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General Jonny Takes on ...
by Orrymain
“Daniel, how did this happen ... again?” Jack grouched.
“Well, we do have a soon-to-be dozen.”
“We're responsible parents. It's not like we're scrambled.”
“That's true, most of the time,” the archaeologist agreed, smiling down at two boys.
“Then how did this happen?”
“Eleven being divvied up six ways with most of those six showing up with their own bundles; plus, it's Monday.”
“Sure. That explains it,” Jack agreed sarcastically although he had to admit the truth inwardly. A sick cat, a misplaced lizard, a doll put in the trash (which he hoped was by accident) that had led to a lot of tears and the promise of an investigation later in the evening, a missing blue blanket, and a spat over the last bowl of Froot Loops had all been part of the hectic morning. “Daniel, how ...”
“Jack, it happened, so ...”
“Who's your caregiver?” the general questioned with a glare directed at the Munchkins.
Both boys shrugged and then it was Little Danny who said, “You didn't give us one.”
“Daniel!”
“Jack!”
“Daniel!”
“Jack, you were supposed to arrange ...”
“I said I'd call Mrs. Hannigan about Ash!” Jack clarified. “You said ...”
“The only thing I said about the Munchkins was that next week we needed to arrange a time for them to play at the Millers.”
As the children watched the verbal tennis match between their parents, it was clear that there had been a huge misunderstanding about which parent was to have made the arrangements, the result being that the two siblings were without a designated caregiver for the day.
“Okay, so we take them us. It's the only thing we can do,” the archaeologist stated, resigned to the only logical choice the couple had.
“Oh, boy!” Jonny exclaimed. Grinning from ear to ear, he looked at his brother and stated gleefully, “Little Danny, we get to go to the Mountain.”
“Today?” Jack squawked. ~Why today of all days?~
As it happened, both Jack and Daniel had important meetings they couldn't miss at Cheyenne Mountain. Daniel was meeting with the archaeology staff to discuss some recent off-world finds and determine the merits of moving forward, or not, with excavations, while Jack would be conversing about mission tactics with several SG team leaders.
“Well, I'll take Little Danny with me, and you take Jonny with you.”
Jack's eyes widened as he responded, “Daniel, little ears.”
Little Danny whispered to his fellow Munchkin, “Dad's afraid we'll hear something bad.”
“What choice do we have?” Daniel countered.
The truth was that the parents didn't have a choice, other than perhaps finding an appropriate babysitter once they reached Stargate Command. Therefore, after another groan of disbelief that they were in this situation, Jack, Daniel, and their very happy namesakes began the forty-minute drive to the top secret facility.
====
Jack looked around, seeking the best location for his son to play. Unfortunately, Level 27 of the base didn't present a lot of suitable options. His meeting with the team leaders was in the main conference room that overlooked the Stargate. Jonny would love watching the teams come and go, but the problem was that there was no guarantee that he might not witness something dire. In addition, the agenda included sensitive topics that just weren't appropriate for young ears.
There was only one place for Jonny to be, and that was in General Hammond's office. Fortunately, the general was in Washington D.C. for a couple of days, so his office was clear.
Taking his son's hand, Jack led him to the commander's office where he kneeled down to face the boy and lay down the law.
“Under no circumstances are you to enter the conference room. If you need anything, call Sergeant Davis. He'll be right outside the door,” the general instructed firmly while pointing at the opposite door. “Do you understand?”
“Yes, Sir,” Jonny responded, trying not to giggle. ~Covert, here I come!~
“Remember, this is Grandpa's office.”
As he closed the door to focus on his meeting, Jack had the feeling he was going to regret this day. He didn't know why, but there had been something about the sandy-haired boy's expression. He wanted to puzzle it out more, but with the arrival of Lou Ferretti, it was time for his meeting to begin.
====
Jonny looked out the door and giggled some more. His father had been very clear. He was not to enter the conference room or mess up Hammond's office. He had no intention of doing either. Instead, he would go on a mission, a secret one, to seek out any strange lifeforms on the base.
With Sergeant Davis attending to duties in the control room, the extremely confident boy headed out on his covert operation.
====
Jonny slid against the wall, his hands attempting to grip the gray covering. He'd almost been seen by Sergeant Siler. Stealthily, he moved slowly, finally rounding the corner and running swiftly to the next turn.
