Chapter 7
"No."
"Daniel?" Karl.
"I'm not going."
"Don't be ridiculous, dear." Mara.
"Of course you're going." Karl.
"I've said I'm not going," Daniel insisted. "I don't need to go to school, and that's the end of it."
All three of them were at the breakfast table, and Karl had mentioned that school would be starting in two days. After a moment of shocked silence Daniel had started refusing, and twenty minutes later, they were still talking about it.
"What I don't understand is why you don't want to go," Karl said after a moment of thinking. "School is always a lot of fun."
"It's a waste of time," Daniel snapped. "I'm not going to spend the greater part of my days in a classroom learning how to draw pictures and play games and—and—wasting my time! I can already read and write; I don't need to learn anything else!"
"What about history? We thought you liked history, Daniel."
"I like my world's history." That wasn't entirely true. When he'd first arrived on Almadas, he'd wanted to learn as much as he could about the planet's history, but now, he was wishing he'd never heard of the place! He was in a nightmare, pure and simple. He was an adult trapped in a child's body, but he was being treated like a child!
His days had a pattern that grew more onerous as time went by. He was woken up in the morning by either Karl or Mara, and it was a rule that he have his room in order before he went downstairs for breakfast. They usually spent the mornings at home, doing household tasks or spending time together. Often Karl and Mara sent him outside, telling him, "Go play." Needless to say, he usually took a book with him and sat on the swing, reading. After lunch they insisted that Daniel try to take a rest (they learned not to call it a nap the first time they mentioned it), and the most infuriating thing was that by then, he was usually ready for a nap! His smaller body needed a lot more sleep, and six to eight hours a night didn't cut it anymore. He needed at least twelve hours now, and a half-hour to hour nap in the afternoon. If he didn't get that much sleep the next day was incredibly foul, and if he missed his afternoon rest he spent the rest of the day feeling perfectly savage toward everyone and everything. Once he woke up from his rest they usually went somewhere, and Daniel suspected that they were trying to bond with him. There were museums, theaters, and other places where you could entertain yourself for a few hours, and most days they visited them. One evening they'd gone to an opera, and Daniel had been able to lose himself for a few precious hours in the music. He was brought back to earth rather unpleasantly when one of Karl's friends stopped by to meet their "son." Being patted on the head and being called a "handsome little thing" was very bothersome. They would have dinner at home, but Karl and Mara had told him that usually they liked to go out once a week to eat. At first, Daniel liked going out with them because there were other things outside the house they could focus their attention on instead of him (he was getting very tired of being the center of attention), but later on, it became apparent that he was going to get attention no matter where he went. He heard all about how adorable he was, how handsome, so well-mannered, and so sweet. His "parents" would be congratulated on doing such a fine job with their "son." Whenever Karl and Mara heard these compliments they would look proud and thank the person giving them. (By this point, Daniel had learned to ignore the comments and remain polite. There was nothing he could do about how other people reacted to him, but he could control how he responded.) Usually, Karl and Mara would tuck him in at bedtime after chatting with him for a few minutes, and the next morning the whole rigmarole would begin again.
As the days went by, Daniel's nerves began to fray. They were near snapping point that morning, and this mention of school was driving them closer and closer to breaking. He didn't intend to waste his days in school when he needed to be looking for the Gate! In all of the books in Karl and Mara's house, in all of the books in his room, not one of them could show him where the Gate was. The historical atlas didn't mention it, and the history books mentioned it but failed to give its location.
"Well, maybe you'll think of school in a better light later today," Karl said, ignoring Daniel's insistence that he wasn't going.
"Oh, and why would I do that?" Daniel said, being snarky and not caring.
"We're going to go out to lunch with your grandparents today, and then we're going to go school shopping."
Daniel put his head down on the table and sighed. "I don't suppose my telling you not to waste your money is going to do any good, is it?"
"Not really, no. Besides, it won't be us buying you things; it will be your grandparents. It's traditional for your grandparents to outfit you for school."
He would be wasting the money of senior citizens. Now he really felt bad.
--
"Colonel, it's been three weeks," General Hammond said.
"And Daniel's been missing for as long as three months before," Jack countered. "But he's always come back. We can't leave him there when we know where he is!"
"What if he wished to stay there?" the General asked.
"He would have told us or gotten a message to us somehow," Sam protested. "The fact that he hasn't tells us that he's being held there against his will."
"What purpose would these people have for doing that?" Hammond asked, feeling very worried about his best team. They were not taking any of this well at all.
