Hi there, I'm really sorry to keep you waiting for this next chapter. Not been too good of late; more problems with my eyes and head, but at last I'm getting this off to you. I've actually caught up with myself so from now on, updates will be slower than usual. I can't get on here as often as I'd like to because I have to limit my time these days.

I hope you all enjoy this chapter and a big THANK YOU to all of you who have sent in reviews. It's these that keep me going when I feel down because of my illness.

Past, Present & Future

By LetitiaRichards.

Previously:

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

"Jack!"

Chapter 11 – Bribery & Corruption?

"What?"

"What? That was a..." Daniel spluttered, looking down at the scattered remains of what had been an interesting and important archaeological find.

"Gee, it was only a rock Daniel," Jack shrugged, unable to see why Daniel was so upset over a stupid old stone.

"No. It wasn't, Jack. Not to me." How could he explain that it was a significant piece of history that he could study and be able to read and understand it's purpose? Even the adult Jack couldn't comprehend that.

Jack looked at the broken pieces on the floor at his feet. Chewing on his lip, he brought his eyes back up to meet with Daniel's.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to break it."

Daniel summoned all his patience and took a deep breath. Of course he knew Jack wouldn't have smashed it on purpose after all. And it wasn't so long ago that he'd reminded Janet that Jack was only a kid; something that he was finding difficult to come to terms with, let alone anyone else.

He made a move to pick up the pieces, but Jack beat him to it, dropping to his knees to help Daniel.

"Jack. No. It's okay..." Daniel cried, but it was too late. Jack jerked his hand away, a few drops of blood dripping from a cut to his finger tip.

"Oww!" Jack complained, but watched fascinated as the red liquid oozed from the cut.

"Let me see that," Daniel demanded, wondering if it was bad enough to warrant Janet's needlework. It didn't look too bad from where he was standing but then he wasn't quite close enough and Jack was being a little reluctant to show him by backing away.

"It's nothing," Jack pouted, sticking his injured finger into his mouth so that Daniel couldn't see it. He sucked it clean and then shoved it under Daniel's nose. "See?"

Daniel had to admit that it looked okay, but then he wondered what alien germs might have been on the artefact in the first place and now that Jack had ingested it, would he really be okay? With a regretful sigh he decided it was best to err on the cautious side and let Janet see it anyway.

"Yes Jack it looks fine, but..."

Jack groaned as if he knew what was coming.

"I don't wanna go back to see Dr. Janet," he whined, backing away once more. "I'm fine!"

"Jack... We have to be sure," Daniel pleaded earnestly. "Please. It won't take long."

"Do I get to have more cake?"

Daniel's mouth gaped and knew at once he was being bribed. Without much of a choice, he nodded reluctantly.

"I guess. But... on one condition Jack!"

"What's that?" Jack asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes.

"Absolutely no more touching anything in my lab or Sam's. Okay?"

It was a tall order. Jack couldn't help his curiosity and he loved to touch things but if Daniel had promised him more cake, then he guessed he would be okay with that.

"Jack? Will you promise me?" Daniel was waiting for his answer.

"Okay!" Jack grouched. "I promise. Now, can we get this over with? I'm hungry!"

"Yeah, but you're gonna have to wait until the briefing is over."

OoOoOoOoO

Janet closed her eyes and prayed for patience when she saw who it was entering her infirmary. 'What had happened now?' she wondered.

Daniel looked a little sheepish as he propelled Jack forward, and Janet knew instantly that whatever had gone wrong, Daniel was blaming himself for this second visit so soon after the first.

"Daniel? Jack?" she greeted them reservedly.

"Ah...um...Janet," Daniel was hesitant at first, but then spat out the explanation all in one go. "Ah...Jack cut his finger on one of my relics and I said it might be best if you checked him out. I have no idea if there was anything on there that shouldn't be."

Janet was used to Daniel's way of speaking when he was nervous so she could digest the information easily then nod, knowing to what he was referring.

"Okay then young man, hop onto this bed and I'll take a look and get a blood sample off to the lab."

Jack sighed wearily but climbed onto the bed and sat on the edge, swinging his legs over the side. He stuck his finger out for Janet to look at.

"It's only a little cut," Jack exclaimed, glancing meaningfully up at Daniel.

"Did you wash it already Daniel?" Janet asked, noting that the wound looked clean.

"That would be a 'no'. Jack sucked on it before I had chance to take a look at it."

