A Tale Of Two Puppies
By
Annie
Jack O'Neill had decided that he'd do his utmost to give Daniel Jackson a normal life. Well… as normal as life could be when you were a 30 something archeologist on the inside and a five year old boy on the outside. That didn't mean Jack didn't worry but then he'd always worried about Daniel, regardless of whether he was big or small. It kind of went with the job of being Daniel's best friend. The trouble was that wanting to give the kid a normal life tended to war heavily with the worrying about Daniel part and Jack often felt he'd come down on one side of the scales or the other too heavily ever since Daniel had been downsized. It was a thin line to walk and Jack wasn't real good at tightrope walking. So now he looked down at his small archeologist and tried on a frown for size.
"You know I want you to feel you can be independent, Daniel, within reason, but this could be kind of dangerous, don't you think?" he asked.
"Jack, I'm not really five," Daniel began then added a frown of his own as Jack rolled his eyes. "Stop tuning me out," Daniel said loudly. "I know we've gone through this before but this time it's really important to me."
"They're ruins, Daniel," Jack said patiently. "You said yourself they've been there for millennia. Another twenty five years or so till you're actually thirty inside and out won't matter. They'll still be there and they'll still be really old."
"I want to do this," Daniel replied mulishly, the set to his chin as familiar in this pint-sized version as it had been when he was older. "This is the only time we can go. Sam said the atmosphere will become pretty much unbreathable in a month or so."
"But I can't go now," Jack said, trying for reasonable. "Why not wait till I'm free and then we'll go find some other ruins for you to poke around in."
"Because they won't be these ruins," Daniel replied, just as reasonably, Jack supposed.
Jack shook his head slowly then ran a hand through his hair. "You know I had brown hair till I met you, don't you?" he asked rhetorically. "Look, there's no way General Hammond is going to agree to it and I don't blame him so I'm not going to argue with you about it anymore."
"This sucks," Daniel snapped. "All of it. Why couldn't it have been you that got turned into a kid instead of me?"
"Because I wasn't stupid enough to touch something I shouldn't have touched," Jack snapped back then bit down on his tongue at the stricken look in Daniel's eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."
"Yes, you did," Daniel replied sullenly. "I know it bugs the hell out of you having to look after me. It's not like you wanted another kid. I don't know why you didn't just put me in a foster home till I grew up again. It's not like I'm not used to that."
"Oy," Jack muttered under his breath then added, "Climb down off the cross, Daniel. Someone else needs the wood. I didn't put you into foster care because you didn't want me to."
"See!" Daniel shouted triumphantly. "*You* didn't want to take me. You only did it because I wanted to you to."
"Isn't that what friends do?" Jack asked softly. He sighed and looked at his watch. "It's really late. Go to bed. Get some sleep. We'll work out somewhere else you can go, *with me*, later."
"Fine." Daniel stormed to the door, opened it then turned and slammed it behind him as hard as he could on his way out.
Jack shuddered at the echoing crash then rubbed his fingers over his temples. "Crap," he whispered. He'd known this wouldn't be easy, raising a child who still had the memories of being an adult. The trouble was he wasn't sure he was exactly good father material anyway, had said as much to Hammond and Fraiser when they'd suggested he take Daniel home with him. That being said, there was a part of him that wanted to do it as much as they told him he should. He'd wanted a second chance at fatherhood and he'd wanted to do this for Daniel, his best friend no matter what form he currently happened to be occupying.
He walked over to the drinks cabinet and poured himself a stiff Scotch. Sometimes beer just didn't cut it.
~oOo~
Daniel threw himself onto his bed and rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. It just wasn't fair and as much as he knew how childish that sounded, right now the kid part of him had the upper hand and he wasn't really sure he wanted to quash it. There were times when it was kind of good to be a kid and be able to get mad about the unfairness of life and act immaturely and have people act as though that's what they expected you to do. He did feel a little bad about the words he'd thrown at Jack though. He knew Jack was his friend, the best friend he'd ever had in his life. He knew too that no matter how Jack may not have wanted to take responsibility for him, it was that very friendship that had made him do just that. Still, it sucked the big one, all right. Maybe for both of them.
