A Christmas to Belong

by Cindy Combs

  Authors notes: This story is part of my The Sentinel/MacGyver Series, set ahead in my timeline. It is also crossed with Stargate:SG1, and contains major spoilers for the seventh season episode, Fragile Balance.

  If you are unfamiliar with my series, I recommend you either read the first five stories ('The Maze', 'Control', 'Coatlicue', 'Ares Bugle' and 'Heirs to a Nightmare'), or read the spoiler at: http://www.geocities.com/garnet_tm/crossgate/CindyNote.html In addition, original character Cory Buchanan is introduced in 'Follow the Tiger', Ian in 'The Promise of Christmas Future', and Amanda Chambers in 'Mishaps with Dinner'. How Jack O'Neill meets MacGyver is in 'Weardians and Witans'.

  For those who are familiar with my series, this is a leap forward in my timeline to Christmas 2003. I have planned three to four stories between my last story ('Chance Destiny', set in January 2002) and this one, including: 'Revenge for the Scorpion' (Mac helps Jack O'Neill deal with Daniel's ascension while Blair is entangled by a woman with ties to MacGyver's past); a second tale about Sam and Cory's one and only trip through the Stargate; and a third story of Jim and Amanda's wedding (and you thought their first date was bad).

  Sorry for the skipping around. I had gotten stuck on 'Revenge for the Scorpion', and decided to see if this story would shake loose some bunnies. With crossed fingers, I think it has. I'm having way too much fun with Mini-Jack (played by Michael Welch, before he got the role as Joan's brother Luke on 'Joan of Arcadia'). Consider this a Christmas present to all the nice people who enjoy my stories and email me.

  As always, I wish to thank several people. To Zadra, who's always there to lend an ear; Shallan and Toni Rae for pep talks and brainstorming sessions; Ian's self-declared Godmummy Sealie, for all her encouragement and asthma talks; Gabrielle and Sirius for beta'ing, and as always wolfpup, who gives my stories such a happy home.

  Please send any comments to spacecloud@juno.com

  Enjoy the ride.

  Disclaimer: Most of characters are not mine. I'm borrowing them out of deep reverence, affection and respect. I will accept only personal fulfillment, and no monetary gain. If you do sue, you will not get much and I will send over my graying Black Lab mix, who will stare at you pathetically for hours, sleep on your couch, and probably con you out of all your food.

  Please do not reproduce, copy, or otherwise use any part of this story without permission from the author. A copy for personal use is allowed.

  Rated PG-13, mostly for language

  Dedicated to the memory of my Grandpa Sol, who raced cars and motorcycles as a young man, learned to fly in the 30s, patrolled the Gulf of Mexico with the Civil Air Patrol during WWII, MacGyvered many solutions to everyday problems, built experimental airplanes during his late 70s and flew them, went parasailing for the first time at 81, loved his family, and lived life to the fullest for most of his 94 years. Love ya and see you on the other side, Grandpa.

  * * *

  A CHRISTMAS TO BELONG

  C.L. Combs

  * * *

  December 8, 2003, Lakewood, CO

  MacGyver entered the supermarket at a swift pace. He needed toothpaste before returning to his hotel room, but didn't want to take too long. If he got back to the hotel in time, he could call home before Sam put Ian to bed. He'd only been gone for a few days, yet it seemed like it had been months since he'd seen his grandson.

  He found the personal hygiene aisle at the south end of the store. As he searched for his brand, a hard cough drew his attention. A blond teenager was standing in front of the cold medicine section.

  Mac frowned as he turned back to the toothpaste. After nursing his asthmatic grandson through several illnesses, he had become an expert at coughs. The kid's sounded especially bad to his ears. Yet it really wasn't any of his business, and Mac knew from experience where meddling in other people's business led him. Plus, he really did want to talk with Ian. Telling himself that the kid was probably on his way home to his parents, he reached for a box.

  He turned back just in time to see the kid bent over, coughing. Tossing any thoughts of non-involvement to the side, Mac trotted over to the stricken youth. "Hey, do you need help?" Laying a hand on the kid's back, he was shocked at how hot the he felt.

