| Sam was waiting for them when they entered the briefing room and gave her dad a big hug. "How have you been, Dad?" |
| "Good, Sam. Real good. You?" Jacob said, holding her at arms length, looking at her tired eyes. |
| "I'm okay, Dad. Really." She pulled away from her dad and sat down at the briefing table. Understanding her dad only wanted the best for her, she still disliked his scrutiny. |
| Hammond entered the room and everybody settled into their seats, Danny slammed his hands on the table. "Apparently Dr. Jackson wants to get this meeting started," he said, smiling at the boy. "What information do you have for us, Dr. Fraiser?" |
| "Not much more than we knew before," she told them. "He's still growing at a rate of approximately one year in one week. He's otherwise healthy. He doesn't seem to be having any ill effects from the rapid growth. The problem is we don't know if or when this rapid growth will stop. It may stop tomorrow or it may never stop and he'll die of old age." |
| Danny slammed his hands down on the table again as though disagreeing with the last statement. |
| Jacob said, "Jack told me you didn't find any technology causing the rapid growth." |
| "No, sir," Janet replied. "At least none we know how to detect." She paused. "Unless you have a method we don't know about?" |
| "I wish I did," Jacob replied. "Has anyone though of using the healing device on him?" |
| Each head turned to see if anyone had thought of that. "Do you think it would work, Dad?" |
| "I don't know, Sam. According to Janet, Danny's healthy. The healing device is intended to repair bodies, not stop growth," Jacob explained. "If you want to see what I can do with it, I'm willing to give it a shot." |
| "What do you think, Dr. Fraiser?" Hammond inquired, not wanting to make Danny worse. |
| "I don't see how it could do any harm, sir," Janet replied. "I don't have any other ideas at the moment." |
| "Colonel?" |
| Jack had to take some time to think. Danny was sitting on his lap and playing with some water that had spilled on the table. If Jacob could stop the growth, he had to take the chance. "I think we should try it, sir," he finally said. |
| "Very well, Colonel. I agree." He stood up and everyone else also stood, following protocol. "I suggest we move this meeting to the infirmary. Major, will you stop and retrieve the healing device?" |
| "Yes, sir," Sam answered. |
| "Let's see what we can do for Dr. Jackson then." Hammond led the way to the infirmary. |
| ~#~ |
| Janet guided them into an ISO room. "How do you want to go about this, Jacob?" |
| "If you can lay Danny down on the exam table, I'll see what I can do with the healing device," Jacob explained. "I honestly don't know how much good I'll accomplish, but I'm pretty sure I won't make anything worse." |
| "Pretty sure?" Jack said in surprise, wrapping his arms around Danny. "You didn't say anything about only being pretty sure." The memories of when Sam had tried to use the healing device on Daniel to cure the radiation poisoning, was fresh in his mind. |
| "This is uncharted territory, Jack." He'd heard about Sam's troubles with using the device. "I do know how to control the device though." He gave Jack a chance to think about it, and then added, "We don't have to do this if you don't want to." |
| Danny pulled Jack's patch off his jacket and started mouthing it. Jack let him. "No, I need you to at least try it. We have to find some way to stop the rapid growth." |
| Sam walked in with the healing device and handed it to her father. |
| "Put him on the table, Jack." Jacob fit the device snuggly over his right hand. |
| Reluctantly Jack placed Danny on the table. The boy didn't want to have anything to do with this. He tried to roll over and crawl away, but Jack stood at his head and tried to distract Danny. |
| Jacob placed his left hand over his right and then moved the device over Danny's chest. A warm glow emanated from the device down onto the baby. This finally distracted Danny as he stared up at Jacob. Closing his eyes, Jacob continued to move towards Danny's head. The glow lit up Danny's face as he watched in fascination. Finally Jacob returned the device to Sam. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "There wasn't anything I could do. In order for the healing device to work, there has to be something wrong for it to fix. Like Dr. Fraiser said, Danny is perfectly healthy. Apparently the device doesn't see rapid growth as something wrong." |
| Jack stayed at the head of the table rubbing Danny's shoulders. Disappointed, but unable to blame Jacob, he had no way to vent his anger. When Danny tried to roll over and crawl off the table again, he picked the baby up and hugged him tight, feeling Danny's heart beat against his own. Danny promptly fell asleep against Jack's chest. |
| "You tried, Dad," Sam insisted, pushing down her own disappointment. "That's all you could do." |
| "George, I'd like to stay for around for awhile if it isn't a problem," Jacob said. |
| "Not a problem, Jacob. You can stay as long as you want. Just make yourself comfortable," Hammond replied. "I really appreciate the attempt even if it didn't work. Thank you." |
| "You're welcome." |
| The mood in the room was somber and Jack had to get out of there. "I'm going to put Danny down for a nap, sir." Not even waiting to be dismissed, he left the room. |
| ~#~ |
| Danny fell asleep on Jack's shoulder on the way to their room. Instead of putting the baby in his crib, he laid down on the bed holding Danny close to him. They had to find some way of fixing his friend. There was no way he was going to watch him die again. Arm across Danny's chest, Jack fell asleep. |
