In The Shadow Of Lilith 2

Night Of The Tree Ferrets

by Jase

URL: http://www.area52hkh.net/asj/jase/ifyoul02.php
Summary: Not sure if the *If you Love Me* title fits anymore..this plot bunny is evolving.might change it... not betad

A shadow passed over the wall of the tent. Mitchell had set up nearly every single light they had brought, and the camp blazed so brightly that shadows cast could be seen through the thick canvas. It made attaining sleep a little harder, but no one complained. Mitchell also called for another UAV pass around sunset, and except for the rare local fauna, nothing ominous stirred. Something about that had bothered Cam, but when Daniel questioned him he just shrugged, "Damn statue's got my neck hairs up."

Daniel took his turn sleeping, or trying to. Insomnia had plagued him for most of his life, and nightmares, don't forget about the nightmares. Lying on the fold out cot in the GP-Large he was sharing with the six other non military types he took a deep breath. They had accorded him a space of his own by hanging several sheets to form a room and had their cots on the other side along with another section for equipment.

The meant to honor him, he knew. But, it made him feel so very, very lonely hearing the whispers on the other side.

Right about now, if they were all together in this tent, like they were used to be, Jack would have some horrible campfire story to tell, with Teal'c listening in bemusement, one eyebrow hoisted high. Sam would be laughing at the two of them topping each other in shaggy dog stories, and Teal'c had quite a few, Daniel enjoyed hearing them, as had Cam in his turn, who had listened with all the goggle eyed wonder of a small boy listening to the next installment of "The Lone Ranger" on the wireless.

The Jaffa weren't all that different in many ways from earth humans. Teal'c showed that side only to the people he loved and trusted.

Daniel would keep whatever text he'd brought to hide behind firmly in place until he couldn't ignore the foolishness any longer and zap them with a tale of his own, which usually resulted in Jack throwing balled up socks at him.

If he attempted to do that here, with these young intrepid explorers, all he would receive would be baffled uncomfortable looks. Their exclusion of him hurt. No, not even. He missed SG 1. He missed how they were so good together. Would he trade that for what he had with Mitchell now? No. But oh how he missed them. A shadow slipped by yet again, as Daniel closed his eyes trying to sleep.

An excited whisper came from behind the curtain. "Dr Jackson....Dr Jackson."

Daniel rolled his head to the right. A white smudge peeked around the curtain encompassing his Kodesh Hakodashim,(Holiest of Holies).

"Hmmm?"

"There's something that keeps circling the tent, I think it's one of the soldiers".

Amused frown.He placed the voice, Dr. Ezekiel Merchant,zoologist. "Yes, its Colonel Mitchell, he's going to be up keeping watch."

"All night?"

"Yes...all night"

A tense pause and the voice stage whispered gravely,

""Is there a danger...vampires...tree ferrets? Something he doesn't want us to know?"

Trying not to howl laughter, Daniel managed to steady his voice "Colonel Mitchell is a very conscientious commander, there is no threat. He's just being...Colonel Mitchell." Cam would get a laugh over this in the morning. Tree ferrets.

Pause...assimilating "Oh... well... goodnight Doctor Jackson."

Daniel, not bothering to open his eyes waved a goodnight. The murmur on the other side of the tent swelled a moment then subsided back to a nonexistent sound, like wind through distant pines.

Irritated with himself for wallowing in self pity, (when all he was really feeling was plain old homesickness for SG-1) he breathed deep, smelling the planet's moist night air over the familiar scent of pulled from storage canvas. He concentrated on relaxing with a bit of meditative breathing, focusing on the tension in his back. And the ache in his knees from crouching at the base of that altar. His mind however kept talking.

There had been something scratched into the panel, not just tool marks, he was sure of it. He dwelled on the panel, and almost got up to go talk to Mitchell about it. That's another thing he missed, talking with his teammates about the sum of the day, even if it were a boring (at least in Jack's book) day like today.

He could hear the scientists murmuring at each other across the tent, trying theories, ideas and chewing over the idea that the slab on the side of the plinth was an access panel of sorts. Oh, they would tell him at his morning briefing what they came up with, but that wasn't the point. The point was, he was here, in his sacred space while they were there in camaraderie. He missed the debate. If he were to go over there, they would subside, and give way to whatever ideas he may put forth. He wondered briefly if Cam felt as rarefied as he did, or Jack. Unhappy as a General, in command of people he once...slept in the same tent with. Lonely with the loss of friendly banter and the sudden reverence that came not just from being a superior, but a Legend.

