Little Rascals part 3
Title: Little Rascals
Summary: Jack and Daniel have been turned into little kids and they’re driving Sam (and everyone else) crazy!
Timeframe: Slight AU, Season Three-ish.
Characters/Pairing: Established Sam/Jack and Janet/Daniel.
Genre: Humor, kidfic, AU, Drama, Hurt/Comfort
Rating: PG.
Note: Just warning you guys that this story isn't going to run long. It was originally meant to be a one-shot and it took off. So there's just one more part after this.
Part Three
Jack was still out for the count as Sam carried him back to the suite, wrapped up in an infirmary blanket. Since Cassie was spending the night at a friend’s house, Janet joined them to stay in the room with the boys.
Teal’c was on the couch, watching TV as they arrived, and little Daniel was curled up in the corner of the sofa, fast asleep. Well, at least he had been asleep. His head popped up curiously, blinking myopically without his glasses as Sam and Janet walked into the room.
“Janet!” Daniel bounded over the armrest of the couch and barreled into the doctor.
“Hey,” Janet scooped him into her arms with some effort, settling her mini-fiancé on her hip. “You should be in bed.” She affectionately flicked the tip of his button nose.
Daniel giggled and pulled his head back. “I was tryin’ to wait up for you.”
Teal’c stood up from the couch and began removing the cushions as Sam moved closer with Jack. “I will help you rearrange the sofa bed, Major Carter.”
Sam gave him an appreciative nod, ducking her head and smiling to herself. “Thanks, Teal’c.” It didn’t matter to Teal’c that she and Jack had been married for the last two years, she was always going to be ‘Major Carter’ to him. And the rest of the base, apparently. But Sam didn’t care; it made things easier at work. Just as long as she was Mrs. O’Neill at home.
Daniel was still talking to Janet animatedly as she took the little archaeologist to the other bed.
“Come on, Daniel,” Janet said softly. “Lie down. It’s time to go back to sleep.”
“You’ll stay tonight, won’t you?” Daniel asked in a small voice.
Janet nodded. “Yes, tonight I can stay.” She hadn’t been able to the night before, because there was no one home for Cassie, and her daughter still wasn’t aware of Jack and Daniel’s situation yet.
Sam watched the little boy crawl beneath the covers, curling into a ball and lovingly squeezing the teddy bear that Janet handed to him. She smiled at them and shifted Jack in her arms while Teal’c finished opening the pull-out bed.
Teal’c drew back the blankets, and Sam slowly laid Jack down on his stomach. He was pretty out of it, and barely moved when she set him down and covered him with the blanket. “Teal’c, would you mind keeping an eye on him for a minute? I just want to go get changed.”
“Indeed, I would not mind at all.” Teal’c bowed his head slightly and stood sentinel beside the couch bed while Sam went to the bathroom to change.
“Sam,” Janet stopped her, and Sam turned around slowly. “If he wakes up in the night, give him this.” She held out a bottle of children’s Tylenol.
“Thanks.” Sam nodded, taking the bottle and smiling appreciatively.
.
Jack got through the night easier than Sam expected. When she woke in the morning, he was still lying on his stomach, but pressed tightly against her side, the thumb of his right hand shoved into his mouth. She lifted her arm and smiled down at him, stroking his soft hair that was sticking up all over the place.
He began to stir when she sat up, her hand no longer in his hair. She watched his brow quiver, his freckled nose crinkle, and his lower lip tremor faintly around his thumb as she shifted away from him. Sam immediately felt the loss of heat from his tiny body, and knew he must have been feeling the loss of her warmth as well.
Sam stretched as she slid off the couch bed, stifling a yawn and glancing toward the room’s two other occupants. Daniel was still asleep, curled up to Janet so closely that if he got any closer he would have been under her skin. She smiled with amusement at the sight, then quickly and quietly made her way to the bathroom to relieve her full bladder.
Jack was fully waking when Sam returned. He rolled onto his side, and had almost turned onto his injured back when she swiftly moved to the bed to stop him. Her hand lightly pressed against the small of his back, preventing him from completing the roll.
“Mrm!” Jack made a startled noise, and Sam knelt on the bed, leaning over him to see the cocoa-brown eyes flash open.
“Shh! Shh. It’s okay,” Sam quickly hushed him as his breathing quickened to a panicked rasp, thumb coming out of his mouth. She stroked his bare arm, then reached for the blanket to pull it over him. “Jack? Sweetie, it’s Sam.”
“Sam?” Jack craned his neck to look up at her.
She smiled warmly. “What is it?”
“My back hurts,” he mumbled, his brows quivering.
Frowning with concern, she moved to help him sit up, looking across the room where Janet had started to get up with Daniel. Sam reached for the bottle of Children’s Tylenol on the table by the couch while Jack sat rubbing at his nose.
“I don’t want that, it tastes icky!” Jack cried when Sam was pouring a capful of the syrupy liquid for him.
