AN: Thanks for the kind reviews. It encourages me to keep working towards the end after all this time. I'm working on it as fast as I can, it's difficult trying to make it cohesive with who I was back when I was writing it and where I intended it to go, and who I am now as a much older person. The story has been very light overall but I feel it would be disingenuous not to delve into some emotional stuff at the end. That being said I do want it to overall remain very light and humorous, so if that's not your thing, sorry.

Right now I have a few more things left to do with them as little kids, then there will be a few chapters after they grow up, then a big time jump to an epilogue.

Thanks to everyone taking the time to read!

Ch 20

"Who are you?" Daniel finally asked.

"What are you?" Sam echoed.

"I am Thor. Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet. What are you?" Thor asked calmly, but turned to O'Neill for the answer. "O'Neill, are these human young?"

"Kids, Thor, we call them kids. And… sort of. Yeah."

"You're an alien!" Daniel let out in one loud, squeaky outburst.

"Daniel, aliens aren't real," Sam scoffed. "That movie last night was just pretend."

"Oh yeah, miss know-it-all? Looks like a alien to me!"

"Yeah but he's not REAL," Sam insisted. "He's a puppet or a guy in a costume or something."

"Not uh, we saw him appear, there's no way he just…"

"Guys," Jack interrupted, hoping to stop the argument before Thor got really offended and two of the people most responsible for the successful relationship between the Asgard and Earth completely undid all their hard work in five minutes flat.

"General, sir, maybe someone could call Teal'c to get the kids…"

"Right," Hammond said, spurred back into action. "Actually, Thor, why don't you make yourself comfortable here, and give me just a minute. I'll take them to him. Jack," he added, nodding pointedly to O'Neill, who took that to mean that he was to find out what Thor wanted and make sure he wasn't offended.

"Yes, sir."

"But…" Daniel started to object as Hammond led the kids out of the office, kindly but firmly.

The door had nearly shut behind them when Daniel asked Hammond loudly, "Why is he naked, Uncle George?" in a voice that carried down the hall perfectly.

Jack winced as the door finally shut, and turned to Thor. "So, buddy. What's up?"

"Those children appeared on my scans as Major Carter and Daniel Jackson, O'Neill."

"Yeah. We've had kind of a… problem. Maybe while you're here you could look into it, actually…"

"I would be happy to."

"Great!"

"I need Major Carter's assistance and I do not think she will be capable of adequately performing in her current condition."

"Of… course you do," Jack said with a somewhat forced smile.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam and Daniel were drawing pictures with Teal'c when Janet entered the VIP suite. Janet stifled a laugh. Someone – Janet was pretty sure it was Daniel based on the slightly wobbly lines – had drawn an imitation of Teal'c's Apophis symbol on the purple bandaid on Sam's forehead. Shaking her head and smiling to herself, she asked, "Hey, Teal'c, how's it going?"

"It goes well, Dr. Fraiser."

"Great. So, listen, the thing with Thor is taking a while," she said, trying to be vague in front of the kids. "Colonel O'Neill said if you want to stay with them here that's fine, but if you want, I'd be happy to take them home with me tonight. I'm sure Cassie would love to play with them."

"Are you sure, Dr. Fraiser?"

"Yeah, it's no problem, Teal'c. I know you've been postponing a lot of your normal duties and activities."

"I would appreciate it very much, Dr. Fraiser."

"No problem," she promised with a genuine smile, before turning to the kids. "Hey, you two, sleepover at my house tonight, okay?"

They exchanged concerned looks. "Do you bring needles home with you?" Daniel finally asked.

She laughed. "No I don't. but I do have a daughter who would be excellent at playing with you guys."

"Okay!" they agreed eagerly.

Janet gathered some things for them for the night and signed them and herself out of the mountain. On the surface, she could see two airmen wrestling the children's car seats from O'Neill's truck into the back of her sedan. "Where's Colonel Jack?" Daniel asked.

"He's still working with General Hammond on the…"

"Alien?" Sam interrupted eagerly.

"Uh, yeah," Janet said. "Listen guys, you know we can't tell people about Thor, right?"

"Why?" they asked, looking up at her blankly.

"Um. Well, it's a secret."

"Why?"

"We… the Air Force… the United States… we don't want people to be scared…"

"Thor didn't look very scary," Sam pointed out. "He was only my size."

