Chapter 16 - Alex's speech

Malcolm had said his goodbyes an hour earlier, but the stars were shining brightly, and they stargazed for a while. They moved to the couch in front of Jack's telescope, and Sam snuggled close to Jack as he enjoyed his hobby.

"Thank you," Sam whispered after a while of sitting in silence.

"What for?" Jack said, his eye still on the telescope's eyepiece.

"Being there." Jack leaned back on the couch and brought her close.

"You are welcomed, and thank you," he said, looking down to her eyes. Sam sighed contently; her mind still was presenting her images from the past. But he knew, so he raised her face and kissed her.

The next morning found them asleep on the couch.

"There you are!"

"We went looking for you to say goodbye and turns out you never left!"

"Alex, Hunter," Sam said, rubbing her eyes.

Jack stood up and helped her stand. Sam patted her crumpled clothes, trying to make them more presentable while Jack tried to tame his unruly hair. The kids laughed at them.

"You think you will finish at some point so we can say goodbye?" Alex grinned. Sam looked up at them and blushed, but she opened her arms, and Alex walked to her embrace.

Terran shifted his weight, and Jack opened his arms.

"Come on, T, you'll never be too old to get a hug from your old man," Jack said.

"I know," Terran answered before he hugged his dad tightly.

"Please, let us know if there's something we can do," Sam said as she let go of Alex.

"We will," Terran said as the kids exchanged parents to embrace.

"Take care of the kids," Alex requested, already knowing it was the best place for the kids.

"Will do," Sam and Jack answered at once.

With a heartfelt sigh coming from all of them, they let go.

"Have a nice trip back," Sam said aloud as the kids walked towards the door.

"Oh, by the way," Alex said, turning around, "you should want to make yourselves presentable, Malcolm was already having breakfast."

2020

The klaxons went crazy at the SGC, as protocol dictated everyone rushed to their positions. General Mitchell rushed down to the control room the moment "SG-18" IDC blinked on the screens. The iris was opened fast after that, and soon the four members of SG-18 entered complaining about how boring it was to be stuck with gate-duties for the past 48hs.

SG-12 appeared then, their grim faces a complete opposite of SG-18. General Carter was next and behind her SG-21.

"Welcome back, SG-18, SG-12, SG-21, and SG-1," Mitchell said once he joined them in the embarkation room. He scanned the room, and then, his eyes fell on Sam, who looked too pale for his liking. "Post mission check-up everybody and debriefing as soon as you finish," he instructed. They all nodded and started walking away.

Sam was already out of the room when Cam noticed she was not carrying her bag, with a worried frown, he rushed to catch her former teammate, and stop her by taking hold of her shoulder. She heard him sprint, stopped, and turned in time to let his hand fall on her upper back. She hissed at the contact.

"Sam?" he asked. Cam knew her well enough to know that the hiss was from pain. "What happened?"

"You will find out in a moment," she stated, signaling him to join her in the ride to the Infirmary.

2050

"Hey, Malcolm, weird to see you up," Jack said as Malcolm entered the room. Jack lowered a mug of coffee they had grabbed from the machine in their office.

"Yeah, well. I thought if I woke up earlier, then we could start earlier. And thus, we could wrap it earlier today," he said, blushing a little. Sam smiled at him from her position by her work table.

"You should do it only if you find it comfortable, but if it's just for our sakes, there's no need," Sam said, walking to the pad in the wall.

"We are pretty used to sleeping late and waking up early," Sam added as the lounge started to reveal itself.

"Shall we?" Jack asked, patting Malcolm's shoulder.

2020

"Come on, Sam! I know you can do it," he muttered to himself.

Jack had tried to reach his wife via their shared link since he woke up. But, the Councilors warned them that the connection would always allow them to know if the other was alive, yet; it had a limited range for communications too. To talk to each other, they should be at least at the same solar system.

'Sam?' he thought again.

"Sir, are you ready?" someone said, and Jack nodded once.

'At least I know you are alive,' he thought. He squared his shoulders and walked out of the room.

"As ready as I will ever be," he grinned and winked to Alex that was waiting outside. Someone mentioned that if his wife wouldn't be there, his children could walk with him.

