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This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended.
The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author.
This story may not be posted elsewhere without the consent of the author.
Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

A shrunken-to-teenage Danny story

"Smaller Than the Average Archeologist" - by Natasha Horslen

SG1 returned from their mission, both mentally and physically worn. They sat in the briefing room relaying the events of the mission to the ever present, and always staggered, General. No matter how many times SG-1 sat in the room and relayed the events of their missions, George had never quite got used to the unbelievable things that had happened to the team.
Hammond glanced around at his primary team, their many scrapes and continued mental strains were starting to show; there were telling signs. Red rimmed, wide eyes looked back at him, the beginnings of the inability to concentrate being one of the most obvious side effects reflecting back at him from partially vacant expressions. They all looked strung out beyond most normal people's endurance. He considered that in some way, this small band of explorers were possibly super human. This team seemed able to get through anything, and come back in one piece.
Samantha Carter, a woman he'd known since she was a girl; worked quickly and accurately in the most stressful of situations. Her abilities both mentally and physically were quite astounding. She never faulted and was perpetually optimistic, even when the situation appeared lost. She always managed to pull something out of the bag to get her team through.
Hammond believed that Major Carter had worked hard to earn the respect of her Colonel. In doing that, their friendship and comradeship had become unbreakable. He also suspected that their feelings ran deeper for each other than either would ever admit.
Teal'c was the ever present guard, and warrior; his knowledge quite often outweighing that of the Colonel. Teal'c was afforded the respect and friendship that himself and Jack had come to find in the few short months that they had worked together. Brave and self sacrificing, Teal'c worked with Colonel O'Neill, enabling the team to escape from the most impossible of situations. Together they protected the younger members of the team, enabling them to work through the technicalities in missions, when needed.
Colonel O'Neill, a firm friend of Hammond, often appeared as flippant and unrepentant when expressing his opinion about any situation or individual. His views on certain situations were fixed and unbending but he relentlessly protected and held his team together. He looked upon his team as family and would put them first and foremost every time.
Then there was Doctor Jackson, well, there was a different kettle of fish altogether. George never had a son, but did have daughters and two beautiful granddaughters. This afforded him an understanding of paternal relationships. Daniel returning from Abydos somewhat younger than when he'd left earth had been a surprise to Colonel O'Neill. The rest of the team, not knowing Daniel previously accepted him as he was and treated him as such, much to Daniel's disgust, on some occasions.
He had observed that since the formation of SG1, Colonel O'Neill had developed something of a soft spot for their resident archaeologist. He hadn't doubted a strong bond had been formed on the very first mission. He knew of the Colonel's history and had gone as far to question his abilities when he was called back after finding the gate was still active. Of course, George had been proven wrong. Occasional attitude aside, Colonel O'Neill was a strong and caring leader and had proven that on many occasions over the short time that the team had been together.
The General recalled Daniel's return and the unstoppable efforts that Colonel O'Neill had put in to securing the boys place on the team. 'Against all my better judgment,' George smiled to himself. He knew now, that he'd been wrong, on some counts at least.
George remembered Jack taking the boy into his home, again, against George's advice, but Jack continued to take fastidious care of Daniel, even though Daniel wasn't always appreciative or co-operative. Considering all said and done, George believed that Daniel had found a place somewhere in Jack's heart, and suspected that, even after such a short amount of time, Jack felt towards him the way most fathers felt towards their sons.
George felt a similar instinct towards the archaeologist. To that end, he did his utmost not to interfere with, what he saw as, a very delicate and valued relationship between the Colonel and Dr. Jackson. Their relationship was born from the many trials and tribulations that both individuals had experienced in their lives.
Daniel's innocence bloomed from a life spent in academic institutions and foster homes. He closed himself away from the world to study his lost parent's greatest achievements. This meant his life experiences were somewhat limited, but also tragic - far beyond what any human being should be expected to go through.
Taking all of this into consideration,it was no surprise that the young man constantly threw himself into situations based purely on his own personal feelings. His conscience regarding other living (and sometimes non living) beings took precedent over his own needs, and sometimes even his life. Daniel's ability to understand and forgive went far beyond the means of many other mere mortals.
This giving of himself, regardless of any danger that may be around the corner did somewhat fray the Colonel's nerves. George was well aware of Daniel's indifference to orders and for his own personal safety. The Colonel dealt with it in his own way and George was happy for his favored team to continue in the way that made them 'the best'; as family.
Looking around the table once again, he saw the team looking rag tag and exhausted. The reports were done, everyone looked physically spent and the General knew that the showers beckoned them. George also noted the tension in the room, and felt it best to get things moving along.
