A/N: I have been trying to put my author notes at the bottom but this chapter needs a little explaining. There is a sequence in here that will make more sense if you saw the episode "The Changeling" (season 6 episode 19) It's the one where Teal'c "dreams" he is a human that is married to Shauna and he is about to donate a kidney to his stepfather "Brae". The actual show is a tad confusing as it goes from one "reality" to the next with Teal'c believing each reality is the correct one. I will do my best to make sure you can follow along. (insert winky face here again) OK, enough from me, on with the story…

Chapter 10

Jack had finally gotten Daniel settled enough to eat something but it was obvious that the boy needed to rest. He gave a subtle hint to Sam and Teal'c to head out so he could try to get Daniel to go to bed. As soon as Sam and Teal'c stood, Daniel jumped to his feet; eager to resume the research into his condition. Jack immediately noticed the change in atmosphere and tried to rein Daniel back in, "Danny, you need to rest before you do any more research."

Daniel's eyes shot over to Jack's and he shouted, "Look, there is no way you are going to be stopping me. This is MY life we are talking about and I, for one, intend to find an answer. You might be happy to let things lie and pretend that nothing happened but that is IMPOSSIBLE for me to do! I will not stand here and let you dictate to me what I can and cannot do. You are not going to tell me it is time for me to take a nap when so much rides on me finding an answer to what happened to me and how to fix this!"

As Daniel continued with his tirade Jack gave Sam a nonverbal cue to go ahead and leave; that he would handle this. Sam and Teal'c quietly slipped out of the room. Daniel never paused only getting louder as he went from discussing what was happening to a full blown temper tantrum. Jack was going to allow Daniel to blow off steam until he could see reason again but he had forgotten that he was dealing with the emotions of a six year old.

"And I don't know who you think you are that you can just treat me like a child all the time! I am so tired of this…" Daniel continued and walked swiftly towards Jack and shoved him with all his might. Of course, that didn't get him very far considering his new found body lacked the strength his once six foot body had had.

Jack was taken aback for a moment before he grabbed Daniel's arm and turned him around and delivered three hard swats to his behind and he said in a commanding voice, "I know exactly who I am. I am the one telling you that you are going to be lying down in that bed and you are going to go to sleep. I don't know who you think *you* are trying to push your way around me by shouting and shoving but that just isn't going to work here!" They stood in silence for a moment before Jack raised one finger to point at the bed and stated, "NOW!"

Daniel stood for just one second longer before his little legs scrambled up to the bed and crawled under the covers. He had his back towards Jack but his eyes were still wide. Did Jack just *spank* him? His butt still stung so that is probably what happened. He closed his eyes and thought of the other times in his life he was spanked. It never mattered if it was deserved or not, Daniel always felt angry and frightened. He may have done what he had been told but he harbored such hatred for the punisher. It really took him a long time to let go of that anger and from then on he tried to be more of an ideal child. It was really hard for him growing up with all the pretty things around that he was never allowed to touch. It was much harder when he didn't understand the rules of a new foster home.

This time it was different. He didn't feel anger towards Jack at all. He felt surprised, well, shocked actually, that Jack would treat him like a child and sp- punish him but he was kinda acting like a child. And he actually did shove Jack. He cringed at the memory. Why was he acting like that? He knew Jack only had his best interests at heart and to be honest he really was tired… He felt himself blush as he replayed the incident before the rational part of his brain kicked in. He began to think of all the many cultures that use corporal punishment as discipline; especially for children. As a matter of fact, it can be traced back to…

As Daniel was processing what happened in a way that was so unique to Daniel; Jack stood still processing it himself. He turned and walked quietly to the door and let himself out. He leaned back on the door and closed his eyes. Did he just spank Doctor Daniel Jackson? Sure the kid had gotten a bit out of control, but come on! He would have never done that to someone else's child! There had never come an occasion that he felt justified in spanking someone else's kid but when Daniel came at him like he did there was no way he was letting *his* boy get away with that! He put his head in his hands. This was just getting too confusing. He always felt something more than friendship for Daniel. He had always had a strong paternal pull whenever it came to that certain archeologist… He needed to get away from here to think, and with that he pushed off the door and strode away from the VIP room.

