CHAPTER ELEVEN
As the team went with Danny to breakfast the next day, the boy kept looking around at everyone. It didn't stop after they sat down with their food.
Finally, Danny leaned in close to Daniel and whispered. "Does everybody here know I'm a clone?"
"Yes, they do."
"Is that why they looked at me kind of weird when I first came here?"
The rest of Daniel's team turned to the boy, having heard the comment.
"What do you mean by weird?" Daniel asked, though he had a suspicion that he already knew the answer.
"Some people stared at me, and I saw other people whisper to each other when we passed by."
Jack frowned. He'd noticed some of the stares the first time they'd taken Danny out 'into public' on base but hadn't seen the whispered conversations.
Daniel was struggling to find an answer that wouldn't make Danny feel self-conscious. "Um, I guess they were kind of curious about you at first. Most of the people here have never met a human clone before."
Apparently satisfied by the answer, Danny began to eat his breakfast. After the meal, Daniel took Danny topside, where they read and did a little schoolwork. It was just before lunch when he told Danny about the telepathic link. The boy thought it was very cool and tried to read Daniel's mind. He didn't succeed, which disappointed him tremendously. Daniel figured that they would probably never reach the point where they could consciously read each other's thoughts, which was a very good thing. Having an eight-year-old inside his head could be . . . awkward, especially when Daniel was thinking about Sam, which he seemed incapable of preventing himself from doing.
The two of them spent part of the afternoon in Sam's lab. Now that the boy knew about the Stargate Program, Sam was able to tell him what some of the devices in the lab really did. Danny soaked it all in like a sponge, asking tons of questions.
"You know, Colonel O'Neill may be right," Sam remarked as she and Daniel watched Danny study one of the devices.
"Right about what?" Daniel asked.
"When he said that Danny would be able to do both of our jobs when he grew up and came to work here."
"I kind of doubt it, Sam. I never had much of a head for math or science."
Sam looked at him. "Was that because you really didn't have the skill or simply because you didn't have the interest?"
Daniel thought about it. "I . . . don't really know. Those weren't the things that interested me in school, except how they applied to archeology and languages. I mean, I did okay in the subjects, but they weren't where my strengths lie."
"It sounds to me like, if you'd had a real interest in them, you would have done a whole lot better."
Daniel shrugged. "That may be. My passion was archeology, anthropology and linguistic, and that's where I applied myself the most."
"I can understand that. Though I did all right with English and history in school, I spent a whole lot less time on them than I did on math and the various sciences."
Danny came up to them.
"So, does all that science stuff interest you?" Daniel asked curiously.
"Uh huh. It didn't used to. Mom and Dad taught me some stuff, but I wanted to learn about history, and archeology, and languages instead." Danny looked at Sam. "But you make the science stuff sound really cool."
Sam's face lit with a brilliant smile. "Thank you, Danny. That's a really nice thing to say."
"But I still want to be an archeologist when I grow up, like Mom, and Dad, and Daniel."
Sam ruffled his hair. "I'm sure you will be," she glanced at Daniel, "and maybe a lot more."
That night, as Danny was getting ready for bed, he asked about the mission Daniel was going on in the morning.
"Where are you going?"
Since they were going back to Cedarna, a world Danny already knew about, Hammond probably wouldn't have an issue with Daniel telling the boy that's where they were going, but the archeologist decided that it would be best to let Danny know right from the start that he couldn't divulge information about missions.
"Um, I'm not really allowed to talk about our missions, Danny."
"Why not?"
"Well, because information about what we see and do out there is classified. You know what that is, right?"
Danny nodded. "It means that it's top secret."
"That's right. Because it's classified, only people who have clearance can be told. That's people who have been given special permission to know those things."
Danny frowned. "And I don't have clearance."
"Not for information on missions, but General Hammond gave you clearance to know about the Stargate Program and things like the Goa'uld and some of the other aliens. Very few people in the world know about those things, so it's a pretty special privilege to be given clearance for that."
That cheered Danny up. "How long will you be gone?"
"Not long, a few hours at the most."
"I wish I could go with you."
"Unfortunately, the people in charge of this place wouldn't allow that," Daniel told him.
