A/N: Thanks for the reviews! And sorry I took so long in updating...McKay kept distracting me...

Chapter Three: Developments

The next day, Jon shrugged into his jacket and raced out the door of his small loft apartment, backpack in hand. He lived close enough to the school, but had spent so much time pondering whether to contact the SGC with what he already knew about his new friends, or to wait and see what else they came up with. Except for the fact that they met in some kind of Ancient ship and believed ghosts and goblins were real, they were harmless enough.

And they had no real idea about the kinds of life outer space could hold, their heads filled with all the nonsense from sci fi shows. So, Jon finally decided to wait. He'd found that as long as he didn't touch anything in the Ancient ship, it was completely inactive, and as far as he could tell from when he'd looked through the database he and Natalie had found the night before, it didn't contain any new information that the SGC absolutely had to know at that moment.

The school was just up ahead, and a quick glance at his watch told him that he would be on time, so he slowed down a little to catch his breath. As the building came into sight, he straightened his shoulders and pulled the backpack over one and began walking causually towards the front door, nodding to a few kids he'd met in some of his other classes yesterday.

Though Study Hall was the only class he'd had with Clive, Natalie and Kevin yesterday, today he was with at least one of them in all his classes. Which was a good thing, because today's classes were all the boring ones. Honors Math, Honors English, Physics and Home Economics. That last one had sent both Kevin and Clive into fits of laughter, but Natalie had shut them up by pointing out that they were both in it too.

All in all, the three of them were good kids, even if they were a little strange. And Jon had seen much stranger things than a few ghost hunters who happened to have become lucky enough to actually have found something alien. Grinning happily, he walked into the building and headed for his first class.

He smiled politely at the teacher, an older gentleman with a hooked nose and dark eyes who nodded in return and held out his hand. Jon slung his backpack to the floor and pulled out the crumpled schedule and handed it to him. The teacher pulled out a roll sheet and wrote in Jon's information, then handed the schedule back.

"I'm Dr. Montgomery," the man said, "You may take your seat anywhere you like since you're the first one here. I don't assign seats like my other colleages, because I can actually remember a student's name."

There was a long pause as Dr. Montgomery stared at Jon. Finally, Jon got the idea and picked a seat at the front, figuring Nat would sit somewhere near him when she got in. Something was bothering him though, and he couldn't quite place it. Then, as Montgomery turned and began writing equations on the board, it hit him.

The man had once worked at the SGC, but Jon--Jack--had only seen him a couple of times preferring to stay away from the civilian scientific personnel. Well, even if the man did know anything about the whole cloning incident, he wasn't likely to say anything. In fact, if he did know, he certainly wasn't letting Jon in on it.

The first bell rang then, and students began pouring into the classroom. Natalie, looking a little out of breath and a little put out, took the seat next to his, ignoring the jives of a stocky, good looking young man who was wearing a letterman's jacket. Jon scowled at the jock, having met him yesterday in his Latin class.

Donald Caufield was a stereotypical jock whose parents had lots of money. They were the reason he was in honors classes he couldn't hope to pass and a language class that he couldn't even hope to sit through without falling asleep. Catching Jon's eye, the kid sneered and pointed at Natalie as he walked past.

"Watch out for the four-eyed freak, Jon," Donald snickered, "She's got her eye on you. I can tell."

"Why don't you shut your mout, Mister Caufield," Montgomery said without turning around, "And have a seat. You're failing as it is, and if you don't concentrate, you may not pass the semester."

Donald's thick face turned purple and his hands clenched into fists, then he took a deep breath and sauntered to his seat in the back, a relaxed smile on his face. "You wouldn't fail me Doc, "I'm needed on the team."

"No, Clive Baker is needed on the team," Montgomery instantly retorted, "You're just another player who can easily be replaced. You're not even that good. Just because Mommy and Daddy payed your way on to the team doesn't mean you get to stay there if you don't do well in class."

Now Montgomery turned to them, a flashing look in his eyes, "Now, for those of you on time today I want you to copy down these equations for the quiz. We'll start at exactly seven thirty five."

The rest of the class passed uneventfully, and just as Jon had figured, he was bored out of his mind. The equations were simple--to a man who'd already recieved a PhD in Astronomy--and Jon finished them quickly. Finally, the class was over, and he rose to his feet with alacrity, handing in the day's assignment.

He started to leave with Natalie--whose face still looked disturbed from Donald's taunting--but Montgomery motioned for him to remain behind. Natalie gave them both odd looks, but shrugged.

"I'll see you in the next class, Jon," she told him and walked out the door.

Jon watched her go, then turned to face Montgomery. The man waited until the last of the students had left before he shut the door and locked it. Then he sat down on the corner of his desk and gave Jon a wry smile.

"Major Carter asked that I look after you, O'Neill, make sure you get by okay," Montgomery said still smiling, "Imagine my surprise when I found out you were in my class. In this class."

Carter had asked him to look after him? Jon didn't know what to think about that, and so didn't. His life was becoming complicated enough without dredging up all his emotional baggage.

"I should be offended by that," Jon quipped, grinning, "but I won't be, if you swear not to tell anyone I'm taking honors courses. Jack's got a reputation to uphold after all."

Montgomery snorted and shook his head. "I bet you don't even remember me."

"Nope," Jon answered cheerfully, "Now, I better go before I'm late. Nat doesn't like it when her friends are late."

Montgomery stood and opened the door for him. "I'm going to grade your work harder than everyone elses, Jon, so you better be doing your best."

Jon groaned good-naturedly and gave a jaunty salute before walking out. So much for not getting complicated. Now he'd actually have to try in class.

English went by a lot better than Math, because Donald actually wasn't in it. Jon made himself the sweetheart of the teacher right away by his wonderful knowledge of grammer, and by pointing out everyone else's mistakes, including Natalie's. Nat fortunately found it amusing, and as they walked towards his next class--she was taking biology while he was taking physics--she rolled her eyes at him.

"Honestly, Jon," she told him, "With the way you act sometimes, I can't tell whether you're fifteen or fifty."

Jon laughed and shook his head. If only she knew... "Yeah well, I've spent too much time around my uncle."

"Oh!" Nat said suddenly, "Before I forget, you're invited to dinner tonight at my house. We all go there once a week to have dinner and my older sister's home from school for a week, she's the greatest cook."

Jon blinked. "Dinner? Uh sure. I don't have to...wear anything formal, do I?"

"No," Natalie said, then looked around to make sure no one else was listening and leaned in closer and whispered, "Niki's gonna show you some things about our club."

Jon nodded. So, there were more than just the three of them involved in this thing? Well, good thing he'd waited to tell anyone about it. Now he could find out just how many people were involved without letting them know they were being investigated. "Gotcha," he said, "I'll look forward to it. I really do need Home Ec you know..."

Natalie grinned and then waved at him as she left him to contemplate the new information at his classroom door. tbc....