TITLE: Wraith Killers
AUTHOR: Lady Ra
E-
RATING: NC-17. Gotta tell you though that there isn't a whole lot of graphic sex going on. They all sort of seemed to want to keep it behind closed doors. So if you want lots and lots of sex, move along.
PAIRING: McShep, Daniel/Jack
SUMMARY: Atlantis ends up with some unexpected new residents
NOTES: This takes place between ninth and tenth season of SG1, and assumes Jack
is still the head of the
EPISODE SPOILERS: None, really, except for the whole show.
DISCLAIMER: It all belongs to whoever the heck owns Stargate. FEEDBACK: Absolutely. In fact I insist on it. No, I'm begging you for it. Damn, where are those drugs?
THANKS: Thanks to my vunderbar betas. My stories are always so much better for their hard work. For this story that includes: Joolz, Hawthorn, Susan, Annie, and Prentice. Any mistakes you find are all me.
And a special thanks to Peter Neverland, Montana, and Bluespirit for their wonderful manips!!!!
This was a Christmas-yes Christmas, and I know it's late-challenge story for my Sacramento slash buddies. Here was what they wanted:
Challenge:
- Soldier boys save the day
- Daniel woos Jack
- John gets Rodney a cat
- John and Rodney get another couple to hang with
- Either John or Rodney tell a childhood memory to the other
Hopefully I squeezed them all in here. Merry belated Christmas!!!
This was the picture that started this story. It was a real picture with some guy and Montana remade it with Rodney. And now, on with the show:
Wraith Killers
As usual, John Sheppard and Elizabeth Weir welcomed the newly arrived soldiers and scientists as they stepped off the Daedalus. John watched the faces, looking for people he knew. Elizabeth had a list of arriving passengers, of course, and John had access to it, but he'd barely glanced at it. He didn't request specific people the way Elizabeth did, and Lorne was the one who actually checked in the new military arrivals. He noticed someone vaguely familiar and nudged Elizabeth. "Don't we know that guy?" John searched his mind for a name.
She followed his pointing finger and her jaw dropped. "Oh, my God," she said in surprise. Moving quickly, she headed on an intercept path.
Whatever his name was, obviously Elizabeth thought it was a big deal. John got there just in time to watch them smile at each other, and then Elizabeth put out her hand. "Dr. Jackson. I didn't realize you were coming."
Dr. Jackson. Dr. Daniel Jackson. John remembered now. He'd seen the man in Antarctica, usually with General O'Neill circling around him. Even in the short time John had been at SGC, it was clear the guy was as much of a legend as General O'Neill.
"I wasn't sure if I'd be able to make it," Jackson explained. "But I had all the right papers signed, so Caldwell let me board."
"I should hope so," Elizabeth exclaimed. "I'm thrilled to have you here."
"Really?" Jackson asked, as if he hadn't been sure of his reception. "I hoped you wouldn't mind."
"Mind? Why would I possibly mind? I can't wait to sit down with you and show you the translations I've made. I'm sure you'll see all sorts of errors."
"I doubt that," he said kindly.
"I'm Lt. Colonel John Sheppard," John said, deciding it was time to be noticed.
Daniel shook his hand, smiling nicely. "Colonel. It's very nice to see you again. It sounds as if you've been able to pull one miracle after another out of your magic bag of tricks. Even Jack's been impressed."
"Jack?"
"General O'Neill," Jackson explained.
Oh. John should have guessed. He grinned. "Well, welcome to Atlantis, Dr. Jackson."
"Daniel, please," he said and then to Elizabeth, "And that goes for you, too, please."
"All right," she said with a grin. "I still can't believe you're here. I can't believe General O'Neill let you go."
John saw a small grimace cross Daniel's face and wondered what it meant.
Elizabeth kept talking. "The last time I saw the two of you, you were trying to talk him into letting you come with us, and he was saying no quite emphatically."
"Um." Daniel said. "He doesn't…um." He stopped whatever he was going to say and started to look around.
John wanted to know what Daniel had been about to say but then saw the starry-eyed look on Daniel's face and chose not to interrupt him. He knew that look. John was pretty sure he'd had it on his face last night when he stood out on the balcony and watched the sun go down casting its last golden rays on the spires of Atlantis.
