Author's Note: Here is number three as promised. Enjoy this one as well. I made some changes to this one late in the writing process and I think it made it way better. All I did was more a bit from a later chapter to here. I think it was something that both Sam and Jack needed to be sooner rather than later.
To my anonymous reviewers: SGAussie (): I hope it was worth the wait. I love this one, okay I love the story but this one more than the others. It turned out so nicely in the end. KenmoreSq (): Here it is. I post Mon, Wed and Fri and one chapter on the weekend if there is enough reviews. It takes a lot of time to prep chapters for posting and I do have a family of five kids that I homeschool. So I can't take the time to post everyday. yolie (): Glad you like it. Here you go enjoy.
Jack hung up the phone after his short conversation with the General. For the first time, he was alone with Charlie. Jack looked at the boy before him and it hurt. This was what his Charlie would have looked like if he had lived, but this was not his son. It was another O'Neill's son, one whose Charlie lived. He wondered what had happened differently to change that future.
Swallowing, Jack tried to find something to say to this boy, his son, but not his son.
Charlie knew his father well enough to know what was happening and he sighed, "I know I'm not your son and I never will be, but Morgan needs you and M-Sam. She is too young to understand what happened to our parents. I...." Tears coursed down his cheeks and Jack could not stay away any longer. Gathering Charlie in his arms, he let the boy cry for his lost parents, himself and the life he lost.
Charlie was the first one to pull away and Jack let him go. If this whole mess was hard for him, he could not imagine what it was doing to Charlie. The boy had watched both of his parents die and had seen the world that he had lived in vanish forever. Jack could only be there if, and when, the boy wanted to talk or send him to Sam.
Studying the boy, he could see his fatigue. He may not be the Charlie he raised, but the mannerisms were the same. "Lie down and get some sleep. I will wake you if General Hammond needs to talk to you. You're safe now, Sam and I will keep you safe. No Goa'uld will find you here."
Charlie lay down on the couch and Jack covered him with a blanket from the hall closet. Their eyes met and Charlie asked, "We will be able to stay won't we? The SGC was all that was left of the human race on earth. There was a Beta site, but I never knew where that was. Dad thought that it was too dangerous for us to know. He smashed the mirror to save us and you. He gave his life to get us here, please don't let it be a waste. We have nowhere else to go."
Swallowing, Jack answered, "I don't know son. I can't make any promises. We'll know more after we talk to Hammond. I can't see any reason why you can't stay." Reaching out, he ruffled Charlie's hair much like he had done to his son.
For the first time since Jack had seen Charlie, the boy relaxed and he drifted off to sleep. Dad was here, he and Sam would protect them together, nothing could happen to them now.
Jack watched Charlie for a moment longer. This was not his son but he already loved this boy. Just like you can love more than one of your children, he loved more than one Charlie. His son was dead, but this boy wasn't and he needed him, and Jack would be there for him and Morgan. Turning away, he decided that, although he knew this to be true, this whole mess was still confusing.
Running his hands though his hair, he walked toward the room where Car- Sam had taken Morgan. The two of them looked so good together and they were his now, Sam was part of this deal. His two girls smiling that smile meant only for him. He wanted everything, he was no longer going to settle for waiting, or someday, any longer.
Sam lay there, curled up around Morgan, sleeping. It had been a long day and part of him wanted to join them and sleep soundly in the comfort of a family. First, there had been a long day of meetings in Washington, the flight home, and now they were parents.
All these emotions washed over him leaving him at peace for the first time since Charlie had died. He wondered why he and Sam had denied them this for so long- a family. It was time to face the music since they had been avoiding the dance for so long.
Sam's coat and shoes lay forgotten on the floor. He picked up her coat, laid it on the back of the chair before sitting beside her on the bed. He took a minute to study her as he had Charlie. She looked so relaxed, Jack had known Sam for a long time and he had never seen her like this, so calm and peaceful. He wanted to let her sleep, but he knew that Hammond would want to talk to both of them.
Shaking her gently he said, "Sam, you need to wake up."
Jerking awake, her eyes met Jack's. There was something there that she never thought she would see. No longer were his emotions hidden and she was surprised by the intensity there, but he blinked and it was gone, and he focused on Morgan. His eyes softened and Sam knew that he would fight just as hard as she would to keep these children safe.
He stood and offered her his hand to help her off the bed. Once she was standing, Sam began to pat and finger comb her hair. Smiling, Jack watched her, no matter how long she slept, whether it was eight minutes or eight hours, it was a beautiful mess and he loved it.
Trying to ignore the rush of emotions she was feeling, she asked, "Yes Colonel, what is it?" she asked.
"Hammond will be here soon and I have some things I need to say before then. Follow me." He said while leading the way out of the room.
Once she was in the kitchen, Sam immediately crossed to the fridge and grabbed the first can of something she found. She needed it to keep her hands steady so that Jack would not notice them trembling.
In his own corner of the kitchen, Jack was pacing three steps to the right and then to the left. She approached him slowly. "Colonel are you alright?" Reaching out, she laid her hand on his shoulder and he spun around.
