![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Life Sure Ain't Ever Easy... Part 6
Wordcount of the day: 2,635
Wordcount in all: 14,094
You know the drill... WIP, sequel to 'Tales to Tell Your Grandchildren', sap alert *g*
previous parts...
Note I: Lumpy the camel was most graciously lent to the family by Miz Devra and Miz babs, who first introduced us to the fluff-therapy in Goodbye to Dreams
Note II: No Lumpae (Lumpy, pl. -ae) were hurt during the production of this fic
---
Jack turned the corner and entered the infirmary. A cheerful 'Jack!' greeted him as Aislinn deftly outmaneuvered Janet and ran to Jack, who lifted her up with a broad grin. This, being a father, never got old. As Aislinn matched his grin and leaned her forehead against his, he felt the familiar urge to go look for Daniel. The blue eyes twinkling at him were the perfect mirror image of the other man's.
After having spent so much time together, even half a day apart felt... wrong. They were a family and Jack suspected that no matter what the Asgard wanted of him, he couldn't go back to being active on a team and as for Hammond's spot in the sun? Well, it would complicate his and Daniel's life and he *still* needed to talk it through with the younger man. The time where he made the decisions for himself were long gone. The 'I' was a 'we' now. Not that Jack regretted that, never in a million years.
"Where's Daniel?" Asked Aislinn as if she'd read his mind.
Jack cocked his head. "We're meeting him for lunch in a moment, Aislinn." Jack shifted her to the side to support her with his hip while he turned his attention to Janet. "That is, if the Doctor agrees?" He'd already talked to Janet earlier and she'd promised him that if the General okayed it, they could go home... Jack had already sent an airman to his house to make sure that everything was in order, that there was power and such and to bring back his car.
"No problem, Colonel," Janet joined them, giving Aislinn a loving smile. "Aislinn's been sweet all morning and I've gotten all the tests I'll need for today." She answered Jack's unspoken question. "I'll need a few days to check her blood work."
Jack nodded. "So I can ask the General if we can leave the base?" At his words Aislinn lighted up. She clearly missed the open sky as she'd never known anything else. At his words Aislinn lighted up. She clearly missed the open sky as she'd never known anything else.
"If the General okays it, yes, and I'd like to see you, young lady," she turned her attention to Aislinn, "tomorrow morning, same time."
Aislinn nodded gravely. "Yes, Janet."
Jack swallowed his grin. "No problem, thanks Jan."
She shooed them out with a soft smile on her lips and Jack put Aislinn down to let her walk next to her. No need to carry her around. Jack felt a twitch of sadness that she was growing so fast. At least her mind seemed to be keeping up with her physical growth, but they still needed to stop it, to let her evolve at natural pace.
Jack was well aware of the looks they got. At least Aislinn didn't look too much like him, apart from the hair, and there was no trace of that color left on Jack's head anymore. Her soft features were definitely after Daniel's and so were the full lips. It would have been hell to explain if she'd taken after the both of them. As it was, the most she had from Jack was his attitude, and that at least could be explained.
A short elevator trip later and Jack and Aislinn entered the commissary. Jack dutifully greeted those who recognized him. Even with so many people still with them after all these years, the past six months seemed to have meant a lot of new recruits, a lot of new faces.
Aislinn tugged at his sleeve and slipped her hand into Jack's. As much as she took this new adventure in a stride, the sheer number of people in the mountain did put a dampener on her normally more active behavior.
Jack was about to ask her what she wanted to have for lunch as he caught sight of Daniel at the other end of the room. He quickly realized that something was wrong from Daniel's rigid body language and the angry look on the face of the man he was talking to. The guy, who looked to be somewhere in his late twenties or early thirties looked as if he was seriously considering hitting Daniel.
Behind him were three other men Jack didn't recognize but their threatening posture made all his internal alarms go off. Aislinn seemed to pick up on Jack's tension as she squeezed his hand. Giving her a reassuring smile, he picked her up and made his way towards the little group. Thankfully the commissary was fairly empty at this point.
Before Jack reached them the little meeting was interrupted by two faces that were more than familiar to Jack. At least one was. The other man's name eluded Jack for the time being. Slowing down, Jack decided to let Ferretti and his companion take the first shot at calming things. Jack was, he knew, more than just a little biased. Better let the more level headed men take the blunt of the blow.
Major Smith, as Jack suddenly recalled the man's name, spoke up. For a man his height, he was fairly small for a Marine, but he had enough presence to make up for it. "What exactly is your problem, Captain?"
