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Title: Barista 39 -- Recourse
Author's Notes: There really isn't too much I can say here without giving the plot away. I will tell you this much - remember Breakfast at IHOPs and how I experimented with writing the story from Jack's POV? Or the series of letters I had Daniel and Kira write back and forth to one another in Letters From Egypt? Well, this story is like those. Only different. You wouldn't want me to become stale now, would you?. This story will not be written from either Kira's or SG-1's POV. Instead, I'm going to play story-writer and attempt a third person POV Barista story. There are limitations to writing from the third person POV (IMHO), as you won't be able to "see" as much of each of the characters as you are used to -- what each character is really thinking/feeling. Hopefully, you won't find it too disconcerting, and, dare I say -- enjoyable! The jarring sound of a $3.99 alarm clock woke Daniel from a very odd dream. Something about world domination.? "I'll pay you to get a new alarm clock," a voice said sleepily, grabbing hold of Daniel's pillow and covering her face; she hated mornings. "You say that every morning," Daniel replied, setting the alarm to snooze and freeing his pillow from his companion's face. She scowled and flopped an arm across her eyes - she wasn't quite ready to face the sunlight. "I'm not here every morning." "You're here most mornings," Daniel countered pulling the warm, supple body towards him. She had worn a dark blue silk slip to bed the night before and Daniel loved the way it draped across her hips. He ran a hand through her thick mass of dark curls, and began to nuzzle her neck, savoring her scent. "Dan - iel!" she squealed, as his nose hit a particularly sensitive area. He liked the way she squirmed beneath him and made a mental note to remember that spot. "What?" Daniel asked innocently, giving her neck tiny little butterfly kisses. He could feel her ineffective attempts to break free and savored the way her silky legs brushed up against his. He had yet to see her face, but Daniel was nothing if not patient. "Stop that," she murmured, turning her neck ever so slightly to grant Daniel better access. "Stop what?" Daniel whispered into her ear. The shiver that ran through her had nothing to do with the cold. "You have to be at work in an hour," she whispered, pulling her arm away from her eyes. Daniel's sky-blue eyes gazed back at her heatedly. "I could be a little late." Daniel said leaning down and giving her a bruising, heart-felt kiss. She moaned softly against him and felt Daniel's smile. Damn the man and his kissing finesse! "I have work in an hour," she attempted half-heartedly. She knew the battle was already lost.. "I'll write you a note." Forty-two minutes later the sound of the alarm was heard again. Daniel reached over and slapped it quiet. "Maybe I do need a new alarm clock," he admitted. "Told you so," Kira replied as she rolled over her slightly sweaty lover and pulled the digital clock closer to her face. 6:42 AM. "You need new contacts,' Daniel said trying not to be aroused (again) at the site of a very beautiful and naked young woman lying across his lap. "Look who's talking," Kira countered giving Daniel a knowing look from across her shoulder. She had been trying for months to get him new eyewear. Daniel's glasses had to be nearly ten years old by now! "I've had them updated!" Daniel replied hotly. "Only the prescription, Daniel," Kira replied, flopping back onto the bed. "I think it's time you took the plunge and got new frames." "I thought you liked my glasses." "Daniel, you could be wearing black, horn-rimmed plastic monstrosities, and I would still think you're the sexiest man on Earth." It was true. She had known Daniel for nearly six years and had seen him at his very best and very worst - he was pretty damn easy on the eyes no matter what he wore. "I knew I kept you around for a reason," Daniel said leaning over and giving Kira a chaste kiss before sitting up and swinging his feet down to the ground. "And here I thought it was for my coffee grinding ability," Kira replied with a smile, as she sat up and hugged Daniel from behind. "You know I could make a really crass comment from that." Daniel began, savoring the feel of Kira's body against his back. "Just for that you can make your own coffee this morning," Kira said laughing, as she grabbed the clothes she had already laid out the night before and headed towards the bathroom to shower. As she shut the door behind her, Daniel heard her shout, "And no coming in after me!" "Whoa!" Daniel gasped aloud as he instantly awoke back in the infirmary. "What the hell was that all about?" He could still remember how he felt having