Reading Time: 112 Minutes

Title: Where Angels Fear to Tread
Author: Keira Marcos
Fandom: Stargate: Atlantis, Stargate: SG-1, NCIS
Relationship: Patrick Sheppard/Jack O’Neill, Tony DiNozzo/OMC, Rodney McKay/John Sheppard
Genre: Romance, Science Fiction, Mutant!AU, First Time, Alternate Universe
Warnings: Canon Typical Violence, Bigotry, Discussion-Human Experimentation, Violence, Homophobic Language, Character Death-OC, Grammarly Beta
Author’s Note: Sequel to The Air That Angels Breathe.
Word Count: 64,612
Summary: Patrick Sheppard comes out swinging when the NID makes a play to have his son returned to Earth for study regarding his unique mutation.

* * * *

Chapter 1

“Sir.”

Jack looked up and found the OSI agent that had been wreaking havoc in his mountain since his arrival nearly four months before. “Agent DiNozzo, you managed to work your way into my already packed schedule this morning. I assume you have terrible news for me.”

DiNozzo flashed him a smile right out of a damn Hollywood movie, and Jack sighed.

“Good morning, General O’Neill,” DiNozzo sat down in the chair he was pointed to. “Two hours ago, I discovered a data breach. Colonel Carter has locked the mountain down, but the damage is done.”

“What was leaked?” Jack questioned because while declassification had come and gone, there were still deeply classified parts of the project that would remain that way.

“Colonel Frank Simmons, currently attached to the NID, received an uncensored copy of Colonel John Sheppard’s file,” DiNozzo said. “Director Sheppard needs to be informed, of course. I don’t know, yet, what Colonel Simmons wants, but the file was accompanied by a series of photographs.”

“Photographs of what?” O’Neill questioned. “The bug out?”

“I wish,” DiNozzo said. “That event was included in declassification as a distraction and an example of how well the expedition was able to handle themselves off-planet with no direct support.” He cleared his throat. “I emailed them to you.”

Jack opened his laptop and went to his email. He hesitated briefly before opening up the attachments. The first picture was of John Sheppard in flight, black wings spread as he soared in the air near the central spire of Atlantis. Another of him standing on a pier, dressed in BDUs and combat boots. He looked in prime physical condition, a Marine to the core. Jack frowned and moved to the next, which just showed a few different angles of the wings. He’d heard, of course, but hadn’t seen any sort of visual confirmation. He hadn’t planned to ever ask for one.

“Do you know who contacted Simmons?” Jack questioned.

DiNozzo shook his head. “We’re still working the computer forensics on that front. Due to the security involved in the project, I have to depend on your people. And they aren’t exactly focused the way someone with investigative training would be. I expect to get the information I need on that subject within the next two hours.”

“If you need someone brought in with a specialty. I can handle that,” Jack said roughly as he closed his laptop. “Did you need to bring another agent from the Office of Special Investigations?”

“No, I work better on my own,” DiNozzo said. “And your geeks are great. I’ll eventually settle on one to sort of train.” He grinned when Jack laughed. “The breach of security is a concern, and it was only discovered by chance. Colonel Simmons does have the clearances for the project, of course, but this is a breach of privacy that is going to rattle a lot of cages. News that Colonel Sheppard revealed his mutation has spread beyond the SGC, and I don’t know if Simmons requested the information from a source he trusted or if someone in the mountain sold that information.

“Regardless, the email was sent five hours ago, and no one has left the facility in nearly six hours.”

“So our traitor is still here,” Jack said.

“Technically, probably not treason,” DiNozzo said. “I’ll certainly pursue a host of charges.”

“A traitor is a traitor,” Jack said shortly. “Even if I can’t accuse this person of it, that’s exactly how I view them. I need to call Admiral Sheppard.”

“Not a phone call I’d want to make,” Tony said. “You’ll want to make room to call Commandant Rampart as well. He may try to send someone from NCIS to investigate since it’s one of his Marines being put at risk.”

Jack stared for a moment, well aware of DiNozzo’s history with NCIS. “Will that be a problem for you?”

“It’ll be a problem for them,” Tony said. “Especially if they send in their heavy hitter from DC. Agent Gibbs has never forgiven me for going over his head and reporting Ziva David to the Inspector General’s office for espionage.” He shrugged. “It cost Jenny Shepard her career, and Gibbs was protective of her.”

“You did your duty,” Jack said shortly. “And if Leroy Gibbs was even half the Marine he thinks he is, then he would’ve done it himself. He put his personal feelings before his country, and frankly, son, that’s unforgivable in my mind. He should’ve been retired at that point, at any rate. He’s not welcome in my mountain, and I’ll let Rampart know that.” He tapped his pen on his desk. “Now, I have to call Patrick Sheppard and tell him someone is about to launch a tactical strike at the center of his universe.”

Tony cleared his throat and nodded. “I don’t envy you that conversation. I’ve forwarded you what I’ve got, which isn’t much because I figured he’d want it.”

Jack nodded and sat back in his chair as DiNozzo left. A lot of people had tried to blackball the agent after the dust-up at NCIS, but Jack knew big damn hero stuff when he saw it. So, when he got a head’s up on the situation, he’d swept in and took Anthony DiNozzo, Jr. off the playing field before anyone could get enough room to take a swipe at him. Jack had gotten a few dozen complaints about it, but his give a fuck had been broken for a decade.

His cell rang before he could call Homeworld, so he picked it up. Only one person called him on his personal phone, and he made a point of picking up every single time he could. “Charlie, hey.”

“Dad,” Charlie said with a yawn. “How’s Monday treating you?”

“It was great. Then I got a visit from someone, and now my whole month is ruined.” He grinned when Charlie laughed.

“It’s just the fifth of December. You’re screwed.”

“How was your weekend?”

“Ah, well,” Charlie said with a huff. “It was the wedding. Mom looked beautiful, despite the fact that she married a complete and total douchebag. I know you said his background check came out fine, but he’s just…gross. Mom wants me to spend the rest of the month with them…which weird. I told her I didn’t want to hang out with them during their honeymoon. Carl didn’t seem to mind, either.”

Jack could just imagine the face his son was making. “You can come back to Colorado at any point. She wants you with her for Christmas, of course, so she’s avoiding putting you on a plane.”

“I know,” Charlie said. “But I don’t want to spend Christmas with her and Stepdouche.”

Jack knew he should probably rein that in, but he didn’t want to spend any time with Carl Houser either. He wasn’t a criminal or anything, but Jack had met more entertaining off-world prison wardens.

“He told me I could call him pop.” Charlie huffed. “And I told him that I had a dad, and I wasn’t going to call him anything but his first name. Mom got upset. But, come on. Also, he tried to give me a speech about being a man.”

Jack laughed. “What?”

“He said that since I was eighteen, I had to start thinking about my future and what sort of man I would want to be.”

Jack knew that his ex-wife’s new husband didn’t think much of him or his career in the military. His service was a secret to no one thanks to declassification, and not everyone was comfortable with his war record, which included the near destruction of entire planets. Defending Earth had come at a heavy cost, and he had no regrets for what he’d done in the field. He didn’t pretend to, and some people found that galling. Apparently, it was okay that he did it, but he should feel crippling guilt for it.

“Is this about me?” Jack questioned.

“Yeah, sure,” Charlie said easily. “And I told him that I’d been planning for my future since I was fourteen, and I didn’t need his advice. Mom said I should hear him out like she isn’t completely aware that I think very little of him. It was so weird, and she was clearly trying to validate his manhood or something. Which…you know what? I don’t actually care that he feels inferior to you because he didn’t save the whole damn world a couple of times.”

Jack laughed. “Charlie.”

“Anyway, I’m packing so she can take me to the airport, and she wanted me to call you to make sure I had a ride home when I landed. I emailed you a copy of my flight info.” He huffed. “So send in the Marines or something.” He paused. “Or that really hot OSI agent you had over for dinner last month.”

“That man is fourteen years older than you,” Jack said sternly and got an unrepentant laugh for his trouble. “Charles Tyler O’Neill.”

“Wow,” Charlie muttered. “Oh, would you ask Dr. Carter about that letter she promised to write me? I’m waiting on it so I can apply to CalTech.”

“MIT already accepted you, right?”

“Yeah, and Northwestern, but I attended that lecture that Dr. Corsair gave on wormhole physics. I sent the video to Dr. McKay, and he said that Dr. Corsair was not a complete idiot and I wouldn’t be wasting my time if I were to do my undergrad work in her department at CalTech. So, I’ve put that on the table as an option, and Dr. Carter said she’d write me a letter of reference and outline the intern work I did for her last summer.” He paused. “Oh, and Carl asked me about my mutation.”

“He what?” Jack stood up before he could even help himself.

“He just said that Mom had told him I had a mutation, and he wanted to know what it was if I was going to be living in the same house with him. And I said my mutation was none of his business and that I’d decided that I was going to continue to live with you.” Charlie huffed. “Mom wasn’t around when he did it, but he was clearly put off by the fact that I wasn’t going to live with them. I thought she’s already told him that I was only visiting California for the wedding. I’m not going to transfer schools in the middle of my senior year of high school. Plus, there’s Ester, and I’m not just ready for that separation to happen. Going to different colleges is going to be hard enough.”

“I’ll run another background check,” Jack muttered, and Charlie laughed. “But I’m still not sending anyone attractive to pick you up from the airport.”

“You know, being the general’s kid already works against me,” Charlie said. “You could at least be a decent wingman to your only child.”

“If I hadn’t caught you in bed with three different people in the last six months, I’d feel sorry for you,” Jack said dryly.

“Caught?” Charlie scoffed. “My daddy taught me well enough to never get caught with my pants down. And the last one was just comfort, which I needed since my ex-girlfriend started dating my ex-boyfriend.”

“Sure, comfort,” Jack said with a laugh. “I have to run. I’m due to ruin someone else’s day. Send Walter your flight details. I’m going to have to delegate that to him, at any rate. I might be in Washington most of the day.”

“Oh, it’s that kind of day,” Charlie said in amusement. “Are you going to see the Admiral?”

Jack sighed. “Charlie.”

“I’m just trying to have a decent step-parent experience in all of this,” Charlie declared. “And there isn’t a damn thing wrong with Admiral Patrick Sheppard. He makes Homeworld Security look great, and his son is awesome. Having a big damn hero for a stepbrother would be fantastic. And ever since you came out of the closet as super gay….”

“I never said I was super gay.”

“I overheard you tell Dr. Jackson that you think Ricky Martin is hot,” Charlie declared. “Gotta run, Mom’s yelling. If she sends Stepdouche up here, I’m gonna lose my mind. Bye!”

Jack frowned and dialed his ex-wife’s number. They didn’t have a good relationship and probably never would, considering everything that had happened.

“Jack, I don’t have time to talk. Charlie is insisting on leaving.”

Jack frowned. “Your new husband asked Charlie about his mutation. Did you know that?”

“He was curious. I told him that I couldn’t discuss it without Charlie’s permission,” Sara said easily. “I don’t know why Charlie is so weird about it. His mutation saved his life.”

Jack frowned and sat down at his desk. He hardly needed any reminders of the day he’d come home from being deployed to the sight of his eight-year-old on the floor with a chest wound. Charlie had been playing with a gun. A gun he wouldn’t have had access to if Sara hadn’t left the safe open. Jack had been too furious to be rational about it at first, and the fights had been vicious.

Charlie’s body had expelled the bullet, and the wound had healed completely within two days. It had been the start of his mutation. Super fast healing wasn’t a unique mutation, but some people got weird about it, and there had been some incidents with people purposely injuring mutants just to watch them heal. Charlie was careful with it for obvious reasons, and his mother’s lax attitude about the whole thing had put him off for years.

“Tell him not to question Charlie about his mutation again,” Jack said. “I mean it, Sara.”

“Charlie’s eighteen now, Jack. The custody agreement is void. He could live with me now, and you’d have to deal with it.”

“Well, too bad for you that you married a douchebag that Charlie can’t stand,” Jack said dryly. “Charlie wants to live with me, and I’m not going to let you berate him into doing what you want.”

She huffed. “Charlie is just like you, Jack. Once he makes a decision, he doesn’t let anyone get in his way. He never has. It’s infuriating.”

“One day, I’d really hope you remember that I’m not the bad guy in this situation,” Jack said roughly. “I wasn’t great about the…gun.”

“You were an asshole, but you weren’t wrong. You told me for years to stop storing my jewelry in your gun safe. I don’t even remember how long I left it unlocked that last time.” Sara took a deep breath. “Carl’s a good man. Charlie won’t give him a chance.”

“He passed the background check,” Jack said mildly. “I think the bar could be set too low, though.” He checked his watch. “Listen, I have to make a very difficult phone call, and I’ve procrastinated long enough.”

“Wait. You did a background check on Carl? How dare you, Jack!”

Jack sighed. “Come on, Sara, the man has personal access to my son. Homeworld Security doesn’t give a shit what you do, but anyone associated with Charlie is subject to an intense amount of scrutiny. There’s nothing I can do about that.”

“Our son.”

Jack frowned. “Congratulations on getting married. Enjoy your honeymoon.” He paused. “And avoid pineapple, for Carl’s sake.”

She groaned. “God, please let me live that down.”

“You spent three days after our wedding in the hospital due to an allergic reaction because you accidentally ate the only thing you’re allergic to at our wedding reception,” Jack said in amusement. “My mom said it was a bad omen. My dad defended you by pointing out you were too drunk to even notice what you were eating.”

“I always liked your dad best,” Sara muttered and hung up.

Jack set aside the cell and picked up his desk phone to make the call. It barely rang at all before being picked up.

“This is Sheppard,” Patrick said in his ear.

Jack tapped his fingers on his desk and opened his laptop. “Admiral Sheppard, this is Jack O’Neill. We’ve had a security breach.”

“Data or physical?” Sheppard questioned tersely.

“Data.” Jack cleared his throat. “Colonel Frank Simmons, an Air Force officer assigned to the NID, received a series of photos of your son and a copy of his service record.” He paused. “The photos were of Colonel Sheppard in flight and several with his wings out on one of the piers of Atlantis. Agent DiNozzo is investigating, and we’ve locked the mountain down. Whoever sent the information is still here in the mountain.”

“And the person on Atlantis responsible for sending the data?”

“We have a data burst due in an hour. I’ll send an encrypted communication to Dr. Weir about the situation to avoid any sort of tip-off. McKay won’t have a problem finding the culprit.” Jack listened to Sheppard breathing.

“Mutation is commonplace.” Sheppard took a deep breath. “But it was new and horrifying when John emerged. I was petrified because I knew enough about the situation already to know that not a single human had demonstrated such a gift as he had. I nearly left the Navy altogether to protect my son, to defend his rights as a human being. He serves his country and planet with distinction. I don’t fucking appreciate someone trying to stab him in the back. Find out who did this—because they’re going to pay for it.”

“DiNozzo is working the problem.”

“You pissed off a lot of people by recruiting him and placing him in OSI.”

“You included?”

“DiNozzo got a raw deal with NCIS for doing his job,” Patrick said. “It was an ugly political game, and Mossad still has a bloody nose over the whole thing. They wanted someone to pay for it. Plenty of people thought that DiNozzo should take the hit. I wasn’t one of them. The David family is corrupt as fuck.”

“Yeah,” Jack agreed. “I heard Jenny Shepard died.”

“Brain tumor,” Patrick said. “Her impulse control took a major hit, and she had to be isolated to protect national security. She died badly.”

Jack huffed a little. “DiNozzo hasn’t been told that.”

“He doesn’t need to know,” Patrick said. “The director of NCIS wanted to reach out to him—get him to come back and manage Gibbs. OSI ran interference to prevent Director Granger from getting close to DiNozzo.” He paused, and for a moment, silence settled between them. “What do we know about Frank Simmons?”

“He’s a cruel fucker,” Jack said and winced because he hadn’t meant to say it out loud. “Forget I said that.”

“I’d prefer honesty, O’Neill.”

“He’s anti-alien for a start and nearly got Teal’c killed. He also tried to confiscate him for experimentation several times. Hayes had to sign a presidential order giving Teal’c expansive rights that led to US citizenship just to protect him from literal dissection.” Jack frowned. “He’s known for his rabid interest in mutants and has tried to recruit many to the NID specifically for their talents. John’s unique, of course, but I don’t see how his ability to sprout wings and fly would be all that useful to an organization like the NID.”

“An investigation and experimentation into his specific mutation could lead to genuine shapeshifters,” Patrick said. “And that’s something that organizations like the NID and the CIA would be deeply invested in achieving. They’d bleed my boy dry, O’Neill. The potential for it has always been there. I invested myself in mutant rights to protect him and others like him because I don’t believe he’s the only one.”

“I’m going to have a phone call with Rampart next,” Jack said wearily.

“I don’t know where he stands,” Patrick said. “He certainly says the right things in public.”

“I’ve never heard a single Marine say a bad word about the man,” Jack said. “Though it’s not common for Marines to ever criticize the Commandant of the Marine Corps to outsiders. I had to work my ass off to earn the respect of the Marines serving under me, and honestly, some of them probably still have me on probation.”

