Jack and Daniel, just like always
By
Annie
Jack watched Daniel furtively as they sat on adjacent infirmary gurneys waiting for their MRI results. Daniel was swinging his feet and his hands were wrapped around his chest, a sure sign of Jackson-worry Jack had learnt to recognize over the past few years that they'd worked together. "So..." Jack began, before lapsing into silence again, not really sure what to say.
Daniel cut him a sidelong look and Jack realized he really did still look like Daniel. The hair was a little more mussed up and the glasses looked out of place... and yeah, okay, he was shorter... a lot shorter... but the eyes were Daniel's and the mouth, even the curve of the chin, and the ear Jack could see poking out from Daniel's too-long hair.
"No jokes, Jack?" Daniel said, and Jack bit the inside of his lip hard to stop himself from smiling at how young Daniel sounded. Not surprising really, he thought, considering his 35 year old best friend and resident pain in the ass was now the equivalent, body-wise at least, to a five or six year old.
"No jokes, Daniel," he agreed. It was the least he could do considering Daniel had pushed him out of the way of the beam of light that apparently had done this to him. Jack shuddered a little inwardly as he thought about how different things could have been... That it could have been him coming home forty or so years younger than when he'd left. He'd done the other side of the coin, on Kynthia's planet and that had been downright disturbing. Having prostate problems and all the other disabilities of old age when your mind was telling you you were forty was bad enough, but to be a kid again, and a small one at that…. Jack smiled at Daniel reassuringly. "Carter'll work it out," he said.
"I know," Daniel said but he scrubbed hard at his eyes as he spoke and it was all Jack could do not to move across the gurney and pull him into his arms and give him the comfort all little kids in distress needed.
'He's not really a kid,' Jack reminded himself but with Daniel sitting there, small and looking abandoned, it was too hard to fight the instinct, so Jack did it anyway. Moved across the bed and wrapped an arm around Daniel's thin, kid shoulders and pulled him close against his side. "You'll be okay, Daniel," he said softly and he felt Daniel's head nod against his chest.
"Sorry," Daniel said.
"Don't be," Jack replied. "If you hadn't pushed me out of the way and I'd been the one coming back smaller than the average Colonel, you'd be doing the same for me."
Daniel snuffled a laugh then buried his head more deeply into Jack's chest. "Don't make me laugh," he said. "It's not funny."
"It's not?" Jack asked then added quickly, "No, it's not. So, you gonna be okay here for a minute? I'm just gonna go chase up the doc. See if there's any chance we can get out of here, get something to eat. You hungry?"
"I could kill for a coffee," Daniel replied, lifting his head and giving Jack a small smile.
"Sorry, no caffeine for you, Dr. Jackson." Janet's heels tapped against the tiles as she hurried across to the gurney and put a hand on Daniel's arm to steady him as he clambered off the bed.
"Why not?" Daniel asked, his voice raising a little as he looked challengingly up at the doctor. "I'm still 36, Janet. I'm not really 5, you know."
"Mentally, maybe not, but all the tests are showing that you now have the physiology of a child. Caffeine is a stimulant, Daniel. I'm sorry." Janet gave him an understanding smile.
Jack watched her hand reach out toward Daniel and had the horrifying thought that she was about to pat him on the head. He watched as Daniel took a step back toward him until he was plastered up against Jack's legs.
"Colonel?" Janet gave him the bright smile adults used when there was bad news that they didn't want children in the vicinity to overhear. "Could you come into my office for a minute? Your tests were fine, by the way."
"Jack?"
Daniel had never sounded so lost, Jack thought. He stood up and pushed Daniel gently away from him then crouched down and looked him in the eye. "Daniel? You okay?"
Daniel nodded but his eyes filled with tears. Jack bit down on the emotion overwhelming him and firmed his voice. "I'm just going to go into Janet's office and talk to her for a couple of minutes. You wait here. I'll be back, all right?"
"Okay," Daniel said quietly. "Jack?" He bent in close. "I'm really trying not to lose it here so don't take too long, okay?"
"Deal." Jack stood up, and unable to help himself, ruffled his fingers through Daniel's overlong hair. "Be right back, buddy."
The sight of Daniel setting his chin against the tears that obviously were threatening to fall almost brought Jack undone. Instead he gave Daniel a wink then turned resolutely away and followed Fraiser to her office.
