“Wh...what?” Daniel stammered, stunned, his face taking on his guppy look.
“Don't wanna be lit'lest,” JD stated.
“Uh, Son, I think we're ... probably going to ... uh,” Daniel paused, his breathing becoming a bit erratic. “You're getting bigger.”
“But always be lit'lest. No wanna be lit'lest,” the two-year-old toddler stated, his logic, speech, and grammar highly advanced for his age. “Have 'nother baby,” he repeated.
~Oh, gawd,~ Daniel expressed silently, shaking his head as he tried to move past the conversation. “Where's Patch?”
“Patch here,” JD said, toddling over to the bed and picking it up. “Tell me story 'bout Patch.”
~Thank goodness for short attention spans,~ Daniel sighed, smiling as he settled onto the bed with JD and his favorite stuffed dog, Patch, and then began to tell the boy a story.
====
“I like to play ball, too,” Jonny said, rolling the ball back to Kevin Shanahan, the four-year-old autistic child who was in the process of being adopted by Pete and Sam.
Actually, it had only been a few days since the Shanahan family had grown to include not only Kevin, but six-year-old Susie, who was deaf. In addition to the two older children, Sam had just found out that she was pregnant. She was still adjusting to the dramatic turn her life had just taken and was a little nervous, but Pete was having a ball, enjoying every second of their new life together.
During the past few days, Jack and Daniel, along with many of their friends, had been working to transform the Shanahan home to make room for two children and a nursery. It was still a work in process, but the group had accomplished a lot, and the rest would be completed over time.
Today was the Sunday before Christmas, and the Shanahans were at the Jackson-O'Neill home, just relaxing and allowing all of the children to get to know each other better. In the living room, in front of the bookshelves and fish tank setup, Jonny, Little Danny, and Ricky were sitting on the floor, playing with Kevin, or trying to. Jonny and Ricky were next to each other, while Little Danny sat beside Kevin. The boys' attempt to get a response from the autistic boy had been unsuccessful; that is, until this second.
“I like to play ball, too,” Kevin stated, repeating Jonny's words exactly while rolling the ball back.
Kevin was high-functioning, and his specific type of autism was called echolalia, which meant he often repeated the words spoken to him.
Jonny and Little Danny shared a smile, happy to have gotten a response at last.
“This is fun,” Ricky said, rolling the ball that Jonny had handed to him towards Kevin.
Kevin rocked back and forth a little as he took possession of the ball. He held it a minute, thinking or pondering. The other boys weren't sure why exactly Kevin was holding on to the ball so long, but they were all being very patient.
“This is amazing,” Sam whispered as she leaned into her husband's embrace while they watched the children.
“You were the only one he responded to until today,” Pete stated.
“Except for Susie,” Sam said. Suddenly, she became aware that she didn't know where her daughter was. She began to panic. “Pete, where's ...”
“Gorgeous, relax,” Pete urged, squeezing his wife to him supportively. “She's right there, with Ash and Noa.”
Sam looked over behind her husband, seeing the three girls learning how to communicate with each other. They were sitting on their knees by the counter.
“Pete, I'm not good at this,” Sam spoke anxiously.
To Sam, it seemed that building a particle accelerator was much easier than being a good parent.
Just then, Susie ran over to Sam and tugged on her long, beige sweater. Sam smiled and kneeled down, watching as Susie signed something to her.
“Um, gee, Susie, I ...”
“She wants a glass of water, Aunt Sam,” Little Danny called out since he was able to see the girl from his position on the floor.
“Okay,” Sam responded. “Thanks, Little Danny,” she called out to the child prodigy.
The middle Munchkin was picking up sign language fairly easily and was helping the rest of his family and anyone else who wanted to learn. In fact, he'd been teaching Susie, too. Perhaps because of how important this communication was to her, she was learning it quickly, too.
“This way,” Sam said, taking Susie's hand and tugging on it slightly to lead her into the kitchen.
====
“Sir, we're about to go,” Sam spoke a bit later. She was holding Susie's hand again as they entered the study, where Jack was reading an aviation magazine. “Susie wanted to make sure she said goodbye.”
