CHAPTER EIGHT
"Can't I go with you?" Danny asked the next morning when Daniel told the boy he had to go away for a while.
"No, I'm afraid not, Danny. It has to do with my work."
Danny was clearly disappointed. "Will Uncle Jack, or Sam, or Teal'c be watching me?"
"No, they need to go, too. You see, the four of us are a team, which means that we go together for things like this."
Now, Danny was starting to look a little scared. "You'll come back?" he said in a little voice.
"Of course we'll come back," Daniel replied. "We'll only be gone a few hours. We'll be just fine."
"Who's gonna take care of me?" Danny asked, his voice still muted.
"Well, I was hoping that Janet could, but she's going to be really busy today. So, how would you like to spend some time with General Hammond?"
"The man who's your boss?"
"Uh huh. He told me that he'd love to take care of you while we're gone. He's got two granddaughters, so I'm sure that he'll play some games with you." Daniel looked at the child closely. "Will that be all right?"
Danny didn't say anything for a moment, then he nodded slightly.
Daniel ran a hand through his hair. "It'll be fine, Danny."
The archeologist was about to call General Hammond to tell him that they were on their way when he suddenly realized something.
'Crap,' he cursed silently. He turned back to Danny. "Um, I just remembered something, Danny. Is it okay if you're here by yourself for a few minutes?"
Daniel could tell that the boy didn't like the idea, but Danny bravely nodded.
"I'll be right back."
Daniel left the VIP room and went to the nearest phone to call the general's office.
"Doctor Jackson. Will you be bringing young Danny here this morning?" Hammond asked.
"I was going to, sir, but then I realized something. The sound of the gate dialing up and opening could cause another flashback."
"I admit that I didn't consider that."
"And, even if it didn't, he would wonder what the sounds are. He can't be anywhere near the gate room when we leave or when we return."
"You're right, of course. All right, how about if I meet you in the commissary? After you leave, I can take Danny to my office. Then, shortly before you're scheduled to return, we'll go back to the commissary. Actually, let's meet there a little sooner so that the boy can get to know me better before you go."
About twenty minutes before SG-1 was scheduled to leave, Daniel and Danny met General Hammond in the commissary. Daniel stayed for several minutes as the boy became a bit more familiar with Hammond, who chatted with Danny easily, asking him about the things he liked to do and the games he liked to play. Watching them, Daniel felt a touch of sadness. This was something he never got with his grandfather. Nick was always more interested in his work than in his only grandson.
Glancing at his watch, Daniel saw that he needed to hurry if he was going to get outfitted for the mission in time.
"I need to get going, Danny," he said.
Danny's mood instantly dimmed. Daniel gave him a hug, which the boy returned tightly.
"I'll be back in a few hours, okay?" Daniel told him. He got a small nod against his chest in reply.
Gently separating himself from the boy, Daniel left the commissary, waving back over his shoulder before going through the door.
Chevron Six had just been encoded when Daniel entered the gate room.
"So, Danny all situated with the general?" Jack asked.
"Yeah."
Sam saw the concern on the archeologist's face. "He'll be okay, Daniel."
"I know. And it's good for him to be away from all of us and see that everything will still be all right."
The opening of the wormhole ended the conversation. Seconds later, SG-1 stepped onto Cedarna. This time, as they entered the town, everyone stopped and stared at them, some with surprise, others with fear. A nervous and very subdued Esha and Derdri met them.
"We did not think that you would return," the Cedarnan man said. "Are you . . . are you here to take away the machine that makes the clones?"
The expression in the man's eyes tore at Daniel's heart. He looked so sad and defeated.
"No, Esha," Daniel replied gently. "We're here to tell you that we have a cure for your problem."
Utter shock filled the man's face. "A-a-a cure?"
Daniel smiled. "Yes."
The man suddenly began to weep, as did Derdri.
"We did not hope, we did not dream that you would still help us," Esha said in a trembling voice thick with emotion. "After the way we betrayed you, the most we could hope for is that you would not take the machine."
