By Her Silver Light

Fic: Unintended Consequences [SG-1, Teen and Up]

Wed, 15 May 2013 01:48:53 GMT

I started this some time ago in response to the prompt 'A False Sense of Wellbeing' at writerverse, but did not complete it for that challenge. Anyway - I pulled it out, dusted it off, and threw an ending (of a sort) on it in honor of nymaeria's birthday today. I wanted to post it earlier, but RL just wouldn't let me.

So... happy birthday :)

Unintended Consequences
Rating: Teen and Up
Characters: Sam, Jack, Daniel, Teal'c, Janet
Summary: Sam's interesting experience on a mission turns bad. Fortunately, she has her team.
Word Count: 1235

Sam was spinning, spinning, arms wide, head thrown back. When she finally stumbled to a halt, she could see three concerned faces looking up at her as she stood on her wonderful tree stump. But why were they worried when the night was so beautiful and perfect? She laughed as she knelt down on the and placed gentle kisses on Teal'c's gold tattoo, and Daniel's furrowed brow, and then the colonel's hands grasped her arms tightly, holding her still, as he spoke to the others.

Colonel Jack O’Neill, USAF. Strong and competent and that wonderful silver hair. But so so sad, sometimes, only when he thought no one was looking. But they were all looking at him now, because he was using his command voice and that meant Pay. Attention.

She came to a bizarre parody of parade rest, still on her knees, and shouted, "Orders, Sir?"

His voice sounded as if it were coming from the bottom of a well and she giggled as the words overlapped and waved to each other. "For you to settle down and come with us, Carter. You’ve won an all expenses paid trip to see good ol' Doc Fraiser."

"Nuh uh. Feel good!" She drew the last word out as she tilted her head back again to examine the crisscrossing trails of the stars.

Somehow the colonel had manhandled her into Teal'c's arms and he was carrying her as they made their way to the stargate. She could fight it, absolutely, she was well-trained and very capable and never Just A Girl, but Teal'c was surprisingly snuggly when she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and cradled her head against his neck and she thought maybe she’d stay here for just a little bit.

Daniel's waterlogged voice was talking at her now and she tried to tune in. It was a pretty voice, very expressive. Sometimes she thought that she could listen to him for hours. The colonel always thought she was paying attention in the briefings, but really, sometimes, she was just listening the rise and fall of that voice.

"Shhh," she whispered loudly. "Don't tell anyone!"

"Okay, Sam. But you can tell me, right?" Daniel touched her arm lightly and she turned her head to follow the voice.

"Tell you what?" The starlight hurt her eyes and she quickly turned her face back into Teal’c’s neck.

"Forget it, Daniel. We'll just have to trust that Fraiser can figure out what the hell she ate or drank."

"Or touched, or breathed," Daniel added irritably.

Her headache started travelling through her skin and muscles and blood and she moaned softly. Teal’c held her tighter.

"Major Carter's fever is rising rapidly, O'Neill."

"Hang on, we're almost there. Daniel, go, start dialing, radio ahead for a medical team.”

They were all so loud. She really just wanted to be quiet and still now. And something Daniel had said, or asked, was nagging at her, finally unfolding itself in her brain. She dug into her pocket and closed her hand around the small cloth, fighting the heaviness in her muscles to drag it out.

“Teal’c,” she whispered, dropping her hand between them, holding the bundle tightly; snuggly Teal'c was now bouncing and jostling and she was afraid they would drop it. Daniel had said it was important.

They stopped moving and Teal’c’s hand closed over hers, carefully removing the object from her grasp. She shrank from the sharp urgency in his voice when he spoke.

“O’Neill, I believe this may be of some importance.”

“What the hell is this? Carter, did you eat this?” More sharp words, intense waves of sound, and she wanted to answer, really really wanted to do that, absolutely couldn’t.

He must have taken her groan as confirmation. The click and hiss of the radio preceded his voice as he told Daniel that they had a sample of what might be causing this.

Teal'c was humming softly as they started moving again. She wondered if he always did that - she wouldn't have heard it if she wasn't right next to him - or if he was doing it for her. It was soothing, restful; then everything was cold. She lifted her head long enough to see the dull gray walls of the gateroom before everything faded.

“Colonel! Please put that down.” Janet’s voice, about equal parts irritation and amusement, cut through the hazy cloud inside Sam’s head and she slowly blinked in the dim light on the infirmary. Next to her, the colonel was poking at an instrument tray.

He looked over as she started to stretch her aching muscles. “Hey, you're awake.” He grinned down at her.

“Colonel? What happened?” she asked.

Then Janet was muscling the colonel aside so that she could get at her patient. Her hands were light and cool as she got physical confirmation of the data appearing on the monitors. “There was something in that food they gave you during the festival. A type of fungus in the grain. I believe the locals have probably developed an immunity to it, but it’s impact on your system...”

“You took the equivalent of alien LSD, Major.” Sam groaned at the smirk on the colonel’s face as he interrupted the doctor. She was never going to live this down.

Janet smiled at her. “You'll be fine, Sam. We were able to flush your system; there was no permanent damage done. I want to keep you here for a few more hours, but you’ll be home by tonight.”

“She awake yet?” Daniel’s voice preceded his entrance to the infirmary, Teal’c following immediately after.

“If she wasn’t already, I’m sure that would have done it.” Janet sent a stern glare toward Daniel, who looked sheepish for about ten seconds before shooting her a saucy grin. “Oops.”

The doctor shook her head. “Just a few minutes, guys. I really do want her to rest.”

“We understand, Doctor Fraiser,” Teal’c responded for the all of them and issued his own stern look that he would be enforcing the doctor’s orders.

Sam looked around at her team, wavering between embarrassment at the flashes of memory that were coming back and gratitude for their steady, solid support.

“I feel like I should apologize or something,” she started.

“Oh, you weren’t that bad, Major. A little goofy, maybe.”

“Yeah,” Daniel broke in. “I think Jack still holds the record for most embarrassing food-related behavior on a mission.”

“Oh, like you’re always such a paragon of virtue! I seem to recall...”

Teal’c’s raised eyebrow spoke louder than any words and the two of them stopped bickering. “Guess what we’re trying to say, Carter, is it’s no big deal.”

She smiled. “Whatever you say, Sir.”

“Get some rest and whenever Fraiser springs you from this place, you will have an official SG-1 escort home and you get to pick the movie.”

She looked at them as she relaxed back into her pillow. Despite their jocularity, it must have been a long night for them. The colonel was rumpled and hadn’t shaved yet, Daniel had the wired look that she had seen during some of his more spectacular caffeine-fueled all-nighters, and even Teal’c had an air of tense fatigue about him.

She doubted any of them would last through an entire movie. But then again, that wasn’t really the point. She smiled as she closed her eyes.

“Thanks guys,” she murmured.

This entry was originally posted at http://magickmoons.dreamwidth.org/11008.html.

Het Big Bang Post

Thu, 09 May 2013 17:25:12 GMT

I am currently embarking on two (2!!) Het Big Bang stories and this post is where I will track my slow descent into insanity!!!!!!

STORY 1: UNDER A HARSH LIGHT

Summary: [BtVS/A:tS] This is the sequal to Out of the Dark. Buffy has stayed at Wolfram & Hart and is trying to adjust to her new life. Throw in Angel's continuing on-the-rocks relationship with Nina, a new Big Bad, and a bunch of Slayers-in-Training and it could get dicey.

Status: Outlined and beginning scenes written

STORY 2: THE ANTARCTIC PROJECT (working title)

Summary: [Stargate SG-1] Set in an AU of the Moebius AU. The Antarctic stargate is found before the ZPM and tape are found in Egypt. Col. Jack O'Neill is the liaison with the Department of Aerospace Research representative, Dr. Hershfield. Pretty soon, he begins to suspect that Hershfield's assistant, Dr. Samantha Carter, may be the person they really need on the project.

Status: Some early scenes in draft / note form. Whole thing is pretty much complete in my head. I think.

Tue, 07 May 2013 11:58:11 GMT

het_bigbang

Big Bang: 25,000 words. Any Fandom. Any Het Pairing.
Little Bang: 10,000 words. Any Fandom. Any Het Pairing.
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Author Sign Ups - Open till May 17th, 12:00 PM (NOON) PST
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Artist Claiming of Big Bang Stories - July 20th
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Debut Date (DD) - August 31st

FAQ here!

Movie Thoughts and New SG1 Ficlet

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 01:51:43 GMT

So, just watched the movie Stardust and I loved it. It had fencing and pirates and witches and kings and twue wuv and unicorns :) all through a hole in The Wall.

I had no idea until the credits that it was based on a Neil Gaiman story, although I can really see it in retrospect. I think in the extras they described the movie as "Princess Bride meets Midnight Run" - not an inaccurate representation. It was quite fun and had a great cast (Clare Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert DeNiro, and others). If you enjoy fantasy, it's probably worth a shot if you haven't already seen it. I think it was released in 2007, which seems like yesterday to me, but I have been told is over five years ago now. :( Anyway, that's enough blathering on about that.

This week's tamingthemuse prompt was papaya and the following pointless silly little thing is my entry for said prompt.

Title: State Dinner
Rating: General Audiences
Original/Fandom: Stargate SG-1
Characters: Jack, Daniel
Summary: This dinner is supposed to cap the negotiations... if Jack would just eat it.
Word Count: 507

“Jack, just eat it!” Daniel hissed, tilting his head toward his teammate in what he hoped would be seen as a friendly gesture by their hosts. The wary look on Jack’s face was certainly not being interpreted as friendly, nor was his suspicious poking at the food that had been set before him.

This dinner was the culmination of a day of negotiations for naquadah mining rights. Stories of the ancient Goa’uld occupation of their world had been passed down through the generations, leaving them highly suspicious of outsiders and unwilling to potentially hand over control of their own destiny too easily. It had taken all of Daniel’s and Carter’s not-inconsiderable powers of persuasion to close the deal, but nothing was signed yet, which meant it could all be for naught if they took offense at this point.

“What is it?” Jack's voice was low enough that Daniel thought the dubious tone was probably not overheard. At least he hoped not.

Daniel answered in a quiet rush of words, through a stiff smile. “It’s some sort of fruit, it’s only harvested one day a year, and this is a great honor they are bestowing upon us, so eat the damn thing!”

Leading by example, he spooned up a big bite from his own bowl and chewed enthusiastically, earning pleased smiles from their hosts and a ‘you are so strange’ look from Jack. Sam leaned over from her seat on the other side of Daniel. “It’s good, Sir. It tastes a bit like papaya.”

“What if I don’t like papaya?” Jack asked sourly.

With a significant effort, Daniel managed not to roll his eyes. Jack’s tendency to behave like a four-year-old really came to the forefront on these diplomatic missions. He bored easily on worlds where he didn't understand the language - and often even when he did - and he usually found the pomp and circumstance that accompanied these types of missions to be silly at best and a complete waste of time and resources at worst.

Daniel usually had more patience for Jack's little rebellions; sometimes he even found them funny. But it had been a very long day and he was really hoping that they would be heading home in the morning and not sitting down to another days of negotiations. He narrowed his eyes at Jack.

“Well, you’re a big boy. Just suck it up and... oh here’s an idea: eat it.”

Jack stared at Daniel blankly for a minute before looking down at the forkful of squishy pulp.

Daniel looked up to smile reassuringly at their hosts once more as they waited. Their answering smiles looked a trifle forced and he had a feeling it was only a few more minutes, tops, before his own smile became creepy rather than reassuring, if it hadn't already.

He held his breath as Jack finally brought the fork to his mouth. Daniel relaxed as Jack smiled and made approving noises toward their hosts. The village elders smiled and nodded to each other and all was well.

This entry was originally posted at http://magickmoons.dreamwidth.org/8992.html.

Fic: Pie [SG-1, Rated Teen and Up]

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 20:37:17 GMT

Pie
Rating: Teen and up
Original/Fandom: Stargate SG-1
Characters: Jack, Daniel
Notes: part of my Countdown to 2010 series, set within the 2010 AU. Originally posted in wv_bookclub, now expanded and revised.
This entry may be better understood if you've read Growing Suspicions and Dissolution
Summary: Jack hasn't answered any of his calls, so Daniel is forced to take a trip to Minnesota after the SGC is closed.
Word Count: 1550

August 2003

After half a mile of loose gravel crunching under the tires, the silence when Daniel parked the rental car was overwhelming. He sat for a minute just looking at the cabin, squinting a bit in the mid-morning sunshine. This was the place Jack had invited them to - or, depending on who was telling the story, threatened them with - time and again. Now, Daniel wished he had taken him up on the offer at least once, when things were better.

It was peaceful here, birdsong and the leaves rustling in the breeze the only sound. Jack had, not surprisingly, resisted the new modernizations offered by the Aschen and the house stood among the trees much as Daniel was sure it always had: good, solid construction, nothing extraneous or frivolous, and impossible to reach without going out of your way - actually a lot like Jack these days.

As if Daniel’s thoughts had summoned him (although it was more likely to have been the impossibly loud approach), Jack was suddenly standing in the doorway, glaring at his uninvited visitor. Daniel hadn’t expected a warm welcome, given that Jack hadn’t answered a single phone call or returned a message in months, but it was still disheartening. He sighed and got out of the car anyway, bringing the box on the passenger seat with him. He walked slowly up onto the wooden porch and stopped a few feet from the screen door that Jack hadn’t opened.

“Hey Jack.”

Jack leaned one shoulder against the doorframe and raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing here, Daniel?”

Daniel looked around at the surrounding woods and then back at his former teammate. “I guess ‘I was in the neighborhood’ isn’t going to work, huh?”

Jack huffed and retreated into the cabin. Daniel let himself in and found Jack settling at the kitchen table, the contents of an open tackle box spread out in front of him.

Daniel took a seat across the table and put the box down in an empty spot. “I brought pie,” he said.

Without glancing up from the fly he was tying, Jack bit out, “Drew the short straw again, eh, Daniel?”

Jack’s needling wasn’t unexpected and Daniel had no trouble letting it go, answering good-naturedly. “No, no, no straws this time, Jack. Just wanted to drop by and see an old friend.” Daniel settled back in his chair and really looked at Jack. It had been over a year since they had both been in the same room, nearly two since they’d spent any appreciable time together without animosity.

He looked tired, careworn in a very literal sense. Daniel hadn’t been able to see Jack after the massacre at Tagrea; Jack had been sequestered for weeks during the debriefing and extensive investigation. He hadn’t even been allowed to attend Jacob’s memorial service. Daniel had had to return to his offworld duties well before Jack had seen the light of day.

So, Daniel really had no benchmark to judge whether Jack had made peace with those ghosts or not in the year since. But he knew Jack and he knew that, peacefully or not, he still carried each one of the dead with him. Maybe retirement had been the right option for Jack, but the look of elation on Kinsey’s face when he had announced Jack’s resignation to the Stargate Operations Panel made Daniel certain that the decision hadn’t been Jack’s alone.

“You heard they shut the SGC down?”

Jack nodded, tying off the fly. “Read about it.”

“Yeah. So, I’ve taken a position at Georgetown. We’re starting a xeno-archeology program and I’ll be consulting with their linguistics department as well. They’d love to have you...” That was an understatement - every institution in the world wanted a chance to recruit the reclusive, heroic Jack O’Neill - but the look Jack shot at him shut down that line of conversation. Daniel gave him a half-smile. “Never hurts to ask.”

“It might,” Jack replied tightly. He placed the completed fly in the tackle box and threw his tools down on the table. He slouched against the back of the chair and stared at Daniel, making a similar assessment to the one Daniel had just completed. Daniel wondered what he saw: the years of friendship, the perceived betrayal over the Aschen treaty, the pain of the loss of his SGC family as his life took yet another unexpected turn. Or something else, something deeper that Daniel would never recognize in himself.

After a minute, the tense lines around Jack’s eyes and mouth eased slightly. He looked at the bright pink box on the table. Gently lifting the lid, he eyed the pie inside, then looked back at up at Daniel.

Daniel waited quietly.

Jack gestured to the cabinets and started clearing the table. “What the hell. Grab some plates and let’s dig in.”

The creak of hinges and the soft thunk of the screen door closing woke Daniel. The afternoon had gone better than he had expected: some pie, some fishing (on Jack’s part) and some reading (on Daniel’s part), followed by a fresh fish dinner and a game of chess.

He got up. When he stepped through the back door of the cabin, he saw Jack standing on the little lakeside dock, holding a beer. Daniel walked down to join him. If Jack had wanted to be alone, he would have made sure Daniel hadn't heard him leave the cabin.

They stood there for several minutes, Daniel looking sidelong at Jack looking out over the lake. Jack took a couple of pulls off his beer. He exuded tension and worry and not a little anger.

But when he finally spoke, his voice sounded tired, resigned. "You shouldn't have come, Daniel." He winced. "Dammit, forget I said that."

"What's going on, Jack? Why shouldn't I be here?" Daniel took a deep breath when his questions were met with ongoing silence. "Maybe I needed to see you. Everything’s ending, changing. Did you ever stop to think that maybe your team needed you?"

He turned to face Jack who was resolutely looking at the far shoreline. "We were all looking for closure and there was this big gaping hole and you wouldn't even pick up your phone."

A muscle ticked in Jack’s jaw. "You three stopped being my team a long time ago, Daniel."

