Stargate Horizons

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Jacob left shortly before noon because their neighbor couldn't watch the kids past twelve.  Laura got a novel from the gift shop to read.  She was on page five when Daniel awoke.

"Hi, sweetheart," she said.  "You had a nice nap.  I bet lunch will be here soon."

"I'm not hungry."

"You need to eat, Daniel.  You have to keep up your strength."

Daniel saw the book.  "What are you reading?"

"Oh, it's a mystery.  It takes place in England in the eighteenth century."  She smiled.  "There's talk of curses and ghosts."

The tiniest glimmer of interest lit within the boy's eyes.

"Would you like me to read it to you?" Laura asked, hoping desperately to see that little glimmer brighten.

"You don't have to," Daniel replied somberly.

"No, I want to.  It will be fun.  I bet you know things about that time and place."

"Not a whole lot."

Daniel's lunch was brought in, and Laura got an idea.  "I'll make you a deal.  I'll read a page for every bite of your lunch that you eat. And if you eat it all, I'll add an extra five pages.  Okay?"

Daniel appeared to give it some thought.  Then he nodded.

As the boy ate, Laura read, going back to the beginning of the book.  Obviously, keeping track of how many bites Daniel took was impossible while reading, but she hadn't intended to anyway.  She'd read as much of the book as Daniel wanted her to, even if it was all the way to the end.  She'd do whatever it took to make the child happy.

Daniel did eat all of his lunch, though it was obvious that he was struggling to get the last few bites down.  Laura made note of the fact that offering to read to him appeared to be a very effective bribe.

Laura found that reading the book out loud to the boy increased its appeal, and she got quite involved in the story.  She wasn't sure how long she'd been reading when Daniel interrupted her.

"Mrs. Carter?"

"Hmm?"

"I think you've read lots more pages than I took bites."

Laura blinked a few times.  "Oh.  Have I?  I wasn't keeping track.  Would you like me to stop?"

"If you want to."

"Well, how about if I finish this chapter?  I'm actually pretty hungry myself and should go get something to eat."

Daniel's gaze fell.  "Oh."

"I'll come back, Daniel," Laura quickly told him.  "I promise.  I'll just eat something in the hospital cafeteria."

"You don't have to."

"Daniel, I want to."

Daniel glanced at her.  "Okay."

Laura finished the chapter, then went to get a very late lunch.  She called home on the pay phone before getting her meal.

"How's Daniel doing?" Jacob asked.

"Better.  I've been reading a novel I bought to him.  I bribed him into eating all his lunch."

Jacob laughed.  "How did you bribe him?"

Laura explained.

"Huh.  If only all kids would accept that kind of bribe.  Usually, kid bribes involve money or toys.  Do you want me to switch with you?"

"No, I'm fine.  We can switch later this afternoon so that you don't have to be the one to fix dinner for the kids."

"Ah, good idea.  I'd hate to accidentally poison them."

When Laura returned to Daniel's room, she was surprised to see a very tall, dark-haired man standing beside the bed.

"Hello.  You must be Mrs. Carter," he said with a warm smile.  "I'm Quentin Greer, Daniel's teacher."

"It's nice to meet you, Mister Greer.  Daniel's talked about you quite a bit."

Quentin smiled down at Daniel.  "Well, I'm flattered."  He returned his gaze to Laura.  "I called Daniel's foster mother a while ago to find out how Daniel was feeling, and she told me about the pneumonia, so I decided to come visit, see how Daniel was doing."

"Mister Greer is going to give me some schoolwork to do," Daniel said.

Laura was surprised.  "He is?"

"Daniel was worried that he'd get behind in his work," the teacher explained.  "I told him that wouldn't be a problem, but he was still concerned, so, after he's out of the hospital, I'll bring him the history book he's been studying."  He looked at Daniel with a smile.  "Then, once he's well enough, he can write a nice long book report on it, and I'll have several tests ready for when he comes back to school."

"Well, that's very nice of you, Mister Greer," Laura said.

"Daniel, do you mind if I talk with Mrs. Carter outside for a few minutes?"

