Finding His Place
By Mickey

STORY STATUS: Completed 11/5/2007

SERIES/SEQUEL INFO: "Climbing Out Of the Abyss" follows "MacKenzie - Straight-up"

WORD COUNT: 3092

AUTHORS NOTE: Wow. This was a lot longer than I expected it to be. I guess Jonas had a lot to say. I've never written a fic with Jonas in it, never mind him being the speaker, before. I hope this comes across all right. Some of you have been wondering when Jack will finally be getting back into his story, I promise, the next part or the one after it will be a "Jack" part.

The commissary is quiet today. Most of the other teams are off world and those that aren't are either getting ready to go on a mission, or are on stand down. The Major and Teal'c just came back with SG-10 a few hours ago. We sit in silence as we eat lunch. We're all still just waiting for the colonel get better. Doctor Fraiser says that he is doing much better, but he still has violent nightmares at least two or three times a day. He has showed a few, very short periods of lucidity where he recognized Doctor Fraiser or nurse Grmek, who seems to spend almost as much time looking after him as the doctor does.

The doctor is going to let Teal'c sit with him for a while today. If the colonel doesn't try to kill him again, she'll allow Teal'c, at least, to stay with him. If he remains calm, or at least Teal'c can control him, she'll remove the restraints and allow visitors.

"Major, I was wondering, when you go to the colonel's house later, could I come with you? I'd like to help."

She looks up from her lunch with a surprised expression. She recovers quickly but hesitates to answer my question. I'm puzzled as to why. Then it hits me, from what I've heard, this would have been done by Daniel in the past. I quickly add, "I'm sorry, Major. I don't mean to intrude on anything."

She hesitates a while longer and seems to be debating on what to say. Finally, she answers me.

"It's okay, Jonas, you can come along. I can use the help. The colonel is pretty neat, but he hasn't been home in over a month. It'll probably be a few more days before Janet will release him from the infirmary." She gives me a small smile and goes back to her sandwich. She takes a bite then looks back up and adds, "Oh, you'll have to run it by General Hammond. He'll probably say yes, but he still needs to clear it first."

"Okay, I'll do that."

"If he clears you to leave, can you swing by Janet's office and pick up her list? I have a few things I need to finish up in my lab before we go."

I assure her I will and we finish our lunch in silence. After a few minutes Teal'c excuses himself and heads down to the gym. Major Carter picks up her tray and stands up. "Be ready to leave in an hour if the general okay's you to go."

I say okay and she turns and leaves. I drain the last of my tea, then make my way to General Hammond's office to get permission to accompany the major to the colonel's home.

I reach the general's office in a few short minutes. The door is shut so I knock and wait for a response.

"Come."

I take a deep breath then open the door and enter the office. The general doesn't even look up when I enter.

"General Hammond, sir, if you have a moment, I have a request."

He keeps his head down for a few more minutes, which seem to drag by agonizingly slowly, then puts his pen down and looks up.

"What can I help you with, Mister Quinn?"

"Well, I ...uh ...I know Major Carter is going to the colonel's house later today to get it ready for when Doctor Fraiser releases him and I was wondering if I could go along with her. I've already spoken with the major and she doesn't mind as long as it's okay with you."

A smile crosses his face. "I think that would be an excellent idea. Just make sure you stay with the major and do what she tells you."

"Yes, sir, I will. Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'll let the guards up top now you're cleared to leave the base with the major."

I thank the general and leave his office. That went surprisingly well. He seemed pleased that I had offered. I shouldn't really be surprised though, the general has been extremely fair and pleasant to me since I arrived here.

I'm not sure how Colonel O'Neill will react when he finds out about this. The irony of it is not lost on me. I'm sure it won't be lost on Colonel O'Neill either.

He still doesn't care much for me. I'm sure he'll appreciate this more than having me hang around his room in the infirmary. I just hope he doesn't see this as another attempt by me to replace Doctor Jackson. That's not my intention. It was not my intention when I requested being allowed to join SG-1, or when I began working in his lab. I know I could never take his place as their team member or as their fiend. I just want to show the colonel that I can be a productive member of his team. I would also like to do what I can to help defend Earth and Kelowna from the threat of the Goa'uld.

I stop at Doctor Fraiser's office and pick up her list of Dos and Don'ts for the colonel to follow from home.

"Hi Jonas. Sam told me you'd be dropping by to pick up my list for the colonel." She smiles and I nod. "This is the standard list of dos and don'ts and can and can't eat, that I give to Daniel in these cases," I see a flicker of sadness in her eyes as she mentions Doctor Jackson, "used to give Daniel," she adds. She smiles again as she continues. "With a few minor alterations. Physically, he's a little under weight but other wise he's okay. The colonel probably knows it by heart by now, but he needs some ...gentle prodding to make sure he follows it. He also needs someone to do the shopping for him or he'll completely disregard my note."

