Reversal, or, Follow the bouncing ball

by JoaG

Little Daniel, friendly alien, smoosh and whump galore

Author's note:

Logically speaking, to follow the second fic I wrote in this milieu, I should have set this story in season 9 or later, but again, I didn't want to deal with a General Jack O'Neill who doesn't go offworld so I'm taking one small, canonical and vital thing from these seasons and putting it into an earlier setting. Please forgive.

Plus, I'm mixing events that happened in the slash version of "Scars 'N' Roses" without this story being slash and going into season 9. Again, pardonnez-moi.

They were coming; he could hear them not far behind him.

Limping, favouring his skinned right knee, he tried to hold back his fear. His breath came in panicked gasps, partly due to his exertions and partly due to his growing terror. His sandal caught on a hidden root and he stumbled, nearly going down again. He managed to keep his footing, grateful he hadn't fallen once again.

Instinctively, he knew freedom was right around the corner. He skidded out of the woods and into the field and there, before him, was the large metallic ring that had drawn him through his dreams. Here the path was smoother, and he ran as fast as fast as his short legs could propel him toward the smaller circular apparatus.

He landed hard against its metal edge and even as he looked at the symbols carved onto it, patterns flitted through his head. He knew some of the patterns were good and felt safe, others shouted danger.

One in particular called to him and he desperately wanted to press that sequence of symbols. But even as his fingers wavered over the first of the pictures, something held him back.

Visuals of a planet with constant dark and light drew him and like in his dreams, he envisaged the pattern that led to that planet. He began pressing the symbols, having to lean across the layered area to reach the uppermost level. His elbow, however, caught one of the symbols, throwing the pattern off.

"No. Nononono." The sound of his voice was odd. High pitched. This was the first time he'd spoken in the three days since…

He pressed the master crystal to cancel the process, and paused. "Think. Thinkthinkthink." The people chasing him were close, he could hear them crashing through the woods. A pattern flit through his mind's eye and somehow he knew those symbols were all within his short reach. Without hesitation he pressed all seven in sequence, hit the middle sphere and ran towards the large circle, coming in from an angle so he'd reach the edge just as the water that wasn't water erupted outwards. He kept running as the water fled back into the circle and ran through.

He stumbled as the circle spit him out on the other side. It was dark, the immediate area illuminated only from the glow of the false liquid. He stepped to the side and watched, trembling as he waited anxiously for the ring to shut down. He took a few hesitant steps backwards, wondering if he had the strength to run and hide if his pursuers came through after him. Finally, the circle shut down, leaving him blind in the dark.

He waited long minutes, expecting the ring to light up again. As time passed and his pursuers didn't come through, he concluded that they hadn't gotten a glimpse of the lit symbols.

He was safe.

For now.

With that realization, his left knee began to throb, followed quickly by his right palm and elbow. Blinking back tears, he let himself fall onto his ass, circling his fingers around his bleeding knee. He was cold, he hurt and he was scared. He may be safe now, but he was alone. And he didn't want to be alone. He wanted to go home. Except that he wasn't exactly sure where home was.

His vision adjusted slowly as the faint dawning of sunrise became apparent. He blew onto his scraped knee through the torn pants, then hissed when that just made it hurt even more. Unsure of what to do, he looked around the slowly burgeoning landscape. Off to his right was a large cliff, its mass blocking out the sky. The rest of this world was flat; he thought he could make out a few copses of trees here and there, their tops darker against the slowly brightening sky.

The smaller apparatus was next to the ring; he'd get up and dial the pattern where he knew he could get someone to help him. Or maybe he'd try another pattern; somehow, walking in the dark, looking for help, wasn't quite as appealing anymore.

He'd need to wait until it was light, though. He still couldn't see enough to make out the symbols properly. He curled up onto his side, bringing his uninjured knee to his chest to hold in the warmth. Maybe it'd get warmer when the sun came up?

He shivered. He was tired and hungry. He closed his eyes and the dream that kept running through his head started up again. Pleasure at first, digging in hardened soil, trying to tease something out of the ground.

Then being surrounded by strangers. Feeling alarm followed by fear, followed by pain. Screaming. Not understanding why this was happening. Then more pain, unendurable pain, believing he was going to die. And then thinking he had died, because the pain was gone. As were most of his memories.

And things were different.

The same faces that had surrounded him and hurt him, now smiled down at him. They gave him food and water and clean clothes. More water to clean himself with. Took him through the round thing and to a village, brought him to a couple where money exchanged hands and he suddenly found himself part of a family.

He didn't want a new family. He had one already; he just had to find them.

Tears trickled down his face. He wanted the dream to stop. Because if it could stop, then he'd wake up. And if he woke up, he'd be big again.

- - - - - -

Something poked him in the shoulder. He came awake with a start, the fear and anxiety of the past three days filling him, as it had his every waking moment. He raised his head and looked around fearfully, afraid to see his captors again. Then he remembered; he'd escaped.

The sun had come up while he'd been asleep, but hadn't risen high enough to generate much heat. He was still cold and his knee and palm hurt. Just as he pulled back the torn and bloody material of his pants, exposing the crusted and filthy area, something poked him in the shoulder again. He turned, startled.

He came face to face with a tiny creature. It had the sharp snout of a fox, tiny ears and wide brown eyes. A small, blue tongue came out and flicked towards his cheek. He pulled back nervously as the creature followed, exposing all of its body. To his surprise, it was hovering in mid-air.

Smiling at the odd creature, he reached out a tentative hand. There was a piece of wood stuck painfully deep in his palm, but he ignored it for the moment. The animal wriggled in mid-air, as if undecided. It moved forward smoothly, with no visible means of propulsion. He only had time to touch the small, furry body when hundreds of them came swooping out of the sky, screeching and chittering at him, circling and brushing against him.

He screamed and threw himself flat against the ground, his scraped knee banging painfully as he covered his head with his hands. He could see the shadows of the creatures behind closed eyelids flitting back and forth against the sunshine, and he waited in dread for one of them to come down and bite him. After a long, panicky moment, he lowered his arms enough so that he could peek past. Somehow the number of creatures didn't seem quite so numerous and he realized that there had seemed to be more than he'd originally thought because of the long shadows they cast.

One of the animals was chasing the others away; screeching more loudly than the rest, preventing them from getting close. After a while, most seemed to lose interest and the bossy creature finally stopped chasing them. It rushed towards him and he threw his hands over his head, staying that way until he realized it wasn't attacking him. Again, he lowered his arms only to see the creature a few feet away, hovering. It was bigger than the one that had woken him up and he realized that one must have been a baby.

The animal cocked its head sideways and cheeped. The sound was almost inquisitive and it made him smile. He sat up slowly as the animal began to fly excitedly around him, making small noises deep in its throat. He realized now that the animal wouldn't hurt him, or else it would have done so already.

His throbbing knee burned for attention. He tore off the shredded pieces of material from his pants and tossed them aside, exposing his bloody knee. Ducking the attentions of the creature as it tried to clamber onto his shoulder, he poked half-heartedly at the embedded stones and twigs with a dirt-encrusted finger. There was a lot of crud stuck to the dried blood; he pulled out a small piece of greenery and winced as a drop of fresh blood seeped from the area.

The creature gave up trying to crawl over him and instead swooped dizzily around him, alternating between chittering and cheeping sounds. It seemed interested in his knee as it swept by, swooping low every time it came close, then brushing past him, touching his arm, his foot, his neck.

Suddenly, as the animal darted forward and flicked its tongue at the bloody wound, he had a vision of toothy fangs. Not knowing where that visual came from, he pushed the creature away again, lowering his leg and covering his knee with his hand. He'd have to deal with the injury later; he didn't have anything to clean it out with. Maybe if he found water...

He turned his attention to his palm and with fingers tinier than they should have been, pulled out the large splinter. It hurt and he bit his lip as he tossed the now bloody piece of wood away. He closed his fingers on the wound, trying to ignore the throbbing.

He tucked his bleeding hand under his armpit and looked around. He felt safe here - safe, at least in the knowledge that his pursuers wouldn't find him. He couldn't see any houses, though. He needed to find help, to find someone who could tell him how to get home.

The land of light and dark called to him, as did a land of desert. Both, he knew, meant sanctuary but also, both meant hardship. He longed for heat but not the hot, merciless sun. And now that the sun on this planet was up, he couldn't face the perpetual darkness of the other.

Maybe he'd stay here for a little while longer until he gathered his courage and decide what to do. He shivered again, then moved sideways into a small patch of sunlight.

"Oh."

The creature surprised him as it brushed along his arm. It wrapped itself around his body and slid down to land on his lap. He pushed it away, surprised that it was this friendly. It wasn't a dog or a cat, and somehow he knew that wild animals were usually leery of people.

But the animal was tenacious, trying to sneak in from behind his elbow, then over his shoulder again. He pulled his knees close to his chest and then couldn't help giggling when the animal tried to butt its head between his legs. Finally he relented when it slid along his back and chittered almost angrily. Something warm and wet flicked his ear and he pulled back.

With a high-pitched squeak, it flew over his shoulder and twined itself around his neck and chest so that its head was close to his chin. It gave a satisfied sigh and a short cheep.

With his uninjured hand, he tentatively petted the sinewy body. He could feel its warmth permeate the thin material of his shirt. He felt a puckered area on the animal's body, about six inches away from its face. Instinctively his fingers caressed the spot.

"Hey, you've got a scar."

Immediately the creature meeped and drew its head back, staring at him with oddly intelligent eyes.

"You didn't get hurt too bad, I hope." He ran his fingers up and down the length of the scar, the sensation almost familiar, like the patterns of pictures he'd see in his mind every time he looked at the round... Dialing... Home... Phone Home... Dial Home… Device. That was it, a DHD.

Proud that he'd remembered something, he smiled to himself. A couple more of the creatures flew overhead, heading towards a copse of trees. One of them called out and the friendly one answered, then gave a small cheep as they flew away before butting his hand for attention.

He allowed himself a few more moments of luxury before pushing the animal from him. He stood while the creature circled him, giving little cheeps of frustration.

There was a small forest not far away; hopefully there he would also find some water. He took a few steps in that direction when the animal darted in front of him and chittered loudly. It almost looked like it didn't want him to go that way.

"I need water," he told it. Somehow he thought it might understand. His stomach rumbled and he wondered if maybe he should go instead to the planet of dark and light. There'd be food there... He turned towards the DHD, undecided. He was surprised to see a few creatures lying across the pictures on the DHD, and some others lying on top of the large ring. He thought they'd all gone.

Belatedly, he realized he'd need a light in order to see in the dark if he pressed the pictures in his mind. That decided him; he wasn't desperate enough yet. Maybe if he couldn't find any food and water here, or maybe by the time the sun set tonight, he'd be more willing to fulfil the memory.

He hadn't taken more than a few steps away from them when the creature started flying wildly around him. The others seemed excited by its screeches and soon all of them were doing wild acrobatics. Then one hit one of the pictures, and then another. He watched, curious, until the third picture lit up. He recognized the pattern that called to him so strongly. The pattern he knew that, somehow, would lead to home but which he couldn't use.

"No! Stop it!" He ran forward, limping, waving his hands, trying to get the animals to stop. "Scar, stop it. Make them stop!"

Instead of listening to him, Scar flew past him and hit the last of the seven patterns, then bounced onto the middle sphere, which triggered the water. It stayed there, watching him with huge eyes, as if waiting for him to do something.

Afraid that Scar would fly through the water and into the metallic horror he knew awaited on the other side, he fled.

- - - - - -

The water was chilly and he winced as his bare feet caught on sharp stones hidden under the flowing stream. When the water level reached up to his knees, he stopped.

He rubbed at the wound as gently as he could. By the time the flow of the water washed away the crusted blood, he was more than happy to get out. He took a moment to drink his fill then hurried out. His feet and legs were chilled and he wiped his soles on the grass before sitting down next to his sandals.

Scar had followed him to the stream and was clearly unhappy as it lay sprawled along a sun-dappled log, watching him. He wiped the remnants of grass from his feet and slid his sandals on.

His knee was bleeding again, and he was cold. His pants were soaked up to his thighs. Figuring he could dry off in the sunshine, he got up and hobbled over to sit next to Scar. The sun felt warm on his skin but he still couldn't seem to warm up. He lay down next to the log and after a moment, felt Scar crawl onto him, curling up on his back, its warm breath tickling the hairs on his nape.

- - - - - -

Jack shifted his hold on his P-90, impatient as Teal'c slowly walked around the small clearing, searching for more footprints. A good two dozen of the flying critters had followed them from the Stargate and were up in the treetops where they waited and watched.

"T, anything? Do we know who we've been following yet?" Jack stepped to the edge of the stream and looked along its shore.

The trail, which was at least a day old, was very faint. Still, the hope was strong that it was Daniel - coupled with the bloody pieces of material two of the flying balloons had arrived with at the SGC yesterday which had matched Daniel's DNA, and the fact that Scarlett wasn't anywhere around – all pointed towards their missing teammate.

"The individual we have been tracking is not DanielJackson." Teal'c pushed an armful of tall, wavy fronds aside and exposed a tiny footprint in the mud next to the stream.

"Damn." Jack glanced at his own size 10 boot prints and acknowledged that only a child could have made such a small mark. Disappointed, he still couldn't help but wonder, "What's a kid doing out here on its own?"

"And where's Daniel?" Carter leaned over Jack's shoulder to stare at the footprint. It pointed downstream. "And how did the animals get hold of a piece of cloth with Daniel's blood all over it?"

"I thought we'd found all the GDOs they'd pilfered. These things are worse than packrats." Jack shoved the tall fronds aside with his weapon. "Let's check it out; the kid may need our help. Or he may know where Daniel is."

From this point on, the trail was clearer, as if the child had been moving around only a few hours ago instead of yesterday. They followed the meandering footprints, hindered by the critters who didn't seem to understand what Jack and his team were doing. The kid left the water but backtracked after a short while, coming back to the water only a couple dozen feet further upstream.

"The child appears to be lost, or confused." Teal'c stopped and motioned for them to stay put. He began walking a large circle, then finally called them over. "Here. The child appears to have left the woods in this direction."

With finally a path leading in an almost straight line, Jack hurried behind Teal'c. They left the trees and found themselves in a large field. Their tag of followers swooped around the open space, occasionally dive-bombing Jack and the others. Jack quickly removed his cap and stuffed it into a pocket. He'd already chased one of the critters today; he wasn't about to give it a second chance to get the best of him.

