The Godly Touch
Part Five
If there was one comforting thing about the SGC, it was that it never changed. Sure there were new faces and, unsurprisingly, new things going about, but it was still quintessentially the same place it had been when she had been here that one time when they had started up. So far, they had been here for the past week. After the round of physicals, Sam had disappeared into her lab with some other technicians and they were analysing the technology brought back from the temple. Jack was helping Hammond deal with the bureaucrats sent down from Washington and so far as Catherine knew, Nut was spending time with Teal’c in and outside the gym. Daniel was working full swing with the translations from the photographs and rubbings, but he had been called to some important meeting and left her in charge of the work. At least that gave her and the team something to do, even if they were working on a rotating shift now.
She was sitting in the mess hall, contemplating her dinner of questionable mashed potatoes and Salisbury steak when the sound of chairs being pulled out made her look up. Nut was sitting down gingerly, Teal’c by her side.
“Hello,” Nut said with a wince as she finally rested herself on the seat. “How are you doing?”
“I’m doing fine,” Catherine said slowly, taking in Nut’s expression. “Teal’c what have you done to this child?”
“I am training her in the basics of Jaffa armed combat.”
“It hurts,” Nut wailed piteously as she folded her arms on the table and buried her head in them. “That is not a cushioned mat. I should have helped with the translations; it would have been kinder to my body.”
Teal’c smiled a bit indulgently. “It takes many long hours of training to become a warrior. You have the ability and the desire. What you lack is the co-ordination.”
“A very nice way to say I am as graceful as an ox with its throat cut,” Nut grumbled as she rested her chin on her folded arms. “Though the training is more… preferable to the thing called a physical.”
Catherine snorted at that, choosing to eat some of the mashed potatoes; Janet must have had a field day. Nut was, technically around 2000 years old. That alone must have been something to interest any doctor. She hazarded a glance up and found Nut scrutinising her. Catherine looked back down at her food, trying to resist the smile that threatened to break on her face.
“I’m achy and I’m hungry.” Nut voiced aloud to no one in particular.
Teal’c and Catherine looked at one another.
“Well, don’t look at me,” Catherine started as she jabbed her steak with the fork. “I can’t even pick out something good for myself.”
“I will get our dinners,” Teal’c said as he rose. “And nothing with milk.”
< Thank you. > Nut smiled for a moment before she buried her face again and mumbled something.
“What was that?” Catherine asked, pushing her plate away for a bit. Bland mashed potatoes were not her thing.
“Aches and pain aside, it’s not really all that bad,” Nut sat up, lifting her head and holding in her hands. “Though that mat does nothing to cushion falls and what not.”
“Don’t worry about it. You’re in good hands here. They’ll make sure nothing happens to you.”
“That is nice to know. The world has changed a lot in the past two millennia. I’m not sure of my place in it.”
“You’re bright, you’ll find something.” Catherine smiled.
Nut smiled and rested her cheek on her crossed arms, closing her eyes once more. Catherine took one more look at the food on her plate before she shook her head as she pulled it back and started eating quickly. Eating it quickly didn’t make much of a difference in the taste, but it would be over sooner rather than later. Teal’c came back a few minutes later with two trays, both piled high with fruits, bread, roasted chicken and some water and a small bowl of Jell-o on the side.
“Well, Teal’c I have to hand it to you; I think you’re the only one who came scrounge up an edible meal in here.” Catherine said in a low voice.
Teal’c inclined his head with a smile as he placed Nut’s tray in front of her. Nut eyed the food hungrily, before she opted to pile the chicken on the bread, roll it up and take a huge bite out of it. Catherine coughed, still trying to not laugh. Teal’s had a similar expression on his face. Nut looked between them, cheeks stuffed to full, chewing with an arched eyebrow.
“You just keep eating,” Catherine said as she reached over and patted Nut on the shoulder. “It’s nothing.”
Nut gave Catherine a look that said she clearly disagreed but she turned her attention to her meal a few moments later. They settled down into companionable silence while eating. They all had just pushed back their plates, both Teal’c and Nut turning their attention to the Jell-o when Catherine looked up and spied Jack entering.
“Jack,” she waved him over. “Are you looking for dinner?”
“Do you really think I want the Salisbury steak?” Jack looked at her incredulously. “I’ll have a donut or something until I head home.”
“So I’m guessing you came to spend some time with us?”
“No actually, all the guys from Washington are here.” He didn’t look too happy when saying that.
“All of them?” Catherine asked.
“Most of them,” Jack shrugged. “There’re at least two people in there I would love to shoot but you know… regulations.”
“Sounds wonderful; are you sure that no one else was needed?”
“Oh yeah, those guys said me and Danny were the only ones needed from the team. We’ve been stuck in the meeting for the past four hours.”
“We?” Nut gurgled from a mouthful of Jell-o as she started paying attention.
“Yeah, me, Danny…” he trailed off, looking at Nut’s tray and then Teal’c. “Did you eat all of that?”
“I shouldn’t have?” Nut looked between Jack and Teal’c.
“Nah, you’re fine. I just haven’t seen anyone eat as much as T here.” Jack said with a quick grin. “But the reason why I’m down here is because someone wants to talk to you actually.”
Nut swallowed another mouthful of Jell-o, a wary light in her eyes suddenly. “Me?”
“Yup, though if I were you,” Jack began as he leaned over to whisper to her. “Just sit between me and Daniel and you’ll be fine.”
