Fic: Fluorescent Adolescent (1+2/4)
Title: Fluorescent Adolescent
Rating: K
Summary: Cameron touches something he really shouldnt have done.
Chapter 1
“What the hell did you press?!” Sam shouted as she sprinted to the back room of her lab where she’d left Cameron for only a few seconds to answer her phone, the receiver now hanging off the edge of the desk.
There was so much bluey-purple smoke billowing out of the little room that she had to wave her arm in front of her face in a vain attempt to see through it. It smelt of a sickening mixture of pear drops and body odour and it took all her will to not gag.
“CAM!” she called desperately. Eventually the smoke cleared enough for Sam to see about a metre in front of her and she made her way into the room, feeling along the shelves to where she’d last seen Cam.
“I’m here, Carter,” came a voice. Unmistakeably Cameron’s, but there was something different. Five seconds! Five seconds and he’d already managed to get himself into trouble. It was times like this that Sam was glad of her decision to re-join SG-1. the thought of Cam exploring the galaxy without her to watch his six made her cringe.
“Hang on, Cam, I’ll help you out,” she reached the source of his voice and found felt a soft body under her searching fingers. She hooked her hands under his arm-pits and started dragging him out of the storage room, avoiding shelves and boxes with expert precision.
Pulled clear of the smoke-filled cupboard, Sam dropped him gently to the floor and collapsed next to him, coughing out the smoke from her lungs.
“Please tell me what you pressed-” she started another bout of coughing. Damn that smoke was thick.
“Um, Carter? This isn’t right is it?” Sam, curios both at the question and at the strange crack in his voice, lifted herself up onto her elbows and looked at Cameron for the first time.
The first thing that struck her was that his clothes seemed far too big for him. Then she realised that Cameron seemed to have been replaced by a 13-year-old boy. His face was so similar; he could have been his son.
“Mitchell, please don’t tell me you touched the device labelled ‘DO NOT TOUCH’?”
The boy shrugged, “reverse psychology,” he replied simply.
“I don’t believe you, Mitchell. You’re coming with me right now to the infirmary!” She got to her feet and was on her way to the door when she realised Cameron was still lying on the floor. He seemed relaxed, and with no intention to go anywhere.
“Cameron!” Sam was exasperated.
“My name’s Camz. With a ‘z’. And I ain’t goin’ nowhere,” he jumped to his feet and started snooping around the lab, touching everything of interest.
Sam just stood at the door, open-mouthed, staring at the stubborn boy in too-big clothes, wondering around her lab. He stopped and looked at her.
“Catchin’ flies or you gonna do something useful and show me where the food’s at?” Sam almost screamed and she turned and made her way to the infirmary. Carolyn better know what to do!
……..
“He’s WHAT?!” Carolyn exclaimed as she left her laptop and followed Sam back out into the corridor and back to her lab.
“I don’t know what happened,” Sam explained, or rather, didn’t explain, “I left him for a matter of seconds and now suddenly he’s some stubborn teenager with an attitude problem. He’s even worse than when General O’Neill got cloned and turned into a 15-year-old.”
General Landry turned the corner in front of them and they all but collided, “In a rush, Colonel? Doctor Lam.” He acknowledged.
“General! Yes, Sir, I think you need to see this. It’s Colonel Mitchell, Sir,”
“Colonel Mitchell? What’s he gone and done now?” He asked as he followed them to the lab.
…..
Sam stomach dropped when she found an empty lab on her return.
“He was in here, I swear, Sir,” she told him. There was a clash of metal from the back room, “Cameron!” she called. There was a scuffling sound, then silence.
“Mitchell!” Landry called, “Son, if you think you can hide in that cupboard, it won’t work. We’re not going anywhere until you come out.” When silence was his only reply he carried on, “Mitchell, we’re not angry with you. We just need to talk and make sure you’re okay, and you’re not hurt,”
“You are angry with me!” came a squeaky shout from the other room, followed by a load sniff. “Colonel Carter’s angry at me for touching that box, and now she went to get you! And now you’re angry too!” there was a loud sob then the muffled sound of crying.
