Title: Much Abides
Date: June 27, 2002
Status: Complete
Author: Jmas
Category: future story, AU series ending
Rating: PG13
Pairing: None, ever
Email: jmasg1@bellsouth.net
Archive: Stargate Fan, Heliopolis, Belle, Place of Our Legacy,
Comfort Zone, Alpha Gate
Spoilers: Meridian, fix of S6 canon, Daniel-inclusive
Summary: A long time ago in a galaxy not so very far away…
Author's note: This is not a canon treatment of the ep. As
promised no fic I write will ever exclude Daniel and his vital
place in the Stargate SG1 lexicon. This is a response to my
own challenge on SG1HC to write the perfect ending to the Stargate
saga. Unapologetic sap, hopefully not descending into sop.
If that isn’t your cup of tea, then please don’t
read this.
Warnings: This is my vision, I don’t expect it to be
shared. In my world, in my heart, Daniel does and will always
belong with SG1. While I’m not fond of Jonas and they
way they’ve chosen to present him, this isn’t necessarily
the future I’d wish for him. This story, and possibly
others like it, are the closest I will ever come to using him
in a story.
Disclaimer: The characters mentioned in this story are the
property of Showtime and Gekko Film Corp. The Stargate, SG-I,
the Goa'uld and all other characters who have appeared in the
series STARGATE SG-1 together with the
names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property
of MGM-UA Worldwide Television, Gekko Film Corp, Glassner/Wright
Double Secret Productions and Stargate SG-I Prod. Ltd. Partnership.
This fanfic is not
intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant
for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and
the story itself are the sole property of the author.
Much Abides
By Jmas
Though much is taken, much abides,
And though we are not now that strength,
Which in old days moved heaven and earth,
That which we are, we are..
~Alfred, Lord Tennyson
‘Some men are born to greatness.’ Jack had read
that once. He couldn’t remember it all, but he did remember
the rest of it implied the really great ones didn’t have
a choice in the matter, they just were. Great, that was.
Hell, he’d always though Daniel was pretty great, sometimes
a great pain in the ass, but he’d also realized Daniel
was the that ‘cut above’ kind of guy who would
be remembered as great with a capital G - like Ghandi or Einstein
or any of those or guys with funny hair and big ideas. Jack
always knew Daniel would do big things.
If he managed to live long enough.
For the better part of fifteen years, Jack had put a lot of
time, planning and personal energy into seeing that Daniel
was standing here today. In a very real way, this payoff was
for the both of them.
It had been close way too many times to count, especially
in the early days. But the one time he’d failed had been
a doozy. Daniel really had died - or ascended, or whatever
the hell he’d done. The loss had very nearly been the
end of SG1.
Oh, Jonas had tried - too hard. Jack honestly believed the
man’s own guilt had made things worse; he just had to
be better, stronger, faster, smarter - and in the end that
drive had killed him. Lacking the subtleties of Daniel’s
hard earned and intuitive knowledge, Jonas had made a fatal
error that had come close to killing them all. Without Daniel’s
instincts, experience, and the vital historical context, Jonas
had misread one word too many and led them into one of Anubis’ traps.
Jonas had been the first to die in a foolhardy move of self-sacrifice.
Over the years Jack had come to believe that perhaps Jonas
had found a final redemption in his own eyes for his part in
Daniel’s death. Jack regretted more than he could say
that he agreed. There hadn’t been time to forgive, or
forget. Jack wasn’t sure there ever would have been enough
time.
They’d come close to dying from Anubis’ torture
- too damn close - and they would have if it hadn’t been
for Daniel….
~*~
Jack remembered shimmering light coalescing in the dark chamber,
remembered knowing right away just what - and who - it was…
Jaffa had fallen all around them, voices cut off mid-scream
and the smell of charred flesh had been thick in the room as
they lay helpless in their chains, too injured to do more that
watch their own private avenging angel smite their torturers
with extreme celestial prejudice. Anubis had been the last
to die - crispy fried and spouting typical goa’uld rhetoric
to his last breath.
And then it had been over.
In the silent aftermath they’d watched Daniel solidify
before them, using the last of his cosmic energy to snap their
chains before something shifted and they’d known he was
fully human again. They’d drunk in the sight of his warm,
breathing form. It hadn’t taken the long to realize Daniel
had weakened himself severely on their behalf. He’d only
smiled and said, “No one gets left behind, right?”
They’d taken a moment just to be together, melting into
a huge hug consisting of much more joy than pain, then they’d
painstakingly trekked to one of Anubis’ ships and Daniel
had flown them home.
~*~
When they’d awakened in the infirmary it was to the
sight of a comatose Daniel on a bed between them. Daniel had
literally - and as always - given everything he had to save
them, and Fraiser couldn’t begin to assure them it wasn’t
fatally.
They’d climbed out of their own beds well before Fraiser
said they could just to be near Daniel: to touch him and talk
to him and reassure him how very much they still needed him.
God, how they needed him - nothing had been right without Daniel
on SG1, in the SGC, or in their admittedly dysfunctional family.
