Author's Note: I need help. You guys that are interested need to read my
bio and you'll see the help I need in my latest update there. (I flew past
the Goa'uld language thing on purpose, but I'll be coming back to it in
this chapter... Sam's too bright to let that slide so easily!) This Chapter
is a little short, too, sorry about that (not that any of mine are all that
long)
~*~
"So, how did you write the message on your contraption?"
They were sitting on the shelf that Sam had slept on earlier, eating lunch (Chicken casserole MRE – warmed up with a cooking sterno).
Shawn looked up from his meal and Sam wondered why the question left him looking so guilty.
"Thor helped me," He said. That was true, mostly.
Ah, that probably explained the guilty look. He probably bothered Thor until the little Asgard finally cracked and did what he wanted. Sam wondered – for the millionth time – what they were going to do about Shawn once they got back to Earth. He knew way too much to just set him loose. But he was far too young to keep.
Carter knew that Shawn had every intention of doing what Jack was doing when he grew up. How many times had she heard him tell her or O'Neill just that? He was going to go into the Air Force, and become the youngest Colonel in the world, then go on to become the leader of Cheyenne Mountain. Of course, NOW he knew fairly well that Cheyenne Mountain wasn't the simple military base that he'd thought it was, and that was the crux of the problem.
If he was older, they could simply invite him to join the Air Force and then, once he was in, order his silence. Of course, Shawn was nine – going on ten, as he kept reminding everyone – so that wasn't an option. The fact that he had a loving family who would definitely not appreciate the interference in their son's life just made it even worse. Short of wiping the boy's memory – which wasn't really an option, since she didn't know anyone who could do that – they'd have to go on his word that he'd be quiet about the aliens he'd seen.
Sam was glad that Hammond knew about this already. He was most definitely thinking of something to do at this very minute. He probably told the President, who would also be thinking about what to do – although maybe not. Maybe the President would just tell Hammond to handle it however he saw fit. Who knew? It could have been worse, though, Sam decided. At least the boy didn't know about the Stargate! That would have been a real mess.
"Have you been asking Thor more of those personal questions?" Sam asked.
Shawn shook his head. "I've tried to leave him alone, except for asking him if I could have the stuff to make that thing. He's been pretty busy helping with the Pe'alio."
"Pe'aoli," Sam corrected, smiling. "We'll be done, soon. Then we can go back home, and hopefully have a little time to spend with you doing normal stuff before Jack has to take you home."
"Do you guys do this sort of thing very often?" Shawn asked her.
"Only sometimes. Usually the Asgard don't need our help. They're fairly advanced people, obviously."
Shawn nodded. Didn't he just know!
"So they just call you when they need something?"
"Pretty much."
"Do you call them when you need something?"
"Yeah, we would. Except that most of the time they can't help us. They don't want to interfere with us." Well, technically, they couldn't interfere, but it was close enough. "They want us to develop on our own, you know?"
The boy nodded again, but before he could say anything, the door opened, and Jack walked in, obviously annoyed.
"Come on, Shawn. If it doesn't do anything, why does it light up like that?"
~*~
"So, how did you write the message on your contraption?"
They were sitting on the shelf that Sam had slept on earlier, eating lunch (Chicken casserole MRE – warmed up with a cooking sterno).
Shawn looked up from his meal and Sam wondered why the question left him looking so guilty.
"Thor helped me," He said. That was true, mostly.
Ah, that probably explained the guilty look. He probably bothered Thor until the little Asgard finally cracked and did what he wanted. Sam wondered – for the millionth time – what they were going to do about Shawn once they got back to Earth. He knew way too much to just set him loose. But he was far too young to keep.
Carter knew that Shawn had every intention of doing what Jack was doing when he grew up. How many times had she heard him tell her or O'Neill just that? He was going to go into the Air Force, and become the youngest Colonel in the world, then go on to become the leader of Cheyenne Mountain. Of course, NOW he knew fairly well that Cheyenne Mountain wasn't the simple military base that he'd thought it was, and that was the crux of the problem.
If he was older, they could simply invite him to join the Air Force and then, once he was in, order his silence. Of course, Shawn was nine – going on ten, as he kept reminding everyone – so that wasn't an option. The fact that he had a loving family who would definitely not appreciate the interference in their son's life just made it even worse. Short of wiping the boy's memory – which wasn't really an option, since she didn't know anyone who could do that – they'd have to go on his word that he'd be quiet about the aliens he'd seen.
Sam was glad that Hammond knew about this already. He was most definitely thinking of something to do at this very minute. He probably told the President, who would also be thinking about what to do – although maybe not. Maybe the President would just tell Hammond to handle it however he saw fit. Who knew? It could have been worse, though, Sam decided. At least the boy didn't know about the Stargate! That would have been a real mess.
"Have you been asking Thor more of those personal questions?" Sam asked.
Shawn shook his head. "I've tried to leave him alone, except for asking him if I could have the stuff to make that thing. He's been pretty busy helping with the Pe'alio."
"Pe'aoli," Sam corrected, smiling. "We'll be done, soon. Then we can go back home, and hopefully have a little time to spend with you doing normal stuff before Jack has to take you home."
"Do you guys do this sort of thing very often?" Shawn asked her.
"Only sometimes. Usually the Asgard don't need our help. They're fairly advanced people, obviously."
Shawn nodded. Didn't he just know!
"So they just call you when they need something?"
"Pretty much."
"Do you call them when you need something?"
"Yeah, we would. Except that most of the time they can't help us. They don't want to interfere with us." Well, technically, they couldn't interfere, but it was close enough. "They want us to develop on our own, you know?"
The boy nodded again, but before he could say anything, the door opened, and Jack walked in, obviously annoyed.
"Come on, Shawn. If it doesn't do anything, why does it light up like that?"