Upon getting a shake of the head from the boy, Quentin and Laura left the room and went to a small sitting area.

"I'm concerned about Daniel," the teacher said.  "I realize that he's sick and feeling miserable, but his mood is very low.  I know that something was definitely wrong on Wednesday.  He appeared to be quite depressed.  When I found out the next day that he was sick, I thought perhaps that's what the problem was, but I'm not so sure now."

Laura gave a sigh.  "You're right, I'm afraid.  It's a lot more than just the illness."  She explained about what happened with Sam.  "It hurt Daniel terribly.  He's convinced that Sam no longer likes even though both I and my husband have told him otherwise.  I think Daniel believes that anyone he cares about will go away and leave him alone again."

Quentin was deeply dismayed and upset by the news.  Daniel had been doing so well, and, now, this happens.  How bad of a setback was it going to be?

"I really wish I'd known this was happening," he said.  "I'd have set those two down together and gotten the whole thing worked out."

"You have no idea how I wish you could have done that.  Sam and Daniel really do need to talk.  Jacob and I tried to get permission to bring Sam here, but we had no luck.  We've been trying to get Daniel's mood up, and it's worked a little, but it's Sam who needs to fix this.  I know she's going to try her best.  She feels terrible about what she did.  But whether or not Daniel's going to forgive her and learn to trust her again . . . that I just don't know."

"I sincerely hope that he will.  Daniel needs all the love he can get, and having friends will help him heal."

Laura studied the man.  "You really seem to care about Daniel."

"Yes, I do. I care about all my kids, but Daniel . . . well, he's special, and I mean in more ways that just his mind.  Right from the start, I took a personal interest in him.  Perhaps it was because I could empathize with him, in a way.  I had a bad stutter at his age, and school was really tough for me because of the teasing by the students and the misconception that I was stupid.  Because of that, I saw a little bit of myself in Daniel.  You have no idea how much I was cheering on the inside when Daniel started speaking."  Quentin chuckled.  "He caught me totally by surprise when he raised his hand to answer that question.  I had to keep myself from jumping up and dancing around the room when I heard him talk for the first time."

Laura smiled, now understanding why Daniel liked this man so much.  The smile didn't last long, however, when she thought about the fact that he wouldn't be Daniel's teacher for much longer.  Why was it that everything important to Daniel kept getting taken away?  It was so unfair.

Quentin looked at his watch and sighed.  "I'm afraid that I'm going to have to get going.  My wife and I have tickets for a concert in Syracuse tonight, and Kathleen will skin me alive if we're late.  I'll just go in and say goodbye to Daniel."

They returned to the room, and Quentin walked up to the bed.

"Hey, Daniel.  I'm afraid I have to go, but I'd like to come back and visit tomorrow.  Would that be okay?"

Daniel nodded.  "Will you bring the book?"

"Ah ah.  I said after you got out of the hospital, kiddo.  You need rest, Daniel, and you can't rest while studying history.  However, I just might bring you something else.  Okay?"

"Okay.  Bye, Mister Greer."

Quentin laid a hand on the boy's head, wanting to give him a hug but figuring that might not be a good idea.  He was Daniel's teacher, and, though it was okay for a teacher to care about their students, they weren't supposed to let themselves get too emotionally attached to any of the kids.  The school frowned on it, and it made it hard when the time came to say goodbye.  Up until now, Quentin had been able to stay safely on the "right" side of the line, but, with Daniel, it would be so very easy for that line to be crossed.

"Bye bye, Daniel," he said.  "Be good and get lots of sleep.  I'll see you tomorrow."


Jacob knocked on the door of his daughter's room, then peeked his head in.  She was sitting on the floor, her back against the bed.  She wasn't playing or reading.  She was just sitting there, staring at the floor and looking miserable.  The captain knew how guilt could eat you up inside, and, apparently, even though she was only eight, Sam was in the midst of some serious guilt-tripping.

Jacob walked over and sat on the bed, his daughter giving no indication that she was even aware of his presence, although he knew that she must be.

