he was not born for this earth
Title: he was not born for this earth
Author: Kiara Sayre (aka kiarasayre, _seven_crows)
Request: eternaleye: DW/Stargate SG1 featuring Daniel Jackson and Nine or Ten, where Daniel ends up as a companion or in a companion role. Bonus points for bringing in Ancients and ascension and how that ties in with the Time Lords. (Unfortunately, no Ancients/ascension and Time Lords, but the bunnies, they keep a'coming.)
Rating: PG for violence and implied boy-naughtiness (if I didn't imply it enough, it's still intended)
Notes: The plotbunny bit, and bit hard. Thanks to eternaleye for thinking up the amazing premise, and mandasarah and trekkiemage for feedback. It's not as polished as I'd necessarily like, but they never really are, are they?
The problem with traveling with the Doctor, Daniel thought, ducking behind a column to escape the energy blasts, was that it wasn’t really a career change. Not for Daniel.
“I thought you said they were peaceful,” he snapped at the Doctor, right hand reaching instinctively for his sidearm.
“They are!” the Doctor protested. “Or at least they were about, oh, three hundred and twenty-six years ago, which is when I was aiming for.”
“You really need to work on your aim,” Daniel muttered. There was no sidearm for him, not any more; which was a good thing, really, except when he needed it.
Which was frequently.
“Oi, at least I got the right planet!”
“Barely,” Daniel retorted. “And besides, how exactly are we going to get out of this one, hmm? We’re not exactly armed, here.”
“Americans,” the Doctor muttered with disgust. “Always talking about arms and weapons. Ever try talking to solve a problem?”
“Frequently,” said Daniel through gritted teeth, “and I have the scars to prove it.”
The Doctor stepped out from behind the column, hands raised in a clear gesture of peace.
“Oi! Look! I’m unarmed, I’m standing right here - I just want to talk!”
In retrospect, Daniel should have realized the circumstances of his travels when the Doctor was happy to meet someone who’d died as many times as he had.
“We’re peaceful explorers, here, and we’re a bit lost-”
That, precisely, was the moment Daniel knew they were screwed.
Three hours later, when they were shackled to the damp cement floor of their latest accommodations (meaning, of course, cell), Daniel let his head thump heavily against the wall.
“I could’ve told you the ‘peaceful explorers’ thing wouldn’t work.”
“Nine hundred years traveling through time and space, watching civilizations rise and fall, I think I know how to approach a slightly unfriendly group of natives - ”
“Oh, yet look where we are.”
The Doctor glared at him, his eyes narrow. “Has anyone ever told you you need to be less sarcastic?”
“Yes,” Daniel replied instantly. “It didn’t work.” Then he frowned. “Actually, I think you told me that, too.”
“Well, I’m telling you again.”
“Okay.”
“Right.”
“Fine then.”
“Americans.”
Daniel rolled his eyes, but let the Doctor have the last word.
“So. In three hundred years they went from a society of peaceful, artistic, and highly creative scholars to a warmongering race?”
“Reminds me of humans,” the Doctor said offhandedly, shifting his weight. “Can you reach my sonic screwdriver?”
Daniel stared for a long moment before the Doctor rolled his eyes.
“Sonic screwdriver. Sonic screwdriver. My God, you have a smutty mind. It’s in my inside pocket, and if we get it we might just be able to-”
“Why?”
The Doctor looked at Daniel, frowning. “Why what?”
“The Circinnans. In three hundred years their society completely changed.” Daniel met the Doctor’s eyes. “I’m asking you why.”
The Doctor was quiet for a long moment. “They found something, about a hundred years ago,” he said finally, “the Stargate for this planet.”
One of the reasons he agreed to come with the Doctor (other than the offer to see the civilizations he studied, go beyond even the Stargate’s limits, and help people to an extent that both the government and the Ancients had before restricted) might have been because of the Doctor himself. Something about him reminded Daniel of Jack - not in any physical sense, of course. The Doctor actually wore respectable clothes, had spoken for ten consecutive minutes without mentioning beer, and had even an iota of color in his hair (which was an entity unto itself; definitely not Air-Force-regulation-length), but the sarcasm, or the happy-go-luckiness, or…
It was something altogether indefinable. The only real difference, Daniel supposed, was that the Doctor would never ask Daniel to stop asking questions. And that the Doctor would never -
“Right, assets,” the Doctor said. “What do we have, what do we need.”
