THAT WHICH WE ARE  BY DARCY & SAMI-J

Chapter 21

“Psst!”

Daniel frowned in his sleep and turned his head away from the fly buzzing around.

“Psst! Come on, wake up!”

Huh? Since when – oh. He knew that voice and reluctantly cracked an eyelid.

“Charlie?”

“Shh, keep it down.”

Daniel blinked and peered at his window. Even though the curtain was drawn and he didn't have his glasses on, he still should be able to see the sun coming in around the edges of the fabric. There was no sun. The sun hadn’t even started coming up yet.

“T’early, Charlie.” He burrowed deeper under his covers.

“Daniel!” This time a hand grasped his shoulder and shook it. “It’s Christmas!”

Christmas? Adrenalin shot through Daniel and he opened his eyes. Before he could speak his covers were yanked away and chilly air swept over him. Daniel sat up with a yelp and a hand clapped over his mouth.

“Shh! Not so loud or you’ll wake Mom and Dad!”

Daniel grabbed for his glasses and the fuzzy figure standing over him turned into his brother. It was impossible to be sure in the darkness but Daniel was pretty sure he was grinning.

“Here.” Charlie tossed something soft at him that hit him in the face. “Oops.”

As he clawed the material off his head Daniel briefly debated throwing it back at the older boy. Except he had a good idea what would happen after that and he didn’t feel like a wrestling match before the sun was up.

The sun.

He groaned as he turned the bathrobe right side up and struggled into it. Part of him wanted to sleep but a larger part was anticipating the day. Still, he couldn’t help a mild protest.

“It’s still the middle of the night.”

“No it’s not,” Charlie denied and along with his laughter Daniel heard excitement. “If we keep quiet Mom and Dad shouldn’t be up for another hour and that’ll give us plenty of time to go through our stockings and take a closer look at the presents.”

“Stockings? You mean for Christmas?” Daniel stood up and adjusted his bathrobe.

“No, for the World Series.” Charlie whapped him on the arm. “Of course for Christmas! Now come on.”

Following his brother out of the bedroom, Daniel thought back to the night before. There had been plenty of presents under the tree. He just couldn’t remember seeing any Christmas stockings hung on the mantel or anywhere else.

Now that he was waking up, he was excited. This was the first Christmas he’d actually looked forward to since his parents – he stopped that thought from taking shape. He wasn’t going to think any sad thoughts today. Last night’s Christmas Eve had been great and today should be just as good, maybe even better if Charlie had anything to say about it.

Half-way down the stairs Charlie’s stockinged feet slid out from under him. Daniel clutched the sleeve of his robe at the same time Charlie caught the banister and stopped himself from rolling head over heels down the stairs. There was a moment of shocked silence before Charlie chuckled under his breath.

“Watch that step,” he whispered, a bit late in Daniel’s opinion. Besides, it wasn’t Daniel who had just missed free-falling down the stairs.

Both of them hung onto the banister until they reached the safety of the first floor. The boys moved into the living room and stopped in their tracks. Charlie was the first to speak.

“Dad must’ve connected the lights to a motion detector.”

Daniel barely heard him. He stood transfixed, gazing at the brilliantly-lit Christmas tree. It had been dark when they reached the bottom of the staircase. Only as they walked into the living room did the lights suddenly flash on. In the otherwise dark room, they offered a spectacular display.

The tree was draped with several strands of different kinds of colored lights that glowed continuously while others blinked on and off. All the colors of the rainbow captivated him, especially as they reflected off the various ornaments that decorated the tree. Daniel inhaled and took in a deep, satisfying breath of pine. It wasn’t just wonderful to look at; it smelled great.

“It’s beautiful,” he mumbled.

“Yeah,” Charlie agreed then turned his focus back to the mission at hand. He pointed at the fireplace.

Daniel reluctantly turned his attention away from the Christmas tree and followed Charlie’s pointing finger.

“Come on!” the older boy ordered.

Grinning, Daniel hurried after him to the mantel. There they were as big as life. Four very full Christmas stockings hanging in a row.

“This is Mom’s,” Charlie noted, pointing at the pretty, cream and gold-colored stocking. Daniel smiled at the delicate holly and poinsettia flower designs imprinted on it. Even if Charlie hadn’t told him it was Sara’s, he would have guessed it.

“And this is Dad’s,” Charlie identified the one next to Sara’s and Daniel’s grin widened. He wasn’t at all surprised to see that Jack’s stocking was bigger than the others, and against its brilliant scarlet and green was the outline of an airplane with Santa Claus hanging out of the pilot’s seat.

“This is mine!” Charlie lifted the next stocking off its hook.

Of course it was. Charlie’s stocking was a patchwork of colors, red and gold and several shades of green. Daniel snickered at the outline of a Santa holding a large, present-filled sack over his shoulder that had sprung a leak, with presents falling out of the bottom of the sack all the way down to the toe of the stocking. Just like the others, Daniel would have known whose stocking this was without anyone telling him.

“And that’s yours,” Charlie pointed at the final stocking.

Daniel paused for a moment to stare before reaching out to touch the soft material. The stocking was the color of desert sand and decorated with the outline of a pyramid that had a hole in the bottom corner revealing a pile of presents inside.

“Who...” he stopped to figure out what he wanted to say. “These aren’t store bought... I mean, they aren’t regular Christmas stockings, are they?”

Charlie shook his head. “Nope. Every year after Thanksgiving they set up a temporary store in the mall. They make all kinds of Christmas decorations to order, even Christmas stockings. You tell them what you want and they make it.” He nudged Daniel.

“Mom went over there to have them make up a Christmas stocking for you. I was with her when she picked it up and she made me promise not to tell you. She wanted it to be a surprise. It looks pretty neat, doesn’t it?”

Daniel swallowed. He couldn’t believe he was getting misty-eyed over a stocking, except it wasn’t the stocking that was getting to him. It was the thought behind it. He had his own Christmas stocking, made to order, hung on the mantel with the others. Sara, Jack, Charlie and Daniel. One more piece of evidence that he was accepted, he belonged to this family.

He blinked back the tears that wanted to escape. No way was he going to cry with Charlie beside him.

“Yeah.” Daniel hoped his brother didn’t notice the hoarseness in his voice. “It looks great.”

“Well, come on then.” Charlie flopped into the recliner and began digging through his treasures.

Daniel took his stocking down from the mantle and sat down on the sofa. “It’s heavy,” he said in surprise.

Charlie snorted. “That’s partly because of the orange. See?”

Now that it had been pointed out, Daniel wondered how he missed it. At the bottom of the sock was a large, round, orange-sized item.

“Mom always puts an orange in the toe,” Charlie grinned. “I guess it’s supposed to cancel out all the other stuff.”

“What other stuff?”

“This.” Charlie turned the stocking upside down and the contents cascaded into his lap. “See, there’s lots of – hey, cool! Look at this!”

Daniel looked up from the careful excavation of his stocking to see Charlie holding up a... he raised his eyebrows. “Is that a knife?”

“Yeah! It’s a Swiss Army knife but it has a lot more stuff on it than my old one.” Charlie pulled out the various implements hidden inside the handle as proof.

“Les’see, it has a large blade and, uh-huh, a small blade, and, um, a corkscrew, a bottle opener – see?” he held it up. “It’s got a screwdriver tip. And, um, what’s this? Hey, cool! It has a wood saw, and... what’re these? Oh, I get it, wire strippers and...”

Daniel lost track of what Charlie was saying when his searching fingers closed over a hard, oblong-shaped object. He pulled it out and smiled happily. It looked like Charlie’s new knife except Daniel’s handle was colored blue instead of red.

“This is totally cool!” Charlie looked up from studying the new knife. “Maybe you got – hey, you got one too! Just remember we can't take these to school or we'll get in huge trouble.”

Daniel nodded and set his new knife aside to explore the rest of his stocking's treasures. It would probably be easier if he dumped everything out like Charlie had, but he was having too much fun being surprised. Besides the knife, he found several miniature-sized candy bars and a package of chocolate-covered orange sticks. His mouth watered at the thought of biting into one of them. And –

“Come on, why are you being so careful? Dig in! Oh, look, I love these peanuts still in the shells. Mom always throws in a handful of those in. If you eat ’em with one of the little candy bars they taste even better.”

Charlie broke open several of the shells, popped the peanuts in his mouth along with a mini-Snickers bar and munched happily. “I'm right, try it.”

Instead, Daniel broke open the package of orange sticks and popped one in his mouth. Mmm. He took his time, letting it melt on his tongue savoring the combination of flavors. A few seconds later he went back to examining the rest of the contents of the stocking in his lap. Charlie’s kamikaze, take-no-prisoners attitude to life, including how to go through a Christmas stocking, was very different from the methodical approach Daniel’s parents had instilled in him during the first eight years of his life. He guessed it had something to do with an archaeologist’s view versus a jet fighter pilot’s view.

Daniel's fingers closed over an unfamiliar shape and he carefully pulled it out into view.

“Coupons!” Charlie yelled in delight when he saw what Daniel was holding. He turned his own stocking inside out. “Yep, here’re mine, they were stuck in the toe.”

“Coupons?” Daniel wrinkled his nose. "For what? Food?"

He turned the packet over and examined it closely. It looked like a package of index cards, cut in half length-wise and held together by a large staple at one end. On the top card was written in black marker “COUPONS”. He still didn't get why Jack and Sara would give them coupons.

“All right!” Charlie laughed as he flipped through the cards. When Daniel followed his lead his confusion faded.

There were ten cards in the packet, all of which bore the same statement in calligraphy – “This coupon entitles the bearer to a Get-Out-of-Chores pass for the day of his choosing.”

“Does this mean what I think it means?”

“Yep, it sure does!" Charlie nodded. "I got 'em for the last two Christmases and they’re great. Just remember, they don’t work around holidays.”

“They don’t?”

“Nope. The disclaimer’s on the back.”

Daniel turned one of the cards over and read the smaller print. “Not redeemable during the week before or after a holiday.” He laughed. “How come?”

“Cuz Mom always goes crazy cleaning the house, cooking, all that stuff, before a holiday and she doesn’t want to have to do our chores on top of everything else. And then right after the holiday she doesn’t want to have to do all the clean-up by herself.”

“Sounds fair,” Daniel said.

“I’m glad you agree,” Sara answered.

The boys whirled around. Jack and Sara were standing just beyond the entrance to the living room, both of them still in their bathrobes and Jack pointing his camcorder at them. Daniel had no idea how long they'd been standing there.

“I guess we weren’t quiet enough.” Charlie turned to his parents. “How long have you guys been there?”

Sara chuckled and Jack smirked. “From the beginning,” he said lowering the camcorder. “You guys really need to work on improving your observational skills.”

Charlie made a face at him. “So are we going to open presents or what?”

Sara and Jack exchanged looks. “I guess it’s time,” he said casually.

“Oh, yeah!” Leaving his loot from his Christmas stocking piled in the recliner, Charlie dove for the Christmas tree.

“Charlie!” Sara warned in amusement.

“I’m not touching, I'm just looking.” Charlie scanned the unusually large pile of gifts under the tree. “Can I hand them out this year? Or,” he turned his head to look at Daniel who was sitting down on the other side of the tree, “maybe you want to do it?”

Jack smiled at his son. Charlie loved playing Santa so this was a generous offer. He'd have to remember this side of Charlie the next time he was on the verge of strangling his son for one of his bonehead stunts.

“No, that’s all right." Daniel looked around the room, clearly overwhelmed. "You go ahead.”

“Okay?” Charlie cast an eye at his parents.

“Fine, go ahead.” Sara waved her hand toward the mound of presents. She took a seat on the ottoman while Jack settled down on the rug with the boys, his camcorder poised and ready.

“Mom, Dad, Dad, Daniel, me...” Charlie dug the presents out and made small piles before each of the giftees.

“Okay," Jack intervened. "Let’s wait on divvying out the rest and see what we’ve got. There's a lot of stuff under there. Sara, you want to go first?”

“Why don’t we let Daniel go first?” Sara suggested.

The boy blushed and obediently reached for the top gift.

"Are you going to open every present like that?" Charlie asked.

"Like what?" Daniel looked up in confusion.

Daniel's slow, methodical unwrapping was obviously driving Charlie crazy. Jack frowned at his son who wilted.

"Never mind," Charlie answered.

Daniel’s eyes widened when he opened the box and saw what was inside. Charlie bounced to his knees.

“A baseball glove! Sweet! Now you can play catch with us.”

Jack noted Daniel didn't look nearly as thrilled as Charlie and hoped the glove wasn't giving him the wrong idea. It wasn’t that he expected Daniel to join Little League and make the all-star team like Charlie. He just thought the boy might enjoy tossing the ball around. From Daniel's expression he needed to clear this up.

“I remember how much you enjoyed playing football on Thanksgiving and I thought you might like to give baseball a try, too.”

“It’s a great game!” Charlie assured his brother. "I can teach you to catch a baseball just like I did a football."

Jack was relieved when the tension seeped out of Daniel’s blue eyes. The glove had been an impulse buy and he had hesitated to wrap it until last night for just this reason. He didn’t want Daniel to feel he was being forced into sports, but at the same time Jack had seen the kid's delight at learning how to catch a football. Daniel had exhibited a sense of pride at mastering a skill he hadn't believed he could learn and there was a lot to be said for those moments.

Thanks to two lousy years in foster care, Daniel’s self-esteem was shaky on a good day. There had been definite improvement since he'd joined the O’Neill family but the boy still had a way to go. Learning to catch a football had helped; maybe learning to catch a baseball or possibly even learning to play the game would help more. In Jack's mind, trying new things, especially things out of one's comfort zone, was always worthwhile.

“I don’t know how good I’ll be.” Daniel offered a hesitant smile.

“If you don’t want to – ” Sara started but Jack overrode her.

“It doesn't matter how good you are,” he assured the boy. It wasn't necessary to be the best to enjoy something. “It's a fun game. You can give it a try. If you like it fine and if you don't, that's fine, too.”

“And I could help teach you,” Charlie added. "That'd be fun whether you want to play on a team or not."

Daniel’s smile widened. “Okay, thanks.” He tried on the glove and punched it in the pocket like he'd seen Charlie do a million times.

“That's the spirit.” Jack winked at Sara who was smiling now.

The first present Charlie opened turned out to be a bag of athletic socks. His eyes widened and his mouth opened. Jack coughed and Charlie glanced up in time to catch his father’s warning look. The house rule on gifts was written in stone. All gifts were to be accepted with gratitude and appreciation. No smart-ass remarks were allowed, at least not any serious, smart-ass remarks. Joking was always acceptable.

Charlie held up the socks in acknowledgment. “Thanks, Santa,” he said with a touch of sarcasm.

When Jack took his turn at opening a present Sara picked up the camcorder. As he tore at the wrappings, he said, “Whatever this is, thanks, Charles Michael.”

Charlie had signed the tag with his full name for reasons that escaped Jack. Then again, a lot of things his son did escaped Jack’s understanding. It was all part of the fun of being a dad, especially Charlie's dad.

He laughed when he saw the cover of the DVD. “Charlie, isn’t this – ”

Charlie nodded, looking pleased with himself. “It’s the original Mummy movie that Spencer loaned me that day you yelled at me for something Daniel did.” His smile widened when Jack looked apologetic.

“You never saw it cuz you got, uh, distracted that day, but it turned out to be a really good movie.” He scooted closer. “Look on the back.”

Jack obediently turned it over and Charlie pointed. “It’s from the 1940’s, do you believe it? I didn’t know they made movies way back then, and I don’t know anything about the guy who starred in it.”

“Ah.” Jack grinned at his wife. “Some nobody by the name of Boris Karloff. Charlie, your education has been sadly lacking. I see a DVD movie marathon in your immediate future.”

"Okay," Charlie answered, looking confused before shrugging it off. “Anyway,” he continued, taking the DVD out of his father’s hands and turning it over again, “I figured you’d get a kick out of it. And, Daniel?” He turned to his brother. “It’s got a mummy in it so I thought you’d enjoy it, too.”

“Thanks for thinking about me.”

Jack saw the hint of a smile on Daniel’s lips. He looked down at the floor and struggled not to laugh. He didn’t know anything about mummies but he knew Daniel did, real mummies, and he seriously doubted Hollywood had a clue when it came to real mummies. The movie he held in his hand would provide a couple hours of entertainment for him and Charlie. Daniel would most likely fall asleep in the first five minutes or else drive them nuts pointing out all the historical inaccuracies.

As soon as he regained control he leaned over to tousle Charlie’s hair. “Thanks, buddy, and I meant what I said about that movie marathon. We’ll start it with this one.”

Sara surprised them by laughing. “Boys and their horror toys,” she murmured so softly that Jack, being closest, was the only one to hear.

They went around a few more times with each one opening his or her present while the others watched and offered comments. Charlie’s next gift was new flannel pajamas and Jack had to fight back another laugh at his son’s disconcerted expression. Two clothes presents in a row. What a disappointment, though Charlie knew better than to say or do anything other than smile and say,

“Thanks, Santa.”

Luckily the next present made him laugh out loud. “All right!”

He started to tear the plastic wrap off the box but Sara stopped him. “Not now, honey. We still have the rest of the gifts to go through.”

“Right,” Charlie agreed, flashing a happy grin. “This is the coolest game ever. Daniel, have you ever played Risk?”

Daniel shook his head.

“Neither have I,” Sara put in.

“We can play later today. I can teach everyone.” Charlie's enthusiasm was obvious.

Jack glanced at his wife who smiled back. The boys were too absorbed in the board game to notice her relieved expression. Sara had been hesitant about giving Risk to Charlie since he'd learned how to play from his kidnapper, Evan Peterson. She feared the game might bring back some of those terrifying memories.

Jack had thought otherwise. By nature, Charlie was an easygoing kid. He'd never been the type to brood. Their son possessed the unique ability to shrug off anything unpleasant, which had its good and bad points. Within a couple of weeks after being rescued, Charlie had seemed almost recovered from his ordeal and, as far as Jack and Sara knew, he hadn’t been troubled by nightmares since.

One memory Charlie had hung onto from that frightening experience was learning a new board game, Risk. By his own account, he'd fallen in love with the game. He'd told them all about it in detail and asked if he could spend some of his savings to buy it.

The only thing Charlie talked about in a positive light from the kidnapping was learning how to play Risk. The game obviously made an impression because Charlie had brought up the possibility of buying it several times. Jack and Sara had put him off, not wanting the game to be a reminder of the ordeal. It had taken Jack awhile to persuade Sara, but watching Charlie’s enthusiasm now as he explained some of the rules convinced Jack he'd been right.

The next time Daniel opened a present they all laughed. “It looks like we’re going to have a couple new board games to choose from,” Jack chuckled.

Daniel turned the box to show them the cover. “I’ve never played this version,” he admitted. “Thanks, Charlie. Thanks a lot.”

“I figured you’d like it.” Charlie's smile matched his brother’s.

“I do.” Daniel nodded vigorously.

“How is this Deluxe Scrabble different from the old one?” Sara asked.

“Dunno,” Charlie shrugged, “but we can find out this afternoon.”

Jack shuddered in mock horror. “Deal with all those little, letter-filled tiles? I think I’ll have a better chance with Charlie’s Risk.”

“It’ll be okay, Jack,” Daniel said earnestly. “I can teach you.”

The concern in the wide eyes made Jack smile. “Thanks, kiddo. I appreciate that.” He looked around. “Okay, who’s next? Oh, that’d be you, honey.”

Sara picked up the gift and read the tag. She wrinkled her nose at her husband. “Jack, how, um, traditional of you. Thank you, I think.”

He smirked. ‘To the mother of my boys,’ wasn’t his usual spiel but he had written the words with an ulterior motive in mind. He wondered if she’d get it.

Sara removed the wrapping paper and opened the box, only to find a smaller box nestled inside it. Her eyes narrowed.

“If this is another one of your disappearing boxes present – ”

“Now, now,” Jack interrupted with a wink at the boys. “Tis the season and all that, remember?”

She shook her head and opened the next box, and her smile widened as she took out a small box containing a very recognizable picture and logo. Charlie started laughing and Daniel looked confused.

“Cracker Jacks?” he asked doubtfully.

“It’s a Dad special,” Charlie forced out between chuckles. “He gives Mom a Cracker Jacks box almost every year. It usually has something really mushy inside – hey!” he exclaimed when his father swatted him. “What’s inside this one, Dad?”

“You’ll find out when your mother opens it.”

Sara wasn’t looking at the box, she was looking at Jack. Her blue eyes were bright with memories of past gifts while her smile was tinged with mischief.

“Dare I?”

“Dare,” he encouraged.

She carefully peeled back the edge of the colorful paper. “How did you seal it again without – oh, I see.”

She found where he had put the piece of double-sided tape and tore it open. Cracker Jacks and peanuts cascaded into her lap, along with a long, shimmering twist of gold. Eyes wide, she picked it up and examined it closely. Finally she looked up.

“Jack?”

He shifted his weight, hoping it wasn’t too over the top. When it came to jewelry, he was definitely out of his area of expertise. This idea had come to him out of nowhere a few months ago and then he'd had to find a jeweler who could make his idea a reality. Jack had been pleased with the result but he wasn’t Sara.

“Is it okay?” he asked.

Sara’s gaze dropped back to the necklace she still held. The chain was 24-carat gold. Hanging from it was a simple circle of gold outlined by tiny gems that glittered under the light. At the center of the circle was a small, brilliant blue stone.

She ran her finger over them and looked up again. “Are these stones what I think they are?”

Jack grimaced. He’d known she’d want him to give her the details, as if she couldn’t see them for herself. “The ones on the outside are diamonds and the one in the center is a sapphire.”

“Sixteen?”

He felt something deep inside relax. She understood what he didn’t have the words to express.

“Yeah.”

Sara studied the necklace for a long time before looking at Jack again and he felt as if he was drowning in the depths of her blue eyes. If he was, he couldn’t imagine a happier way to go.

“It’s pretty,” Daniel observed, still looking a little perplexed by the reactions of Sara and Charlie. Jack opened his mouth to explain but Sara spoke first.

“Daniel, Charlie knows this story and it’s only fair you know it, too. Sixteen years ago, Jack gave me a box of Cracker Jacks for Christmas. When I opened it I found one of those silly gag gifts, a cheap plastic ring. As soon as I picked it out from the candy – ” she looked at Jack who smiled at her, “he knelt down on one knee and asked me to marry him.”

“See,” Jack continued, feeling both embarrassed and pleased by the success of his gift, “I was in the Air Force Academy and Sara was still in college. Neither of us had any money so I figured this would kill two birds with one stone. The Cracker Jacks were her Christmas gift and the plastic ring...” he coughed, side-swiped by a surge of emotion and Sara put her hand on his.

“I still have that silly ring in my jewelry box.” She was still smiling but there was a look in her eyes that caught Jack right in the solar plexus.

He'd been so scared that Christmas day sixteen years ago. Hell, he’d been terrified she'd say no. They'd been dating for nearly two years by then and Jack had known by their third date that Sara was the one for him. He also knew better than to propose after three dates. Sara wasn't ready and her dad, Mike, probably would have strangled him. So he took his time and toughed it out, letting Sara and Mike get to know him, until finally he couldn’t stand waiting another day. She'd said yes and the rest was history.

“Pure mush,” Charlie said with a groan. “I’m glad I’ll never be like that.”

Sara smiled at her son while Jack and Daniel exchanged grins. Jack pretended to cough, muttered “Allison” and Charlie turned red.

Sara leaned over to kiss Jack and rescue Charlie. “Thank you, honey,” she whispered.

“Thank you, too.” Jack kissed her back.

She looked down at the necklace in her hands before meeting his eyes again. “‘The mother of your boys,’” she quoted softly and he grinned.

His wife had figured it out. If she hadn’t said ‘yes’ sixteen years ago, there'd be no O’Neill family, no Charlie and no Daniel becoming part of their family.

“It’s kind of a stretch,” Sara laughed, “but I get it.”

Before he could respond she turned to the boys. “Charlie, would you please bring out the gift you’ll find in the back closet?”

“Sure!” Charlie jumped to his feet.

“And be careful with it,” she called after him.

“Why is it in the back closet?” Jack studied his wife suspiciously.

Sara gave him a superior look. “Because I know Charlie and Daniel aren’t the only ones who like to rattle the presents to try to figure out what’s inside.”

Crap. He'd walked into that one.

