A Modern Day Warrior
Author's note: I own nothing, I just enjoy the show! Any errors are entirely my own.
Daniel approached Teal'c's quarters and stopped. While Teal'c no longer required kel no'reem, he still devoted time to it. Maybe he was deep in meditation now and wouldn't appreciate Daniel interrupting him. Daniel hesitated for just a moment, long enough to recall the teasing he receives on a regular basis about his poor timing. Oh well, might as well keep the record going. And with that thought, he gently rapped twice on the door.
As he expected, there was no answer, so he tried the handle. The door was unlocked. Daniel opened it slowly, and stepped inside. What he saw never fails to impress him: it looks like a show room for the Candle Shoppe, except the candles are all light. The room was warm, almost stuffy, and seated on the floor was Teal'c, his eyes closed. But his head was nodding and, what?! Head phones??!! Daniel breathed in sharply at the site before him. Teal'c was obviously listening to something and Daniel couldn't help but be extremely curious as to what has Teal'c's attention.
Shifting his weight, Daniel cleared his throat. No response. "Teal'c?" he asked, his voice kept low, almost as if he is in church. No response. Daniel repeated himself but louder. This time, Teal'c's eyes opened and he immediately turned to Daniel.
"Daniel Jackson, I did not hear you enter. Please seat yourself." Teal'c rose and reached toward a shelf, where Daniel spots a nice shelf stereo system. Pushing a button, Teal'c removes the head phones and turns back to Daniel.
"What were you listening to?" Daniel can't help but ask.
"Musical compositions from another country of your world," was the reply from Teal'c. "I found it quite interesting. The music of the Tauri is very different from that of Chulak."
"I would imagine so," replied Daniel, his curiosity growing more. "I never really thought about music on Chulak, let alone you…" he trails off. "What I mean is, warriors don't seem…" He frowns, how to not offend Teal'c?
"Warriors don't seem to appreciate art? Many do not." Teal'c looks at Daniel, his face not giving anything away, other than the relaxed openness more common these days. Daniel takes that as permission to continue the discussion.
"So, what kind…" Daniel stopped talking, but Teal'c answers the unspoken question.
"O'Neill has given supplied music for me to sample."
"Oh," Daniel replied, his mind jumping to what Jack would offer. Opera, symphonies? Surely not militaristic marching music. Daniel knows Jack well enough to realize the man is deeper than he likes to let on.
"I must meet Airman Carlson for a sparring lesson. I would be gratified for your insight into this composition." Teal'c said as he extinguished the candles. He bowed slightly and left Daniel in the room.
Daniel dons the headphones and pushed play. A roar of hard rock fills his ears as the vocalist's high-pitched voice sang out.
No, his mind is not for rent
To any god or government
Reaching to turn off the aural assault, Daniel wondered what Jack was up to. But those two simple lines seemed appropriate for Teal'c, the warrior who stood up Apophis and declared him a false god.
As Daniel turned to leave, Jack and Sam walked in. "Hey guys. Nice music choice to share with Teal'c, Jack." His smile is one mixed with sarcasm. "No Ride of the Valkyries or some nice concerto?"
"Which piece do you have on?" Jack pulled the headphone jack out and pushed play.
Exit the warrior,
Today's Tom Sawyer,
He gets high on you,
And the energy you trade,
He gets right on to the friction of the day.
"Rock, sir? Teal'c asked for music from our world and you gave him rock music?" Sam couldn't help it and rolled her eyes. Leave it to Jack, she thought.
"Hey, they're Canadian! And yes, I also gave him some of my favorite non-rock stuff, too." Jack shifted his feet, looking a little uncomfortable. "How about lunch? I hear it's Tex-Mex day!"
"Okay, I'm in," Daniel stated, letting Jack off the hook. Sam leads the way out of Teal'c's room. Jack leaned towards Daniel and said in a lower voice, "Always liked that line in that song about not renting your mind to a politician or snake."
Daniel stopped walking as Jack caught up to his wife. As he thought about what happened over the last few minutes, he thought he got it. Teal'c did, as he was really into the song. Not realizing he was echoing Sam's thoughts, Daniel smiled to himself. Yup, leave it to Jack.
Note2:
No infringement intended. I have always enjoyed the music of Rush. The song referred to is Tom Sawyer, found on the Moving Pictures album.