The leader of the new batch of SGC members answered in a voice tinted with annoyance. "Civilians... sir!"
"And this particular civilian?" Ferretti gestured towards Daniel and a smaller man that Jack hadn't noticed before. He couldn't remember the man's name, but he was fairly sure it was one of the men who'd used to work with Daniel.
The Captain gave Daniel a scorching glare that only made the man roll his eyes and return it tenfold. "He reprimanded me... in public, sir."
Daniel shook his head. "You and your cohorts were harassing a *civilian* consult."
"That gives you *no* right to do that," sneered the Captain.
Ferretti snorted. "That gives him *every* right to do so, Captain."
"Sir, this snot-nosed geek..."
"That's Dr. Jackson to you, Captain," Smith corrected calmly. "Theoretically he outranks you in so many ways I'd cry if I were you."
"Besides," continued Ferretti in a cheerful voice. "You'll have to go through half the SGC to get even *near* him."
Smith, half turned caught Jack's eyes and a small smile curved his lips. "Sad thing, though, we won't get our hands on you once the Colonel's finished with you. I doubt there'll be enough left to identify."
"What Colonel?" snorted the Captain, but he was beginning to look slightly uneasy and his support was beating a hasty retreat.
"This Colonel," purred Jack, who was now standing almost behind the Captain. He suppressed the urge to laugh as Ferretti and Smith gave him a text book salute complete with an almost deafening bark of "Sir, Colonel O'Neill, *sir*."
"At ease gentlemen." Jack eyed the Captain who was now facing him, looking like he could think of several places he'd rather be. "Don't you have something important to do, Captain?"
The man almost bolted from the room, barely remembering to salute Jack before disappearing.
Aislinn's arm tightened around his shoulder and he remembered he had other obligations. Giving her a sideways glance he realized that the little display had interested her, but as most children she was quickly looking around for other things to fill her time with. A look at Ferretti and Jack knew exactly what to do. "Aislinn?"
Her head turned back to him, blue eyes giving him full attention. "Yes?"
"This is Lou," he pointed at Ferretti. "Lou, this is Aislinn." Jack waited until the two had shaken hands. Jack smiled internally. The look on Ferretti's face already told him that the other man was toast and that Aislinn would wrap him around her little finger in no time. "Lou needs to eat, honey, how about you and him to find him some chow?"
Aislinn grinned and slid down to the floor. "Yes sir," she prompted as she grabbed Lou's hand instead and with him in tow set out towards the food line.
Jack exchanged a warm look with Daniel, who was still talking to the other civilian. He turned his attention to Smith. "Sit, Major." He pointed at one of the chairs. "Thank you, Smith." Jack gave him a warm smile. He didn't recall much more than the other man's name and that he'd been fairly impressed by the man's file.
"No problem, sir." Taking a deep breath Smith continued. "We've had a few... incidents lately, but no one's reported anything, any names." The man shrugged.
Daniel dumped into the chair next to Jack. "Is there nothing you can do?"
"We do what we can, Doctor Jackson, but it's hard to catch them in the act."
"I'll have a word with the civilian staff. See what we can do solve the problem." Daniel shook his head. "Being afraid to speak up won't do anyone any good." He paused for a moment, giving Smith an assessing look. "And it's Daniel, Major."
"John, Doc... eh, Daniel." Smith shook his hand with a wide grin as he stood. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a few reports to write up."
As Jack nodded his goodbye, he wondered for a split second if he should be jealous... snorting internally he told himself to knock it off. Just because he wanted Daniel's ass, didn't mean that the rest of the SGC did as well.
Jack felt the brush of Daniel's knee against his own under the table. A soft smile was playing on the younger man's lips. Shaking his head an suppressing a goofy smile, Jack turned to watch Ferretti and Aislinn make their way towards their table. As the man and the little girl exchanged strange stories, Jack couldn't help grinning at the tray Lou had set down in front of the little girl. Several different kinds of sandwiches and a large glass of green Jell-o.
A moment later the entire table seemed crowded, but in a good way, as SG-1 joined them. Carter grinned as she dragged a young man along and told him in no small words to sit. A quick introduction later and Daniel was in deep conversation with him. So that was Quinn? Jack shrugged internally. If Carter and Teal'c had adopted the kid, Jack wouldn't say anything against it. He'd trust their judgment. The guy seemed to be a little nervous around Jack, though, and Jack made a mental note to have a little word with Carter. Who knew what kind of lies she'd told the poor kid about the grumpy old Colonel?
