Reading Between the Lines - August 31st
Twisted Shorts August Fic-a-Day Challenge - Day 31
Title: Reading Between the Lines
Author: hermione2be
Rating: PG/FR13/K+
Crossover: BtVS/SG-1
Disclaimer: I do not own any of BtVS/Angel or SG-1 people, places, or ideas. This fiction is done simply for pleasure and I receive no profit.
Summary: Dawn gets to know some of Daniel's friends and his works.
Notes: Follows Go Joyce, Inward Reflections, and From the Pacific to the Rockies. Based on Challenge 8637 at TtH
Seasons: November 2001 (Season 6 after “Wrecked”/Season 5)
Characters: Daniel, Sam, Dawn, Buffy, Janet, Jack, Cassie, Teal'c
Word Count: 1270
“I know she’s his daughter, but I didn’t expect her to look…so much like him,” Jack commented to Sam as they watched Cassie and Dawn setting the table.
Sam nodded.
“Do her and her sister look alike?”
“No. Buffy’s short, hazel eyed, and blond with features much more like their mother.”
“What are they discussing?” Dawn asked Cassie.
“You,” Cassie replied. “You look a lot like Daniel. I don’t think they expected you to look so much like him.”
Dawn paused to look across the room where Daniel, Janet, and T were talking in the living room.
“Do I?”
“Yeah.” Cassie nodded frantically.
Dawn looked back at the group. “What are they talking about?”
“Parenting,” Cassie guessed. “They’re all parents to teenagers.”
“T has a kid?”
“A son, about our age. He lives with his mom.”
“So only Jack and Sam don’t have kids?”
“Sam doesn’t,” Cassie said softly, then lowered her voice. “Jack had a son, who would have been your age, he died several years ago.”
Dawn grimaced.
“We all know about Charlie, but we don’t talk about it.”
“You’re speaking my language,” Dawn told her. “Sunnydale 101 is how to keep secrets.”
“Then you’ll fit in just fine,” Cassie assured her as they finished setting the table for eight.
“Who’s hasn’t arrived yet?” Dawn asked.
“We always leave a seat open. Just in case someone shows up last minute.”
“Oh.”
Within an hour, the table was laden with all kinds of foods. Janet waved everyone to sit. Jack was at one end of the table, Sam to his right and T to his left. Cassie sat between Sam and Janet. Dawn was situated between T and Daniel. The empty chair was across from Jack.
“Janet,” Jack said, waving her to proceed.
Janet clasped her hands together and bowed her head. The rest of the table followed. She said a short prayer, ending with ‘Amen.’ The table echoed the ‘Amen.’
“I didn’t ask,” Janet said as they started serving themselves. “Do you have a faith, Dawn?”
After being the center of at least two religions… “No, I don’t.”
“Here,” Daniel handed her the bowl of mashed potatoes.
She scooped some onto her plate. She turned to T. He looked at her, his black brimmed hat still on his head. She wondered why he wore it. But she kept her questions to herself and handed him the bowl.
Once everyone started eating, there were stories and inside jokes, at least two conversations going at a time. Dawn noticed that for all the differences between the adults they were all comfortable with each other. She mused about the stories the Scoobies told about their first grownup Thanksgiving. From the syphilis to the bear and the terrible food.
Dawn’s mind was also drawn back to last Thanksgiving. Mom had been sick, getting her on a regimen between runs to the hospital for figure out what was going on. So it had been sometime between the snake of Glory’s and the alien crazy cleanser demon.
The table suddenly went silent.
Dawn looked up, everyone was looking at her.
“What?”
“Jack asked if you were into any sports,” Daniel supplied.
“Oh, uh, no. I’m more the indoor type.”
“Do you have anything you like doing?” Sam asked.
“Research,” she answered honestly, thinking about the book stacks in the Magic Box, all the secrets they held.
The entire table froze, staring at her strangely. Jack and Janet cracked first, hooting with laughter. Sam and Cassie followed a second later. Daniel had a hand over his eyes, rubbing his temples. T’s lips had quirked, but he did not laugh.
“What are they laughing at?” Dawn asked T, feeling suddenly unsure.
T leaned down slightly to be heard over the others. “Your answer was something they would expect from Daniel Jackson. It is not meant as an insult, it was just surprising.”
It took a moment for them to calm down. Janet managed it first.
“What kind of research do you like?” she said with a straight face.
“Nothing in particular. Most of my research has been limited to what was available in the Magic Box.”
“The Magic Box?” Sam asked.
“Sunnydale’s occult store. Giles owned it, so Buffy and her friends spent a lot of time there. So did I.”
“Occult store?” Jack said.
“Yeah, there were a lot of old texts and books in foreign languages. I spent time after Mom died and Buffy… shut down trying to understand my place in the universe.” She had spent most of the time Buffy was gone trying to fully understand what the Key truly was. It was ancient and mystic and not extensively written about in any modern language. She had also wanted to understand if she was still the Key or if Glory’s tower had been a one-time-use deal.
