upon the paths we tread
For sg1sga_ficathon
Title: Upon the paths we tread
Author:weaselett
Written For: jacklemmon
Pairing: Daniel Jackson/John Sheppard
Prompt: Reluctance, Acceptance
Rating: PG
Word Count: 4,400
Warnings: None
Spoilers: SG-1: Minor Spoilers for anything as far as mid season 10.
SGA: Rising, Intruder, The Return Part 1, Letters from Pegasus, The Tower, plus some minor spoilers for any thing up to The Return.
Summary: Daniel and John, bonding.
Author’s Notes: Beta’d by charlies_dragon, I tried my hardest to make it completely fit the prompt, but it wandered a bit *g* - also, any mistakes are completely my own.
part one. to make your own
Daniel Jackson played nervously with the marker pen in his hands, waiting for his new student to join him. He’d briefed people on the Stargate before, but this time was different and not just because of the location.
Until an hour ago, John Sheppard hadn’t known anything about the SGC, the Ancients or the Stargate. He hadn’t even been given the standard briefing that all new expedition members received. Sheppard had just been the pilot who was flying General O’Neill out to the outpost from McMurdo, until Jack had decided to give the man security clearance, on a whim, because he’d saved Jack’s life.
Daniel sighed, rubbing his forehead warily; sometimes he can’t help but wonder if life wouldn’t have been simpler if they hadn’t talked Jack into taking the promotion. For him and for everyone else.
"Doctor Jackson?" Major Sheppard hovered in the doorway, hands pushed deep into his pockets.
"Major Sheppard." Daniel smiled motioning for Sheppard to enter and pretending not to notice as the man avoided making contact with the numerous artefacts strewn across the table. "How can I help you?"
Sheppard hesitated for a moment, glancing nervously around the room, before finally meeting Daniel’s gaze, "General O’Neill said that you would be able to explain all this stuff to me."
Daniel nodded slowly, silently accessing the man in front of him, before answering, "I’m guessing you want to know about the Stargate and what it is exactly that we’re doing here?"
Sheppard nodded, pulling a hand out of his pocket to scratch his hand wearily, "Doctor Beckett explained a few things to me earlier, about the Ancients and this place. It’s an outpost right?"
Daniel smiled nodding, "As far as we can tell the Ancients built defensive outposts on a number of planets, all keyed to only work for the Ancients. "
"That’s where this gene thing comes in?" Sheppard questioned, eyebrows rising.
Daniel nodded, "When we first found this place we couldn’t understand why the chair only seemed to react to a small group of people, it’s only very recently that Doctor Beckett was able to determine a specific genetic characteristic that the technology seems to respond to." Daniel watched the other man for a moment, before dropping his pen onto the table and stacking his small collection of paperwork carefully then moving towards the door motioning for Sheppard to follow. "The chair is the main control system for the entire outpost, including the drones." He continued once he was sure that Sheppard was following.
"There aren’t any secondary controls?" Sheppard questioned, quickening his pace to catch up to Daniel as he led the way through the corridors.
"There are secondary controls for some of the systems, but not all of them and again they require the user to have the gene in order to operate them. We have however, had a measure of success interfacing our technology with those systems, mostly thanks to Doctor McKay’s work." Daniel answered, navigating his way around the corridors easily.
"So, this Stargate thing, is that keyed to the gene as well?" Sheppard ignored the snort of disbelief that escaped one of the scientists they passed, not really caring what the man thought of him.
"No, it is still Ancient technology but it works for anyone, provided they know how to use it." Daniel smiled as they stepped into the warmest room in the complex, the small commissary which provided basic food and drink for anyone who didn’t want to have to make the trip to the surface. He quickly poured himself a cup of coffee before gesturing for Sheppard to help himself. "The Stargate was found years ago, in Egypt during an archaeological excavation." Daniel waited patiently for Sheppard to make his choices before guiding him to a table and sitting down.
Sheppard settled into his seat carefully before taking a sip of his drink, eying Daniel warily, "Why did we come here?"
Daniel grinned holding up his cup, "I needed coffee and my lab here doesn’t have a coffeemaker, unfortunately."
Sheppard raised an eyebrow doubtfully, taking a sip from his own cup. "Uh huh."
Daniel sighed, leaning back in his seat, watching Sheppard carefully, "It seemed like you needed a drink, or at least time away from all the scary alien stuff."
Sheppard winced, "Was I that obvious?"
"Not really," Daniel smiled sympathetically, "it’s just that after seven years I’ve learned to read people pretty well. Plus I know from experience what it’s like to touch something and get a reaction that you didn’t expect."
Sheppard raised an eyebrow, "You’ve got the gene too?"
Daniel winced shaking his head, "Sorry no."
Sheppard frowned, "So the touching thing…?"
Daniel smiled, "The Stargate; it’s a device that creates stable artificial wormholes, allowing almost instantaneous travel between planets. I’ve spent the past seven years of my life exploring the galaxy, occasionally touching things that I really shouldn’t have."
Sheppard smiled, "Sounds like you’ve got some interesting stories."
Daniel nodded. "Oh yeah, but I’ll never tell you any of them."
Sheppard’s eyebrow rose, "Not even one, to make me feel a little better about the chair thing?"
Daniel’s eyes narrowed as he took a sip of his coffee before shaking his head, a smile touching the corners of his mouth, "You shouldn’t have sat down."
Sheppard glared at him, "Beckett said the gene was rare."
Daniel snorted, rolling his eyes, "That’s a weak defence, especially considering the fact that you were warned before hand." Daniel eyed Sheppard for a moment before giving in under the weight of the other man’s gaze, "I will tell you one story, if you swear not to repeat it, ever."
Sheppard grinned, holding up a hand, "Not a soul."
Daniel hesitated, giving him a suspicious look, "Okay, well, it was on this abandoned planet…" He fell silent as he spotted Weir in the doorway, idly noting that she was over ten minutes later than he had expected her to be. Sheppard did, after all, have the gene.
