A shortish epilogue to 'With Asgaard Apologies' – because there isn't enough fluff in the world!
"Is everything alright General O'Neill?", Thor ran into the room as fast as his little legs could carry him. Jack looked up at the totally panicked face of the Asgaard Commander and spoke, over the wails of his son.
"Everything's fine Thor. We're just changing his diaper and I guess he doesn't like it too much."
Thor stood staring at the three humans in front of him. Colonel Carter was doing something with the naked child, who continued to screech at the top of its lungs, while O'Neill looked on proudly.
"He's got a strong set of lungs", O'Neill proclaimed, looking at his son in awe. "Do you think he's cold?" he asked Sam.
"I don't know – maybe. He probably just doesn't like the feel of the cool air on his skin. Babies prefer to be swaddled up warmly at this age", she said, as if she was already an expert. She finished with the make-shift diaper – a piece of soft cloth Thor had provided – and quickly wrapped her son up again. He almost immediately stopped his crying and turned his head, rooting for more food.
"You can't be hungry again" Sam spoke to the baby. "I just finished feeding you."
"Maybe the child needs something more solid", Thor interjected.
"Nope – he's perfectly fine with Mommy's milk" smiled Jack. "Human babies can't eat anything solid for about 6 months", he told his alien friend.
Thor looked back at the baby and frowned. "Human offspring seem to be a lot of work", he said. "It would appear that cloning is much simpler."
"Yeah, but not nearly as much fun!" Jack smiled and took the baby from Sam. "You see Thor, parents are programmed to look after their young and love and nurture them. In return, they love us and think we're the best – until they become teenagers, at which time we simply embarrass them!" He reached down and kissed the downy head of the little boy.
Thor just shook his head, still unsure what to make of these Tauri who'd he'd spent so many years trying to understand. "We will be arriving shortly", he finally said. "I must return to the Control Room. "Would you like me to deliver you to your home General, Colonel?"
"That'd be great Thor. Uh – here, let me walk with you for a ways." He turned to Sam. "Just rest okay? I'm going to take the little one for a walk and settle him down." He followed Thor out into the corridor. "Uh Thor? Could I ask a favor?" Jack grinned. He explained what he wanted and Thor agreed.
"Thanks! That'll be great."
"O'Neill, let me apologize again for all the inconvenience the Asgaard have caused you and Colonel Carter. Please be sure that we will always ask in future, before transporting you."
"It's okay Thor, we understand it was a misunderstanding – but don't ever let me see that twerp of a Njord again! When the baby is a bit older we'll talk about going to Othalla to introduce him to his fellow citizens. Thank you for all your help."
"You are welcome. Thank you for allowing me to be present at the birth of your child. It was an honor and a wonderful thing to witness. I wish your new family all the best."
With that Jack said goodbye and headed back to Sam.
"God, it's good to be back", Sam said as she rested on their bed, the baby snuggled in her arms. "I don't want to go anywhere for a long time."
"How are you feeling", Jack asked, sitting down beside her.
"Fine – a little tired but Thor took care of any soreness. It's too bad we can't clone him", she stopped and laughed – "I take that back, he's already been cloned hundreds of times. I guess what I meant was too bad we couldn't keep him down here. It would certainly save a lot on medical bills!"
"Speaking of which – we should probably contact your midwife and OB."
"And say what exactly? This is going to be kind of hard to explain."
"Oh, I don't know – just tell them we were visiting friends and the baby decided to come early. They don't need to know where our friends live."
"Really? And here I thought we should tell them we were in a different galaxy."
"Tsk, tsk, Mrs. O'Neill – no need for sarcasm! You should leave that to me."
"I usually do Jack!"
"WHAT THE HELL!" A shout drifted up from downstairs, followed by:
"Indeed!"
Sam looked at Jack in shock upon hearing voices from downstairs. "Jack, what did you do?"
The General grinned. "I told Thor to bring Daniel and Teal'c over for a visit." He stood up and walked to the door. "Hey guys, up here!"
They could hear the footsteps of their two friends as they hurried up the stairs and into their bedroom.
"Jack – what the hell is this?" Daniel rushed into the room, followed closely by Teal'c.
"Hey, you guys did this to me at my wedding – I thought you deserved a little payback."
"Yeah okay, but we were in the middle of a briefing! Landry's going to be furious."
"Oops", Jack replied, looking far from repentant. "I guess I'll have to call him and tell him that for some unaccounted reason Thor beamed you over here."
"Unaccounted? Are you telling me you're going to blame Thor for this?"
"Why not? He's not around to defend himself and anyway, he owes us."
"He owes you? Owes you what?" Daniel sputtered.
"Daniel Jackson", Teal'c said softly, staring over at Sam
"What Teal'c?" Daniel turned and looked at him, a frown on his face. "What?" he repeated.
"Is that not a child that Colonel Carter is holding?"
"What? A child? I don't think so - " Daniel stopped dead as he turned to face Sam who was leaning back on the bed, a huge smile on her face.
"Hi Daniel, Teal'c. Welcome to our house. I'd like to introduce you to our son." She held the baby so her two friends could see his face. He was presently sound asleep and looked angelic.
