Raising Danny

Part 1: Finding Danny

 

 

SG 1 had just arrived on the planet through the gate. There had been indications of some interesting structures but no signs of any inhabitants. Jack and Daniel went to explore the ruins, while Sam and Teal’c explored the surrounding areas.

 

“Do you hear something Teal’c?” Sam asked.

 

“Indeed, CaptainCarter.”

 

“It sounds like crying. I think it’s coming from over by the trees.” Sam and Teal’c carefully headed over to the tree line. Hidden in the foliage appeared to be a small boy, crying and sucking his thumb. He was dressed in a robe designed for the desert, had longish brown, blond hair and was clutching a small stuffed camel. He looked up as Sam bent down and approached him. Fear, but also curiosity filled his bright blue eyes.

 

Sam quietly asked, “What’s your name?”

 

“What’s yours?” the small child quietly asked.

 

“My name’s Sam, and this is Teal’c,” she stated while indicating the man who stood next to her.

 

Still unsure of whether or not to trust these people, he finally took his thumb out of his mouth and told them his name. “My name’s Danny.”

 

Sam looked up at Teal’c and then back at Danny. “What’s your last name, Danny?”

 

“Jackson. Danny Jackson.” He stuck his thumb back in and looked straight at Sam.

 

Looking shocked, Sam clicked her radio. “Uhm, Colonel. Come in please.”

 

Jack answered the radio call. “O’Neill here.”

”Sir, we have a situation here.”

 

Jack sighed, this was supposed to be an easy mission. “What’s the situation, Carter?”

 

Sam wasn’t sure just how much to say over the radio. “We’ve found a small boy, Sir. He seems to be all alone.”

 

“Where are you, Carter?”

 

“We’re to the east of the ruins at the tree line, Sir.”

 

“We’ll be there right away, Carter.” Jack called over to Daniel, “Come on, Daniel. Let’s go check this out.” Daniel, having heard the radio call, knew Jack wouldn’t let him stay alone in the ruins alone. So he got up and followed Jack out of the ruins.

 

As the boy had made no move to get up, Sam sat down next to the child and waited for the Colonel and Daniel.

 

Upon approaching the tree line, Daniel caught sight of the boy and stopped in his tracks. Jack noticed his hesitation and also stopped. “Something wrong, Daniel?” he inquired.

 

“Uhm, no, Jack. It’s just, the boy looks familiar.”

 

Touching Daniel’s arm, Jack encouraged him to get moving again. “Let’s go find out what’s going on.”

 

Daniel started moving again. “Sure, Jack.”

 

“So, Carter, who’s the young man?” Jack inquired, kneeling down. Danny’s blue eyes stared at Jack.

 

Sam replied, “Colonel O’Neill, meet Danny, Danny Jackson. Danny, this is Colonel O’Neill.”

 

Jack stood up quickly and looked from Daniel to the boy sitting by Carter. “Daniel, you have any idea what’s going on?”

 

Daniel was somewhat shaken. “No, Jack. I have no idea. Although, he definitely looks like I used to.”

 

Danny just kept his thumb in his mouth, his gaze moving from adult to adult.

 

Jack bent back down to the child and asked, “Do you know where you are, Danny?”

 

Little Danny just shook his head no, not saying a word.

 

Daniel sat down next to the boy and asked, “What’s the last thing you remember?”

 

Danny popped his thumb out and answered, “I was playing in our tent.” His thumb immediately popped back in.

 

“Where was your tent? Were you camping?” Jack asked

 

“No, we were at the dig site, in Giza.” Danny looked at Jack. “Where am I now?”

 

Jack wasn’t sure how much truth the child could handle, so he sidestepped the question and asked another of his own. “Danny, who are your parents?”

 

“Melbourne and Claire Jackson. They’re archeologists.” Danny peered curiously at Daniel. “Who are you?”

 

“My name’s Daniel. I’m an archeologist, too. Do you have ant idea how you got here?” He’d intentionally left off his last name.

 

Danny just shook his head again. “Where are my parents?” His eyes were starting to tear up.

 

Sam took over again. “We don’t know where they are. You’re the only one we’ve seen, since we arrived.”

 

Danny took in his surrounding. “This doesn’t look like Giza. I want to go home.” Danny was starting to cry softly.

 

Jack couldn’t resist comforting Danny. He reached over and picked him up. Danny laid his head on Jack’s shoulder and continued to whimper, “I just want to go home.”

 

Jack rubbed Danny’s back, consoling him. “I know, Danny, I know. We’re going to try to figure out what’s going on. But for now, I think you need to come with us.”

 

“Don’t wanna. I want my mom and dad.” Jack ignored his plea as there was nothing he could do right now. The sun was setting and he wanted to get back to camp before dark. He started walking back, indicating to the rest of the team to follow.

 

On the way back to the campsite, Danny cried himself to sleep on Jack’s shoulder. He carefully laid the child down on his sleeping bag, and joined the rest of his team at the campfire for dinner.

 

“Well kids, what should we do with our newest kid? Do you really think he’s a little Daniel Jackson?” All eyes turned to Daniel expectantly.

 

Daniel shrugged his shoulders. “Why are you looking at me, I don’t know. He certainly looks like I did when I was a kid. Also, I remember having a camel like his. I have no idea how this could have happened though.” Daniel passed the conversation to Sam.

 

“I don’t know either. Teal’c and I didn’t see or hear anything strange, until we heard the crying. The boy was just sitting there in the trees.” Sam looked over at Jack.

 

“Daniel and I didn’t notice anything either. You didn’t touch anything in the ruins when I wasn’t looking, did you, Daniel?” Jack glared at Daniel accusingly.

 

Daniel glared back. “No, I did not touch anything, Jack. Anyways, how he got here doesn’t matter right now. What matters is what we do with him now. We can’t just leave him here.”

 

“No, we can’t.” Jack agreed. “We’ll have to take him back with us, and let Dr. Fraiser check him out. We’ll head back to the gate at first light. Daniel, you take first watch, then Carter, then Teal’c. I’ll take last watch. Night kids.” Jack walked back into the tent with Danny and lay down on some blankets.

 

In the middle of the night Jack awoke to Danny’s screams. “Mommy, Daddy! I’m scared! Mommy, Daddy!” Jack rolled over and pulled the crying child into his arms. “Shh, Danny, shh. It’s all right. You’re safe,” Jack spoke quietly, trying to calm Danny down.

 

Danny suddenly opened his eyes and squinted up at Jack. Then he buried his face in Jack’s chest and sobbed, “I want my mommy and daddy.”

 

“I know, I know little one. Everything’s going to be all right. Just go back to sleep.” Jack looked down at the child in his arms and noticed Danny had wet himself. After Danny had calmed, he carefully removed the wet robes and changed him into one of his own black T-shirts. By the time he’d finished, Danny had fallen back to sleep. Jack lay back down with him on the blankets and also fell asleep.

 

When Teal’c’s watch was over, he peered into the tent to wake O’Neill. Seeing the child asleep in O’Neill’s arms, Teal’c snuck quietly back out of the tent and covered O’Neill’s shift.

 

Jack woke up to Danny stirring in his arms. Noticing the sun was up; he went ahead and woke the boy. “Morning, Danny. Time to get up.”

 

Danny was groggy. “Morning, Colonel O’Neill.” He rubbed his eyes with his fists. “I need to go potty.”

 

“No problem, kiddo,” Jack said as he picked Danny up and took him out to the trees. After finishing their business, they returned to camp.

 

Jack sat Danny down next to Sam who had just finished heating the MRE’s for breakfast. “Hey, Teal’c. Why didn’t you wake me for my watch?” he asked as Carter handed him his food. She then handed Danny his own MRE. Danny scrunched his nose at it. However, he was hungry, so he started eating it anyways.

 

“Someone else appeared to need you more,” Teal’c said while looking at young Danny. “It was not a problem for me to take two watches, O’Neill.”

 

“Okay. What do ya say we finish up our food and head back to the gate.”

 

“What’s the ‘gate’?” piped up Danny.

 

Jack glanced at Sam. Sam answered, “The gate is our way to get back home, Danny. It’s a big circle we go through, and when we come out the other side, we’re back home.”

 

“Where are we now? And why were there two moons last night?” Danny asked.

 

Jack was surprised at the question. He hadn’t thought Danny had been aware enough to pay attention to anything last night. He decided he might as well tell the truth. “Well, we’re on another planet, Danny. The Stargate will take us back to Earth.”

 

“Okay.” Danny had finished his food and stuck his thumb back in his mouth. He didn’t seem to have any problem with accepting Jack’s explanation.

 

After everyone finished eating, they packed up camp and headed out. Danny immediately grabbed hold of Jack’s hand. Jack looked down and said, “Danny, why don’t you hold Carter’s hand. I need to have my hands free.” Danny just held his hand tighter and shook his head no.

 

Carter assessed the situation and suggested, “Why not let me take point? I don’t think he’s going to let go, Sir.”

 

“Fine, Carter,” Jack grumbled. “The sooner we get home, the better.”

 

The hike back to the gate took longer due to having to travel at Danny’s pace. When they finally reached the gate, little Danny still would not let go of Jack’s hand. When Daniel dialed the gate and it kawooshed into life, Danny hid behind Jack’s leg.

 

“That’s what we have to go through?” squeaked Danny. His blue eyes were wide in astonishment.

 

Jack kneeled down to Danny’s level. “It’s okay. It’s fun. I’ve been through the gate a lot of times myself.”

 

It didn’t look like fun to Danny. “You’re sure it’s safe? It looks scary.”

 

“I’m sure, Danny. Look, just hold my hand, and we’ll go through together.”

 

Danny grabbed Jack around the neck. “No, carry me.”

 

Jack sighed and picked Danny up holding him close. “Okay kids. Let’s head home.”

 

Part 2: Back to Earth

 

 

Teal’c stepped on the ramp first, then Daniel and Sam. Finally, Jack stepped through with little Danny.

 

General Hammond looked at the child Jack was holding, and questioned, “Colonel, who is the child, and why did you bring him back through the gate without authorization?”

 

“Well, General,” Jack replied. “I’d like you to meet Danny Jackson. Danny, I’d like you to meet General Hammond.”

 

Danny peeked out from Jack’s chest. “Hello, Sir,” he said quietly.

 

The General was surprised at the revelation, but didn’t let it show. “Hello, young man. Welcome to the SGC.” The General questioned the Colonel. “Colonel, care to explain what is going on?”

 

“Absolutely, General,” Jack answered, “Right after we get him checked out at the infirmary.” Danny buried his head in Jack’s chest again, sticking his thumb back in his mouth. He was exhausted and cold from his trip to and through the Stargate.

 

“Agreed, Colonel. Debriefing in thirty minutes. Dismissed”

 

When the team arrived at the infirmary, Jack tried to put Danny down on the exam table. Danny would have no part of that. He hung on to Jack’s neck for dear life. Jack was attempting to pry Danny’s hands from his neck. “Danny, you have to let go now. Dr. Fraiser needs to make sure you’re healthy, and she can’t do that if you’re stuck to me.”

 

“No! I don’t want a doctor! I’m not sick!” He continued to hold on tight.

 

Janet decided to intervene. “Danny, I’m not going to hurt you. I just need to check you out. How about if you at least turn around and sit on Colonel O’Neill’s lap. That way I can begin examining you.”

 

Jack sat down on the exam table and got Danny to turn around and sit down. Danny was still only wearing Jack’s T-shirt, so Janet had Jack take it off and put a gown on Danny. As she checked him over, she also asked him some questions. “What’s your name again?”

 

Danny sighed. “Danny Jackson. You just called me by my name.”

 

“I know. I just like to ask a lot of questions. When were you born?”

 

“July eighth, 1965.”

 

“Do you know what day it is?”

 

Danny closed his eyes concentrating. “I’m not sure. I don’t really pay attention to the days. I think it’s September though.”

 

“What year?”

 

“1970. I’m five years old now.” Danny was tired of Dr. Fraiser poking at him. “Are you done yet?” he asked plaintively.

 

“Almost, Danny. I still need to do a blood test. Have you ever had your blood drawn before?” she asked as she got out the blood kit.

 

Danny looked warily at the needles. “Nooo, but I know I don’t like needles.” He tried to squirm his way back around to face Jack.

 

Jack kept him facing forward. “Now, now, Danny. Having blood taken isn’t that bad. I have to have mine taken, too. I’ll even let Dr. Fraiser take mine first, so you can see what it’s like. Okay?” Jack looked up at Janet to make sure she agreed.

 

“That sounds like a good idea, Colonel. Okay, Danny?” asked Dr. Fraiser.

 

“Okay,” answered Danny. He watched the doctor prepare Jack’s arm and stick the needle in. He watched Jack’s face. “You winced,” he accused.

 

“Of course I did, Danny. It stings when it goes in, but I’ll bet you can be even braver than I was,” Jack challenged. “Okay, your turn now.”

 

Danny stuck his arm out for Dr. Fraiser and held on tight to his camel he had held since he was found. Janet prepared the sight and inserted the needle. “Ouch,” was all Danny said, but he didn’t pull away. Janet finished up and removed the needle. “Now what?” Danny complained.

 

“Now, young man, you’re going to stay here in the infirmary, while I go meet with General Hammond.” Jack stood up and quickly set Danny down on the exam table.

 

“No!” screamed Danny. “I want to go with you!” He reached out and tried to grab hold of Jack. Janet had caught on to what Jack was doing and held onto Danny.

 

“You can’t come to my meeting, Danny. It’s only for grownups. I’ll be back as soon as I can, but you need to be brave and stay here with Dr. Fraiser. No argument.” Jack back out towards the door watching Danny calm down just a little.

 

Danny rubbed his eyes. “You’ll be back, right?” The Colonel was the only person he trusted so far, and he didn’t want him out of his sight.

 

Jack reassured him, “Yes, I’ll be back as soon as the meeting is over. In the meantime, Dr. Fraiser will take good care of you.”

 

“Okay.” Danny leaned into Janet’s embrace. “Come back soon though,” he ordered.

 

Janet rubbed his back until Danny fell asleep, exhausted. She laid him back on the bed and assigned a nurse to watch over him.

 

General Hammond and SG-1 sat around the briefing table. Getting right to the point, General Hammond asked, “Who is the child, and where is he from?”

 

Jack answered the question. “Well, General, as far as we know, he is a five year old version of our Daniel Jackson. Dr. Fraiser will have to confirm the genetics though. We don’t know where he’s from, however, Captain Carter and Teal’c are the ones who found him.”

 

“Captain?”

 

Sam looked at the General. “We were surveying the area around the ruins when we heard crying. That’s how we found him. He didn’t seem to know how he arrived there either.”

 

“General, regardless of how he arrived on the planet, the problem is, what do we do with him now?” Jack knew something had to be done with the boy. They couldn’t just keep him on the base.

 

“Whether or not the child does turn out to be a young Daniel Jackson, we’ll obviously need to find a home for him.” General Hammond had already dealt with find a home for young Cassie with Janet Fraiser. He wasn’t looking forward to having to do it again.

 

At that point Dr. Fraiser entered the briefing room and sat down. Having heard the General’s comment, she confirmed, “According the blood test results I have back so far, the child is Daniel Jackson. Everything is matching our Dr. Jackson’s workup.”

 

Up until this point Daniel had not yet joined into the conversation. “How can this be possible?” he pondered. “If he is me, and I am him, wouldn’t I have disappeared when he arrived? Wouldn’t history have been changed?” Daniel was feeling very confused.

 

“Daniel, we have no idea how this happened. Whoever or whatever allowed this event to occur, could have dealt with the changing history problem.” Sam had been pondering the problem for herself since finding.

 

Jack spoke up again. “So what are we supposed to tell the kid. Hey Danny, you think it’s 1970 but it’s really 27 years later and your parents are dead. How is a five year old going to understand that?”

 

“You’re forgetting something, Jack. We’re talking about me here. If I know myself, he’s already figured out some of this. I’m a genius, remember.” Daniel wasn’t any too thrilled with having to talk to his younger self. He didn’t like talking to anyone about his personal life.

 

Sam looked at the Colonel and spoke up, “Danny seems to have connected to you, Sir. Perhaps you should be the one to inform him of the situation.”

 

“What! I know the kid likes me, but how can I explain something I don’t even understand.” Jack turned to Daniel. “Don’t you think you should tell him? He is you, after all.”

 

“Uh, uh. No way. You’re the one, Jack. He’s barely paid any attention to anyone but you since we found him.” Daniel stared at his hands and continued, “Besides, I think I’d just confuse him more.”

 

General Hammond put an end to the discussion. “Colonel O’Neill, I want you to talk to the child. However, Dr. Jackson, I would like you to be there for the discussion. You may have some insights he’ll need to help him cope. We will discuss what to do with him after he has had some time to absorb the information. Dismissed.”

 

At that, everyone stood to leave. Jack walked over to Daniel. “Come on, Daniel, let’s get this over with.” He put a hand on Daniel’s shoulder to start him moving towards the infirmary. Daniel reluctantly followed along.

 

Part 3: Telling the Truth

 

 

Jack and Daniel arrived at the infirmary to the sounds of Danny’s screams. “Leave me alone! I want Colonel O’Neill! He said he’d be back soon! I don’t want to eat!” They heard a tray crash to the floor.

 

Jack marched up to Danny’s bed and said firmly, “Young man, there is no reason to be yelling at the nurses. You will stop and apologize, right now.”

 

Danny stared at Jack and popped his thumb in his mouth. “Yes, Sir,” he mumbled clutching his camel. To the nurse he muttered, “Sorry.”

 

“Okay, that’s better.” Jack sat down on the bed beside Danny. “We need to talk to you about what’s happened.”

 

Danny took his thumb out of his mouth and pointed at the wall. “Like why that calendar says it’s 1997 instead of 1970.”

 

“Told you, Jack.” Daniel raised his eyebrows at Jack while hugging himself.

 

“Yeah, yeah.” He glared at Daniel. Then he turned back to Danny. “Yes, that is something we need to explain. Um, for some reason you’ve gone forward in time.”

 

Danny just stared at him. He had a hard time believing Jack.

 

“Care to help me out here, Daniel?” Jack implored.

 

“Not really, Jack.”

 

“Thanks a lot.”

 

Danny’s head shifted back and forth as he watched the interchange. Finally he asked a question he most wanted answered. “Where are my mom and dad?” He was looking right at Daniel.

 

Daniel just lowered his head.

 

“Well, Danny.” Jack so wished he hadn’t asked that question. “Your parents died, about 24 years ago.”

 

Danny’s brow furrowed in thought. “When I would be eight?”

 

“Yes,” said Jack, surprised Danny had processed the information so quickly.

 

“Oh,” sighed Danny. “If I don’t have any parents anymore, who’s going to take care of me?” Danny’s five-year-old brain understood the facts, but his concerns were still egocentric.

 

Jack took a deep breath. “That’s what we’re going to have to decide. We need to find another family for you.”

 

Danny sucked him thumb for awhile thinking. Finally he glared at Jack and stated, “I don’t want another family. I want mine back. Send me back to 1970.”

 

Jack put his arm around Danny and said, “We don’t know how to do that. We don’t know why you were sent to 1997, but you are here, and you need a family to take care of you.”

 

Danny calmly looked up into Jack’s eyes and firmly stated, “Fine, if you can’t give me my family back, I want you to be my dad.”

 

“Danny, you don’t even know me. I work too much. I can’t be your dad.” Jack tried to dissuade Danny of this notion. “Besides, how do you know I’m even a nice guy? I could be a mean old man.”

 

“Uh, uh. I know. You’d be a great dad. I need you,” Danny studied Jack’s face, “and I think you need me.”

 

Jack was definitely thrown by Danny’s statement. He needed some breathing room. “Um, Danny, I need to go take care of some things. You stay here with the nurses, and be nice. I’ll be back in a little bit.”

 

“Yes, Sir,” Danny grumbled. Jack walked quickly out of the infirmary, with Daniel was following close behind.

 

As Daniel’s office was closer, that’s where Jack headed. Daniel walked in after Jack and shut the door behind him. Jack down on a chair and put his head in his hands. Daniel just stood against the wall with his arms wrapped around himself, staring at Jack.

 

Jack lifted his head to stare back at Daniel. “What?”

 

“I didn’t say anything, Jack.”

 

“I can’t be his father.”

 

“I know.”

 

“I can’t do the job I do, and raise a kid, alone.”

 

“I know.”

 

Jack looked back at the floor. “Why would he even want me for a father? He barely knows me.”

 

Daniel shrugged and answered quietly, “He wants you for a father for the same reason I want you as a friend.”

 

Jack sat back in the chair so he could see Daniel more easily. “And what reason is that?”

 

“Huh?” Daniel pretended not to understand the question.

 

“Why do you want me for a friend?” Jack truly wanted an answer to his question.

 

Daniel sighed. “It’s hard to explain, Jack. Underneath that hardass colonel persona you project, you care about people. You’ll do anything you need to for your friends.”

 

“Oh.” Jack stood up and started pacing. “I still can’t be his father.”

 

“I understand. Our lives don’t lend themselves to having families. He’ll need a family.”

 

“Yeah, so how do we go about finding a family for him?” Jack asked.

 

“I don’t know. I don’t think that’s a decision for just the two of us.”

 

Just then the phone rang. Daniel answered it. As he hung up, he said, “General Hammond needs to see us in the briefing room.”

 

“The final test results are back. He is Daniel Jackson. Albeit a healthy, five year old Daniel Jackson. So, unless any of you can come up with a way to send him back in time, we need to decide what to do with him,” General Hammond informed SG-1.

 

Sam spoke up having already considered this. “He’s going to need a new family, with a very high security clearance. He’s also going to need to be taught new background information. He can’t go around telling people he was born in 1965.”

 

Daniel said resignedly, “He’ll learn whatever you want him to learn.”

 

“Speaking of learning, what are we going to do about educating him?” inquired Hammond. “If he’s as bright as we believe him to be, I doubt he’ll fit into a public school setting.”

 

“He is and he won’t,” commented Daniel. He was remembering his own problems with school.

 

Sam thought about this dilemma. “I’m sure we could have his intelligence tested and find him a school to fit his needs.”

 

“Please check into it, Captain. I’ll check into families with appropriate security clearance. Colonel, we’re going to need someone to take care of him and help him absorb the new information he needs to learn.”

 

Jack stared at the General. “I’m assuming you want me to take care of him.”

 

“He does trust you, Colonel.”

 

“Yeah. If I do this, I’m going to need some help. Daniel, you up for this?” Jack was hoping Daniel could help ease Danny’s transition.

 

“I’m not sure my help would be the best thing for him.” Daniel had been fairly quiet during the meeting. He was having trouble dealing with his feelings towards his younger self. It was bringing back memories he’d rather not recall.

 

Jack finally realized Daniel felt uncomfortable. However, he believed Danny needed the experience of his older self. He also thought the interaction might help Daniel deal with his own issues. “Daniel, I need your help with taking care of him,” he insisted.

 

“Fine.” Daniel understood Jack wasn’t giving him a choice.

 

General Hammond concluded, “That settles it then. SG-1, you’re on downtime until we can find the child a family. Dismissed.”

 

“Come on, Daniel.” Jack put his arm around Daniel’s shoulders. “Might as well collect our charge.”

 

Daniel just shrugged out from under Jack’s arm and followed him back to the infirmary.

 

“Okay, Danny.” Jack sat down on the bed and pulled Danny onto his lap. “Daniel and I are going to be taking care of you until we find you a new family.”

 

“I don’t want another family. I want you,” insisted Danny.

 

“That’s not a choice you get to make,” Jack tried to tell him.

 

Danny just pouted, glaring at him.

 

“Listen, we can sit here and keep arguing about this, an argument you won’t win, by the way, or you can accept the situation as it is, and we can get out of here and go to my house.” Jack lifted Danny of his lap, put him back on the bed and stood up.

 

“Fine. I’ll stop talking about it, for now, but I won’t stop thinking about it.” Danny got off the bed and grabbed Jack’s hand. Looking up at Jack, he said, “Let’s go.”

 

Jack glanced over at Daniel and whispered, “So, you were always stubborn, huh.”

 

Daniel just lifted his eyebrows, then noticed what Danny was wearing. “Um, Jack. I think he needs something to wear besides a hospital gown.”

 

“Oh yeah.”

 

Dr. Fraiser walked into the room. “Colonel, I didn’t realize you were going to leave so soon. Here,” she thrust a bag into his hands, “I had an airman get a change of clothes for him.”

 

“Thanks, Doc, you always think of everything.” Jack pulled out jeans, a t-shirt and underwear from the bag. “Hey, where’s the shoes?”

 

“He still has his sandals, and shoes need to be fit to the child. I figured you could take him out to buy the rest of what he needs.”

 

Jack looked down at Danny. “Well young man, I guess we need to get you changed into your new clothes.”

 

“Why can’t I just wear my robes?” Danny questioned.

 

Jack sighed, “Your robes may have looked right in Egypt, but these clothes will look right here. Come on, I’ll help you change.”

 

As Jack was helping him into his underwear and pants, Danny asked, “If I’m not in Egypt, where am I?”

 

“Oh right, we haven’t talked about that yet. Daniel, you want to explain it?” Jack had noticed him hanging back and was trying to get him involved.

 

Daniel was startled back to the present with the question. He’d been remembering his first trip to the US. “Oh, um, you’re in Colorado Springs, Colorado.”

 

Danny looked at him with a blank stare.

 

“Oh right, that probably doesn’t mean much to you. You’re in the United States,” Daniel clarified.

 

Danny said, “My mom and dad were born in the United States. They said we were going to visit New York someday. Is Colorado close to New York?”

 

Jack noticed Daniel start to shut down at the mention of his parents, and answered for him, “No, we’re quite a long ways away from New York.” Jack had finally finished dressing Danny. “So, what do you think of your new clothes?”

 

Danny put his arms across his chest and said, “They’re scratchy. These pants are stiff. I want to wear my robes.”

 

Jack had had enough of Danny’s complaints. “You’ll get used to them, so stop complaining, Danny.” All Jack got for his trouble was a glare as Danny put his thumb in his mouth.

 

Daniel came to Danny’s defense. “He’s never worn jeans before, Jack. All of this is new to him.”

 

“Yeah, forgot about that.” Jack kneeled down in front of the boy and said more gently. “Listen Danny, you need to wear these clothes until we can get to the store to buy you some more comfortable ones. Can you put up with them for awhile?”

 

Danny’s answer was to put his arms around Jack’s neck and say, “Only if you carry me.”

 

Grinning, Jack picked him up. “Okay. Everybody ready for the thrill of shopping with a five year old?”

 

“Good luck, Colonel, Daniel. Enjoy the experience.” Janet walked away and went back to work.

 

Daniel, Jack and little Danny, with his head buried in Jack’s shoulder, headed for the elevator.

 

Part 4: Nightmares

 

 

When they arrived at the truck, Jack buckled Danny in. Noticing the seatbelt didn’t fit right, Daniel said, “I think we’re going to need to buy a booster seat, too.”

 

“Ya think. I’m starting to realize there’s a whole lot of things we’re going to need to buy for the kid.”

 

Danny just sat in the truck absorbing everything going on around him.

 

As they drove through town to the mall, Danny just stared out the window in awe of everything he saw.

 

After parking, Jack took Danny out of the truck and put him down. Danny reached up to grab Jack’s hand. “Where are we? I thought you said we were going shopping?”

 

Feeling the strength of Danny’s grip on his hand, Jack understood Danny was scared. “We are shopping. This is a shopping mall. We can buy everything we need here. Come on, we’ll be with you the whole time.”

 

Daniel came around the front of the truck to stand next to them. When they started to walk into the mall, Danny grabbed his hand, too. Daniel squeezed his hand back in reassurance.

 

The first store they entered was the clothing store. Jack and Daniel picked out some clothes they thought Danny would like to wear, and went in the changing room. Danny wasn’t being very cooperative. He had complaints about everything he had tried on. Either he didn’t like the color, it was too tight or too big, or it was too itchy. Finally Jack had had enough.

 

“That’s it, young man.” In went the thumb. “We have tried on all the clothes we’re going to try on. Pick three shirts and three pants you want. Then we’re out of here.”

 

“No, I don’t want any of them!” Danny yelled and stomped his foot.

 

“If you don’t pick out your own clothes, I’ll pick them out for you, and you will wear them.” Jack’s tone of voice brooked no argument.

 

Danny caved in and grabbed some clothes, shoving them at Jack.

 

“Watch your attitude, young man, or we’ll be having a attitude adjustment when we get home.” Jack had little tolerance for bratty behavior.

 

Daniel intervened, “Jack, give him a break. This is all new to him. He’s five years old. He’s probably tired and hungry.” Leaning down to Danny, he asked, “Are you hungry, Danny?”

 

Danny just nodded his head while sucking his thumb. He didn’t want to make the Colonel any angrier.

 

“Fine, Daniel. After we buy the clothes we’ll get something to eat. However,” he directed this next part at Danny, “no more acting up or complaining.”

 

Danny looked up at Jack and said, “Yes, Sir.”

 

They purchased the shirts and pants, along with some underwear and socks, and found their way to the food court. Danny was completely overwhelmed with all the choices. When Jack asked him what he wanted to eat, he just looked at the floor and shrugged his shoulders.

 

“Daniel, why don’t you decide what to eat tonight. You should know what type of food he’ll eat. We’ll find a table and wait for you.”

 

“Sure, Jack. I’ll see what I can find.” Daniel found some food they could all enjoy. He returned to the table and everyone ate their fill. Danny seemed to be in a much better mood after eating.

 

Jack cleared the table, and said, “Okay, kids. Time to go find some shoes and a booster seat.”

 

“What’s a booster seat?” asked Danny, getting interested in shopping again.

 

Daniel answered the question without prompting for the first time. “It’s a seat for the car. It lifts you up higher and makes the seatbelt fit you better.”

