SPOILERS: none.
SEASON / SEQUEL: doesn't matter
RATING: PG / K
CONTENT WARNINGS: None.
SUMMARY: Challenge response, Word-a-Month challenge. The word is "JUMP"
DISCLAIMER: This story is written entirely for entertainment and is not intended as an infringement against the copy written material that belongs solely to Showtime, MGM/UA, Gekko Films, et al. I'm only playing with their characters and will return them as soon as the story is finished. The following story is the property of the author and is not to be copied, or published without the express, written consent of the author.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: No references and no one gets hurt this time. Thanks to the beta-readers, as usual…
(On PX-whatever)
"Oh, come on, Daniel! That's not true!" Colonel Jack O'Neill, Commanding Officer of SG-1, walked behind the linguist and archaeologist of the team, sounding a little irritated.
"It is…" Daniel Jackson nodded stubbornly.
"No, it's not."
"It is."
"Not"
"Is."
"Not."
"Is."
"For crying out loud! Would you stop that?" Jack stopped abruptly, causing Major Samantha Carter to almost walk into him. Behind her, the Jaffa Teal'c frowned, wondering what the latest argument between his CO and Daniel Jackson was all about. Sometimes these humans were so confusing!
"Jack, you said yourself I couldn't go …" Daniel started, not even glancing back over his shoulder.
"I DID NOT SAY THAT! Damn-it, Daniel!" Interrupting him, Jack was getting aggravated and threw his hands in the air, not knowing how to turn the events back into a positive discussion.
"O'Neill…" Teal'c's voice broke through their little discussion, trying to catch the attention of his CO. Examining his surroundings, Teal'c felt something was wrong on this planet, although he could not detect any immediate danger.
Apparently, Major Carter felt it too. She looked over her shoulder at him, with an alarmed expression on her face. Looking back at Daniel, who was still walking in front of them, she felt the slight trembling of the ground. 'Holy Hannah, an earthquake!' She cried out a warning. "Daniel! Get back here!"
The linguist stopped, absent-mindedly looking over his shoulder. "Why? What's wrong?"
The colonel, also feeling the tremor, made an attempt to reach Daniel and grab him, only to be abruptly stopped by Teal'c. The ground shook, rumbling harder and harder. The ground split open in front of the colonel's feet and he would have fallen in the ravine if Teal'c hadn't pulled him back. Staggering backwards, the three team-members of SG-1 watched helplessly as they were separated from their fourth member.
Daniel instinctively moved the other way, trying to bring himself to safety, while the rocks rolled down into the growing crevasse under his feet. Grabbing every branch he could reach for support, Daniel jumped backwards, desperately trying to avoid sliding down with the falling rocks and loosened trees. He was vaguely aware of the screams of his colleagues as they attempted to direct him to safety.
Just when he thought he was safe, a last increasing tremor broke off the ground under his feet. Throwing himself into the direction of a tree behind him, he reached out and clasped his arms around it. With no solid ground under him, he just hung there, afraid that any movement would cause the tree to break and fall down with him.
Then there was silence. Assessing the situation, Colonel O'Neill got to his feet and locked his determined eyes on the archaeologist's face.
"Daniel?" He fought to keep his voice steady and calm. "Daniel? You need to climb up that tree, Daniel."
With his arms clenched around the tree, the left side of his face and the upper part of his body pressed against the trunk, Daniel was too shocked to respond. 'I know that, Jack!' He was fully aware of the deep cleft beneath him. 'Just trying to muster up courage here…' Slowly, he moved his legs, trying to find support against the face of the crevasse.
"Don't look down!" Jack's voice was firm now. "Come on, Daniel. There is a protruding limb on your right, pull your leg up. You can put your foot up there. That's it, slowly. You can do this." Holding his breath, the colonel watched as Daniel struggled to climb up to a safer position.
"You are succeeding, Daniel Jackson." Teal'c added, noticing how Daniel managed to climb up the tree.
Jack let go of the breath he was holding and sighed in relief. "Good job, Daniel. Now keep climbing up, 'till you're on solid ground." He turned to face his Second. "Major, why don't you check up north for a spot we can bring Daniel across. We need to get him back to our side of the ravine."
