'Tell 'em We're Survivors' J/D, PG
Oct. 25th, 2012 11:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sidThis is a future!fic. PG, word count 1571. The title comes from the lyrics to Life is a Highway by Tom Cochrane.
Tell 'em we're survivors
Jack was lying on his side, dozing, which was pretty much all he did these days, when he sensed someone else was in the room. He pried his eyelids open and blinked.
"Hi, Jack."
"Daniel?" Or a dream. Jack lifted the hand that didn't have an IV needle sticking out of it and rubbed his eyes. "That really you?"
"It's really me."
A weak wave of anger passed through Jack. "Nice of you to drop in. Come to watch the old man die?"
"I got here as soon as I could."
Jack tried to remember how long he'd been here in the nursing home. A couple of months, anyway, he thought. Even if Daniel had had to come by ship, like in the old days, he would have been here before this. What did that mean? That nobody told him? Except that, even after all this time, even with Daniel a galaxy away, he was still listed as Jack's next of kin. He would be told. Of course he would be told.
"Jack?"
"Yeah, okay, I give up. What kept ya?"
"There was some trouble on Atlantis."
The way he said that made Jack's spine tingle, even through all the drugs he was on. "Bad?"
"Pretty bad."
"Why haven't I heard?"
"I'm sure you were being kept out of the loop in view of your condition. No one would want to distress you, when there was nothing to be gained by it." Daniel's voice was gentle, soothing. "It's over now, anyway."
"Maybe somebody told me and I forgot. I might forget ten minutes from now." Daniel was biting his lip. Jack brushed away moisture that sometimes leaked from the corners of his eyes. "Forgetfulness is wasted on the old. You and I have both lived through a lot of crap that we would just as soon have forgotten, but no, we had to carry it around with us, let it eat at us. Then when you're old and you've got nothing else to do with your time but remember, you keep forgetting. It's a bad arrangement, don't you think?" He coughed. That had been a pretty long speech. He gestured toward the cup of water on his bedside tray.
Daniel held the cup for him while he drank through the straw. "I want to ask you a question, Jack."
Jack swallowed and waved the cup away. "Shoot."
"Right now, if you could, if you had the opportunity, would you consider a symbiote?"
Jack made a face. "You come all this way after all these years just to talk shit?"
"No, think about it, Jack. A symbiote could cure your cancer, restore your health."
"I'm eighty-one years old, Daniel. And I like to think I did a pretty good job of using this old body up. Take away the cancer and there's still not all that much left to shout about."
Daniel leaned over him. "You're eighty-one. And a year and a half ago you were eighty, and you didn't know about the cancer yet. How did you feel then? Slower, a few more aches and pains, some foods you maybe had to give up?"
It was hard to remember a time before the cancer diagnosis. It was hard to remember a time before this bed in this place. It was hard to remember anything with veins running full of morphine. How had he felt then?
"With a symbiote, those aches and pains go away. Your digestion would be back in working order, your hearing and eyesight would be all that they used to be. Jack, you'd be far better than you were a year and a half ago, and you'd stay that way for a long time to come."
"This is pointless," Jack began.
"Were you ready to give up and die a year and a half ago?"
That Jack thought he probably would remember.
Daniel's eyes were intent on his. "What would you say, Jack? If you had the choice, what would you choose?"
An alarm bell went off in Jack's head, and his spine stiffened. "Trouble on Atlantis?" Fury and fear rose in him, until he was almost choking on them. "Who's in there? Come out where I can see you!"
Daniel dipped his head, and when he raised it his eyes flashed gold.
Fuck!
"I am Tol'shon, of the Tok'ra. I have healed Daniel of the injuries he suffered, and now he wishes me to heal you."
"What goddamn injuries?" Belated terror had his voice shaking, even though Daniel was standing right there beside him, sound as a bell.
"Daniel will tell you everything later. Suffice it to say his injuries were numerous. They would have killed him if I had not intervened."
"With his consent?" Jack asked sharply.
