SG-1: Sam/Jack - Rebirth PG 1/1
TITLE: Rebirth
SUMMARY: He spent years locked in bitterness and hatred. But life can be forgiving.
RATING: PG
DISCLAIMER: The Stargate franchise and the characters within it are property of MGM et al. This writer makes no effort or attempt to claim them for herself.
CHALLENGE: Alphabetasoup, prompt #3 - crow
THANKS: To alliesings for the beta.
FEEDBACK: Is always welcomed.
When you face death on a regular basis, life becomes something to celebrate. And, while there was always the possibility a parent might not come home one day, it was never mentioned when a birth was announced.
Some of these announcements were boisterous affairs, especially when the announcer was a first time parent-to-be. They walked through the corridors of the base with a permanent smile on their faces, accepting congratulations and best wishes from some of their colleagues. Repeat parents took things a little more in stride, but you still couldn't fail to spot the combination of excitement and anxiousness in their faces. Off-world missions couldn't come close to matching an impending birth in terms of anticipation.
After the births came the boasting as one child after another achieved certain milestones. There was the crawling then learning to walk stages, followed by pre-school and kindergarten. Photos went up in lockers and were passed around in the mess hall by proud parents. Time off was traded in order to attend school events.
Even General George Hammond wasn't immune. Every missed performance involving his grandchildren was a moment for regret. He was thankful he had more than one senior office fully capable of sitting in the 'big chair' during his absences.
Jack knew it was irrational, but there were times he hated hearing about other people's children. He hated listening to the proud voices as they sung out the achievements of their offspring. Every moment of glory for one parent was a solemn reminder of what this particular parent had lost.
He often wondered what might have happened if Charlie would have had a brother or sister. Would he and Sara still be together, or was Charlie's death the nail in their marital coffin? Would he still hate hearing about the achievements of other children, or would he have celebrated every achievement by this sibling?
He didn't know the answer. Even the SGC's contact with other realities hadn't given him that knowledge. He didn't even know if there was a reality somewhere in which Charlie was still alive. If there was, it had yet to be revealed to him.
+++
"So, O'Neill, how many weeks to go now?"
Jack looked up at the figure in his open doorway, and waved him in. "Just about four more, Bob," he replied with a grin. "Here, we got this yesterday," he added.
General Robert Orr took the grainy photograph in his hand and peered closely. "Looks like you got yourself a little girl, Jack. Unless he's at an angle."
Jack laughed. "We're fairly certain it's a girl. Mind you, Sam's already determined she won't be brought up wearing pink and playing with dolls."
"What do you think?"
"As long as she looks like her mom and has the brains to match, I really don't care."
Orr smirked. "Jack, you've got it bad." He looked again at the ultrasound. "Damn, I'm jealous of you. It seemed that whenever Margaret was pregnant I was always overseas. I never saw any of this until our kids were each around three months old."
Jack nodded solemnly. "I know how that one goes. I missed the birth of my first due to a mission that went to pieces. My ex-wife didn't even know where I was thanks to the covert nature of it."
His Pentagon colleague nodded. "I went overseas thinking I was getting one baby, came back and discovered I'd got twins." He shook his head and laughed. "Margaret hated me for being away for that one."
"Sam's already threatened me with physical damage if I get called away within the next six months."
"Colorado's going to have to do without you."
"And not just there either." Atlantis better not have any emergencies.
There were days Jack barely recognized himself in the mirror. He'd become one of those excited yet anxious fathers-to-be. Had he been that way about Charlie? He probably hadn't, since he'd missed the four months before the birth and the two months following it. It was a wonder Sara and Charlie had both survived considering the stress she'd said Jack's disappearance had put her through.
How he'd hated those prospective fathers back when in the first years of the SGC. How he'd hated their grins and their photos and their inadvertent reminders of what he'd lost. Even the concerned conversations about scarlet fever and chickenpox used to get to him. Now, when he looked back, he wished he'd been able to reassure those young men that nearly all young children got these common illnesses.
Somehow, he'd been given a second chance and he intended to fully make the most of it. He remembered when Sam had come to him, so worried over what his reaction to her news might be.
"This child will never replace Charlie," she'd told him immediately after stating she was pregnant. "But this child is my miracle."
He understood. Sam had once confided - before they were even dating, when they were still commanding officer and subordinate - that she didn't think she could ever have children. The demands made of her body by their work at the SGC hadn't been fully responsible; he got the impression that the actions of one Jonas Hanson were also at fault.
But this child was not only her miracle. This child was his miracle as well.
Jack knew he was going to be one of those adoring parents that crowed loudly over their children's achievements.