“Can't have anyone leaving without saying goodbye,” Jack said with a smile, standing up and walking over the two females. He picked up the little girl and made a funny face, causing her to laugh. “That's the best sound in the world -- a child's laughter.”
Jack hugged the girl and then put her back down on the floor. She smiled and began signing something to him.
Jack sighed, “Susie, I just don't have that down yet, but I'm learning, and I *promise* you, that one day very soon, we're going to talk up a finger storm.”
Since the little girl could read lips a bit, she understood the essence of what Jack had said. She giggled happily, watching as Jack stood up straight again.
“How ya doin'?” Jack asked Sam, seeing a bit of weariness on his friend's face.
“I hope I'm not making a mistake. I'm used to being in control.”
“Carter, control is gone. From now on, you're at the mercy of the clock and spontaneity.” Jack smiled as he said, “You've been a mother for years, Sam. You can cut it.”
Sam smiled, nodding in appreciation for the continued support. She felt that without the encouragement from Jack and Daniel, and even their brood, she might just dial up some tropical alien paradise and disappear forever.
Jack was about to accompany the two out so he could say goodbye to Pete and Kevin when he noticed the little girl becoming focused on something behind him.
“That's the Bear Den,” Jack announced cheerfully as he walked over to his collection of a dozen-plus stuffed bears, all various sizes and adorned in different themed outfits and accessories. “The Bear Den,” he repeated, realizing he hadn't been looking at the little girl when he'd said it the first time.
Susie followed Jack over and asked what the Bear Den was by signing. Her facial expression asked the question just as much as her fingers had, which is why Jack knew what to say. Actually, he just guessed.
“These are my Danny bears,” the silver-haired man said as he reached onto the shelf and pulled out his newest addition to the fold. When he talked, he did so slowly, making sure he was facing Susie so she could read his lips. “This is Blue Bear. He's surrounded by everything blue, and he only wears blue. See,” he said, pointing to the blue glasses, blue boonie, and the blue sneakers the bear was wearing.
Susie giggled as she took possession of the bear and hugged it gently to her. Jack smiled as he watched her. He'd helped the Shanahans buy a lot of new toys for their about-to-be-adopted children, but he saw a sparkle in the little girl's eyes that he hadn't noticed with any of the other toys.
Kneeling down and again enunciating very clearly for the little girl, Jack asked, “Susie, Blue Bear is a very special bear. I love him a lot. Do you love him, too?” When the small blonde's hair went flying all around her as she nodded enthusiastically, he touched the stuffed animal fondly and asked, “Would you like to take care of Blue Bear for me?”
To support his question, Jack had pointed at Blue Bear, gently pushed it closer to her, and smiled. He also pointed at her and repeated, “You take care of,” he rubbed the stomach of the stuffed animal, “Blue Bear,” he pointed to himself, “for me?”
Jack heard a little gasp of delight come from Susie's voice as she again nodded her head.
“He's yours. Take good care of him,” Jack said, feeling a wondrous warmth inside when Susie hugged him.
Susie turned around and held the bear up for Sam to see.
“I see him, Susie. We'll make him a special home in your room, if you want,” Sam kneeled down and stated, smiling at the delighted little girl.
The girl's grin grew even wider.
“Sir, are you sure?” Sam questioned, knowing how possessive Jack was of his bear collection that was modeled after his husband.
“Someday I'll get Blue Bear's brother,” Jack mused.
Susie pointed curiously at another bear.
“That's Desert Bear,” Jack stated about the bear in robes. “Want to know his story?”
After a nod from Susie, the retired general began to tell the girl the story of Desert Bear and all of his bear friends in the Bear Den. It took a while, and he promised her that after he learned how to sign better that he'd tell her all the stories again, to make sure she understood. The promise earned the general another hug and smile.
====
“That gate sure is convenient,” Jennifer commented after the family watched the Shanahans disappear through the gate.
Some time back, the Jackson-O'Neills had built a special gate that joined their backyard with the Shanahans. It had all the security gizmos just like their home did, and it made traveling to each other's homes much easier than having to walk around the entire block.
