Hey, sorry to keep you waiting for this, but I hope it was worth it. Thanks as always to everyone who sent in a review - much appreciated I assure you!

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE?

By LetitiaRichards

Previously:

"Who's Sam?" Jack's face clearly portrayed his natural inquisitiveness.

Chapter 4 – Return to the Gate

"Ah…" Daniel thought frantically for a moment; of course little Jack wouldn't know who Sam was, would he? "Um...she's another friend," he explained quickly. "Sam is actually Samantha Carter. She's really nice."

"Sam's a girl?" Jack cried in disbelief. How could this Daniel work with a girl?

"Ah yeah, but you'll like her Jack," Daniel said hurriedly, barely stopping himself from adding that at least the adult Jack did; more than he should really given their positions within the military.

Jack looked dubious about that and pulled a face which Daniel interpreted as meaning that it was highly unlikely.

"Are you two married?"

Daniel choked back a snort at the innocent question and then calmed himself with an inward chuckle wondering about the irony of that. If the adult Jack thought that he would dare to be in any kind of relationship with Sam, he'd probably deck him, and there would surely be a lot more aggravation between him and Jack than their usual disagreements.

"Um...That would be a no. Sam's a team-mate as well as a good friend," Daniel responded with a relieved sigh. Yes, he was fond of Sam but he was much fonder of keeping his head squarely on his shoulders thank you!

"Major Carter is a formidable warrior O'Neill," Teal'c added, noticing Daniel struggling to maintain his equilibrium after Jack's poignant question.

"Jack!" Jack reminded him with a scowl, and then when the information the Jaffa had imparted registered, his eyes widened in surprise. "She's a soldier?" His wide eyes travelled over Daniel and Teal'c, noticing their clothes and weapons for the first time. "Are you soldiers too?"

"Indeed we are," Teal'c confirmed, though he did manage to refrain from adding 'O'Neill' or 'Jack' to the end of his sentence.

"Ah cool. I wanna join the Air Force when I grow up. I'm gonna fly planes."

Daniel looked down at the kid that had Jack's dark eyes and expressive features and registered the hope and yearning in the boy. Even at this young age, he couldn't mistake the real desire and earnestness in that determined face.

"I'm sure you will one day Jack," Daniel assured him, knowing full well that adult Jack was considered an exceptional pilot by those in the know.

Teal'c had already gathered all of Jack's things together and packed them away. Unfortunately though, they had nothing that would fit a four year old Jack, so, much to his disgust, he had to keep on the loose T-shirt to cover himself up with, despite the wide neck which kept sliding off his narrow shoulders. It was fortunate for him that the hemline came down past his knees affording him some dignity at least. Daniel slipped Jack's own jacket onto the boy for warmth, pushing up the sleeves as much as he could, zipping it up and tying the discarded belt round his waist to keep it snug.

Once they were ready to go Teal'c shouldered the extra backpack and carried Jack's discarded P90 along with his staff weapon, while Daniel held onto the child's hand for the long walk back to the Stargate.

After the obviously slow walk for Jack's sake it was about forty-five minutes or thereabouts later that Jack began to fidget, making Daniel wonder what was wrong with him.

"Are you okay Jack?" Daniel asked stopping and looking down at his charge.

Jack sighed impatiently and looked around the area suspiciously.

"What is it?" Now Daniel was well aware of Jack's spidery sixth sense when it came to being off world and trusted him implicitly to know when things were about to go south during a mission. He was wondering if Jack was sensing something he couldn't. Quietly he slipped his hand down to rest on the cool metal of his Beretta.

Jack obviously noticed Daniel's move and flinched away from him, his huge dark eyes widened in terror and he released a startled gasp of fear.

"I'm sorry. Hey, please don't hurt me. I...I just wanna pee!" Jack cried looking up into Daniel's surprised face.

"What?" Daniel was just as perplexed by Jack's reaction to him as Jack had been by Daniel's move.

"The boy merely wishes to relieve himself Daniel Jackson. I believe you have alarmed him by reaching for your weapon."

"What?" Daniel repeated, then realised what he had done by instinct and removed his hand from the weapon as if burned, then held his hands out towards Jack. "No, no. It's okay. I'm sorry. I'm not going to hurt you. I promise." Daniel knelt down beside the boy and laid his hands on his shoulders. "I would never hurt you Jack. Do you understand? I'm...I'm your friend." Daniel assured him. Jack looked deep into the man's blue eyes and knew he could trust him. He gave a nod of acceptance.

