| One night in early December a little boy named Daniel O'Neill was sleeping in his cosy little bed, but his dream was anything but cosy. The boy was dreaming about another little boy called Benji. Benji was about Daniel's age and very sick, the only thing that could save his life is a bone marrow transplant. Benji is a very sad little boy, who is afraid that he won't live to see Santa Claus this year. He has now been in the hospital for months and he wants to get well so that he can go home to his parents and his little brother and prepare for the Christmas holidays. |
| Daniel woke up crying and he ran to his Dad's bedroom. |
| "Dad, Dad! We've got to help him! Please Dad wake up. We've got to help Benji so that he can live to celebrate life and Christmas with his family!" Daniel said while he shook his Dad. |
| "Daniel…Go back to bed. You were only dreaming," a very tired Jack said. |
| "No, it wasn't just a dream!" Daniel shrieked "Benji does really exist and I know I can help him with my bone marrow. Please Dad. We've got to find him before it's too late!!" |
| Jack checked his clock and said, "Kid. It's 3 o'clock in the morning. Please Daniel, go back to bed. We can talk about Benji when we get up, okay." |
| "But Dad!" Daniel complained. |
| "Sorry, Danny I can't think straight, I'm too tired." Jack said "Go back to your own bed or if you want I suppose you can lie beside me." |
| Daniel clambered up onto Jack's bed and crawled over to his father. Jack wrapped his arms tightly around his son to comfort him. Daniel was very sad and very tired and cried until he fell asleep in his Dad's strong arms. |
| ~#~ |
| At 6 o'clock Daniel woke up and he heard Jack snoring. |
| "Dad. Please wake up." Daniel said quietly, prodding his Dad's chest with a finger to wake him "We've got to go and find Benji." |
| "Daniel. What time is it?" Jack mumbled, still only half awake. |
| "6am." Daniel replied "Please hurry and get up! We have to find him before it's too late!" |
| "6am?" Jack exclaimed "It's Sunday, Daniel for crying out loud. I want to sleep in." |
| "Please Dad. You can sleep another time," Daniel pleaded "Benji doesn't have much time. He needs my bone marrow!" |
| "Daniel, where have you heard of Benji and why do you think that your bone marrow is a match?" Jack asked his son gently. |
| "I dreamt about him…" Daniel answered truthfully. "Don't look at me like that. I know he's real. I can't tell you how I know, but I just know and I also know that I can save him with my bone marrow. We've got to visit Janet at the infirmary…" |
| "What? It's the first time that I have heard, that you want to visit Janet in the infirmary willingly." An astounded Jack said. |
| "Well that's because I'm not sick." Daniel explained "I want her to help me find Benji. He must be on the waiting list for the bone marrow transplant." |
| "Well Daniel, we can try to find him, but I can't promise you that we will succeed." Jack agreed. |
| "We will, I know we will. Thanks Dad, it means a lot that you want to help me find him and I hope that Janet wants to help me too." Daniel said, bringing a lump to his father's throat. |
| "I'm sure she will, sport." Jack said, as he reached out and ruffled Daniel's hair. "She can't refuse your puppy dogs eyes. Okay let's take a shower and get some breakfast and then we'll visit the Doc. You're in luck, I know that she's at work today. She told me that she took Dr. Warner's shift." |
| ~#~ |
| Daniel took a quick shower and then hurried to get dressed. |
| When he finished he ran to the kitchen. |
| "Danny, how many times do I have to tell you, no running in the house!" Jack reprimanded. |
| "Sorry, Dad." Daniel replied "I can't stop thinking about Benji and how he needs help…fast!" |
| "Okay, but remember next time! Hey I can see that you were hurrying getting dressed too, your sweatshirt is inside out," Jack said while he helped his son get it on the right way. "Okay Danny, let's eat so that we can find your Benji." |
| Daniel tried to eat in a hurry, but Jack stopped him and told him that it was unhealthy and it wouldn't really help him get to Janet any faster anyway. |
| ~#~ |
| When they were finished with breakfast they went to see Janet at the SGC. Jack was hoping that they would find Benji - if they didn't he knew that he would have a very sad little boy on his hands. |
| Daniel had a very hard time staying calm on the way to Janet at the infirmary. He was really hoping that she would help him find Benji and save his life. |
| ~#~ |
| Dr. Fraiser could hear a commotion outside the infirmary that she quickly identified as Colonel O'Neill. She listened to the disturbance coming towards her and heard the colonel say "Daniel! How many times do I have to tell you no running at the SGC either!" |
| "Sorry Dad and sorry Siler for bumping into you!" Daniel said while he opened the door to the infirmary. |
| Dr. Fraiser got worried when saw Daniel coming in. "Daniel, are you sick?" |
| "No Janet, I'm fine. Benji is the one who is sick, and you've got to help me find him!" Daniel told her. |
| "Who is Benji? And what's wrong with him?" Janet asked, feeling a little confused by the small boy. |
| "Benji is my age, Janet, and he has leukaemia." Daniel explained "He needs my bone marrow!" |
| "Your bone marrow?" Janet said bemusedly and looked from Daniel to the Colonel. The colonel just shrugged his shoulders and gave her a look that said 'don't ask me'. "Daniel let's get to my office and then you can tell me all about Benji." |
