Author's Notes: Note: I wrote this under protest. I wasn't planning to write it from Teal'c's point of view. Teal'c insisted. If it didn't turn out OK, it's his fault.

Chapter Six
Hanging Out

As O'Neill and Daniel Jackson emerged from the bedroom, Teal'c rose from the chair where he had been waiting. There was nothing unusual in Daniel Jackson's dreaming. His nightmares had encroached into numerous missions, and his teammates had soon determined that he responded best to O'Neill when succor was needed. Since Teal'c did not believe the change in Daniel Jackson's size would alter his desire for O'Neill's presence, he had remained in the living room when Daniel Jackson's cries first became audible. Still, it had been difficult to wait with patience.

        Teal'c studied the child.  "DanielJackson, are you well?"
        Daniel Jackson's eyes were red and puffy, showing the signs of recent tears, but 
he didn't seem upset.  He was tugging on O'Neill's hand.  "I'm fine, Teal'c."
        The prompt declaration didn't reassure Teal'c at all.  As an adult, Daniel Jackson 

was often quick to dismiss his own feelings. O'Neill also frowned at the standard response.

"What?" Daniel Jackson glanced back and forth, noticing their scrutiny. "I'm fine. Really."

O'Neill sat on the sofa and pulled Daniel Jackson closer until the child was standing between O'Neill's knees. "Daniel, don't be afraid to tell us how you're feeling, okay? You don't have to pretend with us. If something's wrong, we want to know."

Daniel Jackson considered the two serious faces directed at him and nodded fervently. When O'Neill continued to frown at the ready agreement, Daniel Jackson's expression turned earnest. "Jack? I'm feeling real hungry."

O'Neill laughed, slapped his hands against his knees, and stood. "Right. Operation Feed the Kid."

As O'Neill headed to the kitchen, Daniel Jackson seized Teal'c's hand. Teal'c allowed himself to be towed in O'Neill's wake.

"See my Star Wars shirt?" Daniel Jackson chattered happily. "It has Yoda on it. I 'membered us watching Star Wars, so Jack said I could get it. And guess what? I got three shirts with Star Wars. See, Teal'c? Isn't it cool?"

Daniel Jackson released Teal'c long enough to display the shirt but claimed Teal'c's hand again as soon as Teal'c had said, "It is indeed a cool garment, Daniel Jackson."

The child grinned up at him. "I knowed you'd like it! Hey, Jack, can me and Teal'c watch Star Wars? And you and Sam? Can we, please?"

"After you eat, buddy." O'Neill found one of the sandwiches that Major Carter had prepared and set it and a glass of milk on the table. Then he returned to the refrigerator, calling back, "You good, T?"

        "I am, thank you.  I consumed sufficient nourishment with Major Carter earlier."
        Daniel Jackson halted beside the table and viewed the kitchen area with 
consternation.  "Where's Sam?"
        O'Neill popped the lid of his beer.  "She went back to work.  Some experiment 
she had to check or something."
        Daniel Jackson's lower lip quivered.
        "She was most reluctant to leave," Teal'c said.
        "We'll see her tomorrow," O'Neill added.  "And Teal'c's hanging out with us this 
afternoon, so you could watch two Star Wars movies."
        Daniel Jackson's face brightened.  "Really?"
        "After you eat," O'Neill reminded.
        Daniel Jackson scrambled onto a chair and started to shove a sandwich half into 

his mouth. When a third of it was inside, he opened his mouth wider and tried to stuff in more. He gagged. O'Neill snatched the sandwich back.

        "You're going to choke, Daniel."
        "How come it won't go down to here?"  Daniel Jackson frowned, pointing to his 
stomach.
        "You're not supposed to eat it all at once."
        "I'm not?  But you said I had to eat it before we can watch Star Wars."
        O'Neill rolled his eyes.  "You do.  But one bite at a time, okay?"
        Daniel Jackson looked down at the crumpled sandwich.  His shoulders hunched.  
"I'm not hungry anymore."
        "Daniel."
        At O'Neill's warning tone, the child hugged his arms over his chest.  O'Neill shot 

a frustrated look toward Teal'c, obviously not understanding the reason for Daniel Jackson's distress.

        "Come on, Daniel.  You were starving a minute ago.  What's the problem here?"
        When Daniel Jackson didn't answer, Teal'c said, "I believe Daniel Jackson is 
uncertain how the act of eating is performed, O'Neill."
        O'Neill's face flushed, and Teal'c knew O'Neill was angry with himself for not 

perceiving the difficulty. In the past, before Daniel Jackson's ascension, O'Neill would sometimes permit anger toward himself to bleed into disagreements with Daniel Jackson, and Teal'c worried that he might have to step in and protect the child, who would not know to push back the way the adult had. But O'Neill closed his eyes and exhaled heavily. When he opened his eyes again, the anger was gone.