~Gotta get away; hafta find new lifeforms.~
Quietly, Jonny's game continued, amusing the boy and even some of those who had caught a glimpse of him.
“Isn't that O'Neill's kid?” one airman asked another.
“Yep.”
“What do you think he's doing?”
“Anything he wants to,” came the sarcastic reply from the man who had had a run-in with Jonny the first time the child had gone off on his own. That had been one too many times for him, and he wanted no part of Jonny today. “Let's get out of here.”
“Should't we tell someone he's running around SGC?”
“You do what you want, but I'm going in the opposite direction.”
The first airman shrugged and hurried after the second, not quite understanding the urgency to get away from Jonny, but going along nevertheless.
====
The lure of a familiar voice drew the young sleuth's attention. He wanted to avoid detection so he stayed 'one' with the wall, crouching down as he peeked through the door that was sufficiently ajar for him to see. He recognized his Aunt Sam, of course, but there was someone else with her: a new face, a strange voice, and definitely not someone who fit the mode of SG-1.
~I did it! I found a new lifeform,~ Jonny proclaimed proudly.
The 'lifeform' was Rodney McKay, a brilliant but annoying scientist who had not only lusted after Sam from the day they'd met, but who had always secretly desired to have the respect, regard, and stature of Daniel at Stargate Command. After having been relegated to working in Russia for a time, McKay finally achieved some satisfaction and appreciation while being assigned to Atlantis, the mysterious cloaked city of the Ancients where he still spent most of his time.
“Rodney ...” Sam interjected, her voice a mixture of exasperation and amusement.
“Sam, I'm not being unreasonable about this. You guys called me, remember? ‘Oh, Rodney, come back and help us solve our massive Supergate power crisis that no one else can figure out!' Any of that ringing a bell at all? Then you stick me in a lab with a bunch of so called scientists who look like they're maybe twelve and who wouldn't know wormhole if it shot out of the Stargate and disintegrated them all!”
Though Jonny knew Rodney's words were meant to be harsh, he was having trouble trying not to laugh at the way the man's arms gestured wildly and his voice got higher with each word. Still, he kept quiet, not wanting either of the scientists to notice his presence.
“Rodney, you're working with the best minds SGC has to offer.”
Rodney rolled his eyes so far back in his head that Jonny was a little afraid they'd turn completely around.
“Well,” the annoyed man continued, “then I certainly fear for the safety of this base and this planet because I'm fairly certain my three-year-old daughter can come up with more creative ideas given a box of crayons than the entirety of your ‘best minds can with limitless technology at their fingertips'.”
Jonny's eyes followed Sam's and Rodney's glances to the far corner of the woman's office. There, lying on her abdomen and staring intently at what appeared to be a coloring book, was a young girl sporting pigtails. She appeared to be totally unconcerned by the argument happening around her. Jonny guessed this was the daughter Rodney had mentioned and she was probably used to her father's ranting. He let out a small chuckle at the idea of having this crazy man as a father.
The sound must have been louder than Jonny thought because the little girl's head turned to look in his direction. He caught her eye for a moment before bringing a finger to his lips, signaling the girl to be quiet. She shrugged and went back to her coloring.
“While that might be true,” Sam argued, “you need to figure out how to work with these people so we can get this problem solved before there are any more accidents.” Inwardly, she groused, ~And maybe take lessons on how to play well with others.~
“Hey, I understand the severity of the situation better than any ten people on this base, but the fact remains that unless this team can figure out a way of not looking at the problem like some high school science club contest, we are going to be monumentally screwed.”
Jonny watched Sam rub her eyes the way she always did when she was frustrated.
With a groan, Sam asked, “What do you need McKay?”
Rodney cocked his head thoughtfully for a minute before answering, “My team.”
“You know we can't bring them all here.”
“How about just Zelenka then?”
Sam sighed, “Done.”
As Sam started to turn towards the door, Rodney added, “And some decent coffee. I swear, the stuff we used to ration was better than the stuff in the mess.”
Shaking her head in amazement, Sam agreed, “Fine. You want some lemonade, too?”
Though he wanted to, Jonny couldn't wait to listen to the outrage coming from Rodney because Sam was walking towards the door while laughing at her own joke. In a few more steps, she would see him. He quickly and silently backed down the hallway.