Ten seconds later Jack decided that the new kid was a geek. Not that Jack minded terribly. Daniel had more or less changed his idea of a book worm, not that he'd ever tell the man *that*. Leaning back Jack watched his makeshift family interact with his true family and realized that blood was no barrier when it came to this. For now he'd just sit back and enjoy the show.
---
Touring the house with Aislinn, Jack let Daniel take the keys to go shop. There was nothing anywhere in Jack's cupboards that even remotely could be mistaken for edible.
"Jack?" the sleepy voice drew him out of his contemplations.
"Yes, hon?" Jack turned to find his daughter rubbing her eyes sleepily.
"Can sleep in the small room?"
Jack had already shown her the guest room they'd have to make into a room for her. I wasn't exactly bare, but it had nothing that said 'child's room' about it. "Are you sure you don't want to stay with Daniel and me for the first night?"
She shook her head. "No, I'm a big girl."
Jack hid a smile. "That you are." He gestured towards the couch. "You wanna go to sleep now, or stay with me here for a while?"
Aislinn gave it some thought. "I'll stay with you for a little while."
Sitting down and turning on the TV, Jack spent the next half hour explaining what they were watching until Aislinn's answers became more and more sporadic until her breathing evened out and she was a sleep, curled up against Jack's side. Leaning back he turned the volume down on the TV and closed his eyes.
The next time he opened them, Daniel was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, looking at the two of them with a light smile. 'Cute' he mouthed.
Jack mock-glared at him but couldn't help the chuckle escaping him. Sleepy blue eyes looked up at him as Aislinn stirred. "Can I have some water?"
"Sure," Daniel said and held his hand out to her. The two of them disappeared out into the kitchen, Jack following them slowly, enjoying the almost domestic feel of it all.
The counter in the middle of the kitchen was littered with brown paper bags and colorful plastic ones. Jack began stowing the food away as he kept an eye on Daniel and their daughter. Aislinn quickly downed her water and watched with curiosity as the two men emptied bag after bag.
Jack's hands closed around one of the plastic bags and he managed to hang onto it even as Daniel moved to take it from him, red tinting his cheeks. Jack dug into it and was surprised as his fingers hit something soft and furry.
"Daniel?" he asked as he pulled the stuffed toy out of the bag.
"Um, it looked lonely?" Daniel gave him a sheepish smile.
Aislinn crawled up onto one of the chairs to get a better look. "What's that?" she asked.
Jack looked at the toy. "I think it's a camel, Aislinn."
The blue eyes lighted up. "A camel?" Jack grinned as he knew Aislinn had continuously nagged Daniel for stories about especially Egypt. She accepted the toy with great care. "Can he sleep with me tonight?"
Daniel raised an eyebrow. "Sure he can..."
"Aislinn has decided she wants to sleep in her room tonight... she's a big girl."
Daniel grinned. "Too big to let me tug you in?"
"Puh," Aislinn scrunched up her nose. "I'll never get too big for *that*." She gave Daniel her typical 'don't be silly' look.
Shrugged Daniel followed her, trying not to laugh. Jack shook his head as he finished up and turned the lights off in the kitchen.
Later, as he was laying in bed, listening to the sounds of Daniel getting ready to come to bed, Jack thought of how odd it was to be home, to have Daniel there with him... to have their daughter there. He wasn't dumb enough to think they wouldn't have to fight to keep it, but Jack decided he'd give it a chance, that he'd let go and depend on his family and friends.
"So, come up with the meaning of life yet?" Daniel's voice was low and warm as he closed the bed room door behind him and slipped into bed and into Jack's arms.
Turning off the bedside lamp and snuggling up with the other man, Jack chuckled. "The meaning of life? That's easy... you, Aislinn and me under the same roof..." Finding Daniel's lips in the dark, Jack took his time to kiss Daniel goodnight. Well, he had to work a little harder to find Daniel's taste under the minty freshness of the toothpaste, but it was well worth the 'hardship'. "And 42 of course," mumbled Jack, snickering as Daniel slapped his ass lightly. Checking for damage, Daniel's hand smoothed the offended area, squeezing a little on the way.
"Goodnight old man," mumbled Daniel as he was almost asleep already.
Jack decided to follow his cue and mumbled as he drifted off. "Goodnight, my little explorer." He grinned in his sleep as Daniel pinched his ass a little harder.