oOo

Daniel's mind continued to wander through history before finally, blessedly, sleep overtook him. When he awoke he put his hand up to his face to rub his eyes and immediately noticed that his hand was the size of a grown man's! He took a quick look up and down his body and noticed that he had changed back to himself. He couldn't wait to tell Jack so he jumped up and realized he wasn't sure where he was. He paused and tried to think of the last thing he remembered. There was that, uh, incident (yes, that is a good word for it) with Jack and then… nothing. Okay, not nothing, he got into bed and he guessed he went to sleep, but how exactly did that get him here? Barren walls and a small cot for a bed, this didn't give him much to go on. He decided he had better figure this out very fast or he would have a lot to explain when he was found so he left the room to explore.

The room he entered looked very familiar. He tried to read the writings on the walls but the crowds of people prohibited it. No one looked familiar, but there was something about this room. This was important; but why? He turned to the nearest person and asked, "Excuse me, where are we?" but the individual ignored him, as if he wasn't even there. Not even a flinch of recognition. That was strange. He turned to ask someone else the question when the person that was walking towards him continued and walked straight through him. He took in a quick breath. Now that was weird! Okay, now just to figure out what was going on, at least it didn't seem that anyone here could see him.

He walked towards the front of the room where everyone's attention seemed to be centered upon. He dodged the people as he came to them, out of habit. It was disconcerting to actually walk through someone. He heard someone in the front speaking in a commanding tone but couldn't make out all the words. The reason wasn't because the language was something other than English, no, he felt sure he knew this language, but it was muffled somehow.

The people seemed to be celebrating something or someone. They were cheering and everyone seemed happy. They lifted an old man upon their shoulders and paraded him around the room before stopping before a wall. They placed the old man down in front of the wall and backed away. The room grew quiet and suddenly the wall opened. Daniel was too far away to make out the room but the people around him erupted into cheers. The old man hobbled forward and entered the room before abruptly turning around to face the crowd. He gave a large grin and small wave before the wall shifted closed.

The room grew quiet and everyone seemed on edge. Daniel glanced around the room. So familiar, but he just couldn't place it. Suddenly the room broke into cheers again. Daniel turned to see that the wall had opened but the old man was gone, in his place stood a young boy. The boy was smiling a huge smile looking like he had just won the best award. An old woman hobbled up to the little boy and hugged him. The crowd again cheered. There were words being repeated in the room by the crowd. One was "Putare" which was Latin for believe. And he heard "juvenis recidivus" which was Latin for young man returning. There were also shouts of "novus orsa" which meant a new beginning. He couldn't help but form his own grin; the joy in the room was contagious.

The old woman and little boy then moved to the side and another man stepped forward saying "Quisnam est tunc?" Or, "Who is next?" Daniel scrunched his eyes in confusion. They seemed to be taking turns? He didn't have to wait long for another old man to step forward. The crowd again cheered and hoisted the man upon their shoulders, parading him around the room. Daniel took the opportunity to get closer to the wall they were at before. He studied the writing on the wall in front of him. The hieroglyphs talks about "chosen ones" being given a gift and rejuvenation. It read as a choice, a second chance, but there was a warning there about making the wrong choice. The warning simply said, "alieno panton" – to forget everything.

He watched as they placed the old man in front of the wall and back away from him. The room grew quiet as the man punched a series of buttons on the wall. Everyone waited, but nothing happened. The old man's shoulders slumped and he moved aside.

The same man from before came forward again asking, "Quisnam est tunc?" (Who's next?). The old woman that was with the boy strode forward as fast as her rickety legs could carry her and she took her turn. The same parading took place and she stood in front of the wall pressing buttons. The crowd waited and cheered when the wall opened. She hobbled into the room and turned to face the crowd giving a large smile and small wave as the door closed. When the wall opened again a little girl stood in place of the old woman. The little boy raced forwards and the two danced in glee.

