Unexpected Family (2)
by Brenna
After Sam had left the room, Jack asked, "Guys, can you give us the room for a minute?" After the rest of SG-1 and General Hammond had left the room leaving Jack with his ex-wife and her father, Jack took Sara's hands once again.
"There's something else?" she asked nearly moaning at the thought.
"Sort of," Jack said. "Sara, in Charlie's reality I remarried."
"Oh," was the only response that came to her mind. In her heart, even though she'd been the one to divorce him, Jack was still hers. It had never even occurred to her that he would find someone else, that he could move on without her.
"I remarried Sam in his reality," Jack gently explained. "J.J. thinks of her as his grandma, and Charlie, while he works hard not to say it, thinks of her as his mom. She...in that reality...she really loved him, Sara. She was a good step-mother. J.J.'s already so confused. We're trying to keep his family as much what he knows as possible."
"So she's J.J.'s grandma even though here you're not..." Mike said his voice trailing off awkwardly.
"Right," Jack agreed.
Sara stared at him, and he returned her look. They had an entire conversation with that one look, and at the end Sara nodded and squeezed his hands where they held hers on the table. "I'm glad," she told him. There was no need to say what she was glad about. They both knew she was glad for many things at that moment, but Jack was most grateful that she was glad for the one thing that couldn't be spoken of aloud, at least not there. They sat in silence for a minute more each lost in their own thoughts before a knock at the door interrupted the quiet.
Sam entered the room with a toddler perched on her hip. "J.J., this is your Grandma Sara and your Great-Grandpa Mike," Sam said as she cocked her head to look at J.J. where his head rested on her shoulder. His thumb was firmly seated in his mouth and his big chocolate brown eyes accused her silently. "We aren't going anywhere, J.J. I promise, sweetheart! Grandma Sara and Great-Grandpa Mike just want their chance to spoil you rotten too," she told him before placing a kiss on his cheek. "Charlie's up at the range," she told Sara and Jack. "I sent someone up to get him, and Janet's bringing Sammy up." Sam sat down in the chair next to Sara hoping to coax J.J. out of his shyness. She pulled a box of crayons from her pocket and set them on the table. "Here J.J. why don't you and Grandma Sara and I draw a picture for Grandpa Jack," she suggested. "I bet he'd love a picture of Grandpa Danny's new rock," she said with a wicked smile. "The one with all the snakes on it."
Sara took one of the offered crayons and began to draw as she studied the other woman. She was very good with J.J. who seemed to prefer her even to Jack. 'I should hate this woman,' Sara thought. 'She's won Jack's heart even if they can't admit it, and she obviously has J.J.'s approval. She...in that other reality...she raised my son. She's his mom, not me.' The little boy had ventured just close enough to Sara to reach a crayon and begin to draw on the corner of the paper. His somewhat frightened gaze moved constantly from adult to adult trying to figure out what was really going on. As the two women and the little boy continued to draw the door opened again and another woman in a lab coat followed by Jack's other teammates entered the room. In the woman's arms was the unmistakable bundle of a baby.
"Sara, this is Janet Frasier" Sam said preempting Jack. "She and Daniel are J.J. and Sammy's other grandparents. Janet's the base CMO."
Sara greeted the other woman who relinquished the bundle in her arms. Sara looked down at the baby in her arms and gasped. "She looks like Charlie," Sara whispered.
"That's what Jack said," Janet told him. "She's in great health considering the circumstances of her birth."
Sara had to think about that statement for a moment, but Sam, noting her confusion offered an explanation. "Cassie, Charlie's wife, went into premature labor as they were evacuating," she said. "Cassie..." The statement in her eyes and the fact that Sammy hadn't been with her mother filled in what Sam left unsaid. Sara also noticed the look of pain in Dr. Frasier's eyes and suddenly made the connection that it was her daughter that had died in the other timeline.
With a glance towards J.J., she said, "I understand." She returned her focus on the baby in her arms. Sara was unaware that while she was examining her granddaughter, her grandson was examining her. The other adults in the room watch the tableaux quietly. They could see the wheels turning behind J.J.'s little brown eyes.
Something in J.J.'s statement shifted. "Gamma Sawa?" he asked.
"What J.J.?" she asked then forced herself to relax her breath as she waited to hear whatever it was he wanted to ask her. 'Grandma,' she thought. 'God that's...I'm a grandma!' The thought was enough to make her eyes tear with emotion.
"Awe you goin' to go 'way?" he asked sadly. "De psycho-gist said my gammas an' pappas wewe goin' 'way, and I wouldn' see dem any more. But den Pappa Jack hitted him in de nose, and Pappa Danny hitted him in de eye. And Gamma Sam pwomised dat dat psycho-gist was wong, and dey wewen't goin' 'way." J.J. took a deep breath as he finished his story.
She took a moment to decipher the toddler's words and then looked at the two men in question who managed to look both ashamed and pleased with themselves at the same time. "No, J.J. I'm not going away," Sara promised. "Cross my heart. Grandma Sam's right. Great-grandpa Mike and I are going to spoil you rotten, too." Sara whirled around as she heard a strangled cry from behind her. There standing in the doorway was a young man in his twenties. For a minute she thought she was having a heart attack the pain in her chest was so intense. "My baby," she whispered and rose from the table. The next thing she knew she was in her son's arms and they were clinging to each other.
"I'm so sorry, Mom. I'm sorry" Charlie whispered over and over again, but all Sara could do was cry and hold him tighter. She finally forced herself to loosen her hold on him as the cry of the baby in her arms penetrated. She turned and handed the baby to the nearest adult who happened to be Teal'c before enfolding Charlie into her arms again. Teal'c merely raised one eyebrow and tucked the tiny baby girl more securely into his arms.
