Warnings: Language
Correction: In the last chapter I realized I made a stupid typo. The line should read:
"Right then, the lock clunked open. Daniel stood up to face what was coming." Sorry about any confusion. I swear I spell check and proof read.
Previously:
Like a scream in the night, the pile of hacked off red hair took shook Daniel to his core. Ella's hair was lying in the middle of the bathroom floor with a large pair of scissors lying open, half buried in the mess. And there was something else. Mixed with the hair were sliced up magazine pictures of flowers. It was the remains of Ella's "secret garden."
Growing Up, Growing Old
Daniel quickly made his way downstairs. He could hear Mrs. Greerson before he got to the kitchen. "I just don't understand, Ella. If you wanted a haircut, why didn't you just tell me? And what happened to your face?"
Daniel entered the kitchen, unnoticed. Mrs. Greerson was right; Ella looked terrible. Her hair had been cut into jagged clumps. A few spots were cut almost to her scalp, other locks hung down to her chin. There was a long, dark bruise marking the side of her face and several smaller bruises circling her neck. Daniel had not noticed them last night. Now they made his stomach clench in fear and anger.
She was wearing jeans and a tank top, as if she was flaunting her wounds for the older woman to see. Mrs. Greerson went on and on, trying to find out what was wrong but Ella just stood silent, bracing herself by the sink. Finally the adult wound down. She saw Daniel standing by the doorway and snapped at him, "Maybe you can make sense out of her!" With that, she flounced out of the room. The teens were left alone.
Ella's eyes had dropped to the floor as soon as she noticed Daniel. He realized that it had been pure rage that had fueled her through her haircut and the destruction of her closet. Now she seemed to shrink before his eyes. The silence stretched until Ella moved to leave the room.
"Ella, wait," he moved to block her path. She stopped but her eyes remained on the floor. Daniel scrambled for something to say. "Are you – okay?" She nodded silently. "Well – what's going on? Why did you cut your hair?" She shrugged. Frustrated with her silence, Daniel reached for her shoulders. "Ella - " In a flash she had batted his arms away and sprung back to the sink. They stared at each other in shock. Embarrassment joined the shame in Ella's eyes while Daniel berated himself for his stupidity.
"I'm sorry," Ella muttered in a small voice. Two high spots of color now warred with the bruises on her cheeks.
"What happened last night?" Daniel asked.
"Nothing."
"Why won't you tell me what he did?"
"He didn't do anything, Daniel. Nothing happened! He pulled me into the closet and slapped me and that's all."
"How did you get the bruises around your neck?"
"I don't know," she muttered.
"Why did you cut your hair?"
She squirmed and her voice got even softer, "I don't know."
Hating himself, Daniel kept pushing. He had to know. "Why did you cut up your pictures?"
"I don't know!" She breathed, biting her lip.
"Ella - "
"Daniel, stop! Please!" Her voice was little more than a breath but the intense pain silenced him at last. "I can't…nothing happened. Nothing!" She looked into his eyes,her desperatefear exposed. "He knows what happened to my mom. He said he would do to you what Peter did to her."
The meaning of Ella's words caught Daniel off guard. Brian had threatened to kill him? That explained why she wouldn't talk. "Ella, no. It's okay, you can tell me. I'll be fine."
"Prove it."
"What?"
She snapped. Her rage poured out of her, too big for tears. "Prove it, Daniel! You say it will all be okay, so prove it. Prove to me that I won't come home tomorrow and find you beat to death or – or – or shot in the head or something because I couldn't keep my fucking mouth shut."
Daniel wanted to reach out to his friend. There had to be a way to fix this. "Then I'll tell someone. I'll call my case manager. I'll make her listen. I'll tell her that Brian is hurting you."
"No!" She got in his face. "Promise me you won't tell anyone about this. They won't…Please, Daniel, nothing happened!"
They stared at each other for a long silent moment.Finally, Ella walked out of the kitchen and out of the house. He sat heavily at the table. The enormity of what he was facing threatened to break him. Afterone futile wish for an adult that he could confide in, Daniel realized it was all up to him. He didn't need Ella's confirmation to know what happened in the closet last night. And it would happen again and again and again he didn't stop it. Ella was too scared.
Daniel had grown up in the past two years. He had learned how to stand up for himself. Now he had to stand up for Ella. He just hoped that she would still be his friend when everything was over.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOo
Hours later, Daniel sat fidgeting in the office of his case manager. He had only been here twice before and never at his own request. After a short time, he was called into her office.
"Good afternoon, Daniel," Ms. Ellison smiled at her charge. "I was going to call you and congratulate you on your college admission. I knew you could do it."
"Thank you," Daniel swallowed and wiped his sweaty palms on his pants. "I need to talk to you about something else, though."
"Sure. Shoot." She sat back and waited for him.
Daniel looked at the carpet under his feet, feeling very unsure of himself. "Um…it's Ella…the girl I live with. She's um…she's not…" He struggled to find the right words.
"Daniel, what is it?" Concerned, Ms. Ellison leaned forward in her seat.
"He's hurting her!" Daniel blurted out, gripping the arms of his chair. "She won't tell me what he did, but Brian is hurting her."
"Brian? The Greerson's son? What is he doing?"