Kira behind him. How he felt kissing her. But that was impossible, right? I mean, she was just his friend - the woman he occasionally mentored and got his coffee from. Right? He knew this was so and yet the vivid rightness of what he remembered. "Dreams release burdens of pain," Shifu stated, appearing from nowhere. "Shifu?" Daniel asked, looking at the serene young man before him. Shifu nodded in acknowledgement. "I'm really confused here." He definitely was in the SGC's infirmary, but where were all the doctors and nurses? Where was Jack? And what the heck was that dream/vision of Kira all about? Daniel blushed as his body unwittingly let him know how much it had appreciated the dream. "Lessons were learned, but pain remained." Daniel felt a headache coming on and really wished Shifu would just speak plain English. Humorlessly, Daniel realized that Jack probably felt the same way about him. "That dream was anything but painful..," Daniel began. Shifu held up a hand and suddenly Daniel remembered. He remembered everything. "Don't you think it was strange you got through security with a loaded gun?" Daniel asked looking with disdain at his former friend. "A little," Jack replied in a resigned voice as he looked at his gun. He never really believed he would get the gun through security, but then again, he never imagined he would ever even contemplate using it on his best friend. "You never were that bright." Daniel's contemptuous reply cut through Jack more painfully than any knife ever could. "No." In a perfect world, it would be Carter standing here next to Daniel. If anyone could give Daniel a run for his money in the smarts department, it was Sam Carter. But then again, it was somehow fitting in a macabre sort of way that it came down to him and Daniel. It always came down to them. Jack watched as several of the space weapons turned and focused their attention on one target. "Daniel, think about one thing before you do this," Jack tried desperately. This had to be a bad dream - there was just no way Daniel Jackson was contemplating blowing up a city. "We never proved that kid was a Harcesis." Jack was grasping at straws and he knew it. "What are you talking about?" Daniel asked absently, as he focused the majority of his attention on the screens in front of him. Jack O'Neill just wasn't worth his time. "Everything he put in your head!" Jack argued vehemently. "The Goa'uld have used mind control before." "You think this is some elaborate Goa'uld plot to get me to destroy the world?" Daniel took a moment to contemplate the notion. "We've seen them use kids, too." Hell, they had seen the Goa'uld use every dirty trick in the book. "They used Shifu to put a bunch of stuff into my head in order to get me to build the weapons, only to eventually turn them on Earth?" If Daniel didn't have other things on his mind, he might have considered the concept amusing. "It's possible." Jack didn't really believe it and pretty certain Daniel didn't either. "There's only one flaw in that theory," Daniel replied arrogantly. "You're assuming this is not what I wanted all along." Giving a signal, Daniel told his controller to fire when ready. "Don't," Jack tried one last time. "Don't." With no weapon capable of stopping Daniel, Jack knew his words were useless - he was useless. "System is firing," the controller reported. Jack watched in horror as the energy flowed out of the satellite weapon and surgically fired, destroying Moscow. Jack and Daniel locked gazes; one in shock and despair and the other with conceit and pride. Now that Moscow was out of the way, it was time to take care of Jack O'Neill. "Oh my God," Daniel choked, as the full memory of the Goa'uld knowledge came crashing back to him. He scrunched his eyes tightly trying to stop the assaulting images. Not the actual Goa'uld knowledge (thank God), but the memory of what he did. The evil he had become. "You asked for the knowledge," Shifu explained. "That was the knowledge?" Daniel repeated becoming more and more agitated. "I became a Goa'uld! I was evil!" "This is the path that must be taken. Here lies the answer for the knowledge you seek." "I blew up a city and was about to kill my best friend!" Daniel cried angrily. Suddenly the urge to become physically Ill was overpowering. Daniel threw off his covers, but before he could stumble out of bed towards the bathroom, he remembered Kira. He remembered how he felt being with her. He remembered her caresses and kisses. The urge to be sick faded as the memory of her smile and laughter soothed his embittered psyche. "He who has knowledge without learning has wings but no feet." "You gave me the memory of the knowledge of the Goa'uld to show how it might corrupt." "Power corrupts," Shifu replied sagely. "Power