A/N: This one's got some of the things some of you have been hoping for. For the record, this story just has to take place sometime before "Chimera..." but in my mind it takes place in Season 4 - for no particular reason, I just really like that season.

Ch 8

Sam was awoken the next morning by an insistent little hand patting her stomach until she forced her eyes open. "Sam, I am awake!" Danny announced, as though he'd accomplished something truly remarkable.

She smiled at how messed up his hair was. "Yes, you are."

"Where Dack?"

"Probably still on the couch."

"Why?"

"That's where he slept."

"Why?"

"In case you needed anything."

"Oh."

Sam rolled onto her back and tried to shake the lingering grogginess, but she had a feeling that even larger amounts of coffee would be needed than usual. Danny apparently did not approve of the fact that she still had not sat up or gotten out of bed. He plopped himself down on her stomach, laughing, and said, "Up!"

"Ugh. How am I supposed to get up with you sitting on me?" she asked. His diaper was alarmingly warm. She remembered the bet she'd lost and said, "Come on, I'd better change your diaper."

As she fetched the diaper and wipes, she debated waking up her CO to witness the diaper change, worried he might claim she had no witnesses and make her change another one. The decision was taken away from her when Daniel ran over to the couch, pressed his face right up to Jack's ear, and once again loudly proclaimed, "I am awake!"

Jack nearly fell off the couch, he was so startled. It was quite a funny sight, the large man moving so quickly and looking around so wildly because of a cute little boy in a diaper and tee-shirt. Sam tried not to laugh at her unfortunate CO's rude awakening, but hers had not been much better.

Looking down at Daniel, Jack remembered not to swear and turned to his 2IC instead. "Well… I'm glad he outgrew that habit, can you imagine that in the field? Morning, Carter."

"SAM," Danny insisted, staring up at him stubbornly.

"All right, all right. Morning, SAM. I see you're about to pay off the bet you lost to your infinitely wiser Commanding Officer."

"Wiser?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. "Well.. I guess that's one way of looking at it. It certainly implies that age is a factor and…"

"Hey, watch it," he grumbled, running a hand through his hair and messing it up even more. He scooped Danny up and passed him to her. "You have fun. I think we both need coffee. Lots of it. I'll go get…"

A sharp knock on the door cut him off as Sam got Danny lying on his back and removed the wet diaper, touching it as little as possible.

"Come in!" Jack called.

Teal'c entered bearing a carafe of coffee and two empty mugs. "Greetings, O'Neill. Major Carter. I have brought you coffee."

"Excellent," Jack said, doing a spot-on Mr. Burns impression.

"Thanks, Teal'c, I really need some," Sam called, trying unsuccessfully to keep control of the squirming Danny, who was much more interested in greeting Teal'c than in having a fresh diaper stuck to his body. He squirmed away from her, scrambled to his feet, and ran over to Teal'c as naked as a jaybird.

"Hi Tea!" he called as he ran.

Teal'c looked down at the little boy with obvious amusement. "Good morning, young Danny. You are already causing Major Carter much vexation this morning, I see."

Danny stopped and looked at Teal'c carefully, as if trying to store away all those new words to memory. Then he said, "Yup!" and ran back over to Sam, throwing his arms around her neck.

"Oh brother," Sam muttered. It was easy, most of the time, to overlook the fact that this was their Daniel Jackson, but every once in a while it would occur to her that when he was back to normal they were all going to be very embarrassed about some of these situations. Especially the ones that required the rest of his team to tend to Daniel's toileting needs.

She stretched him flat on his back once more and quickly put the diaper on him, setting him on his feet and eyeing it critically. Even when she picked him up by the armpits and moved him up and down to test it experimentally, it didn't fall off. "Huh, look at that," she said under her breath, as Jack suddenly clapped her shoulder and said, "Practice makes perfect, Carter."

"Hey, I agreed to one, not…" she started.

"In addition to bringing you coffee, I have come to watch young Daniel Jackson while you shower and dress for your outing," Teal'c told them, effectively redirecting the conversation so future diaper-changing arguments could be averted, at least for the time being.

"You don't wanna go shopping with us, T?" Jack asked, pouring coffee for both of them.

"I will pass, O'Neill. But I would be happy to watch him when you return."

