Birds and Bees
Anunnaki Part 18
By Michele
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Maggie corners Jack and Nate, Michael's crisis of faith gets halted dead in the water, Camulus is actually useful, Nate has a surprising request, and Jack and Paul have a bonding moment.

When their guests began to calm down and once more relax back into party mode, Inanna, Teal'c, and Gibil quietly disappeared. A call to the base told them that no vessels other than the Heaven's Bow were nearby. If a vessel was cloaked, they wouldn't know, anyway. When Martin and Joy Applegate arrived, Daniel was excused from the pow-wow. He greeted their sons, Stewart and Dennis, introduced Stacy, and the boys went to find the other boys. Daniel took Martin and Joy into the house for a little initial private time. The two were actually disappointed that they just missed the ghoul of Christmas Past. They were tickled to meet T'Keet, however, and were amused when she fell into a nap across Daniel's shoulders which he assured them was typical behavior. He had a feeling she was about to hit a growth spurt, hence her napping more than she was awake. A few people had been subject to the cub falling into a nap while she was being loved.

Nate was once more entertaining cubs and small children. He had gathered the littles into a group for games and nursery songs. After the first song, Jack found himself the center of attention as SGC personnel looked speculatively at him.

"Don't even think it!" he ordered them.

The children were becoming cranky, so Nate and Sam took them all into the library, spread sheets out on the floor, and helped parents settle the children in for a nap. Sam had discovered that Nate exhibited more of Jack's playful, gentle side than Jack did. She admitted to liking the young man and could see the positive effect he had on Cassie.

Jack stuck a carrot in his mouth like a cigar while he was looking for another case of soda he was sure he had bought when,

"Jonathan Charles!"

Everyone within hearing range winced and made to escape. Maggie reached out and grabbed an ear.

"Ow!"

"Not you," she ordered.

"Mom?" Jack questioned.

His parents stood in the kitchen doorway, his mother glaring at him and his father resigned.

"Jonathan, is there something you haven't told me?" Maggie demanded. Jack waved a carrot in confusion. "I gave birth to you, Jonathan, don't think for one minute I don't remember what you looked like, and SOUNDED like, at 19." She grabbed Nate's hair and tilted his face up. Jack put the carrot down and gently removed her hand from Nate's locks.

"Mom, I told you, he's my son," Jack said carefully. "I love you but that's all I'm telling you. Please accept him as presented and don't ask questions." He kissed her cheek. "Because this is the only answer you will get. Dad?"

His father came forward and took Maggie by the elbow. "Come on, dear, why don't we take a cue from the children, and go for a nap? I'm a little tired, myself."

There was silence for a moment after they left the kitchen.

"Sorry," Nate said.

"She was bound to notice at some point," Jack said. "I'm surprised it wasn't sooner. Let her sleep it off, she'll be calmer in a while. I think Dad already guessed something was up, but he knows enough not to say anything."

"They're getting on, Jack," Nate warned.

"I know."

Daniel stuck his head into the room.

"Is everything alright?" he asked, looking around.

"Yeah," Jack said, holding out a hand. It was a little girly of him, but he enjoyed holding Daniel's hand. Daniel came forward and took it. Martin and Joy were behind him, looking worried. "Mom knows something's up with Nate," Jack murmured in Goa'uld. He pretends well, but Daniel knows Jack understands more than he lets on. As a Special Ops agent, Jack needed to speak at least simple sentences in various languages, for whichever country he happened to be working in. Daniel had heard him speak a little Spanish, Italian, and French. His German was horrendous, so Daniel begged him not to even try. Jack couldn't break the languages down, but he could memorize a few words and phrases. "Dad took her for a nap. I told her she isn't getting any information other than what I've already told her."

Jack introduced Nate to Daniel's family.

"Mom sometimes has a hard time separating the General from her son," Jack explained.

"I understand," Martin said. "I was in the Gulf, and my folks had a hard time when I couldn't talk about certain things."

"You were in the Gulf?" Jack perked up. "Me, too, whereabouts?" Jack wasn't going to tell Martin exactly what he had been doing or where he ended up, and Martin sensed evasions and knew better than to ask, but they bonded over shared war stories as Daniel took Joy outside and introduced her around.

"I take it you weren't in any wars?" Joy asked him in amusement.

Daniel shook his head. "Only if you want to call the recent stuff war," he said. "I was about a teenager during the Gulf. Jack doesn't like to hear how old I was then, it gives him a headache to be reminded of our age difference."

She looked at him with a raised brow.

"Seventeen years," he told her in a stage whisper. She laughed.

"Uncle Danny!" David ran up to him. "Can I have the cake?" he pointed toward the laden table.

"Not that one," Daniel told him. "You can have those cookies and pastries," he said, pointing toward trays that were labeled Davy-safe. David picked a black and white frosted kosher cookie that was almost as big as his face, and happily sank his teeth into it. Daniel gave Joy a quick explanation of David's allergies. He could have the little bit of wheat and almonds that were in the cookies and pastries, made special just for Davy at a kosher bakery, but the cake would send him to the hospital.

"I've heard you called Danny a couple of times," Joy mentioned. "Which do you prefer?"

"Daniel," he said with a smile. He gave her a rundown of who gets to call him Danny, basically his partners and the kids. He did appreciate her asking, though, instead of assuming, and he shuddered at being called Dan.

Inanna, Teal'c, and Gibil appeared in a stream of light. Daniel pointed toward the house and they marched in. He directed Joy's attention elsewhere. She took the sudden appearance rather well, considering she had never seen anyone beam in before.