"Ya think, Sam? My dead son, now seven years older, is asleep on the sofa and our daughter, who is not our daughter, is in my spare room and I have no idea what to do about it. Yeah, I'm just peachy. "
"Sir, you need to keep your voice down." Sam whispered trying not to give in to the rush of hysteria that threatened to engulf her.
"I think we are way past Sir and Carter now, don't you think." Jack said sadly, "Sam, what are we going to do?" Using her first name was bittersweet.
"I don't know - Jack." she stumbled over his name as she sat down at the table.
Watching her spin the unopened can made Jack wonder just what she was thinking. It had been over two years since the Za'tarc incident and they had left their admissions in that room. Did she feel trapped because she no longer felt the same way about him? They had never spoken about what happened after that day, she could have moved on with someone else. He had said someday they would be together, but too many years had stretched out before them. He would begrudge her happiness if she found it with someone else.
Looking away, he tried to hide the pain of her smiling her special smile for anyone else. Resting his hands on the counter, he tried to gain control of his fears that he had lost her before he ever had her. That he would fail this Charlie, too and crush the beautiful spirit that was his daughter.
Her gentle touch on his shoulder was almost his undoing. "Jack? Do you want to do this together? If you want to I will fight for us - for our new family. I -" the words she practiced in her head now sounded silly, but she said them anyway, "I meant what I said in that room and I still do. I want us still to be a family. We owe it to those children and ourselves. Jack, it's time to stop pretending."
Turning swiftly, he gathered her in his arms. "Are you proposing Sam?" He used her name like an endearment.
From the shocked expression on her face, she wasn't, but it was replaced with that smile he loved. "Are you accepting, Sir?"
"What would you do if I said yes." he leaned closer, "We have saved the world enough times that we should be able to call in some favors. But could it really be that easy? Sam, you have hardy spoke to me since Daniel-" he paused trying to think of a word to explain what happened that day, "left. Can we really just move on from there? Find happily ever after at the end of the rainbow?"
Sam looked up surprised, he never wanted to talk about Daniel. It was as taboo a subject as their feelings. It was something that was just there between them never talked about. "I don't know Sir, but before we can even try there is something I need to know. I wanted to ask earlier but I never had to courage to ask and you have never offered anything willingly." she stopped and met his eye taking a fortifying breath before continuing, "If we want to do this, I need to know. Why did you let Daniel go?"
Jack reached out and took her hand. "Sam, I haven't been very happy with myself since- " He stopped, showing for the first time that he didn't totally have control of his emotions, where Daniel was concerned. "Daniel left."
She squeezed his hand, "Jack, I know it's been hard. He was just suddenly gone, we had no chance to prepare for it. You wouldn't talk about him or how you were feeling because this time he was really gone. Oh, I know he's out there somewhere," she waved her hand in the air, "but he's not with us, not really. I could tell that you were angry with him, angry that he left us and left you." she squeezed his hand to show her understanding. "Yet you let him go. You told Dad to stop healing him. I never understood why."
Looking away, Jack stared at a spot on the floor. "It was what he wanted. He wanted to move on and leave us. That Oma person offered him the chance to Ascend and he took it, knowing that his life wouldn't be worthwhile in the state his body would have been in. He thought he could do more out there," looking up he waved his hand vaguely in the air just as Sam had done, "Than he could as part of SG-1. He could do it without us." his voice broke and his eyes swam with unshed tears. He turned his head staring at the wall to hide them ashamed that he was not in total control of his emotions.
Sam watched, amazed at how open he was, using her hand, she turned his face to look at her. Hearing what he had to say, Sam understood what Jack had gone through, what Daniel had asked of him. Daniel had brought Jack back from the edge of the abyss he found himself in when his Charlie had died, and he then had to say goodbye to Daniel as well.
"He's still with us Jack, he's in here." she touched the space above his heart. "We just have to remember Daniel for who he was, our friend, and then he'll be there when you need him."
Jack's hand covered hers where it rested and he sighed. Sam felt his whole body relax as months of tension flowed out of him and somehow she knew they would be all right.
Lifting her hand to his lips he asked, "Forgive me? I was a jerk. I should have explained everything right away, but how could I? I just didn't know how, words don't come very easily to me, but I want to say this before I lose my nerve. I love you Sam. I want this to work out between us, not just for Morgan and Charlie, but for us. Sam, we have been on the outside looking in for so long, this is our chance, and we have to take it."
With tears in her eyes, Sam leaned forward, "Me, too." and then she kissed him. It was gentle at first, but then it became much more intense. It was better than the Brocca incident and the time loop put together. This time they were on the same page and in total agreement with what was happening. The two of them had come home.
Things are moving along much faster in this one than they usually do in my stories. I didn't give them much time to dither. I felt that they needed to put up or shut up. Morgan and Charlie needed them to be their parents and to give them a home-not a place or two to live.
Anyway I hope you liked it. Let me know either way. Your reviews really do make me smile and the more of them their are the bigger it gets. ~Kelleth~