Bygones and Proper Introductions
Jun. 25th, 2011 12:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stringertheoryTitle: Bygones and Proper Introductions
Rating: PG
Fandom: Stargate SG-1
Characters: Daniel Jackson, Teal'c
Word Count: 1603
Categories: drama, friendship
Spoilers/Warnings: Season 1, set sometime between COTG and "The Broca Divide". Spoilers for COTG.
Summary: Written for the![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
sg1friendathon: "Daniel, Teal'c. Early season 1: the first time they put aside anger/guilt and tried friendship."
Note: Many thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sg_fignewton for the beta.
Daniel sighed in frustration and erased the five lines of text he had just written on the chalkboard. Whatever the artifact was that they had found, he doubted “Have worth – blue – to stand up – yesterday,” or any of the other translations he'd managed, were accurate representations of what had been carefully inscribed on it.
What he needed was a larger reference base. They barely had a working Goa'uld database, much less a complete dictionary. The limited resources made translations of the various dialects difficult even for the most patient or knowledgeable among them. Most of the collected knowledge they had about the language had been extrapolated from what Daniel had learned during his time on Abydos or gleaned from their few encounters with the Goa'uld. That particular thought made him ache hollowly, and he absentmindedly rubbed at his chest. Bending once more to glare at the artifact, he willed the text to make sense.
He wasn't above admitting that he needed help, and in that vein he had sent for the only reinforcement available. Movement in the hallway alerted him to that reinforcement's arrival.
Teal'c stood in the doorway, looking very solemn, an airman at his side. This arrangement was a step up for the Jaffa, Daniel noted. Only a week earlier, he would have been flanked by guards, and Daniel's attempt to dismiss them would have had no more effect than to set them in position at either side of the entrance to his lab. As it was, the airman accompanying Teal'c gave a curt nod and quick-stepped away as soon as Daniel released him. It appeared the powers that be trusted Teal'c with Daniel. Perhaps even more surprisingly, they trusted Daniel with him.
“Come in, Teal'c,” Daniel said.
Teal'c did so with great care, as if concerned that he might step in the wrong area or offend by moving too quickly. He came to a halt about two feet away from the edge of the workstation, planted his feet, and stood with his hands clasped behind his back. When he spoke, his tone was as calm and even as ever, with a slightly deferential quality that caught Daniel's attention.
“You requested my assistance, Daniel Jackson?”
“Ah, yes,” Daniel replied. “I'm working on translating the text on this Goa'uld device SG-5 found. Either the form is archaic or the dialect is rare, because I'm having trouble getting the pieces to fit together in a way that makes sense. I was hoping you could help me.”
He quirked his mouth in the faintest hint of a smile, trying to convey geniality. Teal'c's only response was a shallow bow.
“I will be happy to assist you in any way I can,” he said politely.
Daniel frowned slightly at Teal'c's demeanor, but half-turned to point at the blackboard just the same.
“I've written the text from the top two sides of the artifact here, but I can't get the phrases to lock into a decipherable, sensible form. All I've managed to get out of it is gibberish, so either I'm heading down the wrong track or it's some kind of code or puzzle.” He faced the board fully and stared down the lines written there. “Of course, there's always the possibility that I'm reading it incorrectly, and the text travels across the artifact in an unusual or unexpected direction.”
“I believe part of the problem is that the text runs from top to bottom, right to left,” Teal'c advised from behind him. “Whereas you have been attempting to translate from right to left, top to bottom.”
Daniel turned to find the Jaffa a few steps closer to the table, leaning over to inspect the artifact more closely. He was still a good foot from the station, hands behind his back, as though wary of touching anything. Daniel stepped over to read the area Teal'c was scrutinizing. A quick skim of the text showed that while he would still need help with the nuances of the dialect, the phrases that popped into his head as he read in the direction Teal'c had indicated definitely made more sense than the ones he had been trying earlier.
“I don't know why I didn't see that before,” he said half to himself, frowning at the artifact as if it had personally offended him.
“I am sure you would have perceived the true nature of the text on your own,” Teal'c said courteously.
