Stargate -- "Ab esse ad posse"
slash_100, prompt 091: Epiphany
big damn table
Also written for picfor1000, this image.
“You could do anything for as long as you want without having to worry about consequences, and you play golf?”
Ab esse ad posse | Prompt 091: Epiphany | G | 1000 words
“Golf?”
“What?”
“Golf?” Daniel asked again, incredulous. “You could do anything for as long as you want without having to worry about consequences, and you play golf?”
“Yeah,” Jack said with a fond smile. “All the way to Alaris. That’s gotta be a record.”
“But golf?” Daniel pressed. They’d been given a week’s downtime, and Daniel found himself being herded off the mountain to keep him from working through his break. He and Jack were settled on the couch in Jack’s den, drinking beer and talking over a hockey game between two apparently unimportant teams. “I didn’t even know you knew how to play.”
“Sara’s dad taught me,” Jack said, smile fading, and Daniel winced. “Something he could do with his son-in-law. Haven’t played in years.”
Daniel rested a hand on Jack’s shoulder for a moment in silent sympathy and then stood. “You want another beer?” he asked, heading into the kitchen. Jack called an affirmative and Daniel returned to the den with beers in hand, a Heineken for Jack and something good and dark for himself. He handed Jack his beer and settled down on the couch. “So, what else did you guys do?”
“Biked through the halls of the SGC,” Jack said, smile returning. “Learned to juggle. Made pottery. Played a lot of poker. Apparently Teal’c slammed a door on some tech because the guy had opened it into his head at the beginning of every loop.”
Daniel joined Jack’s laughter at the image. “I can’t believe that’s all you did, though,” he said. “I mean, no consequences, right? You could do anything!”
“And what would you do?” Jack rounded on him. “Translation backlog? Reading?”
Daniel flushed guiltily. “Well, I’ve always wanted to read Dickens’ complete works,” he admitted, and Jack almost crowed with laughter.
“See? You’re in no place to judge.” Jack took a slug from his beer and put it down. “Geek,” he said, but it was affectionate.
“I’d do other stuff,” Daniel said defensively. “Go back to O’Malley’s and start another fight, for example.”
“And you’d take me with, of course, right?” Jack asked, chuckling.
“Of course,” Daniel said. “And Sam, too, if she wanted. I don’t know who was more surprised, the first guy I punched or the one she lifted off the floor.” He laughed and shook his head. “I thought Hammond was going to kill us.”
Jack laughed, too, and they lapsed in companionable silence for a while, Jack watching the game and Daniel watching Jack. He was pretty sure there was something Jack wasn’t telling him, but he knew they’d get to it easier if he just let Jack tell him on his own. And watching the game on Jack’s face was fun; even with teams he cared nothing about, he got into the game, watching avidly, expressive face lit up. Just once, Daniel wished Jack would look at him like that...
Jack apparently approved of the winners, if the cheering was anything to go by. He watched the commentary for a bit and then turned it off, but didn’t say anything. Daniel could tell by the way Jack contemplated his beer that he was deciding what to say, so he stayed silent. “I did something else,” he said finally, not looking at Daniel. “An experiment, if you will.”
Daniel didn’t speak. At this point, Jack was talking as much to himself as anything. “You know how things have been between me and Carter,” he continued, and Daniel’s heart seized. Had Jack finally talked to Sam? But then why was he with Daniel rather than Sam? “I...kissed her. I turned in my resignation, and kissed her, in the middle of the control room.”
Jack was silent for a minute, toying with the label on his beer. “But it wasn’t...I don’t know, right, or something,” he said finally. “I didn’t feel anything. And she...she punched me,” he added with a rueful smile, rubbing his cheek at the memory. “Said I had embarrassed her in front of her colleagues.” He shrugged and lapsed into silence again.
Daniel blinked. That was...unexpected. And he just knew there was yet more. “What happened next?” he asked quietly, unable to resist. Why had Jack told him this? He could have just kept it secret.
“The loop reset,” Jack said. “I considered doing it again, in her lab or something, but I knew it wasn’t a fluke. There’s a difference between caring too much and...being in love with someone. Then I started thinking.”
“Always a bad idea,” Daniel couldn’t help but add, and the mood seemed to lighten a bit.
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Jack groused, but he was smiling. “But my worldview had been tossed out the window, so I had to do something. And I had all the time in the world, plus an instant do-over every ten hours. So, I thought for a while, and then...I kissed someone else.”
Jack didn’t say, but Daniel knew. “Was...was it good?” he asked carefully. He’d shatter into a million pieces if Jack said they’d kissed and it hadn’t been good.
“Very,” Jack said, breathless. He finally looked at Daniel, and his eyes were haunted. “But Danny...we can’t...”
“I know,” Daniel interrupted. And he did, even though he hated it; between Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and the non-fraternization regs, any relationship was doomed.
“I’m so sorry, Daniel,” Jack said quietly. “I shouldn’t have done it.” When I knew it was doomed from the start, Daniel could read in his tense shoulders and the tense, white fingers clenched around the bottle. “I...”
“I’m just mad I don’t remember,” Daniel said quietly, touching Jack’s fingers. He was silent for a minute and then nodded to himself. “I...I’d wait for you, Jack, if you wanted.” Jack looked up at him hopefully, the haunted look lifting. “I would. I...”
“Don’t,” Jack said, interrupting him with a finger to his lips. “I can’t hear this.”
“Not yet,” Daniel said. “But some day.” Jack smiled carefully, and Daniel knew it would be worth the wait.
Feedback is better than chocolate.
