Reversal of Fortune: Part 7
By
Gemsong

The evening was late Daniel sat alone in the darkened living room. He had his eyes closed, with his head leaning against the back of the couch. His sock-clad feet were propped up on the coffee table as he took several slow deep breaths in an attempt to relax. The day had been hectic, but now all the essentials of his new life with a five-year-old Jack had been taken care of quickly. At least he hoped so.


The thought made Daniel smile slightly. He thought about all the help he'd gotten from Sam, Janet, and Teal'c. They were certainly more than a team; they were a family. A family that included only a few people outside of SG-1 team, such as Janet and General Hammond.

He thought about the events of earlier this evening. Janet had left early to go home to Cassie. Teal'c and Sam remained longer and had dinner with him and Jack. He'd prepared a meal that had several items included in it that Jack hadn't liked as an adult. It seemed that he had the same dislikes now. Jack wouldn't even try the brussel sprouts. He wasn't overtly rude about it, though he did mutter a few Arabic curses.

These tripped Jack up again. On a hunch, Daniel reprimanded him gently in the same language. Jack apologized, but when he realized what he'd done when he saw the expression on Daniel's face, he knew he was busted yet again. He now knew three languages, and Daniel was fairly certain it those wouldn't be the only ones. Jack reacted by folding his arms on the table and putting his head down with a sigh. The adults left him alone as they finished their meal, talking quietly among themselves as they did. It wasn't until after they had finished dinner that Daniel realized Jack had fallen asleep. The little boy had had a long day, and it had finally caught up with him.

Daniel picked him up gently and carried him to his room. Jack never woke, even when Daniel stripped him out of his clothes, dressed him in his new pajamas and tucked him into bed.

Daniel watched him sleep for a long moment, sitting on the side of the bed. He reached out, his fingers brushing back the dark curls that fell over Jack's forehead. He had curled up in a ball, clutching his pillow, his fingers again taking up residence in his mouth. Daniel pulled them out, but even as he did he didn't expect it to last long. He frowned as he thought that he might have to do something about then, and then smiled as he looked at Jack again. He leaned over and kissed Jack's forehead, then quietly left the room. He left the door cracked and the hallway light on In case Jack got up in the middle of the night.

By the time Daniel finished with Jack and returned to the kitchen Sam and Teal'c had finished the clean up and were waiting to say their good-byes. Daniel found himself hugging both of them in gratitude, something he normally didn't do. Something about this situation pushed him to it. Sam hugged hard and kissed his cheek, promising to call him the next day. Teal'c's hug would probably crack several ribs if he had used his full strength. Fortunately Daniel only had to endure a lack of air for a few seconds. As he let go Teal'c made Daniel promise to call him if he needed anything, day or night. Daniel had reluctantly agreed.

After the door shut behind his friends he had stopped for a moment. Now the house was quiet and he had stopped to enjoy the lack of the stimulation of his senses.

The thought of that moment slid his mind into the present. Here he was as, at home in Jack's house as he had been in his own apartment. Several times Jack had insisted that he move in while he settled down and hunted for a place to live. The first time was when he returned from Abydos. Most recently right after he had returned from his ascension. He had been surprised and pleased when he found out that Jack had put all his personal belongings in storage, just in case he came back.

Daniel reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose, pushing his glasses up as he did so. He knew he should go to bed and get some sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a very long day, with a hyperactive Jack in exploration mode. He also hoped to get some answers to what might be happening with his friend. He knew that was not going to be an easy thing to do. There were things Jack wouldn't want to remember. Daniel was sure the key to what happened to Jack was in those memories. The trick would be drawing them out of the child. Jack was a stubborn adult when he didn't want to share something. From what he'd seen so far he had no reason to believe it would be any different with this version of him.

As he sat thinking Daniel slowly became aware of the sense of being watched. As the only thing in the living room that he knew of that could be looking at him were the fish in the fish tank, this had to be something else. Slowly he opened his eyes, adjusting his glasses as he sat up. He blanched as he stared at the faintly glowing figure sitting close by. Actually the figure was perched on the coffee table next to his feet. It smiled at Daniel.

"Skar'ra?" Daniel asked, his voice sounding strained even to his own ears.

"It has been a long time, Dan'yel," the ascended Abydonian said.

"Yes... it has," Daniel replied, putting his feet down on the floor. Skar'ra looked pretty much the same as he did the last time Daniel saw him. Except for the faint glow, which seemed to be part of his new existence. "Is something wrong?" he asked. Ascended beings didn't just drop by for a cup of coffee or pass the time with small talk.

"We are not sure it is.... wrong," Skar'ra said. "But it was unexpected. Something like this would more likely have happened to you."

"It almost did, if it hadn't been for Jack," Daniel said.

The young looking man shook his head slightly. "No, it could not have happened to you," he said. "You do not have the blood of the Ancients."

"We thought that might be the reason he was affected and not me," Daniel said. "But there is more to this, isn't there?"

"Yes, Dan'yel," Skar'ra said quietly. "The task before you will not be an easy one. You must protect O'Neill. All that he had learned when he first was filled with the Ancients' knowledge has been reawakened within him."

Daniel's mouth tightened slightly. It matched what they had theorized. Having confirmation didn't make him feel better.

