Part 6
"What?" Carter stares at us, the little science instrument she was holding slipping from her fingers, forgotten. "You're leaving SG-1?"
"I have to, Sam," Daniel sighs. "You know better than anyone that being a member of this team and caring for a child are not compatible."
"Which is why Janet adopted Cassie," she replies.
"Your priority was your work," Daniel says. When Carter stiffens and opens her mouth, no doubt to correct him, Daniel holds up his hands and quickly keeps speaking. "And I'm not judging you for that. You're still a big part of her life and it was the right decision for everyone involved. But Danny is not Cassie. This is different."
Carter narrows her eyes. "How? I know he's been through a lot, but so had Cassie. What we do here is important. Vital, even. And what *you,* specifically, do here, cannot be done by anyone else. Are you saying that you are the only person in the world who can take care of him?"
We really shouldn't be dragging Danny around through all of these discussions, but Daniel seems bent on having him present for everything. He keeps telling me that it's better that the kid knows everything that is going on, instead of sitting somewhere and waiting for us to work this out, which would give him time to make all kinds of assumptions and think things are much worse than they actually are. Of course, that means he's right here to see Carter's reaction to Daniel's bombshell, and it doesn't go over well. The boy shrinks against Daniel's side, his face half hidden in Daniel's shirt, and Carter softens when she sees this. She makes the effort to smile gently at him, and lowers her voice. "I'm just asking you to think about what you're doing, Daniel."
"I have thought about it," he says firmly. "Sam, I was gone for a year and SG-1 carried on. Besides, I'm not talking about leaving the SGC completely. I can still do translation and diplomatic work here at the base. I hardly think that my presence on the team, or lack thereof, will cause the whole SGC to grind to a halt, thereby leaving the planet vulnerable to the fleet of goa'uld motherships which is hovering just outside the solar system, waiting to hear that I've done the unthinkable and left SG-1."
Carter rolls her eyes. "I wasn't suggesting that and you know it. You're exaggerating the situation to the point of ridiculousness in order to lessen the impact of what you're doing. How many times have you saved the team because of the unique way you think? Remember the Gadmeer, or the Tollan, or any number of other races that only you could get through to? We need you, Daniel."
"You survived well enough without me when I was ascended."
I raise an eyebrow at his tone, which was almost resentful.
"You were greatly missed, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c says solemnly. "Jonas was a poor substitute."
Daniel taps his fingers against his legs and smiles at the floor for a moment. "Well... okay, that's nice to hear." We all hear the unspoken "finally" on the end of that sentence. "But let's face reality here, guys. The team was never going to last forever. Hammond is eventually going to retire, and Jack is the logical, and frankly, only choice to replace him. Sam, you'll be promoted, take command of SG-1, and get a couple new team members under you. Maybe a whole new team depending on what Teal'c decides to do."
"I will remain with the Tau'ri as long as they continue to fight the Goa'uld," Teal'c says.
"You've always told me that you'll go wherever you can do the most good in the battle against the Goa'uld," Daniel shoots back. "For now, that's here, but what if you're tapped to lead the Jaffa resistance in Bra'tac's place? You know you're next in line for that if anything happens to him."
Teal'c clasps his hands behind his back and nods regally. "This is true. Although Master Bra'tac is still very strong."
"But you see my point," Daniel presses. "Much as we want things to stay the way they are, with our own close little family, nothing lasts forever. This was bound to happen sooner or later, and it looks like it's going to be sooner."
Carter sinks onto her lab stool and stares blankly at the table in front of her. "God, Daniel," she says. "It's just so sudden."
Daniel slings an arm around her shoulders and hugs her to his side for a moment. "I know, and I'm sorry to spring it on you like this. Believe me, my head is still spinning, too. It's a lot to deal with in a short time, but I know I'm doing the right thing." He pauses, sweeping us all with a strangely vulnerable look. "When you get right down to it, this is the only way I'm ever going to be a father. How can I refuse that chance?"
Well. When he puts it that way, what else is there to say?
~~~
"We've got a go," I call out, sailing triumphantly into Daniel's office.
