I hope you all enjoy this part. Again, it was harder to write than most posts, especially the end, but I'm hoping that it all worked out okay g .

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Part 25 - Visions from the Grave

"That's you, Jack!" Daniel exclaimed when he saw the old photos that adorned the first page.

"That's me," Jack echoed, swallowing a lump in his throat at the pictures of him as a baby. He hadn't thought about whether his mother had kept the photos of him with her and the fact that she had made him emotional. The pages were worn on the edges from frequent turning, which meant that the photos were well-loved. It was humbling to realise just how much his mother had loved him. And she had shared these photos with Daniel often enough for the kid to recognise him, which meant that she had wanted the little boy to know his brother.

Daniel turned to Jack and looked him over skeptically. "You were little." He couldn't imagine his big brother being as small as him or smaller.

"Yes, I was," Jack told him, turning the page. There were more photos of him as a baby so he figured that maybe this whole album was of him.

Daniel giggled at the sight of baby-Jack having a bath. "Mommy said you wriggled lots and splashed her all the time." He thought that Jack being little and wriggling was the funniest thing. "Even when you got big, you liked splashing."

"I know someone else like that," Jack commented, ruffling his brother's hair, eliciting another giggle.

"Splashing's fun," Daniel agreed happily. He giggled his way through the next few pages, relating stories that his mother had told him. Then he came upon a photo of Jack at the age of five. "You look like me!" he exclaimed.

"So I do," Jack agreed, noting the similarities between himself and Daniel at that age. Daniel's hair was slightly darker but it was about the same length now as Jack's had been. It showed that their mother's genes had been passed down to both of them.

"Did you get into lots of trouble when you were little?" Daniel wanted to know, curious to know what Jack had been like.

"Heaps," Jack admitted with a grin. "I used to like climbing trees so I was always getting holes in my clothes and Mom had to sew them up again."

"I haven't climbed a tree 'cos there aren't lots of climbing trees in Egypt," Daniel stated. "Do you still climb trees?"

"Uh, not for a few years," Jack said with a chuckle. He had grown out of climbing trees when he was in his teens. It was something that he would have to give Daniel the opportunity to try though - so long as the little boy only did it when Jack was around to supervise.

They turned another page. Several of the photos were of a young Jack fishing with his father. "Mommy says that your Daddy used to take you fishing," Daniel commented. "Does your Daddy still do that?" he asked curiously.

"No, he doesn't," Jack replied shortly. He hadn't been fishing in a long time, especially not up at the cabin where John used to take him. He hadn't been to that place since he was twelve. "But sometimes I go fishing on my own."

Daniel nodded knowledgeably. "My Daddy took me fishing once and we had to travel a loooong way to get there, and I caught a fish but it was only little so I put it back so it could go back to its Mommy and Daddy."

"That was a very nice thing to do," Jack praised, giving Daniel a little squeeze around the waist. "Did you know that Grandpa Tom owns a cabin in Minnesota that has its very own pond?"

Daniel's eyes lit up. "Can we go there, Jack, pleeeease?" He thought it would be great fun, just him and Jack and maybe Grandpa Tom too.

"When it gets warmer," Jack promised, thinking that it was about time he exorcised the bad memories of the place. Most of the time it had been good up at the cabin but a few times towards the end, John's problems had followed him and Jack had suffered because of it.

"Yeah!" Daniel bounced a little on Jack's lap, almost dislodging the photo album.

"Hey, careful there!" Jack caught the album before it fell off.

Daniel stopped immediately. "Sorry." He snuggled back against Jack and sat quietly for a little while as the pair of them looked through some more of the album. After a few minutes though, he forgot he was supposed to be still and started chatting again, sometimes gesturing with his hands to illustrate a point.

When the doorbell rang at five o'clock, Jack couldn't believe that the hour had passed so quickly. He lifted Daniel off his lap and sat him down again on the couch, then went to answer the door. "Mr. Hassein."

"Captain O'Neill," the Egyptian man said in greeting. "I hope I am not early."

"No, no, you're right on time." Jack felt a little disappointed that the sharing time with Daniel was over for the day; he had enjoyed listening to the kid and reminiscing about the past. "Come on in."

