December 24th, 2018


Sempera Danielle Peltier was furious. Actually, she was beyond furious and entering the land of absolutely pissed off. And there was nothing she could do about it because no one was paying attention to her and what she had to say. They were all too busy kissing the collective asses of the rich people who had come to get their idiot offspring out of trouble.

With two fathers who had jobs in law enforcement, a squad room was nothing new to her, she had practically grown up in one, but she felt only disgust at this particular one and its occupants. The young woman leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs, clutching her backpack and its precious content to her torso. People at NCIS knew better than to take her being deaf as a sign for stupidity, but as soon as she had begun to sign to the first cop she encountered here, they had ceased to take her seriously. Nothing new per se, but it got to her every time.

And then rich and slick parenting types had turned up and things went further downhill. Sam glared at the group at the other end of the room. Two elegantly dressed men and one primly groomed woman were standing around a desk with three officers, all earnest faces and smarmy smiles respectively.

This was one situation where she wished that she hadn’t given in and had instead changed her surname. Her biological Dad, Agent Anthony DiNozzo, had encouraged her to keep the name of her mother's family. She remembered how he had smiled at her warmly, how his big hand had stroked over her shoulders when he explained why. “I would love to have you take my name sweetheart, but there are a lot of people out there who have a grudge against me or Jethro. We don’t have to make it easier for them to connect us.� Jethro was her adopted Daddy and a NCIS Agent himself. Oh yes, criminals and, wait for it, all LEOs in DC knew to fear an encounter with these particular Feds.

Now she had to wait for help to arrive and then… her eyes sought out the one pompous officer who had told her to get out of his way and wait for him to have time for her. Oh yes, the Captain would RUE the day he was born.

It shouldn’t take long; she had sent the message fifteen minutes ago.

Outside snow was falling and darkness had set in. It was supposed to be such a great Christmas Eve. She wanted to be at home, in front of the fireplace with her Dads, enjoying the holiday. But the day had gone wrong from the start, first with some stupid Petty Officer having the bad taste to get himself killed one day before Christmas and Dad being unable to leave the office. Jet decided to help Dad, and Sam had decided to use the time for some last minute shopping.

And then everything had gone to hell in a hand-basket. Why, oh why hadn’t she chosen another mall to search for a little extra something she could lay under their Christmas tree? A mall without those brain-dead boys who didn’t understand the meaning of the word 'no'. Mike Islington and his four sidekicks were the bane of her existence since she'd had the misfortune to meet them. Sam suspected that they only reason they'd gotten into such a great college wasn't their brains, but the thick purses of their parents. Now she had to share chemistry 101 with them, and Mike, the spoiled little bastard, had gotten it into his head that Sam should be his girlfriend. Over her dead body.

And over her, maybe not dead, but injured, body it had nearly been.

.-#-.

Sam should have chosen more sensible footwear. Her aunt Abby might insist that heavy leather boots were the ideal shoes of choice for snowy days, but she had clearly forgotten to mention that you should also make sure that they had soles with rubber treads.

Another icy stretch of sidewalk made the young woman stumble and fight to stay upright. Just a few more steps and she would reach the bus station. If she broke her ankle she would sue the mall, they should see to it that the sidewalks were safe!

And the snow was making things more difficult than necessary. It obscured the dangerous ice patches and made them extra slippery. Sam clutched her parcel, adjusted the straps of her backpack and looked around. It wasn’t that late, but the other customers seemed to prefer their private transportation to public ones and the street was nearly devoid of other human beings. Cars drove by. The hard blue-white street lights showed her that only one lonely figure had sought shelter under the roof of the bus stop.

It was a man, another student with a distinct slouch and hard to forget wild dark hair. She knew him by sight and reputation, but had never spoken to him. Her friend Harmony had pointed him out to her as one of the head-geeks; Harmony always knew everything about every boy on campus.

Sam stumbled again and this time it looked like gravity would win. Sam let her parcel fall to the ground and prepared for a controlled fall, her Daddy Jet had been adamant about teaching her and it was better to get wet than hurt because she did it wrong. But it didn’t come to that, as just before she could fall, someone pulled at her upper arm and drew her upright again.

Sam looked up and prepared to sign a thank you. The heartfelt smile died on her lips and became a mere polite version. Her rescuer was nobody she wanted to feel grateful to and the leer on his face and the equally stupid expressions on his companions’ faces discouraged any positive response.

Mike knew that she could read lips, she had upended her soda on his head when he told his buddies she would be the ideal girlfriend: pretty but unable to bitch him out. He hadn’t been happy at all about her humiliating him in front of other students and since then he was always on her case. How she despised that boy.

“Look what I found! Miss Silent herself. Don’t you want to thank me for my daring rescue, Princess?"

His four friends were laughing and Sam could smell the alcohol they must have consumed on their breath, it made her gut clench. She tried to free herself, but his meaty fist didn’t let go of her upper arm. Sam forced a confident expression on her face, nodded and said thank you. It was one of the words the speech therapist had taught her. Another would be ‘help’ and that was what she would use if this Neanderthal didn’t release her at once.

“Sounds like a rusty bucket, doesn’t she, guys? I think I deserve a kiss.� Mike pulled her in the direction of a side street and she began to fight.

“How about a blowjob!� she read on one of his buddies lips when he turned to her and the hungry expression in his eyes made bile rise in her throat.

Sam cursed her footwear again, the oh so fashionable boots would hinder her in a fight, and fight she would, even if her chances weren’t good. Her Dads had trained her to fight dirty if need be, but five against one weren’t odds she would bet on winning. She shot her free hand up and grabbed for Mike's hand where it was latched on her arm. With a certain amount of pressure on the point under his thumb- ah yes. The grip suddenly lessened and she bent the digit in a way it wasn’t designed to be bent, threw herself sideways, rolling on one shoulder and hastily turned around, ready to fight or flee.

Sam would prefer to flee.

One of the stooges was reaching for her, another came up behind and Mike was shouting something and cupping his hand. They were cutting her off from possible escape routes. Sam opened her mouth to scream but a hand came from behind and prevented any sound escaping her lungs.

Panic rose and she bit down hard, on the sweaty, stinky fingers. The blood on her tongue made it worse, but it also made him withdraw. She reached behind to find vulnerable bits to squash, just the way she had been taught, but her training units had been conducted in sports wear, not heavy winter coats and scarves. Her attacks had to hurt, but they didn’t inflict the needed damage, just made her captors mad.

But there was nothing preventing her from screaming now. She let loose so hard that their ears must be ringing.

Suddenly she was free, tumbled face-first into the snow someone had shovelled against a wall. It lessened the impact of her fall. Sam jumped to her feet, turned around- and stared.

The scene had changed completely. Four figures were laying sprawled on the hard concrete, twitching and squirming like the slimy human trash they were. Mike was the only one of the original five still standing, trying to get a punch through the defenses of a newcomer, without luck thus far. It was the lanky older student from the bus stop who had come to her rescue.

Sam circled around the fighting men, trying to get nearer to the street, to call for help if needed. She kept her eyes darting between the downed figures and the two fighting men as she scrambled towards safety. She studied how her rescuer avoided one punch, blocked the next. She had seen these moves before, the flow and controlled power needed to execute them flawlessly. Jet moved that way when he spared with her Dad. This wasn’t some showy Rambo wannabe, he knew what to do for real.

