6.
The room looked to be just another room, with an observation window along the top of one wall, however the contents were anything but what you would expect on a top secret military base! There were 8… he counted again… EIGHT cots!
He looked at Sam puzzled "Family?" he asked.
"Yeah, it's sort of hard to explain" she said and Mark snorted, after what she had just asked him to believe THIS was hard to explain?
"We have several alien allies, or if not allies, friends, anyway one race we had not met until recently decided that we…" she pointed at Jack and then herself… "would make children that could solve a problem they are having, so they kidnapped us both and the next thing we knew we had eight children!"
Mark walked over and looked at Bosworth who was feeding a child, and getting covered in something that looked like puréed carrots. "why didn't you say something earlier?" he asked
"Earlier? You didn't have clearance" she said as if that explained everything "I told you you would have to wait to know"
"NO! I mean earlier! These kids are almost… what 10, 11 months old by the looks? Given that and your pregnancy…" he paused his eyes widening "You sure they are HIS?" he pointed at Jack "You were going out with Pete back then!"
"Mark! Listen to what we are saying! There was NO pregnancy, the kids started arriving here 2 weeks before the wedding, they appeared over the course of 3 days and they had something that made them age fast, until we asked for it to be stopped"
"Damn Octuplets, you any idea how much money you could make from sponsorship deals?"
"We can't make anything Mark, the kids are a secret, not a media circus, we can't explain where they came from, especially as I have never given birth, also you have to add in the fact that the children are special, they have a genetic inheritance that needs to be monitored, this is why we bought the street Jacks house was in, well the president bought Jacks house and the one next door, making us a new one for us and the kids to live in, the SGC bought the rest so nosey neighbours don't go selling the story to the papers, or TV. The children will be taught here on base, and any other children of servicemen or contractors who want to come along once it is set up, will be welcome."
He listened to her, but really all he could think about was how she could leave the Airforce with that amount of money, and get a real life, and then there was a bright beam of white light outside the room and in walked a little grey man, thing, alien.
"Thor, buddy!" Jack said "whatcha doin?"
"O'Neill, I have come to check on Grace, as her speeded maturation is now at 11 months it is time to take another sample for study, I also wish to extend once again the thanks of the entire Asgard race for your help with this."
"Not a problem buddy, you want our doctor to get a sample for you?"
"No, thank you O'Neill we have a method that does not puncture the skin and is totally painless" he went over to one of the babies that was laid in the cot and laid something on her arm, he then straightened and said "Thank you Grace O'Neill" softly.
"I will be in orbit for most of the day if you need me O'Neill, otherwise I will see you next month"
"Any time Thor, you're welcome any time!" the little alien left the room and there was a flash of light again.
"We should remember to move over to the kids when we enter, make it easier for him to beam in" Jack said, fiddling with a St Christopher on his wrist, Mark noticed all the children had them on as well, and Sam too! No one else in the room did though.
The members of SG13, as the men he travelled to work with had been called, Daniel, Teal'c and his sister and her husband all made themselves comfortable, Mark was left standing looking at the kids, some of whom were trying to climb out of their cots, a couple were asleep and one was STILL trying to decorate the room in carrot.
"So, I take it this…situation… has something to do with the job offer and stuff?" Mark asked.
"I will be needing some help, much as I hate to admit it," Sam explained " and Jane writes to me quite a lot, even though I don't usually get time to reply, she was telling me she would like to finish work, but couldn't, and I thought, who better to have living close by but my brother and his family, especially as Jane is a nurse!"
"And the computer programmes you will be maintaining are the ones Carter wrote" Jack chimed in "she always told me you two could understand each other when no one else could, we are not going to be as available as we once were, YOU will be the one on call instead of Carter now"
"Why are you calling her Carter?" Mark asked, he had meant to mention it earlier "You two got married, and I know my sister, she wouldn't have married you and kept her own name!"
"You are correct Mark Carter" said Teal'c, "However there is only one O'Neill"
Was it possible that a 50 odd year old USAF General BLUSHED? Damn it WAS! An odd coughing noise came from the man who then clarified the statement.
"I was Colonel O'Neill here for 8 years, then I became General O'Neill almost 2 years ago, when Carter was promoted. Once we got married she decided to keep Carter on base, and O'Neill everywhere else, it saved us both turning around when called"
That made sense, in a strange twisted military way, as both of them shouldn't be in the same base anyway at the same time, them being married and of different ranks.
"So I take it you are in charge here?" Mark asked
"Not officially no, I'm actually the man in charge of the man in charge, Brigadier General Dixon is officially head of the SGC," Mark looked over at the man named, he didn't seem like a General to HIM! He seemed too… nice. "I'm head of 'Homeworld Security', the government department responsible for everything to do with out… there" he waved vaguely in front of himself.
Mark felt a headache coming on, and asked if there were any aspirins, Sam nipped out to get him a couple when a light box on the wall flashed, Dixon got up to answer it.
"Dixon, yeah put him through Walter, Yes sir, yes, no Sir, I don't know sir, would you like… yes sir" He turned and held the phone out to Jack covering the mouthpiece up as he did so "President" he said and Jack nodded and sighed.
"Yes sir, yes he's arrived, yes sir we were just introducing him… no sir they have NOT" he was gritting his teeth as he spoke now "No sir! They assured me it would be THIS weekend, Yes well, I thought a few well placed Zats…" he sighed "No sir… this afternoon? Yes sir, I'll be there, what time? Right, goodbye to you too sir, I will, thanks" He put the phone down carefully and said "Crap" under his breath.
"What have I told you about swearing in front of the kids Sir?" Sam asked as she entered with a glass of water and some tablets.
"That was the president on the phone, he wants me to meet with the IOC in DC in… 3 hours"
"Jack! I thought you were going to be here all week!" Sam complained,
"I was but… Look, let '13 deal with the kids, come with me and we'll spend a night in DC, help you get a good nights sleep for once"
"Sure we don't mind Colonel" Balinsky and Dixon said at the same time
"You have your own family to go home to Dixon" Jack said, grinning at the man "And you too Wells, the other two, with Danny and T can manage" he grabbed her around the waist and nuzzled into her neck while everyone else pretended they weren't there. "you have not had a night off for almost 6 months love, Doc says you are exhausted and is threatening to sedate you, why not come with me?"
"You could come straight back, that way neither of us will be missing"
"I COULD, but I don't think the kids would mind for just one night, it isn't like we are abandoning them!" Sam was tempted, Mark could tell. Hell! He was tempted to have a day off from HIS kids and he only had the two and they weren't babies!
"You would be better with a decent nights sleep sis" he said gently, "and it'll give me some time to look at the programme without you breathing down my neck"
"I wouldn't do that!" she protested, Mark chuckled
"Sure you would, sis, it's your programme, and if it wasn't for the contents of this room I would call it your baby! Now how about you introduce me to all my nieces and nephews? Then I'll work out what the hell to tell Jane!"
"I knew it was a good idea getting him here!" Jack exclaimed, picking up the first child he came to "Richard… meet Uncle Mark!"
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