Adjustments, Part 3
Feb. 15th, 2006 09:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brainofckTitle: Adjustments, Part 3
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
muck_a_luck, posting in brainofck
Pairing: Daniel Jackson/Jack O'Neill
Rating: PG for most parts, NC-17 eventually
Summary: This story is a close cousin of Metamorphosis, except in this story, Daniel really has changed into a woman.
Content/warnings: Het content.
Disclaimer: If anybody is planning a script like this for SG-1, I'm certainly not going to claim any rights to it. However, I'd be delighted to work in a co-writing/consulting/first-reader/advisory-type capacity, with my fee to be negotiated at that time. :D
Archive rights: Absolutely none. My journals only.muck_a_luck and brainofck
NOTE: Ha! I have ventured into an area about which I know nothing. That is, how does a real military carry out field training exercises? I mean, I'm sure they don't use live fire, but I'm almost equally sure they don't use paintguns. :D I will be asking you to please suspend your disbelief, if you will, at the appropriate point in my story. Thank you for your cooperation and assistance.
Additional Note: Please go here. Thank you.
For my loyal![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
rugbytacklers, I have done a Stargate crash course located here.
Adjustments, Part 1
Adjustments, Part 2
He woke up to the smell of coffee and a blinding headache. Sam was already up. Janet was still snoring gently on the side of the bed farthest from the door. She muttered in her sleep as he slipped away.
He walked carefully into the kitchen, as if one small wrong step would jar his throbbing head right off his shoulders.
"I can't believe we all got plastered on a Thursday night," Sam chirped cheerfully as he took a seat at the table, head in his hands. "I feel like I'm back in college!"
"Shhhh," Daniel hissed. "Too loud."
She laughed, not doing the least to be quiet. She placed a cup of coffee in front of him. He just groaned, groping for the coffee cup and gulping the first swallow. She sat down next to him and went back to reading the paper she'd brought in from the front door.
"I don't think I can do this, Sam," he muttered.
"What?"
"You know what. Go about in my normal life being a woman. I don't think I can pull it off."
Sam looked up from her paper, her face all sympathy.
"You know, every girl goes through this when she's 12 or 13. We all had to adjust to having boobs and a lot of us were really awkward in clothes and unhappy about wearing bras and didn't like the attention from boys. You're having a girl's adolescence. You'll adjust, just like we did. And look! You don't have to do it in high school!"
Daniel smiled weakly.
"I have to do it with Jack O'Neill watching. How is that not high school?" he asked.
Sam snorted.
"You want toast?" she replied.
"But I don't know if I want to adjust. I'm a guy. In my head, I'm a man. But I know things are happening to me, and I'm not sure I want to adjust to them."
"For instance?"
"I've never cried because somebody told me I had to go shopping at the mall before. I think the whole evening kind of built up. All the things you and Janet wanted me to do. And then you said 'mall' and I just burst into tears."
"Oh. I thought that was the vomiting..."
"Nope. The mall."
Sam laughed.
"Is that all? How long have you been in this body? Couple of weeks, right? Maybe you're just about to get your period."
Daniel just stared at her in horror. His hands were shaking as he brought the coffee mug back to his mouth for a fortifying swallow.
"No, that's not all," he said. "Though the thought of getting my first period is certainly more than enough."
They were quiet a long time again.
"I don't feel horny in the morning anymore," he finally said bluntly. Sam's eyes went a little wider. "And last night, I slept with you and Janet, and this morning, nothing. Not the slightest bit of interest. And none of what the comedians talk about either. You know – if guys had tits they'd spend all day playing with them. No sexual interest in my own body whatsoever. It's just me. I see my chest in the mirror and mostly I just freak out because I realize all over again that I'm not a guy anymore. But in and of themselves, the breasts are of absolutely zero interest to me."
"Well, maybe that's because they're your breasts?" Sam suggested. "And maybe it's because it was me and Janet. I mean, I've never gotten the feeling you were particularly attracted to me. We've always just been friends and colleagues... Right?"
"So?!" replied Daniel forcefully. "I still got a little twitch from seeing you all bed rumpled and half naked in camp in the morning. You've got great legs and a pretty face. I noticed! Sometimes even felt a little guilty about noticing. God, if we ever go back out in the field together again... Is that what I'm going to be to Teal'c and Jack in the morning? Something easy on the eyes while they drink that crap instant coffee?"