corrupts," Daniel agreed. The lesson had been learned. "But why Kira?" he asked. This question made Shifu smile slightly. "Pleasant dreams temper realities of the waking mind." "But Kira?" Daniel asked. "She and I aren't even romantically involved!" Even as he protested, Daniel realized the ridiculousness of the situation. He was complaining about what really was a very nice dream, a dream given to him by a boy who appeared to be no older than ten. "Your mind contained many images of women, including my mother." "I would have preferred Sha're," Daniel replied honestly. "Many images of beautiful women," Shifu continued. "But all had caused you pain and suffering." "Not all." Daniel protested. No, maybe not all, but he had to admit his track record for the last four years wasn't so hot. "Dreams can both teach and comfort," Shifu explained. "Lessons were learned, comfort was needed." Daniel mulled Shifu's words over. It was true that he was much calmer (for lack of a better word) with the horror that he experienced with the Goa'uld knowledge. He didn't doubt Shifu that some of this might be a result from vision number two. He just wished it hadn't been Kira. "You couldn't have chosen Sam?" He asked aloud. Instantly he regretted the outburst. Oh heavens, what was he thinking? No, no! Sam wouldn't have worked either. Still, he felt a little like a dirty old man having had that dream with Kira. He had never thought of her in that way. Ever. "Oma teaches that the true nature of a man is determined in the battle between his conscious mind and his subconscious and that the evil in my subconscious is too strong to resist. The only way to win is to deny it battle." Shifu gave Daniel another small nod and vanished. Daniel blinked and found himself back in the infirmary. Only this time he was surrounded by doctors and nurses. Jack was antsy. One minute Shifu was strapped to that horrible Zanex machine, and the next, Daniel was standing there telling everyone that the kid was right - the knowledge of the Harcesis can't be shared and Shifu needed to be allowed to go home. Jack was okay with that. What he wasn't okay with was Daniel. "Can you tell me why you feel the need to leave the mountain for a cup of coffee?" Jack asked, as he sat next to Daniel in the locker room. After Shifu had done his glowy-light thing, Daniel had been adamant about needing to head to Victor's. He wouldn't explain why he needed to get off base, but he insisted on going. Fraiser wouldn't let him go without an escort (there was that pesky matter of being coma-like for nearly six hours), so Jack volunteered to escort Daniel to wherever he needed to go. And apparently it was for a cup of coffee. "I prefer the coffee," Daniel said as he finished tying his shoes. He grabbed a jacket and without giving Jack a backwards glance, headed out the door. Jack sighed and followed his friend to the elevator. "So tell me more about these dreams the kid gave you," Jack tried after waiting a respectable ten seconds. He never was too good with silences. "I'd rather not," Daniel replied staring straight ahead. Jack sighed and shook him head. If there was one thing he had learned from hanging around Daniel these last four plus years, it was that he couldn't be bullied into talking. This was a great trait to have when interrogated, but pretty lousy if you were his friend and needed answers. Daniel would tell him about it when he was ready. Silently they got into Jack's truck and drove into Colorado Springs. It had snowed the night before and everything was covered in four inches of fresh powder. Daniel stared out the window wondering just what the hell he was doing. It had just seemed so right to head into town and see Kira, but now he wasn't so sure. What was the point? It was a dream. A dream Kira (hopefully) hadn't shared. The whole thing was just nuts... "We're here," Jack said parking just down the street from the shop. He looked over at Daniel and wondered what he was thinking. "You all right?" "Not really," Daniel said shrugging. "We can just head back to my place if you want. Watch a hockey game or something..." That actually sounded pretty good to Daniel, but he felt ridiculous having had Jack drive all this way (he lived on the opposite side of town) only to turn around. "As long as we're here..." Sighing, Daniel got out of the car. He was just so confused! "Good Morning Dr. Jackson, Colonel Jack," Stefan greeted the pair as they walked through the front door. "How are you doing on this fine Wednesday morning?" For a moment Daniel appeared confused (where was Kira?), but he quickly schooled his features. "Hi Stefan," Daniel replied absently, looking around the shop. "Kira around?" "Nope!" Stefan said giving Daniel a big grin. "But its Wednesday," Daniel