Leaving the furniture store, he decided he could pick out the mattresses himself later, without the kids. So he loaded the kids in the SUV and drove them to the last stop, Target. Grabbing a cart, he grabbed Sam by the back of the shirt again before she could run off, briefly wondering how she'd survived childhood, and headed into the store. First he hit the clothing department. The boys' section was first, and while they'd been donated lots of hand me downs, there was nothing like having at least a few new pairs of clothes that were all your very own. And so he made sure each boy had gotten a few pairs of pants, jeans, shirts, and t-shirts. Next, he added socks and underwear once he'd figured out what sizes they were wearing from the things they'd successfully tried on. Warm jackets were a must too, it was October and already the air was cold. He made sure they had one semi nice outfit apiece as well too, just in case.
The boys decked out with several brand new outfits each, Sam was next. She wrinkled her nose up at anything pink, frilly, or containing bows. She seemed to prefer blues or greens. Jeans and t-shirts were easy enough. Finding something less casual proved problematic however, as she wanted nothing to do with the dresses.
"Those are for girls," she told him, her voice laced with scorn.
"But you are a girl," he answered exasperated, holding up the latest in a long line of rejected dresses. She only looked at him with an expression that clearly said he didn't get it.
Desperately, Jack searched the rack for something, anything that Sam might consent to, his eyes finally coming to rest on a soft loose denim skirt that would look cute with any of the brightly colored t-shirts she'd picked out earlier, or a blouse or shirt for a dressier look. Grabbing it, he held it up, expecting her to say no.
"Ok." He started to put the thing back when he turned to face her in disbelief.
"You'll wear it?" The skirt hovered over the cart.
"Yeah. Can we go now?" Sam was busy trying to do a tightrope walker's impersonation on the grout lines in the tiles.
Tossing the skirt into the cart before she could change her mind, Jack dragged her to the underwear aisle, Danny protesting loudly that he couldn't go in there. Jack finally told him to stay by the cart with Teal'c, leaving it where he could see it. Sam rolled her eyes, and studied the underwear, selecting a packet of pink flowery panties. Jack frowned. "I thought you didn't like pink."
Sam shrugged. "I like flowers." She dropped her choice in the cart, elbowing Daniel when he started to singsong a little tune about seeing London, France and Sammy's underpants.
Sensing an imminent fight brewing, when Daniel opened his mouth to protest, Jack hastily moved in pushing the cart and interposing his body in between the two. With one hand he had a firm hold on the back of Sam's neck, propelling her towards the girls jackets. He really didn't think that Daniel needed a set of bruises to match the set on Sam's face, and he really had no doubt who would win this battle.
A jacket picked out and in the cart, Jack spied something on a table that caught his interest. Picking it up, he grinned. Grabbing something from a nearby table, he held the two items up for the kids to see. "What do you think?" Blank stares met his. "Like what I wear at work?" Realization dawned, and exuberant nods were made. Jack found three pairs of the green cargo pant, and three black long sleeved t-shirts in the right sizes. And then he spotted another rack with long sleeved button down shirts in the right shade of olive drab green. He got three in the right sizes and added them. He really couldn't justify three sets of new shoes, but the kids new tennis shoes were all mostly black and white, although he doubted he could convince Sam to wear anything but her light up ones anyway. As he was leaving the clothing department he spotted one more thing, and added several green baseball and boonie style hats to the cart. He'd let the kids pick out which ones they preferred, since he remembered that Sam had worn both styles, while he'd never seen Daniel in the baseball kind, but as a child he might like a different sort.
Next, he took them to the bedding, and had them choose linens for their beds. Sam promptly fell in love with a star pattern, and refused to look at anything else. She also found a package of glow in the dark stars; the kind that sticks to the ceiling, and all but begged him for them. Sighing, he gave in. She was hard to resist.
Daniel and Teal'c picked out a set that had a reversible comforter, they explained it was so that they could change it if they got tired of it, or if one of them liked the one color more than the other, each could have their own. Jack couldn't argue with the choice, and the colors were a nice blue, red, and green plaid, which would work just fine with the off white color of the walls in the room just like Sam's so there was no problem. On impulse, Jack added the matching curtains and a few accessories for each of the sets without the kids noticing.
The essentials all taken care of, and the kids had been surprisingly well behaved, other than a few little squabbles. So Jack decided they deserved a little reward, and he also wanted them to have a few things they'd picked out for themselves. Besides, he felt entertainment was essential for a kid, and again, they'd been given a lot of hand me downs, but it was nicer to have brand new things that no one else had ever had before, things that you really wanted.
First, he took them up to the book department. He'd rather go to a real bookstore, but they didn't really have time for that today, so the small department would have to do. He told them to each pick out two books. Jack was mildly surprised to see them whispering and consulting over several books, showing each other things and putting others back. He wondered what they were up to, but it didn't look like trouble so he left them to it. Eventually, they came to him, each one carrying their selections. Jack checked them as they were placed in the cart, realizing what they'd been up to.
Each had one of the first three Harry Potter books; they'd obviously decided to share them. And then they had made an individual selection, which made Jack smile. Sam had chosen a book on astronomy and the planets. Daniel had a book about ancient Egypt. Teal'c had chosen a book about medieval history and weapons.
He led them to the movie section next. Sam immediately decided she had to have Lion King and Toy Story. Daniel wanted Pirates of the Caribbean and The Goonies. Teal'c couldn't decide, and Jack finally picked up Star Wars. "Here, I think you'll like these."
