Minor Complications, Part One, Stargate SG-1, NC-17
Title: Minor Complications
Fandom: Stargate SG-1 - Part One
Rating; NC-17
Word Count: 13986
Pairing: Jack/Daniel
Supporting Characters: Samantha Carter, Teal'c, General Hammond, Janet Frasier
Summary: A mission to negotiate for access to untold riches in naquada on a world steeped in tradition and ceremonial law, leads to a minor complication for Daniel when the inadvertent breaking of unclear rules during the long negotiation process lead him to be arrested, convicted and sentenced to punishment.
Warnings: This is de-aged Daniel. There is some daddy!kink, but no underage sex. There is spanking. There is teenage angst, with a bit of abandonment issues...and horny teenage lust.
A/Ns: Written for prehistoric_sea who won the privilege during the last Sweet Charity.
"Daniel, hurry your ass up." Jack paced the living room, glancing at his watch over and over again. "We're gonna be late."
"I'm coming Dad." Daniel called back, sounding exasperated.
"Oh, don't Dad me, Danny-boy, I'll put you over my knee."
Daniel appeared at the hallway, grinning as he leaned in to kiss Jack's cheek. "Promises, promises."
Jack felt himself blush as he twirled his keys around his finger. He forgot sometimes that Daniel had expressed an interest in going in new directions with their…thing…relationship…whatever, and Jack was the one who kept backing off.
"I just need to grab…ah, there." Daniel lifted a series of folders from the coffee table where they'd been left the night before when Jack finally convinced Daniel to stop working and play a little. "What's got you all fired up?"
Jack handed Daniel his travel mug loaded up with high octane coffee and turned him toward the door. "I'm tired of the looks Carter gives us when we come in together and we're late."
Daniel frowned as Jack pushed him out the door and toward the truck. "She knows I'm always running behind."
"You. She knows I'm punctual." Jack said, gesturing for Daniel to catch up to his unspoken meaning.
Daniel nodded slowly, then Jack saw the understanding dawn. "You think she might start to think that you're late because I'm late and that might lead to her thinking that you and I were together…"
Jack climbed into the truck. "Exactly."
Daniel was still sorting through his files and jotting notes when they pulled in the gate. "It's a good thing you actually live between me and the base."
Daniel nodded, then looked up. "I never thought about that."
Jack's hand landed on his knee briefly and he quirked a smile at him. "That's why I'm the Dad." Jack said as he parked the truck, regretting it the instant he saw the sparkle in Daniel's eye. He shook a finger and his head. "No. Don't go getting any ideas."
Daniel held up both hands in surrender, sending his files cascading to the floor. "Wouldn't dream of it."
Except Jack knew Daniel. He knew Daniel would tuck it all away in that distraction-prone, yet vault-like head of his…and Jack would hear about it again. Some day. Probably when he was trying to swallow something.
But, it wouldn't be today. Today was the start of a three day mission to P3X-998, a planet the natives called Predoria, where SG-1, and by that he mostly meant Daniel, would preside over what appeared to be a very, very complex series of ceremonies and negotiations that would hopefully lead to a treaty, and access to their very rich deposits of naquada. Jack's job was largely to stay out of the way and not cause any major diplomatic incidents.
General Hammond reiterated that at the briefing
"Now, from what I understand, ceremony is of the utmost importance to these people, and the slightest deviation from expectation will, at the very least, cost us the treaty." Daniel pushed his glasses up on his nose. "The Predorians have a rather unique criminal justice system that goes back several hundred years and has resulted in a largely crime-free society. See they--"
"Daniel." Jack interrupted, rolling his hands as he sensed that Daniel was about to take off on a tangent that would cost them at least an hour. "Can we stick to the information that has bearing on the mission?"
"Sorry, it's fascinating technology. It is important to note though that their idea of crime and ours is vastly different, any deviation from expected behavior can be misconstrued."
"Remind me again why we're going then?" Jack asked, knowing the question would rev Daniel up just a little. Instead it was Carter that leaned forward.
"They have untouched acres of naquada that we need."
"We'll be fine, Jack. As long as you let me do the talking." Daniel said.
"Colonel O'Neill I don't need to remind you that this mission is important to the president, and the military's ongoing naquada projects."
"Of course, not, sir. I will be on my best behavior."
"You have a go."
They geared up and gathered in the gate room, just waiting for the timing to be right. "Jack, you go through first. You are our leader, and they expect that you will be the first to address their leader. You need to make eye contact and bow, then surrender your weapon to their guard."
They had, of course, been through all of this already, but Daniel was a worrier. He worried about Jack getting in the way and causing a major diplomatic incident. He worried about negotiations failing. He worried about finding out the Predorians were not everything he wanted them to be.
Jack nodded. "Right, and then I give you to them."
Daniel rolled his eyes. "Please tell me you memorized the words I gave you."
"I got it, Danny, don't be so uptight." Jack checked his watch again and glanced up at General Hammond in the control room.
"Now, don't be alarmed, if after the first round of formalities, I disappear for a while. It's customary to go through a few private things before negotiations begin."
"Private things?" Carter asked.
Daniel had the decency to blush a little as he explained, "You know, a ritual bath for purity…that kind of thing." He fidgeted with his vest. "You'll be expected to ask about me after the first twelve hours. Then again in another twelve. I should be back shortly after that…provided all goes well. In the mean time you three get to relax, eat, drink…just don't get too merry, we all know what happens then."
"Colonel O'Neill became married." Teal'c said, a vague smile on his lips.
"Yeah, thanks T. Thanks a lot." Jack replied as Teal'c inclined his head, remembering that little bit of trivia which really had trumped Daniel's accidental marriage on Abydos. "No one's getting married or hyper-aged or cloned or dead this trip. No sarcophagus, no magic elixirs, none of that crap. That's an order."
"Colonel O'Neill, it's time." General Hammond's voice echoed around the room and Jack pointed to the gate to indicate that they were ready. The big ring started spinning and the chevrons lit up in sequence as it went.
"Just remember your parts and don't do anything stupid, and this should go well." Daniel said as the wormhole engaged and Jack couldn't help the sudden spike of wary concern that flooded him. Things seldom went as well as planned, and when there were so very many things that could go wrong…
"SG-1, you have a go. Good luck."
Jack waved up at his CO and set out, up the ramp. He inhaled deep before stepping through the wormhole. At least he was prepared for the pomp and circumstance that met them on the other side. He waited until the rest of his team was through, then moved down the steps, his eyes scanning the group of dignitaries that had come to meet them.
Daniel had said the leader would be the one with the headdress of colorful feathers. Jack moved to stand in front of the woman, meeting her vibrant blue eyes before bowing slowly from the waist. He held the bow to the count of three, then rose slowly, unclipping his P90. "Greetings, and thank you for inviting us to parlay with you. It is an auspicious occasion when two great civilizations can meet in civilized discourse." The words felt strange and far too formal on his tongue, but he could feel Daniel nearly bristling with pride.
Jack laid the gun across his hands and inclined his head to the woman. "As a gesture of good will, I offer you my weapon, and my sincere promise that we mean no harm."
A small hand laid across the gun, then rose to touch his forehead briefly. "You are most welcome here, Colonel O'Neill. I am Lela Morane, Prelate of Predoria." One of her men stepped forward and took the gun and she smiled at Jack. "It is indeed an auspicious beginning. I believe you have come to negotiate with us, in peace and prosperity."
That was his cue to bring Daniel in. He gestured for Daniel to step up. "We have, and I bring with me Doctor Daniel Jackson, who has been educated in your traditions and your language and will represent me in the proceedings."
"He is your mach-ta, then?"
He glanced at Daniel, who widened his eyes. "He is."
"And he bears your authority."
"He does."
She smiled then, nodding to the guard to stand aside. "We may proceed then, Colonel. Your other men may stay here, with the gate. We will leave a similar contingent to stand with them, and provide lodgings and refreshment while Doctor Jackson and my mach-ta engage in the small rituals of negotiation. Come."
Jack gestured to Carter and Teal'c to stay put and stepped out behind the Prelate. He sighed heavily as Daniel fell in behind him, because this was only the beginning of a very long couple of days…though at least Jack himself wouldn't have to deal with most of it.
After another two hours of ceremony that, at the very least, involved some food and a very bitter wine-like drink, he and Daniel were shown into a spacious suite of rooms and left alone. Daniel sighed and collapsed onto the low purple couch.
"So what now?" Jack asked, unclipping his vest and letting it fall to the floor beside a chair.
"I get a few hours to rest and consult with my leader about our desired outcome from this negotiation, and then I will be summoned for a ritual bath and dressed in traditional garments…and then the fun begins."
Jack smirked. "Why wait?"
Daniel squinted at him, then understanding showed in his eyes and he looked at the door before back at Jack. "What? Here?"
"No nosy Carter, no stoic Teal'c, no aliens…just you and me with a few hours to kill." Jack unzipped his jacket and crossed to where Daniel was sprawled. He leaned over Daniel and wiggled his eyebrows. His hand trailed up one of Daniel's legs and settled at his crotch, already feeling Daniel catching up. He kissed at Daniel's pouty lips, then stood abruptly. "Unless of course, you'd rather rest."
As expected, Daniel made an exasperated noise and reached up to grab Jack by the lapel, dragging him down until Jack was on top of him. "I can rest later." Daniel said before kissing him and Jack chuckled.
"Thought you'd see it my way."
Daniel wriggled under him and made a face. "Ow…not here. Let's go find the bed. This is uncomfortable."
"This from the man who wanted me to suck him off while we were both trussed up like turkeys?"
Daniel pushed at him. "Well, that was different. I was…horny."
Jack frowned and Daniel shook his head. "No. Not that I'm not…" He sighed and pulled himself out from under Jack. "Bed. Now."
"Oh, look who's getting all bossy now." Jack teased, but he followed as Daniel headed toward the door on the side of the room. The bedroom was elegant, with a big bed and plush carpet and a row of lights that bathed the bed in an orangey-gold glow.
Daniel cleared his throat and when Jack looked up, Daniel was already showing skin as he peeled of his clothes. Jack smirked. "Trying race me for it?"
Daniel dropped his pants, his cock bobbing up hard and ready. "I win."
Jack pushed lightly on his shoulders, sending Daniel falling back onto the bed. He trailed fingers over Daniel's thighs, down to his ankles and the boots that kept his pants in place. He worked the laces of his boots, tossing them aside before pulling the pants off and dropping them to the floor too. "That's better."