"Uncle Mehet!" When Daniel saw the manager, he ran over to him and hugged his hips as the Egyptian was shorter than Jack. "Thank you for bringing the pictures! Do you want to see my room? I got a whole room to myself!" Daniel stood back and bounced eagerly. When he was in Egypt, he'd only had a small section of the tent to himself so naturally, he was proud of his 'big' room.

Mehet looked at Jack for permission.

"Go ahead," Jack said. "I have to get dinner ready anyway." It was a little early to start but since he was doing desert as well - brownies - he probably should get started.

Daniel grabbed Mehet's hand. "Come on, I'll show you." He pulled Mehet down the passageway and into his bedroom. "Jacks says we're going to buy some things on Saturday so there's more colours, and I'm going to get a table and chairs, and we're going to look at paints so we can make the room prettier!" he shared enthusiastically.

"That is very good," Mehet commented, looking around. He thought that the room looked reasonable except, of course, for the lack of colours. It was an extravagent waste of space though, what with things like the extra bed - much like many American houses.

"Jack drawed the pictures for me," Daniel continued, pointing to the angel drawings on the wall beside his bed, "and he got me a hippo at the zoo, see?" He held up Tawaret for inspection. "And Grandma Iris gave me Khufu, and I made this at day-care." Daniel pointed to the clay sphinx that was sitting on top of his bookshelf.

Jack is spoiling you, Mehet thought. Daniel, like the others on the dig, had lived simply and now he had come to a decadent society where he would be changed into a spoilt child. He crouched down in front of the little boy and said, "And I hope you are grateful for all these things. Remember, many children in Egypt are not as lucky to have so much."

Daniel nodded solemnly. "Should I give them back?" He didn't want to but if it was the right thing to do, he would; he didn't want to be greedy.

"No. Just remember that you do not need lots of things to enjoy life," Mehet answered.

"Okay," Daniel agreed, then he was quickly onto the next subject. "Do you want me to draw you a picture? I've drawed lots of pictures and Jack puts them on the fridge 'cos that's the special place for them."

"That would be very nice, Danyel," Mehet accepted the offer.

Daniel got all his drawing equipment and led Mehet to the kitchen to show off his other drawings. When Daniel had finished explaining everything, Mehet praised him, causing the little boy to bounce with pride.

Jack couldn't help smiling at Daniel's enthusiasm. He noted the drawing pad and crayons, and said, "Danny, how about you take Mr. Hassein into the living room while you draw?"

"Okay." Daniel went to leave then stopped and turned around. "What are you making?"

"Brownies," Jack replied, pouring the mixture into a baking tin.

"What are brownies?" Daniel asked curiously, standing on his tiptoes so that he could try and see into the tin.

"Kind of like a chocolate cake only smaller and square," Jack went for the easy explanation.

Daniel grinned; that sounded yummy! "Can I have some?"

"After dinner." Jack put the baking tin in the oven and then turned his attention to the vegetables.

"Can I set the table?" Daniel asked next, tugging on Jack's sweats to get his attention.

Jack looked down and ruffled Daniel's hair, an action that was becoming more frequent. "Maybe later. Right now, Mr. Hassein has come all this way to talk to you, so you should do that first."

"Okay. Uncle Mehet, come on!" Daniel said, grabbing the Egyptian man's hand and pulling him into the living room. There, he set out his pad and crayons on the table, and started drawing a picture. While he was drawing, he told Mehet all about what had happened in the last couple of weeks, barely stopping for breath. He missed seeing some of Mehet's expressions in various places, such as the jacuzzi and the super-dooper chocolate milkshake, as his gaze was focused on the piece of paper in front of him.

Just before dinner time, Daniel finished his drawing and held it up proudly to show Mehet. "Do you like it? This is me and Jack and our house, and this is a pyramid and that's you at the dig, and that's mommy and daddy 'cos they're angels now."

"It is an excellent drawing, young Danyel," Mehet replied, affected by the innocent way Daniel talked about his late parents. "I shall treasure it forever." He accepted the drawing with great solemnity.

"And you can put it up on the wall when you get home 'cos you don't have a fridge like Jack does, but that's okay because I know that's the special place for pictures in Egypt," Daniel continued. Then he sniffed the air and yelled, "Dinner time!" With that, he was up and out of the living room like a flash.