The sudden shine of metal on Mike’s right hand alarmed and angered Sam. Brass knuckles! Lanky avoided them, landed a heavy punch against his oponent’s chin and then took him down. Mike landed in an undignified heap, his arm held securely behind his back by Lanky and his nose pressed into the ground.

Another movement caught her attention, one of the stooges had managed to heave himself up on his knees and he was holding something even more dangerous than brass knuckles in his hand, a wicked switch knife. Sam shouted a warning and Lanky’s head shot up.
Sky blue eyes stared at her for a quick moment, then darted towards the new threat.

The stooge attacked, a short struggle later and he joined his fellow idiots again. This seemed to convince the scumbags that they couldn’t win, and they stumbled and crawled away.

Lanky let them escape and Sam approved. He couldn’t hit them whenever they made attempts to stand up in order to keep them down, it would go beyond defense and any damage done would make them the attackers instead of victim and rescuer.

Additionally Sam knew the head idiot’s name, she would see to it that the authorities would hear about the attempted … rape. Just thinking the word made her tremble. She clenched her jaw together, she knew she needed to focus and avoid allowing herself to break down.

Lanky was observing her, slowly coming near her as if she was a frightened little animal and it made her mad. Not at him, no, just at the situation in general.

Time to show some backbone, she thought, and straightened her shoulders, tried to smile. It was the first time she had the opportunity to take a good long look at her daring hero.

His two defining features were his insanely wild hair and the startling bright blue eyes. Nobody would ever call him pretty, his nose was a too big and his mouth slanted to one side, but all the angles and high cheekbones made for a fascinating combination. The bruise that was developing on his jaw gave him a roguish air, but she would have preferred him without it. Lanky was a good nickname for him, he was a good head taller than her, and she wasn’t a midget herself. As far as Sam could see, he wasn’t heavily built, despite the force she had seen him use. And he was pressing one of his hands against his right shoulder.

One of the idiots must have managed to hurt him. Sam growled, two fast steps and she was near enough to bat his hand away and try to assess the damage. It must have been the knife that did this. He had worn a thick pullover over his shirt instead of a winter jacket, probably the reason he was hurt at all, because the cut wasn’t very deep.

Now, for some first aid… The freshly fallen snow was clean enough. Sam scoped up a handful of it, formed it into a ball and then reached up to press it against the bruise on his face. She made him hold it there and then took another look at the cut. He was smiling at her and she couldn’t help but smile back. His lips moved.

“My name’s Jack. I can’t believe those bastards tried to hurt you. You’re one of the new forensic students, aren’t you?� He eyed her up and down and she liked that he seemed to appreciate the view but that his eyes didn’t linger on her breasts.

"You're not hurt, are you?"

Sam shook her head, reached into her pocket and pulled out her student ID. It was doubtful that he would understand ASL, not many did, and this way he could read her name and the attached note about her handicap.

“Sempera Peltier. Nice name. Oh, you're deaf.� The young man showed interest, not pity, and Sam nodded and smiled, pointing at her lips.

“And you can read lips.“

Her fingers carefully poked the wound, the cold had slowed down the bleeding but it would need a few stitches to heal without scaring. A familiar looking chain around his neck distracted her from playing Florence Nightingale. It was the kind of chain that normally held dog tags. That would explain some things, but others…. Her fingers hooked around the thin chain and she pulled, matte silver metal plates with attached noise guards slipped out of his collar.

Sergeant Joaquin M. Sheppard. USMC. Her fingers held up the tags, the other hand pointed at his head and the so-not-regulation haircut. Her Daddy would be appalled.

Jake laughed, his eyes dancing merrily. “I am at college to defend my thesis before returning to the Corps. Nobody here cares about how my hair looks.� His fingers squeezed hers gently before he pushed the dog tags back under his ruined shirt. The touch made her feel all tingly and warm.

“We should go to the nearest police station and tell them about the attack.�

Yes, they should. If Mike thought it was ok to assault her, he would likely try the same methods with another girl and this time the victim might not be as well trained in self defense or have the luck of a handsome Marine to come to her rescue.

They didn’t have too go far, just to the bus station before the police found them, not the other way round. A police cruiser had stopped, its lights flashing aggressively. Three street cops emerged and were eying them distrustfully; all of them had their hands on their weapons.

“Stop, keep your hands where we can see them!� The lead officer shouted.

Sam and Jack complied, after exchanging puzzled looks.

The two other cops carefully crept nearer and nearer, finally circling them and then the two cops pulled Jack’s arms back to cuff his hands behind his back, patting him down, searching for his ID and any weapons, no doubt. He must have asked a question, Sam saw the cop who was covering them from near the car answer.

“You are under arrest for assaulting and injuring five students. Everything you say…�

Sam was searched as well and the feeling of these strange hands on her made her tremble and her companion shout at the cops, only to be ignored. Jack’s touches had been different, but these men weren’t friendly, she saw them as her enemies.

Now was not the time to get hysterical. Sam clenched her teeth and her hands flew to try and clear up this misunderstanding. Jack was likewise protesting, but the cops would have none of it. Sam’s deafness made them uncomfortable and they began to treat her like a dumb delicate flower. Dad was right, some street cops weren’t chosen for their skills or smarts. Idiots!

Dad… Time to act like the daughter she was and not like a stupid damsel in distress. They hadn’t taken away her cell phone, even if they should have, and they were concentrating on their male captive instead of securing the crime scene.

Jack had been roughly shoved onto the backseat of the cruiser. His lips were pressed firmly together and he was looking at her with concern. He might not know ASL, but Marines had a sort of battle short hand and she used those signs to tell him that she was all right and that backup would be on the way soon.

One cop tried to order her into the car, Sam held up her hand, tried to smile as harmlessly as she could, mimed carrying something and pointed behind her at the side street.

The cops looked at each other and shrugged. Finally they came to a consensus and one of them followed her so she could pick up her abandoned package. She had been able to decipher the number of the police station and her fingers were busy typing a message on her cell in her pocket.

The cop was - finally, where had he learned his trade?- looking around, staring at the trampled snow. He didn’t really pay attention to what she was doing, his incompetence working in her favor. Where had she seen…ah, there. With a side glance to make sure her guard dog wasn’t paying attention, she picked two things up with her cloth hanky and secured them in her backpack before she made a big production out of mourning over her squashed parcel.

Jack was looking at her when they made it back to the car, his eyebrow raised in question. Sam smiled at him. Now it was her turn to save the day.

.-#-.

Jack had been led away to be processed. Mike and his friends, and later their parents, had waited for them at the station, the mothers teary eyed, and the fathers indignant, all of them out for revenge because some big bad older student had beaten their darlings up for no good reason.

Sam had been caught in her memories and had missed two more men entering the squad room. The uncomfortable movements of those around her and the change in atmosphere were what made her look up. Ah, yes, now things would get interesting.

The first man was clothed in a dark trench-coat, no hat obscured the thick white hair on his head and the stormy expression on his face proclaimed to anyone who dared to meet his ice-blue eyes that he was not amused at all. He wasn’t young, the wrinkles around his eyes indicated this, but the way he held himself and the energy in his step would put younger men to shame.

