Chapter Text
Still Jack and Daniel
–
Full Circle
VIII
Heart, Brain and Courage
I
“And he’s waiting for you there every morning with a cup of coffee?” Little Daniel pushed his glasses up his nose and gave Jack a curious look. It was 07:30 sharp and they were riding the elevator to the level of the general’s office and the briefing room. Usually they parted ways where the archeological labs and the Daniels’ offices were, but this morning a debriefing had been scheduled for SG-1, which Daniel wanted to attend. So once they had come in and changed clothes in the locker room, Daniel went with Jack.
“Yep,” Jack said. “Every morning. The coffee's just a bribe though. What he really has for me is a to do list as long as the wall of China.”
“Wow.”
The doors of the elevator swished open and there was Walter, holding out a mug to Jack. “Morning, sir. Daniel.”
Jack took the mug and sipped. “Walter.”
Walter nodded at Daniel in greetings. “Do you want some coffee, too, Daniel?” Then, without waiting for an answer he addressed Jack again. “Your 07:45 debriefing with SG-1, regarding the life form they brought with them from P8F-809...”
Jack stopped dead in his tracks. “Life form? What life form?”
“The plant,” Daniel said, remembering Sam telling him about this mysterious plant when SG-1 had returned last night. “They wanted to bring it through for further studies. You granted it.”
“Right!” To Walter Jack said, “Could you be more specific before I have a heart attack this early in the morning about alien life forms crawling over the base?”
“Sorry, sir. Doctor Lee has requested to be allowed to attend the briefing as well, sir, and Colonel Carter confirmed that he should be there,” Walter continued as they walked to Jack’s office. “There are personnel files on your desk you have yet to review.”
“How many do I have left?”
“All of them,” Walter said stoically.
Jack sighed. “Right.”
Daniel winced a little on Jack’s behalf as they entered General Hammond’s office, which was now Jack’s office, and he spotted the high stacks of files on the desk. He couldn’t remember having seen files piling up on Hammond’s desk like that, ever. Walter turned to Daniel and asked him again if he would like some coffee and Daniel nodded. “Thank you, Walter. That would be nice.”
Just as Walter was about to leave, Jack called his name and gestured to a man sitting in one of the visitor chairs.
Walter whipped around and hurriedly introduced the two men. “Sorry, sir. General O'Neill. Mark Gilmore. He's your new administrative aide, sir.”
Gilmore was a lank, not very tall man. He was dressed in khaki slacks, a white shirt and a black tie. He rose from his seat and nodded in greeting. “General.” Then he looked at Daniel and smiled. “'You must be Doctor Jackson.”
“I'm his nephew,” Daniel said.
Gilmore said, “I'm cleared.”
“Oh, okay.” They shook hands.
Jack frowned slightly at Walter. “Did I order an administrative...”
“No, sir.”
“Do I really need…?”
“Yes, sir.”
Daniel thought there was desperation in Walter’s voice.
Gilmore cleared his throat. “I've been a CIA analyst for the last eight years. Mostly background checks, but I did have top level clearance.”
“He was assigned by General Hammond,” Walter said.
“Ah! Well, in that case, welcome aboard.” Jack offered his hand to Gilmore who grabbed it, looking relieved. “How about if I give you a tour around?”
Gilmore grinned. “Ah! Had one, sir. It’s very exciting to finally see it all in action.”
Jack eyed the mountains of files on his desk. “Dang. Would have loved to tour you around.”
Walter murmured, “General, your 07:45.” To Daniel he said. “There's a fresh pot of coffee in the briefing room.”
“Thanks, Walter.” Daniel decided to wait there for Jack and the others. On his way out he heard Jack talking to Gilmore.
“You're here to assist me right? How about if you dive into those…”
And Walter jumping in quickly, “Sir, sir, sir. You really need to read these files yourself.”
When Daniel entered the briefing room, SG-1 was already there. Teal’c and BD were by the window looking out to the gate room and Sam was standing by the table with a mug of coffee.
“Hi, Daniel, what’s going on?” Sam asked when she spotted him.
“You mean with the suit in Jack’s office?” Daniel asked, throwing a glance back over his shoulder.
“Yeah.”
“I’m not sure. Hammond sent an administrative aide for Jack.”
BD turned away from the window. “To help with the paperwork or to keep him on his schedule?”
“Probably both,” Sam guessed.
Daniel poured himself a coffee from the black pot on the table. “Is that... Is that SOP?”
“It’s just until he’s settled in, I think,” Sam said, giving him a reassuring smile. “To ease him into the job and take some stuff off his plate.”
Daniel nodded, but couldn’t shake his worry. Jack had been the commander of the SGC for six weeks now and Daniel had a feeling things weren’t exactly going smoothly. Jack was swamped by his new obligations and schedule. They hardly ever saw him at lunch anymore and who would have thought that Daniel was going to miss Jack dropping by at his office, bugging him about breaks or taking a break himself during the day. Now it was always Teal’c or BD accompanying him on walks with the dog. Or - and that was the weirdest thing – Walter came along when SG-1 happened to be off world. Daniel liked Walter and he didn’t mind taking a walk with him and Flyboy, but Walter’s schedule was tight as well and so they only took the short round and never stopped to play with the dog or let him off the leash.
Jack still tried to put down the pen and get out of the mountain at a decent hour, but then he would bury himself in his office at home in paperwork and phone calls with Walter or Reynolds, his 2IC. And several times Jack had to go back in after dinner. Daniel had tried to sneak in more work hours on those occasions, but SG-1 had apparently vowed to do collective babysitting duty on him if they were at the mountain. And even BD wouldn’t budge. So Daniel spent those evenings either with one of his friends - watching TV, playing chess or working out at the gym – or alone at his base quarters reading or watching TV, until the crisis was over and they could go home again.
Jack had a lot on his plate and the president had scheduled a visit to the base in four days to see for himself how things were going under the new command and to give a speech to the future Atlantis expedition team which was currently getting ready for take off to Pegasus.
It had been a hard row of negotiations to get permission from Washington to ‘borrow’ the new Antarctica ZPM in order to send the Atlantis team out. It was really a strange coincidence that the guy who had flown Jack and the Daniels out to Antarctica four weeks ago to visit the Ancient outpost... Major Shepherd... turned out to have the Ancient gene. He had just sat down in the Ancient chair because he thought it was a cool piece of furniture and everything had sprung to life. From there it had been a small step to convince Jack to support the idea of an Atlantis team, but a much more difficult task for Jack to convince the president and the Join Chiefs to grant it.
He was pulled out of his musings when Jack entered the briefing room with a flourish, “Good morning, kids, slept well?”
Behind him, Doctor Lee showed up, huffing and carrying a pot containing a leafy, green plant. Murmuring an apology he strode past Jack.
They all settled down and Bill Lee put the pot on the table in front of Jack. “This,” he said with almost paternal pride. “Is the most amazing thing, sir.”
Jack eyed it. “It’s a plant.”
“Exactly! When SG-1 brought it in last night it was a seedling.”
BD nodded. “It, uh, had a pretty huge growth spurt there.”
The plant resembled a Ficus tree with thick, glossy, oval green leaves. It was probably two feet tall with artfully dropping branches.
“A seedling you say?” Jack asked, poking one of the leaves with a fingertip. The leaf trembled and curled around his finger.
“It likes you, sir,” Bill crooned as Jack yanked his finger back and the leaf let go.
“It’s a plant,” Jack repeated.
