All references to Jack, John and Johnny are all Jack O'Neill.
Mike's question
Jack was cleaning the garage. He could not believe how much stuff the three of them had accumulated over the years. They still had all of Charlie's baby stuff and now they had bikes and skateboards, and sports equipment adding to the chaos. He couldn't get his truck in the garage anymore, today that problem would be remedied.
"Hey John." Mike walked into the garage. He called Sara to make sure this would be a good day to come and talk to Jack. The O'Neill's didn't have anything planned. Charlie would be at a friend's birthday party for the day and Jack was planning on cleaning out the garage so he would be around.
"Hi. Wanna give me a hand with this?"
"Sure." Mike grabbed the other end and followed Jack's lead.
"Liz in the house?"
"No Sir."
"Drop the sir, Mike. She didn't come with you?"
"No, she doesn't know I'm here."
"Oh……..Is there a reason for that?"
"Yeah." They worked for a while in silence. After a while, Mike stopped and grabbed one of the beers he brought. He handed it to Jack and opened another for himself.
"Am I gonna need this?"
"Maybe. Thought better to be safe than sorry."
"Out with it."
"Well. You know that Liz and I have been dating for three years now."
"Yeah."
"I want to ask you for your blessing. I want to ask her to marry me."
"You don't need me for that, she's a big girl. She can do what she wants, she always does." Mike looked at him skeptically "And yet, you are here."
"That's because I think I do need your blessing."
Jack liked Mike. He did. He was a good man. He would never hurt Liz intentionally. It was the unintentional part that concerned Jack. The life he had chosen would be difficult for Liz. Mike was a career Marine. He had no plans of leaving. He would stay until they forced him into retirement or until he… "She knows you're career and that you have no plans of giving it up?"
"Yep."
"She understands she can't always know where you are? You can't always be there on holidays and when she needs you? That if you have kids you won't always be there?"
"Yep"
"What did she say to that?"
"Don't expect me to sit around on some base somewhere and wait for you."
"Sounds like my Lizzie."
"You're the only one she'd leave Chicago for."
"I don't think that's true…anymore."
"So it's life as you two know it, only you're married."
"Yep."
"That's good enough for both of you?"
Mike knew what he meant. "I don't want this life for her, but I don't want life without her either………. I've thought this through. I even tried to leave for her sake. You know her. She doesn't let anyone leave for her benefit. It's like she knows the difference. It's errie."
"Yeah, she's a pain in the butt that way and so many more you have yet to discover." Mike smiled. He had already discovered a good number of them and loved her for them and in spite of them. "So you're serious? You're willing to give your life for my sister?"
"Yes, I know you have flexible morals and extreme loyalty issues. I realize I'm a dead man if I hurt her, so I had better mean it."
"As long as we're clear and you're that certain…….You have a go."
"Thanks John. I won't let you down."
"See to that….Help me finish."
Within the year Liz and Mike were getting married. Jack dutifully walked down the aisle and gave his baby sister away. Releasing her arm turned out to be a great deal more difficult than he had prepared himself for. This moment was more difficult than either Liz or Jack had expected. He knew it should have been his Dad standing there. Instead of releasing Jack's arm and moving to Mike, she faced Jack and hugged him fiercely and he her. She took his face in her hands. "Thank you Johnny." He just nodded. Took her arm and handed it to Mike without reservation.
