Chapter 4

Jack didn't slow as he caught sight of the gate. Sam noticed his arrival and began to pick up their gear, waiting to head back.

Teal'c looked at Jack and then looked behind him. Not seeing who he was looking for he asked, "O'Neill, where is DanielJackson?"

Jack was much closer now and slowed his jog a little and answered, "About that…" As he said those words he adjusted Daniel's weight causing the jacket to fall slightly. Blond hair peaked out of the top of the jacket.

Sam had just raised her head to hear the cryptic answer to Teal'c question and saw the clues to the package the Colonel was now holding. She exclaimed, "Holy Hannah!" as she rushed forward towards Jack. She looked right into the face of the little boy, locking her eyes with those bright blue ones; and knew with everything that was in her who that boy was. "Daniel?" she quietly asked.

Before anyone could answer the ground began to violently shake. They were all thrown from where they were standing but Jack never let go of Daniel.

"Dial up the gate, we need to get out of here NOW!" Jack yelled but Teal'c was already punching in the address. As the gate opened Sam punched in her iris code. She waited seconds before they got the green light to go but it felt like hours. As they were ready to run they noticed a fault line rupture. The ground was opening up and the line was coming towards the gate. They all rushed forward and ran into the event horizon. The ride was more turbulent than usual, spitting them out the other side.

General Hammond was in the control room when they appeared and began to ask why the team was returning early. When the gate closed he paused and said, "Colonel, where is Dr. Jackson?"

Sam had already gained her footing and had rushed to Jack's side and began to reach towards Daniel. She heard the Colonel answer, "Yeah, about that…" it was then that the General saw the child that Jack was holding.

Leaving his previous inquiry about Daniel, the General forged onward with a new question, "Who is this child? You cannot just bring every stray kid you see…"

The General continued his speech but Sam was no longer listening. She had reached forward to brush the hair out of Daniel's eyes. She noticed that Daniel had yet to let go of the death grip he had on Jack's shirt. She was amazed at the maternal feelings that flooded her. Sure, Daniel had always been a friend, sometimes more of a kid brother but now seeing him like this she knew she would do anything in her power to protect him. The overwhelming need to be there for him was stronger than the feeling to protect Cassie from being alone when they thought the Naquada bomb was going to detonate within her. (₁)

The team began to move forward and Sam followed, her eyes never leaving Daniel. They passed a gurney presumably meant for Daniel but Jack wouldn't put him down. Daniel had his legs wrapped tightly around Jack's waist and was hanging on to him with his arms as if his life depended on it. Jack had no idea how he was going to explain this one to the General at their briefing scheduled in an hour. He held tightly to the boy in his arms and carried him through the infirmary doors.

Dr. Frasier was waiting for them to arrive. General Hammond had already called her and informed her with what he knew. She pointed to a bed in the far corner of the room and said, "Place him over there and go ahead and get your post mission physicals done."

Sam looked up at her then around the room. She went over to the closest bed to the one Janet had pointed Daniel to and sat down.

Daniel began to whimper and his hold on Jack became impossibly stronger. Jack rubbed his back and looked at Janet and said, "I will go over there with him and have mine done first."

Janet huffed slightly. This was going to be difficult enough without Colonel O'Neill's famous protective streak kicking in. She nodded once though, knowing there was no way Jack was going to leave the boy. Jack went over to the corner bed and sat down.

Daniel never loosened his hold; he had no idea what was going on. He hadn't spoken since they left the temple. Why was this happening? What was happening? All he knew was that the only one that would protect him was Jack and that he wasn't going to let him out of his sight. Jack would make this all better, whatever this was.

Teal'c had grudgingly gone to an adjacent bed. The nurses came by and drew blood and took vitals on the other team members while Janet attempted to get Daniel to co-operate.

Jack put one hand up to stop her and then spoke to Daniel, "You know we do this every time. See, now watch, they are going to take some blood from me and then you are going to let them take some from you." He spoke calmly but firmly, and Daniel obeyed. Jack mused that he wished his grown friend was as amiable to following directions but figured the boy was probably still in shock.

Janet took extra samples from Daniel so they could test his DNA for a match against their Dr. Daniel Jackson. This just shouldn't be possible. He left here in his thirties; he shouldn't come back as a little boy. Janet pushed those thoughts from her mind. She knew that strange things happened to this team and frankly, this was not without precedent. She picked up a syringe and gave Daniel a shot of something. Jack's eyes darted up to see what was going on and Janet mouthed that she had sedated him.

When Daniel began to close his eyes and loosen his hold, Jack looked up and asked her quietly, "Why?"

Janet helped him place Daniel on the bed and explained, "We need to run more tests and it will just be easier this way. One test is the MRI and there is no way he can hold on to you during that test. Besides this will give you guys time to talk with the General."

Jack didn't want to admit it but she was right. Those tests had to be done and the rest of the team needed to go to the debriefing. He nodded sadly at Janet as she went about finishing the tests.

