CHAPTER 22 – THE O'NEILL OF THE PAST

The sudden thought that had come to him at the peak of his climax had left him feeling a little shaken. Callandra had intimated that there was another quest that he was needed for, but he had felt that hesitation in her, and had known that there was a spiderweb of links that were somehow connected with 1962 and likely there was some incredibly cosmic reasoning that had brought a whole lot of angst and turning points for a lot of people and things in their particular year. Alignment of planets perhaps... or something far more complex and far less able to comprehend. He didn't know. He had no idea of the whys and wherefores. Callandra simply gave him glimmers and left him to work the rest out for himself.

So, an epiphany of perhaps not so epic proportions. But an epiphany none the less. Another connection with his present and one that he did not really want to acknowledge or interfere in. But choice did not seem to be something that he had free will in at the moment. Callandra had implied that his strength meant that she could not manipulate him. Untrue. Her force was stronger than she gave herself credit for and his sense of duty was also that much stronger.

Captain Terrence O'Neill. John had already worked that one out and hoped to god that it would just go away. But knew it wouldn't. And so not fair on Jack. Really.

Yes, another connection with his present. With the stargate programme. It all came down to the stargate programme. It all came down to the series of dots that lead one group of people to discover the true design of this ancient device and if just one of those tenuous links were not formed exactly as they should be, it would not happen. Or it would not happen in the time it was meant to happen.

Captain Terrence O'Neill. General Jack O'Neill's older brother. Crap in a hand basket. This one took the cake. Just when had he realised? Oh, about the time that Callandra had looked at him with those big blue eyes and told him he was here for a reason. And knew damn well it was for more than one reason.

He huffed a breath. It was early – hell the sun was still a long time from even thinking about it's daily visit. Gina slept soundly beside him and this alone was enough to bring a smile to his face. Nice to share a bed with someone and wake up next to them – hell, much more than nice. It was wonderful. And this woman in particular? She made his heart sing. And could imagine growing old with her.

Captain Terrence O'Neill. He rolled the name around in his head, poking at connections, attempting to tie knots, and always coming back to the same thing. This bastard had beat Gina, more than once. What was the mitigating factor in this man's life to turn him around? No one knew anything about General O'Neill's family, hell, no one knew whether he even had one. The man was private personified. They all knew that there had been a wife and son, and knew that the kid had accidentally shot himself using the General's gun that had been left loaded in the house. And John knew, not just from memory, but from the way the general's eyes sometimes took on that lonely look, that he had never forgiven himself for an accident he had deemed to be his fault.

Gina stirred beside him. How could he explain to her that he needed to go to the brig where her ex lover was being held? His reasons would seem preposterous to her. To tell her or not? Enlist her father's help on this one? He knew that Callandra would chose not to interfere, and that was fine by him. He preferred her to keep her distance. Too many uncomfortable feelings when she was around, that whole seeing right into his soul thing was not really very pleasant.

She rolled her body against his and snuggled tightly, needing to draw some sort of strength from his nearness. Folding her tightly into his arms he closed his eyes, hoping that some sort of inspiration would find purchase in his mind in a few more hours of precious sleep.

They shared coffee and a simple breakfast of toast and fruit over the light of another Hawaiian morning.

"I need to go and talk to your father, Gina – and I need to go alone. I can't tell you my reasons yet, and I prefer to keep this private for now and know that you'll respect that?"

He saw a shutter come down over her eyes and mentally cursed himself. But telling himself that he didn't do this to hurt her, he continued. "Something else I need to do, and the less people I involve with these damn stupid quests I am supposed to do, the less chance they have of backfiring in my present. I won't be long, in fact, in may not even happen. Come to the main island with me this morning, and we can meet up for a picnic afterwards... maybe go to the waterfall again..."

He deliberately let the innuendo hang in the air, but his gaze was quickly brought up when she pushed her chair abruptly back from the table and set about clearing their dishes without answering. "Gina? What's wrong?" The set of her small chin had him thinking, and again he mentally cursed himself. Not a good start to the morning. Of course. He may associate the waterfall with... other things – but Gina? She associated it now with his way home. God Sheppard, you can be dumb sometimes, really. You think like a typical man, with what's down below. She's a woman. She thinks with other parts, sees other connections. Foot in the mouth – much.

Wanting to clear the air he came up behind her at the sink as she began running water into the sink and a small corner of his mind recognised the simple domesticity of the scene. Certainly something he was not used to. Standing behind his woman at the sink of the kitchen, looking out of the window at the garden beyond. Simple pleasures, one taken for granted by so many. One that Gina should have in her life. With him? Ah crap...

"I'm sorry Gina – I know you think of other things when I talk about the waterfall, and I'm sorry for bringing it up. For me, it is a magic place, and not because it is the way home. It is the place we've shared our most precious moments – and I just wanted to do something special for you again." He wrapped his arms around her pulling her hard against him and he felt the instant stirring that her nearness brought. He brought his face down to nuzzle her neck, gently though – mindful of the fact that he had still yet to shave.

"I know John – and I apologise for my sensitivity. I try to keep a logical mind knowing that it is your point of return and I do relish those moments we shared... you have no idea how much. Just a woman's usual issues I guess – we over think things.. sometimes actions are so much better." And with that she turned and molded herself against him, rubbing and needing and her actions were made abundantly clear.

"I'm going to take a shower John. If you'd care to join me..." She tossed a saucy look over her shoulder and she moved out of his arms, leaving the dishes to soak in the sink and headed toward the bathroom, leaving a trail of clothes along the way. He shook his heads. Yeah – those actions were pretty clear...