Sorry to keep you waiting... bad couple of days, which is typical, just because I said I was feeling better! Such is RL!

Thanks for your reveiws - though I haven't actually received any via the e-mail as yet...again! No updates either, so I'm hoping I can catch my favourite reads as they get posted.

Hope you enjoy this extra-long chapter!

Past, Present & Future

By LetitiaRichards.

Previously:

Daniel, who had been forgiven, was back in favour once more and took Jack back to his lab, which was the safer option than Sam's, where he made the boy sit in the corner with some paper and crayons while he got back to work. They would have returned to Jack's adult home, but as Simmons was expected at the SGC soon, it wasn't worth the effort.

Chapter 19 – A, Far From, Silent Night.

It was very late when Daniel received the call to take Jack along to the briefing room. He reluctantly stood, stretched and then called him over. Jack dropped everything and ran to his side, looking up at him eagerly, making Daniel smile. Now that they were friends once again, Jack had quickly reverted to the level of friendship they'd always had.

Daniel walked along the corridor deep in thought, Jack holding his hand obediently for a change, and several people nodded and cast them wondrous looks. As they reached the door to the briefing room, Daniel hesitated, listening to the overly loud conversation going on inside...

"...Major Carter, Teal'c," Hammond asked growing impatient. He needed to get this over and done with and Colonel Simmons off his base a.s.a.p. "Where are Dr. Jackson and the boy?"

"Or should we make that Dr. Jackson and... Colonel O'Neill?" Simmons practically purred with relish. Every pore was oozing with slime, and he wore that self-satisfied smug expression that he'd put on when he thought he had one over on everybody else.

"I've already informed you that Colonel O'Neill is not on this base right now." Hammond looked about ready to implode.

"Sir, I'm sure Daniel will be joining us shortly."

Hammond indicated that he understood and sat down trying to calm himself, settling in for the wait. Unfortunately Simmons took this to mean he could sit down too, much to the General's chagrin. How news of Colonel O'Neill's misfortune had leaked out was anybody's guess at this moment in time, but it was obvious that the NID hadn't lost any time in seeking the truth; hence the attempted abduction.

Simmons was here with orders sanctioned by the President to question the child; his own belief in him being O'Neill and therefore a danger to the secrecy and security of the Stargate Programme. Hammond knew that with Jack's missing memories, the NID Colonel would be wasting his time, something at which those in the SGC would be perfectly happy to live with and given the opportunity, would generously throw him off the base without preamble.

"Along with Colonel O'Neill too?" Simmons asked persistently with a smirk.

OoOoOoOoO

Daniel stood outside the door as still as a statue. He couldn't help overhearing Simmons words or the barely concealed smugness behind them. He looked down at Jack who was frowning up at him full of curiosity as to why they had stopped shy of entering.

"Dan...oomph?"

Daniel slapped a hand hastily over Jack's mouth and looked around him frantically. He spotted a store room a little further along the corridor and shoved a startled Jack towards it, still keeping his hand firmly clasped over his mouth.

Once inside he squatted down beside a red-faced Jack who pouted and glowered with displeasure as soon as Daniel released him.

"Why did you do that?" demanded Jack, slapping his hands onto his slim hips in keeping with his annoyance.

"Look, I'm sorry Jack but...you see, there's one of those 'nasty' men in the briefing room, who would love nothing more that to take you away from us," Daniel explained, laying a hand on Jack's shoulder, trying to soothe away the boy's irritation.

"Oh!" Jack was shaken, wondering why that man would want to do that to him. "Why would he want to take me away Daniel? Do I know him?"

"Uh...well, um, you, as of this minute, don't really know him, but I do know you really won't like him. He's not a very nice man. He might...um...want to hurt you."

"Why?" Jack asked, unable to think what he'd done to make the man actually hurt him. "Have I been bad?"

"No! No of course not. Well... there is another reason, but...it's hard to explain." Daniel was lost for words. There was no way to put this in plain words to tell a child that he was really his team leader and 2IC of the most top secret base in the world. How could he tell him that he'd had an accident on a different planet and it had made him into the child he was more than 45 years ago? It was impossible, that's why they'd made up that story about him sleeping for so long, thinking it would be easier; but now he wasn't so sure anymore.

