The following morning Sam spent working with Sergeant Nichols, getting a crash course in normal childhood development. They would be concentrating on skills of children just entering school, everything including cognitive development, motor skills, and even language use, covering just what things she would be expected to know and reviewing the curriculum taught in most kindergarten classes. While Sam knew that any accidental slips on her part would likely be ignored given her appearance, she still wanted to avoid drawing unwanted attention to herself, either for being perceived as especially gifted, or for not showing the proper grasp of necessary concepts. At least at first, she and the rest of SG-1 had decided she should try to be just another average five year old, with nothing to make her stick out from the other students in the class.
Colonel O'Neill found her sometime after lunch. Sitting on the floor in her quarters, she called automatically for the person knocking to enter. "It's unlocked," she said, focused on one sneaker clad foot pulled up in reach as she frowned in concentration at the seemingly elaborate knot she was tying.
"Carter?" Jack asked, staring down at her in puzzlement.
She looked up from her shoe. "Oh, hello, sir," she greeted distractedly, returning to the task at hand. "I'll be ready in just a minute," she told him.
Watching her for a few moments, Jack continued to frown. "You having a little trouble there Major?" he asked finally.
Having just tied a large, sloppy bow she looked up at him and blinked in surprise as if she had just realized he'd been watching the entire time. "Uh, no, sir," she answered hastily untying the messy knot. Efficiently, she tied the knot correctly and tightly, getting to her feet. "Sergeant Nichols told me I was tying my shoes too fast and too neatly for someone who probably just learned how to tie their own shoes. She wanted me to practice," Sam admitted sheepishly. "Is it time to go get Daniel?" she asked, changing the subject as she brushed imaginary dirt off her cargo pants. She'd chosen to wear her simulated uniform having taken some time that morning to attach her rank and unit patches.
Slipping off the slightly oversized button down shirt and draping it over a chair, she decided that the plain black tee underneath, unmarked cargo pants, and plain blue and white tennis shoes were non-descript enough, despite the fact that no one would likely think she was doing anything more than "dressing up" like someone in the Air Force. Jack had no doubt agreed with civilian dress, having already changed into loafers, khakis, and a plain blue polo shirt. While he'd never be able to fully hide the air of military bearing in or out of uniform, Colorado Springs was a military town. If you weren't active or inactive military, you likely knew or lived near someone that was.
"Ah," Jack replied to her explanation, and then shrugged it off. "If we leave now, we'll have a little time to wander around the school while we wait for Daniel," he explained. "Teal'c has a class to run for the latest recruits right now, but he got a good look this morning. The grounds are pretty large."
Sam nodded and the two of them made their way out to the surface. She only received a few surprised or curious looks from personnel that hadn't been there over the weekend, but most everyone treated her like normal, seemingly nonplussed to be giving the respect her rank garnered to what appeared to be a five year old child.
After she'd strapped herself in, the booster seat straps and buckles seemingly almost second nature now, they were on their way. When the Colonel pulled onto the school grounds, she looked out the window in surprise. "Wow," she breathed. She'd expected big, having done a bit of her own research, but seeing the place in person showed the school resembled something much akin to a college campus. Of course, considering it was a school for pre kindergarten all the way through twelfth grade, it would have to be fairly large.
"Yeah," Jack agreed from the front seat, guiding the vehicle along the long horseshoe driveway that looped around in front of a sprawling two-story brownstone building. Trees lined the path on either side of the drive, and landscaped gardens surrounded the building. To one side, trees created a shady, manicured wooded area, and in the distance behind the school she could see several well-maintained athletic fields near what appeared to be a large gymnasium, and many other free-standing buildings, their purpose not clear from her current vantage point. A large playground could also be seen not far from the largest building, the brownstone at the top of the drive, containing an extensive custom jungle gym complete with several slides, a miniature rock wall, and assorted other usual playground equipment. The location of the playground told her that the nearby building probably housed the classrooms for the younger students, which had the largest number of students per class. Class sizes shrunk somewhat for the higher grades, which was not all that unusual given that tuition also went up, a practice typical in most private schools of the like. A groundskeeper was running a lawn mower over the already neatly trimmed lawn, and several gardeners could be seen pulling weeds or trimming shrubs. It was clear from the outside at least that this school did not lack for funding.