Sam looked distressed. "Is that what I am?"
"Well, no!" Daniel backpedaled. "But like I said, a guy notices these things. And his, you know," Daniel flushed, "his parts notice. And now I don't notice anymore. So I'm thinking that means I'm not attracted to women anymore and that's just," he paused in dismay and confusion, "that's just weird.. I mean last night, you were all over me. Holding me, touching my hair. And all I could think was how nice it felt to have my hair petted. All that touching and not one guilty little thrill? What does that make me, after all?"
Sam obviously didn't know what to say.
"I don't think I can do this, Sam. What will happen if I really adjust? Who am I going to be?"
New clothes. New haircut. Women's underwear.
Daniel signed in at the desk for the first time. He felt ridiculous showing his ID to the airman, who went from watching him with careful and polite interest to startled surprise to slightly pale shock.
My first day as a headfuck, Daniel thought grimly.
But he smiled sweetly and said, "One too many trips through the Stargate, and this could be you." The young man's eyes were wide.
"I'm sorry ma'am... I mean s-s-sir... I mean Dr. Jackson. My instructions are to call Dr. Frasier when you arrive."
"No problem, airman, I can wait."
Janet escorted him to SG-1's ready room.
Daniel heard voices inside and hesitated. Jack and Teal'c. He blushed and leaned against the wall, grateful that Janet didn't feel the need to ask why he didn't just go in.
He sat at his desk staring at his new badge.
He supposed he should be happy that the Pentagon was willing to accept that he was himself. They weren't requiring any changes to his file but the photo.
All he wanted to do was tear up the picture.
On the up side, he had nearly three weeks of backlog to tackle.
Interesting backlog. A new set of artifacts picked up by SG-11 absorbed him all morning. Sam and her lab hadn't been able to figure them out, so they had come to him. They seemed to fit together like a puzzle, but all the pieces were identical and they could be combined and recombined in a huge variety of shapes and sequences. There was writing on them, but not any writing anyone on his team could recognize. So they were sitting on his desk and he spent the morning absorbed in them. They carried him through lunch, and well into the afternoon. A long blissful session of thinking about nothing but the infinite mysteries of a galaxy of interrelated cultures and languages – generations of human thinking.
He'd been working alone in the quiet for hours when Jack arrived.
"Hey," he said softly.
Daniel hadn't even heard him come in. He jumped.
"Hey," he said back, feeling the nervous, twitching smile, which he tried very hard to smooth over before Jack saw it.
Jack's expression was serenely calm. His eyes blank and unreadable. His body language all business.
The Daniel of the first Abydos mission was back, and meeting with that old, closed Jack. Daniel swallowed hard and turned back to his artifacts.
"So what are they?" Jack asked, as if they were just chatting over some new discovery and not talking alone for the first time in weeks.
Daniel could do convenient amnesia. He could do calm and professional. Easy.
"I don't know. Sam is sure it they do something," Daniel began.
"Yeah. It apparently gives off energy signatures in certain configurations, but she can't figure out why. She was hoping you would get something from the inscriptions."
Daniel just continued to move and reshape the blocks, watching Jack in his peripheral vision. Jack usually didn't cut to the chase so abruptly. No banter for Daniel anymore? No teasing? He swallowed again.
"I don't recognize any of it. I just wanted to see if I could figure anything out by working with the pieces themselves."
"Doesn't sound like the greatest idea to me. You could be playing with a kids' toy that'll light up with pretty colors in the right combination. But you could be putting together a handy, portable explosive device that'll go boom when you get it right."
Daniel carefully put down the piece he was about to insert into the new structure he had built.
"Not to be rude, but did you want something?" he asked, trying not to sound snippy.
"Yes, actually," said Jack blandly. "Frasier's signed off on you and Hammond wants you back out in the field."
"Great. When's the next mission?" Daniel asked.
"I want you to do basic at the Alpha site first," Jack said.
Daniel felt the anger come quickly, and he tried to keep it out of his voice as he answered.
"Why? I've been going into combat situations for years now. And I'm a civilian consultant. Is this so if I fail you can have a good reason to kick me out of your unit?"
Daniel braced himself for the fight. But it didn't come.