"And his arms and legs are super tiny," Daniel added.

"And he was naked," Sam reminded everyone.

"Yes, yes, he was," Janet said, sighing. Maybe bringing them home wasn't the best idea, if they were going to be asking questions about Thor all night. She supposed she shouldn't be surprised, but still. "He isn't scary. He's a very nice, friendly alien. But, for now, it's a super big secret. You guys can't talk about it when we aren't here… actually you really shouldn't talk about it at all. I'm afraid if you can't remember to keep the secret general Hammond won't want you to leave the base anymore."

"Ever?"

"I'm afraid so."

"No more Chucky cheese and Colonel O'Neill's house?"

"That's right." Daniel and Sam looked at each other and sighed.

"We promise not to talk about the alien ever again," Sam said.

"Promise," Daniel agreed.

"Wonderful. Now, let's go home and meet Cassie. You can play with her while I cook dinner." "

"Okay!"

Daniel and Sam chattered the whole way to Janet's house, giving her plenty of potential blackmail material against General Hammond, as they told her in great detail about their trip to Chuck E Cheese.

"Cassie! I'm home, sweetie!"

Cassie came hurrying out of her bedroom, squealing excitedly at the sight of two of her favorite people as adorable little kids. "OH my god, mom, they are SO CUTE! Can we keep them here forever, please?"

"Cassie," Janet warned mildly, afraid she would scare them.

"Wow, you're pretty," Daniel said.

"Yeah," Sam agreed. "You're a teenager!"

"Yes, I am."

"Do you like to play?"

"Sure! Come on, let's go find something fun to play with."

Pleased, Janet went into the kitchen and washed her hands to begin making dinner. A nice, healthy, well-rounded dinner for the children under her care.

When she went to Cassie's room to tell them dinner was ready, she smiled. Cassie had been giving them makeovers, apparently. They all sported quite a lot of blush, lipstick and eye shadow. Everyone's fingernails were painted using what looked like every shade in the house. Sam had several scarves wrapped around her neck and body, and was wearing a large black hat Janet had worn to a funeral once. They were sipping imaginary tea from a tea set. Daniel was wearing one of Cassie's tank tops over his clothes like a dress, and had on a knit hat with a big poofy bauble top. Both arms were weighed down with an assortment of bracelets. Hating to break up the little party, Janet watched them from the doorway and took several discreet photos before clearing her throat quietly.

"If you guys aren't full of tea and biscuits, dinner is ready."

"Yay!" the kids exclaimed, quickly removing their dress up clothes. Cassie helped them quickly, and they followed Janet to the dining room table, still with their funny hair and makeup.

The idyllic evening took a sharp downturn after that. The kids point blank refused to eat any of the healthy food she had prepared for them. They wouldn't taste the salad. Sam said her grilled chicken breast slices smelled "too chickeny." Daniel sucked on a piece of asparagus for two seconds before spitting it out so hard it landed on Sam's arm, which sent her howling in rage.

"Mom, let's just give them mac and cheese."

"Cassie…"

"I can heat up my easy macs for them in like two minutes."

"We like that," Sam said cautiously.

Janet was determined to stand her ground, however.

And so were Sam and Daniel. The kids stared at her solemnly throughout the meal while Janet and Cassie ate their meals in silence, twin scowls unwaveringly directed at the good doctor. After what felt like forever, Sam finally moved. Janet watched her out of the corner of her eye.

Sam took the tiniest sip of her water and spit it back into the cup. "The water at Colonel O'Neill's house tastes way better," she whined.

Cassie snorted into her own glass.

Janet dropped her fork, exasperated. It clanked loudly on her plate. She scowled at the little girl – who was pouting adorably, Janet had to admit. The lopsided pigtails, the bandaid on her forehead, were all wearing Janet down. It was only one night after all… "All right," she finally muttered to Cassie. "Feed them. I'm taking a long shower."

Cassie nodded, and got up. "Come on, rugrats, to the kitchen. Macaroni and cheese a la Cassandra."

Perking up, but still a little suspicious, they followed her hopefully into the kitchen while Janet hurried to her private bathroom for some much needed alone time.

In ten minutes, Cassie had the kids wolfing down individual bowls of mac and cheese. She had even gotten them to eat peanut butter sandwiches too, which she made interesting by cutting them into stars with a cookie cutter. So, maybe not the best dinner ever, but definitely not the worst, she thought to herself, mentally patting herself on the back as she watched them eat.