He heard a loud screech and suddenly one of the aliens erupted from behind a large bush. It flew towards them so fast that two of its kind barely had time to get out of its way. He steeled himself, ready to duck when it came to a sudden stop, twirled around him and flew back to the front while keening and chittering loudly.

"Scarlett."

It cried loudly and flew back from where it had come at the same breakneck speed. Without hesitation, Jack sprinted for the bush. He skidded to a stop at the sight of a small child, curled up in the meagre shade of the tree. Scarlett was lying up on top of the kid, watching avidly as Carter and Teal'c flanked him. The boy was tracking them with glassy eyes. Regardless, Jack knew the moment the kid recognized them.

"J... Jack?"

- - - - - -

He'd watched them for a long time through the leaves of the bush, walking towards him as if in a dream. They wore identical clothes; he knew, somehow, that the colours were meant to merge with their surroundings.

Camouflage.

And then Scar had left him, flying towards the dream in a frenzy of sound. He'd been afraid he'd lose his friend, that it'd disappear into this living nightmare of pain and sickness. He'd lost his way back to the large ring, he'd waited too long and now his hand and leg were sick.

Infected.

He shivered, the loss of Scar's body heat, while maybe not much overall, had been comforting. The body ache, headache, chills and weakness were familiar, from another lifetime, maybe. Yet he recognized it as his body shuddered with cold.

Fever.

And then Scar had come back, taking its place against his side, its face plastered close to his cheek. He'd felt its breath coming in quick gasps, as if it were waiting anxiously for something to happen. His heart had sped up, he could feel and hear it pounding in his head and ears. He realized that he'd caught some of her excitement.

Hope.

Then they'd been running, the dream people. The family he'd been searching for that seemed to have found him in a fever-dream. They came towards him fast, and he lost sight of them, hidden by the leaves of the bush. He'd still seen their feet and legs, though, and he watched, dispassionately as the first one rounded the corner and came to a stop. Dust flew as feet skidded slightly.

He'd watched, waited, hoped, prayed. A lifetime passed in a heartbeat, and a name came to him.

"J... Jack?"

The face was familiar, the voice he hadn't yet heard echoed in his head. The others he knew also, but focusing on them was too difficult. He tried to get up, to go to his friend but didn't get more than an arm partially raised when suddenly all three of them were crouching next to him.

"He's burning up." The woman's hand was cool on his forehead.

"It appears his leg and hand are infected." Although the big man took his sore hand gently into his, he couldn't help but cry out at the pain. "O'Neill, the material of his pants is identical to that which the creatures conveyed to us."

"Yeah, I see that."

He pulled his hand to his chest when the big man let go and he could feel tears of pain slide down his cheeks. Jack wasn't doing anything except watching him, while the woman was looking at his hand and knee without touching.

"Sir, we need to get him to the SGC. These are badly infected."

"The blood..." Jack waved at his leg. "It was Daniel's. Fraiser said the DNA was a perfect match. So how come this kid's..."

With the mention of his name, Daniel's mind did a quick loop. Somehow he knew he was Daniel, he'd just sort of forgotten it until he heard it spoken. He'd been made to forget everything; yet somehow, he hadn't. His brain kept track of the ongoing conversation while it tried to rifle through his fever-addled memories.

"He could be a clone, sir."

Jack blinked, unclipped his weapon and handed it over to the woman before reaching for him. "Let's get him home." Jack picked him up in a quick swoop. Pain swept over him and he gasped, then leaned his face against Jack's neck as his body was carefully adjusted, one arm balanced under his butt, the other one holding him securely against Jack's chest.

They'd only gone a few steps when Scar circled over them and tried to curl itself around his neck.

"Shoo. I can't carry both you and the kid. You'll have to ride this one out, girl."

"Daniel," he mumbled against Jack's neck. "I'm Daniel. Not a kid." He let himself go limp, relief with the knowledge that he was finally going home nearly overwhelming him.

- - - - - -

The kid was a dead weight – with one arm hanging limply down Jack's back and his face resting against his neck. Jack's arms were starting to tire and they were barely halfway to the Stargate. Teal'c raised a palm and an eyebrow, silently offering to take the kid but Jack shook his head.

"We'll make good time now that we're out of the woods." Jack shifted his hold on the boy and the jacket Teal'c had placed over his shivering form slipped. One-handed, Jack struggled to cover the boy's shoulders with it, while Scarlett flew down to grab the edge of the collar with her teeth and tugged. He finally slowed his pace a moment while Carter gave him a hand, wrapping the boy securely within it again.

"Sir, he's burning up."

"I know." Hard to miss, considering the boy's not so inconsiderable heat was plastered against his chest.

"I wonder how long he's been out here, by himself."

"His trail was no more recent than a day." Teal'c glanced down at the mud-covered sandals. "It is unlikely, however, that he was able to traverse such a distance in this condition. His illness must have come upon him suddenly."

"I wish he could tell us where Daniel was—" Carter made a face, looking over at Jack and the little Daniel in his arms before speaking again. "I mean, tell us what happened to him."

Jack carefully shifted Daniel's weight onto his other arm before it went numb. "This could be him... Daniel, I mean. Fraiser didn't find any reason to think the blood the critters brought back was from a clone."

"No, but that still doesn't mean he isn't one."

"We still do not know to which planet he was taken after he was abducted. He may have been subjected to alien technology which we have yet no knowledge of."

"To do what, make him into a kid?" Jack turned to look at Teal'c and the kid's feet brushed against his leg as he shifted.

"Stranger things have occurred."

"Yeah, I'll grant you that." If walking through a blue puddle of energy which took one halfway across the galaxy had become a common occurrence to him, then having his friend downsized into a kid didn't seem quite so weird.

"Scarlett sees to be pretty attached to him," Carter said when said flying critter swooped down to Daniel's height and nudged his cheek, as she'd been doing every couple of minutes. When the kid didn't react any more this time than before, she gave a small, worried cheep.

"Yeah, I know." Jack ran his hand over Daniel's back until it rested against his nape. The skin was very hot and very dry. The kid hadn't responded to any of their questions or Scarlett's attentions. "We'll have him in the doc's care in just a few more minutes."

Travelling the last of the distance to the Stargate seemed to take forever. Finally, Carter broke off and jogged ahead to dial out, so all Jack had to do was stride up to the 'gate and cross over. Except that he hadn't expected – no, strike that, he should have expected – Scarlett to accompany them through the wormhole.

"Don't shoot," Carter cried out as Scarlett swooped around the room. Thankfully, the guards were quick to obey and lowered their weapons.

Daniel roused, raising and turning his head to look around as Jack strode through the Gateroom.

"Home?" His voice was weak and raspy.

"You're home, Daniel."

"Home," Daniel sighed heavily as he lowered his head back onto Jack's shoulder.

"Colonel?" Hammond met them in the hallway. He glanced at Scarlett with raised eyebrows but thankfully didn't comment. He did put a hand out to caress her as she rubbed against his chest in greeting.

"I think it's Daniel." Jack stopped and turned so that the General could see Daniel's face.

"There's always the possibility it could be a clone, sir."

"I'll contact the Tok'ra. They might be able to help shed some more light." Hammond turned and went back up the stairs. "And you make sure that Scarlett stays out of trouble," he threw over his shoulder.

Carter took a step backwards to let Jack by as he began moving again, Scarlett staying no more than an inch or two from Daniel's side.

Fraiser was waiting for them, apparently having been given advance warning from the Control room. Jack made a beeline for the bed closest to her and went to lower Daniel onto it.

Unfortunately, the kid would have none of it. With a whimper, he made a grab for Jack's jacket and wrapped his legs around his waist. All lethargy and weakness disappeared as he fought to stay latched onto Jack.

Changing tactics, Jack straightened up and sat on the bed instead. "Okay, I'm not letting go of you." He manhandled Daniel enough so that he was lying across Jack's lap instead of sitting astride. Scarlett landed on the bed and tried to crawl up on top of both of them.

"Hey. You know the rules. Over there." Fraiser pointed to the foot of the bed, but didn't wait to see if Scarlett obeyed her. She'd obviously caught sight of the kid's knee and waved one of the nurses over as she examined it.

Without a word Jack turned Daniel's palm over, exposing the red and pus-filled palm. She took it in her hands, examining it carefully. "I need blood samples and a culture ASAP."

Jack held Daniel's arm while the nurse prepared to take blood. He glanced at the kid, who was watching with heavy-lidded eyes.

"Hey."

The eyes slowly shifted from the needle being jabbed into his arm, to Jack. He seemed almost oblivious of Fraiser, who was in the process of taking his blood pressure.

"You're gonna be fine. Fraiser's gonna take good care of ya." He held back a wince as the nurse ran a cotton swab over the pus oozing from the scrapes on his knee.

Daniel's eyes continued to track Jack as Fraiser shifted his head slightly so she could insert a thermometer into his ear. After a moment she straightened. "104. We need to get some liquids into him and get his fever down."

A second nurse had just shown up and she nodded at Fraiser, leaving to get the supplies. Fraiser held a hand out to the first nurse as she put a label on the samples. "I need DNA tests on those also."

"I need to get his clothes off," Fraiser said to Jack. She quickly slipped off his sandals and began cutting the cotton pants from the leg up. Daniel's eyes slowly slid shut, only to open with difficulty, his gaze unfocused and strained.

"Daniel, stay with me for a little while, okay?" Fraiser reached out and touched his cheek, which seemed to help him wake up. By the time she'd removed his pants and shirt, the nurse was back.

She shifted aside so that the nurse could start the IV. In the meantime, she looked at Daniel's hand again. "I'm going to start him on broad spectrum antibiotics until his blood tests come in." She frowned. "It looks like his hand was punctured but there's still something stuck inside. I'm going to need to go in and clean the injury out and..." Her gaze moved to his knee. "We're going to need to debride his knee."

"How're you—"

"We'll put him under, Colonel. It shouldn't take long."

"Sleep?" A small hand came up and rested against Jack's chest.

"Yeah, Fraiser's gonna put you to sleep for a little while."

"Stay?"

"I'll be here when you wake up." Jack glanced over at his team to avoid seeing the injection which put Daniel to sleep.

Before Jack knew it, Daniel was lying in his arms, in twilight sleep. He was able to finally slide him onto the bed and stand. Scarlett quickly moved forward but came to a stop when Jack stuck a finger in the air before her. She meeped at him, then settled back to the far end of the bed with a heavy sigh.

"Colonel, you'll need to take Scarlett with you, at least until we've finished. I don't want to have to worry about her getting into things—"

"I understand." He waved at Scarlett. "C'mon."

She stared at him a moment, then looked at the kid.

"Scarlett, c'mon."

She rose slowly, reluctance set in the curve of her body, but she obeyed. She slowly draped herself over Jack's shoulder like a stole. Jack wondered if she was tired, or if she was allowing Jack to be the dominant personality. He rubbed her neck and got a quick flick of the tongue against his chin for his trouble.

"Come back in about an hour's time. It'll be plenty of time before he wakes up."

As Jack and his team walked out of the infirmary, he was aware of Scarlett turning to watch as Daniel's bed disappeared.

- - - - - -

The hour passed quickly; shower and change of clothes, debrief with Hammond, a quick stop at the commissary for a cup of coffee and pie for him and some fruit for Scarlett. He had to hand it to the beast. She stayed either draped around his neck or by his side the whole time, and even behaved herself while SG-1 ate their snacks.

The moment she realized they were heading for the infirmary, though, she began to wiggle and chatter ceaselessly, to the point that Jack finally told her to go ahead and take off.

"Hey," he called out when she made a beeline for the open door. She turned on a dime and hovered, shifting around impatiently in mid-air. "Don't wake him up."

She chittered for a long moment and took off into the main ward. By the time Jack got there, she was already curled up around Daniel's neck and shoulders; her usual place in caring for a sick and injured archaeologist. Except with this smaller version of Daniel, her body took up a good part of the pillow.

The thick padding of the bandage around his knee was visible under the blanket. His hand, lying lax against the mattress, also sported a bandage. The kid's hair was stringy and his face was shiny with sweat.

Jack looked around for Fraiser and not seeing her in the immediate area, rolled a chair next to the bed while Carter picked up a piece of gauze, folded it several times, and used it to blot the sweat from Daniel's face. Scarlett tried to help by licking when Carter pressed the gauze close to the critter's face.

"He's still pretty hot." She tossed the damp gauze onto a table and sat next to Teal'c.

Jack heard footsteps and he turned, expecting Fraiser. Instead it was a nurse. She smiled at them as she leaned over to check on Daniel. "Doctor Fraiser is in the lab, going over some of the test results. She should be with you shortly." She brushed a hand over Daniel's forehead, pushing some of the damp strands aside. "His fever's down a little; the Tylenol's helping. Hopefully the antibiotics will kick in and he'll be doing better soon."

She walked over to a nearby supply cabinet and returned with a clean cloth and traded it for the soiled gauze.

"Fraiser said he'd be waking up—"

"The anaesthesia's beginning to wear off. He may simply just drift off into sleep."

As if on cue, Daniel smacked his lips and shifted. When he fisted his injured hand, he made a small mewl. Scarlett answered with a short, inquisitive chirrup. Daniel's eyes opened just a crack as his forehead creased in pain.

"Hey, look who's awake." Jack leaned forward into Daniel's line of vision. He was hoping for a smile, instead he got a look of pure terror. Shocked, it took him a moment to react and suddenly Daniel was there, reaching for him, kicking off the blankets in his wild efforts to take hold of Jack.

He managed to get his arms around Jack's neck, his legs kicking out for purchase. Scarlett, startled at the sudden movement, was flying around the bed, scolding and cheeping loudly. Jack quickly grabbed Daniel before he injured his knee, and held him close. "Hey, hey," he whispered into Daniels' ear. "It's okay. I'm here. Told ya I'd be here when you woke up, remember?"

As soon as Jack had Daniel secure in his arms, the kid stopped struggling. His uninjured hand had a good hold on Jack's tee shirt as he tried to plaster himself against Jack's chest. Realizing he wasn't going to be able to lay Daniel back down onto the bed without a fight, Jack simply sat himself down on the bed, allowing Daniel to lie against him.

