Thanks for all the support! Once again sorry for all the mistakes that you read,

M.

Chapter 19 - The Sullen's case

"I've interviewed lots of persons before coming here, and I had the pleasure of interviewing White House staff. They told me you were by far the nicest Presidential Couple they've met. However, I also interviewed some of the Security Service members, and they told me you were nice. Still, you made them work every penny they were getting paid," the couple in front of him smiled widely, "no one dared to tell me why, all of them agreed that, if I managed to interview you, I should ask you about it."

"Well, you'll see, when we got to the White House, we still had our training ingrained into us. Even until now, we wake up at five in the morning and go for runs. But, the most important thing was that we never needed someone taking care of us before…"

"Just consider the day I entered the White House," Sam started. "I had returned from a mission where I was supposed to be the protected one, and it didn't go too well."

"That doesn't tell me much," Malcolm shook his head.

"Did they tell you what to ask?"

"They all agreed on the Sullen case?"

"Oh, yes," they said at once.

2020

The presidential couple arrived at the White House late that night. They were supposed to feel drained after a long inauguration, followed by at least ten presentations in several inaugural balls.

It was a long time since they had something remotely close to nightlife, so they enjoyed it as much as they could, returning to the White House around three in the morning. Once they finally got lost in the house part of it, the security service night shift was glad they finally managed to catch a breath.

In the house, the couple reconnected after a long time not seeing each other; then, after satisfying the longing, they both took a shower and prepared for bed. The couple lay on their new bed, cuddling for precisely five minutes.

"Jack?"

"Yes?"

"I can't sleep," she mumbled tiredly from her position on his chest.

"Me neither," he threw his arm, patting around, tentatively looking for something. "Aha!" he brought his cell phone and turned it on, squinting at the light. "Well, it is 4:35." They both groaned.

"That means we will be awake in less than an hour," they glared at the watch in silence.

"What do you say if we start our run earlier today?" they asked simultaneously, and then both laughed. They turned the lights on, got changed, slipped away from their room and out of the house, only stopping to say good morning to the guards at the gate when they passed the front gate running.

"Wasn't that the President?" Asked one of the guards.

"Hmm, looked like him," the second guard pointed.

"Weird, he wasn't followed by the SS," the first one said. Then, they both blanched and called the Security Service office. Soon, there was (a lot) of movement from inside.

2050

"We kinda' escaped them."

"Escaped them?"

"We left the house without their knowledge," Sam explained.

"Until I guess the entrance guard let them know."

"Okay, I see the issue there…"

"Well, that wasn't the problem per se…" Sam grimaced.

"The real deal happened as we got to the mall, and we were "attacked" by a rookie assailant."

2020

They ran from the White House towards the mall, and as they were halfway through the path from the Constitution gardens towards the Vietnam Women's memorial, a person confronted them.

"Stop! Give me your belongings, or I'll shoot you!" they stopped as requested and quickly exchanged a glance.

"I only have this cellphone, and it is tracking our route; so I won't give it to you," Sam huffed

"Give it to me, and we all can go happily," the guy said. He was trembling, and the pair noticed this quickly. Their assessment also told them he wasn't on drugs.

"What do you say, Sam? Should I take it or should you?"

"I'll do it."

Some minutes later, the gun was out of the guy's grasp. Finding himself disarmed, he took out a knife out of his pants pocket and tried to attack Jack. This time, not only was the knife out of his reach, the assailant ended up lying flat on his back. The couple just looked at the defeated guy in front of them and frowned. He didn't try to run. He just laid there helpless. So, they helped him sit.

"Why are you doing this? You aren't on drugs, and your hands trembled too much to be your daily job," Sam questioned. They noticed he was far too young to be on the streets.

"It's okay. We want to know your history, and we might let you walk this one out."

"You would let me walk out?" he asked, confused.

"You didn't steal anything from us."

"I have a kid," the boy said. "She's only six months old, and she needs food and kid stuff," he stopped, then sighed again. "My wife; she's a nurse. But one of the hospitals in which she was working went through personnel cuts, and she was one of them. Not only that went wrong; about two weeks ago, I was fired. I've searched everywhere for a job, anything to avoid this. I didn't tell her that I've lost my job too. She was so despaired when she lost one of hers that I couldn't bring myself to tell her. I thought I could find one easily, you know? Even flippin' burgers or washing dishes would do. But no one wanted me; being underage is not useful for finding a job. So, I was job hunting a week ago and promised myself that if by today I didn't have a job, I would have to start to rob…"

"Extreme situation requires drastic measures," they stated. The boy nodded, surprised with their assessment and lack of judging.

"You said you were underage? And you have a kid?"

"And a wife. She will be 21 in December," he grinned proudly.

"And she's a nurse already?"

"Yeah!" She's smart, she took some advanced classes back at school and got a scholarship in one of the hospitals."

"What's your name, son?" Jack asked

"Richard Sullen"

"Well, Mr. Sullen… we might have a proposal for you; will you join us for," Sam looked at Jack, "what time are you free?"

