A/N Thank you for the reviews! I hope you continue to enjoy!
Howard immediately began to chuckle. "Perhaps Michael and I should settle up our tab before we get kicked out for breaking dishware."
Meanwhile Jack sat silently staring at the table, noting Sam and Daniel were staring back at him. Teal'c reached out and quickly picked up the stones, depositing them in his pocket while Michael shook himself out of his surprise and began reaching for a napkin.
"I'm sorry. I didn't expect them to move like that. What are they? Electromagnets?"
Sam couldn't help it, she immediately fell into a fit of giggles which only confused Michael more.
Understanding her amusement but not sharing in her uncontrolled mirth Daniel smirked and just nodded to Michael, "Kind of. They're just a kids' toy. Jack can sometimes be easily amused."
Daniel looked over to see Jack staring at the table, "See what happens when you leave your toys laying around?" He gestured to the mess Michael was cleaning up.
Jack gave a weak smile and a small nod as he rose and slowly approached the table.
Wordlessly he dropped a handful of extra napkins on the mess Michael was still trying to clean up, "I'm sorry, I hope the beer didn't short circuit them."
"I'm sure they're fine." Jack assured in a flat voice. Noticing Sam's fit of laughter wasn't stopping anytime soon Jack looked to Teal'c. "What's with her?"
"Michael suggested magnetism is what causes the toys to work." The large man stated simply.
Jack relaxed with a small grin and Michael glanced back at Sam, "I'm not quite sure why that is so amusing?"
"It's okay, she's quite mad you know." Jack joked.
Sam took a deep breath to get her giggles under control as she glared at her former team leader. Predictably Jack buckled, "Sam is an astrophysicist and when she prattles on about something I have been known to suggest magnets as an explanation."
Michael nodded, obviously not understanding the amusement but wanting to be polite.
Jack took a deep breath and stepped closer, "But I'm betting there is something else that made that little coincidence oh so amusing for her."
Michael swallowed and glanced to either side of him as he realized how intently Jack was looking at him.
"As I mentioned, Sam, is the smart one of the group." Jack reflexively held up his hand to quiet Daniel's inevitable grumble at that observation. "So she's probably already figured out what I'm just now thinking is possible."
Michael put down the napkins that were still in his hands and wiped his palm on his jeans as he stood to look Jack eye to eye.
Jack took a slow breath, sizing up the man in front of him. "I'm sorry, i never properly introduced myself. Jack O'Neill."
Jack held out his hand. Michael licked his lips and took a deep breath. He looked down at the offered hand and then met Jack's eyes as he clasped his hand in a firm handshake, "Michael...O'Neill."
Jack nodded once then gestured for Michael to take a seat as he pulled up chairs for Howard and himself but instead of sitting Jack turned and went back to the bar.
A moment later he returned with a refreshed pint for Michael as well as one for himself...and a shot of whiskey which he quickly downed.
"Okay. I'm ready. I think you two," he gestured to Howard and Michael, "Need to start from the beginning."
Howard and Michael exchanged glances until finally Howard took a gulp of his own beer and started to talk.
"As I was telling you I tried my whole childhood to get in touch with you but my parents just wanted to pretend that year never happened. They didn't realize how scarring that experience was for me and although I eventually stopped trying I never stopped thinking about that house and you.
"I decided pretty early that social work was what I wanted to do; to try and help young kids like us. It was about 20 years ago that I realized I might be able to use old records I had access to in order to find you. I debated about it for a long time but 15 years ago I had my first child. I couldn't tell you why without having to see a psychoanalyst myself but the birth of my son was enough for me to decide I needed to track you down and see that you'd turned out alright.
"All I had to go on were past records and I hit my first dead end because DCFS records stopped after you reportedly ran away. Not that I necessarily blame you but that certainly made it more difficult. I decided to go in the other direction, find out what had happened to your parents."
If anyone at the table noticed Jack shift closer and seemingly hold his breath, no one commented. Howard did glance first at Michael, then at Jack before licking his lips nervously and continuing with the story of what he had found.
"I discovered you entered the system shortly after your father died. However, your mother was still alive."
Jack shifted again but made no noise.
"I had her name and found out she had been an Irish immigrant who had returned to Ireland and she had a grown son. I of course assumed that son was you; that you had somehow been reunited with your mother and that's why you weren't in the system. So I tracked the son down and found he had returned to the states a while back. That's how I met Michael."
At this point Michael straightened and continued the story.
"I had no idea what Howard was talking about when he showed up at my door. He pretty quickly figured out that I wasn't you but he was certain that my mother had given up another son.
"Honestly I thought he was crazy and dismissed him rather rudely. But 2 months later I was back in Letterkenny visiting Mum and I couldn't help myself. I asked her if there was any possible truth to it.
"Now Jack, what you need to know is that it wasn't Mum's fault really. She...well...she had problems. Not anything really that bad but enough that time to time growing up it wasn't infrequent that I would go stay with my Aunt and Uncle for a spell until she could feel stabilized again."