| Jack awoke to a pounding in his head. No, make that a pounding on his head. Danny was awake and wanting attention, so he was banging the top of Jack's head. "Ok. Ok, short stuff. I'm awake." He sat up in bed and Danny crawled onto his lap. At least he didn't seem any worse for what Jacob had done to him. He did however need a new diaper. Jack changed him, moving up another size. Then he placed Danny on the floor to play while he got ready. Janet had called and wanted to give Danny a physical to see if there were any non-observable changes in their friend. |
| Danny wasn't interested in having another physical. Not at all. Instead, he wanted down, he wanted to play, and he wanted to talk, a lot. He was babbling incessantly. |
| Jack had begun to tune it out when he started to realize what Danny was actually saying. His young friend was speaking Arabic. It wasn't anything important, just mommy and daddy and such, but how would Danny have learned Arabic. Nobody would have spoken it to him in the last week. Damn, Jack thought as he realized what this meant. He didn't want to think about it. This couldn't be happening this way. If Danny was to live a second childhood, he wanted it to be a happy one. Rubbing his neck, he wondered how to mention what he'd begun to realize. He picked Danny up when Janet was finished and went to find General Hammond. |
| ~#~ |
| When Jack arrived, the general was completing paperwork and very happy about the interruption. He indicated for his second in command to sit. However, Danny surprisingly reached out for George to take him. Hammond obliged, sitting down on his comfortable leather chair with the baby on his lap. "So what did you wish to discuss, Colonel?" he inquired, listening to the boy babble on about who knew what. "It seems Dr. Jackson never was at a loss for words, even when they don't mean anything." |
| "Actually, sir, Danny isn't speaking nonsense." Jack said something to the baby and Danny's head popped around, then he answered back. |
| "Colonel?" Hammond said in surprise. "What is going on?" |
| "Danny's speaking Arabic, sir," Jack explained. "I finally figured it out when we were in the infirmary for his latest physical." |
| "Arabic? Why would he be speaking Arabic?" The general was dumbfounded. |
| "It was his first language, sir," Jack replied. "At least it was the first time he grew up." |
| "The first time he grew…" Hammond trailed off, finally understanding the implications of this realization. Danny, feeling ignored, reached up and grabbed George's nose, saying the word for nose in Arabic. The general played with Danny for a moment, searching his eyes to see if what he feared was true. "Do you think he has all the memories of the adult Dr. Jackson in his head right now?" |
| "If Danny was aware of everything, I don't think he'd be as happy as he is right now," Jack answered. "But apparently he has some of them or he wouldn't know Arabic." |
| "Very true," Hammond agreed, not sure if it made any difference or not. "We'll just have to keep an eye on it." |
| "Yes, sir." |
| Danny tired of playing with the general and turned around, reaching out for Jack. Jack reached over the desk to take him and Danny said eat in Arabic. "Apparently he's hungry, sir. We'll be heading to the commissary." He stood up with Danny and waited to be dismissed. |
| Week 2 |
| Once in the commissary, Jack chose his food while the staff prepared the bottle and baby food they'd begun stocking already for little Danny. He headed for the designated table, the one with the attached baby seat, settled Danny into it and gave him the finger food. Every once in a while he managed to coax Danny to eat some of the strained beans he also had for him. Carter walked in with Teal'c, her hands behind her back. "Carter? Are you hiding something?" |
| She pulled a cupcake with a single candle in it from behind her back. "Janet told us that based on his physical, Danny's a year old now, sir," Carter said, not sure of the colonel's response. "We thought a small celebration might be in order." |
| Danny dropped the food he had in his hand and stared at the cupcake. Then he babbled away to Jack and Jack responding, telling him it was his. Danny immediately reached out to take at and Jack held his hands, showing him that he would have to blow out the candle. Finally, Danny sat, none too patiently. |
| "What was that all about, sir?" Carter asked. |
| "I suggest you light the candle so he can blow it out and have his cupcake, unless you want an unhappy one-year-old on your hands, Carter." Jack continued to try to rein his young charge in. "I'll explain it to you later." |
| Carter lit the candle and they started to sing happy birthday to Danny's delight. Once everyone else in the commissary realized what was going on, they joined in on the chorus. At the end, clapping ensued, led by young Danny. Then everyone waited for him to blow out the candle and cheering erupted again. Jack pulled the candle from the cupcake and handed it to Danny who touched it once with his finger, getting frosting on it. After giving it a small taste and deciding he liked it, he promptly bent down and bit into the top of it, getting frosting all over his chin and nose. Sitting back up, he looked at Jack, who couldn't stop laughing at him, so Danny joined in and picked up the cupcake, offering to Jack. Jack reached out and got a fingerful of frosting, licked it off, and told Danny to go ahead and eat, which he did. |
