Jack's Tribe
Anunnaki Part 8
by Michele
Rated: NC-17 (Jack/Sam/Daniel)
Summary: Jack's nephews are not doing well, aliens come visiting the O'Neill home, Michael is having a crisis of faith, and Ninurta has a warning.

In the morning, Jack woke up to the familiar sound of his wife in mid-orgasm. It wasn't his face between her legs, though, so he lay quietly, smiling softly as he watched them. He found it interesting that Daniel preferred love in the morning while the evenings were usually hot and heavy. Daniel moved up and Sam wrapped her legs around him as he entered her. Daniel move slowly, gently against her, kissing her softly as Sam stroked the brown hair. Jack saw that the hair was getting a little shaggy, flopping over Daniel's eyes as it did when they first met. Tongues met, lips were licked and suckled. The morning light filtered through the curtains, dancing along the muscles that were rippling across Daniel's back and butt as he flexed, moving in and out of Sam. Jack had never found another man beautiful before, but Daniel was. Daniel arched his back, hissing as he came. Sam held him, watching his face, caressing his shoulders and arms as he began to relax. She kept her long legs wrapped lightly around him, running them up and down the backs of Daniel's thighs as they looked at each other, brushing lips together. Jack knew that position; he found it encompassing to be wrapped in Sam's legs, to feel them caressing his backside as he relaxed against her.

Daniel fell to the side, putting his arms around her as she turned to lay her head on his chest. Jack curled into her back, putting an arm across them. The three fell into a doze for another hour. Jack looked at the clock and seriously debated calling in sick but then he remembered his mother never believed him and she would more than likely come knocking at their door and roust them. He woke up Sam and Daniel. They needed showers and breakfast.

Jack's cell phone rang before they were halfway to the O'Neill home. He answered, listened, looked at Sam next to him, and hung up.

"That was Dad," Jack said. "The kids are there and they're refusing to go home." He stepped up the speed.

There was a priest sitting in the living room talking with Katie when they got there. The resemblance between the man and Jack was plain to see even though the priest was a little huskier than Jack's thin frame. Katie's face was wet and pale as she was held by Maggie.

"What happened?" Jack asked, keeping his voice to a gentle demand for the girl's sake. Katie jumped up at his voice and ran to him, wrapping her arms around his middle.

"Jonathan, come up here," Tom said from the top of the stairs. Jack passed Katie to Sam and went up the stairs with Daniel right behind him. Jack followed his father into his old room. Both the boys were in there. An older boy lay on Jack's bed, sniffling into the covers. The younger boy sat in a chair, his knees drawn up, and his face white. Tom sat on the side of the bed and patted the boy's back.

"Lift up, son," he said gently. "Show Uncle Jack."

The boy lifted his hips and Tom pulled the sweat pants down slightly. There were purple welts crossing the boy's butt. Daniel shut his eyes for a moment as Jack squatted down next to the bed and gave the light brown hair a stroke. The skin didn't look broken, just badly bruised.

"Where is Megan?" Jack asked, glancing up at his father.

"Home. I told her to stay there until we get this straightened out."

"Was David….?"

His father shook his head. Jack went to the younger boy and lifted him. Katie said he was 10, but Daniel thought he looked more like 8. A small 8.

"Hi, David, do you remember me?" Jack gently asked the boy. "You were only 5 the last time I saw you." The boy was silent but he held on to Jack. "We're going to fix this, son. This is my friend Daniel. I want you to sit with him while I talk with Matty, alright?"

Daniel sat in the chair and took the child from Jack, cradling the boy to him. Davy weighted next to nothing, a far cry from Daniel's own 10 year old husky self. Jack noted the thumb going into the mouth as Davy rested against Daniel's chest. Tom patted his great-grandsons and went back downstairs. Jack leaned back against the head-board and stroked his nephew's hair.

"What happened, Matt?" Jack asked quietly. "Whatever it is, you can tell me. You used to tell me everything, remember?"

Matthew seemed to be more relaxed upon hearing Jack's voice and turned his face from the wall toward his uncle. He rested quietly, feeling wiped out from crying and fighting the pain on his rear end. He missed being able to talk to his uncle, resented the absence but understood that it was his parents' fault. He knew Uncle Jack had remarried but Katie teased them, saying that Uncle Jack had a boyfriend, Daniel. Daniel actually existed.

"Did you really get married?" Matthew asked, his voice husky. The hand on his hair felt comforting.

