"Andrew, wake up…"
Andrew Stephens groaned, and rolled over, covering his head with his pillow.
His mother wasn't impressed. She shook him again.
"Andrew, wake up, son."
"Mom… it's Saturday."
"It's Thursday," she corrected him. "Now wake up. Jack's here."
The head came out from under the pillow immediately.
"Jack O'Neill?"
"How many other Jacks do you know?"
"Jack Murphy, Jack Antwon, John Ande-"
"Smart ass. Get out of bed. He wants to see you."
She tousled his hair before he could pull his head back, something she wasn't going to be able to do too much longer – and wouldn't have been able to do then if not for the fact that he was more or less pinned to his bed by his sheets.
"I'll be right there."
Miyra Stephens headed back towards the living room where she'd left Jack, who was being kept company by Micah, Andrew's younger cousin, and by Shadow, who was romping cheerfully with Jaffer, chasing him around the living room and then reminding him that she wasn't going to put up with too much rough play when she managed to catch him and he tried to bowl her over. Since she was just as big as he was and not at all afraid to chastise him, Jaffer behaved himself.
"He said he'd be right down, Jack."
"Thanks, Miyra."
"How come Ian didn't come, Jack?" Micah asked.
Micah liked Jack, but Ian was his hero.
"He's busy," Jack told the boy. "But he said to say hi. So, hi."
The little boy beamed.
"Hi!"
Jack smiled. He'd met Shawn when he was close to this age, and couldn't wait to see Jake the same age, wondering if he'd be just as bubbly.
"I'll pass that on to him."
Ian, of course, didn't have a clue Jack was coming to get Andrew – the last he'd seen Ian and Shawn were poring over a computer terminal, studying what the Asgard had left for Ian to look over – but Jack didn't feel at all guilty telling Micah Ian had said hi, since Ian actually seemed to like the little boy. Well, he tolerated him, at any rate, and that wasn't so bad.
"Are you sure you don't want a cup of coffee, Jack?" Miyra asked.
He nodded.
"I'd better not. Thanks, though."
He'd already told Miyra that he was there to borrow Andrew for the day – and made sure she didn't have any chores lined up for him that she couldn't do without having done that moment. Miyra, of course, was more than willing to let Jack borrow her son – or anything else, for that matter. She hadn't – and never would – forget that Jack and Teal'c had saved Andrew's life. If he needed Andrew, she was more than willing to wait another day or two to get the lawn mowed.
They sat and discussed the baby and Sam while they waited for Andrew, but it really didn't take too long for the boy to make an appearance – and Miyra hadn't expected it to. He was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, with his sneakers in his hand and his stocking feet making no noise as he entered the room.
"Hey, Jack."
He dropped to greet Jaffer who came rushing over for attention, followed by Shadow who bit her son's ear to remind him that Andrew belonged to her and was just being friendly with him.
"Hi, Andrew. Sorry to wake you up."
"I was up."
Miyra snorted, and Jack smiled.
"Got a little time today? I need some help with a project."
Andrew grinned.
"Sure. What?"
Jack glanced at Micah, who was listening intently.
"Secret, classified stuff that little ears can't hear about…"
Micah groaned.
"Jack…"
He smiled.
"Just some stuff around the base."
"Sure."
Andrew loved going to the SGC. There was always something cool about being one of the few kids allowed into the top secret facility – and he really enjoyed having all the military types around with their guns and serious faces. He was going to be one of them, some day.
"Good." Jack looked at Miyra as he stood up. "We'll have him back to you as soon as possible."
She shrugged.
"There's no rush."
He called to Jaffer, who came running, and headed for the door with Andrew right behind him, stomping his feet into his shoes.
OOOOOOOOOOO
"So what are we going to be doing?" Andrew asked once they were in the truck and on their way.
"I'm not going to be doing anything," Jack told him. "You're going to be helping Ian and Shawn look through some Asgard research."
"Really?"
Jack nodded, and as they drove to the SGC, he caught Andrew up on what he'd missed – except for the part about Loki abducting Ian and almost getting the two of them killed. That wasn't really necessary to tell, and while Jack knew Andrew liked Thor, Ian was more or less Andrew's mentor and the young man liked and looked up to him. He already had Ian pissed at the Asgard, he didn't need to add Andrew to that mix, as well.
OOOOOOOOOOO
"Well, you two look like shit…"
Ian and Shawn both looked up when Andrew walked into the little lab, and Andrew grinned, a little excited to finally be working on what the Asgard had been beating around the bush about for the last several years.
"We've been up all night," Ian drawled. "What's your excuse?"
Jack snorted, amused.
It was true Shawn looked tired, but Ian really didn't. He looked focused, nothing more.
"You need anything?" Jack asked, while there was a break in what they were doing.
Ian shook his head. He still had plenty of Dew, and now that Andrew was here, he could catch up on what they were doing and take over for Shawn who needed a break.
"I'm good, thanks."
Knowing that Sam was fairly single-minded when it came to research, Jack wasn't surprised to find Ian was the same way when he was tackling a problem. Even when it was a problem he hadn't wanted dumped in his lap.
"I'll be in my office…"
Ian nodded, while Andrew walked over and sat down beside Shawn, who started telling him what they were working on just then and getting him up to speed.
Jack gave them another moment to let him know if they needed anything, realized that they had already forgotten he was in the room, and shrugged and left. If they needed something, they could call.