"Dad? Are you okay?" Alex asked as they fell into an easy step. He nodded and offered her his hand.

"She's all right, dad. I'm sure," Alex whispered, giving his hand a light squeeze.

"Yeah, I know she is all right. I just wanted her to be here." He said sadly.

"Me too."

2050

"So, we stopped yesterday when we learned that Inauguration Day arrived, and you were barely returning to the SGC," Malcolm stated.

"Turns out, she arrived at the SGC in time to get there for the first part of the day," Jack started.

"However, standard protocols forbade anyone from going out without passing the medical checkup. So, I knew I wouldn't make it," Sam sighed.

2020

"SG-18. How was it?" Cam asked the team.

"We have little to report, sir. Gate activity was none existent since our arrival."

"Very well, you are all dismissed, then. Now, SG-21? How was negotiation?" Mitchell wondered.

"Nonexistent so far, sir."

"Why is that? You spent almost 48 hours there, I thought at least you could set the basis," Cam said, but only silence and uncomfortable glances exchanged between the two remaining teams, answered him. "Do someone cares to explain?"

"We had some issues, sir."

"Issues? What happened?" Cam asked.

"We..." they all started at once but stopped soon after. Something dawned on him.

"For crying out loud! Did General Carter ordered you not to say anything until she did?" the table nodded, Cam pinched the bridge of his nose. "Well, I know she's injured so, how bad was it?"

"We are all in one piece," Sam said, entering the room. Everyone rose, and she dismissed them. "SG-21 should be scheduled to return sometime next week," she added as she sat, trying not to grimace.

The meds their new allies gave to her were doing their magic, but they also warned her it would take time. She was happy to know that her back had stopped bleeding, and the minor cuts were gone without a trace.

"SG 21 and 12 walked me to the Senate, and they had to do their background check. That lasted until around three hours ago. After that, they patched me up, we talked about an alliance, and we returned. SG18, 21, and 12 are all uninjured as their checkup's file show."

"Which kind of background check, General?" Cam asked, looking at Sam in concern. He knew the rest of SG-1 would kill him if Sam didn't show up at DC in one piece.

"General Mitchell," Sam said in a tone that left no room for questioning. " By background check, I am implying exactly what you know I am implying. If you want to discuss this any further, we should dismiss them," she said, looking at the two teams. "They all have after all endured enough to relive it, Cam." Mitchell nodded to her understanding.

"You are all dismissed, people."

"I came here after the standard medical check-up, Cam," she said once the room was empty. "So, help me up," she said, offering her hand and grimacing when he pulled her up. "I need to go to the infirmary and get the rest fixed; you can join me there."

"How bad is it, Sam?"

"Well, you can read it yourself," she said, handing him the medical report he hadn't seen her holding.

2050

"I remember you weren't there when your husband took the oath, is that correct?" Malcolm asked.

"Sadly, I wasn't there. I was being taken care of since I had sustained multiple injuries that needed medical attention."

"What about when your daughter gave her speech? Where you there?"

"I wasn't there for either speech, but I heard them both."

2020

Sam was sitting on an infirmary bed; the TV was on as per her request. With her back to him, Cameron saw as her whole torso was covered with strange-looking bandages. The nurse helped her take them off, and as soon as they finished, Sam laid on her stomach, eyes glued to the tv.

"We should keep some of that stuff to check its properties," she instructed, and the nurse nodded as she started cleaning the blueish goo out of her back carefully.

"It doesn't hurt anymore," Sam announced once she heard as the nurse gasped. Intrigued by that, Mitchell went closer and scrunched up his nose. Sam's back looked like a chess table with a twist; her back was covered with new scars and open cuts.

"Damn, Sam!"

"That pretty, huh?" Sam snorted. "Hopefully, between whatever they gave me and a healing pod, I can get out of this experience unscarred."

"If they gave you those cuts, a broken arm, a damaged liver, and a few broken ribs, explain to me why you still want to negotiate with them?" Cam sighed.

"They went to this length to confirm I was who I said I was. If we don't negotiate with them, then all this would be for naught."

"This time, we had a special request. We could have someone reading a poem or someone singing, but we got this offer, and we found it very hard to refuse," the spokesperson on TV said. "This young girl came to us and told us she wanted to give a speech today, and we couldn't do more than grant it. Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to the President's Daughter, Miss Alexia Grace."

