A/N: E-gad, can you imagine what I'd do to SG-1 if it did belong to me? Oh, and goodies and answers to reviews at the bottom of this chp. -Misao-incarnate.
o o o
After reaching the infirmary, they relinquished O'ahka into the hands of Dr. Brightman and her nurses. They ran all sorts of tests and came up with nothing but a high-grade fever that was steadily dropping back down to a normal temperature.
Sam took turns with Daniel in watching the sleeping girl. She got the feeling that he was resenting her being there for some reason. Was he still mad at her for not telling him when she'd found out that O'ahka was his daughter? If so, then she could certainly understand why.
She would have been angry with him if he'd pulled the same stunt on her. Hopefully he would forgive her soon. She didn't really doubt that he would; Daniel just wasn't the type to hold a grudge if he could help it. It was just a pain to be around him while he was mad about something. There was the pouting and the ever sharper sarcasm to deal with. Daniel could be terribly hard-headed if he chose.
Finally, O'ahka's fever dropped down to normal, and Dr. Brightman said that she would probably wake up soon. The strained look on Daniel's face seemed to fall away, and Sam felt herself relax as well.
They had become so attached to O'ahka so quickly... Were they really that needy or was it just human nature to want to care for and protect their children? At the moment, Sam didn't really care. She was just glad that O'ahka would be okay.
o o o
O'ahka opened her eyes and found herself looking at a pair of accusing blue ones. Uh, oh... Something had happened, and she didn't know what.
"Daniel?" she asked in a groggy sounding voice.
"Your eyes are still blue," he said, sadly almost. She started to sit up, but he caught her shoulders and pushed her back down. "Dr. Brightman says you'll be all right, but you need to rest."
"That means no outing today," Jack said, approaching from behind Daniel.
Daniel glanced up long enough to glower at him then looked back at O'ahka more kindly. "How are you feeling?"
Her eyes were still blue? What was going on? And then she realized that she could see much better, and she wasn't even wearing any glasses. That was when it occurred to her that she must have changed some more. In fact, she must have gone through the last stage of becoming human. Which meant... "Oh, no..." she muttered under her breath.
Sam questioned from the other side of the bed, "What is it? Do you feel okay?"
O'ahka glanced up at her with wide eyes. "I can't change back now... I didn't mean to wait for so long..." Who was she kidding? Changing back meant leaving, and she hadn't wanted to go.
She saw Daniel and Sam exchange a glance, and wondered what it meant. Daniel looked back at the General and asked, "Dr. Brightman said she needed to rest... If she can go off base now, can I take her to my place?"
Sam said before Jack could answer, "It would be more comfortable for her... I know O'ahka doesn't like the infirmary."
Was she sick? What were they talking about? Letting her go stay with Daniel? Humans were so strange... She would never get used to this. Why had she made herself human? She was such an idiot!
"Why not?" Jack answered, "Guess I'll come along for the ride too. But later, I've got lots of important... stuff to do."
"Sam?" Daniel asked, and she nodded.
"I'll help O'ahka pack her things," she added, and then held out a hand to O'ahka. She took it and Sam helped her out of the bed. As she walked with her out of the infirmary, O'ahka glanced back to look at Daniel. Why was he watching her that way? With such pain behind his eyes... Was it because she reminded him of her?
She would have to look in a mirror before she could be sure...
o o o
The car ride freaked O'ahka out at first, but then she calmed down and looked like she was enjoying it a great deal. Daniel was glad... He didn't want the world to frighten her. If she couldn't adjust to her new life, then she would have some serious issues. And a psychiatrist's office was the last place he wanted to send her...
Sam wondered, "Do you want to stop at the grocery store and get some ice cream?"
"Hunh?" Daniel asked, and she shrugged, adjusting her grip on the wheel.
"What's ice cream?" O'ahka questioned from the backseat of Sam's car.
"Oh, just this cold, sweet dessert that we humans like to eat every so often," Sam answered, she turned into a grocery store parking lot.