"Yes, I did," Jack said. "Her name is Sam. Samantha. She's downstairs with Katie and Nanna. She'd like to meet you. I'm sorry you couldn't be at our wedding, it would have meant a lot to me for you to be there."

Uncle Jack used to smell like cigarette smoke, but he didn't anymore. "Was that real? On TV?"

"Very real."

"Katie said she played with aliens." Matthew obviously didn't believe her.

"Yes, she did," he was surprised to hear. "I made her stay on the base for safety. Some of the aliens were hurt, so my doctors fixed them up and they went home. Not all the aliens were bad guys. The good guys had their children with them, so while the adults were with the doctors, Katie helped to baby-sit the children."

Matthew thought about that. "She also said you have another son."

Jack didn't look at Daniel's raised eyebrow. "Yes, his name is Nate. Actually, it's Jonathan, but he doesn't like it. I didn't know he was born until a couple of years ago. He's 18. He wants to meet you. Throw some balls."

That would be nice…. "Katie said you have a boyfriend."

He heard his uncle chuckle and got his head ruffled. "Your sister has a big mouth. Yes, I do. That would be Daniel, sitting here with Davy. Are you alright with that?"

Shrug. "I guess so. It's kinda weird. Your….Sam doesn't mind?"

"No, she doesn't, he's her boyfriend, too. We're all together. And you can call her Aunt Sam, if you want; Katie does. I think she'd like it."

"Uncle Jack, can I live with you?"

The hand on his hair stilled for a moment. "Tell me why you were hit, Matty."

Matthew plucked at the bedding, his heart pounding. He didn't want to tell anyone but remembered that his uncle was always patient with his mistakes.

"I… I messed…my bed," he whispered, humiliated. "I didn't mean to. Dad said I didn't obey him, so he hit me."

Jack frowned. "Messed your bed how? Peed?"

Matthew buried his face in his arms and shook his head. Jack looked at Daniel and back to his nephew.

"Are you talking about semen, Matty?" He got a nod. Jack's mind was whirling around the concept. "Matthew…. You're 14, son, wet dreams are normal. I don't understand what it was you were disobeying."

"Dad told me to control it, that it was bad and I shouldn't think about things that make me do that."

Jack wasn't the only one confused as he looked once more at Daniel.

"Ok, I don't know what your father was thinking about with that one, but I think he may have a few facts mixed up. Turn over, please, so I can see you." He waited until Matthew was lying on his side, a pillow wrapped in his arms. Without further ado, Jack gave him the 101 on male physiology and growing up. Daniel interrupted now and again, correcting Jack's pronunciations and changing slang to official verbiage. Jack glanced over once in a while and noted that David was at least listening and seemed to be coming out of his shock.

"Now, your grandfather will tell you different about a few things, so it's something you'll need to make up your own mind about," Jack said. "You are being raised Catholic, so there are a few rules like not touching yourself. I happen to think it's normal, the Church thinks it's bad. You listen to your own heart on that matter. And I don't want you to ever be afraid to talk about this with me. We can talk anytime you'd like. We can talk about you, girls, or boys. I know you're a little confused about me and Daniel, so I don't mind answering your questions about that. I may be a little embarrassed about it, but we can talk and I'll do my best to answer you. Anything you want to talk about, email me, call me, whatever. Daniel doesn't mind talking, either. In fact, Daniel loves to talk. Will you promise to come to me if you have questions or when you just want to talk?"

Matthew nodded, a little flushed at the subject matter.

"David, you were listening, too, and you're starting to grow up; did you understand what we were talking about?" Jack asked, looking at his youngest nephew. The boy gave a small nod. "Good, boy. You can ask me things, too."

Jack ruffled hair. "Ok. Think you can come downstairs and meet your Aunt Sam?"

Matthew nodded and winced a little as he stood. Jack held his anger in check and took David from Daniel. He hugged the boy and laid him down on the bed.

"I want you to take a nap," he told the boy. "A little sleep will help you feel better." David nodded and huddled down into the pillow as Jack took his sneakers off, pulled a blanket over him, and kissed his cheek. Daniel enjoyed watching Jack with kids; he was so different, more relaxed and open. He was a little curious as to why Jack was treating the boy as though he were several years younger.

"Hey," Jack said, poking at Matthew's head. He couldn't believe how tall the boy was getting. "I thought hugs were part of being in this family?" Matthew smiled shyly and gave his uncle a hug. They trooped downstairs and the adults were all visibly relieved that Matthew was up and about.