This took place several more times. Often older couples pushing forwards and if the old man came out a little boy then the old woman would take a turn. Sometimes nothing happened. This last time an old woman had entered the room and gave the same smile and wave but when the door opened there was no little child replacing the old woman. Instead there was the same old woman but she looked around confused and frightened. Daniel could feel the happiness seep from the room. The person next to him murmered, "alieno panton" and shook his head sadly. Daniel realized that instead of the "great reward of rejuvination" the woman instead seemed to have had her memory erased.

The crowd, now much more subdued faced the front of the room. The man that had been asking who was next was now speaking. Daniel couldn't make out what he was saying but the others in the room nodded their heads sadly and began to file out of the building. As Daniel watched, the people in the room became less in focus. They started to blur together into a grey mass. It was making him feel a little dizzy so he closed his eyes to stem off the nausea. Behind his eyelids he could see that the room was becoming darker. When he could no longer sense the light he opened his eyes and could see nothing. He stood stock still, wondering what was going to happen next when the room started to lighten again. He was standing in the same location as everything came into focus. He was still in the same room but it seemed that there was less writing on the walls. There were also less people; though these were not the same people that were in the room with him before.

Daniel looked up to the front of the room and saw several figures dressed in hooded gowns. They were standing in a semi-circle formation around a tattered looking man. It seemed as if this was some type of court proceeding. The tattered man kneeled and said "Ego deserdi asordo" which translated from Ancient to "I desire help." Then the man hung his head and said, "asordo cum clementia," which was Ancient for "help with mercy."

One of the cloaked figures lowered their hoods and said, "Tua puta egonavoIllac." Ancient for "I believe you desire a new way," and she lead the unkempt man towards the side wall. Daniel watched as the woman entered a sequence in the buttons on the wall and the wall opened.

The man entered the small room and knelt down facing the wall. The door shut and all of the hooded figures murmured some chant that Daniel couldn't quite make out. When the door opened the man was replaced by a small boy huddled in large clothes. The cloaked figure in the center said in an authoritarian voice, "Enimun lupum purnum pravis intus." That phrase was Ancient for, "Verily, the corrupted sinner will be cleansed from within." Daniel watched as the boy's head lowered before the wall shut again. The murmuring continued. When the wall opened again there was the same little boy dressed in the tattered man's clothes. He was crying and looked lost. A couple that had been watching the proceedings ran to the boy. The woman scooped the boy up and comforted him.

The woman that had led the tattered man spoke with the couple. Daniel couldn't hear the words but it seemed to be a question. The man and woman looked at each other, nodded their heads seriously and looked back at the woman to reply. Together they said, "Nos mos satus iterum cum metempsukhousthai" which roughly translated to "we will start again with rebirth."

Daniel turned to read the writings on the wall. This was the same room as before but the walls no longer held any hieroglyphics. Instead all the instructions were in Ancient. The writings said something about capital punishment, judgment and "metempsychosis". The bold letters across the top said "Vis Urban." As Daniel read that he whipped around to view the rest of the room. Now he was the only one standing in it but that wasn't what he was thinking about; instead his thought revolved around those two words, "Vis Urban." The Planet designated PX3-466 was Vis Urban, the "place of great power." This is where the Ancients took their guilty to receive capital punishment. Instead of killing the wrong doers, they changed them into children. He remembered hearing about this when he was an ascended being but didn't know how it worked. Apparently it was a two-step process that changed the convict into a child then removed their memories so that they could go through a "metempsychosis." They could be "reborn" and have another chance. He looked around the room and watched it slowly change into the room he was in previously. He watched as the hieroglyphs formed on the walls. Apparently the ancient people that found this place thought it was a gift for the chosen ones. If they could push the right buttons on the side they would get to be children again. If they got it wrong they could have their memories wiped.

