Stargate SG-1: Sam/Jack - A Temporary Menagerie
TITLE: A Temporary Menagerie
AUTHOR: Matt, December 2006
SUMMARY: There are few things on Earth scarier than the offspring of Val Mal Duran.
RATING: PG
DISCLAIMER: Characters are property of Sony, MGM et al.
NOTE: Written for alphabetasoup. The prompt was ‘amuck.’
NOTE 2: Thanks to alliesings for her suggestions.
Sam came through the door and stopped short. The cacophony of noise greeting her was unbelievable, and she almost wanted to turn tail and flee. Anywhere seemed safer than where she was about to enter. Netu, a.ka. Hell, felt a better option.
Sam Carter was not a coward, and never had been. She had faced down evil in various guises, had taken chances with risky experiments, and had visited places few people would dare to tread. She had faced down Goa’uld, and won.
But there was something about this situation that petrified her. She didn’t need to see what was happening; the sound gave it away. It was the sound of something wild and uncontrollable running rampant through her home.
Loud bellowing accompanied the thundering of feet. Sam was envisioning bulls or rhinos creating havoc among her personal items. She was picturing valuable pieces of china - family heirlooms - crashing to the ground into millions of pieces. She was imaging her papers scattered on the carpet with scant regard for the research undertaken to complete them.
“You can do this,” she told herself, closing the front door behind her and placing her briefcase on the floor. “You’ve faced worse,” she added, slipping off her shoes. “You’ll have back-up,” she reminded herself as she took a deep breath and turned in the direction of the family room.
Her eyes widened as she took in the scene before her. Twin toddler girls and an older boy were running in circles, screaming wildly. It looked as though some sort of chase was taking place, though it was hard to see who was the hunter and who was the prey. Toys and books were scattered throughout the room, discarded in favor of this craziness.
And, in the middle of it all, sitting as though he barely had a care in the world, was her husband.
“Jack?” Her voice was barely a whisper compared to the screaming; so she called his name again. “Jack!”
The three figures stopped running and, in one accord, screamed, “Auntie Sam!” before running directly towards her. She was assaulted at all angles by a mix of arms and legs that clung to her fiercely. “Auntie Sam, Auntie Sam,” they clamored, all wanting her attention.
She bowed to pressure and sunk to the floor. “Hey there,” she said, with a smile, trying not to show how she really felt. After all, they didn’t know that she’d had a terrible day at work and that all she really wanted was a warm bath accompanied by a glass of white wine. “What are you guys doing here?”
The boy took a deep breath. “Daddy had to go to Egypt, and Mommy had to work.”
Daniel had to go to Egypt? That was news to Sam. He’d not mentioned it when they’d spoken two days earlier. Perhaps something had come up. Or maybe Egypt was a codeword for somewhere off-world. She looked over to Jack, but he only raised an eyebrow.
“So your Mommy brought you here?”
One of the girls - Clare, Sam recognized - nodded. “Mommy don’t like work. Me don’t like Mommy at work.”
Sam bit back a smile. No doubt there were SGC personnel who didn’t like it when Vala visited the base either. She was rarely called in these days, surprisingly preferring to stay at home with her children, but there were times when the knowledge of Qestesh - the Goa'uld to whom Vala had once been host - was badly needed.
“Me got tummy ache.” The other little girl nestled into Sam’s arms and pouted.
“She ate too much candy,” her brother stated.
“Did not.”
“Did too.”
“Did not.”
Sam looked sternly at her husband. “Uncle Jack, did you give Rebekah candy?”
“No.” There were times when her husband looked exactly like another small child. His guilty expression made him appear as though he was six instead of sixty.
“Did too.” Vala and Daniel’s son was determined to play the role of accuser to the full.
“Some respect for your elders, young man,” Jack retorted.
Sam had a feeling, however, that Mal Jackson was probably telling the truth. No doubt he had consumed an equally large portion of sugar. Jack was always weak when it came to children, and he’d told her several times that he felt Daniel and Vala were too strict with their children where snacks were concerned. The three junior Jacksons must have seen him as an easy target for forbidden treats.
She pulled Rebekah in front of her, and gently began rubbing the girl’s stomach. “Don’t worry, honey, it’ll get better.”