"You mean Uncle General George?"
"Actually, if we knew that the mission was completely safe, he might let you go, if he had permission from his bosses."
"When I'm all grown up, can I go?"
"If you decide to come work here, then, yes, I'm sure you could go through the gate."
"I want to come work here," Danny stated. "It would be fun, and I would get to work with you, like Mom and Dad sometimes let me dig for artifacts with them."
"I'd like that, too. But, before you can do that, you'll need to go to school and learn lots of things, like I did."
"Can't you and Sam teach me?"
"We can teach you some things, but you really need to go to school, Danny."
"The other kids won't know I'm a clone, will they?"
"No, they won't know, and you have to keep it a secret from them. Actually, this is something we have to talk about. Come sit on the bed."
Danny took a seat beside the archeologist.
"Since nobody knows that you're a clone, we're going to have to make up a story about who you are. Because you look like me, we're going to say that I'm your father. I know that isn't the truth, but people can't know the truth."
Danny frowned. "Mom and Dad taught me not to lie."
"I know, and, normally, that's a good thing, but, sometimes, people have no choice but to lie because the truth can't be told. That's especially true when you're talking about top secret things, like what you are."
"I'm top secret?" asked Danny, smiling in delight.
Daniel smiled back. "You sure are, which means that we have to keep your true identity a secret."
"Like Clark Kent has to hide that he's really Superman?"
"Yes, just like that."
"Cool."
The archeologist resumed explaining things. "Okay, so we're going to say that I'm your father, but you only just started living with me. You were living with your mom before because she and I got divorced when you were little. Do you know what divorced means?"
"Uh huh. It's when a mom and dad don't want to live together anymore. Lisa Hartford's parents were divorced."
Daniel vaguely recalled the blonde girl he'd met in the private school. "Right. Okay, so, when you were really small, your mom and I got divorced, and you lived with her. But, now, you're living with me because, um . . . because she died."
Danny's eyes clouded up, and his gaze fell. Daniel put an arm around him and drew him close. The boy appeared to be battling his tears, trying very hard not to cry.
"Danny, what is it? You don't have to hide that you're sad."
"I didn't know if it was still okay to cry," Danny admitted very quietly.
"Why would it not be okay for you to cry?"
"Because what I remember didn't really happen to me and because Mom and Dad really died a long, long time ago."
"Danny, what you're remembering about Mom and Dad may be my memories, but that doesn't make what you feel any less real. It's okay to miss them and be sad that they're gone. And it's okay to cry."
Danny cried for a little while, then dried his tears. Daniel got him into the bed, deciding that they could talk some more about their 'cover story' tomorrow.
"Love you," he said, smiling down at the boy.
"Love you, too," Danny responded before slipping into sleep.
SG-1 and General Hammond stood in the control room. Beside Daniel was Danny, who was watching the Stargate with eager anticipation. He was standing on top of a step stool so that he could see over the computers and down into the gate room.
They had only just received permission this morning to offer sperm from the sperm banks to the Cedarnans, if they wanted it. Daniel had been concerned that the request would be refused, but Hammond pushed it through by hinting that the Cedarnans might not want to part with any of their technology if that happened.
The archeologist bent over and met Danny's eyes. "Okay, now, like I said before, turning on the Stargate is pretty loud. There will be lots of clunks and bangs while it's dialing up, and then a really loud roaring noise when the wormhole connects. Are you ready for that?"
Danny nodded.
Daniel straightened and gave Hammond a nod.
"Begin the dialing sequence," the general ordered.
As the gate began to dial, the eyes of Hammond and SG-1 were not on it, but on the little boy who was watching it for the first time. They were all hoping that this experience would be a good one and not cause another flashback. It was understood that, if Danny did have a flashback, the mission would be canceled for the day.
As each chevron engaged, the excitement on Danny's face grew. He knew that there would be seven and couldn't wait to see what happened when that seventh one was dialed.
And then the final chevron was locked, and, with a tremendous roar, the wormhole exploded into being. Danny started at the noise and the rush of the vortex, but showed no sign of suffering a flashback. He was staring at the Stargate with enormous eyes, his mouth hanging open in awestruck wonder.
