Nobody Said it Would be Easy

Disclaimer: See Prologue
Rating: PG-13
A/N: I am sooo sorry this took so long to update. RL is hectic right now, but I made it nice an long to keep you entertained. I hope you like it! Remember, reviews are like manna from heaven for writers!!!

Chapter 4

After he stopped speaking, Harry waited for them to speak. He knew that as a person with a warrant on him, their military code might become a problem. Of course, it wasn’t their government or one that they even recognized, but it was still an issue.

“Well, Harry… is that your real name?” George asked finally.

“It’s Harry James Potter actually, Evans was my mother’s maiden name.” Harry replied.

“Okay, Harry, there are a few things that need to be looked into… merely on the issue of security. Jack and all of us work in a highly classified facility and we need to be assured you are who you say you are.” George stated. “It is not that we don’t believe you, but I have learned to err on the side of caution in these situations.”

“Of course. What do you need me to do?”

“If you wouldn’t mind coming with us, we can get this settled within a few days.” George replied as they all stood up.

“Um… okay, let me pack a few things for Teddy and me and then we can go.” Harry said. “Jack you want to come with me and help?”

“Sure.” Jack answered and they made their way up stairs and into Teddy’s room first.

Harry grabbed a travel bag from the closet and began filling it with a couple days worth of clothes for Teddy.

“Don’t worry Harry; Hammond is just being a good soldier, covering all the bases.” Jack assured him as he cuddled Teddy in his arms.

Teddy had gone back to sleep a while ago and was now sleeping peacefully in the older man’s arms.

“I know, I just don’t have the best of luck with situations like these…” Harry replied as he finished packing. “Okay, just my stuff and then we’ll be done.”

Harry began to pass Jack and was stopped by a hand snaking around his waist and pulled him in close to Jack and Teddy.

“It will be alright, I won’t let anything happen to you and Teddy…” Jack said quietly and kissed Harry lightly on the lips. “Just wanted to do that before we get back down there and I can’t do anything else for a few days, the base has cameras and is filled with nosy people who could make trouble.”

Harry laughed quietly and lifted up to wrap and arms around Jack’s neck and against Jack’s mouth said, “I know you won’t let anything happen to us and when we get back here I want a proper kiss.”

Harry wiggled his eyebrows and leered at Jack as he pressed his body against Jack for one more quick kiss, making sure not to crush Teddy in the process.

Jack smiled and leaned in the final millimeters to press their lips together. A slow sweet kiss unfolded and Harry sighed into Jack’s mouth, his tongue sliding erotically against Jack’s. He nipped those kissable lips and soothed the bite with a lick. Jack’s free hand moved from Harry’s waist to cup his arse and Harry leaned against the heat of his hand and moaned. With a final bite of Harry’s bottom lip, he pulled back and said, “Okay, let’s go pack your bag and get out of here.”

In an afterthought, Harry grabbed a beanie hat and slipped it on Teddy’s head, covering the wild main of pink hair as they left the room.

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The drive to the mountain was quiet. Harry sat in the passenger seat of Jack’s truck with Teddy sleeping peacefully in his car seat in the back. Jack’s mind was running at a million miles a minute, trying to understand everything Harry had told them in the last hour.

Magic was real… if he hadn’t seen Harry do some amazing things he would have been expecting somebody to pop out and yell “You’re on Candid Camera!” It was funny that he lived in a world where he met Aliens on an almost daily basis, waged a war against evil parasitic aliens bent on ruling the galaxy and was friends with a warrior from another planet who had a frickin’ snake in his stomach, but he still had a hard time believing that magic was real…

Jack knew Carter and Daniel were probably in an almost orgasmic state with the possibility of all the technology and cultural information to explore. As the group had left Harry’s house, Jack had overheard his two geeks trying to figure out if Harry’s people were human or some long ago sort of colonization done by another race of aliens. It wasn’t unheard of; the Goa’uld had taken humans from Earth and settled them on planets all over the Milky Way.

There was also the issue of Harry’s past. The fact that Harry had been the front runner in a war Jack couldn’t even comprehend for the better part of his life was hard to take in. Harry had seen war on a scale that few ever see and had to watch helplessly as everyone he loved was killed. Jack had seen the guilt in Harry’s eyes, the tension in his body as he spoke. Harry probably felt survivor’s guilt for living through the war when so many others didn’t. He had already said a lot of people died protecting him and Jack knew what guilt for something like that could inflict on a person.