Sam hushed him softly as she heard Janet talking to Daniel. She smiled. “I know it doesn’t taste good, but you need to take it.”
Jack squirmed a little, but eventually swallowed the medicine, making an almighty fuss about the taste afterwards.
Janet was making her way toward them after Daniel had scurried off to use the bathroom. “Morning,” she greeted with a warm smile. “How’s he feeling this morning, Sam?”
Jack slid off the bed with a wince, reaching out to grasp the edge of Sam’s t-shirt when she stood beside him.
“He’s a little sore, but I gave him some Tylenol,” Sam answered, brushing her hand over the top of Jack’s head. He was apparently playing shy at the moment.
“I’ll want to clean and re-dress those wounds this morning. We can call Teal’c down to keep an eye on the boys while you and I get showered and changed,” Janet suggested.
Sam looked down at Jack, his fist tightening around the fabric of her t-shirt. He was looking up with his big, glossy brown eyes. There was a pleading look in his gaze. “I can just stay here to change, Janet. I brought some extra clothes down last night. It’s no big deal.”
“Alright.” Janet looked over at Daniel emerging from the bathroom, and nodded. “I’m off duty today, but I need to get some things done in the infirmary first so we can get Jack taken care of. I guess I’ll take Daniel with me so you don’t have to keep an eye on both of them while you’re getting ready. You can meet me in a little while.”
Sam nodded.
“Where are we going?” Daniel asked, still a little sleepy. He adjusted the big glasses on his face and rubbed at his eyes.
“We’re going to go get dressed and then go visit my office,” Janet told him cheerily.
When Janet left with Daniel, Sam sent Jack off to the bathroom while she took out some clothes for him.
.
Since she wasn’t digging out shards of glass this time, Janet was able to use a topical anesthetic on Jack’s back as she cleaned up the cuts and around his stitches.
The little Colonel was sitting on Sam’s lap, his arms wrapped tightly around her neck as he squirmed, trying to shy away from Janet’s touch. “It tingles!” he cried, wiggling around when Janet was finishing cleaning up the last of the wounds.
Sam soothingly stroked the soft hair atop his head. “It’s okay, it’s supposed to feel like that,” she told him, attempting to keep the fidgety five-year-old still.
Jack leaned back so he could look at her face, then matter-of-factly stated with a frown, “I don’t like it.”
She fought the urge to laugh at his seriousness.
Janet carefully taped a large bandage in place, then signaled to Sam that she was finished. She started back toward her office, crooking a finger and motioning for Sam to join her. “Could I speak with you privately for a moment?”
Sam felt the crease form between her brows with her confusion. “Uh, sure.” She slid Jack off her lap, sitting him on the bed as she stood. “Stay here for a minute, okay? I just need to talk to Janet quick.”
After tentatively following Janet into her office, she looked at her friend somewhat uneasily. “What’s up?”
Janet’s lips pulled into a smile as she perched on the edge of her desk. “Daniel’s back.”
“Back . . . where?” Sam glanced around, but didn’t see the little boy anywhere.
“He’s back, Sam. He’s big Daniel again. Back to normal.” Leaning forward, Sam smiled widely.
“That’s great! Where is he? Why didn’t you tell me before?”
Janet made a face. “Honestly? Well, first I didn’t want to say anything in front of Jack, and I also don’t want to freak him out if he sees his little buddy suddenly all grown up.”
“Ah. Right.” Sam nodded with understanding. “Good thinking. So, is Daniel okay? I mean, how did it happen?” She wanted to know, hoping to prepare herself for whatever was going to happen when it was Jack’s turn. It scared her a little that Jack wasn’t back to his adult self yet, but Daniel was. They’d both been miniaturized at the same time; she couldn’t figure out why Jack’s return to normal had been delayed.
“It happened this morning, when I took Daniel back to my quarters. He told me he didn’t feel good, so I had him lie down on the bed while I went to change. I was going to bring him here to check him over, but when I got out of the bathroom, it was . . . well, my Daniel, curled up asleep on the bed.” Janet coughed, and Sam swore her friend’s cheeks tinged pink for a moment.
Sam automatically assumed Daniel was naked, because any clothes his little self had been wearing must have been shredded when he suddenly changed size. She didn’t comment on it. “But he’s okay, right?”
“Oh yeah, he’s fine.” Janet waved a hand of dismissal. “I woke him up, and he was groggy, a little confused and tired still, but fine. I’ll bring him down to check him out once Jack’s out of here.”
Nodding, Sam’s eyes widened as she remembered just who they’d left in the infirmary a moment ago, unattended. “Um, speaking of which, I’d better go back in there.”
Janet nodded in agreement. “Just keep an eye on him, especially if he mentions not feeling well, or if he’s feeling anything unusual.”
“I will. Thanks, Janet.”
Sam froze in her tracks, shaking her head and smiling with amusement when she pulled back the curtain to find Jack standing near a tray and playing with an IV bag full of saline. “Jaaaaack,” she drawled out deliberately.