He watched as the room transformed into ruins. This was the room he was changed in! He put his hands up over the buttons on the wall and heard behind him someone call his name. He turned quickly expecting to see Jack but no one was there. He closed his eyes tightly and again heard his name called. When he opened his eyes he was no longer in that long ago abandoned building. He was lying on the bed in the VIP room at the SGC staring into the eyes of man he never wanted to see again.

oOo

Teal'c was seated in the center of the room, surrounded by candles. He was performing Kel'no'reme, trying to center himself. They had been searching for an answer as to why Daniel was "shrunk" (as O'Neill called it) and more importantly, how to change him back. It seemed there were no answers to be found. Teal'c hoped that if he were calm and centered that he could find something that they had missed.

He was in his usual position, doing the usual thing when he noticed that the room he was in suddenly became brighter. Even with his eyes closed he could tell that someone had entered the room and turned on the light. He slowly opened his eyes and everything had changed. Teal'c was no longer surrounded by candles; instead he was facing only one. A woman entered the room said, "Oh, honey, I didn't know you were in here meditating. I can come back later."

Teal'c looked up to his wife and said, "Shauna, its fine. I needed to get going anyway. I wanted to head over to the hospital before I go in to the station house." And he rose from his seated position.

Shauna smiled over at him and quietly asked, "How is Jack holding up?"

Teal'c gave her a rueful smile and said, "Jack is being Jack." And with that he gave his wife a kiss and left to get ready for work.

Teal'c watched Jack walk into the hospital room, and he stayed there for the moment enjoying the view. Six year old Danny jumped out of the bed shrieking, "DADDY!" and jumped into Jack's arms. Teal'c shook his head with a small sad smile on his face.

A voice shook Teal'c from his thoughts and he gazed up into the direction of it. "I thought that was you, how are you doing?" The voice asked.

Teal'c smiled and answered "Dr. Jackson, I am well," but his smile faltered for a moment as he heard giggles from the room he was previously watching.

Dr. Jackson followed the noise with his eyes and then looked back to Teal'c, "How is your nephew doing?"

Teal'c blinked back at him and said, "How did you…" he began, then said, "Never mind." He should have known better than to think a shrink wouldn't know the way he felt about that family. He loved Jack like a brother and undoubtedly it showed. So he began again, "To watch him there is nothing wrong. The doctors can't seem to figure it out."

Dr. Jackson reached out and put a hand on Teal'c shoulder and said, "Whether or not they figure this out, your task is clear. Let him go. When the time comes, you will understand. Other forces are in place and you will have the outcome that you are looking for, but for that to happen you must Let. Him. Go…"

Teal'c looked towards the room as Dr. Jackson spoke but his face drew in confusion as the sentence continued. Let him go. What the hell did that mean? But as he turned back to face Dr. Jackson the Psychiatrist was gone. Teal'c looked down the hall but it was empty. He turned quickly back towards the hospital room door and closed his eyes tightly trying to figure out what was going on. When he reopened his eyes he was seated on the floor in his room at the SGC surrounded by candles. He sat for a moment to figure out what to do, then rose to find MajorCarter.

oOo

Samantha opened her eyes and noticed that when she had laid her head down on her desk, she had fallen asleep. She recognized that feeling of non-connectedness as she slowly blinked her eyes while looking at the crook of her arm. She drew a deep breath before lifting her head to her task again wondering how long she had slept. As she lifted her head two things become startlingly clear. One, her back and neck didn't ache from the position she had been in and much more importantly, two, she was no longer in her lab back at the SGC.

She looked around the room in wonder; taking note of the long table she was seated at. Her eyes bounced up at the walls and she realized she was on a ship. She looked around the room. If she wasn't mistaken she was onboard the Prometheus. Just as this realization took hold she heard a child's laughter. Her head whipped in the direction of the giggle.