  Red rimmed brown eyes looked up and blinked. "Gus?" Then the eyes closed as his legs folded. Mac just managed to catch him before he fell to the hard linoleum.

  * * *

  Denver General Hospital

  Colonel Jack O'Neill entered the waiting room and immediately spied his double sitting in one of the hard plastic chairs. He waved at Dr. Janet Fraiser, who was on her way to talk with the ER doctors, while he walked over to stand in front of Mac.

  MacGyver looked up. "Jack."

  "Gus."

  The two looked at each other a moment, then Mac asked, "Okay, who's the kid?"

  Jack glanced down a moment. "Nobody."

  "Then why are you here? And wasn't that Janet who just hurried by?"

  Jack was searching the room with his eyes, looking everywhere but at the man in front of him. "It's classified."

  "Classified? He's just a sick kid."

  "Like I said, it's classified."

  "Jaa-ack."

  "It's not secure here."

  Mac blinked. His maybe cousin was dead serious. He thought a moment. "Okay, follow me."

  Jack followed Mac up onto the roof of the building. Jack folded his arms to ward off the chilly night air as his double carefully placed two small metallic buttons on the roof railing, then a third on a chair someone had left behind. Standing within the triangle formed, Mac turned to Jack and spoke. Jack couldn't hear him.

  Jack stepped inside the triangle next to Mac. "What's this?"

  "Something I've been developing for Jim and Cory. If they're overloaded, Blair or Sam can use these to either block out all noise from their partner or use them to encircle an offending noise and give their partner a chance to regain their equilibrium."

  "Sweet."

  "Now tell me what's up."

  "Nothing."

  "Jack, the kid called me Gus. The only person who calls me Gus is you. How'd the kid know that?" As Jack rubbed his eyes, Mac added, "I've got the clearance for the Stargate program. What gives?"

  Sighing, Jack met Mac's eyes. "You know how we work with various... ah... 'cultures'?"

  Mac rolled his eyes. "You mean aliens."

  "Yeah, well, a renegade from one of the advanced groups decided he wanted to study me."

  Eyes wide, Mac asked, "Study you? Why?"

  "Apparently, I'm the next evolutionary step for the human race."

  Mac's eyes grew wider as he tried not to laugh. "You?"

  "Don't look so surprised."

  "And the kid?"

  "The renegade made a clone to take my place while he was studying me. Only my friends from his race realized I might be a target, so they did something to try to prevent someone from messing with me. So instead of being exactly me, the clone ended up a teenager with my memories."

  "Cloning AND memory transfer?" Mac gasped. "How?"

  "Don't ask me. That's Carter's and Fraiser's jobs."

  "So we really can do that?"

  "No, not us. The Asgard."

  "As in the Norse Gods?"

  Jack smirked. "Where do you think those myths came from?"

  Mind bending in several different directions, Mac shook his head and forced himself back on track. "So that kid is your clone? With your memories?"

  "Yep."

  "What's he doing?"

  "Going to high school."

  "Going to high school? I thought you said he has your memories. Don't they include high school?"

  "Yeah, but he decided to do our, his, life over. Thought he'd try it again, now that he
knows what mistakes to avoid. He's all set to start the Air Force Academy once he's old enough. Well, technically, he's less than a year old, but physically old enough. Well, I mean, when he looks 18... I think."

  Mac nodded to himself. The situation did sound confusing. "So where's he living? With you?"

  "Hell no. It's just too weird for both of us. The Air Force has him all set up with emancipated status and an apartment." Spotting Janet as she stepped out onto the roof, Jack waved her over.

  Once Janet was within the triangle, MacGyver greeted, "Hey, Doc."

  "MacGyver," Janet returned with a smile and a nod.

  "How's Mini-me?" Jack asked.

  MacGyver noticed he seemed pretty concerned despite the 'weirdness' of the situation. When Janet frowned, he assured, "We're secure."

  "He's caught that flu that's hitting the schools so hard. It's gone into pneumonia."

  Jack frowned. "How long has he been sick?"

  Janet was frowning too. "From what I could get from him, less then 48 hours."

