Disclaimer: Characters aren't mine, the song isn't mine (though I adore Gershwin and I think they might own me) and this computer isn't mine so please don't sue.
Authors note: Me + Piano + D/S is a very bad thing.
'It ain't necessarily so
It ain't necessarily so
De t'ings dat yo li'ble
To read in de Bible
It ain't necessarily so'
How he can remain so calm when there's coffee available somewhere on this planet is beyond me. Standard Daniel programming would require him to be leaping from foot to foot right now, coffee cup held in one hand like he's waiting for change. I've suggested he goes to perform his little 'innocent soul in search of Java' routine in the town centre. He'd probably get enough money for a hundred coffees.
But no. He's just sitting at the table, as calmly as I am, head buried in a report, concentrating as only he can. He appears to be working so hard, but he looks up and gives me a half smile, the kind he well knows bring a blush to my cheeks. He's playing with me; the sweet innocent boy everybody knows is more than capable of a few cruel games when the fancy takes him.
Li'l' Moses was found in a stream
Li'l' Moses was found in a stream
He floated on water
'Till Ole' Pharaoh's daughter
She fished him, she says from dat stream
Poor Daniel. You meet and can't help feeling sorry for him, he brings out every mother instinct, the boy who lost both parents, who was bounced from home to home, who was too smart for his own good. But intelligence brings wit, people tend to forget that. I'm experiencing it now, as he flicks his eyes across the sheets in the manilla folder. He looks so engrossed, Daniel study habits appearing unconsciously. The tongue that flicks round his lips when he's puzzled by something, the furrows in his brow that show up so clearly in profile, the way you can watch his glasses beginning to slip down his nose. But am I the only one who notices how his eyes sparkle? How he flicks occasional glances round the table, smiling like there's a great secret he's not going to tell. Maybe there is, this man's hidden depths are almost unfathomable.
Li'l' David was small but oh my
He fought big Goliath
Who lay down and dieth
Li'l' David was small, but oh my
After all, we are talking about a man who's taken on more than one Goa'uld, in fact more Goa'uld than I have. Never have I known a pacifist less afraid of a fight, on whatever front it may be. After all, he takes on Jack, me and sometimes, both of us. You have to admire that, even if it can be the most annoying trait on Earth. He's looking at Jack now, his eyes slightly clouded, as if there's something he's not quite happy about. Jack is staring back at him just as impassively and the two of them act as if everything and nothing is wrong. I can't even think what it may be, that's what's most annoying. Teal'c is carefully averting his gaze, more aware by being less so. They seem to have settled into their standard holding pattern, both leaned back, occasionally breaking the contact for sips of coffee or a glance at the next page. It's like watching titans square off before a battle, awe inspiring and frightening. Yet, there's something missing, this is a mission briefing, there should be no moral imperatives yet. It makes me more curious about what could be wrong but at the same time, more certain it's something I'm not going to like.
It ain't necessarily so
It ain't necessarily so
Dey tell all you chillun
De Debble's a villum
But 't ain't necessarily so
Maybe it's trivial, it often is. Lots of things with Jack are trivial niggles, annoyances, the sort of thing Daniel lets wash over him, almost unaware sometimes that there's a world of trivialities beyond the grand constructions in his mind. Jack's making faces now, trying to catch Daniel's attention, which has slipped back to the document in his hands, obviously bored of whatever invisible game he and Jack were playing. He won't speak, it would ruin the point, but that doesn't stop Daniel attempting to goad him into it, small glances when he comes close to making a sound, tempting Jack to step over the boundary, to say whatever's on his mind before he loses the moment. I can se Jack's resolve weakening. Daniel is a master of this game, of temptation and persuasion. I think it annoys Jack more to know he's being manipulated. Somehow though, if he never realized, it would be far less satisfying.
"Ok." Jack signals defeat and as if programmed, we all turn to face him. It's how it works, now he's brought it out into the open, it's safe for Teal'c and to be interested. "I thought I ordered you to get some sleep." Oh right. I look at Daniel more carefully, there are signs of fatigue about him, the beginnings of dark circles under his eyes, the slight paling of his skin, the fact he'd drunk three cups of coffee and emptied the jug before he'd sat down. "I've told you you should at least leave this place at night." Daniel looks genuinely surprised at this and I wonder idly if he's done something else to upset him, and Jack merely hasn't found out yet.
"I did Jack." Little boy innocence, when did we learn not to believe a word of it?
"Aw c'mon, you're wearing the same clothes you were yesterday. Even I can spot worn fatigues. And they're not creased, which means you didn't even crash on your couch. Daniel, you promised me you'd stop this." Same clothes, caught. Innocence switches to apology so fast Jack doesn't seem to register the tactical shift.
"I did try Jack, if it makes you feel any better, I woke up slumped at my desk." Jack merely huffs a Jack huff, the kind which yells 'ok, I'll let it go this time' simply because they're words Jack would never say. He turns back to his own report, swallowing more of the last cup of coffee. Apology shifts off Daniel's face one he's sure Jack's gaze is gone, back into carefully controlled neutrality. I'm returning to my own file when his eye catches mine and a flicker of a smile plays across his lips. I return the gesture; a secret shared is a secret doubled. He returns to his report but I can't help smiling into mine. Daniel who worked so hard, who stayed up through the night, who didn't even leave the base to change his clothes. The smile turns sweeter with the flicker of a memory. It ain't necessarily so.
End