Memories In Miami
by Belladonna
URL: http://www.area52hkh.net/asb/belladonna/memories.php
Summary: An off the wall explanation of how Daniel Jackson would be in Miami
"Mr. Stets, you're free to go," Horatio said, undoing the younger man's handcuffs.
Doug looked at him in confusion. "You found the killer? Who was it?"
Horatio Caine sighed and rubbed the back of his neck before looking back into Doug's blue eyes. "I took Valerie into custody for the murder of Jeff Colson."
"Valerie?" Doug's voice rose in shock. "No, no way. It wasn't her. She would ~never~ hurt a fly."
"Doug," Horatio cut through the protestations sharply. "She's confessed."
"Then she lied. It wasn't her, it was me. I killed the bastard, he deserved it," Doug said firmly, his body nervously quivering. He couldn't let her go to prison, not like this. Not Valerie.
Ignoring the fake confession, Horatio clasped Doug's shoulder and shook him gently. "That's enough, Doug. It's over."
Doug shivered, his eyes tearing up. "I should've killed him, for what he did to Valerie, that way she wouldn't have..." he trailed off, his voice gone. He had the training. He could've done it, could've made it look like an accident. Should've, could've, would've?
"No! Murder is not the answer." Horatio kept a comforting hand on him, watching the landscape architect as he tried to pull himself together.
"Is she okay? Can I see her?"
"Give it a few minutes."
Valerie looked up as Doug came in and her eyes watered. He'd lost so much, and he'd been so faithful to her, six years of devotion that had helped her and made her stronger.
The orange jumpsuit made Valerie look sallow, Doug thought irrelevantly as he strode over and wrapped her in his arms. "Ohgod, I'm so sorry."
She sighed and relaxed into his embrace. "It's not your fault. I had to take back my life, I knew what the consequences would be."
"You should have told me," he whispered. "I would've taken you away somewhere."
Valerie smiled up at him, he'd been there through thick and thin for her and was even willing to break the law for her. It was time to let go. "Doug, I need you to do something for me."
His blue eyes were serious as Doug agreed. "Anything, Val."
"Go on with your life. Leave me here, don't write, don't visit, and don't call. Find a nice girl," she dimpled at him, "or guy, and be happy."
Doug stared at her in consternation. "I want to help you through this!"
Valerie cupped his face in her hands. "You've stood by me for six years. It's enough. I have to do this myself," the door opening behind him made Doug stiffen and she kissed him gently.
"Ms. Naff?"
She nodded and stepped away, accepting the cuffs. As she was escorted through the door, she glanced back one last time. "Good-bye, Doug."
Doug's thoughts as she said those words made him think about the first time he'd seen her. He'd just moved to Miami, changing his whole world. He'd been at the beach, the sky had been gray and the wind had whipped around him as he stared at the sullen ocean, and he'd fallen in love with it.
As he'd stood on the sand he'd noticed a pretty woman with dark hair flying around her face, come stand on the sand about a hundred yards away from him. As he watched, she'd toed off her shoes and walked into the water, her face blank, and he'd suddenly realized she was about to commit suicide.
"Hey!" he'd shouted, but had been ignored. Roughly removing his tennis shoes and socks he'd raced into the surf and to her side. "Um, whatcha doin'?" he'd asked and she'd jumped in surprise to find that she wasn't alone.
Doug had held out his hand, smiling his most charming smile. "I'm D-Doug. Pleased to meet you, and you are?" the surf was slapping water onto their chests and it was colder than he expected.
But his presence seemed to have snapped her out of her trance, because she'd smiled back wanly and shook his hand. "I'm Valerie."
Doug had grinned at her. "We seem to be getting wet. How about I buy you some coffee?"
Valerie had looked around and awareness had seeped back into her, she'd shivered violently as a spray of salt water broke over them. "I'd love some coffee." And that had been the beginning of their relationship.
He'd known that she'd had some kind of horrible trauma in her life, and it had taken almost three months before she'd opened up to him about the rape. Doug, in turn, had told her about the losses of his parents and his wife, and his latest loss of his second family and the person he'd loved more than life. They'd talked for hours, becoming each others confidants. They hadn't started dating for another year, and sex had taken yet another year. And now it was over, and he was at sea.
"Doug?"