Daniel was looking all around him, his eyes as large as saucers with a goofy
grin on his face. "I'm here,"
he said reverently. "I'm in
Atlantis."
John couldn't help but grin back, along with Elizabeth. "You're definitely here," John confirmed. He wasn't positive, but it almost looked like Daniel was glowing.
*****
"This is so annoying," Rodney muttered as he raced along the hallway, glaring at the lights that were shining too brightly for no apparent reason--using power they couldn't afford to use.
He saw John and Elizabeth and headed straight toward them. He didn't know how, but somehow this was all John's fault. Rodney just knew it. They were talking to another person, but Rodney dismissed him as unessential. "What are you doing?" Rodney demanded of John.
"What are you talking about?" John asked, a line of contention drawn in his forehead.
"The city?" Rodney clarified as if John were the stupidest person alive. "What are you doing? Lights are shining, all the Ancient technology is working at a higher efficiency, and everything's blinking merrily. If this place were a Disney movie, there'd be little nauseating bluebirds zipping all over the place, probably landing on your shoulder. Did you get laid last night?"
"Rodney!" Elizabeth responded with a gasp that sounded suspiciously like a laugh, too.
Rodney rocked back on his heels. "Did I say that out loud?" he said to her. Then he shrugged, glared at John and said, "As long as the damage is done, answer the question. Did you?" Rodney wasn't sure why the thought infuriated him.
"That's none of your business, Rodney," John said in a pissy tone.
"Ah ha!" Rodney said with a pointing finger. "You did. You Kirk you," he said scathingly, a flash of disappointment, maybe even, God forbid, envy, washed through Rodney. He gestured at the city. "Well, try to turn off the afterglow. We're wasting power."
"I'm not doing anything," John protested. "It's probably him," he added.
"Him, who?" Rodney asked, finally taking a look at the third person. His eyebrows climbed up on his forehead. "Dr. Jackson? What are you doing here?" Rodney felt an acute sense of anxiety about the doctor's presence. He spun to John. "You're trying to get rid of me, aren't you?"
John sputtered at him.
Rodney spun back to Daniel. "What are you doing here?" he demanded again.
"Rodney," Elizabeth reproved again. "I hardly think…"
Rodney was back to John. "Don't even think about replacing me on your team with Dr. Jackson. Just because he's been on SG-1 for nine years, doesn't mean he can do the things I can do. You need me." Before John could even get his mouth open, Rodney took a step closer to him. "You try to replace me," Rodney threatened, "I'll make you rue the day you were born. Are we clear?"
"Clear as rue," John drawled.
"Dr. McKay," Daniel said placatingly, "no one even knew I was coming. I'm only here to study the Ancients. I know the work you do here is amazing, and I have no intention of taking anyone's place. Sam's already used a few of your ideas, and she sent some work with me for you to review."
"Really?" Rodney said, pleased, momentarily diverted from his quest.
"Really. In fact, she gave me some information to give to you. She thinks your idea about opening up a communication wormhole will work."
Rodney squinted at Daniel. "Hmm. Okay." He frowned again. "You're really not here to replace me?"
Daniel looked at him like he was crazy. "I'm an archeologist. I can't do any of the stuff you do."
Rodney wasn't sure about that. As far as he had read and seen, Daniel could do anything he put his mind to. But Daniel also hadn't struck him as the lying kind. "You ascended," he blurted out. It suddenly made sense that the city was doing figurative cartwheels.
"Um," Daniel said.
"You ascended," Rodney said aggressively, as if arguing with Daniel's 'um'. "Twice."
Daniel looked like he wanted to argue, but he just opened and closed his mouth.
"And you're sort of glowing right now," Rodney pointed out.
Daniel looked down at himself in some alarm.
"In fact, it's probably what's got the city all worked up." Rodney frowned at Daniel. "You need to stop it. We're using too much power."
Daniel looked at his hand, which was definitely glowing. "I'm not sure how."
"Just think off," John suggested.
