Part IV
Summer's End
He knew what it's like to love someone. Knew what it's like having to leave someone he loved behind. That it tore your heart out and left you frozen in your very own hell for a very long time.
I
The little boy wasn't happy about his second encounter with soap and – Masala insisted on it - a bath brush to scrub off the soot and ash.
Thinking he was getting out of dealing with it this time around, Jack had readily taken Masala up on her offer to clean the ash-monster. After all, Jorge hadn't been wrong. Tending to the feedings and maintenance of the young was usually a woman's job, so he hadn't felt obligated to deny her the 'joy' of bathing young Danny. And Danny had allowed Hadis' daughter to take him to the bathroom without any argument.
Things were going smoothly.
Or so he'd thought.
He'd sipped the apple tea Paolo brought him and had been about to annoy Hadis a little by distracting him from his inventory with silly jokes, when the earsplitting wails had started, making him cringe and almost drop his glass of tea.
Hadis stopped writing numbers onto his notepad, the pencil hovering over the paper. "What in heaven's name is she doing to your child?"
"I guess he spotted the soap," Jack said dryly.
Hadis let out a rumbling laugh. "Ahh, I see! She will handle it. She has bathed all her younger brothers."
Jack nodded. He wasn't going to interfere. The bug had to get used to the concept of water and soap.
"Jaaaa-aaaa-aaaack!"
He was up and running, the tea glass tumbling from his hands, and bursting through the curtains that parted the bathroom from the shop's storage area. He was already feeling like an idiot when he came to a dead halt in the middle of the room, heart racing in his chest.
There was Danny standing in the tin tub, red- and teary-faced, with both hands covering his private parts – but in one piece and unharmed. Masala was by his side, holding the soap in one hand and the brush in the other, frozen in place, either by Danny's outburst or Jack storming into the room as if he wanted to shoot someone.
"She caaaan't wash me! She's a wo – o - man," Danny howled, his tears leaving white streaks in his gray face.
Oh. Joy. A mortified four year old?
Jack took a calming breath and Masala lowered her hands and shook her head. "Danny, I have washed many little boys and there's really nothing I haven't seen before," she said kindly.
"Noo-oo-ooo!"
Jack sighed. "It's okay. I'll do it."
She raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Are you sure? He is very dirty. He needs a proper bath. Have you ever done this before?"
"I think I'm capable of giving him a bath without drowning him," Jack said dryly.
"Oh." She handed him the brush and put the soap on the small table by the tub. "I will go back to assisting my father. If you need anything, let me know. There is water in the buckets on the stove. It should be warm by now. A towel is hanging over there by the doorway." With that she hurried out.
Jack went to the coal stove and dipped a hand into one of the buckets. The water was nice and tepid. He put the brush down and picked up the bucket. When he turned around to Danny, the still sniffling boy was blushing all over and looking at his feet. But he had stopped covering himself and was rubbing his eyes with both hands. "She said she was gonna wash me. And she can't. She's not my mom. And not my wife..."
"Your wife?" Jack raised one eyebrow.
Danny sniffled. "She's not. And... and... She just can't." Then he looked up and pleading eyes were raised at Jack, asking for understanding.
He placed the full bucket by the tub and crouched to be on eye level with the bug. "Okay, it's okay," he said quickly to avoid another burst of tears. "Will you allow me to help?"
Danny wiped his nose with the heel of his hand and hiccupped. "I guess. At least you're a guy like me." He sighed. "But I used to do this all alone. I can wash myself, you know? Even though I'm as small as a mouse now."
Wondering if this had been at least part of the issue in the shower as well, Jack suggested, "Why don't you just sit down and wash yourself. If you need help, let me know." He spotted a small sponge on the table and handed it to the child.
Danny blinked owlishly at him, then nodded and plopped down on his bottom. "Oh, okay."
Jack poured the warm water in, which immediately turned black when Danny started to rub his arms and belly with the sponge. "Oy. I bet you'd rather have the shower now," Jack muttered. "There's a plug somewhere. Can you pull it?" He quickly placed the empty bucket under the drain.