"Can you put that louder?" Sam asked, unable to help the proud smile which blossomed on her face as the cameras' followed Alex to the center of the stage.

'She is so beautiful, Jack. I am so proud of her,' she shared her thoughts with Jack, and before he answered her, Sam saw her husband smile on tv.

'She got it from you,' he answered her. 'Are you okay? Will you get here soon?'

'I'll see to get there as soon as I finish here.'

'Cool, can't wait!'

Alexia's face took the center of the tv screen, and they both broke the communication to listen to their daughter.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, good morning. I know this can seem like a massive breach in protocol. Well, it has been. According to it, after they have taken the oath, there's only a final speech to be given. Then, comes the blessing, and finally, the POTUS leaves either by car or walking. And it would work if we were talking just about an ordinary man and that…we are not."

"I've known this man my whole life. Together with his wife, yes, there is a wife. They have put their life's on harm's way more times I like to know about it, more times than their friends want to count and definitively more times than you will know."

"I can't talk about the man we are here to honor without talking about his wife. Because they aren't two; they are one soul in two bodies, and once you know them, you will find one can't exist without the other. So if I talk about them instead of him, please understand there's not a 'he' anymore. There hasn't been a 'he' since the moment he met her."

"I know most of you already read about him. To you, let me say not everything you read is the truth. We learned about a man who had a relatively easy life, a stellar career, and a speedy way to the top after being recalled to active duty. You have read about a wife, and you are yet to see her. You still are wondering who she might be or if this wife exists, I can tell you who she is, and I can tell you some things you didn't read about him or her, and most definitively, you won't ever know about them."

"Let me tell you what you didn't read. You didn't read about the difficulties or the lack of privileges; you don't know they were on the line all the time or how hard they fought. They fought against things you wouldn't begin to comprehend; they fought side by side, with each other, against each other and against a Government that didn't approve some things they did. I have to thank them for always walking the extra mile; you should do it too. We wouldn't be here if they weren't able to take the chance to cross the line and hope the decision made was good enough so the punishment wouldn't matter that much."

"After saying that, I can tell you their roads were never easy. They were, however, always leading to the same place. These paths, which started as apart as they can, came together and brought us all to this point. During their journey, they've lost much; we all did. Yet, even with all the hiding, they were able to put it together and keep fighting because they are conscious there's simply no other way."

"There's one wise man who tells to whoever wants to hear, and I'll quote him, "even if to you they don't seem like much; they are warriors, and they will always be warriors. Their whole life will consist of giving everything they have to protect those who aren't," and let me tell you, that's a universal fact."

"With this, I am telling you that you can rest assured. If they put only a miserable 1% of the fight they'd put not only to be here but here together, then this country will flourish."

"Those who know them, those who served with them, under them and above them; those who can say hey! I know those guys! I served in the same command, or I worked at the same facility; those, not too few, who can say I trusted them with my life, and I am here to tell the story. Those who can say they are my friends; those people can be even prouder and reassure you even more than I can."

"Even though they protected me my whole life, they tried to keep me hidden from danger. When danger knocked on my door, they never doubted whose life should be when it came to theirs or mine because it was something to be expected, something every parent would do. But when a comrade was in danger, and it came to them or someone else. Someone else it was. You have no idea of the number of people they saved by doing foolish things; because, no matter what the result could be once they got home. Regardless of the risk of being kicked out or punished once more, they knew that a mother or father, a wife or husband, siblings, or children would get the loved one safe and sound; and that's not only how they do things, it's who they are."

"If after those words, you still have any doubt search for those men and women and ask; because they know that, for them, is not a question of just doing it. It's a matter of doing it in a freakingly awesome way. Is taking that extra mile and then some; it is a matter of analyzing every single humanly possible way, and then, find the impossible way and pull it out. It's a matter of pushing you out to make the best of you. It's leading you in ways you didn't think it would be possible to be led. It's a "let's take that rabbit out of our hats to conquer the wicked witch because we are not in Kansas anymore, and there's a Simpsons marathon running today, we need to get home to watch it, campers!." And then, after a laugh, and a worried glance, give it all because someone had to do it, and better them than someone else, someone less prepared, and less damaged than them."

