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First fic in two years! A contribution to the still-incomplete Alphabet Soup!
No, this is not an alternate universe. :)
Summary: In the post-mission briefing after Maternal Instinct, Daniel insists that he needs to make one more trip through the Stargate.
Jack POV, angst level high. Team, Hammond and Bra'tac. ~1,150 words. Rated PG.
Author's notes: Possibly apocryphally, Ernest Hemingway was challenged to write a six-word story. The result was this fic's title.
(E is for Ernest Hemingway)
For Sale: Baby Shoes, Never Worn
The post-mission briefing wasn't pleasant, Jack thought. They had little to show for their mission, even if they had technically been successful. Yes, they'd found Kheb, and both SG-1 and SG-3 had made it home safely; but they didn't have the Harcesis child, they had no way to contact the mysterious Oma Desala, and they had no further leads to pursue.
Still, it didn't hurt to consider their gains, few as they were. Hammond was slightly mollified by Teal'c's smug observation that Apophis, too, had lost all access to the Harcesis, as well as a battalion's worth of Jaffa and equipment to Oma Desala's wrath. Bra'tac's steady, composed demeanor, in such contrast to the genuine depression he'd shown before the mission, showed that they'd truly helped a loyal ally.
On the other hand, Daniel seemed to find the grain of the briefing room table absolutely fascinating as he spoke in dull tones of his mistaken assumptions of power and the child he'd left behind. Jack noted how Hammond's frown shifted from disappointment to concern.
A little distraction might help. "We may not understand everything that happened, sir," Jack summed up with uncommon earnestness, "but we know that there's a powerful alien out there that likes us a lot more than she likes the Goa'uld. You know what they say about margarine, sir -- it's not nice to fool Mother Nature."
Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw Bra'tac and Teal'c raise dubious eyebrows simultaneously. Carter stifled a cough. Even Hammond's lip twitched. To his disappointment, Daniel didn't react at all.
"All right, people," Hammond said, rising. "It looks like we can close the books on this one for now. Get your reports done as quickly as possible. Master Bra'tac, will you be staying here...?"
"Excuse me, General Hammond," Daniel uncharacteristically interrupted. "We're not quite finished."
"No?" Hammond eyed him.
Daniel stayed in his chair, but his shoulders went back as he straightened for the first time since the briefing began. "I need to go to Abydos, sir, and report to Kasuf."
There was a sudden, awkward silence. Then Hammond sat again before he said, his voice surprisingly gentle, "I'm not sure you need to put yourself through that right now, Doctor Jackson. Why not take a few days first?"
"This is his grandson we're talking about, sir," Daniel said stolidly. "He's all that's left of Kasuf's daughter. He deserves to be told that the child is safe, even if we may never see him again."
You can say "my wife," Daniel, Jack thought, but did not say aloud. It wasn't as if everyone in the room hadn't heard that unspoken addition.
"I will certainly authorize a mission to Abydos to keep our allies informed, Doctor Jackson," Hammond told him with gentle firmness, "but Kasuf is not aware that the Kheb mission was scheduled, and there is no need for urgency here." He glanced at Jack. "SG-1 can go on Thursday, after you've had a few days to rest and recover."
Daniel shifted a little and dropped his gaze to study the grain of the table again. "I think I should go alone, sir," he mumbled.
"Yeah, no," Jack said immediately. "Letting you go to Abydos by yourself is just asking for trouble."
Daniel's head came up at that, and Jack was glad to see that first spark of anger stirring in the hot blue stare. Irritation, even at him -- or maybe especially at him -- was better than apathy.
"This isn't a team jaunt, Jack," he snapped. "You can visit Skaara some other time."
Jack was opening his mouth to retort when Bra'tac, of all people, spoke. "I would go with you to Abydos, Daniel Jackson," he pronounced. "I, too, witnessed the power of this alien, and I can speak to Kasuf as one elder to another."
Jack saw Carter blinking hard at that one, and he remembered how Bra'tac had been the first to take Daniel on faith, when he'd begged them to lower their weapons before Oma Desala's lethal lightning strikes. That... that might actually work.
"I would be honored if you would permit me to accompany you as well, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said quietly. "It would be good to see Kasuf again, even if our message is less hopeful than we might wish."
