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The Progeny of Eden           
by Kikkimax

Illia sat in the shade and watched the love of her life happily uncovering whatever mysteries lay buried in the sand. She thought back in time to her fateful mistake and remembered the pain she had caused. That would have been punishment enough but still the council chose to banish her and her kin from the city. Now the family had to toil outside the dome in the elements to scrap together the means to survive from day to day. Yet when she looked into the dancing blue eyes of the one life she’d managed to save, it all seemed worthwhile.

‘Daniel,’ she called with her mind. He looked up from his task, a profound expression of concentration on his face. ‘Let’s go inside.’

He came to her willingly and she kissed his head as she gathered her small grandson into her arms and carried him into the sparsely furnished hut to prepare the evening meal. They had little, but she wanted for nothing; creature comforts meant nothing compared to the great joy of having a baby in the home.

Sitting the child at the table to play with his small wooden toys, Illia reflected on his unlikely existence. Since their expulsion from the city had been immediate upon sentencing, the council had not been witness to her daughter’s burgeoning abdomen and somehow they had managed to keep their emotions in check. The communal shunning that severed the mental bonds with everyone inside the dome further helped to hide the little one’s presence.

His birth had been difficult and frightening, leaving his mother Veda frail and weary for many days. But the boy himself had been without flaw and thrived under the attention of small, outcast clan. She hoped and prayed that their isolation would be enough to shelter him from the council.

As Daniel grew he continued to be happy and healthy with but a single difficulty, yet one which became more distressing with each passing day. Although he was obviously bright for his age, he had yet to try to communicate with anyone. The ability to receive was almost a certainly as he responded promptly when called, at least on a physical level, provided of course his intense attention wasn’t focused somewhere else.

With no references available to her to ease her mind, Illia struggled to overcome her growing conviction that his development was abnormal. Instead she made a conscious choice to think of it in terms of evolution. After all, her grandchild was an amalgam of two closely related yet undeniably different races. There were bound to be repercussions. She just hoped that she, and more importantly, Daniel could live with them.

With a sigh she put her grandmotherly worries away and turned her attention to peeling the roots she had gathered earlier from the garden. Even without the incessant cerebral chatter that she remembered fondly from her daughter’s early childhood, there was a sense of peace and utter fascination with the world emanating from the boy. With his sweet disposition and easy nature even if Daniel never developed the means to converse, the child would always be loved and cared for.

As she worked, Illia provided a colorful illustration to Daniel to keep his mind busy, pleased to see him smile as the images formed a story in his head. Suddenly the playful telling was interrupted by an anxious cry.

‘Mother!’

‘Veda? What is it?’ Illia asked in alarm, watching as the terrified child instantly picked up on the panic.

‘They know! The council has discovered our deception!’

Unable to shield Daniel from the wave of anguish and fear ripping through her, Illia pulled him up from the table into a crushing hug. Once the initial anxiety subsided and she was able to think again, she loosened her hold and began shushing the still frightened boy with another story. Grabbing several items and stuffing them into a bag she put into motion the plan they had foolishly pretended they would never need.

***

"What’s up?" Jack asked as he stepped into the control room, eyeing the light from an open wormhole flickering behind the closed iris. "Carter?"

"Sir," Sam acknowledged his presence without offering any information as her fingers danced over the keyboard in front of her.

"General?" Jack tried again, this time turning to the grim faced man overlooking the ‘gate. "You paged?"

Hammond sighed with obvious discontent. "It appears we’re being hailed from P2C-835."

"835…" Jack repeated shaking his head slightly as he mentally went over his own short list of remembered planet designations. "That one doesn’t ring a bell, sir."

"Uh, yeah, didn’t we go there a couple years ago?" Daniel asked, arriving with Teal’c in time to overhear the conversation.

"Indeed we did, Daniel Jackson," Teal’c uttered, apparently disturbed by the news. "I believe that was the planet with the domed city."

"Where you were cloned," Jack finished, his face darkening with the recognition. "Don’t we have call blocking?" he grumbled as the blue light abruptly blinked out.

"This isn’t AT&T, Jack," Daniel noted as he turned pensively to the gate technician. "Was there an impact event?"

"No sir," Sergeant Davis reported as the iris whirled open. "There have been three separate wormholes established in the last fifteen minutes from the same place. No impact events."

"They know about the iris," Daniel reasoned out loud, suddenly becoming aware of everyone looking at him. "The clones knew everything I did so one of them must have warned them not to attempt to come through the stargate to Earth."

Jack grunted his displeasure. "Pity."

"You know, this is exactly how Daniel got our attention last time," Sam uttered distractedly, turning in her seat to face the group behind her.

"Actually, I went to the Alpha site…"

"The other Daniel," Jack interrupted. "I mean Daniel…ssss; we ended up with four of em, ya know. And yeah, this is exactly how they got us to send a MALP."

"Oh."

"Incoming wormhole," Davis announced, checking his screen as the first chevron lit and the outer rim began to spin. "It’s from P2C-835. Again."

"They seem determined. Couldn’t we at least send a MALP and see what they want?" Daniel suggested with a hopeful glance in General Hammond’s direction.

"No," Jack insisted forcefully. "We don’t care what they want. We may not have call blocking, but I know damn good and well that place is locked out of the dialing computer. Right? General?"

"You’re right about that, Colonel," Hammond agreed as the expected whoosh appeared. "Unfortunately that doesn’t keep them from dialing here. Close the iris, Sergeant."

"Yes sir," Davis responded, placing his hand on the iris control. Everyone silently watched the computer screen over his shoulder for several minutes until the empty wormhole sputtered out and the iris automatically spun open. "Again, no impact event."

"They are clearly knocking on the door," Daniel declared, releasing the breath he’d been holding.

"So? We don’t have to answer."

"Jack…"

"Daniel."

"What if it’s Daniel?" Sam asked softly, leaving both men open mouthed and staring at her, effectively halting the verbal sparring match before it even started.

"What?" they snapped in unison.

"Uh, Carter? Hello?" Jack continued, shoving his whole hand in Daniel’s direction. "We’ve got the original right here. Adam’s rib, remember? Show her the star scar," he ordered the still gaping linguist.

"Uh… actually it sort of faded with time," Daniel answered, reflexively fingering the material of his shirt over the spot where the cells had been extracted.

"I meant a clone, sir," Sam tried again in mild exasperation.

Jack set his jaw but the rest of his face remained an emotionless mask. "Yeah, I know what you meant. They all died."

"What if they didn’t?" Sam persisted. "What if one survived somehow? What if it’s… Two?"

"Is that possible?" Hammond asked with concern.

"A race as advanced as these would have the means of maintaining a life form in suspended animation," Teal’c suggested. "Perhaps they chose to keep a Daniel Jackson in reserve."

"I suppose they could have frozen one or something," Daniel mused. "Maybe they found a way to reverse the damage."

"And I repeat… So?"

"I’m sorry. I don’t understand your reluctance to even consider checking this out," Daniel began single-mindedly, stopping in surprise at the malevolent glare shot his way.

"We watched you die," Jack explained in a deceptively calm voice, "Over and over again."

"I’m not dead."

"Dammit, Daniel, you weren’t here. You didn’t have to watch them suffer."

"I did!" Daniel affirmed, anger rising red in his face. "I guess you’ve forgotten the ones I was with died, too. And not in a warm, comfy infirmary bed with nurses and doctors and medicine to ease their pain; they died on the cold ground with nothing but me to take care of them."

"And do you really want to watch that again?" Jack whispered hoarsely, unconcerned that every eye in the room was on them, "Because even without the amenities, I can’t imagine it being much worse."

"What if they did put one in suspended animation and he just woke up? He might not know he’s not the original," Sam broke in heatedly. "He might be frightened and alone on another planet, just trying to get home. It’s still Daniel, sir."

"Oh for Pete’s sake," Jack swore furiously, throwing his hands up as he turned away to pace to the other side of the control room. "It doesn’t matter. That planet is locked out anyway."

The stargate began to spin and the chevrons once again lit one by one. "Off world activation from P2C-835."

"Can it be unlocked?" Daniel asked urgently. "I mean it hasn’t been removed or… or deleted, it’s just locked, right?"

"That’s right," Sam confirmed somberly as she looked up at him.

"What would it take to unlock it?"

"A few keystrokes." Sam shifted her gaze to Jack.

"Colonel?" Hammond questioned, seeking input from his second in command before making his decision.

"Stroke ‘em," Jack muttered unhappily without glancing up.

"Prepare a MALP, Sergeant," Hammond ordered briskly. "SG-1, be ready to leave in fifteen minutes just in case."

"Yes sir," Sam sighed in relief as she slid from the chair, casting her C.O. a concerned glance as she passed him on her way to the locker room. Teal’c followed without a word.

When Daniel stopped in front of him Jack looked up and met his eyes for a moment. Wordlessly they made their peace before heading off together as the new wormhole blossomed.

***

"Maybe they gave up," Daniel sighed from the seat next to Sam. "They stopped calling what? Twenty minutes ago?"

"Yeah, eighteen to be exact. Pan right," Sam directed, keeping her attention on the screen but keenly aware of the brooding man standing behind her.

"Perhaps the individual was frightened by the MALP and has hidden," Teal’c offered calmly, leaning forward as he noticed something on the screen. "Sergeant Davis, please direct the camera towards the ground."

"Footprints," Sam noted as the image shifted down to the soft soil in front of the gate.

"Lot’s of ‘em," Jack agreed, speaking for the first time since returning to the control room. "It looks like we missed the party."

"Or maybe one person was pacing. Oh, wait!" Daniel pointed at one of the screens overhead.

A woman rushed from the bushes and advanced directly to the MALP. The camera followed her with a jerky motion, finally focusing on her face. The tracks of her tears were apparent as she silently pleaded for help.

"Well it’s definitely not Daniel." Sam sounded extremely relieved.

"She looks familiar," Daniel muttered, scrunching up his brow as he tried to remember.

"As I recall, they all look alike," Jack argued grumpily. "Talk to her."

