A Perfect Day
By Deanie
July 2003

Rating: PG
Fandoms: Stargate SG-1
Disclaimer: The Stargate crew belongs to MGM, Double Secret, Gekko, and other people who aren’t me and are used without permission.
Author's Note: I woke up one morning with this in my head, and the muses demanded that it be written. Be warned -- it’s strictly sappy fluff.
Spoilers for: nothing, really

***

When he was forty, life was different. *He* was different. He’d just been called back to active duty, beginning to get his life back on track recovering from the suicidal depths he’d sunk to after Charlie’s death.

When he was forty, he was alone. Divorced, childless. No family, no real friends, nothing in his life with any real meaning. Though he hadn’t known it at the time, his life was just beginning.

What a difference a decade makes, Jack thought, looking at the controlled chaos in his backyard. Everyone was relaxing, enjoying the unseasonably warm fall day as they gathered to celebrate his fiftieth birthday. These days, he had to fight for any time alone at all – not that he wanted to when surrounded by the love of his family and friends. Heck, even the new puppy piddling on his favorite sneakers couldn’t ruin the beauty of this day.

Recently retired General Hammond brought his grandchildren with him. The girls raced around the backyard chasing the overexcited mutt while George was talking with Teal’c. Over by the side of the house 19-year-old Cassandra Frasier, taking a break from her studies at the Air Force Academy was attempting to teach a visiting Rya’c how to dance. Jack laughed aloud at the teens’ antics. Nothing like seeing an alien teaching a Jaffa to do the funky chicken.

Dr. Daniel Jackson and Dr. Janet Frasier-Jackson were lost in their own little world. Sharing a padded lounge chair they laughed quietly together, Janet snuggling into his embrace as her husband cradled her swollen belly. They had two months – no, less than that, Jack realized – before their son made his debut into the world.

“Daddy!” Jack turned around at the sound of his little girl’s voice. She came flying through the open sliding glass door at a dead run, launching herself into his arms with a squeal.

“How’s my girl?” he asked, nuzzling her neck as she giggled with delight.

“Down,” demanded the almost-two-year-old. “Play with puppy.” She squirmed in his arms until he set her down, her little legs pumping as she joined Hammond’s girls in the backyard. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her, captivated by her laughing smile and the way the sunshine shone on her golden blonde curls.

What a difference a decade makes. Jack sighed in contentment as his wife’s arms slipped around his waist.

“Happy birthday,” Sam whispered, kissing him softly on the cheek.

“Definitely,” Jack agreed, relaxing back into her embrace. “Couldn’t imagine a better day.”

She leaned in closer to whisper seductively in his ear. “You don’t know what I have in store for you tonight.”

Jack whirled her around until she was facing him and pulled her close for a kiss. As their lips met, the background noise faded away, until it was just the two of them in their own little world. “I love you,” he whispered, holding her tightly against his body and reveling in the warmth of her embrace. This was definitely his best birthday ever.