Daniel & Adrienne #71 - Roots

Daniel sat in the lab, trying to decipher the photos brought back the night before with one eye and watch to make sure Nicky was not doing anything stupid out of the other.  Not that he moved that much, he was only three months old, but he did that worm wiggle thing that meant he could get himself into the trouble.  

That and Adrienne had read in some book that he needed to be alternated between time on his stomach and time on his back.  

She’d set a timer to keep track of this.  

Daniel just guessed.

Jonas stood back in the lab each day and watched them argue over “tummy time”. 

What a life he led.

He looked over at his son to see what he was doing now and Nicholas was lying happily on his back looking up at the lights of the lab.  Daniel frowned and stood, walking over to the adorable little bundle, Daniel noting that his eyes were already darkening like his mother’s.

“Nicky, didn’t I put you on your stomach? If your mother comes in here and catches you staring at those lights she’ll kill me. I happen to like having to no longer sleep on a couch,” Daniel joked as he kneeled to the ground, smiling, reaching and grabbed the baby, flipping him back over onto his stomach.  

He stood again and returned to his desk, snatching the photos and looking at them without sitting, more and more pieces from Homer’s drive that he had smuggled in. They made his head hurt, Anubis was going way beyond cloning technology, he was still trying to get to Atlantis and offer up some biological weapons to the Wraith, but fortunately by what Daniel was reading he still had no way to get there. 

And, even more fortunately, he had no idea that Stargate command did either. Granted, Rodney was still running checks on systems, things that had been broken as Atlantis made its final desperate plunge into the San Francisco Bay, but they still had a working space station. 

Head throbbing already from the mess that he was expected to put together, his trance was broken when he heard cooing and peeked back behind him, smiling. This is why Sam was reluctant to let them tote Nicholas around the SGC like it was just normal to bring your kid to work; he was a distracting little booger. Now that he had stopped crying day in and day out he would just watch them as they worked, making little spit bubbles and funny noises. If possible, the child was more distracting than being madly in love with his assistant, Daniel resisting the urge daily to scoop him up and sit him on his lap while he worked, worried that Woolsey come down here and force one of them to take him home.

It was no better for Adrienne, either, who had taken to calling him her little Ewok, of course, but he was about as cute as the little fictional fuzzballs were. She did tend to break the ‘rules‘ they had created to avoid having to hire a babysitter, she would carry him around the lab in the sling that Yita had given her, talking to him in French and Latin as if he were the fourth member of their team here in archaeology.  Nicky made another sound this time, one that sounded like a laugh, making Daniel look over and he noticed that the baby was lying, face up, again.  

Frowning, Daniel put down the photos and knelt again, reaching and flipping his son over onto his stomach a second time. A crazy idea going through his head, he sat back on his heels, watching carefully as the baby wormed around a bit, wriggling left and right and just rolled over, cooing and bubbling yet again.

“Uh oh,” Daniel said, crazy thought confirmed,“That’s not good little guy.  Looks like I need to confine you now.”  Letting out a light laugh, when did he ever think he would be doing this, Daniel reached down and picked up the boy, cradling him in his arms and walking over to his wife’s desk. He knew she had the playpen around here somewhere; she didn’t like how Daniel just put a mat and a blanket on the floor and if Nicky was going to learn infant gymnastics this quickly, she might be right about keeping him in one place. Thankfully, it was there, right behind her desk, smashed into the small space where it was almost invading Jonas’ already limited work area, a work area now with two chairs, one for the Langaran and his friend, the now significantly less battered Homer Khalan. 

Damn the lab is getting awfully crowded.

With much struggling, Daniel held onto his child and shook the gadget open with one hand, trying to control the swears that were rising in his throat. He got it open enough to push it down and lock it into place and he walked over, grabbing the blanket from the mat where the boy was playing before, laying it down inside. It wasn’t quite how Adrienne set it up at home, she made Cam’s obsessive tendencies appear mild when it came to their son, but it would do.  Breathing out, he placed Nicky in the center, dragging the playpen back to the side of his desk.  

“Try to escape that. See, we need to work together.  Your mom always sticks you in this cage and I was trying to give you some freedom.  Now, you’ve gone and messed that up,” Daniel smiled down at him, turning again to look at the data, one image in particular, the one of Anubis in his new form, a eerily evil yet beautiful woman, chilling him to the core.

“Dada,” he heard behind him, startling him, Daniel spinning around fast staring at Nicholas over his glasses.  

“What did you say?” he asked, looking down into the crib at the boy lying on his back, what looked like a grin creeping across his face.

“Dada,” he answered. Daniel put the file down again, leaning over.  

“I thought that’s what you said,” he replied.  Frowning and not taking an eye off of the child, who was now making bubbles again, he reached over to the desk and grabbed the phone.  

Let Addy use her library of parenting books and development spreadsheets, he thought, I prefer live help.  

Still keeping his son in his line of sight, Daniel tucked the receiver under his neck, dialing the extension.

****

“Good morning Daniel,” Teyla said nicely into the phone. She didn’t need to bother asking who it was; Daniel was the only person who would call her this early in the morning while she tried to teach Torrin.  

She knew he would have another question.  

It was very funny, Daniel would ask his Athosian friend so he could prove to Adrienne he knew what he was doing, even though Adrienne knew full well that he wasn’t reading those books and every ounce of his baby knowledge came from observing others and not practice. He’d done a pretty good job so far, not that this was a competition or anything, but Adrienne was finally getting the hang of things and, well, it was a competition. Daniel wasn’t stupid, he knew why Adrienne was journaling so much, she was keeping score and right now he was still in a major parenting points deficit for the time dilation device and the poop on the wall. 

“Hi Teyla,” Daniel answered sheepishly, slightly embarrassed that he called her so much, but just went right into his question. 

“When does a baby begin speaking?” he asked quickly, already searching the internet for the answer himself, he just wanted two sources of input. Teyla laughed a bit and Daniel instantly felt stupid.  For someone that could speak twenty eight or so languages, parenting was something that was taking a bit to understand and there was much more to it than he had known, especially when you couldn’t hand the kid back to someone else. Still flushing, he waited for the giggles to subside and the Athosian to clear her throat.   

“It depends, but I think you are getting to be a bit like Adrienne. It will be a few months still so please do not worry,” she said tenderly.  

A bit like Adrienne, he thought, Adrienne who is mapping out the boy’s developmental milestones like it’s some data to be analyzed. 

Unconvinced, Daniel looked back over at Nicholas who was happily cooing on his back looking at some dangly thing Adrienne had attached to the side of the playpen as he let out a sigh.  

“Are you sure?” he confirmed, wondering now if he was imagining things, but he had seen Nicky’s mouth move; he saw him say ‘Dada.’

“Yes, I am certain. Please do not worry. You two are doing just fine,” Teyla replied.  Not knowing what else to do, maybe he was just imaging things, Daniel thanked her and hung up, peering back over into the crib.  

“Nice try, but I’m beginning to think that you’re not on my side,” he said to Nicholas.  

Without further comment, from either Jackson, he sat back down to keep working.  

*****

Like clockwork, Adrienne came down from working with Rodney to feed Nicky at eleven.   Sam had all hands on deck working overtime in the ancient lab on Atlantis as well as the items moved to the SGC, Adrienne working with Leita, their new friend from Aetla, as Jonas, Homer and Rodney communicated with her via satellite from San Francisco.