Patrick laughed, but it was a sharp, sad sound. “Come to Washington, O’Neill. I want Frank Simmons in my office as soon as possible.” He paused. “And his boss.”

“He’s seconded to the NID,” Jack said. “He’s under the command of the Air Force Chief of Staff, but his superior at the NID is Director Preston Coleman.”

“Then I expect to see Simmons and Coleman as soon as possible. We can rope General Blake in, if necessary,” Patrick said and ended the call.

* * * *

Patrick picked up his coffee and stood from his desk. A swift knock on his door signaled the arrival of his XO. “Come in, Major.”

Major Anne Teldy opened the door and entered. “Admiral.”

He didn’t have to look at her to know she was standing stiffly in front of his desk. Anne Teldy was new to his staff, a transfer back to Earth from Atlantis. John had asked him to take her into his command as an aide. He didn’t know why specifically, but she was a great officer, and he appreciated the recommendation.

“At ease, Major.” Patrick took a sip of coffee. “How are you settling in? The change must be difficult.”

“We’ve had our belongings delivered, and my wife is unpacking with her mother’s…help. I suspect Allison will lose her mind at any moment, and I’ll be forced to break land speed records crossing town just in time to take her mother all the way to the airport.”

“Why did you come back to Earth, Major?”

“My wife wants a baby, sir,” Teldy said. “We’d like to go back eventually—when colonization becomes an option, and children are allowed on the city.”

“Did John ask you to keep an eye on me?” Patrick asked.

“Yes, sir, of course.”

Patrick turned and found her standing at parade rest in front of his desk, expression clear and serious. He nodded. “There was a data breach at the SGC. The NID received photo evidence of my son’s mutation and a copy of his uncensored file. Specifically, Colonel Frank Simmons, Air Force, received the materials.” He sat down at his desk. “Sit and tell me what you know about him.”

Teldy sat. “He’s a problem and always has been. Simmons is connected, has more power than his rank should allow, and moves in shadows with startling ease. Ultimately, he’s selfish and ego-driven. He’s ripe for Trust recruitment, and he’s on a watchlist for it. Frank Simmons is divorced with an estranged daughter. There was a mistress, but I am unsure if that is still the case. I can request an update from OSI.” She paused. “I can also go take care of him.” She merely raised an eyebrow when he focused on her. “If such a solution becomes preferred.”

“Get into contact with Agent DiNozzo, coordinate with him, and get me everything there is to be had,” Patrick ordered and tried not to smile at her. “I want to know what Frank Simmons had for breakfast this morning, Major.”

She stood. “Yes, sir.”

Patrick watched her leave and set aside the now cold coffee. He picked up his cell and sent a text canceling the lunch meeting he had planned and the date he’d been on the fence about keeping. It was a second date, but he’d regretted agreeing to it the moment it happened. Nothing was wrong with the woman except for the fact that she was just twenty-six. She responded with a frownie face, which Patrick found appalling.

He sat aside his cell with a sigh and checked his watch. The data burst from Atlantis was due, and he was expecting an email from his son. He wondered what sort of security would be put in place and how long it would take in the future to get communications from Atlantis.

* * * *

Jack made sure he was close by for the data burst from Atlantis. The city had sent an IDC through to Midway Station, indicating that they were sending more than data. He watched from the control room as Elizabeth Weir had a conversation with Walter Harriman regarding the return of two scientific assets to Earth. Walter turned to Jack when Elizabeth asked for him specifically.

Jack stepped forward. “I’m here, Elizabeth.”

“I’m sending you a file ahead of the data burst,” Elizabeth said tersely. “It details our investigation into a security breach in medical services and what has turned out to be an investigation into Colonel Sheppard’s mutation. We are returning Dr. Jennifer Keller and Dr. Henry Dawson. I’ve included a list of offenses in the investigation file for each of them.”

Jack considered that. “Dawson was sent out recently, correct?”

“Yes, he’s been here a month working in computer engineering. He circumvented security protocols in place and made a copy of Colonel Sheppard’s medical records. We made sure he wasn’t able to transfer that data to anyone. But, the situation caused us to review the entire system, and we found that Dr. Keller took several pictures of Colonel Sheppard highlighting his mutation that she sent to Earth. We don’t know if they made it out of the mountain or who received them on your end.”

“They were sent to the NID,” Jack said shortly. “I’ve already reported the situation to Admiral Sheppard. Do I need to send a team out there to investigate anything?”

“No, our people have it in hand, and we’re making changes to the information system protocols, and security measures that govern the content of the data burst,” Elizabeth said. “Due to the situation, General O’Neill, I’ve made the decision that no matter what you might be ordered to do…Colonel Sheppard is not returning to Earth any time soon. He is mission essential to city security, and we are in an indefinite state of emergency due to the wraith. I’ve already drafted a directive for the IOA, and it’s included in the data burst.”

“Understood,” Jack said.

The data burst came through from Midway Station shortly before two people came through and were immediately taken into custody. Jack frowned as he watched the civilians removed from the gate room, as he realized he was going to have to call the FBI. He hadn’t really wanted the leak to be military, but it would’ve certainly made things easier on the investigative and prosecution front. He didn’t like dealing with civilian law enforcement agencies, and declassification hadn’t made that any easier either. The SGC’s mandate gave them a lot of reach due to the potential for alien encroachment, and they had ongoing presidential authority to operate on US soil in response to alien threats.

Agent DiNozzo appeared at his side. “I’ve put them in separate locations under guard, General. We’ll need assets from the FBI and Homeworld on site for record keeping during the interrogation phase.”

Jack nodded. “Are you going to request anyone specific?”

“I’m still considering my options on that front,” Tony admitted. “It’ll be interesting to see who shows up from the FBI. Admiral Sheppard will request someone he trusts, which will lower his stress. That’s a goal, right?”

“Keeping his temper in check is more important,” Jack admitted. “The last time someone came for his son—all he had was his mother’s money. Now he has money and political power.”

“He’s a good man.”

“Yes,” Jack agreed. “But even a good man is capable of the worst to protect his children.” He checked his watch. “I’m going to be beamed to Washington. I suspect the admiral will return to the mountain with me to watch the interrogations. Get me a summary on both civilians so I can tell him something about each of them.”

“On it,” DiNozzo said and left.

The wormhole closed as Sam Carter left the computer station not far from Walter and walked to stand beside him.

“Charlie mentioned you owed him a reference. He’s flying back today.”

“Oh, I knew I was forgetting something,” she muttered and pulled a pen from her pocket. He watched in amusement as she jotted a note on her palm. “I’ve isolated the computer responsible for sending the email to Colonel Simmons. It was in an auxiliary lab, and there’s a problem.”

“You mean a bigger problem.”

“Yes, sir,” Carter agreed. “McKay’s credentials were used to log into the system and send the email.”

“Weird. We can easily prove that he was on Atlantis.”

“Yes, so I think it was more of a…poke at McKay. Someone with a grudge using his identity to put Colonel Sheppard at risk.”

“A personal grudge then,” Jack said with a sigh. “Which equals Peter Kavanagh, right?”

Dr. Kavanagh had filed one complaint after another due to his removal from Atlantis, and Jack had been considering posting him off-world at the alpha site for a year just to get some peace.

“Well, Kavanagh isn’t the only person who has a problem with Rodney,” Carter said and shrugged when Jack looked her way. “McKay’s an asshole, sir. He’s also brilliant, and that kind of intelligence garners a lot of attention for good or bad. Professional jealousy is the root of Kavanagh’s problem with McKay.”

“Not the behavior?”

Carter shrugged again. “There are scientists that would cut off an arm for a chance to get told in person how dumb McKay thinks they are, sir. Because they know he doesn’t waste his time, so any attention is good. Kavanagh would go back to Atlantis in a heartbeat if it meant getting to work with McKay.”

“Geeks,” Jack muttered. “Find out who leaked this information as quickly as possible, Colonel.”

“I have Dr. Lee working on it now, sir. He’s the best we have when it comes to computer forensics unless you can talk Atlantis into letting us borrow Dr. Kusanagi. It’s her system.”

“Keep the idea on tap,” O’Neill said. “They’ll probably part with her briefly to hunt for the leak considering how…furious Elizabeth sounded.”

“Well.”

“What?” he questioned and focused on her.

She grimaced. “Whoever did this is…endangering the success of the expedition, sir. The city itself is deeply invested in Colonel Sheppard, and he is the strongest gene carrier in the program. I doubt anyone could take his place currently on the city. This means that if the NID were to find some way to take him off the city permanently, the expedition would be forced to leave Pegasus eventually.”

“Invested or attached?”

“Are you asking me if I think the city is sentient?” Carter asked, and he nodded. She took a deep breath. “There is an intelligence functioning on Atlantis that is beyond our current understanding of what virtual or artificial intelligence is. There is also an organic component to Ancient technology, most especially the city, that we’ve not fully investigated due to the IOA’s refusal to fund such research. McKay believes Atlantis to be other.”

“Other.”

“Neither AI nor VI,” Carter explained. “So other because it is clearly a machine and yet….”

“Organic elements,” O’Neill murmured, and Carter nodded. “Make sure Weir’s email to the IOA reaches them as soon as possible. They’ll support her fully on the subject of John Sheppard, and that’s for the best. I want to be able to tell the admiral that we all have his son’s back. Check the data they sent us to see if it helps with Dr. Lee’s search. And be prepared to take a knee and beg Dr. Kusanagi to visit with us if necessary.”

“Yes, sir.”

Chapter 2

One of the more interesting things to come out of declassification was the construction of the Arcturus space station, funded and operated by IOA. It had been built on the ground in modules and taken into space by the Daedalus. The designers had availed themselves of every bit of technology the SGC had researched and manipulated to work. It had beaming technology, which was used liberally to move personnel from the SGC around, and it also managed resources for NASA, which was currently retrofitting International Space Station for various scientific operations.

Jack didn’t involve himself in the running of either station, but he sent Marines up to provide security as needed. He’d also insisted on extensive emergency evacuation procedures in case some alien came along and attacked it. The station had no actual weapons beyond what the Marines carried for security, so it was defenseless. No treaty on Earth would allow them to arm a space station, not even for planetary defense. No one trusted each other enough, and that was a game of politics that Jack wanted no part of.

He barely saw the inside of the station before he was transferred via beaming technology to stand directly in front of Patrick Sheppard’s desk. He saluted as Admiral Sheppard stood. They were equal in rank, at two stars each, but Patrick Sheppard was also a Medal of Honor recipient due to his service as a Navy SEAL, and that meant everyone who knew saluted the man on sight no matter the circumstances.

Sheppard returned the salute and frowned. “At ease, O’Neill.” He walked away from the desk and went to stand at the doorway. “When I took George Hammond’s seat, he told me that I could trust you.”

“I hope I’ve done nothing to make you doubt me, sir,” Jack said.

“I’m not actually your boss, you know,” Patrick said and turned to face him. “In fact, I’m probably the only peer you have in this whole clusterfuck.” He waved a hand around. “I’ve not contacted POTUS about John. Have you?”

“It’s not my habit to call POTUS until I have all the facts,” Jack admitted. “And a solution to the problem. He likes solutions to be presented practically before problems exist.”

Patrick nodded. “What’s Simmons’ history with the program beyond trying to kill Teal’c?”

“Colonel Frank Simmons, seconded to the NID, has passed numerous background checks and makes the appearance of being a patriot. I believe he has a far-reaching agenda that stretches beyond the goals of the NID, the SGC, and even the Trust. He was investigated during the issues with Colonel Caldwell, but there was no proof that he facilitated that.”

“How is Caldwell?” Patrick questioned.

“As well as can be expected since he spent weeks being held hostage by a goa’uld in his own head,” Jack said roughly. “He’s passed psych and medical evals. I put him back on his ship because I felt it might…. I’d want to work in his place.”

“I would as well,” Patrick murmured and exhaled. “Simmons and Preston are in the waiting area being stared at by Major Teldy.” He turned to Jack. “Also, what exactly did Teldy do at the SGC? Her jacket doesn’t reflect what I’ve learned about her.”

Jack considered how to respond but then just decided to be honest. “Major Teldy is Marine Forces Special Operations Command—a Raider specifically before she joined the SGC.” He shrugged when Sheppard raised an eyebrow at him. “Her wife, Dr. Allison Porter, was born and raised in Virginia. She wanted to be close to her mother for the whole baby thing.” He paused. “And John asked Teldy to get as close to you as possible. It all worked out.”

Patrick nodded. “She offered to kill Frank Simmons for me.”

Since Jack considered that a viable solution when it came to dealing with traitors, he just rocked slightly on his feet as Sheppard turned to look at him. “Your son inspires an immense amount of loyalty from the people that serve under him, Admiral. Marines are a breed apart, certainly, but there’s something special about the circumstances on Atlantis due to the situation with the wraith. A few higher-ups have questioned it and consider him to be something of an empire builder.”

“What do you think?”

“I think there is a unique sense of security and safety to be had when you know your CO will lay siege to a whole planet to break you out of an alien prison. Colonel Sheppard has done that very thing twice. He held the Genii’s gate hostage for seventy-two hours when they took Major Lorne last year while he destroyed one field after another with drone-targeted missiles. In the end, the leader of the Genii begged him to come get Lorne and leave them alone. They’re still bargaining for food off-world as a result.”

Patrick shrugged before he could help himself. “Well, John did ask them to return Lorne very politely the first time.” He cleared his throat. “How are you adjusting to the new job?”

“Director of Offworld Security sounded like a punishment when it was announced, and I’ve not changed my mind,” Jack said shortly. “Also, it makes me feel responsible for…situations that are utterly beyond my control. I appreciate the increased budget and the permission to make as much war off planet as I would like…but I don’t appreciate the illusion of safety being projected by the POTUS to the public. We aren’t safe, and we haven’t been since the Ancients planted the first stargate on this world.

“Every single day, I wake up and face the reality that hundreds of thousands of humans out in the galaxy were or remain enslaved to the goa’uld. We’ve made a big dent in the System Lord’s power base, but it wasn’t enough. It won’t be enough as long as a single Jaffa is forced to serve one of those disgusting bastards.”

Patrick nodded. “How is your son?”

“Applying to universities and ruining my life,” Jack muttered. “He’s thinking CalTech now, and that’s…far.” He shrugged when Sheppard quirked an eyebrow. “I know I have no business complaining about that to you, considering how far from home your only child is.”

“Age matters,” Patrick said. “Of course, John was in a warzone six months after his eighteenth birthday, and I tried hard to keep my worry to myself. His service in the Corps always felt like a rebellion of sorts. He stayed close but far enough away that I couldn’t have any real impact on his career. It was a very clear boundary. I tried to never push it.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “I can’t say I’ve always succeeded, but John’s forgiven me my every sin.”

Jack wished he could say the same with Charlie, but he wasn’t sure. The divorce had been hard on him, and no matter what he said, Charlie blamed himself because of the gun incident. Coming out had actually done more to help on that front than anything else, as Charlie had come to realize that his father couldn’t have been happy in marriage to a woman. They’d had some frank talks about all of it because Charlie had gone through a bit of a crisis regarding his own sexuality before finally settling on pansexual. His mother had been quietly appalled but, as far as Jack knew, hadn’t made that obvious to their son.

“Tell me about Rodney McKay.”

Jack raised an eyebrow. “You want to chat about your son’s boyfriend while the Director of the NID sits on his ass in your waiting room?”

“Yes,” Patrick said. “I’ve only ever met McKay in passing, and we haven’t spoken at length in person due to their assignment in Pegasus. He emails me, though. Did you know?”

Jack laughed. “About what?”

“Well, before he and John finally settled into whatever relationship they’re allowing themselves, he complained a lot about John’s fluffy-haired heroics and would insist I rein him in.” Patrick cleared his throat. “

Then, when John’s mutation was revealed, he sent me an email with a single sentence in it.”

“What did it say?”

“I promise that I’ll never let anyone hurt John.”

“He’s vigilant,” Jack said after a moment. “They’d already figured out there was a problem and corralled those responsible when they dialed in for the data burst. Apparently, McKay knew within minutes that someone had accessed the colonel’s medical records. The pictures only made it back to Earth because Rodney was off-world when that data burst was prepared, and Dawson approved it for transmission. He’s apparently so livid that the new CMO tried to confine him to his quarters to calm down.”

“Who’s the new CMO?”

“Eva Robinson stepped up. We sent her out there to replace Keller after the next round of contracts since Dr. Biro threatened to quit and go live in on New Athos if we tried to make her do it,” Jack explained. “She’s going over all of Keller’s work product to make sure she didn’t do anything else we need to worry about. I do know that Keller tried to seduce McKay, probably to make it easier to do whatever she was sent out there to do by the NID or the Trust. They dated for a bit before the colonel got fed up with that situation and made the big play. I got the highlights from Dr. Porter. So if you want all the details, Teldy’s wife is the way to go.”

“You think Keller could be Trust?” Patrick questioned. “She was out there before John’s specific mutation was revealed. Why would they cultivate a medical doctor as a resource?”