"Is that what this about? That we wouldn't back you up about the Aschen?" Daniel knew that Jack was too stubborn to outright admit the possibility that he had been wrong. But he had thought that now, after the treaty had been in effect for a couple of years, including nearly a year of post-Goa'uld peace, Jack might have at least accepted the reality that the Aschen had lived up to every one of their promises.

Daniel paced up to the grass, irritated and frustrated by Jack's pigheadedness. Or maybe by the fact that this one issue had essentially destroyed the bonds that SG-1 had built, the family that Daniel had finally started to believe in, the only family he’d had left. He whirled back around, ready to give Jack a piece of his mind, but stopped when he saw Jack's head and shoulders bowed in defeat.

"Jack, what is it? Why are you still holding on to this?"

He had startled Jack, by choosing a course other than yelling or retreating in a cold fury, as so many of their previous arguments on the Aschen had ended. Jack’s head came up straight, his muscles tensed. He looked around slowly, assessing their surroundings, before turning to Daniel with a strange, almost yearning, look on his face.

"I..." He paused and then lifted the bottle to his mouth and drained it. His expression turned stony. "I can't tell you, Daniel."

"Can't? Or won't? If you know something..." Was there something that Jack knew that they didn't? Had he finally gotten the proof he kept insisting would surface eventually? If so, why was he keeping it to himself?

Daniel walked back down and put a hand on Jack’s shoulder. "I have to leave in the morning. I have some meetings in DC in the afternoon. But I could come back, after. We could talk."

Suddenly, Jack's expression hardened. "Forget it. You won’t believe anything I have to say, anyway. Just another crazy old kook spouting conspiracy theories. Go, enjoy your life in Washington with all the benefits the Aschen can offer. Don't expect me to answer the door next time."

He brushed past Daniel, leaving him confused and distinctly irritated. The sound of the door banging closed roused him; by the time Daniel got inside, the bedroom door was shut and locked and Jack wouldn’t answer his requests to come out. He still hadn't come out when Daniel had to leave the next morning to make the drive to Minneapolis, where the Aschen terminal would transport him to DC. Daniel said goodbye to blank piece of wood.

He left feeling distinctly unsettled, as if Jack had conveyed more than either of them realized. And suddenly it seemed like a good idea not to mention his little side trip to Minnesota to visit that ‘crazy old conspiracy theorist.’ But he’d be damned if that was the last time they’d see each other.

This entry was originally posted at http://magickmoons.dreamwidth.org/8814.html.

Fic: Then and Now [SG-1; Mature]

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 04:40:18 GMT

Then and Now
Rating: Mature
Original/Fandom: Stargate: SG-1
Pairing: Jack/Daniel
Summary: They couldn't say the words then.
Notes: written for writerverse Phase 5 Table of Doom prompt: Genre: romance.
Word Count: 1995

Daniel stood in the middle of the small hallway, undecided, head swiveling back and forth between the two bedrooms, finally setting his bag down just inside the guest room door. No point in being presumptuous. More presumptuous, that is. Just being here was pretty nervy, maybe; he hadn't even spoken with Jack in months. But here he was, so he started in on the standard checklist of opening up the cabin, making sure all the utilities were functional.

It irritated him that he needed to check the instruction sheet taped up on the inside of the pantry door, more so when he found that he’d missed a few steps. Used to be that he, Teal’c, Sam and Jack would have had this place whipped into shape in ten minutes or less; any one of them could have done it alone with just a few minutes more. But that was a long time ago, when the cabin had served as a retreat for the four of them after Jack had closed up the house in Colorado and moved to Washington.

But then there was The Conversation and Daniel had started turning down offers that would end up with just him and Jack here, alone, which became the case more and more often as Sam and Teal’c moved onto to new stages of their careers and lives. In the end, Jack finally stopped asking. Based on the stickiness of some of the valves and the general feel of the place, Daniel suspected that Jack hadn’t been up here in quite some time either.

Once he'd gotten everything in order, he started the coffeemaker and let it run while he built a fire to chase away the chill of disuse. Then he took a steaming cup of coffee and a couple of journals that he hadn't caught up on yet, put his feet up, and read. Or tried to read. But mostly he stared at the fire and worried.

He’d thought it had been a smart plan: get here early and take some time to relax before Jack arrived, if he arrived. He had been able to get a hold of Jack’s schedule; it would be at least a couple more hours before he could possibly arrive. But instead of relaxing, he was just getting more and more nervous. He now had hours to sit and wonder if Jack would even show up. And to debate what it meant if he didn't show up. Had he just forgotten a semi-drunken half-conversation from years ago? Or had he changed his mind, maybe never even meant it in the first place. For all Daniel knew, there could be someone else. Just because he hadn’t been dating, didn’t mean Jack wasn’t. No promises had been made about the time between then and now. And Daniel was no longer in a position to know what Jack was doing on his off hours.

He tossed the journal on the table, then sighed and leaned his head back on the couch. He was exhausted; anxiety and anticipation keeping him awake the past few nights. He could feel himself being pulled down into sleep despite his best intentions. He really wanted to be awake and alert if, when, Jack showed up, for good or for bad. But the couch was just as comfortable as he remembered and the fire was warming the room nicely.

Sure enough, when he woke, he saw Jack standing next to the couch, watching him thoughtfully. Daniel blinked away the last of the midday nap sleepiness. Jack was still there. He must have just come in: his coat was unbuttoned, but still on, his bag still slung over his shoulder. They stared at each other.

"You're here," Jack started as Daniel said, "You came."

They chuckled, a little nervously, a little companionably and Daniel picked up. "That was the deal, right?"

*

It had become increasingly rare that all four of them had been able to get up to the cabin at the same time. Last time, the Mountain had gone on lockdown just minutes before the three of them reached the elevator; the time before that, Daniel hadn’t made it, busy researching possible locations for Merlin’s weapon. So Jack had pulled strings to make sure this happened for them, Daniel was sure of it, after they had returned from a mission with Teal’c 50 years older and the rest of them unsettled with speculations and questions, guesses and theories.

Daniel didn’t want to think too much about what he may or may not have done over five decades trapped on the Odyssey. Human beings seek out connection and comfort in each other. He knew that he would have immersed himself in studying the accumulated knowledge of the Asgard, but eventually . . . And that was where he tried to stop thinking because no matter who or what configurations of relationships he may have engaged in, he knew that something - someone - would have been missing for all those long years.

Someone who was sitting directly across from him, idly spinning beer caps on the rough wooden table.

Sam and Teal’c had retired soon after dinner, following a day full of fishing and hiking. Jack hadn’t shown any signs of tiredness, so Daniel had stayed up too, indulging in the all-too-infrequent chance to spend some time alone with him. A game of chess, a couple more beers, and now they were sitting, quietly, conversation having given way to companionable silence.

Jack spun another cap, watching it slowly wobble to a halt. He was looking older now, sitting behind a desk aging him in ways that his years in the field never had. Some days it felt like this job was going to kill them both, one way or another.

Daniel’s sigh drew Jack’s attention. Maybe it was the beer or the feeling of familiar safety after yet another emotional rollercoaster, maybe it was his new, bizarre awareness of the passage of time, but suddenly Daniel couldn’t keep quiet anymore.

“Jack, I want to say something.”

Jack looked back down at the table and set another cap spinning. “Don’t,” he said sharply.

He stared at Jack. “What? You don’t even know . . .”

The sound of the metal cap scraping the wood as Jack slammed his hand down on top of it made Daniel wince. “Yes. I do know, Daniel. And I’m asking you not to say it.” When he looked up at Daniel, there was pain in his eyes. “Not now, please.”

Daniel sat back in his chair and took a few breaths to think. “Why not?” he asked quietly.

“Because we can’t do this, not right now. Because two months ago, the IOA wanted to kill you and I have to be in the right position to stop things like that from happening and I can’t trust anyone else to do that. Because I can’t hear you say it and not throw all of that out the window just so I can hear it over and over.”

“Oh.” Daniel hadn’t really thought over what he’d thought Jack’s reaction would be, but he was pretty sure he wouldn’t have predicted this. He hadn’t intended that this would be the start of something; he’d just wanted to get the words, the feelings, out there.

Possibly it was unfair of him to expect Jack to just hear it and go on as normal.

Jack picked up a beer bottle and got it halfway to his mouth before realizing it was empty. Putting it down with a grimace, he leaned forward. “Listen, the political climate is changing. DADT is going to be repealed. Maybe not right away, but soon. And when it is,” Jack looked directly at Daniel. “When it is, we'll meet back here first weekend afterward that we're, well you, are on world. Just you and me, here, and we'll finish this conversation.”

With that, Jack stood up. Daniel followed suit quickly and caught him before he could turn to leave with a hand on his forearm. "First weekend. I'll be here."

Jack rested his hand atop Daniel’s and nodded before heading down the hallway.

*

They stared at each other. Daniel stood, feeling off-balance sitting slumped on the couch, just woken, while Jack was on his feet. He examined Jack’s face, trying to figure out what Jack was thinking. He kept waiting to hear, ‘I didn't want to leave you hanging, I just came in person to say . . . I wasn’t serious / I’ve changed my mind / I’m sorry.’

But he didn't say any of those things. He just dropped his bag to the floor and stepped in close to Daniel, cupping his face in cold hands, covering his mouth with firm lips, the gentle kiss heating up rapidly as Jack’s lips and mouth and tongue made his feelings perfectly clear. When he pulled back and looked at Daniel nervously though, Daniel realized that all the fears and concerns and doubts he'd had over the past week had been echoed in Jack's mind.

In all the years since that non-conversation, in all these months since the passage of the bill, all this time waiting for the last of the court cases to be decided and for the rule book to be officially changed, they'd never talked about this. But here they both were.

Daniel smiled at Jack, running a thumb over his cheekbone, searching his face, learning it again. He wanted so much: he wanted to rip Jack's clothes off and fuck right here in front of the fire; he wanted to sleep curled together, skin to skin; he wanted to stay up all night, just kissing, touching, looking. But mostly, he wanted to say, "I love you, Jack," so he did.

"I love you, Daniel." Jack's answer was almost lost as Daniel tilted his head for another kiss, slow and deep and wet, tongues gently stroking, breathing in Jack's moan. He pushed under Jack's coat and ran his hands across his chest and around to rub up and down his back, to hold him tightly.

In a way, Daniel got everything he wanted, as they slowly stripped down over the next hour, gently exploring with hands and mouths. Daniel discovered that Jack loved it when Daniel ran his fingers through the graying hair on his chest; Jack was fascinated by Daniel's arousal response to having his wrists licked and sucked. They laid blankets out on the floor in front of the fire and slowly, lovingly brought each other to orgasm as they lay there, gasping each other's name. Then they dozed for a while, sated and warm, before waking to begin all over again.

The first rays of dawn shone through the window and they were still lying there: Jack on his back, one arm curled around Daniel, half on top of him, absently tracing gate symbols on Jack's chest. Jack made a contented sound and moved his hand to run through Daniel’s hair. “You have no idea how good that feels,” he murmured.

Daniel smiled, craning his neck to look Jack in the eyes. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do this.” He rested his head back on Jack’s shoulder, pressing a soft kiss to his neck.

“Was it hard for you? Waiting?”

Daniel closed his eyes. Oh god, there were too many layers to that question. ‘Did I make the right call?’ ‘Was there someone else while you waited?’ ‘Was it worth it?’

“It was,” lonely, sad, perfunctory “This is better. Now. Here. I like this.” He didn’t want to let Jack take the burden of the loneliness of the past few years onto himself. There would be time later to share the details, talk about the past, commiserate and laugh and cry. Time later to make plans about careers and travel and how they would make this work.

Now was for now.

Jack’s smiling lips kissed the top of Daniel’s head. “Yeah. This is better.”

This entry was originally posted at http://magickmoons.dreamwidth.org/8277.html.

Fic: Experience [SG-1, Rated Teen and Up]

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 16:38:20 GMT

Experience
Rating: Teen and Up
Original/Fandom: Stargate: SG-1
Characters: Cam, Sam
Summary: Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.
Notes: written for writerverse Phase 5 Table of Doom prompt: I feel the need, the need for speed.
Word Count: 941

It had been a godawful fuckup of a mission from start to finish. Cam thanked god - and did that phrase ever have all new meaning since the Ori had come to town - but he was thankful just the same that he had been the only one seriously injured. He was the only who’d been kept in the infirmary overnight. Several nights, to be precise. The fact that the rest of the team had walked out under their own power was probably the only thing that had saved him from getting a one-way ticket to Minot.

The sleeve of his leather jacket caught as he was easing into it and he winced as it tugged his shoulder into an uncomfortable position. He wasn't stupid; he knew General O'Neill was keeping a close eye on the SGC, and an even closer one on anything to do with SG-1. He still wasn't sure why he had been tapped for this assignment. Maybe the general really thought the others wouldn't come back and that Cam wouldn't be playing war games with his team. Maybe he thought he saw something in Cam that Cam hadn't quite seen in himself yet; either way, the general was probably giving some pretty serious second thoughts to his decision right now.

Cam finally got the jacket on and gave one more cursory look at the contents of his locker. Wallet and keys in his pockets; everything else could stay. A wave of memory hit him: smoke, screams, the feel of the knife piercing muscle as he turned frantically trying to get eyes on Teal'c, Jackson, Sam. He slammed the locker door closed and leaned into it, soaking up the cold pressure against his forehead, his knuckles. He punched it, lightly, feeling the pain resonate up his arm and accumulate into the ache in his shoulder. He should have pulled them out. Why didn't he give the fucking order?

With a grunt, he pushed off the locker and headed out the door, only to pull up short at the sight of Sam leaning against the wall opposite. She was obviously off duty, dressed similarly to him in jeans, boots, and leather jacket. She was also obviously waiting for him and fell into step next to him without a word as he headed for the elevator.

The ride to the surface was silent and slightly awkward. Cam didn't know what to say, torn between defending himself and apologizing to her. Sam didn't seem in a rush to say anything, either. They just watched the numbers slowly count down to eleven, went through security, and then finished the ride to the surface.

As they approached the parking lot, Sam grabbed his uninjured arm and deftly re-directed him to the motorcycle parking. He frowned when he saw his bike there.

"I brought it out for you." She slipped his helmet off the handlebar and handed it to him, before doing the same thing with her own, hanging on her bike one space over.

"Try to keep up!" she challenged as she mounted her bike, turned the ignition, and took off.

Very confused, slightly wary, but with no better plans for the afternoon, he followed her. She drove sedately through the security checkpoints, briskly through the Springs proper, but once they passed the city limits, she opened it up. Cam grinned and followed right behind as she led him along a series of roads that grew progressively more deserted. Some small part of his brain worried, hoping she knew what she was doing, hoping there weren't any speed traps around, because he was pretty sure that a reckless driving citation on top of that last mission would kill his career. Then Sam boosted her speed again and it was just about keeping up with her, judging road conditions, wind resistance, and the shivery thrill of adrenaline.

He missed this, the simple connection between man and machine, where every decision he faced had a right answer, answers he could see as plain as day. These split-second judgments were so much easier than those that he had time to reflect on, to second-guess, to screw up.

They’d been riding for just over an hour when Sam slowed down and pulled off the road. Cam pulled up next to her.

"Well, this was unexpected," he commented once their helmets were off.

She offered him a swig from the water bottle she produced from somewhere. He took it, swallowed, and sighed.

"You told me, you told me that it was gonna go down like that."

"I didn't know anything, Cam. I gave you my opinion, as did Daniel and Teal'c. You took everything into consideration and you made your decision."

"Yeah, a bad one," he drawled.

She shrugged. "Probably won't be the last one, unless you let this chase you out of the program. You're not the first one of us to screw up, Cam. Believe me, we have all made choices that in retrospect we really shouldn't have."

Sam reached out and put her hand over his where he was taking his time screwing the cap back on the bottle. "I mean it."

He looked up to see her smiling at him. "We trust you, Cam. You just need to trust yourself."

He blew out a breath. “Yeah, yeah, I guess I can do that.”

The ride back to the Springs was slower. Sam peeled off with a wave once they hit the city, probably heading back to the Mountain. Cam continued on home and let himself into his apartment, aching and tired, but ready to get some sleep and face another day at the Mountain.

This entry was originally posted at http://magickmoons.dreamwidth.org/8028.html.

Ficlet: A Dream of Her [Original, Teen and Up]

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 15:17:46 GMT

A Dream of Her
Rating: Teen and Up
Original/Fandom: Original
Characters: OMC
Summary: He reflects on his work and makes plans for the future.
Notes/Warnings: 1. An earlier episode in the same serial-killer 'verse as The Prize
2. written for tamingthemuse prompt 344: murder
Word Count: 521

He stared at the news story on the screen in front of him. The headline, large and bold, proclaimed yet another “murder.” He closed the story with a disgusted wave of his hand.

Murder. Such a mundane word, so unrefined, so far from what he did. It was a word that applied to common street thugs with their petty rivalries and crimes of passion.

What he did, well, that was art now wasn't it? He smiled as he recalled the care with which he had helped her to rid herself of her imperfections, to prepare her for her moment in the spotlight.

He had hoped, as he always did, that she might be The One. But that was not the case; though she had cried and begged and pleaded so prettily, he was almost swayed. But he, above all others, must be firm in his resolve and dedicated to his craft. Once committed to a course of action, there may be no deviation.

He had tried to explain it to her, to show her what immortality he was bestowing upon her, damaged though she was. But the saved datastreams he showed her did nothing to ease her mind; instead, her struggles increased with each news story. He showed her how his craft had grown over the years, from that first girl (almost an accident really) until now, as he sought out and cultivated those who would be most worthy. She was the closest yet, but her questions were too much, not even stopping as he touched steel to skin. Asking what he wanted, promising to be that and more, anything, if he would only betray his calling.

