Chenoa was visiting Teal'c's grandson for the weekend, much to Jack's continued chagrin. He just couldn't think of it as a 'sleep over', as his lover had suggested. Still, when Teal'c promised to visit his son and his family for the weekend, too, Jack reluctantly gave in, primarily because he saw sleeping on the sofa in his future if he didn't go along.
“I will never have such a home here on Chulak,” K'hang continued, fearful that the little girl would not be happy living on his home world, especially when she had so much on Earth.
“Your house is nice. I like it,” Chenoa replied with a smile.
“Perhaps you would not want to live here.”
“I don't know. I like to play here, though,” the little girl said with a smile.
“Would you like to play ka'kana?”
“Oh, I love that game,” Chenoa responded happily.
The two kids returned to the house and began to play the traditional Chulakian children's game.
Halfway through the game, the boy suddenly asked, “Shu'te, do you like me ... just a little?”
The children had been introduced in the middle of May almost a year ago. At the end of summer, they'd gone through a traditional Chulakian rite where the boy promised to become the best man and warrior he could be in order to protect Chenoa. Since then, they'd communicated often through the Stargate, and K'hang had stayed with the Jackson-O'Neills a few times while Jack and Daniel had both escorted their daughter to the planet for short visits as well. This was the first time, though, that Chenoa was staying overnight with K'hang's family.
Chenoa stared into K'hang's eyes and answered, “I like you a whole lot, K'hang. Maybe someday, I will live here.”
With a bright smile on his face, the boy took his turn, hoping that he was, indeed, winning over his Love's heart.
====
A couple of days later, Chenoa hurried into the nursery to get her dancing shoes. She paused, looking around the uniquely shaped room. To the right, the ceiling was sloped. JD, the youngest of her siblings at age two, slept in that part of the room. On the left, against the wall, was her familiar three-quarter-sized bed where she'd always slept. Across from it was Lulu's bed. Various pieces of furniture had been squeezed in over the years.
The little girl's table and tea set was at the end of the room, next to the door that led into David's small bedroom.
For the first time, Chenoa's secure haven looked small, but she still loved it. It meant 'safe'. She liked being close to David and her parents, whose master bedroom was just a small roof deck to the right.
Picking up her shoes, Chenoa walked out, but instead of going downstairs, she peeked into the master bedroom. It was empty, but she also felt safe there. That room was her dad and daddy's room, and having them close was important to her. After a moment, she walked out and then went to what was still called the new addition to the country-style home.
The curly-haired child walked by the girls' room where Aislinn and Jenny slept. She passed by the boys' room where Jonny, Little Danny, and Ricky slept. She ignored the next room, which was sometimes used for guests, and then peeked inside the last room in the long hallway. This was the room Brianna had chosen to use when she'd become a Jackson-O'Neill.
Backing up, Chenoa opened the door to the empty, sometimes-guestroom and walked into what, to her eight-year-old mind, looked like a huge bedroom. The room was virtually empty except for the full-size bed, a dresser, and a chair, but it was the only room in the house that had never been decorated completely. She went to the window and looked out, seeing some of her siblings playing outside. She smiled, watching as Jack imitated the JD toddle. Her baby brother was definitely growing, and he would soon need more space to himself.
Next to the bed was the intercom. During the remodel, every room in the house and been equipped with one. It was very sophisticated. Anyone could contact a specific room or broadcast throughout the entire house, and even outside.
Chenoa stared at the intercom and then pressed one button, saying very softly, “Daddy.”
Chenoa released the button and sighed. Then she heard a surprised, “Noa?” respond to her call. She gasped and backed away, holding her precious dance shoes close to her chest.
Less than a minute later, a somewhat anxious Daniel appeared in the doorway. He smiled at the nervous little girl.
“Sweetie, are you okay?”
“That was fast, Daddy,” Chenoa stated, her voice a little shaky and definitely soft.
“It only takes us a few seconds to get here,” Daniel reassured. ~She's thinking about it, and she's looking for security,~ he noted inwardly. “And Bri is right next door, and your brothers,” he said, motioning towards the appropriate rooms as he spoke.
“I have to go practice now,” Chenoa said, walking forward.
“Okay,” Daniel responded, watching his daughter slowly walk out the door. Looking over the room, he gave a tiny bob of his head and smiled. ~Maybe we could put in a dance mat there, and ...~
The archaeologist began to work on ideas to make the room inviting and safe to Chenoa. He planned on mentioning the surprise conversation to his husband when they were alone next, but he knew neither of them would push the little girl to make the decision to change bedrooms before she was fully ready.