Jack turned his head slightly to look at Harry beside him and admired the beauty and strength in him. His pale white skin glowed in the moonlight and his messy black hair flew around in the wind from the window open beside him. His body was relaxed, but Jack could see a slight tension in his hands, clenched in anticipation. He knew Harry was worried about how Jack would take everything… as they walked to the truck Jack had seen Harry given him an anxious look beneath those long black eyelashes.

Jack was a little unnerved by the news, but not to the point that he didn’t want to pursue the relationship they had only just begun. Harry, even though he was twenty years Jack’s junior, was everything Jack wanted in a partner. Strong, capable, intelligent, funny, loving, snarky, a great father… the guy was beyond beautiful, there was no doubt about that. Jack got half-hard just looking at him; he could practically cum just from watching Harry smiling at him. No, he wanted Harry and that hadn’t changed.

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Harry sat in the truck quietly wondering what was going to happen next. He knew Teddy and he would be fine; Jack had made it clear that he would keep them safe. George had asked for a medical check-up and a more in-depth briefing on Harry’s life and the state of the wizarding world. Harry could see the aged general was worried about Harry’s presence in their lives, Jack’s especially, and whether or not his predicament with the magical government would affect them.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Jack look at him and he wondered what Jack was thinking. Harry had just told them that not only did magic exist, but it could do nearly everything. The thought that the legends in fairy tales were based upon elements of Harry’s world was both wondrous and terrifying. He had specifically left out a lot because of the sheer fact that a lot that could be done in the wizarding world could be seen as dangerous in the wrong hands. Apparition, dark magic, the Unforgiveables… it was hard to take it all in at once. He would slowly ease them into the more dangerous aspects of the magical world.

For Harry it had been fairly easy, it was magic or the Dursleys. If he believed in magic, if it was real, he could get away from them, finally be free. Of course that hadn’t been completely feasible, but for a little over nine months out of the year it was true. He still slightly resented Dumbledore for making him go back to that horrible house on Privet Drive every summer. Harry knew it had been for his own protection, but it was difficult to put those feelings aside when he remembered years of neglect and abuse at their hands.

When the war had finally been over he had realized he was finally free… there was absolutely no reason for him to return to that wretched house and those horrible muggles. He hadn’t given it a second thought. Beside there was no way he would have ever subjected Teddy to their narrow mindedness and their prejudice.

From his seat Harry saw a mountain move into his eye line a ways away. It was surrounded by a metal fence with a small booth with stationed guards for security. Jack nodded at the guards in greeting as he drove through the security check point and drove into the mountains tunnel. Once the truck parked, Harry got out and moved to take Teddy out of his car seat.

Several spots away Harry could see Teal’c and George exit their car as well. Sam and Daniel had gone home for the night and would be back early in the morning for the briefing.

“This is quite the facility you’ve got here General.” Harry remarked as they all entered the elevator.

George laughed and said, “Thank you, but, it’s not all mine. There are several programs housed here, the one I command is just one of them.”

“Oh.” Harry replied with a smile.

The elevator stopped and they exited, moving through the cement halls with bright colored lines on the floor heading in different directions. Walking into a room off the main hall, Harry saw that it was the infirmary. Several beds were made with sheets and bedding, waiting for the next patient. Monitors and electronics, beeped sporadically and the sound echoed off of the concrete walls.

“Are these my patients?” Asked a petite brunette with a kind smile as she walked towards Harry.

“Dr. Fraiser, meet Harry Evans and his son Teddy.” George introduced them. “Harry, this is the bases Chief Medical Officer, Doctor Janet Fraiser.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Dr. Fraiser.” Harry greeted as he shook her hand and then looked down into Teddy’s face and said, “Teddy, this nice lady here is Dr. Fraiser, can you say hello?”

Teddy smiled shyly around the thumb in his mouth at her and quietly said, “‘lo.”

“Hello, Teddy, it’s very nice to meet you.”