Daniel interrupted, "What kinds of problems?"
Jack shot him a glare and he quickly mouthed a silent apology and sat back but Michael smirked resignedly and obliged him, "Like I said nothing major. Most of the time she was just anxious and nervous. I would leave the times when it would turn more into paranoia. She would swear she heard or saw things, delusions. But she would take a week or two, become settled and then just be my regular, slightly high strung mother.
"She had met our father when he was on holiday in Ireland and they had fallen in love. She followed him back to the states where they got married and had you and everyone was happy for a while.
"Dad was a naval pilot and almost made it through the duration of Korea without being sent over but he was called up before the end of everything over there. One of the nights before he left they conceived me and then 2 months after that he was shot down in the sea of Japan."
Jack sat back, "My Dad was a pilot?" He repeated almost to himself.
Sam and Daniel were smiling at him and Michael nodded emphatically. "Yeah, apparently pretty good. I tried looking into it and only got a partial story but apparently his plane was hit when he defied orders while trying to help another plane."
Jack's eyebrows rose and he released a slow breath.
"Sounds familiar, O'Neill." Teal'c remarked with all the dry amusement that a jaffa could produce.
Jack gave a weak smile, "I guess." he took a large swallow from his beer, "What was his name?" he asked, eyes fixed to the bottom of his glass.
Michael matched his smile, "Lieutenant Thomas John O'Neill."
Jack nodded, not looking up "Thanks."
Michael smiled, "No problem. Mum's name was Marion."
Jack nodded again but still didn't say anything. Michael took that as sign to continue, "Anyway, living alone, in a strange country with no family I guess was enough stress that Mum kind of freaked out. I don't know the details but knowing her I can imagine what that would have been like. That was when they took you away from her and I'm telling you, if she was behaving the way I think she would then I don't blame whomever reported her or whomever made the decision to move you to foster care.
"About 6 months later she gave birth to me and she was so afraid of losing another child that she left the hospital and went straight to New York and took a ship back to Ireland. I didn't even know I was an American citizen until I was 10 and needed my birth certificate to register for sports.
"Life was stressful with Mum and her condition so when it was time to go to University I came to the states. I initially thought I'd go back but I met Joanne while I was in school and I settled in to my life and work and we had the girls and just never went back."
Jack tilted his head, "The girls? You have daughters?"
Michael smiled a small but obviously proud smile, "Yes. Or rather, you have nieces. Two of them; Kira and Kaitlin. They're both teenagers now, Kira is 14 and Kaitlin will be 17 in 2 months."
Jack took a deep breath and but said nothing.
"It's lot to take in, I get it." Michael squinted, trying to remember where he left off, "So anyways, about 7 years ago Howard showed up at my door.
"I had always felt as if something were missing but I had put it down to Mum not being able to be a normal mother. I'm not an overly spiritual person but when she told me Howard was telling the truth and that I had a brother something clicked. It just felt right. I called Howard as soon as I got home and have been spending the last half dozen years working with him and trying to find you."
The table was quiet for a long time until Jack finally broke the silence, "Well you found me. Now what?"
Howard and Michael shared startled looks, "Umm...", "Uhh..", "Well..."
Jack spread his hands on the table and leaned back in his chair, "It's okay. This is a lot, it's late and I'm still on East Coast time. You fellas spending the weekend in town? How about we take a break maybe get together for breakfast tomorrow morning? 8am? The diner on Hamilton?"
The men agreed and within short order all tabs were covered and the original members of SG1 were again alone.
"How you doing?" Daniel asked cautiously.
Jack rubbed at his chin, "Not sure yet."
"It's a lot to process right now." Sam offered.
Jack nodded and everyone was quiet until Sam broke the silence, "Did you ask about your Dad's name so you can look him up?"
Jack smiled sheepishly, "I was thinking I'd log into the Pentagon archives from the base tonight."
"So, not sleeping then?" Daniel teased.
Jack just rolled his eyes in reply.
"It is worthy to note that MichaelO'Neill was also able to use the ancient stones." Teal'c observed.
"Yeah, I noticed that too." Jack replied dryly. Glancing around, he lowered his voice, "For that reason let's keep this between us for now."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
A final swig of his beer and Jack dropped his hands to the table, "All right campers, let's move out, my ass is getting tired sitting here."
Everyone shuffled out of the booth and the last thing that could be heard as they left the pub was "And Teal'c! Give me back my toys!"
As the door shut behind him three men at a table in the middle of the pub looked at each other, wide eyed.
"Did you hear that? O'Neill has a brother." The tall one whispered with excitement in his eyes.
"Yeah, we all heard, we was all sittin' right here just like you." shot back the short stalky one.
"I'm just saying, he made those little stones move. If he's got the same genes as O'Neill but hasn't been messed with by the Asgard..." The first one shot back.
The third and largest man finally spoke, "We both know that but you must shut up! We are still in public. Let us go back to the rooms to talk of this further and plan. There is not much time. We know where both O'Neills will be tomorrow morning and more importantly that they will not be with SG1".