"Sam, Jack, what!" Daniel said, practically incoherent. Teal'c, on the other hand, slowly made his way over to the bed and looked at the small infant.
"He is beautiful Samantha, O'Neill. Congratulations!"
"Do you want to hold him Teal'c?" Sam asked.
"I would be honored." He reached down and gently picked up the small bundle.
Jack looked on in pride and also with some humor. It was really something seeing his huge Jaffa friend holding a tiny baby. His son was dwarfed by his friend, but he could tell that Teal'c knew exactly what he was doing.
"When – when did this happen Jack?" Daniel asked, still looking stunned.
"Yesterday", Jack said calmly, still looking at Teal'c. "He was born on Othalla", he went on to explain, as if it was nothing unusual.
"Othalla! You're joking, right?"
"No, he's not joking Daniel. Thor sent a -"
"Moron!" Jack interrupted.
"Yes – well, he sent a rather – okay – stupid Asgaard to invite Jack to meet with Thor-"
"To discuss hockey", Jack said in disgust.
Daniel looked at him in surprise. He'd never heard Jack say 'hockey' in that tone of voice before.
"Yes, well Thor meant for Njord – that was the -"
"-Moron's -"
"Jack, will you please let me tell the story!"
"Sorry."
"Njord beamed Jack up, and since I was sitting with him at the time, I got beamed up as well. When Jack told Njord -"
"- the Moron."
"When Jack told him to take us home he refused, saying that Thor wanted to see him. On the way there I went into labor. Fortunately we arrived on Othalla before the baby was born."
"Oh my God, you're serious. You actually had the baby in another galaxy?"
"Shhh Daniel Jackson. You will disturb the infant", admonished Teal'c as he gently rocked the now fussy child.
"Oh – sorry. But still", he said in a loud whisper, "that's crazy. I mean, you must be the first humans ever to have their child in a different galaxy."
"Probably", Jack said matter of factly.
"Did Thor – I mean – who delivered the baby?"
"That would be me", Jack said, more than a touch of pride in his voice. "And I did a great job, didn't I Sam?"
"Uh yeah Jack – you did great", she said, her eyebrow raised.
"Hey, I know you did most of the work! She was amazing Daniel, Teal'c. I mean, it was pretty scary being so far away from help but she handled it like – well like the incredible person she is."
"Wow, that's amazing guys. Congratulations! I assume everyone's healthy?"
"Yeah – my back is a touch stiff from -"
"Jack! Yes Daniel, we're all fine. Thor didn't have a clue about delivering babies, but he made sure we were both healthy. And Jack was wonderful. He knew what he was doing and made it all okay for me. In the end it turned out to be a beautiful experience."
"Yeah, it was", Jack smiled at her.
"And pretty funny too!"
"Sam!" Jack warned.
"Well you have to admit that Thor asking all about the birds and bees was pretty funny." She turned to Daniel and Teal'c. "You should have seen Jack's face when Thor asked who had contributed the sperm to make the baby! I thought Jack was going to burst a blood vessel!"
"Yes, it was almost as funny as you throwing up on him", Jack retaliated. He was pleased to see Sam's face turn slightly red.
"You – threw up on Thor?" Daniel asked, laughing.
"Yes well, I was in intense labor at the time. I couldn't help it!"
"How did he react, Colonel Carter", Teal'c asked with interest.
"He said that it was - interesting to observe a 'natural human phenomenon'" she said.
"He said 'yuck'", Jack explained.
"He did not!"
"Yup – he did. I distinctly heard him."
Jack was noticing Daniel and he spoke. The younger man had slowly made his way over to where Teal'c was holding the baby and looked down at the now quiet child. who Teal'c had soothed back to sleep.
"He is beautiful guys", Daniel said in a hushed voice. "He looks like you Jack", he noted, a gentle smile on his face. He looked up at his two friends. "I'm really happy for you both."
"Thanks Danny", Jack said softly. "I wanted you two to be the first – humans – to see our son. You guys are the godfathers you know."
"I am honored O'Neill. I will not take the responsibility lightly."
"Thanks Jack – me either by the way. You both know that we'll always be here for your son."
"We know Teal'c, Daniel, thank you. That's why there was no one else we would have picked. We're also going to ask Cassie to be godmother."
"That is a good choice. She will care greatly for the child."
"Uh – what's his name?" Daniel finally asked, looking down at his godson.
"Funny you should ask that" Jack answered, looking at his wife. "We uh haven't decided yet" he said.
"We can't agree" nodded Sam.
"Yeah, she wanted to name him Brandon" he said in disgust.
"Brandon is a nice name!" she defended.
"Not for a son of mine!"
"Well it's better than Homer!"
"Hey, I never said I wanted to name him Homer!"
"You did too!"
"I was joking."
"And were you joking about 'Gretzky'?"
"Well – okay, I agree, it's not the best for a first name – but it would be different and he'll probably want to play hockey anyway."
"I am not having a child by the name of 'Gretzky O'Neill."
"No?"
