Title: We're All Only Human
Author: spacemonkey67
Pairing: Sam/Jack
Rating: PG
Spoilers: None
Disclosure: I don't own Stargate, I only own the story.
Genre: Angst
Summary: Daniel gives Jack a little advice.
Authors Note: I hope you enjoy reading this and please review!
We're All Only Human
Jack and Daniel were sitting in a booth in the corner of the bar. The music was loud and people had to almost yell to be heard over the noise. Jack took a swig from his Guiness and put his beer back on the table. His eyes never left the bottle, staring at the condensation forming on the outside, while his fingers were absently playing with the label.
"Why'd you want to come here Daniel?" O'Neill asked.
"I figured you needed to talk and I thought you'd be more comfortable doing it here than at home." Daniel replied.
"Oh, and what pray tell would I need to talk about?" Jack asked.
"At the retirement party last night you just seemed a little out of place, lost even. I thought that maybe you wanted to talk" responded Daniel.
"I don't do the talking scene Daniel, you should know that by now" came the retired Generals remark.
"Fine, I'll talk and you listen." Daniel waited for confirmation and took the fact that he didn't say no as a gesture to continue. "I think you're scared" Daniel held up his hand before Jack could argue. "For the last eight years you've been using the regulations as an excuse. I mean sure you didn't want to hurt her career, but when has that ever stopped you before?"
"I don't want to talk about this Daniel" was all Jack would say.
"You're not, I'm talking" said Daniel. "It's okay to be scared Jack. When I first came to this little epiphany of mine I questioned it a lot. I mean this was Jack O'Neill, I didn't think you could be afraid of anything. Then I realized that you're human, just like the rest of us."
"Well, thank-you Daniel. I'm glad that eight years of the SGC hasn't hindered your ability to differentiate between human and alien" replied O'Neill in a very irritated tone of voice.
"That's not what I mean and you know it Jack" Daniel threw back. Daniel took a few calm breathes before continuing. He knew that anger and sarcasm were just Jacks ways of dealing with fear and regret. "Don't worry Jack, I'm not condemning you. Everyone fears rejection. Frankly, if you didn't I would be worried."
"Do you have a point Daniel?" Jack asked angrily.
"Go talk to her. She's just as scared as you are. Both of you have been wanting something you can't have. Now that you can have it, you're both to scared that it's not what you really want. This isn't the cliché that you always want what you can't have Jack. If it was, both of you would have given up a long time ago. We're all only human Jack. It's okay to be scared of the future because isn't that what life is? We fear the unknown until we question it enough and it becomes part of our everyday life. Fear the rejection, but question it enough until you think she might say yes."
Jack had enough of this conversation. He downed the rest of his beer and left. He jumped into his truck and headed home, but as hard as he tried he couldn't get Daniels voice out of his head. We're all only human Jack…She's just as scared as you are. Jack had driven home without paying much attention to where he was going. He was about to step out of his truck when he realized where he actually was.
She sat in her house, engrossed in the novel she was reading. Daniels conversation kept running through his mind as he stepped out of his truck and walked the short distance to her door. He held his hand up ready to knock "she might say yes" he mumbled to himself before his fist made contact with the door.
What do you think? Reviews are always appreciated.