Disclaimer: I don't own CSI nor Stargate. nuff said
Promises
Las Vegas. Of all the places he had to go it was Sin City, the place every person went to gamble and watch showgirls. High crime, one of the best CSI units and a whole lot of people. He hated it.
Daniel Jackson sat in the back of a cab contemplating his reasoning for even coming to the damned city. For years he'd ignored the truth because it angered him, made him feel unwanted and abandoned, more then when his parents died. Now he was facing it, accepting it because Jack had told him to. Apparently just before confronting Anubis he'd told Jack that if he ever returned as a human, then he must be told to come to terms with what a man named Dwayne Sanders had told him.
Daniel hated what Dwayne had told him, that his mother hadn't actually died but had suffered from traumatic amnesia. The doctors made the decision not to tell Daniel and allowed him to be taken into foster care. Clair Jackson began a new life, never remembering he old one but always, for some unknown reason, having a love for archeology. She'd married Dwayne Sanders and when their son Greg was ten started having dreams. In a few short months she remembered everything and while Dwayne was willing to help her find Daniel, she didn't want to.
Dwayne had told Greg when he was old enough then found Daniel and informed him as well. Daniel had been devastated and swore he would never go and meet his mother's new family, the family he wasn't given.
Thinking back on that day Daniel knew he was being irrational, but it still hurt. Dwayne had periodically sent him small updates and while Daniel hated it, he was touched that Dwayne cared. Now Daniel was taking the time to care. His ascended self had apparently come to terms and found something he liked about his half-brother or else he wound have never said anything to Jack.
The cab stopped and he payed and gout out. Greg was a CSI lab tech, one of the best around. Daniel walked into the CSI Headquarters and to the reception desk where a petit blond woman with chocolate brown eyes and a bright smile greeted him
"Hi," Daniel said smiling, "I'm looking for a Greg Sanders?"
The woman's face fell and her eyes shifted away.
"Did I say something wrong?" Daniel asked concerned, fear settling into him.
"Mr. Sanders has been missing for two months," she answered.
Daniel groaned and started to lightly beat his head on the desk, cursing his luck in Abydonian. No wonder his ascended self had told Jack, his little brother was missing!
"Sir?" a strong male voice asked beside him.
Daniel stood up straight to see a man who seemed to be about fifty with greying dark hair and dark blue eyes watching him, assessing him.
Daniel smiled sheepishly, "Sorry."
"You're looking for Greg," he said, as if the very idea was a crime. Daniel nodded. "As Kelly probably told you he's been missing for two months. The details have been reserved for him family and whomever they inform only."
Daniel frowned, "That would explain it then. I want to know what happened."
"I can't do that."
"Call Dwayne, tell him Daniel Jackson wasn't to know."
The man frowned but asked the receptionist to pull up Greg's file and give him his parent's phone number. He spoke to Dwayne for several moments before hanging up and asking Daniel to follow him.
He was led through several hallways to a room with a tale in the center and white boards all around. It reminded him a bit of the briefing room. Standing in the room were four people, two male, two female.
"Gris?" the blond woman questioned, looking at Daniel.
"Dr. Daniel Jackson," the white male with short dark hair said. "I read you died."
"MIA," Daniel said frowning. "Have we met?"
The man shook his head, "I sat in one of your University lectures. Nick Stokes."
"Dr. Jackson has been given full clearance to Greg's case," the assembled team was told. They all looked at him in shock.
"He was given clearance?" the dark haired woman asked, "Why?"
"Mr. Sander's didn't say why, exactly." he turned to Daniel, "I'm Gil Grissom. These are Catherine Willows, Sarah Sidle and Warrick Brown."
Daniel nodded, "What happened?"
"After Greg missed his shift I went to check on him," Nick said. "I found the place completely trashed."
"Immediately we took over and started processing," Catherine continued. "However the kidnappers left behind no trace of themselves and we fell upon a dead end."
"They did leave something behind," Warrick countered. "But we don't know what it says. Our best translators couldn't figure it out. We've also been sent a tape that allowed us to download a live feed that transmits every twelve hours for an hour."
"You haven't been able to trace this feed?" Daniel asked.
Warrick shook his head, "we've tried to many times, but just can't."