From the moment the renovation had begun on the home in 2009, the girl knew this room was hers, whenever she wanted to move in, but she'd always refused. Jack and Daniel weren't quite sure why she had such a strong need to stay close to both themselves and David. They assumed it tied in with her birth parents' tragic deaths, but something told them there was more to it as well. Today was the first sign that maybe Chenoa was almost ready to be on her own more and didn't need the constant security of David or her fathers.
====
A few nights later, Chenoa awoke and pushed back her covers. Clutching Uni, the handmade unicorn that her birth mother had given her shortly before being killed in an automobile accident, and not wanting to wake up Lulu, she tiptoed over and quietly opened the door that separated the nursery from David's room and walked over to her brother's bed.
“David, are you awake?” Chenoa asked, shaking her brother's right arm. “I think you're not sleeping. Are you awake?”
David's eyes slowly fluttered open.
“Noa, are you okay?” the boy asked as he sat up in his bed.
Climbing up on the bed and settling in against her brother, her head on his shoulder, Chenoa answered, “I like having you close to me.”
Not sure why his little sister was upset, the boy put his arm around Chenoa and promised, “We'll always be close, Noa. You, me, and Jen are the Three Mousketeers, remember?”
Chenoa smiled, saying, “Even if I'm not next door?”
“What do you mean?”
“JD's getting bigger. He needs a bigger room, and a bed of his own,” Chenoa stated wisely. “Lulu, too. Most of what is in our room is mine or JD's. That's not fair. Lulu should get space, too.”
“You could use the room by Bri,” David suggested. “It's got lots of room for things.”
Chenoa put her arms around the boy's waist and said, “You'd be so far away, and Dad and Daddy, too.”
“We have the intercom,” David reminded gently. “If you want to move and are afraid, I'll stay with you for a couple of nights, until you feel safe.”
The little girl released her hold and moved forward a bit, turning around eagerly so that she could completely face her brother.
“You'd do that?”
“I'd do anything for you, Noa.” David saw how his sister was holding Uni and then reached over for his pet toy frog, Squiggy. “Squiggy can stay by Uni, too, just for a while.”
Chenoa grinned and hugged her brother enthusiastically as she said, “I love you, David. You're the best big brother ever!”
“I love you, too, Noa. I'll always be here for you, and Jen, and all of our brothers and sisters. Nothing will ever separate us, not even a few bedrooms,” the boy reassured.
Pulling back, Chenoa said more quietly, “Mommy and Daddy would want me to change rooms, huh?”
“Mommy and Daddy want us to be happy. They love Dad and Daddy, too,” David said assertively.
“I miss them, David.”
“I miss them, too, but they're always here. Do you wanna send them more balloons soon?”
Smiling, Chenoa said, “I wanna tell them about K'hang and maybe my new room.”
“Okay, I'll ask Dad and Daddy if we can do balloons next week,” David said.
The children talked some more before Chenoa finally returned to her bed, a smile on her face.
====
“Are you sure you want to?” Chenoa asked Lulu the next morning, while the two sat opposite each other in their dance studio. The small room was a great place for them to share all of their secrets, which they always did, because none of their siblings ever came in without being invited by one of them. “It should be something we both want.”
“I just wanna be with you, Noa. It doesn't matter to me where we are. You're my best friend, and my sister,” Lulu acknowledged with a firm voice.
“But it would be your new room, too. I feel bad because we're crowded in our room, and I know it's 'cause of me.”
“It's okay, if that's where you want to be.”
“Lulu, tell me true. We always tell each other the truth,” Chenoa demanded.
Lulu smiled, saying, “True! I only want to be with you.” Hearing her sister's sigh, she added, “But, sometimes, when I think about it, I think it might be nice to have a beanbag chair to sit in, and we don't have any room for that; and, just sometimes, I wish I could put up a poster of Maria Tallchief; and, when I really think about it, I wish there was room for a scratching pole for Calico.”
Chenoa nodded, pleased with her sister's honest response. It was up to her now, to make the decision, to do something that part of her was excited to do, but that another part of her was still scared to do.
“But I like our room now, too,” Lulu answered, happy and willing to do whatever her sister wanted to do.
====
Two days later, clutching both Uni and an eight-by-ten framed collage, which pictured all of the Jackson-O'Neills, Chenoa's birth parents, plus her best friend, Angela Wilson, that Jeff had given to her for Christmas last year, Chenoa walked into the bedroom that was second from the end of the long hallway.
