OK, so I used my breaks from writing a rather large paper during the past week or so to write my most recent fic, "Just Wait." I may be able to get something else up during my break from school the week of Thanksgiving, but I can't promise anything. Ironically, I just couldn't wait to write "Just Wait." I've been craving time to work on my fic because of how busy school has kept me this semester. Anyway, I hope you like this alternate ending for"Menace." Thanks for stoppin' by! :o)
Author's notes: This is an alternate ending for "Menace." It's one of my favorite eps, but I've never been very satisfied with the ending. This is the way I wanted it to end.
Disclaimer: The characters of Stargate SG-1 and the episode "Menace" aren't mine. The storyline after it changes from the episode shown on TV is mine, however.
Just Wait
Daniel glanced back at the big metal door that was being cut through by the blow torch. The noise outside the door was deafening. He brought his gaze back to Reese as she stood on the ramp to the Stargate. His eyes spoke of desperation. "I will wake you up myself. I promise."
Reese looked at Daniel with a glint of hope beginning to show in her expression as she slowly made her way to where he stood at the base of the ramp.
"I'm your friend," he said with all sincerity. "I don't want you to die."
"I don't want you to die, either," she gently spoke with a shaky voice.
The two stared at each other for a moment. Daniel was sure that everything was going to be OK now. Reese was beginning to understand what he had been trying to tell her. She finally trusted him.
Suddenly, the middle of the door behind Daniel broke free. He swung around just in time to see Jack come flying into the gateroom. With sheer determination on his face, the Colonel lifted his gun to shoot.
"Wait!" Daniel shouted with all his might as he moved to his right. He held his uninjured arm in the air toward Jack.
"Daniel?!" Jack's first instinct was to shoot now and ask questions later, but Daniel had put himself between Reese and the P-90 he held in his grasp.
"Jack! Just wait. Please." Daniel lowered his arm and cradled his throbbing wrist with it. He turned and looked at Reese straight in the eyes.
"Daniel, we don't have time for this! Now, move!" Jack ordered.
Daniel ignored him, knowing that Jack wouldn't fire his weapon while he was standing so close to Reese.
"Reese, you have to shut your toys down, now," Daniel pleaded. "I promise I won't let anyone hurt you. Just please, shut your toys down."
Reese paused a moment, looking deep into Daniel's eyes. Somehow, she knew that she could believe him beyond a shadow of a doubt. She nodded her head and then stood perfectly still. She placed the tips of her fingers on her temples as she closed her eyes.
As Jack watched their interaction, he felt totally out of control. And this was not a feeling that he liked to have as a CO. He looked back at the door he'd come through. Replicators were crawling in one after another despite all of the shooting going on in the halls. "Daniel!" He looked back at the man who was blocking his target.
The archeologist remained still. "Just wait," he said with confidence, just loud enough for Jack to be able to hear him above the barrage of bullets.
As Reese stood concentrating on her goal, the Replicators began to slow down. They then stopped moving at all.
Daniel glanced back at the hallway in hearing the difference in the noise level. The gunfire was now less frequent. He then looked Jack in the eyes.
Jack began ever so slowly lowering his gun. As he did so, the Replicators began falling apart. Soon there were thousands of pieces of the techno-bugs lying on the ground. Reese had done it. She had eliminated the threat and shut them down.
Daniel looked back at Reese. She was taking her hands down and opening her eyes. "Thank you," he said. She smiled with satisfaction in a job well done.
The Colonel suspiciously eyed his surroundings. "So, that's it?" He looked at Reese over Daniel's shoulder. "You know you got all of them?" he asked making a sweeping motion with his hand.
"I can tell when any one of them breaks free from my control and that hadn't happened yet," she answered.
"You're sure? Absolutely, positively, one hundred percent, without a doubt, sure?"
"Yes."
"Colonel, what's happening out there?" chirped Sam's voice over Jack's radio.
"The situation seems to be under control, Carter. Reese has apparently been able to shut down the bugs," he answered.
There was a pause and then the Major replied. "Good to hear, sir. The General and I have just shut down the self-destruct mechanism."
Daniel faced Jack. His smile indicated what he was thinking: "I told you so, Jack."
Jack cocked his head to the side. "I won't be satisfied until we know for sure that those things have been completely eradicated, Daniel." Jack began walking toward Reese. "Other than that, there's just one more thing we have to take care of."
Daniel put his good hand on Jack's chest as he moved forward. "Jack."
"Daniel."
"Let me take care of it, all right?"
Jack tried to stare Daniel down, but he could tell he wasn't going to be successful. When Daniel set his mind on something, there wasn't much that could be done to convince him to choose differently. The Colonel gave in, relaxing his face. He sighed and held his free hand up in surrender. "Fine. Have it your way."
"Thank you." Daniel turned to Reese. "You need to go to sleep now, Reese. But I promise I'll wake you up myself when we've figured out how to fix you."
The android looked at Daniel with sad eyes.
"You trust me, don't you?" Daniel inquired.
Reese thought for a moment, looking down at the floor. When she looked up at Daniel again, she nodded. "Yes."
"OK. Lay down," Daniel instructed. Slowly, she did so. Once Reese closed her eyes, he removed the power chip from her body. He then paused, watching her for a moment, thankful things had turned out the way they had. Then he stood up next to Jack. While still looking down at his new friend, Daniel spoke. "It's over now."
"I hope so." Jack grabbed his radio. "This is SG-1-niner. Do a complete sweep of the base. Make sure all of those things have been destroyed and get 'em outta here."
Jack began to turn and leave to help with the sweep, but then noticed Daniel was still staring at Reese. "You OK?"
Daniel glanced at Jack. "Yeah." He paused and then continued. "Thanks, by the way."
"Yeah, well... I'd say 'no problem,' but I almost had a heart attack."
The two men began leaving the gateroom. It wasn't until then that Jack noticed Daniel was holding his left arm. "What happened?" he asked, pointing to the injury.
Daniel looked down at his wrist that was continuing to swell more every minute. "Oh. I was a bit clumsy trying to shut Reese down."
"Ya think? Well, you better get to the infirmary and have Doc check it out."
"Yeah, I will."
They began to part ways, but suddenly Jack halted in his tracks. He turned in the younger man's direction. "Daniel?"
Daniel swung around to look at Jack and raised his eyebrows in a questioning manner.
"I'm, ahh... the uh... the comment I made earlier about wanting to shove you through a wall... I, um..."
"Yes, Jack?"
"Well, I... I'm sorry about that, OK?"
Daniel smiled. "Ya know, the good thing about having your head cracked open is that it's easier to forget about any nasty comments a friend might make when he's frustrated about alien androids."
Jack smiled back. "Yep. That's a good thing."
THE END
Notes: OK, so that last bit might have been somewhat out of character for these guys, but like I said earlier, this is how I WANTED it to end. I just couldn't have Jack let go of that comment he made to Daniel earlier. I felt it needed resolution.
So what do you think? It hasn't been betaed, so any comments are welcome.