“She could’ve been sent out there to figure out his mutation from the start,” Jack said. “The Hoffan drug is also an issue as many here on Earth believe it to be a viable weapon against the wraith. Or McKay was always her target. He’s a peerless asset in the military-industrial complex, and declassification made that clear worldwide. Dozens of organizations would do a lot to get their hands on him. During the press junket for declassification, he moved around the country only through beaming, and each location was secured by a platoon of Marines plus the Secret Service. Even then, your son was routinely so overtly disapproving of the security measures that he got written apologies from people.”

Patrick laughed. “He’s always had that way about him. It’s also clear, in retrospect, that he has very complicated feelings for McKay.”

“Is that a problem?” Jack questioned.

“Only for someone who tries to get between them,” the admiral said mildly. “Speaking of, let’s have that chat with Frank Simmons.” He picked up his phone, and Jack half-listened as he instructed whoever picked up to send Simmons and Coleman in.

Jack walked around Sheppard’s desk and stationed himself on the man’s left as the admiral took a seat. Colonel Frank Simmons entered with the current director of the NID, Preston Coleman. The only thing Jack knew to be absolutely certain about Coleman was that he’d moved from Homeland to the NID four months after declassification. His file was largely redacted as they often were for men in his position. He’d never bothered to try to find out more as it would’ve been frustrating, unproductive, and borderline illegal.

“Admiral Sheppard,” Frank Simmons said stiffly as he came to attention in front of the desk. “Reporting as ordered. This is Director Coleman of the National Intelligence Department.” His gaze flicked to O’Neill. “Director Coleman—this is General Jonathan O’Neill, Director of Offworld Security and the commanding officer of Stargate Command, and Admiral Patrick Sheppard—Director of Homeworld Security.”

Coleman glanced between all three men and nodded. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, gentlemen. How can I help, Admiral Sheppard?”

“Please sit,” Patrick said and glared just briefly when Simmons hesitated.

“My apologies, sir, it’s not often I’m made to sit while a two-star stands,” Simmons said with a brief glance in O’Neill’s direction.

“Jack’s a man of action,” Sheppard said. “You know why you’re here, Colonel Simmons. Have you explained the situation to Director Coleman?”

Simmons pressed his lips together. “I informed him that I’d received data from the SGC from an anonymous source and that I’d been working to verify the information and confirm the accusation.”

“Accusation?”

“Yes.” Simmons cleared his throat. “A member of the civilian staff on Atlantis has accused Colonel John Sheppard of threatening her life. Dr. Weir covered up the accusation. I’ll be preparing a report for the IOA and the President. He’ll have to be recalled to Earth for the investigation. Due to a conflict of interest, your office will not be allowed to be involved in the situation, Admiral. He’ll have to be taken into the custody of the NID.”

“If my son were guilty of any crime, he’d be subject to an investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service as he is an active duty Marine,” Patrick said evenly. “No civilian agency would be given jurisdiction to investigate him due to the complex and classified circumstances of his command. Since you both know this, you also must know that there is no situation where I’d allow my son to be taken into the custody of the NID.”

“We’re the best choice to investigate the situation, Admiral,” Coleman interjected. “You’re incredibly biased, and the rights of the civilian in question must be respected. No one at the FBI has the necessary security clearances to be involved.”

“I can name no less than five FBI agents who have a higher clearance than Colonel Simmons,” Jack said mildly. “And one of them is already in the mountain helping OSI investigate the data breach that allowed Simmons to receive classified materials. He also received photo documentation regarding Colonel Sheppard’s mutation. The person who sent him the photos and the person who sent him Colonel Sheppard’s uncensored military jacket will face extensive charges.”

“It sounds like you’re getting ready to punish a whistleblower, General,” Simmons said. “That won’t play well in the press.”

Jack’s gaze narrowed. “Have you released the information you received to the press?”

“Not yet, but I won’t be a party to a cover-up of Colonel Sheppard’s crimes. I don’t care who his daddy is.” Simmons shrugged.

“You say that like you’re leaving this room a free man,” Patrick said, and Jack shifted on his feet in shock. “I know, for a fact, that my son would never threaten to murder anyone. If he had that much of a problem with someone—he’d just kill them and be done with it.” Coleman’s mouth dropped open. “He’s a Force RECON Marine, Director Coleman, and has spent the better part of a decade in one theater of war after another. He spends every single day keeping the wraith at bay in Pegasus. Do you honestly think he has time for this petty bullshit?” He picked up his phone. “Send them in.”

Jack watched curiously as two members of the Air Force Security Forces entered the room and took Simmons into custody without a word. Frank was so shocked he didn’t get to say a word before they were abruptly beamed right out of the room.

“What…. Admiral Sheppard, you can’t just….” Coleman trailed off when Patrick held up his hand.

“By order of the President of the United States, Preston Coleman, I’m to inform you that you are fired. Two agents from Homeland are waiting outside this office to take you into custody, where you will be interviewed and made to answer for the rampant corruption in your former organization.” Patrick stood as he hung up the phone. “Director Morrow of Homeland Security will be overseeing the dismantling of the NID over the next month. Your cooperation and honesty during this process will determine if you are allowed to go on your way or if you’ll spend the rest of your life in federal prison. You’re dismissed.”

Coleman stared for a moment. “Are you…. Who the fuck do you think you are?”

“Watch your mouth,” Jack snapped, and Coleman jerked as if he’d been struck. “And get off your disrespectful ass immediately.”

Coleman shot up out of his seat with flushed cheeks. “I’m not military, and I don’t owe either one of you a single damn bit of deference. Your rank means nothing to me.”

“Your lack of respect has already been noted,” Patrick said. “Any decent man would’ve contacted me as soon as possible about those pictures. Someone has made my son a target, and you didn’t say a damn word.”

 “It doesn’t matter, you know. There’s going to come a day when you won’t be able to stand between your son and anyone. Then what?” Coleman demanded. “What will he do then?”

Patrick glared. “You needn’t think I raised a man incapable of setting this whole fucking planet on fire, Coleman. John doesn’t need me to stand between him and anyone. And I’ll have my son’s back, one way or another, for the rest of his life. Even if I have to ascend to do it.”

Coleman blinked in surprise and cleared his throat. “I’m just doing my job.”

“You knowingly allowed a man under your command to commit sedition,” Jack said, and Coleman paled. “He received classified information and reported it to no one outside of the organization. If you’re lucky, he didn’t share it. Because if he shared it, you’re going to be an accessory to his crimes. If any of this impacts the SGC’s ability to fight the wraith, then you and Colonel Simmons are going to be charged with treason because we are legally at war with them and have been since a week after declassification.”

“That’s just propaganda!” Coleman snapped. “I don’t even believe the wraith exists! It’s just a budget grab for the SGC.”

“You dumb motherfucker,” Patrick said wearily and motioned toward Teldy when she opened the door to his office. Jack wondered if she had some sort of instinctual response to Patrick Sheppard busting out the F word in his office. “Major, send in the agents from Homeland. I’ll be heading to Cheyenne Mountain with General O’Neill.”

She hesitated and frowned before stepping aside to allow a man and woman to enter. They removed Coleman as Teldy stood there making a series of complicated faces that Jack found more amusing than insulting.

“Relax, Major, I’ll watch his back.”

She wet her lips and exhaled slowly. “The colonel was explicit regarding his expectations, sir.”

“You realize we both outrank him, right?” Patrick questioned.

Teldy’s look of skepticism shocked a laugh out of Patrick.

“Permission to be dismissed, sir?” Teldy questioned.

“Granted, Major.”

“Marines,” Jack said wryly as Teldy pulled the door shut behind her.

Patrick nodded. “Do I need to worry about that whole empire-building thing?”

Jack shrugged. “Can’t do much about the kind of loyalty your son inspires, Admiral.”

“Call me Patrick.”

“Do you have a bag? You might need to spend the night.”

“I keep one here,” Patrick said with a quirked eyebrow.

Jack was really glad he’d never been the sort to blush. “We’ll find you a room in the mountain.”

* * * *

“Are you okay?”

John shook his head and took a deep breath. “No, I’m not.”

Rodney shifted beside him and let his chin rest on John’s shoulder. “How can I help?”

“Hell, I don’t know,” John admitted roughly and left the bed. He walked out of the bedroom and onto the balcony. His wings slid out of his skin, and he flicked them in the air as his hands curled around the railing.

“You are not flying around this city naked,” Rodney said as he joined him on the balcony. He put a hand on the small of John’s back. “No matter how good you look like this.”

John laughed and took a deep breath as he folded his wings around them both. “I never trusted Keller, but I set aside because I was really jealous of her.” He nudged McKay when the man started to speak. “Don’t apologize. We both have terrible communication skills, and I was fucking around just as much as you were. Maybe I was avoiding the whole commitment thing. I’ve never had great luck with it. I almost got married once.”

“Why almost?”

“I told my dad I was thinking about proposing, and he asked me if I’d lost my fucking mind,” John said wryly, and Rodney laughed. “Then he made me sit down and make a list of good and bad things about my relationship with Nancy.”

“Wait.” Rodney held up a hand. “You were going to marry a woman?”

“I was still trying to figure myself out,” John said in protest. “I like women, you know. So I made the first list, and I sort of got stuck on what side to put the sex on.” He huffed when Rodney laughed. “Because I did like being with her, you know? She was warm and sweet. Nancy let me hold her as long as I wanted and never acted like touching her was a privilege or something. She loved physical intimacy for the sake of it, and sex was sort of secondary to her. I realized then that if I couldn’t say that sex was good with someone so sweet and beautiful as her, that I probably wasn’t going to ever enjoy sex at all.”

“How old were you?”

“Twenty-two. I’d fucked around a lot in high school, and a year into my enlistment, I went to Annapolis. I wasn’t sure about it. My CO in Afghanistan told me I would be wasting my potential. My dad agreed with him, so I went to the Naval Academy. Anyways, while I was there, I got laid a lot, and I eventually met Nancy. I thought I’d hit the lottery. She had a mutation of her own and wasn’t put off by the fact that I didn’t discuss mine. Nancy had it all—a gorgeous law student who had a life plan. She was generous with her time and her affection.”

“Did you tell your father all of that?”

“Not explicitly, but I did admit that I thought I was probably asexual. He asked me if I was sex adverse, and I said no. He asked me if I enjoyed masturbation.”

“I would have died if either of my parents had ever asked me a single sex question,” Rodney confessed, and John laughed. “What did you tell him?”

“Well, yeah. I told him that masturbation was fine and that I could have an orgasm with a woman, but it was just kind of blah. He asked if I’d considered sleeping with a man. It wasn’t like I’d been forced into this path of heterosexuality or anything. I just went along with what my friends were doing. Dated a cheerleader. Fucked the cheerleader. Went to prom with the smart girl who had plans because I didn’t want to get drunk and stupid weeks before I went to boot camp. Anyways, the smart girl with the college plans also had a hotel reservation and an unexpected kink for anal.”

Rodney laughed.

“So I told him about the smart girl on prom night who didn’t like vaginal penetration but who let me have her ass several times that night. It was probably the best sex I ever had with a woman if I’m honest. He didn’t outright suggest I dump my girlfriend so I could fuck a man, but it was definitely implied.”

“Wow.”

“At any rate, I told Nancy that I needed a break from our relationship because I was confused about who I was. And she cried. I felt like the worst kind of failure, so I tried to take it back, and she cried harder. Nancy was the first person to ever tell me to stop living my life for other people, but she wasn’t the last. It took a long time for it to stick.”

“So you banged a guy?”

“Or twenty,” John said wryly, and Rodney huffed dramatically. “It was intoxicating, Rodney, to finally enjoy sex. I went all in on the whole thing and quickly figured out what I liked, what I wanted, and honestly, what I would eventually come to crave. The first sex toy I ever bought myself was an anal plug.”

“Huh, so was mine,” Rodney said and nudged him when John laughed. “Well, I’m glad you figured yourself out before you married that poor girl.”

“Yeah,” John murmured. “She’s married to a senator. He wants to be the governor of Maryland.”

“That sounds…really boring.” Rodney turned and pressed a kiss against his shoulder. “Put on some pants and give yourself some air time. It’s probably going to be an ugly day. I’ll go get us some breakfast and meet you on the pier.”

“What do we do about Keller?”

“Well, she’s not our problem anymore,” Rodney said. “I’m working on new protocols for medical records, and Miko is overhauling the security procedures in response to the breach. We have no control over the investigation or the process that will take place on Earth.”

John grimaced. “I hate that.”

“So do I. I’d like to have to tossed both of their asses through a space gate. I told Elizbeth that, and she looked really tempted,” Rodney admitted. “Maybe Pegasus is making her hard or something.”

“Elizabeth’s always had a profoundly wide practical streak,” John said. “The Genii learned that the hard way.”

“Yeah,” Rodney said. “Eventually.”

“I’ll take that flight and breakfast on the pier,” John murmured, then turned and pressed a kiss against Rodney’s mouth. “Then I think I’ll hang out with you in the lab today.”

“You got a project in mind?” Rodney questioned. “We’re building naquadah generators in lab two, and we’re working on the math for the ZPM in lab six. The rest of the math and engineering labs are loaded down with personal experiments.”

“ZPM math,” John decided. “I’ve built ten generators in the last quarter alone. It’s super boring, which is helpful sometimes, but today I need something to occupy my mind.”

They showered together, though John was much more efficient and left the stall while Rodney meandered through washing and conditioning his hair. By the time he was out and dressed, John was gone, which was the norm. A few weeks after they’d agreed to be in a relationship, they’d picked out an apartment and just moved into it. Only Jennifer had been shocked by it.

He went to the mess hall and grabbed a couple of egg and bacon sandwiches with coffees to match. Unfortunately, he got cornered at the coffee bar doctoring John’s thermos when Elizabeth caught up with him.

“I’m expecting the SGC to send us an update later in the afternoon.”

Rodney made a face. “I think it would be best, for his stress, if John received emailed reports that he can read on his own schedule.”

Elizabeth nodded. “Do I need to take him off duty?”

“He self-assigned to a math lab this morning. He’ll have informed Lorne already,” Rodney waved toward the window. “I’m going to meet him on the pier. He’s taking in a bit of air time.”

Elizabeth checked her watch. “Eva is still reviewing Dr. Keller’s activity in the medical files. Miko is considering going back to Earth to investigate the computer systems there personally.”

“If she wants to go, we need to let her,” Rodney said. “She built the system here and there. If there are issues she needs to address, then it’s best that she get to them as quickly as possible. Carter put Bill Lee in charge of Information Systems for the mountain, and he’s good at it, but Miko is a genius. She hacked the planet, you know, when they had to hide an attack by Apophis.”

Elizabeth nodded. “Okay. I’ll work on that if she thinks it’s necessary. Dawson’s actions revealed a weakness in our security.”

“Yeah, but it’s more about him than our systems. We can add more stop-gaps and more security. But in the end, we trusted him because the SGC said we could. They both passed numerous background checks, and no one suspected them of anything until they actually crossed the line. It’ll probably happen again because that’s just…being human, right?”

“It’s frustrating,” Elizabeth said. “Like the wraith aren’t enough?”

“Ah, well, humanity’s greatest enemy will always be humans,” McKay said and shrugged.

“You’re so jaded,” Elizabeth said with a frown. “I don’t know what John sees in you.”

He laughed and gathered up his stuff. “I owe the colonel breakfast.”

Elizabeth nodded. “Okay, Teyla is due back from New Athos this afternoon.”

“We’re going to have a team dinner,” Rodney said. “And go over the schedule to see what appeals as far as the next off-world mission goes. There are ten planets on the list with alteran ruins. Four are uninhabited, so we’re definitely going to focus on those first.”

“All right, go,” she said and waved him off.

As he exited the mess hall, Evan Lorne fell into step beside him.

“Major, is there a problem?”

“Nothing new,” Evan said as they walked. “The colonel changed his duty station for the day to a lab. So, I’m just checking in.”

“He’ll be in lab six working on ZPM math,” Rodney explained, and Lorne sighed. “Do I need to prod him in a different direction?”

“No. If the colonel wants to spend the day in math hell, it’s best to leave him there. The last time I successfully got him out of the lab he’d decided to brood in, he nitpicked his way through half the company, and sixteen people got written up. It hurt a lot of feelings, honestly, because he was just genuinely disappointed in a lot of them.” Lorne stopped as they reached the exit that would lead out to John’s favorite pier. “Have a good day, McKay.”

“You, too.”

Rodney walked out to the end of the pier and got settled with the stuff. He watched John fly a bit as he sipped his coffee and flicked through several emails on this tablet. After a few minutes, John landed, and his wings retreated. He pulled the T-shirt he had tucked into his belt out and put it on.

“Hey.”

“Hey, back,” Rodney muttered. “Kavanagh wants to come back.”

John huffed and picked up his coffee. “No, he’s an immense pain in the ass and almost got Lorne killed.”

“I remember,” Rodney said absently. “I told Elizabeth that if she ever agreed to let him come back that I would go back to Earth and never speak to her again.”

