Younger than a Dinosaur
Chapter Nine: Sooner or Later, Now or Never
by Leanne Scott
Summary: What does mini Jack do over summer vacation?
Disclaimer: I don't own him or the other Stargate characters, yada, yada. But all the rest of the characters were given to me by the writing muse fairy.
Dear Readers, I can't begin to thank you enough for your kind reviews and encouragement. I must admit knowing that other people are wondering just where this plot bunny is hopping off to is what draws me back to the keyboard. Hope you enjoy the next twist in my strange little saga of the two Jacks….
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Jack was bored. The last few days had been tedious sentenced to rest in the hospital. He flung his yoyo out forcibly as he ticked off each adjective. Wearisome, tiresome, uninteresting, monotonous, dull, arid, slow, humdrum, and downright not amusing. He snapped the yoyo back up with an irritated jerk and muttered each letter as the yoyo slapped his hand on its way back down, "B-O-R-E-D."
Dr. Butler hadn't been back to check on him since the first afternoon. It had taken all of Jack's fore-bearance to patiently answer all of the doctor's questions about his diet and stress levels. He knew if he had over reacted, it would have just served to make the doctor believe in his conclusions of stress induced anorexia or worse, bulimia. In the end, it was with General Hammond backing him up that the doctor had relented from making him see a psychiatrist. But he'd had to compromise with a continued stay in the hospital for bed rest, an IV full of minerals, and four meals a day until Jack's blood levels normalized. Some people might have viewed it as a vacation, but Jack couldn't stand feeling useless. It was one thing if he'd really been injured, but he was fine. There was so much to do in organizing his department. He couldn't believe it, but he was itching to do paperwork.
Even the sweet nurse Jackie had gotten exasperated with him and his snarky comments. Guilt from having punched her accidentally when he had woken up had made him be nice for two whole days, but that had been two days ago. She had removed the IV line that morning, but had insisted on taking a blood sample from his other arm before she would give him breakfast. He had snapped something off about her being as comforting as a mother porcupine and she had just glared at him.
Not a single nurse had come into his room since then. It had been a very quiet morning, and he almost wished someone would come in to take his vitals. So when the door cracked open, he caught the yoyo and looked up with what he hoped was a friendly smile. He didn't have to fake it long as a shaggy, brown head leaned in through the door and twinkling blue eyes surveyed them through a pair of glasses, "You don't look like a man eating tiger to me."
"Daniel!" Jack exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"General Hammond called the SGC yesterday. We got back from a mission, and after our debriefing arranged for us to have some leave," the lanky archeologist eased in through the door, but didn't open it all the way.
"We?" Jack demanded picking up on the pronoun.
Dr. Daniel Jackson grinned and threw the door open to reveal Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter dressed smartly in uniform. Despite having traveled from Colorado, she managed to look as neat in her jacket as Daniel looked rumpled in his suit. Walking in behind her was their fellow team member Teal'c wearing a baseball hat pulled low over his brow to hide the gold emblem to a false god embedded in his forehead.
"O'Neill," Teal'c stepped forward first and reached out to grasp Jack's forearm in the Jaffa way of greeting. "It is good to see you well." Jack was surprised to see an open smile on the normally stoic man's face.
"T, it's good to see you too" Jack squeezed the warrior's arm back in welcome.
"Sir," acknowledged Carter smiling brightly at him.
He stared at her sappily for a moment just drinking in the sight of her. She looked fit and healthy and never more beautiful. For a moment their eyes were glued on each other, and then Daniel clapped a hand on Jack's shoulder breaking the spell. "Carter," he managed to cough out.
"So has the Doctor been in yet?" asked Daniel with a little bounce on his toes.
"That worthless shyster? I haven't seen him in days," Jack groused. "Why?"
"To look over your blood work, of course," Daniel replied.
"Again, why?"
"To see if your levels are normal, sir," added Carter.
"Like it matters. They've sentenced me here for a week and it's only been 4 days," complained Jack.
"The staff suggested that if your blood levels had sufficiently stabilized that you could be released to complete your recovery at home," explained Daniel diplomatically.