Sam, Landry and Carolyn exchanged bemused looks. Sam stepped forward towards the back room.
“Cameron, I’m not angry,” she spoke in a soft voice, “you did something I didn’t want you to, yes, but something happened to you and all we want to do is help sort it out.” She’d reached the door to the other room and stepped inside.
The sight of the boy, so recently sure of himself and ridiculously rude to her, now crumpled in a heap in the corner, face red from tears. He looked scared, vulnerable even.
Sam knelt down in front of him and touched his shoulder. He looked up at her, suspicion in his blood-shot eyes. Then he suddenly lunged forwards and threw his arms around her, clutching hold of her as if she was about to slip away. Sam reached her arms up to him, one holding his head, the other rubbing his back. They stayed like this until his crying died away.
Then he jerked back, letting go of her, back to his protective position. Only this time he had bright red cheeks. He was obviously embarrassed.
“I- I didn’t-” the boy stammered.
Sam’s eyes lowered and she saw the cause for his embarrassment. She managed to suppress her laugh, but a smile made its way onto her lips.
“Cam…” she started, “Cam that’s nothing to be ashamed of,” she reached for his shoulder again but he moved out of her reach, terror in his eyes.
“Ok, I’ll let you- calm down. Then I’ll let Dr. Lam in to take you to the infirmary to check you out, Ok?”
Cameron nodded and Sam walked back out into the main lab, her smile now threatening to take over her whole face.
“Sam, is he Ok?” Carolyn asked, concerned, and confused at Sam’s expression.
“Oh yeah, he’ll be fine. Just a normal teenage boy. Just…give him a few minutes, Ok?”
General Landry raised his eyebrows at Sam’s comment but didn’t say a word. Carolyn just nodded knowingly.
...---...
Chapter 2
“Is there anyway to reverse the effects?” Sam was standing in the doorway to the infirmary, looking at the boy lying in one of the beds. As an adult, Cameron would have filled a bed, then discharged himself as soon as possible, even if he wasn’t ready. As a teenage boy, however, he looked so small. And a Gameboy and an endless supply of crisps was all it took to keep him in.
“We haven’t found anything yet,” Carolyn answered, dragging Sam from her thoughts, “All the tests have come back negative. We can’t tell what actually happened to him. This is definitely not what happened to General O’Neill.” Sam could tell from her face that Carolyn hated feeling this helpless.
“No,” Sam agreed, “That was Asgard cloning. The device he touched wasn’t Asgard.” She glanced over at Cameron, “Is there any reason to keep him in here?”
“Nope. He’s healthy and clean. Just a little - emotionally unstable.”
Sam grinned, “And don’t we know it,” There had been many times as an adult that Sam had been impressed, and confused, at how quickly Cam could change his mood.
………….
“Where are we going?”
“Somewhere you’ll like,” Sam nodded to the security personnel and passed out the base gates to the car park.
“I liked it in the infirmary!” Sam smiled inwardly at hearing Cam, however old, say those words.
“You’ll like this more,”
“I doubt it. And what am I wearing?”
“You’ll see,” Sam smirked.
“Urgh!” frustrated by Sam’s secrecy, Cameron lapsed into silence as they continued on the way to the base car park.
When they reached her bike, Cam’s jaw dropped. “You ride a motorbike?”
Sam just had to laugh at his reaction, “Yes, and you did too,”
“Woah!” he jumped onto the bike and grabbed the handlebars.
“Easy tiger, you’re not driving yet,” Cam turned and gave her his best puppy eyes, making Sam laugh, and to her pleasant surprise, he laughed too. Good. She was making progress with him.
“Scoot over,” Cam shuffled back and Sam swung her leg over the bike, trying not to give him too much of a show.
“Ok, helmets on,” She handed him her spare helmet and but her own on, buckling it under her chin. “Ready?”
“Yep.”
She felt his hands around her waist. She paused for a second. They felt like Cam’s hands. The adult Cam. They were gentle and strong, just a bit smaller. She smiled at that thought as she started the bike up and raced away down the road.