"It's okay, baby" she murmured as she continued to hold him as he sobbed on her shoulder. "I love you, Charlie. Let it out. Let it go." Mike rose unsteadily and joined Sara in embracing his grandson. He held them both as they sobbed.
Sam murmured quietly to Jack, "You were right. They did need this. All three of them."
"Why is Daddy and Gamma Sara and Pappa Mike crying?" J.J. asked from his perch in Sam's lap.
"Because he hasn't seen your Grandma Sara and Great-Grandpa Mike in a very long time," Jack answered. He held out his arms, and Sam relinquished J.J. to his grandfather. "He's very happy to see them, and sometimes when people are very very very happy, they cry."
"Well, Jack. You done good here" Hammond told him as he slapped Jack on the back.
"Thank you, sir" Jack replied and whether he was thanking his commanding officer for the compliment or for helping him make this reunion possible no one was sure.
"I just have one question," the general said. "Were you the one that taught J.J. to call McKenzie the psycho-gist?"
"Actually that was me, sir" Sam admitted.
Hammond just chuckled and shook his head. "I need to see the two of you in my office," he ordered.
Jack and Sam traded a look before Jack handed J.J. to Daniel and followed the general into his office.
"At ease," Hammond said as he seated himself behind his desk and opened a folder in front of him. He handed Sam a piece of paper. "As of now, you are being re-assigned to the Pentagon as a liaison with Admiral Fitzwallace's office."
"Sir!" Sam protested.
"General, there's gotta be a way..." Jack protested as well.
Both of their protests were cut off by the General's raised hand. "Major, consider yourself on permanent detached duty from Admiral Fitzwallace's office. You'll be going out to Washington regularly to report to him and the other brass about the SGC, but the majority of your time will be spent here. You'll continue your work in the labs and join Colonel O'Neill's team on missions as assigned. You will report to me or Admiral Fitzwallace directly. In other words, you are no longer part of Jack's direct chain of command except while on off-world missions."
It took a minute for each of them to sift through the general's words. "Are you saying..."
"Keep it off duty," Hammond warned. "Consider yourselves on probation. If the two of you can't handle things as they've been laid out, we may have to consider other solutions."
"Yes, sir!" Jack said as he and Sam snapped to attention.
Anything else they might have said was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Enter," Hammond ordered.
Colonel Kawalsky stepped into the room. "You wanted ta see me, sir?" he asked.
"Yes, Colonel. Follow me, people" he ordered as he rose from his desk. "We may as well do this all at once." He lead them back to the conference room where Charlie and Sara now sat at the conference table deep in conversation while J.J. was being entertained by Daniel and Janet. Teal'c and Mike cooed to tiny Sammy. The four entering the room couldn't help trading an amused smile at the sight of the big jaffa acting the doting uncle to the baby. "Captain O'Neill, Colonel Kawalsky, your new identification has arrived along with your commissions and orders," General Hammond said causing both men to snap to attention. "Colonel, we couldn't come up with a cover story to give you back your own name as we have the captain."
"I understand, sir" he assured the general.
"From now on, you're Colonel Charles Richard Guarnere," Hammond told him as he handed the refugee soldier a folder. "You'll be keeping your rank, Colonel, and I'm assigning you command of SG-3. It's been something of a jinxed team since Colonel Makepeace's arrest. I'm hoping you can change that."
"I'll do my best, sir" he told the general. "Guarnere?" he whispered quietly to Jack who could only shrug his shoulders in reply.
"Captain, you were born Charles William Speirs. Your mother's name was Mary Ellen Speirs. She was a high school friend of your dad's. She died when you were very young, and you grew up in foster care," Hammond explained. "A year ago you found out Jonathon Charles O'Neill was your father. After changing your name and J.J.'s to O'Neill, you began searching for him."
"J.J. and Sammy's mother?" he asked so quietly he hoped J.J. wouldn't hear.
"Elizabeth Cassandra Marcum whom you called Cassie. I've also arranged for a memorial service here on base, son," General Hammond supplied in a voice barely above a whisper before continuing in normal voice. "I've decided not to assign you to a permanent team as of yet, Captain. You're going to be Major...err..Sam's second in command in the labs. I plan to send you out with various teams on an as needed basis for now until J.J. and Sammy are more settled."
"Thank you, sir" Charlie told him as he accepted the folder containing his new identity.
"The Air Force has also agreed to my request for resettlement funds for you, but I'm afraid I could only get them to part with five thousand for each of you," Hammond told them.
"We'll make do, sir" Kawalsky now Guarnere assured him. "It's enough to get me into an apartment and get a few essentials. I take it that means we're allowed off-base, sir?" he asked hopefully.
"Yes, Colonel" the general agreed. "As of now, you are free to leave the base. Captain, the children..."
"Yes, sir" Charlie agreed understanding that Sammy and J.J. couldn't continue to stay on base now that their new identities had been arranged. Child care would have to be Charlie's first priority. "When am I assigned to be on duty next?"
"Considering Sammy's age, you have another couple weeks of paternity leave, Captain" Hammond assured him. "You've also been working on an almost daily basis since you're arrival so those days won't be counted against that leave."
"Thank you, sir" Charlie said with some relief.
"We need to get Charlie and the kids moved into my house tonight," Jack said. "Now that they have identities, they can't stay on base."
"Your house? Why your house?" Sara demanded.
"Because I've got the most room," Jack explained. "I'm also smack dab in the middle of all the grandma's houses." All three women glared at him for that remark, but he just shrugged knowing he'd win this particular battle.
"Mom," Charlie said as he took her hands in his. "It would be best for the kids and I to stay with Dad."
"Why?" she asked as alarm bells began ringing in her head.
"Dad's got security already set up at his house," Charlie explained. "And his neighborhood is full of personnel from the base."
"Why are you worried about security?" Sara asked.
