CHAPTER FOUR

Daniel was approaching the door of the locker room when Major Edward Hancock came out.  The guy had a bruise on his jaw, which looked to be quite recent.  The moment the man saw Daniel, he quickly looked away and hurried his pace, rapidly moving past the archeologist, gaze averted.  Puzzled by the man's actions, Daniel watched him walk away down the corridor.

Daniel entered the locker room and saw Jack, who also looked away upon seeing him.  The colonel opened his locker and began pulling out his civilian clothes.

"What's wrong with Major Hancock?" Daniel asked.  "He acted pretty strange when he saw me.  And where'd he get that bruise on his jaw?"

Jack started unbuttoning his BDU shirt, still turned away.  "What makes you think I'd know?"

"Oh, maybe because you seem to be having the same problem looking at me."

Jack paused, then turned and looked straight at Daniel.  "There.  I'm looking at you."

Daniel stared at him.  "Jack, what's going on?"

"Nothing's going on."

"I don't believe you."  Daniel had a sudden thought.  "Jack, did Major Hancock say something about me?"

"Not . . . exactly," Jack replied very reluctantly.

"But he did say something about this thing with me and the general, didn't he."  Daniel's gaze narrowed.  "Did you hit him?"

"No, I did not hit him."

"But somebody did, didn't they."

"There was an . . . altercation."

"Teal'c?"

"Carter."

Daniel's eyes widened.  "Sam hit him?!"

"It was on the mat, Daniel.  Hancock was in the gym and made an . . . off-color remark to the guy he was sparring with."

"What kind of off-color remark?"

"You don't have to know that, Daniel.  Carter was there and heard it.  She expressed her displeasure at the remark and told him he should watch his mouth.  He said something else that was offensive, so she challenged him to a hand-to-hand combat match.  She didn't pull her punches . . . at all.  Hancock's just lucky that she kept her blows above the belt.  I might not have been so nice."

Daniel just stood there with his mouth hanging open.

"Is she okay?" he finally asked.

"Her hand's a bit sore, but it'll be fine."

"Did you see all that?"

"Not all of it, which is a good thing since, if I'd been there and heard firsthand what he said, a bruised jaw and an even more bruised ego would have been the least of his troubles.  I just had a wee bit of a chat with him about improving his attitude."

"Which explains why he was afraid to even look at me.  Thanks.  I probably owe Sam a thank you, too, although I really wouldn't have wanted her to do what she did."

After changing into his civvies, Daniel went to see if Sam was still working in her lab.  She was.

"How's your hand?" he asked.

She looked at him with a grimace.  "Oh.  You found out."

Daniel nodded.  "Although I didn't find out exactly what he said to incur your wrath."  He stepped closer.  "Sam, I appreciate you defending me, or my parents, or whomever it was you were defending, but you really didn't have to do that, you know.  I wouldn't have expected you to."

"I know.  It just pissed me off.  If he'd apologized and admitted that he shouldn't have said it, then everything would have been fine."

"But he didn't."

"No, instead, he made another comment."

Daniel smiled.  "So, you beat him up."

"I didn't beat him up, Daniel.  We had a combat workout, and I got in some good kicks and punches.  The colonel put a stop to it when Hancock started getting really mad."

"Yes, and then Jack put the fear of God into him."

"He did?"

"By the way Hancock acted when he saw me, yes, I'd say so."

Sam smiled slightly.  "I wish I could have seen that."

Daniel searched her eyes for a moment.  "Thanks, Sam."

"Any time, Daniel."

It was eight o'clock on the dot when Kate arrived at her father's house.

"Ah, Katie, sweetheart," George greeted, giving her a kiss.  "How are Gary and the girls?"

"They're all great, Dad.  You need to come over for dinner one of these days.  We don't get to see you nearly enough."

"Yes, the curse of being a general.  My time is seldom my own, even when I'm off-duty."

They went into the living room.

"Dad, what is this all about?  You said it was an important family matter."

"Let's wait for your sister to arrive."

Veronica got there ten minutes later.

"Sorry, I'm late," she said.  "There was a mini crisis at the office.  I had to grab a bite to eat on the way here."  She gave her father a hug.

"Come.  Let's all go sit down," George said.

Father and daughters took seats in the living room.

"Okay, so what's going on, Dad?" Veronica asked.  Her expression grew worried.  "You're not sick, are you?"