Jack excused himself from Martin and locked himself in his study with the three.

"Camulus isn't sure what Baal is after," Inanna told him. "He seemed honestly surprised, Jack; I believe him."

"He is currently writing a report of his activities from the time he left the SGC to the time we picked him up," Gibil reported. "If he is lying, his report should show the discrepancies."

Jack frowned. "T, you agree?"

"I do," Teal'c inclined his head. "He did not believe some of us no longer carried a symbiote; I showed him my empty pouch, long since dried up. He showed fear and swore he was telling the truth. I have not seen such emotion on a Goa'uld, not since Apophis died. Camulus said he would put in his report all he knew about the dwindling Jaffa slave numbers, and which of the System Lords he knew to be still alive."

"Alright," Jack conceded. "Make sure he writes everything he discussed with Baal, word for word, and everything he may have overheard, including rumors. I suppose it's possible he's unaware of whatever knowledge Baal seems to think he has."

Inanna gave a nod to Gibil and he beamed himself back to the ship.

"Inanna, what kind of relationship do Enlil and Baal have?" Jack asked. "Or did have."

"Not much of one," she said, thinking. "We were in Kalam much longer than the Goa'uld were on the planet, but they were, for the most part, in and around the Red Sea area. Kalam was what your people called Sumer, which is now Iraq. Egypt and Sumer were quite distant from each other. If Enlil had knowledge of Baal, we didn't know about it. We started hearing reports of strange gods from the slaves that were coming into our city from the west, so my father sent Enlil to investigate. Enlil returned a changed person. He had always been arrogant but now he was impossible, demanding that we worship him and be his slaves. Us. His peers. We refused and Enlil began a war. Father was one of the first killed, and then my brother and our mother."

"Wait," Jack stopped her with a raised hand. "Enlil just tried to take Iraq. Was he looking for something other than new slaves?"

Inanna looked at him, blank. "Not that I'm aware of," she said. "I can ask my sister and Enki, but if anything was left behind, I cannot think of what it could be."

Jack picked at his lower lip as he slowly paced. He nodded.

"Alright," he said. "We need to talk with Daniel, too, have him go over the myths and see if he can spot anything. We're in no rush, so how about we enjoy the rest of the day and we'll pick this up on Monday?"

They exited the house and Jack gave a subtle All Clear hand sign. The military relaxed. Jack motioned to Davis.

"Clear my appointments for Monday," he told Paul. "I don't want to disrupt Gen. Landry's day, so we will be meeting here. I want you, Daniel, Inanna and whomever she wishes to join us. Make sure we have plenty of coffee ready for a brainstorming session."

"Yes, Sir. Daniel has a class on Monday, 0900 until 1100."

"Fine, he's excused until noon, I'll let him know what I need from him and we'll work around him until he gets back. Oh, you should probably check with Gen. Landry and make sure he can spare Daniel." Jack kept forgetting he was no longer in charge of Daniel's schedule. Davis acknowledged and was excused.

"Sir?" Davis turned back to him. "Would my presence be too close for comfort if I bought your old house?"

Jack looked at him. "I've lived a few places, Major, specify."

"Down the street, Sir. I was considering an apartment but, if you don't mind my saying so, it really is a nice house."

"Oh. No, I don't mind," Jack shrugged. "But the closer you are, the more convenient it will be to toss you an order," he warned.

"And the more convenient it will be to get it done faster. Sir."

Jack chuckled and waved at him. "Go for it, Major. It is a nice house. No fish in the pond, though."

By early evening, things began to wind down. Most of the party-goers had gone home and the few left sat around talking. Jack, Landry, and Hammond talked with Reynolds about possible SG-1 personnel, David was asleep on Jack's lap, and Daniel and Sam were in a circle with Bosco and a few other Kid Tree parents finding out about kid play-dates, once a month get-togethers, and their own parent support group. They knew Daniel was a new parent, so they were all open about offering him an ear and advice, if he needed it. Daniel was amazed; an entire world had just opened up, a world he had no idea had existed the entire time he was at Cheyenne. He was still eccentric Dr. Jackson, but now he had something in common with a few others; he was a parent. Daniel was becoming more and more wide-eyed as he listened to the others talk about their pre-teen and teenagers, and the needs of such, especially the girls. Sam patted Daniel's hand and told him she'd deal with the girl issues, if he wanted her to. Daniel immediately took her up on the offer. Bosco told him that Becky Sorenson, wife of Lieutenant Ken Sorenson, an SF, was the keeper of the calendar, so she would add their house to the mailing list.

Bugs began chirping and the rest of the stragglers bid them good night. Jack carried Davy toward the house and noticed Michael standing at the edge of the yard, looking at the darkening sky.

"Mikey? You ok?" Jack asked, walking over to him.

"Fine, Jack," Michael acknowledged. He lifted his face to the sky, breathing deeply. "Do you know that young man, Sgt. Gaafar? Khalid?"

"Yeah, one of Daniel's kids," Jack told him. "What about him?"

"I spent time talking with him today," Michael said. "He's a practicing Muslim, did you know that? I rambled on and on, and then he put me to shame with just a few words. He quoted Rumi. Not the Koran, but Rumi. Have you ever read Rumi? He said:

Solomon was busy judging others,
when it was his personal thoughts
that were disrupting the community.

His crown slid crooked on his head,
he put it straight, but the crown went
awry again. Eight times this happened.

Finally he began to talk to his headpiece.
"Why do you keep tilting over my eyes?"

"I have to. When your power loses compassion
, I have to show what such a condition looks like."