Somehow it reminded Daniel of how Jack had kept saying ‘It’s a machine’ when SG-1 had brought Reese through. But thankfully this REALLY was just a plant. A fast growing plant, granted, but still a plant. Daniel hoped they’d move on to the interesting part of the briefing soon.
“We want to study it for a couple of days,” Lee went on. “To see what makes it grow so fast and to find out if it’s edible or if it has any healing abilities.”
Jack opened his mouth, but Sam quickly jumped in. “Sir, we measured low energy readings coming from it. It might be worth examining it further.”
“Right. Keep me posted, Bill,” Jack said. “Make sure it doesn’t start eating people.”
Lee snorted. “Good one, sir.” He grabbed his plant and hurried out.
Jack rolled his eyes. “Oy.”
Daniel and Sam exchanged a sympathetic look.
“So,” Jack moved on briskly, “You mentioned fascinating chicken scratchings and naquadah yesterday?”
“We found a cave deep in the jungle with writings on the walls and a pretty high concentration of naquadah. It seems the whole rock mass is veined by it. Similar to the mountains of the Salish people,” Sam explained.
“That’s the guys with the spirits,” BD threw in. “You know with the wolf and the crow and...”
“Tonane, yeah. I do remember stuff, sometimes,” Jack cut him off with a smirk. “Are there natives we need to be concerned about regarding mining rights?”
“No. No present civilization. But I want to copy the writings and explore that cave before we start digging there,” BD said, pointing at the pictures he’d placed in front of everyone. “The writings look Mayan, so I’m carefully optimistic of finding traces of the Giant aliens there.”
“Just don’t touch any crystal skulls,” Jack warned.
“However, if you look closely at the glyphs you’ll see… or maybe only Daniel will see... that they are from a different time period than the writings we found in Honduras.”
“How much time do you need?” Jack asked.
“Uh, depending on what else I find... “
“You have a day.”
“Jack, there might be... “
“If you need more time, we’ll talk about it.” Jack checked his watch.
BD shrugged. “Fine. Don’t think I won’t bug you if I need more time.”
Jack grimaced. “Oh, I’d never think you won't bug me, Jackson.”
Daniel looked at the enlarged pictures BD had taken from the cave walls. “I’ll help you translate these.”
“That’s what I was hoping for. Let’s get on it,” BD said brightly.
Jack pushed back his chair. “Excellent. My new administrative aide will schedule you for tomorrow around noon-ish.”
“That’s not a day.” BD raised his eyebrows.
“Okay, so it’s half a day. Now, if you’ll excuse me,...”
“I need more time, Jack,” BD insisted.
“You can go back the day after IF you really need more time.”
“I’ll get back to you about that.”
Jack waved them off impatiently. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I hear you. Scoot! I have to choose bunting for the president's visit and then paperwork awaits me for the rest of my exciting morning.”
“Have fun,” Daniel offered.
“Oh, I’m ecstatic,” Jack said dryly, then added. “Remember you Daniels have to welcome the Amorans at..”
“14:30, yeah, I know,” Daniel said quickly.
“Oh, joy,” BD mumbled.
The Amorans weren’t known to be easy negotiating partners. Amoran, ally of Earth for a couple of years now, had sought out the SGC as neutral ground to host negotiations between their two major governments and establish a trade treaty between both governments and Earth in the process. The Daniels and Major Davis were supposed to act as diplomatic liaison to the talks, but both delegations were argumentative and narrow minded.
“We should try to get somewhere today,” Daniel muttered. “If you’re away on the plant planet tomorrow, it’ll be just me and Davis.”
“I have the utmost confidence in you guys,” Jack announced and walked swiftly back into his office.
As they left the briefing room and waited for the elevator, Sam looked at her watch. “Well, I should go and see if Bill needs my help to figure out the plant’s energy source.”
Teal’c said, “I have new recruits to train on the Beta Site. I will leave shortly. You will have to exercise on your own this afternoon, Daniel.”
“Oh, I might not get to that if the Amorans decide to be difficult,” Daniel moaned.
“Then we will meet at the gym tomorrow.”
“Yeah, good plan, Teal’c.” He had decided to keep up with the work out despite the fact that going off world was definitely off the table now until he was older. Daniel had been aware of that when he chose to stay little. He had lived being Earth bound for so long now that he wasn’t bothered by this much anymore. And his recent trip to Atlantis had proved that there were always exception to every rule.
Having been given the opportunity to make a real choice about staying a kid had been a big deal for him. He hadn’t expected that. When the Ancients had stolen the Yggdrasil Daniel had been ready to just shrug it off, knowing deep down that this was what he wanted anyway. Yet, when Pierson had shown up at the house that night, Daniel had considered... really considered... and come to the conclusion that this WAS what he wanted, even given the choice to change back. It had made a difference for him even though the Earth hadn’t stopped moving and life had gone on as usual.
He had told Sam, BD and Teal’c what had happened that night and while no one had said it in so many words, they all seemed to think he’d made the right choice. Teal’c had smiled in that open way he so rarely displayed and Sam had hugged him real tight. BD had smiled, too, and exchanged an ‘I told you so’ look with Jack.
Pierson had made good on his word and taken Cassandra with him. When Jack and Daniel had come to work the next day, the Ancient woman had vanished into thin air. Janet hadn’t been amused, but there was nothing they could do about it and Daniel hoped Cassandra was all right, wherever Pierson had taken her.
The Daniels left the elevator on level 19 and went to BD’s office where they tried to make sense of the sample video footage BD had taken from the cave walls.
***
Jack stared at the bunting Walter was holding out to him. “Nothing in peridot?”
“Well, traditionally, sir, this type of event calls for red, white and blue.”
“Purple?” Jack knew his attempt at bad humor went right over Walter’s head more often than not, but he couldn’t help himself. It was either bad humor or banging his head against his desk all day.
“Sorry, sir.”
A knock at the open door interrupted the bunting affair. Gilmore, waving a shiny new digital organizer, said, “Excuse me, sir. General Hammond is on the phone from the Pentagon and SG-4’s briefing is scheduled for 09:00. Doctor Weir wants to see you at 12:00 and Doctor MacKay has a list of extra equipment he wants you to approve.”
“Thank you,” Jack said in Glimore’s direction. Thank you, George, he thought with real gratitude. To Walter he said, “Look, I just don't have the decorating gene. Would you mind?”
“Yes, sir. I mean, no, sir, I don’t mind.”
Walter left, taking the bunting with him.
Jack slumped into Hammond’s chair and picked up the phone. “Sir! General, how are you? You just saved me from the bunting choosing.”
Hammond chuckled. “Is everyone uptight about the president’s visit? And I thought I told you to call me George, Jack.”
“Yeah, I know, sir, but every time I open my mouth to say George, general comes out,” Jack said. And every morning I come in here, I wish it was you here and not me, he thought.
“How are things going?” Hammond asked.
“Oh, you know... peachy, all things considered. Thanks for sending me the administrative guy, by the way.”
“Mmmh, that wasn’t entirely my idea...”
Jack listened and nodded. When he put down the phone a couple of minutes later, he eyed the waiting personnel files and got to work, hoping some minor crisis might save him from sitting here the rest of the day. Wincing, he disregarded the thought, hoping he hadn’t just jinxed it. A crisis on top of everything else – boring as it was - wasn't what he needed right now.
He’d made it halfway through the first stack of files before it was time for the SG-4 briefing.
After the briefing, which went quick and smoothly, Walter was back, informing him the commissary had gotten a shipment of Yukon Gold potatoes instead of the usual Russets. According to Walter, who had it on good authority from Julie Meyers, the Golds didn't make for good mash because the consistency was all wrong.