 

“Oh. Can I have blue shoes?” Danny didn’t seem too interested in the booster seat.

 

“Wait until we get to the store and see what they have available, okay?” Jack was hoping to get through the shoe shopping without incident.

 

Unfortunately, he wasn’t so lucky. Danny was used to wearing sandals, and didn’t like the way his feet were confined in sneakers. Jack finally picked a pair of blue one that fit, found a booster seat, and headed home. He’d had enough shopping to last a lifetime.

 

Having fallen asleep on the drive home, Danny was carried into the house by Jack. He woke up long enough to go to the bathroom and brush his teeth. Realizing they’d forgotten to buy pajamas, Jack changed him into one of his own t-shirts, and tucked him in bed. Kissing Danny’s forehead goodnight, he went into the living room and crashed on the couch. Daniel was already sitting in the chair.

 

“I know you’re a difficult adult, Daniel, but I didn’t realize you’d started so young.” Jack smiled at Daniel as he said this.

 

“Thanks, Jack. As a matter of fact, I wasn’t a difficult child. I just liked doing things my own way,” Daniel responded.

 

“Oh right, that explains things so much better. Seriously, how did your parents handle you?” Jack was hoping he could get some tips on how to handle a young Danny from his older self. Even if he was only watching Danny for a few days, he couldn’t let him run wild.

 

Daniel paused for a moment. He hadn’t thought of his childhood for a long time. “When my dad wasn’t out on the dig site he was fairly strict with me. I liked to explore and would wander away from camp a lot. Normally I was confined to the campsite for awhile. I also ended up getting spanked, too. My mom was much more relaxed. As long as she knew where I was, I could do practically anything I wanted. I guess I was also a little bit spoiled by the other people in the camp. I was always interested in what the adults were doing, so I asked a lot of questions. That’s how I learned so many languages. I’d listen to what was being said, and when I thought I knew some of the language, I’d start trying to speak it. People encouraged me once they realized I could pick up languages so easily.” Daniel became silent. He hadn’t spoken this much about his childhood to anybody.

 

Jack was absolutely captivated by Daniel’s story. Daniel never spoke openly of his childhood. He enjoyed this glimpse into Daniel’s past. “Go on Daniel.”

 

“That’s all. You’re going to have to figure out how to handle him yourself.” Daniel felt he had revealed enough of himself for one night. He stood up and said, “I’m going to get some sleep. We’ll have a busy day tomorrow.”

 

Jack got up too. “So, is it okay with you if I use your dad’s method of discipline?”

 

Daniel considered it. He remembered not wanting to be spanked, but he also knew his dad had done it because he’d been afraid of his son being hurt. Also, sometimes he had considered whether what he was about to do would be worth a spanking. Turning around to face Jack, he said, “That’s up to you, Jack. You’re in charge. I’ll support whatever you decide to do. Goodnight.”

 

Jack followed him up the stairs. “Goodnight, Daniel.”

 

Jack was used to being awoken by his own nightmares, however this time the screams he heard were not his own. Getting up quickly, he rushed to Danny’s room. When he arrived at the doorway, he realized Daniel was already with the child. He decided to observe the interchange.

 

Daniel had heard the screams Danny was making and hurried into the bedroom. Danny was thrashing about on the bed and yelling for his mom and dad. Sitting down on the bed, Daniel pulled the crying child onto his lap to try and calm him. “Shh, Danny, everything’s alright. You’re safe. Quiet down.”

 

Danny’s cries lessened. “I want my mom and dad,” he whimpered.

 

“I know, I know. Remember, we talked about how they died a long time ago.”

 

Danny was still having trouble coping with the suddenness of everything happening to him. “I remember what you told me, but I just saw them a couple of days ago. It just doesn’t make sense. Besides, how do you know they’re dead. Maybe they’re just older now. Maybe they’ll still want me.”

 

Daniel sighed. “They’re dead, Danny. You have to trust me on this.”

 

Danny peered up at Daniel quizzically as if he’d just figured something out. “Who are you? And why do you seem to know so much about me and my life?”

 

Figuring he’d have to explain about himself sooner or later, Daniel explained, “I’m also Daniel Jackson. I’m you, only older.”

 

Puzzling this new information over in his mind, Danny sucked his thumb. Daniel waited him out. “Does that mean I’m going to turn into you?”

 

“No,” Daniel tried to explain, “you’re probably going to look like me, but who we are is based partly on what we experience. From here on out, you’re going to live a very different life than I did.”

 

“Oh.” Danny said quietly. Danny snuggled into Daniel. Then a new thought occurred to him, “If you’re me, that means your parents died when you were eight.”

 

“Yeah, they did.” Daniel had hoped he wouldn’t have to go into too much detail tonight.

 

“Who took care of you?” Danny wanted to know.

 

Daniel hugged him a little closer. “A lot of different people took care of me.”

 

“I want Colonel O’Neill to take care of me,” Danny stated again.

 

“I know you do, but it just won’t work.” Daniel decided it was time to draw this late night discussion to a close. “Okay, Danny, it’s late and you need to get a some sleep. Let’s get you tucked back into bed.” He laid Danny back onto the bed and was to pulling the covers up when his wrists were grabbed.

 

“Please don’t leave,” Danny pleaded. “I don’t want to be alone.”

 

Daniel paused, when Danny spoke up again, “I’m small. There’s enough room for you, too.”

 

Not able to resist the plea, Daniel agreed and climbed under the covers as Danny moved over. “Okay, but you’re going back to sleep, right?”

 

Danny rolled over, grabbed his camel and stuck his thumb in his mouth. “Uh huh,” he mumbled as he closed his eyes.

 

Daniel opening up to his smaller counterpart encouraged Jack. He turned around and went back up to his bedroom thinking about what to do with his two Daniels.

 

Part 5: Rules and Consequences

 

 

The next morning Jack woke up first. He went into the kitchen to start the coffee, and then went to wake up the boys. He looked through the doorway and saw Danny with his thumb in his mouth and his arm across Daniel’s back. Wishing he had a camera, he called out, “Come on sleepy heads. Time to wake up. Rise and shine. Wakey, wakey.”

 

Daniel groaned, “Coffee?”

 

“Already brewing, but you have to get up and get it yourself.” Jack turned around, calling out, “Meet you in the kitchen.”

 

Daniel rolled over in bed and sat up. He looked at Danny and asked, “Sleep well?”

 

Danny nodded, but was too comfortable to get up.

 

“Come on, I’ll race you to the bathroom.” Daniel pretended to rush to the bathroom. Not able to resist a challenge, Danny got out of bed and darted in first. He turned around and smiled. “Hey, you’re too fast. You beat me.” He ruffled Danny’s head and then they both got ready for the day.

 

As they both entered the kitchen, they noticed Jack had already made pancakes and set the table. “Hey, I didn’t know you could cook,” stated Daniel.

 

“Yeah, well can’t exactly order pizza for breakfast. At least not with a kid in the house.” Jack served up the food and they all sat down to eat.

 

When they were almost done, Jack decided to take care of some business. “Okay, Danny. You know we’re going to find a family for you to live with, but until then your going to stay with me, right?”

 

“Uh huh,” he mumbled, “but you know I want to stay with you, Colonel O’Neill.” Danny wasn’t going to give up trying to stay with Jack.

 

“I know, and you can call me Jack, okay?” Danny nodded. “In the meantime, we need to set some rules for you.” Jack wasn’t going to let Danny run wild while he was in charge.

 

“What rules?” Danny questioned. He didn’t like the idea of a whole bunch of rules.

 

“Rules like, no throwing tantrums.” Danny looked a little guilty remembering his behavior of the night before. “Doing what you’re told, and no lying.”

 

“I don’t lie,” insisted Danny.

 

“I believe you,” said Jack. “I just want to make sure we all understand what the rules are. Didn’t your mom and dad have rules for you?”

 

“Yeah.” Danny’s thumb popped back in his mouth. Jack had noticed Danny did this when he didn’t really want to talk about something.

 

“What were those rules?”

 

“No wandering off.” He slouched down in his chair.

 

Jack began leading Danny. “What did your dad do when you broke that rule?”

 

Danny glared at Daniel. Daniel shrugged his shoulders. Not wanting to answer the question, Danny remained silent.

 

“Remember, you told me you don’t lie,” Jack prompted.

 

“Not answering a question isn’t the same as lying.” Danny tried to worm his way out of answering.

 

Jack was done with the run around. “No, it’s not. However, I’m telling you to answer the question.”

 

“Fine. I got spanked when I broke that rule. You already knew that, didn’t you?” asked Danny, realizing Daniel already knew everything about him and had probably told Jack.

 

“As a matter of fact I did, but I wanted you to confirm it. So, when you break my rules, you’re going to get a spanking.” Jack wanted to make sure Danny understood.

 

Danny said very quietly, “I don’t like spankings.”

 

“I understand, but that’s the point. If you don’t like them, don’t break the rules.”

 

“What if I only break a little rule?” questioned Danny, looking for a loophole.

 

Jack sighed. He wondered how Daniel’s parents had coped with him. “Rules are rules. However, there’s always corner time and groundings to consider.”

 

“I don’t like those, either.”

 

“Good, that means you won’t want to break the rules. You’ll also have to keep your room clean, and help out around the house. Do you understand everything?” asked Jack

 

“Yes, Sir,” Danny grumbled.

 

“Well, now that everything’s settled, let’s clean up the kitchen.” With everyone helping, the kitchen was soon tidy.

 

Daniel piped up, “So, what do we want to do now?”

 

Just then the phone rang.

 

Jack answered it, and spoke to Carter. After hanging up, he told everyone, “That was Carter. She found someone to test Danny. We have an appointment at 1000 hours.”

 

Danny stared up at Jack, “What test? I don’t want any more needles.”

 

Daniel knelt down and answered, “Not a medical test, Danny. We need to test you to find out how much you know so we can figure out what school you should go to.”

 

“I don’t go to school. My mom teaches me, and the other grownups in the camp teach me.” Danny didn’t understand why he should have to go to school.

 

Jack decided to explain. “That was okay when you lived in Egypt, but now you live here. In the US, kids go to school when they’re five years old.”

 

Danny was still unsure. “But why are you testing me? Why can’t I just go to school?”

 

Daniel tried again. “Danny, you know you’re very smart, right?”

 

Danny shook his head. “I’m not any smarter than anyone else. I’m just me.”

 

“Oh, you’re you alright, but you are smart. There are special classes for kids who are smart like you are, but you have to take some tests to determine which classes you need to be in.”

 

Danny asked, “Do the tests hurt?” He remembered the needle poke.

 

Daniel picked Danny up. “No, the doctor who gives you your test will just ask you a lot of questions about what you know. All you have to do is answer them.”

 

“What if I don’t know all the answers.” He put his head on Daniel’s shoulder.

 

Daniel rubbed his back. “You don’t have to know all the answers. In fact, there will be many answers you won’t know. That’s the way the test works. All you have to do is your best.”

 

“Okay,” Danny agreed, “if you say so.”

 

“Now that that’s settled, let’s get ready to go,” Jack said clapping his hands together.

 

Danny did his best on the tests he was given, even though he didn’t understand the point. Afterwards, Jack and Daniel discussed the results with the doctor.

 

“So, what did we learn about Danny, Dr. Carn?” Jack asked getting right to the point.

 

“Young Danny is extremely intelligent. He pretty much tested off the charts,” stated Dr. Carn. “You’re going to have a hard time keeping him intellectually challenged.”

 

“I had a feeling you might say that.” Jack gave Daniel a look. “So what do we do about school for him?”

 

“There is a school for gifted children here in Colorado Springs he would qualify for. All you need to do is contact them and show them his test scores,” the doctor said as he handed Jack a file with the test results and the school information. “Good luck.”

 

“Thank you, Doctor. We appreciate your input.”

 

Jack and Daniel got up, shook the doctor’s hand, and went to the waiting room to get Danny. Danny was sitting in a chair looking at a magazine. “Come on, Danny. It’s time to get lunch.”

 

Danny wanted to know what the doctor had said about him. “Well,” he said impatiently as they walked to the truck.

 

“Well, what?” Jack asked, knowing exactly what Danny wanted to know.

 

Danny stamped his foot in frustration. “What did the doctor say about me?” he asked, raising his voice.

 

Jack lifted Danny’s chin up to get his attention, saying firmly, “Watch your tone of voice, young man, or you’ll be getting one of those consequences we talked about this morning.”

 

“Sorry, Sir,” Danny muttered.

 

Jack lifted Danny up into the truck and fastened him into the booster seat. “He said you’re smart, which we already knew, and he gave us the name of a school you could go to.” Jack closed the truck door and climbed into the driver’s seat.

 

“But…”

 

“No buts. That’s all you need to know right now. Let’s get some lunch.” Jack pulled out of the parking lot.

 

Danny was pouting in the back seat. “I don’t want lunch. I want to know what else he said about me.” Danny hadn’t really intended Jack to hear the comment, but unfortunately, he said it a little to loudly.

 

“I said enough.” Jack raised his voice loud enough to make his point. He added, “I think we need to head home first and have a discussion about your behavior.”

 

Danny wisely kept his mouth shut. However he did look to Daniel for a little support. Daniel gave him a friendly look, but didn’t interfere. Jack had taken charge, and Daniel would support his decisions, within reason. He already knew how stubborn he could get now, and it wasn’t any different when he had been a child.

 

The ride home was very quiet. When they got into the house, Jack escorted Danny into the den.

 

Jack didn’t waste any time. He sat down in his chair and pulled Danny onto his lap. “Danny, when I say something, I mean it.”

 

“But…” Danny tried again.

 

“No, Danny. I told you we were done discussing the subject, and you needed to accept that. You can’t just ignore me.” Jack knew he had to follow through with the consequence. “You’re going to get a spanking now.”

 

Danny started tearing up. “I’m sorry. I’ll remember next time. Please don’t spank me.”

 

“Sorry, Danny. You chose to disobey me knowing you’d get spanked if you did. Come on, let’s get this over with.” Jack flipped Danny over on his lap and pulled down his pants. “Why are you getting this spanking, Danny?”

 

Danny cried, “Because I ignored you when you told me to stop asking questions. I’m sorry.”

 

Jack spanked Danny’s backside until he felt the lesson had been learned. He pulled up Danny’s pants and flipped him back onto his lap. Holding Danny tightly to his chest he soothed the crying child. “It’s alright, Danny. It’s over now. Everything’s okay.” Jack kept rubbing his back and saying words of comfort until the crying quieted.

 

Danny whispered, “Do you still like me, Jack?” barely loud enough for Jack to hear.

 

Jack reassured him, “Of course I still like you. Everyone makes mistakes. Just because you do something wrong, doesn’t mean I stop liking you.” Jack wiped some tears from Danny’s face. “Why don’t you go wash your face and then go see what Daniel’s doing. I have a feeling he’s made something for lunch by now.”

 

Danny gave Jack a hug, then slipped off his lap and went to do what he’d been told.

 

Jack sat in the den for a while just thinking. He knew he was falling in love with the boy. He hoped a home was found for him soon, before it became too hard for him to give Danny up.

 

Part 6: Shared Memories and a New History

 

 

When Danny found Daniel he was in the kitchen having made macaroni and cheese for lunch. Danny sat down carefully at the kitchen table, thankful the chairs were padded.

 

Daniel also sat down to eat, asking, “You okay?”

 

Danny answered, “Yeah.” He was silent for another moment. “Why’d you have to tell Jack Dad spanked us?” Danny accused.

 

“He asked. Besides, I think he would have decided to spank you whether or not he knew our dad did.” Daniel ate some more. “You said in your time it’s just a couple of months after your fifth birthday, right?” Danny nodded not sure where Daniel was going with this. “If I remember right, I’d just recently broke Dad’s rule of not wandering off.”

 

Figuring out what Daniel was talking about, Danny answered, “Yeah, I went to climb the pyramid while everyone was busy.”

 

“And I climbed about six levels when I got scared of how high I was,” Daniel continued.

 

“Uh huh, I froze and waited for someone to find me.”

 

“Dad was the one to find me. He wasn’t very happy.” All of Daniel’s memories of the event had come back.

 

Danny’s memories were more recent. “After he took me back to camp, he spanked me, hard.”

 

“I remember. That was one of the worst ones. I got grounded, too.” Daniel remembered he’d had to stay in the tent for a week, and then couldn’t leave the campsite for another week.

 

Danny became very quiet. “I was on the last day of the tent grounding when I ended up on the planet you found me on.” His thumb had found his mouth again.

 

Daniel shook off his memories, noticing how withdrawn Danny had become. “Are you okay?”

 

Danny stared at his food. Finally he asked, “Do you think I was taken away because I was bad?” He looked at Daniel from under his lashes.

 

Daniel got up and picked Danny up to comfort him. He rubbed circles on Danny’s back, saying, “No, Danny, no. Nothing you did caused this to happen. Dad forgave you and forgot about it a long time ago.”

 

“It wasn’t a long time ago for me,” Danny mumbled, “besides, you don’t know why I ended up on the planet.”

 

“No, I don’t, but I do know it wasn’t because you were bad. You just have to trust me on this.” Daniel didn’t realize his gift for feeling guilty about everything had started so young.

 

Daniel walked into the living room and sat down on the couch with Danny.

 

Jack walked in, saw them and asked, “Are you two okay?” He sat down next to them.

 

“We’re fine, Jack. Just talking about some shared memories.”

 

Danny spoke up, “Jack, I was wondering about something.”

 

“What?”

 

“Um, I overheard something.” Danny wasn’t sure whether or not he’d be in trouble for listening in.

 

“What did you overhear?” Jack wanted to know what was bothering Danny.

 

“You and Daniel were talking about needing to teach me a new history. What did you mean by that?”

 

Daniel took over the conversation, “Don’t worry about it, Danny. It just means you need to learn some new information so when people ask you questions about your past, it doesn’t sound weird.”

 

“Do I get to keep my name?”

 

“Yes, you get to keep your name.” Danny smiled at him. “You also get to keep your birthday, but we need to change the year to 1992.”

 

Danny thought for a minute. “That makes sense. If I told people I was born in 1965, I’d be 32 years old like you are.”

 

“Yeah. Good thinking.” Daniel didn’t want to mention the next part, but knew he had to. “We also need to change your parents’ names.”

 

Danny looked shocked. “Why?”

 

Jack answered, “If you told people your parents were Claire and Melborne Jackson, they would be able to find out they’d died in 1973, before you were even supposed to be born.”

 

“Oh.” Danny didn’t like this part, but understood why. “What names do I need to remember?”

 

“Cathy and Mark Jackson. Also, you need to remember they died in a car accident in Cairo.” Jack figured he might as well get it all over with at once. He watched Danny’s thumb go in his mouth, and said, “I know this is an awful lot to have to deal with right now. Are you okay with all this?”

 

“No,” Danny responded, “but I don’t really have a choice, do I?” He snuggled in closer to Daniel.

 

Daniel rubbed Danny’s head. “No, you really don’t. However that’s really all we need to change. You were still born and raised on your parents’ digs in Egypt. Just try not to talk about your past too much, except with us.”

 

Now Danny found something to get angry about. He pushed away from Daniel. “How I am I supposed to talk to you guys about my past, when you’re giving me away?”

 

Jack and Daniel both sighed. They knew he had a point, but still felt he would be better off with a more stable family. “Danny, we already discussed this, and I’m not going over it again. We’re doing what we think is best for you. You just have to accept it.”

 

“And I have no say?” Danny argued.

 

“No, you don’t. You’re only five years old. This is a decision for adults to make.” Jack was very tired of this argument.

 

“It’s not fair,” Danny muttered.

 

Daniel agreed, “You’re right. It’s not fair.” Daniel hugged Danny, passed him over to Jack, and walked outside.

 

Both Danny and Jack looked questioningly at each other. Jack wasn’t sure what was going on with Daniel, but knew he should find out. He put Danny down on the couch and gave him a book to read. “You stay here for a minute. I’m going to go check on Daniel. Okay?”

 

“Sure. I’m sorry if I did something wrong.”

 

Jack reassured him, “I’m sure it wasn’t anything you did. Sometimes Daniel just needs some space. I’ll be back soon.”

 

Jack found Daniel leaning on the porch railing. He walked over to him and put his hand on Daniel’s shoulder. “You okay?” he asked with concern.

 

Daniel kept staring out into the yard, but answered, “I’m fine, Jack.”

 

He looked anything but fine to Jack. “What are you thinking about?”

 

“I was just remembering similar conversations every time the social workers switched me to a new foster home. I finally stopped asking about where I was going to live. They never asked me what I wanted anyway.” Daniel turned to look at Jack. “I don’t like the idea of Danny going through what I did.”

 

“He won’t Daniel. We’re going to find him a permanent home. He won’t be moved around like you were. I promise.”

 

“I certainly hope you can keep that promise, Jack.” Daniel had been promised many things during his childhood, although very few promises were kept.

 

Jack certainly agreed. He decided to change the topic. “Let’s go back inside, Daniel. Danny’s worried about you, and I think we need to let him know you’re okay. Then let’s go do something fun.”

 

“Can we let him decide what to do?” Daniel wanted to give Danny back some control.

 

“Sure,” Jack laughed, “within reason of course. Ready?”

 

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

 

Daniel and Jack walked back into the living room to find Danny pretending to be reading. It was much more obvious he had been watching them talk on the porch. Danny looked up from his book.

 

Jack said, “Enough of this serious talk. Let’s get out of the house and have some fun. What do you want to do, Danny?”

 

Danny put the book down. “I don’t know. What is there to do for fun here?”

 

Jack thought for a minute. It had been a long time since he’d had to think of something fun for a child to do. “We could go to the zoo, to the park, or maybe see a movie.”

 

“Are there any museums here?” Danny loved looking at all the artifacts in museums.

 

Daniel chuckled. “Yeah, there’s a great museum in town. They even have a children’s section.”

 

Jack groaned, “Museum, I should have known. Some people never change.”

 

“No, we don’t, Jack. You did say he could decide,” Daniel laughed.

 

“Fine, fine. Danny go to the bathroom and we’ll head out.” Jack knew he had lost.

 

Part 7: The Simms

 

 

Danny and Daniel had a great time at the museum. Jack managed to survive the trip without sounding like a whiny child, at least most of the time. Upon arriving home, Daniel went to see if they had anything to eat for dinner. Danny went to put away the items Jack had bought for him in the gift shop. Jack went to listen to his messages on the answering machine. Jack wasn’t thrilled with the message General Hammond had left. They’d found a family for Danny. The General wanted him to come back to the mountain with Danny and his things, tonight. Resigning himself to the situation, Jack walked into the kitchen to tell Daniel. Danny was already in there, having already put his things away.

 

Daniel heard Jack come in and poked his head out of the refrigerator saying, “Jack, I can’t find anything for dinner. I think we’re going to need to either order something in or hit the grocery store.” Standing up and seeing the look on Jack’s face he stopped talking.

 

Danny also noticed something was up. “Jack, what’s wrong?”

 

Jack tried to put a smile on his face. “Nothing’s wrong. As a matter of fact, it’s good news. General Hammond called. He found a family for you.”

 

Both Daniels said, “Oh.”

 

“Yeah, apparently one of the technicians has been trying to adopt a boy. He and his wife have already adopted two girls, aged seven and ten.” Trying to make it sound good, Jack added, “It looks like you’re going to have big sisters.”

 

“That’s nice,” replied Danny, even though he didn’t think so. “When do I have to go live with them?”

 

“They want you to come to the mountain now, to meet him. Then he’ll take you home with him.”

 

“Tonight?” exclaimed Daniel. He finally closed the refrigerator door.

 

Jack responded, “Yes, right now. General Hammond thinks it will be best for Danny to adjust to his new family as soon as possible. I’m going to go pack up Danny’s things and then we’ll go.” Jack turned around went to Danny’s room to pack.

 

Daniel and Danny looked at each other. “I don’t want to go,” said Danny.

 

“I know you don’t, Danny,” he said, “but I do think it will be best for you. You’ll have a whole family to love you.”

 

“I don’t want them to. I want you and Jack to.” Danny’s eyes were tearing up.

 

Daniel attempted to make the best of things. “We love you, Danny, and we will visit you. I want you to promise me you’ll give this family a chance.”

 

“No.”

 

Daniel became concerned by Danny’s attitude. “Danny, you have to try to make it work. Promise me you will.”

 

“I can’t. Jack says I can’t lie. If I promised you, it’d be a lie.” Danny stared at the floor refusing to meet Daniel’s eyes.

 

Danny was just about to continue the discussion when Jack walked in with a suitcase in one hand and Danny’s camel in the other. He handed the camel to Danny and said, “Okay, guys, time to go.” Danny took the stuffed animal, stuck his thumb in his mouth and followed Jack out to the truck. Daniel followed a little ways behind wondering if Danny would adjust.

 

The drive to the mountain was made in silence. Jack carried in the suitcase, while Daniel carried the booster seat. Jack tried to reach down and take Danny’s hand. He refused, but did walk alongside.

 

Entering the briefing room, Jack saw a handsome man of about 35 years old sitting at the briefing table. He stood up and saluted when the Colonel entered the room. “Lieutenant Simms, Sir.”

 

Jack saluted back, and then reached out to shake his hand. “Nice to meet you, Lieutenant Simms. This is Dr. Jackson, and this is Danny,” said Jack, introducing the other two.

 

Lieutenant Simms shook Daniel’s hand and then knelt down to Danny’s level. He put out his hand and tried to say hi. “Hi, Danny. I’m very happy you’re going to become a part of my family. We have two girls, but I’ve always wanted a little boy.”

 

Danny looked right at him. However, he kept his thumb in his mouth, and clutched his camel to his chest. He refused to shake Lt. Simms hand.

 

General Hammond spoke up, “Well gentlemen, why don’t we all sit down and get to know each other.”

 

Danny sat in his own chair and didn’t speak the whole time the adults were talking. He did, as always, listen to everything being said.

 

Finally, the talk seemed to draw to a close. Lt. Simms said, “If there’s nothing else anyone wants to know, I’d really like to take Danny home now. My wife and girls are very excited to meet him.”

 

Jack responded, “Yes, I think that’s all we need to discuss.” Jack glanced at the others to make sure they agreed.

 

Everyone stood up. Jack bent down to try to say goodbye to Danny, but Danny just backed up glaring at him. Jack attempted to hide his own pain by ruffling Danny’s hair and saying goodbye.

 

Danny didn’t have any more luck than Jack did.

 

After all the goodbyes were said, Lt. Simms left the base with Danny.

 

Then General Hammond informed Jack and Daniel they had a briefing at 0800 hours the next morning for a mission they were to go on the next afternoon. Finally, he dismissed them.

 

Daniel tried to follow Jack out, but Jack rebuffed him. Jack quietly said, “Daniel, I know you may want to talk about this right now, but I don’t. I’m tired and I’m going to crash on base. I’ll see you at the briefing.” Not giving Daniel a chance to respond, he walked away.

 

Daniel chose to drop the subject, for now. He went to his office to catch up on some work.

 

Part 8: Bringing Danny Home

 

 

It had been a long week for SG-1. The mission took longer than planned, and Jack had definitely not been in a happy camper. There hadn’t been any action to occupy Jack’s thoughts. Fortunately for Daniel, his services were in great demand on the mission. The only problem being, because of Daniel’s schedule, he had yet to get Jack to talk.

 

General Hammond met SG-1 as they came down the ramp. “Welcome back, SG-1. Colonel O’Neill, Dr. Jackson. I need to see both of you in my office after Dr. Fraiser clears you. Dismissed.”

 

Jack tried to get some more information out of the General. “Sir, care to let us know what this is about?”

 

“No, Colonel. I’ll see you after you’re cleared. Report to the infirmary.” At that, General Hammond walked away.

 

Jack was very frustrated and fidgety in the infirmary. Daniel wasn’t any better. Sam and Teal’c made sure the two men were checked first. Janet was never so happy to get the two men out of her hair.

 

As soon as they were released, they reported to the General. Hammond ushered them into his office and asked them to sit down.

 

Jack was impatient. “General, what is this all about?”

 

General Hammond stated “There seems to be a problem with Danny’s placement. Things aren’t going well.”

 

Daniel sighed, “I was afraid this would happen.”

 

Jack turned to stare at Daniel. “Why would you say that?”

 

“I tried to get him to promise to give his new family a chance,” Daniel said. “He refused.”

 

Jack raised his voice, “Why didn’t you say something?” Daniel just glared at him. “Never mind, I never gave you a chance, did I?” asked Jack as he ran his fingers through his hair.

 

Daniel worried at his thumb. Turning back to Hammond, he asked, “What exactly is happening, General?”

 

“Well, it seems Danny has refused to speak.”

 

Jack was surprised. “At all. He hasn’t talked in a week?” He looked over at Daniel who didn’t seem surprised by the information. “Daniel, why aren’t you surprised by this? We can hardly ever get you to stop talking.”

 

“I don’t always talk, Jack,” Insisted Daniel. “Although I’m not surprised Danny stopped talking.”

 

“Why is that, Dr. Jackson?”

 

Daniel thought about how to explain it. “I knew he didn’t want to live with them, so I figured he’d do something to get himself kicked out.” He quietly added, “I’ve done it before.”

 

Jack was taken aback by what Daniel had admitted. “You purposely did things to get kicked out of foster homes?”

 

“Yes, Jack. If I didn’t like them, or I thought they didn’t like me, I’d try to get the family to get rid of me.” Daniel didn’t enjoy talking about most of his time in foster care. “Not talking, was one of the methods I used. Either that, or only talking in a language they couldn’t understand. I guess he took the silent route.”

 

“Anyways,” General Hammond continued, “Lt. Simms isn’t so sure keeping Danny in his home is the best idea.”

 

Daniel grumbled, “He wants to get rid of him.”

 

“To put it bluntly, yes. However, he is willing to keep him until we find him another home.”