"Nah. If that were it, I'd have kicked you off years ago. You've always been hopeless." But the tone of voice and the little shy smile took the sting out of the words.
"Well, you taught me everything I know, so I think the blame for my hopelessness falls to you," Daniel replied tartly.
"Except you're a natural with that damned Beretta. Couldn't have taught you that," another shy smile.
And to his horror, Daniel felt a little tummy flop that he should never have felt just because Jack was smiling at him.
Then Jack was giving him the blank eyes again, and the smile was gone.
"I don't really care if you pass or fail, actually. You've been in that new bod, what, less than a month? You're used to being 10 inches taller and probably 80 pounds heavier. You're used to a longer reach, a man's upper-body strength, and much bigger hands. I want you to get an opportunity to get acclimatized to the new digs in the company of friendly jarheads and airmen rather than under enemy fire. That's it. No ulterior motive. And no matter what the instructors say, you're SG-1. I just want to be sure you know your way around the neighborhood before I put you in harm's way."
Daniel couldn't tell if Jack meant it or not – that he wanted Daniel back and didn't care about the training. He knew that this Jack, the old Jack, the Jack from the first Abydos mission knew perfectly well how to say exactly the right words at exactly the right time and give nothing away.
Still, what Jack was proposing made a certain amount of sense.
"OK," he said, shrugging.
"Great, the next group of kids goes out at 1800. Carter's gonna help you requisition your supplies."
He ducked out before Daniel could splutter his outraged protest that it was all of 1500 already.
Captain Whyte seemed like a nice enough guy. Daniel sat across from him at the mess table.
"Colonel O'Neill says not to go easy on you, but I understand that this is an outing for you to get used to battlefield conditions in your new body?"
"Yeah, that's about it. I'm trying to see this as a sensible precaution and not just tedious and annoying as hell," Daniel said.
"Well, at the colonel's request, I'm taking you out in my own unit. He says you'll be great, actually. I'm figuring he's probably right. The only unit with more combat time than SG-1 is SG-5, and they're a bunch of freakin' jarheads."
Daniel tried not to be flattered by the offhanded compliments. They ate in awkward silence for a while.
"So, do you want the kids to know who you are?" Whyte finally asked him.
Daniel thought about it. He could just be little Dani Jackson, a new civilian scientist-type, keep to himself, and not have to offer any explanations or make any small talk about anything. But anyone who knew anything about the SG program was going to pick up on the name anyway. He couldn't see going to the trouble to create a whole fake identity for a bunch of new recruits who were going to know who he was sooner or later anyway.
He shrugged.
"Why not? I can be an object lesson in the dangers of Gate travel and space exploration." He smiled. "One of the few benefits of the new persona. I love those seconds when the airman who's been imagining dragging me off to the nearest store room for a quickie suddenly realizes that I'm the guy who lost his dick in a freak, yet-to-be-explained, Gate-related incident."
The captain chuckled as he stood up to leave.
"Well, not everybody spooks so easily. Listen, I know this must be tough. If there's anything I can do to help you get used to the new situation, let me know. My tent flap's always open, and I'm a broad-minded guy."
And to Daniel's amazement, he gave him a flirty wink before turning on his heel and walking off.
The training was as tedious and boring as Daniel expected. But more painful. Mainly because of new boots. Never a good idea to wear new boots on a long mission, but Daniel didn't have any old broken-in ones to wear.
Capt. Whyte didn't make any other overtures, much to Daniel's relief. Though he did make a point of sitting near Daniel by their evening fires and arranging the watch schedule so that Daniel always had to go into his tent and wake him. Daniel knew it was a subtle invitation. But he never accepted it.
Not that Whyte was a bad looking guy. Not that he was particularly bad company. Daniel liked him well enough. And Daniel had to admit that he was curious. But the idea that he could be caught out, on a training mission, getting fucked for the first time by the man who was technically his CO... God, he would never be able to face anyone in the SGC again. Never. And he suspected that once Jack learned the story, Capt. Whyte would mysteriously disappear in the wilds beyond the Alpha site, and no one would ever find the body.
The training was boring, like an unpleasant walk in the woods. They had encounters with Air Force "Jaffa," practicing against their fighting styles and weapons. The team had surveillance assignments, search and rescue, some technology retrieval. Daniel was along for the ride, and as the team's civilian advisor, he offered advice when appropriate, and kept his head down when ordered. Jack wouldn't have recognized him, he thought with mild amusement, doing exactly as he was told.
