DANIEL:
"Jack!" I called as I flew out of the Delta Flyer.
The warm, wet air felt heavy in my lungs. I stared at my friend. He was just as hard and lean as before, but something had changed in his eyes. "Riley!" I continued. "Are you all right?"
"Not really, Danny." Jack said. "But I think we will be."
Riley nodded. "Yes. We will be."
I turned to look at her to see if she was telling the truth, even though I knew they weren't talking about physical injuries. I couldn't help but be concerned – they were my friends. Then I noticed the rough bandage on Riley's fist. "What happened to your hand?" I asked her.
She gave em a small smile. "It's a long story." She replied.
I stood there, stunned. Had Riley just smiled? She had always been so withdrawn, so cold...
"In short," she continued, "I punched a wall."
"Punched a wall?" I blinked.
"Yeah. It was either that or hit someone. I was feeling things I didn't want to feel and got angry." She explained softly.
"Oh." I said.
I looked harder at her. She had the same look as Jack did, in her eyes. A deep sadness and loss, just like before, but not as soul consuming as it had been. They had finally begun to grieve. But there was something else – a sense of hope.
It was another half an hour before Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay were ready to leave. I watched them almost wistfully as they helped their crew organise everything. "What's wrong?" Jack asked softly.
"Will we ever be like that again, Jack?"
"You mean happy?" he replied. "Yes, Daniel. We will."
I felt him staring at me. "And if you're talking about family." He added. "You already have one."
"Even with everyone gone?" I asked, my words filled with sadness and pain.
"You still have me." He said. "It's not much I know, but you have me anyway. And Riley and Mia. That's a start."
I turned to Jack. "I wouldn't have survived without you, Jack." I said. He needed to hear that and the truth and belief behind my words.
"I'm a soldier." He said. "It's not hard to watch your back. It was what I was trained to do."
"I'm not talking about that." I fixed him with a piercing glare. "You held me together, gave me something to hold on to when...they died."
He looked at me in surprise. "How did I do that?"
"By simply being my friend." I told him. "By just being there."
Jack continued to stare at me with a strange expression on his face. "You're beginning to sound like the Danny that I used to know."
I gave him a soft smile. "That's what I'm hoping for." I said.
Riley came up to us at that moment. "It's time to go." She told us.
We all climbed into the second ship and I noticed one of the strangers would be flying it. Tom Paris was sitting beside him. I was squashed in the back of the ship between Riley and Seven of Nine, but I didn't really care. I was still revelling in the changes in my friends – and the changes in myself.
"How's it coming Tom?" Chakotay asked over the comm, his voice distorted slightly.
"System's just booting up." Tom replied.
"All right." Chakotay said. "See you back onboard Voyager."
A few minutes later I felt the heavy ship lift off the ground. The ship struggled, but Tom and the trader Juus patiently guided the ship through the atmosphere. We were just past the atmosphere and flying back towards Voyager, when the engine's whine got higher and the ship began to shake.
"Should she be doing that?" Tom asked.
"No." Juus replied.
"Paris to Chakotay." Tom snapped. "We're experiencing some..." he words were suddenly cut off.
A surge of electricity ran through the control panel and both pilots went rigid. My mind grasped what was happening in an instant. I yanked Juus from his chair as Jack did the same for Tom. Juus was a dead weight in my arms. I checked his pulse, but he was just unconscious. "The controls short circuited." B'Elanna said as she pulled at a few wires under the panel. "That should do it." She said after a moment.
"Are you alright?" I heard Jack ask Tom. "You took a fair jolt of electricity."
"I'm fine." Tom croaked after a minute. "Juus?"
"Unconscious, but alive." Riley said from beside me.
"I have to pilot..." Tom croaked.
"No." Jack said firmly. "You lie there. We need to get the Doctor to look at you. I'll fly her."
"You?" Tom echoed.
"I am a pilot." Jack said getting up. "Riley."
Riley got up and joined him in the other pilot's chair. She gingerly touched the control panel, but no electricity jumped out. After a moment her fingers began to move over the controls, gaining confidence as Jack's did the same. The Seeker started forward again, her path smooth. I felt a surge of pride. Jack was probably the best pilot I had ever met. There was nothing he couldn't fly.
"How did you..?" Tom began.
"Chakotay to Paris." Came the comm. "Chakotay to Paris."
"O'Neill here." Jack said into his comm. "Paris' hurt and Juus is unconscious. You'd better tell the Doc."
"Who's flying the ship?" the Commander asked.
"I am." He replied. "With Riley. Don't worry. We can handle it."