He called the story back up and looked again at her image. Whoever captured it was very, very good; it had obviously been taken before the police had arrived to fuck up his work. This story would also be saved, to be shared with The One, once he found Her, to prove to Her his devotion.

Truly beautiful.

Reluctantly, he closed down the news feed and called up the implant’s code. Obviously, the algorithm needed tweaking; she should never have felt the need to ask those questions in the first place, days ago, that had alerted him to her suspicions. He examined the log files up, mentally reviewing the modules functioning each time she had asked an unwanted question, each time she had given him that naive, surprised look.

A few changes here and there and he would be ready to try out the new version of the program, as soon as he found the next candidate. He slowly rubbed a hand across his brow, trying to ease the tension that was building there: disappointment in her performance, in his choice, combined with the physical stress of the implant.

He reached for his pills and swallowed them dry before stumbling to the bed, falling on top of the covers and allowing himself to drift off to sleep for just a while, before completing the program updates. He dreamed of Her and when he woke, he knew just where to search out the next candidate.

Fic: Once Forever [SG-1, Teen and Up]

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 04:43:56 GMT

Sorry to spam today. Trying to get a couple things posted that have weekend deadlines before I leave for lovely romantic weekend with the hubby.

Once Forever
Rating: Teen and Up
Original/Fandom: Stargate SG-1
Characters/Pairings: Team
Summary: He's Ascended but he's not gone.
Notes: episode tag for Meridian. written for tamingthemuse prompt #343: Incorporeal and 100_tales prompt #065: Leaving
Word Count: 920

It was strange. He looked at himself and could see a body... if he wanted to. But anything he saw was just a trick, an illusion, a leftover memory of form and substance.

He had walked through the immaterial image of the stargate, leaving it to Jack to do the hard part: to tell the others, or not. But while Jack might have assumed that he had left the SGC, he hadn't. He was still here, even though he could feel Oma pulling on him, tugging at the edges of his consciousness, that which defined Daniel Jackson in this new existence. He couldn't leave, wouldn't leave. Not Yet.

He watched as they turned as one to Jack once the lightshow of Ascension stopped - his first lesson in this new life, controlling the balance of his energy through the planes of existence. It took some time - forever? five seconds? - for him to tune into their reality enough to hear Jack's dry, concise, nearly emotionless explanation. But Daniel could perceive Jack’s hands clenched into fists inside his pockets, nails digging into his palms. He could sense the effort of will that was controlling pulse and adrenaline to prevent any outward signs of distress as he held Sam, too shocked for tears yet, and reached out to squeeze Teal'c's shoulder.

Then Sam turned to Jacob and Janet, all three speaking quietly in half-formed platitudes, fatigue and grief hitting simultaneously. Daniel wished he could have said goodbye in some more meaningful way. Sam was right: they all waited too long to say what really needed to be said. Together, the three drifted out of the infirmary, turning their eyes from the orderlies coming in to clean up.

Teal'c nodded a silent acknowledgement to Jack and Hammond, his expression strained, before he too left the room to deal with his grief privately.

The general sighed. "Jack, I don't know what to say."

Jack stayed still, his eyes focused on the bed, now bare of stained and dirty sheets, stripped of the bandages that had tried to capture Daniel's life as it poured out of him. "Nothing to say, Sir. We both know it ends this way sometimes."

The general shook his head, looking at the nearly empty room. "But what way did it end?"

Forcing his gaze away from the bed, Jack looked the general straight in the eye. "Badly."

Daniel closed his eyes. At least he imagined he did, not wanting to see the sulfurous spikes of pain emanating from Jack.

"I'll arrange for SG-1's mission schedule to be pushed back a week. Give you all some time to adjust."

"All due respect, General, I'd rather not." Jack's voice was clipped now as the strain began to show through. "I think we should keep everything as normal as possible now."

The general looked at him for a minute. "If you feel it's best..."

"I do."

"What about filling Dr. Jackson's position on the team?"

"When we find someone, great. Until then, nothing immediate is coming up that the three of us can't handle."

Hammond nodded thoughtfully. "All right, Colonel. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night, Sir."

Daniel followed Jack out of the infirmary, moving at the slightest whim of thought, pushing away Oma's increasingly insistent tendrils. Jack was in the locker room now, sitting on a bench, staring at Daniel’s locker. The room was empty and Jack had let some of his defenses down, or he just couldn't keep them up anymore.

He looked defeated, alone, diminished. He slumped down to rest his arms on his thighs, and let his head hang low. A shuddering sigh ran through him. Daniel could count on one hand the number of times he had seen Jack like this. It shouldn't be like this; that's why he had talked to him, tried to explain his decision.

Anger, he’d expected. Inappropriate jokes, deflecting. But this, why hadn’t he foreseen this eventuality? He hadn't wanted to add another item to Jack's list of perceived failures and yet, here he was watching Jack silently count each and every way he could have, should have, headed this disaster off, found a way to fix it.

Daniel moved himself to a position that felt like he was kneeling in front of Jack. "I'm here. I'm okay. There was nothing you could have done. This is how it has to be," he whispered.

He felt Oma standing there. Her pull on him was no longer gentle, and when he looked up, her expression was stern.

"You must release your ties to this world, Daniel. Come with me, now."

He looked at Jack, face still stony in grief and self-recrimination, then back to Oma. "He can't hear me, can he?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Why not? You appeared to me. I could hear you, see you. What am I doing wrong?"

She smiled gently. "First, you must come with me. One day, perhaps, you will learn how to interact with this plane, but before you can do that, you must learn that your concerns no longer lie here." She stretched out a hand, and Daniel felt himself being lifted almost against his will.

He acquiesced, giving her a smile and a nod, already wondering how often Ascended beings appeared to each other in these forms, his mind and being stretching out as he followed her, shedding almost all vestiges of his previous life. But he kept one thing, closely hidden, tightly guarded, the one thing he would never give up. SG-1.

This entry was originally posted at http://magickmoons.dreamwidth.org/7849.html.

Drabble: The Look

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 02:19:12 GMT

The Look

Rating: Teen and Up
Original/Fandom: Reader's Choice, although I personally set it SG1
Characters/Pairings: again, Reader's Choice
Summary: A shared moment
Notes: written for writerverse quick fic prompt: just before the battle
Word Count: 100

There was a moment as they waited, whether crouched in dirt or sand or huddled next to tree trunks. There was always a pause, sometimes as short as the space of a breath, where everything was quiet and still. The calm before the storm. They would look at each other, and nod. A nod to say “Come back to me,” “I love you,” “Goodbye.” An instant where they existed out of time, away from this hellish war, tucked safely in each other's arms. But this was their reality and an instant, a look, would have to be enough. For now.

Ficlet: Bad Weather [SG-1, Rated Teen and Up]

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 21:00:04 GMT

Bad Weather

Rating: Teen and Up
Original/Fandom: Stargate: SG-1
Characters: Team
Summary: The weather has become a problem.
Notes: written to 100_tales prompt #002: Hail
Word Count: 457

A roll of thunder chased itself across the sky while the heavy thudding continued against the all too shallow rock overhang above their heads. Jack stretched out an arm to nudge a slightly dazed Daniel closer to the rock face and keyed his radio on.

"Carter? Teal'c? Come in?"

After a moment, Carter responded, her voice muddled by the severe weather on both ends.

"What's your status?" he asked.

"We're sheltering in the trees by the gate, Sir. The weather has become a problem."

Jack couldn't help but smirk at her understatement. The ground in front of them was already heavily pockmarked by the large hail that had begun falling only minutes before. "Daniel and I are staying put for the time being. We've found a nice, comfy cave." He ignored Daniel's snort. "I want you two to get back to the SGC."

There was a pause, then Teal'c's voice came through. "I believe I can reach your location, O'Neill. Are you in need of assistance?"

Jack looked over at the rapidly growing goose egg on Daniel's forehead where he'd gotten clocked by a piece of hail. Then he looked out to asses the wide open gray landscape surrounding their refuge. A baseball sized chunk of ice hit the edge of the overhang and spun away.

"Negative. You guys head back and we’ll make our way as soon as it clears up. If we haven't gotten back in an hour, dial in and contact us via radio. Hammond can send someone with the proper equipment, if necessary."

"Understood, Colonel."

"Oh, and tell Doc that she’s going to have company in the infirmary tonight."

Daniel's attempt at an indignant grimace turned into a wince; he waved off any further protests with a small shrug. Jack allayed Carter's concerns. "Daniel's just got a bump on the head. His skull’s thick enough that I doubt there’s any lasting damage, but you know the doc is going to want to keep an eye on it.”

Once he was satisfied with the disposition of the half of his team he didn’t have eyes on, he turned to look at Daniel, who was sagging back tiredly against the wall, his eyes closed.

“How ya doing?” he asked as quietly as the howling wind would allow.

Jack interpreted Daniel’s tired, “Fine,” as I’m tired and I’m cold and I just want to close my eyes for a minute and I know I have a head injury and I can’t go to sleep yet, but I don't need to hear you say it.

“You up for a game of I Spy?”

Daniel cracked one eye open and stared disbelievingly at Jack. Then he looked out into the storm and sighed.

“I spy something... wet.”

This entry was originally posted at http://magickmoons.dreamwidth.org/6225.html.

Fic: The Heroes of Earth [SG1, Rated T]

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 18:05:09 GMT

Title: The Heroes of Earth
Rating: Teen and Up
Original/Fandom: Stargate SG-1
Character: Jack O'Neill
Summary: Yes, Virginia, there are aliens
Notes: Takes place early in my Countdown to 2010 series.
Written to writerverse quick fic prompt: On the front page
Word Count: 983

The clouds in the early morning sky were heavy and gray. Jack would bet anything that there would be at least a few fresh inches on the ground by evening. Might as well fill up now, he thought, and pulled into the gas station and up to an open pump. As he walked into the little convenience store, it occurred to him that it would be a good idea to grab a couple of Toblerones as peace offerings for Carter and Daniel. Not up to his usual standards - he liked to put a little more effort into making it look thoughtless- but he wanted to get to the Mountain as quickly as possible and start to assess what the fallout from yesterday's worldwide announcement was. Yes, Virginia, there are aliens, some of them are really bad, but hey, there's also these Aschen fellas who are just going to answer all our prayers, so don't worry your pretty little head about it.

Crap, he could practically hear Kinsey's voice; that can't be a good sign. Fallout-wise, though, he was pretty hopeful. No obvious fires, looting, or bizarre cult-ish demonstrations were visible on his ride through the Springs.

The personal fallout of his ‘discussion’ about the Aschen’s intentions with Daniel and Carter on the flight back was still to be seen. It had gotten pretty heated. Carter had been on the edge throwing military protocol out the door - along with Jack, if her repressed glare had been any indication. Daniel, not subject to any such constraints, had let him have it and Jack had given back as good as he got. He hadn't backed off until Teal’c’s stern look had made him feel like a young jaffa getting caught doing... whatever it is they weren't supposed to do. Smile, laugh?

He mentally shrugged and grabbed the chocolate bars and headed to the coffee station, hoping that the caffeine could offset his lack of sleep. A couple of teenage girls, probably on their way to school, stared at him as he passed them. He gave them a small smile and nod and they practically fell over themselves giggling. He tried to look at himself in the semi-reflective surface of the nearby microwave but couldn't see anything that would cause laughter.

It’s not like his personal feelings about the Aschen were going to make a difference at this point. The news was out there. The whole world knew about the gate, the Goa’uld, the Aschen. Couldn't put the toothpaste back in the tube. And, if he couldn't convince his own team after all they had been through, it was unlikely he was going to convince anyone else. Especially when all he had was a gut feeling that seemed to be contradicted by every piece of available evidence.

He felt a slight tug on the hem of his jacket as he was fastening the lid on the coffee cup and he looked down to see a little boy smiling up at him.

"Hello," the child said.

"Hey, big guy," he answered affably, looking up to see if there was a parent around. A woman approached, smiling apologetically. “Don’t bother Colonel O'Neill, Aaron," she said as she took the boy's hand in her own. "I'm so sorry," she said to Jack.

"Not a problem, ma'am." Jack frowned slightly, trying to place the two. He wasn't in uniform, wasn't wearing any rank insignia, and the fact that she knew his name rankled uncomfortably. He started back up to the front, the chocolate in one hand, coffee in the other, and decided they must be family of someone at the SGC. He'd probably met them at some barbecue.

Setting his purchases down on the counter, he pulled out his wallet and started thumbing through the bills. "Okay, let me get $20.00 on pump 2 and this stuff." He looked up to see the cashier staring at him wide eyed.

"Are you really him?"

Jack stared at the kid. "Really who?"

"Jack O'Neill. The guy who saved Earth."

With a sinking feeling, Jack looked around to see everyone in the store staring at him. The two teen girls were on their cell phones, an older man looked on approvingly, and Aaron was about to twist his mother's arm off trying to get back to Jack.

"Uhhh," he started, rubbing a hand against the back of his neck. Then his eyes fell on the rack of newspapers near the door and he froze. Every single one had a banner headline about the stargate. He'd expected that; it would be news for months. But at least one of the papers had a full-color photo, above the fold, of SG-1 at yesterday's ceremony.

The Heroes of Earth

He should have expected this, would have, if his mind hadn't been filled with Kinsey’s sneers, Carter’s doubts, and Daniel’s frustration.

"Yeah," he muttered, not so much an answer to the question, more a verbal nod as he put all the pieces together.

But then the questions started.

"Can I have your autograph?"
"Can I get a picture with you?"
"What are aliens really like?"
“How many have you killed?”

Flashes from those disposable cameras started going off in his face, leaving little dots of light dancing in his vision.

"You know, folks, I really have to get to work now."

"Fighting aliens?" Aaron asked excitedly.

He started edging toward the door, giving the kid a smile and a thumbs up. Safely back in his truck, he realized he had left all his purchases in the store; of course, he hadn't paid for them either, so it kind of worked out. It looked like he was just going to have to face the Wonder Twins relying only on his own charm this morning.

Ignoring the audience crowded in the doorway of the store, he pulled out of the parking lot and headed for the Mountain.

Drabble: This Winter [NCIS, G]

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 18:21:39 GMT

Title: This Winter
Rating: G
Original/Fandom: NCIS
Characters: Tony, Ziva (shades of Tony/Ziva)
Summary: Tony did not like winter in the city.
Notes: Written to ncis_drabble prompt 321: winter.
Word Count: 100

Tony did not like winter in the city. Winter was for skiing and snowball fights and romantic dinners in front of a fire. But in DC, it was rare to get enough snow to make even a single snowball. And romantic dinner partners had been scarce of late.

He grumpily hung up his overcoat and sat down to check his morning email.

Then Ziva walked in, smiling, her cheeks flushed pink from the cold, her hair windswept and wild around her face.

“It is a wonderful day,” she declared.

Tony thought maybe this winter in this city wasn’t so bad.

Ficlet: Two Down [SG-1, Rated Teen and Up]

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 00:59:45 GMT

Title: Two Down
Rating: Teen and Up
Original/Fandom: Stargate SG-1
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Daniel
Summary: There’s no question of escape or rescue anymore, no last-minute heroics. Just time enough for one last realization.
Warnings: Major Character Death
Notes: The idea for this started with jdjunkie's hugathon, but I shelved it in favor of something a bit happier. Thanks to princessofgeeks, whose timely offer of beta help actually got me to update this one's status to complete!
Word Count: 939

Daniel is completely dumbfounded when she falls, more so than with Teal’c. I guess the first time, when we didn’t know exactly what was coming, we didn’t have time to hope, to project, to fear. Or maybe it’s that it’s Carter, his geek-in-arms. Maybe it was the flash of regret on her face at that last second.

Or maybe it’s just that now it’s two down, two to go and he is staring his own mortality in the face.

I’ll never know.

And after this whole fubared mission, from the ambush at the gate to watching Teal’c and Carter executed in front of us, that one simple acknowledgement is what makes this all real. There won’t be a ‘damn, that was too close/never again’ mission recap over pizza and beer. Teal’c won’t drive a tipsy, giggling Carter home after Daniel falls asleep on my couch mid-sentence. I won't wake in the middle of the night to find Daniel sitting on the foot of my bed, talking his fears into the darkness, sharing all the seemingly small things that were just too much for him this time. I won’t reach over to rest a hand on his shoulder, his thigh, whatever I can reach, providing a brief connection or reassurance or just a reminder that we survived.

Never. Again. It’s infuriating and sickening and just plain wrong.

I take a deep breath, forcing my lungs to expand and contract.

He’s looking at me now, waiting. I don’t know what he wants. I can’t reassure him and I won’t give him any version of the stiff upper lip speech. I could never tell anyone how to face death.

The only thing I can do is open my arms. He steps in close and I close my arms around him. He presses his head against mine and holds on tight. Christ, when did he get so strong? All those hours he put in in the gym, working out with Teal’c, sparring with anyone who would spare the time, trying to become... what? Was he doing it for himself or did he think he was lacking in some way? Why didn’t I ask? Why didn’t I say something? Words mean so much to him, in so many ways.

Good job, Daniel. You’re doing great.

I’m proud of you.

I love you.

