SG-1 FF: Against expectation, the sun rises (Jack/Daniel, PG-13)
Title: Against expectation, the sun rises.
Fandom: SG-1
Genre: Fluff/Drama
Pairing: Jack/Daniel
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Nothing terribly specific, but set in the later series, and before Jack's promoted.
Disclaimer: I don't own SG-1. Which is a pity, because there really isn't a member of that team I couldn't fall in love with.
Summary: One word that means two things. Two things that mean one. And a quiet moment that could go either way.
AN: The last piece of festive fluff. Alas, this one is much less fluff, and actually less festive, as it's sort of a winter solstice instead. Which, on the plus point, actually made it fit much better on New Year's Day. Unbetaed, mostly directionless, and my first attempt at SG-1. Umm... so go read!
‘MALP indicates potentially hostile weather conditions,’ Sam explained. ‘We believe it’s the planet’s winter, so we’re talking cold weather gear, but it’s inside the manageable temperature range. Not below certain earth norms in other words.’
‘Not to provoke further fascinating geological debate,’ Jack drawled, ‘but which earth norm we talking about here? Minnesota in December, or Antarctica anytime, for instance? It’s kind of an important clarification.’
‘We’ll be fine in cold weather gear, sir,’ she answered.
‘Yeah, that’s encouraging,’ Jack murmured. Sam and Teal’c dispersed to ready up, but Daniel was waiting.
‘Jack?’
‘Yeah,’ he replied casually. This didn’t feel like a good conversation. Daniel had been... odd lately. Even considering that Daniel’s oddness was graded on a curve. Of course, it wasn’t exactly like the two of them had been buddy-buddy lately, so there was no telling what was going on it that mind of his.
‘SG-4 want me to accompany them on a mission once we get back.’
‘I know. I’m your commanding officer, Daniel, they ask me first.’
‘I know,’ Daniel answered, without even a quick jab at the military hierarchy. ‘You told them no.’
‘Yup. You’d be away for weeks, and we need you here.’
‘We?’
‘SG-1.’
‘You’ve coped without me before.’
‘Not by choice.’
‘Jack...’
‘What is it?’
‘I need a break.’
‘From what? If it’s gate-travel, I hate to tell you, but we let SG-4 out of the mountain nowadays. It’ll be exactly the same as travelling with us. Without the charming company,’ he finished, hoping to distract Daniel into a smile.
‘Well, that’s kind of the...’
‘You want away from SG-1?’
‘You can’t help but have noticed, Jack, that we’ve been... arguing... more lately.’
‘You mean you’ve wanted to stay and talk to the oh-so-fascinating natives, and take pictures of their rocks, and I’ve had to say no.’
‘Jack!’ Daniel said, ‘That’s exactly the kind of thing I mean. I say the kind of thing that it’s my job to say, and you act like I’m distracting you from your vital mission to occupy a hill. We’re a first contact team, we’re supposed to be investigating the cultural and historical aspects of the planets we visit, and for months now, maybe longer, we…’
‘We, what?’
‘We haven’t been acting like it! We’ve been acting like we’re a military operation above and beyond anything else.’
‘War’s coming, Daniel, and we need to be prepared. That’s all. It’s nothing personal. It’s nothing against you.’
‘And this is nothing against you, Jack, but I need…’
‘What?’
‘I need to be away from you.’ Daniel said, eventually voicing what Jack had feared he was trying to say. ‘I need a change.’
‘Well, don’t let me stop you then. SG-4 can have their permission.’
‘Jack…’
‘Sorry, Danny, gotta go. People to see, hills to occupy, you know the drill.’
Daniel, as ever, was in the road, hands up in deference to the friendly natives, before anyone else had time to stop him.
‘Hello, we’re a team of peaceful explorers.’
Of course. When in doubt, use the “peaceful explorer” line. Regardless of the fact that you were telling this to a not exactly peaceful looking group of men with large wooden spears. Time to intervene.
‘Danny,’ Jack broke in. ‘Let’s get the pointy sticks down first, then make with the niceties.’
Before Daniel could reply, the pointy stick holder with the biggest head dress spoke. Daniel’s head whipped round. Haltingly, but getting faster, he replied in the same language.
‘Daniel.’ Jack tried again. ‘Translation please.’
‘Umm... Nordic dialect. They welcomed us as visitors from the mouth of God.’
‘Stargate?’
‘Yes.’
‘Can you tell the captain of the pointy stick brigade to point them someplace else before welcoming us?’
‘I believe it might be prudent not to use that terminology, DanielJackson.’