"It's complicated," Charlie told her.
"Charlie," Sara said in the universal voice of mothers everywhere that meant 'you're pushing my buttons.' "Everything about this whole situation is complicated!"
"Let's sit down," Jack said as he ushered his ex-wife and father-in-law back to the large conference table.
"I've got a department meeting," Sam said. "I'll take the kids with me. Charlie, get down there when you finish here," she ordered.
"Yes, ma'am" Charlie replied.
"Sara. Mike. It was nice meeting you," she said before taking the stairs out of the room.
Sara and Mike listened as those remaining explained about the NID and their thirst for alien technology. "So let me get this straight," Mike said. "You're afraid someone may kidnap the kids? Then why'd you accept a commission?!"
"Commission or not, it doesn't matter," Jack said. "Charlie knows more about the Stargate and the technologies it's brought us than anyone else. He's a target."
"And because I'm a target the kids are as well," Charlie added. "The people in Dad's neighborhood know he works on a top secret project. Most of them being military they automatically keep an eye out for....odd things in the neighborhood."
"I remember," Sara said. She couldn't refute their reasoning. "Ok, go to your meeting. I'm convinced. Your grandfather and I will help your dad get you and the kids moved to his house. We'll need to go back to Dad's house, Jack, to get Charlie's crib from the attic."
Jack nodded. He was grateful she wasn't going to give them a hard time about it. "It's only temporary, Sara" he reminded her. "Charlie will want a home of his own for the kids soon enough, and you know you're welcome at any time."
"Dad, how about we have that barbeque you were talking about tonight?" Charlie suggested. "Mom and Grandpa Mike can get to know everyone."
Jack cocked his head as his conversation with Sam during their last mission replayed itself in his mind. "That's probably a good idea. Janet....ahh," he stuttered.
"Spit it out, Colonel," the doctor ordered.
"Cassie...Sam and I were talking, and....she needs to be told Janet," Jack said.
"Maybe this barbeque would be a good time to do it. With the entire family there and all," Daniel suggested.
Janet sucked in a deep breath almost gasping at this new can of worms Jack was opening. The more she thought about it though, the more she knew he was right. They had no hope of keeping J.J. and Sammy's existence from her forever. It would be best to tell her now. Janet could only grimace knowing that there was no way to break this gently.
Janet wasn't the only one whose mind had gone into overdrive at Jack's suggestion. Charlie squeezed his eyes shut. 'Cassie,' he thought. 'But not mine...she's sixteen now, and I'm twenty-seven.'
"Will J.J. recognize her?" General Hammond asked.
"No," Charlie said. "I don't think he's old enough to really understand that she's his mom considering how different she looks. We'll introduce her as Aunt Cassie."
Hammond rubbed at the top of his head. "Well there's no way around introducing them," he said finally. "Do you want McKenz..."
"NO!" several voices emphatically denied before he had even finished the suggestion.
"Very well," Hammond said. "Handle it as you see fit, people. Let me know if there's anything I can do." He left then leaving the others to decide what they would do.
"I think it would be best if I tell her before we come over to your place, Colonel," Janet said. "Give her some privacy to digest it all."
"Before J.J. sees her," Charlie agreed. The details were soon worked out, and Charlie and the others left to return to duty while Jack took Sara and Mike down to Charlie's temporary quarters to gather his things and those of the kids to take back to Jack's house.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As they moved Charlie, J.J. and Sammy into their new home Jack told Sara and her father about his teammates, but it was obvious to both of them that they were more than colleagues. They were his family. Several hours later Jack and Sara were sitting on the floor in his spare room assembling the crib they'd taken out of her father's attic. Mike had assigned himself the chore of putting Charlie's things away in the other bedroom leaving Jack and Sara alone to talk if they wanted.
"So...you and the major," Sara asked as she held two pieces of the crib together as Jack attached them with screws. "When did you..."
"We've never," Jack said as he blushed thinking how odd it felt to be talking about his non-existent sex life with his ex-wife. "We've never even talked about it really. Except the one time...and then we said it wouldn't leave the room. It's just...we don't need to talk about it. We just know. We went to the general," he admitted. "He's worked it out. We're on probation, but as of this morning..."
Sara grabbed his hand where it was almost frantically tightening the screws to the crib. She waited for his hand to still and his eyes to make contact with hers. "I'm happy for you, Jack" she insisted. It was a surprise to her, but she truly was. Sara could tell that what he did at the SGC took its toll on him, on all of them, but the family he'd created with SG-1 made it bearable not just for him but for his teammates as well.
"I worry that I'm too old for her," Jack admitted. "That I have nothing to give her."
"You're not too old, Jack" Sara assured him though misunderstanding Jack's fears. "You two can still have kids."
"Sam can't have kids," Jack said. "Probably can't," he corrected himself. "Something happened to her on one of our missions...she....it was bad," he finally said his eyes taking on that haunted look she knew so well.
"I'm sorry. You could adopt?" Sara suggested. "And even if you can't. There's Charlie and J.J. and Sammy. She seems pretty happy being Grandma Sam, and...I don't think I'm going to mind sharing the title with her. Either of them."
"Huh?" Jack asked.
"Grandma and Mom," Sara told him. "She's Charlie's Mom as much as I am, Jack. There's no way I could miss that."
"She's so good with kids, Sara" Jack told her. "Cassie...Charlie's wife. Sam rescued her on one of our missions. She wanted to adopt her, but with the life we lead, as much as we're away, that was just impossible. Janet adopted her instead, but Sam's a big part of her life."
"I have a feeling she isn't the only one," Sara said with a knowing look.
"Yeah, I guess we're all a big part of her life. I bought her a dog just after Janet decided to adopt her," he said.
"I bet Dr. Frasier was thrilled," Sara replied drolly.