 

“No,” stated Daniel firmly.

 

“No?” Jack questioned.

 

Daniel insisted again, “No. If Lt. Simms doesn’t want Danny, he’s not going to stay there. It’s a rotten feeling to live in a house where you’re not wanted, even if it’s only for a short time.”

 

General Hammond put the ball back in Daniel’s court. “If we don’t leave him with the Simms, what are we going to do with him? If, as you say, he won’t make an effort to stay somewhere he doesn’t want to be, how do we find a home for him?”

 

Daniel just looked at Jack.

 

Jack, understanding the look, said, “No, Daniel. You know I can’t take him.”

 

“You’re the one he wants, Jack. You know that.” Daniel wasn’t pleading with Jack; he was just stating the facts. “If you don’t take him, he’ll just keep getting shuffled from home to home. It’s not a nice life, Jack.”

 

“He’ll just have to deal with it. Besides, if I do keep him, who’s going to watch him when we go on missions? You know how often we’re off-world.” Jack wasn’t trying to be difficult; he just couldn’t see how it could work.

 

“We do have a military daycare near the mountain,” said Hammond with a smile. “They will keep children overnight. Also, I believe my daughter might be willing to watch him from time to time.”

 

Daniel and Hammond were both looking at Jack waiting for a response.

 

“And what if something happens to me? How would he deal with losing one more person in his life?” Jack didn’t want to take on Danny, only to leave him alone again.

 

“I know he’d rather have you for as long as he can, than not have you at all. He’d be better able deal with your death, than to continue living with families he doesn’t want.” Daniel’s experience was reflected in his tone.

 

“Well, Jack?” asked the General.

 

“Do you both really think we can make this work?”

 

“Yes!” they said at the same time.

 

“Okay. General, I’m going to need some time to make arrangements.” Jack was already thinking through everything he needed to accomplish in order to keep Danny.

 

“You have a week. If you need any more time, will discuss it then. Dismissed.” Hammond was grinning. He had hoped the situation would turn out this way.

 

Jack and Daniel stood up. “Well, Daniel. Let’s go collect the little tyrant,” he chuckled, as he clapped Daniel on the back.

 

“Sounds good to me, Jack.” Daniel added, “And he’s not a tyrant.”

 

“Is too.”

 

“Is not.”

 

“Is too.”

 

“Not.”

 

“Is.”

 

“If Danny’s a tyrant, then that makes me one, too.”

 

“And your point is?” implied Jack smugly.

 

“Jack!”

 

Shortly after leaving the mountain, Jack and Daniel arrived at the Simms’ house. General Hammond had phoned ahead to let Lt. Simms know they were coming to pick up Danny.

 

Lt. Simms answered Jack’s knock. “Nice to see you again, Colonel, Dr. Jackson. I’m sorry things didn’t work out.”

 

“We’re sorry too,” Jack said. “Is Danny ready to go?”

 

“Well, Colonel,” Lt. Simms stammered. “We have everything ready and packed up. We even told Danny you were coming to get him.”

 

“And,” prompted Daniel.

 

“He won’t come out of his room. I’m not sure why.”

 

“Just show us to the room. We’ll talk to him,” said Jack.

 

“You know, I’d like to hear that. I’ve been wondering what his voice sounded like.”

 

Jack and Daniel were shown to Danny’s room. Upon entering, they saw Danny sitting on his bed. He was sucking his thumb and holding his camel, just like always. However, his eyes weren’t happy. Jack could see the anger lurking below the surface.

 

Jack spoke up first. “Come on, Danny. It’s time to go.”

 

Danny shook his head.

 

“Listen, young man, you have made it perfectly clear by your behavior you don’t want to stay here. So, let’s go.” Jack was concerned, but also impatient.

 

Danny asked rudely, “Why should I go with you? You’re just going to send me off to another family when you find one for me.”

 

Jack sat down on the bed next to him, and Danny scooted away. “We’re not going to find another family for you.” Danny looked up in surprise. “I’m going to try to keep you, but, there are a lot of things we need to work out. So let’s go home and we can talk there.”

 

Danny looked up at Daniel. “Is he telling the truth?”

 

“Yes,” Daniel answered.

 

“I’m not going to be sent away again?” Danny wanted more reassurance.

 

Jack answered this time. “No, but you are going to have to stay with other people when I’m on missions.”

 

“That’s okay.” Danny slid off the bed and stood up. “Let’s go then.”

 

He took Jack’s hand and started walking to the front door. Daniel grabbed his stuff. They said their goodbyes and piled into the truck.

 

Danny fell asleep on the way home.

 

Part 9: Creating a New Life

 

 

Danny woke up the next morning confused about where he was, then remembered Jack and Daniel had picked him up at the Simms the night before. He got out of bed and heard voices in the living room, so he went to investigate. Jack and Daniel were sitting and watching the news. Danny climbed up on the couch and snuggled into Jack.

 

“Morning, Danny.” Jack put his arm around Danny and hugged him close.

 

“Morning, Jack, Daniel.” Danny stared up at Jack and asked, “Am I in trouble?”

 

“Why would you think you were in trouble?” Jack asked, although he thought he knew what Danny was thinking about.

 

Danny’s head was down. “Because of my not talking to the Simms.”

 

Rubbing Danny’s back, Jack questioned, “Do you think you should be in trouble for that?”

 

“It wasn’t a nice thing to do,” Danny responded.

 

Jack continued, “No, it wasn’t. So why did you do it?”

 

“You know why.”

 

“Tell me anyway.”

 

“I didn’t want to live with them,” Danny said slowly. “I wanted to live with you. I figured they wouldn’t want me if I didn’t talk, so they’d give me back.” Danny started worrying at his thumb.

 

Jack made Danny look at him. “You know we wanted you to accept your new family.”

 

“Yes, Sir,” he mumbled.

 

“I don’t like being manipulated.”

 

“No, Sir.”

 

“It’s not going to happen again, is it?” Jack asked.

 

Danny started crying. “I thought you were keeping me?”

 

Jack pulled Danny onto his lap. “I am keeping you, Danny. I’m sorry if I made you think I wasn’t. I just meant I didn’t want you to act up any more to get your own way.”

 

“I won’t, Jack. I’ll be good,” Danny said, eager to please.

 

“You are good, Danny. I’ll keep you no matter what. We’re going to have a lot of things we’re going to have to work through, but we’ll make it work.” Jack made sure Danny was listening, and gave him another hug. “I know your going to get in trouble sometimes. Everyone does. That doesn’t mean I’ll send you away. Do you understand all this?”

 

“Yes, Sir.” Danny put his arms around Jack’s neck, and whispered in his ear, “I love you.”

 

“I love you, too, Danny.” Jack was blinking back tears.

 

Daniel had remained quiet during Jack and Danny’s conversation. He was grateful things had worked out okay. He just wished he’d found someone like Jack when he’d been a kid. He wondered just how different Danny’s life would be than his own.

 

“Okay, Danny. Let’s get you dressed and ready for the day. We have a lot of things to take care of, now that you’re going to be staying here permanently.” Jack lifted Danny up in the air and then sat him down. Giving him a playful smack, Jack shooed him to his room. “I’ll be up to help you in a minute. You get started. Don’t forget to brush your hair.”

 

Jack looked over at Daniel sitting in the chair. Then he sat back down, never taking his eyes off Daniel.

 

Daniel began to feel a little nervous. “What, Jack?”

 

“I can’t raise Danny on my own, Daniel,” Jack said simply.

 

Daniel asked, “And what does that have to do with me?”

 

Jack answered, “I need you, Daniel. I need you here with me, to help raise him.” Jack was confident having Daniel in the house would make everything easier.

 

“Jack, I’d love to be here, but my moving in will not go over well with the military. Two guys, raising a child. How is that going to look?” Daniel was trying to think of Jack’s career, not trying to get out of being a parent.

 

“I don’t really care how it looks. I need your help. You’re married. I’m divorced. We have three bedrooms. The Air Force will have nothing to say about it.” Jack cared more about what Danny needed, than appearances.

 

“Don’t you think we should talk this over with General Hammond?” Daniel didn’t want to cause any trouble. He knew how some soldiers could be.

 

Jack thought before answering. “General Hammond already agreed to my being Danny’s guardian. I don’t see how your moving in could be a problem.” Jack held his hand up to stop Daniel from commenting. “However, if talking to him will make you feel better, we’ll do it.”

 

“Okay, Jack. You do know I do want to do this, right?”

 

“I know, Daniel.”

 

“Although, I do think it’s going to be a little weird. I’m actually raising myself. It’s an interesting concept.”

 

Jack commented, “Hey, maybe it will give us an advantage. You’ll already know the type of trouble Danny can get into. It should definitely be nice for him to have someone to talk to about his past.”

 

“Oh, I think he’ll find all sorts of new trouble to get into I’d never even thought of.” Daniel laughed, then added, “Let’s not say anything to Danny yet. Not until we’re sure we can work it out.”

 

“Don’t worry. We’ll make it work, but I’ll wait.” Jack was determined to make it work.

 

“Jack! I can’t find my shoes!” Danny yelled from his room.

 

Jack and Daniel looked at each other and grinned, “Time to be parents, Daniel.”

 

“I’ll help him find them. You go get yourself ready.” Daniel got up and went to help Danny find his lost pair of shoes.

 

Once everybody was settled in the truck, Danny thought to ask, “What are we doing today?”

 

“Yeah, Jack. Where are we going?” Daniel hadn’t thought to find out either.

 

“First, we have to enroll Danny in the base daycare center. Then, we’re heading over to General Hammond’s house to meet his daughter and granddaughters,” Jack answered as he drove off.

 

Danny wondered out loud, “Why are we going to the General’s house?”

 

“Well, General Hammond told us his daughter might be able to watch you sometimes when we’re away on missions.” Jack glanced at Danny in the mirror. “Plus, Daniel and I need to discuss some things over with General Hammond.”

 

“Oh,” was all Danny said.

 

Jack continued, “Tomorrow we need to go over to your school and see how you’re doing.”

 

Daniel noticed Danny’s thumb pop in his mouth. “Is there anything we need to know before we go to your school, Danny?”

 

Danny shook his head, saying, “No, I’ve been good. I haven’t talked there yet, but I’ve been good. You really don’t need to go.”

 

Jack asked, “I thought you were only not talking to the Simms. You didn’t talk at school either?”

 

“No. I haven’t said a word since the night you took me to the mountain,” Danny answered.

 

“That’s a long time to not talk,” stated Daniel. Danny just shrugged his shoulders.

 

Jack’s voice was firm. “You will be talking at school from now on, right?”

 

“Yes, Sir.”

 

“Anyways, we still want to meet with your teachers to introduce ourselves.” Jack was almost to the daycare center.

 

“Okay.” Danny noticed Jack pulling into the parking lot of a nice looking building with a playground. “Is this the daycare?”

 

“Yep, it sure is. Nice looking place, isn’t it.”

 

“Yeah. How much will I be staying here?” Danny asked.

 

Jack responded, “After school until someone picks you up. However, they do have an overnight section, if we have to stay on base and we don’t have anyone available to get you.”

 

“Do very many kids sleep over?” Danny didn’t like the idea, but he knew it was part of getting to live with Jack.

 

“I’m not sure. That’s one of the things we’ll have to ask.” Jack got out of the truck. He released Danny from the booster seat and said, “Come on, let’s go check it out and get your questions answered.”

 

A nice looking young lady met them in the office area. “Welcome to the Norad daycare center. I’m Miss Johnson,” she said as she shook Jack’s hand. “You must be Colonel O’Neill, and this must be Danny.” She looked down at Danny and put her hand out.

 

Danny shook the lady’s hand and said, “Yes, ma’am. Nice to meet you.”

 

Daniel reached his hand out and introduced himself. “I’m Dr. Daniel Jackson.”

 

Miss Johnson shook Daniel’s hand. “Your names are quite similar. Any relationship?”

 

Daniel glanced at Jack. “No, just a coincidence.”

 

“Well, let me show you around, and then I’ll try to answer any questions you might have.” Miss Johnson led them through a hallway.

 

The facility was very pleasant. Although they accepted children from newborns to eighteen years old, most of the children serviced were under twelve. They had rooms for various age groups of children. The sleeping area was nicely decorated to try to make the children feel more at home. Outside the playgrounds were separated to keep the younger children safe. At the end of the tour Miss Johnson escorted them into an office to answer their questions.

 

“So, are there any more questions you’d like me to answer?” she asked after everyone had sat down.

 

Jack indicated Danny. “Danny, is there anything else you want to know?”

 

Danny remembered his question. “Do very many kids sleep here?”

 

“We can have up to ten children stay overnight, but most of the time there’s only one or two. Unless, of course, there’s a problem in the complex.”

 

“Okay.” Danny looked at Jack, then back at Miss Johnson and asked shyly, “What happens when kids get in trouble?”

 

“That’s a good question, Danny. We do time children out, and notify the parents when they are picked up. If it’s a big problem, we call the parents right away.” Miss Johnson looked right at Danny. “But I can tell we won’t have any problem with you. You’re such a polite little boy.” Danny dropped his head so he didn’t have to meet her eyes. “Is there anything else?”

 

Jack looked at Daniel who shook his head. “No, I think you’ve told us everything we need to know. We’ll be leaving a list of those people who are authorized to pick Danny up. We have a few days down time to get settled, so he probably won’t be starting until next week.” He stood up to leave.

 

“Thank you for visiting with us. We look forward to Danny joining us. If anything comes up, you’re completely registered, so he can start anytime,” Miss Johnson informed Jack.

 

“Thank you for your time, Miss Johnson,” said Daniel.

 

“You’re welcome.” She looked at Danny. “Good bye, Danny.”

 

Danny answered, “Bye,” and waved at her.

 

As they walked out, Jack asked, “So, Danny, did you like it?”

 

“It’s nice. They had a lot of books.” Jack and Daniel smiled at what Danny was impressed with.

 

Jack said brightly, “One trip down, now on our way to Hammond’s house.

 

General Hammond had prepared for their arrival by having some lemonade and snacks ready. His daughter, Bonnie Williams, had moved in with him after his wife had died. Bonnie’s husband traveled a great deal due to his work, and both of them appreciated the company sharing a house offered. Bonnie’s two daughters loved having grampa’s attention. Kayla was four years old, a year younger than Danny, and Tessa was six. He hoped the children would get along.

 

After introductions were over, the children were sent outside to play in the backyard, under Bonnie’s supervision. Hammond, Jack, and Daniel retired to the study to talk.

 

“How are things going, Jack?” Hammond asked.

 

Jack answered, “Pretty good. We enrolled him in the daycare before coming here.” Jack decided to get right to the issue. “There is one thing Daniel and I really need to talk to you about though.”

 

Hammond looked from Jack to Daniel. “And that is?”

 

“I don’t feel I can raise Danny alone.” Jack looked at Daniel. “I want Daniel to move in.”

 

“And the problem is?” the General asked.

 

Daniel spoke up, “I thought it would cause problems for Jack, with all the military regulations and such.”

 

General Hammond thought for a moment. “I don’t have a problem with both of you being Danny’s guardians. I think it would be good for him. The military won’t have a problem with it. There are many airmen who are roommates. The only problem I can see, are airmen who aren’t open-minded. That you’ll have to deal with as it comes.”

 

“We can deal with that, General.” Daniel looked at Jack who nodded in confirmation. “Well, I guess I’m moving in.”

 

“Great. We’ll tell Danny tonight.”

 

At that moment they all heard one of the girls crying outside. They went out to find out what was going on. Finding Kayla sitting on her mom’s lap crying, Jack asked what was going on.

 

Kayla cried, “Danny pushed me down, hard.”

 

Bonnie looked up at Jack while comforting her daughter. “I’m not sure what happened, Jack. The kids were all having fun playing in the fort and going down the slide. The next thing I know, they’re over by the swings and Danny pushes Kayla to the ground. I haven’t had time to find out the problem yet.”

 

Jack looked around for Danny and couldn’t see him. “I’ll get to the bottom of this. Where is Danny, anyway?”

 

“I saw him climb up in the fort,” answered Bonnie.

 

Jack walked over to the fort and looked inside. Danny was sitting in the corner looking nervous and sucking his thumb. “Danny. Come over here.”

 

Danny crawled over to the doorway where Jack was. Jack picked him up under his arms and set him on the ground.

 

Danny couldn’t tell how angry Jack was, but he knew he was in big trouble. Jack had told him to behave when they had pulled up to Hammond’s house. He stared at his feet, with his arms across his chest.

 

“Danny, look at me,” Jack ordered. Danny looked up slowly. “Did you push Kayla down?” Danny nodded his head. “Use your voice, young man.”

 

“Yes, Sir,” Danny answered quietly.

 

“Do you want to tell me why you pushed her?”

 

“No, Sir.”

 

Sighing, Jack questioned, “Are you sure you don’t want to tell me? You might be in less trouble if I knew why you did it.”

 

Danny again said, “No, Sir.”

 

“Okay, then. Come with me.” Jack started back towards the house with Danny following. When he reached the General, he asked, “Sir, may we use your study?”

 

“Certainly, Colonel.”

 

“We’ll be back out shortly, everyone,” Jack said glancing down at Danny, “after Danny and I take care of some business.”

 

When they entered the study, Jack turned around, closed the door, and then sat down in a chair. He called Danny over and sat him on his lap. Jack asked one more time, “Danny, this is your last chance. Are you sure you don’t want to tell me why you pushed Kayla?”

 

Danny resigned himself to the impending spanking. He didn’t want to tell Jack what had happened. “Yes, Sir.”

 

“Okay then.” Jack flipped Danny face down over his lap. “Why are you getting this spanking?” he asked.

 

“Because I hurt Kayla,” Danny answered, feeling the first swat.

 

Jack didn’t spank him very long or very hard. Just long enough for the tears to start falling. He knew Danny wasn’t willing to tell him something, but he also knew from experience that sometimes kids were more apt to talk after a release of emotions. He pulled Danny up and set him on his lap again, rubbing his back and letting him cry.

 

“Now, now, Danny. I know something upset you enough to push Kayla. Whatever happened can’t be so bad you can’t tell me.”

 

Danny’s crying slowed down. So quietly Jack could hardly hear him, Danny said into Jack’s chest, “She was teasing me because I wouldn’t swing on the swing.”

 

Jack couldn’t believe that was the whole problem. “Why didn’t you just swing with her?”

 

Danny didn’t answer Jack.

 

“Come on, Danny. What’s the big deal about swinging on the swing?”

 

Danny cried harder again. “I don’t know how! Everyone at school knows how. Kayla knows how, and she’s younger than me.” Danny scrunched in closer to Jack.

 

Jack hugged him with relief. Even though not knowing how to swing didn’t seem like a big deal, he remembered how important those things could be to a young boy. He pulled Danny a little ways away from him so he could look him in the eye, and asked, “You didn’t have swings in Egypt, did you?” Danny shook his head. “It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. There are going to be a lot of things you won’t have done when you lived in Egypt. You just need to let us know, and we’ll teach you. You can’t go around fighting over it though. Do you understand?”

 

Danny had stopped crying and wiped at his eyes. “Yes, Sir. Will you teach me how to swing?”

 

“Of course. In fact we’ll go to the park, if there’s time today. If we run out of time we’ll go another time, or we could even put a swing up in our backyard.” Jack loved the smile he received from Danny. “However, right now you need to go apologize to Kayla.”

 

“Do I have to tell her why I pushed her?” Danny didn’t want everyone to know.

 

“No, you don’t. Are you ready now?”

 

“Yes, Sir.” Jack wiped the tear tracks off Danny’s face and sat him down. He took Danny’s hand and said, “You know I love you, right?”

 

“Yes, Sir.” Danny looked up at Jack. “I love you, too.”

 

By the time they both got to the porch, Kayla had also stopped crying. Danny walked up to her and said, “I’m really sorry I pushed you down, Kayla. It won’t happen again. I still want to be your friend, if you’re not still mad at me.”

 

Kayla responded, “I’m not mad anymore. Besides, Tessa pushes harder.” All the adults stifled a laugh. Kayla asked the grownups, “Do we still have time to play?”

 

Hammond answered, “I’m sorry, Kayla. Danny needs to go now, but sometimes Danny is going to be spending the night here when Colonel Jack and Daniel have to work.”

 

Danny looked up at the General in surprise. “You mean I get to come back?”

 

Hammond bent down to Danny. “Of course you do. Just because you did something wrong, doesn’t mean we don’t like you anymore.”

 

“Good, because I really like all of you.” Danny reached up and hugged General Hammond’s neck. The General hugged him back. “See you soon, General Hammond, Mrs. Williams, Kayla, Tessa.”

 

Bonnie said, “Good bye, Danny. We’ll see you soon. Oh, by the way, you can call me Aunt Bonnie if you want.”

 

Danny checked with Jack to make sure, and Jack nodded. Then he went to hug Bonnie. “See you soon, Aunt Bonnie.”

 

The adults all said their good byes and then Jack, Daniel, and Danny left.

 

In the truck, Daniel asked Jack quietly, “So what was the fight about?”

 

Jack knew Danny was listening, so he answered in a normal tone of voice, “Danny wants to learn how to swing. He was embarrassed because Kayla could, and he couldn’t.”

 

Daniel looked in the backseat at Danny who was obviously listening to the conversation. “Danny you’re going to have to get Jack to teach you, I never did learn how.”

 

Danny was shocked. “Never?”

 

“Nope, never. I was eight years old when I came here, remember?” Danny nodded and Daniel continued, “I had never been on a swing either. I never did try to learn. I just avoided them.”

 

Danny piped up, “Maybe Jack can teach you, too.”

 

“Sounds good to me.” Jack glanced at Daniel. “Did you ever learn to ride a bike?” he asked.

 

“Yeah, one of my foster brothers taught me. However, I’d bet Danny would like to learn.” Danny grinned at Daniel. “By the way, Jack, where are we going now?”

 

“I was thinking we could go to the park. Try out the swings.” Jack answered.

 

Danny looked crestfallen. “There’ll be other kids around, won’t there?” he questioned.

 

Daniel agreed, “Yeah, Jack. We don’t want other kids around.” He smiled as he said it. “How about we stop at the toy store and get one for the backyard.” He gave Danny a wink. “Maybe pick up some bikes, too?”

 

Jack realized he’d been taken. He could see Danny’s hopeful face in the rear view mirror. “Fine, we’ll go to the toy store,” he said as he took a right turn. “What am I going to do with the two of you?” he muttered to himself.

 

“Keep us!” Danny and Daniel said together.

 

Part 10: A New Start

 

 

When they got home after buying three bikes and two swings to hang from a tree in the backyard, Jack and Daniel sat down with Danny in the living room to have a talk.

 

Danny was nervous. “Am I in trouble again?”

 

Jack reassured him. “No, no. In fact, Daniel and I have some good news for you.” He looked over at Daniel to continue.

 

“You know how I’ve been staying here temporarily to help out, right?” Daniel was hoping Danny would be happy about him moving in.

 

Danny answered, “Yeah, you have your own place.” Danny wasn’t sure what Daniel was getting at.

 

Daniel cleared his throat. “Well, Jack and I thought it might be better if I moved in permanently.”

 

Danny’s face lit up. “You mean you wouldn’t go away. You’d always live here with Jack and me.”

 

Jack spoke up, “Yes, he’d also be your guardian, like I am. Would you like that?”

 

Danny hopped of the couch, ran over to jump in Daniel’s lap, and hugged him tight. “Of course I would. I wanted you to stay too, but I thought I was lucky to just get to stay with Jack.”

 

Daniel held him close. “I’m very happy you feel that way. Everyday after school we’ll work on getting both of us settled in.”

 

Danny glared at Jack. “You mean I have to go to school this week? I thought you had the week off.”

 

“I have the week off. You don’t. Besides, you don’t want to have to be stuck in the truck all day while I meet with other people.” Jack knew he’d be spending a lot of time arranging to make his and Daniel’s guardianship of Danny legal.

 

Danny whined, “But I thought we were just going to hang out with each other.”

 

Jack gave him a stern look. “Enough with the whining young man. We will have time to hang out with each other, after school. We made these arrangements so you wouldn’t have to go to daycare this week.”

 

“Oh.” Danny still tried to figure out a way to stay home. “I can miss school for a week. I just started. Besides, I’m smart enough.”

 

Daniel took over. “Danny, it doesn’t matter how smart you are. You still need to go to school. We’ll pick you up every day when school gets out.”

 

“Fine,” Danny said with just a little bit too much attitude earning himself a glare from Jack. “Sorry, Sir,” he apologized.

 

Daniel decided to try to distract Danny before he got himself into more trouble. “Enough talk about school. Let’s go see if we can get the swings hung before dinnertime.”

 

Both Danny and Jack welcomed the distraction and went about collecting what was needed to hang the swings. Unfortunately, the sun went down before they had time to try it out.

 

Danny attempted to stall for time. “Come on, Jack. It’s not that dark. Just a few more minutes. I want to be able to swing at school tomorrow.”

 

Seeing the look on Jack’s face, Daniel intervened and picked up Danny. He whispered in his ear, “Don’t push your luck kiddo. You’d lose.” Louder he said, “I need your help getting dinner started. You can set the table.”

 

Giving in, Danny went to help with dinner.

 

As Jack was tucking him into bed, Danny made sure of one thing. “Jack, I’m sorry I was whining today.”

 

“I appreciate your apologizing,” Jack said as he pulled the blanket up. “I won’t put up with whining.”

 

“I know. Will you please teach me to swing tomorrow after school though?” Danny gave Jack the puppy dog eyes.

 

Jack smiled and hugged him goodnight. “Yes, I will teach you to swing tomorrow after school. Now, you need to get to sleep. You have a big day tomorrow.” He leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. “I love you, Danny.”

 

“I love you too, Jack,” he said, then added, “Is Daniel coming in to say goodnight?”

 

At that moment Daniel walked in. “Of course I am.” He bent down and kissed Danny goodnight. “Love you.”

 

“Love you, too.” Danny rolled over and closed his eyes. Danny and Jack left the room and closed the door leaving the door open a crack.

 

The next morning everyone had to wake up early. Jack had made an appointment to meet with Danny’s teachers first thing. He wanted them to be aware he and Daniel were available if there were any problems. When they entered the classroom, Danny walked up to his teacher and said, “Good morning, Mrs. Chavez.” Then he sat down at his table.

 

Mrs. Chavez was shocked, to say the least. She had spent the last week trying to teach this absolutely silent boy, only to have him come up and talk to her without hesitation. “Good morning, Danny. Welcome to school.” She looked over at Jack. “You must be Colonel O’Neill. It's nice to meet you. And you are?” she asked, looking at Daniel.

 

Daniel reached out to shake her hand. “I’m Dr. Jackson. It’s nice to meet you. Colonel O’Neill and I are both going to be Danny’s guardians.”

 

“Oh,” she said surprised by the information. She had only been told about Colonel O’Neill when the meeting was scheduled. “It’s very nice to meet you. Please sit down.” She gestured to the child-sized chairs. Jack groaned slightly as he sat down. Daniel stifled his laugh as he tried to fit himself on the small chair. “What did you want to talk about this morning?” Mrs. Chavez asked.

 

Jack answered, “We just wanted to introduce ourselves. We took over guardianship from the Simms this weekend. Danny’s told us he hadn’t spoken at school for the past week. We’ve talked to him about it, and as you can see, he will be talking from now on.”

 

“He’s had a lot of changes in his life the past few weeks,” Daniel added. “We just want to make sure he settles in, now that he has more permanency in his life.”

 

Mrs. Chavez responded, “I am happy to hear that. Even though he hasn’t been speaking, he’s been a pleasure to have in my class. Danny’s a very nice little boy.”

 

“We’re glad to hear that,” Jack said. “If you ever do have any problems though, please let us know. One of us will be picking him up this week. However, next week he will be picked up by the Norad daycare center van.” As Jack stood up from the little chair, everyone could hear his knees crack.

 

“The price of teaching small children,” commented Mrs. Chavez. “Thank you both for coming. I’ll be sure to let you know if anything comes up.”

 

Daniel said, “Thank you for your time.” Then he knelt down next to Danny and hugged him goodbye. “You be good today. We’ll pick you up when school’s over.”

 

“Bye, Daniel.” Danny reached up to hug Jack. “Bye, Jack. You’ll be on time, right?”

 

Jack rubbed his head. “Bye, Danny. And yes, we’ll be on time worry-wort.” Jack shook the teacher’s hand. “Thank you again for your time. I’m sure we’ll be seeing you again soon.”

 

“Goodbye, Colonel O’Neill, Dr. Jackson.” The school bell rang, and all the students began filing in as Jack and Daniel left.

 

Part 11: Surviving Daycare

 

 

The rest of the week was uneventful. Jack taught Danny and Daniel how to swing, and Daniel taught Danny how to ride a bike, although not with out a few bumps and bruises. Jack and Daniel worked through all the legal aspects of becoming Danny’s guardians. General Hammond arranged the birth certificate and social security number.

 

Daniel moved out of his apartment and into Jack’s house, and everyone went shopping to decorate Danny’s bedroom. Not surprisingly he picked out a desert motif. Daniel found some pictures he found from his digs in Egypt to display. Jack bought a comforter that looked like desert sands. Danny talked Daniel into doing his favorite part of the room. One whole wall was a painting of a pyramid. Daniel talked Sam and Teal’c into coming over to help paint. They were all amazed at how well it turned out.

 

The next Monday, Jack and Daniel both had to get back to a full schedule at work. Therefore, Danny was also to begin daycare.

 

Danny was nervous at breakfast that morning. “Why do you have to go back to work? I liked you being home.”

 

Jack exclaimed, running his hand through his hair, “For crying out loud, Danny. We’ve talked about this all weekend. You’re the one who wanted to live with me, and you know how much I have to work.”

 

Danny appeared suitably chastised. “I’m sorry, Jack. I won’t talk about it anymore. It’s just, I miss you guys when you’re gone.” He hung his head to his chest.