"Major Sheppard," Doctor Weir offered Daniel an apologetic smile for interrupting before turning to Sheppard, "could I speak to you for a moment?"
Sheppard hesitated, his hand tightening on his cup slightly before he nodded, pushing his chair back slowly and standing, "Of course ma’am," he met Daniel’s gaze for a moment, "thanks for your help Doctor."
Daniel smiled, "You’re welcome Major, and if you have any more questions feel free to come by again."
Sheppard returned the smile faintly, "I will do sir."
Daniel watched him leave, chewing on his bottom lip. He had no doubt that Elizabeth was going to ask Sheppard to join the expedition, but he had no idea if the Major would accept.
--
Daniel stood in the entrance to the hanger, silently watching as Sheppard fiddled with something underneath his helicopter, his legs the only thing visible. He waited a few moments longer before slowly making his way though the hanger, to stop a few feet to Sheppard’s left. "General O’Neill told me you said no."
Sheppard jerked sharply, cursing as his head impacted with the base of the helicopter, before sliding out from underneath it, one hand rubbing the sore spot on his forehead. "You should give a guy some warning before you do that." He glared up at Daniel for a moment before pulling himself to his feet and reaching for his cloth.
"Sorry." Daniel pushed his hands into his pockets, expression unchanged, waiting.
Sheppard frowned at him for a moment before sighed and leaning against the shell of the helicopter, crossing his arms over his stomach. "You came to talk me into changing my mind?"
Daniel hesitated, before shaking his head, "No, well, not as such, I came to make sure you’re sure you made the right decision."
Sheppard’s eyebrows rose, "Doctor Jackson, not to sound…"
Daniel held up a hand, stopped him, "Daniel." He corrected him softly.
Sheppard smiled slightly, "John."
"John," Daniel smiled, "I had a few hours to wait before my flight out of here, so I thought I’d come visit. I wasn’t sent if that’s what you’re wondering."
Sheppard nodded slowly, watching Daniel for a moment before speaking, "You think I made the wrong choice?"
Daniel shrugged, "There was a lot for you to deal with, if I’d been in your situation I think I would have said no too."
"General O’Neill didn’t seem very impressed by my answer."
Daniel laughed, ducking his head for a moment, "No he wasn’t."
"So, what’s the ‘but’?" Sheppard asked carefully, shifting his weight slightly to find a more comfortable position.
"When I was offered the job, I wanted to say no too, but, I didn’t have any money, or a house, so," Daniel shrugged, "I had nothing to lose."
"So you said yes." Sheppard finished for him.
Daniel smiled, nodding, "Yeah." He stopped for a moment, meeting Sheppard’s gaze easily, "I’ve read your file John and as far as I can tell, you don’t have much to lose either."
Sheppard stiffened for a moment before sighing and rubbing a hand warily through his hair, "I like it here, plus I still get to fly."
Daniel raised an eyebrow, "You get to transport people to the research sites."
Sheppard winced, "Yeah."
"I can’t say for certain, what’s waiting out there for the expedition when they go, if they go, but I can tell you that I have never regretted saying yes, the good has outweighed the bad."
Sheppard considered him for a long moment, "You think it’s worth the risk."
Daniel nodded, "I would be going myself, but it’s been made pretty clear that they aren’t willing to let me go. I’m more valuable here, or so I’ve been told." He shrugged doubtfully.
"You can’t go, so you’re making sure I don’t pass up the opportunity of a lifetime?" Sheppard questioned, smiling.
Daniel winced before nodding reluctantly, "Something like that."
part two. to live the dream
John stopped surprised when the elevator doors opened to reveal Daniel Jackson, engrossed in the book in his hands and clearly not really paying attention to his surrounds. John smiled, recognising the opportunity to get his own back for the incident in the hanger in Antarctica.
He stepped into the elevator slowly, careful not to make any noise, stopping just a few inches away from Daniel, careful not to block any of the light, "Doctor Jackson."
Daniel jumped, dropping his book and taking an instinctive step backwards, eyes wide with surprise for the moment it took for his brain to kick in. Daniel groaned, closed his eyes, "I guess I deserved that."
John grinned, looking smug, "You did." He agreed.
Daniel sighed, taking the book back when John held it out to him, "Thanks, I think."
Silence fell between them easily for a moment before Daniel spoke again, his breathing under control, "I got your video, though I have to say I would preferred it if you used the opportunity to send a message to someone else."
John shrugged, fixing his gaze on the wall of the elevator, "I couldn’t think of anyone else that I needed to say anything to."
Daniel nodded slowly, chewing his bottom lip, not sure how to react. "Well, it was flattering, thank you."
John nodded silently, before glancing at Daniel, a smile touching his lips, "You never told me that story."
Daniel blinked, thrown for a moment before he smiled. "How do you know if I was even going to tell you it anyway?"
John raised an eyebrow, smiling despite himself, "I’m pretty sure you started to tell it."
Daniel smiled, nodding slowly as the doors opened on his floor and he stepped out, answering just as the doors closed, "You’re right, I did."
--
Daniel hesitated for a moment before knocking on the door to the VIP quarters that John had been given for the duration of his stay, shifting nervously, the small gift wrapped package hidden behind his back.
"Doctor Jackson." John pulled the door open, hesitating for a moment before motioning Daniel inside, closing the door behind him. "What can I do for you?"
Daniel smiled, holding up the package, "Actually I just came by to give you this."
John raised an eyebrow, "A present?"
"I heard congratulations were in order." Daniel explained.
John started at Daniel for a moment, surprised before he smiled, "You brought me a promotion present?"
Daniel shrugged, "From what I’ve heard, you deserve it."
John’s smile faded as Daniel spoke and he ducked his head shifting awkwardly, "Yeah, so people tell me."
