Well, we're nearly there! Sorry it took me longer to get this done, but I hope you will enjoy it anyway. Thanks as always to those of you who have bothered to send in a review, especially with FF being out of sorts at the moment.

Last chapter up tomorrow!

Past, Present & Future

By LetitiaRichards.

Previously:

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.

Chapter 20 – A Present for the Future.

General Hammond had ordered a distinctly looking worse for wear Colonel Simmons to a holding cell, escorted by a couple of SFs as well as Teal'c. The latter being there to make sure that the prisoner didn't try to pull rank over the younger guards, who were there also to prevent the mountain of an alien from finishing the prisoner off completely.

Once he'd seen the Colonel marched away Hammond unclenched his fists and returned to his office where he sat down in his chair for a few minutes to calm himself before picking up the phone and dialling the President. He would make sure his CIC would have a full report of the proceedings of this less than joyful debriefing.

If he had his way Simmons would be court-martialled for striking an officer, but that would only expose the secret surrounding the boy's presence to the NID; something which he would not want haunting Colonel O'Neill for the rest of his days. He wouldn't put it past them to abduct the adult Colonel on his return – if all went well, that is – to duty, or try another method of persuading 'little' Jonjo to reveal his true identity and secrete him away somewhere with little hope of finding him.

OoOoOoOoO

The two team-mates had stood vigil over Jack as he tossed and turned in his fevered dreams. Sam had several times, wiped the moisture from his brow. He just couldn't seem to get a break. The sooner Daniel got back to work the better, because she was so worried what this was doing to her CO.

His temperature seemed worse this time around. The last change he'd made, back to being a child, had gone practically unnoticed, as did the change before that. Recalling that certain change, it still had the power to make her blush. More to the point though, would he actually remember it? Oh, she sooo hoped not!

Long minutes dragged into an hour and then Janet was back checking on him.

"His temperature has dropped at last. He'll sleep more peacefully now."

Sam nodded; she had noticed his jerky movements had gradually abated.

"Janet?"

"Yeah?"

Will it be okay to take him home tomorrow? It will be Christmas Eve and we've got the tree to finish decorating and the presents to wrap..."

Janet hemmed and hawed, wondering what to do for the best. He wasn't out of the woods yet, and she really wanted to keep an eye on him for a while longer.

"Look..." she said, brightening up with a sudden thought. "...why don't you all come round to my house for Christmas? Cassie's decorated the house and the tree this year and it would be a shame if nobody else was there to admire her efforts. It would make her really happy. We can put all the presents under the tree. This way I can keep an eye on him all day and perhaps you can all stay the night so we can both watch over him while he sleeps too."

"All of us?" Sam gaped in surprise.

"Of course! I usually end up coming over to yours or the Colonel's house anyway; this way I can pay you back. I've got plenty of food in and a turkey that far too big for just the two of us. Please Sam! We'd love to have you guys come round."

"I'll have to find out what Daniel and Teal'c think first... But, I can't see them refusing your offer, not when I'm the one that would be cooking in the Colonel's absence," she stated wryly, rolling her eyes; knowing full well the food would be better for their digestion if Janet took over the kitchen. Not that she couldn't cook, but Christmas dinner was a far cry from pizza, cookies and coffee!

"That's settled then! I won't take no for an answer. I'm not sure how Cassie will take to a 'little' Colonel if he's in his right mind; it might prove a little awkward but no doubt she'll be okay. I just can't see him crawling all over the floor with her like his younger self would. We'll have to make allowances Sam; he may not be the life and soul of the party," she warned in a hushed whisper.

"Actually he wasn't that bad last time 'he' emerged." Sam whispered back, emphasising the 'he' with finger quote marks that made them both snigger. "Only time will tell Janet, but we can simply leave him with Teal'c, who's always a little sober, while we have fun."

"You mean they'll be in the peanut gallery, like our very own Statler and Waldorf?" Janet giggled, and Sam had to clasp her hand over her mouth to stop from shrieking out loud as she doubled over in laughter. What a picture that conjured up.