“You gonna try to breastfeed again today?” he asked, Adrienne’s happy face scowling. He hated to ask but she just kept trying, she hadn’t given up for weeks, even though the formula that Vala was forced to use a month ago was what he seemed to prefer. 

“Yeah, I’m still pumping you know, I just don’t understand why he won’t go back to it. I looked it up and a lot of babies do after things like this happen, a parent in the hospital or child, I just, ugh...” she rambled, she really did ramble like he did now more than ever and it was adorable. 

“Either way, at least we get to see you,” he chose as his response, a safe response, although he was going to mention to Carolyn that Nicky was still refusing to go back to breast milk in case they should be worried.

Sighing, he shouldn't have brought it up, he watched as she closed the lab door and set herself up in the corner.  She took a seat, tucking her shirt behind her neck before securing the bubbly mess from the playpen, trying again to get him to feed. Daniel had bottles just in case, but maybe he would take it today, but he didn’t, Adrienne sighing and securing a bottle from her desk drawer, apparently anticipating that as well. 

As he watched her feed their child he debated on mentioning anything to her about this morning’s events maybe it would cheer her up because it was something new, maybe it would upset her that she wasn’t here, but he wasn’t sure. 

The rolling over was normal, he knew, he had asked Teyla about that last week when Adrienne had scolded him for putting the baby on a mat on the floor, but the ‘dada’ thing was still bothering him.  Nicky hadn’t said it since and it might just be sleep deprivation since he had replaced his staying up all night with a screaming child with working on finding Anubis before he could hurt any more innocent people. He decided against mentioning the speaking, trying to focus on the positive of this next developmental milestone.  

“He rolled over today,” Daniel said carefully, waiting for a reaction.  

“Really?! And I missed it stuck in that damn lab,” Adrienne replied, sadness creeping up in her face.

Dammit, he thought, bad choice. Standing, he shut the folder, walking over to the pair, resting his hand tenderly on her shoulder. 

“Technically I missed it too; he did it when I was looking at those photos from Homer. I thought I’d lost my mind,” Daniel admitted and Adrienne laughed, adjusting the baby in her arms to kiss his head.

“I’d have paid to see that; probably looked like a bad sitcom,” she teased and he leaned down making a face right in hers, kissing her properly. 

“You’re so awful to me,” he said in reply, returning to work to let her resume what she was doing. He sat there, watching, his wife and his child, a scene he never thought he would ever witness in his entire life.

I’m so very lucky...

Adrienne finished up, Nicky sucking down the last of the bottle, she was really gonna have to bump him to eight ounces soon, burping him as she sang his song, much better than he did in Daniel's opinion. The child did as she wanted, he really was such a good baby now that the fussing had subsided, and she walked Nicky over to the crib and put him back, kissing him lightly before letting go.

“Now I’d say behave for Daddy, but I never do, so just try to make sure he doesn’t have a heart attack,” she giggled, coos and bubbles her reply. 

Smiling, it was good to see her smiling again, Adrienne walked back to join him, leaning over to kiss him as well. She looked stressed, she was like this a lot lately, Anubis’ plan to attack Earth head on with a Clone/Rebel Jaffa army weighing on her as much as it was weighing on him. She’d upped her training, dragging Nicky’s playpen into the gym, fighting Ronon, Teyla and Teal’c until she could no longer move, returning to their quarters sometimes a battered mess. It worried him, so very much, but exercise and training in one form or another was always her way of dealing with things so he kept his comments only to asking her if she needed a massage in the shower or for him to look at an injury.

He didn’t want to upset or stress her further, he liked having Nicky around even though he was barely getting anything accomplished. It gave him someone to talk to when Adrienne wasn’t there because he had to admit, after years of sitting in a lab alone he had grown accustomed to having an assistant to bounce ideas off of, an assistant who was now his wife and the mother of his child. 

I love the sound of that...

He grabbed her hands as she went to leave and brought his forehead to hers, kissing it lightly and pulling her close. 

“You don’t have much to say, are you alright down there?” he asked, this much of the worry he was refusing to hide. She just sighed and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his chest, taking solace in his embrace.

“Yeah, Rodney’s being nice for once. No snide remarks or threatening to beam over because Leita and I are too stupid to make sense of it all. I’m just tired, that’s all,” she said, cuddling into him, smiling as she did. Regardless of what was coming, what they all knew was to come, Adrienne couldn’t help but smile standing here in his arms because Nicky would have one thing that neither she nor Daniel had much of growing up, two parents that loved each other, or so she hoped.

Sighing, she had tossed more than usual last night, he hugged her tightly, running his fingers through her hair.

“You need to stop doing so much yourself Ad, there comes a point when you have to realize that you’re human,” he scolded gently and she nodded into his chest. 

“I know, I know. But look, you’re helping so much today keeping him with you, even though I miss the little guy. But I can’t let him come here and...” she said, trailing, Daniel pulling back to gaze down into her eyes. 

“Well, go try to finish up early or something. This little chunk is gonna take me a while, but I can bring it home once you’re finished with Rodney for the day,” Daniel offered preferring to work with a plate of cajun food in front of him. Agreeing, Daniel still hoping she would cook and continue to spoil him, she’d been doing that a lot lately, Adrienne squeezed his hand and headed back down for the elevators.  

*****

About thirty minutes later Daniel stood quietly from his desk since Nicky had fallen asleep right after eating.  Tiptoeing over to the small fridge by Adrienne’s desk, the longer the boy slept the more he could get accomplished, he decided to get himself a soda.  He bent over, opening the door so slowly and so quietly that he was sure Nicky wouldn’t be disturbed.  Fingers inching forward, careful not to make a sound, he grabbed the bottle of soda and shut the door, turning back to his desk on the balls of his feet. 

Made it, he thought, taking a step forward when he heard shuffling in the playpen. Debating whether or not he should check, leaning toward checking, he moved just as quietly back over toward the portable crib, peering in cautiously.  

Nicky was staring right at him, wide awake.  

“This is why your mother’s tired Nicholas.  You need to sleep once on a while,” Daniel fussed, trying to figure out how to make the child go back to sleep, he needed the time to get something finished. He wasn’t crying, though, so Daniel assumed there was no diaper to be changed, no cuddles needed so he returned to his desk, hoping the child would lull itself to sleep. 

“Dada,” he heard the moment his butt hit the seat, Daniel closing his eyes tightly. He tried to ignore it, knowing after talking to Teyla that he must be imagining things.  Refocusing, he brought the magnifier over the photos and began to read once more, deciphering the coded instructions that Homer said were being transmitted to ships of clones all over the galaxy.

“Dada!” he heard louder, Daniel looking up but trying desperately not to peek into the playpen.  

“I’m losing my mind.  This must be sleep deprivation,” he said to himself, sighing, his eyes wandering over to the playpen.  

Nicky was looking at the little dangling object again, not talking, no coy smiles, not even the bubbles this time, just cooing happily at the toy.  Reaching under his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose, Daniel tossed his frames aside, peering at the soda and debated on calling to see if someone could bring him a coffee. 

A strong coffee.  

He could text Teal’c; he was still training cadets in the gym and he wouldn't mind in the least even standing with Nicky in case the boy did fall back to sleep, letting Daniel get some java.  He checked his son once more before reaching for his cell phone, letting his thumb scroll down the contacts. 

