Authors Note: Here is the next part of my series. Many reviewers were asking for more stories about the kids and this seemed right. Enjoy.
Grace's Garden
Grace was standing in the back garden staring intently at the ground. She barely moved a muscle as she waited for something to happen. She was wearing her play dungarees with a pink t-shirt underneath. Her blonde curls fell over her face as she leaned over the spade craning to see what was going on. The little three year old who usually couldn't stop moving was almost rooted to the spot.
In the house Sam, her mother, was watching from the nursery. She was feeding her other child, Jake, who had woken ten minutes before demanding to be fed. Normally Sam had trouble feeding him and keeping an eye on her excitable daughter, but not today. If only they had known a year ago that gardening could have this effect they would have tried it every day.
Jake squirmed in Sam's arms as if acknowledging that he was not getting his mother's full attention. Sam resumed feeding Jake amazed at the change in Grace and if she was honest quite glad of the break from worry. Jake finished feeding and was put back down in the cot to sleep.
Almost an hour after that and in the middle of one of the calmest times Sam had experienced for about three years, Grace marched into the house.
"Mommy where is Daddy?" she demanded stomping her feet on the door mat at the back door in an effort to get her point across.
"He'll be home real soon sweetie" Sam replied heading to the kitchen to get Grace a snack. She looked at the little girl who was almost bursting with annoyance at her absent father.
"When he comes home he needs to come see me. Okay?" Grace half demanded, half asked. Her foot quickly stomping again.
It was all Sam could do to not burst out laughing. Not at Grace although her little girl with dungarees, a pink "Air Force Flygirl" t-shirt, long curly blonde hair with a scowl on her pretty face was quite funny. No, Sam was picturing her husband Jack's face when he returned and would certainly jump at the request to see Grace and find her immediately. Grace really had her father round her little finger.
"Ok sweetie, I'll tell him. Where you gonna be?" Sam asked while moving to the cupboard wondering if she needed to worry about entertaining Grace for the rest of the afternoon.
"Out here Mommy. Waiting!" Grace stated with conviction. Sam wasn't sure if she meant waiting for Jack or something else. However she accepted the answer glad that Grace wasn't demanding Sam find something for her to do. She loved spending time with Grace but it had been lovely having a couple of hours to herself. Grace took after her father a little too much and could be a handful when bored.
Sam grabbed the kiddie cup filled with juice and the packet of raisons which she handed to Grace. She watched her trot back out into the garden. It was a lovely afternoon so Grace spending it outside wasn't a problem. It was unusual for Grace not to be running around but at least Sam knew exactly where she was today, other days that could be in question.
Sam continued to potter around the house feeling how great it was having a couple of days off. Jack was due back from Washington having been overnight at a meeting. There were fewer threats now so in theory fewer meetings for Jack to attend now that the Ori were no more but that meant Jack spent more time trying to defend the money spent at the SGC. This got worse when Jack had to defend the funding for the off-world sites that were still unknown by the majority of government nevermind the public. It was good that the President liked him and didn't call Jack back for every silly meeting, only the major ones.
Sam kept looking out the window at Grace who had now pulled her small, pink plastic chair over to the small patch of garden and was sitting staring at the ground. Sam, in all honesty, had no idea what she was waiting for but she figured she would find out when Jack was told.
Just as Sam heard Jack pull up in the truck, Jake began to scream. Sam moved over to the door to wave to Jack and wait for him. She knew that although Jake could scream like it was an Olympic sport he usually tired himself out with it very quickly. Sure enough by the time Jack came up the steps Jake had quietened down. Sam opened the door before Jack could reach for it
"Hey" she said quietly to her husband, and didn't that thought still blow her mind even after nearly five years.
"Hi there" he responded
They quickly kissed before moving into the house. Jack sat down on the sofa.
"You look beat" Sam surmised his condition.
"Yeah. Henry had us up talking till four this morning then I was back in meetings at nine"
He leaned back in the sofa and, not for the first time, Sam wondered how long they could keep up this whole job in two time zones thing.