"Honey, did you bring a camera?" Jack asked Sam. She nodded and went out to the car, back a moment later.

"Matty, come into the guest bath for a minute," Jack said, gesturing toward the hallway. "Dad, would you come with us?"

Jack took the boy in, got a couple of pictures of the purple stripes, and let him go. He sent Katie and Matthew outside and sat down, burying his face in his hands for a moment before telling the others of the conversation. Even Michael looked stunned.

"Jack, I….That is so medieval, I don't know where to begin," Michael said. "I know their parish priest, and he certainly doesn't advocate that kind of belief any more than I do. Wet dreams are a natural occurrence. Now, before you go hunting Andrew down, let me talk to him. Now that we know what's going on…."

"I don't think that's it," Daniel interrupted. Parents and older son looked at him, not expecting it. Daniel had been fairly quiet over the past couple of days, looking like nothing more than the pretty, but geeky, boyfriend. Neither Jack nor Sam had elaborated on Daniel. Jack didn't react, having expected Daniel to speak up sooner or later. "Who actually wigged out over Katie's abortion, Megan or Andrew?"

"Mostly Andrew," Michael acknowledged.

Daniel stood and paced, arms crossed in thought. "Let me see if I have all the facts: Megan works part-time, during the day, and is home by the time the kids get home from school. She is the primary keeper of home and hearth. Andrew is in charge of the main work load, bills, and is the main disciplinarian. Average household. I am going to guess that the kids are kept in strict obedience and any deviation is quickly dealt with. Andrew has the last word in all things, and his temper quickly comes up when he is questioned, or when he perceives he is being questioned. All household decisions are made by him, including where money is spent. Megan gets an allowance for the house and is responsible for keeping track of where the allowance is spent. Her paycheck gets handed over to Andrew. Andrew is never wrong; he was either not understood correctly or someone else messed up. His reasoning is clear when he attempts to explain how you messed up and not him. Do I have that correct?"

The others were silent for a moment as they looked at him.

"The husband in charge of the household is typical," Michael said carefully. Daniel nodded.

"Yes, he is, for the most part," Daniel agreed. "I personally don't agree with the concept, but male or female head of household, there's a difference between leadership and autocracy."

"What are you saying, Danny?" Jack asked.

"I'm saying that if I were you, I'd insist on a psych eval on the parents before allowing those children back into that home. What kind of stress must be going on if a ten year old boy is sucking his thumb instead of running around outside, climbing trees and getting into mischief? It didn't even occur to him not to trust a stranger. He wasn't mentally present when we first walked into that room. Look at this another way; you've seen me wigged out several times from trauma; did you for one minute think that I was up for a real world adventure?"

Jack studied him, thinking. He knew Daniel in this frame of mind; there were bells ringing, and when Jack ignored Daniel's bells, things tended to go terribly wrong.

"Alright," he said slowly. Sam nodded along with him.

"Wait," Michael said, holding a hand up. "Look, Andrew may have gone a little overboard in the spanking, but a psych eval? You can't be seriously considering this, Jack."

"Overboard?" Jack questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Did you see your grandson's ass?" Jack brought up the picture on the camera and handed it to Michael. The man blanched and handed it back. Jack showed his mother and she put a hand to her chest, clutching Tom's hand. Sam took one look and handed it back. "That isn't overboard, that's abuse," Jack informed his brother. "Those children are not going home until there's a professional evaluation. And I don't want Catholic Family Services to do it, I want an outside source."

Jack picked up the phone and dialed. "Officer Nolan, please. Joe. Joey, it's Jack. I'm at… please, not the Star Wars theme…I'm at Mom and Dad's. Listen, we have a situation."

As they waited for a cousin with a badge to show up, Michael looked restlessly at Jack.

"Jack…. Most of my older parishioners know who the general's older brother is," Michael said, frowning as he looked at his hands. "They're looking to me for answers and I don't know what to tell them."

"Have you searched the internet lately?" Jack asked.

"Are you saying what's been popping up is true?" Michael asked.

"I'm not confirming nor denying," Jack said. "I will tell you that the air battle was real, the aliens were real, and we really do have allies that live on other planets, and yes, Katie really did play with alien children while she was on my base during the battle. Those are facts, all of which have been on TV. Except the part about Katie. As for your spirituality, you may want to talk with Daniel; he's the Ph.D, here, not me."