“You like that stuff?” Cassie asked.
“I’m open to it,” Dawn admitted. “What’s possible isn’t limited to popular opinion. So we’re not the only intelligent lifeforms in the universe, and maybe demons exist.”
SG-1 shifted and focused back on their meals.
88888888
“Hey,” Dawn greeted.
“How was today?” Buffy asked, pressing the receiver to her ear.
“Good. His friends are nice and half of them have kids my age.” She traced a pattern in the comforter. “How about you?”
“Good. The sale of the house is underway. I found a place that isn’t a complete dump. And I start with counseling next week.”
“That was all very fast.”
“I…” she huffed. “I let Spike use some of his contacts to move things along.”
“What about Willow?”
“Giles actually had the solution for that. She’s going to finish the semester and then head to a local coven to have her powers and addiction assessed.”
“Wow…”
“Yeah.”
“The counselor, are you going to have to find a metaphor for what you do and death?”
“No. Doctor Matthews is a human married to a half-demon, so she’s well aware of…things.”
“She’s good.”
Buffy paused. “How do you know that?”
“Giles took me to see her a few times this summer, until I found a coping mechanism that wasn’t…harmful.”
“Dawn…”
“It is what it is, Buffy,” Dawn said. “Give me your new address so I have it.”
88888888
Dawn scanned the titles of the books on the shelves. Towards the end of one shelf were several sets of papers in thick presentation folders. Curious, she pulled them out. There were three. All three of them were by Daniel. She went to the counter and opened the oldest one dated 1993 and started reading.
Daniel left his office when he realized the time. He found Dawn at the kitchen table with his old dissertations.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
Dawn looked up at him, studying him a moment. “So you believe someone - or something - other than the Egyptians built the Great Pyramids of Giza?”
“Yes.”
“Your paper is missing the point. Who do you think built the Great Pyramids?”
“You read all of these?” Daniel said instead.
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
She shrugged. “They were interesting. But I have questions.”
Daniel sat down. “Okay.”
Dawn flipped to a page and ran her finger down until she found what she was looking for. “This. I know it’s an evolution of your previous thesis but it seems incomplete.”
Daniel read the passage, agreeing as soon as he finished. “What do you think?”
“I think the thing you’re dancing around is that there are no way the Great Pyramids are manmade. Everything else in your paper points to it without actually saying it.”
“And what’s that?”
“That you think aliens built the pyramids.”
And that is it for 2018. Thank you for reading, reviews are always appreciated. Props to everyone who makes this possible year after year. I look forward to more.
Title: Reading Between the Lines
Author: hermione2be
Rating: PG/FR13/K+
Crossover: BtVS/SG-1
Disclaimer: I do not own any of BtVS/Angel or SG-1 people, places, or ideas. This fiction is done simply for pleasure and I receive no profit.
Summary: Dawn gets to know some of Daniel's friends and his works.
Notes: Follows Go Joyce, Inward Reflections, and From the Pacific to the Rockies. Based on Challenge 8637 at TtH
Seasons: November 2001 (Season 6 after “Wrecked”/Season 5)
Characters: Daniel, Sam, Dawn, Buffy, Janet, Jack, Cassie, Teal'c
Word Count: 1270
“I know she’s his daughter, but I didn’t expect her to look…so much like him,” Jack commented to Sam as they watched Cassie and Dawn setting the table.
Sam nodded.
“Do her and her sister look alike?”
“No. Buffy’s short, hazel eyed, and blond with features much more like their mother.”
“What are they discussing?” Dawn asked Cassie.
“You,” Cassie replied. “You look a lot like Daniel. I don’t think they expected you to look so much like him.”
Dawn paused to look across the room where Daniel, Janet, and T were talking in the living room.
“Do I?”
“Yeah.” Cassie nodded frantically.
Dawn looked back at the group. “What are they talking about?”
“Parenting,” Cassie guessed. “They’re all parents to teenagers.”
“T has a kid?”
“A son, about our age. He lives with his mom.”
“So only Jack and Sam don’t have kids?”
“Sam doesn’t,” Cassie said softly, then lowered her voice. “Jack had a son, who would have been your age, he died several years ago.”
Dawn grimaced.
“We all know about Charlie, but we don’t talk about it.”
“You’re speaking my language,” Dawn told her. “Sunnydale 101 is how to keep secrets.”
“Then you’ll fit in just fine,” Cassie assured her as they finished setting the table for eight.
“Who’s hasn’t arrived yet?” Dawn asked.
“We always leave a seat open. Just in case someone shows up last minute.”
“Oh.”
Within an hour, the table was laden with all kinds of foods. Janet waved everyone to sit. Jack was at one end of the table, Sam to his right and T to his left. Cassie sat between Sam and Janet. Dawn was situated between T and Daniel. The empty chair was across from Jack.
“Janet,” Jack said, waving her to proceed.
Janet clasped her hands together and bowed her head. The rest of the table followed. She said a short prayer, ending with ‘Amen.’ The table echoed the ‘Amen.’
