"Daddy?" General Jack O'Neill looked up from the seemingly never-ending stack of paperwork to find a pair of big blue eyes staring at him from across the desk. The owner of those eyes was wearing only her pj's and a pair of army boots at least three sizes too big. Jack's mouth quirked as he remembered she decided that she absolutely had to have boots like her mom, dad, Uncle Danny and Uncle Teal'C. The smallest pair they'd been able to find was still far too big, but she wouldn't hear of having a pair custom made. She wanted 'the real thing.'
"What's the matter kiddo?" he asked, leaning back in his chair, "can't sleep?" The six-year-old came around the des and climbed into his lap.
"I can't get this." She thrust a greyish object under his nose. Jack took it from her, trying to get a better look.
"Looks like one of Danny's rocks." His daughter giggled and rolled her eyes. Jack was once again reminded of how much she looke like her mom, which was a good thing. A very good thing, he amended.
"They're called artefacts," she had her mom's intelligence as well.
"I don't know if Space Monkey would be happy with you taking his ro...things." He knew that Danny didn't care. The little girl on his lap had the entire SGC wrapped around her little finger.
"He says it's a toy and that I could play with it." Jack looked at the cube in his hand. It sure didn't look like any toy he had as a kid. "I got the first three sides but I don't know how to do the other three." Jack wondered if she really expected him to help. He wasn't as dumb as many people thought him to be, but...a thought suddenly occured to him. His daughter was smart like her mom, but she did get certain aspects of her personality from him.
"Katie, I know Danny let you play with this, but did he say you could take it out of his office?" Silence greeted his question,
"Katie?" there was a warning note in his voice.
"Well he never said I couldn't." He looked sternely at her, an effect that was ruined by the feminine laughter coming from the doorway. They both looked up to see Sam grinning at the scene in front of her.
"Sounds kinda like a certain colonel I used to know." Before Jack could answer, Katie burst in.
"I wanna get this before I go to bed."
"Sounds like a certain captain I used to know," said Jack to Sam then turned to his daughter,
"Sorry kiddo, but it's WAY past your bedtime." Again he was met with the big blue eyes technique, "That's not going to work," he warned her. The little girl's bottom lip came out adorably.
"But it always works for mommy," she argued.
"Yeah well..." the girl was still looking at him plaintively. "Oh, for cryin' out loud, I'll make you a deal; I'll tell you a bed time story instead. How's that sound?" The little girl nodded happily, the toy forgotten. For now. Jack had a feeling that tomorrow over dinner he'd hear how she finally figured it out, which suited him just fine. He loved his life. Sure, he missed going on missions sometimes, but being the CO of the SGC rarely allowed him that luxury. Nonetheless, he had a wonderful family, a job he really enjoyed and great friends. What more can a guy ask for?
"Can you tell me the one about how you convinved mommy to finally go fishing with you?" Without looking at Sam, Jack knew she was blushing. There were certain aspects of that story that were always left out when he told it to his daughter. He grinned and picked the little girl up. As he carried his now sleepy daughter on one arm and put his other around Sam's shoulders feeling her slip her arm around his waist, he decided that he was the luckiest SOB in the galaxy.
THE END
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