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SG-1 : Secrets
I know I've mainly been posting SGA fic lately, but I have still been working on SG-1 fic as well. I just haven't finished any really until now. Sorry.
Title: Secrets
Genre: SG-1, Team, Gen
Season/Spoilers: Post-Series
Rating: PG-13
Synopsis: A bottle of Abydonian homebrew is put to good use.
Author's Notes: I was debating calling this one "Spin the Bottle" but thought people might get the wrong impression. :)
Disclaimer: I don’t own them, people with a lot of money do. I’m just borrowing them and not making any profit from this.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Seriously, Jackson, you drink this stuff?” Mitchell asked in wonder.
The other man nodded. “I have, I do, and I will continue to do so,” he affirmed. “I had a secret stash that Jack and Sam lovingly protected with their very lives.”
The woman in question guffawed. At the looks she received, she explained, “It took us forever to even find where he hid it. We shared one bottle and hid the rest, planning on taking it out when we saved the world again.”
“So you could have a taste of Daniel with your victory?” Vala assumed.
“Do you mean ‘share a taste of the victory with Daniel’?” Mitchell asked. Sometimes language was still an issue, little things rearranged to have entirely different meanings than originally intended.
A wicked smile spread across her face as she said, “No, not really.”
Daniel blushed and shook his head. The night was just beginning and she was probably just getting warmed up. Mitchell, for one, planned to enjoy the show. “Anyway,” he said, trying to bring the conversation back around again.
“Anyway,” Sam continued as if never interrupted. “Daniel came back and we gave him his stash back, sans the one we drank that night. To make up for the missing bottles, Siler and I worked on a way to distill our own version. We’ve gotten it close, but it’s still not quite as flammable as the original.”
“And it’s the original we’re having tonight?” Mitchell confirmed. He looked around to those who were gathered and thought, of everyone on this planet, they had earned it. Years of hard work had come to fruition, it was about damn time they had a celebration.
The five of them sat in a rough circle in the middle of Daniel’s living room. They had already had dinner, and the current plan involved kicking back, relaxing, and possibly getting very drunk. Sam had claimed an armchair and curled up in it, while Vala had done the same for one end of the couch. Daniel had taken the other end, with Teal’c sitting stately on the floor at his side. He had taken the old rocking chair for himself, but figured if this stuff was as strong as Jackson claimed it was, he’d be on the floor before morning.
Daniel pulled out a rather large bottle of heavy brown glass. The top consisted of some sort of corking mechanism Cam had only seen in drawings, or possibly on some of the less advanced planets. When Jackson opened it, he swore there was a plume of smoke or gas of some kind released, just as a bittersweet smell hit the air. “Alien hooch,” he said in awe.
Daniel smiled, holding the bottle before him and closing his eyes, inhaling what to him had to be a pleasant source of memories. Finally opening his eyes and gazing around the room, his lips quirked up at the edges as he said, “There’s a ritual with this particular libation.”
“Of course there is,” Vala groaned, but she was smiling. If she was anything like Cam, she was probably enjoying this little glimpse into Daniel’s past.
Jackson ignored her, continuing, “The Abydonian saying translates, roughly, as: For every sip we share, we must share something of ourselves.”
“Like a secret?” she guessed, already vibrating in her seat.
“If you wish,” Daniel agreed. “Thoughts and feelings are welcome, but the secrets get to the good stuff,” he added with wink in her direction. He looked around to the others and asked, “Ready?”
Vala clapped her hands together and cracked her knuckles. “Let’s do it!” she enthused.
Daniel looked like he was resisting the urge to roll his eyes at her. Instead, he raised the bottle as if in silent toast and said, “I still miss her.” He paused, swallowing heavily as his eyes stayed fixed on the top of the bottle. After what looked to be a silent prayer on his part, he took a deep draw, wincing only slightly at the strength. He breathed out and, even though he was on the other side of the circle, Cam would have bet money a match would have lit the place down from the proof on his breath alone.