His handsome companion wasn’t anything to be sneered at either. Silver hair at his temples gave him a dignified appearance, his clothes were winter appropriate and of better quality than the ones of his white-haired partner. But his furious expression matched the first man’s to a T.

She could read her name on their lips. And their names on the lips of more than one of the cops present.

Captain Price had come out of his office and was eying his visitors with great trepidation and false bravado. Sam tried to get a good look at his lips.

“Gibbs! What the hell are you doing here?�

It didn’t matter that her Dad was the director of a federal agency and could be scary as hell if he wanted to, when faced with the rock and the hard place that was this duo, the LEOs tended to remember the countless horror stories about the fury of one Leroy Jethro Gibbs. The stories, handed down by street cop to rookie since long before her dad entered the scene, made Gibbs a legend to beat all others, and made the LEOS search for cover when he entered a room.

Her Dad, Tony DiNozzo, had reached her and was giving her a big hug and a careful once over. She hugged him back and peered over his shoulder.

“Heard you arrested the Marine who rescued my daughter from being assaulted and raped?�

The captain whipped around, stared at Sam and the man who held her securely in his arms. It didn’t take divination to see the ‘oh shit’ that went through his head. Sam wriggled out of her Dad’s arms, picked up her backpack and told him to follow her to where the collective idiot brigade had gathered and were bickering.

Her Dad blinked and then he began to smirk, his green eyes twinkling. “Incompetents?� he asked her with voice and signs both.

Sam nodded and placed the backpack on the desk, stretching herself to reach for a silicone-glove dispenser, pulled two of the thin gloves out and pulled them over her hands. ‘You’ll translate for me, dad?’

Tony-Dad nodded.

Jet-Daddy was keeping everyone on their toes with his glares. He leaned with his hip against another desk. The police officers, parents, Mike and the stooges had drawn back from him.

It didn’t take long to tell her story and she could see the protests spilling from the lips of her wannabe rapists, but they couldn’t make her squirm, nothing bad could happen to her now.

Now, for the grand finale. Sam reached into her backpack and pulled out the brass knuckles and the knife. ‘I may have only just started my official study of forensics, but this is simple enough to be understood by amateurs. The red head over there used the knife, you should find his prints on it and Jack’s blood on the blade, just as I told you. How could I have come by it except in the alley, how could Jack’s blood be on it if I lied? Likewise with the brass knuckles, they belong to Mike.’

Sam raised her chin, looked from one cop to the other and then at the boys. ‘I only touched them with my hanky and now with the gloves. They provide evidence for my witness report. I picked them up in the alley because the cops here couldn’t be bothered to listen to my rescuer or me, and I would take bets that these items would have disappeared if we went back now.’

A hand touched and squeezed her shoulder and she leaned into it, her Dad’s support enfolding her like a warm coat. She had done her part, now she could let them sort it out.

.-#-.

A Marine had been accused of a crime, so NCIS’ involvement was completely legal. McGee and his team had been called to act as the official Agents for this case, Gibbs and DiNozzo as her parents were unsuited to lead an investigation.

Bureaucracy raised its ugly head and it took hours until everything was sorted out, with the boys contradicting each other and blaming each other for what had happened during interrogation. Gibbs’ bellowing, Tony as the director of NCIS throwing his weight around and the evidence Sam had provided didn’t help to speed up the proceedings. In the end, the cops had to give in and acknowledge grudgingly that they had arrested the victims, not the perps.

All that was left for now, was to free Jack and introduce him to her parents. One of the cops who had arrested her Marine was the one who led them back to the part of the building with the holding cells. Jack was already free, sitting at a guard desk outside the cell part of the room, his white, blood-sprinkled shirt gleaming under the harsh ceiling lights.

Sam growled and strode over to him, her hand flying out to yank away the cloth to inspect the wound underneath. She sniffed. Just as she suspected from the telling lack of bright orange tincture and distinctive smell: shoddy work! Nobody seemed to have bothered to use antiseptic, just taped the cut closed.

The young Marine had halfway stood up and she pressed his shoulders to disabuse him of this plan, and then she whirled around and stomped over to the officer who was observing the proceedings. Sam pointed at the first aid kit on the wall. Her hands signed.

The officer was squirming and looking around rather helplessly. The whole station knew who she was by now.

Jet was the one to translate this time. “My daughter wants to know why you can’t even dress a stab wound correctly.�

“He said is was nothing serious, just a scratch.� The officer tried to defend himself. “Everyone was, ehm, busy…�

Sam snorted and went back to stand beside Jack. She would see to his wounds later. Yeah, everyone had been busy all right. They were busy kissing Mike’s father’s golden ass and then they were busy trying to avoid getting their own asses kicked by her Dads.

‘Dad, Daddy. This is Sergeant Joaquin Sheppard.’ Sam smiled at them and then at Jack. This was hardly a normal situation, but the two other times she had introduced someone male to her family, the two men, no, in hindsight she had to say that they had been boys, had been confident to meet her parents and then, when faced with the real deal, had nearly pissed themselves. Jack on the other hand….

The young Marine had softly shaken off her hand and was now standing at parade rest, looking at her parents with interest and curiosity.

Jet let his inner Gunny out and went all military on them, heels together, half salute. “Sergeant. We are in your debt for rescuing our daughter. You have my thanks.�

“It was my pleasure.�

Sam grinned. ‘Hey, I rescued him right back.’

Her Dad laughed and spoke her words aloud so everyone could understand them, then he sobered up again and offered his hand to Jack. “You are an honor to the Corps, Sergeant. Thank you.�

Jack was smiling sheepishly and shook the offered hand, then he turned to Sam and his grin grew wider. “It certainly made for an interesting evening. I thought I would have to watch TV or read a book to pass the time.�

‘It’s the holidays! You don’t have family here?’ Sam exclaimed, again her Dad translated.
‘No girlfriend?’ She glared at her Dad but he refused to translate this part and she had to snatch a piece of paper and a pen.

Jack looked between her and the two, now scowling, older men, then down at the piece of paper she held out. Humor began to dance in his eyes. “My parents are living on base and it is quite far away. I don’t have a girlfriend, no boyfriend either.�

His smile widened comically and he moaned. “If they find out that I managed to get arrested, and they will find out soon, all hell will break loose.�

The officer who had observed them nervously shook his head. “Already broke loose.�

“You don’t know my parents.� The Marine commented.

Sam had scribbled another sentence and held out the paper. She was shaking inside but tried to play it cool.

Jack smiled at her and his left hand tugged at his spiky hair. Hair her Daddy was eying disapprovingly, like she had known he would.

“I don’t think your fathers would like it.� Jack said and handed the sheet back to Sam.

“What?� came the question from the men in question.

‘I want to invite him home with us. He rescued me, it wouldn’t be right to leave him lonely on Christmas!’ Sam looked pleadingly from one of her Dads to the other.

She saw them exchange speaking looks; saw how her Dad touched her Daddy and the secret smile they shared. This was something she wished for herself and this time she wouldn’t let overprotective instincts get in the way. She simply knew that Jack would fit right in, her gut told her so.

“The guest room is empty.� Daddy growled out as his eyes took on a warning glint. He was cautious about inviting someone home with them, even if it was a fellow Marine. Nevertheless it was his version of ok. Now only Dad had to agree and he did so with a nod.

