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.

Author's Note: Since this is the last chapter with little Sam, I thought I'd make it a long one.

Chapter Fourteen

Two days later

"What time do you think we should have Sam get dressed up at?" Daniel enquired practically as he helped Jack hang orange and black streamers in their small teammate's quarters – the other man was almost childlike in his determination to celebrate the holiday to its fullest.

"Not until much later." Jack told him decisively. "Or her costume will be ruined before we can bring her anywhere."

"Good point." Daniel frowned. "You know, given the objections Sam had to the princess dress, I'm kind of surprised that she agreed to this one. It's just as dressy, maybe even more so."

"Who can understand the way a little kid's mind works?" Jack asked wisely.

"True." Daniel agreed. "Is Cassie coming here, or are we going to meet her at Janet's house?"

"At the Doc's place. She's on call tonight, and Cass has a slumber party with some friends, but they'll meet up with us before then to trick or treat. Teal'c is hunting for the biggest candy bags he can find as we speak."

"Is Sam with him? Where is she?" He asked, when Jack shook his head.

"Carter wanted to try her hand at cooking, so Airman Something-Or-Another said that he'd keep a close eye on her. I figured that there wasn't any harm in letting her – it's not like she can possibly make the menu worse."

"Fair enough."

Airman Shaughnessy had been very helpful and accommodating, finding an old apron for her to wear and cutting it down so that she could walk without tripping as well as advising her on the recipe, collecting the ingredients and, if truth be told, doing the lion's share of the work involved in her culinary plans.

Halloween wouldn't have been Halloween without the special shaped cookies her Mommy had once shown her how to make.

Finding appropriately shaped cookie cutters had proven problematic, but another of the commissary staff had gone on a rapid shopping trip to obtain the required items.

Sam frowned in concentration as she carefully measured out the chocolate chips that were to be added to the cookie dough, chewing her lower lip thoughtfully when she saw how small a pile the weight given in the recipe translated to.

It couldn't possibly be right.

Deciding that there must have been a mistake, she continued adding chocolate chips until the pile had just about doubled in size and then, having decided that it would be sufficient, liberated another handful of chocolate chips from the bag for herself.

When Airman Shaughnessy handed her a wooden spoon to let her finish mixing the cookie dough, Sam proceeded to stir it thoroughly, with frequent pauses to test the mixture, just to make sure that it was perfect.

Teal'c appeared in the kitchen just moments after she had decided that the cookie dough tasted as good as it was ever going to and he was conscripted into helping roll out the dough so that cat, pumpkin, bat and witch's hat shaped cookies could be cut from it.

Needless to say, it proved to be rather a messy business.

The first batch of freshly baked cookies were just out of the oven and lined up on a wire rack when Jack appeared, as if drawn by the presence of a dessert.

Little Sam beamed up at him when she saw him, offering a cookie that had been shaped more or less like a bat before baking but that had spread since then. "Want one?"

"Thanks." Jack accepted the cookie, not without some trepidation, grinning in amusement as he surveyed a now sticky, floury little girl with a ring of chocolate around her mouth. "Did you volunteer to be the rolling pin?" When this query flew over her head, he chuckled. "I think that we'll need to find somebody to give you a bath, young lady."

"Before I eat cookies?" She asked, clearly dismayed.

"After cookies, obviously." Jack's tone indicated that he would have considered any other course of action to be utterly unreasonable.

"Okay." Sam cheered up at this, offering cookies to Teal'c and everybody else in the kitchen before taking one for herself.

"Thank you, Samantha." Teal'c said gravely as he accepted the cookie and bit into it.

Emboldened by his friend's example, Jack sampled his own cookie. "Hey, this is actually pretty good – not that I would have expected anything else." He added hastily, for fear of hurting little Sam's feelings.

"Can I bring some up to Uncle George?" Sam asked eagerly.

Jack glanced at the small, messy figure standing before him, mentally picturing what General Hammond would have to say if he saw his goddaughter in her current state. "Maybe that's something that should wait until after you've had a bath."

Later

Sam had refused any assistance, insisting that she was able to change into her costume by herself, something that all three of the men of SG-1 were duly grateful for.

The white dress she had managed, not without a few difficulties, to wriggle into was long, reaching almost to her ankles, with silver glitter liberally adorning the bodice and tulle skirt, her hair had been released from its pigtails and hung in soft waves. Daniel helped her adjust the soft, feathered wings that had endeared the costume to her on sight.

"I'm ready." She announced cheerfully as soon as her wings had been arranged to her satisfaction.

