Reversal of Fortune: Part 4
By
Gemsong

Daniel woke slowly. He was still in the infirmary, having fallen asleep one of the beds while staying with Jack. Someone had tossed a blanket over him and the small warm body against his left side. He looked down to see Jack's brown head on his chest, moving up and down slightly with his breathing. Shifting a little, he was able to see Jack's fingers firmly stuck in his mouth.

A smile teased the corner of his mouth. Jack was apparently the type to suck his fingers, instead of his thumb, as some children were want to do. He reached up to stroke Jack's soft hair, amazed at the texture. Jack had normally kept his hair cut very short. Now it was longer, bringing out its tendency to curl.

Daniel sighed slightly as he slid Jack off of his chest, letting him curl up beside him. When Jack didn't wake from the move, Daniel slowly got out of the bed. Jack snuggled deeper into the warm spot Daniel had left behind, curling into a ball beneath the blankets. Daniel looked down at him, his hand smoothing Jack's hair, unable to resist the motion. Glancing at the clock on the wall, he realized he had been here all night. The others, seeing him asleep, had probably decided to leave him be.

Right now, he wanted a shower and food, in that order. He looked back over at Jack, wondering if he dared leave him alone, remembering how upset he had become when they tried to leave him alone yesterday. At the same time he didn't want to wake Jack up before he had to. The problem was solved moments later when he heard the door to the infirmary open. In a moment the curtains slid aside, revealing Teal'c standing before him. In his usual silence he stepped into the curtained off area.

"I will watch O'Neill while you refresh yourself," Teal'c said in a soft voice as he pulled up a chair next to the bed and sat down on it. Should Jack wake up, he would see Teal'c's familiar face beside him.

"Thanks," Daniel said with a stretch. With a last look at the small sleeping form, and a nod to Teal'c, he left the infirmary.

It took Daniel about an hour to shower and have breakfast. As soon as he had finished eating he headed back to the infirmary, where he found Teal'c still there. He had been joined by Sam, who was sitting on Jack's bed with a breakfast tray, coaxing him to eat the bowl of oatmeal she had brought him.

As Daniel entered Jack's looked up from the bowl to see who it was. When he saw it was Daniel his face lit up. "Daniel!" he said holding up his arms in a child's universal signal to be picked up. Daniel obliged, feeling the small arms go around his neck in a tight hug As Jack settled on his hip.

<You went away,> Jack said, his voice muffled against the side of Daniel's neck.

Daniel frowned slightly in concentration. Latin was not normally a spoken language, but at this rate he would be forced to become fluent quickly. <I came back,> he said. <I will always come back.>

Jack lifted his head. <Leave no one behind,> he said, his face serious and his tone quite solemn.

Daniel nodded. He gave him another squeeze, then set him back down on the bed. <Finish your food,> he said.

Jack obediently turned back to Sam, giving her his full attention. Sam smiled at the serious little face and went back to helping him master the mechanics of feeding himself. Daniel pulled up another chair and sat down.

Leaning back, he looked at his friends. "Has he said much?" Daniel asked as he turned his attention to watching Jack eat with studied concentration.

"Very little," Teal'c replied. "He asked where you were. He also told us he was hungry, thus the attempt at breakfast."

"That's all?"

"He asked the names of things, wanting to know what they are called in English," Sam said, joining the conversation. Jack's eating was a little messy, so Sam quickly wiped away the worst of it. "He knows I don't speak Latin." She continued.

"He speaks slowly to help me understand and uses simple terms," Teal'c added.

Daniel watched Jack and he slowly drank a glass of milk. "Not much like the Jack O'Neill we all know," he said.

"Yes and no," Sam said. "Some of his mannerisms are the same. He seems to remember only certain things. He knows who we are and seems to trust us, though it's obvious you're the one he trusts the most." She sighed slightly as she wiped away the milk mustache once again.

Jack looked at Sam, and then pointed to the milk carton, looking at her expectantly.