Teal'c and Daniel regarded one another for a long moment, and Jack found himself wondering, once again, just how that friendship worked as well as it did. Teal'c was the First Prime who had orchestrated Sha're's and Skaara's original abduction from Abydos. He'd actually fired the fatal shot that killed Sha're. But he was also the friend who had been there for Daniel when they discovered Sha're carrying Apophis' child, and that was how Kasuf regarded him.
That might actually work, too.
"Master Bra'tac, can the Jaffa Rebellion spare you for that length of time?" Hammond asked.
Bra'tac's mouth twisted in a grim smile. "I am alive and intend to stay that way," he declared. "That is more than I could have dared to hope, only a few days ago. I shall see this through."
"Then it's settled," Hammond said, standing again. This time, they all rose to their feet to join him. "SG-1, you're on stand down until Thursday. Doctor Jackson will go to Abydos with an escort of Teal'c and Master Bra'tac, to inform our Abydon allies of the latest developments; Major Carter, there are some interesting MALP readings that you'll want to study to help determine the team's next mission." He nodded at them each in turn. "Dismissed."
As Daniel turned to hurry out of the room, Jack caught up to him in two long strides and grabbed his elbow. "Hey," he said, his voice low. "It's okay if you don't want me there."
Daniel stopped and grimaced, brows pulled down tight. Jack saw Carter waiting to speak to Daniel and discreetly waved her out. Clearly displeased, she nonetheless complied.
Sure enough, once they were alone, Daniel finally spoke. "It's not that I don't want you there, it's... okay, I don't want you there," he admitted. "You're -- you're the hero of Abydos, Jack. It's hard enough to admit to failure without standing next to the guy who saved the planet."
"I'm not the only one who did that back then," Jack said pointedly, "and I don't think 'failure' is the right word here. The kid is safe and out of Goa'uld hands." He relented at the stubborn set of Daniel's jaw. "But he's still lost to his grandfather. I get that."
Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose, all hostility melting away. "Of course you do," he sighed.
Wincing a little at the Charlie-shaped elephant suddenly dominating the room, Jack jammed his hands into his pockets. "Teal'c and Bra'tac will take good care of you."
"Right," Daniel agreed. "They will."
Bumping shoulders just a little, the two men walked out.
End notes: Jack's references to margarine and Mother Nature go back to a television commercial in the '70s. I would be highly amused to know how many readers are old enough to get it. :)
No, this is not an alternate universe. :)
Summary: In the post-mission briefing after Maternal Instinct, Daniel insists that he needs to make one more trip through the Stargate.
Jack POV, angst level high. Team, Hammond and Bra'tac. ~1,150 words. Rated PG.
Author's notes: Possibly apocryphally, Ernest Hemingway was challenged to write a six-word story. The result was this fic's title.
(E is for Ernest Hemingway)
For Sale: Baby Shoes, Never Worn
The post-mission briefing wasn't pleasant, Jack thought. They had little to show for their mission, even if they had technically been successful. Yes, they'd found Kheb, and both SG-1 and SG-3 had made it home safely; but they didn't have the Harcesis child, they had no way to contact the mysterious Oma Desala, and they had no further leads to pursue.
Still, it didn't hurt to consider their gains, few as they were. Hammond was slightly mollified by Teal'c's smug observation that Apophis, too, had lost all access to the Harcesis, as well as a battalion's worth of Jaffa and equipment to Oma Desala's wrath. Bra'tac's steady, composed demeanor, in such contrast to the genuine depression he'd shown before the mission, showed that they'd truly helped a loyal ally.
On the other hand, Daniel seemed to find the grain of the briefing room table absolutely fascinating as he spoke in dull tones of his mistaken assumptions of power and the child he'd left behind. Jack noted how Hammond's frown shifted from disappointment to concern.
A little distraction might help. "We may not understand everything that happened, sir," Jack summed up with uncommon earnestness, "but we know that there's a powerful alien out there that likes us a lot more than she likes the Goa'uld. You know what they say about margarine, sir -- it's not nice to fool Mother Nature."
Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw Bra'tac and Teal'c raise dubious eyebrows simultaneously. Carter stifled a cough. Even Hammond's lip twitched. To his disappointment, Daniel didn't react at all.
"All right, people," Hammond said, rising. "It looks like we can close the books on this one for now. Get your reports done as quickly as possible. Master Bra'tac, will you be staying here...?"
"Excuse me, General Hammond," Daniel uncharacteristically interrupted. "We're not quite finished."
"No?" Hammond eyed him.