“Very well,” Nut said as she rose, Jell-o bowl and spoon between both hands. “May I bring my dessert with me?”
“Yeah, sure, no problem. I’m going to get some donuts,” Jack said as he rose. “You want one?”
Nut nodded her head as she followed after Jack. Catherine watched as they studied the box for a moment before Jack scooped it up, munching on a donut. Nut had stuck her spoon in the bowl and had decided to take a powdered jelly one. She was studying it as they walked out and a moment later, Catherine heard a squeal of surprise followed by Jack’s laugh.
“Maybe this is a good thing,” Catherine mused. “And Jack won’t have the almost uncontrollable urge to shoot someone.”
“She does have a sense of humour,” Teal’c intoned with amusement as he prodded his orange Jell-o.
“I couldn’t tell.” Catherine replied with mock innocence.
“She knows a very good joke about Selket’s First Prime that walked into a tavern.”
Both of Catherine’s eyebrows rose. This one, she had to hear.
______________________________________
Daniel was starting to understand just why it was that Jack wanted to shoot Maybourne in the first place. Trying to make the man see anything beyond his orders or what he wanted to see was next to impossible. By all rights, this meeting shouldn’t haven taken so long. But someone would further Maybourne’s questions and it lead them down a very long aside before getting back to the point at hand. They’d finally gotten to the part of the report concerning Nut and just where, and how, she had been found. And this new tactic that Maybourne had adopted, of sending Jack to fetch Nut and then sending one of his aides to fetch Janet… no Daniel didn’t like where this was heading one bit.
Janet had arrived already and was glancing at Daniel every so often; she looked like she had a very good idea of what was going on, but wanted confirmation. All Daniel could do was shrug slightly and the reach for his freshly refilled coffee cup like he was stretching some kinks from his shoulders. Considering how long he was in the padded chair, it wasn’t that far a stretch of the imagination; padded chairs were only comfortable for so long.
“Just what is taking Colonel O’Neill so long?” Maybourne finally demanded, looking around the room as if someone had the answer.
“I’m quite sure that the Colonel is coming back as quickly as he can,” Hammond said a bit icily. “Just give him a bit of time.”
Maybourne looked a bit put out and settled back in his seat with a peeved expression. It didn’t last long as the door to the conference room swung open and Nut strolled in, holding an empty bowl and spoon in one hand and a jelly donut in the other. Daniel blinked as he took in the powdered sugar and streaks of what looked like raspberry jelly on her cheeks. Jack followed behind her, open donut box in hand.
“Jack,” Daniel began as he rose.
“What?” Jack looked around. “We came right up here… though we were delayed by an incident when she spit out a Boston cream donut; she doesn’t like those.”
“It’s about time you showed up Colonel O’Neill,” Maybourne stated as he rose. “Feeding some child donuts is not a productive way to spend this time.”
“Hey,” Jack snapped. “It’s cultural education, all right? The poor kid’s never had an honest to goodness donut. And since you want to talk about a waste of time –”
“Why don’t you and Nut take a seat, colonel?” Hammond interrupted crisply.
Daniel sat back down in his seat, reaching for his coffee cup yet again, as Nut took the empty seat between his and Jack’s. If someone wasn’t killed by the end of today, he would honestly be surprise. Nut poked him in the shoulder and offered the box of donuts. He shook his head with a quick smile before he took a drink of the coffee.
“Now then, if you would Dr. Frasier, tell us about Nut.” Maybourne said primly as he straightened his jacket.
“I’m right here,” Nut gave Maybourne a curious look. “Why do you need her to tell you about me? Do you think I’m incapable of speaking about myself?”
“Medically speaking,” Maybourne added a bit dismissively.
Daniel glanced at Nut to see her huff and narrow her eyes slightly at she took another jelly donut and bit into it. Jack seemed to be of a similar mind frame and did the exact same thing. This was going to be interesting.
Janet looked at Maybourne for a moment and then at Nut. “Well, if she gives me her permission…”
“Only what is relevant,” Nut gave Maybourne a nasty little sneer. “Who knows what he might use it for.”
“She raises a very good point.” Jack nodded his head as Maybourne flushed an indignant red. “Who knows? I mean, they lost a stargate down there.”
“I’ll have you know Colonel –” Maybourne began.
“Gentlemen…” Hammond trailed off in a dangerous tone.
“Okay then,” Janet spoke loudly as she opened her file folder and looked over some papers. “Dr. Jackson’s first guess that Nut was a harsesis child is correct. She has definite Goa’uld markers in her DNA as well as naquahda in her blood system.”
“That means she knows everything that the goa’ulds do? That a system lord would know,” Maybourne interrupted.
“Yes, but –”
“Which makes her a valuable military resource.”
“Excuse me,” Nut said acidly. “I am a person, not a thing.”
“Of course,” Maybourne’s voice had honeyed tones now. “Surely you’d like to help us out.”
Daniel felt like cheering the sobering stare that Nut gave him before she turned her attention to the donut box. He opted to simply sip his coffee further to hide the smirk threatening to break through. Jack was cramming a donut in his mouth hurriedly.
“Anyway,” Janet continued after a moment. “Genetics aside, the only other abnormal thing were the x-rays of her brain; there appear to be implants in there, and not like the one Nirrti put in Cassandra.”
“You don’t know what it is?” Maybourne turned his attention to Janet.
“No; but the x-rays show that they’re smaller and more oblong shaped, quite possibly metallic. There are a few of them scattered throughout the areas of the brain related to memory.”