“Dr. Fraiser, if you wouldn’t mind giving them a full check up, I would appreciate it.” George stated and then turned to Harry. “Colonel O’Neill will escort you and Teddy to a VIP room we have set up for you during your stay as I am sure you and Teddy could use some sleep. In the morning, Colonel O’Neill will no doubt be there to escort you to breakfast and then to the briefing at 0900.”

Harry nodded, “Sounds good.”

“Well, you have a good night.” George said with a smile and left the room.

“So, why don’t you sit down here and we can start…” Dr. Fraiser asked with a smile.

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The next morning, Jack arrived to take Harry and Teddy to the commissary for breakfast, where the civilian and military staff alike cooed and awed over Teddy. When breakfast was through, the three made their way to the briefing room just before 0900.

“Ah, right on time… good morning, Harry, Teddy, Colonel.” General Hammond greeted as they entered the General’s office and followed him as he stood from his desk and preceded them into a large conference room.

Harry looked around at the large room that was dominated by a conference table with chairs tucked in around its edges. A massive window was to the left of him, but it was covered by a solid metal object that obstructed the view. Harry was interested in what exactly was hiding behind it.

“Morning, Sir.” Jack said and pulled out a seat for Harry and Teddy, then sitting himself.

Daniel and Sam entered the room through a spiral staircase on the opposite side of the room and sat down opposite of them and smiled.

“Morning…” Daniel said sleepily as he smiled at Jack and Harry.

“Good morning, Daniel. Did you get any sleep last night?” Harry asked with a laugh.

“Not much, I was too excited about what you told us, so I spent most of the night researching the magical world and seeing what our world knows about yours.” Daniel replied, sitting up straighter in his seat as an animated look overtook his face. “I didn’t find much; most of it was played off as fairy tales and legends like you said, the rest as ravings from the mentally unstable.”

Daniel has a frown on his face and Harry could see he was a little frustrated by the lack of information about Harry’s world.

“We take the protection of our world seriously…” Harry said with a shrug.

Just then Teal’c and Dr. Fraiser entered and took seats around the table.

“Well, why don’t we get started…” General Hammond said. “Harry, imagine you would like Dr. Fraiser to be given the oath as well?”

Nodding, Harry quickly spelled the doctor to an oath. Once it was done Harry, per General Hammond’s request, quickly gave her an overview of the magical world and Harry’s role in it. Throughout, Janet Fraiser sat quietly; blinking occasionally or her jaw dropping in surprise after a particularly amazing fact about the magical world was given.

“That is… I don’t even know what to say, except it makes my results make a little more sense.” Dr. Fraiser said in an awed voice once Harry had finished.

“What did you tests find, Dr. Fraiser?” General Hammond asked.

“Well Sir, the tests came back with a lack of Naquadah in either Harry or Teddy’s system as well the lack of a protein marker left by a Goa’uld exiting a host body.” Dr. Fraiser answered. “Scans of their upper bodies showed no signs of a Goa’uld presence. What I did find though is very interesting to say the least. Both Harry and Teddy have unusually high brain function. As you know most humans on average use only about ten percent of their brain. Teddy is currently using twenty-five percent brain function and Harry is using an astounding forty-seven percent brain function.”

“How is that possible, Janet?” Sam asked with a frown on her face. “There has been no precedent for any human using more than about 14 percent of their brain function… “

“I am not sure, but evidently this is something that allows them to develop and learn magic.” Janet Fraiser replied with an eager look on her face. “It’s amazing when you think about it. Harry and the magical community are the next evolutionary path for humans. For one reason or another, their physical make-up has been altered somewhere in the distant past and they have jumped several links in the evolution of humans…”

Harry felt everyone’s eyes center on him and he gave a shy shrug of his shoulders as his face burst red in embarrassment.

“That’s news to me… I mean, the magical world doesn’t do things they way the muggle one does. We do not pay attention to the DNA or the way a brain functions or things like that. The theory of evolution is unknown in the magical world. Even the most skilled medi-wizards are only really familiar with magical cores and how magic heals the body. There is a stigma in our world, something that has lingered with blood purity, so that anything muggle is frowned upon or thought to be less than magical knowledge. The only reason I know so much about the muggle world is because lived in it until I was eleven and in the summers as I grew older.” Harry stated with a deep set frown.