John laughed and unwrapped one of the sandwiches. “Anything else interesting?”

“Nah, not really. Miko is probably going to go back to Earth for a few days to handle the IT stuff in the mountain. She’s kind of furious about the intrusion and is blaming herself.”

“Eventually, none of our security measures matter,” John said. “Because we gave that asshole all the access he needed. He didn’t have to hack a damn thing, Rodney. The smug fucker didn’t even pretend to be apologetic about it.”

He’d also called John a freak of nature, which had pissed Rodney off so much he’d briefly worried about stroking out. His own sandwich had been neglected long enough, so he set aside his tablet and focused on it.

“There’s a whole process in place to handle this kind of thing,” Rodney said. “It’s hardly the first time we’ve had to deal with it. The Trust wouldn’t even exist if data security at the SGC was bulletproof. I wish it was different, of course, and I’m furious enough to go nuclear on some people. That’s not exactly helpful, I know.”

“Eh.” John picked up his coffee. “The blow job last night was fantastic, though.”

Rodney huffed. “Shut up.” He sighed. “Thanks.”

John nudged him with a laugh.

 

 

Chapter 3

Jack poured himself some coffee and watched Patrick Sheppard stare at the open stargate. SG-3 was returning to the mountain after a recon mission with the Free Jaffa movement. The Free Jaffa were getting ready to launch a campaign to destroy several training camps and free their people from them. It would equal emancipation for thousands, so Jack wanted to give as much support as he could.

“You said you hadn’t spoken to the president about this situation.”

“I haven’t,” Patrick said and turned to face him. “A month ago, President Hayes asked me and Tom Morrow to make a list of internal threats that were powerful enough to cause significant damage. The Trust was number one for both of us. The NID has been infiltrated repeatedly by the organization, and we can’t be certain that they’re the only terrorist group to accomplish it. Morrow is pretty sure that Coleman is for sale on the regular, and that wasn’t a circumstance we could allow to continue.

“Morrow launched an investigation into the NID, and the NSA was tasked with finding and destroying the Trust. I spoke with him this morning about the situation, and he agreed to pull the trigger on dismantling the NID. He sent some agents to my office to arrest Coleman, and I asked OSI to take custody of Frank Simmons in order to gain control of the situation. Investigative teams were searching their homes, offices, and cars while they sat in my waiting room to gather evidence.”

Jack considered all of that. “And you didn’t tell me about any of this because….”

Patrick stared for a moment. “Tom and I agreed that you’d be notified if the situation spread into the SGC. Until then, it was a matter for us to handle because you’ve got a very full plate, Jack.”

“I do, yes, but the Trust has been a major threat against the SGC since its conception. And the NID has tried to take control of the whole place more than once through one method or another,” Jack said roughly. “I don’t like being out of the loop concerning situations that could endanger my people. The Trust is going to lash out when they discover the NID has been taken apart. They depended on their connections in that organization to get intel and technology. We’ve leaked several lackluster and useless devices to them to track them over the last year.”

Patrick raised an eyebrow.

“I’ll have Carter forward the data from that operation to the proper people,” Jack said mildly and checked his watch even as there was a sharp knock on the door. “Come in.”

Agent DiNozzo entered with a tablet and a stack of folders in hand, and another man followed him. “Good afternoon, sirs. SSA Tobias Fornell of the FBI. Tobias, this is Major General Jack O’Neill and Admiral Patrick Sheppard.”

Jack watched Patrick offer Fornell his hand and followed suit when it was his turn. He knew enough about DiNozzo’s background to know that he and Fornell had a history. “Did they send him here without your permission, Tony?”

DiNozzo and Fornell exchanged glances. “No, sir. I was asked to approve his placement in the investigation. Fornell and I work well together. He did take me into protective custody when Mossad decided I should be killed in response to my reporting Ziva David for espionage, but I’ve already forgiven him for that.”

“They put a bomb on your car,” Fornell muttered. “You’re lucky we found it.”

Jack watched Tony shrug. “What do you have?”

“We’re ready to start interviewing. We’ll start with Dr. Keller since she’s been on Atlantis for over a year. I’ve asked IT to focus on her emails. So far, the only communication with an attachment went to an email account that has no assigned user in the mountain, and it was the only email she ever sent to that account. The written content of the email is…quite crude,” Tony said and glanced toward Patrick Sheppard as he spoke.

“Crude in relation to his mutation or his relationship with another man?” Jack questioned.

“Both,” Tony admitted. “It’s clear that she’s rabidly jealous of Colonel Sheppard both for his mutation and for the fact that he interfered in the relationship she intended on having with Dr. McKay. She wants a mutation and demonstrated some homophobic behavior. I can’t say if that’s her norm or if she’s lashing out in anger. To say it at all indicates the kind of bias that should’ve prevented her from getting a clearance to be in this mountain, much less on a long-term off-world mission.”

Jack nodded. They’d learned quickly that the baked-in cultural, religious, and societal biases on Earth were deeply offensive on other planets and could cause immense amounts of conflict.

“I don’t believe she’s Trust,” Tony said. “Dr. Keller doesn’t fit the profile for recruitment, and she’s not placed well enough in the organization to be of any genuine use. If she was a honeytrap for McKay, then they have really bad intel. He hasn’t had a single relationship last more than three months since he met Colonel Sheppard.”

Patrick hummed under his breath. “Reasons for that?”

“The general scuttlebutt is that McKay’s last serious girlfriend, Dr. Katie Brown, insisted that he choose between her and Colonel Sheppard. She thought they spent too much time together. I heard from Colonel Carter, who heard from Dr. Kusanagi that McKay dumped her on the spot,” Tony said. “Since this is generally well known, placing a young and relatively unsophisticated female in McKay’s path would’ve been a ridiculous choice.”

“What would you have done?” Jack asked curiously.

“If I thought McKay could be distracted from Colonel Sheppard, I would’ve taken on the job myself,” Tony said. “I’m in the right age group, could’ve easily slotted into the military command structure on the city with the right background, which could’ve been inserted into the DOD’s system easily enough with the kind of money and power the Trust has demonstrated. I would’ve befriended them both over a period of time, then I would’ve done my level best to seduce McKay with attention and affection—both of which I’ve already come to know he desires ardently.

“Then one of two things would’ve happened.”

Jack waved a hand for him to continue.

“The colonel would’ve either made a hard play to destroy whatever relationship I’d managed to create or, and this is more likely, he would’ve backed off and let McKay be happy with me. Then I would’ve slowly, but surely, convinced McKay to come back to Earth so I could turn him over to my superiors for their use.” He paused. “At which point, I would be expendable, and the Trust would let Colonel Sheppard kill me in his attempt to recover McKay.”

“I’m really glad you work for me and not them,” Jack said wryly. “You really think John Sheppard would’ve just let you take McKay right off the city?”

“Yes, because he would’ve trusted me utterly,” Tony said without an ounce of hesitation. “At first, he’d have probably even disbelieved anyone that told him I was Trust. Then when it was revealed, the bone-deep betrayal would’ve driven him right off the edge. Which would be a great reaction if he weren’t a United States Marine with a decade of war experience. The best outcome would be that he’d have been quick about it.”

Fornell exhaled noisily. “Hell, DiNutso.”

“So they didn’t send in an experienced operative,” Jack said easily. “Or, if they did, that person hasn’t revealed themselves.”

“We’ll vet every single person on the city after we finish this part of the investigation,” Tony said. “I’ll go interview their elementary school teachers if I have to.”

Patrick cleared his throat, and Jack watched DiNozzo focus on him. “It’s good to see you again, Tony.”

Tony shifted on his feet, shoulders squaring. “And you as well, sir. Has Major Teldy settled in?”

Patrick unbuttoned his jacket with a huff. “You might have told me she was MARSOC.”

Tony just smiled. “You didn’t ask about the redacted parts of her file, sir.”

“We’ll watch the interviews,” Patrick said. “Director Morrow will be looped into the reporting process. He’s currently executing an all-fronts raid on the NID and has over 200 agents in the field as part of the investigation. I’ll be his point of contact in the mountain if he has questions or concerns about this part.”

“We’re going to have to call in an NCIS agent,” Tony said. “Due to the accusation Dr. Keller made to Colonel Simmons concerning Colonel Sheppard. I don’t believe it has any merit, but it’s not something we can leave to chance. I’m going to request SSA Dwayne Pride from New Orleans first, but Director Granger might try to send Gibbs.”

“Gibbs isn’t allowed in this mountain, and Owen Granger knows that,” Jack interjected.

“My third choice is Hetty Lange from the Office of Special Projects in LA,” Tony continued. “I trust her, and more importantly, so does Owen Granger. He’ll be inclined to let her take the lead and back off.”

“Then why is she the third choice?” Patrick questioned.

“Because we shouldn’t make the appearance that we’re willing to kiss Owen Granger’s ass. We’ll provide a list of five options, and he’ll send Agent Lange,” Tony said, and Jack wondered how a man like Tony DiNozzo even got made.

Patrick looked more amused than anything else, so that was a win.

“Dr. Weir isn’t willing to return the colonel to Earth,” Jack said, and DiNozzo raised an eyebrow.

“Then we’ll go to him,” Tony said. “I’m sure Hetty will love seeing the city of the ancients.” He shrugged when Fornell huffed. “Relax, Tobias, it won’t hurt. Much.”

Jack nodded. “Let’s get started then.”

“I’d like to speak with Agent DiNozzo in private, Jack.” Patrick smiled when Jack looked his way. “If you don’t mind.”

Jack glanced between Tony and Patrick, taking note of Tony’s relaxed posture, and nodded. There was clearly something between them, and that was kind of disappointing. For all of the fact that he’d brushed off Charlie’s teasing, he did find Patrick Sheppard attractive and interesting.

“Of course,” Jack said and turned to the fed. “Agent Fornell, did you bring anyone to handle the technical aspects of recording the interview process?”

“No, but your people set us up,” Fornell said. “We can check that out if you’d like. Colonel Carter was very helpful. It must be relieving to be surrounded by so many incredibly competent people.”

“Certainly. Carter is a genuine wonder no matter where I put her.” Jack motioned the agent out ahead of him. “Once, we were in an off-world prison—she made a steam bomb that blew a hole in the building the size of an Osprey. I didn’t even get dusty.”

Patrick shook his head as Fornell laughed all the way out of the room, and Jack pulled the door shut behind him. He focused on Tony and found the younger man looking pensive and uncertain.

“You haven’t told General O’Neill.”

“No, I…frankly, didn’t need the pressure or the scrutiny when I first came here,” Tony admitted and walked across the room to stand with Patrick by the large window that dominated the room. “He has been notified that I have a strong ATA gene, as that’s information required for the safety of the mountain. If the SGC had done my medical intake, he’d have probably been told before either of us as a matter of security. OSI, on the other hand, doesn’t have the kind of mandate that would allow such lax policies regarding medical privacy.”

“I’ve waited to tell John in person,” Patrick said. “I can’t just spring…this on him in an email.”

“No, sir, that would be…awful.”

“I thought we agreed you wouldn’t sir me in private,” Patrick said. “John only sirs me in private when he’s pissed off, so it’s kind of disconcerting.”

“I don’t quite know what to call you,” Tony admitted. “I barely even called the man I thought was my father any form of a paternal nickname. He’s been Senior for years.”

“Did you tell him?”

“No.” Tony grimaced. “I don’t know how he’d react to the fact that mom had an affair baby, and I’m actually not his son at all. He might already know, or he could go completely off. We don’t have a stable relationship and haven’t for years. He’s disowned me repeatedly, as you already know, and tried to take the trust fund my mother left me twice. He might try to blackmail you, if he found out. I can see the headlines all about your bastard child.”

“Don’t call yourself a bastard,” Patrick ordered and took a deep breath when Tony shrugged. “Or an affair baby. It wasn’t an affair. It was an ill-considered one-night stand, and I had no idea she was married. I’ve never, ever done such a thing on purpose. When I found out she was married, I was furious and refused to speak with her again. I regret that because maybe she’d have told me about you when you were born. I have to live with that, and I’m sorry you had to grow up with it. Her husband didn’t deserve to have anything to do with you.”

“I know, and I don’t resent you for any of it,” Tony said easily. “As to John, I’m looking forward to meeting him, and I hope he doesn’t mind the whole little brother thing. If he does, I’ll deal with it. He doesn’t need any more stress. We both know he can’t afford to split his focus any more than he already does in Pegasus. You can tell O’Neill. He got a little weird there when you asked for a private conversation with me.”

“Yeah, I don’t know why.”

“Really?” Tony questioned. “Are you serious?” He laughed when Patrick frowned at him. “He wants you.”

“I….” Patrick exhaled slowly. “Well, it’s been a while since I went in that direction.” But it was tempting as hell. He’d been flirting with O’Neill for months, and it hadn’t gone anywhere.

“Are you opposed? Because I can cock block with the best of them,” Tony said easily.

“Which is the last thing I need. John managed to do it repeatedly as a child without even trying,” Patrick said wryly. Below them, the gate activated, the iris spun shut, then opened again. A team came through. “Maybe you could work on calling me Dad?”

“I….” Tony took a deep breath.

“You certainly don’t owe me anything, Tony, but it would be nice.” Patrick sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Sorry, I don’t want to pressure you.”

“It’s not pressure,” Tony assured. “It’s just a level of acceptance that I’ve never really had. Senior barely gave me the time of day my whole life and actually forgot I existed on vacation when I was twelve and left me stranded in a hotel in Hawaii. He didn’t remember I’d gone on the trip until his accountant started questioning the ongoing hotel bill.”

“Jesus Christ,” Patrick muttered. “I want to murder him.”

“That can’t be good for your blood pressure,” Tony said mildly. “I’m fine. I survived.”

“One day, I really hope you realize that basic survival is the least of what your parents owed you,” Patrick muttered. “Maybe that’s why she never told me about you.”

“Well, my mother was dead by then,” Tony said. “And I was sent to the military academy after that. Then he disowned me because I won a sports scholarship to college and took two majors he found appalling.”

“Physical education and criminal justice. Interesting combination.”

“I picked up the second later on, spent an extra semester getting the required credits,” Tony said. “Regardless, I never intended to follow him into business as I’d known for a very long time that he was shady as fuck. I’m genuinely surprised to know he’s not in the Trust.”

Patrick checked his watch. “Let’s go before O’Neill gets bent out of shape.” He put a hand on Tony’s shoulder and squeezed. “It’s good to see you, son, no matter the circumstances.”

“Yeah, sorry I haven’t been back to DC in a while. I hate it there.”

“I hate it there, too,” Patrick admitted. “I’ve been considering moving my office to the mountain. I don’t want to step on O’Neill’s toes, but I think I might actually be more productive here, and with beaming technology in place, I can basically work from anywhere.”

“It would be nice if you were here,” Tony admitted. “We could try to figure us out easier that way, and it might…it’ll just be easier, I suppose.”

“Have you had any contact with Senior lately?”

“He was pissed to find out that I’d left DC without telling him and called to ask for my new address. He assumed I’d been fired from NCIS and didn’t believe me when it told him I’d transferred to a different agency. I told him my circumstances were classified and that I couldn’t tell him where I was living. I know I can’t trust him with that information at all. He’d definitely tell Gibbs or anyone else who asked.”

“I can have Gibbs ordered to leave you alone,” Patrick said. “If you want.”

“I can handle Jethro Gibbs,” Tony said. “Let’s go.” He paused. “Oh, I meant to tell you when I called last but got distracted. I’ve been dating someone.”

“Someone.”

“Yeah.” Tony flushed. “It could get political, though.”

“Who?” Patrick questioned warily.

“Randolph Rampart.”

“You’re dating the Commandant of the Marine Corps,” Patrick said flatly.

“Yeah. Is that okay?”

“It’s…fine,” Patrick said and huffed. “He’s my age, you know.”

“He’s five years younger,” Tony corrected cheerfully and opened the door. “And hot as fuck.”

Patrick sighed and followed his youngest son out of the conference room. He had no idea what to do about the situation, even after nearly four months of knowing. It had been the discovery of Tony’s ATA gene that caused extensive genetic testing since his was identical to John’s. They’d expected to find a common ancestor. They hadn’t expected to discover that John and Tony were brothers. Due to the security around the program and Patrick’s position at Homeworld, Tony had reached out to him with the information, and they’d met.

They went down a flight of stairs, and Tony led him through a series of hallways then opened a door that looked identical to every single other door on the hall. Jack O’Neill was seated comfortably in front of a two-way mirror. Sam Carter and another woman that Patrick didn’t know were at the workstations.

“We’ll record audio and video,” Jack said. “We have a couple of alien devices that help us discern the truth, as well. This is Dr. Janet Frasier, and you’ve met Colonel Carter.”

Patrick nodded, slid into a seat beside O’Neill, and focused on the interview room.

Tony sat down at the table, and Tobias Fornell chose to lean on the wall behind him and stare. Dr. Jennifer Keller was at the table, looking pale and scared. Patrick wondered how much of that was an act. Tony rattled off the details for the interview recording, including the date and location.