"Coming in?" she asked Daniel. He gave her a look, but she only grinned at him. Well, he was glad to see someone was having fun. He couldn't help being daunted by the enormous responsibility that had suddenly been dropped into his life.
"Sure," he answered, and got out then helped O'ahka out of the backseat. She took his hand almost automatically, and his heart ached.
Inside the store, O'ahka ran back and forth, up and down the aisles, giggling. She seemed to like the refrigerator section of the store. Sam kept having to close the freezer doors after she'd opened them to peer curiously at the contents within.
"So," she asked the young seeming-child, "What kind of icecream do you want to try?"
"I can have more than one?" O'ahka questioned, looking way too hopeful. Daniel felt a smile tugging at the corner of his lips despite all his anxieties.
"If we get the small ones," Sam said, "But just three... One for Daniel, you, and me."
O'ahka grinned and pointed out a chunky monkey, a java chocolate chunk, and a vanilla ice cream container. "This one is named after the animal on the 'go fish' cards!" she said excitedly. She tried to take the pint of ice cream from Sam and yelped.
Sam chuckled under her breath and warned, "It's cold, O'--" She stopped herself and glanced warily at Daniel. "Do you think maybe we should pick another name...?"
He shrugged, "O', your name is a little odd sounding. It might draw unecessary attention. What do you think about having a different name along with it?"
"Ooh," O'ahka said with a look of unadulterated excitement, "Can I pick it? Will you help?"
"Of course," Daniel replied, feeling that smile forming at the corner of his mouth again. She was such a brat sometimes, and tended to be rather manipulative, but he had to admit, there was just something about her that tugged at his heart.
Impulsively, she grabbed his hand and squeezed it lightly. She wasn't very strong, but he could tell just by the stubborn look she got sometimes, that she was a survivor. Maybe she got that from him... Did she inherit anything else from Sha're besides her looks?
While checking out, O'ahka tugged on Daniel's pants while Sam paid for the icecream. He leaned down, suspecting she wanted to ask him something that would sound strange to anyone who overheard.
She whispered in his ear, "What are these packages on this shelf?" She pointed to the gums and candies displayed on the shelf over the grocery belt.
Daniel smiled mischievously and replied under his breath, "Things that will rott your teeth."
O'ahka gave him a wide-eyed, slightly askance look, then frowned. "You're picking on me!" she exclaimed, with sudden comprehension.
"Not 'picking on'...teasing," Daniel corrected with a waggle of his finger, and heard the cashier mention to Sam, "Your daughter is adorable."
He glanced carefully up at Sam's expression, and saw her looking slightly flushed but smiling. Was she pleased? What did it mean if she was? "Thank you," she murmured, and took her change and receipt then glanced back at Daniel and O'ahka.
"Ready?" she wondered. Daniel nodded and took O's hand as they followed Sam out of the grocery store.
o o o
Sam tried to reason out her reaction to the cashier's observation. Was she wishing that she was O'ahka's mother? If she was, then she was in for some future mental anguish. She couldn't keep O'ahka, but Daniel could. She could visit her every now and then, but it wasn't the same thing as actually raising her.
But there was no denying she was attached already. And if she saw O' as a daughter, then it might cause jealousy issues between her and Daniel. She didn't want to hurt their relationship with this unrequited feeling if she could help it. She certainly hoped she could.
They reached Daniel's house and got out of the car and waited for Daniel to unlock the front door before going in. O'ahka had cheerfully volunteered to hold the bag of icecream and was swinging it back and forth at her side, dangerously. Sam tossed Daniel an amused look and he shrugged, half grinning.
They went inside and O'ahka exclaimed, "This is where you live?" She smiled largely. "It's so pretty! Sam is your home like this too?"
Sam blinked. Did O'ahka think every house looked the same on the inside? "No," she began carefully, "It's a little different... You see, Daniel and I don't own the same things."
"Well," Daniel said, "You own a TV..."