Startled, the little boy dropped the bag, and it hit the floor with a plop. “I didn’t do anything!” he retorted, far too quickly.
Bending to retrieve the IV bag, Sam laughed, setting it back on the tray and lightly patting Jack on the head. “It’s okay.” She gestured to the bed. “Come on over here and I’ll help you get your shirt on.”
Jack moved slowly, then snatched the t-shirt off the bed himself, before Sam could pick it up. “I can do it,” he insisted stubbornly.
Sam stood by patiently as he stiffly struggled into the shirt. She lightly brushed her hand through his soft hair when he looked up at her. “You hungry?”
Making a face like he needed to think about it, Jack finally nodded. Sam was walking with him out of the infirmary when he asked, “Is Daniel gonna have breakfast with us?”
Sucking in her lower lip, Sam nearly froze. She decided to twist the truth a little bit. “No, sweetie. Janet said Daniel wasn’t feeling very well, so he’s resting.”
“Oh.”
Sam looked down at Jack, tensing in preparation for another question, but the little boy remained quiet and kept walking.
.
Sam watched Jack take his plastic sippy cup of chocolate milk and stiffly climb onto the couch. She knew the cuts on his back were probably sore, and had offered to give him something after breakfast, but he’d declined. Even as a five-year-old, her husband was a stubborn mule.
Since there was a chance that Jack could turn back at any time, Sam thought it best to keep him in the VIP suite to avoid any embarrassing scenarios where her husband wound up naked in the middle of the commissary or something.
Jack wasn’t too happy about being restricted to one room, but he actually didn’t put up too much of a fuss, and Sam was confident she could deal with him if that changed.
After setting her work laptop on the desk table in the corner of the suite, Sam ran a few simulations she’d been working on, and studied some data from recent experiments done in her lab. She’d been working diligently for nearly three hours before she realized how much time had passed, and it suddenly struck her that Jack had been unusually quiet.
Slightly alarmed, Sam closed her laptop and stood, glancing toward the sofa. The television was on, but there was no five-year-old in sight. “Jack?”
Getting no response, Sam checked under the coffee table, then the bed, before striding to the bathroom. She found Jack wedged between the toilet and the sink. He was sitting on the floor with his head on his knees, arms wrapped around scrawny little legs.
“Jack, what’s the matter?” When he lifted his head from his knees, Sam could see he was flushed and sweaty, a miserable expression on his face. She slowly knelt in front of him and pressed her hand to his forehead, quickly discovering that he was burning up. “Oh, sweetie, why didn’t you tell me?”
Sam instantly felt guilty for getting caught up in work and not paying enough attention to him. She gently guided him out from his spot and picked him up, grimacing when she heard a soft whimper. Jack’s arms went around her neck, and his heated cheek pressed against her shoulder.
Carrying him toward the bed, she reached for the phone on the side table and immediately dialed for Janet in the infirmary, hoping she was still on base.
Cursing when there was no response, Sam asked for the base phone operator to send out an intercom message for Dr. Fraiser to report to the VIP quarters. She told the operator that Janet would know what was up if she got the message.
Sam bit her lip when she felt Jack go limp in her arms. She gently laid him on his side on the bed, smoothing back his damp hair. “God, I hope this is just because you’re changing back, Jack.” She sat down, nervously stroking his hair and praying that Janet would arrive soon.
She looked up with a sigh of relief when the door opened and Janet walked in, less than five minutes after she’d called.
“What’s the matter? Is he changing back?” Janet asked with concern as she hastily made her way to the bed, a medical bag slung over her right shoulder.
“I hope so,” Sam murmured with a grimace, not moving from Jack’s side. “He’s burning up, Janet. Did this happen to Daniel before he changed?”
Janet frowned as she took an aural thermometer out of her bag. “He was complaining of some nausea and a headache, but he didn’t have a fever.” She gently stuck the thermometer in the sleeping child’s ear, checking the digital reading when it beeped a moment later. The doctor’s brows were knit together, causing Sam to worry.
“What?” Sam swallowed, her throat suddenly dry.
“He’s got a temperature of a hundred and three.”
Sam’s eyes went wide with alarm. “Should we get him to the infirmary?”
“I’d rather not move him around too much if we don’t have to. Just in case he is returning to normal.” Janet started to dig around in her bag again. She heaved a sigh and got up. “I need to go to the infirmary to bring some supplies in here. I’m concerned that he could be having a difficult time returning to his . . . well, his adult body.”
“Why Jack and not Daniel?” Sam wondered aloud. “They transformed at the same time, and were both physically fine afterwards, other than the fact that they were considerably younger, but . . .”
“Jack’s original age might be a factor this time around,” Janet said finally as she started toward the door. She seemed to consider that for a moment, then said, “It could also have to do with the fact that he was injured. His body might have to work harder to return him to his original form.”
