AN: Oh, alphabet soup prompts! They always seem like such a good idea at the time. In that way, they are similar to drabbles. So obviously I decided to combine the two. :) I had the letter L.
Rating: Kid Friendly
Disclaimer: I don't own these things. I just play with them from time to time.
Summary: A series of drabbles that follow Jonas's year on Earth.
L is for Langara
He misses home. He misses going outside whenever he wants and walking down the streets. He misses his colleagues and the projects with which he was familiar. At the SGC, everything is new and adventurous, but that wears thin after a while, and all he wants is to sit with old friends in his own house and be still for a moment. So he becomes the explorer, and takes on the universe everyday. He learns all languages and reads all the books. One day, he wakes up and doesn't wonder where he is. That makes him miss Langara even more.
L is for Learning
On Langara, it's not uncommon for a person to remember everything they read. On Earth, it's an infrequent gift that makes it harder for him to fit in. His first week in Daniel's laboratory is spent devouring every book in sight. He assumes he's picking up common knowledge. The first time he offers a suggestion they look at him like he's a cheap replacement for the man whose library he has inadvertently memorized. It's the first mistake he makes on Earth. It won't be his last, but he has an easier time of it after Teal'c introduces him to TV.
L is for Lung Capacity
After the incident on board the Mother Ship, Dr. Fraiser subjects him to a day of physical tests. He's already gone through the usual battery of tests that human aliens undergo when they reach the SGC, and come up "mostly" human in his results, but apparently what he did on board the ship was unusual enough to warrant closer examination. He's not too keen on things that set him apart. He's still new here, and feels his alien nature every day. Still, it's not like he can change it, so he waits for his cue and takes a deep breath.
L is for Lunch
Lunch isn't an alien convention. Jonas has eaten lunch every day of his life, excluding a brief period in university when he was too busy to stop. On Earth, lunch is a break, a time to stop working and sit with friends to eat. Before he joins SG-1, Jonas eats lunch alone or with Sam or Teal'c. After he joins SG-1, he never lacks for table-mates. If he begins a meal alone at a table for four, three others will join him. Before he knows it, he is a lunchtime fixture, and has all the friends to go with it.
L is for Lost
"I swear it's left, Carter."
"I do not believe we came from that direction, O'Neill."
"No, we passed the little bent tree and then crossed the river."
"Sir, every tree on this planet is bent."
"This one was bent like football uprights."
"This tree bears no resemblance to any equipment used in football."
"Take him to a few games and he's an expert. Carter, why are we lost?"
"There's too much magnetic interference on this planet for our compasses to – ."
"Why's it always magnets? Jonas, what do you think?"
This is when Jonas knows he's part of the team.
L is for Locks
The SGC is a world made up of locks. Most of the doors are locked, requiring passkeys or codes to get through them, and the elevators are similarly controlled. Jonas doesn't find out about keys until weeks after he gets to Earth, and he is fascinated by their intricacies. They have similar devices on Langara, of course, but nothing so delicate and well constructed. When Sam catches him obsessing over an episode of "Antiques Roadshow", she introduces him to another way of opening locks, albeit it one that is slightly less than legal. Suddenly, the world seems full of opportunity.
L is for Loss
He misses home. He misses days spent free of political machinations and strategic chicanery. He misses being ignored and shut away and struggling to fit in. Back on Langara, he is the only trusted person in a web of newly forged alliances and desperate moves. So he becomes the bridge, and takes on the politicians and the military everyday. He learns new aspects of what language can do, and discovers that reading books no longer provides him with the answers he needs. One day, he wakes up and doesn't wonder where he is. That makes him miss Earth even more.
finis
Gravity_Not_Included, April 7, 2010