Chapter 24 – Family Ties
Janet Frasier sat back on her heels and pushed her hair back off her face. She sighed in frustration. She was getting was too old to be crawling around on the floor after a one year old and trying to get him out from the bed he currently was residing under. Once more, she winced at the high pitched cry of "Ba!" coming from beneath the confines of the bed. JJ had been pitifully crying out "Ba" for the last half hour and Janet was at her wit's end trying to figure out just what the little boy wanted. Adding to that, he had promptly crawled under the bed once she had put him down. Janet had thought maybe he needed a bit of freedom to move. JJ had quickly taken advantage of that and scurried under the comforting darkness of the bed. "If Jack and Sam find me like this, I'll never hear the end of it!" she mumbled to herself.
She had spoken too soon. Sam came hurrying into the room when she heard the baby's cry from out in the hallway; Jack close on her heels. She came to an abrupt stop when she saw Janet on the floor, kneeling in front of a bed. Sam felt immediate sympathy for the woman; Janet had an unmistakable look of defeat in her eyes.
Jack, however, felt only amusement at this predicament. The always in control Doctor was actually at a loss! He stepped from around Sam and grinned at the doctor. "Are you praying that he's going to come crawling out of there on his own, Doc?"
Janet's eyes narrowed in annoyance at the comment. "No Colonel, I am not. I happen to be trying to coax him out from under the bed, and having little success, I might add. Maybe you should give it a try?" she asked with barely controlled irritation as she pulled herself to her feet.
Just as Jack was about to answer, he heard the pitiful cry once more emanate from under the bed. "BA!"
"And what in heaven's name does he want?" Janet asked, her voice rising unconsciously. "He's been saying BA for over 30minutes now. I tried a bottle, but he didn't want that. I tried his pacifier, cookies, everything!"
Jack and Sam exchanged a grin before Sam got down on her knees and peered under the bed. "Hey there sweetie. It's all right. Come on out, OK?"
As soon as he heard her voice, JJ stopped crying, flopped onto all fours, and came crawling out from under the bed. Sam was greeted with a very enthusiastic, "Mama!" JJ then buried his head in her neck and wrapped his little arms around her. Sam cuddled the little boy close and turned to smile softly at Jack before giving Janet a reassuring smile.
"Thank God," they heard Janet mutter as she sat down on the edge of the bed. She never realized how tiring it was to look after a baby – especially one that could get away from her!
"Hey little man, what's all the fuss about?" Jack asked quietly as he rubbed the little boy's back.
JJ lifted his head from Sam's shoulder and replied another pitiful cry of "BA!" Jack looked over at Janet. "Where's his bag?" Janet pointed to her office, too tired to get up and get if for him. In a few long strides, Jack was in her office, picked up JJ's bag, and returned to them. He pulled the raggedy looking doll out and handed it to JJ, who thanked him with a watery smile and a heartfelt cry of "BA!" thrown in for good measure.
"Good grief, are you telling me he was asking for that ratty old thing for the last half hour?" asked a disbelieving Janet Frasier.
"Bart is not ratty looking Doctor Frasier. He is well-loved. There is a distinct difference," Jack stated with authority. Sam chuckled at the look of affront shot his way by the good doctor.
"And I wonder just who it was that gave JJ the doll in the first place?" Her voice was laced with sarcasm of its own.
"Obviously someone with very good taste," Jack shot back at her with a teasing grin. Janet just snorted at that and stood up, turned her back on Jack and instead focused her attention on Sam.
"It looks like he finally has what he wants. I swear Sam, JJ never settled down after we left the briefing room. Hearing his Daddy yell like that obviously upset him greatly." She shot a glare at Jack.
At the reminder of why JJ was here in the first place, Jack sobered. He really did feel badly about that. He hoped JJ wouldn't hold it against him and not want to be held by him anymore. As if to dispel that thought, JJ unwound himself from Sam, reached out his arms toward Jack and said, "Dada!" quiet clearly.
Jack gave a relieved sigh as he took the little boy from Sam. JJ dangled Bart from one hand as he patted Jack on the cheek with the other, glad that his daddy was back to normal. "Looks like you're back in his good graces Sir," Sam stated with a smile. Jack's glance was thankful as he turned his attention back to the baby.
"What do you say, little man. Should we go meet Uncle Danny and Uncle Teal'c for some lunch? Maybe they've got some red jello ready for you."
"He likes blue, Sir."
"Red, Carter. It's definitely red today."
Janet shook her head as the three of them walked out of the infirmary, the inane conversation continuing until she could no longer hear them. They really did belong together, she thought to herself. All three of them.