Daniel was leaning back on his elbows, watching Jack with amusement. "What?" Jack asked as he dropped his own pants.
"Nothing." Daniel smirked though and Jack's hands slid back up his legs, spreading him open as Jack climbed up on the bed between them. "I was just thinking about…never mind. You'll think I'm strange."
"I already think you're strange, Danny." But Jack wasn't interested in talking…not really. He licked his lips and eyed Daniel's cock, keeping his hands on Daniel's thighs and holding him open as he decided what exactly he wanted to do.
"I was thinking that sex is always different when we're off world." Daniel said, just as Jack dipped his head to take the tip of Daniel's cock in his mouth. "Like when people go on vacation…they always try to make it special, make it romantic. Only we don't take vacations, we go off world…and every time it feels like vacation sex."
Jack lifted his head and cocked it to look at Daniel. "Seriously?"
"You asked." Daniel pouted at him. That pout that always did crazy things to him. The one where his lower lip was all full and poking out at him. Jack crawled up Daniel's body and pushed him to the bed, his lips seeking out that pout and kissing it away.
"You want romantic?" Jack asked, kissing his way to Daniel's ear. "I'm going to fuck you into the mattress. I'm going to make you beg and when you leave this room, you'll feel me inside you for days."
Daniel shuddered under him, his blue eyes going just a little hazy around the edges before he licked his lips and breathed slowly. "Lube…in my pocket."
"My little boy scout." Jack reached over the side of the bed for Daniel's pants, pulling out a packet of lube. He wasted little time in getting himself slicked up and reaching for Daniel who was shoving a pillow up under him to tilt his hips just right. His finger slid inside Daniel nice and easy, two, then three in rapid succession. He was normally a whole lot more careful than this, because neither of them needed to have to explain injuries, but his cock was insistent and Daniel's talk of romance had him wanting anything but romance. He wanted hard and fast and dirty.
He wanted the kind of sex military men have grabbed on foreign shores for centuries. Illicit, dangerous, forbidden. He pulled his fingers out and held his cock as he guided it in. Daniel naturally clenched around him at the first touch, then relaxed. He was going to be tight and it was going to burn. But Daniel kept hinting that he liked that sort of thing. In response, Daniel tilted his hips as Jack pushed into him, groaning and reaching up behind him to grab the headboard.
Jack pushed in against the resistance, then eased out again. On the third stroke he filled Daniel's ass, earning a grunt and groan and Daniel's legs curling around him to hold him there, feet pressing against Jack's ass.
He didn't pull out, just sort of moved his hips, grinding into Daniel.
Daniel hissed, his eyes closing as he moved his own hips in counterpoint. When the clench of his muscles eased a little, Jack pulled back, pulled out almost completely before sinking back in. His first strokes were slow, deliberate, but when he felt Daniel's body adjust, when his cock was leaking and smearing his stomach, Jack grabbed Daniel's slender hips, gripping them tight enough that there would be smudgy bruises there later and he snapped his hips in hard, making Daniel's eyes fly open.
His pace was punishing, like he was racing to beat Daniel to the punch, though Daniel didn't look like he was having trouble keeping up…in fact he dropped one hand off the headboard to grab his cock and squeeze it to keep himself from coming.
The bed rocked with the force of his fucking, and Daniel was mouthing filthy words at him now, spurring him on, his eyes on Jack's, daring him to go harder, faster, deeper. His orgasm took him by surprise, ripping through him before he was ready and filling Daniel's ass. Daniel let go of his own cock, stroking up it once and emptying himself onto his stomach.
Jack was still panting when Daniel pulled him down to kiss, smearing his skin with cooling come before letting Jack roll off to the side. "That was amazing." Daniel grinned at him and got up to find something to clean them up with. He came out of a side door that Jack assumed went to a bathroom of some kind and came back with a damp towel, swiping it over his stomach as he came.
He wiped Jack's stomach, then a little more gently Jack's cock, before rubbing it over his ass. "I like it when you get aggressive."
Jack chuckled and lay back into the soft pillows, his knee yelling at him for the kneeling and his back already adjusting to the mattress under him. "I like when you come to bed and stop thinking so much." Jack countered, holding out his hand. "Didn't you say something about needing rest? Wouldn't want you flubbing anything up because you were tired."
Daniel tossed the towel in the direction of the bathroom and crawled up the bed toward him, kissing him lightly before laying down beside him. Jack sighed, his eyes sliding shut as Daniel's hand landed possessively on his stomach. A little rest would be good for both of them.
Daniel was dressed finally, though still looking vaguely debauched from the way Jack had ambushed him coming out of the bathroom after getting cleaned up after their nap. His hair was mussed and his lips were red and swollen. Jack smirked as he shifted a little, knowing from the look on Daniel's face that he was a little sore, but wasn't going to complain about it.
There was a knock on the door and Daniel nodded to him, standing and wiping his hands through his hair and then down his thighs. A young man in ceremonial robes inclined his upper body to Jack. "Greetings, Colonel. I have come to escort your mach-ta to the negotiation house."
"Oh Daniel, your date is here."
"Funny Jack."
"Don't stay out too late, don't let the boys get frisky, don't do anything I wouldn't do-" Daniel cut him off with a finger to his lips.
"Yes, Daddy. I promise not to come home knocked up."
Daniel rolled his eyes at Jack as he inclined his head to the man at the door. "I am prepared."
Jack watched them go, then looked around the empty suite and pressed his lips together. He almost wished he wasn't completely excluded from the festivities. Almost. Or that there was a fishing-hole nearby. It was going to be a long couple of days.
The Prelate invited him to breakfast the next morning, a big, elaborate affair in a bright, open air courtyard. He was very aware of the formality required as he inclined his head to her. "Good morning, Colonel. I trust your accommodations are to your liking."
"Yes, ma'am. Great place you have here."
"Please, join me."
Jack licked his lips, nodding and sliding into a chair to her left at a table spread with enough food for forty people. It was just the two of them. "I trust my…mach-ta is performing as expected?"
She smiled and inclined her head. "Indeed. Both have succeeded in completing the preliminary steps and have entered the purification ceremony. Negotiation will soon begin in earnest. Our people should have a treaty that serves us both."
"Good." Jack relaxed a little and exhaled. From what he gathered from Daniel, the Prelate was a ceremonial leader, elected at a very young age and holding office until death. Her job was to preside over ceremony and to be the face of the Predorian people, but she didn't actually do anything.
There was a flutter of activity as near one of the entrance, men in uniform opening the door and standing guard as an older man in robes similar to the Prelate's came in.
He stopped a respectable distance away and waited to be acknowledged. The Prelate beckoned him and Jack sensed something was very wrong when the man leaned in close to the Prelate and spoke so that no one but the Prelate could hear him.
He could tell when the Prelate turned to face him that it was something bad, her skin gone pink with controlled emotion. "What? What's wrong?"
She held up both hands. "Please Colonel, I must ask your patience."
"Is it something with Daniel? With my mach-ta?"
"There have been some complications in the negotiations, Colonel, nothing more."
His eyes narrowed, but he couldn't read her expression. "What complications?"
"I am not clear on the nature of the situation, Colonel. I have been assured that all will be well. They are addressing the problem."
"Who is addressing what problem how?" Jack demanded.
Her smile was strained. "Please, we mustn't trouble ourselves with trivialities, Colonel, that is why we have mach-ta."
Jack's jaw was clenched tight. "Is Daniel okay?"
"He is not in any danger, Colonel, I assure you. We will have him back to you just as soon as we can. Please, return to your comfort and let us hope for a beneficial outcome." She stood and turned to leave with the man, leaving Jack alone at the table.
He fumed all the way back to his suite, and the only thing that kept him running back to the Prelate and forcing her to tell him what the fuck was going on was the very sincere impression that she didn't entirely know either…and because he wasn't sure that wouldn't just make matters worse.
He paced the front room, and when more than an hour had passed with no word, Jack opened his door and stormed down the hall only to stop cold as the Prelate and a rather large contingent of officials rounded the far corner.
"Ah, Colonel O'Neill, we were just coming to see you."
"I want to see Daniel. Now."
"Of course, Colonel, but let me explain."
"Explain later. Daniel now."
There was a shuffling in people and a kid moved to stand in front of the Prelate. A kid of maybe twelve, with shaggy brown hair and startling blue eyes and Daniel's glasses.
"What is this?"
"This is-"
"No." Jack held up his hand. "No."
"Jack." The voice squeaked and sounded disturbingly like Daniel. Except Jack was pretty damn sure that the Daniel that left him the day before was twenty years older.
"There were complications, as I indicated earlier."
"Complications? Complications?" His voice was ratcheting up. "This isn't a complication. This is…" His hands flailed at the kid, whose eyes were huge. "I don't know what this is. But my Daniel was a man when he left me."
The Prelate clearly wasn't amused with him, her arms crossed, her face tight. "Your mach-ta violated precepts and laws. He was arrested, judged and sentence was carried out, as is our custom."
"Sentence?" Jack's mouth gaped. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"Jack, their criminal justice system is…different." The kid they wanted him to believe was Daniel pushed his glasses up his nose, but they were clearly too big and wouldn't stay put. "I tried to tell you about it, remember?"
Jack stared and stared, but couldn't make his head wrap around what they were saying. Finally he gave up and decided to at least figure out why. "What the hell did he do?"
"That is between the mach-ta and his judge. It is not for me to trifle with." She waved a hand at the others with her and they withdrew. "Since he is yours, he is your responsibility. We expect that by the time he has regained his true age you will have educated him and helped him to be a productive member of society again. Naturally, you will remain here with us so that we may monitor your progress."
She turned on her heel before he could ask how long that was going to take, leaving him standing there with a twelve year old Daniel who was looking anywhere but at him.
"This isn't happening." Jacks said, his eyes sweeping over the kid again.
"It's me, Jack."
"Of course it is." Jack turned and headed for his rooms. "Because this shit always happens to you."
"I tried to tell you that their criminal justice system uses advanced technology to de-age the criminal in the briefing, but you wanted me to stay relevant."
And that was when he knew beyond a doubt that this actually was Daniel.
"Are you mad?" Daniel asked after a long awkward moment.
"Mad?" Jack rubbed a hand down his face. "Mad? I'm not sure I know what I am." He turned and opened the door to the suite. "What the hell did you do?"
Daniel dragged his feet as they entered the room. He didn't answer right away and when Jack looked down at him, he couldn't see Daniel at all in the eyes that were swimming in tears and fear. "I don't know what I did. I just…there was the bath, and then a meal…and I…don't know. The next thing I know I was being taken somewhere and I woke up like this."