Jackson handed the bottle to Vala, who hefted it with both hands. She held it just under her nose with a smile. Looking up, she announced, “I stole Daniel’s credit card to make online purchases.”
She lifted it to her lips, but stopped as Sam scoffed, “Tell us something we don’t know.”
Vala winked at her and said, “I might have used your’s as well?” Sam opened her mouth to protest, but the thief stopped her with, “Okay, for a more serious revelation... I’ve had this before, on the sands of Abydos.” She turned to Daniel in all sincerity and said, “They were a good people.”
“Yes, they were,” he agreed, taking a steadying breath. Cam thought that, if he could, Jackson would have grabbed the bottle back for a moment and taken another sip or five. Instead, the other man simply leaned back against the couch cushions and closed his eyes.
She took a swig, swallowing it with a sigh. “Damn I missed this stuff,” she whispered, handing the bottle over to Sam.
Carter took the bottle one-handed, looking down at it with fond memories. “There was a time when I thought, if I could just drink enough of this, you’d come to my room and sing me to sleep again,” she said with a soft grin, eyeing a smirking archeologist.
“He sings?” Mitchell teased.
“Only when at least one of us is high,” Daniel confessed, opening his eyes to wink at her.
Sam laughed, refusing to comment. Steeling herself, she took a fair sized guzzle before handing it over to Mitchell.
Cam held the bottle in his hands, examining the worn glass, etched with sand from a planet that no longer existed. He thought of all the things he could say, all the things he should say. He was tempted to declare that he wished he had seen the planet it came from, knew they would accept that and move on, but it was a lie. This was about truths, about secrets, and he had plenty of those.
He rolled the bottle between his palms, looking up at the people around him. “When I was shot down, there was a part of me that wished they had finished the job. In rehab, I swore they should have. Now, I’m kinda glad they didn’t.” He took his sip without looking anyone in the eye, bowed his head as he felt the liquor burn a path down his gullet. Somehow it managed to be sweet, savory, and strong, all at the same time. He could definitely see the attraction. He also could see they would all know he was stalling if he took much longer. Gathering his courage, he glanced up as he handed the bottle off to Teal’c, and saw not pity, but only understanding in those eyes.
Cam watched the larger man hold the bottle, more than a little confused as to why he did not just pass it on. From what he’d heard and what he’d read the Jaffa, particularly Teal’c, did not consume alcoholic beverages. Then again, after the way the galaxy changed over the last few years, who the hell knew what was what anymore?
Teal’c turned to Daniel, and a look of understanding passed between them. Cam glanced over to Sam and saw even she was watching the exchange intently. Finally, Teal’c spoke. “I drink to honor the woman whose life I took. I would do it again.” The sip he took was tiny, but no less significant.
Daniel accepted the bottle back solemnly, letting his hand linger on his friend’s for just a moment, before releasing it. He looked to the ceiling for a moment, eyes batting against moisture Mitchell pointedly ignored. When he fortified himself enough to speak, he admitted, “I wanted Shifu to be mine.” He took his drink and passed it on to Vala.
She studied him for a moment, and then studied the bottle. She looked around the room and nodded, as if reaching a decision. “I was with child when chosen to be host. Qetesh made certain I was aware enough to say goodbye.” She took her swallow, and handed the bottle to Sam, who smiled weakly at her, patting her wrist before pulling the vessel into her lap. Cam knew what the admission cost her, and finally had a bit better idea why the whole Adria debacle meant so much.
Sam cleared her throat, drawing his attention. “Sometimes, I can’t tell which are my memories, and which are Jolinar’s. Sometimes I don’t care as long as it saves the day,” she confessed. Before she lifted the bottle to her lips, she added, “She should get credit too.”
Cam hefted the bottle when offered, surprised there was so much left given how many sips had already been taken. Staring down the neck at the liquid inside, he admitted wryly, “I almost joined the Navy instead. There were times during this fight that I really wish I had.”