| ~#~ |
| Dr. Fraiser sat on her office chair and told Colonel O'Neill and Daniel to take a seat as well, on the two guest chairs across from her. "So Daniel, tell me about Benji. Do you know him from school? And why do you think that your bone marrow is a match?" she said. |
| "No Janet, I don't know him from school. I know him from my dreams…" Daniel told her. |
| Dr. Fraiser looked at Daniel like he was a little kid talking about his imaginary friend. "Your dreams?" |
| "Yes Janet. Don't look at me like that. He isn't a figment of my imagination; he's real. Like I told Dad, I can't tell you how I know, I just know." Daniel was starting to sound a little desperate now. "He doesn't have much time left so we've got to find him fast, so that he can have a bone marrow transplant. I don't want him to go through what I did when I was suffering and dying from radiation poisoning…" |
| Jack and Dr. Fraiser looked at Daniel shocked. They couldn't believe what they just heard from the five year old boy, who they thought didn't have any memories of his former adult life. |
| "Danny, what did you just say?" Jack asked. |
| Daniel repeated what he'd told them about his death. |
| "How long have you remembered, and how much do you remember from your past?" Jack asked. |
| Daniel lowered his head and said, "About two months ago when I read about radiation poisoning and then it all came to me and I remembered that I once was an adult and that Oma Desala helped me ascend. I couldn't live with their rules about not interfering so I broke them. They got angry with me and they punished me by kicking me out of their ascended club and turned me into a child with no memory. I remember my parents and how they died…" Daniel said and burst into tears. Jack picked him up from his chair, hauled him over onto his lap and hugged him tight. |
| "Daniel why didn't you tell me that you were starting to remember things from your past?" Jack asked him "Please promise me that next time you remember something from your past, you'll tell me okay!" |
| "I'm sorry Daddy. Please don't be mad at me!" Daniel said hiccupping slightly. |
| "Danny I'm not mad at you. It's just that I don't want you to deal with the traumatic memories from your past alone. I'm just a little disappointed that you didn't trust me enough to confide in me so that I could have helped you." said Jack. |
| "I do trust you Dad. It's just I was afraid if I told you, that…that I remembered I'd been an adult and that I remember being your best friend and not your son…I was afraid that you wouldn't want to be my Dad any more" Daniel was now sobbing loudly. "…that you would stop loving me as your son…I don't want to lose you too…" |
| Jack held the young boy tightly for a few minutes and then made Daniel look at him, "Daniel look at me…I will NEVER stop loving you as my son. You remembering your former adulthood will never change that. You are stuck with me kiddo. After we found you on Vis Uban I was the one who took care of you, changed your diapers, potty trained you…" |
| "Dad…!" Daniel squeaked in embarrassment. |
| "Well I did! And I have never, and will never regret that I adopted you!" Jack said earnestly. |
| Daniel looked up into Jack's eyes and said "I love you Dad." |
| "I love you too sport." Jack replied while he gave his son another hug. |
| Dr. Fraiser had tears in her eyes. It was hard for her to hear a five year old talk about things he shouldn't remember - she wished he could have a carefree childhood without the disturbing memories. This said, she was very happy that Daniel had Colonel O'Neill as his father - she was sure that he would help him cope with those memories. Still, she believed that Daniel should get help from a professional, trained to deal with the stresses that those traumatic memories could create. "Daniel I think you need to talk to someone who can help you deal with those memories….." |
| "No Janet, please," Daniel said, looking up from his place on Jack's knee "I don't want to talk to a shrink and especially not Dr. MacKenzie! I don't want him to lock me up again…" |
| "You…remember that?" Jack asked. |
| "Yes I do." Daniel replied "No one believed me that I wasn't crazy. If I tell him about my dream of Benji and that I believe that he is real he will lock me up for sure. I don't want that, because then I won't be able to save Benji…" |
| "Daniel I promise you. I won't let him near you and I will make sure no one is going to lock you up," Jack whispered. |
| "No I won't make you talk to Dr. MacKenzie," Janet promised "…but I do think you should talk with a child psychologist." |
| "No Janet, please! Can't I just talk to you and Dad. Please Janet!" Daniel pleaded. |
| "Okay." Doctor Fraiser agreed "But when I think you can't handle it with only our help, you need to talk to a professional." |
| "Okay Janet. Enough about me. Benji is the one who should be top priority at the moment. I want to be his donor, because I know from the bottom of my heart that I'm a match and that I can save him. Please Janet help me find him!" Daniel said looking at Janet with big puppy dog eyes. "I don't need any Christmas presents this year. My only wish this year is that Benji will live. Please Janet!" |
