14 October

Three Days Later

 

“Carry the one…” Jack murmured aloud as he mentally tabulated the figures on the budget report before him. He always did the first two tallies in his head before triple checking with a calculator, just for the mental exercise.

 

A lot of what he had to do in his new job was boring as hell, but it brought a fat pay check and much-needed administrative assistance to General Hammond, and Jack knew the man had enough headaches to deal with these days. It also kept Jack apprised of how things were going with the stargate program, so he wouldn’t be totally in the dark about developments off world. And there was always the excitement of working with the trainees, teaching new groups of snot-nosed kids what it meant to think outside the Earth-bound box.

 

He finished the tabulation and picked up his water bottle for a drink just as the klaxons went off, announcing an incoming wormhole. Jack quelled the instinctive reaction to run to the gate room and see what was happening. He wasn’t part of that anymore, and if they needed him for anything, the people in the control room knew where to find him.

 

The phone rang a moment later.  He reached for it as he closed the folder on the budget report.

 

“O’Neill.”

 

Hammond’s voice was carefully modulated. “Colonel, your presence is requested in the gate room.” There was a note of stress in that formal address that brought Jack to his feet instantly.

 

“Be right there, sir.” He hung up the phone and left his office at a jog, moving down the long corridor toward the elevator. He glanced into Daniel’s office as he passed and saw his lover hard at it, lights low, lamp on his desk burning, head bent over books and papers while his pen scrawled across a notepad in front of him. He paused in the doorway and gave a soft knock, just enough to make Daniel look up. Jack flashed him a smile filled with love, which Daniel returned. 

 

“Something going on?” he asked, sitting up straighter in his chair.

 

“Hammond wants me downstairs,” Jack told him quickly. “I’ll let you know what’s up when I find out.” He winked, gave Daniel a small wave, and headed on his way to the elevator.

 

The sight of Daniel always brought Jack an instant of peace, and he carried that with him down to the 28th floor. The elevator doors slid open and he stepped out into the corridor, which was rapidly filling with people in simple homespun clothes, mixed in with SGC personnel in white lab coats – the emergency medical staff. Tension rose inside Jack as he recognized the faces of some of the aliens exiting the gate room.

 

They were Edorans.

 

Janet Fraiser pushed past him and hurried into the gate room, her face composed and professional.

 

Jack saw that many of the Edorans were dirty. Some were bleeding, holding broken arms close to their bodies or limping on makeshift crutches. Fear inched up inside him, squeezing his stomach. He searched among the Edoran faces for those who’d been closest to him while he’d been marooned on their world so many years back, but far too many were missing.

 

He looked for a woman with curly honey-brown hair but didn’t see her, not even when he stepped inside the gate room.

 

“Laira!” he called, standing on tiptoes to look over the heads of the milling crowd, vaguely aware of the gate shutting down after the last of the refugees came through it. “Laira!”

 

“Jack!” called a raspy male voice. “Thank the ancestors! We have found you.”

 

Whirling around at the summons, Jack made eye contact with Paynan, the gruff old man who had reluctantly befriended him during his stay on Edora.

 

Paynan stood off to one side, holding a small child in his arms. There were tears streaming down his filthy face and a ragged cut on his scalp, crusted over with dried blood. The little girl he was holding wasn’t moving, just lying limply across his shoulder, her eyes wide open and staring.

 

Jack rushed over to his friend. “Paynan, what happened?”

 

The old man shook his head. “We do not know. Your people, the miners who stayed among us, they called it ‘earthquake.’ Our village is gone, Jack. Gone. Swallowed up in a great cleft in the ground.” He began to weep openly, his whole body shaking with grief. “Laira is gone with our village, my friend. I am truly sorry, for I know you were close to her.”

 

With a sinking feeling, Jack went to the old man and put his arm around Paynan’s shoulders. “Here, let me take her,” he suggested, reaching for the little girl. Jack transferred her to his embrace without really looking at her, and she didn’t protest. He hugged Paynan, rubbed his back, oblivious to the sweat, blood and grime. “Garan?” he asked. “Natha?”

 

Paynan shook his head. “They and their two children are dead. All so young. So many of us, Jack. All gone.” He gestured to the few dozen people spilling out of the gate room into the corridor beyond. “We are all that is left of Edora. The ground… it just… took everything. Our world no longer wants us, my friend. So we have come here. You will know where we should go now, yes?”

 

Jack could see the shock, disbelief and enormous grief in the old man’s eyes, mixed with trust and a faint glimmer of hope. Jack’s own mind was reeling, trying to make sense of what had happened. “We’ll send rescue parties, Paynan. Medical teams. We might find more survivors.”

 

With a sigh, the old man just slumped over, head and arms hanging in utter defeat. “We have already saved all who were left. The miners, they helped us dig out those who still lived, and to bury the others. Your people will be coming soon. The mines were not affected. Just our village. Edora is no more.”

 

Janet Fraiser appeared with her penlight, shining it into Paynan’s eyes, checking the cut on his head, asking him questions.

 

Jack turned away, looking at the Edorans, remembering those who had been his closer friends during his stay there. Only a few were in that number. His heart squeezed up inside him.

 

Laira was dead, along with her son, Garan, his young wife, Natha, and the children they’d had together in the four years Jack had been gone. He assumed they’d married, since they’d had a family together. He wished he’d been able to see them with their little ones, but just the thought of it now was painful, knowing they had died so young, and that Paynan had seen it with his own eyes. He’d probably helped pull the bodies out of the debris and bury them.

 

Jack started to turn back to Paynan, but Janet told him to stand still while she examined the child in his arms. His attention fixed on the little girl for a moment, felt her regular breathing, the dead weight of her against his body. She was filthy, her curly hair matted and streaks of grime cut with tear tracks across her cheeks. Her clothes were caked with dirt, and her bare arms and legs were an even brown, just the color of the Edoran soil.

 

He reached up and put his free hand on her back, gently rubbing her, offering what comfort he could, leaning his head against hers, not caring how dirty she was or how funky she smelled. Her hair was just past shoulder length, honey-brown and curly under the dirt, and it tickled his nose and chin.

 

“There doesn’t appear to be any physical injury,” Janet stated. “She just looks like she’s in shock.”

 

“She is,” agreed Paynan. “The child watched her mother die in the ruins of her home. She was still sitting with the body, holding her dead mother’s hand, when we dug her out a little while ago. She has not spoken since.”

 

Jack’s guts wrenched as he imagined the child’s suffering. His voice was deep and soft as he spoke. “Oh, God. Poor baby.” Jack felt Janet’s hand patting his shoulder, and he turned around to face the old man, still rubbing the child’s back, trying to cuddle her closer.

 

Paynan’s brown eyes were brimming with tears, burning a hole in Jack’s. The Edoran suddenly looked much older, the lines in his face deepening into a grimace of terrible, unbearable grief.

 

“I am sorry, Jack,” he said, sniffing. “Laira was a proud woman. She chose to keep the child to herself and bade us all not tell you about her, should you return.” His gaze dropped to the floor. “It is both blessing and curse that you did not, for now you must take up your role as father and raise your daughter in your world. She has no one else.”

 

Jack stopped moving. For a moment, he couldn’t even think. Couldn’t breathe. His heart was suddenly in his throat. His eyes locked on the old man’s face, trying desperately to process, to deny, but his mind was a jumble, and he couldn’t quite make sense of what he’d just heard. 

 

Daughter.

 

Paynan had said this child was Jack’s daughter.

 

Laira had never told him, never sent word, because she had to have known it would bring him back against his will to live in her world, in a life he didn’t want, with a woman he cared for and admired, but didn’t love.

 

The smell of the child was strong in his nostrils, unpleasant with sweat and dirt and dried urine, but underneath it was something familiar, something that smelled like…

 

Laira, and her home.

 

Paynan’s watery eyes shifted to the child in Jack’s arms. He reached out and patted her back, lifted his chin and made eye contact with Jack again. “Yes, Jack. She is your child, and Laira’s.  Her name is Jakaira.” Then he moved away, following the rest of his people out into the corridor, leaving Jack alone with Janet… and his daughter.

 

Janet moved around in front of Jack and looked up into his face.  She smiled, her eyes filled with compassion, understanding instantly what a shock this was to Jack.  “She could probably use a bath, maybe something to eat,” Janet prompted gently, her eyes warm and sad as she looked up at him. “I know this is hard, Jack, but you need to shake it off and concentrate on her for the moment. The rest will sort itself out later.”

 

He took a deep breath. After a moment, coherent thought engaged, the trained military tool adjusting to circumstances and selecting options. He nodded and hugged the child tighter for a moment, his large hand protectively splayed across her small back. “Of course. And a thorough medical exam,” he said softly. “She’ll need that, too, right?”

 

Janet nodded. “Along with catching her up on vaccines. This is her world now, and she’ll need to be able to live safely in it.” She gave Jack a hopeful smile. “Take her to the infirmary and one of the nurses will help you get her cleaned up. Then why don’t you take her to the commissary for something to eat, and see if you can get her to talk to you? We’ll do the rest when she’s had a little time to adjust.”

 

Jack nodded numbly.

 

Daniel.

 

“Will you… call Daniel and ask him to meet me in the infirmary?”

 

She shook her head, her eyes solemn but kind. “I’ve got my hands full at the moment, Jack. Why don’t you ask one of the nurses to do that for you, or just go by his office for a few minutes? We’re not in a big hurry here. She’s home now.” Janet patted the child’s back and walked away, following the crowd out of the gate room.

 

Jack looked up into the control booth and watched Sergeant Davis give him a grim nod, but the general was nowhere to be seen. He turned and started to follow the Edorans and the medical staff out into the hallway, almost bumping into Hammond as he stepped through the gate room door. From the look in George’s eyes, Jack knew he’d heard everything.

 

“Take whatever time you need, Jack,” Hammond assured him, patting his shoulder. “Anything any of us can do to help, just let us know.” The general’s blue eyes shifted to the child on his shoulder. He smoothed an errant lock of her hair back into the rest of her wild, dirty mane. He smiled. “Welcome home, Jakaira. I’m sure you’ll be very happy here, now that your daddy has you with him.”

 

A chubby arm moved, and then the other. The little girl moved back in Jack’s embrace, both hands pressed against his chest, so she could look her father in the eye. For a long time, she just stared. 

 

Jack’s eyes roved over her face hungrily. Jakaira was the image of him. She had his intense brown eyes, his thin lips, his long face and slightly cleft chin. There was very little of her mother in her, except for the color and curl of her hair. He wondered if she had his dimples, and ached to see her smile.

 

His heart shattered in his chest, sharp-edged shards of joy cutting his insides to ribbons. He smiled at her, his eyes filling with tears that ran freely down his face. He lifted one hand to touch her cheek in abject wonder, laughter bubbling up inside him to spill out of his mouth in sobbing little gasps.

 

“Oh, God, she looks just like me,” he keened softly.

 

“Yes, she does, Jack,” said George gently. “She’s beautiful.” 

 

Jack wrapped his large hand around the back of her little head and pulled her close, kissing her dirty cheek and nestling her head against his face. He wept openly, thanking God in the privacy of his soul for this blessing, unable to quite believe it was real.

 

He had a child! He was a father again, and tragedy had brought her to him, just as tragedy had taken Charlie from him. Jakaira was damaged now, and would need his help and his love if she were to recover.

 

“I love you, baby,” he whispered into her hair, swaying with her in his arms. “Daddy loves you, and you’re safe with me now. I’ll keep you safe, I promise. I promise.” 

 

A hand at his back pushed him gently down the corridor toward the elevator. Hammond walked at his side and pressed the button for him while Jack stood and rocked and cuddled his baby girl. His daughter, Jakaira.

 

He thought about Laira as he stepped into the car and nodded his goodbye to the general. He’d slept with her thinking he would be marooned on her world for the rest of his life, and the very next day, he’d deserted her. She’d gotten her wish to bear a child of his blood, and had never told him. Perhaps, if he’d gone back, if he’d kept his word, she might have.

 

But then, if he’d kept his word, he would have known. He would have seen her rounded belly with his own eyes and understood. Only he’d never gone back. He’d broken his promise, because some part of him had known the possibility was there for a child. And he’d left her behind, never looking back in the four years that had gone under the bridge, because that wasn’t a life he wanted.

 

The doors slid closed and for a moment his finger hovered above the button for level 21, the infirmary level. Instead, he pushed 18. He had to tell Daniel, had to show Jakaira to him, had to give him time to make his own decisions about what this meant. Jack had the responsibility of raising Jakaira, and he wouldn’t abandon her to the care of anyone else.

 

Daniel, however, wasn’t bound by the same ties. Jack was afraid he wouldn’t want the burden of a child in their home, especially one that wasn’t his own. If that were the case, he wouldn’t ask the man he loved to stay with him. It wouldn’t be fair; but then, nobody had a heart as big as Daniel, and Jack was hopeful he’d be okay with it. 

 

 

Jack stepped into Daniel’s office and closed the door behind him. He turned around to see Daniel sitting at his desk, his head lifted, pen being laid aside. There was concern on his face as he caught sight of what Jack had brought with him. 

 

“Edora,” said Jack hesitantly, answering the unspoken question in those worried blue eyes shifting between him and the bedraggled child in his arms. “An earthquake. Bad one.”

 

Daniel’s gaze shifted to the child whose face he couldn’t see, then back to Jack. “How many survivors?”

 

“Not many,” Jack answered, his throat tight. “Laira…” He shook his head. He couldn’t say the words. His throat had closed up.

 

Daniel stood. He reached for his cane and came out from behind his desk. “I’m sorry, Jack. Are they in the infirmary?”

 

Jack nodded, swallowing hard, shifting his grief aside to give necessary information. “For now. I’ll be going there in a minute, but I wanted you to know.” He cuddled Jakaira closer. “Daniel, this is… my daughter, Jakaira. Mine and Laira’s.”

 

At Jack’s words, Jakaira twisted around a bit, turning solemn eyes on this new stranger. 

 

Color leached quickly from Daniel’s face. His eyes went wide, and his mouth dropped slowly open. He turned his gaze to the little girl and stared at her for a moment.

 

“She’s yours, Jack?”  Daniel swallowed hard and then stepped a little closer.  He slowly reached out a hand and brushed one of Jakaira’s little hands with one finger, as if to verify the reality of her presence.  “She’s beautiful,” he whispered.  “Just like her mom.”  He glanced at Jack’s worried face.  “She looks just like you, Jack.” 

 

She moved her hand away as she turned to hide her eyes in her father’s shoulder again.

 

Daniel’s face took on a determined set. Behind those burning blue eyes a decision was made and chiselled into stone. “Are there any other children who need homes?” he asked, his voice thick with emotion, eyes radiant behind his glasses. “We’ll take them, too.”

 

“Oh, Daniel. I love you so much!” Jack was never more fiercely proud of his partner than at that moment. He reached out with his free arm and Daniel stepped fully into his embrace, pressing his face close to Jakaira, kissing her shoulder, patting her gently.

 

“Let’s go find out. But first…”  Jack turned around so that he had his back to Daniel, while Jakaira would be able to see him as she peered over Jack’s shoulder.

 

“Jakaira, I want you to meet someone very special to me. His name is Daniel,” said Jack gently.

 

She lifted her head again, and Daniel smiled and waved at her. “Hi, Jakaira,” he returned. “Your daddy and I live together, and we love each other very much, just like we do you. We’re glad you’ve come to live with us.”

 

“Yes, we are,” Jack added emphatically, patting her back. “Jakaira, can Daniel be your daddy, too?”

 

“I’d like that,” Daniel told her. “I’d like that very much.”

 

Jakaira didn’t answer, just continued to stare at him with those Jack O’Neill eyes that saw everything and took it all in.

 

Daniel came closer, his movements slow and graceful, and stroked her grimy cheek with his fingertips. “It’s okay,” he murmured. “I know all this is scary and very different from your home on Edora, but I promise you’ll feel better soon. We’ll get you clean and feed you, and then you can take a nap, and we’ll both be right there with you the whole time. Okay?”

 

She nodded, a little weary sigh slipping out of her.

 

Daniel shut down his office and turned the lights off for the rest of the day, his work done for the time being while he helped take care of their family.  The two men walked toward the elevator together, both of them petting and talking quietly to the little girl in her father’s arms, doing their best to make her feel loved and wanted, and at home. 

 

 

Daniel watched the freshly bathed child in Jack’s lap, her bright, intelligent eyes moving all around the noisy commissary, watching everyone, missing no detail. Daniel could see so much of Jack in her, but she was so weighted down by her grief that she was obviously having a difficult time dealing. She mindlessly munched on the buttered bread in her hand, looking around at her strange new world, and Daniel’s heart ached for her. 

 

He knew exactly how she felt.

 

Memories of his own childhood surfaced, but this time, instead of being pushed back into the dark corners of his mind, he stepped into them, trying to remember his thoughts and fears immediately after losing his parents, when he’d been thrust into the alien world of foster care. All of that came rushing back as if it had happened yesterday, fresh and raw, gleaming in Jakaira’s brown eyes.

 

“Jack,” he said softly, “put your arms around her. Hold her gently. Just being in your lap isn’t enough.”

 

He watched Jack do as he’d asked and saw the relief in Jakaira’s face. She leaned back against Jack’s chest, resting now as she ate, but she didn’t look at Daniel except to glance at him in passing.

 

He needed to fix that. He needed to let her know that he understood what she was feeling, even though he was a grown-up. For that, he would have to talk to her.

 

“Jakaira,” he called quietly.

 

She looked at him, then back down at her plate. She tugged distractedly at the neck of the oversized black T-shirt that Jack had given her to wear after her bath, since there were no child-sized clothes available on the base. 

 

Daniel’s voice was soft and warm. “When I was a little boy, something happened to me, just like what happened to you, so I know how you feel.  My mommy died real suddenly, too, when I was just a little older than you are now.” 

 

This time, her eyes moved directly to his face and stayed there. She stopped chewing and just stared at him. Jack had one of his big hands wrapped around her belly, the other moving up and down her arm, petting her gently. He bent down and gave her a kiss on top of her head, and Jakaira’s face relaxed a little more. That was just what she needed, to feel that she was loved, protected, understood, and safe.

 

“I’m so sorry about your mommy,” Daniel told her honestly, unable to stop the tears gathering in his eyes. He blinked them away. “I know you feel scared and lonely and lost, but you’re not lost. You’re with your daddy, Jack O’Neill.” He pointed over her shoulder, indicating Jack, who kissed her hair again.  Daniel tried to smile a little. “I know your mother told you about him, didn’t she?”

 

Jakaira swallowed. She looked down at her plate, then back up at Daniel. She put her food down and moved her hands to her lap below the table. Then she nodded, her slightly damp blonde curls bouncing.

 

“Your mother wanted your father to take care of you, so that’s why you’re here,” he explained patiently. “This is a whole new world, different from Edora. Do you understand that?”

 

She shook her head.

 

“Well, it is. Soon your father and I will be taking you to our home. You’ll see wonderful new things like cars, trucks, and airplanes. Those are machines we use to take us places really fast.” He smiled. “And when we get to our house, you’ll see a small box with moving pictures that talk. It’s called a television, or TV for short, and it’s lots of fun. It tells us stories and brings us news from far away places, and teaches us about things we don’t know. Do you think you’ll like that?”

 

“Daniel, is all this really necessary?” asked Jack uncertainly. “You might be scaring her.”

 

Raising his eyes to his lover, Daniel shook his head. “We’ve been to Edora, Jack. We’ve seen what it’s like there. If we take her out to the truck and put her in it without explanation, that’s what will scare her. Hearing about it now will make it easier. There’s a lot we have to teach her, and doing it this way will help soften the blow. Trust me on this, okay?”

 

Jack nodded. “I do, vidámo.” He reached up to touch the little girl’s soft, clean hair in wonder.

 

Daniel turned his gaze back to Jakaira, who was still studying him. He smiled at her again and wondered what she was thinking. He crossed his arms on the table and leaned his chin on them, bending down so he could look her in the eye. “There are a lot of people here, aren’t there?” he asked.

 

She glanced around the commissary and nodded. She stuffed the last of the buttered bread into her mouth, took a big drink of milk and turned around on Jack’s lap, swinging her legs off over his thighs. She seemed to be looking for something, so Daniel asked her about that.

 

Jakaira didn’t answer.

 

“What do you need, baby?” asked Jack, leaning over to make eye contact.

 

Her little face screwed up, her need obvious, slowly building up into panic.

 

“Tell me what you need, honey,” Jack prompted again.

 

Jakaira’s eyes filled with tears.  She slipped down off his lap, reaching up to clutch his hand, her eyes moving all around the room, seeking but not finding.

 

“Um, Jack…” Daniel stood up, watching her body language, the way she squeezed her legs together and wriggled. “It occurs to me that I have no idea how the Edorans referred to going to the bathroom. Do you know?”

 

Jack cleared his throat. “Make waste,” he said quietly.

 

“Makes sense,” Daniel said, turning his gaze back to Jakaira. “Do you need to make waste, Jakaira?”

 

Her blonde head bobbed emphatically.

 

Daniel glanced up at Jack, reached down and took her hand and started to lead the way out of the commissary. “We call it going to the bathroom,” he informed her conversationally. “Or going potty. That’s what parents teach their children to say here. Can you say that, Jakaira?”

 

She seemed to ignore him, her eyes darting to and fro, looking for the familiar outdoor toilet facilities that her people had on Edora, and not finding one. Daniel knew that had to be upsetting her, but he couldn’t help that. She’d just have to learn about the wonder of modern toilet facilities when she saw one.

 

“Take her into one of the men’s rooms with stalls,” Daniel suggested. “She may be a girl, but you’re her father, and you’ve got to do this.”

 

Jack’s walked with them out the double doors and down the corridor until their destination registered.  Jack’s face flushed crimson. “I can’t take her into the men’s room.  She’s a girl!”

 

His glance fell on the child, now starting to dance as she walked, her legs drawn together from the knees up. “Now, Jack, unless you want to clean up an accident.”

 

“Oh, fer cryin’ out loud!” he groused. “You come, too, then.”

 

“What do I need to come for?” Daniel stopped outside the restroom door.

 

“Because I said so, now move your tight a—“ Jack coughed, suddenly aware of his little audience. “Move your butt, Jackson. You get to run interference and chase all the men out of there. And when you’re done, you can help me figure out what to do with her.”

 

“Do with her?  I don’t know anything about kids,” Daniel argued, aware of the heat rising in his face as he pushed through the restroom door. “Especially little girls.”

 

Picking up Jakaira, Jack settled her in his arms, covering her eyes with his hand as they entered the men’s room. “You seem to be doing just fine with this one,” Jack returned irritably, glancing around for an open stall door. “Now, let’s get this over with, shall we?”

 

An hour later, Daniel was on his way to their house to put fresh sheets on the guest room bed. When Jack arrived with his daughter a little while later, they put their heads together and made a list of all the things they’d need for a little girl, then realised neither of them were equipped to know what all a little girl required.  They’d bought the necessities for overnight and a few days after, but for wardrobe help and other sundries, they’d need a professional, someone who knew the territory.

 

That prompted a telephone call to Sam, who arranged to take the afternoon off and promised to bring Cassie along as soon as she got out of school. Had Janet not been tied up with the Edoran refugees, she’d have been right there with them.

 

Jack and Daniel were still making lists, examining the guest room and planning ahead when the two women arrived. Cassie greeted them with hugs and kisses, and then squatted down to be eye level with the child. She smiled and gave a little wave.

 

“Hi, there. My name is Cassie Fraiser, and I’m from another world, just like you are,” she said gently. “And I promise, you’re going to love it here. It’s hard to get used to, sometimes, at first anyway, but there’s so much fun stuff to do and see, you won’t mind the yucky stuff.” She made a face and stuck out her tongue, trying to tease a grin from the little girl.

 

Jakaira just stared at her. She turned big eyes up to Sam and reached up with one hand.

 

Sam bent down to her, and Jakaira touched her hair in wonder.

 

“Hi, Jakaira. I’m Samantha Carter. You can call me Auntie Sam, if you want.”

 

The little girl drew away, ignoring her words, and padded over to the living room window, looking out at the colorful garden.

 

Sam looked disappointed as she straightened.


”Give her time, Sam,” Jack advised.

 

With a slow, serious nod, Sam took a seat on the sofa with Daniel, while Cassie and Jack took the chairs, and then the new team began planning for Jakaira’s transition to living on Earth.

 

After a few minutes of initial discussion and accompanying list-making, Sam took Jack shopping while Cassie and Daniel introduced the child to books, music and the wonders of television. Jakaira wouldn’t let Daniel out of her sight except when he had to go to the bathroom, and even then she stood outside the door, knocking on it and trying the doorknob until he finished.

 

As the day went on, he did his best to explain everything to her, anything he touched that he knew was different from her homeworld. The refrigerator fascinated her, and she spent several minutes opening and closing the door, feeling the radiating cold and then shutting it up inside the mysterious machine.

 

He made sandwiches, simple fare like they had eaten on Edora, wondering aloud to Cassie if Jakaira would ever learn to enjoy the typical American child’s fare, like pizza and hot dogs.

 

Since Cassie was an alien herself, she gave him some valuable input on that as they ate dinner, and helped Daniel plan the introduction of new foods and other experiences. Jakaira just watched them and listened, making no attempt to offer opinions of her own.

 

Just as they got through eating, Jack and Sam returned from the various stores, their arms loaded with boxes and bags.  They began unpacking all of Jakaira’s new things into her room, putting her clothes into the closet and bureau, showing her the toys they’d selected and making her the center of attention until she began to yawn and lean against things wearily.

 

The ladies took their leave with fond thanks from the new fathers, and Jack and Daniel escorted Jakaira to her newly outfitted room to tuck her into bed.

 

Jack took Jakaira into the tiny guest bathroom and set her on the counter to brush her teeth, relating to Daniel how he used to do the same thing with Charlie when he was that age. Then he took Jakaira back to her bedroom and read her a story that Sam had picked out.  Before he finished it, she was sound asleep against his chest. Carefully, he arranged her on the sheets and covered her up with a kiss on her hair.

 

He got off the bed and stood gazing down at her, while Daniel watched from his post in the rocking chair nearby. When Jack left the room, Daniel was right behind him.

 

Out in the hallway, Jack turned around and put a hand on Daniel’s waist. “You go on to bed, babe. I’ll be there in a minute. I bought some nightlights, and I just need to put ‘em in the sockets so Jay can find her way through the house in the dark.” He kissed Daniel lightly on the lips and disappeared down the hallway toward the living room.

 

Daniel went into their room and prepared for bed, slipping beneath the cool sheets. He clasped his hands behind his head and thought about all the day had brought them. This was a life-altering event, and it would undoubtedly change a great many things in the way they moved through their days… and their nights. Daniel had never been a parent before, so he was clueless about what they could and couldn’t do, even in the privacy of their own home. Jack would have to guide him in that.

 

He watched his lover come into their room and disappear into the bathroom for a few minutes, and then, as Jack started to undress, he went over to the bedroom door and closed it. Then he turned the lock. He took off his pants and underwear and tossed them into the bathroom hamper, then came to bed naked.

 

“I was wondering how this might affect our love life,” Daniel murmured as Jack got into bed and pounced on him, the bed bouncing for a moment.

 

Jack gave a little growl, delight in his eyes as he looked down at his naked lover.

 

“Takes all the spontaneity out of it, for one thing,” Jack told him, reaching down to nip Daniel’s nipple and draw a gasp of pleasure from him. “Gotta remember to lock the bedroom door before we do anything.” He started to suckle that nipple, his fingers dancing lightly over Daniel’s smooth belly and moving steadily lower.

 

“And unlock it when we’re done,” Daniel added before his mind stopped working. “Mmmm…”

 

Jack lifted his head and stopped moving. “Oh?”

 

Daniel could see Jack’s eyebrows rising. “Well, yeah. If she wakes up in a strange place, she’s going to need access to you right away. Which also means if she wakes up, and we’re in the middle of doing each other, Jakaira gets priority. Okay?”

 

Daniel felt Jack’s hand smooth firmly down his belly to take possession of his rising cock, making him shut up, all coherent thought suddenly gone.

 

“Okay.  We’ll talk about it later,” Jack whispered as he used his hand to slowly pump him.   “Love you, Daniel.”

 

“Jack.” Daniel reached up and embraced him, bringing him down into a kiss that set Daniel on fire.

 

Jack was a father again, and Daniel found that incredibly sexy. He would get to see a whole other facet of the man he loved. There was still so much Jack kept shuttered in the depths of his soul, things he never talked about, and fatherhood was one of those things. Charlie was a painful subject, but having Jakaira with them would revive that again in all its pain and joy. He would see Jack being tender and playful with his child, and that would be a beautiful thing, indeed.