"Teal'c and I think you and Daniel will be in that main building at the top of the drive Aside from the entrance in the front of the building, we found one on each side and two in the back," Jack told her over the seat. "We didn't get a chance to get inside, but we figured Daniel could give us the low-down tonight, the faculty meeting is in there." He slowed down and stopped at the opposite end of the drive, waving one hand back in the direction of some of the other buildings visible. "At least one of those outbuildings is a gymnasium, another is a library and multi-media center. The rest seem to be for the older students, and one is for the after hours daycare." Jack looked over the seat at her and she nodded, eager to get out for a closer look.
As if sensing her thoughts, Jack turned back out onto the main street, driving about a block or so and made another turn onto a shady residential street where he finally parked. "Daniel is going to meet us back here," he said, turning off the engine. The street was quiet, most people absent at work or on vacation the last week before school started.
Sam nodded, unbuckling her harness. "I've got topographical and detailed maps of the campus and found blueprints online this morning," she told him, jumping down out of the truck. "Walter is enlarging them for us, they should be ready tonight or tomorrow."
"Sweet," Jack replied, as they headed back towards the school. He didn't ask how she'd managed to obtain the schematics, and she was glad not to have to tell him. Going through the proper channels would have taken more time than they could afford as well as alerting the wrong people, who would have questioned the Air Force's interest in the school. Besides, she was confident that she had left no trace of her snooping at the architectural firm's system, and even if they had detected her intrusion, they'd never trace the signal back to her through the false trail she'd laid on a number of worldwide servers using the encryption program she'd written for just such a purpose.
The two officers strolled casually around the school grounds, and Sam made note of the various buildings and the exits the Colonel had mentioned as well as the fire escapes and any ground floor windows that might be used as entry or exit points. Jack also pointed out a chute above a dumpster in the back of the two story building. As an entry, the shaft looked to be too steep without the right climbing apparatus, but a slender adult or a child would easily fit in the case of a speedy retreat. Not that it would be very pleasant, but it was worth making a mental note while on their tour.
During the walk, the two slipped almost subconsciously into familiar roles, military training and years of working as a tight knit unit coming to bear as they analyzed and discussed landmarks, seeming to forget her current appearance. They began to put forth measures and counter-measures for possible attack and defense around the school, suggesting scenarios in a manner they'd done as SG-1 hundreds of times over the years before embarking on missions. At first, everything seemed typical, but so subtly Sam almost missed it, her CO began to become more detached. More than once, Sam caught the man glancing sideways at her, his expression hidden behind his dark glasses and low brimmed ball cap. She became aware of a gradual tension beginning to emanate from the man. On the surface, he acted as always, often inserting comments or jokes as usual into their discussions on strategy and counter-strategy. Outwardly, he seemed normal, so Sam wasn't sure she was reading him correctly, despite their long history together. For now, she chose to respond in kind, with her normal cool professionalism.
They widened their circle on a second circuit, studying the fences and making note of the two parking lots and their separate entrances. A third lot out of sight and screened by trees housed a utility shed and several maintenance vehicles. A large gate opened onto a back access road. They discovered a few out of the way places where SGC teams might be able to set up surveillance on the school, keeping an eye on comings and goings, and be able to respond quickly if she Daniel, or Teal'c set off the discreet emergency transmitters they'd be carrying, not wanting to risk much else.
Large athletic fields were scattered around the campus buildings, creating large open, flat areas that might be difficult to cross undetected, but were often broken up or separated by well-placed trees and hedges. Bleachers and seating added further places of concealment, for either friend or foe. Sam was already mapping out in her head the places, comparing them to the maps and prints she'd studied last night. SG-1 would have to spend some time going over the detailed printouts together, but when she looked up to say as much to her commander, she found him studying the back of the large lower school building, his mouth set in a grim line, and turned away, keeping her own counsel. Something was definitely bugging the man, but she decided now wasn't the time to find out. Nor was she sure it was her place to do so.