"Hi Jack," the kid calls from his usual perch on Daniel's lap. Again with the lap thing. I don't know if it's a seeking comfort thing or more of a center of attention thing. Danny does seem happiest when everyone is focused on him, which I guess is kind of normal for a kid, especially one who hasn't received much attention lately. Of course, that begs the question of what he'd be willing to do to get attention if we don't give him as much as he wants.
They're firmly ensconced in front of the desk, surrounded by several open books and what I recognize as one of Daniel's favorite artifacts. I still remember how excited he got when he found it in what was essentially an alien garbage dump. Archeologists. Go figure.
"We do?" Daniel asks. "We can go home?"
I rock back on my heels and hook my thumbs into my hip pockets. "Yep. Fraiser's tests came back squeaky clean, Hammond is busy losing memos from the NID and his phone has been on the blink all day. Darndest thing. They're anxious to talk to him about something, but I guess they'll have to wait."
Daniel gives me a tight-lipped conspirator's smile and squeezes the boy to his chest. "Hear that? We're getting out of here."
"Where are we going?"
"I think we need to go shopping first," Daniel says.
I flop down on the small, battered couch in his office with a theatrical groan. "Shopping? Why?"
"Don't whine, Jack," Daniel reproves, and the kid laughs.
"I'm not whining. I'm merely curious as to why, after what has been an extremely long day, you would want to drag an old man with touchy knees around some big, crowded, over-bright mall. Not to mention the lines and the traffic and that irritating, non-specific music that they pipe in..." Okay, that might have been whining at the end.
Daniel rolls his eyes. "I hate shopping as much as you do, if not more, but Danny literally has nothing but the clothes on his back. The shoes that Sam picked out are too big and keep slipping off his heels, he's got ketchup on this shirt from lunch and we don't even have any pajamas or clean underwear for him. Not to mention he needs to get tested and fitted for glasses. Squinting all the time isn't good for his eyes."
"All right, all right," I grump, waving a hand to stop him. "I get it. The kid has nothing, needs everything. I'd forgotten how much *crap* kids seem to require."
"We'll start with the basics. A few changes of clothes, a stop by the LensCrafters, some shoes that fit... let's see, a toothbrush... we need to get Janet to prescribe some allergy medication in child doses, he can't take mine... he needs a haircut too, the one he's got was fine for 1973 but a bit out of place now..."
"Aah!" I wave a finger in Daniel's general direction, tilting my head back and shutting my eyes. "That's enough. It's time for me to teach you one of the great skills of leadership—delegation."
"You want me to call Sam."
I touch my finger to the tip of my nose. "Got it in one."
"You do realize that Danny has to actually be present in order to get his eyes tested and his hair cut and shoes fitted for him?"
Damn. Hadn't thought of that. "Of course I realize it," I bluff. "I wasn't talking about her going instead of us. We could do more of a team effort."
"Uh-huh," Daniel says. "I'm sure that's what you meant."
He knows me entirely too well.
"So," I say briskly. "Call up Carter and Teal'c... no, check that, just Teal'c. Carter actually likes shopping. We'll never get out of there."
"What makes you think she likes shopping?"
I wave a hand vaguely. "She's a woman. Don't all women like shopping?"
Daniel huffs out a little exasperated breath. "That's a ridiculous generalization, and no more accurate than saying all men like sports. Sam is hardly a stereotypical female who only thinks about shoes and clothes and who the cutest guy on American Idol is."
"I know," I say. "But she was the one who volunteered to pick out a new wardrobe for you. Twice. And she's the one who drags you to the barber every time your hair gets past your ears and wasn't she the one who made you try on about fifty different frames the last time you got your prescription changed?"
"Well... yeah... but you know better than to suggest she likes shopping just because she's a woman."
"Fine," I sigh. "She likes shopping because she's Carter, okay? The point remains that she'll want to *look* at everything and pick out just the right stuff and we'll be there all night. Teal'c, on the other hand, cuts through crowds like a hot knife through butter and gets us discounts by sheer intimidation."
"Teal'c thinks shopping is only slightly less boring than counting the dots in the ceiling," Daniel points out.