"You mean they're tired of me being a pain in the ass," admitted Jack.
"Indeed." Teal'c intoned.
They all looked at each other and burst out laughing. It was the best dose of medicine he'd gotten all week. Jack looked at his smiling friends, his comrades in arms, his liberators, and felt a flush of fierce pride and love for his family.
He wished he had a camera to keep that image of them forever, so he deliberately blinked his eyes and froze every detail in his mind. And just for a moment he was in that cave again. He opened his eyes quickly and was reassured that they were still there. Not wanting to jeopardize his freedom, he decided to ignore the little connection he felt in the back of his mind and decided to concentrate on the here and now.
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Jon turned the Suburban smoothly onto the paved road and shifted out of low gear. Since he had been to town earlier that week, the professor had chosen him to drive, and as they accelerated onto the highway, he couldn't help but grin. It had been a long time since he'd driven a large vehicle. Ever since he had to give up his big, beautiful, black Ford pickup he had been driving a Chevy Metro. It had been a choice of convenience and economy. He did have to live on a limited stipend from the Air Force, and besides who would believe a high school student on his own with an expensive car. He had planned on replacing it as soon as it died, but the Metro had proven to be surprisingly well built. And it got almost 50 miles to the gallon compared to his old truck's 14. But the three cylinder engine really did lack the punch a good old V-8 engine could provide. He floored the accelerator on the open road, lost in a memory of speed and half expecting to take off into the sky.
"JON!" exclaimed a voice at his elbow, breaking his reverie.
"Umm, sorry, Professor," he let off on the gas and let the car coast down to a legal speed. He looked over at the still shell shocked man sitting limply in the passenger seat. Dr. Moore was still confused by Dr. Brown's outburst and resumed his staring, unseeing, out the windshield. He glanced in the rear view mirror at the other men arrayed in the seats behind. The two jocks, Derrick and Dwain were in the far back seat playing Slap Jack or some equally juvenile card game. In the middle seat, the graduate student, Neal, was slumped against the window sleeping, while Stan and Robert were quietly discussing design plans for a better wagon to move fossils down the hill to camp.
It had taken them over an hour to organize the dig site, and Dr. Moore had insisted that they hoist up several fossils and carry them down the hill so as not to waste a trip. Then he had spent almost another hour packing them carefully in crates so they could ship them to the university. The three large boxes were now safely tucked in the back along with their packs full of dirty laundry. They were well behind the women who had left for town before they had gotten back in camp. None of the other guys knew about the incident between the two professors and Jon knew it was up to him to bring up the subject.
It wasn't good for his team for the two leaders to be fighting and he had to get to the bottom of the problem and help them patch things up. But, oh God, he was terrible at this touchy, feely stuff. Wracking his brain for a way to start the conversation, Jon finally settled on a question that he was actually curious about. "So Professor," he said getting the man's attention, "Isn't this Dr. Brown's car? I wonder why she took the van and didn't take her own car?"
"The van is mostly for carrying supplies and doesn't have enough seats. I guess some of you could have sat on the floorboards, but she knew we'd need this car for everyone to have a seat and safety belt. Even when she's mad she thinks of others," he sighed.
"Oh," replied Jon softly, at a loss at what to say next. "Umm, so did you all figure that out earlier this week?"
"No, we worked that out weeks ago once we knew how many students would be coming along."
"I guess you would have to get together to plan all the logistics of this expedition," Jon mused.
"No, actually this year we didn't. Since this is our third summer dig together, we sent daily emails and talked on the phone a couple times a week," Moore explained.
"You emailed each other every day?" asked Jon in amazement. He had never fully embraced all the new technology. While his body might be ready for the digital millennium, his brain was still patterned by the analog era.
"Well, actually, several times a day," Moore reluctantly admitted.
Jon took his eyes off the road for a moment and squinted at the professor as a thought came into his mind. He decided to follow his instincts. Looking back out the windshield, he changed the topic of conversation, "It was lucky we found these fossils so quickly. When did you make your find last summer?"