The General was waiting in the conference room when the three members of SG-1 arrived. They wasted no time in explaining what had happened. Most of the talk fell to Jack. "Yes, sir, we arrived on the planet and split up; Carter and Teal'c to the cave while Daniel and I went to the temple." He paused as he thought about what he saw and then explained, "When we got there I noticed that the temple didn't look as sound as it had when we decided to go, but you know Daniel…" He left the sentence hanging as he mentally kicked himself for not following his gut! He knew there had been more damage. "I went out to do a perimeter check when we felt the first tremor."

Sam nodded and then said, "We decided to leave the planet. I believe it is going through some serious seismic changes. Teal'c and I headed towards the gate and the Colonel went back for Daniel." They both left out the portion of how Daniel didn't respond to the call.

Jack continued, "When I re-entered the temple Daniel was already inside a small room. I called to him as a huge tremor threw us. He was tossed into the wall and the doorway closed. When it finally reopened Daniel was sitting on the ground."

General Hammond nodded and then asked, "How can you be sure it was our Daniel and not a copy or even another child?"

Jack looked up at him and with confidence said, "Oh, it is Daniel alright. He called me by name and was telling me he didn't mean to touch anything." Jack left out the sobbing, no need to embarrass his kid further. Whoa, where did that come from; 'his kid'? Yes, he always said, they were his kids, but this was different, it felt like he was describing Charlie. Jack's chest squeezed at the name and he felt a little guilt. Jack's thoughts started rushing through his head. If he was honest with himself he had been seeing Daniel as more of a son to him then a team mate or even just a friend. Although Daniel was his best friend they had been more than that for a long time; maybe since the first trip to Abydos. Somehow that young geek that annoyed the hell out of him managed to get under his skin and firmly attach himself to Jack's heart. Daniel had filled the void inside Jack that Charlie's loss had created. It wasn't anything either of them planned, it just happened. It was equally apparent to the rest of the SGC that Jack had filled the same void in Daniel. A childless father and a fatherless child had come together. It seemed the only two that didn't know it were Jack and Daniel. Of course with this new development, Jack's eyes were being opened.

Clicking of heels down a hallway interrupted Jack's racing thoughts. Janet walked through the door with a thick folder in her hand. With a nod to the room she began explaining what she had found, "That is definitely Dr. Daniel Jackson. The DNA is a perfect match. There are no anomalies to indicate a clone." She was going to continue but the look on Jack's face stopped her, "He's fine, Colonel, he will be asleep for a few more hours. That transformation really took a lot out of him."

Jack gave her a small grateful smile, seems she knew him well.

Janet then continued, "He seems to be a very healthy six year old physically. The thing I am concerned with is that the scans also show that his brain activity is no longer that of an adult; instead it is like that of a young child. We will have to wait until we can test to see what kind of memories he has retained. The good news is there is no apparent brain damage."

Jack's heart sank. It hadn't occurred to him that Daniel could have suffered from any memory loss or brain damage. His first word was 'Jack'. Jack looked up and explained what he was thinking, "How can you even question his memories, I told you he spoke to me and knew who I was."

Janet looked at Jack and said, "Yes, you did but there are more things we need to find out. We are not going to know anything until he is tested. He needs to have psychological tests done not only to find out what is going on with the physical aspects of this but also his emotional."

Janet was using her doctor tone with them and Jack should have known better than to argue but he tried anyway, "No, he is not going to talk with any shrinks; not after what happened to him with the Ma'chello incident!" (₂)

General Hammond understood Jack's concerns but realized the doctor was right, "Colonel, this isn't a debate. When Dr. Jackson is able he will be tested."

Jack's mouth opened to defend his position but quickly closed again. There was no way he could argue with the General without getting himself court-martialed. Jack pushed away from the table and said, "Permission to go see Daniel, sir?"

General Hammond nodded and said, "Granted."

Janet waited for Jack to leave the room before saying, "The only Psychiatrist with clearance is Dr. MacKenzie." (₂)

General Hammond sighed, "Jack isn't going to like that."

A/N:

(₁)Refers to "Singularity" the fifteenth episode of the first season where Sam bonded very tightly with a little girl from another planet, Cassandra, and risked her life to provide her with some comfort when they thought Cassie was a time bomb. (Bonus info: Cassie was eventually adopted by Dr. Janet Fraiser which allowed Sam and Janet to become really close friends over the years.)

(₂)Refers to "Legacy" episode 4 season 3 where Daniel was committed to a mental hospital under Dr. MacKenzie's care because Dr. MacKenzie was concerned that his symptoms of schizophrenia were the result of long-term use of the Stargate. Daniel was actually being infected by Ma'chello's Goa'uld-killing parasite (Ma'chello was an inventor who fought a one-man war against the Goa'uld **see also episode 18 season 2 "Holiday") but MacKenzie didn't believe him.