"No!" Rodney yelled. "Don't do that," he said with a blistering look at John. "Given the city's response to you," he said to Daniel, "you might shut everything off."
"Oh," John said. "Good point."
"So what should I do?" Daniel asked.
Rodney had no idea. The city hadn't done this for Chaya. He sniffed. Not that that was surprising. He was more surprised the city hadn't found a way to throw her over a balcony. Hussy. "Try--"
"Uh, Rodney," John interrupted, looking nervously at Daniel.
"Shit," Rodney said, taking a step back. Daniel was really glowing now. And so were the lights. If the city was playing music it would be performing a resounding version of Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony, 1812 Overture, cannons thundering overhead. The city liked Daniel a little too much; Rodney's scanner was going nuts. "I changed my mind! Tell it to stop! Tell the city to calm down!" Rodney yelled.
Daniel closed his eyes, concentrating, his brow furrowed.
It took a few minutes, but the lights finally toned down, and Daniel's luminosity decreased with it. He was still glowing, but you had to really look to notice it. Rodney checked his scanner; power usage was back to normal. In fact…
"What was that about?" John asked.
"Was the city truly responding to your presence?" Elizabeth asked, fascinated.
Daniel winced a smile at her. "I don't know."
Rodney bounced on his toes. "Whatever you're doing now, keep doing it." He frowned crookedly at Daniel. "By the way, what did you do?"
"I told the city to do what you wanted it to," Daniel said cautiously. "Is that okay?"
Rodney's eyes opened wide. "You did?" He stared at his scanner then grinned maniacally at Daniel. "The city really, really likes you. It's working at a 10% higher efficiency." He glowered at John. "Why didn't you ever tell the city to do that?"
John frowned back. "Because I think telling anyone or anything to do what you want is intrinsically a bad idea."
Rodney sneered at him. But after looking at his scanner, he bounced again and was back to grinning. "This is excellent," Rodney said to Daniel. Then he smirked at John. "Sorry, Colonel, I guess you're no longer the teacher's pet." A bothersome thought crossed his mind and he scowled at John, pointing at Daniel. "I know you have a thing for ascended beings, but try to keep your hands to yourself."
"Actually," Daniel began after a startled look at John and Rodney. "I'm not sure I did ascend a second time, but I did sort of die and come back to life again." He sent a sour look to the universe at large. "Naked, again." He sighed. "Anyway, Hermiod told me that when my body was, well, when it rematerialized, or whatever it did, there were some genetic changes."
"If you're willing," Elizabeth said, looking a little dazed, "I'm sure Carson would love to take a look at you."
"Sure," Daniel said agreeably enough.
Rodney was still playing with his scanner, looking like a kid on Christmas morning. Quickly glancing at Daniel, he said, "Want to go get something to eat?"
Daniel nodded. "I could eat."
Rodney stared at the scanner again and bounced on his toes one more time. "Well, come on, come on." He headed off, not even bothering to check if Daniel was behind him. "Then you need to come to my lab," he told the space he was assuming Daniel would be. "I have some experiments I want to try."
With a quick 'save-me' smile toward John and Elizabeth, Daniel said to them, "I'll talk to you later." With that he bounded off after Rodney.
*****
John stared as the two them walked off together, feeling very, very annoyed about everything. He was the one who usually ate with McKay, and he was the one McKay dragged down to his lab to play with Ancient stuff. And let's not even talk about being supplanted as Atlantis' fair-haired boy, and Rodney's accusation about his questionable 'thing' for ascended beings. And for damn sure he didn't get laid last night. "Oh, boy," he muttered under his breath.
"No kidding," Elizabeth added.
*****
"What?" Jack yelled. "He's what?" He'd been in Washington for a whole freaking month. As soon as he'd gotten back, he'd gone looking for Daniel only to be told by Walter that he was probably in Atlantis by now.
"You approved his transfer," Walter said.
"And you didn't think I needed to know that?" Jack yelled some more.
"You signed the papers, sir," Walter said reasonably.
"What's your point?" Jack said as he stomped around the office. "I need to know these things. Damn it." He glared at Walter. "Get him back."
