Toddling Along: The Mission
By
Gemsong

I thought it was a good idea. Daniel and Janet were finally going on a date. So I offered to baby-sit Cassie and Jack. Colonel O’Neill. Well he still is technically.

We’re trying to find an antidote for the drink that transformed him. We are still analyzing it, but still nothing conclusive. It has fascinating chemical properties. In order to reverse the aging process is difficult enough. But it goes beyond that. Just making the cell regenerate to younger state, we’re also talking about a loss of mass. Reducing the mass of an adult male to that of a toddler, without the loss of memory is amazing. Though he is clearly using more of his brain than a normal child of his age. We’re hoping it’s only a sign of his adaptation of maintaining his memories. On the other hand the increased brain activity could mean something entirely different. The colonel does have the ATA gene and has also had the ancient’s repository downloaded into his brain twice. And….

Sorry. Habit.

Where was I?

Oh yes. Babysitting. Cassie is 14. Jack is in a 2 year old body. How hard could it be? We’d eat pizza and watch TV. What was I thinking? Cassie and Jack were not in the sit still mode. The pizza was consumed. Noisily. Messily. Jack’s coordination isn’t what it used to be.

While I tried to clean up the mess, Jack chased Cassie around the living room both screaming at the top of their lungs. The last time I had a headache like this an Ashrak tried to kill me. In self defense I sent them outside hoping Cassie would wear Jack out. When Cassie was around Jack acted his current size. It was sometimes strange to see. It was like his adult self vanished. I mean we often accused him of being a big kid. But you can see it in the eyes. His eyes had seen so much. Even when he was downsized, that hint of darkness was still there. But Cassie always seemed to make it go away.

I heard Cassie counting in the back yard. Apparently they were now indulging in a game of hide and seek. That made me relax. That would keep them busy for a while.

I had pulled out my laptop to do some work when I heard Cassie’s voice.

“Ollie ollie oxen free!!”

What the hell does that mean?

“Jack, I give up.”

I got up and went to the sliding door and looked out. Cassie was standing on the deck. I didn’t realize how much time had passed. The sun had gone down and the yard was dark except for the porch light.

“Cassie?”

“Aunt Sam, I can’t find Jack,” the girl said looking worried.

“How long have you been looking?” I asked.

Cassie swallowed. “Since we started playing hide and seek,” she said. “Before it got dark.”

I felt my stomach tighten. “Jack?” I called.

Nothing.

I ran back to the kitchen and grabbed the flashlight and Cassie and I began a sweep of the backyard. Jack wouldn’t just disappear. We checked every spot a 24” toddler could squeeze into. The garage was locked. There was no way he could have gotten in there. I went to the front. No signs of struggle.

Yes, I was scared. Jack could have been taken. NID would have loved to get their hands on him. But there was nothing to be found. I turned around and noticed that the front door was partially open. I was now working my way toward frantic. I waved Cassie behind me and slowly re-entered the house. Nothing seemed out of place.

Wait. I was wrong. Chocolate chip cookies were lined up in a neat row on the coffee table. Each with a Jack sized bite out of it. He didn’t….

I hurried into the kitchen. There was a chair next to the counter and the cookie jar. The only things in the jar were crumbs…. The little monster. I’m going to kill him.

“JACK!” I yelled. Again. No answer. He was hiding again.

What kind of game was he playing?

We searched the first floor thoroughly. In every closet. Under every piece of furniture. No Jack. But I knew he was here. All the sneakers in the hall closet had knots tying them together and hanging from the doorknob.

I’m going to spank his behind black and blue. I don’t care that he used to be my commanding officer.

We still hadn’t found him by the time Janet and Daniel got home. I was close to panic at this point.

“You lost Jack?!” Janet asked.

“I didn’t loose him!” I replied. “The little beast is hiding and won’t come out!”

Daniel’s face contorted. I was sure if he was going to laugh. If he did I was going to kill him where he stood.

We made sure all the windows and doors were secured before we continued the search. I think we searched every single nook and cranny that boy could have gotten into. And still no Jack.

Until Daniel heard a noise. It was coming from a return vent in the den. Daniel knelt down and examined the vent. It was behind one of the easy chairs. We had looked behind the chair, but had seen nothing.

The screws on the vent had been removed. I pulled the chair out of the way as Daniel lifted off the vent cover. Naturally there was enough room for a two foot former colonel. A former colonel who was now currently sound asleep.

Jack was curled up in a ball holding a rolled up towel in his arms like a stuffed animal. His thumb was firmly in his mouth. Daniel gently pulled him out, but he never woke up. He just snuggled deeper into his arms.

I collapsed in the chair in relief. I’ll kill him later. Cassie pulled out a few other things that were in the vent opening. A small flashlight. A bottle of water. Cookies. A roll of duct tape. And a swiss army knife.

Daniel came back downstairs after putting Jack to bed. “You let him wear the black sneakers, didn’t you,” he said.

“What difference does that make?” I asked.

“I suppose I should have warned you,” Daniel said. “Those are Jack’s stealth operations sneakers.”

Janet hugged her daughter. “And a game of hide and seek gave him the opportunity,” she said. “The Jack-beast does things like that.”

I sighed. “I’m gonna kill him,” I said.

“Take a number,” Daniel said with a smile. I suppose he was at the head of the line. He had to live with the Jack-beast.

Fini