Their night camps remained undisturbed, though. Aside from having to take a watch shift, Daniel slept soundly. But he knew there would be a night attack. He was certain. He dreaded it, but that was the nature of training, wasn't it?
By chance, it was Daniel's new body that saved the day. He absolutely could not sleep through the night anymore without one trip to the toilet. His bladder invariably woke him up at about 2am. So on nights when he had the last watch, he would drag himself out of his warm sleeping bag with a flashlight, and go find a nice, dark spot in the woods to take a piss.
This night was one of those nights. By reflex, he snagged his training weapon, a paint gun type toy the size of a handgun, but didn't even bother to properly tie his boots. Just groggily followed his flashlight beam out into the woods.
He had done his business, and was starting his zombie-like stumble through the cool darkness back to his tent, when he heard the low voices and shuffle of bodies moving through the underbrush. Daniel shoved his flashlight under his jacket, soundlessly switching it off. Even though he knew this was just an exercise, his heart was already racing. He didn't think his light had given him away.
He crouched down and struggled with his laces, cursing in his head. There was no way he could communicate with Lt. Rice, who was currently on watch. They were close enough that the sound of Rice's radio would carry clearly through the night, and the attack would crash down. The attackers were between him and the camp already. But he had his weapon and the element of surprise. If he could be quiet enough, he could use that.
He slipped through the brush as quietly as possible, one of the many things he had discovered were actually easier when one was shorter and lighter with smaller feet. He came up on the group. He counted eight dark forms. Three were being directed to take up positions around the perimeter of the small camp while the other five went in to take out the guard and surprise the sleeping enemy.
Eight to one. Daniel wasn't sure he could pull that off. Particularly since his current weapon only had six shots. He would need to rearm to complete the job.
He decided to follow one of the Jaffa sent to guard the perimeter. One went right, two went left. He followed the one that went alone.
As soon as they were far enough from the others to prevent them from hearing the action of his weapon, Daniel took the kill shot to the back of the Jaffa's head. His victim gave a muffled grunt and quiet curse at the sting of the paintball, and another annoyed comment as the paint ran down his neck. Daniel paused to shake the dead man's hand, took his weapon, then went scurrying around the clearing to meet the second sentry.
He dispatched the second man just as easily. He sat back with a sigh against a tree and made himself comfortable to watch the rest of the exercise.
The weapon he had taken from his first kill was longer with a little better range than his own handgun, though Daniel knew that these toys wouldn't behave quite as he would expect from a real firearm. On the other hand, the rules of engagement gave him some leeway. All he had to do was hit the torso, and it was a kill.
He took a bead down the barrel of the weapon and took his first shot.
"So, I hear you saved the day," Jack said as they walked toward SG-1's ready room. Daniel grunted. He was tired and ready to sleep in a bed again. He had left as soon as the exercises were complete, skipping the debrief. No one had objected. He felt a small amount of guilt, as he probably could have been an important part of the education of these newest SGC members.
But he absolutely couldn't face it.
He'd just gotten his period.
Adjustments, Part 4
If you're interested, all my stories, in order, from one page. Also, my fiction recommendations.
Author:
muck_a_luck, posting in brainofckPairing: Daniel Jackson/Jack O'Neill
Rating: PG for most parts, NC-17 eventually
Summary: This story is a close cousin of Metamorphosis, except in this story, Daniel really has changed into a woman.
Content/warnings: Het content.
Disclaimer: If anybody is planning a script like this for SG-1, I'm certainly not going to claim any rights to it. However, I'd be delighted to work in a co-writing/consulting/first-reader/advisory-type capacity, with my fee to be negotiated at that time. :D
Archive rights: Absolutely none. My journals only.
muck_a_luck and brainofckNOTE: Ha! I have ventured into an area about which I know nothing. That is, how does a real military carry out field training exercises? I mean, I'm sure they don't use live fire, but I'm almost equally sure they don't use paintguns. :D I will be asking you to please suspend your disbelief, if you will, at the appropriate point in my story. Thank you for your cooperation and assistance.
Additional Note: Please go here. Thank you.