His lip quivered as he pulled his glasses off, cleaning them on the simple robe he was wearing. "They wouldn't answer my questions and I kept asking for you and they wouldn't tell me where you were or why…and I just wanted to be here with you."
"Hey, hey…calm down. I'm sure it's going to be okay." Jack put a hand on his shoulder and Daniel sniffled and shook it off.
"I'm twelve, Jack." Daniel said, wiping angrily at his eyes. "That's not okay."
"Well, okay. I'll give you that." Jack exhaled. "But obviously you remember who you are and that you're not, actually, twelve."
His face screwed up as he put his glasses back on. "Twelve, not an idiot."
"I'm just saying…you…" He pointed at his head. "You seem…"
Daniel rolled his eyes. "They regressed my body, but somehow it didn't affect my head…I mean it did, because I can feel the difference, I think…" His face scrunched up as he tried to put words to what he meant. "I don't know…I think like I did when I was twelve, but I remember everything up until they took me from the negotiation house. The doctor didn't explain and there was some drug...I woke up and I asked what they had done to me, and then the doctor was very upset and left me alone."
He pulled his glasses off again and pinched the bridge of his nose in a very Daniel-like gesture. Jack wanted to reach out to him, offer him comfort, but honestly he was more than just a little weirded out by the whole thing. "We'll figure this out, get them to change you back."
"You can't." His voice was petulant, pouty and he wouldn't look up at Jack.
"Hey." Jack took Daniel's chin in his hand, turning his face toward Jack. "This is me, remember?"
Daniel suddenly lurched forward, grabbing Jack in a tight hug. For a long moment Jack wasn't aware of the crying, but when he felt the shirt under Daniel's face get wet, he pushed Daniel back, tilting his face up. "Hey…"
Daniel let him go and dashed out of the room toward the bedroom. Jack stared after him for a long time, then picked up his radio. "Carter."
"Go ahead sir."
"I need you and Teal'c to hoof it up here ASAP."
"Trouble?"
Jack glanced toward the bedroom. "You could say that. Just get here. Now."
"On our way."
Daniel hid in the relative safety of the bedroom. Of course, it wasn't really safety, Jack could walk in any time…but it felt safer somehow. He didn't want Jack to see him like this. He sniffled and wiped his face on the sleeve of his robe.
Jack's promise was hollow, Daniel knew. He knew they'd already tried to fix it. He was there. He remembered the pain. He hadn't followed everything that happened after because he couldn't keep up, the words were moving too fast and the language was slippery at best.
Tears burned at the corner of his eyes and he wiped at them angrily. He'd heard enough to know that he was screwed. He threw himself across the bed, pulling a pillow to him to hug to his chest. Only the pillow smelled like Jack. Like Jack and sex. He sat up again and threw it.
His twelve year old body was painfully awkward, his legs too long, his arms too short. His head was pounding from whatever they'd done to him, from the crying. He wanted to stop, but he couldn't.
Daniel curled up as small as he could on the end of the bed that didn't smell like Jack, holding his stomach and trying desperately to wake himself up from the nightmare. He dozed, not really asleep, but not truly aware of the passing of time, until there was a knock at the bedroom door.
"Daniel, it's Sam. Can I come in?"
Daniel sat upright, eyes wide, panic running through him. He'd rolled toward the head of the bed at some point, his face in the sheets that smelled like him and Jack. He was hard and horrified.
He jumped off the bed, staring at the door. "Go away Sam," he said, his voice cracking.
"Daniel, please let me in."
Daniel growled through the door, "Go the fuck away." The last thing he wanted was for her to see him like this.
"I just want to make sure you're okay."
Daniel jerked the door open. "Do I look okay to you?" He looked down at himself, eyes shutting as he realized his hard on was evident through the robe.
To her credit though, Sam kept her eyes on Daniel's face. "Just let me look you over, and then we'll see about fixing it."
"You can't fix it." Daniel said softly, not looking up. "They tried. Didn't work." He was pouting. Fucking pouting like he really was twelve. His eyes lifted to meet hers slowly. "What if I'm stuck like this?"
She touched his shoulder. "We won't let that happen. Come on."
He backed into the room, away from her and toward the bed. She followed, setting her pack down on the floor before fishing out her first aid kit. "Can you tell me what happened?"
Daniel sat, relieved that his hard on was starting to diminish at least. "No. One minute we're doing the ceremony thing, and the next they were dragging me out and strapping me into this machine and then I was like this."
She nodded as she pulled on gloves. "Did they tell you anything about how they do it, or why?"
Daniel hung his head as she came closer, her hands reaching out for his head. "I didn't understand it." He felt foolish, and irritated that he couldn't focus better. Her hands pressed along his glands, down his neck. Then she was looking in his eyes and he was struggling not to cry again. "I'm sorry." He pulled away and wiped his eyes.
Her smile was soft as she shook her head lightly. "There's nothing to be sorry for Daniel. You're doing fine."
"No I'm not," he argued, more for the sake of arguing than because he disagreed. He recognized the behavior from his actual childhood, but couldn't seem to stop himself.
"I'm going to have to take some blood samples for Janet, okay?"
He nodded miserably and held out his arm. That at least he understood just fine.
The door to the bedroom opened and Sam came out, shouldering her pack.
"Well?"
"He seems okay." Sam said slowly. "I took some blood samples for Janet so she can tell us more, but he seems to be a normal twelve year old boy."
"He's anything but normal, Carter. He's a stubborn, scared, freaked out twelve year old who just yesterday was a full grown archeologist with an uncanny ability to irritate the living hell out of me." Jack scrubbed his hands over his face.
"It would appear he retains that ability." Teal'c said deadpan.
"What exactly happened, sir?" Carter asked.
Jack shook his head and shrugged. "I'm having trouble getting a straight answer, they keep telling me I should worry about teaching him and not bother with the details."
"What are you meant to instruct him to do?" Teal'c asked.
"Again with the not getting a straight answer. Apparently this has something to do with how they handle crime, but since I'm a…what did she call me? A Parnor? I'm supposed to have people who handle the details while I…" He waved his hand toward the bedroom door. "…parent, I guess."
"I'd like to talk to the people who did this." Carter said, setting her pack down. "Daniel said something about them trying to fix it, but it didn't work. I think we need to know more about the process and what they did to try to fix it."
Jack nodded. "Right. Teal'c, stay here and babysit. Carter, you see about getting more information, I'm going to head back to the gate and report in to General Hammond."
Carter handed him a small box. "Might as well give Janet a head start."
Daniel listened at the door to the sound of his team leaving, and felt panic twist his stomach around. He pushed it away, but it didn't help. He tried to tell himself that Jack would never leave him behind, but there was no way his twelve year old brain was believing it. Too many people had left him.
He pushed away from the door and tried pacing off the energy fueled by his adolescent fear of abandonment. Instead it just kick started a landslide of memories of people who had left him behind. His parents, his grandfather, foster families that didn't last, friends who lost his number when his career started to tank, Shar'e…and he knew it wasn't fair to think like that. None of them really chose to leave him, it was just the nature of things.
The grown up him knew that, but it didn't keep the child from panic, didn't keep him from crying as he heard the door close, didn't stop him from bursting through the bedroom door yelling for Jack.
Instead of Jack, he came face to face with Teal'c who raised an eyebrow, but didn't move much otherwise. Daniel backpedaled, wiping his face on the sleeve of his robe again, as he neared the bedroom door.
"I am to remain here and watch you." Teal'c said.
"I don't need a babysitter." Daniel said reflexively, then shook his head. "I'm sorry. I'm…not myself."
The other eyebrow went up alongside the first. "Perhaps if you rested you might feel more like yourself."
"Yeah, good idea. I'll just be in here. Resting." Daniel eased back into the bedroom and closed the door. He wasn't tired, just wrung out, emotionally spent. He lay down on the bed and covered his eyes with one arm, thinking he wouldn't sleep, but the dark was soothing and the bed soft and sleep lulled him under.
Daniel was asleep when Jack got back from the gate. Jack stood in the doorway and watched him, because he couldn't bring himself to leave Daniel alone, and he couldn't even think about lying with him in that bed.
Not when less than 24 hours before they'd had sex in that bed.
Behind him, the door opened and Jack turned to see Teal'c holding the door for Sam. He shut the bedroom door. "He's asleep. Finally."
When she didn't move to sit or speak Jack figured that this wasn't going to be good. He sat in the chair, gesturing at her.
Carter made a face as she took a seat on the end of the couch. "How is he?" Her eyes darted to the door and back.
"He has been asleep several hours." Teal'c responded.
"I'm not surprised, this has been an ordeal for him."
Jack dragged his hand through his hair. "What about getting this fixed?"
She sighed and made an apologetic face. "I did my best, sir, but normally, once someone has been de-aged, they are left to grow up naturally." She rubbed her hands on her legs like she was trying to get something off them. "They tried, once they realized that Daniel was not Predorian, but the technology isn't easily reversible--"
"What? Are you saying that we won't have Daniel back to being Daniel for twenty years?" Jack stood and started pacing.
"Well, not exactly." She bit her lip and Jack stopped to frown at her. She exhaled and stood herself. "According to the doctors I spoke with, there were some anomalies in Daniel's case. They set his regression to twelve, because that is an age before he would be expected to learn the rules that he broke, but if the procedure worked, he shouldn't remember anything past being twelve and he shouldn't realize that this is a punishment for something. The whole point of the procedure is to return the criminal to a time in their life before they learned the undesired behavior that got them convicted in the first place."
"Which was what, exactly?"
She shrugged at him. "Honestly, I have no idea. They went on and on about ritual purity and sins of cleanliness. I didn't follow it."
"So…" He gestured at her to continue.
"Well, according to what Doctor Milkan was saying, the attempts to reverse the process have at least succeeded in accelerating the growth process. Daniel's already started aging."
"Bottom line this for me, Carter."
"He seems healthy and there seem to be no major complications, so they figure at least three months. They'll know more after the first few days, when they can get an idea of how swiftly he's aging."
Jack's anger wasn't placated in the least by the idea of three months of this. "What are we supposed to do while we wait?"
"The Prelate won't let Daniel leave until he has transitioned back, she says it's her responsibility to ensure his safety."
"Fine time for her to start that now." Jack groused. He drew in a deep breath. He needed to keep a cool head. "You two head back to the gate. Let me know the minute you have anything from Doc. Frasier. I don't trust their doctors to tell me he's okay."
