The day dawned bright and early, looking like a clear crisp cloudless autumn day when Jack dropped the kids off at school, only an occasional sniffle or cough from Sam and Daniel to show how the two had spent their weekend. Jack spent the day at work shuffling through the usual Monday paperwork, and sent a batch of recruits through a series of training exercises that would leave them either cursing his name behind his back, or thanking him one day when they ran into similar scenarios.
He picked the kids up right on time, grinning as Sam skipped towards him, almost at her normal energetic level. Teal'c came not long after at his usual controlled pace, talking with a group of boys his age who waved at him before heading in a different direction. Jack couldn't resist a smile at the evidence that suggested Teal'c was making friends.
Jack wondered where Daniel was, when he finally spotted the boy, near the end of the rush of students, tiredly trudging his way towards them. He shrugged in response to Jack's greeting, not even protesting when Jack messed up his hair like he usually did. Jack frowned as the boy wordlessly plopped into the back seat of the SUV, smothering a cough.
The ride was quieter than normal, as Sam and Teal'c picked up on his concern, and Daniel's silence was interrupted by an occasional deep cough. Sam coughed some too, and was a little on the subdued side, but her behavior seemed more natural. There was something more concerning about Daniel, but Jack just didn't know what, so decided to watch the boy closely tonight and see if maybe he just needed a little nap or some quiet time to come around.
But Daniel didn't perk up. He came in and dropped onto the couch looking exhausted, and shunned the offered snack, which both Sam and Teal'c ate. He had dark circles under his eyes and his skin was paler than normal. He still coughed, but wasn't running a fever, so Jack didn't think he had a secondary infection, at least not yet. But other than the paleness and tiredness, Jack didn't really have anything more to go on. He made up his mind to call Janet in the morning if Daniel didn't show any signs of improvement, and was unsurprised when Daniel headed to bed early after picking at most of his dinner.
Sam went to bed not too long after Daniel, looking tired, but not exhausted in the way Daniel had. He was fairly certain she'd be right as rain in the morning. Teal'c hesitated before heading to bed himself, pausing in the doorway. "Colonel O'Neill," he started, "Is this more of the same cold that plagued Daniel and Samantha the last two days?" His carefully schooled features showed a hint of worry.
Jack sighed. "I'm not sure Teal'c, we'll just have to keep an eye on him tonight ok? If he doesn't get better we'll go see what Doctor Janet thinks." Jack knew immediately that Teal'c's concern, like his own, was for Daniel now.
Teal'c nodded, accepting the response. "I will be most vigilant tonight, Colonel O'Neill."
Jack smiled, and patted the youngster on his shoulder, and headed off to check the doors were locked while Teal'c went to bed.
Half an hour later, Jack headed to bed, checking on the kids, finding Sam and Teal'c fast asleep. Daniel too was sleeping, but he was uncharacteristically curled up around his pillow. Even in sleep, he still looked exhausted, and there was a slight sound to the child's breathing, almost a wheeze, and Jack thought it might be from the congestion. He thought about giving the boy some decongestant, but decided against it, not wanting to wake the boy since he was finally sleeping.
Still, that little sound nagged at him, and he slept fitfully and lightly. Therefore, he was instantly awake when a small, strong hand shook him, and a young voice called to him urgently. "Colonel O'Neill, you must awaken and come quickly, Daniel is having difficulty breathing."
A/N: Muhahahah! Yes, yet another evil cliffhanger from the terrible iamdragonrider. (smirks)
Oh, as always, thanks for your reviews, though I suspect this time I'm getting a bunch of grumpy rantings! (smirks again)
And as for the cats, (thank you deathstreet for asking about them!) they're insane. And Sam is too clever for his own good, climbing my bookshelf and knocking all sorts of things off it in an effort to reach the fuzzy gloves I bought and cat a toy (a mousie on a string attached to a rod) that he particularly likes. Needless to say, the gloves now reside in the car (and I told him so as he kept looking) and the toy is on top of the refrigerator. It seems my plan of making sure he wasn't in the room when I put things up on the shelf didn't work. He really is too darn clever.