| ~#~ |
| After Danny started eating his cupcake, Sam and Teal'c sat down, eager to find out how Danny and Jack had been communicating. |
| Not able to avoid the discussion, Jack began. "Danny was speaking Arabic earlier," he stated matter of factly. |
| "Arabic? Why would…" Carter began to say when Jack cut her off, having already been through this with Hammond. |
| "Think about it, Carter," Jack told her, starting to eat his lunch. |
| "He already knows it," she started to say. Jack twirled his fork to encourage her thought process. "Because he spoke it in his first childhood," she finished quietly. |
| "Danny Jackson has retained his previous knowledge," Teal'c said definitively. |
| "At least some of it," Jack agreed. "I'm not sure if he's remembering everything right now though." |
| "Does this change anything, sir?" Carter asked. |
| "Not that I can think of. He's still growing at a rapid rate. Retaining his knowledge doesn't change that." Jack found that Danny was tired of eating his cupcake and had instead begun finger painting with the leftovers. No harm was being done, so he left Danny be. "It only means he has to deal with his past all over again. It's not something I would wish on anyone." |
| "Nor would I," Teal'c intoned. |
| Carter didn't know quite as much about Daniel's past, but she understood the implications. She decided to drop the subject and asked, "Do you think we can teach him English as well as Arabic, so he can talk to all of us?" |
| "Give it a shot, Carter. Why don't you clean him up and try teaching him some words while I go to a meeting?" he suggested, standing up. "I'll meet you in the VIP room." |
| "Um, yes, sir," Sam agreed, somewhat unwillingly. "How long do you think you'll be gone?" |
| "About an hour," Jack replied. |
| Danny stared back and forth between his friends. Then realizing something was going on, reached out for Jack. |
| Jack told him something and then said goodbye. |
| Danny looked at Sam as though he were trying not to cry and rubbed his eyes with his frosting covered hands, covering his face mess completely. |
| "Oh, Danny!" Sam said in shock, not looking forward to either the mess or being left alone with Danny. |
| Danny looked up at Sam sadly. |
| "I am sorry, Major Carter," Teal'c said, standing and giving a nod of his head, "I must leave to instruct the new airmen in hand to hand combat." |
| "But Teal'c?" Sam said in a pleading tone. She was too late; Teal'c was already out the door. |
| Danny reached out to the only one left at his table, not wanting to be left alone. |
| "Just a minute, Danny," Sam told him looking around for help. Spying an airman getting up to dump his tray, she called, "Airman!" |
| He turned and saluted her. |
| "Never mind that, airman," Sam exclaimed. "Just get me a wet washcloth, ASAP." |
| "Yes, ma'am," he replied, heading to the kitchen. Quickly he returned with a wet towel and handed it to her. |
| "Thanks," Sam responded, not looking at him. "Wash," she said to Danny, wiping his hands first. "We're going to clean you up. Wash." |
| Danny allowed her to clean his hands. As soon as she released them he rubbed his eyes again, getting frosting all over his hands for the second time. |
| The airman snickered behind her. |
| "Airman!" Sam said sharply. "You ever think of helping me out here." |
| "Yes, ma'am," he replied. "What would you like me to do?" |
| "Distract him or something so he doesn't mess everything up right after I clean him," she told him in frustration. |
| "Yes, ma'am." The airman bent down and tickled Danny's feet. Danny giggled in response. |
| Sam quickly wiped Danny's face, but not fast enough to prevent some tears at the intrusion. |
| The airman tickled his feet again and Danny's mood changed again while Sam cleaned his hands once more. |
| Danny was just about to place his hands in the mess on the table when Sam got wise and picked him up quickly. "Thank you, airman," Sam said. Looking at the mess she was leaving behind, she realized there we're some good reasons to eat in the cafeteria and walked out. |
| ~#~ |
| Sam returned with Danny to his room to wait for Jack to come back after his meeting. Danny wasn't very happy at the moment and was trying to let Sam know it. He was babbling away at her, but unfortunately Arabic wasn't one of the languages she knew. "I'm sorry, Danny," she apologized. "I don't know what you're trying to tell me." Danny looked at her sadly; ready to cry. Grabbing Danny's stuffed bear; Sam danced it in front of him. "Bear," she said slowly. "Bear." |
| Reaching out for it, Danny dropped his hands when Sam pulled it back to her. |
| "Bear," she stated again. "Bear." |
| Danny gave her a quizzical look. Then he caught on to the game and said in his clear baby voice, "Bear." |
| His effort was rewarded by Sam handing him the bear. "You did it!" Sam exclaimed happily. She reached over and picked up the blue ball. "Ball," she said clearly, waving it in front of him to get his attention away from the bear. |
| Laying the bear on the ground, Danny reached out. "Ball!" he yelled out. Sam tossed the ball to him. It hit him in the chest then rolled away before his reflexes could coordinate and he could grab it. He laughed and crawled after the ball, continuing to yell, "Ball!" Before he reached the ball, Danny found a toy car. He sat on his bottom and held the car up. "Bear," he said. |
