Ah the joys of adult life. Note to anyone not yet living in The Real World: It ain't all it's cracked up to be and don't trust the color of the grass on our side of the fence. It's not real, it's just astroturf.
So anyway, I got promoted at work which, before all of you start congratulating me please understand that I believe it to be part of a conspiracy against me to stop me from writing fanfiction. No, seriously. I don't have any proof, but as my lovely beta Waves would say, that's just proof that it's working. I will try valiantly to push this story ahead as fast as I can and I do thank you for your saintly patience, but, alas, I can only do so much.
Also, my Muse and her pet dragon were something of a pest this last week. I was actually going to post this on Tuesday but just before I managed to get it out my dear Muse pointed out that I had totally forgotten what seems to be a rather major plot line that requires some set up and maybe even a hint of foreshadowing. The end result is that I had to COMPLETELY rewrite this whole chapter and will have to adjust the next four as well. Le sigh.
But I digress.
Disclaimer: If I owned it, you wouldn't be relying on your imagination for this story, you could just watch it in full living color. But I don't so you can't. Dammit.
Review please! (Incidentally, Waves pointed out to me that it's somewhat pointless to tell you to 'read and review' as I normally do at the beginning of a chapter. I'd be more embarrassed by the simplicity of her logic and the obviousness of the whole thing, but it took her eight chapters to realize it too, so I take comfort in not being the only one lacking in powers of observation.)
Acting One's Age
by Keaira
Chapter 9 – A Little Shopping
Janet decided to get the safety seats first since she wasn't terribly comfortable driving around with them loosely belted in the way they were. Especially since knowing Jack the way she did she had a feeling he wouldn't be buckled in for very long unless she got something that required a little more dexterity like the restraints on a booster seat.
She did like to think she was a safe driver and she had a spotless record to back that assertion up, but they call them accidents for a reason and her responsible driving didn't mean that someone else couldn't be an idiot and hit them. She was hoping to avoid any surgery or major injuries with these three in their current state.
She knew where the Toys'R'Us was only because of her adoption of Cassie. They'd gone looking for a game they could play together and Cass had been enthralled by the idea of a store just for children's toys. It was still one of the girl's favorite stores, though Janet wondered how much longer it could hold out against The Gap and American Eagle.
She parked and led the way inside with admonitions for everyone to stay close and hold hands when crossing from the parking lot to the store.
Never let it be said Janet didn't learn from her mistakes. As soon as they entered she tightened her grip on Jack's hand and just in time too. He saw the shelves full of brightly colored packages and toys and immediately tried to go running off.
"We need to pick up a few necessary items before we can get any toys," she said and Jack sighed and followed her lead to where the carts were.
"But I promise I'll be good. And I won't get lost. I'll be right there," he said and pointed to the video game display.
"I need you to stay with me," she said and left it at that.
He wasn't happy, but since she retained her hold on his hand he had little choice.
Sam felt bad enough about the trouble they'd caused earlier that she stayed on Janet's other side without needing to be held in place—a good thing since Janet definitely needed at least one free hand to push the cart. Danny also didn't seem to have any inclination to wander off by himself, sticking close to Jack's side, though not holding his hand.
Janet had made a mental list on the way of everything she thought they'd need but kept her eyes open in case she'd missed something. Not that she had a lot of experience with children this young, but she'd babysat a young child or two in her time and knew the basics. How hard could it be anyway?
They got two booster seats instead of the full safety seats since Sam and Jack were big enough for them. Jack insisted he didn't need one, but she refused to give in. Sam didn't argue, especially when she saw one with little purple flowers printed on the liner. Daniel got a safety seat because he was small enough, but he didn't seem to mind either.
The necessary business concluded, they moved onto the toys.
They were all quite excited by the prospect of being allowed to choose some of the items off the shelves and as soon as she said it they all started bouncing and jumping around as they yelled where they wanted to go and what they wanted to get.
"Quiet!" she barked in a voice she usually reserved for the cadets at the academy on those rare occasions she accepted an invitation to lecture.
