Gen Fic: Five Gifts Jack Got That Daniel Never Admitted Came From Him
This gen fic came from Prompt Set #8 over at the sg1_five_things community on LJ.
Synopsis: Every gift has a meaning whether Jack likes it or not.
Title: Five Gifts Jack Got That Daniel Never Admitted Came From Him
Author: Catsmeow
Feedback: Much appreciated
Category: J/D friendship
Pairing: None
Rating: Teen for THAT swear word.
Date: 12-25-06
Season/Spoilers: Set in Season 7. Specific spoilers for Within The Serpent's Grasp, In The Serpent's Lair, The Other Side.
Notes: This was in response to Prompt Set #8 on the sg1_five_things community on LiveJournal. Many thanks to my betas AnnO & Barb.
Warnings: None
Five Gifts Jack Got That Daniel Never Admitted Came From Him
1. PX4-3R9 was a wet miserable rainy planet forcing Jack and Daniel to spend a lot of time sheltering in their shared tent. Thanks to the usual effect of mac and cheese MRE’s on Jack’s digestion, the atmosphere became rather pungent. A couple of weeks after their return, Jack got an extra present in the base Secret Santa Gift Exchange. On the back of the bright yellow boxer shorts, in serious black letters, was emblazoned “Warning! Contents under pressure!” Although no one would admit to giving him the boxers, Daniel quipped, “Obviously, it’s from someone who knows you” and Jack narrowed the list of suspects down to one.
2. Jack had nightmares about leaving Daniel in a bloody heap on the floor of the mothership with lung and bone and charred red meat visible through the hole in his chest. Daniel’s intelligence, tenacity, and sheer good luck meant his friend lived to greet him when Jack and the rest of the team returned. Jack knew he’d made the right decision at the time, but he still felt guilty for walking away from the dying man. Jack wanted to keep Daniel safe which meant taking him off the team. Jack had put out a couple of feelers about keeping his friend base bound which Daniel had emphatically brushed off. Daniel was passionate about his reasons for stepping through the gate, but to Jack there was no reason good enough to put him in danger.
As he sat in his office brooding over the best way to protect Daniel, Jack noticed a flash of colour on his wall. Stepping closer, he could see that it was one of those pictures meant to inspire. An eagle soared high over a lush green valley with the sun low in the sky. In script across the bottom of the picture was a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. “A man who won’t die for something is not fit to live.” Jack nodded to himself as he read it. Okay. That was something he could understand. He never mentioned the picture to Daniel, and Daniel never asked, but Jack never talked about taking Daniel off the team again.
3. Jack was pleased that his façade of incomprehension had reduced Daniel to exasperation once again. Daniel fruitlessly tried to call him on it, but as usual Jack was able to slide around the subject which made Daniel look even more exasperated and left Jack feeling smug. About a week later, Jack found something sitting smack dab in the center of his desk that made him smile. He strolled into Daniel’s lab casually holding the mug that proclaimed “Your village called. They want their idiot back.” Daniel’s eyes flicked over the inscription as he said, “I can’t believe you’re flaunting that.” Daniel tried to hide it, but Jack could tell he was pleased as well as amused. The mug became Jack’s favorite.
4. Jack had apologized for shutting Daniel up on Euronda, but their argument over the search for weapons at all cost had continued after the mission ended. He shared Daniel’s desire for allies, but what was wrong with wanting the security of a whole slew of big honkin’ guns to back you up in case heavy shit went down? Because, as Jack well knew, heavy shit ALWAYS came down eventually. Each man had stated his position over and over until it was pointless to say it again. With the tension simmering between them, Jack had been staying in his office instead of hanging out in Daniel’s lab.
Early one morning, Jack came in to find a book sitting on his desk. Jack’s mouth pressed into a thin line as he read the title “Non-violence and Conflict Resolution”. The book lay open, a quote from Gandhi highlighted: “What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?” Jack felt the anger flare up again, white hot. Subtle, Daniel, real fucking subtle.
Roughly, he shoved the book into the back of drawer and slammed it shut. Since their ‘discussions’ had failed miserably as a way of communicating, it seemed Daniel was trying to state his case in a less confrontational way. But Daniel never said a word about giving him the book and he was far too pissed to tell Daniel he got it.
A few months later, Jack came across the book while cleaning out his files. He picked it up, meaning to throw it out with the rest of the trash, but for some reason he found himself taking it home. Sometimes, in the dim hours of the night when sleep wouldn’t come, Jack would flip through that book, read whichever quote his restless hands turned up, and carefully consider its meaning.
5. After all these years, Christmas had gotten better but Charlie’s birthday was still hard to get through. Jack couldn’t help thinking how old his boy would have been and what Charlie would have been doing if he was still alive. If he had grown up. If his own father’s carelessness hadn’t killed him. His boy was gone. Nothing Jack did could change it. Nothing he did could take away the pain. If he was short tempered and unapproachable every year at this time, well, his friends understood and fuck everyone else.
Then the year Daniel descended, Jack came home to find a small box on his porch. Inside was a man’s bracelet. The black leather cord held a silver Celtic eternity knot. Engraved on the back was Charlie’s name. When Jack wore the bracelet to the base the next day, Daniel saw it as they changed out of their civvies into BDU’s. He didn’t ask about the bracelet, but he held Jack’s gaze and squeezed his shoulder. Suddenly Jack knew that Charlie’s birthday wouldn’t be so hard to get through anymore.
He smiled. Daniel smiled back.