The certainty of it hits me like a freight train and my heart stutters, then speeds up, trying to regain its natural beat. I feel each pulse reflected back from his chest crushed against mine. All the years of ‘does he? do I?’ All the times I’d hidden behind duty and my obligation to the program. All the dark, lonely nights. They all coalesce right here, right now, into this one truth:

I love Daniel.

I can hear them preparing the altar yet again. Time is short now and I need to say something, do something. I need him to know with an intensity unlike anything I’ve felt before.

But I can’t say the words, not here, not like this.

Daniel rests his hand on my neck. “I know, Jack,” he barely whispers against my ear. “Me too.”

Oh god. My heart breaks at his quiet acceptance of what will never be. And still, I can’t say anything. I just hold on tightly and try to capture all of this. I try to memorize the feel of his body pressed into mine, the way he touches me - one hand constantly moving against my back in small circles, the other steady and warm against my neck, anchoring us together. I breathe in his scent, still faintly discernable under the fear, grime, and sweat and note the way his hair tickles my jaw and his glasses dig into my cheek.

Someone is shaking and I honestly don’t know who. Maybe both of us.

I hear footsteps approaching and sense the rising excitement of the crowd as they wait to see who’s next. A small selfish thought hopes it’s me, just so I don’t have to watch him cut down, beautifully brave and defiant as he goes through the same motions as Teal’c and Carter. Suffers the same fate.

But a bigger part of me wants him to be chosen. There’s no question of escape or rescue anymore, no last-minute heroics. I can’t give him life. But he can die seeing me proud of him, loving him; I want him to have that at least, of all the things I can’t give him.

He’s pulled from my arms. He goes silently and I watch equally silently. But inside, I am raging at the unfairness of this entire fucked up universe. Except when have I ever had reason to expect the universe to be fair?

As he kneels on the altar, his eyes lock on mine and the briefest of smiles ghosts across his lips. Even from here, I know, in his mind, he’s still holding me, still feeling and hoping and dreaming...

And then he’s not.

Now it’s my turn. I blank my mind as they lead me past the bodies of my team, my friends, my family. Even though the result is a foregone conclusion, my pride demands at least token resistance. So they force my knees to bend and I fall too heavily, pain shooting up my thighs. I concentrate on that pain as, for the fourth and final time, I listen to the same choppy words in a language I don’t understand, declaring my fate.

I hear the weapon priming.

And I feel him in my arms, once again.

This entry was originally posted at http://magickmoons.dreamwidth.org/5826.html.

Porn Battle XIV

Sun, 13 Jan 2013 21:28:36 GMT

Porn Battle XIV is calling for prompts!!

Go! Prompt all your favorite pairings!

This entry was originally posted at http://magickmoons.dreamwidth.org/5525.html.

Drabble: Interception [NCIS, G]

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 17:32:47 GMT

Title: Interception
Rating: G
Original/Fandom: NCIS
Characters: NCIS Team
Summary: “I cannot believe that you two are still playing that silly game.”
Notes: Written to ncis_drabble prompt 320: goals. My first attempt in the NCIS fandom.
Word Count: 100

“I cannot believe that you two are still playing that silly game.”

“Quiet from the audience, please. I am one goal away from proving my mastery over McGoofball yet again.”

Ziva watched Tony launch the little paper triangle toward McGee’s waiting hands. All three froze as the projectile was snatched up in mid-air, then they launched into motion as Gibbs gathered his things, telling them they had a case.

“You owe me five bucks, McGee,” Tony hissed as they stepped into the elevator.

“No, I don’t!”

“That would have...”

Gibbs pressed the button for the garage. “Interception, DiNozzo. Doesn’t count.”

Fic: Invisible Scars [SG-1, Explicit]

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 05:18:59 GMT

Title: Invisible Scars
Rating: Explicit
Original/Fandom: Stargate SG-1
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Daniel
Summary: Daniel struggles to understand his actions during his Ascension
Notes/Warnings: Episode tag to Enemy Mine. References to Abyss. Written for hc_bingo prompt: lacerations/knife wounds
Word Count: 1355

The knowledge that he was being watched pulled Jack from deep sleep to full consciousness in a split second. He opened his eyes to see Daniel propped up on one arm staring at him, brow pulled tight in consternation, free hand hovering over Jack’s chest.

“Daniel?” Jack spoke quietly, reviewing the evening’s events in his mind, trying to figure out what was going on in Daniel’s. Daniel had returned from 403 earlier that night, physically and emotionally exhausted. Jack intercepted him on the way to his lab and physically turned him around, escorted him through the locker room, into the elevator, and then the passenger seat of Jack’s truck. Daniel was half asleep before they got five minutes down the road.

Jack nudged him gently once the truck was stopped in the driveway and Daniel had simply followed him into the house and headed down the hallway to the bedroom without a word. Jack wasn't sure if it was memory or habit or just a desire to be comfortable. He took his time, checking the answering machine, the mail that had piled up while he’d been stuck in the infirmary, setting aside the important stuff and dropping the rest in the trash. He did a quick check that everything was still locked up and then headed to bed himself to find Daniel passed out on top of the covers, his shoes and jacket in a pile at the foot of the bed. Jack had changed into a pair of sweatpants and slid between the sheets, falling into the easiest sleep he’d had since Daniel’s ascension.

Daniel pulled his lower lip between his teeth as his fingers brushed a light line along Jack’s left shoulder. He barely seemed aware that Jack had woken up. “I can see it,” he murmured softly. His fingers moved to gently draw another line, this time a short diagonal across Jack’s right pectoral.

“See what?” he asked, his voice strained as he fought to control his body’s reaction to Daniel’s touch. He had no idea what Daniel was playing at here. Even now, with most of his pre-Ascension memories recovered, he hadn’t given any indication of remembering their prior relationship. And Jack hadn’t pushed, thinking maybe it was better all around, because with the good memories would come the bad and a Daniel who could smile at him, even as just a friend, seemed better than the cold war that had existed between them for months before Kelowna.

Jack swallowed roughly as Daniel’s hand moved down to his abdomen and a chill ran through him at the next path he traced. First time was chance, second was coincidence, third time...

He closed his hand around Daniel’s wrist. “What’s going on here?” The sarcophagus could heal the body, but the memory of those wounds remained and Daniel was systematically hitting each and every one.

Daniel didn’t try to pull away from Jack’s grip, but his eyes kept roaming. “Why did I let him do that to you? Why didn’t I stop it?” His voice shook with frustration.

“You said there were rules.” Jack didn’t want to think about it, let alone defend Daniel’s actions, especially when part of him was still angry as fuck at the whole unbelievably insane situation. He might understand, but he could still feel the hopelessness and betrayal as sharply as if it had just happened. Jack let go of Daniel’s wrist and Daniel pulled his hand back.

“But I broke those rules, on Abydos. I crossed the line. Why then?”

God dammit. “It was a whole planet of people, Daniel. Innocent people who never asked for what was happening to them. Me, I was just one person and, hey, I signed up for it.”

Daniel shook his head sadly. “No, Jack. You signed up to fly. All the rest...” He sighed. “I could have saved you, but instead I watched the man I love tortured to death over and over.”

He reached out again and rested his palm over the site where the first blade had entered. His hand was warm but shaking and his eyes were pained as he looked at Jack’s face directly for the first time.

“When did you remember?” Jack asked slowly, his heart beating against the heel of Daniel’s hand.

“Tonight. Just now. Maybe while I was sleeping. I don’t know. It came to me at the same time...” he trailed off and his gaze dropped back to Jack’s torso. He shifted until he was leaning into Jack and replaced his hand with his mouth. The first touch was dry, a gentle press of lips to skin, but even that was enough to elicit a sharp exhalation from Jack.

“God, Daniel,” he breathed. Daniel’s lips parted and Jack felt moist warmth across his skin as Daniel’s tongue traced the invisible scar. Jack’s eyes shut and he cupped the back of Daniel’s head even as he said, “You don’t have to do this.”

Daniel laid one more soft kiss against Jack’s skin. “Yes, I do.” He barely lifted his mouth as he spoke and leaned across Jack to reach his right side, a trail of breath ending with another open mouthed kiss over another knife wound. Jack felt like his heart was going to thunder out of his chest as Daniel licked and mouthed a series of wounds that didn’t technically exist, but that Jack could never forget.

The feel of Daniel touching him again after all this time was bliss. Jack’s cock was rock hard within minutes, pushing against the soft fabric of his sweats and he groaned softly, torn between wanting Daniel to linger and needing relief to the building tension. He felt Daniel’s smile against his abdomen and then Daniel’s hand was pushing down covers and sweatpants and wrapping around him, long, lazy, loving strokes as his mouth abandoned the trail of Ba’al’s destruction and began to explore Jack in a more leisurely fashion.

His tongue ran up Jack’s torso, till he reached his neck, gently nipping his way along pulse points that left Jack panting with desire. He dipped his head to lick and suck at the hollow between his collarbones before moving on to Jack’s nipples, circling with his tongue before closing his mouth over each in turn. Jack was no longer trying to hold back anything, babbling, chanting Daniel’s name, soft endearments and curses mixed together. Daniel was back, Daniel remembered, Daniel was in his bed and it was so good once again.

Jack felt the trail of warm kisses moving down his abdomen once again. Daniel’s tongue traced his navel and then his lips closed on the hairs beneath, gentle tugging alternating with kisses as he moved closer and closer to where his hand was still working Jack’s cock, still holding back from pushing him over the edge.

Words failed Jack as he felt Daniel’s tongue run up the length of him. He started to come with an incoherent groan as soon as Daniel’s lips closed around him, pulsing into that beautiful mouth. He felt like he was coming forever, suspended in the moment of white-hot ecstasy as Daniel alternately swallowed and worked his tongue along Jack’s shaft, drawing it out as long as possible.

Daniel continued to stroke him with his tongue for a while; Jack softened in his mouth and groped down to touch him, running his fingers through Daniel’s hair. Finally, with one last series of kisses, Daniel’s head was on the pillow next to Jack’s. Jack turned onto his side to face him, leaning in to press a light kiss against those lips.

Daniel moved into Jack’s space, pressing a knee between his legs. Jack felt Daniel’s erection against his thigh, and started to shift them to give him some leverage, started to move his hand downward, but Daniel just shook his head. “Sleep now, Jack. I think we both need it.”

Jack looked at Daniel, tired but content, arousal simmering quietly below the surface without need, and put an arm around him, pulling him closer. He closed his eyes and fell asleep with the comforting echo of Daniel’s heartbeat against his.

Fic: Heads, Hands, and Hearts [SG-1, Rated T]

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 05:14:16 GMT

Title: Heads, Hands, and Hearts
Rating: Teen and Up
Original/Fandom: Stargate SG-1
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Daniel (pre-slash, UST)
Excerpt: The thought echoed through his head, or maybe he was hearing his own voice - he wasn’t sure. He thought maybe he should care. He thought probably he didn’t.
Notes/Warnings: set first half of Season 7. Written for hc_bingo prompt: headaches/migraines
Word Count: 2144

It had started soon after Charlie died. The first few times Jack had woken with a blinding pain headaches and spent the day throwing up, he’d chalked it up to the size of his hangovers increasing with the number of empty bottles that greeted him in the morning. But when it kept happening, even after he had given up on drinking himself into oblivion and thrown out the hard stuff, he’d worried that there was something really wrong with him, that karma was exacting its price for his part in Charlie’s death.

Migraines, the doctor had said, triggered by poor eating, alcohol, general stress. He recommended Excedrin, gave him a prescription for when that didn’t work, and advised stress-reduction, eating right, and exercise.

The mission to Abydos provided plenty to get his heart racing, but maybe wasn’t so good on the stress reduction. Neither was coming home to an empty house and a broken marriage. Nevertheless, the headaches slowly abated over the following year as he learned to stop fighting this new life he found himself living. By the time he was recalled, again, they were almost nonexistent.

While Dr. Fraiser and General Hammond knew about the headaches, Jack had never shared the information with anyone on his team. The headaches seemed to go out of their way to only occur after missions were over, although they increased in frequency as he endured week after month after year of trying to save the world, continually coming close to losing his teammates who were fast becoming his family, and watching the death and destruction that came with being on a front-line unit. But they stayed pretty mild all told; it wasn't until the year that Daniel was gone that they really stepped up in intensity again.

But now Daniel was back and Jack had come to some kind of peace with his personal experiences during that time and things were back to normal. So Jack was surprised when the first telltale signs started making themselves known soon after he got home one Friday night for a rare free weekend. He'd had some food, popped open a beer and was studying the chess board, debating whether to call Daniel and see if he wanted to finish their game that was interrupted last week by an emergency call back to the Mountain.

The first tendrils of tension and pain started creeping up from his shoulders and into his neck and he put the beer down. He only just had time to take the prescription pill when his entire system went haywire. The pain ratcheted up instantly and he emptied the contents of his stomach, the small part of him that could still think logically thankful that he was already in the bathroom. Each spasm ramped the pain in his head up a little more.

Finally, it was over and, eyes closed against the too bright light in the bathroom, he half crawled, half dragged himself into the darker bedroom. Dizzy and disoriented, he gave up trying to make it to the bed and just lay on the floor, trying to breathe, a kaleidoscopic flurry of images imprinting themselves on the inside of his eyelids.

He had no idea what time it was or how long he had been lying there when he became aware of a sound repeating itself. He struggled to focus his mind enough to identify the sound. A rhythmic pattern, it felt familiar. Tap tap tap. Knock knock knock. Knocking! Someone was knocking at his door. He tried to push up off the floor thinking that the dizziness couldn't possibly get any worse, only to find out that he was wrong and he collapsed back down against the rough carpet. When was the last time he had vacuumed in here?

What was he trying to do? Knocking. Someone was knocking at the door. Only... not anymore. Crap. How long ago was that?

There was a new sound, one he could feel beneath himself, a soft vibration that echoed through his head in explosive fireworks. The vibration stopped.

"Jack?" Quick, careful steps and then there was a hand feeling for a pulse. "Jack, talk to me."

Daniel. It was Daniel. He was still talking, questioning. Always with the questions, our Daniel, he thought or tried to think. Words seemed to kind of fade and bend and slide away from him. He sounded so worried. Jack tried to open his eyes, to make him not worried, but even the the first sliver of light was like a Jaffa pain stick right to the brain, so he shut them again.

Daniel's hands felt nice, cool and dry against his face, his wrists, his neck. But shaky. Why was he shaking? Right, he was worried. He could still hear Daniel's voice - soft, quiet, concerned. Concerned Daniel always worried Jack. Concerned Daniel did silly things sometimes. Went away.

"Migraine," he forced out. Daniel's hands and voice stilled and then were gone. Jack wished that they would come back. It was better when they were here. Not much better, but better is better. But a bit of better butter will make the batter better. Don't laugh, Jack. The slight abdominal movement turned everything upside down and he made a quick scramble back for the bathroom.

He was still leaning over the toilet when Daniel's hands came back.

Soft and soothing, they eased him back after the spasms stopped. Then there was a cool cloth gentle against his face.

"Let's get you to bed." The whispered words were accompanied by strong arms helping him up, grounding and centering the dizzying whirlpool surrounding his brain. He let himself be led and turned and sat on the bed. He let himself be gently pushed back against cool sheets and felt a warm soft ... something ... surround his freezing feet. After a while, something cool was placed behind his neck and against his forehead.

The hands went away.

Don't go.

A slight dip of the mattress jostled his stomach and he concentrated on keeping his breathing even. Then the hands were back, readjusting warmth and coolness, and he grabbed one. He held onto it for dear life, channeling that stability and strength to center himself again as the room spun first in one direction, then another, x and y and z axes all in play.

He held that hand: beautiful, strong, and whole once again. He loved that hand.

Love you. So much. The thought echoed through his head, or maybe he was hearing his own voice - he wasn’t sure. He thought maybe he should care. He thought probably he didn’t. He just held on and drifted through the stray thoughts and images rocketing around his brain.

The sun was well into the sky when Jack opened his eyes. He had moved during the night and now found his cheek resting comfortably on Daniel’s jeans-clad thigh, one arm thrown over Daniel’s legs, the other wedged between the small of his back and the mattress. Daniel was asleep, propped up on several pillows in a half-sitting position, one arm draped across Jack’s upper back, hand warm on his shoulder.

The room had stopped spinning and the headache had receded to a dull throb. Jack took a deep breath and stretched slowly, his muscles sore and aching, but responsive. He felt a momentary tension in Daniel’s leg as the movement woke him.

“Jack?” He smiled at the clear sound of Daniel’s quiet voice.

“Yeah, I’m back.”

Daniel squeezed his shoulder gently. “That’s good to hear.” He was still keeping his voice low and carefully modulated. “How do you feel?”

Jack carefully pulled his arm from beneath Daniel and slowly reoriented himself so that his head was on the pillow. His shoulder felt cold where Daniel’s had been resting. He took a deep breath and blew it out. “Like month old roadkill, but I’ll live.”

Daniel grimaced sympathetically. “Can I get you anything?”

“Yeah, I don’t think so. I do think I’m going to go try to clean up a bit, though.” With only a bit of help from Daniel, probably more than he actually needed but the gentle touches felt so nice, he steadied himself on his feet well enough to walk to the bathroom. He took his time and moved slowly, brushing his teeth, washing his face and neck. He wished he felt up to a shower but was a little too shaky yet.

He opened the door to find that Daniel was no longer in the bedroom. New pairs of boxers and sweatpants were laid out on the bed and Jack gratefully deposited last night's clothes into the hamper. He had just finished pulling on the fresh sweats and was looking longingly at the bed when Daniel returned with a glass and a plate.