Jack grinned sheepishly. His smile faded then and he snorted. "We haven't even gone out on a date yet, and I'm talking about having kids," he said.
"Somehow, I don't think that really matters when it comes to the two of you," Sara told him. "You didn't say a lot about your missions, but I have a feeling you four have been to Hell and back together."
"Literally," Jack muttered as he absently rubbed his right thigh causing Sara to raise her eyebrow in question. "Never mind," Jack said.
"You know each other like I could only dream of knowing you, Jack" Sara told him. "I could never know the part of you that belonged to the air force, but she does. She does because she's given that same part of herself."
"I've got so much baggage, Sara" Jack argued.
She sighed. 'This whole day is surreal,' she thought to herself. 'First my son comes back to life, and I suddenly have two grandchildren. Now I'm acting as my ex-husband's dating coach.' "Jack, don't get cold feet now," she said aloud. "You've somehow managed to get around the fraternization rules to give the two of you a chance, don't wimp out now. Sam would never forgive you, and you'd never forgive yourself. As for baggage, we all have baggage."
"I got left behind once," Jack told her suddenly startling her with his abrupt change of subject "Besides the time you know about. The 'gate at the other end got buried in a meteor shower. We were trying to evacuate refugees. Daniel had already gone through and Teal'c and Sam were herding people through the 'gate. I'd gone back to the village to try to find a couple teenagers that had gotten scared and run off...." Jack trailed off lost in the memories.
Sara sat quietly waiting for him to continue for a minute before gently prompting, "What happened?"
Jack turned his head to look at Sara then and there were tears in his eyes. "She nearly killed herself to find a way to free me," he whispered. "She worked night and day for three months. The others told me...she wouldn't eat or sleep unless Janet forced her. I hurt her, Sara. When they finally got to me, I wasn't even sure I wanted to go home anymore. I'd finally accepted that I was going to stay there the rest of my life. There was a woman..."
"Looks to me like she forgave you, Jack" Sara told him gently.
"Yeah," Jack was forced to agree.
"Then its time you forgave yourself, Jack" Sara told him. "And not just for that. It's time to let go of the guilt from Charlie's death. It wasn't your fault. It wasn't my fault. As much as it hurts us to admit it, it was Charlie's fault. He knew not to touch your gun, Jack."
"No, it was my fault. I left it out," Jack insisted.
"No you didn't. He got it out," Sara said. "We talked while you were in with General Hammond, Jack. He got the gun out. He wanted to play with it so he went into our room and got the gun. He knew what he was doing, Jack. He knew it was dangerous. Hearing him tell me that today, I was finally able to stop blaming myself. You need to stop blaming yourself too. He was young and made a bad decision. One that in this timeline cost him his life, and in the other cost me mine. It was still his decision though. We have to let it go, Jack. All three of us."
At first Jack didn't know who was crying though he could plainly hear it, but he quickly realized as Sara pulled him into her embrace that he was the one crying. He was crying for himself, for Sara, and for Charlie. He was crying for the one decision made by a small boy that damaged so many lives. He didn't know how long they sat there on the floor of his guest room with the half built crib spread around them as they finally grieved together for their lost son. A dim part of his mind found it ironic that the catalyst for this grieving of their son's death was their son's return to their life.
At the same time Jack was having his difficult talk with Sara, Sam was having one of her own.
"Major Carter report to the Control Room," she heard over the PA as she and Daniel spoke quietly in her lab. SG-4 had brought back a device on their last mission that appeared to have been made by the Ancients. She and Daniel were working on figuring out what its purpose was.
"Go ahead," Daniel told her. "I'll lock up here and round up the guys and the kids."
Sam waved her thanks as she headed out of the lab. She halted abruptly at the top of the stairs into the control room. "Dad?" she questioned to the back of the figure speaking with General Hammond.
"Hey, sweetheart," Jacob greeted his daughter as he turned towards her. She came forward to give her father a hug. "George says we've got some things to talk about?" he asked.
"Ahh...yeah" Sam said cautiously. "Let's go..." she stopped as she tried to think of some place quiet where they could speak.
"Why don't you use my office," Hammond suggested.
"What's this about, Sam?" Jacob asked his daughter with rising alarm in his voice.
Sam was spared answering by a happy cry from the other end of the room.
"Pappa!!!" J.J. yelled from his place in Teal'c's arms. Standing beside Teal'c, Charlie stood holding Sammy in her carrier with Daniel and Chuck 'Guarnere' at his side. "Down, Tea'c!" he demanded. "Want Pappa Jacob! Want Pappa Semak!"
Sam watched as her father's eyes bulged out. "Pappa?" he demanded of his daughter.
"I'll explain in a minute. Just go with it for now," she whispered to him quickly before continuing in a more normal voice. "Look who came to visit, J.J. Great-grandpa Jacob's gonna stay for a few days. Right?"
"Oh definitely!" Jacob told her before whispering, "This explanation better be damned good."
"Say hi to Pappa Jacob, J.J., and then we're going to Pappa Jack's," Daniel said. "We'll get the groceries, Sam, so you can talk to your dad for a bit."
"I'm going to stay and help with that explanation, Daniel" Charlie said. "J.J., you go with Pappa Danny and Uncle Teal'c, and we'll be over soon."
"No! No Pappa Jack!" J.J. said squirming in Teal'c's arms. "Want Pappa Semak! Want Pappa Jacob!"
Jacob put his confusion on hold a minute and took the wriggling toddler from Teal'c. "Hey now, Sport. Is that any way to talk to..."
"Daddy," Sam skillfully inserted causing Jacob's confusion to mount another notch.
"Right," he said. "Give us a hug, and we'll see you at Pappa Jack's house in a little while."