  Mac whistled. "That's fast."

  "Yes, and that worries me. While I'm sure he was given some immunity when the Asgard fixed him, originally he was only supposed to live for a week. I'm not sure if his immune system is as strong as a six month old baby, let alone an average teen."

  "A week?" Mac repeated, stunned at the callousness.

  "You mean fighting off germs and stuff?" Jack spoke over him.

  Janet nodded. "Exactly. Duplicate Jack may simply need to catch and recover from more illnesses, but this year's flu is a bad way to start. Normally healthy kids are ending up in the emergency room."

  "Is his cover still intact?" Jack asked.

  "Yes," Janet replied. "The medical staff believe his mother is dead and his father's overseas. I've told them that his uncle just happens to be in town."

  "Yeah, but it may not be a good idea for me to hang around," Jack pointed out. "If the NID gets a whiff that Mini-me is anything other than a normal, American kid, Lord knows what they'd do to him."

  "NID? What do they have to do with this?" Mac asked.

  "They want to take over the Stargate Program," Janet explained.

  "Except they believe that they should simply take any technology they find, damn the consequences to the cultures involved or our relationships to them," Jack added grimly. "We've had a few run-ins with them."

  "And you think they'd want to study the kid to figure out how the, Asgard, right? How the Asgard cloned him?"

  "Exactly."

  "That's not good."

  "Agreed. So I don't dare hang around."

  "I can keep an eye on him," Janet suggested.

  "He is going to be okay, right?" Jack asked.

  "If he responds well to the antibiotics, he should be okay." Noting the two worried faces staring down at her, Janet assured them, "He's technically never had an antibiotic before, and it looks promising so far. We should know in a couple of days."

  * * *

  December 12, Denver General Hospital

  Mac took a deep breath before stepping out of the hospital elevator. It was still mind-bending to think of 50 plus years of experience in a teenage body. Yet in a twisted way, it was his friend who nearly died of the flu, kinda. Mac felt obligated to visit him, no matter how awkward.

  Checking in at the nurse's station, Mac learned more than just directions. The nurse studied him. "Family?"

  "Distant cousin," Mac replied easily. "I live in L.A. and just happen to be in town."

  She smiled at him. "Good. It's sad when a pediatric case doesn't have a parent worried about him."

  Her words followed him to the room. Mini-Jack looked like he was sleeping, various monitors keeping track of his condition. Mac examined the pale face resting on the pillow. He looked young and so familiar. It was like looking through a time machine to his own teen years. Then the brown eyes opened. For an instant, Mac saw a desolation that did not belong in such a young face. Then he brightened and tossed Mac a tired smirk. "Hey, Gus."

  "Hi yourself." Mac sat in the chair next to the bed. "How you feeling?"

  "Fine." After Mac lifted an eyebrow and stared at him, the 'kid' shrugged as he coughed. "Okay, breathing's hard."

  He still sounded hoarse, too. "I bet your throat's sore from coughing."

  Shrugging again, Mini-Jack twisted the edge of the blanket with his fingers. "Mostly bored."

  Mac glanced around. The TV was shut off, and there was nothing else besides hospital equipment in the room. "Then these should come in handy." He tossed two magazines onto the bed.

  Mini-Jack picked them up. "Field and Stream? Air and Space? Sweet." He met Mac's eyes. "Thanks."

  Slightly uncomfortable with so much gratitude coming from O'Neill's eyes in a young face, Mac glanced around again. The 'kid' had been here for four days, but there were no cards, no flowers, no balloons. Not what one would expect in a room with a sick teenager. Of course, he wasn't dealing with a teenager per se, but still, he was going to high school. Surely he had made some friends. Trying not to frown, Mac turned back. "Do you need anything from home?"

  The eyes brightened again. "My Gameboy?"

  "Sure. Where's your keys?"

  "I think they're in that drawer."

  Mac pulled it open and found the key on a 'Denver High' key ring next to a small billfold. "Do you need anything from school?"

  "Nah, Doc Fraiser's going to pick up my homework for me."

  "Pajamas?"

