I'm gonna try to keep this note short but I wanted to respond to a couple of reviews.

Kate McCaye: Sam is a little separated from the boys right now but that is definitely going to change.
felinediva: They seem to be operating under the misconception that work IS what's really important in life. I don't get it, but then I don't find canned cheese nearly as exciting as most of my coworkers do.
rankokun alpha: My Muse is quite pleased that you think her idea is evil. And she would like to let you know there is much more evil to come. Heh heh heh . . . And that drive isn't nearly as long as you think.
stargrl678: I'm still undecided as to how exactly I want to work that particular plot point in, but rest assured it will be addressed at some point.
To everyone who has complimented my characterization: Thank you! I do try to keep them in character as much as possible. I'm pleased you think I've managed it!
And to all those who have reported similar air duct experiences: This is a more common problem than I imagined! Maybe we should form a support group or something. People Against Air Ducts. PAAD.

Windscryer (pet dragon of my Muse)-blink blink- A support group? Are you mad?

Then again, maybe not.

Disclaimer: Two words: Yeah. Right.

Acting One's Age
by Keaira
Chapter 11 – A Little Relief

Danny sat on his bench and looked around at the thinning crowds. The mall was still busy at this time in the evening, but not as busy as during the day.

He'd thought about his options and decided that his best course of action for now was to stay put. He hadn't wandered that far—he didn't think—and Janet was bound to notice he was missing soon. She'd start looking immediately upon discovering his absence he was sure and if he stayed where he was their chances of finding him were a lot better than if he wandered even further away.

All he could do was wait.

oOoo

Janet shifted her grip on the bags she carried, but not out of any discomfort in her fingers.

They'd been looking for a good forty-five minutes and hadn't found Danny yet.

After checking the nearby shops they thought he might have wandered into, Janet had decided on a simple store-to-store search, using Sam and Jack as extra eyes and feet. While she wandered down the wide hallways searching the crowds, they'd duck into the stores on either side and do a quick circuit of the store. They weren't doing a complete search of every nook and cranny in each store, just moving along the open pathways, eyes constantly moving as they looked for their missing friend.

They'd covered the whole half of the mall that lay to the right of the store where it had all begun with no success.

Thoughts of all the bad ways this could end—of things that could have happened to Danny since he'd gone missing—kept popping into her head, but she refused to give into the building sense of unease in her stomach. If something had happened she'd deal with it then. Psyching herself out now wasn't going to help the situation.

She took a deep breath and continued her search, pausing when she heard Jack call her name from behind.

She turned and he came to a halt a few feet away, shaking his head. "Not there either. Can I go to the next store?"

"Not yet," she said, understanding his desire to keep looking, but knowing that further separation wasn't the solution. "I don't want you to get too far ahead. We'll wait for Sam to get back."

He nodded, obviously not happy with her decision, but recognizing the wisdom in her words.

Sam was only a few minutes behind Jack and when she shook her head no, Janet bobbed her head once and they moved on.

oOoo

Time passed. How long Danny didn't know, but it seemed like forever. He was beginning to question his earlier conclusions and subsequent decision.

What if they didn't notice he was missing? What if they went back to the mountain without him?

He knew he was in Colorado Springs both from signs he'd seen on the road and things he'd overheard people talking about.

But he wasn't familiar with Colorado Springs. He knew he'd been born in America and had lived here for short periods of time now and again while his parents sought funding for another dig or when they visited relatives, but he didn't have any real clear memories of anything here. And he couldn't recall ever coming to Colorado before.

His experience—at least in memory he could voluntarily recall—lay in Egypt, a little in Cairo and other towns and cities, but mostly in the vast deserts wherein lay the archaeological mysteries his parents worked to unravel.

And from what he observed now he might as well be on the moon for all his experience served him.

He had no idea where to go, no idea how to find someone who could help, and even if he did, he didn't know who they would help him find.

His parents were obviously elsewhere, and though he didn't know exactly where he had a feeling it wasn't close by.

But he didn't have the full name of anyone here. He had a feeling asking for 'Doctor Janet' wasn't going to help.

Feeling even more lonely and depressed than before, but determined to do something about his current situation, he stood and looked around. If he could just find the clothes store he wouldn't be as lost anymore, and maybe his missing friends were still there. He just had to pick a direction and start looking for the store.

Tears welled up in his eyes at the magnitude of his task and he brushed at them, wishing they'd stop. Crying wasn't going to solve this problem.

With a mighty sniff he set his jaw and looked around, trying to decide which way to go first.

oOoo

They'd passed the clothes store and hadn't found anything, but Janet wasn't even close to giving up. They'd already eliminated half of the mall. Their area to search was getting smaller.

Of course, he could have left . . . or been kidnapped . . . or been taken by the police . . . or he'd been hiding in a rack of clothes and had slipped past them . . . or she'd been looking the wrong way and he'd walked right past her . . . or-NO!

She shook her head to get rid of the negative thoughts and resumed her search as Jack caught up once more, shaking his head in a negative answer to her unasked question.

Janet didn't see it, though, because her eyes had caught a glimpse of a small child standing by a planteroverflowing with silk flowers that stoodin the middle of the hall flanking the benches and trashcans. A light-brown haired child dressed in jeans and a bright red shirt—the same ones she'd bought just an hour ago. Without thinking she took off towards him at a sprint, hearing Sam and Jack run after her, but more focused on Danny.

"Danny?"