"Well, we will be taking it," Jack said, "but you're not going to need it anymore."
Esha grasped Daniel's hands, tears still pouring down his cheeks. "How can we ever thank you? How can we ever repay you?"
"By giving all your children a loving home where they never have to worry about being alone," Daniel replied.
"This we will do with joyous hearts!" Esha declared. He beamed at SG-1. "Come. Let us talk more of this so that you can explain this miracle."
They went to the meeting room.
"First, we need to explain that this isn't an instant cure," Sam said. "It will take several years for the chemical inside your bodies to be neutralized, probably a good twelve years or more."
"Before then, you may see some increases in your birthrate," Daniel added, "but probably not for a few years yet."
"The children we have now, the ones who are not clones, they will be cured before they are of the age to bear children?" Derdri asked.
"Mostly," Sam replied. "And your young adults may also be able to have kids before they're too old."
"It will take a while, but, in time, your civilization will recover from this," Daniel said. "In a generation, there will be many children."
"A generation," Esha murmured. He looked pleased, but also a little sad. "This is far more than we could have expected. Our people owe you our eternal thanks."
"There is something that you need to know," Daniel said, knowing that he had to explain why this whole thing happened. As he told the Cedarnans about the water and the soil and how the wild grown plants and animals they used to eat were giving them an immunity to the chemical, Esha and Derdri were appalled.
"We did this to ourselves," the woman said. "We poisoned our own people."
"You couldn't have known," Sam responded. "We've never run across anything like this, not on all the worlds we've visited."
"What's important is that you know now," Daniel told them. "You need to go back to some of the old ways, begin gathering the wild plants and fruits again. I'd understand if you don't want to return to eating other meat, but you need to stop eating fish or, at the very least, dramatically reduce the role it plays in your diet."
The two Cedarnans looked at each other.
"Our people will need to speak of these things," Esha said. "It must be a decision made by all."
Sam and Daniel explained about the neutralizer and the steps that would need to be taken regarding the water treatment and inoculations.
"There is another alternative," the archeologist said. "If you wish, we can find a new home for you on another world, one that has clean, safe water."
"This is our home," Derdri said. "We have been here for as far back as our history records."
"If we moved to another world, we would not have the protection of the weapon," Esha stated.
"No, you wouldn't," Daniel responded, "but the bad water would never be a problem again. This is something that your people are going to have to decide on. If you decide to move, we can find a place for you, help you relocate, and give you some help in building a new city."
"We will discuss this at length."
"We'll wait for your answer," Sam said.
"Esha . . . there is something else we may be able to give you," Daniel said slowly, "but it would require that you change your viewpoint about something. I know that you're delighted about the children that will be coming in future years, but I also know that you and the rest of your people long for children now. On our world, there is such a thing as a sperm bank. It's where men donate sperm to be used by couples that can't have children because the man is sterile or has some other problem that makes him unable to father children. We haven't gotten permission for this yet, but, if our government says it's okay, we could give some of that sperm to you and teach you how to use it to fertilize the eggs from your women. If that was done, your people could start having children within a year."
Surprised, the Cedarnans looked at each other.
"We never dreamed that such a thing was possible," Esha said.
"Our people have been doing this for years," Sam explained. "Though conception isn't guaranteed, the odds are a great deal better than what you have now through natural breeding."
"But, Esha, you have to realize that we can't just give you sperm from men who have the kind of personalities you prize," Daniel told the man. "Though some records are kept on each donor, they are not that extensive."
"But what if some of the men have violent ways?"
"Hey, that's the risk that a lot of people take," Jack responded. "You can't guarantee what your kids are going to be like when they grow up, not even if they really are your kids."
Daniel leaned forward over the table, meeting the eyes of the Cedarnan man. "Esha, genetics, what we inherit from our parents, only plays a part in who we are. What's just as important, sometimes even more important, is how a child is raised, the environment he lives in, the example his parents set for him. I lost my parents when I was only eight. After they were gone, I had no family to care for me. I had to grow up with strangers, never in the same home for more than a year. I know that who I am now, some of the ways that I feel about things, some of my fears and beliefs, come from that life. If my parents hadn't died, I know that I would be different in a lot of ways. A child's genes are not all that they are as a person. The love and security they are given, the values they are taught, help shape them into who they grow up to be."