"Sam, I know that you're feeling really bad about this, and it's good that you are since it means that you understand how wrong your actions were, but there's something I want to tell you now that I didn't before.  You've been a very good friend to Daniel, probably the best friend he could have.  I've been proud of the way you've stood up for him and been there for him."

He heard his daughter sniffle and realized that she was crying.

"I'm not a good friend anymore," she whispered.

Jacob sighed.  "You did make a big mistake, Sam, and you did hurt Daniel.  I'm not going to sugar-coat it and excuse your actions because of your age.  You knew even before you told me about it that what you did was wrong.  But, if you can fix this, you can still be a good friend to Daniel."

Seeing that his daughter wasn't going to be moving any time soon, Jacob got down on the floor beside her.

"Sam, I know that I was really hard on you before," he said.  "Do you understand why?"

Sam nodded her head.  "Because what I did was really wrong and mean, and you were mad at me."

"Not so much mad as upset.  But I am sorry that what I said upset you so much."

Sam's head dipped lower.  "Are you still ashamed of me?"

Jacob pulled his daughter close.  "No, Sam, I'm not ashamed of you.  I know that you'll do your best to make things right and that when you tell Daniel you're sorry, you'll really mean it.  When someone makes a mistake, the thing that really shows what kind of person they are is how hard they try to fix that mistake, and I know that I will be proud of how hard you fight to fix this."

At last Sam's eyes lifted to her father's.  "Please, Daddy.  I want to see Daniel.  Can't you make it so that I can see him?"

"We tried, Sam.  We talked to Daniel's doctor and tried to get him to allow you in, but he said no."

"Couldn't you sneak me in?"

"If Daniel's room was on the first floor, I would be very tempted to do that, but it's not, so we can't get you in through the window, and you're too big to hide in my coat.  Besides, I'm afraid that, if we tried sneaking you in, the hospital would forbid your mother and I from visiting Daniel again.  I know it's really hard to wait, Sam, but there's nothing more we can do."


It was 4:30 when Laura left the hospital, having explained to Daniel that Jacob would be coming soon.  She promised that she'd be back tomorrow to continue reading the book.

When Jacob arrived, Daniel was asleep.  He touched the child's hot face.  The fever was still pretty high, though the doctor had assured them that it was coming down.  It appeared that Daniel was responding well to the antibiotics.

Jacob had called Diane and told her that Daniel was being kept company.  The woman thanked him and explained that she had been planning on going back to the hospital, but neither of the girls she used as babysitters were available.  She hoped it would be different tomorrow.  Jacob had let her know that, if she couldn't make it, it was all right because he or Laura could stay with Daniel.  Jacob actually had errands he'd been intending to do this weekend, but none of them mattered as much as making sure that Daniel wasn't alone.

He didn't know what they were going to do come Monday.  Laura could spend the morning with Daniel, but she had an appointment in the afternoon that it was too late to cancel or reschedule.  And then the kids would be coming home.  Hopefully, Diane could be with Daniel during the afternoon.  The boy had been all alone the last time he was in the hospital, and Jacob was determined that, this time, he'd be by himself as little as possible.

A moan from the bed drew Jacob's attention to it.  Daniel was moving restlessly, and the captain guessed that he was having yet another nightmare.  Standing, Jacob went to him and touched his face.

"Shh, Daniel.  It's all right.  I'm here."

After a moment, Daniel quieted, and he slipped back into a deeper sleep.  It was around an hour later that he awoke.

"Well, hello there, sleepyhead," Jacob greeted with a smile.  "How are you feeling?  Any better?"

Daniel nodded.

"That's good.  So, do you think you feel well enough to play me a game of chess?"

Daniel's eyes brightened a little with interest.  "Chess?"

Jacob picked up the little travel set that he'd brought.  "Yep.  Unless you'd rather play checkers.  That's on the other side of the board."

"Chess please."

Jacob set up the board, letting Daniel pick which color he wanted.  He chose white.

They ended up holding off on the game because Daniel's dinner arrived just then.

After they were alone again, Jacob leaned close to the boy and said in a low voice, "If you promise not to tell, I'm going to go get a hamburger and sneak it in so I can eat it here."