"Found it," Danny pulled the plug, then watched with fascination as the dirty water ran from the tub.
"Put it back in. Really stuff it in so it's stuck," Jack said when the tub was empty. When Danny announced it was done, Jack checked to make sure there wouldn't be any flooding, then he re-filled the tub from the other bucket, satisfied when the fresh water turned only slightly gray.
"Now that's better." He handed Danny the soap. "Run it over your arms and chest and everywhere and I'll wash your back if that's okay. I don't think we'll need that ugly ole brush."
"This is hard soap," Danny observed, trying not to let the bar slip through his wet hands as he began washing himself. "You gots soap in a tube."
"Yep, I've got the good stuff you can use for everything. This is dish soap, actually."
"But I'm not a dish." A small giggle arose and Jack could almost literally see the black cloud moving away from Danny's head.
"It'll get ya clean just fine. Don't forget scrubbing your feet."
"And the toes-ies."
"And the toes-ies." After a while Jack took the sponge and ran it gently up and down Danny's small back, washing off more dirt. He noticed how tanned the former lily-white skin had become in just a couple of days.
"Jack?"
"Yes, Danny?"
"Do you think Masala still likes me?" A crease of worry appeared on the small brow. "I yelled REAL loud."
"I'm sure she still likes you. It was a... uh... misunderstanding. You had me thinking someone was trying to kidnap you right outta the tub."
Danny stopped playing with his toes and looked up at Jack and those brilliant blue eyes said I'm sorry. Aloud he said, "Do we haveta wash my hair?"
Jack sighed. "I'm afraid so"
Danny patted his hair, which had taken on a kind of shaggy-ash-blond color. "Can't we just brush it out? I promise to take a shower when we get back to the beach tonight. You can help me wash it there. I promise I won't yell at you."
"Actually, we're going to sleep at the ruins tonight." Jack hadn't thought about how to tell Danny about their dinner guest, yet. He didn't want another tantrum right away so he hoped he could just slip it in later. He ruffled Danny's hair and decided to compromise. "Let me brush it out, but then you might have to wash your face again."
"Okay. Sleeping at the ruins? Really? At the theater?"
Jack looked around for a comb, but he only had the bath brush at hand. He shrugged and carefully brushed Danny's short hair. To his relief most of the ash came out. "Sure, if you like that."
"Can we go into the tunnels? The catacombs? Under the theater? Please? Can we?" Danny scrubbed his face with the sponge again, squeezing his eyes tightly shut to keep the soap out of them.
"Not tonight. I don't have kerosene up there anymore, just candles. We'd have to buy some from Hadis so we can light the lamps inside."
"We could buy some today," Danny suggested.
"Nope, not today. I don't have enough money with me." Jack had most of his saved cash stashed away at the barn and he needed the couple of taler he carried with him for the bottle of red wine he wanted to contribute to dinner. And some juice for the short stuff.
Danny stood and looked down at himself. "All squeaky clean."
Jack bit back a chuckle. He wouldn't exactly call it squeaky clean, but at least the kid didn't look like a chimney sweeper anymore. He got the large towel and wrapped the bug in it, then lifted him out of the tub and put him on his feet. With joint effort Danny was dry in no time and dressed in his former pumpkin-colored shirt, which was now mouse-colored. Masala had beaten as much of the ash out of Danny's clothes as possible earlier, but shirt and pants were in bad need of a washing.
Maybe he needs another set of clothes, Jack thought wearily. Not today, though. Today he had to make do with what he had and wear his mouse-colored clothes.
Danny didn't mind anyway. He had other worries. When they left the bathroom and found Masala and Hadis in the storage area, jotting down their numbers, he got shy all of a sudden and hid behind Jack's leg, both arms wrapped tightly around it.
"Hey, guys, thanks for letting us use the bathroom. We tried not to make too much of a mess in there," Jack said.
Masala, who was thumbing through a pile of white t-shirts, paused and smiled. "I will take care of that, don't worry. Danny, are you all clean now. honey?"
Jack could feel the nod against his leg. He reached down and scooped him up. Danny put his thumb into his mouth and knuckled his left eye with the other hand.