Vala snorted while he drank. “With your luck, the Ori would have found a way to attack by sea,” she mused. He forced a chuckle at that, knowing she was probably not wrong, and passed on the bottle.
Teal’c held it in one hand like some sort of reward or standard gained in victory. Thinking about it, Cam realized it was not far off. “Jaffa do not consume anything that can alter their focus as they are to be a warrior first, never knowing when or where their next battle lay,” he intoned. He took his second sip, this one a bit larger than the previous one, and looked around the room at his friends and teammates. “I believe I have seen enough battles to last me quite some time.”
“Hell yeah,” Mitchell agreed, earning nods and murmurings of accord from the others.
It was Daniel’s turn again. He took the bottle, the corners of his lips slanted into a bittersweet smile. “I still have Jack on speed dial,” he admitted.
“You too?” Sam asked, making him chuckle and nearly choke as he swallowed wrong. He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth, mock glaring in her general direction.
Vala patted him on the back, perhaps a bit harder than necessary, and took the bottle from his hands. Mitchell expected something playful in the spirit of Jackson’s latest revelation. Instead, she looked each and every one of them in the eyes before declaring, “I have killed many people in the course of this victory. I regret only one.”
Carter took the container from her, balancing it on her knee as she traced one of the deeper grooves with a blunt fingernail. She stopped herself, wrapping both hands around the glass. When she spoke, it was quiet, not much more than a whisper. “When I think of how many people we lost, I wonder if it was worth it. Then I realize they gave their lives to make sure it was.” She held up the bottle in a silent toast, and took her drink.
Cam accepted the bottle when she finished, debating what to say. His friends and teammates were revealing their secrets, and it felt like he was fighting with himself to be able to do the same. He had to admit though, the Abydonian liquor really made everything float to the surface, and it was only his own sense of repression that was fighting to keep the things he deemed personal private.
There were other things floating now, like the corners of the room, so he figured what the hell and went with it. “I wanted to be a part of this so badly, but I never realized what it really meant.” He took a swig and passed it on to Teal’c.
Teal’c took it with a nod, proclaiming, “I have debated dying my hair.” He took a sip as the rest of the team looked on in surprise. He simply raised an eyebrow and deadpanned, “I believed the mood was approaching too maudlin for our celebratory needs.”
Daniel grabbed the bottle away while laughing, “Give me that!” He swished around the contents, getting a feel for how much was left. “A stupid, beat up copy of Budge got me through one of my first linguistic classes,” he admitted, taking a swill.
He lifted the bottle as if to take another drink, but Vala grabbed it away from him. “Hey! No freebies!” she protested, pulling it up against her chest and wobbling slightly in the process. Cam no longer felt bad about feeling tipsy at this point. He watched as Vala crinkled her forehead as if in deep thought and announced, “I have a secret.”
The bottle wavered near her lips and, for a moment, Mitchell thought that was all she was going to share. Then, with an evil smile, she said, “I ordered that awful Woolsey man a stripper from his birthday.” She made a noise that was halfway between a giggle and a breath, edging the bottle even closer. “And I had him signed, ‘With love, from the SGC.’” She took her drink and handed the bottle off to Sam, snickering, “According to General O’Neill, he was in the middle of a meeting at the time.”
Carter barely caught the bottle, as Daniel laughed, “I’ve have to call Jack and tell him you’re the one he owes a dinner!”
Sam recovered, lolling her head against the back of the chair for a moment before lifting it with what appeared to be extreme effort. When she spoke though, there was no hint of a slur, proving to Cam that she was Air Force, through and through. “I almost said yes to McKay,” she admitted, taking a fair sized gulp. Off the looks she received, she defended herself with, “What? It was in a different reality! Who was going to know?”