“That stigma is one of the problems in our world. Right now we need to keep our world a secret, but there may come a time soon when it will be time to make our presence know or when the secret is forced out into the open. If we are going to co-exist, the magical world needs to know more about the muggle. Besides the fact that I believe much of the muggle world would be useful in the magical one.” Harry explained. “Our world is stuck in a period around the mid 1800’s. The world hasn’t changed much since then. We still use candles for lighting, quills and parchment to write on, our clothes have not changed much, spells and potions are rarely invented anymore; it is along the lines of ‘if it isn’t broke, why fix it?’”

“It’s stagnant…” Daniel mused.

“Yeah.” Harry replied with a smile. “I think that fact is going to be a serious problem as time goes on, as seen by the simple fact that we know so little about how the human brain works.”

General Hammond, when Harry finished nodded at Harry and then returned to Dr. Fraiser. “Was there anything else in your tests, Dr. Fraiser?”

“No Sir; that was everything.” She replied.

“Thank you, Dr. Fraiser.” The General said and then continued. “Harry, I need to speak with SG-1 and Dr. Fraiser for a short while. If you would follow Airman Collins, he will escort you back to your room.”

“Sure, George.” Harry said with a nod as he stood up with Teddy in his arms and followed the Airman out of the room.

“Major, what were the results of the security check on Harry?” General Hammond requested.

“As per your orders Sir, I kept the background check in house and only completed by myself.” Sam answered as she passed out identical file folders to everyone at the table. In the file held information on Harry’s life in the muggle world and several photos taken throughout his childhood during school and such.

“Harry James Potter was born to James Potter and Lily Potter nee Evans on July 31st 1980. On October 31st 1981 James and Lily Potter were murdered in their home shortly before a massive explosion destroyed it, the only survivor was Harry. The only relative Harry had was Petunia Dursley, Lily’s sister, and he was sent to live with them. The Dursleys, Petunia, her husband Vernon and son Dudley, seem to be an average middle income family from Little Whinging.”

Sam stopped for a moment, her faced pinched into a deep scowl. “When I phoned the Dursleys, Petunia Dursley answered. I told her that I was calling about Harry and before I could tell her who I was she told me that she ‘didn’t know where the little freak was and good ridden to him and the other freaks just like him’ and not to call again. I figured I might get a bit more information out of her if I told her who I was and when she heard I was military, her husband came on the line. He spent over twenty minutes telling me about how he was glad the armed forces were taking care of freaks like Harry. Mr. Dursley seemed to think that Harry and all his kind needed to be herded up and either imprisoned for life or killed for their unnatural behaviors.”

“He WHAT?!” Jack yelled in anger, clenching the folder in his hands tightly.

Jack’s protective nature kicked in and the others in the room could practically feel the anger rolling off of Jack in waves. Jack was very protective of child, and though Harry had grown up and gotten away from his relatives, it was clear that their treatment of him had been nothing less than abuse.

“He believed that magic was unnatural and evil and only ‘freaks’ like Harry used it. Mr. Dursley made reference to physically and verbally abusing Harry in efforts to curb what his called Harry’s ‘freakish nature.’” Sam stated with a heavy frown, her eyes filled with restrained anger. “I asked him a few more questions about the time Harry lived with them. He corroborated Harry’s story of his life, although in a very hateful way. Harry came to live with them after ‘his freak parents got their selves killed by another freak’ and Harry lived with them continuously until he was eleven. He attended a magical school nine months out of the year, only spending summers with the Dursleys. The last time they saw Harry was shortly after his seventh birthday.”

“I made a few more inquiries into Harry through local government channels and found records from the school he attended in Little Whinging as well as reports from local hospitals and social services. There were several claims of abuse and neglect against the Dursleys that went nowhere. Harry’s medical records show doctors noting bruises, sprains and broken bones that had gone untreated. It seems Harry rarely was taken for medical treatment, only in the direst circumstances. Two neighbors I spoke to said they had suspicions of the Dursleys mistreating Harry, but nothing was ever done about it. One said that she thought he wasn’t being fed enough, as he often looked malnourished and his growth stunted… I just don’t understand how he slipped through the cracks? Why did no one do anything?” Sam had a pained look on her face as a small tear slipped free.

“I can’t believe anyone would treat a child like that…” Daniel murmured quietly. “Harry brushed over his time with the Dursleys and the way he did it made me think there was something he was leaving out, but this?”