The brood began to disperse, leaving the parents to themselves temporarily. Suddenly, Jack felt himself being given a huge kiss by his soulmate.
“I'll take a dozen more just like that one,” Jack spoke as his arms wrapped around the younger man.
“That can be arranged,” Daniel promised as he slid his hands under Jack's shirt, just to feel the warmth of his lover's skin.
“Aside from the fact that I'm the handsomest and sexiest guy you're married to,” Jack began, delighting at Daniel's laughter from the comment, “what was that kiss for?”
“Blue Bear. Jack, I know how much you covet those bears. The fact that you could give one up for Susie, it just ... it ...” Daniel finished his thought by giving his lover another of his special whopper kisses, leaving both gasping for air. “I love you,” he spoke when the ability to talk had returned to him.
“I love you, too,” Jack replied. He sighed, “Danny, she just shined when she held Blue Bear in her arms. She's just getting her new life started, and she just seemed to connect with Blue Bear. I can find another one.”
“I love you,” Daniel spoke again softly, looking into his husband's chocolate brown eyes.
“You already said that.”
“Tired of hearing it?”
“Never,” Jack replied, sharing a lighter kiss with his husband before heading for the kitchen to start on dinner. “Hey, that was great about Kevin.”
“He's already starting to respond to others besides Sam,” Daniel confirmed.
“I wish it had been more than just that one moment with the boys,” Jack stated.
“Me, too, Babe, but that one moment was monumental,” the younger man stated. “Little Danny was disappointed when Kevin didn't say anything again.”
“Kevin shut down after rolling the ball a couple of times,” Jack added. “But there's always tomorrow.”
“And the day after that.”
“Not to mention next week.”
“Or the week after that,” Daniel mused, chuckling with his lover as they remained optimistic about Kevin's future.
====
A couple of weeks later, Pete was reading 'The Three Bears' to Susie before she went to bed. In her arms was Blue Bear, who had become her faithful friend. Over the holidays, she'd learned more about the Bear Den, and she'd met the original Boonie Bear that had set off the bear craze between Jack and Daniel. She'd also been introduced to Daniel's Jack bear collection, which actually only contained two bears -- Colonel Jack Bear and Lake Bear. Daniel had intended to get more, but he'd never gotten around to it.
Suddenly, Susie began to squirm excitedly in her father's arms. Snuggling Blue Bear under her arm so she could move her hands and fingers, she began to sign rapidly.
“Peaches, slow down!” Pete chuckled. “Say it again.” When his daughter had finished, he nodded and suggested, “Let's ask Mom!”
Smiling, Susie climbed down and waited for Pete to stand up. Together, they walked into Kevin's room, where Sam was working with the boy before his bedtime.
“What's up?” Sam asked.
“Susie has a beary good idea,” Pete said.
“A beary good one?” Sam chuckled, reaching out for the little girl. “What is it?” she asked, signing the words at the same time. “Oh. A beary party?”
Cocking her head slightly, Sam 'listened' as Susie explained her idea.
====
On a Saturday night a few weeks later, Jack was upstairs in the bedroom, working out. Jeff and David were also in the room, the three just talking about guy things. Suddenly, an alert sounded.
“What's that?” David asked.
“Aunt Sam,” Jack answered, finishing his sit-up.
“Neat,” Jeff commented.
Jack smiled at the two boys. This was the first time that either of the boys, or for that matter any of children, had become aware that whenever the electronic gate in the backyard was open, an alert was sent. It could be turned off or set to other modes, but Jack had turned it on earlier since it was a weekend, and he'd been told the Shanahans might be going out for the night.
“Uh, Jack!” Daniel called out over the intercom. “I need you downstairs, please.”
“He needs me,” Jack chuckled happily as he stood up. He grabbed a towel and wiped it against his sweaty face and then placed it around his neck. “Better see what Daddy needs me for,” he said.
As Jack followed the boys down the stairs, his hands were on the ends of the towel. He was deep in thought about his lover's needs and how he could rectify them once the children were all in bed later that night. As he got to the foot of the stairs, he heard a loud noise.