Mitchell stretched across to accept his next dose of the liquor, surprising himself when he managed to find his chair again, and not the floor. Teal’c pushing him backwards might have helped though. As he let the chair gently rock him back and forth, watching the light from the lamp ebb and flow with the movement, he declared, “I have learned, over the past couple of years, that this whole being a hero thing is overrated.” He took his drink and sighed, no longer feeling the burn, only the warmth that spread from the tips of his toes to what he swore was the ends of his hair. He handed the bottle to Teal’c, grinning, “But the spaceships and ray guns are still cool.”
The larger man smiled and accepted the offering gracefully. He held it up, eyeing the near empty vessel with quiet contemplation. Finally, he announced, “I believe, for the first time in my life, I am drunk.” The relatively small swallow he had would have belied his words, had he not nearly toppled into Daniel as he passed off the bottle.
Jackson pushed him back upright before sinking back into the couch. There was a mouthful of liquor still in the bottle, maybe a little bit more, that made a quiet sloshing sound with every movement. Daniel looked over the rim of his glasses as if examining the room, but Cam knew his gaze was a million miles away. He spoke with the precise tones of someone not wanting to admit they were on their way to being truly and righteously tanked, saying, “Before I pull out the bottle of Abydonian brandy, which has its own ritual of simply drinking until you can’t feel your knees, I have one last, serious admission to make.”
He paused as if to give everyone a moment to ready themselves. Cam used the time to contemplate how not feeling his knees would go right along with not feeling his toes, then regretted it when he realized Daniel was dead serious. Looking to the sky, or in this case the ceiling, Jackson said, “I remember every one.”
“So do I,” Sam sniffed, and Cam found himself nodding along. They had seen so much, met so many people, visited so many places, lost so many things, and yet, he knew he could picture each and every detail of every mission if he tried.
Just as he started to lose himself in that revelation, Vala shook him out of it with a muttered, “If we’re going in that direction again, I want another bottle.” Smiling, he realized he agreed with that sentiment as well.
There was still a long night ahead of them, and the morning was going to come painfully early no matter what time he woke up, but he really could not think of anything else he would rather be doing, or anywhere else he would rather be.
End.
~~~~~~~~~~
Feedback is always welcomed.
Title: Secrets
Genre: SG-1, Team, Gen
Season/Spoilers: Post-Series
Rating: PG-13
Synopsis: A bottle of Abydonian homebrew is put to good use.
Author's Notes: I was debating calling this one "Spin the Bottle" but thought people might get the wrong impression. :)
Disclaimer: I don’t own them, people with a lot of money do. I’m just borrowing them and not making any profit from this.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Seriously, Jackson, you drink this stuff?” Mitchell asked in wonder.
The other man nodded. “I have, I do, and I will continue to do so,” he affirmed. “I had a secret stash that Jack and Sam lovingly protected with their very lives.”
The woman in question guffawed. At the looks she received, she explained, “It took us forever to even find where he hid it. We shared one bottle and hid the rest, planning on taking it out when we saved the world again.”
“So you could have a taste of Daniel with your victory?” Vala assumed.
“Do you mean ‘share a taste of the victory with Daniel’?” Mitchell asked. Sometimes language was still an issue, little things rearranged to have entirely different meanings than originally intended.
A wicked smile spread across her face as she said, “No, not really.”
Daniel blushed and shook his head. The night was just beginning and she was probably just getting warmed up. Mitchell, for one, planned to enjoy the show. “Anyway,” he said, trying to bring the conversation back around again.
“Anyway,” Sam continued as if never interrupted. “Daniel came back and we gave him his stash back, sans the one we drank that night. To make up for the missing bottles, Siler and I worked on a way to distill our own version. We’ve gotten it close, but it’s still not quite as flammable as the original.”
“And it’s the original we’re having tonight?” Mitchell confirmed. He looked around to those who were gathered and thought, of everyone on this planet, they had earned it. Years of hard work had come to fruition, it was about damn time they had a celebration.