Chapter 22

A few minutes later, Jack pulled off the last of the wrapping paper and stared in shock. “Sara?”

“Sam said it's a good one,” she smiled.

“Yeah, it is.” It was all he could think to say.

“That’s a cool-looking telescope.” Charlie was on his knees, leaning over to get a closer look.

“Yeah, it is,” Jack repeated and read the name off the box. “It’s a Sky-Watcher 8” SCT EQ5 Pro.” He lifted shocked eyes to his wife who leaned forward to kiss his cheek.

“As long as you like it, that’s what matters.”

“Is it a good one?” Charlie asked, ignoring the byplay.

Jack nodded again. “Yep. And a whole heck of a lot better than my old one.”

“That’s what Sam said.”

Sara’s words pulled Jack out of his surprise and a light went on. “That day you came home from Christmas shopping with Carter...”

“Surprise.” She smiled proudly.

After a few minutes of marveling over the super duper telescope, they turned back to the serious business of opening the remaining presents.

“This is for me.” Charlie pulled another gift out from under the tree. He tore the wrapping off as he talked. “I hope...” he gasped and threw the paper over the present, giving his mother an outraged look.

“Moomm!”

“Yes, honey?”

“I didn’t see. What is it?” Daniel craned his head.

“Nothing.” Charlie stuffed the partially wrapped package underneath his new flannel pajamas.

Daniel looked at Jack and raised his eyebrows.

“I think it was a package of underwear,” Jack whispered.

“That’s not something a guy’s supposed to get in public.” Charlie switched his glare to his father.

“We’re not in public, honey,” Sara chuckled. “This is just family.”

“Well, yeah,” Charlie huffed, “but still.”

“Ya can never have too much underwear,” Jack said to the ceiling.

Charlie’s snort almost sent Jack over the edge but he managed to keep a straight face. “I didn’t hear you thank Santa for this present.”

“How about someone else opens a present?” Charlie demanded.

They continued to go around in a circle, opening gifts one at a time. Daniel was excited and, Jack thought, a bit nervous, when he opened his ice skates. Later, the kid practically went into orbit when he opened the small box containing tickets to the ancient Egyptian exhibit that was coming to the local museum next month.

Meanwhile, Charlie was still unwrapping clothes and becoming increasingly flustered. He wasn’t saying anything beyond the ritual, “Thanks,” but Jack caught him looking from Daniel’s pile of gifts to his own. For his part, Jack had to work hard to keep from bursting out laughing at his son’s growing confusion.

“This looks like the last one for Mom, no, it’s for Mom and Dad.” Charlie pulled out a medium-sized box.

“Why don’t you do the honors?” Jack took it from his son and handed it to Sara.

She read the tag out loud – “To Jack and Sara from Daniel,” she nodded his way. “Thank you, honey.”

Daniel tried to smile back but it was hard when he was so nervous. He had thought long and hard about what to give them. They'd been so great, taking him in and then making him part of the family, and he desperately wanted to do something special in return, but nothing seemed right.

When Charlie had told him how much Sara liked homemade gifts it gave him an idea. It took a long time to put together but in the end he thought it turned out okay.

Now Daniel watched with his heart in his throat as Sara removed the paper. Suddenly his idea seemed stupid. It wasn’t anything like the other presents. What was wrong with him? It seemed like the more he wanted to get something right, the more he messed it up.

The last of the wrapping paper fell away. Looking at it from the back, Daniel could only see the piece of cardboard he'd used to stiffen the gift. It was the other side, the side Sara was looking at, that held Daniel’s gift, an 8-1/2 by 11 piece of parchment paper. On it he had drawn in his best hand something that was very close to his heart.

Sara looked at it for a long minute; so did Jack, beside her. Daniel braced himself for disappointment, trying to ignore the pounding of his heart and the fact that it was suddenly very hot.

“Are these hieroglyphics?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said weakly but it came out as more of a squeak.

“You wrote these?”

“I...” Daniel swallowed and tried again. “I copied them. They’re from a poem dated around 1160 B.C. that was found in the tomb of Inherkhawy. He was a supervisor of workers at the royal burial ground in the ancient city of Thebes.”

Her fingers hovered in the air, just above the colorfully drawn figures. “This is beautiful, Daniel. It’s so artistic.”

For the first time he felt hopeful. Maybe they liked it, after all.

Jack was smiling, too, his eyes warm with approval. “How about translating it for us, kiddo? You want to come over here?”

Daniel shook his head. “I don’t need to. I memorized it a long time ago. It was my – it was one of my folks’ favorite poems. Mine too.”

“Tell us what it says,” Sara coaxed.

Daniel cleared his throat. “It’s an excerpt from ‘The Harper’s Song for Inherkhawy’ and it says,

So seize the day! hold holiday!
Be unwearied, unceasing, alive
you and your true love;
Let not the heart be troubled during your
sojourn on Earth,
but seize the day as it passes!

Finished, Daniel eyed them hopefully. Sara’s eyes were shiny and he hoped she wouldn’t cry. Jack’s expression was gentle and, Daniel was relieved to see, still approving.

“That’s a poem from ancient Egypt?” Charlie questioned.

“Uh-huh.”

“I thought they were just concerned about mummies and the afterlife and all that stuff.”

Daniel grinned at his brother and felt better. Charlie often had that effect on him.

“A lot of people think that,” he acknowledged. “It’s a common misconception. The truth is, ancient Egyptians loved life and celebrated all of its different aspects.”

Which was one of the main reasons Daniel and his parents loved the poem so much, though he wasn’t going to mention that part.

Jack looked thoughtful. “So the whole idea about seizing the day is a lot older than Carpe Diem and Hollywood?”

Daniel couldn’t resist a snicker. “I don’t know of anyone who has ever done a study of the phrase but, yeah, the idea is definitely a lot older than Hollywood.”

“And what about these?” Sara pointed at the hieroglyphs that he had carefully painted along the top, bottom and sides of the parchment paper like an exotic border around the poem.

“They refer to life and family and love and home and...” Daniel pointed at each symbol as he explained. When he finished he offered a weak smile.

“I know it’s kind of a... a weird present – ”

His words ended in a gasp when Sara grabbed him in a bear hug. “It’s absolutely beautiful,” she said in a horse voice. “It's perfect, Daniel. Thank you so much.”

When she released him Jack tousled his hair and gave him a quick, one-armed hug. “It’s great, kiddo. Really special.”

For the first time since Sara opened the gift, Daniel felt as if he could breathe again. He’d got it right after all. They liked it.

He glanced at Charlie who gave him a light punch in the arm. “Good job,” he said.

“Daniel?”

He turned back to Sara who was looking distinctly misty-eyed. She was still holding the parchment. “Could you teach me to read this?”

Sara wanted to learn hieroglyphics? “Sure.” Daniel beamed in delight.

Jack rolled his eyes. “Just don’t practice them on me when we’re in bed at night.”

She ignored him and ran a caressing finger over the exquisitely drawn characters of the poem. “I’m going to hang this on a wall in our bedroom. After it’s framed.”

“I could make that,” Charlie said. “Or,” he added with a quick look at Daniel, “since it’s Daniel’s present to you guys, maybe I could show him how to make a frame?" He ended his words on a questioning note.

“That’d be great, Charlie, thanks.”

“Yeah, great idea,” Jack agreed with a wink at his oldest son.

They admired the poem a few more minutes before Jack cleared his throat. “We still have a few more presents to open. Why don’t you put that aside for now, honey?”

“Not here,” Sara frowned at him. “I don’t want to take a chance that it might be damaged. I’ll be right back.”

She stood up and hurried away, holding the gift protectively in her hands.

“Is she taking it upstairs?” Charlie craned his neck to look after her.

“Probably to the bedroom,” Jack looked from one boy to the other. “You guys both did really good this year. Your mom is going to hang on to your gifts for as long as she lives.”

Jack winked at him and Daniel thought he understood why. Sara wasn’t his mom. Except now she was, in a way. He was surprised the thought didn’t hurt like it used to. His mom would always be Claire Ballard Jackson, a brilliant linguist and the best mom a guy could ever have. But for the first time Daniel considered the truth that his mom wouldn’t want him to be sad forever and his parents would like Jack and Sara; he knew they would.

Daniel had a new life with a new family. It wasn’t the one he'd been born to and it wasn’t one he would have chosen had his mom and dad been alive. Yet here he was, and he felt a little jolt deep inside at the realization that this was where he belonged now. This was his new life and he was grateful for it.

“Daniel?”

He looked up to see Jack watching him with anxious eyes. “Look, kiddo, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean – ”

“It’s okay." Daniel smiled. "I’m just really glad Sara liked it.”

“We both love it, buddy.”

Sara whirled back into the room. “What’d I miss? You didn’t open any more presents while I was gone, did you?”

“Would we do that?” Jack demanded. “Now get back over here.”

She chuckled and settled back down on the ottoman and Charlie looked hopefully at the presents still under the tree.

“Ready for the next one?”

“Go for it,” Jack said with a wave of his hand.

Daniel watched them all with a new awareness. His family. He'd never expected to have that again. He’d never thought he would want another family. The O’Neills had surprised him, sneaking under his radar and settling into his heart without him even knowing it.

In his new life, he was right where he belonged.

Daniel looked down, not wanting them to see his emotion, then he blinked in surprise. For just a second it had felt like... out of his memories came an image of his mom smiling at him, pride and approval bright in her eyes. And for a second it had felt like, like it used to feel when she hugged him.

He swallowed hard, surprised the memory wasn’t followed by pain, like what used to happen whenever he remembered. No pain, just a feeling of love he'd never forget, no matter how long he lived.

“Who’s that for?”

Jack’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. Daniel looked up, aware of a new sense of happiness and acceptance. Charlie was holding a present, turning it around to find the tag.

“Daniel,” he read out loud and handed it over.

Confused, Daniel took it and looked at the others. It felt like he was getting more gifts than the others and he certainly preferred his presents to the ones Charlie had received. Practically all clothes. His brother had to be disappointed.

“Well, go on,” Jack gestured. “Who’s it from?”

“From Santa,” Daniel read.

“Busy guy,” Jack noted.

Daniel unwrapped the present and took off the lid. Inside was a smaller box. Eyebrows raised, he pulled it out and opened it to find still another, smaller box inside.

“Here we go again.” Charlie rolled his eyes.

Daniel looked again at the smiling faces, took another breath and opened the box. “There’s a piece of paper inside.” He pulled it out and unfolded it.

“What’s it say?” Charlie demanded.

“It says, ‘Follow the yellow brick road.’” Daniel scratched his head.

“Then I guess you better do that,” Jack smirked.

“What yellow brick road?” Charlie peered at Daniel’s note and gave his father a suspicious look.

“Guess you’ll just have to look around.” Jack gave an elaborate shrug.

Charlie dove under the Christmas tree and rummaged around the skirt that surrounded the base.

“Come on, Daniel, it’s gotta be here somewhere.”

Confused but game, Daniel went to his knees and prepared to join his brother. Something caught his eye and when he looked closer he saw a piece of twine peeking out from behind the loveseat next to the tree.

It was yellow.

He threw a look at Jack who met his gaze with his most innocent expression. Daniel almost laughed. Jack didn’t do ‘innocent’ very well.

“I think I found it,” he said and Charlie popped out from under the Christmas tree.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Follow it!”

Feeling a little foolish, but more excited, Daniel obeyed. The twine ran along the length of the walls behind the loveseat, the sofa and the corner table, and finally came out at the entrance to the living room. That's why he hadn’t noticed it earlier. An area rug had been thrown over the twine to hide it until it disappeared, more or less, under the dining room table and then into the kitchen. It was obvious when he saw it against the kitchen floor but since neither Daniel or Charlie had bothered going into the kitchen, they hadn’t noticed.

Daniel stopped in front of the pantry. The twine disappeared under the door so he figured that whatever it was leading him to must be on the other side. Taking a deep breath, he shoved open the pocket door and peered into the pantry.

Still sitting in the living room, Jack exchanged grins with Sara. He figured they would know when the boy found his present.

A yell of excitement shattered the stillness and Charlie jumped to his feet.

“Ah-ah, no you don’t,” Jack cautioned. “Stay right here.”

“But I want to see!”

“You will. I’m sure Daniel will bring it in, in just a minute.”

It actually took several minutes before Daniel reappeared, wheeling a two-wheel bike. The bike was blue and chrome and bore a large red bow and an equally large tag – “To Daniel with much love, Jack and Sara.” Dangling from one handlebar was a bright blue helmet; dangling from the other handlebar were safety pads.

“Cool!” Charlie exclaimed.

Daniel raised shining eyes and Jack thought he’d never seen such a big grin on the kid’s face.

“It’s mine?” he asked in a hushed voice, as if afraid they were going to take it away.

“All yours, kiddo,” Jack said cheerfully.

“It’s great, it’s, it’s, thanks!”

Daniel Jackson reduced to speechless. It was a rare sight. Jack stifled a laugh and joined in the ooh-ing and aah-ing over the bike. After a few minutes he slanted a look at Charlie.

Charlie had been in there ooh-ing and-aahing with them for the first few minutes. Now he'd moved a few paces away and Jack caught him looking at his pile of unwrapped presents – almost all of them clothes of some kind – then at Daniel’s pile. Jack was pleased the kid didn’t look angry. Instead he looked confused. And disappointed. An emotion Charlie hid when Daniel called his name.

“Hey, Charlie, maybe in the spring you could show me a couple of bike tricks?” He looked over at Sara and added, “I mean a few simple tricks for a real beginner.”

Charlie smiled and Jack felt a touch of pride in his son. He doubted Daniel was in any state to recognize that his big brother’s smile wasn’t up to its usual standard.

“Sure, Daniel.”

“Not for awhile,” Sara said firmly, probably happy for the cold temperatures.

“As soon as the weather’s good enough,” Charlie promised.

Jack’s throat tightened at the flicker of sadness in his son’s eyes. Okay, this had gone on long enough.

“I think we still have another present to unwrap.” Jack tried to act casual as he inched over to the tree.

Charlie glanced at him and then back under the tree. He shook his head. “No, I think we got them all. The ones left are for Ms. Haley, Uncle Charlie and Uncle Lou.”

“You sure about that?”

Jack rose and went to the tree where he made a big production of looking under and then through the branches.

“Hmm, I was sure I saw something else... yep, here we go.”

He took the envelope from the branch at the back of the tree where he'd stuck it last night.

“Let’s see, who’s it for?” Jack cleared his voice and studied the envelope for a minute.

“To...” he raised his eyebrows in simulated surprise. “To C.M.O. I wonder who’s giving what to the Chief Medical Officer of Cheyenne Mountain?”

“Dad!” Charlie was suddenly beside him, his hand extended. Jack gave a start of surprise.

“Oh right. Bless my soul, I guess that could also mean you.”

Charlie took the envelope and gave him the evil eye. “If you’re thinking of becoming an actor, Dad, I’d keep my day job if I were you.”

“Insults? Well I could just take that back.”

Jack stomped theatrically away and dropped down to the floor beside the ottoman where Sara was still sitting, holding the camcorder. Daniel was on the loveseat, his new bike beside him, and Jack waved him over.

“Come here, Daniel. The bike’s fine where it is.”

“You having fun?" Daniel settled beside him and Jack put an arm around him.

The boy nodded, his eyes wide with delight. “I’m fine, Jack. This morning has been amazing. But – ” he leaned in and dropped his voice to a whisper. “I got so much great stuff and Charlie didn’t get... well, he got a lot of clothes.”

Jack heard the discomfort in the Daniel’s voice and lowered his head to the boy’s ear. “Don’t worry about that. Things are about to change.”

Daniel gave him a puzzled look but stayed quiet. Jack looked at his oldest son to see Charlie opening the envelope with unusual deliberation.

“You don’t have to be so careful. It’s not going to explode.”

Charlie sniffed. “This is the last one. I’m trying to savor the moment.”

“Excuse me." Jack raised his eyebrows. "By all means, savor.”

Sara bopped him lightly on the head. “That’s enough from the peanut gallery. Let Charlie open it the way he wants to open it.”

Daniel giggled but refused to meet Jack’s affronted gaze. Jack gave him an affectionate squeeze and turned his attention back to Charlie.

Charlie finished opening the envelope and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He eyed it suspiciously. “Another folded piece of paper?”

“You’ll have to open it to know what it is,” Sara smiled.

Charlie obeyed, then his eyes widened and the color drained from his features. Jack wasn’t surprised by the reaction but as the seconds ticked away and Charlie remained frozen, he figured he needed to intervene.

“Charlie?”

Nothing. Charlie continued to imitate a twelve-year-old-sized mannequin.

“Say something, buddy.”

Still nothing. Jack reached past Sara to grab one of the throw pillows.

“Jack,” she started but was too late.

He tossed the pillow at his son and it hit him mid-chest. Charlie started and blinked at them.

“Welcome back,” Jack said.

Charlie looked from them, to the paper in his hand and back. His mouth opened and closed.

“Are you okay?” Daniel asked and the worry in his voice made Jack give him another little squeeze.

“He’s fine,” he reassured. “It’s just taking him a little time to process.”

“Yes!” Charlie finally screamed. He threw his hands in the air and whirled around in a circle. “Yes, oh, yes! Yes yes yes!”

“I think he’s finishing processing,” Sara said dryly.

“Yes!”

Charlie threw his arms around his father and the force of his joyous attack knocked Jack backwards.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Charlie shouted jubilantly.

Laughing and wincing at the same time, Jack pushed the boy back so he could sit up again. “You’re welcome. Merry – ”

Charlie abandoned his father and whirled around to give his mother a bear hug. “Thanks, Mom, thanks so much! This is the greatest present I've ever got. Ever!”

“You’re welcome.” She patted his shoulder and kissed his temple.

Too excited to avoid the kiss Charlie turned to his brother and waved the piece of paper in his hand.

“I’ve got it!” he crowed. “See? You see?”

Jack snorted and cuffed his son’s head. “How can he see anything until you let him see it? Or at least tell him.”

“What did you get?” Daniel's eyes were scrunched in curiosity as to what could make Charlie this over the moon.

“Yes, yes, yes,” Charlie chanted, staring at the ceiling and punching the air with both fists.

Jack and Sara both laughed and Jack patted his back. “Come on, Charlie, you need to tell your brother.”

Charlie lowered his arms and beamed. “It's flying lessons, Daniel. I’m going to be a pilot!” he exclaimed, and the joy in his voice was unmistakable.

Jack swallowed hard, touched by his son’s elation. Whether or not this was the first step on a journey that would lead his son to the Air Force Academy remained to be seen. Still, Charlie shared his grand obsession, his love of flying. That alone was worth the price of the lessons.

Sweet.

Some time passed before they were calm enough to consider what was next on the Christmas morning agenda. Sara made it simple.

“How about we get this mess cleaned up and then we’ll have some breakfast.”

“When’s dinner?” Jack asked.

“The same time as every Christmas dinner,” she wrinkled her nose at him. “Two o’clock.”

He glanced at his watch. “We better get a move on. There’s no telling when people might start showing up.”

Sara frowned. “I hope Diane's able to make it.”

“Ms. Haley’s coming?” Charlie asked.

“She said she was but couldn’t guarantee when she’d get here. Between the weather and the holiday, this isn’t a good day for traveling.” Sara eyed her son. “You don’t mind sleeping in the attic again, do you?”

“Heck, no!” Charlie looked at his brother. “Can Daniel sleep in the attic tonight, too?”

Sara didn’t look too certain and Charlie gave her his most pleading look. “Come on, Mom, it’s Christmas.”

Jack grinned. Christmas plus two boys with pleading eyes. Sara didn’t stand a chance.

“All right,” she sighed.

“Yes!” Charlie exclaimed. “Come on, Daniel, let’s get our stuff upstairs and then we can set up our sleeping bags.”

They ran for the stairs while Jack drifted over to Sara and put his arms around her.

“Merry Christmas,” he chuckled.

“Merry Christmas,” She kissed him soundly then pushed him away. “All right, let’s get cracking. We’ve got a lot to do.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Jack saluted.

Chapter 23

The morning passed in a whirlwind of activity. Jack lugged the extra chairs down from the attic while complaining to no one in particular.

“These damn things weigh a ton. Why didn’t we just leave them downstairs after Thanksgiving?”

“Leave them where, Dad?” came the slightly muffled question from Charlie’s bedroom.

“I don’t know, we’ve got the whole first floor to choose from. There’s plenty of space – ”

“Not without cluttering the rooms up,” Sara cut in as she darted out of the master bedroom and hurried down the stairs, ducking around her husband as she went.

“God forbid we should clutter any rooms for a few weeks,” Jack grumbled as he made a more cautious descent of the stairs. “Better I should get a hernia carrying these damn chairs up and down over and over.”

“Are you okay, Jack?”

Daniel peered up the stairs, a dish towel forgotten in his hands. Jack saw the worried frown on the boy’s face and chuckled.

“I’m fine. I’m just – ”

“Whining and complaining,” Sara interrupted, her voice sounding like it was coming from the kitchen.

Jack rolled his eyes as he reached the bottom of the stairs and Daniel moved aside.

“Can I help?” he offered.

“Thanks, but I’ve got them.”

“Do you want me to get the other chairs?”

Jack set the chairs down by the dining room table before answering. “That’s okay, I’ll get ’em.”

“Daniel?” Sara called.

“Oops,” the boy exclaimed. “I didn’t finish wiping the dishes.”

“Wipe?” Jack was confused. “Just stick them in the dishwasher.”

“Not my good crystal,” Sara’s voice sounded again and he nodded in understanding.

“Ah,” he acknowledged. “I get it. I’ll go get the rest of the chairs and you...” he looked at Daniel who smiled guiltily.

“I’ll get back to the kitchen.”

“Yeah – ”

“Hey, Dad?”

“What, Charlie?” Jack looked up the stairs toward the distant voice.

“Can you help me with the leaf?”

The leaf? Oh, hell, Charlie was trying to bring down the table leaf on his own.

“Stay put,” Jack yelled and took the stairs two at a time.

He found Charlie half-way down the attic stairs and clutching a perilously balanced leaf in both hands. Thank god he hadn’t tried to bring them both down at once.

Jack caught the leaf as it teetered forward. “What do you think you’re doing?” he demanded. “I thought you were cleaning up your room so Diane can sleep in there tonight.”

Charlie released his grip with a sigh of relief. “I was. But when I heard you and Daniel talking I figured I’d help.”

“Thanks, but I think you’d better focus on your room. You know your mom’s going to be up here checking in a little bit.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Charlie said with a put-upon expression.

“Never mind the yeah, yeahs. Move it.”

Though Jack was smiling he put enough of the ‘Colonel’ in his voice so Charlie would know he meant it. The boy gave him a quick grin.

“Moving!” he acknowledged and marched toward his room.

“Smart ass,” Jack muttered loud enough for his son to hear. A merry chuckle floated back to him and he grinned. Like father, like son.

Before he could start up the attic stairs to get the other leaf, Charlie stuck his head out of his bedroom. “Dad, Uncle Charlie’s coming, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And what about, um... uh...” Charlie stammered.

Jack smirked. He knew exactly what was on the kid’s mind. “Uncle Lou?” he suggested, deliberately obtuse.

Charlie made a face. They were both on the same wave length, neither one wanting to be the first to speak a particular name.

“Well, yeah.”

Well, yeah, my ass, Jack thought with amusement. He decided to let his son off the hook.

“Ferretti and Allison are spending the day with her family, but he said they’d probably come by this evening for coffee and dessert.”

“They’re not coming until tonight?” Charlie’s expression dimmed.

Ah, first love. Jack was torn between amusement and sympathy. “They spent Thanksgiving with us, remember? Allison’s family is entitled to spend some of the holidays with them.”

Besides, her family would probably kill Ferretti if he took their daughter away on Christmas, too. It was a thought he decided not to share with his love-struck son.

This would be Ferretti’s first Christmas with Allison. Jack couldn’t think of a faster way to get off on the wrong foot with his future in-laws than by keeping her away from them on Christmas day.

“Don't worry, they'll both be here later, okay?”

“Yeah, okay,” Charlie agreed.

He disappeared back into his room and Jack turned toward the attic stairs.

“Jack?”

Daniel was coming up the stairs, apparently having finished up his dish drying duties since he was no longer carrying a dish towel.

“Yeah?” Jack asked.

The kid reached the top of the stairs and sidled over to him until he was practically standing in Jack’s shoes.

