Truth Telling by Random (PG)
Rec Category: Jack O'Neill
Pairing: none
Category: Jack O'Neill, Daniel Jackson, Jack and Daniel Friendship, gen, episode related, hurt/comfort, character study
Warning: none
Author on LJ randomfreshink
Author's Website: Random at alldanielfic
Link: Truth Telling
Why This Must Be Read: After "Menace" and before "Meridian" Jack and Daniel find themselves trapped in a hole in the ground, waiting for Sam and Teal'c to arrive and get them out. It could be Daniel's head wound or his theory that something in the air in the place makes them more honest, but the two end up talking about themselves more than usual. Since they're still Jack and Daniel, they manage to say volumes while still skirting around every issue, idea, and personal feeling.
Within a conversation that twists and turns and frequently comes back to bite its own tail, Random gives us some wonderful insights into Jack and Daniel and the "push me-pull you" relationship between the two.
"I hate surprises."
"No, you hate being surprised. You love it when someone else gets blindsided."
That was true, so Jack had to give Daniel that one. And he wondered if they weren't both a little punchy. He couldn't remember the last time he spent this much time talking to anyone, particularly Daniel. Still, what else was there to do besides wait for...well, something.
He shifted and eased his butt on the curving stone, which made the place feel like the bottom of a dry swimming pool. Or an empty fish bowl. And he was not about to follow Daniel down into his dark place of bad things. He did not believe in bracing himself so that anything else seemed better, but it struck him that this was an old habit of Daniel's.
"This what you learned from your parents dying?"
Jack heard the words come out of his mouth and then he sat there braced against curved stone, his mouth hanging. Where the hell had that come from? Sure, he'd been thinking it, but to have it pop out like that? And he couldn't see Daniel's expression, couldn't judge the reaction. But when Daniel spoke, he only sounded tired.
"Actually, I think I learned it before then. I mean, don't get me wrong, my parents they--well, it's just...I'm pretty sure they didn't plan on having a child. Or didn't expect it after so...well, from what I remember, they loved having me, but they really were better equipped to deal with a miniature adult than a child. You might say I grew up fast."
Jack nodded--nothing new in this to him. "Single kid, he's either the center of the universe or he learns to fit into an established relationship and careers." Or a little of both, depending on the parents, and Jack knew Daniel's parents had to have been obsessive about what they did. You didn't die for something unless it was all-consuming. "So you came in second?"
"You an only child, too?" Daniel asked.
"No. Charlie. Air Force."
The words came out on their own again, and Jack wanted to bite off his tongue. You didn't speak of the dead; you buried them and left them in peace and hoped, at some point, you might find some.
Pairing: none
Category: Jack O'Neill, Daniel Jackson, Jack and Daniel Friendship, gen, episode related, hurt/comfort, character study
Warning: none
Author on LJ randomfreshink
Author's Website: Random at alldanielfic
Link: Truth Telling
Why This Must Be Read: After "Menace" and before "Meridian" Jack and Daniel find themselves trapped in a hole in the ground, waiting for Sam and Teal'c to arrive and get them out. It could be Daniel's head wound or his theory that something in the air in the place makes them more honest, but the two end up talking about themselves more than usual. Since they're still Jack and Daniel, they manage to say volumes while still skirting around every issue, idea, and personal feeling.
Within a conversation that twists and turns and frequently comes back to bite its own tail, Random gives us some wonderful insights into Jack and Daniel and the "push me-pull you" relationship between the two.
"I hate surprises."
"No, you hate being surprised. You love it when someone else gets blindsided."
That was true, so Jack had to give Daniel that one. And he wondered if they weren't both a little punchy. He couldn't remember the last time he spent this much time talking to anyone, particularly Daniel. Still, what else was there to do besides wait for...well, something.
He shifted and eased his butt on the curving stone, which made the place feel like the bottom of a dry swimming pool. Or an empty fish bowl. And he was not about to follow Daniel down into his dark place of bad things. He did not believe in bracing himself so that anything else seemed better, but it struck him that this was an old habit of Daniel's.
"This what you learned from your parents dying?"
Jack heard the words come out of his mouth and then he sat there braced against curved stone, his mouth hanging. Where the hell had that come from? Sure, he'd been thinking it, but to have it pop out like that? And he couldn't see Daniel's expression, couldn't judge the reaction. But when Daniel spoke, he only sounded tired.
"Actually, I think I learned it before then. I mean, don't get me wrong, my parents they--well, it's just...I'm pretty sure they didn't plan on having a child. Or didn't expect it after so...well, from what I remember, they loved having me, but they really were better equipped to deal with a miniature adult than a child. You might say I grew up fast."
Jack nodded--nothing new in this to him. "Single kid, he's either the center of the universe or he learns to fit into an established relationship and careers." Or a little of both, depending on the parents, and Jack knew Daniel's parents had to have been obsessive about what they did. You didn't die for something unless it was all-consuming. "So you came in second?"
"You an only child, too?" Daniel asked.
"No. Charlie. Air Force."
The words came out on their own again, and Jack wanted to bite off his tongue. You didn't speak of the dead; you buried them and left them in peace and hoped, at some point, you might find some.