Disclaimer: I do not own nor will I ever make any profit off of this story or any other story.
Jim has never tried to dwell on it, but the question is always there: how will he die? Will it be painful? And his question might just have been answered, because he can feel himself dieing from mortification. And yes, it was very painful.
Jim loved all his children, but he couldn't deny that at times Zoe was, to be honest, his favorite. There was no questions about boys or acts of rebellion on her part. She was sweet and innocent.
But this was quite possibly the worst time in the world for Zoe and her friends to demand him to sing the Spider Song for them. Right here, in the marketplace, with his grinning commander and smirking lieutenant standing beside him.
"Daddy, please. We don't want the spiders near us." his daughter pleaded.
"And Zoe said the Spider Song worked." her friend, Jim thinks her name is Isabella, added. The group of little girls nodded.
"Please sing it." Zoe said. She looked up at him with wide eyes, begging for him to sing it, right here and now.
"Zoe-" Jim said.
"Come on, Shannon. I want to know this Spider Song, too." Taylor said, entirely too amused. After the irritation of being shot and forced by Dr. Shannon and Wash to rest while Mira's spy was living in his colony, this was just what he needed to cheer him up some.
Jim could only shake his head and glare at the man. "No. Just no."
"Daddy." Zoe said begged. "Pretty please? Isabella and Tessa are really afraid of spiders."
Jim groaned and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Please sing us the Spider Song, Mr. Shannon." a little red headed girl said.
"Just once." he mumbled.
The girls gave little noises of victory. Small chuckles of amusement sounded from Taylor and Wash sported the biggest smirk Jim had ever seen.
"You look like the cat that ate the canary, Lieutenant." Jim said dryly.
"I'm thinking this will be worth ten canaries." she said smartly.
Jim sighed and looked back down at the group of girls. Right now, they looked like little puppies with eyes wide, ginormous smiles, and eager, concentrating little faces. A pack, Jim thought, of little puppies that would grow into wolves at any moment and attack him. They already had him surrounded.
He felt a tug on his sleeve that jolted him out of his nightmare of of little girls turning into wolves.
"The song, Daddy." Zoe reminded him.
"Right, um," Jim said. What were the words he sang to Zoe a few nights ago during the blackout? He had a vague idea. "Okay, I'm only going to say this once, so you all better listen."
They focused on him. Jim was hyper-aware of the attention of his superiors and felt his neck begin to heat.
"Go away spider-" Jim said.
"Sing, Shannon. That's part of why the song works, isn't it?" Taylor ordered.
The heat in Jim's neck spread quickly to his face as he halfheartedly sang.
"Go away spider, go go go. We don't like you, no no no. You're creepy and you're crawly and you're web is all sticky. We don't like you 'cause you're generally icky..." Jim could hear Taylor and Wash laughing and not even bothering to stifle their amusement. He had already ruined whatever reputation he had had, why not just finish the song? "Go away spider, go go go. We don't you, no no no."
The little girls sung it after him and then asked if they got it right. Other people in the marketplace, upon hearing them sing the song, began to giggle and sing parts of the song as well.
"Thank you, Daddy. I love you." Zoe said, hugging his leg.
Looking down at his third child, Jim felt just a little of his embarrassment slip away. He risked so much for his little girl, what was a little song in comparison?
"Thank you, Mr. Shannon." most of the girls said before running this way and that, singing the song, some more loudly than others. Zoe was the last to join them and play.
"That," Taylor said, having quieted his laughter to chuckles. "that was really something, son."
"Something worth ten canaries?" Jim asked Wash, rubbing his neck again.
Wash nodded, black pony tail bobbing on her head. "Definitely, Shannon."
"Glad to have been so amusing to you." Jim said, pride and embarrassment returning.
Taylor clapped his shoulder. "We're glad, too."
Jim fidgeted with his jacket.
"Try not to be so embarrassed, Shannon. It was rather touching, really." Taylor said.
"And very memorable." Wash added. She was wearing that look again.
"You two aren't going to let me forget this for a long time, are you?" Jim asked.
They shook their heads.
Taylor hummed the quickly spreading Spider Song all the way back to the command center.
Okay, so I know this was probably badly written and such, but I honestly couldn't resist. I fully expected the Spider Song to come up again, but seeing as it hasn't...I had to write out the scenario. This is a one shot, but I'm thinking of writing more Terra Nova fanfiction. And while some of my favorite characters are Wash and Taylor, I'll probably write some more Jim stories and they will more than likely have to do with Zoe. For some reasons writing Jim stories seem to be easier than Wash stories.
Anyway, enough with my rambling. I hope you liked it! And remember: reviews are always loved!