Immediately Solomon recognized the truth.
He knelt and asked forgiveness.
The crown centered itself on his crown.

When something goes wrong, accuse yourself first.
Even the wisdom of Plato or Solomon
can wobble and go blind.

Listen when your crown reminds you
of what makes you cold toward others,
as you pamper the greedy energy inside.

Michael turned to Jack. He gave a light caress to Davy's back, and stroked his grandson's hair.

"My crown covered my eyes, Jack, will you forgive me?"

"Sure, Mike, just don't kneel, ok?"

Michael took Megan and the kids and folks to church in the morning, the home-owners politely declined the invitation and went out for brunch with Martin and Joy, and Mark and Susan. And kids. The O'Neills rejoined them later and they all took over Josh and John's Ice Cream Parlor where the kids couldn't decide which wonderful flavor to choose. Jack's family had to leave first, needing to catch a plane, Sam and Daniel's family left a little later, both having driven from their homes.

When the house was quiet and only one kid running around, the adults found a corner to collapse for a nap.

All in all, it had been a productive weekend. Families had been taken care of, in-law bonding had occurred, kidlings given attention to, and SG units were well on their way to new growth. Jack felt as though his kids were all ready to leave the nest.

Sam came into the bedroom and poked Daniel in the shoulder as she lay down.

"You didn't initialize the parental controls on her computer," Sam muttered.

"Don't believe in them," Daniel croaked from behind his eyelids. "Shouldn't shield kids from life; it makes them unprepared for life."

"Yeah, well, YOUR kid surfed her way into Human Sexuality 101 and discovered exactly how men have sex. With each other."

It took Daniel a moment but he groaned and covered his face with his pillow. Jack chuckled and turned over.

"Ahhh….as though one Jackson in the house wasn't enough," he muttered.

"She's 10, how did she know what subject to Google?" Daniel whined.

"She's almost 11, there are several stations on the satellite that are gay oriented, and have you taken a good look at the books she reads?" Sam asked. "She's at least 2 years ahead of the average 5th grade reading level. Danny, she's been reading Jack's National Geographics. You should get her IQ tested; it will at least tell us what directions we can push and where she needs more help."

"If she has your brains, it would explain why she doesn't like school," Jack murmured. "She's bored."

"Ok, I'll get with her councilor," Daniel said. "Am I supposed to go and talk to her about sex?"

"If you want to but it isn't necessary," Jack chuckled. "If she's at least surfing the correct information, let her think about it for a while, and then bring up the subject in a few days. She should have questions by then and you can explain the difference between love and sex and which sites are not good to look at and which ones are."

"Sam?"

"Uh huh, chicken little," Sam snickered. "I've already told her about menstrual cycles, you can take care of this."

Daniel lifted his head. "Isn't she a little young for Period information?"

"No," Sam said. "Some girls start as young as 9. I started at 11, Cass started at 13."

Daniel groaned and buried his head again. "Why couldn't it have been a boy?" came the muffled question. He eventually got up and went to check on her, getting a thrill out of tucking her in and kissing her good night.

"Daddy?"

He turned back toward her.

"Who was that man at the picnic?" she asked.

"Which one, sweetie?"

"The one who just appeared and talked with Jack and Inanna."

"Ah. That was Baal," he told her, going back and sitting on the edge of her bed. "He's a Goa'uld System Lord. We go back a long ways. He's a very bad person."

"Can't Jack arrest him or something?"

Daniel held back the laugh. "I wish he could, but it doesn't work like that. Baal wasn't really here, that was a holograph of him. You know on Star Wars how they can appear on the little tables and talk to each other? Like that."

"I know what a hologram is, Dad. Is he going to come back?"

"I don't know," he said honestly. "He might but he only comes to talk to Jack, and not very often. In fact, I haven't seen him in a long time."

"He was creepy."

"Yes, he was, but you don't need to worry about him because he doesn't live around here."

She was satisfied and he leaned down to kiss her cheek again. She put her arms around his neck and hugged him hard.

"I love you," he told her. "Go to sleep."

"I love you, too, Daddy."

Daniel went back into his bedroom and stood at the foot of the bed, looking from Jack to Sam.

"Decisions, decisions," he muttered to himself. He settled on crawling up Sam's body. She had to go to work in the morning, he could play with Jack later. "Jack, our daughter wants you to arrest Baal," he commented as he buried his face between Sam's breasts. He nuzzled into her t-shirt and found a nipple.

"Oh, if it were only that easy," Jack commented. Sam laughed softly as Daniel grabbed her wrists and kept her from 'helping.'

"You're a bully in bed, do you know that?" she asked him, gasping when he sucked hard at her. Daniel pinned her wrists over her head with one hand and reached into her pajamas with the other. He pressed his palm against her and she whimpered, thrusting her hips up to him. He released her and sat up.

"Turn over," he said. Sam turned onto her belly and Daniel slid her pajamas down, baring just her butt. "Jack, is that not absolutely beautiful?" he asked, lightly caressing the globes bared to his pleasure.

"Perfection," Jack agreed, watching them with amusement as Daniel tickled her and she wiggled under him.

"Show me," Daniel said to her. Jack didn't understand it, but Sam obviously did. She raised her hips slightly, pulling her knees up and lowering her face to the bed. She was completely opened to Daniel's gaze. Jack assumed that this was something they usually did without him, since he really didn't get into some of Daniel's more explicit games. He could see Sam had started to tremble and knew she was turned on. Daniel pulled her pajamas off and she spread herself open a little more.