 

Daniel imagined it, visualising Jack taking her to the park, teaching her to ride a bicycle and play hockey. Emotion rose and spilled over inside him, and he clutched at Jack, wrestling with him for dominance, pushing him back against the bed.

 

He nipped and clawed his way down Jack’s body, devouring his cock like a starving man. He heard Jack whispering his name, begging for him to slow down, take it easy, but Daniel was beyond restraint now.

 

Jack’s hands were in Daniel’s long hair, trying to hold him back yet not hurt him. He groaned and arched his back off the bed, gasping with pleasure. Daniel ran his right hand over Jack’s belly and thighs, cupping and squeezing his balls, knowing exactly how Jack liked to be touched and doing it all. By now Jack should be moaning loudly, but he was only making soft, smothered grunts, keeping quiet to avoid waking Jakaira.

 

Using a prearranged signal, Daniel tapped Jack on the thigh and a moment later the tube of lube dropped onto the bed between Jack’s legs. Daniel grabbed it, flipped the cap open with one hand and then let Jack’s glistening dick slide out of his mouth. Breathing hard, he balanced on his left elbow, shook his hair back out of his eyes, transferred the tube to his left hand and squeezed some of the clear gel onto his right fingertips. He closed the cap on the tube and dropped it beside Jack’s thigh, then leaned back over his lover’s body, nibbling along the length of his straining cock.

 

“Love you, Jack,” he breathed against that hot, slick flesh. A nudge of his right hand made Jack bend his left leg and Daniel pushed his slippery fingers into Jack’s ass to the sound of a ragged gasp of pleasure. Daniel placed a row of wet, sensual kisses along the length of Jack’s throbbing erection, listening for the wonderful grunts and gasps that came from his passionate attention.

 

Hungrily, Daniel swallowed Jack whole, relaxing his throat while his fingers probed, seeking and finding Jack’s prostate. Daniel rubbed it while he sucked and licked his love’s cock, sensing Jack’s control gradually vanishing.

 

Jack arched his head back, eyes closed in bliss, one hand threaded through Daniel’s hair and the other clutching at the sheets at his side.  “Need to come,” he moaned in a soft voice.  “Please, Danny,” he added helplessly. 

 

Daniel hummed in agreement, his fingers plunging deeper, adding a third and then a fourth, stretching him wide. Daniel matched the rhythm of his mouth to that of his fingers, deepening his thrusts until Jack lay helplessly clutching at him, his body rigid, almost there.

 

“Daniel!” he gasped in a desperate whisper. “Oh, God!”

 

Jack’s hips thrust him fiercely down Daniel’s throat, almost choking him. Jack curled up, his head and shoulders coming up off the bed as he came, eyes wide open and staring at the sight of his lover’s mouth around his cock.  He poured sweet fire into Daniel’s mouth, his ass clenching in spasms around Daniel’s fingers. He flopped back against the bed as the pulses began to ebb and Daniel held his head still, using just his tongue to swirl around the sensitive head of Jack’s cock. His fingers still stroked Jack’s prostate, and he was rewarded with a startled gasp and twitch as another strong wave of pleasure shot through his lover’s dick.

 

“Jesus, Daniel,” Jack panted in a whisper. “I came already. You can’t possibly want more.”  He chuckled hoarsely. 

 

Sucking off and swallowing the last drops of come, Daniel finally let go of Jack’s softening cock, withdrew his fingers and slithered up beside his lover. “Of course, I want more,” he rumbled huskily, nibbling on Jack’s shoulder. “What are you in the mood for tonight?”

 

With a soft, breathless little laugh, Jack sighed, “You gotta ask?” He turned his head, struggling to pry open his eyes and focus on the man hovering above him. With a groan, he rolled slowly over onto his left side, putting his back to Daniel, who sat up and groped in the bed for the lube.

 

He slicked himself up and pushed into Jack hard and fast, holding onto his hip and pulling Jack back against him.

 

Jack swore again, his eyes closed, head thrown back as this new pleasure pulled him back under its hypnotic current.

 

Daniel devoured him with his eyes, memorising all the wonderful bulges of firm muscle, the forest of curly silver hair covering Jack’s chest, belly and groin. He took in all the scars and the evidence of his slow advance into late middle age and saw only beauty. The way Jack moved against him, the additional little twitches of his cock as Daniel thrust into him, the softly sensual moans he made, all evidence that Jack loved what Daniel was doing, how he was touching him. Jack was giving himself up to Daniel, giving all of himself, and to Daniel, as always, there was nothing more arousing than that total surrender.

 

The tight, wet heat of Jack’s body surrounding him was bliss itself. Daniel wanted this to last all night, but he was already getting close, pressure building in his balls, focus narrowing to his cock. He let go of Jack’s hip and plastered himself against Jack’s back, holding Jack hard against him with one hand flat against his chest. He could feel Jack’s heart pounding against his palm and closed his eyes, curling over Jack’s shoulder.

 

“Fuck me, Danny,” Jack rasped softly. “Wanna feel you come.” Jack’s hand covered Daniel’s, squeezing. “That’s it, just like that.  Love you. God! Love you so much…”

 

Daniel’s whole body seized up.  With a startled cry of pleasure, he jerked against Jack’s ass as he came, the pulses radiating out all through him, dissolving his bones, stealing his breath and his mind, leaving nothing in its wake but his fiercely beating heart. His head fell forward, resting his forehead against Jack’s shoulder.

 

It took several moments before Daniel could open his eyes, lifting his head so he could look at his lover. He was still embedded in Jack, who had turned his head on the pillow and was eyeing him over his shoulder. His dark eyes were black and heavy lidded, sparkling with peace and satisfaction, the slightest little smile playing around his lips.

 

“Have I told you lately how damn good you are in bed?” he asked softly, that smile dawning bright and beautiful on his face. His smile faded. “Or how much I need you?

 

Instantly Daniel felt his heart swell. “Almost every night, Jack,” Daniel reminded him as he sank down behind him onto the same pillow, brushing his tangled mane out of his eyes with an impatient swipe of his fingers. He placed a small kiss on the nape of Jack’s neck. “But I never get tired of hearing it.”

 

Jack lifted Daniel’s hand and kissed his palm, gently, sweetly, returning it to his chest, and dropped his head against the pillow with a sigh. He held Daniel’s hand against his sweaty chest, rubbing his thumb over the back of Daniel’s wrist.

 

The two men rested together, listening to each other breathe, content and sated.  Daniel kissed Jack’s shoulder and ran his nose along his hairline.  His shrinking cock slipped out of Jack with a small rush of hot semen.  “Love you so much.  We’re gonna be okay, you know.  Everything’s gonna be all right.  As long as we’re together, we’ll be fine. All three of us.” 

 

Jack tensed in his arms, remembering his little girl, lying asleep in the next room. “I don’t know if I can do this, Daniel,” he murmured. “I screwed up once in the worst way possible, and I don’t know if I could survive—“

 

“That wasn’t your fault, Jack,” Daniel cut in adamantly. He pushed back a bit and then urged Jack to roll onto his back so they could see each other better.  He propped himself up on his elbow to look down into Jack’s face, smoothing Jack’s damp hair away from his forehead, and looking deep into his eyes in the dim light of the bedside lamp.   “Listen to me. What happened to Charlie was a horrible accident.  It was stupid and tragic, but you didn’t do anything to hurt him on purpose. You would have given your own life for it not to have happened.”  He held Jack’s chin in his hand, looking down at him with every morsel of conviction he could muster.  “And do you honestly think, now that you’ve seen Jakaira, that you could just hand her off to anyone else to raise?”   

 

Swallowing hard, Jack shook his head, rolling it back and forth against the pillow. “No. I couldn’t do that. She’s mine.”

 

“Then we’ll find a way,” Daniel assured him fervently. “I know you’re scared, Jack, but your daughter needs you, and I know you want to be there for her.”

 

“Yeah.” Jack lifted his hand to press his palm against Daniel’s cheek, threading his fingers into Daniel’s wild, sweaty mane and combing it back from his face. Daniel leaned into his touch. “This is different, in every way possible. I have a daughter, Daniel. I don’t know how to raise a daughter. And she’s traumatized by what she’s been through. I know that, and I don’t know how to deal with it.”

 

“We’ll figure it out together,” Daniel promised. “We’ll get help for her.”  He sat up and looked down at the bed, picking absently at wrinkles in the sheets. “I’ve been in her shoes, so I know something about how she’s feeling. The difference between Jakaira and me is that she has you.  I had no one.  That’s why it’s so important to be there for her if she wakes up, because she’s lost right now, and she knows she’s connected to you. She just doesn’t feel it yet. But she will in time.  Don’t worry.”

 

Daniel knew Jack was watching him, aware that Jack would understand that Daniel was allowing the memories of his parents’ deaths to come back and fill him up, to shatter him all over again, because he needed that connection to be able to relate to Jakaira. And he knew Jack loved him even more for opening himself up to that pain, for the sake of Jack’s child.

 

Jack sat up, reaching for him, but Daniel was already moving, getting off the bed and searching for his sweat pants, hurrying because he knew she was coming. Even as exhausted as the child was, her sleep for the first few nights would be broken up by nightmares that would make her relive the terror all over again. He glanced at Jack, just sitting there in the bed, but before he could urge his partner to get dressed, a little knock sounded on the door.

 

Jack bolted off the bed and had his pants on in a flash, racing for the door. “Just a minute, honey!” he called, hurrying over to jerk open the door. He bent down to pick up his daughter and hold her close.

 

She was crying, hiccupping silent sobs and holding onto his neck for dear life.

 

Daniel dutifully fetched T-shirts for both of them while Jack comforted Jakaira, then Daniel stepped into the bathroom for a quick shower.  He took Jack’s place on the bed with her afterward, sitting up beside her and reassuring her while she settled down. In a few minutes, she was fast asleep again, right between their pillows.

 

Shortly afterward, Jack was showered and dressed again and got into the bed with Daniel and Jakaira.

 

Once they were both on their pillows and still, Daniel gazed over at Jack, lying with his hand on his daughter’s ribs. In the low light from the bedside lamp, he could see his lover looking back at him over the top of the little girl’s head.  Daniel smiled, his gaze moving from father to daughter, taking note of his stamp on her and how beautiful she was.

 

“I love you, Daniel,” Jack whispered. “Thank you for accepting her into our lives.”

 

“Thank you for letting me be part of raising her, Jack,” he returned, his heart filling up with emotion.

 

“How could you not be?” asked Jack simply. “You’re my other half. The brains of the outfit. And I honestly believe this is just like everything else in my life.  I couldn’t do any of it without you.” 

 

“You’d find a way,” Daniel assured him, “but thanks for the vote of confidence. Now, let’s all get some sleep. I have the feeling our lives just got a whole lot more complicated on a lot of levels.”

 

Jack smiled and closed his eyes. “You have no idea. But you’ll be surprised at how easily it all comes to you, too.” 

 

Daniel didn’t point out that Sara probably did most of the parenting and nurturing while Jack was off God knew where with his Special Ops teams. Now he would be at home most of the time, and they’d be sharing parental duties, but there would be times when it would be just Daniel and Jakaira, and that worried him. He wasn’t a nurturer by nature. He tended to get absorbed in his work and forget about other people. That had ruined his love life more times than he could count, and while children tended to be more forgiving, this would not be an easy thing for Daniel to learn.

 

For Jack and his child, however, he would put forth the effort and make Jakaira a priority.

 

Daniel looked at both of them a little longer before turning off the bedside lamp. He sighed and closed his eyes, hoping he could be as good a friend to Jakaira as Jack would be a father. Neither of them were quite prepared for this, but they’d learn because Jakaira needed them.

 

And whatever she needed, he and Jack would provide. That was what parents did for their children. Daniel’s eyes opened and he looked down at the mop of curly hair illuminated by moonlight coming in through the slats of the window shutters, and the low glow of the nightlights Jack had put in the bathroom, bedroom and hallway. His heart swelled as he realized what that meant.

 

Not only had Jack been granted a second chance at fatherhood, but Daniel was also getting an opportunity to try it for himself.

 

Daniel Jackson had just become a father; something he never believed would happen to him.

 

Tears seeped from his eyes as he closed them. He was exhausted, overwhelmed, but full of hope.  He reached out blindly, trying to hold his emotions inside. His fingertips touched Jack’s knuckles, and he trailed down those long, rough fingers to press lightly against Jakaira’s little chest, moving in and out with the motion of her breathing.  Daniel sighed, content to be touching her… and then Jack’s fingers parted and slipped downward, easing between Daniel’s fingers, holding him and his daughter at the same time.

 

“Family,” whispered Jack. “That’s what we are now, Daniel. We’re a real family.”

 

“Yes,” agreed Daniel softly. “We are. I love you, Jack. And I love Jakaira, too, because she’s yours.”

 

“She’s yours, now, too, you know. I hope you’ll like being a daddy. I think you’ll be great at it.”

 

Daniel’s throat closed up, keeping him from telling Jack that he was certain he would love it, so he just squeezed Jack’s hand and nodded. He closed his eyes, his fingers still laced with Jack’s around Jakaira’s ribs, and he drifted off to sleep, smiling through his tears of terrified joy. 

 

 

**21 October**

One week later

 

Daniel sat in the waiting room, holding tightly onto Jack’s hand, rubbing his thumb in random patterns over Jack’s knuckles. He glanced at Jack in the chair beside his, back straight, eyes aimed at the door where Jakaira had been taken through almost an hour earlier. He’d barely moved from that position since the child psychologist had taken her away to examine her.

 

It had been a week since the child had come to live with them, and aside from sobs when she cried, Jakaira hadn’t made a sound or spoken a word, no matter how they’d tried to get her to talk. Janet had done an additional check to rule out any physical causes for her muteness, but found nothing. She’d referred them to a child psychologist at Peterson AFB, and they’d brought her here. The psychologist, Doctor Stella Novotny, had told them she would need to observe Jakaira at play and have her complete some tests before she’d be able to give them any answers, and so they waited, separated from their daughter, both of them tense and worried about what they might hear.

 

Looking around the room at the other parents, Daniel saw that all of them were male-female couples, and that many of them were staring at the two of them holding hands. This was a military base, and homosexual relationships were unwelcome, but Daniel didn’t care. They were both civilians now and Jack needed him, needed this contact and support, and there was no way Daniel would deny him that for appearance’s sake.

 

He turned his gaze to Jack’s face and murmured, “S’gonna be okay, Jack. She’s strong, you know, just like her father.”

 

Daniel could see how worried Jack was. That echoed in Daniel, because both of them knew there was a problem. Jack’s stony expression didn’t change, but without blinking or looking away from the door that led to the treatment and exam rooms, Jack lifted their interlaced fingers to his mouth and kissed Daniel’s knuckles, then set their hands back on the arms of the chairs.

 

Message received, Daniel knew. But Jack’s concentration was elsewhere, and Daniel waited quietly with him until at last the door opened and the receptionist stepped through with a polite smile.

 

“Colonel O’Neill, the doctor will see you now.  Would you come with me?” she asked cheerfully.

 

Daniel let go of him instantly.

 

Jack stood up and reached for his hand again. “Come on, Daniel,” he urged gently.

 

“They won’t let me back there, Jack. You’re her father. Go.” Daniel patted his hand and pulled his out of Jack’s grasp.

 

His expression hardening with anger, Jack muttered, “It’s not fair. We need you.” Then he moved away and followed the woman into the depths of the clinic.

 

Not five minutes later, she reappeared at the door to call Daniel back, too. There was a trace of disgust in her face that he didn’t miss, but he ignored it. Let them disapprove of same-sex relationships all they wanted. As long as he and Jack had each other and Jakaira, nothing else mattered.

 

Daniel took his seat next to Jack in front of the doctor’s desk, putting his cane aside as he sat down. Jakaira was not present, so he assumed she must still be in the playroom with some of the staff for this confidential chat with her parents.  He studied the psychologist and her relaxed, open expression. She was young, thirty-something, with short auburn hair and warm brown eyes, and she smiled at him kindly. He reminded her of Janet.

 

Jack shot the doctor a smug look, then turned to meet Daniel’s inquiring eyes. “I explained to the doc that you’re as much Jay’s dad as I am, and that you have experience we can use to help her. I hope you don’t mind me telling her about your parents.”

 

With a shake of his head, Daniel answered, “No, of course not. Anything to help Jakaira.”

 

The psychologist smiled at both of them. “Look, I don’t share the same prejudices a lot of people in the military do, Colonel O’Neill,” she told him. “I think gay and lesbian couples can raise children just as well as single mothers and grandparents and straight couples, so please don’t think my initial reluctance to have Doctor Jackson here with us has anything to do with that. Okay?”

 

“Thank you,” said Daniel immediately, a wave of relief settling over him.

 

“Then what’s the problem?” asked Jack.

 

Doctor Novotny glanced at Daniel before turning her gaze back to Jack. “I think she may not be connecting with you like she needs to, because she’s getting more of what she needs from your partner.”

 

“But that’s a good thing,” Jack insisted. “As long as she’s getting it, she’ll learn to bond with me eventually. Don’t you think? I mean, she’s only been here with us for a week.”

 

“Yes, I suppose that’ll evolve in its own in time.” Doctor Novotny glanced down at the drawings on her desk. She was thoughtful for a moment. “She didn’t react to the crayons and paper like any child I’ve ever seen before, though. That was a little surprising.”

 

“Her mother was foreign and lived in another culture,” Jack supplied instantly. “Simple agrarian society. They didn’t have paper and crayons, or TV or cars or any of that. She’s come to a whole new world here, doc.”

 

Daniel smiled, knowing how well Jack could dance around the truth. He was good at keeping the government’s secrets, telling the doctor just enough to help her make sense of things, while giving nothing away.

 

“I gathered that,” she returned quietly. “She’s got a lot of adjustments to make, living in this strange new world with two people she’s never met before, both of whom have suddenly been thrust into the role of parent. I’m sure this hasn’t been easy for you two, either.”

 

Jack didn’t answer immediately. He turned his gaze down to his lap, his hands clasped lightly together. He made eye contact briefly with Daniel, then looked back at the doctor. “I’ve been a parent before,” he said softly. “My son died in an accident when he was ten. My wife and I divorced soon after his death.”   

 

“Then you do have something in your past to help you bond with her,” the doctor suggested warmly. “You just have to look for that connection.  Don’t worry or try too hard.  It’ll develop in time, something you haven’t had much of yet.”

 

She sighed and her expression turned solemn, obviously getting ready to deliver the bad news. “Now, as to her silence, my preliminary diagnosis is hysterical muteness. She isn’t refusing to talk. She simply can’t. She doesn’t remember how.”

 

Daniel and Jack both looked at her at the same instant.

 

“This is not always a treatable condition,” she told them, glancing from one face to the other. “Sometimes the mind simply cannot process certain events, and she’s suffered quite a shock. She may, one day, regain her ability to speak. It might happen suddenly, or it might not happen at all. You have to be prepared for either possibility.”

 

Jack’s swallow was audible. He reached over and laced his fingers together with Daniel’s, holding on for the strength he needed to get through the rest of this ordeal. 

 

Daniel’s chest tightened as he looked deeply into Jack’s eyes. This was what he’d been expecting, but hearing it said out loud tore him up, and he knew Jack was barely holding himself together, too. He squeezed Jack’s hand, reminding him that they were together, that they would deal with this latest tragedy like the team they still were.

 

Daniel cleared his throat and, with effort, tore his eyes away from Jack to look at the doctor.  “What about teaching her sign language?” he asked. He knew some rudimentary signs already, some picked up out of curiosity and others from dealing with tribal cultures that used gestures to communicate with other, nearby tribes that spoke different languages. He’d always intended to learn ASL, and now he’d have an excuse.

 

“That’s an excellent suggestion, Doctor Jackson, which I was going to make to you both,” Doctor Novotny answered. “Jakaira has a lot to learn in her new country. She’ll need some way to communicate her needs, and signing will be an excellent bridge. However, you may find that it will also become a crutch for her. Once she learns signing, she’ll have no need to try to find her voice, and until she does, she’ll always use signing to communicate, because it’s easier than trying to speak. When she’s old enough to read and write, she may have a breakthrough, but as long as she can communicate some other way, she won’t be trying as hard to talk.”

 

“But if we don’t teach her to sign, she’ll be isolated,” Jack added. “She won’t have any way of telling us what she needs.” He glanced at Daniel, fierce love and determination gleaming in his eyes. “So where do we sign up for classes?” he asked the psychologist.

 

Doctor Novotny handed him a business card with a name and phone number handwritten on the back. “These people can help you. They have classes the three of you can take together.”

 

Jack took the card, looked at it, and handed it to Daniel. “So, what else can we do to help her?”

 

She described a program of therapy disguised as play sessions and gave them some tips on activities they could use to try to prompt her to use her voice. After some additional discussion on the condition and its ramifications, they thanked her and went with her to the playroom to collect their daughter.

 

Jakaira ran to Daniel, who picked her up, gave her a hug and handed her to Jack. They walked out to their car together, Daniel’s head down in thought, contemplating how they were going to help their wounded, precious daughter, and gearing himself up to learn a whole new language, just for her.

 

 

**22 October**

The Next Day

 

The morning dawned bright and clear, and even though there was the chill of impending autumn in the air, the family decided to have breakfast on the deck rather than indoors.

 

Daniel closed the patio door behind Jack as he appeared with a platter stacked high with blueberry pancakes and a bowl of freshly hulled strawberries. Daniel hobbled over to his chair, pouring another glass of juice for Jakaira while her father filled her plate, cut up the pancake into bite-sized bits and helped her pour the maple syrup.

 

Daniel had been on the internet late the previous afternoon, after their session with Doctor Novotny, already looking into websites with information on sign language.  What he’d found had prompted him to go out and buy an ASL CD. He’d stayed up late learning as much as he could so he could get started with her and Jack and help her learn to communicate with them.

 

 “Jakaira,” he began, drawing her gaze to his face, “we have people here who can’t hear, and because of that, sometimes they have trouble talking,” Daniel explained. “So we have a whole language made up of hand movements, so deaf people can still talk to their families. Here’s the sign for ‘hungry.’”

 

Daniel cupped his right hand into a ‘C’ formation and brought it up just in front of his collarbones, then pulled it down a little, to simulate food going down the esophagus.

 

“Hungry,” he repeated. Then he pointed to Jakaira and repeated the sign as he asked, “Are you hungry?”

 

She nodded emphatically.

 

He smiled. Closing the fingers of his right hand together as if he were holding something with his fingertips, he gestured toward his mouth. “Eat,” he said, making the motion again as the child picked up her fork, speared a piece of pancake and stuck it into her mouth. “Jakaira is eating.”

 

She looked down at her plate, then put her empty left hand to her mouth in a copy of the gesture Daniel had made. She nodded, swallowed, and watched him for more.

 

Daniel glanced up at Jack and saw him smiling slightly, nodding in approval. Daniel flattened out his right hand and touched the tip of his thumb to his forehead, his fingers sticking straight up. “This is the sign for ‘daddy,’ so if you want to talk just to him, do this to tell him, okay?” He wiggled his fingers a little, like a cock’s comb waving in the breeze.

 

Jakaira copied the sign and turned to make eye contact with Jack while she did it.

 

A big grin spread from ear to ear as Jack looked back at her. “Yes, baby. I’m your daddy.” He leaned over to kiss her on her syrup-smeared lips.  “You’re her daddy, too, Daniel,” he observed casually. “What do we do about her distinguishing between us? She'll need to at some point, you know.”

 

Jakaira stuffed another bite of pancake into her mouth and signed, ‘Daddy eat.’ Then she handed a ripe strawberry to Jack, who thanked her for it and stuffed the whole fruit into his mouth, making appropriately delighted noises. Jakaira nodded in approval and turned back to Daniel. She pointed at him and made the sign for ‘daddy’ again.

 

“I love the idea of that,” Daniel returned with a smile, which faded quickly as he looked at Jack. “But I have no legal standing in her life. Just like at the clinic, the doctor wouldn’t have let me back there unless she knew there were special circumstances. If there were an accident and I was the only one available to take Jakaira to the hospital, I couldn’t sign any kind of releases or even go with her into an exam room.”

 

Jack’s gaze moved slowly from his child to his partner and lingered there, thinking, calculating. He took a sip of orange juice, thoughtfully swirling it around in his mouth before swallowing. “Then we have to fix that. We’ll get a lawyer and see what we can do to get you legal guardianship or something, so that if anything happens to me, you’ll raise our daughter. And I want to give you access to my bank accounts, make you executor of my will, do everything up all nice and legal so you’re as much a part of my life as our laws will let you be.” His smile widened as he added, “Including sharing your name. How does Jack O’Neill-Jackson sound to you? Are you okay with that, vidámo?” 

 

The morsel of food that Daniel had just swallowed while Jack was talking got stuck halfway down his throat, constricted now with emotion. He couldn’t take his eyes off Jack’s expectant face, and just nodded, struggling to compose himself to speak. He swallowed a mouthful of milk to push the pancake the rest of the way down, and when he could manage, he reached across the table, covered Jack's hand with his and returned huskily, “Same goes for me, Jack. I want to make a living will so that, if decisions have to be made about my health and I can’t choose for myself, I’ll leave it to you to do for me. God, I never thought about this stuff before.”

 

Daniel looked at Jakaira, happily munching away on her breakfast, ignoring their conversation about things she didn’t understand. “Daniel O’Neill-Jackson. I like the sound of that.” He smiled a little, a sense of awe filling him all the way up as he feasted his eyes on the child they now shared. “And our daughter will be Jakaira O’Neill-Jackson, huh?  We’re parents now. That really does change everything, doesn’t it?”

 

“Yeah, babe,” Jack agreed, standing up and bending over the table toward him. “It does.” He leaned over for a kiss that tasted of strawberries with the sweet stickiness of syrup around the edges. “I love you,” he said as he sat back down in his chair.   

 

Daniel’s mind was whirling, the top of his head spinning from both the conversation and the kiss. Jack always had that effect on him whenever they touched.  He stared into his expressive brown eyes, sparkling now with a touch of playful mischief, and dragged his mind back to the business at hand. He sat for a moment, trying to remember what they’d been talking about, when Jakaira pointed at him and made the sign for ‘eat.’

 

He remembered the lesson he’d started, cleared his throat and went on, “Some of our words don’t have signs, like people’s names. For those words, we spell them out. Now I don’t know if you can read or not—“

 

“Daniel, she’s barely four years old,” Jack cut in. “Of course she can’t read.”

 

He glanced up at his lover, surprised for a moment. “I could when I was three, complete with comprehension,” he announced in a matter of fact voice.

 

Jack gaped. “You could? Why am I surprised?  Never mind. Go on with the lesson, Doctor Jackson. We’re all learning here.” He waved a hand at Daniel to continue.

 

Daniel looked back at the child. “Okay, so we have to learn to spell people’s names. This is what mine looks like.” He patiently made the signs for D-A-N-I-E-L, saying the letters as his hands formed the gestures, then repeated it while she copied him.

 

“Very good!” he cheered enthusiastically. He hesitated, looking at Jack and back at Jakaira. “How about if you call us Daddy Jack and Daddy Dan?”

 

Jack smiled broadly. “I think I like that, Daniel. Show me the sign for ‘d’ again.”

 

He did, and throughout their breakfast, they went over many of the signs Daniel had already learned, getting a good head start on their newest language adventure.

 

 

**1 December**

Five Weeks Later


Tyler O’Neill set the last of the big cardboard boxes on the living room floor and straightened, smoothing back his thick silver hair. He studied the towering Douglas fir set before the front window, parting several of the branches near the base to look at the root ball in its burlap bag, nestled snugly into a large pot. This would keep the tree alive until it could be planted after the holidays, sometime after the ground thawed but before the sap began to rise.

 

Stepping back, he cast an appraising eye on its shape, and was pleased with the symmetry. It was a big tree this year, but then the whole family might be home to see it. Hopefully Jack would be able to make it, too. 

 

Jack had missed the last couple of Christmases with them, and it wasn’t the same without their eldest child visiting.  Tyler and his wife would be calling their son later in the evening, taking a chance he’d be home this time.

 

By most folks’ reckoning it was a bit early to start with the Christmas decorating, but his wife loved the season and always wanted to make it last as long as possible. So right after Thanksgiving, on the first day of December, the tree went up and didn’t come down until New Year’s Day.

