Chapter 5 – Parental Influence

The four members of SG-1 sat at their usual table in the commissary, trays of food spread before them in a haphazard arrangement. No one laid claim to any particular tray; instead, they shared items and tried to convince the youngest member of their group to try an assortment of foods.

For his part, JJ was just enjoying the attention being heaped on him at the moment. He leaned back and looked up at the man who currently held him in his lap. Even underneath the dearth of mashed potatoes on his little face, his grin was evident as he looked up at the tall Jaffa.

"I do believe he has taken a liking to the smashed potatoes, O'Neill," Teal'c intoned dryly.

Sam laughed, "It's mashed potatoes, Teal'c. And it looks like he's wearing more than he's eating."

"Indeed," came the response, accompanied by a slight curl of the lip at the mess that was presently being spread on his shirt by the chubby little hands of the boy in his arms.

"I'll take him Teal'c," Sam said with a grin as she reached across the table and accepted JJ into her arms. "It's time for him to try the blue Jello anyway."

"Oh no, Carter. He's going to try the red first. You'll just offer him blue, then he'll never really get to make his own choice," Jack stated firmly.

Sam rolled her eyes at Daniel, who sat across the table from Jack, then gave in. "Fine Sir. Give him the red first. But Samantha already told me he prefers blue."

"Yeah, well, she probably never gave him a choice either."

Jack handed JJ a small cube of red Jello, which the baby promptly put into his mouth. He chewed it for a moment, then swallowed and gave Jack a big grin. "See, he likes the red!" Jack said triumphantly.

"He's only tried the red Sir. Just wait a second before you declare red to be the victor." Sam then scooped out a square of blue Jello and handed it to JJ. He took it with a smile as well and popped it into his mouth. It went down just as quickly as the first.

"So, he ate both of them. How are you going to tell which one he prefers?" Daniel asked. He couldn't believe they were even having this conversation, but wasan active participantnone the less.

"Simple," Sam stated. "We just put a few of each kind in front of him and see which one he chooses. We'll even offer some mashed potatoes as a control in our experiment." She proceeded to do just that, putting a few squares of each color of Jello in front of JJ, along with a spoonful of potato. He reached out eager hands, taking one red cube in his left hand, and one blue in his right. He then proceeded to stuff both pieces into his mouth.

Daniel laughed outright at the surprised looks on both Jack and Sam's faces. Teal'c broke into a smile as well. "Well, looks like he's going to have the diplomatic skills in the family. He doesn't want to ruffle any feathers in the great Jello experiment!" Daniel laughed.

"Yeah, well, just wait until I can give him some cake!" Jack declared. "Then we'll see what kind of a true dessert connoisseur he is."

Sam laughed, then began to clean off JJ's messy face and sticky hands with the numerous napkins they had brought to the table. She had put a bib on him, but he had managed to get quite a bit of food on his clothes anyway. "It looks like I'll have to take him back to the infirmary and get him cleaned up a bit better. We're going to run out of clothes before the week is over at this rate!"

Jack rose to his feet as Sam got up and wiped a few stray gobs of potatoes off of JJ's face. "I'm going to go and talk to General Hammond about getting a crib and some other supplies. You go ahead and get this little guy cleaned up. I'll meet you back in the infirmary in 30 minutes. Hopefully Dr. Frasier will have her test results by then."

"Yes Sir," Sam agreed. She carried JJ facing outward in order to prevent any of the remainders of his lunch from ending up on her uniform. She talked quietly to him as they left the commissary, JJ's little feet swinging merrily back and forth as they made their way to the door. Sam was completely unaware of the many startled looks she received as she left the room. The men and women of the SGC were not used to seeing the normally serious and professional Major Carter carrying a baby around and talking to him with a soft smile on her face.

"She's awfully good with him, isn't she?" Daniel asked quietly as he watched her leave.

"Indeed, she has appeared to form a bond with the child already," Teal'c agreed.

Jack looked thoughtful for a moment. "I just hope she doesn't get too attached. It will make it that much harder for her to give him back when the time comes." Jack nodded to his friends and turned to leave the room, set on his mission to talk to the General.

"I hope the same thing for you, Jack," Daniel said to his back. Teal'c nodded his head in agreement. Jack neither saw nor heard either of them as he exited the commissary.

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Sam had taken JJ directly to the infirmary where she intended on cleaning him up before they met with Janet once again. She had procured a small basin from one of the nurses and given him a quick bath behind a curtained off area in the infirmary. JJ had loved it and had splashed and gurgled as she tried to wash away the evidence of his lunch. She had ended up more wet than he was by the time the bath was over. Once she had taken him out and dried him off, she had put a clean diaper and T-shirt on the wiggly little boy. She had been able to put a fresh, blue knit shirt on him before he rolled over and started to crawl across the bed. Feeling like he might need to move around a bit, Sam had placed him on the floor to let him crawl around, keeping a close eye on him and making sure he stayed within their area.

He had quickly scrambled across the floor and tried to enter the main part of the infirmary. Sam hastily picked him up and turned him around, where he proceeded to move like lightening across the floor and under the bed in front of him, intent on some unseen object beneath its surface.