"So much the better. He'll be in a hurry to get us out of there."
Daniel smiles. "Fine. You tell him he's been recruited for a mission to the mall. I'll stand back and watch him impale you on his eyebrow of doom."
I tilt forward in my chair fast enough for my feet to hit the floor with a loud thump. I'm rather embarrassed to find myself sputtering wordlessly at Daniel, who is grinning in triumph, his arms folded and his chin high.
Suddenly, the kid, who has been very quietly listening to us, pipes up. "It's okay," he says. "You don't have to get me stuff. I don't mean to be so much trouble."
"You're not," Daniel says firmly.
At the same time, I tell him, "It's no trouble."
Daniel shifts so he can look the boy in the face and still hold him. "We're just playing around. We're both a little... bowled over by everything that has happened, so we're talking and joking to help us feel more relaxed. Jack might complain about shopping, but no matter what he says, he'd never decide you were too much trouble to bother with."
"That's right, kiddo," I add. "You see, I actually have to complain about things. It's a medical condition that requires me to gripe and grumble for a minimum of two hours a day."
Danny frowns, his eyebrows lifting skeptically. "A medical condition. Really."
"Yeah. It's called getting old."
Daniel snorts laughter, shaking his head. "Don't even listen to him. Jack wants us all to think he's old and slow, so we'll bring him beer and not make him get up off the couch."
I'm trying to think of a comeback to that when Teal'c appears in the doorway. "Daniel Jackson," he says, speaking to Daniel but nodding a greeting to the kid, who looks up at him with a somewhat awestruck expression. "I had hoped to find you before you left the base."
"Why is that?"
"General Hammond is using delaying and evasive tactics against the NID, but I am not certain that they will be fully effective. I believe it is best that you and the child be protected while you are outside the secure environment of Cheyenne Mountain."
I see the light at the end of the tunnel. "My thoughts exactly, Teal'c," I say cheerfully. "Why, I just told Daniel here that we shouldn't risk going to the mall without you as backup."
Teal'c winces subtly. It's easy to miss, but it's there. "The mall, O'Neill?"
Daniel's lips twitch. "We need to pick up a few things for Danny," he says. "Essential items."
"I see," Teal'c replies. "Very well. I will accompany you and ensure your safety at the... mall." He says the word like it tastes bad in his mouth.
"Excellent," I murmur, tapping my fingertips together and doing my best Mr. Burns.
"Is he a bodyguard?" the boy whispers, darting another quick glance at Teal'c.
"I will be, if that becomes necessary," Teal'c says simply.
Danny beams. "Cool!"
I love it when a plan comes together.
~~~
The kid has progressed past the "wow" stage and has now entered silent amazement. I guess present day Colorado is a hell of a lot different than seventies Egypt. He thought the escalators in the mall were the greatest thing ever. They had escalators in '73, didn't they? Sure they did, and even before then. I remember them when I was a kid. Of course, they probably didn't have them in Cairo.
The crowds make him a little nervous, though. Daniel explained that a crowded marketplace was nothing new to the kid, considering the street markets he'd seen in Cairo; it was the idea of getting separated from us and lost that made him jumpy. Teal'c does a brilliant job of cutting a swath through the general populace, though, and he stares down anyone who looks like they might bump into us. Danny thinks this is fantastic. His glances at Teal'c are fast approaching hero-worship.
"Oh!" the kid says suddenly, coming to an abrupt halt and pointing. "Look!"
The toy store, you ask? No, not this kid. He's drooling over the Barnes and Noble.
Daniel lights up and starts steering us in that direction, until I cut him off at the pass. "Basics," I tell him. "If we go in there, we'll never have time to get everything else done."
"But, Jack, we already have most of the stuff. We've got clothes and shoes and we're due to pick up Danny's glasses in half an hour—what else is there?"
"Haircut. Allergy medication. Toothbrush, comb, blankets and bedding..."
"Okay, okay," Daniel sighs. "I get it."
"You were the one who said we needed all of this."
"I know."
"Most of the stores will be closed in an hour."
"I *know* Jack. I'm not arguing with you."