"I can't, sir," Walter informed him. "He's in Atlantis. The Daedalus won't be leaving there for a month, and it will take another two weeks after that before it's within communication range, at which point it would take them another two weeks to return to Atlantis and another month to return here."
Jack's eyes narrowed. "Walter, you're fired."
"Yes, sir," Walter said. "Your next meeting's in one hour."
Jack sighed and sat down, waving at Walter to get the hell out. Shit. He hated meetings. He hated being a General. He hated his job. The only good thing about it was Daniel, and now that rat bastard had tricked him into letting him go to Atlantis. "Shit." His anger ran out of steam, and he slumped in his chair, feeling old and lonely and wondering what the hell he'd done to make Daniel run so far away.
*****
John stalked down the hallways. Fucking Rodney McKay. The man had to be the most exasperating person on the face of the planet. Galaxy. Universe.
He toyed with the idea of going to the gym and beating the crap out of a punching bag, or maybe a willing Marine or two, but then decided he'd rather give McKay shit, so he headed toward the cafeteria.
Rodney and Daniel were still together when he arrived, blabbing away, thick as thieves. He got in line, made his choices through monosyllabic grunts, and then stalked to the table where they were sitting. Slamming his tray down next to Daniel, he sat down.
Their conversation came to a screeching halt, much to John's pleasure. Without saying a word, he started to eat.
Rodney frowned at him. "What's got you in such a snit?"
The unfairness of the question made John seriously consider throwing the remains of his almost-meatloaf at Rodney. Only the fact that it was one of the few entrees he actually liked kept him from it. "What's got me in such a snit?" he asked in return, in that quiet voice that made most people back up.
"Something wrong with your hearing now?" Rodney asked around a mouthful of food.
Most people meant everyone but Rodney, something John just didn't get. Rodney totally fit in the category of people who should be wary of a man with a large gun, but for whatever reason, Rodney had never been afraid of John. Ever.
"Have I gotten laid? Not Atlantis' fair-haired boy? I tend to be attracted to ascended people? Any of that ring a bell?" John snapped out. He didn't mention that he and Rodney generally had lunch together if they weren't working to avoid imminent death. Despite the seemingly unending crises they experienced, they'd still managed to fit in a lot of lunches. And dinners. And evenings. John was taken aback at the realization that he spent a shitload of time with Rodney.
"And?" Rodney asked, unperturbed. "What's your point?"
John counted to ten.
Fortunately, Daniel interrupted the conversation before it could spiral into the depths of hell. "Are you really attracted to ascended people?" he asked John.
Rodney held up two fingers. Only a gargantuan mouthful of food kept him from speaking, for which John could only be grateful. He wasn't in the mood to have crumbs spewed all over him. John glared, silently warning him to keep his damn mouth shut. Again, unaffected, Rodney finally swallowed his food. "Glowy sex," Rodney announced.
Daniel's eyebrows shot up. "Glowy sex?"
"Once," John spit out. "I had glowy sex once," he said, shooting daggers at Rodney. "And that was none of your damn business," he bit out to his now very ex-best friend.
"Then you shouldn't have bragged about it, Colonel," Rodney said primly.
Okay, John mentally conceded. He had bragged about it, but it had only been to piss Rodney off.
"I was ascended for almost a year, and I never got the chance to have glowy sex," Daniel said with a hint of pout.
"You didn't run across John Kirk here," Rodney said acidly.
Daniel blinked at Rodney. "You held up two fingers," he pointed out.
John sat back with a disgusted sigh and pushed his tray away, his appetite lost. Figures it would happen on almost-meatloaf night. "She wasn't ascended," he explained through narrowed eyes, still glaring at Rodney. "And you left me there for six months. Six."
"I explained about the time dilation," Rodney said, chin up, looking affronted. "I worked as fast as I could. If I'd listened to Elizabeth, you'd have been in your grave by the time we showed up. And she wasn't ascended yet," he clarified spitefully with emphasis. "She was trying to become ascended, and after you had your way with her, poof, gone in a ray of light." His hands expressed the poof by fisting and then exploding open. If those fingers had come any closer to John's face he would have bitten one off.