Which is why Colonel Jack O'Neill found his 2IC on all fours, head bent to the ground, and trying to coax an 11 month old baby out from under a bed in the infirmary.

"Well, this is a surprise Carter. Lose something?" Jack asked with a grin.

"Not lose so much as can't get to, Sir. I thought I'd let JJ crawl around on the floor for a while. He scampered under the bed and now I can't get him out." She sat back on her heels and looked up at him, narrowing her eyes as she took in the look of amusement on his face. "Would you like to give it a try?"

"Piece of cake," he replied as he got down on the floor with her, grimacing as his knees crackled. He peered under the bed and met the bright eyes of the little boy, who was sitting happily beneath the bed playing with an errant specimen cup. Thankfully it was still in its wrapper and thus hadn't been used before, Jack thought to himself. "Hey little man, whatcha got there?"

"Dadadada," JJ squealed as he looked at the person he thought was his father.

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard that one before. Come on out now, JJ. It's not real comfortable for the old guy to be down on the floor like this," Jack continued to try and cajole the little boy out from under the bed to no avail. He looked over at Sam as he heard her snickering softly. "No giggling Major. As I recall, you didn't have any more luck than I'm having."

"Sorry, Sir," she replied with little sincerity in her voice. "This is kind of funny, if you think about it. Two Air Force officers, who have saved the planet countless times, trying to coax an 11 month old out from under a bed with little luck."

"Yeah, well, I'd suggest you figure something out before Frasier gets here. She'll never let us live this down."

Sam suddenly had an idea. "Just a second." She went over to the bag that contained JJ's things and dug around for a few minutes. Then, with a triumphant grin, she pulled out a stuffed toy that had seen better days. She could tell from its worn appearance that it was a favorite toy. Sam brought the toy over to the bed and quickly sank down on the floor next to Jack. She peered under the bed and held the toy out to JJ. "Come on sweetie, I've got your favorite toy here. Come out and get it," she cooed softly to him.

JJ abruptly dropped the specimen cup he was playing with as he caught sight of the toy Sam was holding out in front of him. He got onto his hands and knees and crawled over to his toy. Sam slowly retracted her hand with the toy, forcing JJ to follow until he was out from under the bed. Sam handed him the toy and scooped him up, snuggling him to her briefly before turning to Jack with a grin. "I should have thought of that earlier!"

Jack's eyes were intent on the toy in JJ's hands. It looked vaguely familiar. "Is that what I think it is?" he asked.

Sam took a closer look at the toy and burst out laughing. "I can't believe it. It's a Bart Simpson stuffed toy! The alternate Jack O'Neill must have given this to him, because my alternate self sure as heck wouldn't have!" "Sir." She added at a look from him.

"You never know Carter. Maybe the other you is a little more culturally aware of what's important," Jack teased. Sam rolled her eyes at him and didn't respond. She knew it was a losing argument.

They both watched as JJ happily gummed his Bart Simpson doll. The hair on Bart's head was no longer yellow; it was a dingy light brown. His arms were limp and not longer full. One shoe was missing and the other had no shoelace. All in all, it was a very well-loved toy and JJ was obviously very attached to it.

Janet came in and looked at the two adults teasing each other while they watched the baby. If she didn't know better, she would have thought he was truly theirs. "What a cute little doll you have there JJ," she said as she came up to the little boy.

"It's not a doll," Jack stated forcefully. "It's an action figure. A soft action figure," he amended.

Shaking her head at his statement and sharing an amusedlook with Sam, Janet got down to business. "I have the test results back. JJ is just fine and he is definitely yours. Well, genetically at least. He does carry traces of the protein marker that you have, Sam, but to a lesser degree. He is your blood type Colonel and his DNA is a perfect match for the two of you."

Jack and Sam looked at each other for a moment, lost in thought. Jack turned away first and asked, "So, Doc. There's no reason to keep him in the infirmary then, is there?"

"No sir. JJ can be on base with you and Sam, but I would keep him away from anything you don't want him to grab." She bent down and picked up the errant specimen cup. "Children this age are notorious for getting into things."

"Yeah, learned that already," Jack quipped. He turned to Sam. "General Hammond is sending a few Airmen out for a portable crib and a few other necessities. They should be back within the hour. Why don't I take JJ for a while and you can get some work done," he suggested.

In truth, Sam didn't want to go and get some work done. She wanted to spend the time with the little boy who had already endeared himself to her. But she didn't want to appear clingy or emotional, so she agreed. "I'll be in my lab, Sir," she said as she handed JJ over to him. "Call me if you need anything."

"Will do, Carter. Oh, and Carter? You might want to change clothes. You're a bit wet," he grinned at her. "Come on little man. Let's get some pants on you, then I'll show you around the place. We'll go and visit Uncle Danny in his lab. He has lots of fun things to play with!"

Sam chuckled as she made her way to the door. She turned around once she reached the exit and glanced back. Jack had JJ lying on the bed and was putting a pair of overalls on the little boy, talking about the fun toys he could play with in Daniel's lab. Sam gave a wistful smile as she watched them, then turned and left the room.

TBC