So, I got this super useful software that corrects my grammar mistakes. Therefore, I went through all the previous chapters with it and geez; I have to say that if I were a native English grammar nazi, I would kill myself and the next seven generations. Finally, please let me know if this improved something I guess I could get them an excellent review on saving my writing skills (or lack thereof)
Chapter 10 - Family
Despite being living in the Carter-O'Neill household since his arrival, Malcolm was still a foreigner to their customs. Usually, by the time he woke up, the home was already depleted of most of their inhabitants. At 8:30 AM, the breakfast table consisted only of his breakfast dishes and a bunch of stuff to eat; starting with two kinds of eggs, several types of cake, various cereals, fruits (some that he knew and some he wouldn't dare to try,) jams and juices.
For lunch, it was mostly the three of them sharing a salad or a sandwich or something light and quick. Either on the terrace or in the veranda while enjoying the warmth of the summer.
Now, dinner.
Dinner was a different affair. He felt utterly overwhelmed during the first night. Probably, it had to do with the fact that he was most of the day in peaceful silence and friendly dialog (or in the middle of an interview, whatever you prefer to call it.) But then, he had to join the noise which comes from a (huge) family. Perhaps, it was the ease in which they took him in. Whatever it was, he felt overwhelmed the first time and still was overwhelmed the previous night.
Now, that first time they went for dinner, he then learned they were 8 Carter-O'Neill youngsters living in the house. All the kids were polite and mostly kept quiet while someone else was talking unless it was one of them trying to tell whatever mischief they committed during the day. What surprised Malcolm the most was the fact that even the smallest one would stop and listen to whoever was talking.
"Before dinner, we all take a number. It's easier that way," Aila whispered to him while he was looking in awe at the exchange. "So, we all get to talk during dinner, and we all hear what the other is saying."
Anyway, the respected dialogue that occurred during dinners wasn't nearly close to what he witnessed that day.
"Terran!" Sam yelled as she ran to her kid, jumping into his waiting arms, and the man twirled his mother in circles laughing happily. Jack approached slowly to the woman was near his son and exchanged pleasantries with her. They smiled at the pair twirling pair.
"They'll never change," Jack grinned, and then something flashed in his eyes. "Scratch that, once upon a time, Sam was the one twirling Terran," he smiled. When Sam was once again on the floor, she too welcomed the woman.
Malcolm remained somewhat behind and noticed more kids were running around the gardens; he counted at least four new heads.
"Those are Terran's kids," Aila came to his rescue, then she smiled and shouted, "don't you dare!" in a perfect German. The kids answered each in one language. Feeling a bit confused, Malcolm came closer to the adults, only to notice, to his utter dismay, that they too were speaking with a different language each. He blinked several times, not sure what to do or how to introduce himself. Jack was the first to notice his dilemma and nudged Sam towards Malcolm's direction.
"Malcolm," Sam grinned. "We have an option for you. We could break our Saturday code, and all speak English to help you around or," she said, grinning knowingly to Aila.
"You could help us test the translator!" Aila's eyes widened, and then she smiled.
"What's that?" Malcolm asked worriedly.
"It's one of our newest inventions. It's a pill that will allow you to develop temporary nanites; those will help you understand all the languages which are being spoken here," Aila explained.
"Don't worry, it's human safe," Sam grinned. "I've tried them myself."
"I've tried them too," Aila added. "But we can't say if they are working or if it is just our minds doing what they do. It's a win-win, it could help you understand us, and you could help us in return," Aila smiled, and Malcolm was lost.
"It is a win/win, right?" Malcolm nodded, and before he could say much more, Aila dragged him back to the house. Sam followed them before her eyes fell on Jack's knowing ones.
"I guess we've met our future son-in-law?" Jack whispered, offering her his arm.
"I guess we have," she said, taking the arm he had offered.
"Who is he?" Terran asked. Beside him, his wife, Kayla, watched them curiously.
"His name is Malcolm. He is here to get the real history behind us," Jack shrugged.