The nurse raised the bed so Jack was at least able to swing his legs up and lie back.

"Cold." Despite the fact that Daniel's body was still giving off enough heat to power a small city, he shivered.

"It's the fever, honey." The nurse eased Daniel's leg aside to check his bandage. "You'll feel better once we get it under control." She checked his palm, then shifted her fingers to take his pulse.

Carter took the blanket from the next bed and wrapped it around Daniel, while Scarlett flitted in and out from beneath it, hampering her efforts. "Better now?" Carter asked as she finally tucked the blanket around Daniel, Jack and Scarlett, who decided to curl up along Daniel's side and back. Jack had both Daniel and Scarlett's heads peeking from beneath the blanket, resting against his neck.

"Still cold." The death grip on his tee shirt eased and Daniel laid his hand flat against Jack's chest. He shifted his head back and looked at Jack. His pupils were widely dilated, making it look like he had no blue around his irises at all. "Not a dream?"

Jack cupped Daniel's head with his hand and rubbed his scalp with his fingertips. "Not a dream."

"Wanted to come home." Daniel sighed and snuggled down once more. "Scar found me. She found you. You found me..." His voice faded as his body relaxed into sleep.

"He should sleep for a while now." The nurse reached down to grab the blanket but Jack let go of Daniel and caught her hand.

"We're fine."

"But sir, you don't have to—"

"I'm fine." He let go her hand when she pulled away. He smiled when Daniel patted his chest, not quite asleep. The nurse smiled back, probably thinking he'd meant it for her.

- - - - - -

Daniel's sleep was restless and full of nightmares. His fever slowly began creeping back up after a couple of hours. Jack was so uncomfortably hot that he finally eased onto his side so that Daniel was able to share the bed, instead of using Jack as the mattress.

Daniel twitched in his sleep and cried out softly.

"Shhh." Jack placed a hand on Daniel's chest and rubbed slowly. "It's just a dream." He hoped Daniel would wake up or move out of the dream but he was definitely in REM sleep. His breathing sped up and he began trembling. This wasn't fever-induced shivers; this was a harsh shaking which Jack worried might be a seizure.

"Noooo!" Daniel screamed himself awake and was already clambering on top of Jack before his cry died off. Scarlett shrieked almost as loudly as Daniel and took off, circling the infirmary bed, trying to get between Jack and Daniel.

"Oof." Jack bit off a curse as Daniels leg smacked against his privates. He twisted, trying to catch the small, panicked body before it inadvertently did more harm. "Daniel, wake up."

Either he was still caught up in the throes of his nightmare or he was awake and disoriented. Despite Jack's attempts to soothe, Daniel continued to attempt to clamber up his body until his face was pressed tightly against Jack's neck. The trembling was still going on but at least the panic had lessened. Well, if you considered the death grip the kid had on his neck. Scarlett finally settled, twining herself around both Jack and Daniel.

"Easy, I'm here. It's okay, you were dreaming."

"It hurt. It hurt it hurt it hurt," Daniel mumbled into Jack's ear.

"Where does it hurt, sweetie?" Fraiser, who had somehow magically appeared during the short time it had taken for Daniel to wake and quiet, tried to ease Daniel's bandaged hand from its death-grip around Jack's neck.

"No. Then, not now." He tightened his grip, almost choking Jack as he tried to clamber higher.

"Hey, easy now. I got ya." Jack rubbed his hands up and down Daniel's sides and back, the heat coming through the thin scrub top almost frightening. "Wanna let go a little? I still need to breathe."

Daniel kept one hand around Jack's neck and thrust his other hand between them, getting a grip on Jack's tee shirt again.

The too-large scrub top had slid down, exposing Daniel's upper back. Fraiser placed a hand against his skin, then shifted it to touch his exposed cheek.

"How long has his fever been this high?"

"About twenty minutes. I was just about to call someone when he had a nightmare."

Fraiser reached for a nearby bottle and shook out two pills. Jack handed her a glass of water he'd been sipping from as she crouched down so she was level with Daniel.

"Daniel, can you swallow these for me?" Fraiser held out two tiny pills in her palm.

Daniel turned his head slightly to look, and after a moment's hesitation, let go of Jack's tee shirt to pick the pills up with an openly shaking hand. He put the pills in his mouth and Fraiser quickly followed with the glass of water.

"Just a little for now, okay? I don't want you being sick." She pulled the glass away and Daniel's tongue followed, licking his lips. His eyes tracked the water as she put it down next to the bed. "I'll give you a little more later. Let's just make sure the pills stay down first."

"Janet?" His brow puckered into a frown as he watched her.

"Yes, Daniel, it's me." Fraiser pressed the back of her fingers against his cheek in a light caress. "How about you close your eyes and get a bit of sleep, and we'll wait and see if the Tylenol help bring your fever down again."

"Thirsty." Daniel's glance went to the glass of water.

"Just a sip, then." Fraiser allowed Daniel a swallow before taking the glass away, but when Scarlett raised her head to follow the water, Fraiser offered it to her. Daniel watched, eyes heavy-lidded, as Scarlett lapped the water. By the time Fraiser took the glass away, Daniel had fallen asleep.

"I'm heading off to see General Hammond. He's called your team in also, but seeing that Daniel appears to be somewhat… dependent, on you at the moment, he's allowed for you to remain here. I thought I'd give you a quick rundown of what I've discovered so far before I go brief them."

Jack nodded.

"First of all, the infection in his knee and hand was caused by some indigenous plant which is apparently toxic. The injury to his hand appears to be similar to a large splinter but when he pulled the piece of wood out, some fragments of the bark remained. The same thing goes for his knee – it looked like he tried to clean it himself but there were still some bits of leaf stuck in the wound."

"So he should be okay?"

"I'm hopeful that the antibiotics will take care of the infection. We'll know in a few more hours."

"What about his size? Carter thinks he might be a clone."

"Again, we'll know in a couple of hours when the DNA test results come in. There is one thing that we did discover, though." Fraiser removed a scanner from her pocket and held it to Daniel's left upper arm. It beeped softly, and beeped again when she held it to the same spot on Jack's arm.

"A transmitter—"

"It's Daniel's. No doubt about it. Why give him a subcutaneous transmitter if he's a clone?"

"So, what you're saying is—"

"Until I have the DNA tests to back me up, I can't prove it, but between me and you, I'm willing to bet my bottom dollar that this is really Daniel."

"What about his..." Jack raised his hand to make a circling motion around his temple, but instead simply laid his palm against Daniel's head. "His brain's been a bit... I mean, he's not really himself—"

"The fever and infection certain could account for his disorientation, sir. I'm hoping that's all it is and not a result of whatever... downsized him. Let's just give it some time for now. All we can do is keep him comfortable while we try to get a grip on this infection. And you keep doing what you're doing. By keeping him calm, I don't have to resort to sedating him."

Jack threaded his fingers through the damp hair as he nodded.

"And I'll put in a good word for Scarlett here, and see if General Hammond will send a team back to get her some food."

Scarlett raised her head and cheeped when she heard her name. She looked at Fraiser a moment, then rubbed her cheek against Daniel's neck before settling back down.

"Look, could you help me get him onto the bed before you go? He's hotter 'n a furnace and I'm dying here."

Fraiser reached for Daniel and started to pull him away. Unfortunately, Daniel had other ideas. Not quite awake, he muttered something unintelligible as he tightened his grip on Jack the moment he felt himself being separated.

"Sorry, sir, I can't move him without waking him up. It looks like you're going to be wearing him for a little while."

Jack swore the smile she gave him was the same one she usually reserved for him whenever he needed his annual booster shots.

"Here, this might help." She poured water into the glass and set it next to the bed. "It'll help replace the liquids you'll sweat—"

"Is that the glass she drank out of?" Jack turned his head to give Scarlett an evil glare, only to get a face full of alien-breath when she opened her mouth and yawned widely.

"Well, you drank out of it before she did, sir." Fraiser winked at him before turning around and walking away.

- - - - - -

There was a loud, rhythmic, guttural noise close to his ear. A sound he'd heard many a times when sharing a tent, or a campsite, with his friend. Daniel yawned long and hard. His memories were fuzzy, which was odd because normally when he woke up offworld, he had a pretty good idea which planet they'd 'gated to.

He yawned again and contemplated moving away as Jack's snoring was right in his ear. He wondered how he'd managed to sleep through this to start with. Feeling too lethargic to move, Daniel resorted to the tried and true method.

"Jack, you're snoring. Turn over." With his eyes still closed, he went to poke Jack in the ribs, but ended up gasping in pain as his hand flared in agony. He turned onto his side, cradling his hand up against his chest. But he landed off balance when he rolled over a couple of logs underneath him. Flailing, he was further disoriented when, expecting to see trees and skies overhead, was greeted instead with neon lights and cement walls. Something zipped by close to the ceiling and disappeared from his view. He recognized the infirmary, what he didn't understand was why he wasn't lying on a bed.

"Oh, for crying out loud. Stay still." Big hands grabbed him and plopped him onto solid ground, or rather, mattress, he realized after a moment. Then he saw who the hands belonged to.

"Jack?"

"Daniel."

Daniel found himself sitting between Jack's legs, staring at his friend. The front of Jack's shirt and pants were darker in colour, as if someone had dropped a bucket of water over him. Daniel's hand and knee were throbbing for attention. As he dropped his gaze to see why he was hurting, he realized he was wearing an oversized scrub top, which was soaking wet, and which reached down past his thighs. Then he realized the reason why he fit so well between Jack's legs.

He was tiny.

"Oh, shit."

"Daniel?"

"It wasn't a dream, was it?" He ran a hand down his leg, fingering the edge of a bandage around his knee, unable to believe how small his leg was compared to Jack's.

Then the world did a loop de loop and the next thing Daniel knew, he was lying on his back, his head cushioned against a pillow, the bed folded up so that his legs were propped, and Janet, Jack and a nurse were all hovering around him.

"Um... What happened?"

Daniel tried to sit up but immediately Jack pushed down on his shoulders, keeping him pinned to the bed. Not that he minded. He felt extremely tired and weak.

"You fainted, that's what happened." Jack sounded miffed, as if Daniel had passed out deliberately to rile him.

"I..." Daniel shivered as Jack displaced the air around him as he straightened. His clothes were definitely soaked, and the air was clammy against his skin. "I'm cold."

"Let's get you out of those wet clothes, before we do anything else." Before Daniel could even raise his head, Janet and the nurse manhandled him with embarrassing ease, slipping off the scrub top and sliding a fresh one over his head and shoulders before he could complain and try to do it himself. He caught a glance of his body before they smoothed the cotton top over his chest and groin. He had to turn his head away from the sight of himself. He caught Jack's gaze and felt his face heat up as he blushed.

He was relieved when the nurse covered him up with a sheet and light blanket. He tried to ignore how his feet reached only halfway down the mattress and concentrated instead at looking at the ceiling, the wall, the bank of machines across the room from him.

"You're looking better," Jack finally said, leaning back to grab a chair with one hand and rolling it close to the bed. He had something in his other hand, which he held close to his chest.

"Even though I passed out?" Daniel tried to steal a look but couldn't quite make it out.

"Your fever just broke; you probably just sat up too fast." Janet sat on the edge of the bed and patted his thigh. "Your knee and hand were pretty badly infected and you were running a high fever. The antibiotics seem to be kicking in; your fever's down, which is a good sign."

"Infected?" Daniel slowly closed the fingers of his bandaged hand into a fist. He wasn't able to move them much, due to not only pain, but swelling also. He looked up at Janet for an explanation, and caught her giving Jack a nod.

He turned to Jack, just in time to see Jack lower his arm and something erupt from his hold. A loud squawk filled the room as a long, grey creature flew towards him. Daniel's first instinct was to duck, then fuzzy memories hit him and he held out his arms to her.

"Scarlett."

She was all over him, until Jack said her name in a tone that Daniel knew well. She cheeped once and settled down, wriggling her way around Daniel until her face was nestled against his neck and chin.

"I remember..." Daniel smoothed the soft fur beneath his fingers. "I remember her." He smiled up at Jack. "She found me and never left my side. I think she recognized me even though I'm..."

"Shorter?"

"A kid, Jack. I look like a kid."

"I dunno... if you poof your hair up—" Jack waved his hand over his head – "and wear platforms in your shoes, people might not notice." Jack rolled his eyes towards Fraiser. "Too much." He looked away, rubbing nervously at a stain on his pants. "Well, maybe they might notice you don't shave but that problem will solve itself in a couple years... more or less."

Daniel didn't know whether to laugh or be insulted. Or scared. He ignored Jack's attempt at levity and pursed his lips. His memory was coming back and he sure as hell didn't like what it meant.

"They kidnapped me—"

"Who?"

Daniel ground the back of his head into his pillow in frustration. "I don't know. Aliens. Okay, they looked human but there was something that was just a little... off."

"Off? How?"

"Like the piece of skin I tore off one of them when I tried to fight back and exposed blue scales underneath."

"Yeah, I'd say that was a tip off."

"Daniel?" Janet stroked Scarlett, who wiggled against Daniel after giving off a happy cheep. "You said they kidnapped you?"

"Yeah." He shuddered once at the memory of what they did to him. "They had some sort of machine that did this to me. It... was pretty painful."

"Why? Why the hell would they take a grown man and make him into a kid?"

"They sell the children, Jack. To couples on several planets who can't have children. The couple put in their orders – in my case they were looking for a blond little boy who looked like the mother – and these aliens go around searching for the best candidates and... shrink them."

"But why hasn't anyone spoken out?" Janet leaned forward, anger causing her to frown. "Why haven't the people who've been taken said anything? Why hasn't anyone tried to stop these aliens, discouraged the people from actually doing this to unsuspecting victims—"

"Because the couples think they're getting unwanted children, orphans or abandoned kids. And those who have been turned into children aren't supposed to remember anything."

"You mean—"

"I knew something was wrong... wrong with me, wrong with the situation. I bided my time until I managed to escape. I made it to the Stargate but I couldn't dial... I think I wanted to go to Tuplo... Somehow I knew I needed a GDO to get home, but I couldn't dial the address for P3X 797."

Daniel sighed at Jack's raised eyebrow.

"I was too short. I couldn't reach all the glyphs on the DHD." Daniel rubbed at his temple. He was tired, his head was starting to ache and he really wished that this was all a dream and that he'd wake up and chalk the whole thing up to the pizza he'd eaten for supper.