"But you've never seen the technology before." Chakotay said, sounding surprised.
"We've seen technology like it." Jack answered. "Besides, we wouldn't be very good pilots if we couldn't adapt, now would we?"
I smiled at his words. The gliders. Jack always did like stealing them whenever he could. And they were both good pilots. "I tell the Doctor. He'll be waiting." Chakotay replied.
"It's just like a Glider." Riley said. "Except for feeling like I was trying to fly underwater. She's so heavy."
Jack grinned. "Nah, it doesn't feel like flying underwater." He said. "That's more smooth and slower – almost like you're flying in slow motion."
"I'd forgotten you'd done that." Riley replied.
"You've flown underwater?" Tom asked, surprised.
"Yeah." Jack said. "I'll have to tell you about it sometime."
I grinned slightly as I remembered. That had been one hell of an experience. And it was one hell of a story. I only hoped I could see Tom's face when Jack told him. And then chaos erupted as Jack set the Seeker down inside the docking bay. We were back on Voyager again.
* * *
For the first three days after we got to Voyager, Jack, Mia, Riley and I stayed hidden in the room we had been given. We spent a lot of time sleeping. But most importantly, we grieved. We told stories about the times we had shared with those now gone. Jack and I remembered all we had done with Sam and Teal'c. We cried and laughed and remembered. With each memory, each story, my heart felt a tiny bit lighter, my soul a little bit freer. I began to remember all the good times I had shared with all my friends. And slowly I began to feel less alone. Janet, Sam, Teal'c...they would always be with me in my memories. The thought made the sadness seem more bearable.
Tuvok and the bubbly alien, Neelix, made sure we ate and brought us meals, but never intruded upon our grief. Although, I know Neelix was curious. But despite that, he never pried. I was grateful for that. This was a private grief between the four of us.
On the morning of the fourth day, I got up and felt I had to do something. I couldn't just sit still anymore. "What do you suppose they do around here for fun?" Jack asked from where he lay on a bunk.
I gave him a small smile. "We could ask." I said.
"Good idea." Riley agreed. "I can't stand being cooped up in here anymore!"
We all knew what she meant. It was time to stop the tears and go out into the world again. "I agree." Mia added.
Jack nodded and sprang up. "Good." He said. "C'mon Danny. Let's go get some breakfast while the ladies change."
"Ladies?" Riley asked with a quirk of her eyebrow.
"Female members of the team, then." Jack shot back.
Jack and I walked to the mess hall, quietly enjoying the ordered chaos of the ship around us. It reminded me of the SGC. Someone was always doing something, no matter what time it was. The mess hall was filled with people eating, when we entered. Some people were eating breakfast, while others looked like they were eating dinner. It was absolutely fascinating – at least for me. But then I was an anthropologist.
Jack nudged me and nodded to where Neelix was dishing up something to another to crew member. "I hope that's not breakfast." He said.
I glanced around the room again. "I think it is."
Jack sighed and walked over to where Neelix was standing. "Colonel O'Neill! Dr. Jackson!" Neelix greeted, surprised.
I had been conscious of the looks we had been getting since we entered the room, but at Neelix's words a soft murmuring began. I shrugged. I was kind of used to being the centre of attention – both at the SGC as a member of SG-1 and on other planets as a stranger.
"What's for breakfast?" I asked.
Neelix beamed, obviously proud of his concoction...whatever it was. "Tarrow nut and Brojun leaf porridge." He said.
"Porridge?" Jack echoed, dismayed. "I don't suppose you've got any Fruit Loops anywhere, do you?"
"Fruit...Loops?" Neelix repeated.
"Yeah." Jack nodded. "They're sort of sugary things you put milk on."
Neelix frowned. "No, I do not have any of these Fruit Loops." Then he brightened. "But I'm sure I could try and make some."
"No..." Jack said quickly. "I'm sure the porridge is just great."
"Oh." Neelix said, a tad disappointed. "All right."
Jack and I took our porridge to an empty table. Jack looked at it and then at me. "At least it doesn't taste like chicken." I said after cautiously taking a mouthful.
It actually tasted kind of nutty and sweet. Jack smiled. "Yeah, there is that."
At that moment, Riley and Mia came up to our table, dressed in casual looking clothes kindly donated to us by some of the crew. Jack and I finished our breakfast, before heading back to the room to shower and change. Riley and Mia met us outside the door just as we were leaving again.
Jack grinned. "All right. Let's go find someone to annoy." He said.
I grinned back. It sounded like a plan to me.
