Disclaimer: 'Stargate SG1' and all the characters associated with the show belong to someone who isn't me. As I doubt that the owners would be willing to trade their rights for some magic beans that aren't in any way magical, this is not going to change at any point in the foreseeable future.

Chapter Twelve

The next morning

"Who's supposed to be watching Carter this morning?" Jack asked, entering Daniel's office to find him and Teal'c at work, with no sign of little Sam.

"Sam's with General Hammond." Daniel responded. "She was a bit upset when she woke up and Jacob was gone." He added, his voice soft with sympathy. "Hammond said that she could stay with him for the morning."

"I don't suppose she grew a foot or so overnight?" Jack queried, without holding out hope for a positive response.

"She did not." Teal'c told him flatly.

"You know," Jack brightened. "There could be an upside to this. Halloween is just a few days away. If Carter stays a kid until then, we could make a killing in the trick or treating department."

"You want to use Sam to get you free candy?"

"Not many people hand out candy when I dress up." Jack joked. "Carter will probably have better luck."

"It's not a bad idea." Daniel acknowledged. "And Cassie would probably love to come. This will probably be the last year for her."

At thirteen, the young girl was constantly declaring herself 'too old' for the pursuits that had delighted her when she had first come to Earth.

"We will need to procure a costume, will we not?" Teal'c inquired practically.

"Do you think that we'd be able to find an astronaut's outfit?" Daniel asked. "Or a tiny set of dress blues?"

"The real candy's in cute." Jack said decidedly. "I say we find a princess costume, or a fairy. Maybe a bunny."

"Sam will look cute whatever we dress her in."

"True." Jack acknowledged. "And it'll be something for the photo albums."

"You realize that she is going to kill us when we show her those." Daniel pointed out. "She's going to be so embarrassed."

"Do I have to remind you about Carter getting your name called over the intercom?" Jack asked pointedly. "Or the time she got me a forty-five minute time out? Or when Teal'c… well, she hasn't really done anything to Teal'c." He acknowledged.

The Jaffa inclined his head, looking more than a little smug.

"Yet." Daniel added ominously.

Knocking on the door, Jack waited a moment before pushing it open and entering.

The bald general he had expected to find was conspicuously absent and a tiny blonde, whose head was barely visible over the desk, occupied his chair.

"Hi, Colonel." Sam greeted him cheerfully before frowning reprovingly. "You're supposed to salute."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh." She nodded earnestly. "Uncle George had to go out for a little while. He said that I'm in charge until he gets back."

"In that case," Jack bit back a laugh, not wanting to hurt her feelings. Schooling his face into an appropriately sober expression, he gave her a perfect salute. "Colonel O'Neill reporting, ma'am."

"That's better." She nodded approvingly. "Good morning, Colonel." She knelt on the chair so that she could see over the top of the desk. "What can I do for you?"

Jack glanced down at the small bundle of evaluation forms under his arm, trying to come up with a delicate way to explain that this was one thing that only General Hammond could help with.

He was saved from answering when the phone rang.

The red one.

"I'll get it!" Before he could intercept her, Sam snatched up the receiver. "Hello."

Jack grimaced slightly, well able to guess who was on the other end of the line, despite the fact that he could only hear Sam's end of the conversation.

"What's your name?… I'm Sam… Four and a half. How old are you?… Uncle George isn't here right now. I'm in charge until he gets back." The little girl frowned at the request the voice on the other end of the line made. "You want to talk to a grown up?" She sounded doubtful, as well as put out at this slight to her authority. "Colonel O'Neill is here. Is he grown up enough?… Okay, I guess." She held out the phone to Jack, who eyed it as though it were a snake ready to bite. "He wants to talk to you."

Inwardly bemoaning the fact that his commanding officer couldn't have waited another ten minutes to take a bathroom break, Jack reluctantly took the phone. "Hello, Mr President… no, this isn't a joke it's… well, it's a long story."

As luck would have it, General Hammond chose that exact moment to return to his office.

Jack thrust the phone into his hand. "The President needs to talk to you." He said, laying the forms on his desk. "I'll come back later to talk about these." His commanding officer nodded and Jack hurried out of the office as fast as dignity would allow.

Once the President had been assured that this was not a joke and that Captain Carter's condition was temporary and would likely be reversed any day now, Hammond hung up the phone, sighing before he looked down at the child usurping his chair.

"I can't leave this office for five minutes, can I?"

She shook her head solemnly. "I don't think so."

Lunchtime

"Why is it that you're getting decent food?" Jack demanded of little Sam, glancing at the plate of pasta that the commissary server had just placed in front of her, comparing it with the unidentifiable brown mixture the menu described as stew.

"I don't like the stuff you're eating." The little girl explained disarmingly.

"I don't like it either." He complained. "But they didn't fix up anything special for me."

"Or for me." Daniel seconded.

"I guess you have to get shrunk to get special treatment around here."

"The commissary staff often prepared alternative meals for Captain Carter while she was an adult." Teal'c said calmly.

"She's got them all wrapped around her little finger, I tell you." Jack grumbled.

"Colonel O'Neill." Sam, her face liberally coated with sauce, gave him an appealing look. "Can I have some juice please?"

"Sure thing." He hopped up and headed off to procure the requested drink.

Janet just smiled, dabbing sauce away from Sam's mouth with a paper napkin.

The commissary workers weren't the only ones wrapped around Sam Carter's little finger.

TBC.

Author's Note: That's all for now. There are two courses of action I have in mind for the story; I can turn Sam back into an adult next chapter or the one after, or I can show another couple of Sam's adventures first. Please review, and let me know which you would prefer, and if there is anything special you would like to see.