Sam wrote down something else, handed it to Jack and looked up hopefully. Her eyes met blue ones. She watched him read her message. ‘Whatever else might happen, I don’t want you to be lonely. Come with us and celebrate Christmas.’

“I accept your invitation.� Jack turned to her parents and saluted. “I am housebroken, don’t worry, and I will try to be the perfect house guest.�

Sam smiled brightly.

Before she could sign anything else the door flew open and McGee entered, a cell phone in his hand and a peculiar expression on his face. “Jethro, I have a Major General John Sheppard of the US Air Force on the line who demands to know 'how the fuck his son managed to get himself arrested.'� McGee made air quotes with his fingers for the second part of his message.

Jack groaned and rolled his eyes heavenward.

Sam raised her brow and mouthed distastefully ‘Air Force?’

“Sorry. What can I say? I’m an military brat. My father blames his troops for tempting me into the Marines. My other father blames all military personnel on the base for me going into the service at all instead of becoming a scientist.� Jack smiled apologetically.

He reached out and took the cell phone before McGee was able to hand it to his colleague.

“Dad? No, no, you don’t have to come down and sort it out.� Whatever was said on the other end made Jack pull a face. “No, really, tell him he should calm down. Nothing happened, I am as good as new, just a scratch, the pictures lied. Just small wounds of honor acquired in the quest to rescue a very formidable young Lady.�

He winked at Sam and she beamed back at him.

Her two Dads were standing near each other and shaking their heads at the younger man’s antics.

Then Jack concentrated on his call again. “You had my name flagged? Should have known, but I didn’t need the rescue, had some help here to sort it out. But it is nice that I’m able to speak to you on Christmas eve.� Another pause, Jack’s eyes glowed warmly and the smile on his lips was tender while he listened to what was said to him. “Love you too, kiss Pops for me. We have to stop; Uncle Sam will not like this telephone bill. I will not be alone, don’t worry I’ve been invited to spend Christmas with the family of the formidable lady who got me un-arrested, everything will be all right. Take care.�

Jack closed the phone and handed it back. Then he placed one more signature on the files on the desk and then slouched against it, smiling beatifically at his hosts, their daughter and everyone else in the room. “I'm ready, and you?�

Sam smiled, oh she was ready alright. It was turning out to be a great Christmas Eve after all.

The End.

The Past.

Something wet and cold impacted with Colonel John Sheppard’s neck. The man on the bed rolled around and sat up, his military training helping him to quickly asses the situation. Wet and cold was only preferable when you were hot or feverish. He hadn't been either. John had in fact been blissfully asleep. After a long and tedious diplomatic mission it had been the sleep of the nearly terminally bored and exhausted.

As the military commander of the Ancient City of Atlantis he was used to having his rest disturbed but usually it was by means of his comm-link or someone banging on his door, not by- Sheppard grabbed the offending thing and held it up- wet washcloth. Annoying but harmless as long as it wasn’t dipped in something, well, ancient. If this was McKay’s way of getting back at him for dumping him in that mud pit…. But the snarky scientist wouldn’t throw washcloths, much too plebeian. Sheppard looked around.

He was alone in the room and it looked like it normally did. Except for the door on the far wall which hadn’t been there yesterday. The door that was half open and spilling light out into his room. Not creepy, mysterious light, thankfully, normal daylight, but still. A door where there shouldn’t be one was bad news. Sheppard grabbed the gun he had stored under his bed and reached for his comm-link to call for back-up. Invaders normally tended to throw far more dangerous stuff at him, not washcloths. No, he didn’t smell, he was a very hygiene conscious little soldier boy, thank you very much.

Sheppard’s hand rose to his ear but stopped mid way because the invader chose this moment to stick his …messy dark haired head into the room to glare at him.

“Dad! Are you awake yet? Where's my stuff?�

Sheppard asked the first thing that came to his mind. “Why did you throw a washcloth at me?� he stuttered and his eyes roved over the lanky figure that emerged fully from the room that shouldn’t be there. The boy, and it was a boy, was very thin and on the cusp to teenager-hood, judging by the too long arms and legs and the onset of pimples on the boy’s face. He was naked but for a towel slung around his bony hips. There was something disturbingly familiar about the bright blue eyes and the way he glared at John. And what had the boy called him? He must have misunderstood.

“Why did I-“ The boy rolled his eyes exasperatedly. “And I thought you were trained to wake up ready for action at the drop of a pin. Haha. Honestly, dad. You always tell me to wake you up from a distance without startling you so your oh so deadly and wondrous battle skills won’t hurt me.� The next eye-roll was so overdone that it bordered on comical. “And you wonder why I don’t want to be a fly boy.�

There it was again, the word. Dad. The tingly feeling in the Colonel’s stomach developed into a full blown oh-shit ache. He hesitated to finish his motion for the comm-link. Sheppard didn’t want to frighten the boy, if it was indeed a boy and not, say, a shape-shifting alien entity or a hologram or one of the other thousand and one things that could cause something like this in the Pegasus galaxy. And a horde of Marine’s storming the room would be frightening.

“Dad, you're not old enough to have lost your hearing. Where's my stuff? The room is bare! And where is Pop?� The boy strolled across the room, looking around and a deep furrow developed between his brows. “Everything is…�

Sheppard let his hand sink down again but kept the gun ready but out of sight. “What’s your name?�

The youngster had been studying the objects on top if the dresser and now whirled around to face the man on the bed again. “No pics of- and…� His eyes were round and panic filled. “And… my name. You don’t know-? Dad?�

They stared at each other. The Colonel could see the kid â€" his kid? - he refused to think about it, getting more distressed every second that went by. Hell if he knew how to react, it was always Teyla who calmed down fugitives and various shocked natives, not him. Then the boy balled his hands to fists and slouched against the dresser.

“Oh shit. You really don’t know me?�

Sheppard shook his head.

The boy swallowed convulsively. “I’m Jack. Well, Joaquin Sheppard. And this is Atlantis.�

Yes, this was Atlantis. The city of the Ancients where wonders (and horrors) were a daily given and the impossible happened at least once a month.

They shared a look.

“Alternative Reality?� Jack offered. “You've had encounters with those, yes? You’ll be able to send me back home?� His blue eyes were pleading and desperate.

John sighed and tried to prepare himself mentally for another crazy day. “Yeah. Alternative Reality is always a good guess.� He activated his comm-link. McKay would love this, no doubt.

.-#-.

“So, what have you found out about our visitor.� Woolsey asked his Chief Medical Officer while he nervously looked at the monitor. Sheppard as the Military Commander of the base and McKay as the Head of Science had already reported all they had been able to determine, as little as it had been. The monitor showed a small room and its sole occupant who was sitting on the bed and staring at the door. It had been two days since he appeared: The medical staff as well as the science department had done their best to determine what their visitor was and where he had come from while the military had combed the city for other displaced persons.

Dr. Rodney McKay didn't know why he had been asked to stay to stare at the boy after giving his report. He wasn’t a medical Doctor, nor was he a Psychologist. If Jennifer Keller wanted him to analyze something, sending a flunky with a Petri dish would do nicely. There were more important things for him to research, like checking for an inter-dimensional portal or residues of it and if the appearance of this miniature Sheppard had damaged something in his city. Trust a Sheppard to play havoc with his precious time.