---
TBC
Wordcount in all: 14,094
You know the drill... WIP, sequel to 'Tales to Tell Your Grandchildren', sap alert *g*
previous parts...
Note I: Lumpy the camel was most graciously lent to the family by Miz Devra and Miz babs, who first introduced us to the fluff-therapy in Goodbye to Dreams
Note II: No Lumpae (Lumpy, pl. -ae) were hurt during the production of this fic
---
Jack turned the corner and entered the infirmary. A cheerful 'Jack!' greeted him as Aislinn deftly outmaneuvered Janet and ran to Jack, who lifted her up with a broad grin. This, being a father, never got old. As Aislinn matched his grin and leaned her forehead against his, he felt the familiar urge to go look for Daniel. The blue eyes twinkling at him were the perfect mirror image of the other man's.
After having spent so much time together, even half a day apart felt... wrong. They were a family and Jack suspected that no matter what the Asgard wanted of him, he couldn't go back to being active on a team and as for Hammond's spot in the sun? Well, it would complicate his and Daniel's life and he *still* needed to talk it through with the younger man. The time where he made the decisions for himself were long gone. The 'I' was a 'we' now. Not that Jack regretted that, never in a million years.
"Where's Daniel?" Asked Aislinn as if she'd read his mind.
Jack cocked his head. "We're meeting him for lunch in a moment, Aislinn." Jack shifted her to the side to support her with his hip while he turned his attention to Janet. "That is, if the Doctor agrees?" He'd already talked to Janet earlier and she'd promised him that if the General okayed it, they could go home... Jack had already sent an airman to his house to make sure that everything was in order, that there was power and such and to bring back his car.
"No problem, Colonel," Janet joined them, giving Aislinn a loving smile. "Aislinn's been sweet all morning and I've gotten all the tests I'll need for today." She answered Jack's unspoken question. "I'll need a few days to check her blood work."
Jack nodded. "So I can ask the General if we can leave the base?" At his words Aislinn lighted up. She clearly missed the open sky as she'd never known anything else. At his words Aislinn lighted up. She clearly missed the open sky as she'd never known anything else.
"If the General okays it, yes, and I'd like to see you, young lady," she turned her attention to Aislinn, "tomorrow morning, same time."
Aislinn nodded gravely. "Yes, Janet."
Jack swallowed his grin. "No problem, thanks Jan."
She shooed them out with a soft smile on her lips and Jack put Aislinn down to let her walk next to her. No need to carry her around. Jack felt a twitch of sadness that she was growing so fast. At least her mind seemed to be keeping up with her physical growth, but they still needed to stop it, to let her evolve at natural pace.
Jack was well aware of the looks they got. At least Aislinn didn't look too much like him, apart from the hair, and there was no trace of that color left on Jack's head anymore. Her soft features were definitely after Daniel's and so were the full lips. It would have been hell to explain if she'd taken after the both of them. As it was, the most she had from Jack was his attitude, and that at least could be explained.
A short elevator trip later and Jack and Aislinn entered the commissary. Jack dutifully greeted those who recognized him. Even with so many people still with them after all these years, the past six months seemed to have meant a lot of new recruits, a lot of new faces.
Aislinn tugged at his sleeve and slipped her hand into Jack's. As much as she took this new adventure in a stride, the sheer number of people in the mountain did put a dampener on her normally more active behavior.
Jack was about to ask her what she wanted to have for lunch as he caught sight of Daniel at the other end of the room. He quickly realized that something was wrong from Daniel's rigid body language and the angry look on the face of the man he was talking to. The guy, who looked to be somewhere in his late twenties or early thirties looked as if he was seriously considering hitting Daniel.
Behind him were three other men Jack didn't recognize but their threatening posture made all his internal alarms go off. Aislinn seemed to pick up on Jack's tension as she squeezed his hand. Giving her a reassuring smile, he picked her up and made his way towards the little group. Thankfully the commissary was fairly empty at this point.
Before Jack reached them the little meeting was interrupted by two faces that were more than familiar to Jack. At least one was. The other man's name eluded Jack for the time being. Slowing down, Jack decided to let Ferretti and his companion take the first shot at calming things. Jack was, he knew, more than just a little biased. Better let the more level headed men take the blunt of the blow.
Major Smith, as Jack suddenly recalled the man's name, spoke up. For a man his height, he was fairly small for a Marine, but he had enough presence to make up for it. "What exactly is your problem, Captain?"
