy game JJ mentioned. Why don't you try it?" He tossed Daniel a token and indicated the game with a nod of his head.

Rolling his eyes, Daniel never the less walked over to the game and studied it for a few moments before putting the token in and placing his hands at the controls. In minutes, he was as highly absorbed in the game as the boys were at their bowling game. In fact, Daniel didn't even notice when, fifteen minutes later, he was surrounded by quite a few other patrons. He was currently on level 12 of the Escape Egypt game and had acquired quite an impressive number of artifacts.

When he passed level 12, Daniel was startled by the cheer that went up around him. Looking around in surprise, he was shocked to see at least a dozen people surrounding him, including Jack and the boys.

"Uncle Daniel, you made it to level 13! I've never seed anyone make it that far!" JJ crowed with delight.

Jack clapped him on the shoulder. "Seems like you're a natural at this electronic entertainment stuff, Space Monkey."

"Do more, do more!' the other little boys shouted.

When the game started up again, Daniel gave Jack a sheepish grin, then returned to his pursuits.

Sam had heard their name paged and, after cajoling the girls out of the ball pit, had made her way to round up Jack and the boys. She had no doubt that all of them would be deeply engrossed in their games and not hear the page. Well, everyone but Daniel, she mused with a grin.

As Sam rounded the corner of the game area, two little girls in tow, she was surprised to see the small crowd gathered around one of the games. Her surprise grew as she approached, noticing Jack standing back and watching the proceedings with a smile on his face. Quickly, her eyes scanned the group for the boys, and found them huddled around the machine, along with quite a few other people she did not know.

Sensing her presence, Jack turned to her with a grin. At her questioning look, he stepped aside so she could see who was at the controls of the game that held everyone's interest. Her eyes widened in amazement when she saw none other than Daniel at the controls, head bent down, tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth in fierce concentration. She looked back to Jack, who just shrugged his shoulders before turning back to the game.

Shaking her head in wonder, Sam passed Grace and Brittany off to Jack before she eased her way into the crowd and looked over Daniel's shoulder. Her own face began to crack into a grin when she saw what he was playing. The graphics on this particular game were quite good; showing the inside of a pyramid and various artifacts that might have been found there long ago. Daniel's character was an Indiana Jones type person, complete with leather hat and whip. He was currently being chased by a mummy wielding a weapon of long ago.

As she heard their name being paged again, Sam placed her hand on his shoulder. "Daniel?" she said softly.

At the unexpected contact, Daniel jumped, causing him to lose his grip on the controls. There was a loud groan from the crowd as the character in the game met an untimely end.

Daniel turned to look at her, his face a mask of disgruntled anger. "I was almost at level 14!" he protested.

Sam shrugged rather apologetically, "Sorry. But our food is ready." Then she gave him a grin. "If you eat all your pizza, you can come back and play later, OK?"

Daniel narrowed his eyes at her. "Funny."

At the mention of food, the children cheered and began to push their way out of the crowd. Jack and Sam had to quickly grab them before they got separated. Making a quick stop at the bathrooms to wash up, they trooped back over to their table and sat down while Jack and Daniel went to pick up their order.

They had all been sitting, happily eating their pizza, when the curtains on the stage parted to reveal four large mechanical puppets. The room quieted down as the lights on the stage came up and music began to play. Suddenly, the puppets seemed to come to life. Their hands moved while they played various instruments, their bodies swayed to the music, and their mouths moved as if they were actually singing the words to the songs.

JJ, Andrew, Tyler and Billy got up from their seats and went to take a closer look at the puppets. While the other boys laughed and mimicked the movement of the puppets, JJ was more interested in seeing how they actually worked. He studied the way the lead puppet, a rather garish looking mouse wearing green lederhosen, moved and swayed with the music. Its large paws seemed to effortlessly strum on the banjo it held in its hands. JJ noted the soft clicking that accompanied the hand movements, correctly figuring that they were programmed to move to the beat of the music.

Grace and Brittany wandered closer as well, though both girls were a bit more apprehensive about these life sized puppets than the boys. They hung several feet back from the stage and giggled as the puppets rocked to and fro.

