Chapter 10

"Jack, it's your office... you don't have to knock to come in."

Jack grinned at the bald-headed general. "Old habits die hard when I see you sitting at the desk, Gen--George. Actually, I much prefer to be on this side of the desk, with you on that side."

George Hammond chuckled. "You do know I'm thinking of retiring and handing the Homeworld Security office to you?"

"What are you trying to do, kill me? As though pushing papers around here's not bad enough, you want to stick me with the bean counters in Washington?"

"There's no one better for the job, Jack," Hammond reminded him, "especially now that you have Doctor Jackson to look after. How's our boy doing?"

Jack scrubbed his hand through his hair and slumped in the nearest chair. "That nightmare last night gave us both a good scare, and I as much as I hate clichés, I think it's only the tip of the iceberg. Daniel's had some pretty bad crap handed to him over the years, and some of the worst of it has been in the last month. We'll eventually get it written into a report, but did you know that the Replicator killed him before the disruptor wave wrecked her ship?"

Hammond's expression changed very little, but there was a slight tightening of his jaw. "I assume that's what last night's incident was about?"

"Yeah. The little guy insisted on talking it over with Carter, since the blasted thing looked like her, so I dropped him off at her lab on my way down. The line wasn't secure this morning, so I couldn't tell you over the phone that the real reason I took him to Doc Lam was 'cause we had a little flying book incident. Daniel's apparently telekinetic--"

"Good Lord--"

"--and maybe just a slight bit telepathic."

"My goodness, Jack! What did Doctor Lam say?"

Jack shrugged. "I'm sure the files well be on your--er, my... the desk within the hour. The gist of it is, Daniel's scans are showing extra activity in the noggin, but he wasn't able to make anything move with just his mind. Scored average on the 'what card am I holding' test, too." He quickly explained the paranormal activities of the previous night and that morning, then their suspicions about stress being the trigger.

"None of us can say for sure if he gained these abilities with version 3.0 or 3.5, but unless he gets some control over them, nightmares are going to be interesting adventures for a while," he finished. "I never thought I'd hope there was a ghost in my house, but spooks were pretty well ruled out when the books stopped flying when he woke up. Daniel and I are hoping the Nox will be able to help him with both his abilities and his emotions. I gave Walter a message for Thor to pass along."

Hammond looked stunned. "Should he stay on-base until then? If he has no conscious control--"

He grimaced and twiddled his thumbs absent-mindedly. "I'd rather he didn't. The reason I insisted Daniel come live with me in the first place is that he is a kid. Now, he may have a grown-up's memories and experiences, but he's a lot more... open. He needs sunshine and fresh air and somebody to tell him he doesn't have to be so serious all the time."

"Other than his size, he seems normal enough to me," Hammond began.

"That's because he's a little scared of showing people he's not still the same." He took a deep breath. "That machine took away more than just his physical age, George, it stripped him down to a much younger emotional age. Big Daniel wasn't big on touching people. Little Daniel likes hugs. He also used to be pretty particular about choosing clothes and such in neutral colors, but now he likes bright, happy colors. Big Daniel read the Sunday newspaper during The Simpsons, Little Daniel fights me for the funnies and laughs at Bart and Homer."

"Jack, I don't quite know what to say," Hammond admitted. "Doc--Daniel's always been so private, it's hard to imagine him so... child-like, is the only word I can think of."

Jack sighed. "Yeah. It's taking quite a bit of getting used to for both of us."

Hammond nodded. "I understand the two of you got a visit from a state social worker yesterday. Now, I had Colonel Carter drop a few hints when she took the paperwork in Friday that the whole process needs to go as fast and smoothly as possible, and that we'd be willing to take the case to higher authorities if necessary."

"I don't think that'll be a problem," Jack smiled. "At least not from Daniel's new social worker: Sara Basham O'Neill."

"Your ex-wife?"

"Got it in one. I think the Jackson charm's pretty well got her won-over, and I know the little imp's positively delighted she's got his case. He practically ordered me to ask her out for coffee."

There was a knock at the door, and Sergeant Harriman leaned into the room. "Sirs, Thor relayed our message but has yet to receive a reply from the Nox. He broke orbit of Maidiera just a few minutes ago to travel to the Nox homeworld to find out what's happened."

"How long 'til we hear back?" Hammond asked.

"He said he'll be there in just under three hours."

"Thank you, Walter," Jack dismissed, turning back to the other general. "In the meantime, I have a phone call to make."

Hammond glanced at the clock on the wall. "If you make it fast, son, you may be able to invite the social worker to lunch."

Jack grinned. "Excellent strategy, sir."

Original Author's Notes:
I CAN SEE!!
My surgery went well and I COULDN'T be more thrilled. For the first time since I was five years old, I am able to read without glasses or contacts WITHOUT having to have my nose four inches away from the page... and I'm no Cyrano de Bergerac, lemme tell ya.
I said it for "Limericks" and I'll say it again... 'tis always nice to see some new faces amongst the usual suspects! It's also nice to see some new faces BECOMING new usual suspects, too ;)