Archive of Our Own ^beta

Little Kid Diplomacy

The sound of the chevrons locking-in on the spinning gate echoed through the control room. General George Hammond stood watching it move through the glass window, wondering what this wormhole would bring. It was early morning and he had barely arrived at the base when the gate had begun to spin.

Finally the last chevron locked and the wormhole established itself on the other side of their locked Iris. The General held his breath. 'Well, here it comes.'

Each incoming wormhole was an adventure unto itself, either good or bad. Thanks to their Iris there was no immediate danger of being attacked. Sergeant Davis's voice rang out in the quiet.

"Receiving a signal, sir."

There was a pause.

"It's SG-1"

"Open the Iris."

How many times had he said that, how many times since they began the SGC? He had lost count but it must have been hundreds. If SG-1 was coming home now, it couldn't be good. He had received word that the team had planned on staying the night on the planet, Solest. The General headed down to the gateroom to wait.

A second or two later a young boy with reddish-brown hair stepped through the event horizon. He stopped when he was two or three steps away from the gate. In his hand he held Teal'c's staff weapon with the business end pointed at the gateroom ceiling. From what the General could see the youngster couldn't have been much more than nine or ten, having clearly not reached the age of puberty yet.

The boy looked like he was using all his courage just to stand there and meet their eyes. The little one's jaw set in determination. He was dressed in a black T-shirt and some very large pants. The pant legs were rolled up several times to keep him from tripping over them and he had a rope cinched around his waist to keep them from falling off.

Before the General could react to his small visitor, a large figure emerged from the gate. It was the SG-1 Jaffa. He too took a few steps from the gate and then stopped. Teal'c had a very small child cradled in one arm, a little boy with a mop of blond hair who was wearing a large black T-shirt that more than covered his body. Beside Teal'c stood a little girl with long blond hair, her hand firmly pressed into the palm of his other hand.

The little girl, whose age was somewhere between that of the two boys, was wearing one of the SG-1 long green shirts that made a kind of dress hanging down to her knees. Someone had taken a piece of rope and tied it about the little girl's waist as a type of belt. She actually looked quite cute in the improvised wardrobe. All three children were wearing sandals and at the moment were looking around warily at their new surroundings.

As the General looked on, the smallest child lifted his hand putting his thumb in his mouth for reassurance. Hammond approached the group wondering why Teal'c had brought the children here.

"Teal'c, who are these children and where is the rest of SG-1?"

He asked, the wormhole still pulsing behind them as the SGC waited for the remaining SG-1 members to arrive.

Teal'c paused before answering, not at all sure how to explain this. It had all begun less than 24 hours ago...

(the previous day)

When Colonel Jack O'Neill stepped out of the gate onto the soil of the foreign world, he let out a little sigh. It felt good to be off world again. He breathed in the fresh outside air. He just wished it wasn't to go to the treaty summit. The summit had been dragging on for over two weeks now. He craved some action or at least some going-off-on-their-own exploring; diplomacy really wasn't his style.

He looked up at the sky. This planet, Solest, was unlike any he had seen before. The environment was an untouched wilderness alive with plant life and wild animals. Plants, trees, birds, mammals both large and small, all went serenely along content and unthreatened, and yet in the middle of this paradise was a city as modern and elegant as any he had ever seen, with large pearl white domed buildings. The city was about as far from rustic as you could get, and yet it blended with the wilderness as if it had grown there.

That was not the most amazing thing about the planet however. For overhead hovering in the air were tiny bobbles of brilliant pastel color, no larger than quarters in size, clear, and gleaming like multifaceted jewels. It was like having one constant rainbow shining overhead, just out of reach. The brilliant bobbles did not block the light but rather colored it in beautiful shades, adding to the calm and tranquility of the setting.

Putting it all together, it was breathtakingly beautiful. Unfortunately, the scenery was not what Jack was here for. He was to deal with diplomats and bureaucrats and to attempt to sow the seeds of cooperation and friendship. Overall, just thinking about it gave him a headache.

The people seemed nice enough if a little odd. The Olocins were the native people of this world and although humanoids, they were definitely not human or descendants from Earth. They had the standard two arms, two legs, and one head type structure, but were fairly small in stature. They were an attractive race with skin that was a pearlized white tone that glistened and picked up the shades that shimmered in the floating bobbles of color.

Even the native's light blond hair shone with translucent shades and glimmered with touches of the jewel-tones. Solest's people had in one way a look of innocence as if they were children and in other ways the wisdom of some high priest. It was a strange combination, yet somehow the two sides made a harmonious whole.

Jack wasn't even sure why SG-1 was there. The Olocins had an abundance of a very rare element on their planet that the Tok'ra felt was very important. Of course, in true Tok'ra fashion they hadn't explained why, or at least they hadn't explained to him. Anyway, this summit was to try to negotiate access to some of it, and the Olocins requested SG-1's presence.

This could be because it was SG-1 that had done the initial contact or maybe it was because the Olocins just didn't seem to trust the Tok'ra. Jack wasn't sure, either way here they were.

The most frustrating thing was SG-1 wasn't even allowed to attend the negotiations. A couple of the high "mucky mucks" of the Tok'ra and some of the military's best diplomats were invited and that was all. Still, neither the Olocins nor the Tok'ra wanted SG-1 to leave. It was like they were one big security blanket or something. Oh well, he'd had stranger assignments than "small talk" with the natives, maybe he should look at this as forced R & R.

The Colonel strolled toward a central building in the town. That was where he had left his team and where the summit was being held. As he entered the building he noticed that groups of Olocins were gathered here and there, talking. Even inside the buildings, the tiny bobbles of color hung next to the incredibly tall ceilings of the rooms. Anywhere else it would be disconcerting, but here it was natural like anything else would be strange.

He wandered through the hall until he heard the sound of laughter and friendly conversation. Jack peered into the room looking for the source of the noise and sure enough there was his team. Daniel was sitting with Carter beside him in the middle of a group of Olocins. From the look on the Major's face Daniel must have been telling a funny story since she was laughing whole-heartedly. Teal'c was sitting at the edge of the group, being silent yet from the man's eyes and the corner of his mouth, O'Neill knew he was enjoying himself as well.

"Hi kids... Miss me?"

He said, announcing himself to the gathering. Carter immediately tried to replace the gleeful look on her face with a more serious one, looking a bit guilty in the process.

'Correction' thought Jack 'the funny story must have been about me... Okay... I'll ring it out of Daniel later.'

"Hello, sir."

Carter managed. Daniel turned to look at him now, still grinning.

"Hi Jack... Come join us."

And with that happy note he wandered over to the cheerful group.

Being more than a little disturbed by the way the proceedings had been going, Grand Counsel Garshaw had been pacing back and forth for the last half hour. She hated to admit it, but it looked like they were not going to come to an amiable agreement with these people. They were just too different, too strange. Nothing seemed to be working. The Tok'ra and the Tau'ri had found no foundation on which to build a dialogue, let alone trust.

They were on a break now and the Supreme Leader of the Olocins, Crenth, had offered her and her fellow Tok'ra, Aldwin, a tour of the facility. From the look on the Olocin's face, he found their mere presence distasteful. Garshaw wondered how you could make a deal with people who obviously loathed you. It seemed hopeless.

As they walked down the hallway, the sound of laughter greeted their ears. Crenth paused by a doorway peering in. What his eyes saw must have astounded the leader since he had a look of absolute amazement on his face.

There in the center of the room was SG-1 surrounded by young Olocins. Colonel O'Neill was in the middle of recanting a tale that had the people mesmerized. The group surrounding him all had wide grins on their faces and that included the rest of Jack's team. Crenth and his two Tok'ra visitors slipped quietly into the room at the back.

"... so I sailed off the barn roof on this 2x4 styled plane, landing in a pile... Boy, was my grandpa mad... scattered 'plane pieces' all over his barnyard."

"It broke into pieces?... You must of hit hard!?"

asked a concerned Major Carter.

"... Well, Major... the plane wasn't the only thing broke... had my leg in a cast for a couple of months after that..."

Jack turned to look at her before continuing.

"How about you?… Do any unauthorized flying as a child?"

He raised his eyebrows as he said this, clearly anxious to hear her reply. Sam shook her head.

"No, thought about it though… The closest I got was when a rocket I built took a chunk out of the roof. I was sore for a week after my dad got done with me."

'I wonder how many other airforce officers flew off roofs as children?'

She turned to look at Daniel, who was being fairly quiet.

"How about you, Daniel?"

She asked.

"Well I didn't do any flying or anything… but I did have the habit of getting into places that I wasn't suppose to on my parents' digs."

He answered.

"Imagine that"

commented O'Neill as he gave the archeologist an ornery if not affectionate grin. The statement earned Jack a glare from Daniel, but a second later it was replaced by the archeologist's shy smile as he continued.

"I do remember one time when I climbed up this very large monument in Egypt… I probably wasn't any more than five… I was about 40 feet up when I fell… luckily I landed in some soft sand, so I didn't get too injured… My dad let it go with a stern warning after he saw how scared I was… Haven't really liked heights ever since…"

One of the Olocins was looking at Sam with great interest, confusion clear on the man's face.

"Sam… what mean… You sore after your dad?"

He asked.

"Oh…"

Sam paused before answering and frowned slightly, feeling a bit awkward. 'How am I going to explain this?'

"Yes… well... my dad punished me by giving me a spanking."

This did nothing to clear up the confusion for the man, who was now peering more strongly at her. She swallowed nervously. Daniel taking pity on her took a shot at an explanation.

"It's a physical punishment that parents sometimes give their offspring as consequences of their actions…"

He paused for a second to see it this was explaining anything to the Olocins. Teal'c raised his eyebrow not truly understanding this concept himself.

"… It's meant to give them a reason not to do the same thing again."

Daniel continued.

"Physical… he hurt?!"

The Olocin looked alarmed now, no Olocin would even dream of doing such a thing.

"No… not really… it mainly hurt only my pride… My dad usually reserve spankings for when I had done something dangerous, to really get the point across… most of the time I was just grounded."

Sam said quickly before the man totally got the wrong idea.

"Grounded?"

'Oh, here we go again.'

Fortunately for Sam, Daniel jumped in again.

"… she was restricted from activities as a form of punishment."

Sam thought of what her mother always said '… play to your strengths…' and gratefully this was Daniel's. She sighed in relief.

"Why punish?"

The Olocin replied still confused on the whole concept.

"Parents use it as an attempt to correct the behavior of their children… to prevent them from making the same mistake in the future… to teach them right from wrong."

The Olocins were looking at the SG-1 team like they had grown two heads.

"But why do such things?"

One young Olocin asked.

"… things that are wrong, you mean?"

asked Daniel trying to understand what was confusing the Olocins. When he received a nod in confirmation, he continued.

"Well… Our children are not born with the knowledge of right and wrong… or how to tell the difference from a dangerous activity and a safe one… it must be learned during childhood."

All the Olocins' eyes were now focused on Jackson.

"… As we grow, we learn… it is the adults' job to protect and teach the children… it is a parent's primary responsibility."

It was something about Daniel's words that had gotten to Jack. He knew the archeologist was not directing the words at him. He knew Daniel was just trying to explain to the Olocins, but still he began to think of Charlie. A stricken look came over his face, '… a parent's primary responsibility…' those words began to circle in his head. He stood to leave the room; he needed some air.

"I've got some things to check on…"

O'Neill said, his voice a bit hollow as he quickly left the room.

The rest of SG-1 began to look at each other as he left. Their internal sensors just went off, the ones that were tied to their teammates' emotions, that told them when one of them was hurting.

A shocked look came over Daniel's face, he dropped his eyes in self-recrimination as he realized belatedly how the conversation might have affected the older man.

"Oh… no…"

He said softly as he began to rise and go after Jack. Carter put her hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"I'll do it… you stay here"

was all she actually said out loud, but her eyes smiled down at him saying not to feel guilty about Jack's reaction. Teal'c read the unspoken conversation of his friends and prepared to stay and lend moral support to one of his teammates, while Sam sought to help the other.

Daniel attempted to turn his attentions back to the Olocins. They never seemed to run out of questions. Daniel understood this, a trait he sometimes possessed himself.

"You talk about childhood?… What is Childhood?… Don't understand"

came the last volley from one of the surrounding Olocins. Daniel was a bit taken back, how was he to explain this one.

"Ah… Well… you have offspring… Don't you?"

He looked at his hosts raising an eyebrow in the inquiry, in truth he had no idea how the Olocins' reproduced.

"We have young"

came the answer, the speaker nodding his head at Daniel as he spoke. Daniel felt relieved; this was at least a bit of solid ground.

"Well… As humans we are born in very small bodies to two humans who are our parents… As time passes our bodies grow, getting bigger and bigger over a period of about 20 years, until we have grown into adult humans, like all of us… But while we are small and learning, we live with our parents who love us, guide us, and try to protect us. They try to help us become good persons in our society… We call this period of our lives our childhood."

Daniel said, using his hands as visual aids as he spoke indicating the size of babies and the growing child. All the Olocins seemed drawn to the scientist now, all eyes were locked on him and this new curious concept.

"Do you have anything similar?"

He asked, but just as one of the pearled skin natives was about to answer a voice came from near the wall, by the doorway. It was Crenth.

"It appears there is much audience for your words… Dan'l"

Jackson got up quickly and nodded to the leaders as he spoke.

"Yes… Supreme Leader Crenth… Grand Counsel Garshaw."

He hadn't seen them come in. Garshaw glanced quickly at Crenth. All the tension that had been so evident in the Olocin's frame was gone. It was replaced by a serenity, or peace. Garshaw began to relax as well; maybe they would be able to pull this off afterall. There was something about these Tau'ri that appealed to the Olocins. Not for the first time Garshaw thanked "the powers that be" that the Tau'ri has come to them, and that she and the counsel had looked beyond what they perceived as weaknesses. These Tau'ri, SG-1 especially, were of great value, having helped the Tok'ra and saved their lives on countless occasions.

Samantha Carter trailed at a discrete distance from her CO. She wanted to be far enough away to not intrude on his privacy but close enough to be there if he needed her.

Jack stopped when he reached the outskirts of the city. He was letting the setting's natural beauty and built-in serenity wash over him. He needed to gain some perspective. He couldn't afford to lose it when meeting with potential allies.

Carter stopped next to one of the outer building, about 60 feet away from the Colonel. She leaned up against the wall as she too let the peace of the setting drain away the stress of the day. The colors in the air were breathtaking, but even with all that, she never took her eyes off the Colonel.

The sun was just beginning to set and the colors took on a whole new tone. She stood there and watched him for the next ten minutes or so. Quite content just to watch and let him work through the depression that threaten to overcome him, fighting back his own personal demons. A slightly gruff voice came floating back to her in the growing twilight.

"Carter, are you going to just stand there all evening?… What are you doing out here?"

He had never turned around the entire time since she started following him, and she hadn't said a word. In fact the Colonel was still facing the wooded lands when he had spoken. Guess she would have to work on those stealth skills, somehow he had known she was there. She took his words as an invitation to approach.

"Just out getting some air, Colonel."

She said as she approached her silver-haired friend.

"Uh, huh…"

He answered in a tone that indicated he didn't believe a word of it.

"… I'm fine, Major."

"Yes, sir… it's a beautiful sunset isn't it?"

came the sincere sounding reply. Sam no more than glanced at Jack's face before returning her eyes toward the horizon.

O'Neill turned to look at the woman next to him, staring at her face, and mumbled.

"Yes… quite beautiful."

After a second longer he turned back to the sunset.

"… Come on… We better get back to the Olocins… They may wonder where half of the team went."

"Yes, sir."

After the evening meal was done and the day's negotiations were complete, SG-1 was preparing to go back to Earth for the night. They were to return the next morning when the negotiations started up again.

Grand Counsel Garshaw approached the group. She turned to address Colonel O'Neill.

"Colonel, Supreme Leader Crenth has made an unusual request…"

Garshaw hesitated not quite sure how to tell them.

"…he would like SG-1 to stay here for the night… The High Ruling body of the Olocins would like to hear some of your… 'stories'… the ones you were telling the younger Olocins."

At the stunned looks she received, she continued.

"Apparently you have fascinated them… They have not encountered such before… Aldwin will also be staying."

She didn't exactly say it was as a safeguard but she didn't want to leave SG-1 on their own. She was a bit nervous about the Olocin's fixation with the group. There was nothing wrong with providing a little backup even when it wasn't really necessary. Besides, maybe this way she would gain some insight to what the people of Solest found so intriguing about SG-1.

A few hours later, SG-1 found themselves once again the center of the Olocins' attention. They were in one of the large comfortable lounge rooms of the Olocins' meeting hall. Servants had left bowls full of sweets and other delicacies along with some kind of liquid that reminded O'Neill of wine.

The Colonel ordered the team to go easy on this stuff. Not that they couldn't drink it, he just didn't want anyone to get sloshed. At Carter's request a pitcher of water was brought in as well.

"Dan'l… tell more stories… child."

"More stories about our childhood?…"

Jackson asked inquiringly.

"Yes."

"Well… lets see… Ah…"

Daniel tried desperately to think of something to tell these people.

"…um… When I was young my parents took me all over the globe on their travels… We traveled mostly in Egypt or the Middle East, but occasionally got to Europe… My dad had a dig once in Greece and another in Turkey… plus conventions in many countries… We didn't get back to the U.S. very much…"

The archeologist looked at his audience, and when the blank stares of the Olocins looked back, only then did Daniel realize they had never even seen Earth, not alone know of its various countries.

"Oh… I guess that wouldn't mean much to you…"

He looked a bit embarrassed but pressed on anyway, trying his best.

"… Needless to say, I traveled a lot as a child and didn't have a lot of friends close to my own age to play with…"

"Play?"

There were several interested looks from their hosts that accompanied the question.

"Ah… yes… something young children do to entertain themselves. It also allows for exploration and learning."

Dr. Jackson paused licking his lips.

"… I'm really not sure what to tell you… I really didn't do anything that exciting…"

He turned to the Colonel.

"… Come on, Jack… help me out here… You must have a lot of stories about when you were a kid…"

Daniel's eyes beseeched Jack to take over but O'Neill was enjoying Daniel's predicament too much to let him off the hook. Jack's eyes were practically gleaming with mischief.

"Come on, Daniel… Are you telling me with all that traveling you didn't get into your share of trouble?"

Daniel shrugged his shoulders.

"What can I tell you… I lived a boring life."

Somehow Jack didn't think traveling all over the globe was boring. Besides, Mr.Trouble Magnet have a boring childhood? Right...

"Come on … What did you do? Hide your dad's rocks? Explore some hidden chambers of the pyramids without permission? Run off with the local pharaoh's daughter?"

