whammy
by Pares
"Jack?"
"Yeah."
"Do you love me?"
"Jesus, Daniel! What kind of question is that?"
"Do you?" Now that Jack had looked up from tying his boots, he could see that Daniel was wearing what Jack privately referred to as Earnest Frown # 1, the highest rating on the Earnest Frown scale.
"Sure."
"Really?" Any more tension Daniel's eyebrows, they were gonna writhe right off his forehead.
Jack sighed and got to his feet, slapping some imaginary dust from the thighs of his pants. He raised his arms and spoke, enunciating carefully.
"I love you, Dr. Jackson." He dropped his hands and sat down again. "That good enough? Because I've been thinking about getting a tattoo. Something tasteful." He gestured to the space over his heart. "How does that grab you?"
Daniel got that diplomatic look that meant he was being patient with you.
"I wanted to know."
"And now you do."
"I love you, Jack."
Daniel's voice was low and resonant, intense. It made the hair on Jack's arms stand up, and when he looked up again, Daniel's eyes were searching his.
"Did you hit your head or something? Chemical spill?" Jack cocked his head and regarded him warily. "Alien germ thing?"
"I love you."
"Okay, you love me, cut it out already. You'll cheapen the moment." He finished tying his other boot and got up to leave.
"Jack. Just. Listen to me. Wait a minute. Just stay there and listen."
Jack clapped his hands together and gave Daniel his full attention.
"Listening."
Daniel, who was still wearing his scorched T-shirt and torn jacket as souvenirs of their delightful trip to PX5-339, folded one arm across his chest and rubbed fiercely at the back of his neck with his free hand. Jack waited. When Daniel began to pace, he gave his watch a glance. After Daniel made two circuits of the locker room, Jack began whistling the Jeopardy theme.
"Daniel? I can't listen unless you talk. You do know that, right?"
As if he'd been waiting for a cue, Daniel spun on his heel and spread his hands.
"PX4-296."
"What about it?"
"It was the home planet of the Noori people."
"Those the guys who kept the fuzzy pink caterpillar things as pets?"
"Uh, as I understand it, the grenyings were some type of lizard. And it's actually a pretty amazing symbiotic relationship. The fact that they seem to lack a spoken language doesn't preclude the fact that they may be sentient, I mean, after all, they're demonstrably telepathic--"
"Daniel." Daniel halted and blinked once. "What about the Noori people?"
"Oh. Well, what I was getting at is, the Noori live in an incredibly harsh climate, where food is scarce, and where their homes are constantly being threatened by unpredictable floods. In fact, if they hadn't been able to befriend the grenyings, I doubt they'd be a viable settlement at all-- they'd never be able to track the oviks, or harvest the bettle roots, because they're motile and can turn up as much as a mile away from the spot they were planted--"
"Daniel. Today?"
"Right. What I'm trying to say is: they're happy."
"Well. Yeah. But then, Frasier thinks the bettle roots make them happy. As in 'inducing mild euphoria'."
"Caffeine does the same thing, Jack, and at about the same intensity. No, what I'm saying is, these people were happy. They cherished their children and their elders, they were openly affectionate with their spouses--"
"Hooray for utopia. Get to the point."
"They lived in the moment. When we arrived there, they were rebuilding their village. Three women and a child had died. And this wasn't an unusual occurrence. Even with the grenyings help, there's always the possibility that there won't be enough food to get them through the dry season. For them, there is no 'plenty', only just enough. They've got no social safety net, no way to preserve food beyond a single season. They're treading water, and at any moment, they could go under, and there's no guarantee that they'll break the surface again, Jack. So they enjoy what they have."
"That's nice, Daniel. Very New Age."
"Just. Follow me, here," and his voice was so imploring that Jack made a conscious effort to look slightly less impatient. "The Noori are extremely ritualistic in their social interactions. Before they retire for the night, they hug each member of the family in turn, they eat the sweetest fruits harvested that day, they tell a story. I mean, you can't even leave a room without an elaborate hand-clasping."
"And that forehead thing. Don't forget that forehead thing," Jack offered.
"And the forehead thing. But do you see what I'm talking about? Every member of that society deeply values every other member, and more than that, they let each other know it. They demonstrate it every way they can, because they could lose that person. To flood, to famine, to rockslides. And so they get the most out of each moment. And that doesn't mean that they never disagree with or even dislike each other-- it means that they respect each other. I respect you, Jack."
"And I... appreciate that. Look, Daniel, not that I don't find this life-affirming and all, but--"
"I love and respect you. And I just wanted you to know that."
Jack was genuinely glad to hear it, even though he'd been pretty sure of it even before the whole sharing-our-feelings thing, but he was discomfited just the same.
"Okay. Then, thanks."
The situation seemed to call for something more concrete and less prosaic than that, so Jack took Daniel by the shoulders and said, "Thank you, Daniel." After a long moment, he ducked his head a bit and awkwardly touched his forehead to Daniel's for a moment, as the Noori did.
"All right?"
And Daniel nodded, his mouth curving slightly. Jack sighed and clapped Daniel's cheek before letting him go and heading to the mess for a danish.
*
Teal'c was training in the gym when Jack got there. They nodded companionably to one another and Jack picked up some free weights.
See? Now that was how guys were supposed to interact. A little nod, hey, how you doin', then you get your reps done, shower and go home. Maybe another nod on the way out. Was that so hard?
After two sets of ten, Jack opened his eyes to find Teal'c standing calmly in front of him. In that silent way he had. Even after all these years, Jack still found it just a little spooky.
"Colonel O'Neill."
"Teal'c, buddy. What can I do for you?" Something about the set of Teal'c's shoulders made Jack set his weights down.
"I had a decidedly non-standard conversation with Daniel Jackson earlier today."
I bet you did, Jack thought.
"Oh, really?"
"Yes. He expressed his affection and respect for me in eloquent terms. And then he presented me with a framed photograph of the two of us together."
Daniel had already progressed to giving away his worldly goods, huh?
"So. You're concerned?"
Teal'c gave him the mildest of Eyebrows.
"I am not. I was greatly moved. And I should like to follow his example by making my own feelings of deep affection and respect for you known."
"Okay," said Jack, wondering if that was gonna be all there was to it.
Teal'c set a massive hand on Jack's shoulder and said, "I love and respect you most highly, O'Neill. You are as a brother to me." And then he did that regal head nod thing, and Jack clapped his hand over Teal'c's and gave it a pat.
"Right back at you, big guy." For a split second, he considered going in for the manly hug, but in the end, he went for the brotherly-arm-squeeze instead.
*
From where Jack stood, he could see Daniel wrapping his arms around Sam. He whispered something in her ear that made her pull away and laugh. Then she dove in to peck his cheek and thump his chest before turning to walk down the hallway and catch the elevator.
"And you're sure nothing's put the whammy on them?"
Frasier twinkled at him and shook her head.
"At your request, I ran another complete diagnostic on each of them, and as far as I can tell, they're completely whammy free."
"But there's all that... hugging."
"Perhaps it's not strictly routine, but it's not unheard of. I'm afraid you'll have to accept the fact that your team members love you, and each other, very deeply. And if you want my opinion, I think it's sweet."
"Of course you do."END
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