After leaving the briefing room, Jack located the knapsack he'd packed that morning. He made sure there were several of the packages of the peanut butter and jelly cracker kits still in there that Sam liked. While she liked taking apart her food before she ate it, he'd also discovered she enjoyed the little kinds of things like Lunchables, where you got to assemble the meal first. Must be a Carter thing. He made sure her spare change of clothes was in the bag, as well as a few juice boxes, several coloring books, and crayons. The toys with smaller parts he left out. It was one thing to have the toys on base, where people here knew what to make of a bunch of toys. He didn't want too many odd things lying around on an alien planet somewhere, confusing people that didn't know what they were. Jack decided the coloring books would be enough, likely she'd be too busy to have much time for anything else.
Satisfied that he had one mini Sam survival pack, he headed back to the briefing room, only to find Jacob Carter on the floor with the kids in the corner in the middle of a game of Monopoly Jr. The man appeared to be losing rather spectacularly. Daniel seemed to have the largest pile of properties, with Teal'c in second place, while Sam was too busy playing with her marker to notice she was almost as bad off as her dad. Jack had walked in just in time to witness Jacob paying his last dollar bill to a gleeful Daniel, who seemed to own about half the board. Jacob's face was screwed up dramatically and he was behaving as if he'd be too broke to go back through the Stargate. The kids loved every minute of it and Jack sorely wished for a camera.
No sooner had he formed the thought, than he spied George Hammond standing by the door, holding the very object, a wide grin on his face and his eyes twinkling in amusement. "You should have seen them earlier," the General whispered quietly as Jack entered and paused beside him. "Daniel tried to put two ticket booths on his property and Sam nearly went ballistic citing the rules. I thought World War III was about to start. I don't know how you and they survived the last week Jack."
Jack just grinned, and moved further into the room. "Hey kids, having fun?"
"Hi Colonel Jack!" Sam jumped up and waved, accidentally upsetting the game board in the process and scattering pieces everywhere. The boys protested loudly. "Oops. Sorry," she muttered apologetically.
Jacob just started gathering up the scattered game pieces, and putting them away in the box. "It's ok sweetie, it's really time we got going anyway."
"Oh," she said, sounding disappointed. "Do we have to go Daddy? I'd rather stay and play."
"I know sweetheart, but we need to do this. Let's help Teal'c and Danny put the game away, and you can say goodbye, it's only for a little while, we'll be back in a few hours." He reached out gently rubbing her back until she nodded and started picking up pieces too. The boys had grown quiet, sensing the shift in moods.
After a short time, Sam spoke up. "Am I really going through the Stargate again?"
Jacob smiled, and Teal'c and Daniel looked mildly jealous. "Yep. That's how we get to where we're going. We'll let Anise take a look at you, and then we'll come home again before you know it."
Sam nodded, but she hadn't really brightened at the thought of her imminent gate travel. Instead she was thinking of something else. "The tests. Will they hurt?"
Jacob stopped what he was doing, noticing that the two boys had also stopped to listen as well, looking concerned. Suddenly, they weren't all that jealous of a trip through the wormhole anymore. Jack had also moved closer, and sat down at the end of the briefing room table at the seat closet to them. Jacob sent him a look, and Jack could clearly see the pain on the other man's face.
Gently, Jacob pulled Sam close to him. "Not all of them. Most of them you won't even notice. But one or two tests might hurt a little bit."
"Will you be there?" she leaned against him, feeling safe and protected.
"Are you kidding? I'll be stuck to you like glue kid. You won't be able to get rid of me." She giggled at the thought, and then sobered again.
"This is important isn't it? It might help with figuring out what Colonel Jack talked about earlier right?" She studied his face, and looked at Teal'c and Danny who were still watching quietly.
Jacob nodded, squeezing her gently. "Yes, this might help us figure out what happened, and maybe let us learn how to turn you back."
"If it doesn't work, will you still love me the way I am? Even though I used to be grown up and now I'm not?" Her voice was worried.
"Sammy, I will love you no matter what. Forever and always, remember?" He kissed her softly on the forehead.
"Ok Daddy, I'll do it. But can I have ice cream when we're all done? Please?" She got up on her knees, facing him, eyes wide and pleading, a big smile on her face.
Jacob laughed. "Rascal! We'll see about the ice cream. You need to behave yourself while you're with me, these people aren't used to little kids, so you are going to have to be on your best behavior young lady!"
"I will! I promise! Love you Daddy!" She threw her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek, then hopped up and helped the boys finish cleaning up the mess.
Jacob stood up from the floor with a groan. "Jack, I don't know how you did it last week, all alone with the three of them and no backup." Jack just shrugged.
Hammond appeared a few moments later. "We're ready to dial the gate Jacob."
The three men looked over at the three children and couldn't help but smile. The game put away, they were already working together on constructing something out of Lego. Jack had no idea what it was, but they were adorable with their heads together. He hated breaking them up, and judging by Jacob's sigh, the other man hated it even more. "Okay Sam, we gotta go, say goodbye to Danny and Teal'c."
