5 Things: Simple Pleasures

by whatido

A simple pleasure partaken by each member of SG-1 and one that they share. Technically part of my Silent Spacemonkey 'verse, but can be read without knowledge of the AU. (Daniel's part makes more sense as part of the AU)

1. Sam's simple pleasure is also a guilty pleasure. She would never admit it to her guys, but she loves watching "Blossom." It's just the right mix of brainless fun and genuine sweetness for those times when she just cannot take any more SGC-related stress. Depending on her mood, she either finds herself laughing hysterically or bursting into tears, both of which are cathartic. Sam is pretty sure the others would understand, but she knows that would not stop the mockery. If they ever find out, she expects unexpected flower deliveries and many sly comments from the Colonel. And she really doesn't want to see their understanding looks when they realize that Blossom is around the age Sam was when she lost her mother. Yes, she relates to the title character. No, she doesn't need to talk about it. This is between Sam and Blossom.

2. Daniel discovered kayaking in college. To his dismay, he was required to take P.E. classes to graduate, but at least he didn't have to run around a gym chasing a ball with 50 other teenage boys. There was a large selection of activities, from ball-chasing sports to outdoor sports. Daniel picked kayaking to spend time outdoors and see more of America than just concrete jungles. He didn't actually give much thought to the boating itself until he was actually in it and learning how to move without capsizing. Once he found his balance, though, he discovered a sense of peace and freedom that had been sorely lacking in his life.

Out on the water, he could relax and simply be. There was no pressure to be the brilliant whiz kid people expected. He did not need to make himself understood to anyone. If he wanted, he could toss his notebook into the lake. No one would care, and it was a much more comfortable form of no one caring than usual. Although he would always be a desert-dweller at heart, he truly enjoyed his time on the lake and continued to find time for kayaking long after the class ended.

3. After three years of living among the Tau'ri, Teal'c is still regularly amazed by their ways. However, few things confound him like the sandwich O'Neill refers to as a "fluffer-nutter." It has little nutritional value and is sickeningly sweet, like the Jell-o of which MajorCarter is so fond. But to Teal'c, it tastes like freedom. Only a race free of the false gods could possibly have the time and devotion to pleasure necessary to create a foodstuff so frivolous. As disgustingly sweet as these sandwiches are, Teal'c is enamored of them. Each sandwich he consumes feels like an act of rebellion against those who enslaved his people.

4. Jack O'Neill is a man of simple pleasures. Everything he likes has a maximum of two syllables. Beer. Fishing. Dogs. Of course, that means two of his closest friends, the archaeologist and the theoretical astrophysicist, are complete flukes, but he considers them flukes in general. There is Teal'c, of course, but he could hardly be considered simple and it probably isn't wise to even think that.

Anyway, one of his simplest pleasures is the magnificent Superball. So small, but so amusing. One of the dense rubber bouncers can entertain him for hours. In fact, it's the only toy he won't let himself bring to work. For one thing, Daniel would never let him hear the end of it (in a manner of speaking). For another, contrary to popular opinion, Jack is actually a responsible adult who knows, never mind how, exactly how much damage the harmless-looking little buggers can cause. And he really doesn't want to have to explain that to Hammond, or worse, Fraiser.

5. There are many ways to make SG-1 happy. Missions that result in the discovery of new technology or the establishment of friendships with new cultures, coupons for pizza, and MREs that don't taste like chicken all fall under that heading. But they are most comfortable and at peace when they are simply spending time together with no world to save. When they are off-duty they let the pressures of their unusual job fade away and allow themselves to forget that the military has any say in the way they run their lives. They all relax and let some of the starch out of their collars, metaphorically speaking. Jack, Sam, Daniel, and Teal'c are able to just be themselves and enjoy each other's company, which is a gift more precious than any other.