Leaning on one elbow, chin in hand, Colonel Jack O’Neill half-heartedly poked at his scrambled eggs with his fork.

“Is your meal unsatisfying, O’Neill?”

Jack didn’t bother to raise his head as he lifted a forkful of congealed and slightly wobbly egg and held it there while he considered Teal’c’s question. Sitting on the opposite side of the table, Teal’c was carefully and methodically spreading strawberry cream cheese on one half of a bagel.

Jack sighed and dropped his fork down on the plate. He sat up straight and pushed his tray away, frowning. “I should have stuck with Fruit Loops,” he moaned.

“Perhaps oatmeal would have been a more appropriate choice,” the Jaffa advised, laying his knife on the edge of his plate. Jack’s eyes narrowed as he studied his friend’s expression. There wasn’t the hint of a smile and neither eyebrow so much as twitched, yet Jack had the feeling that he was on the receiving end of one of Teal’c’s rare and very subtle jokes.

Teal’c raised the bagel to his mouth, took a small bite, and placed the bagel back down on the plate as he slowly began chewing, his expression unreadable. Jack leaned over the table, eyeing the other half of the bagel that was sitting untouched on Teal’c’s plate.

“You gonna eat the rest of that?” Jack asked, pointing at the bagel.

“I am,” Teal’c said, sliding his plate out of Jack’s reach. “There is a sufficient quantity remaining in the serving line if you wish to obtain your own, O’Neill.”
Jack pulled his hand back and sighed. Once again, he rested his elbow on the table and slouched with his chin resting on his hand. Teal’c ignored his pleading look and took another bite of his strawberry cream cheese covered bagel.

Realizing he was getting nowhere with the Jaffa, Jack glanced over his shoulder to scope out the length of the breakfast line. He perked up slightly and grinned as he spotted Carter threading a path through the mess hall and heading towards their table, a tray loaded with a large bowl of mixed fruit in her hands. The grin faltered briefly as he noticed Jonas following close behind her.

“Morning, sir,” Carter called out as she neared the table. Jack sat up and pulled out the empty chair that was next to him.

“Hey, Carter,” Jack said. “Have a seat.”

She smiled, placed her tray on the table, and nodded at Teal’c as she sat down. Jonas slid into the last seat next to Teal’c, set his tray down, and pulled not one but three folded up newspapers from the crook of his arm.

“Good morning, Colonel. Teal’c,” he said cheerfully. Jack’s eyes were drawn to Jonas’ tray which held a tall glass of chocolate milk, a bowl of cantaloupe and honeydew cubes, and a plate with a bagel and large lump of strawberry cream cheese. Jack glanced at Teal’c and caught the big man watching him carefully. He was almost certain he saw Teal’c’s eyebrow twitch but he remained silent.

Jonas speared a piece of cantaloupe with a fork and popped it in his mouth. With his other hand he unfolded the Colorado Springs Gazette. Jack could also see copies of USA Today and the New York Times.

“Catching up on some reading?” he asked.

“Yes, Colonel,” Jonas replied. “I like to know what is happening in the world.”

“And to do that you need three newspapers?”

“Well, they don’t all cover the same information. I’ve found that reading several different newspapers helps me see the…” Jonas paused, evidently searching for the right word. Suddenly he smiled. “It helps me see the larger picture,” he said triumphantly, looking to Teal’c who nodded ever so slightly.

The corner of Jack’s mouth twitched upwards at the thought of Teal’c giving Jonas lessons in the use of idiomatic expressions. Jack stared at his friend but Teal’c refused to acknowledge the unspoken question, choosing instead to turn all of his attention to what was left of his bagel.

Jack glanced toward Carter, jerked his head in Teal’c’s direction, and raised both eyebrows. She spooned a heap of sliced strawberries and bananas in her mouth and shrugged. He turned back to Jonas who was already flipping the page of the newspaper. Jack watched as he reached out, picked up the glass of milk, and took a sip- his eyes never leaving the page.

“So where are you getting them from?” Jack asked.

Jonas looked up at him and Jack bit back a laugh as he saw the perfectly formed chocolate milk moustache that graced the man’s upper lip.

“Getting what?”

“The newspapers,” Jack prompted.

“Oh, Major Ferretti brings them for me.”

“Ferretti?” Jack asked dubiously. “Why would Ferretti-”

“Jonas,” Carter interrupted. She lifted her napkin and dabbed at her lip. Jonas’ eyes widened and he picked up his own napkin and wiped away the chocolate milk. Jack frowned at Carter and shook his head.