“We have: shackles, a damp floor, and possibly concussions. We need: a way out. How’s that sound?”
“Do you come with a mute button or something?”
“Nah, that’s the upgrade.”
“Right. Knew I forgot something.”
And, of course, that the Doctor was currently nowhere near Washington, DC, nor was he surreptitiously totally, completely, and under no circumstances dating one of Daniel’s other best friends. Daniel was mostly certain that if he called the TARDIS on any given day, the chances of Sam picking up the phone were, at the very least, below fifty percent.
Daniel looked up to see the Doctor watching him carefully.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked softly.
Daniel saw no reason to lie. “The SGC. Jack and Sam. And Teal’c.” He frowned slightly. “I thought it was my home.”
When did it stop being home? When did he lose his purpose? There was a time when absconding with a stranger in a blue box would have been unthinkable - when ascending to a higher plane of existence would have been unthinkable. He loved Jack, and the others too, but differently; he had loved Sha’re too, in her own way. She had been his freedom. It hadn’t been enough then, either - he had unburied the Gate and signed her death sentence.
The SGC should have been enough. When had it changed?
“You helped people,” said the Doctor quietly.
“I can still help people. And I don’t have to listen to the military anymore, that’ll be nice.”
“And Jack and Sam and Teal’c?”
Silence.
“If you want to go back, when we get out of here, I can take you.”
Daniel considered. He thought of Jack in Washington, Sam at Area 51 with her “business trips”, Teal’c on Takara, building a world for himself that he had no place in; Doctor Weir on Atlantis, sending him emails every other week containing everything from the news around the city to the weather, using words like “gorgeous”, “ocean view”, and “just say the word and you’re here”. Abydos deserts shifting like seas, fresh winter air on Vis Uban, watching the sun rise over Cheyenne Mountain after a long night of cuneiform and hieroglyphs…
Reese dying. Sha’re dying. Catherine dying, Jacob dying, all of Abydos condemned by his hand. At some point along the road, Daniel’s life had become a long string of corpses. Maybe that was why he ascended - maybe that’s why he wanted so desperately to go on the Daedalus.
Maybe this was exactly what he needed.
“I think,” he said after a moment, “that I need to hand in my letter of resignation, officially. Preferably as far away from Washington as I can be - or maybe right there, just to see Jack that pissed. And then…” He frowned faintly for a moment. “Have you ever been to Abydos?”
“Can’t say I have been, no,” the Doctor replied, almost too casual as Daniel turned to look at him. “Is that an invitation?”
Daniel smiled - genuinely smiled, for what felt like the first time in ages.
“More of a demand, really.”
The Doctor grinned back with more enthusiasm than was strictly necessary, and Daniel felt a frisson of something - fear? excitement? anticipation? - crawl up his spine.
“Well then, what are we waiting for?” The Doctor gave his chains a good hard tug, and they popped right out of the wall.
“You son of a bitch,” Daniel said - but he still couldn’t keep the grin off his face. The Doctor’s grin grew even more manic (which was either terrifying or hilarious, Daniel couldn’t quite tell) as he pulled out the sonic screwdriver and helped Daniel out of his bonds.
“So. Abydos?”
“Earth first - I need to properly resign. I’ve disappeared off the face of the planet once before - no, twice - ” Daniel stopped rubbing his wrists to consider, before giving up. “Point is, it’s happened a lot. They need to know not to wait up this time.”
“You know, the TARDIS is a time machine,” the Doctor pointed out, popping open the cell door. “We could go everywhere and be back in ten seconds.”
Daniel nodded his head a bit in acknowledgement. “Still doesn’t mean they should wait up.”
“Good man,” the Doctor said approvingly.
Daniel shrugged. He’d left Earth in search of greater things before; he had a feeling, now, that he was seeing the greatest things possible.
epilogue
Daniel turned in his resignation; Landry was sad to see him go, and Elizabeth Weir sadder still. Jack conveniently didn’t hear about his departure until a week after Daniel had gone, and the legends say his shouting was heard for miles around. Sam heard at the same time - she was in the area on business. When the official news reached Teal’c on Takara, he looked suspiciously unsurprised and merely inclined his head. There was, perhaps, a trace of a smug smile on his lips.
And on far-flung worlds, as far from Washington, DC, as physically possible, two men traveled and learned and lived their mortal lives as best they could.
