Daniel was wearing just his sweatpants, and he was barefoot. His hair was mussed, and he was yawning at the same time that he reached up to scratch the top of his head. His fingers caused his moderately shaggy mane to fly about in the air.
“Somehow, Jack ... <yawn> ... I don't think that I'm, uh ... you know ... <yawn> ... right this se...<yawn>...cond.”
Jack laughed and beckoned, “Come here.”
Daniel leaned over and gave his husband a kiss. His husband was sitting in the rocker, holding Aislinn, the youngest of their newborn triplets, in his arms. She was on the verge of going back to sleep after having awakened thirty minutes earlier, demanding a bottle.
The younger man knelt down, placing his left hand on Aislinn's forehead and saying, “So tiny, our little miracle.” He leaned over and gave her a kiss. In response, her arms and legs moved all about, and she seemed to giggle, or at least, Daniel preferred to think it was a giggle and not some miscellaneous bodily function. “I, uh, guess I've woken her up again.”
“You're entitled.”
Daniel smiled and replied, “I love them all so much. I never knew, Jack; gawd, I never knew a person could feel like this.”
Jack felt a warmth inside that filled him with happiness. This is what he wanted for Daniel, for his husband to feel the joy of bringing a life into the world. For Jack, it was a second chance and a rebirth, and this time, he vowed not to waste a moment of happiness with the triplets. In fact, looking at his family, he couldn't fathom being away from them for any extended period of time.
~I must have been insane to work so hard when I could have been spending time with Charlie.~
Daniel stood up and walked over to the crib where Aislinn's brothers, Jonny and Michael, were sound asleep. He adjusted their baby blankets as he soaked in the tremendous amount of love these three babies were evoking in him. He just never knew.
As Daniel watched the boys, Jack watched his soulmate. Both men were filled with a peaceful happiness and overwhelming joy that they'd never known before.
When Aislinn began to fuss a bit, Jack turned his attention back to his daughter and began telling her an old Irish folk tale about a man named Lusmore who had a hump on his back and how one day he met up with some fairies and, after helping them with their song, they removed his hump.
Daniel listened to the tale , amazed at just how easy it was for his lover to come up with a story or song to soothe their children. He walked over to the bed in the nursery and lay down, Jack's words filling his spirit.
Five minutes later, Aislinn was sound asleep, and so was Daniel. Jack simply sat and reveled in the sight of his happy sleeping family. He was a very happy man, indeed.
====
Two nights later, during a brief break from tending to the needs of the triplets, Jack found Daniel sitting quietly on the patio porch. Katie, their youngest beagle, was lying down at his feet. Bijou, their mama beagle, was in the house, upstairs in the nursery with the babies, keeping watch as she liked to do so often.
Putting his arm around Daniel's waist, Jack placed a kiss on his lover's cheek. His left hand gently moved up and down Daniel's side.
“What's going on inside that head of yours?”
“Nothing,” the younger man answered quietly as he leaned his head against his soulmate.
“Daniel, sometimes I don't understand what goes on up there, but one thing I do know is that there is always something going on.”
Daniel chuckled softly and said, “It's so easy for you.”
“What is?”
“Stories. The babies cry, and in no time at all, you've got a story to tell them. Jack, I don't know how to do it. I've tried, but ... I don't know. I just fumble over the words,” the scientist lamented.
“You're trying too hard, Love.” Jack saw Daniel's questioning eyes staring at him. “You're not giving a briefing for the SGC, and you're not lecturing on some research find for academics. You're talking to your children, and at this point, Angel, all they need is to hear your voice. Tell them a story about the pyramids and Pharaohs, or some tale about a fish or a rock. It doesn't matter what you say because they don't understand the words anyway, but they do understand the love that the words are spoken with.” He chuckled slightly as he added, “You could read them the phone book, and, if you did it with a loving tone, they'd respond.”
“You make it sound so simple,” Daniel sighed, his head brushing against Jack's shoulder as he fidgeted slightly.
“It is,” Jack replied as he placed a tiny kiss at the top of Daniel's head.