“Nicky, I’m dragging here so I’m gonna call Teal’c down to hang out with you while Dad gets his caffeine fix ok? Life lesson number one, coffee is the elixir of life,” he joked, smiling down into the portable bed as Nicky gazed right back at him.  

“Uh huh Dada,” the baby said.  There was no mistaking it, Nicky spoke, adding a little something this time and Daniel watched his lips move as he said it. Standing, his jaw practically to the floor, Daniel scrolled down his cell phone contacts, this time looking for a different name. 

*****

Teyla, Torrin walking beside her, was there ten minutes later. 

“Daniel, it is just not possible, even an advanced child still is not going to speak for months,” Teyla explained, leading Torrin over to the playpen.  Curious, he stood on his toes and peered in, squinting his small brown eyes.

“Momma is Nicky talking?” Torrin asked, but Teyla shook her head, that kind smile across her face as though she were humoring Daniel, which she was, but he was certain now that he wasn’t going insane. Torrin scrunched up his nose and glanced back in at Nicholas, the look on his face unsure as to which adult exactly he should believe.

“Hi Nicky! It’s Torrin.  Say TORE-EN,” he repeated slowly.  Eyes darting between his son and Teyla’s, Daniel just stood and watched, hoping Nicky would speak or do anything out of the ordinary. Not that he wanted his son to be strange, he just wanted someone else to witness what he was witnessing because he wasn’t crazy; Nicholas had answered him.

Dear Nicholas, however, didn’t say a word.  

Back to feeling crazy, he KNEW he has seen the boy talk, he KNEW it, Daniel signaled Teyla over to him, bringing his mouth to her ear. 

“He does it when I’m not looking,” Daniel tried, remembering the last time, when he got the answer was the only time he had seen him do it, slipping back to hide behind his desk.  Shaking her head, Teyla grabbed Torrin’s arm, leading him behind her, just far enough where the smallest Jackson might not be able to see his visitors.

They all stood for at least five minutes watching the playpen, looking for something, anything, Daniel even trying to make it look like he was leaving the lab, slinking slowly and deliberately past.

Nicky, again, said nothing.  

Teyla allowed this to go one for just a few more moments before looking over at Daniel, shaking her head. 

“Is he sleeping at night?” she asked and Daniel let out a sigh. He was sleeping, sorta, not crying so much as just babbling, cooing, making general noise and wanting to eat constantly. He was about to explain those very facts to Teyla, that it really was better now and they were just getting by, when Teyla looked at him like a concerned mother. 

“Daniel, I have seen Adrienne.  She is exhausted.  You look exhausted. You two should take more time to rest.  You returned after the birth and if I am not mistaken you remained home only three days and Adrienne merely a few weeks.  That is not long enough. You need rest, both of you, and you should be sleeping when he does,” she scolded, her speech might as well be coming from Carolyn Lam herself, pointing at the boy.  Oh and Sam, Teyla was starting to sound like Sam too, who had been spouting the same advice for weeks.  

Everyone claimed that they had everything under control, that no one could know when Anubis was coming and sacrificing time establishing their new family wasn’t worth it, but both he and Adrienne just didn’t see it that way. To them by not being right there helping they were just sitting back and inviting Anubis to start ripping that very family apart. Yet standing here, that little mini-Addy blowing bubbles in his direction, he was starting to think that maybe they were right. 

He didn’t say anything however, or try to explain, he just nodded in silent agreement.  The look of concern still on her face, she knew full well that he wouldn’t listen, Teyla placed her hand on his arm and grabbed little Torrin, leaving the lab. 

Ok, I’m tired, I need a nap, we both need a nap, he thought, for the first time that he could remember sad that Vala wasn’t on base. She was a great babysitter, well, she and Ronon, and even after their stupid time dilation incident she would still step up and help out. Problem now was that she had been gone for two weeks on a scouting mission with Anise and the Tok’ra, coincidentally when Nicky starting going through his latest non-sleeping phase. 

Decision made, Daniel walked to the phone to dial Adrienne.  If Rodney was being nice maybe he could convince him to let her leave and let Leita continue the feed, or send Jonas back here to work with her, allowing them both take a few days to do just that, sleep.  He could really use it, his fist covering his yawn reminding him of just that. Phone to his ear for the third time in as many hours, it was ringing slowly when he peered over to the crib as Nicky began kicking wildly. 

“Hi Dada,” the voice from the crib said.  Eyes wide, he set the phone back down on the desk, shaking his head in disbelief.  

“Really? Now? You wait until she leaves and I’ve convinced myself that I’m going insane and you say it now?” he asked his son but the baby just lay there, back to cooing and bubbles and watching the toy perched in his line of sight. 

“Hello? Hello? Indy is that you?” her voice blared through the phone, Daniel remembering his discarded call, grabbing the device and shoving it to his ear. 

“Ad, are you busy?” he asked, standing and leering over his son who no longer seemed to care that he was in the room. 

“Is that a rhetorical question?” she responded, laughing, Daniel able to hear that she didn’t catch the serious tone in his voice. 

“No, I just need you to come down here,” he replied quickly, a pause on the other end. 

“Sha is everything alright?” she asked, Daniel’s own worry kicking into overdrive.

“Yeah, I just need to talk to you, about Nicky,” he said, once again, classic Daniel poor choice of words.   

“I’ll be right there,” she answered, almost cutting off of her own words as she hung up.  Hoping he didn’t terrify her completely, Daniel put the receiver in the cradle and looked one more time at the baby.  

“Dada,” he said, looking right back at him. 

“You just keep that up; Mommy will be here in just a sec,” Daniel said to the small human in front of him.  

“Dada,” the baby replied.  

*****

Adrienne was there so quickly that Daniel knew she chose to run down the stairs rather than wait for the elevator, five flights of stairs.  He was glad she had started running again, otherwise she would have hurt herself in her frantic dash. She hit the door to the lab, out of breath, grabbing the door frame scanning the room for their son.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, gasping for air.  

“Nothing,” Daniel assured, stepping forward to grab her shoulders and halt her frenzied advance, “he’s just fine. I just want you to hear something.”  Pulling away, Adrienne walked over to the crib quickly and peered in, gazing back at her husband in confusion.

“Hear what? The cooing? I know it’s early but he’s been doing that a few days now,” Adrienne said, leaning over to pick him up but Daniel shooed her hands away and grabbed her arm. She started to pull away, protest, but he shook his head, leading over to his desk and sat down, pulling her into his lap.  

“No, just wait a minute. He’ll do it again,” Daniel whispered.  Adrienne began to speak but he just clamped his hand over her mouth, nodding in the direction of Nicky.  At a complete and total loss, Adrienne peered at the boy and then back at Daniel, rolling her eyes and relenting. Happy for the break, she leaned back against him, having missed him today, and relaxed as he wrapped his arms further around her waist and hugged her tightly. Together they sat there quietly, staring at the playpen.  

Once again, though, nothing happened.  

Giggling softly, Adrienne leaned back and kissed his cheek, nuzzling her face into his neck. 

“At what point is he gonna do again whatever it is?” Adrienne asked. Daniel let out a grunt, freeing her from his clasp and pushing her gently to stand.  She looked back at him, still confused, her hands on her hips, shaking her head in bewilderment. 

“He said Dada,” Daniel admitted, not mentioning the other small words, THOSE he could have imagined, but ‘dada’ he KNEW was clear as a bell. The cynical Cajun of a wife standing before him however simply giggled, Daniel feeling foolish instantly. 

