'Silver Lining', or Aliens Make Them Do It (with a twist)

[sid]

This is a shockingly un-porny PG-13 AMTDI.  With a twist.  Which sounds kinda painful.  ;-)

Beta-love to ivorygatesand tejas.

 SILVER LINING

 

Jack walked back into the cell that held SG-1, wincing as the door clanged shut behind him. “Sir, what happened?” Carter looked worried, Teal’c looked concerned, and Daniel…Daniel was stepping forward.

 

“Jack? Are you all right?” Daniel laid his hand on Jack’s arm.

 

“Sure,” Jack said, clearing his throat. “Everything’s peachy.”

 

“Uh-oh,” Daniel said.

 

“What do they want?” Carter asked.

 

Jack glanced around at their anxious faces. “Well, the basic problem is…Teal’c.” He grimaced apologetically.

 

Daniel’s brows drew together. “We already knew that. They don’t trust him, or us, because he’s Jaffa.”

 

“Yeah.” Jack took off his cap and scrubbed a hand through his hair. “I was pretty much able to get around that. Now it’s just him that they don’t trust.” He paused to let that sink in. “So, there’s been a plan proposed. One that gets all of us out of here and home.” He watched as Carter and Daniel exchanged glances. Teal’c was observing him with seeming calm.

 

“That sounds like it would be a good plan,” Daniel said cautiously.

 

“You’d think so, wouldn’t you?” Jack muttered.

 

“Oh, what is it?” Carter said, closing her eyes briefly.

 

Jack darted a look at Teal’c. “They want to see some evidence that Teal’c’s, uh, under my command, so to speak.”

 

“Evidence,” Daniel said flatly.

 

“What kind of evidence, sir?”

 

“They wish to see a display of submission,” Teal’c said. Jack found himself momentarily unable to answer. “Is this not so, O’Neill?” 

 

Jack reluctantly looked him in the eye. “That’s it, yes.”

 

Both Carter and Daniel were frowning at the two of them, and when Daniel’s brow cleared Jack knew it wasn’t actually a good sign. The blank expression was just the mid-way point between confusion and full understanding. Sure enough, Daniel’s eyes got wide and his eyebrows climbed high. “Oh, you’re kidding. Tell me you’re…” He broke off.

 

“What?” Carter asked, alarmed.

 

“Sexual submission?” Daniel’s voice positively squeaked, and Jack found himself wincing again. “And, what, you said you’d do it?”

 

“Not quite,” Jack snapped. “I said I’d have to talk it over with Teal’c.”

 

“That will not be necessary,” Teal’c said harshly. “I am prepared to do what is required for our safety.”

 

Carter gaped at him.

 

“Yeah,” Jack sighed, “I knew that, but I couldn’t just agree without…”

 

“You can’t!”

 

“Daniel.”

 

“Jack!”

 

“Excuse us a moment,” Jack said angrily, gripping Daniel’s arm and pulling him to the back wall of the cell. “You got something constructive to say?”

 

Daniel’s mouth worked in shock as he rubbed at his arm. Jack waited, lips pressed together tightly. “It’s wrong,” Daniel said, finally.

 

“I realize that,” Jack bit out. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. “Of course it’s wrong. But it gets us all home in one piece, and that’s right.”

 

Daniel shook his head. “The end justifies the means?”

 

“You don’t think so? In this case?” 

 

Daniel was silent, and the expression on his face changed to resignation. 

 

“My job is to make sure my team comes home, and I’d do a hell of a lot worse than this to make that happen.” Jack laid a hand on Daniel’s shoulder. “Please don’t make this any harder for me. Or for Teal’c.”

 

“No, no,” Daniel mumbled, flushing. “I’m sorry. I…it’s just…”

 

“Wrong. Got it.” Jack forced a smile. “We good?” Daniel nodded and forced a smile of his own. Jack looked over to where Carter stood, watching them. He rolled his eyes at Daniel. “Moving on.”

 

“Ah, yes. Good luck with that.” Daniel gave him a ‘better you than me’ look and Jack clapped him on the shoulder before moving off.

 

“Major?”

 

“Sir?” Ouch.

 

“It’s for the greater good,” Jack said encouragingly.

 

“It’s bad for the team.” Ah, pair number two of accusatory blue eyes. This just really wasn’t his day.

 

Jack tightened his lips. “I’m hoping it doesn’t turn out that way,” he said quietly. “And, frankly, the team being 100% alive outweighs everything else, to my way of thinking.”

 

“I’m not saying you’re completely wrong,” Carter began and then backpedaled. “It doesn’t matter if I agree or disagree, it’s your decision.”

 

“Thanks,” Jack said, quirking an eyebrow.

 

Carter looked momentarily flustered. “What I mean is…” She stared at him helplessly. “Well, frankly sir, it’s just…ew.” She wrinkled her nose.

 

Jack managed, barely, to keep a straight face. “Well, fortunately, Major, you don’t have to watch.”

 

“Oh, thank God for that,” she said, flapping her hands.

 

“Yes, you can spend the time to better advantage,” now Jack was flapping his hand, “coming up with a brilliant way to phrase this in our reports.”

 

Carter nodded briskly. “Leave it to me, sir.”

 

“I will. We good?”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

“Dandy.” Jack crossed to Teal’c. “You ready, big guy?”

 

“I am.” They exchanged a long look.

 

“Guard!”