This was news to Daniel, and he sat up a bit more. “You mean her memories are suppressed?”
“I can’t say for sure. I don’t want to give her a MRI if these implants are metallic,” Janet shrugged. “Unless the Asgard step in, this is out of my league.”
“So we know nothing for sure?” Maybourne now sounded peeved.
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” Janet mused as she shifted some more papers. “She’s a perfectly healthy 13 year old girl. Aside from lactose intolerance and an allergy to the usual pet dander, she doesn’t look a day over 2,000.”
“No dog then?” Jack asked.
“No dog Colonel.” Janet affirmed.
“I had a pet cow.” Nut offered.
“Cow?” Jack looked a bit surprised. “Who has a cow for a pet?”
“I did,” Nut smiled. “But I always wanted a snake.”
“Fitting…” Daniel mused dryly.
“Can I have another pet cow?” Nut asked, looking between Daniel and Jack. “Or a pet snake?”
“Uh,” Daniel jumped in quickly, as Jack rubbed his forehead. “We’ll see.”
“I don’t think this is the time or place to be discussing the suitability of a pet,” Maybourne had a dour expression. “As she might not be here for much longer.”
“What?” Both Jack and Daniel turned their attention immediately to Maybourne. Daniel had nearly spilled his coffee and there was a donut with a large bite mark in it in Jack’s hand.
“I’ve got orders from area 51 to bring Nut in for observation and questioning.”
“Well, I think you’ll find that pretty much useless,” Janet said coolly, flipping to another paper. “I just got the report back from the base psychologist this morning and I do back his opinion.”
Daniel sat back down in his seat, glancing at Maybourne every so often. Well, if Janet was backing the psychologist, then it had to be good. He was working on ignoring the fact that this was the same psychologist that had him drugged up to the eyeballs after they had discovered the Linvris and one of Machello’s inventions got inside him.
Maybourne didn’t say anything as Janet handed it to him, eyes scanning over it.
“Basically, he recommends that she stay here, or possibly, live with Jack or Daniel, as they’re the ones that she has bonded to the most. Placing her in a potentially hostile environment could have seriously detrimental effects.”
Maybourne was looking less and less pleased as he flipped through the papers. “I see. Orders are still orders and –”
“You can’t, in good conscience, take her away from the only anchor she now has.” Janet’s voice was clipped.
Maybourne paused for a moment at Janet’s words.
“Whoa,” Jack muttered. “He has a conscience, could have fooled me.”
“Colonel,” Hammond said in a displeased tone.
“Sorry Sir. I’m just really fighting the urge to just shoot him.”
Daniel snorted into his coffee, earning strange looks from everyone else. He took a long drink, not looking at anyone else.
“I really wouldn’t recommend taking her there,” Janet said. “Not until I at least know what’s implanted in her brain.”
“So call the Asgard.” Maybourne snapped.
“Daniel?” Nut whispered loudly. “Is he always so rude?”
Daniel was aware of Maybourne’s gaze settling intently on him. < I’ve yet to see him be completely honest. >
“Oh,” Nut glanced at Maybourne for a moment before she shook her head with a sad little sigh. “I see.”
Maybourne looked far from pleased. “I trust that the Asgard will be contacted as soon as possible?”
“Yeah, I’ll just call up Thor, see what he’s up to,” Jack gave a bored wave of his hand. “Might take him awhile though, since he’s always running around some part of the galaxy. Or maybe Hemidall could give us a hand. Who knows. Very busy race, the Asgard.”
“You know the Asgard?” Nut asked, awe in her voice.
“They’ve helped us out a few times, we’ve helped them,” Daniel said easily before he looked at Maybourne. “Does the meeting really need to go on any longer? I’ve presented my findings, in detail. Janet’s gone over the technology we found there and Jack’s gone over the military applications of it. I really don’t see anything else that needs to be discussed.”
“Dr. Jackson is right,” Hammond said, rising. “We’ve explained everything to you and you’ve read over the report. Aside from the matter of Nut, this is no longer under our jurisdiction.”
Maybourne, taking a clue, rose, putting his hat back on. “You’ll hear from us when your… expertise is needed again.”
Maybourne looked around the room, his eyes resting on Nut for a moment longer before he turned to leave.
“Ha'taaka,” Nut muttered just loud enough to hear.
“Language…” Daniel murmured just loud enough for her to hear.
Nut glanced at him but didn’t say anything. Once the door closed she screwed up her face in intense dislike. “I would rather kiss Ra’s feet than help him.”
Jack didn’t say anything but his lips curled up in amusement. Even Hammond looked vaguely amused.
“Thankfully, that meeting is over,” Hammond stated. “I’m giving SG-1 a week of stand down time, starting tomorrow. That should be enough time to get this young lady fully settled in, isn’t it?”
“Yes Sir.” Daniel replied easily.
“Yes Sir.” Nut echoed smartly with an impish grin.
Hammond chuckled. “You can return to your duties.”
Daniel and Jack rose, Nut following their lead as Hammond went back to his office and closed the door. Daniel felt like breathing a sigh of relief. If that meeting had gone on for another hour, he would have been awol from using the bathroom and most likely caught trying to get off base.
“So, now that I don’t feel like shooting anyone, how about we get you back to the cafeteria?” Jack asked Nut.
“Actually, I finished with my session with Teal’c,” Nut said hastily. “I would like to help Da’iel if I can.”
“Your choice,” Jack shrugged. “I’m ready to go get some decent food. You coming Danny?”