| Sam took the discarded bear and held it up. "No, Danny. That's a car. This is the bear." Danny looked confused. Sam held up the bear once more and pointed to it. "Bear." Then she touched the car. "Car." |
| "Car," Danny repeated, holding up the car. He reached out to the bear. "Bear." |
| "That's right, Danny." She handed him the bear again. |
| Danny grabbed the bear and placed it on the car, sending it for a ride. |
| Jack walked in, finished with his meeting to find Carter and Danny playing with the toys on the floor. "Hi guys," he called cheerfully. |
| Danny pulled himself up to stand by the chair next to him. Next thing Jack knew, Danny was waddling across the floor to him. Jack knelt on his knees and enveloped Danny in a hug. |
| "Bear!" Danny yelled, turning around in Jack's arms and pointing. "Car! Ball!" |
| "You've been busy, Carter," Jack said, picking Danny up as he stood up. |
| "Yes, sir," she replied, standing up to leave. "We just worked on learning some new words. He's a fast learner." |
| "He's Dr. Daniel Jackson, remember? Speaker of twenty-plus languages." He got quiet for a moment. "I wonder how many he'll remember," he said quietly. |
| Carter didn't respond. She didn't have any idea either. "I'll get back to my lab, sir. I have a project I'm working on." |
| "Sure, Carter." Jack sat down on the chair with Danny on his lap. "So you decided you could walk all of a sudden, didn't you?" |
| Danny stared up at him, then smacked Jack's chest. "Da?" he questioned. |
| Taken aback, Jack took a moment to recover. Nobody had called him that in a long time and he didn't intend for Danny to start. "No, Danny. Not Da. Jack. I'm Jack," he insisted. |
| "'ack?" Danny inquired. |
| Jack laughed a little. "That's right. Jack. You're Danny." |
| "Danny!" the little boy called out. He wriggled off Jack's lap and walked over to his toys. After picking up his rubber ducky, he walked back to Jack and shoved it at him. |
| Jack held it, turning it around in his hands. "Duck," he said, when Danny banged on his knee. |
| "Duck," Danny repeated, heading off to find another item for Jack to identify. |
| By Danny's naptime, Jack had named every item Danny had been able to find in the room. Laying Danny in his crib, he then lay down himself, also needing a nap. |
| ~#~ |
| Danny woke up happy from his nap but needed to be changed. Still wanting the stimulation of learning new words, Jack continued naming all of the items he used while changing Danny's diaper. |
| As Jack was about to close up the diaper, Danny looked down and tapped it, wanting to know the name. |
| 'Oh great,' Jack thought, trying to remember what Sara had taught Charlie to call it. "Um," he mumbled. Then he decided to be accurate, knowing Danny never forgot what he'd been taught. "Penis," he said. "It's your penis." |
| "Penis," Danny copied, trying out the word. "Penis," he said again, grabbing it. |
| Ending the exploration by fastening the diaper, Jack then stood Danny on the ground. |
| Enjoying the freedom walking allowed, Danny toddled to the door wanting out. Jack opened the door and Danny set off on his travels, totally ignoring Jack. |
| Realizing Danny must have needed a leash at an early age, Jack followed him down the hall. |
| A short time later Danny ran into Siler, literally, falling down on his bottom after hitting Siler's knees. "Knees," he called out, looking up. |
| Siler bent down and picked him up, holding him. "Walking and talking already, I see," he commented. |
| Danny nodded then looked for Jack. "'ack," he called, reaching his arms out. Jack took him from Siler. "Penis," Danny said loudly, patting his crotch. |
| Bursting out laughing, Siler doubled over. "You certainly taught him all the important words, Colonel." |
| "For crying out loud, Siler," Jack replied, trying not to turn red. "What was I supposed to call it?" |
| Toning back his laughter, Siler answered, "My mom called it a pickle." He stopped an airman who was walking by. "Hey there, Watson." The airman stopped. "What did you call Mr. Happy when you were a kid?" |
| Not missing a beat, Watson answered, "My wee-wee. What's up, Siler?" |
| "The colonel here just taught Danny to say penis. No one-year-old says penis." |
| At that statement, Danny piped up, "Penis." |
| Watson laughed. "I see. Anything else?" |
| "Nope, that's it. Talk to you later." Before Jack could stop him, Siler called over another airman and asked the same question. |
| "Schlange of course," Schwartz replied and then walked away. |
| "Ok, Siler. I get your point. Drop the subject," Jack told him. When Siler opened his mouth to speak, Jack added, "That's an order, Sergeant." |
| Holding back the litany of kid names that was on the tip of his tongue, Siler saluted Jack. "Yes, sir," he said with obvious reluctance. He said goodbye to Danny and went back to work. |
| ~#~ |
| After Siler left, Danny asked to be put down so he could take off on his own again. Following along behind, Jack kept a close eye on him. His next stop was General Hammond's office. |
| Danny walked right in, held his arms out, and said, "Up!" |
| Hammond picked him up and set the boy on his lap. "Speaking English now, aren't you?" |
| "Yes," Danny said. He hit his chest. "Danny," he said succinctly. Then he tapped the general's chest. "Grandpa?" he asked, lifting his brows. |
| "Sure," Hammond agreed. "Grandpa is fine with me." |
| "Good," Danny said. "Go walk." |
| "You want me to go for a walk with you?" George asked. |
| "Yes," Danny said, trying to get down. "Now." |
| "Sorry, General," Jack said. "I'll take him for a walk. I know you're busy, sir." |