"I don't know," he replied softly. "She won't tell me. She's too scared."
"Okay," she said. "I'll call her case manager. We can set up a home inspection."
"No. You have to get her out of there. Now. She's not safe there."
"Why? What happened?"
"I don't know!" Daniel saw the woman's head snap back as his voice rose. "He – he – he pulled her into a closet last night. I couldn't get to her in time. I know he hit her and she's saying that's all he did. But when he came out…he was zipping up his pants." Tears came to Daniel's eyes as he remembered. "She was on the floor and she couldn't speak. She won't tell me anything. Please Ms. Ellison. I'm leaving in three weeks. I can't protect her if I'm not there. I can't even protect her when I am," he finished bitterly. His failure burned at him.
She had been making notes the whole time he spoke. "Daniel, it's not your job to protect her."
"Well somebody has to!" He lost his temper and started to yell. "And the adults who are supposed to do are doing a lousy job of it!"
"Daniel - "
"No!" He cut her off. "I know the rules. I am reporting that a child in the foster care system is being abused. You are required to protect her. So do it!"
OoOoOoOoOoOoOo
Later that night, Daniel stood by his bookcase, sorting his books. Suddenly, Ella burst through his door, as mad as he had ever seen her. She jabbed him in his chest, knocking his books to the floor. "You son of a bitch. What did you do?"
"Ow, Ella, stop!" He grabbed her hand. "What's wrong with you?"
"You told someone. They're taking me out of here tomorrow. I told you nothing happened."
"And I don't believe you!" He yelled back. "I think you're lying because you're scared. But I had to do something."
"But, if I leave, he's gonna' hurt you. Call them back. Tell them nothing happened. Tell them you were wrong. Tell them it's all okay."
"No, I won't."
She tried to pull her hand away. "Nothing happened. Nothing happened, Daniel! Please tell them nothing happened!" After a few seconds of struggle, her face began to crumble. She collapsed onto him, crying. All of the anguish and fear and pain that she had been forced to withhold wailed out of her as she clung to her only friend, repeating that nothing had happened over and over. He put his arms around her and just held on.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOo
Years later…
Dr. Daniel Jackson rested his head on his steering wheel, savoring the 2 o'clock darkness. Aspirin had numbed his headache but the tension remained in his neck and shoulders. He was sure that there had been times in his life where he felt worse than he did at the moment, but hedidn't want tothink of one right now.
Hathor had swept through the base two weeks ago. Most of the men on the base were still skulking around, sheepishly avoiding eye contact with the women. Daniel was having a harder time putting it all behind him. Once his full memories had returned, he had been compelled to report to Jack what the Goa'uld queen had made him do. The older man had his own trauma to deal with but he tried to be supportive of his teammate. However, nothing could change the fact that somehow the story had slipped out and was all over the base. All Daniel could figure was that one of the women who had helped Sam had told what she had seen. He had heard some nasty things whispered as he entered rooms the past few days. It hurt. No one could understand what it had been like for him. He felt very much alone.
He had driven to the grocery store when he was unable to sleep. During his college years, Daniel had discovered that 2 AM was a great time to shop. The stores were empty so it was quick and quiet. As he climbed out of his car, Daniel was certain that he could hear his joints creaking. He felt old. For the first time in his life he regretted notonly finding the Stargate but studying archeology in the first place.
He walked into the grocery store, flinching a little at the florescent harshness, and headed for the produce department. Janet Frasier had taken one look at the circles under his eyes and started to lecture him about sleeping more and eating better. The whole team complained about the doctor's nagging but secretly Daniel enjoyed it. It had been too long since someone had cared enough to fuss over him.
He filled his cart, grabbing mostly staples and frozen vegetables, items that wouldn't go bad if he disappeared off world for a week. He treated himself to some steaks, toying with the idea of inviting the team over for dinner. At that thought, Daniel's shame returned. It had been Sam who had found him, half naked and catatonic in the VIP room after Hathor was through with him. He had felt very uncomfortable around her ever since. He wasn't sure what to say to her now.
Shaking his head to clear away his sadness, Daniel headed towards his favorite aisle. In the chaos of the past few weeks he had run out of coffee. There was a shop he liked near base, but he needed something at home as well. In the aisle he saw the only other customer in the store. She was bent over to get some tea. Trying to get past her, Daniel smacked his cart into hers making a very loud bang.
"Holy – Fuck! Excuse me!" The woman turned on him, startled.
It had been ten years since they had seen each other, but Daniel recognized his friend instantly. Her long red ponytail fell past her shoulders. The glasses she wore didn't mask the annoyance in her eyes. Then she recognized him. "Daniel?"
"Ella? Oh my god, Ella!" The two old friends threw their arms around each other, thrilled and laughing. They had not seen each other since they lived together and communications had been scattered through the years. Since Daniel had been back from Abydos, he had not even thought of trying to track anyone down. But here she was, all grown up, in the middle of a grocery store at 2 AM.
Daniel pulled back and looked at her, saying the first thing that came to his mind: "Your hair is so long!"
Tears came to Ella's eyes but she smiled at him. "It's been a long time since it was short." Daniel's eyes filled up as well and they hugged again. Her arms around him felt solid and steady, the arms of a life long friend.
The End.