Chapter 9
"Smile!" Sam said as Jack and Teal'c stopped to have their picture taken in front of a fountain. "C'mon, guys, we're gonna show these things to everyone back home! At least look like you're havin' fun!"
"You know me and vacations, Carter," Jack said, fixing a smile on his face. "They don't mix."
"And everyone at command thought that you needed one," she countered.
The whole charade of Jack as an unhappy vacationer was for their tour guide. The Council had thought it was a great idea that SG-1 was coming to their planet for vacation, so they had set them up with a guide who was going to travel about with them, showing them everything there was to see within driving distance. All of them were pretending that Jack had had to be forced to take a leave, but Teal'c and Sam were actually eager for the chance.
"Are you always so reluctant to have a good time, Colonel?" Lidan asked, highly amused.
"Always, Lidan," Jack assured him. "For me, a good time is getting work done. Going places, meeting people, doing things. I don't do well when I have nothing to do. As for my never taking a leave…when was the last time the General had a leave?"
Sam grinned. "The General does not do as much as you do, sir, and you know it."
"You and I both know that that isn't true, and you know that I know that everybody knows it, too," Jack told her.
By this point, Lidan was laughing out loud. "I am so glad the Council asked me to be your guide."
"Happy we can amuse you, Lidan," Jack said, taking out their "blessing" and affixing it to the fountain.
"Well, what would you like to do next?"
Jack looked thoughtful. Sam had a feeling that she knew what was going through his mind. He wanted to find Daniel. Instead he said, "What was that museum that the Council mentioned?"
"The history museum?" Lidan said thoughtfully.
"Yeah," Jack admitted. One could never be sure, but Daniel might be there. Jack had yet to find a history museum that Daniel didn't love visiting (and one that didn't bore him to tears). "Could we maybe stop by? I'm still not sure about…a lot of things that you told us about your history."
"Oh, we could," Lidan promised. "We can go there now if you like, or we can go later after we have some lunch."
"Guys?" Jack said, turning to Sam and Teal'c. He wished they could just ditch the escort and look for Daniel without any of the subterfuge, but right now, it was their only chance of finding him.
"I'd say later," Sam said, catching on quickly. "I'm not really that hungry."
"Nor am I," Teal'c admitted. "I am anxious to learn more about the downfall of Unspeakable, O'Neill."
"All right, then, let's go," Lidan said, getting up from his seat. "I think you'll like the museum; it's really a lot of fun."
--
His plan would take timing and footwork, and a whole lot of luck. He knew that St. Jude was the patron saint of desperate situations, so praying under his breath, he slipped his bag from his cubby and sneaked from the classroom. He was pretty good at sneaking, especially when Kris was busy helping someone else with a project. He made it out of the school building, down the street and away, heading for the grasslands and the waiting Gate. He crept past houses, through yards, and made his way down the road that would lead to the plains. Daniel paced himself, thankful that he had an entire school lunch and thermos of juice for provisions, as well as his blazer and hat to keep him from getting too chilly.
He passed more houses and as time passed he found himself thinking what he would be doing at school at that moment if he were there. That day they were supposed to have a lesson on Almadas society, and despite being marginally interested, Daniel hadn't hung around. Karl and Mara had been making him very worried over the past couple of days, and he decided that he had to sneak out of the school and get away. The previous night they'd been talking about him, and he'd felt no shame in eavesdropping. They felt that he wasn't "settled" and they were concerned that he would run away. Mara had mentioned that Karres might be able to help them, so why didn't they have him come to the house to see and talk to Daniel? Hearing that Karres was coming was Daniel's signal to get the heck out of that place and back home as quickly as he could. By the time Karl and Mara arrived at the school to pick him up, he could be dialing the Gate and going home.
Hearing a car coming, Daniel moved further onto the side of the road and kept his eyes open, making sure that he wasn't about to be hit. Hoping to allay anyone's suspicion at a kid by himself, Daniel waved, trying to look like a kid out on a parent-sanctioned adventure.
The driver waved back as the car began to slow down.
A moment later and Daniel was off the road completely, pelting off into open ground in a frantic bid to get away from the car. He could hear feet behind him, drawing closer and a voice shouting at him to stop. That voice made his legs pump in a frantic burst of speed. His head pounded, his side ached and he gasped for air, but he couldn't allow himself to be caught!
"I said stop!" Karres gasped, tackling him. "Now, what are you doing all the way out here by yourself, Daniel?"
In a split-second Daniel knew he had two choices: he could go catatonic or he could go ballistic. It didn't take him long to decide and Karres had to drag him back to the car in the middle of an all-out tantrum. He cried, kicked, screamed, and became a little hellion. Karres didn't have an easy drive back, since Daniel kept pulling on the door handles (damn doors that could power-lock!), jumping up on the back seat, and trying to distract him from driving.
He remembered a three-day seminar about kidnapping that he'd attended at the SGC. All of the senior staff had been required to attend it (especially SG-1) since there were people out there who knew about the Stargate and wanted to get their hands on someone who had an insider's knowledge of the SGC's discoveries and workings. There had been self-defense lessons and instructions on what to do if you were kidnapped. If you were in a car, you attracted attention so anyone who saw you would become suspicious, caused a distraction for your kidnapper so he couldn't drive, or tried to get the car to wreck somehow. All risky, but it was better than disappearing forever. He kept screaming in the back seat, making sure that Karres was good and distracted. As they drew into the town square, Daniel jumped up on the seat to draw attention, but he spotted something that drew his.
