Fanfiction: Defining Family
Fandom: Stargate SG1
Series: Aftershocks
TAG to Episode: S1 Bloodlines
Rating: PG-13
Author's Note: Daniel/Teal'c friendship. Mild Sam/Jack UST.
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. Written for entertainment purposes only.
Defining Family
'You wanted to see me, Daniel Jackson?’ Teal’c hovered in the doorway of the archaeologist’s office.
Daniel glanced up from his work at the Jaffa and smiled. ‘Yes. I did. Catherine sent me something I thought you might want to see.’ He beckoned Teal’c over to a side-bench and whipped off a dust cover.
Teal’c’s dark eyes widened at the small table-like object. It was oblong with fifty eight holes drilled into the beautiful inlaid surface. Dark and ivory pawns - long sticks with the head of a dog were randomly placed along the game.
‘Do you…’ Daniel began.
‘It is called Kasha Gyk.’ Teal’c murmured reaching out to touch the wood reverently. ‘An old game. I have not seen one on Chulak in many years.’
‘Well, here it’s called the Jackals and Hounds game. There were quite a few found in Ancient Egypt.’ Daniel waved at it. ‘We think this belonged to a Pharoah’s daughter.’
‘It was forbidden for slaves to play.’ Teal’c said. ‘It was used to teach strategy to the young Jaffa and Goa’uld.’
‘I don’t suppose you know how to.’ Daniel asked hopefully.
Teal’c’s eyes gleamed. ‘I do.’
Daniel’s blue eyes lit up behind his glasses. ‘Would you teach me?’
Teal’c inclined his head. ‘I would be honoured, Daniel Jackson.’
‘Just a moment,’ Daniel shifted a stack of papers from the central desk onto another side table.
Teal’c carried the game over gently and removed the pawns until the board was empty. He sat on one of the stools. ‘We will need a coin.’
Daniel searched his pockets and failed to find any money. He opened a drawer and scrabbled around. He brought out an old Bronze Age coin. ‘Will this do?’
‘It will.’
Daniel placed the coin on the table, grabbed a notebook and sat on the stool. ‘Whenever you’re ready, Teal’c.’
‘The purpose of the game is for each player to traverse the board from this point here,’ he pointed at the top of the board, ‘following these holes,’ his finger ran down the length of the board, ‘to here,’ his finger stopped at the centre of the board, ‘with as many pawns if possible.’
Daniel scribbled enthusiastically. ‘So, the winner is the player who ends the game having traversed with the most number of pawns?’
‘Indeed.’ Teal’c confirmed.
‘Why the most pawns? Why not all five?’ Daniel mused. His brow creased. ‘I don’t understand.’
‘Each player has three pawns on their side of the board and two on their opponents.’ Teal’c said. ‘If your opponent reaches the finish on your side or their own side with one of their pawns before you do, you lose one pawn. The lost pawn is entirely their choice and can be chosen from either side of the board.’
‘Really? Wow.’ Daniel’s eyebrows rose. ‘We’ve only ever assumed that it was a race between each side but this is a lot more complicated.’
‘It requires strategy, cunning and luck.’ Teal’c said. He placed a finger on the coin and slid it across the bench. ‘You must throw this side to begin playing each new pawn; it will be worth two moves.’
‘The head.’ Daniel waved at the coin. ‘We call this side the head. The opposite side is called the tail.’ He caught Teal’c’s look of disbelief. ‘Really.’
Teal’c raised an eyebrow. ‘The…tail is worth one.’ He picked out lines between various holes. ‘These short cuts can only be used if a head has been thrown from the previous hole.’
‘So if I have a pawn on hole nine and throw a head then I can get to hole twenty-four but if I throw a tail I have to stay on hole ten and can’t progress to hole twenty-four with my next throw?’
‘Correct, Daniel Jackson.’ Teal’c nodded with satisfaction.
Daniel finished writing and put the notebook to one side. ‘Shall we play?’
Teal’c silently passed him his pawns. ‘Your first pawn must be played on your side of the board but you determine which side you play from that point and which pawn to move.’
‘As long as I have two on your side and three on my own?’
Teal’c nodded.
