By Laura
See header from part 1. Thank you all for your great reviews. You're the best!
Jack
steered the already overflowing cart through the aisles of the
mall,
keeping a close eye on the bouncing kid beside him. Who'd've
guessed
Daniel would get so uber-excited about buying some
clothes?
Although, taking into account the fact that his mind
had nearly been
imploding with the frustration of being able to
tie his own shoes, for
which Jack couldn't blame him one bit, his
current exuberance was
understandable. You don't need to be a
Freudian expert to see the
connection there. If the roles were
reversed, Jack was sure he'd be
far worse than Daniel. Probably
virtually biting every clueless
well-meaning soul's head off,
who'd kindly offered to tie his shoes
for him. So yeah, he could
understand Daniel's excitement.
Still, it was a little unusual
to see him so euphoric at the sight of
velcro shoes. Decidedly
odd, in fact. But Jack wasn't about to
complain. Seeing the kid
happy was number one on his priority list and
if velcro shoes made
him happy, then he was happy, as well.
After finishing their
shopping, they placed all their newly purchased
clothes in the
truck, then Jack decided to take Daniel for a little
treat. It was
a rare occurrence to see the kid so happy these days.
Well, truth
be told, he couldn't remember Daniel smiling this much,
ever! Jack
had always complained Daniel was way too serious. But the
kid was
all smiles today, a sight Jack wanted to prolong for as long
as he
could.
Jack bent down, mindless of his creaking knees and,
without thinking,
swept Danny off his feet, over his head, placing
him on his
shoulders. Danny, to his surprise, squealed and giggled
all the way in
delight, the sheer sound warming Jack soul in a way
he thought
nothing ever could again. Not after Charlie's
death.
Yet here he was now, enjoying the simple act of fooling
around with
his kid, yes, his kid, even if he wasn't that
officially yet. Danny
had wormed his way into Jack's heart fast
and deep. And although
nothing would ever completely fill the
empty void or take away the
pain Charlie's death had left behind,
he found there was a new special
place in his heart. Right next to
that place Charlie held, full of a
deep, tender, ineffable feeling
of affection, and that special place
in his heart had a name,
Danny's name.
It was different to the sense of kinship he had
shared with Daniel,
the man. This was a deeper, more protective
kind of affection,
stronger than friendship. And he recognized it
right away, and to his
surprise, he found himself embracing it,
welcoming it rather than
pushing it away like he'd always thought
he would.
Together, with Danny firmly held on his shoulders,
they made it back
to the mall, without the added burden of all the
shopping bags to deal
with.
"Where are we going, Jack?"
They'd just happened to walk by a Baskin Robbins
icecream stall, so
Jack made that his next target. "What do
you say we get ourselves a
scoop of icecream before heading back
home, squirt?"
"Mmm... yummy!"
Jack's smile broadened, "I take it that you agree, then."
"Absolutely!" Daniel bent forward, using
Jack's head for support,
apparently trying to go over all the
different flavors as they neared
the very long display cabinet
running down the entire length of the stall.
"Look, Jack!
They've got coffee ice cream with chocolate chunks!" The
idea
of a caffeinated four-year-old just about sent chills cursing
down
Jack's spine. Sure, it was only icecream, but it was coffee none
the
less.
He was about to argue the point, but Danny was literally
bouncing on
his shoulders, obviously excited at the very idea of
tasting coffee
again, even if only through an icecream cone, and
he found himself
ordering it despite his better judgment.
Daniel
was beaming as they sat down to enjoy their little frozen
treats.
As he took the first bite, his face relaxed and his eyes
closed in
utter pleasure. Jack couldn't help but laugh at the look of
pure
contentment on his face. "That good, huh?"
"Oh...
better. Way, way better." Daniel sighed, his eyes still
closed,
savoring the melting cream as if it had been sent from the
heavens
themselves.
"Really?" He had Jack's full attention now.
"Oh... yeah sure you betcha." Jack's smile broadened at that.
"That a fact, huh?" Daniel
nodded absentmindedly. "In that case, I
have to try
it."
Snapping suddenly into action, Daniel held his
precious possession out
of Jack's reach. "No way! Go get your
own!"
"Hey! That's not nice! I bought you the icecream."
"So? It's mine now." The ungrateful,
spoiled little brat then promptly
turned his back on him and
resumed eating his cone, a process that
looked much more
ritualistic than just having an icecream required in
Jack's
opinion.
Jack cleared his throat and started singing softly in
his ear. "What's
mine is yours, what's yours is--"
"Mine." Daniel batted him away. "I know. I saw the movie."
