The Immortal Spacemonkey
Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate or Highlander. If I did, I wouldn't work in the public school system. Any characters from either show what you many recognize belong to their respective owners. Any characters that you don't recognize belong to me. I promise to return the borrowed character once I am done with them, though they will be a bit scuffed.
Warning: Potty language and violence
Chapter 25
They had lunch at the restaurant at Crazy Horse, sat and relaxed for a short time before heading back to the car. The next place on their itinerary for the day was Jewel Cave.
They spent the next couple of hours as part of a tour, exploring the tunnels and chasms of Jewel Cave. According to their guide, Jewel Cave is the fourth largest cave system in the world and was discovered in 1900. At the cave, they were able to see jewel toned formations of calcite crystals, flowstones, stalactites, stalagmites, columns, needles, and popcorn formations.
It was interesting to everyone, but Teal'c despite all of his stoicism, did not feel comfortable in such a confined area. The passageways were not tight or low, but he did not like the idea of possibly being trapped underground under tons of earth if a cave-in would occur, as their tour guide joked about. Being a Jaffa, however, he remained a visage of calm. His only out ward sign of distress was a slightly cocked eyebrow, showing his displeasure with this adventure.
"I do not understand why the Tau'ri feels it necessary to crawl around in holes in the ground," Teal'c grumbled as they left the visitor's center.
"T, you work and live under a mountain," Jack said. "What is the difference here?"
"Cheyenne Mountain is a large modern facility and I do not worry about a possible fault shift causing the ceiling to collapse."
"I suppose I shouldn't tell him that there is a minor fault line that runs underneath the mountain," Sam muttered to Daniel, causing him to laugh but forced to cover it with a cough.
"Teal'c, you worry about the strangest things," Jack muttered.
They finished the tour and wandered out of the visitor's center, blinking in the late afternoon light. Daniel looked at his watch and saw that it was 1652. Crap! When did I start thinking in military time, he wondered to himself.
"So are we going back to Mt. Rushmore tonight?" Sam was asking
The guys looked at each other and shrugged. It seemed like a good plan at the time. They went back to the campsite where Teal'c and Jack made dinner, while Sam and Daniel emailed the SGC his photo of the tablet from the Crazy Horse museum, using her laptop which she had smuggled past Jack.
Dinner was relaxing; each member of SG-1 was quiet, lost in their own private thoughts. They were content in the silence, each person processing what they had seen that day.
After dinner, once the table had been cleared and all utensils had been washed, Jack brought out a football and cajoled the others into a game. It was Jack and Daniel vs. Sam and Teal'c. The boundaries were vaguely defined and Jack vaguely explained the rules, leaving much open for debate and question.
Jack and Daniel won the coin toss, gaining first possession. Jack, taking on the roll of quarterback, tossed the ball to Daniel, who caught it perfectly, but was abruptly tackled by Sam. She grabbed him around the waist and managed to bring him down. This went on for two more attempts to make it down the clearing. On the third attempt, Teal'c intercepted the ball, snatching it from the air before Daniel was able to catch it. The Jaffa laughed and took off down the field. Jack and Daniel looked at each other and then took off after the giant man. They were able to catch him (due to the fact that Teal'c was not even trying to evade them). Both men decided, the hell with it, and threw themselves on Teal'c's back. Teal'c, not in the least bit phased by the added weight, tossed the ball laterally to Sam, who then took off down the field, scoring a touchdown for her team.
Teal'c was able to shake off the Tau'ri. Jack was able to land softly, avoiding any serious injuries. Daniel, however, landed awkwardly on his right arm, snapping the bones in half.
"Shit," Daniel yelped, holding his arm carefully close to his body. He could see the bones poking through the skin. He quickly pushed the bones back into place, helping the healing process along.
"Danny?" Jack called, hurrying over to his friend.
"Daniel?" Sam called out, while Teal'c echoed his concern.
"Its no big deal guys," he replied, staring down at the offending limb.
Jack reached his friend and also looked down at the arm, in time to see the limb mend itself with the help of the blue lightning. "Holy crap," Jack breathed. He had almost forgotten about Daniel's inhuman healing abilities.
"Did you forget or something?' Daniel asked a hint of bitterness to his voice, as he was pulled to his feet by Jack.
Jack looked kind of disturbed for a moment before his expression smoothed over and he replied. "Yeah. Kind of, sort of. I mean I know that you're different, but it's still weird to see your body mend itself like that. Shit, you really don't scar do you?"
"Nope," Daniel said smugly. "If I did, after everything we've been though, I'd be a mass of scars. How many times have I been shot, stabbed, broken a limb, or tortured?"