He got up and went across to his desk and opened his laptop. Jack had told him to go to bed but he was antsy and pissy still so he sat down and opened up the report on the ruins he'd wanted so much to visit. Even a few minutes of looking at the photographs the MALP had sent back sent a twinge of longing through him that just darkened his mood further so he closed his computer down and went to sit up in the window seat to try to clear his mind.
It was a cool, still night outside. Not cold by Colorado Springs standards but enough that when he opened the window he quickly scurried down again and went to his closet and grabbed his jacket. Finally, bolstered against the chill he climbed back up and looked out at the stars. Just seeing them there, ever present, as they'd been for millennia and would still be by the time he either grew up again or his condition was reversed brought some small peace. He decided then and there that from now on he'd do his best to cooperate with Jack, to understand that he was only trying to do the best he could for him.
A faint bark caught his attention and he looked down to where the sound had come from. A raggedy coated dog, ribs showing through its mangy fur, looked up at him from where it was sitting on the ground below his window.
"Hey there, pup," he called, opening the window further so he could get a better look at his newfound friend.
The dog howled mournfully at him then stood up and started to limp away.
"Come back here," Daniel called as loudly as he dared. He gave momentary thought to calling for Jack to come see but then he decided this was the perfect opportunity to show Jack just how independent he could be. All thoughts of cooperating with Jack fled his mind as he grabbed his penknife off the desk, his flashlight from the drawer, and his backpack from the hook on the back of the door. Nimbly he jimmied open the screen. Within minutes he was on the ground and following along behind the dog.
Within five minutes he was beginning to rue his impetuosity. Despite his jacket, the wind cut through his clothes and he shivered even as he followed the dog's path. He followed it through some bushes a few houses down from Jack's and found himself in the front yard of a house he'd never really noticed before. It was set back off the sidewalk, its porch obscured from the street by gnarled trees and scrubby bushes. Its windows were dark and the front door hung half-open as if beckoning the unwary or the brave in.
Daniel swallowed hard then turned to run. He might be thirty five on the inside but his five year old self was making itself known now. Every single macabre legend he'd ever learned as an archeologist came to the forefront of his mind and he'd already reached the gate before he heard the dog howl mournfully behind him.
Looking back, his fingers digging into the palms of his hands as he clenched them tightly, he saw the dog watching him. A faint yip caught his attention and he walked nervously back towards the house. "You've got a puppy!" he exclaimed excitedly as he reached the porch and saw a small brown bundle sheltering beneath the dog's belly.
Bending down, he pulled the puppy out and cuddled it beneath his jacket to keep it warm then sure now his work here was done he turned for home only to have the dog grasp his trouser leg between its teeth and hold him fast.
"Hey, it's okay. Your puppy's safe now," Daniel said, trying to extricate his pants leg from the dog's grip.
The dog released him but then, with a mournful huff, turned and trotted into the house, stopping every few steps to look over her shoulder at Daniel.
"What are you? Lassie?" Daniel muttered but he sighed, held the puppy more securely against him and followed the dog inside.
With his flashlight trained on the floor ahead of him, Daniel was able to pick his way across the dim hall to where the mother dog now lay on her belly, her head hanging over the edge of a large hole, where the floorboards had obviously collapsed down into the basement.
"Oh no!" Daniel said as he set down his backpack then peered down into the maw himself.
At the bottom was another puppy. It didn't seem to be injured as it was running back and forth yapping its little head off but it was apparent it was trapped there.
"I'll get Jack!" Daniel said, jumping to his feet. The puppy ensconced beneath his jacket chose that moment, however, to make a break for freedom. Daniel, fearful of it meeting the same fate as its sibling, made a fruitless grab at it but it skittered out of his grasp and sent him stumbling back. There was a stomach-dropping moment of freefall then he landed with a bone crushing thud and the world disappeared.
~oOo~
Jack yawned and stretched then closed down his computer and bid good riddance to the paperwork he'd just completed. There'd been no sight nor sound of Daniel since the boy had stormed up the stairs to his room and Jack couldn't help feeling more than a little relieved by that. He hoped that come morning the argument would be all but forgotten and Daniel would be back to his usual cheerful self. He headed out to check the doors were locked, promising himself that he would try to make time to take Daniel to see his ruins as soon as possible.