Daniel lay down between her open legs and turned over, his face directly under her. He licked at her, teasing her clit with his tongue and teeth. Sam squeaked as his teeth scraped gently at her. Her toes curled as he sucked at her and played. He licked further back and Sam moaned into the bedding. Jack slid down the bed for a better view and watched as Daniel rimmed her. Sam had a tendency to melt when played with like that and she did, almost whining into the bed as Daniel licked at her and thrust his tongue in and out of her. Daniel went back to her clit and slid two fingers inside of her. Sam's toes curled again as she cried out into the bed.

"Give me your hand," Daniel said. She put a hand down to him and he placed it against herself. Sam played with herself, caressing her clit as Daniel scooted out. Jack hadn't seen Sam play with herself before yet there she was, stroking herself. Daniel reached into the side table and pulled out lube. Jack quickly looked up at him. Daniel slicked himself up and then thrust two fingers covered in lube into her. Sam squeaked again and then moaned as she opened herself more to him. Fingers she had taken before but the feel of him pushing against her was new. Sam's eyes flew open and he pushed in. She bit the bedding with a muffled screech and pushed back against him at his patiently murmured instructions.

Jack stroked himself as he watched Daniel loving Sam from behind. Daniel leaned back and showed Jack their joining. He reached out to touch but got his hand pushed away.

"Not this time," Daniel groaned. "You're supposed to watch."

Jack gave a brief snarl and pulled hard at himself. Sam was crying into the bedding but he could hear that it was a good kinda crying as Daniel thrust in and out of her. He had to remind her to play with her clit; a man's pleasure button was on the inside, hers was on the outside.

She was tight and Daniel trembled as he held back, waiting for her. She groaned low into the bed, her orgasm hitting deeper than a vaginal one, and Daniel allowed himself to come in her. He leaned forward, kissing her back and murmuring to her as he waited for her to relax. She was sniffling as her legs loosened and she flattened out onto the bed. Daniel pulled out and a moment later a white stream trickled out and down her thigh. Jack slid up to her and put an arm across her back as he kissed her face and neck. Daniel carefully cleaned her and then himself before pulling the covers up over them.

He looked at her and she gave him a nod. She was alright. Daniel kissed her and held her, with Jack curling up into her back, cradling her between them.

Jack woke up in the morning to find himself coming in Sam's mouth. They took a shower together before Sam's car came to pick her up and take her to the air field where her helicopter waited to take her to the Yard. She spent a little time making out with Jack, assuring him that she was fine and that she enjoyed it. She wanted Jack that way, too, but not at the moment. Jack understood, knowing exactly how it felt to be stretched by Daniel.

Daniel dropped Stacy off at school in the morning and stopped in to see her councilor. When Daniel told her what Stacy's reading materials were and what his own IQ was, she gulped and immediately agreed to have Stacy tested.

Jack spent the morning reading the translation of Camulus' report and had to admit he couldn't spot any discrepancies. Living with Baal was hell, though, from what Jack was reading. Davis didn't comment when he saw the new reading glasses. When Daniel came home, he had a pile of books all tagged. He helped himself to pizza, something the Anunnaki had discovered, along with chocolate, and paused before opening one of the books.

"I spent my class time looking through the myths," he said. "My students tagged everything they felt was questionable, and since they know nothing about Middle Eastern mythology, a lot was questionable. I like one question, in particular, though." He paced before them as he read from the book, lecturing to his class as he waved pizza around like a pointer.

From the trunk of the tree he carved a throne for his holy sister.
From the trunk of the tree Gilgamesh carved a bed for Inanna.
From the roots of the tree she fashioned a pukku for her brother.
From the crown of the tree Inanna fashioned a mikku for Gilgamesh,
the hero of Uruk.

Daniel, Jack, and Davis looked at Inanna and Ninurta.

"Actually, the translation is slightly off," she commented. "B not G. Bilbamesh. The actual letter really doesn't translate."

"We know that but the G translation has stuck. We've never been able to figure out what a pukku and mikku were," Daniel told her. "The current guess is that they are a ceremonial drum and drumstick." They were unsure of what he was translating so he wrote out the cuneiform of the words in question. His pronunciation was a little off.

"They were weapons," Inanna told him. "A pukku was almost like a Jaffa staff but smaller, about arm's length, and a mikku was an orbital satellite. Both were destroyed during the war with Enlil. And your scribes did a little of their own editorializing because it wasn't Bilbamesh who received these, it was my brother, Utu."

Daniel considered that as he finished the pizza and sipped long at Jack's soda. "And he is….?"

"He died in the war, along with our parents," she told him. Daniel murmured his condolences.

"It does make more sense for the god of the sun to be in control of an orbital satellite….." Daniel muttered to himself as he paced. "What if the scribes were almost correct, but were a little mixed up on the timeline?" he thought out loud. "What if the weapons were not originally destroyed but found by Gilgamesh and HE then lost them? According to the myths, he lost them to the underworld. They fell in after what sounds to me like an earthquake, Enkidu tried to rescue them, and Enkidu was also lost."

Inanna looked at Ninurta and shrugged.

"It's possible, I suppose," she conceded. "Bilbamesh was incredibly power-hungry, and Enkidu was smitten enough with his king that he would have done anything for Bilbamesh." Daniel frowned, thinking. Something sounded off but he wasn't placing it.

Jack leaned forward. "Are these weapons powerful enough that Baal would come after them?" he asked.

"Yes," Ninurta acknowledged. "If they still existed. The mikku was able to identify cloaked vessels and the pikku….." he turned to look at Inanna who also sat up straighter.