"Oh, gosh, I guess it was over three weeks of hiking around before we made a significant find," recalled Moore.
Smiling at the quaint expression, Jon pressed the professor for more details, "We?"
"Like we did on Monday. We'd start off as a group, break up into teams to scour an area and then all hike back to camp together again. Brown found the Brachiosaur from last year," he added proudly, "She's got a good instinct for finding fossils."
"And you'd usually talk while you were hiking, right?"
"Naturally," Moore replied starting to get a little irritated with the young man who just wouldn't leave him alone.
"But I guess this week, it's been quite a bit different, hasn't it? I mean, we've been busy building the crane for the last several days," Jon started.
Moore straightened in his chair and frowned at the young man at the wheel, "Where are you going with this?"
"I'm just trying to help," Jon replied defensively, "Trust me."
"All right," agreed Moore reluctantly.
"So, not counting this morning, when was the last time you talked to Dr. Brown?"
"What? I saw her at breakfast and at dinner the day before," he replied defensively.
"I don't mean a quick hello," snapped Jon, "I mean an honest to god conversation."
"Well, I guess Monday. But what's that got to do with anything?"
"Moore, how old are you?" demanded Jon.
The older man stared at the younger man for a moment confused by the pattern of questions, but he finally shrugged, "Thirty-eight."
"Unmarried, right?" Jon risked a glance at the confused man beside him. "Ever have a steady girl friend?"
"Not that it's your business. But I'll have you know I had a very nice girl friend in college," huffed Moore.
"So why'd you break up then?"
"Simple. We went to different graduate schools," Moore smiled wistfully.
"Three years for a Masters, six more for a PhD and fighting for tenure ever since, right?" summarized Jon.
"Uh-huh," grunted Moore in agreement, dismayed with the pathetic synopsis of his adult life.
Jon shook his head with a bemused smile on his face. The guy was so much like his old friend Daniel Jackson it was uncanny. If Daniel hadn't been GIVEN his wife Shar're, he wouldn't have ever been married either. Jon might have been a lousy husband and an even worse father. He winced at the thought and stuffed it back into the depths. But at least he'd pursued Sara and had honestly proposed to her. He might be inept at this relationship stuff, but he'd learned one thing over the years. "You can never ignore a woman you have a relationship with," he uttered aloud.
"Huh?" asked an even more confused Moore, now staring at Jon.
"You can pass social pleasantries, you can complain, listen to her complain, consult, discuss, tease, flirt, even yell at her, but you can NOT ignore her," he explained.
Moore blinked his eyes to focus them squarely on Jon's face. 'How'd this kid get to be so wise?' he wondered to himself, not for the first time. "So Keiko's mad at me because I didn't talk to her for a couple of days?" he asked hesitantly.
"Think about it," cajoled Jon. "You were emailing every day, and then when you're there in person, nothing."
"But that doesn't explain the slap. She was really mad. I've never seen her like that before. Actually, she was a bit scary," Moore subconsciously withdrew in his chair.
Jon nodded in agreement, "Yeah, that does seem to be a bit of an over reaction. What did you say just before then?"
Moore winced in memory, "I was saying we should celebrate finding another dinosaur. Why should she get upset about that?"
"Because, you said, we should all go to town," Jon muttered slowly, getting another insight into the feminine psyche. He shot a glance over to the clueless professor. "Don't you see? You are supposed to be running this expedition together and you've been cutting her out of the decision making process."
"Well, I guess," Moore agreed reluctantly.
"No, I know. I remember when I brought a sofa home once and Sara got really mad about not getting a say in such a big purchase. Although it was a really good deal since one of the other officers was being transferred," Jon reminisced.
"You brought a sofa home?" asked Moore in confusion.
"Oh, my uncle and I did," Jon back-peddled hastily. "Look, the point is, you need to apologize to her for ignoring her and promise to keep her in the decision making loop from now on. And you need to do it as soon as possible. You can't let this fester. You got it?" he demanded, his officer voice coming out unconsciously.