Daniel frowned, lowering the present slowly as he looked at John properly. "For what it’s worth, I’ve read the reports and I honestly don’t think anyone could have done a better job than you did."
"I’m not so sure." John sat down on the bed, crossing his arms over his stomach with a sigh, "I visited Lieutenant Ford’s family today."
Daniel released a breath slowly, closing his eyes for a moment. He knew from experience that it was always harder when a person was just missing, when there weren’t any real answers for you to give the family. "That must have been hard."
John nodded, "It was his cousin, but they were close. She told me that Aiden mentioned me in his video, that it seemed like he trusted me." Daniel winced, guessing what was coming next. "She asked me if maybe, his trust had been misplaced."
Daniel crossed the room slowly, lowering himself down onto the bed next to John, reaching out to squeeze his arm gently, "She was angry, she needed someone to blame."
John nodded, "Yeah, I know that, but I still think she was right."
Daniel raised an eyebrow, "He should have died, but he didn’t, he survived. He’s still alive, he’s still out there."
"Addicted to the Wraith enzyme." John muttered, angrily.
"You think he would be better off dead?" Daniel asked softly and John inhaled sharply before nodding.
"Maybe."
"Really?"
John shook his head, "No, if he was dead it would be over there wouldn’t be any hope, at least this way, he’s still out there, somewhere alive. One day we’ll find him and we’ll bring him home."
Daniel watched John for a moment longer before offering him the gift again, "Here, open it."
John hesitated before taking the package and ripping the paper off, revealing a thick paperback book. "War and Peace." He read the title out loud, a tiny smile touching his lips as he turned to Daniel an eyebrow raised, "You brought me a copy of War and Peace as a promotion gift?"
Daniel shrugged smiling, "It seemed like the right choice at the time."
"Thanks."
Daniel nodded slowly, eyes unreadable as he stared hard at John for a moment before smiling, "You really do deserve the promotion you know and for the record, the fact that you still care isn’t a bad thing. In fact, in my experience, senior officers who still care are much better commanders than those who don’t."
"You know, you could have just said ‘life’s not hard, it’s just harder than death’ and I would have got the message." John interrupted, stopping Daniel mid-lecture.
Daniel threw John a bemused look, "What?"
John froze staring at Daniel for a moment, before sighing, "It’s a quote from the Princess Bride."
"A film?" Daniel questioned.
"Yeah." John agreed. "A good one, it was a book first though"
"I’ll have to take your word for it." Daniel commented as he stood slowly. "I have a lot of packing to do."
John’s eyebrows rose, "Packing?"
Daniel grinned nodding, "I asked for a transfer to Atlantis, and it was approved."
John grinned, "In which case, your first night on Atlantis, you’re watching the Princess Bride."
part three. to pay the price
Daniel stopped in the doorway to the commissary, ignoring the impatient pokes that Vala Mal Doran was giving from behind, staring disbelievingly at occupants of one of the tables towards the back of the room.
"Daniel." Vala huffed impatiently, poking him hard enough in the kidney to make him wince.
"Vala!" He yelped, stepping quickly out of her reach rubbing the injured area carefully, glaring at her. "You didn’t need to do that."
She shrugged, "I’m hungry and you weren’t moving."
Daniel sighed, rubbing his eyes warily, before motioned for her to lead the way over to the serving area, throwing one last look towards the two men before following her and grabbing a tray and a small selection of food, plus two cups of coffee.
He didn’t wait for her to finish, turning quickly to make his way to the table, numerous questions flitting around in his head.
"Doctor Jackson." Rodney McKay offered a weak welcome before lowering his head once more to poke at his food.
"Hey." John Sheppard smiled, motioning towards on of the free chairs. "I’m guessing, judging from your obvious surprise that you don’t know."
"Don’t know what?" Vala appeared next to Daniel dumped her tray onto the table and claiming a seat without waiting for an invitation, eyebrows raised.
Rodney glared at her, muttering something under his breath while John eyed her cautiously. "So you’re still here huh?"
"Of course." Vala smiled at him. "I’m a member of SG-1 now."
Daniel nodded confirmation absently, "Atlantis?"
John took a deep breath, glancing down at his food, "During the gatebridge test, we found an Ancient warship, complete with Ancients. Who we took back to Atlantis, where they proceeded to take control of the city and evict us."
Daniel winced, while Vala made a disgusted noise. "I hope you stole some of their toys."
Daniel sighed, throwing her a quelling look before meeting John’s gaze, "They just took control of the city?"
"Pretty much." Rodney spoke up, nodding moodily before glancing at Vala, "We got a few things, but not as much as I wanted."
She sighed before reaching across the table to pat Rodney on the shoulder gently. "I’m sorry."
John smiled at her, before he turned back to Daniel after a moment, "They asked us to leave, because they wanted to be alone, but we got to leave a liaison, Woolsey."
Vala made a face. "They can have the weasely man."
Rodney’s head jerked up and he stared at her for a moment before smiling. "I’ll have to remember that one."
John sighed, throwing Rodney an exasperated look. One of these days Rodney was going to stop insulting powerful people. Or at least, he hoped so.
--
John swung his legs up onto the desk, ignoring Daniel’s pointed glare, "You know, I get that they’re all advanced and everything, but it’s really hard to like them."
"The Ancients?" Daniel questioned, finally giving in to the inevitable and dropping his pen onto the table before sliding his work to one side.
"Yeah, I mean I do understand that Atlantis is their home and they want to be alone, but we’re the reason that it’s still there and that they got back there." John sighed slouching further into his chair.
"They didn’t even say thank you?" Daniel ventured, watching John carefully.
"There was a lot of mention of being ‘grateful’ but no real, you know, actions to back it up." John shrugged, "All they seemed to care about was getting us out of the city as quickly as possible."
Daniel winced, "Ouch."