As they completed the second circuit, the meeting must have been breaking up because groups of people carrying notebooks or briefcases left the building by the side exit heading for the staff lot. They rounded the building where a few individuals left by the front door taking rides, and by silent agreement they both headed toward the front gate. No one seemed to think the two of them odd, in fact they'd seen several children playing on the playground watched by two women, and several older teens were using one of the tennis courts. In their civilian dress, no one paid them any mind.
Arriving on the tree-lined street where they'd left the SUV they quickly spotted Daniel, who stood leaning casually against a nearby light pole. He waved when he saw them.
The Colonel unlocked the truck and they all climbed in. "You should probably get your own ride to school from now on," Jack stated as he started the engine.
"Yeah, probably," agreed Daniel. "The General said I could borrow a car." The younger man was startled suddenly when he yawned.
"Long day?" asked the Colonel, noting how the other man shifted in his seat, as if trying to ease cramped muscles.
"Tell me about it," agreed Daniel. "All morning in meetings where I felt like half the discussions were over my head. Do you have any idea how tedious it is just to arrange chaperone duty so that around five to six hundred kids can eat lunch?"
Jack just grinned, his body relaxing, and Sam started to wonder if she'd only imagined the earlier tension she'd felt from the Colonel. "Now you know how I feel at briefings Danny-boy."
Daniel straightened and narrowed his gaze at the other man. "Hey! Now what's that supposed to mean?" he demanded a little defensively.
"You know what I mean," replied the older man uncooperatively.
In the back seat, Sam smiled ruefully and turned her attention out the window as the conversation in front rapidly degenerated, distracting her from her earlier musings. Honestly, sometimes the two men were just way too predictable. Sometimes she wondered how they'd never resorted to physical battles, but then she knew that just wasn't their way, the seemingly heated debates were just their way of blowing off steam. She also knew that Daniel often gave as good as he got, and if he wasn't up for a little verbal sparring with their team leader, he only had to ignore the other man's goading. The reality that he seldom did told her that Daniel enjoyed the matches as much as Jack did. In fact, the seemingly constant but generally good-natured bickering was one thing she'd missed most about Daniel's long absence the previous year. It felt good to have him back.
Watching the familiar streets pass by, Sam was surprised when the Colonel drove past the street that would take them to the usual entrance. Brows furrowed in puzzlement, she realized he must be planning to take them in by the side gate, but she had no idea why. The side gate would take them much further out of the way from the main complex. Neither man in the front seemed to notice Jack's detour.
"Uh, Colonel?" she asked, straightening up in her seat to be able to see Jack's eyes in the rearview, still covered as they were by the dark glasses.
"Just taking a little detour," Jack replied with forced nonchalance, avoiding looking at her as he slowed down at the gate, and Sam was reminded of the man's earlier sidelong looks when he'd thought she wouldn't notice. Warnings started to go off in her head. Something was up, and she was getting the feeling that she wouldn't like it. Daniel had noticed too and was giving the man a quizzical look as he passed over his ID. The guard gave both ID cards a cursory glance, his eyes sliding over her in the back seat. None of the soldiers stationed at this gate knew SG-1, so no one saw anything amiss with a child in the back seat. The guard waved them onward after returning their ID cards.
"Colonel?" she asked again, as the man turned onto another street that was most definitely taking them away from the main mountain complex.
"Maybe you should call me Dad," Jack suggested, still not meeting her gaze as he pulled into a parking lot. Sam looked out the window and realized they were at the base's hourly daycare center. The uncomfortable feeling of dread started to grow inside of her as Jack cut the engine and started to unbuckle his seatbelt. Daniel looked puzzled as he opened his door, but Sam remained motionless in her seat.
The two men got out of the vehicle, Daniel walking around from the other side to join them as Jack pulled open her door when she still hadn't moved.
"Uh, Jack, what are you doing?" asked Daniel, as she and the Colonel stared at each other in a silent contest of wills. Sam crossed her arms over her chest, effectively blocking access to the harness buckles. She had no intention of leaving the truck.
After a few more moments of staring, Jack broke eye contact, and then looked at Daniel. "It's about time that Carter here, I mean Sam, spends a little time getting used to the idea of being a kid and being around other kids," he explained, waving one hand in the direction of the facility.