"As I recall, they can’t hear," Daniel retorted. "And unless this MALP can read brainwaves, the only way to find out what she wants is to go there."

"You knew that before you suggested sending a MALP," Jack accused. Getting no response other than guileless blue eyes he let out a long, noisy breath and turned to face Hammond. "Sir?"

"You have a go, SG-1. Report back within the hour."

"Yes sir," Jack acknowledged, leading his team down the stairs and around the corner into the gateroom before speaking again. "Daniel."

"Jack?"

"Stay where I can see you."

Daniel stopped in mid-reach to his vest from the ready stack of gear at the foot of the ramp. "Why?"

"We already know they like your make and model. We don’t want a repeat performance," Jack declared, staring his teammate down before reaching for his own equipment.

Forgoing an eye roll, Daniel nodded his head in reluctant agreement.

With no intention of staying, they were traveling light and quickly donned vests and gathered their weapons. Since the signal from the probe still held the wormhole open they were ready to go within seconds.

"Teal’c, you’re with me," Jack ordered, clattering toward the gate then through it with the Jaffa close behind. Sam exchanged a sympathetic look with Daniel and they followed side by side.

As they cleared the event horizon, Daniel spotted the woman still kneeling in front of the MALP. He moved to her instinctively as Sam cut the signal and the event horizon sputtered out, but ran into Jack’s outstretched arm blocking his path.

Crying profusely and shaking with unnervingly silent sobs, the woman rose to her feet and tried to compose herself as she swiftly studied each member of SG-1. Sweeping her gaze quickly over Teal’c then Jack and Daniel to Sam, she hesitated before turning an accessing stare back toward Daniel. Recognition and relief registered on her face as she rushed to him, brusquely pushing her way past Jack. She shifted the bundle she carried and raised her freed hand quickly to Daniel’s forehead.

"O’Neill!" Teal’c shouted in the same instant Daniel’s head shot up in surprise. They both looked toward the little hill that rose above the stargate.

"We need to get out of here," Daniel warned.

"Dial us home," Jack ordered, hefting his weapon as a crowd of women crested the rise. "What did she say?" he asked Daniel urgently as Sam dialed Earth.

"She didn’t ‘say’ anything, she just showed me… them," Daniel expounded, shocked as the woman thrust her burden into his arms and tearfully kissed him before rushing towards rather than away from the advancing mob. "I think she’s trying to buy us some time."

The vortex barely settled before Sam punched in their IDC. "Go!"

Jack urged Daniel and Sam forward and then he and Teal’c stepped through together, leaving the MALP behind in their haste. They arrived back at the SGC to a screech of terror erupting from the blanket in Daniel’s arms. As weapons leveled at his chest from every direction, Daniel struggled to hang on to the thrashing form.

"Hold fire!" Jack yelled, reaching out to snatch away the rough woolen covering to expose a small, terrified face underneath. He stared dumbfounded at the child who continued to resist the tenuous grasp of the equally stunned archeologist. Daniel appeared to be losing the battle as the little arms and legs flailed in wild panic.

"It’s okay," Sam soothed, quickly handing off her P-90 to Teal’c as she moved closer to try to help. When the boy saw her he immediately launched himself forward, wrapping his arms tightly around her neck as he continued to shriek.

"It’s a kid," Jack muttered in disbelief, not loud enough to be heard over the wail.

Still holding the blanket and a woven bag, Daniel gaped as he distractedly rubbed the ache at the top of his right thigh where he had been kicked repeatedly, thankful the blows hadn’t landed a few inches to the left. "I don’t understand." He opened the bag in the hopes there might be something to explain what had just happened, but found only a small assortment of baby clothes and a couple of hand-made toys.

"Shhh." Sam rocked the little one rhythmically and pressed his head down to her shoulder. Slowly his cries began to quiet but he buried his face and held onto to his newfound friend with fierce determination.

"Daniel Jackson," Teal’c stated solemnly.

"Yeah?" Daniel asked, closing his mouth and forcing his gaze up from the contents of the bag to Teal’c’s face. "Oh," he mouthed quietly, catching on when he found Teal’c looking not at him but at the boy instead.

"You don’t think…" Sam started, aghast as she too looked down at the small blond head cradled against her. "Holy Hanna. He’s a clone."

"Christ," Jack swore angrily, looking anywhere but at the youngster at he tried to calm his conflicting emotions. Failing miserably, he turned on his heel and marched out of the gateroom even as the general entered from the opposite door.

The sound of the whimpering child broke the silence as the rest of SG-1 exchanged horrified glances with each other over the possible implications, barely aware of General Hammond’s arrival at the foot of the ramp.

"Major Carter?" Hammond asked expectantly, having witnessed Jack’s hasty exit.

Sam bit her lip as she looked up. "It looks like they’ve changed their M.O., sir," she explained hesitantly, turning to better display her little bundle of joy. "They probably had some of Daniel’s DNA left over and found a way to start from scratch, so to speak."

"But did they work out the other problems?"

"I hope so, but we really have no way to know for sure." Sam grimaced, hugging the small body a bit tighter.

"Perhaps only time will reveal that information," Teal’c agreed sagely.

Hammond nodded his understanding, a bleak expression on his face. "Very well. Get the little fellow down to the infirmary and let Doctor Fraiser check him over right away," he ordered with a subtle sense of urgency.

"Yes sir," Sam whispered, shifting the sniffling child to her hip to carry him.

Teal’c turned over the weapons in his hands to one of the gateroom guards and gathered the half sized blanket that still hung loosely from Daniel’s hand. "Are you not coming, Daniel Jackson?" he asked as he tucked the wrap around the baby and guided Sam towards the door, leaving Daniel standing alone on the ramp.

"I… uh, yeah," Daniel replied, snapping out of his fugue long enough to exchange a bewildered glance with the general as he passed him.

"Are you okay with this, Daniel?" Hammond asked kindly, uncharacteristically using his first name as he clamped a hand to his shoulder to halt his escape.

Daniel let out a startled laugh. "Do you mean him or me? Sorry," he muttered contritely. "I don’t know why I said that." Sam stopped and stared at him worriedly over the top of the blanket.

"It’s all right, son, this is bound to be a shock to you." Hammond patted his back and handed him off to Teal’c who gave his elbow a gentle tug to get him started again. "We’ll debrief in an hour." The general called after them.

"Yes sir," Sam answered for the group as they made their way down the corridor. She used a corner of the blanket to wipe little Daniel’s face.

Stopping in front of the elevator, the larger counterpart fumbled in his pocket for a Kleenex which he handed over to Sam with empathy. "If you really are me, your sinuses are going to hate you later," he advised the tot knowingly, still quietly freaking out.

No longer screaming, the boy stared at Daniel and then Teal’c as Sam cleaned his face and runny nose. He still appeared to be frightened, but couldn’t help but look around inquisitively as they made their way to the infirmary.

***

Still in his linen tunic, the boy sat on the bed but maintained double handfuls of the hem of the shirt of the only person who looked even vaguely familiar. Sam rested one hand lightly on his chubby thigh as he gawked alternately at Daniel and Teal’c who stood behind her on either side. Intermittently he snuffled, triggering an instant nose wiping response from Sam. When Doctor Fraiser approached, his eyes went wide as he considered her.

"So this is our visitor. Hi there," Janet greeted warmly. The child reached up hesitantly to pat her dark hair as she bent down to his level and smiled at him. "He looks a little flushed," she observed, letting him get used to her before attempting to examine him.

"Actually I’m surprised he hasn’t thrown up," Daniel replied. "Going through the gate the first time with your head covered can’t be much fun. Plus he was crying a little."

"No, he was crying a lot," Sam disagreed sympathetically. "Screaming is another word."

"Well he had to be scared out of his mind," Daniel retorted in a slightly defensive tone.

"I know," Sam appeased with a smile at his protective stance.

"Poor little guy," Janet cooed, pulling out her pen light and showing it to him as she clicked it on.

Interest sparked in the expressive face and he let go of Sam to investigate the light, easily tugging it from Janet’s loose grip. He shined it into his eyes before flashing it at the people around him inelegantly.

"Well, he’s certainly curious," Janet enthused. "I’d say he’s very intelligent."

"That’s not surprising considering his DNA." Sam threw a grin over her shoulder. "Does he look like you did at that age?" she asked.

"I don’t know," Daniel shrugged, taking in the light colored hair, big blue eyes and eerily familiar if somewhat smaller features. "He would though, wouldn’t he? After all, he is me."

Janet palpated the child’s neck while he was busy with the light. "So we’re going on the assumption that he’s a clone?" she asked without looking up.

Daniel’s eyebrows rose rapidly in surprise. "What else would he be?"

"Well, judging by his age, the average length of gestation in most humanoid species, and the timing of your last visit to his planet, I’d say natural reproduction is as likely as cloning in this case. Given the circumstances, I’m actually leaning more towards offspring."

"What?" Daniel asked in alarm, taking a step backward. "But how could that happen?"

Janet arched one of her own eyebrows provocatively. "I can show you some pictures in a medical journal if you’d like."

"Oh God," Sam breathed quietly. "I forgot about that."

"Forgot? Forgot what?" Daniel demanded looking from Sam to Teal’c and back to Janet apprehensively.

Sam turned to face him, leaving Janet to do her preliminary exam. "You read the follow up reports from the original mission?" she asked carefully.

"I meant to," Daniel hedged. "But you guys had already hit the highlights and I didn’t really have the heart to read about any more deaths at the time. Besides, I had a lot of work to catch up on and right after that we got captured by Hathor. I just never got around to it."

"Was your work load not reduced considerably by the clones when you returned from P2C-835?" Teal’c challenged.

"Um, no, not really." Daniel blinked at Teal’c, unwittingly exposing the lie with his telltale body language as he crossed his arms over his chest and looked away.

"Daniel! You went back and rechecked everything the clones did, didn’t you?" Sam accused. "For heaven’s sake, they were you, you know."

"Well I wasn’t sure. And I’ll have you know that one of the translations was not entirely accurate," Daniel replied indignantly.