Unseen, Daniel stood in the doorway watching them, a smile spread over his own lips as he overheard their not so quiet comments and enjoyed seeing them having hysterics. It was good to see them sharing a joke and having a good laugh. It would at least break the tension for a moment, and that was something they all sorely needed these days.

OoOoOoOoO

Contrary to popular belief, Jack stayed in the guise of child Jack, although a rather subdued one. Janet had run plenty of tests and finally came to the conclusion that she really had no idea why that was so. The only theory they came up with was that when he was knocked out, the effects had somehow suppressed his older self. That led to beggar the question... would he stay like that permanently if Daniel's translation turned out to be wrong or ineffectual too?

Nobody could possibly know that of course – the whole dilemma was completely unanswerable at this point. Once the Christmas break was over General Hammond had proposed that they should return to the planet in order to find that elusive answer if Daniel's research came up blank.

Janet had kept Jack in the infirmary for most of Christmas Eve, but during the afternoon she had allowed the rest of his team to take him to her home where they would all be staying put until the 26th when she wanted him back at the SGC for various tests before they gated to PX34 259.

Jack for one seemed quite happy to be going to see Cassie again, and the fact that it was Christmas too. He appeared none the worse for his fever or his little mishaps along the way, which, although pleased them all, he was by no means behaving like his normal four year old boisterous self.

They spent a pleasant enough late afternoon. Cassie played checkers with Jack in the bedroom while Sam and Janet prepared a light dinner which left Teal'c and Daniel to wrap up some last minute presents for Jack, seeing as he was no longer his adult self as they'd half-expected. Luckily they'd bought both types because they could hardly give grown up gifts to a four year old Jack O'Neill, or vice-versa.

After dinner, they sat Jack down and went over what had happened to him back on that planet. To say that he was stunned would be an understatement, but then he took it all in his stride, shrugged his little shoulders, and surprisingly had very little to say on the subject, having understood more than he'd let on from the briefing with Simmons. This only worried the gathered group all the more; they had at least expected some sort of reaction, but not this apparent nonchalance.

He'd remained quiet for the rest of the evening, and not long afterwards actually asked to go to bed, requesting that Sam go with him.

Sam was worried by his request; especially as he now knew who he was and more importantly whom she was as his subordinate.

"Are you feeling okay Jack?" Janet asked, getting down to his level and reaching out to lay a hand over his brow. It felt warm again.

He pushed her hand away and frowned at her actions.

"I'm just tired!" he answered impatiently. "Can't I go to bed if I want to?"

"B...well, of course you can," Janet replied standing straight again and giving Sam am inquiring look.

"It's okay Janet. I'll stay with him until he's settled," she replied watching as Jack took off along the hall towards the stairs.

"You sure you won't need an escort?" Janet whispered with raised eyebrows and a wry smile playing over her lips. "especially giving him his bath?"

Sam practically pushed her back into the sitting room and told her quietly to shut up! She had a feeling Jack wanted to talk to her and she wanted to put him at ease right away. Even if it was going to be slightly embarrassing over the bath time ritual before bed.

Teal'c and Daniel had been assigned Cassie's room for the night; Daniel would use the bed and Teal'c would be happy doing his usual Kel-no-reem on the floor in his cross-legged position, surrounded by a few candles, having first promised Janet that he would be extra vigilant of them. The last thing he wanted was to start a fire. Cassie would have to snuggle up with Janet in the double bed while Sam was left with no choice but to curl up with 'little' Jack in the spare room, as requested by himself.

OoOoOoOoO

"Sam...?"

Sam turned her attention to Jack as he sat on the bathroom stool watching her put his clothes in the laundry basket.

"Yeah?" she answered, coming to squat in front of him to help him into the bath. Once he was sitting in the warm water he spoke hesitantly.

"I...I need to ask you something, but I'm not sure how to ask."