Doctor Jackson stared at the paper in front of him, his eyes darting about the room, but never making visual contact with any of the team. The Colonel glared at him occasionally and the General felt sure that the young man could feel O'Neill's intense gaze boring into him.
The General watched this little scene play out and decided to dismiss the team and let Jack deal with whatever indiscretions had taken place on this mission in his own way. The General guessed that if he knew even half of what actually went on, that their archeologist may possibly not have continued to be their archeologist any longer!
"SG1, you are dismissed. Three days stand down before the next mission and make sure everyone gets some rest, Colonel." Casting knowing looks at Doctor Jackson and Captain Carter, the General smiled covertly at the Colonel and Teal'c as he left the room, bidding them all a good evening.
Sam and Teal'c quickly got up to leave the table, the Major almost made it to the door as the Colonel glanced over and frowned at her.
"The General means it, Carter, get some rest, that's an order."
This had in no way, been an easy mission, and Sam visibly scowled at the Colonels abrasive tone. "Yes sir." She spoke clearly and crisply, "My intention was to go home, sir." She turned on her heel and left the room.
Jack turned to look at the figure of his contention.
Daniel squirmed under his gaze. He'd actually considered getting up to leave the room, but was pinned in place by the expectation of what Jack was planning to say, or more worryingly, do.
Jack stalked to the observation window, taking a deep breath before he turned his death glare on Daniel.
"Daniel! What the hell did you think you were doing out there?" Jack's eyebrows knitted together and he nearly bounced on the spot.
Glancing around, and seeing that the General had obviously decided to give them some space; Daniel chanced a look at Jack. Disappointment was etched across the Colonel's face.
Fiddling with his pen, and never quite making eye contact, Daniel stammered his reply. "I-I was following orders, Jack," the pout evident in his voice.
Jack could hardly believe what he was hearing, "So fiddling with some doohickey that you *thought* you'd found instructions for in that godforsaken temple…" Daniel tried to interrupt, but was stopped by Jack's all powerful raised finger "…And nearly getting us blown to kingdom come! That was following orders was it, Daniel?"
Daniel fidgeted in his chair, when it was put like that, he had to admit, it did sound pretty stupid.
Jack's exasperation was palpable. He was blinded by the fact that not only had they had to fight their way back to the Stargate, because said archeologist couldn't keep his hands to himself, but the same young man had nearly killed himself…again!
Unable to speak, and still pacing, Jack mentally tallied up the times that this, *kid*, had nearly killed himself and sometimes his colleagues along with him! Any other CO would have had his hide, and unceremoniously removed him from the team months ago!
Daniel watched nervously as Jack paced. This was not good, not good at all. Daniel considered that the long promised physical harm may be only a heartbeat away.
Of course, he was disappointed with the mission too. There had been artifacts in that temple that would have been very interesting, had he not been dragged away with such force. Okay, maybe he'd touched something he shouldn't have, but Sam had sorted it out. And yes, Jack had said not to touch *anything* without checking with Sam first, but he didn't see that there was ever any *real* danger. The natives hadn't been thrilled that Sam had more or less taken their machine apart to stop the proverbial timer ticking. He had to admit, things had gone downhill somewhat after that. Jack having to very nearly carry him away (after several orders to leave) from his attempts to smooth things over with the local population, well before he was ready to go, probably hadn't actually helped their cause either. But, despite all off this, Daniel still felt that he was just trying to do his job. The fact that he had done all of this without consultation, and had gone against orders to leave, seemed to pass him by.	>
Making his decision, Jack walked with purposefulness to the object of his anger. Grabbing the chair's arms and swinging it to face him, Jack leaned forward into Daniel's personal space. Jack noted that Daniel visibly winced. Maybe that meant he had some regret for his actions and at this moment in time, Jack didn't see that as a bad thing. Jack spoke quietly and with a cold warning edge to his voice.
"You, Doctor Daniel Jackson, have been a serious health risk on this mission, and right now I'm too angry, and too tired to deal with this. Go shower, change and meet me up top in 30 minutes, you got me, Daniel?" Jack left no room for discussion, as he continued to stare down the subject in front of him.
Daniel's blue eyes flashed over the top of his glasses as he nodded his response. Returning his gaze to his hands, he prayed for his release.
Raising his voice slightly for effect, Jack shot the question again, obviously expecting a verbal answer. "Do you understand me, Daniel?"
Daniels head shot back up as he spluttered his response. "Y-yes, Jack, S-sir."
With that, Jack stood to his full height and paced from the room without giving Daniel a second glance.
Daniel let out a breath that he didn't know he'd been holding. He removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He considered that doing his own thing on this occasion wasn't such a good thing. Jack was *real* pissed. 'That will make for an interesting trip home' he mused, as he hesitantly collected his papers together and left for his office.