Both Esha and Derdri were silent for a long time.
"You have given us much to think about," the man finally said.
"We can come back in a few days and find out what you've decided," Sam stated. "Before we go, though, we can talk to some of your engineers and builders on what would be needed for the water treatment plant."
"Yes, that would be wise," Derdri agreed. "It would give us more information to help with our decision."
Everyone left the meeting room. Sam went off with Derdri. Having no practical knowledge on constructing a water treatment plant, the major had downloaded as much information as she could into her laptop and had also talked via phone to an expert in the field.
Esha approached Daniel. "May I speak to you in private?"
Jack looked slightly suspicious, but didn't object when Daniel walked off with the Cedarnan.
"Your forgiveness and generosity humble me, Daniel," Esha said. "I did not believe that you could ever forgive us."
"I didn't forgive you right away, Esha, not completely, but I understood why you did it. I could sympathize with your plight. My wife and I tried for a year to have children, but she never got pregnant. Then . . . I lost her."
"I am sorry. Then you truly do understand our pain."
"Yes."
Esha studied his profile as they continued to walk. "How is the child who is a copy of you? Is he well?"
"He's getting better. It's going to be a while yet before he's completely well."
"You are caring for him?"
"Yes," Daniel smiled, "although it's actually a group effort. All of my teammates are helping, plus some others at the SGC."
Esha also smiled. "Then he will be well-loved."
"Yes. Yes, he will."
Esha's keen eyes pierced him. "As you were not?"
Daniel's gaze fell to the ground. He kept walking. "I . . . had over eight years of love. After that, I think that some of the people who took care of me loved me, at least as much as they could love a child who was with them for so short a time. After I reached adulthood, I gained friends that really cared about me. When I met my wife and came to live with her people, I gained a family and thousands of friends. They're all gone now. But my teammates, they're my family, my best friends. We never really talk about it, but I love them, and I know that they feel the same."
"I am glad, Daniel. No one should be without love in their life."
Besides speaking with the Cedarnans about the cure to their problem, SG-1 also asked to see the hidden chamber where the cloning machine and other advanced technology was found. Any devices that could be removed already had been, so there wasn't much left. Daniel was unable to translate the samples of writing he found, but Derdri told him that, after years of research, the Cedarnans were able to get a grasp on the language, though not in its entirety. She told him that they'd be happy to share with him what they had. Daniel hoped that he might eventually be able to figure out what race had built the chamber and the weapon.
The Cedarnans would also allow the SGC to borrow and study the other technology that was in the chamber. As Jack had already told them, the cloning machine would be taken back to Earth. It would not be returned to the Cedarnans. That would be one of the conditions of the trade agreement.
SG-1 returned to the SGC on schedule. Before they left Cedarna, Esha had insisted that photographs be taken of all four of them, saying that he wanted the pictures for their historical records. It turned out that the photos were actually three-dimensional holographic images. When Sam showed an interest in the technology, Esha assured her that it would be included in the trade agreement.
As expected, Hammond wasn't there to greet them. Before going off to their post-mission exams, they went to the commissary. What they saw there made them freeze their tracks. Danny was on the shoulders of Walter Harriman, who was running around the room, making galloping noises. There was an imaginary Western shootout going on between General Hammond and Siler on one side and Colonel Reynolds and Colonel Dixon of SG-13 on the other side, all of whom were crouched behind tables. A sizable audience was watching the proceedings, some cheering, others booing.
As Walter and Danny approached the battling "gunmen," the boy pulled on the sergeant's collar.
"Whoa, Silver!" he cried. Then he aimed his finger like a gun and opened fire on the two colonels, who fell "dead" to the ground. The general and Siler got to their feet.
"Thank you, Lone Ranger," Hammond said in a Texas drawl. "We couldn't have gotten those varmints without you."