For a long while, they played in silence. Daniel threw his coin and smiled at the head. He moved one of his pawns two places. He shook his head disbelief. ‘I can’t believe I’m actually playing the game.’ The incredulity and awe in the younger man’s voice softened Teal’c’s expression as he made his own move. ‘I mean,’ Daniel continued, ‘nobody’s played this actual game on Earth in…in thousands of years.’ He sighed in contentment.
‘I am glad you are enjoying it, Daniel Jackson.’ Teal’c said making a short cut with his next move.
‘I feel like I did when I first stood on the Giza plateau or on the steps of the Senate building in the Ancient Forum at Rome.’ Daniel said with a shy smile. ‘Like I’m actually touching history.’
Teal’c’s lips lifted with a hint of a smile at the younger man’s enjoyment.
Daniel was quiet for the next few moves. He watched in resigned amusement as Teal’c reached the finish on his own side and plucked one of Daniel’s pawns from the board. He regarded the Jaffa for a long moment as he made his own move. ‘So, we haven’t talked much since we came back from Chulak.’
Teal’c’s expression saddened imperceptibly.
‘You must miss your family very much.’ Daniel commented sympathetically.
The Jaffa met Daniel’s gaze reluctantly and blinked at the compassion there. He hid his confusion by focusing momentarily on the game. The archaeologist remained an enigma to him in many ways. It still surprised Teal’c that Daniel had accepted him into SG1 despite the Jaffa’s involvement in the abduction and implantation of Sha’re. It had astonished him further that the other man had destroyed a machine on Cimmeria that would have saved Sha’re to free Teal’c from the labyrinth there. Teal’c had been raised to believe such mercy was a sign of weakness but he was more grateful than he could ever have expressed for their embryonic friendship and more determined than ever to do all he could to recover Daniel’s wife. He belatedly realised Daniel was waiting for him to reply. Teal’c repressed a sigh and nodded slowly. ‘I do.’
‘Can I ask you a question? I mean you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to but I was just wondering.’ Daniel’s voice trailed off and he looked a little uncertain as his serious blue gaze caught Teal’c’s dark eyes.
‘You may ask your question, Daniel Jackson.’
Daniel made his move before he looked back up at Teal’c. ‘I was wondering why you didn’t bring Drey’auc and Rya’c back with us. I thought General Hammond gave you permission.’
‘He did.’ Teal’c murmured. He frowned as he considered his answer. ‘I could not ask them to leave Chulak. This is my fight.’
‘But you must want them with you.’ Daniel said.
‘Indeed.’
‘Then why not bring them?’ Daniel pressed.
‘I am rarely allowed to leave the base.’ Teal’c noted. His second pawn finished the circuit and he plucked another of Daniel’s from the board. ‘That would be difficult for a young child to understand.’
‘I never thought of that.’ Daniel sighed as he made his own move.
‘Your world is strange.’ Teal’c said. ‘I am uncertain my family would be able to…adjust. On Chulak Bra’tac will see to their safety.’
‘I guess our customs and ways are very different.’ Daniel smiled ruefully.
‘Very different.’ Teal’c confirmed.
‘Still it’s a shame that you can’t have your family with you.’ Daniel said.
Teal’c placed his pawn carefully into the board. ‘I have accepted it is the way it must be if I am to free my people and free my son from the Goa’uld.’
‘Do you have any other family?’ Daniel finished a circuit and plucked Teal’c’s pawn out of its hole.
Teal’c raised an eyebrow at the move and threw the coin. ‘I do not.’
Daniel gestured at Teal’c with the pawn he was holding. ‘At least you got to say goodbye to your wife and son this time. I guess that was something.’
‘Indeed.’ Teal’c said as the image of his wife and son standing in the forest by the side of the path flashed through his mind.
‘I think that’s what I regret most about Sha’re,’ Daniel said quietly, ‘that I didn’t know that our last goodbye would be goodbye. I mean, don’t get me wrong it was a great goodbye,’ he smiled briefly remembering the kiss that Sha’re had planted on him, ‘but if I’d known…there’s just so many things I would have said to her.’ He noticed the barest of movements across Teal’c’s face. ‘Oh, I’m sorry, Teal’c…I didn’t mean to…’
‘You have nothing to apologise for, Daniel Jackson.’ Teal’c said. ‘I am honoured you wish to speak with me of Sha’re.’
Daniel shrugged and held Teal’c’s gaze firmly. ‘I don’t blame you anymore, Teal’c, for what happened. With the way the Goa’uld have enslaved the Jaffa, you never truly had any more choice about what happened to Sha’re than she did. I think I understand that now.’
