A/N: Well this is the final chapter guys, you might need a few tissues for this. If things aren't exactly accurate then consider it artistic license, (except spelling/grammar/typos which are down to me and possibly the microsoft word spelling and grammar checker.
The first and only thing Steve could think of doing was going to tell Jane, which is exactly what he did. Jack, who was innocently listening in on his parents' conversation as soon as his father announced who their father really was.
"Wow." Jane sat down on hearing her husband's news. "I don't know what to say. What do we tell Jack?"
"It's ok mom" he burst in "I know."
"You know." Steve repeated
"Grandpa used to tell me bedtime stories about his adventures. I've always known. I'm sorry I didn't tell you dad, but it was our secret. I promised Grandpa."
"That's ok." Steve answered. "No wonder you always insisted he tuck you in. That's why you gave him the poster last year?"
"Yeah." It also explained his son's obsession with anything space or stargate related and his claims that one day he was going to be a famous astrophysicist, just like Sam Carter. "I miss him, Dad."
"I miss him too son." Steve hugged his son. "But there's more." He continued afterwards. "Doctor Jackson is coming tonight."
"What!" Jane exclaimed. "I need a drink." And she wandered out of the room to try and get a hold on what was happening.
"Dad, is mom gonna be alright?"
"Sure she is, son. It's just a lot to take in right now. How about we go over to Jon's house for a while and give her some space."
"Really?"
"Sure. Go ahead, I'll join you in a minute."
The first thing Doctor Daniel Jackson after the call was to cancel all his classes, appointments and meetings in the upcoming days and grabbing his overnight bag from the cupboard he got into his car and drove to the nearest base. He night be a bit too left of centre for a lot of the people currently in power but there was no denying that many in the military would bend over backwards to help him. As it was he know most of the staff here quite well. He was the military's equivalent of a frequent flier and as a result the request for an unscheduled flight to South Dakota was granted with few questions asked. After all, he was the Doctor Jackson.
After talking to his wife, Steve headed over to his neighbor's house to spend some quality time with his son and in a way, Jon. Soon it was getting late and both headed home carrying the unopened boxes if literature. After a late dinner Jack was sent to bed amid much protest although it was nearly his usual bedtime. Jane went up to say goodnight and afterwards went to bed herself more tired than usual. Finally having some peace, Steve carried the boxes to the living room, and started reading.
By the time Daniel reached his destination it was late, almost early in fact. Daniel got out of the car along with the airman he'd blagged from the base he'd flown into. He took a quick look up and down the quiet edge-of-town street and wondered which of the houses scattered around here belonged to Jack. He looked up at the house next to him and checked the number. It was definitely the address he'd been given, and the lights were on which was always a good sign, he thought. While the lieutenant stayed by the car, Daniel walked up to the door and knocked twice. Within seconds the door was opened by the man he'd spoken to earlier that day. Daniel saw a young boy's head appear down the hall but chose not to mention it.
"Steven Hopkins. Steve."
"Daniel." They shook hands.
"Please, come in." Steve wandered off, Daniel following him. Seeing the boy follow them from a distance he turned and winked quickly. Jack grinned and crept toward the living room doorway. This was a man he'd heard so much about, a 'stuttering geek' grandpa had called him once, but he'd laughed when he said it and guessed he was kidding. It was sad going over to the house earlier without his grandpa, but it was nice to be there - if he couldn't be around his grandpa anymore then being around all his stuff was the next best thing. Standing in the doorway he listened in on the conversation. His father handed his grandpa's favorite photo of Sam to Doctor Jackson. He remembered asking about it when he was very young and didn't quite understand the history of the Stargate programme:
"Who's that?"
"That Jack, is Sam."
"Were you two married, Grandpa?"
"No, we weren't, but…but I loved her. I loved her a lot."
"Where's Sam now, Grandpa?"
"Sam's in heaven now, Jack; and even though she's not around anymore…I still love her. I'll always love her." Jack noticed tears a tear trailing down his grandfather's weathered face and climbing onto his lap, wiped it away.
"I love you Grandpa."
"I love you too, Jack."
Doctor Jackson was more than convinced at the man's story and was slowly coming to terms with the fact that the man he still considered one of his best friends, despite being out of contact for the past 25 years. The photograph was the genuine original, as were the other few items from Jack's house. Most curious of all however was the open box of scribblings, a pile of which was lying face down on the table indicating it had already been read.
"What's that?" Daniel asked pointing at the open boxes, breaking the contemplative silence.
"Hmm? That's-" Steve stopped when his son crept into the room from the hallway. "Jack you're supposed to be in bed!"
"I couldn't sleep. I miss grandpa. Mom doesn't do bedtime stories like grandpa did."
"Jack! – oh, right." Daniel muttered to himself, remembering the telephone conversation.