"Great. I was thinking we could shop until lunch, then come back here and you can work the second half of the day. That okay?" Jack directed the question at Sam, who looked surprised. Sure, this wasn't exactly a normal mission, but he was still more or less in charge.

"Sure," she agreed. "So… Teal'c, can you take Danny to breakfast too?"

"I would be happy to, Major Carter. I myself have not eaten yet. Dr. Fraiser has procured several more things for young Daniel Jackson. I shall find him suitable clothing and nourishment. Prepare for your day at your own leisure."

Teal'c picked up the little boy and settled him on one shoulder again. Jack thought he looked like a pirate with his pet parrot. "Yeah, thanks Teal'c… one word of advice though. You might want to feed him before you get him in his clothes for the rest of the day."

"A wise strategy, O'Neill," Teal'c agreed.

An hour later, Sam and Jack were both clean and sufficiently caffeinated for their day. They were both dressed in civilian clothing, of course, but it made the whole situation even more strange and uncomfortable when they went to the infirmary to look for their little charge. Dressed casually, Sam in jeans and a navy sweater, Jack in his usual cargo pants and plaid shirt, everything seemed very family-outing-ish.

This was highlighted further when Janet passed them a huge diaper bag and started strapping Daniel into an umbrella stroller someone had brought in that morning. He looked adorable, in an olive pair of overalls with a striped shirt underneath.

General Hammond popped into the room and said, "At ease people," before anyone had time to snap to attention. "Just wanted to see you off on your mission, Colonel, Major."

"Thank you, sir," Jack said. Hammond handed him a credit card and Jack smiled. "And thank you, sir."

"We'll donate whatever you buy after Dr. Jackson is back to normal, but that doesn't mean you need to go completely insane, do I make myself clear, Colonel?"

"Clear as always, sir."

"Good… that being said, get him enough to keep him clothed and entertained for a while. I just got a progress report - the two lines of symbols on the trunk are so small that when it was scanned into the computer… it was more than two thousand pages, and nobody has been able to decipher any of it, so… this little guy might be here for a while." Hammond leaned over and ruffled Danny's hair affectionately. The boy was really adorable.

Teal'c knelt down in front of Danny to tie his trainers, saying, "These are too large. You must procure footwear that is the appropriate size."

"Okay, first stop then," Jack agreed. Watching Teal'c meticulously tying the laces, Jack added, "Maybe some with Velcro."

"I'll carry the car seat for you and help you put it in. I've made a list of things you absolutely need to get, but most of it is up to your discretion," Janet said, handing Sam a list. She scanned it quickly and nodded, tucking it into her pocket. Grabbing the handles of the stroller, she steered towards the door.

Jack called, "Wait, don't you want to carry the diaper bag? I can push the… crap." Jack eyed the diaper bag with obvious distaste. It wasn't the fact that it was a diaper bag that bothered him - it was the giant bunny rabbit on each side. He shouldered the bag reluctantly and muttered, "See you later, Teal'c. Sir."

"Enjoy your excursion, O'Neill."

"And Colonel… Daniel does not need a new Playstation," Hammond said firmly.

Jack looked momentarily thwarted but covered quickly. "Of course not, sir, what would a baby do with a Playstation? See you after lunch," he added as he followed the two women out of the infirmary.

When they reached his truck, he struggled to fold up the stroller and muttered, "I forgot how much crap comes with a kid."

Janet put the car seat in the backseat of his truck, then buckled Danny into it, tucking his hair into place. "Try not to give them too much trouble, okay, Danny?"

"Kay, Doc," he said cheerfully, swinging his legs experimentally and happily discovering he could reach the back of the passenger seat with his feet.

She smiled at him, said goodbye to Jack and Sam, and watched them all pile into the truck and drive away. Heading back inside, she said to herself, "I wonder if they have any idea how cute they all look together."

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

"So where exactly are we going, sir?" Sam asked once they were on their way.

"First of all, you've got to not call me 'sir' today. I mean when we're on base, yeah, I guess, but when it's just us and Danny, it confuses him. And we're going to get some REALLY strange looks while we're shopping if every other word out of your mouth is 'sir.' Okay, Sam."