"They did it with their careers; they did it with their lives."

"My siblings and I are the living proof of what they can do when they put their minds out to do it. They raised us to follow their steps, and we are still far from it. They left us a colossal shoe to fill."

"As their eldest, I can tell you their life was never easy; I can tell you how was hard for them, not only before they were together. It was even more complicated when they were; when I was there."

"Even if I didn't understand what I saw the first couple times, I witnessed at firsthand how their hearts broke a little every time they had to take their own roads. I can attest how much they hurt to keep us going; to protect us and all those friends they call family, that we call family. And we can tell you no matter how broken they were, and they kept it all together because it was the right thing to do; the thing that not only could make a difference but the one that made a difference."

"From them, you can expect secrecy in things that must be secret. Expect them fighting for the privacy they are so used to, expect strange solutions and crazy ideas, expect sarcastic remarks and terrible jokes only them will laugh about. Expect clichés even if they both claim to hate those, but don't expect them showing their true self because that one is behind years and years of classified files and walls, but mostly, because who they are is only for the family. Expect them not looking twice to things someone would deem critical and looking four or ten thousand times to things that may not seem important, but in the end, they will be. And above all this, expect only the best of the best. I know this is not the end of the road for them, even if they are trying to convince themselves it is."

"Before I finish, I need to thank you, Uncle Daniel. I mean, Vice President Dr. Daniel Jackson, for convincing the Chairman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies that I was prepared to give this speech; you convinced him I needed to say this. You'll see there's not common for a fourteen-year-old to be allowed to give an address like this, but as some of you may already notice, I am my parents' daughter. I am as stubborn as they come."

"Thank you, Vice President, for giving me not only the opportunity to say things otherwise could get me grounded until I'm not underage anymore. But because you were always there to support them, even when you thought they were crazy enough to settle down. Thank you for all the trouble you got them in, and all those times, you were the one who came to their rescue."

"Citizens of the United States of America, you also got a fine man in Vice President Jackson. Even if he wasn't in the Air Force, he fought for us in ways you can only imagine; well, it also is under classified files so, I am not embarrassing him any longer."

"Dad, I couldn't be prouder of you, and I speak for my siblings when I say we are thrilled with the prospect of finally be living at the same house. Citizens of the United States of America, you couldn't choose a better man as your President, and I couldn't ask for a better father."

"Thank you," the girl concluded on tv. Sam's eyes were bright with tears.

"Sam?"

"Yes, Cam?"

"Isn't that your Alex?" he asked with a confused frown.

"Yes, Cam."

"So… why did they say the President's daughter?" he asked

"Because she is?"

"What do you mean by she is? You mean she's General O'Neill, I mean President O'Neill's daughter?" Cam looked confused.

"Yup, can you turn around, please," Sam said before she sat on the bed and started to get dressed.

"But… how?"

"You know, the sperm reaches the ovule and fertilizes it," Sam grinned.

"Ha. Ha. Hilarious," Cam rolled his eyes. "I mean, Sam, what about your husband, does he know Alex's is Jack's daughter?"

"Yes. He knows."

"And Jack's wife knows this?"

"Oh. She knows too," Sam smile went even brighter.

"And she is okay with it?" Cam frowned.

"Yes… Otherwise, there wouldn't be six kids."

"Six? All your children are Jack's children?" He asked with widened eyes.

"Yup."

"But. I thought… you said…"

"Cam, Jack and I, we are married… to each other."

"Okay. Move up. I need that bed now."

2050

"What did you feel about Alex's speech?" Malcolm asked.

"Well, I thought it was a lovely speech. I don't know if it could be considered as appropriate for the occasion, but what can I say I am biased," Jack said.

"I must agree with Jack. I don't know if I would use that particular moment to give that particular speech, but she did it. Alex knew what she faced, and she took all the criticism quite well," Sam smiled.

"But she had a point, didn't she?"

"That speech can be said at any point in our lives. We still believe in the same things and still behave in the same ways," Sam added.

"What I can say to you is that after I heard her, I freaked out. I mean, I had to give one right after she finished!"