Chapter Eleven: Nothing Else Matters

Jack struggled to stand up after getting a pretty fantastic beating, he watched Daniel hit the ground and had tried to get to him only to hear a shout from his parents before one of the agents caught Jack across the head and he fell to the ground next to Daniel.

With that memory fresh in his mind, he opened his eyes and struggled towards Daniel who was shifting around and trying to stand. "Danny? The kids?" he gasped, feeling the pain from a few kicks to the abdomen.

Daniel slammed down onto his back, tears escaping at the corner of his eyes, "There gone Jack, we need to call George and figure out who took them."

Jack jerked forward, kneeling over Daniel to check his blue eyes for pain and possible concussion. Then he stared outside the back door only to find all six of the kids gone. His eyes shimmered with unshed tears as the anger rose in him and there was nothing to stop him from jumping to his feet and pulling Daniel up behind him and walked back to the living room to find his parents slumped back into the couch with darts sticking out of their arms. Jack reached out and pulled the darts from them and put them down on the coffee table that sat in front of the couch and reached for the cordless phone that was sitting there. He dialed George's direct line and the man picked up, "Hammond."

"George, it's Jack. The kids are gone, a bunch of guys in black masks came at took them after beating up Daniel and I as well as dosing my parents. We need some help please?" Jack could hear Daniel's stuttering sob from next to him and he turned to pull his husband close, kissing Daniel's forehead and just holding him while he waited for Hammond to say something.

"Have you received any kind of message about them?" George asked.

"No ransom, nothing but us four adults knocked unconscious."

"Okay Jack, I will get some people on this immediately, I don't understand why someone would want to take them though."

"Our kids are special George, if anyone knew one of the things they were capable of, the NID as well as any of our enemies would want them. Not to mention the fact that they would be perfect tools to use against Daniel and I not to mention many people who work for the SGC."

George sighed, "You know Jack that if I don't know all the details, I cannot do what I must to protect you and them."

Jack heaved a tired sigh, "Well I promise before any of us get kidnapped again, you and I will sit down and do the last ten years in a debriefing, for now though I want my kids home."

"We're on it Jack, nothing is more important than getting them back. I will send some people to you so they can talk to you about what happened and so we'll have a direct link from here to your place. I think you should just stay there."

"Will do," with that said, Jack hung up the phone and pulled Daniel close again. He listened as Daniel cried quietly into his shoulder, rubbing his hand gently through Daniel's hair while Daniel's hands gripped the back of his shirt reflexively. While he was holding him, crooning into the side of Daniel's head and listened as Daniel pulled him self together and pulled away. He tucked his chin so he couldn't look at Jack but the older man would not allow Daniel away from him without finding those blue eyes. Daniel shook his head a little, "Don't," he whispered while Jack pressed a gentle finger under the scientist's chin and made Daniel look up at him. Those beautiful blue eyes were shimmering; tear tracks down his cheeks and finding its way down to his chin. Jack gave his husband a slight smile but sobered so Daniel could see his expression change. "Daniel, we are going to get them back if it's the last thing I do! Do you hear me?" Daniel nodded, "Do you believe me?" Daniel nodded again.

Daniel heaved a sigh, "Promise me they're going to be okay."

"I promise you that we are going to find them and nothing is going to happen to them. The idiots took all the children and they are going to find out why that was a stupid choice."

Daniel nodded and before he could speak, Ben groaned and woke. Jack and Daniel both rushed to his side, groaning when the movement jarred his sore ribs from his fight. "Pop, you okay?" Jack asked.

"What happened?" he asked groggily.

"Thank God you were just knocked out," Daniel whispered brokenly, still fighting the pain they were both feeling.

"Where are the kids?" Ben asked.

Daniel sucked in a sob, trying to hold it together as he pressed his fingers against his mouth to stifle the sound.

"Someone came here into our home and took them," Jack hissed. Ben stared at him in shock.

"What?" his father demanded. "Why?"

"Pop, you understand that the kids are special, someone must have found out about them and decided to take them. The NID are the biggest culprit of this kind of terrorism. The General knows about it and he's going to get someone on this. Maybe you should take mom and get out of here otherwise you might end up mixed up in this as well."

Ben shook his head quickly, and then placed a hand across his gray hair at the temple with a wince. "No Jackie, you're our son and they are our grandchildren. We'll be here for you."

Jack nodded, "Don't make promises for mom that she won't keep."

Daniel looked away at his words and Jack didn't reach out to touch him even though he wanted to, not wanting to push Daniel's control in front of his parents. Ben wouldn't care if Daniel was crying but the fight Lauren had with Daniel earlier only proved that Jack's mother was using anything against the younger man to make Jack leave Daniel. The fight with her wasn't over but in the interruption they were once again in the midst of drama and chaos, something that Jack and Daniel lived with most of their lives but his parents weren't used to it at all.

Lauren started waking up but the knock at the door pulled Daniel away from the woman who woke confused. Jack helped her sit up and told her what was happening. Amazingly enough despite the previous arguments that she was going to stay and support Jack and Daniel while they figured out how to get their kids back.