"Really?" Daniel asked, fascinated. "She ascended after…" he delicately left off the second half of the sentence.
"Not right after," John said witheringly. "Her whole village was trying to ascend."
"Wow," Daniel said.
John decided it was time to get back at Rodney. Slouching back in his chair, John spread his legs a little, assuming the pose that always seemed to generate the most amount of attention at a party. He shot Daniel his best come-hither lopsided smile, and drawled, "I understand you've ascended twice." He raised one eyebrow.
Daniel blinked at him.
Rodney's jaw dropped open. "Hey!" he protested.
Stuttering, Daniel said, "Well, once for sure, maybe, um, twice."
John leaned forward. "I'd love to hear about it." It was true he never saw it coming when women walked into wherever he was and took their clothes off, but he'd always known how to go after what he wanted--at least until Rodney. Rodney was impervious to flirting unless you smacked him with a brick right between his eyes. John knew that for a fact, because he'd been giving it his best shot and gotten nowhere. He was stockpiling bricks in his quarters and was going to enjoy throwing them at the man. And while he didn't want Daniel, he so wanted to see that pole-axed expression on Rodney's face.
Daniel's eyebrows danced on his forehead as he first gave John a long stare from head to toe, and then looked between John and Rodney. "Um," was all he managed to say.
"Stop that," Rodney demanded.
"Stop what?" John asked, all innocence.
"The Kirk thing!" Rodney practically yelled.
"You're the one who said I had a thing for the ascended," John said. "Are you saying you were wrong?" Ha, thought John.
Almost incoherent with indignation, Rodney babbled out nonsense for a few moments before finally hissing, "Keep your hands to yourself."
"Why? Why do you care what I do with my hands?"
"Because you're m--" Rodney cut off mid-word. "Never mind. Forget it. Have fun," he added bitterly. He got up fast enough to topple over his chair. Without bothering to right it, he picked up his tray, tossed it in the dirty line, and stormed out of the room.
John debated the wisdom in going after him, finally decided he liked living too much.
"You two remind me of me and Jack," Daniel observed. "We can get under each other's skin better than anyone. We spend half our time hanging out together, and half our time furious with each other."
"Yeah," John said. "That about sums it up."
Daniel cocked his head to the side. "You don't really have a thing for ascended people, do you?"
John shook his head.
"But you did have glowy sex?"
Smirking, John nodded.
"I never get to do the fun stuff," Daniel said with a sigh.
John suddenly felt ashamed of himself for acting like this to Daniel. "Sorry," he said. "I wasn't really coming on to you, I just wanted Rodney--" He cut off, frustrated.
"To make him jealous?" Daniel guessed.
"Maybe," John admitted. It was hard to lie to those sincere blue eyes.
"Think it worked?"
John shrugged, defeated. "I have no idea."
"How was it?" Daniel asked.
"How was what?" John said, confused.
"Glowy sex?"
John shrugged again. "Okay. Not as good as the real thing."
Daniel pursed his lips and studied John for a moment. "You could tell him how you feel, you know. You being in the military is the biggest obstacle. If you're willing, then you're only dealing with two people who either are or aren't attracted to each other." He paused. "I'm guessing are."
"You don't know Rodney if you think the only obstacle is me being in the military," John admitted with a rueful grin. "You haven't seen what Rodney can do when he's really pissed."
"I do know him," Daniel assured him. "It took a team of plumbers a week to figure out how to get the hot water turned back on at Stargate Command after Rodney was sent to Siberia."
John couldn't help but grin. "A week?"
"I've never seen General Hammond so angry," Daniel admitted. "Of course, when they found the problem, there was no way to prove Rodney had done it," he added with his own grin.
Snickering, John said, "That's Rodney." There was something so weirdly appealing about Rodney being so prickly and obnoxious, although John had no idea why. Maybe it was because he was the best entertainment to be had in a scary-ass world.
Daniel was studying him again.
"What?" John asked.
"Tell him," Daniel said in deadly seriousness. "Tell him how you feel. Don't wait until it's too late. Time goes by so fast, relentlessly fast. As you continue to fight your enemies here in the Pegasus Galaxy, at least you could be together."
