“You’re talking about Jack, right?” Daniel asked. His butt received a love-tap.
“Andy, don’t you have anything better to do than follow me around?” Jack asked.
“No, really,” Andy admitted. “First of all, you are our Number One priority; I always know where you are. When you’re home, anyway. Two –with all the military here, my job is much easier; crime has been cut down about thirty-two percent.”
Jack snorted. “Tell that to the kids up at Lake Turner smoking pot and getting drunk.”
“I know,” Andy sighed. “Your boys passed names on to me. You want to take care of it?”
“No,” Jack shrugged. “You said you’re bored. It was on public property. Just let me know if you have any problems.”
“’kay. Jack, are you aware that someone dug up about five-square yards of grass from the high school field? Do you know how much grass that is?”
Jack thought about it. “Why would someone dig up all that grass? It’s half the lawn.”
“To study that red line you made,” Daniel told him.
Jack shook his head. “It was only about a yard long. I’ll find out who and make sure it’s fixed before school opens.”
They walked around for a while, receiving curious stares as they chatted in Ancient. One store owner came out and stopped them, begging Daniel to make her little bookshop a stop on his book signing tour. Daniel wasn’t aware he was going to be touring, he really didn't have time for it, but promised to do one day in her store signing books. She went back into the store, very happy.
“Yo, Dr. J!”
Daniel looked around and saw a group of college students at an outdoor café. They had the music up and were enjoying themselves.
“Malcolm, not taking summer classes?” he asked.
“Just two,” Malcolm said. “Not today, though. Neither are you.” He sidled up to Daniel, a speculative look in his eyes despite Jack’s presence. “Does your old man let you dance?” He lifted his arms and tossed his hips close, the techno-beat of the music encouraging him. Daniel answered the gleam and met the young man, their chests mere inches from each other. He teased, responding to the music for a moment before stepping back.
“He does, but only with him and our wife,” Daniel told the disappointed young man. “And believe me –Jack can dance.” He took Jack’s hand and walked away with a jaunty step. Malcolm’s friends laughed and egged him as he pretended to faint in Daniel’s wake, almost falling over the café fence as he watched Daniel’s rear end walking away.
A few stores away, Jack glanced at Daniel. “Do you get hit on often from students?” he asked.
Daniel chuckled. “Often enough,” he said. “They’re only playing.”
……..“Don’t, Jack.”
“What?”
Daniel paused and turned to him. “You’re thinking about our age difference again,” he informed Jack. “I don’t care, and you know it.” He put his hands on Jack’s shoulders and looked into the brown eyes. A cell phone rang. “I love you. Quit it.” He pecked Jack’s mouth and then looked at his cell phone before answering it.
“I’m in town with Jack. We can stop by.” He hung up. “We need to stop by the SGC.”
They started walking back toward Jack’s truck. “I’m not fun, Danny,” Jack said after a couple of blocks. “Don’t you want to go out and dance with them?”
“No,” he said honestly with a shrug. “I did when I was in college. It’s been a long time since I felt the desire to be a kid. I like going dancing with Sam once in a while. As for you being fun –Jack, I have never had so much fun in my life, as the fun I’ve had since meeting you. Now quit it and drive.”
Jack drove, happy with Daniel’s hand on his thigh.
“Why are we going to the Mountain?” he asked after a mile.
“Because,” Daniel said. Jack looked at him. He stopped and began to turn around.
“Noooo,” Daniel said. “Jack, you have to check in with Dr. Lam. She’s put up with you this far, but she does have the authority to order you in, and you know it. Enki says you’re at full mode and after this last incident you really need to get checked. Carolyn needs to compare the before, during, and after scans. And you’re doing very well with the Ancient. I knew you could do it.”
Jack mumbled something.
“What?”
“I said, it’s easier if I don’t think about it,” Jack said loudly. “Someone in there is doing the translating, and it isn’t me.”
“Of course, it’s you,” Daniel said, patting his leg. “Now we need to get you to start scribbling engineering schematics. Put that Masters degree to some use. You know you could get a Ph.D. out of this.”