If anything, Jack, as an adult, was always completely honest with him, barring that one time when he'd told him that their friendship meant nothing; but that was an ugly necessity at the time and Jack had promised never to do that again after grovelling for forgiveness. He had to trust this Jack too.

"This man believes you are someone else, another Jack O'Neill, and that in your present state – that is, by being a child - that you are a danger to this base and possibly to the whole world."

Jack's eye's widened with surprise at this, and then narrowed as a thought came to him.

"Am I?"

"What? A danger? Well, possibly, but not because you would do or say anything, but because you may not understand things you see around here that's all."

"Not that. Am I really this other Jack O'Neill?" Jack's voice was low, almost pleading for the truth. His dark eyes boring into Daniel in the hope that he'd capitulate and tell him everything.

Daniel squatted down and pulled Jack forward to stand between his bent knees, holding him gently as he turned his face towards him, locking the dark eyes onto his light blue ones.

"I'm not going to lie to you Jack, but I am asking you to wait until later for a proper explanation. Do you understand me?"

Jack frowned. He wasn't sure about any of this. He really wanted to know why he was here and what had happened to him. But, he did trust Daniel for some unfathomable reason, because really, Daniel was still an almost complete stranger to him. Though he did tell him the truth about his parents, so he hadn't been that bad. Yet, even then, there was something deep down inside him which told him to trust the bespectacled man, so now he would do.

"I...I suppose so." Jack shrugged. "For now!" And he'd hold him to that promise too!

"Jack, I can't go into details right this minute, but I really need you to be the child that you are. I promise as soon as this man has gone we will be able to tell you what happened and why you are here like this."

"Then I guess I'll just have to wait huh?" he said brightening up at the thought of learning about himself at long last.

Daniel nodded with a sad smile, and Jack threw himself into his arms, holding on tight. Daniel hugged back, blinking back the gathering moisture from his own emotions. This mini version of Jack was so damn trusting of him, and he really didn't deserve this, seeing as it was his fault Jack was somehow stuck inside this small child. He also couldn't help but wonder what had happened in his former years to turn him into such a cynic in later life? But, he'd doubt he would ever know why that was; Jack was such an intensely private person and never revealed anything from his past.

After several moments they both pulled apart. Jack smiled rather mischievously.

"Okay Daniel. You wanted a kid, so here I am!"

"Ah, now Jack. We...er...we don't want any trouble..."

"What trouble? From me?" Jack looked the picture of complete innocence; a look which Daniel had already become familiar with from the adult version.

He saw that mischievous gleam in the boy's eye and knew they were in for it. He only hoped that it was for the good of the SGC.

"Just one more thing Jack. I...er I think it might be best if we call you something other than Jack for now, okay?"

"Sure," Jack shrugged.

"Do you have a nickname or something they called you at home other than Jack?"

"My grandma calls me... em... she'd dead too huh?" Daniel nodded an affirmative, so Jack continued. "She used to call me Jonjo."

"Jonjo?" Daniel's eye's raised in surprise. He never thought Jack would ever tell him anything like that, well, not in his right mind, which brought him right back to feeling guilty again.

"Yeah. From Jonathon Joseph. My proper name."

"Ah...okay then, that's...actually quite good." It could sound sort of alien. "So - Jonjo it is." Daniel couldn't help the smile forming. He would love to see Jack's face if and when he ever got the opportunity to call him that in the future, supposing that they could reverse the process and get Jack back to his real age and size that is.

Jack jumped up and grabbed Daniel's hand, pulling him upwards. Daniel gathered up his things and stood, allowing Jack to drag him back towards the briefing room. The worst part of this was that he couldn't warn his team-mates or the General for that matter about what might happen once Jack was inside that room.

OoOoOoOoO

General Hammond sat at the head of the table with a thunderous expression on his face, while the person who was responsible for putting it there couldn't look more relaxed if he'd tried.

Simmons had made himself at home at the other end of the table and had set up a small recorder on the table, pointing towards the little group opposite him. He smiled the smile of pure innocence in response to the dark scowls from Major Carter and Janet Fraiser, and all but ignored the darker threatening glare coming from the Jaffa warrior.