This time it was John's turn to study Daniel. "Is it too late for you?"
"I don't know," Daniel said with a small sad smile. "Maybe it's always been too late. I've never been good at this sort of stuff."
"Yeah, me either," John confessed. "In fact, I usually can't talk about this shit at all. It's like pulling teeth."
That got a real smile from Daniel. "I don't know about that. You looked pretty good at it when you were putting on a show for me." He looked up at John through his eyelashes, his eyes huge and blue, and John thought maybe Daniel was better at this than he thought.
John smacked his hand over his face. "Pretend I didn't do that."
"It's forgotten. At least by me," Daniel added with a sly grin. "Something tells me Rodney's going to have a long, long memory."
Groaning, John shook his head. He needed to come up with the perfect peace offering if he ever wanted Rodney to talk to him again, let alone to keep him from cutting off his hot water, stopping up his toilet, or whatever other Machiavellian tortures the man could come up with.
His head set clicked. "Colonel Sheppard?" Zelenka's voice said.
"Go ahead," John responded.
"Can you come to jumper bay, please? It is necessary for you to activate a puddle jumper to check repairs."
"Be right there. Sheppard out." He looked at Daniel. "Duty calls."
"I understand," Daniel said graciously.
John stood, then with a rueful grin, apologized again. "Sorry, again. That was pretty high school of me."
Daniel's eyebrows rose. "No apologies necessary." He gave John a quick once-over. "I enjoyed the show."
With a short laugh, John decided he liked Daniel Jackson.
*****
All the rumors about Daniel Jackson had made Ronon curious, so he waited for John to leave, and then got up to sit across from him. He gave Daniel a moment to notice him.
"Hey," Daniel said, his eyes friendly.
"I'm Ronon."
"I'm Daniel."
"You're new here," Ronon said unnecessarily.
"I am," Daniel agreed. "Are you new here, as well?"
"I've been here for about a year," Ronon informed him.
Daniel took a long moment to look at him. Ronon didn't think anyone had ever looked at him so intently before. "Not from Earth?" Daniel finally asked.
"Sateda," Ronon said. "My planet was attacked and most everyone died."
A genuine pain on his behalf crossed Daniel's face. "I'm sorry."
Ronon shrugged. "My home is here now." His chin pointed toward the direction John had left in. "With John Sheppard."
Daniel's eyebrows rose. "You and John--?"
It took Ronon a few seconds to figure out what Daniel was hinting at. "No. Me and Sheppard aren't sharing blankets."
"Sharing blankets," Daniel said with a soft grin. "I like that expression."
"I'd be willing," Ronon continued, grabbing Daniel's dessert and digging in. He'd given the man plenty of time to start eating it, but he hadn't made a move.
"With Sheppard?" Daniel hazarded a guess, making no move to steal his dessert back.
Ronon nodded. "But, he and McKay--" He stopped suddenly and leaned in, looking dangerous. "You're not military, are you?"
Daniel shook his head. "No, I'm not. And I think it's a stupid rule."
Ronon was glad Daniel had known what he was talking about. "Very stupid rule," he agreed.
This time Daniel leaned in to say softly, "So, do you think Rodney and John are sharing blankets?"
Ronon rolled his eyes. "No, but only because they can't get their heads out of their asses." He used his finger to scrape up the remaining dessert. "Idiots."
Snickering, Daniel drank a sip of coffee. "Are you in love with John Sheppard?"
"Nah," Ronon said easily. "But he's hot."
Daniel's mouth made a silent "oh," and he took another sip. It made Ronon think of all the things Daniel could be doing with that mouth.
"There's a betting pool on the two of them if you want in on it," Ronon offered.
"On John and Rodney?" Daniel asked, amused.
"Yeah. You want in on it?"
"No, thanks," Daniel said. "Though I appreciate you asking me."
Ronon grunted, nodded, and wished he had another dessert. It was good today. He thought about getting up and getting one, but he wasn't done with this conversation. "There are rumors that say you've been dead," he finally threw out.
"Really? There are rumors about me out here?" Daniel looked astonished.
"Have you?" Ronon asked, wanting to know the answer.
