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more comment fic? and this one exploded. so it's here.
Daniel was getting strange looks as he walked down the corridor. He checked his fly, but it was securely buttoned; his shirt was right-side out; he wiped his hand surreptitiously over his face to make sure he didn’t have something there; there was nothing trailing along at the bottom of his boot. The only thing he could figure was that people were looking at him hoping to figure out which one he was. He and the other Daniels needed to figure out a way to differentiate the teams better now that there were more of them than BDU choices; the Sams were far too busy trying to fix the problem.
He walked into the mess and felt like he’d walked into a very surreal world… or a very specific dream. This seemed to be where the Cams were hanging out. A tiny shiver ran down his spine as he quickly flipped through quite a few scenarios wherein this would be… ideal. He smiled as he spotted his own Cam in line. In a room full of Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Mitchels, Daniel still knew the one who was his, it was nice.
He went over and slipped one hand over Cam’s eyes and grabbed his ass with the other. “Hey hot stuff, anyone ever tell you you have a nice ass?” he whispered huskily into Cam’s ear.
“Watch it, sailor, my boyfriend might hear you.”
“He as hot as you?”
“Hotter.”
“Not possible.” He squeezed the handful of firm ass and smiled wickedly when Cam arched into the touch. “Slut.”
“Storage room 729, don’t tell my boyfriend.”
Daniel smiled, dropped a quick kiss to the back of Cam’s neck and stepped back. “Anything good on the menu?”
Cam turned around, raised an eyebrow and looked over Daniel slowly. “I can think of a few things good enough to eat.”
“You are insatiable. And we’re on base.”
“You started it!” Cam argued.
“I know. But, seriously, have you looked around this room? There are like twenty of you in here.”
“So, uh, where are the Daniel’s hanging out?”
“You see the appeal?”
Cam just smiled and reached out to squeezed Daniel’s shoulder. “You’re really tense, hon.”
“We’re stuck in another universe, time counting down to Entropic Cascade Failure and your mother is supposed to come into town this week. Can’t imagine why I’m stressed.”
“Mom’s gonna love you, you know that.”
“You keep saying that,” Daniel sighed.
“I tell you what, you go find a seat, ogle all the hot southern boys,” Cam smiled at that, “I’ll get you some chow. Sound like a plan?”
“I knew there was a reason I love you.”
Cam’s smile turned sweet and gentle. “Love you too, hon. Go sit.”
Daniel turned around and realized that the mess was oddly quiet, but conversation seemed to start up right away. It was clearly false conversation, overly loud and overly boisterous. Daniel frowned lightly and went to an empty table.
It was a few seconds but another Daniel came over and sat across from him; he thought that this might be the Daniel who was original to this universe.
“Mind if I have a seat?” the other Daniel asked, his voice tentative.
“Sure,” he motioned to the seat across from him. “You’re the, uh, the original for this world?”
“Yeah,” the other Daniel nodded, an awkward look on his face. “Listen, uh, not that it’s really any of my business - except for the fact that it is, sort of, I mean I have to… What was that?”
“What was what?”
“That, up there, in line.”
“Oh, sorry about that. We usually tone it down on base, try to find the balance with work and home; but it’s really stressful right now. Sometimes you just need to touch your partner, you know what I mean?”
“Um, no. Not really.”
Just then Vala stood in the doorway and called out, “Jumping purple fish!”
Daniel and Cameron, who was just setting down the two trays, both burst out laughing. “Get over here, Vala,” Cameron called out.
“Apparently we were the only ones who saw them,” Vala said as she sat down next to the extra Daniel. “You two spicing things up a bit? Honestly, Cameron, you can’t have all of them, it’s not fair to the rest of the universe -es.” She reached out and took a french fry from Cameron’s plate. “What are we talking about?”
“Daniel here was just asking me something,” Daniel volunteered.
“I was wondering why you’re… you know, out.”
“I don’t understand,” Cam said with his mouth half full.