“I heard what you said to Charlie.” The boy's eyes were wide with worry. “Major Kawalsky won’t get in trouble, will he?”

Jack blinked. Once again he found himself in the Daniel-zone, having no clue where the kid was coming from or what he was talking about.

“Why would you think Kawalsky would get in trouble?” He could only hope the answer wouldn’t confuse him even more.

“Because he’s coming here.”

So much for that hope. Jack replayed his conversation with Charlie and tried to fit it in with what Daniel was saying.

“You think he’s going to get into trouble for coming here?” Jack repeated.

Daniel nodded and looked nervous. “I don’t want his family to be mad at him because he’s coming here instead of visiting them.”

Ah, now Jack got it, but he wasn't sure how to respond. Kawalsky’s private life was his own business. At the same time, Daniel was honestly worried about the Major. After a minute of thought, Jack figured the man wouldn’t mind if he relieved the kid's apprehension, and he had no concern that Daniel would gossip about it to anyone. He only regretted that it might hit a little close to home.

“Major Kawalsky doesn’t have any family to get mad at him.” Jack put his hand on the boy’s shoulder.

Daniel’s eyes widened. Jack couldn’t be sure since the overhead light wasn’t on, but he thought the kid had lost some color.

“No family at all?”

Jack shook his head. He wasn’t about to go into details. Daniel didn’t need to know that Kawalsky’s mother had died a few years after he'd graduated from the Air Force Academy or that his father had passed away a couple years later. And the boy sure as hell didn’t need to know about Kawalsky’s younger brother, a police officer, who had been killed in the line of duty several years ago. Jack knew his old friend had other, more distant, relatives still around. Most of them lived back east and Kawalsky wasn’t close to any of them.

Trying to ease the upset he saw in the big blue eyes, Jack smiled. “Actually, I misspoke. He does have family. Us. And we’re not going to be mad at him if he spends the holidays here.”

Daniel considered the words and his frown disappeared. “Not mad,” he agreed, “glad.”

“You got that right.” Jack gave him a quick hug.

Looking happier, Daniel headed for his room. Jack watched him go and marveled at how such a little boy could have such a big heart. It was part of the magic that was Daniel Jackson.

“Jack?” Sara called up the stairs. “I need the leafs for the table.”

“Working on it,” Jack yelled back.

The prep work continued on all three floors, interspersed with laughter and joking and snatched bites of various holiday goodies. It was almost noon when a rapid series of knocks on the front door startled them.

Charlie flew down the stairs. “That’s Reveille!” he yelled.

Daniel happened to be in the dining room setting the table and he looked up at Jack who was just walking out of the kitchen.

“Reveille?”

Jack chuckled. “The traditional wake-up call in the military. I’ll give you two guesses who’s on the other side of the door.”

Actually there was no need. Charlie reached the front door and flung it open. “I knew it was you!” he exclaimed, laughing.

Kawalsky stepped inside, tousling the boy’s hair with one hand and shutting the door with the other.

“What was your first clue?”

“A wild guess,” Jack smirked.

Kawalsky grinned at him. “Good to see you, too, Colonel. It’s been what, over twelve hours, right? Merry Christmas, everyone.”

“Merry Christmas to you, too, Charlie.” Sara walked out of the kitchen carrying a bowl of fresh-cut fruit.

“I can take that,” Daniel offered.

“Thank you, honey, but this is fine." She set it down on the table.

Kawalsky went over to give her a hug. “Did I come early enough to help?”

Sara grinned up at him while Jack snorted. “What he actually means is he wants to start munching on whatever he can get his hands on.”

“Pot and kettle, Jack.” The older Charlie raised his eyebrows at him.

“Work first,” Sara said firmly, “munch later.”

Both men saluted simultaneously and Charlie copied them. Everyone laughed and Sara clapped her hands, speaking in her best attempt at a drill-sergeant bark.

“Let’s move it, gentlemen!”

There actually wasn’t much more to be done. Daniel finished setting the table, Sara finished making the hors d’oeuvres and set them out. Charlie finished cleaning his room before taking both his and Daniel’s sleeping bags upstairs, along with a few other necessities to get them through the night that he didn’t mention to his mother. Jack and Kawalsky finished moving the furniture around until she was satisfied with the arrangement. Finally, the guys were free to munch on the goodies while Sara retreated to the kitchen to take care of a few last-minute details.

Kawalsky had brought gifts for everyone. Jack waited for Sara to finish up then told kid Charlie to retrieve the gifts under the tree that had the Major’s name on them.

There was more laughter as Kawalsky’s gifts were unwrapped – pink bunny slippers for Sara, Homer Simpson slippers for Jack, a Bugs Bunny sweatshirt for Charlie and an Indiana Jones sweatshirt for Daniel. For his part, Kawalsky claimed to be in heaven when he found his presents included a box of fresh-baked blueberry muffins from Sara, a six-pack of the Major’s favorite beer from Jack and a puzzle box, courtesy of Charlie and Daniel.

When Kawalsky first unwrapped the gift, he stared in confusion at the small, carved wooden box. It was lacquered in gold and black and...

“There’s no lid,” he said, turning it over and over.

Charlie gave Daniel a triumphant grin before explaining. “It’s a puzzle box, Uncle Charlie. You have to figure out how to get inside.”

“What’s in there?” Kawalsky shook the box and they could all hear the rattling noise inside.

“You have to figure out how to open it to find out,” Daniel answered.

“Oh yeah?” The Major’s eyes narrowed.

“You could always just smash the thing,” Jack suggested and Sara promptly swatted him on the arm.

“No he can’t!” she said indignantly. “That defeats the whole purpose.”

“Which is what?” Kawalsky raised his eyebrows.

“It’s a test,” Charlie grinned, “to see how smart you are.”

Daniel gave his brother a look and said, “It’s a puzzle, Major. It just takes time to figure it out.”

“And you’ll want what’s inside,” Charlie added.

Kawalsky gave his godson a narrow-eyed look. “Oh, I will, will I? Not to worry, junior. I’ll figure it out.”

“You want to start now?” Charlie egged him on.

“Not now,” Sara interrupted. “It’s time to put the food on the table.”

“Turkey!” Charlie yelled and jumped to his feet.

“I get the ham.” Kawalsky stood up, too.

Sara laughed at them. “There’s plenty for everyone.”

They were seated around the table in a matter of minutes. Jack carved up the ham and Kawalsky grabbed the platter and put it down in front of his plate.

“Oh, no you don’t.” Jack snatched the platter back. “We’ll put it down here. Let me carve up some of the turkey and we’ll be ready to go.”

Daniel couldn’t believe his eyes when Major Kawalsky pouted. His expression made Jack and Charlie laugh. Daniel decided this was the best part of the holidays. Being together with people he loved and who, as hard as it was to believe after everything he'd been through, loved him, too.

They all quieted down when they heard a knock on the front door. “Diane?” Sara asked hopefully.

“Stay there, honey.” Jack laid down the carving life. “I’ll get it.”

Diane entered in a swirl of snow and wind and Jack slammed the door behind her.

“I made it!” she laughed shaking off the white stuff. “Oh, you’re just sitting down – ”

“So are you!” Jack interrupted, taking her suitcase and purse and setting them on the floor by the closet. “Give me your coat and grab a seat.”

“Not until I get in a hug!” Sara jumped to her feet.

There was a flurry of hugs before everyone settled back down around the table. Daniel took particular notice of the one between Ms. Haley and Major Kawalsky. Charlie insisted Ms. Haley and the Major had gone out on a date on Thanksgiving night but Daniel wasn't sure if that was true. His brother's information wasn't always the most reliable.

“So where were we?” Jack asked.

“You were about to carve the turkey.” Charlie pointed at the star attraction on the table.

Daniel noted that the bird wasn’t nearly as big as the Thanksgiving Day turkey. Sara said it was because they were also having ham for Christmas dinner and because Captain Ferretti and Allison weren't joining them. That made sense. If Daniel remembered correctly, Captain Ferretti ate a lot of turkey.

“Yeah, Jack, get cracking.” Kawalsky held his knife in one hand and his fork in the other and banged them against the table with a grin.

“Okay, okay, settle down." Jack grabbed the knife. "Carving now.”

It was quiet for a few minutes as everyone concentrated on passing around the food and loading up their plates.

“How’s your new dojo coming, Diane?” Jack asked as soon as there was a lull.

“Good," she answered after swallowing a forkful of mashed potato. "Three new students came in just last week so that's encouraging.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” Kawalsky joined in the conversation. “But I don’t know if it’s considered... uh, proper.”

Diane’s eyebrows rose and she exchanged looks with Sara. “You can ask whatever you want as long as you understand I don’t have to answer.”

“You tell ’em, girlfriend,” Sara laughed and pointed with her fork.

Jack chuckled and Kawalsky grinned. “Understood. I was wondering what degree black belt you have.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that question," Diane smiled. "I have an eighth degree black belt in karate and I attained a seventh degree black belt in judo just last year. At the moment I also hold a fifth degree black belt in aikido but I’m working on that.”

Kawalsky’s eyes widened. “Whoa, remind me never to get on your bad side.” That brought a round of laughter and he added, “You’re right up there at the top of the field in karate and judo, aren’t you?”

"There are still a couple higher levels. Maybe I’ll reach them someday but meanwhile I have the training and expertise I need to teach, which is what I love to do.” Diane looked directly at Kawalsky and added, "You don't want to mess with me, soldier."

Everyone cracked up and the sight of the hardened Major actually blushing only made the comment that much more amusing.

“I blame my dad." Diane turned serious. "He got me started when I was a little kid and I just fell in love with it all. Still am in love with it, even after all these years.”

“That's so cool.” Charlie enthusiastically threw in his two cents.

“Very cool,” Kawalsky agreed, nodding in admiration. “And very impressive.”

“I suspect you and Jack are just as impressive in your own field,” Diane offered.

Daniel smiled at the Major’s pleased expression. Grown-ups were funny sometimes. On Abydos and Chulak, Jack and Major Kawalsky were serious and determined to protect their team and help the Abydonians. Through their confidence and force of will they were able to do the impossible and escape from a formidable alien prison. There had been no joking around and no light moments until they were all safe at home again.

The funny part was that away from the field and the SGC, Jack and Major Kawalsky sometimes behaved like they weren’t much older than Daniel and Charlie, laughing and joking around, being silly a lot of the time.

Daniel had no idea if Jack and the Major were how most grown men acted or if the harried, often stressed-out men in the foster homes he’d lived in would be the ones considered normal. Daniel doubted he'd ever be as silly and light-hearted as Jack or Major Kawalsky but he certainly preferred their company over the male foster parents he’d known.

After more than a half-hour of serious eating, interrupted by occasional comments and laughter, Jack pushed his chair away from the table.

“I’m stuffed,” he announced. “That was a fine meal, honey." He patted his stomach. "Thank you.”

More thank-you's echoed around the table.

"Everything was delicious," Diane added. "I can't believe you did it all without my help.” She gave her best friend a cheeky grin.

“My ego thanks you," Sara laughed. "If you were my son I’d think you were angling for something.”

Charlie straightened. “Me?” he protested. “I just said thanks.”

“I know and I appreciate that,” she said. “But when it comes to wanting something, you aren’t always subtle.”

Jack chuckled and put his arm around his son. “That’s my boy,” he grinned. “How about you two kids clear off the table?”

“Okay.” Daniel looked at his brother while the grown-ups stood up and began disappearing into the living room. “I’ll get this side.”

Charlie nodded and jumped to his feet. “You ever notice how often Dad’s questions are really orders?” he asked in a low voice. "I think he's been in the Air Force too long."

“Uh-huh,” Daniel grinned.

“Someday I’ll be able to do that,” Charlie said with a glint in his eye.

“Be careful of the gravy bowl, honey,” Sara warned as Daniel made a face at his brother.

“Someday,” he agreed, “but not today. “We better hurry” he added, ignoring the indignant look Charlie flashed his way. “Sara won’t get the dessert out until everything’s off the table.”

Charlie brightened. “Uncle Lou and Allison are coming over for dessert. Dad said so.”

“I know.” Daniel bit his tongue to keep from laughing. Watching his brother fall all over Captain Ferretti’s girlfriend was funny. The thought made him wonder if he had looked as silly on Abydos by tagging after Sha’re.

Sha're. In an instant the memories of his friends on Abydos flooded over him and grief filled his throat. What were Skaara and Tracy going through today? What was happening to them right now? At this very minute? Daniel had no answers. The only thing he was sure of was that for them there were no Thanksgiving or Christmas holidays to celebrate. There was no respite. No relief from their captors. Every single day was one continuous, never-ending, horrifying nightmare. And they could never wake up.

“Daniel?” Sara stood in front of him, looking worried. “Are you all right?”

“I got it.” Jack was suddenly beside him. He was always there when Daniel needed him.

“Come on, let’s take a break." Jack wrapped his arm around Daniel's shoulders and steered him out of the kitchen.

Daniel followed blindly, reacting to the steady pressure until it stopped. Blinking, he realized he was in the study and Jack was closing the door. Then he pulled a chair over and sat down in front of him.

“What’s going on? I thought you were having a great time and all of a sudden you looked like you've lost your best friend.”

Daniel tried to swallow but his aching throat made it impossible. Despite his best effort, his eyes filled with tears. “I was thinking about Skaara and Tracy and wondering what was happening to them.”

Jack’s eyes darkened with sorrow and he wrapped his arms around the boy and held him close. “I know,” he whispered.

Daniel gave in to his tears and clung to Jack for all he was worth. It had been weeks since he’d allowed himself to think of Skaara and Tracy and now that he had, the hurt seemed as sharp as the day they'd been kidnapped.

He was grateful Jack held on even after his tears stopped. It took a little longer before it felt safe enough to let go and even then Jack kept one hand on his shoulder.

When their eyes met, Daniel gave him an apologetic look. “I’m sorry – ” he started.

“There’s nothing to be sorry for. Nothing at all.” Jack wiped the last of the tears away with a gentle finger. “Remember that pretty soon we'll be going through the Stargate all the time and every team is going to be on the look out for Skaara and Sergeant – for Tracy. We’re going to keep on looking until we find them.”

The pressure in Daniel’s throat eased. “I know you’ll find them.” That’s what he needed to remember. Jack would find them and bring them home.

“So you ready to get back to the party?” Jack gave him another big hug.

Daniel gave a last sniff. “Do you think Charlie and Major Kawalsky ate all the desserts?”

Jack chuckled. “Sara wouldn’t let them. Besides, Ferretti and Allison aren’t here yet.” His eyes widened. “Oh, crap, I forgot to get the mixers.”

“What are mixers?” Daniel wrinkled his nose.

“I have to find a store that’s open.” Jack glanced at his watch and winced. "Right now."

“On Christmas?” Daniel frowned. “I thought everything was closed on Christmas.”

“Let’s hope not.” Jack gave him a measuring look. “Want to ride shotgun?”

“Sure.” Daniel smiled, suddenly feeling much better as Jack swept him out of the study and through the living room.

Chapter 24

“Going somewhere?” Kawalsky was just coming out of the kitchen and he raised his eyebrows at the sight of them.

“Just a quick trip,” Jack offered.

"A trip? A trip where?"

"Something about forgetting mixers," Daniel offered with a shrug.

"It's Christmas Day. Isn't everything's closed?"

"Maybe a convenience store," Jack mumbled already pulling on his coat.

“A trip? Who's going on a trip?” Sara appeared behind Kawalsky and repeated the big man's question.

Jack didn’t miss her anxious look at Daniel and he squeezed the boy’s shoulder. “Just here and there and back again.”

Daniel giggled and tilted his head up to meet Jack’s grin. Sara shook her head, a smile replacing her concern.

“Fine, be mysterious. Just as long as you’re not gone too long. Lou and Allison will be here soon. ”

“We’ll be back before you notice we’re gone,” Jack promised, giving her a quick kiss.

Charlie came bounding down the stairs at that moment. “Is it time for dessert?”

Everyone laughed and Charlie K, who was closest, tousled the boy’s hair. “We just finished dinner and you’re ready for dessert?”

“Sure,” Charlie grinned. “Aren’t you?”

Kawalsky looked thoughtful. “Well, now that you mention it...”

More laughter cut him off.

“We’re out of here.” Jack had a hand on Daniel’s shoulder and propelled him forward, handing him his coat as they walked. “And when we get back, maybe we can break in the new games you kids got for Christmas.”

“Oh, yeah!” Charlie exclaimed before Jack closed the door behind him.

“Charlie, did you finish cleaning up your room so Diane has somewhere to sleep tonight?” His mother stared at him with questioning eyebrows.

“Uh,” he squirmed, “just about.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Diane said from the kitchen doorway.

“You say that because you haven’t seen it in its usual state.” Sara turned a mock glare on her son. “Go. Finish. And remember, I’ll be checking.”

Heaving a put-upon sigh, Charlie tramped slowly up the stairs. When he was out of sight Sara laughed and Diane and Kawalsky joined in.

“What a character,” Diane said between chuckles.

“He takes after his father,” Sara noted with a roll of her eyes.

“I’ll second that,” Kawalsky heartily agreed.

“Well,” Sara sighed, “the rest of those dirty dishes aren’t going to get into the dishwasher by themselves.”

Diane nodded and disappeared into the kitchen. Sara started to follow her when Kawalsky coughed.

“Uh, Sara, if you could use another hand,” he hesitated when she gave him a quizzical look, “well, you know...”

A smile spread across her face. “Yes, I know. Thanks for the offer but two people loading the dishwasher and wiping down counter tops is more than enough. Especially since I know you’re only offering because you have ulterior motives.”

Kawalsky gave her his best ‘ya can’t blame a guy for trying’ grin and shrugged. Sara shook her head and vanished into the kitchen.

He chuckled under his breath and sat down on the sofa. Picking up his glass of hard eggnog he settled back in his seat and stared at the O'Neill Christmas tree. It had been four years since he'd been home for Christmas. Home. Compared to Iraq, Afghanistan or even Laughlin, Texas, Colorado Springs was home.

Kawalsky shook his head and took a gulp of his drink. Who was he kidding? Compared to anywhere else on the planet, the O'Neill family was as close to home as he could get no matter what state they happened to be residing in. He was always welcome here. They never made him feel like a crashing guest or a pitied uncle with no place to go for the holidays.

"Where is everybody?" Charlie bounded down the stairs and looked around the empty living room.

"Hey, what am I? Chopped liver?"

Kawalsky smiled and patted the cushion beside him. It had been a while since he and his namesake had a chance to have a sit-down, man-to-man chat. When the boy was kidnapped, Kawalsky played the role of the cool, calm, 'everything's going to be fine' friend for Jack's sake, but the truth was he'd been as stressed and scared as he'd ever been. Charlie O'Neill was the closest thing he'd ever have to a nephew much less a son.

"Your mom's in the kitchen. Daniel and your dad went out on a mission to track down some mixers."

"Is that where they were going? On Christmas Day?" The boy shook his head at their lack of sense. "Isn't everything closed?"

The big man shrugged. "That's what I said. Your dad thinks a 7-11 or something might be open. He's hoping anyway because apparently he was supposed to get the stuff yesterday."

"Ah, figures."

Kawalsky chuckled. There was no missing how much the kid sometimes sounded like his old man. He draped his arm over the back of the couch.

"So how was your Christmas? Did Santa bring you any good gifts?"

Back in the days when they'd all been younger they’d spend the holiday sitting around the kitchen table and checking out Charlie's toys, playing board games and eating Christmas cookies.

"Did Dad tell you what my big present was?" A huge grin lit up the Charlie's face and Kawalsky was surprised when the Big O snuggled closer beside him.

"Nope, not a word. What was it?"

"Well, first I opened a lot of bad presents."

"There are bad presents?" Being from a small family, Kawalsky had never found himself surrounded by a multitude of gifts so he had appreciated each and every one.

"Bad gifts. You know, like underwear and socks and dopey stuff like that."

"Okay, I see what you mean. So, what? Those gifts were decoys, priming you for the main attraction?"

"Exactly!" Charlie agreed. “I thought all the presents were opened and mine were kind of boring compared to everyone else's."

Charlie K looked under the tree. "Daniel's bike?"

"Yep."

"And your dad got a new telescope."

"Right, and Mom got some fancy necklace and I got..."

"Underwear." Charlie K nodded knowingly.

They both laughed and when the kid leaned into him, Kawalsky lowered his arm from the back of the sofa to squeeze the boy in a spontaneous hug. To his surprise, Charlie didn't seem to notice or mind so he kept his hand on the boy's shoulder and wondered, not for the first time, what it would be like to have a son. It wasn't too late but the Stargate program was up and running and given his current lifestyle, he had to admit the odds of finding a wife and having a child were remote, Ferretti’s recent good fortune notwithstanding.

"Then Dad said there was one more gift under the tree. He dug around and found it but it was just an envelope and it was really light. It felt like it was empty so I didn’t know what to think. Until I opened it. And guess what was in it?"

"Uncle Charlie?" The kid prodded when the man didn't immediately respond.

Oops, he'd been lost in his own thoughts. His almost nephew was looking up expectantly. "I don't know. What was it?"

"Flying lessons! Mom and Dad got me flying lessons. I'm going to be a pilot, Uncle Charlie."

"Wow!" Kawalsky was impressed. Whatever he'd been expecting it wasn't that.

"And then guess what I'm going to do?"

The kid's eyes blazed with excitement. Did he dare try to guess? No, that might take awhile and Kawalsky was curious.

"What are you going to do?"

The boy lowered his voice but that didn't dim the light of enthusiasm in his brown eyes. "I'm going to go to the Air Force Academy and then I'm going to work at Cheyenne Mountain with you and Dad and Daniel."

Kawalsky stared. Say what? Where had that come from? Considering what the kid’s dad did for a living, maybe it shouldn't surprise him but it did. In fact, it blew his mind. It sounded like Charlie O’Neill had thought this through and had grandiose plans of his own.

Suddenly he felt old. Five years ago the kid had been riding a shiny new bike around the living room chatting up Santa Claus, and now he was contemplating a military career that could conceivably send him across the galaxy to explore other worlds.

"Wow, that's..."

He let his voice trail off, not sure what to say. If he was this stunned he couldn't help wondering what the Colonel's reaction had been. And Sara. Kawalsky had always felt she didn't want her son following in his father’s footsteps. He understood why. It wasn't an easy life but some people were born to it; they couldn't imagine doing anything else. It was like that for him and for Jack.

Kawalsky studied the bright-eyed boy sitting beside him. If the excited determination in the kid’s eyes was any indication, it was the Big O’s destiny as well. If Charlie were his son, he'd be proud, damned proud, but he wasn't a parent and he didn't always get those things right.

"Have you told your mom and dad?"

He knew his godson well. If dogged determination had anything to do with it, the kid would be a shoo-in for the Academy, providing no real problems popped up between now and then.

"I told Dad. I'm not sure he thinks I'll really do it but it doesn't matter. I will. Dad said not to tell Mom until I'm older and I'm sure it's what I want. I'm sure right now but I'll still wait to tell her.

Kawalsky smiled. Good thought, Jack. That made perfect sense.

"Do you believe I'll do it, Uncle Charlie?" The brown eyes looking up at him were eager and a little anxious.

"I believe in you, Charlie O'Neill. And I believe you can do anything you set your mind to." There, that was a safe answer. Besides, it was the truth.

He squeezed his namesake's shoulder and tried to imagine Charlie's joyful reaction if the boy followed through on his intentions and eventually discovered the existence of the Stargate. Thoughts of Ra and the Goa'uld jerked Kawalsky back to reality and made him shudder. He pulled Charlie in for a protective hug and was surprised when the boy squeezed him back. The realization of what this meant washed over him. If he felt this protective at the news he couldn't imagine how Jack must feel.

"Are you okay?" Charlie looked up at him with concern.

"Yeah." He released his hold. "I'm just excited for you, that's all."

Once freed, the boy sat up a little straighter. "Thanks for believing in me, Uncle Charlie."

"No problem. I'm proud of you, too." Kawalsky tousled the kid's hair. "Damned proud." He straightened and cocked his head.

“That sounds like your dad’s truck. I hope their mission was a success.”

“Dad’s missions are always a success,” Charlie answered with pride. “Mine will be too. You'll see.”