"You gotta help Uncle Teal'c and Pappa Danny buy the groceries, J.J." Sam told the little boy. "Otherwise they won't know what kind of cookies to buy for dessert."
"Cookies?" J.J. asked though his arms were still firmly wrapped around Jacob's neck.
"Grandma Sara and Pappa Mike are already over at Pappa Jack's house setting up your new room," Charlie told his son. "Don't you want to see your new room?" he coaxed the child.
Teal'c held out his arms, and J.J. reluctantly moved back into his arms. J.J. waved as Teal'c and Danny carried him back down the stairs out of the control room.
"Sorry," Charlie told her. "I didn't know gr...Jacob was coming."
"I'm a few days early," Jacob admitted taking part of the blame. "Now would someone care to tell me what the Hell is going on?"
"Umm...Surprise! You're a great-grandfather!" Sam said.
"Don't I have to have a grandchild first before I have a great-grandchild?" he demanded.
Charlie lifted his hand in a half wave. "That would be me."
"Huh?"
"Jacob, why don't we go into my office," Hammond suggested and several personnel who had been silently watching quickly turned back to their duties.
A half an hour later the explanations had been given and Jacob sat in shock in the general's office.
'Congratulations, Jacob' he heard the chuckling voice inside his head. 'It's a boy and a boy and a girl!'
'I'm glad you're finding this so amusing, Selmak,' Jacob snarled at his symbiote.
'It's not as if it's a surprise that Jack and Sam have feelings for one another. In any reality,' Selmak reminded his host.
'Shut up,' he replied.
'You heard what Sam said. They can't be sent back, Jacob' Selmak reminded him ignoring his host's command. 'It's best for J.J., if his family remains as much as he knows it as possible. I think he's an adorable little boy. It's been three hundred years since I've been a grandparent. I, for one, am thrilled to be Pappa Selmak.'
Jacob had to concede that what Selmak said was true. Charlie too seemed like a young man he would happily call family. It was more than apparent that Sam had embraced this unexpected family wholeheartedly.
"What about you and Jack?" Jacob demanded not quite ready to let go of his shock.
"I've fixed it," George told his old friend. "It's been pretty apparent since the za'tarc testing that Sam and Colonel O'Neill have feelings for one another. I did some pre-emptive planning."
"Dad?" Sam questioned hesitantly.
"I guess I'll reserve judgment for now about you and Jack," Jacob grudgingly said. "As for you and your children, Charlie, welcome to the family."
Sam leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "Thanks, Dad."
Jacob hugged his daughter to him knowing that she wasn't his anymore. "So I take it there's food at Jack's house?" he said.
"Yeah, we're supposed to bring the beer," Charlie told him a worried statement on his face.
"It's going to be alright," Sam assured the younger man as she gently stroked his back.
"I don't know if I can do this," Charlie said. "She..."
Hammond realized he was quickly working his way into a panic attack, not that anyone could blame him. The general reached into the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled out a glass bottle. Grabbing one of the glasses from the table he filled the glass and handed it to Charlie. "Drink, son" he ordered.
Charlie didn't question him. He downed the contents in a single gulp causing the others to trade a look.
"Get through the next few hours, Charlie" Sam said. "And as soon as the kids are in bed, we'll get you totally sloshed." The look she traded with the two older men said plainly enough 'or maybe we'll just sedate you.'
Charlie's laughter had an hysterical edge to it, but he did laugh.
"Major, you and the captain go on ahead. I'll bring your father out myself in a little while," Hammond ordered.
"Yes, sir she said as she and Charlie rose from their seats and left the room.
"What am I missing?" Jacob asked as soon as the door had shut behind them.
"Charlie's wife was Doctor Frasier's adopted daughter, Cassandra" George told his old friend. "They're explaining it all to Cassie tonight. With the temporal feedback...she's sixteen now, Jacob. She died in the other timeline...in his arms just after giving birth to baby Sammy."
"Holy Hannah!" Jacob whispered. Jacob closed his eyes remembering how awful his own wife's death had been. He couldn't imagine having to face his 'dead' wife mere weeks after holding her as she died. "God, that's..."
"They're going to need all the support they can get, Jacob" the SGC commander said. "The hurdles aren't over by a long shot for this new family you've acquired."
"J.J. knew about Selmak?" Jacob questioned.
"J.J., that's Jacob Jonathon by the way, has spent a great deal of time with the Tok'ra. So did Charlie and his siblings as children."
"Siblings?" Jacob asked.
"In their timeline, Jack and Sam had three kids. Jake, Sara, and Katie" George told him. "Jack and Sam have pictures. They're with your alternate in the other timeline. Jack and Sam...they both died in the final assault on Earth in that reality."
"Lord," Jacob exclaimed as he wiped a hand across his face. He was surprised at the grief that washed over him for this other Samantha Carter. She wasn't his daughter he told himself, but what he knew intellectually didn't seem to mean much to what his heart felt. "I think we'd better get over there, George" Jacob told his friend. "My great-grandson is waiting for me after all."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Janet wanted to throw up. 'I can't do this!' she thought. 'I can't! How do you tell a sixteen year old that she's suddenly got a husband and two kids?'
"Cassie honey?" she called as she opened the door to their home. "You here?"
"Yeah, Mom" she heard from upstairs. "Janelle and I are doing homework."
Janet followed the sound of Cassie's voice upstairs to her bedroom where the two teenagers were indeed doing homework. Or at least pretending to do homework. "Hi, Janelle," she greeted her neighbor's daughter. "Cassie, Colonel O'Neill is having a cook out tonight. I thought we'd go."
"Will Sam be there?" Cassie asked.
"Yeah, she'll be there," Janet told her daughter. "We need to be going soon though. So you and Janelle finish up what you're doing. Okay?"