"You're not allowed to eat in here?"

"I don't know.  I've never asked."

"I don't want you to get into trouble."

"Oh, don't worry about me.  So, we got a deal?  Of course, I expect you to eat all your dinner."

Daniel nodded.

Jacob went to the closest hamburger place and got a burger and fries.  Daniel was still working on his dinner when the captain returned, bag of food stashed under his jacket.

The hamburger wasn't quite gone when a nurse came walking in.

"Oops.  I think I've been found out," Jacob said.

The woman looked at the man's meal with a frown.  "You didn't give Daniel any of that, did you?"

"No, ma'am, not a bite.  He's been eating his own dinner.  I just didn't want him eating alone."

"Well . . . all right, then."

She checked the readings on one of the machines, then left.

Jacob looked at Daniel.  "Whew!  I guess I'm not going to get into trouble after all."

"That's good."

Once the food was gone – or mostly gone in Daniel's case – they started their game.  Even as sick as he was, it was clear that the boy definitely knew how to play.  Healthy, he'd probably be a worthy opponent for Jacob, and the captain decided that they'd have to play again sometime.

By the time the game ended, Daniel was very sleepy.

"Are you going to stay here tonight?" the boy asked after a big yawn.

"No, I can't, Daniel.  Visiting hours will be over soon.  Then they'll make me leave.  But either Laura or I will be here in the morning as soon as they let us in."

"How much longer do I have to stay here?"

"I don't know.  Hopefully, just another couple of days."

Daniel fidgeted with the sheet.  "Are the nurses going to get mad if I have a nightmare?"

Jacob's expression firmed.  "No, they're not.  In fact, I will have a talk with them about that.  Now, go on to sleep, Daniel.  Everything will be fine."

The boy closed his eyes and was soon asleep.  Jacob put the chess set in the drawer of the table by the bed.  He then headed to the nurse's station.

"I need to talk to you about Daniel."  He gave the boy's room number.

"Yes, Mister Jackson.  What can we help you with?" a nurse asked.

"Oh, um . . . I'm not Daniel's father.  Daniel's parents are both dead.  He's in foster care, and I'm a . . . friend of the family."

"Oh, I see.  What is this about?"

"Daniel recently witnessed the death of his parents, and it was very traumatic for him.  He has frequent nightmares about it.  The nurses in the hospital he was in for a while after the accident apparently had little patience with the nightmares and the outcries Daniel gave while having them.  When he kept having them, they drugged him to keep him asleep all night."

The head of another nurse shot up, and she stared at him.  "Which hospital was this?" she asked sharply.

"I don't know.  It was in New York City."

"Well, I don't know what the policies are there, but I assure you that we would not fully sedate a patient because they were having bad dreams.  If we thought it would help him rest, we might lightly sedate him, but that's it.  If Daniel does have a nightmare, we'll calm him as best we can."

"Thank you."

Hoping that Daniel would be in good hands with the nurses, Jacob headed for home.


Like with the previous day, Laura took the first shift with Daniel.  This time, however, she brought her lunch with her so that she wouldn't have to leave to get something to eat.

She resumed reading the book to the boy, happy that he was showing such interest in it.  His mood upon her arrival had been pretty much the same as it was when she saw him last.  At least he hadn't had a nightmare during the night.  That was one good thing.

It wasn't long after lunch when Daniel's teacher returned, holding a paper bag.

"Good afternoon," he greeted.  "How are you feeling, Daniel?  Better?"

The boy nodded.  "What's in the bag?"

"Oh, this bag?  Hmm.  Let's see."  Quentin made a show of rummaging around in the bag.  Then he pulled out a book and set it on the table.  "Treasure Island."  He withdrew another one.  "Kidnapped."  A third book came out.  "White Fang and. . . ." out came a fourth book, "one I know you'll be interested in, The Second Jungle Book."

Daniel's eyes, which had brightened at the sight of the books, lit even more brightly upon hearing the title of the final one.

"There's a second Jungle Book?"

"There sure is.  Not a lot of people know that.  Obviously, you're not going to be here long enough to read all of those, but I wanted to give you some choices."