The three children froze and she took a deep breath.
"We'll go by age-" Jack punched the air with a "Yes!" and she gave him a sharp look and continued. "Youngest first. Danny, where did you want to go?"
"Books!" was the enthusiastic response as Jack rolled his eyes.
Janet smiled and turned the cart.
"Books it is. Lead the way."
He took off running towards the corner of the store where he'd seen the shelves filled with a wide assortment of books.
By the time they caught up to him he already had a stack that he'd pulled off the shelves and as they watched he set another book down and went running for more.
She watched the stack grow as tall as he was and then called a stop.
Squatting down by the stack she looked at his selection and then nodded. This should keep him busy for a while. She did arch an eyebrow at the number of 'Eyewitness' books about ancient cultures and foreign countries, not to mention the one about archaeology, but kept her mouth shut.
It shouldn't surprise her. When he'd been five the first time—Now there's a phrase I never thought I'd consider outside of a science fiction novel, she thought wryly—he'd probably been interested in this stuff by virtue of having archaeologist parents. This, unfortunately, wasn't any indication that he recalled anything about his adult self.
Janet wasn't sure they would, especially since they had yet to show any really conclusive signs of it, but it might make things easier if they did.
Although Jack had pretty quickly latched onto the Simpsons and they hadn't been around when he was a kid. Maybe it was just a sign that their memories hadn't been fully erased.
She realized she'd let her mind wander and Danny was staring at her and shook her head to clear it. "Okay. I think that's good for now." He looked disappointed but nodded. She loaded the books into the cart and turned to Sam.
"Where do you want to go?"
She didn't respond but took off back towards the front of the store.
They followed and soon were in the building block aisle. Janet checked the prices and let her pick two of the big K'nex sets, then led the way to an area that she knew Cassie and the adult Sam loved and that the child Sam probably hadn't seen.
Her mouth opened into a look of delighted shock as she took in the shorter shelves bordered on three sides by taller shelves.
It was the Imaginarium, the 'learning' toy section, and Sam was in heaven.
From chemistry sets to rather nice telescopes and build your own remote control cars, this aisle had everything a budding scientist could want and Sam went nuts.
She spent a good forty-five minutes trying to decide what she wanted first and what she wanted most and finally concluded she wanted EVERYTHING and eventually managed to pick just three things.
First was a decent chemistry set which, according to the package, came equipped to assist a young scientist in conducting several hundred experiments relating to physics and chemistry (a claim Janet believed when she saw the assortment of included items pictured). She also selected a microscope with an assortment of slides for her to examine, and something called a Snap Circuits Pro which apparently allowed her to build small electrical circuits in such a way that she could see the end result and experiment with electricity, but was at little risk of electrocuting herself.
Janet knew it was something of a risk since the was Sam that wanted it, but she didn't think even a six-year-old Samantha Carter with only limited memories of her adult life—if that—could build anything too dangerous. It only ran on AA batteries after all, not a naquada generator.
While there, Danny found a toythat was perfect for a budding archaeologist—or an experienced archaeologist that had been turned back into a child due to an alien influence. It contained a block of dirt that contianed an 'ancient artifact' and the necessary tools to dig it up. Danny was thrilled and insisted on carrying his new prize.
Jack picked a tub of little green army men—Which Janet allowedon the conditions that he never take them out of the iso room unless they were inside the bucket and that upon finishing with them they would be immediately returned after every time he played with them. He agreed and knew from her look that she wouldn't hesitate to take them away if The Rules were not followed.
He alsochosecouple of small Lego sets and then led the way back to the aisle where the Nerf guns were kept. That led to a half hour argument which Janet won.
She categorically refused to give him a weapon of any kind.
He got three GI Joe action figures instead, the Air Force Spec Ops, the Search and Rescue, and the Paratrooper with real working parachute. She wasn't terribly worried about him throwing it off of something and hitting someone in the head.They were underground,after all,and the only windows that would be any good for real height didn't open.