“Actually,” Daniel began slowly. “I think I might stay overnight and get some translations done and then head home.”
Jack didn’t reply for a moment before he nodded his head. “Make sure he doesn’t kill himself.”
Nut smiled and nodded her head. Daniel gave his usual frown while Jack walked away with a cheery wave. Once Jack disappeared down the stairs, Daniel turned to look at Nut.
“So… just how bad was training with Teal’c?”
“It wasn’t bad; quite enjoyable in fact,” Nut paused. “It was the constant falling and hitting the obviously unpadded mats I had an issue with.”
“Yeah, they’re not all that comfortable, are they?” he mused as he gathered up his papers and started down the stairs.
Nut followed after him. She was quiet as they walked through the hallway and when they got to the room where the translation team was working. He found a seat for her and she smiled at him gratefully when he handed her some texts. They were working together in silence when she cleared her throat a bit. He looked up to find her looking at him intently.
“Yes?” he asked.
She didn’t speak for a moment. < Thank you, > she murmured so only he could hear. < You didn’t have to, but you did. >
Daniel blinked as she turned her attention back to the texts. She must have been referring to the fact that he could have easily left base and been with Jack, but he hadn’t. Even though Teal’c and Sam were still here, the idea of leaving her here hadn’t even occurred to him. It was equivalent with abandoning her, and that was something he couldn’t quite bring himself to do. Even though he had made up with Nick, it still stung to think that he hadn’t been wanted at all as a child.
“Da’iel?” Nut waved her hand in front of his face. “What are you thinking about?”
“Hm?” he snapped out of his thoughts. “Oh, nothing. Just… nothing.”
He turned back to the translation, feeling Nut’s eyes on him. When she poked him with the pen a second later, he glanced up to find her smiling; the sort of smile that said she would weasel it out of him.
“You’re a horrible liar.”
“The translation won’t finish itself you know.” He mused, a smile coming to his face.
______________________________________
“All right Nut, don’t try to take in everything at once. Just relax; you’ll have plenty of time to learn about everything.” Janet said.
“Okay,” Nut nodded her head.
“Now, if you don’t feel well, let Daniel know and he’ll bring you straight here. And be careful to –”
“Not ingest anything with milk.” Nut repeated in a monotone voice.
“I think she wants to go.” Daniel whispered in a conspiratorial voice.
Janet grinned. “And make sure that Dr. Jackson here doesn’t spend all day doing work.”
“Why does everyone keep asking her to keep an eye on me?” Daniel asked, crossing his arms.
“She’s very responsible,” Janet answered. “And someone needs to keep an eye on you.”
“Thanks.” Daniel replied dryly.
Janet smiled. “I’ll see you both later.”
Daniel watched as she walked briskly, vanishing around a corner. He glanced at Nut as he hit the button for the elevator. She looked at him, rocking on her heels slightly. She was dressed in a spare small uniform, which swam on her. The shoes on her feet were a bit too big and the front had been stuffed with some paper so she could walk without the clunking steps. The first order of business would be to buy her a small set of clothes and shoes. And then some other things for her room. Of course, there was a guest bedroom that was barely used. Hell, he didn’t think it had been aired out in the longest time. There was a good amount of work to be done when they got back.
The elevator arrived with a ding and they stepped in. Nut turned to him as they started up towards the surface.
“You seem very thoughtful.”
“I’m just thinking over what needs to be done,” Daniel replied. “You need clothes, shoes… uh, undergarments…” he was starting to wonder if it was a better idea to get Cassie to go shopping with Nut rather than him.
“Oh. It can’t be that bad, can it?” Nut asked. “I mean, clothes couldn’t have changed that much, could they.”
“Not much since the middle ages.” Daniel replied. “Pants, skirts, shirts, shoes, socks –”
Nut blinked a bit before she sighed a bit. “So I need something of every basic?”
“Pretty much. It might take us a good portion of the day.”
“See, it’s a good thing I said we should sleep last night,” Nut admonished. “Do you always work for so long?”
“I’m used to it. Besides, we should probably do the shopping first. Your room will have to be prepared when we get back.”
“Hm,” Nut was rocking on her heels again. “What is your home like?”
“What’s it like?” Daniel paused; no one had ever asked him that.
“Yes, what’s it like?”
“It’s… Well… Um… You’ll see soon enough.” Daniel finally said after some abortive attempts.
Nut’s brow crinkled as she raised both eyebrows with a smile. “You don’t have guests often, do you?”
“No, not really.” Daniel admitted with a smile.
“Okay, so before we go home, I need clothes. Anything else?” Nut asked.
“Groceries; the stuff in the fridge has to be spoilt by now.”
“Groceries?” Nut echoed as the elevator stopped and the doors slid open.
“You’ll see,” Daniel repeated again; why was he having trouble explaining things now. “It’ll make more sense when you see it with your own eyes.”
“All right,” Nut said as they signed out at a checkpoint. “So long as there’s no milk involved.”
Daniel could only hope that this day wouldn’t be all too long.
______________________________________
“Well, I’m glad that’s over with.” Nut said emphatically as Daniel unlocked his apartment door. “That man was so rude. How was I supposed to know that the box didn’t open that way?!”
Daniel bit back a laugh as he picked up a bundle of bags and manoeuvred in through the doorway. After a rather nasty start when he’d turned on the car and the radio blared on at the same time to an incident in the egg section of the diary aisle at the grocery store, the day had been long and very eventful.