There was a tone in his voice, a look in Daniel's eyes that made the others a bit uneasy. It wasn't anything specific, but there was something there that screamed danger.
"That's depressing," Jack noted with a forced laugh.
"Yeah, okay then," Daniel said and walked away, his arms wrapped across his torso. He needed some quiet time. He didn't feel right. It felt as something was trying to escape him, creating mental pressure. Daniel was afraid, but was too scared to let the others know that something was not right. All he knew right then, was that he needed a moment of space to collect his self and shove the more hateful side of his personality back into its deep, black hole where it belonged.
SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1
The group reassembled in time for them to return to Mount Rushmore for the nighttime lighting ceremony.
They arrived in time to find seats at the outdoor amphitheater. They sat on the upper tier where they had a spectacular view of the monument and the surrounding area. They quietly watched the crowds of people milling about, waiting for the show to start.
A park official came out onto the stage and started his speech about freedom and those that have sacrificed everything in order to preserve that freedom. At one point the invited all military, active, reserve, and retired to join him on the stage.
Jack and Sam looked at each other and both shook their heads minutely. Next, they both turned and looked at Daniel, who was giving them both annoyed looks.
"He said all retired military personnel," Jack whispered, smiling at his friend. "I'm sure that there's room up there for another WWII vet up there."
"Daniel Jackson is not military and never will be military," Daniel hissed back.
"But you're a vet, no matter what your name is," Sam offered.
"Yes, a vet of how many different wars? How about I go down there and tell them of my times in uniform? I can tell them about my time with Alexander and then they can lock me up. Or better yet, why don't you two go down there? Hello, you both served in the Gulf War and take Teal'c down there with you. I am sure that his time in service with Apophis and with the Tau'ri count," Daniel said brightly.
"You're an ass," Jack said.
"You're a pain in the ass," Daniel replied.
"Shhh," an over-weight, middle-aged woman behind them attempted to shush them. Jack turned around and glared at the person, who next looked visibly cowed. While Jack's glare had no effect on Daniel, it still worked wonders on others.
Instead, the group sat there, applauding with the others in appreciation for what the vets on stage had given for the country.
Once that little bit had passed, they sat back and enjoyed the show. Despite the fact that they traveled across the galaxy and back, had seen wonders that would stagger the mind, seeing Mount Rushmore light up was breath taking. Sam had already mentioned that she wanted to come back again to see it again (the Ranger had mentioned that there was a different theme for each day of the week).
At the end of the presentation, they joined the crowd and exited the amphitheater, although they did not partake in the pushing and shoving. For some reason people thought that they should be the first ones out of the parking garage. SG-1 did not feel compelled to rush about as if their lives depended on it. They experienced too much of that with the SGC, and they wanted a break from that insanity.
"So campers, good time had by all?" Jack asked as the foursome wound in and out of the milling vacationers.
"Indeed O'Neill. I was most inspired," Teal'c calmly said.
"I hope we can come back for another presentation," Carter said, fairly bouncing with enthusiasm.
Jack stopped walking and stared at his second-in-command. "Carter, no bouncing or we'll have to sedate you," he deadpanned.
Just then, Daniel's cell phone rang, earning him a dirty look from Jack. Waving the man off, Daniel answered the infernal device. "Hello?"
"Hey Bob, what's up? Yeah, vacation is going good. No massive tragedies or disasters knock on wood. What can I do for you? Uh huh. Okay. We'll see what we can do, but I can't make any promises. It is a museum after all. Okay, take care and I will call you tomorrow." Daniel finished the call and hung up.
"That was Grayson. He wants to know if we can get anymore pictures of the tablet I found yesterday, preferably the other side," he explained, ignoring Jack glaring at him.
"That shouldn't be a big deal. We can stop by tomorrow and get what you need then email it to the SGC. It shouldn't take more than a few minutes out of our schedule," Sam said, trying to ease Jack's irked self.
"We are on vacation people. Need I say more?" Jack grumbled as they made their way back to the car.
A/N: Well? What do you think? Be a pal and hit the shiny review button and let me know.
Also, thank you for reading my stuff it. Also, thank you to those of you that have put me on your alert and favorites lists. That is incredibly kind of you to do so and is very much appreciated
This is being posted a bit earlier than I had planned originally but due to the fact that my drive hates my work computer and I know I will be busy tomorrow at work and at night (have to get my gym time in somehow and the husband insists on being fed for some reason and would like some clean clothes to wear – he's so demanding), I thought I would post it now. Hope everyone had a nice holiday!