“*Surprise*!”
Daniel had already been the recipient of the 'Surprise' cheers when Sam and the others had appeared at the sliding glass patio door.
“Holy ... what?” Jack asked, seeing his living room full of extended family and friends. “Did I forget a birthday? An anniversary?”
“Jack,” Daniel chastised while their guests chuckled at the general's comment.
“Well, we have been married, thrice.”
“So far,” the younger man teased.
At Pete's urging, Susie walked forward. She was dressed in a beautiful blue and white dress, and she had Blue Bear in her arms. Smiling, the girl began to sign.
Jack, Daniel, and their brood had all been studying hard to learn sign language, and Jack's eyes were focused squarely on the young girl's hands, concentrating on what she was signing.
“A beary party?”
Susie grinned and signed, “Happy Beary Day.”
Jack laughed with delight, though he was still a bit confused as to why everyone was there.
“Carter, what's going on?” Jack asked curiously as he reached out to shake Blue Bear's paw. “He looks happy.”
As Susie signed that she'd been taking very good care of the bear, Sam explained, “Susie loves your Bear Den, Sir.”
“Carter!” Jack admonished, his face flushing as he realized that now everyone present knew his secret.
“Jack, your bear obsession hasn't been a secret in over a year,” Daniel pointed out, causing his lover to nod in reluctant affirmation.
“She also loves Daniel's bears that he showed her. She then came to a sad realization, and she wanted to fix it, fast,” Sam said cryptically.
“So, we brought gifts,” Lou Ferretti chimed, laughing heartily.
“Geez,” Jack responded, having a hunch he might not want he or his lover opening the gifts, knowing Lou's sometimes whacky sense of humor.
“Anyone want a drink, or a snack?” Daniel asked.
“We brought everything we need,” Janet spoke up, holding up a plate of finger sandwiches.
The group began to settle in, and Jack went upstairs for a super quick shower since he was 'real stinky' in his words from his workout. Then he came back downstairs, and properly greeted the surprise party guests that included the Ferrettis, Janet and Teal'c, Mrs. Sophia Valissi, General Hammond, and the Luca Family, who were in town for a short visit.
====
Gift opening time had arrived, and that's when Jack realized all the presents were for Daniel.
“For you, Daniel,” Lou said, looking over at Jack with a grin that had him thinking that maybe they shouldn't be opening the gift in the presence of children.
Daniel laughed loudly when he opened the box and saw Baby Jack Bear. The critter was sucking its paw thumb and was wearing a diaper.
“Oh, for crying out loud,” Jack whined.
The next gift came from Hammond, who prefaced the unwrapping by saying, “It's a little overdue.”
“Jack, it's a Lieutenant General Bear,” Daniel said, holding up the bear that was properly adorned with three stars on its green uniform. Included with it was a desk, loaded with paperwork. “Not even the bear will do his paperwork,” he chuckled.
The laughter continued through each unveiling. Daniel blushed when Mrs. Valissi's bear was Dress Blues Bear. He wondered why she'd chosen that outfit.
“He just looks so handsome in that uniform,” the senior citizen stated. “Don't y'all think so?”
With all the whoops and hollers, Daniel wasn't the only one blushing, though he felt a little better about the gift now. He had been truly concerned that she'd picked up on the fact Daniel turns to Jell-O when his husband wears the uniform and has the most fun ever when he gets to rip it off of him in their foreplay to lovemaking.
Cassandra smiled at her gift, the Jell-O Bear, a reminder of the Jell-O wrestling match that Jack and Daniel had been forced to do at her mother's home after they'd lost a bet.
Janet and Teal'c then presented Daniel with the Butt Bear, the animal bent over with a large, though fake, needle sticking out of it.
“Ouch!” Jack responded, automatically reaching behind him to soothe his derriere that was aching just knowing the needle was sticking in its animal counterpart.
“Thanks, everyone,” Daniel said.
“One more,” Little Danny called out, having seen Susie signing the statement.