Oh, but he is. He's giving me the mutinous look, coupled with the slumped shoulders and the general air of disappointment. And if that expression is hard to take in an adult Daniel, it's devastating when the kid directs it my way.
"You know," Daniel says obliquely, "paper is hard to come by in Egypt. It's a wood product, and forests don't tend to happen in the desert, so all wood products have to be imported. Books are highly valued there, and rarely do you see so many all together. And, of course, the library at the Hanson Home was made up mostly of secondhand paperbacks with pages torn out and writing in them. Not to mention the age restrictions that said the nicer, higher quality books couldn't be checked out by kids too young to 'appreciate' them."
"Really," I reply. "Is that so."
"Yep." Daniel casts another long look at the Barnes and Noble, and the kid follows his gaze, all but licking his lips with wanting. Then he looks up at me with a smile that doesn't quite dare to be hopeful.
I'm so toast.
"Fine," I sigh. "You take the kid to play with the books. Teal'c and I will pick up the rest, and come back to get Danny for the haircut."
Daniel's cheerful "Thanks Jack" coincides with Teal'c's incredulous "We will?"
I clap him on the back and start steering him toward the drugstore. "Sure we will, big guy. Just you and me, on a mission. What do you say?"
Teal'c refuses to be steered. "My purpose here is to protect Daniel Jackson and the child. How can I do this if I do not remain with them?"
Damn. "Um... well... it's a bookstore, Teal'c, not a dark alley. I think they'll be fine."
"This was not your attitude when you asked me to accompany you to the mall."
Daniel, the bastard, bites his lips together to keep from laughing. The kid gazes up at Teal'c again, grinning hugely. I guess having someone so tough and intimidating sticking up for you is a big deal for a kid like him.
"But... but there's a lot to carry." Okay, that was whining. I'll admit it.
"I feel confident that you will prevail, O'Neill."
Well, peachy.
"You owe me, Daniel," I growl as I turn away.
"I know," he says. "I'll pay you back tonight."
I raise my eyebrows at him, and he gives me a positively filthy look. Hmm... this could be a good day after all.
~~~
"What?" Carter stares at us, the little science instrument she was holding slipping from her fingers, forgotten. "You're leaving SG-1?"
"I have to, Sam," Daniel sighs. "You know better than anyone that being a member of this team and caring for a child are not compatible."
"Which is why Janet adopted Cassie," she replies.
"Your priority was your work," Daniel says. When Carter stiffens and opens her mouth, no doubt to correct him, Daniel holds up his hands and quickly keeps speaking. "And I'm not judging you for that. You're still a big part of her life and it was the right decision for everyone involved. But Danny is not Cassie. This is different."
Carter narrows her eyes. "How? I know he's been through a lot, but so had Cassie. What we do here is important. Vital, even. And what *you,* specifically, do here, cannot be done by anyone else. Are you saying that you are the only person in the world who can take care of him?"
We really shouldn't be dragging Danny around through all of these discussions, but Daniel seems bent on having him present for everything. He keeps telling me that it's better that the kid knows everything that is going on, instead of sitting somewhere and waiting for us to work this out, which would give him time to make all kinds of assumptions and think things are much worse than they actually are. Of course, that means he's right here to see Carter's reaction to Daniel's bombshell, and it doesn't go over well. The boy shrinks against Daniel's side, his face half hidden in Daniel's shirt, and Carter softens when she sees this. She makes the effort to smile gently at him, and lowers her voice. "I'm just asking you to think about what you're doing, Daniel."
"I have thought about it," he says firmly. "Sam, I was gone for a year and SG-1 carried on. Besides, I'm not talking about leaving the SGC completely. I can still do translation and diplomatic work here at the base. I hardly think that my presence on the team, or lack thereof, will cause the whole SGC to grind to a halt, thereby leaving the planet vulnerable to the fleet of goa'uld motherships which is hovering just outside the solar system, waiting to hear that I've done the unthinkable and left SG-1."
Carter rolls her eyes. "I wasn't suggesting that and you know it. You're exaggerating the situation to the point of ridiculousness in order to lessen the impact of what you're doing. How many times have you saved the team because of the unique way you think? Remember the Gadmeer, or the Tollan, or any number of other races that only you could get through to? We need you, Daniel."
