Chapter 5

This turned out to be easier said than done. Sammi wasn't't that much of a problem. Carter had been a slender woman and Jack was able to punch some extra holes in her belt and then Sammi could use the belt to hold up her pants. All he had to do then was hack off the legs of the pants to end at Sammi's ankles and she was done, though her t-shirt nearly came down to her knees. Well, once she'd returned from her discreet withdrawal to shed underwear that no longer fit, she was done. The result looked baggier than Daniel's worst "orphan clothes" style, but she was decently covered and ambulatory.

Daniel was a much bigger, or rather much smaller, problem. He'd lost the most mass in relation to his previous adult size, and unlike Carter and Teal'c's preference for trim fitting clothes, Daniel had preferred a relaxed fit. Swimming in his clothes? Hell, he was scuba-diving in them.

He ruthlessly commandeered Carter's spare t-shirt to use as a tunic for Daniel. Fortunately, Sammi was bouncing about testing the fit of her "new" clothes and didn't't realize Jack was rifling in "her" things. He asked Daniel in how many cultures did boys wear tunics when the small boy looked dubious, and managed to divest Daniel of his cocoon and get him into his new garb while Daniel was distracted by telling Jack about Ancient Greece and Medieval Europe. The next time Daniel paused to take a breath, he called to Sammi that she could now turn around and come back.

She skipped back over as Teal'c was fashioning a space blanket toga for Daniel and came to a stop, wiggling her bare toes curiously into the folds of the spare space blanket. Jack cursed mentally. He'd completely forgotten about shoes! He couldn't't walk three kids barefoot across a kilometer-and-a-half of rough terrain; Janet Fraiser would skin him alive. On an alien planet, no less, with unknown diseases, parasites and insect life just waiting to burrow into tender toes... forget skinning, he'd be lucky if she left his gonads attached.

He was pondering his options while Sammi and Daniel were bounding around, jumping over discarded adult clothing and the space blanket, giggling. Teal'c looked intrigued at this activity, as if he wondering if it befit the dignity of a student in the arts of war to join in.

Maybe he could have Teal'c wear Carter's boots and carry Daniel while he carried Sammi... but that was a long way for a half-grown boy to walk in ill-fitting footwear with a wriggling, restless burden of around half your current body weight on your back. But did he dare leave three kids to their own devices in a building crammed with demonstratively hazardous alien tech?

Maybe that argument would convince Fraiser to spare his cojones.

Fortunately for his testosterone levels, his radio chose that moment to squawk to life. "SG1, this is General Hammond. Please come in." It was Hammond's familiar if slightly tinny voice.

Jack quickly fumbled for his radio. "General Hammond, this is Colonel O'Neill. I'm very glad you called, sir. I could use some assistance, please. Over." The radio conversation was evidently interesting enough to cause his teammates to stop stomping Daniel and Carter's insulated jackets down with their bare feet and come running over.

General Hammond's voice was taken aback. "Assistance, Colonel? What kind of assistance do you need? Over."

Before Jack could think how to word his explanation, Sammi exclaimed, "That's my Uncle George!" She leaned over Jack's mike to call, "Hello, Uncle George! Do you work with me in the future? You got promoted to be a general, like my Daddy? Jack didn't't tell me that!" She threw Jack a reproachful look.

There was a pause, before General Hammond's voice came back with a stunned, "Colonel O'Neill? What's your situation? Over."

Jack drew a deep breath, and said, "Well, sir, we've got... a few little problems here, as you can tell. Three, to be precise. We're going to need a medical team... some of our tech experts in non-human systems and some translators from the linguistics department... full Hazmat gear, and whatever gizmos or gadgets they use to detect and analyze weird energy fields, though I really think everything's off now... um, some of the clothes we keep on hand for refugee children. And shoes, definitely shoes. Over."

Hammond seemed to be in shock, because a new voice came over the mike, urgent and anxious. "O'Neill, what of Teal'c? You speak of a medical team..."

