I know I'm repeating myself, but I would like to thank everyone for the reviews they sent my way. Love all of your comments, as always.

Past, Present & Future

By LetitiaRichards.

Previously:

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

Chapter 10 – Snips and Snails, and Puppy Dogs Tails

"What?" grumbled the boy, looking far too innocent.

"Jack? Is there some reason why you put sugar in my coffee?"

Jack squirmed a little in his seat under the scrutiny of these adults.

"It was Sam. And Cassie," he blurted out defensively.

Startled gasps of disbelief came from the two females mentioned.

Daniel knew that Sam would never put sugar in his coffee and neither would Cassie; and Jack did look rather guilty.

"Jack. Don't lie to me," Daniel scolded with a wag of his finger.

"Not lying!" Jack retorted quickly. "They said that you needed something to sweeten you up. I thought..."

"Really?" Daniel couldn't believe his ears. He turned to glare at Sam, who had the grace to redden, and at Cassie who hung her head to hide her sudden blush. Her shoulders heaved and her hand flew up to her face, now hidden by her long hair.

Sam rounded on Daniel.

"Now look what you've done," she accused.

Daniel gaped open mouthed at his friend – wasn't he supposed to be the injured party here?

"Me?" he gasped.

Ignoring Sam's ire, he turned to put his arm round Cassie, and began to apologise. "Look...I...I'm sorry Cass. I..."

Whatever he was going to say ended when Cassie raised her head and wiped her streaming eyes. She was having hysterics; laughing so much she was actually crying.

Then Sam joined in too.

So did Daniel eventually; finally seeing the funny side, but only after he'd decided that if he couldn't beat them he should join them.

Jack thought it was pretty funny as well, though he really had no idea why everyone was giggling so much.

"Jack...you're incorrigible." Daniel scolded with a sigh. He placed his hand on the boy's shoulder before moving it to scrub his fingers affectionately backwards and forwards over the blonde hair.

Jack beamed under all the attention and nodded.

"That's just what Father O'Hara told my Mom," he announced proudly.

"Oh? Why?" Sam was all ears now, the laughter all but gone as she wanted to find out more about her CO's childhood. Not that she was nosy of course...just dead curious.

"Because I made Sister Mary Joseph scream during mass," Jack answered matter-of-factly.

Sam's eye widened with surprise. She hadn't really expected him to come out with something quite like that but after his antics with the sugar, she could well believe it.

Now everyone was listening. The background noise in the commissary had grown noticeably quieter, as all attention was fixed on the boy.

"What did you do to her to make her scream?" Daniel asked, not at all sure he wanted to hear the reason. It couldn't be good whatever Jack had done.

Jack shrugged. He'd already been punished for it, so guessed that these people wouldn't put him through that again. Would they?

"Tommy Stanwyck bet I couldn't put a frog under the Sister's wimple without her noticing."

"Don't tell me! You did, right?" Daniel sighed, knowing Jack better than most folks around the SGC.

"Sure I did," Jack nodded proudly.

"And she didn't notice anything?" Sam was astonished. How could the woman not know?

"Nope. At least, not until Susan Farron tried to pull the thing aside to see for herself."

"So what happened then?"

"That's when the frog fell into Sister Mary Joseph's lap and she screamed. Gee, you shoulda seen her jump!"

"You're an evil little monster Jack, you know that?" Daniel groaned, covering his eyes with his hand. He could just imagine the scene as it played out.

Jack merely beamed back at his audience, pleased with the response he'd received; and the fact that nobody had scolded him again, was a bonus. If anything, Sam and Cassie and several others around him were actually laughing.

"Yeah, but it was so cool," the young rascal replied with mischievous gleam in his eyes.

Daniel dropped his head into his hands and groaned again. If this was anything to go by, then heaven help them!

OoOoOoOoO

Daniel stopped in his tracks, hesitating for a moment, his mind set on what he needed for the briefing. Sam, Teal'c and Jack stopped walking too, waiting for Daniel to explain the hold up.

"Uh... You guys go ahead, Jack and I will join you in a minute."

"We could take him with us Daniel if you just need to get those reports from your lab." Sam stretched out a hand towards the child, but he stepped closer to Daniel, shaking his head, though he did send a big smile her way.

"I guess that means he's with me," Daniel sighed with a glance down at young Jack. Jack beamed back up at him and reached for his hand. "Okay. We won't be long."

Sam and Teal'c carried on up the corridor, with Sam glancing back over her shoulder at Daniel leading Jack in the other direction. She let loose an enormous sigh and turned back to face where she was going.

"It is difficult is it not to equate such a young child with O'Neill?" Teal'c as usual had captured Sam's thoughts even before she'd had time to process them. She swivelled her head round to study her muscular Jaffa team-mate as he walked by her side, hands clasped at his back and his face impassive yet understanding.

Looking up and down the passageway she was thankful it was clear, but then she should have known better because Teal'c would not betray their secret to anyone. The fact that the boy was really Colonel O'Neill wasn't common knowledge. As far as the rest of the SGC was concerned he was just another kid left stranded on another planet rather like Cassie had been.

"Ah, yeah it is Teal'c. You know the Colonel would never speak of his childhood or anything for that matter, but we have this unique opportunity given to us to find out more about him..."

"Yet you do not wish it were so?"

"No I don't," Sam admitted self-consciously. "I can't help wondering if this is real, you know? Like it's all a strange dream and I'm gonna wake up in the infirmary with a massive headache from something that happened on that planet that I can't even remember."

"If this is a dream Major Carter, then I also have been affected by its strange ethereal effect."

"Exactly Teal'c. Daniel's obviously been affected too, but what about the Colonel? Where is 'he' during all of this? I know the DNA results were pretty conclusive, but I can't help wondering..."

"I am uncertain at this point. However, I am sure Daniel Jackson will be able to exact the true reasons," Teal'c assured her.

He sounded so positive that Daniel would be able to work a miracle that Sam could only hope that it would work out right for them, especially for the Colonel. She couldn't bear to think of him being stuck like that for the rest of his life; for a start where would it leave their so called hidden relationship? Little Jack was really cute but she much preferred him as he was; tall, handsome, charismatic and...well, fun to be with.

Sam was so lost in her thoughts that Teal'c had to call her several times before she'd heard her name.

"Is not the de-briefing this way Major Carter?"

"Oh...um...yeah. Sorry Teal'c, I was just thinking about the Colonel." 'So what else is new?' she berated herself. She really shouldn't allow herself to be distracted by him so much. It could land them in big trouble.

Teal'c held the door open for her and she stepped into the briefing room, making her way over to her usual seat, automatically leaving a gap for the Colonel without conscious thought. Teal'c followed, taking a seat opposite her.

No sooner had they seated themselves then General Hammond joined them, looking round for the rest of the team.

"Where are Daniel Jackson and our young guest?"

"They'll be along shortly sir. Daniel just had to pick up some paperwork before he could join us."

General Hammond nodded and took his seat at the head of the table.

"In that case maybe you can fill me in with your side of events Major!"

"Yes sir..."

Meanwhile back in Daniel's lab...

There was an ear-splitting crash as something ancient hit the floor and shattered into several pieces.

"Jack!"

TBC