Jack told them to make French Fries instead.
That crisis solved, he went back to his paperwork until it was almost time to call Daniel and remind him to have lunch. He had just opened yet another file when there was a knock at his open door.
Jack called to enter, signed the file and looked up into the square face of a Russian officer. Colonel, going by his uniform insignia. The man stood sharply at attention.
“General O'Neill. It is an honor to meet you and may I say, an even greater honor to finally serve under your command.”
Jack had a bad feeling about this immediately. “Wow! That was a load. Who are you?”
“I am Colonel Alexi Vaselov, sir. I assumed you were expecting my arrival.”
Crap, the personnel files. Jack glanced at them and grabbed one, opened it and got lucky. “Uh…yeah, sure. Here's the memo. Right there.”
Vaselov nodded. “I want you to know, sir, that I personally requested this transfer. After my many years of service with Russian Air Force I…I feel confident that I can make a positive contribution to Stargate Command.”
“Great,” Jack said noncommittally, trying to appear well informed and all that.
Vaselov gave him a somewhat puzzled smile. “If I may be so bold, sir. I understand that with your recent appointment as base commander, a position has become available on SG-1.”
Get in line, Jack thought sourly.
“I would, of course, relish the opportunity to serve on the SGC's elite team.”
“Yes. You and everyone else on this base.” He'd better got this straight right from the start. “Colonel? Not going to happen.”
The smile on Vaselov’s face didn’t waver. A confident one, apparently. “I understand your reluctance, sir, but if you look at my record, I think it will satisfy any of your concerns. I have over 3000 flight hours on more than 35 types of aircraft and prototypes. In addition, I have been awarded the High Order of Russia, the Gold Star and numerous…”
And Jack was going to nip that optimism right in the bud. “Yes, yes. That's very impressive. Very. But it's not going to get you on SG-1.”
Vaselov stared at him, barely suppressing his disappointment. “Understood. I am, of course, willing to accept a position on a different team.”
“Colonel, until you've gone through the proper training you're not going anywhere near that gate. Except for the training missions at the Beta Site with Teal’c.”
“Perhaps I could assume a role as a non-combat observer on one of the exploration units, sir.”
Oh, for cryin’ out loud. “It was nice meeting you. Very nice. You're dismissed.” He underlined his words with a wave of his hand.
Vaselov stood at attention, turned smartly, and left – only to be replaced by Doctor Weir breezing into his office, waving a folder. Probably a list of stuff she wanted to take through the gate with her. Another one.
“I have a couple of add-ons to the list of equipment we need to take with us. And Doctor MacKay needs more instruments, but he wanted to discuss the importance of this with you personally,” she said as she settled down in the chair.
“Of course he does. Is he still whining about not being sure he wants to go?”
“Yes. But at the same time he’s euphoric. He just can’t show it,” Elizabeth said with a little smile. “I spent a lot of time with him in Antarctica. He is a brilliant physicist, you know. He’s the best of the best...”
“You met Carter yet?” Jack asked, skimming her list. “She’s not only brilliant, she has social skills, too.”
Weir grinned. “Yes, sir, but I can’t have her as you keep pointing out. And Doctor MacKay might have his flaws, but I’m sure he’s just the man we need.”
“Excellent.” He signed the extended list of doohickeys.
“There’s something else,” Weir said as she took back the folder.
“Oh?”
“Doctor Jackson...“
“You can’t have him.” No way. No how. Things hadn’t turned out the way Jack had envisioned between them, but they’d work on it. As soon as life had calmed down a bit. As soon as Jack had his head free for anything but SGC matters again.
Weir pursed her lips. “He has asked. Just hypothetically, he said. He told me he would consider going back to Atlantis if I have a job for him. And frankly, sir, I can’t pass up the opportunity to have someone like Doctor Jackson on my team.”
“I need Daniel right here.”
“Even against his will?” she asked curiously. “He seems indecisive, but he’s thinking about it and it’s only a couple of days until we leave.”
“He’s not going anywhere,” Jack said, feeling like someone had poured a bucket of ice water over his head.
What the hell?
Once they had returned from Dakara they had all gone home to take a breather. And somehow, in between Jack becoming ‘the man’, LD having his chat with Pierson and everyone trying to get used to the new dynamics at the SGC... somehow they had lost sight of things. Jackson and the kid were working hard on helping the Atlantis team to prep, Jack was working hard not to loose the battle with paperwork and his schedule, SG-1 had started going off world again four weeks ago. Jack and LD basically only went home for dinner, TV, sleep, shower, breakfast... and then it was back to the mountain.
But when had Jackson decided he wanted a return trip to Atlantis?
Weir brushed back her dark hair and stood. “Well, it was worth trying.” She smiled and left.
Jack was still brooding over Jackson when Gilmore returned with more demands disguised as requests... and on it went.
An hour later Jack decided he needed a break.
He peered out his office door, checking the corridor for a hovering Walter or Gilmore, found the site all clear and stole away like a thief in the night. He made it undetected to Jackson’s office where he found the Daniels sticking their heads together over plant-planet’s writings. Quickly closing the door behind himself, Jack let out a deep breath.
“I need coffee. The good stuff, not the crap Walter serves me. And if anyone calls, you haven’t got a clue where I am,” he said when two pairs of blue eyes looked up from the computer screen.
“Be my guest.” Jackson gestured at his coffee maker always stocked with Sumatra Mandheling.
“What’s up, Jack?” Daniel asked when Jack had settled at their work counter with a steaming mug of coffee.
Jack shot a glare at Jackson, but instead of saying what he really wanted … needed... to say, he tackled another subject. The Atlantis issue was something he’d rather take on when they could grab a minute alone.
“Remember that deal you brokered about the agreement between Russia and us sharing the knowledge and technology gained through the use of the Stargate?” Jack asked, pointing a finger at Jackson, then at Daniel, then rolled his eyes. “Both of you, whatever.”
“Yes?” they both asked with raised eyebrows.
“Well, they sent me some Russian colonel who made a pitch to join SG-1. I made it clear he shouldn't expect preferential treatment and that he'd have to prove himself before I'd consider him for off world travel. What do they want from us anyway?”
“Um... you can't exactly blame them for wanting more of their people on off world teams. We haven't been making good on our promises,” Jackson pointed out.
“We gave them their own team!”
“That was two years ago. I mean, what have we done for them lately?” Daniel jumped in.
“Forget it! I'm not putting him on SG-1, or any other team, no matter how highly decorated he is in the Russian military. He’s got exactly no experience in off world travel. I'm not going to risk the lives of anyone under my command on a slick resumé.”
“The Russians are going to pressure you to put him on the team. On any team,” Jackson said. “You’ll hear from them about this.”
“Well, there’s that.” Just another thing he’d have to deal with. Trying to ward off pissed Russians.
“Do you have someone else in mind to join SG-1, Jack?” Daniel Little asked. “Where can I hand in my resumé?”
Jack knew the kid was joking, but secretly he thought he’d take LD over Vaselov any time. “You already are a member of SG-1,” he said, “An on-base-member.”
“I take it now is not a good time to negotiate my grounded-from-gate-travel status,” the Wretch asked, tongue in cheek.
“Not if you want us to stay friends,” Jack replied mildly and the brat snorted and gave him a cheeky grin.
“So we're sticking with the three man team?” Jackson asked.
Jack gazed into his coffee mug, thinking about it. Why the hell not? He’d have to ask Carter if there was any rule about SG teams having to be made of four people. “It'd be one less decision I have to deal with.”
Jackson sighed and stood. “Fine. I’m going.”