"So you went to Scarlett's planet instead?"

Janet was watching him carefully and he had a feeling he needed to get this information out fast, before she ordered him to rest. "Yeah." He looked down at Scarlett, who was gazing at him adoringly. "I remembered the address and knew I'd be safe there. And I could reach all the glyphs without any problem so I went through the Stargate. Once there, I was reluctant to go back to the Land of Light. The idea of the dark side of the planet was freaking me out so I decided to wait a while. And then I got sick."

"And then we came."

"Yeah." His headache suddenly went up a notch. He went to take his glasses off so he could massage the middle of his forehead, forgetting he hadn't worn glasses since his abduction. "How did you guys find me?"

Daniel watched Janet as she got up from his bed and got something from a side table nearby.

"Her friends." Daniel turned his head in time to see Jack point at Scarlett with his chin. "Remember how they came here the last time using that trick with the GDO?"

"Yeah. They kept hitting all the old codes and then came through the Stargate—They didn't."

"They did."

"Scarlett?"

"No, two of her cronies. Came through with an interesting piece of evidence—"

Jack stopped talking while Fraiser handed Daniel a pill.

"For your headache." She followed the Tylenol with a glass of water, which Daniel gratefully accepted. "And your fever." While Daniel gulped down the water, she pressed a hand to his cheek.

Daniel finished the water and pulled the glass away from his mouth with a loud, wet gasp. He hadn't realized how thirsty he was until he'd taken the first swallow. Janet took the glass away as he turned to Jack.

"What did they bring?"

"A piece of material covered with blood."

Daniel blinked at Jack, trying to figure out what this had to do with him.

"Your blood, Daniel."

"It came from the pants you were wearing."

Daniel felt his mouth open in surprise and he shut it with a snap. "They brought a piece of my clothes here?" He turned to Scarlett, looking at her with new respect. "Do you think they understand...?"

"Maybe not in the way you and I might. I'm guessing smell has a lot to do with identifying one another in their little world." Janet played a finger over Scarlett's forehead, moving it down to her snout. "Maybe they brought your scent to us so we'd know you were with them." Scarlett flicked her tongue and caught Janet's finger just as she pulled away. "Which you're very lucky they did."

Daniel yawned suddenly, the action causing his eyes to tear. "Sam and Teal'c, they're okay?" He wiped at his eyes with a knuckle.

"Yeah. I sent them off to get some rest. No use all of us sitting around, waiting for you to wake up."

Jack was watching him with an odd look on his face.

"What?" Daniel yawned again, loudly.

"Nothing. It's just odd... you look like this little kid but you sound just like... you."

"I am me." Another yawn. This was starting to get embarrassing.

"Okay, enough talking. Daniel, you need to sleep. Sir, so do you. It's late, and as you just stated, there's no use for you to wait around for him to wake up."

Jack checked his watch and nodded. "I'll just go write up what Daniel told us and send it on to the General's office, then I'll hit the sack," he said quickly when Janet made to speak.

Daniel yawned yet again, and when Janet readjusted his bed, he curled up around his pillow. Scarlett moved along with him, remaining coiled up next to him, her presence a comfort and hopefully a deterrent from more unwanted dreams.

- - - - - -

"So I'm not a clone." Embarrassed at having to sit on a pile of books just so that he could reach the height of the briefing room table, Daniel took a deep breath, releasing a lot of the tension he hadn't realized he'd harboured. He nodded at Thor, who somehow managed to sit in his chair without benefit of a lift, and still appeared to be at the proper level. He suppressed the urge of peeking under the table to see if Thor was actually levitating on his chair.

"My analysis, along with Doctor Fraiser's, have confirmed that your body has somehow been turned back in time to that of a child."

"Janet, do I still have an appendix?" He wondered why he hadn't thought to look and see if he had a scar. Actually, he hadn't examined much of himself. He'd allowed Janet's nurses to wash him and had dressed as quickly as possible, sliding the donated clothing on without really looking at what he was wearing. Or covering up.

"No, you don't."

"So Daniel's body has been regressed." Sam glanced over at Daniel and gave him a quick smile. "And retained the characteristics of his adult body, complete with his subcutaneous transmitter."

The small device, surgically removed from his arm earlier that morning, was now sitting on the briefing room table, inside a small specimen bottle. Wrapped around the bottle was Scarlett, who'd been ordered to stay in plain sight after her attempts to get friendly with Thor. She hadn't actually startled the Asgard, but there was no love lost between them. And her curiosity over him had reached a point that was bordering on rudeness.

"And as Major Carter has stated in her report, there is no doubt that this transmitter is the same one that had been inserted into Doctor Jackson's body several months earlier." General Hammond folded his fingers together and placed them on the table. "Do you have any idea why Doctor Jackson has retained his memories when others haven't?"

"Perhaps it has to do with the fact that he was once ascended." Teal'c, sitting next to Daniel, had never looked, or felt, so colossal.

"You know, I think he's got a point." The idea hadn't occurred to Daniel, but now that Teal'c mentioned it, he knew, deep down, that this was probably the case. "I don't know what Oma or the others did to me before they sent me back, but I'm betting whatever it was, it interfered with the aliens' technology."

"Well, I guess now I can't go hating the old biddy anymore." Daniel kicked his good leg under the table and fell short of reaching Jack's knee. Angry, he glared across the table instead. Jack looked first at Daniel, then around the table, giving everyone a puppy dog look. "What? You can't say that she had his best interests at heart, considering what they—"

"If Oma hadn't interfered, I wouldn't be here," Daniel said through clenched teeth. "Instead I'd be under a pile of earth which would currently be glowing in the dark."

Hammond cleared his throat and Daniel, embarrassed, gave his attention to his bandaged hand. He opened and closed his fist, trying to see how much movement he could get without pain. He concluded, not much.

"Thor, do you have the technology to change Doctor Jackson back to his former self?"

Daniel glanced up quickly, trying to curb the hope that he felt bubbling up inside of him. They'd danced around the subject up until now, as if afraid to ask.

"Unfortunately, I do not."

Daniel closed his eyes and let his head drop forward. Suddenly he was overwhelmed with fatigue and wished he could lie down. He felt the start of a chill and knew his fever was starting to creep back up.

"Then I'll have all the teams start asking around about these aliens. Perhaps if we put the word out that a couple is looking to adopt—"

"That may not be necessary, sir." Daniel opened his eyes wearily. "I think I might be able to come up with the 'gate address. It's fuzzy, but I got a look at the Stargate when the aliens brought me to my new... parents. Maybe when I'm not so..."

Hammond gave him a sympathetic look and nodded. "Very well. Once you've gotten some rest, give Major Carter any symbols you think might be part of the address and she can attempt to introduce it into the dialing program—"

"With all due respect, sir, but that could take months. We could be looking at hundreds of permutations depending on how many symbols Daniel remembers, and their order—"

"Well, the sooner we start, the sooner we'll get results." Jack gave Daniel a sharp look. "Once Daniel gets some sleep, of course." He looked at Hammond apologetically.

"Perhaps once you have rested, we could attempt to Kelno'reem. Perhaps the meditation would help clear your mind sufficiently to recall what you require."

"Thanks, Teal'c. That's worth a try."

"Perhaps I may be of help." Thor turned to Sam, which caused Scarlett to raise her head in interest. Jack simply lifted an index finger and she lowered her head again with a loud huff. "I may be able to extrapolate the Stargate address using the Samantha Carter's computer."

Jack mouthed the name of the ship, his gaze flitting from Carter, whose eyes widened in shock. She quickly lowered her gaze, seeming too embarrassed to look at Jack. He turned to Daniel, who was smiling, then to Teal'c and finally Hammond, who was making a concerted attempt to not look at him.

"It will most likely be less time-consuming than Major Carter's attempts with her dialing program."

The words "archaic" weren't uttered, but Thor's meaning was clear nonetheless.

Thor turned to Daniel. "Relay any information you may recall and I will see what I can do."

"Thank you." Grateful at the help he was getting from all quarters, he felt his throat tighten with emotion. He chalked it down to fatigue.

"If you are able to find the technology that did this to you, rest assured, I will do my utmost to assist in returning you to your former state." Thor nodded, and suddenly disappeared in a beam of white light.

Scarlett rose straight up with a startled screech, nearly slamming against the ceiling before she came to a stop. She zipped back down and twined herself around Daniel, looking around fearfully, giving small little yips until Daniel stroked her into calming.

Busy as he was with an armful of startled alien, Daniel hadn't noticed the grins and muffled giggles. Once he was sure Scarlett wasn't about to bury herself inside his shirt, he allowed himself to smile. Laughter threatened to erupt and he was afraid Scarlett would be insulted so he pretended to cough and clear his throat.

"I think we can call it a day, people." General Hammond's voice was strained with his attempts to hold back his laughter. He stood and quickly left the room, shutting himself in his office.

Daniel slid off his chair and landed heavily on the floor. The movement jarred his knee and he lost his balance. Because he'd had one hand around Scarlett's body, he ended up slamming his injured palm against the table while trying to stay upright. "Damn it," he said through clenched teeth, suddenly angry at the situation and the lingering pain and weakness of the infection. Even the sound of Hammond's muffled guffaws coming through the closed door wasn't enough to bring back the feeling of empathy he'd had just a few minutes earlier.

"Daniel, are you okay?"

He shrugged off Janet's helping hand while Scarlett, with a soft whimper, slowly uncoiled herself from around him. She slowly flew to where Thor had been sitting, sniffing the air around the chair, almost afraid to get too close.

"I'm fine. Just forgot I was so high up." He took a step and grimaced at the stiffness in his leg. He could barely put his weight on it and knew immediately that his insistence at walking to the briefing room earlier had been a mistake. Plus sitting on the chair for so long had probably hadn't helped things along either.

"You stay put." Janet raised a finger in front of his face, reminiscent of Jack's keeping Scarlett at bay earlier. "I'm going to get a wheelchair."

"I don't need a wheelchair. My leg just stiffened up."

"That's more than simple stiffness. Your leg's probably swollen. I don't want you walking back on it."

"Janet," Daniel cried in frustration as she reached for the phone. "I don't need—"

"Perhaps I can be of assistance." Teal'c reached down and before Daniel could react, swept him up into his arms. "This will be quicker than waiting for Doctor Fraiser to send up a chair for you."

Daniel leaned into Teal'c, sighing in frustrating. "This is embarrassing," he said softly.

"Is it not no more embarrassing than if I were to assist you were you still in adult form?" Teal'c strode out of the briefing room, heading for the corridor and the elevators. Sam, Janet and Jack followed behind, Janet almost trotting to keep up with Teal'c's longer strides.

"No, but you wouldn't be carrying me for everyone to see."

He turned and craned his neck as they left the room. Scarlett seemed to just notice that they were leaving and zipped out of the room, nearly careening into the walls as she turned the corner. She was suddenly full of energy, flying circles around everyone, happily buzzing the SFs stationed near the entrances to the General's office.

She froze suddenly when one of the neon lights on the ceiling sputtered, obviously nearly spent. Daniel grinned as she quickly whizzed to the side and down close to the floor, giving the erratic light a wide berth. She flew backwards a while, keeping an eye on it until they stepped into the elevator. She backed up slowly into the elevator and it was only thanks to Jack's quick reflexes that he grabbed her and pulled her in before the doors closed on her.

Obviously she'd had enough. By the time they reached the infirmary, she was happily coiled around both Daniel and Teal'c.

- - - - - -

Daniel let himself fall back onto the bed. "It's not working." He pulled a blanket over his legs, ignored the growing throb of his knee and palm, and turned to look at Teal'c.

In the flickering light of dozens of candles illuminating the private room, Teal'c appeared almost as still as a stone statue. Until he opened his eyes, and then the nearest candles were reflected in them.

"You are still fatigued and ill. We shall try again tomorrow."

"I'm sorry."

"You have no need to apologize. Your body still fights the infection; that kelno'reem would have aided you in remembering at this time would greatly have surprised me."

"Then why did you...?"

"Because your body required the stillness. All your energy has gone into fighting this infection; perhaps now you will truly heal."

Daniel stretched his back, which had begun to ache from sitting on the bed earlier. "I, um... didn't really relax enough to meditate. My hand and knee—"

"But you did, DanielJackson. For a short time. Tomorrow we will make another attempt." Teal'c rose and began blowing out the candles. Daniel watched as he turned on a small table lamp and placed the candles in order of size on a corner table, ready for their next attempt.

When he finished, he turned to Daniel and inclined his head. "I will inform Doctor Fraiser that you require pain relief, and O'Neill that we have finished so he may return Scarlett to you."

Daniel scratched his forehead as Teal'c left, then burrowed under the blankets. He was pretty sure the moment Teal'c spoke to Janet, someone would be checking up on him within the next few minutes—The door swung open and right on time, one of Janet's nurses walked in, flicking on the overhead light as she did.

"It's nearly time for your medication, Doctor Jackson. I'd like to do a quick examination first."

Daniel pulled down the blanket, allowing her access to his body. The room was chilly despite the many candles having warmed it. He shifted restlessly, the ache in his hips and back telling him that his fever was back.

She finished, plied him with Tylenol and was just heading for the door when Jack came in. He nodded, stepped aside and let the nurse out whereas Scarlett, upon seeing the opened door, zipped inside. She flew happily around the room, chattering incessantly. As much as Daniel was glad she appeared content, he really didn't feel much like putting up with any of her antics tonight.

"Sounds like she's telling you all about her evening." Jack smiled as he came in but his smile quickly faded. "Hey, you okay? You're looking a little pale."

"Just tired." Daniel tried to smile back but he knew it probably looked forced.

Jack tossed a small rubber ball a few inches into the air, catching it in his palm. Immediately Scarlett stopped her chatter and flew up to him, watching him avidly. "I just thought you'd like to see what we've been doing for the past hour." Jack tossed the ball so that it rebounded off the wall and ricocheted across the room. Immediately Scarlett went after it, catching it in her mouth before it bounced twice. She flew to Daniel, and dropped the ball onto the bed, close to his hand, then immediately zipped backwards a few feet. This time Daniel couldn't help but smile; she looked like an overeager puppy wanting to play ball.

"How about I take this and we'll entertain her tomorrow?" Jack picked the ball up and dropped it into his pocket. "Look, do you need anything? Did the nurse give you everything you need?"

