FIC: Shared Secrets - PG, Jack and Daniel

[icarus]

tafkarfanfic suggested I post this somewhere, so I thought I'd start here. Written for destina in response to inventing canon and how not to write Abused!Daniel (if at all).



Daniel casually said as he cut the mold off the cheese, "Oh, yeah, I sort of developed the ability to eat anything."

Jack tipped his head quizzically.

"Well, when I lived at Edna's -- she wasn't very good at keeping up with the groceries." The knife clicked on the cutting board as Daniel sliced. "I once had to pick the bugs out of an entire container of oatmeal. But the bugs looked just like the oatmeal flakes so you really couldn't get them all." Daniel wrinkled his nose. "It was better not to look."

Jack's brows drew together. "Daniel, that's...."

Daniel shrugged. "She meant well. Just... took on more kids than she could handle. A lot of foster parents are like that: more heart than sense. But that was why I was so mad at Nick. I kept thinking that if he had taken me in I wouldn't be there."

He crossed the room and laid the cheese tray in front of Jack. "I don't think there's any mold on it now," he chuckled, "but you'd better check."

"Yeah. Guess so," Jack said, his face dark with concern.

Daniel swept the bangs off his forehead. "I was only there six months. A social worker caught on and took all of us away. Which was hard on Edna; I didn't know what to say to her, except goodbye. It was too bad though, because some of them had been in places much worse." He picked up a slice of cheese and sighed as he sat down.

"I got lucky after that. Peg and Kevin were really... kind. And I was the only one they took in. That's rare. I was there from seventh grade till I went to college."

"You must've been a cute little tyke," Jack observed softly.

Daniel snorted with a smile. "I was very, very good. When I saw that I was gonna have my own room, and video games..."

"Nintendo -?" Jack looked up hopefully.

"Atari."

"Oh yeah..." Jack tipped back in his chair.

"I saw that and I wanted to stay for sure." Daniel gave an embarrassed grin. "Even with my - my parents," he said, "a lot of times I had to put away my bed in the morning so we could have the living room back." He popped another slice of cheese into his mouth and smiled softly. "You can't make a living in archeology."

Jack leaned forward and set his beer on the coffee table.

"Daniel? Anyone ever tell you your life sucked? I mean, really sucked."

"Oh, I don't think so. I got to see the world." Daniel borrowed a sip of Jack's beer. He had edged into a sunbeam and the light caught bright blue eyes. "If anything the rough spots gave me an appreciation that some people were worse off than me."

Comments

[ex-danvers514.livejournal.com]

You know, I really liked this. I've never seen Daniel as the weeping-over-his-childhood-where-he-was-omg-teh-verra-abused kind of guy. I think this is very him, a guy that adapts well and keeps going. Very cool.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Thank you. Yes, Daniel would learn from it, take something positive away from it. Especially as an adult, with an adult perspective.

This is the kind of abuse that people run into. There are very few monsters in the world, but a lot of well-meaning people who screw up and do damage in the process. There's no need to do over-the-top melodrama when there are so many other ways parents and foster parents can mess up.

Icarus

[not-sally.livejournal.com]

so bittersweet. You know you are to blame for hooking me on SG fics, right? you evil person.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

You know you are to blame for hooking me on SG fics, right?

*Icarus rubs hands together in evil glee.*

[allhoneyboo.livejournal.com]

A fic where Daniel's childhood sucked, but he isn't weepy, insecure, or socially stunted.

Squee!

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

There's no way he'd be a whiner. He's taken everything from being picked on in the movie to losing Sha're so bravely. It has to be a life-long habit.

Icarus

[karendreamer.livejournal.com]

So simple, but full of so much about Daniel. I love that he is not all weepy and bitter. Good Jack and Daniel voices.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I can't see him bitter. He's a grown man who's had time to work everything from his childhood, and he's so fair-minded. Even with Edna he saw that she meant well, and just couldn't handle her responsibility.

Icarus

nice, very nice...

[dustandroses.livejournal.com]

"Oh, yeah, I sort of developed the ability to eat anything."

Sure explains how he manages to get through all those MRE's!

He's the eternal optimist: I got to see the world.

Nice strong voices from both Jack and Daniel. It's like a little stolen moment of peace in a crazy life. Thanks for sharing.

Re: nice, very nice...

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Sure explains how he manages to get through all those MRE's!

Not to mention all that strange off-world food.

He's the eternal optimist: I got to see the world.

Yeah, for Daniel what's important is what he learned. :)

Thank you.



Icarus

[leni-jess.livejournal.com]

Oh yes! Daniel isn't at all the guy for the angst and wallowing in what's past - learn and move on, and keep it to yourself. Even losing Sha're (or however you spell his wife's name) he handled in privacy, with dignity.

BTW, been meaning to say: I do like the settings you've chosen for your paid journal - readable! simple and elegant. How many people go for the pretty/startling that most people need a cyclotron or a stargate or something to read? (LJ's taste in offerings leaves a lot to be desired of course. You picked one of the good ones.)

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Oh yes! Daniel isn't at all the guy for the angst and wallowing in what's past - learn and move on, and keep it to yourself. Even losing Sha're (or however you spell his wife's name) he handled in privacy, with dignity.

Your spelling's right. Yes, this sort of past would only make him thoughtful, even if he was angry and frustrated at the time.

Thank you. Are you the one who gave me paid LJ time? Because I'd like to thank whoever did properly, but I don't know what fandom to write.

Icarus

[leni-jess.livejournal.com]

That ability to absorb and reflect and adapt to is one of the things I admire about Daniel (but then in a weird way I also admire Jack's refusal to do any of those things a lot of the time except in the military mould).

Truly it wasn't me (if I had meant to be anonymous, I would confess if asked direct). No. I suspect your donor would be happy for you just to go on writing, without the current hassles a free account affords.

[maraceles.livejournal.com]

I read your drabbles the other day in that Daniel essay you wrote, and I totally loved them, so now I must check out your other fic. I must say that I adored this one, too.

*goes to find fic*

I hope you don't mind that I've friended you. *g*