Daniel stayed in his chair, but his shoulders went back as he straightened for the first time since the briefing began. "I need to go to Abydos, sir, and report to Kasuf."
There was a sudden, awkward silence. Then Hammond sat again before he said, his voice surprisingly gentle, "I'm not sure you need to put yourself through that right now, Doctor Jackson. Why not take a few days first?"
"This is his grandson we're talking about, sir," Daniel said stolidly. "He's all that's left of Kasuf's daughter. He deserves to be told that the child is safe, even if we may never see him again."
You can say "my wife," Daniel, Jack thought, but did not say aloud. It wasn't as if everyone in the room hadn't heard that unspoken addition.
"I will certainly authorize a mission to Abydos to keep our allies informed, Doctor Jackson," Hammond told him with gentle firmness, "but Kasuf is not aware that the Kheb mission was scheduled, and there is no need for urgency here." He glanced at Jack. "SG-1 can go on Thursday, after you've had a few days to rest and recover."
Daniel shifted a little and dropped his gaze to study the grain of the table again. "I think I should go alone, sir," he mumbled.
"Yeah, no," Jack said immediately. "Letting you go to Abydos by yourself is just asking for trouble."
Daniel's head came up at that, and Jack was glad to see that first spark of anger stirring in the hot blue stare. Irritation, even at him -- or maybe especially at him -- was better than apathy.
"This isn't a team jaunt, Jack," he snapped. "You can visit Skaara some other time."
Jack was opening his mouth to retort when Bra'tac, of all people, spoke. "I would go with you to Abydos, Daniel Jackson," he pronounced. "I, too, witnessed the power of this alien, and I can speak to Kasuf as one elder to another."
Jack saw Carter blinking hard at that one, and he remembered how Bra'tac had been the first to take Daniel on faith, when he'd begged them to lower their weapons before Oma Desala's lethal lightning strikes. That... that might actually work.
"I would be honored if you would permit me to accompany you as well, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said quietly. "It would be good to see Kasuf again, even if our message is less hopeful than we might wish."
Teal'c and Daniel regarded one another for a long moment, and Jack found himself wondering, once again, just how that friendship worked as well as it did. Teal'c was the First Prime who had orchestrated Sha're's and Skaara's original abduction from Abydos. He'd actually fired the fatal shot that killed Sha're. But he was also the friend who had been there for Daniel when they discovered Sha're carrying Apophis' child, and that was how Kasuf regarded him.
That might actually work, too.
"Master Bra'tac, can the Jaffa Rebellion spare you for that length of time?" Hammond asked.
Bra'tac's mouth twisted in a grim smile. "I am alive and intend to stay that way," he declared. "That is more than I could have dared to hope, only a few days ago. I shall see this through."
"Then it's settled," Hammond said, standing again. This time, they all rose to their feet to join him. "SG-1, you're on stand down until Thursday. Doctor Jackson will go to Abydos with an escort of Teal'c and Master Bra'tac, to inform our Abydon allies of the latest developments; Major Carter, there are some interesting MALP readings that you'll want to study to help determine the team's next mission." He nodded at them each in turn. "Dismissed."
As Daniel turned to hurry out of the room, Jack caught up to him in two long strides and grabbed his elbow. "Hey," he said, his voice low. "It's okay if you don't want me there."
Daniel stopped and grimaced, brows pulled down tight. Jack saw Carter waiting to speak to Daniel and discreetly waved her out. Clearly displeased, she nonetheless complied.
Sure enough, once they were alone, Daniel finally spoke. "It's not that I don't want you there, it's... okay, I don't want you there," he admitted. "You're -- you're the hero of Abydos, Jack. It's hard enough to admit to failure without standing next to the guy who saved the planet."
"I'm not the only one who did that back then," Jack said pointedly, "and I don't think 'failure' is the right word here. The kid is safe and out of Goa'uld hands." He relented at the stubborn set of Daniel's jaw. "But he's still lost to his grandfather. I get that."
Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose, all hostility melting away. "Of course you do," he sighed.
Wincing a little at the Charlie-shaped elephant suddenly dominating the room, Jack jammed his hands into his pockets. "Teal'c and Bra'tac will take good care of you."
"Right," Daniel agreed. "They will."
Bumping shoulders just a little, the two men walked out.
End notes: Jack's references to margarine and Mother Nature go back to a television commercial in the '70s. I would be highly amused to know how many readers are old enough to get it. :)
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