“What would I do with a Ph.D.?” Jack asked. “Not all of us have a need to collect Ph.D.’s.”
“General Doctor Jack O’Neill.”
Jack considered it.
“Does that mean we can play doctor?” he asked.
“Only if the anal probes are warmed first.”
“You drive a hard bargain, Doctor.”
Jack put up with the light thingy flashing in his eyes. He still didn’t understand why they insisted on looking into his eyes with a penlight when all the action was happening in his brain.
“Stop glaring,” Lam said. She put the light into her jacket pocket.
“I feel fine,” he insisted.
She nodded. “And according to the machines, you are fine.”
Reynolds came into the infirmary. His face was a mess; cuts, scrapes, and small burns.
“Hey, Jack. Daniel.” He and Daniel knocked paws.
“What happened to you?” Jack asked.
“Someone stepped on a nearby landmine,” Reynolds said. “I got in the way of the blast. Thank God I didn’t lose an eye. I heard you were here. Would you mind? Before Mary and the kids see me?”
Jack put a hand out.
“Wait!” Dr. Lam quickly attached more electrodes to Jack and then a few to Kevin. She had a tech bring over a camera to record the process from the outside. “Okay.”
Jack put his hand on Reynolds’ chest. He noticed a slight undercurrent in his body; like touching a wire with poor insulation. The energy seemed to flow in one direction –down his arm and out his hand. He took his hand away and looked at it, flexing his fingers.
“What?” Daniel asked, stepping closer.
“Nothing,” Jack said, shaking his head. “I’m starting to notice a light sensation of current.”
Daniel took Jack’s hand for a moment. “Well, I don’t sense anything external,” he said. “Maybe a slight chill, but that could be the fact that it’s a little cold in here.”
Kevin’s face was slowly and surely healing before their very eyes. Dr. Lam watched, fascinated. He frowned at her and took a step back as she closed in on his space.
“Is that recorded?” she asked the tech.
“Yes, ma’am,” the tech said, not quite believing it. He was new…..
“Don’t even try it,” Jack warned. The tech took a startled look around.
“Sir?”
Jack shook a finger at him. “I have lots of tricks up my sleeve, son,” he said to the tech. “You signed a confidentiality clause when you signed on here; you keep your mouth shut.”
“What’s going on?” Daniel asked in Ancient.
“He’s considering the amount of money he could get for this information,” Jack told Daniel and Reynolds.
“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Kevin said with a nod. The tech gulped, not understanding, but knowing they were talking about him.
“We knew it was only a matter of time,” Daniel said.
“I’d like a little more time,” Jack stated.
Mason came into the room, wearing BDU’s with SGC insignia. He looked at Kevin’s face and didn’t say anything. Jack looked at the stitches going up Mason’s forearm.
“And what did you do?” Jack asked.
“Mauled by a mountain lion,” Mason said. Jack looked a
t him. “Really. I was running around the mountain and I ran into a mother and cubs.”
“How’re Mel and the boys?” he asked. His cousin still didn’t want his wounds healed in warp-speed time. “Settling in?”
“They’re well,” Mason nodded as he watched the healing. “Mark will be starting his senior year at Penn State soon, so he won’t be here for long.”
“What’s Keith doing?” Jack asked.
“He doesn’t know yet,” Mason said, trying not to growl in disapproval. “He doesn’t want to go to college, he doesn’t want to sign up…… I'm ready to kick him out.”
“He’s nineteen, Mace, give him a break,” Jack said. “He’s still a kid. Why don’t you send him off-world for a while? I’m considering sending some kids to the Alpha site to help with farming. Kalam also needs new blood. Although, they are a little male-heavy….”
Mason gave Jack a look. “I am not sending my son to Kalam,” he stated. “It’s bad enough I have to watch out for my ass when I’m around those guys, I’m not giving up my son’s ass.”
Jack shrugged. “It really isn’t that bad. Feels pretty good, actually.”
Mason made a quick exit.
Daniel smacked Jack’s arm. “Quit terrorizing him.”