"Glad I could help," Danny replied, grinning.
Wondering if they'd somehow ended up in an alternate universe, the four members of SG-1 stood gaping at the sight, even Teal'c's mouth hanging open.
"Daniel!" Danny cried, having just spotted them. Everyone turned toward the entrance as the boy wiggled on Walter's shoulders, demanding silently to be put down. The sergeant lowered him to the ground, and the boy ran to Daniel, who scooped him up into his arms.
"We've been playing Wild, Wild West," Danny informed him excitedly.
"Yes, I can see that," Daniel responded, grinning.
"This is so not fair," Jack stated. "We go on a boring mission and miss all the action here."
Hammond came up to them. "Danny was feeling a little down about you being gone, so we decided to cheer him up."
"Uncle General George is from Texas, where they used to have wild West fights all the time," Danny informed SG-1.
"Uncle General George?" Jack repeated with a growing smile.
"We tried for just Uncle George, but he preferred that," Hammond explained.
Jack looked at Harriman. "Walter? I had no idea you possessed equine abilities."
"Eight nieces and nephews, sir. It comes in handy."
The colonel turned to Reynolds and Dixon. "Reynolds? I didn't know you had it in you."
"I do have kids, Jack," the leader of SG-3 responded, unfazed.
"And what about you, Dixon? I thought you couldn't even stand to be around your own kids for more than a few hours at a time."
"Hey, the mini Daniel Jackson's easier to deal with, a lot more well-mannered than the brats at home. A hell of a lot quieter, that's for sure."
General Hammond looked around. "All right, everyone. Back to work."
The group broke up and returned to their jobs. Siler tousled Danny's hair as he walked by.
"See you later, Danny."
"See you later, pardner!" Jack called to the departing sergeant in a fake southern drawl.
"How did your mission go?" Hammond asked as he walked with SG-1 and Danny toward the elevator.
"Pretty good, sir," Jack replied.
"Have you had your post-mission checkups yet?"
"No, sir."
"Okay, go get that taken care of. We'll debrief in an hour."
Danny waited in Janet's office while SG-1 got their physical exams, then Daniel took the boy to their quarters, asking if he'd be okay by himself for a while. Danny didn't have as much of an issue about it this time and said he'd be all right.
When they got to the briefing room, SG-1 saw that the shield was over the window, hiding the view of the gate room, an obvious necessity for when Danny was in the general's office. Hammond pressed the button to lift the shield before taking a seat.
"Before we begin, I wanted to say, Doctor Jackson, that Danny is a delight," he stated. "As I mentioned, he was a little sad about all of you being gone. He's formed quite an attachment to the four of you. After a while, though, we were able to cheer him up."
"He appeared to be having a ball, sir," Jack remarked.
"Thank you for taking care of him," Daniel said, "and for making him feel better."
"It was my pleasure, Doctor, our pleasure. On my days off, I would be more than happy to babysit him, that is once he can leave the base."
The debriefing got underway, SG-1 explaining what they told the Cedarnans and what the response was.
"They asked us to return in four days," Daniel said. "They said that they'd have an answer for us by then."
"All right, we'll schedule the mission for Thursday morning," Hammond said. He dismissed the team. "Doctor Jackson, please stay. I'd like to speak with you."
Daniel and the general went to his office.
"Have you decided how and when you're going to tell Danny about his true identity?" the elder man asked.
"I've thought a lot about it, but I really don't know what I'm going to say. How do you tell a child something like that?"
"I understand what you mean. In my experience, however, I've found that children are a great deal more open-minded and accepting of the truth than most adults. It may upset him at first, but Danny is a strong, intelligent boy, and I think that he'll be all right."
"I hope so, sir."
"You will be remaining on base until he is told?" Hammond asked.
"Yes. Once he goes beyond the base, he's going to figure out one way or another that it's not 1973. There's no other explanation I can give for that other than the truth or an elaborate lie, and I won't lie to him like that."
"No, of course not. No one would expect you to."