"Squeaky clean. For the most part," Jack said. "And I think he lost his voice from all that yelling he did."
"I di'n'." Danny quickly pulled the thumb from his mouth. "I'm sorry I yelled so loud. Jack thought I was kidnapped." Brightening at the thought he added. "He came in there real fast! Like lightning! He almost fell into the tub!" Danny patted Jack's shoulder. "That was funny."
Jack snorted. "Glad I could cheer you up, kiddo."
Masala chuckled. "I bet no one will ever dare to kidnap you. You are going to yell them into deafness and Jack will beat them off."
"We are a good team, Jack'n me," Danny said happily, all troubles forgotten.
"Yes, you are," the young woman agreed, giving Jack such a sweet, devoted smile that he felt the urge to run out of the shop and not slow down until he'd reached the ruins.
"Better be on your way before the mule leaves more droppings at the entrance," Hadis grumbled. "He's scaring away customers. He has also tried to eat the Ba'th tote bags hanging outside."
"Yeah. We're," Jack hitched a giggling Danny higher, "outta here. It's getting late and we need to hurry if we want to do one or two tours today. Thanks again."
"Byeee!" Danny waved and Masala waved back, still with that smile. Her whole face seemed to be alight with it.
Jack quickly hightailed it out of there.
Thor was waiting for them, dozing in the afternoon sun. Hadis had watered him and the mule had slobbered all over the ground by the door. Jack untied him and they made their way down the bazaar alleys until they reached the market road. They stopped at a street vendor who had a table stacked with wine bottles and other beverages.
The man immediately offered Jack three different kinds of wine – the cheap brands since it was clear Jack wasn't a tourist nor a wealthy man. He chose a dry spring wine from the local vineyards and a bottle of orange juice for Danny.
"What's that for?" Danny asked when Jack had paid and stashed the bottles in one of the two leather bags at Thor's side.
"For dinner."
"Oh, that's good! I love red wine."
Jack was about to inform his sidekick that he wasn't going to get any wine when Danny tugged at his shirt. "Can I ride?"
"In a minute. We just need... aha." He led the mule to a white washed stone wall in front of a café. "Up you go." He swung Danny up and helped him to sit on the wall, then he mounted the mule and Danny held out both arms to be picked up and seated in front of Jack.
Just then the cafè owner came barging out the door, waving and yelling at them not to trespass on his property and to get lost.
Laughing, Jack clicked his tongue and Thor fell into a soft trot.
Nestled securely against Jack, Danny held on to the mane with both hands. "This is fun! Fu-un! Can we go faster?"
"Not on the cobbles. But we can go faster once we are on softer ground," Jack promised. "We have to be careful though. Don't want to break the bottles."
They slowed down when they reached the mountain road and had to keep an eye out for people hiking up to or down from the ruins or looking at the yard shop displays.
Against his will Jack's thoughts circled around Masala and that look she'd given him before they left. Two days ago he had been sure she'd finally gotten over that crush on him. But today something had happened – and Jack had no idea what exactly that was – that seemed to have made it even worse instead.
No woman had ever smiled at him like that. She was a beautiful girl and smart on top of it. He should be flattered. Instead he felt more like freaking. And it wasn't so much about his tendency of liking guys. He'd been with, and enjoyed the company of women, too. But he wasn't up for the kind of commitment Masala was looking for. She just wasn't for him. And it was probably time to frankly tell her so even if it hurt her. She'd be better off in the long run.
Maybe he should leave for a while and return next season. She'd be long over him by then and hopefully have found a husband. He could do that. Find a new location. Get on the road. He could take the kid and the mule and go west. Or north. Or he could leave the mule with Hadis and hop on a train. Him and Danny. Jack was sure the kid would love riding the train with its steam engine.
Somewhat bemused he realized that the thought of a serious relationship and settling down was more scary than keeping the little guy for good.
They left the town's border behind and when they reached the top of the mountain and the road, deserted for the moment, evened out before them, Jack reined Thor onto the grass verge and tightened his arm around Danny.
"You ready for a run, kiddo?"