Biting her lower lip, Sam peered down at the helpless little boy, curled up and sweating on the bed. “What should I do?” she asked softly, her voice strained.
“Dampen a cloth in cold water and try to cool him down. I’ll get some ice packs with the monitoring equipment,” Janet instructed gently.
Sam nodded after Janet, her attention shifting as she watched her friend go. She got up and headed for the bathroom to get a damp towel, and nearly jumped out of her skin a minute later when she turned around to see little Jack standing in the doorway.
“I threw up,” he murmured miserably, sweaty, pale, and leaning in the doorframe with a mess down the front of his t-shirt.
Abandoning the damp towel on the edge of the sink, Sam gently ushered him into the bathroom. “It’s okay, sweetie. Let’s just get you cleaned up.”
Thankful that the VIP suite had a full bath, Sam sat Jack on the edge of the tub and turned on the water. She kept the temperature lukewarm to help with his fever, then plugged the drain and helped the lethargic five-year-old out of his soiled clothes. For once, he didn’t fight her.
Sam could hear Janet coming in with a cart by the time she’d gotten Jack in the bathtub.
“Sam?” Janet’s concerned voice called out.
“In here.” Sam picked up the wash cloth and gingerly dabbed around the cuts and stitches on Jack’s back. He sat in the water with his chin on his knees, arms wrapped around his legs.
Janet poked her head into the bathroom and gave Sam a curious look.
“He got sick,” Sam explained with a grimace of sympathy.
“That explains the smell,” Janet gestured behind her to the room. “Why don’t I strip the bed and get some clean sheets while you finish up with him in here.”
Nodding, Sam smiled tightly up at her friend. “Thanks, Janet.” She told Jack to close his eyes, and wrung out the wash cloth over his head, letting the tepid water soothe his heated skin.
Jack shivered, burying his face in his knees.
“Are you cold?” Sam asked him worriedly.
The little boy shook his head. “No. Hot,” came his muffled voice.
Sam gingerly pushed her hand through his wet hair. “Then why are you shaking?”
Jack shrugged again before tremors shook his entire scrawny frame.
Rinsing the soap from his body, Sam gently guided him to stand. It pained her to see the little boy so tired and obviously weak, his bony knees trembling. She wrapped him in a big towel and lifted him into her arms, carrying him to the main room.
Janet had finished with the bed and was setting up some simple monitoring equipment. Fraiser turned slowly as Sam brought Jack over to the bed.
Sam dressed the limp little boy in a pair of shorts, but he wouldn’t put on anything else, mumbling that he was too hot, even though he kept shaking.
Lying on his back didn’t seem to be bothering him too much at the moment, which was a good thing because it was easier for him to lie flat with the monitors Janet was connecting to his chest.
Sam climbed onto the bed beside Jack, and began mopping his forehead with a cool cloth that Janet handed her. Worrying thoughts were buzzing around in her head. “This is it, isn’t it Janet? He’s changing back, right?” she asked hopefully, despite her doubts and fears.
“Maybe.” Janet’s face gave away nothing. She turned on the monitor screen before her attention returned to Jack. “Well, he’s obviously nauseas, like Daniel was. Maybe worse, since Daniel never actually vomited. But Daniel had a headache, too.” She gently nudged Jack awake. “Jack?”
Sam felt his overheated brow and lightly brushed the hair out of his face. “Sweetie, can you wake up for us?”
Janet rubbed his shoulder, and his eyes opened, squinting before blinking groggily at them. “Sam?” he murmured weakly, a heartbreaking tinge of fear in his voice.
Reaching for his hand, Sam gave it a squeeze. “It’s okay, sweetie. I’m right here.”
“I don’t feel good,” he moaned.
“I know, but you’ll feel better soon,” Sam assured him, trying to keep her own doubt out of her tone.
Janet laid her hand gently against his cheek. “Jack, does your head hurt?”
The little boy sniffed and nodded slowly.
“Sam, could you come here a moment?” Janet stepped away from the bed, moving far enough away so Jack wouldn’t overhear.
Sam smiled down at Jack, assuring him she’d be right back before following.
“I’m fairly certain he’s changing back, now,” Janet said calmly. “Which is why I’m reluctant to give him anything for his symptoms. His body already seems to be having a hard time of it, and I don’t want to chance making things worse by adding drugs to the mix, no matter how mild.”
Sucking in a sharp breath, Sam nodded in understanding. “What should I do?”
“Just stay with him; try to keep him comfortable as best as you can, and hopefully this thing will happen within the next hour or so.” Janet gestured toward the machine she’d set up by the bed. “I can monitor the readings from the nurses station, so I’ll give you two some privacy. You can call if you need anything. I’m going to inform the General what’s going on, and I’ll be staying on base. I still want to run a few more tests on Daniel, and keep him under observation overnight, just in case.”
“Alright.” Sam started back toward the bed. “Thanks Janet.”
Fraiser smiled warmly at her and left.