For my loyal
rugbytacklers, I have done a Stargate crash course located here.Adjustments, Part 1
Adjustments, Part 2
He woke up to the smell of coffee and a blinding headache. Sam was already up. Janet was still snoring gently on the side of the bed farthest from the door. She muttered in her sleep as he slipped away.
He walked carefully into the kitchen, as if one small wrong step would jar his throbbing head right off his shoulders.
"I can't believe we all got plastered on a Thursday night," Sam chirped cheerfully as he took a seat at the table, head in his hands. "I feel like I'm back in college!"
"Shhhh," Daniel hissed. "Too loud."
She laughed, not doing the least to be quiet. She placed a cup of coffee in front of him. He just groaned, groping for the coffee cup and gulping the first swallow. She sat down next to him and went back to reading the paper she'd brought in from the front door.
"I don't think I can do this, Sam," he muttered.
"What?"
"You know what. Go about in my normal life being a woman. I don't think I can pull it off."
Sam looked up from her paper, her face all sympathy.
"You know, every girl goes through this when she's 12 or 13. We all had to adjust to having boobs and a lot of us were really awkward in clothes and unhappy about wearing bras and didn't like the attention from boys. You're having a girl's adolescence. You'll adjust, just like we did. And look! You don't have to do it in high school!"
Daniel smiled weakly.
"I have to do it with Jack O'Neill watching. How is that not high school?" he asked.
Sam snorted.
"You want toast?" she replied.
"But I don't know if I want to adjust. I'm a guy. In my head, I'm a man. But I know things are happening to me, and I'm not sure I want to adjust to them."
"For instance?"
"I've never cried because somebody told me I had to go shopping at the mall before. I think the whole evening kind of built up. All the things you and Janet wanted me to do. And then you said 'mall' and I just burst into tears."
"Oh. I thought that was the vomiting..."
"Nope. The mall."
Sam laughed.
"Is that all? How long have you been in this body? Couple of weeks, right? Maybe you're just about to get your period."
Daniel just stared at her in horror. His hands were shaking as he brought the coffee mug back to his mouth for a fortifying swallow.
"No, that's not all," he said. "Though the thought of getting my first period is certainly more than enough."
They were quiet a long time again.
"I don't feel horny in the morning anymore," he finally said bluntly. Sam's eyes went a little wider. "And last night, I slept with you and Janet, and this morning, nothing. Not the slightest bit of interest. And none of what the comedians talk about either. You know – if guys had tits they'd spend all day playing with them. No sexual interest in my own body whatsoever. It's just me. I see my chest in the mirror and mostly I just freak out because I realize all over again that I'm not a guy anymore. But in and of themselves, the breasts are of absolutely zero interest to me."
"Well, maybe that's because they're your breasts?" Sam suggested. "And maybe it's because it was me and Janet. I mean, I've never gotten the feeling you were particularly attracted to me. We've always just been friends and colleagues... Right?"
"So?!" replied Daniel forcefully. "I still got a little twitch from seeing you all bed rumpled and half naked in camp in the morning. You've got great legs and a pretty face. I noticed! Sometimes even felt a little guilty about noticing. God, if we ever go back out in the field together again... Is that what I'm going to be to Teal'c and Jack in the morning? Something easy on the eyes while they drink that crap instant coffee?"
Sam looked distressed. "Is that what I am?"
"Well, no!" Daniel backpedaled. "But like I said, a guy notices these things. And his, you know," Daniel flushed, "his parts notice. And now I don't notice anymore. So I'm thinking that means I'm not attracted to women anymore and that's just," he paused in dismay and confusion, "that's just weird.. I mean last night, you were all over me. Holding me, touching my hair. And all I could think was how nice it felt to have my hair petted. All that touching and not one guilty little thrill? What does that make me, after all?"
Sam obviously didn't know what to say.
"I don't think I can do this, Sam. What will happen if I really adjust? Who am I going to be?"
New clothes. New haircut. Women's underwear.
Daniel signed in at the desk for the first time. He felt ridiculous showing his ID to the airman, who went from watching him with careful and polite interest to startled surprise to slightly pale shock.
My first day as a headfuck, Daniel thought grimly.
But he smiled sweetly and said, "One too many trips through the Stargate, and this could be you." The young man's eyes were wide.
"I'm sorry ma'am... I mean s-s-sir... I mean Dr. Jackson. My instructions are to call Dr. Frasier when you arrive."
