The Mercy of Mot

The brush stroked gently across its surface, freeing the vessel from the dust of centuries. Carefully, he lifted it from its resting place and held it up to the light. It was a simple shape, made for everyday use, one line of decorative forms encircling its rim. It could have been someone's drinking cup, a small bowl for soup, or any number of other possibilities. He thought back to a similar vessel sitting on a shelf in his office. It was also of simple design, but it had held the shared drink of two newly-wedded people.

Who had this cup belonged to? Was this all that remained of someone's life? All there was to mark their passing through this world? Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Grant me a place in your blessed dwelling.

His throat tightened and his eyes began to water. Damned allergies. He swiped a hand acrosshis eyes and continued to gently turn the piece of pottery in his hands.

"You gonna add that to the box, or are you gonna make love to it?"

Comfort, Jack O'Neill style, meaning sarcasm and snide remarks.

"Funny, Jack."

"Well, you know, just wanted to give you some privacy if you needed it."

He didn't rise to the bait, but instead pointed to his clipboard. "Just hand me that inventory, if it's not too much trouble."

"Sure thing."

The clipboard appeared in front of him and he took it, carefully listing the newest find and sticking a small tag on the vessel to identify it. He then picked up some paper and wrapped the vessel, placing it in the box with the rest of the objects he had unearthed that day.

"How 'bout some lunch?"

"Not really hungry. Why don't you go ahead; I'd like to get some more of this done."

"C'mon, Daniel, you need—"

"Jack—don't."

He heard Jack sigh. He knew he just wanted to help—they all did—but Daniel really wished they'd quit hovering.

"You know, Janet'll have my head if you come back in less than perfect health."

Now it was his turn to sigh. Janet had been reluctant to let him go offworld, even though it had been several weeks since . . . Anyway, he knew she was more worried about his mental health than his physical health right now.

"Fine, but you're not playing fair."

"It worked, didn't it?"

~oOo~

Ah, P9X-030, a lovely spot to be bored out of your skull, Jack thought. Ruins, ruins, and more ruins. Daniel should be in heaven, but looking at him now, sitting across the table from this planet's version of archaeologists, Jack could see there was no spark of excitement in his eyes, his voice, or any other part of his body. Oh, he smiled in all the right places, added comments when appropriate, but Jack knew his heart wasn't in it. It might fool the others, but it didn't fool Jack.

Daniel picked at his lunch while discussing the day's finds with Jerob and Cora, husband and wife and also heads of the archaeological team working on these ruins. Sam had planted herself on Daniel's right, while Teal'c sat on his left, pretty much where they had been ever since . . . well, since Sha're had . . .died. Daniel's shadows. Of course, Jack had been keeping an eye on him as well, but hopefully wasn't so obvious about it. Jack had a pretty good idea of what he was going through, and had tried to give him some space, as long as that space was within Jack's eyesight.

It was their first mission since Sha're's death. It had only been three and a half weeks since the funeral. Janet had wanted Daniel to have more time to recuperate, but Jack had privately told her and General Hammond that he thought the best thing for Daniel would be to get him out of the mountain and back through the gate. They had all been a little concerned about Daniel's claims that Sha're had "spoken" to him through the hand device. They had tried to be supportive, even though they were skeptical, and Daniel had eventually quit talking about it.

P9X-030 seemed like the perfect place for Daniel to get his feet wet again. The activation of the gate and subsequent deployment of the MALP had startled and surprised the team of archaeologists who were studying the ruins. The current society appeared to be about a hundred years, give or take, behind Earth, technology-wise. The ruins themselves were quite some distance from civilization, and the archaeologists had had to communicate with their base--about a day's travel away--to let their leaders know about the people who wanted to come for a visit.

It had all worked out, and SG-1 had come through, welcomed by the dozen archaeologists working on the site. The ruins were extensive and had only been discovered two years earlier, this team only having been here for six months. Daniel had been semi-excited to discuss the excavation with his counterparts on this world. They had been even more excited by some of his suggestions regarding newer excavation methods.

Three days later, they were still camped at the ruins, SG-1 waiting for a group of government leaders to reach the base camp, at which time SG-1 would make the trek to meet with them. Carter had been anxious to discuss trade, as she had detected a significant amount of naquadah present.

Sam excused herself and headed toward the food table where Jack had planted himself to watch Daniel. She put some fruit on her plate and moved to stand next to him.

"He seems happier now, since he's been working in these ruins."

"Not happy, Carter, distracted. Something to occupy his mind instead of . . ." He left the sentence unfinished. No need to say it—they both knew what it was.

They heard laughter and saw the young couple sitting next to Jerob hug and then kiss as others at the table continued to laugh at whatever had been said. Jack saw Daniel smile, then look away. Seeing that Teal'c was engaged in conversation with the person on his left, Daniel quietly got up and slipped away, heading towards the edge of the ruins.

Sam looked at Jack. "Not distracted enough, I guess."

"I'll go check on him," Jack said.

"You want me to come with you?"

"Nah, but thanks. Don't want him to think we're ganging up on him."

"Okay."

It only took him a few minutes to find him, standing at the edge of a small bluff, looking out across the landscape. The thick forest on the other side of the ruins began to thin out as the land fell away from the bluff, becoming an open plain with only a few trees dotting it here and there.

Daniel's body practically shouted "leave me alone", but Jack ignored it. Fools rush in, I guess.

"Hey."

"I don't want to talk, Jack," Daniel responded, not turning around.

"Oh, I just came to enjoy the view."

He walked up to stand beside Daniel. After a few seconds he said, "Yep, it's a great view."

Silence was the only response. After several minutes, Daniel spoke.

"I want to stay here, Jack."

"Sure. Take all the time you want, I'm in no hurry to get back."

Daniel sighed. "No, not here here," he said, waving his arm around. "Here, on this planet."

"Hammond's given us several days to wrap this up, but I'm sure he'd give you more if you asked."

"Don't be obtuse, Jack, you know what I mean."

"Not gonna happen."

Daniel whirled around to face him then, blue eyes flashing with anger. "Why not?"

"What, you're just gonna pick some random planet to run away and hide?"

"I'm not hiding!" He calmed his voice before continuing. "These people could use my help excavating these ruins. It is my field of expertise, you know."

"These ruins are huge—you could spend your entire life working on them and not finish."

Then he saw the anger fade from the blue eyes to be replaced by sadness.

"You're talking about staying here permanently."

"Yes. I'll quit the SGC."

"What about the boy?"

The anger was back. "Oh, that's rich. You all but tell me I'm crazy and now you want to tell me you believe me?"

Okay, wrong thing to say. "How about this, then. You've only been here three days—you don't even know these people. And now you want to stay with them? Hammond might not give you a GDO."

Daniel looked away from him as he replied softly, "I've done it before."

Jack's own frustration turned into anger. "So, what—you gonna stay and get married?" The second the words left his mouth he wished he could take them back.

"Go to hell, Jack," Daniel said icily as he turned and headed back to the lunch area.

Jack sighed. How had he lost control of the conversation? Probably because he never had control of it in the first place. Instead of helping Daniel, he had pushed him further away. He turned and followed Daniel back towards his team. Maybe they'd have an idea of how to fix this.

TBC