The room was quiet, everyone lost in thoughts of how bad Harry’s childhood had been.

“Thank you, Major. Was there anything else?” General Hammond asked softly after a few minutes.

“No, that was it Sir. Everything appears to be verifiable and his records clean. I don’t believe he would be a security risk.” Sam replied.

“Agreed.” The General stated.

“Sir, if you wouldn’t mind, I would love to speak with Harry more in-depth about his medical training. I know there is an issue of secrecy for him, but his input and skills might offer my staff and I a better way of treating those within the facility.” Janet said with and a muted eagerness about her.

“I believe Harry might be interested in that.” General Hammond agreed. “I am inclined to include him in the Stargate project and SGC itself. He has years of training and knowledge that might prove invaluable to the SGC.”

“Great idea, Sir.” Jack said with a grin. “I think he’ll get a kick out of the Stargate!”

General Hammond smiled and then picked up the phone and notified someone on the other end that they were ready for Harry to return. Within a few minutes Harry was back, Teddy in his arms.

“So how did it go?” Harry asked in interest.

“Your medical tests and security check came back clean, son. After speaking with my staff, I am going to grant you clearance for this facility.” General Hammond answered. “There are a few things that need to be addressed before I do that though.”

“Of course.” Harry returned with a nod.

“First, the issue with your name and whether or not you are in this country legally needs to be taken care of.”

Harry blushed and bit his lip in embarrassment. “I fudged a bit on those things when I set up my plans. I used magic to allow the process to work, but technically I am not a legal citizen no. As for my name, I did not change it in Britain, so I am still Harry Potter.”

“Before we can give you clearance we need to establish you as with a visa to be in this country and clarify you legal name. I believe Dr. Fraiser has a way to take care of the first…” General Hammond replied.

“Harry, I would love to sit down with you and find out more about your medical training as well as the medical practices you are familiar with. I think you might be an excellent addition to my staff. The issue with secrecy can be worked around as I wouldn’t be using you in everyday situations. I am interested in the potions that can be used, as well as the spells for health checks, healing wounds, difficult medical issues and the like.”

Janet leaned towards Harry, her eyes bright with excitement and Harry had a very similar look on his face.

“I think that would be great, I have wanted to learn more about muggle medicine for a while, but wasn’t able to. I would jump at the chance!” Harry said enthusiastically.

“Well, if you agree, when can get a visa for you to work for the SGC as a civilian contractor.” Hammond jumped in; he could see that if he didn’t the two would continue talking long into the night. “The only thing left is your legal name on the documents.”

“I would love to keep Potter as my name, but I think it would be safer to go with Evans. It would probably be safe enough for me to change my name in the muggle world to Evans, at least then it would make it legal.” Harry mused. “I could probably go and do that this afternoon.”

“Okay son, why don’t I have the documents prepared and we can meet when you return to have you sign them and then I can let you in on what exactly we do here at the SGC.”

“Perfect.” Harry said with a smile.

They all began making their way out of the briefing room and down the corridor.

“Anybody hungry?” Jack asked rubbing his stomach.

“You ate just a few hours ago…” Harry smiled as he spoke.

“Yeah, but I didn’t have that much, ‘sides, it’s been four hours since breakfast.” Jack replied, with a roll of his eyes. “I’m a growin’ boy; I have to keep you my energy!”

Harry chuckled and then nodded.

“I would not decline sustenance.” Teal’c replied.

“Sounds good, Sir.” Sam said as she silently questioned Daniel.

“I am a little hungry, haven’t eaten since six a.m.” Daniel answered.

Teddy, in Harry’s arms took his eyes off of the lock of Harry’s hair he was playing with and said “Pa’cakes?”

“Sorry luv, but I don’t think they’ll have pancakes anymore, but we’ll find you something good.” Harry laughed.

The group made their way to the commissary and after each finding something for lunch grabbed a table towards the back.

“Here let me hold him for a while, you eat.” Jack said as he plucked Teddy from Harry’s lap.

“’kay.” Harry answered as he tucked into his hamburger and fries.

“When will you be back from the U.K.?” Sam asked as she took a bite of her chef’s salad.

“Oh, I’ll just pop over there today and take care of it. Shouldn’t take more than a few hours there and back.” Harry said as he took another bite of his burger.