A scuffling from the porch outside the front door caught his attention just as he was about to lock the door and curious, he opened it. There on the doorstep sat a dog of dubious breeding, Daniel's small backpack held between its teeth.
"Hey," Jack said, "how'd you get hold of that?" He bent and pulled the bag free, watching as the dog turned and trotted down the steps then sat at the bottom, watching him. "Just leave your stuff lying around where any Tom, Dick or canine can get to it, Daniel," Jack muttered, turning to take the bag upstairs.
Outside Daniel's room, he listened for a moment but hearing no sound from within, he pushed open the door then stopped in surprise. The bed was still made and there was no sign of Daniel.
Jack hurried to the bathroom, calling Daniel's name as he went. Finding no kid in there either, his heart now thumping double time in his chest, he ran through the rest of the house.
Daniel wasn't there, not anywhere. Jack hurried back to the front door. The dog still sat at the bottom of the steps but as soon as he reappeared she trotted off, stopping every few steps to look over her shoulder imploringly at him as if begging him to follow.
"Oh for crying out loud," Jack said. Quickly returning to the kitchen, he grabbed his jacket off the hook, a flashlight from the drawer, and made sure his cell phone was in his pocket. "Who the hell are you? Lassie?" he asked the dog as he hurried down the steps and followed her.
~oOo~
"Well, hello there, Dr. Jackson, it's good to have you back with us."
Daniel groaned and put a hand up to his aching head. "Why are you shouting?" he whispered plaintively.
"I'm not," Dr. Fraiser said brightly as she ruffled his hair gently. You just have a bad headache from the concussion you gave yourself falling into that hole."
Daniel closed his eyes again and wished himself anywhere but in the SGC infirmary. Cracking his eyelids open slightly, he looked around. No such luck. He was still there. "Crap," he muttered. "Jack's gonna kill me, isn't he?"
"Don't be silly," Janet said with a broad grin. "I won't let him do that. Not until you're fully recovered anyway." She shook her head at him then helped him sit up against the pillows. "You're very lucky you only got a concussion," she said. The colonel said it was quite a drop. He's waiting outside, by the way. Shall I send him in?"
Daniel seriously considered saying no but then nodded. He'd have to face the music sometime. "Sure," he said. "Just tell him to yell at me quietly, okay?"
Daniel wasn't sure what he expected when Jack walked in but it sure as hell wasn't seeing Jack enter the room with a puppy in each arm and Daniel's newest canine friend leading the way.
"They're okay?" Daniel asked, forgetting his headache in sheer relief at seeing the pups alive.
"They're fine," Jack said. He put the puppies on the bed and let Daniel pet them. "What the hell did you think you were doing?" he asked sternly.
"Did Janet tell you I have a really bad headache?" Daniel asked, hoping he looked pale and suffering.
"You're just lucky you're not really five years old or it wouldn't be your head you'd be worrying about," Jack replied gruffly. He pulled Daniel into a hug. "Don't you ever scare me like that again," he murmured into Daniel's ear.
"I won't. I promise. I'm sorry." Daniel leaned over the side of the bed and patted the mother dog's head. "Thanks for helping me," he said. He looked up at Jack. "She went and got you, didn't she? That's how she got me to try to help her puppy. Her name must be-"
"Lassie," Jack interjected then grinned. "So, you want to keep one of these puppies? I gotta tell ya, you'll need to be quick. Half the SGC's lining up to adopt them."
"Really?" Daniel smiled back then picked up each puppy in turn and looked into its face then down at 'Lassie' sitting next to the bed. "How about we keep Lassie?" he said. "Let someone else adopt the puppies."
"You sure?" Jack asked.
"Yep. Puppies are a lot of work. Lassie almost takes care of herself. Besides, she's smart, Jack, and she deserves a good home."
"Okay. We're still gonna talk about this when you get out of here," Jack said.
"I know."
"Look, I've freed up some time on my calendar and we'll go take a look at those ruins next week if the doc says you're good to go," Jack added.
Daniel felt as if his smile might split his face. "Thanks, Jack! Can we take Lassie?"
"Oy!"
The end!