"Not quite." Jack told her, barely suppressing a grin at the thought that this adorable little girl had grown up to be one of the most intelligent people on the planet. He produced a narrow headband, above which a gleaming circle bobbed. Once the halo had been donned, he nodded in satisfaction. "Now you're ready."

"Yes, sir." Her salute might have left something to be desired but the overall effect was certainly charming.

A chuckle from Daniel let Jack know that they were being filmed.

"Anyone know where Teal'c is?" Jack asked when their friend did not appear.

"No idea."

"He's putting on his costume." Sam told him.

"His costume?"

"Uh-huh. Poor Teal'c told me that he never went trick or treating when he was little so I told him that he should get dressed up and go this year." She said innocently.

"That was a very nice thought." Jack told her gravely. He cast Daniel a warning glare, gesturing towards the camcorder. "You'd better have the batteries on that thing fully charged." He warned. He had made certain to buy film for his camera, so he could be sure that he would have plenty of evidence once Carter had returned to normal.

"I am ready, O'Neill." A deep voice announced from the doorway.

Jack, Daniel and little Sam turned to see Teal'c standing before them, clad in a set of borrowed dress blues that looked to be a little too short for him, a proud smile on his face.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Jack asked at last, once the power of speech returned to him.

Teal'c gave him a half puzzled, half offended look, as though the answer to his question should have been perfectly obvious. "General Hammond."

"She's so cute!" Cassie enthused, bending down to hug Sam, who was currently more than a foot shorter than she was.

"Nice choice for a costume." Janet remarked, receiving a cherubic smile from Sam and a grin and a mock bow from Jack.

"What of my costume, Doctor Fraiser?" Teal'c enquired seriously.

"Perfect."

"It's really great, Teal'c." Cassie seconded her mother. She was dressed as a sorceress – not a witch, she had admonished sternly – in flowing black robes. After much badgering, she had been able to persuade her mother to allow her to put red and black streaks in her hair for the night.

"Does everybody have their candy bags?" Jack demanded, pacing in front of the costumed trio like a drill sergeant inspecting his troops.

"Does this count?" Cassie asked, holding out a plastic, pumpkin shaped container.

Jack shook his head sorrowfully. "The young have no respect for tradition these days… and T, that's a garbage bag."

Teal'c clutched the huge black plastic sack protectively. "It is a most efficient storage vessel, O'Neill. It will hold a great deal of candy."

"Fair enough." Jack glanced down at little Sam, whose bag was already laden with goodies presented to her by various SGC personnel. "Maybe I should carry that, Sam. With any luck, it'll be pretty heavy soon."

After a few seconds consideration, Sam accepted his chivalrous offer. "Thank you, Colonel."

"You'd better keep a close eye on him, Sam." Daniel cautioned her good-naturedly. "Or he'll eat all of your candy."

"Would I do something like that? Carter knows that she can trust me, don't you?"

"Yes."

"See?" Jack said triumphantly, offering his hand to Sam and holding her candy bag in his other hand. "All right, campers, time to move out."

Two and a half hours later

"What a haul!" Jack exclaimed in satisfaction as he carried the now very heavy bag through the corridors of the SGC to Sam's quarters, laying it down on the bed.

The angel costume had certainly been a good choice. Little Sam had so charmed the people answering their doors that nearly everybody had given her extra.

Teal'c had drawn more than a few funny looks but once Sam had explained the reason he was dressed up - thankfully not including the fact that he was an alien - candy and chocolate bars were dropped into his own bag.

Sam had been rather put out that she wasn't allowed dig into her candy straight away, but both Jack and Janet had insisted on checking her and Cassie's stashes meticulously before they could eat anything, while Daniel helped Teal'c sort through his.

As soon as her candy had been cleared, she liberated a fistful for immediate consumption and another to eat on the journey back to the SGC.

"Did you have fun?" Daniel asked, watching her lick chocolate off her sticky fingers. She had thankfully exchanged her costume for her pyjamas, or it would have been destroyed.

She nodded emphatically, offering him a slightly melted candy bar. "Want one?"

"Thanks." He accepted the proffered bar with a grin. He looked across at Jack. "Should we maybe put the C-A-N-D-Y away until tomorrow?" He glanced down at Sam, seeing the reproachful look she was giving him. "You can spell that, can't you?"

"Yes." She sounded betrayed.

"I suppose a little more can't hurt." Daniel conceded, half-afraid that she would start to cry.

"Halloween only comes once a year, after all." Jack agreed. He looked at Teal'c, who was sorting through the DVDs stacked next to the television. "Can I swipe some of your candy, big guy?"

Teal'c considered for a moment before nodding slowly. "You may."

Given that Sam's current age made just about every horror movie a no-no, they eventually decided on watching the Halloween specials of 'The Simpsons'.