Mehet followed more sedately. Soon, dinner was served, and everyone ate while carrying on a series of questions and answers, mainly between Jack and Mehet; Daniel was content to deliver monologues on everything he could.

After dinner, everyone adjourned into the living room again for more conversations. But it wasn't long before Daniel asked, "When am I having a bath, Jack?"

"Well, I was thinking that since you didn't get too dirty today, we could probably not have the bath tonight while we've got company," Jack replied, giving Daniel a squeeze. The little boy was snuggled up to his side, which Jack was quite proud about; the petty part of his subconscious told him that Daniel liked him better than Mehet. "We'll just give your face and hands an extra scrub with the face washer, okay?"

"Yep!" Daniel figured that if he didn't get a bath, he could stay up later. "Can we look at more pictures?"

"Sure," Jack agreed. "You pick one."

Daniel delved into the box of albums and picked one of his favourites which was, of course, about him. "This one." He scrambled up beside Jack on the couch and then patted the cushion behind him. "Come sit here, Uncle Mehet, so you can see," he invited the man.

Mehet did so and Daniel was happily sandwiched between the two adults. He opened the album across his knees. "That's me!" he pointed out unnecessarily when he saw the photo of him crawling out of a large urn.

"I remember that," Mehet stated. "You were always getting away from the ones who were supposed to watch you, and your curiosity was insatiable."

"What's insash-- what does that mean?" Daniel wanted to know.

"In this case, it means that you want to know everything," Jack told him with a grin.

Daniel considered that solemnly for a moment and then decided that was probably true. "How do you say it?"

"In-sati-able," Jack sounded it out for his little brother.

"In-sati-able," Daniel copied and then looked up at Jack to make sure he had got it right. When Jack nodded, Daniel beamed; he liked learning new words. "What else does it mean?"

"That you want lots and lots of something," Mehet answered, thinking that the word suited Daniel in terms of knowledge.

Daniel gave that some thought. "Like ice-cream?" He always wanted lots of ice-cream at dinner.

"Like ice-cream," Jack agreed.

Daniel pouted as that reminded him of something that he hadn't noticed in his excitement. "We didn't have ice-cream for dinner tonight."

"That's because we had brownies instead," Jack replied. He had been relieved when Daniel hadn't kicked up a fuss about the change of desert. "And you liked those, didn't you?"

"Yep!" They had been so delicious! "Can I have another one please?"

"Not tonight," Jack refused in a way that he hoped Daniel wouldn't argue with. "But we might have some more tomorrow."

Daniel decided that was okay and went back to looking at the photos. There were many of him crawling or walking around various dig sites, sometimes with his parents, sometimes by himself. Some Jack had seen before in Daniel's special album in his room, while most were new. He loved viewing the pictures of Daniel growing up and seeing how loved the little boy had been.

It was nearly eight o'clock when Jack noticed the time. "Come on, kiddo," Jack said, picking Daniel up and settling him on one hip. "Bedtime."

"But I'm not sleepy," Daniel protested, putting his arms around Jack's neck anyway.

"I know that but by the time you get ready for bed and read a story, it will be sleeptime," Jack stated, not wanting a grumpy Daniel on his hands tomorrow. "So say goodnight to Mr. Hassein."

"Actually," Mehet said before Daniel could say anything, "could I read the story to Danyel?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Daniel agreed eagerly before Jack could, bouncing in his brother's arms. "Can you please tell me the one about Ra?"

Mehet looked at Jack, who nodded slightly, giving his permission. Then Mehet turned his gaze back to the young boy who blue eyes were shining with delight. "I shall."

"Yay!" Daniel wriggled in Jack's arms, wanting to get down. "Jack, we have to hurry!" When his big brother put him down, Daniel raced off to the bathroom so that he could brush his teeth immediately.

Jack followed more slowly, a little resentful that Daniel was so eager to have Mehet tell him a story. Only the night before, Daniel had been so delighted when Jack had read out the story of the Minotaur complete with voices, and Jack's heart had swelled with the obvious enjoyment. Now, he had been superseded by someone whom Daniel had known in Egypt. He knew he shouldn't be jealous but he couldn't help it; he liked being the one Daniel turned to and loved the most.