"Have a seat, Colonel," Fraiser said, indicating the chair in front of her desk as she sat down in her own chair. She steepled her fingers and rested her chin on them, looking speculatively at Jack.
"Well?" he prompted. "He's okay, isn't he?"
She nodded, sighed, and got up to pour herself a coffee.
Jack shook his head at the offered cup. "What is it?" he asked impatiently.
Fraiser sat down again and sipped at her coffee then set it down on the desk. "He's Daniel," she said.
"Well, I already knew that. He's shorter, I know, but he's still Daniel. So," Jack gave her his best disarming smile, "how do we grow him up again?"
"We can't." Janet held up a hand to stop him interrupting. "It's different than when you were infected with the nanocytes on Kynthia's planet. We really haven't been able to work out why the beam had this specific effect on Daniel, and until we know more about it I'm reluctant to subject him to any more intensive testing, considering his age… his physical age," she amended.
"So, what do we do then?" Jack asked. "You can't keep him in the infirmary forever."
Janet shook her head. "No, that wouldn't be good for him either. He may not seem it but he's in a very fragile emotional state right now and keeping him here would only exacerbate that."
"VIP room?" Jack suggested though he was pretty sure that wasn't the answer either and he was beginning to think he knew where Janet was going with this.
"Take him home with you, Colonel. Bring him back in tomorrow and we'll run a couple more tests then. At the moment, he's as healthy as a five year old should be-"
"Um, that would be a no," Jack interrupted. "Look, Doc, I don't know anything about raising kids. Sara did all of that with Charlie. I was strictly a 'bring home the bacon' kinda guy."
"Daniel is closer to you than to anyone else on this base," Fraiser said firmly. "You were there for him when he was addicted to the sarcophagus and when he was affected by that other light thing. He trusts you, and I don't think he's going to agree to be with anyone else."
"Carter-"
"-Is a single woman who's never had a child of her own." Janet smiled. "She was a wonderful help to me when I got Cassie, and I'm sure she'll be a great support to you but you're the one who's been a parent."
"Teal'c?" Jack asked, figuring a last-ditch attempt at salvation from parenting couldn't hurt. "He's a parent. He's got Ry'ac."
"Teal'c's Jaffa," Janet said, not that Jack needed reminding. "Earth children, especially those like Daniel who may need a little extra TLC may not respond well to the Jaffa form of childraising. Not that I think Teal'c would be anything but kind to him." She sighed. "Sir, Daniel considers you his best friend. I think you feel the same way about him. You can do this for him. You know he'd do it for you."
"No fair," Jack said, though he knew she was right. Daniel would do it for him. He echoed her sigh and stood up. "Okay, we'll give it a try. When can he leave?"
"No time like the present."
~oOo~
"You warm enough?" Jack glanced across at Daniel who was sitting on a couple of phone books they'd commandeered so he could be buckled reasonably safely into the front seat of Jack's Explorer. It was chilly out, the late afternoon sun a mere memory on the horizon, the clouds already obscuring it almost completely.
Daniel shrugged, and Jack reached out and turned the vents of the heater towards him and cranked the heat a little higher.
"We should stop and get you some warm clothes," Jack said. Daniel was wearing an oversized scrub suit that Janet had pinned and rolled till it fitted him more or less.
"I don't really want to go into Walmart dressed like this," Daniel said, his new child's voice less high-pitched than Jack had thought it would be.
"I can't leave you in the car while I go in," Jack replied as he pulled into the parking lot of the store.
"Why not?" Daniel asked.
It was a reasonable question, Jack supposed. After all, Daniel might be 5 on the outside but he was still a guy with 3 PhDs to his name where it counted. "All right," he agreed, as he switched off the engine and opened the door. "I'll be as quick as I can. I'll just grab a pair of sweats and some underwear and shoes and socks for now... Damn, what size shoes do you think you wear?"
Daniel shrugged, looking down at his bare feet. "Ask the store clerk. Tell her it's for an average sized 5 year old boy. They know about stuff like that."
"Good thinking." Jack climbed out and made sure his window was open just a crack then he went to the trunk and pulled out his jacket, bringing it back and tossing it over Daniel's legs. "This'll help keep you warm. I don't want to leave the motor running. Can't lock the truck if I do."