Teal’c’s eyes widened; he was staggered. The archaeologist had once thanked Teal’c for helping him to find Sha’re, and he had thought at the time that it was more forgiveness than he deserved or ever thought he would receive from the other man. He had been mistaken. He took a deep breath. ‘I lack the words, Daniel Jackson.’
‘I’m still angry about…everything.’ Daniel looked down at the game. ‘But not at you.’ He sighed. ‘I kind of shot up a tank of infant Goa’ulds on Chulak. I was just so…’ He gave a grimace and stared at his pawn. ‘All I could think was that every one of those Goa’uld would grow up and take a host like Sha’re; would destroy their host’s lives and the lives of all those who cared for them.’
‘You were correct.’ Teal’c said gently.
‘Maybe.’ Daniel bit his lip and fiddled with one of his pawns. ‘Before I did it, Sam said shooting up the tank when they were so vulnerable and helpless made us no better than the Goa’uld.’ He knew he had shocked the Air Force Captain when he had opened fire; it had been clearly written into every line on her face.
‘I have observed Captain Carter is protective of those she considers as innocent,’ Teal’c said pushing the coin towards Daniel, ‘but the Goa’uld are not innocent even in larval form.’ He met Daniel’s eyes firmly. ‘I would have destroyed the tank in your feet.’
Daniel’s lips quirked upwards and his stomach seemed suddenly untangled from its tight knot of guilt. ‘Shoes, Teal’c. The saying is ‘in your shoes.’’
Teal’c inclined in his head.
Daniel heaved a sigh of relief. ‘Thanks, Teal’c.’
‘For what, Daniel Jackson?’ Teal’c asked confused.
‘Making me feel better.’ Daniel’s mouth twisted and his blue eyes settled on the Jaffa ruefully. ‘I actually invited you because I thought the game would cheer you up about missing your family.’ He confessed.
Teal’c’s dark gaze focused on the archaeologist. ‘What of your family, Daniel Jackson?’
‘Mine?’ Daniel blinked at him in surprise. ‘My parents…uh…died when I was young. My foster parents…’ he caught Teal’c’s flicker of confusion. ‘Foster parents are guardians appointed by the government when there is no-one else around to look after a child.’
‘I see.’ Teal’c murmured.
‘Anyway, I don’t really stay in touch with my foster parents - Christmas cards, that kind of thing.’ Daniel saw another flicker cross Teal’c’s face and he wondered how many of their conversations had gone completely over his head. ‘Christmas is a holiday here on Earth. It’s part of the Christian religion supposedly to celebrate the birth of Christ. People generally send cards, exchange presents.’ He moved his pawn. ‘You’re going to love it.’
Teal’c raised an eyebrow.
‘I mean, my foster parents are nice people but they’re not my family, you know?’ Daniel crossed his arms unconsciously hugging himself. ‘I guess Sha’re and her family on Abydos were the closest thing I’ve had to family for a while.’
‘Are we not also family, Daniel Jackson?’ Teal’c asked as he moved his final pawn two holes.
Daniel stared at the Jaffa across the game. ‘Well, I…uh…’
‘Did Colonel O’Neill not claim us as his family on Cimmeria?’ Teal’c said.
‘Well, yes, he did.’ Daniel said throwing the coin. ‘I thought at the time that he was being overly…’ he couldn’t think of a word - sentimental seemed too soppy a word to describe their usually brusque team leader. He gestured vaguely. ‘I mean, don’t get me wrong, I thought we were a team and that means something but I didn’t feel like we were a family.’ He paused to finish his second circuit and removed the pawn belonging to Teal’c that was closest to finishing. They each had one pawn left. ‘Did you?’
Teal’c considered the question seriously. ‘I did not at the time.’ He admitted. ‘But I have come to think of you and Colonel O’Neill as young brothers and Samantha Carter as a treasured sister.’ He caught Daniel’s curious blue gaze with his. ‘Supporting my mission to Chulak to save my son was the act of blood kin.’
Daniel noted the use of the word young and his blue eyes narrowed on Teal’c. The Jaffa looked no more than thirty years old - if that - but their experience with Bra’tac had revealed the Jaffa were often much older than they looked. ‘How old are you, Teal’c?’