"I'm hoping that, in another few days, he'll be strong enough psychologically to be told. Everyone has been so great with him. He needs this kind of interaction with people, to play and be a kid. I know it's helping a lot."
"We're all willing to do anything for that little boy, Doctor Jackson," the general said sincerely. "He's captured more than a few hearts on this base. Any time you need a hand or perhaps just some advice about being a father, there will be no shortage of volunteers."
"Thank you, sir," Daniel responded with deep gratitude.
When Daniel got to his quarters, he found Sam with Danny.
"I thought I'd keep him company while you were with Hammond," she explained. "The colonel offered, but a call came for him."
"Thanks, Sam. I appreciate it."
"Well, I'd better get going. Is there anything I can get for you?"
"No, I'm fine. See you later."
Not long after Sam left, Daniel got yet another request for help from the Linguistics Department. Fortunately, this time, Daniel was able to do the work in their quarters. That was the only blessing, however. Because a return mission to the planet that the tablet came from hinged on the translation and time was of the essence, it needed to be done as quickly as possible. Long after Danny had been put to bed, Daniel was still at it. It was nearly dawn by the time he finished and emailed his translation to the department.
It seemed that Daniel had no sooner laid down when he had to get up again. At breakfast, his primary source of nutrition was coffee. For Danny, it was ham and eggs. Jack and Teal'c had breakfast with them, but Sam never showed up.
"Where's Sam?" Danny asked.
"Probably too busy with some project to eat," Jack replied. "She does that a lot."
"Oh."
"You want me to call her and drag her butt down here?"
"Just let her work, Jack," Daniel said tiredly. "She hasn't gotten much done lately because of everything that's been going on."
The colonel studied him intently. "Are you all right, Daniel? Those are almost the first words you've spoken since we sat down."
"I'm just tired, Jack. I didn't get very much sleep last night."
"Working most of the night? You're supposed to be on leave, you know."
"Yes, but, just because I'm on leave, it doesn't mean that the artifacts and translations jobs stop coming in. The one last night had to get done."
Daniel took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, which were a little bloodshot. Jack hadn't noticed that before, being too focused on Danny. Now that he was really looking, he could see that Daniel did appear tired.
"Hey, how about if I take the munchkin today?" Jack asked. "The two of us can go up top, toss around a frisbee for a while, maybe do a little exploring in the woods." He looked at Danny. "How would you like me to teach you backwoods survival techniques, like how to make a shelter from tree branches, stuff like that?"
Danny nodded, thinking that sounded like fun. "Then Daniel can go take a nap."
"That's exactly what I was thinking."
"Jack, you must have work to do," Daniel said. "I may be on leave, but you're not."
"Nothin' that can't wait till later or even till tomorrow, for that matter."
Daniel knew that he should say no, but he really was tired, and he had a headache, too. Some sleep would do him good.
"All right. I guess I could use a nap."
"Good." Jack turned to Teal'c. "You wanna join us? You could teach Danny how to track wild animals."
"I would be pleased to join you, O'Neill."
After finishing his breakfast, Daniel returned to his quarters. He kicked off his shoes and laid down, thinking that he'd just nap for a couple of hours. That was the last thought he had before sleep took him.
Jack, Danny and Teal'c were presently on the trail of a deer, which Teal'c had surmised was a buck. They crept through the forest, Danny doing a surprisingly good job of moving silently.
Teal'c abruptly held out a hand, halting the others. Making a motion to be silent, he inched forward, followed by Danny and Jack. They crouched behind some brush and looked out into a small clearing. The buck was there in the distance, its velvet-incased antlers bobbing slightly as it grazed. It lifted its head to peer in their direction for a few seconds, then returned to eating.
Jack looked down at the little boy and saw him staring at the deer in childish delight.
"In a few more months, that buck will probably have quite an impressive rack on him," he whispered close to the child's ear.
"Rack?" Danny inquired, also whispering.
"Antlers. The bucks lose their antlers in the winter, after the breeding season, then start growing them back in the spring. By fall, he'll have rubbed that fuzzy stuff off, and they'll be big and sharp. That's the difference between antlers and horns. Horns never fall off."
