Fic: Revisions #1: Conjecture
Title: Revisions: Conjecture
Author: Pepper
Rating: PG
Season: One
Related SG-1 Episode(s): 104 The Broca Divide
Featured Character(s): Daniel, Jack
Pairing(s): Sam/Jack UST
Summary: Episode addition.
A/N: If Sam and Jack were so oblivious to not having told the complete truth to the zay'tarc detector that it only occurred to Sam at the very last minute, and to Jack not at all, then how many other times had they covered up, omitted the whole truth, pretended not to see, and just plain lied on report? It must happen pretty often, if they're that clueless about it. That's what I think, anyhow.
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Ow.
Ow, ow, ow.
God - he'd never been on the receiving end of Jack's physical anger before, and never wanted to be again. It had been... well, pretty scary, actually. He was lucky not to be in worse shape.
An airman - airwoman? - helped Daniel to his feet, and he watched in disbelief as three men dragged the Colonel off, struggling all the way to contain the raging animal that, just a few seconds ago, had been his friend.
He followed thoughtfully behind, his mind working on two levels. One level was busily trying to work out what was going on, how his friends and colleagues were suddenly being transformed into primitive creatures - like a spreading infection... hmm... - and the other was pondering Jack's words, his moment of lucidity on the edge of madness.
"She's not yours to care about."
"What the hell are you talking-?"
"I'm talking about Samantha - you just stay away from her, okay?"
Samantha... Something about the way Jack said the name had struck a chord. Where had he heard...? Oh, yes, of course: the Blue Dress Incident.
Wow. It seemed like something in Jack definitely responded to his Captain whenever they weren't in strictly military mode. Interesting. He'd keep an eye out for that in future. He had some vague idea that it wasn't considered the done thing in an Air Force context - but that wouldn't really matter, would it? Not if they kept it outside of work. It wasn't like this was your average military project, after all.
He'd not really considered the idea of Sam-and-Jack before, but now it was presented to him... it made a strange kind of sense. A part of him didn't like it, but that was in some way connected to his memory of his married life with Sha're, and that, when he'd lived on Abydos, he'd thought of Jack back at home with his wife and had found the mirror of the two worlds, two couples - millions of miles apart, but still just humans, going about their lives - comforting, somehow. He'd wanted Jack to have a happily-ever-after, and that had been the one he'd expected to find when he returned.
For the most part, though, he thought it was sweet. Perhaps Jack would find a different happy ending with Sam. They were so very different, and yet they got on so well - they had a similar sense of humor, for one thing. He wasn't sure that Jack knew this - Sam tended to be a bit more polite when her commanding officer was around - but Daniel had spent time just chatting with the Captain-Doctor, and had discovered she had a devious streak a mile wide, strongly reminiscent of one Jack O'Neill.
Riding in the elevator with Cave-Jack was an experience he didn't want to repeat too soon. The looks Jack was giving him were murderous, but so were the looks he was giving everyone else. His behavior had degenerated rapidly from relatively rational - or at least explicable - anger, to a general raging against anyone and anything. A low, menacing growl was coming from the Colonel, making the hairs on the back of Daniel's neck stand up.
Okay, perhaps his rather active imagination was jumping the gun a little, here. Yeah, it really was - they'd only been a team for a few months now, and as close as they all already were, picturing Jack and Sam riding off into a metaphorical sunset was a little unrealistic. Early days, Doctor Jackson, he told himself sternly. Don't go seeing things that aren't there... yet. Just, you know, keep an open mind, and a pair of open eyes.
Until then, he had a problem to solve, namely Cave-Jack, Cave-Sam, and the rest of the SGC Cavepeople. He watched as Jack was thrown into a cell, and the door slammed shut. The Colonel recovered quickly and threw himself against the door, but it was too late. The airmen left, but Daniel stayed, watching in fearful fascination as Jack slammed against the door a few times, testing his strength against the heavy metal. Realizing that he was trapped, he glowered furiously at Daniel.
Daniel was fascinated to hear a word force itself past the Colonel's gritted teeth. "Mmmmine."
"Jack?" So the Colonel wasn't completely gone yet. If he degenerated as far as the Touched, then he'd lose all language skills - but for the moment, there was still a glimmer of intelligence in those angry brown eyes.
"Mmmmmine!"
Ah. The Sam Issue reared its ugly head again. Thank god there was a door between them this time, or no doubt Jack would be beating him to a pulp right about now. There was probably no way of conveying the complete innocence of his intentions towards the Captain, but Daniel's innate desire to communicate was piqued. "I'm not interested in Sam that way," he said, trying to express neutrality with his tone, and the expression on his face. Jack wouldn't be able to see his body language, which was unfortunate because that would have been the most useful tool in this situation. "I don't want her."
"Mmmmmine!"
"Yes, well, that remains to be seen," said Daniel, dryly, "but you don't need to worry. Sam is safe. No one will touch her." Not even you, Jack. "She's with Janet. Janet will take care of her. You remember Janet?"
Jack frowned at him, uncomprehending. But at least he wasn't growling any more. "Mmmmine?"
Daniel sighed. This wasn't going anywhere. Jack had always been hard to talk to, but this was ridiculous. He'd had more productive conversations with his collection of ancient pottery. "Yours, Jack," he agreed, dully. "All yours. Listen, I've gotta go and tell the General about you, and, uh, see what I can do about fixing this," he waved his hands, "fine mess. Don't hurt yourself too much, will you?"
As he walked away, disappointment in his heart, he heard Jack's agitated growls rise once more. "Mmmmmine! Mmmmmine! Rargh!" There was a thud as the irate Colonel threw himself against the door of the cell. "Grrrrargh!"
Yes. Someday, they would look back on all this and laugh.
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THE END.