Stargate SG-1: Memories
Title: Memories
Author: Drifter
Fandom: Stargate SG-1
Characters: Daniel, Jack, Sam
Prompt: Cry
Word Count: 828
Rating: G
Summary: Daniel has a nightmare.
Warnings: None.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
---
There was a new Egyptian exhibit moving into the museum, and Daniel couldn’t wait to see the latest treasures. Instead of playing baseball or running amok with the other boys his age, he spent all his free time marveling at the ancient wonders and absorbing the stories and mythology of Ancient Egypt. His dad always showed him the new exhibits before they were open to the public.
He watched, impatient, as the enormous block of sandstone moved inexorably into place above the stone pillars. Only when it was settled would he be allowed inside. At long last, it came to a halt, and Daniel stood. He hadn’t taken more than a step before his mother shook her head. Groaning with exasperation and rolling his eyes to the ceiling, he flopped back onto the ledge where he’d been sitting as the crew heaved the block back into the air. The stone listed dangerously with the effort and someone shouted to take it easy.
Everything seemed to slow down for an instant before a terrible crack split the air. The stone dropped. Daniel watched in horror as the pillars dominoed. His mother screamed...
The force with which he hit the floor jarred Daniel out of the memory. The tiny room buried deep under Cheyenne Mountain was dark and silent - the falling rocks and mangled bodies vanishing into the shadows. He lay still, letting the cold of the cement seep into his body, breathing heavily, and trying to slow his racing heart. From somewhere nearby he could hear the steady thrum of an electric current.
Minutes passed as he closed his eyes again, wishing away the terrible images that seemed seared to the insides of his eyelids. It had been a long time since he’d had that nightmare.
Someone pounded on the door, jerking him back to the present. “Daniel!” shouted Colonel O’Neill, banging again.
For a moment he considering ignoring the Colonel, but Jack didn’t like being ignored and the thought of being blasted out with C-4 wasn’t appealing. Reluctantly, he got to his feet and opened the door. Jack paused on the threshold, clearly taken aback by his unusually disheveled appearance. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” he lied, putting on his I-have-no-idea-what-you’re-talking-about face and running a hand distractedly through his hair which had taken on a distinctly Frankenstein-esque appearance. “Should I not be?”
Jack wasn’t buying it. He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorjamb. “I dunno. You tell me. The sergeant heard you yelling, said it sounded like you were fighting with someone.”
It was always disconcerting when Jack showed concern of any kind, and it put Daniel on his guard. “It was nothing,” he explained. “Just a dream.”
“Uh-huh,” the older man goaded, one eyebrow raised skeptically.
“Look, I really don’t want to explain,” he blurted. Directness usually worked with the Colonel, but now Jack simply stared back at him, unmoving, waiting for him to continue. He gave in. “P7J-989… The Gamekeeper? Crazy guy? Tried to make us relieve bad memories over and over? Thought it was entertaining?”
The previously blank look was replaced by disdain. “Nice guy. How’d I forget him? You were saying.”
Before he could continue, Major Carter and Teal’c appeared at a jog, and Daniel silently cursed the sergeant who thought all of SG-1 should be involved. “Is everything alright?” Carter asked, gaze flitting between the two men.
“Daniel had a nightmare,” Jack supplied with his usual joking contempt. “Blames it on ‘the Gamekeeper’.”
Sam’s sympathetic gaze bore into him. She’d been there and stood next to him while his parents died over and over. “The Gamekeeper? From P7J - ”
“ - 989,” he supplied. “Yes. Him.”
“He’s not still here. Is he?” Her tone became guarded as she started thinking of possibilities.
Jack shrugged. “Daniel?”
“No,” he replied quickly, trying to steer the conversation back to business-only. “There was no sign of him or the other players. It was just a bad dream.”
The look on Jack’s face was still skeptical, but he nodded. “Right. You’ll let us know if you have any more of these… bad dreams?”
Daniel assured him that he would, and to his relief, Jack seemed satisfied. He and Teal’c took their leave with a final reminder of SG-1’s next briefing. Carter, however, didn’t seem dissuaded. She considered him thoughtfully. “You going to be okay?” she asked when they were out of earshot.
“I’m not going to burst into tears if that’s what you mean,” he returned with a wan smile, picking up the books he’d knocked over when he’d fell. “I’ve had them before.”
She smiled. “We’re here if you… you know,” she said awkwardly.
He’d had enough of people’s sympathy the first time his parents died, and he didn’t want it now, but the offer seemed to mean something different this time. It didn’t come from one of his parent’s friends or someone he had never met; it came from a friend.
“Thanks,” he replied. “I’ll be alright.”