A few moments passed, and then Daniel confided, “Jack, I'm still scared.”
“Of what?”
Daniel pulled back up. As he did so, Jack's arm slid from behind his lover's back. Not wanting to lose contact, the silver-haired man reached out and took his Daniel's right hand in his. He squeezed it gently in support.
The younger man wasn't really sure what he was afraid of, or maybe he was. He'd come so far from that insecure person he had been the day he had met his husband, and yet, sometimes, those doubts would pop out and threaten to overwhelm him.
“That'll I'll do something wrong. I don't ... everything I know about being a child happened in my first eight years, and I just don't remember all that much about ... about being a little child; and then there was that crazy week when we were children, but it wasn't really real. I ... I don't really have a lot to go on.”
Jack released his lover's hand and moved to rub the young man's upper back in short, tender motions. He knew Daniel's muscles were probably tense.
“Danny, being a parent means making mistakes. If you think we're going to waltz through this being perfect parents, you're wrong. We've already goofed up.”
“I know,” Daniel said, leaning over to pat Katie for a moment.
“It's life; we're human. Just love them, Angel, and everything else will follow,” Jack advised lovingly.
Daniel sighed and again rested his head against Jack's shoulder as he spoke, “I just ... they all fall asleep so easily for you.”
“Hey, they fall asleep for you.”
“Yes, but ... Jack, when you tell them a story, it just seems to ... flow. When I do it, I have to pull out the books. I ... gawd, I don't know how to be a parent.”
Jack squeezed his soulmate to him, chuckling lightly at the same time as he responded, “Daniel, you *are* a parent. Your problem is that you're nervous, and you work so hard to make it perfect, that you, well, sometimes, Love, you lose the moment. Remember our wedding vows?”
“Silly question, Jack.”
“You struggled for months looking for the right words. In the end, you spoke the perfect words, because the words you spoke came from your heart.”
“I know, Babe, but we're talking about children's books; I mean fairytales and fables. I don't have those memorized.”
“Yes, we're talking about children's books, but the kids aren't going to know the difference if you forget a page or two or three. Danny, forget reading, just try telling.”
“It's hopeless,” Daniel groaned, feeling defeated.
“You're a cultural expert, Love. You know a thousand fairytales, stories from those cultures.”
“Those aren't fairytales; they're history,” the archaeologist refuted.
“They're stories. Use what you know,” Jack instructed emphatically.
“It's impossible,” Daniel complained, his logical mind still blocking the simple truth Jack was trying to impart on him.
“Danny, did your parents tell you stories?”
“Sometimes, but they were usually about Egypt and the pyramids. I think they made them up, but I ...” Daniel looked at Jack, his mind finally grasping what his Silver Fox had been trying to tell him. “It didn't matter; I just liked that they were with me when I fell asleep.”
“See!” Jack nudged Daniel's shoulder with his own. “You just made my point. Just chill out a little; don't worry about the details so much.”
“I'm trying too hard,” Daniel acknowledged with a nod.
“Right.”
“I need to just relax and talk to them, like I normally do,” the worried father advised himself.
“Right.”
“I'll read them the phone book,” Daniel mused, a smile finally coming to his face.
Jack chuckled and teased, “Or, you could just recycle some of those old mission briefings. Those will put them to sleep.”
“Jack!” Daniel exclaimed, punching the older man lightly in the abdomen.
“I love you, Angel.”
“I love you, too, Jack.”
====
As night ticked on, turning into the darkness that began a new day, Daniel heard the babies through the monitor.
“0300,” Jack groaned, having woken up as well.
“It's my turn,” Daniel yawned as he slowly got up and slipped on his robe.
Before the younger man was out of the door, his lover had rolled over and gone back to sleep.
--
“Oh, geez, all three of you. What's going on?” Daniel asked, having entered the nursery and seeing all three babies fussing. “Need a change? Aw, that's the answer for you, Jonny. Hmm ... not for you two, though. Are you hungry? Okay, I'm going to get your bottles, and then we'll change whoever needs it. Shhh!”