"No, honey, I'm fine.  This is about something that happened long ago, before you were both born.  When your mother and I were dating, we both knew that, with me being in the Air Force, it was likely that, sooner or later, I'd get transferred.  We'd been going together for two years when the transfer came.  Though we'd known the day might come, it was still upsetting to Margaret.  She and I had talked about marriage, but Margaret didn't want to leave her father, who was not in good health.  After I received the notice that I was going to be transferred, she told me that she just couldn't do it.  She couldn't marry me and leave her father alone.  She was ending our relationship.  Angry and upset, I stormed out of her house."

"You never told us this before," Kate said.

"I know.  Your mother and I saw no need to tell you.  It was in the past.  I was given a week of leave before the transfer, and I decided to go away somewhere.  I went to Venice Beach, California, where an old buddy of mine lived.  I spent a lot of time just staring at the ocean, trying to get over the pain of losing Margaret.  One night, I was at a club and met a woman.  Her name was Claire.  She'd just broken up with her fiancé and was hurting as much as I was.  We went to another club together and talked.  I found myself opening up to her about Margaret, and she did the same about her ex-fiancé.  We drew comfort from each other."

George gazed at his daughters.  "That night, we made love.  Perhaps it was something that shouldn't have happened, but we were two sad people who needed something to help make the pain go away.  The next day, she and I said goodbye at the airport, and I flew away, never to see her again.  When I returned home, I thought about the things I'd said to Claire about your mother, and I realized that I couldn't give Margaret up, not without a fight.  The day before I was scheduled to leave for my new post, I went to see her.  We shed more than one tear that night.  I told her that I'd wait for her, that I'd give her however much time she needed.  A month later, she got on a plane and came to me, saying that she didn't want to be without me.  We became engaged that very day and were married eight months later."

"Oh, Dad," Kate said.  "What a beautiful story."  She smiled.  "I'm glad you met Claire.  If you hadn't, you and Mom might not have gotten back together."

"Yes, and we'd never have been born," Veronica added.  "So, why are you telling us this now?"  She gasped.  "Dad, did you find Claire?"

"No, honey.  Claire and her husband died in a tragic accident back in 1973.  I'm telling you this now because, a few days ago, I discovered something."  He took their hands in his.  "I have learned that, on that night thirty-six years ago, Claire and I created a baby, a little boy."

Kate gasped, a hand flying to her mouth.

Veronica was staring at him, wide-eyed.  "A baby?"

George smiled gently.  "Yes.  You have a brother, sweetheart."

"Oh my gosh!" Kate exclaimed.  "Who is he?  How did you find out?"

"His name is Daniel, and, in an extraordinary twist of fate, he has been working under my command for three years now."

Veronica was surprised all over again.  "He works in the mountain?  Then he's in the military, too?"

"No, he is a civilian.  We have a large civilian staff working on the base."

"And you had no idea at all that he was your . . . your. . . ."  Veronica found that she was having a tough time saying the word 'son'.

"No, and he didn't know either.  You see, I never knew his mother's last name, and she got back together with her fiance just a couple of days after that night.  When she learned that she was pregnant, she hoped that he was the father.  It wasn't until sometime after Daniel was born that she came to the conclusion that he was my son.  She never told her husband or her son the truth."

"Then how you did you find out?" Kate asked.

"Daniel recently came into possession of some of his maternal grandfather's belongings.  Among them was his mother's diary.  In it was the confession that he was the son of a man his mother spent only one night with.  Even then, he didn't know it was me because the diary did not mention my name.  Daniel decided that he wanted to find out who the man was and came to me for help.  When I learned what he knew about the man, I realized that it was me.  Out of necessity, we had a paternity test taken, and it confirmed that Daniel is my son."

Kate and Veronica sat in stunned silence for a long moment.

"This is so incredible," the elder of the girls finally said.  Then she smiled.  "I have a brother."

"Half-brother," her sister said pointedly.

Kate ignored her.  She leaned forward eagerly.  "What's he like?  I want to meet him."

George smiled, seeing that he'd guessed right about his eldest daughter.  "Daniel is a kind, brave, compassionate man who is also one of the most brilliant and intuitive people I have ever met.  He's a cultural expert and an extremely gifted linguist, talents that are greatly valued in his work.  He's also a skilled negotiator and diplomat, abilities that have led to several successful peace negotiations and trade agreements."