"You survived well enough without me when I was ascended."
I raise an eyebrow at his tone, which was almost resentful.
"You were greatly missed, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c says solemnly. "Jonas was a poor substitute."
Daniel taps his fingers against his legs and smiles at the floor for a moment. "Well... okay, that's nice to hear." We all hear the unspoken "finally" on the end of that sentence. "But let's face reality here, guys. The team was never going to last forever. Hammond is eventually going to retire, and Jack is the logical, and frankly, only choice to replace him. Sam, you'll be promoted, take command of SG-1, and get a couple new team members under you. Maybe a whole new team depending on what Teal'c decides to do."
"I will remain with the Tau'ri as long as they continue to fight the Goa'uld," Teal'c says.
"You've always told me that you'll go wherever you can do the most good in the battle against the Goa'uld," Daniel shoots back. "For now, that's here, but what if you're tapped to lead the Jaffa resistance in Bra'tac's place? You know you're next in line for that if anything happens to him."
Teal'c clasps his hands behind his back and nods regally. "This is true. Although Master Bra'tac is still very strong."
"But you see my point," Daniel presses. "Much as we want things to stay the way they are, with our own close little family, nothing lasts forever. This was bound to happen sooner or later, and it looks like it's going to be sooner."
Carter sinks onto her lab stool and stares blankly at the table in front of her. "God, Daniel," she says. "It's just so sudden."
Daniel slings an arm around her shoulders and hugs her to his side for a moment. "I know, and I'm sorry to spring it on you like this. Believe me, my head is still spinning, too. It's a lot to deal with in a short time, but I know I'm doing the right thing." He pauses, sweeping us all with a strangely vulnerable look. "When you get right down to it, this is the only way I'm ever going to be a father. How can I refuse that chance?"
Well. When he puts it that way, what else is there to say?
~~~
"We've got a go," I call out, sailing triumphantly into Daniel's office.
"Hi Jack," the kid calls from his usual perch on Daniel's lap. Again with the lap thing. I don't know if it's a seeking comfort thing or more of a center of attention thing. Danny does seem happiest when everyone is focused on him, which I guess is kind of normal for a kid, especially one who hasn't received much attention lately. Of course, that begs the question of what he'd be willing to do to get attention if we don't give him as much as he wants.
They're firmly ensconced in front of the desk, surrounded by several open books and what I recognize as one of Daniel's favorite artifacts. I still remember how excited he got when he found it in what was essentially an alien garbage dump. Archeologists. Go figure.
"We do?" Daniel asks. "We can go home?"
I rock back on my heels and hook my thumbs into my hip pockets. "Yep. Fraiser's tests came back squeaky clean, Hammond is busy losing memos from the NID and his phone has been on the blink all day. Darndest thing. They're anxious to talk to him about something, but I guess they'll have to wait."
Daniel gives me a tight-lipped conspirator's smile and squeezes the boy to his chest. "Hear that? We're getting out of here."
"Where are we going?"
"I think we need to go shopping first," Daniel says.
I flop down on the small, battered couch in his office with a theatrical groan. "Shopping? Why?"
"Don't whine, Jack," Daniel reproves, and the kid laughs.
"I'm not whining. I'm merely curious as to why, after what has been an extremely long day, you would want to drag an old man with touchy knees around some big, crowded, over-bright mall. Not to mention the lines and the traffic and that irritating, non-specific music that they pipe in..." Okay, that might have been whining at the end.
Daniel rolls his eyes. "I hate shopping as much as you do, if not more, but Danny literally has nothing but the clothes on his back. The shoes that Sam picked out are too big and keep slipping off his heels, he's got ketchup on this shirt from lunch and we don't even have any pajamas or clean underwear for him. Not to mention he needs to get tested and fitted for glasses. Squinting all the time isn't good for his eyes."
"All right, all right," I grump, waving a hand to stop him. "I get it. The kid has nothing, needs everything. I'd forgotten how much *crap* kids seem to require."