 

With a sigh, Ty bent down and started opening the ornament boxes. They’d let the grandchildren undress the tree last year, and there was no telling what might not have survived their less-than-careful handling. Most everything looked intact, but the tree topper looked like it had seen better days. He lifted the angel gently from the box and saw that its blonde hair was starting to come out in places. Its dress was wrinkled and one wing had been folded into an awkward crease.

 

As the O’Neill patriarch handled the precious heirloom, he remembered how Jack had presented them with this ornament the year Charlie was born. That sad memory touched his heart, and he knew he couldn’t bear to part with this piece of family history, even though it was a painful reminder of what they’d lost as well. He’d find a small box for it and put it back into the attic with their other sentimental keepsakes.

 

Charlie would have been a man now, if he’d lived. He'd be almost twenty years old, in college, no doubt. Ty was sure he'd be all long legs and attitude, with a glistening mane of his mother's blonde hair and his father's intense brown eyes. Ty sighed, missing the boy and wishing things had been different, but accidents happened and lives went on in spite of tragedy. He’d accepted the boy's death ages ago, but it never got any easier, especially on Charlie's birthday and at Christmas.

 

Ty carefully unfurled the bent wing, arranged the angel's curls so that the bald spots were better covered, and smoothed the wrinkles out of its pristine white gown. When he called Jack to ask if he’d be able to come for the holidays this year, he’d ask his son if he’d like to be the one to replace the angel. If not, it would be a simple thing for someone else to pick one up the next time they were in town. He stood looking down at the little doll in his hands, still missing his grandson and the sound of his laughter.

 

It had been snowing earlier that day, the sky overcast and dull. Tyler didn’t look outside very much during this season since there was little to see but shades of white, black and gray. As he stood there beside the tree, still holding the little angel, a ray of sunshine broke through the clouds and streamed through the large living room window at his side.  For a moment, for one blessed moment, golden light illuminated the figurine in his hand and made it sparkle and glow with radiant fire.

 

Tyler smiled, watching the light slowly fade and disappear.

 

He was a big believer in omens and signs from Above.  This Christmas would be different, special somehow. He was sure of it, just as he was sure of the unseen Presence who had brought him the message. 

 

“Love you, Charlie,” he said quietly, and hugged the doll to his chest, looking up at the ceiling and, in his mind’s eye, seeing a smiling face instead. “Miss you, son. Look after your father for us. He needs you, most of all.”

 

After a few moments, he wandered off to look for his wife and ask her where he might find a sturdy storage box for the angel, where it might quietly retire after a life well spent watching over the Clan O’Neill.

 

 

**20 December**

Three Weeks Later

 

“Jack, are you sure you want to do this?” Daniel’s face was drawn with apprehension, concerned about the trip to meet Jack’s family but sure Jack would do what was best for everyone. Daniel yawned as he held his coffee cup listlessly, not quite awake yet, and almost spilling some of the fragrant brew on the kitchen floor. 

 

“Yes, I am,” said Jack certainly. “I think all of us need to know what’s going on here.”

 

“You can’t tell them everything,” Daniel reminded his lover sagely, gazing over the tops of his glasses.

 

“Well, duh! I still want them to meet you both. I want them to know as much as they can know.” Jack smiled a little, picturing his mother standing in the snowy Minnesota woods, lobbing a snowball at him, a devilish smile on her lined, beautiful face. “My mother’s gonna love you. She’ll be nuts about Jakaira and pissed off at me for not marrying her mom, but she’ll get over that.”

 

Daniel straightened, taking in a deep breath and holding it for a moment, puffing out his cheeks before letting it go explosively. “Whoa. Meeting your mother. That’s… scary.”

 

“Nah. My dad, he’s the scary one,” Jack teased him, watching his eyes widen with a trace of amusement. “Still tops me by two inches. ‘Bout Teal’c’s size, last I saw him.” 

 

Turning away, Daniel emptied the rest of his coffee into the sink and rinsed out the cup. “When was the last time you were home?” He pulled a leather thong out of his pants pocket and quickly tied his hair back with it, the short ponytail now draped well past his shirt collar.

 

“A couple of years now.  Christmas, before I retired.” Jack pulled a box of Froot Loops out of the pantry and set it on the dining table next to the empty bowl and spoon he’d already placed there for Jakaira.

 

Daniel eyed him unhappily. “You haven’t seen them the whole time we’ve been together. How come?”

 

“I couldn’t leave you,” Jack said simply. “And I wasn’t ready to bring you home to them. Now I am.” He shrugged. “And working for the military’s always a convenient excuse why I can’t get time off.”

 

“You’re sure you’re ready, considering they could be very unhappy with both of us?” Daniel came closer, slipping his arms around Jack’s waist. “It could be a disaster. Might not be good for Jakaira.”

 

“I know, but it’s not like I’m gonna walk in the door and cram our relationship down their throats,” Jack assured him, settling his arms on Daniel’s broad shoulders and reaching around to play with his ponytail. “They’ve met Teal’c in passing, and my mom was charmed right out of her mind. They’ve heard me talk about you and Carter, and are expecting two extra mystery guests. They just don’t know how close you and I are. I’ll leave you and Jay at a hotel in town, and go break the news alone. Hopefully they’ll be so blown away by Jay, they won’t care their son has switched sides.”

 

“This is some pretty big news, Jack.” Daniel snuggled in close, nuzzling Jack’s cheek. He sighed. “What if it does make a difference?”

 

“Then you and Jay and I will have a nice Christmas by ourselves in Thief River, see some of the countryside and have a leisurely drive back home,” Jack whispered back, rocking him a little, his fingers massaging Daniel’s shoulders and neck. “If they don’t accept me as a gay man, then they won’t accept my family, and I won’t have you or Jay hurt by their bad attitude.”

 

“Don’t you think that’s kind of holding them hostage?” He kissed Jack lightly on the lips and drew away with a ragged sigh. “I don’t mind if you take Jakaira to see them without me, you know.”

 

“Well, I mind! Besides, we both know she wouldn’t go without you,” growled Jack, “and I’m not gonna haul her away from you, screaming and crying, just so they can see her. We’re a package deal, Daniel, and that’s that.”

 

He stepped into the dining room and poured a Jakaiara-sized portion of the cereal into the bowl, set the milk jug on the dining table beside it and headed into the back of the house to fetch her to her waiting breakfast. 

 

As he went out into the hall, he glanced over at Daniel's piano in the back of the living room, facing the fireplace. There had been just enough room to accommodate the elegant square grand near the deck doors, and Daniel had already started giving Jay music lessons on it.

 

Smiling to himself as he recalled the touching sight of Jay sitting on Daniel's lap, pecking at the keys with two fingers, he moved on down the hallway to the little guest bedroom that had been decorated just for her. It now had pale pink walls sporting hand-painted images of rabbit-like creatures with long, barbed tails called metlars, often kept as pets on Eudora.

 

Daniel had painted those for her, to remind her of home.

 

Much of the furniture in the room was handmade and rough, salvaged from the ruins of her home on Eudora. Jack had wanted her to have as much from her homeworld as possible, to help with the transition to this culture that was so alien to her.

 

Jack had done his best to bond with the child, but she remained distant and silent, and part of him was grateful for that distance. He knew he should be working to deepen the connection between them, but he was afraid of letting her get closer, afraid of the price he might have to pay if anything happened to her. It was safer to keep her at arm's length and let Daniel do most of the parenting. He was surprisingly good at it, and when he did need guidance from the voice of experience, Jack would speak up and tell him what he needed to know. Daniel and Jay had bonded deeply, and that was just fine in Jack's book.

 

He knew he should be doing more with her, but he couldn't. He just couldn't let her all the way in, and the child felt it. His love for her was idealistic, caring because she was his flesh and blood, but he kept a lot of his heart from her behind a wall of painful memories. He would observe and make sure Daniel got the chance to be a full-fledged father, while he stood by and watched.

 

Maybe it wasn't fair to Jay for him to be so reserved, but he was doing the best he could, and she was getting the healing love she needed from Daniel. It would have to do.

 

Standing in the bedroom doorway, he took a moment to watch her, sitting on her neatly made bed in which she started each night, invariably ending up in her dads’. Her gold-brown hair fell in shiny waves down her back, and she was already dressed in a pink T-shirt over darker pink sweatpants. She had a homemade doll in her lap, carefully brushing its brown yarn hair and smoothing it down with her chubby little fingers.

 

“Mornin’, baby,” he called softly.

 

His eyes looked back at him from that tiny, solemn face. She gave him a little wave, laid down her doll and brush and used both hands to sign, Good morning, Daddy Jack, as Daniel had taught her.

 

Jack copied the movements, smiling at her and saying the words as he made the exact same signs. “Good. Morning. Jakaira. Breakfast is ready.”

 

She shook her head and repeated the phrase again, showing him how to finger spell her name, rather than using the sign for ‘Daddy Jack’ that he had intentionally repeated, to tease her.

 

He came into the room and sat down on the little bed in front of her. “Show me again, honey.” This time he patiently duplicated her movements, spelling her name with each gesture. “How about if we just use the ‘j’ for your name instead of spelling it all out? That makes my fingers tired.”

 

He meant it to be funny, to try to coax a smile out of her, but she just shrugged and slid off the bed, leaving her toys behind. She padded barefoot out of the room without a look backward. Standing up and pausing in the doorway, he watched her go down the hall toward the living room, then turn right and disappear into the dining room where Daniel and her breakfast awaited.

 

Jack went into the master bedroom and started tugging on the bedclothes, straightening them, pulling them tight against the mattress, smoothing out all the wrinkles as he made their bed. He pulled the little Disney Princesses pillow out from between their two big ones and tossed it onto the foot of the bed, to take with them on the trip.

 

At some point each night, Jay still got up and hurried down the hallway to their room with her pillow tucked under her arm, crawling up between them in their bed to finish the night. Though the men usually managed to find time for making love, door locked against any intrusions, it was often hurried or interrupted, and Jack longed for a time when he and Daniel could enjoy each other at leisure. And while Jack thought it was best for them to take Jay back to her own bed and teach her to sleep there, Daniel's soft heart convinced Jack that she needed their closeness and the security, so she would always end up finishing the night with them. Even now a crack of thunder could send her into a panic, clinging to the closest adult if she were at day care, or to Jack or Daniel if they were at home. 

 

Jack’s heart went out to her. Had he been raising her alone, he might have been less indulgent, but she’d settled into life on Earth quickly and easily, mostly due to his lover’s patience and caring. Daniel had been amazing with her, teaching her sign language that she picked up rapidly. He doted on her, talking to her in a stream of constant chatter, half of which Jack didn’t even understand, but Jakaira seemed to get enough of it to remain entertained, or at least happy that someone was communicating with her. When they were at home, she followed Daniel around like a puppy, sometimes so close to him that she’d accidentally tripped him a couple of times, causing him to fall, which wasn’t good for his damaged knee.

 

Invariably, Jack had been out in the garden or in the garage, and Jakaira had come running to him, tugging on his pant leg or arm to get him to come inside and help. She was always upset afterward, crying and inconsolable, but Daniel made sure to hug her as soon as he could manage, telling her that it wasn’t her fault, that he just had trouble walking and sometimes he fell. She would sit on his lap for hours afterward, refusing to leave him.

 

Jack was thrilled that Jakaira had grown so close to Daniel. It took the pressure off him and let him function in the role of back-up parent. They were slowly defining their roles, learning how to help each other. 

 

Jack couldn’t have asked for a more obedient child. She never seemed to get angry about anything, which Doctor Novotny had assured him was a side effect of her emotional withdrawal. Jakaira was still adjusting, and it would be a long time yet before she felt secure enough to jump the hurdles of past tragedies, and heal. With love and support from her two daddies, Jack knew she would make it. She was an O’Neill, after all.

 

He grinned to himself. Daniel and he had agreed that shortly after the holidays, she would be an O’Neill-Jackson, and so would both of her parents.  They’d already set the wheels in motion to have all three of their last names legally changed. 

 

Jack straightened and went to the closet, pulling out the clothes he intended to wear during the holidays, matching up shirts or sweaters and pants, adding the folded underwear and socks to each stack, then setting out the shoes and boots he’d need to bring.  That done, he headed for the bathroom and packed up his shaving kit, leaving it on the bed with his clothes for Daniel to put into the suitcases when he finished packing his own and Jakaira’s stuff.

 

He went into the garage to prep their new SUV for the trip. The F-350 was still parked in the driveway and functioned as Jack’s personal transportation or when he needed to haul gardening supplies, but the SUV was now the family car, allowing more room inside for Jakaira’s car seat. They’d both decided that a long car trip would be preferable to travel in an airplane, thinking air travel might only add to her stress.

 

Doctor Novotny had told them Jakaira was making great strides; that she was adjusting to her new home life well. That buoyed Jack’s spirits, but he still ached to see her smile, hear her laugh, to know the sound of her little-girl voice. Only Jakaira wasn’t ready to talk yet, at least not with her voice. Jack could translate the signing enough to get by, but he wasn’t nearly as adept at conversation with her as Daniel was.

 

Jack hoped she would find her voice soon, aware that might never happen, but still wanting that miracle of wholeness for his child.

 

 

Inside an hour, the SUV was packed and ready to go. The trio loaded up, with Jack fastening Jakaira in her car seat in the middle of the back seat. Daniel belted himself in the passenger seat up front. They took off just after breakfast and Jack drove all day, stopping periodically for meals, to get gas, or to stretch their legs and take potty breaks.

 

Daniel busied himself with a book, memorizing new words in the American Sign Language dictionary, and turning around occasionally to teach ones he thought were most useful to Jakaira. She busied herself with her toys and watching Disney DVDs when not working on a new language lesson.

 

Jack glanced at Daniel to his right, on the road again after a brief stop for lunch and a little walking. “So, wanna know about my family?”

 

Grinning back, Daniel told him, “I didn’t want to ask, but of course I want to know about them. You’ve just… you don’t talk about this stuff, and I know you prefer to keep things to yourself.”

 

“Well, you’re gonna be meeting ‘em in a few hours, so I might as well do the mission prep.”

 

“Where do they live?”

 

“Way out in the country, about halfway between Angus and Thief River Falls. Northern Minnesota. Mum and Da moved there when Da retired, after he left the Air Force.”

 

“Mum and Da?”

 

Jack chuckled a little. “My mother came here when she was about ten years old, fresh off the boat from the old country. She didn’t like the way ‘mom and dad’ sounded and insisted on Mum and Da, the old Irish way.”

 

“Cool. Does she speak Gaelic?”

 

“Only when she’s pissed off.” Jack glanced over at him. “That’s something you don’t wanna see, trust me.”

 

“Sounds like she’s a formidable woman.” Daniel closed the book and gave Jack his full attention.

 

“Think Janet Fraiser, only louder and with lightning shooting out of her eyes. That’s me Mum when she’s mad.”

 

Daniel laughed. “God, Jack, you sounded so Irish just then.”

 

“Well, that’s because I am.” He reached down to turn the radio off. “Erin go bragh, you know?”

 

“You speak Gaelic?”

 

“Only what I learned from Mum. Not for polite company, if you get my drift.” He grinned and gave Daniel a wink.  “Uh, Mum’s a very smart lady, in case I never told you. She was raised in a time when women didn’t get much in the way of education or career guidance, but I grew up seeing her with a book in her hand most of the time. Bet she’ll give you a run for the money in conversation topics.”

 

“I look forward to meeting her,” Daniel told him, hoping he’d find some way to garner her approval. “What about your dad?”

 

“Career military. Retired at the rank of major. Kinda quiet, but everybody listens when he talks.”

 

“So you outrank him, huh? Is he okay with that?”

 

“He’s proud of me, yeah.” He glanced over at Daniel, then patted his thigh. “Give ‘em time, Daniel. They’ll fall in love with you just like I did. You’re impossible to resist.” 

 

Daniel blushed, smiling back at him. “Jack, you’re a romantic sap. I’d never have guessed you had it in you.”

 

Jack reached out and clasped his hand, his fingertips rubbing against Daniel’s palm. “That’s still classified, just for you to know, vidámo.”

 

“Love you, ionúin,” murmured Daniel. Even softer, he whispered, “It’s gonna be a long holiday without you-know-what.”

 

“We’ll manage,” said Jack softly, glancing away from the road for just for a moment. “What’s that word mean that you just called me? I recognize it from Mum, but she never told me what it meant.”

 

“It means ‘beloved’,” said Daniel huskily, stroking the skin on the back of Jack’s hand with his fingertips. “I love the way Gaelic sounds, the way it rolls around on the tongue, and isn’t pronounced anything like it’s written. Wonderful language.”

 

“Ionúin,” repeated Jack. He smiled, eyes on the road. “Now look who’s a romantic sap.” He cleared his throat and continued. “So, anyway, back to my family. Mum and Da keep a few horses on the farm and ride nearly every day, except in the winter. Da makes fiddles that he sells through a music shop in Thief River, and Mum’s an artist.”

 

“Any brothers or sisters?” Daniel looked down at their clasped hands, treasuring the moment, being able to touch him even in that small way. He turned his gaze up to Jack’s profile and watched his eyes move, always scanning, flicking from the road to the rear view mirror, the side mirrors and back to the road. Jack was an excellent driver with great reflexes, and since Daniel’s disability prevented him from doing any long distance driving, he’d grown accustomed to having his lover chauffer him most everywhere.

 

“One of each,” Jack admitted. “I’m the oldest—“

 

“No surprise there,” cut in Daniel teasingly. “Did you call your siblings ‘kids’ and ‘campers,’ too?”

 

Jack flashed a grin at him. “Yeah. Got that from me Da.”

 

“And ‘for cryin’ out loud’?” asked Daniel with a grin.

 

“That’s Mum’s. It usually preceded something colorful in Gaelic.” Jack pulled Daniel’s hand up toward his face and leaned over to kiss his knuckles. “Sister Kelly is six years younger than me. Married Xavier Santos about twenty years back. Four kids.  Let me see.  Jamie’s 18 now, Kieran’s 16, Liam’s 13, and Riona’s ten. They kept tryin’ till they got ‘em a girl.”

 

“So her husband’s Hispanic?” Daniel smiled at his hand, as if he could still feel the tingle of Jack’s lips where they had touched him.

 

“Yeah. Works for some big software company or other. Kelly’s a doctor.  The M.D. kind. Family practice. They live in L.A.”

 

“And your brother?”

 

“Brennan’s eight years my junior, the baby of the family. Played semi-pro hockey for a while right out of college, did four years in the Air Force, but he just wasn’t cut out for that kind of disciplined life. Tried being an actor, and eventually got into building houses. He and his kids live in Thief River, about a twenty minute drive to my folks’ place.”

 

Daniel noticed Jack didn’t mention a sister-in-law’s name, and waited. His lover’s expression grew dark.

 

“Brennan’s wife, Jesse, died in an airplane crash. Right about the time I went missing on Edora. I found out when I got back.”

 

Daniel rubbed his thumb over the back of Jack’s hand. “I’m sorry. It must’ve been a nightmare for your brother.” He gave Jack’s hand a squeeze.

 

“He’s stepped up to the plate and has been doing okay. Got three kids: Connor’s 16 now, Sorcha’s 12, and Finn’s six. I’m hoping he and Jay are close enough in age to want to play together.”

 

Jack lifted his hand and kissed Daniel’s knuckles again. Then he smiled at Daniel. “I want them to love you. I’m sure they will, Daniel. Don’t worry about anything, okay?”

 

“Trying not to. What does your family do for Christmas?”

 

“Well, let’s see…” Jack glanced over at the side mirror a couple of times, let go of Daniel’s hand, then pulled out into the passing lane, speeding up to go around an eighteen-wheeler. When he’d pulled back into the driving lane, he caught up Daniel’s hand and continued. “Today’s the 20th, and we’ll get there about midday on the 22nd. After I break the news, we’ll settle in and visit. The kids will play. We’ll stuff ourselves. The next day we’ll sleep in till kids come and jump in the middle of us and drag us outside to play in the snow. Might go to Thief River to see a movie later in the day, maybe shop, look at stuff. Same thing till Christmas Eve. Then we exchange our gifts from each other, and there’s more from Father Christmas in the morning.”

 

“I hope I brought enough books to keep me busy,” Daniel teased.

 

“If not, we’ll go into town and buy you some more,” Jack assured him with a grin. “Oh.  And on Christmas Eve, we dress up and go to church.” He took his eyes off the road for a long look at Daniel. “You okay with that?”

 

“I’ve participated in all sorts of religious ceremonies.  I think I can handle a Mass or two.”

 

“Who said we were Catholic?” Jack’s expression was so huffy, it made Daniel do a double-take.

 

“Aren’t you? I figured you were Irish Catholic. You’re not?”

 

A big, wicked grin split Jack’s face, and he chuckled. “Yeah. About as lapsed as it’s possible to get and not actually be in hell, but yeah. Irish Catholic.”

 

Daniel let go of his hand and playfully punched his shoulder. “You got me, Jack.”

 

“And that makes me happy as a clam.” He frowned suddenly. “Are clams happy, Daniel?”

 

“I have no idea.”

 

They settled into a companionable silence, still holding hands until Jakaira tossed her little stuffed camel at Daniel, requesting his attention. Turning to talk to her, he dutifully changed the DVD in the player for her and tucked the camel back into her lap until she needed something again.

 

They made good time in the clear weather, grateful for the dry roads. By early evening they stopped off at a hotel and relaxed for a few minutes, unpacked and took Jakaira to the heated indoor pool for a long swim. Afterward, they went out to dinner and by the time they made it back to their room, she was asleep on Jack’s shoulder.

 

He tucked her into the bed, and then he and Daniel retreated to the bathroom for a little privacy. They quietly made love in the shower and cleaned up afterward, dressed in sweats and eased into bed on either side of her. In minutes, the whole family was happily dreaming together until morning.

 

The next day was a repeat of the first, and on the day after that they arrived in Thief River Falls, Minnesota in early afternoon. Jack checked them in at a Ramada Inn and unloaded the luggage into the room.

 

Daniel got Jakaira out of the car seat and took her into the hotel to wait for Jack’s return. He kissed them both goodbye, climbed back into the SUV, and headed for his parents’ home.

 

 

Jack stamped his feet on the porch to get the snow off his boots and threw open the front door.

 

“Woman of the house!” he shouted into the foyer.

 

“Wipe your feet!” came the expected response from the depths of the house.

 

Though he had already done that, he made a great show of doing it again as a small woman with long brown hair, just streaked with silver at the temples, came into the foyer from the den. She was dressed in an ankle-length black velvet skirt over a pair of black leather boots, one with a silver chain around the ankle. An emerald velvet blouse set off the green in her eyes, and at the back of her head, her hair was pulled back with a bright red bow. 

 

Africa O’Neill’s face was alight with joy, and she reached for her eldest son with open arms. “Jack! Heavens, I’ve missed you, boyo. Give your old mother a hug.” She wrapped her arms around his neck as he bent down to her.

 

He embraced her tightly and lifted her off her feet, swinging her around in a circle. He snuggled into her neck, breathing in his mother’s familiar, beloved scent.  “Love you, Mum. Missed you like crazy.”

 

Africa pulled back from him, wide-eyed and obviously surprised. Jack hadn’t declared his affection for her out loud since he was a little boy, and he knew it was a shock for her to hear it. Being with Daniel was changing him in all kinds of ways, and this was one of them. What he’d once found nearly impossible to say aloud was now almost second nature, still not always easy for him to get out, but it filled a need and felt damned good. 

 

He could tell from the stunned look of joy in her eyes and the blush in her cheeks that she enjoyed it, too.

 

“Son! Welcome home.” His father’s booming voice filled the foyer and as soon as Jack had set his mother on her feet again, he was being squeezed so hard he could hardly breathe.

 

“Da!” he wheezed. “Air. Now. Please.”

 

Jack sucked in a deep breath as his father chuckled and let go.

 

“So where are your friends?” asked his mother, peering out the still-open front door onto the porch. “We’re eager to meet them. Did you bring that Murray fella with you?”

 

“No, Mum.” Jack’s joy at being home again subdued instantly. “Let me get my coat off, and we’ll go inside and talk. Are Kelly and Brennan here?”

 

“Oh, yes. Everyone’s waiting for you, as you asked.” She hugged him again briefly and reached for the earring dangling from his left lobe. “This is a different look for you.” Her eyes went to his hair, longer now, but still just within the regs. “I like it, Jack. It suits you.”

 

His father just frowned at the changes, then shrugged them off as he led the way into the den at the back of the big house.

 

Jack took off his scarf, gloves and coat, and left them hanging on the rack in the entryway. Filled with a kind of dread, though it was well laced with pride and happiness in Daniel and Jay, Jack followed his parents into the den. He listened for the sound of young voices and heard none. Glancing out the big picture windows at the back of the big room, he saw the children all outside, skating on a small frozen pond not far from the house.

 

He took a moment to hug his sister and brother and shake his brother-in-law’s hand, then retreated to the center of the room, wondering how the hell to start.

 

“So what’s this big news you’ve got to tell us, Jack?” asked his sister. She was sitting on the couch now, a cup of hot coffee in her hand.

 

“You better set that down, Kelly,” he warned her.

 

Expressions all around grew solemn. All eyes were fixed on him. Kelly obeyed and clasped her hands in her lap.

 

He stuffed his fingers into the pockets of his jeans, his shoulders inching up around his ears. “So, do you want the good news or the great news first?”

 

A bright smile broke out on his mother’s face. “The good news, darlin’.”

 

“Okay.” He forced his shoulders down and his chin up proudly. He pulled his hands out of his pockets, letting them dangle loosely at his sides, knowing he needed to be ready for anything. “I’ve fallen in love again.”

 

Cheers went up all around him. Everyone came forward to hug him one at a time, clap him on the shoulder and wish him well. He had to wait for that reaction to subside and for everyone to return to their places before he could continue.

 

He swallowed hard, wishing there were some easier way to temper the rest of it.  He finally decided there was no way to sugar-coat it, so he simply added, “Only this time, I’m in love with a man.”

 

No one even blinked for a moment. His father began to laugh and others picked it up, carrying around him in a nervous wave.

 

Jack didn’t smile. He stared his father right in the eye, his stomach doing flip-flops. “This isn’t a joke, Da. I’m dead serious, and it’s for real. This isn’t a fling or curiosity, and it’s not a casual relationship. He loves me, and I love him, and you and Mum both know how hard it is for me to say that out loud. This is for the rest of our lives.”

 

His mother closed her eyes. “Sweet Mary, mother of God!” she blurted under her breath as she crossed herself, her face going pale. Her lips started moving in silent prayer as she bowed her head.

 

Ty’s eyes were wide and staring. “Jesus, Mary and Joseph!” he whispered, obviously shaken to his soul. He put his arm around his wife and pulled her close. They clung to each other in shock and despair.

 

This was exactly what Jack had feared, but also expected. He was prepared for whatever came next and held his head high, pride and love filling him up, strengthening him.  His gaze fell on the face of each family member in the room.

 

Kelly’s husband, Xavier, pointedly turned around and put his back to Jack, looking down into the fireplace, hands stuffed into his pockets.

 

His brother, Brennan, wouldn’t even look him in the eye. His face was a mask of disgust and dismissal, completely closed off and unreasonable. He remained completely silent, staring at the floor.

 

His sister, Kelly, on the other hand, looked right at him, understanding and acceptance plainly written on her features. “Are you happy, Jack?” she asked gently.

 

“Yes. We both are.” He smiled at her in gratitude. “Daniel is one of the best things that’s ever happened to me.”

 

“Then that’s all that matters to me.” She stood up and came to him, putting her arms around his neck. He hugged her back fiercely, glad that someone in his family was okay with this. 

 

Kelly leaned back enough to look into Jack’s face.  “Daniel? That’s his name?” she whispered.

 

Jack nodded, swallowing hard, overcome with love for his sister.

 

“Such a nice name, Jack.  And if he loves you, and you love him, I’m sure he’s a wonderful person.” 

 

“He is,” Jack murmured, tears prickling the back of his eyes, hyper-aware that the rest of his family had turned to stone, right where they were sitting.  No one had moved a muscle or flickered an eyelid since Kelly had stood up.

 

She pulled away and kissed his cheek, then stood at his side with her arm around his waist, looking back at the rest of the family. “I love my brother,” she declared to them. “I know the rest of you do, too, and you can bet your life this wasn’t easy for him to tell us. Why don’t we listen to what he has to say and at least try to have open minds, all right? Because I’m sure Daniel has to be someone truly special for our Jack to have given his heart to him.”

 

Jack looked down into her lovely face, so much like their mother in her younger days, and smiled. He slipped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze.  “I love you, baby girl,” he said in a soft voice. “D’ya know that?”

 

She leaned her head against him with a sigh. “Yeah, Jack. I do.” She hugged him and remained standing by his side, her eyes glowing from his rare expression of affection.