Sam tightened her arms. "You can't make me go in there, sir," she said defiantly, a slight emphasis on the honorific. Technically, they were off duty as they all prepared for their upcoming roles in their undercover mission.
Jack removed his sunglasses, regarding her carefully. "No, I can't order you, and while I could carry you in there, I think this is something you should decide on your own. Don't you think it would be a good idea to have a little practice interacting with adults that don't know you and young children before you have to do it for real?" he asked seriously.
Some of her resistance crumbled, while a little voice still protested the idea vehemently. She couldn't believe she was actually considering that the idea had merit! Desperately, she looked over her CO's shoulder, meeting Daniel's eyes. Unfortunately, the young man looked thoughtful.
"I hate to say this Sam," Daniel admitted reluctantly, "but Jack's got a point." He frowned and shifted his stance slightly, pushing up his glasses. "You could think of it as a lesson in anthropology, you know," he suggested. "Childhood is to many extents it's own separate culture. You could use the time to observe how adults and children interact and children with other children. Being more familiar with your role will help you to stand out less."
"Oh sure," she returned. "And we know how well my lessons in anthropology usually go," she muttered even as she started to unbuckle her restraints. From a disastrous early mission that involved a hideous blue dress on a world where women were generally less valuable than horses to an atypical matriarchal planet were she'd come home owning Daniel to prevent him from being "acquired" by the local equivalent of the queen. The Colonel hadn't let either of them live it down for weeks. It hadn't helped that the two of them had been joined on their return by a length of lightweight gold chain from her left wrist to an ornate collar around the man's neck. The incident had fueled all the dirty jokes and gossip at the SGC until some time later when one of the members of SG-5 had come home engaged to the local village leader's daughter. Despite the incident, the anthropologist had never given up the argument that it was best to fit in whenever possible, going along with local custom. When in Rome as the Colonel often said. Despite those particularly outstanding failures, most of the time he'd been right, and perhaps that was the only reason she was now ignoring the shrieking voice in her head and getting out of the truck.
Jack looked slightly smug as he shut the door after she'd hopped down, but he didn't say anything as he led the way to the building, which was probably fortunate. If he'd made any customary wise remarks, she probably would have turned back around. As it was, she trudged reluctantly behind the SG-1 leader, Daniel following in the rear.
When they got inside however, Sam might have bolted if the archeologist hadn't been directly behind her. The noise of dozens of children engaged in various activities around the large colorful room made her want to shrink a bit inside herself. Painted characters paraded on the walls while shelves and floor space were scattered with toys, games and books for a variety of ages. Jack made his way surely to the check-in desk, casting a narrow look at her over his shoulder. The look was enough for her to firm up what little resolve she had and follow. She tried to tell herself to think of the upcoming task as just another mission. The Colonel was at least partially right, it wouldn't be long before she would be forced to leave the comfort zone of the SGC where everyone knew who and what she really was and be surrounded by people that would respond only to her appearance. Still, she didn't have to like it much.
"I'd like to enroll my daughter Sam here in the hourly daycare this afternoon," Jack was telling the woman at the desk, with a vague gesture in her direction. Sam could see via the cutout in the desk that the woman looked slightly bored as she passed over some forms.
"How long? We have several openings this afternoon," she said, flipping open a scheduling book.
"Oh, maybe about two or three hours, is that ok?" asked Jack, as he filled out the paperwork, not even glancing at her.
"Three hours?!" protested Sam automatically, her words cut off as Daniel bumped into her, coughing loudly. At the reminder, Sam reluctantly bit off further complaints, inwardly fuming, and suddenly feeling very confused.
The receptionist sent a mildly curious look in their direction, and then dismissed them as she turned her attention back to the Colonel. "That's no trouble at all, sir. Will you be staying on base? Good. Please remember that you'll need to have someone able to pick," she paused and looked down at the first form, "Sam up in no longer than twenty minutes if needed. If you need to extend the time your daughter is here you'll need to give us at least thirty minutes of notice to make sure we don't have any staffing conflicts." The woman continued with well rehearsed rundown on the center's policies, ending with an explanation of some of the afternoon's activities as Jack finished filling out the papers. Sam barely heard anything the woman said, her mind locked onto the fact that it looked like she was going to have little say in the matter of staying here. Once he and Daniel left, she'd be stuck here until Jack decided to come get her. When she'd reluctantly agreed to go through with the plan, she'd thought she'd be there maybe thirty minutes, an hour tops. She should have known better, but still, she'd never have thought her CO would spring something like this on her so suddenly out of the blue.
