Chapter 6: Katchu the Kangaroo

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews!!! A couple of you mentioned the fact that I don't use quotation marks and said it was a wee bit confusing. My apologies. Quotation marks have never gotten along with me nor I with them. I think it's because in English class my teachers were always very strict about their use and now I use artistic license by not using them. Just remember, dashes function the same way as quotation marks and signify when someone is speaking. The paragraphs that aren't indented are people's thoughts. Happy reading!!

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Rather than sitting down, Jonas stopped and took stalk of their surroundings. In the distance he saw an animal that was strangely familiar. He broke into dead run. Sam and Katie wandered over his way. Jack ran after Jonas and reached him first.

-Hey, what's up? Why the long face?

Jonas started to speak but couldn't. Tears silently fell down his cheeks as he pointed at the animals. It was a baby kangaroo and its mother.

-It's a kangaroo. I don't get it.

-When I was a little kid, about 7, my father brought me home a pet. It was a kangaroo. I named him Katchu.

-God bless you.

-Excuse me?

-You said achoo, I said God bless you. That's what you say when somebody sneezes.

-Achoo? No, I said Katchu. That's what I named the kangaroo.

-Oh. Hey, that rhymes. Katchu the kangaroo.

Jonas looked at him queerly, then continued.

-For 10 months we were inseparable. He was my best friend. Then one day I came home from school and found him real sick. He couldn't jump, couldn't walk. He died the next day. I never knew where my dad got him and I've never seen one since, till now that is.

-Wow. That's kinda sad. Look, Jonas, I know how you feel. When I was 10, my dog Riley attacked a bully who was picking on my little sister. The kid barely survived. My dad, being the father that he was, took my dog outside and shot him, without even telling me. At least you got to be with Katchu in his last moments.

Jonas looked up at Jack, obviously comforted by Jack's sudden display of emotion.

-I guess you're right. I never thought of it that way before. Thanks.

-You're welcome.

Katie and Sam stood a few feet away, both shocked beyond belief by the conversation. Katie turned to Sam who was wiping a tear from her eyes.

-Wow. I never knew about that.

-Me either. I guess there are a few things we don't know about the Colonel, huh?

-I guess so.

Jack, trying to recover his masculine pride, made an observation.

-Hey, where's Teal'c?

Jonas, Katie and Sam all turned to look for him. Jonas spotted him around the corner,

-He's over there by the koalas.

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Another author's note: In case you were wondering, I did get my pen name from Jonas' kangaroo. I thought it would be a nice way to honor him. As to the fact that Jack's dad shot the dog...that is based on my teacher's belief that once a dog gets a taste of man's flesh it will like it and attack others and hence should be put down.