…………..
“Better than the infirmary?” Sam was drinking coffee in a small café, watching Cameron devour a giant ice cream sundae.
“Hell yeah!” he replied through a mouthful of ice cream then delved back in.
Sam thought for a second about telling him to mind his language and not talk with his mouth full, but thought better of it. That would be a bit much.
A waitress came over and snapped Sam out of her musings.
“Would your son like another soda?” She asked with a big smile.
Cam nodded vigorously at her, “No, he wouldn’t, thank you,” Sam said sternly, getting a smile and nod from the waitress, and a scowl from Cam.
He was just about to go back to his ice cream when a thought suddenly hit Sam.
“Cameron?”
“Camz,”
“Fine. Camz?”
“Yeah?”
“What do you remember about your - your job? At the mountain?”
“Everything,” he shrugged and went back to his food.
“And you know you can’t, under any circumstances, talk about it? To anyone?”
Cameron looked at her with that look, “Carter, I’m not stupid. Where’s this going?”
Sam sighed, “Camz-” she winced. She didn’t think she could get used to that name, “you won’t be allowed on any more missions until we sort out this whole - situation.”
He stared at her, “So…no more Stargate?” he’d whispered the last word but Sam still looked around nervously.
“Camz, you have to understand, there are rules-”
“Bullshit!” Sam stared at him, “Remember I’ve read every mission report ever filed for SG-1! You let that kid cadet through! You can’t take this away from me!” He stood up sharply and moved out of the booth they were sitting in, “I can’t believe this! One mistake and you punish me by taking away the one thing I worked so hard to get! Take my Gameboy, if you want! I finished all the games anyways!” He stormed off to the restrooms and slammed the door hard behind him.
Sam sat there dazed for a second or two, then realised all the other customers in the café were staring at her, having observed the whole little scene.
“It’s Ok,” She smiled nervously, “he’s just going through a rough patch at the minute,”
That seemed to satisfy them, returning muttering to their meals.
……………..
By the time Cam got out of the restroom, Sam had paid for their drinks and was waiting in the booth.
Cam had calmed down, “I’m sorry, Carter,” he said, head bowed.
“It’s Ok, Camz. And you can call me Sam,” he looked up at her and smiled, “Come on. Let’s go get you some proper clothes,” She held out her hand and they both laughed when he regarded it with that look again, “Come on,” she said again and held his shoulder as they left the café.
…………..
They’d bought more than clothes. A lot more. Once Cameron had worked out that the Air Force was paying, not Sam, he’d wanted new everything.
They’d raised eyebrows back at the SGC as they stumbled down corridors carrying a ton of carrier bags. Cam, being the young gentleman he was, carried more than Sam. Even though he was struggling with it, and his fingers felt like they were being ripped off by the bag handles, he felt he was paying back for his behaviour earlier.
When they finished unpacking, Cameron’s quarters had well and truly converted into Camz’s quarters. Band posters covered the walls, a small TV set and games console filled a corner, cupboards and drawers were stuffed with new clothes, and a bookshelf was filled with games, CDs, DVDs and a few books.
The books had surprised Sam. Cam had chosen a few comic books, but also one on Aerodynamics. Sam had smiled as she filed that information away to confront Cameron, when he was older, that he actually did understand some of what she said.
“Ok, sorted?” Sam asked as they emptied the last bag.
“Yup” Cam replied and fell backwards onto the bed.
“General Landry agreed that you should stay here until we can-”
“Make me big again?” Cam finished “I know. You can’t tell my parents, and you can’t let me live in my apartment by myself.”
Sam nodded and walked towards the door, then stopped and turned. “I left the numbers for my quarters, my lab and the infirmary by your phone. So if you need anything, just call.”
She was just turning to leave when Cam shouted.
“Sam! Wait!” He jumped off the bed and ran towards her, enveloping her in his arms, “Thanks, Sam,” he broke the embrace and stepped back “You know, you should come round, play shooting with me,” he indicated the TV and the vast selection of games.