In the showers, Jack attempted to scrub away his frustrations. What the hell was wrong with the kid? Only months after pleading with the general to allow Danny on the team, Jack had experienced more disagreements and issues with Daniel's behavior than he would have ever thought possible. Well, the kid would surely feel his wrath this time, before Jack was pushed into making a decision he really didn't want to make. He knew that General Hammond would want him removed from the team if this type of thing kept cropping up.
As Jack changed, he'd been aware that Daniel was in the showers. He didn't want to wait. In fact, he knew that waiting wasn't an option with his current state of mind; he needed a little more time to collect his thoughts together. Jack made his way to the lift, feeling a tinge of guilt creep into his conscience. He hated leaving the kid down there alone. No, he had to go and wait up top, before he did something he'd regret.
As Jack sat in his pick-up, he recalled bringing Daniel back through the gate. The brilliant young man, with a penchant for trouble, had found a map room full of Stargate addresses. Later, after questioning from a very shocked Jack, it came to light that he had found some alien doohickey, in another part of the remains. Unable to stop himself, he'd obviously fiddled with it. What had happened, Daniel had never been quite clear on, all he knew was that he'd been left unconscious.
With a feeling that something wasn't quite right, Daniel had come around and noticed 'the machine' was no longer there. Odd, he'd thought, but had brushed himself down and checked for injuries. Not knowing what else to do, Daniel had wandered back to Sha're's and his tent. Noticing her husband return, Sha're had shrieked alarmingly, grabbed a stool and sat her husband down, her eyes never leaving him. When she'd been able to speak again, she had sat opposite him, gently probing his face and questioning how this could have happened. Daniel, not understanding what was wrong with her had smiled and tried to reassure her that he was fine. Shaking her head and muttering, she had desperately sorted through her things and showed him his reflection in her mirror.
Then it had been Daniel's turn to shriek. Touching his own face, and adjusting his glasses, he observed his face looking back at him, but much younger. From what he could remember, he'd looked like this when he was sixteen, maybe?
Everyone had searched for the artifact responsible, but it was never found. With no alternative, Daniel had eventually accepted his fate and so had Sha're. Daniel had said that he'd found it of no real disadvantage, in fact, on some counts, there were distinct advantages. More energy, if that was possible, a better appetite (Jack had frowned at that) and a feeling of well being and a lessening of responsibility. Unfortunately that had meant a more protective Kasuf, 'you can't have it all,' Daniel had grinned when telling Jack. Sha're herself was only sixteen, so life had carried on with relative normality. After all, Daniel's primary concern was always his work, and finding the map room had taken his focus away from this small inconvenience.
Of course, then Jack turned up again with his band of merry men, Sha're was kidnapped and Goa'ulded, and Jack was left with a very lost, and upset, sixteen year old Daniel Jackson.
Now he was seventeen, Jack mused, but still a pain in the mikta, none the less.
The passenger door clicked, and the mop of dark blonde hair bobbed about as Daniel tried to get his stuff into the foot well of the Jack's car.
Jack watched, still thinking. He wasn't that different from the Daniel he'd left on Abydos. He'd retained all of his memories, as far as they could tell, and was as irrepressible and as intelligent as ever. Jack admitted to himself that he hadn't really known Daniel that well before, but he had read his file. The kid lived through a lot, but had a strength of character and heart that was rare and precious. He'd saved Jack's life, for god's sake, and in more ways than one. Yup, Daniel had quickly wangled his way into Jack's heart on that first trip.
To go back and find this kid was a shock. Then for Daniel to lose the only family he'd known since childhood had been heartbreaking.
At that point, Jack had sworn, for reasons he now wasn't even quite sure of, to help and look after Daniel. The sheer weight of knowledge the kid had was enough to get Danny's place on the team. His age had been an issue. Jack made all sorts of promises about watching the kid's six and taking responsibility for him, and finally the general had agreed. Daniel had whined about wanting to live alone, and the general had most definitely put his foot down at that. Daniel had therefore continued to live with Jack, and Jack was now his legal guardian (on the insistence of the Air force).
'Sheesh' Jack frowned, 'It's been a long few months.'
Before Jack started the car, he glanced at his wayward linguist.
After today's escapade, Jack had started to doubt his own judgment. Maybe he just couldn't keep the kid in line?
As they drove home in silence, Daniel looking through the passenger window, Jack knew he'd never forgive himself if something happened to the kid, not after Charlie…
Daniel had such an implicit trust in Jack, and Jack knew he needed to work on Daniel's seventeen year old persona, and that was exactly what he intended to do when they got home…
~#~
"Daniel! Get your boney archaeologists ass out here NOW!"