An uneasy silence had fallen in the briefing room and the only audible noise was that of Simmons low slightly off-key humming accompanied by the drumming of his fingers on the dark wood of the table as they waited for Daniel and Jack to show up.

The door flew open and Daniel rushed in followed by Jonjo who stayed in Daniel's shadow, hanging onto his hand.

"Um Hi. Sorry I'm late General. Ah...Jonjo and I had to make a quick detour at the last minute." Which was perfectly true...sort of. "Did I miss anything?"

If General Hammond, Janet, and the other half of SG-1 were surprised by the sudden change of name they did well to mask it.

Jonjo went up to the General and saluted cheekily, making the older man break into a warm smile and salute back.

"Jonjo," Daniel called. "Come and sit here next to me. I've got some paper and coloured pencils for you. Perhaps you would like to draw a picture or two?"

"Okay," Jonjo replied jauntily and climbed onto the chair, kneeling up and leaning against the table for better access. He looked across the table and grinned widely when he saw Sam smile at him. "Hi Sam. Hi Dr. Janet."

"Hello Jonjo," they both replied with amused smiles and raised eyebrows. "How are you feeling now?" Janet added, ever the Doctor.

"I'm fine!" Jonjo scowled because he was okay and hated all the fuss.

He looked round the table and spotted Teal'c whose face had remained passive since their entry, but he did dip his head slightly in greeting. Then he saw a stranger sitting at the other end of the long table eyeing him suspiciously. He didn't particularly like the look of the man and knew without a doubt that this was the bad guy Daniel had spoken about.

"As we're all here, let's get this meeting under way people. Ah, Colonel Simmons, this is Jonjo." General Hammond introduced the boy to the Colonel, but neither said a word of greeting. Simmons looked puzzled by the name, while Jack just fixed his dark eyes on the stranger.

Jonjo continued to stare at him, seemingly full of curiosity. Simmons locked eyes with the boy for what seemed an age until finally, the NID Colonel had to clear his throat and pointedly looked down at his papers. Jack smiled inwardly at his triumph in making the man give up first.

"Don't mind me," Simmons stated, looking up again almost immediately, but straight at the adults this time; studiously trying to ignore Jonjo who was still gazing at him and making him feel damn uncomfortable. "Please go ahead with your mission report Dr. Jackson. I believe it will prove to be very interesting." He smiled that obsequious smile again, though he could feel the sweat begin to bead on his forehead. Was that kid ever going to stop staring at him?

"When you're ready Dr. Jackson," Hammond said, giving him a particular look which told him that he was okay with whatever story he could come up with to put Simmons in his place.

Daniel cleared his throat and stood up, then made his way to the coffee pot to pour himself a cup of the rich dark brew. He couldn't do this without a good dose of caffeine inside him. He leisurely made his way back to his seat and sat down again. He sifted through his notes and cleared his throat again.

"We found the temple exactly where we thought it would be and the Colonel decided to split us up, probably to save time. Sam and Teal'c were sent off to scout around the area and to check over the soil for deposits of Naquadah and also to keep an eye out for hostiles."

Jonjo had apparently lost all interest in the report and had begun to draw a picture of his new family, but, he was actually listening to Daniel too, hoping that he might find out why he was there and what had happened to him.

"I spent some time going over the writing but it was difficult to interpret without a reference. I though I had found something and called the Colonel over." Daniel paused chewing on his bottom lip from the fresh round of guilt he felt deep down inside. It was all his fault!

"So what did you do Dr. Jackson? Please, go on. I am all ears. This is just so damn thrilling."

Everyone at the table shot daggers at Simmons who had interrupted Daniel with such cynicism and contempt in his voice that Sam had to place a hand on Teal'c's arm to prevent him from tearing the NID Colonel apart.

Jonjo was now certain that Daniel was right. This man was nasty. It was obvious from his comments that he didn't like Daniel much at all.

"As I was saying General, I called the Colonel over to show him my findings but I accidentally activated one of the symbols on the altar. There was a grating noise and part of the wall moved away to reveal another room. Jack...em, Colonel O'Neill held me back while he cautiously entered to make sure it was safe."