"One? How inaccurate was it?"

"That’s neither here nor there," Daniel mumbled, wilting a little under Sam’s interrogation. "All right, there was one mistake, but it was fundamental and I couldn’t believe I would miss something so simple. Of course I understand that he might have been under a little stress at the time but… Hey, stop changing the subject! What did you neglect to tell me?"

"Teal’c, maybe you should go check on the colonel," Sam suggested, tugging Daniel over to sit on the next bed for a semi-private, heart to heart chat.

Teal’c readily took the out and bowed his head before making his way to the exit with one last glance at the baby.

"Chicken," Daniel called after him petulantly.

"Okay," Sam started with a deep breath. "When I finally found you after they separated us…"

"You didn’t find me."

"I thought it was you," Sam said, carefully controlling the urge to smack him. "At the time we had no idea there would be more than one of you. Do you want to hear this or not?"

"Sorry. Go on."

"I saw a woman leave the room, that’s how I found you. Him. Anyway, there was blood on the sheet and a strong odor of sex."

"That doesn’t necessarily mean anything," Daniel denied automatically then paused for a beat. "Why would he do that?" he bemoaned, not doubting Sam’s words.

"He didn’t willingly do anything, he was taken advantage of. In fact he hadn’t even woken up from being created yet. But we tested the sheet, Daniel. It was positive for blood, semen, and vaginal secretions."

As he processed the information Daniel’s gaze traveled slowly to the child. "So how do we know if this one’s a clone or, oh God… offspring?"

"A simple blood test will tell us either way," Janet answered, keeping a hand on the now restless child as she turned to look at them. "If the DNA is a perfect match then he’s a clone. If it’s not we’ll still be able to determine if you’re the father."

"I already know I’m not the father," Daniel insisted fervently. "I wasn’t even there."

"I meant genetically," Janet clarified.

"Right. I still vote for the clone option."

"What’s wrong, little guy?" Sam asked with concern as she headed back towards the now fussing baby. When she approached he threw his arms up so she picked him off the bed and held him as he continued to fidget, a look of desperation on his face. "Janet?"

"Yeah, could you take care of that while I gather a few things? Then I’ll finish his physical and draw some blood. Oh, and try to get a specimen," Janet called back as she walked out of the examination area.

"Specimen?"

"What’s wrong? Is he sick?" Daniel asked, sidling up beside them.

"I don’t… oh. Oh no," Sam swore as understanding dawned on her face. She held the now contented tot away from her at arms length as clear fluid finished trickling slowly down his bare legs. "That kind of specimen."

His sense of self preservation kicked in and Daniel managed not to laugh at the large wet spot on Sam’s side. "I guess we’re not very good with kids," he surmised guiltily even as he backed away. "Jack probably would have known."

"Probably," Sam ground out.

"Teal’c, too. Here," Daniel offered, hesitantly taking the kid and standing him up in the middle of the bed, allowing him to hold his fingers for balance. "Maybe we should get him out of these wet clothes."

He glanced back at Sam as she peeled off the shirt and let it fall to the floor. She plucked the soaked tee away from her skin crankily and shot him a look that dared him to say anything. "Or I can handle it," he amended, sounding less than self-assured as he contemplated the tunic, searching for a fastener. "Why don’t you go get a shower?"

"Are you sure?" Sam asked, reluctant to leave in spite of her state. She grabbed a towel and threw it over the puddle in the floor, kicking it around with her booted foot until the liquid was absorbed.

"Yeah, I think he’s getting used to me," Daniel nodded. "We’re good. Go ahead"

"Okay, but if you get into trouble call Janet," Sam advised, picking up her shirt and the towel, holding them squeamishly by index fingers and thumbs as she retreated. "And have someone mop the floor."

Daniel nodded absently as he turned back to his miniature doppelganger on the bed. "So," he replied with forced cheerfulness. "I’m, ah, Daniel Jackson, peaceful explorer from Earth."

The toddler’s eyes filled with tears and a low whimper commenced when he realized Sam was nowhere in sight.

"Hey, hey," Daniel soothed fretfully. "It’s all right. I’m not going to hurt you," he promised searching frantically for anything to use as a diversion. "I know, I’ve got something. Here." He presented the Government Issue ballpoint out of his pocket then breathed a sigh of relief as the baby took it and tried to figure out how to make it shine. When clicking the end repeatedly failed to produce the desired effects he pouted and looked up at Daniel accusingly. "Huh," Daniel sympathized. "That one must be broken."

"Daniel," Janet scolded with a smile as she came back into the room. "Don’t tease him."

"Not teasing," Daniel corrected, "Distracting. There’s a difference."

"Uh huh. Did you get a specimen?" She asked, frowning as she passed through the sticky spot on the floor.

"Oh… um… Sam did. But I don’t think you can use it, unless you squeeze it out of her clothes. Cleanup on aisle five, if you know what I mean."

Janet caught on quickly but stifled her laugh, noting that Daniel had come out of the mishap unscathed. "He’s all wet," she huffed, setting aside her supplies as she patted the soggy bottom with an already gloved hand.

She removed the tiny tunic to grunts of protest as the junior genius continued to probe the mystery of the non-shining pen. "Up," she ordered, removing the soiled undies in one smooth motion when Daniel lifted him slightly. "Captain Perez has a baby this age. I’ll call her and get her to bring a couple of Pull-ups when she comes in until I can send someone for supplies. Plus he’s got a few changes of clothes in his bag that should do for now."

"Pull-ups?"

"Absorbent underpants. They’re disposable. In the meantime, he could use a bath."

Daniel checked his watch. "Actually, I’ve got a debriefing."

Freed from the confines of his damp clothing, the little guy bent his knees and bounced gleefully on the bed as he held onto Daniel with one hand and the prized pen with the other, reveling in his own nakedness.

"You’re shameless," Janet taunted, tickling his bare ribs and slipping the ballpoint away unnoticed before he could hurt himself with it. She artfully handed it back to Daniel without the baby being the wiser. "What a scandal! Doctor Jackson is dancing naked in the infirmary."

"Yeah, don’t let that get around," Daniel warned, liberating his last finger and easing back as Janet expertly took over.

"That’s my tummy. That’s my tummy," Janet purred as she laid the toddler flat and pinched the fat little belly each time she said the word ‘tummy’, eliciting a peal of excited giggles. "That’s my tummy!"

Teal’c stopped in the doorway and raised an eyebrow as he witnessed the scene.

"Hey, Teal’c. Did you find Jack?" Daniel asked as he joined him, turning in fascination to watch the evolving play as exaggerated facial expressions were added by the doctor.

"O’Neill does not wish to be disturbed at the time," Teal’c explained, alarmed as Janet apparently lost her mind. "I believe he does not wish to form an emotional bond with the child should the fate of the other clones befall him."

"That makes sense," Daniel empathized, looking back at the boy with a worried frown. "Jack’s got a soft spot for kids. Didn’t you tell him about Janet’s new theory?"

"I did not. O’Neill refuses to discuss the matter."

"What about the debriefing?"

"SG-4 has returned unexpectedly with news of some importance regarding the mines on P3X-932. General Hammond has postponed our meeting until ten o’clock in the morning."

"Oh, that’s probably better anyway. So I’m gonna head home. Maybe Janet will have some information for us tomorrow."

"Ahhh… that’s my toe! Ahhhh… that’s my knee! Ahhhhh… that’s my tummy!"

"Or maybe not."

***

"I’m not really sure what it is," Daniel was saying to Teal’c when Jack sullenly entered the briefing room after hiding in his office for most of the morning.

"What what is?" Jack asked distractedly, heading straight for the coffee pot for another caffeine fix. He hadn’t come to terms with the situation until the early morning hours, but now his resolve was set. No matter how cute the kid might be, he refused to get involved. Daniel could handle the clone stuff this time. But Jack wasn’t so sure his friend wanted the job either, especially since Teal’c had already informed him that Daniel had blown out of the mountain only minutes after Jack had the night before.

"Oh, uh… I was telling Teal’c I’m not sure what it is about a baby that turns otherwise intelligent adults into blathering idiots," Daniel explained. "Although what we saw yesterday does have its uses, particularly in regards to development of speech. And then there’s the incidental, rudimentary anatomy lesson. The baby talk itself isn’t really harmful, I suppose."

Jack feigned indifference as he seated himself next to Daniel and started in on his coffee. "Carter went goo-goo over the kid?"

"Nooo," Daniel drawled slowly, deciding whether or not to spill the beans. "Janet, actually."

"No way!" Jack grinned in spite of himself. "Don’t tell me the doc has a soft side she’s been hiding all these years."

"She is a mother."

"Yeah, but she also has that mad scientist/doctor evil thing going."

Daniel grimaced. "I have to admit that I left before she started poking him with needles."

"I can see that," Jack commiserated.

"Doctor Fraiser seems most jovial in the company of the young Daniel Jackson."

"Jovial? Really?" Jack asked as Sam and Janet’s voices sounded out in the hall.

"Oh yeah," Daniel agreed quickly, turning towards the door as the women entered the room.

"Look what we’ve got," Sam cooed, gesturing towards the bright eyed tot in Janet’s arms.

"Shouldn’t he be restricted to the infirmary? Quarantined or something?" Jack queried sourly, suddenly captivated by the contents of his cup.

"Why’s that, sir? He’s not sick," Janet replied. "No he’s not. No he’s not," she repeated in a falsetto voice as she lifted the baby up over her head and back down several times. The child squealed in delight.

"He’s adapting pretty well," Daniel observed keenly. "I mean he’s been thrust into an alien environment with no way to communicate, yet he seems to be as happy as a clam."

Jack harrumphed, stealing a glance as another round of giggles erupted. "Yeah, well, obviously the nut didn’t fall too far from the tree," he quipped, ignoring the frown of annoyance that crossed Daniel’s face. "So he’s not sick. What’s he doing here?"

A conspiratorial look passed between Sam and Janet as Sam reached for Jack’s cup. "Warm your coffee, sir?"