"Yes yes yes!"
"I've got ya, but hold on to the mane real tight. Don't worry, you won't hurt him. Try keeping your legs still and go with the movement."
"Okay!"
He clicked his tongue and squeezed with his legs to spur Thor into a fast trod and then into a light canter. The mule shook his head and bucked half-heartedly, but Jack was prepared for that and just kept urging him on until he complied and they were galloping alongside the road. The bottles in the bag behind Jack's legs gave a low clinking sound.
Danny threw his head back against Jack's chest and looked up at him with sparkling eyes, all happy and carefree, as they both laughed and yelled, "Yeeee-hawww!" and "Woohoo!"
They kept going until Jack spotted traffic ahead of them and curbed Thor to a trot and then to walk. The mule fell back into his leisurely gait immediately.
Danny leaned forward on Thor's neck, hugging him. "That was lots and lots of fun! Thank you, Thor."
Jack could have sworn the mule's ears came up a notch.
ooo
An hour later he sat on the upper stone tier, gnawing on a blade of grass, as he watched the kids playing war down in the arena. They were fighting with wooden stick weapons. Roars of battle cries and whoops of victory echoed through the theater if one of them went down. They'd attack each other, roll over on the ground, then jump back to their feet and start it all over again.
The tourists loved these kind of shows and the kids had fun. Today it was Mikele and some of his friends from his kickball team who had been hanging out here, waiting for Jack. They didn't do this every day, only when their other obligations permitted it. But they knew Jack guided tours in the afternoons and they had developed some kind of fight-game routine to entertain people and make some extra money.
Today they performed the rebellion of the Sinners against their gods.
The 'gods' wore capes, made from old bedsheets probably stolen from their mothers' laundry lines. The Sinners were adorned with headbands of crow feathers and squiggles drawn on their foreheads with charcoal or white chalk. Like they had seen it on some of the pictographs.
Danny had taught them a new battle cry earlier and they had picked it up and were practicing it now.
"Tal Shakka Mel!" echoed through the ruins over and over again.
I die free.
Danny had translated it for Jack and the tourists. "The Jaffa use it when they battle their gods for freedom. It means that even if they die fighting, they die free and not as slaves."
"What is a Jaffa?" one of the customers had asked.
"A Sinner," Jack had provided without hesitation. "That's what they call themselves. Jaffa." And he knew he'd been right even before Danny confirmed it.
It was time to get his group moving and to remind Mikele he had a pottery job waiting for him.
He got to his feet and looked for Danny who had been cheering on the 'Jaffa' a while ago. When he couldn't find the little guy right away and didn't spot him anywhere on the tiers or down by the games, Jack cursed under his breath and made his way to the arena. Watching a bag of fleas was easier than keeping an eye on that kid.
Following a hunch, he turned left on one of the lower tiers. He rounded the arena halfway until he reached a dark doorway. This used to be the entrance and exit for the jury who had seats with the best view. The jury, according to Jack's guide book, started and ended each gladiator game and called out the winner. They could enter and leave the theater through a small tunnel. There was a similar entrance further up the tiers for the gods and goddesses and other important guests. The tunnels led through ramparts to several exits outside the theater. Some were caved in, some weren't.
However, the tunnels were also connected with the catacombs underground where the Sinners... Jaffa... had waited for the games to begin. There was a labyrinth of small cells and alleys down there and it was easy to get lost in the dark. Not even Jack had mapped out the whole tunnel system.
As he got closer, excited small voices carried out to him from inside the tunnel.
"We thlept hewe when we thaw you comin' fwom the thky."
"It was a really bright light and it rained down like white fire."
"Was there someone else?" Danny asked. "Someone bigger than me? 'cause I'm missing someone."
"Nooo, there wath juth you. Why?"
"There's another me up there. But I can't find him. I thought maybe he came down, too."
Jack stopped, one hand pressed against the rough stone wall by the entrance to ground himself against the impact Danny's words might have on him. And here it came. He was thrown into another of these delusions. So real as if it was happening right here and now...