He also wanted a video game, but she knew that they had a couple of Xboxes, Playstations, and Game Cubes on base in the rec room alreadyand a large selection of games. There were a few of the more mature RPGs—Rainbow Six Ghost Recon, for instance—that she would leave in the rec room, but she'd talk to the general about having one of each temporarily moved to their converted playroom along with a TV.
She had a feeling he'd agree to the request.
With plenty of amusements to last them for hopefully far longer than they'd need them the little group headed for the cash registers. At the car Janet let each of them pick one toy to keep up front and then took a few minutes to set up the seats, Daniel in the middle with Sam behind her and Jack on the other side. Once they were firmly secured to Janet's satisfaction they left, heading for the mall.
oOoo
The first stop in the mall was to get them some underwear since apparently the Corunna people went commando—or at least their children seemed to.
Sam went for the plain underwear in a variety of colors, Danny chose some with little dogs on them, and Jack took his time trying to decide between X-Men and Batman until he spotted the Simpsons on the end of the rack. Then Janet had to explain that he didn't need to buy enough for the entire base. He scowled but settled on two packages of six.
She silently prayed he wouldn't need that many, but didn't feel like arguing anymore. There were other things they'd disagree about and she wanted to save her strength.
oOoo
Giggling from behind the rack of clothes made Janet sigh and wonder again what she'd done to get her name put at the top of General Hammond's shit list. She categorically refused to accept he'd chosen her because she was more familiar with them than most of the people on base, or because she was their medical doctor and therefore would be more likely to recognize unusual side effects of whatever caused this, or she'd been the closest person at hand, or any of the other completely reasonable possibilities.
No, it had to be something she'd done. She was debating the merits of groveling versus buying his forgiveness when Sam came back with two blue dresses in her hands.
"I like these."
Janet checked the sizes and was pleased that Sam had been paying attention. They should be okay, but not wanting to waste the government's money convinced her to take the girl into the changing room to try them on.
"Jack, Danny, come out."
Two heads poked out of the circular rack of clothes—a newly converted fortress to the young male minds apparently—and Janet looked down at them.
"I need to go with Sam and make sure these dresses fit. Will you two stay here and out of trouble?"
"Yes," Jack said.
Danny nodded and echoed the affirmative response.
"Okay. We'll only be a few minutes. All right?"
"Okay," Jack said and disappeared back into the clothes. Danny followed suit and Janet repressed another sigh as she turned.
"Come on, Sam. Let's go try on these dresses."
oOoo
The peace only lasted for about five minutes before a shriek drew her attention and was almost immediately followed by giggling she knew she recognized.
With a sigh she told Sam to finish dressing in her original outfit and come out when she was done.
Sam solemnly agreed and then smiled devilishly when the door shut.
Jack and Danny were in sooo much trouble!
oOoo
Twenty minutes later they left the store, Janet loaded down with several bags from all the stores they'd visited and her temper considerably shorter than when they'd entered.
She'd gotten some things for each of them and was only planning on making two more stops before they headed for the movies. A brief reconsideration of whether or not she should take them to the movies after their behavior in the store, reaching out of the racks and scaring innocent, unwary shoppers by grabbing their ankles didn't exactly warrant a reward of a movie, but a glance at her watch informed her that it was still far too early to return to base.
She hoped she didn't fall asleep during it, but even as tired as she was, she knew the three of them were pretty worn down too. They were still very exuberant, but it was definitely toned down from earlier.
It was almost enough, but she wasn't taking any chances. The general wanted them ready to fall asleep if not already and that was well within her abilities.
She figured the walking between the last two stores, then a stop by the car to drop everything off and back inside to go to the theater and they'd be good and ready for bed.
Thanks for the reviews and thanks for reading! Until next time . . .
"The wireless telegraph is not difficult to understand. The ordinary telegraph is like a very long cat. You pull the tail in New York, and it meows in Los Angeles. The wireless is the same, only without the cat." -Albert Einstein
-Keaira