Oh yes, Jack's soft brown eyes were definitely twinkling with the challenge now. Daniel looked a bit flustered as well as embarrassed.

"No… I'd never hide any of my parent's ARTIFACTS!"

He answered a bit defensively, punctuating the last word making sure Jack would get the drift. Jack did notice Daniel hadn't denied the rest so he continued pushing.

"But… ah?"

"Okay, we did have these camel races when I was seven with the foreman's kids… I got grounded for a month after that… fell off and bruised myself up pretty good."

Daniel said ducking his head still embarrassed.

"And the exploring without a license?"

Jack was on a roll now.

"Alright, my folks were always having to hunt me down. After a while my mother hired one of the local workers to follow me around."

"Sounds very sensible"

stated Teal'c agreeing with the sentiment, his face never losing its serious look.

Daniel frowned at him.

"Maybe I should try that"

said O'Neill with a smirk and a certain lilt in his voice. Daniel just turned and glared.

"And when you were older?"

interrupted one of the Olocins, extreme interest lighting up his face.

"Oh!… I… my folks… ah…"

Daniel stammered, a sad look taking over his face as he struggled for the words.

"… the rest of my childhood wasn't so great… I was in foster homes a lot."

When Daniel began to get that stricken look, Teal'c came to his rescue before the Olocins could ask about the foster home comment.

"Daniel Jackson lost his parents when he was young. He was raised by other members of their society."

"Lost?"

"They died in an accident when I was eight."

The archeologist managed to get out in a very sad tone before ducking his head. Jack decided now was a good time to divert the attention away from his young friend, to give Daniel a chance to recover. Daniel's face was beginning to match his from earlier.

"Let me tell you about the time I decided to build this 'go-cart' in my dad's garage…"

After the Olocins had left them, SG-1 decided to settle in for the night. It was late, between the four of them they had told stories of their life experiences until the early hours of the morning. Their Olocin hosts had brought them some pillows and blankets, and now the majority of SG-1 were sacked out on the more than ample couches in one of the lounges.

The Olocins seemed to have a lot of these rooms. Each situated where the furnishings were arranged in conversation areas, group conversations appeared highly important to them. It was in one of these conversation areas that SG-1 was sleeping. The three couches formed a U shape, where each human team member had claimed a couch. The fourth member of the team had gone into a light Kelnoreem meditation against one of the chairs.

As far as accommodations were concerned, this was probably one of the most comfortable off-world sleeping arrangements they'd had. The team usually ended up camping and sleeping on the ground when on a mission.

Teal'c opened his eyes when noise filtered into the room from the hallway. He listened carefully; it was Aldwin's voice. He got up quickly intending to see what the problem was. The big man took a quick look at his teammates to make sure everything was secure. He could see O'Neill's silver head, the top just barely sticking out of the blanket. One of Jack's hands protruding out into the outside air from underneath the blanket as he slept.

Teal'c's eyes traveled to his other teammates. Major Carter was turned away from him, facing the back of the couch. All Teal'c could see was the back of her short blond hair, and Daniel… well, Daniel was cuddled down deep into the blanket. Just the very edge of his light brown hair could be seen poking out, letting someone know there was a person hiding there. They all seemed to be sleeping soundly.

Teal'c quietly went into the hall. The Tok'ra Aldwin was standing there arguing with one of the younger Olocins.

"IN the morning…"

Aldwin said with a look of exasperation on his face. Teal'c came to stand beside him, closing the door to the lounge behind him.

"How may I be of assistance?"

The big Jaffa said simply, standing with his hands behind his back. The young Olocin turned to him.

"T'l'c… Some want to know why Dan'l and Jack had look?"

The Olocin man mimicked a frown on his face, looking highly miserable.

"I do not understand?"

said Teal'c, looking at the Olocin. He didn't know exactly what was being asked, but if it was what he thought, he would just as soon answer the question now and spare his teammates further misery.

"When talking afternoon… They get this face…"

The Olocin frowned again with an upset look on his face.

"You mean that O'Neill and Daniel Jackson looked very upset, sad?"

When the Olocin nodded, Teal'c considered his answer. Aldwin just looked at Teal'c.

"Teal'c, Do you understand what he wants?"

"I believe so."

The big man turned back to the small pearl skinned figure.

"Humans and Jaffa have close ties to their families. There is a special bond between parent and child. To lose ones parents or children brings great pain."

The Olocin continued to study Teal'c as he attempted to explain.

"Daniel Jackson became sad when we were talking about him losing his parents. It brought up bad memories of that time."

"Jack?"

Teal'c sighed.

"O'Neill has lost a son… It is very sensitive. It causes him great anguish."

The Olocin looked at Teal'c and nodded.

"Understand."

came the soft alien voice, his face then taking on a questioning look.

"No discuss with Jack and Dan'l… You wish?"

"Yes"

Teal'c answered.

"Okay"

was all the small Olocin said. Teal'c bowed his head gratefully. It would be much easier on everyone if the matter was not brought up again. The young Olocin had many other questions, which he began to ask one after another.

While Teal'c and Aldwin answered the questions, interesting things began to happen inside the lounge. Shortly after Teal'c had left, the small bobbles of color and light began to move and glow brighter. They descended down from the ceiling until they hovered close to the sleeping members of SG-1, surrounding them. The bobbles began to spin around excitedly and sparkle. After a few minutes the spinning died down and the colors faded a little to their former glory. The bobbles once again ascended back to the heights of the room.

Teal'c and Aldwin had just about exhausted the young Olocin's questions. They were both grateful when the man left, the young native's face a mask of concentration as he contemplated their answers. Aldwin was just happy he would finally get some sleep.

When they reentered the room, Aldwin made a beeline for one of the empty couches along the wall. He quickly snatched up a couple of the leftover blankets the Olocin's had brought and proceeded to settle in for the night.

Teal'c resumed his position on the floor, his back resting once again against the chair. He looked over at his sleeping teammates. Everything seemed as he had left it. His eyes traveling quickly over Jack, his hand still protruding from the blanket. Teal'c closed his eyes to restart his Kelnoreem.

A second later his eyes shot back open as he stared intensely at the exposed hand. It was not the large rough hand of his team leader and CO, but rather a small delicate hand of a much smaller figure. Teal'c approached cautiously, looking down at the person wrapped in the blanket, still sound asleep.

He could see even less of the head than before but what he saw disturbed him. Instead of the graying head of the Colonel, there was brownish-red colored hair.

Teal'c gently lifted back the blanket that covered the sleeping figure. His eyes widened as he took in the face that was revealed. It was not the handsome middle-aged face of O'Neill, tough and made rugged by life, but the youthful face of a young boy, one with a little delicate nose covered with freckles and fairly light skin. It was the kind of face that enjoyed being in trouble and was a constant challenge to his parents.

Teal'c's eyes quickly traveled to the exits in the room. He had been standing in front of one but there was another. 'Had someone entered?… had someone?' He took a breath to calm himself.

The large Jaffa never questioned where O'Neill had gone. As he looked at the little face, he knew. Jack hadn't gone anywhere. He was right here in front of him in the form of a ten-year-old boy.

Teal'c took a deep breath and bellowed.

"Aldwin!"

more than a tinge of panic and anxiety in his voice.

The little eyes shot open at the yell, fear reflected there for a second until they rested on the big black man, then they relaxed a bit. Not the reaction Teal'c had expected. 'Did he remember? Did he know everything?'

The fear returned when Aldwin approached and this time it didn't disappear. The little one cringed back a little, hiding behind Teal'c. The Colonel's large shirt hung down threatening to swallow the boy.

"What is?…"

Aldwin's sentence trailed off when he saw the small boy, surprise momentarily coloring the Tok'ra's face. He had been just starting to nod off when he heard Teal'c's cry. He would have been annoyed if it hadn't been for the panic-stricken sound of the Jaffa's voice. Teal'c didn't easily panic, this Aldwin knew from his experience with the large Jaffa at Netu.

Teal'c held up his hand to stop Aldwin from saying anything. He looked down at the small figure and smiled kindly.

"It is alright…"

He said reassuringly.

"Do you know who I am?"

Teal'c asked, kneeling down beside the boy. The small head shook back and forth in a negative, the boy's eyes wide.

"My name is Teal'c… and this is Aldwin… What is yours?"

Teal'c held his breath, knowing that the boy's answer would confirm his theory. The little boy swallowed, building up his courage.

"Jack… Jack O'Neill."

He said in a confident, firm voice, holding out his hand to shake with Teal'c. Aldwin's eyes widened and began to stare "opened mouthed" at the child.

"I need to check on my friends…"

Teal'c told the boy after allowing the child a few moments to adjust, not wishing to bring on any new anxiety. He turned to the other two sleeping figures. If something had happened to the Colonel then it was possible that it could have happened to the others as well. Teal'c scanned his other teammates, his fears building. The bundles on the couches seemed much smaller than before.

Teal'c quietly approached Major Carter. He could see some blond hair peeking out from under the blanket. He carefully lifted the covering to take in the form huddled underneath. It was a child and from her appearance, she could be no more than five years old. She was swimming in the huge SG-1 shirt and pants. Her long blond hair cascaded down her back almost to her waist, quite a contrast to the Major's normal short haircut. Teal'c peered cautiously over the sleeping girl, not wishing to wake her, taking in the little button nose on an angel's face. A face that was youthful, and innocent, and without care… and was most definitely the face of a very young Samantha Carter.

Teal'c replaced the blanket, covering up the small girl, and moved quietly to the third couch, sure now what he would find. The figure under the blanket seemed very small, nowhere near the 6-foot frame of the archeologist that had been sleeping there. In fact there only seemed to be a small bump in the blanket, a bit bigger than his backpack but not much. He sucked in his breath, steeling himself for what he might find. He could just see the tip of blond hair sticking out from underneath.

When Teal'c lifted the blanket, all he saw at first was Daniel's green shirt… and then he saw the small head of a toddler sticking out of it. The boy was a beautiful child with streaked blond hair that looked like he had been out running in the sun the entire summer. Like the others, Teal'c had no doubt who the child really was. He could recognize Daniel's features even in the child's face.

Teal'c reached down rolling up the sleeves of the shirt gently, trying to find where the shirt ended and the arms of the child began, being very careful not to wake him. From what Teal'c could see the little boy couldn't be more than two or three. Teal'c sighed, grateful it hadn't been worse. He could have had three tiny infants on his hands now. Suddenly the thought that his friends might be still getting younger crossed his mind, the panic came back in full force.

He covered up Daniel and nodded to Aldwin, indicating they should move toward the door. At Jack's protest, Teal'c reassured the boy he was not leaving but only going to a quiet corner to talk. He had no wish to wake his other two small teammates and have three very upset children on his hands. And he had no intention of leaving the room, not wishing to leave his team alone again.

"Aldwin, have you ever heard of this occurring?… The Goa'uld could not have used nanotechnology to do this, could they?"

Teal'c said in a hushed voice. He had seen the little machines "age" humans before, the Colonel getting a premature dose of old age the last time.

"No"

said the Tok'ra, with a stunned look on his face.

"… Up to this point I didn't think it was possible to de-age someone… other than by use of a sarcophagus … Are you absolutely sure that is SG-1?…"

"Yes… but Doctor Fraiser could verify it with tests."

Teal'c paused for a moment thinking.

"We encountered a chemical accident that de-aged an entire population on Vyus … perhaps that is what has occurred here… and our symbiotes have protected us from its effects."

Teal'c tried to consider what his next move should be.

"We need to contact the Olocins and see if they have any explanation for what happened to my friends… Maybe they have a cure."

"I'll go… you stay and look after…"

Aldwin said after catching the wary look Jack was giving him, his voice trailing off as he motioned toward the sleeping figures. With that, he left the room, leaving Teal'c alone with the children and his thoughts as the colored bobbles glowed softly overhead.

It was little more than an hour later when Aldwin returned with two of the High Ministers in tow. In the meantime Teal'c had managed to get Jack back to sleep. The ministers turned to address Teal'c.

"T'l'c… this one has said you need help."

The official who spoke seemed to have a much firmer grasp of their language than most of the Olocins. Aldwin frowned a little at being referred to as "this one". The Olocins seemed to have a very strong bias against the Tok'ra.

"Yes, Minister… something has happened to my friends…"

The two Olocins' facial features began to form one of severe concern. They did not like the idea of something happening to their favorite Tau'ri. Teal'c brought them over to the couches.

"They have been turned into children… I need to know how this was done?… Or who would have reason to harm my friends?…"

When the ministers shook their heads, Teal'c continued.

"Is there anything on the planet that could have caused this?"

They just looked at Teal'c perplexed.

"Children?"

One of the Olocins echoed looking expectantly for an explanation. Neither minister had been at the previous day's discussions SG-1 had with the young Olocins.

"Very young humans."

Not seeing comprehension from them, Teal'c moved over to the middle couch. He drew the blanket off Sam lightly, or off the small girl that Sam was now.

"This is Major Carter."

He replaced the blanket and lifted Daniel's blanket, showing the tiny towhead boy sleeping soundly.

"This is Daniel Jackson."

Teal'c covered him up again. Last, Teal'c quickly moved to Jack and lifted the blanket to reveal the small boy.

"…and this is Colonel O'Neill."

If Teal'c had hoped this would clarify matters for the Olocins he was mistaken. They just stood staring at the children with looks of delight on their faces. Apparently stunned by the view they were given and desiring more.

Finally one of the ministers broke his reverence long enough to speak.

"These… are Sam, Jack, Dan'l?"

"Yes… but they are much younger than they were only hours ago…"

"Not natural?"

"No, it is not natural… Do you know what caused it or how to reverse it?"

The look on the transfixed Olocins' faces practically screamed, "Why would you want to". After a moment one of the ministers shook himself somewhat clear of the children's spell and spoke.

"I know nothing that cause… until I know cause, can not reverse."

Teal'c looked at both the ministers. He did not see deception there but didn't like the looks the Olocins were giving the children either. He wasn't afraid of their being harmed but his protection instinct was kicking in big time. He needed to get SG-1 home and see if Doctor Fraiser could find something.

"Minister, I will be taking SG-1 home, immediately."

Teal'c announced. Both the Olocins and Aldwin looked startled.

"Teal'c… Do you think that is necessary?… Perhaps the Doctor can…"

The small Tok'ra man started, not really happy about SG-1 leaving. Even if they were no more than children, the effect they had on the Olocins had not diminished judging by the ministers' reaction. If anything, it had increased.

Teal'c shot Aldwin a look that said he would take no arguments; they were going. Aldwin sighed knowingly. This was a battle he could not win. Teal'c was notoriously protective of his teammates normally, but now that they were children he would be ruthless in that protectiveness. Garshaw had left Aldwin to help watch over their greatest advantage in this summit. She was going to kill him.

The Olocins were staring once again; this time it was at the far couch. Teal'c turned and there sat Daniel, wide-eyed. His bright blue eyes glistening as he took in the room, his adult shirt sliding off one shoulder. That little face could melt almost anyone's heart, Teal'c was sure.

He had expected a scream of terror from the toddler, but Daniel just grinned as Teal'c approached. The little boy held out his arms to be picked up by his teammate, giggling when Teal'c did so. Daniel's shirt hung down to the boy's feet. When the toddler felt secure in Teal'c's arms he laid his little head against the big man's chest and began to suck his thumb. His big eyes taking in all the occupants of the room in the process.

A second later Teal'c felt a small hand touch his forehead, lightly. He looked down at a little face that was now intently studying his tattoo. Daniel's hand patted the pattern while the other hand was still firmly entrenched with his thumb still in his mouth. Teal'c gently smiled at the child. The Olocins just stared as if they were viewing a small piece of heaven.

'Oh, yeah.' thought Aldwin 'this leaving is not going to go over well' and he sighed again.

(present time)

Teal'c just stood there in the gateroom, surrounded by the children and the rest of the SGC, all eyes now focused on him. He looked directly into Hammond's face and said.

"General, we require Dr. Fraiser's assistance… This is SG-1!"

'WHAT!?'

Hammond turned to look closer at the children. The toddler in Teal'c's arms turned his crystal blue eyes on Hammond and smiled, holding out a tiny hand in greeting, inviting the older man to get close enough to touch. The General's mouth dropped open as he saw the resemblance. He looked quickly at the older two children, at the mischievous looking older boy who could easily be cast as Huck Finn in any school play to the angelic tiny face of the little girl, who was peeking out from behind Teal'c to stare at him. Once he looked closely, he could see, that yes, this indeed was SG-1. He sighed. Oh, this was going to be a long day and he had the start of a really good headache.

Behind Teal'c were several dozen bobbles that had caught a ride with them through the gate. They were no longer colorful but now transparent, almost invisible to the naked eye. The bobbles slowly floated silently toward the gateroom ceiling, observing as they went.

Dr. Janet Fraiser looked in one last time at the sleeping children before shutting the door. Temporary quarters had been arranged for the kids and although exhausted, it had still taken four bedtime stories before all of their eyelids dropped. Daniel, however, consented to sleep after only the second story. Luckily for Janet, she wasn't too long out of practice. It wasn't that long ago that Cassandra liked to hear stories too.

Telling stories had become something of a ritual for Janet and her adopted daughter, especially at first. And even though Cassie was a little old for such things, it had brought both of them a sense of warmth and normalcy in their sometime insane lives. She guessed her professional colleagues would call it a "bonding rite", but to her and Cassandra it was a way to brush away the terrors of the night.

Janet's eyes scanned the room, all three of the SG-1 little ones were now fast asleep in the separate beds the General had gotten hauled in there. The room was right next to Teal'c's quarters so that the large man might actually get some rest during the night. It was only early evening but after all the excitement of the day, and the short night the day before, it wasn't surprising that the kids had crashed early.

Janet had spent most of the day in the infirmary running tests on SG-1. The DNA tests had confirmed Teal'c's assumption, the small children were truly Jack, Sam, and Daniel. After a while the kids had gotten a bit uncooperative but then again that wasn't so unusual for SG-1. The Doctor had resorted to bribery and had gotten a large jar of candy, which she doled out after each new test. The rewards for patience, cooperation, and courage seemed to have worked, since they all made it through the day.

It had taken some work however. Janet sent a couple of soldiers to the commissary for clothes. Nothing on the mountain was small enough for the little bodies. She told the soldiers to bring back several different sizes and outfits for each. She would return what didn't fit later.

After a short period of trial and error, they found the correct sizes. Now all three children were sporting either T-shirts or sweatshirts stating Air Force mottoes. At least two wore the ever-popular "PROPERTY OF U.S. AIR FORCE" across the front, a bit ironic since in this case it was pretty much true. She would see about picking up some regular clothes in town tonight, that is if they were still needed. She was still hoping to discover something to change them back.