After they were done, she eyed them. They were pretty messy. "You guys want to take a bath in my bathtub?" She asked.

"Okay," Sam said.

"I didn't bring my swimsuit though," Daniel worried.

"Me neither."

"What?"

"Our swimsuits," Sam said. "We left them at Colonel Jack's."

"He makes you wear swimsuits in the bath?"

"He said it was a rule," Daniel shrugged.

"Oh. Well, do you normally do that at home?"

"No."

"Well, it's not a rule here either."

"Okay!"

She was filling the tub when her mom came in, dressed for bed with a warm robe on and her hair still wet. "Thanks, sweetie. I'll handle this if you want, so you can have a break."

"You sure? I don't mind."

"It's okay. Go chat with your friends for a bit. Or use my bathroom if you want. "

"Thanks, Mom. See you guys soon."

Janet sat down on the closed toilet lid and watched her two little charges in the bath, adding plenty of bubbles for them and helping them wash their hair, directing them to armpits and knees with the soap when they missed spots. The kids were happy playing in the water, but as she dried them and helped them into their pajamas, she noticed them both getting rather quiet and still, more sad than tired looking. She brushed their wet hair out for them neatly and helped them brush their teeth, then said, "Would you guys like to watch a movie with Cassie before bed?"

"Okay," they agreed, rather unenthusiastically.

Janet got them all set up in the living room. Cassie joined them in her own pajamas, with several blankets and pillows. They all got snuggled in and Janet started one of Cassie's old favorites, Mary Poppins, for them.

The kids seemed fine until Sam suddenly let out a huge sniffle right after the first song. "What's wrong, honey?" Janet asked.

Sam promptly burst into tears, completely overwrought. Daniel immediately followed. "I… don't… want… to… sleep… here," she gasped between sobs.

"We miss Colonel Jack! We want to go back!" Daniel wailed.

"Awww," Cassie cooed, unable to stop herself as she hugged them both. "It's okay, guys. I know you love him, we all do, but he's probably still working."

"I don't care!"

"Me neither!"

Janet was now hugging them as well, trying to think of an adequate distraction before resorting to calling him. "Would you guys like some popcorn? Or chocolate milk?"

"No! We want to go back to Colonel Jack's!"

"How about ice cream?" she tried desperately.

The kids stopped crying and looked at each other. "What kind?"

"Rocky road is all I've got."

"Okay," Daniel agreed, sniffling and wiping his face with his sleeve. "I guess," Sam agreed.

"Great!" Janet ran off and hurriedly filled two little bowls, brought them out, then went back to get Cassie some. The kids ate their ice cream steadily while they watched the movie. They looked like they might be falling asleep when the sugar rushes suddenly hit them and they got up and started singing along to "A Spoonful of sugar," Dancing around the living room, with Cassie, who was happy to join in and play along as well.

Janet was just congratulating herself on distracting them from their homesickness when Daniel suddenly stopped spinning in circles and threw up all over himself, Sam, her carpet, and her coffee table. He immediately began crying again, as did Sam, and from then on out it was a chaotic blur as Janet rushed them to the bath to clean them up, while Cassie cleaned up the living room. Working efficiently, Janet quickly had them both stripped of their dirty clothes and cleaned off once more, dried off and redressed in new pajamas, teeth brushed again.

But there was no going back this time. They wouldn't be comforted. They huddled together in a miserable whimpering ball of tangled limbs and sweaty tears in Cassie's bed, crying, between intermittent whines for "Colonel Jack."

Sighing, Janet admitted defeat and picked up the phone. The damned man was going to hold this babysitting failure over her for years, she was certain. After all the crap she had given him… she sighed. She had it coming, really, she supposed.

She was put through to Hammond's office, where apparently O'Neill, Teal'c, Thor, and Hammond were still meeting. "What's going on, Doctor?"

"Well… the children are physically okay, but they're very upset, they miss Colonel O'Neill and want to go back to his house… Cassandra and I have tried everything we can think of, but we can't get them to calm down…"

"All right, I'll come get them, doc," Jack interrupted gently, sensing she was at her wit's end. "There's not much else here I can do tonight anyway, the ball is in Thor's court now."

