"Well…The Stargate is an interplanetary railroad of sorts. It's a machine that opens a stable wormhole from one gate to the other, which allows things to travel vast distances in a matter of moments by breaking apart the molecules and reforming them on the other side." Jack finished; both Ali and Sam sat there, gaping at him with wide eyes. "What?" He asked incredulously.
"All of these years I thought you never understood a word I said." Sam was flabbergasted.
"Of course I did! Besides, I didn't make it to General just on my good looks and devilish charm alone." Jack looked smug knowing that he had fooled Sam all of these years.
"You guys travel to other planets! That is just way too cool. Do you guys get to see lots of aliens! Wait, dumb question. Are there any super advanced alien life forms that come and actually experiment on people, or are they more like Star Trek, and just fly around exploring? Oh! Have you ever met any blue skinned creatures? Or maybe a…" Ali's rambling was silenced when Sam lifter her hand.
"We can't tell you any of that Alison, you haven't been given clearance yet." Alison huffed a bit, but didn't argue the point.
"Well, ok, I think I'm going to go back to my room, sorry for waking you guys." Alison stood up, and offered her hand to Jack who huffed a chuckle and took it, doubting that the slight girl would have any chance of pulling him up. Once again the little sprite of a girl surprised him as she pulled him up without so much as a groan. When he was upright again, Jack helped Sam off of the floor and both adults bade Ali goodnight as she walked out of the room.
Sleep overtook Ali the moment her head touched the pillow, and miraculously she slept through the night without dreaming once. The following morning Ali felt refreshed and ready for anything. That is, except for Jon O'Neal sitting at the kitchen table, cracking jokes with Daniel and Jack, and Charlie cooing happily in his lap.
"Well good morning Sleeping Beauty. Would you like some breakfast?" Jack asked from his seat. Ali couldn't take remove her eyes from Jon's, they were looking straight to her soul and saying 'it's ok, I understand if this is too weird for you'.
"Sure, umm what did you make?" She asked as she walked over to Jon's side. "Good morning." She cooed at Charlie before she pressed a soft kiss to his forehead, managing to pull away before his little hands were able to grasp her long black lochs. Jack eyes were boring into Jon's skull as if attempting to melt his brain from across the table.
"We've got eggs, bacon, toast and pancakes. Take your pick." Ali squealed when Jack mentioned pancakes.
"Three pancakes please." She quickly replied, and Jack couldn't keep the smile off of his face at her eagerness.
"Alright, three pancakes coming up." Jack walked through the doorway into the kitchen and the only sounds were that of the pancakes on the griddle.
After a few moments of silence, Daniel spoke up.
"So, how did you sleep?" He asked casually.
"Very well, once I was able to actually fall asleep. I had a lot of things to think about last night. Kept my mind wandering, but Jack and Sam help clear some of those issues up for me. So everything's all good now." Jon was staring at her and it was starting to crack through Alison's attempt at being coolly indifferent.
"Oh, that's good." Daniel eyed the two wearily before going to the kitchen for more coffee. Ali sat in silence, trying to ignore Jon's presence. She still hadn't had enough time to process all of the information that was flying around in her brain yet. Jack and Daniel walked in; Jack with plate of pancakes and a glass of orange juice. A moment after the plate was on the table Ali already had the maple syrup on the cakes and began eating, not caring if she looked like a proper young lady, no one can resist Jack O'Neill's blueberry pancakes, and Jon chuckled lightly next to her, eliciting a baleful glance from Alison before her attention was once again reverted to the delicious concoction in front of her.
After she had devoured a quarter of her pancakes, Ali noticed that a large portion of her family was missing.
"Jack, Where's Sam, Jenna and Teal'c?" She asked before taking a long pull from her orange juice.
"Jenna needed to get new winter clothes, Sam said she would take you tomorrow, or you can just go by yourself if that's what you want. Teal'c agreed to go with when Jenna did that lip pout thing that she does. You know he's defenseless against it." Jack informed her, and Ali couldn't help but laugh.
"Sounds good. Oh, Daniel, I need your help with my history project, I'm supposed to choose a country, and then explain it's original religion and how it was effected by imperialism, so I chose Egypt, and cause you practically grew up there, I figured you'd be the perfect reference book." Ali smiled at her honorary uncle.
"I guess I could do that, when is it due?" Daniel and Ali continued talking about her project as she devoured her breakfast, while Jon and Jack were discussing different repairs that needed to be done around the house.
When Ali had finished her food, she gathered her dishes and carried them into the kitchen to rinse in the sink. Jon laid Charlie in Jacks arms and then followed Ali into the kitchen.
"Alison." Ali sighed deeply, finished rinsing her dishes and then turned to face him.
"Yes Jonathan?" Jon tried to steel his insides from the icy chill in her words.
"I was wondering if we could take a walk. There are a lot of things we need to talk about." Jon asked, his hands deep in his pockets and his eyes staring straight passed her.
"I don't know if that's such a good idea Jon." Ali dropped her eyes to the floor and folded her arms around herself. "I don't even really know you, do I? You aren't just some seventeen year old. You're a fully-grown man trapped in a young body. You're my uncle for all intents and purposes. This is just too weird for me. I'm sorry, I need time to think this out." Ali heard his footsteps approach her and he stopped, standing toe-to-toe with her. Jon cupped her jaw softy and tilted her face up to meet his gaze.
"Ali, you know me better than anyone right now. I am no longer Jack O'Neill. I haven't been for three years. If you need time to think this out that's fine. I will wait for you." Jon leaned down and kissed her so sweetly that Ali could've cried. Slowly he released her jaw and walked to the door.
"Tell Jack that I'll be over tomorrow at noon to help him get those shutters installed. See you around Alimoo." With that he walked out the door, leaving Ali crying quietly by the sink.