Jack chuckled as he slid off the exam bed. “Doc, you’re done with me, right? Yes, you are. Colonel, find my cousin someone to beat up, will you?”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Reynolds’ smiled.
“You going to make it to Paul’s handfasting?”
“If I’m on the planet, sure,” Reynolds nodded.
They checked in with Landry, and Daniel found himself cornered by Nyan. The young man had a wild, almost desperate look around his eyes as he grabbed Daniel by the shoulders.
“You have to tell me,” Nyan pleaded. “Does she like me? Do I have a chance? Is she seeing anyone? Please, Daniel, tell me, I can take it.”
Jack and Landry looked at each other and then at the short alien scientist.
“Who?” Daniel asked. He patted Nyan, settling him.
“Ronnie!” Nyan moaned. He collapsed into a chair. “Dear gods, she’s a dream! Beautiful and brains…..”
Daniel looked at the generals.
“Oh, boy…..”
Jack left Daniel to explain the facts of life to Nyan, and followed his nose out of the Mountain and down to Mason’s new house, which was at the far end of Jack’s neighborhood. Having Mason and his family nearby was another good thing for Maggie; she just needed to remind the boys not to fight whenever they ran into each other. Jack had to admit he wasn’t feeling as antagonistic toward Mason as he usually did. Maybe they were beginning to understand each other.
“Hi, Jack,” Melanie greeted him from the flower bed.
“Hey, Mel, you need some help?” he asked.
“Would you bring that bag of mulch over here?” she asked, pointing to a large plastic bag. He lifted the thirty pound bag and grunted as he plunked it on the ground next to her.
“Is Mason alright?” she asked, digging a spade full of mulch into the ground.
“He’s fine,” Jack assured her. “I just came by to see if Keith was around.”
Melanie paused at the unusual request. “Yes, he’s playing a computer game, last time I checked.”
“Okay if I go in?”
“Yes, of course.”
Jack remembered Mason and Melanie’s wedding, the moms having talked Mason into inviting Jack, but he wasn’t around for the births of their sons. Both boys were born overseas while Mason was on tour. He didn’t know them well, but neither seemed as hard-headed as their father. He heard computer sounds and followed them. Most of their things had been unpacked; a few boxes still sat in corners.
He watched the boy from the doorway of the bedroom. Keith sat back on his bed as he played with a hand-held game control.
“Hey,” Jack said. Keith looked up, surprised to see him.
“Jack, hey.”
“You settling in alright?” Jack asked, coming into the room. He took a chair and turned it around, straddling it. Keith shrugged. “There’re a few older teenagers in the neighborhood. Nice guys.”
“I saw your dad a little bit ago,” Jack tried again. Keith punched at the buttons.
“Complaining about his lazy-assed son?”
“No,” Jack shrugged. “He sounded frustrated, more than anything. A father wants his son to be happy and successful. He doesn’t understand you not wanting to go to school or sign up.”
“He wants me to have his life,” Keith muttered, his father's scowl on his face. “I don’t want to hold a gun and I don’t give a shit about more school.”
“What do you give a shit about?” Jack asked. He sent a feeler out and then drew back, slightly confused. “Keith, what’s going on? Son, you do know that a lot of people are going through some unusual changes, don’t you? If something weird is going on inside….”
The boy who didn’t want to hold a gun made short work of the trolls on the computer screen. “Music,” he said after a moment.
Jack waited. “What about it?”
“Can you really do…. things?” Keith asked, trying to hide something in his voice.
“Some,” Jack admitted. “Got any scrapes or cuts on you?”
“Huh?”
“You’re a kid,” Jack pointed out. “Anything half-healed?”
Keith considered his body and then pushed out a leg. He pulled the denim leg up to show a scrape on his calf. Jack touched the hairy leg for a moment. To Keith’s amazement, he watched the scrape heal before his very eyes.
“Cool,” he said, poking at it experimentally.
“So, you going to tell me about music?” Jack asked. The boy pulled his jeans into place and tried to disappear into the corner of his bed.
“Are you going to tell my dad?”