began. He suddenly turned towards Jack. "It is Wednesday, isn't it?" he asked in a lowered voice. "Last I checked," Jack confirmed, glancing at his watch. The question really wasn't all that silly. Between gate lag and the assorted comings and goings at the SGC, it was really tough keeping track of what day of the week it was. On earth anyhow. "Kira always works Wednesday mornings," Daniel explained, feeling a little more confident that he at least got the day of the week right. "Not this Wednesday," Stefan said with a leer. He was just dying to tell someone, and although he seriously doubted Kira would approve, Dr. Yummy and Colonel Sumptuous here were going to be the first to learn. "Explain," Jack said stepping in. "Well," Stefan began, walking around the counter. "Last night Kira came into the shop right as I was closing up." "So?" Daniel asked. "SO.She appeared flustered and rather coy and wanted to know if I would take her opening shift tomorrow." He flashed Daniel and Jack a grin. "I told her no way." Before either Jack or Daniel could ask for more information, Stefan continued. "She then took me aside and explained that something had come up and she wouldn't be able to make it in tomorrow. She really needed me to fill in for her." "What had come up?" Daniel asked. Stefan was just bursting to explain. "I'm getting to that," he said waving his hands impatiently. "She looked flustered and rumpled and just not Kira like, ya know? I wanted to know why. Well.." He looked around the store to make sure no one was listening. "She met a guy," Stefan announced. "A guy?" This was from Jack. He was always suspicious of 'guys' and young girls. Oh, he knew Kira was a woman over the age of consent, but that didn't make him any less suspicious. "Yep!" Stefan declared jubilantly. "A guy. And apparently this guy was taking her to Denver for dinner. "Denver?" Daniel asked. "But that's nearly two hours away!" "Uh huh," Stefan said wiggling his eyebrows up and down. "She didn't think she'd be back in time for her morning shift." "Really?" Jack asked, sounding a little concerned. "Yep." Stefan looks around the room again. "And she was humming." "Humming?" Daniel asked. "Yep." "Do you know anything about the guy?" Jack asked. "Oh, he's not an axe-wielding rapist if that's what you're worried about," Stefan assured them. "We've know Kyle for years - he's a good guy." "Kyle?" Daniel asked. He'd never heard Kira mention a 'Kyle'. But then again, it wasn't like they talked about their personal lives that much. "So she's not here," Jack concluded. He had no idea why Daniel needed to see Kira so badly (he had already figured it out the trip over was not for coffee), but for whatever reason, he did. However, she wasn't here and Jack didn't know what Daniel was thinking. "She's with a boyfriend," Daniel said, sounding to Jack, rather relieved. "Glad someone's getting some.." Stefan said forlornly. He'd broken up with his last boyfriend the month before and was feeling particularly down about the whole thing. "So what did you need to see Kira about?" Stefan asked. "Um.I had an idea for a paper she might want to do," Daniel replied. Everyone knew he was lying. "Uh huh." Stefan wondered what Daniel really wanted. He'd have to mention this to Kira when she returned. "Coffee?" "I think we'll take a raincheck," Jack answered, glancing at Daniel and deciding he needed to take his friend home. Daniel didn't look like he was entirely tracking the conversation at the moment. "Sure," Stefan said. He headed back to the counter. "You ready to go, Daniel?" Jack asked "What?" Daniel asked looking up at Jack. He had been entirely in his own universe. "Let's blow this pop stand and rent a couple of movies." "Yeah, that sounds good." They walked to the door in comfortable silence. Daniel was now abjectly glad Kira hadn't been around, and Jack was just happy that Daniel seemed to be snapping back to his usual self. "Humming?" Daniel asked, as they walked out of the store. "New boyfriends are always hum-worthy," Jack explained sagely. More Author's Notes: Please let me know what you thought of this one - I recognize that I totally went out on a limb here. But, after re-watching the episode, I just thought that it was odd the way Daniel was so calm after seeing himself obliterate a major city. I needed a reason why. And me, being me, I made a reason why! Please review. Thanks to Jeanne, Kath, Liz and Louise for their help on this one. And a special thank you to Tere for pointing out something in an earlier version of this story that really needed to be explained. Also to worldofquotes.com for the Chinese and Latin proverbs that I gratuitously borrowed for Shifu, and StargateWiki for the transcript help. Completed February 27, 2005 |