Daniel paused for a moment to catch a deep breath, knowing he would have to alter the truth if he was to protect Jack from Simmons and the NID.

"I'm sorry General. It's entirely my fault. As soon as he walked into that room he was doomed. A force field came down and we couldn't find a way of dropping it so that the Colonel could get out. It was then that a bright light filled the room. I called after him, but he was..." Daniel swallowed hard. Jack's screams of pain still haunted him. "...he was screaming in pain. When the light finally shut off... the Colonel was gone." Needing a refill, he picked up his now empty mug and headed back to the coffee pot. He stood with his back to the others while he tried to come to terms with events yet again. It had all been his damn fault.

There was a slow hand clap from the other end of the room as Simmons sneered in irritation.

"Is that the best story you could come up with?" he asked with a snort of disbelief. "I have to admit it was such a moving account Dr. Jackson that you almost had me believing it for a moment there."

"That is what happened Colonel!" Sam cried in Daniel's defence.

Simmons glared at her, his eyebrows raised.

"And just how would you know Major? According to your own report, you weren't even with Dr. Jackson at that point; am I right? Or did you falsify your report to hide the truth that this child is Colonel O'Neill in reality?"

Sam sighed and pursed her lips, slumping back into her seat knowing he had a point, yet furious that he was accusing her of lying. She wasn't with the Colonel or Daniel until after the incident, though that didn't stop her trying to back him up. She'd trust Daniel at any time rather than Simmons. She wouldn't even trust him to make the coffee.

"I trust Daniel with my life Colonel," she almost spat in response. "I'd rather trust his word than yours any day of the week...Sir."

"Major!" Hammond did his best to soothe over the ruffled feathers quickly. "Colonel just what are you trying to say? That my people are covering up for their missing senior officer, whom I remind you is still unaccounted for? The sooner you get this over and done with the sooner I can send my best teams to that planet to retrieve my 2IC!"

"I thought that was rather obvious General. It all sounds a little suspicious if you ask me..." Here he was interrupted quickly by Teal'c.

"I do not believe anyone in this room is interested in your opinion Colonel Simmons!"

Simmons gave the Jaffa a disparaging glare and carried on as if he hadn't been interrupted.

"...and too far fetched. You lose Colonel O'Neill in a flash of light and then minutes later you find this young child? I don't see anyone here actually mourning the apparent loss of their team leader."

Sam looked as if she'd swallowed a lemon and Daniel, still with his back to them, stiffened and took a deep breath to compose himself. General Hammond's face took on an unhealthy puce colour as he sat there steaming with righteous indignation.

"Are you suggesting that we don't actually care that Colonel O'Neill is out there somewhere, maybe lost, possibly injured, and all you can do is postulate your half-cocked theories that this mere child is the real Colonel O'Neill?" Hammond was livid. "Unlike you Colonel, we actually do care about our people. As soon as this briefing has ended I'm going to call in another team to head back out and search for our missing man. We don't leave our people behind!"

Simmons turned to Jonjo, focussing his questions on the child, but Jack ignored him and jumped down from the chair.

Jonjo, who had actually been taking it all in, walked over to Daniel, and then wormed his way under Daniel's arm, looking up at his friend with dark eyes full of trust.

"I don't blame you at all Daniel," Jonjo whispered, having understood more than he should have. It raised a lot of questions in his mind but he did trust these 'friends'.

Daniel gulped down his coffee and peered down at his 'little' friend. He knew without a doubt that young Jack had now realised who he really was. However they couldn't let Simmons know that. Instead Daniel shook his head and said in a deliberately loud voice, gently propelling Jack back towards the briefing table.

"No way Jonjo. Coffee is for adults. There's a glass of water on the table if you want a drink. Go on." He had to make sure that Simmons believed he was asking for a drink.

Daniel shooed him away, but Simmons who was up from his seat already, hurried impatiently over to them and grabbed the child by both shoulders, squatting down to his level. He hated to be ignored, especially by a child whom he believed was Jack O'Neill.

"Now you listen to me you little bastard. You are Jack O'Neill aren't you? I know you are. Come on Colonel, you can't deny this any longer. Tell me who you really are? I want to hear it from your own lips."