After much debate about Daniel's behavior and an awful lot of shouting, the teen had stormed off to his room and slammed the door. Jack's patience was about spent. He absently wondered whether Charlie would have been this much trouble, had he made it to seventeen.
'Nope' Jack shook his head, 'he'd have never had made it to seventeen if he'd been like this'.
Jack stood outside Daniel's room, arms crossed and chewing the inside of his mouth. It was currently Jacks only way of controlling his frayed temper. Out of respect for Daniel's privacy, Jack never entered his room unless he knocked, but if the kid didn't open up soon, that rule was going straight out the window!
"Daniel! God help me, if I have to come in there and get you, you'll wish you'd stayed on Abydos!" Yep, the kid was pushing it this time.
Tipping his head and listening to the door, Jack was poised to enter, his hand hovering over the doorknob. Only the sound of papers rustling could be heard until the unmistakable sound of Daniel's distant voice filtered through the closed door.
"Don't you think that I wish I had stayed there, Jack!" that bit was definitely shouted. Straining his hearing, Jack definitely caught the next little rant, obviously not meant for his ears, "Jesus, Jack, you can be such a bastard."
The quietly delivered insult was enough to convince Jack to enter the room uninvited. Daniel, obviously not expecting Jack's entrance, looked up, shocked from his violent emptying of his bag over the bed.
Jack stood poised, hands on hips in the doorway and glared. Daniel stood stock still, bag still in hand, slightly leaning over the bed and blinking at Jack over the top of his glasses.
"I heard that, Daniel." Jack said coolly.
"What?"
"Don't play the dumb act with me, Daniel. You know damn well what you said and neither comment was exactly flattering." Jack crossed his arms and drew breath, fighting for inner calm.
Drawing his self up to his full height, and feeling completely justified, Daniel idly pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and squinted at Jack.
"What is your problem, Jack? I just wanna be left alone. We've had our 'discussion,'" Daniel indicated in the air with his fingers and emphasized with a mocking tone.
The attitude oozing from the young man before him, grated on Jacks already rapidly dwindling temper. Yes, they'd talked, or more accurately, shouted. Daniel hadn't really accepted he'd done anything wrong, he'd merely argued his viewpoint failing to see Jack's concern for the team and more importantly, Daniel.
The kid had a death wish!
Walking slowly into the room and fixing Daniel with a stare, Jack pointed at him, the trail of words having stopped on seeing Jack's raised eyebrows and expectant stare.
"Sit down, Daniel," Jacks calmer, more neutral tone, covered the annoyance he felt.
Daniel glared back at Jack and started to object, but Jack managed to stop that with a firm, no-nonsense look.
Daniel flopped dramatically onto the bed, and huffed.
'There's my teenager,' Jack mused as he sat next to his ward.
"Okay, Danny. I can see we're not gonna see eye to eye with this whole, 'you following orders off-world' thing. Not at the moment. You *think* you're right and I *know* I'm right."
Feeling the movement of Daniel next to him as his head jolted upward, Jack turned and eyed the boy. Sensing a further disgruntled moan, Jack raised a finger.
"Don't, Daniel, just don't. What I'm saying is that the discussion is over, we'll continue it when we're both in a better frame of mind." Jack rose to his feet and turned to take in the dumb struck look of the teen, his mouth still half open, ready to deliver a retort.
"And before you dig yourself in any bigger hole, you're grounded."
Jack walked to the door and turned, he swore he could hear Daniel nearly hyperventilating with shock. Well, with any luck, that will have got his attention, Jack thought.
"B-but...you can't do, th-that, Jack!" Daniel blurted out to Jack's retreating back.
Jack turned pointedly on his heel; he hadn't the time or the energy for any more ranting now. He just wanted to go to bed. He grasped the doorframe and pinned Daniel with an exasperated and near fatal look.
"Yes, Daniel. I think you'll find I can. This is how the whole 'me being your guardian' is gonna pan out, if you carry on behaving like this. I'm well aware there's a thirty three year old man trapped in there, but your behavior and attitude is that of a snotty, obnoxious teenager and I for one am not willing to put up with it."
The look on Daniel's face was priceless, 'maybe the kid was getting the picture already,' Jack nearly smiled. Daniel was certainly speechless, and that didn't happen very often. With that in mind, Jack decided to make the rules clear, before he left for his bed.
"You stay in here, until the morning and go to bed. If I hear you wandering about tonight, there'll be trouble. We'll talk over breakfast in the morning. Oh and if you were wondering, I'll sleep on the time factor involved here, but at the minute, I'm thinking at least two weeks. No phone, no tv, no outings, no nothing, apart from work, got me?"
Jack finished with a look that brooked no disagreement.
Daniel, surprisingly, didn't speak. He nodded, looking way too sorry for himself and flopped back onto the bed.