O'Neill rubbed Daniel Jackson's hunched shoulder. "I'm sorry, kiddo. I didn't think. Here, let me show you how, okay? You watching? One bite about this size, chew, then swallow. Like this."

Gnawing on his lower lip, Daniel Jackson watched the demonstration. When O'Neill asked if he had any questions, he shook his head. His tense posture hadn't relaxed. O'Neill moved his hand to Daniel Jackson's cheek and held it there until Daniel Jackson focused on him.

        "Tell me what you're feeling, Daniel.  Please?"
        Daniel Jackson ducked his head and whispered, "I'm sorry I'm such a headcase."
        Teal'c felt the surge of guilt as he recalled Daniel Jackson huddled in a padded 

white room, murmuring those same words in a broken voice. From O'Neill's reaction, he remembered as well. He blanched and gritted his teeth, but his hand didn't falter from Daniel Jackson's cheek, and his voice was steady.

"Not a headcase, Daniel. Never have been. So you forgot some things. Big deal. I told you, we'll work with it. But you gotta talk to me, okay? Tell me when you can't remember something."

        Daniel Jackson gave a tiny nod.  "Jack?"
        "Yeah?"
        The child pointed to the glass of milk.  "What's that, and how do I eat it?"
        O'Neill demonstrated the concept of drinking.  Daniel Jackson's first attempts 

spilled milk down the front of his T-shirt and over the table, but O'Neill coached the child through his embarrassment. Teal'c was privately amused. He had always suspected O'Neill hid a patient, nurturing heart beneath the brash exterior he presented to the world. Faced with Daniel Jackson's vulnerability, it seemed that gentle core had slipped out into the open.

Unsurprisingly, Daniel Jackson proved a quick pupil. He was soon eating and drinking as if the incident had never occurred. In characteristic Daniel Jackson style, he tried to talk while he was eating until O'Neill explained the safety hazard behind such an action. Again, in typical fashion, Daniel Jackson ignored the advice until O'Neill accompanied it with a threat of no Star Wars movies if Daniel Jackson couldn't behave. Daniel Jackson shut up and finished his lunch in record time.

        "Done!"  The child swiped the back of his hand across his mouth so quickly that Teal'c, seated beside him, was sprayed with a shower of bread crumbs and milk droplets.
        "You go ahead with Teal'c.  I'll wash up in here and get you a clean shirt."  
O'Neill waved them toward the living room.  "Start without me.  I'll be there soon."
        But Daniel Jackson lingered in the doorway, watching O'Neill wipe off the table.  

Then he followed O'Neill to the bedroom. When Daniel Jackson dashed back out to show off his new T-shirt and "help" Teal'c set up the movie, Teal'c noticed how Daniel Jackson kept part of his attention tuned to O'Neill's movements. As soon as O'Neill wandered back to the kitchen to retrieve his beer, Daniel Jackson abandoned Teal'c and hurried after O'Neill.

O'Neill returned to the living room with Daniel Jackson trotting alongside. He settled on the sofa, and when Daniel Jackson curled up beside him, O'Neill placed an arm around Daniel Jackson and drew him closer. He did it absently, as if he had fallen into the pattern of having a child next to him without thinking about it. Teal'c observed it with silent satisfaction. He had not seen O'Neill so relaxed for many months.

Teal'c claimed the remote and the opposite side of the sofa. The movie started, and Daniel Jackson peppered them with questions, asking what things were and how they worked. In time, as the movie progressed, the questions slowed and finally stopped. Daniel Jackson had succumbed to the movie's spell. He watched in silent, wide-eyed fascination.

Halfway through the movie, O'Neill nudged Daniel Jackson closer to Teal'c. When O'Neill stood, Daniel Jackson sat straight up, coming alert like a hunted animal.

        "Jack?"
        "I'll be right back."
        Daniel Jackson started to rise.
        O'Neill gestured firmly.  "Stay, Daniel.  Watch the movie.  I'll be back in a couple 
minutes."
        Daniel Jackson's gaze locked on the doorway where O'Neill had disappeared.  

The movie had lost all appeal. Daniel Jackson pulled his knees close to his chest and began to rock. He didn't seem aware of his actions.

        "Don't leave.  Don't leave me alone."
        Teal'c's heart wrenched at the plaintive whisper.  He extended a hand and touched 

Daniel Jackson's shoulder. The child started, as if he forgotten Teal'c's presence, and turned. Tears and panic glinted in his eyes.

        "You are not alone, Daniel Jackson."
        Daniel Jackson stifled a sob.  Then he tried to smile.  Teal'c admired the effort, 

but he was not fooled. The child was trembling, the strain of holding back his terror more than the small body could manage.