Dr Keller handed over a data-stick. “He reads as human, with a strong expression of the ATA gene. The boy is healthy. And yes, he is John Sheppard’s son genetically.�

“Are we finished here? There are some experiments I have to oversee.� McKay grumbled and inched in direction of the door. “So, another universe's version of our resident Kirk managed to get a girl preggers, no surprise there. They had another time continuum, farther along than us and somehow he's here now. Let’s find a way to send him back. We won't accomplish anything by staring at him. I can't believe that someone allowed a teenager on Atlantis! On any version of Atlantis. My counterpart has to be an idiot.� Rodney didn’t want to think too much about why the living proof of Sheppard’s love life disturbed him.

Sheppard didn’t react to Rodney’s jibes, his eyes never left the monitor. Jen, on the other hand, glared at him.

“Rodney, I wasn’t finished! I said he reads as human but his story isn’t supported by medical facts.� Her fingers tapped the tablet computer she was holding.

Medical facts? As much as he liked the blonde doctor, she was still a practitioner of voodoo. Medicine was not a real science, and Rodney would take anything he himself hadn’t tested with a grain of salt. Not that he would tell that to Jen. He had learned the hard way that his completely valid opinions would get him in the dog house, literally, if he voiced them out loud. Why couldn't his girlfriend be an astrophysicist? Or an engineer. Or mathematician. And why did Jen seem to be avoiding his eyes this meeting?

“So he lied? Should we put him in restraints or the brig?� Woolsey, the always safety conscious administrator, was looking at the boy as if he would sprout poisonous tentacles at any moment.

Jen shook her head. “All I could determine by the readouts of the polygraph is that his brain believes what he tells us. I asked him to tell me obvious lies to get reference material.�

“What kind of discrepancies? That he doesn’t know our command codes? That he's going to sabotage us?� Sheppard finally decided to join in but he still wasn’t turning around and held his position at the monitor.

“No, nothing of sensitive nature. To give you some examples: He told me he caught the measles when he was seven. There are no antibodies in his bloodstream. He told me he broke his arm on the mainland playing with the local children two years ago. His bones show no sign of a break. In fact, his body shows no signs of typical damage or illness any child acquires while growing up. No signs of wear on his teeth either.� Jen was visibly hyped up about this, her eyes were glowing and her hands couldn’t keep still. “And it isn’t like the readings we have of Chaya. The ancient was the perfect image of an ideal human body! Joaquin Sheppard, or whoever he is, has small faults. For example his wrist bones are undersized which would lead to a higher risk of carnal tunnel syndrome.�

Sheppard silently held up his left hand with the ever present wrist band.

“Ah, yes. Exactly.� Keller waved dismissively, that didn’t seem to be important to her. She turned to Woolsey. “Sir, I want to ask for permission to perform more tests. I want to compare data. We can't be sure that whatever he remembers, about his origin or his past, really happened or if it was planted. It seems as if his brain developed independently to what happened to his body while still forming all necessary connections to function. This is an exceptional scientific opportunity.�

Now Sheppard turned around and eyed her with a peculiar expression on his face. “I thought you performed every medical test available to determine what Jack is and his condition?�

Keller’s round little chin came up defiantly. “Yes, I did Colonel. I can only conclude that he himself is no danger to us, but that he isn’t of natural origin and was, for lack of a better word, "programmed" to present a certain image and history. I want to compare the programmed data with real experiences.�

“Real experiences. Like what?� Sheppard inquired.

Woolsey had taken one step back and was keeping himself out of whatever storm brewed here. The little bald man had developed more of a spine in the last years, he had had to, but he also learned when to not butt in. Rodney fiddled with the sleeve of his shirt. Nobody ever accused him of being socially sensitive but even he knew that something was wrong.

Since they had all returned Atlantis to the Pegasus Galaxy, whenever Keller and Sheppard were in the same room sparks would fly. And not the amorous kind of sparks either. He should be happy that Jen wasn’t reacting to Sheppard’s good looks and charm. Instead she got defensive and Sheppard got even more slouchy whenever they met. Not to mention her pointed comments and disaproving looks whenever Rodney wanted to spend some time with his best friend. Whatever it was that riled the two up now, their newly developed animosity towards each other wouldn’t help the matter any.

“Don’t look at me like that, Colonel! I don’t propose to do anything major or irreversible.�

Sheppard’s voice got a growl like quality. No slouch to be seen at the moment. Rodney had seen him like this before. On missions one moment before the shit hit the fan and another superstitious clan with very sharp spears was trying to sacrifice them for some stupid imagined slight against their gods. “Not irreversible, huh. Let me get this straight, do you want to break the boy’s arm for real and then ask him if it feels the same as he remembers?�

Keller’s cheeks turned red. “You call him a boy, but he is in fact a construct. There is no way he, or it, was naturally formed. But I don’t want to torture him, you make it sound like I want to cut him open to see how he ticks. I would never do something like that, never! Just-“

Rodney gaped at her. Keller hadn’t exactly contradicted Sheppard’s assumption and that was… well. The scientist in him could understand her wish to conduct experiments. One of her specialties was neuro-genetic research. How often did it happen that you got someone like that boy to study. Tabula Rasa, a chance to study how the human brain perceived and warps data versus how it dealt with data not rooted in the physical world. Still….

“Dr. Keller. That does not pertain to the current situation and I have to say that I am opposed to experimenting unnecessarily on a human being, be it naturally grown or not. We have gathered to determine if the boy is a threat to Atlantis, where he comes from and if there is a way to send him back.� Woolsey had pushed his shoulders back. “So he isn’t a biological threat. We haven’t found anything that explains how he got here, the extra door in Colonel Sheppard’s room is a typical feature of Atlantis to combine two suites, according to the database, not something sinister at all. Dr. McKay and his team have found no residue of an inter-dimensional portal or anything like it. So what do you propose we should do with him?�

Rodney could have told him that, even if Keller backed down, Sheppard wouldn’t let this go without any retaliation. And he was right, as always. The colonel had a certain steely glint in his normally friendly eyes. “Do with him? How about treating him like every other visitor we had. Remember Rod? Jack will get a guard, of course, and will be heavily monitored, but as far as we know he has done nothing wrong and shouldn’t be treated like a criminal.�

“Agreed. See to it that he is never alone and restrict his access to sensitive areas. He has shown that he knows a lot about the city.� Woolsey kept nodding and switched on his own tablet computer to make notes.

Sheppard was still staring at Keller. “I don’t want to get too attached to Jack, but, like Dr. Keller told you, I am his biological father so I think it is best if I act in loco parentis until we can send him back home.�

That was surprising, Rodney had never seen him take any interest in children, maybe it really was different when it came to your own kids. Sheppard’s request wasn’t unreasonable and from the nods and busy fingers flying over the touch screen Woolsey was agreeing with Sheppard’s proposal.