As Janet turned from the door, she saw General Hammond waiting for her.

"How are they doing, Doctor?"

"They're sleeping peacefully, sir… I'm going to have one of my nurses stay with them all night, just to make sure we know if there are any more changes."

She answered.

"How'd this happen?"

the concerned voice questioned. Dr. Fraiser took a breath in frustration; she hated not having anything to tell him.

"Sir, I have no idea… I ran every test I could think of… and so far everything has come back normal."

"Normal?… Does SG-1 look normal to you?!"

The General's voice as well as his blood pressure rising with his last statement, and his tone was displaying his exasperation at the problem. NOTHING about his officers seemed normal.

"Normal, sir… for a ten-year-old boy, a five-year-old girl, and a two-and-a-half-year-old toddler. So far I have found nothing to indicate why this happened or if it will even last… they might revert back to their old selves on their own… There is just no way of knowing."

She paused for a breath.

"… Right now, I have more questions than answers."

The General thought about that. ...'What will I do if we can't change SG-1 back? What if they simply have to grow up on their own?'... None of them have parents to look after them anymore. Jackson's are dead, and Carter's, well... Jacob is still around but he is a Tok'ra and most likely won't have a lot of time to take care of a little tike, not to mention the danger that would put Samantha in.

Hammond was sure that Jacob might try anyway, however. And then there was Jack. There was no way the General could spring a very feisty ten-year-old on elderly parents, besides there was no way to convince them that this really was their 45-year-old son.

'Child welfare?' ... The General cringed at the thought. No, he couldn't do that. Daniel Jackson had already been that route, and it would be too cruel to do it to him again; besides these people were his friends and he'd be damned if he would leave them out for the wolves to get. No, if he had to cross that bridge, he would think of something. Something to keep his people here, safe with them, maybe even take them himself if he had to. With a little help from the rest of the SGC, they'd find a way.

General George Hammond was just getting ready to leave for the day when the Stargate burst back into life. By the time he made it into the Control room, the Tok'ra IDC had been received. 'Well, so much for a quiet evening.' The General went down to the gateroom, assuming his most diplomatic stance.

Within a few minutes, Grand Counsel Garshaw along with Aldwin came through the gate. Garshaw turned to address the General once she reached the bottom of the ramp.

"General Hammond, I'm sorry to come unannounced… but we have a problem."

The General's face showed concern at the Grand Counsel's words; the SGC and the Tok'ra had been working together closely for the summit. He waited patiently for Garshaw to continue.

"The Olocins have demanded to see SG-1 or they will break off negotiations."

"WHAT?!"

a look of total disbelief crossed Hammond's face.

"Yes, I know, General… I have explained the situation to them. SG-4 has explained the situation, but the Supreme Leader insists on seeing SG-1."

General Hammond put his hand to his forehead in frustration. He had sent SG-4 to Solest to fill in for SG-1 and to find some answers for what happened to them. They were however given orders that under no circumstances were they to stay the night there, just in case the incident with SG-1 was related to that.

"We don't even know if 'going back' would be safe for the children… What do they want?"

He asked.

"I think the Olocins just want to observe them for themselves… The Olocins have always seemed fascinated with SG-1, and now they are drawn to them even more than before. There was practically a riot when Teal'c took them back through the gate."

Aldwin answered.

'Oh, boy… this was definitely one of those days.'

A few minutes later Doctor Fraiser arrived at the General's office. She knocked on the door.

"Sir, you sent for me."

Fraiser scanned the room. Besides the General, Grand Counsel Garshaw and the Tok'ra, Aldwin were also there.

"Yes, come in Doctor… Have a seat"

said the General, waiting until she had seated herself before continuing.

"Doctor, we have received an ultimatum from the Olocins… Apparently we either produce SG-1 or they walk away from the negotiations."

"But, sir… They're just children."

"I know that, Doctor… What I don't know is… Is it safe for them to meet with the Olocins?"

"Well, sir… It's hard to say. There has been no change in them in the last fourteen hours, physically or mentally… But I don't think it would be wise to take them back to the planet… We can't risk the process continuing and their getting younger. Something on that planet affected them."

Janet answered.

"How about allowing a few representatives of the Olocins to visit SG-1 here?"

Aldwin suggested.

The General paused, looking distant, as he internally wrestled with the decision …'It would be a security risk.'… They didn't know that much about the Olocins. They didn't seem threatening, still "seem" was the keyword. Something on that planet had affected his people… 'If I gave them only limited access to the base?'… There was always the possibility that this might lead to a solution of some kind for SG-1. If they only knew the cause, this would be easier. Finally the General turned his head, once again looking at the occupants of the room.

"Alright, on a limited basis, a couple of the Olocins can see the children… as long as my people are there and the Olocins understand they are not to make any demands of the kids."

SG-1 at the moment were only children, and he was going to protect them as he would any other child that fell under his jurisdiction.

"May I see them?"

asked Grand Counsel Garshaw.

"They are asleep."

answered Doctor Fraiser a bit defensively.

"I will not wake them. I just want to be able to assure Supreme Leader Crenth that they are fine, and that I have seen them with my own eyes."

"Okay."

The next morning when Janet Fraiser arrived at the base, her car was filled with packages. She and Cassy had made an evening shopping expedition after supper. They had gotten clothes and toys and even a couple kids videos to occupy her smallest charges. When Janet called in first thing that morning, she was told there was no change. She guessed that was better than a change for the worse.

The Doctor grabbed as many of the packages as she could carry and started her way down into the bowels of the mountain. When she got off the elevator she was almost run over by a freckled ten-year-old face as he came whizzing by the elevator door on a skateboard. He seemed to be seeing how fast he could make the device go, as he sailed through the halls. A moment later the boy popped a wheelie with the board, spinning around in a circle with only the back wheels of the board contacting the ground, and then he continued on his way.

Right behind him came a blond head on a big wheel that racing by only to skid to a stop, causing the small bike to spin around in place as its owner braked. There was a burst of giggles from the little girl, followed by a pause of only a moment or two before she had turned her vehicle around and was racing away after the reddish-brown haired boy.

'Well apparently someone had gotten them up and dressed, and had taken the time to put Sam's hair up.'

The little girl's hair was basically out of her way, all pulled back in a large ponytail, except for the bangs that hung down right above her eyes. Janet hoped that her nurse had remembered to feed them during the chaos. She could hear giggles from down the hallway at the sound of another spinout.

DING DING……. DING DING……..

Janet turned at the noise and looked down at another approaching vehicle. Two tiny legs were sitting on a pushcart prodding it along. She could see a mass of blond hair and then a pair of beautiful blue eyes staring up at her, grinning. Daniel was obviously having a very good time on his little trike. He paused but a second longer and then rang his bell again.

DING DING……. DING DING ……..

He pushed off going down the hallway after his faster teammates.

'Someone must of thought of toys as well.'… Janet frowned as she looked down the hallway ...'that skateboard was a problem'... She could see too many ways for Jack to get hurt on it… 'That's going to be off limits at least for now.'

She turned away from watching the toddler and Teal'c stood before her, his hands behind his back in that almost-at-attention pose of his.

"Good morning, Dr. Fraiser."

He said.

"Good morning, Teal'c… Kids been fed?"

"Yes, I saw to it first thing this morning."

Teal'c answered with that impassive sound to his voice. Janet didn't know why she had worried. Teal'c was a father, he knew about such things.

"Ah… who brought the toys?"

she said, being a bit curious.

"Major Feretti."

"Ah…"

she said, pausing for a second.

"… Well, I don't think the skateboard is such a good idea… It's a bit dangerous."

"Is this not a traditional child's toy?"

Teal'c asked, now a bit confused.

"Yes… but…"

"Major Feretti, stated that this was one of O'Neill's favorite toys as a child."

The Doctor sighed and took a quick breath before answering.

"Yes… but it is also quite easy to fall off and hit your head… for the time being I think we should pull the skateboard… I don't want Jack getting hurt."

Teal'c just raised an eyebrow. The Tau'ri were indeed strange, in some ways reckless and in others overly cautious. He didn't know if he would ever understand them.

High above the two officers transparent little bobbles spun, glowing softly, eaves-dropping on every word.

Daniel Jackson began to look around the large room. There were so many interesting things here, so many things he kept being told not to touch. He frowned at that thought, a little pout crossing his face.

He had come with Janet back to the infirmary. She wanted to run some more tests. Daniel liked Janet but wasn't pleased by the idea. He didn't like all the prodding and poking, besides the place smelled funny, but she had promised candy so he decided to be good and keep his dislike in check.

Now after completing a couple of Janet's tests, Daniel was ready for his reward. The adults were busy talking. They were always talking. His little eyes looked up and began to scan the distant countertop for his goal.

There were little bottles with liquid in them and a jar with fluffy white clouds. Janet had used some of these earlier to tickle him, rubbing the soft white cotton all over him, causing him to erupt into a fit of giggles.

Daniel knew that the cupboards also contained many treasures. He had opened one up earlier and had just started to explore when he was told, quite firmly, no. He didn't see what was so wrong with it. He just wanted to see what was in there and maybe, if he found something, how it worked. Adults seemed to be funny, never wanting you to look at things, frustrating that way.

The little boy's eyes continued to scan for the sweets. He knew they were here. They were yesterday, a big jar full of all kinds of candy. Janet had let him put his hand in and pick what he liked.

Daniel made it 2/3rds of the way around the room before his eyes settled on the jar. 'AHA!' His eyes lit up in anticipation.

General Hammond entered the room and began to talk with Janet and one of her nurses.

"Doctor, anything new?"

His tone hopeful, maybe even expectant. He apparently was trying the positive approach.

"No, sir… the test results are still coming back, frustratingly normal… All I can tell you for sure is that we have three very healthy children."

The General frowned. Not the answer he wanted. Then again this not-being-able-to-do-anything was hard on everybody.

Daniel walked over and stood by the Doctor's leg, waiting for them to stop talking long enough to get their attention. Didn't they realize he hadn't gotten his candy yet?

" 'andy"

came out of his baby mouth as he tugged on the Doctor's pants with his little hand.

" 'andy"

He repeated.

There was a pause in the conversation as three pairs of eyes swiveled in his direction.

Janet blinked a couple of times. This was only the second time Daniel had spoken since he had been turned into a child. The first being a very ardent refusal of "NO!" when she had attempted to give him a bath.

"Ah… in a minute, Daniel… I need to speak to the General."

came her slightly stunned reply, her eyes wide as she continued to stare at the child.

'Huh!' Daniel sighed. Wait, wait, wait, he didn't want to wait. That's all he had been doing. After another minute the little boy decided he should try again. 'They must have forgotten. It had been so long.'

" 'onfiture"

he said. The heads turned this time with surprise written on them.

"That was French"

said the nurse, shock clear in her voice.

Daniel just looked up at the grownup faces, a frown starting to form on his. 'Didn't they understand, this was important.'

"der 'andis"

He tried yet a third time.

"German"

said Fraiser, her mouth dropping open a bit as she stared down at the small tike.

"I thought you said they haven't retained any of their former knowledge?"

asked General Hammond, his voice holding confusion as well as concern.

"They haven't… Just what they have experienced in their lives up to the age they appear to be..."

the Doctor said, stopping to ponder the event.

"…Daniel said he knew several languages by the age of five… With all the traveling his parents did, it seems he had picked up some before that even."

The object of their discussion was getting a bit angry. 'What do I have to do to get through to these people… They don't seem to understand!' He hauled off and slapped the Doctor's leg and then pointed at the distant jar, hoping this time he would get his point across, stomping his little feet in the process.

The General began to chuckle as he witnessed Daniel's last attempt. Now THAT, he recognized. It was toddler code for "hey, pay attention… I want that." It hadn't been that many years ago that his granddaughters were small. He walked over and pulled a large cherry sucker out of the jar, handing it to Daniel. A huge smile lit up the little boy's face, only happiness displayed there as he began to suck on the candy.

Teal'c walked slowly down the long metal hallway on his way back to check on his small teammates. He had finished helping translate for the day and was tired. Ever since Daniel Jackson had been turned into a child, Teal'c's skills at deciphering Goa'uld were in demand. It made him wonder how Daniel had gotten anything done. He knew that the archeologist was asked to assist on the majority of the artifacts, let alone on any translations, no matter the language. Daniel seemed to thrive on this, but to Teal'c it was frustrating.

He rounded the corner to head to the infirmary when he noticed a small figure in one of the rooms, huddled over a piece of equipment. When he backtracked he saw a small head with a long blond ponytail. Samantha was sitting on the floor, dressed in a bib-shorts outfit with a little white blouse. Her bibs had a picture of the Disney's 101 Dalmatians on the front, one of the outfits Janet had gotten in town. She even had some cute tennis shoes with Velcro straps to hold them on and Disney characters on each shoe. This time it was cartoon pictures of the Disney princesses. She looked cute in her new clothes.

The little girl was sitting with her legs straight out and between them were various pieces of a disassembled logic probe. Sam had a screwdriver in one hand and was busy concentrating hard on attacking a screw on one of the pieces, so she didn't see his approach. He stood over her looking down at the mess she had made, when she sensed him and looked up. She had the innocent look of a child, who having done what came natural, had yet to discover what she had done was wrong. There was no guilt in the small face, just wonder.

When Sam saw the disapproval coming from the Jaffa's face, a bit of fear crept onto her little one. The fear of impending trouble, her bottom lip began to quiver a bit, she knew what was coming.

"Samantha Carter… this is not allowed."

Teal'c said in a softer than normal tone, seeing the telling signs that the child was getting upset. Tears were starting to form in the corner of her eyes now, her lip quivering more. She hadn't meant to be bad; she was just curious. It was at this point that many a frustrated parent would demand to know "why" their child would do such a thing. Only to be told from the child, they didn't know.

It wasn't a conscious decision; it was an impulse, one to explore, to understand, more likely than not, the truthful answer would be "because it was there".

Teal'c looked down at the little girl who was his friend. He had an advantage most parents did not. He knew not only the spirit that Samantha possessed, but also the outcome from it. He didn't have to wait years to find out how she would turn out. He already knew about the brilliant mind, the bright intelligence, the indomitable yearning to discover the unknown, to solve the difficult problem, the overall curiosity. It was these abilities and traits that made her such a valuable member of the SGC, and also what led her to take apart that logic analyzer.

He gathered up the upset child, who now had silent tears running down her face, her whole chest going up and down with yet unheard sobs. He knelt down, sitting her on his knee. He was glad the equipment had been unplugged. He hated to think of what might have happened if she had taken it apart with live electricity flowing to it. One thing was for sure, someone would be hearing about leaving Sam unsupervised.

"Ssh… it is okay."

Teal'c said trying to comfort the child.

"… this is dangerous… You may have injured yourself… DO NOT touch anything… again!"

He said looking straight into her eyes. Her chin started to shake more. She nodded amidst the shaking.

"It is okay."

He said again, soothingly.

"…Let us clean this up… and then we shall find the others."

Samantha nodded again, looking a little less upset but with a quiet rejected look that often came with correction. Teal'c set her back on her feet and they began to gather up the scattered pieces of the probe.

Ten minutes later Teal'c arrived in the infirmary with a five-year-old Samantha Carter riding on his shoulders. She looked happy again, apparently enjoying her bird's eye view.

When Dr. Fraiser caught sight of them, she let out a breath in relief.

"Where did you find her?"

she said as Teal'c lowered the little girl to the ground.

"Lab 22… A engineer will be needed to re-assemble a logic probe at that location."

Sam looked at the floor, shuffling her feet. The airman in charge of the children was looking a bit fearful too. It had been her duty to keep track of the kids and she had let them get away from her. She didn't really want to face the big man's wrath.

Janet sighed as she studied Sam. The news of the logic analyzer's fate didn't come as too great of a shock. With Sam's curiosity it wasn't surprising that some of their equipment was now on the endangered list. Janet turned glancing at 2-and-a-half-year-old Daniel, who was busy assembling some big Lego blocks into something only he could recognize. They had better keep a close eye on him as well; Sam wasn't the only one with a large amount of curiosity. She turned back to look at the five-year-old.

"You, young lady… are not to run off like that!"

Janet said with an exasperated voice that was minus any anger. Sam was still looking at the floor. Janet knelt down to be at her eye level.

"Come on… "

She raised up the chin of the little head so she could look into her eyes. There was apprehension but no fear in Samantha's face.

"I want you to promise to stay with the airman from now on… No running off. She is there to take care of you when Teal'c or I are busy. Okay?"

There was a nod from the blond head.

"… and promise to leave the equipment alone!… You could have hurt yourself very badly!… Don't touch anything unless you ask an adult first."

Again the girl nodded.

"Okay."

Janet said rising back to her feet. She looked around to take in her other charges. Ten-year-old Jack O'Neill was sitting in one of the infirmary chairs, playing the Gameboy she had brought him. He, however, was not talking to her. Janet had made the skateboard off-limits and that was something he did not intended to forgive.

Dr. Fraiser hoped to make it up to the youth, that is if Feretti ever got back from the mission to town she sent him on.

"Now, who wants ice cream?"

She asked getting several interested looks, even one from the sulky freckled-faced boy.

"Okay… come on."

Dr. Fraiser picked up Daniel, settling the toddler on her hip. Teal'c reached down picking up Samantha, and once more lifted her to his shoulders. He guided Jack in front of him with a reassuring hand placed on the boy's back, as they all left in search of that glorified white stuff.

At mid-day the Olocin Supreme Leader, Crenth and one of his ministers appeared through the gate. Crenth had felt that visiting the children was of such importance that he delayed the entire summit until after he had seen them.

George Hammond just hoped this wasn't a recipe for disaster. He looked over at the small pearl-skinned man, amazed at the differences between humans and Olocins. It's not that he wasn't use to meeting people from other planets, he was. He had met representatives from many of the places that his teams ventured to through the gate. It's just that most of them weren't truly alien in nature, but rather had descendants from Earth somewhere in their past.

The old soldier mustered all the diplomacy that he contained and stepped up to greet the Leader of Solest.

"Greetings, Supreme Leader Crenth… Minister Konneth… Welcome to Earth."

"Greetings, General Hammond of SGC… We are pleased you allowed us visit SG-1."

Replied the soft childlike voice of the Olocin leader, in his somewhat broken English.

'Yes…well you didn't really give me any choice' thought the General but he smiled and gestured toward the door.

"This way, Gentlemen."

Teal'c was playing with Jack and Sam when the group arrived. Hammond could hear the laughter echoing down the hallway. When his party peered in, they were greeted to a view of Teal'c standing with both arms straight out, from one arm hung Samantha Carter and from the other Jack O'Neill. The children were apparently trying their best to pull Teal'c's arms back down. They were failing and loving it. Each of the older children was dangling with their feet hanging in mid-air, attempting to use their entire body weight to pull down their respective arms, and giggling at their unsuccessful efforts.