"Thank you," she said gratefully. They hung up and she went to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. She desperately needed it, and also felt like she should probably have something to offer O'Neill when he arrived.

When he knocked on the door fifteen minutes later, she opened it gratefully, smiling at him, and Teal'c, who had come as well. "I brought reinforcements."

"Thanks."

"Good evening Dr. Fraiser."

"Hey, Teal'c. Come on in, guys. The kids are in Cassie's room, she's been doing her best. Hey, did you get a chance to eat? I have a ton of leftovers from dinner if you'd like me to heat you up a plate."

"That would be most pleasant," Teal'c said with a smile. "I am sure it will far surpass anything in O'Neill's refrigerator."

"Thanks, T," Jack said sarcastically. "If it's not too much trouble that would be great, Doc."

"Sure." They headed to Cassie's room, knocking softly on the open door frame, peeking in. Daniel and Sam were cuddled in her bed, whimpering still. Cassie was sitting on the foot of it trying to read them a book.

"Colonel Jack! Teal'c!" they both yelled, scrambling to the edge of the bed and throwing themselves at the two men, who caught them easily.

"Hey, buddy, what happened?" Jack asked Daniel, rubbing his back.

"I throwed up," Daniel reported.

"We don't want to stay here, we promise to be good, please keep us with you," Sam pleaded from Teal'c's protective arms.

"Oh, honey, we didn't send you here because you were bad. I just didn't want you to have to sleep alone on the base again while Teal'c and I were working late."

"We don't want to," she insisted, rubbing her red eyes.

"Okay, calm down. We'll take you home in just a little bit."

When Janet went to Cassie's room to tell the men their dinner was ready, she stopped outside the door, pleased to hear the soft laughter and conversation within. Smiling, she opened the door, then her mouth dropped open in shock. There was another tea party taking place, with two more guests. A very fancy looking Teal'c and Colonel O'Neill were daintily sipping pretend tea from tiny cups with their pinkies in the air, bedecked in a random assortment of jewelry and hair accessories. The kids were very serious about their tea party so she tried her best not to burst into laughter. Cassie was shaking a bit with silent giggles as she participated as well.

Janet quickly snapped several pictures, the last of which featured Jack and Teal'c glaring at her. She pocketed her phone quickly, smiling. "Well, déjà vu. Dinner is re-heated."

"I'm not eating the spare grass," Daniel insisted firmly.

"It's not for you, bucko," Jack said good-naturedly, ruffling Daniel's hair as he got to his feet. "Thank you, Dr. Mac-n-cheese and ice cream," he couldn't help but teasing as he passed Janet, dropping a floppy hat on her head, letting her know he had a little bit of his own blackmail material on her as well, should she feel the need to distribute those pictures.

Teal'c and Jack eagerly tucked into the meal Janet had made earlier, while the kids hovered nearby, getting sleepy and ready to leave. Cassie tried to get them to draw pictures with her at the end of the table, but Sam quickly gave up and wordlessly climbed into Jack's lap while he ate. He shifted her to one side so he could keep eating, nonplussed by her presence. Janet had to hide a smile as she saw the little girl nod off to sleep against him almost immediately. Daniel soon came over to Teal'c, climbed up in his lap as well, and showed him the picture he had drawn, explaining it in great detail between increasingly frequent yawns. When he began to nod off, Teal'c simply transferred him to one shoulder like he was a mere toddler, holding him there securely with one large arm while he finished eating, and Daniel fell asleep with his cheek smooshed into his shoulder. Janet couldn't stop glancing over at the pair. They were quite possibly THE most adorable thing she'd ever seen, like that.

Plates quickly cleaned, Jack quietly thanked Cassie and Janet for watching the kids and apologized for all the upset. Janet waved off the apology, and showed them out quietly, watching as the two toughest men she knew very carefully orchestrated transferring Sam from Jack's arms to Teal'c's when they reached his truck. Teal'c merely stood by the truck holding both sleeping children while Jack quickly but carefully moved the carseats back to his truck and then transferred the sleeping children to them, buckling them securely. He waved at her as he climbed in, started the truck, and they took off.

Janet went back inside suppressing a huge yawn of her own. The children were adorable, for sure, but exhausting. Privately, she hoped Thor's presence sped up the recovery process. She found herself missing adult Sam and Daniel even more acutely after a long evening dealing with the preschool versions.