“Another one?” Daniel asked, smiling as the little girl brought out the Shanahan's contribution to the bear fest. It was a big box with a smaller one on top of it. “Two?” he asked, taking the box and then seeing Susie hold up two fingers. “Wow! That's a big one,” he said, referring to the bottom box.
Opening the small box, the archaeologist pulled out Showbiz Bear, who was clearly a singer. He was dressed in a black tuxedo and came with a standing microphone. Sam knew that Jack sometimes sang to Daniel, though it was something he didn't do all that often, nor did he talk about it with their friends. She figured anyone at the party would just tease Jack about singing, and that's exactly what they did.
As Daniel nodded and smiled at Sam in appreciation, Lou was busy teasing Jack about singing 'a little ditty' for the group, to which Jack was threatening him with all kinds of payback. It was a good-natured exchange.
“Jack, look. It's perfect,” the archaeologist spoke with wonder as he opened the big box, pushing back the tissue paper to reveal what was inside.
“Oh, Uncle Daniel, Uncle Jack,” Cassandra sighed serenely upon seeing it.
“You definitely didn't buy these,” Jack commented.
“No, Sir,” Sam answered. “Pete has a friend who's good at things like this. He made them for us.”
“Thank you, Sam,” Daniel said, handing the gift entirely to Jack and getting up to hug his friend. “It really is perfect.”
The gift was a set of bears, each wearing an identifying T-shirt. One bear's shirt said 'Daddy' while the other's had 'Dad' written on it. Both were standing, looking down into a crib, where a baby bear was.
“Me!” JD surmised, jumping up and down in approval.
All around the parent bears, were eleven smaller bears, representing each member of the Jackson-O'Neill clan. The Munchkins were all dressed alike with T-shirts that said 'Oz' on them, while the Spitfires had on polo shirts with flames decorating them. All three of the Mouseketeers were wearing Mickey Mouse ears as an identifier, and the Mavericks wore baseball caps with an 'M' on them.
“Sorry, Girls,” Pete said, looking over at the beagles. “My friend barely got the brood done. He didn't have time for the zoo.” He saw Bijou's and Katie's frowns and said, “I'll talk to him.”
“Woof!” Bijou responded on behalf of both herself and her daughter, causing everyone to laugh.
“That's really something, Pete,” Jack said. “Thank you.”
“Maybe we should keep The Bear Brood on the counter,” Lulu suggested, running over to the end of the counter and patting her hand in the spot she was thinking of. “We could put it here and see it all the time.”
“Good idea, Little Bit,” Jack responded, looking at his husband for his agreement and getting it.
====
“Aunt Sam, stop worrying,” Cassandra soothed a bit later.
“But a baby,” Sam said worriedly, patting her barely bulging stomach gently.
“You'll be great,” the younger woman spoke. “Susie and Kevin are so cute.”
“I don't want to shortchange either of them, Cass,” Sam confided.
“You won't. You've already had lots of practice being a good mom. All it really takes is love.”
Sam grinned, replying, “You're so grown up.”
“Do you believe Tommy is two?” Cassandra asked about her son, who was busy playing with JD, the two toddlers being just two weeks apart in age.
“We're missing too much,” Sam spoke with regret.
The Lucas had lived in Salt Lake City since their marriage, and they were happy to be as close as they were to their families.
“Sam,” Cassandra spoke a bit cautiously. “Remember when you and Pete were first talking about adoption.”
“It wasn't that long ago.”
“I did some research back then, and I really liked what I found out, but I was a little afraid, too.”
“About?” Sam prodded, feeling a little clueless about what the other woman was saying.
“Cass, do you want another soda?” Dominic Luca asked his wife, leaning down to sneak in a quick kiss.
“No, but ... Dom, let's tell them now.” When her husband nodded, Cassandra grinned at Sam, who smiled in confusion. The redhead stood and called out, “Everyone!” She waited, “Um, hey!”
Suddenly, Jonny whistled loudly and then shouted, “*Aunt Cassie wants to say something!”
The entire house came to a silent stop.
Laughing, Cassandra leaned over and gave the boy a kiss on the cheek, saying, “Thank you, My Hero.”
“Aww, shucks, it was nothing,” Jonny spoke, looking down shyly and shuffling a little in embarrassment.