Sam turned and faced him as he chewed on his lower lip, and more doubt in those dark depths than she could ever remember seeing.

Easing herself onto her knees to lean over to grab the sponge, she began to soap it up. She smiled when he hesitated, then with a small tight smile he waited expectantly for her permission.

"You know you can ask me anything you want Jack, okay?" He looked up at her and then nodded, seeing that she'd meant what she'd said. "Now, what's on your mind?"

"We're...friends right? Even when I was grown up?"

"Yyyeessss..." she'd agreed after a short while wondering where he was going with this as she scrubbed the lather all over his back, trying hard to forget what happened the last time she'd bathed him. "I sure hope so."

"Good. That's good. Isn't it?"

"Of course it is. I think we were...are good friends."

His smile widened at hearing the confirmation from her.

"I don't remember being a grown up Jack."

"I know you don't; but that's okay, it doesn't matter. We'll still be your friends even if you have to stay this way."

"Really?"

"Of course we will," Sam assured him. How could they possibly not love this version of the man himself?

"Sam?"

"Uhuh?"

"Do you love me?"

Sam stiffened and Jack immediately stopped playing with the bubbles to look at the surprise on her face.

"I mean... If... if I have to stay like this, would you still love me?"

Sam smiled with relief, and counted herself lucky.

"Of course Jack. We all love you. You do remember what we discussed earlier about wanting to adopt you if we can't put things right, don't you?"

"Yeah... but adopting doesn't always mean that you love someone."

Sam was taken aback. How would he know about such things?

"Well, in this instance it would. We all love you Jack. Otherwise we wouldn't want to keep you with us."

It felt weird saying that. This was Jack O'Neill and she'd loved his adult self for a long time, though she couldn't actually tell him that. She hadn't been able to do that even when he was an adult; at least not in any actual words.

"No, I know about that. I mean do 'you' love me Sam? Did you love me when I was all grown up too?"

Sam felt sudden heat flame her face, much to her annoyance, and she floundered for an answer. Children were always so damn direct.

"Ah...um...well...I..."

"I love you Sam."

Oh god! How often had she dreamed of Jack saying those very words to her? It was the stuff her dreams were made of, but this was only little Jack and there was no chance of anything happening unless... Yeah, right... even then it would still only be a dream if he was restored back to his usual self. They'd still be dancing round the truth and avoiding the subject because of the regs. She did feel rather flattered by his admission though, none the less. God help her, she loved him in either guise. Right now, if all else failed, she wanted nothing more than to be his 'Mommy'.

"I love you too Jack!" she grinned, putting a large blob of bubbles on the end of his little pointy nose in fun, making him giggle.

"If I don't get all grown up, will you wait for me to get big again so that I can marry you?"

Oh wow!

"You're too young to be thinking things like that Jack," she laughed, though not unkindly. "Anyway, we'll have to see what happens after Christmas. Then, maybe you'll be all grown up again and we won't be having this conversation, let alone recalling it."

"Why not?" he asked in genuine confusion.

"Because it's against the Air Force's regulations."

"You mean I can't love you when I get big again?" His eyes were like huge saucers in disbelief.

Sam shook her head, a sad expression on her face.

"But that's just stupid. If I was all grown up now I'd want to marry you Sam. That's...if you wanted to too?"

Sam smiled wistfully, and she felt the tell-tale prickle of moisture gathering behind her eyes. Oh yeah, if only!

"That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me Jack. Big or small." She said it in all confidence knowing that he'd never remember this, if and when he reverted back to being the Colonel.

Jack took a good look at her, his dark eyes penetrating her so hard she blushed under such scrutiny. He couldn't help but wonder what had been wrong with his older self. Was he that stupid as an adult not to at least ask her to marry him?

"I didn't say things like that to you when I was big, did I? Gee I musta been real stupid!" he sighed, his shoulders sagging.