The small form turned at her voice and her heart went out to him. He had tears streaming down his face which he was trying valiantly if unsuccessfully to wipe away. Instead he was just smearing them across his cheeks.

She all but slid to a stop, dropping the shopping bags and bending down to scoop him up and hug him tightly, her own heart still racing from the panic of almostlosing him and from her sprint.

She vaguely registered Sam and Jack coming up as well, each latching onto one of her legs to join the hug.

She just hugged him for a moment as he returned it, then pulled back a little to get a good look at him and confirm he really wasn't hurt.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

He shook his head and wiped at his face again. "No," he said, his voice reflecting his struggle to be brave. After a few moments she was satisfied and nodded.

"That's good," she breathed, hugging him again. "I'm glad."

Then his resolve crumbled and his face screwed up as fresh tears started and he tightened his arms around her neck. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to get lost. I promise! I was with Jack and then I saw this pretty lady who looked like my mom but it wasn't her and then I heard the song from the music box store and Elsa dropped her bag and- and I looked and I looked but I couldn't see any of you and- and- and-"

She hugged him tightly and rubbed his back as she soothed him with soft words of reassurance.

"It's okay. I know you didn't mean to wander off. It's all right. You're safe and we found you and that's the important thing." Relief washed through her and she closed her eyes and savored the feeling.

It vanished abruptly when he brought up a topic she was hoping wouldn't come up for a while yet, though it was well overdue she knew.

"I wanna go home. I miss my mom and dad."

"Me too," Sam said from where she was wrapped around Janet's left leg.

"Me three," Jack said, his usual bravado gone in the face of the evening's brush with disaster.

She had hoped to have more time to come up with a good explanation, but it appeared her time had run out.

"Come on," she said instead. "Let's all go sit by the fountain."

Jack and Sam released her legs enough to allow her to walk and after retrieving their bags, they made their way to the wide stone lip surrounding the pool with the three stone dolphins leaping playfully out of the water.

She tried setting Danny down on the fountain's edge so she could face him, but he wasn't having it and she wasn't going to force the issue. Truth be told, he wasn't the only one getting comfort from the embrace.

Instead she settled for sitting with Jack and Sam on the ledge in front of her and Danny in her lap. "I need you to pull back just enough to look at me, okay, Danny?"

He sniffed and complied, lifting his head, though his arms stayed around her neck.

She looked at each of them and took a deep breath.

"I know you want to go home to your moms and dads. And I wish I could send you there so you could be with them." She hesitated and then decided to put it simply. "But right now that's not possible. Your parents all love you very much, but they have to do something else right now and they need you to stay at the mountain and be brave, okay? Hopefully they'll be done soon and we can get you back to where you're supposed to be." It wasn't actually a lie, not as far as they were concerned.

She certainly wasn't about to tell them that Sam's father was the only one of the six still alive.

"Where did our parents go?" Sam asked.

Janet managed not to wince but came up with the only answer she could. "Somewhere far away."

"Can we talk to them?" Jack asked.

"Um . . . I'm afraid not, sweetie." Oops! she thought as soon as she said it. She couldn't believe she'd just called Colonel O'Neill 'sweetie'. Her thoughts were pulled back to the conversation though and apparently her pet name had gone unnoticed.

"But who's gonna read to me at night?" Daniel asked.

"And who's gonna braid my hair?" Sam asked.

"This sucks," was all Jack would say as he dipped a finger in the water and swirled it around.

Janet sighed. "I know it's not the best situation, but I promise I'll do everything I can to make up for your parents being gone. I'm not the best replacement, but maybe you can give me a chance?" She smiled even as she wondered what the hell she was doing. Wasn't she going to make sure someone else had the job of babysitting them?

Danny hugged her and placed a kiss on her cheek that she guiltily hoped was mostly wet from tears. "You'll do fine," he said in his most reassuring voice. "Just do your best and that'll be good enough."

"Danny's right," Sam said and scooted closer to turn the hug into a group effort.

After a moment Jack stood and came around to her side to get in on the action.

"Yeah, you'll do fine." He grinned. "We know you have the 'mom' voice down already."

She felt tears prick at her eyes as she laughed slightly and returned the hug, releasing Daniel to add both Sam and Jack.

"Thanks. I'll do my best."

Well that settles it, she thought with only a touch of resignation. Now I'm in for it.

Suddenly that didn't seem so scary a prospect. After all, she'd managed with Cassandra hadn't she? True, these three were a little younger and they were also people she was used to treating in a much different manner, but she'd manage somehow.

After a moment she released them and dug a Kleenex out of her purse to wipe at Danny's face. He scrunched up his nose at the gesture, but sat still while she worked.

"How about we go to my house and get some movies and then go back to the base and watch it there?" she suggested. "I think I'm about shopped out."

Three heartfelt affirmatives answered her and she nodded and shifted so Danny could get down. He was willing to go, but only on the condition that he be allowed to hold her hand so he didn't get lost again.

Janet wasn't about to argue and she got all the bags in place in her right hand—except for two that Jack and Sam insisted on carrying—and Danny's hand in her left with Sam holding his other hand and Jack on her right, his hands full of the bag he was carrying but his position close enough to almost stumble over.

Without further fuss they headed back to the car.

Thanks for the reviews and thanks for reading! Until next time . . .

"What if there were no more hypothetical questions?" – Anonymous

Keaira

Oh and DarkJediQueen, about the security technician on duty, just you wait and see. . . Heh heh heh . . . (Sorry, kind of delayed reaction, I know.)