I thank her and leave to meet up with the major.

Thirty minutes later, we sign out and head for the colonel's house. The drive is made in silence and we arrive in just over ten minutes. She pulls into the driveway and shuts off the car.

"We don't have to worry about the yard. The colonel made arrangements years ago for one of the local boys to weed the garden and keep the lawn mowed." As we approach the house, she comments, "Looks like he was here recently."

She's right. There's not one weed in the garden and the lawn has been mowed.

Just as we reach the front door, a voice calls out to the major. We turn to see a teenaged boy of about fourteen or fifteen coming from the colonel's backyard. He hurls himself at the major and embraces her tightly asking questions rapid fire.

"Major Carter! How are you? Where's the colonel? Is he coming home today too? Why has he been gone so long? Was he hurt again?"

The major smiles and returns his hug, then pushes him away a little, hands on his shoulders. "Whoa, slow down, Scott. It's good to see you too. No, the colonel wasn't injured," it's not exactly the truth, but she can't tell him what was done to Colonel O'Neill. "He was very sick for a while, but he's getting better now. He should be home in a few days."

The boy is visibly relieved. "That's good to hear."

She then points to me, "Scott, this is my friend, Jonas. Jonas, this is Scott, the boy I was telling you about.

Scott extends his hand and I shake it. "Nice to meet you, Jonas."

"It's nice to meet you too."

Scott releases my hand then turns back to the major. "I have to go- I have to watch my brother and sister while my parents go out tonight. Tell the colonel that I said hi and that I'm glad he's feeling better and I'll come visit him when he gets home."

"I'll tell him, Scott, but you should wait a couple of days before you come over once he does get home." The boys face falls and he is about to say something when the Major begins speaking again. "I know you missed him and he missed you too, but the ...illness hit him pretty hard. It's going to take some time for him to get his strength back. Just give him a few days, okay?"

"Okay, Major." He hugs her one more time then runs down the driveway.

Major Carter must sense what I'm about to ask because she answers before I can even open my mouth.

"Colonel O'Neill met Scott about seven years ago, during the time between when he returned from the original Abydos mission and when the Stargate program was launched. He's a good kid, but he got involved with a bad crowd and got himself into a lot of trouble. One day, a few boys including Scott tried to break into the colonel's house. The other boys took off, but the colonel caught Scott. He could tell he was scared to death. Instead of calling the police, he walked Scott home and talked to the boy's parents. He told them he wouldn't call the police if they agreed that Scott would do yard work to work off the cost of replacing the window and if Scott joined the basketball team at the youth center. The colonel was coaching the team at the time. Scott's parent's agreed. He's been a straight "A" student in school and hasn't once been in trouble since that day."

I'm silent for a minute as I think about what the major has just told me. "Wow, he really cares about kids, doesn't he?"

The major smiles again. "Yeah, yeah, he does."

Apparently, all members of SG-1 have a key to each other's house or apartment for just such an occasion as this. The major unlocks the front door and lets us in.

"I'm going to start with the bathroom. As I said before, the colonel's pretty neat, but I just want to make sure he doesn't have to do anything when he gets home. Why don't you start with the kitchen?"

"Sure, major."

I'm pretty sure I see a somewhat sadistic grin on her face as she turns and walks down the hall. "Have fun." She calls out as she turns into the bathroom.

I think I've just been suckered.

I've been to the colonel's home once before, and I have an excellent memory, so I'm somewhat familiar with the layout of his kitchen. I start with the refrigerator. The smell as I open the door causes me to take a step back. I leave the door open and walk over to the kitchen window. It's breezy out today and the fresh air will help get rid of the odor faster. That done, I bring the garbage can over and start to go through the containers in the fridge.

Yuck. The rest of the colonel's home may be almost immaculate, but his refrigerator is far from it. There are several half empty containers of what was once Chinese, I think, but now resembles a science experiment gone horribly wrong. They're the first to go. The two partial boxes of pizza follow, as do the three "doggie bags" from various take out places. I don't even want to speculate as to what may have been in them. Several Tupperware containers with unidentifiable substances in them are the next to go. There's a half full gallon of milk with an expiration date of two days after we left for Antarctica. I turn my head as I open the container and dump the contents into the sink. The orange juice follows. Then I turn on the water and rinse the clumps down the drain. I hope the colonel doesn't hate me for this, but Doctor Fraiser was pretty adamant about the no beer thing, so I remove the two bottles of Guinness from the refrigerator door and drain them.