"Right, okay, let's go over there behind that tree..."

"Hey! I can go by myself!" Jack stated adamantly. "I don't need anyone to hold my hand. I'm not a baby!"

"Fine then. We'll wait right here."

Jack nodded once more before hurrying off to stand behind the tree. He gave Daniel and Teal'c a quick glance to make sure they were still there before taking care of business. Feeling much better he sauntered back to them and smiled in relief when neither of the men passed any comment.

They fell into step again and Daniel smiled when he felt the small hand slip back into his after a few steps.

The journey was long and boring, and only ten minutes had passed by when Jack's tired whine splintered the silent air that had shrouded them as they walked.

"Are we there yet?"

"Not yet, but it shouldn't be too long now," Daniel replied patiently while trying to get his head round idea that Jack really was this little kid. He'd have recognised that telltale whine even with his eyes closed. He mentally pinched himself and reminded his brain that this was after all was said and done, still a small child just like any other. A child, who wouldn't know what the heck the Stargate was, let alone the SGC or the people who worked there, especially if he couldn't even remember who he and Teal'c were.

"Are we going home by train?" Jack sounded somewhat eager at the thought of riding a train.

"Ah...no...we're..."

"Oh..." He sounded a little disappointed, but cheered up again when he thought of another mode of transport that he would love to go home in. "An airplane then?"

"Um...no. Sorry Jack." And Daniel was, because he knew how much Jack loved to fly. "We're gonna walk a little ways more and then we'll be going through something called a Stargate. It's a big round ring and we have to use a device called a DHD to dial home and then we can step into it and we end up at...home. Well, that's not strictly true, but it's too complicated to explain it in detail," Daniel waffled.

"Huh?" Jack gaped up at him, totally perplexed by Daniel's description.

"Trust me. You'll love it," Daniel said with a wide grin, recalling how much the adult Jack always got confused with too many details but always got a huge buzz when he got to go through the gate. He'd never tired of it, even after almost five years on the job, but there was no way he would ever admit to that.

"Oh. Okay," Jack sighed. He just hoped they'd get there real soon because he was so tired, and all he really wanted to do was curl up and go to sleep. He wanted to be tucked up in bed and for his mom to read to him.

His little legs were burning with fatigue, but he never complained, however Daniel noticed his weary gait and the odd sniff of a small child who was trying hard to hide his tears. Daniel stopped and Jack looked up at him with red rimmed eyes burning with fatigue and withholding tears.

"You want me to carry you?"

Jack scowled, looking horrified by the thought, but then hung his head in embarrassment when he couldn't stop the sudden yawn or the trickle of tired tears from making a sudden appearance.

"Jack? Hey...it's okay," Daniel reassured him, squatting down to Jack's level and placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "It's okay to be tired and upset, but I'm your friend, and friends help each other, right?"

After a few moments hesitation, Jack nodded and moved closer to Daniel's chest, throwing his small arms around the archaeologist's neck. Teal'c grasped Daniel's elbow to steady him as he stood and straightened up with the extra weight. Jack nestled into the warm neck and brought his thumb to his mouth, feeling safe and secure in the firm grip. Despite not having his parents around he felt comfortable with Daniel, instinctively trusting him, though he was still a little wary of Teal'c.

"Daniel?" Jack's voice was soft and timid.

"Yeah?"

Jack smothered another yawn before he asked another question.

"You will wake me up when we get to the Star...Stargate, won't you? I wanna see it," he begged.

"Of course I will Jack," Daniel reassured him. "Now, go to sleep, you're safe. I've got you."

"I know." Came the soft reply, and Daniel had to smile to himself when it sounded just like the adult Jack again. Jack snuggled closer.

"Daniel."

"Hmmm? What?"

"I like you."

"Um...good. That's good," he replied gently, barely keeping the slight tremor of emotion from his voice, "because I like you too Jack."

Daniel felt humbled at Jack's confession. It made him feel that maybe it was within the realm of possibility, that had he met Jack outside of the SGC, they could still have been friends.

"Thanks," came the sleepy and mumbled reply as Jack's thumb was slipped back into his mouth and his eyes closed in sleep.

TBC