As he chewed his food, he realized it had gotten quiet at the table and he looked up to see four wide eyes looking back at him.

“Oh, I didn’t tell you about Apparition…” He mumbled with a blush. At their shaking heads he continued. “Okay, apparition is basically teleportation. I visualize where I need to go and I am there. It feels like your body is being pulled through a straw, but it gets you there. Oh and there is an accompanying crack when you apparate away and arrive somewhere.”

“Seriously?!” Jack said, his face taking on the look of a sixteen year old boy after being given the keys to his father’s Lamborghini.

“Yeah. We train and then have to pass a test to get a license to apparate. It can be dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. A lot of people get hurt by splinching themselves until they learn how to do it properly. The ones who are more familiar with it can also do Side-Along Apparition and take up to two people with them. ”

“I would be most interested in seeing this, HarryEvans.” Teal’c said stoically.

“Sure, I can show you guys later when I leave for Britain.” Harry said with a shrug.

“Can you apparate that far?” Sam questioned. “Is there a limit on the distance you can travel and if so the amount of people you take?”

“Most people can’t apparate more than about five or six hundred miles. More powerful wizard and witches can apparate as much as about eleven or twelve hundred. But, when I fought Voldemort, I gained a bit of his power when I killed him and am able to apparate as far as fifteen hundred miles away. I can get to the U.K. in about three jumps.”

“Oh, you so have to take me with you!” Jack said eagerly, his eyes twinkling with glee.

Laughing, Harry said, “Okay… Sam can you watch Teddy then?”

“I’d love to, Harry.”

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The trip over the pond was fairly uneventful… Jack had after the third apparition decided he hated it and would be fine if he never did it again. Apparating, for a wizard or witch, really was something you had to get used to even if you didn’t like it. Being able to travel great distances in a matter of seconds was far too convenient and most people just ignored the very uncomfortable feeling of apparating.

Once returning to the mountain, Harry and Jack met General Hammond back in the conference room and Harry was finally let in on the biggest secret in the muggle world.

“So you travel to other planets with the… what was it… stargate?” Harry asked his voice filled with wonder and his eyes wide. The last time that look had been on Harry’s face he had a nine foot tall half-giant by the name of Rubeus Hagrid knock down a heavy wooden door and officially introduce him to the wizarding world.

“Yep, cool ain’t it?” Jack said with a grin.

“Wow.” He said in awe as he nodded slowly. “I can’t even imagine all the things you’ve seen… meeting aliens races and learning about their cultures, space ships, snake parasites that take over a person’s mind and body, it’s surreal to think about.”

“We’ve met many alien cultures over the years, both allies and enemies and learned about things about the human civilizations that had been long forgotten. It is an amazing adventure, but it has also comes with responsibility as well.” General Hammond said in a serious voice. “We have come across an enemy that had dominated the galaxy for thousands of years and we were lucky to have been hidden for so long. The threat they pose it big and it is my duty to help find any advantage that will help us defeat the Goa’uld.”

“And what, you think I can help you?” Harry asked quietly. “I want to help; it would be the adventure of a lifetime really. But, I have just escaped from a life where I was asked to save people and it took nearly everything from me. Besides the fact that I can’t take the chance that I would be taken from Teddy, I’m all he has left.”

“Son, I know it is asking a lot, but you would not be in the front lines, in danger of dying. As Dr. Fraiser explained, I would like you to help in saving lives. With your knowledge and abilities our soldiers could heal faster and recover from wounds that might have taken their lives… little things like that could add up to better the odds. There is also the possibility of the scientist here learning more about your abilities and how they work. What they learn could help us fight this war.” The General explained. “I will not pressure you; I am not that kind of man. It will be your choice and if you choose not to join the SGC, I will not hold it against you. You have sacrificed so much already.”

“Thank you, George. I’ll think about it and make a decision by tomorrow morning.” He replied with a nod.

“That’s all I can ask.” General Hammond said with a smile. “Well, why don’t you go and see your son and think about it. I will wait for your answer.”