  "I think there's some clean sweats in my laundry basket." The 'kid' frowned for a moment. "I think it's in the living room. And could you pick up my robe?"

  Mac gave him a warm smile. "No problem."

  Mini-Jack coughed, "Thanks."

  When the coughing continued, Mac leaned over and squeezed the slim arm. "Why don't you get some more sleep, and I'll see you tonight."

  The brown eyes looked cautiously hopeful. "Tonight?"

  "Tonight." Mac replied firmly.

  * * *

  Mac was still unsettled when he entered Mini-Jack's apartment that afternoon. He wasn't sure why, but it bothered him that the kid had no other visitors besides himself and Dr. Fraiser. While half of his mind pointed out that he wasn't really dealing with a teenager, the other half kept thinking that physically, the 'kid' looked enough like him to be his kid. Heck, at roughly 15 years he was young enough to be Blair's kid, if Blair had had a kid as early as his parents.

  The thought of being a Grandpa to Blair's teenager was enough to spook him into concentrating on the task at hand. It was easy enough to find the Gameboy. Grabbing a duffle bag near the closet, Mac dumped the hockey skates and uniform onto a worn chair, then tucked the requested toy into it. He also picked up a book containing a grocery receipt as a bookmark. Mac glanced at the items purchased, noted that Mini-Jack's eating habits were even worse than Sam's, and tossed the book in with the Gameboy. He found the laundry basket, double checked that the clothes were, in fact, clean, folded a few items and placed them into the duffle. As he turned to the bedroom for the robe, he spotted a small, framed picture. It was of Jack and his team. Since Daniel's hair was long and Sam Carter was wearing captain's bars, Mac guessed it was early in the Stargate project.

  The small token slammed home why Mac felt so uneasy. Like himself, Jack O'Neill was a bit of a packrat. His home had pictures of his friends and family scattered amongst old mementoes, awards, and sports equipment. The overall effect was of a masculine yet warm home not too far off from Mac's home, though Jack's was neater. In this apartment, the picture, a fishing pole in the corner, and a poster of an F-15 were the only personal touches. If the kid was Jack, why was his home so bare?

  Because all his memories belonged to someone else.

  For the first time, Mac realized just how lonely it must be for the clone. The people he considered old friends were actually friends with the original Jack, not him. Even his cherished possessions were no longer his. In fact, Mac was willing to bet the Colonel had no idea his '
Mini-me' had this picture. Frowning, Mac made a gradual turn in the center of the small room. Here was a person starting from scratch because he had basically lost everything and everyone. A person who nearly died four days ago because he was sick and there was no one around to realize just how sick.

  Could MacGyver return to L.A. and leave this person behind to lead such a lonely existence?

  * * *

  Mac was still pondering the question as he returned to the hospital. He ran into Janet Fraiser next to the nurses' desk. Janet greeted him with a smile. "Hello, MacGyver."

  "Hi, Janet."

  Janet waved back towards Mini Jack's room. "You may want to wait a few moments. His hockey coach and a few of his teammates are visiting."

  "Good," Mac replied, glad someone thought enough of him to visit. "How's he doing?"

  Janet led him to a small alcove. "He's improving. And just like another Jack we know, he already wants to head home."

  Mac frowned, thinking of the bare apartment. "Is that wise? Especially with no one there to look after him?"

  "I'm worried about that, too." Janet glanced around. "With winter around the corner, I'm afraid of what something as simple as a cold might do to him while he's already run down."

  "And he obviously won't call someone if he's sick." Thinking hard, Mac remarked, "Jack said you were picking up his homework. How's he doing in school?"

  "He's doing quite well, which apparently surprises some of the teachers since he doesn't seem to pay attention," Janet chuckled. Mac smiled, too, but noticed when Janet's mood changed. "They did say he tends to be a loner. Admittedly, so is the original O'Neill, but I thought that was due to the military structure, which shouldn't apply here."

  Making sure no one was around to overhear, Mac pointed out, "Yeah, but how well do you think you'd relate to teenagers?"

  Janet made a face. "I don't have to think. I have a teenager at home. Sometimes it's all I can do to figure out what she and her friends are saying."