"Pretty cool, huh," Jack said, smiling.
Danny nodded up and down emphatically.
Jack looked at his teammates. "That's probably one of the few times we'll ever see some named Daniel Jackson at a loss for words."
"It looks like water," Danny said.
"Oops. Should have known it wouldn't last for long," the colonel murmured.
Ignoring him, Daniel addressed the boy. "Yes, it does. That's what I thought when I first saw it."
"Does it feel like water?"
"No. It's kind of hard to describe how it feels."
"We need to get going, Daniel," Jack said.
"Right. Danny, you stay here, okay? You can watch us leave." Daniel gave the boy a quick hug. "We'll be back."
Danny watched SG-1 leave the room, then turned back to the gate room. A few seconds later, he saw them enter and walk up the ramp, along with SG-16, who were coming along to help. As the other SG team passed through the gate, the four members of SG-1 turned around and waved, then, one by one, walked into the rippling, water-like surface, vanishing from view. A moment later, the gate shut down. Danny swore that, someday, he'd get to walk through it.
The teams were met by Esha, Derdri and Cath, who took them straight to the meeting hall.
"We have talked at great length about these things," Esha said, "and we have all decided that we will stay here and build what we need to clean the water. We will go back to harvesting the wild plants and fruits. The decision on if we will return to eating meat is still being discussed."
"And what about the offer to give you sperm from the sperm bank?" Daniel asked. "We talked with people in our government, and they agreed to allow it."
"Then we will accept," Esha replied. "Your words to us were wise, Daniel. We must stop fearing what the children may grow up to be and love them for who they are."
The archeologist smiled. "Good. I'm glad."
SG-1 and 16 got down to the business of planning all that needed to be done. They had brought with them containers to fill with soil. The soil would be taken to Area 51, which was going to do the job of extracting the neutralizer. Once the process of extraction was perfected, the Cedarnans would be given the equipment they needed and trained in how to use it so that they could make the neutralizer themselves. Area 51 would also be working on a synthetic form of the neutralizer, although it could be months before one was created, tested and proven to be both safe and effective.
Several hours later, Esha brought SG-1 to the room where the cloning machine was. Only one of the devices that collected and transferred memories would be taken back to Earth. Area 51 had wanted both of them, but Daniel insisted that the Cedarnans be allowed to keep one since they used it as a teaching aid, and Hammond backed him up.
Daniel gazed at the machine that had created the little boy who was now a permanent part of his life. Even though he knew that Danny was a clone, that he was not conceived within a mother's womb and born into the world like other children were, it still seemed alien to think about the way the boy was really created. In Daniel's mind, regardless of where his genetic material came from and how it was grown, Danny was as precious and unique a human being as any other child.
Some of the Cedarnan scientists helped move the cloning machine out of the hospital. SG-16 took charge of it and headed off to the gate with it. They and SG-9 would be taking over on helping the Cedarnans and working out the fine points of the trade agreement. This would be the last time that SG-1 came here.
Esha walked with SG-1 back to the gate.
"Our people will always owe you a debt that we can never repay," he said. "What you have done will live in our history forever. All the generations to come will know that they have you to thank for their existence." He smiled. "Some of our artists are already working on statues and paintings of you. They will have a place of honor in our museum."
"That's why you took our pictures when we were here last?" Sam asked, surprised.
Esha smiled. "Yes."
Jack had a pleased expression on his face. "In your museum, you say?"
"Yes. We are discussing adding a room that is dedicated to this chapter in our history. The images of all of you will be its centerpiece."
That made Jack's proud smile get even bigger, his chest puffing out a little. "We might just have to come back here someday to take a look at that."
"We will gladly send you an invitation to the opening ceremony."
They arrived at the gate. SG-16 was already dialing it up. Figuring that Daniel might want to say a private goodbye to Esha, Jack, Teal'c and Sam joined the other team.
"Is the child who is your clone well?" the Cedarnan asked.
"Yes, he is," Daniel replied. "He's doing very well." He met the man's eyes. "Esha, I want to thank you."
"Thank me? It is we who owe all the thanks to you."