Daniel, oblivious to the other children's exploits, was in the corner playing with an electronic fishing game the General had brought them. The little plastic fish traveled around in a circle in their electronic pond and each would rise up suddenly, opening its mouth and then just as quickly lower itself, closing its mouth. The object was to get the string on the end of the tiny stick-like fishing pole into a plastic fish's mouth before it closed, and then to pull it from the pond once the mouth closed before it opened again.

Daniel had been trying to play it earlier with the older kids but didn't quite have the coordination to get the string into the plastic fish's mouth. He had found a way around this though. He was turning the power to the game on and off as he positioned his fishing line. He would turn the power off , place the fishing pole's line in the mouth of any opened-mouth fish, turn on the power, and yank the fish out of the pond once it closed its mouth. At which point he would turn off the game and start all over again. Not exactly the way the game was meant to be played, but the little boy seemed to be enjoying it immensely. It was hard not to grin when watching.

Teal'c lowered both of the older children to the floor when he saw the visitors. His expression becoming more stoic. Jack and Sam still clung to Teal'c's arms but this time it was more for reassurance. Their eyes very wide as they took in the strangers.

"General Hammond."

Teal'c said as a way of acknowledging their presence.

The General was glad nothing out of control was happening. You could never really be sure with this bunch.

The little transparent bobbles moved slowly up into the far corner of the room and were very still, almost as if they were hiding.

"Teal'c … I believe you know Supreme Leader Crenth, and Minister Konneth… They would like to visit with SG-1."

Hammond said, even though he had filled in his large Jaffa friend the night before. The General was still standing there looking at the trio when he felt a couple of small arms wrap themselves around his leg. He looked down and into the big blue eyes of Daniel Jackson.

The little boy immediately turned his attention away from the General and onto the Olocin leader, but did not let go of Hammond's leg, just in case. Somehow, it didn't surprise the General that it would be Daniel that approached first, some things never changed. He knelt down beside the child. Daniel pressed himself into Hammond's side as he studied the pearl-skinned man.

Crenth and Konneth following Hammond's lead, knelt down too so that they were all at the child's eye level.

"Leader Crenth… you know Daniel."

The General said so that the Olocin leader would have no doubt who the child in front of him really was.

Daniel feeling a little surer of himself reached out and took one of the hands of the Olocin leader in his tiny ones. He turned the hand over as he studied it intently and then patted it, filling the center of the Olocin's palm with his own. Crenth looked astonished as he attempted to drink in the child's presence, his eyes wide.

A second later the toddler looked up and reached out, running his fingers gently through the Olocin leader's multi-tinted blond hair, wonder clear on Daniel's tiny face. If the General was worried about the tot offending the Olocins he needn't be, a wide grin now occupied the Leader of Solest's face.

While the Olocins were fixated on Daniel, Sam and Jack released their hold on Teal'c and crept closer, feeling a bit braver now with the lack of scrutiny. The General, noticing them out of the corner of his eye, said softly.

"It's okay… you can come a little closer."

Trying to encourage the children. The older two inched forward a few more steps, still a bit uncertain. Their eyes large as they took in the Olocins.

Daniel apparently having decided that he had a long enough visit, toddled off toward a pile of legos in another corner of the room.

"…and Supreme Leader… Minister… you have met Sam and Jack."

The General said standing up, directing the Olocins attention toward the older children.

Jack and Sam continued to stare wide-eyed at the Olocins, who in turn were staring with great interest back at them.

'Well, this is getting us nowhere fast' thought the General. He looked around quickly, noting the crayon drawings displayed on one wall.

"Sam, did you draw those pictures?…"

He pointed.

"… They are very nice."

"I drew a couple"

came a slightly hurt-sounding remark from Jack, at being excluded.

"Of course…"

The General amended quickly.

"… why don't you both tell us about them."

He reached out so Samantha could take his hand. His other hand hovered over Jack's shoulder providing a guide as well as a symbolic protective barrier for the boy. Jack unconsciously moved closer to the General, looking over his shoulder and narrowing his eyes suspiciously at the Olocins.

The children led them over to the wall, which was decorated with all kinds of pictures, some hand-drawn and others, just colored pages from some coloring book. The Olocins followed the General, their eyes never leaving the children.

Teal'c watched the whole scene, standing there with his hands behind his back. He knew the General wasn't real pleased about this visit. But he also knew how important it was; the voices of the General and the children drifted over to him.

"And what is this?"

Hammond asked, pointing toward a hand-drawn blue figure with a long body and four legs.

"It's a dog!…"

came Jack's voice in a tone that suggested that the General should have known that just by looking.

'blue?'

"… I like dogs."

The little boy finished in a much softer tone.

The rest of the visit went fairly well, the Olocins finally getting the nerve to talk directly to the children. There was only one small ruckus, when Sam found that Daniel had dismantled one of her elaborate lego creations to make one of his own. It might have been the General's imagination, but he could swear that Daniel was building a triangular shaped building which resembled a pyramid.

He didn't even want to think about what it could mean; although, if kids used what they had seen, then he guessed it could be possible. Still when all was said and done, the General didn't understand what the point of the visit had been. Why did the Olocins stop the summit for this? All they did was talk to the children and very timidly at that.

Crenth seemed quite satisfied with the exchange and had started up negotiations immediately upon their return, asking only to be able to visit SG-1 on a regular basis. If anything, this experience just emphasized how truly different the Olocins were from both the people of Earth and the Tok'ra.

General George Hammond sat in his office doing the daily reports; filling in routine answers, that is, if anything around this place could truly be called routine. He had one team that was overdue, another in the infirmary with the equivalent of alien poison ivy, the Olocin summit in turmoil, and then there was SG-1.

He had to smile when he thought of his premier team; they were awfully cute. Not that he didn't want his friends back and normal, but as long as this didn't last more than a day or two… he would enjoy the kids.

He tried to return his concentration back to his endless stack of paperwork. His forehead wrinkled as he looked at it. He felt a small pressure on his leg, startling him a bit as a tiny hand tugged on his trousers. He looked down into the face of blond-haired 2-and-a-half-year-old Daniel Jackson, who was now holding out his hands in the universal toddler sign for "up".

The General reached down and gathered the small boy into his arms, smiling kindly at the child. Daniel nestled himself comfortably into the General's shoulder and proceeded to put his thumb in his mouth. A sense of warmth and affection flooded the old soldier. There was nothing like the acceptance of a child to bring on a sense of joy and well being.

"Now who did you get away from?"

He asked the boy, who for his part did a partial shrug with the hand not preoccupied with his mouth. Hammond chuckled to himself knowing quite well that one of the airmen assigned to the children must be looking by now.

"Well, why don't you just sit here with me for a while… Okay?"

The little head nodded an affirmative with such seriousness that it sent the General chuckling again. Through the whole motion the thumb had never come out of the toddler's mouth. Daniel tucked his head back into the General's shoulder, watching the man work with his enormous blue eyes.

About 20 minutes later the General caught sight of Doctor Fraiser prowling the hallway and the nearby conference room. She must be part of a search party considering the way she was looking around. He called softly to her as she passed his door.

"Doctor, in here."

He had finished his paperwork a few minutes before and now was just sitting there holding the sleeping child, enjoying the peace. He knew he should have called down to the infirmary and told them Daniel was here, but he had enjoyed the boy's company. Besides, this was a good way to check his people's subtle search capabilities… '20 minutes… not good. We will be working on this!'

"Sir… I…"

The Doctor began at normal volume as she entered the room, breaking off when she saw the General holding a finger in front of his mouth, indicating the need for quiet. She took in the sleeping child.

"Oh, sir… I'm sorry…"

She said softly starting to apologize as she went to remove the sleeping toddler from the General's lap.

"That's all right, Doctor… Daniel and I, well…"

The General began looking affectionately at the sleeping boy. He couldn't quite bring himself to call the two-year-old, Dr. Jackson.

"… Daniel was helping me with my paperwork."

He said as Janet Fraiser lifted the child into her arms. Daniel stirred in his sleep and the thumb came up once more into his mouth. Janet began to absently rock back and forth.

"Twenty minutes, Doctor?"

Hammond said with the air of expecting an explanation for their delay at finding the boy.

"I'm sorry, sir… Teal'c got called to do a translation at the last minute, and then SG-11 came back shot up… he must have snuck away from the airman in the confusion."

The General could see that more drastic measures would have to be taken to keep track of his littlest recruits. Although he enjoyed Daniel's visit, he couldn't have the children running around unattended, it was simply too dangerous. Unfortunately, Hammond was afraid it might be more dangerous if they were off-base. No telling what might happen if some of those NID guys got a hold of them. There were people that would just love to use the kids as lab rats, to find out what made them younger. People who made Mayborne look like a saint, who didn't let little things like rules and laws get in their way.

Well, his idea on how to protect them was in the works, but even then, he thought it would still be safer to keep the kids here at the SGC and away from potential harm.

"Sir, I was thinking…"

A look of concentration crossed the Doctor's face as she spoke. She was still rocking the sleeping child back and forth.

"…maybe it's time to bring in some professional help?"

Hammond looked at her disapprovingly. She should know that for base security that was impossible. Frown lines started to crease his forehead.

"…I was thinking Cassandra could…"

She continued.

"Excellent idea, Doctor!"

The General said cutting her off. He relaxed a bit then. Yes, Fraiser's adopted daughter would be perfect. She already knew the secret of the mountain since it was through the Stargate she had come to them. Security wouldn't be a problem and she would have no other duties to distract her.

"I'll have the papers drawn up by this evening. Do you think she would mind staying on the base for a while?"

He said enthusiastically.

"I don't see why not… She still has a couple of weeks before school starts… I'll ask her tonight."

Both the General and the Doctor hoped the situation would be fixed long before then. A few moments later Janet left with Daniel in her arms. Small transparent bobbles high in the air, floated down the hallway following her.

S'sk ……. S'sk……. S'sk……

Went the jump rope in Samantha Carter's hand as it contacted the floor. The little girl was making her way jumping rope through the corridor. General Hammond had given them this whole floor to play on. She thought that was nice. All they had to do was obey the man at the end of the hallway. Teal'c had said the airman was there to take care of them. Teal'c had to go to work but promised to be back soon.

S'sk……. S'sk……. S'sk …….

She understood about work. Her dad was always going to work and sometimes he didn't come back for weeks. She didn't know where her parents were right now, but somehow that was okay. That thought itself surprised her, still she felt safe here with these people and with the other kids, like this is where she belonged. Besides they were nice to her, brought her and the others toys.

S'sk……. S'sk……. S'sk …….

Since they had moved to this floor, no one had yelled at them for getting into things they shouldn't. THAT in itself made it a good day.

S'sk……. S'sk…….

Suddenly a man appeared before Samantha, blocking her path. She had not seen him before. He didn't look annoyed that she was in his way and wasn't trying to find a way around her to get where he was going, but rather was looking straight at her, as if she was what he was looking for. That safe feeling she had began to drain away. She backed up a couple of paces.

The man knelt down to look her in the eye. He was wearing a crisp blue uniform with little ribbons on it. The kind her father wore when he was going some place important.

"What's your name?"

He asked in a kindly sounding voice. Still there was something about the man that scared Sam; she didn't like him. She could almost sense he didn't really care for her. She wished Teal'c was here. She backed up a couple more steps.

Sam could see the airman, the one Teal'c had said to obey. He was surrounded by three other men and he didn't look happy. Sam backed up another step. The stranger noticing the child's retreat, tried to calm her.

"It's okay… I just want to talk to you… Won't you tell me your name?"

He said.

There was a terror building up in the little girl. Her whole body was screaming for her not to trust him. This was a bad man.

Suddenly without warning she bolted, running screaming down the hall jump rope trailing behind her.

"JAAACCCK!"

Samantha passed a slow-moving figure, as she ran yelling for the older boy.

Sch'oot ……. Sch'oot ……. Sch'oot……

The sound of little feet pushing the small trike along the hallway greeted the man. He took in this new sight. He would find Samantha Carter later; there was nowhere for her to run.

"Hello"

The man said to the small tousled mass of blond hair that was the top of Daniel Jackson.

"Dr. Jackson, I presume."

He said, grinning at the toddler. Daniel's big blue eyes took in the man staring into his face. He must not have liked what he saw there since his thumb came up into his mouth instantly. His little feet pushed the trike backwards a couple of steps.

The man advanced a step and Daniel backed the trike up a couple steps more.

"It's okay"

He said as he started to reach toward Daniel. But something in Daniel said it wasn't. The little boy pushed back away from the man again.

This time his trike backed into something, a couple of legs in a pair of jeans. Daniel looked up just as some small arms came down, and lifted him up and into the arms of Jack O'Neill.

Daniel felt better immediately. Some instinct told him Jack wouldn't let the bad man get him, still the thumb stayed in his mouth. With a motion that said this wasn't the first time in the last two days, Jack swung Daniel around to his back where the little boy, with a minimum of two unintentional kicks to Jack's side, situated himself piggyback on the ten-year-old.

The tall man was now taking in Jack with interest. He had the look of acquiring the prize. 'So the rumors were true…' the stranger thought '...SG-1 has been turned into children.' Even though his source had been reliable, this was not information that could be truly believed without seeing it for yourself. He took in the boy in front of him, including the freckles across the nose, looking for similarities. He could see fear in the little eyes.

"I want to talk to you, son."

Jack backed up some, the look of fear being replaced by a determination. The stranger watched as the little boy narrowed his eyes until they glistened like glass crystals and set his chin. 'Oh yes...' the stranger had no doubt now, '...this was Jack O'Neill.' He began to advance on the children as Jack stepped back some more.

Just then a pair of massive legs stepped between Jack and the stranger, blocking his view of Jack and Daniel.

"Come no further!"

Bellowed the loud voice of Teal'c as he glared at the man. At this Jack turned and ran with Daniel in tow.

'Samuels!' Teal'c looked at the man like he would some annoying rodent.

"I have orders to take custody of the children."

"You will not!"

Teal'c said simply. He had not moved an inch. It was quite clear that the only way to the rest of SG-1 was through him.

Lieutenant Colonel Samuels stared at the large man. Teal'c was not someone he wished to mess with, but he had his orders. He pulled some papers from his jacket pocket.

"These are signed legal documents from the state of Colorado declaring the juveniles: Jonathan O'Neill, Samantha Carter, and Daniel Jackson to be wards of the U.S. Air Force and to be given into my custody. You are in violation of …"

"You're too late, Samuels!"

Another voice from behind Teal'c called out, cutting the Lieutenant Colonel off. He turned to look at the voice's owner, General Hammond, who was rushing down the hallway holding the hand of tiny Samantha Carter. The General had known something was up when the officer on duty reported that Sam had called hysterically crying about a "bad man".

"General Hammond…"

Samuels turned to address his former CO.

"… I assure you these documents are genuine."

"Oh, I'm sure they are… they are just not legal. The custody of the children has already been awarded to Teal'c… I have two United States Supreme Court justices signatures and the backing of the president."

General Hammond smiled viciously at Samuels.

"…and since I doubt that Teal'c is about to let you have access to the children… You will kindly leave my facility."

The General finished.

"General Hammond…"

Samuels began.

"That was not a request… Lieutenant Colonel!"

All the false pleasantness had left the General's voice now. Samuels looked from his former CO to the large Jaffa. There was no way he was going to get the children now. His superiors would not be happy; they had plans for those kids.

The head of the NID stared down at the pictures on the desk in front of him. They were pictures of a middle-aged Colonel, an Air Force Major, and a young Professor of Archeology. He had a second set of photos as well, these of a reddish-brown haired freckled-faced ten-year-old, a cute blond blue-eyed little girl, and a tousled blond-haired blue-eyed toddler. He looked from one set of pictures to the other, examining each picture with a magnifying glass, studying each figure's facial features.

He hadn't been pleased when he got Samuel's report. Perhaps it was a mistake to put him in charge of Area 51 after Mayborne was convicted. It was hard to find good help these days. He guessed he should give Samuels some slack, after all Colonel Harry Mayborne was a tough act to follow. Of course that didn't change the fact that he wasn't happy; he wanted those kids.

The medical secrets those little modern miracles may contain was well worth the effort alone. The secret of youth, what he could do with that. He could turn anyone that was a problem into a child to get them out of the way, or sell the secret of de-aging to those who desperately wanted youth. Yes, it had wonderful possibilities.

There were other benefits as well. For one thing once he "owned" a certain Jack O'Neill, there no longer be a need to worry about certain information falling into the wrong hands, and "owned" is how he thought of it. When he got his hands on those kids he could do as he pleased. They had no parents or family that would come looking for them, or least none that would know to look. He would tuck them away, some place that Hammond would never find them.

He had records on all three and the potential of what he could make out of them was amazing. Colonel O'Neill had come through more dangerous missions than a person had a right to. He could just imagine the type of soldier he could produce given the "right guidance" and control. The idea brought a smile to his lips.

And then there was Carter and Jackson. He didn't even know where to begin there. Their combined I.Q. was incredible. How many times had the solutions they came up with saved not only their team but the SGC, hell in some cases the world. SG-1 had saved the planet at least twice that he could think of. Now he had the advantage of a known quantity. He knew how brilliant the minds were. He knew what they could do, could accomplish. He would train them "right", bring them up "correctly", focusing and concentrating their natural abilities. In a few short years, he could possess a powerful weapon which he would aim where he chose, one that would be loyal only to him. The possibilities were endless, but then Hammond had stepped in and ruined his plans.

Well he wasn't thwarted that easily. He would still get his hands on the children. It just wouldn't be legal this time, but that was okay; for once he had the kids, that would be the last anyone would see of them for many, many years. Until he was ready, until he had finished sculpting them into what he intended. They would just disappear. Oh, yes, he hadn't made his way to the top by looking only short term. He sighed as he eyed the pictures again and began to plan.

The gate sprung to life, spinning and unlocking its mysterious code. A code that would bring distant travelers to Hammond's little secret base. This time it was the Tok'ra IDC that was received. The General rushed down to greet the visitors as the Iris swirled open.

A moment later the lone figure of General Jacob Carter exited the Earth's gate, dressed in his normal Tok'ra attire. He strode up to General Hammond.

"George."

He said extending his hand.

"Jacob… Good to see you again."

Hammond grabbed the hand of his old friend in a welcoming clasp.

"The message I received said I was needed here, but didn't exactly say why."

Jacob said looking concerned, wondering what was up and hoping it wasn't too serious. It was strange that the Tok'ra Counsel hadn't given him any more information.

'Oh, boy.' thought George Hammond, 'this will be a shock.'