**Should we talk to him about that?** Daniel questioned his lover.
**Why? Cass obviously wanted our attention and wasn't getting it,** Jack mused. **Now she has it.**
**Good point.**
Smiling brightly, Cassandra began, “Um, well, actually, we have two announcements, and a request.” Turning to look at her mother, she asked, “Mom, can you and Teal'c look after Tommy for a couple of weeks? Maybe the end of February or early March?”
Janet looked up at her tall husband and then answered, “I'm sure we can. We may need some babysitters,” she added, looking around at their family of friends and getting lots of nods from those present. “Where are you going?”
“Well, a while ago, Sam and Pete got me thinking. Actually, it's something I've thought about for a long time, but I wasn't sure I had the courage to do it, but knowing Sam and Pete were going to, I knew I could; but, I didn't want them to think I was doing something just because they were, so I stopped thinking about it,” Cassandra said, speaking rapidly, trying to get her thoughts in order.
“Cass, you're beginning to sound like my husband,” Jack quipped, causing everyone but Daniel to laugh.
“Well, now that you,” Cassandra spoke, looking over at Sam and then over at Pete, “have Susie and Kevin ...”
“And a bun in the oven,” Jack joked.
“Jack, that's crass,” the archaeologist admonished.
“I'm just teasing. That's my niece or nephew in there,” Jack said about the baby Sam was pregnant with.
“Go on, Cassie,” Sam urged, directing an amused glare towards Jack.
“Last year, when we were visiting, Sam showed me the folder she had about adopting children from overseas. Well, Dom and I checked into it, but we held off because of what I was saying a minute ago, but now, we've decided to go ahead.”
“Cassandra?” Janet asked eagerly, wondering if she was hearing what she thought she was hearing.
“We're really excited about this, especially Tommy,” Cassandra said, smiling at her son. “Mom, Dom and I are in the process of adopting a baby from Ethiopia. If everything goes okay, we should be able to bring her home in a couple of months, and that's why we need you to baby-sit.”
“Baby-sit?” Janet spoke. “I want to go!”
“We'll baby-sit,” Jack offered, getting cheers from the brood, especially from JD, who was happy to have someone his size around to play with.
“Cassie, that's wonderful news,” Daniel spoke, moving forward to hug his surrogate niece.
Several hugs, comments, and questions later, Mrs. Valissi spoke up, “Dear, didn't you say you and your handsome hubby here had two announcements?”
“Oh, yeah,” Cassandra giggled. “Dom's being transferred.”
“Where?” Janet asked, fearing her daughter would be living some place further away, which could mean fewer visits.
“Oh, some place called ... Colorado Springs!”
“Indeed,” Teal'c responded with a smile.
There were cheers, lots of hugs, some questions, and tears from the woman's mother as the realization sunk in that the Luca family would be returning home.
“It's not happening until this summer, but it's firm,” Dominic stated when things had calmed down a little.
“Now we have to find a place to live,” Cassandra said.
“Tell us what you're looking for, and we'll keep our eyes open,” Sam suggested.
“Some place cheap,” Dominic stated. “Our baby is going to take up our savings, so we can't afford to get in over our heads.”
“We'll start looking tomorrow,” Janet spoke eagerly as she walked over to hug her daughter again.
“We don't need anything fancy, Mom. I sure wish we could live close to you.”
“Me, too, Sweetie,” Janet agreed.
====
Late that night, Jack awoke, alone in the king-sized bed that his lover should also have been in. He rose and slipped on his burgundy robe, tying the sash loosely as he headed in search of his husband. Acting on a hunch, his first thought was the right one.
Walking into the den, Jack asked, “What are you doing?”
From his spot near the appropriate bookshelf, Daniel looked over at his lover and said, “Just working on my display of Jack bears.” Glancing over at his computer, he added, “Uh, I ordered two more a while ago.”
“I'm afraid to ask,” the older man responded as he walked over to get a better look at what the younger man was doing.
Daniel chuckled, “Hockey Bear and Flyboy Bear.”
“That Susie had quite the brainstorm.”