"No. I want to thank you for Danny. Though cloning me without my permission was a wrong thing to do, what has come of it is something that I will always be grateful for. I never got the chance to have a child of my own, and I never realized how incredible fatherhood could be. Danny has given me a . . . a joy beyond words. He is a part of my life and a part of my heart, and I love him dearly. So, thank you. Thank you for giving that to me."
Blinking back tears, Esha laid a hand on Daniel's cheek. "Bless the children, Daniel."
"For they are a great gift to be cherished," the archeologist finished.
Smiling, Esha embraced Daniel gently. The archeologist then walked away to join his teammates at the open wormhole. With a final wave goodbye, he stepped through.
"It was really cool watching you come through," Danny said as he and SG-1 walked down the hallway. The boy and Hammond had been in the control room to witness their return. "Uncle General George said that, sometimes, people get sick and almost throw up the first time they go through the gate. Did any of you throw up the first time?"
"I almost did," Sam admitted. "My stomach felt like it was inside out."
"I felt a little sick, but, no, I didn't throw up," Daniel said.
"Jaffa do not vomit when they travel through the Stargate," Teal'c stated with pride.
"Colonels don't either," Jack declared. He paused. "Well, okay, so most of them don't. I didn't."
Danny almost looked disappointed that none of them had thrown up.
When Daniel told Hammond during the debriefing that the Cedarnans were going to accept the sperm donations, the general said that he'd get started on making the arrangements. Of course, the Cedarnan doctors would have to be educated on the fertilization methods before they could make use of the sperm.
The cloning machine was the next topic. It was already being prepared for shipment off to Area 51.
"Okay, I gotta say that I really don't like the idea of those guys at Area 51 having that cloning machine," Jack remarked. "They might get it into their heads to make a few clones to study. And the thought of them creating a bunch children just to study them makes me sick."
"That, I'm afraid, is up to the president to either prevent or allow," Hammond responded, "although I will certainly express our concerns to him."
In what had become a tradition, SG-1 and Danny all went to the commissary for lunch and dessert. Danny had already eaten, so he just had dessert. Fearing for her waistline, Sam had blue Jell-O for her dessert. Curious about how it tasted, Danny was given a bite and decided that he liked it.
Back in their quarters, Daniel told Danny that, come tomorrow, they'd be moving out of the room and going to the archeologist's house.
"Does that mean I'm not going to be coming here anymore?" the boy asked with a sad look.
"Maybe sometimes you will, but not for a while. You see, I'm supposed to be on leave. That means I'm not supposed to be working. So, once we go to my home, I won't be coming back here for a while, probably a couple of weeks. There's no school right now, but you're probably not going to be able to come to work with me most days. The SGC is a military base, and the big bosses in the military wouldn't care for the idea of a child running around the base."
Danny was trying very hard not to cry. "But then I won't ever see Jack, and Sam, and Teal'c, and Uncle General George."
"Yes, you will, Danny. Sam, Jack and Teal'c will probably come over to our house for visits lots of times, and General Hammond can visit, too."
Danny's head was bowed, and he was twisting the hem of his T-shirt. Daniel put his arm around the boy.
"I know that you'll miss not seeing them every day, but we can't live here on the base forever."
"But I like it here."
"I know you do, but it's just not possible, Danny. Beside, you need to be out in the fresh air, and you need to go to school and play with other kids. Don't you want to have other kids to play with?"
"I guess," Danny mumbled.
"I know it will be a change from what you've gotten used to, but it's going to be all right. You'll see."
"Who's going to take care of me when you're at work?"
"I haven't figured that out yet. We'll work something out." Daniel hated the idea of putting Danny in daycare, but either that or hiring a regular babysitter were most likely the only options.
Daniel decided that this would be a good time to go over the cover story with Danny again. He went back over the whole thing.
"Since everybody who doesn't know the truth is going to think that I'm your dad, you're, uh, going to have to call me that when we're around those people. I know it's not going to be easy to remember to call me that when you're used to calling me Daniel, but if you call me Daniel around other people, they'll wonder why. Do you think that you can remember to call me Dad?"
"I think so."
