(Es Charmed, thanks for the review. Glad you liked how it ended with Mark and Lantash.

Bacardi, thanks. Here's the next part. Hope you enjoy it.)

Part 10, Home and Family

--Mark--

People I don't know exchange hellos with my family. I'm introduced to someone named Jack O'Neill, and somehow we end up in some type of conference room. As I arrive I remember Sam has mentioned this Jack guy as being her boss before.

Sam is telling Jack what happened. As we sit down, I get nervous when Jack looks to me. "Your family is here."

Here?! Happiness makes my nervousness disappear.

Jack looks back to Dad. He better be talking more about my family. "General Hammond believes the recent events have proven there are possible dangers against Mark and his family...mostly because you're Tok'ra."

Dad looks annoyed and gives a sarcastic "thanks."

"He's argued that they should know more than they do...not everything, but the basics."

I feel too surprised and happy to see how my family is reacting. "Wait, so you mean I might not have to lie to them?"

Jack looks to me. "That's what it means."

Yea!

"General Hammond won the argument for it this morning. It the Goa'uld target you again, he thinks you should know what's going on."

The reason the argument was won makes me feel guilty for being happy. I don't like the idea of my family being in danger. How do I explain this to my kids without scaring them? Could they do anything if they were captured?

"What have you told them," my dad asks.

"We got the call from General Hammond soon before you arrived. Right now all they know is that we have an idea of who kidnapped Mark, and you and Sam are looking for him."

I want to hold my family and tell them I'm safe.

"Where are they?" Dad asks.

Jack gives an answer, and I have no idea what that means. Somewhere on level 15. They discuss details of what my family should and shouldn't know, and my mind is too much on my family to hear it all. Finally they get up, and I follow my dad and Sam. Sam smiles when we get into an elevator. "We'll see them soon."

The elevator stops and we go down hallways. I have no idea where I'm going. On the way, Dad tells me what I'm allowed to tell them. For the most part, they're allowed to know what I know. Of course my kids will be spared many of the details that they are too young to know about. We stop at a door and my dad gestures. "According to Jack, they are in there."

As much as I want to barge in, I restrain myself and knock instead. I don't want to scare them They'd think some stranger just walked in on them before they realize its me. My heart is pounding, and I feel more nervous than I think I should. As the door slowly opens, I feel like my heart is going to beat itself out of my chest.

Betty is there, and it takes a second for her to realize she's not seeing things. The door opens more as she flings her arms around me. "Mark!" I hold her tightly and my tears start running. I never want to let her go. I hear the voices of my children shouting "Daddy!" before my waist is being hugged. With difficultly I release Betty and take my kids into a hug. Now I never want to let them go. I wish I had more arms to hug all of them.

I feel small fingers wiped my cheek before Tina, my youngest, says, "Daddy, you're crying."

"I missed you." There were so many times where I was convinced I would never see them again. I give them kisses, and my son, Tom, accepts them. He at the age where he normally doesn't. I keep holding them. "I love you both so much."

Betty kneels down to join the group hug. I pull away a little to look at her and my kids. I see I'm not the only one crying. Tom tries to hide them, and I tell him he's allowed to have tears.

"Not in front of Grandpa!" he exclaims.

I chuckle and look to my dad. Tom is always much "tougher" when around him.

We slowly migrate back in the room, and my kids bombard me with information of what has happened since I disappeared. Afterwards they ask me where I've been, and Betty looks worried as to what my answer will be. "Can you talk about it?" she asks. I don't know if she refers to it being classified, which I'm sure she's figured it out, or that I might not want to talk about it. She's probably thinking about both.

"For some things, you've gotten clearance," Dad says.

"Us too?" Tina says in excitement. The idea that she gets to know a secret is very exciting to her.

"Yes, you too." My dad sits down. "Something you can never tell others."

Betty looks more worried. She wraps an arm around me as we sit. Tina climbs into my lap. Tom is hugging me as he sits on my other side.

"Mark?" Dad says, waiting for me to speak.

I nod, then consider how to tell them. I decide to use Martouf's way. I start by explaining the stargate. Dad and Sam help with that. Betty first looks at me the same way I must have looked at Martouf. Then I explain the Goa'uld. I try not to make them sound so scary, even if I was captured by one of them. Then I explain a little about the Tok'ra, which leads to who told me all of this in the first place.

"He had someone in his head!" my son exclaims in a tone he has when he thinks something is cool. My family met Martouf when I did.

"Does he get headaches?" Tina asks.

My dad chuckles. "No, he doesn't get headaches." He looks to me. "You want to tell them about Selmak?"

I smile. "You can." I think my dad is the best one to explain Selmak to them.

He gives a little more information about the Tok'ra, and mentions that he knows a lot about the Tok'ra. That gets him the question he wanted.

"How do you know so much?" Tina asks.

Dad kneels down by her. "Well...I know a lot about the Tok'ra because..." My dad actually looks nervous. Have I ever seen him nervous before? "...I'm a Tok'ra."