A sign on the fountain. A sign written in English and just about every language he spoke. He couldn't read all of the words, but three words at the bottom stood out as much as if they had been written in neon: JACK SAM TEAL'C.
Daniel filled his lungs with air and let loose with a bellow that could break eardrums before flinging himself into the front seat. A second later and he'd flung himself onto Karres' lap, driving his foot down onto the accelerator and yanking the wheel hard to the left.
A crash was the last thing he heard before passing out.
--
Tires squealing and the sound of an impact startled all of SG-1 and made them go tearing out of the museum. On the square were the remains of the fountain and the wreckage of a car, still steaming from the crash. All three of them hurried towards the wreck with Lidan hot on their heels.
"It's Karres!" Lidan said after getting a good look inside the car.
"Who?" Jack said, wrenching the door open.
"Karres," Lidan said, working on the other door. "He's a physician; one of the physicians who helped with the child crisis."
"Whoever he is, he's banged up a bit, but it's safe to move him," Sam reported after doing a quick field assessment from the passenger's side. "Hey, there's a kid in here! I can't get him…"
"Teal'c, get the good doctor out of the way and I'll get the kid," Jack ordered, and within two minutes both the doctor and the kid were out of the car.
While Carter saw to Karres, Jack took care of the kid. He was a little thing, cute as a baby button, and unconscious due to a large bump on his forehead that was rapidly turning purple. Other than a few bruises and scratches he didn't seem injured, thank goodness. He saw no signs of internal bleeding, neck or head injuries (other than the bump) and there was nothing really urgent that needed to be taken care of. He looked like some kid down for a nap.
"Ohhh," Karres groaned, waking up. "My head!"
"Physician Karres," Lidan said, moving to his side. "Are you all right?"
"I have an unspeakable headache. What happened?"
"Looks like you were in a wreck," Jack offered, happy to be King of the Obvious once again. "Do you remember anything?"
Karres glanced toward the kid, but he shook his head. "Not much. Just the fountain moving at us at speed way, way too fast."
"Still haven't lost your sense of humor," Lidan said, fighting down a chuckle. "He's almost a match for you, Colonel."
"Impossible," Jack said, taking the kid's pulse. "Is this your son, Doctor? Shouldn't he be in school?"
"Not my son," Karres said as a medical team arrived. "He's the son of friends. I was taking him home."
"Why was he in the front seat?" Lidan asked, sounding mystified. "You know that is against the law, Physician! It isn't safe!"
"He was being difficult," Karres admitted as he was helped onto a stretcher.
"Why wasn't he in a safety belt?" Jack demanded, ready to brain the man (not that he needed it) for his utter and inexcusable stupidity.
Karres glared at him. "As I said, he was being difficult."
Jack's bump of suspicion started to elbow him in the ribs. Something…wasn't right, here. He was getting the feeling that Karres was hiding something about this kid. Why? Who was this kid? Had he really been taking the kid home, or had he been planning on taking him somewhere else? What was going on?
The kid was loaded onto a stretcher and into the Almadan version of an ambulance while Karres was packed into another. Police arrived to take statements, and within an hour a clean-up crew was taking the wrecked car away and working on repairing the fountain so it would stop spraying water a la Old Faithful. The only thing left behind at the wreck was what had been in the car: an odd, blue leather backpack.
"What is that thing?" Jack asked, picking it up and looking inside. Inside it were books, a pencil case, a few folders, and a box and thermos.
"It's probably the boy's school bag," Lidan told him.
Jack turned it over in his hands, but Teal'c suddenly grabbed it and looked at it closely. "We should return it to the boy, O'Neill," Teal'c said, looking significantly into Jack's eyes. The expression on his face told Jack, I've learned something.
"We might see his parents," Lidan suggested. "We could give it to them to return to him."
"Well, I was wondering about your medical system," Sam said. "We could visit the hospital, return the bag, and leave a blessing for good health."
"You'll put the hospital out of business, Carter," Jack admonished. "Actually, I'd feel better if we could see the kid. Call it an internal worry, but I won't feel better about this whole situation until I see him again."
Lidan nodded. "I understand. You have children yourself, Colonel?"
Jack shrugged, not willing to go into it. "Once a dad, always a dad."
"Dad?" Lidan echoed, not understanding.
"It's one of our words for 'father,'" Carter explained.
"Oh. Well, if you really wish to go to the hospital and see the boy, I suppose I can take you," Lidan said, sounding thoughtful. "We can go anytime you like."
"How about now?" Jack suggested.
"All right; I'll get the car. Wait here."
As soon as Lidan was gone, Jack and Sam turned to Teal'c. For an answer, Teal'c pointed to some writing on the flap of the bag. "I have been studying their writing. This name is 'Daniel.'"
"Are you sure?" Sam asked, feeling her heart beginning to pound.
"Yes, Major Carter."
"Good," Jack said. "Can't wait to question that doctor."