"Yes, well… There's a problem… something happened to SG-1…"

He began only to be cut off by Jacob.

"Samantha?!"

Jacob's tone became guarded as fear for his daughter began to creep into his soul.

"She's okay…"

General Hammond said quickly when he saw his friend pale.

"… just not herself…"

He turned toward the door.

"…Come on, it's easier just to show you"

and he led Jacob from the room.

Teal'c had just situated his teammates around one of the tables in the Cafeteria for their midday meal. All three children were now not only seated but also had a plate of food in front of them. He had taken care that each had drinks and that everything that needed to be cut on their plates, was cut, that is for those that needed the help. He had this down now. Yesterday had been a bit sketchy until they had found some huge documentation manuals, which worked quite well as booster seats for Sam and Daniel.

Overhead near the ceiling the little transparent bobbles spun and faintly glowed, all the time observing the proceedings.

Teal'c was about to go get some food for himself when Sergeant Stocker called to him from the doorway.

"Sir… could I get your help for a second?"

Teal'c sighed. He took one last look at his charges.

"I will be right back… Finish your meal."

He said simply and directly. Each child was so like his adult friends and yet different. It sobered him a bit to realize that even at their real age each could be his child. Even General Hammond was young enough that he could be Teal'c's son. He shook his head when he thought of the differences in the life spans between the humans and the Jaffa. Sometimes there were advantages to being a Jaffa.

Jack O'Neill looked down at his plate. It was okay, but it just wasn't the best spaghetti he had ever eaten. His mom made better. Not for the first time he wondered about his parents, why hadn't they come to get him yet. Jack didn't know; when he had woken up there was Teal'c and somehow it felt right.

Teal'c … he liked Teal'c. He talked a bit funny, but he was alright. The big man had said that Jack's parents couldn't take care of him right now, and that Jack was to stay with him for a time. Jack guessed that was okay. All the people here seemed really nice, except for the man from the other day; he scared Jack. A shiver ran up the boy's spine when he thought about it. He didn't know exactly why he didn't like that man, but he didn't.

The boy looked down at his plate again and shook his head. Teal'c really didn't have a good grasp of what foods went together. Besides the spaghetti there was mash potatoes and cooked carrots. YUCK! Any of the items would have been fine in a different combination but to have mash potatoes and cooked carrots with spaghetti was just wrong somehow.

He looked at his tablemates. Two-and-a-half-year-old Daniel was scooping down his food. He had spaghetti sauce all over his face and over half of his Tigger shirt, and was looking extremely pleased, overall. Samantha was being a bit more careful but came up with a milk mustache across her top lip.

Jack shook his head again.

"You're both a mess!"

He stated.

"Am not."

came the instant response from his female counterpart.

"Are too! … Look at his face."

Jack turned to point at the toddler's face. Samantha turned to look at Daniel. She had to agree with Jack, he was a mess. Still the little girl was upset at being lumped in with the toddler.

"Well, I'm not!"

"Are too."

Jack challenged, feeling a game starting.

"AM NOT!"

"Are too!… You're a baby just like him."

"AM NOT!… TAKE IT BACK!"

The little girl was beginning to see red now.

"You gonna make me?!"

challenged the older boy in a low antagonistic voice. Jack could see the anger building beneath that blond hair. Still he egged her on, enjoying it.

Samantha grabbed her spoon filling it with mash potatoes and aimed it at Jack like a weapon.

"Take it back OR…"

She threatened.

"OR WHAT?!"

Jack replied having similarly armed himself with his spoon.

"TAKE IT BACK!!!"

"NO!!"

Jack stuck his tongue out at her. That was it! Samantha couldn't hold in her temper any longer. She let her missile fly in retaliation, hitting Jack in the chest. Jack shot his weapon hitting the little girl in the arm as she ducked. A grin of delight spreading across Jack's face as the food started to fly back and forth.

He narrowly missed the carrots that came flying his way. Samantha ducked again from his flying potatoes. Daniel, not wanting to be left out, was picking up handfuls of spaghetti and throwing them at the other two. A carrot hit Jack in the nose, spaghetti splattered across Sam's neck, Daniel got hit by potatoes across one cheek. Giggles and laughter replaced the anger as the food flew all over the table.

General Hammond and General Carter approached the Cafeteria door just as Teal'c was turning to go check on the commotion. The sight that greeted them was total chaos. All three children were winging food and grinning from ear to ear.

Shock at the misbehavior of his charges showed in the big Jaffa's face. He was about to shout for order when a hand came and rested on his shoulder, startling him.

"Let me"

said the soft voice of Jacob Carter. The older man took a deep breath and then bellowed loudly, the parental sound of disapproval and impending retribution evident in his tone.

"SAMANTHA CARTER!"

The table in the Cafeteria grew instantly silent as one small girl froze at the sound of her name by the familiar voice of her father. The other two children stopped as well, recognizing the authority that resounded in the tone. Samantha was afraid to turn and look at her father, she knew they had been very bad, throwing food.

"I still got it."

Jacob Carter said softly under his breath to General Hammond, right before he strode toward the children's table. Teal'c just raised an eyebrow at the statement. There was no anger in Jacob's whisper, instead there was delight. Teal'c found that a bit strange considering how his daughter, along with the rest of SG-1, had been acting.

"Now, what exactly do you think you're doing?!"

Jacob said, his tone stern as he looked down at his small daughter. He was glad that George had broken down and given him a "heads up" in the hallway. If he didn't see it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed it. But there before him was his daughter, exactly as she had been at five, of course now she was covered with food.

There were a couple of carrots stuck in her blond hair, and mash potatoes and spaghetti not only on her shirt but also on the side of her neck, and …she looked like the best thing he had seen in a long time. He had been cheated out of this age. By the time she was five he was already overseas fighting in the war in Vietnam. She was almost nine by the time he came home.

He looked over at the other two occupants of the table. He took in Jack's reddish-brown hair and freckles with the perpetual look of trouble about him, which was only emphasized by the spattering of food covering the boy's shirt and head. 'You make a cute kid, Jack!' thought Jacob.

He then looked over at Daniel's blond mass of hair and his bright blue eyes that at the moment were wide, looking him over. 'God, what an angel' Jacob thought. That "angel" was in the process of running his spaghetti-covered hands through his blond hair, making a splattering of orange in the yellow.

Every part of Daniel was covered. What spots hadn't been coated from his eating, were finished off from the food fight. Nothing short of a waterhose was going to get it all off now. Jacob had to work hard at keeping the stern look on his face, when all he really wanted to do was grin at those cute little faces.

Daniel, after taking one look at Jacob, brought one of his hands down to his mouth and in went his thumb. Jacob Carter almost laughed. He looked again at his daughter, waiting for an explanation that he knew couldn't possibly exactly explain what the kids were thinking.

"Well?"

He prompted.

"I don't know."

Samantha mumbled, which really meant "I was just having fun." She wasn't looking at him but rather studying the table. 'Oh, how could anyone resist…'

"You KNOW you're not suppose to throw food like that… You know better… You all do."

Her father said making every effort to sound disappointed. His voice a bit softer this time as his look took in Jack and Daniel as well.

"Come on… Look at me…"

The little heads all looked up.

"… Now I want you to promise that you will NOT do that again… and that you will listen to the adults."

"Okay, Daddy."

'Daddy', boy it had been a long time since he had heard that.

Jack turned to look at the tall stranger. 'So this was Sam's dad… well at least one of our parents had showed up… Did that mean she was leaving?' He hoped not, despite what he had said, he liked having her around.

"Jack?"

Jacob asked, snapping Jack out of his thoughts.

"I promise."

Jacob turned to look at the toddler.

"Daniel?"

There was a small nod of the food-covered head.

"Okay, then…"

General Carter continued.

"… let's get you guys cleaned up… Teal'c?"

He turned back toward General Hammond and the large Jaffa.

"… I'll take mine… if you take care of the other two… Do they have some more?…"

Jacob said.

"I'll have some clothes sent down to the shower room."

General Hammond volunteered.

"Come on, Sam."

Jacob said as he ushered his small daughter from the room and toward the showers.

Teal'c looked at the two boys. They were truly a mess. He placed his hands behind his back and said as he strode from the room.

"COME, my children."

Never doubting the two little ones would follow.

After all of SG-1 had departed, General Hammond just looked at the mess in the Cafeteria. It was on the floor, on the tables, on the chairs. He sighed as he prepared to call someone to clean it up.

"THIS is why God made kids cute…"

he mumbled to himself

"… it's so you don't kill them before they reach adulthood."

Dust flew up from the plate as Teal'c tapped his bat on it, preparing for the pitch. Some might have thought the action strange, coming from the large Jaffa, but this is how O'Neill had taught him to play ball. The team had played several games on their various visits to the "Land of Light", where almost always a baseball game with Ryak was played. Teal'c wasn't sure his son enjoyed the game, but he had no doubt he enjoyed playing with his father and O'Neill.

Teal'c raised his eyes to stare down his opponent. The freckled-covered face of the reddish-brown head returned the look with narrowed eyes of his own. Jack prepared to pitch to the big man, concentration and determination written on his face.

There wasn't really a lot of dust in the area, only what had been left on the plate and on the bases that Feretti had gotten, from somewhere. The game was being held in the bases' parking lot. Janet had already informed Jack that sliding on the asphalt was not recommended. Only time would now tell whether her words would be heeded.

Dr. Fraiser had pointed out to the General that the kids needed some fresh air and sunshine to be healthy. He had reluctantly agreed to allow the game, with several restrictions. One being the kids were only allowed deep within the perimeter of the base, and two, there be a heavy guard. Hammond hadn't been in the military this long not to know that sometimes legality wasn't enough to stop certain irreproachable individuals. He wanted his friends protected.

Well, there were high fences around the emptied parking lot and SG-8 and SG-12 had volunteered to stand watch. Besides the on-guard SG teams, there were various adult SGC personnel around including Teal'c, Jacob Carter, Janet Fraiser, Feretti, Siler, and General Hammond.

The baseball teams were broken into Teal'c, Sam, Jacob, and Siler against Jack, Janet, Feretti, and Hammond. All in all the teams were pretty even. Whoever wasn't in the field or at bat at the time had Daniel. It became a ritual for a person returning from batting or running home to come up to the little boy, and say "High Five" and hold up their hand, at which point the blue-eyed toddler would slap the raised hand with his little one, as hard as he could, usually while giggling.

Teal'c swung and his bat contacted lightly with the ball, sending it flying high into the air. Since there were only four people to a team, pop-flies weren't usually fatal to the batter. Janet, playing both short stop and second base, fielded it and got it to Feretti at first, only a split second after Teal'c's feet hit the base. Of course Teal'c wasn't really running full out.

Next up to bat was Sam. Her father brought over a T-ball tee and placed the ball that Jack threw him on it. After swinging at it a couple of times, Samantha managed to send the ball somewhere between 2nd and 3rd. General Hammond scooped it up quickly and lobbed it to Fraiser, who managed to touch 2nd before Teal'c made it there.

"You're out!"

Janet said triumphantly to the large man, who merely gave a half smile and then bowing his head solemnly, exited the field.

Next up was Jacob Carter, who after removing the T-ball tee, settled in at the plate. He connected solidly with Jack's pitch, sending the ball far into where the outfield would normally be. Instead of running directly for first, Jacob made a detour, and grabbed the two-and-a-half-year old to take along for the ride. Daniel was more than willing to join in the fun, which was evident by his laughter all the way to first base.

Meanwhile, Sam was running for all she was worth to 2nd and then with some encouragement from Fraiser, toward 3rd. She was almost to the base when Feretti threw the ball to the General. Teal'c was sure that Feretti's reactions were not quite as fast as before and it looked to him like the General had deliberately slowed his approach. Excitement was beaming from Samantha's face when she finally reached base and was safe.

Siler was up next and he hit Jack's best pitch in a line drive between 1st and 2nd. Jack ran to cover home while 5-year-old Samantha Carter started running for homeplate to score. Jack, for all intense purposes, was blocking the plate as he was waiting for the ball to be thrown to him. This did little to dissuade Sam who barreled into the boy. Both children went down in a tangle of legs and arms. Jack was the first to regain his feet still looking around wildly for the ball.

Jacob Carter, with Daniel now sitting on his shoulders, had just rounded 3rd base, when General Hammond gathered the ball and threw it home to Jack. The ten-year-old got the ball and started to run down Jacob, who had skidded to a stop. He started back toward 3rd when the freckled-faced youth managed to tag the pair.

"OH, NO!… He got us, Daniel."

General Carter said in mock dismay to the toddler on his shoulders.

The small transparent bobbles danced in the cover of the overhang leading from the mountain. They floated there silently, observing all. They were not the only ones observing the game, however.

Several pairs of eyes far up on the mountain, watched the event in the parking lot. They studied the children, then the rest of the ragtag baseball teams, and finally came to rest on the soldiers on-guard, carefully noting their weapons. 'No, now was not the time for the assault. Too many people around, too much firepower, too many witnesses… besides someone might hit the kids. This needed to be done in a low profile manner, no matter how much the situation looked like an opportunity. Patience… Patience was the key.'

Shoosh! Clunk!

The hockey puck flew down the hallway connecting with the far wall. There was the sound of a flurry of activity as several bodies rolled down the hallway after the little black disk. The bigger ones were trying to avoid bulldozing the much smaller, somewhat unsteady, figure that was also skating full-bore trying to retrieve the puck, not wishing for the other side to score.

Plunk!

The puck bounced off another wall at the end of the corridor, missing the goal. The freckled face youngster got to it first, smacking it with his stick. Sending the puck toward his larger teammate. All four bodies scrambled down the corridor in the opposite direction now.

Thud!

The puck hit another one of the walls.

This was the scene that greeted General Hammond as he rounded the corner. He had heard the noise from down the hall so he could tell that caution was in order. Of course on this floor, caution always seemed to be in order. Earlier that day he had almost been mowed down by a certain ten-year-old on a skateboard.

Jack had gotten the treasured item back from the Doctor once Feretti had returned with a protective helmet and pads. The Doctor also had Feretti get some skates and pick up some of Jack's hockey equipment. Needless to say, Jack was now talking to her again.

The General made his way quickly through the playing field, while the action was centered at the other end of the corridor. Once in the relative safety of the children's room, he pulled up a chair next to Cassandra. She was sitting there with Daniel on her lap watching the match. Little Sam Carter decked out with skates, helmet, and pads of her own, was trying to navigate her way, somewhat unsteadily, around the walls of the room. She was still working on that "balance thing".

The General settled in to watch the game. It was Teal'c and Jack against Feretti and Major Griff. Jack's helmeted head weaved in and out of the adults. They all seemed to be having a good time, the puck flying back and forth. 'Well as long as they don't land on the boy' thought the General as the crew all sailed back the opposite direction.

Cassandra had said the score was even. The General was thankful to the teenager. She had really come through looking after the kids, especially with Teal'c and Janet being so busy. That was something he needed to look into, Dr. Janet Fraiser. She was working herself into a frenzy looking for the cause… 'It's not going to help SG-1 if she runs herself into the ground… It's about time to order her to get some sleep.'

Crash! Clunk!

The puck bounced off the nearby doorframe.

'Well maybe this wasn't such a safe place afterall.'

"Sorry, sir"

said a more than slightly sheepish Feretti. The action in the hall paused a moment when the opponents saw how close they had come to nailing their commanding officer.

"That's okay."

Hammond said in a dismissing tone. He had come to the realization a long time ago that nothing in this place was truly safe. Why should this be the exception? But he wondered whether having Daniel and Cassandra sitting near the doorway was such a good idea.

He looked over at the toddler. Daniel's eyes were just slits now as he valiantly tried to fight off sleep. It was time to wrap things up anyway. The kids needed to get to sleep.

A half an hour later, all three children were dressed in their pajamas and were getting ready for bed. The younger two had cartoon characters on the front of their pjs, while Jack had a sports emblem of the Colorado Rockies on his.

The General decided to stay and help Teal'c get the kids settled. He had sent Cassy to the quarters she shared with Janet. Hoping that the teenager would be able to watch some TV and relax a little herself before hitting the bed.

Hammond planned on heading home himself, once he got his friends settled for the night. He sat down on the edge of one of the beds, waiting for everything to quiet down. Samantha climbed up next to him, carrying a thin book. She handed it to him as she snuggled close. A moment later little Daniel crawled up the other side of the bed, clutching a Teddybear and proceeded to settle in so he could see too.

"I take it you want me to read you a story?"

The General said slightly amused at the way the kids had shanghaied him so efficiently.

"Yes"

came the response from the longhaired blond child, as her cohort nodded firmly.

Out of the corner of his eye the General could see Jack hovering nearby. The little boy was wrestling with the problem of being the "big" kid and being too old for such things, and with the need to be little enough to be able to listen too. The General took pity on him, saying...

"Come on… You might as well be up here too."

A smile lit the little boy's face. Well if the General insisted… then it wasn't Jack's idea. The ten-year-old didn't wait for a second invitation and climbed up and snuggled into his CO with the rest of them. Hammond turned his attention to the book.

"Okay… Once upon a time…"

This was the sight that greeted Janet Fraiser when she poked her head into the children's room. All three children were snuggled into the General, getting the needed warmth and reassurance from the older man, as he passionately read them the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. Oh, what she wouldn't have given for a camera right then.

Four silent figures snuck through the hallways of the SGC. The two in front patrolled the corridor for movement with their guns out. Any resistance, any obstacles were to be taken out, anything between them and their objectives.

The latter two pulled a large cargo container behind them for it was a key item in their plan. One of the men on point motioned for the rest to stop, as he peered around the corner and saw the sentries standing outside the door.

It was the early morning hours and most of the SGC were at home or in their quarters tucked safely in their beds. The remainder was either on sentry duty somewhere or performing some critical task such as manning the control room. This meant there were a lot less people to see them in the hallways and to wonder why they were there. But even then the small assault team had to redirect at least five different security cameras with false information, on this floor alone.

The two men on point each brought up their guns, aiming at one of the sentries. Almost simultaneously they pulled the trigger. A soft shoosh was heard as the darts contacted skin. The young man and woman, assigned to guard the room's occupants, knees buckled and were unconscious before they even hit the floor.

After another quick look around, the four approached the now unguarded doorway. The lead man checking to make sure the sentries were truly out. One of the soldiers looked into the room. Yes, there in the room were the small sleeping figures. The four men pulled the cargo container up even with the doorway.

Three of the men quietly disappeared into the room while the fourth began to remove the side of the container. It had a false inner side that was literally covered with packing material. If you didn't know there was a board there, you would have thought the crate only contained already packed artifacts. Once the false side was removed, a large inner space was revealed.