“Baby, don’t talk with your mouth full, didn’t you learn anything on P3R-372?”
“This stroganoff is really good, you’ve gotta try it. This is totally not like what we have, this is more like what my grandma used to make.” Cam took a forkful from his plate and fed it to Daniel.
“Wow, that is good.”
“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Cam teased as Vala reached across and stole his spoon to take a bite of the stroganoff.
“You two are going to get yourselves hurt,” the other Daniel said. “I understand that this isn’t your world and that you’re probably looking for some down time to relax. And I can see pretty plainly that you’re… you know… together. But you’re going to get yourselves hurt.”
“What are you talking about?” Cam asked, frowning.
“DADT,” the other Daniel said simply.
“What now?” Cam asked.
“What is that?” Vala asked.
“Never heard of it,” Daniel said.
“You’re kidding me, right?” the other Daniel looked incredulous. “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.”
“Don’t ask or tell what? Or am I not allowed to ask?” Daniel questioned.
“It means that you can’t be gay in the military,” the other Daniel said incredulously.
The three just looked at him, uncomprehending.
“Why not?” Cam asked in his scarily calm voice.
“I’m afraid I don’t understand either,” Vala said.
“Well, the military is homophobic,” the other Daniel said slowly. “And it’s not legal for homosexuals to serve.”
“That’s ridiculous!” Daniel said. “That’s… that’s insane.”
“It’s how it is.”
“Since when?” Daniel demanded of his doppelganger.
“DADT, which is actually an improvement I’m sorry to say, was implemented in the 90s,” the other Daniel explained. “It stopped the pre-screening to disallow gays in the military, but didn’t allow them to be openly gay. No one can ask and no one can tell and you aren’t supposed to harass if you find out.”
Daniel felt sick. “But they do, don’t they?”
The other Daniel just nodded.
“What about President Daily?” Cam asked.
“Who?” Daniel questioned.
“Civil War general, elected president in… when was it again, hon?” Cam looked to his Daniel.
“1869,” Daniel said. “Followed Andrew Johnson. Elected by a landslide. Then it was discovered that he was gay, the Republican Party tried to have him impeached even though he was one of them. He used the newly-passed 14th Amendment to prove that it was his right to love whomever he wanted.”
“So, you guys have had equality for gays for over a hundred years?” the other Daniel asked.
“And you guys are still living in the Dark Ages.”
“It’s getting better, some states allow gay marriage now.”
“Only some?” Cam asked.
“What about you?” Daniel asked his doppelganger. “How do you stand it?”
“I’m not gay. I’m actually kind of shocked that you are.”
“What do you mean you’re not gay? How is that possible?” Cam said in a whisper.
“Babe, you know I’m bi. I’m guessing that the Daniel in this world either never explored that part of himself because of these… idiotic laws, or he never explored it for some other reason.”
“So wait,” Vala interrupted, “it’s not legal to be gay?”
“Not in the military, no,” the other Daniel confirmed.
“But what about all of the simmering homoerotic subtext? This world has that, I’ve seen it, it’s everywhere.”
The other Daniel gave a small laugh. “Well yeah. But just, you know, be careful. And also, keep in mind that there will be those of us here like you, who are gay and some like me, who are straight and a lot who are hiding. Don’t out them, you don’t know what it’s like on their world.” With that he stood up and walked out of the mess.
***
It was two days later when they stepped back through the wormhole to their own world and Cam stopped short and pulled Daniel close to him in a tight hug. “I haven’t been able to say this for two days, Daniel: I love you.”
“I love you too.” Daniel smiled and gave his boyfriend a kiss.
“Marry me.”
“What?” Daniel stopped short, at the bottom of the ramp so did Vala, Sam and Teal’c.
“You heard me, I wanna spend the rest of my life with you; and yeah maybe it took that kinda world to show me what it would be like not to be able to have you by my side every day, and I don’t wanna do that again. I want to marry you, Daniel Jackson. Will you marry me?”