With that, Jack pulled the door closed, firmly.
Sighing deeply, Jack wandered tiredly to his room. He'd closed up downstairs when they'd got in, having had every intention of being in bed by now.
Why in god's name does this kid have to make everything so damn difficult and yeah, maybe he was being a bit overbearing, but he needed Daniel to understand his point of view, his concerns and worries. He knew Daniel, the teen, was going to struggle with that, so resorting to basic discipline was maybe the way to go. Jack shrugged his shoulders and scrubbed his hands through his hair. Flopping onto the bed he started to peel of his socks and trousers throwing them in the laundry hamper.
"Well," he muttered to himself, "If I have to resort to time out to make my point, I damn well will!"
"Daniel, breakfast!" Jack hollered from the foot of the stairs.
Jack had woken early. He'd had a reasonable night's sleep, exhaustion having finally claimed him in the early hours. Having gotten up and changed, feeling a whole lot calmer than he had the night before, Jack decided to cook a good breakfast. He'd made sure that he had a good strong cup of coffee first, ready for the next round with his charge.
He heard the slapping of bare feet on the wooden floor approaching the kitchen.
Without speaking, Daniel sat in the chair at the kitchen table.
Jack bought in freshly cooked bacon and eggs and placed them before the teen. It never ceased to amaze Jack how wildly gangly and skinny this younger Daniel was. Not quite being his full 6 foot that he would be when fully grown, but only a few inches shorter. There was certainly no meat or muscle on the kid to talk about, but the face was the same, hair a little blonder, but essentially the same.
Daniel still didn't speak, and tucked in to his breakfast. Jack sat opposite him, noticing Daniel avoiding eye contact.
'Great,' thought Jack, 'he's still sulking.'
~#~
Jack let Daniel finish eating and then placed a glass of fresh juice before him, taking a seat opposite Daniel, forcing him to make eye contact.
"Daniel, we need to sort this out. I need you to listen to me off-world. Well, as a matter of fact, you need to listen to me most of the time, but we need to straighten this current disagreement out now."
Daniel's eyebrows rose over the top of the glass. He'd never been used to restrictions. Maybe a few that had been forced upon him after this shrinking business on Abydos, but nothing like this.
"I understand about you being annoyed on the planet, Jack." Daniel nearly whispered at the table.
Hours of thinking about his actions had made him realize that maybe, he was being reckless. If the truth be known, he was more annoyed with Jack treating him like a kid.
"Okay," nodded, Jack "So you admit you should have followed orders?" he ventured.
"Yes, I should have listened, although I was only doing my job…" a whine crept into his voice as lifted his head giving his best wide eyed innocent look.
Jack frowned; he wasn't ready to get into this discussion again.
"Look," Jack sighed. "I get that too, but you have to listen to me, even if you think I'm wrong. Everything that I say is for a reason, usually for you or the team."
"I'm sorry, Jack." Daniel muttered. Jack was barely able to make out the apology.
An acceptance of the situation had been more difficult and feeling that the reasoning could be thrashed out at a different time was what had drawn Daniel into making the apology that he'd made. He new Jack cared and worried. He just wasn't used to it.
Jack smiled and pushed the chair noisily away from the table, quickly grasping his coffee cup as he moved away. Making his way around the table, Jack placed his hand on Daniel's boney shoulder.
"Okay, Danny. We'll leave it at that for now. You gonna get dressed?" Jack wandered to his leather armchair where he snatched his newspaper from the table and kicked back with his coffee to catch up with the goings on 'earth side'. He heard Daniel wander towards the stairs, "I…er...thought I'd make my way down to the library this morning, Jack. Get a little R and R."
Hearing the first few stairs creak and having heard Daniel's nervous declaration, Jack dropped his newspaper and stared at Daniel who was scooting up the stairs.
"Er, Dannyboy?" Jack called after him.
Daniel turned on the stair, casting wide blue eyes at Jack.
"Grounded, remember?" Jack's face took on an expectant look.
"Aww, no, Jack! I thought you were kidding." Daniel hated the whine in his voice.
"Do I look like I'm kidding, Danny?" Jack gestured towards himself with the newspaper.
Jack saw Daniel's shoulders visibly fall as he went to turn back and finish climbing the stairs.
"Daniel, when you smart mouth me in this house, get used to it!" he found himself raising his voice to a departing figure. Seconds later the door slammed.
"Oh great!" Jack hissed, finding his inability to fight the good fight overwhelming. He decided to let Daniel stew while he finished his newspaper.
The rest of the day had passed quietly in the O'Neill house. Jack had decided, when it was all said and done, Daniel needed to be left to his own devices. Jack managed to satisfy his self with pottering around in the garden and doing some chores that had been waiting in the wings for the past busy few months.