Author: Kiara Sayre (aka kiarasayre, _seven_crows)
Request: eternaleye: DW/Stargate SG1 featuring Daniel Jackson and Nine or Ten, where Daniel ends up as a companion or in a companion role. Bonus points for bringing in Ancients and ascension and how that ties in with the Time Lords. (Unfortunately, no Ancients/ascension and Time Lords, but the bunnies, they keep a'coming.)
Rating: PG for violence and implied boy-naughtiness (if I didn't imply it enough, it's still intended)
Notes: The plotbunny bit, and bit hard. Thanks to eternaleye for thinking up the amazing premise, and mandasarah and trekkiemage for feedback. It's not as polished as I'd necessarily like, but they never really are, are they?
The problem with traveling with the Doctor, Daniel thought, ducking behind a column to escape the energy blasts, was that it wasn’t really a career change. Not for Daniel.
“I thought you said they were peaceful,” he snapped at the Doctor, right hand reaching instinctively for his sidearm.
“They are!” the Doctor protested. “Or at least they were about, oh, three hundred and twenty-six years ago, which is when I was aiming for.”
“You really need to work on your aim,” Daniel muttered. There was no sidearm for him, not any more; which was a good thing, really, except when he needed it.
Which was frequently.
“Oi, at least I got the right planet!”
“Barely,” Daniel retorted. “And besides, how exactly are we going to get out of this one, hmm? We’re not exactly armed, here.”
“Americans,” the Doctor muttered with disgust. “Always talking about arms and weapons. Ever try talking to solve a problem?”
“Frequently,” said Daniel through gritted teeth, “and I have the scars to prove it.”
The Doctor stepped out from behind the column, hands raised in a clear gesture of peace.
“Oi! Look! I’m unarmed, I’m standing right here - I just want to talk!”
In retrospect, Daniel should have realized the circumstances of his travels when the Doctor was happy to meet someone who’d died as many times as he had.
“We’re peaceful explorers, here, and we’re a bit lost-”
That, precisely, was the moment Daniel knew they were screwed.
Three hours later, when they were shackled to the damp cement floor of their latest accommodations (meaning, of course, cell), Daniel let his head thump heavily against the wall.
“I could’ve told you the ‘peaceful explorers’ thing wouldn’t work.”
“Nine hundred years traveling through time and space, watching civilizations rise and fall, I think I know how to approach a slightly unfriendly group of natives - ”
“Oh, yet look where we are.”
The Doctor glared at him, his eyes narrow. “Has anyone ever told you you need to be less sarcastic?”
“Yes,” Daniel replied instantly. “It didn’t work.” Then he frowned. “Actually, I think you told me that, too.”
“Well, I’m telling you again.”
“Okay.”
“Right.”
“Fine then.”
“Americans.”
Daniel rolled his eyes, but let the Doctor have the last word.
“So. In three hundred years they went from a society of peaceful, artistic, and highly creative scholars to a warmongering race?”
“Reminds me of humans,” the Doctor said offhandedly, shifting his weight. “Can you reach my sonic screwdriver?”
Daniel stared for a long moment before the Doctor rolled his eyes.
“Sonic screwdriver. Sonic screwdriver. My God, you have a smutty mind. It’s in my inside pocket, and if we get it we might just be able to-”
“Why?”
The Doctor looked at Daniel, frowning. “Why what?”
“The Circinnans. In three hundred years their society completely changed.” Daniel met the Doctor’s eyes. “I’m asking you why.”
The Doctor was quiet for a long moment. “They found something, about a hundred years ago,” he said finally, “the Stargate for this planet.”
One of the reasons he agreed to come with the Doctor (other than the offer to see the civilizations he studied, go beyond even the Stargate’s limits, and help people to an extent that both the government and the Ancients had before restricted) might have been because of the Doctor himself. Something about him reminded Daniel of Jack - not in any physical sense, of course. The Doctor actually wore respectable clothes, had spoken for ten consecutive minutes without mentioning beer, and had even an iota of color in his hair (which was an entity unto itself; definitely not Air-Force-regulation-length), but the sarcasm, or the happy-go-luckiness, or…
It was something altogether indefinable. The only real difference, Daniel supposed, was that the Doctor would never ask Daniel to stop asking questions. And that the Doctor would never -
“Right, assets,” the Doctor said. “What do we have, what do we need.”