Kawalsky gave the boy a grin and wondered what Jack would say if he heard that. No, he didn’t have to wonder. He had a pretty good idea of what Jack would say, something along the lines of, 'God help us all.'

~~~

As Jack turned into his driveway, he spotted a familiar truck approaching from the opposite direction. “Looks like Ferretti and Allison are here,” he observed.

“We made it back just in time!” Daniel peered out the window and waved.

“Yep.”

Jack kept his foot on the brake until the garage door was fully open and then drove in. A minute later they were walking up the driveway toward the truck that had pulled in after them.

Ferretti jumped out of the driver’s side and gave them a wave before hurrying around to the passenger side. Jack chuckled and shook his head.

“I don’t believe it.”

“Believe what?” Daniel stood beside Jack and watched as the Captain opened the door for Allison and gave her a hand getting out.

Jack shook his head. “Ferretti’s never been one for opening doors for anyone. Until now. I wonder if Kawalsky’s watching?” He glanced at the windows but didn’t see anyone looking out. “Lou got lucky this time,” he chuckled.

“I was born lucky,” Captain Ferretti said, drawing close. He had an arm around Allison and grinned at her. “Especially since I met this lovely lady.”

Allison laughed and patted his cheek while Jack and Daniel exchanged looks and tried not to laugh. This was definitely a side of Ferretti neither of them had seen before, except on Thanksgiving Day. But even then Lou had wanted to surprise them with his engagement announcement so he’d refrained from the more obvious lovey-dovey behavior. Not so today.

“I think we’d better take this inside.” Jack controlled himself and gestured at the front door.

They were barely settled in the living room when young Charlie made his move. “Hey, Allison, do you want to play a game? Daniel and I got some new ones for Christmas.”

“Let them settle in for a few minutes and talk,” Sara intervened. “Lou and Allison just got here.”

“It's okay," Allison smiled at Sara. "I have nieces and nephews, too," she winked. "What games did you get, Charlie?"

“I got Risk and Daniel got Deluxe Scrabble.” Charlie sat down beside her.

Jack rolled his eyes. Across the room he saw Sara and Kawalsky trying to keep straight faces. There was no doubt about it – Charlie O’Neill had it bad.

Allison smiled at the boy. “I know Scrabble but I’ve never played Deluxe Scrabble or Risk, I’m afraid.”

Charlie gave a little bounce. “I can teach you,” he promised and leaned a shade closer to her.

Jack wasn’t sure how long he could control himself and Kawalsky looked like he was about to bust a gut. Ferretti seemed to be having trouble with his mouth and coughed.

“That sounds good,” Allison agreed. “Maybe in a little while.”

“First,” Sara looked around the group, “It’s a little early for dessert but would anyone like something to drink? We have coffee, tea and...” she glanced at Jack.

“We’ve got white wine – ”

“Chardonnay,” Sara put in.

“Yeah,” Jack grinned. “What she said, plus beer, bourbon, Scotch, pretty much anything you want. And,” he added with a wink at Daniel, “all the mixers.”

There was a flurry of activity for a few minutes while Jack played bartender, making sure everyone was satisfied and happily relaxing with their drink of choice.

“So, Ferretti,” Kawalsky's voice was suspiciously casual, “how’d things go with Allison’s family?”

“Everything went fine,” Allison jumped in, patting Lou's knee.

“I’m not so sure your father would agree,” Ferretti argued.

“He’s my dad, what do you expect?”

“Yeah,” Jack said. “When I think of the first time I met Sara’s dad – ” he shuddered. “I thought for awhile I wasn’t going to get out of there alive.”

“Dad wasn’t that bad,” Sara frowned.

“Are you kidding? He threatened to break both my legs if I made one wrong move with you.”

“He was joking,” she insisted.

“Well, then maybe I didn’t do too bad after all," Lou grinned. "The man didn’t threaten to break anything.”

Allison slapped him on the arm. “He teaches medieval history at a private university. It's not likely he's going to start a brawl with you, soldier boy. And my mom and sisters loved you,” she added.

Jack laughed at the pleased expression on Lou’s face. He also noted his son’s expression as things warmed up and became more touchy-feely between Ferretti and Allison. Poor kid, first love was hard, especially when the object of that affection was a grown woman in love with someone else.

“I think I’m ready to try one of those board games, Charlie," Allison said.

Maybe she sensed some of the emotional currents swirling around the room. Jack was pleased to see Charlie's expression brighten considerably at her words. She glanced at the rest of them.

"Anyone else in the mood?”

"I can teach Risk to anyone who doesn’t know how to play,” Charlie offered.

Diane chuckled. “Thanks, Charlie, but I think I’ll be better at Daniel's Deluxe Scrabble than I would be trying to figure out how to take over the world.”

“I haven’t played the deluxe version either,” Daniel worried.

“Well I’d like to try it, too,” Sara said. “I’m sure between us and the directions we’ll be able to figure it out.”

“I wanna play Risk," Ferretti announced. "I think I'll be good at taking over the world. What about you, honey?”

Jack didn’t miss Allison’s glance toward the dining room table where Daniel was just opening his Deluxe Scrabble box. He also didn't miss Charlie’s hopeful expression.

“I think I'll go with Risk.” Allison must have noticed it too.

“Yes!" Charlie was ecstatic. "You can sit next to me and I’ll explain everything.”

Jack smiled. Just like she had for Daniel on Thanksgiving Day, Allison put herself out to ensure Charlie would have fun. Jack suspected she would have preferred the Deluxe Scrabble game and only chose to play Risk because it was obvious Charlie had his heart set on it.

“I don’t claim to be good with words.” Kawalsky stood up and headed for the dining room. “But I’ll give that Scrabble game of yours a try, Daniel.”

Jack shook his head in amazement. Charlie K was opting to play a word game over a chance to move armies and rule the world? Who did he think he was kidding? Jack wasn't about to let it slide by without comment.

"You sure about that, Kawalsky? You'd rather give yourself a headache making up words than crushing armies?"

The good Major flashed him a look that begged for mercy and amused sympathy replaced Jack’s desire to tease. Ah, romance for the young and old. On Christmas Day no less.

“Who wants pie while they’re playing?” Sara asked.

There was a brief time-out until everyone had coffee – or in the boys’ cases, milk – and pie, then they all settled down to their respective games.

Jack took a look around the room. Daniel was happily absorbed in playing his game with Sara, Diane and Kawalsky. Despite being the youngest player at the table, Jack had no doubt the kid would kick ass and take no prisoners. Then again, winning wasn't as important as the look of contentment on his son's face.

“Are you playing, Dad?” Charlie asked.

“You bet.” Jack sat down beside his son.

“So, Big O,” Ferretti rubbed his hands together, “I’ve been hearing talk about taking over the world.”

“Yeah, wait till you play it,” Charlie said happily. “It’s a really cool game about world domination.”

“Perfect for you military types, huh?” Allison laughed and gave Ferretti a shove.

Charlie grinned. “I guess. Okay, how to play. Well, you have to choose your color and count out your starting army.”

Half-listening to his son’s explanation, Jack stole another look around the room, enjoying the conversation and laughter and relishing the sense of family. He was home and so were his sons and his wife and his friends. They were all here, safe under his roof.

He breathed it all in, not wanting to let a single moment go by unappreciated. The Stargate was opened and there was no guarantee they'd have another Christmas together. At least not one as perfect as this one.

Chapter 25

As much as she enjoyed the holidays, Sara enjoyed the days immediately following just as much, for different reasons. They'd shared a wonderful time with family and friends. Now they could unwind from the excitement, relax and enjoy being together.

The boys weren’t going back to school until next week so they were underfoot. Sara enjoyed the commotion, especially because she knew it would only last a few more days. Once they went back to school, life would return to normal. But for a few days it was all part of the fun of the holidays.

The day after Christmas Sara finished up in the kitchen and took a last look around to make sure everything was in order before walking out. She could faintly hear the boys laughing upstairs and smiled to herself. Such energy, she envied them. Glancing at her watch, she figured she'd give them another half hour before chasing them off to bed.

She walked into the living room and chuckled at her husband stretched out on the sofa, remote in hand, snoring. Shaking her head, she took the remote and turned off the college football game blaring on the television.

"Hey, I was watching that. Sort of...” Jack rubbed his eyes and yawned.

"I don't think so." Sara smiled sweetly. "The score was thirty-one to three and your eyes were closed. You were snoring, honey."

"Thirty-one to three? Really?” She had him there. Last he'd seen, the score had been a respectable fourteen to three.

He sat up to make room and Sara snuggled beside him. "This was an incredible Christmas, wasn't it?" She leaned into his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"It was," he agreed.

Christmas might be over but the warm fuzzies lingered, along with the sticker shock. Long before Christmas they'd agreed this would be a year they'd throw caution to the wind and not worry about a budget and not do any second-guessing. He might have to remind Sara of that when the bills started rolling in.

"Where are the boys?" Jack glanced around the room.

"They're upstairs doing who knows what. Maybe playing one of those silly games Spencer brought over."

“So we have a little privacy, huh?” He grinned and hugged her close.

After a long, contented sigh she looked up and kissed him. "I could get used to this," she murmured.

Her declaration turned Jack's warm feelings cold. She better not get used to this because 'this' was about to come to an abrupt end. 'This' being the regular - home for dinner and most weekends - hours he'd been keeping since they'd returned home from Chulak.

He'd been waiting until after Christmas to tell Sara that his life, and therefore her life, was about to change dramatically. The first missions through the Stargate, scheduled to start up next month, were designed to be short, exploratory, getting-their-feet-wet-type missions. Hah. His scheduled three-hour mission to Abydos had turned into a several-week misadventure as they'd bounced around the galaxy, reminding Jack all over again that 'short' was a relative term and there was no way to know what they'd find when they stepped through the Stargate.

Sara's smiling face looked up at him, waiting for him to agree with her remark. It was as good a time as any to break the news, especially now that it had come up in conversation. So why was he drawing a blank? This was a lot more difficult than he'd originally hoped. While his life was about to become one giant thrill ride, Sara's life was about to get a whole lot lonelier.

"What's the matter?" She read him like an open book.

"About that..." Damn it! He shouldn't be so hesitant. He was making it worse by not just throwing it out there. All this hemming and hawing would only add to her worry.

"Jack?" The warm look was gone, replaced by one of concern.

He decided to do what he always did when struggling to find the right words. Say it as succinctly as possible.

"Starting next month I'm going back out into the field." There, he'd said it.

To his surprise, Sara didn't look as shocked as he'd expected. She looked more resigned and for some reason that was worse than surprised.

"You mean once or twice, or on a regular basis?" Her eyes were steady and her voice was calm but Jack knew she was struggling to put on a good front for his sake.

This was the part he dreaded. He could practically see the wheels turning in her sharp mind and eventually she'd ask questions he couldn’t answer. It wasn't fair to her but that was the life he, they, had chosen.

"On a regular basis," he answered, and her head lowered.

It wasn't fair to Sara or the boys, especially Charlie. Daniel, at least, was part of his life at the Mountain. Jack was glad her head was still pressed against his chest so he couldn't see her expression. She'd never say 'it's not fair’ out loud and put that added burden on him but that didn't mean she didn't think it. As he expected, once the shock began to wear off Sara had a list of concerns to run by him.

"First of all, promise me you'll never take Daniel on a mission without telling me first."

"I'll never take Daniel on a mission, period."

"Don't, Jack." Sara held up her hand. "Just promise you'll always tell me."

Visions of Daniel lying dead on the floor from a staff weapon blast made that an easy promise to make. "I won't be taking him on a mission. And if I did, I'd tell you."

"Thank you." He felt her nod in relief as she spoke and then she broke the hug and sat up straight to look at him.

"Is what you're doing dangerous?"

That was the million-dollar question. "It may or may not be."

Sara frowned.

"That's the truth, honey," he added. "Not because it's classified. I honestly don't know."

"How often will you be gone?" The resignation was back in her voice and Jack hated hearing it.

"That's the thing. It's going to be kind of... up in the air, at least at first. And sometimes I may not know exactly when I'll be back. You know how it is. It's the nature of the beast." He tried to grin but it felt weak even to him.

"I need to know one thing, and I need you to be completely honest with me. Can you do that, Jack? “

"Of course." He rubbed her arm but she pulled away, obviously not wanting the distraction.

"Is it important?” Sara’s gaze bore through him. "Whatever you're doing, is it important enough that it has to be you doing it and important enough that you can live with the consequences?"

Jack understood exactly what she was asking. Is it important enough to die for? He didn't hesitate.

"Yes, it's that important.”

It was a relief to be able to look his wife in the eye and answer that question with complete honesty. He hadn’t always been able to do that with other missions.

"Charlie K and Lou?" Her voice carried a hint of acceptance. What choice did she have?

"They'll be around."

He winked when he answered, knowing that would make her feel better. Kawalsky and Ferretti were old friends as well as soldiers and Sara trusted that they'd never leave him behind if things went south.

Watching her struggle, Jack had an idea. "Maybe you can put it out of your mind again like you used to do when Charlie was a baby. You said that made it easier, remember?”

Years ago, before Iraq, Sara had confided that when he was away she'd pretend he was at an overnight training session or an out-of-town business meeting, like normal husbands. She hated wasting time worrying about things she had no control over. She told him she'd been surprised at how well it had worked. At least until he went missing and she spent months not knowing whether he was alive or dead.

Sara took his hand in hers. "The older I get the harder it is to pretend." Her eyes were shiny and he hoped she wasn't going to cry. God, he loved her.

"Yeah," he nodded.

Jack wasn't sure what else to say. This was where Sara usually jumped in and said something to make things easier on him but he had the feeling she wasn’t going to do that this time. He wished he could return the favor and say something to make it easier for her. If the Stargate program had been anything other than what it was, he'd strongly consider walking away from field work. Then he'd spend his days barking at newbie Airmen and his nights making love to his wife, with her happiness his number one priority. That wasn’t in the cards for them, at least not right now.

They sat on the sofa holding hands, each of them lost in their own thoughts. A long time passed before Sara broke the silence.

"I've wanted to go back to school for a long time. I've been thinking of getting my doctorate in Public Health. I’d love to turn my volunteer work with the Red Cross Disaster Relief into something more official. I love nursing but I want to do, I don’t know, something new and different. I think there is more out there for me to do, something else to contribute."

Sara took a deep breath, probably to gauge his reaction. Jack didn't interrupt despite his surprise. She'd never said anything like this before yet, somehow he knew this was something that had been on her heart for god knows how long.

"The boys are getting older,” Sara continued. “In a few years they'll be gone, off living their own lives, and I need something for myself. Can you support me in that and all it involves?” She squeezed his hand.

"Of course I'll support you." Jack shook off his surprise. Sara had been supporting him and his career since they'd been married and now she was asking him to back her on her own dream. Hell, supporting her was the least he could do.

"Wow, I'm impressed.” He gave her a quick kiss.

That squeezed a smile out of her but he was being perfectly serious. Sara always wowed him.

"Whatever it takes, honey." He hoped she recognized his commitment to help her follow her dream.

Despite his assurance she looked uncertain. "You understand what it means? Once I get into it, I may not always be home when you’re home. There’ll probably be days when we won’t be able to have dinner together even when you're home for dinner.” Sara hesitated then continued.

“I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep working. I may need time away to study or to work on projects..."

Jack put his finger to her lips. "Whatever it takes," he repeated his earlier assurance. "I don't care about dinner or time away. I'd be the last person to complain about that. Whatever you want to do, Sara. I'm one hundred percent behind you.”

She met his eyes for a long moment, apparently sizing up his sincerity. Then she settled back into his arms.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Jack kissed her temple and tightened his grip on her. “No, thank you,” he answered.

~~~

Daniel had been so focused on the holidays, he hadn’t thought beyond them. Much to his surprise, the days following Christmas turned out to be almost as good as the day itself. The excitement was over and in some ways he was relieved. There had been so much happening, getting the house ready, wrapping and opening presents, guests, big meals, lots of activity and talking and... and it had all been great, all of it.

Now he was ready for some peace and quiet. He wasn’t used to all of the excitement and he enjoyed winding down for the rest of the week.

He and Charlie were on Christmas vacation. School wouldn’t start up again until Monday. Daniel had entertained the hope of spending his down time at the SGC but Sara didn’t like that idea and they ended up compromising.

“Thursday, home, Friday – ” she sighed. “You can spend the entire day at the Mountain. Then Saturday and Sunday you can stay home.”

Standing on the side in case he was needed as a referee, Jack gave Daniel an enquiring look. “That sounds like a pretty good deal.”

Daniel nodded happily. He’d originally hoped for a few hours here and there, over the rest of his vacation. An entire, undisturbed day at the SGC was more than he’d dare dream.

“Thanks, Sara,” he practically glowed.

“You’re welcome.” She smiled ruefully and patted his shoulder.

“And that gives you plenty of time to hang out here.” Charlie had been standing nearby as an interested observer.

“Yeah.”

Much to Charlie’s disappointment and Daniel’s secret relief, the weather turned milder on Thursday. Charlie had planned for them to go over to Adam’s Pond so he could teach Daniel how to ice skate, but Jack said no.

“It’s warm enough to soften the ice. We have to be sure the ice is hard enough before going out on it.”

That wasn’t the last of the disappointments. Thanks to the ice and cold and slush, riding his new bicycle was also out of the question.

“There’ll be plenty of time to show me some bike tricks when the weather’s better,” Daniel reminded his fuming brother.

“Yeah, but,” Charlie sighed. “Either it’s too cold or too warm to do anything.”

“You haven’t taught me how to play your new game,” Daniel said thoughtfully. “And I could teach you Deluxe Scrabble.”

He loved his new board game and thought Charlie might enjoy it too, once he learned. But he wasn’t the least bit surprised when Charlie opted for his own game.

“Oh, yeah, Risk is a really cool game. Come on, I’ll show you.”

As the week progressed, life settled back to normal. Thanks to the treat of no school, Charlie persuaded his parents to allow him to have a sleepover with Spencer. Daniel joined them for the evening and his casual comment about their summer camping trip led to Charlie digging out his tent. Some judicious shuffling of his bedroom furniture, including moving several lighter pieces into Daniel’s room, permitted the boys to set up the tent and lay out their sleeping bags.

“All we need now is hot chocolate and a fire to roast marshmallows over,” Charlie noted as he surveyed the set-up.

Daniel looked at his watch. “It’s still early. Maybe we could roast marshmallows in the fireplace?”

“Good idea!” Charlie slapped Daniel across the back and sent him staggering. “Oops, sorry.”

“Let’s go!” Daniel chuckled as Spencer headed for the door.

Jack and Sara were sitting together on the sofa and they broke apart when the boys charged down the stairs.

“Look out, honey,” Jack said, “I think we’re about to be overrun by a stampede of elephants.”

“Funny, Dad,” Charlie retorted before appraising the crackling fire in the fireplace. “That looks perfect for roasting marshmallows.”

“And hot chocolate would wash it all down real good,” Spencer added hopefully.

Sara laughed and patted Jack’s leg. “I’ll go make the hot chocolate. Why don’t you set the boys up with the marshmallows?”

A half-hour later, Daniel was licking melted marshmallow from his fingers and reflecting how great his life was these days. It was strange; he’d finally given up hope that things would get better and then he’d met Sara in the hospital and his life had taken a turn he’d never imagined.

“A penny for your thoughts?”

The quiet voice beside Daniel made him look up to see Sara sitting down beside him. He shrugged.

“Nothing special,” he evaded, embarrassed to give voice to what he was thinking.

Her smile widened and she put an arm around his shoulders and gave them a squeeze. “Then how about some more hot chocolate?”

“Sure.”

Sitting opposite, Jack winked. “Another round, all around, if you please, Mz. Sara.”

Laughter greeted his silliness and mugs were refilled.

“All right, guys. When you finish this, it’s off to bed with all of you. I'm sure you'll be up half the night anyway.”

“Guys? You want me off to bed, too?” Jack grinned.

“Especially you,” Sara smiled.

“Can’t wait!” He chuckled and waggled his eyebrows.

Charlie leaned over to Daniel. “Sometimes I don’t get grown-ups at all,” he whispered.

“Maybe that’s a good thing,” Daniel answered and both Charlie and Spencer snickered.

As Sara suspected would happen, the boys didn’t get much sleep that night but they had a lot of fun pretending they were camping.

The next day Daniel spent the entire day at the SGC. It was the first time he’d been able to spend a full day there and he was thrilled at the thought of how much he'd be able to accomplish. Part of the day was spent in a long meeting with General Hammond and Dr. Kerrigan, followed by discussions with various linguists and archeologists about several different subjects. In the end, Daniel didn’t get as much done as he'd hoped. If only he could come back the next day...

“Not to worry,” Jack reassured him. “There’s always next week.”