 

He turned away from her, comforted by her support, and made eye contact with his father, who was staring aghast at his sister.  He looked like he’d bitten into something with a really bad taste as he pulled away from his wife’s embrace, sitting stiffly upright beside her.

 

“Open minds!” Ty spat incredulously. “Open minds? You’ve lost your mind, girl.” Ty was furious, his face darkening with rage as he turned to glare at his son. “How could you, Jonathan?” he demanded hotly, fists clenched at his sides, eyes glittering with emotion.  “You’re nearly fifty years old! You’ve had an eye for women all your life. How could you suddenly turn queer? I can’t believe it. I won’t believe it. Not my son.”

 

Jack’s gaze didn’t waver, even though he flinched inwardly at the mention of that label and the use of his given name. Even as his father’s disbelief and anger washed over him like a white-hot tide, Jack drew on the inner peace he had from both Kelly’s support and Daniel’s abiding love. “Sometimes things happen, Da,” he said quietly. “When teams depend on each other for life every moment of the day and night, you get close. I loved my team, every one of ‘em, way more than I should have as their commander. They were like family to me, all of them, and we were the best because of that.” He looked at his mother with a tiny smile. “Murray in particular.”

 

Her eyes were wary as she looked up at him. “I thought you said it was Daniel. Isn’t he that archaeologist fella on your team that you’ve told us about?” 

 

“I meant that Murray was the best soldier on our team, but yeah, one of Daniel’s PhD’s is in archaeology. He’s also a linguist and does a lot of our translating for us. You haven’t met Daniel yet, but I hope you’ll want to, because Kelly’s right. He is a very special man. Really smart. Triple doctorate and king-sized pain in the ass.”  He smiled, shaking his head, proud to at last be talking about Daniel to his parents.  “When I first met him, eight years ago now, I thought he was an arrogant, snotty little geek – which he was, actually. But right from our first mission together, I also learned he was a brave man, a good man, someone I could trust with my life.”

 

He took a deep breath and moved his gaze down to the floor. Kelly was rubbing his back now, her fingers moving in small circles between his shoulders. He sighed and went on, his voice deepening. “He was the one who helped me survive Charlie’s death, made me see that life was still worth living, that I still had a purpose. I owed him for that. Big time.”

 

His mother’s head came up, the wariness in her eyes fading a little. She gave a small nod. “Then we’re indebted to him for that, too, son. But why this--  this--“  She hesitated, obviously unsure of what to call what Jack and Daniel were to each other.  “When? How? I don’t understand, Jack. There’s been no indication at any point in your life that you might be attracted to men. I’d have seen it, I think, and it’s not been there.”

 

Jack nodded. “That’s because I’ve never been attracted to men, Mum,” he answered quietly. “Just this one.” He put both arms around his sister and rocked her fondly as he spoke about the love of his life. “Daniel’s an amazing man. He’s a hero, many times over. I can’t tell you any specifics, but I’ll let you in on a little secret.” He couldn’t stop the smile of pride tugging at his mouth. “One day the history books will show that Doctor Daniel Jackson may well be one of the most important people ever born, in the whole history of the human race. Top five, for sure.”

 

Astonishment softened Ty O’Neill’s rage for a moment, but was nudged stubbornly aside. “That’s a pretty big boast, Jack. What’s so special about him?”

 

“Classified, Da, but I’ve got facts to back it up. I wish I could tell you, because you’d be begging me to bring him home just so you could shake his hand and get his autograph for posterity. You’d be thrilled out of your minds that he’s my…” He couldn’t say the word to them.

 

Faces shuttered as they automatically supplied it themselves.

 

Jack turned back to his mother. “You wanted to know when. I’ve worked with Daniel for eight years. He’s saved my life more times than I can count, figured things out that nobody else could, and managed to always find ways to bring me and the rest of the team home, when it looked like that just might be impossible. I grew to admire him. Then I learned to like him. And one day about eighteen months ago, he was injured. I thought he was going to die, and that’s when I realized I loved him and that we were way more than just friends. That was hard. Took me a while to realize just how deep it went. Scared the crap out of me, too, but I got all right with it after a while.”

 

“Then you told him,” Kelly surmised, “and you got together.”

 

“That took a while, too, because Daniel was just like me. Straight as an arrow. He’d never looked at any man as anything but a friend. He’d been married before, too, and his wife died tragically, right in front of him. I was there to help him through that, about four years back.”

 

He glanced at Brennan, knowing that was around the same time his brother’s wife had passed away. Brennan’s anger vanished, and remembered grief took its place.

 

“Daniel didn’t know what to think at first, when he found out how I felt. He was recovering from a serious injury that had left him permanently handicapped, and I was taking care of him.” Jack eyed his father. “He got hurt on my watch, on my team. He was my responsibility, and I couldn’t leave him to fend for himself because he couldn’t be part of the team anymore. Plus I knew by then that I -- well, I -- I needed him with me.  So I retired from the Air Force to take care of him.”

 

For a moment, he didn’t say anything, waiting for that unspoken acknowledgment, one soldier to another. Jack’s father had been career military, too. He understood command responsibility, of taking care of his people and their families, especially if what happened to them was the CO’s fault. It hadn’t been Jack’s fault, not really, but he bore the responsibility just the same.

 

Tyler O’Neill nodded, his expression softening. That part of it he obviously understood. “You’re just feeling guilty, son,” he offered sympathetically. He held out his hands, palms up, in a beseeching gesture. “That’s all this is. It’ll pass.”

 

Jack shook his head. “No, Da, it’s not. I know what happened to Daniel wasn’t my fault. It just happened. As you know, things can go wrong in a heartbeat, and sometimes people get hurt. They die. We were lucky enough to get home alive, but there’s no guilt here.” He patted his chest. “This isn’t like anything I’ve ever felt before, Da. It’s real, and it’s deep, all the way down to the roots. He makes me happy.  He loves me, and I love him back.” 

 

All of Jack’s praise and explanation were falling on deaf ears. His parents’ faces were closed and filled with bitterness. His mother wouldn’t look at him, and his father was glaring, his eyes proclaiming his leashed anger.

 

Kelly gave Jack a little squeeze. “So you’re retired, huh? What’re you doing now?”

 

“Still working for Uncle Sam, same program, same people, just as a civilian advisor.”

 

“And they let you work there, knowing you’re shacked up with another man?” his father spat in disbelief. “The military doesn’t tolerate queers kindly, Jack. They’ll kick you out on your ass when they find out.”

 

Jack shook his head. “Not with this program,” he assured his father. “It’s so specialized, and there are so few experienced people with the necessary skills that… allowances have been made. As civilian special advisors, Daniel and I can still offer our expertise without the same restrictions for military folks. Me, they could actually do without, but not him.”

 

“I thought you said Daniel wasn’t on your team anymore?” asked Brennan, slumped into his chair now, speaking to Jack’s shoes. 

 

“He’s sidelined, yes, because of his bad knee,” Jack explained, “but he’s the very best in the world at what he does, far too valuable for the government to let slip away because he has to walk with a cane, or because of some damned homophobic discriminatory policy. He’s the single most important person in our whole operation, and has been from the beginning. Daniel still works there, too, in another department. I’m pretty sure everybody knows about us. I know our CO does, but nobody says anything. They know what the stakes are, and as long as Daniel’s there and working, nobody really cares who he loves.”

 

Kelly pulled away to look up at him. “Wow, Jack. You’ve really built him up to be extraordinary.”

 

“No building up necessary,” Jack told her frankly, pride and love swirling its glowing warmth around his heart. “He just is.”

 

Ty sat down heavily on an ottoman and sighed. “Well, I don’t care how extraordinary he is, I’ll not have him in my house. I’m sorry, Jack. He’ll never be welcome here.”

 

“Tyler O’Neill, how dare you!” snapped Africa, her head whipping around to face him, green eyes flashing in warning. “This is my home, as well, and you’ll not be deciding for both of us. I don’t care if you are the head of this household -- I’m the heart of it, and by God, we’ll agree before anything’s decreed.”

 

Go, Mum, Jack said in the privacy of his mind. He dared not hope for a decision in their favor, though. Not just yet, anyway.

 

Ty had the good grace to look a little embarrassed. “Sorry, Bonnie. But I don’t see how we can allow that kind of fornication in our house. There are children about, for God’s sake.” He waved toward the windows and their grandchildren skating on the nearby pond.

 

“We’ll hear him out, we’ll talk and then we’ll decide.” Africa crossed her arms over her chest and tilted up her chin, doing her best to look down her nose at her giant of a husband.

 

“We won’t be ‘fornicating’ in the house,” Jack assured his father, too aware of the heat now rising in his face at that thought. He and Sara had never had sex in his parents’ house when they visited, and he couldn’t imagine doing it with Daniel under his parents’ roof, either. “And if I know Daniel, he probably won’t be comfortable with me touching him in front of you, either, so you’ll have nothing to worry about. The kids will be safe from any hint of anything going on between us. We’ll introduce him to them as my friend, which he is, and let it go at that. In time, they’ll get it, and if they ask, we’ll direct them to their parents so you can explain it however you want.”

 

He looked at his mother, but her expression was still closed.

 

She cocked her head and sighed. “Well, if this was the good news, I shudder to think what the great news might be. You might as well drop the other shoe while you’re at it.”

 

Jack thought about Jakaira, picturing her sweet little face, and smiled. Tears prickled at his eyes. “I have a daughter,” he said simply. “She’s four years old, and we’ve brought her with us, so you could meet her.”

 

Eyes and mouths went wide on every face. Africa gasped and pounced to her feet, a stream of Gaelic pouring from her astonished lips. “God in heaven, Jack! How? When? Dear God!” She rushed to him, throwing her arms around his waist, his previous announcement apparently forgotten.

 

His father sat stunned on the ottoman, shock overpowering his disapproval. “All right,” he said after an explosive sigh. “This is unexpected.”

 

“It was for me, too,” Jack said solemnly. “Her name is Jakaira, and you’ll have to understand, there are things I can’t tell you about her. I was on a mission, all the details are classified, and I was stranded with her mother’s people for three months.” He looked down at the floor. “I thought I was never coming home, so I… started a relationship with Laira. That was her mother’s name.”

 

“Jakaira. That’s a combination of your name and her mother’s,” guessed Brennan.

 

Jack nodded. “I didn’t know about the baby,” Jack went on. “When my team came for me, I asked Laira to come with me, but she chose to stay with her people. I would’ve done the right thing, if she’d come with me, but it was her choice to stay.”

”So you were never married?” asked his mother.

 

“No.” He cleared his throat. “I promised to go back, but never did. Then Laira was killed a few months ago in an earthquake.” He swallowed hard, remembering what Paynan had told him in the infirmary afterward. “Jakaira watched her mother die. She’d been trapped in the ruin of her house for two days before they dug her out. She didn’t have anyone else, so Laira’s people brought her to me.”

 

Tyler O’Neill paled and wiped a hand over his face. “Poor little thing. God bless her.” He looked at his son. “We’ll be right careful with her, son.”

 

“There’s more.  She can’t talk because of the trauma,” Jack told them. “She’s seeing a psychologist back home, and-- Daniel’s helping, too. He--“ They had discussed this, deciding what to tell his family, and Daniel had assured him it was all right, as long as it helped them understand the bond between this other man and Jack’s daughter. He was still reluctant to tell them, because he knew how sensitive Daniel was about his past. “His parents died right in front of him, too, when he was eight years old. He’s known how to help her better than anyone else, because he’s been where she is. She’s very attached to him because of that, but also because everybody loves Daniel. He’s just that kind of person.”

 

Africa O’Neill crossed herself. She sighed and nodded. “I can see how his experience would be a useful tool for her recovery.” She levelled a warning gaze at him. “As long as it’s not taken too far. You’re her father, Jack. Not him.”

 

“I know, Mum. We just haven’t bonded yet. We’re working on that.”

 

“Does Daniel live with you?” asked Brennan.

 

“Yes, he does. Has for nearly a year and a half. Weeks before we got together as more than friends.” Jack shifted a little, back and forth on his feet, staring at the hardwood floor. “I’m at home in the Springs now almost all the time except for a few trips a year to the Pentagon for the job. I just… I hadn’t been ready to tell you about Daniel and me yet, but now, with Jakaira…” He waved a hand and dropped his gaze to the floor. “I just needed to come home. It’s been a rough year. Really rough. And I wanted Jakaira to know her whole family. Where she comes from. I wanted her to know her roots.” 

 

“There isn’t a better Christmas present than that,” Africa declared, looking up at him from beneath his arm. “So when are you bringing her to meet us?”

 

“That’s the thing, Mum,” he answered hesitantly. “She’s bonded with Daniel. Rarely lets him out of her sight, except at day care when she’s with other kids. She ends up in our bed half the time and won’t go anywhere without him, if she’s got a choice. If you want to see Jay, you have to accept Daniel here, too. None of us has a choice in this. He’s what she needs right now, and I won’t traumatize her by taking her away from him just to meet you.” He hesitated. “I need him, too, and I won’t have him left out of family gatherings. We’re a package deal, a family. All three of us, or none of us.”

 

Africa looked at Tyler. He stared back at her. Jack couldn’t read a thing in their expressions, didn’t see a single gesture, but his parents had been together for fifty years, long enough to communicate on a level that went far beyond body language and words. They were discussing the situation without saying a thing. At the same moment, they gave each other a brief nod and turned to face their son.

 

“We don’t like being held hostage like this, son,” said his father tightly. “It smacks of blackmail, but you know your daughter far better than we do. If that’s the only way we can see her, then your… friend will be allowed into our home. We’ll be civil to him. There will be no insults or arguing about the path you’ve chosen for your life, but we don’t have to like him. We’ll make this sacrifice for our granddaughter; not for anyone else.”

 

“I understand that, and thank you,” Jack returned formally. “I know this isn’t easy for any of us, but we have to do what’s right for Jay. She needs her family. Her whole family. I want her to know you. We’re all she has now. And all I ask for myself is that you treat Daniel with respect.”

 

Africa O’Neill sighed as she pulled away from her son. “I’m sorry this couldn’t have been a truly happy occasion, son, but we’ll get through it, for Jay’s sake.”

 

Jack patted her cheek as he stepped away, heading toward the foyer. “Well, I may be coming home a lot more often now,” he told her. “But that’ll depend on a lot of things. Jay needs her roots, but we’ve still got some hurdles with her, yet.”

 

“We’ll be careful with her,” Ty promised.

 

“I’ll be back in about an hour,” Jack assured them as he shrugged into his coat. “We can discuss it further if you want, but just give Daniel a chance. For Jay’s sake, and for mine.” 

 

The stunned looks on their faces were evidence that he had rocked their whole world. Jack stood in the doorway to the living room, aware of how completely blown away they were by the two pieces of news they’d been given and the unfortunately necessary blackmail they’d had forced upon them. He was sad that they thought of it that way, but as he raised his eyes to Kelly’s face and saw her smile, the tears gathering in her eyes, he knew they’d all get through it somehow. 


She was happy for him. He could be okay with just that little bit of acceptance, and God willing, the others might have a change of heart, too. If they didn’t, it would be their own choice. He would protect those he loved from harm, even if it were from his own flesh and blood.

 

Jack wrapped himself up in scarf, coat and gloves and headed out to the SUV, still parked in front of the house. He started up the engine and let it warm up a bit before heading off down the country road toward Thief River Falls and his family. And as he drove, he said a little prayer that things might turn out all right in the end, because his daughter would need that, and because he selfishly wanted acceptance among his kin for the man he loved. 

 

 

The SUV rounded a bed in the salted and sanded road, cutting through the landscape dotted with patches of white, bringing the O’Neill family homestead into view through a light veil of falling snowflakes. The late morning sun was only a pale glimmer in the overcast gray sky, casting indistinct blue shadows behind everything. The scene through the car windows was still except for the idly cascading flakes and a curl of smoke from the chimney. Nothing living moved in the silent landscape outside.

 

“Here we are, kids,” Jack called to his passengers.

 

“Oh, wow,” said Daniel in a hushed voice, his eyes roving over the house and the snowy setting. “Jack, it’s beautiful.”

 

Jack couldn’t help smiling at Daniel in the seat beside him. He winked, too.  “More beautiful, now that you two are here,” he said softly.

 

Daniel winked back, reached over, and patted Jack’s shoulder, his fingers lingering on his soft sweater, warmed by Jack's radiant body heat.  He took off his seat belt, his eyes going to the impressive house once again.

 

The O’Neill’s home was very unusual, a huge, two story split log building with a deep porch running the length of the front, reminding Daniel of some of the modern Finnish style homes. On the southern end, a rounded tower made of vertically set logs projected one story taller than the house, with a wrought iron cap on top of it, serving as an observation deck. Four gables projected out of the second story roof, each with a big round window overlooking the scenery.

 

The scene reminded Daniel of a Thomas Kincaid painting, filled with light and warmth, inviting them to enter.

 

To the north of the house was a smaller white clapboard building that served as a garage, and beyond that was a big red barn with white trim. Beside it was a corral where he could see two shaggy horses in their thick, rough winter coats.  Twisting around in his seat, Daniel pointed them out to Jakaira. He didn’t think she’d ever seen a horse before, except on television. All Earth animals were an adventure to her, something new and exciting.

 

Her big brown eyes grew wide, and she just stared at the big beasts. Daniel waited for her to ask a question or show some other interest, but her hands remained still, clutching her homemade doll that Daniel knew her mother had made, and her floppy stuffed camel. He turned to look back at the O’Neill family home, wanting to memorize every detail and truly savor his first look at it. This was the place where Jack spent the last years of his youth, before joining the Air Force after high school.

 

Daniel could imagine him here, a tall, lanky youth tossing snowballs and chopping wood. Jack would’ve had a good time in this quiet, isolated place. He enjoyed solitude, but liked it even better when he had someone to talk to when he wanted.

 

The area around the house was cleared of trees and showed signs of an interesting garden underneath the netting and coverings protecting the more delicate vegetation. On all sides around the compound, thick woods sprang up, isolating the property from that of the nearest neighbors. Not far from the tower, the yard sloped steeply down to a rushing river dotted with snow-capped boulders. 

 

After pulling up in front of the house and turning the car off, Jack slipped on his coat, gloves, and scarf while Daniel turned around to extricate Jakaira from her car seat.

 

Jack came around and opened Jay’s door. “We’re home,” he called softly, reaching out for his daughter. She hadn't been wearing her coat in the heated car, so rather than put it on her and then take it off again moments later, he wrapped her up in a fluffy pink blanket to keep her warm between the heated vehicle and the house.

 

Daniel watched Jack carry his daughter up onto the porch and knock on the door while he got carefully out of the SUV, fearful he might slip.  He shut Jay’s door and that movement unbalanced him slightly and made him twist a bit, even with the gritty footing of the sanded driveway beneath his feet. The movement sent a warning twinge up from his artificial knee to his hip. He stood still for a moment, lips pressed firmly together, waiting for the pain to pass.  Slamming his own car door behind himself, he slowly trudged through the falling snow to the porch, leaning heavily on his cane.

 

Jack got the door open, and Daniel followed closely behind him. He couldn’t see past Jack in the narrow hallway, so he waited, inching forward so he could close the door behind them all. Then he backed up and leaned against it, waiting for the introductions.

 

“Mum, Da, this is Jakaira.” Jack pulled the blanket down and patted her on the shoulder to get her to turn around.

 

Meeting her eyes over her father’s shoulder, Daniel nodded and gestured to her to obey.

 

She stopped clinging to Jack’s neck, pushed upright and faced the crowd behind her.

 

Hushed whispers in Gaelic erupted. “Oh, Jack, she looks just like you.” There was a definite Irish lilt to the woman’s speech, though it was faint. Daniel knew that must be Jack’s mom.

 

“It’s our angel,” whispered a deep man’s voice. “Remember, Bonnie? Jack was to bring us a new angel for Christmas, and he has!”

 

Jack looked into his daughter’s eyes and glanced away, leading her gaze to his parents. “Jay, this is your Gramma and Grampa O’Neill. They're my mother and father.” He looked past them and pointed. “And that over there’s your Aunt Kelly and her husband, Uncle Xavier, and that goofy-looking guy over there’s your Uncle Brennan.”

 

Everyone took turns waving to Jakaira as they were introduced and then approaching her to speak in turn, greeting her warmly.

 

Jack turned and looked behind him at Daniel, his face filled with warmth and love. “And, everybody, this is Daniel.” He turned to the side to let Daniel peek out from behind him.

 

Daniel smiled self-consciously and gave a little wave. “Hello,” he said quietly. “Merry Christmas, everyone.”

 

“Hello,” said the big man who was Jack’s dad.  He had a head full of snowy white hair and a deep, James Earl Jones voice.  He looked past Jack and Jakaira, studying Daniel’s face with cold and forbidding brown eyes, doing a threat assessment that looked eerily familiar to Daniel.  “Why don’t we all go into the den so we can actually see each other? This hallway’s too damn narrow.”

 

“Ty, watch your language,” snapped the woman with the Irish accent. “Mind little ears.”

 

“Yes, ma’am. Thank you, ma’am.”

 

Slowly, everyone began to move forward. The warm yellowish hallway gave way to a big sunken corner room with two walls filled with picture windows looking out on the landscape behind the house. In the distance, Daniel saw a skating pond, with several children on ice skates twirling and speeding around on its frozen surface. “Looks like the kids are all out there, Jack,” he said softly, with a nod toward the windows.

 

“Of course, that’s where they’d be,” Jack agreed. He leaned down and gave his mother a peck on the cheek. “We need a little time to break the ice in here first, so they’ll be in later to meet you and their new cousin.” Jack turned around, looking for his partner, and nodded him forward. “Daniel.”

 

He stepped up beside Jack and hooked his cane into his coat pocket, freeing up his right hand.

 

“Mum, this is Doctor Daniel Jackson. Daniel, I’d like you to meet my mother, Africa Shaugnessy O’Neill.”

 

“It's a genuine pleasure and an honor, Mrs. O’Neill.”

 

When she offered her small hand, he took it gently and shook it in greeting, smiling down into her serious, searching eyes. Jack’s description of her had been dead-on. The O’Neill matriarch was only a little taller than Janet Fraiser. Her big green eyes widened as she looked straight into his, her stony expression softening as she gazed back at him.  He continued to smile at her. She smiled back, shyly, with a girlish tilt of her head. Daniel could see where Jack got that irreverent mouth and those dimples, but that was where the resemblance to his mother ended. There were few lines in her face, making her look much younger than her 70 years.

 

“Were you named for the continent or the eleventh century Irish princess?” Daniel asked as she withdrew her hand from his. 

 

Shock skittered across her face, followed quickly by a bright smile and a hearty, musical laugh. “By God, he’s the only person I’ve ever met who knew it was an Irish name!” she said happily, looking around at the assembled group.

 

She gazed up at Jack, suspicion in her eyes. “You didn’t tell him?”

 

Jack shook his head, grinning hugely. “Nope. Daniel knows this kind of stuff. He has unbelievable amounts of little tidbits like that filed away in his genius brain.”

 

Africa turned to her husband and patted his arm. “That’s a point in his favor, Ty.” She held up a finger and raised her eyebrows at him. Turning back to Daniel, she told him, “To answer your question, young man, I was named for the princess, of course. My mum was quite a reader, and fond of unusual names.”

 

Daniel was warmed by her friendliness and the small measure of acceptance she’d granted him.  He felt that things were going well, so far.

 

“Da, this is my partner, Daniel,” Jack went on, gesturing between the two men. “Daniel, Major Tyler O’Neill, USAF, retired.”

 

“It’s a privilege to meet you, sir,” said Daniel, looking up at the imposing man. He was every bit Teal’c’s size, and except for his full-lipped mouth and his extra girth, his resemblance to Jack was startling. He shook the man’s beefy hand and felt rather small and fragile while in his grip. Even at his age, Tyler O’Neill could probably snap him in two. And looked as if he wanted to do just that.

 

Jack motioned to a younger woman coming closer. She had green eyes, just like her mother, and Daniel knew this had to be Jack’s younger sister. She was much taller than her mother, however, and sturdier of build. She reminded Daniel of Sam in an odd sort of way, all big eyes, friendly smile and short, spiky blonde hair. She was grinning at him, eager to meet him, and that felt good.

 

“This is Kelly,” said Jack simply.

 

“Welcome to the family,” she whispered in Daniel’s ear as she put one arm around his neck and hugged him. “Be patient. They’ll come around.” And then she was stepping back to look at her big brother standing there with his Daniel, apparently thrilled with what she saw in his eyes. 

 

“Xavier Santos, Kelly’s husband,” said a small, dark man just a little taller than his wife. He came forward to shake Daniel’s hand, then stepped back beside his wife. His Hispanic heritage was obvious, as was his disapproval.

 

“And baby Brennan,” Jack finished, obviously teasing his sibling.

 

"Knock it off, Jack," the younger man shot back with a trace of good-natured irritation. Brennan looked much like a younger version of Jack, but with Africa’s green eyes and dark blonde hair. Daniel shook hands with him, reaching for his cane again as soon as that formality was done.

 

Jack nudged his arm. “Daniel, if you’ll take Jay, I’ll go unload and get the car parked in the garage,” he said. He handed Jakaira off to him and headed for the foyer.

 

Once Daniel had her in the crook of his left arm, he glanced at the child to make sure she was okay.

 

She seemed to be taking it all in just fine. He hooked his cane into his pants pocket and finger-spelled ‘ancestors,’ gesturing toward the elder O’Neills with his head.  “Ancestors,” he said softly.

 

Jakaira nodded, understanding.

 

“I’ll help unload the car,” said Ty, heading for the door and putting on his coat.

 

“Me, too,” called Brennan. He frowned on the way past and hurried after his father and brother. Xavier also put on his coat and followed the other men outside.

 

“Daniel, would you like to sit down?” asked Kelly, gesturing toward the sofa.

 

He smiled at her, offered his thanks, and ambled over to where she had just taken a seat. He groaned a little as he eased down on the couch, his knee starting to throb from the twist earlier. Settling Jakaira on his lap, he looked at her when she patted his cheek to get his attention.

 

“What is it, baby?” he murmured.

 

She leaned down and touched his knee, her eyes questioning him silently.

 

He nodded. “Yes, honey, it’s hurting a little. I twisted it outside.”

 

“Are you all right?” asked Africa, taking a few steps closer. Mrs. O’Neill squatted down beside him so she could look into her granddaughter’s face, obviously entranced with the child.

 

“I’m fine,” Daniel responded automatically, offering her a smile.

 

“Which is why you walk with a cane,” teased Kelly, smiling at him. “So, tell us, Daniel. Jack said you have three doctorates. That’s pretty amazing for a man your age. What fields?”

 

“Um, archaeology, linguistics, and the most recent one is anthropology.”

 

“You study people, then,” returned Kelly thoughtfully. “Have you done a lot of travelling in your profession?”

 

“Oh, yes. All over. To places you could never imagine.” He glanced down at Jakaira as she slid off his lap and wandered over to the window to look outside. He followed her with his eyes, intentionally not looking at Mrs. O’Neill as she got up to follow her granddaughter.

 

Jakaira’s hands began to move as she looked back at him, pointing at the other children outside.

 

“They’re skating on the ice,” he explained, repeating the sign as he spoke the new word. “Skating.”

 

She turned back to looking out the window.

 

Kelly moved to sit a little closer to him, glancing at his knee as he shifted in his seat with an unconscious wince.  “I hope you don’t mind my asking.  What sort of injury was it?”

 

“I’ve had my knee replaced,” he explained, giving her a faint smile. “That was a better option than losing my leg. I can't tell you what happened, other than to say it was an injury received in the line of duty.”

 

“Must’ve been bad, then. And I know it’s classified, and you can’t tell us about it, so don’t worry about me prying. If it gives you any trouble while you’re here, maybe I can help. I’m a doctor. The M.D. kind.”

 

Daniel grinned at her echo of Jack’s earlier introduction. “Yes, I know. Jack told me.” His smile softened with gratitude. “Thank you for accepting me, Kelly. That means a great deal to both of us.”

 

Kelly’s eyes warmed. “You’ve made my brother happy again, Daniel. I saw the love in his eyes when he told us about you, and then when he looked at you. That’s something I never thought I’d see again. Thank you for that, and for finding it in your heart to love him back.”

 

He adored this woman instantly. If no one else in the family ever learned to like him, having Kelly’s approval would be enough. “That was the easy part.  Jack’s not like anyone else I’ve ever known. He’s a force of nature.”

 

She lowered her voice so the child across the room couldn’t hear her. “He’s a big ol’ sappy pain in the ass, is what he is,” she told him with a conspiratorial giggle.