| "NO!" Danny yelled. "Grandpa too, 'ack. Grandpa too!" |
| "Danny," Jack scolded, "don't yell. The general is busy. I'll take you for a walk." |
| Danny started to cry. "Grandpa too," he whined. |
| "It's okay, Colonel. I have time for a walk. Come on, Danny. Let's go." He held his hand out to Danny for him to take. |
| Danny took it and pointed over his head. "Up?" |
| "You want to go outside?" Hammond asked. |
| "Yes," Danny replied. "Outside. Now." He grabbed Jack's hand. "'ack come too." |
| "I'm coming, Danny," Jack told him. "Don't be so pushy." |
| "He's little, Colonel. Relax," the general told him as they walked to the elevator. "By the way, why does he say everything so clearly, yet he calls you 'ack?" |
| "I have no idea, sir," Jack answered. "It's what he called me." |
| They made their way to ground level and left the building. Danny had worn himself out from walking pretty early and insisted he be carried. However he also insisted that they keep going to the top. Once they made it outside, Danny covered his eyes, slowly letting himself get used to the sun. He pointed to the trees. "Go there." |
| "Seems he wants to get in touch with nature, sir," Jack mentioned, setting Danny down as soon as they reached the woods. |
| "What's that?" Danny asked, patting the dirt. |
| "Dirt," Jack told him. Then Danny proceeded to get either Jack or Hammond to name everything he could see or touch. His vocabulary increased ten-fold in a very short amount of time. Jack could understand how Dr. Daniel Jackson had learned so many languages in so short an amount of time. Eventually Danny wore himself out and allowed Jack to carry him down into the depths of the mountain. |
| Things settled into more of a routine the longer Danny stayed with them. Jack maintained the primary caregiver responsibilities with Sam, Teal'c, and General 'Grandpa' helping out. |
| A few days later Danny found out how to use his Big Wheels tricycle. Soon every airman and woman had to be wary of getting their ankles clobbered whenever Danny was set free. Finally Siler had the bright idea of setting up a course for him on one of the lower levels. As long as Danny had someone to pay attention to him he was satisfied with this arrangement. |
| Week 3 |
| After yet another physical, it was declared that Danny had turned two years old. This time Sam had set up a little party for him in the officer's lounge. A small cake for Danny was made along with a larger cake for the adults. Danny's cake was a small pyramid with two candles on the top for him to blow out. He smiled up at everyone as they sang him happy birthday and then promptly blew out his candles and dug into the cake. |
| When everyone had eaten their fill, and Jack had cleaned up Danny this time, it was time for presents. They kept it small so as not to overwhelm him. He opened one present after another wanting to know the name of everything he received. |
| Jack took Danny back to their room after the party broke up for his nap. |
| "No nap, 'ack," Danny whined, dropping his head onto Jack's shoulder. "Wanna play with my new toys." |
| "Nap first and then you can play with them, Danny," Jack insisted. "You've had a busy day. You need some rest and so do I. I'm getting to be an old man." |
| Danny pushed away from Jack and looked at him. "You're not old, 'ack. Grandpa's old. You're just right." |
| Jack could help laughing. "Okay, Danny. You win. But this 'just right' age still needs a nap. Will you lay down with me?" |
| "No crib?" Danny asked, hopefully. He was starting to fight being confined to crib and wanted more independence. |
| "No crib. On the bed with me, okay?" Jack compromised. |
| "Just a little nap?" |
| "Just a little nap," Jack agreed, knowing once Danny fell asleep he'd be out for at least an hour. |
| "Okay," Danny stated, lying his head back down with a yawn. |
| Jack awoke to someone patting his face. "What's up, Danny?" |
| "Where's the sand, 'ack?" Danny asked innocently straddling Jack's chest. |
| "Sand?" Jack questioned, rubbing his eyes in confusion. |
| "The sand," Danny repeated, "and the tents." |
| Maneuvering himself to lean against the headboard, Jack lifted up Danny and settled him on his lap. "Where did you see sand?" |
| "Just now," Danny tried to explain. "I saw the sand and the tents." |
| He looked a little shaky to Jack. "What's wrong, kiddo?" |
| Danny leaned on Jack's chest and snuggled. "I also saw Mommy and Daddy. Mommy laid me down to sleep and when I closed my eyes you were here. Where are they, 'ack?" |
| Jack rubbed the back of Danny's head. He didn't know what to say, wasn't entirely sure what was going on. "There not here, Danny," was all he could think of to say. |
| "I know that," Danny whined. "I want to know where they are." |
| "I'll see if I can find out for you," Jack told him, wanting to first check with Janet on how she thought they should handle this new turn of events. |
| "'K," Danny conceded. "Can I play with my new toys now?" |
| "Yeahsureyoubetcha," Jack answered, happy for the distraction. "Does your diaper need changing first?" Danny nodded, so Jack changed him and then set him on the floor to play. Once Danny was occupied, he called for Siler to come baby-sit while he talked with his team. |
| ~#~ |
| After everybody had gathered in the briefing room, Jack began speaking. "It seems Daniel is remembering the previous life," he explained. |
| "How do you know that, Colonel?" Hammond asked. |