.
Part Four
Summary: Jack and Daniel have been turned into little kids and they’re driving Sam (and everyone else) crazy!
Timeframe: Slight AU, Season Three-ish.
Characters/Pairing: Established Sam/Jack and Janet/Daniel.
Genre: Humor, kidfic, AU, Drama, Hurt/Comfort
Rating: PG.
Note: Just warning you guys that this story isn't going to run long. It was originally meant to be a one-shot and it took off. So there's just one more part after this.
Part Three
Jack was still out for the count as Sam carried him back to the suite, wrapped up in an infirmary blanket. Since Cassie was spending the night at a friend’s house, Janet joined them to stay in the room with the boys.
Teal’c was on the couch, watching TV as they arrived, and little Daniel was curled up in the corner of the sofa, fast asleep. Well, at least he had been asleep. His head popped up curiously, blinking myopically without his glasses as Sam and Janet walked into the room.
“Janet!” Daniel bounded over the armrest of the couch and barreled into the doctor.
“Hey,” Janet scooped him into her arms with some effort, settling her mini-fiancé on her hip. “You should be in bed.” She affectionately flicked the tip of his button nose.
Daniel giggled and pulled his head back. “I was tryin’ to wait up for you.”
Teal’c stood up from the couch and began removing the cushions as Sam moved closer with Jack. “I will help you rearrange the sofa bed, Major Carter.”
Sam gave him an appreciative nod, ducking her head and smiling to herself. “Thanks, Teal’c.” It didn’t matter to Teal’c that she and Jack had been married for the last two years, she was always going to be ‘Major Carter’ to him. And the rest of the base, apparently. But Sam didn’t care; it made things easier at work. Just as long as she was Mrs. O’Neill at home.
Daniel was still talking to Janet animatedly as she took the little archaeologist to the other bed.
“Come on, Daniel,” Janet said softly. “Lie down. It’s time to go back to sleep.”
“You’ll stay tonight, won’t you?” Daniel asked in a small voice.
Janet nodded. “Yes, tonight I can stay.” She hadn’t been able to the night before, because there was no one home for Cassie, and her daughter still wasn’t aware of Jack and Daniel’s situation yet.
Sam watched the little boy crawl beneath the covers, curling into a ball and lovingly squeezing the teddy bear that Janet handed to him. She smiled at them and shifted Jack in her arms while Teal’c finished opening the pull-out bed.
Teal’c drew back the blankets, and Sam slowly laid Jack down on his stomach. He was pretty out of it, and barely moved when she set him down and covered him with the blanket. “Teal’c, would you mind keeping an eye on him for a minute? I just want to go get changed.”
“Indeed, I would not mind at all.” Teal’c bowed his head slightly and stood sentinel beside the couch bed while Sam went to the bathroom to change.
“Sam,” Janet stopped her, and Sam turned around slowly. “If he wakes up in the night, give him this.” She held out a bottle of children’s Tylenol.
“Thanks.” Sam nodded, taking the bottle and smiling appreciatively.
.
Jack got through the night easier than Sam expected. When she woke in the morning, he was still lying on his stomach, but pressed tightly against her side, the thumb of his right hand shoved into his mouth. She lifted her arm and smiled down at him, stroking his soft hair that was sticking up all over the place.
He began to stir when she sat up, her hand no longer in his hair. She watched his brow quiver, his freckled nose crinkle, and his lower lip tremor faintly around his thumb as she shifted away from him. Sam immediately felt the loss of heat from his tiny body, and knew he must have been feeling the loss of her warmth as well.
Sam stretched as she slid off the couch bed, stifling a yawn and glancing toward the room’s two other occupants. Daniel was still asleep, curled up to Janet so closely that if he got any closer he would have been under her skin. She smiled with amusement at the sight, then quickly and quietly made her way to the bathroom to relieve her full bladder.
Jack was fully waking when Sam returned. He rolled onto his side, and had almost turned onto his injured back when she swiftly moved to the bed to stop him. Her hand lightly pressed against the small of his back, preventing him from completing the roll.
“Mrm!” Jack made a startled noise, and Sam knelt on the bed, leaning over him to see the cocoa-brown eyes flash open.
“Shh! Shh. It’s okay,” Sam quickly hushed him as his breathing quickened to a panicked rasp, thumb coming out of his mouth. She stroked his bare arm, then reached for the blanket to pull it over him. “Jack? Sweetie, it’s Sam.”
“Sam?” Jack craned his neck to look up at her.
She smiled warmly. “What is it?”
“My back hurts,” he mumbled, his brows quivering.
Frowning with concern, she moved to help him sit up, looking across the room where Janet had started to get up with Daniel. Sam reached for the bottle of Children’s Tylenol on the table by the couch while Jack sat rubbing at his nose.
“I don’t want that, it tastes icky!” Jack cried when Sam was pouring a capful of the syrupy liquid for him.