"Really?" Maggie asked, looking at the man she mistook for just a pretty face. "Ph.D in what?"

"Anthropology and Archaeology, minors in linguistics and psych," Daniel responded.

"I think that linguistics minor should be a third doctorate by now," Colonel Doctor Carter commented. Daniel shrugged and agreed. Michael sat back, a stunned look on his face.

"You're the Dr. Jackson on the internet," he pieced together. "The sites are saying that you're responsible for the peace treaties we have with the alien allies. I can't believe I just spoke that sentence."

Daniel was a little embarrassed but he confirmed it. "We all helped, it wasn't just me," he said. "Jack's our team leader."

"Daniel, my idea of gaining treaties is to lock arguing parties in a room until they can play nice," Jack reminded him. "Without you, we would never have gained even one ally."

"Come on, Jack, the Asgard named a ship after you, and the Jaffa rebels call you brother," Daniel protested.

"The Asgard named a ship after you, too," Jack reminded him. "After Sam blew up mine. I haven't forgiven her, by the way, it was a pretty ship." He glared at Sam and she snickered at him.

"A retroactive payback for suggesting that you'd like two of me," she informed him.

"Yeah, Jack, one is plenty," Daniel agreed. "Come on, she exhausts us both all by herself."

"No, I think that's you, Danny," Jack said. "Four times in six hours, Danny. I'm an old man, you can't be jumping me like that. Especially if Sam is going to take me twice more before lunch." Sam laughed.

"Wait a minute!" Michael held up his hands, stopping their playful bickering. "Ships? Are we talking space ships? How did you blow up a space ship?" he asked Sam. He was ignoring the commentary between the men.

"I can't tell you because I can't actually confirm that I did so," she was sorry to inform him.

"Mikey, I'm sorry about all this, I really am," Jack said, turning serious. He knew this was going to be a problem for his brother the priest. "We've keep this all a secret for almost 9 years, and we would have continued to keep it quiet if those ships hadn't brought their fight to our backyard. You think things are rough on your parish now? Wait until the President and the Pentagon finish deciding what they're going to tell the world. This was the last thing I wanted to have happen. And believe me, I take the blame for it; that mothership came gunning for me, and the other ship was trying to protect us."

"You? Why you?" Maggie asked, offended that someone would have the nerve to come after her baby.

"Let's just say I tend to piss people off, Mom. Even off-world people."

Daniel put a hand on Jack's shoulder and gave him a squeeze.

"Did you see stories on the internet about aliens called System Lords and how they enslaved millions of people?" Daniel asked. His geeks did a pretty good job at disseminating the information before releasing it. The others nodded. "Well, Jack's been at the head of the line in helping to free those people. The System Lords aren't happy with him. We knew sooner or later they'd get here, but we were hoping later. Much later. We really aren't ready for them."

Tom rubbed his face, whiskers rasping. "If it's that bad, why did you retire, son?"

"Because the military thinks it knows better than us how to deal with this," he said. "Ninety-nine percent of the military didn't even know about this project, and yet they suddenly know better than us. I wasn't going to sit around and watch them as they got us blown up, or worse, enslaved by System Lords."

"Is that a possibility?" Michael asked intently.

"At the moment, highly probable."

"Then I'd say you need to be in there, Jack," Michael told him. Jack shook his head.

"When the military figures out that they at least need an advisor, I'll hear about it. I'm tired, Michael; I've lost a lot of good people in this battle, and all I want to do is go home and make love to my wife and Daniel. They've also lost people in this. Daniel lost his wife, Sam lost her father and several others close to her. I'm tired, they're tired."

"Father and wife?" Maggie questioned, frowning.

Jack nodded. "Sam's father was in on this, I can't go into details. He died just last year, a few months before we were married. Daniel…."

"My wife, Sha're, was from a planet called Abydos," Daniel said softly. "A System Lord took her as a slave. She died several years ago. Her world was destroyed by another System Lord." He took his wallet out and showed them her picture. He remembered her being skeptical about his magic and startled when she saw herself.

"Beautiful. But she's human," Michael commented with a little confusion.

"Yes," Daniel nodded. "Most of the people we've met out there are human. They came from here. Thousands of years ago, System Lords took them off-world as slaves. We've met a few non-human aliens, and I like most of them, but most of the aliens aren't so alien. Earth is the home world. The others call us Tau'ri. That's what the symbol on Sam's fighters meant. It's our world symbol which the System Lords recognize. It's a stylized pyramid and sun."