Jack sat on the edge of the bed and looked warily at the plate.

"It's just some dry toast, Jack, and some Gatorade. You really need to get something in your system, if you can handle it at all."

Daniel put everything down on the night table and started moving the pillows into a pile against the headboard on Jack’s side of the bed. He gently pushed against Jack’s shoulders until he pulled his legs up onto the bed and leaned back. Jack couldn’t suppress a sigh of contentment as he let himself relax into the soft pillows. Daniel pressed the plate into his hands and he grudgingly took a bite of toast. When his stomach didn’t rebel, he tried a sip of the Gatorade and kept working at the toast as Daniel settle himself on the end of the bed.

“This happen often?” Daniel asked.

“No, not this bad.” Jack looked at Daniel and noted the circles under his eyes and the slight pallor of a sleepless night. “Hey, thank you. That was really... It kind of felt like I wasn’t going to get through it by myself, you know?”

Daniel smiled. “You would have made it. I just helped make you a little more comfortable, I think.”

“So, how’d you know what to do? I don’t think migraines are covered in the SGC’s first aid course.”

“Maybe they should be,” Daniel offered. “My foster mother used to get migraines; these were some of her go-to treatments. Of course, they don’t work for everyone, but I figured it was a good place to start.”

“Well, something helped.” It seemed to Jack that it was Daniel’s touch that had been most helpful, but he couldn’t quite find a way to say that.

He finished the toast and put the empty plate back on the night table and took another sip of his drink. The after-migraine fatigue was setting in and suddenly it felt like a lot of work to keep his eyes open. He pushed some pillows out of the way and laid stretched out full-length.

He didn’t realize he’d closed his eyes until he heard Daniel’s voice and had to open them to see him.

“So, do you need me to stick around today?”

Jack thought about it. Want? Yes. But Daniel had asked if he needed him to stay. “You have plans?”

Daniel paused a moment before answering, one hand toying with a loose button at the bottom of his shirt. “Nothing that can’t be pushed,” he answered.

Jack thought about asking him to stay anyway, but if Daniel actually had non-work-related plans (and these had to be non-work-related, otherwise he would have just pulled out his everpresent laptop and started typing away), he didn’t want to get in the way.

“Nah, you go on,” he answered, turning onto his side. He heard Daniel’s hesitation and turned his face into the pillow, letting the cool softness counter the remaining tension in his forehead. “Seriously, I’m just going to sleep most of the day anyway.”

The mattress shifted as Daniel got to his feet and Jack hid his disappointment in the pillow. He was too tired to fake it. “Okay, but I’m calling you later. If you don’t answer I’m coming over, or, even better, I’ll send Janet.”

Jack mumbled his assent into his pillow, already feeling the pull of the not-quite-sleep state of consciousness that typically followed his migraines. It was quiet and then he felt Daniel lean across him and gently tap his outstretched hand with the phone before resting it on the bed.

“Phone, answer, got it,” Jack grunted.

It seemed like there was a soft, warm, all-too-fleeting, pressure against his skull before Daniel pulled back. It was nice, more than nice. He realized Daniel couldn’t see his smile with his face pressed into the pillow and slowly rolled over.

He blinked his eyes open to an empty room. Judging by the shadows through the window, he had been dozing for several hours. The phone by his hand was ringing. He smiled as he answered.

Fic: Another Suitcase in Another Hall (or 5 Times Daniel Moved) [SG-1, Rated Mature]

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 05:05:04 GMT

Title: Another Suitcase in Another Hall (or 5 Times Daniel Moved)
Rating: Mature
Original/Fandom: Stargate SG-1
Characters: Daniel, Jack, Steven Raynor, Original Characters
Pairings: Daniel/Jack, references to Daniel/Sha're & Daniel/Sarah
Summary: Daniel Jackson is a pro at moving. Maybe it's staying in one place that's difficult.
Notes: written for hc_bingo rompt: moving.
Warnings: references to child abuse
Word Count: 7000+

So what happens now?
    Another suitcase in another hall
So what happens now?
    Take your picture off another wall
Where am I going to?
    You'll get by, you always have before
Where am I going to?
    Don’t ask anymore

-Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice

1.

9-year-old Daniel Jackson stood quietly next to the strange car. It was a different car than the one that had brought him here; it was the same social worker though. She was standing a few feet away speaking in hushed voices with the police officer. He quickly slid his eyes away from the pair, focusing instead on the trash bag by his side, not quite filled with the few clothes and random trinkets from Before that he still possessed. He twisted the plastic top of the bag around and around his hand until he could barely feel his fingers.

Tony was sitting in the back of the officer’s car across the street ( don’t look over there ) and, when all her screaming and crying hadn’t resulted in anything more than the threat of joining her husband, Joan had retreated back inside the small house ( can’t get through the door ) with promises to call their lawyer.

Daniel stared at his fingertips, which were turning an odd shade of purple where they peeked out from the black plastic. He fidgeted nervously, sliding back and forth along the side of the car and then stopped, his heart pounding wildly ( quiet as a mouse ), blinking away tears at the sharp heat spreading along his back.

He heard her say hospital and ( can’t run ) tried not to panic. If they took him to a hospital, then they’d find out, even if he didn’t ( promise me ) say anything. His mind worked frantically trying to think of a way to outwit the doctors ( smart boy ) again. But it wasn’t going to happen this time, he knew it.

Daniel's hand was truly numb now, and slowly, quietly, he untwisted the plastic strands. His fingers throbbed as the blood rushed into his hand. The bag drooped back down into itself without his hand to hold it up. Daniel curled his toes inside his shoes as he resisted the urge to kick the pathetic and broken mess.

He chewed his lip, trying to ignore the pressure in his chest and throat. He wanted his trunk; it had traveled with him for years. He could still remember the first time his father had brought it out as they were preparing to leave for a dig at Amarna. It was one of his earliest memories; he must have been about three and was devastated at the idea of leaving the bustling streets of Cairo. His dad had dragged this old, heavy, dull brown traveling trunk decorated only with a single, colorful sticker from the Egyptian Museum.

“This is yours, Danny. Everywhere we go, we can mark the memory on it, just like this.” Danny’s little fingers traced over the sticker, as he noted its colors, admired the beautiful intricacy of the script, compared its smoothness to the rough matte of the trunk itself. “You can keep them all with you this way.”

It had traveled with him from then on. The first minute they had free at any new site would find them looking for mementos to decorate the trunk. If there were no tourist sites nearby, as was the case more often than not, and no obvious substitutions presented themselves, Danny would spend hours painstakingly drawing local landmarks on the trunk’s surface, always careful to make sure he left plenty of room for all the new places they would explore.

The trunk had disappeared at the group home they had taken him to right after it had happened. The lady there said he couldn’t keep it in the dorm, said it was too big and was a safety hazard. She had promised to take good care of it, but when they came to help him move here, she said she couldn’t find it. He scowled inwardly, and tried to swallow the lump in his throat. ‘It didn’t matter, anyway,’ he told himself defiantly.

The social worker lady said goodbye to the officer and walked over to him. She smiled a bright, fake smile at Daniel and opened the car to let him in. “Get in, Danny.” He ducked his head to hide his grimace at the name. No one listened to him when he said he wanted to be called Daniel now.

As he cautiously settled himself in the back seat, she set the bag down on the floor next to him. He glared at it as she walked around the car and got into the driver's seat. Her tone, when she spoke, was brisk and businesslike and she was obviously not expecting a response. “Okay, Danny, we’re going to stop by the hospital and get this all documented. Then, I’ll take you back to the children’s home until we find another family for you. I’m sure it won’t take any time at all.”

He wrapped his arms tightly around himself as they pulled away from the curb and bit his lip hard enough to taste blood. He didn’t need another family. Not ever.

2.

Daniel nimbly threaded his way through the crowded corridor, trying not to notice that he seemed to be the only one who wasn’t either trailed by harried-looking parents or surrounded by an excited group of peers excitedly comparing their recent summer activities. He took a deep breath. Okay, so he noticed; that didn’t mean he cared... much.

His foster parents had offered to come with him today to help him settle in, but he had chosen a college halfway across the country, and it didn’t make any sense for them to spend the time or money to come all the way out here just for moral support. They had already insisted on supplementing the tuition shortfall left after his scholarships were applied, trying to mitigate the hit he’d take on student loan payments.

Not to mention that, after moving five times between ages 8 and 11, he’d pretty much gotten used to being the new kid. Once classes started, he’d be too busy to even care.

He finally identified his room and tentatively tapped on the door, unsure what the accepted protocol was if his roommate had already moved in. His attention was caught by a couple of guys outside the next room down who were trying to shove a couch through their doorway; behind them sat a television, microwave, mini-fridge, and about a half-dozen bags and suitcases. Daniel shifted his single duffel bag to the opposite shoulder as he dug in his pocket for the little card he’d gotten at the registration desk with the code to the door lock. He punched it in and entered the room.

It was a nice-sized room, larger than he was used to. The furniture was pretty much a mirror image from side to side: two single beds, two dressers, two desks, and two closets set into the wall on either side of the door. His roommate was not there but had obviously already moved in. One bed was... well, not made, but there were sheets on it, mostly. There was a pile of some type of sports equipment over in a corner. The walls on that side of the room were already hung with posters of half-naked women and some sports team he didn’t quite recognize.

Daniel laughed nervously to himself as he took it all in. Well, he’d wanted to broaden his horizons. The metal bedsprings creaked when he set his bag down on the unclaimed bed. He checked his watch; he might just have time to head over to the student bookstore and pick up some texts he hadn’t been able to get before leaving home. He took a step toward the door, wondering if he could squeeze a quick trip to library in as well, when the clicking of the combination look stopped him. A laughing couple entered the room. He was over six feet tall, dark hair, definitely a jock: lean, muscled, very fit. She was tall as well, blonde, tanned, and leggy, with a bright smile.

The guy gave him an easy-going smile. “Hey, you must be my new roommate. I’m Dave. This is my girlfriend, Lisa.” She nodded and her smile grew wider as she gave Daniel the once-over.

“I’m Daniel,” he offered.

“Good to meet ya.” Dave looked at Daniel’s still-bare side of the room. “So hey, the rest of your stuff outside? Come on, we’ll help you bring it in.”

“Oh, uh, no, this is it. I don’t really need a whole lot.”

He stood awkwardly for a minute, one part of him already on the way to the bookstore, another feeling that he should probably stay and play get-to-know-you with Dave and Lisa. Socializing within his peer group had never been his strong point, but surely it would be perceived as rude to run right out the door. He reluctantly shelved the bookstore plan for the time being and unzipped his duffel. He pulled out the new sheet set and towels his foster mother had bought for him; he set the sheets on the bed and put the towels up on the closet shelf. Books, pens, and notebooks moved onto his desk, some toiletries joined the towels on the shelf, and he placed what clothes he hadn’t outgrown over the summer into the small dresser before placing the duffel carefully on the floor of the closet.

Finished in minutes, he looked around the room and realized that it still looked like only one person had moved in. His side didn’t have any of the personal touches that Dave seemed to have brought: posters, a couple of photos, a glint of a trophy under the pile of stuff in the corner. Daniel had lost what few treasures he had had during those first few, awful years in the system before he’d finally been placed with a good family who didn’t find him too reserved, or odd, or damaged. He’d never allowed himself to sentimentalize things after that. Somewhere, back with his foster parents, were all the awards and certificates of achievement he had earned recently. They even had a whole photo album covering his time with them. But he’d left it behind. It made more sense for them to keep it; they could appreciate it.

While Daniel was unpacking, Dave had grabbed a few beers from his mini-fridge and set one on Daniel’s desk before settling onto his bed beside Lisa. They popped their beers open and watched as Daniel finished up and took a seat by his desk. He absently picked up the beer can and looked at it abstractedly.

“So, Danny,” Dave began.

“Daniel,” he automatically corrected.

Dave shrugged. “Okay. So, I’m a sophomore, business major. I play football,” he grinned as he pointed to the equipment Daniel had seen earlier. “What’s your story? You’ve gotta be a freshman; you look pretty young.” He looked at the still unopened beer in Daniel’s hands. “Oh crap, man, do you drink? I just assumed.”

Daniel smothered a laugh. "Well, it’s not really my thing.” He guessed it wasn’t. He hadn’t really drunk anything alcoholic after coming back to the States. Before that, he could remember sharing sips of his father’s drinks, something dark and bitter that he still didn’t have a name for. And as finishing high school in two years hadn’t exactly led to an active social life, he’d never even been to a party where they’d served alcohol.

Actually, between being a foster child, his intelligence and study ethic, and his young age, his high school peers had had one of two reactions to him: 1) you’re so smart, can you help me with this? (read: do this for me); 2) freak. Dave and Lisa were currently moving at lightning speed from the easy, welcoming, fun vibe of a minute ago to Freak Alert. He was a little surprised at how much he disliked the change; he hadn’t come here looking to make friends. But he didn’t want to spend the year with someone who couldn’t stand him either.

He shrugged and turned the beer can round the right way before popping it open.He lifted the can in a toast. “New experiences, right?” he offered before taking a large gulp of the cold liquid.

Dave lifted his beer in response. “All right! Don’t worry about a thing, Daniel. Just hang with us; we’ll take care of you. There’s a party tonight, actually. Back to school thing, you know?”

“Oh, you should totally come!” offered Lisa, excitedly. She turned to Dave. “He’s so cute. Don’t you think Kelly would love him?”

Dave chuckled. “Well, I don’t know about love, but there’s a pretty good chance she’ll, y’know, love you, if you know what I mean.” He gave an exaggerated wink and laughed as Lisa playfully pouted, then turned expectantly toward Daniel.

Daniel was trying to trace the train of the conversation. A beer, hanging out, a party... Dave’s last statement cut through the confusion in his mind and he felt a hot flush work its way over his skin as his imagination kicked into full gear.

He hadn’t considered that aspect of higher education.

Dave’s laugh was friendly as he said to Lisa, “I think that’s a yes.”

3.

Steven Raynor rubbed his eyes tiredly as he followed Daniel down the hallway, shaking his head at Daniel’s continuing excited chatter. Nothing slowed this guy down. Daniel turned to look back at him, the weak dawn light from the window at the end of the hallway accenting the pallor of his face after yet another all-nighter, following the news that their grant proposal had passed the first review stage. He was walking backwards as they approached the apartment he shared with Sarah, continuing his caffeine-fueled, rapid-fire explanation about how they could use the finds from a recent dig in Egypt to bolster their proposal. Daniel faltered when he saw Steven’s attention caught by something farther down the hall and his expression changed to one of puzzled interest. He turned to look toward his apartment.

Fuck.

In front of the door was his duffel bag, the same one he’d been carrying around for nearly a decade now. Daniel winced as the nagging feeling he’d had all night that he was forgetting something finally coalesced into ...

Fuck. Fuck!

There was a note pinned to the strap.

Here’s your stuff
Don’t bother knocking
Sarah

He handed the note to Steven who read it, then looked back up, waiting for an explanation.

Daniel slumped against the wall and groaned. They were supposed to have the big, romantic dinner last night. Not only had he forgotten to book someplace, he’d forgotten to come home.

“I missed our anniversary,” he explained aloud, not needing to say any more. Steven had been there for some of Sarah’s more spectacular rants about Daniel’s lack of interest in their relationship.

He felt Steven’s hand on his shoulder and looked at his friend’s sympathetic face. “Grab your bag. You can stay at my place.” Steven looked down at the threadbare bag that looked like it wanted to split at the few remaining intact seams. “I’ll even give you a suitcase before you leave. I don’t think that thing’s going to make it much longer.”

Daniel nodded. Well, it was fun while it lasted. He unhooked the apartment key from his keyring and started to slip it under the door.

Steven said, “Wait. Keep it for now. You can come back later when she’s working, get the rest of your stuff.”

He shrugged. “This is probably it. She’s pretty thorough.”

Steven looked between him and the bag doubtfully.

“No, really. I mean, this is her place. I just pretty much moved my clothes in. I keep anything important at the office.”

Steven shook his head. “Yeah, Daniel. You probably do.” His voice was tinged with amusement and frustration.

Of course, the important stuff was mostly the files and artifacts he was researching, but there were a couple of personal items gathered over the years that he had allowed himself to sentimentalize: a picture from his first trip back to Egypt; his first PhD, which Sarah had had framed for him, and now sat precariously on a shelf between stacks of books in constant danger of toppling; and, stuck deep in a drawer, a copy of his parents’ book that he had managed to find online a couple of years ago.

Daniel shouldered his bag and they headed back down the hallway to the elevator. Halfway there, he resumed his pitch to reference the new finds in their upcoming face-to-face presentation.

4.

In the surreal haze between sleeping and waking, Daniel reached out, groping sleepily in search of warm skin and soft hair. The shock of cold, smooth sheets under his hand shocked him the rest of the way from his dream, started the daily revelation that he wasn’t lying next to Sha’re on soft rugs in the morning heat of Abydos, but was alone in a cold bed on Earth. He’d been back nearly two months already, and still every morning, the loss hit him like a punch to the gut.

He opened his eyes and stared dully at the empty space next to him. How was it that he felt her absence so wholly even here, on Earth, in the apartment where she had never been?

It was a Saturday. He had nowhere to be, but he still stubbornly fought the temptation to roll over and go back to sleep until the weekend was over. He shuffled into the bathroom and set the shower to hot, waiting until steam was rolling around the ceiling before stepping in and sighing as the biting sting of the water hit his skin. He hung his head, letting the moist heat and stretch try to relax nightmare-tense muscles. This was definitely one of the things he had missed most on Abydos: hot water on demand. He caught himself smiling at the simple luxury before the memory of the price he had paid resurfaced and he hurriedly shut the water off.