John nodded, "Yeah. I think out of all of us Elizabeth’s taking it the worst."
"She’s sacrificed a lot, plus there’s the whole thing with Woolsey." Daniel agreed, leaning back in his chair. "He’s a nice enough guy, but I really can’t see how the Ancients can like having him around."
"I think it’s more because he made it pretty clear that he likes the way things worked out. Less expense, less risk, but all the same advantages, or at least that’s how all the politicians seem to be seeing this whole thing." John sighed. "I don’t see it though, personally."
"The IOA are about the only people who don’t agree with you." Daniel commented, as he poked one of John’s ankles meaningfully. "But there’s not really much we can do, not now, plus making the only surviving Ancients our enemy may not be a good thing."
"No, that would be a bad idea." John agreed, smiling ruefully, "I was tempted for a little while though."
Daniel grinned, "I pretty sure McKay’s still considering it."
John winced, "Yeah, knowing Rodney he’s working on a plan as we speak and hunting through Area 51’s archives for anything that he can use."
Daniel grinned, "I don’t think he’ll find much, Sam claimed a lot of the useful stuff while she was there last year."
John groaned, "Great, that means the next time I speak to Rodney he’s going to spend at least half the conversation complaining about the staff and the absence of any useful technology."
Daniel offered him a sympathetic smile before switching topics carefully, "So, I hear you’re being given a team?"
"You hear?" John raised an eyebrow, grinning, knowing all too well that Daniel heard about almost every decision made in regarding the SGC almost as soon as they were made. "Yeah, apparently my experience is too good to waste." He explained doubtfully.
"We still have that jumper around, somewhere, the one that had the time device in it, I’m sure you’ll let you fly it every once in the while." Daniel offered sympathetically.
"I didn’t manage to finish it you know." John’s voice was apologetic.
"Finish what?" Daniel asked, confused.
"That copy of War and Peace you gave me. I got a third of the way though then the whole thing with the Ancients happened and I haven’t really felt like reading it since."
Daniel laughed despite himself, "I haven’t managed to get around to watching the Princess Bride yet either."
John sighed heavily, "Okay, well, you have been busy, what with the whole Ori thing."
"A little busy." Daniel agreed nodding.
John watched him carefully for a moment, twisting in his chair slightly, "I still haven’t moved out of the base yet, all my stuffs in the room the General assigned me."
Daniel sighed, making a point of playing with the various notes scattered across his desk, "I don’t know I have a lot of work to do, researching the Sangrael, translating the Ancient texts that SG-14 brought back last week."
"It’s after eighteen hundred hours, I’m sure no one will mind if you take a break." John swung his feet down to the floor leaning forward to meet Daniel’s gaze, eyes wide and innocent. "No more than two hours."
Daniel made a show of hesitating before he finally gave in, admitting, if just to himself, that it was nice not to have someone constantly reminding him about the Ori and their apparent impending doom. "Just two hours."
--
Daniel knocked carefully on the door to John’s new office before stepping inside and closing the door behind him. "I hear things didn’t go so well with the first mission."
John winced, playing with the model plane in his hands. "I certainly won’t use the words best and brightest to describe my team."
Daniel winced. "Yeah." He lowered himself carefully into one of the seats on the other side of the desk. "But they’re all new so, you’ve got to give them a little time."
John sighed nodding, "I know, it’s just…"
"You can’t help but keep comparing them to your old team." Daniel finished for him nodding.
"Which isn’t fair on them I know." John added as he placed the model down on the table carefully.
Daniel shrugged, "It took me a while to stop comparing Mitchell to Jack, but I got there in the end, but I don’t think I’ll ever stop missing Jack’s presence off-world."
"I guess you heard about the latest report from Atlantis as well?" John asked carefully, leaning back in his chair.
"Yeah," Daniel nodded, watching John carefully, "Landry seems pleased with the news about the replicators, but I think it’s more because it means he can rationalise your return better."
"Yeah, he told me to let McKay know about it." John agreed, before smiling, "It turns out the Ancients can’t handle Woolsey as well as they thought."
Daniel smiled nodding, "Jack seemed a little too smug about that though."
John grinned, "He wanted favoured Elizabeth for the job, but the IOA didn’t agree and the Ancients felt she was too attached to Atlantis, or something like that."
Daniel raised an eyebrow, "I heard something like that, but no one’s ever confirmed it."
John nodded, before sighing and starting to fiddle with the model once more, "Knowing about the Replicators, it should make it easier, shouldn’t it?"
Daniel shook his head, "No, it never happened, so you can always tell you self that it might not have happened, if you were still there."
John raised an eyebrow, "Have you been taking Psychology lessons again?"
Daniel smiled ruefully, shaking his head, "No, I just know how that feels, with the whole ascension thing."
John nodded his understanding, "If you hadn’t descended maybe you could have, insert action here."
"That would be it." Daniel agreed, before falling silent for a moment, "You know, I think that, one day, you’ll get back there." John threw him a doubtful look and Daniel quickly held up a hand to forestall whatever comment John was going to make, "There are exactly 100 Ancients still alive. That’s a very small population."
John raised an eyebrow, "I’ve already done the breeding stock thing." He pointed out idly, wheeling his chair back and swinging his legs up onto the table.
"Yeah, I remember that report, it read a little bit like Othello." Daniel grinned, ignoring John’s glare. "But, as a point, from what you’ve said, these Ancients don’t sound like the type of people who would be interested in any of us for that kind of thing."
"That’s reassuring." John deadpanned.
"One way or another, you’ll get back, that’s all that I’m saying." Daniel turned serious again.
"If I don’t, I don’t think it’ll be so bad though, not really." John commented idly, playing with the zip on his jacket idly. "Three years in Atlantis, even though we spent all that time fighting bad guys, it was worth it." He nodded, smiling as he looked up to meet Daniel’s gaze, "It was worth the risk."
Daniel smiled softly, nodding his understanding. "I know."