"It's DANIEL!" burst Jack and Sam simultaneously.
"It is Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said calmly.
"Over the years, he's been married, engaged, addicted to a sarcophagus so he wouldn't leave--
"Taken prisoner—
"Adopted by I forget how many people, added to some guy's collection of rarities—
"Pumped for information, interrogated—
"Examined as a curiosity, prepared for sacrifice, sent to a planet's priesthood—
"Kidnapped for his knowledge of languages, taken for some queen's harem, mistaken for an elf—
"That was all of us, O'Neill," Teal'c reminded him.
"Well, Daniel fit the part!"
"I understand what you're saying," General Hammond broke in. "Dr. Jackson does tend to get into trouble on a regular basis, but we have no reason to believe that he is still on that planet. The people insist that he is no longer there, according to your reports."
"But we know better, sir," Jack said. "Daniel's still on that planet, and the only reason he hasn't contacted us yet is because he hasn't been able to get to the Gate. The only reason he hasn't gotten to the Gate is because they are keeping him from it. Sir, I request permission for us to go back there and start demanding answers."
"I have a feeling that if they haven't told you by now, Colonel, then they're never going to," Hammond said quietly.
"We should go back and confront the people with the situation," Teal'c said. "We should tell them that we will not leave until we have Daniel Jackson."
"What if they don't have Dr. Jackson there?" the General wanted to know.
"Then we look like fools for a while!" Jack said. "But I think we all know that that's not the case. Daniel's there. Call it a gut instinct, a strong feeling, a hunch that's slowly driving me bananas, but he's there. I don't think I would be able to live with myself if I just gave up on him when I know he's there."
"I received a memo from Washington, voicing concern that the three of you are going so often to this planet. After all, we have a trade agreement that is truly impressive—power cells, vehicle technology, and they're working with our tech people so we can have our own screens. Those alone can possibly save our whole planet. The president is saying that you should all be up for commendations, but he's concerned that all of you are, and I quote, 'unhealthily preoccupied with the possible chance Dr. Jackson may be a prisoner on Almadas.'"
Everyone was quiet, but Jack had a thoughtful look on his face as he looked at the memo in his CO's hands. "That would make a pretty nice paper airplane, sir."
"They're putting pressure on me to reassign the three of you to other missions and to give you a new fourth."
"I'll retire!" Jack immediately threatened. "And everybody in Washington knows that when Jack O'Neill threatens to retire, the planet becomes in grave danger!"
"I'll ask for a transfer!" Sam said quickly.
"I shall join Master Bra'tac."
Hammond felt a headache starting. He could remember his first commander and what he'd told him when a young George Hammond had asked about command. His CO had told him that being a CO was a lot like being a parent. Your "kids" could drive you absolutely nuts, but you loved 'em and looked out for them all the same, and you tried to help them when you could, especially when something was important to them. "I can't send you to Almadas anymore on official business, SG-1," Hammond said, sounding regretful. "However, you have a two-week leave coming up, beginning next Monday. I suggest the three of you use it to your best advantage." With that, he left, certain that his flagship team had understood just what he'd implied.
--
Daniel was certain that he wouldn't break any grandmotherly hearts if he left. The one grandmother kept telling him to stand up straight and smile, and the other one kept reminding him of his manners all through lunch. They saw a grandson as a little automaton that should behave exactly as they thought he should.
It took all of his self-control not to stab either of them with a fork.
The grandfathers were just as bad. The one kept fussing at him to keep out of puddles (it had rained earlier) for fear of his catching cold and the other kept giving him little orders that he felt safe in ignoring. Both sets of grandparents pretended to be all solicitous attention for their new "grandson," but Daniel heard them talking when they thought he wasn't listening. They had mentioned him being a credit to the family and wouldn't their neighbors be impressed that they had a little historian for a grandson! It might have sounded like grandparently bragging, but he knew it for what it was. He'd heard it before. He was as much status symbol as grandson.
Shopping was even worse. The grandmothers (he couldn't tell them apart) kept picking up the worst clothes and exclaiming, "Oh, this will look so cute on you!" even though Karl had told him he would have to wear a uniform for school. They got the uniforms—white shirts, brown pants, brown shoes, blue blazer and cap for cold weather—and exclaimed how cute he looked in them. Then they dragged him off to look at school supplies. The few things that looked familiar were the randoseru-style backpack, the bento-style lunchbox (were they channeling Japan?), and the hardcover notebooks and pencil case that looked like the ones he'd used at home. He was bought everything he could ever need for school, and everything he could possibly want for school, if he were actually going. He had writing paper, notebooks, portfolios, pencils, pens, art supplies, and the textbooks he'd need. He was surprised that the families had to buy the textbooks for primary school, but then again, he saw the point once he got a good look at them. There was plenty of space on every page for notes. Interesting.