"That almost killed him," Daniel said. "Is there any way to suppress it again?"

Skar'ra shook his head. "This change to him affects many things. His knowledge will not cut him off from you as it did before," he said. "But.... O'Neill is a child and will need your protection. Your guidance."

Daniel sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "You're telling me we can't make him an adult again," he said.

"I am sorry, Dan'yel," Skar'ra replied. "You cannot. He will become adult again in the fullness of time. Not before."

"We've sent messages to the Asgard and the Tok'ra... " Daniel said. While not as old as the Ancients, they were still very advanced.

Skar'ra shook his head. "I am sorry Dan'yel," he said. "They will not have the means to change this."

There was a little accusation in his tone. "You knew this would happen," Daniel said.

Skar'ra shrugged slightly. "The Others suspected it was possible that something like this would happen one day. But they say they did not expect it so soon, or that O'Neill would be the one."

"But, in a way, with all that's happened to him... it was only a matter of time before it all caught up with him," Daniel said. He sighed as he took off his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes again "So why are the Ancients involved in this? Do they think he's a threat to them now?"

Skar'ra quickly shook his head. "No... They had begun to watch him with great interest after you tried to help him ascend."

Daniel stared at him blankly. Most of his memories of his time as an ascended being were sketchy. Most of them had been removed. He was about to mention that when Skar'ra's nearly transparent hand passed before his face

Daniel went pale in shock. The details came back to him in a flood, as if it all had just happened yesterday. Jack, abandoned by the Tok'ra symbiote and left at the mercy of Ba'al's torture. He had sought to save his friend the only way he could think of. To help him to ascend. But Jack had rejected the offer. Deep down Jack did not feel worthy of such an option, thinking his sins were too great. It had taken some work and subtle effort to find a way to help Jack and save him.

He blinked and stared at Skar'ra, who was becoming more and more transparent. "Do you understand?" asked his former brother-in-law.

Daniel shook his head slightly. "Not completely," he said finally.

Skar'ra just smiled at him. "You will," he said as he faded out completely, leaving Daniel alone with his thoughts in the dark living room.

The next morning brought no immediate clarity to his conversation with Skar'ra. Jack had awakened before he did and decided Daniel needed to get up. His method included jumping on the bed and pouncing his sleeping guardian. Daniel grabbed the child and wrestled him down on the bed. That was when he found out that Jack was ticklish. Soon the boy was giggling and shrieking in several languages before Daniel finally let him up.

He sent Jack to brush his teeth, wash his face and hands, and get dressed. Daniel sat on the side of the bed smiling as the little boy skipped out of his bedroom. Jack was going to be a handful. Then his smile deepened at the thought. Jack was going to be his handful. Part of him wanted to just revel in the sensation. It was strange that he was starting to think of himself as a ... Dad. Right now though he needed to get up and dressed himself if he was going to keep up with his little handful.

Toast, oatmeal and juice were Jack's preferred breakfast menu at the moment, while Daniel sat across from him sipping a cup of coffee. Jack had always kept Daniel's favorite brand of coffee in the cupboard, so that was one thing that Teal'c hadn't had to pick up from the store.

Jack was full of chatter this morning, mostly about Sam and Janet's shopping skills and poor taste in appropriate clothing. Daniel would ask a question, each time in a different language, and Jack's chatter would continue in that language without missing a beat. Latin and Arabic had already been confirmed. Ancient Egyptian and its Abydonian derivative were next. The more modern languages seemed to confuse him. French, German and Russian were greeted with blank looks. Jack was more comfortable with older languages. English was simply being relearned, while Arabic related to a portion of Jack's adult life that he had spoken little of.

Cleaning the kitchen and putting the dishes in the dishwasher after breakfast was quickly accomplished, as Jack turned out to be a willing helper. After they finished Daniel expected Jack to want to either watch television or play with his new toys. Jack wanted neither. Fetching a book from Daniel's collection of mythology, Jack wanted Daniel to read to him.

Daniel felt pleased by the child's interest, and they spent a pleasant couple hours in the recliner with Daniel reading aloud about ancient Egyptian myths. As the names of the different gods came up, Jack had a comment for each of their Goa'uld counterparts.

"Dead."

"Crazy."

"No Threat."

"Dead Again."

And so on. It gave Daniel insight to what Jack was remembering from his adult life. He knew who the Goa'ulds were and their status. But other than basic facts, Jack had no emotional reaction to them.

Daniel closed the book firmly after a couple hours. He didn't want to push Jack too hard to remember, but he had to remind himself that is was Jack himself who brought him this particular book.

Daniel sent him off to play with the Leggos that Jack had already owned. The models of planes they once represented became a thing of the past as the child focused on creating his own wonder.

As the Daniel watched him, he sat down to make notes in his journal. Primarily it was to jot down his observations of Jack's knowledge and behavior. There was definitely an advantage of being an anthropologist as well as an archeologist.

On the surface Jack was a bright and loving five year old. But the differences were there if you looked for them. Jack was beyond merely bright. There was a millennia of information housed in that small skull. Daniel watched as Jack put together an accurate representation of a Mayan stepped pyramid. Oh yes.... Jack was light years beyond just being bright.