"What?" Jack and Daniel said. Davis paused in his note taking.

"No," Inanna murmured to Ninurta. "It couldn't still be there…."

"What!" Jack was on the edge of his seat.

"The pikku was able to kill symbiotes without damaging the host," Ninurta said. "It worked on a harmonic frequency. But that isn't what we're thinking of."

"The chair," Daniel guessed, snapping the book shut. "It isn't just any chair."

"No," Inanna said. "It's a control chair. And the bed was a sarcophagus, which I never used."

"Wait a minute," Jack spoke up. "There's a control chair and sarcophagus unaccounted for on this planet?"

"It is possible," Inanna told him with a nod.

"No," Jack shook his head. "Are they made with naquadah? We've scanned the planet for naquadah."

"No, sir, I'm sorry but we haven't," Davis spoke up. "The only areas we've scanned were those you and General Hammond asked us to. A planetary scan has never been done."

Inanna hit her comm. "I want a planet wide sweep for naquadah done immediately," she ordered. "Start with the Kalam area."

"What did the chair control do?" Jack asked.

"It was part of the planetary defense system," Inanna told him. "The solar system could be watched from it and the mikku deployed, if needed. The mikku allowed cloaked ships to become visible to scans and also kept beaming technology from working unless the person's individual code was programmed in. Like your hand and retinal scanners."

"Does it also stop ring transporters?" Jack asked feeling flushed from excitement. Davis gave up on taking notes by hand and turned on his laptop, typing faster than he could take short-hand.

"It does," Ninurta said with a nod. "But, Jack, you need to understand –these things came to us toward the end. We didn't actually get to use them."

"And we didn't know about this before because….?" Jack growled.

"It never occurred to us that they still existed," Inanna told him. "We didn't build them; the pukku, mikku, and chair were tools given to us by the Ancients. The Goa'uld came up with the sarcophagus, we think, adapting it from a status chamber that another ancient race had used for healing. We're a little confused on that. We couldn't have helped you build more because we didn't know how they were built."

"And that's what Enlil is after," Daniel assumed.

"What the hell does Camulus have to do with all this?" Jack asked. He picked up the printed stack of Camulus' report.

"He is able to do something most other Goa'uld cannot," Ninurta told him. "He thinks for himself. He is making great progress with updating our ship, did you know that? Most Goa'uld are able to fix things, but Camulus is able to go a step further; he is able to invent. He conceptualizes. Baal cannot, and neither can Enlil. If Baal has Camulus, and the weapons, it is possible that Camulus would be able to duplicate them."

"And he can use them," Jack finished. "And if we keep Camulus, and he duplicates them, we can set the shields up on other planets, protecting them from Goa'uld air attacks."

"If Camulus duplicates a pikku…" Inanna started.

"Bye-bye snakes," Jack breathed. "What about the weapon on Dakkara?"

"Col. Carter has been working on the permutations of it, but she has not been able to find the frequency for the symbiotes," Davis reported. "She's managed to wipe out all living organisms in the universe, but not one in particular." Jack looked at him. "Uh, in simulation, Sir."

"My wife, with the power of God at her motorcycle greased fingertips," Jack muttered. "Daniel, remind me to get her flowers and chocolate."

"Uh huh. Yeah, I have a question," Daniel said, raising a hand. "I thought only someone with that special gene could use those chairs."

Jack squinted at Inanna. "Right. So how could you use the chair? Daniel, she's been hiding information from us. You're not an Ancient, are you?"

"I'm ancient, but I'm not AN ancient," she said dryly. "The Ancients aren't the only ones with that gene, Jack; people who have been touched by the Ancients have it. As you are well aware."

"But Baal can't use the chair, neither can Camulus, so why would he want it?" Davis asked.

"Enlil can use it," Daniel guessed. "Because he's of your race, whatever that is, and your race has the gene."

"And Baal has no plans on turning Enlil over to us," Jack concluded.

"Correct," Inanna said. "But one only needs the gene to use the chair and the pukku, not the others. One needs naquadah in their body for the others."

Jack was confused. "Then how…..?"

A voice came from Inanna's necklace, speaking in Sumerian.

"They found something," Daniel leaned over toward Jack to translate.

"Let General Landry know we're out of range, we're in Iraq with Inanna," Jack told Davis. "Update him on the conversation, call the Yard and have them on standby, just in case." Inanna and Ninurta beamed out, taking Jack and Daniel with them. They were in Iraq a moment later, in the middle of the night.

"I could get used to that," Jack muttered. Daniel hopped up a small dune and looked around.

"That's the Euphrates, isn't it?" he asked, pointing at the river nearby.

"Yes," Ninurta said. "The water table has gone down considerably since we lived here."

Inanna was listening to the voice on her comm. She looked around, following the directions. They were standing over the spot that had naquadah buried beneath it, and there was nothing except sand and marsh in the area.

"Take us up," she ordered. They were back on the ship. Jack and Daniel followed her and found themselves on the bridge. As they entered, the front screen changed and showed a map.

"This is a fault line," Ninurta said, trailing the line with a finger. A spot far below it was blinking. "Naquadah," he said. "We were standing on it, but it's too far down to dig with hand tools. There used to be a wharf there, where barges brought merchant goods from Hurran."

Daniel almost ran for his dig kit and then remembered their priority.

"Can't you beam the stuff up?" Jack asked.

"No," Inanna shook her head. "The transporter has a range, and that depth is out of range. We can get to it, but it will take a while and we will need the cooperation of the locals."