"I think around 10:30."

"Around 10:30 to discuss the matter?" Sam finished. The guy doubted, and then, they heard a bunch of grunts in the background.

"Mr. President! Are you okay?" Six men came running to them.

"Of course I am okay, why shouldn't I be?"

"Mr. President?" Richard asked. "Oh, man! I assaulted the President?"

"Well, yeah. I guess now you know how to get to our home?" Jack smiled. "Hey, guys, by any chance, any of you have a couple of bills to lend me? We got out of the house without our wallets."

"Uh? What?" One of the security officers managed to say, frowning in confusion.

"We will return your money at the house," Sam added with a smile.

"Here you go, ma'am," one of the guys said, giving Sam a hundred bill, she took it with a grateful smile and gave it to Richard. "This way, your wife won't know. Bring her too," she said

"Will you be okay, or you need help getting home?" Jack asked

"I'm okay."

"Good, see ya later then!" and with that, they ran away again. This time they were surrounded by SS guards.

2050

"What happened then?"

"Well, the main issue was our encounter with him almost got to the news."

2020

"Good Morning Sam, Jack, kids," a cheerful Daniel joined them at the table where they were currently having a mid-morning snack with the kids, "How are you today?"

"Good. How are you, Danny?"

"Well… apart from all the news surrounding the Inaugural Day, there was one news this morning which caught the attention of the press. Thankfully, with some damage control made by your incredible Vice President, or at least the charms of my wife... we have convinced them not to show it on tv."

"What are you talking about, Daniel?"

"Well, someone called this morning to let us know that, apparently, the Presidential couple was playing hero on their morning run," Daniel grinned at the looks they gave him.

"Well, it wasn't like that."

"Yeah… I was.."

"Sorry to interrupt you, sirs, ma'am," Kate, Jack's assistant, said entering the room. "There's one Richard Sullen at the front gate. He's saying he has an appointment with you?"

"Yes, Kate… could you show him here?" Jack asked.

"Yes, sir. Anything else you might need?" Kate asked.

"Kate, have you seen if Cassie is here already?" Sam asked, but before Kate could answer, Cassie also entered the room.

"Cassie's here," Cassie grinned. "People at the Pentagon are going stir crazy because you aren't there, Sam. How are you guys?" she added, waving to the kids.

"That'd be all, Kate," Jack said. Kate nodded and left while Cassie greeted everyone. Minutes later, Richard Sullen and his wife joined them.

"Hi, I'm Daniel," he said, walking to the couple and offering them his hand.

"Richard Sullen. This is my wife, Vanessa."

"Jack," he waved from his spot at the head of the table

"I'm Sam," she said, walking towards them. "Is this your lovely child?" Sam grinned, caressing the baby's face. Richard nodded. "Please, come this way, take a seat," she said, pointing towards the crowded table.

"Kids," Jack said to the Carter-O'Neill crew that was still munching. "Can you go outside to play?" The kids were about to complain, but a gaze from their parents made them leave the room quickly and quietly.

"Hi, I'm Cassie," she waved as the couple, Daniel and Sam, found a place around the now almost empty table.

"I'm not sure what, Richard, told you, ma'am, but we have a proposal for you both," Jack said now they were all around the table.

"He didn't say much. Only told me he bumped into you earlier this morning, and you offered a meeting?" Vanessa sighed.

"Well, Richard, since the proposal is for you," Sam started. "Will you want to hear it first? We can take it to the living room for privacy, and then we can give you a moment while you speak with your wife."

"Unless you don't mind at all if we blurt it out in this room," Jack shrugged. "Both Daniel and Cassie are overly used to keeping secrets, right?" They nodded in agreement.

Feeling a bit embarrassed about the situation, Richard hesitated for a second, wondering if the other two people he didn't know knew what exactly had happened that morning. He had reached his house, and he was so shocked that he had blurted it all out.

"If you don't mind, I would like to hear it at once," Vanessa said. "I know you asked him, but, Richard, you know I have your back." The foursome smiled at the young couple.

"Go ahead, sir," Richard nodded.

"Well then, our proposal is: Join the military," Jack said. "We don't care about the branch you'll want to go, but join, and it will allow you to take care of your family properly."

"But," Richard tried to interrupt, yet, Sam raised her hand to stop him.

"There's more. We both know that going to boot camp will cut your incomes. We also know you are already struggling. Rent in this town can be expensive, and you also have a baby to care for," she smiled knowingly.

"So, we want your wife and daughter to do some house sitting for us while you unavailable."

"That's why you wanted me here," Cassie grinned. The Sullens' looked shocked.

"House sitting?" They asked, confused.

"Yes, it makes sense, and it would help me a lot," Cassie said. "You'll see, both Sam and Jack have properties here and in Colorado."

"We've kept the Colorado houses rented to people we trust. But, there's the matter of the two houses we have here."

"It's brilliant," Cassie beamed. "And it would save me so much time!"