Doug blinked away the memories, focusing on the red headed Lieutenant. The not quite handsome man reminded him of someone he'd known, the same air of command and compassion. "Am I going to be charged?"
Horatio shook his head. "You and Mr. Colson fought; I can't prove it was assault. And I don't think Valerie needs to hear about you going to jail for trying to protect her."
"She told me she didn't want me to be there for her. To live my own life," Doug looked at Horatio, his eyes bewildered. "How can I help her if she won't let me?"
"I promised Valerie that I'd help her," Horatio said calmly. "I'll keep you informed on the progress of her case, alright?"
Sighing heavily, and knowing he had to respect her wishes, Doug nodded. "Thank you, Lieutenant Caine."
**
It was months later, and Doug was coping. His landscaping business was extremely successful; to the point he'd left his foreman in charge and was playing hooky after testifying at Valerie's sentencing. She'd plead guilty, and he'd been called in to testify as to her state of mind on the day of the murder. It had sucked.
Now he was polishing the brass, the repetitive movement soothing and mindless.
"Mr. Stets."
Startled, Doug looked down at the dock. "Lieutenant," he said. They'd both been at the hearing that day but he hadn't expected a visit. "How are you?"
"I'm good," Horatio said, privately admiring the sight of a shirtless Doug in his cut off blue jean shorts that were snug enough to show off the younger man's considerable package. He flushed slightly as he realized where his thoughts were going. "Permission to come aboard?"
"Granted," Doug said. He quickly went into his cabin and pulled on a t-shirt, then met his guest in the main cabin. The Lieutenant had kept him updated on Valerie's progress. Doug had also had time to figure out he was attracted to the lean redhead, but thought it was kind of tacky to say anything since the man was helping his ex-girlfriend.
Horatio slipped off his sunglasses and glanced around curiously. He noted the authentic antiques in plexiglass cases that were placed on the walls. The floors were teak with what looked like real Persian rugs, the leather couches and chair were high quality but not flashy, and there were books everywhere. He understood Callie's comment about rich landscapers, now. "Nice place."
"Thanks, would you like a beer?"
Eyeing his host, Horatio nodded. "Yes, please."
Doug nodded and went into the galley, returning with two imported beers. He handed one to Horatio, waved a hand towards the couch and collapsed into a chair. "How was Valerie?" he'd kept his promise and hadn't spoken to her though it had been tough.
Taking a drink, Horatio leaned back and let his lower back muscles relax somewhat. "She told me to tell you that she's fine. Therapy seems to agree with her."
Leaning forward, Doug set his beer down on the table carefully. "What's going to happen next?"
Horatio looked at him thoughtfully. "I think she's going to be remanded to a mental health facility. Your testimony and mine indicated that she'd been under a lot of emotional stress, and her psychiatrist said she was suffering from PTSD. I don't think they'll keep her in jail."
Doug sighed, then stood and began to pace. "Did she ever tell you how we met?"
"No, she didn't."
"I'd just moved to Miami, and was looking for a place to live. I really love it here, it's so consistently warm." He sighed, staring sightlessly for a moment. "I'd gone to the beach, it was a stormy windy day and I was enjoying the wind and surf, when she came onto the beach, took off her shoes and walked into the water," he looked over at Horatio and saw understanding in the man's hazel eyes.
"You saved her," Horatio said softly.
"I saved her," Doug agreed. "She was like this wounded bird, and I was hurting too, and helping her helped me. I never took advantage of her, and when we finally became lovers I treated her like glass. It's been six years, she was getting better..."
"And then our lab cleared Brian Lexington and brought it all back."
Doug picked up his bottle and threw it violently. It impacted against the teak wall and exploded into a mess of glass and beer.
"Doug!" Horatio said sharply and stood, grabbing the other man by the arm and spinning him around to face him. Passion and anger and grief were in the younger man's eyes, and Horatio felt a surge of adrenaline and arousal. There was a charged moment between the two men, both tense as they stared into each other's eyes, then Doug made an inarticulate sound and yanked Horatio to him and kissed him passionately. Horatio growled low in his throat and kissed back, his tongue tangling with the younger man's and then he was dragged into the bedroom, their clothes were thrown every which way and he let common sense fly to the wind.
*
The sun was beginning its descent when Horatio awoke. Unconsciously clenching his asscheeks made him hiss in a breath as did his memory, and he rolled to his side to see Doug watching him. "Hey, what time is it?"