Daniel had to be satisfied with that.

~~~

“So where are you going again?” Charlie asked.

He was leaning against the open door to Daniel’s bedroom, watching while Daniel stuffed a few baggies filled with cookies into his backpack.

Daniel gave his brother a grin. Charlie knew perfectly well where he was going but he wanted them to go for a hike in the snow instead.

“I told you,” Daniel said patiently. “Karen and Adam came home yesterday and we’re going to work on Karen’s extra-credit history paper.”

Charlie sighed noisily. “Today is technically the last day of Christmas vacation and you’re going to work on a school project? Does anything about this picture seem wrong to you?”

“If you really want to go hiking in the snow you can always give Spencer a call.” Daniel chuckled and swung his pack on his back.

“Yeah, maybe,” Charlie agreed, looking happier. "But I'd rather go with you."

"Thanks.” Daniel zipped his pack closed and swung it over his shoulder. “See you later.”

“Later,” Charlie acknowledged.

Daniel clattered down the stairs thinking about his brother’s words just as Jack came down the hallway.

“You ready to go?”

“Yep, thanks for driving me over.”

“No problem.” Jack put a hand on his back as they walked to the front door. “Give me a call if you need a lift back.”

“Mrs. Lindsey said she'd drive me home.”

Jack grinned at the excited boy. “Well, remember me as back-up, just in case. Meanwhile, let's get this show on the road.”

“Okay.”

Charlie heard the front door close just before he started down the stairs. When he entered the kitchen he noticed the door to the basement was open and knew where his mom must be.

“Hey, Mom,” he called down.

“What?” her voice floated up.

“I’m going to call Spencer about going for a hike.”

“Fine.”

Much to Charlie’s delight, his plan worked. After an hour of strenuous hiking, they returned to Spencer’s house for a hearty lunch and then Charlie headed back home.

All was quiet when he walked into the house. Standing in the hall, he heard the faint sounds of music overhead, which meant Mom must be in the attic. There was no sound of his dad so he was either downstairs in the basement or out in the garage. Charlie debated checking but instead decided to look through his baseball card collection. Spencer had a card of Johnny Damon in his Boston Red Sox uniform from the World Series collection that Charlie needed. The card wasn’t in great shape but it was one he didn’t have and Spencer was willing to trade it, if Charlie could come up with something his friend wanted.

He had barely reached the door to his room when the doorbell rang. Damn. With Mom upstairs and Dad who knows where, he was the closest.

“Charlie,” he heard his mother’s voice and grinned to himself.

“I’ll get it,” he called and hurried downstairs.

When Charlie opened the door he found a stranger standing before him. The man was tall, with dark brown hair streaked with white at the temples.

“I wish to speak with Colonel or Mrs. O’Neill,” the man said.

Huh, not even a hi or hello. Charlie was a little annoyed by the stranger’s abrupt tone but intrigued by his accent. He didn’t think he’d heard anything like it before.

“And who should I say wants to see them?” he asked politely.

“You can tell them Dr. Nicholas Ballard wishes to speak with them.”

Chapter 26

"Good bye, Mrs. Lindsey.”

Daniel waved and started up the walkway to the front door. He paused halfway to admire the Christmas lights lining the eaves and making the house look awesome. Everything about Christmas had been more amazing than he had ever imagined.

He realized the Lindsey’s’ car was still at the curb, waiting for him to get inside, so he ran to the door. To his surprise, it wasn't locked. Whoa, Jack wouldn’t be happy about that, but at least Daniel didn't have to struggle with his key. He turned to wave again and Mrs. Lindsey drove off.

Daniel burst into the house and was surprised no one was in sight. "Anyone home? Charlie?"

He wanted to tell Charlie about one of Adam's Christmas presents. It was a chemistry set that really worked. Daniel figured Charlie would love the idea of mixing up the chemicals. He had no doubt his brother could do some serious damage.

Charlie came bounding down the stairs and Daniel grinned up at him. "Guess what Adam got for Christmas?"

The words were barely out of his mouth when Charlie yelled, "Mom, Dad, Daniel's home!"

That was weird. So was the look on Charlie’s face.

"W-what's going on?" Daniel stammered. Something was wrong.

Was it Jack or Sara? No, that couldn't be it. Charlie had called for both of them. The adoption? Maybe something had happened with the adoption. No, he didn’t think that was it. Daniel was pretty sure they wouldn't change their minds, so it had to be something else. Charlie's obvious unease and silent staring only made him more nervous.

After a minute that seemed like forever the back door slammed and Jack and Sara came out of the kitchen together, both looking fine and healthy.

"Hi, honey,” Sara smiled. “Did you have fun at Karen's?"

"Uh-huh." Leave it to Sara to try to make things seem normal when it was obvious they weren't normal at all.

Both adults looked at Charlie who seemed to have taken root by the stairs. Jack’s eyebrows rose.

"Charlie, why don't you go back upstairs and finish getting ready for school tomorrow?" he suggested.

"I'm all ready."

Charlie was still staring at him, making Daniel even more nervous. He hadn't done anything wrong. Not that he knew of anyway.

"Charlie," Jack emphasized. "Now."

After heaving a huge sigh to express his annoyance, Charlie disappeared up the stairs. Daniel couldn’t help wincing when Jack and Sara turned their attention back to him.

After a look at Jack, Sara said, "We have some good news for you, Daniel. Let's all sit down so we can talk."

Her smile didn’t make Daniel feel better. Sitting between Jack and Sara only made him more uncomfortable. Were they being so supportive because their goods news wasn’t really good at all? His heart began to race. He wished they'd just tell him.

Because she’d spoken first Daniel thought Sara was going to tell him, but when she opened her mouth the smile vanished and he saw her shoulders slump. He could tell she wasn’t happy about this good news and he swallowed hard. Then she closed her mouth and the smile returned. Jack cleared his throat and Daniel knew he was going to be the one to break the not so good, good news.

"When we decided to adopt you, Social Services was required to track down all your living relatives.” Jack paused for a second before adding, “And they found your grandfather." He smiled and squeezed Daniel’s shoulder. "How's that for good news?"

"Grandpa Nick? Is he okay?"

Daniel was confused. He hadn’t known his grandfather had been missing. Nick was busy being an archaeologist and traveling all over the world. He was always busy. Too busy to have a boy tagging along with him.

"Not only is he okay but he came by to visit while you were at Karen's." Jack’s smile widened but Daniel noticed it didn't reach his eyes.

"Nick was here? To see me?"

His heart pounded as he considered this shocking bit of news. This was the first time since he’d been placed in foster care that Nick had come to see him. Nick had come to see him. What did it mean?

A storm of emotion tore him in different directions. He was thrilled that after all this time his grandfather had come to visit him. What it meant as far as the O’Neill’s adopting him, Daniel had no idea.

He remembered when he was first placed in foster care, Nick had made it clear he didn't want Daniel adopted by strangers. At the time, this had reassured Daniel because he assumed it meant Nick was going to come back for him eventually. A month, maybe two at the most.

His survival those first few months had depended on that notion. Then the months had turned into years but Daniel never gave up that hope. Until now. Now he wanted nothing more than to be adopted by the O'Neill’s and never have to worry about having a home or a family again.

Still, it was a good feeling to know his grandfather hadn't forgotten him. But where was Nick now? He'd only been at Karen's for a few hours.

"Did he have to go?" Daniel looked at Jack, uncertain what was expected of him. "He's very busy. He's a world-renowned archaeologist."

Although Daniel knew Nick didn’t care about other people’s opinions, he felt the need to give his grandfather an excuse so Jack and Sara wouldn't think poorly of him if he hadn't been able to stick around.

Jack slid an arm around his shoulders. "He's coming for dinner tomorrow. To see you. He wouldn't leave without saying hello to his grandson."

Daniel's heart rate slowed. It didn't seem like bad news. He looked at Sara and swallowed again. Or was it? Her smile was still in place but it wasn't a real smile. Her eyes were sad.

What did it mean? Was Nick coming to visit or... or did he want to take him away? Or did his grandfather still not want him to be adopted?

Daniel’s heart sank as he faced the truth. Something must be wrong. All of his dreams since his parents’ deaths had centered on Nick showing up and taking him in, and then the two of them traveling the world and making incredible archaeological discoveries together. Of course those dreams were before the Stargate and Jack and Sara and Charlie.

He finally had a life he loved. The O’Neills wanted to adopt him. He wanted the O’Neills to adopt him. If Nick had finally decided he wanted him... Daniel felt sick. He couldn’t imagine leaving the O’Neill’s. Then again, if Nick had come all this way to tell him he didn't want him, it would be devastating in a whole different kind of way.

"Does he just want to visit?" Daniel asked. Even to his own ears his voice sounded very small.

"Yep, as far as we know, he's just here to visit." Jack sounded normal, then again Jack was good at sounding normal in bad situations. That's why he was a Colonel.

"He'll be here at six o'clock tomorrow night. We can get to know him a little and he can get to know us, too. How's that sound?" Jack shook his knee.

"Fine." Daniel managed a shaky smile. He didn't trust himself to say more than that.

"Do you have any questions, honey?"

It was Sara’s turn to give him a hug and Daniel had a sudden, terrible thought that it was a goodbye hug. He settled back and shook his head, not knowing what to say or even if he could say anything without getting emotional.

"You can ask anything or tell us anything,” Jack added. “You know that, right?"

They both looked at him expectantly and Daniel wasn’t sure how to respond. They were ready for him to share everything he was thinking and feeling about what this meant for him and for the adoption. Would it hurt their feelings if he told them he'd spent countless lonely nights praying for his grandfather to show up at the door?

What did it mean that Nick had finally shown up now that he no longer prayed for that? He loved living with the O'Neills and he loved going to work with Jack. For the first time since his parents died Daniel had found peace and acceptance. But for a long, long time Nick was all he’d had. Now he had so much, but he was all Nick had.

It was too confusing to explain what he didn't understand himself. Daniel tried to smile. "I know. I'm really tired, I think I'll go to bed now."

"Did you eat dinner?" Sara asked.

"Yep, I ate at Karen's."

It seemed like a lifetime ago that he'd had dinner at Karen's and watched Adam mix formulas with his new chemistry set. He could barely remember it. His headache was getting worse and he needed to be alone. To lay down on his bed and sort all this out.

Jack pulled him in for a hug and kissed the top of his head. "We're right here if you want to talk about anything," he whispered.

When Jack released him Sara hugged him again and kissed his cheek. As soon as she let go he said goodnight and headed up the stairs to his room to sort this out.

What if Nick wanted to take him away? What was once his best-case scenario was now his worst. He didn't want to go with his grandfather. How could he leave Jack and Sara and Charlie? They were his family now and he couldn't just walk away. And what about his work at the SGC? That was very important and if he was honest with himself, Daniel knew no one could do what he did there.

But how could he tell Nick he didn’t want to go with him? It would be hard for his grandfather to understand since he and Nick were family, too. Daniel was the only family Nick had left. Nick was his mom's dad and Daniel loved his mom with all his heart. Would his mom want him to go with Nick and take care of his grandpa?

Of all his worse-case scenarios, one stood head and shoulders above the others. The worst of all worse-case scenarios was that Nick was still too busy to take him in but didn't want the O'Neills to adopt him. What would he do then? Would he keep living with the O’Neill’s, waiting for Nick to show up one day to whisk him away? Or would that be too hard on Jack and Sara and Charlie so they'd have no choice but to put him back in foster care?

His breath caught in his throat and his eyes suddenly burned. No, they wouldn't do that. They'd never do that. It was a relief to be certain the O'Neills would take care of him for as long as he needed them.

After a few, deep, calming breaths Daniel tried to insert some positive logic into the situation. After a few minutes of thought he was pleased to come up with some very good scenarios, especially because at first he’d feared there weren't any.

Maybe when Nick heard about the adoption, he wanted to visit to make sure the O'Neills were nice people and they'd provide a good home. His grandfather wouldn't want him living with people like some of his other foster parents. Nick hadn't known about them or Daniel was sure he would have ridden in to the rescue.

If Daniel’s guess was right, maybe Nick could buy a house close by and visit him like Charlie's Grandpa Mike used to, when he wasn't on a dig, of course. It would be fun if Daniel could live with the O'Neills and still visit with his grandfather and talk about archaeology with him. And maybe he and Nick would get closer and Nick would tell him stories about his mom and what she was like when she was a little girl.

Even as Daniel tried to hold on to that last thought in order to fall asleep, the other possibilities kept crowding in and making him feel insecure and restless and very scared.

He changed into pajamas and climbed into bed, then lay on his back and stared at the ceiling. For a long time after his parents died, he’d been afraid to wish big because his biggest wish had been to go back in time to save his parents and he knew that could never happen.

After the O’Neills said they wanted to adopt him, Charlie had been kidnapped. In the days that followed, Daniel had dared to wish big. He’d dared to wish he could help find his brother, and miraculously, that wish had been granted.

Maybe it was time to wish big again, except Daniel wasn’t sure what to wish for. With all his heart he wanted to stay with the O’Neills. Only what if that wasn’t what his mom would have wanted?

He took a deep, shaky breath and wiped the tears from his eyes. Maybe he should hold off on making any wishes for now. Maybe he’d have a better idea of what to wish for after he talked to Nick. He hoped so.

~~~

The first day of school after Christmas vacation was usually pretty fun. Charlie enjoyed seeing the friends he hadn’t seen for the last two weeks and comparing notes on who got what for Christmas. The other nice thing was the teachers didn’t usually expect much that first day.

Unfortunately, there was nothing usual or ordinary about today. Charlie tried his best to act normal but it was difficult. He didn’t want to be in school, he wanted to be home.

Daniel had stayed home today. They’d all been awakened in the middle of the night by his screams. Mom and Dad had rushed to his room and by the time Charlie arrived Daniel had calmed down and he'd had been ordered back to bed.

His first sight of Daniel this morning had been a shocker. Daniel looked like he’d gone ten rounds with a heavyweight boxer and lost every round. It wasn’t until Charlie had overhead his mom calling the school that he realized Daniel was staying home today.

What was going on with his little brother? Charlie didn’t know and it worried him. He’d only heard a little bit of the nightmare, Daniel had been screaming at someone to “look out.” Did it have something to do with Dr. Ballard visiting or was it something else?

"Charlie?"

Great, why did she have to call on him? He shrugged in response since he didn't have a clue what Mrs. Wright was talking about. He couldn't even pretend.

"Are you paying attention, Charlie O'Neill?"

"Sorry," he mumbled, feeling the heat in his cheeks. How embarrassing, blushing in front of his classmates. It was tough being at school while worrying about what was happening at home.

What bothered Charlie the most was Dr. Ballard, Daniel's grandfather. What was he doing showing up now, right when they were going to make it official and adopt Daniel? Was he here to help them celebrate and thank them, or was he here to stop the adoption and take Daniel away?

The last thought was like a kick in the gut. For a second Charlie felt like he did when he was checked into the boards during a rough hockey game and had the wind knocked out of him. It took a second to remember to breathe deeply, count to ten and get himself under control.

Mom and Dad would be crushed if Ballard took Daniel away from them. He could envision his mom, sad and red-eyed, forcing a tight smile and insisting she was fine after Daniel was gone, and his dad's controlled anger at not having been able to do anything to prevent it.

Charlie had to face his own feelings as well. Six months ago he would have been secretly glad if Ballard had showed up at their door, wanting to see his grandson. He would have been happy to be rid of the geeky kid Mom had brought home from the hospital and foisted upon him. The same kid Dad had taken an unusual interest in and eventually took to work at Cheyenne Mountain.

He didn’t feel that way anymore. If Daniel left today Charlie would lose his brother. Tears sprung to his eyes and he blinked them back. He needed to get a grip, he was in history class, for crying out loud.

Being a big brother wasn't something he was willing to give up. He and Daniel had survived their battle with Tommy the bully and his gang in a battle of strategy and endurance that had given Charlie a newfound respect for Daniel. Later, Charlie had taught Daniel how swing on the rope at Adam's Pond and how to catch a football. They'd explored the top of Cheyenne Mountain together and camped at State Forest State Park. Charlie wasn't ready or willing to let all that go.

Besides, something about Daniel's grandfather bothered him, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Thinking about camping reminded him of a story Daniel had shared at the lake when the two of them had been cleaning up the morning they'd left for home. How had it gone? Charlie had been talking about his own grandfather and how Grandpa Mike would come to his baseball and basketball games, and stay with him when Mom was working, and make him peach pie...

My grandpa never made me anything special.

That's it! That's what Daniel had said. As he thought back over that conversation, Daniel's words became even more powerful. Charlie had asked why Daniel's grandfather hadn't taken him in after his parents were killed and that had been his brother's answer. And now the man had shown up at the door and who knew what his intentions were.

Charlie's fear turned into anger. Daniel didn't belong with Nicholas Ballard, he belonged with the O’Neill’s.

When the bell rang, he jumped from his seat. He needed to get home. What if Daniel was already gone? He had to stop this. If Mom and Dad couldn't stop it he and Daniel would figure it out themselves, unless Daniel wanted to go with his grandfather. Ballard was an archaeologist and Daniel loved archaeology. The thought gave him pause and put a damper on his anger.

"Charlie, wait a minute, please."

It was Mrs. Wright again. What did she want? He'd already said he was sorry for not paying attention. Reluctantly he went to the front of the room where she was standing beside her desk.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

This didn't involve Dad's work and it wasn't classified information but for some reason Charlie felt it would be best not to share it.

"I'm a little tired. I guess I'm not used to getting up early since Christmas vacation." That wasn't even really a lie.

She studied him carefully. Since he'd been kidnapped by Mr. Peterson all the teachers cut him some slack which occasionally came in handy.

"If you ever need someone to talk to you can always talk to me, okay?" She gave him a warm smile.

"Thanks, Mrs. Wright." Charlie nodded agreeably and she dismissed him.

Finally! He needed to get home ASAP.

~~~

Charlie burst through the front door to find his mom in the kitchen. She had chicken defrosting on the counter but she wasn't cooking. She was sitting at the table looking different than she normally looked. Charlie couldn't quite identify her expression. ‘Sad’ was as close as he could come to describe it.

“Hi, honey.” As soon as she saw him the sadness disappeared and she smiled.

For a minute he couldn’t answer. Maybe it was true, maybe Ballard was coming to take Daniel away. His anger resurfaced. Why now? The man had two and half years to step forward and take care of Daniel, so why did he wait until now to show up?

And where was Dad? He shouldn't have gone to work today. They needed him here at home to figure this out. Charlie glanced into the living room to find it empty. Where was Daniel? What if he was already gone? His heart beat faster at the thought and he turned around to face his mom again.

"Where's Daniel?"

He stammered out the question trying not to think the worst. Surely Mom wouldn't be in the kitchen preparing dinner if Daniel was gone for good. And his brother would have waited around to say goodbye. They were blood brothers. Daniel would have insisted on saying goodbye. The thought helped Charlie breathe easier.

"He's upstairs resting. How was your first day back from vacation?" Amazingly, his mother sounded normal although her smile wasn’t quite up to her usual standard.

"Who cares how my day was?" Charlie burst out. Did they think he was five years old and didn't understand what was going on? It was annoying.

"What's happening with Daniel?” he demanded. “What does Ballard want? Does he want to take Daniel with him?"

"Charlie!" Mom seemed shocked by his outburst. "First of all it’s Mister or Dr. Ballard to you."

He gritted his teeth while Daniel’s words echoed in his memory. My grandpa never made me anything special. Grandfather or not, Ballard didn’t deserve a title. Charlie knew better than to say that to his mother.

When he didn't immediately answer Mom folded her arms across her chest and looked stern. Was she kidding? With everything going on she was worried about his manners? Maybe his parents didn't grasp the seriousness of it all. They probably didn't know of Ballard's less than stellar performance as a grandfather. From the look on Mom's face he decided he'd better play along in order to get some much needed intel.

"What does Mr. Ballard want with Daniel?"

He tried to keep the sarcasm out of his voice but his mom was frowning so a little must have crept in. Thankfully, she chose to ignore it and answer his question.

"As far as we know, he's here to visit Daniel." She stood up from the table and headed to the sink and began unwrapping the pieces of chicken she'd been thawing.

"Does he want to take Daniel with him?" Charlie trailed after her.

If his parents knew something, they needed to share it. He was as close to Daniel as they were and if something bad was going to happen he needed to be prepared. He was twelve, not two.

"He's visiting Daniel, Charlie. That's all we know." Mom turned around to face him. "We've invited him over for dinner tonight, maybe we'll find out more then."

"Dinner?" Charlie was incredulous. "He might be here to take Daniel away and we're going to give him dinner? This is messed up. I'm going to go talk to Daniel."

"Charles Michael O'Neill!"

Charlie froze. He couldn’t remember the last time he'd heard his mother use that tone with him. Dad, yeah, more times than he cared to remember, but that angry, authoritative voice was a rarity from Mom.

"Turn around and look at me."

She waited until he was facing her before continuing. "We don't know why Dr. Ballard is here. That's the truth. The important thing for you to remember is that he's Daniel's grandfather, not some stranger off the street. You're twelve years old, Charlie. Let me and your father worry about this. You worry about basketball and your homework. Understood?"

"So I'm supposed to ignore everything and not wonder what's going on in my own family?” Charlie demanded heatedly. “I'm just supposed to act like everything's fine?"

Her eyes narrowed. "You can worry and wonder all you want. What you can't do is walk in here with a bad attitude, assuming you know what's best for everyone."

Charlie forced himself to get a grip. As far as he was concerned, someone needed to be upset about this. Just because Ballard was Daniel's grandfather didn't automatically make him the best person in the world to take care of Daniel. Knowing if he stayed he'd say something that would get him into more trouble, Charlie turned to leave but his mom's words stopped him.

"I'm not finished."

Mom could be as tough as Dad when she put her mind to it. He turned and gave her his full attention. She had her hands on her hips and was giving him as hard a look as Dad ever had.

"The other thing you cannot do is go upstairs and pump Daniel for information and upset him. He's already confused and we don’t even know the purpose of his grandfather's visit."

Charlie squirmed uncomfortably as she seemed to have read his mind. He wished he knew how she did that. She studied him for another minute and her eyes softened. So did her voice.

"I know you want to help, but the best thing you can do right now is to go upstairs and do your homework and let us handle this."

Normally, he'd be okay with that, providing his Mom and Dad didn't seem prepared to leave the decision of where Daniel should live up to Nicholas Ballard.

"That wasn’t a request." She spoke sternly at his hesitation. "Are we clear?"

"Yeah, we’re clear," Charlie conceded.

He'd go upstairs and do his homework and see how this all played out. He still wanted to talk to Daniel to find out his brother’s thoughts on all of this and he would, when the time was right. For now he'd put that on hold. Only for now.

Chapter 27

"Maybe he's not going to show." The words were barely out of Sara's mouth when the doorbell rang.

So much for that happy thought. Jack opened the door to find Dr. Nicholas Ballard standing out in the Colorado cold wearing nothing but a thin jacket and a small-brimmed fedora-type hat. No scarf, no gloves, no boots, Colorado winters obviously weren't his thing. The man was forty minutes late and Sara was keeping dinner warm in the oven.

Forty minutes late with no phone call, no nothing. It was rude but Jack conceded it might not be intentional. Now that he worked with scientists on a daily basis, he was well aware of their penchant for disregarding time when they were in the middle of something. He checked and sure enough, Ballard wasn't wearing a watch.

"Come on in out of the cold," Jack offered, standing aside.

He closed the door behind the man as Sara came in from the kitchen. "Hello again, Dr. Ballard."

She offered her hand as well. Ballard shook it, then, to Jack's annoyance, took off his coat and handed it to her. She wasn't a servant.

He tamped down his irritation. It was a little thing and he or Sara would have taken his coat anyway. Ballard seemed completely unaware of the slight so Jack decided not to dwell or jump to conclusions. They had no idea if he was here to visit Daniel and wish him a happy life or to whisk him off to a foreign land to dig for treasure.

When Sara called Mrs. Beardsley this morning the social worker had advised her that Ballard hadn’t been in touch with them. Until his intentions were clear, Jack and Sara were determined to treat Daniel's grandfather as a welcomed guest in their home.

"Dinner's ready, I hope you like chicken." Sara made no mention of the time and Ballard didn't acknowledge his tardiness.

"What would you like to drink?" Jack offered as he ushered the archaeologist into the dining room.

"Water's fine." Ballard peered around the room before pulling out a chair and sitting down at the table. "Where's my grandson?"

The man didn't have much tact but then again maybe it was a good sign. Everything would work out if he had Daniel's best interests at heart.

Daniel must still be upstairs in his room. Either he hadn't heard the doorbell ring or he was putting off the inevitable. The poor kid was so confused he wasn’t talking about anything, much less his grandfather’s visit, so Jack and Sara weren't sure of Daniel's true feelings and wishes.

Jack thought he was prepared for every circumstance but one. The one where Nicholas Ballard, blood relative of Daniel Jackson, was determined to adopt Daniel, and Daniel's heart's desire was to leave with his grandfather.

He put that scary thought out of his mind. From Daniel's reaction to the news of Ballard's visit that scenario seemed unlikely.

Jack poured the archeologist a glass of water and went upstairs to fetch the boys. He stuck his head in Charlie's room and ordered him downstairs for dinner and then knocked on Daniel's door.

The kid was sitting at his desk with a book opened in front of him but he wasn’t looking at it. When Jack stepped inside he saw Daniel swallow hard.

"Is N-Nick here?" he stammered.

Apparently he hadn't heard the doorbell. Jack’s concern was momentarily superseded by amusement.

"Nick?" he repeated.

"He likes me to call him Nick." Color flushed up Daniel's neck and the boy looked down at his shoes.

"That's fine if that's what he likes." Jack rested his hand on Daniel's shoulder. "Are you all right?"

Daniel nodded without raising his eyes and he tried again.

"It's okay to be happy to see your grandfather, Daniel. It's a good thing that he wants to come and see you and make sure you're okay. Right?"

Finally the kid looked up. His smile was uncertain but his expression was hopeful. "He probably just wants to visit and make sure I'm okay," he repeated.

"Of course, he does,” Jack patted his shoulder. “Let's go say hi."

Sara, Charlie and Nick were seated around the table when Jack and Daniel came down the stairs. The timing was a little awkward because Ballard had been so late. If he and Daniel wanted to talk privately in the living room Jack was okay with that. Maybe leaving them alone after dinner would be the way to go.

"Daniel," Ballard's voice boomed through the dining room. "Come over here so I can take a look at you."

Daniel went over and stood before his grandfather who looked him up and down. "Are you well?"

"I'm fine," he answered and then slid into the empty seat beside not so jolly old Nick.

Jack exchanged a disbelieving look with his wife. No hug, no kiss, nothing. He couldn't imagine being that cold and from the look on Sara's face, she was having a hard time as well. No wonder Daniel was confused.

"Daniel looks well," Nick announced after loading his plate with chicken, mashed potatoes and corn."

"I am well," Daniel smiled and Jack wondered if the older man could see the effort it cost the boy. "I'm just fine. How have you been, Nick? Have you been back to Belize?"

The archaeologist's eyes lit up. "Yes, I've been back but I still haven't found what I'm looking for." He winked at his grandson before continuing. "That's why I'm here. I'm trying to obtain a grant that will enable me to go back to Belize to continue my work."

Stunned, Jack's first inclination was to check out Daniel's reaction to the insensitive words. He caught Sara's eye, she was doing the same thing. The kid's brave attempt to be positive crumbled. Color drained from his face and he looked down at his plate, suddenly looking a lot smaller.

Jack noted Sara's struggle to keep her maternal instincts in check while he bit back his own anger and tried to see the forest through the trees. This could be a good sign in the long run. Nicholas Ballard didn't talk like a man who was here to pick up his grandson and go live happily ever after.

"Oh, that's funny. I thought you came to see Daniel." Charlie’s brown eyes were bright with anger. It was obvious he had either lost his internal struggle to stay silent or more likely, hadn't felt the need to wage one.

Seeing their shocked expressions, Jack wasn't sure who was more stunned, Ballard or Sara. For a horrible second Jack was afraid he might laugh out loud. One look at Daniel vanquished any thoughts of laughing.

The blue eyes remained focused on his plate as he poked aimlessly at his meal and Jack’s anger surged. It was so unfair. After everything Daniel had been through and all of his accomplishments at the SGC, he shouldn't be the one sitting at the table feeling inadequate.

"Of course he came to see Daniel." Sara jumped into the awkward silence with a warning look at her son.

"I'm here, aren't I?" Defensiveness permeated Ballard's words. "I didn’t have to but I came here to see my grandson." The indignant grandfather gave Charlie a cool look. "I'm a highly respected archaeologist. What I seek is extremely important."

"Whatever." Charlie wasn't backing down an inch. Jack was torn between annoyance, amusement and inexplicable pride. By Sara’s expression he knew her reaction was much more straightforward – plain old horror.

To Sara's credit, she restrained from reprimanding Charlie and setting off an argument that would most likely end up embarrassing Daniel and insulting Dr. Ballard. They knew Charlie well enough to realize discussing this now would only add fuel to their son's fire. Ordinarily, Charlie was like his mother in that it took a lot for him lose his temper. It looked like Ballard had crossed that line in the kid’s mind.

Sara distracted everyone with a few banal comments about cooking and the weather. Things seemed to be back on track until dessert. She made a show of bringing out the apple pie and keeping the conversation away from potentially hazardous subjects like foundations, grants, and Daniel's years in foster care.

"Do you miss archaeology, Daniel?" Ballard suddenly asked, ignoring Sara's question about South American cuisine.

Poor Daniel dropped his forkful of pie on his plate and his blue eyes widened. Jack’s heart went out to the kid. It wasn't like he could talk about Abydos and the Stargate. He had lived an adventure beyond an archaeologist's wildest dreams and yet he was duty-bound to stay silent on the subject.

Jack jumped to the rescue. "Daniel has all his parents’ books and their personal writings, too. He's never very far away from his passion."

Daniel smiled in relief. "I'm getting better at reading hieroglyphics and ancient Egyptian, too," he added eagerly.

Ballard only nodded, obviously not impressed. "There's no substitute for field work."

The bastard. The comment belittled Daniel's efforts. Granted, Ballard didn't know about the boy's incredible work at Cheyenne Mountain, but if he was so hot for Daniel to be out doing field work then why did he leave him in foster care to fend for himself? Jack had to be missing something. It didn't make sense.

"Daniel's a great archaeologist," Charlie insisted. "He'll probably be the greatest archaeologist who ever lived. I'm talking Indiana Jones-class." His brown eyes were harder than his years as he glared at the man.

"He's a boy." Ballard stated the obvious.

"So what? He's still a great archaeologist."

Charlie was getting worked up and it was obvious this conversation wasn't going to end well. Jack exchanged glances with Sara and raised his eyebrows. They might still be able to turn the conversation in a different direction. He opened his mouth to try but his son bulldozed on before he could speak.

"And he speaks a bunch of languages," Charlie continued, his voice rising along with his temper. "How many languages do you speak?"

"I speak four languages," Ballard huffed.

Jack couldn’t believe Ballard had taken the bait and glared at Charlie in what amounted to a childish pissing contest. It would have been funny if Daniel wasn't caught in the middle. If not for Daniel, Jack might have cheered his kid on.

His amusement faded when Sara kicked him hard in the shin under the table. It was difficult to stifle an 'ouch'. She was right, Charlie's behavior was unacceptable under any circumstance and he needed to put an end to it.

"Daniel speaks – "

"Charlie," Jack interrupted before his son could finish his next, no doubt sarcastic statement. "I need to see you upstairs for a minute." He jabbed an emphatic finger upwards.

It wasn't a request and he saw by his son’s expression that the kid recognized it. Jack went upstairs to his bedroom and waited for his obnoxious kid to appear. He didn't like Ballard any more than Charlie but he knew what Sara was thinking. There was no excuse to be rude and bratty. The man was still an adult and more than that, he was Daniel's grandfather. Daniel was being extremely quiet and Charlie's attitude and snide comments weren’t helping the situation.

"What, Dad?" Charlie appeared in the doorway.

"Come in here and close the door."

Charlie did as instructed. As soon as they had some privacy, Jack asked the question on his and Sara's mind.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He didn't mince any words.

"What do you mean?" Charlie didn't appear the least bit concerned.

"You know exactly what I mean." Jack didn't buy the innocent look for a second. Charlie's behavior was embarrassing. In reality, it was embarrassing for Sara and probably for Daniel. Jack didn't give a rat's ass what Ballard thought.

Charlie maintained his cool, blank stare and Jack decided to help him out.

"Your rudeness." When the kid shrugged, Jack had to struggle to keep his voice low as his temper rose. "Say 'whatever' and you're going to find yourself in more trouble than you bargained for."

"I wasn't going to say that, Dad. I know you hate that."

Jack took a deep breath and tried to relax. Ballard's appearance must have been a shock to Charlie, too. In all fairness, he and Sara had been so focused on Daniel last night they hadn't had a chance to discuss the situation with Charlie. He was probably as worried as they were and that emotion often expressed itself in a variety of inappropriate ways. Jack could relate.

"All right. What's going on?" He rested his hand on his son's shoulder.

"I don't like him, Dad. If he's so interested in Daniel, how come he didn't take him in when he was in foster care all that time? Why did he show up now and not then?"

His son was one sharp cookie. Jack had to stifle his agreement. Now wasn’t the time.

Charlie wasn't finished. "When we were camping at State Forest State Park I asked Daniel why his grandfather didn't take him in. Do you know what he said?"

Charlie had asked Daniel? Jack had always wondered about that but he'd never thought it his place to ask. Leave it to kids to be so direct.

"No, what'd he say?"

"I'd been talking about Grandpa Mike and Daniel said his grandfather never made him anything special. That's what he said. Never. His own grandfather.” Charlie’s eyes shimmered with angry tears. “I don’t think he's a nice guy, Dad. I don’t think we should let Daniel go with him. Daniel should stay here, with us. We’re his family now."

"You let your mother and me worry about that. Understand?" Though warmed by his son’s words, Jack had his own plan in place, one he wasn't about to share with his twelve-year-old. "Trust me."

"I do trust you." Charlie allowed himself a smile and lowered his voice. "Do you have a secret plan?"

Jack tried not to laugh. If only Sara trusted in his plans as much as Charlie did. "If you trust me, you don't need all the answers."

Charlie nodded his understanding and Jack continued. "Look," he squeezed his son's shoulder. "I get it that you don’t like Dr. Ballard. I understand, I do, but he's older and he's a guest in our house so you have to show him some respect."

"But I don’t."

Jack's eyes narrowed. "I'm telling you that you do." He struggled not to raise his voice but squeezed his son's shoulder again, a little harder than necessary, and pinned the boy with a glare.

"I don't mean that I don’t have to listen to you," Charlie quickly amended. "I mean I don't respect Daniel's grandfather. You always say that respect has to be earned, that you can't force people to respect you, and I don't respect him. So why should I have to pretend I do?"

Jack's anger turned to amusement at his son's innocent view of the world. "That's true but sometimes you have to fake it." It was time Charlie learned how the real world worked.

"Fake it?" The idea was obviously foreign to him.

"Yeah, fake it. It'll be good practice for you." Jack tried to keep a straight face.

"What do you mean?" Charlie frowned.

"Do you think all my superior officers over the years have been worthy of respect? No. As a matter of fact, some of them were complete idiots. Did that mean I didn't have to listen to them or I could choose to be disrespectful? No, I still had to salute them and call them 'sir' and pretend they made perfect sense."

"So, sometimes you have to fake it." The light had gone on in Charlie's head.

"Yep. And this is one of those times. Got it?"

"I got it, Dad. It'll be good practice for me."

"Exactly."

Jack affectionately tousled his son's hair. As Charlie grew older these little talks of theirs became more and more interesting. Through trial and error Jack had discovered he could usually get Charlie to comply with their wishes if he could make the proper argument. Now that Charlie was practically a teenager, the words, 'because I said so', no longer cut it. Those words might get Charlie to obey but not without an attitude. Jack understood. Whether or not his son agreed with their rules and expectations, the boy was old enough for an explanation, and that communication, more than anything else, would hopefully keep Charlie from becoming sullen or defiant as he moved into adolescence.

At least the strategy worked at twelve. Jack would have to keep on his toes and stay close with his son to discover what would work when Charlie hit his mid-teens. Mid-teens? Jack shuddered, then set the thought aside. He had enough problems to handle right now, there was no need to take on the dreaded teen years just yet.

He headed back downstairs with Charlie right behind him. Today, Daniel's happiness and getting rid of Nicholas Ballard were his main concerns and that's what he needed to focus on. Jack had a plan that he'd sketched out just as he would any other mission. Now it was time to put that plan into action and get it done.