Scarlett, upon seeing that their game was over, sank down onto the bed and stretched out alongside Daniel's leg.

"I'm fine, thanks. I just got something for pain and for fever."

"Okay. I'll let you get some sleep, then. Look, you want me to take her tonight?"

Daniel looked down at Scarlett, who had inched forward and was gently rubbing her head alongside his bandaged hand. "No, I wouldn't want you to sleep on base just for her. I think you might have tired her out enough so that she'll sleep."

"Okay. But I'm staying here tonight nonetheless. If you have to, get one of the nurses to call me and I'll come and taker her off your hands."

"She'll be fine." Daniel rubbed his fingers across her forehead. The throbbing had thankfully eased, but his fingers still felt swollen and his palm stretched tight across the incision Janet had made.

"So, Teal'c told me that tonight was a bust."

"Yeah, but there's always tomorrow." Daniel yawned. Scarlett seemed to take that for a sign that it was bedtime; she flew lazily up to his pillow and proceeded to curl up around his head and neck.

"Well, since you two are ready for bed, I'll just say goodnight and see you in the morning. Shall I—" He pointed towards the wall switch.

"Please?"

With a quick flick of his fingers, Jack turned around, hit the overhead lights and left. The small lamp gave just enough illumination for Daniel to see by if he needed to get up during the night. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

He thought he'd drift off right away, seeing how tired he was. Actually he'd begun to drift until a noise out in the hallway startled him awake. He shifted, turned onto his side, careful of his knee and felt Scarlett shift with him. This time as he tried to sleep, his mind seemed to have another idea.

The visions he'd tried to bring up during kelno'reem were suddenly there, in his mind's eye. He could almost see the glyphs he needed. He thought he recognized two of them but before he could bring more into focus, the image faded. Swearing softly under his breath, he sat up and reached for the pad and pencil Teal'c had left him earlier. He made note of the two glyphs and tossed the pad back onto the table.

Now he was wide-awake. He turned onto his side, waiting for Scarlett to settle again, and woke up again the next morning when someone brought him breakfast.

- - - - - -

Daniel leaned his elbows on the table and rubbed his temples with his fingertips. He was listening to Ferretti's report of his and Major Clarke's unsuccessful attempts at portraying a loving couple in search of adopting a child, broadcast from the Control room into the Briefing room.

Majors Dickson and Hanson had reported the same thing only a few hours earlier. While both teams would remain offworld and maintain their roles for another two days, this scenario wasn't looking promising.

Although Daniel had recalled the Stargate address from the world he'd escaped from, within the past four days, he still couldn't come up with more than four glyphs, and two of those he wasn't certain of.

"Any luck with the cold dialing program, Major?" Hammond asked once Lou broke contact with them.

"No, sir, it's too early. Even if Daniel remembers another glyph or even two, it may still take months. I'm sorry," she added, looking at Daniel. Her gaze shifted and she looked upwards, over his shoulder. A moment later, he felt displaced air as Scarlett flew by and, giving the chair that Thor had used in that first briefing a wide berth, landed on Jack's shoulder. She'd brought a small, leafy branch with her, compliments of another SG team who'd kept her supplied in food when any and all attempts at coaxing her to return home other than forcibly removing her, had failed. With a suspicious eye cast towards the empty chair, Scarlett began chewing on the branch.

Hammond glanced at Daniel, who couldn't meet the General's eyes. He knew how much time, money and manpower were going into trying to solve his dilemma. But the crux of the matter was, half the problem would be solved if he could just remember the Stargate address.

He knew it was there, in his memories, but for some reason he wasn't able to remember. He'd been in shock, that probably accounted for some of the fuzziness, but Daniel was certain there was yet an underlying reason why he couldn't achieve peace of mind while meditating with Teal'c.

General Hammond dismissed the meeting and Daniel slid off his chair, feeling his tee shirt rise and catch on the sharp edges of the books and scrape the skin on his back. He lowered the tee shirt and pondered the next steps. Basically, he was still on medical leave and restricted from working, but he was well enough to be up and about. Scarlett gave a sleepy yawn from her perch on Jack's shoulders. They'd played toss-the-ball-and-fly-after-it earlier, just before the meeting began in order to tire her out so she'd be less of a nuisance. Now, tired and fed, she looked ready for a nap.

Too bad Daniel didn't. This was the first day he was fever-free and he wished he could go hide behind the pretext of illness. He wasn't sure why he felt this way, all he knew was that he dreaded what was coming up next, and that was adding to his guilt.

He walked around the table slowly, testing out his knee. He was wearing soft sweats to ease the pressure on his healing skin, but now, other than the pull of scabbing tissue, he was mostly pain-free. He turned the corner and realized Teal'c was waiting for him.

"Perhaps we could attempt to kelno'reem once more."

There really was no way out of it. He and Teal'c were meditating twice a day, all to no avail. They'd tried it this morning and in all honestly, now that he was in a VIP room, he had less distractions to keep his mind occupied. Daniel had allowed himself to drift off to sleep rather than try and maintain his focus. He nodded and tried to show some enthusiasm as he moved past Teal'c.

"Want some company this time?"

Daniel turned wide eyes at Jack. Never a big fan on the meditation scene, his offer seemed to come right out of the blue.

"Sure. The more the merrier." Daniel's answer was quick, before Teal'c could say something in the negative. Because having Jack, and hence Scarlett, there with them, was yet a deliberate deterrent to achieving a meditative state. He felt Teal'c's disapproving stare as he walked towards the elevator with a bounce in his step.

- - - - - -

The ease with which he slipped into a relaxed state had part of him wondering if anyone had slipped any magic mushrooms into his orange juice at mealtime. His best laid plans of using Jack as an excuse to not achieve this level of meditation was moot, considering Jack was sitting still, eyes closed, and uncharacteristically not fidgeting, which Daniel had counted on. Scarlett had curled up on his bed, sound asleep, her little breaths coming out in a soft snore behind his right ear. Funny he had never heard that before; then again, he'd always been exhausted, sick or drugged whenever she'd been with him.

Okay, he wouldn't go there. Otherwise he'd start thinking of her as a bad luck. His lips twitched slightly into a smile, and he remembered her coming to greet this younger version of himself and refusing to leave him. He couldn't help wonder if it was because she knew somehow they were working on getting him back to his old self. If this lasted much longer, they'd have to make a trip to her home world and try and somehow convince her to stay there.

They'd have to find the GDO her kind had stolen; otherwise she'd probably be right back here minutes after the Stargate closed. He envisaged her dialing the Stargate, somehow hitting the buttons on the GDO and coming through, angry as hell. As if she knew Daniel was thinking of her, she gave a little inquisitive cheep, shifted, and went quiet.

Thoughts of her using the DHD reminded him how much trouble he'd had dialing home when he'd escaped. His four year-old body had been too short to reach all the glyphs; unlike the previous time when the aliens had taken his short self to the Stargate.

Suddenly Daniel found himself on a precipice; he knew this was it. The culmination of Kelno'reem had been towards this goal. His memories. The way to hopefully solve this whole situation.

And he was afraid.

He hesitated, poised on the verge of opening his eyes and declaring the whole scenario another waste of time. He knew he was a coward, but there was something he was afraid of... He knew he could take that one step and tumble down into oblivion, or trust in his friends, and in himself. He opted for his friends, and in his mind he took that step with confidence, and found himself back then.

In pain.

In shock.

Standing next to the DHD, in a fugue state, his attention not quite catching anything in particular. His body was still trembling from reaction, the pain from the transformation still coursing through his nerve endings. His clothes had felt damp and sticky on him; his head a size too large for his neck.

Memories of the agony induced by the transformer caused his breathing to speed up. That alone, he knew, should throw him out of meditation, but he was caught in the scenario. This was what he feared.

The pain.

He knew if they found this planet and the technology used to make him smaller, and if it succeeded in making him big again, the process would hurt.

Horribly.

And he called himself a coward, because he realized it was the fear of pain that had kept him from remembering. So he forced himself onward. Sweat dripped down his face, tickling his skin as it slid down his neck, down the sides of his ribs, down his lower back. He forced his mind to clear, seeing and feeling those odd, disjointed seconds just before they'd brought him to his supposedly adoptive parents.

While the aliens had dialed the Stargate, he'd run his gaze over the glyphs etched into a piece of slate. He hadn't memorized the glyphs, but his subconscious had read them as he'd stared without truly seeing, until one of the aliens shoved him and he was forced to move towards the now active Stargate.

"Daniel."

"I have them," Daniel gasped, opening his eyes and falling forward. He was trembling so hard he couldn't sit up. Hands caught him and lifted him onto the bed. He wasn't placed on the mattress, though. A part of him realized he was tucked on someone's lap, his face pressed against a soft tee shirt, a hand rubbing his back. He needed to get away, to tell someone he'd gotten the address, but he couldn't seem to speak. There was an odd wailing sound close by, and he wished it would stop. It was giving him a headache.

A blanket was wrapped around him and its weight and heat felt good. The shivering wasn't easing, and he knew it was due to more than the temperature in the room. He really wished the noise would stop; he needed to talk and he couldn't get a word in edgewise.

Then there were more voices, and a sharp prick inside his elbow. A minute later, the wailing finally stopped. Instead of trying to speak, though, he was just content to lie there.

- - - - - -

Jack felt Daniel relax in his arms and he adjusted slightly as his head slid down his chest, coming to rest against his bicep. Jack's ears were ringing from the volume of Daniel's screams in one ear and Scarlett's screeches in the other.

"Do you know what triggered this?" Fraiser asked, tossing the spent syringe into the Sharps container. Threading a hand through Daniel's hair, she assessed him visually before taking his wrist to take his pulse.

Jack shook his head. "I have no idea. One minute he was sitting there." Jack motioned to the pillows strewn on the floor next to the bed. "And the next minute he was screaming for all he was worth."

"I believe he accessed his memories." Teal'c was picking up the candles and putting them away.

It was a blessing that Daniel's hysteria hadn't involved kicking and thrashing, otherwise he could have burned himself on hot wax. As it was, seeing Daniel staring vacantly into space, screaming like a banshee and shaking like a leaf was not a picture Jack ever wanted to see again.

"You think from the time those aliens did this to him?"

"It is most likely."

"Doc, he gonna be okay when the sedative wears off?"

"I would think so, Colonel. If what Teal'c thinks is true, then Daniel probably just experienced a bout of PTSS. He should be fine when he wakes up."

When Fraiser released Daniel's hand, Jack shifted slowly, carefully easing Daniel out of his arms and onto the bed. Daniel opened his eyelids a crack, his gaze searching until they found Jack's before letting his eyes slide shut again. He let Teal'c adjust the blanket around Daniel, wrapping it completely around both him and Scarlett, who'd calmed down the moment Daniel had and was now wrapped around him with her head sticking out on the pillow, watching them.

"Should I take him back to the infirmary?"

"No, not unless there's a problem when he wakes up. I presume you'll be staying with him?"

Both Jack and Teal'c nodded simultaneously.

"He should sleep for about three or four hours. He might be a little groggy when he wakes up, but that's normal. Make sure he eats something, and let him sleep the rest of the evening if that's what he wants to do."

Once Fraiser left, Jack walked over to the table and picked up a pack of cards. He looked at Teal'c as he sat down and fanned the cards. "Gin? Gonna be a long couple of hours. We can call Carter and get her to bring us some eats while we wait."

Teal'c pulled out a chair opposite Jack. "Indeed."

- - - - - -

Jack looked up from his game of Solitaire when the bedclothes rustled. Two pairs of sleepy eyes were staring at him; one blue, one brown. Scarlett yawned while Daniel raised a hand from under the bedcovers to knuckle his eyes.

"What happened?" His voice slightly hoarse, Daniel cleared his throat and rolled onto his elbow while Carter put down the book she'd been reading and went into the bathroom.

"I was kinda hoping you could tell us." Jack sat on the edge of the bed while Daniel, who still looked half-asleep, looked around in confusion. Teal'c, who'd been looking over mission reports, came to stand next to Jack. The sound of running water came from the bathroom sink.

"What time is it?" Daniel cleared his throat again.

"Just past suppertime."

"What?" Daniel sat up all the way, dislodging Scarlett, who rolled backwards off the pillow. With a displeased squawk, she rose into the air, hovering close as Daniel used both hands to wipe the sleep from his eyes. "Why was I sleeping during the day?"

"DoctorFraiser believes you suffered an occurrence of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, brought on by the possible recollection of your memories from the time you were subjected to the technology which reduced you in size."

"I what?" He turned from Teal'c to Jack.

"You went a little bonkers on us, Daniel."

Carter came back into the room with a glass of water and Daniel gladly took it, all the while rolling his eyes at Jack.

"Is your throat sore?" Carter patted down some of Daniel's bed head while he was absorbed in drinking.

Daniel paused in his gulping down the water and shook his head. "Not really, it's just a little scratchy. Why? Am I coming down with something?" The glass which he held close to his mouth muffled his words. He started gulping the water once more the moment he finished talking.

"No." Jack reached out and pulled the glass away from his mouth. "Take it slow, okay?"

With eyes narrowed, Daniel deliberately raised the glass and took several small, exaggerated sips.

The sight of this miniature Daniel with the same facial expressions as the older one was both endearing and startling. Nonplussed, Jack stuttered a moment before speaking. "And your throat's sore because you were screaming your head off."

"You appeared terrified, DanielJackson. Do you not recall anything?"

"I don't know." Daniel tipped the glass sideways and offered the last of the water to Scarlett. Immediately she approached and lapped the liquid up. "I..." He suddenly paled and his hand trembled, splashing some water onto Scarlett's snout and the bed sheets. He shivered, and Carter hurried to take the glass from him while Scarlett sneezed. "I remember it hurt..."

"That's probably pretty much an understatement."

Daniel gave Jack a quick sideways glance and his lip quirked slightly, almost making it into a smile. "Yeah. Pretty much." He rubbed his hands over his arms, as if chasing goose bumps, then looked up at Jack, his eyes widening. "Oh, I remembered. Where's my notepad?"

Caught up in the bed sheets, Daniel tried to get out of bed. Teal'c simply reached over to the bedside table, picked up a pen and the notepad, and handed them to Daniel. Ten seconds later, Daniel had scribbled seven glyphs onto the paper.