"From your unexpected and unannounced visit, we take things aren't going too well on Earth," Sam stated more than asked.
"No, not really. I mean, the Government is declassifying the Stargate. Most of the diplomatic missions are out already," Terran said.
"Please tell me they didn't disclose my mission previous to his first day as POTUS."
"You mean the one where your babysitters ended up being babysat?" Terran grinned, and Sam nodded. "Not fully, only the fact that there was a deal made. Now, the one where you were captured by the shave something..."
"Ah, that blue dress," Jack sighed happily, making her blush. "That's out?"
"Yep, partly."
"What about the one we ended up being enslaved?"
"Which one?" Terran chuckled.
"Coal mining?" Sam asked, hopefully.
"Sorry, mom, that one is out too."
"Terran," Jack pinched the bridge of his nose, "sum it up." Jack knew they could be there the whole week and still wouldn't go through all the missions they had.
"Only the ones that don't include the Earth being attacked by any means are still fully classified. The rest are out, more or less. After much fighting, the JCS finally came to their senses. They marked only those missions or reports which included an Earth scale attack as too risky," Terra offered.
"Some are out but highly censored. I don't know why, though, if you ask me, they seemed the usual SG-1 SNAFU. But, hey! I am only the heir of two of them," said a female voice from behind the group.
"Oh, crap! It is really bad," Jack winced before he turned around.
"Alex! You are here too!" Sam beamed at the people who joined them.
"Mom! Dad! " Alex greeted them with a heartfelt hug. "I hope you don't mind if we come to hide here for some weeks?" she asked hopefully
"Mom and dad might join us," added Hunter, who was Sasha's husband.
"Hunter, how are they? I haven't talked with Vala in ages."
"Well, she still complains you could have shared that drink, but she's great actually," Hunter grinned.
"And the space monkey?" Jack asked.
"Dad's okay too."
"So, you are here. Do you think All and Sasha will join us?" Sam asked, hope twinkling in her eyes.
"I don't think so, mom. All and his family took a vacation to S45-P9X," Alex informed.
"And you know Sash; she won't leave the front. That's the reason I am here," Hunter blushed. "We were hoping we could leave the kids here? At least while the frenzy goes out back home?"
"Of course, Hunter! There's no need to ask!"
"Any word about Aidan and Nadia?" Hunter asked as Aila and Malcolm returned to the group.
"Well, you must be aware that Aidan and his family moved to T3PX08 a year ago. Nadia lasted a whole two months away from her twin before moving there too. Copper is in Sakkara getting training. Claus and Lucas moved to Ida to help the Asgard with some issues they were experiencing; we expect them back in two months," said Sam.
"Eve, well, she's so pregnant that she can't leave the Nox world! I can't believe Atreyu is family now!" Jack huffed. "Irene and Salome went to the Hak'tyl's. Piper and Aaron are at Atlantis trying to figure out something with the something that broke," Jack said, completing the missing family.
"Who are all those people?" Malcolm asked, and Aila grinned.
"My brothers and sisters," Aila said.
"Geez, how many are you?" Malcolm asked with widened eyes. The group turned towards him. Jack and Sam's faces had a pink shade of embarrassment, but their eyes were bright with pride.
"I guess you didn't get that far yet," Aila grinned, looking at her parents. "There are twenty-two of us, you have Alex, and then, T. Sasha and All. Dan and Nad. Copper, Eve. Claus and Lucas. Irene and Salome, Piper, Aaron. Along come I, and then the younger ones that you already met: Lyle, Pearl, Leon and Noel, Mary and Myra, and finally, Finn," she said, pointing them as they played around.
"That's, of course, until of now," Alex grinned.
"Exactly, who knows how many will be in a few more months," Aila supplied. Sam went even redder if it was possible.
"Hey! We took some breaks!" Jack added, and all the adults laughed.
"I guess it works?" Sam asked Malcolm.
"What works?" Malcolm frowned.
"You tested it on him?" Alex asked in surprise.
"Aren't you all speaking English?" He frowned, and they all laughed.