“The major said I needed to get a hobby,” Jonas continued. “He suggested I might find the newspapers a better source of information than the weather channel.”
Carter coughed and choked, her face flushing. “Sorry… grape,” she spluttered. She quickly took a sip of her orange juice and cleared her throat. “Reading the newspapers is a great idea,” she agreed. “I’m sure you are learning a lot.”
“It is quite enlightening,” Jonas said. “There is such a wide array of topics- world events, local news, business and entertainment-”

“Sports,” Jack added, “and comics. Don’t forget the comics. Of course, the comics just aren’t the same since Schultz died and Peanuts stopped running.”

Jonas tilted his head and looked confused. “Peanuts?” he asked, glancing sideways at Teal’c.

“A comic strip involving a boy named Charlie Brown, his dog Snoopy, and several other children,” Teal’c explained.

“Oh,” said Jonas, nodding.

“Yeah, almost all the good comics are gone,” lamented Jack. “Snoopy was always Charlie’s favorite. He used to crawl into bed with me every Sunday morning and make me read the funnies out loud. Snoopy always had to come first,” Jack remembered, smiling. “Yep, Peanuts, Calvin and Hobbes… all the great comics are disappearing,” he repeated. “If you ask me, there’s nothing in the paper worth reading any more.”

“I don’t know about that, Colonel,” Jonas said. “I find everything in them fascinating. For instance, did you know that scientists in Washington D.C. recently completed a five year study on global warning and the data indicates that humans are directly responsible for the changes in the atmosphere and climate of this planet?”

“I thought the papers were supposed to get you interested in something besides the weather,” Jack muttered.

“I’ve read that study,” Carter chimed in. “This year’s satellite data indicated that the ice sheet in Greenland has shown the greatest area of melt in 24 years.”

“We’ve known about the greenhouse effect for years,” Jack argued, cutting off Carter before she could launch into a detailed explanation of the entire study. “Only Washington scientists,” he emphasized, grinning at Carter, “would waste five years of research time and tax dollars to tell us something we already know.”

Carter laughed but didn’t back away from the challenge.

“Sir, I know a lot of those scientists in Washington-”

“I’m sure you do, Carter,” Jack teased.

Ignoring his wisecrack, she continued, “The research they’ve been doing is actually quite valuable. Besides,” she added, “there are a lot of people who still don’t believe global warming is a scientific fact.”

“There are a lot of people who believe the lunar landings were hoaxes,” Jack reasoned. “Does that mean we should waste good money trying to prove they weren’t?”

“The people of this world believe many strange things,” observed Teal’c, as he slowly spread cream cheese on the second half of his bagel. “I believe this is due to the freedom you have to decide for yourselves what is truth and what is false. On Chulak, the only accepted truth was that of Apophis. The Tau’ri should value the variety of beliefs on this world. It is a privilege many will never experience.”

There was silence as the other three members of SG-1 absorbed the message. Three pairs of eyes remained trained on the Jaffa as they considered his words. Teal’c looked at each of them in turn before once again laying his knife on the side of his plate and taking another bite of bagel. He slowly lifted a napkin and dabbed fastidiously at the corner of his mouth.

“Yeah,” Jack said, breaking the silence. Three heads swiveled toward him. “But do they need to spend money on a five year weather report?”

“Sir,” Carter admonished, chuckling.

“What?” Jack protested, throwing up his hands. “I mean, come on… I have to fill out at least two forms in triplicate just to get a new ink cartridge for my printer around here!”

Nobody commented; all three were too involved with eating their meals.
Jack sighed and picked up his fork again. He unenthusiastically poked at the cold lumpy mass on his plate. He lifted the fork and stared at the wobbly yellow clump for a moment before tilting the fork and letting the egg drop with a nearly silent plop in the center of plate. Scooping up another forkful of egg, he paused. One corner of his mouth twitched up in a crooked half-smile. He dumped the second forkful of egg in the plate’s center. More egg was pushed toward the heap in the center of the plate and patted into place. Jack eyed his egg mountain critically. Mt. St. Scrambled was slightly lopsided and had a definite slant to the left.

“Not hungry, sir?”

Jack glanced over at Carter who nodded at the sculpture rising from the center of his breakfast plate.

“On the contrary, Major Carter, I believe O’Neill is extremely hungry this morning,” Teal’c explained. “He does not, however, wish to return to the serving line to obtain an item more to his liking.”