“Don’t use the addition to your quarters. It wouldn’t be good for him to get confused or attached too much either. But you are right, as long as Joaquin Sheppard stays here and does not show himself as a danger to the expedition, you are the logical guardian for him.�

“Thank you. That means I can make decisions in his name?�

Woolsey looked up. “Of course.�

“I want it noted that Dr. Keller is not to come near him again. I want Dr. Biro as his physician, with all the restrictions Doctor/ Patient confidentiality entails. Biro will not take orders from her concerning my ….son without consulting with you or me first.� Sheppard stated formally. “Come to think of it, I want my physician switched too. I’m no longer comfortable with her, I think you will understand, sir.�

Jen was very red in the face and her hands were trembling. “Of all the unreasonable-! Sheppard, you are known to react too emotionally. This is ridiculous. I didn’t propose to harm him.� She hastily turned on her heel and her pleading eyes latched onto Rodney. “Dr. Mckay can surely see my point and agrees that it would merit further research.�

He hadn’t been happy about her predecessor’s experiments concerning the Wraith. Carson had been his friend, but he had been wrong to attempt it. Not out of ethical reasons in that case, but for the simple fact that fiddling with an already failed experiment - and that was what the Wraith were, no matter what the Ancients said - was risky. Voodoo wasn’t predictable. A human body wasn’t an equation to solve, unfortunately. He hadn’t been fond of children’s books but one phrase out of Alice in Wonderland came to his mind, about all the kings horses and men and the impossibility of completely repairing damages.

The scientist spared another look at the monitor and the morose teenager, still sitting still on his bed, staring at the door. Too young to give consent, too distressed to act completely logical and desperate to go home. People called McKay an unfeeling bastard but- no. Rodney wouldn’t meet Keller’s eyes. “In this case I agree with Colonel Sheppard and Mr. Woolsey.�

That was clearly not the reaction she had hoped for and her posture became even more agitated. She had firmly believed that he would agree with her. And it wasn’t only the lack of support that had to anger her, Keller had to know that even if nothing that had been said in this meeting would become widely known, the little fact that the military commander of the base didn’t want her as his main physician anymore would create waves. “You're siding with Sheppard? Great. Next thing you'll tell me is that you're moving into the spare rooms connected to the Colonel's."

Rodney gave up his position near the door and stomped across the room to her, his hands on his his hips. “Why would I do something like that, I like my rooms.� Oh yes, she knew that he didn’t want to move anywhere. They'd had a fight about it last week.

The irate medical doctor took a deep breath, refused to give an inch and visibly collected herself. Then she continued, before McKay could start a tirade, her focus pointedly on the still fuming Sheppard. “You didn’t let me finish my report before you claimed the boy. As I said, we can't say if anything he tells us is the truth because he himself does not know the difference. Another thing- “ Now she turned to Rodney, “the second half of his genes? Are YOURS.�

.-#-.

Jack jumped up and stood at attention when Sheppard and McKay entered the room. The boy’s eyes grew round and for one moment a happy smile flittered over his face. He had been alone most of the day. It was gone in a second, replaced by resignation and sadness. John could see that Jack was desperately trying to be brave and not show how much this affected him but the last days had to have been horrible. To be thrown into a situation where everything looked familiar but nobody reacted the expected way and nobody knew who you were must be a special kind of hell.

Sheppard would bet that his own posture and the smile on his face weren’t looking any more natural than the calm one on the teenager’s. “Hi Kiddo. We came to spring you. You are staying in a guest room near my quarters until we find a way to send you home.�

“Really? Cool.� Jack’s shoulder’s relaxed a little bit and he tried another smile, directed at the unusually silent McKay. “Uhm. You ok?�

“Ok? No, I am not Ok!� Rodney exploded.

The boy flinched back.

“McKay!� Sheppard chastised. This was one situation of many where he wished that he could put a muzzle down as necessary equipment in his requisition forms. He hadn’t been happy either about finding out about Jack’s parentage but that wasn’t in any way the boy’s fault. Rodney had been shouting for a good ten minutes after Keller let loose her bomb and still wasn’t all right with Jack being half his. Not that John had dealt with it either, but he would stuff his worries deep down and drag them up for inspection when he was alone and had the time. The thought of having a nearly adult son anywhere was scary, having a son with his best male and scarily smart friend upped the ante.

The boy’s head tilted downwards so they couldn’t see his eyes anymore. “It's OK, I don’t mind. I should have known that the Rodney McKay of this reality would have a temper too.� Jack looked up again. “Yours does love to shout and rant, yeah?�

Sheppard hesitated and then ruffled the spiky dark hair. “Got it in one.�

McKay huffed. The color in his cheek betrayed his embarrassment . “I can see how you two are related. Let’s see if the next generation has done something with the infusion of intelligence my genes should have provided. I wanted to ask you some questions.�

“Shoot.�

“I generally leave the shooting to Sheppard, he enjoys it more.� McKay crossed his arms over his chest and began to stride up and down the small side of the room. “Dr. Keller said that it was your Atlantis that created you, grew you in a pod within months until the age of five and then delivered you to the Colonel and me, yes?�

Sheppard snorted and leaned against the wall beside the door. He might be the one who carried heavy weaponry into the field but McKay’s tongue could be as devastating as any bullet.

Jack sat down again and pulled his knees up to his chest. “Yes, that’s how I remember it. Your Dr. Keller said there is no evidence that what I …what I remember is true. But… I don’t remember anything before the age of five. I was technically not even a year old, as creepy as that sounds. I had to learn to speak and to walk and everything. It was… not a happy time and you-" His voice trailed off for a moment. “Eh. My dads weren’t happy either but they got used to me. And now they love me, they do. I want to go home. I went running three days ago like every morning and when I stepped out of the shower afterward- you know the rest. Have you found a way to send me home?�

Sheppard shook his head. “No, but we're working on it. My counterpart must be out of his mind with worry. McKay’s too.�

McKay of course opted to ignore the pesky emotional part and concentrated on the technical aspects. “Atlantis made you. How? And why. We all know how ancient technology rolls over and purrs whenever the Colonel is near but I doubt that he wished for a kid with me as the co-parent.�

Jack shrugged his shoulders. “We never found out why I was created. Ancients were really weird.�

“Weird puts it mildly.� Sheppard threw in. That was something he would sign off on any day.

It earned him a weak smile. “The Lanteans avoided anything that would bind them to corporal existence. I don’t know about sex,� The boy blushed violently, “but they found a way around pregnancy. There is a natalum in the south-east main tower. That’s the one the city used for me.�

John sighed. Yeah, that sounded like the twisted ancient bastards all right.

McKay was wrinkling his nose. John had no doubt he would be interested in the machinery but wasn’t too fond of how it was used. Too much connection to sociology. “We haven’t found that laboratory here.�

“Is there something else instead? It might be still hidden or in a slightly different location.� Jack tilted his head and his blue eyes blinked earnestly. “You didn’t tell me much about this version of Atlantis, I understand why, but from what I’ve seen our realities are very similar. There are the same people here and the events match too. Your Lanteans sure sound like the self absorbed bastards I know them to be.�

The thought of a hidden laboratory with pods full of children chilled John to the bone. Even after nearly a decade living on her, Atlantis still had too many surprises for them. “Could you show us where it is in your world?�

Jack nodded. “Now?�

“The sooner, the better.� John said grimly. It wasn’t something he wanted to draw out. He activated his comm-link but stopped when he heard a weak chuckle from the boy.