| Dr. Fraiser had a very hard time resisting Daniel's puppy dog eyes, but she had a hard time believing that Benji was real and she was more than a little afraid. If she helped him try to find Benji she would get Daniel's hopes up too high and if they couldn't find him then she was afraid he would react badly. Still, she was also afraid of how Daniel would react if she didn't help him. "Okay Daniel, I will check on the waiting list to see if there is a five year old boy who needs a donor for a bone marrow transplant. I can't promise you that I will find him, but I will promise that I will do my best." |
| "Thank you Janet. You will find him…" Daniel was interrupted by a knock on the door. |
| "Come in." Janet shouted towards the door. |
| General Hammond entered Dr. Fraiser's office. "How can I help you sir?" Dr. Fraiser asked. |
| "I just heard a rumour that Colonel O'Neill and Daniel are here in the infirmary," General Hammond said before he noticed them in her office, |
| "Danny are you okay?" he asked worriedly. He noticed that Daniel had been crying. Daniel climbed down from Jack's comfortable lap and ran to his 'grandfather'. General Hammond picked him up and gave him a hug. |
| "I'm just a little sad," Daniel told him "…but I'll be okay, when we find Benji…so that I can save him with my bone marrow!" |
| General Hammond looked confused, firstly at Daniel and then at the Colonel and Dr. Fraiser. Dr. Fraiser offered him a seat, he accepted the offer and placed Daniel on his lap. Then Daniel told him all about Benji. |
| General Hammond didn't know what to believe. Daniel sounded so convincing but still, dreams can seem very real, without being it. |
| "Danny what about you go out and find a nurse that can help you get a hot cocoa," the general said. |
| "You want to talk to Dad and Dr. Janet without me overhearing." Daniel jumped off the general's knee and looked at him accusingly "That's why you want me to leave this office. You don't believe me. Benji is real Granddad. Please don't tell Janet not to help me find him. Benji's life depends on it…please!!!" |
| "Yes, you're right son." His 'grandfather' informed him "I want to talk to them alone. But I promise you I won't order Dr. Fraiser not to help you. Go and tell a nurse that I sent you to get a hot cocoa." |
| "Okay," Daniel said reluctantly and left the office. |
| ~#~ |
| George turned to Janet and said "Dr. Fraiser do you think it's wise to help Daniel find a boy who possibly doesn't exist?" |
| "Well I think it will harm him more if we don't try to help him." Dr. Fraiser said while she looked at Colonel O'Neill. "If we don't find him, then we can try to convince him that it only was a dream. General, Daniel confided something that I think is more disturbing than about Benji…" |
| "Doctor?" General Hammond said worriedly. |
| "Daniel confessed that he two months ago started to remember about his ascension, about the radiation poisoning and that he remembered being an adult." Janet told him. |
| The general sighed "You are right, that is disturbing. We have to make sure that information doesn't leave this complex. I don't want the NID finding out, because I'm afraid what they will do to our boy if they do." |
| "I'll make sure that only the people we trust know about Danny's memories and I'll make sure that the NID won't come near him…Sir," Jack told his commanding officer. |
| "Good and I'll help you with that." Hammond answered "I don't want to lose my only "Grandson" to the NID." |
| There was a faint knock on the door. |
| "Come in." called Janet. |
| Daniel opened the door. "Are you finished talking about me? May I come back in?" he asked. |
| "Come in Daniel," Dr. Fraiser said. |
| Jack stood up and walked towards Daniel. He gently took the mug of hot cocoa from him, before Daniel could spill it on himself. He placed the mug on Dr. Fraiser's desk and sat back down. Daniel retook his place on his father's lap, carefully took hold of his mug and started to drink. |
| After he took a few sips from his cocoa Daniel said, "So Janet are you going to help me find Benji?" |
| "Yes Daniel I will." Janet replied "If it is okay with you, General. I will start looking for Benji right away." |
| "It's okay with me Doctor. I'm curious about what you will find out so I will stay here too." |
| Dr. Fraiser looked at her computer and opened the page with people on the waiting list for a bone marrow transplant. After sometime she found something interesting and she couldn't believe what she was reading and thought that it must be a coincidence and said "I'll be d…" |
| "Janet did you find Benji?" Daniel asked. |
| "Doctor?" General Hammond said, curious as to what Janet had discovered. |
| "It says here that a five year old boy named Benjamin Kent, who has leukaemia, he needs a bone marrow transplant. It must be a coincidence." |
| "No Janet it's not. It is him!" Daniel shouted "I just know it is. See Dad it wasn't just a dream!" |
| 'Oh no,' thought Jack. A part of him was glad that Dr. Fraiser found Benji, but the other part wasn't. There would also be a chance that his son was right about being a match for the transplant and Jack wasn't comfortable about his young son having to go through that. He knew that he wouldn't stand a chance of convincing Daniel not to go through with it. Jack also knew that his son wouldn't forgive him if he prevented him from becoming Benji's bone marrow donor. |
| "Janet you have to contact Benji's doctors and tell them that I'm a match and that I want to be his donor!" Daniel said earnestly. |
| "Hold your horses Daniel! We have to make sure you really are a match before we contact them." Janet said, holding up a finger to quiet him. "I don't want to give Benji and his family false hope. If it turns out that you are a match they have to get consent from your father. I want to give Jack a little time to think about it too, it's a lot to ask of him, because of your young age." |