"Jack!" I called as I flew out of the Delta Flyer.
The warm, wet air felt heavy in my lungs. I stared at my friend. He was just as hard and lean as before, but something had changed in his eyes. "Riley!" I continued. "Are you all right?"
"Not really, Danny." Jack said. "But I think we will be."
Riley nodded. "Yes. We will be."
I turned to look at her to see if she was telling the truth, even though I knew they weren't talking about physical injuries. I couldn't help but be concerned – they were my friends. Then I noticed the rough bandage on Riley's fist. "What happened to your hand?" I asked her.
She gave em a small smile. "It's a long story." She replied.
I stood there, stunned. Had Riley just smiled? She had always been so withdrawn, so cold...
"In short," she continued, "I punched a wall."
"Punched a wall?" I blinked.
"Yeah. It was either that or hit someone. I was feeling things I didn't want to feel and got angry." She explained softly.
"Oh." I said.
I looked harder at her. She had the same look as Jack did, in her eyes. A deep sadness and loss, just like before, but not as soul consuming as it had been. They had finally begun to grieve. But there was something else – a sense of hope.
It was another half an hour before Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay were ready to leave. I watched them almost wistfully as they helped their crew organise everything. "What's wrong?" Jack asked softly.
"Will we ever be like that again, Jack?"
"You mean happy?" he replied. "Yes, Daniel. We will."
I felt him staring at me. "And if you're talking about family." He added. "You already have one."
"Even with everyone gone?" I asked, my words filled with sadness and pain.
"You still have me." He said. "It's not much I know, but you have me anyway. And Riley and Mia. That's a start."
I turned to Jack. "I wouldn't have survived without you, Jack." I said. He needed to hear that and the truth and belief behind my words.
"I'm a soldier." He said. "It's not hard to watch your back. It was what I was trained to do."
"I'm not talking about that." I fixed him with a piercing glare. "You held me together, gave me something to hold on to when...they died."
He looked at me in surprise. "How did I do that?"
"By simply being my friend." I told him. "By just being there."
Jack continued to stare at me with a strange expression on his face. "You're beginning to sound like the Danny that I used to know."
I gave him a soft smile. "That's what I'm hoping for." I said.
Riley came up to us at that moment. "It's time to go." She told us.
We all climbed into the second ship and I noticed one of the strangers would be flying it. Tom Paris was sitting beside him. I was squashed in the back of the ship between Riley and Seven of Nine, but I didn't really care. I was still revelling in the changes in my friends – and the changes in myself.
"How's it coming Tom?" Chakotay asked over the comm, his voice distorted slightly.
"System's just booting up." Tom replied.
"All right." Chakotay said. "See you back onboard Voyager."
A few minutes later I felt the heavy ship lift off the ground. The ship struggled, but Tom and the trader Juus patiently guided the ship through the atmosphere. We were just past the atmosphere and flying back towards Voyager, when the engine's whine got higher and the ship began to shake.
"Should she be doing that?" Tom asked.
"No." Juus replied.
"Paris to Chakotay." Tom snapped. "We're experiencing some..." he words were suddenly cut off.
A surge of electricity ran through the control panel and both pilots went rigid. My mind grasped what was happening in an instant. I yanked Juus from his chair as Jack did the same for Tom. Juus was a dead weight in my arms. I checked his pulse, but he was just unconscious. "The controls short circuited." B'Elanna said as she pulled at a few wires under the panel. "That should do it." She said after a moment.
"Are you alright?" I heard Jack ask Tom. "You took a fair jolt of electricity."
"I'm fine." Tom croaked after a minute. "Juus?"
"Unconscious, but alive." Riley said from beside me.
"I have to pilot..." Tom croaked.
"No." Jack said firmly. "You lie there. We need to get the Doctor to look at you. I'll fly her."
"You?" Tom echoed.
"I am a pilot." Jack said getting up. "Riley."
Riley got up and joined him in the other pilot's chair. She gingerly touched the control panel, but no electricity jumped out. After a moment her fingers began to move over the controls, gaining confidence as Jack's did the same. The Seeker started forward again, her path smooth. I felt a surge of pride. Jack was probably the best pilot I had ever met. There was nothing he couldn't fly.
"How did you..?" Tom began.
"Chakotay to Paris." Came the comm. "Chakotay to Paris."
"O'Neill here." Jack said into his comm. "Paris' hurt and Juus is unconscious. You'd better tell the Doc."
"Who's flying the ship?" the Commander asked.
"I am." He replied. "With Riley. Don't worry. We can handle it."