Daniel picked up the sequel to The Jungle Book.  "Thank you, Mister Greer.  Did you get these from the library?"

"Yes, but not the public one.  Those are from my private library."

Daniel gazed at him with interest.  "You have your very own library?"

"Yes, I do.  Of course it's not nearly as big at the public one, but I've managed to collect a few hundred books over the years.  Some of them are first editions, like that one you're holding."

"Does that mean it's worth a lot of money?" Daniel asked.

"Oh, not as much as a lot of first editions are, but it wasn't exactly cheap."

"I'll be really careful with it," the boy promised sincerely.

Quentin smiled and gently ruffled his hair.  "I know you will, Daniel."  He looked up at Laura.  "I wish I could stay and chat for a while, but I didn't get all the test papers graded for Monday, so I need to get that done."  His eyes returned to Daniel.  "I'll stop by after school tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay," Daniel responded.  He gazed up into the teacher's eyes.  "Thank you for being so nice, Mister Greer."

Quentin felt his throat tightening.  He took the boy's hand and gave it a squeeze.  "You are very welcome, Daniel."  He gave the child an intense look.  "Just remember that I care about you very much.  Will you do that?"

Daniel nodded, his expression serious.

Saying goodbye, Quentin left the room.  He stopped upon hearing his name being called.  He turned to see Laura coming up to him.

"I just wanted to thank you for the books," she said, "especially since they're from your own collection.  Not many people would entrust a child with a first edition that I know must have cost quite a bit."

"Daniel isn't just any child, Mrs. Carter.  It's pretty common for kids to mark up their schoolbooks and be a bit rough on them, but Daniel is very careful with all his books and wouldn't dream of writing in one.  I had no fear that he'd handle those books with care."

"Well, thank you all the same.  I can really see why Daniel likes you so well."  Laura smiled.  "I think you're pretty terrific, too."

Quentin's head ducked in embarrassment, which was an odd thing to see in such a big man.

"Well, thank you," he said.  "That's very kind of you to say.  I'd also like to say that what you and your husband are doing for that boy is wonderful, and I know that it's going a long way toward his healing process."

"We just care about him and want to do all we can for him."

Quentin nodded.  "Which is more than a lot of people did for him.  I've learned more about Daniel's story, what he's gone through and the things that were done, and I'm just happy that he now has people in his life who truly care about him.  He needs that more than anything else."

"Yes, he does."

Saying goodbye to the teacher, Laura went back in Daniel's room.  She smiled upon seeing that he was already reading.

"So, do you want to read that instead or would you like me to continue reading my book?" she asked.

Daniel set his book aside.  "You can keep reading, if you like."

Laura's smile grew.  "I like."


Daniel was sleeping when Laura went home to switch places with Jacob.

"How's he doing?" her husband asked.

"Better physically.  His breathing sounds a bit better, and his fever is down some more."

"And emotionally?"

"He likes having me read to him.  Mister Greer came by with several books from his own collection, which brightened Daniel's mood a bit."

"But?"

"But he's still down.  Oh, I know that part of it is because he's sick, but there's simply no joy in him.  I honestly think he's waiting for us to abandon him and leave him alone.  I think he's afraid to be happy because he figures that, as soon as he is, it'll be crushed again."

Jacob sighed.  This really wasn't good.  "Have you heard anything about when they're going to release him?"

"I asked the nurse, and she said that they're tentatively aiming for Tuesday.  It all depends on how well he continues improving.  I really hate the thought of him being alone Monday afternoon.  His teacher said he'd stop by after school, but I doubt he'll be able to stay long.  Did you hear from Diane?"

"Yes, it looks like she's not going to be able to get there today.  She got a babysitter, but the child who has the ear infection wouldn't let her leave.  Susy refused to accept being taken by the babysitter and kept crying every time Diane tried to put her down.  Diane decided that she had to stay.  She's hoping that Susy will be better tomorrow.  I told her that you'd be there with Daniel in the morning."

"I really do hope that Daniel will be sent home on Tuesday," Laura said with a sigh.

"So do I."

"How's Sam been doing?"