The five of them sat in a rough circle in the middle of Daniel’s living room. They had already had dinner, and the current plan involved kicking back, relaxing, and possibly getting very drunk. Sam had claimed an armchair and curled up in it, while Vala had done the same for one end of the couch. Daniel had taken the other end, with Teal’c sitting stately on the floor at his side. He had taken the old rocking chair for himself, but figured if this stuff was as strong as Jackson claimed it was, he’d be on the floor before morning.
Daniel pulled out a rather large bottle of heavy brown glass. The top consisted of some sort of corking mechanism Cam had only seen in drawings, or possibly on some of the less advanced planets. When Jackson opened it, he swore there was a plume of smoke or gas of some kind released, just as a bittersweet smell hit the air. “Alien hooch,” he said in awe.
Daniel smiled, holding the bottle before him and closing his eyes, inhaling what to him had to be a pleasant source of memories. Finally opening his eyes and gazing around the room, his lips quirked up at the edges as he said, “There’s a ritual with this particular libation.”
“Of course there is,” Vala groaned, but she was smiling. If she was anything like Cam, she was probably enjoying this little glimpse into Daniel’s past.
Jackson ignored her, continuing, “The Abydonian saying translates, roughly, as: For every sip we share, we must share something of ourselves.”
“Like a secret?” she guessed, already vibrating in her seat.
“If you wish,” Daniel agreed. “Thoughts and feelings are welcome, but the secrets get to the good stuff,” he added with wink in her direction. He looked around to the others and asked, “Ready?”
Vala clapped her hands together and cracked her knuckles. “Let’s do it!” she enthused.
Daniel looked like he was resisting the urge to roll his eyes at her. Instead, he raised the bottle as if in silent toast and said, “I still miss her.” He paused, swallowing heavily as his eyes stayed fixed on the top of the bottle. After what looked to be a silent prayer on his part, he took a deep draw, wincing only slightly at the strength. He breathed out and, even though he was on the other side of the circle, Cam would have bet money a match would have lit the place down from the proof on his breath alone.
Jackson handed the bottle to Vala, who hefted it with both hands. She held it just under her nose with a smile. Looking up, she announced, “I stole Daniel’s credit card to make online purchases.”
She lifted it to her lips, but stopped as Sam scoffed, “Tell us something we don’t know.”
Vala winked at her and said, “I might have used your’s as well?” Sam opened her mouth to protest, but the thief stopped her with, “Okay, for a more serious revelation... I’ve had this before, on the sands of Abydos.” She turned to Daniel in all sincerity and said, “They were a good people.”
“Yes, they were,” he agreed, taking a steadying breath. Cam thought that, if he could, Jackson would have grabbed the bottle back for a moment and taken another sip or five. Instead, the other man simply leaned back against the couch cushions and closed his eyes.
She took a swig, swallowing it with a sigh. “Damn I missed this stuff,” she whispered, handing the bottle over to Sam.
Carter took the bottle one-handed, looking down at it with fond memories. “There was a time when I thought, if I could just drink enough of this, you’d come to my room and sing me to sleep again,” she said with a soft grin, eyeing a smirking archeologist.
“He sings?” Mitchell teased.
“Only when at least one of us is high,” Daniel confessed, opening his eyes to wink at her.
Sam laughed, refusing to comment. Steeling herself, she took a fair sized guzzle before handing it over to Mitchell.
Cam held the bottle in his hands, examining the worn glass, etched with sand from a planet that no longer existed. He thought of all the things he could say, all the things he should say. He was tempted to declare that he wished he had seen the planet it came from, knew they would accept that and move on, but it was a lie. This was about truths, about secrets, and he had plenty of those.
He rolled the bottle between his palms, looking up at the people around him. “When I was shot down, there was a part of me that wished they had finished the job. In rehab, I swore they should have. Now, I’m kinda glad they didn’t.” He took his sip without looking anyone in the eye, bowed his head as he felt the liquor burn a path down his gullet. Somehow it managed to be sweet, savory, and strong, all at the same time. He could definitely see the attraction. He also could see they would all know he was stalling if he took much longer. Gathering his courage, he glanced up as he handed the bottle off to Teal’c, and saw not pity, but only understanding in those eyes.