"That symbol has been cropping up on the internet," Michael said. "Small pockets of people seem to be adopting it as a world unification symbol."

"Really?" the three said together, startled.

"You guys were right," Jack said, giving Daniel's leg a tap. "Just wait and trust the public."

Michael watched them, looking from one to the other.

"You guys are really…together?" he finally noticed.

"Would you like a blow by blow description of this morning's three-way activities?" Jack asked.

"No, thank you," Michael shook his head.

"Yes!"

"Mother!"

"I'll tell you later, Maggie," Daniel promised with a wink. "It was wonderful. We considered staying in bed instead of coming over here." Daniel got his leg pinched. "Your cookies won out."

Michael was still skeptical.

"Would you like to know about the mole under his….?" Daniel gestured with his fingers.

"No, I have a vague memory of where Jack's moles are," Michael said dryly. "I was 7 when he was born. I learned how to change diapers fairly early in life."

Daniel hid his face on Jack's shoulder, he and Sam laughing as Jack protested, his face red and hot. There was a knock at the door before it opened. A police officer walked in and ushered Megan in before him.

"Hey, Jack," the man said. He was huskier than the O'Neills Daniel had already met; looking as thought he came from Tom's side of the tree instead of the tall, whip-thin Maggie's side. "One very upset niece for your inspection. Hey, Mike, sorry about this."

Megan stood, arms crossed, her face white and stained with tears.

"How could you, Jack?" she demanded.

"How could I? How could you," Jack responded. He stood and held the camera up to her. "This is the current state of your son's butt, Megan."

She gasped, her hands going to her mouth, and turned away. Cousin Joey took the camera, looking at it before handing it back to Jack.

"What are we doing?" Joey asked, resigned. Jack laid out the plans and Joe gave a grave nod.

"I'll get Andrew," he said. "Off the books for as long as possible, Jack, or CPS will take the kids instead of you. Megan, if custody comes into this, I would advise you giving them over to Jack voluntarily or this will go much harder on all of you, including an official record in the system. This doesn't have to be permanent, Megs, just until the evaluations are done and a course of action decided upon. Aunt Maggie, Uncle Tom, are you witnessing this?" They sadly agreed.

"Who's this?" Joey asked, looking at Sam and Daniel.

"My wife, Sam, and our boyfriend, Daniel," Jack said with a straight face. Joey clearly felt that Jack was joking with him as he held out a hand to Daniel.

"And as such, Uncle Jack can't take my children," Megan protested.

Jack held up the camera again. "Tell me who is responsible for child abuse?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow. Megan kept silent. "Leave Daniel out of this, Megan Anne. You can thank him for the psych eval, because I'd rather have Andrew arrested."

A childish giggle came from upstairs followed by a squawk. Everyone looked up at the ceiling as Jack groaned. Daniel sighed and went up. Zu was walking up and down the bed, marching and pretending to fall over dead whenever David peeked at him. David stopped at seeing Daniel in the doorway.

"It's ok, David," Daniel assured him. "This is Zu, he's been visiting us. He's a silly bird, isn't he?" The boy shyly nodded.

"Daniel!" he heard bellowed from downstairs. Daniel rolled his eyes and went back down. There was a furry russet mound sitting on Jack's lap.

"T'Keet?!" The cub jumped and Daniel caught her. "Oh, no," he moaned as she chittered happily in his face. Jack was on his cell phone as his family looked on, wide-eyed and incredulous.

"Davis! We are in Minnesota, in my parents' living room. We have unexpected guests in the form of one small, purring mound of fur currently attached to Daniel's chest and one red-winged menace entertaining my youngest nephew. Is there something I should know about? Uh huh, you do that." He hung up and threw his head back.

"I think I need a cigarette," he informed the ceiling.

"Not if you expect to be kissed again," Sam said. "What is the major going to do?"

"Major Davis will call back after he whispers into Vidrine's ear and rechecks the radar," Jack said. "Nothing has blipped on any of the screens, so he's just as surprised as we are. Zu is easy to hide, but T'Keet is obviously not from around here so it may be problem trying to hide her."

They watched the cub chomp her sharp little teeth into an apple that Daniel found for her as she lay back, cradled in Daniel's arms, tail twitching slowly as she hummed in contentment at the sweet fruit. A bird flew down the stairs and landed on Daniel's shoulder, eyeing the cub imperiously. She held out the apple and the bird took a bite. David came down the stairs. He had a red feather in one hand. He went to Jack and took over his lap as Daniel spoke to the bird. Sam gave the boy a gentle stroke on his arm and he smiled shyly at her.