Janet frowned up at Daniel and then scowled across at Jack who reddened and dropped his gaze at the unspoken rebuke. His Mom was forever telling him off for the same thing whenever he got hurt. It hadn't been a problem before now, so why were they making such a fuss?

She couldn't see anything inside the wound, but playing on the safe side, gave him a shot of antibiotic, wiped it with a sterile swab and covered the now clean cut with a dressing.

"There," Janet sighed thankfully, hoping that was all there was to it. "Now let's take a sample of blood and you can go on your way."

Jack fidgeted a little while she took a sample of his blood for analysis and once that was done she sent them both off to the briefing room where they were expected, much to Jack's delight and no so. He had been dreading the thought of Janet making him stay in bed once again, but he was hungry and wanted that extra piece of cake Daniel had promised him.

OoOoOoOoO

"Glad you could make it Dr. Jackson."

Daniel could tell from the General's tone that he was more than a little irked at being kept waiting.

"I'm sorry General...er...Jack had a little mishap in the lab so we had to call into the infirmary on the way."

"Is he okay?" Hammond enquired, earning a scowl from the boy in question.

Sam left her seat to check on Jack for herself. She led him up to the table and helped him take the seat next to hers.

"What happened Daniel?" she asked, her voice full of concern as Jack showed her his 'boo-boo'.

"Uh...well, Jack managed to break one of the artefacts that was sitting on my desk and cut his finger."

"Did it need stitching?" Sam asked, agape at the thought of little Jack having Janet sew his finger back together. She wasn't squeamish really; she'd seen hundreds of wounds that needed stitching, including the Colonel's injuries as well, but the thought of little Jack having to go through that was bringing out all sorts of weird feelings inside her.

"No. No. Nothing like that," Daniel quickly explained, taking his own seat next to Teal'c after grabbing a cup of coffee. "He...um...he decided to suck it clean before I could wash the blood away. I just thought Janet should check him out in case the item was contaminated or something."

General Hammond wasn't sure if he should smile or not. Knowing the older Jack O'Neill as he did, he could hardly blame the boy for being so inquisitive like his adult self. Though having a young child running around the base could prove dangerous not only for the boy but for all of them, especially if he couldn't stop touching things he shouldn't. They were going to have to look into ways of keeping him out of trouble if they all wanted to survive. Who knew what else he would lay his sticky fingers on? A Naquadah reactor? God forbid!

In the meantime Daniel had passed Jack some paper and coloured pencils to occupy him whilst they discussed his future. He had yet to tackle the task of deciphering the writings on the altar inside the temple. The sooner he could do that, the sooner they would be able to get the adult Jack back. Maybe!

General Hammond opened the de-briefing and after Sam had given the report of her findings, it was Daniel's turn to explain the complicated story of how Jack got 'shrunk'.

"Well, General it was like this. Jack..." Daniel droned on and on.

Jack was happy at first to draw pictures but soon grew bored with that, and Daniel was still talking, oy. He felt his eyes closing, and for a while fought against his heavy eyelids.

"...so you see General I need to get on with the translations so that we can take Jack back to the planet and put this right!"

"Very well Dr. Jackson. I'm giving you all some time off to look after Jack away from the mountain, seeing as he has taken to you so well. There's no sense in making him unhappy by placing him with anyone outside for now. You have one month to come up with the translation, before we have to consider whatever options there are available to us."

"Yes sir." Daniel nodded in agreement. He would be happier if Jack was away from this place. He could just as easily work from home as he could here in the lab. All his notes could be copied and sent to him via a secure e-mail account either by Sam or Teal'c.

"I think it might be best if you took him back to his own house for the time being where he might feel more secure. I'll have a couple of guards posted around the grounds to keep him safe." He didn't think he needed to add his thoughts that it would also keep Jack from escaping too. "You will concentrate on the translations while Major Carter, and Teal'c..."

Hammond startled after turning towards the other members of the team to issue their new temporary orders, but had stopped midstream when he saw Jack was sound asleep with his thumb firmly wedged in his mouth. He actually looked quite innocent, though the General knew better than that. There was nothing new in the fact that Jack had gone to sleep; adult Jack could fall asleep anywhere, and yes, including a briefing, yet still manage to be alert to what was going on around him.

It was just where he had fallen asleep that had completely thrown him.

The youngster was contentedly curled up on Samantha Carter's lap.

TBC