He’d been doing this back and forth two-step with guilt ever since Sha’re had been taken: guilt that he’d unburied the gate, guilt that he had gone off with Jack and Sam and hadn’t been there to protect her, guilt that would slam into him the moment he started to feel calm or relaxed or to enjoy anything. Sometimes, when he was with the others, when they were on a mission, when he buried himself in research, he could keep the guilt at bay.

That had been one of the advantages of living in temp quarters at the SGC: his office was just an elevator ride away. There was always something going on somewhere that he could peek in on, always something that could distract his mind from the endless what-ifs. That was until some shrink read his file and decided Dr. Daniel Jackson needed to reconnect with the ‘real world’ outside of Cheyenne Mountain. After a couple of frustrating meetings with the hastily minted Air Force ‘Reacclimation Liaison,’, he stopped trying to convince her that the only life outside of the SGC he wanted was on Abydos with a woman who very probably no longer existed in any form that he would recognize. Finally, he just shrugged, told her he trusted her judgement, and moved in to the first apartment she found for him.

A busy offworld schedule had saved him from having to stay in this place for more a couple of nights until now. But when General Hammond had sent him home late last night, it was with a gentle, but firm, request not to come back until Monday morning. He faced the prospect of 48 hours straight in this place with about the same level of enthusiasm he’d felt having to give his first Stargate orientation lecture to a roomful of marines who clearly thought a long-haired academic had no place in a military installation.

With the shower off, the silence in the apartment was overwhelming. He sighed, frustrated at the fact that he even noticed it; he had been good at the alone thing for so long. Relationships - platonic, romantic, and other - had drifted in and out of his life over the years, providing a pleasant distraction or a physical connection when he wanted one. But he had never needed that, never let himself rely on it.

Then came Abydos and Sha’re and an instant extended family. Subsistence living made each member of the community an irreplaceable resource; suddenly Daniel’s physical existence was inextricably intertwined with dozens of others. And he came to like, to depend on, that sense of belonging and being needed. He had had no reason to think it would ever change. No reason, except every experience in his life.

He pulled on a pair of sweatpants and wandered out to the kitchen to brew a pot of coffee. He took a steaming mug, along with the last piece of last night’s pizza, to the dining table, where he’d set up his laptop. The stack of files sitting next to it might not be in keeping with the spirit of Hammond’s request, but he needed to keep busy. Losing himself in the minutiae of developing first contact procedures, training recommendations, and reviewing other teams’ cultural and archeological findings seemed to be the best option.

Several hours later, he reminded himself to get up and stretch, walk around his new ‘home.’ The apartment was nice, bigger than he needed. Once again, he was starting with nothing but the clothes on his back and they pretty much belonged to the Air Force, when it came right down to it. He stood next to the couch, turning in circles, looking at blank walls, bare floors. Empty, useless, unused space. Cold and sterile and numb.

The liaison had taken great pains to explain the process of declaring him alive again - a necessary step to get him access to his ‘estate,’ including the money he had earned for opening the stargate. In the middle of the mind-numbing bureaucratic monologue, she had mentioned that while declaring him dead, they had found a number of items that had belonged to his parents - “tribal paraphernalia and such” - that had been stored in various museum and university basements. They were his, she said, if he wanted them.

Daniel had never really been concerned with decorating. His personal space tended to be utilitarian or cluttered with spillover from his studies. But he kind of thought that now, maybe, it would be nice to display some of his parents’ things. He could start his own collection. At least it would fill up the space. Maybe he’d get some fish. He stopped short, a sick feeling spiraled through him as he realized some part of him had begun thinking about this place as a long-term deal. He tried to tell himself that it didn’t mean he had given up hope of finding Sha’re.

He wandered over to the windows, pulling one open and looking out over the city streets. The liaison had made such a big deal about the view. His fingers tightened on the frame as he looked out, overwhelmed by a feeling of disconnection from the earth. The noise and the smell swept over him, motors and exhaust and tar. He stepped back from the window, dizzy and disoriented. He used to like the city, used to revel in being in the midst of so much life and energy. Now, all he saw was metal and concrete, people hiding themselves away in their offices and their apartments, no connections, no life.

He took a few steps on shaky legs and sank down to the floor next to the coffee table, sitting cross-legged on cold tile. These were his choices here: live in a concrete box deep under a mountain or high above the ground. He thought longingly of Jack’s house, the warmth and the organic feel and flow; it was the one place he had actually felt comfortable since returning to Earth. When they had first approached him about getting his own place, he had toyed briefly with idea of asking to move in with him. The couple of nights he had spent there had been the closest to restful sleep he had gotten recently.

But he couldn’t ask, wouldn’t put him in the position of having to say no. From what he’d seen, Jack was a very private man, and despite the rapport he sometimes felt they were building, he didn’t see Jack being open to having any type of roommate, much less a science geek who came down on the opposite side of almost every discussion they’d had.

He lost track of time again as he sat musing, missing, wondering. A knock on the door was followed by the knob turning, and Daniel blinked in confusion as Jack let himself in, carrying a grocery bag in one arm.

“Hey, Daniel.” He threw him a nod as he headed straight into the kitchen.

A little thrown by the collision of thought and reality, Daniel slowly pushed to his feet and walked over to lean against the kitchen doorway, where he found Jack busily unloading groceries onto the counter: eggs, cheese, some sliced meats, veggies, and a sixpack of beer. “Um, Jack. What are you doing?”

Jack looked between Daniel and the food before answering in his best, ‘This should be obvious even to you’ voice. “Making omelettes.”

“It’s...” Daniel had to look at the stove clock, “4 in the afternoon.”

“Ah, but omelettes are an all day food. They’re a clean out your refrigerator and put everything in ‘em food.” He opened the refrigerator and nodded as he took in the gleaming white, very bare shelves. “But since you haven’t actually stocked the fridge, we’ll just have to make do with what I brought.”

He popped open a beer and offered it to Daniel, who shook his head. Shrugging, Jack took a long swallow, then put a pan on to preheat and grabbed a bowl, cracking a few eggs in before adding the rest of the open beer.

Seeing that Jack obviously intended on staying for a while, Daniel returned to the bedroom and put on a shirt. He came back out and refilled the now-empty coffee maker while Jack prepped ingredients and threw everything in the pan. As the aromas mixed and filled the apartment, he began to realize how hungry he was.

The quiet normality of the scene made the whole situation that much more surreal as Daniel tried to adjust to the sudden ebb and flow of another energy in the apartment. Jack’s presence, his very being, seemed to set the air in motion around them.

While the eggs cooked through, Jack put everything he hadn’t used in the refrigerator. Then he pulled down two plates and split the omelette between them, producing slices of french bread and some fruit to fill out the plates. Daniel brought two mugs of coffee and they sat down at the end of the table slightly less cluttered with paperwork. Jack provided light conversation, and didn’t seem to mind that Daniel was too focused on the food to spare a minute for substantive replies.

Daniel was still picking at his grapes when he ventured, “Not that I don’t appreciate this, but...”

“Consider it your housewarming party. Somehow, I get the feeling you’ll never get around to throwing one.” Jack stood up and took his plate back into the kitchen. Daniel could hear the water running in the sink. A minute later, Jack reappeared. “And now, I’ll get out of your hair.”

A surge of disappointment ran through Daniel, but he stood up to walk Jack to the door. “Hot date?” he asked. That was what normal people did on Saturday nights, right?

“Yeah, something like that.”

Daniel stopped him just before he opened the door. Jack turned with his hand still on the doorknob.

“I just wanted to say... Thanks.” The word felt woefully inadequate to Daniel; it fell so short of what he felt just to have some connection, someone care just for a little bit, even if it was just his job.

Jack laid a hand on his shoulder and squeezed lightly. “Anytime, Daniel.” For a second, it looked like he was going to say something else, but he just patted Daniel’s shoulder lightly, turned and left.

Later that night, when Daniel went to grab some more fruit, he opened the fridge and smiled. Jack had left the beer.

“Anytime.”

5.

Jack closed the door of his - no, their - Arlington townhouse and turned to see Daniel standing uneasily in the middle of the living room, a single suitcase sitting on the floor by his feet. The suitcase was mostly symbolic; most of Daniel’s clothes had been here for a couple of years already. It was probably full of the stuff he never wore anymore. All of his other stuff, the decorations and mementoes, Daniel had insisted on putting in storage.

“Jack, I can fit everything that I need in one bag. If it can’t fit, I don’t need it.”
“I’m not an airline, Daniel. I don’t charge for extra baggage.”

Oh, no. There hadn’t been any subtext in that conversation.

He shook his head, worried whether he had pushed Daniel into this. He wanted this; this and more. He thought of the two rings sitting in that little box hidden behind his boxers, just about the only item of his clothing that Daniel didn’t borrow constantly. He wanted it all. But more than that, he wanted Daniel to want it too.

It had taken Jack a few years to realize that Daniel had always had one foot out the door in this partnership. The covert nature of their jobs, the secrecy that characterized the early years of their relationship, had done a great job of masking it; it wasn’t until the day DADT was repealed and Jack’s proposal for Daniel to officially move in was met with silence that he really saw it. Then Daniel had started talking rapidly, pulling out all the old chestnuts: greater good, higher standards, sticky situation with the IOA, retroactive analysis of prior command decisions. Each calm, reasoned word was another nail in Jack’s heart. So he backed off, said ‘No big deal,’ left it an open invitation for whenever Daniel felt the time was right.

He told himself that they saw each other often enough anyway, now that Daniel had moved to DC. SG-1 had been disbanded, feted, honored, and their team designation retired. Daniel now functioned primarily as a high-level consultant to the program and a liaison to the IOA when things got particularly hairy. Occasionally, he returned to the SGC for a special project; he’d been offworld twice in the past two years.

He kept his own apartment in Georgetown, but spent most of his time at Jack’s. When he got the notification that his apartment building was going condo, Daniel decided that was apparently the universe’s way of telling him it was the right time. So here he was, moving in... well, moved in. And looking around the living room like he’d never seen it before, when only a week ago he had walked in, still high off that day’s particularly satisfying victory over the bureaucratic machine, and taken Jack right there and then on the floor not three feet from where he was now standing.

Jack couldn’t quite keep an edge of irritation out of his voice. “Daniel, for crying out loud, you’ve been living here for years. The only difference now is that you’re not keeping some of the stuff you never use at another apartment.”

Daniel started and gave him a half-smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Yeah.” His eyes flicked back down to the suitcase. “Why don’t I go unpack?”

He looked so miserable as he started down the hallway that Jack wanted to stop him, to hold him, but everything about his posture screamed ‘Stay away.’ This was a Daniel he’d seen only rarely in the last few years: uncertain, unable to reconcile what he thought he should want with what he really wanted.

With a sinking heart, Jack put it out there. “Hey, you know if it turns out this doesn’t work for you, we’ll find you a new place. No harm, no foul.” And he meant what he said, because when it came down to it, he just wanted Daniel - stubborn, beautiful, intelligent, challenging, sexy man that he was - in his life. All the rest was just icing on the cake.

Daniel turned slowly when he heard Jack’s offer. Even from across the room, Daniel could see the pain in his eyes and felt the shadow of it in his own heart. Jack thought he didn’t realize how much this meant, but he did, because it was just as important to him. He didn’t just want to try; he needed to succeed. Because Jack was it. When they were together, Daniel felt the interconnectedness and stability and neededness he’d been searching for all his life. And it scared the hell out of him. He thought he had found it in some measure with Sha’re, and circumstance might have ensured that he did indeed spend the rest of his life with her. But he might just as easily have gone haring off across the desert to see what else was out there. As it was, he had been tempted by the siren’s call of the cartouche room and the stargate to disastrous consequences.

And so he had lain awake last night in the last of a string of apartments that were never homes, wanting and fearing and picking up the phone half a dozen times to call Jack: to call it off, to ask him to come over, to just listen to his voice. He even got up once, grabbed his keys, and almost went ahead and left; leave everything unlocked for the movers due in the morning.

And now he was here and he could see Jack’s anxiety at his reaction and oh god, he wanted this too, how he wanted this. But he was afraid. He didn’t need any of the dozen therapists he’d been sent to during his life to tell him why.

“Help me unpack?” he asked instead and gratified to see Jack’s eyes brighten at the simple modification from an plan from ‘I’ to a ‘we’ plan. Of course, Jack was right; the suitcase was full of clothes he hadn’t worn in so long, he’d forgotten he even owned most of them. It took longer for Jack to joke about the outdated plaid shirts than to slip almost everything into a drawer and hang the remaining (what was wrong with plaid?) shirts in the closet. He closed the empty suitcase and stood for a moment just holding it, looking around, before he set it on the closet floor.

Jack was leaning against the doorframe when Daniel turned around, a not-quite-concealed air of expectation around him. It reminded Daniel of April Fool’s when Jack was waiting for him to walk into some trap. No, more like the last few Decembers before Jack transferred to Washington. Somehow he had pulled Daniel’s name for the Secret Santa exchange three years running (What can I say? Luck of the draw.) and he would find reasons to hang out in Daniel’s office until he found the present.

He gave the room another look, trying to see if anything was out of place. Nicely made bed, dresser, small bookshelf against the far wall. He focused on the contents of the bookshelf which had been rearranged: a new frame sitting among Jack’s familiar photos. He walked over and picked it up. His breath caught in his throat as he looked at a 3x5 photo of him with his parents. None of them were looking at the camera - they were helping his younger self dust off one of the very first artifacts he had found - but their happiness was glowingly apparent.

He quickly replaced the frame in its spot before he dropped it. He was aware of Jack walking into the room, stopping a few steps away, close enough that Daniel could feel his presence, but not crowding him, giving him time and space to process his response. Which he needed, because he was all over the place as he stared at the photo: warmth and love and desert heat; the comfort of belonging and the excitement of exploration; grief and loss and guilt. There was part of him that wanted to just push all of that down, to go on the offensive, to hide it away again under anger, push back against Jack, against all of it.

He drew in a deep breath. “Where? How?” he tried to form the question.

Jack’s voice was warm and gentle when he replied. “It was Cassie’s idea, actually. We were talking a little while ago and she mentioned that they did something like this in those boy wizard books she used to read. At the time, she had wished someone could do it for her, but, well... But we thought we could do it for you. So Carter did some research, got the lists of all the people involved in digs your parents worked on. Cassie made the phone calls and found some people who were willing to let us look through their old stuff. There’s more, if you’re interested, but I thought that was the best one.”

Daniel took a deep breath, started to fold his arms around his middle, noticed and dropped them back to his sides. He looked at the photos on the shelf: Jack’s parents wedding photo; one of Jack and his brother as kids; Charlie; and now Daniel and his parents. Family. It meant so much to Jack. It was what Jack was offering him. Not just in the sense of the two of them, but all the continuity and history that comes with it. Daniel was touched as much by Jack’s attempt to try to recreate it for him, as he was by the fact that Jack believed he was capable of being part of something like that, even now.

He turned around and stepped into Jack in one motion, hands bracing Jack’s face as he traced Jack’s startlement with his lips. Nice to know he could still surprise him after all these years, he thought as he felt Jack give himself over to the kiss, opening to Daniel’s tongue, arms wrapping around him, one hand splayed against the small of his back, the other warmly caressing his neck.

After a minute, Daniel pulled back gently, keeping his eyes closed as he rested his forehead against Jack’s. He stroked his thumbs along Jack’s cheekbones, mirroring the gentle repetitive motion along his own neck. He could feel Jack’s breath against his face, Jack’s heartbeat against his and shook his head slowly. He didn’t have the first clue how to provide the feeling of family that Jack was looking for.

“Daniel?” A gentle request to share what was going on in his head.

“God, Jack. I don’t know how... I can’t be...” who you want, what you need, I’ll disappoint you again and again just like I have been all this time.

Jack straightened up and moved his own hands to Daniel’s face. Daniel could feel his gaze, intensely patient, waiting for him. Jack would wait as long as it took, so he reluctantly opened his eyes and looked at him.

“You don’t have to be anything for me, Daniel. Just you.” Daniel shook his head again because nothing was ever that simple and Jack leaned in, stopped the movement with a gentle kiss. “You’re all I’ve ever wanted,” he breathed against Daniel’s lips. “All I’ll ever need.” Jack kissed and nuzzled a path along Daniel’s jaw, demanding that his body recognize the truth even if his mind was still protesting. Daniel felt the familiar warm tingling suffuse his body as Jack zeroed in on the sensitive area just under his ear. He let out a satisfied moan and tightened their embrace, pressing into Jack until the entire length of their bodies met.

Jack began maneuvering them slowly back toward the bed, in no particular hurry; soon enough, they collapsed on it in a jumble of legs and pillows. Daniel reached for the hem of Jack’s shirt only to have his hands batted away as Jack swung a leg over to straddle him, his fingers nimbly unbuttoning Daniel’s shirt. Daniel closed his eyes and felt the soft brushes of knuckles against his skin. He could feel Jack’s package already straining against his jeans and not-so-subtly thrust up against that hardness.

“Aht! Not yet.” Jack shifted back a few inches and grinned down at Daniel. “I have plans.”

