The battlefield was one with which they were eminently familiar, yet they had made sure there were no surprises laying in wait. Fortunately, one of their number had the ability to blend in with the local population and had done several reconnaissance missions. Their plan of attack was carefully mapped out so as to minimize wasted time and limit contact with potentially dangerous distractions.

Now all they had to worry about was dissent from within the ranks.

"Sam, what are we doing at the mall?"

Major Samantha Carter looked to the rearview and met the bewildered eyes of Doctor Daniel Jackson, her friend and team mate, who was sitting in the back seat. Beside him Cassie Fraser was trying to hide her triumphant smirk. It had been the teen's cajoling that had gotten Daniel into the car early on a Saturday morning without telling him where they were going. She had simply pouted at him and told him not to spoil the surprise.

From the front passenger seat, Dr. Janet Fraser spoke up. "Daniel, there are some occasions in life when a pair of BDU's are not going to cut it."

Since returning to their corporeal plane of existence, after being ascended for a year, Daniel hadn't cared enough to go shopping for new clothes, which he really did need. True, the SGC provided him with BDU's in a variety of colors, but as Janet said, he needed other clothes as well.

What they all agreed upon was that Daniel had a distinct lack of good clothing in his wardrobe. The one he had possessed pre-ascension, that is. In all honesty, most of his old stuff was sitting in boxes in Jack's garage, but they had convinced the colonel not to mention that fact to Daniel just yet, as they were hoping to stage a fashion intervention.

When he had ascended, Sam, Janet and Cassie had helped pack up his things and thus knew quite well the hideousness of his style. Pleated pants, lots of ugly plaid shirts, tweed jackets, everything seemingly a size or two too big for him. The only descent things he had were a pair of old jeans and a nice suit, but Sam had actually helped him select the suit, so that didn't count.

So, Daniel needed new clothes and the three of them were going to pick them for him. Honestly, the man was gorgeous, but if he dressed like your senile, half blind grandpa…well, actually, Daniel still got noticed, but it couldn't hurt to find him some decent clothes that actually fit.

"Oh." A typical, un-enthusiastic male response when faced with the prospect of shopping. He looked out at the looming building and around at the rapidly filling parking lot. "I could have just ordered things online."

"But you need to try clothes on to see if they fit!" Cassie insisted, full of a teenagers joy at the idea of spending a day at the mall, even if it was shopping for Uncle Daniel instead of herself. Then again, at some point during puberty, Cassie had realized Geeky Uncle Daniel was actually Hot Uncle Daniel, so she probably was looking forward to seeing him in some nice clothes.

So was Sam actually and she knew Janet agreed with her.

"I know what size I take," Daniel mumbled , causing Sam and Janet to turn around in their seats and stare at him in disbelief. He settled back into his seat under the weight of six incredulous eyes, but continued, "More or less."

"It's the more that worries us," Sam told him, removing the key from the engine. "Seriously, Daniel, you could fit a whole other person in some of your old clothes. While you were wearing them."

"And not in the fun way," Cassie muttered off handedly, causing all three adults to swing around to stare at her.

"What?!" they chorused together, which in turn made the teenager laugh.

Cassie smirked at them. "Geeze, take a joke. We need to get going. The doors are opening soon!"

At least Cassie's little statement had distracted Daniel enough that the fight left him and he followed them docilely into the Mall. Victory for their team…but they were so having a chat with Cassie later.

TBC....