Doug glanced over his shoulder at the clock. "Almost seven."
The two men lay silently in the bed, not touching. "Well, Lieutenant. This wasn't quite what I expected," Doug said, an undercurrent of wry amusement in his voice.
Horatio snorted. "We fucked each other into the mattress, I think you can call me Horatio."
This sarcastic comment made Doug chuckle quietly. "Horatio. I've been meaning to ask you, were you named after Lord Horatio Nelson or Horatio Alger?"
Rolling to his side, Horatio smirked. "My mother loved literature. I was named after the Horatio in Hamlet and my brother Ray was named after Raymond Chandler."
"How apt. Horatio being what Hamlet could not be, a rational and calm man. And Raymond Chandler, writer of detective stories. Let me guess, your brother is a cop too?" Doug asked.
"Was," Horatio said. He sighed and stretched, "Doug, I had a great time, but this can't go anywhere."
Doug sighed. "I know. Being a cop is rough enough, but a gay cop is professional suicide. Just like the military." That was an interesting parallel, but Horatio only nodded.
"Are you gonna be okay?" he asked instead.
"Yeah," Doug leaned forward and kissed Horatio gently. "Thanks."
**
Jack came in from his morning coffee on the porch and went to boot up his computer. As it was bleeping and blooping he took a shower then poured himself a bowl of cereal before he planted himself in front of the computer screen. His plans were to read his e-mail, play a little Turbo 21 then go chop some wood. Retirement was good, but boring as hell.
As he methodically deleted his spam (he didn't need Viagra, damn it), the subject line of an e-mail caught his eye.
~'When is an Archeologist not an archeologist?'~
"Weird," Jack's finger hovered over the button, debating whether to click on it or not since he didn't recognize the sender, but curiosity got the better of him. The punchline and the accompanying photo with a news article made him gasp.
~ 'Doug Stets testifies for his former girlfriend, Valerie Naff, in the case of the murdered real estate agent and proven rapist, Jeff Colson'.~
"Daniel!"
Daniel had gone missing shortly after Jack had been assigned as Head of Homeworld Security. Jack had known that his best friend was not happy when he'd ixnayed the trip to Atlantis, and he'd heard an earful about him leaving the SGC to go to D.C., but he hadn't realized how unhappy Daniel had been.
He'd loved Daniel for years, but had waited to say something because of being on active duty. He'd had a passing thought that Daniel wouldn't be averse to a relationship, but then the shit had hit the fan when he'd received a phone call from a pissed off newly assigned head of the SGC, Hank Landry. He had called and reported that Daniel had faxed him a resignation letter and disappeared off of the face of the Earth.
Daniel had, the little bastard, cleaned out his accounts, sold his jeep and disappeared with no good-byes. Not to him, or to Sam at Area-51, and not even a note left for Teal'c. They'd been able to trace him to California but from there he'd disappeared. Jack had used every trick and tie at his disposal to try and find Daniel, but after a year at Homeworld Security and no word, he'd lost the heart to continue and he'd retired to Minnesota.
It had been a long 6 years. Six years of not knowing whether Daniel was dead or alive, but now he knew where to find his lost archeologist and Jack was going to knock some sense into him.
**
Doug rattled off some Ukrainian, pointing to the palm tree that was listing to the left. The man grinned and waved a hand, righting the tree so it didn't look drunk. He checked his landscape plans and then began to make the rounds, checking on plantings and landscaping. Something caught his eyes and he went to one of his workers and sighed, loudly, catching the man's attention.
"Manuel, how long have you worked for me?"
Manuel grinned up at his boss. "Dos aņos, Seņor Stets."
"Exactly. And is the mulch supposed to touch the trunk of the tree, Manuel?"
Manuel looked at the tree he'd been working on, then back at the tree he'd just finished and made a face. "No, seņor?"
Doug crossed his arms and scowled. "Why not?"
"Because in the high humidity the bacteria and the insects will damage the tree," Manuel recited as if he'd been learning a school lesson.
"Fix it, Manuel or you're going to be digging the irrigation lines at the next job," Doug threatened mildly and Manuel grinned and began to rearrange the mulch.
