icarus: Snape by mysterious artist (Default)
icarusancalion ([personal profile] icarus) wrote2004-12-23 04:07 am

FICLET: The Walls of Jericho, Jack/Daniel. Partlet - 5

The Walls of Jericho - 5 (from part 1 here)
by Icarus


They camped on a ridgeline under the cover of some alien bluish scrub, the 'sun' still high in the sky. There was a waft of warm air from somewhere nearby, and a sound like a big witch's cauldron. But Carter reassured them the natives had insisted the trail would be safe. Though she hedged that volcanoes were unpredictable in the extreme, and rattled on about that bad news, while Daniel and Teal'c glanced around at the mountains nervously.

Jack didn't feel any better about walking on the geophysical equivalent of a time bomb, but there wasn't much they could do about it. So he set 'volcano watches' and shut Carter up when she casually started in with that "unlikelihood of surviving a volcanic eruption" stuff. Sheesh.

Jack opted to team up in Daniel's tent, just to stamp out any lingering weirdness between them, get things back to normal. That turned out to be a tactical error.

On his return from second watch (Carter got third watch as reward for their upcoming lack of sleep), he found Daniel half-awake. He startled, sitting up a bit as Jack closed the tent flap.

"Feel any tremors?" Jack joked. He pulled off his boots then stretched out in his bag with a satisfied sigh. No dangers except for a possible explosion, and that was out of his hands.

"No, not yet," Daniel chuckled. "Though it's only a matter of time with a planet this seismically active," he imitated Carter, and Jack coughed miserably.

Daniel leaned up on an elbow and looked at Jack. Intently. With that long pause he always had before he argued, or said something he knew Jack wouldn't like, or defied orders or.... "So. What do you do?"

"What?" But Jack suddenly knew. Daniel couldn't leave well enough alone.

"I mean... what do you do?"

Oh man… Jack had dealt with this before - the bi-curious type. He glanced over at Daniel and hoped he didn't have fantasies of the big, bad colonel popping his cherry for him. No thanks, a smart man doesn't shit where he eats. He'd transferred one soldier out of his command who'd gotten that idea. He decided to embarrass Daniel. "I'll tell you what. When we get back, I'll settle you in for some nice gay porn, so you can figure out the mechanics for yourself."

"Um. Nooo. That won't be necessary."

Daniel was staring up at the roof the tent, lost in thought. Jack hoped this was the end of it.

"I meant... I mean, do you take people home?"

"Wha- are you nuts? The NID wackos have bugged my house before, do you think I'd give them that kind of ammo?"

"So hotels and that sort of thing." Daniel nodded, as if that was what he'd expected.

Yeah. Sometimes. "This is getting a little personal, Daniel. No, wait - it's getting a lot personal," Jack said in a warning tone of voice.

Daniel stirred, rustling the taffeta of the down sleeping bag. "No wonder you're so paranoid."

"Whoa there! I'm no more paranoid than the military makes anyone. You threat assess, you learn that." Daniel was silent. "And I'm still in the military because I'm careful. I'm good at it."

Jack sat up, glaring at Daniel's silence, knowing exactly what was on his mind. He'd been through this spiel before. He decided to cut it off at the pass; Daniel would say it eventually.

"You're supposed to be asking about my ex-wife Sarah now, what really happened. That's the cliche, right?" He couldn't keep the bitter sarcasm out of his voice, and didn't even try.

Daniel rolled and looked over at him finally, bright blue eyes blinking and genuinely surprised. "Why? You obviously loved her."

Jack's chin lifted and he didn't have anything to say to that. Yeah.

Daniel was back to staring at the canopy, a frown carving his forehead. "Hotels. It sounds so... lonely."

"What is this? What'd'you want some?" Jack snapped. "What do you want from me, Daniel?"

"I just want to understand."

"Well, unless you're sucking cock on the weekends you're not going to." Which was, okay, a little more graphic than Jack intended, but Daniel was pissing him off. He was being so -- Daniel about it, and not following any of the scripts.

Jack harshly turned his back and settled in to sleep.