Daniel looked around at them. They each looked frustrated and at a loss about what to do. They hated the fact they hadn't yet found Greg and that they saw him every twelve hours but couldn't do anything.
"What's this thing they left behind?" Daniel asked.
Nick gave him several slips of paper in a folder. Daniel flipped through it, the evidence was a single sheet of paper with Japanese writing on it. Someone had translated it but came up with gibberish.
Several pagers beeped.
"Shift starts," Grissom said, "and it looks like we have several different cases. Dr. Jackson, you're going to have to leave."
"Actually, do you mind if I have this?" he asked, indicating the folder. "I might be able to figure it out."
"It's evidence."
Daniel smiled, "Give me a table to work at and coffee and I'll be fine."
Grissom smiled slightly, "Nicky, show him the break room."
Nick nodded and led Daniel to the brake room. "How will translating that help us?"
Daniel looked at him sadly, understanding his pain. "In my job, many times it's the writing that explains everything or gives much needed clues."
"You're an archeologist."
"Working for the Air Force."
Nick snorted, "Explains the MIA status."
Daniel sat down at the table, spreading the sheets out as Nick left. He began to work, using his knowledge on Japanese and other Asian languages. He would find Greg, he had to.
The Graveyard shift were just finishing up for the day, gathered in the layout room to wait another two hours for the next live feed of Greg when Daniel Jackson ran in, nearly yelling, "I've got it!"
Everyone looked at him questionably. "Got what?" Sarah asked.
Daniel sighed, "The translation! Greg's location had been under your nose the entire time."
They all stared at him in shock.
"Are you serious?" Nick asked, hope filling his voice.
"Of course. After studying the text for several hours I realized that the last half of the first word made an actual work with the first half of the second, then continued form there. Your kidnapper knows his languages, he used Kanji to spell Egyptian words," Daniel handed the translated page to Grissom. "I'm coming with you."
"I don't think so," Grissom replied passing the folder around.
Daniel lifted the oversized shirt he'd stolen from Jack to reveal the gun he carried, "I'm military trained and I feel as if I have to go."
"I'm sorry, but no."
Daniel sighed angrily as they all left and went back to the break room to finish off his coffee. As soon as he put the cup to his lips his world went dark.
Daniel looked around the small but favorable sized apartment. It obviously accommodated a bachelor, it was a bit messy and there were posters of Tool, A Perfect Circle, Marilyn Manson, among other bands hanging up.
When the door opened up, he wasn't surprised to receive a look of shock. He smiled at the twenty something year old, who had spiky blond tipped hair and chocolate brown eyes.
"Who are you?" he was asked.
"Daniel Jackson."
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
"That's not the smartest idea," Daniel said.
Greg jumped, spinning around to face him, "Stop doing that!"
Daniel smirked, "Why? It's so fun."
Greg rolled his eyes, "What are you doing here?"
"Trying to talk you out of this," Daniel answered concerned.
"I don't need advice from an older brother who was never around," Greg snapped.
Daniel looked at him, hurt. "Maybe not, but this is not the way to deal with your pain."
"I'll deal whatever way I want."
"And when your friends find out, what will you say to them? Are you ashamed Greg?"
"No."
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
Daniel stood in a dark, empty room. In the center he saw a man in his twenties bound and gaged. He looked beaten, tortured and starved, his normally spiky blond hair clinging to the side of his head with blood. Across from him was a video camera on a stand. Daniel walked up to the man and, with his ascended power, made the gag disappear.
The man looked up at him with surprised chocolate brown eyes, "Daniel?"
"It's ok Greg, I'm here."
"Stay?" Greg pleaded, eyes filling with tears.
"I promise."
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
Daniel looked sadly at his brother, "Greg, I have to go."
"You promised to stay," Greg said in despair.
"I know, but my friends need me right now. If I don't go and they don't succeed in their mission, the world's going to go to hell. I have to help them."
"You'll come back?"
"I promise."
Nick felt his heart break as a delusional Greg screamed at Grissom and Catherine to get away from him. They backed away and he calmed down a bit, but every time someone moved too close he started to scream again. Nick didn't know how long he could continue watching his friend like this after two months of seeing him tied up and painfully, slowly dying on screen.