"The 'gate address?" Carter took the notepad from Daniel and when he nodded, she tore the sheet off and folded it. "I'll go and run this through the dialing program." She was off in a flash, leaving Daniel with a blank notepad in his hands.

Seeing that the trembling had eased and that his colour was back, Jack decided to broach the subject of food.

"Hungry?"

"Actually, yes." This time Daniel managed to extract himself from the sheets and slid off the bed. "I just gotta go to the bathroom first."

Jack waited patiently as he listened to the sounds coming from the bathroom, idly caressing Scarlett who was sniffing at his pockets. Teal'c, on the other hand, was gathering the papers he'd been working on. Jack took out the rubber ball and got in a couple of tosses before Daniel came out of the bathroom. He'd obviously washed his face and slicked his hair back some to rid himself of the bed head.

"T, you comin' with?" Jack asked.

"I will join you in the commissary. After I return these to my quarters."

As they stepped out of the room, Jack handed the ball to Daniel, who tossed it down the bustling hallway. Scarlett did them proud, causing a few shrieks and startled yells and even a few curses as she zipped in and around the unsuspecting personnel, intent on the bouncing ball.

"Okay, even I wouldn't stoop that low."

"What?" Daniel grinned up at Jack. "It slipped from my fingers." He waggled his fingers at Jack, then promptly put his palm out just as Scarlett returned to him with her catch. A moment later he was the proud owner of a saliva-encrusted rubber ball. And they were now in front of the elevators.

Daniel made a face and held his hand out to Jack, who took the ball from him and pocketed it while Daniel wiped his hand on his pants as they stepped into the elevator.

- - - - - -

"I forgot my antibiotics." Daniel peered down the line of people waiting to be served. "Order me whatever you're having, I'll be right back."

Before Jack could say anything, Daniel zipped out of line and ran out of the commissary, Scarlett following right on his tail. Jack watched him go, noting that his friend barely had a slight limp. He checked his watch and figured Daniel would be back in about eight minutes; just enough time for him to get their food and find a table.

He checked out the choices, decided on lasagne and vegetables, and when his turn came, gave the order for two. He brought his precariously filled tray to a free table and removed both plates and slid them onto the table. He was about to pull out his chair when he heard a commotion outside. Actually, it was Scarlett's angry screeching which got his attention more than the raised male voice.

Without hesitation, Jack swept past the commissary door. He wasn't wrong. A marine had Daniel by the arm, and was in full receipt of the Jackson glare. Not that Daniel's new stature diminished such a glower, but it just didn't seem quite as imposing coming from a four year-old child rather than a forty year-old man.

"Major, let him go."

"Sir. Somehow this child got onto the base and—"

"This child is Doctor Daniel Jackson. Have you not been reading your memos?"

"Doctor Jackson has a son? I'm sorry, Colonel, I just returned from a mission and—" The man reluctantly let go of Daniel while waving his free hand to ward off Scarlett, who was harassing him.

"No," Daniel said acerbically, rubbing his arm. "I'm Doctor Jackson. Next time try listening instead of grabbing people. It might make your next offworld mission a little less perilous."

"Is there a problem?" Teal'c and Carter arrived at that moment, flanking the marine on either side.

Daniel, red-faced with anger and looking like he wanted nothing more than to kick the man in the kneecaps, turned around and without a word, entered the commissary. With a last angry chitter, Scarlett followed, barely making it through the door which swung shut just as she put on a quick burst of speed.

"That's Doctor Jackson?" The marine looked at Jack in confusion. "I thought it was some kid running wild in the corridor—"

"Didn't the flying balloon tip you off that this wasn't some ordinary kid? It's an honest mistake but he could just as easily have been the son of an important delegate. Daniel's right, don't go grabbing people just because you don't know who they are." Jack took a step backwards, towards the door. "Of course, unless they're being chased by armed personnel."

"Yes, sir." The marine, still looking a little confused, turned tail and headed in the opposite direction.

"What happened, sir?" Carter said as they went through the doors.

"Idiot didn't recognize Daniel and grabbed him as he was coming into the commissary."

"He didn't hurt him—"

"No, but I think his ego just got busted down a notch."

Daniel had found their table and was sitting there, still looking pissed as he struggled to open the bottle of antibiotics. Scarlett seemed to understand his mood. For once she was curled up on an empty section of the table, watching and not getting in his way. Without a word, Jack took the pill bottle from him and fiddled with the childproof cap. He turned it right, then left, pushed down on the cap with his palm, pulled on it, rotated it again, and even tried to pry it off with his teeth. He was on the verge of slamming the thing down onto the table in order to break the plastic apart when Teal'c dropped his tray on the table and plucked the pill bottle out of his hands.

The Jaffa turned the cap half a turn to the right and thumbed the cover off with ease. He handed the pill bottle back to Daniel with a short bow of his head, and as he sat down, Daniel fished out one of the pills. Popping it into his mouth, he swallowed it down with water. "Well, that was embarrassing."

"Yeah, you'd think they'd make these things easier to open." Jack picked up his fork and cut into his now tepid lasagne. When Scarlett moved closer to their plates, Teal'c offered her a few pieces of fruit and she eagerly curled up onto his shoulders, where he could feed her with ease.

"I meant what happened out in the hallway." Daniel picked up his fork and began cutting into the lasagne.

"It was an isolated incident." As much as Jack could see how infuriating it must have been for Daniel, he could very well imagine what the guy would have thought at seeing such a young child running through the corridors of a secret military base. "I'm sure the last four SG teams still offworld will all be briefed within the next week or so and you won't have to worry about this happening again."

"Right. And what about if we can't change me back and I'm stuck like this for the next 35 years? How do I act outside of here? I certainly can't go to Starbucks and ask for a cup of coffee with two shots of espresso. Hell, I probably can't have a normal conversation with anybody outside the SGC."

"You won't be stuck like this for 35 years. Your body is probably growing at a normal speed so you'll be an adult in at least fourteen more years. And as to having a normal conversation – Daniel, on a good day, I can't state that any conversation with you is normal."

Daniel had finally managed to cut through a few layers of slightly undercooked pasta. With his mouth full, he couldn't answer Jack but he did give him a roll of his eyes that spoke volumes.

"Carter, you learn anything about those symbols Daniel gave you?"

"Yes, sir. The 'gate address was a viable match, and General Hammond gave the go ahead to send a M.A.L.P. through as soon as one's ready. Thor's already on his way to the star system as we speak, just in case the address is the right one. We should be ready to roll in about forty minutes." Carter looked worriedly at Daniel, who was trying to cut into his wedge of pasta with his fork, and without much success.

"What?" Daniel looked at Sam, as if sensing her gaze on him. Jack took the opportunity to reach over with his knife and cut Daniel's pasta for him, only to have Daniel smack him on the back of his hand. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Just trying to help."

"I don't need your help, and Sam, you don't have to look at me that way. I'm fine." He picked up his knife and holding it awkwardly in fingers that looked too tiny to hold the implement properly, attempted to cut the pasta with it.

"Daniel," Jack finally said when the knife barely made a dent in the lasagne.

"Fine." Lips pressed tightly in a pout, Daniel shoved his plate towards Jack. It only took him a few seconds to slice several bite-sized pieces, knowing that Daniel's stomach wouldn't be able to hold much more than a third of the plate. Eyes lowered, Daniel ate quietly, not participating in the now-awkward conversation between the rest of the team.

It was a relief when the meal ended. While they should start heading to the Control room within the next ten minutes, Jack wasn't happy about Daniel being there. Something was bothering Daniel and it wasn't just the incident with the marine.

"Sir, we should go."

Without a word, Daniel slid off his chair. There was no mistaking Daniel's reticence and pale face as he stiffly walked around the table. Scarlett left Teal'c and moved to Daniel, part of her body sitting on his shoulder and the other hovering in the air. Jack would suggest that Daniel not go but he knew without a doubt that Daniel would simply give him his patented 'are you out of your mind' look and carried on.

"Perhaps you would be more comfortable in abstaining from viewing the video feed—"

Daniel simply looked over his shoulder, not slowing down on his way towards the door. "No, Teal'c, otherwise we'll never be sure if it's the right planet if I don't identify it."

"He's right," Jack said reluctantly.

The wait in the Control room felt longer than normal. Jack just wanted this over; Daniel was standing off to the side, arms wrapped around himself, leaning against a section of wall. Scarlett had gone to lie on the top of one of the monitors hanging from the ceiling, peering down into the screen that showed nothing but static.

When Carter finally went down to the Gateroom to see if she could help Siler and the other technicians, Jack rested against a piece of machinery next to Daniel. Slowly, Daniel leaned closer to Jack, until his arm and shoulder were touching his leg. Although it wasn't evident from a distance, Daniel was trembling.

Jack remained in the background, watching as Hammond gave the order to dial the 'gate. Teal'c came to join them as Carter took the controls of the M.A.L.P. Seconds after it went through the 'gate, the overhead screens blossomed with the video feed. Scarlett cheeped in fright and quickly zipped away from the monitor, only to come back and slowly approach it.

Jack had been watching her antics and he turned to Daniel, grinning. He opened his mouth to say something but he realized that Daniel had tensed, and the trembling increased in strength.

"Doctor Jackson, is this familiar to you?" Hammond looked over his shoulder, then turned fully when he caught a glimpse of Daniel.

"You okay?" Jack put a hand on Daniel's shoulder and shook him lightly.

"It's..." Daniel's voice came out of a squeak, and he had to clear his throat before continuing.

"That's it, that's where they..." He coughed. "...Took me." His shoulders rose as his upper body seemed to strain forward, then suddenly he was running out of the room.

Jack had only taken a few steps behind Daniel when he heard the sound of retching. He followed quickly, sidestepped the puddle of vomit and snatched Daniel up, carrying him the last five feet to the washroom. He put him in front of the nearest stall where Daniel continued to dry heave. He was aware of frantic chittering on the other side of the door but Scarlett would just have to wait. He was holding Daniel in place and it seemed with every passing second, Daniel's leaned more and more into Jack's hands.

When there had been nothing but the sound of Daniel's rapid breathing for nearly a minute, Jack loosened his hold. "I guess I should have gotten the chicken instead of the lasagne, eh? You feeling better now?"

Jack had to suddenly grab at Daniel as his body seemed to fold without Jack's support. Hesitant of whether he should pick him up or let him sit, Jack allowed him to ease to the ground. And that was when he got a look his unfocused gaze and slack face.

"O'Neill."

Obviously Teal'c had also. Jack placed his hand behind Daniel's neck and gently tipped his face upwards. Daniel wasn't tracking; apparently whatever memories he'd recalled from the short viewing of the M.A.L.P.'s feed had thrown him into some sort of fugue. Jack tapped Daniel's cheek with his fingers, still getting no response.

Bending down and picking up Daniel's dead weight, he clutched Daniel close to him and straightened. Teal'c was standing just inside the door, one hand holding it closed and the other holding a squirming Scarlett. He nodded towards the alien and Teal'c released her. With an angry squawk and a dirty look in Teal'c's direction, she hurried towards Jack and gently butted Daniel's cheek.

"I shall call ahead to the infirmary and inform GeneralHammond of what has transpired." He pulled the door wider so that Jack could exit the washroom.

Daniel was totally limp in his arms, making Jack fearful of dropping him. He was using both hands to hold him and when he reached the elevator, he motioned for a passing airman to use his pass key to call it for him. The man waited until the car arrived, eyeing Scarlett nervously as she continued to try to rouse Daniel. The airman stepped into the empty elevator with him and used his pass key to punch in the proper floor.

"Thanks," Jack said once they reached their floor.

He hurried down the hallway, heading for the main infirmary doors when he finally felt movement in his arms. Daniel's head came up just enough so that he could rest his chin on Jack's shoulder, and one arm came around to clasp Jack's neck while the other clasped weakly at his tee shirt. His legs twitched, then wound around Jack's waist. His hold on Jack was tenuous, but it was better than the total limpness of before.

"Daniel?" Jack slowed so he could open the doors with his hip. He heard something that could either be construed as a whimper or an attempt at throat clearing. The arm tightened around his neck as he thrust his face against Jack's neck.

"Colonel." Fraiser was hurrying towards them. "Put him down here, on the bed." Jack moved his hand forward and raised an index finger before Fraiser could try and take Daniel away from him.

"Daniel? We're in the infirmary. I'm just going to put you down, here, on the mattress, okay?"

He was half-expecting Daniel's refusal to be separated from him and, therefore, wasn't surprised when his legs suddenly tightened and the arm around his neck turned into a chokehold.

"Okay, we'll do it this way, again." He sat down on the bed and waited until Daniel relaxed enough so that he could reposition him until he was lying on his lap. It took Scarlett only a moment to snuggle up between him and Daniel.

"Teal'c told me what happened." Fraiser gently turned Daniel so that she could get a look at his face. "Daniel, I'm going to check your pupils." She flashed a penlight into his eyes, then smiled when Daniel blinked and focused on her face for a moment.

"He was unresponsive for several minutes. He started coming around just as I walked in here."

As Fraiser took his blood pressure, Daniel turned his head to look up at Jack. He licked his lips as his eyes began straying across the room.

"What...?"

"I think you just suffered a flashback." Fraiser patted Daniel's foot and smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Headache. Confused. Did I, um..." He raised his head and looked at his chest. "Throw up? I remember feeling nauseous..." Scarlett wriggled her way up Daniel's body, sighing a couple of soft chirrups before giving his cheek a lick with her tongue.

"You didn't puke on the General's shoes, so your job is safe," Jack said with a smile.

"Oh, thanks for that visual." Daniel tried to sit up and suddenly the previously limp body Jack had been carrying became all sharp angles, knees and elbows.

"Hey, ow, watch it." Jack managed to get Daniel onto the bed without any serious jabs to his more tender areas. Daniel stared at Jack in confusion, probably a little puzzled at the speed with which he'd been switched to the bed. Then his eyes widened and he looked down at Jack's groin.

"Oh. Sorry." His face turned red and suddenly he couldn't seem to meet Jack's eyes. His gaze kept bounding over to the wall, the ceiling, to Fraiser. At least his avoidance gave Fraiser a few moments for a proper examination. She finally straightened, hooking her stethoscope around her neck.

"Your pressure's a bit low and your pulse is fast, but everything else seems to check out okay."

"So I can go?" Daniel started to sit up but leaned back when Fraiser shook her head.