“We have: shackles, a damp floor, and possibly concussions. We need: a way out. How’s that sound?”
“Do you come with a mute button or something?”
“Nah, that’s the upgrade.”
“Right. Knew I forgot something.”
And, of course, that the Doctor was currently nowhere near Washington, DC, nor was he surreptitiously totally, completely, and under no circumstances dating one of Daniel’s other best friends. Daniel was mostly certain that if he called the TARDIS on any given day, the chances of Sam picking up the phone were, at the very least, below fifty percent.
Daniel looked up to see the Doctor watching him carefully.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked softly.
Daniel saw no reason to lie. “The SGC. Jack and Sam. And Teal’c.” He frowned slightly. “I thought it was my home.”
When did it stop being home? When did he lose his purpose? There was a time when absconding with a stranger in a blue box would have been unthinkable - when ascending to a higher plane of existence would have been unthinkable. He loved Jack, and the others too, but differently; he had loved Sha’re too, in her own way. She had been his freedom. It hadn’t been enough then, either - he had unburied the Gate and signed her death sentence.
The SGC should have been enough. When had it changed?
“You helped people,” said the Doctor quietly.
“I can still help people. And I don’t have to listen to the military anymore, that’ll be nice.”
“And Jack and Sam and Teal’c?”
Silence.
“If you want to go back, when we get out of here, I can take you.”
Daniel considered. He thought of Jack in Washington, Sam at Area 51 with her “business trips”, Teal’c on Takara, building a world for himself that he had no place in; Doctor Weir on Atlantis, sending him emails every other week containing everything from the news around the city to the weather, using words like “gorgeous”, “ocean view”, and “just say the word and you’re here”. Abydos deserts shifting like seas, fresh winter air on Vis Uban, watching the sun rise over Cheyenne Mountain after a long night of cuneiform and hieroglyphs…
Reese dying. Sha’re dying. Catherine dying, Jacob dying, all of Abydos condemned by his hand. At some point along the road, Daniel’s life had become a long string of corpses. Maybe that was why he ascended - maybe that’s why he wanted so desperately to go on the Daedalus.
Maybe this was exactly what he needed.
“I think,” he said after a moment, “that I need to hand in my letter of resignation, officially. Preferably as far away from Washington as I can be - or maybe right there, just to see Jack that pissed. And then…” He frowned faintly for a moment. “Have you ever been to Abydos?”
“Can’t say I have been, no,” the Doctor replied, almost too casual as Daniel turned to look at him. “Is that an invitation?”
Daniel smiled - genuinely smiled, for what felt like the first time in ages.
“More of a demand, really.”
The Doctor grinned back with more enthusiasm than was strictly necessary, and Daniel felt a frisson of something - fear? excitement? anticipation? - crawl up his spine.
“Well then, what are we waiting for?” The Doctor gave his chains a good hard tug, and they popped right out of the wall.
“You son of a bitch,” Daniel said - but he still couldn’t keep the grin off his face. The Doctor’s grin grew even more manic (which was either terrifying or hilarious, Daniel couldn’t quite tell) as he pulled out the sonic screwdriver and helped Daniel out of his bonds.
“So. Abydos?”
“Earth first - I need to properly resign. I’ve disappeared off the face of the planet once before - no, twice - ” Daniel stopped rubbing his wrists to consider, before giving up. “Point is, it’s happened a lot. They need to know not to wait up this time.”
“You know, the TARDIS is a time machine,” the Doctor pointed out, popping open the cell door. “We could go everywhere and be back in ten seconds.”
Daniel nodded his head a bit in acknowledgement. “Still doesn’t mean they should wait up.”
“Good man,” the Doctor said approvingly.
Daniel shrugged. He’d left Earth in search of greater things before; he had a feeling, now, that he was seeing the greatest things possible.
epilogue
Daniel turned in his resignation; Landry was sad to see him go, and Elizabeth Weir sadder still. Jack conveniently didn’t hear about his departure until a week after Daniel had gone, and the legends say his shouting was heard for miles around. Sam heard at the same time - she was in the area on business. When the official news reached Teal’c on Takara, he looked suspiciously unsurprised and merely inclined his head. There was, perhaps, a trace of a smug smile on his lips.
And on far-flung worlds, as far from Washington, DC, as physically possible, two men traveled and learned and lived their mortal lives as best they could.