“Present in this interview is Dr. Jennifer Keller, SSA Tobias Fornell from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and SSA Anthony DiNozzo from the Office of Special Investigations.” Tony shifted a legal pad around in front of him and focused on Keller.

“This is ridiculous,” she blurted out. “It was just some stupid pictures! He had no right to hide what he was for so long, and Dr. Weir refused to let me study the genetic profiles that were already done for the ATA gene research. It would’ve hurt nothing, and they all acted like I was some sort of monster for even asking. It was stupid and irresponsible!”

Tony’s shoulders tightened as he stared at her, and Patrick wondered what the younger man planned. The charges were pretty simple and straightforward. The evidence was overwhelming. She’d violated her contract and the security of the program. There was no coming back from that. The contract violation alone could result in a ten-year prison sentence.

“Dr. Keller, what did you expect to be done regarding the digital images you sent from Atlantis to your contact here in the mountain?”

“I don’t know what Dr. Bradley was going to do with them,” she said with a shrug, and Patrick shared a look with O’Neill.

“Did someone ask you to investigate Colonel John Sheppard’s mutation?” Tony asked.

“No, but once it was revealed, I asked Dr. Bradley for information on mutants who have presented with similar characteristics. There wasn’t much information to be had, and he asked for photographs. I took them and sent them. As I said, Colonel Sheppard had no right to hide it.”

“Actually, fifteen different federal laws detail the rights of mutants, and one of them specifically covers how a mutant can’t be required to reveal their mutation or even report their mutation to an employer or the government,” Fornell said mildly. “But investigating a mutant’s genome specifically to determine how or why they mutated is, in fact, illegal.”

Keller’s cheeks flushed, and she frowned. “A simple blood sample shouldn’t be considered human experimentation.”

“Except what would you do with the information?” Tony questioned. “How much blood is a simple blood sample? How many would you need? What comes next? Do you take a simple tissue sample next? Then what? Will you need an organ? In Colonel Sheppard’s case, would you want a few feathers, or would you advocate for the amputation of his wings for study? Where would end, Dr. Keller? Would your obscene desire to discover why human mutation happens lead to a man like Colonel Sheppard flayed open on an autopsy table?”

Patrick took in a ragged breath, and Jack O’Neill put a firm hand on his forearm. He shook his head. It wasn’t like he hadn’t considered all of that for decades. He’d even had nightmares about it when John was little more than a child.

“I’d never want such a thing.”

“Why not?” Tony questioned. “Per your email to Dr. Bradley, he’s just a fag and a freak.” She pressed her lips together. “Getting him returned to Earth and disappeared into a black project within the NID would’ve solved a big problem for you, right?”

“I….” She huffed and averted her gaze. “I’m not homophobic. I was just mad, that’s all.”

“Mad that Dr. McKay preferred Colonel Sheppard’s company over your own?” Tony questioned. “Colonel Sheppard is very attractive.” He opened a file on the table and put a series of pictures on the table between them. “Some might even say that he’s beautiful with his wings out, as they are in the pictures you took.”

She looked briefly at the pictures then grimaced. “He’s arrogant, thoughtless, and selfish. He’s depriving Rodney of a proper family. I could’ve given him children.”

Tony sat back in his chair. “If a man as wealthy as Dr. Rodney McKay wants a kid, he doesn’t need to marry a woman to accomplish it. He has more than enough money to fund one surrogate pregnancy after another.” He adjusted the pictures. “You hate John Sheppard.”

She pushed the pictures away from her. “He doesn’t deserve to have such a special and unique mutation. His refusal to share his gift with the rest of us makes me furious.”

“It must be difficult to accept that the man you set your sights on is so profoundly in love with another person,” Tony said mildly.

“Love,” Keller scoffed and grimaced. “It’s lust and nothing more. Everyone knows that Colonel Sheppard isn’t interested in commitment. Why does this matter anyway?”

“Motive is very important,” Tony said. “More so, in this case, because of the potential charges. You could be charged with the distribution of classified material and pay a fine. Of course, depending on the court process, you could get ten years in a federal prison for that. You could also be charged with sedition and spend the rest of your life in an off-world prison if you’re determined to be a threat to planetary security.”

Keller’s eyes went wide. “What…I don’t…. I’m not guilty of sedition!”

“The pictures you sent back to Earth ended up in the hands of an individual that is suspected of being a Trust operative,” Tony said mildly. “What was your best-case scenario, Dr. Keller?”

She flushed. “I didn’t expect the pictures to leave the SGC. I was hoping that Dr. Bradley would help me lobby for a genome investigation. If it got Colonel Sheppard recalled to Earth, I would’ve been pleased because Rodney won’t leave Atlantis for anyone or anything.”

“Is it the money?” Tony asked curiously. “You come from a middle-class background, and you’re still paying your student loans for medical school.”

“Dr. McKay is a good man,” Jennifer said. “Intelligent and even brave in the right circumstances. I see a lot of potential in him, and I figured I could sort of…mold him into a good husband. The money wasn’t a detraction.” She shrugged.

“Colonel Sheppard being removed from the city of Atlantis would’ve been your best case?” Tony questioned.

“He’s just a soldier. Anyone could replace him. Even his gene status isn’t the stumbling block everyone pretends it is.” She glanced Tony over. “I heard you have a pretty powerful one yourself, Agent DiNozzo.”

“Intent and motive in these circumstances are very important since we’re in a state of war in Pegasus,” Tony said. “And Colonel John Sheppard has been declared mission essential by several people smarter than you, and that distinction has been accepted by both the IOA and the President of the United States.” Her mouth dropped open. “Which means in the midst of your little fit of schoolgirl jealousy, you could’ve damaged our ability to make war in Pegasus. The IOA may very well insist that you be charged with sedition, Dr. Keller. You didn’t just betray your country. You actually literally attempted to betray your entire species.”

“That’s just insane,” Keller snapped. “He’s a soldier. There are thousands in this country that could take his place. I want a lawyer.”

“Oh, you’re going to need one,” Tony said and stood. “I’ll contact the Judge Advocate General’s office, and we’ll provide you a list of lawyers with the proper security clearance to act on your behalf.”

“I can’t just pick my own?”

“No, as it would not allow you to have proper representation. You agreed to be held accountable for any misdeeds by JAG when you signed your contract, Dr. Keller. You’ll be sent back to your cell while we arrange for a representative from JAG to show up, and NCIS will be sending an agent to speak with you about the accusation you made against Colonel Sheppard.”

She frowned. “What accusation?”

Tony paused and focused on her. “It was reported to Homeworld Security that you accused Colonel John Sheppard of the United States Marine Corps of threatening your life, Dr. Keller.”

“No, I didn’t,” Keller said. “That would be stupid, and I’m not stupid.”

Tony sat back down. “Explain, please.”

She huffed dramatically. “Atlantis records everything that happens on the city—everywhere except personal quarters. There are video and audio recordings. Plus, it keeps track of our life signs. There’s no way I could lie about him threatening me and get away with it because it would be easy to prove that Colonel Sheppard has avoided me like the plague since McKay stopped dating me. He won’t even consent to a medical exam if I’m in the infirmary.” She crossed her arms. “So you should talk to whoever lied about that, I guess.”

Tony nodded. “You’ll be questioned by NCIS about Dr. Dawson’s crimes, and they’ll verify the threat didn’t happen.”

“Whoever made up that lie has never been on the city,” she said and huffed. “And they think I’m stupid, which is insulting.”

“I don’t think you’re stupid,” Tony said quietly, and she smiled. “It’s just unfortunate that you’re so self-involved. You could’ve been invaluable to the program and to our fight for survival.”

Patrick watched Tony leave the interrogation room with Fornell then both men entered the observation room.

“Admiral.”

Patrick held up a hand. “Don’t apologize, Agent DiNozzo. I know why you said what you said. It’s something I’ve feared for John since the day he mutated right before my eyes. There was a time when not only was it possible, but likely in this country that he would’ve been killed in an investigation into his mutation. Even now, there are plenty of people in this country that would tear him to pieces to figure out how he works and how they can duplicate it.”

Tony grimaced and cleared his throat. “Yeah. I worried about being discovered and taken away when I was little.”

Patrick nodded.

“You’re a mutant?” Fornell questioned curiously.

“Yeah, nothing so epic as wings,” Tony said. “A host of mental gifts—empathy, advanced intuition, and a long-term eidetic memory.”

“Long-term?” Fornell questioned.

“Most people with an eidetic memory can recall an image for a brief period of time,” Tony said. “I never forget anything I see or read. I don’t always understand what I’m seeing, but it’s going to be with the rest of my life, whether I want it to be or not. I have active memories from twelve months forward.” He turned to Janet Frasier. “So, I can tell you that Dr. Keller told the truth throughout her interview, and if she was used by the Trust, it was due to being so selfish she can barely acknowledge that anyone else exists.”

“The device did determine that she was being honest,” Janet said in amusement. “She worked here in the mountain for nearly a year before going out to Atlantis. Before this incident, I would’ve said that her worse fault was her wretched bedside manner. She’s a talented surgeon, with a burgeoning god complex, who has no business working as a general practitioner. I would’ve never recommended her for the job of CMO. I’m left to assume she seduced Carson Beckett to get the job because she believes herself superior and that she deserved the best position in the department.”

“Tell us how you really feel,” Fornell said, and Janet shrugged. “Also, it’s time for dinner. Care to give me the honor of your company, Dr. Frasier?”

“Yes, that sounds lovely,” Janet said and stood.

Tony watched them leave and turned to Carter. “Who knew he had a game like that?”

Sam laughed and shrugged. “I’d have said yes, too.” She picked up a laptop. “I’ll process these AV files and add them to your server, Tony. Did you want to meet me in Bill’s lab to see what he’s accomplished and order a search on Bradley? You’ll have to sign off on it, regardless.”

“Yeah, sure, let’s grab some food from the mess and feed Bill. I don’t think he’s eaten since lunch. I’ll have Dr. Bradley taken into custody, officially.” Tony offered Patrick a small nod before leaving with Carter.

Patrick watched a pair of security guards remove Jennifer Keller from the interrogation room, then focused on Jack O’Neill. “Dr. Bradley?”

“Nigel Bradley, IOA hire from Great Britain. He was originally brought here to work on the asgard’s cloning issue but was eventually moved into ATA gene therapy research and was recently asked to consult on the hoffan drug from Pegasus by the IOA. They’re invested in a solution to the wraith and believe that drug is the key. It’s not, but there’s no use in arguing with them. The wraith horrify them. They’d recall the expedition if they weren’t petrified that the wraith would just follow us home.”

“Well, they would,” Patrick pointed out. “They’d succeed with an invasion without John and his people out there to guard the balance.”

“I’ll check in with the quartermaster about your room assignment from my office. He was supposed to send me an email,” Jack said. “I need to call Charlie and make sure he’s eaten real food. Walter picked him up from the airport, so I know he got home, at least. He’s probably invited a friend over already.”

“That’s the problem with letting them grow up,” Patrick admitted. “They stop pretending they don’t have sex in your house.”

Jack laughed. “I just hand out safe sex lectures and hope for the best at this point.”

Patrick followed O’Neill to his office, a little irritated by the situation and the reason behind it. He dropped down in a chair in front of the large desk and pulled out his own cell phone. The date he’d canceled had texted back with a suggestion for a different time and date. He frowned at the text because he figured abruptly canceling a second date the day of the date was a clue. The generational gap had never been more awkward.

“What’s wrong?”

“I had a date this evening. I canceled it via text, and I figured she’d be offended enough to never contact me again,” Patrick admitted. “I never should’ve said yes to the first date, much less the second. She’s just twenty-six.” He huffed when Jack sent him a look. “Don’t give me that look. Anyway, she’s texted me with an alternate date and time. Should I respond and say no? Ignore it?”

“I…have no clue,” Jack admitted. “It would be embarrassing to farm that question out, right?”

Patrick laughed. “Utterly.” He tucked his phone into his pocket. “I’ll answer in the morning. I told her I had a work issue come up and I was going to be unavailable.”

Jack opened his laptop and worked on it for a few moments, and sighed. “So the mountain is full because of lockdown. There are a few beds, but no private rooms available. Rigby, the quartermaster, says he can probably do some rearrangement and double up in the barracks with cots, but it’ll take several hours.”

“That sounds like a lot of hassle. I can get a hotel room,” Patrick said and checked his watch. It was too late to call Anne, and he knew he’d get a lecture for staying in a hotel without a security check, at the very least.

“Or you can use my guest room,” Jack said. “Unless it might send the wrong kind of message to my OSI agent.” He raised an eyebrow in question.

“Ah, well, your OSI agent is my son,” Patrick said wryly, and O’Neill’s mouth dropped open. “The details are kind of lurid. When he was hired by the OSI, they ran his DNA and found his ATA gene, which is actually an exact copy of John’s and mine. They were curious about it and compared their DNA to see if they were related. Turns out they’re half-brothers. I met Tony’s mother, thought she was single, and things happened. Turned out she was married, and I was so furious to have accidentally slept with a married woman that I told her to never contact me again. She complied even after she gave birth to my son and named him after the man she was married to.”

“That’s gotta suck,” Jack muttered. “But also, it explains a few things.”

“What do you mean?” Patrick questioned.

“He reminds me of John, and I thought that was weird. But then Cameron Mitchell and Daniel Jackson could pass for brothers—they have no distant relatives in common at all. They aren’t even in the same haplogroup. We checked.” Jack sighed when Patrick laughed. “So, I get why it would be a secret from the general public, but I would’ve appreciated knowing this long before now.”

“I left that up to Tony,” Patrick explained. “He wanted to get comfortable and probably prove himself to you in his own way before you found out about the connection. He did agree to tell you when we spoke privately earlier.” He slouched down in the chair a bit and crossed his legs at the ankles. “And sure, you can take me home with you, Jack.”

Jack huffed a little and shut his laptop.

 

 

Chapter 4

The house they’d bought just outside of Colorado Springs was more mountain lodge than any sort of traditional house. Sara had hated it, but by that time their marriage was already on its last legs, so Jack had purchased what he wanted. The divorce had led to her living in a townhouse with generous visitation until she’d moved to California, and Jack had protested her getting Charlie six months out of the year. Charlie’s truck, which Jack had given him when he’d bought himself a new one, was in the driveway, so at least his son hadn’t left again. He’d only been gone for the weekend but was off school for the rest of the year.

“Nice,” Patrick said. “A little big for two, though.”

“Says the man who lives on a plantation.”

“I do not,” Patrick protested with a laugh. “My parents’ house wasn’t even built until the 1950s, and I sold it a year ago. I live in a townhouse these days to avoid lawn care. I keep a room for John.” He paused. “I suppose I should get a bigger place so I have rooms for them both if they were to visit….” He sighed.

“Problem?”

“I don’t know how John’s going to react, and I have to admit I’m worried,” Patrick admitted as he shouldered his duffel. “I rarely even dated seriously while he was growing up because it got hard to trust anyone. I sure as hell wouldn’t have remarried while he was a minor because the idea of giving another person even limited authority over him before he could defend himself seemed like an outrageous risk.”

“It would’ve been,” Jack said. “I used to worry myself sick about Charlie, and while his mutation saved his life…it’s galling how people could treat him in response to it. I try to keep it in check these days and respect his space,” Jack said. “He has the whole super advanced healing.”

Patrick hissed through his teeth. “Christ, Jack.”

“It saved his life and taught him a lesson about guns he’ll never forget, but I know what people have done and will do to mutants like him,” Jack murmured and cleared his throat. “Let’s go see what he’s up to.”

Jack found his son in the kitchen, but he wasn’t alone. His best friend, since they were in the fourth grade, was crying her little heart out in his lap. Charlie sent him a helpless look as Jack raised an eyebrow.

“It’s not my fault,” Charlie said.

“It is so your fault,” Ester Valory said huffily and wiped her nose with the sleeve of her sweatshirt.

“Gross, Es,” Charlie declared and stood, picking her up as he did so. He put her down on her feet. “And I was telling my Dad that it’s not my fault you’re a snotty mess.”

Jack smiled when Ester turned to stare at him. She was a pretty girl, with bright green eyes and long dark hair. The first time Charlie had brought her home, she’d been a very chatty little ten-year-old, and now she was a grown woman. It made him feel old as hell.

“What’s up, kid?” He leaned on the counter and inclined his head.

“I got accepted into Harvard!” She burst into a fresh round of tears.

Charlie waved both his hands in a WTF motion, and his eyes went wide. “Geez, Dad, you could’ve warned us you brought Admiral Sheppard home with you.”

Ester stopped crying abruptly and huffed. “Oh, my God, I look like crap, Charlie. This is all your fault, too!”

“Whatever, Es, you know you’re always the prettiest girl in this whole state,” Charlie said, and she rolled her eyes at him.

“Patrick, this is Ester Valory, future valedictorian of her graduating class and Charlie’s best friend since the fourth grade,” Jack said.

“It’s a pleasure, Miss Valory,” Patrick said.

“It’s an honor to meet you so unexpectedly, Admiral Sheppard.” She glared at Charlie as Patrick laughed. “Did you know this was a possibility, Charles?”