"I'd rather you stay here for observations. I'd like keep you here for observations, just in case this isn't PTSS. I'd also like to run a few tests—"

"Janet, I'm fine, I can—"

"Daniel, you were totally out of it for a good ten minutes." Jack put a hand on Daniel's leg, hoping to encourage him to sit tight. "You scared the shit out of Teal'c. I think that in and of itself should convince you to listen to Fraiser. Just... lie there and relax for a little while."

"So... I scared you, too, huh?" This time Daniel caught Jack's gaze and held it.

"Big time." Jack squeezed his leg and let go, sitting instead on the mattress.

"I think I scared myself." Daniel looked at his thumb and, with his hand resting against Scarlett's body, began picking at a cuticle.

"Did you remember... was there anything in particular...?"

"No." Daniel sighed. "It was just seeing that place, the sound of the wind in the trees, like the leaves were dry and rasping together, the overpowering smell of the flowers, it just, reminded me of how I felt when they were taking me back. Sick, hurting... I..." Daniel raised his eyes a second time and stared at Jack. "I don't know if I can go through that again." His voice was full of anguish and fear, something Jack had rarely heard Daniel show.

"Daniel, if Thor manages to find the machine that did this to you and make it work, you don't have to... I mean, I can sedate you, help you through the pain. It doesn't have to hurt."

"Thanks, Janet."

Jack didn't miss the fact that both of Daniel's hands were tightly fisted. Jack reached out and put two fingers against Daniel's hand. "If this works out, just remember, this time you won't be doing it alone. We'll be there with you."

Daniel nodded and slowly forced his hands open. He closed his eyes and began to slowly rub his fingers up and down Scarlett's body. Fraiser appeared satisfied that Daniel wasn't moving from the bed and gave Jack a short nod before walking off.

Jack could see Daniel was too tense to get any sleep. For a moment the thought hit him that it was too bad that Daniel really wasn't a four year-old child in both body and mind, that way he could simply gather the child in his arms and cuddle him until he felt secure enough to go to sleep. He chuckled softly as he pictured what Daniel would do to him if he actually tried that now.

"What?" Daniel was staring at him with an almost suspicious expression.

"Hmm?"

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing."

"You were laughing."

"I was. Sorry. It's nothing, really." Carter and Teal'c's entry into the infirmary saved him from trying to explain further.

"Daniel. How are you feeling?" Carter glanced at Jack as she approached the bed.

"I'm fine, Sam."

Scarlett greeted the two with a soft yip, then wriggled around so that her head was positioned beneath Daniel's fingers.

"He started coming around just when I got here," Jack answered Teal'c's unvoiced question. "Fraiser says his BP is a little low; she wants him to rest a little."

"DoctorFraiser's advice should be heeded, especially as Thor has reported that he has found the device that did this to you, and has now taken it into his ship."

"General Hammond has sent in two teams to see if there are any other... victims in the vicinity." She gave Daniel a forced smile when he looked at her. "And to make sure they don't have a backup of the device so there's no repeat performance."

"So, Thor's gonna..." Daniel rolled his eyes upwards and pointed towards the ceiling.

"If he can figure out how the device works, yeah, I guess so." Carter shrugged. "We'll probably hear from him in a day or two."

The words were barely out of Carter's mouth when Daniel and Scarlett disappeared in a flash of light. Before Jack could say anything, he found himself on the Asgard ship, along with Carter and Teal'c.

The room was full of loud screeching and chittering. Scarlett was zipping around in a panic, and the moment she saw Jack, she zoomed up to him and circled around him several times before repeating the same thing with Daniel, who was trying to catch her and calm her down.

"Hey, sweetheart, it's okay. C'mere." He hurried over to Daniel, who was deliberately keeping his distance from Thor, in case Scarlett tried to attack the little alien. Jack put his arms out and she twined herself around them, finally settling down, but continued her harangue at Thor. "He's a good guy, okay? He won't hurt you. Or Daniel," Jack quickly added when Scarlett made a noise that sounded rude.

Carter snorted softly behind him as she approached Thor. "Did you have any luck with the machine?"

"Indeed. I have already calibrated it so that it will return Daniel Jackson to his adult form. I only require a few moments to make the final adjustments."

Daniel took a step backwards, bumping into Jack, his arms wrapped around his chest. Without hesitation, Jack let go of Scarlett and placed a hand on Daniel's shoulder. He could feel the small body shivering.

"We'll need Fraiser. The procedure's painful and she promised to sedate him so he won't feel anything."

"I believe I can ease the discomfort of the transformation somewhat."

"Can you or can you not make this process pain-free?" Jack demanded, getting down on one knee to get a good look at Daniel. He was pale and his face shone with a thin sheen of sweat, but he turned his head to look at Jack, so he was still mentally among them.

"I can only be certain once the process has begun. But I am confident I can regulate the device enough so that the pain is bearable. It will take longer but—"

"No. We need Fraiser here. Carter, get a message to Hammond and tell her we need her here in... fifteen minutes?" He looked at Thor, who blinked, and nodded.

"That will be sufficient."

Jack turned to Daniel, putting both hands on his shoulders. Scarlett rose into the air, staying close, giving Thor an occasional hiss. "You gonna be okay? I know it's a little sudden. I thought we'd have a couple of days to fret over this..."

"I guess it's probably better to get it over and done with instead of making myself sick waiting." Daniel forced a smile at Jack as he put a hand out and stroked Scarlett. "Shhh, stop it," he said when she hissed at Thor when, once he opened a link to the SGC, stepped away from the control platform and began walking towards them.

"If you'll come with me, Daniel Jackson, I can make the final adjustments while we wait for Doctor Fraiser. Major Carter, perhaps you could transport her onto the Samantha Carter when she is ready and bring her to the main cargo hold?"

"Um, yeah, sure." Carter glanced at Jack for confirmation, and he nodded. "T, you may as well stay here and keep Carter company while she's got control of the Samantha Carter." He waggled his eyebrows at her as he gave Daniel a light shove to get him moving.

At first Jack thought it was reluctance on Daniel's part that had him lagging behind, but after a few minutes of walking along the lengthy corridors of the Asgard ship, he realized Daniel hadn't quite fully recovered from his earlier episode. Jack deliberately slowed his steps, but after several verbal spats from Scarlett every time Thor turned around to see what was keeping them, Jack finally scooped Daniel up into his arms and picked up the pace.

"What're you doing? I can walk." Despite his protest, Daniel didn't try to pull away or wriggle out of Jack's grasp.

"Hey, enjoy it while you can. The next time you come back so exhausted after a mission you can't walk a straight line, just remember this feeling. 'Cause I won't be able to carry you to bed after this is all over."

"This is so embarrassing," Daniel said softly into Jack's ear as he leaned against his chest. "All of it. I just wanna be me again."

Jack caught up to Thor, then realized belatedly that it had been more peaceful walking behind him. He tried shushing Scarlett, who was now haranguing Thor non-stop. "Okay, Scarlett, that's enough." Daniel's command, although spoken in a child's voice, obviously held enough authority for her to give one last scolding before flying beside Jack, as far away from Thor as she could get. She occasionally made small noises in her throat, each time giving Daniel a look to see if she could get away with it. Jack held back a grin, and he felt Daniel turn a soft giggle into a cough when Thor turned around to glare at her after the third time.

The machine Thor had appropriated appeared to be a contraption made of pipes and wires, with a long, wooden slab front and center. A control panel had been opened, its innards pulled out almost haphazardly. A single white wire led from a console in the bulkhead and went straight into the guts of the contraption, most likely connecting it to the ship's computer.

"Daniel Jackson, if you would step onto the platform, I will calibrate the machine to your DNA."

Daniel hadn't seen the machine yet, but as Jack put him down on the wooden platform, he tensed. He closed his eyes as he took in a shaky breath, then stepped onto the center of the platform. When Scarlett went to follow him, Jack called her back.

He raised an index finger and waggled it in front of her face. "You have to stay here with me, okay?" Jack patted his shoulder, encouraging her to settle, which she did as Thor moved to the console.

There was a low rumble as energy flowed through the pipes, which began to glow, bathing Daniel in a soft, white light. Daniel hunched his shoulders and winced, then turned to look at Jack. As an adult, Daniel was very good at hiding his fear, showing contempt and sarcasm instead in the face of adversity. But this young face staring back at Jack was expressing a vulnerability Jack had never seen before.

Fear and despair oozed from him, evident in the wide-eyed stare and pale face, rapid breathing and clenched hands. Daniel stood his ground despite having taken one small quick step forward when the machinery had come on. Jack held his gaze, wishing there was something more he could do as the minutes ticked by.

The moment the machinery powered down, Daniel scrambled off the platform, nearly stumbling as he rushed to Jack. He slid to a stop, breathing heavily as he stood with his back to the platform. Jack crouched down and put a hand on Daniel's shoulder while Scarlett slid over to Daniel.

"You gonna be able to do this?" Jack asked as Daniel shuddered visibly.

"Do I have a choice?"

Jack ran a hand over his mouth and sighed heavily. "Fraiser's gonna knock you out, it'll help—"

"I know." Daniel's hands were shaking as he rubbed Scarlett's fur. "Where's Janet and the others? I just want to get this over with." Daniel's voice trembled and he coughed to clear his throat.

A hiss from Scarlett warned Jack that Thor was approaching. It looked odd to see him towering over Daniel.

"All is ready. You just need to remove your clothing and lay down on the platform."

"I need... we need to wait for Janet—" As if his words conjured her up, Fraiser, Carter and Teal'c came through the door at that very moment.

"Colonel. Daniel." Fraiser cast a glance at the contraption behind Daniel, then knelt down beside them. "How are you doing?" She obviously noticed Daniel's anxiety as she placed her fingers against his wrist.

"I'm..." Daniel pursed his lips and looked at the ceiling. For a moment Jack thought he was going to burst into tears and he shook himself mentally. Seeing Daniel in a child's body didn't mean he had a child's emotions. Daniel still retained the control he had as an adult as he lowered his gaze and looked at Fraiser. "Can we get on with this?"

"Sir, are we—"

"Thor says we're good to go at any time, doc."

"Daniel, I'm going to give you a sedative. It'll put you out so you won't feel anything." She dug in her bag and pulled out a syringe and a small bottle of medication. "Thor, how long will the procedure last?"

"I expect it will last approximately fifteen of your minutes."

Fraiser paused, the syringe poised to pierce the rubber stopper of the bottle. "Sir, we may have a problem." She lowered the syringe and bottle and looked at Daniel. "The dose I'm giving you is for a child. I'm assuming your body will transform during those fifteen minutes, which means within a few minutes, the medication won't enough to keep you unconscious."

"And then I'll feel everything..."

Fraiser nodded, her forehead creasing in a frown.

"I can adjust for the pain, Daniel Jackson, once the medication Doctor Fraiser has given you has worn off. As soon as the transformation process has begun, I will calibrate the ship's stasis field to function in microbursts, thus considerably easing the discomfort of the process. The only drawback is that this way, the procedure will take much longer."

"How much longer?" Daniel sighed shakily.

"I cannot know until the process has begun."

"What if I put in an IV? That way I can adjust the medication and—" Fraiser bit back her words when Thor shook his head.

"Any foreign objects may adversely affect the process."

"What if we bring Daniel back in small steps? That way Janet could give him the sedative, adjusting it to his new body weight every time before we move on." Carter, who'd been examining the contraption, hurried around the platform to face Thor.

"That would cause more than undue discomfort. And would take hours of calibration."

"Can we please, just do it?" Daniel pushed Scarlett into the air and pulled off his tee shirt. He threw the piece of clothing onto the floor as he toed off his sneakers. His pants, socks and underwear followed quickly. He padded to the platform, naked as a jaybird and sat down on the edge.

Jack sat down next to him while Fraiser took the other side. She filled the syringe and with a final glance at Jack for permission, gave Daniel the injection once Jack nodded.

He reached for Daniel and supported him as the medication took effect. Daniel quickly went limp and Jack held him close until he was sure he was deeply asleep. With Fraiser's help, they positioned Daniel on the platform. He took a moment to push an errant lock of hair aside while he said a silent prayer. Then he stood, called Scarlett over to him and took her in his arms while Thor stood at the control panel.

The machinery hummed again, but at a deeper frequency. The pipes lit up, brightening quickly to a near-blinding intensity, Daniel's tiny figure quickly becoming nothing but a vague shadow deep within the lights.

Fifteen minutes. If things had gone well, this would be over in fifteen minutes. Maybe the reversal wouldn't be as bad as the shrinking part. Maybe Daniel would somehow stay asleep during the whole thing.

The lights pulsed, the machinery changed pitch and an agonized scream came from within the lights. Scarlett struggled in Jack's arms and she was hell bent in breaking loose and going to Daniel. He realized he should have locked her up somewhere. Heaven only knew what would happen if she tried to fly to Daniel right now.

"Oh, God." Carter had a hand up to her mouth as the pain-filled screams continued. The lights shimmered and the sound of the machinery seemed to run more smoothly. Daniel's screams cut off suddenly.

"Thor?" He took two quick steps towards the platform when Thor looked up from his console.

"Daniel Jackson is fine. I have modulated the stasis field so that it works in tandem with the device. Unfortunately, it will now lengthen the process but the procedure is now relatively painless." Thor looked at Scarlett, who was still struggling to get loose, and touched a button on the console. Scarlett suddenly disappeared in a flash of light.

"Damnit." Jack's first thought was that Scarlett was going to be terrified. "Where'd you send her?"

"The alien is unharmed. I have transported her to an empty chamber." He moved something on the console and the wall behind them became translucent. It was a small room, empty except for a few pieces of cargo. Scarlett was flying around the room in a panic, zipping from corner to corner. When she made the turn and spotted them, she flew right at them, and right into the invisible wall at full speed.

She collapsed onto the floor like a brick. They all ran to the wall, Carter yelling at Thor to let them through. The wall shimmered slightly just as Jack reached it and he threw himself onto his knees, next to Scarlett.

He was afraid to pick her up, afraid to make any possible injuries worse. Fraiser, on the other hand, gently palpitated her body, then picked her up when Scarlett began to move. "I don't think she's broken anything."

Scarlett raised her head and opened her eyes. Her tongue came out to lick her lips as she looked around dazedly, then licked the doc's hand.

"Hey, girl, you doing okay?"

