Defining Good (PG)
This last 400-word ficlet is for princessofgeeks, who wanted to know what Jack meant when he said that Jonas was a good man.
A missing scene from Fallen/Homecoming as Daniel tries to understand Jack's reasoning. I hope that this doesn't read as pacifict!Daniel, but rather a somewhat uncertain Daniel who still doesn't quite have all his memories slotted back into place. Rated PG.
Defining Good
"He said that you were a good man."
"Really? He said that?"
"Yeah. You're shocked he never let on?"
Daniel wasn't particularly surprised by Jack's assessment of Jonas or his failure to articulate it. While he still didn't know these people as much as he'd like, he was starting to feel their reactions... and when Jack, eyes narrowed and voice cool, told him that Jonas was a good man, he could tell that Jack hadn't meant it as a compliment. What was more, he'd implied that Daniel wasn't - and that was apparently a good thing.
Understanding undercurrents of emotion was difficult with so many patches in his memory, but this one hadn't been too hard to comprehend. Jonas Quinn was a civilian trying his do his best in a military environment. It was inevitable that he would fall short, whether in his skill with firearms, a slower reaction time, an extra degree of hesitation in an emergency, or a lack of what soldiers considered to be healthy paranoia. That didn't make him wrong; on the contrary, it meant he was a decent person, behaving as most civilians do. But within the context of the SGC and their ongoing struggle, it seemed obvious that such "goodness" was something that Jack would prefer to avoid.
And if what he'd been told was true - that Jonas had been present during the crisis that caused his dying and subsequent Ascension, and had been too frightened to act - then that very civilian nature would be a constant thorn in Jack's side. Daniel could accept that understanding, even if he elected not to clarify Jack's meaning to Jonas.
Teasing out the nuances of Jack's assessment of himself was a little more complicated. What did Jack mean by implying that Daniel wasn't a good man? Was he merely suggesting a mirror image to Jonas, that Daniel was someone who had pushed his civilian identity aside to do what was needed? If that was the case, then to what degree had Daniel done so? Was it just an improved reaction time and the ability to handle a zat or a gun with ease, or was Daniel inured to killing when necessary?
When necessary. Daniel shivered at that thought. That added caveat pretty much answered his own question.
So much was still missing. Daniel wished he knew which parts Jack approved... and how he would feel about them himself.
A missing scene from Fallen/Homecoming as Daniel tries to understand Jack's reasoning. I hope that this doesn't read as pacifict!Daniel, but rather a somewhat uncertain Daniel who still doesn't quite have all his memories slotted back into place. Rated PG.
Defining Good
"He said that you were a good man."
"Really? He said that?"
"Yeah. You're shocked he never let on?"
Daniel wasn't particularly surprised by Jack's assessment of Jonas or his failure to articulate it. While he still didn't know these people as much as he'd like, he was starting to feel their reactions... and when Jack, eyes narrowed and voice cool, told him that Jonas was a good man, he could tell that Jack hadn't meant it as a compliment. What was more, he'd implied that Daniel wasn't - and that was apparently a good thing.
Understanding undercurrents of emotion was difficult with so many patches in his memory, but this one hadn't been too hard to comprehend. Jonas Quinn was a civilian trying his do his best in a military environment. It was inevitable that he would fall short, whether in his skill with firearms, a slower reaction time, an extra degree of hesitation in an emergency, or a lack of what soldiers considered to be healthy paranoia. That didn't make him wrong; on the contrary, it meant he was a decent person, behaving as most civilians do. But within the context of the SGC and their ongoing struggle, it seemed obvious that such "goodness" was something that Jack would prefer to avoid.
And if what he'd been told was true - that Jonas had been present during the crisis that caused his dying and subsequent Ascension, and had been too frightened to act - then that very civilian nature would be a constant thorn in Jack's side. Daniel could accept that understanding, even if he elected not to clarify Jack's meaning to Jonas.
Teasing out the nuances of Jack's assessment of himself was a little more complicated. What did Jack mean by implying that Daniel wasn't a good man? Was he merely suggesting a mirror image to Jonas, that Daniel was someone who had pushed his civilian identity aside to do what was needed? If that was the case, then to what degree had Daniel done so? Was it just an improved reaction time and the ability to handle a zat or a gun with ease, or was Daniel inured to killing when necessary?
When necessary. Daniel shivered at that thought. That added caveat pretty much answered his own question.
So much was still missing. Daniel wished he knew which parts Jack approved... and how he would feel about them himself.