By the time I'm done, the only things left in the refrigerator are two boxes of margarine, one package of cream cheese, which is still good for another two weeks, a few bottles of diet Lipton ice tea, without lemon, (I'm pretty sure he keeps those for Teal'c), a few bottles of water, and half a case of Coke. I remove the remaining items and put them on the counter. I search around for a sponge and finally locate a clean one under the sink. It only takes a few minutes to wash out the refrigerator. I quickly replace the items I removed earlier and move on to the freezer. There isn't much in here, so this should only take a few minutes. Most of the stuff is unopened, so I check the expiration dates and throw away what has expired. There's a steak as well as a half empty carton of ice cream with freezer burn. Both items go into the trash.

Between the refrigerator and the freezer, the garbage can is now full. I pull the bag out of the can and tie it off then replace it with a new one from under the sink. My next task is the pantry. It's pretty well stocked. I'm careful to check the expiration dates on everything. By the time I'm done, the garbage can is almost full again. I put it back in its proper place and wash up the few dishes sitting on the counter. Between them and the containers I emptied from the refrigerator, there's not even half a sink full. It only takes a few minutes to do the dishes. That out of the way, I wipe down the counters.

Two hours later the kitchen is sufficiently cleaned, I use one of the magnets on the refrigerator to hang Doctor Fraiser's note. Next, I make a list of things the colonel will need from the grocery store. That done, I take the garbage bag out of the can and replace it with a fresh one. Then I tie the almost full one and grab the one I'd filled earlier. There's a bigger trash can behind the house and I deposit the two bags there.

I go back in the house to look for the major. I find her in the colonel's bedroom making his bed. I'm glad the major has taken up that task; I don't think he'll appreciate me going in there.

She turns to me as I enter.

"All done?"

"Yes. The kitchen is clean and the trash removed. What next?"

"I've already taken care of the bathroom, the guest rooms, the guest bathroom, and the laundry. Why don't you vacuum the living room rug while I finish up in here?"

"Okay." I turn and leave. I pull the vacuum cleaner from the hall closet and vacuum the living room rug. The major exits the colonel's room just as I'm putting the vacuum back.

"You're done, good. So am I. Let's go hit the food store. Here."

She hands me her list and I put it in my pocket with the list I made. We walk back to her car and drive to the local grocery store. When we get there, the major grabs a shopping cart and I follow her into the store. I've never been to this place before, so I let her lead. Just as we enter, her cell phone rings. She stops and pulls it out of her pocket.

"Carter." She answers. "Wow. ...That's great! ...Okay. ...We're at the food store now. We should be back to the base in a few hours. ...I know. ...Okay. Talk to you later." The major snaps her cell phone shut.

"That was Janet. Teal'c's visit with the colonel went well. She's removing the restraints and allowing Teal'c to stay with him. If all goes well, we can visit tomorrow and she'll release him a day or two after that."

"That's great news." I tell her. I'm pleased to hear that Colonel O'Neill is finally getting over the effects of the withdrawal. The physical effects anyway.

The major continues to smile as we enter the store. Knowing that fresh fruit and vegetables have a relatively short life span and that it will still be at least two days before Doctor Fraiser will release the colonel, we select only a few things that should last at least a week. We make our way up and down the isles grabbing paper towels, toilet paper, laundry soap and dryer sheets, bread, juice, canned soup, and other foods on the doctor's "Okay to eat and drink" list. By the time we reach the frozen food section, the cart is almost full. We grab a few bags of frozen vegetables, two half gallons of ice cream, and some things that will be easy for the colonel thaw and cook or microwave. Working together, it only takes us about forty-five minutes to get everything we need. The lines, thankfully, are short and it only takes us another ten minutes to get though it and back to the car. We load up her trunk and return to the colonel's house.

Together, we bring in the many bags of groceries and begin putting everything away. The major takes care of restocking the bathrooms and the pantry while I put away the perishables. Half an hour later, we're done.

"Thanks for helping me out, Jonas. It would have took me all evening to do this on my own."

"It was my pleasure, Major."

The trip back to the mountain is as quiet as the ride to the colonel's house. When we arrive, she heads back to her lab.

She gets a few feet away before she stops and faces me again. "Jonas."

"Yes, Major?"

"Call me Sam."

I stand in disbelief as she turns and walks away. After a couple of minutes, I shake myself out of my stunned silence and go to my quarters. I remove my shoes and get comfortable on my bed. As I flip on the television, it hits me. She called me her friend when she introduced me to Scott. While she hasn't been nearly as distant towards me as the colonel has, she hasn't been overly friendly either. Only Teal'c seemed to accept me from the start.

I can't help but smile.

I hope that, someday, the colonel will see me as a friend and not just as a placeholder as he waits for Doctor Jackson to return.

TBC