Tol'shon nodded. "And now I seek your consent. Daniel no longer needs me. You need me, and quickly. Your life force is ebbing."
"And you've got enough mojo to fix me right up?"
"It will not be that simple. It took me some time to heal Daniel, but I have rested since then. I am strong." He smiled. "And as Tok'ra go, I am relatively young. I have no doubt that I can heal you. And in time, working together, you and I will restore your health completely."
"So you're just waiting for me to give the word." Tol'shon touched Jack's hand, and it was all he could do not to jerk it away. "And what the hell makes Daniel think I'm going to give it?"
"Daniel is prepared to act without your consent." Tol'shon paused to let that sink in. "I am not."
Jack brushed at his cheeks. Just moisture leaking, that was all it was.
"He loves you so much that he cannot bear the thought of losing you."
"He left me." His leak had sprung a leak. Maybe it was all the water that had flowed under that particular bridge.
"And now he has come for you." Tol'shon dipped his head. Daniel raised it. "Jack?"
Probably, maybe, what'shisname could fix this damn plumbing. Anyway, Jack never could resist Daniel when his eyes pleaded that way. "All right."
Daniel hurried to the doorway, looked both ways down the hall, and closed the door. Coming back to Jack, he said, "You're really going to hate this part."
"Shut up and kiss me," Jack said. What'shisname could probably fix the nausea and clammy palms Jack was experiencing right now, too. And maybe he could fix the leak Daniel seemed to have developed, before he permanently switched houses.
It was a very salty kiss, even before the taste of blood became apparent. Jack was pretty sure he would never forget the feeling of the symbiote slithering into his body. Thanks entirely to the symbiote that had slithered into his body. Catch-22?
Daniel moistened his handkerchief to wipe both their mouths and chins, then took a drink from what was left of Jack's cup of water.
Jack tingled. Admittedly, he hadn't been kissed in a while, and Daniel had always been really good at it. He chuckled weakly, and got a strange look from Daniel. Maybe his sense of humor was the first thing Tol'shon (oh, hello there) had restored?
"Rest awhile," Daniel said hoarsely. "Sleep. I'll come back this afternoon, and if you're feeling up to it maybe we'll go for a little ride?" He took Jack's hand.
Jack clung to him. "Sweet," he whispered.
~~~~
"You've sure got a nice afternoon for it, General."
Jack sat in a wheelchair, basking in the sun while they waited for Daniel to bring his car around. He was amazed at what a four hour nap had accomplished and grateful that Tol'shon was pretty much just attending to business and giving Jack some space. He didn't suppose that would last, but then life was full of trade-offs.
"I'm glad you're feeling up to enjoying some time with your friend."
Daniel pulled up.
"You know how it is, Carl. An old friend comes to visit and you get a whole new lease on life." Carl helped Jack up and into the front seat beside Daniel. Jack stuck out a hand. "Thanks for everything."
Carl shook it. "Have fun."
"That's the plan," Jack said with a wink. Carl closed the door, and they were moving. "Speaking of plans…"
"We disappear? I mean, the Stargate's been general knowledge for a long time now, but I can't imagine any good coming of people finding out about the presence and potential, shall we say, availability of a miraculous cure for whatever ails them. Or, alternately, the horrifying presence of one of those terrible snakes, I don't care what they call themselves, we need to kill it now. I bought you some clothes and stuff."
"Thanks. Continue with your plan."
"Oh, I don't know. Retirement community in Florida? Dust off the cobwebs at the cabin?" Daniel flashed a grin at Jack as he checked the mirror before pulling onto the highway onramp. "Trip to Disneyland?" Traffic was sparse, pre-rush hour, and he merged onto the highway smoothly.
We must rest, Jack.
Jack watched the landscape rolling by through suddenly heavy eyelids. "See where the road takes us?"
"That's the plan, then."
Jack gazed at Daniel's smiling profile for a minute, before facing front and shutting his eyes. "I'm gonna take a little nap."
"And who knows where you'll wake up?"