Sam and Jack smiled as they watched the children. JJ's innate curiosity was evident in the way he was studying the puppets. Unlike Billy, who was trying to get a peek under the girl mouse's skirt, JJ was more interested in studying the mechanical aspects of the puppets. Noticing Billy's current focus, Sam nudged Jack. "Ah, don't you think you should stop him?"

Jack looked to where she was pointing and tried hard to suppress a grin. "Why? It's not like he's going to see anything."

"Jack! That could be our daughter's dress he tries looking up one day!"

Jack's grin died on his face as he quickly got up and went over to Billy, pulling him away from the stage and talking to him sternly. Sam and Daniel shared a grin, neither one of them realizing that this moment would come back to Jack in vivid color years down the road, when Billy escorted Grace to her first school dance.

As Jack was walking back to their table, he heard a screech of terror that stopped him in his tracks. Turning quickly, he saw Grace frozen in place as she stared up at the side of the stage. Another curtain had opened with a change in music to reveal an enormous gorilla sitting behind a set of drums. He had what was supposed to be a happy grin on his face, but to the little girl, it appeared to be a fearsome grimace. As the puppet opened its mouth again to sing, Grace let loose with another screech and slowly backed away.

Quickly rushing to her side, Jack crouched in front of her and spun her around to face him. Her eyes were wide with fright, her face pale, and she was trembling in his arms. "Grace, baby, it's only a puppet. There's nothing to be afraid of," he quietly assured her.

Grace just stared at him, her mouth open as she sucked in huge gulps of air. Sam was there in an instant as well, kneeling in front of the frightened little girl. "It's OK, Grace. It can't hurt you," she said as she rubbed her back. JJ, Brittany and the other boys looked on in confusion…normally, Grace wasn't afraid of anything!

Grace flinched as the gorilla began to sing once again. Then she flung herself into her father's arms. Jack picked her up, shot a concerned look at Sam, then carried the little girl back to their table. He sat with her in his lap, making sure she couldn't see the gorilla on stage. By this time, Grace was sobbing quietly. Sam gathered the other children together and led them back to the table, where she and Daniel tried to encourage them to finish their pizza.

It took a good fifteen minutes, and the closing of the curtains in front of the gorilla, to finally calm Grace. In shuddering breaths, she stated with quiet determination. "I doesn't like bagrillas, daddy." She snuck a peek around his shoulder, just to make sure it was still hidden from view.

Jack kissed her gently on the head. "It's OK, princess. Daddy doesn't much like gorillas either." Grace remained in her father's lap while JJ opened his presents. He was a bit concerned about his sister's reaction to the gorilla puppet, but not so much that he didn't enjoy opening his gifts. He and his friends oohed and aahed over the Lego space station set, games, books and puzzles he received. Then it was time for dessert; build your own sundae.

At the mention of ice cream, Grace perked up and finally untangled herself from Jack's lap. That is, until the life-sized clown entered the area. Setting her eyes on the tall clown with the remarkably large head, Grace scampered back on her father's lap and hid her face in his neck. Jack gave Sam a look and a slight shake of his head. What had happened to their brave little girl?

"Come on Grace, let's go see the clown! He's making balloon aminals!" JJ cried excitedly as he looked over at the clown, who now had a large group of children surrounding him.

Grace took a quick peek over at the clown, taking stock of the situation. He didn't seem that scary. In fact, there were kids littler than her over there! Looking over at Brittany, who was gazing longingly at the balloon animals the other children were receiving, Grace made up her mind. "OK," she said, sliding off of Jack's lap but not moving forward.

Sam looked at Jack, then cant her head in the direction of the clown, indicating that he should accompany their daughter over to the clown. Rolling his eyes, Jack rose to his feet and took Grace's hand in his.

"All right, Gracie, let's go see the clown," he stated with some resignation. His head was starting to pound from all the noise and activity of the last hour... and they still had one more hour to go! The last thing he wanted to do was spend time in the presence of an overgrown circus reject.