Jonjo gaped wide eyed at Simmons, but he wasn't really afraid. He knew Daniel and the others would protect him. But he really had no memory of being this adult Jack.

Teal'c was out of his seat quicker than lightning, and was about to grasp Simmons when Daniel held him off.

"Go ahead Jonjo. Tell him who you are. Tell him how we found you wandering around half naked and starving." Daniel's eyes held a fire which Jonjo took to mean that he could make up anything he wanted.

"Tell me!" Simmons shouted, gripping the boy so hard that Jonjo winced from the pain, yet still he stubbornly refused to reveal anything.

"No! Nonononono!" Jonjo squirmed, trying to get away.

"Why you..." Simmons shook the boy so hard it made Jack's brain rattle and hurt worse than before.

"Colonel! May I remind you that that is a young child you are abusing. And the last time I looked it was against the laws of humanity to do so!" Hammond wasn't going to stand for any child abuse, especially on his base. Now he was on his feet too.

Daniel released Teal'c and was ready to make a grab for the boy.

Jack felt the heat rise up in his body again. He could feel himself begin to get a fuzzy feeling in his head. He forced himself to push away those feelings, because the last thing he wanted to do was pass out.

With an extreme effort on his part, Jack reacted in the only way he knew how and lashed out with his foot, kicking Simmons in the knee as hard as he could.

"Ouch! Why you little brat..." Simmons cried releasing the boy and standing up quickly. In a fit of temper he lashed out and caught Jonjo hard across the face, splitting his lip and sending him reeling backwards to apparently strike his head on the leg of the table.

Jonjo just lay there frighteningly still. As was everyone in the room for the briefest of seconds that felt like an eternity.

After that it was mayhem as Teal'c, unable to keep himself under restraint any longer, pounced on Simmons who went down under the tackle, and then suddenly there were four SF's who'd been summoned immediately by the General to arrest Simmons, but first they had to rescue him from under Teal'c. Apparently they were in no hurry to do so either. Not so much afraid of the huge Jaffa, but rather, relishing the fact that Simmons was getting his just rewards for harming a child.

Daniel in the meantime was kneeling beside the inert Jonjo while Sam hovered nearby watching Janet check the boy over.

"He's okay, just unconscious. No broken bones, and his stitches are still okay, but he will have a fat lip for a while," she said through gritted teeth, glaring behind her at the melee still going on. "Daniel can you carry him? I need to get him to the infirmary. I think we should definitely get him away from here."

Daniel carefully picked up the limp form and carried him carefully out of the room and into the elevator along with Sam and Janet, leaving the chaos behind.

OoOoOoOoO

"Janet?"

"I know Daniel. He has a temperature again." Janet's dark eyes met those of Daniel's with understanding.

"You mean he's..." Sam looked stunned as Janet nodded in agreement.

"So it's happening again?" Daniel sighed unhappily. How many times was this going to happen before he could put things to right?

"I think it must have happened when Simmons shook him like that. He looked quite dazed afterwards."

"So it wasn't the collision with the table leg that actually rendered him unconscious?" Sam speculated.

"No, I don't think it was. He doesn't have another bump on his head. I already checked that."

By this time the elevator had come to a halt and the doors slid open. Janet led the way down the hall and Daniel followed quickly with Sam close on his heels.

The Doctor pointed to a bed and moved to pull the curtains round it while Daniel laid the still unconscious and feverish boy onto the bed. Sam stood next to Daniel, and Janet took out her pen light to shine it into Jack's eyes.

A nurse entered the cubicle a few minutes later and placed a bowl of cool water and a clean cloth onto the table and then left. Sam made a move to wet the cloth and wring it out, then mopped at Jack's over-heated brow, trying to cool him down.

"Is this going to happen each time something happens to him too, Janet?" she asked, unconsciously voicing Daniel's thought too. Normally it would only happen when he'd been sleeping, though this was similar to the first time it occurred.

Janet shrugged, finding herself at a loss, she really didn't know what to think or expect. It wasn't something that she came across every day of the year and knew with a certainty that this wasn't mentioned in any of her medical journals. She was – playing it by ear, as it were.

TBC