If there was one thing Daniel was grateful for, it was that Nut didn’t spend a lot of time at the clothing stores. In fact, when she walked in, she seemed to know precisely what she wanted after looking around once. She spent very little time in the change room and when she did, she was quick about it.
Where she did spend a lot of time were the stores that had a wide assortment of knickknacks or books.
“You have a lot of things,” Nut’s voice echoed from living room.
Daniel dumped the bags and then shut the door and locked it before picking his way over said bags. Nut was standing in the living room, bag deposited neatly on the couch and she was peering at a seated ubshabti.
“Are they all from Egypt?”
“Some are from ancient Egypt,” Daniel said. “Some are from Mesopotamia, Asia, all over the world actually.”
Nut didn’t say anything for a long moment, watching the ubshabti with a curious unreadable expression in her eyes. Daniel was vaguely starting to feel like he was intruding on something when she turned to look at him with a smile.
“So, where is my room to be?”
“Right this way,” Daniel said as he walked towards and up a small flight of stairs. “It’s not much but…” He trailed off as he opened the door and slowly walked in, Nut behind him. The room was already made up. The window was open, the sheer curtains fluttering in the breeze. The bed was made up with fresh, and obviously new, dark blue linens. The large desk and empty bookcase had been dusted. And sitting there right a corner of the desk, in a glass tank was a snake, coiled up on a slab of rock under a heat lamp.
Nut gave a squeal of delight as she rushed forward, bags forgotten on the floor as she opened the lid and lifted the snake out gently. Daniel watched for a moment not too sure what to say.
“How about I leave you to get settled in?” he finally said.
“Okay,” Nut looked at him with a happy smile. “Thank you.”
“Oh, don’t thank me.” Daniel replied a bit absently. “I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.”
Nut nodded her head before she turned her attention back to the snake. Daniel closed the door and went back to the front door, grabbing the bags of groceries and taking them to the kitchen. He made another trip and placed the bags of Nut’s stuff on the couch in the living room. He picked up the cordless phone from the base as he walked into the kitchen. The fridge did cleaning out, and it only took him a few minutes to get rid of the food that had spoiled. Once it was cleared, he dialled a number. He had just taken the contents out of one grocery bag when the other end was picked up.
“O’Neill.”
“Jack,” Daniel began resting the phone between his shoulder and his ear. “How did you get in without breaking the lock?”
“What, you think I can’t pick a lock?” Jack sounded awfully smug. “This is why you get deadbolts Daniel.”
“Thanks for the home safety tip,” Daniel muttered as he opened the fridge and put the lettuce in the crisper. “Now, don’t get me wrong, it was great that you did that, but a pet already?”
“Hey, it could have been a dog. I was thinking of your artefacts.” Jack replied. “And she’s allergic to pet dander.”
Daniel started to protest but realised he couldn’t.
“And a cow would have been pretty hard on the apartment in general,” Jack chuckled. “Look at it this way: a snake is a great pet when you think about it.”
“‘When I think about it’? I didn’t even know there was a reptile in my home until five minutes ago.” Daniel replied.
“He only needs to be fed once a month, you take ‘em out once in awhile, let them slither about, they’re happy.”
“He?”
“She, he, I don’t know. I didn’t ask if it was a boy or a girl.”
“Well, I don’t suppose it can get that big.” Daniel replied after a moment.
“…Pythons don’t get that big, right? The –”
Daniel never heard the rest of the sentence since he had dropped the phone in surprise. He started cursing darkly as he hurried picked it back up. Jack was chuckling a bit.
“Should you be using such language around a kid?” Jack chided.
“You didn’t ask how big it would get?” Daniel seethed.
“If you hadn’t dropped the phone, you would have heard me say that the guy at the pet store told me it would probably grow no more than ten feet at the most.”
Daniel closed his eyes ad he rubbed the bridge of his nose. He might have a ten foot long python slithering around his home some time in the near future. It wouldn’t be too much of a disaster if he secured any artefacts to the floor so it didn’t run the risk of toppling over. But still, a snake that long slithering about his apartment... no, he was focusing on the negative here. There had to be a positive side to this.
“Danny?” Jack sounded a bit worried now.
“It’s better than a constrictor,” Daniel finally stated in a calm voice. “Because a heavy snake is better than a heavy snake that could squeeze one of us to death.”
“Uh, good point,” Jack sounded mildly disturbed now. “So, you two up to anything later?”
“Staying in probably,” Daniel replied. “We just got back from shopping.”
“Shopping?”
“Groceries, clothes, things she’ll need.”
“You managed to survive in a mall with a teenager?”
“She just went in and out. It was only a few hours total.”
“A few hours being?”
“Two and a half, close to three, around there.” Daniel paused as he heard the distinct sound of an engine being turned off. “Where are you?”
“Go take a look outside.”
Daniel frowned and made his way to the balcony, going to the barrier and looking down. There was Jack’s pickup truck, parked at the side of the road. The sound of something being disconnected came and then Jack stepped out of the truck a few moments later in familiar blue jeans and black leather jacket.
“Were you going to tell me you were coming to visit?” Daniel asked, resting an arm on the edge of the barrier.
“I figured you would have figured it out when I knocked on your front door.”
“Well since you’re already here…” Daniel began in a resigned voice.
“I’ll see you in a bit.” Jack sounded very amused before he closed his cell phone.