"Yeah, sure," Jack granted, passing the half empty cup over. "Now answer the question."

"Well, since neither of you bothered to come see him this morning…" Janet started.

"Neither of whom?" Daniel interrupted, looking from Jack to Teal’c. "You went to see him?" he asked Teal’c, certain that Jack had not. Teal’c smiled and bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement.

"Teal’c fed him breakfast," Sam grinned, setting the cup safely aside without refilling it and moving to the other side of the table to take a seat.

"I would have come by… I just had some stuff to do…" Daniel trailed off lamely.

"We just thought that since the briefing is going to be about him, he should attend," Janet finally finished, expertly dumping the baby into Jack’s lap.

"Hey," Jack protested, glaring at the doctor in inverse proportion to her widening smile as she stepped back. "Daniel, take him," he ordered the nearest person gruffly. Not wanting to touch the boy or even look at him, Jack was still instinctively hardwired not to let him fall. Everyone knew he wouldn’t drop him.

"I don’t want him either," Daniel lamented, easing his chair away. "He leaks," he explained awkwardly to icy glares sent his way.

"Carter!" Jack bellowed angrily, causing the child to stare up at him in fright, his lower lip beginning to quiver. A chorus of protests erupted from around the table. "Sorry, sorry, sorry," Jack chanted softly, bouncing the toddler slightly on his knee until the anxious expression on his face lessened.

"Now we can forgo the hearing test," Daniel sniffed haughtily, moving closer to rescue both Jack and the baby. Janet had the same idea and made a grab for the little one as well. The sudden attention caused a slight lip trembling relapse.

"Give him some space," Jack advised, wanting nothing more than to avoid the tears he knew would do him in. He realized his plan of avoidance had already been deliberately and cruelly thwarted as his reluctance to get to know the miniature Daniel began to melt. However he was mad as hell at the tactics used against him and vowed revenge against the conspirators should the unthinkable happen. The thought set off an unwanted twinge in his heart and he couldn’t stop himself from grasping one of the tiny hands and tenderly separating each finger in search of the tell-tale webbing.

"That’s not going to happen, sir," Janet promised gently.

"You’re sure?" Jack questioned, wanting to believe.

"We’re sure. He’s not a clone."

"He’s not?" Jack asked again, uncertain he had heard right as Daniel sighed explosively and dropped his head. "So that means he’s a… well what do ya know. Daniel’s a poppa!" he proclaimed happily, smiling down at the still slightly wary child in his lap, seeing him in a whole new light.

"Not me!" Daniel protested irritably as he lifted his head.

"Daniel Jackson did not directly father this child," Teal’c stated. "However the boy does spring from his lineage via one of the clones."

"What he said," Daniel agreed sulkily.

"Oh, that’s right. One of the other Daniels did manage to do the deed before we got him home," Jack remembered thoughtfully, his frown returning. "And you’re sure this one’s not gonna go ‘poof’? After all, the one that made him was defective. I mean genetically, not just because he was Daniel."

"Hey!"

"Well this little guy’s not going anywhere. He’s in perfect health."

"We’re almost one hundred percent certain that since the sperm was viable when the boy was conceived there won’t be any repercussions now," Sam put in. "Besides, if he were going to regress, it most likely would have happened a long time ago."

"So he’s what? A regular kid?"

"Yes sir. Well, as regular as he can be with half of his genes coming from an alien species."

"Cool," Jack breathed, carefully taking in every angle of the small face as he’d been so reluctant to do before. He was amazed by the semblance to the glum man sitting to his right.

"I’ll take him now, sir," Janet volunteered, her mission accomplished.

"I’ve got him," Jack grumbled, playing the part of the martyr to the hilt even as he shifted the kid to his other knee and out of Janet’s reach. He smiled when the boy looked up at him intently, apparently sizing him up. Finally the child’s attention dropped from his face to his pocket and he helped himself to Jack’s pen.

"Colonel," Janet protested, reaching over to extract the sharp object.

"It’s okay," Jack soothed, scooting closer to the table and flipping open the notebook in front of him. He clicked the end of the pen and guided the small hand to the paper. After drawing only two lines with Jack’s assistance, the toddler took to the activity with gusto. "Quick study," Jack proclaimed smugly as if he had anything to do with it.

"As you were," Hammond ordered as he entered the room and moved straight to the head of the table. "How’s the boy?"

"He’s fine, sir," Janet announced cheerfully taking a seat next to Sam and launching into her report. "Our tests show conclusively that he is the biological offspring of Doctor Jackson and not a clone as we first suspected."

"Um, offspring of one of the clones," Daniel corrected pointedly.

"Well that’s wonderful news." Hammond brightened up and beamed at the busy child. "There’s quite a likeness," he added warmly.

"Really?" Daniel asked, not seeing it himself. Or trying hard not to.

"He’s a chip off the old block," Jack agreed exuberantly. "Hell, yesterday we thought he was you."

"Language, sir," Janet admonished.

"What? It’s not like he’s gonna pick up anything. He doesn’t even talk. Does he?"

"No, but he screams really well," Sam teased, shooting a rueful glance at Daniel when he glowered at her.

"And he coos and laughs," Janet added. "Obviously he is physically capable of speech, but other than these inarticulate sounds he hasn’t uttered a peep."

"Yes, but like I started to tell Teal’c earlier, speech is a learned skill. And since he’s never been around people who converse verbally, he doesn’t know how yet," Daniel extrapolated, focusing on the practical matters instead of the emotional ones.

"But surely he’s been exposed to their language?" Hammond queried. "Even if it’s not spoken out loud."

"Possibly," Sam agreed. "Probably," she amended. "But so far he hasn’t used any words at all, alien or otherwise."

"Yes, but from what I was exposed to, these people don’t really use words per se," Daniel explained. "It’s more like projected images and feelings. Even their written language is pictographic in nature. He doesn’t have a reference to connect the sounds we use as words with his thoughts."

"But if he can laugh and scream and apparently hear then he’s more human than Barbie doll, right?" Jack asserted hopefully, "Because as a race, they don’t seem to do those things."

"He responds to noises and has the capacity for speech, that’s all we know right now," Sam summarized. "But it’s entirely possible that he has telepathic abilities we’re not aware of. We have no way to test that."

"Doctor Fraiser?"

"I agree, sir. As far as I can tell we have a happy, healthy, and very bright sixteen to eighteen month old on our hands. Other than a few separation issues which are normal for this age of development, and the fact that he’s been spirited away from his mother, I’d say he’s coping very well."

"Had a bad night, did he?" Hammond asked benevolently, his eyes twinkling as he watched his second in command completely engrossed in the child’s energetic activity.

"He was fine as long as someone held him," Janet smiled, stifling a yawn that left no doubt as to who the holder had been.

"Yeah, about that spiriting thing," Jack cut in, looking up as he once again joined the adult conversation. "Why do you think that woman suddenly dumped him on us that way?"

"I don’t know," Daniel mused quietly. "She gave me an image of the mob coming over the hill and I could sense some deeply troubled emotions. I knew she wanted us to leave quickly, but she never gave me any indication of the boy."

"Does not the act of sending the boy away imply that the woman feared for his safety among the city dwellers?" Teal’c asked.

"They wanted babies," Daniel agreed considering Teal’c’s question thoughtfully. "What if they had only just discovered his existence? What if they decided to clone him?"

"Don’t those people ever learn?" Jack swore accusingly, trying not to let his aggravation slip into his voice.

"It’s just a theory."

"But a likely one," Sam nodded, picking up the thread. "Just to recap… one of the women snuck into where the Daniel clones were being created, then, uh… collected a sperm sample the old fashioned way…"

"Ew."

"…she got pregnant and then… what? Stayed hidden all this time? She must have had help."

"Well I don’t think the older woman who brought us the boy is his mother," Daniel replied. "At least I hope not," he added, a concerned frown etching his forehead.

"The woman I saw leaving the room was much younger," Sam assured with an evocative smirk.

Daniel ignored her, raising a finger as he followed his own train of thought. "You know, I’m almost certain the older woman used to be one of the leaders."

"Used to be?" Jack enquired.

"Did you see what she was wearing? It was thread bare and stained and stopped at her knees, a far cry from the elegant long tunics the leaders wore," Daniel continued without waiting for a response. "Besides that, her hands were rough and her skin was sun damaged. If it was the same woman who instigated the cloning, then she’s led a much rougher life since the last time we saw her."

"They punished her," Teal’c stated with certainty. "Perhaps they even banished her from the safety of the dome."

"Good," Jack snorted indignantly.

"Jack."

"What, Daniel? The whole damned business was a cluster-fuck from start to finish. She deserved whatever she got."

"Language! Sir!"

"Sorry, little fella," Jack mumbled when the child stopped drawing and looked up at him. Jack tore off the unevenly decorated page and set it aside revealing a new, unmarred canvas for the little artist. Turning back to the blank paper with interest, the boy started a second, masterpiece at a more sedate pace.

"His attention span is longer than yours, Jack," Daniel noted wryly as he lifted the first sheet of lines and studied it closely.

"He’s probably smarter than me, too," Jack went along acerbically. "But he got it from his mother’s side."

"Actually, he is brilliant," Daniel proclaimed seriously. "This is Linear B."

"Really?" Jack asked in amazement as he leaned forward in his seat to view the odd scratches being made by sluggish, two handed jerks of the pen across the page.

When Jack looked up Daniel quickly hid a grin. "Ah, linguistic humor. Very funny. You and Teal’c should work up an act, go on the road," Jack grouched pithily.

Despite her best efforts a snicker escaped Sam’s lips, which she tried unsuccessfully to disguise as a throat clearing endeavor.

"Laugh it up, Carter. I’m still seriously pissed at you. Speaking of which, I understand you two brainiacs don’t even know a pee-pee dance when you see one."

Sam’s mouth fell open as she turned to look daggers at Daniel.

"Hey, I didn’t tell him anything. I only told…" Daniel shifted his gaze sideways to the self-satisfied Jaffa then across to the smirking doctor. "Oops. Sorry."