"No."
Jack turned to look at his friends, who were both trying not to grin. "So guys, any ideas?"
"On Chulak it is customary to name a child after a recent battle. The second name was usually that of the Goa'uld one served."
"Okay" he looked at Sam. "I don't think I really want to name him after a battle and I'm certainly not giving him a name of any Goa'uld!"
"No, of course not", Sam agreed. "Thanks Teal'c, but I think we'll pass on those names."
"I understand Samantha, O'Neill. You could name him "Tro'tac."
"Uh – that's – what does that mean?" Jack asked.
"It means child of a warrior. It would be very fitting considering both his parents are warriors."
"Thank you Teal'c – that is very kind. I think though that we'd better stick to an earth name. Boys can be especially cruel to kids with different names", Sam said gently.
"Yeah, sorry buddy – but we appreciate the suggestion." Jack said. "Daniel, what about you? You must have some ideas?"
"You guys haven't agreed on any names?"
"Well, we agreed on the middle names and on a girl's name, but that won't do us any good. No, we need you to help us. It has to be something that's not too weird or girly."
"Girly? Brandon is not girly!"
"I didn't say it was – I just don't like it."
"It's better than 'Gretzky'."
"Hey guys!" Daniel said. "I'm sure we can figure out something you both like! Let me think." For the next few minutes he ran through all the names he could think of. If Sam liked one then Jack didn't and vice-versa. He could see that this would be a lengthy process.
"I'm getting hungry", Jack suddenly announced. Just then his son let out a whimper and within moments had begun to cry. "You're hungry too little man! Teal'c, Daniel, why don't we go downstairs and fix some lunch while Sam feeds Gretzky."
"Over my dead body, Jack!"
He grinned and headed out the door. Teal'c handed the now crying baby to his mother. "Thank you for letting me hold him Colonel Carter", he said. "It has been many years since I held a child. It is a wonderful feeling."
"It is, isn't it", she smiled at Teal'c. "Daniel, after he's fed you can hold him if you want."
"Uh – yeah – sure", said a panicked looking archaeologist. He quickly headed to the door, followed by Teal'c.
A short while later Sam came downstairs carrying a well-fed, changed and happy baby. His eyes were wide open and he was staring intently at the face of his mother, about all he could see at this age. He'd found his mouth with his little fist and was sucking on it intently.
"Here Sam, we fixed you a sandwich", Jack told her. "I'll take the baby. Hey Daniel, what about you – do you want to hold your godson?"
"I've never – I'm not – are you sure?"
"Of course I'm sure Daniel. Here", Jack reached over and handed the baby to Daniel, who took him carefully, as if worried he'd break.
"God, he's so little!"
"Actually he was pretty big – almost nine pounds according to Thor", Sam explained between bites.
Daniel stood watching the baby for a few minutes until suddenly he broke out in a huge smile. "He's gorgeous! Hi guy", he said to the baby. "Don't you worry! Your Uncle Teal'c and Uncle Danny will teach you all the things you need to know. I'll teach you all about artifacts and archaeology and maybe a few languages. Teal'c can teach you how to lift your eyebrow in just the right way and he can explain all about Jaffa humor. Your Mommy will teach you how to be real smart."
"And what about Daddy, Daniel", Jack asked.
"Oh, your Daddy will teach you – how to play with a yo-yo! Yup, you'll be one smart boy!"
"Okay, so let's do names!" Jack announced. Everyone groaned. "Hey, the poor kid needs a name. He can't go around being called 'Baby Carter-O'Neill".
After another lengthy session in which Daniel tossed out names – everything from Aaron to Zurl – they were almost ready to give up. "Maybe we should just name him 'Junior'", suggested Sam.
"Are you kidding? No way. That's just – yuck. Reminds me of Teal'c's Junior – no offense Teal'c."
"None taken O'Neill. I too would find it distressing were you to name your son 'Junior'".
"How about Alexander", threw in Daniel, about ready to give up. "It means 'protector of mankind' which would be kind of appropriate since he's your son."
There was dead silence during which Jack and Sam looked at each other. "I – kind of like it", said Jack cautiously.
"So do I", Sam said, equally as cautiously. "It goes well with 'Carter-O'Neill' and it's a good boy's name."
"Yes it is. I can't believe we didn't think of it!"
"You were too intent on a hockey name!"
"And you wanted something – Brandonishy."
"Brandonishy?"
"You know what I mean."
She sighed. "So, are we agreed on Alexander?"
"Yeah – I think so." He looked over at his son, still in Daniel's arms. "Can I have him Daniel?"
After his friend had given him back his son he looked into the slate-grey eyes of the little boy. "Alexander! Yup it suits you." He lifted the boy up so that everyone could see him. "I introduce to you Alexander Jacob Charles Carter-O'Neill!"
"A big name for a little boy", Daniel smiled.
"Indeed! But it is fitting. "I welcome you Alexander Carter-O'Neill. You are a child who is well-loved."
"Yes, that he is!" Jack kissed the baby's cheek and took him over to his mother. "Here you go Mommy – our son, Alexander!"