Part 29
The joyful sounds of video game and childish laughter drowned out any other noises, and it wasn't until the second knock that Jack realized someone was at the cabin door. It was nearly dark out so he couldn't see any unknown vehicles in the driveway, but the porch light cast a single shadow across the front yard. Tugging the drapery back into place and motioning for Daniel and Stitch to stay where they were, Jack cautiously unlocked and opened the front door.
A massive figure loomed in the doorway, and it took the colonel a second to recognize Cobra Bubbles. "Officer! What brings you out here this time of night?"
"Business," came the succinct reply. "May I come in?"
"Uh, sure," Jack answered, giving Stitch a warning look. "Have a seat."
"I prefer to stand."
"What? Oh, okay. So, uh... what can I do for you?"
Bubbles--still wearing his sunglasses despite the late hour--turned his head to take in Daniel and Stitch before returning back to Jack. "Is that your SUV in the driveway?"
"Yes. Well, it's a rental, but yes."
"And were you, by chance, parked alongside the state highway near St. Francis earlier this afternoon?"
Rather than deny it--as Bubbles clearly knew whose car it had been--Jack nodded. "Yep. My kid had to take a leak and couldn't wait until we got back to the cabin." He inwardly winced when he caught a blue-eyed glare out of the corner of his eyes and fervently hoped Daniel wouldn't kill him later.
"For two hours," Bubbles remarked, making it a statement rather than a question.
"My dog got loose," Daniel added smoothly. "It took us a long time to catch him."
The conservation officer turned to regard Daniel and Stitch once again. "I see. Did you happen to notice anything unusual while pursuing your errant pet?"
"Not really, no," Jack answered, putting on just a smidgeon of the "dumb act" that drove Carter and Daniel batty. "What do you mean by 'unusual'?"
"Out of the ordinary. Not in its proper place."
Oh, Bubbles shared Teal'c's dry sense of humor, too. "That clears things up... and no." He paused, then deliberately shrugged his shoulders. "Well, there was this one area where some trees had recently knocked down--remember that Danny? Kinda looked like maybe a really small airplane might've crashed there or something, but nothing was there." He rolled his shoulders again. "That's about it."
"I see," the big man intoned again. "And you're certain you didn't--"
Something red flew across the room, beaning Bubbles upside the head and knocking his sunglasses off his face. The officer's head whipped around, glaring at Daniel who promptly pointed at Stitch. The down-sized archaeologist had his eyebrows raised in an expression of complete innocence.
Clenching his jaw, Bubbles bent and retrieved his sunglasses and the projectile, which turned out to be a red-covered book. The volume was firmly thrust against Jack's chest and the colonel glanced down at the title--The Ugly Ducking--then looked up at Daniel. Shrugging, the boy pointed at Stitch again, who beamed a toothy grin.
Bubbles straightened, cracking his neck. "Thus far, you have been adrift in the sheltered harbor of my patience, but do not tamper further in matters which are within my jurisdiction, Colonel. Do I make myself clear?"
Jack felt an eyebrow raise of its own accord. "If there's a jurisdictional issue here, I'll certainly let you know."
"And the next time I see this... dog... I expect it to be a model citizen. Capisce?"
"Yep," Daniel agreed.
"Jurisdiction," Bubbles iterated, jabbing the hand holding his sunglasses toward Jack. "Model citizen," he continued, aiming at Daniel. He then placed the frames on his nose a little too firmly, causing a lens to pop out and fall to the floor. "Good night, gentlemen."
Once the conservation officer had reached his truck, Jack pushed the front door shut, locked it, then turned to his houseguests. "Daniel?"
"What?"
He opened his mouth to continue the thought, but then shook his head and walked back over to the sofa. "Nevermind. Here's your book back, Stitch. Charlie didn't read it more than once or twice, I don't think, so you're welcome to keep it." The little blue alien solemnly accepted the gift, blinking his large dark eyes at Jack. He then turned and picked up the Sega game controller and offered it to Jack.
Sitting down on the sofa next to Daniel, the colonel settled the controller more comfortably in his grip and looked over at his gaming partner. "Ready to go some more, 'Tails'?" Daniel nodded, small hands clutching his own gamepad, then Jack unpaused the game and resumed his pursuit of golden rings and the evil Dr. Robotnik.
"You know," he began a moment later. "There used to be a cartoon show of this. Charlie loved it."
Daniel snorted. "I bet you did, too."
"Well, sorta... okay, maybe a little. Anyway, the cute little fox you're playing here--"
"Kitsune. Two tails, he's a young kitsune."
"Looks like a fox."
"A kitsune is from Japanese mythology, a fox with up to nine tails. The more tails, the older and wiser the--"
"Got it. Okay, so this... kitfox, Tails--" Daniel heaved a martyred sigh "--is a bit of a genius. Of course, trouble always manages to find him, so Sonic has to race to the rescue. Now who does that sound like?"
Author's Notes:
College starts up next week, so there may be a bit more of a slow-down for 'fic posting. Fear not: I shall not abandon thee!