"Greg, it's Grissom," Grissom said calmly, trying again but not moving forward.
"Go away!" Greg yelled.
"Greg it's us" Nick yelled back. "Your coworkers, your friends."
Greg shook his head, as if in denial. Nick looked at Grissom in despair, they'd been at this for ten minutes already, the kidnappers arrested and on their way to the station, but still Greg wouldn't allow them to go near them.
Grissom motioned everyone to him, "There must be something in his system making him hallucinate or become delusional. I think we should–"
"Leave me alone!" Greg screamed, tears streaking down his face.
The team moved father away and watched as Greg's body was wracked with heart wrenching sobs.
"God I hate this," Warrick said depressed. "I want the ever-smiling, excited Greg back."
"We all do," Grissom said solemnly.
Nick nodded in agreement. Greg's crying dyed down, and he curled himself into a ball, shaking madly.
"How did he get in here?" Sarah snarled, nodding towards the entrance.
Nick turned around and saw Daniel Jackson walking in. The man walked towards Greg quietly, saying nothing. When Greg saw him he seemed to calm down; his crying stopped completely as well as his shaking. Daniel knelt beside Greg who sat up and then hugged him.
They all watched in envy as Daniel was able to coax Greg out of the building he'd been prisoner in and into an awaiting ambulance. Greg clung to him the entire time, head buried in his chest, only allowing something if Daniel said it was alright. He looked at everyone save Daniel as if they were going to hurt him.
At the hospital, after Greg had been sedated and was sleeping peacefully, the team cornered Daniel and demanded answers. He gave them nothing and after an hour they gave up.
Daniel went to his hotel room to have a shower and change before going back to the hospital. He stayed with Greg throughout the day, leaving only when his friends came to visit.
He was there when Greg woke up late that night, smiling when his brother didn't flinch or freak out when the nurses came to check on him and make sure he was doing alright. The majority of Greg's physical injuries had been taken care of easily and weren't serious, even though they had looked it previously.
"How you doing?" Daniel asked once the nurses had left.
Greg smiled, "Better. What about you, you're not all white and glowy anymore, and you're solid."
Daniel laughed, "This last year I had ascended to a higher plane of existence, shedding my physical body to become somewhat like an energy being. I broke the rules, that's why I didn't come back right away and why I'm back here, normal. However, it's a classified secret, so you can't tell anyone."
Greg nodded, "I promise."
They were quiet for a moment. "Thank you Daniel."
"For what?"
"For coming, even when you were white and glowy. I didn't think I'd ever get to meet you. For several years I had a hope you'd come, even if you were still angry with mom. I wanted to meet you so badly, be your friend. I had no friends when I was younger, I was so alone. People liked me, but no one wanted to be my friend, they didn't accept me. After a while I gave up in ever seeing you. When you came that first night to my apartment, I was so stunned, so happy."
Daniel bowed his head, "I'm sorry I never came sooner. When your dad told me I was angry, I felt so betrayed. After the accident I never felt like I belonged anywhere, I went through several different foster home not all the families nice, and what your dad told be was a low, depressing blow. I was jealous too, you had mom. I'm sorry."
Greg shook his head, "Don't be, I understand. I'm just glad you came brother."
Daniel smiled brightly, leaning back comfortably in his chair, "So, now that we've got that past us, it's time for us to catch up since I've lost my memories from my time Ascended and you're the invalid, you have to go first."
Greg glared at him, "I'm not an invalid."
Daniel smirked, "You're the one in the hospital bed, not me."
Greg rolled his eyes, "How long can you stay this time?"
"Another week and a half. The General was happy I was willingly taking a vacation so he gave my team some downtime. We have lots of time to talk, so lets get the nitty gritty stuff over so we can talk fun after."
Greg smiled and started his life's tale. The nurses didn't even try to convince him to go back to sleep, he only suffered from malnutrition at the moment and they were happy to see him smiling. After Greg finished they fell asleep and when they woke, Daniel began his own story.
When Greg's friends came to visit they found Greg and Daniel laughing their asses off at something Daniel was saying. They stood in the doorway, smiling. Their Greg was back.
--End--
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