A/N:Thank you so incredibly much to all those who reviewed. For those of you who are reading this and haven't reviewed, please do, I love getting reviews. I would like to especially thank SaffronAngel, your comments made me blush and made a very bad day a whole lot better. I would also like to mention Musings-of-Apathy, janissima, and kippling coft. I had sort of worked out the ages and all those problems in my head, and after the three of you (and anybody else who I forgot) questioned how Jack could have a daughter who was a medical doctor, I went back and worked it out on paper. It was a very annoying, stress-filled two days, especially since I already had this chapter written and did want to get it posted as soon as possible. So thank you, after I got done cursing you observant intelligent reviewers, I ended up with a detailed timeline of Kate's (and Jack's) life. Anyway, before we get to the story, the basis I am using for Jack age is that in season 1 "Brief Candle" he tells Kynthia that he is 40, I am going with the idea that each season is a year in the world of the SGC. So having said that, enjoy the story and please review. Reviews make me happy.

Chapter 6

"When I was in high school, my girlfriend Maria got pregnant. We were both sixteen and her parents refused to let her abort, which was what she wanted. So instead, we got married. Maria, however, wanted nothing to do with me or the baby. We weren't part of her grand plans. I was thrilled, everything the baby did was a miracle, she was a miracle. Because Maria wanted nothing to do with the baby, I named her. Katherine Rose, my Grandmother O'Neill's name, but I've always called her Katie, most people call her Kate. I got a job, but very few people were willing to be associated with me. I couldn't hold down a steady job and we needed money. By the time I was 17 and Katie was 1 we were getting desperate, so I lied to an Air Force recruiter about my age. I knew I was taking a huge risk, but we needed the money, and it was a guaranteed paycheck.

Things with Maria had been bad before I left for basic, but they just got worse. Halfway into my first tour, she sent the divorce papers. Because I was unable to go to court, my grandparents, John and Kit O'Neill represented me. Maria made it very clear that she did not want custody of Katie so I received full custody, with my grandparents acting as her legal guardians until I came home. If I didn't come home then they would remain her legal guardians until she turned 18.

When I got home, Katie was almost five years old. I stayed in the Air Force and with a lot of help from teammates, CO's and their families, Katie and I managed while I was in Black Ops. It got easier when I married Sara, but by then Katie was 11 and we were both used to our unique way of life.

Katie became a doctor and moved around all the time, so we didn't have much time together, but she writes and calls when she can. And now she's here. And I can't decide if she's safer here or back in Iraq." Jack's voice trailed off, and for a few moments absolute silence filled the room. Then Kate, lying on her side facing away from her father, turned to face him.

"I'm much safer here. Can't get burned by the sun under a mountain can I? Can't turn into a soggy piece of fungus under a mountain can I? Aliens, weird energy weapons, and annoying arrogant doctors I can handle. I'm home, I'm with you, therefore I'm safe," Kate said sleepily.

"Since when do you do sweet and nice?" Jack teased his daughter.

"Since I'm so tired I don't know which way is up. And since I do want your friends to like me. I have a bad feeling we'll all be meeting often, and frankly I'd rather be friends with you guys," she said directing her last statement to the rest of SG-1.

"Jack, why didn't you tell us? I mean the number of times you've gone missing, she had a right to know," Daniel turned to Jack, not angry, just sad, and disappointed. After all, he was one of Jack's best friends and he hadn't even known that the man had a daughter.

"Before the first mission, the only thing that had kept me from pulling the trigger was Katie. I couldn't let her get a call from Sara saying that I'd killed myself, and I couldn't let possibly let Katie be the one to find my body if…if I had gone through with it. During the first mission, it was easier to let go, I knew that she'd been living with the possibility of the phone call her whole life. Hell, she'd gotten the phone call at least three times before. But I still couldn't do it, you helped me realize that Daniel, that I couldn't leave her. When the SGC started up again a year later, there didn't seem to be a point to telling you guys. We had enough trouble learning to trust each other and we were all trying, failing mostly, to keep our personal lives away from the team. And as for all the times I've been missing, Katie has still gotten the calls, right?"

""Yeah Dad, I got the calls. Dr. Jackson, I've always been in Dad's file as a person to contact if…if things go wrong. Every time for the last seven years, it has been Janet or General Hammond making the call. I've known Janet since I was in med school, so sometimes, she would be the one to call me."

"Please call me Daniel, hardy anyone calls me Dr. Jackson. Still, it should have been one of us making that call to you. We're Jack's team, it should have been us."

"I appreciate the sentiment Daniel, but having gotten that call quite a few times, I can tell you one thing. It doesn't matter who is telling you the news, it's still the same and its still the worst moment in your life. It does not matter if it's your Dad's best friend or his 2IC, or his CO, or even his doctor, the news is the same and nothing the person says makes you feel any better."

"How is this going to work? Medically I mean?" Sam asked, burying her anger at Jack for not telling her and focusing on problems she could understand.

"Well, I'm ethically not allowed to operate on Dad. So one of the other surgeons will work on Dad when he gets hurt, because let's face it, he will get hurt, it's inevitable. However, I can operate on the three of you, so that's how it will work. Besides, I've come in before to 'consult' and it has never been a problem, and I don't anticipate it becoming one now."

"When have you been in before? I don't remember you," Daniel asked trying desperately to remember if he had ever seen her before.

"You probably don't remember me Daniel. I tend to come only when there are lots of patients who need help, and besides it's been at least four years since my last consult."

"Why lots of patients? And we've have several situations with lots of surgery patients in the last four years, so why not pull you in?" Daniel asked.

"My specialty, if you can call it that, is meatball surgery. I'm fast and good at keeping patients alive so that's why I tend to deal with lots of patients. And it's been four years because this is my first time back stateside since the US went into Afghanistan. When we went into Iraq I was pulled from Afghanistan, and sent in with the first MASH unit. Because I've been so far away and because the military thought I was needed more over there, every time Janet tried to get me in here to help out she got denied."

"Wait, MASH units are Army. Why would the Army hand over one of their doctors to the Air Force?" Sam asked, a lifetime of watching her father deal with turf wars between the branches making her aware to a reality of the military not apparent to Daniel.

'Because Major, I'm not Army. I'm not Air Force either. I'm part of the Civilian Consultants Program."

"What's that?" Daniel asked, intrigued.

"The CCP is a group of doctors who are civilians who are sent to war zones or other not so nice parts of the world. I work with the military, I work for the military, but I'm not military and they only tell me where to go. The major bonus is I get to be as insubordinate as I want, I don't need this job, I can work in any hospital I want, I get job offers with VERY nice salaries every week. The military, however, needs me. So they've learned to deal."

"Is this wise, an O'Neill on base who can't be told to hold her tongue and doesn't have to follow regs?" Daniel grinned, Jack was bad enough, how on earth was General Hammond going to deal with Kate?

"This will indeed be most interesting KateO'Neill. Welcome to the SGC," Teal'c said, bowing his head and smiling ever so slightly, giving the new doctor his seal of approval.

From her office Janet watched as SG-1 began to accept Kate. Sam seemed a bit reserved still, but Janet knew Sam, and knew Kate. They would be friends soon; they just needed to adjust first. Yup, Janet thought, the SGC just got more than it bargained for. Because with Kate O'Neill around nothing was ever peaceful or easy.