Daniel smiled at him. "Okay, I think we're all set. Oh, there's something else. Because my house isn't big enough for two people, we're going to be looking for something bigger."
"Will I have my own room? I had my own room in my old house."
"Yes, once we get a bigger place, you'll have your own room."
"And it will just be you and me living there?"
"That's right."
"Not Sam?"
Daniel said nothing for a moment. "No, Sam won't be living there. She has her own house. I told you that she and I need to be only friends, Danny. We can't live together."
Daniel had thought that he kept all emotion off his face, but Danny must have seen something. "But you'd like her to live with us."
The archeologist sighed. He couldn't lie. In spite of his battle to keep them at bay, his feelings for Sam were continuing to grow. He was now having dreams of them making love, though, thankfully, none of them had gotten really intense . . . yet. Waking up to reality from one of those dreams was bad enough, but the other one, the dream he had last night, was much worse. In it, he, Danny and Sam were a family, Sam's abdomen round and heavy with a new life. There was this ache deep in his soul for her, a longing that was almost physically painful. He wanted her more than anything . . . and he could never have her.
Daniel felt a hand slip into his. He looked down at Danny, who was gazing at him in concern, looking upset.
"I don't like it when you're sad," the boy said. "You're sad because of Sam."
Daniel let out a deep, shuddery breath. "I really screwed up, Danny."
"What did you do?"
Daniel's gaze drifted across the room. "I've fallen in love with Sam."
"Romantic love?"
"Yeah. I think that maybe a little part of me has been in love with her like that for a very long time. I just didn't realize it."
"What are you going to do?"
"Nothing. I can't do anything, Danny. Sam and I can't be more than friends."
"But Uncle Jack said it isn't against the rules," Danny told him.
Daniel's head spun around. "You told him? Danny, I asked you not to tell."
"I didn't tell. I promise. I just asked him if there were any rules about any of you loving each other romantically. He said that civilians didn't have to follow any rules about that."
"And he didn't ask why you were asking?"
"Yes, but I said it was a secret."
Daniel sighed. "I wish you hadn't asked him, Danny."
The boy ducked his head. "I'm sorry."
"Why did you?"
"Because."
Daniel put a finger under Danny chin and lifted it. "Because why?"
The little boy met his eyes. "Because I want you to be happy, and you and Sam being together would make you happy. I thought if there weren't any rules against it, you could be together."
Daniel closed his eyes for a moment and drew Danny into his arms. "I wish it were that simple. I really do. There are a lot of reasons why Sam and I need to stay just friends. Being on the same team is just one of them. Danny, I do think that being with Sam would make me happy, but I can be happy without it. Having you in my life makes me happy. It'll be okay with just the two of us. Really." Daniel felt like he was trying to convince himself as much as he was the little boy.
Danny didn't understand why it was that Daniel and Sam couldn't be together if it wasn't against the rules. He wished that he could ask Uncle Jack, but that would be breaking his promise. What he did know was that Daniel was really sad about not being together with Sam, and he wanted Daniel to be happy. Was Sam also sad? If she was, he wanted her to be happy, too.
Maybe he could do something to make them get together. But how do you make people get together? Danny remembered one time that his mom and dad went out for what his dad called a romantic dinner. They both got all dressed up, and Danny had to stay with a babysitter. When they got back home, they were both smiling a lot. He was supposed to be in bed but had snuck out of his room when he heard them come home. After the babysitter left, Mom and Dad had started kissing and giggling a lot and went to their bedroom. Danny had heard strange noises coming from their room after that.
Would a romantic dinner make Daniel and Sam get together? If it would, how could he get them to go on one? He really wished that he could talk to Uncle Jack about this. Jack would know what to do.
Daniel and Danny were busy packing their belongings early the next morning when there was an unscheduled off-world activation.
"What does that mean?" Danny asked.
"It means that somebody is dialing into our gate unexpectedly. I should go see what it's about. Will you be all right here?"
"Yeah, it's okay. I'm not scared about being by myself anymore."
