Disclaimer:

Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. I have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are mine.

Spoilers for; (in no particular order) Wormhole Xtreme (duh!), Rite of Passage, Prodigy. The Other Side, Shades of Gray, Matter of Time, Message in a Bottle, Summit, Last Stand, Fair Game.

Last chapter folks - hope you enjoy!

The three of them were seated on the plane when Jack finally joined them just before take-off.

"Thought you were gonna miss the plane and get out of talking, for a minute there, Jack," said Daniel as the Colonel seated himself and hurriedly fastened his seat belt. Jack glared at him.

"Bit extreme, even for me!" he responded. "No, it was just hard to get away. God, I'm tired!"

"Jack!" Daniel exclaimed, "You are so not gonna sleep through this plane journey as well!"

"I'm not?" he questioned innocently.

"You…"

"It's OK, Daniel. I'm just joking. OK let's get this over with. And I warn you, this is a onetime deal only… I am so not gonna change overnight and become all in touch with my sharing side!"

"If you don't want to…" Sam started to say, but Jack interrupted her.

"No Carter, this conversation is long overdue. OK kids, I think my reasons for keeping a part of myself hidden was evident in my speech."

"How so, O'Neill?"

"Well, I learnt early on that misinformation is probably one of the most important tactics you can use. If the enemy thought I was a bit dumb, then they tended to underestimate me!"

"We're not your enemy, Jack!"

"I know that! But when we first got together I had been playing this part for so long that it was a part of me."

"You could have told us later, when we'd been together a while," said Daniel.

"Oh sure, what was I gonna say! Oh by the way kids, I know I act all dumb, but actually it's all an act! No the longer it went on, the harder it got to say anything. And actually it some ways it was an advantage, because you all believed it, anyone we came up against believed it too! It's the same as the time I went undercover to catch that rogue NID group. I didn't agree initially with keeping you all in the dark, but I must admit your reactions were partly why Maybourne was so convinced. Be honest do you think you could have acted that well. I'm certain the conversation we had at my house would have gone differently. Aren't you?" Daniel winced as he was reminded of that time.

"I must admit I was confused and hurt," he said, "but I think I could have acted it out! You did"

"I'm trained to do it, and my life has depended on it too many times. I have the act down pat now, but it didn't come naturally at first. I nearly blew things a few times when I was younger. And you hadn't had any training at all! Daniel you are one of the most honest and genuine people I know, you wouldn't have found it easy to pretend."

"I pulled it off on the Goa'uld ship."

"I know. I'm not underestimating you. But that was with strangers and in a dangerous environment. It's not so easy with people you know well and in a place you usually feel safe."

"How about the languages, Sir?" asked Sam.

"Languages?"

"Tom told us you speak Spanish, and he thinks a couple of other languages too. He was talking about how you'd used it to get them out of a tight spot," Daniel explained.

"Oh, right, OK. Yes I speak Spanish."

"And?" prompted Daniel.

"And… Russian, German and Arabic! I learn what I need to know. I was a greenhorn kid in Vietnam, but a near disastrous mission caused by a lack of understanding, taught me that the edge I needed in foreign missions was to understand what was going on. I learnt the languages I needed in order to survive."

"You've never learnt Goa'uld!" Daniel objected.

"Actually, Daniel I do understand a little more than I let on. But the operative words, Daniel, were what I needed! I didn't need Goa'uld, because I had you and Teal'c."

"You were part of a team for your previous missions, though Sir; weren't you?"

"Usually, but quite often I worked alone. And a couple of times, things went real bad real fast, and I found myself alone!" The implication of that statement hit them all like a blow.

"Alone," said Daniel "As in everyone else dead!"

"Yeah," said Jack "and a couple of times they were just gone!" he added so softly they almost didn't hear him. Then his voice rose again. "The point is I never worked with the same team continuously before. Some of the faces were there quite often, Kawalsky, Cromwell, Tom Michaels and others, but never all the time. Like I said in my speech I use everything available to me; and in the case of SG-1 my biggest asset were your skills combined with mine. I could concentrate on what I did best knowing that the gaps were filled by the rest of you. If you said that some ancient writing meant this, Daniel, or someone speaking in a foreign language was saying that, I knew it was true. And the same goes for Carter in scientific and technological terms. I depend on you all, as I hope you depend on me!"