"Oh, crap, it works! Now, I have to pay to Copper," Terran sighed.
"That's why you never bet against a challenge made for mom and Aila, you dumbass," Alex grinned, slapping the back of his head.
"Hey! I am cooking! So, if you don't want to eat charred meat, then I'll suggest being kind to your younger brother."
"Oh, but I am nice," Alex smiled, "to all my other younger brothers!"
"Oh, I am sorry, Malcolm. We never introduced ourselves," said the woman next to T. "I'm Kayla, Terran's wife. Ordinary people from Earth," she grinned, offering her hand.
"Don't listen to her, she speaks twenty-eight languages, and knows all about 'modern history,'" said Terran, kissing his wife's cheek. "I'm Terran, second in command of the kids."
"I'm Hunter Jackson, Sasha's husband," he grinned.
"I'm Alex, the oldest. If you didn't catch that up by the looks," she said, wiggling her eyebrows. Then, Malcolm observed her. "Yes, I know, I'm the spitting image of my mom, except for the hair," she grinned.
It was impossible for Malcolm not to compare them. Sam and Alex were the same height, same white creamy skin, same features. Alex's hair was short, and the same brown shade of Jack's, and her eyes weren't as blue Sam's. Then he looked at Terran and noticed he was the spitting image of Jack, except for the eyes; he remembered then the conversation that he held that morning
"We will have a prolonged life, which also means our children will have an extended life."
"I feel a 'but' coming," Malcolm smiled.
"Their lives won't be as long as ours," Jack said, grimly.
Malcolm blinked, the oldest Carter-O'Neill's children were already looking older than their parents. While you wouldn't place Sam and Jack above the mid-twenties, Alex and Terran already looked over thirty.
"So, now that the chattering is over, who wanted barely dead meat? Who wants dead meat, and who wants burned meat?" Terran asked, successfully starting the loud exchange that comes from a happy family.
For all the involved, the noon and afternoon passed too fast.
Night and silence came together as one by one, or in pairs, the kids left to bed. Sam, Jack, Alex, T, and Hunter excused themselves an hour before, and Malcolm used the moment to walk throughout the garden. He stopped at fountain looking at the two moons that shone brightly that night: one white, one red.
"It's hard looking at them," Jack's voice reached him. "It's difficult seeing them after a while, noticing the time passed for them. Some days, I walk to the mirror and look for a change, something that shows me I won't have to lose yet another kid," he sighed, keeping himself several feet behind Malcolm.
"Another?" Malcolm asked, turning around.
"Yes. I lost one before the SGC. In another life, if you like. Sam is waiting for us. We agreed we might as well finish our last episode so that tomorrow we start another chapter."
Soon, both men were back at the shared studio, and they set all to start again.
"Last time we spoke, you found out you weren't old anymore. How did your team react to this?"
2013
Daniel, Vala, and Cam were having something to eat when they spotted the alien; they were always annoying for information. This time Britta had a toothy smile on her face.
"What's going on, Britta?" Daniel asked as she joined them at their table.
"They are ready," she announced.
"Ready for what?" Mitchell asked.
"They are ready, I hope you are ready too," was all she said.
"Britta, what's that supposed to mean?" Daniel asked.
"Worry not, Daniel Jackson," said Ryrie, joining them.
"Councilor Ryrie, how would you feel if your friends disappear for eight days with no possibility of contact?"
"We don't worry the same way you do, Daniel Jackson," Ryrie dismissed. "Jessamy is bringing your friends back."
"When?" Cam asked.
"In a few more moments. I will ask you to remain calm. What happened is made, and it can't be undone."
Ryrie's words sent an alert on them, and they all stood up, ready to... whatever they would need to do.
"What did you..." Vala started when the purple transport light shone. They had to blink a couple of times before they could take the view in front of them.
"Sam? Jack?" Daniel frowned.
"Space Monkey!" Jack clapped his hands.
"Daniel!" Sam grinned. Daniel looked at them and turned towards the rest of the team to check he wasn't the only one seeing them like that.