| "But I want to be his donor" said Daniel "…and it's my body. I can do what ever I want with it. Dad can't forbid me from being his donor! Right Dad? You are not going to try to stop me are you Dad?" |
| Jack tried to answer his son, but he couldn't get a word out. Dr. Fraiser noticed and said, "He can Daniel. You are a minor and as your father and guardian he can refuse to sign the consent if he thinks it's in your best interest." |
| "Dad it's not in my best interest! Please give them your consent. Please Daddy. If you don't Benji will die! I want him to live!" Daniel said and he started to cry again. |
| Jack took the mug from Daniel and placed it back on Dr. Fraiser's desk and hugged his son to him. He sat there for a moment stroking his hands up and down Daniel's back to soothe both Daniel and himself. "Let's get Dr. Fraiser to test you first and see if you are a match. Then we can talk about it after the test results. Okay?" |
| Daniel just nodded and started to calm a little. |
| After a few quiet moments it was decided to start running the tests on Daniel then and there, to see if he was a match. They all left Dr. Fraiser's office and General Hammond left the infirmary after Janet promised to let him know when there was any news about the results. |
| Colonel O'Neill and Daniel went with Dr. Fraiser to her lab for the testing. |
| Daniel knew that the test would show that he was a match. A part of Jack was hoping that Daniel was wrong, but they would find out if Daniel was right soon enough. |
| Daniel wasn't particularly happy about the poking and prodding that was involved to see if he was a match to Benji. He knew that he had to go through with it though, if he wanted to save Benji…and he really did. He was very glad that his Dad was with him though. |
| "Danny, you don't have to go through with this you know!" Jack said while Janet took a blood sample from Daniel. |
| "I know Dad," Daniel said "…but I want to save Benji's life." |
| Jack bent down slightly and gently clasped Daniel's face between his two strong hands, he looked the young boy in the eyes and said. "Daniel I want you to promise me something. If you change your mind at all, if you decide you don't want to go through with it, I want you to let us know and we won't think bad of you. Maybe there will be an adult donor who is a match." |
| "I promise Dad, but that's not going to happen. I'm afraid that I'm the only one that can save him." Daniel said softly. |
| "I'm proud of you son." Said Jack "Even if you regret it and don't go through with it I'll still be proud of you." |
| Dr. Fraiser then spoke to him. "Daniel. I want you to know that it won't be easy for you when you're donating marrow stem cells. There will be some side effects," |
| Daniel nodded his head. |
| This worried Jack. "What side affects do you expect he will have after the operation Doc," he asked the doctor. |
| "If it turns out that Daniel's a match, there won't be an operation Colonel, we're using a new method now." Janet explained "Daniel will get an injection with a medication once a day for four to five days before his bone marrow stem cell donation. This will draw the stem cells out of his bone marrow and into his bloodstream, then they will be filtered from his blood. As long as Daniel gets the medication he will have the side effects: bone pain, headache, muscle pain, fatigue, insomnia, nausea and flu-like symptoms, sweating, loss of appetite and tingling. The side effects will stop when we stop giving him the medication." |
| Jack wasn't happy to hear that at all. "Wow, that many side effects" |
| "I'll manage for Benji's sake." Daniel told him "Don't worry Dad, I'll be fine." |
| Jack thought about this for a moment. "Daniel I don't know? I don't think that you should go through with it you are only five after all." |
| "Benji is only five as well, and I don't want him to die. Please Daddy!!" Daniel cried. |
| "I hope he will get lucky" Jack said "…and there will be an adult who will be a match for him." |
| "No there won't." Daniel sobbed. "I can't tell you how I know, but there won't be an adult donor in time. I'm his only hope Daddy." |
| "I'm sorry Danny, but I'll have to think about it before I can give my consent." Jack said, patting him on the back. |
| Daniel cried his heart out onto his Dad's shoulder. He was so afraid that his Dad would refuse to help him help Benji and that Benji would die because of it. |
| "Well let's first see if Daniel is a match before you decide anything Colonel. I think that you both should go home and rest. I'll let you know as soon as I have the test results," Dr. Fraiser said. |
| ~#~ |
| Jack took his sad little boy home. The military officer wished that this whole thing was just a nightmare and that he soon would wake up from it. He waited and waited, but it didn't happen and he had to face the truth that this wasn't just a bad dream. |
| General Hammond kindly gave SG-1 some days off to ensure that Jack had some downtime with his son until the whole thing with the bone marrow testing and/or donation was over. |
| Later that day he called Sam, Teal'c and even Jonas. Daniel liked the young Kelownan a lot but Jack believed that if Daniel knew what happened with him and Jonas on Kelowna, his son wouldn't like him that much after all. He told his team about Daniel and Benji and asked them to come over and help him try to cheer up his son. |