“Maybe,” Daniel admitted, erasing the board fully and beginning to painstakingly rewrite the text in the correct order. “But it would have taken many more wasted hours of work beforehand. Thank you.”
“I have done nothing.”
Daniel paused midway through scribbling the symbol for 'fealty' to look over at Teal'c. Had Teal'c been Earth military, Daniel would have called his stance that of 'attention.' As it was, he appeared ready to spring into whatever action was required of him, and to do so without question.
Daniel almost brushed the formality aside as Teal'c's normal demeanor. Having been slave to the Goa'uld his entire life, Teal'c must have mastered the art of facade, of carefully crafting an appearance of servitude. Such deference must have been an automatic response by now, and he was simply carrying on with it out of habit, whether subconsciously or not.
But there was something else to his mood that made Daniel reevaluate that thought. There was a diffident air to the way Teal'c was standing—back straight, chin raised, eyes not actively averted, but deliberately focused on the far wall of the lab rather than on Daniel. Daniel realized that Teal'c had not met his gaze even once, though Daniel himself had been looking directly at Teal'c. Placing the bit of chalk he was holding back on the blackboard tray and dusting off his hands, Daniel slid over to stand directly in front of Teal'c, marking how the Jaffa kept his eyes fixed at a point just over Daniel's shoulder.
“Teal'c.”
“Yes, Daniel Jackson?”
Daniel took off his glasses and scrubbed a hand over his face.
“You don't have to be so deferential to me, Teal'c,” he said, replacing his glasses on his face. “You don't have to tread softly or feel like you have something to make up for.”
“I do not understand what the weight of my step has to do with anything,” Teal'c replied, the hint of a frown forming between his eyes.
“I don't blame you,” Daniel said bluntly, “for Sha're. I wanted to—I really, really did—and I would have. I would have hated you, even without knowing your face or your name, for what you did.” He gave a huff of mirthless laughter. “But then you had to go and save us.”
The corner of his mouth curled up in a small, crooked smile. When he spoke again, his tone was thoughtful. “I can only imagine what it took for you to turn against everything you've ever known at the behest of a stranger, to leave your life behind and risk everything on what might have turned out to be an empty promise. All I know is that you did, and that you were as much a slave then as Sha're is now, however different the circumstances.”
Teal'c didn't respond. He had lowered his gaze and was frowning at a patch of floor near one of the room's bookshelves.
“I don't blame you,” Daniel said again.
“I am the one who chose your wife, Daniel Jackson,” Teal'c said, standing straight again to stare at the wall. “I took her from Abydos, I took her before Apophis. Had I chosen otherwise, she might have been there for you to free. Instead, she was taken as a host. I am to blame.”
Despite Teal'c's impressive ability to maintain a blank expression under almost any circumstances, Daniel could see the pain in his eyes. How many times had he made the choice of who to take, who to kill? And how many of those decisions did he still carry with him? Daniel studied him intently, gaze measuring, thoughts whirring through his mind like spinning tops.
“And that is why I can't hate you,” he said finally. “You feel the burden of the choices you have made. You care.”
The lab was quiet for a few moments, the only sound the hum of the lights and the breath of air through the vents overhead. Then Daniel gave a small smile.
“Let's start over,” he said, clearing his throat and thrusting out a hand. “Hi, I'm Dr. Daniel Jackson of Earth, member of SG-1, civilian consultant at the SGC, out to explore the galaxy and rescue my wife.”
He watched Teal'c expectantly, eyebrows raised and smile still in place, hand outstretched. Teal'c stared solemnly at the hand for a few seconds, still frowning. Though clearly confused by the turn of events, he clasped Daniel's forearm in a firm grip. Daniel was surprised, but recovered quickly and returned the unusual grasp with enthusiasm, his smile widening marginally.
“I am Teal'c.”
“Of the free Jaffa?”
Finally, Teal'c looked Daniel in the face. Teal'c held his gaze for a long moment, an understanding of sorts passing between them. Then he gave a tilt of his head and arched an eyebrow ever so slightly.
“Indeed,” he replied, standing a bit straighter.
“It's nice to meet you, Teal'c.”