"Then
you must know, that the more you share, the more you get."
Jack
eyed Daniel invitingly, getting the mini archeologist's
attention this
time. Regarding Jack skeptically through the corner
of his eye, he
asked, "Does it mean you're going to buy me
another one if I let you
try this one?"
"Maybe. Possibly."
Daniel frowned, shaking his head vigorously as
he turned back around.
"No deal!"
"All
right, you abusive little scoundrel! I'll buy you another
one.
Happy?"
A devilish smile crawled over Daniel's
face, transforming the
deceivingly angelic features. The little
shit actually got a sweet
smile from an unsuspecting, lady who was
walking past. The poor woman
probably thought he was cute. The
bright blue, bespectacled wide eyes
only served to accentuate the
misleading innocence encompassing that
plump round kiddie face.
Surely a deceiving sight.
Jack snorted and shook his head as
he got up and motioned for Daniel
to follow him.
"What?"
Daniel didn't even spare him a glance as he went on licking
his
icecream.
"You want another coffee icecream or not?"
"I'll wait here."
"Oh... no, no way."
Daniel turned an angry glare up at him. "Why not?"
"Why not?! Look at this place! It's a crazy
maze, for crying out
loud! There's a huge crowd coming and going.
Why, anything could
happen to you here!"
Daniel rolled
his eyes, "Oh... please, Jack. Nothing's going to happen
to
me."
"Now, that'd be the day."
Daniel
frowned up at him. "Come on, Jack! Be realistic. You're
only
going to the counter over there. It's not like I'll have that
much
time to wander off or anything," Daniel snorted
derisively.
"Oh... I wouldn't put anything past you, Danny."
"Jaaack!" Jack, don't be an ass!
"Daniel." You know I'm right.
Jack!" But it makes me feel like such a little kid!
"Dan-iel" I'm losing my patience here.
"Jack?" Please?
Ah...
not the lost puppy-dog eyes. Eyes as wide as saucers beneath
the
long, blond bangs of baby-fine hair. An icecream-smudged pout on
the
chubby little face. All Jack could think about was Puss in Boots
from
Shrek ... curls his tail under, pouts, and them big eyes just
well
up with that totally innocent look on his face... too cute! And
so
cunning. But he still fell for it like a guileless
school-girl.
"Oh... all right. But you better be here when I get back. You hear?"
"Sure, Jack."
Daniel turned his full attention back to his icecream
cone,
practically dismissing the Colonel.
Jack shook his head in
amazement and walked up to the display freezer
just a short
distance away.
Jack stormed out of the mall,
stomping his way back to the truck, a
screaming, kicking Daniel
securely held in his arms.
"I turn my back on you one
second, one second and you disappear! So
much for staying put,"
Jack raged. .
"I want my icecream!"
Jack flinched as he was almost deafened by the high-pitched cry.
Jack
set Daniel down in front of the truck and held him firmly by
the
shoulders. "Listen to me, Daniel, and listen good. This
is the last
time, the last time I ever leave you unsupervised
again! I mean...
what were you thinking?"
"I want my damn icecream! You promised!" Daniel yelled back in his face.
"Ah ah... you got your icecream. I was going to get
you another one,
I trusted you, you wandered off. We're going
home. Period." Jack
turned and opened the backseat door.
"I didn't wander off! I went to the restrooms."
"You weren't in the restrooms when I found you."
Daniel sighed
and answered slowly, "That's because I got distracted
and
ended up in the bookstore. I saw some reference books I've
been
trying to find for ages and..."
"Aht aht!"
Jack silenced the onslaught of non-ending words. "So?
Then?
Therefore? What's your point?"
Daniel glared
fiercely at him. If looks could kill, Jack was fairly
certain that
right about now he'd be off rotting somewhere. Now that
would be
entertainment. "You're mean." Daniel finally gritted out in
a
low menacing tone.
"Maybe, but you don't wander off
in a crowded mall. It's dangerous and
you know it! There are
people who would love to get their hands on
you. You're acquainted
with some of them already. Not very nice guys
in my opinion, and I
really don't want to stick around in the
background while they
play guinea pig with you . Because we both know
they're dying to
do just that and the only thing that's stopping them
is the
President, and the fact that we don't give them a chance to get
their
hands on you. Now get in the truck."
"No!"
Daniel shrieked and flopped down onto the ground, kicking
and
swinging his little arms in full blown tantrum mode.
This
caught Jack totally by surprise and he could do nothing else
but
stand stock-still, as if rooted to the spot, and stare at the
enraged
little archeologist in astonishment.
