A New Experience Part 2

Danny was buzzing the next morning, he'd woken early and had jumped on Jack's bed at about 5am. "Come on Jack, time to get up." Jack looked at his clock.

"You have got to be joking, Danny. Go back to bed and wake me in an hour." He held up his hand to stop Danny saying more. "1 hour." He snuggled back down in bed and then said," And don't you dare make coffee. You're wired enough." Jack suspected Danny had been getting up early and making coffee. There had been a few mornings when Danny was practically bouncing off the walls. Of course it could just be that he was 6 and Jack was beginning to feel his age.

Danny snuck out of the room. How did Jack know about the coffee, he'd been very careful making sure he used air freshener after making it. He so missed the taste and it wasn't just Jack, Janet wouldn't let him touch it either. He wanted to try out his bat and ball. Who could he throw the ball to if Jack wasn't up. He looked out the window into the garden. There was no one around, dare he go to the park and see if anyone was there. Jack was asleep and he could be back in an hour.

Good sense prevailed. No he'd better not in case Jack got up before the hour and he wanted to be able to sit easily. And that was one of his many, many rules. Jack should really write a book. He had so many of the things. It was a constant don't do that, don't touch that and what did I say? Mind you that hadn't changed he used to say that to him when he was big.

He was bored. He couldn't even go out to the tree house, what was that oh yes, rule number 1000 he thought. God how did Jack think Daniel had managed all these years before he met him. And now he was his father it was worse. Danny had to eat properly and go to bed at a proper hour and he wasn't allowed to work long hours. Jack said he got cranky. It wasn't him that got cranky it was Jack. Maybe he'd sit down and write Jack's rules down and let him see just how many he had and how unreasonable they were.

What Danny really hated were the consequences, he'd threatened Danny before but never carried them out. Now he could find himself in his bedroom or a corner, he hated that, what sort of punishment is that? And he took away his computer. He'd even had to write lines, lots and lots of them. His hand had almost fallen off. And he'd had to cut peoples lawns and wash their cars. He really thought up some mean consequences, child labour that's what it was. He was sure there were laws about that.

He looked at the list of rules he'd written down, there were lots. Maybe he shouldn't show them to Jack it might just make him think up more. Colonel's must have very little to do. He tore up the list. Well that had used up 30 minutes but he still had 30 minutes to go. He went along the corridor and peaked into Jack's room. He could see the top of Jack's head poking out of the covers.

This was a long morning, he went back to the window. No one was up yet. He went back to Jack's room and sat on the bed, maybe he should just cuddle up on the bed for a minute. He slipped off his shoes and made his way up the bed. Jack lifted up the cover and he slipped in. Jack wrapped the cover over him and hugged him. He was soon back asleep. When he woke he could smell pancakes and coffee.

Jack was awake, he should have woken him. It was 7 o'clock. They were late. He had a meeting at 0730 hours. He jumped up and got his shoes on.

"We're going to be late, Jack," he said.

"It's okay, I phoned General Hammond, he's put the meeting back until 0800."

"You should have woken me."

"Sit and eat." He pointed to the chair. This was one of the rules Danny had been thinking about, mind you he did like the pancakes.

By 0730 hours they were ready to leave. Danny packed all his Little League things. "You are remembering about baseball tonight Jack."

"Of course, I'm going to stay with you tonight. We'll come home after the practice."

"I can get the bus to Daycare and then walk to the mountain."

"And what would people say?" Jack asked.

"Oh right. Well someone could pick me up from Daycare."

"We'll see. Maybe for next week."

"I'm not a little kid, Jack. I can cope with being on my own."

"I just want to make sure everything's okay. Hey I like baseball and maybe when you get a game the team will want to come watch you."

"You think they might?"

"Of course they will." Jack would make sure of it.

They set off, once they were at the mountain Danny went off to his meeting and Jack was putting the new recruits through their paces.

He met Danny at the commissary. They picked up some sandwiches, juice and fruit to take up to the surface. Danny had his bat, ball and catcher's mitt.

Teal'c and Sam joined them. Once they'd eaten Jack threw the ball to Danny. He had quite a good eye and was able to catch it easily. However when it came to using the bat he found he could not hit the ball at all.

"Hey buddy it takes time."

"But I want to do it now," Danny shouted. "Throw the ball again."

"Wait. Remember you're in Tee Ball. You hit the ball off a batting tee, we should get one of them so that you can practice."

"But I want to do it properly," Danny said. He was getting quite frustrated that he couldn't do this. He really hated not being able to do things other people could. He should be good at this he thought.

"Danny, you'll get the hang of it but you can't expect to be good at everything straight away. Let me show you." He went over and put his hands over Danny's," Now Sam pitch the ball."

Sam threw it and Jack swung it round and hit it. "Now you try." Sam threw the ball but each time he missed.

All of a sudden the bat flew through the air landing on the ground not far from Jack's feet and Danny stomped off," I can't do this," he shouted back.

"Wow, what a temper," Sam said. "Didn't think Danny had one, he always seems so calm."

"You go back to work, I'll speak to him," Jack said. He was trying to control his own temper. If that bat had hit anyone it could have caused an injury. He strode over to Danny who was standing beside a tree kicking it. "Well that was very grown up."

"Shut up!"

Jack turned him round. "That's enough. There's nothing wrong with not being able to do it, that's what the coaching is for, to learn."

"But I wanna be good at it."

"And you will be, when you decide to do something you always do it well but losing your temper won't help. And neither will throwing the bat. Do it again and I'll take the bat off you. Now go in and apologise to Sam and Teal'c." Jack bent down and picked up Danny's things. Danny ran ahead of him. He hoped Danny was going to be good at this, he didn't want to see any more temper tantrums. Even at 6 Danny was a perfectionist.

TBC