| Jack and the team talked, played games and watched movies and succeeded in cheering Daniel up a little bit. They all went home when it was Daniel's bedtime, which came early when he fell asleep on the couch. Teal'c had the honour of changing him into his pyjamas and tucking him into bed for the night. |
| A few days later Jack got a call from Dr. Fraiser. She told him that the test results were ready and asked them to go in to the SGC to discuss them with her. |
| When Jack and Daniel arrived at the infirmary Dr. Fraiser asked Daniel to stay with a nurse while she talked with the colonel in her office. |
| "No Janet," Daniel complained "I want to be there too when you tell Dad about the test results. I know I'm a match but still I want to be there. Please Janet." |
| Janet squatted down so she was at eye level with the boy. "Sorry Daniel I want to talk to your Dad first. So be a good boy and stay with nurse Simons." |
| "But…" Daniel started to object. |
| "Daniel! Stay here with nurse Simons as the Doc told you too. We will get you as soon as possible," Jack said firmly. |
| Daniel reluctantly stayed with nurse Simons and was very disappointed that he was being left out. Colonel O'Neill and Dr. Fraiser went to her office. |
| "I'm afraid you won't like what the test result says Colonel." Janet said frankly. |
| "Just spit it out Doc." Jack said "Is Daniel a match?" |
| "Yes Colonel he is and even a very good match. I haven't seen anything like this before." Janet said "If I didn't know that they couldn't be identical twins, I would have believed they could be." |
| "Do you mean Daniel is related to Benji?" Jack said in amazement "That's impossible and they can't possibly be brothers. Daniel's parents died long before Benji was even born!" |
| "You are right they can't be related. But If Daniel will become Benji's donor, his prognosis will be very promising indeed." Janet stated. |
| "You mean that he will have a high chance survival? And he will live long enough to grow up to adulthood?" queried Jack. |
| "Yes Colonel, that would be highly likely." Said Janet. |
| "Then" Asked Jack. "How can I refuse to sign the consent. Daniel would never forgive me." |
| "If you want Colonel I could tell Daniel that he isn't a match, if you don't want to sign the consent." Offered Janet. |
| Jack rubbed both his hands over his face and sighed "Thanks Doc. But I don't want to lie to Daniel. I'll sign the consent papers, but I hope that Daniel won't suffer too much from the side effects." |
| Janet placed one of her hands gently on Jack's arm and gave him a comforting squeeze. "I want you and Daniel to stay at the SGC in one of the VIP rooms for as long the procedure takes place. That way I can monitor him and keep my eye on you as well. Your team can stay with him too, if they want to help him cope with the side effects." |
| "I'm sure they will. I'm sure even Danny's "Grandfather" will show up when he has the time." Said Jack. |
| "Okay then Colonel." Said Janet "I'll notify the General and speak to Benji's doctors to make all the arrangements." |
| "Okay Doc. I'll go and get Daniel so you can tell him the news." Jack sighed again. "Well at least one of us will be very happy with the news." |
| ~#~ |
| A few minutes later Jack went back into Dr. Fraiser's office with Daniel. |
| "I'm a match right, Doctor Janet?" Daniel asked "Dad didn't want to say. He wants you to tell me. I hope it's not because it's bad news." |
| Janet smiled at him. "Daniel you were right all along. Yes, Daniel you are a match." |
| "I knew it!" Daniel exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "See Dad I was right! Can I visit Benji today? Does he live in Colorado Springs?" |
| "Yes. Daniel he lives in Colorado Springs he's in the Children's Memorial Hospital." Dr. Fraiser answered. |
| "I don't know if it's a good idea to visit him Danny," Jack said. |
| "Why?" asked Daniel "You will sign the consent, right Dad?" |
| "I'll sign the consent if you're really sure that you want to go through with it." Replied Jack. |
| "I will do everything I can to save Benji! I want to visit him today. Please let me visit him at the hospital Dad…please." Daniel said with his puppy dog's eyes. |
| "Okay we'll ask Benji's doctors and his parents to see if its okay with them." Agreed Jack. |
| "Yes! Thank you Dad!" Daniel jump of his chair, ran to his Dad and gave him a big hug. |
| Benji's doctors and his parents gave the 'okay' for Jack and Daniel to visit him at the hospital. His parents wanted to talk to Jack and Daniel before they told Benji that there was a potential donor. |
| ~#~ |
| A few hours later Jack and Daniel were at the hospital. When Benji's parents saw Daniel they were extremely surprised - he looked just like Benji did before he got sick. Mrs. Kent gave Daniel a big hug with tears welling up in her eyes. |
| After a few minutes she released Daniel from her embrace, wiped the tears from her face and said, "I'm sorry. I was just so surprised when I saw you, you look so much like Benji did before he got sick. You could be his twin brother...Mr. O'Neill could it be possible that your son is Benji's identical twin? Benji is adopted." |
| "No that's not possible." Jack said "Daniel is adopted too, but his biological father was my best friend, Daniel was the only child, his wife gave birth to." |