“I didn’t ask,” Janet said as they started serving themselves. “Do you have a faith, Dawn?”
After being the center of at least two religions… “No, I don’t.”
“Here,” Daniel handed her the bowl of mashed potatoes.
She scooped some onto her plate. She turned to T. He looked at her, his black brimmed hat still on his head. She wondered why he wore it. But she kept her questions to herself and handed him the bowl.
Once everyone started eating, there were stories and inside jokes, at least two conversations going at a time. Dawn noticed that for all the differences between the adults they were all comfortable with each other. She mused about the stories the Scoobies told about their first grownup Thanksgiving. From the syphilis to the bear and the terrible food.
Dawn’s mind was also drawn back to last Thanksgiving. Mom had been sick, getting her on a regimen between runs to the hospital for figure out what was going on. So it had been sometime between the snake of Glory’s and the alien crazy cleanser demon.
The table suddenly went silent.
Dawn looked up, everyone was looking at her.
“What?”
“Jack asked if you were into any sports,” Daniel supplied.
“Oh, uh, no. I’m more the indoor type.”
“Do you have anything you like doing?” Sam asked.
“Research,” she answered honestly, thinking about the book stacks in the Magic Box, all the secrets they held.
The entire table froze, staring at her strangely. Jack and Janet cracked first, hooting with laughter. Sam and Cassie followed a second later. Daniel had a hand over his eyes, rubbing his temples. T’s lips had quirked, but he did not laugh.
“What are they laughing at?” Dawn asked T, feeling suddenly unsure.
T leaned down slightly to be heard over the others. “Your answer was something they would expect from Daniel Jackson. It is not meant as an insult, it was just surprising.”
It took a moment for them to calm down. Janet managed it first.
“What kind of research do you like?” she said with a straight face.
“Nothing in particular. Most of my research has been limited to what was available in the Magic Box.”
“The Magic Box?” Sam asked.
“Sunnydale’s occult store. Giles owned it, so Buffy and her friends spent a lot of time there. So did I.”
“Occult store?” Jack said.
“Yeah, there were a lot of old texts and books in foreign languages. I spent time after Mom died and Buffy… shut down trying to understand my place in the universe.” She had spent most of the time Buffy was gone trying to fully understand what the Key truly was. It was ancient and mystic and not extensively written about in any modern language. She had also wanted to understand if she was still the Key or if Glory’s tower had been a one-time-use deal.
“You like that stuff?” Cassie asked.
“I’m open to it,” Dawn admitted. “What’s possible isn’t limited to popular opinion. So we’re not the only intelligent lifeforms in the universe, and maybe demons exist.”
SG-1 shifted and focused back on their meals.
88888888
“Hey,” Dawn greeted.
“How was today?” Buffy asked, pressing the receiver to her ear.
“Good. His friends are nice and half of them have kids my age.” She traced a pattern in the comforter. “How about you?”
“Good. The sale of the house is underway. I found a place that isn’t a complete dump. And I start with counseling next week.”
“That was all very fast.”
“I…” she huffed. “I let Spike use some of his contacts to move things along.”
“What about Willow?”
“Giles actually had the solution for that. She’s going to finish the semester and then head to a local coven to have her powers and addiction assessed.”
“Wow…”
“Yeah.”
“The counselor, are you going to have to find a metaphor for what you do and death?”
“No. Doctor Matthews is a human married to a half-demon, so she’s well aware of…things.”
“She’s good.”
Buffy paused. “How do you know that?”
“Giles took me to see her a few times this summer, until I found a coping mechanism that wasn’t…harmful.”
“Dawn…”
“It is what it is, Buffy,” Dawn said. “Give me your new address so I have it.”
88888888
Dawn scanned the titles of the books on the shelves. Towards the end of one shelf were several sets of papers in thick presentation folders. Curious, she pulled them out. There were three. All three of them were by Daniel. She went to the counter and opened the oldest one dated 1993 and started reading.
Daniel left his office when he realized the time. He found Dawn at the kitchen table with his old dissertations.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
Dawn looked up at him, studying him a moment. “So you believe someone - or something - other than the Egyptians built the Great Pyramids of Giza?”
“Yes.”
“Your paper is missing the point. Who do you think built the Great Pyramids?”
“You read all of these?” Daniel said instead.
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
She shrugged. “They were interesting. But I have questions.”
Daniel sat down. “Okay.”
Dawn flipped to a page and ran her finger down until she found what she was looking for. “This. I know it’s an evolution of your previous thesis but it seems incomplete.”
Daniel read the passage, agreeing as soon as he finished. “What do you think?”
“I think the thing you’re dancing around is that there are no way the Great Pyramids are manmade. Everything else in your paper points to it without actually saying it.”
“And what’s that?”
“That you think aliens built the pyramids.”
And that is it for 2018. Thank you for reading, reviews are always appreciated. Props to everyone who makes this possible year after year. I look forward to more.