Chapter 13 – Riding in Cars with Boys

At 1000 hours the next morning, Sam found herself waiting once again by the elevators for Colonel O'Neill. He had informed her at breakfast that they had permission from General Hammond to go into town to purchase the items they thought they would need for the remainder of the little boy's stay with them. He had even OK'd JJ's going along with them, for which Sam was very grateful. Though she trusted both Teal'c and Daniel to look after JJ, she felt much better if he was with her.

Sam stifled a yawn as she shifted JJ to her other shoulder. She hadn't gotten a lot of sleep last night as she had been very attuned to the little boy sleeping next to her. He had woken up several times during the night, uncomfortable because of the new teeth trying to cut through. JJ seemed in better spirits today but Sam had the ointment, along with several diapers, 2 bottles, and a few small toys in the diaper bag with her. And of course, Bart was stuffed in the bag as well, just in case.

Hearing whistling coming from down the hall. Sam turned and saw Jack coming toward them, a smile on his face when he saw the two of them waiting. "Ready to go Carter? Hey little man, ready to go for a ride in a souped up Volvo?"

"Dada!" JJ answered with a big grin.

Sam laughed at JJ's response and Jack's description of her car. While she had tinkered with the engine, she hadn't made that many adjustments to it!

Jack took JJ from her arms and pressed the button for the elevator. He made silly faces at JJ while they waited for the elevator to arrive. Once inside, Sam decided she should get some more specifics about this little outing of theirs.

"So, where were you planning on shopping Sir? You did talk to LT. Connors and get that car sear from him, right?"

"Yes, Carter. Connors said he'd have it waiting at the main entrance. He told me how to hook it up – it's not rocket science you know. Providing, of course, that I can squeeze into the back of your little car to get it in. As for shopping, it makes no difference to me. Somewhere that has baby stuff, I guess."

"I'm sure we'll get the car seat in just fine Sir," Sam answered with a smile. They reached the top of the mountain and made their way to the security entrance where they both signed out. Jack handed JJ back to Sam, picked up the car seat and took the bag from her, then led the way to her car.

After struggling with the car seat for a few minutes, and throwing out a few curses for good measure, Jack got the car seat firmly strapped into the back seat of her car. He took JJ from a grinning Sam, placed him in the seat, then closed the door. "What are you laughing at Carter?" he asked as she got in the driver's seat.

"Nothing Sir. Just thinking about rocket science," Sam responded, trying to keep a straight face. He scowled at her but didn't make a comment. "Shall we go to Target? I'm sure they'll have everything we need."

"That's fine. I just hope we don't have a repeat of what happened there a few weeks ago," he told her meaningfully. Sam bit back another grin as she recalled going to that same store with Jack when she had been in her eight year old body. Jack had not taken kindly to being mistaken for her grandfather at the time!

They headed out the gate and down old Highway 36, which led to the city. Jack pulled a package of cookies out of his jacket pocket, turned around, and handed one to JJ. Who, of course, accepted the gift with a big smile and a gurgle of delight.

"Do you really think you should be giving him cookies at 10 in the morning? You do remember what can happen when a child has too much sugar, don't you Sir?"

"One little cookie isn't going to hurt, Carter. By the way, since we're off base and going shopping with what is going to appear to be our child, call me Jack, would you?" he asked with a quirk of his eyebrow.

"Fine, Jack," she said with emphasis. "But if he gets anything remotely similar to a sugar high, he's all yours."

"You're really starting to get this mothering stuff down pat, you know that Carter?" They grinned at each other, each knowing the other was teasing, and continued on their journey down the mountain. Neither of them noticed the black SUV that pulled out from a rarely used service road and followed them at a discrete distance.

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Jack continued to feed JJ cookies on the ride down the mountain, but he was careful to limit the little boy to4 of the small snacks. Sam glanced in her rearview mirror at the little boy who was happily gumming his treat. She grimaced at the mess he was making of both himself and the car seat. "Now I see why Lt. Connors mentioned the mess of Cheerios in the car seat. You are planning on cleaning him up, right Jack?" Sam asked with raised eyebrows.

"A little dusting off and he'll be fine. Just keep your eyes on the road, mom," he shot back at her. Now that JJ was done with his snack, Jack was keeping him entertained by tossing a soft, cloth ball back and forth in the small car.