Jack looked up when Sam and Teal'c walked into the room without their children. Sam was gripping Teal'c tightly and her eyes were puffy and red. Jack gasped when he realized what was happening, "No! There was never any reason to touch your kids!"

"It didn't matter apparently," Sam hissed.

"What happened?" Daniel asked as he pulled Sam over to the other recliner and they sat down squished close to each other. Jack pressed a gentle hand into his best friend's shoulder. Teal'c nodded in acceptance of his presence but he said nothing. Sam sniffed, using a handkerchief she held close.

"Several men came into out home, in masks and black uniforms. We were quickly knocked out with some sort of drug and when we came to, Jacob, Haikon and Ishtar were all gone. When we called Hammond, he mentioned that you had just called as well. We figured we could all stay together during this time, trying to get the kids back."

Daniel nodded and pressed his forehead into Sam's temple while Jack stayed silent. He couldn't believe that someone had targeted both their families; he could kind of understand Zale because that boy could not some to stop himself from using his powers in the most fantastic displays.

"Why would they be taken?" Sam whispered, echoing Jack's thoughts amazingly. "They might have magical abilities but nothing we've seen and definitely others haven't seen."

"I'm sorry that your kids got dragged into our magical drama," Jack said as he moved close to press a gentle hand into Daniel's shoulder.

Sam looked up sadly. "Jack, we all had children and lived in another time and place. We made that choice without you and when we brought our kids back here; they were going to be targets no matter what they did. They are special and they appeared out of nowhere with four people who were gone for four years."

"We'll get them back," Daniel said again and hugged Sam.

She nodded and they fell silent. Jack watched as Daniel gripped Sam's hand and laid his head on her shoulder and was glad to see him take comfort from her and all the people around him. Jack had seen him shut down after the assault with Henry. Jack ignored the need that rose in him to pull Daniel close, take him upstairs and hide him away from the sadness in those blue eyes. They had never ever been separated from their children for more than a couple hours and they had never been the targets of the plots that defined many years of Jack and Daniel's life. A few times in the past they had ended up in the midst of crazy that Daniel or Jack were at the focus of but never in the Vannas world were their innocent children ever in danger because they were magical. Jack and Daniel were the interesting people back in the Valley.

So Jack focused on what he could do, he got water and some aspirin for his mother and father. He was on and off the phone constantly with George and several others around the base including Janet who shared some information with him that he'd been incredibly surprised with, "We put a chip into Zale and Zada's arms."

"I'm sorry. You did what?" Jack hissed over the line, walking into the den and sitting on Claire's bed and tucked her little unicorn stuffed animal under his chin so he could smell the sweet little girl smell and had to swipe at the moisture under his eye.

"We figured with how special they were, we should have some sort of tech in them. We explained what we were doing and Zale and Zada both agreed to the procedure."

"They are nine, Janet! How dare you do this to them! You should have asked us!"

"You can bitch me out later Jack, I need to turn on the tracker and see if we might get lucky. Do you think it will work even though they have special abilities?"

Jack took several deep breaths and calmed the desperate need to reach through the phone and strangle his good friend and ally. "I know that special abilities sometimes can stop tech from working so turn it on and see what happens. Let us know." He hung up the phone before she had a chance to say anything else, he didn't want to hear anything she had to say. He looked towards the door, shocked to find Daniel leaning against the doorway. "Danny! How long you been standing there?"

Daniel didn't answer the question, "I don't want you to be mad at Janet, especially if the tracking devices gets us our children back," Daniel spoke gently even as he stayed there. It was only through his relationship with Daniel had Jack learned he felt true comfort when Daniel's hands were on him, his body heat was close enough to seep into Jack's skin so the distance between them felt too large.

Jack stood, holding the unicorn gripped in his fist but didn't move towards his husband. The younger man's words shocked him to his core. "Daniel, its illegal to tag a child without parental consent at the very least! They are nine years old!"

"They are more than nine year old children Jack, you know that. They are special, they understand more than anything someone the same age understands. If she told them what it entailed and they agreed to it, we have to take that into account."

"It doesn't matter how mature they are, they are still children. They are my children!"

"Jack when we got here, they were essentially illegal aliens and we were dead! Janet and Hammond did what they had to and many more things just because they care for us."

Jack slumped, dropping the unicorn back on the bed and started pacing. He didn't hear when Daniel walked towards him until the gentle hands of his lover on his wrist caused Jack to start before Daniel pulled him to a halt. He allowed Daniel to wrap his arms around Jack's shoulders and Jack found he couldn't stop the tears all of a sudden. He gripped at the back of Daniel's shirt and felt his partner's soothing hand across his neck. Jack slipped away to another place and another child. All of a sudden he saw another little boy lying in a blood-spattered room and holding Charlie even after the life faded from the body. He looked down into that face even as it shifted to Johnny's features pale and slack and he tried to push away from Daniel but the other man wouldn't release his hold.

"She did what she had to do, let it go Jack," Daniel's words were whispered into Jack's ear.

"I just want my babies back, I can't do this again!" Jack whispered harshly, wanting to push Daniel away thinking about Charlie's loss, how could he survive losing all of his family in one shot? So he just let Daniel hold him and rock him as the tears fell.