Part 12 – Passing Time

MacGyver woke to the sensation of something uncomfortably boney prodding him in the side. He shifted but it followed him leaving him no choice but to open his eyes and face the morning. It took him a minute to realize where he was. He had fallen asleep on Sam’s bed. It had been more comfortable than he thought it would be. He turned his head to find the source of his discomfort. He wasn’t alone in the bed.

At some point during the night both Daniel and Jack had joined him. It was Daniel’s boney elbow that was digging into his side. He rolled over and in his sleep Daniel immediately made himself comfortable against Mac’s stomach. On the other side of Daniel was Jack, tucked close to his brother looking protective even in his sleep. Mac couldn’t help but smile at the sight of them. Without thinking he put a long arm over the both of them. They cuddled closer looking like a rather strange set of Siamese twins joined at the forehead.

Mac chuckled to himself then lifted his head to glance at the clock on the nightstand. Eight a.m. They had all slept in.

“Rise and shine, munchkins,” Mac said jostling them a little.

Daniel made a ‘mmmph’ sound and tried to bury his head under the blankets. Jack blearily opened his eyes and blinked owlishly at Mac.

Mac smiled. “Time to get up, get washed up, get dressed and eat breakfast,” he said.

Jack rolled his eyes at him. “Well, duh,” he mumbled sleepily.

Mac grinned and climbed out of bed watching both boys gravitate to the warm spot he had left behind. He walked to the bathroom to shower. Thirty minutes later he walked out, clean and in fresh clothing. Jack and Daniel apparently had not moved from their warm comfy spot.

“I guess I’ll have to eat all the pancakes myself,” he said.

Daniel opened his eyes. Jack sat up. “He makes them the way I used to,” Jack said.

Suddenly two small boys were bounding out of the bed to fight over bathroom rights. Mac followed them out and headed toward the kitchen. He checked the answering machine but there was no message. Sam hadn’t called during the night. Mac wasn’t sure if that was normal or not.

He distracted himself by making pancakes. Fortunately Sam had the necessary makings for proper pancakes and not one of those instant mixes. It was the little dash of nutmeg and cinnamon that made all the difference. He had a stack of pancakes ready when his young charges entered the room.

“Set the table,” MacGyver said as they started to sit down. He pointed to the plates and silverware ready for them on the counter. Jack gathered the plates while Daniel grabbed the silverware to set the table.

Mac poured them a glass of milk when everything was ready and joined them sipping on a cup of coffee.

“Id mum caw?” Jack asked around a mouthful of pancake smothered in syrup.

Mac raised an eyebrow. “I thought Daniel was the one who spoke alien languages,” he said. Daniel giggled almost snorting his milk.

Jack chewed and swallowed. “Did mommy call?” he asked more clearly now.

Mac shook his head. “Nothing on the answering machine,” he replied.

“Can we call?” Jack asked. “In case she got busy and forgot about us?”

Mac looked a little surprised at that statement. “I doubt she would ever forget the two of you,” he said.

“If she’s working on a ‘speriment, she forgets everything like sleep and food,” Jack explained. “Danny used to do that all the time too.”

“Did not.”

“Did too.”

“Did not.”

“Did too.”

“Prove it!”

“Security tapes,” Jack said with a smug grin.

Mac smiled. “Regardless, I don’t think she would have forgotten about you,” he said. He distinctly remembered the protective mother bear that he saw when he showed up at their door.

“Can we call her?” Daniel asked wistfully.

Mac nodded. “After breakfast,” he said agreeably. It wouldn’t hurt to call her.

Finishing breakfast of course meant more than just finishing the food on their plates and the milk in their glasses. It meant putting dishes into the dishwasher and while Mac worked on removing the sticky fingerprints from the table. It also meant washing sticky fingers and faces before he would let them anywhere near the phone.

It was almost 10:00 when Mac finally went to the phone trailed by two very anxious little boys. He put it on speaker and dialed the number for the mountain. It was picked up after the first ring.

“Cheyenne Mountain Complex, how may I help you?” a male voice answered.

“This is Dr. A. MacGyver, ID 231984 Zeta Charles,” Mac said. “Please put me through to Major Samantha Carter.”