"You don't need to lock the truck," Daniel told him. "I'm not really a kid, Jack. I'm not going to go driving off or anything. I'll just sit here and listen to the radio while you go in."
"Still, might seem weird to passersby if I leave the engine running." Jack shook his head. "I'm gonna lock the doors. Roll your window down a little too."
"Jack, it's colder than a witch's tit out there," Daniel said and Jack just barely stopped himself from reprimanding him for swearing.
"Just roll the damn window down," Jack snapped. Daniel was right – a witch's tit had nothing on the cold breeze that was cutting through him right now and all he wanted to do was get into the store and back out again with the least amount of trouble and time wasted.
"Fine." Daniel waited for Jack to put the key back in the ignition then rolled his window down a scant inch. "Happy?"
"Delirious," Jack replied, locking the door with his keypad. He sprinted for the entrance and headed straight for childrenswear.
~oOo~
He'd never known there were so many different varieties of kids clothes. Jack spun in a slow circle to take in the myriad racks and shelves of clothes that seemed to go from ceiling to floor of the huge store. That Daniel was alone in the car was at the forefront of his mind, even while he told himself that he was an adult for crying out loud and surely he could sit in a car for fifteen minutes without getting into any trouble. "Oh, for God's sakes, it's Daniel," he muttered and then he descended on the clothing racks like a starving man at a banquet, grabbing anything that was labeled size 5 and looked like it belonged on a small boy. Arms piled high with what seemed to him to be enough clothing to outfit a small African village, he headed for the checkout, his charge card brandished in the precarious grip of the only two fingers he had free. He made it there ahead of a dumpy woman who was pushing a cart piled high with clothing, on top of which sat two identical little girls.
"I'm sorry," he said as he maneuvered ahead of her. "I'd let you go through first but my kid's in the car and I don't want to leave him there too long."
The woman's mouth dropped open. "You left a child in your car? At this hour of night?"
"He's fine. He's just listening to the radio-" Jack had a belated sense of how it sounded and shut his mouth with a snap, piling the clothes onto the checkout belt and shoving them along when the girl behind the register didn't move fast enough.
Five minutes later he was running his card through the reader and piling the bags into the cart. He headed for the doors at a run, the cart weaving madly before him, out into the parking lot, bumping over the asphalt to come to a skidding halt two feet from his car... which was surrounded by people, every one of whom turned and gave him what could only be described as the evil eye as they became aware of his presence.
"Ah crap!" he muttered, abandoning the cart and pushing his way through the crowd till he reached the door of the car.
Daniel was kneeling up on the seat, facing the window.
Jack keyed the doorlock and yanked the door open, causing Daniel to fall forward into his arms and a gasp of what sounded like horrified shock to emanate from the interested parties surrounding the car. "What the hell are you doing, Daniel?" he snapped.
"Hey, leave the kid alone," a man growled and Jack turned his head to see the guy reaching forward to pull Daniel out of his arms.
"Hands off the kid!" Jack warned, turning back to the car and shoving Daniel inside again.
"We've called the cops, Mister," a woman said. "Leaving a little boy alone in a cold car at night. People like you shouldn't be allowed to have kids."
Jack bit back the sarcastic reply that tried to seep past his lips and smiled as charmingly as he could instead. "Look, it's just a misunderstanding-"
"It was my fault," Daniel piped up. "I didn't want to go in the store and I locked the door when he got out. He came back as fast as he could because he was worried about me... Weren't you, Dad?" Daniel beamed a smile of pure sunlight at the woman and rested his head against Jack's chest.
"Oh," the woman said. "You little imp, you." Reaching out, she pinched Daniel's cheek with her plump fingers and smiled apologetically at Jack. "Your wife should have come with you. Children can be such a handful to take shopping on your own."
"Yep, well, I wanted her to rest at home," Jack lied blithely, patting Daniel's head just short of a headsmack. "She's pregnant."
"Well, why didn't you say that, buddy?" The man who'd tried to grab Daniel patted Jack heartily on the back. "Here, let me help you get your stuff in the car so you can get the little dude home to the missus. Someone call the cops and tell them it was a false alarm, okay?" He grinned at Jack and went across to pull the cart over to the trunk. Jack unlocked it and together they piled the bags in.
Jack slammed the trunk shut and ran back, climbing into the driver's seat and starting the ignition. "Say goodbye to the nice people, Danny," he said.