‘Yeah, Teal’c, I’ll think of something else,’ Daniel answered, smiling. He turned to the leader again and spoke.
The leader replied, pointing his finger at the snow-covered village just behind. He repeated the word.
Daniel nodded, quickly, and the sticks were pointed at the ground.
‘Daniel... what did you just commit us to?’
‘Nothing.’ Daniel walked with the leader to the edge of the village. He was handed a knife, and Jack was already moving before Daniel had the edge at his palm. With an abrupt movement, Daniel sliced his palm. He winced and shook it over the soil. Drops of blood, bright against the frozen earth, scattered. And then it was over, the natives calling their approval, and the leader clasping Daniel’s shoulder warmly. And Daniel’s blood had been poured on the ground and no one but Jack seemed to care.
‘Daniel,’ he said sharply. ‘What was that?’
‘Hmm? Oh, sorry, Jack. It was just a symbolic gesture, nothing to get excited about.’
‘You’re bleeding!’
‘It’s winter solstice. Well, their equivalent anyway.’
‘Blood makes the sun come up?’
Daniel wrinkled his nose at Jack’s oversimplification, but nodded. ‘Basically. Although the people...’
‘They just asked, and you said yes? It didn’t occur to you that maybe injuring yourself was a bad thing to do with no good reason? Jesus, Danny, you didn’t even think about it!’
‘Jack, I get worse cuts than this falling over. They asked if one of us would join their celebration and pray for the new sunrise. I said yes. You know we should go along with local customs where we can.’
‘It isn’t that, Daniel, but if you had asked first...’
Sam broke in, trying to make peace, or at least create a distraction. ‘What was the word they were saying, Daniel? Begins with F I think?’
‘Födelsedöd?’
‘Yeah. They kept repeating it, like it was important.’
‘It’s... a concept really. It’s hard to explain. But it’s very important for this season, the sense of either the end of the world or its rejuvenation. It means... well it can mean birth or death.’
Jack answered, ‘How can it mean both? Aren’t those two concepts kinda opposed to each other?’
Daniel was answering before he had finished speaking. The words had been formed even before Jack had spoken, a defensive reply to the question he knew would come. But when he answered it was barely above a whisper, his eyes on the horizon. ‘It means change.’
‘Don’t go with SG-4,’ Jack said, leaning into Daniel who was sitting beside him at the fireside.
Daniel looked down and picked at the bandage on his hand. ‘You already gave me permission.’
‘I know. But I’m asking you - don’t go.’
‘It’s only a few weeks.’
‘If you go, Daniel, you won’t come back, so don’t pretend it means nothing.’
‘It’s a few weeks.’
‘Correct me if I’m wrong,’ Jack answered. ‘But I have this feeling like - I let you go with them, you realise that maybe you don’t have to stay here at all. Maybe you could just walk back into the academic world. Now, I don’t know that you’re right about that, but I’m not stopping you from leaving. I’m just asking you to stay.’
‘And then what happens? Either I learn to keep quiet, or I keep arguing with you, and eventually you have to throw me off the team for insubordination. I know which is more likely.’
‘I’m not throwing you off the team, Daniel.’
Daniel looked across the fire, his face unearthly in the flickering light. ‘Maybe that’s not a good thing. Sometimes... sometimes we just need a change. Anyway, we can’t stay like this.’
‘What if it gets better?’
‘I should... I should go and talk to the chieftain again.’ And he walked away.
The celebrations had lasted long into the night. In fact, although SG-1 had eventually lain down to rest, the natives had continued with their feast. From what Jack understood, they would stay awake to see the sun rise. Jack had taken the last watch.
‘Danny, come on.’
Daniel blinked sleepily at him, but if everything else was broken between them, at least he still got up, and followed Jack.
It didn’t mean he wouldn’t ask questions though. ‘Jack, where are we...?’
‘Just a little walk.’
He walked them to the edge of the village, looking out at the mountains in the distance. Daniel’s breath was a cloud in front of him in the cold air.
‘Look,’ Jack said.
‘What?’
He placed a hand on Daniel’s shoulder and pointed him gently in the right direction. ‘Whatdoyaknow, the sun came up.’
Daniel turned around, unsure if he was being mocked. They were cheek to cheek.
Jack curled his arm around Daniel’s chest from behind, and leant into him. Pink sunlight was bleeding into the blue-black sky. The sun, white and unreal in the mist, rose like a promise of something better. ‘Födelsedöd, Danny. Change.’
FIN: Feedback, please?