"People," Hammond sighed. "Can we get back on topic? I’ve got a conference call with the Joint Chiefs in ten minutes. My foremost question is what do we do with the boy now that he’s here?"

For almost a minute everyone wordlessly glanced around the table at everyone else. Obviously no one had a ready answer, though Janet, Sam, and Jack wore identical ‘look what followed me home, can I keep him’ expressions. Teal’c was inscrutable as always and Daniel still looked slightly freaked out by the situation as a whole.

"Well, since we don’t have to come up with a permanent solution right this minute," Jack ventured, "I say we give it a few days, think it over and see what happens."

"Perez brought in an extra crib she had in storage and we’ve set up a nursery in one of the VIP rooms," Janet added. "In fact some of the other staff are also bringing in used baby items as well. Cassandra is on a school trip this week so I’m available to help care for him. I don’t think we’ll have any trouble getting volunteers to watch him while I’m on duty."

"All right," Hammond granted. "We’ll meet again in two days and discuss our options then. But keep it simple, Doctor, don’t go overboard."

"Yes sir," Janet grinned excitedly.

"In the meantime, we need to come up with a name for him," Jack decided.

"Why?" Daniel chimed in with a puzzled look.

"Because Daniel is taken and we can’t keep calling him ‘the boy’. And I think ‘Danny’ is a little too obvious, don’t you?"

"You’re right about that," Daniel agreed wholeheartedly. "I guess it would be less confusing to come to some sort of consensus on what to call him."

"I have always thought that should I ever father another son I would like to name him after the great warrior of Jaffa legend; Rokshama’nak," Teal’c suggested. An uncomfortable silence settled over the room.

"That’s nice," Daniel responded at last, casting a dubious glance around the table.

"Kind of a big name for a little guy, though, don’t you think?" Janet asked reasonably.

"Yeah," Jack quickly agreed. "Besides, you’re still a relatively young man, just barely over a hundred, right? You may have more children some day. You don’t want to take the chance and use up all the good names," he finished, running a hand over the baby’s blond head as the drawing that had been steadily slowing finally stopped completely.

"Indeed," Teal’c gave in magnanimously after a moment of thought.

Jack gathered the drowsy child closer and smiled indulgently when the boy snuggled to him and closed his eyes. "Gate lag," he guessed affectionately, already completely besotted.

Hammond chuckled as he rose from the table. "I’ll leave this one for you people to figure out," he grinned. "But I wouldn’t mind terribly if you decided to call him George."

"That’s a good one, sir," Sam smiled for a second before realizing the general had been serious. "The name, I mean. Good name, sir."

"A lot of historic significance," Daniel granted without conviction.

"Just let me know," Hammond called over his shoulder as he retired to his office.

"We’re not calling him George," Jack announced the second the door was shut.

"We could name him Nicholas," Sam offered.

"Why?" Jack and Daniel asked simultaneously.

"Nick doesn’t deserve a namesake," Jack declared firmly. "No offense."

"None taken."

"What was your other grandfather’s name?" Janet inquired as she rounded the table to pluck the pen from the now lax fingers.

"Uh, that doesn’t really matter," Daniel mumbled uncomfortably as he shifted in his seat.

"Come on, give," Sam urged, sensing his reluctance and honing in on it relentlessly in search of revenge.

Daniel cleared his throat. "Andrew," he muttered sotto voce.

"What was that?" Jack asked, leaning closer, assuming Daniel had lowered his voice in deference to the sleeping child.

"I said his name was Andrew," Daniel repeated a little louder as he looked around the table with a defiant stare that made it clear he wasn’t going to take any flack about it. Another uneasy silence followed.

"That’s nice," Teal’c finally deadpanned.

Jack gawked at Teal’c for a moment before turning his gaze to Daniel. "Your grandfather was Andrew Jackson?" he asked carefully.

"Well not that Andrew Jackson," Daniel retorted with a pout.

"Okay, just so we’re clear," Jack stated for the record, "Names that will not be considered include: Andrew, Stonewall, Shoeless Joe, Reggie, Jesse, Bo, Michael, Tito, Jermaine, and LaToya."

"Latoy’a?" Teal’c asked, his eyes lighting up with interest.

"LaToya. And forget it. It’s a girl’s name," Daniel shot him down. "But feel free to add it to your own list of baby names for future use," he offered pragmatically, noting Teal’c’s unmistakable appreciation of the idea.

"Latoy’a of the Red Hills," Jack approved. "I like it."

"Why can’t we call him Andrew?" Sam asked, getting back to the matter at hand. "I think it’s cute."

"Because, kids can be cruel, Carter," Jack explained with a grunt of annoyance. "He’s stuck with Jackson so we have to work with that. We don’t want to expose him to any unnecessary ridicule down the road, not when we can so easily avoid it."

"You’re assuming he’s going to stay on Earth," Daniel said with surprise.

"Of course he’s going to stay on Earth," Jack declared adamantly, daring anyone to argue.

"That hasn’t been decided," Daniel argued anyway. "We haven’t even talked about any other options. Don’t you think he should go back to his family if the situation presents itself?"

"No. I think he should stay on Earth with his father," Jack insisted.

"His father…" Daniel started angrily then bit back his reply and took a deep, calming breath before speaking again. "His father is dead. Right now all we have to decide is what we’re going to call him while he’s here."

"Let’s agree not to name him after anyone," Janet offered quickly to cut off whatever come back the colonel was preparing. "What would you call him, Daniel?"

"I don’t know."

"Come on, Daniel," Sam urged gently. "What’s a name you like?"

"What about Samuel?" Daniel asked with a sigh, playing along grudgingly.

"No," Jack objected right away. "I forgot to mention Samuel L. Jackson. Besides, we’ve already got a Sam."

"Which is why we would call him Sam-u-el," Daniel retorted stiffly.

"Forget it."

"Richard?" Sam suggested rapidly, pulling a random name out of the air.

"Nah, that’s too stuffy. We might as well name him George. Besides, they’d eventually call him Dick," Jack pointed out, shaking his head. "So no wiener names, either. That leaves out Peter, Richard, Willie, and Johnson off the top of my head. Sorry. No pun intended."

"Johnson is a wiener name?" Daniel asked in confusion.

Janet grinned, still hovering over Jack’s shoulder. "You never heard of a big Johnson?"

"Actually… no. But we wouldn’t want to call him Johnson Jackson anyway."

"I know, we’ll call him Max," Jack made up his mind, glancing around for support but finding none. "What? He doesn’t look like a Max?"

"He does not," Teal’c opposed. "In fact he looks a great deal like a Daniel but you have already dismissed that option."

"It’s for simplicity, Teal’c," Jack explained again, not so patiently this time. "We need to call him something besides Daniel. Something that won’t give his kindergarten teacher a coronary."

"We could always just number him," Daniel muttered for spite, earning a penitent look from Jack.

"Oh, I guess you heard about that. In my own defense, let me just say that those two together were mean."

"Max is kind of sweet," Sam allowed, knowing they would never reach a unanimous decision anyway. She was willing to let the colonel pick the name if only to ease her conscience about her role in the underhanded trick they had played on him earlier. And hopefully help dowse any thoughts of payback.

"Yeah, and it’s not like he can shorten it to an annoying nick name," Daniel approved, warming to the name. "Max is okay, I guess."

"Max it is," Janet smiled, reaching down to take the sleeping bundle.

"I’ve got him," Jack balked, clearly enjoying the feel of a sleeping baby in his arms.

Taken aback, Janet sighed with displeasure. "Don’t you have work to do, sir?"

"Don’t you?"

"Colonel, he should really learn to sleep in a bed," Janet insisted, not backing off. "Nap time included."

"If you want him, Doc, just say so," Jack challenged cantankerously.

"I want him. And for the moment, I am in charge of his care."

"Bully," Jack complained, reluctantly turning over his charge.

"Come on Maxie," Janet purred, lifting the child gently onto her shoulder. "Let’s put you to bed."

"Maxie?" Daniel groaned. "Oh, that’s… that’s bad."

"Don’t call him that," Jack objected loudly to the doctor’s retreating back. "It makes him sound like a feminine hygiene product!"

***

Daniel left the briefing room in a hurry and headed straight for his office, hoping Jack would get the message that he didn’t want company when he closed the elevator doors practically in his face. Reaching his sanctuary in record time, he sighed in relief as he took off his jacket and draped it over the back of his chair. Briefly scanning the shelves he found what he was looking for and placed it reverently on his desk. He took a moment to sort his troubled thoughts before opening the ancient text.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to help the boy; he most certainly did. He knew in his heart he would do whatever he could regardless of the circumstances. The fact that Max carried his DNA only clouded the issue. Even without the lab work to back it up, one glance at the child bore out a striking physical resemblance, no matter how hard Daniel tried to deny it.

The situation left him feeling strangely bereft, heightening his sense of loss in all matters concerning family. Genetically Max was his progeny even if he hadn’t been the actual sperm donor. As far as Daniel was concerned the paradox was just another cosmic joke of epic proportions, and once again he was the butt of it. He somehow thought that a clone, even a baby one, wouldn’t have packed such an emotional sucker punch.

Obviously Jack hadn’t taken the hint to back off as he showed up at the open door moments later to glare at Daniel for the deliberate slight at the elevator. Daniel glanced up impassively as he settled in his chair, preparing to immerse himself in something a little less perplexing for a while. Archaic manuscripts had always had a very soothing quality for him, especially when he had more pressing problems afoot. He’d been saving this one for just such an occasion, frequent as they were around the good old SGC. Ignoring Jack, he opened the book.

"Daniel," Jack called as he entered the room uninvited, sounding oddly like a disappointed parent.

Taking a deep breath, Daniel folded his hands on his desk. "What do you need, Jack?"

"Can we talk for a minute?"

"We are talking."

Jack harrumphed softly and seated himself on a nearby stool. "I meant about the boy," he clarified unnecessarily.

