Hidden Memories, Sleeping Serpent
Timeframe: Season 7, a little after Homecoming.
Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate SG-1 (apart from copies of the DVDs). I'm just borrowing the characters, and I promise I'll put them back when I'm done with them (not necessarily in the same condition though). However, any new characters and plot are mine, so please don't claim them as your own.
And with that out of the way, I present: the story…
Chapter 1: On-World Meet and Greet
"Excuse me, may I help you find something?"
"Hmm? Oh, yes. What do you have on the history of shipbuilding?" the apparently lost customer asked, after remembering where he was.
"Ahh, those would be in the next shelf over," the neatly dressed woman replied. His voice sounded familiar, so she studied him for a moment. "I remember you. Daniel Jackson?"
He nodded. "That's right." He sounded slightly surprised at being recognised.
"You haven't been in here for about a year. I thought something had happened to you." She sounded pleased to see him.
A lot had happened to Daniel, but since it was all classified and unbelievable, he glossed over his absence by simply saying, "My work took me away for an extended period. I didn't know I was missed at the bookstore."
She smiled. "I have a good memory, and you're a good customer. Well, actually…" She stopped, apparently changing her mind.
"I'm not a good customer?" Daniel seemed puzzled.
That was certainly not the case, so she correctly him quickly. "Oh, you are, it's my memory that has certain… limitations."
Daniel could relate to memory loss. "Then we have something in common. I've forgotten who you are."
"I'm sorry, I've never actually introduced myself. I'm Autumn Pine, store owner."
"You own this place? Now I'm envious," Daniel replied humourously. He noted to himself that while her name was unusual, her brown hair did seem autumnal.
Autumn gave him a bright smile. "You like books, Mister Jackson?"
"That's Doctor Jackson, but call me Daniel. I work in linguistics and archaeology, so I live and breathe books." This wasn't something he generally admitted to women he'd barely met – at least, not to women on Earth - but the situation seemed to call for it.
"Which field is your degree in?" she wondered, interested.
"Both, actually."
"You mean two degrees?"
"Well… three," he admitted reluctantly. "How long have you owned this place?"
"Three years, and I worked here for three before that." She noticed that Daniel had selected a small stack of books to take. "Sorry to be a bother; I should let you get on your way."
"No problem, I'm not in any sort of hurry. Except perhaps for a coffee," he added. Maybe she'd see it as an invitation...
She did. "Mind if I join you? I don't need to be here, I just like talking to customers. As I said, you're a good customer."
Daniel grinned. "Coffee it is.
A little later…
"What led you to archaeology, Daniel?" Autumn asked after she sipped from her steaming cup.
"My parents. I was actually born in Egypt and lived on various digs for many years."
"Wow, that sounds fascinating. They sound like remarkable people." Daniel nodded his agreement. "Where are they now?" she continued, but from Daniel's reaction, she realised she'd asked a sensitive question.
"When I was eight, an exhibit collapsed on them both, right in front of me."
Autumn could feel the sadness in Daniel's voice. "That's… tragic. I'm sure they'd be proud of you." She couldn't help but wish she had someone to be proud of her, or even to be sad about.
"Thanks. What about your family?"
Autumn shrugged with vacant eyes. "I don't know."
"You don't know where they are, or who they are?" He didn't want to assume anything.
"I don't remember anything before ten years ago. It's completely blank. I don't know anyone who knew me before then, and I don't know what happened to cause it."
"Complete memory loss?" This was all too familiar for Daniel.
"Yes, I don't even know my own name. The family who found me named me after the season and surrounding vegetation."
"At least they didn't name you 'Fall'." She'd probably heard it a hundred times before, but she looked like she needed a little cheering.
Autumn grinned and nodded. "When they found me, I was soaking wet and badly bruised, but they helped me recover. I had a lot of trouble speaking English, and couldn't remember a lot of common things, but I learned fast, and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with me, apart from forgetting."
"I had amnesia not long ago – from an accident while I was away – but it wasn't that bad and it was temporary. It must be tough to not know who you are, and not know anyone who knows who you are. I thought losing my parents was awful, but to not even remember them… I'm not sure which is worse."
"Not knowing is tough, because my imagination is free to come up with all sorts of horrible things. But I've decided I'm better off to focus on becoming who I want to be. Besides, there's got to be a good reason why I don't remember, so I'd rather stay innocently ignorant."
"Like, 'what you don't know can't hurt you'?"
"Yeah, exactly. Forgetting whatever traumatic experience made this happen is worth forgetting everything else, I figure. That's why I decided not to go to a neurologist to see if my brain was damaged. It seems to work alright, so I'll leave well enough alone."
Daniel nodded, understanding. "I nearly gave up on my old life, since I was worried about what bad things I might discover about myself, but fortunately I had friends who care about me and convinced me that I was worth remembering. If I didn't have them, I expect I would be the same as you. But I can honestly say that you've done a fine job of making something of yourself, despite your circumstances. I can't imagine how you've coped for ten years. A lot of people wouldn't."
Autumn smiled at the compliment. "Are you sure you're not just flattering me because you're jealous of my bookstore?" she said, wanting to lighten the mood.
"That's for me to know and you to wonder," Daniel replied mysteriously, sending the pair into a round of laughter.
When they had recovered, Autumn asked, "Speaking of wondering, what do you do around here? Colorado Springs doesn't have a lot of archaeology."
"I do some translation work for the Air Force." His standard line. True, but it said so little. This was one of the times which he wished he could say more.
"Really? That sounds interesting."
"It is, but I'm not at liberty to discuss it any further." Why could he only be open about his job with people who live off-world? It was funny how so many 'matters of national security' could be freely shared with the rest of the galaxy, and not a good sort of funny.
"Can't tell me or you'd have to shoot me?"
"They'd shoot us both," he clarified, saying it in such a way that it triggered another laughing bout.
Autumn realised she had lost track of time, so she checked her watch. "Well, as fun as it's been, I should get back to classifying books, and you can get back to your classified books, or whatever it is you do. I don't know where the time went!"
"Time flies when you're enjoying yourself," Daniel agreed. "A scientists I know would say something about relativity."
His companion smiled and said, "I've always felt there was a lot we don't know about science. At least, as long as I can remember. Sometimes I get the strangest feelings… but they don't really bother me. Nothing major, just the occasional sense. Maybe it's glimmers of forgotten memories. The main thing is that I've always felt a lot more 'at home' here in Colorado Springs than anywhere else."
"But no idea why?"
"None whatsoever."
"Maybe you lived or visited here before?"
"Perhaps. There's nothing particular that seems familiar though. Anyhow, it's been really, um, interesting talking to you, Daniel. Perhaps…" she paused shyly.
"We should do it again some time," Daniel finished. "My schedule can be crazy some times, but I should be free for coffee tomorrow."
Tomorrow seemed so far away. "What about dinner? Tonight, I mean. There's only so long I can talk over coffee before I'm tempted to have another, and I should really cut down. I mean, somewhere simple. If you don't have any other plans, that is." He looked like he didn't but she didn't know for sure. It was definitely worth a try.
"I admit that I drink more coffee that I ought," Daniel said, not quite sure which statement to answer. "I mean… dinner, yeah, dinner would be good. There's a great little pasta place I often go to…"
"The one down on the corner near the print store that had that big ink spill?"
"Yeah, but I didn't hear about the ink."
"It'll be the funniest thing you ever heard. I'll meet you in there at six?"
"Sounds like a good plan," Daniel agreed.