...He was in the gate room. Everything was bathed in that weird glow. Oma was floating away through the open gate, leaving them to say their goodbyes.
Jack wanted to grab his shoulders and order him to stay. He couldn't lose him. Couldn't even imagine what it would be like to go through the gate without Daniel by his side. He felt words burning in his throat; words he should have said a long time ago. Words he couldn't have said. Couldn't say even now.
Daniel looked at him and his eyes had never been this blue before, never this intense. Jack saw traces of regret and an echo of the old pain he'd caused in both of them. But he could also the dawn of a beginning, the hope for peace. The will to cut old ties and embrace new challenges. Jack saw all that in Daniel's eyes and he knew he had to let him go.
He had no right to make demands. No right to order him to stay and give Jacob another go at healing him.
"So, what? See you around?" It was all Jack managed to say. Because if he asked Daniel to stay, Daniel would ask why. And Jack couldn't tell him. Not anymore. That ship had sailed. He should have told him a long time ago and chose not to. Because he'd been a coward and an ass. But right here he couldn't tell Daniel for very different reasons.
If Jack was telling him now... and Jacob couldn't heal him after all... if Daniel was going to die because Jack asked him to stay...
"I don't know," Daniel said softly. He turned and started walking up the ramp, through that gate, out of Jack's life...
"Hey!" He still felt the words moving in his throat, but what he said was, "Where are you going?"
"I don't know."
And he was gone. He was gone and Jack was left behind, numb and cold...
...The creases and edges of the wall cut into his palm as his hand clutched the stone. Feeling dizzy and disorientated for a moment, Jack blinked and took a calming breath. He turned and squinted against the sunlight. The kids in the arena were bowing to the applauding tourists and waving their wooden staff weapons.
Staff. Not stick weapons.
Goosebumps crawled up Jack's arms and suddenly he was angry. Whatever this was, he hadn't asked for it. And he wasn't going to give in to it. He ducked through the doorway and bellowed at the rugrats to, "...get out of there, right now!"
The twins and Danny tumbled through the entrance like a litter of puppies, yipping all at once.
"I thowed Danny whewe we thleep thometimeth."
"It's not far into the tunnels. We could still see the entrance."
"Jack, did you know the tunnel leads to the catacombs, too?"
Ranja nudged Danny with his elbow. "Shuddup!"
Danny slapped his hands over his mouth. "Oops. I wasn't s'pposed to tell we went that far in."
Jack crossed his arms and glared down at the three urchins. "You're not supposed to go in there at all. I trust Mikele to be smart enough not to take you down to the catacombs, but you're not allowed to play here on your own and you know it. It's dark and you could hurt yourself or get lost."
"Sorry," Ranja and Danny mumbled. Mania's head bopped up and down.
"You stay away from the tunnels unless your brother is with you," Jack told the twins. Giving Danny a hard look he continued. "And you remember that rule about not wandering off?"
"Uh-huh."
"Good. If I catch the three of you spelunking again..."
Mania attacked Jack's leg, hugging it tightly. "You ith not angwy with uth, wight, Jack? We ith thowwry, we juth wanned to play 'thplowewth."
"Explorers," Danny translated helpfully.
"We're SG-1," Ranja announced proudly. "We're a team and we were looking for an Unas in there. To make friends with them."
"Unath awe weally big an' thtinky, but pwince Danny thayth we haveta kneegosheate with 'em," Mania shared, her arms still wound around Jack's leg.
Jack felt the reality start to shift again and bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself focused. When he was sure he'd managed to stay in the here and now he reached down and pulled Mania off his leg, but took hold of her arm as she was about to dance away from him.
He sat on a boulder and tugged her back to his side. He put his free arm around Danny and after an indecisive 'fight or flight' moment, Ranja stepped closer as well.
"So, who's in command here?" Jack asked. "Who's your fearless leader?"
Danny shuffled his feet. "Ranja is Teal'c and Mania is Sam. She can't say physicist right. But that's okay."
"And who're you?"
A small grin appeared on the chubby face. "I'm Daniel Jackson. I'm the geek," he said with so much pride in his voice that Jack had trouble keeping up the stern expression. "That means I am very smart. And I'm always right. Sam is in command right now, 'cuz we lost the colonel."