Tina reaches to the back of his head, though she wouldn't be able to feel anything there. Betty stills looks like I must have looked when Martouf told me all this.

"His name is Selmak," my dad continues. "He's the oldest Tok'ra. He's been wanting to meet you, but he hasn't been able to."

"We can meet him?" Tom says in anticipation.

My dad nods. "Yes, but don't get scared. His voice is different. He does that so you can tell us apart. Sometimes he also makes my eyes glow."

"Cool!" my son exclaims while my daughter moves closer to me.

My dad closes his eyes, and when they're opened, I can tell it's no longer him. Selmak looks to Sam, and I think he's afraid of talking and scaring them. Sam gestures him to do so, and Selmak looks back to my family. "Hello."

Tina jumps slightly, Tom looks thrilled, and Betty looks like she's starting to believe us. She's the next one to speak. "Hello...Selmak."

--Selmak--

They'll accept you. Don't be so nervous, Jacob thinks, and you can you not be quite so tightly wrapped around my spine?

I loosen myself, realizing I was wrapping tighter around it ever since Jacob started talking about me. I smile. "It's nice to finally met all of you."

"Can you glow your eyes?" Tom asks.

"Tom," Betty scolds.

That makes me smile a little more. "It's all right. Jacob did mention that." I pause briefly before glowing Jacob's eyes.

"Wow!" Tom exclaims.

"Does that hurt Grandpa's eyes?" Tina asks.

"It does not." It would if I did it a lot, but I don't do that unless I'm very very angry and its unintentional. There's no need to tell her that though. "As your grandfather explained, he is still aware of what is going on, even when I'm in control."

"Are you our grandpa too?" Tina asks.

Her question gave me warm fuzzies. Yes, Jacob thinks as I reply with "That depends on you."

"Do you have Tok'ra children?"

Jacob laughs. We both know what she means. "I have been blended with hosts in the past who had children, grandchildren, and beyond. I consider them to be mine as well, but I do not have any children who are biologically mine."

"That's sad."

"That's all right. Most symbiotes cannot have children. Only special ones that we call queens."

"Like bees?"

"Yes, like bees." I'm a bee now.

"Are you a type of bee?"

"No."

"How about an ant?" Tom asks.

"I am not related to any insects. Our species have children like some of them, but that's all."

"Oh." Tina frowns. "I'm sorry I called you a bee."

"It's all right. You haven't heard about me before, and you're trying to understand me."

Tina smiles.

We continue talking for a long time. Jacob allows me control for the rest of the talk. It can't last though, and they have to go. Jack brings in papers for them to sign. The kids are really too young to be held legally accountable for something they sign, but I know Jack's reasoning. They'll take the secret more seriously if they have to sign their names saying they won't tell anyone.

Sam and I follow them up to the surface. From there we have to go our separate ways.

Tina turns to me. "Well, Selmak, it was nice meeting you... Welcome to the family."

More warm fuzzies. I've been wanting to be part of the family for so long. Tina hugs me. "Bye Grandpas."

Aww. I hug her in return. I pull away to give Jacob control and he hugs her again. When he pulls away, Tina looks concerned. "New Grandpa isn't in the dark when you are in control, is he?" She is still afraid of the dark.

"No, he's not in the dark," Jacob assures.

She grins.

Tom hugs him. "Bye."

There are more hugs and byes exchanged. Then they go into a car where they'll be driven to the airport. I wish we could go with them. Sam and Jacob head back down. After getting into an elevator, Jacob hugs his daughter. She gives him a partial hug back. "They finally know." She sounds relieved.

"Yeah." He's happy that more of his family know the truth. I'm happy they finally know I exist.

--Mark--

It takes all day to get back home. The kids are bouncy when we do. Betty and I sit them down and have a talk about how important is it that we don't talk about the secrets we learned. They tell us they understand, but I see it really sink in when I tell them that telling others could put those others in danger as well as everyone in our family. I hate scaring them, but they need to know how important it is.

Afterwards they start calling their friends to tell them that their dad is back. Betty and I quietly listen in to make sure they don't tell their friends too much. They stay true to their promises, telling their friends what they were told before they learned the truth.

When night comes, they insist I tuck them in, and they make me promise to still be there in the morning. They are both in Tom's room. They have their own room, but it turns out that ever since I disappeared they've been sleeping in th same room. I read them stories until they go to sleep.

Betty and I go to our bedroom afterwards. "Don't be surprised if they show up in the middle of the night. Sometimes they come in telling me they needed to be sure I didn't disappear too. Other times they were afraid that they'd disappear." She nods slightly and starts crying.

I take her to the bed and hold her. "I'm back."

"I want to know everything."

I nod briefly before starting, telling her everything. I try to make it easier for her, but I also admit how I felt all the way through. It's very late before we start getting ready for bed. When we are trying to sleep, Betty proves right. The children come, worried I'll disappear again. I hug them both as they climb into the bed. I know that they are going to have to get used to sleeping on their own again, but right now I'm happy to be able to spend time with my family again.

The End