Man or child, Daniel Jackson was the bravest person Teal'c knew. As an adult, he had accompanied his team into battle situations without recourse to military training. For his team's sake, he conquered fear as if it were an enemy like the Goa'uld, worthy only of his contempt. He pushed himself to perform in circumstances that would have scarred even hardened warriors. Now as a child faced with memory loss and haunted by unseen opponents, he was once again trying to work past his fear, rather than allowing it to paralyze him.

Teal'c knew Daniel Jackson expected to fight this battle alone. He would never ask for help or comfort, even when he needed it desperately. Still, if the help were freely offered, sometimes...sometimes he would accept it.

        "Would you care to sit with me, Daniel Jackson?"
        Daniel Jackson cast a glance toward the empty doorway, bit his lip, and then 

clambered into Teal'c's lap. He sat stiffly. Teal'c took one small hand into his own and twined the fingers with his larger ones. Daniel Jackson stilled, and at first, Teal'c thought he would jerk his hand free. Instead, the child clutched Teal'c's hand. After a minute, he sighed heavily and slumped backward. His head settled against Teal'c's shoulder.

Gradually, Daniel Jackson relaxed. His gaze drifted back to the movie. He sprawled over Teal'c, the small body molding itself to the solid contours beneath. Only his fingers retained any pressure, keeping Teal'c's fingers threaded with his own.

When O'Neill returned ten minutes later, Teal'c felt Daniel Jackson's head stir. The blonde hair grazed Tealc's chin. Daniel Jackson tracked O'Neill's progress into the room, but he stayed comfortably ensconced on Teal'c's lap.

O'Neill said nothing as he plopped back into his spot on the sofa, but when Daniel Jackson's attention returned to the movie, O'Neill glanced sidelong and smiled. It didn't surprise Teal'c that O'Neill had noticed Daniel Jackson's dependence on him and chosen this way to remind Daniel Jackson that he would never be alone.

With O'Neill nearby, Daniel Jackson became enthralled with the movie once more. He jiggled excitedly whenever the characters used the Force.

"I can do that." He flung out a hand, imitating a Force-push. "I used to, I mean. When I was with Shifu. I could think something and it'd happen."

O'Neill and Teal'c exchanged glances. They had both had the opportunity to witness Daniel Jackson in his ascended state. Despite the limiting rules imposed on him by the Others, he had done what he could to help them. Teal'c remembered that Daniel Jackson had seemed content, even happy, as an ascended being.

        Daniel Jackson sighed wistfully.  "It was fun." 
        Teal'c pondered that statement.  He remembered Daniel Jackson's rapture at the 

repository of knowledge contained in Heliopolis. A person of Daniel Jackson's genius and compassion was eminently suited to a life of enlightenment. Although Daniel Jackson's presence and talents had been missed at the SGC, Teal'c had taken great pleasure in imagining the delight his friend must have felt when ascension opened to him the enormity of the universe's mysteries. Teal'c was sorry the Others had denied Daniel Jackson that joy.

        "The Others have forced a grave injustice upon you, Daniel Jackson."
        "They was scared of me," Daniel Jackson said in a tiny voice that could barely be 
heard over the movie's closing music.
        "Scared of you?" O'Neill repeated incredulously.  "For crying out loud, why?"
        Teal'c stopped the movie with the remote to better hear Daniel Jackson's answer.
        "I wanted to help.  But the Others said if we helped, we might become like the 
Ori."
        "What are these Ori?" Teal'c asked.
        Daniel Jackson pinched the bridge of his nose as if he were battling the effects of 

a headache. "They're...like the Others. 'Cept they make people obey them. They pretend they're gods."

        "As the Goa'uld do."
        Daniel Jackson nodded to Teal'c's comment.  "The Others don't like the Ori.  So 
they said we couldn't do things, not even to help."
        "But you did," O'Neill said.  He was hunched beside the TV, poised to change the 
movie, but at Daniel Jackson's words, he'd turned to stare at the child.
        "I had to.  You know that."
        Teal'c would have expected nothing less.  Daniel Jackson always followed his 
conscience, regardless of the personal cost.
        "The Others told me to stop.  But I kept doing things."  He shrugged.  "So they 
punish-ted me."
        O'Neill's lips thinned.  "Dammit, Daniel, you sound like you're condoning what 
they did."
        Teal'c tightened an arm over Daniel Jackson's waist as if he could protect the 

child from the harsh words. But Daniel Jackson pushed the comfort aside, sitting up straight and countering O'Neill's frustrated anger with a glare of his own.

        "They hurted me, Jack.  It was wrong.  But...but I understand why they did it."
        It was not so surprising.  Understanding was truly Daniel Jackson's greatest gift.  

Because he understood, Daniel Jackson had befriended the ex-First Prime of Apophis who had stolen his wife Sha're. Because he understood, he had forgiven that same man years later for murdering Sha're. Daniel Jackson possessed the purest soul Teal'c had ever known.

Indeed, the Others had committed a grave error. It was not possible to separate Daniel Jackson from the path of enlightenment.