There were groans, but Sam got up obediently and hugged first Daniel then Teal'c. She waved at them, calling "Good bye!" over her shoulder as she took her father's hand. A moment later, Jack felt her other small hand seek his out, and he smiled as they walked down the steps to the gate room.
At the bottom of the ramp, Jack stopped, and knelt down in front of Sam. He pulled the cap he'd grabbed earlier that morning out of his back pocket and placed it on her head, adjusting the brim. "This is where I say goodbye kiddo."
"You aren't coming with us?" Sam's eyes widened and she looked worried, anxiously looking back and forth between him and her father.
"No, I wish I was, but I need to stay with Danny and Teal'c, they'll be worried without you around. But you'll be ok, because you'll with your Dad the entire time." He reached out, straightening her shirt, then pulled her into a hug. A moment later her arms came around him. "You be good, and do what your Dad tells you. You'll be back here before you know it." She nodded against him and pulled away, moving to take her father's hand again.
Jack stood up, and faced Jacob, handing him the knapsack. "What's this?" the other man asked.
Shrugging, Jack replied, "Just a few things. Change of clothes, snacks, coloring books. She was up late last night and didn't get a lot of sleep; so don't be surprised if she starts to get cranky early. Oh, and make sure she sits down when she has her snack, otherwise she'll probably be leaving peanut butter and jelly all over the walls or something. Oh, and…" Jack trailed off as he realized that Jacob was grinning at him like an idiot. "What?"
"Yes mom." Jacob laughed at Jack's startled expression. "Jack, you do realize that I have done this before right?"
Jack blinked, and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Uh, right. Just checking. It's been awhile you know."
"Good, because I was starting to get worried you'd tell me to have her back by a midnight curfew. I was beginning to feel like you were actually her father and I was taking her out on a date." Jacob's smile showed his words were jest, and Jack laughed, running his fingers through his hair.
Sam chose that moment to remind them of her presence. "Colonel Jack says I can't date until I'm thirty."
Jacob smirked, sending Jack a knowing look. "Is there something you want to tell me, Jack?" he asked pointedly. "Perhaps we should have a little man to man talk when I get back?"
Sam continued as if she hadn't heard them. "I don't mind though. I don't like boys. Unless they're like Colonel Jack," she announced.
Jack choked. Jacob howled with laughter. Sam giggled, not knowing what she'd said that was so funny, but happy to be the center of it. Jack was saved from a reply as the gate started to spin, and Sam started to chatter excitedly, pointing, letting out a cheer when the wormhole engaged.
Just before Jacob started up the ramp, still holding onto Sam, he turned back to Jack and whispered out of earshot of Sam. "Don't worry Jack, I won't kill you, yet."
They were gone before Jack could formulate a reply, and Jack was left staring at the empty space where they had been, and already feeling an empty place in his heart at the absence of one bubbly little girl. With a sigh of resignation, Jack's eyes traveled up to the briefing room window, catching sight of two small figures also staring forlornly at the now empty wormhole, and knew he wasn't the only one with an empty place in his heart tonight.
A/N: I had to laugh at some of your reviews on the last chapter; I guess we share the same opinions on Anise! Shady little dodgy Tok'ra, though I think Milly Molly Mandy said it best, "Don't let evil Anise have one of the kids! She is only after Jack's body." Lol! Unfortunately, I wanted to get some Jacob/Sam time in, so the only way to do it was to leave Jack behind, and it just really wasn't conceivable for him to leave Danny and Teal'c behind (or take them with him) to go with Sam when her Dad was with her watching out for her. Jack and Jacob either compete or overshadow one another, so you have to throw one out to get the other in, because they are both a caring/nurturing father role, as well as wisecracking and humorous, though Jack to a larger extent. (Jacob would be more so if he stuck around more I think)
So obviously, I've survived my weekend. It wasn't too bad. I had to work an 8-hour dayshift on Saturday, the first day shift in 2 and a half years, and despite taking all sorts of sleep aids still couldn't sleep, so I pulled a Daniel Jackson and had two and a half cups of coffee. And lets just say, for me, I'm not a big coffee or caffeine drinker so I was highly caffinated. I could feel it. I was talking really fast. I was highly amusing to everyone that didn't usually get to work with me being daytime people, as well as the kids I cared for which were all chronic kids that all knew me too. By the time the second and a half cup wore off (and I was eyeballing the dregs in the travel mug) we'd had enough discharges that I was allowed to go home at 3pm instead of being forced to stay there until 7pm. Then I had to come in Sunday and work 7pm til 11pm, which wasn't too bad. It could have been worse because the holes were from 7am til 7pm Saturday and 7 am til 11pm Sunday, but they got someone to fill the dayshift Sunday, and had thought they'd be okay from 3pm til 7pm but started getting busy so I had to come in. So now I have 12 hours of high needs weekend overtime pay, in addition to the 20 hours of high needs night shift pay I picked up last schedule. Pay for that Air Conditioner. Oh, and the cat bed the furballs knocked down again. And the packages of foam balls they lose under the stove, fridge, treadmill and god only knows where else. The 60 lbs of cat litter, 8 lbs of food, and the butterfly on a string that they broke in two days as well as the new scratch pad… Oh…. Have I mentioned how spoiled my cats are?