 

Daniel just grinned at her.  “Yeah, but ya gotta love him. I sure do.” He wondered if Kelly actually knew just how big a sap her big brother really was. He’d be willing to bet money that Daniel Jackson was the only one who knew the full extent of that part of Jack’s make up. 

 

Africa put her hand on Jakaira’s arm, petting her through the blanket she still clutched around her shoulders. “Would you like to come sit with your grandmother, dear?” She moved up onto a chair and held out her hands to the child.

 

Jakaira shook her head, chin tucked down, big brown eyes just staring solemnly at Mrs. O’Neill and edged a few steps away.

 

Daniel tensed, watching as Jakaira turned and ran toward him, crashing into his legs and scrambling up into his lap. He grunted as her little body collided with him, but shrugged off the familiar pain and set her back on his thighs so she could see his hands signing as he spoke. “Your Grandmother just wants to be friends with you. Don’t you want to be friends with her? She loves you, Jakaira.”

 

The child fell against his chest, throwing her arms around his neck, snuggling beneath his chin.

 

That wasn’t winning him any points with Jack’s mother, who was now frowning at him.

 

He tapped Jakaira on the shoulder, his signal for wanting her to pay attention. She obediently sat up and looked at him. “That wasn’t very nice, honey,” he explained patiently. “This is Daddy Jack’s mother. You should show her respect.”

 

She stared into his eyes for a moment, took a quick peek at her grandmother, and then reluctantly signed, Ancestors?

 

He nodded. “Yes. Please go apologize for being rude.” He eased her off his lap, wincing at yet another inadvertent tug on his knee.

 

Jakaira toddled over to Africa and dropped her blanket. Her hands began to move.

 

“She’s saying, ‘Please be friends, mother of my father,’ ” Daniel translated. His gaze flicked up to Africa’s face and saw her beaming at the well-mannered child.

 

She held out her arms, and Jakaira came a little closer, allowing herself to be hugged and kissed, but as soon as she was released, she ran back to Daniel. This time, she waited to be invited up to his lap.

 

“Thank you, Jakaira,” he told her, stroking her hair. “You’re a very good girl. Good manners. I’m proud of you.”

 

He glanced up at Jack’s mother and saw her studying him, her head cocked, interest in her eyes.

 

“Good manners are fast becoming a lost art in this modern world,” she observed quietly.

 

“They’re the basis of civilisation,” he returned, sliding into scholar mode. “When we fail to give each other small courtesies, we lose respect for each other in bigger ways. Then comes war and chaos. History’s full of it, and it always starts with the little things.”

 

“How long will you be staying?” Africa asked abruptly.

 

“I think we were planning to go home a few days after Christmas, maybe around the 28th.” He hesitated. “If that’s okay?”

 

“We’ll manage.” She shook her head in wonder, her green eyes dancing as she regarded the child in his lap. “I never thought Jack would have another child, Daniel. This is a miracle. I can’t get over how much like him she looks, except for that angel’s hair. Is that from her mother? Did you know her, too?”

 

“Yes, I did. Laira was a wise and beautiful woman, a leader among her people.” Daniel touched Jakaira’s wild curls. “Her mother’s hair was just like this.”

 

Jakaira tugged on Daniel’s coat.

 

“Okay, I’ll take it off,” he told her, and started to shrug out of the sleeves. He took off his coat, and Kelly rose to carry it to the coat stand in the foyer for him, with his thanks.

 

At that moment, Jack returned to the house, dropping bags and colourfully wrapped packages in the narrow hallway, then ducking out the door for more. In minutes the SUV was unloaded and he disappeared outdoors again to move the vehicle to the garage. Daniel set Jakaira on her feet and told her to go fetch some of the presents, then asked Mrs. O’Neill where she’d like them put.

 

He went with Jakaira and let her pile several boxes into the crook of his left arm, and when she had as many as she could carry and the women were also loaded, they went into the formal living room to place the packages under the Christmas tree. Jack stepped into the room just in time to see the look of wonder on his daughter’s face as she regarded the colourful, sparkling tree.

 

He came up to her and lifted her in his arms, reaching out to touch one of the branches of the gaily-decorated fir.

 

“This is a Christmas tree, Jay,” Jack told her quietly. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

 

She nodded, her curly hair bouncing with the motion of her head. She reached out, too, and felt the pliable needles of the Douglas fir. Jack sniffed his fingers afterward, and so did she, inhaling the fresh scent of evergreen clinging to her skin. 

 

“Has she never seen a Christmas tree before?” asked Mrs. O’Neill as she came up beside them.

 

Jack glanced at her. “No. This is all new to her. Her mother… wasn’t American.”

 

“Does she understand English?” asked Kelly.

 

“Yes. She’s just... from a different culture. I can’t tell you where she’s from, but pretty much everything here is new to her.” He glanced behind him and called Daniel over. “Get the new angel for Da, willya?”

 

Daniel moved a few of the boxes with his cane, looking for the one with the gold paper. When he found it, he bent down, pulled it out of the stack and handed it to the elder O’Neill. “Here you are, sir. Jack had it specially made for you by an artist we know at the base.”

 

Tyler unwrapped the package and lifted the lid off the box with a gasp. “God in heaven!” he breathed, then turned the open box so the rest of the family could see it. “Africa, look what our

son has done.”

 

Quietly, Daniel moved back, away from the group, watching their faces light up, their eyes flicking between the doll in the box and the child in Jack’s arms. They looked almost exactly alike. The angel had been sculpted as a portrait of Jakaira, dressed in a gold tissue gown, white wings at its shoulders.

 

“Why, she’s beautiful, Jack,” Africa whispered with an awestruck smile. “It looks just like her. I think we’ll keep it out on the mantel year round, to watch over us.”

 

Jack smiled happily, and Daniel felt warmed all the way to his toes, because the portrait doll had been his idea, once he’d heard the Clan O’Neill needed a new angel for the family Christmas tree.

 

Carefully, Tyler lifted the doll out of the box and handed it to Jakaira. “Will you put it on top of the tree, little one?” he asked softly.

 

Jakaira glanced at Daniel for approval, which he gave, and she stretched way up in her father’s arms to put the ornament on the top of the tree. The family cheered and applauded. The sudden noise surprised her, and she turned immediately to hide her face in Jack’s neck.

 

Everyone stopped instantly and apologized for scaring her. After a moment of petting and assurances from Jack, she finally turned back to study her new family, wide-eyed and uncertain.

 

Daniel watched Jack adoring her while the rest of the family slowly returned to the den.

 

“Let me get our stuff put away, and then we’ll all have a talk,” Jack suggested to everyone as they rounded the corner into the hallway to the den. He set Jakaira down and watched her trot over to hold onto Daniel’s good leg.

 

Jack looked for his mother in the stream of people flowing out into the big room. “Hey, Mum, are we sleepin’ in my old room?” 

 

“Yes, dear.” She had grabbed one of the bags in the foyer as she passed. “I thought we’d fetch one of the youth beds in the attic for Jakira, and put it in your room.”

 

“It’s Jakaira,” Jack corrected, “and she’ll probably end up sleeping with us, but we can try the bed. We’re trying to wean her away to sleep in her own bed.”

 

Africa looked at her son, tilted her head and let her eyes shift from him to Daniel, downward to the child holding onto his leg, and then back up to her son’s face. “I’d prefer that you and your friend slept in separate beds. We can put him in the guest room.”

 

Jack shook his head, looking down his nose at her with obvious disapproval. “He’s not just my friend, Mum. He’s my life partner. And we can always stay at the hotel in The Falls.”

 

“Jack,” Daniel called softly, watching the little battle of wills gearing up between mother and son.

 

“Stay out of this, Daniel,” Jack warned him quietly, not breaking eye contact with his mother.

 

“I’ll sleep in the guest room,” Daniel offered, his insides tensing up. “I don’t mind, really.”

 

“No, Daniel. My bed. Here, or in The Falls.” Jack was adamant, unwilling to give an inch.

 

“You’re not a married couple, Jack,” Africa argued. “You shouldn’t behave like one in this house.”

 

“Get your coat on, Daniel,” said Jack his challenging gaze still locked with his mother’s equally adamant one. “I’ll only say this once, Mum.  Where Daniel sleeps, I sleep, and vice versa.  If I could marry him, I already would have, but so far the law says I can’t. We belong to each other, with each other, and I won’t let you separate us. Besides, it would confuse Jay, and I won’t add to her stress.”

 

That admission stunned Daniel. Jack wanted to marry him? He had to work to drag his attention back to the feud and away from that declaration of love, but the sentiment sank into his soul in a warm river of devotion.

 

“Stop this, both of you,” Kelly demanded, her voice tense but quiet. She turned to her mother. “You’ve had his word nothing would happen. You know Jay needs Daniel close. Move on, Mum. It’s done.”

 

Africa loosed a pent-up breath and turned away with a roll of her eyes, heading for the stairs, muttering to herself in Gaelic after an impatient, ‘for cryin’ out loud.’

 

Jack turned to his lover. “Daniel, I’m gonna go put our stuff in my room. Our room. Will you be okay with the stairs?”

 

“I’ll make it, slow but steady,” Daniel stated confidently, unhappy that things had suddenly turned so tense. Maybe it would be better if he drove back to the hotel in Thief River Falls when Jakaira was asleep. He’d suggest that to Jack in private. “Lead the way.” He reached down and tugged Jakaira’s hand off his trouser leg, taking it in his own and following as Jack hefted two of their suitcases and headed for the staircase at the back of the big den.

 

Up two flights and down a long hallway, Daniel’s knee was smarting by the time he reached the bedroom. He sat down on the small, full-sized bed and reached into his pocket for his trusty bottle of Aleve. He shook two out into his palm and re-capped the bottle.  By the time he’d slipped the container back into his pocket, Jack was handing him a small glass of water from the bathroom.

 

“You okay?” he asked quietly.

 

“Thinking maybe I should lie down for a little while. You wanna take Jakaira downstairs with you?” He was tired, his knee was starting to swell, and he didn’t want to be there for any more torment. Maybe if he just kept a low profile and stayed in their room, things would be all right.

 

“Maybe Jay oughtta have a little nap with you, huh?” asked Jack, lifting her up and sitting her on the bed beside him. He made eye contact with her. “How ‘bout that, baby? Wanna take a nap with Daddy Dan?”

 

Jakaira just leaned her head against Daniel’s shoulder.

 

She didn’t want to leave him.

 

Jack kissed her cheek and smiled at her, then took the water glass and returned it to the adjoining bathroom. “I’ll unpack later, okay?”

 

Daniel just nodded, reached down to remove his shoes, set his cane against the nightstand, put his glasses beside it and reclined against the bed. Jakaira plastered her little body up against him, squeezed between his ribs and his arm, her head resting on his chest. She sighed, clutching her doll tighter, and closed her eyes. 

 

Jack bent and kissed Daniel on the forehead, looking down into his eyes.

 

“Love you,” he whispered. “Don’t worry, babe. We’ll find a way.” He patted Daniel’s cheek, watching him nod as his eyes slid shut, then turned and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

 

 

“Well, I can see why you’ve taken such a shine to him,” Africa sniffed as Jack returned to the den. “He’s very pretty.  Nice manners.  And smart, too.”

 

“Toldja.”

 

“He’s not at all the nancy-boy I was expecting.”

 

Jack frowned at his mother. “Like I said, Mum, Daniel switched sides for me. He liked women before me. In fact he still looks at ‘em, just like I do, but I own his heart.”

 

Tyler O’Neill looked down his nose at his son. “I’m not so sure it’s his heart you were lusting after,” he growled.

 

Jack shot him a black look, making the conscious decision to keep his mouth shut. He turned back to his mother. “I’m gonna go say hello to the kids and tell ‘em about their new cousin and my… friend.”

 

“Come to the kitchen first, then,” she ordered. “We’ll warm them up with some hot cocoa.”

 

Fifteen minutes later, he and his mother were carrying two trays of cups and thermoses of hot chocolate into the back yard. As they approached the pond, he studied the rosy-cheeked children, bundled up to their necks, heads mostly covered with ski caps. He couldn’t see much of them, but he had no trouble recognizing each of his nieces and nephews, despite how they’d grown since he’d last saw them.

 

Jamie, Connor and Kieran were all nearly grown, about Daniel’s size. Liam was still a gangly kid, all long arms and legs, with a trace of little boy in his freckled face. Sorcha and Riona were blooming into gorgeous young women, and little Finn looked so much like Jack remembered his brother at that age that it gave him a twinge.

 

He’d missed these kids. They had grown up so fast, and he regretted keeping his distance from them. Hopefully, that would change soon.

 

If the family learned to accept his relationship with Daniel, he’d be spending a lot more time with them all. If not, he might not see them much in the future. That worried Jack, but it wasn’t his choice to make.

 

“Uncle Jack!”

 

At first only one voice shouted, and then they all echoed the greeting, skates cutting across the ice as they came up to the serving bar sitting beside a wooden bench. Jack embraced and kissed everyone while his mother poured hot chocolate into the mugs to warm up the kids. Once they all had hugged and pounded him and taken a sip of their drinks, he gathered them around and told them about his daughter and her hardships before coming into his life, barely mentioning that he’d brought along his best friend as well. Then he invited them in to meet their cousin and his friend, and while they were taking off their cold weather gear, he went up the stairs to waken Jakaira and Daniel from their naps.

 

 

Daniel sat in the farthest corner of the den, well away from everyone else. He studied the book on child-rearing he’d brought with him, regularly glancing up from the pages at Jakaira, now sitting on the floor with her cousin, Finn, playing a board game. He interpreted for her whenever she had something she wanted to say, and Daniel knew that those frequent moments helped to impress upon the rest of the family just how necessary he was in her life at the moment.

 

Still, the others mostly ignored him and he let them, pretending to be engrossed in his reading. Now and then he stole glances at Jack as he interacted with his family, secretly enjoying how boisterous and playful he was with them. He wrestled with his nephews, teased his nieces about boys and sat close to his sister on the couch, enjoying a lively conversation with her. Watching Jack with his family was painfully beautiful, and Daniel wished he could share in that.

 

Eventually, he got tired of sitting and decided to stretch his legs a little. He ambled around the lower floor of the house, looking at family photos on the walls and sitting in frames on tables.

 

He strolled through the kitchen and took note of the herb garden growing in a small window box, as well as the professional quality cookware hanging above the central island, complete with vegetable sink on one end and grill on the other. There was even a small cooking hearth built into an exterior wall, set above the floor about waist high. Beside it were long-handled pots and fireplace tools, shiny skewers and sparkling clean stainless steel racks for use in cooking over the open flame.  Jack’s mother was most likely an excellent cook, then.

 

He looked forward to tasting some of her recipes, though dinner was likely several hours away. The aromas of ham and turkey cooking in the double ovens made his mouth water, but he wasn’t going to help himself to any of the already finished portions of the coming meal without an invitation to do so.  His stomach growled and he was thirsty, but he didn’t want to ask for anything so he searched through the cupboards until he found the glasses and got himself some tap water.

 

During his ramble through the big house, he discovered the library and spent some time glancing through the books. Some of the titles were surprising to him, covering a wide range of subjects, from history and mythology to science and technology. There were a lot of military books, both serious historical volumes and popular fiction with military themes, and Daniel supposed those belonged to the major. He decided this would be a safe room to explore when he ran out of other things to do, and continued his search of the lower floor, wanting to familiarize himself with the layout of the house.

 

The library adjoined the tower room, holding a set of spiral stairs to the observation deck up top, now closed off for the winter. This was the music room, and there were dozens of stringed instruments of all kinds in view: guitars, both acoustic and electric, an electric bass guitar, violins, cellos, violas, and a single huge upright bass. In one corner was a set of drums and in another a full-sized harp. At the back of the room, just in front of the staircase, sat a shiny black baby grand piano. He went over to it, tracing his fingers along the edge of the raised lid.

 

Sheet music sat open on the music stand. He studied it, hearing the tune in his mind as he read the notes. Bonny Portmore was a traditional Irish ballad he’d never seen before, and he was compelled to play it. Taking a seat on the slick black stool, he lightly touched the keys, trying to keep the music soft enough not to disturb anyone else in the house.

 

He laid his cane on the stand in front of the music and settled his fingers to the keys once more. After haltingly playing the piece through, he tried it again, smoother this time.  He softly sang the lyrics, never needing to take his eyes off the written notes to glance at the keys. It was a lovely, haunting song, and just for the mental exercise he began to translate as he played, singing the tune in Irish Gaelic instead of English.

 

When he finished, he lowered his eyes to the keyboard and began to play a song he’d been working on writing for Jack. It didn’t have any lyrics yet, and he thought he might let it remain an instrumental, but the tune showed promise. He’d only gone through the first few bars when he felt eyes on him and looked up, toward the doorway.

 

Africa O’Neill stood there, her lower lip trembling. When he saw her, she came closer, standing next to the piano, and there were tears standing in her eyes. “Would you sing it again? Please?”

 

He smiled at her, embarrassed that she’d heard him tinkling on the keys at all, but happy that she wanted to hear the ballad again. “I don’t play it very well,” he admitted. “This is the first time I’ve seen the music.”

 

Her eyes widened a little and the tears were blinked away. “Do you mean to tell me you translated that song into Gaelic while you were playing it?”

 

His smile dimmed, tugging at only one corner of his mouth. “Well, yeah. I play little games like that with myself all the time. It helps me keep my language skills sharp.”

 

“Please show me.” She pointed at the sheet music with her chin, glancing down at the paper, then back to his eyes.  She sank down on the bench next to him so that their arms were touching.

 

“Okay. I’ll do Scottish Gaelic this time.” He shifted his gaze to the music, played the opening notes and began to sing. He didn’t have to concentrate on the written notes as much this time because he had most of it memorized, and translated the song as he sang.

 

“Again,” Africa challenged when he hit the last note. “In French. Do you speak French?”

 

“Yes, ma’am.” Daniel sang the song in French, then again in Spanish. When he looked at her again, she was smiling and shaking her head in wonder, a sparkle in her eyes. “Now in my mother tongue again, if you please, Daniel. I’ve so missed hearing it.”

 

He obliged, playing the tune from memory now, filling the words with the emotions expressed by the song: profound regret and melancholy. When he finished that song, he started another Irish song he knew, The Wearin’ of the Green, also in Gaelic. His fingers depressing the keys with passion and authority, his voice raised with sincerity.

 

A warm little body jostled against his left hip, and he glanced down to see Jakaira climbing up next to him, the three of them filling the bench. Daniel looked around to see others of the family following the trail of airborne notes to the music room. Without prompting, Tyler O’Neill took down a fiddle and bow, tuned it up and began to play with him. Africa rose and picked up a small flute, taking up a spot beside the piano. Brennan sat at the harp, Kelly snagged a tambourine and Jack stood behind Daniel with an acoustic guitar hanging from a wide strap around his neck.

 

Daniel glanced up at him, startled to see his lover with an instrument, and playing it fairly well. Jack’s eyes twinkled, hinting that there were more mysteries yet for Daniel to uncover in that familiar territory. That caused a rush of warmth to Daniel’s heart, making him glance quickly back to the keys with a small smile.  

 

They played for what seemed like hours, covering every Irish song Daniel knew and some he didn’t, aided by the appropriate sheet music. When they finished, his hands and forearms were aching, and he was smiling from ear to ear. Africa was first to leave with the promise of starting dinner, and Kelly left to help her.

 

Jakaira climbed up into Daniel’s lap for another piano lesson, and he let her play several of the songs they’d been studying at home while Jack took his mom’s place on the end of the bench, his back to the keyboard to give him room to play the guitar. One by one, the other musicians put away their instruments and left the room. While Jakaira practiced, Daniel reached around and slipped his arm about Jack’s waist for a brief embrace.

 

“Apparently there’s still quite a lot about you that I don’t know,” he said quietly, turning his head to regard Jack’s serious profile.

 

Jack’s head was bent over the instrument still nestled in his lap. “Yup.” He started playing a tune of his own when Jakaira finished. She gave Daniel a quick pat on his chest, then slid off his lap and trotted into the other room to find Finn and her other cousins.

 

Daniel recognized the familiar song and set his fingers to the keys again, playing with him. “You gonna sing this to me?” he asked quietly. The song was Danny Boy.

 

“Nope. Can’t carry a tune in a bucket. I sound like a foghorn.” Jack scooted over on the bench, crowding Daniel’s right arm as he played, obviously wanting some kind of contact with him. His head lifted, and he glanced around the room, then turned and whispered, “ ‘And all my dreams will warm and sweeter be, if you’ll not fail to tell me’…”

 

“…that I love you, Jack O’Neill,” he murmured, nodding and finishing the rest of the lyric from that beautiful, haunting song. “Always and forever.”

 

They finished the song together, exchanging a smile, and Jack rose to put the guitar back on the stand. “C’mon. Let’s go bug Mum in the kitchen and see if we can get a snack out of her,” he said lightly, smiling Daniel’s way. “You just impressed the hell out of my family, Danny-boy.” He waited until Daniel had eased out from behind the piano stool, and leaned down to whisper in his ear as he followed Daniel toward the door. “Wish I could kiss you right now.”

 

“Me, too,” Daniel agreed. He slowed down, letting Jack crowd up behind him, and put his left hand back to pat at Jack’s hip, looking over his shoulder with a wink.   Desire and the afterglow of joy from their musical session sat in a warm coil in his belly, spreading their warmth all through his body. He was actually blushing as he left the music room, Jack hurrying past him and walking briskly toward the kitchen to pounce on his mother. 

 

Daniel thought he ought to pull himself together a little before facing the family and sidestepped into the library until his face cooled. He indulged in a little fantasy for when they got home again, having to do with making music together and a romp on the keyboard of his new piano. Music did good things to him way down deep inside, and knowing that Jack had musical skill seriously turned him on. He shook his head and smiled to himself, tucking that away for later.

 

Returning to the den, he went back to his seat in the far corner and was just about to pick up his book again when Jamie Santos, Kelly’s oldest son, stood up from a gaming table near the fireplace. He glanced about the room’s occupants and spied Daniel. A predatory smile gleamed in his eyes.

 

“Hey, Daniel,” he called. “Do you play chess?”

 

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I do.” He glanced down beside the teenager and saw his younger cousin, Connor, putting the pieces back in starting position, his head down and shoulders hunched in obvious defeat as Jamie’s latest victim. “Who’s the family champ?”

 

“That would be me,” declared Tyler from his favorite recliner, facing the fireplace. He was reading a newspaper, his Ben Franklin glasses way down on his nose and head tipped back. “We’ll see how you do with Jamie, and if he doesn’t decimate you, I’ll give you a game if you want. Jamie’s president of his chess club at school, so we’ll see if you can beat him before I take you on.”

 

Jack breezed in just then with a cup of coffee in one hand and a saucer with two small pastries in the other. “Oh, Da, you don’t wanna be playin’ Daniel. He takes no prisoners.”

 

Ty looked up over his glasses at his son. “Have you ever beaten him?”

 

Setting the cup and saucer down on the end table beside Daniel, Jack shook his head. “Nope. Not in eight years, and not even when he was so drunk he didn’t know his own name.”

 

Daniel quietly thanked Jack for the refreshments, and both men turned their gaze to Jack’s father.

 

With an air of confidence, Ty rolled his gaze back down at the paper before him. “That’s all right, Jack. You play chess like a girl anyway.”

 

“Oh, gee, thanks,” Jack returned in mock indignation.

 

“Da! That’s uncalled for,” declared Kelly with a trace if irritation in her voice. She picked up one of the small decorative throw pillows from the sofa and tossed it at her father, hitting the paper and knocking it out of one hand.

 

Everyone chuckled, eyeing each other with mirth sparkling in their eyes.

 

“Maybe I shoulda said, you play like your sister,” Ty amended, his voice filled with warmth and humour.

 

Jamie waited until Connor had finished setting up the board, then moved the gaming table over to Daniel’s chair. The young man dragged up an ottoman and sat across from him, then made the first move. Daniel played honestly, making suggestions when Jamie seemed to be failing, but even so, it didn’t take long for the outcome to be obvious.

 

“Good game, Daniel,” he said with a smile, standing up and shaking Daniel’s hand. “I’ll set the board up over by Grandpa so you and he can play.”  He set the pieces up and moved the game table beside his grandfather’s recliner. Xavier Santos got up from the wingback chair on the other side of the table, and Daniel took his place. 

 

An hour later, Africa called the family to dinner.

 

“In a minute, Bonnie,” Ty called, his paper folded away, his concentration on that board as if his life depended on it. “Just let me finish this game.”

 

Jack sat on the floor, playing with Jay and Finn. Most of the rest of the family were gathered around those two chairs, watching the game. Jack glanced up at Daniel, catching his eye, and signed, ‘Check in how many moves?’   

 

Daniel pressed his lips together and shook his head. He could clearly see the pattern, only three moves left, and he’d have the game. Tyler hadn’t given the game his full attention in the beginning, obviously thinking he’d have an easy win, and Daniel had brought his book with him, reading it between turns until the old man had put away his paper and started taking the game seriously.

 

Now Tyler was actually starting to sweat a little. His fingers touched one piece, then another. He glanced up at Daniel, who carefully kept his gaze on the board.

 

“How many moves?” Ty asked.

 

Daniel cleared his throat. He wouldn’t give the game to the old man because that wouldn’t be honest. Neither could he lie to Jack’s father. “Um, check in two, mate in three.”

 

“Show me.”

 

Pointing out the remaining strategies and their outcomes, Daniel finished the game aloud and waited to see if Ty would accept that or argue with him. He watched the older man’s eyes drop back down to the board and flick from piece to piece, studying, strategizing, and finally, realizing and accepting the truth.

 

Ty sat back in his chair, staring at the board and thinking. Then he raised his eyes to Daniel’s, and nodded slightly, his expression unreadable. “Best two out of three?” he challenged. “Third game as fast as you can play.”

 

“Done.”

 

Africa had been standing in the den doorway, arms crossed over her chest, anxious to serve her meal while it was still hot.  Listening to their interchange as patiently as she could, she spoke to the two men.  “After dinner,” she reminded them with a note of authority.

 

The family retired to the formal dining room, all discussing the impressive game the two men had played. The main table was long and elegantly set with white china resting on gold charger plates. A huge roasted turkey and a sizeable spiral cut ham covered in pineapple and a brown sugar glaze took up most of the middle of the table, with other vegetable dishes, salads, breads and condiments filling out the spread.

 

The family stood around while Ty said the blessing, and then they took their chairs according to longstanding tradition, with Ty at the head of the table, Africa at the foot, and Jack to his dad’s right. A stack of several pillows in the chair next to his marked Jakaira’s place, and Jack nodded Daniel into the one on the other side of hers.

 

When everyone was seated, Daniel signed to Jakaira, asking her what she wanted to eat and serving up small portions of everything she chose. He handed the plate to Jack, who added a few extra things, and then began to cut up her portions of meat into bite-sized pieces before moving it in front of her. She poked at the vegetables with a frown, and Jack gave her a look. “Try them,” he ordered gently. “You’ve gotta learn to eat new things, honey. You won’t know if you like it unless you taste it.”

 

“Daddy’s right,” Daniel agreed. “I didn’t know I liked boudin till he had me eat some without knowing what it was.” Daniel remembered that feast in the living room during Love School, and the list Jack had made of things he liked. The first thing he’d eaten had been a forkful of the Cajun liver-and-rice sausage, which Jack loved but Daniel had always refused to eat because it looked so thoroughly unappetizing, all pasty and grey. It sure didn’t taste like it looked, though, and he was glad Jack had found a way to make him try it. 

 

The memory of that wonderful day made him smile as he served himself modest portions of nearly everything. He knew Jack must be remembering it, too, but neither of them looked at each other, keeping their attention focused on their plates, enjoying that private moment right in the middle of the family dinner.

 

“Think you can beat Da again?” asked Jack conversationally.

 

Daniel thought about how he should answer. “Your father plays a smart game,” Daniel declared as he cut up his own thick slice of ham. “It wasn’t easy. We’ll have to wait and see. And you know I’m not so good at speed chess.”

 

He didn’t have to look at Tyler O’Neill to know the man had heard him and would be counting on a win now in that third game.

 

“Just don’t go easy on him, or he won’t respect you.” 

 

Daniel had already guessed that, but he didn’t think Ty had a very high opinion of him at all. About anything.  That was part of the problem. They were seeing proof that he was smart and talented, but nothing of what kind of man he was, and his character was the only thing that would win him even a little esteem among the O’Neills, who were all smart and talented in their own right.