"Apparently Jack O'Neill used to tell my son bedtime stories about the adventures of SG-1." Steve glared at his son mock-accusingly.
"It was a secret." Young Jack blushed.
"How about I come tuck you in and tell you a story. Would that do?" Jack sleepily stuck his thumb in his mouth and with the other hand grabbed the doctor's hand. The elderly professor looked back towards the boy's father who nodded dumbly, feeling completely out of the loop, and went back to studying the text. An autobiography was the last thing he expected this to be, but it was nothing other than riveting. When Daniel returned a short while later, with Jack finally consoled and asleep the two dug into the text and could still be found there when Jane came down the next morning for coffee. What was left of it. She discovered the two of them apparently reading through a monster of a book text. On the right was a large pile of sheets, between her husband and Dr. Jackson there was another pile which their guest proceeded to pick up the bottom sheet face down sheet and discarded the sheet he'd just finished face down on a final stack on his left. Both were concentrating with avid curiosity and childlike fascination, despite their ages. An empty pot of coffee sat on the coffee table beside two discarded cups of coffee. They didn't even notice her. Laughing she went to tend to her son.
That day was spent up reading as much of the text as possible and a visit across the road to Jack O'Neill's house. Daniel was simultaneously bowled over and grief-stricken but felt relieved for his friend that his troubled life was finally behind him. That afternoon however, just as they started to discuss how or whether to break the news, the local news van rolled into the street. Both men suspected that a neighbor who had sighted the unlikely presence of Daniel Jackson in the neighborhood had tipped them off. In the end Steve was about to send them away assuring them that they were mistaken. After hearing of Steve's 'loss' they were too polite to dispute his claim. However both men agreed that it was a close call and from his experience with the media Daniel advised it was better to come clean sooner rather than later.
"I think the best thing to do would be do it exclusively. To a journalist we trust." The professor advised. Steve's eyes lit up. You could practically see the lightbulb flash on above his head.
"James Robertson!" Daniel gestured for him to elaborate.
"He was one of Jon's students. Thanks to Jon's tutoring he got a college scholarship. His situation was complicated, the fees were being paid through a fund his parents had left for him but there was only enough for him to finish school, and barely that. He always loved English, and was forever grateful to Jon for what he did – he used to send him letter, let his old teacher know what he was up to. He's currently an up and coming journalist at CNN." And so after a lot of raking around looking for the letter they finally got the contact details. The story broke on Monday morning. Within the hour all the networks in America were broadcasting it, by lunchtime men and women all over the world had stopped whatever they were doing and sat glued to their radios, televisions and other news outlets. It was one of those moments people would remember for the rest of their lives – when Kennedy got shot; when Columbia blew up; when the Stargate programme became public; when Jack O'Neill died. There were two days of national mourning for this man they knew almost nothing about except that they were still there because of him.
The day the news broke the infamous documentary produced, during which Samantha Carter and Janet Frasier had died offworld was broadcast; A week after his death, Colonel Jack O'Neill (retired) was given a state funeral which wasbroadcast worldwide and attended by literally millions of ordinary Americans, politicians, dignitaries, onworld leaders, offworld leaders and allies. In the 25 years since his death, Jack O'Neill's fame had grown to mythic proportions, both on Earth, among her allies and even her enemies. Daniel could almost hear Jack yelling, "ah, for cryin' out loud!" at it all and had to stifle a laughwith a coughing fit halfway through the ceremony. All the members of the SGC were there, old and new, as was Teal'c and Cassie. However, chief mourner appeared to be a young boy from South Dakota, and due to his persuasion the president had given permission for the deceased to be buried in the same grave as Major Samantha Carter'sin Arlington, the two of them finally reunited after a quarter of a century.
As for the book, it had to be published in volumes, but was a best seller of truly astronomical proportions, to use exactly the right word. It was comedy, love story, action/adventure, war novel, family drama, and science fiction all rolled into one. After it's publication Daniel suddenly found himself having a lot less of 'those arguments' as people were reminded they hadn't got to where they were by "shooting indiscriminately at anything that moved," although he resented slightly the fact that it was Jack of all people that made the administration less militarily focused. Jim Robertson's career rocketed after his exclusive and eventually rose to become in charge of offworld reporting. Daniel continued his academic career and despite his fame, Steve continued to teach English. Jack,as he'd promised, grew up to become a famous astrophysicist, 'just like Sam Carter' but amid his large collection of dusty books there was one he prized more than all the rest, the one that started like this:
For Jack,
Hopefully one day you'll understand.
What his grandfather didn't seem to realize, is that somehow, he always had.
A/N: Well there it is guys, hope it wasn't toogut wrenching.I'm already working on the next one but rest assured it's more of a 'happily ever after' sort of fic. Now go and click the purple button. Thankyou for reading.