Stargate SG1 and its characters are property of Stargate (II) productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money was exchanged. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations and story are property of the author. This story may not be posted anywhere else without the consent of the author.
Notes: Unbeta'd yet again, so mistakes are mine!
Lightning flashed as the thunder rolled in, the cold wind cutting the solitary figure through to the bone. As though offering himself to the storm, he tilted his head back and closed his eyes, letting himself feel the reverberations of the deep, baritone thunder, louder now and more frequent as the storm grew closer. The rain began slowly, drop by drop, slowly but steadily increasing its pace.
The storm was about to be unleashed.
He didn't know what to expect, but he would face it. Alone, as it had been for years.
"Daniel?"
He didn't acknowledge the presence behind him, but a curling of distaste inside deemed the presence an intruder; unwelcome as he prepared to face the coming onslaught. A voyeur to his private, personal pain.
Sha're.
That deep-rooted ache that had been present in his heart every single day for more than three years grew teeth, snapping and gnawing its way from his heart to his stomach, to his throat, and beyond. Consuming him. It was finished now. Done. The hope, the search. If the storm didn't take him, the pain would.
A particularly violent peal of thunder shook the very surface he stood on. Barefoot, bare-chested and trembling with the force of the thunder, he stood unmoving, head canted, eyes still squeezed closed. He pressed his lips together as the pain sought an outlet he wouldn't allow, especially with that sure, strong presence behind him, inside the balcony doors, waiting to swoop in at his first sign of weakness.
'It's over.' Two full years of searching...now there was nothing left to find, nothing else that existed except the biting chill of the wind combining with the pain of her loss that numbed him, fingers, toes and all.
All at once, the storm was released full force. The steady, light rain became an intense cacophony of sound and sharp, dagger-like drops, rebounding a desperate tattoo over everything, including himself. He welcomed the pain of the cold, hard drops, giving himself over to the primal feel of the storm. Thunder and lightning chased each other's tails, the storm immediately overhead, pouring its wrath over the exposed and vulnerable city. He welcomed the punishment the storm brought, how it combined to fill his ears, his head, drowning out the softly-spoken words of the man behind him.
And then there was contact. A warm, firm pressure on his shoulder, and he found himself turned to stare into the face of the one who dared to intrude on this release; his penance. He knew his gaze held accusation, anger, pain--all of which froze in their tracks as he took in the eyes of the intruder. Warm, gentle dark eyes filled with empathy, concern, and yes, even love. He felt himself strangely detached from the storm to which he had been so in tune with only moments before as the calm gaze bore into his, offering refuge from the turmoil both inside and out. He was stuck in a free-fall, caught between throwing himself at the storm's mercy and accepting what the man in front of him offered. "Daniel...come inside. Let us help you."
There was such compassion in the words, such understanding, that he was ultimately powerless against the pain that surged in one final fresh, defiant leap, the kindness of this intruder--this friend--blowing through his defences. He sucked a breath in through his mouth, a gasp, and exhaled on a sob that tore from his very soul.
As the storm raged overhead, arms closed around him and Daniel accepted their offer of shelter, of respite, and their promise that he wasn't alone...a promise that released the weight of a hundred burdens from his shoulders.
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Jack watched the man out on the apartment balcony from the living room. Daniel was barefoot and shirtless, standing stock-still on the balcony as the forecasted storm rumbled closer. Motioning for Carter and Teal'c to hold back, Jack made his way out to the balcony, unwilling to take that final step onto it and break whatever spell Daniel was under. His friend had his eyes closed and head tilted back, his mouth pressed in a tight line as the light rain began. "Daniel?" he finally ventured, his voice sounding far too harsh and loud in the eerie quiet of the balcony. 'You'll catch your death out here,' he wanted to say, but found his throat incapable of producing further speech.
"Sha're..."
Jack was uncertain he'd even heard the tortured whisper, but then the sky opened up and the rain began in earnest, the incessant beat of it playing a continuous undertone to the thunder, which was growing louder with every peal. Daniel still didn't move, however; just let the storm mercilessly beat at him, and Jack knew he should definitely get the younger man inside. "Come on, Daniel," he said quietly. "Carter, Teal'c and I are here; we'd really like it if you'd come inside."
Daniel gave no indication that he'd heard, and Jack finally just stepped into the storm and physically, gently turned his friend around with a hand to Daniel's shoulder.
The dead eyes, glazed with anger and a profound pain Jack more than understood fixed on Jack squarely. He felt like he'd been slapped. "Daniel...come inside," he cajoled, his own heart breaking for his friend. "Let us help you."
Daniel blinked placidly at Jack for a long moment, his face registering faint shock. Then, he drew in a strangled breath, and Jack knew what was coming. He had Daniel gathered against him as the breath escaped on a loud sob, and he held his friend tightly against him, rocking Daniel gently from side to side as the younger man bunched the material at Jack's back into his fists and pressed his face against Jack's shoulder, crying softly, desperately.
Daniel's hair was dark with the rain, plastered to his head, and Jack gently tousled it, squeezing the nape of Daniel's neck as the younger man's shoulders shook and hitched with every silent sob.
Aware of Carter and Teal'c moving closer to the balcony doors, each suffering for Daniel in their own ways, and not once relinquishing his hold on his best friend, Jack gradually guided Daniel out of the storm to where the warmth of the apartment and the comfort of his friends waited for him, to ease him into clearer skies and brighter days.
The End
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