He tried to linger over helping Daniel get ready for bed but the little boy wanted to hear the story and therefore was trying to hurry. Eventually, Daniel was ready and Jack tucked him into bed before going over to sit on the double bed so that Mehet could tell his story.

Reluctantly, as he listened, Jack had to admit that Mehet could tell a good story. The older man had the voices down pat, and Daniel was paying rapt attention, his eyes lit up with joy. But finally the story was over, and Daniel pouted when Mehet said that it was time for sleep. "But I want another one," Daniel whined.

"Another time," Mehet promised. "But for now, you must sleep." He brushed his hand over Daniel's forehead just above the eyes several times, employing an old family trick to help convince the child that sleep was a good idea.

Daniel's eyes fluttered and then started to close. "Okay. Goodnight, Uncle Mehet."

"Goodnight, young Danyel." He had missed the boy and wished he could stay another day or two but the dig would not run itself. The past week he had been trying to find another archaeologist or two who would be interested in it but so far was not having much luck. He would hate for all the Jacksons' work to go to waste.

"Jack, check for monsters," Daniel said sleepily.

A soft smile on his face, Jack came over and kissed his brother's forehead. "I checked for monsters before and there's none here."

"Good." Daniel's eyes closed completely, trusting his brother's word. "Love you, Jack," he said as he drifted off to sleep.

"Love you too, kiddo," Jack replied. He lingered for a moment and then turned the overhead light off. He looked towards Mehet and gestured towards the living room.

Mehet nodded and led the way back to the living room; he had a couple of things he wanted to discuss with Jack. He had observed the man's interaction with young Daniel and concluded that Jack was doing a pretty job so far, and the little boy clearly loved him. However, there were a few points he wanted to discuss with him. When they were both sitting down again, Mehet started in with, "Do you intend to continue spoiling Danyel?"

"Excuse me?" Jack hadn't expected that criticism.

"He does not require many objects--" Mehet continued.

"He doesn't have many objects," Jack pointed out. "He has, what - three stuffed toys, some crayons and paper, some clothes, books and a few artifacts? How on earth is that spoiling him?"

"It is not how many he has now - it is how many he will have," Mehet argued calmly. "You will no doubt provide him with more."

Jack raised his eyebrows; he couldn't believe this guy! "Of course he's going to get more over the course of his lifetime," he said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Even if he had stayed in Egypt, he would have gotten more things. But just because I've provided him with a few things does not mean I'm spoiling him!"

"He does not require much," Mehet ignored the outburst.

"Are you seriously telling me I shouldn't buy Daniel anything?" Jack inquired incredulously. "Because I have to tell you, that's going to be a serious problem when he outgrows his clothes."

"There is a difference between essential and nonessential items. The most important thing is that he knows he is loved."

"Which he does," Jack stated firmly, resenting Mehet's implication. "A few toys isn't going to turn him into a selfish brat, you know."

Mehet nodded again in agreement. Jack's arguments were an indication that he wasn't going to spoil the boy. "Danyel's portion of the inheritance has been set up in a trust fund for his education. It cannot be accessed until he is sixteen." He withdrew an envelope from his jacket's inside pocket and handed it over to Jack. "You have also been left money so that you may better look after Danyel."

Jack opened the envelope and his eyes widened; his mother and Melburn had been richer than he had expected. Certainly, it wasn't a huge portion of money but it would definitely ease any financial worries for a while. "Thank you. I... don't know what to say."

"Just take the best care you can of Danyel," Mehet replied, heading towards the front door. "He is a very intelligent boy and will do great things one day." He could feel it in his bones; there was something special about Daniel.

"I promise," Jack stated. He didn't know how he was going to do it but he was going to do his best.

"And find yourself a wife," Mehet said as he stood in the doorway. "Danyel needs a mother to look after him as well." With those parting words of wisdom, Mehet walked down the front steps and away from the house.

Jack closed the door and headed back into the living room. That had been a strange conversation but now that he wasn't feeling so resentful, Jack could see that Mehet was only concerned for Daniel. Given the materialism of Western society, Jack could also see the man's viewpoint on Daniel possibly becoming spoilt. However, he didn't like being told to get married; he would only do that when he was good and ready, not because Daniel needed a mother-figure in his life.

He switched on the television and tried to get the word 'wife' out of his head.