Teal'c bowed. “And you, Daniel Jackson.”
Rating: PG
Fandom: Stargate SG-1
Characters: Daniel Jackson, Teal'c
Word Count: 1603
Categories: drama, friendship
Spoilers/Warnings: Season 1, set sometime between COTG and "The Broca Divide". Spoilers for COTG.
Summary: Written for the
sg1friendathon: "Daniel, Teal'c. Early season 1: the first time they put aside anger/guilt and tried friendship."Note: Many thanks to
sg_fignewton for the beta.Daniel sighed in frustration and erased the five lines of text he had just written on the chalkboard. Whatever the artifact was that they had found, he doubted “Have worth – blue – to stand up – yesterday,” or any of the other translations he'd managed, were accurate representations of what had been carefully inscribed on it.
What he needed was a larger reference base. They barely had a working Goa'uld database, much less a complete dictionary. The limited resources made translations of the various dialects difficult even for the most patient or knowledgeable among them. Most of the collected knowledge they had about the language had been extrapolated from what Daniel had learned during his time on Abydos or gleaned from their few encounters with the Goa'uld. That particular thought made him ache hollowly, and he absentmindedly rubbed at his chest. Bending once more to glare at the artifact, he willed the text to make sense.
He wasn't above admitting that he needed help, and in that vein he had sent for the only reinforcement available. Movement in the hallway alerted him to that reinforcement's arrival.
Teal'c stood in the doorway, looking very solemn, an airman at his side. This arrangement was a step up for the Jaffa, Daniel noted. Only a week earlier, he would have been flanked by guards, and Daniel's attempt to dismiss them would have had no more effect than to set them in position at either side of the entrance to his lab. As it was, the airman accompanying Teal'c gave a curt nod and quick-stepped away as soon as Daniel released him. It appeared the powers that be trusted Teal'c with Daniel. Perhaps even more surprisingly, they trusted Daniel with him.
“Come in, Teal'c,” Daniel said.
Teal'c did so with great care, as if concerned that he might step in the wrong area or offend by moving too quickly. He came to a halt about two feet away from the edge of the workstation, planted his feet, and stood with his hands clasped behind his back. When he spoke, his tone was as calm and even as ever, with a slightly deferential quality that caught Daniel's attention.
“You requested my assistance, Daniel Jackson?”
“Ah, yes,” Daniel replied. “I'm working on translating the text on this Goa'uld device SG-5 found. Either the form is archaic or the dialect is rare, because I'm having trouble getting the pieces to fit together in a way that makes sense. I was hoping you could help me.”
He quirked his mouth in the faintest hint of a smile, trying to convey geniality. Teal'c's only response was a shallow bow.
“I will be happy to assist you in any way I can,” he said politely.
Daniel frowned slightly at Teal'c's demeanor, but half-turned to point at the blackboard just the same.
“I've written the text from the top two sides of the artifact here, but I can't get the phrases to lock into a decipherable, sensible form. All I've managed to get out of it is gibberish, so either I'm heading down the wrong track or it's some kind of code or puzzle.” He faced the board fully and stared down the lines written there. “Of course, there's always the possibility that I'm reading it incorrectly, and the text travels across the artifact in an unusual or unexpected direction.”
“I believe part of the problem is that the text runs from top to bottom, right to left,” Teal'c advised from behind him. “Whereas you have been attempting to translate from right to left, top to bottom.”
Daniel turned to find the Jaffa a few steps closer to the table, leaning over to inspect the artifact more closely. He was still a good foot from the station, hands behind his back, as though wary of touching anything. Daniel stepped over to read the area Teal'c was scrutinizing. A quick skim of the text showed that while he would still need help with the nuances of the dialect, the phrases that popped into his head as he read in the direction Teal'c had indicated definitely made more sense than the ones he had been trying earlier.
“I don't know why I didn't see that before,” he said half to himself, frowning at the artifact as if it had personally offended him.
“I am sure you would have perceived the true nature of the text on your own,” Teal'c said courteously.
“Maybe,” Daniel admitted, erasing the board fully and beginning to painstakingly rewrite the text in the correct order. “But it would have taken many more wasted hours of work beforehand. Thank you.”