"Um, yes, actually. I have been dead. Three, maybe four times. Almost dead a few times, too."
"Dead dead?"
Daniel nodded. "Completely dead."
"How come you're not still dead, then?" Ronon asked, deciding that if anyone else had told him that, he wouldn't believe it. But, Daniel Jackson, Ronon somehow knew, wasn't a liar.
"Are you familiar with a sarcophagus?"
Ronon shook his head.
Frowning, Daniel thought for a moment. "It's a large box, a mechanism, that can heal almost anything, even death, if it's used quickly enough. The first time I died, someone put me in one, and it healed me. The second time I died, the Nox, another alien species with extraordinary powers, brought me back to life."
"Lucky," Ronon observed.
"Yeah, you could say that," Daniel said ruefully.
"What happened the third time?"
"Radiation poisoning."
"And the fourth?"
Grimacing, Daniel touched his chest. "Someone stabbed me."
"A killing wound?"
Daniel nodded. "Yes. But, then I was alive again, and I'm not sure if I died, or ascended, or what. I think maybe I ascended because Hermiod says my genetic structure is different, and that's what set off Atlantis when I arrived. I know it didn't happen the first time I ascended and descended, because the Ancient stuff that worked for Jack didn't work for me."
"You really ascended?" Ronon asked. He'd never even heard of an ascended being before he'd come to Atlantis. He, personally, didn't see the appeal. "Why?"
"As I said, I was dying of radiation poisoning," Daniel explained. "My skin was falling off and my organs were liquefying. One of the ascended I'd met earlier came to me and offered me the chance." Daniel shrugged. "So, I took it. Seemed to beat the alternative, and I was curious. I thought I could help."
"Could you?"
"Not as much as I wanted to."
"Is that why you came back?" Ronon asked, intrigued. While well familiar with death, Ronon had
never met anyone who'd dealt with death so personally so many times.
"In a manner of speaking," Daniel said. "I broke some rules. Helped when I shouldn't."
"Good for you," Ronon said briskly, liking this Daniel Jackson.
That got a small smile.
"Do you miss it?" Ronon asked. "Being ascended?"
"No," Daniel said after a long moment's thought. "No, I don't. Living's better, I think. Harder in some ways, but better."
Ronon grunted again. "You want something else to eat?"
Daniel shook his head. "I'd love some more coffee, though," he countered.
"Just like McKay," Ronon said with a grin. He stood and moved to the food line, returning in a minute with another two desserts and a fresh cup of coffee.
"Is one of those for me?" Daniel asked politely.
"No," Ronon said. "You want me to get you one?"
Eyes amused, Daniel shook his head. "I'm good." He exchanged his old cup for the new one, and took a cautious sip.
"You're hot, too," Ronon observed casually, pulling the first of his two desserts closer and going after it with a spoon.
Daniel coughed on his sip of coffee. Putting the cup down, he coughed again, patting his chest. "Excuse me?"
"You're hot, too," Ronon said again.
Daniel just stared at him. Then, "Thanks?"
His uncertainty made Ronon smile. "You interested in sharing blankets?"
Daniel blinked. "Uh. With anyone or with you?"
"With me," Ronon said, finishing up his first dessert.
"Huh," Daniel said, his eyes wide. "No, but thanks. Really. I'm flattered."
"You sure?"
"Pretty sure," Daniel said.
"You got someone else?"
"Not really."
"Like Sheppard and McKay not really?" Ronon asked, disappointed that Daniel had said no, but okay with it. There were plenty of other willing people on Atlantis.
"No, not even that much," Daniel said regretfully.
"You want me to shoot him for you?" Ronon offered.
Daniel let out a surprised laugh. "I'll let you know," he said with a grin.
"Okay," Ronon said, standing. "Gotta go. See you around, Daniel Jackson."
"Yeah, you, too, Ronon. Thanks, for, um, saying hello."
With a nod, Ronon dropped his dishes off, then headed off to the gym. A part of him was wondering what was for dinner. The rest of him was wondering how in hell's name anyone could say no to someone that hot.