The three men, who had entered the room, let their weapons drop, to be held only by the strap about their shoulders. There was no threat here, only the three sleeping figures. Each man pulled out a syringe filled with a yellow liquid of some kind and measured out a different dose. Then they descended upon the children. Each emptying the contents of his syringe into the tiny arm of his victim.

There were whimpers from both Carter and O'Neill. But the drug took over so quickly that the children never truly had the chance to wake up, before sinking down into a very deep drug-induced sleep. Their captors gathered them up into their arms and carried the sleeping children to the door. They then placed the children in the cargo container, attempting to arrange each child as comfortably as the confined space would allow. They used the children's stuffed animals as pillows; they had no desire to damage their precious cargo. When they were done, two of the men replaced the false sidewall and repositioned the artifacts, before reattaching the exterior wall of the container, effectively sealing their captives in.

They dragged the downed sentries into another room, to prevent alerting anyone who might be passing by. The last thing they did was to make three small bundles in the beds with the spare blankets and toys, being careful to cover their creations with an external blanket. This gave the appearance, at a quick glance that the children were still there, asleep.

Janet Fraiser couldn't sleep. There were still several hours before morning. She knew she should try, the General had all but ordered her to, but something was bothering her. After checking on her daughter, she got dressed, and decided to check on SG-1.

Even though the kids would be fast asleep, she thought checking up on them would ease her mind a bit. She just had this feeling. Janet strode down the corridor on the children's floor. Her sense of alarm began to build when she saw there were no guards outside the children's room. The General had been quite specific that the children were to be protected even inside the facility.

She entered the room in a semi-panic, but her military training made sure she looked around carefully before running straight in. After she was sure there was no one waiting in ambush, her eyes rested on the small bundles in the beds. She relaxed a little. But as she continued to look, her sense of unease began to rise again. Something was wrong with the shape occupying one of the beds. Janet approached cautiously drawing back the covers that revealed a wadded up blanket instead of a child.

She rushed to the wall hitting the alarm button and then grabbed for the phone. The red lights began to flash through the corridor as the sound of the alarm filled the base. She spoke quickly into the phone.

"This is Doctor Fraiser… The children have been taken… Lock down the base."

The four airmen and their large cargo container were at the last checkpoint when the alarm sounded. The paperwork the men carried stated the container of artifacts was destined for Area 51. Overall it was fairly routine. There were a lot of things the SGC found that ended up in Area 51.

At the sound of the alarm, the two sentries at the checkpoint brought up their weapons. They weren't exactly pointing them at the four men but rather at some threat, invisible or otherwise, that might approach.

"Sorry, sirs… you'll have to wait here."

said one of the sentries. Their Sergeant was on the phone now, checking out the situation.

"The mountain is in complete shut down… No movement in or out… You'll have to leave this here…"

the Sergeant said to the airmen, indicating the crate.

"…there are guest quarters on level 17 that you could use until the restriction is lifted, sirs."

"I understand, Sergeant."

said the senior officer of the four. He started to turn as if to leave and then jumped the closest of the sentries. Two of the other airmen attempted the same thing with the second sentry, but the sentry was quicker. He got one of the two attacking him in the leg, while the Sergeant hit the other one in the shoulder, having quickly pulled out his own .45.

The fourth airman now stopped his approach, and raised his hands, as he had a MP-5 pointed straight at his chest by a fairly pissed off soldier. The Sergeant had his gun now pointed straight at the head of the first assailant as the other sentry slowly got back to his feet. He removed the weapons from all four men as the rest of his team kept the airmen covered. Within a couple of minutes, reinforcements arrived and hauled the mysterious soldiers off.

Once they had been taken away, the Sergeant turned to his men.

"Let's see what's so important to get out of here, they'd risk getting shot."

He turned to the cargo container and opened the lid. What greeted his eyes was what he would have expected to see from a normal shipment. There was shipping material containing equipment and artifacts from the various worlds the SGC visited, all supposingly traveling to Area 51 for study.

'Still there had to be something.' He reached down through the loose material and his hand hit something hard about a foot down. 'A box perhaps?' he felt over to find the edges but it extended the length of the container. 'A false bottom!'

With a little more looking, he noticed that one of the container's sides didn't seem to be as firmly connected as the rest. After a couple of seconds of playing with it, he had the side off and found the second false wall. When he removed it, he felt a wave of panic threaten to engulf him at the sight of the small figures. He had been about ready to pass the crate through. He looked up at his men and said.

"Get on the phone… Tell them we found the children!"

The ramp for the car hung suspended, reaching up at least 25 feet into the air. The hill on which it was attached wasn't much of an artificial hill, but it was the best that Siler and his engineer buddies could do on short notice. They had to come up with something after the General had put a moratorium on SG-1's leaving the interior of the mountain.

The kidnapping attempt had scared Hammond and he was taking no further chances. They had found Teal'c unconscious in his quarters. The kidnappers had released a gas canister remotely knocking the Jaffa out. It had been found, tucked in one of the air ducts of Teal'c's room. The General, as an added precaution, had now assigned each child their own personal shadow besides their normal caretaker, who during the day was most likely Cassandra. The airmen hovered nearby at all times.

Jack had spent a lot of time in the last couple of days making a go-cart with Siler in one of the labs. The boy had been greatly disappointed when after they finished, he found he couldn't race it due to the new "no outside" restriction.

Siler's artificial hill was set up in one of the large storage rooms. There was about 500 feet of straight corridor and hallway before it met a wall. The men had placed several mattresses against that wall as a bumper, just in case the car went that far, although it didn't seem likely.

Siler and his friends had made a little platform on the top of the hill for loading and unloading, and at the moment Major Griff and Teal'c were standing on it holding the small go-cart in place as Jack climbed aboard.

The ten-year-old was decked out in the crash helmet Janet had gotten him for the skateboard. His face a combination of extreme excitement and fear as he prepared for the initial journey of his little craft.

A crowd had formed of various base personnel, all waiting to see the race. Siler was the self-appointed official distance measurer. He had a surprise for Jack; he had made a second car. This one was wider and larger than the little boy's, able to hold an adult passenger.

Jack was the only one that could possibly fit in his car, except for Sam, and Dr. Fraiser had forbidden her since she was way too little. Of course the ramp was only one go-cart wide so it would have to be a distance race, but with two go-carts it would still be a race.

When everything was ready, Siler raised his hand.

"Okay, get ready…."

He dropped his arm.

"Go!"

The large men let the go-cart loose and it streaked down the combination metal and wooden incline and shot down the hallway. The little boy leaned forward into the go-cart with both thrill and fear pounding in his chest, fighting to steer. Eventually the go-cart coasted to a stop at least 50 feet short of the mattress-plastered wall.

Siler ran down to the go-cart, helping Jack out.

"Way to go, champ."

He said to the little boy, placing his arms around Jack's shoulders and giving him a quick squeeze.

"Wow, that was great!!"

came an enthusiastic ten-year-old response. Jack's face beaming with pleasure.

"Let's just see how far you went."

Siler said as he started to measure the distance the go-cart had traveled. Meanwhile Feretti and Teal'c began to haul the second vehicle up the ramp. Siler finished by placing a piece of tape next to the sidewall to mark the point where Jack had come to a stop, marking it "Jack 1".

"Okay, we better move your cart so the challenger can try."

He said to Jack. The little boy looked confused until the engineer pointed back toward the ramp. There sat the second go-cart ready to go.

"Well, it wouldn't be much of a race without someone to race against."

The Sergeant added seeing the surprised look on the little face. By this time Griff and Teal'c were holding the second go-cart in place as Feretti climbed aboard as pilot.

General Hammond came down the hall and into the monitor room just as an excuse to get away from his office; fortunately it had been a quiet day. He thought he'd take a peek to see what the children were doing. When he entered the room he found it a bit crowded with the bodies of at least ten men outside of the normal monitoring room staff. They all seemed to be clustered around a couple of the monitors watching.

'Now what?'

"What's going on people?"

He said in a voice that convoyed the message "don't-you-have-something-you-should-be-doing?".

Most of the soldiers looked ready to bolt from the room but their military discipline caused them to come to attention instead. Silence prevailed throughout the room until finally the senior officer present, which in this case was a captain, gulped down some air before answering in a slightly hesitate voice.

"Ah… just watching the races, sir."

'the races?'

General Hammond took a closer look at the monitor only now noting the go-carts and their occupants.

'So that's what Siler needed the materials for…'

The Sergeant had told the General only that it was for Jack when he asked to borrow some of the equipment. Hammond knew that Siler had also gotten a couple of the officers to sign in some lumber that the engineer had brought in. The man had been helping Jack build something but the General hadn't known until now what it was.

Hammond watched as Teal'c and Feretti were hauling Jack's car back up the ramp and Jack climbed aboard. Suddenly he remembered the rest of the men around him, still at attention from his entrance.

"As you were, people."

He said and the majority of them relaxed and continued to watch the remainder of the races with their CO.

In Jack's second race he beat his previous mark and most definitely beat Feretti's, who had come just a few inches short of Jack's distance in the first race.

The second car was again being hauled up the artificial hill and Teal'c crawled aboard just barely fitting. At Siler's signal, Feretti and Griff let go. It sailed down the ramp picking up speed.

Teal'c's eyes were wide at never having experienced this type of phenomena before. The weight of the heavier Jaffa pushed the go-cart farther, sending it past Jack's marks and into the mattress-laidened wall with a crack. Luckily the mattress kept Teal'c from being injured but the sudden stop did manage to damage the front wheels of the go-cart, effectively ending the races for the day.

Teal'c stood studying the boy across from him, seeing the sheer determination in those warm, cocoa brown eyes. They were in the gym and this was O'Neill's first lesson in self-defense.

After the kidnapping attempt the previous day Teal'c felt the more the boy knew, the better. He, Teal'c, would always be there to protect them but if their enemies went so far as to sneak into the SGC, then a little added insurance couldn't be a bad thing. It may give them that extra moment or two to get the kids to safety or allow a rescue party to arrive.

Teal'c was not foolish enough to think the NID, or whoever was behind the raid, would just quit. No… it was more important than ever that O'Neill learn to defend himself and his teammates, especially if they didn't find a way to reverse this.

A feeling of sadness touched the large man's heart as he looked at the ten-year-old. It was almost as if he was forcing the boy to grow up, but then he realized… no, he was not the one taking away the innocence, that had started the other night. All he was doing, as the older O'Neill was fond of saying, was "opening up some options", making sure his friends had a future that had a chance of coming out right.

Teal'c thought about the possibility of having the rest of SG-1 remain children. If that happened he was going to miss his friends, but the idea of having three more children did not scare him. He could think of no other souls for whom he would rather be guardian and protector. If it came to that, he would be honored to raise the SG-1 children and he would do everything to give them the chance to turn out to be the people he knew.

He studied the young boy again. The child's eyes had hardened to a glittering jewel which usually indicated O'Neill was committed to a cause. Teal'c smiled at the youngster.

"That is correct, O'Neill… You must stand this way… It will prevent your attacker from knocking you off your feet."

The boy nodded, gritting his teeth. In some ways the young one was not so different from the adult O'Neill that Teal'c knew so well. The adult O'Neill's first instinct was to protect and defend, but the man also contained a large quantity of warmth and compassion. Qualities he kept well hidden under the military mask, but would rise to the surface when the need arose. And then there were the child-like qualities of the older O'Neill, the ability to play, to joke, to just have fun… abilities from his childhood that had never left him in spite of all the terrible things he had seen in his life. Teal'c vowed that this Jack O'Neill would not lose that part of himself either. No NID person was getting their hands on HIS children, and until they became adults again they were HIS children… and he would treat them as such.

The fact was, all the kids reminded him so much of his adult friends. Their basic personalities still intact in those little bodies, even in tiny Daniel.

Teal'c straighten back up and retrieved two long poles from where they had been leaning against the gym wall. He handed one to Jack. The boy's face changed to one of wide-eyed confusion, his brown eyes becoming soft with wonder once more.

"What's this for?"

The small chestnut head asked, staring at the long pole in his hands.

"It is a means to defend yourself against a much larger and stronger opponent."

'and possibly to defend our other two small friends as well' Teal'c finished the last part silently. He wasn't about to lay the burden of Sam's and Daniel's protection on the ten-year-old. Although Teal'c had no doubt that if the situation were to occur, that is exactly what ten-year-old O'Neill would do. Jack had already proven that even at this tender age he possessed that "defend and protect" quality when he stood up to Samuels in the hallway. Teal'c smiled proudly at the memory. Yes, he would be more than honored to have these three as his children… more than honored.

After a few minutes of working with the boy, he had Jack holding and moving the long stick correctly.

Clunk!… Clunk!

The sound of the two poles could be heard down the hallway as the two partners sparred.

Clunk!… Clunk!

Teal'c smiled again at his freckled-faced friend. Jack was definitely getting the hang of it. A few more sessions and they would be at least somewhat prepared. For if their enemies tried again this little surprise might be needed.

"This is a Jaffa exercise done to train young boys… I have done this many times with my son."

O'Neill dropped his guard for a second as surprise showed in his face. Teal'c's stick hit him firmly, yet not terribly hard, in the chest. It was, however, enough force to knock the young boy off his feet.

"Are you alright, O'Neill?"

came the slightly concerned voice of Teal'c, as he peered down at the boy.

"Yeah… I'm fine."

came the half-disgusted half-embarrassed reply from his partner, as he attempted to swallow the feeling of failure the fall had caused him. A large hand came down to assist him back to his feet. Jack took it.

"You allowed your opponent to distract you… You must concentrate on your task, not on your opponent's words."

was Teal'c's advice after hauling Jack off the ground.

"…We shall begin again."

"Ah, Teal'c."

"Yes, O'Neill"

"…You have a son?"

"Yes, would you like to meet him?… he is only a little older than you."

"Yes… Yes, I would"

"Then I will discuss it with General Hammond…"

Both opponents took up their fighting stances once more.

General Hammond watched from the hallway, not wishing to disturb the scene in front of him. He was sure now that he had made the right decision in pushing for Teal'c's guardianship of the kids. He would make a good father if the need arose. The General watched only a few minutes more before he had to leave to attend to the many other demands of his office. As he walked down the hallway, little transparent bobbles followed silently behind.

Little Daniel Jackson had a wide grin on his face as he sat soaking up the sunlight. The sun's rays beamed down on him, warming his skin and lifting his spirit. It was a nice change from the underground in which he and his friends had been living.

He sat on the ground in his bib overall-shorts that Janet had dressed him in that day. They… Teal'c, Jack, Samantha, and himself were off-world visiting with Teal'c's son, Rya'c.

Jack and the older boy had hit it off and had spent at least an hour running across the meadow in some type of game of tag. They had said that he and Samantha couldn't play, that they were too little. Sam was a little mad about that. She never liked it when Jack said she was too small to do something, but try as she might, Jack and Rya'c had excluded her.

Daniel could see the ten-year-old now. He and his new friend were halfway up one of the trees. 'Oh… they were going to get in trouble…'

Daniel didn't care if the big kids ignored him. He was enjoying himself way too much at the moment. A cool breeze blew across him, effectively balancing out the heat generated from the sun on his skin. He was glad to be outside. The ground on which he sat was soft, and moist, and felt so good on his fingers, especially when he squeezed the swishy stuff in his hand or when it oozed up between his bare toes. He kicked his little feet in delight throwing up large gobs of wet gushy mud high into the air and all over him and his partner in crime.

"Hey!… Watch it!"

said the little blond who sat next to him in the mud.

Samantha was busy methodically patting together large handfuls of mud into balls, only to turn around and flatten them back out on her legs. The finished product would then be set aside to dry. She had quite a pile going now. Her first attempts not being her best effort since she had been focused on how mad she was at Jack, and the mud had splattered everywhere with her over-enthusiastic pounding.

Daniel thought about helping her but decided if he was going to make something, he would rather make a monument of some kind… 'maybe a castle… yeah!… maybe later'. The little boy let another large glob of mud gush up between his fingers and his smile widened. 'Oh, that felt so good!'

This was how Jack found him when the older boys approached the pair. Daniel's feet and legs three-quarters of the way up to his knees were coated brown. His hands and arms were also covered to his elbows, as was the entire back of his legs and seat. 'Teal'c was not going to like this.'

Jack looked over at Samantha. She was happily patting out a round mud ball and trying to ignore Jack. The back of the little girl's legs and her shorts were completely covered, as was a good portion of her hands and feet, even the tip of Samantha's ponytail had succumbed to the muck. She wasn't as dirty as Daniel but was a long way from clean.

"You shouldn't be doing that."

came the ten-year-old's advice, using his "I'm-older, I-know" wisdom.

"We're not hurting anyone."

was the defiant response from Samantha, who was still ticked at Jack from earlier.

"… You want to join us?"

she amended sweetly at Jack's revolted look. Somehow Sam was sure that Jack would be right there with them if he hadn't been trying to impress Rya'c.

"No, way!"

He said watching her as she squeezed more mud into a ball. She just shrugged in a "suite yourself" manner.

"…the only way I make that action is for snowballs… and that's with snow!"

He stated firmly, not at all sure he liked being dismissed so completely. He kind of liked the littlier kids looking up to him.

"Snowballs?… What are these Snow… Balls?"

asked Rya'c, confused about what Jack had been going on about. He knew all about snow. There was a lot of snow on Chulak, but what did that have to do with balls?

"Snowballs… you take the snow and squish it together…"

Jack instructed, mimicking the action with his hands as he spoke.

"…and then you throw them at each other… it's fun."

Rya'c didn't look convinced. He had never heard of anyone using snow is such a way.

"It's like this!"

said the little blond girl whose eyes had a mischievous twinkle and whose face carried an evil grin… and whose hand held a mud projectile that was aimed and ready. She let the mudball go, aiming it right at Jack who dived out of the way of the low flying mud. Rya'c, who had been standing behind Jack, did not move and the mud missile hit him square on his chest.

SPLAT!

Several drops of mud flung up on impact and dropped onto the shocked boy's cheek.

Samantha held her breath, not knowing how the older boy would react. He looked confused as his brain tried to interpret what had just happened. Finally he spoke.

"THIS is FUN?!… This SNOW BALLS?!"

Rya'c stated at full volume, eyeing Jack dangerously. His voice making it very clear that "this" was anything but fun.

"Well, no… like I said you use snow…"

The ten-year-old answered trying to calm the older boy down. He swung his head around to glare at Samantha. His look promising retribution later and his voice changing to an ugly tone with an implied threat.

"… and it only tends to be fun when you're the one throwing…"

Jack finished, still glaring at Sam.

"As so?!"

answered Rya'c who had scooped up some of the mud while Jack had been glaring at the five-year-old. The mudball hit Jack right in his stomach, splattering across his lower chest.