"Well?" Jack asked, seeing the strange look on Daniel's face as he glanced at the bird. Daniel didn't say anything but went through the kitchen to the back door. Everyone trooped behind him. There were three strangers sitting on the lawn chairs. The two men were smoking stogies. Joey immediately drew his gun on the three leather kilted people and was stopped by Jack.

"Daniel!" they greeted him. "And Jack and Sam!"

"Please tell me you ran out of gas," Jack begged, going into the yard.

Enki held up a fresh stogie. Jack considered accepting it but saw the frown on Sam's face. He politely declined. Jack's family looked at the warriors.

"Jonathan….." Tom began.

"It's alright, Dad," Jack assured him. "They're friends. Just relax and I'll find out what's going on. Guys?"

Ninurta stood and put a hand on Jack's shoulder. "Let's walk," he said, steering Jack around and out the yard. Jack stopped him and pointed to the leather kilt. They went to a far corner of the yard for their talk.

Inanna looked at the family.

"You are the mother of Katie?" she asked the white-faced woman standing behind Joey. Megan gave a shaky nod. "Come. I would speak with you."

"Inanna," Daniel stopped her. He spoke a few sentences to her and her eyes narrowed.

"Come, woman," she insisted, taking Megan's arm and pulling her away. Sam halted the protests from the rest of the family. Enki reached out and took Sam's hand, planting a kiss on the back of it.

"Flirt," she informed him with a grin.

"Sam?" Michael gestured. Sam introduced everyone.

"We don't know what's going on yet," she said. "Let Jack and Ninurta talk."

"Do you see this woman?" Enki asked the group, tugging on Sam's hand. "She saved our lives. We were in stasis for over 2000 years, and she corrected that problem within a day of realizing what happened. Jack fought for us, and Daniel bridged our worlds. We owe these three and their warriors everything."

Michael sat, his face white. "Two thousand years? How…?"

"Don't quite know," Enki said, puffing thoughtfully. "I was hoping Sam would be able to spend some time on that and help me figure it out. Who's this little man?" He looked around Sam at the back door. Zu flew out and landed on Enki's shoulder.

"Come on out, David," Daniel encouraged him. "These are friends. This is Enki. Aba, this is David, Jack's youngest nephew. He hasn't been feeling well, and Zu's been cheering him up."

"I see," Enki nodded. "Zu is good at that, the crazy old bird. Zu must like you very much," he mentioned, looking at David's hand. "He gifted you with a very rich gift. He doesn't give feathers to just anyone, you know, so you must be special." Zu murmured into Enki's ear and the old man nodded. David looked at the red and gold feather in his hand and sided into Daniel, comfortable in Daniel's calm.

"Sam," Jack called to her, waving her over. He spoke quietly and they both took out cell phones and began making calls.

"Daniel," Michael said, disturbed at the goings on. "Seminary training includes mythology. Their names are not unknown to me."

"I'm sorry, Michael."

"They can't be the ones from Mesopotamia," Michael insisted. He felt a hyperventilation coming on as he looked at the woman speaking to Megan, every ounce of him refusing to accept that the Queen of Heaven was standing across the yard from him.

"They are," Daniel said, truly sorry to be the one to break it to him. "They're just people, Michael, who happen to be very old. Sorry, Aba, no offense. They are not gods, Michael, so their existence does nothing to threaten you."

"There is only one God," Michael whispered.

"So say every Goa'uld," Enki said. "Keep that up, and you'll make a very nice slave for which ever System Lord decides to take over this planet. Baal and Enlil are the two at the front of the line, and I don't believe Enlil is capable of beating Baal. You may want to discuss with Jack exactly what Baal is capable of."

"Aba, please," Daniel quietly protested. "That isn't helpful."

"We don't have time to pander to billions of individuals who happen to be in the throws of a spiritual crisis," Enki said bluntly. "It's time to grow up, and if this planet needs to be pulled kicking and screaming into adulthood, that's what we'll do."

Daniel thought about it. "What are you saying?"

"Nothing yet," Enki said.

Daniel switched languages and he still got a shaking head.

"How about translating all this for us?" Tom asked, an arm around Maggie's shoulders. Joey stood quietly in the back ground, watching, listening, having been put on hold by General Jack.

