My Son, The Alien 8
Punishment... And Punishment
by Belladonna
URL: http://www.area52hkh.net/asb/belladonna/mysont08.php
Summary: Shifu and John pay the piper, and something rears it's ugly head...
John watched with amusement as Shifu struggled with the mower. The former ascended passionately despised mechanical things, was slowly reconciling himself to computers, and desperately wanted to learn how to drive but was still afraid of cars.
"Need a hand?" John asked casually. He could feel sweat dripping down his back, and could see sweat beading on Shifu's upper lip as he concentrated on the mower.
"No, I do not," Shifu replied, annoyed.
Did he forget that Shifu was stubborn as an ox?
John sighed. "Okee dokee," he said mildly as he bent back over to weed the flowerbed some more. He wasn't too upset about the slave labor thing (they'd finished cleaning from the party earlier and Jack had sent them outside for more penance), 'cause yeah, he should have gotten Shifu to ask permission, but not getting permission had been more fun anyway.
"I am not going to let this..this..." Shifu's voice trailed off in an incoherent sputter.
John raised an eyebrow. "So ~now~ do you want help?"
Shifu's head dropped. "Yes, thank you."
"No, problemo," John replied comfortably. "I remember when we/he bought this thing." He leaned over, pumped the little button three times to prime the carburetor, "Push this three times, check the oil and gas for good measure and then started the mower", he said, pulling the cord making it start right up. He laughed when Shifu stuck his tongue out at him. "Very mature there, Glowboy."
Shifu only made a face and began to carefully mow, going diagonally because Jack had a fetish for weird designs in his lawn. John watched for a minute, letting himself drool at the sight of shirtless Shifu, his skin getting bronze from the Colorado sun before starting back on weeding.
*~*
Daniel picked up his satchel, grunting a little because he always overfilled the damn thing. "I'm outta here," he called.
"I'll see you tonight," Jack called back, then appeared in the living room. "Hey, when do you think I should let the chain gang go?" Hani pranced in and he picked the puppy up and rubbed him between the ears.
"Chain gang, god," Daniel said with an eyeroll.
The phone rang and Jack grinned at Daniel as he answered it.
"O'Neill."
Daniel turned to leave when something, a shift of ~something~ in Jack's stance made him turn around and see the older man's eyes darken and narrow. "You did? Yes, sir. Yeah, would you believe that there was no alcohol? Yeah, I was surprised too. Yes, sir. Thank you for calling. Yes, sir, I'll ask Shifu. Okay, have a good time. Bye."
"What?" Daniel asked.
Jack set Hani down. "Frank Emory said that at 1157 a dark sedan cruised by the house a couple of times last night."
Daniel sighed. "There's no need to panic yet, right? I'll let the General know when I get there."
"You do that," Jack said, pressing a kiss to Daniel's mouth. "Now get outta here."
"Don't do anything drastic until I find out what's going on, okay?" Daniel asked softly.
"Sure, Danny," Jack lied blithely. Daniel didn't buy it for an instant. He smirked to himself as he watched Daniel head outside, calling a good-bye to their laborers before he pulled his car out of the driveway and leave.
He stepped outside and opened his mouth when he saw Mac walking over with his yappy Shitzu. "Mac, how's the leg?" The former sailor had lost his leg in the first Iraq war and had just received the newest in high tech prosthetics.
Mac grinned. "It's awesome. I can't wait until I can start running again."
"Sweet," Jack said, moving over to admire the titanium leg with the Nike attached. The other man obligingly put it through its paces while his dog panted in the heat.
A shout of laughter caught the men's attention as the boys chased each other with the hose, and Jack shook his head. "Boys," he said with a grin. He'd finally admitted that it was kinda nice to have Shifu living with them.
"By the way, how was the party?" Mac asked slyly.
Jack rolled his eyes. "Oy, you wouldn't believe it. Shifu told them no alcohol at all, and apparently they took him seriously. Unfortunately it didn't stop them from spilling crap all over the carpets."
"So that's where Shifu was this morning," Mac said knowingly. He and Shifu usually saw each other as they walked their dogs in the morning.
"You betcha," Jack confirmed. "Hey!" he shouted at the boys. "You're wasting the water!"
"Yadda," John called while Shifu snuck up behind him and rat-tailed him with his wet towel. "Hey!" he yelped and gave chase.
Mac laughed. "Who's the new kid?"
Jack grinned. "He's Shifu's friend from school. John Nelson, and a smartass. He's the one who had the bright idea for a party."
"Ah, well a kid has to break the rules once in awhile," his neighbor said with the air of a man who'd raised four children. "So," he added, "after your little shindig broke up there was a dark four door sedan with no plates wandering around."
"Frank called," Jack replied grimly. "We're looking into it but we appreciate you letting us know. We're keeping an eye on Shifu, his mother knew things and we're thinking he's the target." Which was pretty much the truth, though not the whole truth.
"Gotcha," Mac said. "We'll make sure that we keep an eye out." He and his wife adored Shifu, he was well mannered and polite and had helped Mac's wife keep calm when their dog had gotten loose, even finding their little runaway.
Shifu jogged over with a smile. "Hey Mr. Mac Namara. Hey, Booboo," he said, bending down to ruffle the small dog's fur. "Are you behaving? Good," he said warmly as if the dog had answered. Jack coughed warningly.
"Hey, Shifu," Mac replied with a smile, watching his dog fawn all over the kid. "I've got to get home, but we'll let you know, Jack." The two men shook hands and he turned and headed back down the street, letting Booboo check out the bushes along the way.
"Let you know about what, Jack?" Shifu asked.