Jonas peered over the top edge of his newspaper and stared at Jack’s plate. Jack dropped his fork, dislodging a mini avalanche of egg. Jonas looked up from the plate and studied Jack thoughtfully.

“Colonel, would you like a bagel?” he asked, pushing the plate with the untouched bagel across the table toward Jack.

“Jonas Quinn, did you not intend to consume the bagel yourself?” Teal’c frowned.

“Ah, well… I did,” Jonas admitted. Jack’s hand froze in mid-reach. “But I think the fruit is enough for me this morning.” He pushed the plate closer towards Jack. “Really, it’s okay. Go ahead and take it.”

“Thank you, Jonas. That’s so very thoughtful of you,” Jack said cheerfully. “It’s nice to know that someone cares.”

Jonas’ eyes widened.

Jack snagged the edge of the plate and pulled it closer. He grabbed a knife and began unevenly spreading a huge dollop of strawberry cream cheese on a bagel half. Jack glanced at Teal’c- not quite waving the bagel in his face- and triumphantly took a huge bite. He grinned as Teal’c immediately arched one disapproving eyebrow.

Carter laughed.

“I think we missed something here,” she told Jonas.

Jack licked a smudge of cream cheese from his fingers and shrugged.
Conversation ceased as they once again turned their attention to finishing breakfast. The mess was quiet; the only sounds that the low buzz of conversation from some of the surrounding tables, the occasional soft clink of silverware against a dish, and the low rustle of paper as Jonas turned the pages of the USA Today.

Jonas shook his head and folded back the paper. He leaned towards Teal’c, pointing at one of the articles.

“Is this one of the strange beliefs of the Tau’ri?” he asked. Teal’c scanned the article and slowly nodded his head.

“It is,” he confirmed. “Daniel Jackson once spoke to me of this creature.”
“What creature?” Jack asked, leaning forward to try to get a look at the paper.
“Bigfoot,” Jonas answered.

“Ah… someone spotted him again?” Jack grinned. “Where was he this time?”
“Actually, he died,” Jonas said, “or at least his creator did anyway.”

“What?” Jack dropped his bagel and snatched the paper out of Jonas’ hand. He read the headline, “Bigfoot Creator Dies” and frowned. “Well of all the…” he slammed the paper down on the table. “I can’t believe this!”

“What is it?” Carter asked.

“Some old fart in Seattle croaked and now his family thinks they’re gonna cash in by claiming he created Bigfoot? No way,” he muttered, tossing the paper to Carter.

She caught the paper before it could knock over her juice glass and quickly scanned the article.

“The whole thing was a hoax,” she said, glancing at Jack. His mouth was pressed firmly closed in a tight thin line. “All those years and it was just some guy making tracks with carved wooden feet?”

“No way,” Jack repeated firmly, shaking his head. “Do you know how many sightings there have been?” he demanded. “Not just here but all across the world. They can’t all be explained away as the work of some prankster out to make a buck.”

“Maybe so, sir,” Carter conceded. “But you have to admit that it looks as if this Ray Wallace had a lot to do with the Bigfoot craze here in the U.S.”
“No I don’t,” Jack argued. “The Native Americans told tales of Sasquatch long before the white man arrived.”

“And the Himalayans had the Abominable Snowman,” Carter countered. “So Wallace latched onto a legend that was around for centuries… doesn’t that make it even more plausible that he was able to pull off the Bigfoot hoax for so many years? It’s a self-perpetuating myth. Once it got started, nothing was going to stop it.”

“What about the sightings in Washington and Montana in the 1800s?” Jack protested. “British Columbia too,” he added.

Carter stared at her CO for a long moment before laughing softly.

“You’ve got to be kidding,” she said finally. “You can’t be sitting there telling me that you actually believed in Bigfoot?”

Jack’s face flushed and he looked quickly at Teal’c and Jonas before returning his gaze to Carter.

“Ah well, you know,” he stammered. Carter’s eyebrow twitched upwards and Jack wondered briefly if they hadn’t all been spending way too much time around Teal’c.

“Sir?” Carter prompted.

“Hey look, I was only ten when the Patterson film became big news. To a city kid in Chicago, it was pretty damned impressive, ya know?”

“Is that the film mentioned in the article?” Jonas asked. “The one that supposedly captured the image of a Bigfoot walking away from the camera? According to the article, Wallace claimed to know that it was a hoax as well.”

“I know what the article said,” Jack snapped.

“You are no longer a child, O’Neill. This news should not cause you such distress.”

“Thanks for the info, Teal’c,” Jack said, grimacing. “It’s just one more thing gone, ya know?”

