A/N: This little one shot just kinda...came to me after watching "Need"
Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate.
The Man Who Would be King
This isn't Daniel, Jack reminds himself as he's escorted into the vast room to find Daniel lounging in a chair as though nothing matters. Jack knows that Daniel's in there somewhere, but the man who comes bounding down the steps towards him is not Daniel Jackson.
And that fact, that knowledge, only serves to make everything worse.
Jack struggles to find words, to state his case, but nothing comes…and he can only watch as Daniel's eyes flash gold.
"No," he whispers, finally able to speak but still unable to say anything. The Daniel before him just smirks and lets out a low, echo-y laugh.
"Kill him," he finally says, sobering up. He's looking at Jack, but Jack can only wonder what his former colleague and friend sees as the guards drag him from the room; because those golden, glowing eyes are empty and the sight sends a chill down Jack O'Neill's spine.
And that was when he woke, blinking his eyes open and staring into the darkness of his room in the rough direction of the ceiling. He debated rolling over and reaching for the phone and calling Daniel to placate the unsettling fears brought on by the nightmare. But even as he debated it, the echoing voice of the Goa'uld from the dream faded to the back of his mind and he decided to let it be.
After all, he wasn't sure he wanted to find out Daniel's reaction to being woken in the middle of the night because of a silly nightmare.
So, with that thought to comfort him, Jack rolled onto his side, let his eyes close once again, and willed himself to go back to sleep.
When he finally felt himself drifting off, however, he jolted awake once more. Maybe because of another nightmare, or maybe for some other reason, he wasn't sure. He couldn't remember any pre-slumber images flashing through his mind. He groaned and rolled over once again, pressing his eyes closed and rubbing the sleep from them with his thumb and forefinger.
This was getting ridiculous.
Daniel was fine. He'd gone through his withdrawal from the sarcophagus and come out of it all right. He hadn't ordered anyone killed and, despite the days of over work, Teal'c, Sam and Jack himself were fine as well.
But still he could not sleep.
So he gave in.
He rolled over and reached for his bedside table, fumbling around for a moment before flipping on the light. He cringed at the sudden brightness, squinting as he grabbed for the phone and dialed Daniel's number (he wasn't sure when he'd memorized it, but he was glad he had).
He waited through each ring. He didn't really expect an answer, he just needed to hear Daniel's voice. He needed to know that it everything really was okay. So when one ring stopped abruptly and was replaced by Daniel's groggy and sleepy voice, Jack was caught off guard.
"Hello?" Daniel asked, for the second time, though Jack could hardly remember there being a first. He coughed lightly, trying to think of something to say. But before he could speak, Daniel heaved a tired sigh and kept talking. "Look, if this is some kind of prank or joke, it isn't funny. It's three in the morning and I've had a long day. Good night."
"Wait," Jack whispered, but the click of Daniel hanging up reached his ears. He set the receiver back in its cradle, flicked off the light, and lay back down, once again staring into the darkness.
But it wasn't long before he fell asleep, because the call had been enough. Hearing Daniel's voice, knowing that Daniel was okay, was enough to let him sleep peacefully. No dreams of a Goa'uld inside of his friend came to haunt him.
Instead, he dreams of his Daniel. The real Daniel.
The man who would be king.