 

“I know,” Jack said a little nicer, “I’d rather be home with you, too. We all understood we’d be apart a lot. We’re just going to have to get used to it, starting today.”

 

“Yes, Sir.” Getting used to things was something Danny was learning to do, whether he wanted to or not. “Do you think I’ll make any friends at daycare?”

 

Daniel began to understand what was really bothering Danny. Although he enjoyed school, Danny was having trouble making friends. There were so many things he didn’t know about. Having been raised in a whole other country was hard enough, but he also had to learn about all the technology developed in the last twenty-seven years. Not all of the kids were understanding enough not to tease him. “Danny, I know you’ve had a hard time making friends. I did too. I think it might be easier to make friends at daycare. It’s more relaxed.” Daniel rubbed Danny’s head.

 

“I agree with Daniel. You’ll probably make a friend today,” Jack encouraged. “However,” Jack said, glancing at his watch, “we need to get going or we’ll all be late.” Jack picked up the breakfast dishes, putting them in the sink to be washed later.

 

“Go grab your backpack, Danny. Jack, I need to grab my things. Are we taking separate vehicles?” Daniel asked. He wasn’t sure if they would both finish work at the same time.

 

“No,” answered Jack. “I think we both need to drop Danny off and pick him up today. I have a feeling he’s going to need our support.”

 

“Sounds good to me. I’ll meet you at the truck.”

 

Deciding to postpone any missions for at least one more week, Jack was inundated with paperwork. Therefore, he visited Daniel and Sam’s offices quite frequently.

 

“How are things going, Sir?” Sam asked on his first visit. “Everyone settling in?” She hadn’t seen him since Wednesday’s painting party.

 

“Fine, fine.” He picked up one of her tools. “Danny was nervous about attending daycare this afternoon. He’s been worrying about it all weekend.” Sam took the tool away from him, so he picked up another one. “I thought Daniel was a worrier, but Danny’s twice as bad.”

 

Taking away the next tool, Sam handed him a magnifying glass. She had plenty of those. “Danny’s been through a lot of changes the last few weeks, Colonel. I’m sure he’ll stop worrying so much once he gets used to everything.”

 

“I hope so. I forgot how much patience it takes to raise a child.”

 

“I’m sure you’ll remember where you hid your patience soon, Sir.” Sam chuckled to herself.

 

“Funny, Carter. Very funny. By the way, when is your next evaluation due?” Jack knew how to fight dirty.

 

Sam responded, “Not for a while, Sir. Didn’t I hear that Daniel was looking for you?”

 

“Trying to get rid of me, Carter?”

 

“I do have to finish this experiment, Colonel.” Sam pointed to all the parts laid out on her lab table.

 

Jack knew when he’d overstayed his welcome. “Fine, I’ll leave, but you’ll miss my shining presence, Captain.”

 

Sam turned back to her work. “I’m sure I will, Sir. I’m sure I will.”

 

General Hammond heard about how distracted O’Neill was today. Figuring he was concerned about how Danny was doing on his first day in daycare, he called Daniel into his office at 1600 hours. “Dr. Jackson. How is it going today?”

 

Daniel wasn’t sure why the General wanted to talk to him. He’d been working on some translations that had backed up while he’d been gone. Except for Jack’s frequent visits, he hadn’t had any contact with anyone else. “Fine, Sir. I’ve been catching up on the backlog in my lab.”

 

“How’s the Colonel been?” Hammond inquired.

 

“He looked fine when he visited my lab, four times.” Daniel clued himself in. “I take it I’m not the only one he’s been visiting.”

 

The General sighed, “No, he’s been visiting almost everyone he knows, being anywhere but in his office.” Finally Hammond got to the point. “If you think you can stop where you are for the day, why don’t you find O’Neill and pick up Danny early. Please.”

 

Daniel grinned. He had experienced the pain of a bored, antsy Jack. “That sounds like a good idea, Sir. I need to put some things away, and then I’ll find Jack and tell him we’re leaving. Thank you, General.”

 

“No, thank you, son.” Hammond hoped he could finish some of his own work with O’Neill out of the way.

 

It wasn’t hard to convince Jack to leave early. Soon they’d both changed, and were on their way down the mountain to the daycare center.

 

“I hope he had a good day,” commented Jack.

 

“Me, too. We won’t know until we pick him up though, so stop worrying about it.”

 

“Me, worried. Why would I be worried?” Jack denied

 

When they arrived at the center, Jack and Daniel entered the office to sign Danny out. One of the staff escorted them to the playground where he was playing. They smiled at the sight of Danny and a little girl digging in the dirt. She was dressed in khaki overalls with lots of pockets. Hanging from a loop was a small shovel. They were bent over the hole they’d dug using a paintbrush to dust off something they’d found.

 

Jack called out to Danny.

 

Danny turned around, saw who was there, and ran over to them. “Jack, Danny. You’re here.” He gave them both big hugs. Then he whispered, “I made a friend.”

 

Daniel whispered back, “Do you want to introduce us?”

 

“Sure.” Danny grabbed their hands and led them over to where he was digging. “Jack, Danny. This is Rhonda Siler. Rhonda, this is my Jack and Daniel.”

 

Rhonda stood up to greet them. “Hi,” she said shyly.

 

“Hello, Rhonda. I’m Colonel O’Neill,” Jack corrected.

 

Danny blushed when he realized he’d forgotten to introduce them correctly. “Sorry,” he said.

 

Jack rubbed Danny’s head. “That’s okay.” Turning back to Rhonda, he asked, “Is Sergeant Dave Siler your father?”

 

“Yes, Sir,” she answered. “Do you work with my dad?” Rhonda had been attending the daycare for almost a year. She knew most of the parents worked at the complex.

 

“Yes, both Dr. Jackson and I work with him. He’s a good man.” Jack continued, “We’re here to pick up Danny, so we need to go now. Nice to meet you.”

 

“Nice to meet you, Sir,” she said as she went back to her digging.

 

Danny ran ahead to grabbed his backpack. Jack commented to Daniel as they followed, “Well, I guess we didn’t need to worry about him.”

 

Daniel raised his eyebrows. “We? Right, Jack.” He shook his head as they met up with Danny and headed home.

 

All the way home, Danny talked non-stop. “Rhonda’s seven. She’s only two years older than me. She goes to a public school. She’s in the second grade, but she’s really smart. I was scared when the van picked me up. I was the first stop, so it was only the driver and me. He let me pick whatever seat I wanted. The van doesn’t have booster seats, but it does have something attached to the seatbelts so they fit better than regular seatbelts. The next stop was Rhonda’s stop. When she got on she choose the seat next to me. I was afraid to talk to her, but she started talking to me. She asked me if I was new, and where I went to school, and what grade I was in. It was so easy to talk to her. We talked the whole way to the daycare. When we got to the daycare, she sat next to me for snacks. Then when it was time to play outside, she asked me what I wanted to play. I said I wanted to play archeology, and she asked what that was. So I told her it was like digging in the dirt for buried treasure. She likes to dig in the dirt, and she knew where the shovels were, and the teachers even let us use some paintbrushes to brush off the ancient artifacts we found. We didn’t really find any ancient artifacts, but we pretended they were. Can Rhonda come over and play this weekend? I told her you’d let me set up my own archeological site in our backyard. Please, Jack, Daniel, please?”

 

Jack wasn’t sure Danny had even taken a breath the entire time he’d been talking. “Danny, slow down a minute. Take a breath. I’m glad you made such a good friend, but we have to talk to her parents before you can invite her over.”

 

“But...”

 

“No buts. I’m sure Sgt. Siler will let her come over, but we need to ask her parents first. It’s just the way things are.” Jack insisted.

 

“Yes, Sir,” Danny said, “but can you ask her dad at work tomorrow?”

 

“Yes, Danny,” Jack sighed. “If I see him at work, I will ask him.”

 

Danny questioned, “But what if you don’t see him at work. Can you call him to make sure?”

 

“Danny, enough,” Jack said sternly, trying to find the patience he needed.

 

Danny mumbled, “Yes, Sir.” Danny noticed the clock on the dashboard. The time was 4:45. “Daniel?”

 

“Yes, Danny,” Daniel responded, turning around to look at him.

 

Danny was curious. “I thought you weren’t going to pick me up until 5:30 or 6:00 today.”

 

Daniel glanced at Jack. “The General thought you might like to be picked up early today, since it’s your first day and all.”

 

“That was nice of him,” Danny commented, “but you can pick me up at the regular time tomorrow. Rhonda doesn’t get picked up until 5:30 either, so I’ll have more time to play with her.”

 

Part 12: Playdate

 

 

The next day Jack made sure he ran into Sgt. Siler. “Hey, Siler, wait up a minute,” Jack said, waving him down and catching up with him.

 

“Colonel, funny we should run into each other.” Siler said with a laugh.

 

Jack chuckled back, “I take it Rhonda told you about meeting Danny at daycare.”

 

“Oh yeah. Couldn’t get a word in edgewise. They seem to have become fast friends.” Siler and Jack talked on their way to the gym.

 

“Yeah,” Jack agreed. “Danny’s had a hard time making new friends. Not a lot of kids share his interests. He practically ordered me to ask you if Rhonda could come over and play this weekend.”

 

“Rhonda wanted me to ask you the same thing. However, she wants Danny to come over to our house.” They entered the locker room and changed into their gym clothes.

 

Jack said, “I have an idea. Why not let us take Rhonda on Saturday, and you take Danny on Sunday?”

 

“Sounds good to me, but I’ll have to check with my wife.”

 

Jack asked, “By the way, how long can two kids play together before they start getting on each others nerves?” It’d been a long time since he’d supervised a play date.

 

“With most kids, Rhonda lasts about three hours, although if you feed them lunch, you can stretch it another hour.”

 

“What do you say about 1100 hours to 1500 hours?”

 

Siler answered, “Sounds good to me. I’ll confirm it with you tomorrow.”

 

“At least I can tell Danny I talked with you. Thanks, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Jack went to work out on the weights, while Siler went to the bikes.

 

Plans were confirmed, and Siler dropped Rhonda off at Jack’s house at 1100 hours on the dot. Danny had been nervous the whole morning, until Jack, who was ready to put Danny over his knee out of frustration, finally assigned him some chores to keep him busy.

 

Danny ran to answer the door when he heard the bell ring. Jack called out, “Danny, no running in the house, and don’t answer the door by yourself.”

 

Danny whined, “But Jack, it’s 11:00. It’s got to be Rhonda and her dad.”

 

“Danny, you know the rules. I’ll be there in a second.”

 

“Yes, Sir,” Danny said, sulking.

 

Danny got lucky because Daniel walked in the room before Jack. “I’ve got the door, Jack.” Daniel answered the door with Danny standing right beside him. “Hi, Dave. You’re right on time.” He let them into the house.

 

Siler chuckled, “I didn’t have much of a choice with Rhonda pestering me all morning.”

 

“Hi, Siler,” Jack said as he walked into the room. “Glad you could make it. Danny’s been waiting all morning.”

 

“Well, I’ll be going now. The wife wants the yard work done.” He bent down to give Rhonda a hug and say goodbye. “Bye, honey. I’ll pick you up at 1500 hours.”

 

“You mean 3:00, Daddy. Stop talking military time.” Rhonda gave him a hug, whispering in his ear, “Can’t I stay longer, Daddy?”

 

“Not today, Rhonda,” Siler whispered back. Louder he said, “Have fun kids. You too, Colonel, Daniel. Give me a call if I need to pick Rhonda up earlier.”

 

“Dad?”

 

“Rhonda?”

 

Daniel showed Siler to the door, while Jack asked the kids, “What are you two going to do first?”

 

Danny spoke up, “First I’m going to show her my room, then we’re going to play archaeology in the backyard.”

 

Jack chastised Danny, “Don’t you think you should ask Rhonda what she wants to do?” Danny lowered his eyes.

 

“That’s okay, Colonel O’Neill. Danny and I planned what we were going to do today at daycare. We were just hoping the weather would be good,” explained Rhonda.

 

Jack was flabbergasted. He didn’t ever remember planning things out this much when he was a kid. He looked over at Daniel before responding. “Well, in that case, why don’t you two go off to play, and Daniel and I will start the grill. We’re planning to have hamburgers for lunch. Do you like hamburgers, Rhonda?”

 

“Yes, Sir. Hamburgers are good. I like cheeseburgers even better though.”

 

“Remember, Daniel, cheese for Rhonda’s burger.”

 

Danny and Rhonda ran off to check out his bedroom.

 

“Can you believe the two of them, Daniel?” Jack asked. “They’ve already planned everything out. When I was a kid we just played.”

 

Daniel laughed, “Jack, when you were a kid, you didn’t have to make play dates either. You just knocked on the neighbor’s door. It’s a different time.”

 

“Yeah, it sure is. We’d better get started if we’re going to feed those kids on time today. I’m sure Danny wrote down the lunch time in his day planner.”

 

“Probably. You go start the grill and I’ll make the hamburgers and fixings.” Daniel entered the kitchen, while Jack went outside.

 

After showing Rhonda his room, they went outside to play. Unbeknownst to the children, Daniel had planted some real, although non-valuable, artifacts in their dig site. The first pottery shard found brought a squeal of excitement from the kids to the adult’s ears. Daniel and Jack had a difficult time prying the kids away from the site to eat lunch. Lunch eaten, Danny and Rhonda rushed back to their dig to see what else would turn up.

 

Around 2:30, Jack called out to the kids, “Okay guys, you have fifteen minutes left until you need to clean up. Then it’ll be almost time for Rhonda’s dad to pick her up.”

 

Danny was not happy at Jack’s announcement. “But we’re not done playing yet,” he whined. “We haven’t had enough time. Call Rhonda’s dad and tell him to pick her up later,” he insisted, not even turning around.

 

“Danny Jackson!” Jack stated sternly.

 

Too involved in what he wanted, Danny didn’t pick up on Jack’s tone of voice. “What!?” he responded rudely.

 

Jack did not allow back talk. “Danny, come here right now!”

 

Finally Danny realized Jack was angry. “Shoot,” he said only loud enough for his friend to hear. Her eyes wished him well. He stood up and walked over to Jack, too nervous to look Jack in the eye.

 

“Daniel,” Jack called to his friend who was sitting on the porch, “will you keep an eye on things while Danny and I have a talk?”

 

“Sure, Jack.” Daniel had heard the exchange, and was silently wishing Danny luck.

 

“Follow me,” Jack told Danny, not even checking to see if he obeyed.

 

Jack led Danny into the den and sat down on a chair. He called Danny over to stand in front of him. “Danny, do you know why you’re in trouble?”

 

“I think so,” Danny said quietly, still not looking up.

 

“Danny, look at me when I’m talking to you.” Danny looked up. “So, why are you in trouble?

 

“Because I was rude.”

 

Jack sighed, “What did you do that was rude?” Sometimes it was like pulling teeth getting Danny to understand what he’d done wrong.

 

“When I yelled ‘what’?” Danny replied questioningly.

 

“Yes, that was rude. You don’t raise your voice like that to me. Anything else?”

 

Danny started to tear up. He knew he must have done something else wrong, but he couldn’t think of what it was. He answered, “I guess I must have done something else since you’re asking me, but I really don’t know what it was.” Then the tears started falling.

 

Jack picked Danny up and sat him on his lap. “You really don’t know?” Danny shook his head on Jack’s chest. “When you wanted me to call Rhonda’s dad, did you ask me or tell me?”

 

“I-I t-told you. I’m sorry, Jack. I just wanted Rhonda to stay and play longer. I didn’t m-mean to tell you what to do.” Danny sobbed into Jack’s chest.

 

Jack soothed Danny. He wanted Danny to understand he couldn’t behave rudely, but he wasn’t sure why Danny was this upset. “Danny, quiet down. Why are you so upset?”

 

Danny tried to stop crying. “I know I-I deserve a spanking, but can you please wait until Rhonda leaves?” Danny begged.

 

Jack continued rubbing his back. “You don’t want your friend to know you get spanked?”

 

Danny had calmed down some more. He shook his head. “That’s not it. She already knows I get spanked. We talked about it already. She gets spanked sometimes, too. I just don’t want her to hear it, or hear me yell.”

 

Jack finally understood. It was one thing for friends to know you got spanked, but quite another to have them witness it, even if only with their ears. Jack said, “How about we make a deal. I won’t spank you where your friends can see or hear it, if you stop misbehaving when I warn you. If you don’t stop, then I can’t promise anything.”

 

“Yes, Sir,” Danny said. Looking right at Jack, he asked, “Are you going to spank me when Rhonda leaves?”

 

“How about this time you stand in the corner for fifteen minutes after she leaves,” Jack compromised.

 

“Yes, Sir,” Danny agreed, even though he had a hard time staying still for corner time. “I love you,” Danny said, hugging Jack.

 

“I love you, too, Danny.” Jack hugged him back standing up with Danny still attached to his neck. “Why don’t you go back outside and help Rhonda clean up your playthings?” Jack helped Danny down after he released Jack’s neck, then wiped away his tear tracks.

 

“Yes, Sir.” Danny ran back outside.

 

When Jack came out, he sat down next to Daniel. Daniel stated, “He doesn’t act like his backside hurts.”

 

“Ya think?”

 

“What did you end up doing?”

 

“He managed to escape a spanking. He’s going to do corner time after she leaves.”

 

Daniel approved. “Good choice, Jack. He didn’t mean to be rude, you know.”

 

“I know. I guess I’ve gone soft,” Jack chuckled.

 

Daniel laughed also. “Soft, Jack?”

 

“He won’t escape next time though,” Jack insisted.

 

“I’m sure he won’t,” Daniel agreed.

 

Part 13: Tricks and Nightmares

 

 

The next day Jack took Danny over to Rhonda’s house, after having a discussion of how he was to behave. This time, Siler was amazed at how easily they played. They never seemed to argue about what to play, and changed from one activity to the next easily. It sometimes seemed as if they could read each other’s minds.

 

They were outside playing when the doorbell rang. Siler went in to answer it telling the kids he would bring the Colonel out back.

 

When her dad went inside, Rhonda suggested to Danny, “Why don’t we play a trick on the grownups?”

 

Danny was always ready for fun, but he’d already been in trouble yesterday. “What type of trick?” he asked warily.

 

“You go hide and when they come out, I’ll tell them you disappeared. Maybe say aliens took you.”

 

“I don’t know,” Danny said hesitantly. “I don’t want to get in trouble.”

 

“You won’t get in trouble. They’ll think it’s funny. Besides, who’s going to believe aliens took you anyway.” Rhonda pushed Danny towards the bushes. “Go on," she said. Hide in there. Don’t come out until I tell you.”

 

Danny thought Jack just might believe aliens took him, knowing where he worked, but he couldn’t let Rhonda know that. He crawled under the bushes to wait.

 

Jack and Siler walked out the back door after Danny had hidden himself. Noticing only his daughter was in the backyard, Siler asked, “Rhonda, it’s time for Danny to go home now. Where is he?”

 

“I don’t know, Dad. You went to answer the door and when I turned around, Danny was gone.” Rhonda was extremely good at keeping a straight face.

 

Jack told her, “I really don’t have time to play games, Rhonda. It’s time for us to go. Where is he?”

 

Rhonda answered, “I really don’t know. Maybe he went inside to use the bathroom.”

 

“Siler, will you check in the house while I look around out here?” Jack asked.

 

“Sure, Colonel.” Siler went back inside calling for Danny.

 

Jack muttered loud enough for young ears to hear, “If that boy’s hiding when he knows it’s time to go, he’s in a lot of trouble.”

 

Danny was ready to come out right then, when he saw Rhonda shake her head at him and mouth ‘wait’. He made the mistake of giving her one more minute.

 

Rhonda walked up to Jack and tapped him. “Colonel O’Neill?” Jack turned around. “Maybe aliens took him?”

 

Jack grabbed her arms. “Rhonda, if you know where he is, you need to tell me right now.” Rhonda realized Jack didn’t think it was funny.

 

Danny crawled out from under the bush. “I’m right here, Jack,” he said looking at the ground and shuffling his feet.

 

“Danny Jackson!” Jack was definitely angry. “Just what did you think you were doing?” He glared at Danny.

 

Rhonda answered, “I’m sorry, Sir. We thought it would be funny. We didn’t know you’d be angry.” Her chin was quivering.

 

Siler had come out of the house. “I see you found him, Colonel. What’s up?”

 

“These two thought they’d play a little trick on us. Tell us he’d been abducted by aliens.”

 

After working at Stargate Command, Siler knew why Jack was angry. “Rhonda, what do you have to say for yourself?”

 

“I’m sorry, Daddy. I thought it would be funny.” She turned back to Jack. “Please, Colonel O’Neill, don’t be mad at Danny. I’m the one who thought of it.” She worried she might have gotten her friend in trouble.

 

Jack thought it would be best if Danny and he left now, to discuss the matter at home. “Siler, thanks for having Danny over to play, but we need to be going now.”

 

“I understand, Sir. Rhonda and I will have some things to discuss after you leave.” Siler gave his daughter a look she knew meant she was in trouble. She gulped.

 

Jack nudged Danny’s shoulder. Danny looked up at his friend’s dad. “Thank you for letting me come over today, Sgt. Siler. I’m sorry I caused trouble. I won’t do it again.”

 

“I’m happy you came over, Danny. I know you didn’t mean to make us worry. Colonel, I’ll see you tomorrow?”

 

“Yeah, Siler. See you tomorrow. Goodbye, Rhonda.”

 

“Goodbye, Sir. Bye Danny. See you at daycare.”

 

“Bye, Rhonda.” Danny followed Jack through the house and out to the truck. Jack didn’t say a word to him until he got home.

 

As they entered the house, Jack ordered, “Danny, go into the den and find yourself a corner.”

 

“Yes, Sir,” Danny said sadly, as he walked to the den.

 

Daniel, who was watching the Discovery channel, asked, “What’s up, Jack?” He couldn’t believe Danny had gotten in trouble again so soon, but then again...

 

Jack sat down on the couch and sighed. “He and Rhonda decided to play a little trick when I went to pick him up.”

 

“What trick?” Daniel asked.

 

“Danny hid in the bushes, while Rhonda told us he disappeared. Then, while Siler and I were looking for him, she told me he’d been abducted by aliens.” Jack had his head in his hands, when he heard Daniel laugh. “Daniel, it’s not funny.”

 

Daniel chuckled, “Come on, Jack. It is funny. They were just playing a trick.”

 

“Daniel, you weren’t there. I was looking all over and couldn’t find him. I thought maybe someone had found out about him and stolen him to experiment on him.” Jack looked at Daniel. “I was worried sick.”

 

“Sorry, Jack,” Daniel said sobering up. “I didn’t think of that. I can see why you’d be worried. What are you going to do about it?”

 

“First, I’m going to talk to him,” Jack said standing up. “Then, I’m going to spank him. Finally, I’m going to take a nap and you get to watch him.”

 

“Okay, Jack.”

 

Jack walked into the den to find Danny standing in a corner like he’d told him to. Jack sat down on the chair and called Danny over. Danny looked worried, but wasn’t crying. “Danny,” Jack started to say, then stopped.

 

“Sir?” Danny began to worry about Jack. He hadn’t meant to make him so upset.

 

Jack ran his fingers through his hair. “Do you have any idea how worried I was when I couldn’t find you?”

 

Danny put his hands on Jack’s knees. “I’m sorry, Jack. Rhonda thought you’d think it was funny if you thought aliens had taken me. I couldn’t tell her why you wouldn’t.”

 

“That didn’t mean you had to go along with it, Danny.”

 

“No, Sir.”

 

“Danny, do you understand there are people, who if they knew where we’d found you, would want to kidnap you?” Jack didn’t want to scare him, but had to make him understand how important it was to not hide from him.

 

“No, Sir. I didn’t know that. Did you think someone had kidnapped me?” Danny asked.

 

“Yes, I did. I don’t want to lose you. I don’t want lose anyone again. We have to know where you are all the time.”

 

“I won’t do it again, Jack. I promise.” Danny felt so bad about scaring Jack. He began to worry about something else. “Am I going to be sent away?”

 

Jack picked him up, hugging him close. “Danny, stop worrying about that. I am never sending you away because you get in trouble. The only reason anybody else will ever have to take care of you, is if Daniel or I can’t.”

 

Danny hugged him back tight. “I’m getting spanked now, right?”

 

“Oh yeah.”

 

Danny flipped himself to lie stomach down on Jack’s thighs.

 

Jack lowered Danny’s pants. “Why are you being spanked?” he asked as always.

 

Danny answered, “Because I wasn’t where I should be, and I scared you.” He was ready for the spanking he felt he deserved.

 

“You need to be safe, Danny,” Jack said, bringing down his palm on Danny’s backside.

 

The spanking lasted just long enough. Jack held Danny as he stopped crying, then carried him to Daniel. He laid Danny belly down on the couch, and said, “I love you, Danny. Daniel’s going to be with you while I take a nap.”

 

“Yes, Sir. I love you too, Jack.” Danny laid his head on his arms and closed his eyes. He was tired, too. “Night,” he mumbled.

 

 

Danny and Jack had both been asleep for over an hour, when Daniel decided it was time to start dinner. Finding the fixings for spaghetti, he put the sauce on the stove to simmer. As he was filling a pot with water, he heard screams of pain from the living room. Daniel left the pot in the sink and ran to check on Danny. Danny was thrashing on the couch screaming. Sitting down on the couch, pulling Danny onto his lap, Daniel was still trying to wake Danny from his newest nightmare, when Jack rushed in.

 

Danny finally opened his eyes with awareness. He stared at Daniel and whispered one word, “Abdul.” Then he buried his head in Daniel’s chest, crying softly.

 

Daniel paled visibly. “Shit,” was all he said, comforting Danny.

 

Jack had no idea what was happening. All he knew, were two people he cared about were in distress. “Daniel, what’s going on? What’s wrong?”

 

“Just a minute, Jack.” Daniel was dealing with his returning memories.

 

“Daniel?”

 

“Okay. Um, it’s a long story, Jack, and not a nice one.” Daniel asked, “Do you want me to tell him, Danny?” Danny nodded his head.

 

“Tell me what?” Jack was impatient.

 

“About two months before my fifth birthday, I wandered away from camp.”

 

Danny interrupted, “I didn’t wander off. I went to find Daddy.”

 

“I left camp without permission,” Daniel corrected.

 

“Everyone was ignoring me,” Danny added petulantly.

 

“Anyway, I was heading to the dig site when a sand storm blew in.”

 

“A big one,” insisted Danny.

 

“A very big one. I couldn’t see anything and didn’t know where I was anymore.”

 

“Then the man came.”

 

“Yeah, he grabbed me and hauled me up on his horse. He rode off with me back to his camp.” Daniel stopped for a minute.

 

“He was mean. I was scared.”

 

Daniel began again. “He carried me into his tent and threw me on his bed. ‘What are you doing all alone, little one?’ he asked. I was too afraid to speak. ‘I’m Abdul,’ he said. ‘Only bad little boys wander off on their own. Only bad parents would let them.’”

 

Danny spoke up again, “That made me angry. My parents aren’t bad. I told him so. Then he slapped me.”

 

Daniel continued, “He told me a lot of things that scared me. About how little boys who were found alone would be taken away and never go home again.”

 

“He told me they would hurt me, touch me places I didn’t like.” Danny shuddered.

 

“Then he said, ‘But I’m a good guy. I’ll take you back home when the storm is over.’ I started to feel better, until he told me he was going to punish me first.” Daniel soothed Danny as he started crying again. “Shh, Danny it’s over. You’re safe now.”

 

Wondering how they were punished, Jack asked, “What did he do to you?”

 

Danny squeaked, “He had a cane.”

 

“It was like a switch. He took off my robes and tied me to the bed when I tried to fight him.” Daniel could remember how terrified he’d been. “He lifted the cane, bringing it down ten times from shoulders to knees. It hurt like hell.”

 

“I thought I was dying. That I’d bleed to death, but there wasn’t any blood, just welts.”

 

“He untied me and sat down on the bed. Then he said, ‘I was nice. Some of my friends would’ve done much worse.’ The sand was still blowing. He told me to stay on the bed and be quiet. When the storm was over he’d take me back to my camp.”

 

“He did, too. But I still don’t think he was a nice man.” Danny looked at Jack for confirmation.

 

Jack responded, “I agree. Were you okay?”

 

Danny nodded his head, but Daniel answered, “Yeah, when my mom realized I was missing, she wanted to search for me, but she couldn’t because of the storm. After the storm ended, Abdul dressed me and rode off with me again. I had no way of knowing where he was taking me. Eventually, we rode over a dune and he pointed out a camp.”

 

“It was my camp.”

 

“He put me down and handed me a letter to give my parents. Then he told me to go. I walked towards camp. Someone saw me and came running.”

 

“It was Mommy.” Danny finally smiled.

 

“When she hugged me, I screamed. She asked what was wrong. I told her and gave her the letter.”

 

Jack was curious. “What was in the letter?”

 

Danny shrugged.

 

“I never found out. I supposed it told them to keep a better eye on me. All I remember is Mom put something on my back to make me feel better. That, and I was grounded until my birthday.” Daniel asked Danny, “Do you know why you had that nightmare?”

 

Danny looked at Jack before answering quietly. “Jack told me there were people who wanted to kidnap me.”

 

“Jack!”

 

“It was because of him hiding from me. I was trying to make him be more careful.” Jack said, defending himself. He hadn’t meant to scare Danny that much.

 

“Danny,” Daniel said, “Jack’s right. There are people who might want to take you away from us. However, we’re going to do everything we can to make sure it doesn’t happen.”

 

“Will they hurt me, like Abdul did?” Danny was worried.

 

“I don’t think so,” Jack answered. “The people who want you just want to know how you ended up on the planet we found you on.”

 

“But I don’t know how I got there!” Danny wailed.