I didn’t make this up...did I? 

“Indy, I told you he’s been cooing, you’ve heard him. He cooing A LOT. You probably just misinterpreted something,” she said sweetly in that way that she did when she was  addressing the IOA, and he almost called her out on it when she brought her hand to his face, kissed him lightly, so softly, and he relented, kissing her in return, passionately, standing here in the lab, letting himself get carried away...

Damn distracting Adrienne...

There was wild kicking, Nicky moving in his crib and Daniel shoved Adrienne out of the way in a flash, glaring wildly down into the playpen.  

“Come on Nicky, do it again. You’ve been doing it all day little guy,” Daniel pleaded, Adrienne’s eyes rolling again, as she walked up behind him, running her hand softly up his back.  

“All day?” she asked. Daniel looked back at her, his face full of exasperation.  

“Yes, all day. Without fail the minute I start to work on something I hear Dada, and there he is, just smiling and cooing away like he knows he’s messing with me.  He is definitely your child,” Daniel said, shaking his head.  Frowning now herself, Adrienne looked back at the playpen and knelt down, this time picking Nicholas up, holding him in the air as she looked him over.

“Are you driving Daddy insane?” she asked, “Are you? Good boy! He deserves that every once in a while,” Adrienne told the baby playfully. 

Great, Daniel thought, now I’ve got Adrienne thinking I’m crazy. She’s gonna LOVE having fun with this....

Daniel made a face at her as she danced around the room with the bubbling baby, tickling him and laughing about Daniel being bonkers, so he just went back to sit down, resigning himself to the fact that his son wasn’t going to say a word.  

“That’s not funny ja-wer; I’m not crazy.  He said it, at least five times, maybe more,” he was stern, frustrated because he knew what he heard and he heard ‘dada.” Pulling out his chair to take a seat, he slammed himself down, grabbing the data again that he had been working on, or trying to work on, all day.  

She felt bad as she watched him, having a little ‘fit’ as she called them, so Adrienne walked Nicky right over to him, bouncing the baby now in his face.

“Come on,” she changed her tune quickly, “Rodney thinks it’s an emergency anyway.  He needs to eat again and then we can go home and go to sleep; Leita has this under control. It’s just straight translation and by what I see so far, he’s still not in any position to show up just yet unless you’ve found something here. I think we both need sleep, badly, and we can just throw all three of us in the bed and crash,” she said and sat back down in his lap. Sighing, it is probably just sleep, Daniel wrapped his arms around his family, squeezing them both tightly.  

*****

“Dada,” Daniel heard as he rolled over in the bed, the voice invading his sleep, his dream of being at an endless buffet on a tropical island interrupting by the tiny little voice that was becoming his nightmare. 

This time it was from behind him.  He was facing the closet, so he rolled over toward the middle where Adrienne had placed Nicky between them to sleep when they got home, plan C, so they could just pass out watching television.

There he was, happily cuddled between mom and dad and looking right at him, cooing and bubbling.

“Dada,” the baby said. 

That little shit...

His eyes locked on the child, Daniel reached over and shook Adrienne. 

“Ad, wake-up, he did it again,” Daniel hissed, shaking his wife strongly and she smacked his arm, pulling away.

“Did what Indy?” she asked, half asleep. Well, at least she knows it’s me, he thought as she stayed right where she was, her back to both of them, facing the window.  

“He said ‘dada’,” Daniel whispered, Nicky wide awake, eyes right open, looking right at him, “Do it again,” he ordered the baby.  

Nicky didn’t say a word.  

Remaining right where she was, still on her side, still facing the window, still not moving a muscle, Adrienne just laughed.  

“Daniel, you were dreaming, go back to sleep before he cries or something,” his wife whispered from her side of the bed.  Sighing, that was all he seemed to be doing here lately, he reached out and put his hand on her arm, missing holding her close while he slept.  Lips pursed with frustration, he looked down at the baby again. 

Nothing, absolutely nothing.

“I can’t cuddle her AND you’re toying with me. This is not a good direction to take our relationship,” he told the boy, closing his eyes again.  

*****

When Daniel woke up both Adrienne and Nicky were gone.  

He sat up in bed, stretching a bit.  He must have been tired because right now he felt so refreshed, and to make it that much better, he smelled real food.  

Adrienne must be cooking dinner.  

The alarm clock on his side of the bed said 7:30 in the evening, later than he expected. They had returned home at two, so it seemed as if he had slept through the better part of the day.  He just hoped that Nicky had allowed Adrienne as well to get some much needed sleep.  Throwing back the blanket, Daniel got out of bed, stretching as he did and didn’t bother to dress, just headed down the hall in boxers and a t-shirt.  

“This is how well I know you,” Adrienne said, “I knew food would wake you up,” she smiled and kept cooking. By the smell he could tell it was Mexican and he was momentarily disappointed; the cajun throwback must be out of her system now that Aunt Barbara’s visit was a seemingly distant memory. He sat down, laying his head on the table, resting it on his hands, relishing in the opportunity to just relax and listen to the sounds of her moving around the kitchen. 

“Daniel, go back to bed, you look exhausted,” she said, Daniel peering up to assure her that he wasn’t and saw that she was adding more spices to the pan.

Yep, she was feeling better; he needed to make sure that they had milk.

About to stand and find out, he turned his head to face her when he realized she was standing alone in the kitchen.  

“Where’s Nicky?” he asked.  Adrienne pointed the spoon in the direction of the nursery, the room that used to be her office, winking. 

“In there. Asleep. It’s a miracle,” she answered, starting to spoon food onto two plates as Daniel clanging around the kitchen, looking for what might ensure that his mouth would not be set on fire.  

“I swear sha, if you wake that baby up I will kill you slowly, with this spoon,” his wife warned.  Setting the milk and a glass on the table, he slipped out to make sure the boy was still asleep, creeping slowly to the baby’s room and weaseling through the space between the jam and the slightly ajar door.  

The lights to the small forest decorated room were out, but Nicky still had his Ewok nightlight on, shining glowing Star Wars creatures all over the walls. It made him shake his head every single time he saw it, that he let her do this to the room, but he pushed the thought aside, walking over to the small cherry crib and peering in. 

Nicky was wide awake. 

Adrienne was gonna kill him. 

Daniel started to sneak away hoping she wouldn’t come up behind him when he heard it.  

“Hi Dada,” Nicky said joyfully.

“Why you little,” Daniel started to say when he felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned, caught red handed. 

“You’re lucky I love you so much Indy otherwise my spoon threat would have been a promise. Grab him and put him in the little bouncy thing while we eat,” Adrienne said, patting his shoulder and starting to leave but Daniel spun around, grabbing her arm quickly.

“You heard him right?’ he asked, knowing that the timing had to be just right; she had to have heard, there was NO WAY she missed that.

Adrienne, however, laughed at him.  

“Let me guess, ‘dada’ ” she said, Daniel picking up Nicky and holding him to his shoulder, walking past his wife without comment.

“I’m gonna borrow some cameras from Sam,” he said, to no one but himself, heading for the kitchen.  

*****

Daniel volunteered to keep Nicky with him the next day, knowing that Jonas had two more days in San Francisco, Vala was off-world so no fake aunt nosiness and Adrienne was back in Rodney’s lab with the Aetlan woman. 