Sam shook her head, a small grin crossing her face as she watched them playing out of the corner of her eye. It was like having two kids in the car, she thought with amusement.

A few minutes later, they pulled into the parking lot at Target. Sam found a space close to the door and pulled in with ease. Jack jumped out and, true to his word, he brushed the crumbs off a smiling JJ before releasing him from the car seat. "See, good as new. Now let's go and do some shopping, little man." Sam followed behind her two 'boys', carrying the diaper bag.

Jack settled JJ into a cart and strapped him in, took the bag from Sam and placed it in the cart. "Where to first?" he asked as he began to push the cart away from the store's entrance.

"The baby section is where we'll find everything we need. I think it's toward the back of the store," Sam replied.

"OK, then we can head over to the electronics department."

"Why would we need to go there Jack?" Sam asked with a puzzled frown.

"Come on Sam, you of all people should know why! You can't enter a Target store without visiting the electronics and looking at all the new doohickeys. It's just not done!"

Sam shrugged her shoulders, "If you say so."

"I do," he replied with a smug smile as they made their way to the baby section.

Sam had never really spent much time looking at baby items before. Sure, she had purchased some things for her nieces when they were infants, but that had been quite a while ago, and she had gone in and out relatively quickly back then. Now though, she found herself perusing the shelves and enjoying looking at the adorable little baby outfits, toys, blankets and such. Sam looked wistful as she gently fingered a little sleeper that would be perfect for JJ. It had colorful space ships all over its terry cloth surface, with yellow shooting stars interspersed among them.

"I found some teething rings Sam. How many do you think we need?" Jack's voice came from behind her. She turned to look at him, not letting go of the little sleeper she held in her hands. Jack's expression softened as he took in what she was holding. "You want to get that for him too? The way this kid goes through the clothes, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to buy him a few more things."

Sam smiled gratefully at his understanding as she placed the sleeper in the cart. She noted with amusement that he had thrown in a few things as well: a little hockey jersey, a tiny baseball cap, and a big, brown teddy bear. Her eyesdanced as she looked back at him, then to JJ who was happily chewing a rubber baseball bat that squeaked every time he bit down on it. "Looks like you found a few other things as well."

"Yeah, what can I say? They're all necessities. Now, how many teething rings?" he reiterated.

"Two is probably fine; one for each of us to keep track of. Now let's go to the pharmacy area and look for baby Tylenol, before we buy and more necessities in the baby section" Sam replied with a grin.

As they made their way to where they would find over-the-counter medications, they were the recipients of many smiles and nods as people admired the cute little boy in the front of the cart. JJ continued to chew on his baseball bat, pleased with himself whenever he could make it produce the loud 'squeak'! Jack and Sam smiled back and continued down the aisles, both of them a bit self-conscious with the attention they received from others.

Once they reached their destination, Sam pulled several different bottles of Children's Tylenol from the shelf and studied the labels. "Do we get liquid or chewable? And what flavor? Geez, who knew there were so many choices for Children's pain medication!" she sighed with exasperation.

A woman in her thirties smiled as she stepped closer, "I know, sometimes it seems daunting trying to pick out the correct medicine. If I may," she leaned over and pulled another container off the shelf. "This is what I always used when my children were little. They didn't mind the flavor and the liquid is much easier to get into a baby. Your son is, what, almost a year old?" she asked with genuine interest.

"Um, yes," Sam replied, a bit of uncertainty creeping into her voice. "He's eleven months old actually."

"Is he sick?" the woman continued. "He certainly seems happy enough," she smiled at the grin the baby gave as the toy squeaked once more.

"No, just teething. He was up a lot last night with a fever and pain in his gums."

"Ah yes, I remember those days well. This Tylenol works wonders for that, along with a topical analgesic. Do you have some of that?"

This time Jack answered. He was becoming a bit uncomfortable with all the questions this woman was asking, even though she was only trying to be helpful. "Yes, that and some teething rings. I think we're all set now. Thanks for your help."

Sam glanced at Jack, wondering at his abruptness. The woman didn't seemed at all fazed, though as she smiled at both of them. "Glad I could help. Children are a lot of work when they're little, but they're definitely worth it. You have a beautiful son, by the way; I can easily see both of you in him."