====
Deciding that he was hungry, the oldest Munchkin made his way to the mess hall. He couldn't reach the food trays, though, and he didn't want to look like he needed help. Thus, he ended up staring at a couple of the vending machines. A package of rope licorice got his attention.
Looking around, Jonny picked out his victim and approached her as she sat opposite another woman.
“Hi,” Jonny greeted as he stared at the pretty woman.
“Well, hello.”
“My name is Jonny. What's yours?”
“Marie.”
The woman leaned over, looking around as if she didn't want to be seen. The action made Jonny giggle inside. He liked her and was certain he'd made a smart choice.
“What are you doing here?” Marie whispered conspiratorially.
“See that licorice,” Jonny stated, pointing towards the vending machine. “It has my name on it.”
“It does? But it's inside the machine.”
“If I had two quarters, I could get it out and show you,” the negotiator put forth.
Marie laughed, reached into her pocket, and handed Jonny fifty cents. With a grin, the youngster retrieved a package of licorice and returned to the table.
As he plopped down the ten cents in change, Jonny announced, “I guess it wasn't mine, but it doesn't have anyone else's name on it. I'll have to keep it for evidence.”
“What a good idea,” Marie replied. “Um, Jonny, where's your daddy?”
Jonny shrugged as he opened the package while answering, “He's with the brains; that includes my brother, Little Danny. He's way smart, like Daddy.”
Chuckling, Marie realized her goof. She knew who Jonny was, of course, and that Jack was referred to as 'Dad' while Daniel was 'Daddy'.
“Where's your dad?” the nurse amended.
“In the conference room with Uncle Lou and a bunch of muscle. They're making tackle plans.”
“Tackle?”
“Yeah, tackle, so they can beat the bad guys.”
“I think you mean 'tactical' plans.”
Jonny had just stuffed a link of licorice into his mouth. He paused as he considered the correction.
“Ah, shucks,” the Munchkin sighed. “I made a mistake.”
“We all do,” Marie assured, giving the youngster an understanding smile. “Mistakes are part of life.”
Looking at the woman closely, Jonny asked, “What's your last name?”
“Hill.”
Jonny grinned as he responded, “You like my daddy.”
Marie nearly spit out her coffee. It wasn't the comment as much as it was the way it had been spoken and the look on the youngster's face.
“It's okay. Lotsa girls like Daddy.” Jonny laughed, “Daddy thinks it's funny.”
“He does?” Marie questioned, suddenly not feeling so at ease with the conversation.
“Yeah, cause Dad gets all red-faced and his veins bulge. Then they kiss and make up,” Jonny explained. “I have to go now. Thank you for the money. I'll tell Daddy so he can pay you back, okay?”
Marie was going to tell Jonny not to worry about it, but the boy was gone in a flash.
“Marie, do you really like Doctor Jackson?” the other woman inquired from across the table.
“Ellen, you've only been here a few months. You've never worked with or taken care of Daniel when he's been hurt, have you?”
“No, I haven't.”
“If you had, you wouldn't even bother to ask me about it.” With a smile, Marie suggested, “We'd better get back to the infirmary.”
====
Curious about the new lifeform, Jonny decided it was safe to return to Sam's office. He was still a few corridors away and was back to blending in with the wall, something that continued to amuse passersby and others who had noticed his presence. With precision, he inched his head to look around the next corner.
“Are you exploring too?” a young voice popped out of nowhere.
Jonny's head whipped around at the inquiry, startling him as he found himself face to face with the little girl he'd seen earlier. She was staring at him with blue eyes hidden by glasses that were slightly too big for her face.
Taken aback by her presence, Jonny faltered with a stuttering, “Uh ...”
“Beth! There you are!”
Jonny turned and saw the man Sam had been talking to earlier. He watched as Rodney rushed over and swung the girl up into his arms.
“Didn't we talk about the whole wandering off thing? If you accidentally get sent to another universe, your mother is going to feed me to the Wraith.”
~Wraith? Wonder what that is,~ Jonny thought.
The girl, Beth, just laughed and leaned her head against Rodney's shoulder, though her eyes were still fixed on Jonny. Rodney took the moment to realize Jonny's presence as well.
“Who are you?” the lifeform inquired as though the image of a child wandering the halls of the base were an everyday occurrence and he was merely curious as to the boy's name.
