A New Family for Christmas
by Stroma
No warnings with this fic.
Jack looked down at the beautiful blonde haired child that was sitting looking up at the Christmas tree. "Star, Jack," he said. "Pretty."
"Yes, it is pretty Daniel."
"Up," he commanded. Jack lifted him up to look closer at it. "Where Tam?" Jack smiled, Danny couldn't say Sam's name properly yet.
"She's in her bedroom."
"Oh! Tam bad."
"T..Sam was naughty, she was told not to take anything to pieces and now we have no DVD player."
"Tam put gether. Tam mart."
"Yes Sam is smart but she's going to be in her room until dinner time."
"Cam no here?"
Jack shook his head. "Cam's also in his room," he told the small boy.
"Cam bad?"
"Yes, he broke Mr. Graham's greenhouse roof with his baseball."
"Oh! Danny good," he said patting Jack's cheeks.
"Yes, Danny's a good boy," Jack said setting him down. With his lovely blonde hair and those beautiful big blue eyes he looked like an angel.
"Danny good, Tam and Cam bad. Danny get chocolate?"
Jack ruffled his hair," No it's nearly dinner time and you've had chocolate today already. You read your book while I check dinner."
Jack's life had changed after he received the phone call from General Landry. Who would believe that the whole of SG-1 except Teal'c could get themselves downsized? he turned round to look at the one who had caused the problem. Danny looked like an angel but boy could he cause problems. Jack thought back to that fateful day.
SG-1 had been carrying out a routine reconnaissance on a planet, the people were very friendly and Danny had found a temple. In a way Jack blamed Cam for this, he'd been warned to keep an eye on Daniel at all times and Sam well she just should have known better. Danny had found trouble. It seems what he thought meant health and well being meant something else so he did what Danny does best he pressed the buttons. Thank God Teal'c had been outside.
Jack received the phone call at 3am and caught the first flight out. When he arrived Hank looked very flustered and very relieved to see Jack there. Jack spoke to Teal'c through the MALP and confirmed SG-1's position. Jack got his gear on quickly and travelled through the wormhole.
The sight that greeted him almost had him speechless. Teal'c held a small boy of about 3 and had a girl of 8 and a boy of 12 beside him. "Like to explain this Teal'c," Jack had said.
"Daniel Jackson." That was all he needed to say.
"Jack," the small boy cried holding out his arms. Jack lifted him from Teal'c's arms and held him close.
"Sorry, sir," the boy and girl said together. "We shouldn't have let him touch anything."
"No you shouldn't," Jack replied. "But it's done now so we have to think of a solution. Who's the leader of this town?"
"I am," a small man to Teal'c's left said. "They should not have gone into the temple without an escort," he said.
"Is there anything we can do to reverse this?" Jack asked
"No, it just takes time," the man replied.
"How long?"
"In the older children's case probably about 10 of your weeks, the younger boy will take longer, he was closer to the beam of light."
"But he will grow up," Jack asked.
"Yes, but he should not have been that close. We do not allow our people to stand that close."
"How much longer?"
"To get to his former age, probably as long as it took him to reach it before."
"What?"
"I am sorry but that is what our scientists think."
Jack looked at the angelic child he held and vowed to look after him.
It was the pot boiling over onto the stove that pulled Jack out of his daydream. "Cam, Sam," he shouted upstairs, "dinner." He heard feet hitting the floorboards. Sam was about 9 now and Cam 13. They were a handful, he'd thought because they had their adult memories they would be easy to handle but he had been so wrong. Cam couldn't sit still, he always had to be on the go, kicking footballs or hitting baseballs and Sam took apart anything electrical she could get her hands on. The doctor explained that although they did have their adult memories these were sometimes overwhelmed by their child ones. He took his hat off to both sets of parents who'd brought them up before, they must have been saints.
Both of them stood in front of him now, "Sorry Jack," they both said.
"Apology accepted."
"We do try to follow the rules but sometimes it's hard," Sam explained. They had made a set of rules that each child had to follow. It would have been chaos otherwise. Hence the grounding to their bedroom. They hated that but so did Jack if he left them there too long. Cam needed to get rid of his energy and for that he needed to be out running about and Sam needed to be working on her computer. Work from the base was sent to her and she would sit for hours trying to work it out. Thank God for Danny, he was so easy to look after.
Cam and Sam started to laugh, Jack turned round. He'd spoken too soon. Danny was sitting where he'd left him. "Like to tell me something, Danny?"
"No Jack. I been good."
"Have you now?" Danny nodded vigorously.
"Like to explain why you have a chocolate face."
Danny put on an innocent look, "Chocolate?"
"Well maybe 5 minutes in the time out chair will make you think better."
"No Jack." Jack lifted him up and put him on the small chair in the corner. He could hear the sniffles coming from the small boy. Sam and Cam both looked at him as if he was a mass murderer.
"Dinner," he pointed to the table. They both sat down. He left Danny there for another count of 10 and then went to get him. Danny couldn't tell the time so he never left him there for long. "Like to tell me how you got covered in chocolate now?"
"Danny sorry."
"You are not to eat the chocolates off the tree. No dessert for you tonight." Danny started to cry again, it was his favourite, chocolate pudding. Jack lifted up the cloth and wiped his face and hands.
"He's only little," Sam said.
"Give him a break," Cam said.
"Get your plates," Jack said. He felt like a louse, Danny had tears dripping down his face. He had to be strong though, he was going to have to raise this little trouble magnet and he knew Danny'd be able to wrap everyone else round his little finger. He should have known Danny wasn't going to be any easier to bring up than Cam or Sam. Both Cam and Sam looked up at him eyes pleading.
"It's nearly Christmas," Sam said accusingly.
"You remind me of Scrooge," Cam said. "I don't want dessert."
"Neither do I," Sam said.
Danny smiled at them both. "Danny eat them." Jack couldn't stop the laugh. What a team he had.
"Okay just this once, you can all have dessert. But don't let it happen again." He looked at Danny who was smiling.
"Good Jack," he said tucking into his meal.
Jack was so proud of his team. No matter what they always stuck together. He'd trained them well.
The End