Jack let his mind drift back to the weeks prior. They had been happier then when he and Daniel had cooked together, watched DVD's, and generally lived in harmony as they got used to each other's company. Jack had actually started enjoy having the kid around.
Jack would be the first to admit that he hadn't been exactly thrilled with signing up to the guardian of a 32 year old man in the body of a 17 year old boy and a prodigy at that. Jack just hadn't really seen it as his kind of gig at the time, but being the only one in the program that Danny knew had forced his hand. He couldn't abandon the kid anymore than he could have done if he'd been a member of his own family. A bond had certainly been formed on Abydos and he couldn't get away from that. He owed this kid not only for his physical well being, but his mental well being as well.
Jack took a sip of his bottle of beer as he leaned on the garden rake. The liquid felt like nectar as the cold sensation worked its way past his tonsils and his mouth savored the bitter taste. He squinted in the sunshine that was slowly setting in the late afternoon sky. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead as he pushed his cap up away from his line of sight and glanced up at Daniel's bedroom window.
"Danny, Danny, Danny," he sighed, shaking his head. This little argument was no longer about his behavior `off world'; this was about his attitude full stop. Jack had noticed there was a distinct downturn in his ward's ability to reason anything out that Jack said to him. Jack was well aware of what teenagers were capable of, but this wasn't just any teenager, this was Danny. He'd been here and done this before, why couldn't they sit and talk reasonably?
Jack was painfully aware that some of this situation was his fault, maybe he should have handled things differently. Not shouted, maybe. Listened?
Jack shuddered at that thought and then smiled. Some things weren't up for discussion and being rude and disrespectful was one of them. That was what had earned his kid the grounding more than anything. Jack couldn't just let that go. He'd even rang up Janet Fraiser for her opinion and she'd pretty much agreed. Jack always knew that woman had great maternal instinct. She certainly had a way of putting most people in their place, regardless of their rank, and she certainly fussed over Daniel…a lot. Jack grinned, `maybe it was time to go build some bridges', he mused.
Putting the last of the grass cuttings on the ever growing heap at the end garden, Jack slowly gathered the rest of his tools together and put them in the shed. He snagged his half finished bottle of beer from the garden table, and gazing up at the darkening sky, considered it would be a perfect evening for eating on the deck and maybe some stargazing later on. He hoped that he and Danny could sort things out. He really didn't want to spend all weekend arguing.
"Daniel!" Jack shouted as he made his way to the stairs.
"I wanna talk to you," he offered as he dropped his beer bottle on the side and started to make his way up the stairs. As Jack wandered down the corridor he thought it was little odd he hadn't had some sort of reply, but maybe the kid was still sulking.
Jack reached the door and lightly knocked. Listening one final time, he projected his voice through the wood, "Can I come in, Danny?" As the latch clicked he gently pushed the door open and peered around the edge, "Danny, you in here?"
Hearing no reply or any other audible movement, Jack wandered into the room. He absently walked around looking in draws and wardrobes and even under the bed, `Like he'd be there, O'Neill,' Jack frowned as he called the archaeologist's name once again.
`Okay, so he's not in his room. Maybe he's in the bathroom or something.' Jack returned to the hallway and pushed different doors open, a little more hurriedly now. "Danny…Danny, where are you?" Jack couldn't help the sound of exasperation that snuck into his tone. He had an uneasy feeling about this. Why hadn't he checked on the kid earlier?
Feeling more than a little annoyed now, Jack stood at the top of the stairs and bellowed, "Daniel, so help me if you're here and you're hiding, I won't be responsible for my actions!"
Okay, so that was a really stupid thing to say. Why would a seventeen year old kid hide from him? Jack jogged down the stairs and glanced at the phone. He wasn't sure what to do. The little shit must have done a runner.
Making a decision, Jack groaned with annoyance and grasped the telephone, dialing Sam; he needed someone to help him look for his wayward archaeologist.
"Carter, its O'Neill."
"Oh…evening, sir. I was…er, just about to ring you." The hesitancy in her voice teased at Jack's honed senses. "Carter, what's the problem?"
"Well," Sam whispered back in reply, obviously trying not to be overheard "Danny's here."
Jack was struck dumb. There? Why the hell was he there?
"Are you there, sir?"
"Yes, yes, Carter, of course I'm here. Why in hell are you whispering and how long's the little shit been there?" Jack could feel his hackles rising with every question. He was going to kill their little archaeologist, slowly and painfully.
"Well, I get the impression that he didn't want you to know he was here. What happened, sir?"
"Look, Carter. I'll talk to you later. I'm coming to get him, so you'd better keep him there, even if you have to tie him to the chair! I'll be there in twenty." Jack slammed the receiver down and snatched his keys from the hall table.
