Chapter 17
Losing Time
The second jolt happened many hours later, just when they were taking a break to eat dinner. They did not intend to stop to sleep; instead they rotated between the Hammonds, Jack, and Teal'c. They kept to back roads, hoping to avoid being seen or recognized when one of the latter two were driving. Despite their determination to not stop until Colorado, this was an impossible feat, especially with four children in the car. They tried to at least time the stops with food breaks so that they didn't feel like they were losing too much time.
"What was that?" Mark demanded, his mouth full of peanut butter sandwich.
"The pothole again," Sam answered, and she ran back to the car for her alien detector gun. The creatures that appeared, however, were far less vicious in appearance than their predecessor. Tiny being swam through the air on delicate wings, giving off a faint glow like fireflies.
"Ooh, fairies!" Theresa exclaimed delightedly. Sam pointed the gun at them, bringing forth the same tortured sound as before. The fay beings swarmed around her, appearing curious, and her grip tightened. She wondered if a stun gun would work on them. They didn't touch, however, and they continued on, dancing around each of them before flying away into the trees.
"Oh, fairies leaving?" Theresa asked, her bottom lip trembling.
"That was unreal!" Mark exclaimed, finishing his sandwich. After a brief discussion, they decided to stay and finish their dinner before they went on, this time with Daniel in Jack's lap because Teal'c was driving and Sam up front with Hammond. Theresa got her mother's lap and Mark was very happy to be free of her. The third jolt came around midnight. Those who were awake watched anxiously for any new intruders, but nothing made an appearance. Then Daniel woke up and lifted his head with a confused air.
"Where are we?" he asked, his Arabic so slurred by sleep that Jack barely understood him.
"We're on our way home, remember?" Jack whispered in the same language. Daniel fidgeted slightly and then hissed as the pain hit his legs. Turning his head in an attempt to see Jack, he whispered in a worried voice, "Are you my new foster family?" Jack stared down at him, anxiety growing in his chest.
"You don't need a foster family," he whispered back, deliberately in English, "We're going to where you're big again. Remember, Daniel?" Daniel bit his lip and Jack tensed, waiting for his answer.
"I thought I dreamed that," Daniel said at last, frowning. As Daniel drifted back into sleep, Jack was wide awake. What did Daniel mean, he thought he dreamed that? Did he dream they were his foster family? Or did he really forget, even for a moment, that he wasn't really an eight year old little boy? Suddenly, the jolts in time seemed even more ominous. It wasn't until many hours later, with nothing more happening, that he allowed himself to drift off to sleep.
When he awoke again, the sun was shining.
"Nothing has happened since the time you fell asleep, O'Neill," Teal'c said, this time from the passenger seat while Mrs. Hammond drove. He held a deeply sleeping Theresa in his lap with an ease Jack wouldn't have expected from the soldier. Sometimes, he forgot that Teal'c was a father.
"Creatures of the abyss," Sam mumbled, still asleep. She was snuggled up against her alien detector gun as though it were a teddy bear.
"We'll stop for breakfast, soon," Mrs. Hammond told them, sounding much calmer than she had all of yesterday. Jack hoped she wasn't regretting agreeing to take them, especially with Theresa in the car. Jack had suggested leaving the two of them off at a hotel somewhere along the way, but when Sam had informed them that the time breaks could happen anywhere, even if the rest of them were gone, Mrs. Hammond had decided it was better for the entire family to be together.
"No, no!" Daniel screamed suddenly, wakening the rest of the car before Jack could sooth him. It only took a few words this time before Daniel was back with them. A mile after that they came to a rest stop.
"We're over halfway there now," Hammond declared, looking over the map.
"I'll bet we could go faster if they let me fix your engine," Sam mumbled to Jack while he got Daniel into his wheel chair.
"So," Jack said suddenly, "What do you guys miss most from the future? Me, I miss the Simpsons." The knot in his stomach returned when both children gave him a blank stare. Then the stares cleared a bit, morphing into confusion.
"I miss my motorcycle," Sam said, and Jack almost relaxed until she asked, "I had a motorcycle didn't I? I remember working on one a lot."
"Do I like coffee?" Daniel asked, "I don't think I do. But I remember wanting it." He sounded even more doubtful than Sam.
"Yes," Jack answered, trying to keep his tone light, "You have a motorcycle and you both live off of coffee."
"It feels like a dream," Sam said, still frowning, "I remember it, I know it's important to get back there, but it feels like a dream."
"Are you my foster family in the future too?" Daniel asked. Sam was starting to get just as alarmed as Jack as she looked back and forth between them.
"Yeah, Danny, we're your family there too," Jack answered at last, and he wheeled him towards where Hammond was just getting a small fire started. Sam ran over to Teal'c.
"You remember the future, right?" she demanded, "Not like a dream, but for real?" Teal'c cocked his head to one side, considering her.
"Indeed," he answered at last, and turned back to unloading the cooler, but as he walked he spoke to her. "Do you find yourself forgetting, Samantha Carter?"
"Maybe a little," she answered, "I remember, but it doesn't feel real. I think the time rift is affecting us. Daniel the most. I don't know about Jack; he seems to remember ok."
"I will not let you forget your future," Teal'c assured her, and she began to feel better. Then the world jolted again, and the fire erupted in a blaze of heat until it towered over them like a demon. It opened its eyes which were black empty pits, like two pieces of coal in a burning furnace. Teal'c dropped the chest.