Sam hushed him softly as she heard Janet talking to Daniel. She smiled. “I know it doesn’t taste good, but you need to take it.”
Jack squirmed a little, but eventually swallowed the medicine, making an almighty fuss about the taste afterwards.
Janet was making her way toward them after Daniel had scurried off to use the bathroom. “Morning,” she greeted with a warm smile. “How’s he feeling this morning, Sam?”
Jack slid off the bed with a wince, reaching out to grasp the edge of Sam’s t-shirt when she stood beside him.
“He’s a little sore, but I gave him some Tylenol,” Sam answered, brushing her hand over the top of Jack’s head. He was apparently playing shy at the moment.
“I’ll want to clean and re-dress those wounds this morning. We can call Teal’c down to keep an eye on the boys while you and I get showered and changed,” Janet suggested.
Sam looked down at Jack, his fist tightening around the fabric of her t-shirt. He was looking up with his big, glossy brown eyes. There was a pleading look in his gaze. “I can just stay here to change, Janet. I brought some extra clothes down last night. It’s no big deal.”
“Alright.” Janet looked over at Daniel emerging from the bathroom, and nodded. “I’m off duty today, but I need to get some things done in the infirmary first so we can get Jack taken care of. I guess I’ll take Daniel with me so you don’t have to keep an eye on both of them while you’re getting ready. You can meet me in a little while.”
Sam nodded.
“Where are we going?” Daniel asked, still a little sleepy. He adjusted the big glasses on his face and rubbed at his eyes.
“We’re going to go get dressed and then go visit my office,” Janet told him cheerily.
When Janet left with Daniel, Sam sent Jack off to the bathroom while she took out some clothes for him.
.
Since she wasn’t digging out shards of glass this time, Janet was able to use a topical anesthetic on Jack’s back as she cleaned up the cuts and around his stitches.
The little Colonel was sitting on Sam’s lap, his arms wrapped tightly around her neck as he squirmed, trying to shy away from Janet’s touch. “It tingles!” he cried, wiggling around when Janet was finishing cleaning up the last of the wounds.
Sam soothingly stroked the soft hair atop his head. “It’s okay, it’s supposed to feel like that,” she told him, attempting to keep the fidgety five-year-old still.
Jack leaned back so he could look at her face, then matter-of-factly stated with a frown, “I don’t like it.”
She fought the urge to laugh at his seriousness.
Janet carefully taped a large bandage in place, then signaled to Sam that she was finished. She started back toward her office, crooking a finger and motioning for Sam to join her. “Could I speak with you privately for a moment?”
Sam felt the crease form between her brows with her confusion. “Uh, sure.” She slid Jack off her lap, sitting him on the bed as she stood. “Stay here for a minute, okay? I just need to talk to Janet quick.”
After tentatively following Janet into her office, she looked at her friend somewhat uneasily. “What’s up?”
Janet’s lips pulled into a smile as she perched on the edge of her desk. “Daniel’s back.”
“Back . . . where?” Sam glanced around, but didn’t see the little boy anywhere.
“He’s back, Sam. He’s big Daniel again. Back to normal.” Leaning forward, Sam smiled widely.
“That’s great! Where is he? Why didn’t you tell me before?”
Janet made a face. “Honestly? Well, first I didn’t want to say anything in front of Jack, and I also don’t want to freak him out if he sees his little buddy suddenly all grown up.”
“Ah. Right.” Sam nodded with understanding. “Good thinking. So, is Daniel okay? I mean, how did it happen?” She wanted to know, hoping to prepare herself for whatever was going to happen when it was Jack’s turn. It scared her a little that Jack wasn’t back to his adult self yet, but Daniel was. They’d both been miniaturized at the same time; she couldn’t figure out why Jack’s return to normal had been delayed.
“It happened this morning, when I took Daniel back to my quarters. He told me he didn’t feel good, so I had him lie down on the bed while I went to change. I was going to bring him here to check him over, but when I got out of the bathroom, it was . . . well, my Daniel, curled up asleep on the bed.” Janet coughed, and Sam swore her friend’s cheeks tinged pink for a moment.
Sam automatically assumed Daniel was naked, because any clothes his little self had been wearing must have been shredded when he suddenly changed size. She didn’t comment on it. “But he’s okay, right?”
“Oh yeah, he’s fine.” Janet waved a hand of dismissal. “I woke him up, and he was groggy, a little confused and tired still, but fine. I’ll bring him down to check him out once Jack’s out of here.”
Nodding, Sam’s eyes widened as she remembered just who they’d left in the infirmary a moment ago, unattended. “Um, speaking of which, I’d better go back in there.”
Janet nodded in agreement. “Just keep an eye on him, especially if he mentions not feeling well, or if he’s feeling anything unusual.”
“I will. Thanks, Janet.”
Sam froze in her tracks, shaking her head and smiling with amusement when she pulled back the curtain to find Jack standing near a tray and playing with an IV bag full of saline. “Jaaaaack,” she drawled out deliberately.
