A Christmas to Belong Read online

  Jack frowned at the one name he didn't know. "DJ?" He silently directed Carter to check on Sam, then Teal'c to MacGyver's group. Both nodded and went in search of their quarries.

  In the meantime, Jim answered, "Short for Double Jack, Cory's nickname for Jack Nielson."

  So his clone had picked up a nickname. Mind still pondering all the information, he tickled Ian, making him giggle. "Sam's hand?"

  "Broke the perp's nose who pointed a gun at Ian."

  So Sam got a piece of the bastards who attacked his son. Jack felt a bit of pride for his cousin's toughness.

  In his arms, Ian looked up as his eyes brightened. "I bit the bad guy on the hand," he reported to Jack, obviously proud of himself.

  Jack's pride grew as he smiled at him. "Good job. You're going to be just as tough as your daddy when you grow up." He looked at Ellison. "Is there a place to talk?"

  Jim tilted his head to the corner. Jack glanced at the last member of SG1, Daniel Jackson. Daniel stepped into Ian's line of sight. "Hey Ian, remember me?"

  Ian nodded. "You tell good stories like Unca Bear."

  Daniel smiled, pleased that he was remembered. "If you want, I can tell you another one while we wait for your Daddy."

  "Okay."

  After Ian was safely transferred to Daniel, Jack followed Jim and listened to his update. When Jim had finished, Jack asked quietly, "Do you know, uh, DJ's background?"

  Jim nodded. "Cory and Blair filled me in during the car ride here."

  "What do you make of these two attempts?"

  "All we know right now is that these people seemed to be organized, well-funded, and the main target is DJ. Any intel from your end?"

  "We suspect a rogue group within the NID. We've dealt with them before. The complication is that they have ties to the future Vice President."

  Jim blinked. "Not the United States VP?"

  "Yep."

  "Damn. Should have voted for the other guy."

  "Yeah."

  "Do we know why exactly they want DJ?"

  "Several possibilities. Besides the obvious, elements within the NID have been known to sneak around and steal, ah, foreign technologies. They nearly destroyed our relations with some of our key allies a while back. But everything on DJ is only known by a handful of people, and the new administration is still in the dark. The NID should have no way of knowing how he got here."

  Jim took a deep breath, then his body tightened. He turned to the left. Two men, hands cuffed in front, were being escorted away from the exam rooms. Jack's eyes grew cold as he noted the facial bruises and the bandage on the one man's nose. "Those the ones who attacked Ian and DJ?"

  "Yep."

  Jack paused a moment, then marched up to the men. Jim followed Jack, and upon noticing his friend's face, Daniel also jumped to his feet to follow.

  Jack stopped in front of them. The officers with the men tried to stop him, but Jim appealed to the detective next to them. "Steve, this is Colonel Jack O'Neill, DJ's uncle. Give him a moment?"

  Steve Sloan glanced between the cold eyes of MacGyver's double, and Jim's reassuring ones. "Okay, you've got five." He and the two patrol officers stepped back out of hearing range.

  Jack stared at the men a moment. "You know who I am?" Both nodded. "Why are you after Jack Nielson?"

  The man without the broken nose replied, "A very important man wants his property back. We figured you'd trade it for your... nephew's... life."

  Jack lifted his eyebrow. "The property would create quite a scandal if I released it. And I've said I would if another child of SGC personnel was threatened. You don't think that would include my own nephew?"

  "Is he your nephew?" The man slyly suggested. "Or has one of your, ah, flings on other worlds caught up with you? There are those who would be interested in examining a child of such foreign roots."

  Jack's blood boiled at both insinuations. He forced his temper back. "Hold out your hands!" Reluctantly, both men held out their hands. Jack easily spied the bite mark on the talkative one. Jack pointed at it. "Even the youngest of my family will fight you to protect my nephew. You do not want me on your asses. If anyone goes anywhere near my family again, the public release of the information will be just the start of your problems."

  "Other things may come to light."

  "Read my lips: I. Don't. Care."

  Jack and the talkative one locked eyes for a long moment. Then the man nodded. "I will pass your information on."

  "Then we understand each other." Jack waved the police over to take the prisoners.

  As they were lead away, Daniel quietly asked, "The election is over. Will your evidence be enough to keep Kinsey away from the Stargate?"

  Jack watched the men who had attacked his clone. "The Stargate? Probably not."

  "DJ?" Jim asked softly.

  "As long as I continue to play it right."

  * * *

  Christmas Eve, MacGyver's Firehouse

  Mac leaned against the doorframe between the kitchen and the living area. To his left, Blair was prepping the turkey for tomorrow while Amanda made the finishing touches to her cake, telling Blair stories from her childhood. To his right, Jim and Cory were helping Ian hang the last of the stockings, the window frame filling in for a fireplace mantle. Sam was calling out directions to the trio as he sorted through the Christmas DVDs.

  Only one person was missing. Mac walked down to the last bedroom and knocked on the door. "DJ?"

  "Come in."

  Mac stepped inside. DJ was lying in his bed, staring at the ceiling as he flipped a hockey puck into the air and caught it. Mac sat on the bed and studied him. He was getting some healthy color back into his face. After nearly a minute of silence, Mac asked, "You doing okay?"

  "Yeah." He tossed the puck back into the air. "It's been a long time since I've done the whole Christmas scene."

  "Since Charlie?"

  "Yeah."

  Silence reined for another minute as DJ threw and caught the puck. Mac leaned back against the wall, his legs stretched out over the foot of the bed. "You know, today's the anniversary of my mother's death."

  The hockey puck was caught and held.

  "I didn't make it back home that year. While my head knew Mom understood, my heart blamed me not being there."

  "What she die of?"

  "A stroke."

  "Nothing you could have done, Gus."

  "Nope, nothing I could have done." He glanced at the deceptively young-looking man. "Just as there are a lot of things you can't change, Jack."

  "And being a clone is one of them?"

  "Yep."

  "Is this the pep talk about playing the hand that life dealt me?"

  "Something like that."

  "Sam's speech was much better."

  "Ah, but he admitted he didn't use a Grandpa Harry quote. All my best speeches have a Harry quote. Ask Blair."

  DJ snickered.

  Mac then asked, "Are you ready to join the rest of the family?"

  DJ's face turned serious. "For how long?"

  A slow smile stretched across Mac's face as he realized what his cousin was asking. "For as long as you need a family."

  "That could be quite a while."

  "We aren't going anywhere."

  DJ met Mac's eyes. Promises were made and sealed in a moment. DJ smiled that he understood. He dropped the puck onto the nightstand. "Then let's party."

  The End

  12/18/04: I'll get Revenge for the Scorpion done soon, I promise!

 

 

 
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