Title: The Wisdom of Youth

a/n: I always felt kind of bad for Jack in the other fics about them becoming younger, as he usually seemed to get stuck being the "parent" figure…which in a way is absolutely fine, because that scenario offers up the whole Charlie dynamic and he gets to be a dad without having to compromise or jeopardize his or Sam's career…But I had to let him be part of the fun in this one. Just had to! Besides, a younger Jack O'Neill…woohoo! J Of course, he's handsome no matter how old he is… ;)

Now, thanks for the reviews folks, keep 'em coming! Let me know if you think I should try certain scenarios or if you have any ideas for the story in general. Suggestions are welcome, as always...As is constructive criticism.

BTW: There will be some "underage" drinking in this coming up soon, but it won't be Cassie. And it won't really be "underage" since they're all over thirty in reality, but hey.

On with the story!

Chapter 3: Light Bulbs

"So what's the plan, Cass?" Jack asked Cassie once she'd gotten off the phone and he and the rest of SG-1 were all lounging about on the couches in the living room.

"Well, how about we get sleeping bags and all camp out in the living room?" She suggested. "That way we can watch movies well into the night or play games or whatever." Cassie's smile was huge, but her face fell a little when she noticed Sam and Daniel weren't really all that excited about her idea. "Come on Sam, it'll be fun! Don't be such spoilsports. Even Uncle Jack wants to do it!" It felt a little weird for her to call the young man sitting on her couch her "uncle", but it was an old habit so she did just the same.

"Yeah, you two," Jack turned his gaze onto Sam and Daniel, who had taken up sitting together on the loveseat. "You're gonna have fun tonight. That's an order." Daniel snorted at this, but then tried to turn in into a cough. "Daniel, you just volunteered to pay for the pizza." Jack said with a grin. Daniel responded with a glower over the top of his glasses, but didn't say a word, especially when Sam didn't quite suppress her giggle in time. "And as for you, Major Samantha Carter, you get to set up the sleeping bags." She looked aghast.

"What about you and Teal'c…sir?" Sam added belatedly.

"Oh, we'll be…supervising." He waggled his eyebrows at her, causing to grin in spite of herself.

"How about we go get some snacks?" Cassie put in. "I mean, no offense Uncle Jack, but you don't really have anything in your kitchen besides beer and moldy bread."

"Yeah, how about you and Teal'c go take care of that?" Jack looked over at his Jaffa friend, who looked very eager to do something. "And rent some movies while you're out, I don't really have too many DVDs besides The Simpsons…"

"As you wish, O'Neill." The big guy was almost smiling. Jack knew this was a sign of Teal'c being excited. "Let's get to it, shall we?" Teal'c nodded and he and Cassie left to go shopping. Sam went to get the sleeping bags, but Daniel sat there, since his only job so far was to pay for pizza. "Hey, Danny-boy, would you mind getting me a beer? Don't drink any though, I mean, your being too young and all." Jack's eyes glinted with mischief while Daniel glared at him. He stalked out of the room and retrieved a beer from the fridge, practically throwing it at Jack upon his return. "I guess there are perks to being a grumpy old man, eh?" Jack said as he caught the bottle easily.

"Colonel?" Sam called from the hallway.

"Yeah, Carter?"

"I don't know where the sleeping bags are…"

"Hold on, I'll show you." Jack stood up and gestured for Sam to follow him as he walked past her in the hallway. He stopped about halfway to his bedroom and pointed upwards. "Up in the attic." He reached up and yanked on the small handle. A square in the ceiling opened up like a door, with a folded up ladder attached to it. Jack then unfolded the ladder and waved Sam on up. "After you!" Sam climbed up the ladder, and paused a few minutes at the top as she searched around for a light switch.

Jack was captivated by the sight of her nice, round bottom wiggling around as she looked around the attic that he didn't even notice that she'd asked him a question.

"Sir?" She repeated loudly, thinking that maybe he hadn't heard her because her voice was somewhat muffled.