"Yes, Sir." Sam threw a last look at Daniel to make sure he was safe then headed off.
"I will seek for a crossing on this side," Teal'c stated and turned around, walking into the opposite direction.
"Daniel?" the colonel called again when he saw that the civilian of his team wasn't moving.
Trying to regain some control over his nervous system, Daniel shifted into a more comfortable position on the tree. 'I made it. I did it.' Although he still held on to the trunk, he tried to relax the strained muscles in his arms. Shivering all over, he concentrated on his breathing. 'Jeez, that was way too close! Why do these things always happen to me?' Distracted from his thoughts, he heard Jack calling him, worry evident in his voice. For the first time since the earthquake, he looked up, meeting his friend's concerned gaze.
"I'm fine, Jack. Just catching my breath, that's all." He hoped that it sounded more reassuring than he actually felt. 'How am I going to get back to the other side?' Trying not to look down into the depth in front of him, he realized he'd ended up on the wrong side of the crevasse.
Jack seemed to have read his mind. "It's okay, Daniel. We'll find a way to get you back to this side. Trust me."
Daniel nodded. 'Sure, Jack would find a way. He would never leave me on this side of the planet.' They would find a way, but first things first. He wasn't completely safe yet; he still needed to climb up to solid ground. Moving carefully, he left his position on the tree and climbed up the last part. There, he did it. Dusting his clothes, he sighed heavily and sat down.
"You okay?"
He looked back at his friend. "Yeah, I'm fine, Jack. I'm fine."
"Good. You did great. Now let's wait for Sam or Teal'c to find a spot to get you back to this side, okay? Relax."
Following the colonel's advice, Daniel tried to settle down and regain some control over his still ragged breathing. When his efforts finally succeeded, he suddenly remembered their earlier discussion. Daniel was invited by the commanding officer of SG-5, Colonel Davies, to join him and his team on an archaeological mission to a planet called Kan'tra. SG-5 had discovered some ruins on this particular planet and they were scheduled to return to Kan'tra for an extended research mission next week.
Overhearing a conversation between Colonel Davies and Jack, Daniel had found out that Jack was not eager to let him participate on this mission.
"I really would love to go with SG-5 to Kan'tra, Jack," Daniel tried to open their earlier discussion.
"I know," Jack responded shortly.
"You do?" Daniel looked up, surprise evident in his voice.
"Of course I do. Why in heaven's name does that surprise you?" Jack couldn't believe Daniel's reaction.
"Well…." Daniel hesitated for a brief moment. "… 'cause you're not allowing me to go…"
"What?" Jack looked stunned. 'Where the hell did Daniel get that idea?'
"You don't want me to go…" Daniel repeated softly, without facing his friend.
"What makes you think I'm not going to let you join this mission?"
"Because you said so yourself." This time, Daniel locked his blue eyes on O'Neill's brown ones.
"I SAID WHAT???"
"I overheard a conversation between you and Colonel Davies. Literally, you told him: 'he has nothing to contribute to this mission, so I wouldn't bother inviting him. Besides, I've got other plans for him next week'. That's pretty clear, Jack."
"For crying out loud, Daniel! I was talking about Lt. Harris. Davies thought of taking him along as well and I told him that wasn't necessary. What the hell would he need Lt. Harris for if he's already got you?"
Embarrassment flooded Daniel's mind. "Oh…" he muttered.
Jack looked at him. "I suggested that Colonel Davies invite you in the first place, Daniel. I knew you would love it and he definitely needed your expertise. Now, there's Carter. Let's see if we can get you the hell out of there."
He looked over at his Second. "Found anything, Carter?"
Sam shrugged her shoulders. "The ravine doesn't seem to end, Sir. I only found one spot where the opening is narrower. I think Daniel might be able to jump it."
Daniel shook his head. "Might be able to jump it… That doesn't sound reassuring to me, Sam…"
"Well…" she started uncertainly, wishing she'd found something better, "… it will be quite a jump. It's not that small. But I think it can be done."