Realizing he was right, she hesitated briefly and said, "Sure Jack" in an exaggeratedly casual tone. She then decided it was a good idea to spend the rest of the trip looking out the window, and didn't even bother trying to get Danny to stop kicking the back of her seat.

When they got to the mall, Jack slipped the straps of the diaper bag over the handles of the stroller while Sam strapped Danny into it. He smiled triumphantly when it worked - now he wouldn't have to carry the damn thing all day. As it was a weekday, and a morning, the mall wasn't too crowded.

"I want out! I want out!" Danny insisted, squirming against his restraints while Jack pushed the stroller.

"Danny, I don't think you realize what a rare opportunity you have here, having the Colonel chauffer you around. Why don't you sit back and enjoy it?" Sam tried.

"I want out!"

"Hey, kid. If you sit in the stroller while we get your clothes and crap, we'll let you out of it for the toy store, okay?" Jack offered.

"Kay, Dack!" he called happily, relaxing back into the stroller.

"There's a shoe store, s… Jack."

"Good, lead the way."

They quickly found the children's shoes next to women's. "Oh my God, these are so cute!" Sam exclaimed involuntarily, looking at all the tiny little shoes and picking up a little white and navy one with Velcro straps.

Jack just stared at her. He'd never heard her sound so… girly before.

"What?" she asked self-consciously, even though as soon as she had said it, turned, and seen the look on his face, she knew exactly what.

"Nothing," he said quickly.

They were saved from the awkwardness by an overly-friendly employee, who couldn't have been more then eighteen. "Hi, can I help you?" she asked.

"Yeah, um, can we see that one…" Jack nodded at the shoe in Sam's hand. "In…" He looked at Sam. "What size?"

"I don't know…" She crouched down in front of Daniel and started taking off the shoe he was wearing to check the size. "This one's a… six. So maybe a five, or a four?"

Jack shrugged, and noticed that the sales girl was looking at them very strangely. Jack realized most children probably came in wearing shoes that were too small rather than too large, and that most parents would know what size shoes their children were wearing. "Um, this is… her nephew," he tried to cover. "And he's visiting… and his luggage was lost at the airport, so…"

"Oh, of course. I'll measure his feet just to be sure, then, sir."

"Great, thanks."

She left to go get her measurer and Sam finished pulling Danny's other shoe off and then let him out of the stroller, setting him on his feet. "Nephew?" she mouthed to Jack, who shrugged.

"He looks a hell of a lot more like you than me," he explained quietly.

Sam looked down at the little boy. He did have a lot of blonde highlights, and blue eyes. It had never occurred to her before. It also hadn't really occurred to her that everyone they saw today was automatically going to assume they were Danny's parents. She supposed she should have realized it earlier, but she had been a little preoccupied just getting ready and assisting in getting Danny ready for the day. Blushing slightly, she muttered, "These socks are too big too, I'm going to go find some smaller ones," and headed to the back of the store where all the socks were displayed.

Jack put a hand on Danny's shoulder to stop him from going after her, and sat down in one of the chairs, rolling the tiny shoe back and forth between his hands. "Do you like this one too?" he asked.

Danny shrugged.

Jack shrugged too. "Works for me. Come here, let me take your socks off." He pulled him into his lap and pulled the too-big socks off as the sales girl, whose name tag identified her as Lisa, returned with her little measuring thing and three shoeboxes.

"Sorry, sir, I had trouble finding the smaller measurer."

"That's okay," Jack said, setting Danny back on his feet but keeping his hands on him lightly to keep him in place. Sam came back over with a package of small white socks.

"I think these are right - it says 2-4 years."

Lisa glanced at the package and nodded as she crouched in front of Danny. "Socks are much easier to fit. You can go ahead and open them so he can use them to try on the shoes." Sam nodded and pulled open the plastic packaging. "I'm Lisa," the sales girl said to Danny. "What's your name?"

"Danny."

"Hi, Danny. Can you put your foot in here for just a second and be real still?"

He nodded, putting a hand on Jack's knee for balance as he obediently put his foot in the metal device. "Cold!" he exclaimed.

"I know. Just hang on a second." Lisa quickly measured his foot and said, "Looks like a four. I've got one here."