"What?" He was somewhat annoyed that she had broken him out of delightful reverie, and she must have heard it in his tone because she hesitated before asking her question again.

"Is there a light up here?"

"Look straight up." She immediately found the chain and pulled; only no light came on. She pulled again, and again, until she finally said in a defeated voice,

"The light bulb must be burnt out."

"All right, well, come down then, I'll go find another." He decided to stand at the base of the ladder to "help" her down before going to the garage to get a fresh bulb. She took a step back, her foot searching for the ladder, and when she thought she'd found it, she made to step down, her weight shifting. However, her foot missed the mark and she found herself falling backwards.

"Whoa!" She cried out as she tried to grasp the ladder for support, only to miss. She somehow had twisted herself around and ended up in a heap on top of her CO.

Her younger, very solid CO. Who currently seemed to have his arms around her waist. She was straddled over his stomach, her face inches from his, his brown eyes suddenly and intense mixture between humor and…desire?

"Carter," Jack said slowly, his voice low. "Breathing might become an issue here in a minute…"

"Oh!" Sam eyes widened. "I'm so sorry!" She tried to shift her weight off of him, but he held her there with his arms. "Sir?" Only she would call me "sir" right now…

"In a minute," Jack growled as he gazed into her eyes, which at that moment had the deer-in-the-headlights look to them. Her soft cheeks were pink with embarrassment, her rosy lips slightly parted and he could feel her warm breath pass over him as her breathing quickened. Jack could feel his heart pounding…What is wrong with you, O'Neill? Normally he would not have allowed this to continue this long, but his hormones were doing happy dances every time she squirmed…

"Ahem!" Both of them looked down the hallway, and Jack found himself looking at a teenage boy wearing glasses upside down. "Everything…all right?" Daniel's tone was more than a little suggestive.

"Can it, Spacemonkey." Jack took one last look at Sam, their eyes meeting briefly before he loosened his grip and she stood up. His body suddenly felt very cold at the loss of contact.

"Do you know what the words 'jail bait' mean, Jack?" Daniel said with a wicked grin as he watched Sam help Jack to his feet. Sam glared at him but said nothing.

"Do you know what the words 'knuckle sandwich' mean, Danny-boy?" Jack replied menacingly.

"Daniel, just because I look seventeen doesn't mean I am seventeen!" Sam interjected before the situation could get more out of hand.

"Yea, well, if he's gonna treat me like I'm too young to have a beer, then he better be treating you like you're too young to…"

"Danny, if you want a beer, go have a damn beer!" Jack's volume had raised a few notches. "I mean, if you want me to treat ya like an 'adult', I suggest you stop acting like a child!"

"Well, at least I'm not a grumpy old…"

"Daniel!" Sam cut in again. "Sir, please…" She tried desperately to get Jack to look at her. When he finally managed to tear his glowering eyes away from Daniel, he glanced down to see Sam's big blue eyes gazing at him pleadingly. His expression immediately softened.

"Yeah?"

"I thought we were supposed to be having fun, sir?"

"Yeah." Carter, always the voice of reason, always the one to keep me in check. He thought to himself.

"Daniel?" She leveled her gaze at Daniel. "You have something you want to say?" Daniel mumbled something unintelligible. "What did you say?"

"Nothing," he said quickly. "I mean…Sorry, Jack."

"Me too." Jack nodded. The doorbell rang, signaling the arrival of the pizza. "I'll get it."

"But, Jack…"

"I'll get it, Danny." Jack said quickly as he brushed past him to answer the door. A few minutes later, three pizza boxes were laid out on the dining room table. "Let's wait 'til Cass and T get back to eat." The other two nodded in agreement. Daniel went back to the living room while Jack and Sam remained in the dining room. Sam tilted her head up at him, a questioning look in her eyes.

"Sir, about those light bulbs…"

"Right." Jack said gruffly. "Light bulbs."

a/n: Well, there you go. Some shippiness. I'd like to think that they're acting more touchy-feely because of their hormones, as implied by the happy-dances Jack seem to do…hehe.