The spirit of their purpose had departed along with Daniel
and it had showed. Not one new ally had been gained, and a
series of bad choices had nearly blown it with a couple of
old ones.
Almost a week later, during Jack’s watch, Daniel had
opened his eyes and it had been as if the long months of separation
had never happened. Daniel had asked first about the team,
then a lost book, then practically begged Jack for a cup of
coffee, eyes alight with humor and the pleasure of coming home.
Jack had learned a lot of hard lessons in his life, losing
his friend had driven irrevocably home the need to speak his
mind, and his heart, when he had the chance. He’d grabbed
Daniel up in an enthusiastic hug, letting out a whoop loud
enough to wake the others and bring Fraiser running. The doctor
had let them laugh and hug and cry themselves out, had even
joined in, then shooed them off to bed so she could check on
Daniel’s condition.
Ascension had been kind to Daniel, no scars, no allergies,
no lasting glow effects. Totally human and still in need of
glasses, but physically there were no major changes. A few
other things had changed about the man though: the spark and
enthusiasm that had seemed to wane in Daniel those last months
before he died was back with a vengeance. Nothing was too small
or apparently dull to capture his attention. Strangely, the
weight of Daniel’s many losses also seemed to have eased.
Over time Jack had pried a little information of Daniel about
that - it seemed the ascended were plugged into more than just
the astral plane. Another, very welcome, change was that now
Daniel, the ‘I stand alone’ king, liked to touch
- and be touched. Jack didn’t need an explanation for
that one. Daniel had spent enough of his life isolated from
the people he cared about, and endless months unable to touch
anything at all, and they were only too happy to indulge him.
Daniel had rejoined the team on missions within two months,
time enough to once again convince the world Daniel Jackson
was among the living. They’d found him a house outside
the city, not coincidentally nearly dead center between Jack,
Carter, and Hammond’s own homes. The city noise had just
been too much for his recently descended sensitivities.
They’d had a mega-party most of SGC had joined in for,
getting Daniel’s things out of storage and moving him
in the same day, with housewarming and homecoming gifts in
such volume Daniel was glowing with a power that had nothing
at all to do with Oma. Jack had teasingly called it the Heavenly
Barbecue, and Feretti had rightly predicted many years of “angel
jokes” in Daniel’s future.
Things had fallen back into synch for all of them. They’d
strengthened their position in the cosmic political scene,
wreaked enough havoc to deteriorate the stranglehold of the
goa’uld, freed more of the jaffa than Teal’c had
ever dreamed possible - and the Asgard had helped out considerably
in freeing the jaffa from their dependence on the symbiotes.
Little by little they had united the planets, Carter had taken
over SG1 - and become the wife of Narim, their new ambassador
to the Planetary Alliance. Earth - in large part due to Daniel’s
efforts - had finally earned its place as the fifth race. Jack
had taken over SGC when Hammond had retired, hated the desk
work but loved the freedom to tell the bureaucrats just what
needed sticking where.
Standing here watching Daniel accept the Presidential Medal
of Honor, face red and still in an expression Jack recognized
as acute discomfort blended liberally with a ‘memo to
self: kill Jack at earliest possible convenience’ gleam
in his eye, Jack was never so glad that Daniel had come back
to them. Looking down the line of spectators, human and alien
alike, friends all, Jack knew they’d never have gotten
this far without him. They all knew it.
Earth was finally at peace. The Stargate no longer a secret.
Displaced Tollans had taken refuge on Earth, finally convinced
the “primitives” had as much to give as they had
always assumed they’d take and gates were publicly accessible
on every continent. The Nox were still doing things their way,
but over time had conceded the very young could still teach
them a thing or two. Kinsey had died after one too many schemes
had backfired on him. Simmons had been killed by his pet goa’uld,
leaving SG1 to clean up the mess, Harry Maybourne had redeemed
himself in the eyes of the government on that one, now enjoying
a slightly shady retirement scheme in the Bahamas. Cassie had
followed in her mom’s footsteps and was fast becoming
an expert in alien virology. Hammond, well, he looked real
good up there bestowing that Medal of Honor on Daniel, but
Jack still had trouble calling him Mr. President.
A happy ending for just about everyone…
Looking at Daniel’s face again, Jack wasn’t so
sure if he could expect one, but it was worth the risk. Doctor
Daniel Jackson - archaeologist extraordinaire, diplomat, historian
for a host of lost or nearly lost worlds, cultural liaison
to beat them all, damn fine man and friend was here and alive
and finally, finally being recognized for the irreplaceable
and dynamic force in the universe he was…that he had
always been.
‘Some men really are born to greatness’, Jack
mused again, ‘…and sometimes, sometimes they’re
just plain great. And some…’ Jack thought as Daniel
left the podium and headed in his direction. ‘Some are
in a great deal of trouble…’
With a grin over his shoulder, General Jack O’Neill
ducked behind Teal’c, Narim, and Carter, shamelessly
cowering before the wrath of a publicly embarrassed Daniel
Jackson. He didn’t care how it looked, they were all
here, together, and happy.
And that really was all that mattered.
*fin*