“Going - where?” Jack asked.
“To talk to Vaselov, mend fences so he won’t call his superiors. It will buy you some time until Russia’s wrath comes down on you.”
“Thank you,” Jack said, meaning it.
The phone rang and a moment later Daniel informed Jack that Gilmore wanted to see him. “Something about a meeting with the president's aide.”
“Hi ho hi ho,” Jack muttered, leaving his still warm coffee behind with regret.
II
Jack took his coffee from Gilmore the next morning, walked into his office, considered making a bonfire with the still waiting personnel files, listened to today’s schedule while he sipped his coffee and, again, wished Hammond would come back.
“Colonel Vaselov has been assigned to the training program for gate travel, but is highly displeased about having to be trained by Teal’c, along with the new recruits,” Gilmore said at one point.
“Displeased is he, eh? Well, can’t change that.”
“Doctor Jackson has smoothed his ruffled feathers, but one way or the other the Russians will get wind of...”
“We’ll deal with that when they do.”
“Yes, sir. Oh, Doctor Lee wants to see you right away. And Captain Meyers is still waiting for the approval of the buffet menu for the president’s visit.”
Jack escaped his office and went to see Bill Lee in his lab, to find the good doctor tending to a tree at least ten feet high, its curling branches happily spreading out at the ceiling like ivy. Jack walked around the huge pot the plant was in now.
Unfortunately Gilmore had followed him for some reason.
“Another growth spurt?” Jack asked, startling Lee who had just been looking at the plant’s stem with a magnifying glass.
“Oh, General, sir, yes. If you would take a look at this?”
Jack took the offered magnifying glass to take a closer look at the plant. He couldn’t help it. He always came to the same stunning conclusion. “It’s a plant.”
Gilmore eyeballed it and cleared his throat. “Excuse me, sir, if you don't mind my asking. Is it really wise to be bringing alien life forms through the gate?”
“It's a plant.”
Lee shrugged. “Yeah, and besides, off world teams follow strict safety protocols in determining what to bring back to Earth. You know, if human kind is going to benefit from what we find out there, we have to be able to study it in controlled situations. Look, I know our mandate is to seek out new weapons and technology to defend the planet from our enemies, but…wouldn't it be cool if we could exploit the wonders of the galaxy for other beneficial purposes, like curing disease, or, well, in this case…possibly…solving world hunger?”
Jack thought the Daniels would like that and turned to Gilmore. “What he said.” To Lee he said, “I want you to cut it down to a manageable size so that it doesn’t grow out of hand. And keep it that way.”
“Of course, sir, no worries, we have it under control.” Lee brushed a hand over one of the leaves and the leaf started curling around Lee’s fingers.
Jack grimaced. “Careful there, Bill.”
“Oh, it just likes me. Yes, yes, it’s a plant, I know, but it seems affectionate. It likes physical contact.”
Jack pursed his lips, considering getting Lee a hamster or a cat.
***
Daniel, BD and Major Paul Davis watched the catastrophe unfold at 08:30 am in the briefing room as the Amoran representatives got into each other’s face, literally almost nose to nose.
And all Daniel had said was, “Yesterday we established that the Plains of Goran are going to be made accessible to all Amorans in the future.”
They had established this. Yesterday. Apparently today was another day and yesterday’s progress wasn’t relevant today.
Tudor, the smaller one of the two Amorans, hissed. “The plains of Goran are sacred ground!”
Lambert, a feisty man with a bald head and pouty lips, smirked. “To the plainsman, yes.”
Tudor huffed, “I am a plainsman!”
Lambert waggled his eyebrows and smiled condescendingly. “I knooow.”
To which Tudor took offense. Loudly.
Lambert chuckled. “Offense, now there's an idea!”
“Gentlemen,” Daniel tried. “If you would please take a look at the map?” There was a large map of Amoran’s two main countries on a view screen. The borders of the countries went straight through the Plains of Goran, which was the main problem. The plainsmen considered Goran their holy ground, the opposition considered Goran a land to investigate and build on. Both sides were fighting for full ownership of the land.
Yesterday they had finally come to the point where both sides were willing to consider the Plains of Goran neutral ground for everyone allowed to pass through. No one had the right to claim the land and use it for profits or building space.
“We do not agree to this,” Tudor spat, waving at the map. “We felt pressured yesterday.”
“Pressured,” Lambert scoffed. “No one pressured you!” He turned to Daniel. “But I agree! WE do not agree to it either! We want to use the land to our benefit!”
And with that the two men started yelling at one another again.
“This isn’t getting anywhere,” BD said quietly. “And I have to leave in three hours.”
Davis sighed and murmured. “I’ll get the general.”
“Uh...” BD started.
“I’m not sure Jack will be of much help here,” Daniel mumbled.
“We tried everything. They reach progress, then keep revoking it. They agree on something, then say they never did. They don’t even TRY to act like adults. Maybe they will react better to authority than to diplomacy,” Davis said as he left, sounding desperate.
He returned only moments later with Jack and his new aide in tow. Jack looked like he had a toothache, but sounded almost cheerful when he addressed the bickering Amorans. “Hey, folks, how’s it going?”
Tudor huffed, placing his hands on his hips. “General, I think it would be better…”
Lambert elbowed Tudor out of the way. “Indeed, General, I believe we should...”
“Take a break,” Daniel shouted, a little too loud, maybe. Everyone turned to look at him and he continued. “Well, I mean... we’ve been at it for an hour today and we talked for hours yesterday. It's exhausting. We could all use a break, maybe have something to eat...”
Jack gave him a grateful look. “There you go, people. Take a break! Things will look much better after some ice cream.”
Tudor and Lambert exchanged a glare and then started talking both at once, accusing each other of stalling the negotiations, for trying to get the better deal out of the land, for having ulterior motives, for being from sick gene pools, for being stupid Plainsmen...
Daniel groaned and BD shuffled his papers and checked his watch.
Davis sat back down at the briefing room table. “This is going to take a while... longer.”
Jack bent down to Daniel and whispered, “Maybe I should offer them donuts instead of ice cream?”
At that point Tudor snatched up the written protocol of their negotiation and started slapping Lambert over the head with it. To which Lambert responded by grabbing the lapels of Tudor’s tunic and shaking him roughly.
“Maybe put them into time out?” Daniel whispered.
Jack gave him a thoughtful look.
Daniel shook his head, alarmed. “I was just kidding.”
But before he could say or do anything else, Jack had moved to the Amorans, placed a hand on each of their shoulders, forcing them to let go of one another and take a step back. “You know, Daniel is right. We have to continue this at a later point anyway since Doctor Jackson has to leave for a mission shortly. We've prepared special quarters for you. You can relax, get a massage, room service, whatever you need. Come on, I'll show you.”
“Jack!” Daniel snapped. “You can’t just...”
“At least it’ll get them out of our hair for a while,” BD muttered as they watched the Amorans being shuffled out of the room by Jack, who was followed by a flustered Gilmore, who was followed by Davis.
“Massage and room service? What is he up to? I have a very bad feeling about this,” Daniel said.
BD nodded sagely. “Yesss, me too. But we’re running out of options. Maybe...”
“You have to get ready to leave. I’ll go after them, see what I can do.”
If Jack screwed this up and the Amorans turned against them because they felt mistreated, Jack might get chewed out by someone in DC, maybe the IOA, for jeopardizing Earth’s relationship with their alley. Foreseeing a diplomatic disaster with ugly consequences for Jack, Daniel slipped from his chair and followed the small procession headed to the SGC VIP quarters.