Cam watched the larger man hold the bottle, more than a little confused as to why he did not just pass it on. From what he’d heard and what he’d read the Jaffa, particularly Teal’c, did not consume alcoholic beverages. Then again, after the way the galaxy changed over the last few years, who the hell knew what was what anymore?
Teal’c turned to Daniel, and a look of understanding passed between them. Cam glanced over to Sam and saw even she was watching the exchange intently. Finally, Teal’c spoke. “I drink to honor the woman whose life I took. I would do it again.” The sip he took was tiny, but no less significant.
Daniel accepted the bottle back solemnly, letting his hand linger on his friend’s for just a moment, before releasing it. He looked to the ceiling for a moment, eyes batting against moisture Mitchell pointedly ignored. When he fortified himself enough to speak, he admitted, “I wanted Shifu to be mine.” He took his drink and passed it on to Vala.
She studied him for a moment, and then studied the bottle. She looked around the room and nodded, as if reaching a decision. “I was with child when chosen to be host. Qetesh made certain I was aware enough to say goodbye.” She took her swallow, and handed the bottle to Sam, who smiled weakly at her, patting her wrist before pulling the vessel into her lap. Cam knew what the admission cost her, and finally had a bit better idea why the whole Adria debacle meant so much.
Sam cleared her throat, drawing his attention. “Sometimes, I can’t tell which are my memories, and which are Jolinar’s. Sometimes I don’t care as long as it saves the day,” she confessed. Before she lifted the bottle to her lips, she added, “She should get credit too.”
Cam hefted the bottle when offered, surprised there was so much left given how many sips had already been taken. Staring down the neck at the liquid inside, he admitted wryly, “I almost joined the Navy instead. There were times during this fight that I really wish I had.”
Vala snorted while he drank. “With your luck, the Ori would have found a way to attack by sea,” she mused. He forced a chuckle at that, knowing she was probably not wrong, and passed on the bottle.
Teal’c held it in one hand like some sort of reward or standard gained in victory. Thinking about it, Cam realized it was not far off. “Jaffa do not consume anything that can alter their focus as they are to be a warrior first, never knowing when or where their next battle lay,” he intoned. He took his second sip, this one a bit larger than the previous one, and looked around the room at his friends and teammates. “I believe I have seen enough battles to last me quite some time.”
“Hell yeah,” Mitchell agreed, earning nods and murmurings of accord from the others.
It was Daniel’s turn again. He took the bottle, the corners of his lips slanted into a bittersweet smile. “I still have Jack on speed dial,” he admitted.
“You too?” Sam asked, making him chuckle and nearly choke as he swallowed wrong. He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth, mock glaring in her general direction.
Vala patted him on the back, perhaps a bit harder than necessary, and took the bottle from his hands. Mitchell expected something playful in the spirit of Jackson’s latest revelation. Instead, she looked each and every one of them in the eyes before declaring, “I have killed many people in the course of this victory. I regret only one.”
Carter took the container from her, balancing it on her knee as she traced one of the deeper grooves with a blunt fingernail. She stopped herself, wrapping both hands around the glass. When she spoke, it was quiet, not much more than a whisper. “When I think of how many people we lost, I wonder if it was worth it. Then I realize they gave their lives to make sure it was.” She held up the bottle in a silent toast, and took her drink.
Cam accepted the bottle when she finished, debating what to say. His friends and teammates were revealing their secrets, and it felt like he was fighting with himself to be able to do the same. He had to admit though, the Abydonian liquor really made everything float to the surface, and it was only his own sense of repression that was fighting to keep the things he deemed personal private.
There were other things floating now, like the corners of the room, so he figured what the hell and went with it. “I wanted to be a part of this so badly, but I never realized what it really meant.” He took a swig and passed it on to Teal’c.
Teal’c took it with a nod, proclaiming, “I have debated dying my hair.” He took a sip as the rest of the team looked on in surprise. He simply raised an eyebrow and deadpanned, “I believed the mood was approaching too maudlin for our celebratory needs.”