As Jack passed Daniel, he grabbed the younger man by the arm and hauled him to his feet. "Come on, Uncle Daniel. Let's go see the clown." Knowing it was fruitless to resist, Daniel grudgingly followed in his wake.

Sam followed with a grin, pulling out her camera and hanging back while she took pictures of the children with the clown. Whoever was inside that enormous costume was obviously good with children, for he didn't force himself on the few smaller children who hung back, but held out a balloon creation to an older brother or sister to pass along to the younger ones. When it came Grace's turn for a balloon, he made a big show of twisting several balloons together to form a large flower, then bowed down regally to present it to her. Grace giggled and bowed back, her hesitation disappearing with the antics of the clown.

Jack was surprised when he was next presented with a balloon crown. With a forced smile, he put it on his head, reducing the children to fits of giggles when the clown bowed most regally to him as well. Daniel snorted in amusement, which he quickly ceased when Jack glared at him. Sam surreptitiously took several pictures of Jack in his crown, hiding her grin behind the camera the entire time.

All four boys received balloon swords, which they immediately used to engage in a mock battle. Daniel and Jack had to break it up shortly thereafter, for Tyler knocked over a pitcher of soda on another table, causing that patron to glare at them. Finally, the clown left and Jack was able to corral the children back to the table. Without a word, Jack deposited his crown on the table and herded the children over to the ice cream counter, where they spent many happy minutes concocting the most elaborate sundaes they could make.

Fifteen minutes later, 6 sticky children had happy smiles on their faces and empty bowls in front of them. "Daddy," JJ said, standing up on his chair, "We wants to go on the rides now. Can we please, can we?" his brown eyes shined with excitement as he bobbed on the chair.

From her spot next to him, Brittany tugged on Jack's sleeve. "Mr.Grace's Daddy? I has to go potty."

"Me too," Grace chimed in.

Jack looked pointedly at Sam. "This is your department."

"Daddy! Can we go play?" JJ asked a bit more insistently, teetering precariously on the edge of the chair.

"Sit down before you fall," Jack said with a bit more force than he had intended. Seeing his son's crestfallen face, Jack ran a hand guiltily over his face. He was tired beyond belief but knew he shouldn't be taking that out on JJ and spoiling his day. He shared a look of commiseration with Daniel before he looked over at JJ. More gently this time he said, "Yes, JJ. Uncle Daniel and I will take you over to the rides just as soon as your mother gets back from the bathroom. As a matter of fact, why don't we all make a pit stop and clean all of you up? You're all stickier than a bear that's gotten into a honey pot." This last part was said with a grin, causing JJ to smile back.

They made quick work of using the restrooms, then headed over to the rides. JJ, Billy, Tyler and Andrew went through all of their remaining tokens, and then some, riding on the various rides and playing several more arcade games. Grace and Brittany rode the train and the mini-carousel over and over until Sam felt that she would be hearing carousel music in her head for months to come.

When the party was ticking down to its final 10 minutes, Jack, Sam and Daniel herded the children over to the ticket counter, where the children were able to redeem their tickets for cheap trinkets. Of course, to the children, they were wonderful prizes, won by feats of skill and daring. JJ was thrilled beyond belief when Daniel presented to him the 200 tickets he had won at the mummy game, enabling the small boy to purchase the shiny set of binoculars he had had his eye on since coming here with Billy.

All of the children were now satisfied with their new acquisition. They returned to their table to gather their things and pay their bill. To Jack and Sam's dismay, just as they reached their table, the gorilla appeared once more on the stage to their right.

Grace froze again, her eyes going wide as she stared at the frightening puppet for several long moments. Then she narrowed her eyes and a look of determination came over her face. Reaching for JJ's balloon sword, she took it in hand and walked past everyone to stand in front of the gorilla. Holding up the sword, she stated quite loudly, "You is a big, scary bagrilla! But I is not scared of you no more!" Then she reached forward and smacked the balloon sword against the base of the puppet's feet before running back to join her family.

JJ smiled at her as she handed back his sword. "You was very brave, Grace."