It was PERFECT.

Plan already working through his head, Daniel insisted he would keep the boy with him today.  Adrienne just shrugged, kissing them both goodbye the moment they arrived at work, heading back to the elevators.  Safely out of sight, of everyone, Daniel looked back at Nicky, grinning at the boy who had yet to say a word this morning. 

Daniel was SURE that he was messing with him.

“Ok my friend, let’s go get some cameras,”  Daniel said, adjusting the cooing bundle and diaper bag, lumbering to Sam’s office.  

*****

“Run this by me one more time,” Sam said, frowning, she wasn’t buying it, dammit, “You want to watch yesterday’s video footage of your lab to see if you can hear Nicholas speaking, correct?”

“Yes, and then, if there’s nothing there, I would like to borrow some portables to place around his crib to see if I can catch it that way,” Daniel added.  

Sam just stared at him in disbelief.  

‘What does Adrienne have to say about this?” she asked, noting the lack of her presence.  

Dammit, Daniel thought again, sighing, his glare cutting at the child in his arms. 

“Adrienne thinks I’m hearing things,” he was truthful, although trying to stress with his voice that he was not insane, “that’s why I need the cameras.” 

Sam, however, shook her head.  

“Daniel, I can’t let you play with government resources because you’re trying to prove that you have Mensa level offspring,” Sam started, walking away from her friend and back to what she had been doing, peering over her shoulder, “and besides, didn’t you learn your lesson a few weeks ago?”

Having that thrown up in his face yet again, Daniel blushed, deciding not to try to argue with her further, just adjusted Nicky against his chest and reached for his phone, standing, juggling with the child, the bag and the cell phone.

“Fine, I’ll call Jack.  He loves to use government resources for his own amusement,” Daniel muttered, storming out of the office.

*****

“The mics are too old, you and Dr. Perky could probably throw a towel over that thing and go to town and no one would be the wiser, you know, just for future reference,” Jack said as he sorted through the footage, Daniel by his side with a bottle in Nicky’s mouth. He was right, there was barely any sound at all, making Daniel feel better about previous indiscretions, but he decided not to comment, leaning into the screen.

“Dammit, alright fine, no luck there. Then I need you to help me set up these cameras then, pointed at him. I’ve seen him say it Jack and not just Dada but uh huh and hi. He’s talking, I swear,” Daniel answered, glancing over at his friend to see if at least he thought he was sane.  

Jack had jumped on the opportunity to ditch real responsibility in order to help Daniel through this little ordeal; he was just as sick of sitting around waiting for Anubis to attack as anyone and with Robert Woolsey being the only IOA official around, Jack was more eager than normal.

Yet here they were, an hour later of scanning through footage, no proof whatsoever that Nicky could speak.  

They were gonna have to move onto plan B. 

*****

Jack had some low level grunts move the cameras down to the lab, grunts out of both Sam and Cameron’s sight even though Jack was technically still in charge. Once delivered, Daniel and Jack shut and locked the lab door, shutting off the corner cameras in the room just in case Walter was paying any attention.

His mind already on his task, Daniel walked Nicky over to the playpen, Nicky who had yet to say anything so far all morning, setting him down onto his back.  Daniel paused for a moment, thinking the boy might speak, but be just looked up at him and cooed. 

Little shit...

His mind on the fun little side project as well, Jack knelt quickly, opening the boxes and setting up the cameras, talking as he worked.  

“Ya know, Addy’s gonna kill you if she walks in here,” Jack stated as he clamped the second camera to the wall of the playpen, Daniel shaking his head.  

“She’s not gonna walk in here,” he explained, “I told her I missed her and she really needed to finish up the remainder of the translation today so I could get her back. I even took bottles so she wouldn’t come down.”   

“I’m proud Daniel; you’ve learned. Now, hand me another camera,” Jack half laughed, half ordered, his open palm requesting a second camera.

***** 

Cameras attached only fifteen minutes later they stood back to admire their handiwork.  Each side of the dark green woodland playpen had two cameras, ones with new microphones, attached to each wall pointing down at the small child contained inside.  

“We need to take it down,” Daniel spat out just as Jack was firing up the system, the glare in the general’s face almost as harsh as his wife’s.

“WHY!?! We just got it up there?” Jack asked, dumbfounded, but Daniel was already ahead of him, starting back with the first camera. 

“Because I would prefer divorce not be added to my list of life experiences,” Daniel said as he knelt awkwardly, nearly falling over, his head craning to look underneath the clip to unattached the camera without slamming it into his kid. 

Of course he’s chickening out, Jack though, his groan escaping before he could stop it, but Daniel didn’t notice as he cussed from the floor of the lab.

“Dammit, Daniel, look, give it an hour and if the kid doesn’t make a peep we’ll take it all down.  She’ll never know unless you tell her or squish him trying to get the damn thing off.”

He did have a point.

Nodding, Daniel sighed, flopping down in his desk chair.

*****

An hour passed. 

Nicky napped, cooed, spat bubbles and flipped over, but he didn’t say a word. 

“I thought you said he was a chatterbox,” Jack broke the silence, rolling himself in Adrienne’s chair to the side of the playpen.  

“He only does it when no one else is around, or when Adrienne’s asleep, apparently,” Daniel grumbled, looking at the stack of work he had neglected waiting for his son to start magically speaking again.

I know I wasn’t dreaming...

“So, not only do you think your three month old talks, but you think he’s smart enough to talk only when you are alone?” Jack inquired smugly. Cutting his eyes at his friend, Daniel stood, grumbling under his breath again, walking over to the wall where the power strip operating the complicated camera system when there was more wild movement in the playpen.

“Dada?” Nicky asked the moment Daniel was out of his sight, Jack whipping his head around gawking at Daniel, the baby and then Daniel again as the archaeologist raced back over.

“Yea, Nicky, that’s right, dada, say it again for Uncle Jack,” Daniel requested nicely.

“Uncle Jack?” O’Neill asked but Daniel ignored him.  

“Uh huh Dada,” Nicky, turning his head to look at Jack, “Dada.”

Jack’s jaw dropped.  

“Holy shit, your weird little super-nerd baby can talk!” 

“Ha! I am not insane! In your face Ad!” Daniel shouted running now to his desk as Nicky continued blabbering on, dada, dada, dada, Jack still shaking his head.  

“Who are you calling?” he asked. 

“Adrienne,” Daniel replied, phone to ear, only to pause, slam the receiver back into its cradle peeking up at Jack. 

“Let’s get those cameras down first.”

*****

When Adrienne came down to the lab she wasn’t alone.  Daniel, having mentioned that he had a witness to Nicky’s amazing communication skills, had inadvertently given Adrienne an ally, Sam.  A smirk on both of their faces, Jack and Daniel watched as their wives strode into the lab, both of them looking as if they were being pulling into some elaborate prank.

“Daniel’s not crazy,” Jack declared as they entered, pointing Daniel was carrying Nicky around in his arms smiling brightly, “well about this at least. The kid talks.”

“I now have a witness,” he declared and Adrienne crossed her arms, frowning at the both of them.  

“Jack doesn’t count as a witness.”  

“Whatever Dr. Perky.  I’m with Daniel, the little booger’s been yammering all damn morning. I think you’re just mad he didn’t say mama,” Jack retorted, Sam shaking her head at this ridiculous interruption to her day. 