Jack gritted his teeth as he shook off the muck.

"Yeah… like that."

He mumbled, a bit surprised at the older boy's actions. He decided that it was time to loosen up. If that's the way they wanted to play, he would oblige them. Jack reached down to grab some mud, the worry of making a good impression on the now grinning Rya'c no longer a concern.

Jack nailed Rya'c and then Sam with mudballs. Samantha in the meantime had managed to hit Jack, giving her a very satisfied feeling. Daniel sat there watching as mudballs flew over his head, his smile just increasing.

"What is happening…"

came another voice.

SPLAT!

Rya'c had dodged to one side and the mud projectile that had been hurled at him struck the chest of the voice's owner. All four kids froze. It was Sotaine, a pretty woman from the village who had spoken. She had agreed to keep an eye on things while Teal'c was having a private word with his wife Drey'ac.

The kids eyed the woman warily, not sure what to expect next. Each one was sure they were now in a large amount of trouble.

The woman took a moment to recover from the mud assault. She struggled to form a rational question.

"What?… WHAT IS THIS ACTIVITY?"

she finally spat out, her voice a bit higher than normal from emotion.

Rya'c swallowed hard and stepped up in front of the young woman. He knew her. She was not only a prominent member of their adopted village but also a friend of his mother's.

"Jack was showing me a Tau'ri ritual called Mudballs… You were not meant to be hit… apologies."

He said bowing his head as he finished.

"That's snowballs…"

Jack mumbled out of the side of his mouth to Rya'c.

Rya'c continued ignoring Jack.

"… It is a way that young warriors prepare for battle… a contest."

Jack's eyebrows raised at this but he said nothing. The woman seemed to be accepting Rya'c's explanation. Jack stole a look at Sam. The little girl looked like she was more than willing to let the older boys handle it, and was trying unsuccessfully to be swallowed up by the earth. Jack glanced in Daniel's direction. The two-and-half-year-old was sitting watching wide-eyed, and having rubbed his dirty thumb on possibly the only clean spot on his clothes, now had it firmly placed in his mouth.

"A contest?"

Sotaine asked in disbelief, attempting to come to grips with this new information.

Rya'c nodded affirmative.

She attempted to understand this. The Tau'ri were highly respected in the Land of Light and while they insisted they were not Gods… they were as close as Sotaine and her people had ever met. Their ways, no matter how strange, must be respected. If this was an honored Tau'ri tradition… who was she to question it. She was still standing there thinking, when several more people of her village approached.

Teal'c and Drey'ac could hear the commotion in the meadow from a long distance off. They had gone for a private walk through the woods to discuss matters. Teal'c had explained about the changes to his friends and his guardianship. Although Drey'ac had been curious about the children, she had no idea they were really people she knew. Her husband said this guardianship was most likely temporary, but she couldn't help but feel this involved her too. She was his wife, and as such she felt some of the responsibility for the children's welfare should fall to her. Drey'ac just wasn't sure she was ready for three more children. It was a bit of a shock.

As the clearing came into sight, both Teal'c and Drey'ac stopped to stare at the sight that greeted them. Almost a dozen people from the village were running through the meadow… laughing and giggling… and throwing mud. Teal'c turned slowly to Drey'ac.

"I must take my leave…"

He glanced back at the mud battle, knowing somehow his charges were responsible.

"…NOW!"

Drey'ac nodded in understanding, wishing to get her son out of the middle of the mayhem.

"I will send Rya'c to you…"

He said touching her face in farewell before striding across the messy battlefield. He could see the children in the middle of the ruckus. Each one throwing mud at adult and child alike and loving every moment of it.

The large Jaffa made his way across the meadow dodging the occasional mud volley that came his direction. He finally approached the two older boys, who he noticed sobered when he came near.

"What is occurring… Rya'c … O'Neill?"

Teal'c ducked his head quickly to miss the mudball that came sailing over his left shoulder.

Rya'c straightened, raising his head to talk to his father, his stance as proud as Teal'c's.

"Jack was explaining about Mudballs, father."

"Snowballs…"

muttered Jack.

"…and Samantha demonstrated…"

The little girl in question quickly became very, very interested in the ground and her toes in general as Teal'c glanced in her direction.

"I see."

But that still didn't answer how Tupelo's people had gotten involved.

"… and when explaining our actions to Sotaine… they decided to try it for themselves."

Rya'c said ending in a shrug.

Teal'c jerked his body quickly right, and then left, as two more mud missiles came sailing his way.

"We must depart…"

Teal'c stated. He placed his hand on his son's shoulder, taking in one last moment with the boy.

"…I will see you soon, my son."

"Yes, father."

answered Rya'c his eyes shining as he looked at his father in pride.

"…Now go quickly to your mother."

Teal'c finished pointing to a lone figure at the edge of the field. After another glance the boy was gone, hurrying across the field. Teal'c ducked once more to avoid the flying mud and started to herd the SGC little ones toward the gate.

The sirens wailed in the gateroom as the large metal disk spun, locking the incoming address in place. Within seconds of the wormhole being established, SG-1's code was received and the Iris was opened.

A minute after that, SG-1 stepped through the event horizon, or at least two of them did. The other two were being carried by their guardian.

The General surveyed the crew in front of him. Ten-year-old Jack O'Neill stood on the ramp looking a bit apprehensive in his mud-splattered clothes, but he was nothing compared to the messes that were Daniel and Sam. Both of the smaller children were covered from head to toe in the brown muck.

Teal'c was holding the pair at arm's length, out to his sides in mid-air one in each hand, not wanting any part of the filthy bundles to touch him. Daniel was being held up by the back of his overall suspenders and Samantha by the belt at her waist. Both of the children just hung there without making a fuss, knowing that sooner or later Teal'c would put them down.

The General didn't know how Teal'c had done it, but from where Hammond stood he couldn't see a drop of mud on the large Jaffa. A considerable feat if the appearance of his companions was any indication. The General struggled to keep a straight face. Teal'c looked anything but happy.

"I take it… it has rained recently in the Land of Light."

the General finally managed.

"Indeed!"

was the only response he received.

At that moment Doctor Fraiser arrived in the gateroom, having heard that SG-1 had returned.

"OH, my!"

was all that came out of her mouth as she caught sight of the children.

"Oh, Doctor… I'm glad you're here… Teal'c's help is needed by SG-12 in translating their latest find so if you could…"

The General said in a voice that implied "this-was-an-everyday-occurrence" but his amused face was saying "you-said-the-kids-needed-fresh-air-and-sunshine,-so-you-can-clean-them-up."

Janet Fraiser swallowed the reply she wanted to make and uttered a very depressed.

"Yes, sir."

Teal'c slowly lowered the two littlest of SG-1 to the floor in front of her.

"Come on, you."

She said as she ushered the three mud-splattered bodies from the room.

"Now, Teal'c…"

The General began only to be interrupted by a loud

SPLAT!

A mudball had come sailing through the still open wormhole, and had impacted on the side/back of Teal'c's head. The mud was now sliding down the side of his face as it made a small channel running ever so slowly down and then into the collar of his shirt.

The General turned to the control room and said in a low calm voice.

"Close the Iris."

Behind them the Iris spun shut and a second later the wormhole disengaged.

"General… I regret to inform you that the people of the Land of Light now believe that mudball fights are an honored Tau'ri tradition…"

Teal'c said as he stood there with mud still dripping off him.

Hammond bit the inside of his lip. He was trying his best not to laugh, but his upper lip quivered a bit. He didn't think it would be advisable to laugh at the large Jaffa right now… it might not be healthy considering the look on Teal'c's face.

"Teal'c … why don't you…"

He said keeping his voice controlled.

"I will be with you momentarily, General Hammond."

And with that the large man left the room, in that noble and solemn stance of his. The General let loose the grin he had been holding back as soon as Teal'c was gone. 'Some days this could be a hell of a command.'

The sound of wood hitting wood echoed down the hallway indicating a fierce battle. The children were in the middle of some kind of make-believe game. Sergeant Siler had made three pretend swords out of some scrap lumber and Cassandra had fashioned some eye patches from black construction paper and elastic string.

The eye patches were being sported by both Daniel and Sam, although not by Jack. Right now Sam and Jack were in the middle of a vicious sword fight, battling to a pretend death. Daniel was swinging his sword on friend and foe, not quite having caught onto the rules yet.

In the heat of the battle, a tall lone figure appeared in the doorway of the room.

"Is this a private party… or can anyone play?"

Three little heads turned toward the voice.

"Daddy!"

came the excited call from Samantha as she rushed to her father.

"I had some time today, so I thought I'd come see how my little one was."

He said picking up his five-year-old and holding her in his arms.

"Cassandra…"

Jacob turned addressing the young teenage girl who was sitting watching across the room. He held out his hand to her.

"…I don't know if we have ever met… I'm Sam's dad… Jacob Carter."

Cassandra approached and reached out to shake his hand. Her hand had only contacted his for a second before she pulled free, recoiling, terror showing on the young girl's face.

'Oh, that's right… Sam told me..'

"It's okay, honey… I'm a Tok'ra, not a Goa'uld."

Cassandra didn't look convinced as she backed herself into a corner. At least she hadn't run screaming from the room. Jacob figured his acceptance by the children was helping. Still he didn't like the look she was giving him, but considering what the Goa'uld had done to her he guessed it was understandable.

Jacob called over his shoulder to one of the soldiers.

"Airman, could you page Dr. Fraiser to come down here, please… and tell her that it's not an emergency or anything."

He didn't want the SGC's redheaded doctor running in, in a full panic, thinking there was some kind of accident. Jacob's attention returned to the kids.

"So…"

He began looking into his daughter's little face.

"…what were you guys playing?"

His eyes taking in the fake eye patches and wooden swords.

"Well, I'm the 'Dread Pirate Roberts'!"

announced Samantha in a proud voice.

"Oh…"

Her father said as he looked at the other two kids, locking eyes with Jack.

"…and Jack… You're the Prince?"

The ten-year-old made a face at the very suggestion.

"I'm the Admiral of the Sea!"

He announced, bringing up his wooden sword, looking for invisible enemies.

'Don't let George hear you went Navy.'

thought Jacob with a smirk. He glanced at the blond two-year-old.

"And Daniel?"

"He's my Spaniard"

said Sam as he set her once again on her feet.

"So why the patch?"

Her father asked taking another look at Daniel's fake eye patch.

"He wanted one."

said the little girl with a shrug. Daniel grinned up at General Carter, pointing his wooden sword at the man.

"I take it you saw a movie last night?"

Jacob Carter asked, heads nodded in acknowledgement.

"Cassy brought it."

"That was nice of her, wasn't it?… Can I play?"

He asked. He was going to enjoy this; he was always gone on military business when his kids had been little. He hadn't got to play with them much; now he was going to make up for lost time.

"He has to be on my side…"

stated Jack. Sam began to look a bit mad.

"… you already have Daniel on yours."

He finished.

"Come on, honey… Jack's right, it's only fair."

said Samantha's father.

"Okay…"

She finally mumbled.

"Good girl."

Jacob gave her a quick hug.

"You'll be my giant."

Jack said authoritatively.

"Aye, Aye, sir."

Jacob replied, cracking a fake salute. He then began to look around for something to use as a pretend sword

Through all this Cassandra huddled in the corner. She wasn't sure how to get the kids away from the man. She wasn't sure she even should, the soldiers didn't look concerned, still he was Goa'uld. She could sense it. Yet he wasn't acting like a Goa'uld. What had he said "Tok'ra"?

General Carter was still searching for a pretend sword substitute when Janet arrived.

"I was told I was needed."

She said looking around the room. 'No one appeared to be injured?' Then Janet's eyes rested on Cassy. She saw the pale panic-stricken look of the teenager.

"Oh…"

she said her voice dropping in tone as she realized the situation.

"I thought it best if you explained things"

said General Carter. Janet crossed over to her daughter enveloping the girl in her arms. Cassandra was shaking in relief.

"Oh, baby… it's alright… he won't hurt anyone, he's a friend."

"He's a Goa'uld."

Cassandra said so softly that it was almost hard for Janet to even hear her. Cassy's eyes never left Jacob.

"No, honey… He's not a Goa'uld… He's a Tok'ra… Come on."

With her body still sheltering the petrified teenager, Janet began to lead Cassandra from the room.

"General… You'll be alright with this crew?"

She asked Jacob.

"Yeah, we're fine."

"Janet!"

Cassandra started softly, concern for her three friends in her voice.

"It's okay Cassy… really it is."

Janet soothed. Cassy took one last look at the man, hoping that Janet was right and it really was okay.

Minister Konneth had watched the whole scene from the monitor room. He had been watching the children when Jacob Carter had arrived, and now intense curiosity had built up in him.

The Olocins, in particular Minister Konneth, had come to visit the children every day since their first meeting. Sometimes he would interact with the children, and sometimes he just wanted to watch. He was of the opinion the children acted differently when he was in the room than when he wasn't. He was right in that respect, any parent could have told him that kids act differently in the midst of company.

There had been only one incident since the Olocins began their daily visits, that being when Minister Konneth had arrived on the children's floor in the midst of a play battle between Teal'c and Jack. The Minister's outfit had been covered with a coating of disappearing ink from one of the squirt guns. Konneth didn't seem to be upset by the fact and had insisted that they continue with their game, but the disapproving look that General Hammond gave killed most of the fun in it.

Konneth had his SGC escort, who this day was Major Feretti, usher him down to where Jacob was still playing with the children. Konneth needed to see this for himself. Since it was evident that the Olocin was interested in General Carter, Feretti introduced him.

"Minister Konneth… this is General Carter."

"Hello"

said Jacob to the pearl-skinned newcomer. Minister Konneth continued to stare at Jacob.

"You are Tok'ra?"

The Minister said, curiously.

"Yes."

Samantha's father answered a bit confused at Konneth's interest. He had been told that the Olocin's despised the Tok'ra. He felt a small hand pulling on his outfit.

"Daddy, Daddy…Come play with me."

Jacob had been right in the middle of helping his daughter with a puzzle when Minister Konneth had arrived. They were all a bit tired from playing pirates and Sam and Jack were now resting up with some less active pursuits while Daniel was napping. Sam apparently didn't appreciate the interruption.

"In a minute, Sammy… Right now we have to talk to these nice men."

He reached down and picked up the girl. She nestled her head against his shoulder as she looked at the Olocin Minister.

"Konneth."

She said. When the small man nodded, Jacob realized his daughter had met the man before. Of course, he should have realized, the Olocin were fascinated with the children, they would have visited.

"I take it you have met my daughter, Sam."

Jacob said. The Olocin looked a bit curious at Jacob's statement, confirming his relationship with the child.

"I thought Tok'ra did not?…"

Konneth waved a small hand at Samantha, who wanting to direct things back toward playing said...

"We're putting together a puzzle… Wanna see?"

Jacob Carter looked over at the Olocin Minister and then back at his daughter, hesitating in his decision. Finally he turned to Feretti.

"Major… Please page Teal'c."

"Yes, sir… General."

And with that Feretti turned quickly and left the room. Jacob became attentive to their Olocin guest once more.

"Minister… I would be more than glad to answer your questions… but it must be a little later…"

His hand waved indicating the direction that Feretti had taken.

"… in the meantime… How are you at puzzles?"

and he ushered Konneth toward his daughter's masterpiece.

A half-hour later Feretti had returned.

"Sir…"

He began, standing somewhat at parade rest with his hands behind his back.

"… it could be sometime until Teal'c is free but if I could be of some assistance?"

Feretti's head swiveled in the direction of Sam who was working on another puzzle and Jack who was underneath a makeshift tent, one the kids had built using various blankets. He was trying to lay out a race track for Hot Wheels cars.

Jacob looked again at the children and then at the Major. He really didn't want to keep the Minister waiting any longer. He would have called Cassandra but decided he had traumatized the youngster enough for today. Feretti's offer seemed the best solution all around.

"I'd appreciate that, Major…"

Carter said with a smile.

"… if you could watch over…"

"No problem, sir."

Jacob turned back to Minister Konneth.

"After you, Minister"

Jacob's body language indicated there is nothing he would rather do than attend to the Olocin as he led the smaller man from the room.

Feretti turned back to his charges. Sam looked like she was ready to cry. She sat absolutely still over her puzzle, head down, bottom lip out.

The Major slid up next to the child, hoping he could bring some cheer to her tiny soul. Sam was use to her father leaving. She knew better than to make a fuss. But that didn't stop her from feeling terrible when he did.

"Hi"

Feretti said gently to Sam's blond head.

Sam raised her head for a moment to look at him, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Hi"

she answered back before lowering her head again.

Jack having emerged from under the blanket-tent, came over to check out what the other two were doing. It was the first time today he would have the chance to talk to Feretti.

"You're crying."

Jack said noticing Sam's eyes.

"I'm not crying"

came a defensive reply. No tears had spilled from her eyes, at least not yet.

"Yes, you are… because your dad left!"

A small burst of anger shot through the little boy. At least her parent had showed up, she didn't have any right to cry, that was more than his parents had done.

Feretti looked over at Jack with disapproval on his face.

"Hey, give her a break… okay."

The freckled face ten-year-old attempted to rein in his anger. It wasn't Samantha's fault his folks hadn't come. He liked it here okay, but guessed if his parents had come only to leave again, maybe he would feel the same as Sam.

"Besides…"

said Feretti.

"…she is to be my next victim…"

He finished in an evil villain-type voice, bring both his hands up as claws.

"…I'm going to tickle her to death… HA! HA!"

His voice was filled with mock villain over-dramatics. He lowered his hands and began to tickle the sad little girl until Samantha couldn't help but smile and giggle.

"Stop!… Stop!… Jack help!"

she cried through the giggles.

Jack jumped to her aid and began to tickle Feretti.

"OH, yeah… I'll get you too."

threatened Feretti, now aiming his tickling fingers toward Jack. Soon the little boy was giggling as well. Both Samantha and Jack were thoroughly enjoying double teaming the Major, who had to admit he hadn't had this much fun in years.

Samantha in the middle of the battle grabbed a pillow off her bed and hit Feretti with it.

"Up-ing the anti, are we?"

he replied to the little blond. Grinning evilly he grabbed for a pillow of his own, and Jack not wanting to be left out, did likewise.

Soon the soft weapons were being swung around hitting indiscriminately, as giggles and laughter filled the room. In the midst of the action Daniel sat up in bed, the activity having awakened him. His sleepy little eyes tried to focus and follow the action… left, right, back, and forth… as the pillows pummeled the participates.

Teal'c stood in the doorway watching the scene in front of him. Was this another of the Tau'ri rituals that he didn't understand? The children seemed to be really enjoying themselves, as was the Major, only little Daniel looked a bit confused in his semi-conscious state.