Startled, the little boy dropped the bag, and it hit the floor with a plop. “I didn’t do anything!” he retorted, far too quickly.
Bending to retrieve the IV bag, Sam laughed, setting it back on the tray and lightly patting Jack on the head. “It’s okay.” She gestured to the bed. “Come on over here and I’ll help you get your shirt on.”
Jack moved slowly, then snatched the t-shirt off the bed himself, before Sam could pick it up. “I can do it,” he insisted stubbornly.
Sam stood by patiently as he stiffly struggled into the shirt. She lightly brushed her hand through his soft hair when he looked up at her. “You hungry?”
Making a face like he needed to think about it, Jack finally nodded. Sam was walking with him out of the infirmary when he asked, “Is Daniel gonna have breakfast with us?”
Sucking in her lower lip, Sam nearly froze. She decided to twist the truth a little bit. “No, sweetie. Janet said Daniel wasn’t feeling very well, so he’s resting.”
“Oh.”
Sam looked down at Jack, tensing in preparation for another question, but the little boy remained quiet and kept walking.
.
Sam watched Jack take his plastic sippy cup of chocolate milk and stiffly climb onto the couch. She knew the cuts on his back were probably sore, and had offered to give him something after breakfast, but he’d declined. Even as a five-year-old, her husband was a stubborn mule.
Since there was a chance that Jack could turn back at any time, Sam thought it best to keep him in the VIP suite to avoid any embarrassing scenarios where her husband wound up naked in the middle of the commissary or something.
Jack wasn’t too happy about being restricted to one room, but he actually didn’t put up too much of a fuss, and Sam was confident she could deal with him if that changed.
After setting her work laptop on the desk table in the corner of the suite, Sam ran a few simulations she’d been working on, and studied some data from recent experiments done in her lab. She’d been working diligently for nearly three hours before she realized how much time had passed, and it suddenly struck her that Jack had been unusually quiet.
Slightly alarmed, Sam closed her laptop and stood, glancing toward the sofa. The television was on, but there was no five-year-old in sight. “Jack?”
Getting no response, Sam checked under the coffee table, then the bed, before striding to the bathroom. She found Jack wedged between the toilet and the sink. He was sitting on the floor with his head on his knees, arms wrapped around scrawny little legs.
“Jack, what’s the matter?” When he lifted his head from his knees, Sam could see he was flushed and sweaty, a miserable expression on his face. She slowly knelt in front of him and pressed her hand to his forehead, quickly discovering that he was burning up. “Oh, sweetie, why didn’t you tell me?”
Sam instantly felt guilty for getting caught up in work and not paying enough attention to him. She gently guided him out from his spot and picked him up, grimacing when she heard a soft whimper. Jack’s arms went around her neck, and his heated cheek pressed against her shoulder.
Carrying him toward the bed, she reached for the phone on the side table and immediately dialed for Janet in the infirmary, hoping she was still on base.
Cursing when there was no response, Sam asked for the base phone operator to send out an intercom message for Dr. Fraiser to report to the VIP quarters. She told the operator that Janet would know what was up if she got the message.
Sam bit her lip when she felt Jack go limp in her arms. She gently laid him on his side on the bed, smoothing back his damp hair. “God, I hope this is just because you’re changing back, Jack.” She sat down, nervously stroking his hair and praying that Janet would arrive soon.
She looked up with a sigh of relief when the door opened and Janet walked in, less than five minutes after she’d called.
“What’s the matter? Is he changing back?” Janet asked with concern as she hastily made her way to the bed, a medical bag slung over her right shoulder.
“I hope so,” Sam murmured with a grimace, not moving from Jack’s side. “He’s burning up, Janet. Did this happen to Daniel before he changed?”
Janet frowned as she took an aural thermometer out of her bag. “He was complaining of some nausea and a headache, but he didn’t have a fever.” She gently stuck the thermometer in the sleeping child’s ear, checking the digital reading when it beeped a moment later. The doctor’s brows were knit together, causing Sam to worry.
“What?” Sam swallowed, her throat suddenly dry.
“He’s got a temperature of a hundred and three.”
Sam’s eyes went wide with alarm. “Should we get him to the infirmary?”
“I’d rather not move him around too much if we don’t have to. Just in case he is returning to normal.” Janet started to dig around in her bag again. She heaved a sigh and got up. “I need to go to the infirmary to bring some supplies in here. I’m concerned that he could be having a difficult time returning to his . . . well, his adult body.”
“Why Jack and not Daniel?” Sam wondered aloud. “They transformed at the same time, and were both physically fine afterwards, other than the fact that they were considerably younger, but . . .”
“Jack’s original age might be a factor this time around,” Janet said finally as she started toward the door. She seemed to consider that for a moment, then said, “It could also have to do with the fact that he was injured. His body might have to work harder to return him to his original form.”