"We'll start with the basics. A few changes of clothes, a stop by the LensCrafters, some shoes that fit... let's see, a toothbrush... we need to get Janet to prescribe some allergy medication in child doses, he can't take mine... he needs a haircut too, the one he's got was fine for 1973 but a bit out of place now..."
"Aah!" I wave a finger in Daniel's general direction, tilting my head back and shutting my eyes. "That's enough. It's time for me to teach you one of the great skills of leadership—delegation."
"You want me to call Sam."
I touch my finger to the tip of my nose. "Got it in one."
"You do realize that Danny has to actually be present in order to get his eyes tested and his hair cut and shoes fitted for him?"
Damn. Hadn't thought of that. "Of course I realize it," I bluff. "I wasn't talking about her going instead of us. We could do more of a team effort."
"Uh-huh," Daniel says. "I'm sure that's what you meant."
He knows me entirely too well.
"So," I say briskly. "Call up Carter and Teal'c... no, check that, just Teal'c. Carter actually likes shopping. We'll never get out of there."
"What makes you think she likes shopping?"
I wave a hand vaguely. "She's a woman. Don't all women like shopping?"
Daniel huffs out a little exasperated breath. "That's a ridiculous generalization, and no more accurate than saying all men like sports. Sam is hardly a stereotypical female who only thinks about shoes and clothes and who the cutest guy on American Idol is."
"I know," I say. "But she was the one who volunteered to pick out a new wardrobe for you. Twice. And she's the one who drags you to the barber every time your hair gets past your ears and wasn't she the one who made you try on about fifty different frames the last time you got your prescription changed?"
"Well... yeah... but you know better than to suggest she likes shopping just because she's a woman."
"Fine," I sigh. "She likes shopping because she's Carter, okay? The point remains that she'll want to *look* at everything and pick out just the right stuff and we'll be there all night. Teal'c, on the other hand, cuts through crowds like a hot knife through butter and gets us discounts by sheer intimidation."
"Teal'c thinks shopping is only slightly less boring than counting the dots in the ceiling," Daniel points out.
"So much the better. He'll be in a hurry to get us out of there."
Daniel smiles. "Fine. You tell him he's been recruited for a mission to the mall. I'll stand back and watch him impale you on his eyebrow of doom."
I tilt forward in my chair fast enough for my feet to hit the floor with a loud thump. I'm rather embarrassed to find myself sputtering wordlessly at Daniel, who is grinning in triumph, his arms folded and his chin high.
Suddenly, the kid, who has been very quietly listening to us, pipes up. "It's okay," he says. "You don't have to get me stuff. I don't mean to be so much trouble."
"You're not," Daniel says firmly.
At the same time, I tell him, "It's no trouble."
Daniel shifts so he can look the boy in the face and still hold him. "We're just playing around. We're both a little... bowled over by everything that has happened, so we're talking and joking to help us feel more relaxed. Jack might complain about shopping, but no matter what he says, he'd never decide you were too much trouble to bother with."
"That's right, kiddo," I add. "You see, I actually have to complain about things. It's a medical condition that requires me to gripe and grumble for a minimum of two hours a day."
Danny frowns, his eyebrows lifting skeptically. "A medical condition. Really."
"Yeah. It's called getting old."
Daniel snorts laughter, shaking his head. "Don't even listen to him. Jack wants us all to think he's old and slow, so we'll bring him beer and not make him get up off the couch."
I'm trying to think of a comeback to that when Teal'c appears in the doorway. "Daniel Jackson," he says, speaking to Daniel but nodding a greeting to the kid, who looks up at him with a somewhat awestruck expression. "I had hoped to find you before you left the base."
"Why is that?"
"General Hammond is using delaying and evasive tactics against the NID, but I am not certain that they will be fully effective. I believe it is best that you and the child be protected while you are outside the secure environment of Cheyenne Mountain."
I see the light at the end of the tunnel. "My thoughts exactly, Teal'c," I say cheerfully. "Why, I just told Daniel here that we shouldn't risk going to the mall without you as backup."
Teal'c winces subtly. It's easy to miss, but it's there. "The mall, O'Neill?"