Jack turned and surveyed the yardwork with a practiced eye. "Oh, you know, extra teenagers where they don't belong, stuff like that."
"Ja-ack," Shifu whined.
"C'mon, kid," Jack said with a chuckle. "Let's get some lunch."
~*~
Daniel poked his head into the office. "Hey Walter, is the General in?"
"Go ahead Dr. Jackson, he's expecting you."
Daniel didn't know how the General could be expecting him since ~he~ hadn't decided he was going to come into the mountain until that morning.
"Dr. Jackson, come in. Have a seat," General Landry said expansively enough to make Daniel immediately suspicious.
"What did Vala do now?"
Hank chuckled wanly. "Nothing, Ms. Val Doran is perfectly fine. I assume she is anyway, I haven't heard anything."
Daniel relaxed slightly, he didn't have to rescue Vala from whatever mess she'd gotten into. "Good. So, our neighbors saw a car skulking through the neighborhood, late last night."
Landry looked pained. "That's what we need to discuss."
*
*
"Absolutely fucking not!" Jack snapped.
"Language, Jack," Daniel said.
"You know me, Danny. When I'm talking about the NID, this ~is~ clean," Jack replied darkly. "I'm not letting the NID get their mitts on Shifu. Are you nuts?"
"I don't like it either, Jack," Daniel snapped back. "I'm only repeating the General."
Shifu's head turned from the first man to the other as they spoke, exchanging a look with Hani.
"~What are the yelling about~?" Hani asked curiously.
"I'm not sure," Shifu softly answered so he didn't miss what was being said.
"Well, Hank has a hole in his bag of marbles."
A knock at the door startled Hani into a flurry of barking and Shifu got up but Daniel shook his head. "Let me."
Surprised, Shifu sank back down.
Daniel checked the peephole, "It's Teal'c, Mitchell and Sam."
"The peanut gallery," Jack said with an eyeroll at Shifu. He leaned back in his chair and watched as Daniel's team came in, Carter and Mitchell making a fuss over Hani. "Hey kids."
Teal'c responded with the Jaffa equivalent of an eyeroll. "It is good to see you, O'Neill, Shifu," he said, bowing his head politely.
Shifu was attuned to Daniel and Jack's stress and wondered what was going on. "Hello, Teal'c, Colonel Mitchell, Colonel Carter."
"Shifu, how are you, buddy and I thought I asked you to call me Cam?" Cam asked cheerfully, flopping down beside him and picking up Hani.
"I'm fine. Cam," he said, but he felt a little less than honest and wished John were there with him. He'd come to rely on the other boy's strength of spirit and his knowledge.
Jack tapped his fingers restlessly. "So, what are you all doing here on a Saturday night? And where's Trouble?"
"Ja-ack," Daniel admonished.
"Vala is on a date," Sam said.
"Ha! See, that's where you should all be instead of being here!" Jack pointed out.
"What, you don't like seeing our happy faces?" Mitchell asked, blue eyes laughing.
"Not when I suspect that Hank sent you here to convince us that letting the NID having a crack at Shifu is a good idea," Jack snarked in reply.
"Sir," Sam began earnestly.
"Aht!" Jack said. "Retired, now. It's Jack."
Sam smothered a smile. It was getting easier to see him, to reconcile the mere fact of Daniel and Jack. "Jack. Shifu doesn't have anything to tell them. It's better that they get their curiosity satisfied now. It will prevent problems later on."
"Can I ask a question?" Shifu asked tentatively in the charged silence.
Daniel nodded. "Of course, Shifu," he said, belatedly realizing that they'd been talking over and around his son. He sat perched on the arm of Jack's chair, close but not so close that it hurt Sam.
"Why do you not want me to speak to the NID?" he asked.
Teal'c stirred slightly. "They are filled with dishonorable elements of the government that are searching for more power for themselves under the pretense of protecting Earth."
Shifu blinked. "Oh. Very well, I will speak to them."
"What?" Jack yelped.
"Shifu, you don't have to," Daniel protested. "We can tell General Landry that you won't do it."
"If it is as Colonel Carter says, they will remain suspicious if I do not. Evil men need no excuse," he said, noting Teal'c's head nod and wondering if this was the foretelling of Oma's warning. "And I'd rather not have my schooling interrupted, so may we request it during the evening or the weekend?" he asked.
"Kid, we both know that there are things the NID doesn't need to know," Jack said quietly.
Shifu met his eyes. "I understand." John was to be protected at all costs. His speaking to Hani or his language abilities were not to be mentioned, or anything that made him different.
Jack sighed. "Fine, but either Daniel or myself will stay with him at all times. Tell the NID stooges to take it or leave it."
Daniel stood and rubbed his hands together. "Good, Sam, you let General Landry know while Cam, Teal'c and I start dinner. Jack, you and Shifu start the grill." When everyone just stared he clapped his hands. "C'mon, chop chop!"
Mitchell chuckled as he got to his feet. "I guess we know who the General is in this relationship."
"Hey," Jack protested. "Why does everybody keep saying that?"
~*
John leaned back in his micro-fiber recliner, a soda in the cup-holder and his remote in his hand. It was Saturday night and he wanted to watch hockey, and maybe an episode of the Simpson's if he'd remembered to tivo it.
He bumped his drink, cursed and bumbled the remote which made the TV go mute, the silence abrupt in the room, which was when he heard it, a noise in his bedroom. He froze, his heart suddenly starting to race when he realized he wasn't alone in his apartment.
Training took over, for which he was thoroughly grateful, and he thumbed the sound back on, making pretend grumbling sounds as he stealthily levered himself out of his chair. A sting in his arm made him curse again and fall to the carpet light out.