The owner of the house came out and praised Doug and his crew, which made Doug beam because he knew his guys were the best. His ability to speak in their native languages since almost all were immigrants and his fair wages made sure that they were a loyal bunch of guys. He'd begun the company when he'd moved to Miami, seeking a way to employ the more unfortunate people in the Miami area. After 6 years it was represented by at least ten nationalities and it made for good public relations.
It was getting later, and the crew was finally finishing up, when one of his Cubanos called out, "White haired gringo behind you, Seņor Stets."
Daniel nodded, "Just a minute," continuing to write when a familiar voice made his blood freeze.
"Hello, Daniel."
Willing himself to stay casual, even while his heart was trying crawl out of his throat, Doug turned to face his worst fear, his past. "My name is Doug. Can I help you?"
Jack tilted his head, watching Daniel continue to play the game. Well fuck that. "Yeah, interesting name. Douglas Daniel Stets. German, right?"
"Yeah, from the Baden area of Germany. It's not a very common name but there are a few families..." Doug began, then visibly stopped himself. Shit. Busted.
Jack snorted. "Oh, you are so busted, Danny boy."
Manuel and Ivan came up on either side of Doug/Daniel, their larger bodies subtly menacing as they stared at Jack. "Is everything okay, Mr. Stets?" Ivan asked, his eyes assessing whether Jack was a threat or not.
Daniel sighed. "Yeah, I'm okay, fellas. This is an old friend of mine, Jack O'Neill. Jack, these are two of my guys, Manuel Fernandez and Ivan Olejnik."
Jack smiled. "Pleased to meet you. He treating you guys well?"
"Mr. Stets is very fair and he treats us very well," Ivan said stoutly, glaring at Jack for even thinking the question.
Daniel hid a smirk. "Back to the trees, guys. Water them well and make sure Jorge marks on the calendar for our visit to check on the plantings."
"Si, Seņor," Manuel said and with a backward warning glance at Jack, went back to his trees.
"Let me guess, you're teaching them all English and other skills so that they can make it in the good old U.S. of A," Jack teased mildly. He'd been pissed as hell, but seeing Daniel alive and well was making his anger disappear like smoke.
"What if I am?" Daniel replied defensively.
"It's not the job you were trained for," Jack pointed out mildly, then he sighed. "Goddamnit, Daniel. We need to talk," he said.
Daniel shrugged. "It's Doug, and we need to finish up this job, we're starting a new house tomorrow. Grab a shovel and help them with the mulching and we can get out of here faster."
Jack sighed, grumbled a bit and rolled his eyes, then grabbed one of the extra shovels out of the back of the truck and went to help with the mulching.
As Jack worked, Daniel avidly checked out his old friend. He could see that Jack's hair was now entirely white, he was brown as a nut and he had even more character lines, but he looked healthy and not stressed. He chuckled lightly as his old friend butchered some Spanish while trying to speak with the other men. As he watched, Jack wielded the shovel expertly as he helped mulch the large garden beds.
Half an hour later Daniel closed the bed of his truck, waving good-bye as his men all headed to their homes. He looked over at Jack who was leaning against his rental car, black streaks all over his khaki pants (oh, they were so gonna be ruined), his lean body tense while his sunglasses hid his expression
"Ready?"
"For six years," Jack replied tartly.
Daniel sighed and got into his truck, driving on autopilot as he headed to the marina. His mind was going in all direction, he wondered how Jack had found him, and wondered why he was even here. It had been six years, six years out of the program, out of the loop. They weren't still looking for him?
Jack carefully planned his arguments, and wanted to make sure to impress upon his friend that he was really hurt by his callous disregard for everyone's feelings. Hell, really all he wanted to do was haul the little shit in his arms and kissing the living daylights out of him. Unfortunately he didn't think that would go over too well, so he would play the 'guilt' and 'best friends' cards.
At the marina Daniel signed Jack in, and smiled proudly when Jack caught sight of his baby. "Wow, Danny. She's a beauty!"
"Doug. And yeah, she is," Daniel agreed as he led the way on board. He tossed his briefcase onto the table and went into the galley. "Beer?"
"Please, and none of that imported crap, either," Jack called back, and was abruptly struck at how the years had just melted away and the two of them were acting the same as always. It was a little freaky.
Daniel came back out and handed Jack an imported beer, shrugging. "It's all I have, suck it up."