| "When Danny woke up from his nap today he asked me where the sand and tents were and where his parents were." Jack lifted a finger to stop the question Carter was about to ask. "He said when he was asleep he was in a place with sand and tents. That's all I know." |
| "It appears he is living both lives at the same time," Teal'c intoned. |
| "I agree," Janet continued, "one with us while he is awake and his previous life while he sleeps." |
| "So how does this affect us?" Carter asked. |
| "Basically we have to deal with all his memories every time he wakes up," Jack pointed out. "We'll also have to find a way to explain to him what's going on." |
| "How did you explain it this time, Colonel?" Hammond inquired. |
| "I avoided explaining anything. He's still two years old, General. I told him I'd try to find out where his parents were and then he wanted to play with his toys. That won't work forever though," Jack pointed out. |
| "No it won't," agreed Hammond. |
| "We'll have to tell him the truth," Carter told everyone. |
| "And just what is the truth?" Jack asked sarcastically. "He's two years old. Are you going to explain wormhole travel and ascension to him?" |
| "No, sir," Carter responded, a little miffed, "but we can't lie to him. He'll never forgive us." |
| Jack was about to reply when Hammond interrupted him. "Dr, Fraiser, what do you think he can understand at this point?" |
| "I'm not sure, sir," Janet admitted. "We know he is extremely intelligent. However, he's also very young. We need to be careful not to give him too much information without actually lying to him either." She looked at Sam while she said the last part. "I think we're going to have to take our cues from him and see how much information will satisfy him." |
| "That sounds good to me, doctor," Hammond agreed. "Are you okay with that, Colonel? Most of the explanations are going to fall on your shoulders." |
| "I don't think I have much of a choice," Jack complained. "It's not like we can turn his brain off." |
| At that point they were interrupted by cries of, "I want 'ack!" coming from the control room. Hammond dismissed them all. |
| Everyone went down to the control room to see what was going on. Siler was holding Danny who was fighting to get away from him and go upstairs. "Le-me go! I want 'ack!" he yelled. |
| Spotting Jack, Siler quickly handed his young charge over to him. "He's all yours, Colonel." |
| "'ack!" Danny cried, hugging him tight. "Siler was being mean." |
| "Just how was Siler being mean?" Jack asked, somewhat amused. |
| Danny held out his hand, which had a small scratch on it. "I got an owwie and I needed you to make it better and he said you were busy." He turned around and gave Siler a dirty look. |
| "An owwie?" Jack responded. Danny nodded. "How did you get an owwie?" |
| "I crashed my big wheel," Danny explained with a pitiful look on his face. "Need you to make it better." He held his hand up to Jack's mouth. "Kiss it better," he insisted. |
| Jack looked at the smiling faces around him, not sure what to do. He was a colonel after all. Gazing into Danny's serious blue eyes, he decided it didn't matter what anyone else thought. He took Danny's hand in his own and kissed the owwie better. "How's that?" |
| "Better," Danny answered, laying his head on Jack's shoulder. "Mommy always kisses owwies better, too. Did you find Mommy and Daddy?" |
| 'Great,' Jack thought. 'He's asking already.' Time to figure this out. "You know how you see your mommy and daddy when you're sleeping." |
| "Yeah," Danny answered. |
| "Well," Jack paused, "that's the only place you're going to see them." |
| "But I want you to meet them," Danny protested. |
| "I can't meet them, Danny," Jack insisted. "However, you can tell me all about them. Will that be okay?" |
| "But you can't see them?" Danny questioned again. |
| "No," Jack agreed. "Only you can see them." |
| "That doesn't make sense," Danny complained, giving Jack a big yawn. |
| "I know, sport, but it's what I found out," Jack explained. |
| "But I get to see them when I sleep?" |
| "Yeahsureyoubetcha." |
| "Then I want to take a nap now," Danny told him. |
| "Sounds good to me." Jack said good bye to everyone and took Danny back to their room for a nap. |
| When the nap was over, Danny awoke again and told Jack all about the life he was living as he slept. He didn't seem upset about living his other life in his dreams. |
| ~#~ |
| One day Jack and Hammond were going over some mundane details they needed to deal with in order to keep the SGC running. Danny, never wanting to leave Jack if he could avoid it, was sitting on the floor in the corner coloring while they talked. Suddenly the alarms blared and 'General Hammond to the control room' could be heard over the loudspeaker. |
| Hammond jumped to his feet and ran out the door, Jack close on his heels. Little Danny was forgotten in the emergency. |
| By this time Danny was used to the alarms and didn't scream any more. He just sat and continued to color. That is until the red phone rang. He looked up and waited for someone to answer it. When no one came back, he decided to answer it himself. Standing up, he walked over to the phone and picked it up. "Hi," he said in his high pitched toddler voice. |
| "Hello," said the man on the other end of the phone. "Who am I talking to?" |
| "Danny," he said. "Who are you?" |
| "My name is Colonel Simmons, Danny," the man told him. "I need to speak with General Hammond." |
| "Grandpa is busy right now," Danny explained. "The alarms went off. They go off a lot here." |
| "Is there anyone else there I can talk to?" Simmons asked. |