Title: Upon the paths we tread
Author:weaselett
Written For: jacklemmon
Pairing: Daniel Jackson/John Sheppard
Prompt: Reluctance, Acceptance
Rating: PG
Word Count: 4,400
Warnings: None
Spoilers: SG-1: Minor Spoilers for anything as far as mid season 10.
SGA: Rising, Intruder, The Return Part 1, Letters from Pegasus, The Tower, plus some minor spoilers for any thing up to The Return.
Summary: Daniel and John, bonding.
Author’s Notes: Beta’d by charlies_dragon, I tried my hardest to make it completely fit the prompt, but it wandered a bit *g* - also, any mistakes are completely my own.
part one. to make your own
Daniel Jackson played nervously with the marker pen in his hands, waiting for his new student to join him. He’d briefed people on the Stargate before, but this time was different and not just because of the location.
Until an hour ago, John Sheppard hadn’t known anything about the SGC, the Ancients or the Stargate. He hadn’t even been given the standard briefing that all new expedition members received. Sheppard had just been the pilot who was flying General O’Neill out to the outpost from McMurdo, until Jack had decided to give the man security clearance, on a whim, because he’d saved Jack’s life.
Daniel sighed, rubbing his forehead warily; sometimes he can’t help but wonder if life wouldn’t have been simpler if they hadn’t talked Jack into taking the promotion. For him and for everyone else.
"Doctor Jackson?" Major Sheppard hovered in the doorway, hands pushed deep into his pockets.
"Major Sheppard." Daniel smiled motioning for Sheppard to enter and pretending not to notice as the man avoided making contact with the numerous artefacts strewn across the table. "How can I help you?"
Sheppard hesitated for a moment, glancing nervously around the room, before finally meeting Daniel’s gaze, "General O’Neill said that you would be able to explain all this stuff to me."
Daniel nodded slowly, silently accessing the man in front of him, before answering, "I’m guessing you want to know about the Stargate and what it is exactly that we’re doing here?"
Sheppard nodded, pulling a hand out of his pocket to scratch his hand wearily, "Doctor Beckett explained a few things to me earlier, about the Ancients and this place. It’s an outpost right?"
Daniel smiled nodding, "As far as we can tell the Ancients built defensive outposts on a number of planets, all keyed to only work for the Ancients. "
"That’s where this gene thing comes in?" Sheppard questioned, eyebrows rising.
Daniel nodded, "When we first found this place we couldn’t understand why the chair only seemed to react to a small group of people, it’s only very recently that Doctor Beckett was able to determine a specific genetic characteristic that the technology seems to respond to." Daniel watched the other man for a moment, before dropping his pen onto the table and stacking his small collection of paperwork carefully then moving towards the door motioning for Sheppard to follow. "The chair is the main control system for the entire outpost, including the drones." He continued once he was sure that Sheppard was following.
"There aren’t any secondary controls?" Sheppard questioned, quickening his pace to catch up to Daniel as he led the way through the corridors.
"There are secondary controls for some of the systems, but not all of them and again they require the user to have the gene in order to operate them. We have however, had a measure of success interfacing our technology with those systems, mostly thanks to Doctor McKay’s work." Daniel answered, navigating his way around the corridors easily.
"So, this Stargate thing, is that keyed to the gene as well?" Sheppard ignored the snort of disbelief that escaped one of the scientists they passed, not really caring what the man thought of him.
"No, it is still Ancient technology but it works for anyone, provided they know how to use it." Daniel smiled as they stepped into the warmest room in the complex, the small commissary which provided basic food and drink for anyone who didn’t want to have to make the trip to the surface. He quickly poured himself a cup of coffee before gesturing for Sheppard to help himself. "The Stargate was found years ago, in Egypt during an archaeological excavation." Daniel waited patiently for Sheppard to make his choices before guiding him to a table and sitting down.
Sheppard settled into his seat carefully before taking a sip of his drink, eying Daniel warily, "Why did we come here?"
Daniel grinned holding up his cup, "I needed coffee and my lab here doesn’t have a coffeemaker, unfortunately."
Sheppard raised an eyebrow doubtfully, taking a sip from his own cup. "Uh huh."
Daniel sighed, leaning back in his seat, watching Sheppard carefully, "It seemed like you needed a drink, or at least time away from all the scary alien stuff."
Sheppard winced, "Was I that obvious?"
"Not really," Daniel smiled sympathetically, "it’s just that after seven years I’ve learned to read people pretty well. Plus I know from experience what it’s like to touch something and get a reaction that you didn’t expect."
Sheppard raised an eyebrow, "You’ve got the gene too?"
Daniel winced shaking his head, "Sorry no."
Sheppard frowned, "So the touching thing…?"
Daniel smiled, "The Stargate; it’s a device that creates stable artificial wormholes, allowing almost instantaneous travel between planets. I’ve spent the past seven years of my life exploring the galaxy, occasionally touching things that I really shouldn’t have."
Sheppard smiled, "Sounds like you’ve got some interesting stories."
Daniel nodded. "Oh yeah, but I’ll never tell you any of them."
Sheppard’s eyebrow rose, "Not even one, to make me feel a little better about the chair thing?"
Daniel’s eyes narrowed as he took a sip of his coffee before shaking his head, a smile touching the corners of his mouth, "You shouldn’t have sat down."
Sheppard glared at him, "Beckett said the gene was rare."
Daniel snorted, rolling his eyes, "That’s a weak defence, especially considering the fact that you were warned before hand." Daniel eyed Sheppard for a moment before giving in under the weight of the other man’s gaze, "I will tell you one story, if you swear not to repeat it, ever."
Sheppard grinned, holding up a hand, "Not a soul."
Daniel hesitated, giving him a suspicious look, "Okay, well, it was on this abandoned planet…" He fell silent as he spotted Weir in the doorway, idly noting that she was over ten minutes later than he had expected her to be. Sheppard did, after all, have the gene.