“I have done nothing.”
Daniel paused midway through scribbling the symbol for 'fealty' to look over at Teal'c. Had Teal'c been Earth military, Daniel would have called his stance that of 'attention.' As it was, he appeared ready to spring into whatever action was required of him, and to do so without question.
Daniel almost brushed the formality aside as Teal'c's normal demeanor. Having been slave to the Goa'uld his entire life, Teal'c must have mastered the art of facade, of carefully crafting an appearance of servitude. Such deference must have been an automatic response by now, and he was simply carrying on with it out of habit, whether subconsciously or not.
But there was something else to his mood that made Daniel reevaluate that thought. There was a diffident air to the way Teal'c was standing—back straight, chin raised, eyes not actively averted, but deliberately focused on the far wall of the lab rather than on Daniel. Daniel realized that Teal'c had not met his gaze even once, though Daniel himself had been looking directly at Teal'c. Placing the bit of chalk he was holding back on the blackboard tray and dusting off his hands, Daniel slid over to stand directly in front of Teal'c, marking how the Jaffa kept his eyes fixed at a point just over Daniel's shoulder.
“Teal'c.”
“Yes, Daniel Jackson?”
Daniel took off his glasses and scrubbed a hand over his face.
“You don't have to be so deferential to me, Teal'c,” he said, replacing his glasses on his face. “You don't have to tread softly or feel like you have something to make up for.”
“I do not understand what the weight of my step has to do with anything,” Teal'c replied, the hint of a frown forming between his eyes.
“I don't blame you,” Daniel said bluntly, “for Sha're. I wanted to—I really, really did—and I would have. I would have hated you, even without knowing your face or your name, for what you did.” He gave a huff of mirthless laughter. “But then you had to go and save us.”
The corner of his mouth curled up in a small, crooked smile. When he spoke again, his tone was thoughtful. “I can only imagine what it took for you to turn against everything you've ever known at the behest of a stranger, to leave your life behind and risk everything on what might have turned out to be an empty promise. All I know is that you did, and that you were as much a slave then as Sha're is now, however different the circumstances.”
Teal'c didn't respond. He had lowered his gaze and was frowning at a patch of floor near one of the room's bookshelves.
“I don't blame you,” Daniel said again.
“I am the one who chose your wife, Daniel Jackson,” Teal'c said, standing straight again to stare at the wall. “I took her from Abydos, I took her before Apophis. Had I chosen otherwise, she might have been there for you to free. Instead, she was taken as a host. I am to blame.”
Despite Teal'c's impressive ability to maintain a blank expression under almost any circumstances, Daniel could see the pain in his eyes. How many times had he made the choice of who to take, who to kill? And how many of those decisions did he still carry with him? Daniel studied him intently, gaze measuring, thoughts whirring through his mind like spinning tops.
“And that is why I can't hate you,” he said finally. “You feel the burden of the choices you have made. You care.”
The lab was quiet for a few moments, the only sound the hum of the lights and the breath of air through the vents overhead. Then Daniel gave a small smile.
“Let's start over,” he said, clearing his throat and thrusting out a hand. “Hi, I'm Dr. Daniel Jackson of Earth, member of SG-1, civilian consultant at the SGC, out to explore the galaxy and rescue my wife.”
He watched Teal'c expectantly, eyebrows raised and smile still in place, hand outstretched. Teal'c stared solemnly at the hand for a few seconds, still frowning. Though clearly confused by the turn of events, he clasped Daniel's forearm in a firm grip. Daniel was surprised, but recovered quickly and returned the unusual grasp with enthusiasm, his smile widening marginally.
“I am Teal'c.”
“Of the free Jaffa?”
Finally, Teal'c looked Daniel in the face. Teal'c held his gaze for a long moment, an understanding of sorts passing between them. Then he gave a tilt of his head and arched an eyebrow ever so slightly.
“Indeed,” he replied, standing a bit straighter.
“It's nice to meet you, Teal'c.”
Teal'c bowed. “And you, Daniel Jackson.”
Beautiful
on 2023-03-19 02:45 am (UTC)