Chapter Six

The four of us draw a surprising lack of curious stares as we parade back to the control room. We catch a break in that General Hammond is nowhere in sight. I talk to the technicians, getting the specifics of the problem, hearing the list of fixes already attempted, and, as far as I'm concerned, doing a fairly excellent job of not revealing exactly how charmed I am by Jack, who is drifting off to sleep with his head on my shoulder and his thumb in his mouth. It's damn near the most adorable thing I've ever seen. I want to stare at him and muse over just how sweet his is, but instead, I'm forced to work.

I take my seat, arranging Jack so that his back is supported by the edge of the desk, therefore freeing my hands to type. I dispatch all the personnel in the room to watch each entrance so that I might have time to escape if the general shows up.

Jack is amazingly well-behaved - amazing not just because he's a bored three year old, but because he's Jack and has never suffered boredom quietly. He takes a nap for the first half hour and then he amuses himself by staring at me while I type. I'm heartened by that steadfast stare since I'm quite familiar with getting that look from him and I always imagined it was because he wasn't really listening to me. Now I know he's just somehow fascinated by me. Just like I'm fascinated by him - big Jack or little Jack, I swear, I could stare at either of them for days without blinking. When Jack finally starts moving around, Daniel sits beside me, attempting to occupy Jack by making fish faces. Jack is not amused. He looks at me, chin trembling and tears forming. I shush him.

"Daniel, please, leave well enough alone." I know Daniel means well, but I don't want Jack to get too overwhelmed. I bounce my knees, trying to distract Jack. "Hey, it's ok, buddy." Jack glances between me and Daniel as though he's trying to determine if I'm telling the truth. His face crumbles. Daniel looks crushed.

Teal'c sits down on the other side of me, holding a forkful of cake out to Jack. "I will give you cake in exchange for your cooperation, young O'Neill."

Apparently cake really does cute all ails, including shyness. Jack leans over and eats the cake off the fork in Teal'c's hand. "Yummy."

Teal'c is once again quite pleased with himself. "Now you must be silent as you have accepted my proposition."

I don't think Jack actually understands Teal'c words, but he watches him solemnly and remains quiet nonetheless. I turn back to the computer, interrupted momentarily by Jack turning around in my lap. He rests his tiny, chubby hands on the wrist rest between mine, but that's all. He's quiet and behaving for the moment, so I let him sit there, occasionally pausing while he plays with my watch.

Lulled by his mature behavior, Teal'c sets the cake down on the desk and folds his hands in his lap. Daniel's still on the opposite side of me pouting because little Jack is afraid of him. I think it might be the glasses. I'm pretty absorbed in my work. Now, I'm not quite sure what happened to the computer, but it seems that a fairly large portion of data has been either overwritten or erased completely. I'm trying to play down the problem because if I draw attention to the fact that I'm not sure I can fix it, then the techs will all start running around in a tizzy blaming each other for allowing a virus to infect the base mainframe and then General Hammond will arrive to see why all the techs are in a tizzy and he'll discover me with my three year old CO on my lap and a busted computer system and then I'll get in trouble over two somethings that are not my fault.

Ok, true, the three year old something is my fault, but I'm not admitting it unless Jack's career is in serious jeopardy because it's going to be bad enough that he knows, which he will since he knew about the hot sauce he sent me to find, and he'll happily give me hell over it for years to come.

I think I'm doing a particularly fabulous job of multitasking at this moment - reprogramming the computer, entertaining Jack, and listening intently for telltale signs that the boss is coming to court martial me. Jack is also doing a particularly fabulous job of behaving. Of course, he has always liked to sit with me while I work provided I don't get too excited about what I'm working on and start telling him about it.

I curse under my breath when I realize the computer is absolutely not fixable. Jack looks back at me with his eyes wide as saucers and I'm forced to acknowledge that if I uttered the same string of expletives in his presence normally, I would undoubtedly get the same wide-eyed stare. Jack doesn't think I know those sorts of words. Well, I guess he does now.

As for the computer - it's gone. Far too much data, far too many important programs. The whole damn system is corrupted as far as I can tell, and my knowledge of this system is pretty damn far. We're going to have to revert to backups which is going to upset the general because he always thinks backups mean an impending alien invasion rather than his precious staff getting bored and screwing around with things they shouldn't have touched in the first place. I've found more damage is usually done by people trying to correct something they messed up than the original mistake. I don't relish the idea of telling him, so I keep praying my third attempts will magically fix everything left unfixed by my first two.

And then my ears prick at the sound of footfalls on the stairs. So much for my early warning tech system. I don't even have to look to know it's the general. I can tell by the dead silence. I think everyone is holding their breath with me. Moved by loyalty, and perhaps a bit by fear, Daniel and Teal'c jump to their feet and stand behind me. It's too late to move Jack out of sight so they're trying to block the general's view. I wince as I look up and see the general's reflection in the glass. I can see him perfectly.

Which means he can see me.

Which means he can see Jack.

I immediately comprehend that I've disobeyed an order, indirect as it may have been in coming through Daniel. I hope he'll offer me retirement in lieu of a court martial. At least that will settle the issue of what Jack and I are going to do about our budding relationship - I don't mean the caretaker-child one - and our careers. Even so, I'm still not looking forward to getting yelled at.

The general's face is almost frightening, his eyes narrowed and his lips pressed into a thin line. The techs have scattered. Daniel and Teal'c have even backed off. They haven't abandoned me completely, but they are hovering by the door, prepared to run for their lives.

I jump to my feet, barely even noticing the almost instinctive way I hold Jack tight through the abrupt move. He clings to me in fear, as always reading my emotions and reacting in kind. "Sir, the colonel has not impacted my ability to work on the computer system at all."

The general looks at the computer and then back at me. "Are you telling me that was your idea?"

I feel my stomach drop to my feet as I slowly turn back to the computer. There's the computer. There's the keyboard. There are the odd flashing messages on the screen that I somehow missed while I was looking at the general. There's the plate of cake smashed upside down on the keyboard. I think my heart just stopped.