"A TV?" O'ahka wondered, beginning to set the ice cream down on the floor. Sam scooped it out of her hand before it even touched the carpet and started for the kitchen.
O'ahka and Daniel followed her and watched as Sam set the ice cream on the table and got out three spoons from the silverware drawer. "I'll show you in a second," Daniel told her, then pulled out a chair for her to sit in.
She climbed in, watching Sam get the ice cream out of the plastic bag and set them in a row on the table. "Which one do you want to try first?" she asked O'ahka with a grin.
"Uhm..." O'ahka murmured, staring hard at the three containers. "The chunky monkey!"
"What'd'you know," Sam replied, grinning from ear to ear. She worked the top off of the container and held out a spoon to O'ahka. "Now... You eat it like jello... just slower. Got it?"
"Mmhmm..." O'ahka replied, her eyes round from staring at the icecream so hard. She carefully took hold of the icecream as Daniel sat down next to her. Sam stood around, dipping her spoon in the java chocolate chunk ice cream every now and then. But her eyes were on O', anticipating.
"It melts!" O'ahka whispered under her breath. She took a bite, muttered an ouch then took another. "M' teeth," she mumbled around the spoon, but took another bite. Both Sam and Daniel knew what was coming next, but heartlessly remained silent.
As the speed at which O' ate the ice cream increased... "Owww..." She set the spoon down and gripped her head. "My head hurts," she groaned.
Sam hid an evil smile, and Daniel smirked in the background. "Slow down. The cold can give you a temporary headache known as brainfreeze. Got it?"
O'ahka giggled breathlessly. "You were teasing me again," she said through her laughter.
Sam looked at Daniel with questioning innocence. "Were you teasing her?"
"No," Daniel said, overly slowly. "Not I."
"You hear that, O'?" Sam said, "No one was teasing you."
O'ahka stuck out her tongue, slightly white with chunky monkey, then returned it to licking her icecream container dry. Daniel grinned, and Sam giggled around her spoon. "Can't wait 'til Jack gets here," Daniel muttered, and Sam raised a brow.
o o o
No "every earth child has to have a dog" today.
He'd promised to come over after work; he'd even escaped a little early. But Jack O'Neill really had no idea how to deal with this new, strange situation. O' was Daniel's kid. Not just Daniel's kid, but Daniel and Sha're's kid.
Except that Sha're had long since passed on, and O'ahka wasn't exactly all human. Maybe her body was now. But up there where her brains resided, there was still something alien about her, even if it was just her memories.
He wasn't even sure if it made sense, let alone if he could learn to accept it. So he'd gotten her a stuffed animal instead of a puppy.
"Bambina!" he greeted at the sight of her joyfully sticky face. She was overshadowed by Daniel, who was standing right behind her and had opened the door.
"Jack!" she yelled, and he had to clear out a ringing ear with his finger. "You came! Come look at what's on the TV! It's the History Channel!"
Grimacing, he asked Daniel, "Is she hyper?"
"Three different flavors of ice cream, and she was our main tester," Daniel explained, letting him inside.
Jack shut the door behind him and then called after O', who'd run ahead to the living room, intending to show him the television. "O'! I have something for you." She ran back, and he met her halfway. He noticed Carter smiling up at him from the couch, and waved.
"Hi, sir," she greeted, and he wondered if he would ever break her of that habit when they were off duty.
"Every kid needs one of these," he said, and held out the teddy bear to O'. He'd gotten the softest, cuddliest one he could find. The better for her to mangle it to the point of shreds by dragging it along with her everywhere.
She took the bear carefully and examined its black, shiny nose and shiny, brown eyes. "What is it?" she questioned in hushed wonder. "It's so soft..."
"A teddy bear," Daniel explained, "Say 'thank you' to Jack." They inadvertantly caught each other's eyes, and Jack noticed Daniel smiling imperceptably. That was a good sign. Maybe later he could try and talk with the hard-headed, smart-mouthed archeologist...
