A Heart's Truth
Title: A Heart's Truth
Author: Getty
Pairing: Jack/Daniel from Stargate
Rating: G
Beta: IgnobleBard
Disclaimer: Sadly not mine or SG1 would still be out there saving the day and giving all us fan girls something to be happy about.
Feedback: Always appreciated.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
‘After the pain, more like absence of pain’, Jack thinks to himself. Because that is what would happen if he killed Daniel right now.
One simple mission the General had said. Negotiate a treaty, spend a few days getting to know the locals, yada, yada, yada.
One harmless drink to open the negotiations Daniel had said. Negotiate a treaty, spend a few days getting to know the locals, yada, yada, yada.
“Daniel, you and the word ‘harmless’ rarely play well together.”
“It’s symbolism,” Daniel explained, his eyes alight with puppy dog earnestness. “The drink is called Kor Valosag it honors the Hiberion's ancestors and represents their reverence for truth and honesty as the drinker believes it to be.”
Teal’c leaned in close to Jack. “Such things are not unheard of O’Neill. On Chulak if negotiations are serious enough, a severed finger can be offered as proof of sincerity.”
So Jack, trusting Daniel’s interpretation, agreed to down the symbolic drink as proof of his honesty.
Subsequently, a gourd of clear liquid was passed around and Jack found the taste oddly pleasing. It was slightly sweet with a tang of wood smoke. It reminded him of simpler times he’d spent alone with Daniel either off-world or at the cabin.
From Jack the gourd had been passed to Daniel, who after his drink refused to look Jack in the eye. To Carter, who after her sip glanced quickly from Jack to Daniel to Teal'c before a slight blush appeared across her cheeks. Then to Teal’c, whose hand went to a small pendant he wore around his neck, a gift from his son Rya’c some time ago.
Elek leaned forward and spoke to Daniel. Jack caught the flash of panic in Daniel’s eyes as he responded.
“Daniel?”
“Ummm, Jack.” Daniel managed to look sheepish and apologetic at the same time. “I’ve mistranslated Kor Valosag.”
“Speak English Daniel.”
“For the next twenty-four hours we are incapable of lying about anything.”
Jack scrubbed one hand across his face.
“Daniel...” But before he could say more Teal’c leaned in.
“Have no fear O’Neill, my symbiote has already metabolized the serum. Should you attempt to reveal any military secrets I will kill you before you do so.”
“Thanks, big guy.”
Truth be told (Jack gave an inward cringe at the metaphor) it wasn’t military secrets he was worried about. He knew that the heart’s truth had nothing to do with knowing how to create a nuclear reactor from a stick of gum and a belt buckle. The heart’s truth had everything to do with all the things he had never planned on talking about, ever. Things like Charlie’s death, his divorce from Sara, and his feelings for Daniel Jackson.
It was an in-plain-sight secret that Jack had long kept buried. Charlie’s death had started the process and Sara’s leaving had finished it. Jack’s heart had become ice. Enter one geeky space monkey into Jack’s orbit and the ice began to thaw. Colonel Jack O’Neill, the man capable of saving everyone but himself, was in love with his best friend Daniel Jackson.
How do you tell your best friend that his is the last face you see before you fall asleep and the first one you think about when you wake up? How do you tell him that more than once you have wondered how it would be to undress him, to lay skin to skin and remember, just for a moment, how it feels to be alive? Jack was no coward but he had never planned on finding out. Discretion truly was the better part of valor.
__ o_0 __
Twenty Four hours had passed and it had gone surprisingly well. The Hiberions cared greatly for maintaining the natural environment and Elek’s worries had centered around keeping his home safe and free from pollutants.
Finally Elek turned to his tribal elders and they talked back and forth for several minutes. From the satisfied look on Daniel’s face Jack concluded that once again SG1 had saved the day.
“O’Neill,” Elek addressed Jack directly, “we will gladly agree to a treaty with your Earth.”
Jack’s eyebrows rose in disbelief. “You speak our language?”
“The true mark of a man is not how he acts when he thinks you understand, it’s how he acts when he thinks that you do not.”
Jack nodded; it was a tactic he had used on occasion as well.