"About the same as yesterday.  She emphatically told me that she wasn't going to school until she got to talk to Daniel."

Laura smiled faintly.  "And what did you say to that?"

"I told her that we'd discuss it later.  Perhaps if we tell her that Daniel might be leaving the hospital on Tuesday and she can talk to him then, it'll cheer her up.  As it is now, pretty much all she does is mope in her bedroom."

Bringing some cold chicken with him for dinner, Jacob headed off to the hospital a short while later.  When he got to Daniel's room, he found the boy reading one of his books.

"Hello, Captain Carter," he greeted, not a hint of a smile on his face.

"Hello, Daniel."  Jacob looked at the small pile of books.  "That was certainly very nice of your teacher to bring these."

Daniel nodded.  "I like having books to read.  It's okay being by myself if I have books."

Jacob frowned slightly at the comment.  On the surface, there seemed to be nothing wrong with it.  In fact, it was good that the boy could entertain himself with books when there was no one around.  But Jacob was sensing that there was something else to this, something that was not good.

Daniel didn't feel up to a game of either chess or checkers, so, instead, Jacob talked for quite a while about his own childhood, things that had happened when he was a kid.  Daniel listened to it all with interest, every once in a while asking a question or making a remark.

When visiting hours ended, the boy was still awake, and Jacob really hated to leave.  He found himself promising several times that Laura would come back in the morning after the kids were off to school.  But then he had to break the news about the afternoon.

"Daniel, I have to work, so I can't be here in the afternoon, and Laura has an appointment.  Hopefully, Mrs. Underwood will be able to come stay with you so that you're not alone."

"It's okay.  It doesn't matter if I'm alone."

"Well, it matters to us.  It's just that you may have to be tomorrow afternoon if your foster mother can't be here."

"It's really okay if I'm by myself," Daniel insisted.  "I've got my books to read, and the nurses come say hi sometimes."

Jacob studied the boy's expression and realized what had been bothering him earlier.  It was as if Daniel was trying to distance himself, to not rely upon anyone for comfort or company, and that was definitely not good, especially for a child.  A certain amount of independence was fine and so was enjoying one's own company, but shutting yourself off from other people and not letting yourself get close to anyone could only lead to loneliness and a life spent without the joy of close relationships.  No matter what, they couldn't let Daniel go down that path.

"Well, I'm sure that you'll have some time to read your books tomorrow, but I intend to come and say hi after I get off duty, so don't count on the whole afternoon and evening for reading," he said firmly.  "You got it?"

Daniel nodded, not looking like he was unhappy about it.

Upon arriving home, Jacob called Lucy Merrick.

"Captain Carter.  How is Daniel?" she asked.  "I've been calling the hospital for updates every day."

"Health-wise, he's doing better, but. . . .  Mrs. Merrick, do you know about what happened between Daniel and my daughter?"

"No.  What happened?"

Jacob explained the whole thing to her and how Daniel was now reacting to it.

Lucy sighed.  "Oh dear.  What a terrible setback.  I'm so sorry to hear about this."

"My wife and I have been keeping Daniel company, making sure he was alone as little as possible, but neither of us can be there tomorrow afternoon.  Diane Underwood hasn't been able to be at the hospital because of the other kids.  She's hoping to be able to spend time with Daniel tomorrow, but I don't know how long she'll be able to stay."

"I'm sure I could rearrange my schedule to stay with Daniel for a while," Lucy said.  "I'll call Diane tomorrow and see when she'll be with him, then arrange things so that I can be there during a time when she can't be."

Jacob smiled in relief.  "Thank you.  I was hoping you'd say that."

"Considering this newest development, I think it's even more vital that we have a psychologist speak with Daniel.  Not until after he's fully recovered physically, of course."

"I agree.  This could so easily drive Daniel into withdrawing from everyone, and I don't want to see that happen."

"Neither do I.  Children are supposed to need people, to need love and companionship.  I have seen far too many abused or neglected kids who have isolated themselves from human comfort and companionship, and it seldom turns out all right in the end.  We have to prevent Daniel from becoming one of them."

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