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We’ve got a shipload of frozen people.
Daniel laughs as Kyle enters the living room.
“What are you watching?” Kyle asks, sitting at the other end of the sofa.
“Oh, that’s SG-1. Seven-six. I’m rewatching season seven.”
“What’s SG-1?” Kyle frowns.
Daniel looks at him and shakes his head. Obviously, the kid’s knowledge about television that isn’t popular right now must be close to zero. And during the three months he’s been with them, he’s not seen him watch many things apart from sports. “Right. Well, it’s actually called ‘Stargate SG-1’ and it’s like the best show ever, you know? It’s so much fun, I’m sure you’ll like it.”
Daniel grabs the remote control for the DVD player and lowers the volume a bit.
“It’s about four people who are part of a secret military team called SG-1.” Daniel waves his arms. “They explore planets because they found a ‘stargate’, which is basically a door that connects Earth with other places in the galaxy… so, you know, there are more teams around… but the show is about SG-1 going places and then, of course, shit happens and they meet a lot of different people and races... and yeah, there are ten seasons and three movies, if you count the original movie... and it only gets better, so yeah, I totally recommend it.”
“I had no idea that you liked science-fiction. Does Ilya like it too?”
“Oh yeah, he loves it. It’s all my dad’s fault. He has the DVD collection and we used to watch it together… it’s been a while since we have but yeah, he always made popcorn and we’d sit all together at the weekend… you know, quality family time, he calls it… and my father likes it too because he’s never complained… and he’s also a freak about the family time and family traditions and how important they are, etc...”
Kyle wants to say that he’s not familiar with any family time. He wants to say that his foster parents have barely spent any time with him… that his conversations with the drug dealers were short but still longer than any of those words he exchanged at most of his foster homes. In the end, he doesn’t say anything.
“You see that guy?” Daniel points at the screen.
“With the restraints?” Kyle asks.
“Yeah, my dad named me after him.” Daniel snorts, smiling.
“What?” Kyle raises his eyebrows.
“Yeah, his name is Dr. Daniel Jackson. He’s an archeologist—He’s like super smart and speaks a ridiculous number of languages… kind of hot too, and obviously, he’s my dad’s favorite… so, anyway, when I found out, I asked him if I could see the show and the rest is history, as they say…”
“He must really like him.” Kyle smiles.
Daniel snorts. “What's not to like, right?—At least they didn’t call me Daniel Jackson Jr, you know? I’m forever grateful for that…”
“Your dad is weird,” Kyle says matter-of-factly.
“Well, he is…” Daniel hesitates. “He has a nerd side, for sure… so, he has his things… and having lost a bunch of years certainly hasn’t helped either. But, as much as I love my father, having two like him would drive me crazy, so believe me, you’ll learn to appreciate the fact that they’re very different.”
Kyle nods, keeping his eyes on the television. “What’s wrong with him?” Kyle frowns.
Daniel smiles. “Ummm… let’s see… the thing is that, while exploring one the planets they visit, they’ve found a crashed alien ship where people were kept in stasis—”
“Stasis?” Kyle furrows his brow.
“Yeah, sorry—I mean, they were like sleeping and frozen in time because the trip was so long that, otherwise, they’d have died before they got there. So, anyway, while the team is on the ship, Daniel is struck by a power surge and now he has the consciousness of some of those people in his head…”
“So, that’s not him talking,” it’s more a statement rather than a question.
“Exactly, that’s one of the travelers on the ship.” Daniel waves his arms in a way that he always reminds Kyle a lot of his dad.
Kyle just nods and makes a face that shows that he’s obviously intrigued and surprised.
“Did you…” Daniel hesitates. “Did you watch TV before? I mean, at the foster homes? What do you like?”
Kyle seems to be thinking about how to answer that and takes his time. “Sometimes.” Kyle shrugs. “There were a couple of places where we watched whatever the parents happened to watch. Mostly the news and talk shows… maybe movies… stuff like that. In most homes, we were sent to our rooms after dinner so, not really an option, you know?”
Kyle’s delivery is nonchalant and full of conformity but the sadness in his eyes says everything Daniel needs to know and confirms what he already suspected.