Daniel smiled from the teeth out and waved as Jack threw the car into gear and peeled out of the lot like Juan Fangio in his heyday.
"You lied," Daniel said as he settled back onto the phone books and secured the seatbelt.
"Yep. What the hell else was I gonna say?" Jack replied tersely. "Don't worry about the kid, he's actually an archeologist with three PhDs? He's just kinda small for his age?"
Daniel turned away to look out the window. "I'm sorry," he murmured after a while. "Maybe you should just take me back to the base. I didn't intend for any of this to cause you problems."
"It's fine," Jack said as he turned into his driveway. "Just next time do what I say, all right?"
"I will, I promise," Daniel said, turning back to face him.
Jack ducked his head.
"What's wrong?" Daniel asked.
"Nothing. Just thought I saw a pig fly over," Jack replied with a wry grin.
"Haha."
~oOo~
"So," Jack said, leading the way into the spare room though Daniel had slept there enough times before for him not to have to bother playing Mein host, "this okay?"
Daniel threw him a look over his shoulder that had no right appearing on the face of a five year old. He rolled his eyes. "I've slept here plenty of times, Jack. It's not like you've redecorated in my newly downsized honor or anything."
"I know, just wanted to make sure everything was okay." Jack stopped and turned toward the door. "Um, I'll leave you to get changed into something that fits then we'll have dinner. What do you want?"
"A double Scotch, no ice," Daniel replied straight-faced. He sighed and held up a small hand. "Sorry. It slipped out."
"Right. No problem. So... Um, I'll find something," Jack said, closing the door behind him on his way out.
The something was going to be a problem though, he realized as he pulled open the pantry and fridge doors and gazed at the contents. He had plenty of food, some of it Daniel's favorites too, stockpiled for those nights when Daniel stayed over after a mission or on team nights. Problem was, Jack wasn't sure any of it was suitable for a five year old stomach. He closed the doors and puzzled over the conundrum. The Doc had said Daniel couldn't have caffeine because his physiology was now that of a kid. Did that mean that chiliburgers or hummus or tandoori were a no go too, or would Daniel still like them anyway, just because he was Daniel? Giving up, Jack walked over to the phone and placed a call to the local pizza place, ordering a meatlovers, a supreme, and a cheese pizza in an attempt to cover all the bases. He hung up then called back and ordered ice cream as well. Better to be safe than sorry, he decided as he headed to the fridge to check out the drinks situation. There was plenty of coke and lemonade as well as beer, even the Scotch Daniel had asked for. Jack poured himself a quick dram of the latter and drank it down in a gulp, guiltily enjoying every drop.
It wasn't till the pizzas arrived twenty minutes later and he'd paid for them that Jack realized Daniel still hadn't come out of the bedroom.
He dropped the pizzas on the kitchen table then headed for the guest bedroom. "Daniel," he called as he knocked on the door.
Not getting a response, he pushed the door open and walked in. What he saw made his heart clench and an ache start up in his throat as he swallowed down the lump that felt like it would choke him.
Daniel was sitting on the floor, new t-shirt and underwear on, his small feet warmly covered in the new socks Jack had bought. The jeans were on the floor in front of him and Daniel was bent forward, curled into a small miserable-looking bundle, head on his upraised knees, crying... God, Jack thought, he's crying.
In two steps, he was at Daniel's side, sitting on the floor and pulling him into his lap, cradling him there as if he really was five years old, rocking him back and forth just like he'd done for Charlie, patting the shuddering back and whispering soothing words that Daniel probably couldn't even hear over the loud sobs that felt as if they were shaking his small body apart.
After what seemed an interminable time, Daniel sagged against him, the uncontrollable weeping now silent gulping sobs of torment and misery.
"Hey, hey," Jack whispered, bending his head to rest his chin against Daniel's sweaty head. "What happened here?"
"I- I couldn't do it," Daniel managed to get out past the tears.
"Couldn't do what?"
"I c-couldn't do the fly up," Daniel sobbed, turning himself into the shelter of Jack's chest, tears and snot mingling to make an unpleasant damp spot that quickly seeped through Jack's t-shirt to his skin.
"That's it?" Jack pulled Daniel in closer, patted the small back gently. This scene brought back unwanted memories – Daniel in Jack's arms on the cold floor of a storeroom at the base, a gun clattering to the floor, Daniel sobbing out his pain and fear while Jack held him and rocked him.