There was only one last stop. He gave the kids a price limit and let them loose in the toy department, hoping he wouldn't regret it. The kids wandered up and down the aisles, looking at the toys. He wondered what they made of it. Teal'c had never seen such things he was sure, and toys had changed in the years since he, Sam, and Daniel had been a child. He tried to remember what it had been like going to the toy store when he was small, but couldn't really remember, aside from things being a lot less electronic.
Curious, he watched as the three kids again congregated, their heads together. He wondered if he should be concerned about them working together so much. Although in a way, it was reassuring that they were working as a team, even though they didn't realize it anymore. It supported his growing feeling that their memories were all still there, just buried. And it helped explain why they trusted him so much. He'd have to suggest it to Dr. Fraiser and see what she thought. If their memories were there, then there might be a way to access them.
He dragged his mind back to the present situation, as the kids approached with three flat boxes, which Jack immediately recognized as Lego sets. He smiled again as he saw their selections. Sam had a space shuttle. Daniel had a pyramid. And Teal'c had some sort of fortress. Jack wondered if there were any more of the little bricks in the donated supplies. They hadn't had much time to sort through more than the essentials. He checked the price on the sets, and found them to be just under the mark he'd set. Pleased, he nodded his approval, and the kids grinned. "You should probably wait to play with those until we get to my house though, ok? Since you'd just have to take them all apart tomorrow night." The kids nodded reluctantly.
As they were leaving the toy department, Jack spotted the board games. Pausing, he picked up a few, grabbing Monopoly Jr., checkers, UNO, and a few puzzles. He had a chess set at home, and he wondered if Sam and Danny knew how to play yet. The kids just grinned, happy to be getting things they didn't have to ask for.
They checked out and loaded up the truck. Jack checked his watch. It was only 4 pm; they'd made good time, and gotten a lot done. The kids were still full of energy too, and he didn't really want to bring them back to the base yet, where they'd likely get cranky, confined to their rooms. So he decided to keep them out a bit longer. "Hey guys, want to go see a movie?"
A/N: In response to Milly Molly Mandy… Jack/Thor thread? Ack! Actually, I'd prefer that one over the Jack/Ba'al thread I saw! Agh! Now that is just wrong! (shudders) Fics too! I wonder how many folks are going to need therapy now? I think there's even a Jack/Hammond thread out there…
PS cL235… The light up sneakers don't come in adult sizes, I checked.
PPS Sorry deathstreet89, had to actually do a little thing called work. Hope your vacation is nice though.
PPPS: Yikes! And now, a personal life update. Or a Sam and Dragon update.
I came home after a nightshift from hell, after getting thrown up on and pooped on (an occupational hazard, sigh, well not literally, but there was so much of it last night, I FELT like I had…) Anyway, I got home only to find two HUGE piles of cat vomit on my desk chair mat. I was so tired and annoyed, that other than thinking they didn't normally do that, I just cleaned it up, cleaned up the cat box, and went to take a looong hot shower. I fixed breakfast, and just as I'm sitting down to eat, I notice my pill container, a weekly organizer type with compartments for each day of the week and snap on lids is on the floor instead of on the desk. I pick it up, and notice that one pill is inside, and the compartment is open. At first, I think did I miss taking one pill? And then I realize it was the compartment for Monday. Then I jump up and find two more pills on the floor, and panic sets in. I can't find the rest of the pills. I remember the vomit. Frantically, I'm digging in the garbage, and I find powdered white in there and I realize to my horror that at least one of my boys got into the pills and ate an unknown number of them and threw up.
Now I'm really panicking. "You ate my pills!" I say to them, as they run around, chasing each other and jumping on the furniture like the wild beasts the really are, and edge of desperation to my voice. I'm practically near tears now, and running my hands through still damp hair. I fix people, not cats. These are my babies. Do I wake my parents up? I don't know what to do. Call the vet! Where did I leave the number? I head for the desk, remembering the friendly vet that had neutered them, the friend of a friend, Katie something. Oh wait I filed that number away. I'm digging through the file box, the cats watching me curiously. I remember I need the phone. We head out to get the phone, file box and all. I've saved all their records, except we went to more than one vet before I found the one I liked. Finally I find the right number. It rings, seems like it keeps ringing, are they open, its almost ten am, they should be open. They pick up.
"Can you hold?" says the voice on the line.
"Uh," I say. I'm already on hold. Cursing, I pace the room, cats watching me while they try and kill each other. Is that maybe what happened last night? One of them egged the other on? More food and attention for the survivor.
It seems like forever before someone picks up again, and I explain that I came home from work this morning and found that my pills had been opened and some were now missing, and that they had thrown up and there were pills in the vomit. And then I'm on hold again. This time, when someone picks up, I'm talking to a vet, and she sounds very nice, and she's already gotten a heads up and she asks all the right questions in a nice calm voice.
Since I wasn't home, I didn't know which cat it was that ate the pills, though I have my suspicions it was Dragon. I told her that I thought they might have taken some ibuprofen, a seizure med I take for migraines, and a multivitamin. Thankfully, they missed the heart pills (especially the extended release one which was the one sitting in the container!) But the vet said the only thing I could do was watch them both for any signs of being sick or not feeling well. That if one of them should throw up again, or be lethargic, or just generally look unwell to bring him in for an exam and blood work, but that it was a good sign that he had thrown up the pills and thrown up again, and that both cats were running around and acting normal.
I thanked her, and hung up, and then wondered how I was supposed to tell if a cat was lethargic.
My parents and I spent the day waking the cats up periodically asking them if they were ok and generally annoying them. It's not every day you come home to find that your cat has tried to commit suicide by multiple drug ingestion. Or commit murder. I'm still not sure which one it was.
Both cats are doing well this evening, happy, active, and affectionate as far as I can tell. I've found a new place to put my pills.