Daniel nods but stays silent. Sometimes it’s better not to say anything than say something and fuck up the moment.
“But I read a lot. I like reading. I went to the library and got books from there. And I also like puzzles… one of the homes had two kids and they had a lot of puzzles and I use to do them all the time. So, when I left, they gave me one of them.” Kyle looks away from him, focusing his gaze on the screen. “That family didn’t suck. I always kept it with me but you know, one day, a fucking thief stole my backpack and I lost everything. And after that, of course,” Kyle looks back at Daniel. “Things got complicated.”
“And you ended up coming here,” Daniel adds.
“Yeah.” Kyle nods.
Daniel wants to point out that maybe if he ended up here, that thief probably made him a favor after all, but he knows that’s probably gonna hurt if, as a consequence, he lost things that he cared about.
“You know, my brother is the puzzle expert in this family. I think he hasn’t done them in a while but he’s got many stored somewhere in his room… you should ask him for them and maybe you could do them together if you're into sharing… or just do them on your own. I’m sure he’ll be happy to find out that you’re interested.”
“Really?” Kyle raises his eyebrows.
“Yeah, my father and his dad used to do them as kids and they wanted to pass on the tradition but I’m actually more into chess which is another tradition—”
“You have a lot of traditions, haven’t you?
Daniel snorts. “You don’t know the half of it… and that’s without counting pack traditions… which you’re starting to find out about.” There’s no messing with Derek on that regard and that’s something else he’ll see soon enough.
“And you know what? I’m sure my parents will agree that while you’re an unofficial member of this family, you should also experience the joys of our family time and so, this weekend you’ll be eating popcorn while binge-watching season one of SG-1 with us.”
“Ummm… are you sure that’s a good idea?” Kyle licks his lips and Daniel can sense nervousness rolling off him in waves.
“Hey, relax. It’s just an idea. You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I didn’t mean it like that.”
“It’s not that.” Kyle looks at the screen again, as he slides his hands over his jeans, which is something that Daniel has seen him doing a few times before.
“You won’t understand it,” Kyle shakes his head.
“You should give me more credit than that. I’m named after a genius after all.” Daniel smirks.
“Just tell me what you’re thinking.” Daniel shrugs.
“Okay, what I’m thinking is that…” Kyle sighs. “That I don’t want to do something that I’ll probably like.”
“You don’t?” Daniel frowns.
“Yeah, what’s the point? Then, I’ll miss it when I leave. I’d rather not…” Kyle looks away and doesn’t finish the sentence.
Daniel gets what he means and he‘s not sure how to react at first, so he stays silent.
“Look, I can see why you’d think that way but that’s bullshit. When it comes to my parents and my brother and me, that’s bullshit.” That catches Kyle’s attention and he looks at Daniel again.
“Hell, you’ve met my parents, right? They brought you here voluntarily one night when they barely knew you… When all they knew about you weren’t exactly your most awesome attributes or your spotless history. And believe me when I say that my father has serious trust issues… but he brought you here to protect you because they want to give a chance. And it’s a chance to have a family that cares about you… and they care about you or you wouldn’t be here. And shit, whatever happens, they’ll make sure that you’re happy… but I think it would mean a lot to them if you also tried to show that you are happy being here in exchange.”
“And you know what?” Daniel continues. “Good memories aren’t something that you should be afraid of because you’re already pack… you already have a big family and everything is going to be different. It is already different.”
That speech came out longer than Daniel expected but hopefully, it showed his feelings perfectly. He thought that Kyle had adapted reasonably well to his life at their home but obviously, he has issues he has to deal with and Daniel just wants to help him to change his mentality once and for all.
“Fine,” Kyles says after what seems like forever.
“I guess I can give it a try,” Kyle adds reluctantly, looking at the TV.
Daniel swears he can see a smile on Kyle’s face and he’s gonna count this as progress just because it really feels like that.
“Okay, now I’m gonna have to rewind this because you’ve missed the best parts,” Daniel says, grabbing the remote control again.
The irony of watching an episode called ‘lifeboat’ with someone who found his parents when he needed one the most doesn't escape him.