"No problem, airman, I can wait."
Janet escorted him to SG-1's ready room.
Daniel heard voices inside and hesitated. Jack and Teal'c. He blushed and leaned against the wall, grateful that Janet didn't feel the need to ask why he didn't just go in.
He sat at his desk staring at his new badge.
He supposed he should be happy that the Pentagon was willing to accept that he was himself. They weren't requiring any changes to his file but the photo.
All he wanted to do was tear up the picture.
On the up side, he had nearly three weeks of backlog to tackle.
Interesting backlog. A new set of artifacts picked up by SG-11 absorbed him all morning. Sam and her lab hadn't been able to figure them out, so they had come to him. They seemed to fit together like a puzzle, but all the pieces were identical and they could be combined and recombined in a huge variety of shapes and sequences. There was writing on them, but not any writing anyone on his team could recognize. So they were sitting on his desk and he spent the morning absorbed in them. They carried him through lunch, and well into the afternoon. A long blissful session of thinking about nothing but the infinite mysteries of a galaxy of interrelated cultures and languages – generations of human thinking.
He'd been working alone in the quiet for hours when Jack arrived.
"Hey," he said softly.
Daniel hadn't even heard him come in. He jumped.
"Hey," he said back, feeling the nervous, twitching smile, which he tried very hard to smooth over before Jack saw it.
Jack's expression was serenely calm. His eyes blank and unreadable. His body language all business.
The Daniel of the first Abydos mission was back, and meeting with that old, closed Jack. Daniel swallowed hard and turned back to his artifacts.
"So what are they?" Jack asked, as if they were just chatting over some new discovery and not talking alone for the first time in weeks.
Daniel could do convenient amnesia. He could do calm and professional. Easy.
"I don't know. Sam is sure it they do something," Daniel began.
"Yeah. It apparently gives off energy signatures in certain configurations, but she can't figure out why. She was hoping you would get something from the inscriptions."
Daniel just continued to move and reshape the blocks, watching Jack in his peripheral vision. Jack usually didn't cut to the chase so abruptly. No banter for Daniel anymore? No teasing? He swallowed again.
"I don't recognize any of it. I just wanted to see if I could figure anything out by working with the pieces themselves."
"Doesn't sound like the greatest idea to me. You could be playing with a kids' toy that'll light up with pretty colors in the right combination. But you could be putting together a handy, portable explosive device that'll go boom when you get it right."
Daniel carefully put down the piece he was about to insert into the new structure he had built.
"Not to be rude, but did you want something?" he asked, trying not to sound snippy.
"Yes, actually," said Jack blandly. "Frasier's signed off on you and Hammond wants you back out in the field."
"Great. When's the next mission?" Daniel asked.
"I want you to do basic at the Alpha site first," Jack said.
Daniel felt the anger come quickly, and he tried to keep it out of his voice as he answered.
"Why? I've been going into combat situations for years now. And I'm a civilian consultant. Is this so if I fail you can have a good reason to kick me out of your unit?"
Daniel braced himself for the fight. But it didn't come.
"Nah. If that were it, I'd have kicked you off years ago. You've always been hopeless." But the tone of voice and the little shy smile took the sting out of the words.
"Well, you taught me everything I know, so I think the blame for my hopelessness falls to you," Daniel replied tartly.
"Except you're a natural with that damned Beretta. Couldn't have taught you that," another shy smile.
And to his horror, Daniel felt a little tummy flop that he should never have felt just because Jack was smiling at him.
Then Jack was giving him the blank eyes again, and the smile was gone.
"I don't really care if you pass or fail, actually. You've been in that new bod, what, less than a month? You're used to being 10 inches taller and probably 80 pounds heavier. You're used to a longer reach, a man's upper-body strength, and much bigger hands. I want you to get an opportunity to get acclimatized to the new digs in the company of friendly jarheads and airmen rather than under enemy fire. That's it. No ulterior motive. And no matter what the instructors say, you're SG-1. I just want to be sure you know your way around the neighborhood before I put you in harm's way."
Daniel couldn't tell if Jack meant it or not – that he wanted Daniel back and didn't care about the training. He knew that this Jack, the old Jack, the Jack from the first Abydos mission knew perfectly well how to say exactly the right words at exactly the right time and give nothing away.