The nightmare startled Jack out of his doze. He jumped from the chair he'd wedged into the corner of the bedroom as Daniel's pre-pubescent voice screamed. It was chilling and it raised the hair on his arms.
Daniel tossed feverishly on the bed, sweat plastering his hair to his forehead, whimpering. Hesitantly, Jack sat on the bed and reached for him, jumping when those blue eyes popped open and Daniel lurched at him. Jack could do little more than hold on to him as he sobbed and clung to Jack, his hands fisting in Jack's shirt and holding on for dear life.
When the sobbing started to die down, Daniel shuddered in his arms and went quiet. After a few more minutes, Jack attempted to pull away enough to look at him, but Daniel just clung tighter. "Nightmare?" Jack asked as softly as he could, though his voice was gruff.
"I was afraid." Daniel's voice was small and muffled against his chest. "I didn't know why they were hurting me." He shivered and looked up at Jack. "You were there, but I couldn't see you."
Daniel seemed so much younger than he had when he went to bed, as if the act of sleeping had finished the transition to twelve so that his brain matched his body. It was hard to say what memory had triggered the dream, not without pressing for more details and judging just from Daniel's reaction when he shifted his grip, that wasn't an option.
"But I've got you now." Jack murmured, holding Daniel to him. "You're safe. I'm going to make sure no one hurts you."
Jack tried to settle him back to the bed, but Daniel wasn't letting go, so Jack got himself turned around to lay down with him, his hand soothing over Daniel's head. "It's okay…I'm right here."
Daniel drifted off to sleep again eventually, but Jack lay awake with Daniel in his arms, listening to him breathe, remembering the nights when Charlie would have some nightmare and he'd cradle him and hold him, and in the morning Charlie would try to act all tough, pretending he'd never been scared. "It's okay, Daddy's here." Jack whispered like he had then.
Jack's chest tightened and he pressed a kiss into Daniel's messy hair, closing his eyes, though he doubted he'd be getting any sleep at all as images of his son ran through his mind, his son as he might have been had he lived to be twelve. Daniel's small body shifted against his, closer, pulling Jack's arms to him. He whimpered a little in his sleep and Jack whispered into his hair, soft words that had no real meaning, drifting toward the memories in his head.
He woke drenched in sweat, the sheets soaked through, pain lancing through him like something was trying to cut him into pieces. He gasped for air, flailing, falling with a thud to the floor where he convulsed until he felt Jack's hand on his head.
"Daniel?"
His voice was distant, like through water and Daniel tried to reach for him, but his body didn't seem to work. His head spiked with pain and dark and flashes of memory.
"Call me Pop, all the kids do." The man smiles and seems nice enough, shows Daniel into a room of his own. "You can put your stuff there. Dinner's in about a half hour, you can meet the other kids then."
It isn't like the dorms at his last school, where he slept in a room of eight other boys and felt more alone than ever. He unpacks his bags and folds his clothes neatly into the drawers, then sits on the bed with the few books he managed to keep, holding them like they'll protect him from whatever comes next.
++++++
He's cold and wet and alone, but he doesn't know where. He shivers and pulls his feet closer into his body to keep warm. He ran a long time and the storm came out of nowhere and he doesn't begin to know how to get back. He just wants to go back to his room, to the safety of his private space. He wonders if anyone even notices he's gone.
++++++
She doesn't taste like he expects, her tongue on his sort of flat and vaguely salty, warm though…and not icky, completely. She smiles at him, her teeth hidden behind the metal of her braces and calls him "Danny," even though she knows he doesn't like it and he lets her, though he never understands why…just like he doesn't understand why she's there with him, until she opens up her history book and smiles at him. He sighs then, knowing she'll be gone as soon as he's helped her pass her test.
His mouth was dry, tasted metallic and strange. His tongue was sore and for a long minute he couldn't place where he was. He opened his eyes slowly, blinking in the dim gloom of the unfamiliar room. Jack lifted his head beside him.
"Hey." Daniel's voice cracked and felt wrong. He cleared his throat and stripes of pain etched themselves down his insides, like he'd been screaming for days.
"Easy." Jack said, his hand soothing over Daniel's forehead. "Just go slow."
Jack's hand felt huge on his face, even bigger when he took Daniel's hand. "You've been kind of out of it for a while."
"Out of it?" Daniel didn't understand, couldn't follow Jack's concerned expressions. He felt small, crammed into a body that didn't fit and the room around them was strange. Jack looked tired, exhausted really, like he hadn't slept for a while.
"How you feeling?"
"Thirsty." He looked around them, something starting to filter back into his brain. Predoria. Jack handed him a cup with water in it, helps him sit up, and that was when it all shifted into place. He remembered with a start, spilling water down his chest. "Sorry." Jack tried to help, but sat back with a frustrated sigh when there was nothing really he could do.
Daniel drank down the water, then handed the cup back. "Doc Frasier's here." Jack said after a few minutes of quiet. "She came when we couldn't…" He squinted at Daniel and Daniel wonders what exactly happened after he fell. He doesn't remember much past hearing Jack say his name.
"How long?"
"Almost two days." Jack didn't look at him, which made Daniel think there was something he wasn't saying.
"What is it?"
Jack shook his head. "Nothing, you just scared me." Jack's hand caressed over Daniel's, but he pulled back when there was a light knock on the door.
"Colonel?"
"Come on in Doc. Our patient's awake."
"I thought I heard voices." Janet smiled at him as she came into the room. "How are you feeling?"
"My throat's sore, and I'm apparently still twelve…"
"Closer to thirteen than you were yesterday, I imagine." Janet said, coming closer with her stethoscope in her hands. "I'd like to examine you, if that's okay."
"I'll just be outside then." Jack said, standing to leave. Daniel reached for him involuntarily, then pulled his hand back, dropping his eyes.
When the door closed, Daniel looked up at Janet. "What isn't he telling me?"
She sat in the chair he just left, her face serious. "We almost lost you, Daniel. If I hadn't gotten here when I did…You went into convulsions, and your heart couldn't handle the strain of the changes your body is going through."
Daniel knew that sounded fairly serious, and he knew that he should have a better understanding of what she meant, but he wasn't entirely sure he did, so he just nodded. "But I'm not going to go anywhere, and I'm going to do everything I can to get you through this, okay?"
Jack paced between Teal'c who stood by the door, and Carter who sat in the chair and back again, turning when the bedroom door finally opened. Doctor Frasier stepped out, putting her stethoscope in her pocket. "Well?"
"He seems to be stable, the pain is gone, aside from his throat hurting from the screaming he did. His heart sounds good."
"Until the next time he goes into convulsions and it stops working." Jack snapped. Carter's hand touched his arm in what he supposed was meant to be a soothing gesture.
"Honestly, Colonel, I don't know. I don't understand the technology or how it's supposed to affect the body, I can only treat what I'm seeing. And what I'm seeing is a scared boy who doesn't understand what's happening with the memories of a grown man in his head."
"What are we supposed to do then?" Jack asked, forcing his anger and frustration down inside him. It wasn't Janet's fault and lashing out at her wasn't helping anyone.
She exhaled slowly. "I'd like to take him home, run some more thorough tests, at the very least make him comfortable. But I'd like to speak with the doctors here first, gather as much information as I can."
Jack nodded. "Carter?"
"On it sir." She stood and gestured toward the door.
Jack watched them exit, then looked up at Teal'c. "Go with them. Anyone, and I mean anyone, lays a hand on them--"
Teal'c inclined his head and followed the women out. Jack heaved a sigh and pulled both hands through his hair before collapsing onto the couch and reaching for the tray of fruit on the low table. Food had been brought up almost an hour before, but none of them had felt much like eating. He still didn't, but figured he needed to keep his strength up.
"Are they gone?" Daniel sounded petulant and Jack looked up as the bedroom door opened.
"Yeah, they are."
Daniel slouched against the door in an oversized t-shirt and ridiculously baggy pants. "I'm sorry."
Jack didn't respond, just gestured at the food that covered the table. "Food?"
Daniel made a face. "I'm not hungry." He came to stand next to Jack. "My clothes don't fit." He fell to the couch.
"Maybe you should have kept the robe on."
"Wanted my own clothes." He was pouting, his arms crossed, his glasses falling down his nose and it was seriously adorable…a look Jack might have kissed away if Daniel wasn't…you know, a kid.
Jack sighed and pulled his hand through his hair. "It could be worse," he found himself saying, though it was ridiculous.
Daniel grabbed a piece of fruit from the tray and fiddled with it. "Don't be so sure."
"Don't be so pessimistic."
"Easy for you to say." Jack watched him slouch, shoulders hunched, his face dark. He pushed his glasses up, but they slipped right back down. "Look at me. I'm skinny and scrawny and a dork. And it only gets worse."
"Daniel, you're not a dork." Jack shook his head, feeling Daniel's eyes. "And…who cares what you were like then…you turned out fine--"
"So not the point." Daniel stood, dropping the fruit back onto the tray.
Jack sighed again and followed him with his eyes. "Then what is the point?"
Daniel kept his back to Jack, but he could read the tension in his spine, the straight line of him tightly strung. "It's stupid. I'm stupid. I just want to go home!" He started back to the bedroom, but Jack jumped up and intercepted him.
"Stop."
"Let me go!" Daniel struggled, but he was light and weak in his twelve-year-old body and Jack held on until he stopped struggling.
"Tell me what's really going on in that head of yours."
Daniel sagged and gave one more good shrug trying to get away. "See what I mean? I'm pathetic." Jack's hands shifted, but held onto his arms, so thin and small in his hands. "I hated being…this way, Jack." Daniel said finally, his voice small. "I hate who I am…I can't…do anything…and I'm always alone."
His heart seized up at the sight of Daniel like that, so afraid of being alone. The Daniel he knew had long since grown accustomed to the solitude of his life and had trouble adjusting to the others that occupied it now.
"Daniel." Jack's voice took on a tone he hadn't heard in a while, the one he'd used whenever Charlie was getting on his nerves and he just wanted a straight answer.
Daniel reacted in much the same way Charlie always had. His eyes widening, his mouth opening, though nothing came out right away. When his mouth shut again, Jack nodded. "Good. Now, listen." Only, he didn't know what to say. "I know this is tough, but we'll get through it."
Jack tugged him closer, pulled him into a hug and repeated it like a mantra in his head. "We'll get through it together, because you aren't alone." Jack's mouth pressed kisses into Daniel's messy hair. "You hear me, Daniel? I'm not going anywhere."