| "Oh, okay. Benji was found in the middle of nowhere, when he was about one and a half years old. He was in his birthday suit and was lucky that he was found before he starved to death. We don't know anything at all about his biological parents." Mrs. Kent told them. |
| Jack was surprised with the coincidence. Daniel was found on Vis Uban at the same age, also in his birthday suit. Jack was sure that it was just a coincidence, Benji couldn't be Daniel's doppelganger or his twin - could he? |
| "Is Benji's little brother adopted too?" Daniel asked. |
| "No, I gave birth to Tommy about a year ago." Said Benji's mother. |
| "Where is Tommy?" asked Daniel "Is he with Benji?" |
| "No, Daniel he is with his Grandparents." Mr. Kent informed him. |
| Benji's parents asked them if they were sure they would go through with the donation. Recently there had been an adult donor, who suddenly changed his mind at the last moment. They were all very upset including Benji and they didn't want to put him through that again. |
| "Don't worry" Daniel said. "Mr. and Mrs. Kent I won't change my mind. I want to save Benji!" |
| "You are a very special boy. Thank you so much Daniel," Mrs. Kent said. |
| "Can I see Benji now? Please." Daniel asked. |
| "Sure you can. I'm sure he'll be very happy when he sees you especially when we tell him that you're going to be his donor," Mrs. Kent said. |
| ~#~ |
| Outside Benji's room they met a nurse and Benji's parents told her about Daniel being their son's new donor. |
| The nurse kneeled down so she was face to face with Daniel and said, "Hi Daniel my name is Meg. You're a very brave little boy and I'm sure your Dad is very proud of you. Before you go in to see Benji I want you and your Dad to wash your hands and put an overall on. Benji is very weak and he could easily catch an infection if gets in contact with germs from other people." |
| "Okay Meg" said Daniel "I sure don't want to give him an infection." |
| A few minutes later they all went into Benji's room. When Jack saw Benji he could see what Mrs. Kent had meant. The kid really looked an awful lot like Daniel, if you looked aside from the fact that he looked weak and had a baseball cap on to hide his bald head. |
| Mrs. Kent leaned over Beni's bed and kissed him on the cheek. "Hi Benji, your Dad and I have a surprise for you." |
| "A surprise?" Benji giggled "Mom, has it something to do with the two people who followed you in here?" |
| Daniel walked up to Benji's bed, "Hi Benji my name is Daniel and I'm going to be your bone marrow donor." |
| "You are? Mom, Dad is that true?" Benji asked in amazement. |
| "Yes Honey it's true," his mother said and gave her son a big hug. |
| "Hi Daniel. Thank you." Said Benji "Maybe I can go home for Christmas. After the transplant I'm gonna write to Santa and tell him that I wanna get well again so I can go and meet him in person!" |
| "I hope you'll get everything you wish for. Doctor Janet says she'll give me the first shot tomorrow. I'm not looking forward to it, but I'll do it as long I know that it means that you'll be alright" Daniel said "…Hey Benji you know what?" |
| "No what?" asked Benji. |
| "Since the bone marrow will come from my blood, we'll be blood brothers after the transplant!" Daniel told him. |
| "Cool - way cool!" said Benji. |
| Jack and Daniel had just arrived at the infirmary for Daniel's first shot. Daniel had mixed feelings about the whole thing. He was very happy that he finally was going to save Benji, but he wasn't happy about the shots at all. He'd always hated needles, even when he was an adult. |
| "Daniel, are you ready? I'm going to give you the first shot now," Dr. Fraiser said. |
| Daniel was sitting on his Dad's lap and clinging to his hand very tightly. He looked the other way when Dr. Fraiser gave him the shot. He didn't cry out, but there was a few tears running down his cheeks. |
| "Danny you were very brave" Jack said "I think you deserve some ice cream." |
| "Your Dad is right Daniel. You were very brave - you earned it." Dr. Fraiser said. |
| Daniel's eyes lit up, "With chocolate chips?" |
| "Yeahsureyoubetcha Danny." Said Jack "Let's get to the commissary and take it back to our VIP room. Teal'c, Sam and Jonas will visit us in a few hours." |
| "Sure thing Dad." Daniel was smiling now. "Race you there!" |
| ~#~ |
| Later in the VIP room, the ice-cream was finished and Jack thought that Daniel was starting to look a little drowsy. "Danny, I think maybe you should take a little nap before our friends arrive." |
| "I'm not tired Dad." Daniel said huffily "I want to watch a movie, can I Daddy, please!" |
| "No, sorry. I really think you should take a nap, before the side effects start to kick in. You may get disturbed sleep over the next couple of days." Jack said and he pointed to the bed. "Of to bed you go kiddo," |
| Daniel knew when he wasn't going to win and reluctantly mumbled "Okay." Jack helped him to take off his pants and he climbed into the bed. "Dad read me a story...please." |
| Jack laughed and ruffled Daniel's hair "Yeahsureyoubetcha." |
| ~#~ |
| Daniel fell asleep, sucking his thumb, before Jack had finished reading even half the story. Jack smiled when he noticed that; Daniel hadn't sucked his thumb since he was three. The greying man quietly shut the book and gently removed the tiny thumb from his son's mouth. Within just a few seconds though the thumb found it's way back in again. Jack tilted his head slightly, watching the young boy. He wondered if the thumb sucking was one of Danny's way of coping and seeking comfort during this stressful time. Jack leaned down and kissed Daniel on his forehead praying that the side affects wouldn't be too hard on this young, innocent child. |