The leader of the new batch of SGC members answered in a voice tinted with annoyance. "Civilians... sir!"
"And this particular civilian?" Ferretti gestured towards Daniel and a smaller man that Jack hadn't noticed before. He couldn't remember the man's name, but he was fairly sure it was one of the men who'd used to work with Daniel.
The Captain gave Daniel a scorching glare that only made the man roll his eyes and return it tenfold. "He reprimanded me... in public, sir."
Daniel shook his head. "You and your cohorts were harassing a *civilian* consult."
"That gives you *no* right to do that," sneered the Captain.
Ferretti snorted. "That gives him *every* right to do so, Captain."
"Sir, this snot-nosed geek..."
"That's Dr. Jackson to you, Captain," Smith corrected calmly. "Theoretically he outranks you in so many ways I'd cry if I were you."
"Besides," continued Ferretti in a cheerful voice. "You'll have to go through half the SGC to get even *near* him."
Smith, half turned caught Jack's eyes and a small smile curved his lips. "Sad thing, though, we won't get our hands on you once the Colonel's finished with you. I doubt there'll be enough left to identify."
"What Colonel?" snorted the Captain, but he was beginning to look slightly uneasy and his support was beating a hasty retreat.
"This Colonel," purred Jack, who was now standing almost behind the Captain. He suppressed the urge to laugh as Ferretti and Smith gave him a text book salute complete with an almost deafening bark of "Sir, Colonel O'Neill, *sir*."
"At ease gentlemen." Jack eyed the Captain who was now facing him, looking like he could think of several places he'd rather be. "Don't you have something important to do, Captain?"
The man almost bolted from the room, barely remembering to salute Jack before disappearing.
Aislinn's arm tightened around his shoulder and he remembered he had other obligations. Giving her a sideways glance he realized that the little display had interested her, but as most children she was quickly looking around for other things to fill her time with. A look at Ferretti and Jack knew exactly what to do. "Aislinn?"
Her head turned back to him, blue eyes giving him full attention. "Yes?"
"This is Lou," he pointed at Ferretti. "Lou, this is Aislinn." Jack waited until the two had shaken hands. Jack smiled internally. The look on Ferretti's face already told him that the other man was toast and that Aislinn would wrap him around her little finger in no time. "Lou needs to eat, honey, how about you and him to find him some chow?"
Aislinn grinned and slid down to the floor. "Yes sir," she prompted as she grabbed Lou's hand instead and with him in tow set out towards the food line.
Jack exchanged a warm look with Daniel, who was still talking to the other civilian. He turned his attention to Smith. "Sit, Major." He pointed at one of the chairs. "Thank you, Smith." Jack gave him a warm smile. He didn't recall much more than the other man's name and that he'd been fairly impressed by the man's file.
"No problem, sir." Taking a deep breath Smith continued. "We've had a few... incidents lately, but no one's reported anything, any names." The man shrugged.
Daniel dumped into the chair next to Jack. "Is there nothing you can do?"
"We do what we can, Doctor Jackson, but it's hard to catch them in the act."
"I'll have a word with the civilian staff. See what we can do solve the problem." Daniel shook his head. "Being afraid to speak up won't do anyone any good." He paused for a moment, giving Smith an assessing look. "And it's Daniel, Major."
"John, Doc... eh, Daniel." Smith shook his hand with a wide grin as he stood. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a few reports to write up."
As Jack nodded his goodbye, he wondered for a split second if he should be jealous... snorting internally he told himself to knock it off. Just because he wanted Daniel's ass, didn't mean that the rest of the SGC did as well.
Jack felt the brush of Daniel's knee against his own under the table. A soft smile was playing on the younger man's lips. Shaking his head an suppressing a goofy smile, Jack turned to watch Ferretti and Aislinn make their way towards their table. As the man and the little girl exchanged strange stories, Jack couldn't help grinning at the tray Lou had set down in front of the little girl. Several different kinds of sandwiches and a large glass of green Jell-o.
A moment later the entire table seemed crowded, but in a good way, as SG-1 joined them. Carter grinned as she dragged a young man along and told him in no small words to sit. A quick introduction later and Daniel was in deep conversation with him. So that was Quinn? Jack shrugged internally. If Carter and Teal'c had adopted the kid, Jack wouldn't say anything against it. He'd trust their judgment. The guy seemed to be a little nervous around Jack, though, and Jack made a mental note to have a little word with Carter. Who knew what kind of lies she'd told the poor kid about the grumpy old Colonel?