"Okay, Mom" Cassie agreed as she began packing up her books. "We were almost done anyway. I'll finish tomorrow in home room." Janelle packed her books up as well before saying her good byes and heading downstairs.
Janet followed the two girls downstairs and waited while they made plans to meet before school to check their homework. Once the door had closed behind Janelle, Janet sat down on the couch and called Cassie to her.
"Before we go over there's something we need to talk about, sweetie" Janet began.
"What?" Cassie asked warily. She had long ago learned that when a grown up used that tone of voice it wasn't good news. "What's happened? Is everyone alright? Did something happen to Daniel or Teal'c?"
"Everyone's fine" Janet assured her before pausing. "Honey, a couple weeks ago we had some unexpected visitors through the gate."
"They have something to do with me?" Cassie demanded. Janet could see the fear growing in her eyes by the moment.
"Yeah," Janet said. "They're from an alternate Earth. Their Earth was being destroyed by the Goa'uld, so they escaped through the Stargate to us."
"What's that got to do with me?" Cassie asked.
"I'm getting to that," Janet assured her. "They patched the Stargate together with another device. One that controls time. Their patch job had a side effect though. You see they're from about ten years in our future, Cassie."
"What's that got to do with me?!" Cassie asked again her voice growing louder by the moment.
"One of the men who came through the 'Gate was your husband in that other timeline, Cassie" Janet explained. "He and his two children made it through, but you...your other self..."
"I'm dead?" Cassie wondered.
"Yeah," Janet confirmed. "His name is Charlie, honey. He's Colonel O'Neill's son."
"The one who's dead?"
Janet nodded. "In their reality, Charlie didn't shoot himself. He accidentally shot and killed his mother."
"His kids...they're mine too though aren't they?" Cassie asked with a note of panic in her voice. "I'm..."
"Calm down, Cassie" Janet said. "You're not their mother. Not in this reality. Your alternate self was their mother almost ten years from now."
"But his kids...they'll recognize who I am won't they?" she argued.
"The older one, J.J., might" Janet admitted. "The younger is just a few weeks old."
"What about...him...Charlie?" she asked.
"He doesn't expect anything from you, honey" Janet reassured her. "He knows you're not his wife, but he may...well...his Cassie died just before they came through the 'Gate. He's grieving, sweetie. Seeing you is going to be hard for him. In his reality you grew up together," Janet explained. "You...she was his best friend when they were kids."
"He's going to be at the cookout?" Cassie asked.
Janet nodded. "Yeah, it's a celebration of sorts for them. They've been given their new identities today. We're going to introduce you to J.J. as his aunt Cassie, alright?"
"Could..."
"What is it, Cassie?" Janet asked gently.
"Could he come here? Charlie I mean," she asked. "I...I want to meet him first here. Without everyone watching."
"I'll see if I can get him over here," Janet told her. She rose from the couch to get the telephone and began making calls.
Twenty minutes later, Sam drove up in front of Janet's house with Charlie in the passenger seat beside her. They both climbed out of the vehicle and headed towards the house. Sam had her hand placed gently on Charlie's shoulder giving him what comfort and courage she could. They were met at the door by Janet who had her purse with her. "She wants to meet you alone," Janet explained. "Sam and I'll go on over to your dad's house in her car. You and Cassie can drive over in mine. Cassie's got the keys."
Charlie nodded before taking a deep breath and opening the door. Once inside he scanned the room before his eyes settled on the figure seated on the couch. "Cassie," he whispered brokenly. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut hoping to keep the tears at bay. Taking another steadying breath he moved around the back of the couch to take a seat opposite her. He deliberately chose to sit in the chair instead of beside her on the couch, placing the barrier of the coffee table between them. He hoped it would make her feel safer...more comfortable. "Hi," he whispered.
"Hi," she whispered back without looking up. They sat like that for several minutes, neither looking at the other, before Cassie finally broke the silence. "Do you...do you have a picture of us? Of...our...kids?" she asked.
"Yeah," Charlie said. His voice was rough with unshed tears. He reached into his pocket and withdrew his wallet. He handed the pictures inside to Cassie who looked down at them fearfully.
Somehow it seemed that as soon as she looked at these pictures everything would change. The first was their wedding picture, she noted with surprise. She hardly recognized herself she looked so grown up. "I can't believe that's me," she whispered.
Charlie raised his head just enough to see what picture she was looking at. "You...she...was a beautiful bride," Charlie murmured. "Daniel walked...her...down the aisle, and Mo...Major Carter was her matron of honor. Dad was my best man."
"What...what did I do?" Cassie asked. "What was my job?"
"I...I don't know if I should tell you that," Charlie said. "I don't want to influence your future."
"Tell me, damnit!" Cassie ordered.
"She was a doctor like Janet," Charlie told her. "She got her MD and came back to the SGC immediately."
"What about you?" she asked.
"I followed my dad and mom as well," Charlie said. "I'm a physicist like Mom, but I've also got what special ops training I could get mainly from Dad and Teal'c. Daniel taught me a few languages when we were kids. I was part of SG-1 in my timeline."
"What...what are you going to do now?" she asked.
"I'm going to do mostly lab work for now until the kids and I get settled," Charlie told her. "General Hammond's being very kind about that. I figure eventually I'll be back out with the teams."
"Who's going to take care of our...your kids when you're on a mission?" she demanded.
"I don't know yet," he admitted. "I've got a few more weeks of paternity leave before I need to decide."
Cassie flipped to the next picture. "Is this J.J.?" she asked. "And what's the baby's name? Mom didn't tell me."
Charlie who had returned to staring at his hands looked up again at the picture she was holding up. "No, those are my siblings. That's Jake and Sara. My...our...daughter's name is Samantha. Samantha Sara O'Neill." Charlie took the photos back from her for a moment and flipped to a photo near the end before handing it back. "That's Sammy."