"He'th kidnapped by the Unath," Sam-Mania whispered. "He'th prolly hurted and towtuwed and will die a howwible death if we don' wethcue him!"
"But," Ranja said a bit nervously and not at all Teal'c-like, "We think the Unas took the colonel and dragged him down to the arena. That's what we think, right, Doctor Jackson?"
Danny took his sweet time considering this, so Jack prompted. "I think that's a great idea. Search the arena and maybe on the boulevard. The catacombs are off limits. Major Sam, you're in charge. Make sure the boys follow your orders."
"You mean your orders," Danny piped up, then hurried to add, "But we'll search the arena."
Jack released the kids and, giving Danny a gentle pat to his rear, said, "SG-1, move out."
"Boyth, follow me," Sam-Mania bellowed. "We willth find the colonel and bawgain with the Unath fow hith life."
"No one gets left behind," Danny hollered.
"The Unas better listen to us or else," Ranja yelled.
"You have to say 'Indeed, DanielJackson'. That's what Teal'c does," Danny instructed his friend
"And look... scary," Jack added flatly.
They bounced down the tiers like a herd of rollicking goats. Jack looked on, almost certain one of them would fall and break their neck. But they made it to the bottom in one piece and kept running until they had reached the other side of the arena.
Mikele came over and asked Jack for his cap. He handed it to him and the boy took care of collecting money for the extra entertainment and sharing the outcome with his buddies.
Jack still had to take his group to the monolith, but he felt kind of wobbly in the knees and light headed. So he stayed seated for a moment longer, taking several deep breath.
He was Jack O'Neill, a guy with no particular goals. Just someone who liked living his life in peace with not too many boundaries. He was a tourist guide and a beach seller. He believed in the things he could see and touch. And right now he felt the solid, warm stones of the theater under his butt and he could see the afternoon sun drawing figures of light and shadow on the decayed buildings and walls around him.
He saw the older kids putting their money away and taking their leave, laughing and chattering as they went. He saw his group of vacationers snapping more pictures of the theater. He could feel the sun on his arms and hear the distant call of an eagle. He could see the blue sky and the three small children playing 'chase the Unas' in the arena.
The Unas...
...Big, ugly, cavemen with bumpy calloused skin, bad teeth and boney necklaces. He'd had the doubtful pleasure of meeting some of those fellas. First with Teal'c in that cave where the hammer...
...Mikele returned with the cap and said he was going back to the barn now. Jack nodded and his voice sounded quite normal when he answered, "If Jorge isn't there to help you, leave it alone and come back here to let me know. Don't deal with the kiln alone."
"I know, I know." The boy bit his lip and squinted at Jack. "Can I... if Jorge's not there, can I still help you with the firing? And are you still gonna teach me how to glaze in the morning? I always wanted to know how to glaze."
"You interested in pottery that much?" Jack asked.
"Yes! It makes good money and I like working with clay." Mikele shrugged. "I don't have money to rent my own place or buy a wheel, but it can't hurt to learn stuff, right?"
He clapped the boy's skinny shoulder. "Scoot. If you do a good job with the stoking I might even show you how to work the wheel."
"And then I can work for you next season! Help with the pottery!"
"We'll see."
Mikele whooped and made it down the tiers in a similar breakneck pace as the little ones.
Jack stood slowly, feeling twice his age and tired. He rubbed his temple, trying to ward off the looming headache. He had a job to do. He had to lead the...
...team...
...tourists to the damn monolith.
He had to get his act together and finish the tour. If he kept screwing things up someone would eventually complain about him at 'Ba'th Vacations' and he'd lose the job. Jack needed the job, especially now that he had to take care of Danny. And he had to look for a winter job soon. Something that would put food on their table and allow him to take the kid with him.
Maybe he could apply for the beach cleaning troop for a couple of weeks after season was officially over. Picking up garbage, sweeping the sand and repairing sun lounges and parasols. Danny could even help with some of that. Later, he could sign up for a job at one of the hotels; fixing things, remodeling rooms, that kind of thing.