Sam blushed a bit as she said a quick, "Thank you" before she and Jack left the pharmacy. They didn't speak much as they made their way to the check-out, Jack completely forgetting about the prerequisite stop at the electronics department.

After they checked out, Jack lifted JJ out of the cart and handed him over to Sam, then took their bags and led them out of the store. As a car zoomed through the pedestrian cross-walk in front of the store, Jack grabbed Sam's arm and pulled her back to safety, muttering an angry curse about certain drivers. He kept a proprietary hand on the small of her back as they walked to her car.

Once JJ was safely buckled in, Sam sat a moment in the driver's seat, not starting up the car immediately but lost in thought. "Something wrong Sam?" Jack asked in a puzzled voice.

She turned to look at him. "I was just about to ask you the same thing. You've been rather quiet since we talked to that lady in the pharmacy section. Were you…embarrassed that she thought you and I had a child?" Sam looked back at the steering wheel as she asked the question. She knew it shouldn't bother her, but it did.

"God, no," Jack said loudly. "I'd never be embarrassed being with you Sam. I just didn't like all the questions she was asking. I guess it made me uncomfortable, like maybe she was fishing or something."

Sam frowned. "I think you were reading too much into it. She was just being helpful."

Jack sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I guess you're right. I just can't shake the feeling that something isn't quite right. But believe me, Sam," he looked imploringly into her eyes, "It has nothing to do with my being with you and JJ. Quite the opposite in fact. If things were different, you know I'd…" he was interrupted by a screech from the back seat. JJ was getting bored sitting in the car seat with no movement and was letting them know it. "All right, all right little man. No need to holler, we're going," Jack told the little boy.

Sam smiled as she started up the car. Just like Daniel, JJ had impeccable timing.

------

They stopped at a small café for lunch. Sitting in a corner booth, Jack and Sam regained the light banter that had been established as they drove down the mountain earlier. They fed JJ torn up pieces of bread and cheese and some applesauce while they ate their sandwiches and talked. It was an easy, relaxing conversation and Sam, for one, relished the change in routine from a normal work day.

She wiped at JJ's chin as he ate another spoonful of applesauce. "He sure is drooling a lot lately. Is that normal?"

"Yeah, especially when they are teething. I remember Sara always kept a bib on Charlie when he was teething. Maybe we should have bought some of those," Jack answered.

"Samantha left a few in his diaper bag. We'll have to use them more," Sam answered. She grew quiet as she thought about the other Samantha and Jack. "They must miss him terribly," she said softly, rubbing her hand over JJ's downy hair.

"I'm sure they do," Jack answered in kind. He gazed at Sam's sad smile and placed his hand over hers. "Hey, things are going to turn out all right, you know that right?" At her shrug, he continued, "They'll come back in a few days and everything will go back to normal."

She met his eyes and replied, "Maybe I don't want everything to go back to normal, Jack. Having JJ here…well, it's made me do a lot of thinking."

"More so than usual?" he asked with a quirk of his brows. She gave him a slight smile for his effort. Maybe now wasn't the time to talk about this, she thought to herself.

Sighing, she continued, "I'm just going to miss him an awful lot, I guess. I've already gotten used to having him around, even after only 3 days. Is that odd?"

"Not really," Jack admitted. "I've gotten used to having the little rug rat around as well." He squeezed her hand before letting go. "Come on, we'd better get the little guy cleaned up, then head out. I told Hammond we'd be back by 1200 hours." Jack stood up and began using napkins to clean JJ's face and hands. As he lifted him out of the high chair, he stated, "Whew! I think he needs a change! Why don't you take him to the restroom and change him, while I pay the bill."

"I can pay the bill while you change him," Sam offered with a smile.

"Oh, no you don't. Lunch is on me; the diaper change is on you!"

Sam chuckled as she took JJ from Jack and went to the restroom to change him. She nuzzled his head and talked softly to him while she walked.

As she passed a table near the back of the café, two men lowered their newspapers, left some money on the table, and left the café. They went out to the parking lot where a black SUV sat parked under a tree in the far corner of the lot. A carbon copy of the car drove slowly passed the parking lot, its driver looking directly at the other man as he approached his vehicle. He gave a slight nod, got into his car, and pulled into a less conspicuous spot on the street; ready to follow a small Volvo back up the mountain.


TBC