"We do, Sir. It's just that we're finding out that you depend on us just a little less than we thought!" Sam's tone was wistful.

"That's not true, Carter. I do depend on you. Maybe I understand a little more than you thought I did, but that doesn't change my dependence on you all."

"You understand more of the science than you let on, as well, don't you?" she prodded.

"Maybe a little, but not much. I do understand Astronomy 'cause that's my thing, but I was never one for science as a whole, as I told you when we first met!" He smiled at her.

"Yes, Sir. You certainly made that clear!" she laughed.

So, Jack. We know your Masters… What's your degree in?" Jack winced.

"Military History."

"History! You are always shutting me down when I try to tell you anything about the past!"

"This was different. It wasn't ancient history! We studied wars in the last three centuries, and people like Rommel and Napoleon and Eisenhower, although we did glance at Hannibal and Alexander the Great. And I didn't do it as Maxwell. That's why my name wasn't on any of the lists."

"Oh! No wonder… sorry Jack. I should have thought of that instead of jumping to conclusions."

"No, it's fine, Daniel. As I said this conversation is long overdue. Actually I feel much better now you all know. But it mustn't change anything about the way we interact. It is definitely one of SG-1's edges!" he said with a laugh.

"It's OK, Jack. I'm not gonna start treating you like a genius! Old habits die hard!" They were all laughing now, even Teal'c was smiling.

"That is true DanielJackson," he said.

"See that's exactly what I was saying! The dumb is a part of who I am."

"Yes, Sir, we got that!" said Sam, nearly doubling over as she giggled away.

"No giggling, Carter. I told you that before! So, kids; are we OK now?"

"Nothing else to tell us?" asked Daniel. "No PhD's hidden away there?"

"No, Daniel you know it all now!"

"Then yes, I guess we're OK!"

"Much better, Sir."

"Indeed!"

...

Epilogue:

They had been back from Maxwell for a week, but Jack had seen nothing of his team. After a debriefing with General Hammond, he had given them all downtime, and they were only now back on duty. Teal'c had gone off world to visit Ry'ac, and although Jack had tried to contact Daniel and Sam to arrange a get-together, they had both been too busy. To tell the truth they had sounded rather evasive, and despite their words on the plane, Jack was beginning to think they were still feeling let-down by him.

He entered his office, and sighed as he noticed the paperwork piled on his desk. Then, as he moved around the desk to sit down, he noticed a brightly wrapped parcel sitting on the desk right in front of his chair, which had been hidden from view by the stack of papers. He sat down and regarded it silently for a few moments, and then ripped off the paper and opened the box inside to see… a small statue!

A statue of Homer Simpson with a beer can clutched in his hand and raised over his head! Jack carefully removed it from the box and saw that it was mounted on a stand, which he reasoned must have been specially made for him, judging by the text carved onto it~ Don't judge a book by its cover; it could be lying! ~ Jack laughed out loud when he saw the statue, but his laughter sobered to a delighted smile as he read the accompanying card.

"To the man who 'lives the lie'! From two scientists of your acquaintance, who maybe way smarter than you are, but still have a lot to learn from you! May we continue to learn and be surprised by our 'multi-faceted' Commander."

He knew they were going to be OK. Far from his secret dividing his team and destroying the trust between them, as he had feared, the team bonds had been strengthened even more. His 'family' was back on track and with the problem on Earth solved they could get back to the job they were paid to do, making new friends and whupping Goa'uld butts! And as always they would do it with each of their particular skills combining to create an undefeatable whole. They would do it together!

AN: This was actually the first story I ever wrote, and it was penned for an online zine way back in 2004. I had made up stories in my head for years but never summoned up the courage or the energy to write them down!

Feedback please, everyone; I need lots of feedback ~ criticism welcomed but no flames please!