“Daniel are you sure you didn’t just imagine it? Baby babbling can sound like words at times. Three months isn’t just early, it’s, well, not normal,” Sam said, hoping that Daniel would understand what she was hinting at, that he really needed to be sure before saying such things, but he must have already thought of that because he was shaking his head.

“Carolyn’s checked him out, head to toe, his white counts. He’s fine. He’s just talking, that’s all,” Daniel assured but Sam maintained her look of concern. Reaching out, she took the boy from his arms, glancing over at Daniel as she looked him over herself. 

“When did he start?” she asked, Daniel smiling again, satisfied he was finally being listened too.  

“Yesterday,” Daniel answered, cutting his eyes at Adrienne, who hadn’t said a word, who still remained unconvinced.  

“Hey buddy, can you say it for me, please, say ‘dada,’ ” Sam asked sweetly.  

Adrienne made a face as her boss cooed and cuddled her child. He knew her, her look, her mannerisms and she was still skeptical but he knew why. It was fear; it was what Sam was worried about as well. 

If Nicholas was showing advanced brain development, might other areas of his development be affected?

Sam kept cooing and cuddling, asking, but Nicky said nothing.  She shook her head and started to hand him back over to Daniel when Adrienne reached over and grabbed him locking their twin dark brown eyes.

“Nicholas, beb, listen to me. I need for you to please say ‘dada’ again. Please, for mommy.  We just want to know if you can talk to us, if you are understanding us; it will just make things so much easier,” Adrienne requested, that same tone that only two short months ago had gotten him to stop his relentless crying. 

“Dada,” Nicky said gazing right back at her as Adrienne whipped around to face her husband.  

“Oh my gawd!” she exclaimed, “He spoke.”  

“I told you so,” he shot quickly, Adrienne already scowling. Her own eyes wide, Sam took a step forward, the reality of the situation setting in. 

“Do you have a list of ages of stages or something close? I know Carolyn isn’t a pediatrician, but we need a list of developmental stages of children and I want you both to bring Nicky to the infirmary,” Sam ordered, Adrienne’s face now home to a different look, one of fear. 

“One more thing,” Sam added, looking back at Daniel and Jack who was now trying to get Nicky to say Jack while Daniel was explaining to him why linguistically that would be even more shocking.  

Sam shook her head and continued.  

‘Did you take your meds? Throughout the pregnancy?” Sam asked, Adrienne nodding in the affirmative.

“Half dose.  Carolyn had to balance my body rejecting him as he grew versus the adverse effects of a low dosage. She was honestly pretty amazed that I made it through the first ten weeks like I did,” Adrienne answered, handing Nicky over to his father.  

“Just wanted to make sure. Now, let’s get down there before my husband scars your son for life,” Sam said looking back at the boys.  

“Say it, say J-A-K, Jack. Say S-AM,” Jack was repeating while Daniel just held the boy up, shaking his head.  

“Dada,” was Nicholas’ response. 

*****

Nicky laid on the table looking up at the bright lights, muttering an “Ow Dada,” which seemed to worry Daniel more so that Adrienne, as the archaeologist was trying to shield the small brown eyes from the glare. Smiling as the two struggled, Nicky acting as if he was trying to cover his face but not quite figuring out how, Dr. Carolyn Lam walked over and shut them out, turning on a lamp to the side.  

“Thanks,” Adrienne said, reaching over so he didn’t flip himself off of the table, the small legs kicking wildly. 

‘He’s cursed enough with both of you contributing to his DNA; I don’t want to make it worse,” she joked and walked over, excusing herself around a finally worried Daniel and putting the stethoscope in her ears.  Sam stood back, arms crossed, brushing off her husband’s questions while the doctor went through her routine.  

It only took a few moments, Carolyn going through what looked to be a general medical examination when she glanced back at Sam, removing the rubber plugs from her ears.

“Everything appears to be perfectly normal Sam, is there something I’m looking for in particular?” she asked. 

Sam let out a sigh and stepped forward.  

“Cut him,” Sam ordered, Adrienne immediately standing from where she had just taken a seat.

“No! There’s no indication of anything for that!!” Adrienne screamed, in a protective way that Daniel had only seen her act on his behalf before.  

When it came to Adrienne, you didn’t mess with people she loved, he and Nicky at the top of that list.

It was something that he would never tire of seeing.

Daniel looked over at Adrienne and then at Dr. Lam, knowing that despite his wife’s frantic demeanor that this had to be done. 

“Alright, I’ll do it.  On the foot, like you did when he was born to test for everything else. Get that child sized collection tube out and be ready,”  Daniel said to Carolyn and looked over at Sam, understanding her fears fully when Adrienne turned on him. 

“No, ‘ee’s MY son; ‘ee’s my miracle! No one’s gonna start slicin’ into ‘im fa ANY reason!!” she screamed at him, advancing, a look on her face that Daniel knew, the look that had busted him in his cheek a good few years ago now. Remaining calm while she raged, Daniel reached over and grabbed Nicky, passing him over to Sam.  Taking Adrienne by the arm, gently since he knew any other way would result in his being slammed to the ground, he walked her to the side, her eyes warning him that he was close to getting decked anyway.

“Adrienne, you know what Sam is thinking and it’s not speed healing.  She’s thinking Orlin, she’s worried about this being more than just advanced knowledge. What if he speeds up only to lose everything?” he whispered to her.  

“I am well aware of that Daniel.  I am also aware of the fact that when he was born we had him tested for every possible marker and the scans were clean. Perfectly clean, why would that change?!?”

Her words trailed at the end, she was choking up, no longer angry, but panicked, the thought that something could be wrong with her child, the most precious creature in the world. No longer did he stand back waiting for her to lash out, instead taking a step closer and pulling her into his arms holding her as she convulsed a few times. 

“We’re on the same wavelength, aren’t we ja-wer? Now where’s that crazy book of yours; do you have it?” Daniel whispered in her ear. Adrienne nodded and walked back over to where Sam and Jack were visiting with the baby, grabbing her messenger bag and heading back over to Daniel, digging out the book as she walked.  

The book itself was tagged with an insane amount of small colored flags, color coded no doubt and Daniel just shook his head, waiting for her to open to the needed chapter. 

“At three months old a wide variety of developmental milestones will be reached. This is a vital time in your child’s development, a time in which connections with the parents are made and fortified,” she began reading, letting out a sigh and looking up.  

“Keep going,” Daniel requested. Adrienne took a breath, nodding.

“Blah, blah, blah, baby will start to recognize you, and is more sensitive to the changes in the outside world. He or she will detect patterns in objects and the behavior of those around him, and will begin to feel and express emotions, try to talk back, but most important he understands who his parents are and there is a bond formed; the child in fact will start to feel love for the parents....” she trailed off, her eyes closing, their fears confirmed.

“Dopamine,” Daniel stated.  

“You really are a train wreck that spreads your insanity all around, sha,” Adrienne admitted, swallowing, as she was closing the book. 

“You said “I do” you could have said no,” he shrugged, trying to lighten the mood, Adrienne squeezing his arm before slipped over to take their child from Sam.

“You do it, but I want to hold him.” 

Her words were broken, trembling, fears of matching DNA markers racing through her head. 

Please don’t let this be like Orlin...