"I'm okay now." Daniel pushed himself away and sat up, his eyes swollen and red-rimmed, tears still trickling down his flushed face. An occasional hiccupping breath gave lie to his words but Jack ignored it and instead, pushed Daniel off his knees and stood up.
"You sure?" Jack asked. He wanted nothing more than to pick the kid up but this was Daniel and he wasn't sure how that would be taken so he took the nod Daniel gave him at face value then bent, helped Daniel pull on the jeans and did up the small zipper himself. "Crap!" he said, straightening up. "I forgot to buy shoes."
Daniel gave him a watery grin. "Tomorrow," he said, heading for the door. "You can take me back to a different store and this time I'll go in with you and we'll buy the damn shoes, all right?"
"Good idea. So," Jack said, following him out to the kitchen, "I got three kinds of pizza and ice cream as well." He gave Daniel a rueful grin as he passed him by and started opening the pizza boxes. "I wasn't sure which kind you'd want."
"I'm a meat-lover guy, Jack, you know that," Daniel replied, climbing awkwardly up to sit perched on his knees on the chair. "Well, you used to know that."
"Yeah, I know but I just thought... The doc said no caffeine and that got me wondering about other stuff you used to have." Jack sat down at the table and put a slice of meat-lovers on two plates, sliding one across to Daniel.
"Jack, my body might be smaller but I'm still me. Did you stop liking your favorite foods when you were old on Kynthia's planet?"
"They didn't have any of my favorite foods on Kynthia's planet," Jack replied morosely, digging in.
"You liked that marriage cake pretty good," Daniel replied, a mischievous smile lighting his eyes, making him look, Jack realized suddenly, as if he really was five years old.
"Funny," Jack said. "Eat your pizza or I get to eat all the ice cream."
~oOo~
Daniel had crashed out on the couch watching Simpsons reruns by the time Jack had cleaned up the kitchen. Jack thought momentarily about waking him up and sending him off to bed but then deciding he'd rather get him between the covers while he was still asleep, he'd picked him up and carried him there instead.
Daniel had barely moved as Jack slid him beneath the blankets and pulled them up to his chin. He'd rolled onto his side and sighed heavily and stayed asleep, much to Jack's fervent, though silent, thanks.
Jack stood watching him for a moment. He was still having trouble getting his head around the fact that this cherubic-looking five year old was Daniel Jackson, multiple PhD holder, archeologist/linguist, and Jack O'Neill's best friend. The doubts were dispelled every time the kid opened his mouth though. No matter his external appearance, Daniel Jackson, the adult, was still alive and present inside that small body, Jack had no doubt, and ample proof of that. Eventually, convinced Daniel was down for the count, Jack crept from the room and into his own.
~oOo~
There was a weird kind of wailing inside Jack's head, pulling him from a deep and restful slumber. Groaning, he yanked the pillow over his head. When the wailing seemed to increase in pitch, he tossed the pillow aside and sat up, trying to focus on where it was coming from. Dammit! He swore as realization crashed in and he recognized the sound as that of a child in distress.
By the time he'd pulled on his robe and made it to the guest room, the wailing had given way to retching sounds. Jack was pretty sure he preferred the former. Crying he could deal with, puking he wasn't so sure about.
Daniel was crouched in the middle of the bed, head down on the mattress, just shy of a pile of regurgitated meatlovers with everything pizza. He looked pale green, sweat was trickling down his face, and he was alternately panting and groaning.
"Dammit, Daniel!" Jack ran to the bed and lifted Daniel out of the mess by dint of wrapping an arm around his middle and hefting him up. The kid didn't weigh much and Jack was able to keep him more or less at arms-length as he carried him into the adjoining bathroom. There, he placed him on shaky legs and held him there with one hand while he ran the bath with the other. "Do you feel like you're gonna throw up again?" he asked.
Daniel shook his head then gulped and turned clumsily towards the toilet, barely lifting the lid in time.
Jack knelt behind him, rubbing soothing circles over his back till Daniel flopped back, obviously exhausted, into his lap.
"Hate this," Daniel muttered.
"Not too fond of it myself, buddy," Jack murmured. "Let's get you in the tub, okay?"
