New Fic: All Shook Up
Story Title: All Shook Up
Author’s Name: cestmoi01
Rating: PG, for two maybe bad words
Pairing: Jack/Daniel
Spoilers: none
Warnings: none
Challenge: Pepe's December Challenge, Elvis song titles - “All Shook Up”
Author’s Notes: So this story took a different route than I had planned it to - both in terms of plot and style, not to mention length - but I think it turned out alright anyway. Thanks very much to Toasted Toad for the beta and the great advice! Feedback is love!!!
Word Count: 1,168
Archive: soon to Pepe’s Place Website and Area 52. All others please ASK before taking.
Summary: "It happened suddenly, without any warning at all. It was done as quickly and surprisingly as it had started, even. But it was enough. It was enough." An incident off-world causes Jack to worry. Mild Jack/Daniel slash.
All Shook Up
It happened suddenly, without any warning at all. It was done as quickly and surprisingly as it had started, even. But it was enough. It was enough.
* * * * *
The MALP sent to P5X-669 reported no anomalies; clean air, a source of water not too distant, and just beyond that - some ruins that Daniel was keen to investigate. To be honest, Jack hadn’t listened all that closely - well, that wasn’t strictly true - he hadn’t listened closely to the words Daniel was speaking, but was pleased to hear the strong note of passion in his voice (and to see it reflected in his warm blue eyes) as he worked himself up about an interesting discovery and tried to get Jack to see the importance of it too. He didn’t, really (although that may have been because he wasn’t listening to Daniel’s words) - what he understood was that it was important to Daniel - that he was excited about it. Jack was pleased - his archeologist hadn’t had much to get excited about lately.
Soon enough, SG-1 had a “go,” and together they stepped through the ‘gate. The landscape wasn’t much to talk about, although Jack did manage to comment on the lack of trees, which received commiserating eye-rolls from Daniel and Carter, and the usual stoic look from Teal’c.
‘One of these days,’ Jack thought to himself.
The main purpose of this excursion was to allow Daniel to get a closer look at the ruins he was so excited about, although Carter wanted to collect soil samples as well. Nevertheless, there was no need to split up the team up just yet, so Teal’c took point and Jack brought up the rear to watch their sixes… 'Not to mention Daniel’s admittedly fine one.'
They had made it about halfway to the ruins when it happened - suddenly, without any warning at all, the ground began to shake violently beneath them. There was a loud rumbling sound, an even louder CRACK! and a few surprised yells from the three Tau’ri members of SG-1, then it was done as quickly and surprisingly as it had started. But it was enough.
When Jack had collected his wits enough to look around, he saw Teal’c relaxing his firmly-braced stance, Carter picking herself up from her sprawl on the ground, and Daniel... ‘Where’s Daniel?'
“Daniel!” Jack shouted.
No response.
“Daniel!” he shouted again, an edge of wildness in his voice.
“O’Neill,” Teal’c said softly, but it got his attention nonetheless. He looked for the source of the voice and found the Jaffa warrior standing next to a small rock. And beyond that…
“Holy crap!” Jack cried out, rushing forward to peer over the edge of the crevasse that had opened up during the mini earthquake, Carter following with a hand to the back of her head and a grim look on her face.
What he saw was better than he expected, but still not all that great. Dangerously close to falling off a ledge in the newly-formed crevasse lay Daniel, apparently unharmed except for the fact that he was unresponsive. It was all too easy to figure out what had happened to their team-mate; the quake came, the crevasse opened up, the ground shook, Daniel tripped over that stupid, insignificant rock and fell in.
‘It could have been worse,’ Jack thought, ‘a couple more inches to the side and he wouldn’t have landed on the ledge at all. And there are no obvious broken arms or legs at twisted angles...Just think positive, Colonel. Danny’s going to be fine.’
“Alright,” he said aloud, having gotten his emotions under control. “Let’s get out a rope and lower me down there.”
* * * * *
Later that day, Jack was in the infirmary seated next to Daniel, who had been diagnosed by Janet as having a concussion, a badly-bruised back, and a sprained left wrist (Daniel would be happy that it was not his writing wrist), and who was now sleeping calmly, thanks to the aid of Janet’s sedatives. She had offered them to the Colonel as well, who - to her expert eye - appeared to be very ‘shaken’ by the experience. He had refused them, saying that watching Daniel would be better for his immediate peace of mind than a good night’s rest, and Janet didn’t push the issue. Privately, he vowed to himself that he would not sleep until Daniel had woken up and proven to his satisfaction that his beloved archeologist was well.
Besides, he was shaken. And he needed to think about that. Doing what they did, he expected a certain amount of danger as a matter of course. The difference was he expected it from the Goa’uld or the Replicators or strange aliens. Not from a freakin’ earthquake, fercryinoutloud! He could’ve dealt with coming under fire - that he knew how to respond to at least, even if he didn’t particularly enjoy it. But natural disasters? There was nothing he could do to protect Daniel from those. Today’s experience had proved that. He didn’t like the thought that there was something he couldn’t protect his lover from.
“J’ck?” there was a scratchy mumble from the bed.
Jack shot forward in his chair and grasped Daniel’s right hand, glad to see those beautiful blue eyes looking up at him, alert again. The last time Daniel had been awake, he hadn’t been entirely coherent. But now - now, Daniel was scrutinizing Jack very closely, and the tough Air Force Colonel squirmed under the examination.
“You won’t lose me, Jack,” he said softly, seeing more than the intensely private Colonel was comfortable with, “I’m alright.”
“Daniel-” Jack began, only to be cut off.
“Jack. I know. Believe me, I know. How do you think I feel whenever it’s you in this bed and me in that chair? But we’re both alive, Jack. And it’s going to stay that way as long as either of us has anything to say about it, because we live for each other now. As much as you are tangled up in me, so am I in you. And I know how helpless it feels to be sitting there right now.” His serious face became mischievous with the next sentence he spoke, “So I’m going to give you something you can do to help me out.”
“Name it, Daniel. Anything.”
Daniel’s bright blue eyes gleamed with love as they glanced quickly around the room to make sure that the two of them were alone, and it happened suddenly, without any warning at all. Daniel’s right hand came up behind Jack’s neck to pull his head down, and there was the soft, warm press of Daniel’s lips against his, and then it was done, as quickly and surprisingly as it had started. But it was enough.
It was enough to accept Daniel’s invitation to lay his head down on the bed, to allow Daniel’s fingers to stroke his short hair softly, enough to accept finally that Daniel was alive and well and to ease slowly into sleep at last.