“No,” Charlie said with a huff. “Dad never brings home anyone interesting.”

“That’s not true. He brought home that really hot OSI agent a few months ago,” Ester said, and Charlie nodded.

“Your make-up is a mess,” Charlie told her seriously.

“I know your daddy didn’t teach you to be this rude,” Ester muttered and, with a little frown, left the kitchen.

“I’m required to tell you! You made me swear a blood oath when we were twelve!” Charlie trotted after her, then he came back. “Can we have pizza for dinner? She’s hiding out.”

“Sure, I’ll order. Is Ester spending the night?”

“She claims she’s never going home again,” Charlie said and shrugged.

“Not a girlfriend?” Patrick questioned as Charlie left.

“No, always just friends. Charlie says she’s too smart to hook up with him, which is probably accurate.”

“If she got into Harvard without a family connection, then yeah, she’s probably smarter than all three of us,” Patrick said as he shed his uniform jacket. “Has she taken your guest room?”

“Nah, she’ll stay in Charlie’s room,” Jack said. “She sat me down when they were thirteen and told me that she hoped I didn’t let my old-fashioned opinions about gender roles and sex impact her friendship with Charlie. Also, she wanted to make sure I’d keep taking her fishing.” Jack shrugged when Patrick looked confused. “She’d started her period—so she decided to clear the air. I just stocked some tampons and pads in his private bathroom in case of emergencies. Then educated him when he was kind of horrified.

“Eventually, she got comfortable enough to add the brand and type she preferred to the grocery list. Her parents are divorced, the father is in the wind, and her mother works seventy hours a week and does pro bono work at the law center, too. I think, honestly, she overworks to avoid her own kid. So, Ester has spent a lot of time here.”

Patrick nodded. “I could use some time to get comfortable before food.”

“Sure, follow me,” Jack said. “The guest room is basically what amounts to a mother-in-law suite. Fortunately, by the time such a thing might have been needed, I was divorced, and Sara’s mother wouldn’t have lived with me if I’d paid her. Charlie sleeps on the second floor, and there is a second guest bed in my office up there. I had the place renovated and put my bedroom on the first floor for security purposes.” He opened the room and motioned Patrick in. “I haven’t had anyone stay here since Sara came back to Colorado and stayed for a week leading up to Charlie’s eighteenth birthday a few months back, but the cleaning service keeps it ready. She got pissy that I wouldn’t host her fiancé when he came to town for the party.”

Patrick put his duffel down on the bed. “His background check was fine.”

“He’s a douche,” Jack said sourly. “And acts like my military service makes me a barbarian.”

Patrick scoffed. “That’s not what makes you a barbarian.”

Jack grinned. “I’ll order the pizza. Any preferences?”

“If they have pasta—I’d prefer that, but otherwise, anything except for anchovies on the pizza.”

“Spaghetti, chicken carbonara, and the like are on offer,” Jack said.

“Definitely chicken carbonara and maybe some garlic bread,” Patrick murmured and loosened his tie. “And thanks, Jack. This is better than a hotel, and I don’t have to deal with Anne Teldy’s disappointed looks. Charlie doesn’t complain about the security?”

“He’s basically grown up under Marine guard,” Jack said. “Hell, sometimes, they even took him to school before he could drive. I’ll let you get settled. There’s beer and wine in the kitchen when you’re ready. The food won’t take long. I’ll send someone from the security detail to pick it up.”

Patrick relaxed as Jack pulled the door shut and pushed off his shoes. His phone had vibrated a few times in the car, but he hadn’t checked it. Texts were never an emergency as far as he was concerned. There were several from friends he’d made in Washington, but he wasn’t there to have drinks with them, so he turned all of those down and focused on the single text from Tony.

Tony: You went home with O’Neill? Now that’s a power move.

Patrick huffed and sat down on the bed. He wasn’t even sure who Tony thought was making a move. Jack O’Neill had been confusing him for over a year. He didn’t know if it was a relief or not to suddenly be in his space for a longer period of time.

Patrick: The mountain is basically full because of the lockdown. Did you feed the geeks?

Tony: Yeah but they got distracted by the arrival of Dr. Kusanagi. She’s like a geek queen or something. Even Carter abandoned me in favor of her. I’m at a bar with Cameron Mitchell and Teal’c eating steaks. Is O’Neill feeding you or should I bring you something?

Patrick: We’re ordering Italian. So question. I had a second date planned and I texted to cancel but she’s trying to reschedule and I’d hoped she’d be too offended to speak to me again.

Tony: LOL

Tony: …..LOL

Patrick sighed and unbuttoned his shirt with one hand as he waited for the next text.

Tony: Well you can ghost her and not respond at all OR text her that you’ll contact her the next time you have time for a date then never contact her again. Ghosting is rude but expected in that age group. She’s just 26 right?

Patrick stared for a moment.

Patrick: How do you know how old she is?

Tony: Teldy runs her background checks through my office. Alternatively you can tell her that you’re looking to get married and want five kids. She’s childfree based on her social media posts. She’ll run screaming in the night from you.

Since that seemed like a perfectly reasonable plan, Patrick sent his thanks and tossed the phone aside. He changed his clothes and set aside his uniform for cleaning. He has a few casual options but went with a pair of black track pants and the Navy T-shirt he’d thrown in the bag as a comfort option. It was old, faded, and perfect. He figured he had another year before some hole appeared and ruined his life. He put on two pairs of socks because he didn’t have house shoes, and O’Neill’s whole house appeared to be hardwood floors. There were rugs everywhere, tasteful and fitting for each room. He wondered if renovations had come with the hand of an interior decorator or if Jack O’Neill just had really good taste.

Patrick meandered back through the house and found Jack in the kitchen with both of the teenagers working around him. He watched the three of them prepare for the arrival of the food with an amused smile. The girl was setting the table while she chewed on her bottom lip like it was an enemy. He leaned on the doorway and watched Jack nudge Charlie away from a rack of wine bottles.

“White or red?”

“Mom says that light or olive oil-based pastas should be served with a crisp white wine,” Ester said. “So, probably that Pinot Grigio that she got you for Christmas last year and that you never opened.”

“Wow, the judgment coming out of your mouth makes me want to ask you all about Harvard,” Jack said dryly but pulled out a bottle of white wine. “What’s the problem anyway?”

She huffed.

“Her boyfriend dumped her because she got accepted to Harvard, and he didn’t,” Charlie said and shrugged when Ester glared at him. “It’s not my fault he’s so weak that he has to derive his power as a man by thinking he’s superior to a woman.” He waved a hand. “Also, he’s just lame.”

Ester frowned.

“Well, you’re not wrong,” Patrick said, and all three turned to stare at him.

Jack offered him a grin as he opened the wine. “Dinner should be here in about ten minutes.”

Patrick nodded and took a seat at the table when he was motioned to, then focused on Ester. “Are you going to go?”

Ester shrugged. “I have a bunch of applications out, and it wasn’t my first choice. I only applied because Charlie dared me to. Aidan, my ex, said I wouldn’t get in, so it was a waste of time and money to even apply, which irritated me. I didn’t think he’d actually dump me over it. Now I’m going to have to make Charlie take me to prom.”

Charlie huffed. “Dude. No.”

“Dude. Yes,” Ester said. “And you’re going to be presentable for pictures, Charlie. I mean it.” She pointed at him when he started to protest. “You promised you’d be my date for any major events if we were both single at the time, and it’s too late for me to train another boyfriend before prom. Plus, you decided not to start any new relationships before college. We only have a few months.”

“Right, fine.” Charlie huffed and sat down at the table. “You can tell Steve and Jordan that our plans to go camping prom weekend are shot because you’re a slave to societal expectations and tradition.”

She pursed her lips. “You have to rent a tux.”

Jack laughed.

“And wear a bowtie that matches my dress.”

“You’re crossing a line,” Charlie said mildly and opened a can of soda. “Right, Admiral?”

“Does she know your deep, dark secrets?” Patrick questioned, and Charlie stared in shock. “Right. Do what she wants, son. It’ll just be easier.”

Jack brought two glasses to the table with the bottle of wine. He poured for them both and set the bottle on the sideboard as the doorbell rang. Charlie left the table and trotted out of the room.

“I’ll need to wash my uniform,” Patrick said as he picked up his wine glass.

Jack checked his watch. “Major Teldy arrived in the mountain about thirty minutes ago. She told me to tell you that she’d bring you a fresh uniform in the morning before breakfast.”

Patrick considered that because he hadn’t explicitly ordered the major to stay in DC, but he’d figured she would spend the night there because of her wife and the recent move. He had expected her to show up by mid-day if he didn’t return to DC. “How did she beam here already?”

“We run beaming service on three shifts for regular business and emergency situations,” Jack said as Charlie returned with a bag and two pizza boxes. “What does your mother think of Harvard, Es?”

“Oh, she doesn’t care. When I told her I was applying to universities, she said she’d double my monthly spending allowance on my credit card and offered me a car if I got into a good school.” She made a face. “But she also told me she wouldn’t have time to take me to school, so I’d have to make all of my own arrangements and buy whatever I might need for my dorm room on my own.”

Jack sighed. “Let me know when you need that to happen—I’ll take you.”

“Thanks,” she said and just smiled when Jack frowned. “I’m used to it, you know.”

“Yeah,” Jack murmured. “Let’s eat, and you can start thinking about what kind of car you want. Please focus on safety ratings, okay?”

“Of course,” she said and turned to Patrick. “Dating anyone, sir?”

Patrick grinned at her even as Jack huffed a little under his breath. “Nothing serious.”

“Well, you can’t be hurting for options,” Ester declared.

“Your deflection skills are on point,” Patrick observed and shook his head even as Jack slid a plate of food in front of him. “Thanks, this looks great.”

“It’s our favorite place for Italian,” Ester said. “They have really good stromboli, too.”

Jack brought a whole pizza to the table, then a plate of spaghetti for himself. Having Patrick Sheppard in his house and at his table was kind of weird, but he was relieved with how well the man was handling the kids. He’d rarely allowed people from the program to interact with Ester for her own protection. The last thing they needed was for someone to get the idea that she had information that she couldn’t possibly have. Charlie sometimes had security if the threat level got high, but getting such a thing done for a non-family member was very difficult.

He ate slowly, letting himself wind down as the kids plowed through a whole pizza, cleared their part of the table, and made themselves scarce. Jack noted that Patrick was lingering over a second glass of wine, and his plate was clean.

“What’s on your mind?” Jack questioned.

“You.” Patrick leaned back a little and took a sip of wine. “I’ve been thinking about moving my office to the mountain.”

“So you can get to know Tony?” Jack questioned. “I would in your place.”

“That’s certainly part of it,” Patrick admitted. “I’ve missed a lot of his life, and he has a terrible relationship with the man he thought was his father. DiNozzo, Sr is a real problem—beyond his criminally negligent parenting that he used his money to get away with. I want to be a father to Tony, but I think that…maybe it’s too late.”

“I don’t think it’s too late,” Jack said. “I would hope that the two of you can find your way into a relationship that is healthy for you both. He certainly could use the support and love of a good parent, which is something you’re very well known to be.” He stood to clear the table. “Did you want more wine? Coffee?”

“No to both,” Patrick stood and started to gather his own dishes, which he carried to the counter where Charlie and Ester had left theirs in a neat pile. He added his own with a raised eyebrow.

“Neither of them can load a dishwasher correctly,” Jack admitted and flushed when Patrick laughed. “I used to think Charlie did it on purpose, but then he started trying really hard at it and still got it very wrong. It was just best if I told him to never do it again. He was making the housekeeper mad, too. Ester is so bad at it that she just washes them by hand to avoid the whole thing.”

“She’s a sweet kid,” Patrick said. “I can’t stand her mother, and I’ve never met her.”

“Her name is Nadine, and she never wanted children at all. She’s never pulled her punches on the subject with anyone, including Ester. It’s awful, and I offered to take custody when she was twelve. I think Nadine would’ve done it if it wouldn’t have made her look bad. She banks on her reputation a lot since she works in family law.” Patrick leaned on the counter as he added soap to the dishwasher, closed it, and started the machine.

“I keep the heat set around sixty-eight degrees. Will you need extra blankets?”

“No, I run hot and keep my house about the same,” Patrick said. “Year-round.”

Jack turned then and stared at him. “You said Tony was part of the reason.”

“I think I’d get more done here, honestly. Politics aren’t a game I enjoy. The more I’m available in DC, the more things are demanded of me on that level. Plus, DC isn’t even central to my real workflow. I’m due to spend a week in Nevada in January, and I take day trips all over the country thanks to the space station. I didn’t realize that beaming was always on offer since that’s normally arranged for me. It would make it even easier since I wouldn’t want to uproot Anne and her wife.” He cleared his throat. “I’m not trying to insert myself into the command structure or step on your toes with this, Jack.”

“We’d need to make a few adjustments and update emergency procedures so you could take command in my place if needed,” Jack said. “That has to come from the president. I understand your desire to be closer to your son, and I’m not worried about you undermining my command.” Jack took a deep breath as he let himself just look at Patrick Sheppard. “Does Tony know you’re considering this?”

“We’ve discussed it,” Patrick said and met Jack’s gaze steadily.

They stared at each other for several long moments, and Jack couldn’t say which one of them moved first, but Patrick settled a hand on Jack’s left hip and pulled him all the way in as he sought a kiss. It was soft but not tentative and so inviting that it felt like a seduction. He hardly needed such a thing, but it was fascinating to have that kind of attention coming his way. Patrick rubbed his thumb against the edge of Jack’s hipbone, and he groaned softly into the kiss.

Patrick pulled back, tightened his hold just briefly then released him. “Goodnight, Jack.”

Jack cleared his throat. “Goodnight.”

He slouched back against the counter as Patrick left the kitchen and exhaled very slowly. Jack stayed where he was for a moment, then went to clean the table. After that, he walked through the house checking doors before retiring to his own bedroom. He’d no more than sat down on his bed when there was a quick little knock on his door.

“Come in, Charlie.” He shifted around the bed as his son opened the door and slid in. “What’s the whole story with Ester?”

“Aidan lost his damn mind,” Charlie admitted and sat down on the end of the bed. He folded his long legs up like he did when he was a little kid, and Jack smiled briefly at the sight.

“How exactly? Did he get physical with her?”

“Nah, you would’ve had to bail me out of jail,” Charlie said, and Jack nodded. “He did break up with her for about two hours over the whole Harvard thing, but then he tried to walk it back and threw a bunch of bullshit excuses at her about his feelings being hurt because he deserved the full ride to Harvard more than she did. He told her that she couldn’t hold it against him and insisted they get back together. She told him no, and he threw an epic fit. He threatened her.”

Jack raised an eyebrow. “How?”

“He told her that she didn’t get to decide that their relationship was over and that she belonged to him. Then he told her he’d kill her before he’d let her date anyone else. He went over to her house and, when he realized she wasn’t home, made the assumption that she was here. He knows better than to come here, of course, and that’s really why she’s staying. She’s embarrassed about the whole thing.”

“Right.” Jack frowned. “Does she know you’re down here telling me this?”

“No, she’s taking a bubble bath, but I did tell her that I couldn’t keep it from you.” Charlie plucked at the seam of his sock. “I’m not sure what to do here. But his dad is a Marine assigned to the mountain.”

“Do you know his full name?”

“First Sergeant Joseph Myers. Ester told me that he was very nice to her when they met and that Aidan’s stepmom was sweet. Her name is Catherine, and she works as a paralegal somewhere in the Springs.”

“Did he threaten you directly?” Jack questioned.

Charlie hesitated. “Not personally to my face. But he told her that he’d kick my ass if I got between them.”

Jack had taught his son to defend himself long ago because he considered it a priority due to Charlie’s mutation. “What sort of threat would you rate him to you personally?”

Charlie huffed. “I’ve five inches and forty pounds on him, Dad. He doesn’t play any sports and doesn’t appear to work out. Physically, I don’t consider him much of a problem, and he certainly couldn’t kick my ass.” He paused, then frowned. “But he is the type to bring a weapon to a fistfight.”

“Right.” Jack sighed. “Keep her here tomorrow if at all possible, and I’ll speak with his father as soon as I can. We have an ongoing investigation going on in the mountain due to a data leak, so my schedule is going to be tight.”

“That’s gotta suck,” Charlie said and left the bed. “And yeah, she’ll stay here a while. She’s really freaked out, and her mom doesn’t know. Nadine can’t stand Aidan, so Ester doesn’t want to admit her mom was right about the whole relationship. They have the worst possible parent-child relationship I can imagine that doesn’t involve some sort of overt abuse.”

Jack sighed. “It could be argued that there is emotional neglect in that house, and that is abuse, Charlie.”

“Es is going to therapy like you asked,” Charlie said. “She says it’s helping a lot. I was thinking that…would it be okay if she moved in?”

“You tell me,” Jack said. “I’ll give up my office upstairs so she can have her own room. You told me last year that you’re in love with her. Has that changed for you?”