 

“I know, Danny. I know. Try not to worry about it. We’ll protect you.” Daniel soothed.

 

Danny couldn’t stop worrying. “What if they do take me?”

 

“Then we’ll find you, right away. You have to trust us.” Jack said.

 

“I trust you, Jack, Daniel.” Danny wiped his eyes. “I smell something,” he commented.

 

“Ack, the sauce.” Daniel handed Danny to Jack and ran into the kitchen.

 

Jack asked, “You hungry?”

 

Danny answered, “Can we order out?”

 

Part 14: Stronger Connections

 

 

Danny stayed out of trouble, until Thursday. SG-1 was briefing for a mission the following Monday, when an airman entered with a message. “General, I’m sorry to interrupt. There’s a phone call for either Colonel O’Neill or Dr. Jackson from Danny’s school. They say it’s important.” Jack groaned, the pains of parenthood.

 

“Take the call in my office, Colonel. We’ll take a short break.” General Hammond went to refill his coffee.

 

Jack rose to take the call. A short while later, he came back out. “Excuse me, General. Danny’s managed to get himself sent to the principal’s office. Someone needs to pick him up.”

 

Hammond said, “We’ll postpone this briefing until tomorrow at 0900 hours. Dr. Jackson, Colonel, go retrieve your little bundle of joy,” he said cheerily. “Dismissed.”

 

“Thank you, General,” replied Daniel. “I’ll meet you up top, Jack. I just need to put some things away and get changed.”

 

“Ten minutes, Daniel.” Jack also went to change.

 

Thirty minutes later they pulled up at Danny’s school. Upon entering, they spotted Danny sitting on a bench outside the principal’s office. He arms were wrapped around his legs with his head resting on his knees. He quickly looked up and eyed Daniel and Jack, then put his head back down.

 

Jack and Daniel were ushered into the principal’s office. After exchanging greetings, they sat down.

 

“I want to thank you both for coming so quickly,” Principal Summers said. “Let’s get right down to business. When Mrs. Chavez walked by Danny’s desk while he was working, she noticed what he’d written on his paper.” He handed Jack a math worksheet.

 

Jack took the paper and noticed an unkind drawing of the teacher and some writing in a foreign language underneath. He handed the paper to Daniel. “What do you make of this, Daniel?”

 

Daniel read what was written and cringed. “Um, it’s says some pretty nasty things about the teacher, in German.” He handed the paper back to Mr. Summers.

 

“Yes. Mrs. Chavez understands German, so she knew immediately what it said. Needless to say, she was not happy. When she tried to talk to Danny about why he’d written it, he refused to answer. Since he wouldn’t discuss the problem with her, she sent him to my office. He also refused to talk to me. That’s when I called you.”

 

“I understand. When he doesn’t want to talk, it’s very hard to make him,” Jack said. “However, I’m sure we can get to the bottom of this.”

 

“We realize what he wrote and how he handled whatever is bothering with him, is unacceptable,” Daniel added.

 

The principal sighed. “Well, you’re going to have some time to figure it out. He’s suspended for the rest of today and tomorrow. He can come back to school on Monday.”

 

“Do you want us to talk to him here?” Jack asked.

 

“No. I believe he’ll be more likely to talk when he’s at home. He still seems too upset. Go ahead and take him, but please let me know what you find out.” The principal stood up to shake their hands. “Thank you for taking care of this matter.”

 

“You’re welcome. Believe me, we’ll take care of it.” Jack didn’t approve of disrespecting adults or the silence Danny used to cope with his problems.

 

Walking out of the office, Jack stood in front of Danny. “Do you need to get your things?” Danny shook his head. “Use your voice, Danny,” he said sternly.

 

“No, Sir,” Danny answered carefully. “Someone brought my backpack.”

 

“Fine. Let’s go.” Jack strode to the truck followed by Danny and then Daniel.

 

No one spoke on the way home. Upon entering the house, Jack ordered Danny to find a corner in the den. Taking a minute to get a drink, he asked Daniel, “Any ideas?”

 

“About what?”

 

“About why he would write that,” Jack stated sarcastically. “What else?”

 

Daniel sighed. “Jack, I’m not him. I don’t know why he would do it. I can’t read his mind.”

 

“Sorry,” Jack muttered. “Are you coming in this time to talk to him?”

 

“Sure, Jack.”

 

Both of them walked into the den expecting to find Danny standing in a corner, he wasn’t. He had curled up in the corner, rocking back and forth, sucking his thumb. Jack and Daniel sat down. “Danny, come over here,” Jack said.

 

Danny didn’t move. “Danny, we need to talk to you. Come here,” Daniel said.

 

Danny looked over at them, but still didn’t move. When Jack stood up to go over to him, Danny bolted. He ran out of the den, into his bedroom, and flung himself on his bed crying.

 

Daniel looked at Jack. “That was strange. He normally takes responsibility for his behavior. Do we try talking to him together, or just me or you?”

 

Jack rubbed his neck. “I don’t know. Why don’t you try this time.”

 

“Okay. Wish me luck.”

 

Daniel walked into Danny’s room and sat next to him on the bed. He started rubbing Danny’s back. “Danny, we can’t help you if you won’t talk to us.” Danny shook his head, still crying. “Come on. It can’t be that bad.” He remained silent. “If you won’t talk to me, will you talk to Jack?” Danny nodded. “Fine, I’ll go get Jack.”

 

When Jack walked in the room, he sat on the chair. “Okay, Danny, enough of the run around. Either you start talking, or I start spanking, then we’ll talk afterwards.”

 

Danny whispered, “I’m sorry.”

 

“What are you sorry for?” Jack was about at the end of his patience.

 

Danny never lifted his head. “I’m sorry for what I wrote. She made me angry.”

 

Jack pushed, “What did she do to make you angry?”

 

Danny shook his head, starting to cry again.

 

Jack moved to sit beside him. “Danny, if you won’t tell me, we can’t stop it from happening again.”

 

Danny rolled over and rubbed his eyes. “She wouldn’t let me write my name the way I wanted.”

 

“How did you want to write it?” Jack found it hard to believe Danny was so upset over writing his name.

 

“Danny Jackson O’Neill,” he mumbled, sucking his thumb.

 

“Oh.” Jack was stunned. He hadn’t thought Danny would want to use his name.

 

“She told me it wasn’t my legal name, so I couldn’t write it on my papers. I was angry,” Danny spoke into the blanket, not meeting Jack’s eyes. “I didn’t know she could read German.”

 

“Well, whether or not she could read it, you shouldn’t have written it.”

 

“Yes, Sir.”

 

Jack was curious. “Why do you want to use my name?”

 

“The other kids were teasing me,” he muttered.

 

“About what?”

 

“About calling you and Daniel by your first names. They asked why, and I said it was because you’re my guardians. They said a guardian isn’t a parent. That I didn’t belong to anybody, but I do. I belong to you.” He started crying again.

 

Jack picked him up and sat in the rocker with him. “Of course you belong to us. That’s what being a guardian is. We take care of you.”

 

“I don’t want you and Daniel for guardians anymore,” he exclaimed.

 

“What?” Danny had fought so hard to stay with him, Jack wasn’t sure what he meant.

 

“I want you for daddies. I want you to adopt me, not just be my guardians.” Danny clutched at Jack, finally looking at him. “I want to call you Daddy, not Jack.”

 

Jack’s heart broke. He would love to have Danny call him Daddy. It had been far too long. “Danny, whether or not we’re able to adopt you, you can call me Daddy whenever you want.” Jack hugged him close. “Why wouldn’t you tell Daniel about this?”

 

Danny shrugged. “I didn’t want to make him feel bad.”

 

“Why would he feel bad?”

 

“Because he might think I’m forgetting my daddy.”

 

“Do you think you’re forgetting your dad?” Jack asked concerned.

 

“Yes and no. He’s gone, and I miss him, but you’re here. I need a dad again. I miss that.” Daniel wanted the tighter connection adoption would bring. “Plus, I’m not sure Daniel would want me to take your name. He might think I’m giving up on being a Jackson.”

 

“I doubt Daniel will mind, but the only way you’ll find out is to ask him.”

 

Danny nodded. “Am I getting a spanking?”

 

Jack questioned, “Do you deserve one?”

 

“Yes, I was disrespectful to Mrs. Chavez. Also, I went silent when I promised not to.” Danny sighed. “And I ran away from you in the den. I’m sorry. I just didn’t want to talk in front of Daniel yet.”

 

Jack sat Danny up straighter in his lap so he could see him better. “You certainly know what you did wrong.”

 

“Yes, Sir.”

 

“And you know you get a spanking for breaking those rules.”

 

“Yes, Sir.”

 

“You ready to get it over with?” Jack asked.

 

“Yes, Sir.”

 

“Okay.” Jack flipped Danny over on his lap. He gave Danny two quick smacks to his covered bottom.

 

Expecting more, Danny didn’t move. Jack flipped him back over. “That’s all?” he asked questioningly.

 

“For now,” Jack answered.

 

“Oh,” Danny said worriedly.

 

“It’ll be all, if you do everything else I say.” Danny tilted his head. “First, you talk to Daniel. I think he was a little hurt you wouldn’t talk to him.”

 

“I didn’t mean to hurt him,” Danny said seriously.

 

“I know you didn’t. He knows that, too. Second, you need to write a letter of apology to Mrs. Chavez and the principal. And you need to apologize to her in front of your class.”

 

“Yes, Sir. But what about my name?”

 

“I’ll talk to your teacher and the principal about it, but for now, just write Danny Jackson.”

 

“Yes, Sir.”

 

“Last, you’re grounded for the weekend. No friends over, early bedtime and you help clean the house.” Jack figured he could find enough to keep Danny busy.

 

“Yes, Sir.” Remembering the principal telling him he was suspended, Danny asked, “Who’s going to watch me tomorrow?”

 

Jack answered, “You’re going to have to stay at daycare all day, and you will do all the schoolwork you’re going to miss.”

 

“But only the babies stay during the day,” Danny whined.

 

“Danny!”

 

“Sorry. I’ll do my lessons.”

 

“If you don’t do everything, we’ll finish up the spanking Sunday night. Understood?”

 

“Yes, Sir.” Danny hugged him. “I love you, Daddy.”

 

“I love you, too, son.” Jack blinked back the tears in eyes. He put Danny down. Giving him a gentle swat, he ordered, “Go find Daniel.”

 

“Yes, Dad,” Danny said, smiling as he ran off.

 

Danny found Daniel reading in the living room. He went to stand in front of him, but didn’t say anything. Noticing, Daniel put his book down. “Hi, Danny.”

 

“Hi.” Danny stared at the floor.

 

“Do you need something?” Daniel asked.

 

Danny nodded his head, putting his thumb in his mouth.

 

Daniel picked Danny up cuddling him. “Did you want to tell me what had you so upset today?”

 

“Yeah, I did.” Danny took a deep breath. “I want you and Jack to adopt me.”

 

“Oh.” Daniel was surprised. He thought Danny was fine with the way things were.

 

“I want to call Jack, Daddy. I want to call you something, but I don’t know what yet.” Danny had thought about this all week. “If I call Jack, Dad or Daddy, I need another name for you. You’re not a ‘pa’ or ‘father.’ I don’t know what to call you yet.”

 

“Okay. Why couldn’t you tell me earlier?” Daniel questioned.

 

Danny glanced shyly at Daniel. “I didn’t want you to think I was forgetting our dad. I thought you might be upset.” Danny paused for a moment. “I also want to change my name to Danny Jackson O’Neill.”

 

Daniel held Danny close. “Danny, I would never think you were forgetting Dad. After our parents died, I very much wanted a family I could call my own. Unfortunately, when I went into foster care, nobody ever seemed to want to keep me. I just never connected with anyone.”

 

“I’m sorry, Daniel. I love you,” Danny said with sympathy.

 

“I love you, too, Danny.” Daniel held Danny away from him. “I’m very glad you found Jack, and want him to be your dad.”

 

Danny said seriously, “You too, Daniel.”

 

“Me, too. Thank you. Also, I have no problem with you changing your name. I understand the connection you want. I always wanted it, too.” Daniel wanted to check on something else. “How did Jack punish you?”

 

Danny head dropped. “Two swats, but I have to write apology letters and apologize in front of the class. The worst part is having to stay at daycare tomorrow.” Danny scrunched his face.

 

“What’s so bad about that?”

 

“Daniel, only the babies stay there during the day.”

 

“Oh, I see,” Daniel chuckled.

 

“Yeah. Oh, and I have an early bedtime.  I don’t mind that though.”

 

Jack walked in overhearing the final comments. “Are you done talking, guys?”

 

“I think we’re done, Jack. Danny?”

 

“Yeah, we’re done.” Danny reminded Daniel, “We still need to think of a name, though.”

 

“I’ll think on it.”

 

“Okay then. Danny, why don’t you go start those letters you need to write.” Jack wanted to talk to Daniel alone.

 

“Sure, Dad.” As far as he was concerned, Danny couldn’t say Dad enough. He ran off to his room to start the letters.

 

Part 15: Jack’s Story

 

 

Danny managed to survive his day with the ‘babies’ at daycare, even though some of those children were only a year younger. Jack created a list of chores to keep him busy the whole weekend, or at least as busy as one can keep a five year old. Most of the chores involved Danny working side-by-side with one of his dads, something he thoroughly enjoyed. Finally, Sunday night, Jack was sitting in the rocker with Danny on his lap.

 

“Daddy?” Danny asked. “Did I do everything I was supposed too, or are you going to spank me again?” He’d been contemplating it all weekend.

 

“What do you think?” Jack asked, wanting Danny to think about what he’d accomplished.

 

“I’ve done everything except a verbal apology to Mrs. Chavez, and I can’t do that until Monday. So, I don’t think I need another one.” Danny hoped his dad agreed.

 

Jack pretended to consider what Danny had said for a moment. “Hmm, I think you’re right, Bug. No spanking.” Jack tickled Danny’s belly.

 

Danny giggled. “Thanks, Dad. Stop it.” He pushed Jack’s hand away. “Dad?”

 

“What?”

 

“What happened when you got in trouble as a kid?”

 

“Are you asking if my dad spanked me?” Jack questioned. Danny nodded. “Yes. When I broke my dad’s rules, he spanked me, like I do you.”

 

Danny thought for a time. He’d figured as much, but liked having it confirmed. He was still worried about one thing though. “How old were you the last time he spanked you?” he asked cautiously.

 

“Are you wondering when you’re too old to be spanked?” Jack understood Danny’s worry, however he knew Danny wouldn’t like the answer. Danny nodded sheepishly. “I was twenty-five.”

 

“Twenty-five,” Danny stated incredulously. “That’s old.”

 

“It’s not that old, Danny. Do you want to hear the story?” Even though Jack was embarrassed about what had happened, he thought Danny might learn from it.

 

“Yes please.” Danny curled up comfortably in Jack’s lap, popping his thumb in his mouth to listen.

 

Daniel piped up from the doorway, “Do I get to hear the story too, Jack?”

 

Jack groaned. Oh well. “Sure, Daniel, pull up a seat.”

 

Daniel sat on the bed ready to listen.

 

Jack began, “As I said, I was twenty-five years old. I’d earned a four-day pass from my unit and decided to visit my parents. The first night home, I went out to party with my old buddies. Needless to say, I drank too much. Stupidly, I also drove home. It was two am when I finally pulled the car into the driveway. Unfortunately, I missed the driveway and drove into the mailbox. The noise woke up my mom and dad. My dad came out to the car and opened the door. I was so out of it, however I was aware enough to be expecting a lecture. I was surprised when he didn’t say a word. He hauled me out of the car, guided me into the house, and helped me to bed. The next thing I knew my dad was opening the curtains to let in the light. I groaned and tried to cover my eyes. ‘You have twenty minutes to get up, dress, and take care of business. After that, report to my den,’ my dad ordered. I walked in the den in nineteen minutes, with a major hangover.”

 

Danny interrupted, “What’s a hangover?”

 

Jack chuckled. “A hangover is when you feel sick and have a really bad headache after drinking too much.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“Anyway, my dad was sitting behind his desk, staring at me. I stood at attention waiting for the inevitable. I wasn’t disappointed. My dad lectured, ‘You have been totally irresponsible. I can understand your wanting to drink with your friends, but why the heck (Jack censored his language for Danny) did you drive? Why didn’t you call a cab? You could have killed someone, or yourself.’ I had no defense for myself, so I merely answered, ‘Yes, Sir. You’re right, Sir.’ ‘Darn right, I’m right,’ my dad responded. ‘Are you ready to accept the consequence?’ I knew exactly what type of consequence my dad was talking about. ‘Yes, Sir,’ I answered. Then my dad ordered, ‘Give me your belt.’ I took off my belt and handed it to him. ‘You know what to do,’ he said. Having been down this road too many times before, I walked behind the armchair, dropped my pants and boxers, and bent over the back. ‘What are you getting this strapping for, son?’ he asked.”

 

“Like you ask me,” Danny stated, interrupting again.

 

“Where do you think I learned the question?” Jack and Danny grinned at each other. “I answered, ‘For being stupid. For drinking and driving. For risking my life and possibly others.’ Then he started swinging the belt. I thought he was never going to stop, but I deserved every lick.”

 

“That must have hurt,” Daniel commented.

 

“Ya think.” Jack went on. “When he’d finished, and I’d stopped crying so hard…”

 

“You cried?” Danny never imagined Jack crying.

 

“Of course I cried, but not just because my butt was on fire, but because I felt so bad for disappointing my dad. I hadn’t done that in a long time. Okay, as I was saying, after I’d gotten myself together, my dad hugged me, telling me I was forgiven. However, my punishment wasn’t over. First, I had to sit down to eat breakfast with my parents.”

 

“Ouch,” muttered Daniel.

 

“You can say that again. Then I had to repair the damage to the mailbox and car. Finally, he had jobs for me to do around the house for the rest of the time I was home. He even gave me an early bedtime,” he said, tickling Danny again. “I didn’t mind the work though. It gave me time to reconnect with my parents.”

 

Daniel asked, “Did you ever do it again?”

 

“Nope. I still drank, but I always called a cab if I was drunk. Couldn’t stand the thought of disappointing my dad again.” Jack looked down at Danny. He was barely keeping his eyes open. “Looks like someone’s ready for bed.”

 

Jack stood up lifting Danny, and laid him on the bed, pulling up the covers. Leaning down, kissing Danny’s forehead, Jack said, “I love you, son.”

 

“Love you too, Daddy,” he mumbled. “Thanks for the story.”

 

Daniel bent down to say goodnight. “Sleep tight, Danny. I love you.”

 

Danny responded, “I love you too, Baba.” Then he rolled over and closed his eyes.

 

“I see he picked your name,” Jack whispered as they left the bedroom.

 

Daniel smiled. “Yeah, I think I like it.” It was appropriate, Baba being father in Arabic.

 

Part 16: Running To

 

 

Everyone was eating breakfast the next morning. “Danny, do you remember what’s going to happen today?” Jack asked.

 

“Yes, Sir,” Danny said exasperated. He’d only been told every day since Friday.

 

“Tell me again anyway,” replied Jack, “and lose the attitude.”

 

“Sorry, Dad,” said Danny sheepishly. “You and Baba have a mission today. You might be gone a few days, so Aunt Bonnie is going to pick me up at daycare. If something happens and she can’t pick me up, I spend the night at daycare. You’ve packed a bag for me and you’re going to drop it off at daycare after you drop me off at school. Do I have everything right?”

 

“Danny, we just want to make sure everything’s going to be okay the first time we leave you with someone else.” Daniel was worried about how Danny would handle being left. He didn’t want him to feel abandoned.

 

“I know. I’m okay with it. As we’ve said, it’s the price of my wanting you two for my dads. I’ll deal with it.” Danny placed another forkful of eggs in his mouth. “By the way, when do I get to start writing my name the way I want on my papers?”

 

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Jack reprimanded. “We’re working on it, but it might take awhile. So, at school just write Danny Jackson, okay?”

 

“Fine,” replied Danny after swallowing. “But I still get to call you Dad and Baba, right?”

 

“Yes, no one can stop that.” As far as Jack was concerned, Daniel and he were Danny’s dads, whether or not it was legal yet.

 

“Good.” Danny finished his breakfast. After asking to be excused, he put his dishes in the sink and went to brush his teeth and grab his backpack.

 

“I’m ready to go,” Danny called out.

 

“Okay, let’s go.” Jack grabbed his jacket, meeting Daniel and Danny at the door.

 

Danny was more nervous than he’d let on. He didn’t want to make his dads worry about him on a mission. By the time Aunt Bonnie picked him up at daycare, he’d gone fairly silent. He only talked when asked a question, and answered as simply as possible. Bonnie was worried. Danny hadn’t wanted to play with Tessa and Kayla. Instead, he followed her around, holding his camel and sucking his thumb.

 

Come bedtime, Aunt Bonnie read all three kids a story and tucked them in bed, giving each one a kiss good night. Her father had called to say he might not be able to come home. Something had happened, but he wouldn’t elaborate. She was used to these calls, and tried not to worry.

 

She woke to screams at 1:00 am. Having been informed of Danny’s tendency towards nightmares, she headed straight to his room. She found him thrashing in the bed, covers off, shivering. She pulled him onto her lap, trying to wake him up. He opened his eyes. Realizing where he was, he cuddled into Bonnie, crying.

 

“Shh, Danny. It’s all right. It’s just a bad dream,” Bonnie comforted. Danny shook his head, still not talking. “Come on, Danny. You’re safe. Would like to tell me about the dream?”

 

“It wasn’t a dream,” Danny insisted. “Daddy’s hurt.”

 

“What do you mean? Why would you think Jack’s hurt?” Bonnie asked.

 

“I just know. He’s someplace cold. I could feel it.” Danny shivered again.

 

Bonnie tried to soothe him. “Danny, I know some dreams feel very real, but I’m sure your Dad’s okay.”

Danny pushed away from her and rolled over on the bed. “I don’t care if you believe me. I know he’s hurt. Just go away. Leave me alone!”

 

Bonnie didn’t know what else to do. She picked up Danny’s comforter, covered him up, and ruffled his hair. “Try to get some more sleep, Danny. If you need anything, you know where my room is.” Danny pulled the comforter over his head, blocking her out. She left the room and went back to bed, hoping Danny wouldn’t remember his dream in the morning.

 

In the morning, Danny still insisted his dad was hurt. “Call General Hammond. He’ll tell you something’s wrong.”

 

“Danny, I talked to my dad last night. He didn’t say anything about your dad being hurt.” She served the children the pancakes she’d just finished making.

 

“Then why didn’t he come home last night. Why would he stay at the base if nothing was wrong?” Danny pushed his plate away. His stomach was twisted in knots.

 

“Just because he stayed on base, doesn’t mean it had anything to do with your dad.”

 

“Right,” Danny said sarcastically. Then he pleaded, “Please, just call him to make sure.”

 

“Dad would’ve called if he needed to. Besides, it’s time for school.” Bonnie tried to change the subject. “Everyone get your packs and meet me at the car.”

 

Kayla and Tessa hurried to obey, not sure what was going on this morning. Danny stared at Bonnie, arms crossed on his chest defiantly. Bonnie walked away, ignoring him. Deciding he’d lost the battle, he went to get his backpack.

 

Bonnie sighed. She certainly hoped for her sake, and Danny’s, nothing was wrong with his dad.

 

The rest of the day didn’t fare any better for Danny. He was sullen and sulky in school, although he managed to avoid any serious trouble. At daycare he stayed to himself, refusing even Rhonda’s attempts to get him to play. When Bonnie picked him up, he climbed in the car without even saying hello. At Bonnie’s house, he spent as much time in his room as he could, only coming out for dinner. General Hammond called to say he wouldn’t make it home again, but not to worry. Which only made both Bonnie and Danny worry more.

 

During the night, another nightmare woke Danny from his sleep. This time however, because Danny hadn’t screamed, he rolled over and quietly cried himself back to sleep. Had he’d been sleeping at home, he could have crawled into Daniel or Jack’s bed.

 

Wednesday morning, Danny had devised a plan. He would investigate what was going on himself. To carry out his plan, he had to stay out of trouble until daycare.

 

Once everybody at daycare ate their snacks, it was time to go out and play. Finally talking to Rhonda, he led her over to an area of the playground where they wouldn’t be overheard. After telling Rhonda what his plan was, she agreed to help him, no matter what trouble they’d be in when they were caught. Unfortunately for them, getting caught was part of the plan.

 

Cheyenne Mountain Complex was located less than a mile away from daycare. Danny and Rhonda pretended to work on their dig site at the far corner of the playground near the bushes. When they thought no one was watching, they climbed the fence then headed in the direction of the base. Staying to the side of the road, they hid whenever a car passed by. A little more than an hour later, Danny spotted the base first. According to the plan, they would try to get by the first security gate. If they made it that far, they expected to be picked up by security. At that point, someone would have to come get them. Danny was hoping it would be General Hammond. He had to talk to him face to face.

 

Their plan worked exceptionally well. After sneaking past the gate guard while he was busy talking to the driver of a truck, Danny and Rhonda were picked up by security while working their way through the compound. Once they informed the MP’s of their names and who their fathers were, the two children were left to wait in the security office.

 

Danny pulled his feet up onto the chair and wrapped his arms around his legs. “I’m sorry you’re going to get in trouble for helping me, Rhonda.”

 

Rhonda looked over at him. “Don’t worry about it, Danny. I couldn’t let you come this far on your own. You’re my best friend.”

 

“Thanks.” They both knew what kind of trouble they’d be in once they got home. They passed the time silently until the door opened.

 

Both General Hammond and Sgt. Siler walked in. Neither one appeared happy. Sgt. Siler spoke first. “Rhonda Siler, just what did you think you were doing leaving daycare and coming here?”

 

Rhonda looked up at her dad. “I’m sorry, but Danny needed my help. You’ve always taught me to help my friends.”

 

“We’ll talk about what type of help friends need, when I get you home tonight,” Siler warned her. “General, permission to take Rhonda back to daycare?”

 

“Granted, Sergeant.” Then the General glared at Danny. “You and I, young man, will be talking now.”

 

“Yes, Sir.” Danny stood up to follow the General. “Bye, Rhonda. Good luck,” he said as Siler and his daughter were leaving. Then Danny followed Hammond to an empty office, refusing to hold his hand.

 

Hammond pointed to a chair, and Danny sat. Leaning against the desk, he got right to the point. “What did you think you were doing? The daycare noticed you’d disappeared. We’ve been looking for you for the last hour. Everyone was worried sick.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Danny replied, staring at his feet with arms crossed, “but nobody would tell me the truth.”

 

“What are you talking about, son?” The General lifted Danny’s chin so he could look him in the eye. “Who wouldn’t tell you the truth?”

 

“You wouldn’t, Sir. You kept telling Aunt Bonnie nothing was wrong, even though I knew there was something wrong.” Danny tried to free himself from Hammond’s hold. “I know my dad is hurt!” he cried.

 

Hammond let go and leaned back again. “How do you know Colonel O’Neill is hurt? Who told you?” He had ordered everyone not to let Danny know his dad was missing.

 

“I dreamed about it,” Danny said frustrated. “I know you don’t believe me.” Danny dropped his head.

 

Hammond sighed. “It’s not that I don’t believe you, Danny. It just seems unlikely.”

 

“Likely or not, I saw him. He was hurt, there was ice, and he was shivering. If he’s not hurt, why can’t see him?” Danny couldn’t hold back any longer. He started bawling. “I just want to know the truth.”

 

General Hammond picked him up and held Danny tight. Danny hung onto his neck and sobbed. “Shh, Danny. Calm down. You’re right. I don’t know if your dad is hurt, but he is missing.” He finally admitted.

 

“I knew it. What about Baba?” The General looked at him quizzically. “Daniel. I call him Baba now,” Danny explained.

 

“Oh, Dr. Jackson and Teal’c came through the Stargate. Dr. Jackson was injured.” Hammond waved off Danny’s question. “He’s alright now. He just bumped his head when he landed on the ramp. The Colonel and Captain Carter were following behind them, but they never showed. We’re looking for them now.”

 

Danny leaned back in Hammond’s arms. “I want to see Baba. I can help. Besides, I need to see he’s okay for myself. Please?”

 

Hammond considered his request. He understood how worried Danny was, although he wondered about the dreams Danny’d had. “Danny, I know you want to help, but I don’t think there’s much you can do.”

 

“Please, Sir,” Danny pleaded. “I need to see him.”

 

“If I let you see him.” Danny’s big, blue eyes stared hopefully at the General. “You need to promise me you’ll go back to my house with Bonnie and stay there.”

 

Danny’s eyes dropped. “I don’t want to leave him. I want to stay. I’ll be good.”

 

“Danny, that’s not an option. You can’t stay on base. If you don’t promise me you’ll leave, I’ll take you home right now.”

 

“Fine, I promise, but I still want to stay.” Danny never completely gave up on what he wanted.

 

“Okay, son. Let’s go find your Baba.” The General put Danny down, held his hand, and then walked to the elevator that would take them to the lower levels.

 

Daniel, who had recently been released from the infirmary, heard about Danny being on base. He met General Hammond and Danny as they exited the elevator. Danny grabbed him around the waist, holding tight. Daniel said over Danny’s head, “General, I’m sorry Danny’s been a problem for you. You shouldn’t have to deal with his behavior.” Danny looked suitably chagrined, but he didn’t say anything.

 

“I’ll turn him over to you now,” the General said. “I’ve told him he has an hour before someone takes him up top to meet Bonnie.”

 

“Thank you, General. I’ll take him up myself.” Daniel looked down at Danny. “It’ll give us time to talk.” Danny didn’t seem pleased to talk.

 

“You’re welcome, Dr. Jackson. I’ll see you in an hour then?” Hammond asked.

