Author's Note: If you're just rejoining the story after the long absence, make sure you've read Ch 18 first, as I've uploaded TWO new ones today. Thanks for reading!

Ch 19

Sam and Daniel stopped short as they entered the restaurant Uncle George had taken them to, both of their little mouths dropping open in stunned silence as their eyes grew as wide as possible. Neither child had been still or silent since Hammond had picked them up in the kitchen, so it was a sudden surprise to him as well. He smiled at their reaction, proud of himself. He had spent much time here with his grandchildren over the years.

"All right, you two," he said after allowing them to slowly soak in all the wonderful sights before them. "This is Chuck E. Cheese. We're going to go order a pizza, and while we wait for it, you guys are going to use as many tokens as you can on all those games, all right?"

"Yes, sir," they both said, nodding slowly, slow grins forming on their mouths as they recovered from their surprise enough to realize they'd better get moving. Those games weren't going to play themselves!

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The kids were having the time of their lives, trying out all the various games and collecting tickets at the ones that gave them out. They mostly stayed together, so Hammond wasn't having too much trouble keeping an eye on them from the booth he had stationed them at. They ran back to him often for more tokens or to give him their tickets for safekeeping when their little cups were full of them, or for the random bite of rapidly cooling pizza. He checked his watch. This was definitely going to be a long lunch. But the kids were having a good time, and he was determined to return them to Jack happy, fed, worn out and uninjured. It wasn't THAT hard, after all, he thought smugly. You just had to be smart about it.

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Jack checked his watch for about the millionth time in an hour, wondering when Hammond was going to back from his extended lunch break with the children. It wasn't that he was worried about them - not seriously, anyway - it was just that he was getting sick of people bothering him with Hammond's routine massive and unceasing stream of reports and check-ins, which fell to Jack when Hammond wasn't on base, as the base 2IC. Besides, where could he have possibly taken them that would make lunch take over two hours?

Just as he was thinking about calling to make sure they were okay, the three of them entered. The kids looked tired, but happy. Hammond just looked tired - more tired than Jack could ever remember seeing the man.

The kids perked up a little upon seeing him and briskly crossed the briefing room where Jack had been working (he felt strange using Hammond's office) and both hugged him, leaning in to him heavily, revealing how tired they were. They were also, to put it bluntly, filthy. Sam's dress had several brightly colored stains - blue, purple, and red - that Jack highly doubted would ever come out. Daniel had fewer stains on his shirt but a smear of something looking like congealed cheese was stuck in his hair behind his ear. They were rumpled, disheveled, and had that dried sweat look and smell about them. As Sam climbed onto his injured knee, he shifted her to the other one and caught sight of Daniel's wrist, which was rubbed raw, red, and irritated. "What happened?" he demanded, holding up his tiny arm carefully for inspection.

"I got my hand stuck in the air hockey game trying to get the puck back," he said, as though that explained everything, climbing into his lap as well. Sam added, "They had to take the whole machine apart to get his hand out."

"Not the whole machine," Hammond said a bit defensively when Jack shot the man a look of slightly smug concern.

"Where the he-heck did you guys go?" Jack asked, as Daniel pulled a handful of sticky, stretchy toy bugs out of his pocket and offered them to Jack to inspect, grinning proudly.

"Chuck E. Cheese," Sam and Daniel answered eagerly.

"Uncle George took us to the bestest place ever, Colonel!" Sam gushed. "There were tons of games and rides and stuff to climb on…"

"And a ball pit," Daniel added.

Sam frowned at him and nudged him in the shoulder, scolding "Sshhhhh!"

"I wasn't gonna say anything about the…"

"Hey!" Hammond clapped his hands together loudly. "Let's go get cleaned up before you go home with Jack, huh?!"

"Whoa whoa whoa," Jack said, grinning. "There's more to tell than Daniel almost breaking his wrist in an air hockey machine?"

"We had to leave before I could use up my tickets on anything," Sam wailed.

"Why?" Jack asked, confused. Surely two hours was plenty of time…

"We got throwed out," Daniel said.

"Threw out," Sam corrected.

"Thrown out," Jack corrected them both. "And what on earth for?"

"A stupid kid was making fun of us," Sam crossed her arms and scowled as she reported.

"He called us both names and said mean things," Daniel added. "In the ball pit."

"Then he pushed Daniel over in the ball pit and lied and said it was an accident but really it wasn't and he was laughing."

"I lost my glasses in the ball pit. I was trying to find them before they got broke. The mean kid was still being real mean."

"I telled him to leave us alone but he just WOULDN'T so I pushed HIM away from Daniel but he was too big to move that way so he tried to pull me over grabbing my dress so then I punched him."

Jack stared at the kids, not entirely sure what to say. Hammond, who had been looking very sheepish through this whole outpouring of information, cleared his throat pointedly and said, "Sammy."

"Twice," she added. "In the stomach and the nose."

"And?" Hammond prompted.

"Uhh, his nose was bleeding and he was about to fall on me and squish me dead so I also kicked him. In the boy parts."

Jack was now biting the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling, laughing, or otherwise indicating his approval for her actions in any way. He knew if they were really his kids he couldn't condone the violence, but it sounded to him like his team had just done what they always did - defended themselves when under attack, and stood up for and protected each other.

Hammond must have sensed his struggle because he cleared his throat and said, "We have already had words about what happened. Sam and Daniel are to go home and take a nap immediately, Colonel, and they will have no television or movies or playing outside tonight at all."

Jack recognized the light nature of the punishment and nodded. He wasn't sure if Hammond knew it or not, but the kids were fairly happy to entertain with toys, books, and puzzles as well. It might get fairly loud in the house without being allowed to play outside to run off some energy, but it wasn't really too harsh of a punishment. "Sounds fair, sir. Come on, you two. I'm tempted to hose you off before you get in my truck!"

"Why?" they asked at the same time, looking at each other curiously and shrugging.

"Because -" Jack started to answer, but was interrupted. He was promptly swallowed up by a bright white light and vanished entirely from the room.

Hammond took a couple of stunned seconds to remember that he was now alone with two equally stunned children. He looked down into their shocked faces and forced a chuckle. "Ha-ha, don't worry, kids, I'm sure there's nothing to worry about…" He tried to casually pick up the phone to confirm the Asgard had shown up.

"What happened?" Daniel asked nervously.

"Colonel O'Neill disappeared!" Sam exclaimed.

"Poof!" Daniel agreed, waving his arms.

"He just… went somewhere. He'll be back," Hammond tried to explain awkwardly, hoping the kids wouldn't ask.

"Where?" they both demanded immediately.

Hammond sighed. If he still had hair, he expected they'd all be turning grey or falling out right about now anyway.

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Jack re-materialized on Thor's ship and groaned. "Thor, buddy, you can't just do that. Do you have any idea what you just did?"

"O'Neill. I beamed you out of General Hammond's office, where you were meeting with him, Major Carter, and Dr. Jackson."

He groaned. "That's only… partly true. Look. You need to send me back, right now. I have a lot of splainin to do, Lucy."

"Who is Lucy?" Thor asked.

"Never mind. Just…"

Before he could finish his sentence, he reappeared in Hammond's office.

"… don't join me until the coast is clear," Jack finished, groaning as Thor appeared next to him in his own beam of light before the sentence was over.

He winced as he looked at the three stunned faces in front of him. Hammond had the phone in his hand. In front of him were a shocked pair of children who looked uncharacteristically speechless.