"I thought the purpose of giving him a name was so we wouldn’t keep calling him ‘the boy’."

"Nice avoidance technique. We can talk around this in circles all day; I’ve got nothin’ better to do."

Knowing Jack well enough to see he wasn’t bluffing, Daniel grudgingly closed the old, leather-bound tome. "Fine. What is it you want me to do?"

The brusqueness of the question caught Jack off guard and he paused to consider what he did want. "I’d just like to see you show a little more interest in your… in Max."

"Son," Daniel corrected edgily. "That’s what you were going to say. You want me to show a little more interest in my son."

"I guess."

Daniel moistened his lips as he prepared to speak, but kept his eyes carefully averted. "You want me to claim Max as my child and raise him here on Earth under the watchful eye of my friend and commanding officer," he accused without any real heat.

"What would be so wrong with that?" Jack asked curtly, realizing as he heard Daniel’s words that it was exactly what he wanted.

"Less than two hours ago you weren’t even willing to look at him yourself," Daniel pointed out evenly, making eye contact at last and holding it.

"Two hours ago I was an ass," Jack admitted with an embarrassed wince.

"That hasn’t changed."

With a snort Jack accepted the rejoinder as the bald truth and brushed it aside. "I know. I’m a hypocritical bastard."

"Not necessarily. I can appreciate the self-preservation thing. Believe me, I get it completely."

"Because you’re doing it too," Jack nodded acceptingly. "But you of all people have to understand that if you’re going to go out spreading your DNA around the galaxy, you’re got to take some responsibility for it."

"What?" Daniel gaped, caught somewhere between anger and incredulity. "We’re not talking about a broken condom here, Jack. I did not father this child no matter how you look at it."

"Biologically…"

"Don’t give me biologically," Daniel cut him off, finally giving in to his frustration, moving his hands as rapidly as he moved his mouth. "I did not ask to be cloned. I did not ask for one of my clones to be… to be taken advantage of. Maybe it happened more than once, to more than one of the clones? For all I know there could be dozens more children out there bearing my genes. Should we go gather them up and raise one big happy family?"

"Daniel," Jack soothed. "Calm down."

"Yeah, it’s a nice idea you’ve got there, Jack, but you haven’t thought it through. Look, I’ve… I’ve got a dangerous job, I’m never at home… sometimes when I’m busy I even forget to feed myself. How am I supposed to care for a special needs child?"

"Special needs?" Jack asked bluntly, surprised by the comment.

"Well for starters, he’s mute."

"At the moment, but he can learn to talk. Right? Fraiser said so."

"She thinks so, but she doesn’t know for sure. Even if he can learn, he’s already way, way behind. That puts him in the ‘special needs’ category."

"Then who better for a father than a linguist?"

"And then there’s the fact he’s half alien. Keeping him on Earth would be risky. The NID would have a field day if they ever got their hands on him. What kind of life would he have then?"

"Well Cassie is full blood alien and they’ve never bothered her," Jack replied complacently.

"Cassie is a full blood human alien, directly descended from her Earth ancestors," Daniel countered, "And as far as we know she doesn’t have the potential for telepathy. How can I protect Max if I’m never around?"

"We can protect him," Jack insisted. "No one expects you to do this by yourself."

"What if something happens to me? To all of us? Who’ll raise him then? I… I don’t want him dropped off in some orphanage or foster care, especially when he has a family out there that cares for him. Growing up alone isn’t much fun," Daniel sighed, running out of steam and dropping his gaze back to his desktop. "I’d hate to do that to him and he would hate me for it. I don’t want that responsibility."

"Look at me," Jack insisted gently, continuing only after Daniel hesitantly raised his eyes. "I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have made any assumptions."

"S’okay," Daniel waved him away dejectedly.

"No, it’s not okay," Jack tried to explain, "Fatherhood is just such a wonderful thing. I guess I wanted that experience for you."

"Why?"

Jack patted Daniel’s arm as he got to his feet. "Because I can’t think of anyone who deserves it more. You’d be a great dad, Daniel. I’m sorry I pushed. Just promise me you’ll think about it before you make up your mind."

"Jack?" Daniel called out, sounding a little desperate as his friend headed towards the door. "Bad things… happen. You know that better than anybody. What if I did something wrong or… or didn’t do something I should have or just didn’t do the right thing? What if, Jack?"

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Jack didn’t turn around as he spoke. "No matter how much it hurt when I lost him, I’d never trade a minute of my time with Charlie for anything," he pledged in a low voice. "In this life we don’t know what’s gonna happen from one minute to the next. None of us have any guarantees. So don’t be afraid to love Max because of what might or might not happen in the future." Then he was gone without looking back.

Daniel sat quietly for a long time, running his hand over the leather cover of the book on his desk. Even as he longed to lose himself in the pages he couldn’t seem to make himself open it. Finally he hefted it thoughtfully before replacing it on the shelf. He didn’t need the distraction after all, he needed to think, to work through his warring emotions. He opened his journal instead and tried to sort out his thoughts.

***

Several hours and a good many pages later, Daniel still didn’t have a solid handle on his chaotic feelings. He had however decided the best thing to do would be to take the spirit of Jack’s advice; relax and spend some time with Max without worrying about the consequences. The concept made him a little nervous if only because he didn’t quite know what to expect from the whole ‘fatherhood’ experience. Some twisted kernel deep inside him harbored an evil pleasure that Sam didn’t seem to have an excess of parental instincts either. After all, he wasn’t the one who had ended up wet. Grabbing his jacket, he headed off to the VIP quarters.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out which room had been designated as the nursery. The first clue was a large cardboard Winnie the Pooh cutout waving from the door. And then there was the steady stream of people carrying in bags and dragging out large boxes who stopped to speak to him in hushed tones as they passed him in the hall. Daniel loitered around the door for a minute as he tried to make up his mind whether to endure the crowd and go in or just head back to his office and visit another time when things weren’t so busy.

"He’s beautiful, Doctor Jackson," Jerry Barrett, one of the newest and burliest marines from SG-3 whispered as he stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him. "Congratulations."

"Uh, thanks, Captain," Daniel replied, not sure how to respond, especially since the man had never given him the time of day before.

"I told my wife last night that you got an unexpected visit from the stork and she boxed up some of my kid’s old stuff for you. Looks like most of it’s gonna fit just right."

"That’s… that’s great. Really, thank you."

"Don’t worry about getting any of it back to us. When Max outgrows it you can just pass it on to someone else," Barrett smiled, slapping Daniel on the back like one proud dad to another before strolling off down the hall.

The door opened again and Sam popped her head out. "There you are," she said. "I was just coming to look for you."

"What’s going on?" Daniel peeked past her to the handful of people still bustling around in the room.

"Word got out on the grapevine about Max and things sort of got out of hand," Sam grinned at him.

"Where is he?" Daniel asked, stepping through as Sam opened the door wider for him. "Surely he’s not asleep with all this going on."

"You wouldn’t think so, would you?"

Sergeant Siler was perched on a ladder over the white crib in the corner as he hung a mobile of the local solar system with fishing line. One of the nurses expressed concern that Jupiter was lopsided and pleaded with him to fix it. The ladder teetered precariously as Siler leaned even further over the empty crib. Daniel moved to steady the ladder but Sam tugged him in the opposite direction.

They waded through strollers and playpens and other people who were comparing the various and sundry baby equipment and furniture. Daniel could only guess what most it was or what it was used for. Among the other treasures in the crowded room was a small, dark-blue plastic swimming pool stood on edge against the wall.

Max, already dressed very Earthlike in a tee shirt, a pair of snap apart pants, and a little bitty pair of sneakers, rested safely across the room draped bonelessly over Jack’s shoulder. Jack and Janet sorted through several boxes of clothing they had dumped out on the big bed. An ongoing argument brewed quietly as they debated the merits of each piece, frequently grabbing garments out of one pile and dropping them into another.

"Wow," Daniel finally managed. "This is some operation."

"I know," Sam agreed as she pulled him closer to the clothes sorting area. "Good thing we didn’t go overboard," she joked.

"If he sleeps all day he’ll be up again all night," Janet muttered testily as she jerked a pair of tiny, stained baseball pants out of one pile and tossed them across the room and out of Jack’s reach once and for all.

"Have a heart, woman," Jack grumbled, retaliating by extracting a nice, peach colored button up shirt and lobbing it after the pants. "So his days and nights are a little mixed up. Time zones be damned, he just changed planets. If we wake him now he’ll be grumpy through dinner."

"Hi," Daniel greeted, his eyes drawn to the peaceful face drooling down the back of Jack’s shirt.

"Daniel." Jack smiled as if he was especially pleased to see him.

Daniel narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Anything I can do to help?" he asked in spite of his better instincts.

"Yes," Janet answered right away, dragging him over to a large rocking chair next to the nightstand. "Sit."

Looking around warily, Daniel did as he was told. Jack approached him with a wicked grin as he lowered his burden and carefully deposited Max into his arms. "Uh…" Daniel started to protest as blue eyes squinted open to scowl up at him. Having seen the same expression many times from overnight missions and infirmary stays Jack, Sam, and Janet were impervious. But Daniel had never been on the receiving end of this particular look before. "That’s scary," he muttered.

"You should see it coming from you," Jack supplied cheerfully. "Way worse. Way, way worse."

"Rock," Janet hinted as the little one started a low whine of dissent.

"Oh, as in the chair," Daniel caught on. Repositioning the child slightly as he started rocking, holding his breath until Max quieted, relaxed into the motion, and let his eyes slide shut.

"He’s beautiful," Sam sighed dreamily as she stared down at them.

"That’s what Captain Barrett said," Daniel frowned as he brushed damp blond hair back from the flushed little forehead.

"He is not," Jack disputed tenderly, looking on with pride. "He’s handsome," he corrected before he could be disemboweled by Max’s growing fan club.

"Uh uh. Handsome doesn’t even come close," Janet smirked. "He is beautiful."

"He’s hot," Daniel added.

"Daniel," Sam laughed lightly. "Of course he’s hot, just check out his dad."