"I don't know what's going on," Daniel told them. "The fact that they are here, instead of organizing their new home world, tells me something is about to go down."

"Are we in for an invasion?" Joey asked. Daniel shrugged.

"I don't know. The possibility is there but since Sam hasn't been called in, there aren't any fleets within range of us." And with the Gate still down, no one will be coming in that way, either…

"Do you know how insane this conversation is?" Joey asked. Daniel held the cub up.

"T'Keet, say Hi."

"Hhhhiiiieeeee!" She hooted and wiggled, wrapping her tail around Daniel's forearm and swinging upside down. Joey and Megan took a step back.

"An alien child," Michael noted with a raised eyebrow. "There's a lot more going on here than meets the eye, isn't there?" he asked Daniel. "An alien child… Dear Lord, I'm not doing well."

"Just take deep breaths, son, you'll get over it," Enki sagely advised.

"Daniel!"

Daniel handed David over to his great-grandparents and went across the lawn. Jack put his phone away.

"We have a decision to make," Jack said quietly. "The gate isn't malfunctioning; it was shut down by the Asgard. Our feathered spy over there discovered that the head of the appropriations committee is a snake. He followed that lead and came across eight others, all in the higher ranks. General Wilmington, the new CO at SGC, is one of those taken. You think the world is reeling from seeing an alien air battle in our own backyard? Wait until they find out we have a foothold situation high in the American government."

Daniel rubbed the back of his neck, grimacing. No, this wasn't good. What's the decision choices?"

"First, we need to contact other loyal SGC personnel, and confirm they are clean. Ninurta has offered sanctuary on board the Heaven's Bow. If this planet becomes overrun, the leadership will need to be kept safe; us and whomever else we recommend. That's one option. Another is to keep quiet and turn a blind eye to anything unusual in the near future."

"My men can infiltrate and incise the infection," Ninurta said. "If we do this, you all need to stay clear of the situation. Once the infection is dealt with, you will need your hands clean if you are to return to your place and command the Chaapai. Only when your planet is on her feet, will the Asgard release the gate. They do not trust the current command, and my Queen has convinced them to take this action, so do not be angry with Thor."

"And the decision we need to make is whether or not to take the sanctuary or wait out the storm in its eye?" Daniel pieced together. Ninurta nodded.

"Exactly so. You are in great danger, if you stay here," he said. "The three of you are prime targets for assassination, if a symbiote doesn't take you. Jack because of his access to the gate and his leadership, not to mention the knowledge of the Ancients, which is still buried inside of him, Sam because of her knowledge of weapons and science, and you, Daniel, because of your abilities at communication and being able to read Ancient. With just the three of you under control of a Goa'uld, this world would easily be taken."

"We are not the only ones who are viable targets," Daniel said. "If Jack dies, most of the SGC who are loyal will accept Nate stepping into his place. SG-3 and quite a few of Sam's pilots know who he is. In the absence of Jack, the loyal SGC personnel will follow Col. Reynolds, and Col. Reynolds knows Nate. And according to a possible future path that we accidentally stumbled into one time, Cassandra will be control of the gate as easily as the Tollan were able to and the Nox. If anyone needs to be secluded, I'd say those two do. For myself, I will follow Jack and Sam."

"I didn't even think about Cassie," Sam said thoughtfully. Jack gave a slow nod.

"What is special about your Cassandra?" Ninurta asked, looking from one to the others. "She is not human?"

Eyebrows went up. "Zu didn't spill the beans on her?" Jack asked. "Nirrti decided to experiment on her people. The entire population was destroyed except Cassandra. We rescued Cassandra when she was 12. Her adopted mother died a couple years ago, Sam's been looking in on her, and Daniel and I are around when she needs a father. We had Thor take the planet out of the gate system because of the contamination."

"There's the possibility that whatever Nirrti did to her will make itself known at some point in the future," Sam said. "She isn't showing any signs now, but she did a few years ago. Telekinetic abilities. We caught Nirrti and managed to shut them off, but if that future path is any indication, they are dormant, not completely gone. She was elderly when we saw her in the future timeline and she had a device on her hand that brought the gate online when she touched it. No locking in each chevron, just a stroke and the event horizon was instantly established. The entire gateroom was no longer in use, everything was shrouded, so I'm thinking that we no longer needed to gate for travel by that time. And Cass was in charge of it, I'd say about 35 years in the future. Not too long away." The only thing Daniel wasn't happy about with the story is that Cassie, the older Cassie, insinuated that Daniel no longer had hair in that time. He absently ran a hand through his thick hair in confirmation of its existence.

