Author: Dr Sarah Fraiser-Jackson
Title: Daniel's Memories.
Rating: PG-there is slight bad language from you guessed it...Jack O'Neill! No, you don't win anything from guessing correctly...what is this, Wheel of Fortune? I think not!
Spoilers: None
Pairing: None, Daniel/Jack friendship
Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate SG1 or its characters, I'm not getting paid so be nice...this is voluntary you know!
Summary: When his foster parents of two years die, Daniel goes to their house and takes a trip down memory lane.
Daniel walked down the grey corridor of the SGC towards his office, a Styrofoam cup of hot coffee in one hand and his mail in the other. He fumbled with the key to his office before managing to open the door and turn on the lights so he could see the boxes of artefacts and junk all around the room.
Daniel sat himself on the only vacant chair in the room, took a sip of the coffee and started sifting through his letters. Most were bills or junk, the last one interested him, it looked like it was from a small town lawyer's office. Ripping the envelope open he started to read.
"Hey Daniel." Jack smiled cheerily as he entered the room.
When Daniel didn't respond, Jack started to get worried. "Uh Danny Boy?"
"What?" The younger man snapped. "Oh sorry Jack, I uh, was just reading this."
He looked down at the letter as if it might explode.
"What is it?"
"A letter."
"No shit Sherlock!"
"It's a letter from a lawyer's office, my second set of foster parents died." He said sadly.
Jack didn't know what to say; what ever he did say could upset his friend even more. Jack new little about Daniel's childhood, he didn't know how many foster parents Daniel went through or whether they were nice or not. The man himself answered his unasked questions.
"They were the first people to actually help me, they loved me like a son and gave me the space I needed at six to cope." Daniel frowned. "God I miss them."
"When's the funeral?"
"Friday...uh, would you mind coming with me?" He asked quietly.
"Sure Danny." Jack clapped Daniel on the back.
-----------------------
Friday
Jack watched in silence as Daniel starred at the newly covered up holes in the ground, it had been raining and Jack was holding his umbrella over himself and his friend.
"Danny?" A woman's voice asked. "Little Danny Jackson?"
"Jenny?" Daniel asked looking at the older woman. "Wow, I haven't seen you in ages."
"Yeah, look at you!" She exclaimed setting a child down from her hip, like she had held Daniel all those years ago...
"Hey Danny, time to go home." Jenny whispered to the six year old.
"But I haven' finished." Daniel wined pushing his glasses back up onto his nose.
The sixteen-year-old Jenny smiled and ruffled the boy's dark sandy coloured hair. "Which is why I brought my library card." She held up the card and waved it in front of his face.
"Can I get the Ruins of Ancien' Incas as well then?" He pleaded, Jenny wondered how could you say no to those baby blues?
"Sure, but hurry up." She picked up the large book that Daniel had been reading and set off towards the counter while the little boy went to find his other book.
"That's one clever kid." The librarian said as she stamped the book. "Been reading the whole series since you dropped him off after lunch."
"That's Danny for you." Jenny smiled as the boy walked up with the even bigger book.
They thanked the lady and started the walk home, Jenny carrying the books in her backpack with Daniel holding her hand. To get back to the Bakers house, the pair had to cut their way through the busy streets of the town centre, full of people bustling around with shopping bags bumping into people trying to make their way home. Daniel tried to stick close to Jenny but the crowd was too thick, Jenny picked the skinny boy up and hugged him to her as she pushed past the busy shoppers.
"Jenny, Daniel? You home yet?" Mrs Baker asked as she heard the front door close.
"Shh." Whispered Jenny carrying Daniel into the room, he had fallen asleep on her shoulder.
"Bless him." Laura Backer smiled and took him form Jenny's arms. "Maybe he'll sleep all night with no more nightmares."
"One can only hope."
"I haven't seen you since you were a scrawny little eight year old." Jenny said cupping her hand against his face. "Now you're a grown man."
"You've changed yourself." Daniel smiled.
The woman was several years older than Daniel, she had a few grey hairs but other than that, she still looked around thirty.
"These two changed me, you know I wouldn't have other wise." She said with a wicked smile on her face and pointing to her two children with her husband, the older looked about ten and the younger was five, both had their mothers brown curly hair and green eyes. "They keep me on my toes."
"You always were good with children."
"Only you Danny, the rest were little brats. Have you had much contact with the Bakers since they went away?"
"No, none." He said quietly.
"Me either, it's a shame they really helped us both out."
"Yeah, wish I could thank them for it."
"They knew Daniel, they knew."
"Oh I forgot, this is Jack O'Neill my boss and friend." Daniel said motioning towards his friend.
"General Jack O'Neill, nice to meet you. I've heard nothing about you." He smiled.
"Likewise Jack, its Jenny, Jenny Sinclair. That's my husband, Darren and my two children, Chloe and Emily" She shook his hand. "So how about we take this to the Baker house? They left everything to the both of us."
"Really?" Daniel sounded surprised. "Why?"
"They never had their own kids and I guess they thought we could do with the memories." Jenny shrugged.
"Okay, we'll follow you then."
They drove to the Baker house, which was only the other side of Colorado Springs to where Daniel lived.
"I can't believe that the eight years I've lived in Colorado Springs, I never saw Laura and Gideon." Daniel said as Jack pulled up behind the Sinclair's car.
Jenny unlocked the front door and they all walked in, her, Daniel and Jack. Darren had taken the kids to the park because the rain had stopped.
"This is spooky." Daniel said.
"Tell me about it." Jenny relied.
"What?" Jack asked feeling like a third wheel on the trip down memory lane.
"It's like they've recreated their old home in this one." Daniel said taking his shoes off and leaving them on the shoe rack in exactly the same place he did as a child. "The pictures are exactly the same, in the same places, all that's changed is the location of the house."
"Oh my God Space Monkey, is that you?" Jack asked pointing to a photo of a young boy with tousled brown hair and glasses grinning at the camera with his two front teeth missing.
"Uh yeah, maybe we could bin that one." Daniel laughed.
"Daniel, you have to have a few pictures of yourself as a child." Jenny said.
"Yes, but I'm having that one." Jack grinned evilly.
"Fine have it, go hide it in your house somewhere."
"It's going in my front room." Jack said. "So that everyone can see what an adorable little boy you were."
"Thanks Jack, you're a great friend."
"I try."
Jenny and Daniel started to go through the house, finding hidden memories with Jack along to add his two cents.