She wriggled in Fraiser's grasp and slowly sliding free as she loosened her grip, Scarlett flew to Jack. With a small mewl, she wrapped herself, stole-like, around Jack and rested her head against his shoulder, her wet nose resting against his neck.

He stood, one hand against her body in comfort while they turned again to the contraption. Jack walked over to the far side of the room and sat on a few metal containers. Leaning one shoulder against the wall, he checked his watch and settled to wait while Carter went to watch Thor as he worked his instruments. Teal'c took a stance close to the contraption, as if standing guard while Fraiser joined him on the uncomfortable seats.

- - - - - -

It was going close to two hours when the hum in the room changed pitch. The light surrounding the contraption flickered just enough that they could see a shadow within. Jack leaned forward with anticipation, Thor tapped a few commands and the light blinked off completely.

Daniel lay unmoving on the wooden platform, all six feet of him. Jack picked up Scarlett, who was sleeping on his lap, and took her into his arms as he slid off the container. He hurried to Daniel's side, kneeling next to Teal'c, who was already checking his pulse. Scarlett, now wide-awake, snaked down to lie on Daniel's chest. She butted his chin with her snout, then licked his cheek, making small chittering sounds.

"He lives." Teal'c stood and moved aside, allowing Fraiser access to examine Daniel.

Jack shrugged out of his jacket and laid it over Daniel's groin, giving him a modicum of dignity, even in unconsciousness.

"He's in shock. Thor, I need to get him back to the infirmary."

No soon had Fraiser spoken, she, Scarlett and Daniel disappeared. Scarlett's startled screech echoed in the room even after she was gone.

"The transformation process was successful." Thor moved away from the console and looked at the contraption. "Although it was not designed to restore a child's body into an adult's, my instruments indicate that there was no undue damage and that Daniel Jackson should recover with adequate rest."

"What about his memories?" Carter stepped close to the console and stood next to Thor. "Daniel said the other victims who'd been turned into children supposedly had no memories."

"Unfortunately I was unable to considerably alter the programming of that portion of the device. If perchance his memories have been erased, I am confident that he will once again reclaim them as before."

"So you don't know for sure if he's got amnesia?" Carter was peering at the console, trying to read the information that had been scrolling on a small screen.

"It will only be apparent once he wakes. Which should be in several hours." A light flickered on the console and Thor pressed a button. "I apologize but my presence is required on our home world." Thor picked up one of the white stones and moved it on the console.

"Thanks for your help, buddy." Jack began speaking on the ship and finished in the infirmary.

"Janet, how is he?" Carter hurried over to the infirmary bed just a few feet away from where they'd materialized while Scarlett rose up from where she'd been hovering over Daniel's body and flew to Jack, scolding him as if it were his fault they'd been separated.

"Considering what he just went through, he's in surprisingly good shape. He was mildly shocky but he's already responding to treatment."

Jack stood at the foot of the bed and looked down at Daniel. It was odd, now, seeing the man instead of the child. He reached out and placed his hands just above Daniel's blanket-covered ankles, feeling the strong bones and muscles beneath his fingers. He just prayed that Daniel's mind had made the transfer as well as his body.

Carter was relaying to Fraiser what Thor had told them. Jack listened with half an ear, concentrating instead on Daniel, wishing he would wake up just long enough so they would know for sure.

"He will be fine." Teal'c spoke softly, his words intended solely for Jack. "I am confident whatever circumstances enabled him to retain his memories will do so once more."

"Yeah." Jack gave the ankles a gentle squeeze, then moved away from the bed. Hammond needed to be briefed, then Jack would be free to come back and spend some time sitting around and waiting.

- - - - - -

He woke up slowly, aware of a general ache in his body that affected more than just the joints and sinews of his limbs. The feeling was familiar, although he couldn't quite put his finger on when and where he'd experienced this before.

He felt chilled, as if he were feverish. However, there was a bundle of warmth tucked up against his chest and neck. His chin was buried against the soft heat, as were his arms. He straightened and stretched stiff legs out along the mattress, and immediately tugged them back up towards his chest at the feel of coolness against his skin. He must have disturbed the blankets covering him because he felt a cold chill along the back of his neck and left shoulder.

To his surprise, the soft bundle wriggled in his arms and he felt a soft, furry touch against his chin.

"Hey, is he awake?" The voice was masculine, coming from very near.

Curiosity tugged at him, prodding him to open his eyes and look, while fatigue and the promise of sleep coaxed him to lie still. It was the sensation of someone tugging the dislodged blankets back up around his shoulders that finally prompted him to open his eyes.

"It's about time you woke up."

He blinked sleepily at the man who was leaning forward, staring at him intently. His voice and face seemed familiar, as if he'd seen and heard him in a dream. Not sure what he should say, he remained quiet and watched as the man stood and poured a glass of water and handed it to him once he'd dropped a straw into it.

He took the water and sipped slowly. The bundle of warmth shifted again and a small, foxy face peered from beneath the blankets, sniffing at the glass.

"Wait your turn; I'll give you some as soon as he's finished." The man gave the small creature a pat on the head and then turned back to him with a warm smile. "Your name's Daniel. I'm Jack. I know you probably don't remember much of anything right now, but you're safe and among friends." He nodded with his chin, his gaze moving back to the creature who was watching his every pull of the straw with an avid stare. Feeling guilty, he stopped sipping and tipped the glass so that last inch of remaining water was available to it.

"That's Scarlett, by the way," Jack said as the creature moved forward to lap at the liquid.

He watched the blue tongue quickly flick in and out of the water, listening to the slurping sounds followed occasionally by a quick gulp. Scarlett finished, licked the few drops of water from her lips and then to his surprise, gave his chin a quick flick of her tongue before she settled back beside him. He couldn't help smiling. He looked up at Jack, the smile still on his lips. He started to ask what happened to him when a woman briskly walked to his bed.

"Daniel, welcome back." She smiled down at him and even though he felt his own smile fade, he looked to Jack for reassurance. "How long has he been awake?" she asked Jack.

"Just long enough to share some water with Madame there." In response, Scarlett, as if knowing Jack was talking about her, yawned mightily, making a funny squeaking sound in the process. "Daniel, this is Janet Fraiser. She's your doctor, and a friend." Seeing Scarlett yawn triggered a sympathetic response in him, and he yawned just as forcefully.

Janet Fraiser smiled at him, and the look she gave him was as warm as Jack's. "Your body has been through some trauma, which is probably why you're feeling a little uncomfortable. I can give you something for the discomfort, if you'd like."

He thought about it a moment, then shook his head. He was fine if he didn't move around, and he really just wanted to sleep. These people didn't seem threatening and he felt safe. "I'm just tired."

"Okay, then, get some sleep."

"Um... you sound as if you both know me. I don't..." He pulled a hand out from beneath the covers and rubbed at his eyes. He stopped rubbing and stared at his knuckles, feeling for a moment as if the hand was out of proportion. With a mental shrug, he tucked his hand back between the furls of Scarlett's body.

"Hopefully your memory will return as your body recovers." The smile was back, but not quite as bright as before.

"Okay." He closed his eyes and someone readjusted the blankets around him. Jack and Janet spoke softly, their voices lulling him to sleep.

- - - - - -

The unmistakeable anger in the odd chittering sound pulled him out of sleep. For an instant, he was afraid that the anger was directed towards him. Then Daniel recognized the tone of Scarlett's scolding, and he bolted upright in bed, his fear for her taking precedence over any discomfort the action might have caused.

The first thing he saw was someone standing with his back to him, fighting off Scarlett. Daniel slid out of bed, then realized his mistake when the IV still hooked up to his hand literally tethered him to the bed. Short of pulling the whole thing off and ripping his hand open, he needed to peel the tape and pull the needle out. He didn't have the time.

"Hey, let her go." He took a swipe at the man, just brushing his jacket with his fingers. He leaned sideways, balancing on the bed, getting ready to kick when Scarlett's aggressor turned around in shock. Scarlett immediately rose straight up into the air and cheeped happily before she threw herself at him.

"Hey." Jack looked at him in surprise. "What the hell are you doing out of bed?"

"Jack?" Daniel looked around and found himself in the infirmary. At some level he knew where he was but realization suddenly seemed to kick in. With a vengeance, too, he thought as his legs buckled.

"Whoa." Jack caught him just before his knees slammed onto the concrete floor. He grabbed at Jack as his vision greyed, beyond embarrassed as Jack manhandled him back onto the bed. Scarlett seemed to keep getting in his way and it was only when the edge of his scrub top was tugged up past his mouth did he realize she had a hold on the neckline and was trying to pull him up.

"Can we get some help over here?" Jack's bellow caused Daniel to flinch.

"Gah, not so loud." Humiliation made his words sharp but as he flopped onto his side, he reached out and caught Jack's arm. "Thanks."

Jack stepped back as a nurse came running.

"I'm fine." He tried to wave her off but she insisted on checking him out.

"What happened, Doctor Jackson?" She pulled his arm out to the side and began taking his blood pressure.

"I stood up too fast and got a little light-headed."

"Yeah. What was that about?" Jack sat at the foot of the bed and fiddled with something he was holding in his hand.

"Um... Scarlett. I heard her and thought something had happened." Daniel grinned sheepishly. "For a moment I thought you were attacking her."

"Ah. I'm sorry we woke you up. So... you remember us? I mean, really remember us?"

Daniel nodded. "And I remember what happened to me."

The nurse removed the pressure cuff and placed the bell of her stethoscope against Daniel's chest, having to move Scarlett aside to get it positioned properly. He lay still for a moment, trying to see what Jack was fiddling with. He realized he didn't have his glasses on and glanced at the bedside table, where they sat, folded. The moment the nurse finished listening to his chest, he reached over and picked them up and put them on.

"If you need to get out of bed again, Doctor Jackson, make sure you ask one of us for help first. Are you hungry? I can get you something to eat."

His stomach gurgled, answering for him.

"I won't be long," she said with a laugh.

"So, what was going on?" Daniel waved a hand towards Scarlet, who was lying on his pillow, watching Jack's hands avidly.

"You really remember everything?"

"Yeah. Didn't I say that already? Is that the ball?"

"Uh, no." Jack pocketed whatever he'd been fiddling with and wiped his hands together. "Just something I brought to keep me occupied while you were... sleeping, and she managed to steal it from me and ended up being a hazard to everyone around."

"A hazard... Jack, what did she do?"

"She was trying to walk the dog."

"Huh." Daniel reached out and quickly grabbed Scarlett as she sneaked forward, aiming for Jack's pocket.

With a sigh, Jack slid his hand into his pocket and took out a round object. He held it between thumb and forefinger.

"A yo-yo? She ran off with your yo-yo?" Daniel grinned as Scarlett's eyes widened in anticipation and she let off an excited yip.

Jack quickly slipped the toy back into his jacket pocket, slowly folding the flap over it. "It's a pretty potent weapon in the hands of an over-eager flying alien."

Daniel narrowed his eyes. "Did she hurt anyone?"

Jack pursed his lips and looked away.

"Jack? Who did she—"

"Fraiser."

"Janet? Is she okay?"

"She's fine. I mean, other than the goose egg on her forehead and the black eye—"

"How could you let Scarlett play with something that—"

"I didn't. She just grabbed the string and it slipped off my finger. She went straight for Fraiser and, well, let's just say, the doc never saw her, or it, coming."

Daniel saw Janet come into the infirmary at that moment and he widened his eyes and looked pointedly in her direction. Jack immediately placed a hand over the pocket containing the yo-yo but he needn't have worried. The moment Scarlett saw her, she rushed over to Janet.

"Colonel, you'd better have that thing well secured." She was glaring at Jack as she came to stand next to Daniel's bed. Scarlett had been hovering around Janet's face and now she was sniffing the bruising around her eye.

"Um..." Daniel rubbed the bone above his right eyebrow. "That looks painful."

"And the Colonel will know exactly how painful this is should this little incident happen again." She went to push Scarlett away from her face, but she stayed her hands when Scarlett gave a soft little meep and licked her face. "Yes, I know you're sorry," Janet said, giving Scarlett a couple of strokes. For a moment she had her hands full of wriggling alien, until Scarlett gave her face another lick and returned to Daniel.

"You're looking a lot better." Fraiser picked up Daniel's chart and flipped it open. "Let's get your examination done before your breakfast gets here." She looked pointedly at Jack, who quickly stood.

"Okay, okay, I'll go put the yo-yo away."

To Daniel's amusement, Scarlett took off after Jack, trying her best to open the flap of his jacket pocket.

- - - - - -

The moment they walked into the Gateroom, Scarlett gave a sudden cheep and froze, hovering near the entrance. Daniel realized she knew they were sending her home. She gave him a look of hurt that spoke volumes before slowly flying up to the window and looking into the Control room. Walter gave her a wave and she wriggled her body before rising and checking out the window overlooking the Briefing room before returning to the Control room.

"You'd think she'd want to go home... she has kids, and surely a significant other." Jack removed his cap and scratched his hair before putting the cap back on. "Wouldn't you think she'd be homesick by now?"

"What? And miss having two men to boss around instead of just one?" Daniel grinned as he hefted the bag of gifts he was bringing with him. He kept an eye on Scarlett as the 'gate began to turn, but she kept well away from the Stargate, content with watching the people in the Control room through the window. When the puddle formed, Daniel called her down.

She came over reluctantly, and Daniel took out one of the many rubber balls he had in the bag. He bounced it once, watching as her eyes suddenly brightened. With a flourish, he threw it into the wormhole. Jack, catching on, pulled out a Nerf ball and tossed it up and down a couple of times before pitching it through the Stargate. With an excited chitter, Scarlett zipped over to the Stargate and watched them avidly. Together, both he and Jack tossed one of their goodies through the 'gate and Scarlett, without hesitation, disappeared after the toys.

"Cheap date," Jack said with a laugh. Daniel shook his head, grinning at her antics as he walked up the ramp and gave Sam a handful of the small balls. They tossed the toys through ahead of them as they climbed, and Daniel pictured Scarlett waiting on the other side, excitedly calling her brethren and waiting for the next pitch to come through.

He chuckled as he stepped through the wormhole. True to form, there were several dozen flying aliens waiting for them, some of them already fighting over the toys, with Scarlett at the forefront. "I think we'll need reinforcements," Jack said with a grin as he tossed the contents of the bag into the fray.