"My, he sounds too good to be true," muttered Veronica.

Not pleased by the tone of her voice, George frowned at her.  "Veronica, I understand that this might be a little difficult for you to accept, but this man is your brother.  Nothing is going to change that.  He does not deserve hostility from any member of this family.  I have already welcomed him into the family, and I would very much like for you, Kate and everyone else to do the same."

"Does he have any family of his own?" Kate asked.

"No.  As I said before, Daniel lost his parents when he was only eight.  He was put into foster care afterwards and stayed a ward of the state until shortly after he graduated high school at the age of fifteen.  He's been estranged from his grandfather for years.  The man now lives in a distant land and will likely never return."

"Oh, that's so sad.  It's too bad you didn't know about him back when his parents were killed.  He could have lived with us."

George gave her a gentle smile.  "Yes, I wish that, too, honey.  Now, Daniel was married, but he lost his wife recently.  He's still hurting over that, so tread carefully."

"I will, Dad."  Kate smiled brightly.  "So, when do we get to meet him?"

"Whenever you want."

"Tonight?"

"I'd rather not tonight," said Veronica, a little frown on her face.

Kate glared at her.  "Okay, then you can just go home.  I can't believe you don't want to meet your own brother."

"Kate," George rebuked mildly.  "Your sister's just having a harder time accepting this.  It's a lot to take in."  He looked at his two daughters.  "Perhaps it would be better for Daniel to meet you one at a time.  I know that he's very nervous and worried about meeting you and being accepted into the family.  You have to understand how overwhelming this has been for him.  He's had no family to speak of for most of his life and has been taking care of himself since he was only fifteen.  Now, suddenly, he has a father, two sisters, two nieces, and a great crowd of other relatives that I haven't even talked to him about."

"Yes, I can imagine that would be overwhelming," Kate said.  "I'd probably be a basket case."

George smiled at her fondly.  He turned to his youngest child.  "So, if you'd like to go home, now, Vee, that would be all right.  Daniel will understand.  When you feel ready to meet him, just tell me."

Veronica hesitated, then stood up.  She got her coat and went to the front door, her father going with her out onto the porch.

"I'm sorry, Daddy," she said, staring at the floor.  "I'm just not ready to. . . ."

"I understand, sweetheart.  You need to move at your own pace.  I truly hope, though, that you can give Daniel a chance.  If you do, I think that you'll come to love him a great deal.  He is a good man."

Veronica looked at her father.  "Do you love him?"

"Before I learned who Daniel really is, I thought of him as a very good friend, and I cared about him a great deal.  Not very long ago, he was missing for a while, and I worried deeply about what had happened to him.  Now that I know that he is my son . . . yes, Vee, I do love him, and it would mean a lot to me for you to accept and love him, too."

"I'll . . . I'll try, Dad.  I can't promise any more than that."

George cupped her cheek in his hand.  "I know."  He placed a kiss on her forehead.  "Have a safe trip home."

Once Veronica was safely in her car and away, George went to the phone.

Ten minutes later, a very nervous Daniel pulled up in front of his father's house.  He'd been told that he would only be meeting Kate tonight, but he was still tense.  What was he going to say to her?  How should he act?

Daniel rubbed his upset stomach.  'I should have taken some Pepto-Bismol before I came here.'  A second later, another thought came.  'A Valium might have helped, too.'

Taking a couple of deep breaths, Daniel got out of his car and went to the front door.  His knock was answered just a few seconds later by George.

"Daniel."  He studied the expression on his son's face.  "Relax, Son," he said in a lower voice.  "Katie won't bite.  I promise."

Daniel followed his father inside.  Standing in the living room was a slender woman with blue eyes and light auburn hair.

"Daniel, this is your oldest sister, Kate."

"Hello," the archeologist said.

Kate smiled brightly.  "Hi.  I am so happy to meet you."

"You are?  I-I mean, thank you."

Kate sat on the couch and patted the cushion beside her.  "Come on.  I want to know all about you.  Dad told us some things, but I know it was just the tip of the iceberg."

With a nervous glance at George, Daniel sat on the sofa.

"So, Dad said that you're a civilian who works at the base, that you're a linguist and a negotiator slash diplomat."

"Um . . . well, I didn't actually start out as a negotiator or diplomat.  That sort of happened along the way.  I'm actually an archeologist and anthropologist, along with a linguist."