"The oryx have horns," Danny said. "Some people think that the legend of the unicorn came from them."
"Really?"
"Uh huh, because, when you look at them sideways, it looks like they have only one horn."
Jack smiled down at him. Just eight years old, and the kid was already becoming a fountain of information on mythology.
Something startled the buck, and it bounded away. The three observers rose to their feet.
"Wasn't that fun?" Jack asked.
Danny nodded, smiling.
Jack rubbed his hands together. "Come on. Now, let's go find some bugs we can eat."
"Ewww!" Danny exclaimed.
When Daniel awoke after a four-hour nap, he felt a whole lot better. He was in the commissary with lunch and a cup of coffee when Jack, Teal'c and Danny came in. Seeing him, they went straight to his table.
"Hey, look who's awake," Jack said. "You're looking better, not so ragged around the edges. I'm guessing you got some sleep."
"Yes, I did. So, did you guys have fun frolicking in the woods?"
"I do not frolic," Teal'c replied haughtily.
"Neither do colonels," Jack added.
"Sorry," Daniel apologized.
"But, yes, we did have fun. We'd still be out there if Danny hadn't gotten hungry. He didn't want to eat the bugs."
Daniel's eyebrows rose. "Bugs?"
"Uncle Jack said that if you're lost in the woods and have no food, you can eat bugs to keep you alive." Danny made a face. "I'd rather have waffles."
"Waffles definitely do sound better than bugs," Daniel agreed.
Daniel's teammates and the boy got their lunch and sat at the table with him.
"Still no Carter?" Jack asked.
"I haven't seen her. She may have already eaten," Daniel replied.
The archeologist resumed eating, listening to Danny talk about tracking a deer and the other things he had done with Jack and Teal'c.
"Hey. Is this seat taken?"
Daniel looked up from his food to see Sam standing beside the table, holding a tray.
"Nope. It's all yours, Carter," Jack replied. "I was beginning to think we weren't going to see you today."
"Sorry, sir." Sam took a seat.
"You weren't at breakfast," Danny said disapprovingly.
"I know. I was busy with work. I'm sorry. I'll try not to miss breakfast tomorrow."
"Why don't you tell Sam what you did today?" Jack suggested to Danny.
The boy eagerly launched into a repeat of the day's adventures.
"Bugs? He wanted you to eat bugs?" Sam said. "Gross."
"Uh huh. Then he pretended to eat one."
"Pretended!" Jack exclaimed. "Who says I was pretending?"
"You were too pretending!" Danny insisted. "You had the bug hiding in your hand."
The colonel stared at the boy. "Just like Daniel. I can't slip anything by him." He sighed theatrically. "Okay, so I was pretending."
Danny smiled smugly and went back to his food. He started making a circle with his French fries. Then he made another circle inside the first.
"What's that?" Sam asked him.
"A Stargate."
Every adult at the table stiffened and looked at each other.
"Where did you hear about the Stargate, Danny?" Daniel asked, keeping his voice level.
The boy shrugged. "I don't know. From someplace. What is a Stargate?"
Every one of Daniel's teammates looked to him to answer the question.
"It's . . . it's something that was found on the Giza Plateau back in 1928," he replied truthfully.
"Why is it called that?"
"Uh, because it's a gate, and it has pictures of star constellations on it." Okay, so that was only partially a lie. It was a gate and it did have star constellations on it. That just wasn't the reason why was called a Stargate.
"Like the Big Dipper and Little Dipper?"
"Actually, those are only parts of the constellations of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor," Sam corrected, hoping to distract the boy from his questions about the Stargate. "Maybe we can go outside tonight, and I can tell you the names of the different constellations."
Danny smiled. "That would be fun."
Daniel looked at Danny grimly. He was positive that the boy had gained the knowledge of the Stargate from his mind. With a sinking heart, he realized something else. They no longer had the option of waiting to tell Danny about the program and the truth about himself. Regardless of whether or not he was ready, he would have to be told now.
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