“She’ll puke.”
Mal also had a tendency to state the obvious. At the age of four, he considered himself vastly superior in knowledge to his younger sisters.
“No, she won’t,” Sam replied with a smile. She continued her ministrations. Eventually, the girl relaxed in her arms. Meanwhile, Clare lay down with her head on Sam’s left knee. Seeing that he wasn’t going to get a good discussion with any of them, Mal lay down on the floor and began scribbling in a coloring book.
Jack slowly crawled over to her, dodging a stuffed mummy and a card book that cried, “Moo!” when pressed in a certain way. Finally, he slid behind her and put his arms around her. “How was your day?” he asked, nuzzling the side of her neck.
“Surprisingly calmer than this,” she replied, leaning back into his embrace. “How long have these three been here?”
Jack lifted his arm and glanced at his watch. “About an hour and a half,” he moaned. “I don’t ever remember Charlie being this bad.”
She laughed. “There was only one of him, and his mother wasn’t Vala Jackson.”
“Thank goodness. Sometimes I wonder how Daniel does it.”
“By going off to Egypt?”
Jack’s mouth lowered to her ear. “There’s been a discovery made, near Abydos.”
She turned her head in confusion. “I thought that place was no more?”
“The one actually in Egypt,” Jack replied. “Daniel had to fly over there to take control of the situation for the SGC. He’s still the best Egyptologist they’ve got. Meanwhile, Vala was going to view the scene through a satellite link-up. It’s possible there’s some connection to Qetesh.”
Sam shivered at the mention of the Goa’uld who’d once held captive the mother of these children. “How long will she be needed?”
“She told General Davis that she’d only stay a few hours tonight. I think she plans to download a lot of stuff onto a laptop and then review it while they’re asleep tonight.”
She looked down at their charges. “I think it’s possible they’re asleep already. Thank goodness sugar rushes are only temporary. Honestly, Jack, what did you feed them?”
“Only a couple of cookies,” he replied casually.
“A couple? Jack, the only cookies we have are the triple chocolate ones that Cassie made the other day.”
“They wanted ‘em.”
“And you just had to give in to them, didn’t you?”
She felt his shoulders shrug. “They’re kids. You’re supposed to give in to them.”
“No, you’re not,” she protested. “How else will you set boundaries if they get their way every time?”
“That’s what parents are for, Sam. Trust me on this. Parents set the boundaries, while aunties and uncles are there to spoil.”
“So, when are you going to tell them that every Earth child has to have a dog?”
“Daniel’s already warned me off that one.” Sam could swear he was pouting. “Says Vala would just want some frou-frou thing that yips anyway.” Jack was positively disdainful of such a creature.
Sam shifted. Her body was beginning to ache. “Maybe we should put these two to bed,” she said quietly. “They seem to have worn themselves out.”
Jack stood and smoothly picked up Clare before she could wake. Sam followed suit with Rebekah, and soon both girls were tucked up in the bed in the spare bedroom.
“I’m glad you came home when you did,” Jack told her as they made their way into the kitchen to start work on their dinner. “They just wouldn’t stop. It was driving me insane.”
Sam looked at him in disbelief. “It didn’t seem that way to me.”
“Don’t get me wrong, Sam, I love kids. But I’m getting too old for it all, you know.”
She nodded. “I know.” She felt the same way, and she was much younger than him.
He closed the freezer door and looked over at her. “Do you regret not having children?” he asked soberly.
“No!” Sam walked over to him and laid her head against his shoulder. “We knew that me being able to conceive was an extremely remote possibility. Stressing over it would only have made it even harder. If it was supposed to have happened, it would have.”
“Auntie Sam?” asked Mal from the doorway. “Can I have a drink please?”
“It’s ‘may I’ have a drink,” Jack reminded him.
Sam knew the routine; so she didn’t answer.
Eventually, Mal phrased the question more to Jack’s liking. “Please may I have a drink?”
She moved around Jack and grabbed the carton from the refrigerator. The juice was poured into a plastic cup and given to the young boy, who then disappeared back to the family room.