"Do you have doctorates in all three?"

Daniel nodded.

"Well, Dad did say that you were brilliant.  I bet you can speak lots of languages, too.  So, how many?  Nine?  Ten?"

"Um . . . twenty-three, actually," Daniel replied self-consciously, sticking only to the Earth languages he could speak.

Kate blinked, her mouth falling open.  "Twen . . . twenty-three?"  She turned to her father.  "Dad, you said my brother was brilliant, not that he was a super-genius."

Daniel blushed and ducked his head.  Kate noticed and grinned.  How adorable!  If he wasn't her brother and she wasn't married, she'd be going after him in a flash.  He probably had girls all lined up, just waiting for him to get over losing his wife.  Hmm.  She'd have to protect him from the predatory types.  As a civilian working for the government, he probably got paid quite a bit, although you wouldn't know it by his clothes.  She'd have to teach him how to be a sharper dresser.

Kate probed Daniel for more details about himself and his life, as tenacious as a bulldog and as sly as a fox when it came to digging out interesting little details.  George watched the 'interrogation' delightedly, having to hold back a chuckle more than once.  Poor Daniel didn't stand a chance against the hurricane force of Kate Louise MacNamara when she was determined to know something.

"What about you?" Daniel quickly asked at one point when Kate was taking a breath between questions.  "What do you do?"

"Oh, I'm not half as interesting as you.  I'm a legal secretary at a big law firm here in town.  I only started doing that again after Kayla began going to school.  Before then, I was just a wife and mommy."

"Being a mom is important," Daniel said quietly.  "I admire any woman who has a successful career and can rise above the limitations society places upon them, but I think that one of the most rewarding, challenging and admirable jobs any woman can have is to be a mother."

Utterly delighted by the remark, Kate grinned.  "Oh, my.  I can see right now that I'm going to be beating them off you with a stick."

Daniel frowned in confusion.  "Excuse me?"

"The women, Daniel.  If some woman out looking for a husband and kids heard you say something like that, they'd be going after you at supersonic speed."

Daniel blushed all the way down his neck, his gaze immediately dropping.

"That, um . . . has never been a problem in the past," he mumbled.

"It hasn't?"

Daniel shrugged.  "I've never really been the . . . social type.  In college, when the other kids were at parties, I was studying."

"Ah.  Well, regardless, I think you're darling, Big Brother."

This time, George couldn't stop the chuckle.

"Kate, dear, perhaps you should give poor Daniel a break before you've embarrassed him so much that he runs away."

The half-siblings turned and looked at him at the same time, and George quite suddenly realized something.

"My word.  I can't believe I didn't see it before."

"What?" Kate asked.

"The resemblance.  Now that I'm really looking, I can see it so clearly."

Daniel and Kate stared at each other, looking for the resemblance.  Kate then grabbed Daniel's hand.

"Come here," she said and fairly dragged him to the bathroom mirror, George following.  Brother and sister stared at their reflection.

"Wow, you're right," Kate said after a few seconds.

"I'd never guess that you're only half-siblings," George remarked.

Kate smiled.  "Well, I guess the Hammond genes are pretty potent."

George chuckled again.  "I guess they are, sweetheart, although Daniel bears no resemblance at all to me."  He gazed at his son.  "But I can see his mother in him."

Daniel looked at his watch.  "I should get going.  I need to get to work early tomorrow."

They all went back out into the living room, where Daniel was surprised by a hug from Kate.

"It was really nice to meet you, Daniel," she said.  "I'm so glad that you've come into our family."

"I-I . . . thank you," the archeologist stammered softly.  He gave Kate a shy, beautiful smile that the woman was certain had melted more than one female heart.

Father and daughter watched Daniel walk to his car, then get in and drive away.  George shut the door and looked at Kate.

"Well?"

"I think he's wonderful, Dad, although I'd like to know why you didn't tell me that my brother is a hunk.  He's gorgeous!"

The general laughed outright.  "That isn't exactly the kind of thing a father says about his son, honey."

"No, I suppose not.  I bet all the women at work have noticed."

"That I wouldn't know."

"And some of the men, too," Kate added with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Kate," George said in a mildly scolding tone.

"Yes, I know, I know.  Don't ask, don't tell."

