Ambassadorial Duty

AN: Wow! Two chapters in a row! Am I good, or am I good? :D

"We have to tell them something," Elizabeth stood looking at the door of the room SGA:1 had been shut in for their own safety, peering anxiously through the glass window set at eye level through the metal. "Look at them in there, they're terrified!"

John was jumping up and down in an attempt to get a better look. He hadput his old uniform back on, now several sizes too big for him, but warmer than the hospital gown. "Ford looks fine to me," he said, still hopping about.

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow at him, "and Rodney has shut himself in a cabinet. That doesn't seem at all fine to me. And stop jumping up and down, Major, you look ridiculous."

"You mean I didn't already?" The ten year old soldier demanded, "look, I can't help it if I'm small for my age; I don't like greens and I don't drink milk. I'll hit a growth spurt when I'm fourteen, so can I get a box to stand on or something? I wanna see!"

"You're right, Doctor," Beckett was standing at Elizabeth's elbow, "we can't just leave the poor wee bairns in there like that. They've no' a clue about what's happening to them. And I know Ford seems happy enough now, but sooner or later he's going tei' start asking for his mother, and when he does, take it from someone who spent two years in paediatrics, there'll be no consoling him."

"Alright," Elizabeth sighed, "what can we tell them?"

"The truth?" Beckett suggested.

John rolled his eyes, "oh yeah, that's gonna work. Hey, kiddo, sorry to spring this on you, but about half an hour ago you were an adult, your parents are in another galaxy, and by the way, there's a hoard of blue life sucking monsters out to get us all. Have a lolly-pop!"

"John, that isn't helpful," Elizabeth reprimanded, "and no, I don't think telling them everything would be a good idea, but… how can you break it gently to a child that they're really an adult?"

"Might I suggest," Beckett said, "taking it one step at a time? How about getting Rodney out of that cupboard first, eh? Then getting Lieutenant Ford to sit still. Then… answering questions as they come."

"I like that better than the whole, 'blue, like sucking monsters' thing," John nodded.

"Perfect, you're our ambassador," Elizabeth smiled.

"What? Me?" John looked incredulous, "you want me to talk to them?! I'm useless with kids!"

"John," Elizabeth shook her head, laughing "you are a kid."

"And they're far more likely to be receptive to someone closer to their own age than they are a lot of strange adults," Beckett pointed out.

John backed away, "look, the outside maybe a kid, but up here, trust me, I'm still an adult. I don't know how to act like a ten year old!"

"But Major," Elizabeth feigned surprise, "you do it so well on a day to day basis!"

John made a face, "yeah, yeah, laugh it up, doc. I'm sure this is all very entertaining."

Elizabeth sighed, suddenly serious again. "John, as disturbingly sweet as you look right now, this could have some very serious long term repercussions. I need my flag ship team, and you are hardly going to be taken seriously in your current state. It could well be that their memories are still there but have simply been repressed, in which case, you are probably the best person to draw those memories out. Do you understand?"

John looked sulky, "yeah, sure, okay, I'll talk to them. But I'm not promising anything 'kay?"

"That's all I'm asking," Elizabeth desperately resisted the urge to ruffle his hair in affection.

"And, speaking of lolly-pops," Beckett produced two bars of chocolate, "I find sweeties are always a good incentive when tempting small children out of smaller spaces."

John pocketed the chocolate gratefully, "thanks, Carson."

"Welcome, wee man," Beckett grinned, "off you go, now."

John rolled his eyes, took a deep breath, and entered the room containing three small versions of the team he had once called 'friends'.