 

“Yes, Sir.” Daniel walked Danny to his office. Sitting down with him on the couch, he asked, “What did you think you were doing? You had me worried sick.”

 

“I’m sorry. I thought we’d get here before anyone noticed we were missing.” Danny felt bad about making him worry, but he hadn’t been able to think of anything else.

 

“And to pull Rhonda into your escape. You both could have been hurt or even killed.”

 

“I’m sorry. I had to find out what was happening. I knew something was wrong and no one would tell me the truth.” Danny was on the verge of tears again.

 

“Did you try calling?” Daniel sat Danny on his lap, trying to comfort him.

 

“No one would let me. They said someone would call me if there was a problem, but they lied.”

 

“They weren’t trying to lie to you, Danny. They just didn’t want you to worry when you couldn’t do anything to help.”

 

“I was already worried because of the dreams,” Danny explained. “Why didn’t you call me?” he accused.

 

“I didn’t wake up until this morning. No one told me you were upset.” Daniel caught on to something Danny had said. “What dreams?”

 

“I dreamed of Jack the last two nights. He was someplace cold. I could feel him shivering. He was hurt.” Danny shivered again at the memory. “Please believe me.”

 

Daniel looked him right in the eyes. “I believe you, Danny. However, just because you dreamed it, doesn’t mean it’s true.”

 

“It is true. You have to find him.”

 

“We will find him, but you need to give us time to figure it out.” Daniel had been trying to solve the problem of his missing team members since he’d woken up.

 

“I can help. Please let me help,” Danny begged.

 

“Do you really want to help?” Danny nodded. “Then go home with Bonnie, stay there, and behave, so we can concentrate on finding Jack and Sam and not on worrying about you.”

 

“That’s not helping.” Danny pouted.

 

“Of course it’s helping. If I’m worrying about you running away again, how can I work on finding them?” Daniel didn’t need anything else distracting him from his search.

 

Danny finally gave in. “Will you call me every day?”

 

“Yes, every day,” Daniel assured.

 

“And as soon as you find him?”

 

“Yes.” Daniel sighed.

 

“Can I stay home from school?” Daniel started to say no, when Danny added, “I can’t concentrate at school. All I think about is Daddy. I’ll even stay with the babies at daycare if Aunt Bonnie can’t watch me during the day.”

 

“Danny, we’re not going to go through this every time Jack and I are on a mission.” When Danny started to protest again, Daniel went on, “However, as I already know you’re worried, you can miss school. This time.”

 

“Thanks, Baba.”

 

“I’ll talk to Bonnie when she picks you up.” He stood Danny in front of him. “You know you’re in a whole mess of trouble, right?”

 

“Yes, Sir. I figured I was.”

 

“We’ll deal with it when we get Jack back. Okay?” Daniel didn’t have time to deal with disciplining Danny right now, and he really didn’t want to think about what would happen if they never found Jack and Sam.

 

“Okay. I won’t cause any more problems, I promise,” answered Danny.

 

“See to it you don’t. It time to take you back up top now.” Daniel stood up to take Danny to meet Bonnie.

 

“Please, can’t I stay?” Danny pleaded one last time.

 

“Danny Jackson O’Neill!” Daniel said sternly.

 

“Sorry,” Danny apologized quietly.

 

“Let’s go.” Daniel walked down the hall to the elevators with Danny holding his hand.

 

Part 17: Jack’s Back

 

 

Daniel and Danny met Bonnie at the entrance. She agreed to keep Danny at her house, at least until Monday. They’d work out further arrangements if need be. That left Daniel to descend to the control room to continue working on the problem of his missing teammates.

 

Danny kept to his word and stayed out of trouble. He helped around the house and played with Kayla during the day, all the time anxiously awaiting Daniel’s phone call. Fortunately, Daniel kept his promise by calling twice a day. Danny’s dreams never stopped, but he did decide to seek out Bonnie when he woke up. It made him feel slightly better.

 

Friday, Daniel called earlier than normal. Danny answered the phone, “Hello, Hammond residence.”

 

“Danny,” Daniel said breathlessly, “we found them, Jack and Sam.”

 

“Where are you? When can I see him?” asked Danny excitedly.

 

Daniel answered, “Well, we’re in Antarctica. Don’t tell Bonnie though. Remember, security issues. I’ll tell her something when you put her on the phone.”

 

“Okay,” Danny agreed, “how bad is he hurt?”

 

“He has a broken leg and cracked ribs, but he’ll be fine. We’re coming home tomorrow. I’ll have Bonnie bring you to the base so you can see him.” Janet wanted to stabilize Jack and Sam at McMurdo station before transporting them to Colorado.

 

“I can’t wait.” Danny finally felt the knot in his stomach untie.

 

Daniel had to get off the phone soon. “Danny, put Aunt Bonnie on so I can talk to her.”

 

“I love you, Baba,” Danny said, before handing her the phone, “Aunt Bonnie, Baba wants to talk to you.”

 

Bonnie took the phone and made arrangements to bring Danny to the base when he called the next day.

 

After hanging up the phone, she looked at Danny. “It seems like everything’s going to be okay, doesn’t it, Danny.”

 

“Yeah, I wish they were home already though.” Having to wait another day felt like forever to Danny.

 

“Listen, why don’t you help me with dinner. It helps to keep busy.” Bonnie suggested.

 

“Sure,” Danny agreed. Then he thought, “Can I call Rhonda first, to let her know my dad’s alright?”

 

“Of course,” she replied, handing him the phone.

 

“Thanks.”

 

“Hello, Siler residence,” Siler said when answering the phone.

 

“Hi, Sgt. Siler. This is Danny. May I talk to Rhonda for a minute?” Danny wasn’t sure whether Rhonda was allowed to talk to him any more, not after talking her into running away.

 

“Sure you can, but only for a little while.” Siler heard the hesitancy in Danny’s voice. “Is everything okay, Danny?”

 

“Yes, Sir. My dad’s coming home tomorrow.”

 

“I heard about them finding your dad before I left the base. I’m glad he’s coming home so soon.”

 

Danny added, “Also, I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to be friends with Rhonda, after what we did.”

 

“Danny, what you and Rhonda did was dangerous, but I wouldn’t think of telling the two of you to stop being friends. However, there will be some restrictions on where you’re allowed to play at daycare for awhile.” Siler had arranged for the two children to be watched more carefully in the future.

 

“Yes, Sir. I’m sorry for what I did,” Danny replied.

 

“Apology accepted. Here’s Rhonda.” Siler handed the phone to his daughter.

 

“Hi, Danny,” Rhonda said.

 

“Hi, Rhonda. My dad’s coming home,” he said happily.

 

Rhonda responded, “That’s great. How much trouble did you get in?”

 

Danny answered, “I don’t know yet. Everyone was so worried, they kind of decided to wait on my punishment. How about you?”

 

“What we figured. I got spanked when we got home. Also, the last two days I had to help clean the toys at daycare, instead of getting to play. And I got a lecture on how to help a friend the right way.”

 

“How’s that?” Danny questioned curiously.

 

“I’m supposed to talk you out of doing anything dangerous. If I can’t, I’m supposed to tell an adult.”

 

“But the grownups wouldn’t help,” Danny said in frustration.

 

“I know. That’s what I tried to tell my dad.” Rhonda whispered, “I’d do it again though. If you needed me too.”

 

“Thanks, Rhonda, but I don’t think either of us are going to be left alone for a long time.”

 

“Yeah. I hope you get off easy.”

 

Danny sighed. “Not likely. Uh oh, gotta hang up now. I’ve got an early bedtime.”

 

“Me, too. See you Monday, Danny,” Rhonda said.

 

“You, too. Bye.” Danny hung up the phone, looking at Bonnie. “Time for bed?” he asked.

 

“Yep. Go get ready,” Bonnie answered.

 

“Do I have to take a bath?” Danny whined. He hated baths.

 

“Yes, if you want to see your dad tomorrow.” Bonnie knew how to gain his cooperation.

 

“Fine.” He didn’t have a choice, but he could make it more fun. “Do I get bubbles?”

 

Bonnie sighed. “Yes, you can have bubbles. Get a move on and I’ll come in and wash your hair.”

 

Danny argued, “I’m not a baby. I can wash my own hair.”

 

“Danny!” she said sternly.

 

“Yes, ma’am. Going now.” Danny rushed off to get ready for his bath.

 

Danny was nervous all day Saturday until Daniel finally called. Bonnie drove him to the base as soon as they were both ready. Daniel met them at the entrance. Danny ran up to him to be picked up, which Daniel happily obliged.

 

“He’s okay?” Danny asked, needing to be reassured.

 

“Yes, he’s fine. He’s hurt, but he’s fine. He’s anxious to see you,” Daniel answered. To Bonnie, he said, “Thank you for bringing him. I’m going to go ahead and take him home with me tonight.”

 

“You’re welcome, anytime,” Bonnie replied.

 

“Bye, Aunt Bonnie. Thanks,” Danny called out.

 

“Bye, Danny. You’re welcome.”

 

Daniel carried Danny through the checkpoints. By this time, Hammond had arranged for Danny to have his own base ID. Danny loved that.

 

Finally reaching the infirmary, Daniel walked over to Jack’s bed. Despite everything he’d gone through, he looked pretty good. Sam had set his leg well enough not to need surgery for realignment, although they were waiting to cast it until the swelling went down. His ribs were stabilized, and he finally felt warm.

 

“Danny,” Jack called out, holding out his free arm. “Come here.”

 

All the noise and equipment made Danny nervous. “Are you sure I won’t hurt you more, Daddy?”

 

“Yes, I’m sure. Daniel set him on the bed.”

 

“Sure, Jack.” Daniel carefully placed Danny down on Jack’s good side.

 

Jack pulled Danny into a hug, which made Danny have to lie down next to him. “I missed you, Bug.”

 

“Missed you too, Daddy.” Danny snuggled into Jack. “You scared me.”

 

“I’m sorry. I heard you were worried about me.” Jack rubbed Danny’s back. “Something about dreams?”

 

“Yeah,” Danny said sadly. “Don’t want to talk about it now.”

“Later?”

 

“Later,” Danny confirmed. “When are you coming home?”

 

“Tomorrow night, after they cast my leg.” Jack was as anxious to go home as Danny was to have him home.

 

“Good.” Danny closed his eyes, enjoying being held by Jack again.

 

Daniel spoke up, “Come on, Danny. We need to let Jack rest.”

 

Danny shook his head.

 

“I don’t mind if he stays for awhile, Daniel. It’s kind of nice.” Jack had missed his new son, more than he let anyone know, or so he thought.

 

“You’re sure, Jack?” Daniel raised his eyebrows.

 

“I’m sure. I’ve got my call button if there’s a problem,” Jack said, holding it up.

 

Daniel gave in. “Okay, I’ll be in my office if you need anything. I’ll be back later to get him.” Daniel left Jack and Danny alone.

 

When Jack looked down at Danny, he found him fast asleep. Realizing he was tired too, he closed his own eyes for a catnap.

 

A few minutes later, Janet entered the room to do her usual check. She couldn’t help smiling at seeing Danny asleep in Jack’s arms. Wishing she had a camera, she glanced at the security camera in the corner. ‘I wonder what bribe security would want to get a still printed?’ she thought. Doing her best not to wake either of them, she checked Jack’s vitals, all of which were good. As silently as she could, she pulled the curtain around them to give a little privacy.

 

Part 18: Together Again

 

 

Over an hour later, Danny finally stirred. “Have a nice nap?” Jack asked, grinning.

 

“Yeah, I haven’t slept much,” he said stretching.

 

“The dreams?”

 

“Uh huh.”

 

“Ready to tell me about them?” Jack had been told about them, but he wanted to hear it from Danny.

 

“Okay.” Danny shifted to get more comfortable. “On Monday night, when you went missing, but before anyone told me, I had a nightmare about you being hurt and cold.”

 

“Doesn’t sound very nice,” Jack commented.

 

“It wasn’t. I had one every night until Baba called to tell me he found you.”

 

“That’s why you’re so sleepy?”

 

“Yep,” Danny answered.

 

“That’s why you ran away from daycare?” Jack prodded.

 

Danny sighed. “Yes, Sir. Baba told you already?” Danny knew he’d have to talk to his dad sooner or later. He just wished it were later.

 

“Yeah, he told me. Why’d you do it?”

 

“I had to find out what was happening.” Danny raised his voice, saying, “No one would tell me anything! I knew something was wrong!”

 

“Danny, quiet down. That still doesn’t excuse what you did.”

 

“I know,” Danny whispered, dropping his head. “I couldn’t think of anything else to do.”

 

Jack tapped Danny’s head. “Look at me, Danny.” Danny looked up. “You know you’re in trouble, right?”

 

“Yeah,” Danny answered. Noticing Jack’s disapproving stare, he corrected himself. “Yes, Sir,” he said more respectfully.

 

“We’ll take care of your punishment when I get home.”

 

“Yes, Sir. I’ve been expecting it,” Danny said with resignation.

 

Daniel came to get Danny shortly after they’d awoken. Sitting down on a chair next to the bed, he asked, “Are you ready to go home now, Danny?”

 

“No,” then catching Jack’s disapproval of his answer, added, “but I guess it’s time to go.” Danny leaned over, kissing Jack on the check. “Night, Daddy. I love you.”

 

Jack hugged him close. “I love you too, Danny. Sleep well. No more bad dreams.”

 

“No more dreams,” Danny replied with a smile. He sat up on the bed and held his arms out to Daniel.

 

Daniel picked him up. “Night, Jack. We’ll come back tomorrow to pick you up. Give us a call when you’re ready.”

 

“Yeahsureyabetcha. As soon as ol’ doc gives me the walking, make that hobbling papers,” he said grinning.

 

“Bye, Daddy.”

 

“Bye, Danny. See you tomorrow.” Jack settled back in bed preparing mentally for a dinner of infirmary food.

 

Daniel asked Danny as they headed out of the mountain, “Did you and Jack have time to talk?”

 

“Yeah, we talked.” Daniel sighed. “We’re going to finish the talk tomorrow.”

 

“Oh,” Daniel replied. “Happy to be going home?”

 

“Definitely. I like Aunt Bonnie and Tessa and Kayla, but home is better.” It’d been a long week for Danny to be away from his family.

 

“I agree. Are you hungry?” Daniel hadn’t eaten yet, but he wasn’t sure if Danny had eaten at Bonnie’s.

 

Danny gave Daniel a sly glance. “Are we eating out or are you cooking?”

 

“Why you little…” Daniel chased him to the elevator, picked him up, and tickled him until he begged for mercy. “Just for that, I am cooking, and you are eating it.”

 

“Yes, Sir,” Danny replied between fits of giggles.

 

Daniel and Danny cleaned up the house to get it ready for Jack to come home with crutches. They had to make sure there was nothing to trip on. Also, since Daniel’s bedroom was on a lower level, Daniel traded rooms with Jack so he wouldn’t have to climb the stairs as much. Finally, after dealing with Danny asking when they were going to pick up Jack every ten minutes, the phone rang. Daniel answered.

 

“Is it Daddy? Is it Daddy? Are we going to pick him up now?” Danny asked, tugging on Daniel’s arm.

 

Daniel tried to fend him off to no avail. “Just a minute,” he said into the phone, then covered the mouthpiece with his hand. He stared Danny down. “Yes it is, however, if you don’t calm down, I’m going to ask the neighbor to watch you and pick him up by myself.”

 

Danny looked crestfallen. “Sorry, Baba,” he whispered, then slumped down on the step and put his head on his knees.

 

“Danny,” Daniel said with a sigh. Deciding to deal with him after the phone call, Daniel said into the phone, “Sorry, Jack, a little domestic disturbance. We’ll be there in a half hour.” He hung up the phone and sat down next to Danny.

 

“Danny…” he started only to be interrupted by Danny.

 

“I’m sorry. I’ll be good. I just want Daddy home,” he cried, never lifting his head from his knees, his little shoulders shaking.

 

Daniel put his arms around him to pull him close. Danny fell into the embrace. “It’s okay. I know you want Jack home. It’s been a long week and we’re both irritable.” Danny nodded into Daniel’s chest. “Okay, dry your tears. Let’s go wash your face and then go pick him up.”

 

Danny wiped his face with his hands. “Okay.”

 

Daniel, Jack, and Danny made it home in one piece. Exhausted, Jack went straight to bed to take a nap. When he finally woke up he could smell dinner, and feel a small, warm body snuggled up to him. He shook Danny awake.

 

“Huh,” Danny said sleepily.

 

“Hey, sleepy head. When did you crawl in?” Jack figured he must have been pretty tired not to notice Danny climb in.

 

Danny looked sheepish. “Baba got tired of me bugging him and told me to find something else to do. When I looked in on you, you were asleep, so I decided to take a nap, too.”

 

Jack laughed. “Fine with me, but I smell dinner cooking.”

 

“Oh, oh,” Danny teased.

 

“Come on now, Daniel’s a good cook.”

 

Danny laughed. “I know. I just like to tease him about it.” He gave his dad a sly grin as he slid off the bed. “At least he’s better than you.”

 

Jack reached out to snag him, but missed. “You’ll pay for that comment!” he yelled good-naturedly.

 

“I’ll tell Baba you’re ready for dinner,” Danny called out as he exited the room.

 

“Tell him I’ll be there in a minute,” Jack said as he shifted in bed, reaching for his crutches.

 

“Okay.”

 

Part 19: Daniel’s Story

 

 

After eating their fill of Daniel’s dinner, Jack chose to sit on the couch for awhile. He also wanted to get Danny’s punishment over and done with so they could all stop thinking about it. Danny was sitting on the floor reading a book, while Daniel sat in the chair across from them.

 

“Danny,” said Jack.

 

“Huh?” Danny replied, engrossed in his book.

 

Jack tapped him on the head. Danny looked over at him. “Danny, it’s time to take care of business.”

 

“Oh,” he said, closing his book, that business. “Are you going to spank me now?”

 

“Don’t you think you deserve it?” Jack questioned.

 

“Yes, Sir.” Danny stood up and looked quizzically at Jack, with his leg propped up on the couch. “How are you going to do it?”

 

“Well, that is a problem.” Jack looked over at Daniel. “I was thinking Daniel could take care of it.”

 

Daniel’s head popped up. “What?”

 

“It’s going to be rather hard for me to spank Danny, so I thought you could do it.” Jack couldn’t think of any reason for Daniel to refuse. He’d never objected to the previous spankings.

 

Daniel stared at his hands, worrying at his thumb. “Sorry, Jack. I don’t give spankings. That’s up to you.”

 

Danny spoke up, “Baba, I know I deserve it for running away. I knew the consequences when I did it. I don’t mind if you do it.” Danny just wanted to get it over with, instead of waiting.

 

“That’s not the point, Danny. I don’t give spankings.” Daniel still didn’t meet anyone’s eyes.

 

Jack asked, “What is the point, Daniel?”

 

“It’s personal, Jack.”

 

Jack shifted on the couch, groaning. “It’d help me out, if I knew why.”

 

“I have my reasons,” Daniel insisted.

 

Danny’s head kept bouncing back and forth as though he was at a tennis match.

 

Jack was curious. “But you don’t mind if I spank him?”

 

“No. He knew the rules.”

 

“This doesn’t make sense, Daniel. You’re his dad as much as I am. You’ll have to discipline him sometimes.”

 

“And I will, I just won’t spank him.” Daniel finally met Jack’s eyes. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

 

“I’m just trying to understand,” Jack explained.

 

“Fine.” Daniel leaned back in the chair. “You really want the explanation?”

 

“Yes,” Jack answered.

 

Daniel saw the confusion on Danny’s face. “Are you okay, Danny?”

 

“Yes, Sir.” Danny walked over and stood in front of Daniel. “I just have a feeling something happened to you. Something that wasn’t nice.”

 

Daniel indicated for Danny to climb on his lap, which Danny happily obliged. “What makes you think that?” Daniel asked, settling Danny in.

 

“I don’t really know.” Danny’s forehead creased in thought. “Sometimes I can feel what you’re feeling.” He shook his head. “It’s confusing. Like when I knew Daddy was hurt. I just know.”

 

Daniel and Jack shared looks over Danny’s head. “Do you want me to tell you?” asked Daniel.

 

“Yes,” Danny answered, popping his thumb in his mouth.

 

Daniel began. “You both know I grew up in foster homes.” Danny and Jack nodded. “While some were nice enough, others weren’t. There were two that were really bad. The first one was when I was ten. The foster dad drank a lot. There were three of us foster kids in the house, but he took a quick dislike to me. I could never do anything right. He started off spanking me when I broke the rules. It quickly turned into beatings.”

 

“But Daddy doesn’t beat me,” Danny interjected.

 

“I know he doesn’t, Danny. And he never will. Jack’s not like my foster dad.” Daniel continued, “Anyway, I had a lot of anger in me after they removed me from that home.”

 

“Were you there very long, Daniel?” Jack asked with concern.

 

“About three months, three very long months.” Daniel sighed. “I ended up in another one of these homes when I was fourteen. He used a belt and hit me wherever he could land it. I took a few beatings before I blew.” Daniel stopped talking.

 

“What did you do?” Jack prodded. He knew Daniel needed to finish the story.

 

“He came after me one day. I’d decided I’d had enough. He wasn’t too much bigger than I was. I punched him in the stomach. Then I grabbed the belt and started swinging it at him. I got in a few licks before he grabbed hold of it. I ended up in the hospital later that day.” Daniel sat rubbing Danny’s back.

 

“That wasn’t nice of him,” Danny confirmed.

 

“No, it wasn’t, Danny. So, although I know you’re not abusing him, Jack, if you ever did, I would call you on it, I’m not so sure I wouldn’t flashback and take it too far.” Daniel had hated the feeling of conquest he’d had when he’d hit his foster father. Just as he hated the feelings he got when he had to fight the Goa’uld. It wasn’t who he wanted to be.

 

“I can understand now,” Jack replied. “You’re sure it doesn’t bother you if I do it?”

 

“Yes, it bothers me, but it’s your way. It was my dad’s way.” Daniel looked at Danny. “Danny didn’t experience what I did. He knows you spank him to correct his behavior, to keep him safe, right?”

 

“Uh huh. Daddy wants me to remember not to break the rules,” Danny agreed.

 

“Okay, then. Let’s take care of this. Come on over here, Danny,” Jack said. Danny got off Daniel’s lap and walked over to Jack. “Let’s see.” Jack shifted his leg so it rested on the coffee table. This freed his right arm. His placed a pillow over his legs to cushion Danny’s torso. “Drop your pants and lie over my lap.” Danny did has he was told. Then Jack noticed Daniel get up and go into the kitchen.

 

“Ready?” he asked.

 

“Yes, Sir,” answered Danny.

 

“Why are you getting this spanking?”

 

“Because I ran away from daycare with Rhonda and it was dangerous.”

 

“That’s right.” Jack brought his palm down on Danny’s backside. Danny startled when he felt the smack, but he didn’t cry. Jack continued the spanking just until Danny started crying. Then he stopped and rubbed Danny’s back, soothing both of them. “It’s okay, Danny. It’s over.” Danny’s crying slowed, then finally stopped. He carefully moved off Jack’s lap, fixed his clothes and stood up. He started to walk away, when Jack held his arm. “You’re forgetting something, Danny.” Danny looked at his dad who was holding his arms out. Then realizing what he’d forgotten, he hugged his dad as tight as he could, without hurting him. “I love you, Danny. I don’t ever want to lose you,” Jack stated with conviction. When he’d first heard of what Danny had done, all he could picture was him being hurt or killed on the road to the base.

 

“I love you, Daddy. I won’t run away again, I promise.”

 

“I know. Time for bed now. Daniel will help you get ready.”

 

“Night, Daddy. Can I come out to say good night when I’m ready?”

 

“You’d better,” Jack insisted. “I don’t sleep well without my good night kiss.”

 

After Danny left, Jack settled himself back on the couch. Sighing to himself, he thought about Daniel’s story. No one should have to go through what he had. How Daniel had turned out to be the gentle soul he was, astounded him. He began to understand Daniel wasn’t as innocent as he seemed.

 

Part 20: Fights and Legos™

 

 

“I don’t want to go to school today. I want to stay home with you,” Danny whined at breakfast the next morning.

 

“Danny, you’re going to school today, and that’s it.” Jack looked at Daniel. “Daniel already let you miss two days as it is.”

 

“Jack,” Daniel defended himself, “he was too upset to concentrate. It’s no good going to school when all that happens is you get yelled at for not paying attention.” Daniel could remember his early school days when no one cared about a little boy who could only think of his dead parents, and not the daily lessons.

 

“Well, I’m back. He’s got nothing to worry about, so he can concentrate. Right, Danny?”

 

“Yes, Sir,” Danny answered without enthusiasm.

 

“Unless, of course,” Jack mentioned, “there’s another reason you don’t want to go to school.”

 

“No, Sir.” There was another reason, however Danny wasn’t ready to tell his dads about it, yet. He wanted to take care of the problem for himself.

 

“Good, it’s settled then. Daniel will drive you to school and pick you up. At least you don’t have to go to daycare,” Jack stated trying to make Danny feel better.

 

“Yes, Sir,” Danny told him. “I’ll go get my backpack.” After placing his dishes in the sink, he left to get his things.

 

Jack questioned Daniel, “Any idea what that was all about?”

 

“No, I don’t know any more than you do. He certainly didn’t seem to want to go to school though.”

 

“No, he didn’t. Are Carter and Teal’c coming over for dinner tonight?” SG-1 had made to get together tonight to reconnect after the separation, and to have fun with Danny.

 

When Danny was picked up after school, he wasn’t in any better of a mood. He didn’t say anything to Daniel though, not wanting to bother him. At home, he greeted Jack, then went to his room to read.

 

Daniel checked on Jack. “Need anything?” he asked.

 

“Yeah, I need to know what’s wrong with Danny.”

 

“I don’t know, Jack.” Daniel sighed, pinching his nose. “He’s not talking. Just leave him be for a while. I’m sure he’ll tell us when he’s ready.”

 

Jack didn’t like Danny going silent, nor did he like waiting. “If he doesn’t tell us soon…”

 

“He’ll tell us,” Daniel interrupted. “I know you want to force the issue, but this time, give him a little time. Besides, Sam and Teal’c will be here soon. I need to get things ready,” Daniel said, changing the subject.

 

“Fine, we’ll try it your way this time,” Jack conceded. “Do you need any help?”

 

“No, I’ve got everything taken care of, just get yourself ready.” Daniel exited the room.

 

About a half-hour later, Jack was cleaned up and had moved to the living room. “When did you say they were coming?” Jack asked as the bell rang.

 

“Now,” answered Daniel with a smirk. “Danny, Sam and Teal’c are here!” he called down the hall as he went to answer the door.

 

Danny ran into the room excited to see his ‘Aunt Sam’ and ‘Uncle Teal’c’. He gave them each a big hug when they walked into the house. Then he stared at the big bag Sam had with her, hoping it was for him, but too polite to ask.

 

Sam picked up on his interest. “Yes, it’s for you, Danny. Why don’t you see what’s in the bag for yourself?”

 

Danny looked to Baba for permission. “Go ahead, Danny. She said it was for you.”

 

“Thanks, Aunt Sam, Uncle Teal’c,” he said as he pulled a big bucket out of the bag. He looked confused.

 

“Do you know what it is?” Danny shook his head. “It’s Legos™. You build things with them.” Sam crumpled up the bag, saying, “Bring it into the family room and I’ll show you what to do with them.”

 

When Sam emptied the bucket on the coffee table everyone started building with them until dinner was ready. Sam built a nuclear reactor, Teal’c a staff weapon, Daniel a pyramid, Danny a camel, and Jack built himself a jet.

 

Danny had been thinking about his problem for a long time. He finally came up with a possible solution, but he needed Teal’c’s help. After dinner, he asked Teal’c to come into his room. “Uncle Teal’c,” he said uncertainly.

 

“Yes, Danny Jackson O’Neill.” Teal’c said with his usual formality.

 

Danny was worried Teal’c would tell his dads about his problem, and he wanted to keep it between the two of them. “I need your help with something, but I don’t want you to tell my dads.”

 

“I do not keep secrets from your fathers,” Teal’c replied.

 

Danny faltered. “It’s not a secret, really. I just have a problem, and I want to solve it myself, but I need your help.”

 

Teal’c raised an eyebrow. “If I help you, then you are not solving the problem yourself, are you?”

 

Danny sighed. “Uncle Teal’c, can I just tell you what I need. If you don’t want to help, that’s fine, just don’t tell my dads.”

 

“I can not promise that, Danny Jackson O’Neill. However, if I do not believe it is necessary to tell your fathers, I will not. Please go on.”

 

Danny decided to take the chance. If Teal’c wouldn’t help him, he’d have to tell his dads anyway. “Okay. The problem is there’s a bully at school.”

 

“A bully?” Teal’c questioned.

 

“A bully is someone who teases you and hits you just because they think it’s fun,” Danny explained. “Anyways, this bully has been bugging me since I started school. Yesterday, the bully wanted to fight me. I didn’t want to, so I ran away. Then everyone called me a chicken.”

 

“Why have you not informed your teachers of this problem?” Teal’c asked.

 

“Then I’d be a tattletale, which is worse than a chicken.” Danny saw Teal’c start to speak. “Never mind what they mean. I need you to teach me to fight.” Danny said quickly, finally getting to the point.

 

“Have you not been taught to fight yet?” On Chulak, all young boys were trained to fight at an early age.

 

“No,” Danny answered, “I never needed to know in Egypt. Well, will you teach me?”

 

“And you don’t want to ask your fathers to teach you, because…”

 

“They have enough going on right now. I want to deal with this myself,” Danny insisted.

 

“Then I will help you in this endeavor, Danny Jackson O’Neill,” Teal’c stated.

 

Danny hugged him, something Teal’c was getting used to. “Can we start tonight?” Danny asked, eager to learn.

