Ch 5

Daniel, it turned out, was perfectly happy to perch on Sam's lap during the meeting that was about him but did not concern him in the least, scribbling on her notebook.

The meeting was a waste of time anyway, at least in Jack's opinion. All everybody did was say what they already knew: Fraiser confirmed the boy was Daniel. None of the other scientists or linguists had been able to get the trunk open, much less decipher the markings on the outside (which were some unknown language in microscopic detail, apparently). Hammond ordered SG-1 on stand-down until further notice, and put them in charge of keeping Danny fed, watered, clean, and relatively happy.

Sam couldn't believe it when he said, "On that note, Major, he seems most comfortable with you, so I'd like you to spend as much time with him as possible."

"But sir, don't you think I can help him a lot more if I figure out that trunk?" Sam asked.

Hammond looked at her carefully, weighing his choices. He didn't want Carter to think he was putting her in charge of Daniel because she was a woman… it was just that Daniel seemed so much more comfortable with her. While O'Neill clearly had more experience caring for a small boy, and was therefore more comfortable than Carter, Danny was clearly more comfortable with Sam, and that was the most important thing, in General Hammond's opinion.

"Half days in the lab, Major," Hammond finally decided.

"Thank you, sir," Jack interrupted, before his 2IC could raise any further objections.

"In the meantime, I'm putting you in the VIP suite. As things arrive for him, they'll be taken there. I trust you to work out the details of his care between yourselves. See me if you have any problems. Dismissed, people."

Everyone left until only SG-1 remained in the room. "Well, I guess that settles that," Jack said.

Daniel looked up from the paper he was scribbling on, apparently only noticing just now that the room had emptied.

"Sir, I'd like to get to the lab, so…"

"You think he'll go with me? Alone?"

"He hasn't been able to move much… maybe you could take him to the gym and let him play on the mats or something," Sam suggested, absently running her hands through Danny's thick hair. The blond highlights caught the light so easily it was hard not to touch the baby-soft strands.

"I will accompany you, O'Neill," Teal'c stated.

"Good. Hey we can play with that physical therapy ball or something," Jack suggested, getting up. "Come on, Danny, let's go."

Danny looked at all of them steadily, and Jack thought for sure he was going to burst into tears. He had a sudden flood of 'terrible twos' memories and suppressed a shudder. Then, to his relief, Danny clumsily tore the page he'd been scribbling out of the notebook and pressed it into Carter's chest. "Me, Sam."

"Oh… thanks, Danny. It's great!" she said enthusiastically, admiring the picture. He hugged her, squashing the picture between them in the process, and slid out of her lap, going over to the two men, looking up at them with his nose wrinkled.

"Where we go?"

"Somewhere fun," Jack said. "To play."

"Pway?" His face lit up with the word.

"Yeah. Come on."

"Kay, Dack." Danny grabbed onto two of Jack's fingers with his right hand, and one of Teal'c's with his left, and the three men of SG-1 left together, Teal'c and Jack swinging Daniel every few steps as he laughed loudly.

Sam had to watch them go and couldn't suppress a smile. She'd seen them go off together countless times. Never like that though. She shook her head and smiled. Danny was cute, no doubt about it. But they still needed their Daniel back, as soon as possible. She tucked the slightly crumpled picture back into her notebook and headed to Daniel's lab.

vvvvvvvvvv

"Major Carter's idea was most ingenious," Teal'c stated after they saw how happily Daniel was running round the mats in the gym.

"Yeah."

"She is very good with children. Even very small ones, so it seems."

Jack looked at Teal'c carefully and said, "Something you want to say, T?"

"I was merely making an observation, O'Neill."

"Right." Teal'c never vocalized observations about anything unless he considered it important enough to mention.

They got out one of the big plastic balls used for physical therapy and pilates, and played with Daniel with it for a while, mostly oblivious to the various airmen who kept poking their heads into the gym to see what all the shrieks of laughter were about. When he tired of that, they all sat down on the floor and rolled Jack's bouncy ball back and forth until Danny suddenly stopped, put on a definite pout, and said, "Where Sam?"

"She's in your… she's working," Jack said, glancing at his watch. "But it's lunch time. Wanna go get her?"

"Sam, yeah we get Sam."

Jack rolled his eyes. "You know, you play with the kid all morning and all he wants is the woman who doesn't know which end of a diaper is which."

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed, simply because O'Neill seemed to want someone to agree with him. They put away the things they had used and went to get Sam for lunch.