Elek reached out and Jack shook his hand.
In twos and threes the elders exited the lodge. Up ahead his whiz kids were already discussing the different possible uses of the minerals they had discovered. One of Elek’s security advisers approached Teal’c and the two of them left the tent discussing the merits of one tactical move over the other.
“Come O’Neill, it has been a long talk. Let us break our fast.” Elek motioned for Jack to walk with him. “A feast has been prepared and we will celebrate the union of our peoples.”
Jack’s little voice, the same one that had plotted Daniel’s painful death after the translating error, told him it was safe to accept the offer. He dropped his defenses a notch as the wafting smell of cooked meat reached his nostrils.
“You are a good man O’Neill and your loved ones are most fortunate.”
“I have no loved ones. My son died many years ago and my wife, well she’s gone too.” The words were out before he could catch them. The next time his little voice told him it was safe to do anything, Jack was going to tell it to go jump in the lake. The lake WITH big, man-eating fish.
“I am sorry for your loss,” Elek replied. “I too lost a son long ago. It is a grievous thing. A parent should never outlive their child.”
“Are you going to tell me the other true mark of a man is the number of loved ones in his life?”
“No, a good man is not afraid to love, that is all.” Elek smiled at him.
“What does that have to do with the treaty?” Jack demanded, feeling a faint heat creeping up the back of his neck.
“To my people, honor is everything.” Elek studied Jack for a moment. “But it is love that keeps us going when all else fails.”
“And?”
“Who do you love, O’Neill? For whom will you keep going when all else is lost?”
Tension suddenly filled the people around them. Was this the bottom line in the negotiations? He wanted to lie and for a moment he was sure Elek had witnessed that thought on his face. Then Jack found his honor and his courage. His voice rang out sure and true across the clearing.
“I would die for Daniel Jackson.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Epilogue
Late one snowy winter’s night Jack answered a knock upon his door. He opened it to find Daniel standing there. They stared at each other for a moment before Daniel stepped over the threshold and took Jack into his arms. Within Daniel’s kiss was the promise of all the days to come and Jack O’Neill believed.
Author: Getty
Pairing: Jack/Daniel from Stargate
Rating: G
Beta: IgnobleBard
Disclaimer: Sadly not mine or SG1 would still be out there saving the day and giving all us fan girls something to be happy about.
Feedback: Always appreciated.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
‘After the pain, more like absence of pain’, Jack thinks to himself. Because that is what would happen if he killed Daniel right now.
One simple mission the General had said. Negotiate a treaty, spend a few days getting to know the locals, yada, yada, yada.
One harmless drink to open the negotiations Daniel had said. Negotiate a treaty, spend a few days getting to know the locals, yada, yada, yada.
“Daniel, you and the word ‘harmless’ rarely play well together.”
“It’s symbolism,” Daniel explained, his eyes alight with puppy dog earnestness. “The drink is called Kor Valosag it honors the Hiberion's ancestors and represents their reverence for truth and honesty as the drinker believes it to be.”
Teal’c leaned in close to Jack. “Such things are not unheard of O’Neill. On Chulak if negotiations are serious enough, a severed finger can be offered as proof of sincerity.”
So Jack, trusting Daniel’s interpretation, agreed to down the symbolic drink as proof of his honesty.
Subsequently, a gourd of clear liquid was passed around and Jack found the taste oddly pleasing. It was slightly sweet with a tang of wood smoke. It reminded him of simpler times he’d spent alone with Daniel either off-world or at the cabin.
From Jack the gourd had been passed to Daniel, who after his drink refused to look Jack in the eye. To Carter, who after her sip glanced quickly from Jack to Daniel to Teal'c before a slight blush appeared across her cheeks. Then to Teal’c, whose hand went to a small pendant he wore around his neck, a gift from his son Rya’c some time ago.
Elek leaned forward and spoke to Daniel. Jack caught the flash of panic in Daniel’s eyes as he responded.
“Daniel?”
“Ummm, Jack.” Daniel managed to look sheepish and apologetic at the same time. “I’ve mistranslated Kor Valosag.”
“Speak English Daniel.”