Jack's lips curved contentedly. "Surprise me."
Tell 'em we're survivors
Jack was lying on his side, dozing, which was pretty much all he did these days, when he sensed someone else was in the room. He pried his eyelids open and blinked.
"Hi, Jack."
"Daniel?" Or a dream. Jack lifted the hand that didn't have an IV needle sticking out of it and rubbed his eyes. "That really you?"
"It's really me."
A weak wave of anger passed through Jack. "Nice of you to drop in. Come to watch the old man die?"
"I got here as soon as I could."
Jack tried to remember how long he'd been here in the nursing home. A couple of months, anyway, he thought. Even if Daniel had had to come by ship, like in the old days, he would have been here before this. What did that mean? That nobody told him? Except that, even after all this time, even with Daniel a galaxy away, he was still listed as Jack's next of kin. He would be told. Of course he would be told.
"Jack?"
"Yeah, okay, I give up. What kept ya?"
"There was some trouble on Atlantis."
The way he said that made Jack's spine tingle, even through all the drugs he was on. "Bad?"
"Pretty bad."
"Why haven't I heard?"
"I'm sure you were being kept out of the loop in view of your condition. No one would want to distress you, when there was nothing to be gained by it." Daniel's voice was gentle, soothing. "It's over now, anyway."
"Maybe somebody told me and I forgot. I might forget ten minutes from now." Daniel was biting his lip. Jack brushed away moisture that sometimes leaked from the corners of his eyes. "Forgetfulness is wasted on the old. You and I have both lived through a lot of crap that we would just as soon have forgotten, but no, we had to carry it around with us, let it eat at us. Then when you're old and you've got nothing else to do with your time but remember, you keep forgetting. It's a bad arrangement, don't you think?" He coughed. That had been a pretty long speech. He gestured toward the cup of water on his bedside tray.
Daniel held the cup for him while he drank through the straw. "I want to ask you a question, Jack."
Jack swallowed and waved the cup away. "Shoot."
"Right now, if you could, if you had the opportunity, would you consider a symbiote?"
Jack made a face. "You come all this way after all these years just to talk shit?"
"No, think about it, Jack. A symbiote could cure your cancer, restore your health."
"I'm eighty-one years old, Daniel. And I like to think I did a pretty good job of using this old body up. Take away the cancer and there's still not all that much left to shout about."
Daniel leaned over him. "You're eighty-one. And a year and a half ago you were eighty, and you didn't know about the cancer yet. How did you feel then? Slower, a few more aches and pains, some foods you maybe had to give up?"
It was hard to remember a time before the cancer diagnosis. It was hard to remember a time before this bed in this place. It was hard to remember anything with veins running full of morphine. How had he felt then?
"With a symbiote, those aches and pains go away. Your digestion would be back in working order, your hearing and eyesight would be all that they used to be. Jack, you'd be far better than you were a year and a half ago, and you'd stay that way for a long time to come."
"This is pointless," Jack began.
"Were you ready to give up and die a year and a half ago?"
That Jack thought he probably would remember.
Daniel's eyes were intent on his. "What would you say, Jack? If you had the choice, what would you choose?"
An alarm bell went off in Jack's head, and his spine stiffened. "Trouble on Atlantis?" Fury and fear rose in him, until he was almost choking on them. "Who's in there? Come out where I can see you!"
Daniel dipped his head, and when he raised it his eyes flashed gold.
Fuck!
"I am Tol'shon, of the Tok'ra. I have healed Daniel of the injuries he suffered, and now he wishes me to heal you."
"What goddamn injuries?" Belated terror had his voice shaking, even though Daniel was standing right there beside him, sound as a bell.
"Daniel will tell you everything later. Suffice it to say his injuries were numerous. They would have killed him if I had not intervened."
"With his consent?" Jack asked sharply.
Tol'shon nodded. "And now I seek your consent. Daniel no longer needs me. You need me, and quickly. Your life force is ebbing."
"And you've got enough mojo to fix me right up?"