A/N: title translates to “from being to knowing” (Latin); spoilers for 4.03, 4.05, and 4.06
big damn table
Also written for picfor1000, this image.
“You could do anything for as long as you want without having to worry about consequences, and you play golf?”
Ab esse ad posse | Prompt 091: Epiphany | G | 1000 words
“Golf?”
“What?”
“Golf?” Daniel asked again, incredulous. “You could do anything for as long as you want without having to worry about consequences, and you play golf?”
“Yeah,” Jack said with a fond smile. “All the way to Alaris. That’s gotta be a record.”
“But golf?” Daniel pressed. They’d been given a week’s downtime, and Daniel found himself being herded off the mountain to keep him from working through his break. He and Jack were settled on the couch in Jack’s den, drinking beer and talking over a hockey game between two apparently unimportant teams. “I didn’t even know you knew how to play.”
“Sara’s dad taught me,” Jack said, smile fading, and Daniel winced. “Something he could do with his son-in-law. Haven’t played in years.”
Daniel rested a hand on Jack’s shoulder for a moment in silent sympathy and then stood. “You want another beer?” he asked, heading into the kitchen. Jack called an affirmative and Daniel returned to the den with beers in hand, a Heineken for Jack and something good and dark for himself. He handed Jack his beer and settled down on the couch. “So, what else did you guys do?”
“Biked through the halls of the SGC,” Jack said, smile returning. “Learned to juggle. Made pottery. Played a lot of poker. Apparently Teal’c slammed a door on some tech because the guy had opened it into his head at the beginning of every loop.”
Daniel joined Jack’s laughter at the image. “I can’t believe that’s all you did, though,” he said. “I mean, no consequences, right? You could do anything!”
“And what would you do?” Jack rounded on him. “Translation backlog? Reading?”
Daniel flushed guiltily. “Well, I’ve always wanted to read Dickens’ complete works,” he admitted, and Jack almost crowed with laughter.
“See? You’re in no place to judge.” Jack took a slug from his beer and put it down. “Geek,” he said, but it was affectionate.
“I’d do other stuff,” Daniel said defensively. “Go back to O’Malley’s and start another fight, for example.”
“And you’d take me with, of course, right?” Jack asked, chuckling.
“Of course,” Daniel said. “And Sam, too, if she wanted. I don’t know who was more surprised, the first guy I punched or the one she lifted off the floor.” He laughed and shook his head. “I thought Hammond was going to kill us.”
Jack laughed, too, and they lapsed in companionable silence for a while, Jack watching the game and Daniel watching Jack. He was pretty sure there was something Jack wasn’t telling him, but he knew they’d get to it easier if he just let Jack tell him on his own. And watching the game on Jack’s face was fun; even with teams he cared nothing about, he got into the game, watching avidly, expressive face lit up. Just once, Daniel wished Jack would look at him like that...
Jack apparently approved of the winners, if the cheering was anything to go by. He watched the commentary for a bit and then turned it off, but didn’t say anything. Daniel could tell by the way Jack contemplated his beer that he was deciding what to say, so he stayed silent. “I did something else,” he said finally, not looking at Daniel. “An experiment, if you will.”
Daniel didn’t speak. At this point, Jack was talking as much to himself as anything. “You know how things have been between me and Carter,” he continued, and Daniel’s heart seized. Had Jack finally talked to Sam? But then why was he with Daniel rather than Sam? “I...kissed her. I turned in my resignation, and kissed her, in the middle of the control room.”
Jack was silent for a minute, toying with the label on his beer. “But it wasn’t...I don’t know, right, or something,” he said finally. “I didn’t feel anything. And she...she punched me,” he added with a rueful smile, rubbing his cheek at the memory. “Said I had embarrassed her in front of her colleagues.” He shrugged and lapsed into silence again.
Daniel blinked. That was...unexpected. And he just knew there was yet more. “What happened next?” he asked quietly, unable to resist. Why had Jack told him this? He could have just kept it secret.
“The loop reset,” Jack said. “I considered doing it again, in her lab or something, but I knew it wasn’t a fluke. There’s a difference between caring too much and...being in love with someone. Then I started thinking.”
“Always a bad idea,” Daniel couldn’t help but add, and the mood seemed to lighten a bit.
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Jack groused, but he was smiling. “But my worldview had been tossed out the window, so I had to do something. And I had all the time in the world, plus an instant do-over every ten hours. So, I thought for a while, and then...I kissed someone else.”
Jack didn’t say, but Daniel knew. “Was...was it good?” he asked carefully. He’d shatter into a million pieces if Jack said they’d kissed and it hadn’t been good.
“Very,” Jack said, breathless. He finally looked at Daniel, and his eyes were haunted. “But Danny...we can’t...”
“I know,” Daniel interrupted. And he did, even though he hated it; between Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and the non-fraternization regs, any relationship was doomed.
“I’m so sorry, Daniel,” Jack said quietly. “I shouldn’t have done it.” When I knew it was doomed from the start, Daniel could read in his tense shoulders and the tense, white fingers clenched around the bottle. “I...”
“I’m just mad I don’t remember,” Daniel said quietly, touching Jack’s fingers. He was silent for a minute and then nodded to himself. “I...I’d wait for you, Jack, if you wanted.” Jack looked up at him hopefully, the haunted look lifting. “I would. I...”
“Don’t,” Jack said, interrupting him with a finger to his lips. “I can’t hear this.”
“Not yet,” Daniel said. “But some day.” Jack smiled carefully, and Daniel knew it would be worth the wait.
Feedback is better than chocolate.
A/N: title translates to “from being to knowing” (Latin); spoilers for 4.03, 4.05, and 4.06