It turned out that the person dialing in was Warrick. SG-1 had met the alien the year Daniel was ascended. They found him, a survivor of his crew, and several human prisoners on P2X-131. The prisoner transport ship Warrick piloted had crash landed on the planet, and they'd all been stranded there for three years.
Warrick's home planet, Hebridan, didn't have a Stargate. He explained to Daniel and Hammond in the briefing room that he had piloted his ship to the nearest planet that had one he could use.
Sam hadn't gotten to the SGC yet when Warrick arrived, but, due to the message the general had left at the checkpoints for her, came straight to the briefing room the moment she arrived. She was dressed in a leather jacket and pants and carried a motorcycle helmet, which made it clear how she'd gotten to work today. Daniel smiled slightly when he thought about the look on Danny's face if Sam ever gave him a ride on her bike.
In the briefing that followed, they learned that Warrick wanted their help to win a race and was willing to allow the SGC to study the ion propulsion drive in his ship in return for their aid. That aid would be in the form of a Naquadah generator. Sam was all for it and insisted that she needed to accompany Warrick on the race to keep an eye on the generator. Hammond agreed to the terms, and SG-1, minus Daniel, would be leaving with Warrick later in the morning. It would take two days to get to his homeworld.
Knowing that they'd be gone for several days, Jack, Sam and Teal'c each came to say goodbye to Danny. It turned out that they weren't the only ones. Knocks kept coming on the door of Daniel's quarters as various personnel came to say farewell. Even the gruff, tough Colonel Dixon came to give Danny a pat on the head and orders to, "Keep your head down, and don't let any wackos snatch you."
Just before he and Danny were going to leave, Daniel went to Sam's lab. There was a Naquadah generator on the worktable, plus a variety of tools and other things. Sam was busy packing the stuff into cases.
"So, you guys heading off for your place?" she asked, continuing to pack.
Daniel nodded. "We'll be leaving in a few minutes, that is if the rest of the people on base don't decide to come say goodbye."
Sam grinned. "Danny's become pretty popular around here."
"I found out that Warrick has set up meetings with the highest ranking members of the Hebridan government and business community."
"I bet Colonel O'Neill is really looking forward to that," Sam remarked, knowing that it would be just the opposite.
"Oh, yeah. He's now wishing that I was going along."
"I can imagine so."
Daniel paused. "You really think this is worth it, Sam?"
"Absolutely." Sam glanced at him. "Why? Don't you?"
"No . . . yeah. . . . I just . . . you just seem unusually . . . Gung Ho."
Sam stopped packing and turned to face him, smiling. "Gung Ho?"
"This is kind of more than about attaining new technology for you, isn't it."
"You mean helping Warrick? He did once risk his life for me."
"Yeah, I heard that. I just think that there's something else."
"Look, I know that this could be dangerous. But this is our job, right? It's what we signed on to do. We take risks in the hope of achieving new levels of technology. If, and I stress, if participating in this race happens to be a little bit . . . I don't know. . . ."
"Fun?" Daniel supplied.
Sam grinned and lifted her arms up into the air and shrugged casually. "What's a girl to do?"
Daniel smiled, too. "Nothing. That's . . . that's just what I thought."
Sam went back to packing.
"Sam?"
"Hmm?"
"Please be careful."
The major turned back around at the note of concern in Daniel's voice. All levity was now gone from his face.
"Hey, I'll be fine, Daniel. Don't worry."
"I just wish I was going."
"Even if you were going to Hebridan, Daniel, you wouldn't be going on the ship with me."
"I know. I guess I'd just feel better if I was there rather than light-years away."
Sam reached out and laid a hand on his arm. "It's going to be all right, Daniel. You'll see."
She was a little surprised when Daniel laid his hand over the one she had on his arm. The warm touch made her skin tingle. And then his thumb began caressing the back of her hand, and her breath hitched at the sensation it caused. She met his eyes for a long, searching moment, then she very gently withdrew her hand, giving him a smile that she tried her level best to make casual.
"It'll be okay," she reiterated, resuming her packing.
"I'll see you in a few days, Sam," Daniel said softly, then left.
Sam slowly let out the breath she'd been holding and continued her packing, shoving thoughts of Daniel and how his touch made her feel as far out of her mind as possible.