His mind occupied with rational, normal things Jack slowly regained his calm and was ready to face his customers.
He led them down the boulevard, explained its former purpose of festive parades and gave a nod here and there to particularly interesting carvings on the pillars and boulders.
Danny and the twins trailed along, mostly cowering behind the columns and large pedestals. They were probably still chasing Unas.
Don't go there.
Jack heard stage-whispered conversations and giggles and Ranja's enthusiastic voice over for the 'weapon fire'. "Woosh, bang bang, woooosh, bang bang!" followed by a howl of victory.
Weren't they going to make friends with the... beasts? Maybe the fight for the colonel's life was lost and now it was time to shoot some ugly aliens.
The monolith loomed ahead of them like a black, sore thumb. But its golden glyphs sparkled in the sunlight, which softened the gloominess quite a bit.Jack's group gathered around it to take pictures and brush over the writings and to study the tablets on display at the foot of the monolith.
Jack's story, today, had been a mix between his usual fairy tale (On Danny's insistence he'd called the god Horus, not Bart) of love and rebellion with Danny throwing in bits about Isis, who – in this story – had resided here beside Horus. She was his mother. When Horus had fallen in love with the beautiful Masala and her blindingly blue hair, Isis had not been happy and had tried to talk Horus out of it – with no success. Danny had laughed so hard about the blue hair, he'd almost fallen off Jack's shoulders. When Horus had died in battle by the hand of Master Homer and his apprentice Bra'tac, Isis had cried for so long that she'd flooded the whole town of Ba'th.
Everyone had loved the story. And no one had been here before to prove them wrong.
Myths, lies and fairy tales – great stuff.
A small missile shot out from behind a column and two short arms hugged Jack's legs from behind. "I've got ya!"
"Hey, Danny-boy, you done chasing the bad guys?"
"Uh-huh. Ranja and Mania had to go home."
Jack picked Danny up and swung him on his shoulders. "I was just going to explain these writings to our audience."
"Oh! But you have no idea what they say!"
The men and women around them laughed.
"You weren't supposed to let them know," Jack muttered, rolling his eyes.
"The monolith is about Isis, Horus' mom," Danny lectured with his clear young voice. "The name Isis means 'throne' and it was said that her son, Horus, was seated on the throne she provided for him. Isis is the goddess of children and protector of the death. Her parents were Geb, the god of the Earth, and Nut, the goddess of the sky. Isis was kinda nice, but she was unhappy because she married her brother Osiris and Osiris got killed by Seth who was also their brother. It's all kinda complicated."
Jack's hands closed around Danny's ankles as a carousel of names began to tumble in his head...
...Seth; white robes and glowing eyes, a drug that messed with all their heads, Sam Carter attacked Seth with the hand ribbon thingy; she blasted him right into the ground. Osiris was supposed to be a guy, but he resided in a woman's body. Sarah Gardener, who was somehow connected to Daniel. The big Daniel. Sam and Daniel faced him/her off in Egypt while Jack was off fishing with T...
..."Stop!" He shouted, his voice harshly cutting through Danny's rambling. He swallowed hard and forced himself to focus on the present. "I think we heard enough," he added quietly.
Before anyone could protest or demand more information, Jack turned to his group and announced the tour was over. He thanked everyone for listening and wished them a good day and safe travels home. Yadda.
Danny stayed seated on his shoulders, not uttering a single word until the people had moved back down the boulevard and out of ear shot.
"I want down, please," he said finally, in a very small voice.
Jack put him on his feet and they looked at one another for a long uncomfortable moment.
He wanted to ask, 'What's going on? What's happening to me?'
But he was tongue-tied and finally he just said, "Sorry. Didn't mean to yell at you."
Danny turned his baby-blues on him, wide and somehow sad. "I know. I wish I could do this better."
And despite not wanting to, Jack asked, "Do what better?"
"Show you."
"Show me what?"
"Everything."
"What?"
"If I could find the other Daniel... he'd help."
Jack shook his head. "I don't need any help, thank you. And I'd be grateful if you could just stop..."