“What do you mean?” Jonas asked.

“Mystery… wonders… childhood fancies. We’re just too ready to throw it all aside and live in our narrow little world that leaves no room for anything considered impractical or illogical.”

“Everybody grows up eventually, sir.”

“Oh come on, Carter! I’m not saying we shouldn’t grow up,” he told her. “What I’m saying is we don’t have to give up on a little fun now and then.”

“Fun?” she repeated.

“Yeah, fun. Didn’t you used to have fun as a kid?”

“I had fun,” Carter protested.

“Doing what? Calculating the value of pi to the umpteenth degree?”

“Actually, I did go through a stage where I really got into fractal geometry. I think I still have some of the artwork I made in high school.”

Jack looked at Teal’c and Jonas and rolled his eyes.

“See what I mean?” Jack demanded. “No fun.”

“What did you do for fun, Colonel?” Jonas asked.

Jack grinned and leaned back in his chair.

“I hunted Bigfoot,” he announced.

“In Chicago?” Carter asked.

“No, not in Chicago,” Jack shot back. “In Minnesota.”

“Your grandfather’s cabin,” Teal’c guessed.

“You bet,” Jack acknowledged. “You didn’t think I learned to fish in Chicago, did ya, Carter?”

“I guess not,” she agreed, smiling.

“You actually hunted Bigfoot?” Jonas asked.

“Sure I did,” Jack answered. “Remember, I was only ten but when I heard that someone had actually captured film of a real live Bigfoot I was convinced they were out there. I studied everything I could about Bigfoot that year. I figured I’d have my chance when I went to spend the summer with my granddad up at the cabin.”

“Did you intend to kill the creature if you were successful in locating one, O’Neill?”

“Kill it?” Jack pulled a face. “No,” Jack answered. “I’d read stories about how they were supposed to live in these family groups or something. I wanted to get a picture of one so I could prove it was real. I’d gotten my first camera for Christmas that year. I never really thought of trying to hurt one of them.”

“Your grandfather must have thought you were crazy,” Carter laughed.

“Nope,” Jack said smugly. “He helped me hunt for them.”

“He did?”

“Yep, well… he went traipsing through the woods with me everyday at least. He never said a word to indicate he didn’t believe in them just as much as I did. We just walked and talked a lot.”

“Talked about Bigfoot?” Carter urged.

“Some,” Jack admitted. “Mostly we talked about his days as a pilot in World War II. He got shot down once. It took him nearly three days to reach allied forces so he could return to his unit. I really got to know him that summer,” Jack recalled. “He told me that flying those planes was the most thrilling thing he’d ever done in his life. Granddad always said that if he’d gone out flying he’d have had no regrets. The war had given him that much. He died only a few years later- lung cancer.”

“I’m sorry, sir,” Carter said softly.

“Is he the reason you went into the Air Force, Colonel?” Jonas asked.

“Maybe,” Jack shrugged. “At least in part,” he explained.

“I believe I now understand why this Bigfoot creature was of such importance to you, O’Neill,” Teal’c spoke solemnly. “I must apologize for my indifference to your feelings on the matter.” He slowly inclined his head.

“I’ll get over it, Teal’c. I really hadn’t thought of Bigfoot in years anyway. The news just caught me by surprise, that’s all.”

Jack looked at the somber faces of his teammates and shook his head.

“It’s okay,” he assured them. “It’s not like I don’t have enough wonder and magic in my life anyway, right? Not many people get to travel through a wormhole to visit other planets on a regular basis.”

“That’s science, not magic, sir,” Carter reminded him.

“Hey, you say tomato,” Jack shrugged. “My point is,” he continued, fixing Carter with a stare, “there is plenty out there to keep my imagination going.”
“Not quite ready to grow up yet, right sir?”

“Hell no,” Jack announced.

The klaxons shrieked and the four of them jumped.

“Unscheduled off-world activation,” blared the PA.

Jack glanced at Carter who shook her head.

“SG4 is due back tomorrow,” she suggested.

“Medical team to the gateroom immediately. Repeat. Medical team to the gateroom immediately.”

All four of them jumped from their seats and headed for the door, breakfast forgotten. Their headlong flight was stalled at the elevator as they waited for the car to arrive.

Jack looked curiously at Jonas. The elevator doors slid open and they stepped inside.

“So Jonas, have you heard of Nessie yet?” Jack asked. Jonas’ puzzled expression returned and the elevator doors slid closed with a soft thump.