Jack frowned. “Keith, I’ve known your father all my life; I can’t imagine him hurting you.”
Keith shrugged. “I’ve had my share of red butts,” he said. “I guess I earned them. I …. hear music.”
Jack waited. “What do you mean, you hear music?”
“Music,” the teen repeated. “Everywhere. All the time. I figured out how to fix the car because it sounded wrong, so I kept tweaking things until it sounded right again. I can’t… shut it off. I think I’m going crazy.”
Jack took his cell phone out and dialed. “Honey, did Keith’s test come through yet? Uh huh…… okay, thanks.” He put his cell down and looked at the boy. “Keith, some people are just developing a small section of their brain, that’s all. Didn’t you read about the evolution thing happening? For some people, it’s little things, like being able to study better and understand more at an earlier age. For others, it’s a little more concentrated. You hear music. Well, okay, so let’s find out what that means for you. Is there anything that doesn’t sound like music?”
Keith thought about it. “It’s only electronic stuff,” he said. Jack looked around the room. He turned off the computer, unplugged it, unplugged everything else that was plugged in, and shut the light off.
“How’s that?” he asked. Keith looked inward.
“Quieter,” he said, a little surprised. Jack patted him on a leg.
“Come on, kiddo, we’re going to my place.”
“My place” turned out to be HomeWorld Security. Melanie wasn’t quite sure what the boys were doing, but she went along when Jack encouraged her. They both signed in and had pictures taken for ID’s. For reasons they didn’t understand, their tags were also imbedded with a copy of their DNA.
“Sometimes prints and pictures just aren’t enough,” Jack said, considering how many times they had run-ins with an evil copy of Samantha Carter. “Don’t worry about it.” He led them down to the labs, being inevitably stopped along the way for signatures. Paul ran downstairs and slid to a halt. He held up two pieces of cloth.
“Which one?” he urgently requested.
“For what?” Jack asked
.
“The table cloths,” Paul said, slightly impatient.
Jack shrugged. “You’re the one getting married,” he said. “Why don’t you ask Nick?”
The cloths dropped. “Are you kidding, sir? His side of the closet is black for a reason.”
“Oh. Melanie, which one?” Jack asked her. Paul helpfully held up the cloths again.
Unsure of the pronouns being used, she hesitantly gestured toward the teal lace.
“That one looks nice with your eyes,” she offered.
Paul smiled and sighed in relief. “That’s what I thought, too. It looks nice with Nick’s eyes, too. His are very green. Thank you.” He ran back to the stairs, happily petting the cloth. Jack shook his head; his colonel was in queen mode.
“He’s usually more together,” he said. “He’s getting married in two days.”
Halfway across the lab, Jack noticed that he had only Melanie at his side. He stopped and looked around. Keith was standing still, slightly dumbfounded.
“What is it, son?” Jack asked.
“The sound is different,” Keith commented. He absently tapped on his ears.
“Boggs!” Jack called out.
“Biggs, sir.”
Jack opened his mouth and then paused, eying the man suspiciously. “Shut everything off.”
“Sir?”
“Everything, Captain. Shut it off. Power down.”
They waited until all the machinery was off.
“Almost normal,” Keith said.
“Honey, I don’t understand,” Melanie said, brushing at her son’s hair. “What’s going on?”
“He hears music, Mel,” Jack told her. “It’s one of those new things that’s been happening. Electricity sounds like music to him and it’s been causing him to question his sanity. We’re going to try and fix it.”
“Captain, this is Keith Addison and his mother Melanie. Colonel Addison’s family and my cousins,” Jack said. “Be nice to them and help Keith.”
Chapter 53
“Paul, that doesn’t make sense,” Jack complained over the top of his newspaper. “You were going to tag her so she can beam around.” Davis' parents were refusing to attend, but several of his cousins and old school friends caught wind of the handfasting, and let him know, in no uncertain terms, that they were behind him. Much to Paul's surprise, he had burst into tears when his cousin said she wanted to stand up with him. He hadn't allowed his stress over his parents to be shown for so long, that he didn't realize he had been holding in a volcano of pain.
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