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They were just finishing up lunch, where JJ had partaken of both the red and the blue jello, when Jack was called up to General Hammond's office. "Oh great, what could possibly be going on now?" Jack mumbled as he handed a messy little boy over to Sam. "Are you taking him back to the suite, Carter?"
"Yes, sir. I thought I'd get him cleaned up there, and then put him down for a nap." She bit her lower lip uncertainly. "Do you think I should move his things back to my quarters instead? Now that the threat appears to be over…"
Jack didn't let her finish. "No, go back to the suite. I'll ask the General about it but, for now, I think we'll assume that we stay there." Jack stood up to leave, absently brushing a soft kiss against JJ's head. As he straightened up, he added, "Make sure Teal'c or Danny walk you both back."
Sam frowned. "I don't…"
Again, she was cut off. "I know you don't think it's necessary, Carter, but I do. Barrett gave us no assurances that you and JJ were completely safe. I for one am not willing to take any chances, are you?" he asked with a raised eyebrow and a bit of an edge to his voice.
Sam sighed. "No Sir."
"Alright then. I'll see you both in a while." He turned and headed for the exit, leaving Sam and JJ at the table with Daniel and Teal'c.
Sam turned to them. "So, which one of JJ's uncles would like to escort us back to our quarters?"
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Daniel ended up walking back to the VIP suites with Sam and JJ as Teal'c was scheduled to continue the new recruit training he had started a few days ago. At Sam's insistence, Daniel left shortly after seeing Sam to her door. She knew he had things to work on in his lab and felt that she and JJ were perfectly safe in their quarters. In her opinion, they were all overdoing this protective issue. With some reluctance, mainly because Jack had been rather upset with him earlier today when he had let Sam go topside alone, Daniel said good-bye to Sam and JJ and went back to his lab.
Sam cleaned JJ up in the small bathroom in their suite, put a fresh diaper on him, and cuddled with him on the sofa. She pulled a picture book out of his baby bag and began to read the story to him in slow, soft tones. JJ let his body relax into the familiar softness of his mother's body; his head nestled against her chest and his legs resting limply in her lap. The words were rhythmic and comforting: Good night voices, good night air, good night noises everywhere. Sam wasn't surprised to look down and see that JJ had fallen asleep. The words and melody of the story had almost lulled her to sleep as well.
She relished the feel of the little boy asleep in her arms and gently caressed the top of his head as he slept. As JJ shifted in her arms, Sam figured she should lay him in his crib so he could stretch out more fully. She stood up carefully and carried him to her room; laying him gently in the crib that was located at the end of her bed and covering him with his blanket. Sam then lay down on her bed so that her feet were at the head of the bed, her head at the end close to JJ. She propped her chin in one hand and resumed softly touching JJ's head and rubbing his back with the other as she watched him sleep.
She couldn't believe how miraculous and important this baby was to her. And even though her alternate self was going through a hellish nightmare right now, Sam couldn't help but feel a bit of jealousy toward her. Samantha had things that Sam had only just dreamed of. Were the same things possible for her as well?
Jack entered the suite quietly, remembering that Sam had mentioned putting JJ down for nap. He hoped she wasn't upset with him. Though he had seemed rather curt when he left her in the commissary, it was only because he didn't want to risk anything happening to either one of them.
Jack frowned when he saw the empty living room. Silence permeated the suite; he hoped she had come back and not decided to take JJ to her lab instead. Crossing the room quietly, he peered around the door to her room and stopped, a gentle smile crossing his face. Sam was lying on her bed, draped over the end and watching JJ sleep. Jack could see her right hand gently caressing the baby's back as he slept. He leaned against the doorframe, crossed his arms and continued to watch her unobserved for several minutes. The contentment he felt at watching the two of them was interrupted when he noticed Sam take her hand off JJ's back to wipe a tear that escaped her eye.
Jack straightened up and walked over to her. "Hey," he said softly. "What's wrong?"
Sam looked up at him, startled that he was so close. She hadn't even heard him enter the suite, much less her room. She rolled to her side and sat up, avoiding his gaze as she wiped her eyes once more. "Nothing. I'm fine, Sir."
Jack sat next to her on the bed and gently grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him. "In here, it's Jack. OK? Now tell me what's wrong."
Sam closed her eyes against the concern she saw in his eyes. She didn't know what to tell him. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes once more and looked at him. He was still waiting, though his hand had moved to brush the wetness from her cheek before dropping to rest lightly on her thigh. "I guess I was just thinking about how much I'll miss him. I know I'm supposed to stay detached and everything, but…" she shrugged her shoulders and looked down at the floor.
"Sam, no one is expecting you to remain detached here. I would say it's pretty much impossible. Hell, even I'm not detached! When that little guy looks at me with those big blue eyes and calls me Dada, I forget where I am, much less what I'm supposed to be doing." He paused, considering his next words. "I think I'd be more concerned if you weren't getting attached to him."
