A Promise Is A Promise

By Edna Phillips

Summary: Jacks a big kid at heart

Category: Humor

Season: Any

Rating: AP

Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters belong to MGM/UA, Showtime/Viacom, SCI-FI Channel, Gekko, Double Secret Productions etc. and all the powers that be, not me. No copyright infringement intended. This story is written for fan entertainment only and no money has exchanged hands. The story is the property of the author and may not be posted anywhere without the authors consent.

Author’s note: This ficlet is written as a word challenge for ‘Bubbles’

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“It’s not going to work Jack,” Daniel told him as he stood holding an empty cup.

“Yes it is, trust me,” Jack answered as he delved through the cupboards in his kitchen. “I’ve seen it done. I just have to remember how that’s all.”

“Yeah, well I’m not convinced,” Daniel muttered going into the lounge and dropping down into an armchair. “You’re no MacGyver you know. The last time you tried to make something out of nothing, that’s exactly what it ended up looking like. Nothing!”

“It did not,” Jack informed him coming into the lounge.

“It was a perfectly good balsawood glider. Ok, it came straight down again, but it flew.”

“Straight into young Callum’s eye,” Daniel answered scratching the back of his neck. “I thought his dad was going to bust a gut when he saw the black eye he had when we took him home from the park.

“There’s no pleasing some people,” Jack muttered under his breath. “Make me a plane he asks. So I did. How was I to know the wind would take it and aim it at him like a guided missile. I yelled duck didn’t I.”

“No Jack,” Daniel laughed getting to his feet and taking out his mobile phone which was ringing loudly in his pocket.

“What you yelled was, and I quote,” he continued as the phone stopped ringing, “Don’t move Callum, it’s coming straight towards you. Catch it. On second thoughts. Duck.”

“Well I know what I’m doing this time,” Jack told him pouting as he returned to the kitchen area and began once again delving into cupboards, the sound indicating he was pulling things out and dropping them on the kitchen floor.

“Where’s Carter when you need her?” floated through the hatch opening into the lounge.

“Hi Callum,” said Daniel after he’d dialled the called he’d missed. “Yeah, he’s working on it. Of course he can. He promised didn’t he?”

“Yo Callum,” Jack yelled from the kitchen. “How’s the love life?”

“He says to tell you he doesn’t like girls,” Daniel answered.

“Tell him he will one day,” Jack yelled as the sound of more cans hitting the kitchen floor were heard. “Then I’ll really help with advice.”

“He says the last time you advised him about girls, he got kicked in the shin.” Daniel called from the lounge as he moved out of the room.

“He wants to know if you’ve worked it out yet,” he added as he came into the kitchen, his hand covering the mouthpiece on the phone. “Only you did say you’d have it ready by tomorrow. He’s counting on you.”

“Tell him everything’s under control. We’ll pick him up at two,” Jack answered as he pulled out more cans. “Say I’ve asked Sam Carter to come like I promised. Doesn’t like girls. He likes her alright,” he muttered pulling out a large can of paint. “Trust her phone to be off when I need her. She has at least three of these. I could have used one of hers. Tell him not to worry.”

“Yeah, I know,” Daniel replied and laughed at Callum’s comment to Jack’s ‘tell him not to worry’, remark. “Ok Callum. See you tomorrow. Bye.”

“Now I know I’m probably going to regret asking this,” Daniel sniggered as he watched Jack pulling more stuff out of the cupboard. “But what exactly are you looking for in there?”

“What am I looking for? What do you think I’m looking for?” Jack asked his head stuck so far inside the cupboard that most of his upper torso was in there as well. “I’m looking for something to…Got it. I knew it was in here, I only used it last week. Gotcha you pain in the nicta. Thought you’d hide from me did you,” he muttered as he pulled himself from the cupboard and stood up, a triumphant look on his face and a tennis racket clutched in his right hand. “See I knew it was in there,” he told Daniel who folded his arms and gave him a funny look.

“A tennis racket. All this mess is for a tennis racket?” Daniel asked looking at the kitchen floor.

“Won’t take a minute to put this all back,” Jack told him as he began throwing things back in. “Well don’t just stand there Daniel. Make yourself useful.”

“Ok, I give up,” Daniel told him after they’d put all the things back in the cupboard and sat themselves in the lounge. “What’s it for. The tennis racket. What’s it for?” he asked as he watched Jack begin cutting the strings.

“I’d have thought that was obvious,” Jack answered as he began pulling the cut strings from the racket.