Sam smiled back at Jack. “Besides, I think looking after these three is enough, don’t you?”
FINIS
AUTHOR: Matt, December 2006
SUMMARY: There are few things on Earth scarier than the offspring of Val Mal Duran.
RATING: PG
DISCLAIMER: Characters are property of Sony, MGM et al.
NOTE: Written for alphabetasoup. The prompt was ‘amuck.’
NOTE 2: Thanks to alliesings for her suggestions.
Sam came through the door and stopped short. The cacophony of noise greeting her was unbelievable, and she almost wanted to turn tail and flee. Anywhere seemed safer than where she was about to enter. Netu, a.ka. Hell, felt a better option.
Sam Carter was not a coward, and never had been. She had faced down evil in various guises, had taken chances with risky experiments, and had visited places few people would dare to tread. She had faced down Goa’uld, and won.
But there was something about this situation that petrified her. She didn’t need to see what was happening; the sound gave it away. It was the sound of something wild and uncontrollable running rampant through her home.
Loud bellowing accompanied the thundering of feet. Sam was envisioning bulls or rhinos creating havoc among her personal items. She was picturing valuable pieces of china - family heirlooms - crashing to the ground into millions of pieces. She was imaging her papers scattered on the carpet with scant regard for the research undertaken to complete them.
“You can do this,” she told herself, closing the front door behind her and placing her briefcase on the floor. “You’ve faced worse,” she added, slipping off her shoes. “You’ll have back-up,” she reminded herself as she took a deep breath and turned in the direction of the family room.
Her eyes widened as she took in the scene before her. Twin toddler girls and an older boy were running in circles, screaming wildly. It looked as though some sort of chase was taking place, though it was hard to see who was the hunter and who was the prey. Toys and books were scattered throughout the room, discarded in favor of this craziness.
And, in the middle of it all, sitting as though he barely had a care in the world, was her husband.
“Jack?” Her voice was barely a whisper compared to the screaming; so she called his name again. “Jack!”
The three figures stopped running and, in one accord, screamed, “Auntie Sam!” before running directly towards her. She was assaulted at all angles by a mix of arms and legs that clung to her fiercely. “Auntie Sam, Auntie Sam,” they clamored, all wanting her attention.
She bowed to pressure and sunk to the floor. “Hey there,” she said, with a smile, trying not to show how she really felt. After all, they didn’t know that she’d had a terrible day at work and that all she really wanted was a warm bath accompanied by a glass of white wine. “What are you guys doing here?”
The boy took a deep breath. “Daddy had to go to Egypt, and Mommy had to work.”
Daniel had to go to Egypt? That was news to Sam. He’d not mentioned it when they’d spoken two days earlier. Perhaps something had come up. Or maybe Egypt was a codeword for somewhere off-world. She looked over to Jack, but he only raised an eyebrow.
“So your Mommy brought you here?”
One of the girls - Clare, Sam recognized - nodded. “Mommy don’t like work. Me don’t like Mommy at work.”
Sam bit back a smile. No doubt there were SGC personnel who didn’t like it when Vala visited the base either. She was rarely called in these days, surprisingly preferring to stay at home with her children, but there were times when the knowledge of Qestesh - the Goa'uld to whom Vala had once been host - was badly needed.
“Me got tummy ache.” The other little girl nestled into Sam’s arms and pouted.
“She ate too much candy,” her brother stated.
“Did not.”
“Did too.”
“Did not.”
Sam looked sternly at her husband. “Uncle Jack, did you give Rebekah candy?”
“No.” There were times when her husband looked exactly like another small child. His guilty expression made him appear as though he was six instead of sixty.
“Did too.” Vala and Daniel’s son was determined to play the role of accuser to the full.
“Some respect for your elders, young man,” Jack retorted.
Sam had a feeling, however, that Mal Jackson was probably telling the truth. No doubt he had consumed an equally large portion of sugar. Jack was always weak when it came to children, and he’d told her several times that he felt Daniel and Vala were too strict with their children where snacks were concerned. The three junior Jacksons must have seen him as an easy target for forbidden treats.
She pulled Rebekah in front of her, and gently began rubbing the girl’s stomach. “Don’t worry, honey, it’ll get better.”