Daniel nodded wearily and allowed himself to be divested of his clothes then lifted over the side into the warm water.
Jack felt his forehead with the back of his hand. "You feel a little warm," he noted worriedly.
"I've just upchucked most of my stomach, Jack. Of course I'm a little overheated," Daniel replied grumpily, pulling away from his hand.
"Right. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let you eat all that crap," Jack said, handing Daniel the washer and watching as he rubbed it desultorily over his body.
"Guess Janet was right," Daniel said sadly. "My body really can't handle the stuff I liked as an adult. I don't get it, Jack. In here," he tapped at his temple, "I feel the same as I did yesterday when I was 6 feet tall."
"I guess there's a differentiation between your adult mind and your child physiology," Jack replied. He smacked the back of Daniel's head gently as Daniel let his mouth drop open in mock-shock. "Hey, I read," he said.
"Yeah, I know and you're probably right." Daniel yawned, showing tiny white teeth.
Jack shoved a toothbrush laden with toothpaste at him first. "Sorry, your breath kinda reeks," he said apologetically, watching as Daniel scrubbed clumsily at his teeth with the over-sized brush then rinsed with a handful of bathwater. "Want to go back to bed?" he asked.
"Yeah." Daniel yawned again. "I'm tired."
"Me too." Jack levered himself up off his complaining knees and lifted Daniel out, wrapping him in a bath towel. "Might be just as well that I bought more clothes than I planned if you're thinking of doing this every night," he murmured, ushering Daniel toward the bedroom.
"Maybe I'll just stick to hotdogs and fries from now on," Daniel said. He stopped in the doorway, staring at the bed.
"Yeeeah," Jack drawled. "How about you sleep with me tonight..." He stopped, unsure how that sounded, now that Daniel was 3 feet tall rather than 6 feet tall. "Or I could sleep on the couch."
"Not like we haven't shared a bed before," Daniel murmured, sounding exhausted, his voice still raspy from throwing up.
"That was-"
"Before I turned into a first grader, I know. Jack, we're both exhausted. Let's just get some sleep." Daniel turned and headed for Jack's room.
"I'll just throw this stuff in the washer. You get into bed," Jack called after him.
An hour and a load of washing and drying later, Jack called it quits for the night or what was left of it. There was an icky-looking wet patch on the mattress of the spare bed but Jack figured it would dry out by morning. He'd spray it with some Febreze and it'd recover well enough. Unlike Daniel, he thought, as he crept into his bedroom and looked down at the small lump Daniel's new body made beneath the sheets. Damn! He looked so normal lying there asleep that Jack couldn't help but run a tentative hand over the warm skin of his forehead, brushing the bangs out of his eyes.
Daniel moved a little but didn't wake and Jack lay down cautiously next to him. He rolled to his side so he faced Daniel and then just watched him sleep till he drifted off himself.
~oOo~
There was something hot and damp burrowed up to Jack's side and he shoved it away, toeing down the bedcovers as he did so. A thump and a wail brought him instantly awake and he sat up in alarm, peering around the room. Nothing seemed amiss... except for the dent in the pillow next to him where a small head had lain the night before. "Crap! Daniel? You okay?"
Jack looked over the side of the bed to see his small archeologist sitting up on the floor, rubbing at a red mark on his cheek. Tears spilled over from Daniel's wide eyes and Jack rolled across the bed and dropped to his knees beside him.
"I'm sorry, buddy. I forgot you were there. You okay?"
Daniel nodded, biting down hard enough on his lower lip to leave small indentations in the skin.
"I'll get an icepack," Jack said, starting to stand up.
A small hand grasped at his knee and tugged. "Take me with you," Daniel said, his eyes now darting frantically around the shadowed room.
"I'll just be a second," Jack said firmly, peeling Daniel's sweaty palm off his knee.
Daniel nodded jerkily and released him abruptly then sat, head down, the fingers of one hand pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Hey," Jack said, kneeling down again, "you got a headache? You didn't get knocked out, did you?"
Daniel shook his head then winced and lifted his hand from his nose to rub at the mark on his face again. "Tylenol?" he said.
"Yeah, sure, coming right up. Just wait here, okay? I'll be right back."
"Okay. Sorry for freaking out just now. I suddenly looked down at my legs and everything went kinda weird for a minute," Daniel murmured.