Daniel hung up his phone and went back inside, a smile coming to his face already. He went back in and found Nut sitting on the couch, the snake coiled around her arm with its tongue flickering as it looked around.
“I’ve named him Iah,” Nut said as she looked up at Daniel. “He is a beautiful snake.”
Daniel seated himself down in the couch, placing the phone back on the base. “Just don’t let him break anything.”
“I’ll make sure to keep an eye on him,” Nut started cooing at the snake with a smile on her face. “You don’t like snakes?”
“I just really don’t want it breaking something,” Daniel replied as he watched for a moment. “I could move some of my things out of the way, if you want to let… him crawl around.”
“Slither.” She corrected.
“Slither.”
“What should I feed him? Rats? Rabbits? Fish, maybe?”
“No, no,” Daniel began hastily. “I don’t think you need to –”
A knock on the door made both him and Nut look over. Nut hurried over, Iah still coiled around her arm. Daniel was just at the stairs when she opened the door. And he’d have to have a talk with her about not opening the door like that.
“Jack!” she exclaimed in delight. “Have you seen Iah? I found him when I got here!”
“Imagine that,” Jack grinned as he rumpled her hair. “Broke anything yet?”
“No, and I certainly don’t want to.” Nut stepped back, letting Jack in. “Everything’s far too interesting.”
Daniel couldn’t help but smile as Jack snorted at that, muttering something about bookworms. “So, did you just stop by for a drink?”
“Nope. Figured the munchkin here could go and see some more sights. Maybe visit Cassie. You can’t keep her inside on her first day outside the mountain.”
“You’re both taking me out?!” Nut looked between them with an ecstatic expression that dimmed after a moment. “It’s not to a mall, is it?”
“We don’t have to go to one,” Daniel began.
“But we could take you to see a movie.” Jack finished.
“Movie?” Nut looked between them, waiting for an answer.
“A story that you see.” Daniel paused for a moment. “A movie sounds like a good idea actually.”
“Can we go to the bookstore again?” Nut looked at Daniel eagerly.
“I don’t see why not; I could use some new books as well.” Daniel smiled.
“Are we going right now?” Nut looked at Jack.
“Yeah, if you like.” Jack answered.
Nut gave a squeal of delight and took off to her bedroom with a slam of the door. Jack watched the door for a moment before he turned his attention to Daniel.
“You did get enough sleep last night, right?”
“Yes,” Daniel replied slowly. “Why? Are we going to be out late?”
Jack just shrugged, but there was that look in his eye that said he was planning something.
“Well,” Daniel began. “We should probably take car. We all won’t fit in your pickup.”
“Your car?” Jack made a face.
“What’s wrong with my Volkswagon?” Daniel asked in an offended tone.
“Nothing… but it’s a bug… from the seventies.”
“So? It still drives.”
Jack opened his mouth to say something but opted not to. Daniel was about to press him when Nut came bounding out of her room, her new slides squeaking against the floors, jeans still dark blue and her bright tie-dye t-shirt offset by a black baseball cap.
“Taking a trip back to the sixties?” Jack asked Daniel with a smirk.
“Not if I can help it,” Daniel muttered. “All ready to go?”
Nut nodded her head enthusiastically. “Yeah! Let’s go!”
And with that, she squeezed past Jack out into the hallway. Jack watched her for a moment before he looked at Daniel, a slightly doubtful look on his face.
“This was your brilliant idea.” Daniel stated.
Jack had a momentary look on his face that said he’d suckered himself in for something he wasn’t quite prepared for. Daniel was hard pressed to not snicker as he shrugged on his jacket, pulled out his keys and stepped out of the apartment to lock the door.
______________________________________
“All right,” Daniel whispered as he closed the door gently. “I’ve tucked her into bed.”
“God, the kid’s unstoppable,” Jack groaned from the couch. “Five movies in one go.”
“And let’s not forget the food,” Daniel mused wryly as he walked into the living room. “The hotdogs, nachos, popcorn and more candy than you could shake from a tree.”
“And she drank Sprite like it was water. And then the bookstore… didn’t even get to visit Cassie…” Jack let his head flop against the back of the couch. “I don’t know about you, but I could use a drink.”
“One beer coming up,” Daniel chuckled as he headed for the kitchen.
“None of that European crap!” Jack’s voice echoed back to him.
Daniel snorted as he took out a bottle of domestic and a bottle of imported Irish cream ale. He came back to the living room, handing the domestic to Jack and sitting down at the opposite end of the couch. Once he’d opened his bottle and taken a gulp of the cold liquid, he sighed softly in content, sinking back into the cushions. Jack was doing the exact same thing, albeit he burped loudly and sank down into a comfortable sprawl on the available couch space.
“Thanks for coming by today,” Daniel started. “You could be doing something else with your time off.”
“What, just bum around my house for a week like a slob?” Jack asked before he took another swig of beer.
“I figured you’d be doing something like that.”
“Ah well, the massive hole in my wallet aside, this sure beats being a slob by myself. I need company in order to do that properly.”
“Oh, so that’s why you came over here!” Daniel snorted. “Figured you’d drag the both of us with you?”
“Hey, misery loves company.” Jack gave a shrug of his shoulders as he sat up. “And misery’s really glad to be finally alone with company.”
“Oh,” Daniel sat up as Jack moved in closer. “And?”
“Misery would like to spend the week with company.”
“I see.” Daniel nodded his head slowly, trying to resist the urge to snicker. “And for the record, company thinks this allusion is very amusing.”