"Samantha," she corrected in a whisper as she brushed a finger across the snapshot of a newborn baby wrapped in the olive green of a military blanket. "Sammy's what you'd call a little boy. Samantha or baby Sam." She was unprepared for the reaction that statement caused in the man seated across from her.
"Oh...oh God," he choked out before abruptly standing and running headlong for the bathroom.
Alarmed, Cassie followed and arrived in the doorway of the bathroom in time to see him become violently ill. His shoulders shook with sobs as he continued to lean over the toilet. She automatically reached for the towel, and once it was wet she ran it across his face and neck as Janet had done for her the times she had been ill. "Easy," she said. "Take it easy." This only caused him to sob harder though. "Talk to me," Cassie ordered him. "Tell me what's wrong."
He finally raised his head from the rim of the toilet and slid down to sit with his back braced by the bathtub. "That was what she said to me...at the end," Charlie told her. "She...I shouldn't be telling you this. You don't need to hear this."
"Why not?" Cassie asked him. "We are talking about me after all. An alternate me, but me all the same. You need to talk about it, and I'm here. Besides, I have a feeling I'm the only one you will talk to about this aren't I?"
Charlie could only nod. He and Cassie had always been so close. He had always been able to tell her things that he'd never tell anyone else.
"So tell me," Cassie ordered once again.
"She'd just given birth to Samantha," he said carefully using the baby's full name. "She was bleeding out, but we didn't have anything left to treat her with. We were alone in the infirmary. I was trying to keep her wake....trying to keep her fighting to stay with me. We were talking about names for our daughter, and finally settled on Samantha Sara. There was so much blood," he sobbed.
Cassie didn't know what instinct took over then, but she slid down beside him and took him into her arms gently rocking the two of them from side to side as she whispered to him while he sobbed out his grief and pain. Finally when he'd calmed a bit she decided to bring his thoughts back to happier times. "When did the two of you decide to get married?" she asked.
"I proposed to her on the day we finished the Air Force Academy together," Charlie said. "We were each going off for advanced training in different places. I was going to MIT and you...she went to Harvard Med. We didn't see each other very often that first year. We were both working so hard on our courses."
"Neither of you...well...found someone else while you were apart?" she asked as she gently rubbed the back of his neck.
"No," he said as he stared at the blank wall opposite them though he didn't really see it at all. He was remembering those hard years as they'd tried to keep their relationship together while they worked incredibly long hours. They had both been so eager to return to their home in Colorado as there had never been any question about either of them being assigned to another base.
"You think we can be friends, Charlie?" she asked.
"I hope so," he told her. "You weren't just my wife. You were my best friend, Cass."
"I want us to be friends, Charlie" Cassie told him. "I want to be part of the kids lives. I think I'd make a pretty cool aunt don't you?"
"Yeah, you'll make a wonderful aunt," he assured her.
"Do you think J.J. will realize who I am?" she asked somewhat fearfully.
"I...I hope not," he mumbled knowing what he said might hurt her. "At least not now. When he's older, I think he should know the truth, but he's so young, Cassie. I just..."
"It's okay, Charlie," she told him. "I don't think it would be good for either of us right now."
They sat on the floor of the bathroom for several more minutes as Charlie's breathing returned to normal before Cassie broke the silence with a question. "Tell me about yourself, Charlie" she ordered. "Tell me about growing up with Jack and Sam. Tell me about this other timeline." So they sat on the floor in Janet's tiny downstairs bathroom and talked for more than an hour about Charlie's childhood and how his reality had differed from the one he now found himself in. Finally Cassie shifted slightly as her back began to hurt from sitting on the hard tile floor.
"We should head over to Dad's house, Cass" Charlie told her.
"But..." she protested.
"We can talk on the way," he said. "And it's not as if I'm going anywhere."
Cassie nodded as she pushed herself up from the floor. "Okay, but I'm driving," she said.
"I don't think so!" he said. "Where are the keys?"
"I've got my license" she argued. "And its my mom's car. Besides, I could smell the bourbon on your breath when you came in. Dutch courage?"
Charlie sighed but motioned for her to lead the way. He continued to
answer her questions as she drove them across town to Jack's house.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When they pulled up they saw quite a few cars already parked out front. "Looks like we're the last ones to get here," Charlie said as he climbed out of the car and waited for her to come around to him.
"Yeah," she whispered.
The fear was back in her eyes causing a pang in Charlie's chest. He grabbed her smaller hand in his. "It's going to be okay, Cassie" he told her. "Our family may be a little weird, but its strong."
"A little weird?" Cassie snorted in reply.
"I'll give you that one," Charlie agreed. "We're very weird, but we're still a family. You're not alone, Cassie. You'll never be alone."
"Okay," she said with a sigh. "I'm ready to go meet my 'niece' and 'nephew'."
Charlie smiled as he draped a friendly arm across her shoulders and led her towards the backyard. They could hear music and voices filled with laughter as they approached the gate. Charlie pushed it open and announced their presence with a shouted "Hello!"
All three women abandoned the conversations they'd been having to descend on Charlie and Cassie with hugs and long measuring looks. The men stood back and watched, but their looks were just as measuring. They'd let the women handle the touchy feely stuff unless they felt they were needed, but from what they saw Charlie and Cassie had both come through, if not unscathed, then at least whole. It was obvious that Charlie had finally allowed himself to grieve properly for his wife and for the life he'd left behind. Cassie seemed to be taking this all well, but then this wasn't the first time her world had been turned upside down. She had practice dealing with such life altering upheavals.
Sam approached her carrying J.J. in his arms. "J.J." she said cautiously. "This is your aunt Cassie."
Cassie smiled and held her arms out to the toddler. "Hi J.J. Will you come to me?" she asked.