 

Daniel cleaned his plate and went for seconds, stuffing himself like he hadn’t in a very long time. Doctor’s orders had him watching his weight since he couldn’t exercise the way he once had, but that day he threw caution to the wind, especially since he knew he was being watched and judged and didn’t want the ladies to think he didn’t like their cooking. He groaned in delight and made a big show of bragging on the food. Africa and Kelly seemed pleased, especially when he offered to do the dishes and put the leftovers away for them.  

 

Mrs. O’Neill gave him a little smile and assured him that wasn’t necessary, and then started clearing away the entrees and bringing out the desserts.

 

“Oh, I’ve died and gone to heaven,” sighed Daniel as he eyed the bounty, licking his lips in anticipation.

 

“Again?” whispered Jack over Jakaira’s head, where only they could hear it.

 

Daniel just grinned at him and shook his head, already mentally organizing all the weightlifting and swimming he’d have to do to work off what he was about to gain over the holidays. 

 

 

It was close to midnight when Jack stepped into the darkened bedroom, making his way along the wall toward the bathroom, using the dim light from the hallway to help find the door. He stepped in and flipped on the light, watching Daniel’s head come up off the pillow and turn to look at him. Daniel gave him a sleepy smile, squinting in the sudden brightness, and settled back into the pillow.  He turned over on his side, watching Jack.

 

Giving Daniel a little wave, Jack quietly closed the bathroom door to pee and change into the sweats and T-shirt that were already waiting for him on the bathroom counter.  He opened the door again while he brushed his teeth, taking a moment just to gaze at Daniel and the curly blonde head on the pillow in the small bed just beside theirs. There would be no opportunity for intimacy and no touches or kisses where anyone could see them, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t have a few intimate moments in the privacy of their room.

 

When he finished preparing for bed, Jack left the bathroom light on and partially closed the door, leaving just a crack open to pour a little light into the room. Then he went to the bedroom door, closed and locked it.

 

“Open the door, Jack,” Daniel whispered nervously. “Your parents will assume—“

 

“I want to kiss you for a minute,” Jack shot back urgently. “I’m not sure I could do anything more in this house, anyway. There’s just something about the atmosphere here that kills the mood.”

 

He sat down by Daniel’s hips as Daniel turned over onto his back.  Jack leaned over, placing his hands on either side of Daniel’s head. “I love you, babe,” he murmured against his lover’s lips. “Been watchin’ you all day, thinking about when we get home.” He rubbed his nose against Daniel’s, kissing the side of his mouth.

 

Daniel grinned. “Maybe we ought to drive straight back to that motel for a quickie before we hit the road,” he whispered.

 

“You are a wicked, naughty man,” Jack whispered back with a quiet laugh.

 

“And you love that about me,” Daniel murmured, his arms going around Jack’s neck. 

 

“Youbetcha,” Jack said into his mouth, feeling those strong arms wrap around him, bringing him down harder, closer. Heat and hunger surged up inside him, and he deepened the kiss, nibbling on Daniel’s lower lip, battling his insistent tongue, devouring him until he could hardly breathe.

 

In dire need of oxygen and a coherent thought or two, Jack sat up hard and fast, his head swimming, his dick tenting out his loose-fitting pants. Looking down at himself, he chuckled a little. “Well, there goes that atmosphere theory.” He smiled at his lover, watching as Daniel waggled his eyebrows at him with a grin.

 

He ran a hand over Daniel’s chest, smoothing down the covers, relishing the feeling of Daniel’s hard body under the soft blankets.  “I’m proud of you, y’know, You did good today.”

 

“I hope so. I want them to like me, Jack.”  Daniel reached up to touch his face, and Jack turned his nose and cheek into Daniel’s palm, nuzzling him. 

 

“They will.”  Jack grew serious, reaching up to hold Daniel’s hand against his face. “How can they help it? Just give ‘em time.”

 

Nodding, Daniel murmured, “Doing the best I can, trying not to expect too much. But I can’t help wanting, you know?” He sighed. “Best go open that door.”  He pointed over Jack’s shoulder.

 

Jack got up and pulled the door wide open. Peering out into the hall, he saw his mother step back into her room with a disapproving glare. "Night, Mum," he called, giving her a wink and a smile as she hesitated in the bedroom doorway.

 

She studied him with a knowing look in her green eyes, as if she’d seen through their door and watched them kissing. Well, he’d promised not to have sex with Daniel under her roof.  He hadn't promised not to kiss him in private, and she needed to allow them that minor concession. They weren't doing it in front of anyone but their daughter, who saw it every day.  And she was sound asleep anyway.

 

Leaving the bedroom door ajar, Jack went by Jay's bed, bent down, and kissed her hair before returning to their bed and climbing under the covers with Daniel. He scooted close, draping his arm over Daniel's waist, just wanting to touch and hold. Cautiously, Daniel eased away a bit, and Jack got the message, putting more space between them. Daniel found Jack's hand under the sheet and laced their fingers together, getting what contact he could.

 

“It’ll be all right,” Daniel whispered. “When Jakaira doesn’t need me so much, you and she can come home as often as you like. I’ll be fine in the Springs.”

 

“That’s not how it works for me,” Jack murmured back.

 

Silence ticked away between them for a moment, but Jack couldn’t close his eyes. He rolled his head on the pillow as Daniel turned to face him.

 

“Did you mean what you said—Well, of course you did. Never mind.” Daniel sighed and squeezed his hand, bringing it up between their faces and placing a kiss on Jack’s knuckles. “I was touched this afternoon when you said you wanted to marry me.  I never thought about it before you mentioned it, but I think I’d want that, too. It’d be nice, you know? Anyway, I loved hearing you say it, and right in front of everybody. That took a lot of guts. Thanks.”   

 

Jack leaned in to give him a quick kiss on the lips.  “Yeah, it would be nice, wouldn’t it? Maybe we should get some rings and have a private little ceremony of our own, when we get home.” He lifted his head and glanced at the shadow that was his daughter, sleeping peacefully in her little bed on Daniel’s other side, then settling back into his pillow. “We’re a family, babe. I’ve actually given it a lot of thought.  I may be Jay’s father… but you’ve been much more of a daddy to her than me. She has two parents, and you deserve recognition for the place you hold in her life. Besides, I love you, and I’m a marrying man. I don’t run from commitment, and I want us to be forever. Till death do us part, you know?”

 

At first, there was no answer. Jack waited.

 

“I love you so much, Jack,” Daniel whispered after a few moments. He curled toward Jack, putting his head down on Jack’s shoulder, tucking himself under Jack’s chin, his warm arm snaking around Jack’s waist.

 

Jack was happy to put his arms around Daniel and hold him as tight as he could.  So much for leaving some space between them.  It was impossible.  How could they have thought they could sleep apart, even by a few inches?  “G’night, vidamo.”  He kissed Daniel’s temple, brushing his beautiful long mane back from his face with his fingers. Jack loved the feel of it, like silk against his skin, and how it looked framing Daniel’s face.

 

“Night, ionúin.” 

 

Jack smiled and closed his eyes, thankful for the blessings that filled his life and brightened his days.

 

 

**24 December**

 

 

“Yes, you are.”

 

“No, I’m not.”

 

“Are.”

 

“Not.”  Daniel stood by the little motorized shopping cart near the front doorway of the local K-Mart, his face flushed with stubborn indignation. He watched Jack glare at him, silently demanding that he get on it.  “I can walk perfectly fine,” Daniel insisted, “and I’m not riding in that thing --” He poked at the cart with his cane for emphasis. “--because I don’t need to.”

 

“Yeah, you do have to ride, Daniel.” Glancing around the busy store, Jack turned back to him with a firm look. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked down his nose at his lover.  “We’re gonna be battling crazed last-minute shoppers and trapped in check-out lines here for hours, maybe half the day, and if you spend that long on your feet, your knee will be the size of a basketball for three days afterward, and I don’t wanna hear about it. So no arguments, okay?”

 

They locked eyes for a moment in a silent battle of wills.

 

Jack’s gaze softened, a little smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “And besides, you can let Jay ride in your lap, and we can load up the basket with shopping bags and coats and stuff. You’re just a convenient excuse for us to have the cart, okay?  Come on, be a sport.” Jack punched playfully at Daniel’s bicep.

 

Seeing the sense of it and unable to resist Jack’s fond tease, Daniel rolled his eyes, heaved a theatrical sigh, and capitulated.

 

Everyone else got regular shopping carts and piled their coats into those. Jakaira happily climbed up into Daniel's lap, and when he had her secured with one arm around her waist, he turned on the cart and drove off.  He couldn’t see Jakaira's face, but when she clapped and started to wriggle in his lap, he knew she liked this fun new ride. Daniel followed in Jack's wake while the rest of the family wandered ahead of them, everyone shopping for gifts for the new granddaughter.

 

After a few minutes of discussion, the family groups split up, leaving Jack, Daniel and Jakaira to shop on their own. Daniel had expressed his desire to buy gifts for each of the O’Neills and Santoses, so they prowled around the various departments of the store, discussing choices and guessing at sizes for clothing. Daniel already had ideas for some of the gifts, but when he didn’t find what he wanted, he asked Jack if there might be any other places he might find the items in question.

 

When that proved fruitless, another idea hit Daniel, but it would involve a trade-off, and he wanted to make sure Jack was all right with it. Daniel had anticipated some gifts for Jack’s family, but not enough, and he was three short. A couple of the gifts he’d arranged to give to Jack, however, could be re-wrapped with new nametags for Kelly, Brennan and Ty, and no one would be the wiser but the two of them, if they worked it just right.

 

Daniel made sure they were isolated from the others and asked Jack's permission to give away a few of his gifts to the family.  Jack agreed, knowing how important making a good impression on the family was for Daniel. He apologized to Jack, wishing he'd been able to find something else appropriate, but both of them thought it best, and Daniel assured Jack he'd still be able to appreciate his gifts, if only until Christmas was over.

 

The family enjoyed a light mid-shopping-day lunch at a Wendy’s down the street and continued with their rounds in some of the smaller specialty stores downtown.

 

Before they left town, they went to the family church for the early Christmas Eve Mass. Daniel sat beside Jack with Jay in his lap, rising with them when they stood, sitting on the edge of the pew when they knelt. He made sure Jay knelt with the others, even though she couldn't see over the top of the pew in front of them when she did. At the end of the mass, he and Jack walked up the aisle with the rest of the family, receiving blessings from the priest rather than taking communion.

 

Daniel noticed that Ty gave them a disapproving glance afterward and wondered if he was upset because they hadn't taken communion, or that they had gone up to the priest at all.

 

Ty didn't mention it and Jack didn't bring it up, so Daniel chose to let it lie. He had enjoyed the serenity of the place, relished the companionship of his little family and Jack’s larger one. In that small space of time, there had been no worlds needing to be saved, no strife to battle, no worries; just quiet and peace flowing over and through him. He’d missed that, and it brought back memories from his childhood that made the experience even more precious.  Daniel kept it all to himself, his eyes roving the beautiful stained glass windows and ornate statues inside the sanctuary. 

 

He watched Jack and saw the peace in his lover’s face, and wondered if this was something Jack needed. He’d bring it up some other time, when they were alone. There was plenty of time for that conversation.

 

Full dark had fallen by the time they left the church, and soon they were on their way home again after a leisurely dinner in the Falls and some driving around to look at the Christmas lights and decorations.  During the drive back with Jack and Jakaira, Daniel closed his eyes, trying to catch a little rest during the 20-minute trip to the family homestead. 

 

When they arrived, Jack corralled the kids in the den with a stack of games while Daniel went into the library to wrap the presents he'd bought before putting them under the tree.

 

When he was done, he joined the others in the den, carrying his camera and a few books from the bedroom upstairs. His knee was aching from the long day of shopping and walking, so he swallowed a couple of Aleve and sat in his customary chair, propping his bad leg up on a hassock. 

 

Occasionally he snapped pictures of various family members and groupings.  His hope was to get enough together for a small commemorative album to assemble as a gift for Jack when they got home, of their first Christmas with the Clan O’Neill. 

 

A few minutes later, Africa and Kelly came in with mugs of hot cocoa and snacks. When everyone was thoroughly stuffed, the dishes cleared away and the food properly stored, the family adjourned to the formal living room for the Christmas festivities.

 

The adults took seats on the furniture while the children sat in laps or on the floor. Daniel sat beside Jack on the sofa with Jakaira half in his lap, half in her father's, wiggling back and forth between them in anticipation. Tyler read the Christmas story from the Bible, then said a prayer of thanks for their good health, good friends and family, and especially for the new little angel in their midst. He asked for blessings on all of those gathered in the O’Neill family home, mentioning each one by name, including Daniel, concluding with a prayer for peace and understanding.

 

When he finished, Africa took charge and went over to the tree, calling the youngest children to help her.  Jakaira and Finn handed out presents to the appropriate people, and when all the bounty had been dispensed, bedlam ensued in a mad dash to open packages. The adults took their time, watching the children open and enjoy their gifts, and when they ran off to play with their new toys, a quieter opening session ensued with the adults.

 

Daniel had a lap full of presents the O’Neill family had purchased for him, all items of clothing that Jack had helped them choose, along with a box of chocolates from Africa and a bottle of wine from Ty. He made certain to thank each of the givers and compliment their choices, promising himself to wear the new clothes during the rest of the holiday so they could see him in them. He opened the box of chocolate bounty and passed it around to share with everyone, earning him a tiny little smile of approval from Mrs. O’Neill. From Jack he received a collection of music CDs he'd been wanting and several books on his reading list, along with a big, bright yellow Spongebob Squarepants T-shirt from Jakaira, which made him laugh because he knew Jack had picked it out for him.

 

Jack was pleased with his few gifts of an opera collection, a framed photograph of their garden at its peak, which he showed around to everyone, and several hardcover books on the current best-seller list.

 

But when Daniel saw the special packages he’d re-wrapped for Jack’s family begin appearing, he nudged Jack with his elbow to call attention to them, making sure he knew that some of those would have been his.

 

It was a secret they would share.

 

Brennan pulled a framed picture out of his silver snowflake paper and just stared at it. Then he held it up to show everyone else. “It’s beautiful,” he murmured softly. Taking a second look at the gift tag, he looked over at Daniel and thanked him with a smile.

 

The picture was a charcoal drawing of Jack reading Jakaira a bedtime story.

 

Daniel glanced at Jack, at the warmth and love in his expression, meant just for him. Then Jack turned to Brennan and boasted, "Daniel drew that himself. He's good, isn't he?"

 

The whole family passed the picture around, making appropriately awed noises, and agreeing that Daniel seemed to have lots of talents.

 

Kelly opened her package and found another framed drawing, this one of Jack brushing Jakaira’s hair while she sat in his lap.  She, in turn, was brushing her precious doll’s hair. Kelly got teary eyed and jumped up to come over and hug Daniel’s neck.

 

The look in Jack’s eyes told Daniel he’d done the right thing. He leaned over and whispered in Daniel's ear, "Thank you. I loved my presents, babe." His warm breath against Daniel's ear sent chills all through him, making him flush with pleasure as Jack drew away, smiling, his eyes twinkling with joy.

 

Daniel struggled to look for the next present, and spied Africa tearing into the paper on her gift. This one Daniel had drawn especially for Jack’s parents. It showed Jack and Jakaira kissing, their faces in profile, lips puckered and just touching. He'd drawn it from one of his favourite photographs of them, which now had a place of honour on his desk at the SGC.

 

She beamed, just holding the framed picture in her hands, and staring at it. She mumbled something in Gaelic and then raised glistening eyes to Daniel.

 

<“You give good gifts,”> he translated in his mind.

 

In her mother tongue, he replied, <” I have learned what really matters.”>

 

She nodded, the rest of the family’s eyes moving back and forth between them, obviously wondering what they were saying. <”You are wise for one so young.”>

 

His smile faded, thinking back on all he’d suffered in his life. <”In many ways, I am older than I look.”>

 

<”I am beginning to see this.”>

 

“You two wanna try English?” Jack teased, glancing between them, nudging Daniel with his elbow.

 

“Jack, don’t be rude,” Ty admonished quietly. “He’s giving your mother a taste of home. Let them talk.”

 

That surprised everyone, including Africa.

 

Then all eyes turned to Ty as he sat with an unopened box in his lap. It was from Daniel, and the last gift to be opened.

 

All the drawings Daniel had done had been unwrapped, but he’d needed one more thing, something special and meaningful for Jack’s father. He held his breath as Ty’s fingers tore off the paper of his rectangular box. Daniel saw him open the lid and take out the tissue-wrapped contents, settle it into his lap and begin to part the crumpled tissue. When the last flap was moved away, he lifted up the figurine in his hands and just looked at it for a moment, not making a sound, not moving, just staring at it.

 

Daniel couldn’t read his expression, and his heart began to sink.

 

The little statue was seven inches tall, of a strong but slender St. Michael battling Satan, pinning the fallen angel's snaky body to the ground with a golden lance. Broad white wings stretched out from Michael’s back. His chest was covered with gilded armour. Fair hair fell in waves to his shoulders, and pale blue eyes stared down dispassionately at the defeated devil writhing beneath his sandaled feet.

 

That, also, had been intended for Jack. Daniel didn’t know why he’d been compelled to buy it for his lover; he had simply done it. Now, perhaps, he thought he might have made a mistake when he’d decided to give the figurine to Jack’s father. 

 

Ty continued to gaze at his gift in silence, holding it up and turning it in his hands to see it from all angles. 

 

Embarrassed and self-conscious, Daniel looked down at his own lap and started to ball up his used wrapping paper, setting the boxes aside to carry upstairs to their room.

 

Jack caught his eye and signed, I love it. Thank you.

 

Daniel gave him a brief smile, then turned back to cleaning up around himself.

 

Still looking at the statue, Ty said quietly, “Michael is the patron saint of policemen.” He lifted his eyes slowly up to meet Daniel’s, who had stopped his nervous activity at the sound of the elder O’Neill’s voice. “Did Jack tell you I was an MP in the Air Force?”

 

Daniel shook his head. “No, sir. Not until we were on the way here. I didn’t even know your rank until then.”

 

Ty stared at him, not even blinking. “Then how did you know to choose this for me?”

 

Swallowing hard, Daniel knew he couldn’t lie to the older man. “I didn’t. I originally bought it for Jack, because it…” He shrugged, unable to put his feeling into words. “…it just felt right. But then I wanted you to have something special, so I asked Jack if it was all right to give it to you, and he said yes.” His face felt hot with embarrassment, but he didn’t look away. “I’m sorry I didn’t make a better choice.” 

 

 “A better choice?”   Tyler looked back at the figurine and picked it up, turning it all the way around again. “It's the perfect choice for me, Daniel,” he said quietly. “Though I don’t know what Jack would’ve done with it.”

 

Kelly and Africa chuckled a little at that. 

 

Jack puffed up a little in mock insult. “Hey, I liked it. Just told him so.” He looked at Daniel. “Would’ve meant a lot to me, considering how I feel about snakes. Me, Saint Michael and Saint Patrick.”

 

Daniel’s eyes widened as he got the unspoken reference to the Goa’uld. He must have seen the same symbolism in the figurine on some level, and bought it to represent their battle against the alien parasites. For Daniel, the message had been completely hidden from him, but for Jack, it was perfectly clear. Daniel marvelled at how the human mind worked, and how in tune he and Jack were.

 

Ty went on, ignoring Jack’s comment, still studying the statue. “I believe you were led to choose this for me, though you didn’t know it at the time. Do you believe in omens?”  He glanced up at Daniel.

 

Daniel cleared his throat. “Many cultures do. I think there may be subconscious pattern recognition at work, possibly even some form of extrasensory perception emanating from the superconscious, when things like this happen, but—“

 

Ty’s brown eyes rolled over to regard him impatiently, in a way that reminded Daniel of Jack. “Well, do you or don’t you, personally, believe in omens?”

 

With a shrug, Daniel answered honestly, “I have no idea, sir. I've never really thought about it before.”

 

A tiny smile played at the corners of Ty’s mouth as he directed his gaze back to the statue. “That’s all right, because I do. Enough for the both of us.” He handed the statue to Africa, who had risen as if on some unspoken summons, to take it away. “Bonnie, would you put this on the mantel in the den, where it’ll be safe from little hands?”

 

She gave him a smile and carried it carefully out of the room.

 

Ty turned his frank gaze back to Daniel. “It was a perfect choice. Thank you.” He raised one eyebrow in challenge. “Though you’re still one game ahead of me in chess, which begs another game. Think you can beat me again?”

 

Daniel grinned, a wave of relief passing over him, happy to change the subject. “That depends. Speed chess or thoughtful play?”

 

Ty’s grin was wolfish. “I beat you once with a fast game after dinner last night. I’m up for a rematch with that.”

 

With a dramatic sigh, Daniel stood up, balancing his packages in his left hand. “Well, all right, but I have to tell you, sir, the more I do something, the better I get at it. Keep playing fast games with me, and I’m eventually going to beat you again.”

 

“So warned,” Ty returned easily. “And Merry Christmas to us all. Why don’t we see what influence my patron saint will have over my game? Let’s go on to the den, shall we?”

 

The Clan O’Neill carried off all their booty and put it away, then settled down to a quiet night enjoying each other’s company and waiting for the arrival of Father Christmas, and the magical appearance of more treasures under the tree.

 

 

Most of the children were camped out in the den in sleeping bags. They’d gone to bed very late, which made it difficult for Santa Claus to put the presents under the tree in the living room and stuff the stockings hanging over their heads. Once that was done, however, all the adults toddled off to their beds to await the eventual noisy morning when the children found still more gifts waiting for them. 

 

Daniel had retired early with Jakaira, keeping her company in their room, hoping they’d manage separate beds for the night. He’d fallen asleep waiting for Jack, and by the time his lover crept into their room, leaving the door to the hallway open, Jack noticed Jakaira had moved into the middle of the bed. Daniel was getting so used to it, he wasn’t even waking up anymore when she relocated.

 

Jack got ready for bed quietly, then gently lifted Jakaira and put her back under her own covers.  She sighed and snuggled into her pillow without waking up, and Jack tucked her in with a kiss.

 

Daniel stirred and opened his eyes as Jack slipped between the sheets on his side of the big bed they shared, and sighed peacefully. 

 

“C’mere,” Jack whispered. He pulled Daniel up under his chin and hugged him.  Daniel sighed and threw one arm over his ribs, stroking his fingers along Jack’s back under the blankets. 

 

“We're getting there, babe,” Jack whispered in the dark of their room. “Brennan’s finding it really hard not to like you. All the kids already love you, and so does Kelly. The others are coming around. It’ll take time, but I’m sure we’ll win ‘em over. You’re impossible not to love.”   He kissed Daniel’s forehead. “I can’t resist you, and I don’t know how anyone else could either.” 

 

“I can’t buy their love or approval, Jack. I’m glad they liked the gifts I chose, but that still can’t dislodge the idea of what I am to you in their minds.”  Daniel leaned back a little to look into his face.  He ran his hand up and down Jack’s upper arm, insinuating his fingers under the sleeve of his tee shirt.  “I think it’s best if I just stay out of the way and keep a low profile. They may eventually get used to me, but I don’t want to burden them. I want to make it as easy as possible for them to not think about us while Jakaira needs me here.”

 

“Daniel, look, I know you always want to be the diplomat, but that doesn’t always work.“

 

“Be realistic,” Daniel cut in gently, stroking his cheek with his thumb.  “Eventually Jakaira will be recovered enough to be able to function just fine without me as her security blanket or interpreter. You’ll have to think about visiting your family without me then.”

 

“No. Never.” Jack’s voice was heavy and gruff with emotion. He pulled Daniel up under his chin again and held him tight.  “She’d be chattering on about how Daddy Dan does this and Daddy Dan knows that, and you’d still be there even if you’re not there.”

 

“It’ll be in everyone’s best interest if I keep out of the way,” Daniel argued gently. “If they don't have to see us together, maybe they’ll forget about all this and then everyone will be happy.”

 

“It’s not in my best interest, or in Jay's,” countered Jack softly. “We have to keep trying, Daniel. I don’t want to come here without you. That would be denying who I am, what we are to each other. I love you, and whether my family ever accepts you as one of them, they’ll still have to accept you as my lover. I won’t be ashamed of you. I won’t pretend I don’t love you for their sake. If they can’t accept you by my side, we just won’t make them look at us together. It’s their choice, not ours.”

 

Daniel put a little kiss on Jack’s neck, nuzzling into the soft skin there.  “No, Jack. There is another choice, one you can make for them that will bring them a little peace. I’m okay with it. I don’t want to hurt your family, and I know my presence does that. Maybe next time, I’ll stay in the hotel, and you can come and visit me now and then. I’ll be close, but they won’t have to see me. Or us together.”

 

Jack sighed. “We’ll talk about this later, Daniel. I’m tired, and I don’t want to fight about it.”

 

“We’re not fighting. We’re talking,” Daniel protested in a quiet, reasonable voice.

 

“No, we’re not.”  Jack wasn’t feeling quite so reasonable. “We’re going to sleep.” 

 

Daniel sighed, giving up for the moment. “All right. We’ll talk about it later. Good night, ionúin.”

 

Jack nudged Daniel’s chin up for a brief, chaste kiss, then placed another on his forehead and closed his eyes with a sigh. “Night, babe,” he murmured back.

 

They fell asleep in each other’s arms.

 

 

Good night, beloved.

 

Africa O’Neill had been standing outside the door, listening. She hadn’t intended to eavesdrop on their intimate conversation, not really. She’d come up the back stairs to go to bed and by the dim glow of nightlights spaced all down the long hallway, she’d spied Jay’s little homemade doll lying on the floor just outside their bedroom door. She’d gone to fetch it, intending to give it back to her in the morning, and then she’d accidentally heard Jack’s arrogant declaration that Daniel was winning the family over. That had made her bristle.

 

She’d continued to listen, knowing she shouldn’t but unable to tear herself away.  She’d expected to hear them plotting and planning how to curry the family’s favor, to find a way to weasel Daniel into their affections with all the cunning of a well planned military campaign.  Instead, the younger man had argued quietly against forcing himself on them. That had surprised her. From listening to his private, earnest pleas with her son, she began to see that Daniel was a peace-loving man of understanding and compassion. She saw that he genuinely cared about Jack’s family and their feelings, that it was her own son who was so insistent on the O’Neill clan’s acceptance of his male lover. 

 

She turned and walked slowly back down the hallway toward her bedroom, thinking about what she’d heard, staring down at the doll she still carried.  

 

Jack O’Neill was a stubborn man. She knew that better than anybody because she’d raised him, and knew he’d inherited a double dose of that from both of his parents. That he wouldn’t give up on making his lover a part of the family was partly because he was so headstrong and determined to have his way, but in the quiet of those whispers, Africa had realized there was much more to it than Jack’s strong will.

 

She’d been surreptitiously watching them whenever they were together, looking for a way to disbelieve, to see some unholy animal attraction between them.  Instead, with her maternal eyes, she’d begun to recognize something that had shaken her to her core, something she hadn’t wanted to know. She’d seen the looks pass between them, the peace in their faces, the way they glowed when they talked about each other. And she’d also seen how they held back from touching in the presence of others, some part of her mother’s soul sensing the depth of the bond between them.  No matter how she’d tried not to look, it had been plain as day for anyone with eyes to see. 

 

Those two men really loved each other. As Jack had told her in the beginning, what they had was deep and true, for the rest of their lives. They’d be married by now if they could have been.  

 

At that moment, standing barefoot in the dark hallway, dressed in nightgown and robe, the full impact of their relationship hit her.

 

Her head came up. She made her way downstairs to the library and sat down in her favorite chair, remembering the place where Daniel always sat in the den, well away from the others but in reach of Jay if she should need him. He’d kept to himself until someone spoke to him, always friendly, always polite, but maintaining his reserve, making no attempt to join in with the rest of the family and force his presence upon them. Sometimes he’d gotten up and disappeared for a little while, but Jack was always aware of where he was. Jack would bring him coffee or water and snacks without Daniel having to ask for anything. They never argued in the presence of others, speaking volumes with a simple look, in exactly the same way that she and Ty had always done.

 

They were connected, as Jack and Sara had never seemed to be.

 

They were soulmates.

 

Africa stared at the moonlit bookshelves, remembering little moments between the men, innocent on the outside to anyone who didn’t know they were lovers, but telling to her because she did know. Those glances that said so much, the joy in their faces when they looked at each other.  This was not going to just go away.

 

She thought about her observations of Daniel with the child, with all the cousins, and knew he would continue to be a good parent to Jay. That he loved her, and she him, was obvious. He was far more patient with her than Jack, though not as playful. Between the two of them, Jay would grow up happy and secure, in a home with two devoted parents who loved her and each other without reservation.