"What?" Daniel asked looking up in bewilderment. "No, I mean he really feels hot. I think he has a temperature."

"He’s right," Jack agreed, touching a rosy cheek with the back of his fingers. "Looks like he’s got a little fever here."

"Don’t panic," Janet soothed unworriedly as she moved over to the bedside table and located a bottle of reddish-purple juice. "Slight temperature elevations are perfectly normal during naps and it is a little warm in here with all these people. We’ll take him down to the infirmary after he’s been awake for a bit and take his temp. He could probably use some fluids though."

"What if we exposed him to some common germ that he has no immunity to," Daniel fretted, watching in awe as Janet nudged the baby’s lip with the nipple of the bottle and Max sucked it right in without waking. Daniel hesitantly took hold of the bottle itself when Janet repeated the nudging maneuver with his hand.

"You would have already exposed his world to any common germs that we carry long before he was born," Janet pointed out.

"Maybe it’s an uncommon germ."

"Daniel, settle down," Jack ordered gently. "I agree with Doc, kids get fevers. Let’s just wait and see before we go ballistic."

With a nod, Daniel swallowed his anxiety and concentrated on rocking the chair and holding the bottle steady as Max slowly drained it. He began to unwind and actually found himself enjoying the experience once he patted the bottom and discovered the absorbent underpants Janet had promised to get. Then the door opened and a serious looking General Hammond stormed the room, glancing around with a critical eye.

"Doctor Fraiser?" Hammond called as he approached. "I believe we have enough supplies now, don’t you?"

"Yes sir," Janet agreed merrily. "We have some very generous people here at the SGC."

"That we do, Doctor, that we do. How’s our boy?" the general asked as he moved closer, his expression softening considerably when he caught sight of Daniel rocking the baby. "So you decided to call him Max, did you?" he asked.

"Yes sir," Jack answered proudly. "Named him myself."

"Sounds like a dog’s name to me," Hammond muttered under his breath disapprovingly.

"Actually," Daniel appeased, keeping his voice low, "We named him George Max… ah… Maxwell. We’re just calling him Max for short," he lied.

"George Maxwell Jackson," Hammond drawled slowly, seeming to savor each word as he pronounced it. "That’s got quite a ring to it," he grinned broadly.

Jack’s eyebrows shot up in surprise and then lowered quickly into an irritated sulk as he mouthed the words ‘suck up’ to Daniel behind the general’s back. Daniel shrugged unapologetically and lowered his eyes back to the baby, tugging the now empty bottle free from the still suckling mouth.

"Are we ready, Sergeant?" Hammond asked as Siler finished up the mobile and climbed down from the ladder.

"Yes sir," Siler confirmed, moving over to pick up a roll of clear plastic by the wall. "Will this do, sir?"

"Perfect!" Hammond exclaimed as he paced off a section of the room. "We’ll roll it out about here. My team’ll be along any minute. All right, people, let’s clear this area."

"What’s going on?" Daniel whispered to Jack as the folks who had been helping with the furniture removed the ladder, extra equipment and supplies to the hall.

Jack gave him a dirty look. "Well what you perceived as a really rotten mood was really just the general in mission-mode."

"You mean I named him George for nothing?"

"Yep. Panicked and jumped the gun."

"Oh. Sorry."

"Ah, don’t worry about it," Jack placated, giving up his rancor. "As happy as it made the old man we’ll probably reap the rewards for weeks to come. Years even. Max might even get a trust fund out of it."

"What’s he up to anyway?" Daniel had to ask, inclining his head towards Hammond as he supervised the rolling out of the plastic sheet.

"That’d be telling," Jack gloated. "You’ll see."

As soon as most of the open floor was covered in a thin layer of plastic, the general himself wheeled the little wading pool over to the center of it. As he dropped it into place the door opened and Teal’c came through with a fifty pound bag of sand propped on each shoulder. A line of airmen behind him were unloading a handcart, taking one bag apiece.

"Over here, Teal’c," Hammond instructed, nudging the pool into just the right spot with his foot.

"A sandbox," Daniel exclaimed as he rose from the chair to watch, automatically lifting the child to his shoulder. "That’s a wonderful idea."

"When Kayla was little her grass allergies sometimes kept her inside in the springtime," Hammond explained with a modest grin. "We had a set up like this in the family room so she could get dirty. She absolutely loved it."

Max blinked his eyes open and twisted around to check out the action, resting one hand lightly on the side of Daniel’s face. He yawned, but didn’t cry or squirm as he watched the bags being unloaded into the floor.

"Let’s get Max to the infirmary and check him out while they fill it," Janet suggested, tugging on Daniel’s sleeve. "Knowing your allergies, I don’t want either one of you breathing the dust as it settles."

Daniel nodded his agreement and he and Max both looked over his shoulder one more time before following the petite doctor out the door.

"Bye Max," Sam called after them.

Jack made a beeline for the corner to rescue the baseball pants while Janet was gone.

***

"You’re not gonna do this rectally, are you?" Daniel grimaced as he sat on a gurney and held Max in his lap while Janet went to get a thermometer.

Janet rolled her eyes as she opened a cabinet. "Not this time. If he had a high fever then yes, we would need to get a very accurate reading, but as it is," she shrugged and held up a disposable temperature strip like the ones they carried in their field first aide kits.

"Okay," Daniel sighed in relief.

"It’s not that bad," Janet insisted in amused exasperation. She smiled at the identical looks of apprehension as she pulled on her lab coat, wrapped a stethoscope around her neck and advanced on them. "You’re rubbing off on him," she complained. "Now he tenses up as soon as we come into the infirmary."

"It’s genetic," Daniel quipped. "Besides, you tend to stick us with needles and put things in our butts. Coming here is the SGC equivalent to being abducted by little green aliens."

"I suppose it is," Janet laughed affably, stepping closer to apply the strip to Max’s forehead. "He’s such a good baby," she sighed, stroking his longish hair.

"Is he?"

"Oh yeah, he takes to people very quickly now that he’s had some time to adjust to our wild assortment of skin, eye, and hair color. Or lack of hair altogether, I won’t mention any names. And I think he’s used to getting a lot of attention."

"You’re probably right about that. Not a lot of children where he comes from."

"True," Janet agreed, the barest of frowns crossing her face. "But he’s so solemn sometimes."

"He misses his mother," Daniel stated with quiet certainty.

They waited in silence for another minute and then Janet peeled off the flat piece of plastic. "100 point 2."

"And that’s okay?"

"It’s fine. But we’ll keep watch on his temp anyway and make sure he stays hydrated. At some point we’ll need to discuss vaccinations if he’s going to stay on Earth."

"See Max?" Daniel lamented to the baby. "It’s all about needles with her."

Janet held out her hands and Max went to her immediately.

"You’re good with him," Daniel observed neutrally, dropping his empty hands to his lap. "So how come you never had any babies of your own? Sorry. That’s none of my business," he quickly backtracked, concerned he might have crossed a line.

"I always wanted a house full of kids," Janet replied, brushing aside the apology with a smile as Max grasped the end of her stethoscope and banged it against her shoulder. "When I got married we started trying to get pregnant right away but it never happened. I guess it was for the best since the marriage didn’t last anyway. Cassie was a Godsend. I can’t imagine loving a kid I gave birth to any more than I do her."

Daniel nodded and reached out to tie the lace of the tiny Nike that had come undone, ducking the swinging bell. "Shau’re wanted a baby. Everyone was disappointed when a year passed and we still hadn’t conceived. And let’s face it, Abydonian birth control pretty much amounted to the rhythm method."

"And I’m sure you always counted carefully," Janet teased, untangling the stethoscope from the busy hands and tossing it to the bed before someone got hurt.

"Yeah. Right. Anyway, I always assumed it was me that had the problem. Especially since Apophis didn’t have any trouble getting her pregnant," Daniel sighed, smiling sadly at Max as he turned in Janet’s arms to study him.

"The Goa’uld would have corrected any physical problems she might have had to pregnancy, you know."

"I know."

"And since the clone didn’t have any difficulty impregnating Max’s mom, I’d say you’re probably okay, too. We can run some tests if you’d like, do a sperm count…"

"Janet," Daniel interrupted hastily. "Don’t get carried away. I can’t even believe we’re discussing this."

"Why not? I am your doctor."

"Yes, but this is Max’s appointment, not mine. If I ever get the sudden urge for a sperm count I’ll give you a call."

"You do that," Janet grinned as Max reached out and smudged the lenses of Daniel’s glasses with his fingertips before plucking at the frames.

Daniel warily allowed the child to remove his specs, hoping Janet wouldn’t let him bang them up too badly. "Sam wanted Cassie," he said softly.

"Yes she did," Janet allowed, never taking her eyes off Max as he investigated his newest toy. "But she knew she couldn’t take care of her and remain on a front line team. Everyone understood that. And no one expects you to give up SG-1."

"I don’t want…" Daniel paused, looking miserable as he sorted his thoughts. "I don’t want to be like Nick," he whispered after a long moment. "Everyone thinks I should all of a sudden act like a father, but I just don’t feel like one."

"First of all, you are not like your grandfather," Janet insisted with conviction. "And you are in no way obligated in this situation so don’t let anyone try to browbeat you into anything you’re not comfortable with. Besides, Colonel O’Neill had nine months to think about becoming a father; it didn’t hit him overnight from out of the blue. He had years to build emotional bonds with his son."

"This isn’t about Jack."

"But he’s the one you’re comparing yourself to, isn’t he?" Janet asked, prying Daniel’s glasses free and handing them back to him before placing the baby on the bed. "Don’t expect all the emotional stuff to fall into place just because you and Max share common genes. It takes time, but it’s worth it in the long run. Cassie and I didn’t even have that and look where we are today."

Tugging his tee-shirt free to clean the smeared lenses, Daniel watched as Max kicked at him and grinned playfully. "I suppose we could start as friends," he smiled at the child again, finding it a little easier this time.

"Absolutely," Janet agreed. "Ultimately, you’re not really his father anyway."