Daniel smiled. “Yeah.”
Daniel was getting strange looks as he walked down the corridor. He checked his fly, but it was securely buttoned; his shirt was right-side out; he wiped his hand surreptitiously over his face to make sure he didn’t have something there; there was nothing trailing along at the bottom of his boot. The only thing he could figure was that people were looking at him hoping to figure out which one he was. He and the other Daniels needed to figure out a way to differentiate the teams better now that there were more of them than BDU choices; the Sams were far too busy trying to fix the problem.
He walked into the mess and felt like he’d walked into a very surreal world… or a very specific dream. This seemed to be where the Cams were hanging out. A tiny shiver ran down his spine as he quickly flipped through quite a few scenarios wherein this would be… ideal. He smiled as he spotted his own Cam in line. In a room full of Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Mitchels, Daniel still knew the one who was his, it was nice.
He went over and slipped one hand over Cam’s eyes and grabbed his ass with the other. “Hey hot stuff, anyone ever tell you you have a nice ass?” he whispered huskily into Cam’s ear.
“Watch it, sailor, my boyfriend might hear you.”
“He as hot as you?”
“Hotter.”
“Not possible.” He squeezed the handful of firm ass and smiled wickedly when Cam arched into the touch. “Slut.”
“Storage room 729, don’t tell my boyfriend.”
Daniel smiled, dropped a quick kiss to the back of Cam’s neck and stepped back. “Anything good on the menu?”
Cam turned around, raised an eyebrow and looked over Daniel slowly. “I can think of a few things good enough to eat.”
“You are insatiable. And we’re on base.”
“You started it!” Cam argued.
“I know. But, seriously, have you looked around this room? There are like twenty of you in here.”
“So, uh, where are the Daniel’s hanging out?”
“You see the appeal?”
Cam just smiled and reached out to squeezed Daniel’s shoulder. “You’re really tense, hon.”
“We’re stuck in another universe, time counting down to Entropic Cascade Failure and your mother is supposed to come into town this week. Can’t imagine why I’m stressed.”
“Mom’s gonna love you, you know that.”
“You keep saying that,” Daniel sighed.
“I tell you what, you go find a seat, ogle all the hot southern boys,” Cam smiled at that, “I’ll get you some chow. Sound like a plan?”
“I knew there was a reason I love you.”
Cam’s smile turned sweet and gentle. “Love you too, hon. Go sit.”
Daniel turned around and realized that the mess was oddly quiet, but conversation seemed to start up right away. It was clearly false conversation, overly loud and overly boisterous. Daniel frowned lightly and went to an empty table.
It was a few seconds but another Daniel came over and sat across from him; he thought that this might be the Daniel who was original to this universe.
“Mind if I have a seat?” the other Daniel asked, his voice tentative.
“Sure,” he motioned to the seat across from him. “You’re the, uh, the original for this world?”
“Yeah,” the other Daniel nodded, an awkward look on his face. “Listen, uh, not that it’s really any of my business - except for the fact that it is, sort of, I mean I have to… What was that?”
“What was what?”
“That, up there, in line.”
“Oh, sorry about that. We usually tone it down on base, try to find the balance with work and home; but it’s really stressful right now. Sometimes you just need to touch your partner, you know what I mean?”
“Um, no. Not really.”
Just then Vala stood in the doorway and called out, “Jumping purple fish!”
Daniel and Cameron, who was just setting down the two trays, both burst out laughing. “Get over here, Vala,” Cameron called out.
“Apparently we were the only ones who saw them,” Vala said as she sat down next to the extra Daniel. “You two spicing things up a bit? Honestly, Cameron, you can’t have all of them, it’s not fair to the rest of the universe -es.” She reached out and took a french fry from Cameron’s plate. “What are we talking about?”
“Daniel here was just asking me something,” Daniel volunteered.
“I was wondering why you’re… you know, out.”
“I don’t understand,” Cam said with his mouth half full.