Sam got the new socks on Danny while Jack helped him balance and Lisa pulled the tissue out of the new shoes. She got them on and Velcroed them shut. "These you'll be able to put on all by yourself," she said as she felt the toe. "This is definitely the right size," she said, looking up at Jack and Sam.

"Do they feel okay?" Jack asked Danny, who shrugged. "Walk around a little," he encouraged, letting go of him. Danny walked around the store and was soon jumping and running experimentally.

Lisa laughed when he stopped in front of a mirror and stared at his own feet, then started jumping up and down again. "He is so cute!" she said.

"Um, thanks," Sam said somewhat awkwardly. "It looks like we found the right ones. Can he wear them out of the store?"

"Of course," Lisa said, putting the old shoes in the box and standing up. "I'll take these up to the register."

"I'll go pay, you get the jumping-Jackson back in the stroller," Jack said, taking the socks up to the register and grabbing another package as well. Hey, you could never have too many socks.

Sam pushed the stroller over to Daniel. "Come on, back in."

"Sam, pwease no?" Danny begged, looking up at her with huge, pleading eyes and a pouting lip.

"Oh, that is so unfair," she said with a sigh. "All right, fine." Without Daniel's weight in front, the diaper bag would tip the stroller backwards if nobody held the handles, so Sam set the diaper bag in the seat and said, "But you have to hold my hand then."

Danny hugged her legs and then took her hand. She pushed the stroller over to the register with one hand. Jack looked at them, amused. "Hey, if you'd seen his face you would have given in too," Sam insisted. Jack chuckled, put his wallet back into his pocket, and thanked Lisa, who leaned over the counter to smile at Danny as Jack set the shopping back on top of the diaper bag and commandeered steering of the stroller.

"Bye, Danny. I hope you like your new shoes."

He waved at the friendly girl and said, "Bye bye."

"Two years old and he's still getting all the girls," Jack commented as they left the store. Sam gave him a strange look but didn't respond.

"What else is on that list of yours?" Jack asked.

Sam pulled it out of her pocket, unfolded it, and read, "Sippy cups… wait, what's a sippy cup?"

"Those ones that aren't supposed to spill. But believe me, they can still spill."

"Sounds like the voice of experience there," Sam said, smiling at him.

"Oh yeah. You can't put soda in them. Trust me."

"I think Janet would freak if we gave him soda anyway…" Sam looked back at the list and read, "Booster seat, more diapers… we can't get that stuff at the mall."

"We can drive over to Toys R Us after this. They have that stuff too, plus it's way better than the toy store here."

"Toys?" Danny piped up again.

"Not yet," Sam said. "She actually put clothes and PJs on the list… like we didn't know that already! And there's a note here saying she's going to bring some of Cassie's old Disney tapes for him, so we don't need to buy any of those."

"Okay. Hey, check the sizes on his clothes real quick so we don't have to guess in the next store and make up another cover."

"Good idea," Sam agreed, quickly checking the tags. "Got it. Clothes are easier than shoes anyway."

"Yeah. There's a kids' store, let's get the boring part of this over with."

Jack quickly realized that a child's clothing store is not the easiest place to bring a stroller. Which was weird… because there were quite a few strollers present, and the people who designed these store layouts had to expect people to come in with strollers in the first place… you'd think they'd space their racks and stuff a little farther apart.

Sam picked out a few little tee-shirts, plain and striped, figuring when Daniel was big again he wouldn't exactly appreciate it if they had stuck him in something covered with bears or whatnot. "Are these okay, Danny?" she asked him.

"Okay," he answered. Then he spotted something and ran off towards it with Sam following, and by the time Jack had wheeled the stroller over to them, Sam was holding a shirt with a dinosaur on it. There was a whole table of dinosaur clothes.

"I wuv dese, I wuv dino-saws," Danny exclaimed, then went on and on about dinosaurs, speaking very rapidly in a babbly language nobody but he himself could understand.

"I told you he remembered stuff," Sam said quietly.

"Maybe he's just always been a geek," Jack pointed out. "I'm sure all archaeologists loved dinosaurs when they were kids. And how come he can't even say my name properly but he says 'dinosaurs' like anybody else?"

Sam shrugged, and said, "Look Danny, dinosaur jammies!"

"Yay!"

