Chapter 8 - Out and About

Jack walked into the infirmary wearing his civilian clothes and carrying the pair of size 1 shoes that Sam had left in her lab. After a lengthy discussion with the General, he was ready to take Carter home with him. Well, almost ready. He needed to clear the air with her first; otherwise things would be more than a little tense between the two of them for the next few days. The problem was, he wasn't sure exactly what to say. Hopefully something would come to him once he saw her, he thought to himself.

Jack met up with Daniel and Teal'c in the infirmary. They had both wanted to see Sam off and assure her that they would be working hard on deciphering the translations of the Triplexus. Before any of the men could get to her room however, Janet came out of her office and stopped them.

"Colonel, I need a brief word with you before you take Sam home. She is doing much better now but I need you to make sure she rests: no computer work or even talking about work if you can help it. She also needs to eat lightly tonight. No pizza!"

"Talking about work shouldn't be a problem Doc. The pizza however..." Jack grinned at Doctor Frazier as she rolled her eyes.

"You do know how to heat up a can of soup don't you Colonel? That would be best for Sam tonight. Also, under no circumstances should she have any caffeine while she is with you. She shouldn't have any of that kind of stimulant in her system. An eight year old's body doesn't handle it like an adult's."

At her words, Jack looked at Daniel with an 'I told you so' expression on his face. Daniel glanced away, unsettled by the thought that Jack had been right about something that had nothing to do with military strategy.

"I'm also sending some children's Tylenol with you, in case Sam gets another headache. The bump on her head might give her a bit of trouble. I told her to be sure and let you know if she feels dizzy or nauseous again. Do you have any questions before you take her home Colonel O'Neill?"

"No Doc, we'll be fine. It's not like I haven't taken care of a kid before...er, I mean I have helped take care of people before," Jack quickly corrected himself.

"Just be careful Sir. She is still touchy about being referred to as a child. And make sure you call me if anything happens."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry."

Daniel rolled his eyes as he made his way in to see Sam, Teal'c following closely behind him. Sam was putting a few things in a duffel bag when the guys pulled aside the curtain. She turned around and smiled as they came in, her smile fading somewhat as she caught sight of the Colonel following in their wake. This didn't go unnoticed by any of them.

"Hey Sam, Teal'c and I just wanted to say good-bye before you left." Daniel tried to ease some of the tension in the room. "Jack has invited us to come over tomorrow night for dinner. No pizza, we're having a barbeque, right Jack?" Daniel looked pointedly at the older man.

"Of course Danny. We'll have a team night tomorrow. Burgers, brats, you name it," Jack replied, trying to lighten the mood.

"I will supply the beverages O'Neill. I believe we should refrain from serving alcohol in the current circumstances," Teal'c intoned.

Sam glanced quickly at Jack, wondering if he would make a comment about the alcohol and her being too young to drink. He just looked at her and smiled, "That will be fine Teal'c."

"Don't worry about anything here Sam. We'll do our best and let you know what we come up with. We'll see you tomorrow." Daniel gave her a hug and Teal'c nodded his head at her before they left her and Jack alone. Sam returned to putting the few articles of clothing from Janet into the bag. She wasn't sure what to say to the Colonel, so just busied herself with packing her few things.

Jack sat on the bed and watched her quietly for a few minutes. Her hair was neatly braided in one long French Braid, a few tendrils escaping to frame her small face. She was still barefoot, something Jack found to be unusually endearing.

He cleared his throat, "Uh Carter, I think you'll be needing these." He held up the small shoes in his hands as she turned around.

"Thank you Sir," she said quietly as she took the shoes from his outstretched fingers. She climbed up on the bed about two feet from where he sat, pulled on some socks, and then started to put the shoes on.

"Do you need any help?" he asked as her small fingers struggled with the laces.

"No Sir." Sam didn't even look at him: she just kept on working at the laces, finally getting the right one tied, then moving on to the left one.

