Chapter Text
GIVE AND TAKE
Part one
By
Annie
Daniel ran and ran, his legs pumping furiously, his heart racing. He skidded past the first open doorway and slowed to a halt, bending double to catch himself with his hands as his feet tangled and he almost fell. He took a quick look between his legs and couldn't see anyone behind him but then he heard Jack's irate voice calling his name and he straightened, grabbing the doorframe next to him with small fingers, using the jamb as a fulcrum to pull himself around into the empty storeroom. He turned as soon as he was in and leaned all his five-year-old weight against the door, shoving with all his might until it slammed shut. Breathing heavily, he stepped back, looked around his temporary shelter then turned and slid down the door till his backside hit the cold floor. He leaned forward, his arms resting on his bent knees, head buried in his arms and fumed with self-righteous anger, determined not to give in to the hot tears that stung his eyes.
~oOo~
Jack rounded the end of the corridor and stopped, his eyes scanning the long length of walkway before him. It was empty. *Dammit!* He slammed his fists against his thighs in frustration then set off down the hallway, peering in every open doorway and pushing experimentally on all the closed ones. He stopped at the end and turned around, his eyes sweeping left and right, wondering which fork to take. "Daniel!" he shouted. He waited a moment or two then hearing nothing, swung right and continued looking for his pint-sized friend.
He wasn't worried.
Daniel was upset right now but he wasn't stupid. He might be five years old physiologically and... yeah, all right, emotionally, but he was still bright and intelligent enough to realize that if he didn't come out of hiding soon Jack was going to be mightily pissed off when he tracked him down. "Daniel!" he yelled again, ignoring the curious stares of the military personnel passing by. "When I find you, you're going to be grounded till you're 35 again," he muttered under his breath, studiously ignoring for now, the little twinge of anxiety that rose up to form a lump in his throat. "Dammit, Daniel!"
~oOo~
Daniel sat for what must have been hours, if the cold seeping into his butt was anything to go by. His stomach rumbled, making him feel vaguely nauseous and he squinted at his watch in the dim light. One PM. That meant it had been about ninety minutes since Jack had told him there was no way he was going off world with SG3 to study the tombs they'd found on P5C171 and about 5 hours since he'd eaten anything. He was thirsty too, he realized and he stood up and looked around the storeroom, disappointed to find it was exactly what its name suggested - it stored things, paper mostly, Daniel could see. He reached up to a shelf and pulled down a sheaf of them, looking them over curiously. Requisition forms. He sighed. No sustenance there.
He moved back to the door and laid down flat on his belly, turning his head so he could look under the thin strip of space beneath it. He couldn't see any feet passing by or hear any sounds though light still shone into his small, dark sanctuary from under the door.
His stomach rumbled again and he stood up.
Maybe Jack wouldn't be too mad at him running away. A memory came to mind of a time when he'd run off from his mother in a market square in Egypt. When she'd found him, she'd shaken him hard by the arms then pulled him into a comforting hug, saying over and over again how glad she was that he was safe. Maybe Jack would be angry at first but then glad that Daniel was okay and had come back.
Mind made up, he reached up a hand for the door handle. When he encountered only the smooth, cool enamel of the door he looked up - and up. He groaned in frustration.
The door handle was there but it was at least twelve inches above his head.
~oOo~
"I believe we should begin with a floor by floor sweep, O'Neill," Teal'c said.
"Good idea," Jack concurred. "Walter, you got those floor plans for me yet?" He stepped over to peer at the computer screen over Sam's shoulder. "Do these cover everything? What about crawlspaces and stuff?"
"Somebody want to tell me what the Sam Hill is going on?" Hammond's voice was more concerned than annoyed.
Jack straightened and turned. "Daniel's missing, sir," he said concisely.
Hammond joined him next to the computer console. "When you say, "missing", do you mean he's just somewhere you haven't found him yet or - "
Jack felt the lump of fear he'd been swallowing down for the past hour rise up into his throat again. "I've looked in all his usual haunts, sir and he's nowhere to be found. We had a... I guess you'd call it an argument and he took off. I went after him but I couldn't find him."
"I see," Hammond replied though Jack was pretty sure he didn't. Not really.
He wasn't sure he could "see" why it had happened either. Daniel was 5 years old, for crying out loud. Did he really think Jack was going to let him go off world with a bunch of jarheads? Anything could happen and knowing Daniel, it probably would. He stifled his sense of self-righteous frustration for now and turned back to the monitor. "Let's do what Teal'c said and start from the bottom of the mountain and work our way up. Three teams ought to do it."
"Three?" Hammond sounded stunned. "You want to deploy three SGC teams to track down Doctor Jackson? Surely he can't be that hard to find. A child in this complex would stand out like a sore thumb."
"He's a kid, General," Jack said succinctly. "You wouldn't believe the places they can hide. Well, you probably would. You've got kids and grandkids. I remember Charlie taking off from me at the market once... " Jack stopped abruptly. Even now that particular memory had the ability to make his heart falter. He shrugged nonchalantly, shoving the memory away. "He was in a pet shop watching the puppies," he said to Sam's enquiring look. "The point is, this isn't a mall and there are no pet shops and this mountain can be a dangerous place for a five year old on his own."
He felt Hammond clasp his shoulder in a grip that spoke of understanding.
"Let's get those teams organized," Hammond said firmly. "Major, I want those plans printed out and issued to each team leader. Let's get to it, people."