Thanks as always for your reviews. I really do appreciate your comments. Here's another chapter for you to hopefully enjoy.

Past, Present & Future

By LetitiaRichards.

Previously:

Maybe they could effectively use him as a weapon against the Goa'uld? He would have them tied up in knots in no time. Perhaps she should mention it to the General in her report?

Chapter 9 – Sweet Tooth Daniel?

Sam was first in line at the counter, helping herself to a salad roll and some blue jello along with a can of diet soda. Daniel followed behind her with Jack, trying to tempt him into eating something nutritional first before he was allowed to have the chocolate cake that was sitting in the fridge waiting for them when they were ready. Teal'c, piling up his tray with mountains of food brought up the rear, following Cassie who had grabbed the nearest sandwich while she was watching with renewed interest in the by-play between Daniel and this much younger version of her favourite 'uncle'.

"What do you want Jack? C'mon, you're holding everyone up. Choose! Now!"

Jack frowned as he scanned the tempting array of dishes before him. He liked so many of them and he just couldn't decide what to pick.

"Jack!" Daniel whispered hurriedly. He picked up a plate of macaroni-cheese for himself and looked back down at Jack. The boy could hardly see over the counter, so leaving his tray on the service rail he stooped down and swept Jack up into his arms. "There, now you can see everything what do you prefer eating?"

"What's that?" Jack asked pointing to a plate at the back of the others.

"That? That's Pizza Jack. Do you like Pizza?"

Jack shrugged.

"Don't know. Never heard of it."

Daniel gaped wide-eyed at his friend. Jack was absolutely nuts about Pizza – well, adult Jack was at any rate.

"Well try it. You'll love it, believe me!" Daniel took the plate and added it to his tray, then hurried along to the drinks area. He picked a small carton of milk for Jack and was handed a cup of steaming hot coffee by a smiling man behind the counter.

"Friend of yours Dr. Jackson?" he asked grinning. He smiled at the youngster and then winked. Jack took a step backwards, moving up against Daniel for safety, but he looked up at Daniel, his face full of open curiosity.

"Ah...yeah, you could say that Joe. I'm...looking after him for a while." Daniel glanced down at Jack and smiled but Jack was still puzzling over something the other guy had said.

"Come on, let's go find Sam." He led Jack over to the table that Sam had procured for them and sat down opposite her, with Jack sitting next to him at the end of the table. Daniel placed the plate with the Pizza in front of the child and told him to eat it if he wanted the cake afterwards.

"Daniel?"

"Yes Jack?"

"Are you really a doctor like Janet?"

"What? No! Why?"

"That man called you Dr. Jackson," Jack said, turning back to look over his shoulder at Joe who was serving other personnel now.

"Oh. Well, I am a Doctor, but not a medical one. I'm a Doctor of Archaeology."

"What's that?"

"What's what?" Daniel asked absently.

"Arki... thingy."

"Archaeology?" Daniel couldn't help but be amused.

"Yeah, that."

"I study artefacts found buried under the ground. It tells me what the ancient people were like and how they lived..."

"Oh." Jack's eyes had glazed over at this point and Daniel was reminded that Jack was never one for long-winded explanations. Seems that some things never change. Daniel let the subject drop.

Just as Daniel picked up his coffee and sniffed the rich aroma appreciatively, the tannoy announced that General Hammond wanted to see him. Daniel let out a frustrated groan and placed his cup back onto the saucer with a clatter.

"Now?" he groaned. He was so in need of this coffee. Reluctantly he stood, and seeing that Jack still hadn't started to eat yet, told him to do so before it got cold and because he wanted to see his plate clean by the time he came back. He asked Sam to keep an eye on him and then hurried from the room.

Jack watched him go, feeling a little lost and lonely. He fixed a wary eye on his plate and poked the food with his finger.

"What is that?" he asked sullenly.

"What is what?" Sam asked, and Jack prodded the topping again. "Oh, that's anchovies."

"Ant what?"

"Anchovies. Try some," Sam encouraged. She knew the adult Jack hated fish on his Pizza, but maybe he could be persuaded to like them if he couldn't remember that he didn't.

Jack hesitantly picked one up and screwed his nose up, but Sam urged him to taste it. Moments later she'd wished she hadn't bothered.