"I don't get it," Vanessa muttered, embarrassed.

"Well, Cassie will move to one house. But we still needed to find someone who can live on the second one," Jack stated plainly.

"This is so you," Daniel said, rolling his eyes. "And they say I'm the soft one."

"You can talk to Cassie about the location and all," Sam grinned. "Since this one came furnished already, ours are furnished too. Both have babies' rooms since you know we have small kids."

"I'm sure we can't possibly afford it," Richard said.

"Yes, you can. We only want you to keep the house expenses, you know, power, gas, and such."

"You want us to rent us your house without paying rent?" He frowned.

"House-sitting, yes," Sam nodded. "We want you to have a second chance."

"Why?"

"Because everyone deserves one," Daniel shook his head, impressed.

"We know this might be overwhelming; we don't need an answer yet," Sam said, looking at them.

"Take your time to think this through and let Cassie know your answer. Now, if you excuse me, I have several meetings in a row to attend," Jack stood up, kissed Sam's forehead, and left the room.

"Well, since you are already here, can I interest you into some food?" Sam grinned.

"Cake is good," Cassie added with a knowing glint.

2050

"As far as Daniel told us, someone captured that moment when he tried to mug us and sold it to the news. Someone called the White House to see if they could get more information about the incident," Jack explained.

"Somehow, the call ended on Daniel's office, and he convinced the journalist to have a chat and show him the video," Sam provided. "He took Vala with him. Daniel said it was Vala's charm that got him the video."

"What about the Sullen guy?"

"When he got to the House, the background check for him and his wife were done, and it proved his tale."

"Their background spoke of a young couple in desperate need of a second chance. So we gave them one."

"We offered him a pass to a military career while his wife took care of one of our properties."

"But why?" Malcolm frowned, confused by this.

"You'll see, we are here because someone believed we deserved a second chance."

"Did you get one?"

"Yes," they both answered firmly. Jack waved his hand to let Sam start.

"Second chances, I have many of them under my belt. The one that I will remember forever is the opportunity to get reacquainted with my dad," she smiled softly. "My dad and I, we got a very strangled relationship. Then he came up to me to let me know he was about to die."

Sam took a deep breath, and Jack's hand found hers giving it a reassuring squeeze before she continued.

"I was already at the SGC, and he wanted me to quit it to become an astronaut. He was so disappointed when I told him I wasn't leaving Cheyenne. Until we met the Tok'ra, they needed a host, and my father needed to heal. He took his second chance of becoming a host for several years. My kids will never know their grandpa. But thanks to those years we got, we reconciled our differences, and I can tell my children about the great man he became, instead of the bitter man he was before."

"For me, my best second chance is this: my family," Jack eyed at Sam, and his eyes twinkled. "As I've mentioned before, I was already married when I met Sam. But that didn't pan out. When we met again at the SGC, I couldn't believe my luck, and then we happened. Sam said yes, and soon came Alex, Terran followed, and now, twenty-two kids, and several years later, we are still together and going strong. That wouldn't happen if the USAF didn't recall me to active duty. If they didn't give me a second chance to fix up the 'mess' that kick-started the Stargate Program."

"Your biggest second chances relate to the USAF," Malcolm pointed.

"Is not only ours, take for instance: Daniel. After his book came out, no one trusted him to give him a position as an archeologist. The USAF gave him a second chance at a career he loved, and through it, he got a wife, and then a second wife and a family."

"Teal'c got his chance to be free and help his brothers to be free too by joining us at SG-1, and by extension the USAF."

"Or Cassie, she the lone survivor of her planet. She would have died if we didn't get her to Earth. Who knows where she would be if she hadn't found a home with Janet."

"And Vala? She found her way out of her intergalactic con artist job to become one of the good ones by joining SG-1."

"There are many people out there who are free thanks to military intervention. Don't get us wrong. We might have been military for too many years, but we aren't in favor of wars, even if sometimes they seem to be needed."

"So, when we noticed they desperately needed a second chance, we offered them that."

"We offered them freedom."

"And they took it, Richard Sullen got to be a Senior Enlisted Advisor," they smiled proudly. Malcolm checked his notes and frowned.

"You won't find him, that's not his real name. Richard & Vanessa Sullen were the code names that were given to them in case the press ever found out about that video."

"Well, that's fascinating history. It's that escapade the reason behind the SS named you the hardest Presidential couple to take care of?"

"Well, it wasn't just that escapade," they grimaced. "We pulled those kinds of stunts several times."

"There was the beaming in and out of buildings. The going to places where they couldn't go, like the SGC or the Ivanhoe. Me disappearing for weeks without them having a clue of where I was. I mean there were days where I would drive to the Pentagon, beam to the Ivanhoe, get to the SGC, go out somewhere, and two days later, I would appear out of the blue at Nellis, but by the time they got alerted of my presence there, I would be back at the White House."

"So, we have to agree with them; we were not an easy couple to keep track. At least, the kids were always good."

"Speaking of children, we should go pick the Grandkids, Jack."