Sam's eye was caught by a movement in the garden. Grace was shifting from side to side on the little chair and her legs were bouncing, getting more and more agitated. She never took her eyes from the patch of ground but it was clear that she wanted something. Sam chuckled, Grace had heard the truck and had left her message with Sam. She now needed to see her Daddy but was too stubborn to come into the house.
"Before you get settled Jack, Grace demanded your presence in the garden"
Jack opened his eyes and lifted his eye brows as if to say 'What do you mean?'
"Don't look at me. I was ordered to tell you when you arrived that you had to go and see her. She is out in the garden"
Sam hid a smile as Jack bounded off the sofa. Jack had wondered where his little bundle of excitement was but he had assumed she was asleep given how quiet the house was. He walked over to the window and scanned the garden, his eyes coming to rest on Grace.
"Sam, what is she doing?" he questioned
Sam joined him at the window to see that Grace had gone perfectly still again. It was as if she knew she had a willing audience.
"I have no idea" Sam responded "I only know that she told me over lunch that she was going out to the garden and I have barely heard a peep from her since"
Jack turned to look his wife in the eye, a look of incredulity on his face
"Really? Complete silence. Almost like you and a doohickey" Jack commented, earning himself a quick slug on the arm
"Hey that hurt" he exclaimed
"So it should buster" she pushed him gently "go and find out what's going on, I'm dying to know" Sam said showing her excitement.
Jack opened the door and walked across the grass to stand behind Grace, who still hadn't moved.
"Hey baby, how are you?" he started
"Daddy" she said, formally acknowledging him but not showering him with his usual welcome.
Jack shuffled his feet a little, unsure of this new side to his little girl
"Whatcha doing Gracie?"
"I've been gardening" came the reply from the chair
"I can see that" Jack responded surveying the scene below the deck. There were kiddie garden tools scattered around, a couple of empty packs of seeds and some bulbs. Jack assumed that everything else, which had been in a nice neat pile when he left yesterday, was now underground.
Seeing Grace was still not going to open up Jack thought he should try again.
"That's good sweetie but what are you doing now?"
"I'm waiting…….and…..well… nothing is happening Daddy!!" Grace was beginning to get very impatient.
Jack ran his hand through his hair "How do you mean?" Jack was never the smartest and on occasion his lovely 3 year old could confuse the heck out of him. Well he was tired, that was his excuse and he was sticking to it.
"Daddy I think you been telling Grace lies" the little voice said sounding angry and just a little upset. It was a tone that always broke Jack.
"Sweetie, Daddy has no idea what you are talking about, lets go and sit on the deck and sort this out"
"No Daddy. I can't, I might miss something" Grace said with authority
"Huh" was about all Jack could manage in response. This was not a good conversation to have after only four hours sleep and an Asguard beam across the country.
Still facing away from her father Grace began to explain
"Daddy you said if I gardened things would grow, there would be flowers. Well I gardened where are the flowers?"
She was very indignant. She had been good all afternoon, waited and watched and given them water but no flowers had come.
Jack finally caught up with what was going on. He had completely forgotten the conversation they had on the deck a few days before. He had said there would be flowers.
"Sweetie you have to give them time to grow" Jack tried to explain
"But I did, I gave them all the time since lunch and it's nearly dinner and I'm hungry"
Jack crouched behind her, reached round and picked the little chair up turning Grace to face him.
"Baby flowers take months to grow, not one afternoon"
Grace's bottom lip began to quiver and her eyes filled with tears ready to slip out at any minute
"But I wanted flowers now to give to you when you got back"
Jack leaned over further and wiped a stray tear, he opened his arms and picked her up. As he stood Grace laid her head on his shoulder, a position which had been common since she was a baby.
"That's lovely baby but I'll get the flowers in a little while. Ok?" he whispered into her ear
"Ok" she snuffled into his shirt and Jack started to walk back into the house.
Suddenly the little head came up and looked Jack straight in the eye
"Daddy gardening's not as much fun as I thought it would be" Jack stopped and closed his eyes as he glimpsed the little cheeky smirk on his daughters face.
Sam was going to kill him. Grace would have happily watched her plot for days waiting for flowers, now she would need something else to entertain her. And more to the point, didn't the little minx know it.
Jack laughed and Grace joined in, oh well time for a little toaster dismantling Jack thought as they went into the house to find Sam.