Still, what Jack was proposing made a certain amount of sense.
"OK," he said, shrugging.
"Great, the next group of kids goes out at 1800. Carter's gonna help you requisition your supplies."
He ducked out before Daniel could splutter his outraged protest that it was all of 1500 already.
Captain Whyte seemed like a nice enough guy. Daniel sat across from him at the mess table.
"Colonel O'Neill says not to go easy on you, but I understand that this is an outing for you to get used to battlefield conditions in your new body?"
"Yeah, that's about it. I'm trying to see this as a sensible precaution and not just tedious and annoying as hell," Daniel said.
"Well, at the colonel's request, I'm taking you out in my own unit. He says you'll be great, actually. I'm figuring he's probably right. The only unit with more combat time than SG-1 is SG-5, and they're a bunch of freakin' jarheads."
Daniel tried not to be flattered by the offhanded compliments. They ate in awkward silence for a while.
"So, do you want the kids to know who you are?" Whyte finally asked him.
Daniel thought about it. He could just be little Dani Jackson, a new civilian scientist-type, keep to himself, and not have to offer any explanations or make any small talk about anything. But anyone who knew anything about the SG program was going to pick up on the name anyway. He couldn't see going to the trouble to create a whole fake identity for a bunch of new recruits who were going to know who he was sooner or later anyway.
He shrugged.
"Why not? I can be an object lesson in the dangers of Gate travel and space exploration." He smiled. "One of the few benefits of the new persona. I love those seconds when the airman who's been imagining dragging me off to the nearest store room for a quickie suddenly realizes that I'm the guy who lost his dick in a freak, yet-to-be-explained, Gate-related incident."
The captain chuckled as he stood up to leave.
"Well, not everybody spooks so easily. Listen, I know this must be tough. If there's anything I can do to help you get used to the new situation, let me know. My tent flap's always open, and I'm a broad-minded guy."
And to Daniel's amazement, he gave him a flirty wink before turning on his heel and walking off.
The training was as tedious and boring as Daniel expected. But more painful. Mainly because of new boots. Never a good idea to wear new boots on a long mission, but Daniel didn't have any old broken-in ones to wear.
Capt. Whyte didn't make any other overtures, much to Daniel's relief. Though he did make a point of sitting near Daniel by their evening fires and arranging the watch schedule so that Daniel always had to go into his tent and wake him. Daniel knew it was a subtle invitation. But he never accepted it.
Not that Whyte was a bad looking guy. Not that he was particularly bad company. Daniel liked him well enough. And Daniel had to admit that he was curious. But the idea that he could be caught out, on a training mission, getting fucked for the first time by the man who was technically his CO... God, he would never be able to face anyone in the SGC again. Never. And he suspected that once Jack learned the story, Capt. Whyte would mysteriously disappear in the wilds beyond the Alpha site, and no one would ever find the body.
The training was boring, like an unpleasant walk in the woods. They had encounters with Air Force "Jaffa," practicing against their fighting styles and weapons. The team had surveillance assignments, search and rescue, some technology retrieval. Daniel was along for the ride, and as the team's civilian advisor, he offered advice when appropriate, and kept his head down when ordered. Jack wouldn't have recognized him, he thought with mild amusement, doing exactly as he was told.
Their night camps remained undisturbed, though. Aside from having to take a watch shift, Daniel slept soundly. But he knew there would be a night attack. He was certain. He dreaded it, but that was the nature of training, wasn't it?
By chance, it was Daniel's new body that saved the day. He absolutely could not sleep through the night anymore without one trip to the toilet. His bladder invariably woke him up at about 2am. So on nights when he had the last watch, he would drag himself out of his warm sleeping bag with a flashlight, and go find a nice, dark spot in the woods to take a piss.
This night was one of those nights. By reflex, he snagged his training weapon, a paint gun type toy the size of a handgun, but didn't even bother to properly tie his boots. Just groggily followed his flashlight beam out into the woods.
He had done his business, and was starting his zombie-like stumble through the cool darkness back to his tent, when he heard the low voices and shuffle of bodies moving through the underbrush. Daniel shoved his flashlight under his jacket, soundlessly switching it off. Even though he knew this was just an exercise, his heart was already racing. He didn't think his light had given him away.