“She’ll puke.”
Mal also had a tendency to state the obvious. At the age of four, he considered himself vastly superior in knowledge to his younger sisters.
“No, she won’t,” Sam replied with a smile. She continued her ministrations. Eventually, the girl relaxed in her arms. Meanwhile, Clare lay down with her head on Sam’s left knee. Seeing that he wasn’t going to get a good discussion with any of them, Mal lay down on the floor and began scribbling in a coloring book.
Jack slowly crawled over to her, dodging a stuffed mummy and a card book that cried, “Moo!” when pressed in a certain way. Finally, he slid behind her and put his arms around her. “How was your day?” he asked, nuzzling the side of her neck.
“Surprisingly calmer than this,” she replied, leaning back into his embrace. “How long have these three been here?”
Jack lifted his arm and glanced at his watch. “About an hour and a half,” he moaned. “I don’t ever remember Charlie being this bad.”
She laughed. “There was only one of him, and his mother wasn’t Vala Jackson.”
“Thank goodness. Sometimes I wonder how Daniel does it.”
“By going off to Egypt?”
Jack’s mouth lowered to her ear. “There’s been a discovery made, near Abydos.”
She turned her head in confusion. “I thought that place was no more?”
“The one actually in Egypt,” Jack replied. “Daniel had to fly over there to take control of the situation for the SGC. He’s still the best Egyptologist they’ve got. Meanwhile, Vala was going to view the scene through a satellite link-up. It’s possible there’s some connection to Qetesh.”
Sam shivered at the mention of the Goa’uld who’d once held captive the mother of these children. “How long will she be needed?”
“She told General Davis that she’d only stay a few hours tonight. I think she plans to download a lot of stuff onto a laptop and then review it while they’re asleep tonight.”
She looked down at their charges. “I think it’s possible they’re asleep already. Thank goodness sugar rushes are only temporary. Honestly, Jack, what did you feed them?”
“Only a couple of cookies,” he replied casually.
“A couple? Jack, the only cookies we have are the triple chocolate ones that Cassie made the other day.”
“They wanted ‘em.”
“And you just had to give in to them, didn’t you?”
She felt his shoulders shrug. “They’re kids. You’re supposed to give in to them.”
“No, you’re not,” she protested. “How else will you set boundaries if they get their way every time?”
“That’s what parents are for, Sam. Trust me on this. Parents set the boundaries, while aunties and uncles are there to spoil.”
“So, when are you going to tell them that every Earth child has to have a dog?”
“Daniel’s already warned me off that one.” Sam could swear he was pouting. “Says Vala would just want some frou-frou thing that yips anyway.” Jack was positively disdainful of such a creature.
Sam shifted. Her body was beginning to ache. “Maybe we should put these two to bed,” she said quietly. “They seem to have worn themselves out.”
Jack stood and smoothly picked up Clare before she could wake. Sam followed suit with Rebekah, and soon both girls were tucked up in the bed in the spare bedroom.
“I’m glad you came home when you did,” Jack told her as they made their way into the kitchen to start work on their dinner. “They just wouldn’t stop. It was driving me insane.”
Sam looked at him in disbelief. “It didn’t seem that way to me.”
“Don’t get me wrong, Sam, I love kids. But I’m getting too old for it all, you know.”
She nodded. “I know.” She felt the same way, and she was much younger than him.
He closed the freezer door and looked over at her. “Do you regret not having children?” he asked soberly.
“No!” Sam walked over to him and laid her head against his shoulder. “We knew that me being able to conceive was an extremely remote possibility. Stressing over it would only have made it even harder. If it was supposed to have happened, it would have.”
“Auntie Sam?” asked Mal from the doorway. “Can I have a drink please?”
“It’s ‘may I’ have a drink,” Jack reminded him.
Sam knew the routine; so she didn’t answer.
Eventually, Mal phrased the question more to Jack’s liking. “Please may I have a drink?”
She moved around Jack and grabbed the carton from the refrigerator. The juice was poured into a plastic cup and given to the young boy, who then disappeared back to the family room.
Sam smiled back at Jack. “Besides, I think looking after these three is enough, don’t you?”
FINIS