"It will not be that simple. It took me some time to heal Daniel, but I have rested since then. I am strong." He smiled. "And as Tok'ra go, I am relatively young. I have no doubt that I can heal you. And in time, working together, you and I will restore your health completely."
"So you're just waiting for me to give the word." Tol'shon touched Jack's hand, and it was all he could do not to jerk it away. "And what the hell makes Daniel think I'm going to give it?"
"Daniel is prepared to act without your consent." Tol'shon paused to let that sink in. "I am not."
Jack brushed at his cheeks. Just moisture leaking, that was all it was.
"He loves you so much that he cannot bear the thought of losing you."
"He left me." His leak had sprung a leak. Maybe it was all the water that had flowed under that particular bridge.
"And now he has come for you." Tol'shon dipped his head. Daniel raised it. "Jack?"
Probably, maybe, what'shisname could fix this damn plumbing. Anyway, Jack never could resist Daniel when his eyes pleaded that way. "All right."
Daniel hurried to the doorway, looked both ways down the hall, and closed the door. Coming back to Jack, he said, "You're really going to hate this part."
"Shut up and kiss me," Jack said. What'shisname could probably fix the nausea and clammy palms Jack was experiencing right now, too. And maybe he could fix the leak Daniel seemed to have developed, before he permanently switched houses.
It was a very salty kiss, even before the taste of blood became apparent. Jack was pretty sure he would never forget the feeling of the symbiote slithering into his body. Thanks entirely to the symbiote that had slithered into his body. Catch-22?
Daniel moistened his handkerchief to wipe both their mouths and chins, then took a drink from what was left of Jack's cup of water.
Jack tingled. Admittedly, he hadn't been kissed in a while, and Daniel had always been really good at it. He chuckled weakly, and got a strange look from Daniel. Maybe his sense of humor was the first thing Tol'shon (oh, hello there) had restored?
"Rest awhile," Daniel said hoarsely. "Sleep. I'll come back this afternoon, and if you're feeling up to it maybe we'll go for a little ride?" He took Jack's hand.
Jack clung to him. "Sweet," he whispered.
~~~~
"You've sure got a nice afternoon for it, General."
Jack sat in a wheelchair, basking in the sun while they waited for Daniel to bring his car around. He was amazed at what a four hour nap had accomplished and grateful that Tol'shon was pretty much just attending to business and giving Jack some space. He didn't suppose that would last, but then life was full of trade-offs.
"I'm glad you're feeling up to enjoying some time with your friend."
Daniel pulled up.
"You know how it is, Carl. An old friend comes to visit and you get a whole new lease on life." Carl helped Jack up and into the front seat beside Daniel. Jack stuck out a hand. "Thanks for everything."
Carl shook it. "Have fun."
"That's the plan," Jack said with a wink. Carl closed the door, and they were moving. "Speaking of plans…"
"We disappear? I mean, the Stargate's been general knowledge for a long time now, but I can't imagine any good coming of people finding out about the presence and potential, shall we say, availability of a miraculous cure for whatever ails them. Or, alternately, the horrifying presence of one of those terrible snakes, I don't care what they call themselves, we need to kill it now. I bought you some clothes and stuff."
"Thanks. Continue with your plan."
"Oh, I don't know. Retirement community in Florida? Dust off the cobwebs at the cabin?" Daniel flashed a grin at Jack as he checked the mirror before pulling onto the highway onramp. "Trip to Disneyland?" Traffic was sparse, pre-rush hour, and he merged onto the highway smoothly.
We must rest, Jack.
Jack watched the landscape rolling by through suddenly heavy eyelids. "See where the road takes us?"
"That's the plan, then."
Jack gazed at Daniel's smiling profile for a minute, before facing front and shutting his eyes. "I'm gonna take a little nap."
"And who knows where you'll wake up?"
Jack's lips curved contentedly. "Surprise me."
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Date: Oct. 26th, 2012 02:01 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: Oct. 26th, 2012 05:08 pm (UTC)