 

The idea of the two men and that little girl being a “family” had been waging an internal war with everything she’d been taught was right and acceptable.  But still she couldn’t deny that Jack and Daniel had something special between them that most other couples did not. Her own daughter had married a man she loved deeply, but Kelly had never seemed to feel the blessing of that soul-deep bond with Xavier. By all outward appearances, they were happy enough, but should misfortune befall them and one had to go on without the other, Africa had no doubt that the survivor would find someone else and remarry.

 

Jack and Daniel, however, would not. Africa was now fairly certain of that. After having had the experience of love of that magnitude, she understood how there would be no one coming along later to fill the empty space of the other’s passing.  She and Ty were that to each other, just as Brennan had been with his Jesse.

 

She began to weep as she closed her eyes to the memory of Jack’s poor, sweet Daniel attempting to hide in plain sight while right in the midst of the rest of them.  She let the tears run free, both thrilled and grieving for her son and his ionúin.

 

Kelly had been right in her instant acceptance of Daniel. Regardless of how the rest of them felt about Jack being in a homosexual relationship, it really wasn’t their business. Jack was in love with a wonderful person, and he was happy. That was all that should matter to his family. The responsibility for his soul and whatever sins he might or might not be committing was between Jack and his Maker.  Rather than sit in judgement of him, the O’Neills needed to make sure Jack knew he was still welcome among them.

 

Which meant Daniel would have to be, too.

 

As hard as she had tried not to like the young man, she’d found it impossible. Daniel was so much more than just a pretty face.  Whatever he’d done that had earned him Jack’s love and admiration must have been incredible, considering the things Jack had told them when he’d confessed about his lover. And given that Jack had to shed the training and indoctrination of a lifetime, his military career, and his view of himself as a man, that made it a powerful love, indeed. Africa could believe that Daniel Jackson was a great man. For her Jack to have fallen in love with him, he’d bloody well have to be.

 

She wiped her tears on the sleeve of her robe and decided it was time to lead the family toward acceptance. Ty would be hardest, of course, but he would at least listen to her counsel. Brennan just needed a little push, and Kelly was already working on Xavier. By the time the children were old enough to figure it out, they’d already be used to having Daniel around, and they’d have a bond with him. Africa knew that children were so much more accepting of things outside what adults often considered the norm, and would undoubtedly follow their parents’ lead.

 

It was simply a matter of time, and in the meantime, she had an apology to make to a certain young man. As of tomorrow, the rest of the family would witness her treating Daniel differently. They would follow her lead and include him in more things, and before the holidays were over, Daniel Jackson would be an O’Neill in everything but name.   

 

Rising from her seat, she cast her eyes heavenward, feeling a great weight lift off her shoulders.  “Took me a while,” she said softly, “but I think I understand a little better now. Thank you for guiding my feet to the higher path, and for the good ears to hear what you wanted me to learn.” 

 

She padded softly toward the stairs, smiling as she went up to her room and her husband for the night. 

 

 

**25 December**

 

Jakaira sat on the bench enjoying the afternoon sunshine, one foot in Daddy Dan’s lap. He was unlacing the last skate, then set it aside to put on her snow boot. She sipped her hot chocolate and felt it warming her all the way down. She liked skating and wanted to do more later, but Daddy Jack had been right. She was tired and needed to sit down and rest for a little while. She was also getting a little hungry and made the sign to Daddy Dan for ‘eat.’

 

He smiled down into her pretty little upturned face.  “Okay, honey.”

 

“She’s hungry, Jack,” he said over his shoulder.  He put her foot down and sat back to tie the laces of her new skates together.

 

Daddy Jack had taken a seat right beside them on the end of the bench to take off his skates, too. He reached over to the serving stand by the bench and picked up a chocolate chip cookie and a mug of cocoa for her.   He leaned around Daddy Dan and handed her the yummy treats.

 

She signed, ‘thank you,’ and he smiled and told her she was very welcome.

 

She liked her Daddy Jack. He was tall and funny and liked to play with her. He didn’t do so well brushing her hair, though. Daddy Dan did it much better. Daddy Dan did a lot of things well, and even though he didn’t understand how to play as well as her Daddy Jack did, he was good at taking care of her. He understood when she was sad and missed her mommy, and she didn’t have to tell him with her hands. He just knew. 

 

Jakaira sat on the bench, swinging her legs while she nibbled on the cookie and sipped her hot chocolate. She enjoyed being with her new family, and watched the other children while they skated on the frozen pond. Her cousins liked to skate a lot and were out on the ice most of the day, but she wasn’t used to the cold like they were. Her village had been warm, filled with green trees and brown earth. Sometimes it would snow, but never like this, where everything was covered in white every day, and you could see your breath in the frosty air.

 

Finishing her cookie, she handed her empty cup to her Daddy Dan and jumped off the bench. Finn had already taken off his skates and was playing in the newly-fallen snow, rolling up some of it into balls. He threw one of the balls at her, and she decided she didn’t want to play with him if he was going to do that.

 

She walked back to Daddy Dan and pulled him to his feet. She wanted to look around, maybe go closer to the horses like she had done with Daddy Jack and Ancestor Ty a few days ago. She tugged on Daddy Dan’s coat sleeve and pointed at the corral, and he understood. Daddy Dan was good at understanding.

 

Daddy Jack started to come with them, but one of the cousins needed his help untying his skate, so he stayed behind.  “I’ll catch up to you in a minute,” he called after them.

 

She and Daddy Dan walked over to the barn, and he picked her up so she could see one of the big horses up close. She was afraid of it because it was so big, but Daddy Dan wasn’t afraid. He petted it and showed her how to do it, too. The horse sniffed her and then blew out a big cloud of steam. She didn’t want to look at the horse any more after that and made Daddy Dan put her down.

 

Taking his hand, she walked with him past the pond, toward the noisy river. Her village had a river running through it, but it was lazy and quiet until right after it had rained a long time. This one was loud, and the water moved really fast. She was afraid of it, too, and didn’t want to get too close.

 

She was starting to get really cold and was thinking about going back into the house. Over at the pond, most of the other kids were still there, still skating. Daddy Jack was having a snowball fight with some of the boys, having a good time and laughing. She liked it when her Daddy Jack laughed.

 

Jakaira noticed that Finn wasn’t with the other kids. She glanced around and saw him standing by the river on a big lump of snow. Maybe he might like to go inside and play with her, so she tugged on Daddy Dan’s hand and pointed at Finn. Without having to tell him what she wanted, he turned and started walking with her, down the riverbank toward her cousin.

 

She watched the snowy ground, trying to be careful where she stepped. When she looked up again, Finn was gone, and she wondered where he’d disappeared to so fast.

 

“Oh, my God!” Daddy Dan said. He turned his head and shouted, “Jack!”

 

Jakaira looked back at her other father, but he hadn’t heard.

 

Daddy Dan dropped his cane. He tugged at her hand, making her look up at him. He was scared. “Run, Jakaira. Go get Daddy, now!  Tell him Finn and I need help!” And then he let go of her hand, turned around and jumped into the fast-moving water.

 

For a moment, she just stared, watching him stumble into the icy river, walking through the foamy waves and then sinking in, up to his waist. She saw him reach out and grab at something – a red coat –

 

Finn! Finn was in the water!

 

Jakaira turned and ran as fast as she could toward the pond. Halfway there, she tripped and fell, got up and started running again, knowing instinctively that she had to hurry. She kept her eyes on her daddy on the bench, laughing and playing with the other kids. He had to come! He could run a lot faster than she could. Daddy Dan and Finn needed her Daddy Jack to save them now, and she couldn’t run there fast enough.

 

She opened her mouth and screamed, “Daddy Jack!”

 

Moving as fast as she could through the fresh snow, she kept her eyes on him. At the sound of her voice, his head whipped around, all the laughter instantly gone from his face.

 

“Daddy, come quick!” she screamed. “Help!” She pointed behind her at the river.

 

Instantly Daddy Jack was on his feet and racing like the wind toward her.

 

“Finn fell in the water!” she cried as he drew close. She watched his eyes move from her to the river, and his face went white. “Daddy Dan jumped in to save him.  He needs help!”

 

“Go get Grampa!” Jack shouted, not taking his eyes off the water. He ran right past her, charging down beside the river.

 

She didn’t waste any time looking back at him. She turned and ran for the house as fast as her legs would carry her. Daddy Dan and Finn would be all right, because Daddy Jack was going after them. He’d promised to keep her safe, and she knew he’d do the same for Daddy Dan, and Daddy Dan would do it for Finn. Everyone would be all right, because both her daddies were there, and they knew how to fix everything.

 

She ran into the house through the back door, screaming for everyone to come, because Daddy Jack wanted them.  Her Gramma and Grampa heard her and came running.

 

Then she turned without waiting and raced back outside, all the way back to the river.  Standing well back from the rushing water, she saw Daddy Jack on the riverbank, way down from the house near the road.  He was hauling Daddy Dan out of the water by his coat. Daddy Dan was holding Finn against him with both arms, hugging him to keep him safe.  They were very wet, and the water on their clothes was freezing into a thin layer of white ice. 

 

Jakaira was scared, but she stood very still, trying to be a good girl, and waited as the other grown-ups came to help, all standing in a group next to the noisy water. 

 

 

Daniel’s sodden body was incredibly heavy, dead weight in Jack’s hands. He dragged them both onto the riverbank as far as he could manage, but he’d pulled something in his back trying to get them out of the frigid water and could hardly breathe. People were coming out of the house now, but Jack couldn’t take his eyes off Daniel and Finn.

 

Ice was already starting to form on their coats and clothes. They were both pale, both had their eyes closed, and neither one was shivering like they ought to be. Jack knew that was bad.

 

“We need to get ‘em inside and strip ‘em down,” Jack rasped to the others gathering around them, falling to his knees beside Daniel. 

 

Brennan’s face was white as a sheet as he scooped up his son and ran for the house. Kelly caught up with him, and he slowed down enough for her to take a quick look and send him on ahead. She knelt by Daniel and lifted his closed eyelids, her expression grim.

 

“Jesus, Jack,” she swore softly. “Can you carry him?”

 

Jack shook his head. “My back went out on me, getting him out of the water.” He looked up at his father and brother-in-law. “Would you guys carry him into the house? We gotta work fast, people.”

 

Tyler reached under Daniel’s arms and lifted. Xavier got him by the legs and they walked as fast as they could manage with their burden. Jack followed them inside, listening to Kelly shouting orders. He looked around for Jakaira and saw her through the picture windows, running to the back porch, rounding up the other kids and bringing them to the house.

 

She burst through the back door and stopped just inside the den, watching with wide eyes as Finn and Daniel were stripped of their wet clothes and covered in blankets in the middle of the floor.

 

Jamie and Kieran came in right after her, and Kelly called sharply to them. “Strip to your underwear and get into two of the sleeping bags near the fireplace. We need you to pre-warm them for us.”

 

Connor and Liam were next into the house.

 

“We need hot drinks, no coffee or tea,” Kelly told them. “Warm some milk and put a little sugar in it. Microwave it just a little so it’s warm, not too hot.  Off you go.”

 

The teens darted off toward the kitchen.

 

Kelly glanced up at her brother. “Can you drive, Jack?”

 

He nodded. He could hardly breathe from the spasms in his back, but he could damn sure drive a car.

 

Kelly’s eyes held his firmly. “I need this to be a slow, easy trip, Jack,” she explained. “We can’t bump them around. We need to warm them up and get them to a hospital, because the hypothermia’s severe. I can’t do what they need here. I just don’t have the equipment.”

 

“I’ll go warm up the SUV.”

 

“No,” Brennan said suddenly. “Take my van,” he offered.  “It’s got a full tank of gas, and you can stow the seats in the floor so Kelly can have room to lay them out and ride between them.” He reached into his pants pocket and tossed Jack the keys.

 

“I’ll help you get the car ready,” offered Ty, his face pale, eyes glowing with worry. They headed out to the garage together, moving as fast as possible. Jack started the van and backed it up to the front door, leaving it to idle and warm up the heater. He and Ty fiddled with the seats, figuring out how to get them folded and tucked down into the floor, then closed the side door to let the interior start to heat up.

 

By the time they made it back inside the house, Daniel and Finn were encased inside the sleeping bags. Everyone was on their feet except Kelly and her patients. Jack reached for Jakaira, who came willingly into his arms.

 

He kissed her cheek. “You did good, baby,” he told her softly. “You helped us save them. They’re gonna be kinda sick for a few days, but I think they’ll be all right. Do you understand?”

 

She nodded, and then her arms went around his neck. “They won’t die?” she asked, shivering with fear and cold.

 

For a moment, Jack just stared at her in wonder. “You’re talking! Oh, baby. I’m so glad to hear your sweet little voice at last.” He kissed her hair and held her tightly.  “No, Jay, I promise they’ll be okay. They’re just real cold and…and tired right now.”

 

He glimpsed Kelly’s eyes. She looked grim, and he waited for her pronouncement.

 

“Jack, it’s severe hypothermia,” she told him. “We’re doing all we can to stop the temperature drop, but we’ve got to get them to a hospital. The slightest little jolt could be bad for their hearts, so we’ll have to take it slow and easy, both when we move them into the van and then all the way to the hospital.”

 

Ty stepped forward and put his hand on his oldest son’s arm. “Jack, I’ll drive. You need to be with your…” He looked down at Daniel. “You need to be with Daniel. It’s your place, and I know these roads far better than you.”

 

Tears filled Jack’s eyes and were blinked away. He nodded in answer, his throat too tight to speak.

 

Kally glanced between Jack and Brennan. “I’ll need you two to ride in the sleeping bags with them. You’ll have to be in your underwear and nothing else, but we’ll bring your clothes and you can dress once we get to the hospital.”

 

She met each set of eyes aimed at her as she spoke to the rest of the family. “We’ll move them to the van and once they’re settled in there, Bren and Jack will get in with them to continue the rewarming with their body heat.”

 

She looked up at her brothers. “Are you ready?”

 

Both nodded, quick and sharp, in unison.

 

Kelly turned to her husband. “Xavi, will you stay here with the rest of the family?”

 

“Sure, honey. Go. We’ll be fine.” He bent down to give his wife a quick kiss.

 

Jack squatted down to make eye-level contact with Jay, pushing her gently toward his brother-in-law, looking into her eyes. “You stay here, sweetie, okay? As soon as I can, I’ll come back for you. We have to take care of Daniel and Finn right now, so be good for Uncle Xavi--”

 

Her face blanched. She reached for him. “No, Daddy, don’t leave me!” she cried.

 

Instantly, Jack relented. He looked to his mother. “Mum, Jay’s car seat is in my SUV. Can you follow us to the hospital?”

 

“Of course, son. Jay, you come with me, and we’ll follow Daddy to the hospital.” She reached out to her granddaughter, and Jakaira lunged toward her.

 

“Okay, people,” said Kelly firmly. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

 

Jack took his daughter out to the garage and got her settled into her car seat. He kissed her and assured her that he’d see her soon, that they were taking Daniel and Finn to a place that would help them get well, and that he’d see her there. He kissed her again, and she said, “See you soon, Daddy.”

 

He stepped aside and gave his mother the keys, then headed for the van still parked in front of the house. Once Daniel and Finn were laid out in the back of Brennan’s van, Jack got inside and stripped down to his shorts, then got into the sleeping bag beside Daniel, covering them up again. When he was settled, Brennan got in and did the same thing, holding his son close.


Kelly got in between them with her doctor’s bag, and Ty put the van in gear and started off at a crawl, easing slowly off the frozen front lawn, back onto the asphalt driveway and then onto the main road.

 

“Is everybody warm enough, Kelly?” asked Ty from the driver’s seat. “Should I turn up the heat?”

 

“Turn it down a little, Da,” she told him. “We can’t heat them up too fast. We just want to keep them from getting any colder.”

 

Ty obeyed and silence fell inside the vehicle.

 

Jack lay snuggled beside Daniel, whose body was still slightly bluish and freezing cold. He was breathing, though, incredibly slow yet steady, and Jack could feel the sluggish thump of Daniel’s heartbeat beneath his arm. Since Jack had pulled him out of the water, Daniel had gradually lost consciousness, despite Kelly’s efforts to rouse him. 

 

She bent over him now. “Get real close to his face,” she suggested quietly. “Exhaling warm, moist air up close will help him breathe.” She leaned over Brennan and Finn and repeated her advice.

 

Jack raised his head, propping up on one arm, and leaned over until his lips were almost touching Daniel’s. Jack could see his brother now, aware of his eyes on them, and didn’t care what he witnessed.

 

He placed a kiss at the corner of Daniel’s mouth, on his cheek, on his closed eyelid. He started moving his arm, changing spots as soon as he felt some of the chill begin to lessen. Jack was aware of how cold he was beginning to feel, plastered up against his lover’s chilled body, draining away his own body heat.  “Hang in there, Daniel,” Jack whispered. “Stay with me. Stay with me.” He bowed his head over Daniel’s, stroking his body with all the love and tenderness in his heart, praying that both Daniel and his nephew would be all right.

 

Normally it was a twenty-minute trip between his parents’ home and the Falls, but at the slow speed Kelly demanded, the trip took almost an hour. Most of that time she was on her cell phone with the hospital staff, relaying information to the waiting staff, asking Jack about Daniel’s medical history and any medications he might be taking, then getting the same information from Brennan for his son. 

 

“Hospital’s just down the street,” announced Ty as they approached.

 

Kelly checked Finn’s heartbeat, then Daniel’s, and gave an approving nod. “All right, then. They’re waiting for us in triage, so you two ease carefully out of the bags and don’t jostle our boys. Close the bags as quickly as you can to prevent any of your body heat from escaping and get dressed. All right?” She glanced down the road. “Easy, Da. No bumps.”

 

As soon as he was out of the bag, Jack threw on his clothes and stepped out onto the freezing pavement barefoot, socks and boots in hand. He put them on without looking, his eyes riveted to the hospital staff as they gingerly lifted Finn and then Daniel onto gurneys and wheeled them into the ER doors.

 

Daniel’s eyes were open when Jack saw him go by on the gurney. He started to struggle, trying to get up. “Finn,” he called out. “Where’s Finn?”

 

Jack stepped up and put his hand on Daniel’s shoulder. “He’s all right, Daniel,” Jack assured him. “You got him out of the water.”

 

“Gotta see him,” Daniel insisted, his words slurred, movements jerky.

 

Jack held him down as the gurney went through the first set of doors into the emergency treatment area. “Stay still, Daniel. Don’t move. Let the doctors treat you.”

 

“I’m fine,” said Daniel, trying again to get up. “Gotta see the boy.”

 

“Finn’s down the hall,” Jack told him again. “They’re working on him. They’ll let you see him when they’re done with both of you, okay?”

 

Daniel’s head lolled to the side, and then suddenly he jerked, arms and legs flailing. “Jack!” he cried in panic, “we’ve gotta get to the stargate! Jack! Get Finn back to the base!”

 

The nurses pushed Jack aside as they went through another set of double doors. “I’m sorry, sir, you can’t go through here,” said one of the women. “He’s just delirious, disoriented. Don’t worry.”

 

Kelly nodded from the far side of the gurney. “It’s okay, Jack. They’ll take good care of him. Right now, Jay needs you.” She nodded toward the doors, and Jack knew without looking that his mother had arrived with his daughter.

 

And then Daniel was gone, out of his sight.

 

He turned and made his way back to the ER lobby, where the rest of the family waited. Jack and Brennan gave the paper pushers the necessary information regarding insurance, addresses and such, and then Jack went to sit down beside his mother. Jay climbed up into his lap, and he held her close, his heart somewhere down the hall with Daniel.

 

“It’ll be a while, son,” Africa told him, patting his arm. “Why don’t you take Jay down to the cafeteria and get her something to eat? If there’s any news, I’ll come and find you.”

 

Jack leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Thanks, Mum,” he said quietly.

 

She looked at him strangely, as if truly seeing him for the first time.

 

He set Jay on her feet, took off her coat and his own, and left them in the chair. Holding her hand, he set off to find the cafeteria and the restrooms. Half an hour later, he wandered back into the waiting room and sat down, pulling Jay into his lap again. No word had come, and Jack sat for a while, letting Jay snuggle down against him for a nap.

 

He sat for as long as he could manage, but his back was causing him some serious pain now. He told his mother he needed to stand up and walk for a bit, and she carefully scooped up her granddaughter and moved Jay to her lap. Jack stretched and stood up, pacing back and forth to try to relieve some of the pain, but it was just getting worse.

 

Jack reported to triage and asked to see a doctor. Over an hour later, with a couple of packets of pills in his pocket, he returned to the ER waiting room, where only Brennan, his mother and Jay remained.

 

“I sent Kelly home in Brennan’s van,” Africa told him. “She and Xavi can take care of the other children. Our Jay’s been a perfect little angel. Are you feeling better, son?”

 

“Got the usual muscle relaxers and pain pills, so as soon as they kick in…” He glanced toward the double doors, then back at his mother. “Any word yet?”

 

“Nothing—“

 

A doctor in a white lab coat came up to them just then, and everyone stood. Jack glanced at his nametag and couldn’t pronounce it, so he didn’t even try. “How are they, doc? Can we see ‘em?”

 

“We should be moving them to rooms in the next hour or so,” Doctor Wielowiejski replied. “They’re responding well to the warming treatments, but we’ll need to observe them for a couple of days for complications. After that, they can go home.”

 

“When can I see my son?” asked Brennan.

 

“As soon as he’s in a room, Mr. O’Neill. We’ll notify you as soon as Finn is settled in the pediatric ward.”

 

“What about Doctor Jackson?” Jack asked.

 

“Are you a relative?” asked the doctor.

 

Jack straightened, ignoring the stab of pain in his back. “He’s my life partner.”

 

A weary sigh slipped out and the doctor gave him a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, sir, but only family can be in the room with him after visiting hours. You can come back tomorrow and see him.”

 

“Okay, then I’m a relative,” Jack snapped angrily. “He’s my brother.”

 

The doctor shook his head. “I’m sorry. You can see him tomorrow.”

 

Jack was fuming. His hands balled up into fists as he thought of all the myriad ways he could do grievous bodily harm to this man for standing between him and the man he loved.

 

“Daniel is my son,” declared Africa, lifting her chin proudly. “May I stay with him tonight?”

 

The doctor glanced between Africa and Jack.

 

Jack looked at his mother, meeting her firm gaze with one of his own, silently thanking her, then giving his best colonel glare to the doctor. “That’s right,” he agreed. “She’s his mother.”  In law, he added in his mind.

 

The doctor’s uncertain gaze wavered between them for a moment, and then he nodded. “All right, ma’am. As soon as we have him moved into a room, we’ll notify you.” He turned and walked back into the ER ward, through the double doors and out of sight.

 

Jack threw his arms around his mother and hugged her tightly, eliciting a squeal of protest from Jay as she was squeezed between them. “God, Mum, thank you! Thank you for not letting him be alone.”

 

He pulled away and looked into her emerald eyes, sparkling with love and joy. “He is family, Jack,” she assured him. “He belongs to you and almost gave his life for one of us today. I’d say he’s proven himself worthy of the Clan O’Neill. Wouldn’t you?”

 

“Mum?” asked Brennan, wrinkling his brow in confusion.


She turned to give him a disapproving look. “You, of all people, should be ready to accept him, Brennan. ‘Twas your son he risked his life to save.”

 

A slight flush crept into Brennan’s tanned face. He nodded and shifted his gaze to Jack. He held out his hand to his brother.  Jack took it and pulled him into a hug. “Sorry, Jack,” said Brennan softly against his neck. “I’ve been a real—“ He glanced at their mother, choosing not to finish his sentence as he stepped back.  He and Jack grinned at each other.  “Well, I should’ve had more faith in you. And in your choice of partners.”

 

“’S’okay, Bren,” Jack assured him.

 

When Jack let go of his shoulder, Brennan sat down again to wait.

 

Africa bent down and set Jay on her feet, looking up at her eldest son. “Can you still drive, Jack?”

 

He shook his head, already feeling the slightly euphoric effects of the medication he’d been given.

 

She turned to Brennan and started giving orders like the drill sergeant she’d been with her kids. “You drive your brother and Jay back home, then, and I’ll wait here. Maybe by the time you’re back, they’ll have our boys in their rooms. You’ll stay the night with Finn, and I’ll stay with Daniel. Then in the morning, you can go pick up these two, and I’ll stay with Finn while you’re gone.” 

 

Both men nodded, and Jack bent down to kiss his mother’s cheek again. “Love you, Mum,” he whispered. “Do you need any cash, like for vending machines and such?” He pulled out his wallet and pressed a wad of bills into her hand.

 

“I’ll be fine, son. Now go put your daughter to bed. She’s tired.” Africa looked down at Jay. “Aren’t you, dear?”

 

“Yes, ma’am,” she said quietly, catching her father’s little finger in her grasp. She leaned her head against his arm and looked up at him. “Daddy Jack, I wanna see Daddy Dan. Is he okay?”

 

Jack sat down and pulled her close, hugging her against his body. “He’s still very tired, but he’s gonna be okay.  He’s just sleeping now, honey. I want to see him, too, but for tonight the doctor said only Gramma gets to stay with him.  We’ll come and visit tomorrow, but for now we need to go home and go to bed. We’ll ride back to the hospital in the morning and have breakfast with The Gran and Uncle B, okay?”

 

“And the cousins? Will they come, too?”

 

A warm coil of joy unwound inside him, spreading its peace throughout his soul. The sound of Jay’s little-girl voice was music to his ears, confirmation that she had broken down a wall built by grief and horror. She was healing.

 

She was home.

 

“They’ll come later tomorrow, to see how everyone’s doing,” Jack promised. He beamed as he studied her beautiful face. “I love you, Jay, and I’m so proud of you for being so brave today. You helped save Daddy Dan and Finn. Did you know that?”

 

She shook her head, her eyes big and sad, not quite believing him.

 

Africa sat down, too, and touched Jay’s chin with her fingers, turning her head to make eye contact. “Daddy’s right,” she agreed. “Daniel needed help to get them both out of the water. You called Daddy, and you called the rest of us, and we all worked together. You helped, Jay. They’re going to be okay because you called us so fast, just like Daniel and your daddy told you to do.”

 

Jay smiled then, shyly. Big dimples cleaved her cheeks and her brown eyes sparkled. “We saved them,” she declared happily. “They didn’t die.”

 

“Yes, we saved them,” said Jack, his soul filling with wonder as he gazed at the first smile he’d ever seen on his daughter’s beautiful face, tears filling his eyes. He didn’t blink, afraid that if Jay saw him crying it might frighten her.  This, he thought, was one of the best moments of his life. Jakaira would be whole one day, the terrible memory of her mother’s death just a distant memory. She would grow up happy and healthy and deeply loved, and he and Daniel would be there, together, to see it all.

 

Life didn’t get any better than that. 

 

“C’mon, honey,” he said with a weary sigh. “Let’s let Uncle B chauffer us back to the house, and we’ll come back to bother Finn and Daddy Dan tomorrow.” He rose and took her hand, leading the way out to the parking lot with his brother walking purposefully beside them.

 

 

The sound of quiet, steady beeping roused Daniel from troubled sleep. At first he didn’t know where he was and started to get up on his elbows, certain he wasn’t supposed to be there. Suddenly a warm, strong hand pressed against his chest, and he squinted in the dim light to see who was trying to stop him.

 

“Lie still, boyo,” Africa crooned softly. “You’ve nearly killed yourself, and you need to rest.”

 

Daniel recognized her instantly and stopped resisting, relaxing against the pillow. “I get nearly killed a lot,” he croaked, then thought about how that must’ve sounded.  He cleared his throat.   “I’m used to it. I mean, I used to. Uh. When I was on Jack’s team. Dangerous work. You know. Um. How is Finn?” His brows twitched together, wishing he could make his mind work more coherently, but it wasn’t cooperating.

 

“Top secret stuff, yes,” she agreed with a knowing grin. “And Finn is just fine. He’s upstairs in pediatrics.” She leaned on the bed rail on her forearms, her wrinkled hands dangling in the air above the bed. Then she reached out and stroked her palm across his forehead, smoothing his long hair back from his face. “You’ve lost your glasses. Probably washed down the river somewhere.”

 

“I always carry extras,” he mumbled, suddenly exhausted. “There’s a spare pair in my suitcase at your house.” It felt very late, and he looked around for a clock. He squinted at the one on the wall, but couldn’t make out which hand was which. “What time is it?”

 

“Near five AM,” she told him. “You’ve been out for a long time.”