| "'ack went with grandpa. I'm the only one here right now." |
| "Who's 'ack?" |
| "I'm not sure exactly," Danny told him. "He says he's not my daddy but he acts like my daddy and since my mommy and daddy are only there when I sleep, I think he must be my daddy, but he says to call him 'ack so I do." |
| "I see," Simmons stated, finally realizing the boy was talking about Jack O'Neill. "Do you realize what phone you answered?" |
| "It's a red phone. I know my colors," Danny told him proudly. |
| "Yes, you do," Simmons commented. "Can you go get General Hammond?" |
| "No," Danny said firmly. "I'm not allowed to leave the office without 'ack." |
| "That's a good rule," Simmons agreed, "but maybe you can break this rule just this one time." |
| "No, I'd get in trouble. I don't want to get in trouble. Bye now," Danny said as he hung up and went back to coloring. |
| A short time later, Jack and Hammond returned to the office, crisis averted by some of Siler's quick thinking. Danny was calmly sitting on the floor, still coloring. |
| Jack bent down and picked up Danny. "I'm sorry we left you, sport. Were you okay?" |
| "I stayed in the office just like you told me to," Danny told him. "I didn't want to get in trouble." |
| "You did great, Danny," Jack said proudly. "Did anything happen?" |
| "The red phone rang and I answered it," Danny explained. |
| Jack and Hammond looked at each other, Danny answered the RED phone? "Did the person tell you who he was?" |
| "His name was Colonel Simmons. He wanted me to get in trouble and leave the office to get you. I told him no and put the phone down," Danny replied. "Can we do something else now, I'm bored." |
| "Sure, Danny," Jack agreed, motioning to Hammond that they'd talk soon. Then they left so Danny wouldn't be bored. |
| Later in the day Jack had to meet with Hammond about the phone call. Not wanting Danny listening to this conversation he decided to see if Teal'c could help out this time. Siler seemed to have had his fill of Danny for a little while at least. |
| Danny was dropped of in Teal'c's quarters by Jack. Still fascinated by this immensely tall and large man, he stared up until Teal'c picked him up and brought him to eye level. "What are we going to do?" he asked. |
| "I believe I shall teach you to Kel'no'reem, Danny Jackson," Teal'c informed him. |
| "Kel'no'reeeeem," Danny repeated. "What's that?" |
| "It is a form of meditation," Teal'c explained. "It relaxes you." |
| "I'm already 'laxed," Danny told him. He looked at Teal'c quizzically. "What's 'laxed?" |
| "Relaxed means to be calm and serene." |
| "I know what calm is. 'ack tells me to calm down all the time. What's serene?" Danny was tracing Teal'c emblem with his finger. |
| "It means calm," Teal'c replied. He sat cross-legged on the floor placing the boy on his lap. Then he encircled his arms around Danny and held his and Danny's hands together. "Now think of something pleasant." |
| "Like being with my mommy and daddy?" Danny asked, settling into his spot. |
| "That would be fine," Teal'c told him. |
| "Is this going to be like when I sleep? Am I going to see my mommy and daddy?" |
| "Perhaps," Teal'c answered quietly. "Perhaps." |
| Danny and Teal'c sat quietly for perhaps two minutes, a short time for Teal'c, but a very long time for Danny. "I don't think this is the same as when I sleep, Teal'c." He began to wiggle. |
| "Then think other pleasant thoughts, Danny Jackson." Teal'c pulled Danny to his chest. |
| Danny could feel Teal'c's heartbeat and it comforted him. "Okay," he agreed. After two more minutes he spoke up again. "I've thought all my happy thoughts. Now what do I do." |
| Teal'c sighed as only he could do. Apparently Kel'no'reeming wasn't going to happen today. "Now we go and eat a meal together." He placed Danny on the ground and put his shirt back on. Then he picked his small friend up and walked to the commissary. |
| ~#~ |
| "Just a minute, kiddo," Jack said, scooping him up and holding him. "We can't just leave like that. We need to let General Hammond know where we're going." |
| "Grandpa?" Danny replied curiously. |
| "Yes, grandpa," Jack agreed. "We need to tell him where we're going first." |
| "Does Grandpa wear boxers?" Danny asked intently. |
| "Um," Jack stalled, "I don't know. Why don't you ask him yourself?" |
| "Okay," Danny agreed happily. "I wanna ride on your shoulders." |
| Jack hefted Danny up to his shoulders and hoped he wouldn't grow too quickly. He was already getting heavy enough. Then he headed to see the general. |
| Upon arriving at his office, Danny immediately asked, "Do you wear boxers or diapers, Grandpa?" |
| George choked on his coffee. "I wear briefs, young man. Why do you ask?" |
| "'ack wears boxers and I don't need a diaper anymore so we're going shopping," Danny explained quickly. "Do you want to come with us?" |
| "I'm a little busy right now," George told him, "or I'd love to go." |
| "Okay," Danny replied. "'ack said we had to tell you first. What are briefs anyway? Can you show me them?" |
| "I think I'll let the colonel show you them while you go shopping," Hammond told him. "You'll be very careful, correct, Colonel?" |
| "Absolutely, sir," Jack responded. "We won't be gone long. Just need a few clothes and some more toys to keep him occupied." |
| Danny patted the top of Jack's head to get his attention. "Boxers first, right?" |
| "Ya think?" Jack quipped. "Absolutely." |
| "Good," Danny replied. "Let's go." |
| It didn't take long before Danny was settled in the car seat Sam had installed and they were on their way to the shopping mall. |