And he didn't mind one bit.
FINIS
SUMMARY: He spent years locked in bitterness and hatred. But life can be forgiving.
RATING: PG
DISCLAIMER: The Stargate franchise and the characters within it are property of MGM et al. This writer makes no effort or attempt to claim them for herself.
CHALLENGE: Alphabetasoup, prompt #3 - crow
THANKS: To alliesings for the beta.
FEEDBACK: Is always welcomed.
When you face death on a regular basis, life becomes something to celebrate. And, while there was always the possibility a parent might not come home one day, it was never mentioned when a birth was announced.
Some of these announcements were boisterous affairs, especially when the announcer was a first time parent-to-be. They walked through the corridors of the base with a permanent smile on their faces, accepting congratulations and best wishes from some of their colleagues. Repeat parents took things a little more in stride, but you still couldn't fail to spot the combination of excitement and anxiousness in their faces. Off-world missions couldn't come close to matching an impending birth in terms of anticipation.
After the births came the boasting as one child after another achieved certain milestones. There was the crawling then learning to walk stages, followed by pre-school and kindergarten. Photos went up in lockers and were passed around in the mess hall by proud parents. Time off was traded in order to attend school events.
Even General George Hammond wasn't immune. Every missed performance involving his grandchildren was a moment for regret. He was thankful he had more than one senior office fully capable of sitting in the 'big chair' during his absences.
Jack knew it was irrational, but there were times he hated hearing about other people's children. He hated listening to the proud voices as they sung out the achievements of their offspring. Every moment of glory for one parent was a solemn reminder of what this particular parent had lost.
He often wondered what might have happened if Charlie would have had a brother or sister. Would he and Sara still be together, or was Charlie's death the nail in their marital coffin? Would he still hate hearing about the achievements of other children, or would he have celebrated every achievement by this sibling?
He didn't know the answer. Even the SGC's contact with other realities hadn't given him that knowledge. He didn't even know if there was a reality somewhere in which Charlie was still alive. If there was, it had yet to be revealed to him.
+++
"So, O'Neill, how many weeks to go now?"
Jack looked up at the figure in his open doorway, and waved him in. "Just about four more, Bob," he replied with a grin. "Here, we got this yesterday," he added.
General Robert Orr took the grainy photograph in his hand and peered closely. "Looks like you got yourself a little girl, Jack. Unless he's at an angle."
Jack laughed. "We're fairly certain it's a girl. Mind you, Sam's already determined she won't be brought up wearing pink and playing with dolls."
"What do you think?"
"As long as she looks like her mom and has the brains to match, I really don't care."
Orr smirked. "Jack, you've got it bad." He looked again at the ultrasound. "Damn, I'm jealous of you. It seemed that whenever Margaret was pregnant I was always overseas. I never saw any of this until our kids were each around three months old."
Jack nodded solemnly. "I know how that one goes. I missed the birth of my first due to a mission that went to pieces. My ex-wife didn't even know where I was thanks to the covert nature of it."
His Pentagon colleague nodded. "I went overseas thinking I was getting one baby, came back and discovered I'd got twins." He shook his head and laughed. "Margaret hated me for being away for that one."
"Sam's already threatened me with physical damage if I get called away within the next six months."
"Colorado's going to have to do without you."
"And not just there either." Atlantis better not have any emergencies.
There were days Jack barely recognized himself in the mirror. He'd become one of those excited yet anxious fathers-to-be. Had he been that way about Charlie? He probably hadn't, since he'd missed the four months before the birth and the two months following it. It was a wonder Sara and Charlie had both survived considering the stress she'd said Jack's disappearance had put her through.
How he'd hated those prospective fathers back when in the first years of the SGC. How he'd hated their grins and their photos and their inadvertent reminders of what he'd lost. Even the concerned conversations about scarlet fever and chickenpox used to get to him. Now, when he looked back, he wished he'd been able to reassure those young men that nearly all young children got these common illnesses.
Somehow, he'd been given a second chance and he intended to fully make the most of it. He remembered when Sam had come to him, so worried over what his reaction to her news might be.
"This child will never replace Charlie," she'd told him immediately after stating she was pregnant. "But this child is my miracle."
He understood. Sam had once confided - before they were even dating, when they were still commanding officer and subordinate - that she didn't think she could ever have children. The demands made of her body by their work at the SGC hadn't been fully responsible; he got the impression that the actions of one Jonas Hanson were also at fault.
But this child was not only her miracle. This child was his miracle as well.
Jack knew he was going to be one of those adoring parents that crowed loudly over their children's achievements.
And he didn't mind one bit.
FINIS