Jack leaned in closer, angling his head. “Misery’ll keep that in mind.”
Daniel didn’t move as Jack’s lips came into contact with his, brushing across them lightly for a moment. He opened his mouth just enough for his tongue to slip out and lick Jack’s upper lip. Jack inhaled sharply, resting his beer on the coffee table. Daniel elected to do the same thing, leaning forward and skirting his lips over Jack’s with small flickers of his tongue, tasting Coors. A soft groan reached Daniel’s ears and the next thing he knew, Jack was kissing him. Daniel sank back into the cushions, pulling Jack down with him. He shifted a bit when Jack’s weight settled on top of him, moan muffled as his groin rubbed against Jack’s hips and Jack rolled his hips in response. He slid his arms around Jack’s back, before slowly sliding his hands down to grasp Jack’s butt. The muscles tensed under his touch for a moment and Daniel raised and rolled his hips. He was rewarded with a muffled groan.
“God, stop, stop…” Jack panted as he raised himself up on his arms. “We gotta take this slow Danny.”
“Mmm?” Daniel purred as he languorously moved his hips again. “Like that?”
Jack closed his eyes with a strangled groan. “You’ll be the fucking death of me.”
“You’ll die happy.” Daniel replied.
Jack looked down at him. “You’re horrible for my resolve. I tell myself I’ll just give you one kiss and look at us now.”
Daniel quirked an eyebrow. “I don’t see a problem with it. In fact, I could name a few good things about it.”
“We still need to…” Jack hissed as Daniel tightened his grip, rolling his hips slowly. “Aw god; do you want me to cream my pants now?”
“That’s the general idea,” Daniel murmured as he licked up Jack’s neck. “Why don’t we talk afterwards?”
Jack paused, as if he was seriously considering that. “No,” he managed. “Before; we still need to talk about…”
Daniel felt a small smile coming to his face as Jack trailed off when he wrapped a leg around Jack’s and started drawing it up slowly.
“Danny,” Jack said in a low and tight voice. “Unless you want to be dragged off this couch, taken to the bedroom and thoroughly fucked, quit it; right now.”
A slight pout came to Daniel’s face and he loosened his hold on Jack. Jack inhaled sharply as he raised himself up, still taking slow breaths.
“You should come with a label; ‘Warning: close proximity to this archaeologist causes temporary loss of self-control.’” Jack ran a hand through his hair.
Daniel sat back up, licking his lips. “Is this a ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ thing?”
“No,” Jack replied. “Just so long as we’re very discreet, we won’t have problems.”
“Going to be visiting Nut a lot I take it?”
Jack grinned. “Read my mind.”
“Then what do we need to discuss?” Daniel asked, his eyes wandering to Jack’s lips.
“For starters, about how we’re going to act on base. I’m not flying into this completely blind when I don’t have to.”
“Uh huh,” Daniel nodded his head, eyes still fixed on the one spot.
“No nookie in a supply closet, no groping, and no offworld stuff unless…” Jack paused before he waved a hand in Daniel’s face. “Hello?!”
“Mouth,” Daniel said abruptly as he looked at Jack’s eyes. “I completely agree.”
“Mouth?” Jack asked archly.
“I said yes,” Daniel looked highly unsure of himself. “… didn’t I?”
“You wish,” Jack retorted. “Would ya pay attention to what I’m saying, not where the words are coming from?”
Daniel’s face flushed a bit at that. “All right, so no fooling around on base, of which includes groping and other sundry, and nothing offworld unless…”
“I dunno, we’re completely alone or aliens make us do it.”
“What, fuck or die?” Daniel snorted.
“Something like that.”
“How original.”
“Isn’t it?”
Daniel lapsed into silence for a moment, thinking. “This isn’t the first time for you… doing something like this, is it?”
“No; and I know precisely what not to do. No way in hell am I giving the NID or Trust something they can use against me.”
“But you’re still willing to risk it.”
“Who says it’s a risk? All we have to do is keep acting the way we normally do and no one’s the wiser.”
“No one’s the wiser?”
“No one’s the wiser.”
“Someone is bound to notice Jack. We’re going to act differently around one another.”
“You don’t really pay attention to how we act around one another, do you?”
Daniel started to reply but fell silent at that, thinking over Jack’s words. He had a very good point there. They were always standing close enough to be touching, always had some sort of physical contact via hugs, pats on the shoulder or the like. And then, when they weren’t sniping and arguing, they were pretty much in sync. They were pretty much acting like they were in a relationship already. If they stopped that, the warning bells would definitely start going off.
“OK, so no fooling around on base, of which includes groping, and nothing offworld unless we’re absolutely alone or aliens make us do it.”
“Now ya got it,” Jack scooted in a bit closer to Daniel. “So, what exactly are you looking for between us?”
“Looking for?” Daniel repeated. “I don’t quite follow.”
“Do you just want sex or do you want the whole package deal?”
“The whole package deal being…”
“Relationship, sex…. breakfast in bed,” Jack shrugged as he moved in a bit closer. “I can be a bit of a sap.”
“You picked a horrible way to phrase that.”
“I’m not exactly known for my tact, am I?”
“Touché,” Daniel felt a smile coming to his face as he rested his hands on Jack’s thighs. “Shouldn’t you add irascible, short-tempered, quick at the mouth –”
“I get the point.” Jack cut Daniel off a bit flatly. “I think they should add smartass, mouthy and a general pain-in-the-ass to that label.”