It was the closest thing to forever that either of them had to offer.
Fandom: Stargate SG-1 - Part One
Rating; NC-17
Word Count: 13986
Pairing: Jack/Daniel
Supporting Characters: Samantha Carter, Teal'c, General Hammond, Janet Frasier
Summary: A mission to negotiate for access to untold riches in naquada on a world steeped in tradition and ceremonial law, leads to a minor complication for Daniel when the inadvertent breaking of unclear rules during the long negotiation process lead him to be arrested, convicted and sentenced to punishment.
Warnings: This is de-aged Daniel. There is some daddy!kink, but no underage sex. There is spanking. There is teenage angst, with a bit of abandonment issues...and horny teenage lust.
A/Ns: Written for prehistoric_sea who won the privilege during the last Sweet Charity.
"Daniel, hurry your ass up." Jack paced the living room, glancing at his watch over and over again. "We're gonna be late."
"I'm coming Dad." Daniel called back, sounding exasperated.
"Oh, don't Dad me, Danny-boy, I'll put you over my knee."
Daniel appeared at the hallway, grinning as he leaned in to kiss Jack's cheek. "Promises, promises."
Jack felt himself blush as he twirled his keys around his finger. He forgot sometimes that Daniel had expressed an interest in going in new directions with their…thing…relationship…whatever, and Jack was the one who kept backing off.
"I just need to grab…ah, there." Daniel lifted a series of folders from the coffee table where they'd been left the night before when Jack finally convinced Daniel to stop working and play a little. "What's got you all fired up?"
Jack handed Daniel his travel mug loaded up with high octane coffee and turned him toward the door. "I'm tired of the looks Carter gives us when we come in together and we're late."
Daniel frowned as Jack pushed him out the door and toward the truck. "She knows I'm always running behind."
"You. She knows I'm punctual." Jack said, gesturing for Daniel to catch up to his unspoken meaning.
Daniel nodded slowly, then Jack saw the understanding dawn. "You think she might start to think that you're late because I'm late and that might lead to her thinking that you and I were together…"
Jack climbed into the truck. "Exactly."
Daniel was still sorting through his files and jotting notes when they pulled in the gate. "It's a good thing you actually live between me and the base."
Daniel nodded, then looked up. "I never thought about that."
Jack's hand landed on his knee briefly and he quirked a smile at him. "That's why I'm the Dad." Jack said as he parked the truck, regretting it the instant he saw the sparkle in Daniel's eye. He shook a finger and his head. "No. Don't go getting any ideas."
Daniel held up both hands in surrender, sending his files cascading to the floor. "Wouldn't dream of it."
Except Jack knew Daniel. He knew Daniel would tuck it all away in that distraction-prone, yet vault-like head of his…and Jack would hear about it again. Some day. Probably when he was trying to swallow something.
But, it wouldn't be today. Today was the start of a three day mission to P3X-998, a planet the natives called Predoria, where SG-1, and by that he mostly meant Daniel, would preside over what appeared to be a very, very complex series of ceremonies and negotiations that would hopefully lead to a treaty, and access to their very rich deposits of naquada. Jack's job was largely to stay out of the way and not cause any major diplomatic incidents.
General Hammond reiterated that at the briefing
"Now, from what I understand, ceremony is of the utmost importance to these people, and the slightest deviation from expectation will, at the very least, cost us the treaty." Daniel pushed his glasses up on his nose. "The Predorians have a rather unique criminal justice system that goes back several hundred years and has resulted in a largely crime-free society. See they--"
"Daniel." Jack interrupted, rolling his hands as he sensed that Daniel was about to take off on a tangent that would cost them at least an hour. "Can we stick to the information that has bearing on the mission?"
"Sorry, it's fascinating technology. It is important to note though that their idea of crime and ours is vastly different, any deviation from expected behavior can be misconstrued."
"Remind me again why we're going then?" Jack asked, knowing the question would rev Daniel up just a little. Instead it was Carter that leaned forward.
"They have untouched acres of naquada that we need."
"We'll be fine, Jack. As long as you let me do the talking." Daniel said.
"Colonel O'Neill I don't need to remind you that this mission is important to the president, and the military's ongoing naquada projects."
"Of course, not, sir. I will be on my best behavior."
"You have a go."
They geared up and gathered in the gate room, just waiting for the timing to be right. "Jack, you go through first. You are our leader, and they expect that you will be the first to address their leader. You need to make eye contact and bow, then surrender your weapon to their guard."
They had, of course, been through all of this already, but Daniel was a worrier. He worried about Jack getting in the way and causing a major diplomatic incident. He worried about negotiations failing. He worried about finding out the Predorians were not everything he wanted them to be.
Jack nodded. "Right, and then I give you to them."
Daniel rolled his eyes. "Please tell me you memorized the words I gave you."
"I got it, Danny, don't be so uptight." Jack checked his watch again and glanced up at General Hammond in the control room.
"Now, don't be alarmed, if after the first round of formalities, I disappear for a while. It's customary to go through a few private things before negotiations begin."
"Private things?" Carter asked.
Daniel had the decency to blush a little as he explained, "You know, a ritual bath for purity…that kind of thing." He fidgeted with his vest. "You'll be expected to ask about me after the first twelve hours. Then again in another twelve. I should be back shortly after that…provided all goes well. In the mean time you three get to relax, eat, drink…just don't get too merry, we all know what happens then."
"Colonel O'Neill became married." Teal'c said, a vague smile on his lips.
"Yeah, thanks T. Thanks a lot." Jack replied as Teal'c inclined his head, remembering that little bit of trivia which really had trumped Daniel's accidental marriage on Abydos. "No one's getting married or hyper-aged or cloned or dead this trip. No sarcophagus, no magic elixirs, none of that crap. That's an order."
"Colonel O'Neill, it's time." General Hammond's voice echoed around the room and Jack pointed to the gate to indicate that they were ready. The big ring started spinning and the chevrons lit up in sequence as it went.
"Just remember your parts and don't do anything stupid, and this should go well." Daniel said as the wormhole engaged and Jack couldn't help the sudden spike of wary concern that flooded him. Things seldom went as well as planned, and when there were so very many things that could go wrong…
"SG-1, you have a go. Good luck."
Jack waved up at his CO and set out, up the ramp. He inhaled deep before stepping through the wormhole. At least he was prepared for the pomp and circumstance that met them on the other side. He waited until the rest of his team was through, then moved down the steps, his eyes scanning the group of dignitaries that had come to meet them.
Daniel had said the leader would be the one with the headdress of colorful feathers. Jack moved to stand in front of the woman, meeting her vibrant blue eyes before bowing slowly from the waist. He held the bow to the count of three, then rose slowly, unclipping his P90. "Greetings, and thank you for inviting us to parlay with you. It is an auspicious occasion when two great civilizations can meet in civilized discourse." The words felt strange and far too formal on his tongue, but he could feel Daniel nearly bristling with pride.
Jack laid the gun across his hands and inclined his head to the woman. "As a gesture of good will, I offer you my weapon, and my sincere promise that we mean no harm."
A small hand laid across the gun, then rose to touch his forehead briefly. "You are most welcome here, Colonel O'Neill. I am Lela Morane, Prelate of Predoria." One of her men stepped forward and took the gun and she smiled at Jack. "It is indeed an auspicious beginning. I believe you have come to negotiate with us, in peace and prosperity."
That was his cue to bring Daniel in. He gestured for Daniel to step up. "We have, and I bring with me Doctor Daniel Jackson, who has been educated in your traditions and your language and will represent me in the proceedings."
"He is your mach-ta, then?"
He glanced at Daniel, who widened his eyes. "He is."
"And he bears your authority."
"He does."
She smiled then, nodding to the guard to stand aside. "We may proceed then, Colonel. Your other men may stay here, with the gate. We will leave a similar contingent to stand with them, and provide lodgings and refreshment while Doctor Jackson and my mach-ta engage in the small rituals of negotiation. Come."
Jack gestured to Carter and Teal'c to stay put and stepped out behind the Prelate. He sighed heavily as Daniel fell in behind him, because this was only the beginning of a very long couple of days…though at least Jack himself wouldn't have to deal with most of it.
After another two hours of ceremony that, at the very least, involved some food and a very bitter wine-like drink, he and Daniel were shown into a spacious suite of rooms and left alone. Daniel sighed and collapsed onto the low purple couch.
"So what now?" Jack asked, unclipping his vest and letting it fall to the floor beside a chair.
"I get a few hours to rest and consult with my leader about our desired outcome from this negotiation, and then I will be summoned for a ritual bath and dressed in traditional garments…and then the fun begins."
Jack smirked. "Why wait?"
Daniel squinted at him, then understanding showed in his eyes and he looked at the door before back at Jack. "What? Here?"
"No nosy Carter, no stoic Teal'c, no aliens…just you and me with a few hours to kill." Jack unzipped his jacket and crossed to where Daniel was sprawled. He leaned over Daniel and wiggled his eyebrows. His hand trailed up one of Daniel's legs and settled at his crotch, already feeling Daniel catching up. He kissed at Daniel's pouty lips, then stood abruptly. "Unless of course, you'd rather rest."
As expected, Daniel made an exasperated noise and reached up to grab Jack by the lapel, dragging him down until Jack was on top of him. "I can rest later." Daniel said before kissing him and Jack chuckled.
"Thought you'd see it my way."
Daniel wriggled under him and made a face. "Ow…not here. Let's go find the bed. This is uncomfortable."
"This from the man who wanted me to suck him off while we were both trussed up like turkeys?"
Daniel pushed at him. "Well, that was different. I was…horny."
Jack frowned and Daniel shook his head. "No. Not that I'm not…" He sighed and pulled himself out from under Jack. "Bed. Now."
"Oh, look who's getting all bossy now." Jack teased, but he followed as Daniel headed toward the door on the side of the room. The bedroom was elegant, with a big bed and plush carpet and a row of lights that bathed the bed in an orangey-gold glow.
Daniel cleared his throat and when Jack looked up, Daniel was already showing skin as he peeled of his clothes. Jack smirked. "Trying race me for it?"
Daniel dropped his pants, his cock bobbing up hard and ready. "I win."
Jack pushed lightly on his shoulders, sending Daniel falling back onto the bed. He trailed fingers over Daniel's thighs, down to his ankles and the boots that kept his pants in place. He worked the laces of his boots, tossing them aside before pulling the pants off and dropping them to the floor too. "That's better."
Daniel was leaning back on his elbows, watching Jack with amusement. "What?" Jack asked as he dropped his own pants.