George shook his head with an amused smile.  His oldest daughter had always been one to say exactly what was on her mind, regardless of how improper it might be.  Though Daniel was usually somewhat more tactful, he did have the same courage when it came to telling people what he thought when he believed that they were taking wrong course of action.

"Dad?"

"Hmm?"

"Don't worry about Veronica.  Once she meets Daniel, there's no way that she's not going to adore him."

The next morning at work, Daniel learned that the story about him and his parents had two more items added to it.  The first, not surprisingly, was the altercation between Sam and Major Hancock.  Daniel learned what it was that Hancock had said that ticked Sam off, and he completely understood why she'd gotten mad, since, now, he was mad, too.  The man had commented that he wondered if Daniel's mother had been a good lay.  When Sam called him on the disrespectful remark, he said something that was sexually derogatory toward women.  Daniel had to wonder what his father would do about this.  He didn't think that the general would let it pass without comment.

The second thing wasn't really an additional, but, rather, an . . . expansion.  Apparently, the people who knew more details about how Claire and George met had passed on what they knew to others.  Now, quite a few of the female personnel were talking about the story of the two broken-hearted people who found each other and shared one night of love and how amazing it was that, so many years later, the man had found the son who was conceived on that night.

Virtually every woman Daniel saw throughout the morning smiled at him sweetly.  As he ate his lunch, he tried to ignore it, but when Sam sat down across from him with her tray, she smiled at him in exactly the same way.

"Oh, God.  Not you, too," he groaned.

"Not 'me too' what?"

"Every woman I've seen today has smiled at me like you just did, like . . . like they wanted to pat my cheek and say, 'Aw, it's just so wonderful!'"

Sam choked back a laugh.  "Sorry.  I promise I don't want to pat your cheek, Daniel."

"Thank God."

The major smiled.  "Although you do have to admit that the story making the rounds now is quite sweet and romantic."

Daniel glared at her.  "You're not helping, Sam."

The astrophysicist suppressed another smile and took a bite of her lunch.

"I should imagine that there aren't any women on base who are smiling sweetly at Major Hancock," Daniel said after eating some more of his own lunch.

"That's for sure."  Sam looked at him.  "I assume you've heard what he said."

Daniel frowned down at his food.  "Yeah."

"I'm sorry you had to hear that, Daniel.  I always thought it was pretty disrespectful for a guy to make that kind of remark, but to say it about someone's mother was way over the line.  I mean, how would he like it if someone said that about his mother?  And then what he said to me. . . ."  Sam shook her head.  "It took a lot for me not to punch him in the nose right then and there."

"I can imagine so."

"But let's not talk about that.  I understand that you met one of your sisters yesterday.  How was it?"

"She's ruthless."

Sam stared at him in surprise.  "She is?"

"She wouldn't leave me alone, insisting on knowing every little detail about me.  If most of what I did here wasn't classified, she'd know my entire life story now.  I have doubts that even Teal'c would be able to stand up against her interrogation methods."

"Ah, you must have met Katie," said a voice behind Daniel.  He turned to see Jack.

"You know her?"

Jack sat down.  "Oh, yes.  I've met most of the family."

"And did Kate grill you mercilessly, too?"

"Yes, but I had the advantage of my Special Ops and Black Ops training against interrogation to help me.  I'd never have guessed that I'd need it when confronting the one-hundred-and-ten-pound daughter of General Hammond."

"Lucky you," Daniel muttered.

"Kate might be a bulldog, but she's also a sweetheart.  And she's a bit of an activist as well, especially for human rights.  You two will get along marvelously."

"Now, you see, I learned almost nothing about her last night.  I managed to get in one question.  One!"

Jack smiled.  "You'll have another chance.  Did you meet Vee, too?"

"Vee?"

"Veronica's nickname."

"Oh.  No, she wasn't there.  I know she must have been earlier because they were both told about me, but she apparently left before I arrived."  Daniel stared at his plate.  "I don't think she's all that eager to meet me."

"Why do you say that?" Sam asked.

"Because of some things Dad said about her.  I'm not so sure she'll be able to accept me into the family, at least not easily."

"Daniel," Jack said.  "Veronica is a twenty-three-year-old who still has a bit of growing up to do.  It wouldn't surprise me if she was a little jealous of you and the attention General Hammond is going to give to you, especially since you are the son she probably knows he's always wanted.  But don't let it get to you.  I'm sure she'll come around.  It'll just take more time."

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