Sam looked at him in puzzlement and waited for him to continue. Jack sighed as he rubbed his hand through his hair. He hadn't meant to say that and now he had to somehow explain what he meant. "Aside from being a stellar soldier and a brilliant scientist, you are the warmest person I have ever known. The way you took Cassie into your heart is just one example of your kindness and caring; and she was a stranger to you. JJ is…well, he's you. And he's me. I guess what I'm trying to say is, that if you fell in love with Cassie that quickly, one would have to expect that your feelings for JJ would be even stronger."
Sam considered his thoughts for a moment before replying softly, "And you feel the same way about him, don't you?"
"Yeah, I do," he agreed.
"So where does that leave us, when he's gone I mean?"
"I don't know for sure Sam. But I guess we'll have some things to talk about." They say in silence for a few minutes more, each lost in their own thoughts. Jack finally stood up and pulled her to her feet. "In the meantime, we should go out into the living room and let JJ sleep." He held onto her hand for a moment longer, tugging her toward the door before releasing her. "We also don't want Hammond to come busting down the door; especially when he is so considerately allowing us to stay in the VIP suites for the duration of this 'mission', so to speak."
Once they were out in the living area, Sam turned to him with a question in her eyes. "General Hammond agreed to that, even though the threat to JJ is over?"
Jack walked over to the mini-frig and pulled out a bottle of water, offering one to Sam as well, before he answered her. "The General and I agreed that since we can't be certain the threat is entirely over, this is the best arrangement. I had to assure him that you were OK with it. You are, right?" the uncertainty was clear in his voice.
"Of course I am. I was just somewhat surprised, that's all. Especially since this is rather unprecedented shall we say? I mean, Geez, what people must be saying!"
Jack brushed her concern aside. "The General isn't worried about base gossip right now. Though he did remind me in no uncertain terms that the cameras were still fully operational and he'd be down here in a minute if he heard there was any cause for concern." Jack gave her a devilish grin that earned a laugh from her.
"Oh, like disappearing into my room for 10 minutes and coming out holding my hand?"
"Something like that. Although technically, I wasn't holding your hand when we came into the living room," he reminded her.
"True," she agreed. "Is that all the General wanted to see you about? Our living arrangements for the next few days?" she asked with a grin of her own.
"No, Miss Smarty Pants, that wasn't all. He also informed me that Barrett, Davis and the prisoners were safely escorted onto the plane and are, as we speak, on their way to D.C. He thought I would like to know that at least that concern has been taken care of. He also said that, aside from paperwork and any experiments you are currently working on, we should consider ourselves on downtime. Restricted to the base of course. Our job is to take care of JJ for the next 3 days; and stay out of trouble. But I think Hammond was referring just to me when he said that last part," Jack added with a frown.
Sam laughed at his pretended affront. He gave her a mock glare before asking, "So, do you have any experiments or doohickeys you just have to get to this afternoon?"
Sam sobered. There were several projects she hadn't been able to work on for the last few days. She really should get to them. But she hated to leave Jack to do all the child care in her absence; not that he wasn't capable of course. Seeing the emotions play across her face and knowing what she was most likely thinking about, he waved her off. "Go ahead; play in your lab. I'll take care of JJ this afternoon. My paperwork isn't going anywhere. Besides, I could stand to follow the little guy's example and take a nap. Then I've got some serious work to do with that boy. I can't have him going off to school being teased because all he'll eat for dessert is jello!"
Sam's smile returned as she stood up. "Ok, I'll leave you to it. Just don't ruin his appetite for dinner."
"What, me?" he asked innocently as he got himself comfortable on the sofa, stretching out in anticipation of an afternoon nap.
Sam laughed and shook her head at him. He was incorrigible! "Have a nice nap, Jack."
"Oh, I will, don't worry about that." As he heard the door open, his head popped up. "Hey, Sam? Call me when you get to your lab OK?"
Sam frowned slightly at him. "I think you're being a little too cautious, here Jack. I'll be fine," she assured him. "I have certainly been in more dangerous situations that walking to my lab on my own," she needlessly reminded him.
Jack held her gaze. "Just do it, please Sam?" Thought he was her CO, it wasn't quite an order but more a request
Appreciating the gesture for what it was, Sam nodded her head in acceptance, "OK. Try not to fall asleep before I call though."
"I'll do my best. Don't blow yourself up or anything, OK?"
"I'll do my best," she threw back at him with a smile before closing the door softly behind her. Jack lay back with a smile of his own. He could stand playing Mr. Mom for an afternoon. But first he was going to take a nice, relaxing nap. As soon as he heard from back Sam, that is.