"Nothing." Daniel smirked though and Jack's hands slid back up his legs, spreading him open as Jack climbed up on the bed between them. "I was just thinking about…never mind. You'll think I'm strange."
"I already think you're strange, Danny." But Jack wasn't interested in talking…not really. He licked his lips and eyed Daniel's cock, keeping his hands on Daniel's thighs and holding him open as he decided what exactly he wanted to do.
"I was thinking that sex is always different when we're off world." Daniel said, just as Jack dipped his head to take the tip of Daniel's cock in his mouth. "Like when people go on vacation…they always try to make it special, make it romantic. Only we don't take vacations, we go off world…and every time it feels like vacation sex."
Jack lifted his head and cocked it to look at Daniel. "Seriously?"
"You asked." Daniel pouted at him. That pout that always did crazy things to him. The one where his lower lip was all full and poking out at him. Jack crawled up Daniel's body and pushed him to the bed, his lips seeking out that pout and kissing it away.
"You want romantic?" Jack asked, kissing his way to Daniel's ear. "I'm going to fuck you into the mattress. I'm going to make you beg and when you leave this room, you'll feel me inside you for days."
Daniel shuddered under him, his blue eyes going just a little hazy around the edges before he licked his lips and breathed slowly. "Lube…in my pocket."
"My little boy scout." Jack reached over the side of the bed for Daniel's pants, pulling out a packet of lube. He wasted little time in getting himself slicked up and reaching for Daniel who was shoving a pillow up under him to tilt his hips just right. His finger slid inside Daniel nice and easy, two, then three in rapid succession. He was normally a whole lot more careful than this, because neither of them needed to have to explain injuries, but his cock was insistent and Daniel's talk of romance had him wanting anything but romance. He wanted hard and fast and dirty.
He wanted the kind of sex military men have grabbed on foreign shores for centuries. Illicit, dangerous, forbidden. He pulled his fingers out and held his cock as he guided it in. Daniel naturally clenched around him at the first touch, then relaxed. He was going to be tight and it was going to burn. But Daniel kept hinting that he liked that sort of thing. In response, Daniel tilted his hips as Jack pushed into him, groaning and reaching up behind him to grab the headboard.
Jack pushed in against the resistance, then eased out again. On the third stroke he filled Daniel's ass, earning a grunt and groan and Daniel's legs curling around him to hold him there, feet pressing against Jack's ass.
He didn't pull out, just sort of moved his hips, grinding into Daniel.
Daniel hissed, his eyes closing as he moved his own hips in counterpoint. When the clench of his muscles eased a little, Jack pulled back, pulled out almost completely before sinking back in. His first strokes were slow, deliberate, but when he felt Daniel's body adjust, when his cock was leaking and smearing his stomach, Jack grabbed Daniel's slender hips, gripping them tight enough that there would be smudgy bruises there later and he snapped his hips in hard, making Daniel's eyes fly open.
His pace was punishing, like he was racing to beat Daniel to the punch, though Daniel didn't look like he was having trouble keeping up…in fact he dropped one hand off the headboard to grab his cock and squeeze it to keep himself from coming.
The bed rocked with the force of his fucking, and Daniel was mouthing filthy words at him now, spurring him on, his eyes on Jack's, daring him to go harder, faster, deeper. His orgasm took him by surprise, ripping through him before he was ready and filling Daniel's ass. Daniel let go of his own cock, stroking up it once and emptying himself onto his stomach.
Jack was still panting when Daniel pulled him down to kiss, smearing his skin with cooling come before letting Jack roll off to the side. "That was amazing." Daniel grinned at him and got up to find something to clean them up with. He came out of a side door that Jack assumed went to a bathroom of some kind and came back with a damp towel, swiping it over his stomach as he came.
He wiped Jack's stomach, then a little more gently Jack's cock, before rubbing it over his ass. "I like it when you get aggressive."
Jack chuckled and lay back into the soft pillows, his knee yelling at him for the kneeling and his back already adjusting to the mattress under him. "I like when you come to bed and stop thinking so much." Jack countered, holding out his hand. "Didn't you say something about needing rest? Wouldn't want you flubbing anything up because you were tired."
Daniel tossed the towel in the direction of the bathroom and crawled up the bed toward him, kissing him lightly before laying down beside him. Jack sighed, his eyes sliding shut as Daniel's hand landed possessively on his stomach. A little rest would be good for both of them.
Daniel was dressed finally, though still looking vaguely debauched from the way Jack had ambushed him coming out of the bathroom after getting cleaned up after their nap. His hair was mussed and his lips were red and swollen. Jack smirked as he shifted a little, knowing from the look on Daniel's face that he was a little sore, but wasn't going to complain about it.
There was a knock on the door and Daniel nodded to him, standing and wiping his hands through his hair and then down his thighs. A young man in ceremonial robes inclined his upper body to Jack. "Greetings, Colonel. I have come to escort your mach-ta to the negotiation house."
"Oh Daniel, your date is here."
"Funny Jack."
"Don't stay out too late, don't let the boys get frisky, don't do anything I wouldn't do-" Daniel cut him off with a finger to his lips.
"Yes, Daddy. I promise not to come home knocked up."
Daniel rolled his eyes at Jack as he inclined his head to the man at the door. "I am prepared."
Jack watched them go, then looked around the empty suite and pressed his lips together. He almost wished he wasn't completely excluded from the festivities. Almost. Or that there was a fishing-hole nearby. It was going to be a long couple of days.
The Prelate invited him to breakfast the next morning, a big, elaborate affair in a bright, open air courtyard. He was very aware of the formality required as he inclined his head to her. "Good morning, Colonel. I trust your accommodations are to your liking."
"Yes, ma'am. Great place you have here."
"Please, join me."
Jack licked his lips, nodding and sliding into a chair to her left at a table spread with enough food for forty people. It was just the two of them. "I trust my…mach-ta is performing as expected?"
She smiled and inclined her head. "Indeed. Both have succeeded in completing the preliminary steps and have entered the purification ceremony. Negotiation will soon begin in earnest. Our people should have a treaty that serves us both."
"Good." Jack relaxed a little and exhaled. From what he gathered from Daniel, the Prelate was a ceremonial leader, elected at a very young age and holding office until death. Her job was to preside over ceremony and to be the face of the Predorian people, but she didn't actually do anything.
There was a flutter of activity as near one of the entrance, men in uniform opening the door and standing guard as an older man in robes similar to the Prelate's came in.
He stopped a respectable distance away and waited to be acknowledged. The Prelate beckoned him and Jack sensed something was very wrong when the man leaned in close to the Prelate and spoke so that no one but the Prelate could hear him.
He could tell when the Prelate turned to face him that it was something bad, her skin gone pink with controlled emotion. "What? What's wrong?"
She held up both hands. "Please Colonel, I must ask your patience."
"Is it something with Daniel? With my mach-ta?"
"There have been some complications in the negotiations, Colonel, nothing more."
His eyes narrowed, but he couldn't read her expression. "What complications?"
"I am not clear on the nature of the situation, Colonel. I have been assured that all will be well. They are addressing the problem."
"Who is addressing what problem how?" Jack demanded.
Her smile was strained. "Please, we mustn't trouble ourselves with trivialities, Colonel, that is why we have mach-ta."
Jack's jaw was clenched tight. "Is Daniel okay?"
"He is not in any danger, Colonel, I assure you. We will have him back to you just as soon as we can. Please, return to your comfort and let us hope for a beneficial outcome." She stood and turned to leave with the man, leaving Jack alone at the table.
He fumed all the way back to his suite, and the only thing that kept him running back to the Prelate and forcing her to tell him what the fuck was going on was the very sincere impression that she didn't entirely know either…and because he wasn't sure that wouldn't just make matters worse.
He paced the front room, and when more than an hour had passed with no word, Jack opened his door and stormed down the hall only to stop cold as the Prelate and a rather large contingent of officials rounded the far corner.
"Ah, Colonel O'Neill, we were just coming to see you."
"I want to see Daniel. Now."
"Of course, Colonel, but let me explain."
"Explain later. Daniel now."
There was a shuffling in people and a kid moved to stand in front of the Prelate. A kid of maybe twelve, with shaggy brown hair and startling blue eyes and Daniel's glasses.
"What is this?"
"This is-"
"No." Jack held up his hand. "No."
"Jack." The voice squeaked and sounded disturbingly like Daniel. Except Jack was pretty damn sure that the Daniel that left him the day before was twenty years older.
"There were complications, as I indicated earlier."
"Complications? Complications?" His voice was ratcheting up. "This isn't a complication. This is…" His hands flailed at the kid, whose eyes were huge. "I don't know what this is. But my Daniel was a man when he left me."
The Prelate clearly wasn't amused with him, her arms crossed, her face tight. "Your mach-ta violated precepts and laws. He was arrested, judged and sentence was carried out, as is our custom."
"Sentence?" Jack's mouth gaped. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"Jack, their criminal justice system is…different." The kid they wanted him to believe was Daniel pushed his glasses up his nose, but they were clearly too big and wouldn't stay put. "I tried to tell you about it, remember?"
Jack stared and stared, but couldn't make his head wrap around what they were saying. Finally he gave up and decided to at least figure out why. "What the hell did he do?"
"That is between the mach-ta and his judge. It is not for me to trifle with." She waved a hand at the others with her and they withdrew. "Since he is yours, he is your responsibility. We expect that by the time he has regained his true age you will have educated him and helped him to be a productive member of society again. Naturally, you will remain here with us so that we may monitor your progress."
She turned on her heel before he could ask how long that was going to take, leaving him standing there with a twelve year old Daniel who was looking anywhere but at him.
"This isn't happening." Jacks said, his eyes sweeping over the kid again.
"It's me, Jack."
"Of course it is." Jack turned and headed for his rooms. "Because this shit always happens to you."
"I tried to tell you that their criminal justice system uses advanced technology to de-age the criminal in the briefing, but you wanted me to stay relevant."
And that was when he knew beyond a doubt that this actually was Daniel.
"Are you mad?" Daniel asked after a long awkward moment.
"Mad?" Jack rubbed a hand down his face. "Mad? I'm not sure I know what I am." He turned and opened the door to the suite. "What the hell did you do?"
Daniel dragged his feet as they entered the room. He didn't answer right away and when Jack looked down at him, he couldn't see Daniel at all in the eyes that were swimming in tears and fear. "I don't know what I did. I just…there was the bath, and then a meal…and I…don't know. The next thing I know I was being taken somewhere and I woke up like this."