Jack exchanged looks with his Major and looked back at Daniel. "Maybe Teal'c found something better. Don't worry."
They snapped to attention when the ground trembled slightly again. Noticing how some more rocks and trees disappeared in the fissure, Jack mumbled, "we don't have much time left."
Teal'c appeared out of nowhere, right after the trembling subsided. "I have not found a place to cross the gap, O'Neill," Teal'c turned to Daniel. "I am sorry, Daniel Jackson."
Wasting no more time, the colonel made his decision. "Okay, kids, let's get moving. Major, lead the way. Daniel, follow us on that side of the rim please? I'm ready to blow this pop stand."
Soon, they reached the spot Sam had found. Scanning the area with his binoculars and trusting his colleagues' judgement, Jack realized this was in fact their best shot. He estimated the distance Daniel had to jump; it was approximately four yards. It wouldn't be easy, but could be done. It had to be done!
"Okay, Daniel. Just take a run and jump. I'll grab you, I promise." He examined the edges, stomping on them with his foot. "Solid enough," he stated and looked up at the archaeologist.
Daniel looked from him to the distance he had to cross and back. 'No way, I can't do that!' Fearfully, he looked over his shoulder, to determine the distance of his run. 'Can I?'
"I don't know, Jack…" Daniel stumbled.
"Yes, Daniel. You can do it. It's the only way. The earthquake has left this place very unstable and I don't know what will happen when another one strikes. Just concentrate. Run, then jump."
'He's right. What if another earthquake makes the ravine wider? This is my only chance… But I don't want to jump!' Daniel shook his head out of frustration.
"Just go, Jack. Go back to the Stargate. I'm not going to jump…"
"I'm not leaving, Daniel…."
'No, of course he's not leaving… Damn-it, Jack! Why don't you just go and leave me here…'
"Daniel, I know it's scary, but you can do it!" Sam tried to persuade him.
"I have faith in you, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c added. "You will succeed."
'Sure, Teal'c. No problem. Just take a run and jump. You guys make it sound so easy…'
Daniel turned around and walked a couple of paces away from the rim. Looking over his shoulder for a final approval, he saw Jack take position near the edge. 'Jack won't let me fall.'
Jack nodded encouraging at him. "Jump, Daniel."
Hesitating no more, Daniel ran towards the crevasse. Placing his right foot as close to the edge as possible, he jumped, throwing all his weight towards the other side. His legs were still running in the air, as if it would take him further. Coming down, he looked for solid ground. 'I'm not going to make it!' Eyes wide with fear and shock, he reached out in a last attempt to get himself to safety. Just as he thought he would fall, a steady hand grabbed him by the wrist.
"I've got ya!" Jack hollered, falling flat on his stomach, one hand solidly around Daniel's, desperately trying to reach Daniel's other arm. Teal'c hurried forward, grabbing the colonel's legs to prevent him from being dragged down by Daniel's weight.
"Give me your other hand!" Jack yelled, slicing forwards.
Daniel struggled to reach up, while desperately trying to get a grip with his feet. 'Just another inch…' Relief overwhelmed him when he felt Jack's firm and secure grip around his other wrist. 'Jack's got me…'
Jack pulled and Daniel tried to co-operate by climbing up using his feet. When he was almost there, Sam grabbed his upper arm, supporting him as he climbed out of the cleft and into safety.
"Thanks, guys…" was all he could say at the moment.
Jack smiled. "You're welcome, Daniel. Now let's get the hell out of Dodge…"
Hiking back to the Stargate didn't take them long. Sam dialed home and Daniel stood next to his friend, waiting for the wormhole to establish.
"I'm never going to jump again, Jack," he sighed.
"Good," The Colonel nodded, patting his shoulder briefly. "We're never gonna have an argument like we had earlier today then."
Daniel looked puzzled. "Err, we're not?"
Jack smiled widely. "Well, if you'll never jump again… That means you also can't jump to conclusions anymore. So next time when you're eaves dropping, make sure you've got the story straight!"
With that comment, he stepped through the wormhole.
THE END.