At least Daniel hoped Jack wasn't taking them to the brig.
He had to take the next elevator and by the time he skidded around the corner, Jack was standing in the open door to one of the VIP quarters, talking really fast. “Ha? Fellas. What do you think. All right, so it's not the Ritz, but we do what we can around here. Knock twice when you're ready to talk like adults, all right?”
Daniel heard Tudor squeak, “WAIT! GENERAL!”
And Lambert yell, “You don't expect us to share ONE ROOM!?”
“Not…amicably, at first. But I have great hope for you boys.” Jack jumped backwards, slammed the door shut and locked it.
From inside the muffled voices of Tudor and Lambert threatened Jack with trips to hell and the most nasty aftermath of this.
Jack threw the keys at a waiting guard who caught them. “Nobody gets out.”
“Sir...” Gilmore started, but Jack just walked past him.
Davis looked suspiciously smug. “I knew General O’Neill would find a creative way to deal with this.”
Gilmore gaped at him, but Davis just shrugged.
Jack gave Daniel a lopsided smile. “Good idea you had there.”
Daniel fell into step with him. “I was joking! I can’t believe you just did that! Don’t you have enough stuff to deal with already?”
“Well, we won’t get any trouble from those guys for now.”
“But they're not going to just calm down and make up! And you have to let them go sooner or later. They’ll revoke their treaty with Earth. And just so you know – I’m not taking credit nor blame for this.”
Gilmore looked pale. “Sir, with all due respect, but I think Daniel has a point. We should go back and try to defuse the situation.”
They had reached the elevator by now. Jack used his ID card and then gave Gilmore a hard look. “You got kids, Gilmore?”
“Uh, no, not yet, but...”
“Believe me, there’s no way you can defuse anything there right now. I repeat my order. Nobody gets out.” He moved his glare to Daniel. “And nobody goes in. Except for feeding them, which will be taken care of by the guard, understood?”
And suddenly Daniel felt like he had stabbed Jack in the back because he had nagged at him in front of Gilmore. Something was up with that guy, even though he was apparently here to help.
He swallowed all his counter-arguments and forced out a, “Yes, sir.”
Gilmore looked worried, but nodded. Davis said, “I think it’s worth a try, General.”
“Well, thank you, Major,” Jack said.
When the doors of the elevator opened a moment later, BD was standing there, papers wedged under one arm, looking puzzled. “How did it go?” he asked distractedly as he brushed past them and pressed a key.
“Peachy,” Daniel mumbled.
“Where’re you going?” Jack checked his watch. “It’s not time for Mayan planet, yet.”
“Actually, I’m going to see Doctor Lee. He insists the plant is, uh, ah,” BD cringed, “talking to him.”
Jack retreated back into the elevator. “That I want to see.”
Daniel considered following them, but Gilmore tapped his shoulder and said, “Maybe you and Major Davis should come up with a plan. A groveling speech or something? For when the Amorans have to be released and will want to inform their government?”
Daniel exchanged a look with Paul Davis, who cleared his throat. “Daniel, isn’t there a diplomatic tactic from way back the Amoran government might want to know about if they question our methods? Something used during our civil war or earlier?”
Daniel frowned, then nodded. “Sure, uh. It’s much older though, and hasn’t been used in a long time. But I can put together an essay about Earth diplomacy history for the Amoran government if needed.”
Gilmore looked doubtful. “There is a diplomacy strategy that involves locking the delegations up to force them to talk?”
Daniel and Paul shared another look.
“Sure.”
“Yeah.”
“It hasn’t been used anywhere recently, or not in a very long time, but the Amoran government gave us free rein to help with the process if needed,” Daniel added. “I just have to dig it up.”
He hurried away to make up something that sounded plausible and waterproof.
Jack so owed him.
***
“It’s not exactly talking, talking,” Bill Lee said when they followed him into his lab. “It’s more like a... oh, careful there, it has developed aerial roots which are clinging to everything.”
Big Daniel brushed aside tiny roots trying to attach themselves to his shirt and hair. Jack was swatting at them when they got too close. The walls of Bill’s lab were covered in leaves and branches and Siler was hacking away at the plant in one corner.
“I thought I told you to cut it and keep it from doing... what it’s doing,” Jack groused.
“Yes, I know. And we are trying, but it’s really a fast grower. And it’s developing these air roots which sprout even more branches and off shoots.” Lee sounded proud, like a father would be of a child, rather than perturbed. He stopped and grinned. “The good news is it hasn't eaten anybody.”
“YET,” Jack grumbled.
Daniel snorted and Bill Lee gave them a nervous little chuckle.
“So what does it do? And how do you get it to do it?” Daniel asked. He looked at the plant, noticing that the stem wasn’t really just one stem but half a dozen strong brown and green strands, each the diameter of a man’s arm. The strands were slung around each other like a tight braid.
“Ahhh, watch this!” Bill Lee reached out and started brushing his fingertips over one of the large, glossy leaves. Suddenly the branch the leaf was attached to shot out and twined itself around the scientist’s wrist, crawling up his arm to shoulder height.
“Whoa!” Jack barked out.
“It’s okay... it’s okay, just watch. It won’t harm me,” Bill hurried to say. He balled his hand into a lose fist and placed it, knuckles down, against the side of the plant's pot. For the length of a minute or so nothing happened, then Bill’s forearm started to jerk in small movements and the knuckles of his hand began tapping the hard surface of the table the pot was sitting on.
“There’s a pattern,” Lee whispered, his hand still tapping away with shorter and longer pauses in between. “Can you hear that?”
Daniel felt his jaw dropping in slow motion. “That’s...”
“Feed me, Seymour, feed me,” a dark raspy voice demanded from behind Daniel and at the same time the plant released Bill’s arm.
Bill let out another nervous snicker and Daniel closed his eyes briefly. “Thank you, Jack, that was very helpful. Not.”
“Hey, what else would it want?” Jack gave the plant the hairy eyeball. “Water and food. It’s a damn plant. And I want it gone, Doctor Lee. ASAP. Before it swallows the whole base.”
Doctor Lee nodded agreeable, but at the same time asked, “Can’t we at least try to figure out what it's saying? It’s worth a try?”
“It’s a PLANT!” Jack batted away another branch edging towards him.
“No, it’s a life form,” Daniel corrected him.
“I want it gone. The president is going to arrive in three days and we don’t need Audrey II crawling up his pant legs during the dinner buffet,” Jack said, then paused and continued. “Speaking of which... I need to check and approve the buffet menu.”
Daniel watched him stalk out and, tapping his forefinger to his chin, turned back to Doctor Lee. “Can you do that again?”
Bill shrugged. “Sure.”
***
On his way back to his office Jack almost stumbled over a guy who was crouched in the middle of the corridor, cursing a blue streak in what sounded like Russian as he was collecting file folders and papers scattered all around him. Being reminded of Daniel in his early years when he’d kept running into people because he was reading reports or books while walking the hallways of the SGC, Jack went down to help. The man gave him a shy smile, adjusted his glasses and introduced himself as Doctor Radek Zelenka. Jack remembered he was part of the Atlantis team; a physicist or something. Czech, not Russia.
Having sent Zelenka and the recollected files on his way, Jack returned to his office, longing for a Tylenol and coffee. He stopped in his doorway at the sight of Little Daniel sitting in one of his visitor chairs, swinging his legs.
Jack rubbed his aching temple with one hand and walked in, determined to dodge any of Daniel’s attempts to talk him around in the Amoran matter. “Just the guy I was looking for,” he said briskly as he walked in. “I need your help.”