Now this was
new. He'd never behaved like this in public before. Since
his
downsizing, he'd thrown the occasional temper tantrum, but always
in
the privacy of home, and never like this.
Jack suddenly
snapped out of his shock as he realized they had become
the main
attraction in the parking lot. Some people were throwing
accusatory
glares at him, shaking their heads in disapproval as they
walked
silently by. Others, probably parents themselves,
smiled
sympathetically at him. All in all, it was decidedly
uncomfortable.
Bending over, Jack lifted a very angry Daniel
up from the cold ground
and set him firmly in his booster seat in
the back of the truck as he
continued to kick and scream. The kid
had even started shedding
crocodile tears now. Jack was sure he'd
be having problems hearing
over the ringing in his ears after this
little outburst of rage.
After a few minutes of struggling
with the straps and having Daniel
scream incessantly in his ear,
Jack finally lost it. "That's enough,
Daniel!" Jack
thundered, startling the boy into blissful silence.
"Good. That's better. Thank you."
As Jack took his place behind
the wheel and started the engine,
driving them back home, he could
feel Daniel's intense glare drilling
holes into the back of his
head like two little laser beams. Okay, so
the kid was mad, and he
could stay that way for as long as he wanted
as far as Jack was
concerned. He was pretty mad himself, so there.
What was
Daniel thinking, anyway? Wandering off in a place as huge and
crowded
as a mall? Anything could've happened to him, for crying out
loud!
If this is how he behaved now, Jack didn't even want to think
about
going off world, and he said as much to the sulking boy in the
rear
seat.
"You know, if this is how you're gonna behave on
P3X-736 then I think
I'd rather reconsider my decision." Jack
took a fleeting glance at his
wayward archeologist through the
rearview mirror, and was pleased to
see that his words had had the
desired effect. The kid's sulking face
had transformed into one of
shock, and maybe... maybe, a little guilt.
"What?"
"Well,
you managed to wander off and get lost in a mall, so I don't
even
want to find out what could happen off world." Jack tried to
keep
his voice neutral and noncommital.
Daniel's eyes
widened three times their natural size, if that was even
possible,
and his face lost all color.
"Maybe you're just not ready
to go off world yet." Jack shrugged the
matter off as if it
was no big deal.
Daniel quickly jumped in with his defense.
"No, Jack! I am ready! I am!" Daniel nearly
bounced off his booster
seat as he shouted insistently.
"Oh... I don't know, Daniel."
"I am! It won't happen again,
I promise! I will do as you tell me and
I won't touch anything and
won't wander off and—"
"Ah... Ah... Okay! I get
it. I hope you're being honest with me this
time." Daniel
nodded his head furiously. "I don't want a repeat
performance
of today's little temper tantrum, Daniel. Because, whether
you
realize it or not, that's what it was. I won't have you kicking
and
screaming whenever you don't get your way." Daniel hung his
head
low in shame, as if finally seeing his childish behavior for
what it
was. "I thought you said you were an adult, Daniel.
Well, let me tell
you, that wasn't very mature of you, but if you
insist on behaving
like a spoiled four-year-old then I have no
qualms about treating you
as such. However, I have no desire to
deal with a spoiled little boy
off world, a little boy who will
disregard my decisions the minute I
turn my back on him, and
probably kill himself in the process as well."
"I'm
sorry, Jack. I don't know why I reacted the way I did,"
Daniel
began in a low, guilt-ridden voice. "Are you going to
ground me on
Wednesday?"
The kid looked so remorseful, Jack didn't have the heart to do that.
Jack heaved a monumental sigh. "No, I'm not."
"You're not?"
Daniel's head shot up immediately, hopeful eyes meeting
Jack's
gaze through the rearview mirror.
"No, I'm not going to
wait until Wednesday for that. Consider yourself
grounded today.
When we get home you are to go straight to your room.
No books, no
TV, no computer. Is that understood?"
Daniel was beaming
like the sunshine off the sea. "Yes, Jack. I
understand."
Jack
tried to keep, not very successfully, the laughter out of his
voice.
"You look too happy for someone who's just been
grounded."
Daniel sobered up immediately. ")h... no
no no, of course not." Daniel
let out a little laugh. "Why
would I be happy about getting grounded,
Jack. That doesn't make
any sense!"
"Oh... I don't know. I just got that impression."
"I'm in fact, very sad, very, very
depressed. But I understand and
I've learned my lesson, Jack. I'll
never wander off, never ever
again." Daniel solemnly crossed
his heart as he punctuated his words
with a deep, earnest nod in a
gravely impressive show of honesty.
Jack snorted at the thought. Daniel, not wander off? Yeah... riiiight.
TBC