“She thought all the Danny Bears were lonesome,” Daniel said with a smile.
“Can't have that,” Jack replied, kissing his husband. “Isn't that great about Cass?”
“I'm proud of her for adopting from a foreign country; that's not always easy to do though,” Daniel stated.
“True, but I was thinking more about moving back here.”
“Oh,” Daniel responded as he altered his display somewhat.
“Dom makes a good salary, and Cass brings in some good money with her production work,” Jack remarked.
“Cassie said it's about twenty-thousand for the adoption, plus travel.”
“Their savings,” Jack replied.
“They aren't going to be able to afford a big house.”
“Nope, they aren't.”
“Jack ...”
“We'll help out,” Jack said, certain that is what his lover was thinking about. “That little baby from Ethiopia is about to be our niece.”
“Grand-niece, actually,” Daniel corrected. “Stop that,” he said, swatting Jack's hand as it was about to fidget with Jell-O Bear's trunks.
“I was just pulling them up a little.”
“I like them just the way they are.”
The lovers laughed, shared a chuckle, and then decided to go back to bed. As they walked out, Daniel looked back at the bear display and smiled. It was a silly thing, but he had to admit he liked the collection. Strange as it was, he thought they looked just fine in his den, surrounded by artifacts and precious memorabilia of his life with Jack and their brood. The room was a happy place, and he cherished it.
Walking leisurely back to the bedroom, Daniel thought more about the things he cherished, including their renovated home. It was full of happiness and love. He hoped that Cassandra and Dominic would know this same kind of feeling as their family grew.
“Tommy and JD really bonded tonight, Angel. Did you notice?”
Daniel laughed, “Yeah, I did. He likes having a buddy his own size.”
“The Lucas need to buy a home near here,” Jack stated. “We commute enough as it is with our taxi service.”
“Yeah, they ... do,” Daniel said. “Jack, they do ... need to live close.”
“I already said that. I also know they can't afford this neighborhood. They might be able to find something by the Doc and Teal'c, if they're lucky.”
“We both live in popular neighborhoods,” Daniel commented. “Jack, I know where they should live.”
“Okay, where?” Jack smiled as he listened to his lover's idea. “You're beautiful, you know that?”
“Do you think they'd go for it?”
“I don't know, but I hope so.”
“Me, too. Now let's get some sleep,” Jack said, giving his husband a kiss as the two settled down.
“It would be great, wouldn't it, Babe?”
“Yeah, it would. It's crazy, but it would be great,” the older man agreed.
“Speaking of crazy,” Daniel began.
“What now?”
“JD made a request recently, something he, uh, wants, and I forgot to mention it.”
“He's been good. He's earned a present. What does the little dickens want?” Jack asked.
“Don't be so hasty.”
“I doubt he asked for a car. Just tell me what it is, and we can get it for him.”
“A baby.”
“Okay, so first thing in the morning, we ...” Jack sprang up, knocking his lover off of his chest and called out in shock, “A baby?”
Daniel laughed at his lover's horrified face and then soothed, “Relax, Jack. I think Tommy being close by will take care of things. Like I said, he wants someone his size around.”
“Geez, Danny, I think I had a heart attack,” the older man said as he settled down atop his lover's body, now wanting to be comforted instead of being the comforter.
“It'll be okay, Babe,” Daniel chuckled, kissing the top of the silver-gray hair he adored so much. “Just sleep now.”
“A baby,” Jack groaned. “We already have a dozen. Geez.”
“Shhh,” Daniel said quietly. “Sleep, My Love.”
“Love our zoo,” Jack said with a yawn. “Have dozen; baker's dozen wouldn't be so bad.”
“No, it wouldn't,” Daniel sighed and then yawned.
“But it's not going to happen.”
“No, I agree, it's not,” Daniel replied, yawning again and shutting his eyes.
The happy lovers fell asleep with smiles on their faces. The beary party had been a huge success, and it had brought with it some wonderful news. Even more than that, there was a potential for an exciting future with their family of friends that they hadn't anticipated. As always, life was good, and getting even better, in Colorado Springs.
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