Jack finished up at the desk, and turned away, gracing her with a brief glance while fiddling uncomfortably with his keys. There was an odd look on his face that she couldn't quite place, concentrating as she was on radiating her unhappiness. He seemed to waver slightly, but then seemed to firm up his resolve. "Behave, I'll be back," was all he finally said, and headed to the door without a backward look.
"But, you can't leave me here that long, sir!" she protested, trailing after the man, still not fully believing what was happening. She knew her teammates had all been adjusting to her new appearance; often reacting with a bit of over protectiveness, but this sudden about face of her CO was a major departure from everything they had been working on the past few days. They'd been easing slowly from a role of subordinate and commander into that of a child and adult, both fully aware of who and what she still was on the inside, but the Colonel seemed to have suddenly taken on the parental role he was to play in full force. "Dad wait!" she cried out in desperation, reacting instinctively on some inner level.
Jack paused momentarily, and without turning replied. "Yes, Sam, I can."
"Uh, Jack," tried Daniel, but Jack cut him off.
"Not now Daniel," he said gruffly in dismissal, lengthening his stride towards the door, and ignoring the curious looks sent his way.
Swinging her hopeless glance to Daniel, Sam watched as Daniel observed the retreating but determined figure of their leader, before looking down at her with an apologetic grimace. His concerned expression looked torn between his two friends. A short battle played across his face before he came to some decision "I'll see what I can do Sam," he promised, before hurrying to catch up with Jack.
"But," she said, trailing off as the heavy glass door swung shut. Briefly, she thought about following them, one hand resting on the glass. Something was going on, and she felt like she was caught in the middle of it, helpless to do anything to change it. She caught movement out of the corner of her eye, one of the attendants across the room having spotted her standing alone in the doorway, reminding her of the lack of freedom her new state caused. Still, she remained in the doorway, almost defiantly, watching her two teammates. They seemed to argue over something at first and then they got in the truck. She watched them pull off before she let herself be led away from the entrance.
"Jack! Wait!" Daniel called, but Jack acted like he hadn't heard him at first, and then he stopped next to the truck, fiddling with his keys again. "Jack, what was that about?" he demanded, arms crossing instinctively over his chest.
The other man didn't reply immediately. When he did look up his eyes were dark with some hidden emotion. "She needs to start getting used to things," he said.
Daniel narrowed his eyes slightly, frowning in concentration. "That's not it and you know it," he challenged, not willing to be diverted so easily.
Jack sighed, stuffing hands in his pockets keys and all, and turned his back on the younger man. "Seeing her standing there, so… annoyed, well, it just brought back some stuff," he admitted reluctantly, almost mumbling.
His frown only growing, Daniel studied the other man thoughtfully for a moment. "About the last time you mean, when we were all kids except you?" he asked intuitively. It hadn't been hard to notice that Jack had gone to great lengths to paint those few months in as positive light as possible. It didn't take a genius to realize that there had been no way those three months had been nothing but joy and sunshine, and equally as evident that Jack had no intention of sharing those less than stellar moments.
"Yeah," Jack replied, turning abruptly and sending the key home in the lock with a neat click. He paused again, looking down at the door handle and making no move to open the door.
"Jack?" Daniel prompted, sensing there was something more.
The other man's next words seemed torn from him reluctantly. "Earlier when Carter… when Sam and I were canvassing the school, well, it just sorta hit me that she can be in real danger on this mission."
Frowning, the younger man studied his long time friend before replying. "Yeah, but it's not like we haven't taken on dangerous missions before, and we knew that this one would be risky when we took it. Sam knew it too, when she agreed to her role," Daniel reminded gently, getting the feeling he was treading on thin ice. He would have to go carefully to get to the root of the problem.
