July 3rd 2001 – P5R 8Y8, SG-1 and local population cut off from the gate
Sam and Jack were arguing again, as if the mission alone wasn’t difficult enough. Teal’c left before Sam even got started, and hadn’t seemed to care about the issue one-way or the other, although the same could have been said yesterday and the day before, in fact everyday since Bra’tac saved his life. Teal’c wasn’t the same.
Then Sam mentioned Jacob and that was what sent him over the edge. He’d finally had enough.
“Oh please” Daniel whispered, but it startled him when both arguing parties turn to look at him.
“Daniel? You want to chime in here?” Jack said, completely ticked off, as per usual. Jack was spending more and more hours of the day getting pissed off – at everyone. Jack had changed too.
“Daniel, we need to let the Tok’ra handle this.” Sam told him. Sam was always telling him something. And not in a nice way, in an, I’m right and everyone else isn’t as smart as me, way.
Neither of them had so much as looked at him in weeks, now they both stared at him like it was his fault the locals preferred to chose their own fates rather than let the fates decide for them. Daniel only wished for that kind of freedom. He envied them.
Daniel had felt the upset build up inside him, had for a long time. An explosion had to happen eventually. “Stop it. Stop it both of you!” Daniel’s angry voice cracked, and transformed itself into a strangled, and some would later describe it as desperate, yell. “You are arguing over nothing!”
Both stunned into reproachful silence, Sam and Jack really, truly noticed him for the first time.
Teal’c, who up until then had secretly posted himself outside of anyone’s vision stealthily moved back into the room, quiet and – or so he believed - without being noticed.
“You want to know what I think?” Daniel walked towards the arguing duo. “I think you are both so self involved and judgmental you can't see passed you own military noses.” Daniel lowered his head, and his voice, gesturing and making his point through his hands. “You keep telling me it's unreasonably to believe people will listen. You think it’s impossible that there could be something more out there. That I’m crazy for believing there is.” He raises his head, truly disappointed. “We’ve all been to Keb. Who are we to tell them it doesn’t exist?”
“Daniel I don't want to hear it” Jack said dismissively.
That made Daniel even angrier.
“Well, I'm sorry, but neither of you know anything really do you?” Daniel circled them like a predator ready to strike.
“I mean come on, you’re both pretty well adjusted people.” A hysterical laugh threatened to break and Daniel succeeded in swallowing it down. “Always had someone or something to fall back on, be it family or work right? You didn't wake up one morning and find everything you ever knew gone. You didn't see the dead body of anyone you loved when you where only eight. You didn't spend weeks on end getting the crap beaten out of you just because you happened to be in the room. You weren't scared out of your mind everyday, but thankful at the same time knowing that it could actually be worse. You may not of had everything, but you had and still have SOMETHING! Why can't either of you appreciate that?”
The room had gone for Daniel, fizzled away along with his friend’s when their own anger and bitterness began squashing him, squeezing his own self worth out of him piece by piece. Now all he saw was the stark brightness of a sterile, unfeeling room.
“Daniel it’s not that simple.” It was one voice, but he didn’t know which had said it, every one of them sounded the damn same to him right now.
“Jack, I don’t like the Tok’ra.” Daniel, his tone going up at the end, looked at Sam, it was true. “But I have no more right to tell these people what to do than you do. You can’t make these families leave their homes, their lives just because you don't want to understand the alternative'.”
Carter smiled, the victory wasn’t sweet, but she knew Colonel O’Neill would listen now Daniel had said it.
“Sam stop pushing the To'kra down everyone throats just to impress your Dad, he’s never been disappointed in you.”
Gob smacked didn’t even begin to describe the look on her face right now. Daniel didn’t care.
“Teal’c, your wife and son are safe, they’re happy. Be happy for them. Be happy for yourself too.”
Teal’c moved further into the room, not seeing a point to continue concealing his presence.
Daniel finished telling them off and held his head high as he gave each an icy glare, before turning around and calmly walking back through the tunnels to see if there was anything he could do to help he villages prepare.
Teal’c, Jack and Sam watched him go.
“Well, I feel like an ass.” Jack said
“As I believe you should.” Teal'c agreed, he acknowledged the part Daniel had intended for him and vowed to mediate on it later.
“Daniel's just invested, he can't help it.” Sam wasn’t ready to own up to anything; she was keener to find a cause for Daniel’s unusual behaviour.
“Actually he can.” Jack smiled.
Sam gave him a peculiar look.
“He said things there even I didn't know about.” Jack said.
“Why’d do you think that is?” Sam said.
“Because Daniel Jackson does not see it as being anything other than an event in his past. He does not dwell on that which was out of his control and cannot change.” Teal’c said.
“Maybe, just this once, we should follow his lead.” Jack said.
“Maybe not just this once.” Sam said.