Chapter 8 – A Breath of Fresh Air
Tuesday dawned bright and clear, although from the depths of the mountain, no one who stayed on base over night knew that. All the same, the pseudo-parents both awoke in their respective rooms refreshed and ready for another day spent caring for their small charge. Sam checked out the weather forecast before joining Jack and JJ for breakfast. She had to admit; she was eager to take the baby topside today and was hoping that the weather would cooperate. She was in luck; the unseasonably mild temperatures for mid November would continue. The forecast called for sunny skies and temperatures to reach the lower 50's today. Armed with that good news, Sam made her way to the commissary for some breakfast.
Sam smiled at the pair at the table. Both looked a bit rumpled this morning, their hair in similar states of disarray. JJ was dressed in green overalls that had a small fish stitched in the upper left corner. His light green knit shirt was also covered in small fish. No big guess who had picked out that particular outfit, she thought to herself. Sam sat down at the table and took JJ, who had squealed out a happy, "MaMa!" upon seeing her.
"How did the rest of the night go, Sir?"
"Not a peep out of him, Carter. Must have been your singing that helped him sleep so soundly," he said with a wink.
Sam gave him a small smile before turning her attention back to JJ. He was digging into his scrambled eggs with vigor, using his pudgy little hands as utensils. JJ looked up from his meal and squealed out, "EEE!" which made Sam and Jack both look up as Teal'c and Daniel approached the table. Teal'c gave a tiny smile at the greeting, then nodded at his two friends.
The four enjoyed breakfast together, which they didn't get to do too often any more. JJ supplied the entertainment for the meal, scooping up eager handfuls of scrambled egg and leaving jelly stains on his mouth from his toast.
After a leisurely breakfast, they laid out their plans for the day. Sam really had to get some work done in her lab that morning. Jack was set to meet with some new recruits and give them a tour of the SGC, then give a lecture on off-world survival skills. Teal'c was to take half of the group and teach them Jaffa training methods while Jack lectured the other half. Which left Daniel in charge of JJ.
Although he thought JJ was rather cute, Daniel was not thrilled at the idea of watching him for the next few hours. There were several interesting artifacts that he would like to study in his lab. But, since they all agreed to help out with the baby, Daniel kept his mouth closed and accepted the job of babysitter. And so he placidly accepted the now cleaned off baby from Sam's arms. The moment Daniel had JJ in his arms, the little boy made a quick grab for his glasses.
"ACK!" Daniel yelled as the glasses were ripped from his head.
"Here Daniel," Sam said with a laugh as she pried the glasses out of the baby's surprisingly strong grip and handed his glasses back. She passed JJ's Bart doll over to him so he would hold onto that instead of the glasses. "If you have any trouble with him, just give him his Bart doll. He loves it."
"Carter, how many times do I have to say it? It's not a doll, it's an action figure!" Jack gave her a mock grimace.
"Yes, Sir," Sam supplied, all the while rolling her eyes at Daniel.
"So Danny, you going to bring him to your office to play?" Jack asked with interest.
"I don't think so, Jack. My office is not for children," Daniel reminded him. "I'll just have to bring him back to your quarters and sit and watch him play, I guess."
"Just think of it as payback for all the times you made us sit out in the hot sun while you dug in the dirt," Jack said with a grin.
"Funny,Jack," Daniel replied. Sam tried to hide a grin as she promised Daniel that she would check in on him in 2 hours and see how he and JJ were getting along. She reassured him that he could always call her in the lab if there was a problem.
They all went their separate ways, agreeing to meet up again for lunch. Then they were going to take JJ topside and let him get some fresh air.
The same airman who had been surreptitiously watching them the night before quickly turned his back as they left the commissary. He had been listening at the doorway to their conversation. So, they were taking the child topside this afternoon. He would have to let his contact know the details and see if they wanted him to make his move yet. Putting his hands in his pockets, the man turned around and walked down the corridor in the opposite direction. He had an important phone call to make.
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At 1315, Sam was waiting for Jack to appear at the elevators. Daniel had survived his three hours watching JJ. It hadn't been all bad; in fact, he had enjoyed being with the little guy, except for that one messy diaper! But he had begged off going topside with them as he really did want to get to work on some of the artifacts in his office. Teal'c had not appeared at lunch; he was still working with the new SGC recruits on training skills. So Sam assumed he would not be joining them outside either. Which just left Jack, and he was late.
Sam paced back and forth. She had JJ bundled up in a little jacket with a matching hat tugged down over his ears. She had a blanket draped over her arm, just in case there was a chilly breeze. She looked at her watch once more and sighed. If he didn't come soon, she was going to go and search for him. She didn't want JJ to get overheated waiting here.
Sam turned as she heard footsteps approach. She sighed in disappointment. It was a Captain from SG-12 that she vaguely recognized. He stopped as he came up to her.
"Excuse me Ma'am, Colonel O'Neill asked me to give you a message. He will be delayed another 10 minutes or so, then plans on joining you as soon as possible."
"Did he say where he would meet me, Captain?"
"No Ma'am, just the message that I gave you. Sorry Major."
Sam waved off his apology. "That's fine Captain. Thank you for the message." With a nod, the Captain left to return to his duties.
Sam pondered the situation. 10 minutes. The General had told them to have at least 2 people outside with JJ, but they were only talking 10 minutes. And she wasn't planning on going far, just a bit away from the entrance. The guards would still be able to see her clearly. The little boy began to squirm in her arms in protest of being held so long while wearing the warm jacket. His actions helped make up her mind. With one more glance to make sure Jack wasn't coming around the corner, she pushed the elevator button and stepped inside. The ride to the top was swift and quiet; JJ's eyes large at the still strange feeling of movement in the elevator.
Once she got to the top, Sam quickly signed out, leaving a message with the guard for Colonel O'Neill. She wouldn't go far, but wanted to take JJ to the clearing about 50 yards from the entrance. It was a large, grassy meadow and she could let him crawl around if the grass was dry.
The day was as beautiful as the forecaster had predicted. The air temperature was a balmy 50 degrees with a very light wind. The sun was high and felt warm on her face. Sam stopped and lifted her face to the sun, closing her eyes and breathing deeply of the fresh air, relishing the feeling of warmth on her face. JJ too, seemed to be breathing in the warm fall air. His little face was pointed upward and he had a content look on his face. Sam opened her eyes and looked at the little boy in her arms. She hugged him tightly and gave him a kiss on his chubby little cheek.
"You like it out here too, don't you sweetie? Well, come on, let's go enjoy some more of this beautiful day!"
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In the woods surrounding the meadow, a sniper's gun glinted in the sunlight. The scope closely followed the progress of the woman and child as they made their way to the grassy clearing. The man behind the scope smiled. This was going to be so much easier than he had ever imagined.
A/N: Well, it couldn't all be adorable cuteness now could it? Don't worry, I won't leave you hanging for too long...at least not at our first cliffhanger of the story!