Daniel’s head whipped around and he slipped from the chair. “Is your administrative aide with you?” he asked quietly, craning his neck to look past Jack.
“Nope. I lost him somewhere,” Jack replied in a stage whisper, pushing the door to his office shut with the heel of his right boot.
Daniel flashed him a quick smile, but sobered up quickly. “Jack, about the Amorans...”
Oh, here we go... “Daniel, I know it’s not your usual smooth solution and it’s not by the golden book of diplomacy, but they were seriously out of hand and if I have to lock them away until after the president’s visit, so be it.”
“That’s another three days!”
“They’ll get the very best care. Fruit baskets, pastries, a Play Station if they want one...”
“Ja-ack...”
“Da-niel.”
“Look, I’m sorry I nagged at you while Gilmore was there. Especially since Major Davis backed you up. I shouldn’t have said anything there, but...”
“But you felt strongly you had to,” Jack finished the sentence for him, torn between mild annoyance and the knowledge that Daniel was just trying to do his job. And, which somehow made it worse, to protect him.
Daniel bit his lip. “Yeah. Because you...”
“Because you think I’m going to get my ass kicked for this one by the IOA if the Amorans file their complaint.”
“Well, you have already pissed off the Russains, too...”
“They haven’t called, yet,” Jack said, parking his butt on the edge of his desk.
“Because BD talked to Vaselov and convinced him not to whine to his superiors, yet. Jack, you’re not a colonel anymore. You can’t... There’s no one above you pulling the coals out of the fire for you.” Daniel held Jack’s glowering gaze.
“And you think I’m making the wrong decisions.” It wasn’t a question. And maybe the kid was right. Maybe he was. Maybe he should have retired.
Daniel opened his mouth, closed it and finally looked away. “I...”
“Your opinion is noted and I appreciate you being honest with me,” Jack said. “After all, you’re still my civilian consultant. One of them, anyway.”
Daniel nodded. “Right.” Then he blinked. “You’re not mad?”
“Nope.”
“But you’re still going to do this your way?”
“Yep.”
“And if BD would have...”
“I’d still do it my way. There’re times I listen to you and there’re times I won’t. Nothing’s changed there.”
“But, Jack...” Daniel squirmed in his seat. “What if...”
“I want you or Jackson to look in on them tonight and see how they’re doing, ask them if they feel like continuing negotiation like civilized people tomorrow. But you’re not going in there or letting them out until you can report to me they're ready and I tell you to let them go. Can you do that?”
Daniel took a deep breath. “Yes. But only because I don’t want Gilmore guy getting any ideas.”
Jack raised an eyebrow. Smart as a whip, that was Daniel. “Good enough.”
“What if you’re making the wrong call?” Daniel asked softly.
“Then I’m going to tell them you advised me otherwise and face the music.”
“This isn’t about who’s right, Jack.”
He could see the honest concern in his kid’s eyes and he knew there was a high possibility of Daniel being right. He also knew that making command decisions on a hunch might work in the field, but when dealing with politics it could backfire badly. He had to see this through, though. And he had to test the waters with the higher ups in DC, had to know how much latitude they were going to give him in this position. How much of a free hand he really had to run the SGC the way he thought was best.
Not that he had entirely figured that out yet.
The phone was ringing and he motioned for Daniel to stay as he picked it up and was confronted with a very upset general, yelling at him in Russian. Jack held the phone away from his ear and mouthed, “Russia,” to Daniel, who blanched and sucked in his bottom lip.
“General Chekov,” Jack interrupted the flow of Russian words brightly. “What can I do for you on this fine day? How’s the wife? The family...” Chekov wasn’t pleased and not inclined to talk about his wife or family and let Jack know so in no uncertain terms. But at least he switched to English to voice his opinion of Colonel Vaselov being forced into the gate training program with the new recruits. Jack let him talk, allowed him to let off some steam. Hey, he had learned a hell of a lot about how to handle situations like this over the last two years.
When he thought it safe to get a word in, he said, “I understand you’re not happy with how we do things here, but fact is that everyone goes through the proper training before they’re put on an off world team. Civilians and new recruits as well as seasoned personnel assigned from other bases. We’ve learned through experience that basic training with enemy weapons and a gate travel 101 is crucial to prepare teams for what’s out there. Yes... yes you can inform your superiors if that’s how you feel about it, but that’s not gonna change the way it’s done.” Chekov continued huffing and puffing for a moment, then hung up on Jack.
Daniel stared at him from the other side of the desk. “Bad?”
“He has an impressive repertoire of swear words.”
Daniel cringed.
Jack stood, stretched his back and said, “You ready to tackle the buffet menu for the president dinner and approve Captain Meyer’s choices?”
Daniel grinned. “Isn’t that classified?”
“I hereby clear you to know what’s on the menu if you keep the disclosure clause in mind.”
“I’m honored, General O’Neill.”
They went down to the commissary and read through the menu choices, tasted samples of desserts and ended up with a nice variety of starters and a main course buffet of sliced beef, ham, chicken, poached salmon, new potatoes and French fries. They also chose a variety of salads, coleslaw and bread. Daniel chose cheesecake, chocolate mousse and cheese with biscuits for dessert and it was all topped with coffee and mints.
By the time they were done, Gilmore showed up from somewhere to remind Jack of his afternoon schedule and he left Daniel to the bowl of ice cream Captain Meyers treated him to, to attend the next briefing and the next and the next...
In theory.
In reality Jack made it through the second briefing before Gilmore showed up again, face lined with worry, informing him Doctor Jackson was in the infirmary and Doctor Fraiser wanted a word with Jack. Oh, and Doctor Lee needed some advice regarding Audrey II.
III
Doctor Daniel Jackson was sitting on an infirmary bed, waiting for the inevitable to happen. There was Jack strolling in, scowl firmly in place.
Daniel gently covered his left hand with his right, careful not to squash anything.
Janet had gone to find a botanist who specialized in alien fauna.
Jack stopped in front of him, hands stuffed into the pockets of his blue BDU pants. “What happened?”
“Ah,” Daniel said, moistening his lips with his tongue. “Actually, that’s... a funny story.”
“I like funny,” Jack said.
“Good. You didn’t have to come down here, though. It’s not life threatening and I’m sure you have places to be, people to meet, buffet menus to approve, playing diplomatic mediator to the Amorans?” It was meant as a joke, but it probably sounded desperate.
“That’s not funny,” Jack said mildly.
Daniel groaned inwardly as something moved gently under his right palm. “Sorry. But I’m fine.”
“Fraiser called me because you’re... what happened?” Jack asked again. “And where’s Fraiser?”
“Oh, she’s just... Hey, Bill had trouble with that plant. He said they underestimated its growing strength and they are now trying to burn it. Maybe you should go and make sure they don’t burn the SGC down?” He cringed when Jack’s eyes narrowed. “Just saying. There’s nothing to look at here. I’m okay.”
“Yeah, you look great.”
“I feel great, too.” And that wasn’t a lie. He didn’t feel sick. Not at all. He wasn’t in any pain either.
“Good. So, why are you here?”
“Ah, I got stung. By that plant. But...”
“Stung? It has thorns now?”
“Um, no, not really. Okay, it didn’t exactly sting me. It just kind of bit me, maybe.” He waited for it. One. Two. Three...
“I knew it! Audrey II wanted her lunch.” Jack sounded smug, but also slightly perturbed.
“I’m fine. No harm done.” Daniel shrugged and smiled through gritted teeth.
The clicking of high heels announced Janet’s return and Daniel closed his eyes in defeat. Any moment now...