Grabbing her son, Adrienne placed him gently onto her lap. He was just starting to hold his head up on his own a tiny bit, something else that was a little ahead of schedule, but Adrienne had to hold him sitting up to her body to help him out.  Seeing that she was ready, Daniel took the scalpel from the tray, like he had over a year ago in Jennifer’s lab and approached the boy.  He brought the knife up and paused, gazing up at the baby whose dark brown eyes were looking right at him.  

“Listen Nicky, this is gonna hurt, but just for a second.  Dr. Lam needs to tell us if you’re sick or not so we can make it better,” Daniel assured, a part of him knowing that the child understood, that he had always understood which is why he had cried for so long, that same part of Daniel knowing that ‘Orlin-like’ DNA was not going to be found.

This was something else; he just knew it. 

Lifting the scalpel again, he moved it closer to Nicky’s big toe, stopping yet a second time. 

“We love you little guy, so much; please don’t think for a second that we don’t,” he added quickly, slicing into the toe before he could delay any longer.  Blood poured out for just a second and Dr. Lam slid the small glass tube right under the gentle stream to collect just as much as possible, knowing inside herself what would happen. 

She was barely able to get the pipette filled when the bleeding stopped, the oozing ceasing completely. Biting his lower lip, Daniel licked his finger and wiped where he had sliced. 

Nothing, not even a thin line where it might have healed. 

It was then that Daniel realized that the boy hadn’t made a sound, hadn’t cried, had sat there as Daniel felt he would, letting them do what they needed to do. 

“Ow Dada,” was all he said, Adrienne’s jaw dropping. Frozen in place as she stood, vial of blood in her hand, Carolyn Lam stared wide eyed at the infant as he continued, “Bad ow dada.”

Smiling, Daniel grabbed the boy and hugged him, apologizing for what he had just done, taking him into his arms. Without another word, her face still in shock, Carolyn motioned in silence for Sam to follow her to the sample counter.

“Leave it to you and Dr. Perky to create freakish offspring together,” Jack quipped.  Daniel made a face at him, holding the boy protectively in a way that warmed Adrienne’s heart.  

“He’s not freakish; he’s advanced,” Daniel defended, catching out of the corner of his eye that his wife wasn’t smiling any longer walking over to where Sam and Carolyn were looking at the blood.  

She didn’t have much to say.  

Jack watched her walk over as well, his expression changing as he glanced back at Daniel. 

“I hope everything;s alright,” he said honestly, resting his hand on Daniel’s shoulder, squeezing it strongly. Jack knew what it was to lose a child, the horrors of the loss, and it was something he wished on no one.  

It had killed his spirit and his first marriage.  

Like Adrienne, the phone call to come work here couldn’t have come at a better time and to be honest as he looked around the infirmary, it couldn’t have come at a better time for any of them. 

“No, he’ll be fine.  Might have to mix some crazy stuff in his bottle, but he’ll be fine,” Daniel replied.

“He has to be fine,” he added quietly, Jack hearing nonetheless, reaching out again but pulling back his hand, taking a breath.  

Pushing the thoughts aside, his imagination going into overdrive, Daniel looked over at the women as he saw Sam turn to approach them, crossing her arms across her chest, cocking her head back over to the counter.  

“We are getting some interesting results, not bad just interesting, but we need Adrienne to leave. Can you?” she asked, Daniel nodding and passing Nicky to Jack, heading over to retrieve his wife.    

“Let them work ja-wer,” he said lightly, kissing her cheek, “let’s go get something to eat, get Nicky a bottle.”  

She turned and let him take her into his arms, trying not to cry. It was her baby, their baby, and this couldn’t be happening. 

“There can’t be anything wrong with him,” she cried lightly, not wanting to upset Nicky, who Jack had set onto the counter, trying to get him to talk. Daniel just hugged her tighter.  

“There won’t be, nothing that Sam and Carolyn can’t fix anyway,” he told her, trying to appear as confident as he could, smoothing her hair and kissing her head. He looked back at his friends and led her away as asked, hoping she would eat something, Jack following with Nicky.  

“Say Jack. J-AH-K; come on buddy I’m way cooler than your dad.”

*****

Adrienne had insisted that she feed Nicky herself when they got to the commissary, an excuse not to eat Daniel knew, but he’d have that argument later. She agreed to let Daniel get her a cup of coffee, so he got her a cup instantly, Jack joining them for a snack as well. 

There was nothing to do but wait. 

*****

Carolyn looked back at Sam and let out a sigh.  

“It shows every single marker that Daniel and Adrienne show.  Every one.  But any combination of their drug cocktail is just not working; the healing continues and so does the Dopamine acceleration,” the doctor said, sitting back on the stool, rubbing her face. 

For the first time she had no solution for her two most troublesome patients, her now three most troublesome patients.

“And I have no one to ask, none of our allies would have any idea. The descended don’t just come back down and start families,” Sam replied, Carolyn unable to help but laugh. 

“Daniel did,” she corrected, Sam shaking her head. 

“There has to be something. Something we’re missing...” her voice trailed, the general bringing her hand to her face as she stared out into space. Snapping her fingers suddenly, she excused herself in front of Carolyn, peering into the microscope. 

“Carolyn, do you have the first set of tests, the ones from when they got back from P3X-888?” Sam asked, picking up her head, her blue eyes clicking away already as her brain kicked into overdrive.

“Of course,” Carolyn said, dashing from her seat, to her file cabinets. She dug through the middle cabinet and came back with a small file, the tab reading ‘Nicholas F. Jackson.’  

“Cystic fibrosis, negative, phenylketonuria, negative, sickle cell, negative, thyroid, negative, MCADD, negative with a note,” Sam read aloud, pausing to glance back at Carolyn, “What’s the note?” Remembering, the doctor reached over and turned the page, her thin finger running along her careful script.  

“No sign of MCADD, but I did notice the blood metabolizing fat at a high rate.  It was partly why Adrienne was eating so much throughout the pregnancy when she wasn’t sick, and why we think he was crying so much, she couldn’t keep up with him.  But he slowed down after a few weeks, and since they’ve switched him to that soy formula, he’s back in a normal percentile for growth so it just looked like a natural spurt,” Carolyn explained, but Sam shook her head.  

“This is Daniel and Adrienne; there’s no such thing as normal,” she answered, reaching for another sample.  

*****

For fear of missing Sam, Adrienne had refused to go to sleep in their small on-base quarters, even as the hours ticked on by into night. She fed Nicky, set him in the playpen beside her and laid her head on her desk. 

Daniel didn’t try to argue with her.  

He did try to get his work done from earlier while she slept, looking over at her every so often, her head laying on her arms, his eyes now instinctively gliding down at the playpen, which was still as well.  

“That sight will never cease to amaze me,” he said just as Sam walked in the door.  

She wasn’t smiling, and Daniel’s stomach sank, the folder with Homer’s intel tossed aside as he stood, powering across the lab.  

“Sam, please don’t tell me this is Orlin all over again,” Daniel pleaded but the general shook her head, making a face that he didn’t understand. 

“Not entirely,” she answered and Adrienne must have heard her voice, her head lifting from the table to see what was going on, a pale hand reaching out for her eye drops. 

“There is nothing we can do. To slow the healing, the development.  He’s not growing that much faster, but his brain is developing quite quickly.  Don’t be surprised if he starts talking more now that he’s figured it out,” Sam explained to the pair.  Lip trembling, Adrienne looked like she was going to cry, standing, bringing her hand to her as Daniel approached her. She shook it, urging him away, sucking in tears trying to be strong. 

