DISCLAIMER: The characters mentioned in this story are the property of Showtime and Gekko Film Corp. The Stargate, SG-1, the goa'uld and all other characters who have appeared in the series STARGATE SG-1 together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of the people who made them up. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author.

A Snake In The Hand Is Worth Two In The Bush

Part thirty-six

Clare took a few deep breaths as she realised that it was now or never, she had to get through to these children somehow and she had an idea.

Turning to face Kosca, Clare smiled at her and pointed at herself as she said her own name before pointing at Kosca, saying her name and giving her a big hug. Kosca resisted the unfamiliar form of contact but then decided that it did actually feel nice. Clare released her and said 'Clare and Kosca. Friends.'

Kosca gave her a big smile while the rest of the children stared with big eyes, unsure what was happening. The gesture was reciprocated by Kosca repeating the gesture and giving Clare a big hug before saying 'Kosca and Clare. Friends.'

Kosca moved over to the child nearest her and went through the process with her, whispering quietly to the child to let him know what was going on. Soon the children were all speaking their names and hugging each other, big grins of happiness on their faces. Clare relaxed a little, knowing that at least she had made a start and that the children had started to open up. The next moment, she had a line of small people in front of her who were waiting patiently to be a 'friend' to her as well. She felt a warm glow at all this affection and smiled shyly towards the camera positioned near the ceiling in one corner of the room, knowing the others were watching from the adjoining room.

Deciding to try something else now the group were more relaxed, she encouraged the children to sit in a circle while she spoke briefly to the guard on the door. Grabbing a couple of blank medical charts and some pens the medics had left behind, Clare sat down in the circle as well.

'This is a dog.' She drew a rough picture of a dog, not a very good picture but enough for her purpose. 'I'm going to tell you a story about a dog.' Using gestures and pointing at the pictures she was drawing, she told them a short story about a dog that wanted to fly. The children, reacting to her tone of voice and gestures, were laughing in the right places and by the time she reached the end of the story they were relatively comfortable with their new surroundings.

The sound of the door opening made them tense and try to huddle together, but with a smile and a shake of Clare's head they stayed where they were, looking apprehensively at Daniel as he entered the room bearing several pads of paper and some crayons.

Clare went up to Daniel and went through the 'friend' ritual with him, looking apologetically at Daniel as she gave him a hug, which he returned, speaking the words as he did so. He had seen what had happened earlier and now understood what Clare had been doing. The children hesitated before they proceeded to form a line so they too could hug him and greet him then sat patiently back on the floor.

'Hey,' Daniel spoke softly to Clare, 'You seem to be doing alright. I brought what you asked.' He handed over the items he had brought and Clare gave out sheets of paper to each child with some crayons. Demonstrating what they were to do, she left them scribbling away, one of the first child-like activities they had probably ever experienced.

Pulling Daniel to one side she spoke quietly to him, running her hands through her hair while trying to stifle a yawn - this was hard going no matter how rewarding it was.

'You sure you're ok?' Daniel asked, noting her tiredness. 'Now you've made a start, perhaps Teal'c or I could…'

'I'm fine, really,' Clare smiled at him. 'I want to do this and they seem to respond to me.'

'They haven't said anything yet have they?'

'No, Kosca did whisper something to them but I didn't catch what it was. We have to try to establish a higher level of trust though, after what Teal'c did to get them through the Stargate, we have to make them understand they won't always get candy when they do what they're asked.'

Clare was about to speak again when she realised Daniel's attention was elsewhere. He moved towards one of the children and crouched down next to him, pointing a finger at what he was drawing.

'Stargate.' The child spoke softly, shyly. 'Chappa'ai.' The child smiled at him uncertainly, Daniel grinned back at him and nodded, saying only one word in reply.

'Good.'

The child, happy that he had met with approval continued to add more detail to his drawing of the Stargate.

'This is amazing,' Daniel spoke to Clare more quietly, 'They only saw the gate briefly but he has managed to put in an immense level of detail a child of his age shouldn't be capable of. Not to mention his hearing must be amazing for him to have heard you talk about the Stargate.'

'Well, we did know there was something unusual about them,' Clare replied as she moved on to the more immediate situation. 'Ok, now they seem to be used to you, I'd like to get Teal'c in next.'

Daniel disappeared, returning a few minutes later with Teal'c. The children took one glance at Teal'c and immediately swarmed towards him, needing no introduction before they greeted him with hugs and 'Friend.'

Daniel and Clare grinned at each other as they saw Teal'c's discomfort at all this unexpected attention, but after a few minutes they settled back down to their drawings. Sam and Jack were introduced together, the children beginning to get the hang of welcoming new people, took only a few moments of hesitation after Clare had greeted them before they too were welcomed into the small circle of 'friends' to the children.

'You're doing a good job here,' Jack spoke to Clare. 'A little unorthodox, but as long as it works… So, what's next?'

'Well…' Clare hesitated, unsure as to how her next proposal would be taken. 'The children are too nervous to be around lots of people and it would be better to limit contact with them at present.' She looked doubtfully at Jack, then continued more confidently when she received a nod of agreement from him. 'Dr Fraiser needs to do her tests, but I don't think she's going to get anywhere if she comes in with a large group of nurses - maybe if Dr Fraiser comes in with one nurse?'

'I'll go and talk to her sir,' Sam volunteered and left the room when she saw her CO was going to agree with Clare's suggestion.