"Major Sheppard," Doctor Weir offered Daniel an apologetic smile for interrupting before turning to Sheppard, "could I speak to you for a moment?"
Sheppard hesitated, his hand tightening on his cup slightly before he nodded, pushing his chair back slowly and standing, "Of course ma’am," he met Daniel’s gaze for a moment, "thanks for your help Doctor."
Daniel smiled, "You’re welcome Major, and if you have any more questions feel free to come by again."
Sheppard returned the smile faintly, "I will do sir."
Daniel watched him leave, chewing on his bottom lip. He had no doubt that Elizabeth was going to ask Sheppard to join the expedition, but he had no idea if the Major would accept.
--
Daniel stood in the entrance to the hanger, silently watching as Sheppard fiddled with something underneath his helicopter, his legs the only thing visible. He waited a few moments longer before slowly making his way though the hanger, to stop a few feet to Sheppard’s left. "General O’Neill told me you said no."
Sheppard jerked sharply, cursing as his head impacted with the base of the helicopter, before sliding out from underneath it, one hand rubbing the sore spot on his forehead. "You should give a guy some warning before you do that." He glared up at Daniel for a moment before pulling himself to his feet and reaching for his cloth.
"Sorry." Daniel pushed his hands into his pockets, expression unchanged, waiting.
Sheppard frowned at him for a moment before sighed and leaning against the shell of the helicopter, crossing his arms over his stomach. "You came to talk me into changing my mind?"
Daniel hesitated, before shaking his head, "No, well, not as such, I came to make sure you’re sure you made the right decision."
Sheppard’s eyebrows rose, "Doctor Jackson, not to sound…"
Daniel held up a hand, stopped him, "Daniel." He corrected him softly.
Sheppard smiled slightly, "John."
"John," Daniel smiled, "I had a few hours to wait before my flight out of here, so I thought I’d come visit. I wasn’t sent if that’s what you’re wondering."
Sheppard nodded slowly, watching Daniel for a moment before speaking, "You think I made the wrong choice?"
Daniel shrugged, "There was a lot for you to deal with, if I’d been in your situation I think I would have said no too."
"General O’Neill didn’t seem very impressed by my answer."
Daniel laughed, ducking his head for a moment, "No he wasn’t."
"So, what’s the ‘but’?" Sheppard asked carefully, shifting his weight slightly to find a more comfortable position.
"When I was offered the job, I wanted to say no too, but, I didn’t have any money, or a house, so," Daniel shrugged, "I had nothing to lose."
"So you said yes." Sheppard finished for him.
Daniel smiled, nodding, "Yeah." He stopped for a moment, meeting Sheppard’s gaze easily, "I’ve read your file John and as far as I can tell, you don’t have much to lose either."
Sheppard stiffened for a moment before sighing and rubbing a hand warily through his hair, "I like it here, plus I still get to fly."
Daniel raised an eyebrow, "You get to transport people to the research sites."
Sheppard winced, "Yeah."
"I can’t say for certain, what’s waiting out there for the expedition when they go, if they go, but I can tell you that I have never regretted saying yes, the good has outweighed the bad."
Sheppard considered him for a long moment, "You think it’s worth the risk."
Daniel nodded, "I would be going myself, but it’s been made pretty clear that they aren’t willing to let me go. I’m more valuable here, or so I’ve been told." He shrugged doubtfully.
"You can’t go, so you’re making sure I don’t pass up the opportunity of a lifetime?" Sheppard questioned, smiling.
Daniel winced before nodding reluctantly, "Something like that."
part two. to live the dream
John stopped surprised when the elevator doors opened to reveal Daniel Jackson, engrossed in the book in his hands and clearly not really paying attention to his surrounds. John smiled, recognising the opportunity to get his own back for the incident in the hanger in Antarctica.
He stepped into the elevator slowly, careful not to make any noise, stopping just a few inches away from Daniel, careful not to block any of the light, "Doctor Jackson."
Daniel jumped, dropping his book and taking an instinctive step backwards, eyes wide with surprise for the moment it took for his brain to kick in. Daniel groaned, closed his eyes, "I guess I deserved that."
John grinned, looking smug, "You did." He agreed.
Daniel sighed, taking the book back when John held it out to him, "Thanks, I think."
Silence fell between them easily for a moment before Daniel spoke again, his breathing under control, "I got your video, though I have to say I would preferred it if you used the opportunity to send a message to someone else."
John shrugged, fixing his gaze on the wall of the elevator, "I couldn’t think of anyone else that I needed to say anything to."
Daniel nodded slowly, chewing his bottom lip, not sure how to react. "Well, it was flattering, thank you."
John nodded silently, before glancing at Daniel, a smile touching his lips, "You never told me that story."
Daniel blinked, thrown for a moment before he smiled. "How do you know if I was even going to tell you it anyway?"
John raised an eyebrow, smiling despite himself, "I’m pretty sure you started to tell it."
Daniel smiled, nodding slowly as the doors opened on his floor and he stepped out, answering just as the doors closed, "You’re right, I did."
--
Daniel hesitated for a moment before knocking on the door to the VIP quarters that John had been given for the duration of his stay, shifting nervously, the small gift wrapped package hidden behind his back.
"Doctor Jackson." John pulled the door open, hesitating for a moment before motioning Daniel inside, closing the door behind him. "What can I do for you?"
Daniel smiled, holding up the package, "Actually I just came by to give you this."
John raised an eyebrow, "A present?"
"I heard congratulations were in order." Daniel explained.
John started at Daniel for a moment, surprised before he smiled, "You brought me a promotion present?"
Daniel shrugged, "From what I’ve heard, you deserve it."
John’s smile faded as Daniel spoke and he ducked his head shifting awkwardly, "Yeah, so people tell me."