“You’ll call for some big bad marines to make sure I don’t lead you into a trap. Go on, I understand. It's just… I wouldn’t last a minute. Marine’s are badass mother-fuckers.�

There was an unmistakable undertone of admiration in his voice. “Hey! Air Force guys can be badass too. And should you use such words? I feel like I should be searching for some soap to wash out your mouth.�

“You are both impossible.� Rodney made a face as if he tasted something nearly lemony. “Call your grunts, a doc and Woolsey, let’s take a look at something that is hopefully not there. I don’t want to deal with more of you.�

John was tempted to slug the irascible scientist. Jack just stood up again and averted his face, the only movement was his nervously bobbing Adam’s apple. Being snarky was one of McKay’s main defense reactions whenever he felt cornered, but couldn’t he see what his words did to the boy?

They waited in silence for their escort.

A few minutes later they were on their way to the tower, Dr. Biro and six marines accompanying them. Every one of them was eying the boy with a mixture of awe and distrust. More than one disbelieving stare was sent between Jack, McKay and John. At least he couldn’t detect any animosity towards Jack in Biro. Woolsey met them at the corridor that led into the tower. They took another transporter to the upper part of the tower but Jack wasn’t interested in the doors.

“I wasn’t in this part of the city for a long time but there should be a hidden panel. There.� He went to one section of the wall with a look of concentration on his face.

“We explored this part of the city years ago and found only store rooms and labs with medical equipment. There wasn’t any sign of an energy source to be found.� McKay grumbled and his eyes narrowed. “Most of this part of the city is without power. At least there shouldn’t be anything here that will blow him up. Us either, come to think of it.�

At first the boy ignored McKay and the marines who had come nearer to shadow him, he was too intent on the section of the wall he was staring at. Then he decided to comment. “It is nearly impossible to find if you don’t know what you're looking for. The lab in my Atlantis was shielded to prevent hostiles from finding and hurting the defenseless children and it was powered by a separate independent power source. Ah, found it.�

A rectangular section of the wall folded inwards. One of the marines snatched the boy and dragged him away from the opening, the other marines carefully peered into the room to make sure nothing and no one was in there to jump them.

“Clear.�

They stepped into the lab and looked around. No one would touch anything, they had learned the hard way that doing so could have negative consequences. It wasn’t a very big room. To their right there was a work station with monitors. John was devastated to see that some of them were active, that was never a good sign, but what really drew his attention was the wall across from the door. There were four pods, three of them filled with liquid and lighted from within. The covers were milky blue in color and only allowed them to see shadows behind. Moving shadows.

“Oh shit.� Was all John could come up with as a comment.

The fourth pod was open.

It wasn’t hard to guess what had happened here.

A muffled, tortured sound attracted John’s attention. Jack was staring at the empty pod and the puddle of dried goo in front of it. “There is no home I can return to. There’s nothing. No one.� he choked out as he turned around, ready to flee. The boy barreled into John on his way out. The man did his best to restrain the boy without hurting him. A sharp elbow caught John in his ribs and he nearly let go of the wriggling figure. Dr. Biro stepped closer and emptied a hypo needle into Jack’s neck. Whatever she used was fast acting and the boy slumped into the colonel’s arms, unconscious.

“Oh shit.� McKay echoed his earlier statement.

.-#-.

Atlantis was content. The oldest of her heirs had been delivered to his parents. This one was her favorite. Her, for she was female in the tradition of all ships that stemmed from before even the Lanteans existed, sensors followed the little group on their way to the city’s infirmary. She watched as the adults stood around the bed they had put the adolescent in, as they argued and worried. Heard how they agreed to share responsibility for the youth.

All three of them were special. The one who was nearest to the people who had built her and could nearly hear her when she spoke to him, the one who took so good care of her and the one who would make her a home again and would make sure that she would never be lonely again.

It pained her that all three were upset. Atlantis had expected them to be happier about her gift of life and had underestimated their emotional fragility. Lanteans hadn't cared as much about shared memories. She reached out to the rooms where her favorite ones slept and activated the machine necessary to rectify the conflict. Tonight they would dream of their son and know his childhood too. They were hers and they would prevail. With a little help.

The Present

General John Sheppard slowly pushed down the button to disconnect the phone-call and stared through the window that opened into the gate room. Moments passed as he continued to stare, but he wasn't really seeing the hustle and bustle of the people going about their daily activities below. Even the date, Christmas Eve, hadn’t slowed down the activities, it had instead given people a little extra swing in their steps and smiles on their lips but their military commander wasn’t joining them in their holiday feelings. His thoughts were too occupied with the happenings back on earth.

Getting into a fight with other students over the honor of a fair maiden, at least it had sounded that way on the phone, wasn’t something he had expected of his only son. Sure, Jack wouldn’t stand back and let someone get hurt when he could prevent it, but spending the holidays at the damsel’s home with her parents sounded ominous.

John’s teeth gnashed in anger at the getting arrested on Christmas part of the story. At least it sounded like it had been sorted out.

A small noise made him snap out of his contemplations and turn to other occupant of the room. Rodney McKay was sitting bent over his favourite laptop and was typing up a storm, grumbling all the while under his breath. Nearly two decades hadn’t lessened John’s astonishment about how delicate and fast the fairly big and strong fingers could handle buttons and other complicated equipment. Rodney McKay had hands one would expect to see on a carpenter: broad and strong but they were adept at handling miniature screwdrivers like a surgeon would handle his scalpel and they made ancient machinery purr. Well, and they were also very clever when it came to driving his partner insane.

Rodney’s com-unit lay discarded beside his elbow. The irascible scientist had listened to the conversation and John would take bets that he was now researching not only the smallest detail on the incident but everyone who had been involved, especially the girl Jack had rescued. John could make out one of the interfaces for communication with Earth on his partner’s screen.

His husband had, to the surprise of no one on Atlantis, figured out years ago a way to implement a steady four hour connection back to StarGate Command, despite the contemptuous assurances from the scientists on earth that such a feat was impossible to achieve. It wasn’t a real wormhole but a partial folding of subspace (John had tuned out after this part of the explanation) that allowed steady communication but no travel and cost them nearly no energy. The warning about Jack’s name appearing in an earth-side database had come at the beginning of their daily quota of connection time back to Cheyenne Mountain and there was enough time left for a lot of research instead of waiting for tomorrow.

Come to think of it, the seal on the screen looked awfully familiar indeed.

“Rodney? I hope you're not hacking the Pentagon.�

Instead of an answer all he got was a dismissive grunt. John smiled and tried again. “Rodney-"

“Oh, I don’t believe those backward apes!� His husband shoved back his chair and whirled around to face John. Rodney was gesturing wildly. “The idiot who got Jack arrested, Islington junior, is trying to get Jack thrown out of the University, can you believe it? First he gets him arrested because Jack disturbed him raping some chick -and doesn’t that sound like something we heard before, Colonel?- and now his dad sent a smarmy email to the Dean!�

“What?� Being called Colonel was a good indicator that Rodney was fast approaching nuclear meltdown. They had left the "Colonel and his alien-girl-on-every-planet jibes" jibes behind them years ago.