Ten seconds later Jack decided that the new kid was a geek. Not that Jack minded terribly. Daniel had more or less changed his idea of a book worm, not that he'd ever tell the man *that*. Leaning back Jack watched his makeshift family interact with his true family and realized that blood was no barrier when it came to this. For now he'd just sit back and enjoy the show.
---
Touring the house with Aislinn, Jack let Daniel take the keys to go shop. There was nothing anywhere in Jack's cupboards that even remotely could be mistaken for edible.
"Jack?" the sleepy voice drew him out of his contemplations.
"Yes, hon?" Jack turned to find his daughter rubbing her eyes sleepily.
"Can sleep in the small room?"
Jack had already shown her the guest room they'd have to make into a room for her. I wasn't exactly bare, but it had nothing that said 'child's room' about it. "Are you sure you don't want to stay with Daniel and me for the first night?"
She shook her head. "No, I'm a big girl."
Jack hid a smile. "That you are." He gestured towards the couch. "You wanna go to sleep now, or stay with me here for a while?"
Aislinn gave it some thought. "I'll stay with you for a little while."
Sitting down and turning on the TV, Jack spent the next half hour explaining what they were watching until Aislinn's answers became more and more sporadic until her breathing evened out and she was a sleep, curled up against Jack's side. Leaning back he turned the volume down on the TV and closed his eyes.
The next time he opened them, Daniel was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, looking at the two of them with a light smile. 'Cute' he mouthed.
Jack mock-glared at him but couldn't help the chuckle escaping him. Sleepy blue eyes looked up at him as Aislinn stirred. "Can I have some water?"
"Sure," Daniel said and held his hand out to her. The two of them disappeared out into the kitchen, Jack following them slowly, enjoying the almost domestic feel of it all.
The counter in the middle of the kitchen was littered with brown paper bags and colorful plastic ones. Jack began stowing the food away as he kept an eye on Daniel and their daughter. Aislinn quickly downed her water and watched with curiosity as the two men emptied bag after bag.
Jack's hands closed around one of the plastic bags and he managed to hang onto it even as Daniel moved to take it from him, red tinting his cheeks. Jack dug into it and was surprised as his fingers hit something soft and furry.
"Daniel?" he asked as he pulled the stuffed toy out of the bag.
"Um, it looked lonely?" Daniel gave him a sheepish smile.
Aislinn crawled up onto one of the chairs to get a better look. "What's that?" she asked.
Jack looked at the toy. "I think it's a camel, Aislinn."
The blue eyes lighted up. "A camel?" Jack grinned as he knew Aislinn had continuously nagged Daniel for stories about especially Egypt. She accepted the toy with great care. "Can he sleep with me tonight?"
Daniel raised an eyebrow. "Sure he can..."
"Aislinn has decided she wants to sleep in her room tonight... she's a big girl."
Daniel grinned. "Too big to let me tug you in?"
"Puh," Aislinn scrunched up her nose. "I'll never get too big for *that*." She gave Daniel her typical 'don't be silly' look.
Shrugged Daniel followed her, trying not to laugh. Jack shook his head as he finished up and turned the lights off in the kitchen.
Later, as he was laying in bed, listening to the sounds of Daniel getting ready to come to bed, Jack thought of how odd it was to be home, to have Daniel there with him... to have their daughter there. He wasn't dumb enough to think they wouldn't have to fight to keep it, but Jack decided he'd give it a chance, that he'd let go and depend on his family and friends.
"So, come up with the meaning of life yet?" Daniel's voice was low and warm as he closed the bed room door behind him and slipped into bed and into Jack's arms.
Turning off the bedside lamp and snuggling up with the other man, Jack chuckled. "The meaning of life? That's easy... you, Aislinn and me under the same roof..." Finding Daniel's lips in the dark, Jack took his time to kiss Daniel goodnight. Well, he had to work a little harder to find Daniel's taste under the minty freshness of the toothpaste, but it was well worth the 'hardship'. "And 42 of course," mumbled Jack, snickering as Daniel slapped his ass lightly. Checking for damage, Daniel's hand smoothed the offended area, squeezing a little on the way.
"Goodnight old man," mumbled Daniel as he was almost asleep already.
Jack decided to follow his cue and mumbled as he drifted off. "Goodnight, my little explorer." He grinned in his sleep as Daniel pinched his ass a little harder.
---
TBC
no subject
no subject
Thank you -- I'm glad you liked both Douglas and Lumpy *g*