 

“Indeed. I will start with some defensive moves.” For the next half-hour, Teal’c showed Danny how to block punches and then twist the opponents arm behind his back. Danny learned quickly, but all to soon, it was time for Sam and Teal’c to go home. No one had questioned what Danny and Teal’c had been doing in his bedroom.

 

Danny avoided the bully the next day, mainly because he had to stay in from recess to make up work from the days he’d missed school.

 

When Daniel brought him home that afternoon, he entered the living room to find Jack playing with his new Legos™. “Daaad,” he whined. Jack had taken apart everything made the night before to build one huge jet fighter.

 

Jack’s faced colored. “Hi, Danny. Did you have a good day at school?” he asked, as he placed his construction on the table.

 

“Fine. I made up all the worked I’d missed.” He looked at the Legos™. “What am I going to build with?” Jack had used almost all the blocks in the bucket.

 

“Don’t worry. We can take my jet apart. However, I think I have some Legos™ stored in the attic,” he said glancing at Daniel, “if you and Daniel want to look for them.”

 

“Sure, Jack.” Daniel grinned. “You can never have too many blocks. Danny why don’t you go put your backpack in your room, then we’ll go on a survey expedition in the attic.” Daniel said, making it sound like an adventure.

 

“Okay,” Danny answered.

 

Up in the attic, Daniel and Danny began looking through the multitude of boxes set along the wall.

 

Daniel found the Legos™, just as Danny opened up a box of photo albums.

 

“Danny, I found the Lego™,” Daniel called out. When Danny didn’t reply, he turned around to find Danny sitting on floor with an album open in his lap. Daniel went over and sat down beside him. “What are you looking at?”

 

“A bunch of photos.” Danny looked up at Daniel. “They’re of Daddy and Charlie.”

 

Daniel was startled. “You know who Charlie is?”

 

“Yeah,” Danny whispered.

 

“How do you know about him?” Neither Daniel nor Jack had told Danny about Charlie.

 

“I’m not sure. I just know,” Danny said crinkling his forehead. “I know he was Daddy’s son, and that he died.” Danny flipped another page over, showing a picture of a smiling boy in a baseball uniform. “Why doesn’t Daddy ever talk about him?”

 

“It makes him sad,” Daniel answered. “He misses him.”

 

“But we miss our parents and we still talk about them. I think I’d miss them more if we didn’t talk about them.” Danny liked being able to talk to Daniel and Jack about his mom and dad. “If I asked Daddy to tell me about Charlie, do you think he’d be mad?” Danny was curious about this boy who could have been his brother.

 

Daniel put his arm around Danny. “I can’t answer that, Danny. Only Jack can. I do think you should ask him though.” The subject was bound to come up someday. It might be better for Jack to talk now. “Why don’t we bring the Legos™ and the album downstairs. You can bring Charlie up by asking him about the photos.”

 

“Will you stay in the room?” Danny was worried about upsetting Jack.

 

“Yes, but I think it’ll turn out okay.” Jack had dealt with some of his feelings about his son, when the energy being had turned into Charlie.

 

“Okay,” Danny replied, as he stood up with the album under his arm. “Are there very many blocks in the box?”

 

“This entire box is full of them.” Daniel grinned.

 

“Good. Maybe Daddy will leave some for me to build with.” Danny grasped his baba’s hand, walking back down to the living room.

 

Part 21: Memories

 

 

Jack heard Daniel and Danny before they even entered the room. He called out, “Did you find the Legos™?”

 

“Yeah, Jack. Danny found something else too.” Daniel gently pushed Danny into the room.

 

“What’d you find, Danny?” Jack asked, then noticed Danny looked uneasy. “What’s up?” he questioned, with concern.

              

“Um,” Danny said hesitantly. “I found a photo album. It has pictures of you and Sara and Charlie.”

 

“Oh,” Jack replied. Then he asked, “What do you know about them, Danny?”

 

“I know Charlie was your son, and Sara was your wife, but that’s about all.” Danny looked worried, still holding the album under his arm.

 

Jack couldn’t handle seeing Danny so nervous. “Danny, come here. Sit down by me.” Danny still looked unsure of himself as he sat next to his dad. “Did you want me to tell you about the pictures?” Danny nodded his head, handing Jack the photo album. Jack took it from him. Before opening it, he asked, “Who told you about them?”

 

“Nobody did, Daddy. I’m not sure how I know about them. I just do. You’re not mad I asked about them, are you?” Danny lowered his eyes, afraid of the answer.

 

Jack pulled Danny into a hug. “Why would you think I’d be upset?”

 

“I’ve been here a while now, and you’ve never mentioned him. I didn’t know why. I thought maybe you didn’t want me to know you had a son before me.”

 

Squeezing Danny tighter, he said, “Danny, I was very sad when Charlie died, and I loved him very much. I would love to tell you about him. He would have loved having a little brother like you. I’m just sorry the two of you will never know each other.” Jack blinked back some tears. He still felt guilty over how his son had died, but he had begun his healing when the crystal entity had transformed into his son. He was ready to let his new son know about Charlie. Opening the album he saw a picture of him and Charlie at their cabin. Charlie was about the same age as Danny.

 

Daniel sat behind Jack and Danny on the end table so he could see the photo also. Daniel had very few pictures left of his time with his parents because no one had thought to save them for him. “Where was that picture taken, Jack?”

 

“That’s up at the cabin. Sara and I took Charlie up there for a week during the summer he was five.”

 

Danny piped up, “That’s how old I am now.”

 

“Yep. We had a good time on that trip. We fished, hiked, swam, and just enjoyed each other.” Jack remembered the trip very well. He’d just come back from a mission, and needed the time to reconnect with his family.

 

“You still have that cabin, don’t you, Jack?” Daniel asked.

 

“As a matter of fact I do. Haven’t been there in a long time though. I’ve had people taking care of it, but I don’t really know what shape it’s in.” Jack hadn’t been able to handle going to the cabin since his son’s death.

 

Danny looked back at his dad. “Do you think, maybe, sometime, we could go there?” he asked shyly.

 

Jack had to think about it. Was it time for him to make some new memories with his new family? “You know, I think that would be a great idea. What do you say, Daniel?” Yep, it was.

 

“I think it’s a great idea.” Daniel figured it would be some good bonding time. “You’re out of commission for six weeks with your leg. Maybe we could go the week before you’re cleared for duty. I could ask General Hammond for the week off.”

 

“I’ve never been camping before,” mentioned Danny.

 

“What do you mean? Didn’t you camp with your parents on the digs?” Jack asked.

 

“That wasn’t camping, Daddy. That was work. Besides it was the desert. This will be in the mountains.”

 

“That it will, Danny. That it will,” Daniel said, rubbing Danny’s head. “It’ll be a whole lot colder, too.”

 

“Cool,” Danny said, picking up on Jack’s lingo.

 

The rest of the evening was spent comfortably paging through the photo album, listening to Jack tell stories about his family.

 

Part 22: Trouble at School

 

 

Daniel dropped Danny off at school the next morning and then drove to work. Jack was well enough to be left alone, and Daniel needed to translate some artifacts brought back by other teams. Only an hour and a half later, his phone rang. “Hello,” he said, after picking up the phone.

 

“Hello, is this Dr. Jackson?” someone asked.

 

“Yes, it is. May I ask who’s calling?” Daniel thought he recognized the voice, but wasn’t positive.

 

“It’s Principal Summers, Dr. Jackson. I’m sorry to have to call you at work, but Danny’s been in a fight today. Someone needs to come pick him up and talk to me.”

 

Daniel mentally groaned. Aloud he said, “I need to make arrangements with the General, but I’m sure I can come. It’ll take about thirty minutes. Will that be okay?” Daniel wasn’t looking forward to asking Hammond for more time off to take care of Danny’s problems.

 

“That will be fine. He’ll be waiting in the office. If you have any problems with getting here, just call.”

 

“I will. Bye.”

 

“Good bye, Dr. Jackson.”

 

Daniel hung up the phone. Frustrated, he dialed the General’s number. After the secretary put him through, the General answered. “Dr. Jackson, how may I help you?”

 

“I’m sorry, Sir, but I need to take some time off today to pick Danny up from school.”

 

“What’s the problem this time?” Hammond asked, concern evident in his voice.

 

“He got in a fight. I don’t have all the details yet.”

 

“I’m sorry to hear that. Hopefully there was a good reason.”

 

Daniel sighed. “Doesn’t really matter if it was a good reason or not, Sir. The school has a strict policy of suspension for fighting.” Jack had strict rules against fighting, too, although he didn’t feel the need to tell the General that.

 

“I’m sorry to hear that. Good luck, son.”

 

“Thank you, General. I’ll catch up on my work tomorrow.”

 

“Do what you need to. Good bye.”

 

“Good bye, Sir.”

 

Daniel arrived at the school office to find Danny sitting on the bench again. Danny looked up sadly, but didn’t say anything. He stepped up to the counter, saying, “Good morning, I’m Dr. Daniel Jackson. I’m here to see Principal Summers.”

 

The secretary said, “Yes, Sir. He’s expecting you. I’ll let him know you’re here.”

 

A moment later, Mr. Summers came out of his office. “Please come in, Dr. Jackson.”

 

Daniel entered the office and sat in the chair the principal offered. “So what happened?” he asked.

 

“During morning recess, Danny and another student were caught by a teacher fighting. They were both sent to the office.”

 

“Did Danny tell you what the fight was about?” Daniel hoped Danny hadn’t gone silent again.

 

“As a matter of fact, he did. He said Nat had been bothering him and he got tired of it. When he didn’t back down, she threw a punch at him.”

”She!” Daniel interrupted. Great, fighting a girl would only make things worse.

 

“Oh, I’m sorry. The student he fought with was Natalie. She’s a student in his class,” Mr. Summers explained. “Unfortunately, we have no witnesses to the punch he says she threw. The teacher only saw Danny twist her arm behind her back and push her against the wall.”

 

“Okay. So what happens now?”

 

“Well, as you know, we have a strict policy against fighting. Danny will receive a two-day suspension. As it happened so early this morning, we’ll count today as one of the days. He can come back to school on Friday.”

 

“That will be fine. We’ll be discussing what will happen in the future at home. Should I take him now?” Daniel wanted to get Danny’s story as soon as he could.

 

“Yes. Sign him out at the counter. Then you may leave. Thank you for coming so quickly and dealing with the matter.” The principal always appreciated when parents accepted the consequences of their children’s actions.

 

“You’re welcome,” Daniel said, shaking his hand.

 

Daniel stood in front of Danny who was still sitting on the bench. He looked ready to cry. “I’m going to take you home now, Danny. Do you need to get anything from your classroom?”

 

“Yes, Sir,” Danny said quietly.

 

“Do you want me to come with you?” Daniel hated it when Danny looked so sad.

 

“Yes, Sir.” Danny stood, finally looking up. His Baba didn’t look angry. Rather, he looked sad. Daniel held out his hand. Danny gratefully accepted the reassurance of the touch.

 

“Okay, let’s go and then I’ll sign you out.”

 

After getting Danny’s things, they signed him out and headed home. Partway there, Daniel changed his mind, heading in another direction. Danny noticed, speaking up, “This isn’t the way home, is it?”

 

“No,” Daniel answered. “We’re going to stop at the park first so I can talk to you.”

 

“Oh,” Danny responded glumly. He didn’t think the talk would be pleasant.

 

Daniel parked the car and he and Danny walked down to the pond. Daniel knelt at the edge, trying to skip rocks. “So, what was the fight about?” he asked, not making eye contact, hoping Danny wouldn’t feel intimidated.

 

Danny picked up a rock and threw it in. “She wouldn’t leave me alone.”

 

“So you shoved her against the wall?”

 

“Yeah. I tried telling her to leave me alone, but when I stood my ground this time, she tried to punch me.”

 

“This time?”

 

Danny didn’t want to tell him about the previous times, but figured he should. “When she tried to fight me on Monday, I ran away.” Danny hung his head even lower. “Everyone called me ‘chicken’,” he muttered.

 

“So you decided to fight back this time,” Daniel stated.

 

“Yes, Sir.”

 

“Why didn’t you tell us about what had happened on Monday?” Daniel asked, worried about why Danny was keeping things to himself.

 

“Daddy had just come home. I didn’t want to bother anyone. I wanted to solve my own problems.”

 

“Danny, you can always tell us anything. We need to know what’s bothering you, in order to help you.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Danny replied quietly. “Is Daddy going to spank me?”

 

“Probably,” Daniel answered. “You know how he feels about fighting.”

 

“I know,” Danny said wearily.

 

Daniel felt he’d missed something and decided to delve deeper. “What was Natalie bugging you about?” Danny didn’t answer. He just kept throwing the rocks in the water. Daniel covered his hand, making Danny look at him. “Danny?” He saw the tears falling down Danny’s face, and pulled him into his arms. Standing up, he walked over to a nearby bench and sat down. He comforted Danny a little longer, and then asked again, “Danny, what was she bugging you about?”

 

Danny finally answered, sniffling, all of the emotions he’d been holding back spilling out, “She’s the one that says you’re not my parents. She said you only take care of me because you have to. She also gets mad because I do my schoolwork better than she does. She told all the other kids that I was weird and they shouldn’t play with me. So nobody will play with me. I don’t have any friends at school. I hate it there.” Danny sobbed on Daniel’s chest.

 

“Shh, it’s okay,” Daniel soothed. “It can’t be that bad.”

 

“Yes it is. Nobody will stand up to her.” Then Danny released the rest of his feelings. “I want to go home, and I don’t mean to Jack’s. I want to go back to Egypt. I want my parents back. I don’t care if they die in three years. I want those three more years you had.” He pulled away from Daniel, beating his fists on Daniel’s chest. “I want my mom and dad. Send me back. Do whatever you have to, but send me back!” he wailed.

 

Daniel pulled Danny back into a tight hug to save himself from the blows of Danny’s small fists. “I can’t send you back. You know that. If I could give them back to you I would, but I can’t.” Daniel knew how much losing his parents hurt Danny first hand.

 

“I don’t care! I don’t care!” Danny struggled to free himself.

 

Beginning to notice people staring at them, Daniel realized he needed to move their discussion to a more private place. Still trying to comfort Danny, Daniel carried him back to the car. After belting the crying child in, Daniel sat down in the driver’s seat, laying his head on the steering wheel. Not knowing what else to do, he drove home.

 

Part 23: Explaining

 

 

On the drive home, Danny cried the whole way until he finally fell asleep. Not wanting to disturb him, Daniel carefully took him out of the car without waking him. When they entered the house, Jack was relaxing on the couch. “What are…” he began, before Daniel shushed him. Then he noticed Danny asleep in Daniel’s arms.

 

Daniel whispered, “I’m going to put him to bed, then I’ll come out and tell you what’s going on.” Daniel settled Danny down, kissed his forehead, and went back to the living room to explain everything to Jack.

 

“What’s going on, Daniel?” Jack asked, as soon as he sat down.

 

“Danny had some trouble in school,” Daniel answered. “I had to go pick him up.”

 

“What kind of trouble?” By the way Daniel was stalling, he could tell he wouldn’t like the answer.

 

“He got in a fight at recess with another student,” Daniel replied, not yet wanting Jack to know it was a girl. He knew Jack’s views on fighting girls, even if he didn’t agree.

 

Unfortunately, that was Jack’s next question. “Whom’d he fight with?”

 

Daniel sighed. “Natalie. I’ve never met her though.”

 

“Her! He fought a girl,” Jack exclaimed. “What is with that boy?”

 

“Jack, calm down. Let me explain what happened first.”

 

“He’s fighting with girls, again. He’s knows that’s unacceptable.” Jack had gone over the rules about fighting after the incident with Kayla.

 

“He knows it’s unacceptable, Jack,” Daniel defended, “but there’s more to it than that. This girl is the one who’s been teasing him since he started school there. Apparently, she’s also the one who started the fight.”

 

“It doesn’t matter, he shouldn’t be fighting, especially girls.” Jack couldn’t get his head away from his ingrained belief that you don’t fight girls.

 

“Jack, she’s the one who threw the punch. Danny was only defending himself.”

 

“Then how come Danny was sent home?”

 

“No one saw the punch,” Daniel admitted. “They only saw Danny twist her arm behind her back and push her against the wall.”

 

“What!? Where did he learn that?”

 

“I don’t know, Jack,” Daniel said wearily. He still hadn’t told Jack about the rest of the issues. “It doesn’t matter, there are more problems than just the fight.”

 

“Other problems? The fights not enough.” Jack said sarcastically.

 

“Yes, Jack,” Daniel said, frustrated. “You weren’t there when he broke down.”

 

“What are you talking about?” Jack asked with more concern. “What do you mean he broke down?”

 

“He’s miserable at that school, Jack. He said he has no friends because this girl told everyone else not to play with him.” Daniel finally broached the hardest part. “He wants to go home.”

 

“He is home,” Jack responded, not understanding.

 

“He wants to go home to Egypt. He wants to be sent back to be with his mom and dad.” Daniel wouldn’t mind being with his parents again either.

 

“We can’t do that,” Jack stated. “He knows that.”

 

“It doesn’t matter what he knows, Jack. He’s five years old, and he wants his mom and dad.”

 

“I thought he was okay living with us.” Jack had assumed Danny had adjusted to his new life.

 

“Jaaacck,” Daniel informed him. “He is okay with it, but you never stop wanting your own parents back. Believe me, I know.”

 

“Sorry, Daniel. I do understand, but what can we do except continue to love him and explain things to him.” Jack had dealt with death many times in his life, however he’d never had to help a child grieve.

 

“I don’t know. I don’t think he totally believes us. We need to find a way to convince him we can’t send him back. He needs to grieve.” Daniel had been thrown so quickly into the foster system, he’d never had a chance to grieve either.

 

“Daniel?” Jack asked, worried about the tears he could see in his friend’s eyes. “Are you okay?”

 

Daniel blinked back the tears. “I’m fine, Jack.”

 

Jack wished he could get up and go to his friend. “You’re not fine, Daniel. Tell me what’s wrong.”

 

“It’s nothing, Jack,” Daniel denied.

 

“Daniel!”

 

“Fine, Jack.” Daniel stood up and paced. “I was just thinking about the fact I don’t even know where my parents are buried. The social workers wouldn’t let me go to the funeral, and I haven’t been able to get myself to find out since.”

 

“I’m sorry, Daniel,” Jack said sincerely. “It sounds like you both need some closure.”

 

“Yeah, maybe,” Daniel said shrugging, “but right now we need to take care of Danny.” Daniel changed the subject. “I think we need to pull him from that school.”

 

Jack allowed the diversion, but kept the thought of how to help them both on the back burner. “If we pull him, what do we do with him?”

 

“I don’t know, Jack. I haven’t thought that far ahead. I just know I can’t stand the thought of him being miserable.” Daniel remembered being an outcast in some of the schools he attended.

 

“I agree. Maybe Danny will have some ideas.”

 

“Maybe.”

 

Part 24: Shutting Down

 

Daniel went to check on Danny after his talk with Jack. He found him still sleeping soundly, so he left him alone. When another hour went by, without a sound from Danny, he began to worry. Checking on him, he realized Danny hadn’t moved at all since he’d laid him in the bed. That wasn’t normal for this child; Danny had always been a wiggle worm. Daniel sat down next to him on the bed and shook Danny’s shoulders. No response. He tried talking to him. “Danny, it’s time to wake up now,” he said gently. Checking to make sure he was still breathing, Daniel turned him over. Danny’s eyes were open, however they were unfocused, staring at nothing. Daniel’s worries increased. He’d never seen Danny so unresponsive. He’d hoped he never would. He’d never understood the fear his caretakers had expressed, until now.

 

He left Danny on the bed and went to tell Jack. “Jack, you need to go sit with Danny. I’m going to call Janet.”

 

“Daniel,” Jack exclaimed, grabbing his crutches, “what’s wrong? Why do you need to call the doc?”

 

“Danny’s shut down. He’s unresponsive. I need her to check him out. We need to get him back.” Daniel left to call Janet. Hearing Jack call out to him, he responded, “Just go sit with him for now. I’ll explain everything after I talk to Janet.”

 

Jack chose to not argue the point. Instead, he hobbled into Danny’s bedroom. Danny was still lying on his back, staring past the ceiling. Jack sat on the bed at Danny’s head, running his fingers through the long brownish-blonde hair. He realized Danny needed a haircut. He tried talking to him. “Danny, it’s Daddy. You need to wake up now.” Danny barely blinked. “Come on, Danny. I want to talk to you. I need you to tell me what’s wrong.” Nothing. Daniel walked into the room and sat on the rocker. “Well?” Jack asked him.

 

“Janet’s on her way over.” Daniel sighed, leaning back in the rocker. “Ugh, I never thought I’d be dealing with this from the outside.”

 

“What are you talking about, Daniel?” Jack asked, now concerned for both Danny and Daniel.

 

Daniel looked over at Danny. “He’s shut down, Jack. Tuned out. He’s awake and aware, but choosing not to respond.”

 

“And you know this how?” Jack inquired.

 

“How do you think, Jack?” he asked tiredly. “I used to do it when things got to be too much for me to handle. I’d take a break from the world.”

 

“How do we bring him out of it?” Jack asked, continuing to rub Danny’s head. “He’s scaring me, he’s so quiet.”

 

“I don’t know. I don’t ever remember coming out of it until I was ready.”

 

“What’s the longest you ever stayed like this?” Jack couldn’t imagine standing by and watching Danny like this for very long.

 

“Three days,” Daniel stated flatly. It’d been after he’d been beaten and hospitalized.

 

Daniel heard the doorbell ring. “That must be Janet,” he said, getting up to answer the door.

 

A few moments later, Daniel returned with Janet. She immediately began checking Danny over. After listening to his heart, checking his pulse and blood pressure, she checked his reaction to stimuli. He reacted only slightly. Sitting down at Danny’s feet, she began asking questions. “What brought this on?” she asked, looking at Jack.

 

Jack looked towards Daniel to answer. Daniel explained about the discussion Danny and he’d had in the park.

 

“And he was fine until you brought him home?” she questioned.

 

“He fell asleep in the car on the way home. He hasn’t talked since then.” Daniel held his head in his hands.

 

“And you’ve done this before?”

 

“Yeah, about five or six times between the time my parents died and my finally leaving foster care.”

 

Janet considered this. “And you don’t remember what brought you out of it.”

 

“No, I only remember waking up when I was ready to, when I felt secure.”

 

“Is he alright, Doc?” Jack finally asked.

 

“Physically he’s fine. Like Daniel said, he’s just shut his brain down. We have to take care of him until he decides he wants to rejoin us.” Janet had seen this in adults, but never in a child. “Keep talking to him. Make him feel safe and secure.”

 

“Do you think it will take long?” Jack asked, worried for his new son.

 

“I hope not,” Janet answered. “I’ll come back in the morning. If he hasn’t come out of it by then, I’ll need to keep him in the infirmary and start an IV to hydrate him. If there’s any change before then, call me.”

 

“We will, Janet. Thank you for coming,” Daniel said, getting up to show her out.

 

“Thanks, Doc,” Jack said.

 

“You’re welcome,” Janet replied.

 

When Daniel left the room with Janet, Jack settled himself against the headboard. He gathered Danny into his arms, rubbing his back, talking softly. “Danny, I miss hearing your voice. Daniel and I decided you don’t have to go back to that school you were in. I wish you’d told us how miserable you were.” There was no response from Danny. “I know you want your mom and dad back. If there was any way to do that for you I would, but I can’t. All I can do is love you.” Jack placed a kiss on the top of Danny’s head, wishing for his son to come back, remembering the son who never did, letting the tears flow for both.

 

Daniel watched Jack from the doorway and decided to leave them alone. He had his own memories to deal with.

 

A few hours later, Daniel returned. He took Danny from Jack and settled them in the rocker. “Jack, go get something to eat. It’s my turn now.” Surprisingly, Jack left without argument.

 

Daniel held Danny’s head close to his chest, rocking. “Danny, you need to stop this retreat. I never realized just how scary it was for those around me. We can’t solve anything until you talk to us. I want our parents back, too. However, I learn long ago I couldn’t make it happen. I love you, Danny. More than you can imagine. More than I ever thought I could when I first saw you. I was afraid, of getting close to you. Afraid of losing a part of myself.” He stopped talking for a while and just rocked back and forth. A short time later, he heard soft crying and felt shudders in Danny’s small frame. Looking down, he saw Danny’s thumb finally pop into his mouth, an action of self-comfort. “Oh, Danny,” he said. He lifted Danny to his shoulder, rubbing his back.

 

“I’m sorry,” Danny cried softly. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

 

“I know, baby. I know,” Daniel crooned. “I’m glad you’re back.”

 

“What I did I do?” Danny questioned.

 

“You protected yourself by retreating, but I don’t want you to do that anymore. Jack and I are here to protect you now. You have to let us do it.”

 

“I’m never going back, am I?” Danny asked.

 

“No, you’re not,” Daniel replied honestly.

 

Danny scanned the room. “Where’s Daddy?”

 

“He’s resting. Are you ready to see him?” Danny nodded. “Okay.” Daniel arose with Danny in his arms and went to find Jack. He was found lying on his bed, eyes shut. Daniel set Danny on the ground. Danny climbed on the bed. Then hugged his dad.

 

Jack wrapped his arms around Danny tight. “You’re back,” he said.

 

“I’m back, Daddy. I’m sorry I scared you. I didn’t mean to.”

 

“Don’t do it again, Bug,” Jack stated. “I couldn’t handle it.”

 

“I won’t, Daddy. I love you.” Danny lay down beside Jack.

 

“I’ll call Janet, let her know he’s okay,” Daniel said from the doorway.

 

“Okay,” Jack replied, not letting go of his son.

 

Part 25: Danny Explains

 

 

Janet was thankful Danny had come out of his retreat so quickly. Instead of bothering them again that night, she told them she’d be by the next morning. The rest of the day and night Jack, Daniel, and Danny just enjoyed being with each other. No one talked about what had happened, choosing to wait for a while. Danny didn’t leave Jack’s side the entire time, even sleeping with him that night.

 

The next morning, all of them were in the living room when Janet stopped by. Janet checked him over physically and then started asking him questions about what had happened. Danny had climbed onto Daniel’s lap after Janet finished with him. “So, Danny, do you remember what happened?” she asked.

 

“Sort of,” Danny answered.

 

“Are you ready to talk about it?” she prodded.

 

“I guess so,” he replied, but didn’t continue.

 

Daniel pushed him to talk. “Go on, Danny. You need to talk about it. What do you remember about when you first shut down?”

 

“It was in the car, after our talk in the park.” Danny hugged himself. “I just couldn’t take any more. I wanted my mom and dad back so much, and you wouldn’t take me back. I fell asleep. The next thing I knew, I was some place warm. It felt safe.”

 

“Do you know where you were?” Jack asked.

 

“I’m not sure, but I think it was Egypt. There wasn’t anyone else there, but it didn’t bother me to be alone.”

 

“Did you know what was going on here?” Danny asked. “Do you remember us talking to you?”

 

“Yeah, I heard everything,” Danny said shyly. “I’m sorry I didn’t wake up when you wanted me to. I wasn’t ready.”

 

“It’s okay, Danny. We understand,” Jack comforted.

 

“I also felt things,” Danny said quietly.

 

“What things?” Janet asked, curious.

 

“When Daddy was holding me, talking to me, I felt his fear.” Danny glanced at Jack. “I felt how I reminded you of Charlie,” Danny whispered, “when he died. I’m sorry, Daddy. I didn’t mean to make you feel so sad.” Danny was trying to hold back his tears.

 

“Come here, Bug,” Jack requested, dealing with his own emotions.

 

Danny got off Daniel’s lap and ran into Jack’s arms. “I wanted to come back then, but I still wasn’t ready.”

 

“What did make you come back?” Jack asked.

 

“Baba did,” Danny replied, looking at Daniel. “When I realized how afraid he was, too. I knew I couldn’t keep scaring everyone. I’m sorry I waited so long. I didn’t really understand what I had done.”

 

 Jack became serious. “We don’t want you to do this again, Danny. You need to tell us how you’re feeling before it goes this far.”

 

“Yes, Sir. I thought I could handle it by myself.”

 

“You don’t have to, Danny,” Daniel commented. “That’s what we’re trying to tell you. That’s what took me so long to learn. You need to trust us to help you. It’s our job, because we love you, not because we have to.”

 

Janet decided it was time for her to leave and let them continue working things out. “I need to head to the mountain now. I’ll let myself out.”

 

“Thanks for coming, Janet,” Daniel said.

 

“Yeah, thanks Doc,” Jack added.

 

Danny walked over to Janet. He reached up for a hug. Janet bent down to accept it. “Thank you, Dr. Janet,” he said, hugging tight.

 

“You’re very welcome, Danny,” she said, kissing the top of his head. “Take care.”

 

Part 26: Family Rules

 

 

After Janet left, they continued talking. “So, what do we do about school?” Jack asked.

 

“What do you mean, Daddy?”

 

“Do you like the school you’re going to now?” Daniel questioned.

 

Danny worried at his thumb. “I like the stuff I learn.”

 

“What about the rest of it? Do you like the other kids and the teachers?”

 

“No,” Danny whispered, still worried about causing problems.

 

Jack asked, “If you didn’t have to, would you want to go back to the school?”

 

“No.”

 

“The problem is, we don’t know what to do with you if you don’t go to that school,” Daniel stated. “Do you have any idea?”

 

“Yes,” Danny replied quietly, “I want to go to Rhonda’s school.”

 

“What about if you get bored?” Jack asked.

 

“I don’t care,” Danny insisted. “Rhonda’s in honors classes. I could be too. I just want to have friends.”

 

“We could supplement his schoolwork with more challenging material at home,” Daniel suggested. “Sam might have some ideas.”

 

“Okay, Danny,” Jack said. “We’ll look into it. In the meantime, you can study at home until we find a place for you to go.”