They stood staring at each other in silence while they drank their beers. Daniel looked even better after six years, Jack thought morosely. "So, seeing anyone?" he asked instead.
"Not anymore," Daniel replied, dismissing Horatio as he really wasn't seeing the CSI as much as having meaningless but hot sex, and he and Valerie had been over since the murder. "So, you and Sam get married, finally?"
Jack spit out his beer all over himself, taking the paper towel the smirking former archeologist turned landscaper handed to him. "Thanks, and that would be a hell no!"
Relieved beyond words, Daniel sipped his beer. "How did you find me?"
Scowling, Jack twiddled his fingers. "Wonderful thing, the internet."
Daniel rolled his eyes. "Why are you here, Jack? I've been gone for six years. I left competent people in my place, they surely don't need me again."
"You're talking about the SGC! I'm talkin' about ~me~! You left without telling me you were going, without telling me why ~and~ without telling me goodbye! I was waiting for you, damn it! Biding my time until I could retire, then I'd tell you that I love you, but nooooo, you had to pull off the disappearing act and...and, disappear!" Jack shouted.
"The goa'uld were no longer a threat and I was redundant, anyone could take my place!" Daniel yelled back, hands waving. "You're telling me that ~I~ left? You all abandoned ~me~! Sam went to Area 51, Teal'c went off to play with the Jaffa Rebellion, and you...you went to Washington D.C. and I was left behind! Do you know how that felt?" breath heaving, Daniel stared at Jack, then something that Jack had said sifted through his anger.
"Whoa, hold up. Did you just say that you were going to tell me that you love me?"
Jack was wallowing in his shame and didn't hear the question. He hadn't realized how his friend had interpreted what happened to SG-1, that he'd been abandoned, unwanted. Especially after what had happened to Daniel's parents and Shar'e, shit, he realized that he'd been a lousy friend and he was in love with the man!
"Jack? Are you listening?"
Jack looked into Daniel's eyes. "I'm so sorry, Danny. I am the world's worst friend. I never realized that you felt that way, I..." he stopped when Daniel grabbed his shoulders.
"Are you retired?"
Jack nodded dumbly, wondering why Daniel's eyes were gleaming like that.
"Good," and then Daniel proceeded to kiss the living daylights out him.
**
Jack checked the tree against the shipping invoice and marked it off. "They're all here, Doug."
Daniel waved his hand and pulled up the forklift, sliding the metal forks into the pallet and gently moved the trees to the side. As he settled the pallet to the ground, he noticed the black humvee that was just pulling up.
The humvee had caught Jack's attention too, and he watched curiously as Daniel trotted over to the red head, shaking hands with the man and talking seriously. A glance over at him made him pay attention to his paperwork, until Daniel called him over.
"Jack, I'd like you to meet Lt. Horatio Caine. He works with the Miami police department's CSI."
Jack nodded, taking off his sunglasses and extending his hand. "Jack O'Neill."
"I'm pleased to meet you, Mr. O'Neill," Horatio replied, noticing how close the two men stood. Obviously Doug had someone new in his life.
"Call me Bob."
"Ja-ack. Don't be an ass," Daniel rolled his eyes and turned to Horatio. "So, Valerie really wants to see me?" he asked, obviously continuing his conversation with the Lieutenant.
"Her therapist says she's ready." He smirked at the two men. "And she said to bring your significant other."
Jack looked at Daniel. "Geez, are we that obvious? Manuel's wife wanted to throw us an engagement party, or I think that's what she said. My Spanish is still really rusty."
Horatio laughed. "I'm a CSI. I can follow the evidence."
One of the men called to them and Jack grinned at Daniel. "I'll find out what Jorge needs. Nice meeting you, Lt. Caine."
"You too," Horatio murmured, watching as the older man jogged over to figure out what the man needed. "He makes you happy."
Daniel smiled. "Yeah, he does."
Horatio nodded, slipping on his sunglasses. "He doesn't strike me as the type of person who needed rescuing."
Memories flashed through Daniel's mind, memories of rescues, of playing together and fighting and dying together plus everything in between. "He rescued me," he said simply.
There was a short silence as Horatio absorbed this. "I'll get out of your way then. Should I let Valerie know you're going to visit?"
"Yeah, and let her know I'll bring Jack."
"I will." Horatio got into his humvee, squelching the envy he was feeling as he drove away.