Jack sighed and took the bundle of clothes Sam pressed into his arms. They left the dinosaur table with one of everything, including a dino pattern baby blanket, and Jack had to remind them that they still needed pants.

Khaki and navy overalls were added to the pile, as well as two pairs of shorts. Jack spotted another table's contents and exclaimed, "Sam, look!"

It was the first time he had been interested in any of the clothes shopping, so she followed him in amusement, pulling Daniel along with her. "Little bitty cargo pants! Regulation colors, too!"

"Those are perfect," Sam agreed. Green and khaki pants joined their pile. Jack spotted a tiny boonie hat and grabbed it too. "Definitely Daniel," Sam smiled. "I think we've got enough now though."

"Yeah, I just want to grab him a black tee-shirt, weren't there some over at that first rack?"

"Yeah, I think so."

They had just found the tee-shirt and were ready to head for the register when a loud voice shrieked, "Jack O'Neill, is that really you?"

Sam noticed the wince just before Jack forced his face into a smile and turned to the source of the voice: a short, pretty woman with long brown hair and a very bored looking little girl about eight years old standing next to her. "Yeah, it's me… Cheryl?"

"Carol," the woman corrected, smiling at him, then looking at Sam and Danny carefully.

Sam shifted uncomfortably and tightened the hand connected to Danny. Jack shifted the pile of clothes he was holding into one arm and put his now-free hand at the small of Sam's back. "Sorry. Carol. Of course." He turned to Sam and explained, "She's a friend of Sarah's."

"Oh!" Sam said, surprised at how relieved that suddenly made her feel, refusing to acknowledge the curiosity and jealousy that had been stirring, or the happy little flutter when he half-hid behind her and touched her - it felt a lot different without heavy BDUs and a tactical vest between them.

"This is Sam, and… the one with his thumb in his mouth is Danny." Jack smiled at the bored looking girl and said, "Hi. I'm Jack."

"I'm Emily," she said, smiling at him a little and looking at Sam. "I'm nine. How old is Danny?"

"He's two and a half," Sam answered.

"Two and a half and I never heard a word about him!" Carol exclaimed. "He certainly looks like his mother, although, my God, Jack he also looks exactly like Charlie!"

Sam's polite smile faded instantly and she visibly paled at the mention of Charlie. Jack froze, his eyes clouding over. Sam snapped into action and quickly said, "Danny is my nephew, Carol. And… I'm sorry but he really needs a diaper change, so we should get going…"

"Oh, of course. Excuse us, please. It was nice to meet you."

"You too," Sam said without emotion. Then she glanced at Emily and smiled. "Nice to meet you too, Emily."

"Bye," Emily offered.

"Good to see you, Jack," Carol said, seemingly oblivious to the effect her words had had on Jack, who forced himself to nod as Carol dragged her once-again bored looking daughter off to the girl's section of the store.

Sam sighed when they were alone and said quietly, "Col… J-Jack…"

"It's fine," he said, taking the clothes to the register. Sam followed with Danny. Jack shifted impatiently while the salesman started scanning their purchases, and finally slipped Sam the credit card Hammond had given them and said, "I'm gonna go wait outside."

Sam nodded. Jack pushed the stroller out of the store, found a nearby bench, and sat down to wait.

"Sam?" Danny asked, looking up at her sadly after watching Jack leave.

"It'll be okay," Sam assured him, picking him up now that her arms weren't full of clothes. He snuggled into her, and she wondered if Daniel had just been born extremely sympathetic to the feelings of others. "He's just a little sad."

"Sam fix?"

She smiled and stroked his hair. "Hopefully we both can." She paid for the clothes and took the large bag with one arm, still holding Danny in the other. They left, scanning the mall for Jack. They quickly located him on a nearby bench, staring down at his shoes.

Biting her lip, Sam approached him cautiously, unsure of what to say. She settled for, "Hey," as she sat down on the bench, setting the bag down by the stroller and settling Danny in her lap, facing Jack.

"Hey. Ready?"

"We could… sit for a while," Sam suggested carefully.

Jack nodded, looking at his hands.