"Yes," acknowledged Moore. He looked out at the windshield at the little town growing larger every second. "Sooner than later."
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Jack stepped out of the shower and wrapped the fluffy bath sheet around himself with a satisfied grin. The hospital linens had left much to be desired. The wimpy, water conserving shower heads at the hospital had been disappointing too. Not to mention having to deal with an IV line attached to his arm. It felt great to take a real hot shower and let the water pound out the tension that had been building in his shoulders. He tousled his hair dry and quickly pulled on a pair of causal slacks and one of his favorite long sleeve sports shirts. He padded barefoot out into the master bedroom surrounded by a haze of steam and was startled to see Daniel sitting on his bed.
"Jack," Daniel said evenly.
"Daniel," he acknowledged back.
"Jack?" Daniel did that little thing with a wrinkle in his forehead that said, spill the beans.
"Daniel?" Jack feigned ignorance. He'd played the game enough years now.
"Jack!" Daniel exclaimed in exasperation.
"What?" Jack replied stubbornly.
"We're worried about you," Daniel admitted.
"I'm fine," protested Jack.
"Hammond wasn't able to talk much, but from what I've heard, collapsing due to complete exhaustion does not seem like fine."
"Okay, but that was days ago. I'm sure that won't happen again," Jack said dismissively with a wave of his hand and turned to the dresser to pull out some fresh socks.
"Speaking Ancient?" Daniel continued his prodding.
Jack turned with scowl. "I don't want to talk about it right now."
"We're here to help, Jack," Daniel said earnestly.
"Look, I just got home. I have my three best friends visiting me and I want to have a relaxing evening, not get psychoanalyzed.. You can help me by just being my friend," Jack stared into Daniel's eyes willing him to understand.
"You're going to have to tell us sooner or later."
"I choose later," Jack replied stubbornly.
"Later? You promise?" Daniel felt his resolve wavering.
"Yes, Daniel, I promise. Just give me a night off will ya?" Jack agreed.
Daniel studied his friend not seeing a hard nosed General as much as a lonely man. He nodded and gave him a reassuring smile.
"What are Carter and Teal'c up to?" Jack asked as he plopped on the bed next to Daniel to pull on his socks.
"Sam went to change in the spare bedroom and Teal'c is making lemonade."
"Lemonade?" Jack asked incredulously.
"Lemonade," Daniel declared authoritatively, "It's his new favorite."
"All right then," Jack clapped a hand on Daniel's shoulder as he stood up, "Let the party begin," he said with a chuckle.
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They found the motel easily and quickly picked up their keys from the front desk. Dr. Brown had gotten a double room for the girls to share and a single for herself, and had reserved three more doubles for the boys and another single for Dr. Moore. He pulled his credit card out to pay for the rooms and held out three key cards, "Here. You all figure out the sleeping arrangements. Get showers and we'll go do laundry before having dinner," he suggested.
"I'll be happy to throw yours in a machine," Jon gave him a significant look, implying now was the time for a talk with Dr. Brown.
"Thanks," Moore replied dryly.
As the young men walked down the hall toward the rooms, Jon quickly realized how the room arrangements would work out. The two jocks and the two geeks were clearly already friends so that left him with the graduate student, Neal the heel. He slowed his step to study Neal out of the corner of his eye. To tell the truth, Jon had pretty much ignored the guy since the first day and had managed to have little personal interaction with him. He sighed. It was time to include the haughty man into the team as well. Putting on a forced smile he turned to Neal and tried to mend fences, "So Neal, we can get to know each other better now as roomies, eh?"
"Oh don't even try me," Neal scowled.
"Excuse me?" Jon asked politely.
"I'll be happy to throw yours in a machine," Neal mocked, "You little brown noser."
"What'd you say?" Jon stopped in the hall turning icy eyes on the arrogant man who glared back at him with open hatred. His mind turned over at least six different ways he could take the hateful man down, although he wasn't sure a court of law would find him not guilty for manslaughter due to self defense.