Author: Drifter
Fandom: Stargate SG-1
Characters: Daniel, Jack, Sam
Prompt: Cry
Word Count: 828
Rating: G
Summary: Daniel has a nightmare.
Warnings: None.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
---
There was a new Egyptian exhibit moving into the museum, and Daniel couldn’t wait to see the latest treasures. Instead of playing baseball or running amok with the other boys his age, he spent all his free time marveling at the ancient wonders and absorbing the stories and mythology of Ancient Egypt. His dad always showed him the new exhibits before they were open to the public.
He watched, impatient, as the enormous block of sandstone moved inexorably into place above the stone pillars. Only when it was settled would he be allowed inside. At long last, it came to a halt, and Daniel stood. He hadn’t taken more than a step before his mother shook her head. Groaning with exasperation and rolling his eyes to the ceiling, he flopped back onto the ledge where he’d been sitting as the crew heaved the block back into the air. The stone listed dangerously with the effort and someone shouted to take it easy.
Everything seemed to slow down for an instant before a terrible crack split the air. The stone dropped. Daniel watched in horror as the pillars dominoed. His mother screamed...
The force with which he hit the floor jarred Daniel out of the memory. The tiny room buried deep under Cheyenne Mountain was dark and silent - the falling rocks and mangled bodies vanishing into the shadows. He lay still, letting the cold of the cement seep into his body, breathing heavily, and trying to slow his racing heart. From somewhere nearby he could hear the steady thrum of an electric current.
Minutes passed as he closed his eyes again, wishing away the terrible images that seemed seared to the insides of his eyelids. It had been a long time since he’d had that nightmare.
Someone pounded on the door, jerking him back to the present. “Daniel!” shouted Colonel O’Neill, banging again.
For a moment he considering ignoring the Colonel, but Jack didn’t like being ignored and the thought of being blasted out with C-4 wasn’t appealing. Reluctantly, he got to his feet and opened the door. Jack paused on the threshold, clearly taken aback by his unusually disheveled appearance. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” he lied, putting on his I-have-no-idea-what-you’re-talking-about face and running a hand distractedly through his hair which had taken on a distinctly Frankenstein-esque appearance. “Should I not be?”
Jack wasn’t buying it. He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorjamb. “I dunno. You tell me. The sergeant heard you yelling, said it sounded like you were fighting with someone.”
It was always disconcerting when Jack showed concern of any kind, and it put Daniel on his guard. “It was nothing,” he explained. “Just a dream.”
“Uh-huh,” the older man goaded, one eyebrow raised skeptically.
“Look, I really don’t want to explain,” he blurted. Directness usually worked with the Colonel, but now Jack simply stared back at him, unmoving, waiting for him to continue. He gave in. “P7J-989… The Gamekeeper? Crazy guy? Tried to make us relieve bad memories over and over? Thought it was entertaining?”
The previously blank look was replaced by disdain. “Nice guy. How’d I forget him? You were saying.”
Before he could continue, Major Carter and Teal’c appeared at a jog, and Daniel silently cursed the sergeant who thought all of SG-1 should be involved. “Is everything alright?” Carter asked, gaze flitting between the two men.
“Daniel had a nightmare,” Jack supplied with his usual joking contempt. “Blames it on ‘the Gamekeeper’.”
Sam’s sympathetic gaze bore into him. She’d been there and stood next to him while his parents died over and over. “The Gamekeeper? From P7J - ”
“ - 989,” he supplied. “Yes. Him.”
“He’s not still here. Is he?” Her tone became guarded as she started thinking of possibilities.
Jack shrugged. “Daniel?”
“No,” he replied quickly, trying to steer the conversation back to business-only. “There was no sign of him or the other players. It was just a bad dream.”
The look on Jack’s face was still skeptical, but he nodded. “Right. You’ll let us know if you have any more of these… bad dreams?”
Daniel assured him that he would, and to his relief, Jack seemed satisfied. He and Teal’c took their leave with a final reminder of SG-1’s next briefing. Carter, however, didn’t seem dissuaded. She considered him thoughtfully. “You going to be okay?” she asked when they were out of earshot.
“I’m not going to burst into tears if that’s what you mean,” he returned with a wan smile, picking up the books he’d knocked over when he’d fell. “I’ve had them before.”
She smiled. “We’re here if you… you know,” she said awkwardly.
He’d had enough of people’s sympathy the first time his parents died, and he didn’t want it now, but the offer seemed to mean something different this time. It didn’t come from one of his parent’s friends or someone he had never met; it came from a friend.
“Thanks,” he replied. “I’ll be alright.”