"Oh, crap! Please tell me they aren't clones," Mitchell muttered.
"They are not clones," Jessamy blinked. "They were rejuvenated."
"Oh, crap!" Mitchell said, falling into his seat again.
"I knew I should've followed you," Vala pouted. Daniel gave her an incredulous look and flopped back to his seat.
"How will I explain this to the General?" Daniel whined, rubbing his face tiredly.
"Hey! Space monkey at least you only got one General, we got several and tons of paperwork!" Jack grimaced.
"I can't imagine all the test we will be put throughout, to confirm it is us," Sam winced.
"I'm sorry once again, I know it is not what you wished, but what it needs to be, it is," Jessamy added cryptically.
2050
"Well, Daniel reacted quite well. I guess he was the one more used to our SNAFU. Daniel, like us, worried more about how to explain it than about what happened," Sam grinned.
"Mitchell complained he had to add "de-age" to the SG1 must-do list, and Vala complained she didn't get to look younger," Jack shook his head, amused.
"And General Learie and the Joint Chiefs..." they sighed.
2013
"What the hell happened to you? We tried to contact the planet, and we couldn't establish the wormhole! We canceled your IDC! How the hell did you come through the iris? And most importantly: who the hell are you two and where the hell are Generals' Carter and O'Neill."
"Calm down, Learie. The kids didn't have a say in the whole mess. I am here, and Carter is here," Jack said, pointing to Sam.
"Sir, we probably should go to the post-mission check-up, maybe even throw a DNA test in order to prove we are; well, ourselves," Sam said.
"Sir," Learie started. "I don't have a say in your situation, but General Carter, I'm glad you will be the one explaining this to the JCS."
"Don't worry, Learie; I'll be there to help," Jack smirked, and with that, the teams left to the infirmary.
Two days later, they finally got permission to leave the SGC.
Yes, Jack was Home World Security and over ranked the whole base, and Sam was the SGC Commander, but until the CMO granted them a free pass, they were still under medical supervision and thus confined until the Doctors' said so.
Once they were checked up, and results confirmed they were who they said they were. And after, both the Tok'ra and the Asgard's confirmed it; they were finally free to go to Washington and explain themselves.
They decided they needed some allies before they confronted the whole JCS looking as they now did. So, they had stopped at General Jumper's house.
"General O'Neill? General Carter?" Jumper greeted them with a confused expression on his face.
"General Jumper, can we talk, sir?" Jack asked.
"Of course."
2050
"Let's just say that this change gave them more rope to hang us, and thus, to keep us going as they wanted," Jack shrugged.
"We came up with some delusional covers for the change we experienced. The approved cover was that we were on a distant undisclosed place conducting deep-space radar experiments when something went utterly wrong. I activated the alarm, but Jack entered the lab before I sealed it, and then, the experiment exploded. And the radiation I was working with only made us look younger," Sam shook her head. "I couldn't believe people fell for it."
"The good thing was that there weren't that many people asking about it. The kids were still not going to school, and we didn't have many friends outside work who could be bothered by the change. Once school started, we did what we do best, and that's going on."
"No one could tell the difference?" Malcolm asked, surprised. "No one asked how could you be so young and already a General?"
"No," Sam grinned. "I never went to the school wearing anything that would point that I was military. Until we moved to DC," she shrugged. "I guess they thought I was a military wife and never asked more. Later on, when they asked what did I do for a living to the kids, they always went with a scientist, because it was 'cooler.'"
"What happened after that?" Malcolm asked, eagerly, but then saw as Sam tried to stifle a yawn. "You know what? I am feeling somewhat tired; do you mind if we continue tomorrow?"
They both saw throughout that, but they nodded gratefully to him. Once Malcolm left the room, Jack kissed his wife.
"You know, he is too old for Aila, but I kind of like him," Jack grinned.
"Too old?" Sam chuckled. "Aila is 16, and he's 32, that's exactly our age difference."
"Yes... he's too old. He won't be young forever, you know."
"Well, I guess Aila is more like me than she looks."