Sam shook her head again but couldn't find the voice to make any comment at all. It was so hard to hear him like this. It was all she'd ever wanted, but fate had been even more cruel to her than usual, and had taken away any distant hope she'd harboured about the two of them getting together one day in the future.

"You're not stupid Jack, just..." What? What was there to say to this child that could sum up this thing they had between them that they'd both put on hold for the sake of keeping... their careers, pensions and integrity intact? Saving Earth? Being heroes? Retirement? What exactly had they been waiting for? And for how much longer would they dance around without a solution? Until they were both too old? Until one of them died? "...that you're a damn fine, honest to goodness, loyal and caring soldier." Which didn't say anything or everything but it was all she could come up with right now.

They both stayed quiet after that while Sam concentrated on finishing his bath and then drying him off. Then he broke that uncomfortable silence with words that made her hands falter as she dressed him, and she felt compelled to look into his pleading eyes.

"Promise me one thing Sam?" His small hands came up to rest on her shoulders and he searched the very depths of her soul through her wide eyes.

"What?" Sam responded softly, half afraid of what he might be asking.

"That we'll talk about this if...when, I get big again? If I do forget, or try to ignore it, then just kick my ass and remind me of what I've said! Tell me I'm stupid, but don't let me ignore it any more!"

Sam was captured by those deep set eyes of his, pleading with her very heart, and she lost herself in the dark depths. In a surprising way, she almost thought she saw and heard a spark of the old O'Neill in there, but that just couldn't be right. Or was he really in there somewhere too? She just couldn't be sure, but if he was then she didn't want this opportunity to pass right by her, because it might never come to this point again.

"I promise!" she found herself answering softly, her voice almost failing her.

His smile widened and she thought he was about to hug her when he was suddenly fighting back a yawn. He really looked tired too and Sam shook herself free of her dreams.

"Come on Jack. Sleep. You've talked enough tonight. It's Christmas tomorrow, and the sooner you go to sleep the sooner Santa will come by with your presents."

"Pah! Baby stuff," he scoffed in disgust, making Sam giggle, but Jack was more than ready to fall asleep. In fact he couldn't stay awake any longer. He demonstrated this by giving a huge yawn again and leaning against her.

From where she was kneeling on the floor, she threw the wet towels onto the top of the laundry bin, promising herself that she would sort them out later, then she picked up a very sleepy Jack into her arms where he snuggled closer, burying his face into her neck. His cheeks felt quite warm, but then he'd just had a hot bath so she didn't give it much thought.

Lowering him under the covers, she smiled down on him as he snuggled down in the bed, but absolutely refusing to release Sam's hand. Faced with no other choice, she gave up and sat on the edge of the bed, her free hand unconsciously brushing the damp hair from his face whilst going over the conversation in her head until she realised his breathing had deepened and slowed, showing that he was now fast asleep.

She then got up and went along the hall to the bathroom to finish up but found the house was strangely quiet. Finishing her own nightly ritual, she wandered towards the stairs and discovered the lower floors in complete darkness. Apparently everyone had gone to bed too, so there was nothing else for her to do but go to bed as well.

She undressed quickly and slipped under the covers only to find a young Jack snuggle up to her as soon as she'd lain down. She smiled at his unconscious act and it wasn't long before she was asleep too.

She didn't really mind sharing her bed with a kid, especially this one, only regretfully aware that it wasn't with the real Jack; but oh how she just wished he would stop fidgeting in his sleep. She was awakened several times when a small foot or knee collided with her butt.

Even as an adult Jack was never still for more than two minutes together; it was almost impossible to concentrate during briefings with him; often he would be tapping his pen against the wooden table or drumming his fingers against it to some inner tune running through his head. He'd broken countless pens by fiddling with them too whilst either she or Daniel had been addressing the team and the General with their reports.

She closed her eyes again and willed herself back to sleep, wishing once more that he was the real thing and so not a child. Falling asleep again quickly, she dreamed of being held close in the real Jack's arms.

TBC