Michael and Aislinn were cooing now, rather than crying, so Daniel picked up Jonny and carried him downstairs to get the bottles. Once they were ready, they returned to the nursery. At this point, Michael was being quiet, but Aislinn was beginning to make sobbing sounds.
“One at a time,” the triplets' younger father requested. He changed Jonny and then Aislinn, who had relieved herself while Daniel was downstairs. Michael was still dry, but hungry. All three looked to be wide awake. “So, how about a story while you have your bottles?”
Daniel looked around and decided that maybe a change of scenery would be nice for the triplets as well. One by one, he took them from the crib and lined them up on the three-quarter-size bed, using large, firm pillows to support them since their baby seats were downstairs. All three were focused on their daddy. Now, though, Aislinn didn't seem interested in her bottle, so Daniel used one hand to feed Michael and, with the other, managed to feed Jonny, too.
“Well, I'll tell you a secret. I, uh, I'm a little scared. I know I'm your daddy, and I'm supposed to keep you from being scared, but I ... I love you all so much that I don't want to do anything wrong. But ... your very wise dad told me to, well, chill out. See, I had wonderful parents, but they didn't live long enough to really show me how to be a good parent.”
Daniel sighed as, while Jonny took a break from his bottle, he adjusted the large blanket that he had put over the triplets.
“You know something, that's wrong. Mommy and Daddy loved me, and that's all I really need to know. So, in Egypt, it would get very, very hot, and sometimes, I couldn't sleep at night, so Mommy told me a story that always made me feel better. Now, I admit, I have this one memorized, but there's a lesson here, for all of us, including me. It, uh, goes something like this:
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
Sailed off in a wooden shoe ~
Sailed on a river of crystal light,
Into a sea of dew.
“Where are you going, and what do you wish?”
The old moon asked the three.
“We have come to fish for the herring fish
That live in this beautiful sea;
Nets of silver and gold have we!”
Said Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.
The old moon laughed and sang a song
As they rocked in the wooden shoe,
And the wind that sped them all night long
Ruffled the waves of dew.
The little stars were the herring fish
That lived in the beautiful sea ~
“Now cast your nets wherever you wish ~
Never afeard are we”;
So cried the stars to the fisherman three:
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.
Having woken again, Jack ambled quietly to the nursery. He stood just inside the doorway, watching serenely as his husband told their children his special story.
Seeing his Silver Fox, Daniel smiled and continued his tale.
All night long their nets they threw
To the stars in the twinkling foam ~
Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,
Bringing the fishermen home;
'Twas all so pretty a sail it seemed
As if it could not be,
And some folks thought 'twas a dream they'd dreamed
Of sailing that beautiful sea ~
But I shall name you the fishermen three:
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.
Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
And Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
Is a wee one's trundle-bed.
So shut your eyes while father sings
Of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things
As you rock in the misty sea,
Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.
Daniel paused, smiling at the triplets. He truly didn't have the words to express the love he felt for the three little lives in front of him.
“Each of you are Wynken, Blynken, and Nod, and each of you are our miracles, so remember that we love you, and, if we make mistakes, well, that only means we're human. We'll all learn together, okay?”
Daniel smiled. His three precious babes were fast asleep. He felt Jack slide in behind him and kiss his neck as his strong arms wrapped around the younger man.
“They've drifted off to sea, Love,” Jack said softly.
“I just wish it could always be a smooth sea,” Daniel replied quietly, not wanting to wake the triplets.
“Life means rough waters, but after rain, the sunshine comes,” the older man stated.
“Jack, you hate clichés.”
“I know. We'll protect them, Angel, as best we can, and, no matter what, they'll know love.”
“I hate to move them,” Daniel sighed.
Smiling, Jack suggested, “Well, you take the port, and I'll take the starboard.”
“Tight fit, Admiral,” the younger man mused.
“We'll survive, for one night.”
The lovers shared a kiss and then, as gently as possible, they flanked the triplets. Soon, they, too, drifted off to the sea of sleep, their hands joined together as they protected their sweet babes.
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