| ~#~ |
| Daniel woke up again an hour later. As he opened his eyes he noticed that his 'Granddad Hammond' was there. "Granddad you're here!" he said. |
| He jumped out of bed and ran to his 'grandfather' who picked him up and enveloped him in a big bear hug. "Yes, son I'm here. I wanted to see how you're doing." |
| "I'm fine. I just had a nap." Daniel told him "I didn't want to take one, but my Dad made me." |
| "He's a wise man your father. You need the rest, the transplant will take a lot out of you." The general said gently. |
| "Did you hear that Danny? I'm wise so you should listen to me more often." Jack said jokingly. "So I want you to visit the bathroom and get your pants back on." |
| "Only in your dreams Dad, but you're right, I do have to go to the bathroom. Granddad will you still here when I get back?" Daniel asked. |
| "I'll be here," the general said, and he let go of Daniel so the boy could go and use the bathroom. |
| Once Daniel was safely out of earshot General Hammond turned to Jack and asked "So Colonel how is Daniel holding up?" |
| "He's being brave, but he's scared of the shots." Jack told him "He doesn't want to admit it though - I think he's afraid that if he does I'll stop the whole donor thing. I hope he won't suffer too much from the side effects." |
| The general looked towards the bathroom but the door was still closed. "Me too Jack, me too. If you need my help with anything just let me know." |
| "Thank you sir." Replied Jack "I'll will." |
| "No thanks needed, I'm his 'grandfather' after all and I want to help." Hammond smiled affectionately. |
| ~#~ |
| A few minutes later Daniel came out of the bathroom and clambered into his 'grandfather's' lap. |
| "Granddad, do you want to play chess with me?" Daniel asked, with the puppy dog's eyes that his 'grandfather' (and indeed most of the female officers on the base) couldn't resist. |
| The older man agreed almost instantly. "Sure I will, go and get the board ready." |
| ~#~ |
| Daniel won the game and soon the board was packed away again. Daniel's 'grandfather' gave his very happy young 'grandson' a hug and said that he had to go to a meeting. He promised the boy that he would come back before he left the base for the evening and kissed the top of Daniel's head before he left the room. |
| Just as Hammond left the VIP room Jack's team-mates came along with some presents for the young boy. |
| "Sam! T! Jonas!" Daniel shouted while he ran to them and hugged them all, one after another. |
| "Why do you have presents with you? It's still a looong time until Christmas." |
| The adults smiled - it was only little over two weeks until Christmas, but for the young child it felt like ages. |
| "They're for you Daniel. They're not Christmas presents, so you can open them now," Sam said. |
| "Really?" he asked. |
| They all nodded and passed the presents to him. |
| "Thank you." Daniel said with a look of wonder on his small face. "…all of you." |
| Jack spoke quietly to his team-mates "You are spoiling him rotten, you do know that don't you." |
| "Well Colonel, he's not our son so we can spoil him without fearing the consequences." Sam said, smirking slightly. |
| "Don't be so sure about that." Jack countered. "You're all gonna be babysitting him from time to time." |
| "I'm not afraid of that, sir." said Sam, bravely "We just wanted to give him something to help keep him occupied while he's cooped up in here." |
| Jack nodded. He was sure that Danny would need a lot to keep him occupied and to help take his mind off the side effects of the shots. Jack was really not looking forward for them when they kicked in. |
| Daniel studied the gifts and wondered what was in them. |
| "Are you going to open them, DanielJackson?" queried Teal'c "…or do you wish to wait until Christmas?" |
| "No!" Daniel said and started to opened the present from Teal'c first. "Cars - the movie! Cool! Thanks T!" he said and gave Teal'c a hug. From Jonas he got a book of ancient Egypt and from Sam he received a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle with Egyptian pyramids on it. |
| Daniel gave them all a hug. "Thanks, you're the best." he said, then he had to backtrack when he heard Jack clear his throat. "Next to Granddad…and Dad, of course!" Daniel smiled when he saw his Dad's eyes lit up. |
| "Can I watch my Cars DVD? Please Dad." |
| "No Danny, its too early at the moment." Jack told him "You can start with the jigsaw puzzle, then later we can all watch the movie." |
| "Okay Dad." Daniel agreed. |
| ~#~ |
| They all helped Daniel with the puzzle and later they watched the Cars DVD. By the time the movie was nearly finished, Daniel was beginning to get restless. |
| "Danny does it hurt anywhere?" Jack said in concern. |
| Daniel didn't convince any of the adults when he said "Noooo, I'm fine…" |
| "Daniel! I want you to be honest with me." Jack said softly, automatically placing his hand on Daniel's head to check for a temperature. "If you feel pain I want you to tell me." |
| "Okayyyyy. My legs hurt and so does my head." Daniel wimpered, and he started to cry. |
| Jack picked the boy up gently and placed him on gently in his lap. He carefully wrapped his arms around his son and Daniel snuggled into his embrace. "I'll call Janet and ask her if we can give you some baby Tylenol. I hope that'll help you feel a bit better." |
| ~#~ |
