Future – Daniel's Version
By Mandarax
Rated T
Disclaimer – if you'd have done this, we wouldn't have had to. It's your fault.
Summary – Addendum to my previous piece 'Future'. Sam isn't the only one who can't sleep. You kind of need to read Future to understand this.
Author's note – I was rereading old comments made by readers on Future and this popped into my head. Not quite the sequel you requested, but close enough.
He hadn't been able to sleep. Not for the first time, but tonight it came unexpected.
The team had finally taken some time off. They had had a great time that day, drank, ate, joked around, talked about old times, old stories, old jokes, old everything. It didn't bother him that they didn't talk about what was going to happen when their vacation was over. They had another few days to hang around and Jack's cabin was remote enough from civilization that it served to keep reality at bay.
And yet, when the evening ended, and they headed each to their room, and he'd quipped that maybe tomorrow they'd talk about the future, and Jack mumbled something about this being a vacation and went off and closed the door behind him, something within him woke up.
And hadn't let him sleep for most of the night.
So he tossed and turned for a while, read a book for a while more, and finally he gave up and got up. He pulled on a tee shirt to cover his bare chest and padded his way to the kitchen to get a glass of warm milk in a vain attempt to prove or disprove the truth behind this old tradition.
But he didn't want to go back to his bedroom. He'd wanted to go out for fresh air but it seemed that it was too cold to actually go outside. He sat down on one of the stools at the kitchen table and sipped his warm milk quietly, contemplating what was bothering him.
And still, unable to determine what it was.
Giving up, he pulled the first book he could get his hands on, an old edition of the first James Bond book that Jack must have been reading who knows how long ago. It made him smile. Jack would appreciate the James Bond humor. He briefly wondered if Jack would also appreciate Sherlock Holmes books. If he did, it might be a good birthday present.
But then again, who knew where they would be on Jack's next birthday. With him leaving for Atlantis, Teal'c reclaiming his seat at the New Jaffa Counsel, Sam heading to Area 51 and Jack himself going off to fly a desk in DC, who knew what would happen come anyone's birthday.
He wondered for a moment, as he leafed through the old pages of the book, if that was what was bothering him. SG1's disbanding; an unknown future lay ahead of them. None of them could expect the fun to last forever, he supposed. Not that those eight years of space jumping, both in corporeal and incorporeal form (in his case) had always been fun. But all good things must come to an end; when one door closes another one opens; the past is the blueprint for the future, and other such clichés Jack would hate immensely.
No, he wasn't worried about the future. This was right. It was time to move on.
And still, the knot in the pit of his stomach was tight.
Sighing to himself he closed the book and stood up. It was nearly half past five in the morning, it was far too early to think of such things as the past and the future, the present was pleasant enough at this particular moment. He made his way back to his room only to be stopped short of crossing into the living room.
It seemed he wasn't the only one unable to sleep.
Cowering back into the kitchen and listening to the soft voices, he heard them talking of the future, the near future. He heard them move softly around the living room. He heard Jack tell Sam to come to bed.
The knot in his stomach was gone. He relaxed. He smiled.
As he made his way to his room he glanced into Sam's opened bedroom to see it bare of any person. He could hear soft whispering behind Jack's closed door though.
The future. Whenever they did talk about the future over the years they talked about a Goa'uld free universe, freedom for the Jaffa, the safety of Earth. That was what the future they hoped for was. Every once in a while they would slide into what the future held for them each personally. Teal'c always expressed his wishes to return to his home. He himself wanted to pursue further research into the theories he'd been disqualified for from the academic world, especially if it meant off-world digs. But whenever Jack and Sam's turn to voice their wishes rose, the discussion somehow veered off-course. Neither spoke of what their future held. And so the subject became taboo. And they all knew why.
Jack and Sam's futures were unspeakable. Neither could admit to what they wanted for many reasons, but the main one being regulations. Chain of command.
But now it was allowed. Now that he was leaving and she was going as well, now it was okay. The taboo had been broken.
And that one inevitable question that none of them could ever ask was answered.
The knot in his stomach was gone and his bed seemed more than inviting. He pulled the covers up to his chin, curled into his pillow and fell asleep, one single thought lingering in his head.
Their future is right around the corner.