"Master Bra'tac!" cried Teal'c in delight and relief. He must have been under more stress than he'd shown over his decision to trust Jack. The fact that he now had confirmation that Master Bra'tac was indeed allied with the Tau'ri showed in the relaxation of taut muscles in his shoulders, his beaming smile, and sparkling eyes. "I am indeed very well, Master Bra'tac!" He paused to consider, then stated firmly, "Complete. Is that correct, Jack O'Neill?"

Hammond came on again then, "Your requested assistance is being assembled, Colonel O'Neill. I don't hear Doctor Jackson. What is his situation? Over."

Glancing over at the wide-eyed Daniel, Jack replied, "He's lost several pounds and looks years younger for it, just like the others, and is otherwise unharmed as far as I can tell. You wanna say 'hi' to General Hammond, Danny? He's a friend of yours, too."

Sammi broke in, "Yes, say 'hi' to Uncle George, Daniel, he's really nice. He can pull quarters out of your ears."

Teal'c added loyally, "And I assure you that Master Bra'tac is every bit as... 'nice' as General Hammond. And... should the situation warrant it, he is quite capable of removing any undesired objects from your ears."

The hum of the radio took on that strange, blank tone that indicated that the full mute had been engaged. Yep, they were probably falling all over themselves laughing in the control room. Sammi looked startled, and opened her mouth but Jack caught her eyes and shook his head slightly, and she subsided, though she ducked her head to conceal a grin.

Daniel hesitated, looking at both of them in turn with a puzzled frown as if he was wondering about their sanity, then leaned over Jack's mike and called shyly, "Hi, General Hammond. Hi, Master Bra'tac."

Apparently the general had managed to regain control over the control room and his own sense of humor because the mute came off and General Hammond replied, "Hello, Daniel. I'm glad to hear your voice."

"And I offer you my greetings as well, Daniel Jackson of the Tau'ri," added Bra'tac. "And Teal'c, I am gratified to know of your confidence in my skills. I shall strive to always live up to your expectations of me."

Bra'tac was a truly evil man, thought Jack as he heard strange muffled sounds in the background. But General Hammond was apparently in command of the situation, because they were quickly cut off. "Is Major Carter still there, Colonel? Over." the general asked calmly.

Sammi looked perplexed for a moment, as if wondering why her Uncle George was asking about her father, until she remembered that she was Major Carter "in the future" and beamed proudly. "Yes, I'm right here, Uncle George!" Then recalling her knowledge of military protocol, she quickly said, "I mean, yes sir, Uncle George... General Hammond!"

There was a smile in Hammond's voice as he replied, "Why don't we keep it to 'Uncle George' and 'Sammi' for now, sweetheart. I just wanted to apologize for not returning your very polite greeting earlier, and to let you know that we will be sending notice to your father at his... current posting, asking him to ... report in as soon as he can. But it may not be possible for him to come immediately, Sammi. It depends on how long it takes him to get the message, and how quickly he can get away from his... current duties."

Poor Sammi's lips turned downward again, quivering, but she bravely collected herself and said, "I understand, Uncle George." And the hell of it was, reflected Jack, that she probably did, military brat that she was. He thought back to the many times he had disappointed Charlie by not being able to be there because of his military duties.

A voice spoke indistinctly in the background, and then General Hammond came back and said, "Your requested assistance team is now ready to deploy, Colonel O'Neill. Is there anything you need to tell us in addition to the UAV data to expedite things? Over."

"Well, sir, there's been a very intense thunderstorm since then, so they should be alert to and prepared for possible residual bad weather and storm damage. Oh, and could Master Bra'tac come with the assistance team? He's the most qualified person to brief Teal'c on the current state of affairs regarding our Jaffa allies. Over." He hoped they picked up the subtext of Help! I have a brainwashed kid who needs deprogramming!

"I don't believe it would be possible for me to stop him if I wanted to, Colonel O'Neill," said Hammond dryly. "Your relief should be there in 50 minutes. Over and out." The radio went dead.

Jack huffed out a soft sigh. He'd gotten his kids safely out of the planetorium, gotten them oriented, reassured and clothed. Now the SGC was aware of the situation, and he had help on the way to make sure they okay and to figure out how to undo their... downsizing.

Why did he have the feeling that the HARD part was about to begin?

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