‘I am ninety-eight years old.’ Teal’c stated moving his pawn.
‘Ninety-eight.’ Daniel repeated blinking at the Jaffa. ‘Wow. You look good.’
Teal’c accepted the compliment with a slight nod. ‘I believe Colonel O’Neill truly feels we are family also.’ He commented.
‘Yeah…’ Daniel frowned. ‘I’m not sure he has anyone else. I mean, I know he had Sara and Charlie but he’s never talked much about his family otherwise.’ He sighed. ‘And I don’t think Sam sees a lot of her family.’ He saw Teal’c’s curious look and waved the pawn he was in the middle of moving. ‘Her father’s a General and her brother lives in San Diego.’
‘Then do we not provide her with protection in the absence of her male relatives?’ Teal’c asked.
Daniel laughed. If anything Sam provided him with protection; he remembered her pushing him down behind the tree and covering him as her grenade exploded killing the Jaffa who were chasing them back on Chulak. ‘I think Sam can take care of herself.’
‘She is a skilled warrior.’ Teal’c conceded.
The archaeologist focused back on Teal’c. ‘I guess women aren’t usually warriors on Chulak?’
‘Our women are taught to fight to defend their home and their honour,’ Teal’c said, ‘but no Goa’uld would have female warriors amongst his Jaffa.’
Daniel raised his eyebrows. That certainly explained Bra’tac’s disbelief at Sam’s ability. ‘You probably shouldn’t mention that to Sam.’ He murmured.
Teal’c raised an eyebrow and moved his pawn again. ‘I have wondered, Daniel Jackson…’
‘What about Teal’c?’ Daniel said taking hold of the coin for his throw.
‘Will Captain Carter continue to fight when Colonel O’Neill takes her as his mate?’
Daniel fumbled with the coin and it slipped out of his hands and onto the floor. His mouth gaped open as Teal’c retrieved it. ‘Sam isn’t…Jack won’t…I mean, they aren’t…’ he accepted the coin back and took a deep breath.
Teal’c frowned at Daniel’s surprised reaction. ‘Do not Captain Carter and Colonel O’Neill engage in human courtship, Daniel Jackson?’
‘No!’ Daniel said his tone a shade off outraged. ‘They can’t get involved, Teal’c. It’s against regulations.’
‘I see.’ Teal’c’s lips pressed together thoughtfully. He had observed how Captain Carter always smiled at O’Neill’s jokes, jokes which seemed to be said specifically to elicit such a smile from the Captain and how the Colonel always seemed to be visiting the Captain’s lab. He had thought such behaviour was a sign of courtship. ‘I must be mistaken.’ He said out loud.
‘Yes. You must.’ Daniel said absently. His own agile mind was swiftly reviewing Jack and Sam’s behaviour from the viewpoint of an experienced anthropologist. If he didn’t know Jack and Sam weren’t allowed to fraternise he would suspect Teal’c was correct, he concluded reluctantly. There was no doubt his two friends were, at the very least, attracted to each other. He shrugged and threw the coin. Attraction or not, he knew the two officers would never cross the line or, he amended silently, he knew Sam would never cross the line and he couldn’t believe Jack would do anything to hurt Sam’s career. The Colonel had been extremely protective of Sam’s reputation after the incident with the Neanderthal virus in the early days of the Stargate programme.
Daniel sighed as he moved his pawn realising how protective they all were of each other. ‘You know, Teal’c, I was wrong; we are a family.’ He gave a short laugh. ‘Maybe a little dysfunctional but a family.’ He met Teal’c’s eyes a little hesitantly. ‘I know that we’ll never take the place of your actual family, Teal’c, but I hope it helps make being here easier somehow.’
‘I hope it also brings you comfort, Daniel Jackson.’ Teal’c said.
Daniel thought about it. ‘It does in a weird way.’ He confirmed. ‘I’ve never had many friends, Teal’c.’ He shrugged. ‘Or family really. Like I said Sha’re and the Abydonians was the closest I think I came to having that but I guess being part of SG1…it means something to me.’
‘To me also.’ Teal’c agreed finishing the circuit and plucking Daniel’s pawn from the board. A small smirk of satisfaction lifted the corners of his lips. ‘I have won.’
Daniel smiled ruefully. ‘Indeed.’ He gestured at the board enthusiastically. ‘Another game, Teal’c?’
fin.