“No, but she’s not…there. I don’t think she’ll ever be there, and it’s fine. I’m certainly not going to ruin my friendship with her by trying to make her responsible for my feelings. We’re her support system, Dad.” Charlie said quietly. “How can I possibly do a thing that could change or damage that? It would be so…fucking unfair.”

“Okay,” Jack said. “I get it, and yeah, she can have my office if she wants. Her mother will probably pitch a fit, but she turns eighteen in a few weeks. Tell her I’ll speak to Aidan’s father, and he will be reined in. If he continues to lash out, he’ll endanger his father’s posting here in Colorado, and I’ll make that clear.”

“Is that fair to his father?”

“It’s his job to keep his family in line,” Jack said. “And letting his son indulge in a selfish and dangerous tantrum over an ex-girlfriend will make me question how much trust he can be given. Working in the mountain is for the very best, Charlie. If he’s not observant at home and doesn’t realize that his son is going off the rails, then how can I trust him to be dependable on the job?”

“Yeah.” Charlie took a deep breath. “Listen, I need to tell you something, and I know you aren’t going to take it well. So, I’d like to say it and leave you alone to deal with your reaction.”

Jack glared. “Charles, if you’ve gotten someone pregnant….”

“No, of course not,” Charlie protested. “Come on, Dad. I’m super careful, and Dr. Frasier said I can always come to her to get a Plan B pill if I know a girl who needs one.”

Jack nodded. “Okay. So what?”

“I applied to the Air Force Academy and got accepted,” Charlie blurted out, stood, and left Jack’s bedroom immediately.

Jack stared at his bedroom door as it was pulled shut in shock.

“Come back in here, young man!”

The door reopened, and Charlie appeared with a pensive look on his face.

Jack pointed at the spot where Charlie had been sitting. “If you’re going to make that kind of decision, then you should be able to sit right there and explain yourself.”

Charlie flushed and sat. “I just…. Dad, I didn’t know if I would get in. It was my first choice, so I applied a couple of months ago along with my first round of choices. I found my acceptance letter in my mail when I got home.”

Jack considered that. Security sorted and checked all mail coming into the house. He never bothered to look in Charlie’s basket. Jack took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

“I’m not mad.”

“You’re something,” Charlie pointed out. “The acceptance rate is so low. It’s gotten down to like two percent since declassification. I really didn’t expect to get in.”

“Who wrote your letters of reference?” Jack questioned roughly.

Charlie cleared his throat. “Neither of them know that I kept it a secret from you. Colonel Sheppard and General Rampart.”

“You got a letter of reference from the highest ranking Marine on the planet and a man who saved the planet from the wraith, and you were worried about getting rejected?” Jack questioned.

Charlie shrugged. “I was warned when I visited the recruitment office that I wouldn’t get special treatment because of you but that I would certainly get the nod for further education and OTS if I enlisted because of my ASVAB score.”

“What was your ASVAB score?” Jack asked. “You didn’t tell me you took that, either. I thought….” He trailed off and shook his head.

“Ninety-seven,” Charlie said. “What did you think?”

“I thought there wasn’t…. I thought we were in a place where you felt comfortable telling me anything,” Jack admitted. “Why keep this a secret?”

“I didn’t want you to be disappointed in me if I didn’t get into the academy.”

“I didn’t get in,” Jack pointed out dryly, and Charlie laughed. “I did six years enlisted while I got a BS in combat engineering, then did OTS. What does your mother think of this?”

“Oh, I haven’t told her,” Charlie said easily. “She basically tried to forbid me from joining any branch of the military shortly after declassification. I told her it wasn’t her decision. I think that’s the root of Stepdouche’s whole speech about manhood since it was liberally sprinkled with stuff about honoring my mother. I love Mom, you know, but I can’t let her run my life. Besides, she can’t stand Ester, which really pisses me off. I told Mom if she was ever rude to Es again, I’d put her in a year-long time out.”

“Your Mom has never really forgiven either of us for you choosing to stay with me when she wanted the move to California,” Jack said. “Ester is just an anchor point for you that Sara can’t control, and she hates that. She’d probably adore her otherwise, and that’s her loss since that young woman is the best part of your whole deal.” Charlie nodded. “I’m concerned that you didn’t tell me your plans, but I’m not mad or hurt or whatever.”

“And the part about me joining the Air Force?”

“Considering your gene status and intelligence, I would be a fool to turn down the possibility of you being an asset in the future. That being said, as your father, I’d rather you join the program as a civilian. I can’t and certainly won’t tell you what to do on this subject. Just think really hard about it, Charlie, because I don’t have a single officer in my command who has less than twenty combat kills. You could spend years serving elsewhere before you earn the right to be in Cheyenne Mountain, and the higher-ups will be reluctant to put you under my authority. So you might not get near the program in a military role until I retire.”

Charlie took a deep breath and blurted out, “I want Atlantis.”

Jack huffed. “Of course you do. God, go away.”

Charlie laughed. “Come on, Dad.”

“Go to bed—you need the rest. Getting onto Atlantis is four times the job of getting into the mountain.”

“Even with my super fancy ATA gene?” Charlie questioned in amusement, and Jack glared at him. “Just kidding. I promise to work my whole ass off.”

“You don’t have much of an ass, so that’s not the promise you’re making it out to be,” Ester said as she appeared in the doorway.

Charlie huffed. “I’ve been told I’ve got a very nice ass.”

“You shouldn’t take Colby’s opinion seriously. He’d have said anything to get in your pants. Come play Mario Brothers with me until I’m sleepy,” Ester said and flounced away from the doorway.

Jack slouched back on his pillows and wondered how nuclear his ex-wife would go over the situation. She wouldn’t react well, but he’d never let her railroad Charlie when it came to such things and certainly didn’t plan to start.

 

 

Chapter 5

Patrick left the shower stall and wrapped a towel around his waist before snagging the second towel to dry his hair and face, which he’d already shaved. When he’d first woken up, he’d heard sounds upstairs, letting him know that both teenagers were awake. The smell of sausage filled the house before he even got in the shower, so he was looking forward to whatever Jack was doing in the kitchen.

There was a suit bag hanging on the back of the door that hadn’t been there when he’d gone to shower. He opened and found several service uniforms, one battle dress, and his dress blues. There was a duffel sitting beside the bag he’d brought with him. It probably held several different pairs of shoes and a pair of combat boots he’d not worn in over a year.

He put his used uniform in the laundry bag he found in the bottom of the suit bag and tucked it into his duffel before getting dressed. He considered packing it all up to put back in O’Neill’s vehicle, but he already knew he’d be spending at least one more day in Colorado and wasn’t all that interested in being assigned a room at the mountain if it became a possibility.

Patrick wandered through the house, mostly dressed, and into the kitchen. Charlie O’Neill was at the stove, tending a frying pan full of sausage links. The table had been set, but he was alone.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning, sir,” Charlie said easily. “Dad’s just finished his morning run and headed for a shower.”

“Did Ester leave?”

“Nah, she’s downstairs in the gym using the treadmill.” Charlie turned back to the bacon. “She’s the toast and tea sort for breakfast. Are you cool with turkey sausage? I’m trying to make Dad eat better.”

“Even if it kills me,” Jack muttered as he entered the room, already dressed for the day.

“Turkey sausage is fine,” Patrick said with a smile. “Even though I’m more of a tea and toast person myself.”

“And here I thought Ester was a unicorn,” Jack said and stretched. “Let me take that over, kiddo. You owe us all a shower.” He prodded his son away from the stove with a single finger. “Five miles didn’t do you any favors.”

“Ten miles,” Charlie corrected. “I woke up bouncing out of my skin.” He took a bottle from the fridge and left the room.

“Ten miles?” Patrick questioned.

“Increased stamina is part of his mutation expression,” Jack murmured. “Sourdough or wheat for the toast?”

“Sourdough would be great,” Patrick admitted and left the table. “Let me help. Sitting on my ass is weird.”

Jack motioned toward the toaster. “I’ll take wheat. Both kids will do sourdough and eat four slices each. How do you like your eggs?”

“Fried or scrambled hard.”

“So basically rubber? No wonder you normally have just toast,” Jack said and retrieved a carton of eggs from the fridge. “Teldy dropped your uniforms off with security first thing his morning.”

“Thanks for the delivery,” Patrick said and glanced toward O’Neill, who was transferring sausage to a platter lined with paper towels. “You’re surprisingly domestic.”

Jack laughed. “My ex-wife made me learn to cook since my mother was old school and thought I didn’t need any sort of housekeeping skills. I didn’t really have a home to deal with until I married since I lived in barracks and didn’t head for OTS until shortly after I met Sara.”

A side door opened, and Ester appeared, a fine sheen of sweat covering her face. She went to a closet and pulled out a towel. Then she grabbed a plastic bottle similar to the one Charlie had taken and took a long swig from it.

“You sound a little winded, kid,” Jack observed.

“I pushed it,” Ester admitted. “Charlie and I were talking about some cross-country skiing. Thoughts?”

“Day trip or overnight?” Jack questioned. “The camping equipment is in the shed and will need to be evaluated. We haven’t put the big tent up since last spring when we were in Yosemite.”

“Oh, yeah,” Ester said and made a face. “Just a day trip, but we should probably sort that stuff anyways. Do you think we could take a big trip next summer before college?”

“Probably can swing it as long as the planet doesn’t get invaded,” Jack said and glanced toward Patrick. “Go shower, Es. We’ll put the kettle on.”

Patrick added more bread to the six-slot toaster and leaned on the counter as Ester left the room with a wave. “She’s a pretty well-kept secret. Not a single report I have on you mentions her.”

“Good,” Jack said. “She shows up in Charlie’s background check as his best friend and probable girlfriend. Homeland apparently ships it.”

“I only know what that means because of Tony,” Patrick said. “Also, did you know he’s dating Randolph Rampart?”

Jack stilled and glanced his way, eyes wide. “No. Isn’t he our age?”

“Five years younger than me, apparently,” Patrick said sourly. “I realize Tony is a grown-ass man, and I have no business being irritated about it. Also, I feel like this is information I should’ve had on an official level.”

“Agreed,” Jack admitted. “DiNozzo keeps his personal details close to the vest. I should’ve known a lot of things about him officially. Frankly, his circumstances are frustrating on several levels. Hetty Lange arrived early this morning on a military transport plane. She’s staying in a hotel about fifteen minutes from the mountain. Apparently, she prodded OSI already about the details but was stonewalled since we’re keeping this contained to the mountain as long as possible.” He sighed. “You should be prepared to deal with the fact that it will get out.”

“Which it?” Patrick questioned and sighed.

“Well, both, honestly. Interpersonal secrets attract attention and curiosity. If you do come here to live and work—you’ll end up spending a lot of time with Tony. The go-to assumption will be an affair. Honestly, if Rampart is invested, then that’s the last kind of rumor any of us need. As to John, containing the information after he very dramatically saved McKay’s life was never going to be a long-term possibility.”

“I’d rather no one ever assume I’m having an affair with Tony. Jesus, that’s appalling as fuck. And I knew even when I asked the president to make the incident report that revealed John’s mutation classified that I wouldn’t be able to contain it. Protecting John has been my knee-jerk reaction since he was three, Jack.”

“And the rest of us thank you,” Charlie said as he came back into the kitchen. “Ester threw me out of the entire upstairs.” He went to the fridge and refilled his water bottle. “I can’t imagine what sort of rights I’d have if you hadn’t sued the whole country for your son, sir.”

“Did you piss Ester off?” Patrick asked in amusement.

“Nah, she’s just having some sort of crisis about that jerk she used to date,” Charlie said. “He called her this morning and left a very long voicemail with an apology that had clearly been rehearsed and was probably being overseen by his father. It sounded like he was crying, which equals a Marine-shaped intervention.”

“Ah, well,” Jack said. “I’ll still have a talk with his father today, and I’ll make sure he keeps his distance going forward in every single way.”

“Should be easy,” Charlie said. “Because he called me about a half hour after calling Ester to blame me for him being sent back to Rhode Island. Don’t know any details, but that’s gotta be rough getting his senior year split up like that, but he was the one trying to be the villain in a Lifetime movie.”

“What did he do to get this kind of response?” Patrick questioned and watched father and son exchange a long glance.

“He threatened her,” Jack said. “Because she refused to take him back after he calmed down about Harvard. So, he’s got issues with rejection.”

“I’ve never understood that,” Patrick admitted. “Mutual attraction is part of the whole thing for me. Without it, even pursuit would get boring after a while.”

“Some people sort of thrive on that kind of thing, though,” Jack said. “On and off world.” He made a face, and Patrick laughed before he could help himself. “There’s this tok’ra that’s got a crush on me. Doesn’t seem to care that I’m appalled by their existence at all.” He paused. “The host part liked me. The snake wanted Jackson.”

“How would that even work?” Charlie asked.

“I guess one of them would have to take one for the team,” Jack said and shrugged when Charlie laughed. “Regardless, I wasn’t remotely interested and wouldn’t have been if the host had been male due to the whole…snake thing.”

Patrick was trying to place the particular tok’ra by reviewing mission reports in his head when Ester reentered the room with a laptop.

“There’s a problem,” she said. “You’ve got a big ass data leak, Dad.”

Jack turned to her. “What?”

She turned the laptop around to face him. “Colonel Sheppard is all over the news—everywhere. He has wings.”

“Fuck,” Patrick murmured and took the laptop when Jack hesitated. It was one of the pier photos. “That son of a bitch.”

“He must have had a plan in place to leak the materials if he were detained,” Jack said. “This isn’t going to help his case at all. Why leak them?”

“Because it furthers his cause,” Patrick said quietly and closed the laptop, which he passed to Ester. “There’s no containing it now, so the only thing we have left is management. We should eat, I guess. Today is going to be hell, and we’ll probably end up in front of POTUS.”

“Then you should change into your dress uniform, and so should I,” Jack said wearily. “Charlie, take over the toast and just do a bunch of scrambled eggs. Overcook them.”

* * * *

“You hate being a passenger,” Jack said in amusement as he pulled out of the driveway.

“Like you wouldn’t believe. Major Teldy never lets me drive in DC. She says it’s a security risk and that I’m safer in the backseat of the ridiculous armored Humvee that she insists on driving,” Patrick said.

“You like to be in control—it’s not really a secret to anyone. Teldy probably won several bets over getting you to sit in the back of that Humvee,” Jack said and grinned when Patrick huffed. “They have to get their amusements somewhere. The stress is high across the program, and you’re a hard target, which makes watching your back as dangerous as any other assignment within the SGC. In some cases, more.”

“I get it.” Patrick frowned.

“You kissed me,” Jack blurted out and exhaled noisily because he hadn’t meant to bring it up.

“Yeah, I did,” Patrick agreed. “Been thinking about doing that for a while. You seemed receptive. Did I get that wrong?”

“No, you got it just about right,” Jack admitted. “And that’s pretty irritating.”

Patrick laughed and just quirked an eyebrow when Jack glanced his way. “I figured I’d give you some room to think about everything before discussing it. But, if you want to have this conversation right now….”

Jack shrugged. “We have a twenty-minute drive.”

“Why don’t you have a driver?”

“I have a security escort,” Jack said wryly. “They’re directly behind us. They just let me think I’ve independence, kind of like a toddler. There comes a point, I suppose, when a man gets elevated above his ability to be useful in any sort of direct action. In the field, the people serving around me would work harder to defend me than they would to take care of themselves and the mission.”

“I hate sitting behind a desk,” Patrick confessed. “Which is why I take any opportunity to leave it and why I’ve pretty much convinced everyone that I need to go to as many sites as possible.”

Jack laughed. “It hasn’t gone unnoticed. I enjoyed the kiss.”

“But?”

“No buts,” Jack said easily. “I enjoyed it, and I’m not opposed to exploring something more. We need to be careful, of course, because if we fuck it up…we’ll still be stuck with each other at work.”

“Then we won’t fuck it up,” Patrick said easily. “And taking our time won’t hurt anything.”

Jack nodded. “Sounds like a plan.” He wet his lips. “What’s your first move on the work situation?”

“I’m leaning toward the very public destruction of the Trust and every single person involved in it. Director Morrow has a partial list. I’m going to take that list and start painting targets. I have a black-ops unit within Homeworld ready to get their feet wet at a moment’s notice.”

Jack considered that. “When you replaced George Hammond, there were some concerns expressed from several corners. Frankly, your career path didn’t make a lot of sense to me because most of your jacket is redacted, which meant you did a lot of special forces work when you were younger. Then I found out you were a SEAL.”

“Are you still concerned?” Patrick questioned.

“No, I think POTUS knew exactly what kind of role Homeworld would play after declassification and what might be required of the officer serving in your place. This unit of yours, is it military?”

“I have several different groups and the mandate to operate on US soil, just as you do. Most of my civilian field assets are former military—some came from the CIA or the NSA. It makes it easier to do the work without having to explain myself to the DOD. Honestly, they often don’t want to know what I’m up to as long as we keep hostile aliens off the planet.”

“I’ve worked under that assumption for years,” Jack admitted. “I know you’re worried about John, and I get it.”

“It’s clear that you do. You’ve got a great thing going with those kids. Does she often call you dad?”