Daniel thought about fighting Jack on this. He still felt like something was wrong, but it definitely wasn’t Jack’s mouth trailing warm, moist kisses down Daniel’s throat and across his chest. He arched his back as he felt the brush of tongue across a nipple. His head dropped to the side and he saw the still open closet door. He stilled.

“Jack, stop.”

Jack didn’t lift his mouth from where it was now brushing over Daniel’s collarbone, so his voice was muffled as he said, “Plans, Daniel. Stopping not really part of the plans.”

“Seriously.” Daniel started to sit up. Jack knelt back, looking confused and more than a little concerned. ”You keep your travel gear downstairs right?”

“Travel...” Jack repeated blankly, trying to change mental gears.

“Camping gear, suitcases, that stuff,” Daniel clarified.

“Ye-ah. Can’t we talk about this, you know, after?”

Daniel nudged Jack to get off him and then stood up, tugging at his jeans to accommodate his own erection which was very clearly on Jack’s side of the discussion. He grabbed the empty suitcase from the closet on his way out of the room. “I need to add this.”

Jack followed him down to the basement and watched as Daniel found a spot for the suitcase in the storage area under the stairs, wedged between the ski equipment that didn’t see enough use anymore and the camping stuff that wouldn’t see any use till summer, provided they didn’t just go up to the cabin.

He turned to find Jack watching him intently. “This means something?”

“Yeah.”

“Does it mean we can go back to bed now?” Jack asked hopefully.

Daniel laughed and headed for the stairs. “What are you waiting for?”

Ficlet: A Better Offer

Sun, 30 Dec 2012 04:19:01 GMT

Title: A Better Offer
Rating: General Audiences
Original/Fandom: Stargate SG-1
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Daniel
Summary: It's New Year's Eve and Daniel is all by himself.
Notes/Warnings: written for writerversequick fic prompts: all by myself, laughter
Word Count: 270

A burst of laughter filled the hallway as a door opened.

“Daniel!”

He stopped and shifted the grocery bag to his other arm to accept a hug from his slightly tipsy neighbor. Through the open door behind her, he could see her New Year’s Eve party going full force. “Looks like quite the party,” he commented.

She eyed Daniel’s old jeans and older sweatshirt and came to a conclusion that she liked. “You have any plans tonight?” she asked.

“Oh, a cup of tea and a good book,” he answered with a smile.

“No,” she protested. “New Year’s Eve all by yourself?”

He raised one shoulder in a half-shrug, what-can-I-say gesture, and then indicated the bag he was carrying. “I’d better get this stuff inside. You have a happy new year.”

Quietly humming All By Myself, he entered his apartment and headed for the kitchen. He started unpacking the bag and couldn’t help grinning when he heard footsteps behind him.

“They were out of Guinness, so I got Murphy’s instead. Hope that’s okay.”

Jack’s arms circled him and he rested his chin on Daniel’s shoulder. “I told you I wasn’t sure I’d make it.”

Daniel tilted his head back and nuzzled into Jack’s cheek. “Yeah, well, it’s a good thing you got here when you did. My dance card was starting to fill up.”

“Better offers?”

“Not even close.” He twisted around. Jack looked tired, maybe even more than Daniel had expected. But the smile on his face was the happy, relaxed Jack O’Neill special and Daniel thought that the new year was shaping up to be a good one.

This entry was originally posted at http://magickmoons.dreamwidth.org/4237.html.

Fic: Building the Puzzle [SG-1, T]

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 19:42:24 GMT

Building the Puzzle

Word Count: 1064
Rating: Teen and Up
Original/Fandom: Stargate SG-1
Characters: Jack, Daniel
Pairings: references to Daniel/Sha're
Summary: Keep building the puzzle and then maybe the pieces he had wouldn’t hurt so much.
Notes: Set during Fallen (7x01), right after Daniel's discussion with Teal'c about Sha're. Written for hc_bingo prompt: Amnesia. (I know, I know... a little obvious using NewlyDescended!Daniel, but the other idea I had was gearing up to be several thousand words and I'd never get it done in time!)

One. Breathe out. Breathe in. Right. Left.
Two. Breathe out. Breathe in. Right. Left.

There was something comforting to be found in the solid weight of the dumbbells, in the repetitive motion, in the narrowing of his focus to his breathing, counting, forcing his newly reconstituted muscles to adhere to the proper form Teal’c had shown him earlier. Daniel had wandered the halls aimlessly after his conversation with Teal’c, not ready to go back to his own quarters, before he finally wound up in the weight room, grateful to find it deserted. He had thrown himself into the exercise, hoping that he might be able to exhaust his body into sleep, trying not to wonder if this was something he would have done Before.

He didn’t acknowledge Jack when he saw him standing in the doorway, but had little hope of that deterring what he was quickly beginning to understand was a very determined personality. And it didn’t. After watching him for a minute, Jack walked over and took a seat on the next bench over. Daniel finished his set and placed the weights on the floor in front of him. Leaning his arms on his thighs, he looked up warily at Jack, who held a towel out to him.

Daniel nodded his thanks as he took the towel and ran it over his face and neck, absorbing trickles of sweat, before resting it on his shoulders.

“What can I do for you, Jack?” he asked when it became apparent that Jack had no problem engaging in a midnight staring contest. His voice was strangely amplified in the nearly empty room and he had to stop himself from wincing at the echoes.

“Oh, I was just happening by when I saw you in here working out some frustration. Thought you might like to...” Jack’s hands performed a complex dance which Daniel took to mean ‘talk.’

“Why do think I’m frustrated? I could just be working out.” Daniel opted to bypass the half-spoken (half-hearted?) invitation in favor of trying to figure out another piece of the puzzle. Keep building the puzzle and then maybe the pieces he had wouldn’t hurt so much.

“Well, you’re working out in the middle of the night. Plus, when you’re frustrated, your forehead does this thing where it... Yeah, kind of like that.”

Daniel looked down and counted to ten. He was sick of everyone knowing him better than he knew himself. He opened his mouth to say as much, but instead blurted, “I remembered something tonight.” He looked back up in time to catch Jack’s eyes flick past him to where the picture of Sha’re lay on top of his BDU shirt at the other end of the bench. “‘Sha’re’. That’s it. Her name and some vague images from a dream.”

Jack drew in a deep breath and started to speak, but Daniel cut him off.

“I already spoke with Teal’c. I know she’s, I know she’s dead. I... She was my wife. I loved her, I know I did, and I can barely remember her.” All of a sudden he didn’t seem able to stop talking. “What if I never remember any more than her name? What if I never remember her, her laugh? Or the way she smelled? What made her angry or sad or happy? What if I never remember how it felt to touch her, to hold her, to.. to make love to her? What if that’s all just gone?”

He looked at Jack, unsure what his reaction would be, honestly not even sure what he wanted it to be. Jack was looking him with compassion and what seemed to be a profound underlying sadness. Daniel was struck breathless by that sadness, suddenly certain that Jack got it.

“God, Daniel. I don’t even...” Jack scrubbed a hand over his face and sighed tiredly. “It’s there. Just like her name, it’ll all come back to you.”

“What if it doesn’t?” he asked and cringed immediately. He sounded so whiny, but he felt small and tired and disheartened and couldn’t self-filter. He wondered if he had always been this way. Jack didn’t seem like the kind of person to put up with self-pity, so he’d guess not. He realized Jack had started responding while he was lost in his thoughts.

“...not. Then I’ll find Oma Desala or the Others or whoever I need to and I will convince them to put everything back in your head that belongs there.” He made a face. “And only what belongs there.”

“They’re ascended beings, Jack. You can’t really threaten them.”

“I can be very persuasive, Daniel.”

Daniel felt a small smile break through. “Somehow, I doubt your brand of persuasion will be particularly effective with them.”

Jack thought about that for a minute and nodded. “Yep, when you’re right, you’re right. Then we’ll just have to get Teal’c to talk to ‘em.”

“Plan B?” Daniel asked.

Jack grinned at him. “You always gotta have a Plan B.” Jack stood up and clapped his hands. “Now, Dr. Jackson, let’s go see what havoc Carter is wreaking in her lab.”

“It’s the middle of the night. She can’t possibly still be working. Can she?” Another piece of the puzzle.

“Oh, but she can. Especially when she can’t sleep either.” Daniel took Jack’s offered hand and let him pull him to his feet. He paused, thinking about the fact that Teal’c was trying to kel-no-reem earlier instead of sleeping, Jack was wandering the halls, and Sam was working. It seemed like none of them were having an easy time with this either. Suddenly, he felt just a little less alone.

“We should stop by the commissary and see if they have any blue jello,” he suggested as he bent to pick up his shirt and Sha’re’s photo. He straightened up in time to see Jack’s smug smirk at the easy recollection of Sam’s favorite junk food.

“That’s a good idea, Daniel.”

Daniel stopped to look at the picture again as Jack started to head for the hallway. He closed his eyes and felt the brush of warm, desert-chapped lips against his, “My Danyel.”

“Sha’re,” he whispered, swallowing against the surge of emotion, loss and love and gratitude. He opened his eyes to find Jack being very obvious about inspecting the doorframe and smiled. “Hey, let’s stop by Teal’c’s and see if he wants to come, too.”

~end~

This entry was originally posted at http://magickmoons.dreamwidth.org/3673.html.

Stargate SG-1 Fiction

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 18:17:57 GMT

Stargate: SG-1 Fanfiction

A listing of my Stargate SG-1 fanfiction. Alphabetical within each Category. For new fic, use the New Works tag or see My Master Fic Index

Gen

Assistance (Rated T; 389 words; Gen Humor)
Summary: Sam needs to find her team
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Sam
Notes: set around season 3; written in 10 minutes on writerordie.com for a writerverse challenge.

Bad Weather (Rated Teen and Up; 457 words; Gen)
Summary: The weather has become a problem.
Characters: Team

Cliche (Rated G; 100 words; Gen Humor)
Summary: Take me to your leader...
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Jack, Daniel
Notes: Written for writerverse challenge. Prompt: leader; Bonus: all-dialogue. Set anytime Daniel is corporeal and Jack is in the field.

Compliance (Rated T; 2775 words; Gen Drama)
Summary: Spooky, disconcerting... whatever you want to call it: everything's gray
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Original Team

Connections (Rated G; 2140 words; Gen Friendship)
Summary: Sam, Jack, and Daniel share a drink after Kawalsky's death
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Sam, Jack, Daniel
Notes: missing scene for The Enemy Within

Costume Party (Rated: G; 100 words; Gen Humor)
Summary: They let Teal'c pick the costumes
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Original Team

Dude, Where's My Beer? (Rated T; 263 words; Gen Humor)
Summary: Team Reunion Night
Characters: everyone

The End of the World (Rated G; 100 words; Gen)
Summary: A young lieutenant experiences his first emergency at the SGC
Character(s): Janet Fraiser, OMC

Enough (Rated T; 200 words; Gen Drama)
Summary: The universe is often strangely indifferent to your desires.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Reader's Choice
Notes: Written for a writerverse challenge where the last line must be: In that moment, it's enough.

Experience (Rated Teen and Up; 941 words; Gen)
Summary: Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.
Characters: Cam, Sam

Final Order (Rated T; 3471 words; Gen Angst)
Summary: Jack gives his final order
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Original Team
Notes: Major Character Death.

Finding Your Place (Rated T; 710 words; Gen Drama)
Summary: Cam deals with his disappointment at finding out SG-1 has moved on
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Cam
Notes: written for writerverse Quick Fic prompts: inside Pandora's Box and abandonment. Falls early in Avalon, after everyone's declined to come back to the team but before Vala shows up.

The First Word (Rated T; 419 words; Gen Drama)
Summary: Daniel struggles with what he needs to do
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Daniel
Notes: set sometime after Menace (5.19); written in 10 minutes on writeordie.com for a writerverse challenge.

The Fog (Rated G; 100 words; Gen Angst)
Summary: Jack reflects on how he deals with loss
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Jack, (Daniel)

Gone (Rated G; 264 words; Gen Angst)
Summary: They won't tell him anything
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Jack O'Neill

Grief (Rated G; 100 words; Gen Angst)
Summary: Cassie and Sam have to adjust after Janet's death
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Sam, Cassie

Just Another Dinner (Rated T; 100 words; Gen Tragedy)
Summary: It was just another rubber chicken dinner...
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Jack

Let Sleeping Legends Lie (Rated G; 100 words; Gen)
Summary: SG-1 celebrates peace
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Original Team

Once Forever (Rated Teen and Up; 920 words; Gen)
Summary: He's Ascended but he's not gone.
Characters: Daniel, Team

Not Oz (Rated G; 263 words; Gen Humor)
Summary: This planet looks really familiar...
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Jack, Team

Presentation (Rated G; 213 words; Gen)
Summary: His life is about to change...
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Daniel Jackson
Notes: Set just before we first see Daniel in the movie

Sand and Stone (Rated T; 481 words; Gen Angst)
Summary: Original Timeline Daniel reflects during the events of Moebius
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Daniel Jackson

Shoot for the Moon (Rated G; 100 words; Gen)
Summary: Shoot for the moon; even if you miss, you'll land among the stars
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Sam

Silent Legacy (Rated T; 100 words; Gen)
Summary: Silently, They watched as four came.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Original Team

Six Months (Rated G; 100 words; Gen)
Summary: Six months until their lives changed forever.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Jack, Sam

Small Talk and Movies (Rated G; 357 words, Gen)
Summary: Teal'c is learning about human social conventions.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Daniel, Teal'c
Notes: Set early Season 1. Written for writerverse collaborative challenge. First line by tifaching

A Split Second (Rated T; 382 words; Gen Angst)
Summary: It had been seven minutes since they'd received SG-1's IDC, indicating that they were coming in hot. But no one had come through yet.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Hammond, Walter
Notes: major character death

State Dinner (Rated G; 507 words; Gen Humor)
Summary: This dinner is supposed to cap the negotiations... if Jack would just eat it.
Characters: Jack, Daniel

Teamwork (Rated G; 100 words; Gen)
Summary: Jack & Daniel discuss the game plan
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Daniel, Jack

Teen Threat (Rated G; 100 words; Gen Humor)
Summary: "Are you telling me you can't handle a roomful of 13-year-old girls?"
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Jack, Sam

Too Late (Rated T; 100 words; Gen Tragedy)
Summary: ... he thought he was walking into victory over Earth
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Jack, Baal

Waiting (Rated G; 100 words; Gen Drama)
Read on Dreamwidth
Summary: Waiting for SG1 to pull yet another impossible victory.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): George Hammond
Notes: written for a fic_promptly prompt: SG-1, General Hammond, waiting for SG1 to pull yet another impossible victory.

You Know Someone (Rated T; 1935 words; Gen)
Summary: How did Jack and Daniel meet in the firemanverse of The Changeling?
Character(s): Jack, Daniel

Countdown to 2010 Master Index

A series of ficlets set in the 2010 AU-verse. The series is general, but does include the canon relationship between Sam and Joe Faxon.

Het

5 Times Jack Gave Sam Ice (Rated T; 1642 words; Het Drama Romance)
Summary: Jack and Sam and ice.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Sam/Jack, Daniel, Teal'c

5 Times Jack Saw Sam in Everyday Life (Rated T; 1997 words; Het UST Angst)
Summary: Off-base, on-world, in civvies
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Sam/Pete, Sam/Jack, Cassie, Janet
Notes: Vignettes occurring seasons 1 - 8; mentions of canon character death

5 Times Jack Met Sam in Alternate Universes

1. Career Day (Rated T; 1020 words; Gen)
Summary: Captain Jack O'Neill represents the Air Force at a high school Career Day
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Sam, Jack

2. Proven Wrong (Rated T; 1161 words; Gen)
Summary: Major Jack O'Neill is a guest lecturer at the US Air Force Academy. Cadet Samantha Carter has a lot of questions.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Sam, Jack

3. One Hour (Rated M; 1744 words; Het Tragedy)
Summary: General Jack O'Neill meets Dr. Samantha Carter. Their fairy tale turns into a nightmare.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Sam/Jack
Notes: bad stuff happens

4. Utah (Rated T; 1885 words; Gen Tragedy)
Summary: Jack leads the survivors from the SGC after a goa'uld attack
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Sam, Jack

5. Double Agent (Rated M; 4324 words; Het Drama)
Summary: When Jack goes undercover during Shades of Grey, he finds himself drawn to one of the rogue cell's operatives: Captain Samantha Carter.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Sam/Jack

All That Comes After (Rated G; 1211 words; Het)
Summary: Sam wonders whether her reason for joining the Air Force measure up.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Sam/Jack, Teal'c, Daniel

Almost (Rated G; 161 words; Het Angst AU)
Summary: In the end, it wasn't him.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Sam/Jack, Sam/Joe Faxon

The Arrangement (Rated: Explicit; 1130 words; Het Angst)
Summary: They didn't have a relationship; they had an arrangement. Things change.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Sam/Jack
Notes: Written for writerverse challenge. Prompts: traditions, time for a change. Set post-season 5

Building the Puzzle (Rated T; 1064 words; Het H/C)
Summary: Keep building the puzzle and then maybe the pieces he had wouldn’t hurt so much.
Characters: Jack, Daniel
Pairing: Daniel/Sha're
Notes: Set during Fallen (7x01), right after Daniel's discussion with Teal'c about Sha're.