"No problem. Understandable." Jack touched Daniel's hair gently then stood up again and ran for the kitchen. He re-entered the bedroom a few minutes later with a bottle of Tylenol, a bottle of water, and the icepack wrapped in a dishtowel.
Daniel was still where Jack had left him, his head pillowed on his upraised knees.
"Here," Jack said as he knelt next to him and handed over the Tylenol and the water.
Daniel spluttered a little swallowing the pills and Jack cursed himself for not getting liquid Tylenol on their way home. It would have been easier for his smaller throat to swallow- "Crap!" Jack exclaimed. He pulled the water bottle from Daniel's hand and then picked him up under his arm and carried him hurriedly into the bathroom.
"What's wrong?" Daniel shouted, obviously unnerved by Jack's reaction.
"Daniel, I'm sorry." Jack deposited his friend in front of the toilet bowl. "You need to throw up again."
Daniel looked at him as if he'd suddenly gone stark raving bonkers and Jack supposed it had to seem that way. ""No, I don't," Daniel said. "Done enough puking to last me both my lifetimes."
"I gave you adult Tylenol," Jack explained as patiently as he could, given that his heart was drumming twice as many beats per minute as it should. "Two adult tablets," he added. "Just lean forward and let me stick my fingers in your mouth-"
"No way!" Daniel said, clamping his lips tightly shut. "'m fine," he mumbled through clenched teeth.
"You're fine now," Jack said, "but you won't be in an hour or so. Too much Tylenol can kill little kids." He thrust back the memory of another dead child and grabbed for Daniel's shoulder.
"Stop it!" Daniel yelled, managing to twist away. "I'm not a kid and I'm not going to die from Tylenol." He backed up so he was edged into the corner between the toilet and the basin. "You aren't going to make me throw up again."
"Danny, come on. It was my fault. I should have thought about it," Jack said pleadingly, apologetically.
"No! Get out!" Daniel screamed and Jack watched as his eyes dampened and then large teardrops began to trickle down his cheeks. "Leave me alone, please, Jack. Just get out and leave me alone!" He turned away then and raised his arms against the wall, burying his face in them as his shoulders shook with sobs.
"Daniel," Jack murmured. He stood and reached a hand out to Daniel's shoulder but it was shrugged off. "I'll be back in a minute," he said finally, leaving the room.
In the kitchen, Jack leaned against the fridge and let the coolness soothe the hammering headache that had taken up residence above his eyes. His entire head felt as if it was encased in a rubber band that was gradually choking off all coherent thought. He turned his head sideways, keeping contact with the cold surface and looked longingly at the phone. Just one call, that's all it would take. He'd call the doc, tell her about how monumentally he'd screwed up and Daniel would be gone, out of here, safe... A tug at his pants leg got him to look down into Daniel's tear-stained face.
"I'm okay," Daniel said somberly. "Call Janet if it'll make you feel better but I'm really fine."
Jack turned and slipped down onto his knees so he could be on Daniel's eye-level. "I'm sorry," he said, "I've screwed up ever since this happened. Daniel, if anything happened to you because of me... I'm not good at kid stuff... Even with Charlie, before he died, I was a lousy dad-"
Daniel's small hand covered Jack's mouth. "No," he said, "you were a great dad. You loved him. And you're doing great with me, Jack. Call Janet, let her tell you a couple of Tyelenol won't kill me then let's go back to bed." He yawned and leaned forward, resting his head on Jack's chest. "Nowhere I want to be but here, okay?"
Jack blinked back the burning in his eyes that was threatening to spill over into tears and gathered Daniel close, scooping him up as he stood. "Okay. Let me call Janet first."
He made the call and listened to Janet's tired but patient reassurances then hung up the phone and headed to his bedroom, a half-asleep Daniel still in his arms.
"Told you," Daniel murmured as Jack tucked him beneath the covers then crawled in beside him.
Jack rolled to his back and rubbed at his eyes. "You sure about this, Daniel?" he asked. "I'll probably get stuff more wrong than right."
Daniel rolled toward him and tucked himself against Jack's side, a small, welcome reminder that no matter what else had happened, Daniel was alive and that was what mattered most of all.
"I'm sure," Daniel said, his voice verging on sleep. "If we do get it wrong, we'll be getting it wrong together, just like always."
"Yeah," Jack whispered. "Just like always."
The End