| Janet came as soon as Jack called her. She checked Daniel over and gave him some baby Tylenol. It didn't help much but at least it was something. |
| Jack and his team did their best to distract him from his pain and that actually helped more than the Tylenol had done. |
| ~#~ |
| The next day, a few hours after his second shot Daniel was crying - a lot - he was in a great deal of pain due of the side effects. Jack was tempted to call the whole donor thing off, but he knew that Benji would die if he did and he also knew that Daniel would probably never forgive him. |
| "Dad, I want Sara here. Please call her and ask her to come." Daniel asked plaintively. |
| "Daniel I'm sorry, but I don't think that you're the General will allow her to come here to the SGC." Jack said "You know as well as I do that this place is top secret." |
| Daniel was sobbing now "Dad, please I want her here," |
| "Well okay I'll ask but I wouldn't hold out too much hope." Jack said honestly "I'll ask Teal'c to come and sit with you while I'm talking to your 'grandfather'." |
| ~#~ |
| It didn't take much convincing to get Hammond to allow Sara to visit the SGC. She would only be permitted inside the infirmary, Daniel's VIP room and the commissary. She would be kept well away from any restricted areas and also the lower levels where the gate room resided. |
| Jack then went to see Sara while Teal'c stayed with Daniel. |
| ~#~ |
| Sara could see that something was obviously very wrong as soon as opened the door and caught sight of the look on Jack's face. |
| "Jack, come in. What's wrong? Is something wrong with Danny?" Sara said worriedly. "Please don't tell me that…" |
| "No…No! He's…umm. He's…suffering from side effects…" Jack stumbled over the words as he entered Sara's living room. |
| "Side effects? From what Jack?" Sara asked. |
| "There is a boy named Benji who has leukaemia and Daniel is his bone marrow donor." Jack explained. "Daniel has to get a shot every day, for four to five days, and today is the second day. The medication they're giving him is causing the side effects and they're very painful. The poor boy is really uncomfortable at the moment." |
| "I'm sorry, he's such a sweet kid. Why on Earth did you give the consent for this? He's only five…I'm sorry, I shouldn't…" Sara stopped talking and looked down at the floor, distressing the pile of the carpet with her right foot. |
| "It's okay, I've asked myself the same question." Jack told her "Danny can be very stubborn, especially when he sets his mind on something that can help other people. He'd never forgive me if Benji were to die and I don't think I could forgive myself either. I'm also thinking about Benji's parents - I know how it is to lose a child…" Now it was Jack's turn to study the carpet, his mind flooding with memories that he'd rather not think about at the moment. |
| "Yeah it's horrible…Um, Jack - why are you here and not with your son?" asked Sara hesitantly. |
| "Daniel asked for you." replied Jack "He wants me to ask you to visit him. He…he needs you. I think he's missing a motherly touch. I know he sees you as a mother figure, maybe because you are one. He doesn't see Sam that way. I know he loves her, as an aunt maybe or an elder sister even, but certainly not as a mother. Would you visit him? Please Sara." |
| "Of course I will." said Sara at once. "Jack, how could I refuse? He's so easy to love and he's got a special place in my heart - right next to Charlie. Which hospital is he in?" |
| "He's not, he's in the infirmary on the base where I work." Jack informed her. |
| "On a military base?" she queried. "Why?" |
| "Well, Danny goes there often enough. He knows the people there and we also have a day-care where he goes after school. Jack explained. "You have to know that you'll only be allowed to enter a few areas, others are restricted to authorised person only." |
| "I can live with that as long I can be where Daniel is." Sara stated. |
| "Thank you so much Sara." Jack said. He released a deep, cleansing breath and continued. "It means a lot to me that you'll help him. We'd better get moving though. I hope you don't mind staying overnight at the base, for as long Daniel is getting the shots. I think that'd help him a lot." |
| "I don't mind if it makes him feel more comfortable and I can help out with looking after him. I'll go and pack a bag." Sara said and left the room to do just that. |
| ~#~ |
| Daniel was overjoyed when Jack entered his room followed by Sara. |
| "Sara!" he shouted as he ran to her. |
| She laughed as she scooped him into her arms and gave him a big hug and kissed his cheek. "Hello Daniel. Are you feeling a little better?" |
| "Yes, now that you and Dad are finally here!" he said, with a beaming smile on his face. |
| "I'm glad to hear that." Sara told him honestly. |
| "Are you staying here until I'm all better?" Daniel asked "I do hope you are!" |
| "Yes I'm staying with you and your Dad until you're all better." She assured him. |
| Daniel hugged her tightly and buried his head in her shoulder. Within a few minutes he was fast asleep. |
| "Well I'll be…Looks like you have a calming effect on him." said Jack. "One of the side effects of the shots is insomnia. I'm glad that he can get some sleep now, even if it's not at night." |
| "I know, I should put him to bed." said Sara "…but I'm afraid that if I do he'll wake up." |
| "Me too. Let's sit on the couch and you can let him sleep on your lap." Jack suggested. "I'll get a blanket for him." |