 

“So you mean I don’t ever have to go back to my old school?” Danny asked eagerly.

 

“No, Daniel will stop by tomorrow and withdraw you. Is there anything you left at school that you need?” Jack inquired.

 

Danny thought for a moment. “No, I brought everything home with me yesterday. I do have some things I have to return though.”

 

“You can give them to Daniel tonight.” Now Jack had to deal with the final issue. “One last thing, we need to deal with your fight.”

 

“Oh, that,” Danny mumbled, dropping his head.

 

“Yeah, that,” Jack said, lifting Danny’s chin with his finger. “Was there a reason for the fight?”

 

“She made me mad,” Danny answered defending himself. “Besides, she threw the first punch. I was only defending myself.”

 

“Yes, I was wondering about that,” Jack questioned. “How did you learn a move like that?”

 

Danny didn’t want to get Teal’c in trouble. “Do I have to tell you?” he asked.

 

“Yes,” Jack insisted.

 

“I asked Teal’c to teach me,” Danny replied quickly.

 

“Teal’c? When did you ask him, and why would he teach you without telling us?” Jack had never even thought of Teal’c teaching Danny to fight.

 

“Monday night. I told him about the bully and asked him not to tell you.” Danny didn’t want to get Teal’c in trouble. “He thought I should have already been taught to fight, so he showed me some defensive moves.”

 

“Like twisting an arm behind the back,” Daniel said.

 

“Yeah, he said I was a fast learner,” Danny replied, before realizing he probably should have left that part out.

 

“Oh really,” Jack said, raising his eyebrows. “So you think fighting was the right thing to do?”

 

“She didn’t give me any other choice,” Danny insisted. At least not any other choice he could think of.

 

“Could you have told the teacher?”

 

“Then I would have been a tattletale.” Danny had watched other kids being teased for that. “Besides, they wouldn’t have believed me.”

 

“How do you know? Did you ever tell anyone what she was doing?” Jack asked.

 

“No,” Danny muttered.

 

“Danny,” Jack said sternly.

 

“No, Sir. I didn’t try,” Danny answered more respectfully.

 

“Then you don’t know whether or not they would’ve believed you.”

 

“No, Sir. I don’t.” Danny admitted, knowing he was in trouble now.

 

“So you didn’t do everything you could’ve to avoid a fight.”

 

“No, Sir.”

 

“And you knew the rules about fighting, and the consequences if you did,” Jack stated, leading him.

 

“Yes, Sir,” Danny replied. “But she started it,” he whined, trying one last time.

 

“Danny Jackson O’Neill.” Jack had had enough. It was time to end the discussion. “That is no excuse and you know it. It takes two people to fight.”

 

“Jack,” Daniel said, trying to help Danny, without contradicting Jack. “Remember what we talked about.”

 

“Daniel, I remember very well,” Jack replied. “Is there a problem?”

 

“No, Jack.” Daniel didn’t like seeing Danny in trouble, but after Jack’s conversation with Danny, he realized Danny did have other choices.

 

“Good,” Jack stated. To Danny, he asked, “So, what should we do about your breaking the rules?”

 

“Normally you spank me, Sir,” he answered, wishing he hadn’t been asked.

 

“Is there any reason not to do what I would normally do?” Jack wanted to see if Danny would take responsibly for his actions.

 

“No, Sir,” Danny answered truthfully, “but I still don’t want a spanking.”

 

“No one wants a spanking, Danny,” Jack agreed, “but do you deserve one based on the rules of this family?”

 

“Yes, Sir,” Danny agreed, reluctantly.

 

“Ready to get it over with?” Jack asked, patting his lap.

 

“Yes, Sir.” Danny walked over to Jack’s right side. He noticed Daniel get up and go to the kitchen.

 

Jack put a pillow over his lap to cushion his cast. He looked at Danny. Tears were already starting. Jack lowered Danny’s pants, but left on the boxers. This wouldn’t take long. He just wanted to reinforce the rules they lived by. “What are you getting this spanking for, Danny?” he asked, once he had Danny over his lap.

 

“F-for fighting. I’m sorry, I won’t d-do it again,” Danny stuttered.

 

“If choose to fight again, you know what happens, right?” Jack was making sure Danny understood.

 

“Yes, Sir. If I fight, I get spanked.” Danny just wanted it over with. He was tired of talking.

 

Jack was satisfied. He brought his palm down on Danny’s backside. It didn’t take many swats before Danny was crying hard. Jack flipped him over, cradling Danny in his lap. “It’s over, Bug. All done. You know I love you.” Jack rubbed his hand up and down Danny’s back.

 

Danny quieted. “I love you, Daddy. I’m sorry I disappointed you.”

 

“You’re forgiven, Danny.” Jack kissed his head. “Are you hungry?” Danny nodded his head. “I think Daniel made dinner. I can smell it cooking.”

 

Danny sniffed. “Spaghetti?”

 

“Smells like it,” Jack confirmed. “Ready to go eat?”

 

“Yep,” Danny answered, “his sauce tastes a lot better now.”

 

“It sure does.” Jack didn’t mention Daniel used sauce from a jar now. “Let’s see if he needs any help.”

 

“Sure, Daddy,” he said, getting off the couch and handing Jack his crutches.

 

Part 27: Jack’s Surprise

 

 

Daniel went back to work the next day, after withdrawing Danny from his school. Jack watched Danny and took care of finding out if Rhonda’s school could accommodate him. He also made a few phone calls to arrange a surprise for Daniel and Danny. He only hoped his plan wouldn’t backfire on him. A week later, his plan was in full swing. He’d arranged with Hammond for Daniel to have Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday off. Danny would start at his new school the Monday after that. He’d also bought the tickets and packed the bags with no one noticing. Friday night when Daniel came home, he sprung the news. “Daniel, Danny,” he called out. “Come into the living room.”

 

Daniel had just hung up his coat and put away his briefcase. Not knowing what Jack wanted, he met Danny as they entered the room. “Do you know what’s up?” he whispered to Danny.

 

“Uh, uh,” Danny answered. “Daddy’s been on the computer a lot though.”

 

“Hmm,” Daniel muttered, as he and Danny sat down on the chair. “What do you want, Jack?”

 

“I have a surprise for all of us,” Jack informed them. “We’re all going on a trip.”

 

“A trip!” Danny exclaimed. “Where?”

 

“Well,” Jack said teasingly, “that’s part of the surprise. A car is picking us up in thirty minutes.”

 

“Thirty minutes! I haven’t even packed, Jack.” Danny didn’t really enjoy last minute plans.

 

“I’ve already packed everything we’ll need,” Jack said. “The bags are in my closet.”

 

“Jack, what about work? I can’t just take off,” Daniel insisted.

 

“Already taken care of. You don’t have to be back until Thursday.”

 

“Am I going to like this surprise, Jack?” Daniel asked, worry evident in his voice.

 

Jack answered truthfully, “Honestly, Daniel, I don’t know. I certainly hope so. Whether or not you like it, I think you need it. Just trust me.”

 

“Okay, Jack. I’ll trust you. I’ll put the bags by the front door and see if I need anything else.” Daniel set Danny down and walked out of the room.

 

Danny walked over to Jack. “Did you remember my camel?” he asked.

 

“I put it in your backpack this morning,” Jack assured him. “Why don’t you go to the bathroom now, so you’re ready to go.”

 

“Okay, Daddy.” He left the room and then turned back, asking, “Will I like this trip?”

 

“I hope so, Danny,” Jack said sincerely. “Now scoot.”

 

“Yes, Sir.” Danny ran off to do what he’d been told.

 

The military car arrived right on time. The driver placed the bags in the trunk and everyone climbed in the backseat.

 

Part 28: Daniel Figures It Out

 

 

For the plane ride, Jack had bought first class tickets. Danny was impressed with the big seats and the movie on the flight over. Jack and Daniel enjoyed the legroom. Daniel had noticed the destination when they arrived at the gate, however he chose to trust Jack and not ask him about it. Thinking about the reason Jack would want them to visit New York, worried him though. Fortunately, Danny was enjoying the excitement of the plane ride too much to notice his apprehension. Jack was aware and began to worry he’d made a mistake.

 

When they arrived in LaGuardia, Jack already had a car ready to take them to their hotel. Jack had reserved a two-bedroom suite so they could be comfortable. Jack and Danny would share one room, and Daniel would get the other. After they’d settled in, Jack tucked Danny into bed. All the excitement had worn him out and he fell asleep quickly. Jack went back into the middle room, grabbed a water bottle and sat on the couch. Daniel was already sitting in the chair opposite him.

 

“Why are we here, Jack?” he asked tiredly.

 

“I think you’ve already figured it out, haven’t you?” Jack inquired.

 

Daniel sighed. “You found out where my parents are buried, right?”

 

“Yeah,” Jack admitted. “We don’t have to visit them if you don’t want to though. Danny doesn’t know why we’re here yet. If you don’t want to go, we’ll just go sight-seeing.”

 

“I’m not sure, Jack. I’ve been thinking about it ever since I realized we were flying to New York.” Daniel scolded, “You should have told me.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Jack replied. “I was afraid you wouldn’t come. When you told me you didn’t know where your parents were buried, I thought you and Danny would benefit from visiting their graves.”

 

“Perhaps,” Daniel said. “I think about it.”

 

“That’s all I ask, Daniel,” Jack stated. “We’re here until Wednesday afternoon. Just let me know.”

 

“Okay.” Daniel stood up. “I’m heading to bed. Good night, Jack.”

 

“Night, Daniel.” Jack so hoped he’d done the right thing. He also hoped Daniel wouldn’t be having nightmares tonight.

 

Jack didn’t hear anything from Daniel’s room all night. Early in the morning, he woke to a small child jumping on his bed.

 

“Daddy! It’s time to get up. The sun’s up. I want to go see stuff,” Danny said excitedly, all the while bouncing on the bed.

 

Jack groaned, so much for sleeping in. “Okay, okay. Give me a minute. Why don’t you go wake Daniel up?”

 

“Can I? What if he gets mad?” Danny asked.

 

Jack thought, ‘ Getting me angry didn’t seem to bother you.’ However, he said aloud, “I don’t think he’ll be angry, but if he is, I’ll tell him I told you to.”

 

“Okay,” Danny said, jumping off the bed and running into Daniel’s room. He jumped on the bed and started bouncing, “Baba, wake up! I already woke Daddy up.”

 

“Ugh,” groaned Daniel, “coffee.” Daniel needed his caffeine fix.

 

Danny lay across Daniel’s chest. “You have to get up to get coffee. Pleeeaase,” he pleaded.

 

“Okay, give me a minute,” Daniel said. “Go bug Jack some more.”

 

“He told me to bug you,” Danny said innocently.

 

“He did, did he? We’ll just have to take care of that.” Daniel rolled Danny off him onto the bed and tickled him.

 

Danny giggled. “Stop! I give up! I’ll go bug Daddy!” When Daniel released him, Danny rolled off the bed and ran back to the middle room.

 

Jack had just hung up the phone after ordering breakfast from room service. “Danny, you need to take a bath now.”

 

Danny stopped dead. “I don’t want to. I’m not dirty.”

 

“Yes, you are. You were too tired last night for your bath, so you have to take it this morning.” Danny stood pouting, giving his dad his puppy dog eyes. Unfortunately, they didn’t work. “We’re not leaving this room until you take a bath, Danny. If you take too long, we’ll get you a babysitter and Daniel and I will go out without you.”

 

That did it. No way was Danny going to get left in the hotel room. “Fine,” he muttered, stomping off to the bathroom.

 

“Watch your attitude, young man, or I’ll hire the babysitter anyways,” Jack threatened.

 

“Sorry, Sir,” Danny said politely. “Can Baba help me with my bath?”

 

“If you managed to wake him up, I’m sure he will.” Jack knew Danny was excited, but he wasn’t about to let his attitude take hold. “You go get started and I’ll tell him to come in and help.”

 

“Yeahsureyebetcha,” Danny quipped, in imitation of his dad. Jack just smiled.

 

Part 29: So Does Danny

 

 

Daniel knelt next to the tub and was shampooing Danny’s hair, when Danny asked, “What’s wrong, Baba?”

 

“Nothing’s wrong,” Daniel answered.

 

“Yes, there is. You’re worried about something,” Danny insisted. “You’ve been worried since we got on the plane.”

 

“Nothing gets by you, does it?” Daniel commented. Danny just looked at him with concern. He finished rinsing the shampoo out of Danny’s hair. “You know, Jack’s right, you do need a haircut.”

 

“Baba,” Danny said, as sternly as he could. “Stop changing the subject.”

 

“Fine, I’ll tell you.” Daniel took a deep breath. “Jack brought us here for a reason.”

 

“To visit our parents,” Danny replied without thought.

 

“Um, yeah.” Daniel was startled. “How do you know that?” Danny shrugged his shoulders. Daniel picked Danny up out of the tub, stood him on the floor and wrapped a towel around him. He picked Danny up and walked out of the room.

 

“Are we going to go?” Danny asked quietly in Daniel’s ear.

 

“Do you want to?” he whispered back.

 

“Yes.” Danny laid his head on Daniel’s shoulder, sucking his thumb.

 

Daniel saw Jack setting the breakfast on the table. He figured he might as well tell him now. “Jack, I guess we’re going to visit our parents.”

 

“You’re sure?” Jack asked, somewhat surprised by Daniel’s quick decision.

 

“Yeah,” Daniel replied. “Danny wants to go.”

 

“You told him?” Jack hadn’t expected that.

 

Daniel sighed. “No, he already knew why we were here.” Daniel sat Danny down on the chair, still wrapped in the towel.

 

“Oh,” Jack said, not thinking of anything else to say. “Okay. We’ll go after breakfast.”

 

“That’ll be fine, Jack.” Daniel sat down next to Danny. “Let’s eat.”

 

Part 30: The Cemetery

 

 

Jack had arranged to have a driver and car available to make it easier to get around. After everyone was ready to go, Jack gave the driver the cemetery’s address. The driver let them out at the gate.

 

“Jack do you have the map so we can find the graves?” Daniel asked quietly.

 

“Don’t need it,” Danny stated. He took hold of Daniel’s hand and started walking.

 

Daniel looked back at Jack, who shrugged his shoulders. Then he followed, slowed by his crutches.

 

Danny led them across the grass to an area in the far right corner. He released Daniel’s hand, walked up to a dual headstone, and knelt down. Using his finger, he traced the grooves of the names on the stone. The first name was Claire Jackson. When he finished tracing that one, he moved on to Melborne Jackson. Then the inscription, ‘Beloved Parents.’ Someone had been nice enough to purchases a nice headstone.

 

Daniel had stayed back. He held his arms tight across his chest. His eyes were fixed on the stone, but he didn’t utter a sound.

 

Jack caught up with them. When he saw Danny kneeling in front of the headstone, he maneuvered himself so he could sit on the ground next to him. Danny caught his eye. “I’m never going to see them again, am I?” he asked quietly.

 

“No, you’re not,” Jack said simply.

 

“I miss them,” Danny stated.

 

“I understand.” Jack pulled Danny into a hug.

 

Danny didn’t seem to be upset, just resigned to the truth. He put his head on Jack’s shoulder. “Baba’s angry,” he whispered in Jack’s ear.

 

“I thought he might be,” Jack agreed. “I didn’t mean to make him angry.”

 

“He’s not angry at you,” Danny said, turning around and looking at Daniel. “He’s angry at them.”

 

Jack looked over at Daniel who had not moved. “Daniel? Are you okay?” Daniel didn’t respond. “Daniel?” he called again.

 

“Huh,” he mumbled. “What do you want, Jack?”

 

“I asked if you were okay,” Jack said with concern. Danny had turned around and sat down on Jack’s lap.

 

“I’m fine, Jack,” Daniel replied. “It’s a lot to take in.”

 

Danny spoke up, “It’s okay.”

 

Daniel shook his head. “What are you talking about, Danny? What’s okay?”

 

“It’s okay for you to be angry,” Danny answered. “They’re sorry.”

 

“Why would I be angry?” Daniel questioned flatly.

 

Danny walked over to Daniel and tugged on his shirt. Daniel looked down at him. “They left you alone. They didn’t take care of you. That would make me angry.”

 

“It wasn’t their fault.” Daniel whispered, staring at the headstone again. “It was an accident.”

 

“The accident isn’t what you’re mad at, Baba.” Danny hugged his leg. “They didn’t make plans for you. That’s what you’re angry at.”

 

“No, it’s not,” Daniel denied. “It’s not.”

 

“Daniel, it’s okay to be angry.” Jack said seriously.

 

Daniel dropped to the ground, hugging his knees. “No, it’s not.”

 

Danny wormed his way into Daniel’s lap. “Yes, it is. I was taken away from them. They didn’t have a choice. But they should have planned to take care of you. They blew it.”

 

Jack scooted over to sit by them. He put his hand on Daniel’s shoulder. “Daniel, Danny’s right. They should have taken care of you and they didn’t. It’s alright to be angry.”

 

Daniel shook his head. “I loved them. I can’t be angry with them.”

 

Danny held Daniel’s head between his hands. “Yes, you can. Just because you’re angry with someone doesn’t mean you stop loving them. Do you and Daddy stop loving me when you’re angry?”

 

Daniel finally focused on Danny. “I’ll never stop loving you, no matter what you do.” He held Danny tightly. “It’s just so hard. I was so alone.”

 

“You’re not now,” both Danny and Jack said at the same time.

 

Daniel’s tears finally came. “No, I’m not.” Jack joined the hug. “I just miss them so much, even after all this time.”

 

“You never stop missing the people you love, Daniel,” Jack said, his emotions more apparent than he wanted.

 

“I think my mom thought my grandfather would take care of me. When he wouldn’t, it hurt so much. I thought I wasn’t good enough. I decided I’d take care of myself from then on. I didn’t need anybody, ever again,” Daniel admitted.

 

“Daniel, can you forgive them?” Jack asked, knowing forgiveness is a very hard thing to give.

 

“It was an accident, there’s nothing to forgive,” he insisted.

 

“Daniel,” Jack said sternly, “you know that’s not what I meant.”

 

“I know,” Daniel replied, “it’s just, I’ve felt this way for so long. It’s hard to change.”

 

Danny pushed back from Daniel. “I forgave you and Daddy for giving me to the Simms.”

 

“That you did, Danny,” Daniel said. “Mom and Dad had friends who would have raised me, but they lived in Egypt. Without a will, the state of New York wouldn’t give them custody. They were so busy with their lives, they never thought about it. All they had to do was write it down. It’s hard to forgive that.”

 

“I know it’s hard,” Jack said, “but can you?” Jack noticed Daniel staring at the headstone again. “Danny, why don’t we leave him alone for awhile.”

 

Danny looked to Daniel to make sure. “I think I could use the time alone, Danny. Don’t go too far though.” Danny climbed off Daniel’s lap. “I’ll let you know when I’m ready,” Daniel told him.

 

Jack managed to stand back up. “Come on, Danny. We won’t go far.” Jack hobbled off a little way to where some stone benches were and sat down. Danny followed and climbed on the bench beside him.

 

Daniel sat on his parent’s grave. He didn’t speak aloud, but he worked though a lot of issues in his head. He let them know how he’d felt when they left him. How he was so angry to be left alone. All he’d ever wanted was to feel secure, to have someone want him. After about a half hour, he finally forgave them, and he cried.

 

When Danny saw Daniel wipe his tears and stand up, he ran over to him. Daniel picked him up. “They are sorry, you know,” Danny said.

 

“I believe you.” Curious, Daniel asked, “How do you know, though?”

 

Danny laid his head on Daniel’s shoulder. “I just know,” he whispered. “Did you say goodbye?”

 

“Yes, did you?” Daniel questioned, accepting Danny’s answer. He didn’t know how Danny knew so many things, but he believed what Danny said.

 

“Yes,” Danny replied, “can we go now?”

 

“Sure,” Daniel answered.

 

By this time, Jack had made it over to them. “What do you want to do now, Danny?”

 

“Eat. Can we eat in the park?” Danny had seen Central Park on the drive over. It had fascinated him.

 

“Sound good to you, Daniel?” Jack asked.

 

“Sounds good,” he agreed.

 

Part 31: Central Park

 

 

Jack told the driver to take them to the merry-go-round at Central Park. He knew there would be places to eat, and thought Danny might like to ride the merry-go-round. Overwhelmed by everything there was to see, Danny started to run off. Hearing, “Danny Jackson O’Neill!” stopped him in his tracks. He turned around to see Jack staring at him. “Just where do you think you’re going, young man?”

 

Danny thought of the best answer he could come up with. “I’m going to come stand by you, Daddy,” he answered as he walked back to his dads.

 

“Good answer,” Jack said. “Central Park is huge and there are a lot of people around. You need to stay with us, or you’ll get lost.”

 

“Yes, Sir.” Danny’s mind was running a mile a minute. He asked, “Not that I plan to get lost, but what should I do if it happens?” Danny had started thinking of worst-case scenarios after reading the book.

 

Daniel knelt down beside him. “Danny, you see all those policemen riding the horses.” Danny nodded. “If you do get lost, find one of them and tell them you’re lost.”

 

“Okay, Baba,” Danny said, satisfied.

 

“Why don’t you hold my hand?” Daniel suggested.

 

Danny held his hand and started swinging it. “Can we ride the merry-go-round first?”

 

“I thought you were hungry,” Jack pointed out.

 

“Oh yeah,” Danny replied. “After we eat then?”

 

“After we eat,” Jack agreed.

 

After they ate, Danny convinced his dads to ride the merry-go-round four times in a row. Jack was frustrated because he had to sit on one of the ride’s benches, while Danny and Daniel got to ride the moving horses.

 

They finally told Danny it was time to see other things. Danny reluctantly agreed. Next stop was the zoo. The penguins intrigued Danny. Living in the desert his whole life, Danny couldn’t imagine enjoying the cold and ice. Then Danny acted like the monkeys he saw, making Jack and Daniel laugh. Visiting the zoo wore Jack out, so they decided to head back to the hotel to rest.

 

“Did you have a good day, Danny?” Jack asked, settling into the couch.

 

“Ya think,” he said. “It was great. Can we go back tomorrow?”

 

“What more did you want to see?” Daniel asked.

 

“I saw a map while we were at the park,” Danny replied, “and it showed a museum. Can we go there?”

 

“Sure,” answered Jack. “You’re a museum nut like Daniel, aren’t you?” Museums were not a favorite of Jack’s, but he would go them if Danny wanted. “Sound good to you, Daniel?”

 

Daniel startled. “What? Oh the museum. Sure, sounds great,” he answered, although he didn’t sound great.

 

Jack and Danny looked at each other, a silent query passing between them. ‘Is Daniel okay?’ they both thought. Deciding not to press the issue, Jack said, “It’s been a long day. Why don’t we order room service and call it a night?”

 

“It’s too early to go to bed,” Danny whined.

 

Jack scolded him, “If you keep whining, bedtime will be even earlier.”

 

“Yes, Sir,” Danny responded. “Do I at least get time to write in my journal?”

 

“I’ll order dinner. You can write in your journal until it comes. Then I’ll decided how much more time you get.” Jack couldn’t get over how much a five year old could enjoy writing in a journal. He could barely write his name at that age.

 

“Okay,” Danny said, going to his room to get his journal. After retrieving it, he curled up on the chair and began writing.

 

Dinner arrived, and everyone sat down to eat. Jack and Danny discussed the day’s events, but Daniel remained quiet. Even though Jack and Danny noticed, they didn’t say anything, thinking Daniel was still processing his time at the cemetery.

 

After dinner, Jack asked, “Danny, do you want to take your bath now, or in the morning?”

 

“Can’t I just skip it altogether, Daddy?” Danny said hopefully.

 

“Danny,” Jack warned.

 

“Just kidding, Daddy,” Danny said, grinning. “I’ll take it now. Do I have to wash my hair?”

 

“Yes, you do,” Jack insisted. “If you’d let me cut it short, you wouldn’t have to wash it as much.”

 

“Baba’s hair is long,” Danny pointed out.

 

“I know,” Jack said, glaring at Daniel with a smile, “and he washes it every day.”

 

“Oh,” said Danny, resigned to the situation. “Are you going to wash my hair, Baba?”

 

“I’m pretty tired, Danny,” Daniel answered. To Jack, he said, “Can you take care of it?”

 

“Sure, Daniel. Get a good night’s sleep,” Jack replied. “Come on, Danny. Let’s go get it over with so you can get to bed.” Danny groaned.

 

Part 32: New York Museum of Art

 

 

The next morning, Danny again woke up first. Instead of waking his dad first, he went to wake up his Baba. He was worried about him, however this time he didn’t know what was going on. He climbed up on the bed quietly. He lay down next to Daniel and rubbed his head. “Baba, wake up. It’s morning.”

 

“Ugh,” Daniel groaned. “What time is it?”

 

“I don’t know. I didn’t look at the clock, but I’m awake, so it must be time to get up,” Danny insisted.

 

“Is Jack up yet?” Daniel asked, as he sat up on his elbows and opened his eyes.

 

“No,” Danny admitted. “I woke you up first.”

 

“Thanks a lot,” Daniel said, goodheartedly. “Go wake him up and I’ll start the coffee.”

 

“Okay.” Danny ran off to wake his dad.

 

Daniel got out of bed, started the coffee and then went to get dressed. He wished Danny would forget about wanting to go to the museum, but knew there was little chance of it. Danny would enjoy the museum and for once, didn’t seem able to read his mind. He didn’t want to spoil it for anyone by telling them why he didn’t want to go. So, he decided to make the best of it, and not say anything.

 

Jack and Danny were dressed and ready, when Daniel came out of his room. “Daddy says we can eat breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Are you ready to go?” Danny was a bundle of energy.

 

Daniel grabbed a mug of coffee to go. Hugging the mug to warm his hands, he swallowed some and said, “Sure, I’m ready. Let’s go.”

 

Breakfast was quiet. Everyone ate their fill and then they went to the museum. Jack and Danny each got a map. Daniel just followed along. Danny studied the map, then asked, “Do we have time to see everything, Daddy?”

 

“I don’t know, Bug. Let’s pick a direction to start and see what happens,” Jack suggested.

 

“I want to go this way,” Danny said, pointing to the right.

 

“Okay,” Jack said, “let’s follow the yellow brick road.”

 

Danny looked at Jack quizzically. “There isn’t a yellow brick road to follow, Daddy,” he informed Jack.

 

Jack rubbed the top of Danny’s head. “Haven’t you ever seen “The Wizard of Oz”?”

 

“Uh, uh,” Danny answered.

 

“Daniel, we have got to rent that movie for him to see,” Jack stated. “You’ve watched the movie, haven’t you?”

 

“Um, no,” Daniel admitted. “I’ve read the book though.”

 

“For crying out loud. I guess we’ll all have to watch it then,” Jack insisted.

 

Danny was tired of talking. He wanted to see things. He grabbed Daniel’s hand, saying, “Come on, Baba,” while he dragged Daniel down the hall.

 

Daniel let himself be pulled along. They discussed the paintings and sculptures they saw. Jack surprised them both by knowing a lot about the art. Neither one expected it. When they turned the corner, Daniel saw the sign, ‘Egyptian Exhibit’. He stopped cold.

 

Danny let go of his hand and continued on, excited to see things from where he grew up. Looking in the display cases, he spotted something he recognized. “Daddy, Baba!” he called out too loudly.

 

Jack chastised him, “Shh, Danny. Don’t yell.”

 

“Sorry,” he apologized, “but look.” Danny pointed to a pottery shard. “I remember when we found that piece,” he whispered. “There are a lot of pieces I remember finding.”

 

Jack looked into the display case and read the ID cards. ‘Water Vessel, Egyptian, found by Jackson expedition 1969.’ These were artifacts found by Danny’s parents. Jack looked around for Daniel. He spotted him standing in the middle of the room, staring at a mock up of an Egyptian tomb entrance. Daniel’s face was white. Jack went to stand next to him. “Daniel?” No response. Jack touched his shoulder. “Daniel, are you okay?” Still no response.

 

Danny had noticed his Baba’s reaction and come over to him. He reached up and grabbed Daniel’s hand. Neither one said anything, holding each other’s hand tight.

 

Jack decided to let Daniel choose when to speak.

 

The three of them stood in silence. Finally Daniel spoke, his voice hesitant. “This is where they died.”

 

Jack knew who ‘they’ were. He rubbed Daniel’s back in support.

 

“I was sitting in the corner. They told me to stay out of the way until they’d finished setting up.” Tears were starting to fall. Daniel continued his story. “I was writing in my journal. I heard something funny. I looked up. The cover stone was swinging.” Daniel stopped. He wiped his eyes. “I saw it fall and heard my parents scream. I didn’t know what to do. I just sat there. No one noticed me. They were all trying to help pull the stones away. I watched. I saw them pull out my parents. I knew they were dead. They took them away. The workers started clearing the stones. I was still sitting in the corner. I don’t know how long I sat there before someone noticed me. The social workers took me to a group home. No one ever really talked about what had happened. Once I was in foster care, I avoided talking about it myself.” Daniel felt a tug on his arm.

 

Danny was looking up at him, tears running down his face. Daniel picked him up. “I’m sorry I wanted to come here,” he cried into Daniel’s neck.

 

Daniel rubbed his back. “I’m not,” Daniel told him. “I needed this. I needed to tell someone what had happened. I’m just glad I wasn’t alone.”

 

Jack placed his arm around Daniel’s shoulder. “I’m glad you weren’t alone either,” he comforted.

 

Daniel pulled himself together and asked Jack, “Do you want Danny and me to give you a tour of our parents’ exhibit?”

 

“Ya think,” Jack quipped. “I want to know everything.”

 

For the next hour or so, Daniel and Danny explained all about the artifacts and where they were found. Some of them only Daniel knew about, as they had been discovered when he was older than Danny. It was a healing experience for them all.