 

“Where are Jack and Jakaira?”

 

“I sent them off to get some sleep at home. They’ll be here for breakfast soon.” She grinned and winked at him. “You’d best get some more beauty sleep so you’ll be pretty for them when they arrive.”

 

Daniel felt the slight flush of heat creep into his face and quickly vanish. “Um. I’m not pretty, Mrs. O’Neill.”

 

“Oy, and he’s modest, too!” she teased with a chuckle. She leaned over the rails and placed a kiss on his forehead. “You’re still a bit chilly. D’ye want some extra blankets, son?”

 

That term of endearment made Daniel’s throat close up and brought tears to his eyes for a moment as he shook his head. Maybe she didn’t mean it like that. Like she accepted him. He glanced away.

 

“Why didn’t you go home with Jack?” he asked quietly. “There’s no reason for you to stay here. I mean, it’s way past visiting hours, and hospitals don’t usually—“

 

“Family is always allowed to stay in the room,” Africa informed him, looking down her nose at him with an expression that instantly negated any thought of argument.

 

Daniel had seen that look on Jack’s face uncountable times, and now Daniel knew where he got it. Africa O’Neill was a force of nature, too.

 

“Um.” Daniel held up one finger, trying to make sure his thoughts were organized before he let them spill out his mouth, since his brain seemed to be a bit sluggish still.

 

“O’Neills don’t let family stay in cold, scary hospital rooms all alone,” she told him firmly. “You might need to get up in the night, or need a cup of ice chips, and God knows the nurses have more than enough to do without being waitresses, too. So someone always stays at the bedside of the loved one, to care for them. I’m sure you’ve seen Jack right there beside you often enough.”

 

Daniel couldn’t help smiling and lowered his hand to his belly. “Unless he was in the next bed in the infirmary, yes, ma’am. He’s always been there.” His smile faded. “But I’m not family. You don’t owe me this.”

 

The teasing twinkle in her eyes vanished, and her gaze was steady and serious. “Yes, my son. I do. This and far more than I can ever repay you.” She laid her hand on his. “You’ve given me a grandson I would have lost, had you not been brave enough to go after him, heedless of your own risk.” She smiled and shook her head. “And you’ve given me the gift of my granddaughter’s voice.”

 

Daniel started, his eyes going wide. He tried to sit up, and she pushed him back down again. “Jakaira’s talking?”

 

Africa laughed. “Did ye not hear her scream when you went into the river, boyo? By God, the child can shatter glass! The neighbors’ dogs came runnin’.” Her laughter turned to a chuckle, dimmed to a smile and then tears stood in her eyes. “And what you’ve done for Jack…”

 

Swallowing hard, Daniel shook his head. “I just love him. That’s all.”

 

She nodded, catching his hand in hers and squeezing it hard. “That’s everything, Danny-boy. That’s what he needs.” She sighed. “I can’t tell you I understand this at all. And honestly, I’m still not sure I like it.” She raised her free hand and placed it against his cheek, still holding his hand against the blankets. “But I’ve seen the slender thread that binds the two of you together. Not many couples are fortunate enough to have that, and it takes one to know one. Jack loved his Sara, but not like he loves you. Not with his soul. I doubt Jack has ever felt this before, or ever will again. Had you been taken from us yesterday, I’m afraid we’d have lost Jack, too. Half of himself would be gone, because that’s what you are to him. I don’t think he’d have recovered from that.”

 

Daniel’s vision blurred. “I… I can’t think about that. I want Jack to be happy. I want him to have love, always. Even if something happens to me. We don’t get guarantees in life, and both of us know that’s possible. He’s strong, and he has Jakaira to look after. He’d have been fine without me.”

 

“No. He wouldn’t.”  Africa let go of his hand and placed her warm palm over his heart. “But you’re going to be fine, and he’ll have love, always,” she agreed. “As he told me, what you two have is for a lifetime.” She patted his cheek. “Now, go back to sleep, Danny. You’ll have visitors as soon as they open the ward doors, and you’ll not be getting rid of your Jack until the nurses come to kick him out.”

 

“Yes, ma’am,” said Daniel meekly, sliding back down against the pillow.

 

She pulled the covers up to his neck and made a great show of tucking him firmly in. “That’s Mum, thank you very much,” she corrected as she resumed her seat in a nearby chair. “Sweet dreams, son.”

 

“Maith oidhche, Mum,” he whispered, and obediently closed his eyes.

 

<Good night.>

 

The smile stayed on his lips for a long time after he fell asleep.

 

 

**27 December**

 

 

The rest of the family had all gone to their separate homes, except for Jack, Daniel and their daughter. Tyler knew they would be leaving soon, probably the next day if Daniel were up to the drive. Jack and Jay were outside with Africa and the horses, and this was as good a time as any for the chat Ty wanted to have with the younger man.

 

Daniel had been released from the hospital late the previous day and aside from a brief trip downstairs for supper, he’d remained upstairs in the bed he shared with Jack.

 

Cautiously, Tyler approached their bedroom and stood for a moment in the doorway, studying his son’s lover. Daniel’s knees were raised beneath the covers, a book open against his thighs, spare glasses in place on his nose.

 

He apparently felt the scrutiny and glanced up, offering a friendly smile to the elder O’Neill.

He closed his book and laid it aside.  “Hello, Mr. O’Neill,” he called, reaching for the covers to throw them back. “Does Jack want me downstairs?”

 

“No, no, don’t get up,” Ty told him, waving hands to keep him down. “May I come in?”

 

Daniel smiled. “Well, it is your house, sir. Of course you may.”

 

“How are you feeling?” asked Ty, taking a seat on Jakaira’s little youth bed, pressed up against the wall in a narrow space near the door. “Better today?”

 

“Oh, yes, sir. We might even be going home tomorrow. I think I’ll be up to the drive by then.” Daniel studied him, his sharp eyes seeming to miss nothing. “Did you want to talk about something?”

 

Ty felt his anxiety rising, wondering how and where to start. “I’m not good at that sort of thing,” he admitted freely.

 

Daniel smiled. “So that’s where Jack gets it,” he teased with a tiny smile. “It’s all right, sir. Just do the best you can, and I’ll try to understand.”

 

Hands curling into fists on his knees, Tyler began to rock slightly, staring at the floor, searching desperately for the words he wanted to say. “You’re a good man,” he blurted, his face heating up with embarrassment.

 

Daniel cocked his head. “Thank you, sir, but you don’t need to compliment me.”

 

“I’m an old coot, set in my ways,” Ty tried again. “All my life I’ve believed in certain things, and this… what’s between you and my son…”  He hung his head, lips pursed in thought.  “Well, it’s been hard to accept.”

 

“I know, sir. I’ve tried to stay in the background because of that.”

 

“So my wife has pointed out to me,” he returned with a nod. “And I’ve watched you and Jack. Seen how he lights up when he looks at you.” The anguish he’d first felt when he’d heard the news was slowly losing its grip on his insides. “As I said, you’re a good man. Good character. I never thought I’d have to face this in my family, but I taught my son well. I respect him, and if he’s chosen you, then it must be because you’re worthy of him.”

 

Ty saw the young man’s expression of apprehension fade. His gaze dropped to his lap. His cheeks flushed with color. “Jack and I understand each other,” he countered modestly.

 

“In the same way that my bonnie Africa and I do,” agreed Ty. “That’s a rare gift, Daniel. Take an old man’s word on that. Not many couples have it.”

 

He swallowed hard, a shiver going through him as he said the word ‘couples.’ He blinked, his mouth going dry. He stood up, shoving his hands into his trouser pockets up to the knuckles. “We don’t want to lose Jack, and we don’t want to hurt the man who saved our grandson’s life. You’ve got a lovely little family, Daniel, and we want you to know that you’ll always be welcome here.”

 

“It’s all right, sir,” Daniel assured him, looking up into his face. “Before long, Jakaira will be just fine without me, and she and Jack can come and visit whenever they like.”

 

With a sigh, Ty took his seat again.  He leaned on his knees, hands loosely clasped between them. “No. Bonnie and I don’t want that.”  He shook his head.  “We don’t want you to stay away. We’ll have to see you so we can learn to get used to this relationship, Daniel. Just give us some time, all right? This is a big honkin’ leap for us old folks to make.”

 

Daniel grinned suddenly.

 

“What?” asked Ty, uncertain what he’d said that had gotten that reaction.

 

“Big and honkin’,” he repeated. “I see so much of Jack in you and your wife.”

 

 “She says you’re to call her Mum,” he corrected. Ty cleared his throat. “And since you’re fluent in Gaelic, I advise that you do so at all times. You never know when she might be passing by, eavesdropping or picking up on some psychic wavelength.”  He smiled, filled with sincere admiration for his amazing wife.  “When she’s upset and that stream of her mother tongue comes out of her, she can peel paint off the walls, so if she’s given you an order, you’d best heed it.”

 

Daniel chuckled. “Jack said she has lightning coming out her eyes when she’s angry. She’s a powerful woman, Mr. O’Neill. Jack has a lot of her spirit in him.”

 

He nodded in agreement, but Daniel’s address made Ty remember something Jack had told them in his introduction speech. “He told me your own parents were taken from you as a child. Said last night that you grew up in foster homes, never really knowing what family was.”

 

“Yes, sir, that’s true. But Jack has taught me the meaning of family. When we were on the same team, we were all his ‘kids’, and he looked after us. We were family to him. I thought for a long time that Jack didn’t have a real family, because he always spent his down time with us, except for little disappearances here and there. We thought he was going to his grandfather’s cabin for fishing, but I guess sometimes he must’ve come here, too.”

 

Ty nodded. “He was distant after… after Charlie’s death. Always had an excuse not to visit. We thought we’d lost him.” His throat hurt. Tears prickled at his eyes and made them burn, but they were blinked hastily away. “You’ve given him back to us, Daniel. I know Jay is partly responsible for the way he laughs so easily now, but I think… most if it’s because of you. He’s found peace, and I’m not fool enough to waste such a gift or try to destroy it just because it doesn’t fit in with my beliefs.”

 

Solemnly, Daniel stared back at him. “Thank you, sir. I can’t say that I’m responsible, but I’m doing my best to make him happy. Whatever it takes, because he’s worth it.”

 

Sitting up a little straighter, Ty studied the young man in the bed. Daniel looked tired, dark circles under his eyes, and he was still a shade too pale. But his blue eyes burned with the certainty of knowledge, sincere belief, and steadfast love.

 

Tyler meant to say something more, but the words fled as he looked at Daniel.  The sun had come out while they were talking, bright and summer golden as it never was in December. The light poured through the round gable window just above where Daniel lay, turning the shining mane of his shoulder-length hair nearly white around the edges of his head. The pillow behind his back was pushed down in the center, the corners sticking up past his shoulders at an angle that made them look almost like small, brightly glowing spread wings.

 

Angel’s wings.

 

For a moment, Ty couldn’t breathe.  He just stared in wonder at the sight. Even Daniel’s face was bright with reflected glow bouncing off the bedcovers, as if he were lit up from the inside. Then the light faded, and with it the illusion.

 

Ty swallowed hard and glanced up at the ceiling. He got the message, all right. Then another thought occurred to him, and he tilted his head. “Daniel, you wouldn’t, by chance, be Catholic, would you?”

 

Daniel pursed his lips and nodded. “My Gramma Ballard died when I was six, but she had an incredibly strong faith, and she insisted we go to church with her whenever we visited. It got her through some hard times, with my grandfather away so much. He was kind of like Indiana Jones.” He sighed. “I was actually baptized Catholic, but when I went into foster care, I went wherever my parents of the moment took me. Or not, as the case most often was.”

 

“What’s your Catholic name? It wouldn’t be Michael, by chance, would it?”

 

The younger man nodded. “Yes, sir, as a matter of fact, it is. You’d think someone like me would choose the patron of scholars, wouldn’t you?” Daniel shook his head. “But Thomas Aquinas was too much of a mouthful. Archaeologists got a patroness, and I certainly wasn’t going to let anyone call me Helen.”

 

“So, why Michael?” asked Ty, leaning forward in interest. Images of that figurine Daniel had given him and the vision of Daniel aglow a moment earlier became one in his imagination. 

 

Daniel raised his knees again and slipped down a little farther against the pillow, obviously tired. He sighed, gazing down at the bed. “The church where I made my confirmation was St. Michael’s in New York City. There was this statue in the vestibule of Michael battling Satan, much like the little figurine I gave you, and I couldn’t walk by it without touching it. I don’t know how else to describe it, except to say that, for me, there was no other choice. Every time I thought about a religious name, I’d see that image in my mind.”

 

“You were led.”

 

“Apparently.” Daniel raised his eyes, looking at his host, his brows tugged down as he contemplated that idea. “I’ve never understood that choice, because I’m not a warrior by nature. I’ve always been a pacifist at heart, though I do try to fight evil wherever I find it. Jack will tell you that.”

 

“Perhaps you’re more of a warrior than you know,” suggested Ty. “There are all different kinds of warriors, Daniel. Not all of them carry guns or swords.” He sighed. “Do you plan to return to the Church?” 

 

Nodding, Daniel said, “We all will. Jack and I talked about it at the hospital.  I know my Gramma would be thrilled with that. Did I mention she was Irish?”

 

Ty chuckled a little. “You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you? What clan?”

 

“O’Malley, County Mayo. Descended from Grania O’Malley, the pirate queen, though I’m not sure that’s actually a recommendation in my favor.” Daniel’s face pinked up a little and faded quickly back to pale.

 

“To an Irishman, it damn sure is!” Ty shot back enthusiastically. He stood up and went over to the bed to shake Daniel’s hand. “Clan O’Neill, County Armagh. Is that where you learned your Gaelic? Africa says you have a native’s accent. And she’s loved talking with you in her mother tongue these last few days.”

 

Daniel’s eyebrows lifted as he gave a quick nod. “My grandfather was Dutch, so I learned his language early, too. And Arabic, since I was born in Egypt and spent a lot of my first eight years there.”

 

“Your whole life seems to have been quite an adventure,” Ty observed, standing by the bed, his hands now shoved deeply into his trouser pockets. “You should write a book about it.”

 

“I can’t,” Daniel reminded him. “The best stuff is all classified.” He grinned and leaned back against the pillows with a sigh. “But maybe some day.” He hesitated. “Would you like to come to Jakaira’s baptism, sir? The whole family’s invited, of course.”

 

“We’d be thrilled. Just let us know where and when, and Africa and I will be there.”

 

Daniel scrunched down a little more against the pillows, hands clasped in his lap, head tilted down at a thoughtful angle again. “The hard part will be finding a church that will accept Jack and me as a couple,” he mused quietly. “I’m sure there’s one out there somewhere, and we’ll find it.” He raised his eyes to the older man’s and they were burning with conviction again. “I believe God is love, Mr. O’Neill. I could never believe in a God who condemns what makes two hearts whole, and Jack and I have found that with each other.”

 

Ty glanced down at his shoes, knowing he should leave and let his guest rest, but compelled to stay for something more. He raised his gaze back to the young man’s weary face and remembered how he had looked a moment ago, ablaze with light and conviction, and Ty felt something inside him shift. Peace settled into its rightful place in his heart, and he smiled. “Maybe this is all happening for a reason, Daniel. Maybe I’ve had blinders on all my life, and I’ve had too narrow a mind.  I don’t know.  But I’m not too old to learn; I do know that.”

 

He shook his head in wonder. “I’ve seen how Jack looks at you. There’s respect and admiration there that you had to’ve earned, because I know he wouldn’t just give that away. For a man like him, it has to have been hard won.” He sighed. “And I can’t remember when I’ve ever seen him so happy. You’re part of that. You and Jay. And for that, I owe you.”

 

“No, you don’t.”

 

“All of the O’Neills owe you a great debt.”

 

“No, sir. I just did what anyone would’ve done. I didn’t even think about it.”

 

“Yes, you did,” gently countered a familiar voice from the doorway.

 

Both men turned to watch Jack wander in, his face reddened from the cold outside. He eased past his father and came into the bedroom, taking a seat beside Daniel on the bed, eyes only for him. “You thought about it and weighed the risks in an instant, but all that mattered to you was the chance at saving a life. You’ve done that so many times over the last few years we’ve known each other, I’ve lost count.” He reached out and stroked Daniel’s hair, combing it back with his fingers, while Daniel adored him with his eyes. Jack’s hand smoothed down to the nape of Daniel’s neck, a gesture of possession, of deep affection and intimacy.

 

Tyler understood what Jack was doing. The audience of other family members were gone.  There was just the three of them in that room, and Jack was laying claim to the man he loved in his father’s sight. Where a few days ago, that gesture would have filled Ty with disgust well laced with fear for his son, as he looked at them now he saw the two of them with changed eyes. Their devotion to each other was obvious, and Daniel’s expression left no doubt about how he hungered for Jack’s touch, and for his love.

 

Yet Daniel slowly reached back to take Jack’s hand away from his neck as he lifted his eyes to meet Ty’s frank gaze.  He saw something akin to apology in that intense blue gaze.

 

“It’s all right,” Ty heard himself say, slightly amazed to find that it was true. “I’m still not totally used to the idea of you two as a couple, but it’s an adjustment I’ll make in time.”

 

He saw Jack turn to look at him, amazement, gratitude and love in his eyes.  That was so wonderful to see in his son’s face again, after so many years.

 

Ty chuckled. “You might say I’ve had a… revelation of sorts this afternoon. Thank you for our chat, Daniel.  I’m gonna leave you two alone now.  We’ll keep Jakaira downstairs with us.”

 

He turned to stroll away, glancing back just as Jack moved toward Daniel to kiss him.  He gently shut the door to give the lovers some privacy.

 

Perhaps, eventually, he might be able to handle even the fact of their intimacy, but for now, it was enough that Tyler knew they were both committed to each other, and to raising Jack’s daughter in the Church.

 

As he walked down the stairs and past the music room, he heard Africa playing the piano.  As he listened, he heard the strains of Bonny Portmore, and his wife singing the song in her native tongue. Africa hadn’t touched the piano since Charlie died, and to hear her play and sing again made his heart soar.

 

That was something else that Daniel had done for the O’Neills.  He had brought Africa back to her roots, given her the sound of a language she hadn’t heard in far too long, and brought her home again.

 

Ty stood in the doorway, looking at the way the light from the diamond-paned windows at the back of the curved room made his wife’s hair sparkle with copper and gold fire. He loved her as he had never loved anyone, and for the last two days she’d been discussing the acceptance of their visitor into the family ranks. He had even heard her call Daniel ‘son’, and now that he’d gotten his omen, he felt ready to admit that perhaps she was right.

 

It might take him a while, but he thought one day, he might be able to call Daniel son, too.

 

 

**28 December**

The Next Morning

 

 

“Mr. O’Neill, might I have a word with you in private?” Daniel asked as Jack started carrying their suitcases out to the SUV. They stood in the den in a patch of late morning sunlight, watching Africa lead her granddaughter into the kitchen to put together some snacks for the road.

 

“Of course.” Ty led the way into the music room and closed the door. “What did you have in mind to tell me, Daniel?”

 

From the inside pocket of his coat, Daniel retrieved a small, very old book with a green leather cover. He held it loosely in his hands, unable to take his eyes off it until he reached out and offered it to the older man.

 

With a shock of instant recognition, Ty’s heart squeezed up in his chest. “Where’d you get this?” he whispered, reaching out to take the book and open it, leafing through the yellowed, brittle pages.

 

“Jack gave it to me for my birthday last year,” said Daniel softly, his voice tight with emotion. “But I know its significance in your family, and I didn’t think it was… appropriate for me to keep it.”

 

The top of Ty’s head seemed to have suddenly vanished, leaving him dizzy and weak in the knees. He sat down on the nearest chair and read the handwritten inscription inside the antique book. “Ja… Jack gave this… to you?” he asked, unable to quite believe what his ears had heard.

 

“Yes, sir. The language of flowers was how Jack told me he lov--  well, it was our secret code, sir, but I have it memorized now. I don’t need the book as a reference now, and I thought… you might want to keep it in the family.  It was your mom’s, right?”

 

Ty glanced up in time to see Daniel’s tears being blinked away. It was obvious that he was trying to be brave and noble about this, but it was hurting him tremendously to make the offer. With one more look at the inscription written in his mother’s old-fashioned, elegant handwriting, Tyler sighed heavily and cast his eyes heavenward.

 

“All right, already!” he said with a trace of irritation. “I get the message.”

 

“Excuse me?” asked Daniel, his brows pinching with confusion.

 

Ty stood up and put his arm around the younger man, giving him a firm slap on the back. “Daniel, I suppose if Jack had to fall for another man, it’s a good thing it was you. Apparently, you’ve been hand-picked for the job, and I can’t argue a word against it. Welcome to the family, son. I’d be honoured if you’d call me Da, like the rest of the brood.”

 

“But—“

 

He pulled away and put the book firmly back into Daniel’s hand. “You take damn good care of that,” he ordered firmly, shaking a finger at him. “It’s a family heirloom.”

 

“But, sir—“

 

“It’s yours,” said Ty again, waving a hand at him in an effort to cut off any further protests. “The Gran gave it to the one person in our family who truly understood it, and he’s passed it on to you. Now you’ll have to choose who gets it next.”

 

“That’s pretty much a given, sir.  I mean-- Uh.  Da,” said Daniel, carefully tucking the book back into his coat pocket. “Jakaira will inherit everything of ours.” He smiled fondly. “She loves helping Jack with the potted plants we have in the house. I can just imagine how much she’ll enjoy digging in the dirt with him come spring.”

 

“Then you’ll have to invite us up to watch,” suggested Ty with a twinkle in his eyes.

 

“No invitation necessary, sir,” Daniel assured him. “Our home is always open to family, any time of the day or night. Surprise us... Da.”  Daniel grinned at Jack’s father.

 

“We’ll do that,” Ty told him with a hearty slap on the back. He opened the door and led the way through the den and toward the foyer. He glanced at the fireplace and saw the statue of St. Michael on the mantel, glowing in the reflected light from the windows, and smiled.

 

It seemed that Jack had brought more than one angel home for Christmas, and the O’Neills were blessed to have them both.

 

“Call us when you get home,” he advised, walking Daniel out to the SUV.

 

Jack came over and hugged his dad, kissed his mother and went around to get into the driver’s seat. Daniel reached out to shake Ty’s hand and then Africa’s, kissing her on the cheek and getting a big hug in return. Jakaira climbed up into her car seat in the back and waited to be buckled in, then turned and waved to her grandparents. Daniel took his time getting into the front passenger seat, careful of the frozen ground, and buckled in.

 

“Fair day and be well,” Jakaira called to them. 

 

Jack and Daniel turned to look at her at the same moment, and then back at each other. Neither of them remarked on the child’s unusual farewell, but both of them turned to look at Ty and his wife and repeated their daughter’s strange good-bye to them with big grins.

Ty and Africa kissed Jay goodbye, shut the door and stood arm in arm as the SUV motored quietly away down the snowy road.

 

“Angels,” said Ty wonderingly.

 

“You saw them, too, ionúin?” Africa asked him, her voice a mere whisper.

 

He nodded. “I can’t say I understand it all, but I know a nudge of approval when I see one. There must be something special about that boy for Jack to have taken him into his heart as he has.”

 

“I think there is, Ty.” Africa turned and looked up into his face as he towered above her. “It’s quite a comfort to know our son has so many angels watching over him, isn’t it?”

 

He embraced her, smiling down into her emerald eyes. “He always has had, bonnie Africa,” he returned huskily. “And guess what?  Didja know Daniel’s Irish? His mother’s mother. Just enough to get him into heaven.”

 

They turned and strolled into the house together, discussing the finer points of the newest additions to the Clan O’Neill, and how fortunate they were to have such quality among them.

 

 

**30 December**

 

 

“God, how I’ve missed you,” Daniel whispered as he opened his arms to his lover.

 

Jack settled half on top of him with the slow gentleness of falling snow, only Daniel didn’t want gentle or slow. He pulled Jack down to him and devoured his mouth, pushing against him until he had Jack turned over onto his back.

 

“Hey, slow down,” Jack gasped as soon as Daniel’s mouth moved to his throat. “Take it easy.”

 

“Don’t wanna,” Daniel growled, nipping the side of Jack’s neck. “God, it’s been too long.”  His hands were busy, touching and squeezing, groping Jack all over, relearning the landscape of his body. He rubbed himself against Jack, his need to be close blazing fiercely inside him.

 

Jack’s hands cradled Daniel’s head as he moved down to that broad chest covered in silver curls.

 

“Daniel, you almost died,” Jack whispered. “Again.” He moaned, arching upward against Daniel’s lips as he suckled Jack’s right nipple. “Gotta… Gotta go easy, babe. Easy--ohhhh…”

 

He grunted as Daniel’s hand gripped his stiff cock. He pushed himself into Daniel’s hand, thrusting hard. Daniel felt himself filling with adoration. “I want you inside me, Jack.”

 

“You should rest,” Jack argued, his voice a soft, husky rumble, his face filled with concern.

 

Daniel smiled and chuckled softly, a low growl in his chest heavy with desire. “I want you, ionúin,” he repeated.

 

Jack bent down and kissed Daniel’s shoulder, then moved close and cuddled him. “For now, let’s do it like this,” Jack suggested. “Gentle and easy, where we can kiss and look at each other. It’s been a long time, and I wanna look at you, babe. I wanna watch you come for me.” 

 

Daniel could feel the heat of Jack’s body pressed firmly against him, every familiar bulge and hollow, every bone and hair. He closed his eyes and moaned as Jack’s hands smoothed over his body, catching his cock and sliding down the shaft to his balls.

 

“So good,” he whispered. “Oh, yes,” he murmured, thrusting against Jack’s belly, begging for more. Jack kissed him, the roughness of his stubbled chin scraping Daniel’s face. Jack wrapped himself around Daniel, whimpering into his mouth as they thrust against each other. Only a few moments later, he felt Jack shudder and pull away, looking into his eyes as the hot spurt of his orgasm filled the space between their bodies, quickly driving Daniel over the edge, while Jack watched.

 

They lay quietly for a moment, just catching their breath.

 

“Wow,” Jack panted. “That was fast.  It feels like forever since we did that. Felt good.”

 

“Yeah,” Daniel agreed. “And by the way, I don’t think we’re gonna have to worry about sharing our bed anymore.”

 

Rising up to look down at Daniel, Jack asked, “Why’s that?”

 

Daniel grinned. “Haven’t you noticed Jakaira hasn’t gotten into our bed since I came back from the hospital?”

 

“No. She didn’t?”

 

“Maybe you didn’t notice because you were so worried about me,” Daniel suggested. “You were kinda wrapped around me those last few nights at your parents’ house, but she stayed in her bed all night.”

 

“So you think she won’t be coming to our room anymore?” asked Jack uncertainly, and with a slight trace of sadness in his voice.

 

“She doesn’t need to now,” Daniel explained, hugging the arm Jack wrapped around his chest. “When she first came to us, it was a fear response. She needed the physical reassurance that we weren’t going anywhere, that she was safe. Now that she’s been through another potentially bad experience, and we’re both still here, so her faith has been restored. She doesn’t need to be in our bed to believe that we’re not going to leave her, like her mother did.”

 

Jack reached for some tissues from the box on the bedside table beside him, then settled into his pillow. He handed a few tissues to Daniel, and started to clean himself up.  “You know, it scared me to death when I thought I was gonna lose you again.”

 

“We don’t have any guarantees, Jack,” Daniel reminded him as he wiped at his own chest and belly. “We have whatever time we have, and nothing we do can change that.”  He threw the damp tissues toward the wastebasket when he was finished with them.

 

Jack smiled a little, his face radiant with love. “Still scared me. But, yeah. I know.” He sighed, his smile fading away, his fingers stealing up to trace the line of Daniel’s jaw from ear to chin. “Some day, one of us will die and the other will have to carry on. If it’s you who goes first, I know you’ll still be around, watching over me. Not so sure, if it’s the other way around.”

 

“I am,” said Daniel confidently. “And who knows? Maybe we’ll go together, like my parents did. I just hope it’s a long time off. I don’t want our daughter to have to go through what I did.”

 

“She won’t,” Jack stated. “If anything happens to us, my family would take her in a heartbeat. She’d be loved and secure and happy with them.”

 

“Then I won’t worry about any of us,” declared Daniel, turning in his lover’s embrace to look up into his eyes in the dim lamplight. “We have everything, at this moment in time. The whole garden, roots and all.”

 

Jack smiled. “Yeah, we do,” he agreed, and leaned down to kiss his lover senseless, feeling the fire of their love and devotion building between them again. 

 

FINIS

Email Feedback to: Lady Grey