Chapter Seven
"I'm sorry, what?" Daniel asked, baffled at the doctor's words.
"Are you seriously telling us that Elam has to stay on base for at least six weeks?" Vala repeated Dr. Lam's words.
"Yes," Carolyn Lam said simply, "and I recommend keeping him confined as much as possible until after his first round or two of immunizations."
"We can't even take him outside?" Vala asked, "not even for a moment?"
"You would be putting him at a significant risk if you did," Carolyn warned, "He grew up on a ship where there were no diseases, barely any germs or bacteria and the point I'm trying to make is that his immune system is almost nonexistent; he's never been exposed to any of this and if he isn't introduced to it slowly with the benefits of vaccinations, you're asking for trouble."
"Cassandra wasn't required to stay here that long," Daniel argued, hating the idea of keeping his son cooped up in a place like the SGC.
"Cassandra Fraiser grew up on another planet, where disease existed and not on a ship in space," Carolyn argued back.
"All he wants to do, all he's talked about is going outside," Vala stated, her voice shook slightly at the distress she was feeling for Elam.
"He's waited this long, six weeks is nothing compared to five years," Carolyn said calmly.
Vala and Daniel looked at each, sharing a sad smile. He reached over and grabbed her hand before turning back to the doctor. "How soon can we start the immunizations?"
"I've already sent out for some as soon as I heard the news. Once it's here, I'll start," she replied, "As for his physical exam and the tests I've gotten back so far, he appears to be in perfect health. I was concerned about how he would handle Earth's gravity but his heart and lungs aren't showing any signs of distress. I'm still waiting for a few more tests to come back, but things are looking good. He does has naquadah in his blood, which is not surprising."
"If he has naquadah in his blood, he should be fine to go outside," Vala stated, "I rarely get sick; it's the one of the few benefits of having it in my blood. It should be the same for him."
"His concentration isn't as high," Dr. Lam amended, "and for the record, you have gotten sick on Earth, despite the naquadah so my ruling stands; he stays on the base for six weeks. His immune system is barely any better than a newborn's. Keep him isolated as much as possible for the first week at least. It may sound cruel, but it's in his best interest."
The parents nodded in acceptance, though they really didn't have any other choice.
"Will he be okay now?" Daniel asked, "I mean, he's been exposed to a lot already."
"I can't say for sure, but he'll most likely be fine," Lam assured, "He may get sick, so don't panic; it probably won't be anything worse than a cold. If he starts feeling sick or has symptoms of anything, call me."
"We will," they promised.
Carolyn nodded in satisfaction. "You're free to take him. I suggest you take him to your quarters for now." Once the parents nodded, she walked away to attend to other matters.
Both didn't make a move to head back to their son, who was enjoying one on one time with his Uncle Jack.
"I hate this," Vala whispered, voice wobbling, "all he wanted was to go outside and see the sun, enjoy the fresh air, be a kid! Daniel, this isn't fair!"
"I know it isn't," he hugged her, "but it isn't forever, remember that. It's only six weeks and we're doing this to keep his safe and healthy."
"I know," she reluctantly admitted, "he's just lost so much already, I just wanted to be able to do this one thing for him. Every child should get to go outside."
"He will; it'll just take a little longer than we were hoping."
"How are you so calm about this?"
"What else can I be? It is what it is and there's nothing we can do about it," he smiled ruefully, "It sucks and I hate it too, but it's what will keep him safe and healthy and that's all I want."
She sighed dramatically. "I hate it when you're right."
"I know," he smiled cheekily.
"Shall we go break our son's heart?"
"Breaking his heart is a bit dramatic," he remarked, "I would say more like disappoint."
"Whatever," she huffed, "shall we?"
"Lets," he tugged the hand he held and led her to their son to break the news.
o0o
"This is it," Daniel said cheerfully as he opened the door to his quarters. It was bigger than Vala's and they decided to share it. Her room was only down the hall so she could easily access it whenever she needed to. "I know it doesn't look like much, but we'll get some stuff to make it more fun and the six weeks will be over before you know it."
"Is okay," Elam told him. As predicted, he was disappointed about having to stay inside the base, but he was taking it better than they expected.
Vala knelt to his eye level. "I know this is hard, but it's to protect you, you know that, right?"
"I know," Elam sighed, "and I can go outside soon. You always say to be patient, so I hafta be patient," his nose scrunched at the thought.
"That's right, darling," Vala smiled at him.
"You and daddy will be with me, right?"
"Of course we will," Daniel assured, crouching next to him and Vala. "We'll probably have to work at some point, but one of us will always be with you."
"And we're going to have so much fun!" Vala added cheerfully, giving him a big grin, "We can watch movies, play board games, read books, and we'll get you some toys; it'll be fun, I promise."
"Can we watch a cartoon?" he asked, head tilting, "you said theys your favorite but daddy says theys for kids, like me!"
"They are not only for kids!" Vala protested, feigning aghast, "Many adults enjoy them! Why your Uncles Jack and Cameron love them!"
"You all three have something in common; you're all children," Daniel said in mock exasperation.
"At heart, maybe!" Vala defended herself. "Admit it, it's part of my charm."
"I feel like if I do, it'll make me sound like a creep that's into children," he replied warily.
Vala snorted. "You have a point."