“For the next twenty-four hours we are incapable of lying about anything.”
Jack scrubbed one hand across his face.
“Daniel...” But before he could say more Teal’c leaned in.
“Have no fear O’Neill, my symbiote has already metabolized the serum. Should you attempt to reveal any military secrets I will kill you before you do so.”
“Thanks, big guy.”
Truth be told (Jack gave an inward cringe at the metaphor) it wasn’t military secrets he was worried about. He knew that the heart’s truth had nothing to do with knowing how to create a nuclear reactor from a stick of gum and a belt buckle. The heart’s truth had everything to do with all the things he had never planned on talking about, ever. Things like Charlie’s death, his divorce from Sara, and his feelings for Daniel Jackson.
It was an in-plain-sight secret that Jack had long kept buried. Charlie’s death had started the process and Sara’s leaving had finished it. Jack’s heart had become ice. Enter one geeky space monkey into Jack’s orbit and the ice began to thaw. Colonel Jack O’Neill, the man capable of saving everyone but himself, was in love with his best friend Daniel Jackson.
How do you tell your best friend that his is the last face you see before you fall asleep and the first one you think about when you wake up? How do you tell him that more than once you have wondered how it would be to undress him, to lay skin to skin and remember, just for a moment, how it feels to be alive? Jack was no coward but he had never planned on finding out. Discretion truly was the better part of valor.
__ o_0 __
Twenty Four hours had passed and it had gone surprisingly well. The Hiberions cared greatly for maintaining the natural environment and Elek’s worries had centered around keeping his home safe and free from pollutants.
Finally Elek turned to his tribal elders and they talked back and forth for several minutes. From the satisfied look on Daniel’s face Jack concluded that once again SG1 had saved the day.
“O’Neill,” Elek addressed Jack directly, “we will gladly agree to a treaty with your Earth.”
Jack’s eyebrows rose in disbelief. “You speak our language?”
“The true mark of a man is not how he acts when he thinks you understand, it’s how he acts when he thinks that you do not.”
Jack nodded; it was a tactic he had used on occasion as well.
Elek reached out and Jack shook his hand.
In twos and threes the elders exited the lodge. Up ahead his whiz kids were already discussing the different possible uses of the minerals they had discovered. One of Elek’s security advisers approached Teal’c and the two of them left the tent discussing the merits of one tactical move over the other.
“Come O’Neill, it has been a long talk. Let us break our fast.” Elek motioned for Jack to walk with him. “A feast has been prepared and we will celebrate the union of our peoples.”
Jack’s little voice, the same one that had plotted Daniel’s painful death after the translating error, told him it was safe to accept the offer. He dropped his defenses a notch as the wafting smell of cooked meat reached his nostrils.
“You are a good man O’Neill and your loved ones are most fortunate.”
“I have no loved ones. My son died many years ago and my wife, well she’s gone too.” The words were out before he could catch them. The next time his little voice told him it was safe to do anything, Jack was going to tell it to go jump in the lake. The lake WITH big, man-eating fish.
“I am sorry for your loss,” Elek replied. “I too lost a son long ago. It is a grievous thing. A parent should never outlive their child.”
“Are you going to tell me the other true mark of a man is the number of loved ones in his life?”
“No, a good man is not afraid to love, that is all.” Elek smiled at him.
“What does that have to do with the treaty?” Jack demanded, feeling a faint heat creeping up the back of his neck.
“To my people, honor is everything.” Elek studied Jack for a moment. “But it is love that keeps us going when all else fails.”
“And?”
“Who do you love, O’Neill? For whom will you keep going when all else is lost?”
Tension suddenly filled the people around them. Was this the bottom line in the negotiations? He wanted to lie and for a moment he was sure Elek had witnessed that thought on his face. Then Jack found his honor and his courage. His voice rang out sure and true across the clearing.
“I would die for Daniel Jackson.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Epilogue
Late one snowy winter’s night Jack answered a knock upon his door. He opened it to find Daniel standing there. They stared at each other for a moment before Daniel stepped over the threshold and took Jack into his arms. Within Daniel’s kiss was the promise of all the days to come and Jack O’Neill believed.