"Look, Jack… I didn't realize… well, nobody did… I mean, I didn't know that he looks sort of like… like him. Nobody would expect you to…"

"It's okay," Jack said quickly. "He sort of does resemble Charlie… the hair and eyes… and dimples… but a lot of little kids look similar. Despite what that woman said, he doesn't look exactly like him… not even that close, really… Well, not to me. But… I was his… father."

"And… he was lucky that you were."

Jack looked at her sharply.

"I'm sorry," she said immediately. "I don't know what to say to you, I just… you're so wonderful with children you have little or no connection to that I can't even imagine… how much you must have… how good you must have been with… and consequently how much it must hurt you to… I'm really sorry," she finished miserably.

"It's not your fault. It was just a surprise… I was a lot more relaxed than usual and kind of… blind sided I guess… I just need a minute."

"We can go if you want. You can drop us back at the base and spend some time alone…"

"No," Jack interrupted. "That's definitely not what I need."

Sam nodded, wishing she had something brilliant to say… although she knew there was really nothing to say.

After a few minutes of sitting quietly, Jack looked over at them, surprised at how still and quiet Danny was being. The kid was curled up in Sam's lap, resting his head on her chest, his thumb in his mouth, looking at him with a sad and worried expression that made him look much older than he was. And more like Daniel than ever, apart from the thumb-sucking. "You okay?" he asked, alarmed at how much his behavior had affected everyone else's mood, even the happy little boy.

Danny nodded, took his thumb out of his mouth, and said, "I wuv you, Jack."

Jack smiled, glanced up at Sam, who was watching him carefully, and looked away, smiling even bigger. "Thanks, Danny. Um… backatcha."

Sam rolled her eyes. Danny climbed out of Sam's lap and kissed Jack on the cheek, a very drooly kiss with his mouth half-open. "Great, thanks," Jack muttered, wiping off the side of his face with the back of his hand while Sam laughed discreetly.

"Why don't we go to the food court for an early lunch, then take all this stuff to the car and go over to the toy store?" Sam suggested.

"Works for me, I didn't eat breakfast this morning," Jack said, getting to his feet with Danny in his arms.

Sam piled their latest bag into the stroller and pushed it, leaving Danny to keep Jack company and continue to cheer him up. The food court turned out to be the most crowded part of the mall. They found a table and Sam said, "Why don't you stay here with the stroller and Danny and I'll get the food… any requests?"

"Nah, just get me something wherever you decide."

"Okay."

When Sam got back to the table with a crowded tray, Danny was in a wooden high chair in between the two regular chairs. She set the tray down and said, "I got him a Happy meal with nuggets so he can probably feed himself."

"I'm blaming you when the doc complains about what we fed him then," Jack informed her as they started dividing up their respective meals.

Sam didn't mind. She wanted to have most of her attention available for Jack, in case he wanted to talk more. Sure enough, after eating methodically for several minutes, he glanced up at her, saw that she was looking at him, and sighed. "It's weird," he admitted.

"I'm sure it is."

"I mean, I know it's weird for you too, but…"

"That's completely different," she said quickly.

"I know. It's just… honestly, it hasn't been bad like I would have thought… being around another little boy. It's actually… been mostly good. Carol just caught me by surprise… because she knows Sarah and all, so it brought up… stuff. But Danny's brought up stuff too. Good stuff. Made me remember lots of stuff, but not in a sad way. Just… in a fond way. I like being around him. A lot. Don't tell him I said that when he's big again though."

"Yes, s… Yes. Of course. I won't."

Jack looked back down at his sandwich and asked, "Did what she said bother you too?"

"Of course it did!" Sam said indignantly. "I couldn't believe she just casually mentioned…"

"No, not that. The other part. That Danny looked like his mother."

"Oh," Sam said quietly, meeting his eyes and finding herself completely incapable of looking away, or lying. "No. No, it didn't."

They looked at each other with similarly intense expressions that were still very soft at the same time, realizing that was as much as either of them could say about any of that. Actually, they had probably said too much as it was.

"SAM! CATSUP!"

Sam blinked quickly and looked down at her plate, then at Daniel. As she fumbled with the little catsup packet, she said quickly, "I mean, it was a natural assumption for her to make, you pointed out his hair and eyes yourself earlier."

"Yeah." Jack went back to his meal and they didn't say anything else about it, although both of them found themselves smiling when the other wasn't looking.