“Baby, don’t talk with your mouth full, didn’t you learn anything on P3R-372?”
“This stroganoff is really good, you’ve gotta try it. This is totally not like what we have, this is more like what my grandma used to make.” Cam took a forkful from his plate and fed it to Daniel.
“Wow, that is good.”
“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Cam teased as Vala reached across and stole his spoon to take a bite of the stroganoff.
“You two are going to get yourselves hurt,” the other Daniel said. “I understand that this isn’t your world and that you’re probably looking for some down time to relax. And I can see pretty plainly that you’re… you know… together. But you’re going to get yourselves hurt.”
“What are you talking about?” Cam asked, frowning.
“DADT,” the other Daniel said simply.
“What now?” Cam asked.
“What is that?” Vala asked.
“Never heard of it,” Daniel said.
“You’re kidding me, right?” the other Daniel looked incredulous. “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.”
“Don’t ask or tell what? Or am I not allowed to ask?” Daniel questioned.
“It means that you can’t be gay in the military,” the other Daniel said incredulously.
The three just looked at him, uncomprehending.
“Why not?” Cam asked in his scarily calm voice.
“I’m afraid I don’t understand either,” Vala said.
“Well, the military is homophobic,” the other Daniel said slowly. “And it’s not legal for homosexuals to serve.”
“That’s ridiculous!” Daniel said. “That’s… that’s insane.”
“It’s how it is.”
“Since when?” Daniel demanded of his doppelganger.
“DADT, which is actually an improvement I’m sorry to say, was implemented in the 90s,” the other Daniel explained. “It stopped the pre-screening to disallow gays in the military, but didn’t allow them to be openly gay. No one can ask and no one can tell and you aren’t supposed to harass if you find out.”
Daniel felt sick. “But they do, don’t they?”
The other Daniel just nodded.
“What about President Daily?” Cam asked.
“Who?” Daniel questioned.
“Civil War general, elected president in… when was it again, hon?” Cam looked to his Daniel.
“1869,” Daniel said. “Followed Andrew Johnson. Elected by a landslide. Then it was discovered that he was gay, the Republican Party tried to have him impeached even though he was one of them. He used the newly-passed 14th Amendment to prove that it was his right to love whomever he wanted.”
“So, you guys have had equality for gays for over a hundred years?” the other Daniel asked.
“And you guys are still living in the Dark Ages.”
“It’s getting better, some states allow gay marriage now.”
“Only some?” Cam asked.
“What about you?” Daniel asked his doppelganger. “How do you stand it?”
“I’m not gay. I’m actually kind of shocked that you are.”
“What do you mean you’re not gay? How is that possible?” Cam said in a whisper.
“Babe, you know I’m bi. I’m guessing that the Daniel in this world either never explored that part of himself because of these… idiotic laws, or he never explored it for some other reason.”
“So wait,” Vala interrupted, “it’s not legal to be gay?”
“Not in the military, no,” the other Daniel confirmed.
“But what about all of the simmering homoerotic subtext? This world has that, I’ve seen it, it’s everywhere.”
The other Daniel gave a small laugh. “Well yeah. But just, you know, be careful. And also, keep in mind that there will be those of us here like you, who are gay and some like me, who are straight and a lot who are hiding. Don’t out them, you don’t know what it’s like on their world.” With that he stood up and walked out of the mess.
***
It was two days later when they stepped back through the wormhole to their own world and Cam stopped short and pulled Daniel close to him in a tight hug. “I haven’t been able to say this for two days, Daniel: I love you.”
“I love you too.” Daniel smiled and gave his boyfriend a kiss.
“Marry me.”
“What?” Daniel stopped short, at the bottom of the ramp so did Vala, Sam and Teal’c.
“You heard me, I wanna spend the rest of my life with you; and yeah maybe it took that kinda world to show me what it would be like not to be able to have you by my side every day, and I don’t wanna do that again. I want to marry you, Daniel Jackson. Will you marry me?”
Daniel smiled. “Yeah.”