His lip quivered as he pulled his glasses off, cleaning them on the simple robe he was wearing. "They wouldn't answer my questions and I kept asking for you and they wouldn't tell me where you were or why…and I just wanted to be here with you."
"Hey, hey…calm down. I'm sure it's going to be okay." Jack put a hand on his shoulder and Daniel sniffled and shook it off.
"I'm twelve, Jack." Daniel said, wiping angrily at his eyes. "That's not okay."
"Well, okay. I'll give you that." Jack exhaled. "But obviously you remember who you are and that you're not, actually, twelve."
His face screwed up as he put his glasses back on. "Twelve, not an idiot."
"I'm just saying…you…" He pointed at his head. "You seem…"
Daniel rolled his eyes. "They regressed my body, but somehow it didn't affect my head…I mean it did, because I can feel the difference, I think…" His face scrunched up as he tried to put words to what he meant. "I don't know…I think like I did when I was twelve, but I remember everything up until they took me from the negotiation house. The doctor didn't explain and there was some drug...I woke up and I asked what they had done to me, and then the doctor was very upset and left me alone."
He pulled his glasses off again and pinched the bridge of his nose in a very Daniel-like gesture. Jack wanted to reach out to him, offer him comfort, but honestly he was more than just a little weirded out by the whole thing. "We'll figure this out, get them to change you back."
"You can't." His voice was petulant, pouty and he wouldn't look up at Jack.
"Hey." Jack took Daniel's chin in his hand, turning his face toward Jack. "This is me, remember?"
Daniel suddenly lurched forward, grabbing Jack in a tight hug. For a long moment Jack wasn't aware of the crying, but when he felt the shirt under Daniel's face get wet, he pushed Daniel back, tilting his face up. "Hey…"
Daniel let him go and dashed out of the room toward the bedroom. Jack stared after him for a long time, then picked up his radio. "Carter."
"Go ahead sir."
"I need you and Teal'c to hoof it up here ASAP."
"Trouble?"
Jack glanced toward the bedroom. "You could say that. Just get here. Now."
"On our way."
Daniel hid in the relative safety of the bedroom. Of course, it wasn't really safety, Jack could walk in any time…but it felt safer somehow. He didn't want Jack to see him like this. He sniffled and wiped his face on the sleeve of his robe.
Jack's promise was hollow, Daniel knew. He knew they'd already tried to fix it. He was there. He remembered the pain. He hadn't followed everything that happened after because he couldn't keep up, the words were moving too fast and the language was slippery at best.
Tears burned at the corner of his eyes and he wiped at them angrily. He'd heard enough to know that he was screwed. He threw himself across the bed, pulling a pillow to him to hug to his chest. Only the pillow smelled like Jack. Like Jack and sex. He sat up again and threw it.
His twelve year old body was painfully awkward, his legs too long, his arms too short. His head was pounding from whatever they'd done to him, from the crying. He wanted to stop, but he couldn't.
Daniel curled up as small as he could on the end of the bed that didn't smell like Jack, holding his stomach and trying desperately to wake himself up from the nightmare. He dozed, not really asleep, but not truly aware of the passing of time, until there was a knock at the bedroom door.
"Daniel, it's Sam. Can I come in?"
Daniel sat upright, eyes wide, panic running through him. He'd rolled toward the head of the bed at some point, his face in the sheets that smelled like him and Jack. He was hard and horrified.
He jumped off the bed, staring at the door. "Go away Sam," he said, his voice cracking.
"Daniel, please let me in."
Daniel growled through the door, "Go the fuck away." The last thing he wanted was for her to see him like this.
"I just want to make sure you're okay."
Daniel jerked the door open. "Do I look okay to you?" He looked down at himself, eyes shutting as he realized his hard on was evident through the robe.
To her credit though, Sam kept her eyes on Daniel's face. "Just let me look you over, and then we'll see about fixing it."
"You can't fix it." Daniel said softly, not looking up. "They tried. Didn't work." He was pouting. Fucking pouting like he really was twelve. His eyes lifted to meet hers slowly. "What if I'm stuck like this?"
She touched his shoulder. "We won't let that happen. Come on."
He backed into the room, away from her and toward the bed. She followed, setting her pack down on the floor before fishing out her first aid kit. "Can you tell me what happened?"
Daniel sat, relieved that his hard on was starting to diminish at least. "No. One minute we're doing the ceremony thing, and the next they were dragging me out and strapping me into this machine and then I was like this."
She nodded as she pulled on gloves. "Did they tell you anything about how they do it, or why?"
Daniel hung his head as she came closer, her hands reaching out for his head. "I didn't understand it." He felt foolish, and irritated that he couldn't focus better. Her hands pressed along his glands, down his neck. Then she was looking in his eyes and he was struggling not to cry again. "I'm sorry." He pulled away and wiped his eyes.
Her smile was soft as she shook her head lightly. "There's nothing to be sorry for Daniel. You're doing fine."
"No I'm not," he argued, more for the sake of arguing than because he disagreed. He recognized the behavior from his actual childhood, but couldn't seem to stop himself.
"I'm going to have to take some blood samples for Janet, okay?"
He nodded miserably and held out his arm. That at least he understood just fine.
The door to the bedroom opened and Sam came out, shouldering her pack.
"Well?"
"He seems okay." Sam said slowly. "I took some blood samples for Janet so she can tell us more, but he seems to be a normal twelve year old boy."
"He's anything but normal, Carter. He's a stubborn, scared, freaked out twelve year old who just yesterday was a full grown archeologist with an uncanny ability to irritate the living hell out of me." Jack scrubbed his hands over his face.
"It would appear he retains that ability." Teal'c said deadpan.
"What exactly happened, sir?" Carter asked.
Jack shook his head and shrugged. "I'm having trouble getting a straight answer, they keep telling me I should worry about teaching him and not bother with the details."
"What are you meant to instruct him to do?" Teal'c asked.
"Again with the not getting a straight answer. Apparently this has something to do with how they handle crime, but since I'm a…what did she call me? A Parnor? I'm supposed to have people who handle the details while I…" He waved his hand toward the bedroom door. "…parent, I guess."
"I'd like to talk to the people who did this." Carter said, setting her pack down. "Daniel said something about them trying to fix it, but it didn't work. I think we need to know more about the process and what they did to try to fix it."
Jack nodded. "Right. Teal'c, stay here and babysit. Carter, you see about getting more information, I'm going to head back to the gate and report in to General Hammond."
Carter handed him a small box. "Might as well give Janet a head start."
Daniel listened at the door to the sound of his team leaving, and felt panic twist his stomach around. He pushed it away, but it didn't help. He tried to tell himself that Jack would never leave him behind, but there was no way his twelve year old brain was believing it. Too many people had left him.
He pushed away from the door and tried pacing off the energy fueled by his adolescent fear of abandonment. Instead it just kick started a landslide of memories of people who had left him behind. His parents, his grandfather, foster families that didn't last, friends who lost his number when his career started to tank, Shar'e…and he knew it wasn't fair to think like that. None of them really chose to leave him, it was just the nature of things.
The grown up him knew that, but it didn't keep the child from panic, didn't keep him from crying as he heard the door close, didn't stop him from bursting through the bedroom door yelling for Jack.
Instead of Jack, he came face to face with Teal'c who raised an eyebrow, but didn't move much otherwise. Daniel backpedaled, wiping his face on the sleeve of his robe again, as he neared the bedroom door.
"I am to remain here and watch you." Teal'c said.
"I don't need a babysitter." Daniel said reflexively, then shook his head. "I'm sorry. I'm…not myself."
The other eyebrow went up alongside the first. "Perhaps if you rested you might feel more like yourself."
"Yeah, good idea. I'll just be in here. Resting." Daniel eased back into the bedroom and closed the door. He wasn't tired, just wrung out, emotionally spent. He lay down on the bed and covered his eyes with one arm, thinking he wouldn't sleep, but the dark was soothing and the bed soft and sleep lulled him under.
Daniel was asleep when Jack got back from the gate. Jack stood in the doorway and watched him, because he couldn't bring himself to leave Daniel alone, and he couldn't even think about lying with him in that bed.
Not when less than 24 hours before they'd had sex in that bed.
Behind him, the door opened and Jack turned to see Teal'c holding the door for Sam. He shut the bedroom door. "He's asleep. Finally."
When she didn't move to sit or speak Jack figured that this wasn't going to be good. He sat in the chair, gesturing at her.
Carter made a face as she took a seat on the end of the couch. "How is he?" Her eyes darted to the door and back.
"He has been asleep several hours." Teal'c responded.
"I'm not surprised, this has been an ordeal for him."
Jack dragged his hand through his hair. "What about getting this fixed?"
She sighed and made an apologetic face. "I did my best, sir, but normally, once someone has been de-aged, they are left to grow up naturally." She rubbed her hands on her legs like she was trying to get something off them. "They tried, once they realized that Daniel was not Predorian, but the technology isn't easily reversible--"
"What? Are you saying that we won't have Daniel back to being Daniel for twenty years?" Jack stood and started pacing.
"Well, not exactly." She bit her lip and Jack stopped to frown at her. She exhaled and stood herself. "According to the doctors I spoke with, there were some anomalies in Daniel's case. They set his regression to twelve, because that is an age before he would be expected to learn the rules that he broke, but if the procedure worked, he shouldn't remember anything past being twelve and he shouldn't realize that this is a punishment for something. The whole point of the procedure is to return the criminal to a time in their life before they learned the undesired behavior that got them convicted in the first place."
"Which was what, exactly?"
She shrugged at him. "Honestly, I have no idea. They went on and on about ritual purity and sins of cleanliness. I didn't follow it."
"So…" He gestured at her to continue.
"Well, according to what Doctor Milkan was saying, the attempts to reverse the process have at least succeeded in accelerating the growth process. Daniel's already started aging."
"Bottom line this for me, Carter."
"He seems healthy and there seem to be no major complications, so they figure at least three months. They'll know more after the first few days, when they can get an idea of how swiftly he's aging."
Jack's anger wasn't placated in the least by the idea of three months of this. "What are we supposed to do while we wait?"
"The Prelate won't let Daniel leave until he has transitioned back, she says it's her responsibility to ensure his safety."
"Fine time for her to start that now." Jack groused. He drew in a deep breath. He needed to keep a cool head. "You two head back to the gate. Let me know the minute you have anything from Doc. Frasier. I don't trust their doctors to tell me he's okay."