"I'm not doing anything, Jack. You said to stop showing you stuff and I did. Your memory's coming back on its own, but you have to want to remember. I'd help you more, but I have lost some of what I need to show you, too," Danny said.
"My memory is fine."
"No, it's not. Not yet."
"Stop arguing with me," Jack warned. He wasn't going to discuss his memory or sanity with a toddler, no matter how smart said toddler appeared to be.
"I'm not arguing. I'm just telling you stuff." There was a small pout now. "You just have to start listening to me."
"I don't have time for this," Jack grumbled and picked the bug up again. "We have to go back to the theater. It's almost dinner time. He's gonna be here soon."
He felt Danny tense up in his arm. "Who? Who's coming to dinner?"
"Oh, you know the guy with the funny hair. I invited him out here and he's gonna bring all the food," Jack said lightly and hoped for the best.
"Why?" Danny asked, brow furrowed and eyebrows knitted into a V.
"Why is he bringing all the food?"
"Why did you invite him for dinner." The frown deepened.
"Because I kinda like him." They were walking down the boulevard, back to the arena. The ruins lay deserted; all the tourists – whether they had taken a guided tour or not – were on their way to dinner.
"I don't," Danny said firmly.
"Why don't you like him? He's a nice guy."
"I just don't." The thumb went into Danny's mouth.
"He didn't do anything to you."
"He's yucky."
"Why'd you think that?"
"Because. An' you can't make me like 'im."
"That's fine. You don't have to like him. But I want you to be nice."
"Why?" Danny asked around his thumb. "I didn' invite 'im."
"Nope, but if you want to have dinner with us you better behave."
"Don' wan' dinner wif him, jus' wif you."
Jack pulled the thumb from Danny's mouth. Closing his hand around the kid's small one, he said, "We're going to have dinner with M... Björk tonight. And I want you to promise me not to be a brat."
Danny scowled and tugged at his hand. "He's not gonna drink my wine."
"Your...? Danny, I didn't buy the wine for you. You're way too young to have wine. But I'm sure you'll like the orange juice."
"He can have the orange juice."
"You're not getting any wine."
"I'm not gonna have dinner with him, I'm not. I will have dinner all on my own," Danny informed him.
"You sure about that? You might feel a bit lonely all on your own." Jack said slightly amused.
After a sullen pause Danny replied. "I will sit with Thor and have dinner with him. He's nice."
Jack sighed. "Fine, have it your way."
They had almost reached the grassy plateau by the theater now. Danny wriggled until Jack put him down and he stomped off in a huff.
Jack found him in his small shelter a moment later. He sat in a corner, hugging the wine bottle they had stashed here.
He crouched in front of him. "Give me the wine, please."
"No."
"Daniel..."
"No. And I'm not Daniel. I'm Danny."
Jack took a deep breath. "Okay, look, Danny. I'm bigger than you. I can take the bottle by force and there's little you can do about it. But I'd rather not do that because it would make us both very unhappy."
There was a sniff. "'s not fair that you're bigger than me."
"I know, but there it is."
"An' I'm already very unhappy if you must know."
So was Jack. "I know. So let's not make it worse, huh?" He held out a hand and finally the bottle was pushed at him and he caught it before it fell to the ground. "Thank you. I appreciate it."
"Go away." Danny pulled up his legs, crossed his arms over his knees and buried his face in them.
Jack was torn between granting Danny his wish and trying to ease things between them somehow. However, he heard his name being called from outside his small cave and it didn't look like he'd be able to solve this until Mohawk had left. And he wasn't going to send the guy away just because Danny was making a scene.
"Look, I know you're mad at me, but you're welcome to eat with us, okay? No hard feelings on my part. And the orange juice is right over there in the corner." He reached out and gave the blond hair a gentle ruffle. "I'm right there, outside if you need me."
"I don' need you. And I don' need dinner," Danny mumbled into the crook of his arms.
"Just in case... there's chicken and chips and salad." Jack got up, grabbed what he needed and left. He didn't feel good about this. Not at all. But even the star child had to learn he couldn't have his way all the time.