Daniel frowned, lowering the present slowly as he looked at John properly. "For what it’s worth, I’ve read the reports and I honestly don’t think anyone could have done a better job than you did."
"I’m not so sure." John sat down on the bed, crossing his arms over his stomach with a sigh, "I visited Lieutenant Ford’s family today."
Daniel released a breath slowly, closing his eyes for a moment. He knew from experience that it was always harder when a person was just missing, when there weren’t any real answers for you to give the family. "That must have been hard."
John nodded, "It was his cousin, but they were close. She told me that Aiden mentioned me in his video, that it seemed like he trusted me." Daniel winced, guessing what was coming next. "She asked me if maybe, his trust had been misplaced."
Daniel crossed the room slowly, lowering himself down onto the bed next to John, reaching out to squeeze his arm gently, "She was angry, she needed someone to blame."
John nodded, "Yeah, I know that, but I still think she was right."
Daniel raised an eyebrow, "He should have died, but he didn’t, he survived. He’s still alive, he’s still out there."
"Addicted to the Wraith enzyme." John muttered, angrily.
"You think he would be better off dead?" Daniel asked softly and John inhaled sharply before nodding.
"Maybe."
"Really?"
John shook his head, "No, if he was dead it would be over there wouldn’t be any hope, at least this way, he’s still out there, somewhere alive. One day we’ll find him and we’ll bring him home."
Daniel watched John for a moment longer before offering him the gift again, "Here, open it."
John hesitated before taking the package and ripping the paper off, revealing a thick paperback book. "War and Peace." He read the title out loud, a tiny smile touching his lips as he turned to Daniel an eyebrow raised, "You brought me a copy of War and Peace as a promotion gift?"
Daniel shrugged smiling, "It seemed like the right choice at the time."
"Thanks."
Daniel nodded slowly, eyes unreadable as he stared hard at John for a moment before smiling, "You really do deserve the promotion you know and for the record, the fact that you still care isn’t a bad thing. In fact, in my experience, senior officers who still care are much better commanders than those who don’t."
"You know, you could have just said ‘life’s not hard, it’s just harder than death’ and I would have got the message." John interrupted, stopping Daniel mid-lecture.
Daniel threw John a bemused look, "What?"
John froze staring at Daniel for a moment, before sighing, "It’s a quote from the Princess Bride."
"A film?" Daniel questioned.
"Yeah." John agreed. "A good one, it was a book first though"
"I’ll have to take your word for it." Daniel commented as he stood slowly. "I have a lot of packing to do."
John’s eyebrows rose, "Packing?"
Daniel grinned nodding, "I asked for a transfer to Atlantis, and it was approved."
John grinned, "In which case, your first night on Atlantis, you’re watching the Princess Bride."
part three. to pay the price
Daniel stopped in the doorway to the commissary, ignoring the impatient pokes that Vala Mal Doran was giving from behind, staring disbelievingly at occupants of one of the tables towards the back of the room.
"Daniel." Vala huffed impatiently, poking him hard enough in the kidney to make him wince.
"Vala!" He yelped, stepping quickly out of her reach rubbing the injured area carefully, glaring at her. "You didn’t need to do that."
She shrugged, "I’m hungry and you weren’t moving."
Daniel sighed, rubbing his eyes warily, before motioned for her to lead the way over to the serving area, throwing one last look towards the two men before following her and grabbing a tray and a small selection of food, plus two cups of coffee.
He didn’t wait for her to finish, turning quickly to make his way to the table, numerous questions flitting around in his head.
"Doctor Jackson." Rodney McKay offered a weak welcome before lowering his head once more to poke at his food.
"Hey." John Sheppard smiled, motioning towards on of the free chairs. "I’m guessing, judging from your obvious surprise that you don’t know."
"Don’t know what?" Vala appeared next to Daniel dumped her tray onto the table and claiming a seat without waiting for an invitation, eyebrows raised.
Rodney glared at her, muttering something under his breath while John eyed her cautiously. "So you’re still here huh?"
"Of course." Vala smiled at him. "I’m a member of SG-1 now."
Daniel nodded confirmation absently, "Atlantis?"
John took a deep breath, glancing down at his food, "During the gatebridge test, we found an Ancient warship, complete with Ancients. Who we took back to Atlantis, where they proceeded to take control of the city and evict us."
Daniel winced, while Vala made a disgusted noise. "I hope you stole some of their toys."
Daniel sighed, throwing her a quelling look before meeting John’s gaze, "They just took control of the city?"
"Pretty much." Rodney spoke up, nodding moodily before glancing at Vala, "We got a few things, but not as much as I wanted."
She sighed before reaching across the table to pat Rodney on the shoulder gently. "I’m sorry."
John smiled at her, before he turned back to Daniel after a moment, "They asked us to leave, because they wanted to be alone, but we got to leave a liaison, Woolsey."
Vala made a face. "They can have the weasely man."
Rodney’s head jerked up and he stared at her for a moment before smiling. "I’ll have to remember that one."
John sighed, throwing Rodney an exasperated look. One of these days Rodney was going to stop insulting powerful people. Or at least, he hoped so.
--
John swung his legs up onto the desk, ignoring Daniel’s pointed glare, "You know, I get that they’re all advanced and everything, but it’s really hard to like them."
"The Ancients?" Daniel questioned, finally giving in to the inevitable and dropping his pen onto the table before sliding his work to one side.
"Yeah, I mean I do understand that Atlantis is their home and they want to be alone, but we’re the reason that it’s still there and that they got back there." John sighed slouching further into his chair.
"They didn’t even say thank you?" Daniel ventured, watching John carefully.
"There was a lot of mention of being ‘grateful’ but no real, you know, actions to back it up." John shrugged, "All they seemed to care about was getting us out of the city as quickly as possible."
Daniel winced, "Ouch."
John nodded, "Yeah. I think out of all of us Elizabeth’s taking it the worst."