"The kid better have a damn good explanation," he muttered as he strode briskly to the car.
Getting in and roughly turning the key, Jack sat up and banged the steering wheel with his hands. "No, scrub that. I'm gonna kill the little shit anyway!" he hissed as he pulled out of the drive way.
~o0o~
Considering what Carter had said, Jack decided not to park in front of the house. Pulling around the corner, he casually walked to her front door. Deciding that knocking would only alert Danny to his presence, Jack casually walked in. He could see Carter in the kitchen with a mug of coffee held in both hands, near her chest, leaning against the counter.
Jack wandered in and pushed the kitchen door open a little more.
"No Daniel?" Jack questioned his second in command.
Jumping slightly at Jack's unannounced entrance, Carter smiled and indicated her mug, offering a cup off coffee.
He shook his head and raised his eyebrows, his question clear without uttering a word.
"I'll call him, sir," she offered.
Leaning around the kitchen door still holding her mug, she shouted towards the stairs, "Danny, will you come here a minute, honey?"
Jacks eyebrows shot even further towards his hairline, "Honey?" he asked incredulously.
"He's been fine here, sir, I've hardly noticed he's been here. Why didn't he tell you where he was going?" She'd gone back to leaning against the counter and sipped her drink as she looked at the Colonel with an expectant look.
"Grounded, Carter, does that answer your question?" Jack now crossed his arms and legs, assuming a similar position to his second in command.
A soft thump could be heard from the spare room as Sam looked back at Jack, forming a silent `o' with her mouth, her eyebrows now creeping into her bangs.
"Coming, Sam!" The familiar voice and a distinct sound of someone jogging towards the kitchen could be heard.
Jack stood, waiting and looking impatiently at the door.
"Hi Sam," The smiling face beamed, until he turned and looked at the questioning face of one very annoyed Jack O'Neill.
"Oh, crap!" The curse slipped out before Daniel knew it had happened.
Jack's face hardened into a frown as he watched Daniel fidget about on the spot.
"Daniel, get your things together and get in the truck, now!" Jacks tone was hard and neutral.
Daniel raised a finger, hoping he might get a word in.
Seeing the boy's reaction to the sternly dealt order, Jack stood to his full height and pointed at the front door. "Get. In. The. Truck. NOW!"
Sam watched the exchange take place before her, mouth still slightly open, obviously wondering what Danny had done to get her CO this mad.
Daniel let out an exasperated sighed as he disappeared, hopefully to get his things together.
Sam frowned at Jack. "Sir?"
Jack gave her a knowing look. "I know what you're going to say, Carter, and I don't wanna hear it right now. I'll speak to you later…oh, and thanks for having him here." Jack turned on his heel and went to the front door, leaving a slightly stunned Carter in his wake.
He turned as he reached the door. "Daniel, you have one minute. If you're not out here by then I'm coming to carry you out." With that, Jack opened the door and disappeared outside to his truck.
Daniel appeared in the living room seconds later, his backpack bulging, obviously hurriedly packed. "Thanks', Sam," he offered with a wan smile.
"You okay, Danny?" Sam held out a hand towards the rapidly retreating boy.
"I'm fine, Sam…i-it's my fault, really," he sighed. "I'll call you, and thanks again." With that the front door slammed and Sam watched out of the window as Daniel climbed into the truck with Jack. Neither one appeared to be shouting. `Maybe that was a good thing,' she pondered as she leant on the window sill, watching the pick-up drive away.
~o0o~
The ride home was a deathly silent one, Daniel felt sure he'd be able to cut the air with a knife, given the chance.
As the truck pulled up, Jack opened his door and glared at Daniel. "Go up to your room and stay there until I've calmed down, we'll talk later."
"Jack." Daniel's hastily delivered word made Jack look back. "I'm sorry."
"So am I, Danny, so am I." Jack sighed and walked to the house.
Daniel slid from the truck and slowly made his way into the house, he felt miserable. What in god's name was he thinking? Once inside, Daniel couldn't see Jack, so he made his way up to his room, dropped his pack and flung himself onto his bed. He covered his face with his hands and sighed.
"You idiot, Jackson." He hissed into his palms.
He fully intended to stay away, well away. He was struggling terribly with his urge to do things without thinking. He'd always remembered doing his own thing, but he was sure his judgment had been better, before he'd been made younger. Or maybe he'd never really had set restrictions like the ones he had now? Whatever it was, he sure was screwing up.