~~~

Twenty-three hours later Jack sat behind the desk in his home office. He looked through the packet of information one more time before shuffling the pages together, laying them back in their folder and closing it. Then he leaned back in his chair and considered his next move. How was he going to play this? Over the years, he had planned for many missions. All of them had been important, at least he had to believe they were even though he rarely had access to the big picture and implications of his assignments.

This wasn’t a mission but it felt like one. And the stakes were high, as high as any mission he'd ever been involved in.

He blew out a breath. It was hard to keep his cool but he needed to stay in control. Which was fine as long as he didn't let his mind wander back to the look on Daniel's face at the dinner table last night. By the end of the meal, the boy had been pale and drawn, the blue eyes deliberately blank as if to hide the pain caused by his grandfather’s thoughtless words.

Thoughtless. Jack had to give the bastard that much. Ballard didn’t seem so much unkind as oblivious. The man was so obsessed with his archeology crap that he didn’t have time for anything or anyone else, including his grandson.

Jack swore under his breath. Deliberate or not, Ballard’s thoughtless words had hurt Daniel badly, and in another reality Jack would have given in to his desire to beat the man into a bloody lump. He didn’t have that option in this reality. In this reality, he needed to use different weapons than his fists.

His gaze turned to the folder on his desk and he ran his hand over it. Inside the innocent-looking file was several months worth of intel. Used correctly, it was a weapon more powerful than a P-90. He hoped to God his plan would work.

Scratch that. It would work. He'd make it work. There was no other option. There was no way in hell they were giving up Daniel under any circumstance. If Daniel remained in the foster care system, he remained vulnerable. The boy wasn’t going to remain in the foster care system and he sure as hell wasn't going to live with that cold, humorless man. The O’Neills were going to adopt him. It was a done deal. As soon as Jack managed to move an immovable mountain.

He patted the folder once more before standing. One way or another, it would be resolved tonight.

When he left his study Jack made sure to close the door behind him. He walked down the hall and paused when he reached the dining room. The table had been set but there was no one around. He took a few more steps so he could look into the living room. Empty.

Fragrant smells drifted out of the kitchen but for once they didn’t tempt Jack’s taste buds. Tension had knotted his stomach until food was the last thing he wanted to think about. He took another breath, straightened, and sauntered into the kitchen. Sara was standing in front of the stove, stirring something.

“Something smells good,” he offered.

“Beef stew,” she sighed. “I thought everyone had enough of turkey for awhile and we had chicken last night.”

Sara spoke without turning around. Jack could hear the tension in her voice and he put his hands on her shoulders. He gave them a gentle squeeze before he turned her around to face him. His heart fell at the sight of her pale, strained expression.

“Hey,” he said softly, pulling her into a hug. “It’s going to be okay.”

She didn’t say anything and Jack could feel the minute tremors running through her. Cursing Nicholas Ballard, he tightened his grip.

“Did you hear me?” He looked her in the eye. “It’s going to be okay.”

“I’m scared,” she whispered. “I can’t lose Daniel. We can’t lose him. We promised him – ”

“Shhh,” he whispered. “We’re not going to lose him and we’re going to keep our promise. Daniel’s going to become an official member of this family. Nothing or no one is going to change that.”

“But – ”

Jack put his finger to her lips. She looked up at him with beseeching blue eyes and he kissed the tip of her nose before drawing back to meet her gaze.

“You trust me?” he asked.

He knew he was playing dirty but he was willing to say and do just about anything to chase the fear out of her eyes. Last night after the boys were in bed they had talked about what he planned to do, but now as the time grew closer he was sure she was thinking about all the things that might go wrong.

She sniffed and swallowed. Jack waited, his stance unchanging, expectant. Finally, she managed an unsteady smile.

“You know I do.”

“Then trust me on this. Everything’s going to be fine.”

Sara swallowed again and laid her hand on his cheek. “All right,” she agreed before pulling away.

Jack let her go and took a step back so she could return to what she was doing. “You need any help with anything?”

She gave him an almost normal smile over her shoulder. “I can handle the cooking, thanks. But you can tell Daniel and Charlie it’s time to wash their hands and come downstairs.”

“They set the table before washing their hands?” Jack raised his eyebrows.

She chuckled. It sounded a little forced but he could tell she was doing her best to act normal. “I set the table tonight. I wanted to,” she added, as if anticipating his protest.

“Okay,” he shrugged and glanced at his watch, then confirmed the time with the clock on the wall. “Ballard’s late again.”

He thought he was doing okay but he heard the anger in his voice and gave Sara an apologetic look.

“Never mind,” she said. “The food will keep and he’ll be gone tomorrow.”

Her voice shook a little on the last word and Jack gave her another quick hug. "It’ll be settled before he leaves tonight.”

That must have been what she needed to hear because she winked at him before turning back to the stew. Jack winked back and headed for the stairs. God in heaven, he prayed he'd read the man correctly and everything would go according to plan. He didn't really have a Plan B. He'd make one up on the fly if necessary.

Last night Ballard had been forty minutes late, and when he’d finally showed up he hadn’t bothered to apologize for his tardiness. Maybe it wasn’t a big deal in the larger scheme of things but it was one more strike against Daniel’s grandfather, as far as Jack was concerned.

He checked his watch again. Almost twenty minutes late, so far. On the heels of that thought, the doorbell rang. As he left the kitchen, Jack saw Charlie coming down the hall and waved him off. After the kid’s display of temper last night, the less contact his son had with the archeologist, the better. Jack was as annoyed as Charlie but he was better at controlling his temper. Most of the time.

Walking toward the door he heard light footsteps descending the stairs and glanced in that direction. Daniel was coming down and the sight of him made Jack want to curse Nicholas Ballard to hell. The bright, happy boy who had been gradually emerging over the past several months had disappeared and been replaced with the silent, withdrawn kid Sara had first brought home from the hospital less than a year ago.

Both Jack and Sara had tried talking to Daniel last night after Ballard left but neither had any success. They wanted to better gauge his reaction and wishes but It was as if the last eight months hadn’t happened and they were starting all over again, except this time the stakes were much higher and there was no room for failure. Besides, it wasn't fair to make Daniel choose, if choosing were even an option. They didn’t want to put the boy in that position. Jack was confident they knew what was best and they were acting in Daniel's best interest.

Damn Ballard and the high horse he rode in on.

The archeologist had ignored every conversational gambit they'd raised about Daniel’s future since he’d arrived. Tonight, avoidance was no longer an option though Jack had decided to wait until they were alone to force the issue. It was possible Ballard might give them what they wanted during dinner, but if that didn’t happen, regardless of Ballard's wishes, there was going to be a confrontation before he left the house tonight.

Jack opened the door. “Come on in, Dr. Ballard,” he said, pleased by his calm tone.

The man entered, gave him an abrupt nod, and pulled off his coat. Out of the corner of his eye Jack saw Sara approaching and immediately grabbed the coat. No way was Ballard going to treat his wife like a servant again.

Sara smiled graciously. “Good evening. You arrived just in time. Dinner is ready. I hope you’re hungry.”

Dinner’s ready because you’re late, again, Jack wanted to say but resisted. He was annoyed but not surprised to hear the archeologist respond pleasantly enough, with no apologies.

“I am hungry, especially considering how delicious last night’s meal was. I’m almost sorry I have to leave tomorrow.”

As Jack followed the pair into the living room he glared at the tall figure in front of him. You aren’t leaving yet, he promised silently. We have unfinished business to attend to.

The boys were already at the table. Daniel was quiet and remote, another black mark against Ballard. Charlie looked like he was spoiling for a fight. Jack gave him a warning glare as their guest took his seat. He and Charlie had had another little talk an hour ago and he’d made it clear that nothing but parent-approved language had better come out of the kid’s mouth during dinner.

“Good evening, Daniel,” Ballard said.

The boy’s head jerked up. “ Good evening, Nick.”

Jack ground his teeth. Give ’im a break, O’Neill. He’s actually trying to be nice. But as far as Jack was concerned, it was far too little and far too late, and Ballard was out of breaks.

He noticed the archeologist merely nodded at Charlie and had to stifle a grin when his kid pointedly looked away. Jack hadn’t thought to warn his son to avoid rude gestures so Charlie was taking advantage. Sneaky kid. As Charlie grew older, Jack saw more and more of himself in his son’s speech and actions. Scary thought.

Sara noticed, too, and glared at their son before turning to the archeologist sitting on her right. “I didn’t have a chance to ask you last night about your work, Dr. Ballard.”

Leave it to Sara. She picked the perfect topic for Ballard to happily expound on and, to no one’s surprise, Ballard was happy to expound all through dinner. No one else had to say anything although Sara occasionally inserted a, “Really?” or “I never imagined,” in the appropriate spot of the man’s monologue, which seemed to be all the archeologist needed to keep talking.

As much as he hated to admit it, Jack found himself actually interested in some of Ballard’s stories, particularly several hair-raising tales of working in countries torn by civil war. He would have liked to dismiss them as braggadocio but his own intel had informed Jack otherwise. Ballard was a significant figure in the world of archeology with several major discoveries to his credit. Only within the last year or two had things begun to change for the man, changes for which Ballard had only himself to blame.

Jack wondered what it would be like to be in the grip of such an obsession. This wasn’t Ballard’s first obsession and maybe it was that aspect of his character that had made him so successful. Successful in his profession, that was. Ballard’s personal life was a whole other matter.

If the archeologist had been anyone else, Jack might have felt sorry for him. Apart from his profession, the man had no life. In twenty years when he was an old man, Nicholas Ballard would have his past achievements to remember, but that would be all. He'd be alone, with no one to give a damn about him.

Try as he might, Jack couldn’t find it in his heart to care much. Ballard was a big boy; he made his own choices. But not where Daniel was involved. His decisions, or refusal to make decisions, about his grandson had caused the boy nothing but pain and Jack wasn’t going to allow that to continue. It was going to end here, tonight.

Finally, dinner was over. Despite the tasty stew Jack noticed Ballard was the only one who had eaten with a good appetite. After dessert, Sara looked at Jack who nodded. She nodded back and stood up.

“If you’ll excuse me, I’ll get to these dishes. Boys, after you clear the table why don’t you head upstairs? I believe you both have homework.”

Charlie and Daniel spoke simultaneously and their responses were garbled. Charlie never looked in Ballard’s direction. He focused on clearing his side of the table and marched into the kitchen, barely avoiding stomping his feet. Daniel was another story. He gathered a few dishes together before pausing to look at his grandfather.

“You’re leaving tomorrow?”

“Yes,” Ballard nodded. “I have a meeting in San Francisco the day after tomorrow concerning a possible grant.”

“Oh.” The boy stood still, his eyes shadowed. Jack started to speak but Sara, standing by the entrance to the kitchen, shook her head.

“Well, bye.” Daniel spoke in little more than a whisper.

The soft words caught Jack in the throat. Ballard put his napkin down and rose. Once he was standing he looked down at his grandson.

“Goodbye, Daniel. You take care of yourself. I'm glad to find you well.” He gave the boy an awkward pat on the back and stepped away.

Daniel’s head dropped and without another word he finished clearing the table and carried his load into the kitchen. Sara cleared her throat.

“I wish you continued success in your profession, Dr. Ballard,” she said and Jack admired her control.

“Thank you, Mrs. O’Neill. And thank you for the delicious meals.”

Sara’s eyes briefly met her husband’s in quiet appeal before she disappeared into the kitchen. Ballard straightened his suit jacket.

“I will say goodnight and goodbye to you, Colonel.”

“Not yet.”

The words came out harsher than Jack intended but he was still fighting his anger over Ballard’s farewell to Daniel. He knew that men of the archeologist’s generation hadn’t been raised to be touchy-feeling types. Hell, neither had guys of his own generation, so he wasn’t surprised the man hadn’t given his grandson a farewell hug. It was just that Daniel deserved so much better.

Two things kept him from exploding. The first was the fact that Daniel was in the kitchen with Sara and Charlie. The second was that he needed to stay cool to implement the plan he’d been preparing for months, long before he knew they were going to need it.

The time had come. The realization cooled his anger and sharpened his focus. Taking a few steps away, Jack gestured toward his home office.

“I need a few more minutes of your time,” he said, forcing himself to smile.

“Colonel O’Neill, I really – ”

“Just a few minutes. Please.”

Ballard hesitated, then nodded. “Very well. A few minutes.”

Chapter 28

Jack led him into the office and shut the door behind them. He didn’t want Sara or the boys overhearing this conversation.

“Have a seat.” He gestured to the small sofa opposite his desk.

Ballard shook his head. “No, thank you. I will be leaving momentarily.”

Jack’s temper surged and he forced it back down. He had considered several different openings but in the end settled for the most direct.

“You’re trying to locate funding for an archeological dig in Belize, correct?”

“That is correct.”

“And not having a lot of luck, from what I understand.”

“It’s none of your business, Colonel.” A spark of anger lit the older man’s eyes.

“Actually, it is.” Jack sat on edge of his desk, hoping he looked more relaxed than he felt.

“You're in the military. What interest could you possibly have in archeology?”

“You’d be surprised." Jack ignored the scorn in the man’s voice. "But that’s not the issue here.”

“It’s not? Why not?” Ballard glared at him. “Let me guess. Your understanding of archeology is based on those absurd Indiana Jones movies.”

“No,” Jack answered easily, trying not to smile. Before Daniel Jackson and the Stargate had come into his life, he'd have had to admit to the truth in Ballard’s accusation.

“As a matter of fact,” he went on, “I’ve learned quite a bit about archeology from Daniel.”

“Daniel is a child." Ballard waved a dismissive hand. "His understanding of the field is superficial at best.”

Jack waited until he had his anger under control. “Now see? You only say that because you don’t know your own grandson.”

“Daniel is a good boy but I'm a busy man, Colonel, and I don't have time to baby sit.”

The bastard.

“Look – ” Jack started but Ballard interrupted.

“You cannot possibly understand the true ramifications of my work. Contrary to what Hollywood would have people believe, it's not about digging in the ground looking for treasure. True scientific inquiry is aided and abetted by archeology. It advances our knowledge, advances human understanding of the past which can help us better understand our present and possibly our future.”

The archeologist’s eyes glowed with passion and, despite himself, Jack felt his anger soften. As much as he wanted to despise the man, he couldn’t. The more Ballard spoke, the better Jack understood him. A lot of what the man said made sense and Jack recognized again that the archeologist wasn’t being deliberately unkind to Daniel. He was in the grip of an obsession and nothing else mattered.

Jack had no problem with Ballard or his profession, only with the man’s treatment of Daniel. Maybe if he was more mature, he might be able to pity the man whose obsession blinded him to the brilliant, tender-hearted, wonderful little boy who was his grandson.

But Jack wasn’t feeling all that mature at the moment. If he couldn’t bring himself to hate the archeologist, he sure as hell disliked him.

“Yeah, well,” he said with a shrug, “that’s all fascinating, I’m sure. Tell me about Belize.”

His abrupt change of subject caught Ballard off guard. Anger faded from the blue eyes and was replaced by surprise and what looked like wariness. Jack’s interest rose.

“My preliminary examination has uncovered some interesting possibilities.” The archeologist spoke slowly and Jack had the feeling he was weighing each word. “Enough to argue for a more detailed investigation.”

“Yeah? So how’s the detailed investigation coming?”

Ballard’s eyes narrowed with what looked like annoyance and Jack was pleased. He was getting the bastard’s goat. Good. Ultimately, it didn’t matter how good an archeologist the older man was or how important his work. The sonofabitch had dumped Daniel into the foster care system two years ago and refused to let him out.

“In order to explore the site more fully I need additional funding.” Ballard said, unaware he was stepping into a trap.

“And you’re not having any luck finding that additional funding, are you?” Jack asked, even though he knew the answer. Would the archeologist be truthful? How desperate was he to obtain his precious funding?