Ninurta grew quiet and thoughtful as she spoke. "And with Nate, Jack's clone, that is indeed a powerful partnership. I recommend letting them both know of their status. We can keep an eye on them and pull them out, if we need to. Especially your Cassandra. If she is able to do as you say she is, or will be, she is indeed the future of this world. What of Nirrti?"

"Dead," Daniel assured him. Ninurta nodded.

"I think I'd rather stay home," Jack said, looking at Sam and Daniel. "If something happens at the Mountain, I'd like to be close by if we need to jump in."

Daniel and Sam agreed.

"Keep Cassandra and Nate on your radar," Jack told Ninurta. "Nate won't be amused, he wants to teach elementary school and play with the kids, but he has me in him, so he knows to take command when he needs to. If he needs to. And I'm going to decline on the recommendation to inform them; Cass is still too young to know how to play it cool. If she has foreknowledge, she may tip her hand. And I don't want to risk Nate's emotions and have him spill it to her."

"Alright," Ninurta conceded, nodding as he looked at them. "I will give the order to begin infection control. I recommend you spend another day or so with your family and then go back home and to your daily routines. Whatever you do, don't go on a world tour when you are asked to make appearances in the near future regarding our battle with Enlil. Be stubborn, dig your feet in, and don't stray too far. You can bring the world to you, give some seminars, on your terms, not your government's terms, but stay on this continent."

"Why can't we stray?" Daniel asked, frowning at the leash.

"Because I don't want to have to track you all over the world in our attempts to keep you safe," Ninurta said, as blunt as his father. "The further you are from us, the more opportunity the enslaved will have to capture you. This is just temporary, Daniel, until we can contain this problem. I can't stop you from going abroad; I can only ask that you help us to help you."

They understood.

"I have asked Zu to stay with you," Ninurta said. "He will be our eyes and ears to you. Don't be concerned if he disappears for days on end, he'll be back."

"Yeah, about that," Jack said, holding up a hand. "How does he do that?"

The warrior gave a rueful smile. "We stopped asking that question thousands of years ago."

"And what are we doing with T'Keet?" Daniel asked, stroking the tail wrapped around his neck.

"M'Net is on our ship," Ninurta said. "He chose to stay with us instead of returning home. His family was killed by Enlil, he had nothing left and staying with us would give him the chance to avenge their deaths. She got out when she saw from Zu that you were nearby. She will be returned."

Plans were settled and they returned to the group.

"Dad, how about firing up the grill?" Jack suggested.

"You're not going to tell us?" Joey demanded incredulously. The others also sounded their protests.

"Tell you what?" Jack asked blankly.

"Jack, you can't do that! We…they….Jack, there are aliens in the backyard!" Joey croaked.

"I think you've had a few too many pints, Joe," Jack informed him. "All I see is my family and a few friends that happened to drop by. Come on, let's get some steaks and burgers; I'm hungry."

Megan was quietly sniffling, arms hugging herself. Whatever Inanna had said to her, Megan returned to the family group much subdued and with an attitude adjustment.

"Uncle Jack?" she whispered. Jack took one look at her and pulled her into his arms. He stroked her hair as she sobbed into his chest. "I'm pregnant, Uncle Jack," she whispered when she could. "I don't want another of my babies hurt."

"No more," Jack told her, stroking the brown hair from her face and wiping away her tears. "File the report, honey," he advised her. "How far along are you?"

"Three months," she said. "I had it confirmed last week, but I haven't told anyone. Not even Andrew."

"Ok. You're only 36, honey, and you're healthy; this shouldn't be a problem. We're all here for you. Joe, Megs has a report to file," Jack gently said, handing her over to their cousin. They took Sam's camera with the evidence of Matthew's back-end, and left for the station.

"Mommy?"

They looked at the small whisper, the first words from David all day. Jack knelt down and held him by the waist.

"Mommy will be back soon," he said to the boy. "She and Joey need to do something, so you stay here with us until she gets back. How about you come to the store with me and we'll get some hotdogs for Papa to grill?"

"And corn?" Davy asked, his eyes brightening.

"That is a great idea," Jack said enthusiastically, shaking the boy. He flung the child over a shoulder and stood. "We are going shopping," he announced. The child giggled from upside down. It was the best sound Jack had heard in a long time.