He knew he'd been wrong off world, although he was only trying to do his job. He'd always chose to ignore *some* of Jack's `orders'. He thought he was acting for the good of the mission. Maybe he'd just been lucky with how things had worked out up to now? The odd hiccup, nothing massive, but now this had all spiraled into this. Huge arguments, Jack exercising his authority over Daniel, and Daniel doing what he did best, kicking back against it. Well he was certainly thinking he was wrong now, running out on Jack like that, he knew how angry the man was going to be and he was always going to find out that he'd gone. What a complete idiot…
~o0o~
An hour or so later, Jack felt more in control, he couldn't go on like this. He needed to talk to Danny, sort this out and get over it. He also felt like knocking the kid on his behind for disappearing like that, but that wouldn't serve any purpose in the long run.
Jack decided he'd make them some dinner, so that they could talk. He had no intention of letting this misdemeanor go, but he wanted things to be back how they were.
They'd been happy and contented in each others company. Danny had started coming to Jack for emotional support when he was down about Sha're and missing his old life. A bond had been formed. Maybe Danny was testing Jack? Jack didn't know. What ever it was, it was coming to a screaming halt right now. He knew he wasn't the kid's father, but he felt responsible, like he owed him something. Maybe Jack had gone too far? He knew that legally the kid could live alone and have his own life, but the Air Force had stepped in. He'd been affected by alien technology after all, life was hard for any teenager, but this teenager was special. He knew a lot of things that were probably worth a lot to many people. The Air force insisted that he live with someone, so here they were, bickering with each other.
Jack pulled up a chair to the kitchen table before calling Danny for his dinner. He rested his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands.
`If this was Charlie,' he thought, `I'd care just as much as I've come to care about Daniel, be he big or not. I wouldn't have allowed Charlie to shout at me, and leave if I'd told him not too, but Charlie wouldn't have been de-aged adult and,' Jack finally thought, `maybe a big Daniel wouldn't have acted like this?'
Jack rubbed his head and stood. Nope, he was working on the teen in his kid, not the adult. He'd talk to the adult side when he'd rained in the teen temper. He could be civilized about this.
"Daniel, dinner!" Jack hollered up the stairs.
The distinct sound of a thump and footsteps pounding down the stairs followed. Jack grabbed the sauce, knives and forks from the kitchen and laid them on the table while Daniel sat down. As Jack looked up, he couldn't help noticing the pitiful look of the boy before him.
"Eat up, Danny," he offered. "We'll talk when we're done."
With that both silently worked their way through their food. Jack saw that Daniel pushed his food around a little, but on the whole he ate it. At least that wasn't going to be another facet of their discussion; Daniels eating habits or lack there of.
Jack tidied the plates away and then urged Daniel to come and sit with him in the living room.
Jack watched Daniel sit nervously on the edge of the couch, he twiddled with his jumper edge and his eyes were lowered, Jack sighed… `Aw hell,' he hated this.
Jack sat on the coffee table, "What happened, Danny?" he kept his voice quiet and unintimidating.
Daniel lifted his eyes to peer at Jack over the rim of his glasses, a look of resignation creeping into his eyes.
"I wanted to go." The confession was delivered in almost a whisper as Danny's attention returned back to the edge of his jumper.
"You know I should knock you on you overeducated butt for this, Daniel." Jack's voice took on a slightly warning edge, which caused Daniel to sit upon hearing the threat.
"But you wouldn't listen to me." Daniel's voice came out whinny and accusatory.
"No Daniel, that would be because you called me a bastard." Jack said calmly.
"But-but I…"
"That's why I grounded you, because regardless of your argument with me, being verbally abusive is *not* acceptable."
Daniel sighed and his shoulders sunk away with his mood.
"I was wrong." He admitted quietly.
"Yes, you were." Jack tilted his head a little and couldn't help a small lopsided smile touching his lips.
Daniel looked his square in the face. "What now?"
"You're still grounded."
"I guessed that much," Daniel sighed.
"But now it's for three weeks."
Daniel looked up again, appearing slightly panicked. "But…"
"Atch!" Jack held up his finger, "Every but and argument will get another day, Danny boy," Jack smiled.
Daniel threw himself back into the sofa.
"Sooo, you ready to talk sensibly about the other stuff now we've got over that?"
Daniel rolled his eyes from his slumped position on the couch.
"On the deck, with a drink and watching the sun set?" Jack ventured.
A small smile appeared on Daniels face.
"Jack?" he murmured trying to sit up.
"Yes, Danny. We're okay…*but*" Jack emphasized with raised eyebrows. "You run out on me again, you won't like the consequences. Grounding will look like a walk in the park. You get me Danny?"
Daniel nodded forlornly. Jack couldn't help but smile at the sad blue eyes.
"And if you swear at me again, we know how that goes, right?"
"Okay, Jack, I get you."
Before Daniel had a chance to get up, Jack had ruffled his hair.
"Come on, let's get that drink and sort things out."
Daniel nodded and grinned, he had plenty to say…