Fortunately, Robert and Stan had stopped walking too and stepped between the two of them. Robert had a hand on Jon's upper arm not yet restraining him, but ready to grab the twitching muscles back if needed. "He's not worth it," he murmured solely for Jon's ear, "We've got plenty of room. You stay with us."
"Yeah, go on," Stan waved Neal forward. The man sneered superiorly and strode down the hall after the two jocks who had gone on without noticing the little altercation. Stan turned to Jon with a shake of his head, "He's even worse than last year. He's an idiot. Don't let him get to you."
Jon took a deep cleansing breath and tried to let the adrenalin ebb back down. He nodded, "I know, but thanks."
"We caught the tail end of your talk with the Professor on the way into town. You're trying to patch up some argument they had, aren't you?" asked Robert.
"Yeah, but keep it quiet will you?" Jon looked worried.
"Don't worry, man. We're cool," Stan reassured him.
Jon smiled at his two new friends. The thought of having to spend an evening with Neal had seemed like a new form of torture. Suddenly his prospects for a fun evening just got a whole lot brighter.
Stan led the way and opened the room door. He threw his backpack on the floor, scooped up the remote control, threw himself on a queen sized mattress and turned the TV on all in one fluid motion. "You can have the shower first Jon," he gestured magnanimously.
"Yeah, but use it to cool down and don't use up all the hot water," admonished Robert with a grin as he flopped on the other bed.
Minutes later, Jon was standing in the shower letting it pound out the tension in his shoulders. After a few minutes, he reluctantly washed his hair and quickly rinsed off to give the other guys a chance to clean up too. He scowled at the wimpy towel and flashed to a vision of being in a hospital shower with an IV in his arm and an equally wimpy towel in his hand. As he looked at himself in the foggy mirror, he got a strange image of short cropped, silver hair but when he wiped the mirror hastily with a corner of the towel his hair was back to its normal brown. Weird.
Quickly he pulled on his jeans and his last clean shirt, a long sleeved sports shirt. He stepped out of the small bathroom with a swirl of steam and saw Daniel sitting on the bed.
He blinked in shock, and the figure turned into Stan looking expectantly at him.
"My turn," Stan sprung up and brushed past Jon, who stood frozen for a moment.
Jon moved slowly to the bed and sat on the edge staring at the TV screen. The images came and went as Robert blipped through the various channels, but Jon wasn't really looking at them. He replayed in his mind the battle with the mountain lion and recalled the injuries not only he, but also Susan had sustained. Looking down he flexed his left arm and realized there wasn't a scar or even a mark where the lion had bitten him and broken his arm.
Guiltily he realized he hadn't thought about his older self. Truth was he didn't want to. But he hadn't even considered what the cost had been in saving both their lives. He had woken up tired and very hungry, but both things had been easily remedied. But what had happened to Jack? Dimly he remembered the feeling of power flowing into him as they had healed Susan together, but when it came to his own arm, he couldn't remember anything past wedging his hand under his knee so he could pull backwards and set the broken bones. Jack had obviously stayed conscious and fixed him, but had stayed conscious within Jon. That was just too weird. Jon leaned forward and cradled his forehead in his palms, leaning his elbows on his knees. Tentatively, he reached out with his mind and then felt the buzz of a connection.
Daniel's blue eyes were staring back into his own. Studying him like one of his artifacts. Jon felt a pang of homesickness and loneliness like he hadn't felt since the beginning of his three year odyssey as an emancipated teenager. Daniel smiled reassuringly back at him.
"Jon? You all right?" a voice interrupted.
Jon jerked his head up out of his hands and severed the connection to his other self. Ruthlessly he repressed the surge of jealousy and anger he felt towards his own self for living what he thought of was his life. He thought he'd gotten over it a couple years ago, but in true O'Neill fashion he had really just buried his feelings. And would continue to do so he grimaced.
"Jon?" the voice asked again with concern.
He looked over at Robert and forced a smile as he nodded, "I'm fine." So long as he NEVER thought about his other life again.
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And so Dear Readers, I leave you once again…but hopefully not as long because I have the first part of the next chapter already written….