“Will he be alright?” she asked, breathing in, her right hand searching for Daniel. He didn’t pay attention to her outstretched arm, however, walking up behind her wrapping his arms around her waist. 

“Nicky’s not like Orlin, or you Daniel.  You and Orlin changed form, changed shape, were converted from flesh to energy and then back to flesh. But Nicky never did that,” Sam began, Adrienne shuddering in Daniel’s embrace. 

“Nicky was born this way, and he’s been developing forward, not backward, which is the opposite of Orlin and the wound healing seems to be selective.  After all, Carolyn is able to get blood for his check-ups each time and we were able to get just the right amount he needed.  As if his body knew it needed to,” Sam continued.  

“It knew?” Daniel asked, Sam taking a breath. 

“Daniel, the Acadians, Adrienne’s ancestors, they are a special people. There have been dozens of studies about them, how they’ve survived three hundred years of their culture being destroyed without their overall genetic make-up being affected. They’ve been using Acadian genes to help with the human genome project,” Sam began when Daniel felt a pull, Adrienne leaving his embrace, her head nodding. 

“Most cajuns marry another cajun, not anyone outside of our region, especially an ascended  but our genes are standard; they are the basis for human mapping because we’re pretty consistent in hereditary diseases, heart disease and diabetes, and whatnot. We’re the Jews of North America,” Adrienne finished, apparently having read these studies as well. 

Of course she’s read them, Daniel thought, why would I think for a moment that she hadn’t. 

“Exactly Addy and the Jews were....” Sam led, Adrienne leaving him completely, running to his desk, cueing up of all things, the database. 

“Protected by the Asgard. Damn, and that planet? I never put it together!” she was shouting over her shoulder, Nicky stirring in his crib. 

“What kind of Cajun characteristics are we talking about?” Daniel was now curious, because other than being the most stubborn person on this planet and having a hidden evil streak, his wife most certainly didn’t have any real superpowers. 

“Nothing special sha, but those of us that look more like our French ancestors have dark eyes, pale skin and dark hair, but that’s just the old French line,” she was half explaining, he hated when she half explained, but she was in the zone. 

“Dada up,” Daniel heard from below, a new word, great, Sam wasn’t kidding about the talking, the archaeologist leaning down to heed the child’s request. 

“Like you?” he asked, adjusting Nicky on his hip. 

“Mama,” Nicky now said, trying to look up at his father. Understanding, and noting yet another word, Daniel turned the boy around so he could see his mother as requested. 

“So, your line’s protected? VERY protected?” Daniel was catching on now, walking to his desk to read over her shoulder. 

“Uh huh, right Sam? That’s what you’re saying isn’t it?” Adrienne asked, still scanning the screen. 

“Yes Adrienne, that’s exactly what Carolyn and I think. I believe your people might have been involved in the cloning research, or at least were test subjects.” 

Adrienne was silent for a moment, reading the screen, her brain Daniel knew back in Rodney’s lab, the data she had been translating concerning cloning making a tad more sense in her head he was sure. 

“Ok, fine, so Nicky, via me, has some of special genes, hardier genes, genes that might be mapped to know what they are supposed to do that are also susceptible to any disease that can kill you if you eat like Daniel, but that doesn’t explain the vay yay,” Adrienne now stood, peering back over at Sam confused giving Daniel the chance to lean over and read the text in question on Laja’s people, their strength, stamina, things he thought were true of Adrienne just because she was athletic, but apparently not, and as far as intelligence, that seemed to be pretty high as well. 

“Vay yay?” his small passenger asked, holy shit Nicky was asking a question, Adrienne turning around to answer him like he was grown. 

“Your yammerin’ little man, it’s Cajun for talkin’,” she explained quickly, looking back at Sam.

“Talkin’” Nicky repeated carefully.

“Talk-ING,” Daniel corrected, “you’re only half swamp monster.” 

“Remember that during ascension the being isn’t all knowing, but the learning capacity itself is increased, dramatically,” Sam was now hovering over the computer, Adrienne nodding like mad. 

“I think that no other descended persons, that is if there have ever been any descended persons to have survived this long, have had children. Nicholas is the first. Combine ascended learning with Asgard altered Acadian genetics and you have, well,” Sam paused, not sure what to call the child who was staring right at her as if he understood what she was saying. 

“Nicky,” he finished for her. 

“Depending on which plane of ascension Oma held me in last time, well, wow,” he stammered looking down at the baby, “you could do anything. I gained the healing powers the last time, not voluntarily but they are there nonetheless, powers both you and your mom have.”

“Nicholas, can you do anything else,” Daniel’s thoughts going a mile a minutes, turning the boy in his arms to look him in the yes, “Uh, can you, float that pencil?”

“Foat?” 

“FLOat, yes, with your mind? Imagine it in the air?” Daniel explained, dark eyes breaking from his own, gazing at the desk. 

“No,” the infant answered, his forehead furrowed.

“Ok, was worth a shot, Cassie can...” Daniel was truly in the zone, whisking Nicky back over to the bookcase. 

“Cassie can float things?” Adrienne asked. 

“She used to be able to, long story ja-wer remind me to tell you, later,” was all the answer he could give her, his mind focused on the next idea in his head. 

“Sam was there anything else about my blood test results?” he heard Adrienne asking behind him just as he found what he was looking for. 

“No, Carolyn said that he’s a normal healthy child, normal, but genetically children can hold more knowledge than adults. However, there are traces here, traces of markers that are in your blood as well, traces that also appear in the clones.” 

“Wait, clones?” Adrienne now looked concerned again, but Sam shook her head.

“I think one of the Asgard “models” used Acadian genetics. It’s a hardy line, strong, like you said, and the diseases to which they are susceptible mostly have to do with diet, which was something the Asgard wouldn’t have worried about. But, with proper diet and exercise, these problems are avoided, as is the case with you,” Sam answered with a smile, hoping that Adrienne understood that this wasn’t all bad. 

“Found it!” Daniel declared, pulling a small book from the shelf, displaying it proudly. 

Corduroy

Adrienne was about to ask Daniel what he was doing, but she knew in that instant and she recognized the book, making her take a breath. 

The bear was lost and had found his place in the world, much like the both of them had. She was so touched and she wanted to just walk over and hug him at that very moment,  and to be alone, just the three of them, her family. 

“For now guys, I want Carolyn to check him out, once a week, so we can chart his progress and see what we’re dealing with,” Sam advised and Adrienne nodded, breaking her trance, reminding herself to ask him about this mysterious book later.

“Mama,” Nicky added, Adrienne smiling and walking to Daniel, to take her son from his arms, her healthy son, her perfectly healthy son who was just special, who was just the perfect mix of she and Daniel, albeit like she and Daniel, a little bit odd. 

“Ok Nicky, let’s learn how to read,” Daniel suggested, marching past the women headed straight for their quarters, book in hand.

“Mama come,” he pleaded, looking back at Adrienne who rolled her eyes and followed, watching her husband take their child, otherwise known as his new toy, out of the lab.

“That’s right honey, mama’s coming. Dada’s lost his marbles,” she said as she followed, leaving Sam behind, eager to get her wish, be together, just the three of them. 

“Dada. Mama. Nicky. Read,” the infant explained, Daniel cutting his eyes over at Adrienne.  

“Jack’s right,” Daniel leaned over to whisper to Adrienne, “This is too weird.”