“Well it may be obvious to you ‘MacGyver types’,” Daniel told him laughing. “But to us lesser mortals, explanations need to be given. Come on Jack. What’s it for?”

“I should think that was obvious,” said Sam Carter as she entered the lounge. “Are you aware your front door’s open?” she asked Jack as he grinned up at her.

“If it wasn’t you wouldn’t have been able to get in. You’re late,” he told her as he got to his feet. “What do you think Carter? Err Teal’c,” he added as Teal’c entered. “Don’t forget to put the wood in the hole.”

Teal’c didn’t answer, just raised an uncertain eyebrow.

“Shut the door Teal’c,” Jack explained as he pulled the last of the string from the racket. “Saw it in a film last night. In England it means shut the door. So Carter what do you think,” he asked as she looked at the racket. “I reckon it’ll work. Don’t you.”

“He’s playing MacGyver again,” Daniel told Carter as she suppressed a laugh.

“You’ll have to use a bucket for the liquid,” she offered. “Or a bowl, a big bowl.”

“I know that, but do you think it will work?” he asked excitedly.

“I’ve no idea,” she answered. “You can but try.”

“Um Jack,” said Daniel as he stood watching them, a puzzled look on his face.

“Why did you have a tennis racket in your kitchen cupboard?

“For straining spaghetti or course,” Jack answered, swinging the racket as if playing tennis, then handed it to Carter. “It’s great for straining spaghetti.”

“If it’s great for straining spaghetti, why have you cut the strings off?” Daniel asked as Jack went back into the kitchen.

“Well we have to have something to make them big, don’t we?” Jack answered peering through the hatch at Daniel. “All we need now is a bucket. This should do nicely,” he muttered pulling a bucket from the broom cupboard. “A bottle of washing up liquid and. About half full should do it, don’t you think so Carter?” he called as he began filling the bucket with water.

“Oh I get it,” laughed Daniel as Jack emerged from the kitchen, a bucket in one hand and a bottle of washing up liquid in the other. “You’re going to make the giant bubbles with it. It’s going to take a big puff of air to blow a bubble through that,” he added, tilting his head sideways indicating Teal’c.

“You don’t blow the bubble through it,” Jack told him shaking his head in despair.

“Then how?” Daniel asked looking at Carter.

“That’s where you come in,” Jack told him as he headed for the garden. “We dip the racket in the liquid and you run with it. Fast, very, very fast. And hey presto we have giant bubbles, just like I promised Callum.”

“I run with it? Why don’t you run with it?” Daniel asked as Carter once more stifled a laugh.

“Me run? With my bad knee? Are you crazy,” Jack asked, raising his eyebrows at Teal’c and grinning.

“Well you run fast enough when there’s a Jaffa chasing you,” Daniel told him as he watched him squirting washing up liquid into the bucket. “What about your knee then?”

“Oh stop complaining,” Jack told him as he began stirring the liquid with the handle of the racket. “You said you’d help.”

“Err Colonel,” said Carter as she watched him squirt some more liquid into the bucket. “Didn’t you say the last time you made something for Callum he ended up with a black eye?”

“It was an accident,” he muttered looking up at her. “Ok Carter, what’s your point?”

“Well the only time my brother thought he’d top up my nephew and niece’s bubbles, because they were running out, he used washing up liquid.”

“And?” Jack asked impatiently as he whisked the tennis racket in the bucket.

“It stung their eyes,” Carter answered as Daniel turned away so Jack couldn’t see him laughing.

“Badly?” Jack asked looking into the bucket.

“Fraid so,” she answered.

“Hair shampoo?” he asked hopefully.

“Most hair shampoo’s warn not to get it in the eyes,” she answered.

“Um,” muttered Jack as he ran his hands through his hair the wrong way, the way he always did when puzzled. “Right let’s go,” he told them as he headed for the house.

“I just hope they’re still open,” he added as they followed him in.

“What are still open?” Daniel asked as Jack picked up his car keys and headed for the front door.

“The toy shops of course,” he answered. “Teal’c, put the wood in the hole,” echoed back as he headed for his car. “We need to buy at least ten tubes of bubble liquid,” he informed them as they followed. “Maybe twenty. What do you think Carter?” he asked as she hurried alongside. “Do you think we’ll get some giant bubbles out of twenty tubes?”

“That should about do it,” she replied grinning all over her face. “Failing that I’ll think of something. After all a promise is a promise. You promised Callum giant bubbles, and giant bubbles he’s going to get.”

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The End