Standing to his feet, Harry followed Jack after he was dismissed and they headed towards Harry’s temporary quarters. They walked silently, Harry’s mind absorbed in what he had just heard. He hadn’t expected that… he really thought the SGC was just some closely guarded government program that was along the lines of MI-5 or something. He had pictured Jack as an America version of James Bond… well, one that was sarcastic, had a slight problem with authority figures, liked fishing in a pond with no fish with a six pack of beer and friends, was obsessed with hockey and played dumb like a pro.

However, what he got was so far removed from that imagine that he was dumbstruck. Aliens, parasites bent on dominating the galaxy, traveling through wormholes, space ships… and another war that could destroy his world. This time he wasn’t the only one who could save them all, but he was asked to be a part of the fight. He wouldn’t be out there risking his life on a daily basis, that was important, but it would still be dangerous at times. Teddy depended on him, could he risk it?

Reaching the room, Harry opened the door and smiled when he saw Teddy on his feet doing his best to mimic Sam dancing to the music in the back ground.

“Oh, look whose back…” Sam said to Teddy as she picked him up.

Teddy, seeing Harry, screamed “Dada.”

“Were you dancing with Sam, Teddy? Huh? I can see you’re gonna’ be a charmer when you grow up!”

Teddy giggled as Harry tickled him, wiggling around in Sam’s arms.

“Of course, he’s gonna’ be a heartbreaker, look at those chubby cheeks! He’ll have to beat ‘em off with a stick.” Jack pinched Teddy’s cheeks, the little boy laughing and playfully batting away the older man.

“So, what did you think of it all?” Sam asked after a minute or two of more tickling.

“It’s a lot to take in; I can’t believe it to be honest. It’s like something out of Doctor Who…” Harry replied with a laugh.

“Good show, always liked Peter Davidson best.” Jack put in.

“I feel the same way about your world… like it’s not quite real, even if I’ve seen proof of it.” Sam said after rolling her eyes at Jack. “So did the General let you watch the Stargate open a wormhole?”

“No, he said a team was scheduled to dial in soon, so he’s going to let me see it tomorrow.” Harry grinned. “I am kind of excited to see it though.”

“It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before… it’s hard to really describe it, you really have to see it to understand and believe it’s real.”

Sam stayed for another half an hour, talking about the Stargate program and then headed off to work on a Naquadah generator she’d been working on. Once she left Harry and Jack waited to talk about Harry joining the SGC until after Teddy went to bed for the night.

With Teddy sleeping soundly in his crib, Jack and Harry sat quietly and talked.

“What are you thinking?”

“I want to join, I think it would be interesting to work here and hear about all the things you guys found, who you met… but I am scared for Teddy. He depends on me and what if something happened? Being involved with this, even just working in the base is a bit risky. Everyone here could be a target from both aliens and those NID or other governments.” Harry murmured with a shrug. “I know what you are doing here is important and that even if it is a cliché, the fate of the world really does hang in the balance; it’s just that my decision will affect Teddy too.”

“There is a risk. Every parent here, hell every parent in any military branch has the same fear.” Jack breathed and then frowned. “We worry about not coming back, about putting them in danger; life’s a risk, yeah some more than others, but the work we’re doing is important. We’re making sure there is a world left for them to grow up in, a safe one for them to grow old in.”

Jack closed his eyes, his heart clenching in his chest. He had told himself the same thing every time he went on a mission, it had been for Charlie… it hadn’t matter in the end though; the threat that had taken his life had been caused by Jack, not from a terrorist or an alien. Nothing, but an unforgiveable mistake and a single gunshot echoing in his head had taken Charlie for him.

“Jack, do you have a-” Harry started as he turned to face Jack head on.

“Yeah, i… I did… shit!” Jack hissed. He knew that now that they were starting something, he would have to tell Harry. His son meant everything to him and his death had nearly killed him… But, now wasn’t the time; that was a talk for when he had a few shots of whiskey in him and the privacy to talk about something that ripped out his heart every time he talked about it. “I will tell you, but not here… I can’t do it on base, not here.”

Harry nodded silently; he could hear the pain in Jack’s voice and could guess what it meant. Jack would tell him when he was ready. “Okay.” Harry whispered.

Taking a few deep breaths, Jack started again. “What I was trying to say was that you’ll always have that fear, wondering if you’re doing the right thing, if he’s safe enough? The best thing you can do, the best thing I could’ve done, was to make the world safer… for him.”