Jonny felt a jolt of stubbornness run through him. After all, his dad and daddy practically ran Stargate Command. This lifeform was an invader.
“Who are you?” the Munchkin demanded in what his daddy liked to call his 'general' voice. It didn't matter that he'd already worked out the man's name, the first rule of a covert mission was never let the enemy see how much you know. ~Dad said so.~
While her father was a little startled by the question, Beth just giggled.
“Look,” Rodney began, “you can't just wander around down here. You're a kid.”
Annoyed, Jonny rolled his eyes as he thought, ~He's not so smart.~ Then he pointed up at Beth and asked, “She your daughter?”
“Yes,” Rodney answered, a bit taken about at the query.
“Isn't she a kid?”
“That's obvious.”
“Well, *she* was wandering around.”
Rodney sputtered a few times and looked between Beth's smiling face and Jonny's defiant one.
~Too easy,~ the Munchkin opined silently. “You're no fun,” he accused before turning around and running down the hallway.
“Come back he...re,” Rodney groaned. “What kind of half-wit parents let their kids wander around?” Exasperated, he added, “They should be run out of town.”
Beth giggled some more, thinking Jonny was the cutest little boy she'd ever seen. Then again, living on Atlantis, her selection of little boys to observe was very limited.
====
Jack laughed, but was his laughter was cut short when Rodney came barreling into Sam's office.
“Sam! I think I figured out the problem. It's not that the Gate isn't getting enough power, it's that the routers are taking the power and reverting it back towards the sun instead of into the event ...”
At this point, Rodney looked up and noticed the other people in the room.
“McKay,” Jack greeted with a smirk. “Long time no see.” Inwardly he sighed, ~Thankfully.~
Aware of his Love's hostility, Daniel chastened mentally, **Jack, be nice. He's not that bad.** Wearing a polite smile, the archaeologist extended out his hand and spoke, “Rodney.”
Rodney shook Daniel's hand and nodded a little unsteadily at Jack.
“Daniel, General, it's ... nice to, uh ... nice to see you again.”
“Nice to not be underwater this time, eh, McKay?” Jack quipped, referring to a past incident at Atlantis.
“Yes, well,” Rodney responded as he shifted uncomfortably on his feet.
“What were you saying about the power routers?” Sam inquired, eager to get her business with McKay over with before a fight broke out in her office.
“Oh, right.” Rodney handed the blonde his tablet computer. “See,” he urged, pointing to something on the screen. “The real problem is that the gravity of the sun is keeping the energy from fully integrating into the Supergate, but that's not the real problem. I mean, it's a problem, but there's a much bigger ...”
“For crying out loud, get to the point, McKay,” Jack interrupted. ~We don't have all day.~
“We either need to move the Supergate further from the sun or we need to get some kind of gravity dampeners,” Rodney summarized. “And we need to do it immediately.”
“What's the rush?” Daniel questioned curiously.
“The rush? The rush is that the incompetents you call scientists here have been diverting massive amounts of energy into the sun for weeks while they tried to get the Supergate to work. You know, because if something doesn't work the first time the obvious answer is to keep trying in the exact same way.”
“Rodney ...” Sam began while rubbing the bridge of her nose again.
“Look at the numbers, Sam,” Rodney instructed. “If we stay this close to the sun, there's a good chance it'll, you know, explode.” All of a sudden, the visiting scientist's attention was drawn to the doorway. “Hey! That's that kid who was running around!”
The four adults turned and saw Jonny's head peeking around the door.
“You!” Rodney called out with vim as he headed for the door. “Get in here! What did you think you were doing before?”
“Hey! Knock it off,” Jack spouted as he turned irately toward Rodney.
Immediately, Daniel waved Jonny over, keeping him close while he waited to discover what Rodney was so upset about. As they stood together, his right hand rested supportively on Jonny's shoulder.
“That kid was an irritating annoyance earlier; he was roaming the hallways and ...”
“Look, whatever my son did, I'm sure he ...”
“Your ... your son?” Rodney stumbled vocally.
Jonny couldn't help but grin at the way Rodney began to backtrack. He smiled up at his daddy, content at the protection his parents were giving him.