Busted (Rated G; 100 words; Het Humor)
Summary: Jack looked up to see Sam looking at him expectantly.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Original Team

Cold Comfort (Rated T; 100 words; Het Angst)
Summary: She could never get warm.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Sam, Unspecified Male Character

Endurance Past the Point (Rated M; ~70,000 words; Het UST Angst Drama)
Summary: A mission gone wrong leaves Sam in the hands of an unknown goa'uld. Can SG-1 get her back? And will she ever be the same?
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Original Team, Hammond, Fraiser, Jacob, Mackenzie, Sam/Jack UST
Notes: Set in Season 5
Warnings: non-con, character death, graphic violence

Five Days (Rated T; 100 words; Het Angst)
Summary: It's been five days
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Daniel(/Sha're), Sam, Jack
Notes: Episode tag to Forever in a Day
Warnings: mentions canonical character death

In a Name (Rated T; 224 words; Het)
Summary: Their history told through Jack's words and voice
Character(s)/Pairings: Sam/Jack

Little Gray Men (Rated G; 234 words; Het)
Summary: Pete's reaction when Sam tells him what it's all about.
Character(s)/Pairings: Sam/Pete
Notes: Episode Tag to 'Chimera'

Loyalty (Rated G; 100 words; Het)
Summary: There's always a third.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Sam/Jack UST

Lowered Inhibitions (Rated Explicit; 1939 words; Het)
Read on AO3
Summary: Jack and Sam are stuck overnight in a cave offworld. A bored and wounded Jack opts for a little 'personal time' while he thinks Sam is sleeping...
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Sam, Jack
Notes: Written for Porn Battle XIII, Prompts: cave, distraction, offworld, wounded, pollen

Parasol (Rated T; 934 words; Het Tragedy)
Summary: The moments before grief
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Sam(/Jack), Daniel, Teal'c
Notes: major character death

Rejoined (Rated T; 786 words; Het Drama)
Summary: Years in the future, it's time to say goodbye
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Sam(/Jack), Daniel, Teal'c, Cassie
Notes: major character death. Written for weekly quick fic challenge at writerverse. prompt: bring on the night

Renewing Acquaintances (Explicit; 406 words; Het PWP)
Read on AO3
Summary:Sam was very happy to see Cam show up at the SGC
Pairing: Cam/Sam
Notes: written for Porn Battle XIV (Fiery Fourteen)

Replacement (Rated T; 100 words; Het Angst)
Summary: He’d never seen that look on her face before.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Sam/Pete, Sam/Jack

Seven Days (Rated T; 700 words; Het)
Summary: Seven days in Sam's life while Jack is stranded on Edora
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Sam(/Jack)
Notes: Written for writerverse Challenge #10. References to 'A Hundred Days' and 'Shades of Grey'

The Dance (Rated T; 233 words; Het Romance)
Summary: He always watches her
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Sam(/Jack)

The End (Rated: T; 100 words; Het Tragedy)
Summary: He'd always known heaven was out of his reach.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Sam/Jack

The Glass (Rated: T; 100 words; Het Tragedy)
Summary: Daniel's trying not to think after Janet's memorial service
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Daniel(/Janet)

Things to Come (Rated T; 445 words; Het Romance)
Summary: "Sir, why are we holding hands?"
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Jack O'Neill/Sam Carter

Always Master Index

(a Sam/Jack post-season 8 series; established relationship)

Slash

All My Troubles, All My Fears (Rated Explicit; 5096 words; Slash Action/Adventure)
Read at Dreamwidth
Summary: "So three weeks in a palace by the beach?" Daniel's quest for something to do in the aftermath of their addiction to the Light leads to potentially disastrous consequences for both him and Jack. (Episode tag for 4x18, The Light)
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Jack/Daniel
Notes: written for jd_ficathon ix. Prompt from campylobacter
Two (2) Requirements:
1. episode-related/episode tag/missing scene
2. AU acceptable
Optional Request: action/adventure
Restriction #1: no beagles
Restriction #2: no Mary Sue/Gary Stu
WARNING: Depending on how stringent your definition is, this could fall under dub-con, in that their brains are pretty well messed up between the addiction and the withdrawal.

Another Suitcase in Another Hall (or 5 Times Daniel Moved) (Rated R; 7000+ words; Angst Slash Romance)
Summary: Daniel Jackson is a pro at moving. Maybe it's staying in one place that's difficult.
Pairing: Jack/Daniel, mentions of Daniel/Sha're, Daniel/Sarah
Warning: mentions child abuse

A Better Offer (Rated G; 270 words; Slash Romance)
Summary: It's New Year's Eve and Daniel is all by himself.
Pairing: Jack/Daniel est rel

Cold Therapy (Explicit; 1424 words; Slash PWP)
Read on AO3
Summary:Part of Jack was still on Netu, couldn’t let go of what had happened there.
Pairing: Daniel/Jack
Notes: written for Porn Battle XIV (Fiery Fourteen)

An Entire Dimension (Rated Explicit; 1518 words; Slash Angst)
Read on AO3
Summary: He was so close to everything he wanted. Just inches away; an entire dimension between them.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Jack(/)Daniel
Notes: Set during Crystal Skull (3.21). Written for mmom

Fault (Rated T; 1478 words; pre-slash H/C)
Summary: Jack thinks Daniel needs to talk
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Jack, Daniel
Notes: Set immediately after the events of Secrets.

Heads, Hands, and Hearts (Rated T; 2144 words; Friendship/Pre-slash)
Excerpt: The thought echoed through his head, or maybe he was hearing his own voice - he wasn’t sure. He thought maybe he should care. He thought probably he didn’t.
Pairing: Jack/Daniel UST

Invisible Scars (Rated Explicit; 1355 words; Slash, Angst)
Summary: Daniel struggles to understand his actions during his Ascension
Pairing: Jack/Daniel

Mirror Image (Rated T; 1400 words; Slash Drama)
at Dreamwidth
Summary: Daniel tries to understand his other self's actions during Ripple Effect.
Pairings: Daniel/Jack friendship, AU!Daniel/AU!Jack

No Time (Rated T; 818 words; Slash)
Read on Dreamwidth
Summary: It's always important to make time for each other.
Pairing: Jack/Daniel est rel
Notes: written for jd_junkie's Jack/Daniel Hugathon

Opening Doors (Rated Mature; 251 words; Slash)
at AO3
Summary: “Dammit, Daniel, haven't you heard of knocking?”
Pairing: pre-Jack/DanielNotes: written for mmom

Promises (Rated T; 475 words; est rel H/C)
Read on AO3
Summary: Daniel wants a promise from Jack
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Jack/Daniel

Public Relations (Explicit; 1010 words; Slash PWP)
Read on AO3
Summary:The Stargate is public knowledge and Jack and Daniel are on a press tour, sharing a room ;)
Pairing: Daniel/Jack
Notes: written for Porn Battle XIV (Fiery Fourteen)

Saturday Night Solos (Explicit; 702 words; Slash PWP)
Read on AO3
Summary:Jack has a fantasy about Daniel following a mission - a *very* vivid fantasy.
Pairing: Jack/Daniel
Notes: written for Porn Battle XIV (Fiery Fourteen)

Sharing Recipes (Rated T; 572 words; Slash Humor Romance)
Summary: A little bit of something written to the tamingthemuse prompt foodist, wherein Daniel is working late and Jack is bored.
Pairing: Jack/Daniel

Then and Now (Rated Mature; 1995 words; Slash Romance)
Summary: They couldn't say the words then.
Pairing: Jack/Daniel

Two Down (Rated T; 939 words; Angst Slash)
Summary: There’s no question of escape or rescue anymore, no last-minute heroics. Just time enough for one last realization.
Pairing: Jack/Daniel
Warning: major character death

What Happens Next (Explicit; 3254 words; Slash)
Read on AO3
Summary: Jack sees Daniel on a date. Daniel sees Jack see.
Pairing: Jack/Daniel
Notes: written for Porn Battle XIV (Fiery Fourteen)

Moresomes

Birthday Surprise (Explicit; 2340 words; Slash Moresome)
Read on AO3
Summary: When both Cam and Jack show up on Daniel's birthday, there's really only one thing to do...
Pairing: Cam/Daniel/Jack
Notes: late entry for Porn Battle XIV (Fiery Fourteen)

Daniel's Night (Explicit; 1533 words; Multi PWP)
Read on AO3
Summary:After Descending, Daniel reconnects with his team
Pairing: Daniel/Jack/Sam/Teal'c
Notes: written for Porn Battle XIV (Fiery Fourteen)

Star Light, Star Bright (Rated M; 100 words; m/m/f)
Summary: Wishes aren't necessary
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Sam/Jack/Daniel

Unexpected (Explicit; 300 words; Multi PWP)
Read on AO3
Summary:All Jack knew was that he couldn't turn her away.
Pairing: Daniel/Jack/Sara O'Neill
Notes: A story in three drabbles; written for Porn Battle XIV (Fiery Fourteen)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Angel Fiction

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 18:04:03 GMT

Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Angel Fanfiction

An alphabetical listing of my fanfiction within the Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel universes. For new fic, use the New Works tag or see My Master Fic Index

Ad Infinitum (Rated T; 266 words; Het Angst)
Summary: She hurts, and needs, and wants too.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Spike/Buffy
Notes: Written for a prompt at fic_promptly from juliet316: BtVS, Buffy/Spike, We're caught in a bad romance

Out of Devastation (Rated T; 100 words; Drama)
Summary: Buffy had intended to never return.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Buffy, Dawn

A Perfect Penance (Explicit; 403 words; Slash PWP)
Read on AO3
Summary:Gunn and Wesley take their relationship to an unusual place after Fred's death
Pairing: Gunn/Wesley
Notes: written for Porn Battle XIV (Fiery Fourteen)

A Pretty Good Idea (Rated Explicit; 502 words; Femslash Solo)
Summary: Buffy is intrigued by Willow's new relationship with Tara
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Buffy(/OFC), mention of Willow/Tara
Notes: Set Season 4. Written for mmom

Rewards(Rated T; ~20,000 words; Het Suspense Romance)
Summary: Several years after Buffy's death, in The Gift, Angel runs into her doppelganger. Is it just a coincidence or are there greater forces at work?
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Angel/Buffy
Warnings: contains references to mental illness

A Slayer Tale (Rated T; 3641 words; Het Drama)
Summary: Years after the events of Not Fade Away, Angel and a small band of refugees are holed up in the Hyperion. One of the small bright spots are Angel's Slayer Tales.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Angel/Buffy
Notes: written for writerverse Table of Doom challenge to fill prompts: Once Upon a Time, The Great Escape, Happy

The Shades Series

Muted (Rated G; 260 words; Het)
Summary: Buffy makes a decision
Character(s)/Pairing(s): none
Notes: This is a quick little scene taking place some time before Out of the Dark

Out of the Dark (Rated T; ~30,000 words; Het Angst Drama)
Summary: When Angel finds Buffy in LA several years after the destruction of Sunnydale, he finds some disturbing changes in her personality. Will he be able to help save her not only from whatever is pursuing her, but also from herself?
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Buffy/Angel UST, Angel/Nina, Wesley/Fred, Lorne, Connor, Harmony
Warnings: Character Death

Under a Harsh Light (WIP)
Summary: Buffy adjusts to life at Wolfram & Hart.

Firefly / Serenity Fiction

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 17:56:51 GMT

Firefly / Serenity Fanfiction

An alphabetical listing of my fanfiction within the Firefly/Serenity universe. For new fic, use the New Works tag or see My Master Fic Index

Cleansing Rain (Rated T; 177 words; Gen)
Summary: A rainstorm near the Companion Training House
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Inara Serra
Notes: set between the series and the movie

Inevitability (Rated G; 100 words; Gen)
Summary: Everyone knew it was all but over after Serenity Valley.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Mal, Zoe
Notes: set pre-Series

Just Good Business (Rated T; 184 words; Gen)
Summary: Jayne couldn't figure out Kaylee.
Characters: Jayne, Kaylee

Leaving (Rated G; 257; Het Angst)
Summary: Inara is leaving Serenity
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Inara Serra(/Malcolm Reynolds)
Notes: set between the series and the movie

Let Me In (Rated: T; 97 words; Gen Tragedy)
Summary: They'd been gone so long, she was about ready to go out after them herself.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Kaylee, Unspecified Male Character

One of These Nights (Rated G; 236 words; Het Angst)
Summary: Refuge and Respite
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Inara Serra/Malcolm Reynolds
Notes: set post-movie

Seen and Unseen (Rated T; 428 words; Het Angst)
Summary: Tonight, her decision had just become much more complicated.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Mal/Inara
Notes: set post-BDM

My Original Fiction and Miscellaneous

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 17:20:01 GMT

My Original Fiction and Miscellaneous Fandoms

A listing of my original fiction and miscellaneous fanfiction. Alphabetical within each category. For new fic, use the New Works tag or see My Master Fic Index

My Original Fiction

Synara-Verse

An original world that I play in sometimes, where magick had once reigned. When the inevitable corruption set in, the Techs (proponents of technology) rebelled against the Mags (magick users). The cities are now ruled by Techs, who have outlawed all magick. The countryside still contains pockets of Mags and is considered uncivilized.
Characters:
Synara, a young woman from a Mag family. She turned her back on her family and, utilizing a charm to suppress her magickal powers, moves to the city.
Jase, Synara's older brother who has tried to continue to lead the Mag community to assert their rights.
Nate, Synara's boyfriend, a Tech

Sudden Storm (Rated T; 777 words; Gen)
Summary: Synara's first encounter with a Tech is marred by her brother.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Synara, Jase

Warmth (Rated G; 248 words; Gen)
Summary: A young Synara assists Mara in a ritual
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Synara, Mara

Sudden Storm (Rated T; 777 words; Gen)
Summary: Synara's first encounter with a Tech is marred by her brother.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Synara, Jase, Mara

Moving In (Rated T; 342 words; Het)
Summary: Synara gets her first apartment.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Synara/Nate
Notes: this was part of a writerverse challenge to take a story and revise the word count down. The revised versions are here (242 words) and here (124 words)

A Mother's Tears (Rated G; 161 words; Gen)
Summary: Watching the rain
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Synara

Returns (Rated T; 978 words; Gen)
Summary: Returning home causes Synara to face some tough questions about her life
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Synara, Jase

The Rite (Rated T; 330 words; Gen)
Summary: Synara performs her brother's Ceremony of Return. Takes place immediately after Returns.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Synara, Jase

Other Original

Afternoon Adventure (Rated T; 3,112 words; Het Drama)
Summary: When a privileged general's daughter is attacked and then rescued and taken on the run, she doesn't know who to trust.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Leah/Charlie

The Beat (Rated G; 100 words; Gen)
Summary: Music as experience
Character(s)/Pairing(s): OMC
Notes: Written for writerverse's Alphabet Soup (Team Prose theme: Music & Lyrics)

A Dream of Her (Rated Teen and Up; 521 words; Gen Drama)
Summary: He reflects on his work and makes plans for the future.

[Spoiler (click to open)]

(An earlier episode in the same serial-killer 'verse as The Prize)

Character: OMC

Intrigue (Rated M; 736 words; Het Drama)
Summary: Leyla pushes for a Prince to become a King
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Leyla/Renal
Notes/Warnings: non-con issues. Written for writerverse challenge to write a story with a randomly generated character from this website.

The Prize (Rated Mature; 292 words; Het Drama)
Excerpt: “Nowhere near as gorgeous as you,” he said and smiled, just like the voice in his head told him to.
Warnings: Pretty damn dark for me, specifically

[Spoiler (click to open)]

serial killer POV

Pairing: OMC/OFC

Quiet Courtship (Rated: G; 543 words; Het)
Summary: Saturdays at the library
Character(s)/Pairing(s): OFC/OMC
Warnings: written for a writerverse challenge. prompts: library, coffee

The Witching Hour (Rated T; 1275 words; Femslash Drama)
Summary: Coming through the woods late one night, Lauren finds that the stories really are true.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Lauren/Jocelyn
Warnings: witchcraft, voyeurism

writerverse Collaborations

Midnight Rescue (Rated T; 954 words; Het Drama)
Author 1: shana0809
Author 2: agirlnamedtruth
Author 3: magickmoons
Summary: A fight and a phone call in the middle of the night

Night Music (Rated G; 1265 words; Gen Drama)
Author 1: nymaeria
Author 2: magickmoons
Author 3: ami_ven
Summary: Andrew's new home came with an extra guest.

Miscellaneous

Reader's Choice

A Very Good Morning (Rated T; 159 words; Romantic Schmoop)
Summary: The morning after
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Reader's Choice (I wrote it a with Stargate: SG-1 UST couple in mind, but there are no identifying names or genders, so have fun!)
Notes: written for a writerverse challenge: dialogue-only

The Look (Rated Teen and Up; 100 words; Reader's Choice)
Summary: A shared moment
Pairing: Reader's Choice

NCIS

Interception (Rated G; 100 words)
Excerpt: “I cannot believe that you two are still playing that silly game.”
Characters: Team

This Winter (Rated G; 100 words)
Excerpt: Tony did not like winter in the city.
Pairing: Tony/Ziva

Bones

The Weight (Rated G; 407 words; Het)
Read on FF.net
Summary: A quick summary of how Brennan might reflect on her interaction with Hannah.
Pairing(s): Bones/Booth, Booth/Hannah
Notes: Set in Season 6

The Risk in the Story (Rated T; ~50,000 words; Het Suspense Drama)
Read on FF.net
Summary: When Hannah involves Bones in a story Booth has declared to be too dangerous, who will pay the price?
Pairing(s): Booth/Hannah, Booth/Brennan, Angela/Hodgins, Cam, Sweets, Max
Notes: Set in Season 6