Title: The Beginning at the End

[archae-ology.livejournal.com]

Title: The Beginning at the End
Author: archae_ology
Summary: Even after Jack retires, they're still a team. They're family.
Word Count: 1160
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply as I own NOTHING.
Written For: stagnation13
Prompt:
Two (2) Requirements:
1. established relationship
2. "I'm happiest when I hold you."
Notes: Internet outages, a virus, and a hospital stay seemed to all pile up against me, but in the end I won! *grins* Huge thanks to kyrdwyn for all the encouragement and betaing and just generally being awesome.



Team night took on a new meaning once Jack finally retired from Washington. Even though he technically was no longer a member of the team they still included him in their monthly ritual. He was grateful for this, and he knew that Daniel was as well. It had been hard being apart from each other for so long, but now the time and effort they put into their relationship made it all seem very much worth it.

Making their relationship public had also been a lot easier than either of them had anticipated. Teal'c and Sam had known of their involvement for several years, and while Cameron and Vala were new to the team, they had taken the revelation in stride, and as Vala had made clear, it wasn't exactly a surprise. It was comforting in many ways, knowing that they were accepted so freely by those whom they had hidden their relationship from for so long.

It had been a long day, and even though all members of SG-1 were clearly exhausted they still decided to go ahead with their team night. A movie and some beer wasn't exactly tiring, and beside, Jack was manning the grill so by the time they finally got away from the mountain their food was going to be ready. Daniel had made sure of that.

Dinner had gone smoothly, and once they had finished eating all six of them had settled into the various sofas and chairs around Sam's living room for coffee and some movie that was on the television. It was an older one. James Spader or something or other. For the most part, they all managed to stay aware and awake, but Daniel began to drift without realizing it not long into the movie. Jack, however, noticed his lover's flagging energy and when he finally dozed off, he couldn't find the heart to wake him up. In the end, he knew he would have to move Daniel, but he was saved from the task when the slumbering man startled himself away with a snort.

Letting out a small laugh, Jack slid his arm behind Daniel's shoulders. “You’re tired,” Smiling softly, he squeezed Daniel’s shoulder.

“’m not.” Protesting, Daniel looked up at Jack, eyes blurry. “Just resting my eyes.”

Raising an eyebrow, Teal’c eyed Daniel pointedly. “You were not simply resting your eyes, Daniel Jackson. You were snoring.”

Opening his eyes to glare at Teal’c, Daniel resisted the childish urge to stick out his tongue. He was almost forty for god’s sake. "Shut up." Jamming his hand under the couch cushion, he was unprepared for the solid object that met his fingers with a great deal of force. Yanking his hand back, he glared at his now red fingertips and the small paper cuts that lined the very tips.

"What the hell was that?" He muttered to himself, reaching back under the cushion, this time being more cautious, to find what he had jammed his hand into. Judging by the size, he though, it was probably a book, and when he finally pulled it out, he discovered that it was.

"Um, Sam? Hiding something?" Holding up the book, Daniel dangled it from two fingers.

Sam turned red as she realized what he was holding up. "No. Not hiding anything at all. Now hand it over."

Snatching the book from Daniel’s fingers before he could hand it over to Carter, Jack laughed as he saw the cover. “Romance novels, Carter? Really?”

Mouth opening and closing a few times before anything came out, Sam’s face turned a very interesting shade of red.

Cameron smirked as he walked out of the kitchen, beers in hand. Sliding one over to Vala, he dropped down beside her on the second sofa. “This is gonna be good,” he murmured, leaning into her.

She nodded. "I have heard many things about these romance novels, and I would not have expected Samantha to read them." Grinning, she took a long swallow from her beer.

Lunging forward, Sam attempted to grab the book from Jack's hands, but he was up and across the room before she could get there.

"Not so bad for a retired general, hmm?" Jack grinned before tossing the book over to Cameron.

"Oh Carlos," Cameron cried out in a cracking falsetto. "I'm happiest when I hold you. Now make love to me!"

"Oh come on now," Sam protested, edging toward Cameron. "It's just a book."

Letting out a short laugh, Cameron closed the book and threw to Teal'c. "You don't get out of this that easy, Carter."

Opening the book once more, Teal'c scanned over the page, a small smile quirking up the corners of his mouth. "Indeed." He finally remarked, raising an eyebrow as he finally took pity on the other woman.

As their laughter died down, Daniel realized just how tired he really was and he felt himself sag against Jack once more. Looking up at him, he let out a soft sigh. "You were right." He admitted.

"Alrighty. Come on then, Danny. Home." Standing up, Jack stretched and held out a hand for Daniel.

Taking the help offered gratefully, Daniel stood slowly, feeling his knees crack as he straighted up. Turning back to Sam, he offered her a bright smile before giving her a quick hug. "Thanks, Sam," he murmured as he pulled away.

"No, thank you guys. We wouldn't have had any sort of gathering tonight if the General hadn't stepped in and taken over the grill." Sam turned to Jack and pulled him into a brief hug. "Thank you again, sir."

"Not a problem, Carter. Just glad to be of service." Jack offered her a small bow. "Now, we're gonna go now. Have a good night guys."

"Night, General." Cameron raised his beer in a salute as Vala wriggled her fingers in their direction.

"Sleep well, boys." She grinned, watching as Jack gathered up their coats before heading for the door.

Daniel flushed slightly as he followed after Jack, knowing what she was inferring, but he couldn't fault her. It was Vala, and nothing would change that. Ever. "Good night, Vala," he called over his shoulder.

Once they were outside, Daniel leaned into Jack as they headed for his truck. "That was nice." He remarked quietly, attempting not to disturb the silence too much.

"It was." Jack agreed, pressing the auto lock once they drew closer to the vehicle. "We certainly have one hell of a group of friends."

"You'll get no argument from me," Daniel smiled, separating from Jack to walk around to the passenger side of the car. "Though I will say that we are damn lucky to have them."

Jack nodded in agreement. "We really are." Starting the car without any further comment, Jack began to back out of the driveway.

"Home." Daniel sighed tiredly, resting his head against the back of the seat. Turning to face Jack, he offered him a contented smile.

"Home it is."

Comments

[lilyleia78]

Go you! Show RL who's boss!

This was very sweet and funny. Great use of both teams and lovely inclusion of team as family.

[archae-ology.livejournal.com]

I vill always win against RL. I will smite it with my reality smiting powers, damnit.

And thank you. I'm happy you enjoyed that aspect of the fic, it really was a lot of fun to write.