A/N: This is the end. I hope you've enjoyed the story. I would greatly appreciate your reviews. Thanks. –your humble author.
Better Than the Past
Jack placed his finger under the page in anticipation of reaching its end, then quickly pushed the paper forward onto those he had already studied. Danny's file read like a novel—way more interesting than Carter's, but that was probably because hers included the usual military boringness.
He'd never read Daniel's file. He hadn't had the opportunity before going to Abydos for the first time and, after returning, he didn't have a reason to. When they reunited under such unpleasant circumstances, Jack didn't feel a need to read up on someone he implicitly trusted. But when Danny regressed to his younger self, it dawned on Jack that he knew very little about his friend and teammate's past.
Glancing up from his review of the various papers, he noticed his archaeologist waking up. "Good morning, sunshine. Well, actually, it's already six in the evening, but I'm sure you appreciate the sentiment."
Daniel blinked away his extreme grogginess and fought his awkward limbs to sit up. "How long have I been asleep?" he queried, squinting around for his glasses. Jack handed them to him.
"About two days."
"Wow. Well, is everything okay? I mean, with the base? Any uprisings by Qingu's guards or—"
"Everything's fine. We're helping the Jaffa understand about the Goa'uld and claim their freedom and nobody's invaded Earth…today. We don't know what'll happen tomorrow."
Danny nodded and stared thoughtfully into space, which prompted Jack to bring up the file.
"You never told me you were a bona fide genius."
"Huh?"
Jack looked back down at the papers. "Let's see, you graduated high school a couple months after your sixteenth birthday and promptly triple majored in archaeology, anthropology, and linguistics at Stanford—where you got a full ride scholarship. After graduating in only four years, you somehow managed to skip doing a Masters in any of those and just went on to graduate work at the Egyptian Institute for Archeology. Can I assume you speak Arabic?"
Daniel blushed. He didn't like to talk about his intelligence. "Arabic was one of my first languages. I was born in America but raised in Egypt until my parents died; my…nanny—" He seemed extremely embarrassed to admit to having had a nanny. "—spoke to me in Egyptian Arabic. But Jack, if you want a real genius, Sam is way smarter than I am. I've read some of the work she did in theoretical physics and it's amazing stuff."
"You understood what she wrote?"
"I got the gist after talking with her about it."
Jack rolled his eyes and closed the file. How, after all his earlier protestations, had he got stuck with two scientists on a team of only four people? And how had he come to like them both so much? Thank God for Teal'C, the Colonel thought to himself.
The clicking of heals alerted them both to someone's presence. "You're awake!" Janet said happily, walking into the room. "How are you feeling?" she asked, pulling off her stethoscope and looking around for the sphygmomometer and thermometer.
"Okay. Sore."
"I'll bet. Deep breath."
While she went over him with a fine-toothed comb, Jack excused himself. Sam and General Hammond arrived shortly afterwards and expressed their happiness at Daniel's recovery.
"Teal'C's on P3X-772 with a couple of linguists, using their limited Sumerian skills and his knowledge of Goa'uld to try and help the colony overcome Qingu's former hold on them. They're making some progress and we're pretty hopeful," Sam explained from Danny's bedside. "It isn't easy for them to throw off a yolk they've had this long, but after seeing you practically come back from the dead, they're fairly open-minded to viewing Qingu in a new light."
"As a small side benefit," General Hammond added, "the planet seems to have some naquada available for mining, which we think they might let us have when everything is sorted out."
Danny nodded. "I'd be happy to help with the translating and—"
"Absolutely not!" Janet exclaimed, placing her hands on her hips. "You set your recovery back by at least a week with your trip to Chulak. Unless the General gives me a direct order to the contrary, you're not leaving her until I am completely satisfied with your progress and assured that you will be convalescing at home, preferably under the care of Captain Carter, Colonel O'Neil, or Teal'C."
Everyone looked at General Hammond to see if he would contradict Dr. Frasier. He held up his hands in mock surrender. "Far be it for me to interfere in your recovery."
"Hey," Sam said, giving Daniel's hand a quick squeeze before getting up and heading toward the door. "I'm gonna go send Teal'C a message saying you woke up." She turned her attention to Janet. "Do you think he could—when he's not resting—field any questions the other linguists have?"
The doctor grimaced but nodded. "I suppose, but only when he's not resting."
Sam flashed Daniel a beautiful, triumphant smile and left, along with the General who promised to return again soon. Danny heard them greet Jack and another person as the four people entered and exited the infirmary. Soon, Jack was standing in the doorway with a plate of food and a questioning look.
"Can he eat?"
Janet shrugged. "Are you hungry?" she asked her patient.
"I'm famished!"
"Then he can eat. But try to go back to sleep again soon. Your body has a lot of healing to do." She slid out of the room to update his chart and check on Sergeant Lewis, who had recently come down with a very bad case of food poisoning.
Daniel nodded and reached out for the plate which Jack put in his hands. "Um, that's ham, mashed potatoes, and carrots. I'll try to bring in something edible later on. They only had pudding for dessert, and I know you don't like that."
"No," Danny managed through a mouthful, "this is great. Thanks."
While Daniel shoveled food into his mouth, Jack beckoned to someone in the hallway. A nervous looking private walked in and offered the archaeologist a weak smile. He had a pad of paper, pencils, and an eraser in his hands. He kept his distance from the intimidating Colonel, shifting his footing so that he could creep away.
"Danny, this is Private Lowe. I caught him drawing pictures the other day when he was supposed to be on duty and it gave me an idea. How would you like a picture of Sha'uri?"
Daniel stopped the fork halfway to his mouth. "A picture of Sha'uri?"
"Yeah, like the kind a sketch artist might make for the police. The Private does pretty good work, although I'm sure he won't be doing any when he's on duty again. I thought you could describe her and he could do a couple drawings." Jack didn't want to admit that his friend's agonized sobbing only a few days ago had greatly affected him. He knew the pain of losing someone so dear. When he saw Private Lowe's doodles, it reminded him that, while he had photographs and mementos of Charlie, Danny had nothing of Sha'uri. All the younger man had was his memory, and that seemed to cause him an awful lot of anguish.
"I don't think I could do her justice, Jack. How can I explain her features well enough for him to draw them? How could he truly capture her likeness?"
Jack cocked his head. He understood Daniel's meaning: How could Private Lowe possibly capture Sha'uri's essence? The gentle touch of her hands? Her warm and loving spirit? Her passion? How could he put all the love Danny had for her into a drawing? "It's not going to be her, but it's something to look at—something to help you conjure her up in your mind. I just thought you might like it."
"No—no, it's a good idea." He mulled the idea over in his head and chewed a bite of carrot. "Would you help me tell him? I mean, I don't want to give him some romanticized version."
"Sure, of course."
They looked at Private Lowe expectantly; he immediately opened the drawing notebook and stood ready with a pencil. Man, he needed a stiff drink.
"Well," Daniel began, biting his lip and closing his eyes. "She has curly hair—not tight curls, but wavy. It's soft, too." He smiled slightly and a wistful look of longing crossed his face. "And she has the biggest, most beautiful eyes you've ever seen; you can get lost in them for days…"
Jack smiled and leaned against the wall, not at all willing to interrupt his friend's idealized vision. After all, he'd seen a lot of Danny's past recently, with its tragic losses, and witnessed the other man's present, with all its heartbreaking circumstances, and it was nice to finally see him smile. To see him finally remember that the future might hold something better than the past.
Fini
PLEASE REVIEW