"Can you bring Sam up so she can see this?" Jack asked. Inanna nodded and called Sam first to make sure it was convenient. Inanna learned her lesson when she beamed Jack up without first checking in with him. He had been in the middle of peeing. He wished Thor would get the same message. Sam was on the bridge a few minutes later, looking at the map.

"That's about 3 miles down," she commented. "Deep fault line. So we need to get three miles of sand out of the way before we can bring whatever it is up. I take it an oil drill won't work?"

"No, the hole would be too small for our systems to focus on," Ninurta said.

"What about scooping it out?"

They all turned. Camulus had been sitting quietly at a far console.

"Some of the crew were telling me about the Sua homeworld," he said. "How something had scooped out a large crater from the ground and then it refilled when you were brought out of phase."

"We haven't figured out what that was," Sam said, thinking. "I don't suppose you have any ideas?"

"No," he shrugged. "But I haven't seen all the data on the situation."

It took some convincing, but Jack finally agreed to allow Camulus planet-side. He was to remain at the Yard, under heavy security and tagged to the transporter, while he assisted Sam in attempting to figure out how the Heaven's Bow got themselves into their original predicament and what had scooped out the round valley on Sua. Enki would be in and out of the Yard, helping them with ship's specifications.

Jack and Daniel were put back home and they played a little on the livingroom floor before going to get Stacy from school and finding dinner. They swung by the HomeSec site, found construction proceeding fairly well, and went home for the evening. Stacy decided that she needed new jeans; for some reason, hers weren't fitting right. She held the waist out. They were a little loose on her. Daniel told her they'd go shopping the next day after school. The adults of the house didn't comment but without the junk food in the house, and having only kiddie sized treats when out of the house, and all the running around they did, Stacy was bound to lose the extra weight she had been carrying. She was toning up nicely, and her face was also clearing up, thanks to a more healthy diet. She had been only about 20 pounds over, but on a child who was around other children all day, it had been enough to cause the other children to torture her over it. Children could be meaner than a System Lord.

Nate showed up toward the end of the week and asked to talk privately with the guys. Stacy was watching TV. He was looking a little green around the gills, so Jack took them into his study.

"You ok?" Jack asked in concern. Nate nodded and sat gingerly.

"A little sore," he admitted. He'd had his surgery a couple days before and was walking, slightly, in baggy sweat pants.

"You could have called, we would have come to you," Daniel told him. Nate shrugged.

"I need to be up and about," he said. "My ass was feeling a mile wide from sitting all day. I'll be fine. I needed to say something, and I didn't want to do it over the phone or email. I need to tell you both that I came over on Monday to talk, actually about my surgery, and I saw you…on the livingroom floor. Curtains, guys. I left, of course, but….Jack, I think you're right; things are bothering me deeper than I had thought. I had a nightmare that night, and I haven't had one in a long time. Had one last night, too, and almost tore my stitches. I called Dr. Edmonds' office and made an appointment, and was wondering if you'd come with me. Help explain my humble beginnings and how our memory works."

"Yeah, sure," Jack immediately agreed. "Are you ok…with what you saw?"

"Intellectually, yes," Nate said. "Guys, I'm a big boy, and I'm certainly no virgin…"

"But you have my feelings for Daniel," Jack finished.

"Yes. YOUR feelings," Nate said. He rubbed his hands over his face and leaned back, gingerly. "I know they're your feelings, not mine, but part of me was so fucking jealous. I honestly don't know what to do about this. I've tried kicking and screaming at them, talking rationally with them, telling them that they don't belong to me…I wish someone would tell me how to get rid of them, because they're listening to me as well as Cassie's cat listens to me."

Daniel leaned forward, thinking, as he clasped his hands between his knees. "I don't know what to say to make it go away," he said. "Really, the only thing I can suggest is to find a lover and get it out of your system."

Both O'Neills' looked at him with identical blank expressions.

"How do you figure that?" Jack asked him.

"Well, how did we get you past the nightmares?" Daniel reminded him. "I pinned you down and rammed it home, didn't I? Sam and I cleansed you of them. Maybe the same technique would work on Nate?"

"You're not having sex with Nate," Jack informed him.

"I didn't say that, Jack, one of you is more than enough, thank you. What about one of the Anunnaki? I have it on good authority that several of them are very good lovers, and I happen to know a couple that almost drool at the sight of you, Nate."

Nate was looking greener. "What technique?"

Daniel told him about the cleansing ceremony Inanna's boys use when one of them gets into a mess. Jack admitted that Daniel and Sam used it on him, and he hadn't had a nightmare since. In fact, as Nate witnessed, Jack was quite happy to give it up to Daniel.

"If you don't want to play with the boys, is there someone else you think you'd be comfortable with?" Daniel asked. "Other than me. And be honest, Nate, we won't bust you for it. Anyone. The slightest bit of curiosity."

"Let me think about it," Nate said. "I also need to talk with Cass."

"Yes, you do," Jack nodded.

Daniel agreed. "Nate, I want to be sure you are clear on this -this thing they do is just something the boys made up for themselves, to deal with their own private hells. It works for them. It has nothing to do with desires or preferences; for them, it's about taking back what belongs to them. Their body. They have centuries of war behind them, so I wouldn't recommend this for just anyone. Jack is a warrior, you and I both know some of the hells he's been in, and he survived them, which was the only reason I agreed when he suggested it. Your body hasn't been through his history, but your heart and mind have. It worked on him, it might work on you."

Nate nodded thoughtfully.

