Chapter Four: Past Comes Calling

Jack watched Daniel leave the room and sighed, Daniel was hurt again and pissed off if Jack knew him and he did. It was his fault again. He turned back to Sarah and watched as she paced back and forth in the living room. He didn't know what to tell Sarah or Daniel. Jack was starting to hate this place, he suddenly wished for the simplicity of the Vannas home and the idyllic love affair he'd been given with Daniel up till now. He didn't understand his own reluctance to fight for Daniel in the face of challenge. He'd been able to stand up to Hammond and Janet, but Sarah walks in and he can't put two words into a sentence to defend his spouse to his ex.

Jack didn't know how to explain it but Daniel always touched him, held him in a way that Sarah never could, even before Love dosed them and forced them to admit how they really felt about one another. He didn't know how to translate that feeling, that love into this place where people would judge them harshly for their relationship.

"What will you tell your family now that your back?" Sarah finally demanded.

Jack shrugged; he hadn't really thought that far ahead. "You understand that until we have reclaimed our identities, you cannot speak to anyone about this. I'm surprised Hammond told you but I'm gonna guess it was because you were holding the deeds to the house."

Sarah nodded, "I demanded to know why people were going to come here all of a sudden after years of your absence."

Jack nodded, "I don't know what to say Sarah, to make you understand the different place we were in, the differences in me it caused."

"You are a fag now, easy to see!" Sarah hissed.

Jack flinched at the bitter anger in the derogatory word. He didn't care what others thought of him but this relationship would allow others to attack Daniel and his lover was such a good man and too sweet by half.

"Sarah, you act as though this was a choice I made lightly. And that it is a personal slight against you. I loved you Sarah, and I always will but I fell in love with Daniel long ago and found a way to live again through him. He found his way into my heart when I refused to let anyone in, he saved my life when I was first recalled, right after Charlie. He made me live again, forcing me to accept some semblance of happiness and it just so happened to be with him. We have lived a life together and you need to understand that it would be the same had I loved another woman or you loved another man."

"I haven't loved another because I wanted you to return to me, to become my husband again."

Jack stared at her in shock, "Sarah…"

"No, don't pity me with some sort of easy let down."

"That's not what I'm trying to do, I need you to understand that it's different. With Daniel that is, I can't explain it but it doesn't discount what we once had and how it was taken from us through my inability to be husband or father and tragedy."

"It was over for us a long time ago, wasn't it?" Sarah asked, all the anger and pain draining from her leaving behind only sad acceptance of the truth.

Jack nodded and reached out and took one of Sarah's hands. "Would you like to meet our children? And really meet Daniel?"

Sarah smiled, gripping Jack's hand for a second but shook her head, "Maybe another time when I am prepared and not making an ass of myself, your children and partner don't deserve my harsh words and bitterness. I promise I will someday just not when it's so fresh."

Jack nodded, leaned forward and kissed Sarah on the cheek gently then she pulled back and met his lips with hers to the shocked gasp behind them and Jack pulled away. Turning to see Daniel, Jack cursed and glared at Sarah who shrugged and stood. Jack watched as Daniel headed to the front door and took off.

"Seriously Sarah, knock this off!"

"Tell your family or I will," she said and walked out the front door as well.

Jack sat there on the couch and waited for a few minutes. He slapped a hand over his face in frustration. Pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes, which pushed his elbows into his knees, gave him a strong circuit of pain to fight the agony he felt inside.

"Papa, where's Daddy?" Zale asked as he walked into the living room. Jack shoved his hands through his hair and reached out to pull Zale between his legs.

"Z-Man, Papa is a stupid man."

Zale frowned at Jack, "Why?"

"I love Daddy and you guys so much but this place has a tendency to attack people for being different. I don't know how to make us work like we did with the Vannas people." Jack didn't know how he would have spoken to Charlie about stuff like this because he never really got the chance to be a father with his first son, but Zale he could speak pretty plainly to because he was incredibly smart as well as intuitive. He knew when he was getting the safe answer, the dishonest one.

"Where is Daddy?" Zale asked again.

Jack chuckled, "I don't know, he'll be back later."

"Do you love Daddy more than that woman who was here?"

"Of course I do, I loved her before I was with your Daddy, but she was never my soul mate, not like your Daddy is."

"You have to remind him, that you're going to keep fighting for him."

Jack smiled and hugged his little boy, "You are one smart cookie."

"Yes Papa, I know," Zale said.

"So this world is different, there are rules and classrooms that you are going to have to go to. We need to make life work here since we don't know if Greer has the power to get us home."

Zale nodded, "Johnny's still afraid Papa, he's been curled up against someone since we got here. He knows something about the pain we might end up with, but he told us that if we stuck together then we would be okay."

"Okay, well let's get everyone situated here, then we should eat but I need to find Daddy."

"Of course Papa, we're not the same without him."

Jack didn't have to be told that twice, he couldn't be the same without Daniel. He didn't know how to be a good parent without Daniel standing there side by side with him. Daniel sometimes was the strength in him and Jack didn't know anymore how to be strong without him.