Janet breezed in, accompanied by another woman. “General, Daniel - this is Doctor Brown. She’s the assigned botanist to the Atlantis expedition. Daniel, we need to take another look at your hand, please?”
Jack hung back, but still had a clear view of everything. “Yes, Doctor Jackson – let’s take a look at your hand, shall we?”
Doctor Brown smiled and pulled a small magnifying glass from the pocked of her lab coat. “Hello, Doctor Jackson. What exactly happened?”
“I was helping Doctor Lee with this alien plant and it somehow tried to stick its roots into me...”
Jack coughed slightly and Daniel rolled his eyes. “In my hand. I felt a sting, then it withdrew. There was not even an entry mark on my skin. It itched for a moment, but that was it. I was getting ready to go through the gate, when...” Irritated, Daniel turned to Janet. “Does Jack have to be here for this?”
“I’m sorry, Daniel, but you’re possessed … infected... by an alien life form, so yes, the general needs to know,” Janet said.
“It’s a plant,” Daniel pointed out.
“You said it’s a life form,” Jack said. “Hand?” He waved his hand in front of Daniel's face.
“Fine.” Daniel pointedly did not look at Jack as he held his left hand out to Doctor Brown for examination.
Doctor Brown’s eyes widened and Janet said, alarmed, “It developed another leaf. There were only two when I left here five minutes ago.”
“I’ve never seen anything like it. Well, the plant resembles a Ficus, but I’ve never seen one growing out of people’s hands. Or other body parts for that matter,” Doctor Brown exclaimed.
She took Daniel’s wrist and held it up, clearly fascinated by the fragile looking stem with the three small leaves growing out of the back of his hand. She studied it with her magnifying glass. “I can see where it broke through the skin, even though there doesn't seem to be actual tissue damage. Have you done an x-ray to see how deep the roots go, Doctor Fraiser?”
Janet shook her head. “The seed is placed right under the skin. We did an ultrasonographic scan and it didn’t show any deeper movement of the roots. They are very small and didn’t attach to any major arteries.”
“Is it drinking his blood?” Jack asked, sounding spooked and fascinated at the same time.
Doctor Brown nodded. “Most likely. It seems the plant is feeding on Doctor Jackson in order to grow. We should try to remove it in surgery. Where does it come from?”
“It was brought through from another planet and is currently in Doctor Lee’s lab where it has rooted into the walls and the ventilation system. It’s a jungle down there. Doctor Lee says it’s responding to any kind of light. Sam thinks that the plant consumes light and in return gives off an energy pulse that helps its seedlings grow,” Daniel rattled. “We think the plant is sentient and might just want to communicate with us.”
“By trying to make baby plants with you?” Jack asked, sounding bewildered.
“What it did was try to communicate through Bill. It forced him to tap some kind of code, similar to Morse code, on a table. There was a pattern and I was trying to figure out what it wanted when it suddenly grabbed me and...” Daniel raised his hand and Jack took a step back.
“Okay. Before we do anything I would like to take a look at the mother plant and talk to Doctor Lee,” Doctor Brown stated.
“Mother plant?” Daniel groaned. “Seriously?”
“Well, it put a seedling into you so technically speaking, yes, that would make it...”
“I'm getting the picture, thank you,” Daniel said flatly.
Janet said. “I’m coming with you, Katie. Maybe we can figure this out together.” She gave the small plant a long look. “Daniel, I want you to stay here. We’ll do an x-ray of your hand before surgery to see if the roots are still where they were before it got another leaf.”
With that the two doctors hurried out.
“Tell Bill to turn off the light,” Jack called after them.
Daniel gazed up at the ceiling, knowing from experience that this might not go over well. “I need to go back to that planet.”
“Why? To branch out?” Jack grabbed a chair, turned it around and settled on it, resting his arms on its back.
“Because I think that’s what it wants me to do. To carry its seedling back where it belongs.”
“That’s what it told you?”
“No. No, it didn’t talk to me. But after all these years of dealing with weird life forms, isn’t that what experience taught us? That it most likely just wants to go home? That it didn’t make me its incubator, whatever, just for fun?”
Jack shrugged. “Maybe it has a crush on you.”
Daniel gave Jack an irritated glare. “When you’re done being an ass, maybe you could tell Janet to let me go and take the plant home.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve got a better idea. Janet is going to cut it out and we’ll send it through the gate on its own. In a pot.”
“It’ll probably leave me once I’m there,” Daniel said with forced patience.
“Or it’ll branch out and you’ll end up being a living tree.”
Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose. “Jack...”
“I’m not letting you go,” Jack said and there was something in his voice, something steely and final, that made Daniel snap his head up and look at him.
He knows about Atlantis, Daniel thought, a flutter of unease at the pit of his stomach. He didn’t know how to respond to that, so he focused on the matter at hand. “We could go back down to the lab and ask the plant what it wants. Let me try and talk to it. Let me... Let...”
From one second to the next a torch of hot, red, liquid fire was shooting up inside his arm, twining its way around nerve endings, muscles, bones and joints. Daniel could feel the roots move under his skin.
Otot otot otot... And Daniel’s mind translated it to... home home home...
It whispered in his veins, in his mind, like wind rustling in trees, home home home.
Daniel heard his own scream of pain as he jumped off the bed and broke down, clutching his arm. He heard Jack yelling for medical assistance, then he felt hands gripping his shoulders and he was held tightly. Heard Jack calling his name, telling him to hang in there...
Daniel gritted his teeth. Sweat was trickling down his temple. And still the roots found their way through his body. Shoulder, neck...
He slammed against Jack, pushing him off. Stumbling to his feet, Daniel started moving, running, the pain fueling his desire to go...
Home home home home
Yes, home. He had to go home. His way was blocked by an SF in the hallway. Daniel punched him, once, twice, three times. The SF was on the floor and Daniel bent, grabbed his gun, started running.
He had to...
Home home home home
...go home.
The pain pulsed in his arm, his shoulder, his neck. His head was going to explode. But he didn’t slow down as he jumped into the elevator, dug out his card, swiped it through and punched in the right level. He leaned against the wall, cradling the gun to his chest with both hands.
Daniel squeezed his eyes shut, trying to fight the rustling of leaves in his head, trying to stop the whispering of the one word over and over and over.
I’m getting you home, he thought desperately, but you have to stop.... you have to stop hurting people.
The reply was always the same
Home home home home
When Daniel stared at his hand he spotted two more leaves on the stem.
“Please,” he groaned, hoarsely, “I’m going to help...”
But he was driven out of the elevator and down the corridor, into the gate room – where he was faced with P90's aimed at him.
Sam’s voice over the speaker. “STAND DOWN!”
Then Jack’s voice from behind him. Loud but steady. “Daniel! Fight it!”
Daniel raised the gun at the SF closest to him.
“Daniel, stop! What does it want? Try talking to it.”
“Home,” Daniel blurted out. Then a movement on the other side of the gate room caught his attention.
The door opened, Teal’c was there. “DanielJackson!”
Daniel pulled the trigger and the SF closest to him went down in slow motion. Then there was a blast of blue light and Daniel’s body was jerked off his feet, the gun slipping his slack fingers.
And still it was telling him to go...
Home home home HOME
His fingers flexed; he felt the plant moving his arm. His hand reached towards the gun and as his fingers closed around it, Jack yelled his name again. And again.
But he had to go home.
He raised the gun again, rolled onto his side, came to his knees.
There was one single shot exploding close to his head, the sound deafening him, drowning out everything, including the plant’s chanting whispers. There was pain, too, first sharp, then dull... and something warm running down his arm.