"Milk," she replied, guessing at what word he wanted. He could have meant the carton, but she didn't think so.

Jack then mimed pouring the milk into his glass. Sam understood. "Pour," she said, making sure she enunciated clearly.

He nodded, and then looked at her flashing the unmistakable O'Neill smile at it's most charming. "Pour milk?" he asked.

Sam frowned slightly. Jack held out his glass to her. "Pour milk." He repeated. Sam's face cleared as she smiled.

"You want more milk," she said. She picked up the tray, looking over toward Daniel. "Tell him I'm just going to take this back to the commissary and I'll bring him some more milk."

Daniel repeated her words for Jack's benefit, though the syntax seemed to be a little off. Jack nodded his understanding and graced Sam with another of his smiles.

As Sam left, Janet stepped in. She set a paper bag on the foot of the bed, smiling up at Jack, then moved up the bed until she was standing next to him. "How are we feeling this morning?" she asked.

"I believe we are all quite well, Doctor Frazier," Teal'c answered for all of them.

Janet smiled at the response and then turned her attention to Jack. The child had reclaimed his place on Daniel's lap and was watching her with a look that seemed to take in everything around him.. She moved closer to them, then held out her hands to Jack. He frowned at her, and then looked up at Daniel. Daniel nodded encouragingly at the boy. Jack reluctantly released his hold on Daniel, allowing Janet to lift him from Daniel's lap.

Janet gently took Jack's fingers out of his mouth, then set him down on the bed beside Daniel. The examination went quickly, with the doctor noting no changes in his physical condition. She did find it a bit unnerving seeing the normally fidgety colonel in this quiet and cooperative child.

"So do you think he can be released today?" Daniel asked as Janet finished her examination.

"I don't see why not," she answered. "Physically there is nothing wrong with him other than the fact that he is a child and not an adult." She looked between Daniel and Teal'c. "We've set up a VIP room for him and I've scheduled Doctor McKenzie to see how much he knows and how much he doesn't."

"Does Doctor McKenzie speak Latin?" Teal'c asked.

"Not that I know of," replied Janet.

"Then Daniel Jackson must attend the session with O'Neill to facilitate communications," Teal'c said. "Jack only communicates in Latin."

Janet frowned. She had forgotten that aspect. "I'll let him know," she said. Then she gestured toward the bag she had placed at the foot of the bed. "One of the nurses has a child about Colonel O'Neill's current size and had donated some clothing for him.

"Thanks Janet," Daniel said, reaching for the bag. The doctor left as Sam entered the infirmary, on her way back with Jack's milk.

In the bag Daniel found underwear, tee-shirts, jeans and socks. A pair of slippers had been included that Jack could wear until they sized shoes for him. Separating a set of clothes, Daniel dressed Jack while Teal'c filled Sam in on Jack's status. She frowned at the thought of Jack seeing McKenzie. His adult persona didn't care for the man and had to be ordered by the general to speak with him. She was relieved that Daniel would be with him when that meeting occurred.

Once dressed, Daniel helped Jack down off the bed. Holding his hand he led him from the infirmary. Teal'c and Sam followed, Teal'c grabbing the bag with the remainder of the donated clothing.

A few minutes later they were at Jack's new home. The VIP room was drab and not exactly child friendly, but Jack seemed not to be bothered by the fact. His first order of business was to take Sam's hand and lead her around the room, pointing to things for her to identify.

Daniel watched them moving around the room, observing his behavior. Jack had been found of pulling the 'dumb colonel' routine with his teammates. None of them bought it completely, though sometimes it seemed sincere. But as Daniel observed the child he noticed that Jack only had to be told once what the word for a certain object was. After completing one circuit of the room, he led Sam around the room again, this time identifying the items she had pointed out the first time around in English. He didn't make a single mistake.

Daniel frowned. More questions than answers were coming to his mind. Was this the real Jack, a clone, or had the device done more than downsize him? Had it altered his intelligence as well? That thought made Daniel uneasy. What had been done to his friend?