“Can’t forget the part about bad knees and a propensity for being beamed away by little grey aliens. You might want to include that in description of said, ‘whole package deal.’” Daniel finished.
“That’s not my fault!” Jack retorted. “How am I supposed to know when Thor’s going to beam me up?”
“And you –”
“Ahem.”
Both Daniel and Jack turned their heads to find a sleepy Nut standing in the doorway to her room, a scowl on her face.
“I’m a very light sleeper and your yapping is waking me up. Either talk quieter or shut up and go to sleep. Damn…” Nut groused. “And for the love off all that is good on this planet Da’iel, just tell him you’ll take the package deal!”
And with that Nut disappeared back into her bedroom with a slam of a door. Daniel looked back at Jack, to find him looking absolutely affronted. He was unable to resist the smile that was spreading on his face and felt a laugh building up.
“Well, isn’t that great; caught on the couch like two teenagers.”
“At least we weren’t necking.” Daniel wheezed with the effort to not laugh loudly. “She might have broken it up, thrown you out and told you to go home.”
“You wouldn’t let her,” Jack said accusingly. “I had a beer.”
“Half a beer,” Daniel corrected. “And I wouldn’t let her… though she might send me to my room and banish you to the couch.”
Jack opened his mouth to reply but a loud and heavy thump came from Nut’s bedroom door. That was it. Daniel doubled over, arms going around his side as he snuffled and snorted, trying his best to muffle his laughter. Jack had a peeved expression on his face as he helped Daniel up and they both went into the bedroom. When Daniel collapsed to the bed he gasped, tears starting to pool in his eyes. Jack closed the door and then came over to the bed, sitting down gently.
“Enjoying yourself?” Jack asked wryly.
“Immensely.” Daniel gasped.
“Got spare clothes?”
“Dresser, bottom drawer.” Daniel managed as he stretched out slowly, easing his cramping stomach muscles.
Jack stood up and went over, getting a pair of sweats out before he walked into the bathroom. Daniel watched as the door closed before he rose slowly from the bed and went over, pulling out a pair of shorts and t-shirt. It didn’t take him long to change and toss the clothes in the laundry hamper. He had just removed his glasses and gotten beneath the covers when the bathroom door opened at Jack stood in the doorway, with a thoughtful expression.
“Something wrong?” Daniel asked.
“Am I sleeping on the couch?”
“No, your back will be hell in the morning if you do,” Daniel reached over and turned down the other side of the covers. “Besides, there’s more than enough room here for the both of us.”
“Got a spare toothbrush?”
“I don’t think so.”
Jack cast a look back at the bathroom sink before he shrugged and flicked off the light. It took Daniel’s eyes a bit to adjust to the sudden darkness of the bedroom. But the bed sank when Jack got in it. Daniel waited a bit until Jack settled down before he scooted in closer.
“You don’t waste time do you?” Jack chuckled as he drew Daniel in closer, sliding an arm around his shoulders.
“Guess not,” Daniel replied, resting his head on Jack’s chest. “Can I ask you something?”
“Yeah?”
“How many other guys have you been with?”
“Not many,” Jack answered. “I got offers, but it wasn’t exactly the best idea to accept all of them, you know?”
“What about when you were in the field?”
“Well, yeah, but that would just be unprofessional to fraternise with someone in the same unit.”
“Oh?”
“But you’re an exception,” Jack started hastily. “I wouldn’t break regs for just anyone; they’d have to be real special.”
“Nice save.”
“It’s the truth; I can count the number of guys I’ve been with on one hand.” Jack held up his hand.
Daniel peered up in the shadowy dark. “Four?”
“Jeez, you’re blind. Three; including you.”
“… Really?”
“What, you don’t believe me?”
“I do. Just seems a bit surprising is all.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Jack groused. “What about you? Any lurid details in your past I should know about?”
“Just Sarah,” Daniel fell silent for a moment. “You know it didn’t last long. It was more of a fling, I suppose.”
“You suppose?”
“It wasn’t so much as a fling as she continually dragged me out for dinner and called them dates.” Daniel shrugged. “It was easier to go along with it rather than try and dissuade her.”
Jack snorted. “Couldn’t take no for an answer?”
“More like she had fifty ways to wriggle out of not taking no for an answer,” Daniel didn’t say anything for a moment. “Jack?”
“Yeah?”
Daniel didn’t reply for a long moment, simply listening the sound of their breathing. “You’re sure you’re fine with this?”
“Daniel,” Jack huffed with repressed laughter. “If anything, I should be the one asking that question. And yes I am. Why would you ask that?”
“Just want to be sure.” Daniel answered. “I mean –”
“Danny,” Jack cut him off. “Don’t worry about all that other stuff.”
“But this is serious!”
“I know. And we talked about it, didn’t we?”
“Yes –”
“Danny, laissez faire.”
“Jack…” Daniel trailed off for a moment. “Laissez faire isn’t the best contingency plan.”
“It’s not.”
“Then we’ll just wing it.”
Daniel spluttered. “That’s exactly the same thing!”
“Oh?”
Daniel looked up and managed to see Jack giving him a smirk. He scowled and poked Jack hard in the side. Jack bent up with a laugh, Daniel motioned for him to be quiet but a moment later a thump and muffled curses came from the wall. Jack grinned like an idiot, while Daniel shook his head.
“Of course,” Jack mused quietly as he pulled Daniel in for a kiss. “We could always leave it to a much more “godly” touch.”
Daniel snorted. “You should quit with the puns.”
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