“Only when she’s flustered. She’ll realize she did it sometime today, then call me general for a week or so,” Jack said and shrugged when Patrick laughed. “It’s a thing. She doesn’t actually remember the man who fathered her, and I told her I don’t mind. I think…well. They’ve both made it clear they don’t consider each other to be siblings, so that’s a thing as well.”

“Ah, well. They’ll figure themselves out eventually. Friendships like that are hard to come by, and if you’re careful, you can carry that kind of love and trust your whole life.”

“When she started going to his school, Charlie came home and told me he’d found the person he was going to spend the rest of his life with,” Jack said. “And he was utterly serious. Even eight years later, I think he would say the same thing. He does worry about messing up their friendship.”

“It seems like she wouldn’t let him make a complete mess of it,” Patrick said. “I’m going to make some serious enemies in this, Jack.”

“I got your back,” he said and smiled when Patrick nodded.

Once in the mountain, Jack found himself at the mercy of his schedule, which was often decided for him at a higher level. He asked his aide to remove as much as he could just to lower his stress. Frank Simmons had been moved to the mountain, and Hetty Lange was sitting in his office before he even got a fresh cup of coffee. The only reason he wasn’t overtly irritated was that neither Tony nor Patrick seemed to be put off by her presence.

“Agent Lange,” Jack began even as he poured himself some coffee. “Are you aware the pictures have been leaked?”

“Yes, I have my people on the ground investigating Frank Simmons’ activities before he was taken into custody by Homeland. He’s violated the privacy of a United States Marine and put Colonel Sheppard at risk. I’ve given this situation my full attention,” Lange said. “And please feel free to call me Hetty, General O’Neill.”

“Jack will do then,” he said and sat down at his desk. “The pictures of John Sheppard on Atlantis are a breach of security in more than one way. We’ve been very careful about the information released regarding the city of Atlantis, and two of the photos reveal structural details that we weren’t keen to share with countries outside the IOA. It’s a nit, but certainly one that the president is willing to press. Colonel Sheppard’s mutation was revealed during an incident with a broken railing and Dr. McKay. Due to the circumstances of his mutation, it was requested that the incident be made classified. POTUS agreed.”

“So this young woman who took and sent the photos back to Earth is guilty of espionage.”

“Since her end goal was the removal of Colonel Sheppard from Atlantis—it’s sedition,” Jack said. “He is mission essential due to his gene status on the city and stands between our planet and the wraith. You’ll be given access to the interview that already took place with Dr. Keller, where she admitted that she sought to remove Colonel Sheppard from the city out of jealousy. Agent DiNozzo and Agent Fornell, from the FBI, conducted that interview.”

Hetty focused on DiNozzo. “I’m well-acquainted with Agent DiNozzo’s skills in the interview room. Do you have any reason to believe she had any political motives?”

“She’s naïve and just a good old-fashioned gold digger,” Tony said wryly. “She wanted Dr. McKay, saw him as a meal ticket of a sort. He sent me an email about her that I received last night with the arrival of Dr. Kusanagi. He said that Dr. Keller mentioned wanting to have several children because she hoped to have at least one mutant child. During that email, he also confessed to getting a vasectomy years ago, before he ever joined the Stargate Program, because he has no interest in ever having children.”

Hetty nodded. “Money is a motivator like no other.” She frowned at the coffee maker. “Is there an opportunity for tea, Tony?”

“Yes, in the conference room,” Tony said. “We can do a drive-by on the way to meet Fornell. He’s in my office setting up the board for a case review. As of three o’clock this morning, we have one Air Force officer, two civilians, and three Marines in custody in relation to security issues involving the data breach. One of the Marines was part of the chain that started with Keller and ended with Dr. Bradley in the mountain. The pictures were also passed to an Air Force officer named Frank Simmons.”

“Since we’re going to end up in front of POTUS before the end of the day, Tony, I’d like to get a full briefing on everything you have,” Patrick said. “With three Marines in the mix, is Rampart going to use that as an excuse to come here?”

Tony raised an eyebrow. “General Rampart doesn’t involve himself in criminal investigations unless it encroaches on his office, Admiral. It’s below his pay grade in most circumstances, and he doesn’t make a habit of inserting himself in issues that he has no authority over.”

Jack watched father and son stare at each other and cleared his throat. They both focused on him. “Let’s give them some time to go over the case. Then they can brief us, Patrick.”

Patrick nodded.

“When will Colonel Sheppard return to Earth for an interview?” Hetty asked curiously.

“He won’t,” Tony interjected before Jack could respond. “The IOA put down an edict an hour ago prohibiting his return to Earth outside of a planetary emergency. They are concerned that having him here could actually endanger his life, considering the media coverage. The FBI has a unit dedicated to the investigation of crimes against mutants. They have already produced a report that they sent to General Rampart indicating that they believed Colonel Sheppard would be an immense danger if he were on the planet. There are several anti-mutant hate groups already making a lot of noise on the Internet on several fronts.”

Hetty leaned forward a bit, eyes bright with curiosity. “Do we get to go to Atlantis then?”

“Yes,” Jack said.

She smiled. “The circumstances are terrible, of course, but going to Atlantis would be a dream come true.”

“I put a meeting on your schedule, General, due to an off-base situation,” Tony said. “First Sergeant Joseph Myers visited my office first thing this morning to report that his oldest son had a personal issue that spiraled out of control.”

“I’m aware of his situation,” Jack said shortly.

“He asked to meet with you as soon as possible,” Tony said. “I’ve reviewed his file, and there are no overt security issues. His oldest son, Aiden, is from his first marriage, and the ex-wife lives in Rhode Island with her current husband, who is a CPA. Sergeant Myers has three more children with his current wife—one boy and two girls.”

“I’ll see him now,” Jack said. “Tell Lt. Sparrow know to give me thirty minutes with Myers, and I’ll need an updated schedule after that meeting. I’ll need to remain relatively free to make room for a summons by POTUS.” He glanced toward the red phone on his desk and frowned. “I can’t expect to avoid that, considering the very public nature of the leak at this point.”

“I need to make a few phone calls,” Patrick said and checked his watch as he picked up his work bag. “I’m sure Major Teldy has already sorted office space for us. I’ll have her contact Lt. Sparrow when we’re settled so he’ll know where we are, Jack.”

Jack nodded. “Thanks.”

Twenty minutes later, First Sergeant Myers was standing stiffly in front of his desk.

“Take a seat,” Jack instructed, and the man stiffened further but sat. “You’ve been with the program since George Hammond took command.”

“Yes, sir,” Myers said. “It’s been my honor to defend the gate.”

Jack sat back in his chair. “Let’s have this talk father-to-father, Joseph.”

Myers opened his mouth, shut it briefly, and exhaled slowly. “I’ve dedicated my entire adult life to my career, sir. I enlisted three days after I graduated high school to support the girl I married just before I was shipped off to boot camp. Aiden was born six months later.”

Jack nodded. “Agent DiNozzo tells me that you have three other children with your second wife.”

“Yes, sir. I’m blessed. Aiden is bright, ambitious, and spoiled rotten. His mother kept custody after the divorce, and I was given minimal visitation. He often preferred his mother because she didn’t make any effort to discipline him. I never forced him to visit, so I’ve seen him once or twice a year since our divorce ten years ago. Last summer, she called me and asked me to take him in hand because he’d gotten arrested for joyriding in a stolen car. The charges were dropped, and all four boys had to do some community service.” He paused. “His stepfather bought him that.”

Jack nodded.

“Dana, my ex-wife, realized that our son was completely out of her control, and he had no respect for the man she’d married. She hoped I could take him in hand and straighten him out. I thought things were going well. When he brought Ester home, I was really pleased. She’s a beautiful, accomplished, and sweet girl.” He paused. “But you know that, considering you basically raised her. It’s no real secret to the other parents. Her mother hasn’t bothered to show up for a single PTA meeting ever, as far as I know. I told Aiden to watch himself with Ester and to treat her with every single bit of respect she more than deserved.”

Jack nodded. “Before yesterday, I would say that he did as instructed.”

Myers’ shoulders relaxed slowly. “Good. I was worried, but she’s not answering her phone, so I couldn’t confirm that she was physically okay. My wife, Catherine, overheard Aiden threatening Ester last night—he threatened her life. Frankly, sir, it scared the hell out of her. She was in tears when I got home and insisted that I couldn’t keep him in the house with our younger children.”

“I haven’t listened to the voicemails he left,” Jack admitted. “But my son told me that Aiden threatened to kill Ester and told her she didn’t have a choice about being with him. He also threatened my son.”

“He confessed to all of that,” Myers said roughly. “And arrogantly didn’t seem to care that his behavior could endanger my security clearance, which would ruin my career. His selfishness doesn’t surprise me. He’s practically a carbon copy of his mother. Bright, entitled, and deeply selfish. I called his mother, explained his behavior, and told her that I couldn’t allow him to remain here as a result. I put him on a plane early this morning and suggested that he finish his senior year in a military school. His stepfather is on board the plan, but his mother is not.”

“It was a hard choice,” Jack said.

“I can’t have someone like that around my young children and wife,” Myers said. “They deserve a safe home, and I can’t trust Aiden with them. That part was easy, but putting him on a plane felt like I was giving up on him. His temper and control issues are well above my pay grade. I told his mother that he needed psychiatric care, and she acted like I was the problem.” He exhaled sharply. “That’s not pertinent to the conversation.”

“It has play,” Jack assured. “The only thing Charlie said about Aiden was that he felt like he was the sort to bring a weapon to a fistfight.”

Myers closed his eyes briefly, and he nodded. “Yes, sir, I would agree with that assessment. I kept my gun safe locked, and the key on me the entire time he lived with us because he asked repeatedly to be taught how to shoot. I told him explicitly that his emotional control issues made giving him access to guns a non-starter for me. I had a long talk with his stepfather, but the man has only been married to my ex-wife for three years. He’s her fourth husband, and Aiden is pretty jaded on the stepfather front as a result.” He rubbed his face. “I have a lot of regrets in this situation, but the courts didn’t give me many options, and I tried to respect what he wanted.”

“Retrospection is never kind,” Jack said. “Did you confirm your son was on the plane when it landed?”

“Yeah,” Myers said. “He’s a smart kid but also, frankly, a coward. You’d have to be to threaten a little girl who barely weighs a hundred pounds because she refused to tolerate his bad behavior. I hope she’s okay, and if you would extend my apologies, I would appreciate it. I wouldn’t want to upset her further by trying to contact her again. She’s welcome to call me, however, if Aiden calls or emails her.”

Jack nodded. “I’ll pass that along. Currently, she’s trying to talk Charlie into cross-country skiing. Getting outside and exhausting herself is her go-to stress reliever.” He cleared his throat. “Thank you for taking quick action on this issue. It wouldn’t be my preference to see you removed from the program, but security issues like this can quickly spiral into places that are very dangerous for everyone.”

Myers stood. “Thank you for your time and understanding, sir. I’ll continue to manage the situation with Aiden and make sure he doesn’t return to Colorado.”

Jack nodded. “Dismissed.”

He sat back in his chair and picked up a pen as the Marine left and considered calling Charlie to check on them. They’d decided to sort through the camping equipment to avoid the Internet and the resurgence of anti-mutant rhetoric. Ester was a mutant as well, one of five that Charlie knew of in the public school they both attended. His status was known, but hers was not. Even her own mother was unaware of her mutation. Ester’s mutation was entirely focused on mental abilities that set her apart from her peers in a variety of ways, and intelligence was just one of them.

Jack pulled out his cell phone and only briefly hesitated before he called Charlie.

“Charles O’Neill, manual laborer, speaking.”

Jack laughed. “Ester making you work hard?”

“Yeah, like a dog. What’s up?”

“Aiden Myers was put on a plane to Rhode Island as suspected, and his stepfather intends to see him put in a military academy for the remainder of his senior year. Have the two of you had any other messages from him?”

“She blocked him, and he hasn’t tried to call me. She’s super done with the whole thing except for the part where she keeps crying because she’s embarrassed that she didn’t realize he was a complete piece of shit.”

“Well, we all get led astray at times,” Jack said. “Take her to the movies or something after she gets tired of rearranging the shed. Leave the skiing for when I can come with.”

“Sure, maybe you can bring the admiral. I’m sure there are some romantic spots at Mueller.”

Jack huffed. “Stay out of my business.”

“I’m just relieved you’ve got business,” Charlie said with a laugh. “I noticed he left his bags here when I put fresh towels in the guest room bathroom. We’ll make ourselves scarce for dinner.”

Jack wanted to protest that but found he couldn’t. He wasn’t even sure he’d be home for dinner.

“I could very well be in Washington when it’s time for dinner,” Jack admitted. “You two handle yourselves and keep me in the loop about your location. Okay?”

“Sure. Have a good day, and…God, I guess, I don’t have to tell you how much I’m freaked out about the fact that Colonel Sheppard is being talked about all the Internet like a thing rather than a person. One of those assholes on Fox News called him a creature and questioned whether or not the Mutant Protection Act would even apply to him.”

“He’s not on Earth and certainly won’t be ordered to return. The IOA has created a shield around him on that front. I might have to go off-world this week as well,” Jack admitted. “You’ll be asked to stay home if I do.”

“I know the drill, Dad,” Charlie said. “Just text me if we need to bunker down. I need to run—Es is looking at me like I’m a criminal.”

Jack laughed as Ester shouted in the background that Charlie was criminally lazy.

“Don’t forget to eat lunch and hydrate,” Jack said and ended the call.

* * * *

“Congratulations,” Tony said as he settled down in his chair and stared pointedly at Frank Simmons. “The data you illegally obtained and passed on to a third party has been put into the public domain, and that makes you guilty of sedition.”

Simmons glared. “Colonel Sheppard’s mutation can’t be considered classified. Most of the damn planet knows about it.”

Tony opened a folder in front of him. Jack hadn’t made a habit of involving himself in DiNozzo’s investigations on a deep level, so watching him in the interrogation room, where he was known to be a superstar, was interesting.

He slid a photo across the table. “The IOA and all member countries have agreed to limit all data regarding the city of Atlantis; this includes photographs. Every single photograph of Colonel Sheppard, save one, that you passed onto a third party included background images of the city. I can imagine non-member countries of the IOA are already pouring over each pixel. But the big one is this one.” Tony tapped a photo. “Colonel Sheppard apparently makes a habit of flying over the city at night, and this picture, with the use of star positions, reveals the exact location of Atlantis, which is so classified that the gate address isn’t even stored in the dialing computer in this mountain.”

Simmons stared at the picture, face slowly draining of all color. “I can give you a list of names.”

Tony nodded. “I’m sure you can. The question becomes, can you give me a single name I don’t already have?”

“I can give you three names in this mountain and one on Atlantis, plus the unwitting source of the pictures.”

“I have all of those names,” Tony said evenly. “Tell me about the Trust.” He slid a stack of paper across the table. “And while you’re at it, explain the ten million dollars you used to have in an off-shore account in your dead mother’s name.”

Simmons’ fists clenched on the table. “I told them that allowing you to move into OSI was a mistake and we should’ve killed you when you were in DC. The more information a freak like you is exposed to, the worse it will be for the rest of us.”

“Certainly,” Tony agreed, and Jack frowned. He’d often wondered how some mutants could take being called a freak to their face without blinking an eye. Tony tapped the stack of papers. “We got all three accounts, by the way, not just the one with dear old dead mom’s name on it. I’m kind of disappointed, honestly. It didn’t make much time at all to find the money and follow it all the way back to the organizations that bought you.”

Simmons’ face darkened. “I have powerful friends.”

“I’m sure you think so,” Tony said. “But right now, those powerful friends are having conversations about what kind of problem you are, and they’re making plans to neutralize you. They’re looking at your life, evaluating their options, and they will strike at the first opportunity to save their own asses. They don’t trust you, Mr. Simmons, and with very good reason. You sold yourself to the highest bidder, and everyone knows the only thing you can’t buy from a whore is loyalty.”

“I love that boy,” Fornell said fondly as Frank Simmons flew into a rage that had two guards forcing him back into his seat so they could handcuff him to the table. “I should’ve tried harder to recruit him.”

Hetty Lange made a noise that sounded like disgust. “He’d have been wasted in the FBI. If the CIA wasn’t run by a bunch of morons, they’d have gotten down on both knees for him. He could run the kind of intelligence operation they only get to dream about.”

“Seems like he’s doing exactly that here,” Patrick said mildly.

“If you want to use him to his full advantage, you’ll get a set of dedicated assets to put under his leadership,” Fornell said. “Let him build a sniper’s nest, and an enemy won’t get within a thousand miles of this place without DiNozzo knowing everything there is know about them and what to do about it. Gibbs always underestimated Tony, and that came back to bite him in the ass.”

Jack shared a glance with Patrick, who shrugged. He figured that Tony would probably get his pick of anyone at Homeland when it came to building a team.

In the interrogation room, Tony offered Simmons his Hollywood smile. “Now, about that list you’re willing to give me? Would you care to add those powerful friends to it?”

Part 2