Daniel grabbed the bottle away while laughing, “Give me that!” He swished around the contents, getting a feel for how much was left. “A stupid, beat up copy of Budge got me through one of my first linguistic classes,” he admitted, taking a swill.
He lifted the bottle as if to take another drink, but Vala grabbed it away from him. “Hey! No freebies!” she protested, pulling it up against her chest and wobbling slightly in the process. Cam no longer felt bad about feeling tipsy at this point. He watched as Vala crinkled her forehead as if in deep thought and announced, “I have a secret.”
The bottle wavered near her lips and, for a moment, Mitchell thought that was all she was going to share. Then, with an evil smile, she said, “I ordered that awful Woolsey man a stripper from his birthday.” She made a noise that was halfway between a giggle and a breath, edging the bottle even closer. “And I had him signed, ‘With love, from the SGC.’” She took her drink and handed the bottle off to Sam, snickering, “According to General O’Neill, he was in the middle of a meeting at the time.”
Carter barely caught the bottle, as Daniel laughed, “I’ve have to call Jack and tell him you’re the one he owes a dinner!”
Sam recovered, lolling her head against the back of the chair for a moment before lifting it with what appeared to be extreme effort. When she spoke though, there was no hint of a slur, proving to Cam that she was Air Force, through and through. “I almost said yes to McKay,” she admitted, taking a fair sized gulp. Off the looks she received, she defended herself with, “What? It was in a different reality! Who was going to know?”
Mitchell stretched across to accept his next dose of the liquor, surprising himself when he managed to find his chair again, and not the floor. Teal’c pushing him backwards might have helped though. As he let the chair gently rock him back and forth, watching the light from the lamp ebb and flow with the movement, he declared, “I have learned, over the past couple of years, that this whole being a hero thing is overrated.” He took his drink and sighed, no longer feeling the burn, only the warmth that spread from the tips of his toes to what he swore was the ends of his hair. He handed the bottle to Teal’c, grinning, “But the spaceships and ray guns are still cool.”
The larger man smiled and accepted the offering gracefully. He held it up, eyeing the near empty vessel with quiet contemplation. Finally, he announced, “I believe, for the first time in my life, I am drunk.” The relatively small swallow he had would have belied his words, had he not nearly toppled into Daniel as he passed off the bottle.
Jackson pushed him back upright before sinking back into the couch. There was a mouthful of liquor still in the bottle, maybe a little bit more, that made a quiet sloshing sound with every movement. Daniel looked over the rim of his glasses as if examining the room, but Cam knew his gaze was a million miles away. He spoke with the precise tones of someone not wanting to admit they were on their way to being truly and righteously tanked, saying, “Before I pull out the bottle of Abydonian brandy, which has its own ritual of simply drinking until you can’t feel your knees, I have one last, serious admission to make.”
He paused as if to give everyone a moment to ready themselves. Cam used the time to contemplate how not feeling his knees would go right along with not feeling his toes, then regretted it when he realized Daniel was dead serious. Looking to the sky, or in this case the ceiling, Jackson said, “I remember every one.”
“So do I,” Sam sniffed, and Cam found himself nodding along. They had seen so much, met so many people, visited so many places, lost so many things, and yet, he knew he could picture each and every detail of every mission if he tried.
Just as he started to lose himself in that revelation, Vala shook him out of it with a muttered, “If we’re going in that direction again, I want another bottle.” Smiling, he realized he agreed with that sentiment as well.
There was still a long night ahead of them, and the morning was going to come painfully early no matter what time he woke up, but he really could not think of anything else he would rather be doing, or anywhere else he would rather be.
End.
~~~~~~~~~~
Feedback is always welcomed.
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- me
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I've had this in my to-read file for a while now, and I was just about to go to bed when I decided to read one more story. I'm glad I did. Thanks for sharing this one.
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Thanks for reading!