This had to be a dream, she thought as she began to walk towards the sound. There was no way she was on the Prometheus again. No, this is just a dream she repeated to herself almost in mantra form. Let it play out and you will wake up in your lab, she continued her self-talk as she wandered the halls of the seemingly deserted ship.

As she rounded a corner she saw a little girl with curly hair and Sam whispered out loud, "Grace."

The little girl stopped her skipping and looked back. When her eyes meet up with Sam's she broke out in a broad grin and giggled again. "Follow me…" she said in sing song as she continued skipping towards the direction she had been in.

Sam stood still, too astonished to move. Oh God, this had to be a dream! She couldn't be back on the ship! No, she had too much work to do! "Wait… Grace, wait…" she said with alarm as the little girl skipped right out of her line of view.

She was talking out loud as she followed the direction the little girl was heading in. "Okay, just a dream. I have to figure out what all of this means. There's the ship, could this be abstract, about being alone again. What is different, everything looks the same…" She continued thinking aloud as she walked, trying to rationalize out a dream sequence, during a dream. A part of her mind almost giggled at her logic as she continued to walk and talk through her current predicament. Her eyes found what they had been seeking as she followed the bouncing curly hair attached to a smiling little girl.

She was so intent upon her thoughts and watching Grace that she failed to notice that as she was walking the walls were slowly changing. Grace was still several paces ahead as she turned to walk through a doorway. When Sam reached the door she stopped cold. She was in the doorway to her lab at the SGC. "What are we doing here, what are YOU doing here?" She stuttered out.

Again in the same sing song voice Grace said, "Follow me…"

Sam drew closer but felt a surge of panic that was unnatural to her. What was going on? "None of this makes any sense! Why am I following you? I have so much work to do, so many things I need to figure out!" Sam said angrily but felt her anger drift as Grace smiled at her over her shoulder.

Grace turned to face the computer screen again. Sam was now close enough to read over her shoulder; it was an email inbox. "What are you talking about? You… you're not supposed to be here." Her mind was racing but not working as quickly as it normally did and really, this stuttering had to go.

Grace only giggled again and said as she turned away from the screen and stepped back. "Oh, Mommy, you're so silly. You already have the answers you need."

Sam's eyes widened as she tried to take in what Grace said. "Wha… what did you say?" again Sam stuttered out.

"I said you already have the answers you need." As Grace spoke this her hand went to rest on the shoulder of the sleeping form in front of the computer. The hand movement caught Sam's eyes and she followed it to the slumbering individual. Right before Grace's hand touched the person, Sam realized who the entity was in front of the computer, and it was Sam herself.

As the hand contacted the shoulder Sam's head jerked up from the cradled in her arms position it had been in. Her eyes shot over to see who had touched her when she heard Teal'c say, "MajorCarter, I did not wish to startle you." Her eyes shifted to view the room but there was only Teal'c there.

Sam's eyes softened as she said, "No, it's alright, Teal'c. I was just…" she paused as she tried to remember everything she had just seen. "It was just a dream." Her eyes took a far off look as she thought about the last words she heard. It was something important that was said, something important that Grace said. A small smile formed on her face as she again viewed the child from her dream.

"MajorCarter, are you feeling well?" Teal'c intoned seriously.

"What? Oh, I'm fine. It's just that I had this dream. But it wasn't a dream. It was more of a message." Sam finished lamely. She felt almost silly saying that out loud.

Teal'c's response was not what she expected, "I did as well."

She looked up sharply and said, "Tell me." Teal'c pulled up a chair and sat in front of her in preparation of telling his tale. "I was performing Kel'no'reme..." Teal'c started and began to explain the vision he had before coming in to wake her up.

A/N:

Okay, was that too confusing? Did you figure out by the end that each of them were dreaming and receiving messages? I tried to make it clear without giving too much away. Fingers crossed that you are still following (go ahead and insert another winky face here too).

Oh and blame any horrible translations on Google Translate. I only speak English, and even that is not always correct.