Daniel cleared his throat behind him, and said in a hesitant voice, "Um. Good night?"


Part VI is here

[identity profile] dryad-duinath.livejournal.com 2004-12-23 06:49 am (UTC)(link)
go icarus! I'm definitely hooked.

[identity profile] icarusancalion.livejournal.com 2004-12-23 07:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Cool! I wanna finish this by Christmas at the latest. :D

Icarus

[identity profile] lherelenfeline.livejournal.com 2004-12-23 06:50 am (UTC)(link)
You know, I completely sympathise with Jack on this one....
Daniel types can be worse than anything 'cause you can't really get pissed off at them...

[identity profile] icarusancalion.livejournal.com 2004-12-23 08:01 pm (UTC)(link)
That sounds like personal experience there. Though in the next part we'll see more of the nerve Daniel hit here.

Icarus

[identity profile] lherelenfeline.livejournal.com 2004-12-23 11:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh dear [ scurries under cover]

[identity profile] icarusancalion.livejournal.com 2004-12-24 12:07 am (UTC)(link)
*evil grin*

Icarus

[identity profile] kuteki.livejournal.com 2004-12-23 01:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Aww, this was the perfect conversation. I totally agree with Jack about Daniel and how his unique perception leads to surprises, I am not expressing this very well, but I do like this, it is just so natural I suppose, I can see it happening.

[identity profile] icarusancalion.livejournal.com 2004-12-23 08:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Cool! Thank you. Working on the next bit. I'm trying to write while we have company with a movie, but, anyways, the first half of it's up now.

Icarus

[identity profile] cyanei.livejournal.com 2004-12-23 02:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Ooooh. This should so be on the show. I can hear their voices! (Erm, that may be a cause for worry, actually...)

Ah, Daniel. Poor boy should stop poking sleeping dragons.

[identity profile] icarusancalion.livejournal.com 2004-12-23 08:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Poor boy should stop poking sleeping dragons.

You know he can't resist. Next part's up, and I'm working on the second half. I'm trying to write with a lot of distractions around (the overblown Legends of the Fall is on the TV, and I'm soooo not interested in that gross manipulation...).

Icarus

[identity profile] icarusancalion.livejournal.com 2004-12-23 10:17 pm (UTC)(link)
As soon as this loathsome movie is over, I'll write the rest.

Icarus

[identity profile] cyanei.livejournal.com 2004-12-23 11:58 pm (UTC)(link)
*wills the consumption to move along*

[identity profile] icarusancalion.livejournal.com 2004-12-24 12:06 am (UTC)(link)
Man. It's over. But I have to cleanse my palate, or I'll write Jack dying in Daniel's arms or something.

Jeeze this was bad.

Icarus

[identity profile] cyanei.livejournal.com 2004-12-24 12:14 am (UTC)(link)
*pets* It must have been so hard on you. I feel your pain.

*convulses dramatically in your arms*

[identity profile] setissma.livejournal.com 2004-12-23 02:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Okay, you nailed that one. Fantastic job - and if they were having the conversation, that's exactly how I think it'd be. Lovely work, as always.

[identity profile] icarusancalion.livejournal.com 2004-12-23 08:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh cool! Thank you, these reviews are really keeping me moving on this story. The goal is to have it done by Christmas if not earlier (I'd say tonight, but we've guests over and a movie on and it just doesn't seem realistic). The next part is up, and I'm working on the other half of it now.

Icarus

[identity profile] kres.livejournal.com 2004-12-28 11:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, this is perfect. Definitely a story driven by the characters, and not by the theme itself. And what's more, the characters being IN CHARACTER. Hah, but that was to be expected.

And this: glaring at Daniel's silence.

:)=

[identity profile] lizardspots.livejournal.com 2005-04-14 11:54 am (UTC)(link)
I'm working my way through 'Walls of Jericho', your IM made me decide I couldn't bear to wait for the beta'd version to get started. :D I would leave you a big fat essay of a review at the end, but I'm sure I'll forget all the little things I want to say, so please forgive the numerous little comments. Just after finishing this part, it really hit me how much you've thought through Jack's character. Really enjoying it so far.