*****
Daniel stared as Ronon passed through the door. Two propositions in one day. Maybe he should have found a way to come here a long time ago. Granted, John hadn't really been propositioning him, but it had felt real at the time. And Ronon's had been genuine enough.
Ronon was a handsome guy. Perhaps not the most scintillating of conversationalists, but he got his point across, and probably better than Daniel did with all his languages and education.
A small part of Daniel was tempted. It had been a long time, a really, really long time. But, Daniel had rarely been the sort of man who could have sex--no, share blankets--Daniel liked that phrase a lot, with someone he didn't truly care about. Every time he'd tried, it hadn't felt right. And seeing as the only person Daniel felt that way about was currently in another galaxy and had never given Daniel clue one that his advances would be welcome, Daniel didn't see himself getting lucky any time soon.
Besides, it wouldn't be long now before Jack found out that Daniel was gone, and he was no doubt going to be on Jack's shit list for a long time to come. Daniel wondered if Jack would even care after he got over his snit. Sometimes their friendship felt as strong as ever, and then, sometimes, Daniel wasn't even sure Jack liked him. Of course, that sort of defined what their relationship had been like for years, so it was nothing new. But, it had finally gotten to be too much for Daniel to deal with. If he couldn't have Jack, it was easier to be away from him. So here he was, in Atlantis.
Missing Jack.
Daniel sighed, took a last sip of coffee, then decided to go find Elizabeth. He needed some living quarters and then it was time to do some of the work that had pulled him here.
*****
Jack had a respectable few feet of paper clips linked to each other. He was thinking of looking up the Guinness Book of World Records to see what it would take to beat the current record. He was a general, after all, so he could order as many goddamned paper clips as he wanted.
"General?"
Looking up, Jack saw Carter standing in his doorway. "What?" he groused, not really in the mood for technobabble.
"I thought you might want to get some lunch, sir," she said, trying her best not to notice the mound of paper clips, but Jack could see that her eyes kept dropping to his desk. "I thought you might need a break," she added, starting to smile, "from all your hard work."
"Ha ha," Jack said sarcastically. "Carter," he asked, leaning back and putting his feet up on his desk. "Am I that much of a bastard?"
"Sir?" she asked, looking surprised at the question.
"Sit," he said, pointing at the chair across from him. "Just answer the question."
"I need a little more than that to go on," Carter answered carefully, sitting down as directed.
"Why'd Daniel leave?"
Carter bit the inside of her cheek. "I'm not sure."
"But you knew he was leaving?"
She nodded.
"And you didn't think you should tell me?" Jack asked her, annoyed at her, at Daniel, at fucking everyone.
Her mouth dropped open. "You didn't know?" Then, "You signed the orders."
"He pulled a Radar O'Reilly on me," Jack pouted. "The bastard." He dropped his feet off the desk and leaned forward. "What I want to know is why?"
"He's wanted to go to Atlantis ever since we found it," she tried.
"And I told him he couldn't go," Jack protested, which, as far as he was concerned, should have been the end of it.
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why did you tell him he couldn't go?" she asked, perplexed.
"It was a one-way trip, Carter," Jack said, exasperated. "Of course I wasn't going to let him go. I wouldn't have let any of you guys go. I need you here."
"It hasn't been a one-way trip for a long time now, sir. You could have let him go. It's not like we wouldn't have seen him again, or been able to contact him if we needed to."
Jack scowled. "I want him here."
'Why?" she asked him again. "Why do you want him here?"
"Why do you think?" Jack snapped.
"I don't know, Jack," she said, using his name, letting him know this conversation was now off the record. She'd earned that right. He and Carter, hell, all of SG-1 had been through too much together to be anything but friends now, despite the difference in ranks. He focused back on her words as she said, "You and Daniel are like two peas in a pod one day, and like oil and water the next. If you weren't military, I'd--" She suddenly stopped.
"You'd what?"
Carter tightened her lips, opened her mouth to speak then shut it again with a frown. Then, looking determined, she said, "It's a subject I'm not supposed to ask about, and you're not supposed to tell."
Jack's eyes widened. "Me and Daniel?" he asked faintly.
She shrugged. "It's crossed my mind.