“This is Jonny, and he knows better than to run around the SGC unsupervised,” the younger father rebuked with a glare that suddenly made the Munchkin a little less confident about the proceedings. ~We'll deal with his 'escape' at home.~
With a sheepish expression, the boy apologized, “Sorry, Daddy.”
“What were you saying, McKay?” Jack questioned while clearly enjoying how uncomfortable the man had become once he'd realized that he'd been yelling at the general's son.
**Behave, Jack,** Daniel warned.
**Nothing wrong with making him sweat a little,** the silver-haired man insisted.
“I was saying that ... that,” Rodney stammered, “maybe Sam should come back to the lab and see what we came up with.”
“Yeah, maybe that would be best,” Jack agreed smugly.
Sam rolled her eyes and followed the befuddled scientist out the door.
“That guy's funny, Dad,” Jonny opined. “Is he really an alien?”
Jack was poised to answer, but Daniel was quick to prevent an inappropriate response.
“No, Jonny. He's a scientist.”
Just then a noise permeated through the hallways.
“Beth, get back here!”
Grinning, Jonny ran out the door, quickly followed by Jack and Daniel.
“Beth, I told you not to do that,” Rodney groaned as he reached out and stopped his fleeing daughter.
“I'm sorry, Doctor McKay,” one of the female airmen on the base spoke. “She got away from me.”
“Doesn't anyone do their job around here?” retorted the bothered scientist.
“I'll be sure to let General Hammond know how you feel about the personnel,” Jack stated. “I happen to know he's putting together a new team to work with the Russians ... *in* Russia.”
As Rodney's face turned pale, he tottered in reply, “He can't ... he wouldn't ... I'm assigned to Atlantis.” Witnessing the general's smirk did nothing to relieve the man's discomfort. “I have a wife, and a child!”
“She was running down the halls,” Jonny piped up.
“That's his daughter?” Jack asked his son, who nodded in the affirmative.
“Imagine that. A little girl running around SGC, loose, unattended. What should the punishment for that be?”
“Run outta town,” Beth spoke up, echoing her father's words from earlier in the day. Just then, something else caught her attention. Her eyes brightened, and her mouth opened. She smiled as she nestled into Rodney's hold. “Who's that, Daddy?”
Jonny turned to see who was coming and then looked up at Beth and answered, “That's my brother, Little Danny.”
With the young genius was Janet, who was holding the boy's hand.
“Here he is, Daniel,” Janet announced. “He's been a great little helper to me in the infirmary.”
“It was fun,” Little Danny acknowledged. “Hi!”
“Hi,” Beth giggled, something that frustrated Rodney.
“McKay, please!” Sam called out, really wanting to get this day over with.
The man was about to say something snappy, but then he saw a look in Jack's eyes. If he wasn't careful, Atlantis would be a place he'd once worked instead of his current job site.
Quietly, Rodney backed away and then turned to walk with Sam to the lab where the issue of the Supergate was being discussed.
“Thanks, Janet,” Daniel stated appreciatively as Little Danny stood by his fellow Munchkin.
Janet nodded and then went on her way.
“Who was that?” Little Danny queried.
“An alien lifeform,” Jonny responded, making it sound like Rodney were a creature from outer space. He chuckled, “You should have seen how red his face got before.”
“How come?”
As the brothers chatted, Daniel looked at his husband and accused, “This is your influence you know.”
Jack grinned, stared at the two boys, and stated proudly, “You betcha.”
====
“Jack, you had to know,” Daniel argued later that evening when the two men were alone in their master bedroom.
“I was pressed for time,” the older man defended.
“You have to give him exact instructions, or he'll ... he'll ...”
“... look for alien lifeforms?”
“Something like that.”
Daniel couldn't help it. He laughed, and so did Jack. Jonny had told them both all about his day. While Rodney McKay had been the most fun, he'd had a lot of excitement, including having been saluted by airmen and his conversation with Nurse Marie Hill.
“He likes to have fun,” Jack rationalized.
“And he's honest.”
“Huh?”
“He pulled out forty cents from his piggy bank and told me to give it to Marie.”
“Daniel.”
“Jack?”
“Let's ... you know.”
With a grin, Jonny's row with Rodney McKay was forgotten in favor of some one on one loving attention that only Jack and Daniel could share together in their own special way.
~~Finis - Finished - Done - The End - But is it ever Really?~~