“Bri, you have ten minutes,” Jack stated, walking out of the tomboy's room. Heading down the hallway, he stopped and backed up, realizing that Chenoa was sitting on the bed in the empty room. “Hey, Princess.”
“Dad, Lulu wants a beanbag. Do I have enough money in my piggy bank to get her a really good one?”
“Aaaaaah,” Jack responded, walking in and sitting down next to his daughter. “You probably do. You haven't bought anything since Christmas, have you?”
“Na-huh.”
“You should. If you don't, Daddy and I will float you a loan.”
“You will?” Chenoa asked excitedly. “Because I want it to be a really big one, so she can be comfy, and Calico can sit with her. She's wanted one for a long, long time. I just found out.”
“A really big one, the biggest,” Jack spoke dramatically as he rubbed his daughter's back. “In fact, we'll get a giant one so both you and Lulu can sit in it together, and they'll still be room for both Calico *and* Mittens.”
“Really?” Chenoa questioned with big, bright eyes.
“Really,” Jack affirmed. He thought for a moment and then spoke, “Tell me what you think. I've always thought a small dance mat could go right there. It wouldn't be very big, but it would be good for those funky position things you dancer types do.”
“Funky? Dad!”
“I could talk Daddy into it,” Jack chuckled. ~Actually, it was his idea in the first place.~
“Talk me into what?”
“Daddy, can Lulu and me have a tiny dance mat put right there? It was Dad's idea.”
“It was ... Dad's idea?” the archaeologist asked with accusing but loving eyes directed at his husband.
“Actually, Noa, Daddy mentioned the idea to me a long time ago,” Jack admitted with a slight cough to cover up his lack of guilt over claiming the idea as his own.
“Can we, Daddy?” Chenoa asked, not caring whose idea it was.
“If you want, sure,” Daniel said with a smile, especially since he and Jack had already investigated small mat availability and pricing.
Both men knew that this was their daughter's decision. They wanted to make it easy for her, but they weren't going to bribe her, either.
“We might even be able to find a roll-up one, or something, for the nursery,” Daniel pointed out.
“There's no room, Daddy, but thank you.” Chenoa got up and headed for the door, but then she stopped. Turning around, she put Uni on the bed, right at the center, and then she put the picture on the nightstand. “Uni wants to give it a test run tonight. Can we?”
“If Uni wants to,” Daniel agreed.
“David said he'd stay with us for a while. Is that okay?”
“Sure it is. We'll bring in one of the Aerobeds,” Jack suggested.
The younger man walked forward and kneeled down in front of the maturing eight-and-a-half-year old. He caressed her cheek as he smiled.
“Noa, this is your decision, totally.”
“I'm ready, Daddy.”
“Okay, okay, but ... if you change your mind, you can *absolutely* go back to the nursery, okay? You do *not* have to stay in here, if you decide you'd rather be in your ... old room.”
“I know,” Chenoa stated. “K'hang will be proud of me. He's been telling me that I'm strong and can do anything.” She smiled, adding, “That's what you and Dad tell me all the time, too.” Glancing over at Uni, she concluded, “Mommy and Daddy would be proud of me, too, right?”
“Very proud,” Daniel affirmed.
“Hey, you know, that reminds me,” Jack interjected. “Noa, a while back Jen told us a story once about your mommy and how she was afraid of the dark when she was a child.”
“She was?”
“Why don't you go ask her about it,” Daniel suggested.
“Okay,” Chenoa agreed, starting to walk away. Suddenly, she turned and ran to her parents, hugging each of them and saying, “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” both men spoke within seconds of each other.
“Do you think she's really ready?” Daniel asked once Chenoa was out of the room.
“She's workin' on it. Okay, change of plans for the day,” Jack spoke.
“I'm ready, Dad,” Brianna said, appearing at the doorway, hockey stick in hand.
“Bri, your sister just made a brave decision,” the silver-haired father advised.
Seeing Uni on the bed and the photograph, Brianna said, “She's finally going to move in?”
“Yeah, but she's still nervous,” Jack pointed out, hoping the tomboy would make the decision he needed her to without him actually asking her to.
“We can do this tomorrow, or Wednesday, if you want,” Brianna volunteered.
“You sure?” Jack questioned, well aware that this father-daughter hockey session had been on the schedule for a couple of weeks.
“Yeah. Can I help with the room?”
“We're thinking shopping,” Daniel spoke up.
“I'm game. I'll go change.”