About that time Feretti noticed Teal'c standing there and pointed him out to Jack.

"Get him!"

came the rallying cry from the ten-year-old as he and Sam rushed their guardian.

Pow! Pow!

The soft missiles hit Teal'c's legs, the giggles began to increase in volume.

Pow! Pow!

Another couple strikes from the soft material hit Teal'c's stomach and chest. Sam and Jack were swinging their weapons with all their strength. In the middle of the attack, Teal'c gather both Jack and Samantha around their waists and then lifted them off the ground until each one was dangling horizontal from one of his massive arms.

"Hey, that's not fair"

came the brownish-redhead's response.

"I am unarmed… you would attack me in this way?"

Teal'c asked with curiosity as he walked his charges back toward the beds.

"Yeah, that's the general idea."

Jack admitted, thinking that was probably their best chance at winning.

"Let us see how well you do… when I am armed."

Teal'c countered, setting both children back on their feet and grabbing a pillow of his own… and the battle, and giggles began again.

Jacob Carter sat around the briefing table in the General Hammond's conference room. His five-year-old daughter was asleep on his lap.

Sam had been a bit possessive after her father left to talk to Konneth. Now she didn't seem to want him out of her sight. Jacob decided that was fine for the time being; he had been given the Tok'ra equivalent of leave for the next week or so. Hopefully that would be enough time to get this situation resolved, but until then he was going to enjoy having a tiny daughter again. How many parents ever got to live this age over again, not one. He was luckier than any of them. He hugged the sleeping child a little closer, looking down at her affectionately.

George Hammond looked over at his friend. He was happy for him. But it was just a matter of time before some problem would raise its head that required Major Carter's or Dr. Jackson's help. This situation needed to be fixed. Still there was no denying the delight in Jacob's eyes. The chance to make up for lost time. They both knew it wouldn't last. Even if they couldn't change SG-1 back, Jacob would still be forced to leave his small daughter yet again. Jacob and Selmak were simply too important to the Tok'ra war effort for him to take an unlimited leave of absence. They would just have to deal with that, if and when it happened.

On seeing Jacob's reaction, George felt a little guilty. He had not informed Daniel's grandfather Nickolas Ballard. He could have sent a team to retrieve him from the planet. That is, the General felt "a little" guilty; as far as Hammond was concern the man didn't really have "the right".

Sorry or not, Daniel had been abandoned as a child by his only relative, his grandfather, for the man's self-serving reasons. He had left the child in the care and at the mercy of strangers. Being a grandfather himself, the General would never understand. The man had abandoned not only his own blood but also one of the gentlest souls that Hammond had ever met. This was not something he could forgive, maybe Daniel could, but George knew the rest of SG-1 was with him on this. If they couldn't change the kids back maybe then he would notify Ballard, maybe. But it wasn't that time yet and Hammond had no intention of putting the child in the old man's care.

Jacob had spent a couple of hours speaking to Minister Konneth. He explained that the Tok'ra did not have children because the passing on of the genetic memory would be too large of a burden for a child, besides making them a prime target for the System Lords. They just didn't feel it was right or fair. He tried to explain that the host sometimes would have families before they were joined and became a member of the Tok'ra, and that such was the case for him.

Konneth was both amazed and shocked at this knowledge. He seemed to think this was very important somehow. He even appeared to be somewhat relaxed in Jacob's presence, something no one had seen any Olocin be when a Tok'ra was around. This fact cheered General Hammond more than any other. There had been many problems with the summit and most were due to the Olocins' dislike of the Tok'ra.

After Minister Konneth had finished talking with Jacob, he had gone back to his daily observation of the children. In the midst of this he became obsessed with one corner of the children's room, next to the ceiling. After a few minutes he approached the SGC's commanding officer and demanded to be sent home, immediately.

The General hoped that something they, or the SGC children, had done had not further decayed their already fragile relationship with the Olocins. The Minister had a strange mixture of anger and excitement on his face as he left, like he couldn't decide which emotion to chose.

Now everything was quiet again. Hammond looked over at Jacob and Samantha, and smiled. They looked so right together. He glanced at the Major and at the innocence in her tiny face. He sighed.

He thought again about the kids' mud adventure in the Land of the Light. Dr. Fraiser had been right about the kids needing some exposure to the outside. They needed to run and play in the warm summer breeze. It wasn't healthy for them to be inside all the time, unfortunately it wasn't safe to let them out. Not for the first time the General contemplated that it might be safer to send the SGC's little ones periodically to another planet to play, rather than letting them out on the surface of their own world. Somehow that made the world a much sadder place.

It was about time to hit the bed. Jacob was going to sack out in the VIP room and General Hammond had decided to stay in his quarters on the base. The two men got up to leave; each having enjoyed the other's company.

"Well Jacob… I guess I'll call it a night."

"See you tomorrow, George."

And with that General Carter started out carrying the sleeping Samantha toward the children's quarters, to tuck his daughter in.

The next morning the gate spun to life early. They received the Tok'ra IDC and Hammond opened the Iris. From the open wormhole walked not only Grand Counsel Garshaw but also Crenth, the Supreme Leader of the Olocins, Minister Konneth, and another distinguished looking Olocin minister. Garshaw approached General Hammond, a smile on her face.

"General Hammond… Supreme Leader Crenth thinks he might have a solution to SG-1's problem."

Hammond felt his eyebrows rise in hopeful surprise. He turned to look at Crenth.

"Many apologies… General Hammond."

The small pearl skinned man said with sadness in his voice.

"We're responsible…SG-1's condition."

General Hammond looked from Crenth to Garshaw, his face becoming a mask of confusion.

"I don't understand."

"Before… not know the cause… can not fix… Now know… can reverse."

The small Olocin leader continued.

"You can change SG-1 back to their previous adult state?!"

The General asked.

"Yes"

"Well, Alright!"

That was the best news he had heard all day, a smile lit up his face. After a second, all of the information the Supreme Leader had just said finally registered. He turned back to look at the man again.

"You said you were responsible for SG-1 being changed…"

The General couldn't believe that Crenth would have done this on purpose, the man seemed so remorseful.

"Yes… just found out."

"How?"

"Our young…"

The Olocin leader answered.

"Your children are responsible?"

The General asked unsure if he had heard him right. SG-4 had told him that the Olocins didn't seem to have children.

"Yes… they heard stories… SG-1… of childhood, wished to see, so…"

"So they changed them into children?"

"Yes… many apologies… We fix."

Crenth was motioning with his whole arm toward the gateroom exit, apparently eager to put things right.

Doctor Fraiser stood talking to the General, the Olocin Ruler, and his ministers as well as the Tok'ra representative and Teal'c, all who were standing in the middle of her infirmary.

"Well, I just want to know what to expect… How exactly are you going to change them back?… and more importantly, is it dangerous?"

"Not dangerous… hard to explain…"

began Minister Konneth after receiving a nod from his Supreme Leader.

"…We…"

he indicated the Olocins.

"…are not born in this form…"

now he was pointing at his chest.

"…only later can we hold this form."

He looked expectantly at them, trying to see if they were following him.

"You don't have bodies when you're born?"

stated Fraiser looking for confirmation.

"Yes… our young can not hold shape… only on maturing are we as you see… We have many small bodies that we shape into one."

"Small bodies?…"

The Doctor looked confused again. Teal'c stood there thinking hard.

"… I saw no one that night…"

He stated in the midst of his thoughts.

"Our young are everywhere… floating in the air."

"The little bobbles of light and color"

said Teal'c, his eyes growing brighter as he began to put two and two together.

"You told SG-1 that was just part of the atmosphere of Solest."

The General said a bit accusingly.

"Yes… we did not trust… were protecting… Bring Jack, Sam, Dan'l… We fix"

acknowledged Crenth.

Teal'c at a nod from Hammond, turned to leave and retrieve the children. He was halfway down the corridor when sudden insight struck Dr. Fraiser and she rushed to catch up with him.

"Teal'c!…"

He stopped and turned to look at her, an eyebrow raising in an inquiring glance.

"…We need to make another stop first."

She said and began to lead him in a slightly different direction.

Ten minutes later Teal'c, Fraiser, and General Carter showed up at the infirmary. Each was carrying one of the SG-1 children. All three kids had been dressed only in long Abydian style robes, which were way too large for their small bodies.

The robes were Doctor Fraiser's idea. She had realized that clothes would be a problem when they changed from child to adult. At least this way the members of SG-1 should be able to reenter the adult world with some dignity.

"Okay, sir… We're ready."

Janet announced.

"Supreme Leader?"

General Hammond prompted, wondering how to proceed.

"We must lose shape… Please Jack here… then rest, one by one"

said Minister Konneth. The Olocin indicated a place in the center of the room.

Teal'c stepped forward with Jack, placing the boy on his feet. He looked down at the youthful face, putting it firmly in his memory. Jack was starting to look very anxious, not at all sure what was happening just that it was very important to the adults, and involved him and the other kids. His bottom lip quivered a little. Teal'c looked down into his soft brown eyes, Teal'c's own eyes shining.

"Courage, O'Neill."

The large man said, smiling at the little boy. Jack set his jaw and swallowed nervously, preparing himself as Teal'c backed away.

The three Olocins spread out about 5 feet apart, and seemed after a moment to defocus somehow. Their bodies becoming less and less defined, until the air where they had stood was filled with hundreds of brilliant bobbles of jewel-toned light, all glowing and colorful.

The mass of little bobbles slowly moved, stopping when they were hovering over the little boy. Then gracefully they dropping down to surround the child, spinning and glowing more vibrantly than before.

After a few minutes they ascended back toward the ceiling. In place of the freckled-face youth stood the graying middle-aged Colonel, looking much as he had the week before. A look of confusion clear on his face as he spun around in place trying to get his bearings. He raised one hand toward his head as he began to ask.

"Weren't we just?…"

The lines on his forehead creasing as he tried to puzzle through this new situation.

"Not, now, Colonel… I'll explain, later."

The General interrupted him.

"Over here, O'Neill."

Teal'c called, effectively leading his friend from the center of the room. Jack was still mighty confused as he stood beside Teal'c, just then noticing the floor length robe he was wearing as well as realizing why he felt a draft.

Jacob Carter walked over and placed tiny Samantha in the center of the room, in Jack's previous position. The little girl was looking more than a bit frightened. She had just seen her friend disappear to be replaced by a large man. Her father leaned down and lifted her small chin, looking directly into her eyes, his eyes smiling.

"Now remember… You are very brave."

He said in a soft yet reassuring voice before he too retreated leaving her there. Jack just stared at the scene. 'What are they doing?… Who is this cute little girl?'… his natural love for children starting to kick in as his face softened looking at the child.

"Who is?…"

He began when Teal'c cut him off.

"Just watch, O'Neill… and all will become clear to you."

Teal'c, still grinning at Jack, turned to drink-in one last look at tiny Samantha. Her hair once again cascading down her back having been released from the ponytail.

Within moments the brilliant light bobbles descend once more, surrounding the little girl. They began to spin violently and glow.

Jacob Carter sighed as he watched the process. He was going to miss his little girl, yet having his grown daughter back would be nice too. When the glowing lights lifted, there stood Major Carter looking dazed and confused, complete with her military short haircut again. She took in the audience and caught sight of her father, questions building in her brain.

"What?!… Dad?…what are you doing here?…"

"Ssh… Sammy it's okay."

Her father soothed, indicating with a motion of his hand that she should join him.

Jack just looked wide-eyed at Sam and at where the little blond child had been, and at the robe she was wearing.

"Does that mean that I?…"

He began as he started to put the pieces together, only to be cut off by the very patient and slightly amused voice of Teal'c.

"Yes, O'Neill."

The large Jaffa's eyes and edges of his mouth showed his amusement. O'Neill's attention returned to the other occupants of the room. His eyes settling on the small boy in Janet's arms. 'Oh… what a adorable little boy… If the small girl was Sam, and I had been… that must mean the boy was…'

Jack let his thoughts trail off as he watched the toddler being placed on the floor. Dr. Fraiser gave the toddler one last hug, squeezing him to her and then gently kissed his forehead as she placed him on his feet. She arranged the robe so that he wouldn't step on it.

"You stay right here, Daniel… Don't move…"

She touched his cheek.

"… You're a good boy."

She said and then added 'and I'm going to miss you' to herself, as she backed away from the toddler.

The little boy lifted his head so that his big blue eyes watched the tiny bobbles descend. His thumb came up and went into his mouth in the process.

Once again the light bobbles began to spin and glow, covering and surrounding the child. When they lifted instead of the 2-foot tall child there stood the 6-foot archeologist, with his thumb still in his mouth.

It took Daniel a couple of seconds to realize that his surroundings had changed. It was another moment after that, before he realized what he had stuck in his mouth.

He pulled out his thumb and stared intently down at it, as if it belonged to someone else, before quickly whipping his whole hand behind his back; like removing it from the area would negate where he had found it.

"Ah, guys… What's going on?"

Daniel said, peering up at the surrounding crowd from under his bangs and giving his hesitant shy smile as he sorted through the confusion.

The whole room burst out laughing at his innocent remark, and at the circumstances the poor man had found himself in.

"Welcome back, SG-1"

General Hammond announced in a loud voice.

The brilliant light bobbles drifted back across the room and began to coalesce into three separate figures. Slowly the fuzzy shapes became clearer and formed the three Olocins once again.

Supreme Leader Crenth turned toward General Hammond.

"All is as was… many apologies for incident… young will be grounded."

He said.

'Grounded?'

The General wondered as he looked around the room. Teal'c chuckled lightly to himself.

"Major Carter told them that 'grounding' was a common way of discipling our children."

He explained.

"Wish to continue summit… Would discuss alliance."

Crenth finished. Then he nodded to the SGC people before he and his ministers filed from the room, ready to return back home. They had done what they had come to do. A group of transparent bobbles floated obediently behind them.

Daniel, Sam, and Jack still were looking a bit dazed, only being filled in with half of the picture.

"Ah, sir… can somebody explain?…"

Started O'Neill, raising both hands in a helpless gesture.

"Sure, Colonel… SG-1 just successfully negotiated the Olocin summit."

The General said, grinning at the team. They all just stared back at him. He chuckled to himself, knowing his statement did nothing to explain things to his confused officers.

Colonel Jack O'Neill knocked softly on the open door of General Hammond's office. He was flanked by the rest of SG-1, Major Carter, Daniel Jackson, and Teal'c, all in their street clothes.

Doctor Fraiser had released them after finishing her tests. Everything had showed they were fine. She had caught up with them again right as they were leaving the base, telling them that the General wanted SG-1 to stop by his office before they left.

"General… We were told you wanted to see us, sir."

The Colonel said in a soft inquiring tone.

"Yes, Colonel… SG-1…"

He said when he saw the whole team standing behind his graying second-in-command.

"… I just thought you'd like to know… the Olocins have agreed to a formal alliance with us… They stated the actions they observed of our care for you as children, convinced them that we could be trusted as a race…"

His face broke into a large grin.

"Good work SG-1!"

Hammond turned to look at Major Carter.

"…and Major… Your father has been assigned the additional responsibility of being the Tok'ra representative with the Olocins."

"That's good to hear, sir."

She answered, feeling a bit cheered by the news.

"…It seems he is the only Tok'ra the Olocins seem to feel comfortable around…"

the General continued amused.

"I know the feeling."

mumbled O'Neill while looking at the floor.

"…I got the impression it was the fact that he was your father that had turned their opinions on the Tok'ra…Well, that's all I wanted to tell you."

the General finished.

"Yes, sir."

replied Carter, as she and rest of SG-1 turned to leave. Jack paused in the doorway, swinging around to address the General, his hand coming up next to his head as if something had just occurred to him.

"Sir… You did rescind that 'no leaving the base' order… Didn't you?!"

"Yes, Colonel"

came a "tried-patience" sounding voice. O'Neill let out his breath.

"Good!… Just checking."

His voice much more cheerful now. He left then too, leaving the General once again in his quiet office.

A couple minutes after SG-1 had departed, the General reached down and opened a small side drawer in his desk. He lifted out a small rectangular frame. It contained a picture of Teal'c, Cassandra, and the three child versions of Jack, Sam, and Daniel. He smiled fondly at the photo. Yep, he was going to miss those little troublemakers, but was glad to have his premier team back. He looked again at the photograph before placing the frame carefully back in the drawer. The picture was a keeper.

A pair of binoculars was trained on the entrance to the mountain. The person attached to the glasses was there to see the truth. He wanted to verify in person what his source had told him. If his man was right, if indeed the members of SG-1 were once again adults, his superiors would not be happy.

As for his immediate CO, he knew the man well enough to know that this would just be a change of direction. They may not be able to follow through with his plans for the children, but his boss wasn't done with SG-1, this he was sure of, he knew how the man thought. His CO would just come up with some new plans to use their talents; they were much too valuable a resource to waste. They could wait. Yes, there would be another time.

Teal'c was the first through the door to be greeted by the fresh outdoor air. The Colonel, followed by Daniel and Sam were next. They all inhaled a lung-full of crisp mountain air. Ah, yes, it felt good. They had a 24-hour downtime, and were going out to pick up pizza and then swing by Jack's place to relax.

Teal'c paused, looking back at his teammates who had all stopped to enjoy the feel of being outdoors again.

"COME, my children."

He said as he turned and started to walk toward the parking lot. Jack's head snapped up and he frowned at Teal'c's retreating back.

"You know…"

He said with a disturbed sound to his voice, as he started after his big friend.

"…that custody thing was only while we were kids."

Daniel just ducked his head, a smirk of amusement on his face as he strolled forward, hands in his pockets. Sam was grinning and rolling her eyes as she too followed along.

What none of team could see, was the twinkling eyes and the mischievous grin on the face of the large Jaffa as he led them toward the parking lot and town.

Special thanks to Adrianna, 'my partner in crime', who served as editor as well as beta reader, and to my nephew and nieces who inspired me (ages 10, 8 ½ , 7, and 3 ½). Also thanks to beta readers Pooka, and Sleepy, and to Metal Rabbit and DD for the creative
help. I apologize in advance to anyone that doesn't like stories that ramble on. I was having way, way, ...way too much fun to stop.

November 11, 2001
© The characters mentioned in this story are the property of Showtime and Gekko Film Corp.
The Stargate, SG-I, the Goa'uld and all other characters
who have appeared in the series STARGATE SG-1 together with the names,
titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of MGM-UA Worldwide Television,
Gekko Film Corp, Glassner/Wright Double Secret Productions and Stargate SG-I Prod. Ltd.
Partnership.
This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and
solely meant for entertainment.
All other characters, the story idea and the story itself
are the sole property of the author.