| Danny insisted they get the boxers before anything else, so Jack stopped and asked the salesperson where the little boys' section was. Interrupting, Danny spoke up, "I'm getting boxers like 'ack wears. I use the toilet like he does too. 'ack says it's not a potty like Sam calls it but it's a toilet, so that's what I call it. What are briefs? Grandpa George says he wears briefs. I want to know what they are." |
| Slightly shell-shocked, the lady answered Jack and not the loquacious little boy. "It's over to the right at the far back. I'm sure someone can answer all his questions once you get there." Then she took off as fast as she could. |
| Danny held Jack's hand as they walked to the little boys' department. Soon they arrived and found the underwear section. Jack wasn't even sure if they carried boxers in Danny's size but he was determined to find them if they existed. |
| Pulling on Jack's hand, Danny walked right over to them. "Are these them, 'ack? They look like yours. Will they fit me? How do we find out? Do I have to try them on or can you tell just by looking? Where are the briefs? I don't want briefs but I want to see what they look like." |
| A middle aged saleslady came over. "May I help you, sir?" |
| "Um, yeah," Jack said, running his free had through his hair. "I need to find boxers for this young man here but I don't know what size he needs." |
| "Hi there, young man," the lady said, bending down to talk to him. "How old are you?" |
| "I'm two," Danny answered, suddenly becoming a little shy at actually being talked to. "I'll be three soon though." |
| With years of practice, the saleslady reached over and grabbed a package of briefs, handing them to Jack. "These should work," she told him. "Is there anything else you need?" Danny pulled on her skirt. "Yes, young man?" |
| "I want to know what briefs look like," Danny told her. "I don't want any, but Grandpa George wears them and he wouldn't show me them. He told me to find out when I went shopping." |
| Jack groaned, but the saleslady merely picked up a package of briefs and opened it up for him to see what they look like. |
| "Those look like my trainers I had to wear to come here," Danny pointed out, "but my trainers don't have that opening." Danny fingered the slit the briefs had in the front. Suddenly a light bulb went off in his head. "Is that so you don't have to pull them down?" he asked in all sincerity. |
| "That's exactly right," the saleslady told him. |
| "Cool," Danny replied. |
| Jack held onto the package of boxers and told Danny, "Let's find some more shirts for you, buddy." |
| "Ok, 'ack," Danny said happily, now that he had his boxers. "I like those," he said, pointing to some plaid button down shirts. |
| "Of course you do," Jack muttered. He picked a shirt off the rack and tried it on Danny over his t-shirt. It fit fine and he found one more that size and two the next size up. Then when the saleslady walked away he grabbed another pack of boxers the next size up. "Time to go to the toy section, Danny," he told him. |
| "Ya think," Danny piped up, pulling Jack to where he could see toys. Ignoring most of the common toys, he went directly to a tray of stuffed animals. Sorting through the myriad of items, he latched onto a small stuffed hamster. "Want him, 'ack," he said holding him up. "Please, his name's Pogo. He told me that." |
| "You can keep him, Sport," Jack told him. "Anything else you want?" |
| "No, just Pogo," Danny told him, holding the hamster close. |
| Letting Danny hold onto Pogo, Jack grabbed some jigsaw puzzles, coloring books and crayons. Finally they paid for everything, Danny only let go of the hamster long enough for it to be scanned. Then they headed back to the mountain. |
| Once back at the mountain Jack and Danny returned to their room to put away their new purchases and of course change Danny out of the trainers and into the boxers. Danny had to test his ability to use the slit a couple of times before he allowed Jack to put his pants back on him. |
| When Danny gave a big yawn, Jack took him to the bathroom again and then held him on his lap in the rocking chair. "Pogo's a good hamster," Danny told Jack. "He can live in my pocket when I need to use my hands." With that he shoved Pogo into his pocket and then lifted his hands up. Immediately he took the hamster back out and snuggled him under his chin. "He likes it better out though." He gave another big yawn and leaned back against Jack. |
| "I'm sure he does, Danny," Jack agreed. "It looks like Pogo is tired though. Do you think he needs a nap?" He rubbed soothing circles on the boy's back. |
| Danny nodded and closed his eyes. "He wants to go on a picnic when he wakes up though," he informed Jack. "Can we take him on a picnic? I won't let him run away." |
| "I think we can arrange that. I might have to leave to take care of things while you both nap though," Jack told him. "You can let the airman outside know when you wake up if I'm not back yet." |
| "Okay," Danny agreed. "I'd rather have you back when I wake up. You'll come right away?" |
| "As soon as I know you're awake, I'll be right back," Jack assured him. |
| "Not leave till I'm asleep?" |
| "Not going anywhere till you're sound asleep, kiddo." Jack held him close and continued rocking him until the small boy was breathing steadily, asleep with the hamster still under his chin. Carefully he settled Danny under the covers and left the room finding an airman to stand guard until he got back from planning the upcoming picnic. |