"Thank you!" O'ahka exclaimed and hugged Jack's legs. He chuckled and knelt to hug her better. She kissed his cheek and wondered, "What is it for?"
"It's to keep you company," Sam said, coming to stand beside them. "Like a little friend that you can always talk to about everything."
"Oh..." The little girl said, gazing at the bear understandingly. "Like a confidant."
"Well," Jack asked, getting to his feet, "What are you going to name him?"
"It's a boy?" O'ahka questioned, innocently and Sam cracked up. Daniel held back a smile, and Jack blushed.
"Er... Sure, and he needs a name," Jack said, trying to cover his embarrassment.
"I'll name him 'Jack' after you," O'ahka said with a brilliant smile. Sheesh, she was going to be the end of him, really she was.
"Maybe something else..." he suggested. "I already have a mini-me."
Daniel cleared his throat. "Think of another name, O'?"
O'ahka rubbed her face against the bear's head and replied, "Danny Bear."
"Danny Bear?" Daniel asked. It was his turn to blush.
"You know," Jack said with a grin, "That has a nice ring to it." Honestly, he was just relieved that she'd gone ahead and changed the bear's name.
O'ahka beamed and told him, "Like Danny Boy--I got it from you, Jack."
Daniel shot Jack a deadly look before saying, "Speaking of names... we've decided to give O'ahka another one."
"Really?" Jack questioned. He entered the living room and plopped down onto the sofa.
Everyone else followed, O'ahka deliberately curling up beside him and leaning her head on his arm. What a little trouble maker... "Yeah," she murmured, sounding sleepy. "What d'you think's a good name for me?"
"Tow-head?" Jack volunteered.
"Sarah?" O'ahka questioned, and Jack winced. Not a name that held all good memories for either Jack or Daniel.
"No," Daniel said, softly, leaning forward in his seat. "Samantha, maybe?"
Now what was that supposed to mean, Jack wondered, glancing sharply back and forth between Carter and Daniel. It didn't look like anything was going on between them... But then, things could veritably develope overnight.
"Nooo," Sam said, "You don't want to have a nickname that sounds like a boy's name do you, O'?"
"I guess not, but I wouldn't mind having your name, Samantha," O'ahka told her, sweetly, illiciting a beautiful smile on Sam's face.
"Danielle," Sam teased.
"Shut up..." Daniel muttered, then said with a tugging smile at the corners of his lips, "Jacklyn."
"As if naming the bear after me wasn't bad enough," Jack shot back. "Lisa?"
"Diane," Sam said, then glanced toward Daniel.
"Artemis?"
"I'm going to ignore that one," Jack said, dryly, and Daniel gave a suppresed smile and ducked his head.
"My friends and I called ourselves by a special name," O' said.
"What was it?" Sam asked her, curiously.
"An'yel," she said shyly.
"That sounds like..." Daniel began, startled. He glanced at Sam, and she nodded. He said with finality, "Angel."
o o o
Thank you s for reviewing:
BuubaBwwSmacknone, killer angel, tixylix, eris86, Jenn R, Chiianna, Myfi geekus Australianus... Thank you all of you!
And to answer questions:
tdrm: Actually, to be honest, I was planning on making O' Sam and Daniel's genetic child, but I changed my mind. Mostly 'cause I'm evil, but because I thought the plot would turn out better that way. :) And guess what? I used to think that's what the song meant, too.
Seeria Nix: I'm really not sure what I'm going to do about relationships in this fic. But the reason I put Sam and Daniel as the main characters was because as I wrote, it just came out that way.
About the song Allouette and other non important stuff:
Mostly 'cause a couple people have shown an interest, and I did sort of have a motive in putting the song in there, I have decided to explain a bit. When I was a kid, that was one of my favorite songs, so I decided that O'ahka would sort of pick that out of Daniel's brain. She started singing it because she was happy not because she's an evil little alien that wants to kill everyone at the SGC. Although, that would be a good, if creepy plot.(eris86 idea not mine) I wish I had it in me, but I don't. Heh. (Not into violence.) -M.