“I'm still exploring several avenues,” Ballard said coolly.

Jack had to give the guy credit. He was smooth, telling the truth while making it appear less critical than it was. If he hadn’t known better, he might have thought Ballard was well on the way to getting the money he needed to fund his dig.

Luckily, Jack did know better, thanks to several months worth of investigating. It was his turn to choose his words carefully.

“I happen to know of a source that could provide you with all the money you need for your project.”

“What source would that be?” Excitement shone in Ballard’s eyes before he was able to mask it.

“We’ll get to that in a minute. There is – ”

“I need to know the name of this source, Colonel,” interrupted the archeologist. “I may have been in contact with them already.”

Jack shook his head. “No, you haven’t.”

“How can you be so certain?”

“A little bird told me.”

Ballard’s eyes narrowed. “Are you certain you aren’t imagining things? I believe I am far more knowledgeable than an Air Force Colonel about what foundations are interested in funding expeditions such as mine.”

Jack stifled another wave of anger. “I’m not imagining anything, and you’d be surprised what I know. But if you’re not interested...” he gestured at the door and maintained a neutral expression. He didn’t think the archeologist would walk out, not as obsessed as he was about his precious project, but it was a chance he had to take.

Ballard’s gaze shifted away and Jack allowed the silence to stretch out between them. “Tell me about your source, Colonel,” he finally answered.

Ah-hah. As hard as the archeologist tried to speak casually, there was no missing the hunger that underscored his words.

“Full funding for a year,” Jack said matter-of-factly. “Depending on the results of that year, the funding can be extended for up to two more years.”

“Full funding?” Ballard repeated, and Jack smiled to himself at the way the archeologist’s eyes shone.

“That’s right.”

Ballard licked his lips. “If you will give me the contact information I will – ”

“There is one condition,” Jack interrupted, keeping his tone casual. Not by so much as an eye flicker was he going to give away the hand he was playing.

“Condition?” Ballard stiffened. “What kind of condition?”

“Nothing difficult, it’s actually very simple.”

Jack shuffled through the folders on his desk, setting aside the one on top since he wasn’t quite ready for it. From the next folder he pulled out the forms Sara had picked up from Mrs. Beardsley yesterday and turned back to the archeologist.

“Your signature is required in a couple different places on these forms. You give me that, I’ll give you the contact information.”

“What are they?” Ballard eyed the forms as if they were a poisonous snake.

“Feel free to read through them.” Jack maintained his casual air. “Basically, when you sign them you’re giving up your parental rights to Daniel so he can be adopted by me and my wife.”

“Are you mad?” Ballard exclaimed. “Daniel is my grandson, my blood. I will not – ”

“You sign these, you get your funding.” Jack spoke coldly, enunciating each word. “No signatures, no funding, no dig, no nothing.”

The archeologist glared at him. “I still have some avenues to explore. My meeting in San Francisco – ”

“Will fail.”

“You don’t know that!”

“Yes, I do.”

Something about his tone caught the archeologist’s attention. His eyes narrowed briefly before widening in anger.

“You dare to interfere with my work – ”

“Prove it,” Jack cut in, and smiled. He didn’t have a mirror in front of him so he didn’t know exactly what his smile looked like. Whatever Ballard saw was enough to shut him up and make him take a step back. When he spoke again, he was no longer shouting.

“You have no right – ”

“You’ve given me no choice,” Jack snapped. “I don’t give a damn how important your expedition is, except for how it impacts Daniel.”

Ballard continued to glare at him, breathing hard. After a minute, Jack decided it was time to play another card.

“Just because you’d be giving up your parental rights doesn’t mean you’d be giving up Daniel. You’d be welcome to visit him whenever you're in the area.”

This compromise had been Sara’s suggestion. Jack would have preferred that Ballard never come near Daniel again, but his smart and sneaky wife argued that this concession would allow the archeologist to feel as if he still had some control over his grandson. Of course, he wouldn’t as soon as he signed the release forms, but Jack had no problem lying about that minor detail if it came up.

Whether Ballard would ever choose to visit Daniel, Jack didn’t know. He doubted it. But giving the man the option might be the extra incentive needed to get him to sign. And besides all that, Sara insisted it wouldn't be right to keep Daniel's flesh and blood from him no matter what the circumstances.

The archeologist was silent for several minutes and once again Jack allowed the silence to stretch out. Finally Ballard raised his eyes and gave him a sullen look.

“How do I know you're telling the truth?”

Jack picked up the second file folder. “In here is all the proof you need. The name of the foundation, contact name and number, everything.”

“Let me see it.” Ballard gazed longingly at the folder Jack held.

“Sure.” Jack put the folder back on the desk and extended the forms. “All you have to do is sign these.”

“How can you separate a grandfather from his grandson?” The hunger in the archeologist’s eyes was replaced by anger.

Jack almost lost it. He caught his slipping temper and took a couple deep breaths before he spoke.

“You’ve chosen to remain separated from your grandson for over two years.”

“My work – ”

“I don’t give a damn about your work!” Jack blazed. “I care about a little boy who lost his parents in a tragedy and then was abandoned by the only other living family he had in the world!”

He took two steps forward until he was standing in the older man’s space. “Sign these documents, now, and you'll get your funding. You can go to Belize and spend the rest of your sorry life there, if you want to. If you don’t sign them, that’s it. I’ll shred this folder and you’ll be shit out of luck. I promise you, you won’t find any other funding on your own.”

Fury darkened Ballard’s features and for a breathless second they stared at each other, neither yielding. Abruptly Jack spun around and marched behind his desk. He grabbed the file folder and flipped the on-switch to the small shredder beside the garbage can. As it hummed into action Ballard lunged forward.

“No!”

“You’ll sign?” Jack straightened to glower at the archeologist.

Ballard hesitated and Jack lowered his voice. “I’m not going to ask again. You sign right now or the next thing I do is drop this in the shredder.” He took a step back and raised the folder in the air, making sure the archeologist saw every move he made.

“All right!” Ballard practically shouted. “I'll sign your papers. But first the folder. Let me see it.”

Jack set the folder down behind him on the desk and extended the release forms. “No, you sign these first. Now!” He didn't trust the man.

The last word cracked like a whip and made Ballard jump. Still glaring, he snatched the documents from Jack, pulled a pen out from the inside of his jacket, and angrily scrawled his signature across the page while Jack watched.

“Wait,” he snapped as the archeologist started to put away his pen, “you need to sign the next page, too.”

Ballard obeyed and practically threw the forms back at him.

“I’ve signed, now give me that folder!”

Jack handed it over, hiding the relief and exultation that was singing through his heart.

“All yours,” he smiled.

Ballard opened the folder and started reading the first page. Seconds later he raised his eyes and stared at Jack.

“I’ve never known this foundation to be interested in archeological matters.” His lips thinned with suspicion. “If this is some kind of trick – ”

“No trick,” Jack interrupted. “It’s for real.”

Silently, he blessed his commanding officer. If not for Hammond’s connections and persuasive powers, his own efforts might not have succeeded.

He waited patiently as Ballard continued reading. The next time the man raised his head there was excitement gleaming in his eyes.

“I'll contact them first thing tomorrow.”

“You do that.”

Jack was through with the archeologist. He had what he wanted, the only thing left was to get the man out of his house and celebrate with Sara and the boys.

“Good night and goodbye.”

The excitement faded from Ballard’s eyes and was replaced with anger as he headed for the door.

“And before you leave,” Jack called after him, “make sure you go upstairs and give Daniel a proper goodbye.”

The archeologist glared at him over his shoulder.

“You’re not leaving this house until you do. And I'm sure I don't have to say this but I'll say it, anyway. If you ever breathe a word of our conversation to Daniel or anyone else, the deal's off and the funding will be pulled.” Jack played his last card. “His bedroom’s on the second floor, end of the hall. You can’t miss it.”

Something in his tone must have dinged Ballard’s radar. He hesitated before giving an abrupt nod and yanking the door open. Jack followed him as far as the door and watched the archeologist go up the stairs.

Five minutes later Ballard came back down. Jack couldn't resist delivering a sarcastic wave when Ballard glared at him before storming out the front door. Jack locked it behind the man and enjoyed his feeling of victory.

Nicholas Ballard would never know how much of Jack's words during their confrontation had been the truth and how much had been a bluff. No one would ever know. It was enough that his plan had succeeded.

Jack finally gave in to the big smile he’d been fighting since Ballard signed the papers. He couldn’t wait to show them to Sara. And after the two of them had talked it through, they’d tell the newest official member of their family. Finally, Daniel’s future was secure and the O’Neill family was the richer for it.

~~~

Charlie wasn't able to fall asleep. Instead, he lay in bed with his fingers laced beneath his head, staring up at the ceiling and thinking about what had transpired tonight.

His mom and dad had left Daniel’s room nearly an hour ago and he’d overheard enough to know everything was going to be okay. Ballard was gone and Daniel was staying for good.

So why had his folks been so subdued when they'd left Daniel’s bedroom? Charlie couldn’t figure it out. What was wrong with everybody? Didn’t they understand the awesomeness of it all? They were going to adopt Daniel and he, Charlie O'Neill, would have a brother, a real live honest to goodness, through thick and thin, forever and ever, brother. They should all be partying, not laying in bed staring up at the ceiling.

He was happy enough for all of them. Maybe instead of lying here he should get up and express his excitement out loud to Daniel. Charlie hadn't exactly been 'brother of the year' material for much of Daniel's stay, especially early on. If he was going to be honest, he'd been an unsympathetic, jealous jerk for more than a few months. Things were completely different now and he needed to tell Daniel just how different.

Daniel's door was open a crack so Charlie shoved it the rest of the way, ready to share his enthusiasm. Before he was able to get any words out he heard some soft, muffled sounds coming from the bed and realized Daniel was crying.

Crying at being adopted by him and Mom and Dad? It didn't make any sense. Daniel loved living here. Charlie was sure of that. Still, the soft sobs froze him in place.

After a moment of uncertainty, he spoke up. "Do you want me to get Mom?" He never knew what to say to people who were crying. Mom was always good at that kind of stuff.

"No," Daniel sniffed and ran his pajama sleeve over his face.

Charlie took that as a sign his brother was ready to talk so he sat down on the edge of the bed. The action reminded him of Dad's countless bedroom visits over the years, coming into his room and sitting on the edge of his bed to nurse him through a crisis. He didn't want to be like a dad, he wanted to be a brother. After a second of thought, he hopped all the way up onto the bed and sat cross-legged opposite Daniel. Dad never did that.

"Are you sad you're staying with us and not going away with your grandfather?" He hated asking the question in case he didn't like the answer but he needed to know.

"No, that's not it." Daniel didn’t act surprised that Charlie knew what had happened.

He pulled a tissue out of the box on his nightstand to mop up his face and then switched the bedside lamp on to dim. "I love it here with you and Sara and Jack. I really do."

Not sure what to say to that Charlie did what his dad did when things didn’t make sense. He kept his mouth shut and waited.

"I guess I was just surprised that Nick came here and saw me and then he didn't want to take me with him.” Daniel wiped his eyes again. “It's stupid. I didn't even really want to go. I just thought... I don't know."

Charlie still wasn't sure he understood so he bit his tongue to stay quiet while his brother blew his nose before continuing.

"When I was in the other foster homes, I prayed every night that Nick would come and take me away with him, and we'd be archaeologists together and make amazing discoveries. Every single night," Daniel emphasized.

He stopped and took a few deep breaths. Still biting his tongue, Charlie did one of Dad’s nods. That must have been what Daniel needed because he continued explaining.

"Then when I came here I stopped praying for that. Except now he shows up, but he doesn’t want to take me with him. I just don't understand." Daniel shook his head.

To Charlie’s great relief, Daniel seemed to be finished crying. His brother removed one last tissue to wipe his face and then the intense blue eyes turned to Charlie.

Charlie was surprised to see how different Daniel looked without his glasses. Younger and maybe a little scared. That was okay because now that he knew what was on his brother’s mind, Charlie felt confident he knew the answer Daniel was seeking.

From his own experience, Charlie was aware that sometimes adults did things out of love that didn't seem so at the time. Like his punishment of missing the Fantasy Sports Camp for his reckless behavior, the punishment was meant to keep him safe. Or Spencer's parents giving away his beloved puppy because of his friend's allergies. There were millions of examples of things adults did that seemed cold or uncaring when the opposite was true. This had to be one of those cases. Nothing else made sense. He could fix this for Daniel.

Ballard didn't seem very friendly or loving toward Daniel but he was still Daniel's grandfather so Charlie decided to stay positive, that way he had a better chance of fixing things for his brother.

He took a deep breath and dove in. "I know what you mean." He waited until Daniel looked up at him before making his case. "You wish he would have asked you so you'd know for sure he wanted you."

Daniel stared with the most hopeful expression Charlie had ever seen. He had to get this right and he would.

"But your grandfather knew you'd be better off here with us and he wanted to do the best thing for you."

"That's what he said," Daniel divulged. "I wasn’t sure I believed him. He didn't sound like he really meant it."

"He said that?" Charlie's was impressed with the accuracy of his newfound wisdom.

Daniel nodded.

"Well, there ya go," Charlie enthused. "There's no other reason he'd do that. Think about it. Of course Nick wanted to take you. Who wouldn't want to take you? You're an awesome archaeologist and you're the smartest person I know. You're so smart that Dad even takes you to work with him. He definitely wanted to take you, Daniel."

"You think that's it? He was talking about going to Belize again to look for the crystal skull."

"Really?" Charlie was enthralled. "What's a crystal skull?"

Daniel shrugged. "I'm not really sure. He ran across some obscure texts doing research in Germany a long time ago and he’s been looking for it ever since. When my mom and dad... after the accident he said that's why he couldn’t take me. He had to search for the skull. I told him I could help but he said no. I was only eight years old then."

Charlie’s blood boiled at Ballard's casual dismissal of his brother. No, he wasn’t going to get mad. He was staying positive, he needed to remember that.

"No offense, Daniel, but your grandfather isn't very smart. If he had taken you, you'd have found that skull a long time ago." Charlie didn’t know anything about archeology but he knew his little brother was some kind of genius. It was a no-brainer.

"You think so?" Daniel's wide eyes seemed surprised by the confident observation.

"Of course you would have, but I'm glad you didn't." Charlie’s anger at Ballard faded and was replaced with happiness. Could he say what he was feeling? He wasn’t very good at that stuff but for Daniel maybe he should try. He lowered his voice.

"I'm really glad we're adopting you, Daniel. You're the best brother I could ever have. We're going to have a blast together and someday I'll work at Cheyenne Mountain with you and Dad."

"You'll probably get me into trouble." For the first time in almost three days Daniel broke out a genuine smile.

"Probably," Charlie laughed, thinking over some of his past escapades.

"I'm really happy you're my brother, too."

Daniel's smile stayed in place and Charlie grinned back, convinced his work here was done. They both had to get up early for school tomorrow morning. He hopped off the bed and made it as far as the door before another thought struck him.

“Hey, Daniel."

"Yeah?"

"Now your grandpa did do something special, really special, just for you. He gave you a family."

"He did, didn't he?" Daniel's eyes widened and Charlie was sure he remembered and understood the implications.

"Yep, he sure did. Now can we be happy about this and celebrate tomorrow? Have a cake or something?"

"Sure, Charlie." Daniel laughed. "Maybe we can go to El Charros if Jack and Sara say okay."

"Sounds like a plan," Charlie agreed. "Goodnight, little bro," he added as he headed down the hall and back to his bedroom.

Chapter 29

“How long do you think this glow is going to last?” Jack asked Sara as they prepared for bed the following Friday night. Everyone in the house had been so happy and cooperative he felt as if he was living with Ozzie and Harriet in the 1950's.

“I have no idea but I’m enjoying it.” Sara laughed and bounced on the bed.

"I don't know, it's starting to creep me out."

“Jack!” she scolded, still laughing.

He looked at her from his position at the end of the bed. Without warning, he threw himself across it, bouncing the both of them until the mattress settled down and he could get his arms around his wife. After a few minutes of cuddling Jack lay on his back and let out a deep, happy sigh.

“Four days and it still hasn’t really sunk in,” he said. “It’s funny, Daniel’s been with us for months but...”

“But it’s different now,” Sara finished his thought and they grinned at each other. “He’s not staying here because he's a foster child but because he’s our son. Officially.”

“On the way to being official,” Jack reminded her. “Addison said – ”

“Pooh on Addison,” Sara sniffed, then giggled. “That’s probably not a good thing to wish on a lawyer. Anyway, we’ve signed everything, he filed the papers yesterday to ‘get the ball rolling’” – she made air quotes with her fingers, “so the most important things are done. Even Mrs. Beardsley said it’s only a matter of going through normal channels before it’s officially official.”

Jack chuckled. Sara was rarely this silly and giddy and he was enjoying it. Not only that but her emotions heightened his own. It had been a while since they'd experienced such a pure sense of joy together. It had happened on the night Charlie was born so the feelings made perfect sense. In a very real sense, through the legal system, their family was ‘giving birth’ to its newest member.

“Are you okay with me taking Daniel to the Mountain tomorrow?” Jack asked. “He really wants to go.”

Sara sighed. “Go ahead. I’m amazed he’s been so patient all week. Thank goodness for school, otherwise...” She stopped mid-sentence.

And now that she'd brought it up... Jack proceeded cautiously, not wanting to ruin the mood.

“At the end of the school term,” he deliberately left the sentence hanging.

Sara rolled over on her side to face him. The high spirits and amusement faded and her blue eyes were serious when they met his.

“I’m still not thrilled about the idea but you’ve made your point. So has Daniel. Are you sure General Hammond will be okay with Daniel being home-schooled at the Mountain?”

Jack nodded, relieved she'd accepted the need for the change in Daniel’s schooling, even if she wasn’t entirely happy with it.

“Yeah, we’ve talked about it and he’s fine with the idea. And I think Daniel will be pleased, too. Some of the best minds in the country work there, Sara. He couldn't get a better education.”

“I’m sure. It's just that, well, I wanted him to have friends.”

“Trust me, he has friends. You still want to wait until the end of the term before telling him?”

“Not the end, but I’d like to wait at least a month. I’m concerned as soon as he knows he’s going to be leaving school, he’ll be too excited to pay attention to any of his classes.”

Jack leaned over and kissed the tip of her nose. “Honey, he doesn’t need to pay attention.” He saw the look on her face and knew she needed to get used to the idea. “But we can wait a month or so, sure.”

“Good.”

He put his arms around her again. “The O’Neill family, all present and accounted for.”

“Finally,” Sara agreed. She was smiling as she raised her lips to meet his.

The next morning was crazy with all of them gulping down breakfast and then heading off in different directions. Charlie ran out the door for basketball practice, Sara was getting together with a couple of girlfriends to plan a surprise birthday party, and Jack and Daniel climbed into the truck to drive to Cheyenne Mountain.

It was the first time Jack had gone to the Mountain with Daniel since Nicholas Ballard had signed the papers, clearing the way for Daniel's adoption. It felt great driving to the SGC with his son sitting beside him.

Jack hummed We’re Off to See the Wizard as he drove, pleased and contented with life. He was only half-aware of what he was doing until he heard a giggle from his passenger.

"What?" Jack stopped humming and turned toward Daniel. The boy was looking at him with eyes bright with amusement. They were stopped at a red light just a few minutes out from the Mountain.

"Nothing. I just never heard you hum so loud before."

The kid was right. Since Ballard had signed the papers and left town Jack couldn't seem to stop smiling or humming or whistling. He'd been doing it for five days and Sara was still so over the moon herself she hadn't even begged him to stop.

And just to add to the excitement, today was the day General Hammond was going to make the big announcement to SGC personnel about the official beginning of the Stargate Program.

"What can I say? I guess I'm just happy." Jack winked at him and turned his attention back to the road as the light changed green.

"Because I'm official?" Daniel asked in a confident voice.

"Yep, because you're official."

Both Jack and Sara had noticed that Daniel seemed different, too. The boy wasn't humming or whistling but he carried himself differently. He seemed more confident and less hesitant. The best part was they noticed more high spirits from him, more jokes and even actual opinions that had nothing to do with ancient cultures or obscure languages. Though Jack hadn’t spoken about it even to Sara, they both knew why it was happening. Daniel no longer doubted he belonged in their family.

Keeping one hand on the wheel, Jack reached out and ruffled the boy's hair. "You know it's just paperwork, right? You've been official since the day you moved in."

The contented smile and nod was answer enough and they continued the drive in silent communion. Not until they reached the base did Daniel speak again.

"Jack?" he asked as they pulled into the parking lot. "Is it okay if I tell people that, you know?" He grabbed his backpack and gave a brilliant smile. "That I'm official, I mean. Or is it something we shouldn't talk about at work?"

Jack refrained from grabbing the kid and giving him a good hard squeeze. "Why shouldn't we talk about?" He helped Daniel with his bag of books as they walked through the first checkpoint.

"I just thought I better make sure," Daniel answered.

"Hm." Jack nodded thoughtfully. "I think we probably should mention it. Just so everybody's clear on the fact that you're with me. Permanently. Hey," he said to the guard at the second check point. "Did you know Daniel's legal now?"

"Sir?" The confused guard seemed at a loss at how to respond and Jack smiled, proud of his ability to continually confound base personnel.

"My wife and are adopting him. I believe congratulations are in order, Sergeant."

"Congratulations, sir, and to you, too, DJ." The Sergeant recovered quickly.

"See?” Jack demanded, looking down at the boy trotting beside him wearing a smile as broad as he’d ever seen. “It's no problem. Tell anyone you want. I'd brag about it all day long but it's going to be a busy day for me so how about I leave that job to you?"

Daniel beamed. "Sure, Jack! I'll tell people who I think would be most excited, like Sam and Dr. Rothman and Dr. Lee. Oh and Teal'c and Dr. Kerrigan. Do Major Kawalsky and Captain Ferretti know?"

"Not yet. Just the family knows so far. Whoever you want to share the news with is fine with me."

Jack walked Daniel to his office before bowing out. "I have a meeting with General Hammond in about ten minutes but let's have lunch together. I have some important things I want to talk to you about."

"What things?"

"We'll talk at lunch." Jack headed for the door before imparting his daily words of wisdom. "Have fun and don't work too hard."

"I won't." Daniel answered with his patented response.

Before going to the labs to search out Dr. Kerrigan and Dr. Rothman, Daniel decided to head down to Sam's lab since it was closer and say hello. He hadn't seen her in a while and she might be interested to hear about his new status in the O'Neill household.

Sam's door was open but he knocked anyway. It was the polite thing to do.

"Daniel, come on in," she greeted from in front of her computer. “It’s good to see you.”

He smiled at her words. Sam was so nice and always happy to see him.

"What are you working on?" Daniel peered over her shoulder.

"I'm working on a program to accelerate correcting the drift between planets to acquire accurate gate addresses more quickly.” She pointed at the monitor displaying a long list of what looked like an endless string of numbers. “I'm almost there. A few more days and I should have it."

He stared at the screen. That was ‘almost there’? It was a good thing Sam was an astrophysicist and numbers were one of her favorite things. From what she said, this was a big job so Daniel decided to offer some encouragement.

"That’s cool! How many planets do we have so far?"

"At this point I'm not sure of the exact number but there are quite a few." She smiled, obviously pleased by his interest.

"It's exciting, isn't it?" Daniel loved the enthusiasm shining in her blue eyes.

"It sure is," she agreed with a laugh. "Hey, how was your Christmas? Did you get any exciting gifts?"

He nodded with enthusiasm. "Yep. I got all these books that used to be my parents, some were even written by them. You should come to my office and see them. I brought a lot of them in with me."

"I'll do that," Sam promised. "Did you get any fun kid stuff?"

Daniel laughed. Sam was probably thinking books weren't Jack's idea of fun and she was right. "Yep, I also got a bike and a baseball glove and ice skates."

She flashed a bright smile and Daniel knew he was right. She'd been thinking of things Jack and Sara would like for him. It always surprised him how much they wanted him to have a chance to 'be a kid,' so they tried to balance his more serious interests with what they considered 'fun kid stuff.'

He hadn’t been able to persuade them that none of it was necessary. His passion was for archaeology and languages and history and the wonders of peoples and cultures of the world. Recently, thanks to the Stargate, that passion had been expanded to include the peoples and cultures on other worlds that they'd be able to explore in the future.

Daniel was willing to concede Jack and Sara might have a tiny little point because the sledding had been fun and he was looking forward to spring when he could try out his new bike. But he didn’t need the kid stuff to be happy, this was the happiest he’d been since his parents' accident. Life felt good and, in his heart where it counted, he was sure his parents were happy for him, too.

"How'd the Colonel like his telescope?"

"Oh, he loved it! It was his favorite thing. Sara said you helped her pick it out."

"Yes, I did," Sam chuckled. "I’m glad he likes it. So what was your favorite gift?" She spun her chair around to give him her full attention.

Daniel could barely contain his excitement. Boy, was she going to be surprised. "My favorite gift is that my grandfather came to visit me."

"Really?" She looked surprised. "I didn't know you had a grandfather. It’s great you were able to see him."

"He came to visit me because he wanted to make sure I was okay because..." he waited a few beats to raise the drama, "because Jack and Sara are going to adopt me! I'm going to be an official member of the O'Neill family."

"Congratulations!" Sam pulled him in closer to give him a hug. "That's wonderful news. I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks, Sam." Daniel was still beaming when she released him. "It was a great Christmas, and not just for me. Charlie got flying lessons because he wants to join the Air Force and work here when he gets older."

"Really?" Sam looked surprised again. "How does the Colonel feel about that?"

Daniel thought for a few minutes and his conclusions made him a little uncomfortable. Maybe he shouldn’t say anything about Charlie’s plans to anyone for now.

"I'm not sure if he knows. Maybe you better not mention anything to Jack about what Charlie might do with the lessons, okay?"

"Don't worry," Sam agreed. "Not a word. Promise."

He saw her peek at her computer monitor and knew she needed to get back to work. "I better go so you can finish working on the program. I just wanted to tell you the good news. Hey, Sam, do you know where Teal'c' is?"

She checked her watch. "He's probably down in the gym training with the SG teams."

"Oh good. Thanks, Sam!"

"Sure. And Daniel,” she added just before he reached the door, “thank you for sharing your great news. It made my day."

Daniel waved, feeling even better than he had a few minutes ago. Sam was such a good friend. He left her hunched over her computer and raced down to the gym. He couldn't wait to tell Teal'c.

The large room was half-full of soldiers pairing off against each other or working out on the equipment. Despite the crowd, Daniel had no trouble spotting Teal'c on a mat at the far side of the room. He hurried over but then, not wanting to interrupt, stood with his back against the wall and watched Teal'c sparring with Sergeant Colby. The Sergeant was sweating and puffing but Teal'c didn't even look winded. No wonder Major Kawalsky and Captain Ferretti were always moaning about their training sessions.

Daniel winced when Sergeant Colby slammed down on the mat. That had to hurt. He was glad he didn’t have to train with Teal'c, although he'd do it gladly if it meant he could go on missions with Jack. While Sergeant Colby was hunched over catching his breath Teal'c noticed him and came over.

"Is there something you require, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c voice sounded perfectly normal, not the least bit tired from all the wrestling.

"I don't want to bother you while you're busy but I wanted to tell you something."

Daniel glanced over at Sergeant Colby who kept one arm wrapped around his middle but raised his other hand and held up five fingers.

"I have five minutes." Teal'c must have noticed, too.

"Guess what?" Daniel could barely contain his enthusiasm. Sam had been so happy for him; he hoped Teal'c would be, too.

"I am unable to guess without knowing the subject matter," Teal'c proclaimed.

"That's okay. It's just an expression, you don’t really have to guess," Daniel chuckled. "Jack and Sara are going to adopt me!"

Teal'c frowned. Daniel wasn’t sure why except maybe the Jaffa was confused, so he hurried on. "Once I'm adopted I'll legally belong to the O’Neill’s."

The Jaffa took his time, as if thinking about that explanation. "Does this adoption involve a ceremony?" he finally asked.

"An adoption ceremony, yes, I suppose it does," Daniel agreed, happy to have found a term Teal'c understood.

"I have read of an Earth ritual called a Bar Mitzvah. Is that the ceremony you speak of, Daniel Jackson?"

Daniel stifled a giggle. Sometimes communicating wasn’t easy. "No, Teal'c, a Bar Mitzvah is a ceremony in the Jewish faith for boys when they turn thirteen. I'm talking about an adoption."

"Perhaps it is similar to the Prim'ta ceremonies on Chulak?"

"Maybe." Daniel wrinkled his nose. "I don't know what that is."

"It is a rite of passage ceremony when boys become men by the implantation of their larval Goa'uld, similar perhaps to your Bar Mitzvah ceremony. Without the symbiote."

Bewildered, Daniel stared at the alien and tried not to think about larval anything or implantations. "I don't think it's the same thing. It just means I'm going to live with Jack all the time now. Permanently."

"Do you not reside with O'Neill now?" Teal'c raised a puzzled eyebrow.

"I do but..." Daniel tried not to show his disappointment. This wasn't working. Maybe Jack could help him explain later. "Never mind, Teal'c,” he smiled. “I better let you get back to your training." He started for the door.

"Daniel Jackson," Teal'c called out.

Daniel stopped and turned around. He hoped Teal'c wasn't going to expound on implantation procedures, whatever those were.

"I am pleased for your adoption ceremony,” the Jaffa said solemnly. “If you require my assistance I will be happy to participate."

Without thinking, Daniel ran back and hugged the big alien around the waist. "Thanks, Teal'c."

He let go, then hurried out the door, giggling at the stunned Jaffa's reaction. Teal'c hadn't hugged him back, he'd been too surprised.

Daniel spent the rest of the morning in the lab working with the scientists and linguists. He waited until they were all standing around a table studying one of the artifacts that had been found in Giza with the Stargate before breaking the news.

Dr. Rothman was the first to hug him but not the last. Congratulations, back slaps, handshakes and big grins, came from every direction. When Daniel finally emerged from the last hugger, Dr. Lee, he couldn't remember being happier than he was right now.

The outpouring of well wishes reminded him how lucky he was to have such good friends. That was the part about working at Cheyenne Mountain that Sara didn't understand. He had real friends here. It didn't matter that they were adults. When he went to back to school tomorrow he'd have no one to tell. He'd already called Karen with the good news and that was it. Life was so much better at the SGC.

“As wonderful as this news is,” Dr. Kerrigan said with a smile almost as big as Daniel’s, “it’s not going to help us with this translation. Robert, you said you had an idea?”

“Yes, I do.” Dr. Rothman nodded.

It was after one o'clock when Daniel remembered he had to meet Jack in the commissary for lunch. He couldn’t believe he'd almost forgotten. As he hurried to the commissary he wondered about the important news Jack had mentioned this morning.

Daniel waved when he spotted Jack sitting at a table in the corner. He noticed the nearest tables around Jack were empty. That happened a lot when Jack was in the commissary though Daniel never understood why.

Jack already had food in front of him so Daniel grabbed a tray and went through the line as quickly as possible, opting for a sloppy joe, a side dish of corn and a carton of milk. He didn't have time to pick and choose.

"Sorry I'm late,” he apologized as he slid in a chair opposite Jack. “I almost forgot."

"No problem. It's a big day all around." Jack thought of all the congratulations he'd received on the pending adoption this morning. The kid had been busy. "I was just about to call around and track you down."

He grimaced as Daniel took a big bite of the slop on his plate.

"What did you want to talk about?" the boy asked, picking up another forkful.

"Before we get into that, I have to ask you something..." Jack hesitated. This was probably a mistake but he couldn't help himself. It had been nagging at him for a couple of hours.

"Sergeant Colby congratulated me on your Bar Mitzvah this morning. Do you have any idea what he was talking about?"

Daniel stared blankly before his expression cleared and he laughed. "Oh, that's because Teal'c talked about me having a Bar Mitzvah ceremony. I think it's called a Prim'ta in Goa'uld but I'm not sure."

"So, you want to have a Bar Mitzvah?" It was probably hopeless but Jack felt compelled to try to understand. "

"Of course not. Why would I want to have a Bar Mitzvah?" Daniel shot him a look that questioned whether he was in control of his faculties. "That's a Jewish tradition. I'm not Jewish."

The smart thing to do would be to let it go. "Then why would Sergeant Colby bring it up out of the blue like that?" Jack had been so stunned he had simply thanked the Sergeant and went on his way.

"It was a miscommunication,” Daniel explained. “Teal'c was sparring with Sergeant Colby and I stopped by to tell Teal'c about the adoption..."

"You know what?" Jack held up his hand and threw in the proverbial towel. "It doesn't matter. I don't need to know."

"And Teal'c thought..."

"Really," Jack emphasized, "I really don't need to know. I wanted to have lunch with you to discuss something else."

"Okay." Daniel sighed and gave him an exasperated look.

Jack took a deep breath. He needed to word this just right. It wouldn’t be official for another hour so he kept his voice low.

"The briefing I had with General Hammond this morning was to discuss the upcoming missions for the Stargate teams. There will be a general meeting this afternoon to advise SGC personnel that we’ll start going through the Stargate in a few weeks.”

Daniel’s eyes widened and he started to speak, but he still had a mouthful of food that he accidentally inhaled. Jack had to smack him smartly on the back several times before he was able to catch his breath.

“Don’t talk,” Jack ordered sternly. “Not until you finish chewing and swallowing what’s in your mouth.”

Daniel nodded, still a little breathless. Jack grabbed one of the extra napkins he had nabbed with the expectation of having lunch with the kid and used it to wipe the watering blue eyes.

"Here, drink some water," he, ordered.

Daniel drank and that seemed to do the trick. “Next month? Jack, that’s – ”

“Yeah,” Jack grinned. “It is. You need to keep it under your hat until the meeting this afternoon is over, got it?”

“Sure! Do I get to –”

Jack cut him off again, knowing where this was going. It was the main reason he’d wanted to have lunch with Daniel.

“I wanted to tell you what was going on now because you're not required to be at the meeting. You and the other scientists can keep working on your projects. Except for Dr. Rothman, he'll be required to attend since he'll be going out on missions with SG 1."

There was no reason why Daniel couldn't attend the meeting, at least not any security-related reason. Jack had nixed the idea because he didn't want to burst his son’s idealistic bubble when the discussion turned to defense and firepower, specifically which weapons to take and how much ammo and grenades and C-4 to pack on any given mission.

Daniel nodded easily, seemingly comfortable with the reasoning, so Jack continued. "It's really happening, kiddo. Teams are going to start going through the Stargate in a little over two weeks."

Saying it out loud still gave Jack an adrenalin rush and he patted the small hand resting on the table. "And it’s thanks in large part to you, buddy."

"Wow, Jack!” The blue eyes brimmed with enthusiasm.

“Ah!” Jack hissed. “Keep your voice down. It’s not public knowledge yet.”

“Sorry,” Daniel whispered. “I wonder what you're going to see and who you're going to meet out there. Will you be able to tell me about your missions?"

That was a loaded question that Jack had known would come up sooner or later. Daniel had in essence opened the Stargate but it was the fact that he was their primary expert in Goa’uld that made it likely he would be involved in the missions to some degree. The odds were they’d need his linguistic expertise to translate things in the future.

If all went well on the missions, Jack would have no problem sharing reports about cultures and customs and languages and ruins with his miniature linguist/archeologist. If the missions didn’t go well, if the resident aliens proved to be unfriendly or downright hostile, those were reports he'd attempt to keep from his son. Despite his brilliance, Daniel Jackson was still an eleven-year-old boy. As his father, Jack intended to step in whenever necessary to protect him from things that might be upsetting to a child. And the kid could always work on translations without knowing all the details.

"I'm sure they'll be lots of stuff we can share with you." Jack chose his words carefully.

"So not everything." Daniel's face fell.

Damn, his boy was smart. Jack tried for a more positive note. “I'm sure we'll bring back plenty of stuff for you and the other geeks, er, scientists, to examine and translate and figure out for us."

That must have been the right thing to say because the boy laughed. "You mean us super geeks, don't you?"

Jack laughed, too, at the old reference that had gotten him in hot water with the boy months earlier. Could it really only be months? It seemed like a hundred years ago.

"I forgot about that!” Daniel was in full babbling mode and Jack sat back to enjoy the show.

“I can translate things we've never seen or even heard of before! I'm sure you'll make all kinds of amazing discoveries and probably find lots of links to ancient Egyptian culture, at least if Abydos is any indication. And maybe you’ll even find some links to other ancient cultures. It's the most exciting thing that's ever happened in the history of the world!"

"Yes, it is," Jack agreed, smiling at the youthful enthusiasm. There was no arguing with that passionate assessment. "I'm sure there will be plenty to do to keep us all happy and busy."

"There's only one problem." The small face turned serious.

Jack braced himself. Was the kid going to start fretting about the safety of the teams going through the gate? He was expecting something along those lines.

"School," Daniel said glumly. "Are you sure I have to go to school? I don’t really have any friends there and it's so boring. When I’m there all I do is wonder what's happening at the SGC. I think I can contribute much more here than I can there."

Jack sat back in his chair and rubbed his chin as a delaying tactic. That was a surprise. Was this the time to tell the kid about the home-schooling Sara had finally agreed to? No, he had agreed to wait at least a month before saying anything. Maybe he could think of something that would placate Daniel until it was time to break the news.

"What about Karen? Wouldn't you miss her?"

"I mostly only see Karen when our lunch hours overlap." Daniel gave him a disgruntled look. "She usually eats with the girls, anyway. Besides, we go to each other's houses a lot. I don't need school to stay friends with her."

Jack couldn’t argue with that logic. He tried the only other school thing that came to mind. "What about the chess club? You enjoy that. You wouldn't be able to do that again if you weren’t going to school."

"I'm not going to join the chess club next year," Daniel sighed.

"Why not?" Jack asked a little more sharply than he intended. If kids were giving Daniel a hard time, he wanted to know about it.

"I always win. It's no fun for the kids who are just learning and it's no fun to always win. Do you know what I mean?"

Not really, Jack thought but swallowed the words. He loved to win. But that wasn’t the issue here. So, no missing Karen and no chess club. Was that really all Daniel participated in at school? Jack wracked his brain but couldn't come up with anything else. The kid was right, of course. There was no way he should be expected to sit through classes all day, listening to teachers drone on about stuff Daniel already knew and probably knew better than they did. Meanwhile there was the exciting reality of the SGC waiting for him.

It was a testament to the boy’s good nature that he'd been able to sit through his classes and get his work done, without getting into trouble for daydreaming or acting up. Now that things were ramping up here at the SGC, forcing Daniel to continue with school was cruel and unusual punishment, though Jack wouldn’t phrase it quite that way to his wife.

He decided he needed to talk to Sara about breaking the news of home schooling to Daniel as soon as possible. So what if the kid stopped paying attention in class once he found out? As far as Jack was concerned, Daniel could probably teach most of those classes.

He understood Sara's reasoning about waiting until the end of the term to lessen the abruptness of the change. Listening to the boy now, he wasn’t sure the stress of the current situation was worth the wait. Maybe she needed to hear it directly from Daniel.

"I'll talk to Sara." Again.

"Yes!"

Jack barely had the words out of his mouth when Daniel pumped his fist in the air and shouted his agreement, sounding a lot like Charlie. It was nice to know the two brothers were rubbing off on each other. Well, mostly. It was also a little scary.

"But," Jack raised a warning finger, "I'm not promising anything.” He was really regretting his promise to Sara. They needed to talk this through again ASAP because Daniel needed to know. Not telling the kid what they’d decided wasn’t fair. At the same time, he needed to get Sara onboard with it.

“We'll talk about alternative schooling but beyond that...” He raised his eyebrows and gave the boy a stern look.

"But you know this is what's best for me right, Jack?"

"Yeah," he said softly. "I do." Hell, how was he supposed to resist those bright, hopeful eyes?

So much for resisting. "I'll talk to Sara and maybe you can tell her how you feel about."

Daniel looked uncertain for a minute then his small chin firmed. “Okay, I can do that.”

"Good. That's settled." Jack dropped his fork onto his plate of half-eaten Chinese beef, vegetables and rice. "I gotta get going. The big meeting starts at 1400 hours."