Daniel looked at Mac impressed. He sounded very official.

“Please hold,” the male voice said and there was a clicking sound followed by a faint hum and more clicking.

“I never realized there isn’t hold music,” Jack said. “Everywhere else I call there’s awful hold music.”

“Ssshhh,” Mac said with a smile. He suddenly imagined the muzak version of the air force theme and almost shuddered.

A moment later the male voice came back. “I’m sorry, Dr. MacGyver,” the man said. “Major Carter is currently dealing with a situation. Is there a message?”

Mac frowned slightly. “Tell her the boys are fine and miss her,” he said.

“I will make sure she receives the message. Thank you, Dr. MacGyver,” he replied and terminated the call.

Mac sighed and hung up the phone and looked at Jack and Danny. The disappointment in not hearing Sam’s voice was clear. “I’m sure she’ll call back as soon as she gets a chance,” he said putting an arm around each.

“Unless there’s a big problem,” Jack said.

“Like an alien disease,” Daniel said.

“Or a device,” Jack added.

“New alien’s with technology to share.”

“Foothold situation.”

“Goa’uld attack.”

“Okay, I get the picture,” Mac interrupted. He was about to say the two of them had too much imagination, but he had the feeling that all those things had happened at one time or another. “It’s Saturday,” he said. “How about we go skating?”

“I don’t know how to skate,” Daniel said.

Mac smiled and hugged him. “You’ll learn,” he said.

“What if mommy calls?” Jack asked with a touch of anxiety.

“All calls will be forwarded to my fully charged cell phone which I will have on me at all times, okay?” Mac replied.

Jack and Danny both nodded albeit reluctantly. He sent them off to their room to dress warmly. On the way to the local rink he would stop by the hotel and pick up his suitcase. He’d feel more comfortable in his own clothes. At least they fit him better. Jack as an adult had been a hair taller and more muscular, so the borrowed clothing was a little loose on him.

He listened to the sound of Jack advising Daniel what to wear. Mac could only hope that skating would distract them for a while.

***

Sam rubbed her eyes. They felt like they were full of grit. She shook her head and stared at the cube on the table. It was about a twelve inches on all sides and made out of what appeared to be metal. It was also covered with an unknown text as well as a series of blinking lights. Lights that were beginning to give her a headache.

Dr. Nunziata was on the other side of the large table with books and notepads scattered around him. His head was also on the table as he snored softly, exhaustion having finally caught up to him. Sam didn’t have the heart to wake him. He had been at this longer than she had. He had gotten little sleep during his stint with the Zarousdan’s and it had caught up with him.

The object had come from P3Q-4WZ. SG-11 had brought it back with them. It had been silent when it passed through the gate. But the moment the gate shut down behind them it came to life and the team went into a coma. The rest of the base didn’t seem to be affected, but General Hammond thought it best to put the base on lockdown until the situation could be resolved.

Which meant Sam couldn’t call home. She pulled the message slip from her pocket. An airman had delivered it hours ago. It had developed a number of creases from her re-reading the message. The boys were fine. They missed her. She missed them too. She wanted to go home to them. She didn’t even have a picture of them.

Nunziata suddenly snorted lifting his head. Sam stuffed the message back in her pocket as she looked at him. He had drooled in his sleep and it had dried along his cheek. “Off,” he said groggily.

Sam stared at him blankly. “What?”

“Off switch,” the linguist said then reached up and tapped two of the lights. The device blinked off.

Sam stared confused at the Nunziata and then at the inert box. Then she reached for the phone and called the infirmary. A harried Janet picked up her office phone.

“Janet… are…?” Sam began.

“They’re waking up,” Janet said abruptly. “I’ll call you back.”

The line went dead and Sam stared at the phone. Then she looked at the linguist. “How did you figure that out?” she asked.

“I have no idea,” he said with a shrug. I kept dreaming about the lights. Suddenly it hit me.”

“Good thing,” Sam replied. “I’ll let the General know. Hopefully we can go home soon.”

Nunziata scratched his cheek absently. “That would be nice,” he said watching Sam pick up the phone.

It had been a long day and a very long night. She had been away from home for almost 32 hours. For the first time she was aware of the passage of time and what it kept her from.