By the end of the third episode, little Sam was very pale.

"Colonel?" She tugged on the sleeve of Jack's shirt.

"What's wrong?" He asked, concerned.

"I don't feel good." The words had scarcely been spoken when she threw up all over the couch.

"Oh, boy." Jack rubbed her back, searching in vain for a basin of some kind. "It's okay, kiddo." He said kindly. Daniel silently passed him an empty paper bag and he handed it to Sam, waiting until her vomiting had temporarily stopped before lifting her up. "Let's get you down to Doc Fraiser."

Daniel and Teal'c followed him out of the room.

Jack grimaced slightly.

Janet wasn't going to be happy with them.

Infirmary

"It's okay, Sam, don't worry." Janet soothed as her small patient threw up into the basin provided. "Better out than in, after all."

"I feel yucky." Sam complained as soon as her vomiting had subsided somewhat.

"I know." Janet smoothed the hair back from the face. She placed an electronic thermometer in her ear. "You don't have a fever." She remarked. "I think it's just a simple case of too much candy."

"But I didn't have a lot." Sam objected.

Janet, knowing that a child's definition of 'a lot' could be very different to an adult's, didn't say any more.

The men of SG-1 did not escape so lightly.

"How much sugar did you let her have?" She demanded the second they were out of Sam's earshot.

Jack wondered how her tone could possibly shift so quickly from kind and gentle when she was comforting Sam to angry and disappointed when she addressed them.

"I'm not really sure." Daniel said apologetically.

"She had so much to start that it's hard to tell how much is gone." Jack seconded. Though he was considerably taller than she was, and of a higher rank, Janet Fraiser could certainly intimidate him if she so chose.

"I see." Janet looked across at Teal'c, who had wisely stayed out of the line of fire. "Could you bring me Sam's trick or treating bag, please?"

"Of course, Doctor Fraiser." Teal'c bowed slightly and left the room, returning shortly afterwards with Sam's bag in tow.

"Thank you." Janet locked it into one of the supply cupboards. "When Sam is feeling better she can have it a little at a time." She explained.

None of them dared argue.

Once Sam's stomach had settled, Janet gave her a shot to prevent any further vomiting and, once the tears had subsided, led her off to the small bathroom attached to the infirmary to clean her up and help her change out of her pyjamas and into a black T-shirt Teal'c had brought for her.

"Maybe you should stay in the infirmary for the night?" Janet suggested gently.

"I don't want to." Sam countered immediately, pouting. "I want to go back to my room."

"It can get pretty noisy in here." Jack pointed out reasonably. "We'll keep an eye on her, won't we?" He appealed to Teal'c and Daniel, who nodded.

He was right about the noise levels of the infirmary, and Janet knew that she would not be far away if Sam suffered a relapse, so she nodded her assent.

"Take care of her." She cautioned sternly, handing Daniel a clean basin. "And if there are any problems, call me straight away, understood?"

Hastily agreeing to this, Jack scooped Sam up into his arms and hastened out of the infirmary before Janet could decide that they all needed extra booster vaccinations.

Little Sam clutched at his shirt as soon as he tucked her in. "Don't go."

"I'm just going to be on the couch."

"No, stay here." She insited, reaching out a hand to Daniel and Teal'c to get them to come over.

"Okay, okay." Jack agreed, not wanting to upset her. He sat on the bed next to her, gesturing for Daniel to do the same while Teal'c sat cross-legged on the floor next to the bed, ready to begin kel'no'reem.

Sam settled down, but did not release her grip on his shirt.

When Janet came to check on them an hour or so later, Teal'c was meditating, Sam was out for the count and Jack and Daniel were sleeping peacefully on top of the covers on either side of her.

Smiling slightly, she leaned over Daniel to check Sam's forehead for signs of fever and, finding none, quietly stole out of the room, switching off the light as she left.

Dawn

The first thing Sam was aware of when she awoke was that she was squashed into a very small space and that pins and needles were shooting through her body.

The second thing she noticed was that every limb she possessed was aching, and that her head was throbbing.

The third thing she noticed was that she had a death grip on her CO's shirt and that she was sandwiched between him and Daniel.

When she moved to extricate herself, poor Daniel was sent flying off the bed, the resulting thud rousing both Jack and Teal'c as well as the fallen Daniel, who were all rendered momentarily speechless by the fact that Sam was about twenty-five years older than she had been when she went to bed.

Realizing that she was only wearing a t-shirt, Sam kept the sheets tucked firmly around her.

"Guys? What's going on?"

TBC.

Author's Note: Just the epilogue to go now. I hope to have that posted soon. In the meantime, reviews are, as always, verywelcome.