~~~

Daniel hurried back into the lab, brimming over with his second piece of exciting news of the day.

"Guess what, Dr. Kerrigan?"

He stood beside the linguist who was still working on the artifact they’d been examining this morning. It resembled a clay cup that had been deliberately flattened so that it would only hold a few teaspoons of liquid. The symbols on the sides and bottom were a dialect of Goa’uld but they hadn’t made any headway on translating it. Not yet. Even after more than a week’s worth of effort, they still didn’t know what it was or why it had been included among the artifacts buried in Giza with the Stargate. It was a fascinating puzzle that would ordinarily have absorbed Daniel, but for once something other than an artifact held his attention.

"Yes?" The scientist smiled down at his young colleague.

Daniel bounced lightly on his toes. "Jack's going to talk to Sara and maybe I'll be able to be home schooled at the Mountain and then I could come in every day!" He wasn't sure if he was supposed to mention that or not but it was such an exciting possibility he couldn't help himself.

"That would certainly be great news for us," Dr. Kerrigan answered warmly.

"Yeah, for me, too.” He remembered Jack's warning and added, “Please don't tell anyone else until we see what Sara says, okay? I thought I should tell you because you're the department head. And I really wanted to tell someone."

"Don't worry. I won't breathe a word of it."

"Thanks," Daniel sighed in relief.

An hour later, Dr. Rothman rushed in from the big meeting and headed straight for his desk. He opened the top drawer and rifled through it until he found his inhaler and took a few deep puffs.

"Are you okay?" Daniel hurried to his side.

"I'm fine, just a little anxious at how quickly everything is happening." He sat back in his chair and his breathing sounded normal again.

"Is the meeting over already?” Daniel asked.

Dr. Rothman nodded, still holding his inhaler. Daniel was surprised; he had expected the meeting would go longer. Then he remembered the wonderful news.

“Isn't it exciting? You're going to start going through the Stargate in a few weeks! I wish I was going." He'd give anything to be in Dr. Rothman's place.

"Exciting? That's one word for it," the Egyptologist mumbled, his gaze drifting over the room like he wasn’t really seeing it.

"What's another word?" Daniel asked in confusion.

"How about... terrifying?" Robert supplied without hesitation.

"Terrifying?" Daniel blinked. "What do you mean?"

Dr. Rothman shook his head, looking a little dazed. "I mean, I hate guns but I’ve had to learn how to shoot a weapon and I’m going to be going through an alien device to planets all over the galaxy, trying to relate to some unknown alien races while another alien race I do know about wants to destroy us for no reason. It just seems... I don’t know, a little surreal." He shook his head again and rubbed his eyes.

Mid-way through Robert’s recital Daniel’s excitement began to fade and was replaced by fear. He flinched back, overwhelmed by the horrible realization of what was actually happening.

Of course the teams would carry weapons. Lots of weapons, just like they had on Abydos. The firepower had certainly come in handy back then so why hadn't Daniel remembered any of that? The teams carried weapons because it was dangerous out there. Going through the Stargate was very dangerous. That's why Jack wouldn't allow him to go through again. It was too dangerous for him but what about all the other people who were going to go through? It was going to be just as dangerous for them. Extremely dangerous.

"Are you all right?" Dr. Rothman touched his shoulder, looking anxious. "Hey, you know me. I'm feeling overwhelmed by all this. I’m just complaining, mouthing off, you know. I admit I'm nervous but I really am looking forward to it."

Daniel stared at him, suddenly beset by his old, terrifying nightmare. When the Egyptologist patted his shoulder again, he jumped to his feet.

“Daniel – ”

Daniel shook his head furiously. "I have to go." He was trembling and he needed to get out of here.

"Daniel, wait!" the scientist yelled after him.

Daniel ran through the corridors, dodging personnel in his path. He needed to talk to Jack. Dr. Rothman was right. What if something bad happened to Jack or to Major Kawalsky or to any of the men and women who would be going through the Stargate? He’d worried about it before when they’d first opened the Stargate and Jack had calmed his fears.

This time was different because Daniel knew more now than he had back then. Apophis was still out there, and so were a lot of other Goa'ulds whose only goal was to destroy Earth and all its inhabitants. How could he have forgotten?

~~~

Jack sat at his desk filling out the final round of paperwork that needed to be on the President's desk by tomorrow morning. Without warning his door banged open and Daniel appeared, wide-eyed and breathless.

"Jack!"

"What the - what's the matter?" He set the pen down, stacked the papers safely to the side and took a step out from behind his desk.

Daniel rushed in and threw his arms around Jack’s neck and held on tight. He hadn't seen the boy this distraught since they'd returned to planet Earth three months ago.

"What? What is it?" Jack hugged the small, trembling figure and ran his hand in soothing circles on the boy’s back. “Talk to me, buddy.”

"Apophis is still out there,” Daniel choked. “He hates us, Jack, and he’s seen you. What if he finds you on another planet? He’ll k- kill you!” Tears streamed down the boy’s face and Jack tightened his grip.

“Danny – ”

“And what about all the other people who’ll be going through the Stargate? If Apophis runs across any of them – "

"Whoa, whoa there, slow down.” Jack tried to soothe the distraught youngster. “We talked about this, remember? What brought this on?”

"It would be my fault. I opened the gate." Daniel raised his tear-streaked face to him.

Bingo. That was the real problem.

"Hey, we've been over this before." Jack had been wondering if this issue was going to resurface. He had a feeling that going through the Stargate on a regular basis might bring up some of Daniel's misplaced guilt.

"Maybe I shouldn't have figured it out," Daniel sniffled.

No, they weren’t going to do this again, Jack was ready for him. "What about all the new friends we might meet? And what about all the new and old cultures out there, hmm? And don't forget that Apophis might have come here on a ship like Ra's. Where would we be then?" Jack rubbed Daniel's back as he tried to talk some sense into him.

"But if one person dies it won't be worth it at all."

Jack wasn’t going to touch that. Someone was bound to die. Lots of someones. People had already died but his son already knew that.

Jack had no illusions about the risk of going through the gate. His eleven-year-old couldn't carry that burden. Jack needed to word his response in a way Daniel would accept and understand so he could put this crazy, ‘responsible for the world’ notion to rest for good.

"Look at me." When Daniel looked up Jack handed him a tissue and waited until the boy cleaned himself up before going on.

"Let me ask you something. Do you think the man who invented the automobile is responsible for everyone who was ever killed in a car accident?"

"No, but..."

Jack shushed him before he could finish. "And what about the Wright brothers? Are they responsible for everyone who has ever died in an airplane crash?"

"No, of course not." The shiny blue eyes looked uncertain but Jack didn’t think he was imagining the hopeful glint.

"The point is that what you did," he poked Daniel's chest, "with every good intention I might add, has no relation to what might happen in the future. Life happens, okay? And you have to accept the bad with the good. Do you understand?"

Daniel swiped a sleeve across his face and looked thoughtful. "I think I do, Jack. Of course they're not responsible for all that."

"No, they're not and neither are you. Got it?"

"Got it." The blonde head nodded slowly. His eyes were still too bright but he managed a smile.

"Good. Now let me drop this paperwork off with the General and then we'll blow this pop stand."

Jack knew he'd got it right when Daniel giggled at this last remark and he gave the kid a light swat on the backside.

"Why don't you go grab your stuff and wait for me in the briefing room. I don't think I'll be long but you never know around here."

"Okay!" Daniel was off like a shot. Oh, to be young again.

Twenty minutes later, Jack exited General Hammond's office and found Daniel standing in the briefing room in front of the huge, reinforced glass windows, staring down at the Stargate. He didn't flinch or turn around when Jack strode up beside him and rested his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"It sure is something, isn't it?" Daniel whispered.

Jack followed the boy's gaze and stared down at the huge alien device. The Abydonians and the Goa'uld called it the Chappai. The Goa'uld had been using it for thousands of years. And probably so had countless other alien races they couldn’t yet imagine. Was he being naïve to think they'd start strolling through the Stargate on missions and somehow make the world safe from their formidable new enemies? Who knew what was out there and what might come through the damned thing?

Or was Daniel right? They'd make new friends and allies and discover amazing cultures and medicines and other technologies to make their own planet a better place.

Jack suspected the reality would lie somewhere in between the bad and the good. Just like the rest of life. At any rate, it would be a long time before they'd know if the alien device was more trouble than it was worth.

He gave his son's shoulder a squeeze and felt a touch of Daniel’s awe.

The Stargate beckoned below.

"Yeah, it sure is something," he agreed.

Finis

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