"I told Dr. Edmonds what we did," Jack said to Daniel. "To say he was horrified would be an understatement. But I explained the process, how the boys came up with it and why. He was almost ready to commit me but he realized that I was better than I had ever been before. He put me through a bunch of psych tests, and he admitted that I passed his class. He still wants to talk to you."

"After some of the experiences I've had in padded rooms?" Daniel said with a scowl.

Nate walked, carefully, out of the house, and promised to get back to Daniel by the end of the weekend. Daniel then tackled another monkey on his back. As he tucked Stacy into bed, he sat on the edge.

"Honey….do we need to talk about me and Jack?" he asked her. "About how we love each other?"

She shook her reddened face.

"Ok," Daniel nodded. "Because, if you want to ask me anything, you can. We can talk about this, I don't mind. Jack doesn't mind, either. It's good that you do a little research about it, but be careful which sites you read, ok? If it asks for money or anything like that, get away from it. And never email them. If you have a question about something, email me the link and I'll look at it and get back to you. There's nothing wrong with sex, and when you're old enough, you'll find that out. Understand?"

She nodded and he kissed her cheek.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, luv."

"Does…it hurt?"

He brushed her hair from her face. "No, baby, Jack loves me, he wouldn't do anything to hurt me."

She was satisfied and he kissed her again before turning the lights out and shutting her door. He staggered to the bedroom and crawled into bed.

"I think I need a drink," he commented.

"Beer in the fridge," Jack said.

"Stronger."

"What'd she say?"

"She wanted to know if it hurt."

Jack looked up over the report he was reviewing.

"If what hurt?"

"Sex."

"Ah." Jack went back to his report.

"Jack, she's too young for this stuff," Daniel whined. He got up and undressed, putting his pajamas on. He shuffled into the bathroom to brush.

"Have you watched TV lately?" Jack asked. "Everything is either sex or violence or both. Why do you think 12 year olds are getting pregnant?"

Daniel stuck his head into the bedroom. "Twelve?!" he squeaked around the toothbrush.

"And she'll be 11 in a couple months," Jack reminded him. "And she's noticing boys. She's REALLY noticed Nate. I'm getting weirdness on that one. I don't know how far Sam got with the girl talks, but the boy talks need to happen."

Daniel turned as white as the toothpaste. "Ok," he said, not happy about it. "I think I'm going to kel'no'reem. Come with me?"

"Sure," Jack said, scribbling something on the report. "Go light the candles and I'll be right down."

Stacy went downstairs for a glass of water, bathroom water always tasted funny, and saw the Dads sitting next to the fireplace, surrounded by candles. Sam sometimes did that, too, when she was home, and lots of times they did it at night and in the morning. Usually just Daddy but sometimes Jack was with him. They had their eyes closed, just sitting. She watched them and sat with them. Daniel opened his eyes, silently arranged her hands on her lap, and told her how to look inside of herself and make the white energy flow straight. When she could do that, he'll teach her the next step. She woke up to find herself in bed. She felt strange inside. She turned over and fell back to sleep, the noise in her head much quieter.

Jack had to leave for DC the following day, proclaiming the joys of international conferences. Homeworld Security was still going round and round the table on whether or not the Middle East was currently capable of playing nice in the sandbox. The latest crap on the Gaza Strip told him no. Daniel told Jack he'd go if Jack wanted him to, but he didn't need to. They dressed Enki in a suit and tie and send him in Daniel's place, declaring Enki Jack's personal adviser on all things Middle Eastern. Davis even had official ID made for the old man. Enki had to remind Jack that, technically, he was the father of all those ill-tempered children, and he was the one who could rap wrists and box ears, if need be.

Nate showed up on Sunday, walking much easier, still in sweats, though. Cassie was with him, looking nervous as she held Nate's hand. Sam had taken Stacy out for some bonding time, so they sat in the livingroom.

"Cass, do you understand what we talked with him about?" Daniel asked her.

"Yes," she nodded. "Danny, I…. He told me what the nightmares were about. I didn't know about them, about that part of their history." She wiped a wet spot from her cheek. "Jack…."

Daniel reached over and took her hand. "Don't think like that," he told her. "Jack is fine. It didn't occur to us that Nate telling you would automatically translate back to Jack. We forgot about that part. Jack isn't going to be happy about that. But we're talking about what Nate needs. If he has sex with another man, are you going to be alright with it?"

"Whatever he needs to do," she immediately said. "I have no interest in a threesome, that's my personal opinion for me, not about you guys, but if sleeping with a man will help stop the dreams, I will support him in it."

Daniel couldn't help but smile. "You sound like you're making the ultimate sacrifice, honey," he gently told her. "What if he decides he likes it?"

Cassandra looked down at her fingers linked with Nate's. "He's my friend first," she said after a moment. "He's my first lover, Daniel, and I could never forget that. Him. He made it beautiful for me. I don't want him to leave me, but he needs to do what he needs to do. I'd cry, probably throw a few things, call him names, but in the end, he's still my friend."

Nate smiled and reached around to press his mouth to the back of her neck.

"I told her I have no plans on leaving, but she's in doomsday mode," he told Daniel. "Except for Jack's memories of you, I really have never thought about another man. I can't see myself having a sexual relationship with a man. Period. I do, however, understand the reasoning behind your suggestion, and I'm not as uptight as Jack, sooo…I took a step back, looked at the big picture, and considered it. I think, if I do this, my first choice would be someone I already know pretty well, someone I trust." Daniel nodded in understanding and Nate continued. "Someone who knows how to keep their mouth shut. If I give you a name, don't rag me about it, ok? There's nothing hidden behind my suggestion, so don't go all shrink on me."