"Are yous flirting again?" Elam asked curiously, looking between the two of them.
They both let out a laugh.
"Maybe just a little," Daniel confessed.
"Oh," was all he said to that, "can we watch a cartoon now?"
They laughed again.
o0o
Within an hour, Elam had his first round of immunizations and was back in their quarters where Uncles Jack, Cam, and Aunt Sam had dropped off several children's movies, games, toys, and books – way more than Elam would ever need but the aunt and uncles claimed they were making up for five years' worth of spoiling. It was more than enough to help keep him occupied for the next six weeks and then some.
Because of the Odyssey and all the upgrades the Asgard did to it, it was all hands on deck for all the experts, which included both Daniel and Vala – Daniel with the core room and Vala with the technology. In order to keep their promise to Elam, they had to take shifts going to the ship. General Landry understood the situation and since Elam couldn't leave the base and all the personnel was needed, he was the one who decided who got to go to the Odyssey; because of its significant technical advantages and the damage it sustained, Vala was the one who went up the most, doing the repairs as well as helping Sam and the other brainiacs with the superior technology, leaving Daniel with Elam.
While he was happy for the opportunity to get to know his son better, he did grumble since he wasn't able to spend hours locked in the Asgard core room, discovering all their secrets and knowledge – you know, the stuff he did for a living. So instead of doing that, he focused on the main problem at hand – the Ori crusade and the Priors spreading havoc; finding a solution was key. He worked a lot from his quarters so he could keep an eye on Elam. Sure, he played a lot with his son, but there were times that a kid just needed to play by themselves – helps with the imagination. The kid had also recently become obsessed with a kid's show about a fireman named Sam and he watched that a lot. It wasn't Daniel's go to distraction and he would rather Elam use his imagination and play, but it helped when Elam was distracted and he could research without feeling too guilty.
It was what he was doing six days after bringing Elam to Earth, researching, when he had what he could only describe as a vision; a stone chest inscribed with Ancient writing and when the lid opened, light poured out from inside, and suddenly, Merlin was there, light bathed his face, before it jumped to him being among some ruins with the chest, and then a mountain exploded – all within seconds. Daniel sucked in a breath from being completely taken by surprise by the vision and he dropped his book he was holding as he tried to figure out what it meant.
"Daddy, yous okay?" Elam's voice broke through his thoughts.
Daniel looked over at Elam, who was playing on the floor not too far from him. "Yeah, I think so," he replied, not fully sure himself, "just trying to make sense of something."
"Oh," he gave Daniel a sweet innocent smile, "Will you play with me?"
Though he had stuff he needed to do and think more on his…vision and what it meant, he agreed without hesitation. His father had always been there for him, had always made time for him when Daniel had asked and he was determined to do the same for his son. He was a workaholic, something he had no trouble admitting to, and while Vala could deal with that, it was unfair to ask a five-year-old to do the same. It was his job as a father to raise his son and do right by him; how could he do that when he was always busy with work? True, he needed to figure out how to balance work and parenting, but for now, he wanted to focus on being a good father.
Daniel sat on the floor across from Elam and the boy handed him a firetruck, not as big as the favored one, but still one of his most prized possession – Elam was actually a bit obsessed with firetrucks and Daniel blamed that kid's show. When Mitchel had learned this, he immediately went out and bought a few, adding to their ever-growing mountain of toys; the man had even bought some books, explaining how each part of a firetruck worked in a kid friendly way. Daniel and Vala had learned a lot about firetrucks and firefighters the last few days. The kid also repeated it daily, but it was worth it to see the look of joy on his face. Wasn't this a part of being a parent anyways?
"I wanna be a firefighter when I bigger," Elam suddenly declared as he pushed his firetruck along the floor, the light flashing, "can I?"
Daniel smiled at him. "If that's what you want. As much as I cringe at the thought of you running into burning buildings, if it keeps you away from the SGC, go for it," he could only hope that his son would change his mind later on; besides, didn't all little boys want to be firemen?
"Really?"
"You'll have to convince your mom," Daniel warned playfully, "but I have a feeling you'll be able to charm her into agreeing; you get that skill from her."
Elam grinned at him before instructing him to use his aerial ladder.
This was how most of their day went, playing with firetrucks and watching the fireman show and this left Daniel with very little time to think about his earlier vision.
o0o
Author's Note: So I firmly believe if a child was born in space and was never exposed to the normal things on Earth, precautions would need to be taken once that child came on Earth. I used the six weeks thing since it's what we normally do with newborns (for those of you who don't know, a lot of parents don't take their newborns out until they've had their six week vaccination). There would also be a concern with the gravity on Earth and the impact it would have on the child's organs but I'm not gonna make a big deal about that since I'm not smart and wouldn't understand the research I did on it.
I know there was a gap between "Unending" and "The Ark of Truth," but for the purposes of this story, it happening as if there wasn't a gap. Go with me, people (please)!
Also, as I mentioned earlier on, Elam is based on a kid I know and love, and they always say "Write what you know," so poor Daniel and Vala are about to learn all about Firetrucks multiple times a day. I heard about them every day of my life for four years. I also know that Elam may seem a little too good, but my little guy was essentially the same, though I never let him get away with anything so that may have had something to do with it...
Let me know what you think of his character development! And your thoughts overall and if I can do something to improve my writing and/or the story!