Jack just shrugged, still not making eye contact, as he studied the door, one hand still holding the key in the lock. "I've never doubted Carter could handle herself in any situation over the years. But this… this is different. You saw what happened at Target," he pointed out, finally meeting the younger man's gaze briefly before looking away again.
All the final pieces finally fell into place in Daniel's head. "You don't think she'll be able to defend herself this time do you?" he asked. "You know Teal'c and I will be watching her back right?"
"I know, I know," the other man answered, shoulders slumping with a sigh. "It's just… well…" he trailed off, seeming to not want to finish the sentence he'd started.
Daniel on the other hand, had no such compunction, and felt the SG-1 leader needed to get this all out in the open, or it would keep hanging over all of them like a black cloud, possibly even jeopardizing the mission. "But you won't be there, at least not on location," he pointed out. Jack's eyes darted back, and Daniel fought the instinct to inhale sharply. This was it, Daniel had thrown down the glove and it was in Jack's hands now.
It was a long moment before Jack replied, tearing his eyes away from Daniel's challenging gaze. He took a deep breath. "No," he grumbled, the admission almost inaudible, "And that's all I'm telling you so you might as well drop it," he finished brusquely, jerking open the door with some finality, and turning his head to pierce the younger man with a hard look.
"Fine!" cried Daniel, frustrated and yet somehow triumphant and the same time. He knew when it was time to retreat, and was amazed he'd gotten as much as he had out of the older man. He walked around to the other side of the vehicle, but couldn't help one more question though, as he caught sight of something. "You sure this is the right thing to do?" he asked quietly as he got in the truck. Jack followed the younger man's gaze to find their teammate standing forlornly in the doorway, one small hand pressed against the glass.
"She'll be ok," Jack answered gruffly, tearing his eyes away from the sight and turning his attention to getting settled in the driver's seat. It seemed that whether the course of action he'd selected was the right one or not, the commander in him was committed to seeing it through, whatever the consequences.
Daniel's forehead wrinkled slightly, still watching the figure in the doorway. "Yeah, but still," he replied, "it just seems a little, oh, mean."
"Hey, you agreed it was a good idea you know," came the automatic rejoinder. "I seem to recall something about a lesson in anthropology." Jack speared the younger man with a glare, and then looked away while he started the truck, pretending to be absorbed in the task. "She agreed too, come to think of it," he pointed out defensively.
"That's not what I meant, Jack. Yeah, she needs to get used to things, but everyone is going to be taking away her right to make choices. She doesn't need us doing the same thing," Daniel explained earnestly, trying to make the other man understand the difference.
Jack just grunted as he backed out of the slot, but Daniel saw he couldn't resist one last look at the daycare center, and knew that on some level, the other man was considering his words. They both watched as one of the workers joined Sam in the doorway, and their small teammate looked away to exchange a few words. The woman took Sam's hand and led her away, but they saw her looking over her shoulder out the window, her gaze fleeting. Jack turned to look determinedly out the front window. "She'll be fine," he repeated.
"I hope you're right," Daniel answered with a sigh. He'd thought that SG-1 had come a long way to reconciling the new, albeit temporary situation they'd found themselves in, but obviously, they still had a long way to go.
A/N: Just had to toss out an unexpected twist!
I have to add that waxing the slide in the previous chapter actually came out of my own childhood. There was a huge slide at the local park, similar to the one I described. This one was actually wide enough for adult bodies, but a cage around the ladder prevented anyone larger than a child to get on. One day, dad had I and my two brothers clean the slide with old rags under our butts, and then sent us down on wax paper a few times. I can only say that the line for the new attraction was quite something. Probably about as close to flying without a plane as you may ever get. I still shake my head over the memory of Dad having us wax the slide. It seemed like something Jack would do.
As for the adult sized gymnasium, there's a place called Port Discovery. I took my friend and her family on their last visit. I'm not sure who had more fun, little Philip, or his Dad, a Sergeant in the Army. For a man who has spent the better part of the past 3 years chasing Al-Qaeda down numerous foxholes, he had a blast keeping pace with his seven-year-old son in tunnels and rope ladders, and other attractions.