"Ok, I promise, who?" Daniel held up a hand as he promised.

Nate took a nervous breath. "The Major."

Daniel was blank. "Which Major?"

"Your Major."

Eyebrows went up. "He's now Jack's Major, and he has a big, bad boyfriend."

"Yeah, well, he's also trustworthy and he has a comfortable presence, and if that well-fucked expression you sometimes had on your face was any indication, he also knows what he's doing."

Daniel sat back, dazed. "Wow," he commented. "Well, I'll give you that, he is a good lover. Ok, I'll ask him."

"Could you ask him without telling him it's me asking?" Nate begged. "If he says no, I don't want to have to hide my face for the next 20 years."

Daniel sent an email to Paul, asking for a meeting with him and Nick when Paul returned with Jack from DC. He then sent Jack a text message, "Nate Paul." An hour later, Jack called home.

"Are you completely off your gourd?" were Jack's first words.

"Hey, it was Nate's idea," Daniel defended himself. He told Jack the conversation, including the fact that Cassie didn't know and now she does. Jack groaned.

"Ok, I'll talk with her when I get home," he said. "And if this other part happens, my new assistant will also know."

"Jack, this isn't a shameful thing," Daniel said gently. "A lot of soldiers have been raped, and not just the women. If anything, I'd encourage you to be a little more open about it; maybe some of those guys who are suffering in silence won't be so silent. A lot of guys need help, Jack, and if you were open, maybe some of the women would also step forward. If it can happen to General O'Neill, it can happen to anyone. There's still a lot of bullshit going down at the bases and academies, and not just over religion."

"I know," Jack said after a moment of silence. "Let me tell Davis first. I won't mention Nate, you can handle that part. I'll tell him before we get home."

"Jack, Paul has access to your private records," Daniel reminded him. "I'll bet he already knows."

Paul did know. Jack sat on a park bench with him, looking at the ground as he told Davis a personal piece of his past.

"You never said anything," Jack commented when Davis confessed.

Davis shrugged. "It's yours to tell, sir," he said.

"We're discussing something extremely personal here," Jack said. "You can call me Jack. Paul."

Davis leaned back, half turned. "Jack," he acknowledged with a nod. "I'm gay, Jack, not bi, gay. I have buried too many friends due to AIDS, hepB, stabbings, head bashings, suicide, and trauma from being raped. I know what it's like to be ostracized over something that was beyond my control; my family doesn't talk to me because I'm gay. Sometimes, it isn't talking a person needs, it's a shoulder and strong back, and if I can be a friend by a show of support, silent or otherwise, that's what I'll do."

Jack thought about that and gave a nod. "Thank you, Paul, you've been a friend." He held his hand out and Davis took it.

"Nick told me you talked with him," Davis said after a moment. "Thank you. He's been having a personal crisis over this relationship; he's calmer after hearing from your side of the fence."

"My side of the fence?" Jack questioned. How did one tell if Nick was calm much less out of control?

"The macho newbie side."

"Why do people think I'm macho?" Jack whined to the sky.

"Oh, I don't know, the nifty guns, pilot strutting, and space battles may have something to do with it."

Jack glared at him. "Keep that up, and I'm sending you a naked female for your 40th," he warned. Paul chuckled and they got ice cream cones from a street vendor.

A couple days later, Daniel was sitting on the couch Paul and Nick had just finished moving into their new home. Boxes were everywhere, mostly Paul's stuff since Nick really had no place he had called home before. Assassins tend to be mobile.

Daniel told them what was needed. Nick growled and Paul sat back, stunned.

"Me?" he squeaked. "I'm Nate's first choice? Not that I'm not flattered but… Why?"

"Because he trusts you to keep quiet, he's comfortable in your presence, and he's a little envious of that well-fucked look that was on my face, once in a while."

Paul's jaw snapped shut. "Well, there was that," he conceded. Nick looked at him. "What? Sex with Daniel was fun. Anyway…." He cleared his throat. "How does Cassie feel about this?"

"She's putting on a brave face and standing at her soldier's side," Daniel told him. Paul gave a startled chuckle.

"Well, I have to admit this conjures up many possibilities, all relating to the general," he admitted.

Daniel laughed and nodded. "Yeah, Cassie and Sam have whispered conversations that stop in mid-sentence when Nate or Jack enters the room. I don't ask."

Paul smiled in appreciation. "I hadn't thought about the ladies; I'll bet they do have a few notes to compare. Nick, what do you think about this?"

"What are your intentions?" Nick asked instead of answering.

"Just what Daniel is asking," Paul said. "Get Nate over this very large speed bump. He's a nice enough guy, cute is an understatement, and I admit that I find his history intriguing. I don't have a problem with the concept of sex with him but in the long run, he isn't my type. Big and bad is my type." He tweaked Nick's chin and Daniel was surprised to see a flush on the muscled hit-man's face. "We are in a relationship, though, so I'm not doing anything that you are not alright with."

"Just so you know," Daniel stopped them. "He had a vasectomy last week, so if you do this, you'll need to wait a few more weeks until the pain goes away. He's still a little bowlegged. If you need time to think about it, you have the time."

"He isn't even out of his teens, why…. oh, dear Lord, he's a teenager ….why'd he have a vasectomy?" Paul asked.

"He was paranoid about mutated DNA somewhere down the line," Daniel said. Paul thought about it.

"Oh. That makes sense, I suppose. Ok, give us time to think and talk, and I'll let you know," Paul told him. Daniel agreed and left the guys to their moving in. He called Nate as he walked home and told him his invitation was being considered.