"But you've never seen the technology before." Chakotay said, sounding surprised.
"We've seen technology like it." Jack answered. "Besides, we wouldn't be very good pilots if we couldn't adapt, now would we?"
I smiled at his words. The gliders. Jack always did like stealing them whenever he could. And they were both good pilots. "I tell the Doctor. He'll be waiting." Chakotay replied.
"It's just like a Glider." Riley said. "Except for feeling like I was trying to fly underwater. She's so heavy."
Jack grinned. "Nah, it doesn't feel like flying underwater." He said. "That's more smooth and slower – almost like you're flying in slow motion."
"I'd forgotten you'd done that." Riley replied.
"You've flown underwater?" Tom asked, surprised.
"Yeah." Jack said. "I'll have to tell you about it sometime."
I grinned slightly as I remembered. That had been one hell of an experience. And it was one hell of a story. I only hoped I could see Tom's face when Jack told him. And then chaos erupted as Jack set the Seeker down inside the docking bay. We were back on Voyager again.
* * *
For the first three days after we got to Voyager, Jack, Mia, Riley and I stayed hidden in the room we had been given. We spent a lot of time sleeping. But most importantly, we grieved. We told stories about the times we had shared with those now gone. Jack and I remembered all we had done with Sam and Teal'c. We cried and laughed and remembered. With each memory, each story, my heart felt a tiny bit lighter, my soul a little bit freer. I began to remember all the good times I had shared with all my friends. And slowly I began to feel less alone. Janet, Sam, Teal'c...they would always be with me in my memories. The thought made the sadness seem more bearable.
Tuvok and the bubbly alien, Neelix, made sure we ate and brought us meals, but never intruded upon our grief. Although, I know Neelix was curious. But despite that, he never pried. I was grateful for that. This was a private grief between the four of us.
On the morning of the fourth day, I got up and felt I had to do something. I couldn't just sit still anymore. "What do you suppose they do around here for fun?" Jack asked from where he lay on a bunk.
I gave him a small smile. "We could ask." I said.
"Good idea." Riley agreed. "I can't stand being cooped up in here anymore!"
We all knew what she meant. It was time to stop the tears and go out into the world again. "I agree." Mia added.
Jack nodded and sprang up. "Good." He said. "C'mon Danny. Let's go get some breakfast while the ladies change."
"Ladies?" Riley asked with a quirk of her eyebrow.
"Female members of the team, then." Jack shot back.
Jack and I walked to the mess hall, quietly enjoying the ordered chaos of the ship around us. It reminded me of the SGC. Someone was always doing something, no matter what time it was. The mess hall was filled with people eating, when we entered. Some people were eating breakfast, while others looked like they were eating dinner. It was absolutely fascinating – at least for me. But then I was an anthropologist.
Jack nudged me and nodded to where Neelix was dishing up something to another to crew member. "I hope that's not breakfast." He said.
I glanced around the room again. "I think it is."
Jack sighed and walked over to where Neelix was standing. "Colonel O'Neill! Dr. Jackson!" Neelix greeted, surprised.
I had been conscious of the looks we had been getting since we entered the room, but at Neelix's words a soft murmuring began. I shrugged. I was kind of used to being the centre of attention – both at the SGC as a member of SG-1 and on other planets as a stranger.
"What's for breakfast?" I asked.
Neelix beamed, obviously proud of his concoction...whatever it was. "Tarrow nut and Brojun leaf porridge." He said.
"Porridge?" Jack echoed, dismayed. "I don't suppose you've got any Fruit Loops anywhere, do you?"
"Fruit...Loops?" Neelix repeated.
"Yeah." Jack nodded. "They're sort of sugary things you put milk on."
Neelix frowned. "No, I do not have any of these Fruit Loops." Then he brightened. "But I'm sure I could try and make some."
"No..." Jack said quickly. "I'm sure the porridge is just great."
"Oh." Neelix said, a tad disappointed. "All right."
Jack and I took our porridge to an empty table. Jack looked at it and then at me. "At least it doesn't taste like chicken." I said after cautiously taking a mouthful.
It actually tasted kind of nutty and sweet. Jack smiled. "Yeah, there is that."
At that moment, Riley and Mia came up to our table, dressed in casual looking clothes kindly donated to us by some of the crew. Jack and I finished our breakfast, before heading back to the room to shower and change. Riley and Mia met us outside the door just as we were leaving again.
Jack grinned. "All right. Let's go find someone to annoy." He said.
I grinned back. It sounded like a plan to me.