“Thanks, Bri,” Jack said.
“She's my sister, and she needs us,” Brianna said, almost chastising her father for even thinking she'd be upset.
“We have great kids, Danny.”
“The best,” Daniel agreed with a soft smile gracing his face.
====
A couple of shopping days later, with the entire family pitching in, Chenoa and Lulu were in their new room. As promised, Jack had helped Chenoa choose the biggest and most comfortable beanbag chair for her sister, and a scratching post for Calico had been added as well, as had the poster of Marie Tallchief. The room was definitely decorated in a dancing motif, with a slight nod to unicorns and cats.
Both girls had gotten new beds, Chenoa deciding to leave her old bed in the nursery, since she might want to lay down in there sometimes.
The room felt huge to the sisters, and they'd had a great time shopping for it and decorating it.
David kept his promise, staying three nights with his sisters. On the fourth night, Chenoa hugged him tight, promising that she was okay now.
“Are you sure?”
“Uh-huh, but if I get scared, can I come to your home?” Chenoa giggled and corrected herself, saying, “I mean, to your room?”
“Even if you're not scared, you can come,” David responded, loving the beautiful smile on his sister's face.
“I'll walk you home,” Chenoa laughed, walking with her brother as he returned to his bedroom. Afterwards, she entered the nursery. Nothing much had changed yet, except that her tea set and personal belongings were now in her new room. “Hi, JD.”
“Noa, miss you,” JD stated, reaching out with his arms for a hug.
Carefully, the little girl pulled down the crib wall and held her brother in her arms.
“I miss you, too, JD.”
“Come back?”
“Sometimes, maybe,” Chenoa answered. “Are you afraid, JD?”
“Quiet,” the little boy answered.
“You know, David is right there, through that door, and I don't think he would mind leaving the door open if you get scared or lonely,” Chenoa promised. “And Dad and Daddy are over there,” she said, pointing in the other direction. “JD, do you know how to use the intercom?”
“Na-huh.”
Chenoa carried the toddler over to the intercom and said, “Press right here, and you get Dad and Daddy. Press right here, and David will come running. Push this button, and I'll be here really, really fast.”
JD pressed a button, giggling into the intercom.
“You're supposed to say something,” Chenoa chuckled. “Oops,” she said, seeing her parents sprinting in. “Dad, Daddy, JD needs to know how to use the intercom, and you need to move it so he can reach it. He might get scared.”
“Miss Noa 'n' Lulu,” JD admitted.
“Lesson time,” Daniel said, glancing briefly over at his lover just in case he had some unexpected objection.
“I already showed him. JD, do you wanna sleep with me tonight, in Lulu's and my new room?”
The boy lit up like a Christmas tree.
“Good, because we miss you, too.” After picking up Patch, JD's much-loved stuffed dog, Lulu headed for the door, saying, “We'll tell you a story. Oh, Dad, Daddy, would you get JD's blankie, please, and ...”
Jack and Daniel stared at each other, both secretly amused as their brave daughter walked off to her new room, JD in tow.
“Did she ask us if *our* son could sleep with her?” Jack questioned.
“No.”
“Did she just tell us to bring all kinds of things for JD into her new room, like she was the parent, and we were the kiddies?” Jack asked.
“Yep,” Daniel said with a nod and a chuckle.
“Just checking,” Jack responded, heading for the crib to follow his daughter's orders.
“Jack ...”
“She wants him to feel safe,” Jack interjected.
“She's going to be okay now,” Daniel asserted.
“Yeah,” Jack agreed happily. “We need to go shopping for JD this week. He needs a bed of his own, or we can let him use Lulu's old bed, but we still need bedding that's more appropriate; you know, a theme just for him.”
Daniel walked over to his husband, placing his hands around his waist. Then he placed a deep, loving kiss on the older man.
“That was good.”
“Thank you,” Daniel responded with a loving smile. “We're so lucky.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you ever think that maybe we should go back to Pierola and ...”
“Daniel!” Jack exclaimed. “The inn is full,” he said, pulling away and heading out of the room.
“Is it?” Daniel called out quietly, laughing as he picked up a few more things JD would need that night and then headed for Chenoa's bedroom.
**You're crazy, Angel,** Jack said to his husband via their special communication.
**Just as crazy as you, Love.**
Both men smiled to themselves, knowing that more children was never out of the question for this family. Whatever their number, the future was bright for the Jackson-O'Neills, and no matter what the days, weeks, months, and years would bring, they knew they would face it bravely and with love.
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