Five People Daniel Told

Jul 19, 2010 12:00


This story was written for a Five Things prompt.  sg1_five_things

In 2010 the Stargate Went Public: Five People Daniel Told

~::~

“Hey, Cassie.” Daniel leaned over to hug his niece. “It's great to see you. Thanks for bringing the girls to the mountain.” He reached out to shake hands with the two young women in front of him. “Kayla, Tessa, it's good to see you too. It's been a long time, far too long. From what I hear, your grandfather would be so proud of you. Tessa, a college graduate, and Kayla, already on the honor role in your first year.” Kayla nodded, a little overwhelmed by their location. She stood and stared at the huge metal door, her eyes wide. Tessa, a step behind her, looked almost as awed.



“As you probably know by now, your grandfather worked here at Cheyenne Mountain. What you might not know is what he did here. He was one of the most amazing people I've ever met, a natural leader, and he led the Stargate program. I don't know of anyone who gave as much of himself to the program as he did. We would never have had the success we did without him. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't be here without him. The number of times he pulled my sorry ass out of the fire--” He cleared his throat and glared at Cassie who was laughing at him behind her hand. Kayla and Tessa looked at each other and grinned as well. “The number of times.... Well, let's just say that your grandfather cared for everyone under his command, including me. I'll tell you some of the stories sometime.” He grinned back. “Right now, though, I'm honored to be the one to show you where General George Hammond used to work.”

~::~

Daniel put his hand over the phone and mouthed “Martin Lloyd” to Jack who mouthed back “crazy Martin Lloyd” and left Daniel alone in his office. “Yes, Marty, I'm sure it'll help boost residuals from the show. The Stargate going public will probably make you a lot of money.” He shuffled through the papers on his desk looking for... Oh, there it was. “Sure,” he continued, “if you want to tell people you're an alien, I guess you can. I don't recommend it, of course.” Daniel tucked the phone under his shoulder and flipped the notepad open to a new page. “Well, if you want the paparazzi chasing you all the time, or people always asking for your autograph, I guess you could--” He heard a click on the other end of the line. “Hello? Marty?” He grinned then yelled, “Jack, you can come back now. I told him.”

~::~

“Hi, Miss Gosling? It's Daniel Jackson. We met at--” He paused and smiled at the excited voice on the other end of the phone. “Yes, I'm the one who spoke at your aunt's funeral.” He laughed. “No, I still leave the whip at home most of time; it just doesn't go with my suit.” He paused again. “Yes, I still have the medallion you gave me; it's one of my most treasured possessions. Listen, Ms. Gosling--” Her chatter stopped him again and he pulled the phone away from his ear, glad she couldn't see him roll his eyes. “Ms. Gosling... Sabrina, if you have a few minutes, I'd like to tell you some things you might not know about your aunt, Catherine Langford. I told you she changed my life. I'd like to tell you how.”

~::~

Daniel finished the e-mail and grinned. “Steven,” it said, “I thought you'd like to know that that yes, the pyramids really are ten thousand years old. I told you that 18 years ago and you wouldn't believe me. Yes, we really were visited by aliens- still are visited by aliens; I've met them. Yes, we have a device that takes us to other planets; I've been to hundreds. Did you see the newspaper with the headline 'Stargate teams reach out to new worlds'? I'm on one of those Stargate teams. Do you believe me now? Oh, and that canopic jar we found, when Sarah disappeared? It contained a creature so evil even you would be surprised. So all those things you said about me? Not true. I am not crazy. You want the truth? The truth is I've been involved in one of the most amazing discoveries of the last millennium. I'm giving a lecture about it next week, and you're welcome to come. I'll save you a seat in the back row.”

He smirked and held his finger over the “send” button. Steven Rayner, his nemesis, his pain-in-the-ass classmate who went to book signings and owned a Porsche, deserved to be told the truth. It was Daniel's turn for “closure,” his turn to get his 15 or even 30 minutes of fame, and by god, he was going to get it. He sighed. Instead of hitting send, he pushed the “delete” key slowly, erasing the message space by space. Then he canceled the message.

~::~

“Mom? Dad? I thought you'd like to know what I've been doing for the past 15 years. I think you might know already, but let me make it official: I've been on the journey of a lifetime, several lifetimes, and I owe it all to you.” Daniel settled himself cross-legged between the two tombstones. The late afternoon sun flickered through the trees, casting dancing shadows on the names of his parents. “Remember taking me to the Giza plateau when I was a kid to see the pyramids? I was so impressed- and a little scared, too. I'd never seen anything so impressive. Remember teaching me other languages? I spoke Arabic before I spoke English, didn't I? Do you remember teaching me to read hieroglyphs? I know I've never forgotten it; I thought it was so exciting to be able to go into the tombs with you.”

Daniel took a deep breath to stop his babbling. He shook his head at his own nervousness. How could he be nervous here with the people who loved him most?  “You taught me so much, both of you, and I want you to know how important that's been to me. It's the part of you I'll always have. It also started me on an even bigger adventure. I only wish you could be here to see it.” He shifted on the cold earth and stared at the solid tombstones before he settled his hands on his lap. He took another deep breath. “Ummi, Abbi, let me tell you about the Stargate.”

~::~

gen, challenge, daniel jackson, five things

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