Jack popped the smallest piece into his mouth and gagged on it. Holding a hand over his mouth, he didn't know what to do until Sam grabbed a paper napkin and told him to spit it out. He retched and spat the offending morsel out with a cough, pulling a face as he did so while Sam rubbed his back to calm him. Jack grabbed his milk and hastily washed the taste away.

"Eww...yuk!" Jack uttered with disgust, shuddering at the memory of it.

"You okay?" Sam discreetly wrapped up the messy tissue and threw it in the trash bin, wiping her hands with a cleansing tissue.

Jack looked down at his Pizza and pushed the plate away. There was no way he was eating that stuff.

Sam chewed on her bottom lip, knowing she had pushed him too far. Jack obviously had a good reason for not wanting anchovies on his Pizza when he was older. She only hoped that she hadn't changed his future by her stupid insistence.

"Don't you want to try the rest of it?" she asked, hoping that he'd say yes, but Jack shook his head vehemently.

"No way!" he declared forcefully. Nothing would induce him to touch whatever it was they called it.

"Still hungry?" Cassie asked, trying to deflect Sam's guilt which was written plainly across her face. Cassie was well aware of adult Jack's love of Italian food.

Jack nodded just as his stomach rumbled noisily. He eyed Teal'c's tray, piled high with a variety of food, but especially the apple pie sitting to one side.

Cassie smiled and reached out to take the plate and quickly gave it to Jack with a wink.

Sam snorted with amusement as the Jaffa pretended to scold the girl for stealing his food. He was in fact happy for the young O'Neill to have something he could enjoy. After all, he could always get another slice of the pie later.

Jack dove in happily, savouring every mouthful as he listened to the others talking amongst themselves.

"...you'll really have to sweet talk Daniel now Cassie. You know he's not going to like the idea of Jack not eating a proper meal."

"I know Sam. I'll just have to give him something extra sweet..."

Jack stopped eating, listening as Sam and Cassie exchanged views while Teal'c seemed oblivious to anyone around him as he shovelled the vast amount of food into his mouth. Jack had never seen anyone eat so much. It was then that he thought that he had a solution to their problem.

Moments later, Jack sat back in his chair, sated a little and looking forward to that chocolate cake he'd been promised. It was then that Daniel returned and sat back down in his seat. He frowned at the piece of Pizza sitting uneaten on the plate in the middle of the table.

"Jack? Didn't you like the Pizza?" Daniel couldn't understand why the boy hadn't eaten it.

"No. It was yuk!" Jack answered with a pout.

"No? You didn't?" Daniel's eyebrows shot up in shock at this. "Sam? What happened? I know full well that he liked Pizza," he whispered in an aside to his colleague so that Jack couldn't hear.

"It had anchovies on it Daniel." She looked up at her team-mate hoping he would understand.

"Oh...anchovies? Oh! I see what you mean." Daniel gasped at the information and sighed. He hadn't even noticed when he'd picked up the item for Jack.

He caught Jack looking at him with a frown.

"What?" he asked of the boy.

"It made me sick." Jack shuddered again and screwed up his face in disgust; he could still recall just how bad those little bits of fish had tasted.

"I'm sorry Jack, I forgot you hated them," Daniel said apologetically.

"You forgot? You knew I would hate them?"

Daniel cursed himself for the slip. He always thought that Jack was a lot sharper than he'd ever let on and now he knew it wasn't just his imagination.

"I mean. I...I...em..." Daniel dithered, trying to come up with an excuse for his carelessness.

"Never mind!" Jack sighed resignedly, making Sam snigger and hide her mouth behind her hand. He glared up at her before he asked with a definite whine, "Can I have my cake now?"

"Sure. Just let me finish this coffee."

Daniel took a huge mouthful and nearly choked on it. It spluttered from his lips across the table as he coughed. Cassie slapped him on the back a few times.

"Daniel?" Sam asked in concern.

"That coffee is most likely cold Major Carter. Is that not so Daniel Jackson?"

Daniel was still trying to regain his equilibrium, and wiped at his teary eyes.

"It was, yes, but who put the sugar in it?" he demanded.

"What?" Sam was stunned to say the least.

"Sugar. I don't take sugar or any form of sweetener, you know that Sam."

"I didn't..." she began, and then the penny dropped.

All eyes turned towards the youngest person sitting at the table, not more than twelve inches away from Daniel's cup.

TBC