Daniel's lips twitch. "We need to pick up a few things for Danny," he says. "Essential items."
"I see," Teal'c replies. "Very well. I will accompany you and ensure your safety at the... mall." He says the word like it tastes bad in his mouth.
"Excellent," I murmur, tapping my fingertips together and doing my best Mr. Burns.
"Is he a bodyguard?" the boy whispers, darting another quick glance at Teal'c.
"I will be, if that becomes necessary," Teal'c says simply.
Danny beams. "Cool!"
I love it when a plan comes together.
~~~
The kid has progressed past the "wow" stage and has now entered silent amazement. I guess present day Colorado is a hell of a lot different than seventies Egypt. He thought the escalators in the mall were the greatest thing ever. They had escalators in '73, didn't they? Sure they did, and even before then. I remember them when I was a kid. Of course, they probably didn't have them in Cairo.
The crowds make him a little nervous, though. Daniel explained that a crowded marketplace was nothing new to the kid, considering the street markets he'd seen in Cairo; it was the idea of getting separated from us and lost that made him jumpy. Teal'c does a brilliant job of cutting a swath through the general populace, though, and he stares down anyone who looks like they might bump into us. Danny thinks this is fantastic. His glances at Teal'c are fast approaching hero-worship.
"Oh!" the kid says suddenly, coming to an abrupt halt and pointing. "Look!"
The toy store, you ask? No, not this kid. He's drooling over the Barnes and Noble.
Daniel lights up and starts steering us in that direction, until I cut him off at the pass. "Basics," I tell him. "If we go in there, we'll never have time to get everything else done."
"But, Jack, we already have most of the stuff. We've got clothes and shoes and we're due to pick up Danny's glasses in half an hour—what else is there?"
"Haircut. Allergy medication. Toothbrush, comb, blankets and bedding..."
"Okay, okay," Daniel sighs. "I get it."
"You were the one who said we needed all of this."
"I know."
"Most of the stores will be closed in an hour."
"I *know* Jack. I'm not arguing with you."
Oh, but he is. He's giving me the mutinous look, coupled with the slumped shoulders and the general air of disappointment. And if that expression is hard to take in an adult Daniel, it's devastating when the kid directs it my way.
"You know," Daniel says obliquely, "paper is hard to come by in Egypt. It's a wood product, and forests don't tend to happen in the desert, so all wood products have to be imported. Books are highly valued there, and rarely do you see so many all together. And, of course, the library at the Hanson Home was made up mostly of secondhand paperbacks with pages torn out and writing in them. Not to mention the age restrictions that said the nicer, higher quality books couldn't be checked out by kids too young to 'appreciate' them."
"Really," I reply. "Is that so."
"Yep." Daniel casts another long look at the Barnes and Noble, and the kid follows his gaze, all but licking his lips with wanting. Then he looks up at me with a smile that doesn't quite dare to be hopeful.
I'm so toast.
"Fine," I sigh. "You take the kid to play with the books. Teal'c and I will pick up the rest, and come back to get Danny for the haircut."
Daniel's cheerful "Thanks Jack" coincides with Teal'c's incredulous "We will?"
I clap him on the back and start steering him toward the drugstore. "Sure we will, big guy. Just you and me, on a mission. What do you say?"
Teal'c refuses to be steered. "My purpose here is to protect Daniel Jackson and the child. How can I do this if I do not remain with them?"
Damn. "Um... well... it's a bookstore, Teal'c, not a dark alley. I think they'll be fine."
"This was not your attitude when you asked me to accompany you to the mall."
Daniel, the bastard, bites his lips together to keep from laughing. The kid gazes up at Teal'c again, grinning hugely. I guess having someone so tough and intimidating sticking up for you is a big deal for a kid like him.
"But... but there's a lot to carry." Okay, that was whining. I'll admit it.
"I feel confident that you will prevail, O'Neill."
Well, peachy.
"You owe me, Daniel," I growl as I turn away.
"I know," he says. "I'll pay you back tonight."
I raise my eyebrows at him, and he gives me a positively filthy look. Hmm... this could be a good day after all.
~~~