"She’s sacrificed a lot, plus there’s the whole thing with Woolsey." Daniel agreed, leaning back in his chair. "He’s a nice enough guy, but I really can’t see how the Ancients can like having him around."
"I think it’s more because he made it pretty clear that he likes the way things worked out. Less expense, less risk, but all the same advantages, or at least that’s how all the politicians seem to be seeing this whole thing." John sighed. "I don’t see it though, personally."
"The IOA are about the only people who don’t agree with you." Daniel commented, as he poked one of John’s ankles meaningfully. "But there’s not really much we can do, not now, plus making the only surviving Ancients our enemy may not be a good thing."
"No, that would be a bad idea." John agreed, smiling ruefully, "I was tempted for a little while though."
Daniel grinned, "I pretty sure McKay’s still considering it."
John winced, "Yeah, knowing Rodney he’s working on a plan as we speak and hunting through Area 51’s archives for anything that he can use."
Daniel grinned, "I don’t think he’ll find much, Sam claimed a lot of the useful stuff while she was there last year."
John groaned, "Great, that means the next time I speak to Rodney he’s going to spend at least half the conversation complaining about the staff and the absence of any useful technology."
Daniel offered him a sympathetic smile before switching topics carefully, "So, I hear you’re being given a team?"
"You hear?" John raised an eyebrow, grinning, knowing all too well that Daniel heard about almost every decision made in regarding the SGC almost as soon as they were made. "Yeah, apparently my experience is too good to waste." He explained doubtfully.
"We still have that jumper around, somewhere, the one that had the time device in it, I’m sure you’ll let you fly it every once in the while." Daniel offered sympathetically.
"I didn’t manage to finish it you know." John’s voice was apologetic.
"Finish what?" Daniel asked, confused.
"That copy of War and Peace you gave me. I got a third of the way though then the whole thing with the Ancients happened and I haven’t really felt like reading it since."
Daniel laughed despite himself, "I haven’t managed to get around to watching the Princess Bride yet either."
John sighed heavily, "Okay, well, you have been busy, what with the whole Ori thing."
"A little busy." Daniel agreed nodding.
John watched him carefully for a moment, twisting in his chair slightly, "I still haven’t moved out of the base yet, all my stuffs in the room the General assigned me."
Daniel sighed, making a point of playing with the various notes scattered across his desk, "I don’t know I have a lot of work to do, researching the Sangrael, translating the Ancient texts that SG-14 brought back last week."
"It’s after eighteen hundred hours, I’m sure no one will mind if you take a break." John swung his feet down to the floor leaning forward to meet Daniel’s gaze, eyes wide and innocent. "No more than two hours."
Daniel made a show of hesitating before he finally gave in, admitting, if just to himself, that it was nice not to have someone constantly reminding him about the Ori and their apparent impending doom. "Just two hours."
--
Daniel knocked carefully on the door to John’s new office before stepping inside and closing the door behind him. "I hear things didn’t go so well with the first mission."
John winced, playing with the model plane in his hands. "I certainly won’t use the words best and brightest to describe my team."
Daniel winced. "Yeah." He lowered himself carefully into one of the seats on the other side of the desk. "But they’re all new so, you’ve got to give them a little time."
John sighed nodding, "I know, it’s just…"
"You can’t help but keep comparing them to your old team." Daniel finished for him nodding.
"Which isn’t fair on them I know." John added as he placed the model down on the table carefully.
Daniel shrugged, "It took me a while to stop comparing Mitchell to Jack, but I got there in the end, but I don’t think I’ll ever stop missing Jack’s presence off-world."
"I guess you heard about the latest report from Atlantis as well?" John asked carefully, leaning back in his chair.
"Yeah," Daniel nodded, watching John carefully, "Landry seems pleased with the news about the replicators, but I think it’s more because it means he can rationalise your return better."
"Yeah, he told me to let McKay know about it." John agreed, before smiling, "It turns out the Ancients can’t handle Woolsey as well as they thought."
Daniel smiled nodding, "Jack seemed a little too smug about that though."
John grinned, "He wanted favoured Elizabeth for the job, but the IOA didn’t agree and the Ancients felt she was too attached to Atlantis, or something like that."
Daniel raised an eyebrow, "I heard something like that, but no one’s ever confirmed it."
John nodded, before sighing and starting to fiddle with the model once more, "Knowing about the Replicators, it should make it easier, shouldn’t it?"
Daniel shook his head, "No, it never happened, so you can always tell you self that it might not have happened, if you were still there."
John raised an eyebrow, "Have you been taking Psychology lessons again?"
Daniel smiled ruefully, shaking his head, "No, I just know how that feels, with the whole ascension thing."
John nodded his understanding, "If you hadn’t descended maybe you could have, insert action here."
"That would be it." Daniel agreed, before falling silent for a moment, "You know, I think that, one day, you’ll get back there." John threw him a doubtful look and Daniel quickly held up a hand to forestall whatever comment John was going to make, "There are exactly 100 Ancients still alive. That’s a very small population."
John raised an eyebrow, "I’ve already done the breeding stock thing." He pointed out idly, wheeling his chair back and swinging his legs up onto the table.
"Yeah, I remember that report, it read a little bit like Othello." Daniel grinned, ignoring John’s glare. "But, as a point, from what you’ve said, these Ancients don’t sound like the type of people who would be interested in any of us for that kind of thing."
"That’s reassuring." John deadpanned.
"One way or another, you’ll get back, that’s all that I’m saying." Daniel turned serious again.
"If I don’t, I don’t think it’ll be so bad though, not really." John commented idly, playing with the zip on his jacket idly. "Three years in Atlantis, even though we spent all that time fighting bad guys, it was worth it." He nodded, smiling as he looked up to meet Daniel’s gaze, "It was worth the risk."
Daniel smiled softly, nodding his understanding. "I know."