"No," Daniel’s smile faded as he slipped his glasses back on. "I’m not."

"Medical team to the ‘gateroom. Repeat, medical team to the ‘gateroom," a familiar voice announced over the loudspeaker.

"You okay?" Janet asked even as she sprinted for the door.

"Go," Daniel urged, reflexively pulling Max into his arms as he watched her disappear out the door. Several seconds passed and he was pleased to see no tears this time when left alone in his company. He took a breath and blew it out, glancing around the empty infirmary. When he looked back at Max, he was greeted with a shy grin that more than bolstered his flagging confidence.

"This place is about to get busy, we should probably get out of here. Good thing they moved you to better accommodations, huh?" Daniel asked as he slid off the bed. "Come on, I’ll show you my office." He thought about the wisdom of his choice as they made their way to the hall. "Just don’t touch anything," he cautioned as an afterthought.

***

"Sergeant?" Hammond asked as he trotted into the control room.

"SG-7 was ambushed by a Jaffa patrol," Davis reported succinctly. "They’ve got some minor injuries but they were all walking under their own power. Doctor Fraiser is with them in route to the infirmary."

The general nodded as he took a moment to catch his breath, having run all the way from the elevator. He was thankful he’d already been on his way back up when the medical team had been called. "Anything else?" he asked.

"We haven’t been able to send anyone to recover the MALP from P2C-835 yet."

"So they’ve still got guards in place," Hammond replied, not surprised. "Try again in twenty-four hours. I’m not willing to give up on our equipment just yet."

"Yes sir," Davis acknowledged, marking the order on the duty log.

***

"Where’ve you been?" Jack nagged as he met Daniel in the hall. "I’ve been looking everywhere. Janet said she thought you left the infirmary over an hour ago."

"We were just walking. I didn’t realize we were supposed to check in with you," Daniel retorted. He held one arm straight down to meet Max’s which was extended all the way up, his hand clasping Daniel’s index finger as they meandered along.

Ignoring the jibe, Jack clapped his hands together once and held them out palms up to Max who happily let go of Daniel’s hand and went to him. He hoisted the kid effortlessly, pleased to prompt a giggle in the process.

"Jack," Daniel objected. "The way everyone totes him around his feet never touch the floor."

"So?"

"So it’s a wonder he remembers how to walk at all. His muscles are going to waste away."

"He’ll get all the exercise he needs in the sand pit after he eats," Jack scoffed, smiling brightly at the boy. "Hey kiddo. Uncle Teal’c’s ready to feed you."

"Have it your way," Daniel groused unexpectedly. "You guys can watch him until Janet’s free. See you later, Max," he mumbled, turning back the other way.

"Where ya goin?" Jack asked in disbelief. "It’s time for his dinner. It’ll be bedtime before you know it."

"Not since he slept all afternoon," Daniel threw out Janet’s earlier complaint for the sake of argument.

"Oh he’ll sleep," Jack promised. "We’ll just have to wear him out, that’s all."

"Look, you wanted me to spend time with him, I’ve spent time with him," Daniel exclaimed, impatiently checking his watch. Even he didn’t understand why he was suddenly in a foul mood especially since he and Max had had such a good time together, just the two of them. "I really should try to get some work done today."

Jack huffed irritably. "I’ll let him walk," he offered as Daniel shook his head and moved down the hall.

"Daniel," Jack barked at him. "Daniel! Oh for cryin out loud. Your father can be such an ass," he told the boy.

Daniel stopped and looked back angrily. "If the first word he speaks turns out to be an obscenity we’ll all know why," he scolded.

"Come on, work later," Jack urged solemnly, mentally kicking himself for moving in and taking over. "These are the moments you don’t want to miss."

"Watching a big bald alien feed a small shaggy one?" Daniel asked, sarcastically batting his eyelashes.

"Exactly," Jack agreed with a growing grin as he watched Daniel’s resolve begin to crumble.

Giving in with a reluctant nod, Daniel shoved his hands in his pockets and grumpily followed Jack back to baby central.

"He’s not shaggy, he just needs a haircut."

***

"Oh, ew, that’s just gross."

"You think that’s bad, it’s gonna come out the same color and consistency," Jack offered astutely from where he leaned against the wall. "Only it’s gonna smell a lot worse."

"Ew," Daniel concurred with Sam as they stood together on the periphery as Teal’c patiently fed Max. In spite of the Jaffa’s best efforts the toddler wore almost as much of the food as he swallowed.

"He doesn’t like the carrots, Teal’c," Jack kibitzed not for the first time.

"I wouldn’t eat them either," Daniel agreed, his nose scrunched up in sympathy. "They’re way overcooked."

"George Maxwell," Teal’c gently admonished as he offered another carefully measured spoonful of the orange mush. "If you do not eat your vegetables there will be no desert."

"I had to tell him about the name change," Jack supplied to the puzzled looks sent his way. "It was killing him to just call the kid Max." Sam and Daniel grinned at each other over the plausibility of the statement.

Max squirmed away, swatting the spoon and causing the contents to flip over the edge of the tray and splat on the plastic covered floor under the high chair.

"I told you so," Jack sing-songed. Teal’c sighed imperceptibly and moved on to the mashed potatoes.

"What a mess," Daniel decreed, stepping further out of the line of fire. Sam moved with him, keeping him between her and the occasional glob of flying food.

"You think this is bad," Jack reminisced with barely a hint of melancholy, "You should have seen the first time we gave Charlie spaghetti. I literally had to paint the wall. Twice. The sauce kept bleeding through."

"That’s awful."

"Nah," Jack sighed, his eyes going soft. "It was a labor of love."

"I want a baby," Sam blurted out without warning.

"Uh oh, the biological alarm just went off," Jack smirked. "Hit her snooze there, Daniel."

Daniel huffed a laugh as he bumped Sam’s shoulder with his own.

"It didn’t work, I still want one," Sam pouted playfully.

Jack’s eyes twinkled as he stood upright. "Here’s an idea; you guys can give Max a little brother or sister."

Sam turned to Daniel and eyed him up and down, nodding her head in mock approval.

"Forget it," Daniel groused, crossing his arms over his chest as he glared back her.

"Why not? You make beautiful babies," Sam joked, laughing when he stalked over to the sandbox to get away from her. Her smile faded as he kept his back to them and knelt to shift his hand through the fine sand. "He’s not joking," she asserted, moving towards him.

"Leave him alone for a minute," Jack advised quietly, catching her arm and pulling her back. "He’ll cool down. I think we’ve been pushing too hard."

"I believe George Maxwell has had enough," Teal’c declared, removing the highchair tray and setting it aside. He extricated Max from the carrot covered tee-shirt before picking him up and carrying him toward the lavatory. "He should be bathed."

"Just sponge him off enough so the sand doesn’t stick," Jack advised as he grabbed some clean clothes and followed. "If things go according to plan he’ll still have to have another bath before bed."

"Daniel," Sam muttered apologetically as she approached the still kneeling man.

"There are toys buried in here," Daniel said in amazement as he uncovered a small matchbox car.

"That was the Colonel’s idea. He said Max should start his archeology training early."

Daniel grinned as he rose to his feet, obviously touched by the gesture. He sobered and caught her eye. "No offense, but I don’t want to be anyone’s fallback guy."

"What?" Sam asked, perplexed by the non sequitur.

Gingerly dusting off the toy in his hand, Daniel tried to explain. "My first year at UCLA there was this girl in one of my study groups. She went on and on about how with her looks and my brains what a great kid we’d make. Then she decided we should make a pact that if neither of us was married by the time we were thirty we’d get together and have a baby. She said she wanted to keep me in reserve in case she never met Mr. Right."

Sam harrumphed. "She had some nerve."

"Yeah, well, it got worse as the semester progressed. Finally she wrote up this pseudo-contract and kept pestering me to sign it."

"Did you?"

"What do you think?"

"I think you did. That’s why you’re always hiding in your office," Sam dared to tease.

Laughter sounded from the bathroom and Daniel knelt down to push the car back into the sand. Jack grinned as he led Teal’c and a damp, but happy Max over to the sandbox. With a long-armed reach, Teal’c deposited the child right in the middle next to the colorful plastic pail and shovel.

With a gleeful cry, Max swung the yellow scoop and showered the onlookers with sand before getting down to some serious digging. Within seconds he uncovered his first prize.

"He’s a natural," Jack beamed, spitting the grit out of his mouth. His smile grew wider as Daniel wiped his sandy glasses and settled down next to the pool to watch the boy play, each apparently fascinated with their discoveries.

***

"Sorry I couldn’t get back sooner," Janet apologized as she slipped into the dimly lit room. "By the time we got SG-7 patched up SG-4 came limping home as well."

"Keep it down," a dark shape cautioned in Jack’s voice from the rocking chair next to the bed.

"Please, Colonel. Max has already proved he can sleep through anything." Janet moved to the crib, her shoes unexpectedly filling with sand as she passed the half-full wading pool. "Somebody had a good time," She remarked. Reaching her destination, she frowned when she found it empty.

"It’s not the little one I’m worried about waking," Jack grinned as he flicked on the bedside lamp, indicating the large, softly snoring form on the bed.

"I see." Janet slipped off her shoes and once again traversed the sandy, plastic covered floor. She managed a tired smile at the sweetly domestic scene but it only lasted a second.

Still in his tee-shirt and fatigue pants, Daniel stretched one arm out across the mattress above Max, who lay sideways with his head planted firmly against Daniel’s ribs. The blanket they shared covered Daniel from waist to knees and Max’s upper body and arms. Bare feet stuck out along the bottom and right side of the cover.

"Wipe off the frown, Doc. He’s been fed, bathed, exhausted from dumping half a ton of sand out on the floor, bathed again and put to bed with no sign of fever. And that’s just Daniel," Jack quipped. "Max is fine, too."

"So why isn’t Max in the crib?" Janet asked as she reached to cover the closest and largest set of feet.

"He cried when we put him in it and Daniel couldn’t take the sight of the poor kid so miserable