Jack continued to watch her, then quietly began to talk. "I remember when Charlie started to learn to tie his shoes. He had the hardest time with it. Sarah worked with him for days, patiently showing him then having him redo the laces. I just wanted to do it for him so we could get where we needed to go, but Sarah insisted we let him work on it. The look of pride on his face when he finally accomplished that skill was something I'll never forget." Sam looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

He sighed, then ran his hand through his hair. "Look Carter, this situation is strange for both of us. I see you, and I see Charlie. And I feel this need to protect you like I couldn't always protect him." He looked her in the eye, relieved to see that she was really listening to him. "You're going to have to be patient with me OK? I'll try not to treat you like a kid and let you do as much as you can on your own. But I won't let anything happen to you either. Not if I can help it. And if that means I get a little overprotective, you're going to have to deal with it. For now at least."

Sam studied him for a moment longer, then nodded her head. "OK Sir, I'll do my best to be patient with you, as long as you try and remember that I am not a kid on the inside. I'll work on accepting your help when I need it, but I'm warning you, it won't be easy for me."

"Who ever said anything between the two of us would be easy Carter?" He winked at her, then got up off the bed. "Let's get out of here. I have a credit card that's just waiting to be used. General's orders. We are to go shopping and get you some clothes and shoes; anything you'll need for the next few days. I wonder if you'll need that new Mario game that came out for the Gameboy Advance?" he asked with a grin.

Sam laughed at him," Somehow, I don't think that is what the General had in mind sir!"

Jack opened the door to his truck and watched as Sam tried to climb in. She put one hand on the door handle, the other on the seat and tried to get her foot on threshold. Unfortunately, since her shoes were too big, she kept slipping off. Finally, Jack stepped forward and lifted her onto the seat, closing the door after her. When he got in on the other side, Sam looked over at him, her arms crossed firmly in front of her.

"I thought you were going to let me try and do things on my own Sir?"

"You were obviously having trouble Carter. I really don't want to spend the whole day waiting for you to get into the truck. Now buckle up.," he ordered. He looked over at her to make sure she was following orders. She looked so tiny in his big truck; her head was barely above the dashboard. Uh oh, he'd forgotten about something.

"Uh Carter, you're going to have to move into the back."

"What?" She couldn't believe he was already fed up with her and wanted her in the back seat!

Easily reading the expression on her face, he said, "Take it easy. I just remembered about the air bags in the front. You're too small to sit there. If the air bags deployed, it could be really dangerous."

Not able to argue with his logic, Sam climbed over the seat and buckled herself in. This really made her feel like a child, sitting in the back and not being able to see out the front windows! She liked to know where she was going!

"Where do you want to shop Carter?"

"I don't care Sir," she mumbled from the back. She really wasn't that interested in shopping for children's clothes for herself!

"We're going to have to cut out the Sirs and Colonels. It will look odd for an eight year old to be calling me 'Sir' don't you think?"

"Any more odd than you calling an eight year old girl 'Carter' all the time?"

He glanced at her in the rear view mirror as he pulled onto the highway that led away from Cheyenne Mountain. "I guess not. OK, I'll call you Sam."

"And I'll call you what? Dad?" she asked sarcastically.

"I think Jack will do, maybe Uncle Jack," he waggled his eyebrows at her. "Dr. Frazier did tell me to introduce you as my niece should anyone ask."

"I think I'll only call you 'Uncle Jack' should the need arise, Sir!" She hoped to God that she wouldn't have to do that...it would be way too weird!

"Ah, Ah, no Sir, remember? How about we head to Target," he said, changing the subject. "We can get clothes and shoes in one stop. And take a look at the electronics." Jack grinned at her in the mirror. Not able to help herself, Sam smiled back.

Once they found a spot in the parking lot, they got out and headed for the store. It was crowded for a Sunday afternoon. There were lots of parents with their children going in and coming out. People's carts seemed to be loaded with school supplies and clothes.

"Must be back to school shopping. We'll fit right in Sam!"

"Not quite!" Sam was beginning to feel even more embarrassed about this, if that were possible. Shopping with her CO was bad enough, but for kid's clothing for herself?

