Chapter 14

Progress on the Ancient research station proceeded well. Besides the sarcophagus-like device which had apparently once worked but inexplicably broke, the scientists discovered several other experiments and inventions left in various states of completion or disrepair. Daniel was now working continuously with the Maidieran linguist assigned to the station, a small man with a keen mind who was eager to learn the Ancient language and how the Old Tongue had varied from it. SG-1, like a few of the scientists stationed there, had requested and been given quarters within the underground complex so Daniel and Carter could work continuously without returning to the planet every day. Carter's military demeanor had been cast aside for her techno-geek alter-ego, so it was an exasperated Jack who rounded up his 'kids' each evening so they would actually get some sleep.

Now in their fourth day with the Maidierans, Jack actually welcomed the interruption when General Hammond--left in charge of the SGC in Jack's absence--requested the younger general return to Earth for an important meeting with Pentagon officials. He wasn't particularly excited about going from a boring geek-fest to a mind-numbing bureaucratic, bull-puckey convention, but it was a change of pace. Telling his former teammates to "have fun" and mind their curfews while he was gone, he left with the courier and returned to Pravestia and the SGC.

The higher-ups in the military and members of the international committee had decided that things were going so well with the Maidierans that they were ready to begin negotiating a formal alliance treaty. Although the politically-minded diplomats danced around the issue, it was obvious the exchange which formed a central part of the agreement was for a dozen Maidieran scientists to join the Atlantis expedition in the Pegasus Galaxy. In exchange, the committee offered the gene therapy treatment devised by the expedition's Doctor Beckett, as well as full-partnership in any of the discoveries made at Atlantis.

Accompanied by Teal'c, the appointed ambassador to Maidiera, and the rest of the diplomatic delegation, Jack crossed back through the wormhole later that evening to find their soon-to-be allies in a frenzied panic. Just minutes before the SGC's return, the lone transport remaining at the Ancient facility took off from the tertiary moon for deep space. When no response was received from their hails, fighters scrambled from the defense outpost on the primary moon to intercept. Before they could get close enough to disable the transport, a Goa'uld ha'tak appeared from the sensor-shadow of the system's largest gas giant and the shuttle disappeared into the ship's cargo bay. Mothership and transport immediately disappeared into hyperspace.

Jack's internal alarm that told him when one of his team was in trouble was screaming like a banshee. When the Maidierans prepared their fastest ship to return to the Ancient outpost and determine why the facility was no longer responding to communications, Jack and Teal'c were aboard.

-----

"'Don't tell Daniel.' Maybe it had to do with the kid's Christmas present."

Sara rolled her eyes. "Sure, Jean, except for the fact that Jack admitted there was an 'emergency back at the base'. The thing is, I was just getting used to the idea of him looking after that little boy by himself. Jack was very tactile with Charlie, giving him hugs and picking him up and such, but always very respectful of his distance with other kids, no matter how well they liked him. He seems to give Daniel every bit of attention and affection he ever gave our own son, but then he goes and pulls another of his spec-ops military stunts and rides off into the sunset." She sighed. "Good grief, I can't believe I'm telling you about one of my cases."

"You're telling me as a friend and Jack's ex-wife, so it's all right," the matronly schoolteacher answered, never taking her eyes or smile off the Tuesday evening shoppers. She had been Charlie's sixth grade English teacher, and the two women had become close after he died. "Now, he is a general, so I'm sure it was important."

"I'm sure it was, too, but he can't keep leaving the boy in care of one of his subordinates while he goes and does whatever the heck it is they do under that mountain. I don't believe for a moment it's not dangerous, especially when the whole reason that kid's an orphan now is because his dad--a civilian, I might add--went missing and was later declared dead. Oh, and let's not forget that evacuation scare last month, or the chemical spill incident almost two years ago."

Jean shook her head. "Us military wives know the score, Roy... need-to-know."

"Yes, well as Daniel's social worker, I need to know if Jack's actually going to be there for that little boy or not," Sara retorted, then quickly changed her scowl into a smile as a young lady approached the booth.

"Which one of you is Sara O'Neill?" the nervous young woman asked, relaxing once Sara waved her hand. "I'm with the mall information office, there's a call for you from your husband."

"Ex-husband," Sara responded.

Jean made a great show of looking at her watch. "Oh, my, would you look at the time? Go ahead and take your break, dear, I've got you covered."

"Traitor," she muttered as she stood. Once inside the mall office, the employee showed Sara into a small, plain room and indicated the phone resting atop a table tucked between the two upholstered chairs.

"I'll transfer the call in here, ma'am," she smiled, and vanished.

A tone sounded within seconds, and she snatched up the handset. "This is Sara."

"Sara!" Jack exclaimed over the phone. "Hey, I tried you at the office, but a Miss Montgomery told me you were working Angel Tree stuff on Tuesday and Thursday evenings."

"Friday and Saturday mornings too, Jack, but you could have called my cell phone."

"I tried your cell phone, but it went straight to voice mail. Listen, I'm sorry about taking off so quickly at lunch. Can I make it up to you tomorrow?"

Well, this was new. Jack had never apologized for being called away to duty in fifteen years of marriage. "That depends on whether you find someone to watch Daniel or not."

"Nope, I'll bring the little guy with me. Remember how you and I took Charlie to the arena to teach him how to skate?"

"Of course I do." Then she started. "Wait a minute, you want me to help you teach Daniel to skate?"

He laughed. "Yeah, I figure the little guy could do with something fun to take his mind off... other stuff. So what say you? You're the one who knows all the fancy little twirls and stuff, I only know how to stop, go, and pass a puck."

"I haven't skated in nine years," she answered. "And what's with this 'other stuff'?"

"Oh, yeah. That."

"Jack," she warned, "don't lie to me if there's something I should know... both as Daniel's social worker and as someone who cares about him."

He sighed heavily. "Danny had a really bad nightmare last night and scared the crap out of both of us. I can't really go into details because... it had something to do with what his dad used to do. We've asked for someone who can help him, but due to the nature of the project's classification, we have to get a specialist with the right clearance. That's going to take a few days to get that person in, so he's feeling a little... um, vulnerable... especially after having had a--daymare?--today."

"You're telling me a five year-old boy knows about the secret things you people do under NORAD's noses?"

"Uh, well the project's how Big Daniel met Sha're--"

"Who?"

"Sherry. That's the Americanized version of her name, but Daniel's wife's name was Sha're. Anyway, you can say the project's how Little Daniel came to be." He sounded terribly pleased with himself for some reason. "That's the truth, Sara, I swear. So, you gonna come with us? Please?"

Sara never could resist Jack when he begged, and while she was sure she wasn't getting the whole story, she was reasonably certain he was being honest. "On one condition."

"Name it. If it is in my power to grant, that is."

Well, that ruled out asking him what the important project was. "Before you hung up this morning, you told the person on the other end 'don't tell Daniel'. If you're deliberately keeping secrets from that boy, I want to know... so what was that about?"

"Oh. Well, I didn't want them to tell Daniel I was cutting short my lunch with you to deal with an off--uh, offsite emergency. He's the one who made me call you, after all. Actually, he found out anyway and made me call to apologize, so here I am. Skating was my idea."

"Hmm," she replied, non-committal. It seemed Little Daniel well and truly had Jack wrapped around his tiny fingers after all.

"Sara..." Jack whined at the silence.

She laughed. "Sure, Jack. But there'd better be hot chocolate."

Original Author's Notes:
See? I told you it'd be all right with Sara. Jack's such a sweet-talker, after all!