'How are you doing, Clare?' Jack looked at her carefully, tiredness showing in her eyes.

'I'm ok,' Clare replied, pushing her tiredness to one side as she smiled at him. 'I'm a little tired, but I can keep going for a while longer.'

'Are you sure? Now you've got them to open up a bit I'm sure we can carry on.'

'I'd like to stay - I want to make sure they get properly settled in.'

'Ok, but just let me know if you need a break.'

Jack moved to join Teal'c and Daniel. Daniel had been trying to get the children to talk, to say anything, but all he got in response were wide-eyed stares.

'Kind of quiet in here don't you think?' Jack commented.

'It's very unusual - most children would be chattering away. It's odd that they're sitting so quietly, and they seem perfectly content.' Daniel paused and frowned. 'I get the feeling I'm missing something, though. I just can't put my finger on it.'

Sam returned just then with Dr Fraiser and Nurse O'Reilly. As they stepped in the room everything went still as the children turned to look at the newcomers, their small bodies tensed as they saw two of the people who had been trying to do unpleasant things to them. Clare got them to put all their medical equipment at the far side of the room then introduced them as Janet and Suzanne. There was a considerable delay this time before they too were greeted and welcomed into their little circle.

Dr Fraiser looked to Clare for further direction. Clare seemed to have the situation under control for the time being and she didn't want to upset the current atmosphere.

'Can you do your tests on me first - let the children see what will be done to them, then maybe you could do some of the others?'

Dr Fraiser agreed and proceeded to take Clare's temperature, blood pressure, pulse, blood samples and various other essential medical check ups. On seeing Clare's elevated readings, Janet considered sending her off immediately for some rest but eventually decided to allow her a little longer with the children.

The four members of SG1 also had the tests done to them, then Clare took Kosca on to her lap and spoke quiet, reassuring words to her, explaining everything that was happening as Dr Fraiser did what was necessary. As they realised that Kosca was unharmed, the rest of the children were happy to choose someone's lap to sit on to undergo the same thing themselves.

Half an hour later Dr Fraiser had all the information she needed and sent the nurse off to process the results.

'Well, that went well. How long did we try to do that before?' Janet pulled a face as she spoke, remembering several hours of trying unsuccessfully to do what Clare had managed to achieve in half an hour.

'Well, speaking as a doctor and a parent, I think this lot have had just about enough for one day. Food should be arriving for them any moment now and I suggest they all get to bed once they've eaten. It's been a very long day for everyone.'

The children seemed to enjoy the food they were brought and the looks of sheer pleasure when they tasted ice cream for the first time was a very rewarding sight - once they'd recovered from the shock of the coldness.

Half an hour after they'd finished eating and paid necessary visits to the bathroom they were all tucked up in bed, listening drowsily to Teal'c singing a Chulak lullaby. He had a surprisingly deep, mellow voice and although the words to the song were strange and not entirely to the liking of the humans present, the children seemed to appreciate it and soon nothing could be heard except the deep, slow breathing of twelve tired out and now sleeping children.

Just outside the room, Janet turned to Clare.

'Ok, I want you to get yourself something to eat and then straight to bed - that's an order.'

'But what if one of them wakes up, shouldn't I be…' Clare tried to protest.

'I will remain and perform kel'noreem so I will be here if the children require anything,' Teal'c offered.

'Good. In that case the rest of us will ensure that Clare follows your orders.' Jack, with his hand on the small of Clare's back, headed off in the direction of the elevator, followed by Sam and Daniel. Clare gave some resistance initially, but Jack kept up the pressure on her back until he could feel her relax and walk with him.

Clare felt too keyed up to eat much, Sam had fetched her a rather appetising plate of lasagne with chocolate cake to follow, but she found herself miles away, worrying about the children and what would happen to them. Jack brought her back down to earth, shaking her gently by the arm to catch her attention.

'Hey - you're supposed to eat that not play with it. Do you want me to get Dr Fraiser on your case?'

'Sorry, I guess I'm a bit tense still. It's been an unusual day,' she picked up a fork and took a few mouthfuls of lasagne, found her appetite had returned and wolfed down the rest of it hungrily.

'Slow down - it's not going anywhere and you'll make yourself sick,' Daniel warned. 'You did a good job today - I'm not sure what we'd have done if you hadn't been around.'

Clare smiled shyly at him, in spite of what Sam had said to her a couple of days ago, she still felt like she didn't belong and was glad she had been able to prove herself to be useful.

After the cake had been consumed and they had been sitting silently around the table for a few minutes, Jack took charge once again, insisting it was time Clare went to bed. Clare was in agreement with this - while she had been sitting there she could feel her head nodding and her eyes growing heavy and she kept telling herself it was time to move before she fell asleep. Her body, however, seemed reluctant to do what her mind was telling it and she sat there staring up at Jack as he waited for her to leave the table.

'Are you alright?' Jack asked seeing her reluctance to move.

'Yes, but I think the last few days has just caught up with me. I'm coming now.' With a supreme effort, she pushed herself into a standing position, swaying slightly as a wave of tiredness swept over her, the next moment Jack had grabbed her elbow, steadying her, then kept hold while he walked with her to her room.

Turning to him briefly as he opened the door for her, she mumbled good night, not even waiting for him to close the door before she started to change into her pyjamas. Smiling to himself, Jack closed the door and left.