Jack grabbed a cart and the two of them headed for the girls' department. "Do you have any idea what you want Sam?" He wasn't well versed in purchasing clothing for young girls. For girls of any age for that matter!

"Just some jeans, a few shirts, some shoes, that kind of thing." She really needed some underwear as well, but was hoping to throw them into the cart without him looking.

"OK, lead the way." They had gone a few paces when a sales clerk stopped them.

"Hello Sir. I see you are out shopping with your granddaughter today. May I help you at all?" the young lady asked with a smile.

Jack's eyes got round as he sputtered, trying to correct this impertinent young sales clerk. "Wait a minute...I'm not her..."

Sam saw her chance to have some fun with her CO. She grabbed his hand with both of hers and started tugging him while she walked backwards, forcing him to abandon the cart. "Come on grandpa! You promised you would buy me some new clothes and shoes. Then I want to go to the toy section. You promised!" she said in the whiniest voice she could manage.

Jack was so startled by this sudden change in behavior that he blindly followed her into the racks of girl's clothing, the sales clerk smiling after them. Once Sam was in the relative safety of the clothing racks, she let go of his hand and started to giggle. "Here we are Gramps! Let's start shopping!"

"What the hell was that all about Carter? And stop giggling!" he demanded as she continued her soft snickering.

Sam tried to look contrite but failed miserably. "I'm sorry Sir. But the look on your face when she thought you were my grandfather..." and here Sam burst into uncontrollable laughter, tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes.

Jack glanced around at the odd looks directed their way. "Get a hold of yourself Carter!" He whispered. "People are starting to stare. They're going to think I'm doing something incredibly wrong over here!"

Sam took in several deep breaths as she tried to control her laughter. "I'm better now Grandpa..., I mean Jack," she amended as she took in the glare he gave her. She couldn't quite wipe the smile off her face though.

"You are so going to pay for this Samantha! Let's get this shopping expedition over with," he grumbled.

Sam turned away from him, still grinning as she picked out several pairs of jeans, a few shirts and a sweatshirt. "How about a dress? Here's a cute pink one. I think this is your color, definitely!" Jack teased her. He wasn't going to be the only one on this trip who had to endure a bit of teasing!

Sam looked with disdain at the dress he held up. It was full of lacy frills and bows. "I didn't wear stuff like that when I was young, there's no way I'm going to wear it now!" She walked off, leaving Jack to follow. Without her knowledge, he threw the pink dress in the cart, quickly burying it under the other clothing she had picked out.

They wandered over to the girls' lingerie section. "Uh, can you wait here for a minute? I need to get something else," she asked, not quite meeting his gaze.

Jack looked around at where they were. "Sam, you need some underwear. No big deal, everyone wears it. At least, everyone I know. Here," he said walking over to a display case, "How about this cute Barbie underwear?"

Sam stared at him, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. Barbie underwear? Was he kidding? "I think I'll just take some white ones. And some socks." She grabbed the sizes she thought would work and tossed the packages into the cart, walking off ahead of him so he couldn't see the blush staining her cheeks.

"Hey Sammie," he called out, "Don't get too far ahead. I wouldn't want you to get lost in the crowd you know!" Sam stopped and turned to glare at him. No one called her Sammie except for her Dad, and that was only once in a while. Once he caught up to her and took in the glare she directed his way, he whispered, "OK, let's call a truce with the teasing. We've both had enough fun for a while."

"I agree. Let's get some shoes and get out of here. All this noise is giving me a head ache," Sam responded as she rubbed her hand wearily across her forehead.She turned away from him and walked toward the shoes.

Jack followed closely behind her. At her mention of the word headache, all thoughts of teasing her fled his mind. He remembered that Dr. Frazier had mentioned she might still get headaches and he would need to watch her carefully so she wouldn't have a relapse. They would get her shoes and head home as soon as possible. He wasn't going to take any chances as far as her health was concerned.

A/N: Thanks again for the continued great reviews. Lots of you have some wonderful ideas to add to this story. I'll see what I can do with some of them, but can't make any promises!