One accusing forefinger stabbed in direction of the offending copy of the e-mail on screen. “Not so subtly threatening to cut the financial help Daddy Islington donates to the University if the Dean doesn't get rid of certain violent, no good â€"less wealthy, pha!- students. Of all the ridiculously stereotypical rich crazy person clichés! Just wait till I can get face to face with them!â€�

“And going to earth has nothing to do with checking out the Peltier girl personally?�

Rodney sniffed and shrugged his broad shoulders dismissively. “Of course I want to check her out personally, don’t tell me you don’t.�

That wasn’t even worth answering. Of course John wanted to. He had no illusions about the virginal state of his son or lack thereof. Jack wasn’t a leper, nor was he shy. But he had never before shown any interest in anyone beyond a roll in the hay, so to speak. Staying with a girl and her family for Christmas raised all kinds of alarm flags.

John smiled at Rodney who was busy slicing and dicing through multiple database firewalls simultaneously. Wasn’t it illegal to hack into e-mail servers? Yep, flags raised, security off and full tank mode operational. “You know, you're kinda hot in Mama bear mode. All prepared to take on devouring female monsters and evil overlords to defend your one cub.�

“Hot? Mama bear?� Rodney blinked, for a moment distracted from his quest. “Yeah and who would have thought that I'd even have such a mode.�

John came near and pressed a kiss to his partner’s cheek. “People who know the big heart you hide under all that bluster always suspected.�

Rodney glared at him and ignored the comment about his chewy center. “What are you still doing here? Contact O’Neill."

“He won’t let us use the Gate for travel just because one Marine on educational leave managed to piss off some muckity-muck. Even if it concerns our super secret fully grown son.� John cautioned. It wasn’t that he didn’t agree with Rodney. Despite said son being an adult and a Marine fully capable of defending himself, every instinct he had called for him to intervene and make sure that his boy was all right. But he had to play devil’s advocate and reign in his high strung spouse before he worked himself up in to a tizzy and began World War III by pissing off every politician he could get his hands on within an hour. And despite his continued, and often lamented, lack of a Nobel Prize, Dr. Rodney Meredith McKay could get his hands on a LOT of politicians within an hour.

“Oh, he won’t protest too much and not because of his godson, that will be secondary. Just tell him that we're bringing the prototype for the new generator with us. The one they were salivating about.� One corner of Rodney’s mouth was turned up smugly. “Tell him I, ah, just finished with it this morning ahead of schedule.

John couldn’t help himself, his mirth at his devious partner developed into a braying full belly laugh. The indignant stare he earned for it didn’t help matters any and it took a good minute before he could speak again. “Gods, Rodney, you never planned for us to spend Christmas apart from our son, did you?�

Rodney’s chin rose defiantly and he crossed his arms defensively over his chest. “Hmpf. 'Planned' is too definite a word for it. It should have taken even a genius of my calibre longer to figure out the circuit problem and how to blend the ancient-tech we found at PX-285.N… eeh…“

A heated kiss stopped the rant in its infancy and minutes went by with the two of them lip-locked. Finally John drew back. They would have time for more of this later. “Don't care how you managed it, I'm not complaining."

“Contact your superiors, I'm going to pack our stuff. And the prototype. I can finish this search later. We’ll be ready to depart within the hour. It should take me about two weeks to explain the details and intricacies to the minions on earth so they don’t blow up our mother-planet with it.� Rodney smirked. “After the holidays, of course.�

John readied his com-unit. “I think I'll be able to find enough mission reports to discuss with O’Neill while you torture the scientists.�

“That’s what you call it these days? Honestly, you and Jack jabber like old-“ Rodney didn’t even turn around and John had to concentrate to make out his retort before the door slid shut and cut him off completely.

“Chuck? Please connect me with StarGate Command, I have some news for them.� He doubted that General O’Neill would be too surprised to hear from them. He was most likely anticipating a call.

.-#-.

“You could have us transported directly in front of the house. Instead I’ll catch a cold just because your government is too cheap to invest in bigger cars with better heating.� Rodney McKay huddled deeper into his coat and pulled the scarf more firmly over his chin. All three of them were in civilian clothes since they were on, technically, a civilian errand. It was a minor miracle that John and Rodney still possessed civilian outdoorsy winter clothes, they hadn’t needed them for years. Another scorching glare was directed at their driver.

Jack O’Neill had insisted on playing chauffeur and the crooked grin on the General’s face whenever he talked about their current dilemma indicated that there was more to his presence than wanting to wish his godson a Merry Christmas.

“Would you stop complaining already? McKay, you are a Canadian, like you always tell us. Shouldn’t you be used to the cold?� O’Neill navigated around another corner and consulted his GPS system. Afterward he met Rodney’s glare in the rear window with another one of his infuriating smirks. “We don’t want to draw too much attention and this is a very nice car, I’ll have you know.�

“Attention?!? We are followed by not one, but two cars full of Marines! How is that low profile?�

“Discreetly followed, McKay, discreetly. And the Apollo is in orbit keeping an eye on us too.� Jack’s grin intensified and he took one of his hands off the wheel. “Count: One two star, one three star general, one super snarky genius. All of them working on a super secret project. If it wasn’t for some stupid meeting with the President we would have added a hyper space-monkey to the collection.�

The car traversed an icy patch on the road and swerved a little bit.

“Eyes on the road and both hands on the wheel, Jack!� Rodney squawked.

John, the traitor, was sprawled over his side of the backseat and made no attempt to interfere in the ongoing battle about how much heat (or security) was needed. He had muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "Are we there yet?" three streets ago but kept silent otherwise.

“Why are you here anyways, don’t you have other things to do?� Rodney groused ill-temperedly and intensified his glare at O’Neill's profile.

“I’ll just deliver you safely, take a look at the evil temptress that lured our boy into her cave, make sure that my godson isn’t in mortal peril and then leave you to your mission. Don’t worry, they won’t get a full load of the in-laws yet.�

Evil temptress? In-laws?!? Did O’Neill have to made it sound so serious, not to mention sordid? They were just using the windfall of the generator delivery to make sure Joaquin was ok after his little adventure and to spend Christmas with their son. On paper this… Sempera sounded harmless. Who was stupid enough to saddle the poor girl with such a name?!? Adequate IQ, semi-scientific choice of major, government parents in a committed long term relationship, secure finances, healthy and deaf. Adoption papers. No parking tickets, no black marks, not involved in anything suspicious. Some stuff involving a kidnapping when she was a kid but nothing else. And now she could be in trouble because someone didn’t know when to quit. “They helped get Jack out of trouble. The least thing we can do is warn them about Islington’s idiocy.�

The car came to a stop in front of a nice townhouse. It was paid for in full and didn't look too ostentatious even if its occupants' financial resources could have afforded them something bigger. Someone had decorated the front tastefully with blinking lights and there was a tasteful wreath on the door. No silly over-large glowing plastic Rudolphs. There was light shining through one downstairs window so someone should be awake still, even if it was after midnight.

“Casa Gibbs.� Jack commented.

Now it was John’s turn to stare at the older General distrustfully. “What aren’t you telling us? You know these folks?�

O’Neill got rid of his safety belt and opened the door, letting in the cold. “Nah. Never met them. Just heard some stories.�

John got out of the car as well and looked around. “Stories you should have shared with us?�

“Didn’t want to influence you.�

Neither Rodney, nor John swallowed that particular pile of BS. Knowing Jack, it wouldn’t do any good to pry, not that there was any time for it. No matter what the two Generals thought, Rodney didn’t want to turn into an ice-cube. He strode up to the door and pushed the doorbell.