Once shopping was done, the grandparents took Daniel aside and told him that he could choose anything that he'd like to do.
"Anything?" Daniel said suspiciously.
"Anything at all," one of the grandfathers assured him. "Our treat."
Daniel thought about it. If he could, what he most wanted to do was be out in the middle of nowhere—nothing but him, nature, and the open sky. Silence and serenity. Would they go for that? "Could we go somewhere that's nowhere?"
Blank stares. "What do you mean?"
"Somewhere out in the middle of nowhere—no landscaping, no buildings, no trees or people, just us. Nothing planned or developed, just wild land. Is there anyplace like that here?"
"There are the plains," said one of the grandmothers. "The grasslands; but there's not really a way to get out into them without a more durable vehicle, Daniel."
"I don't need to be smack dab in the middle; I just want to see them," he pleaded. He had to know that there was some sort of place that wasn't the town. He was starting to wonder if he'd dreamed the Gate and his life before. Everything seemed so…normal here. They were all acting as if he should never question his life as it was now. He had to see the plains to remember they were real. If he saw the plains and remembered they were real, then maybe the Gate and his life before would feel real. He would be able to hold onto hope a little longer.
"I don't see why we couldn't drive out to the edge of the plains and walk around a bit," one of the grandmothers said. "Karl, Mara, what do you think?"
Mara nodded, but Karl looked nervous. "Karres said that Daniel shouldn't go near the plains."
"Whyever not?"
Daniel thought furiously for a moment, then spoke. "I promise not to run away while we're out there," he said, looking hopefully up at Karl and giving him a trusting smile. "Please?"
Karl melted. Daniel could actually see it happening, and it was fascinating to watch. First, his eyes grew warmer, a smile started, and the man's entire posture changed. At that moment, Daniel knew he had him. "Well, we could go out there for a while, I suppose."
The car was actually large enough for all of them, so they piled in and began driving, and the grandparents kept Daniel at a run the whole way with questions about himself and his interests. He chattered about what he'd been reading in his books until they reached the plains, and then he got quiet. When he saw the plains, he realized he might see the Gate. There were hills, it was true, but it was open land, and if he got to the top of a hill there was no telling what he might see. As they walked, he stayed with his "family" and chatted with them, asking the name of plants and animals he saw and actually let himself have fun for a change. When he was certain that they were certain he wasn't going to run, he suggested a race to the top of the nearest hill. Only Mara and Karl took him up on it, and they raced. It actually felt good to run, to let go of some of the tension he'd been carrying around. At the top of the hill he flopped down into the grass and just panted, trying to catch his breath.
"Having fun?" Karl asked, flopping down next to him.
"How can you tell?" Daniel gasped, taking deep breaths.
"You're smiling."
So that was why his face had been feeling so strange, he reflected. It had been a while since he'd smiled so much.
The grandparents plodded their way up to the top, grinning. "Quite a view up here!" one of the grandfathers said. "And look what I brought to help us enjoy it!"
Daniel looked, but he didn't understand what he was seeing. It was black, and shiny and…what was that thing, anyway?"
"What's that?"
"A farviewer," the grandfather said, holding it out to him. "It helps you see far away."
A telescope! He was saying he had a telescope! With that, he might see—wait, he couldn't appear excited about this. If they suspected that he found out where the Gate was, he'd never see this place again. No, he had to be circumspect about this. He had to fool them, and the best way to do that was to pretend not to believe it would work, so Daniel shook his head. "You couldn't see anything with that."
The grandfather handed it to him. "Try. Look through that end there."
Daniel looked, and his heart started to pound. He could see for miles! He looked at the simple tube in his hands, his thoughts racing. "Wow!" he said, just to let them know how impressed he was.
"Told you. Stand up and look through it while turning around in a circle. You'll be amazed."
"Father—" Karl began, but Daniel was already on his feet and looking around. Every now and then he pointed the scope up into the sky to see the birds, and other times he pointed it at the ground to see the bugs. Karl calmed down, seeing how happy Daniel was and how he wasn't systematically looking for anything.
So Karl thought. As they headed back to the car and as Daniel fired off questions about the scope—would it work at night so they could see the stars? How far could it see?—no one realized that Daniel had seen the one thing he'd been hoping to see.
The Gate. His way home.