J.J. thought about it for a moment before shifting towards Cassie from his place in Sam's arms. Moments later, he'd made the move into Cassie's embrace and had one arm loosely wrapped around her. "Momma's name's Cassie," he informed her in a sad little voice. "Momma's in Heaven now."
Cassie took a deep breath and felt rather than heard the same reaction from the adults around her. "Yes, she is J.J., but your daddy's here," Cassie told the toddler in an unsteady voice. Charlie placed a supportive hand at the small of her back. J.J. thought about her answer for a moment before putting his head down on her shoulder obviously deciding that 'Aunt' Cassie had his seal of approval. Cassie placed a light kiss on his forehead and wrapped her arms more tightly around him causing tears to pool in more than a few eyes.
Jack automatically pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Sam. Daniel too pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket, handing his to Janet. Teal'c merely raised an eyebrow as Sara had her choice of handkerchiefs from the two generals, her father, and Chuck 'Guarnere'. With a small smile she took the one handed to her by 'Guarnere' who met Mike's gaze steadily. The two men exchanged a speaking look before Chuck received a nod of acknowledgement from Mike along with a warning look. He wasn't the only one giving Chuck a warning look though. Jack's menacing glare was interrupted by the elbow Sam drove into his ribs and the whispered warning "She's a grown woman, Jack. She can take care of herself."
Jack's glare then turned towards his 2IC/soon-to-be lover. Sam raised an eyebrow in challenge making Jack scowl and grumble something about girls always sticking together.
Sam pushed him towards the grill. "Go. Build fire. Burn meat. Do manly things," she grunted to him causing the others to laugh breaking the tension. Mike slapped his former son-in-law on the back and followed him over to the grill while Daniel offered to get Charlie and Cassie something to drink from the cooler. General Hammond excused himself to return home to his wife now that the biggest hurdle of the evening was over.
The evening passed uneventfully as Jack and his helpers cooked the steaks while everyone sat around talking. Mike and Sara got to know the rest of Jack's new family. They were often quiet watching the interaction of the SGC personnel. The easy friendship there was among them. Samantha Sara spent the evening being passed from adult to adult, and J.J. went from lap to lap as he chattered happily about this or that. When it got dark, J.J. asked to go look at the stars with his Pappa Jack. So Jack climbed the ladder up to his roof and brought his telescope down so he and J.J. could look at the stars together. Sam soon joined the toddler and his grandfather on the
lawn.
"Do you think they'll ever get together, Charlie?" Cassie asked from where the two of them sat on the lawn watching.
"General Hammond figured out a way around the fraternization rules. As of this morning she's not in his chain of command," Charlie told her with a smirk.
"Rreeealllyyy..." Cassie drawled. "That's interesting. You're staying at your dad's right?"
"Yeah," Charlie replied cautiously. He recognized that look in Cassie's eye. It had usually preceded some wild matchmaking scheme she'd cooked up to bring Daniel and her mother together when they were kids. "Cassie....." he warned. "What are you thinking?"
"Lock your dad out of the house tonight," she ordered him.
"Cassie!" he reprimanded her. "No."
"He'd be forced to go stay at Sam's house," she argued.
"He'd crash at Daniel's," Charlie retorted. "Or go back to base. I'm not getting involved in any more of your matchmaking attempts, Cass."
"What matchmaking attempts?" she asked. Cassie pondered that for a moment before something he'd said earlier clicked in her mind. "Wait a minute, did you say Daniel walked me down the aisle?" she demanded.
"Uuhh..." Charlie hesitated knowing he'd made a big tactical mistake. He winced inwardly. 'I'll have to apologize to Daniel and Janet later,' he told himself before throwing them to their fate. "Daniel married your mom in my reality. You've got a couple brothers and sisters there."
Cassie still had that matchmaking look in her eyes, but at least her target had changed.
"Don't expect me to help you, Cass!" he told her. "They'll figure it out on their own."
"When?" she demanded.
"I don't know," he admitted. "But don't try to force them, Cassie."
"I want a father!" she told him.
"Borrow mine," he ordered her. "Don't go playing matchmaker with your mom and Daniel."
"Why not?"
"Daniel's not ready yet," Charlie told her. "He'll get to it. Or she will. Watch them tonight," he ordered her remembering the handkerchief from earlier. "There's a fire burning there, but if you try to feed it too quickly it will burn out," he warned her.
"And we don't want that," Cassie responded skeptically.
"No, you want a slow burn. A fire that will last a long time," he explained. "Look at Dad and M...Sam. They've been slowly burning for each other for more than four years."
"Charlie, I know I'm only sixteen, but..." she started to say then dropped her head into her hands in embarrassment.
"No, Cassie" he told her bluntly then his expression and voice softened. "I won't do that to you. I won't steal your youth because I want to bring my wife back from the dead. You deserve better than that, Cassie."
"What if it's what I want?" she challenged.
"How can it be what you want, Cass? You've known me for less than a day!" he argued. "It's not what you want. It's what you think you should want. Happily ever after and love at first sight are a myth, Cassie. It takes a lot more to make a good marriage, and even then things can happen to destroy it," his told her as his attention turned to where his mother and Chuck sat talking quietly.
"Okay, Charlie" she assured him as she shifted away from him. "No schoolgirl fantasies."
"Don't be like that, Cass" he chastised her. "You're only sixteen, sweetheart. I'm too old for you now."
"I won't stay sixteen forever, Charlie" she warned him.
"Then come talk to me when you're not sixteen anymore," he offered.
"The day I graduate the academy, I want a date," Cassie bargained.
Charlie turned his head to look at the militant expression on her face. "Okay," he finally agreed. "When you graduate the academy, you have a date. If you still want it."
Cassie knew he thought she'd grow out of it, but something inside her told her that Charlie was her future. She could wait.
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