He crouched down and struggled with his laces, cursing in his head. There was no way he could communicate with Lt. Rice, who was currently on watch. They were close enough that the sound of Rice's radio would carry clearly through the night, and the attack would crash down. The attackers were between him and the camp already. But he had his weapon and the element of surprise. If he could be quiet enough, he could use that.
He slipped through the brush as quietly as possible, one of the many things he had discovered were actually easier when one was shorter and lighter with smaller feet. He came up on the group. He counted eight dark forms. Three were being directed to take up positions around the perimeter of the small camp while the other five went in to take out the guard and surprise the sleeping enemy.
Eight to one. Daniel wasn't sure he could pull that off. Particularly since his current weapon only had six shots. He would need to rearm to complete the job.
He decided to follow one of the Jaffa sent to guard the perimeter. One went right, two went left. He followed the one that went alone.
As soon as they were far enough from the others to prevent them from hearing the action of his weapon, Daniel took the kill shot to the back of the Jaffa's head. His victim gave a muffled grunt and quiet curse at the sting of the paintball, and another annoyed comment as the paint ran down his neck. Daniel paused to shake the dead man's hand, took his weapon, then went scurrying around the clearing to meet the second sentry.
He dispatched the second man just as easily. He sat back with a sigh against a tree and made himself comfortable to watch the rest of the exercise.
The weapon he had taken from his first kill was longer with a little better range than his own handgun, though Daniel knew that these toys wouldn't behave quite as he would expect from a real firearm. On the other hand, the rules of engagement gave him some leeway. All he had to do was hit the torso, and it was a kill.
He took a bead down the barrel of the weapon and took his first shot.
"So, I hear you saved the day," Jack said as they walked toward SG-1's ready room. Daniel grunted. He was tired and ready to sleep in a bed again. He had left as soon as the exercises were complete, skipping the debrief. No one had objected. He felt a small amount of guilt, as he probably could have been an important part of the education of these newest SGC members.
But he absolutely couldn't face it.
He'd just gotten his period.
Adjustments, Part 4
If you're interested, all my stories, in order, from one page. Also, my fiction recommendations.
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no subject
Date: 2006-02-16 02:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-16 02:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-16 02:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-16 03:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-16 03:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-16 02:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-16 05:12 am (UTC)Daniel smiled weakly.
"I have to do it with Jack O'Neill watching. How is that not high school?" he asked.
BWAH!! and
And to his horror, Daniel felt a little tummy flop that he should never have felt just because Jack was smiling at him.
Squeeee! and
And he suspected that once Jack learned the story, Capt. Whyte would mysteriously disappear in the wilds beyond the Alpha site, and no one would ever find the body.
Hell yeah!!! and
"So, I hear you saved the day," Jack said as they walked toward SG-1's ready room.
Dani!!! S/he's my hero
ine!*loves loves loves*
no subject
Date: 2006-02-16 02:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-16 03:06 pm (UTC)Squeeing Minion!
Date: 2006-02-16 05:35 am (UTC)Dancey dance dance!
Re: Squeeing Minion!
Date: 2006-02-16 02:41 pm (UTC)Re: Squeeing Minion!
Date: 2006-02-17 12:05 am (UTC)But, hey! Have you thought of cross-posting this to
Plus I'm so infatuated with this series I want more people see it/read it. ; }
Re: Squeeing Minion!
Date: 2006-02-17 02:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-16 09:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-16 02:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-16 11:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-16 02:42 pm (UTC)Thanks!
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Date: 2006-02-16 01:53 pm (UTC)Oh, and Jack with his shy smile - I am so dying over that.
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Date: 2006-02-16 02:43 pm (UTC)Jack is having issues. But he'll find a way around them eventually. Cause, you know, there must be smut, and how will be get there if Jack can't make a move? ;)
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Date: 2006-02-16 03:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-21 08:16 pm (UTC)*eg*
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Date: 2006-02-16 07:05 pm (UTC)Niiiiiiiiiiiice, very, very niiiiiiiiiice. And reads very well. Just what I needed after a long day of work.
Keep 'em coming, please. The situation unfolds beatifully :)=
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Date: 2006-02-21 08:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-16 11:44 pm (UTC)And aaaah, no more morning wood for Daniel. :'(
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Date: 2006-02-21 08:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-20 11:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-21 08:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-21 08:26 pm (UTC)