He felt the roots receding, coiling, pulling away, the connection faltering.
Then he felt nothing at all.
***
“He’s out of surgery.” The words were accompanied by a smile and a nod – telling them all they needed to know. “There was no bone damage and all we had to do was remove the bullet from his upper arm and the plant from his wrist. I can only take a wild guess – it must have somehow branched out inside his arm, up to his shoulder and to his neck where it probably wrapped around the spinal chord... whatever it did to take Daniel over, it receded without damaging him. Your shot must have broken the connection, sir. He lost some blood and due to the plant his white blood cell count is a bit off the scale, but he got very lucky. He should actually be able to go back to light duty in a couple of days.”
Janet had called them into her office and was giving them a rundown of the situation. With Little Daniel, Teal’c, Sam and Jack standing at her desk, the room was pretty crammed.
“Can we see him?” Sam asked.
“Sure. He woke up briefly after surgery, but went back to sleep. We gave him a mild sedative to lower the pain of the shot wound.”
“How is Sergeant Wilkes?” Daniel asked.
“He’ll be fine, too. I think the plant didn’t want Daniel to shoot to kill, it just wanted to go through the gate and acted on instinct. Sgt Wilkes will make a complete recovery,” Janet said.
Daniel was relieved at the news and he could see the same relief in the faces of his friends as they looked at one another. BD is still going to feel guilty about shooting Wilkes, Daniel thought sadly. And then, totally unrelated to what had happened, he wondered if Jack was finally going to make his move.
So much was going on in their lives right now and Daniel knew the SGC was the foremost thing on Jack’s mind. Trying to get his footing and establish a routine that had always seemed so easy and organized when General Hammond had been sitting behind that desk.
But Daniel ached for them to finally give in to, and accept, the fact that they were allowed to be happy. That they deserved this. He had a pretty good idea about what made BD retreat, but he hoped, no, he knew, that if they really wanted this, they’d get past it. Together. However, he also knew this was something they had to solve on their own and that he could only cheer them on from the sidelines.
Maybe with BD in the infirmary Jack would be shaken enough to stop focusing on work long enough to get things moving in the right direction.
Sgt. Wilkes was in the same room as BD, wide awake reading a MAD magazine. He sat up a little more straight when he spotted Jack, but Jack gave the man a smile and asked him how he was doing. Wilkes shrugged. “Better than Doctor Jackson, I guess. The bullet only grazed me, which was amazing considering how close I was.” He glanced at his bandaged leg and then at the dripping IV attached to his wrist. “Doc Fraiser gave me enough happy drugs to keep me comfy.”
“Can’t have enough happy juice, eh?” Jack said. “Doc says you're going to make a speedy recovery, son.”
Wilkes nodded. “Yes, sir. What about Doctor Jackson? He’ll be all right?” There was no resentfulness in the man’s voice. Everyone working at the SGC knew that strange behavior of personnel could be related to alien influence and if one of SG-1 was shooting about the gate room, it had to be because of a disease or some other weird reason. Daniel thought that those SF guarding the gate room had probably seen it all without ever going through the gate.
“He’ll be fine,” Jack said confidently.
“I sure hope so,” Wilkes said.
Daniel was oddly touched by the honest compassion in the soldier’s voice for the guy who’d shot him.
BD was lying in a bed across from Wilkes, asleep, his arm and shoulder bandaged and in a black sling. There was a band aid on his hand where the plant had been removed.
“We need to get rid of that damn plant,” Jack said grimly when they had all gathered around the bed
As if on cue, Gilmore’s wiry form appeared at the doorway. He crossed the room and cast BD an uncomfortable look before he addressed Jack. “Sir, Doctor Lee...”
“Yes, I know,” Jack said. “I’m on my way.” He sounded stoic, but there was something flinty in his eyes only Daniel could see before he turned away.
“We’ll stay here,” Daniel said quietly.
“We will inform you when DanielJackson is awake,” Teal’c added.
“Yeah.” Jack nodded and followed Gilmore out.
Sam brushed a hand over BD’s good arm. “I’ll go with them. Maybe we’ll find a way to stop that thing from growing all over the place like the hedge in Sleeping Beauty.”
“Will they have to cancel the president’s visit if they can’t stop the plant?” Daniel wondered aloud as he watched her leave.
“If the plant can be contained to one level then maybe not,” Teal’c said as they settled on chairs by BD’s bed.
“I feel sorry for Jack. Things are going from bad to worse to awful.”
“Do you not believe O’Neill will master this crisis as cunningly as General Hammond would?” Teal’c asked.
“Oh, you know Jack. He’s... different,” Daniel said. “Maybe he’s not made for a desk job and politics and...” He trailed off, feeling bad about his own doubts.
“O’Neill is great warrior.”
“Yes. Yes, he is. He’s great in the field. Maybe that’s it. He should be out there. Not in here, fighting paper work and Russian generals or alien plants.” Daniel leaned back in his chair and looked up at Teal’c. “I know he hasn’t been out in the field for a while, with exceptions of course. He’s been working at the SGC for months now, as General Hammond’s 2IC and he always hated it. The paper work, being desk bound... now he’s not only desk bound and has to deal with the paper work, he also has the whole responsibility on his shoulders and he has to put up with a watch dog they set on him and...” And, Daniel thought with a sudden pang of guilt he thought he’d gotten over a long time ago, Jack is doing all this because... “he took the promotion because of me, Teal’c. He stopped going off world full time because of me and he took this position because of me.” Daniel didn’t regret the choice he’d made. But still he couldn’t help feeling responsible for Jack’s dilemma.
“Sometimes sacrifices are part of being a parent. Or a good friend. Some sacrifices are easy when we make them for the ones we love. And O’Neill loves you.”
“I know,” Daniel said. “But it’s not fair.”
“You have made many choices keeping in mind your friend’s needs. You always put your friends first, Daniel,” Teal’c said. “Yet, you cannot bear being the one to be put first by your friends.”
“It’s always easier to be the one making choices or sacrifices based on your friend’s needs. Easier than being that friend and seeing others making choices that put you first.”
Teal’c bowed his head in agreement, but said, “It was his choice. And General Hammond believes in O’Neill’s skills as the leader of the SGC.”
Daniel looked at his feet stuck in black sneakers. When he had stopped going off world he’d stopped wearing the heavy military boots. Janet had recommended lighter shoes. Something about his feet still growing or something. So he wore sneakers with his BDUs.
“It’s not that I don’t believe in him,” Daniel said after a moment. “I do. He just seems to be struggling.”
“When I began to serve Apophis as his First Prime I did not believe I would survive the first week. I was convinced he would kill me within days for not being efficient.”
Daniel glanced at Teal’c. “Really? But you did. You were efficient.”
“Indeed.”
“I know it’s about taking it one step at a time and getting used to it all. It’s not like I haven’t been there before. He just seems like a fish out of water.” Jack had always been such a natural leader in Daniel’s eyes. It didn’t matter that Daniel and Jack had butted heads over many things. Most of the time Jack had known when to leave the trouble shooting to his people and yet he’d always been the man holding the reins. He’d had a natural confidence about himself and about how to lead his team.
Being stuck behind that desk Jack seemed to have lost some of that confidence. Not on the outside, oh no. No one who didn’t know Jack very well would see it. But SG-1 were the people closest to Jack and Daniel was sure that the others sensed it, too, no matter what Teal’c said.
But then again, maybe Daniel just had to get used to seeing Jack behind that desk just as much as Jack had to get used to be behind that desk.
tbc