“You know, I think I will,” They smiled at each other and she left Cameron in his new home.
Rating: K
Summary: Cameron touches something he really shouldnt have done.
Chapter 1
“What the hell did you press?!” Sam shouted as she sprinted to the back room of her lab where she’d left Cameron for only a few seconds to answer her phone, the receiver now hanging off the edge of the desk.
There was so much bluey-purple smoke billowing out of the little room that she had to wave her arm in front of her face in a vain attempt to see through it. It smelt of a sickening mixture of pear drops and body odour and it took all her will to not gag.
“CAM!” she called desperately. Eventually the smoke cleared enough for Sam to see about a metre in front of her and she made her way into the room, feeling along the shelves to where she’d last seen Cam.
“I’m here, Carter,” came a voice. Unmistakeably Cameron’s, but there was something different. Five seconds! Five seconds and he’d already managed to get himself into trouble. It was times like this that Sam was glad of her decision to re-join SG-1. the thought of Cam exploring the galaxy without her to watch his six made her cringe.
“Hang on, Cam, I’ll help you out,” she reached the source of his voice and found felt a soft body under her searching fingers. She hooked her hands under his arm-pits and started dragging him out of the storage room, avoiding shelves and boxes with expert precision.
Pulled clear of the smoke-filled cupboard, Sam dropped him gently to the floor and collapsed next to him, coughing out the smoke from her lungs.
“Please tell me what you pressed-” she started another bout of coughing. Damn that smoke was thick.
“Um, Carter? This isn’t right is it?” Sam, curios both at the question and at the strange crack in his voice, lifted herself up onto her elbows and looked at Cameron for the first time.
The first thing that struck her was that his clothes seemed far too big for him. Then she realised that Cameron seemed to have been replaced by a 13-year-old boy. His face was so similar; he could have been his son.
“Mitchell, please don’t tell me you touched the device labelled ‘DO NOT TOUCH’?”
The boy shrugged, “reverse psychology,” he replied simply.
“I don’t believe you, Mitchell. You’re coming with me right now to the infirmary!” She got to her feet and was on her way to the door when she realised Cameron was still lying on the floor. He seemed relaxed, and with no intention to go anywhere.
“Cameron!” Sam was exasperated.
“My name’s Camz. With a ‘z’. And I ain’t goin’ nowhere,” he jumped to his feet and started snooping around the lab, touching everything of interest.
Sam just stood at the door, open-mouthed, staring at the stubborn boy in too-big clothes, wondering around her lab. He stopped and looked at her.
“Catchin’ flies or you gonna do something useful and show me where the food’s at?” Sam almost screamed and she turned and made her way to the infirmary. Carolyn better know what to do!
……..
“He’s WHAT?!” Carolyn exclaimed as she left her laptop and followed Sam back out into the corridor and back to her lab.
“I don’t know what happened,” Sam explained, or rather, didn’t explain, “I left him for a matter of seconds and now suddenly he’s some stubborn teenager with an attitude problem. He’s even worse than when General O’Neill got cloned and turned into a 15-year-old.”
General Landry turned the corner in front of them and they all but collided, “In a rush, Colonel? Doctor Lam.” He acknowledged.
“General! Yes, Sir, I think you need to see this. It’s Colonel Mitchell, Sir,”
“Colonel Mitchell? What’s he gone and done now?” He asked as he followed them to the lab.
…..
Sam stomach dropped when she found an empty lab on her return.
“He was in here, I swear, Sir,” she told him. There was a clash of metal from the back room, “Cameron!” she called. There was a scuffling sound, then silence.
“Mitchell!” Landry called, “Son, if you think you can hide in that cupboard, it won’t work. We’re not going anywhere until you come out.” When silence was his only reply he carried on, “Mitchell, we’re not angry with you. We just need to talk and make sure you’re okay, and you’re not hurt,”
“You are angry with me!” came a squeaky shout from the other room, followed by a load sniff. “Colonel Carter’s angry at me for touching that box, and now she went to get you! And now you’re angry too!” there was a loud sob then the muffled sound of crying.