Biting her lower lip, Sam peered down at the helpless little boy, curled up and sweating on the bed. “What should I do?” she asked softly, her voice strained.
“Dampen a cloth in cold water and try to cool him down. I’ll get some ice packs with the monitoring equipment,” Janet instructed gently.
Sam nodded after Janet, her attention shifting as she watched her friend go. She got up and headed for the bathroom to get a damp towel, and nearly jumped out of her skin a minute later when she turned around to see little Jack standing in the doorway.
“I threw up,” he murmured miserably, sweaty, pale, and leaning in the doorframe with a mess down the front of his t-shirt.
Abandoning the damp towel on the edge of the sink, Sam gently ushered him into the bathroom. “It’s okay, sweetie. Let’s just get you cleaned up.”
Thankful that the VIP suite had a full bath, Sam sat Jack on the edge of the tub and turned on the water. She kept the temperature lukewarm to help with his fever, then plugged the drain and helped the lethargic five-year-old out of his soiled clothes. For once, he didn’t fight her.
Sam could hear Janet coming in with a cart by the time she’d gotten Jack in the bathtub.
“Sam?” Janet’s concerned voice called out.
“In here.” Sam picked up the wash cloth and gingerly dabbed around the cuts and stitches on Jack’s back. He sat in the water with his chin on his knees, arms wrapped around his legs.
Janet poked her head into the bathroom and gave Sam a curious look.
“He got sick,” Sam explained with a grimace of sympathy.
“That explains the smell,” Janet gestured behind her to the room. “Why don’t I strip the bed and get some clean sheets while you finish up with him in here.”
Nodding, Sam smiled tightly up at her friend. “Thanks, Janet.” She told Jack to close his eyes, and wrung out the wash cloth over his head, letting the tepid water soothe his heated skin.
Jack shivered, burying his face in his knees.
“Are you cold?” Sam asked him worriedly.
The little boy shook his head. “No. Hot,” came his muffled voice.
Sam gingerly pushed her hand through his wet hair. “Then why are you shaking?”
Jack shrugged again before tremors shook his entire scrawny frame.
Rinsing the soap from his body, Sam gently guided him to stand. It pained her to see the little boy so tired and obviously weak, his bony knees trembling. She wrapped him in a big towel and lifted him into her arms, carrying him to the main room.
Janet had finished with the bed and was setting up some simple monitoring equipment. Fraiser turned slowly as Sam brought Jack over to the bed.
Sam dressed the limp little boy in a pair of shorts, but he wouldn’t put on anything else, mumbling that he was too hot, even though he kept shaking.
Lying on his back didn’t seem to be bothering him too much at the moment, which was a good thing because it was easier for him to lie flat with the monitors Janet was connecting to his chest.
Sam climbed onto the bed beside Jack, and began mopping his forehead with a cool cloth that Janet handed her. Worrying thoughts were buzzing around in her head. “This is it, isn’t it Janet? He’s changing back, right?” she asked hopefully, despite her doubts and fears.
“Maybe.” Janet’s face gave away nothing. She turned on the monitor screen before her attention returned to Jack. “Well, he’s obviously nauseas, like Daniel was. Maybe worse, since Daniel never actually vomited. But Daniel had a headache, too.” She gently nudged Jack awake. “Jack?”
Sam felt his overheated brow and lightly brushed the hair out of his face. “Sweetie, can you wake up for us?”
Janet rubbed his shoulder, and his eyes opened, squinting before blinking groggily at them. “Sam?” he murmured weakly, a heartbreaking tinge of fear in his voice.
Reaching for his hand, Sam gave it a squeeze. “It’s okay, sweetie. I’m right here.”
“I don’t feel good,” he moaned.
“I know, but you’ll feel better soon,” Sam assured him, trying to keep her own doubt out of her tone.
Janet laid her hand gently against his cheek. “Jack, does your head hurt?”
The little boy sniffed and nodded slowly.
“Sam, could you come here a moment?” Janet stepped away from the bed, moving far enough away so Jack wouldn’t overhear.
Sam smiled down at Jack, assuring him she’d be right back before following.
“I’m fairly certain he’s changing back, now,” Janet said calmly. “Which is why I’m reluctant to give him anything for his symptoms. His body already seems to be having a hard time of it, and I don’t want to chance making things worse by adding drugs to the mix, no matter how mild.”
Sucking in a sharp breath, Sam nodded in understanding. “What should I do?”
“Just stay with him; try to keep him comfortable as best as you can, and hopefully this thing will happen within the next hour or so.” Janet gestured toward the machine she’d set up by the bed. “I can monitor the readings from the nurses station, so I’ll give you two some privacy. You can call if you need anything. I’m going to inform the General what’s going on, and I’ll be staying on base. I still want to run a few more tests on Daniel, and keep him under observation overnight, just in case.”
“Alright.” Sam started back toward the bed. “Thanks Janet.”
Fraiser smiled warmly at her and left.
.
Part Four