 

~~~~

 

“This is going to be unpleasant,” Jack said quietly as they marched along, surrounded by guards.

 

“I am not concerned.”

 

“I have to put on a show here.”

 

“You must be dominant. I understand.”

 

“I’m going to have to be rough, and I’m not looking forward to it.”

 

“My symbiote will quickly heal any minor damage that may occur. You must not concern yourself on my behalf.”

 

“Kinda hard not to.” They halted before the large paneled doors that led to the Great Hall.

 

“I shall be fine.”

 

“Yeah. Okay. So, we gonna be cool?”

 

“I believe in fact we will be quite warm.”

 

Jack did a classic double-take. “Ah, Jaffa humor. Gotta love it.”  The doors slowly swung open. 

 

~~~~

 

Jack shut the door to the examining room behind him thankfully, leaving Teal’c in Janet’s capable hands, bless her. She’d taken Teal’c’s straightforward recital of the facts in stride, making what could have been an extremely awkward situation that much easier. It should have been Jack giving her the whole story, it was his job, but he’d sputtered to a standstill not long after launching into his speech. So not his day.

 

Teal’c, well, talk about taking things in stride. Jack leaned back against the door, composing himself before walking out into the infirmary proper. Teal’c seemed the same as always. Was he secretly freaking out on the inside? Jack put a hand to his stomach, which felt a little unsettled. Probably not. Maybe none of this bothered him. Who knew what the Jaffa got up to? Possibly Daniel could give him some answers, but Jack didn’t really want to know that badly.

 

And if he did, he’d rather ask Teal’c than Daniel. Because Jack wasn’t the only one who was freaking out, and he could only hope that he was doing a better job of hiding it than Daniel was. Carter might have been right about this whole fiasco being bad for the team, even if it wasn’t quite in the way she had imagined. Daniel had him worried.

 

He straightened up and headed out onto the main floor of the infirmary, suddenly impatient for his much-anticipated shower. Wash this damn day off his body and think later about what needed to be done to heal the rifts and cracks in his team that no symbiote could repair.

 

Daniel was leaning against the wall just inside the main doorway. Waiting for him? He was staring down at the floor, frowning, and Jack was tempted for a moment to turn tail and duck back the way he’d come. But Daniel looked up, and Jack walked towards him, trying to smile. Still just not his day. He motioned with his head and Daniel fell into step beside him as they exited into the corridor.

 

“Teal’c okay?” Jack blinked in reaction and turned his head.  Daniel grimaced.  “No, sorry. Sorry. Dumb question.”

 

“Not dumb,” Jack said slowly. “Just…”

 

“It’s none of my business; I shouldn’t have asked. I just…”

 

“He’s with Doc Frasier, and he says he’s fine. Of course he would say that, no matter what, wouldn’t he? Wonder where he learned that from?”

 

A tentative hand on his arm made Jack stop and turn towards Daniel. “I’m sure it’s the truth, Jack.”

 

“Right.” Jack frowned. Daniel had a pinched look around his eyes and mouth that he didn’t like one bit.

 

Daniel glanced around the empty hallway. “If you need to, you know, talk to somebody…” His body language was positively shouting how little he cared for the idea.

 

But he was making the offer just the same. What was it costing him? Jack shook his head in mute disbelief.

 

Daniel’s hand fell away. “No, I didn’t think so,” he muttered.

 

“Daniel…” Okay, that look had to go. He had to do something. The corridor was still deserted. Jack took Daniel by the elbow and tugged him in the direction of a nearby storage closet. Pushing Daniel in ahead of him, he flicked on the lights and shut the door, leaning against it. He could feel a slight tremor moving through his body.

 

Daniel had retreated to the opposite wall and was watching Jack with wariness. Or was it weariness? “You want me to shut up now. I get it.”

 

“No.” Jack slashed a hand through the air in negation. “No, you don’t get it.”

 

Daniel shuffled his feet and looked away. “Okay, maybe I don’t.”

 

Jack closed his eyes. “I’m glad it wasn’t you.” His words hung in the air between them. The fluorescent light fixture buzzed. Finally he heard Daniel exhale, and he opened his eyes reluctantly.

 

“I don’t know what that means,” Daniel said, and his voice was shaking.

 

“It means that I couldn’t…if something…” Jack gestured futilely. “I’d hate for it to happen to us.  That way.”

 

Daniel stood up very straight, pushed away from the wall, and walked swiftly over to Jack, who pressed back against the door. “So, what you’re saying is that you want our first time to be voluntary?” His cheeks were flushed, and Jack couldn’t seem to help staring.

 

“What? No.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“No.”

 

“Yes. You said…”

 

“’If’! I said ‘if’, didn’t I?”

 

Daniel’s intense gaze flickered. Jack lifted his chin, bracing himself.

 

“Why did you drag me in here, Jack?”

 

“You looked upset.” Jack shrugged, aiming for nonchalance. It wasn’t easy, the way his heart was pounding. Could Daniel hear it?

 

“Do I look upset now?” Daniel asked softly.

 

The pinched look was gone; in fact his eyes just might be smiling. Jack felt himself relax against the door, and thought he just might be smiling back. “No. You don’t.”

 

Daniel’s hands were touching him, lightly, delicately. Jack looked down at them in wonder.  “Are you going to try to pretend later that we never had this conversation?”

 

“Think I could pull it off?” Jack asked half-heartedly. Daniel shook his head. Jack swallowed. “Well, then…”

 

Daniel was kissing him.

 

The day was looking up.

Comments

[jd-junkie.livejournal.com]

“Well, fortunately, Major, you don’t have to watch.”

“Oh, thank God for that,” she said, flapping her hands."

Clearly, Major Carter needs to spend some time around us! Nice story, great Jack and Daniel voices ... and Teal'c rocks!

[sid]

Yes, Carter just doesn't know what she's missing, does she? :-D

And Teal'c both rocks and is a rock. *nods*