Sam, Landry and Carolyn exchanged bemused looks. Sam stepped forward towards the back room.
“Cameron, I’m not angry,” she spoke in a soft voice, “you did something I didn’t want you to, yes, but something happened to you and all we want to do is help sort it out.” She’d reached the door to the other room and stepped inside.
The sight of the boy, so recently sure of himself and ridiculously rude to her, now crumpled in a heap in the corner, face red from tears. He looked scared, vulnerable even.
Sam knelt down in front of him and touched his shoulder. He looked up at her, suspicion in his blood-shot eyes. Then he suddenly lunged forwards and threw his arms around her, clutching hold of her as if she was about to slip away. Sam reached her arms up to him, one holding his head, the other rubbing his back. They stayed like this until his crying died away.
Then he jerked back, letting go of her, back to his protective position. Only this time he had bright red cheeks. He was obviously embarrassed.
“I- I didn’t-” the boy stammered.
Sam’s eyes lowered and she saw the cause for his embarrassment. She managed to suppress her laugh, but a smile made its way onto her lips.
“Cam…” she started, “Cam that’s nothing to be ashamed of,” she reached for his shoulder again but he moved out of her reach, terror in his eyes.
“Ok, I’ll let you- calm down. Then I’ll let Dr. Lam in to take you to the infirmary to check you out, Ok?”
Cameron nodded and Sam walked back out into the main lab, her smile now threatening to take over her whole face.
“Sam, is he Ok?” Carolyn asked, concerned, and confused at Sam’s expression.
“Oh yeah, he’ll be fine. Just a normal teenage boy. Just…give him a few minutes, Ok?”
General Landry raised his eyebrows at Sam’s comment but didn’t say a word. Carolyn just nodded knowingly.
...---...
Chapter 2
“Is there anyway to reverse the effects?” Sam was standing in the doorway to the infirmary, looking at the boy lying in one of the beds. As an adult, Cameron would have filled a bed, then discharged himself as soon as possible, even if he wasn’t ready. As a teenage boy, however, he looked so small. And a Gameboy and an endless supply of crisps was all it took to keep him in.
“We haven’t found anything yet,” Carolyn answered, dragging Sam from her thoughts, “All the tests have come back negative. We can’t tell what actually happened to him. This is definitely not what happened to General O’Neill.” Sam could tell from her face that Carolyn hated feeling this helpless.
“No,” Sam agreed, “That was Asgard cloning. The device he touched wasn’t Asgard.” She glanced over at Cameron, “Is there any reason to keep him in here?”
“Nope. He’s healthy and clean. Just a little - emotionally unstable.”
Sam grinned, “And don’t we know it,” There had been many times as an adult that Sam had been impressed, and confused, at how quickly Cam could change his mood.
………….
“Where are we going?”
“Somewhere you’ll like,” Sam nodded to the security personnel and passed out the base gates to the car park.
“I liked it in the infirmary!” Sam smiled inwardly at hearing Cam, however old, say those words.
“You’ll like this more,”
“I doubt it. And what am I wearing?”
“You’ll see,” Sam smirked.
“Urgh!” frustrated by Sam’s secrecy, Cameron lapsed into silence as they continued on the way to the base car park.
When they reached her bike, Cam’s jaw dropped. “You ride a motorbike?”
Sam just had to laugh at his reaction, “Yes, and you did too,”
“Woah!” he jumped onto the bike and grabbed the handlebars.
“Easy tiger, you’re not driving yet,” Cam turned and gave her his best puppy eyes, making Sam laugh, and to her pleasant surprise, he laughed too. Good. She was making progress with him.
“Scoot over,” Cam shuffled back and Sam swung her leg over the bike, trying not to give him too much of a show.
“Ok, helmets on,” She handed him her spare helmet and but her own on, buckling it under her chin. “Ready?”
“Yep.”
She felt his hands around her waist. She paused for a second. They felt like Cam’s hands. The adult Cam. They were gentle and strong, just a bit smaller. She smiled at that thought as she started the bike up and raced away down the road.
…………..
