Work Text:
March 2005
Sam realized that she was walking slower and slower on her way to the General's office. It was her decision, born out of her sense of duty and, in large part, feeling of guilt, to tell the General in person.
The closer to his office she came, though, the more she thought a phone call – a long distance phone call – would've been much better.
Bracing herself for what was to come with all of her military training, she stopped in front of the door and knocked.
A muffled "Come in!" floated on the air and Sam cautiously entered the office.
For a moment she thought she had misheard, for the chair behind the desk was empty, but a second later the General appeared from somewhere behind the desk.
"Carter! Thank God it's you! I thought it was that annoying cook wanting to discuss the benefits of instant mashed potatoes vs. real mashed potatoes. Personally, I think he just hates peeling the damn things", Jack groused, sitting back in his chair and motioning at Sam to do the same at the other side of the desk.
Sam frowned, tilting her head in that You've-got-to-be-kidding way. "So…you were hiding from the annoying cook behind your desk...Sir?" It was funny how her mind seemed to work; being all formal and seeing only the General when the situation required it, and looking at Jack, the friend, when she'd let his antics climb over her military walls.
Jack stared at her for a long moment, one eyebrow going skyhigh. "No", he drawled, "I was picking up my yo-yo. It fell on the floor". He backed up his explanation by dangling the said toy in front of him.
"Ah…", Sam nodded, then squirmed in her seat.
"So, Carter! What's up?", Jack asked, placing the yo-yo in a drawer and then giving her his full attention.
She squirmed some more, wishing feverently she was anywhere else.
"Carter?", Jack dragged out her name in that inquiring way and she dropped her gaze to the floor.
"There's been a…little…accident. Sir.", she mumbled.
"A…little accident, Carter? Care to explain?"
Sam started to say something, then stopped, then squinted, looking everywhere but at the General who was probably feeling one of his hairs changing colour from gray to white.
She cleared her throat. "Dr. Sanetti, from the physics lab-…?"
Jack nodded in recognition. "The power-overload-guy?"
Sam winced. "It wasn't his fault, sir, I've told you th…"
"Aaaht!" The finger was up and in the air and both eyebrows high enough to prompt her to get back on track.
"Dr. Sanetti called me yesterday to tell me about this artifact they got from Daniel for study, from PX3-462, some machine without instructions, but one that's been deemed safe by the weapons lab. Mario was…"
"Mario?", Jack frowned, trying to place the name.
"Dr. Sanetti. Mario Sanetti."
"Ah. Go on…", Jack nodded, but his face was telling Sam he didn't like the direction her story was taking.
She sighed. She hardly liked it herself.
"Mario was very excited because someone from his team had figured out how to turn that thing on and it was, apparently, some sort of projecting or entertaining or perhaps even educational device. There was an idea that it's actually a work of art, although I don't think it…."
Jack's finger got busy again. "Carter! Please!"
Sam sighed again. Right. "Since Daniel was the one who had actually found the artifact, I've called him and we both went to the physics lab to meet with Mario's team and see what that machine was all about…"
Jack closed his eyes.
"…when Mario turned it on it started glowing and radiating beautiful greenish light and then there was a bright flash, very similar to that of a Goa’uld stun grenade, but no one was affected in any way except…Daniel. Sir."
Jack kept his eyes tightly shut, probably thinking that if he waited long enough, he'd wake up and discover it was all just a nightmare. Sam hoped that in that case, she was one of the participants in the same nightmare, as well.
"Sir. It…the light….well, not the light but the machine, obviously, has shrunk…Daniel." Sam finished her story, and waited with trepidation for any kind of reaction.
Opening his eyes slowly, Jack looked at her for a long moment, then shook his head as if trying to clear it. "Play it again, Sam".
"Daniel was standing closest to the machine. Once the light disappeared and we could finally see again, he…a little boy was standing in his place. The machine has somehow…shrunk him. Sir."
She expected an explosion.
Jack was looking at her steadily. He opened his mouth, then closed it, trying to find the words to say anything at all. He was failing miserably.
"Just…I…Why…" He shook his head again in disbelief. "Why the hell was Daniel standing closest to the damn thing?"
Sam has been asking herself the same.
She winced apologetically. "I…we didn't think it would be dangerous, sir, it's definitely not a weapon, so noone was afraid of it, least of all Daniel. He wanted to see it working….whatever it was doing…up close, that's all."
"Oh, that's all?" There was a forced smile on Jack's face, somehow looking more menacing than a serious expression would.
"Well, there's one more thing, General". Alaska, she thought. Maybe he'd be kind enough to send her only to Alaska, Earth, not another galaxy.
"Of course there is, Carter. There's always just one more little thing!" The not-smile was stilll there and it was not making her feel any better. Not that it was the intention, anyway.
"Daniel…is fine, as fine as a shrunk grown-up can be…but…although he's in a body of an approximately eight-year-old…Sir, he remembers. His memories are intact."
The heavy silence lasted for the several longest seconds of her life. Then Jack sighed, rubbed his face with both of his hands and looked at his 2IC with a long-suffering gaze. "What am I gonna do with you kids, Carter?"
Her mouth twitched involutarily, but she felt tears in her eyes for the first time since the "accident". "I don't know, sir. Whatever you wish, I guess. And for what it's worth, sir, I'm sorry. I should've…"
"Aahht! Carter!" The finger was back. "Lets concentrate on the here and now and how to reverse this situation, okay?"
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."
He got up, waiting for her to do the same. "Where is he now? Infirmary?"
"Yes, Janet is doing the full check up, but so far nothing appears to be wrong with him, except his apparent age".
They started walking towards the first elevator, then got into the car.
Once the door of the car cut them off the rest of the base, Jack leaned heavily on the wall, watching the floor numbers.
"How's he coping?"
Sam knew that her hesitation would tell him more than any words could. "He…he's Daniel, sir. He's…coping."
Jack nodded. The car stopped moving and the door opened.
%%%%%%%%%%
Jack's impression was that everyone, including Daniel, was in shock, and they were all tiptoing around the little boy huddled at the end of the bed. Even Janet, whose usual, gentle humor was noticeably absent.
After all the years of living the life from science fiction, though, Jack had gotten used to all kinds of weird things.
So when his eyes and mind told him that this frightened child really was his best friend, Dr. Daniel Jackson, he did the only thing he could.
"Hey". Jack approached the bed, moving slowly but with a purpose.
The misty, blue eyes pierced him to his core. "Hey", a small voice was barely heard over the sounds of the infirmary. "I'm f…."
"Don't you dare say you're fine!", Jack nearly growled, then sighed and finally sat on the bed next to the boy. Taking a long look at his friend, Jack reached out towards him.
"Don't…! I'm…" The small body curled into itself even more, and the tears which had been just a blink away started sliding down the pale face.
"Daniel."
The gentle, understanding voice was all it took.
Grabbing Jack around his neck, much like a drowning person would grab a hold of anything afloat, Daniel left all the pretense of coping and let go. He could do that now. Jack was here.
Trying not to think about alien contraptions and what-ifs, Jack rocked them both slowly in a silent rythm, blocking out all the people and sounds around him.
"Sshhhh, it's okay kiddo, it's okay…I've got you…"