Billy snorted and replied, "It's just a silly puppet. Only babies are scared of puppets." JJ responded to that comment by hitting the other boy on the top of the head with the balloon sword. Jack knew he should reprimand his son, but he was rather proud of the way JJ had stuck up for Grace, so he turned away, hiding a grin from the children.

Sam offered a quiet, "JJ", but she too was not overly upset by her son's actions. Billy rubbed his head and scowled at JJ but said no more. Grace and Brittany held hands and walked past Billy, heads held high.

Gathering their things, the three adults herded the children toward the front entrance where, Jack was relived beyond words to see, all four children's parents were waiting for their offspring. Thank-yous and good-byes were exchanged before Jack was finally able to buckle his own children securely into the back of their vehicle. He climbed wearily into the front and started the car before looking over at his wife, who was also looking a little worse for wear. Over the excited chattering of Grace and JJ in the back seat, he muttered, "That was the longest two hours of my life. Worse even than sitting on the Senate sub-committee hearings regarding our alliance with the Asgard."

"Jack," Sam admonished him, glancing back to make sure the children hadn't heard him.

They followed Daniel to his house, neither one saying much of anything as they each tried to recoup some of their lost energy. They collected Maddie, stayed for just a brief time to talk with Janet, who wanted to hear all about the party, before heading home. Once they arrived home, JJ and Grace raced off to JJ's room to play with his new toys while Sam laid a sleeping Maddie in her crib before collapsing on the sofa next to Jack. "I'm beat," she said, closing her eyes as she leaned back against the sofa.

"Join the club," Jack stated tiredly, rolling his head slightly to take a look at her. "I don't think I ever want to go through something like that again. No. I know I don't want to ever go through that again," he reiterated vehemently.

Before Sam could respond, JJ and Grace came running back out to join them. JJ clambered up on Jack's lap and put his arms around his neck, giving him a tight hug. Sam sat up as Grace climbed onto her lap. "Thank you for my party, daddy. It was the bestest party I ever had.," JJ said with feeling. Then he leaned across Jack and planted a kiss on Sam's cheek. "Thank you mommy," he said with a huge smile.

Sam smiled back, "You're welcome, JJ. I'm so glad you had a good time."

"I did. It was the funnest thing I did in a long, long time!"

Jack looked questioningly at his son. "Really? What about when we went fishing last week with Grandpa George?"

JJ cocked his head to the side. "Well…that was fun too. But not as fun as my party, daddy."

"And did you have fun too, Grace?" Sam asked as the little girl wound her arms around Sam's neck.

"Oh, yes, mommy. It was the bestest party I has ever, ever goed to!" Then she frowned. "Even though the bagrilla was kinda scary. But all the other stuffs was really fun!" She perked up. "Specially when daddy weared his crown," and she giggled loudly as she remembered her daddy wearing the red balloon crown on his head.

"Yes, that was pretty fun," Sam agreed, throwing a grin Jack's way. He just scowled in response.

Turning her attention to her father, Grace gave him her best innocent look. "Daddy? Can I has a party at Circus pizza when I turns this many?" She held up five fingers and waited expectantly for his answer.

Jack looked at Sam, who smiled in return as she shrugged her shoulders. Knowing he would receive no help from that quarter, Jack heaved a sigh. He knew he had spoken too soon when he stated that he never wanted to do a party like that again. "We'll see, princess. We'll see."

Grace sprang off of Sam's lap and onto Jack's. "Thank you daddy! You is the bestest daddy in the whole wide world!" She rewarded him with a kiss before JJ pulled on her arm.

"Come on, Grace. You can help me build my Lego space station!" The two children scurried off, heading back to JJ's room and chattering excitedly as they went.

"Don't wake Maddie!" Sam warned as their voices rose in animation. Then she turned and sat quietly, smiling at Jack. "What?" he asked, a hint of impatience to his voice.

She slid across the sofa and put her arms around his neck. "You are just the bestest daddy in the whole wide world, that's all." Jack rolled his eyes, but still pulled her closer against him. There was no doubt in his mind that, come March, he would be making a trip back to Circus Pizza for one Grace O'Neill's fifth birthday.