“Better than the infirmary?” Sam was drinking coffee in a small café, watching Cameron devour a giant ice cream sundae.
“Hell yeah!” he replied through a mouthful of ice cream then delved back in.
Sam thought for a second about telling him to mind his language and not talk with his mouth full, but thought better of it. That would be a bit much.
A waitress came over and snapped Sam out of her musings.
“Would your son like another soda?” She asked with a big smile.
Cam nodded vigorously at her, “No, he wouldn’t, thank you,” Sam said sternly, getting a smile and nod from the waitress, and a scowl from Cam.
He was just about to go back to his ice cream when a thought suddenly hit Sam.
“Cameron?”
“Camz,”
“Fine. Camz?”
“Yeah?”
“What do you remember about your - your job? At the mountain?”
“Everything,” he shrugged and went back to his food.
“And you know you can’t, under any circumstances, talk about it? To anyone?”
Cameron looked at her with that look, “Carter, I’m not stupid. Where’s this going?”
Sam sighed, “Camz-” she winced. She didn’t think she could get used to that name, “you won’t be allowed on any more missions until we sort out this whole - situation.”
He stared at her, “So…no more Stargate?” he’d whispered the last word but Sam still looked around nervously.
“Camz, you have to understand, there are rules-”
“Bullshit!” Sam stared at him, “Remember I’ve read every mission report ever filed for SG-1! You let that kid cadet through! You can’t take this away from me!” He stood up sharply and moved out of the booth they were sitting in, “I can’t believe this! One mistake and you punish me by taking away the one thing I worked so hard to get! Take my Gameboy, if you want! I finished all the games anyways!” He stormed off to the restrooms and slammed the door hard behind him.
Sam sat there dazed for a second or two, then realised all the other customers in the café were staring at her, having observed the whole little scene.
“It’s Ok,” She smiled nervously, “he’s just going through a rough patch at the minute,”
That seemed to satisfy them, returning muttering to their meals.
……………..
By the time Cam got out of the restroom, Sam had paid for their drinks and was waiting in the booth.
Cam had calmed down, “I’m sorry, Carter,” he said, head bowed.
“It’s Ok, Camz. And you can call me Sam,” he looked up at her and smiled, “Come on. Let’s go get you some proper clothes,” She held out her hand and they both laughed when he regarded it with that look again, “Come on,” she said again and held his shoulder as they left the café.
…………..
They’d bought more than clothes. A lot more. Once Cameron had worked out that the Air Force was paying, not Sam, he’d wanted new everything.
They’d raised eyebrows back at the SGC as they stumbled down corridors carrying a ton of carrier bags. Cam, being the young gentleman he was, carried more than Sam. Even though he was struggling with it, and his fingers felt like they were being ripped off by the bag handles, he felt he was paying back for his behaviour earlier.
When they finished unpacking, Cameron’s quarters had well and truly converted into Camz’s quarters. Band posters covered the walls, a small TV set and games console filled a corner, cupboards and drawers were stuffed with new clothes, and a bookshelf was filled with games, CDs, DVDs and a few books.
The books had surprised Sam. Cam had chosen a few comic books, but also one on Aerodynamics. Sam had smiled as she filed that information away to confront Cameron, when he was older, that he actually did understand some of what she said.
“Ok, sorted?” Sam asked as they emptied the last bag.
“Yup” Cam replied and fell backwards onto the bed.
“General Landry agreed that you should stay here until we can-”
“Make me big again?” Cam finished “I know. You can’t tell my parents, and you can’t let me live in my apartment by myself.”
Sam nodded and walked towards the door, then stopped and turned. “I left the numbers for my quarters, my lab and the infirmary by your phone. So if you need anything, just call.”
She was just turning to leave when Cam shouted.
“Sam! Wait!” He jumped off the bed and ran towards her, enveloping her in his arms, “Thanks, Sam,” he broke the embrace and stepped back “You know, you should come round, play shooting with me,” he indicated the TV and the vast selection of games.
“You know, I think I will,” They smiled at each other and she left Cameron in his new home.