The nightmare startled Jack out of his doze. He jumped from the chair he'd wedged into the corner of the bedroom as Daniel's pre-pubescent voice screamed. It was chilling and it raised the hair on his arms.
Daniel tossed feverishly on the bed, sweat plastering his hair to his forehead, whimpering. Hesitantly, Jack sat on the bed and reached for him, jumping when those blue eyes popped open and Daniel lurched at him. Jack could do little more than hold on to him as he sobbed and clung to Jack, his hands fisting in Jack's shirt and holding on for dear life.
When the sobbing started to die down, Daniel shuddered in his arms and went quiet. After a few more minutes, Jack attempted to pull away enough to look at him, but Daniel just clung tighter. "Nightmare?" Jack asked as softly as he could, though his voice was gruff.
"I was afraid." Daniel's voice was small and muffled against his chest. "I didn't know why they were hurting me." He shivered and looked up at Jack. "You were there, but I couldn't see you."
Daniel seemed so much younger than he had when he went to bed, as if the act of sleeping had finished the transition to twelve so that his brain matched his body. It was hard to say what memory had triggered the dream, not without pressing for more details and judging just from Daniel's reaction when he shifted his grip, that wasn't an option.
"But I've got you now." Jack murmured, holding Daniel to him. "You're safe. I'm going to make sure no one hurts you."
Jack tried to settle him back to the bed, but Daniel wasn't letting go, so Jack got himself turned around to lay down with him, his hand soothing over Daniel's head. "It's okay…I'm right here."
Daniel drifted off to sleep again eventually, but Jack lay awake with Daniel in his arms, listening to him breathe, remembering the nights when Charlie would have some nightmare and he'd cradle him and hold him, and in the morning Charlie would try to act all tough, pretending he'd never been scared. "It's okay, Daddy's here." Jack whispered like he had then.
Jack's chest tightened and he pressed a kiss into Daniel's messy hair, closing his eyes, though he doubted he'd be getting any sleep at all as images of his son ran through his mind, his son as he might have been had he lived to be twelve. Daniel's small body shifted against his, closer, pulling Jack's arms to him. He whimpered a little in his sleep and Jack whispered into his hair, soft words that had no real meaning, drifting toward the memories in his head.
He woke drenched in sweat, the sheets soaked through, pain lancing through him like something was trying to cut him into pieces. He gasped for air, flailing, falling with a thud to the floor where he convulsed until he felt Jack's hand on his head.
"Daniel?"
His voice was distant, like through water and Daniel tried to reach for him, but his body didn't seem to work. His head spiked with pain and dark and flashes of memory.
"Call me Pop, all the kids do." The man smiles and seems nice enough, shows Daniel into a room of his own. "You can put your stuff there. Dinner's in about a half hour, you can meet the other kids then."
It isn't like the dorms at his last school, where he slept in a room of eight other boys and felt more alone than ever. He unpacks his bags and folds his clothes neatly into the drawers, then sits on the bed with the few books he managed to keep, holding them like they'll protect him from whatever comes next.
++++++
He's cold and wet and alone, but he doesn't know where. He shivers and pulls his feet closer into his body to keep warm. He ran a long time and the storm came out of nowhere and he doesn't begin to know how to get back. He just wants to go back to his room, to the safety of his private space. He wonders if anyone even notices he's gone.
++++++
She doesn't taste like he expects, her tongue on his sort of flat and vaguely salty, warm though…and not icky, completely. She smiles at him, her teeth hidden behind the metal of her braces and calls him "Danny," even though she knows he doesn't like it and he lets her, though he never understands why…just like he doesn't understand why she's there with him, until she opens up her history book and smiles at him. He sighs then, knowing she'll be gone as soon as he's helped her pass her test.
His mouth was dry, tasted metallic and strange. His tongue was sore and for a long minute he couldn't place where he was. He opened his eyes slowly, blinking in the dim gloom of the unfamiliar room. Jack lifted his head beside him.
"Hey." Daniel's voice cracked and felt wrong. He cleared his throat and stripes of pain etched themselves down his insides, like he'd been screaming for days.
"Easy." Jack said, his hand soothing over Daniel's forehead. "Just go slow."
Jack's hand felt huge on his face, even bigger when he took Daniel's hand. "You've been kind of out of it for a while."
"Out of it?" Daniel didn't understand, couldn't follow Jack's concerned expressions. He felt small, crammed into a body that didn't fit and the room around them was strange. Jack looked tired, exhausted really, like he hadn't slept for a while.
"How you feeling?"
"Thirsty." He looked around them, something starting to filter back into his brain. Predoria. Jack handed him a cup with water in it, helps him sit up, and that was when it all shifted into place. He remembered with a start, spilling water down his chest. "Sorry." Jack tried to help, but sat back with a frustrated sigh when there was nothing really he could do.
Daniel drank down the water, then handed the cup back. "Doc Frasier's here." Jack said after a few minutes of quiet. "She came when we couldn't…" He squinted at Daniel and Daniel wonders what exactly happened after he fell. He doesn't remember much past hearing Jack say his name.
"How long?"
"Almost two days." Jack didn't look at him, which made Daniel think there was something he wasn't saying.
"What is it?"
Jack shook his head. "Nothing, you just scared me." Jack's hand caressed over Daniel's, but he pulled back when there was a light knock on the door.
"Colonel?"
"Come on in Doc. Our patient's awake."
"I thought I heard voices." Janet smiled at him as she came into the room. "How are you feeling?"
"My throat's sore, and I'm apparently still twelve…"
"Closer to thirteen than you were yesterday, I imagine." Janet said, coming closer with her stethoscope in her hands. "I'd like to examine you, if that's okay."
"I'll just be outside then." Jack said, standing to leave. Daniel reached for him involuntarily, then pulled his hand back, dropping his eyes.
When the door closed, Daniel looked up at Janet. "What isn't he telling me?"
She sat in the chair he just left, her face serious. "We almost lost you, Daniel. If I hadn't gotten here when I did…You went into convulsions, and your heart couldn't handle the strain of the changes your body is going through."
Daniel knew that sounded fairly serious, and he knew that he should have a better understanding of what she meant, but he wasn't entirely sure he did, so he just nodded. "But I'm not going to go anywhere, and I'm going to do everything I can to get you through this, okay?"
Jack paced between Teal'c who stood by the door, and Carter who sat in the chair and back again, turning when the bedroom door finally opened. Doctor Frasier stepped out, putting her stethoscope in her pocket. "Well?"
"He seems to be stable, the pain is gone, aside from his throat hurting from the screaming he did. His heart sounds good."
"Until the next time he goes into convulsions and it stops working." Jack snapped. Carter's hand touched his arm in what he supposed was meant to be a soothing gesture.
"Honestly, Colonel, I don't know. I don't understand the technology or how it's supposed to affect the body, I can only treat what I'm seeing. And what I'm seeing is a scared boy who doesn't understand what's happening with the memories of a grown man in his head."
"What are we supposed to do then?" Jack asked, forcing his anger and frustration down inside him. It wasn't Janet's fault and lashing out at her wasn't helping anyone.
She exhaled slowly. "I'd like to take him home, run some more thorough tests, at the very least make him comfortable. But I'd like to speak with the doctors here first, gather as much information as I can."
Jack nodded. "Carter?"
"On it sir." She stood and gestured toward the door.
Jack watched them exit, then looked up at Teal'c. "Go with them. Anyone, and I mean anyone, lays a hand on them--"
Teal'c inclined his head and followed the women out. Jack heaved a sigh and pulled both hands through his hair before collapsing onto the couch and reaching for the tray of fruit on the low table. Food had been brought up almost an hour before, but none of them had felt much like eating. He still didn't, but figured he needed to keep his strength up.
"Are they gone?" Daniel sounded petulant and Jack looked up as the bedroom door opened.
"Yeah, they are."
Daniel slouched against the door in an oversized t-shirt and ridiculously baggy pants. "I'm sorry."
Jack didn't respond, just gestured at the food that covered the table. "Food?"
Daniel made a face. "I'm not hungry." He came to stand next to Jack. "My clothes don't fit." He fell to the couch.
"Maybe you should have kept the robe on."
"Wanted my own clothes." He was pouting, his arms crossed, his glasses falling down his nose and it was seriously adorable…a look Jack might have kissed away if Daniel wasn't…you know, a kid.
Jack sighed and pulled his hand through his hair. "It could be worse," he found himself saying, though it was ridiculous.
Daniel grabbed a piece of fruit from the tray and fiddled with it. "Don't be so sure."
"Don't be so pessimistic."
"Easy for you to say." Jack watched him slouch, shoulders hunched, his face dark. He pushed his glasses up, but they slipped right back down. "Look at me. I'm skinny and scrawny and a dork. And it only gets worse."
"Daniel, you're not a dork." Jack shook his head, feeling Daniel's eyes. "And…who cares what you were like then…you turned out fine--"
"So not the point." Daniel stood, dropping the fruit back onto the tray.
Jack sighed again and followed him with his eyes. "Then what is the point?"
Daniel kept his back to Jack, but he could read the tension in his spine, the straight line of him tightly strung. "It's stupid. I'm stupid. I just want to go home!" He started back to the bedroom, but Jack jumped up and intercepted him.
"Stop."
"Let me go!" Daniel struggled, but he was light and weak in his twelve-year-old body and Jack held on until he stopped struggling.
"Tell me what's really going on in that head of yours."
Daniel sagged and gave one more good shrug trying to get away. "See what I mean? I'm pathetic." Jack's hands shifted, but held onto his arms, so thin and small in his hands. "I hated being…this way, Jack." Daniel said finally, his voice small. "I hate who I am…I can't…do anything…and I'm always alone."
His heart seized up at the sight of Daniel like that, so afraid of being alone. The Daniel he knew had long since grown accustomed to the solitude of his life and had trouble adjusting to the others that occupied it now.
"Daniel." Jack's voice took on a tone he hadn't heard in a while, the one he'd used whenever Charlie was getting on his nerves and he just wanted a straight answer.
Daniel reacted in much the same way Charlie always had. His eyes widening, his mouth opening, though nothing came out right away. When his mouth shut again, Jack nodded. "Good. Now, listen." Only, he didn't know what to say. "I know this is tough, but we'll get through it."
Jack tugged him closer, pulled him into a hug and repeated it like a mantra in his head. "We'll get through it together, because you aren't alone." Jack's mouth pressed kisses into Daniel's messy hair. "You hear me, Daniel? I'm not going anywhere."
It was the closest thing to forever that either of them had to offer.