Grumpily he rolled onto his side on the cot; they were making the damned things harder these days it seemed. He tried the deep breathing again, wishing he could fire up a joint and take at least one hit. Carolyn had managed to get him a prescription for it, as he refused to take any other form of tranquilizer, but he knew better that to do that on a mission. His next deep breath was a sigh. What if...he went back and said this was his last mission. No more Gate, no more off world, just sit back and consult where needed...and watch alpacas graze. He suspected the only reason Mitchell stayed was because of him, but that might be hubris, assuming he was more important to the man than his own hard won career.

The shadow was gliding over the tent wall again, pausing a moment at his corner of the GP Large and Daniel for no other reason other than he needed to, reached out and touched a fingertip to the shadow before it moved on.

It was the burning dream. The one where Vala was roasting slowly at the hands of the Prior. He smelled the skin frying, her long black tresses scorched up in a foul stench, in his dreams she doesn't stop screaming, even when her lungs were gone and her body twisted into a blackened sculpture of agony, and in his dream he is screaming too.

He sat up in the cot. The cool night air and silence was disorienting. As he sat there breathing down the tremors and thunder of his heart he heard the soft snores that came from beyond the curtain, and he felt a rush of relief that he hadn't screamed aloud in his sleep.

"Shit." He scrubbed his hands over his face, stubble rasping over his palms. To hell with it. He wasn't going to shave this morning. Angrily he pulled himself out of the sleeping bag, pulled on his socks then jammed his feet into unlaced jump boots. He slept clothed, with his socks under his pillow and his boots in the bottom of his sleeping bag. Jack taught him that. His hand went to his breast pocket and the hard eyeglass case he always kept there while sleeping. Jack and Cam could sleep with a weapon; he needed his eyes before he could shoot anything anyway.

He stood stiffly, knees popping, slipping on his glasses. He hadn't told anyone, not even Cam, but at his last eye exam, the doctor had made noises about the eventuality of bifocals. He made his way out of the tent, eyes feeling gritty and once clear of it, stretched his arms wide and looked up at the sky. There was a mist, he could feel it on his skin, a blessing after the head of the dream, and squinting past the glare of the klieg lights he could see that the night sky had given way to the washed out look of pre-dawn. He bent and laced up his boots with well practiced efficiency.

There was a small mess tent set up. Nothing fancy, they were living on MRE's mostly, but the tent provided hot water for coffee and other instant amenities. Daniel grimaced. He liked his fresh brewed coffee and as years went on, not having it became more and more of an irritation.

He could see heads on the guards who were turning to check who/what he was as he walked through the camp to the GP small. He there was a coffee-like smell coming from it, and he picked up the pace.

Ducking through the flaps he was greeted with a buzzing sound and a "Good morning Sunshine."

"I don't think it qualifies as morning just yet and what's so damn good about it." In the subdued lantern light, Mitchell was shaving with one hand, that was the buzzing, and holding out a ceramic coffee mug with the other, smiling bemusedly.

Daniel took it and sniffed cautiously. "Well... smells drinkable."

Snort. "Your welcome." Cam finished shaving and brushed himself off then cleaned the head into the garbage pail before offering it to Daniel who shook his head. Cam arched his eyebrows in surprise.

"Feeling rebellious Doctor Jackson?"

"As matter of fact, yes." Daniel slurped the coffee, an instant brand that Starbucks made and certainly didn't put into MRE's. Cam probably smuggled it in, for him. Something Daniel occasionally forgot to do.

"Bad night?" the bantering tone was gone and Daniel nodded looking into Cam's tired blue eyes.

"Yes. And Oh...by the way... no more talk about tree ferrets."

"Your lot jumpin at shadows Jackson?" there was a grin in Cam's voice as he unwrapped a granola bar.

"Noo...just one... yours." Daniel flashed a grin "Your stalking around the tent had their imaginations running overtime, thinking there was some big military conspiracy."

Cam washed down the granola with his own coffee still smiling, and Daniel lifted his mug."Thank you for bringing this."

"Rank hath its privileges and all that jazz...So, what are we doing today Brain."

"Debating on taking retirement." It wasn't what Daniel had intended to say, he was going to discuss the panel, and the need for Haz-Mat precautions and extra personnel. But...there it was...and the look of shock on Mitchell's face surprised him.

"You serious now?"

Daniel nodded. "This is my last mission." There, he said it, and the weight he had been lugging around for so long seemed to melt away. Cam stepped closer, searching Daniel's face in the dim tent.

"I'm tired Cam. There's been too much..."the burning dream rose unbidden in his mind and he flinched his eyes shut a moment.

"So you're taking the boat to the Grey Havens?

Daniel did a whole body pause, staring at Cam. "I never figured you for a Tolkien fan."

"I'm not. Saw the movies.liv Tyler is too hot."Smirk.

Sigh "Should have known."

"So, here's to our last mission." Mitchell raised his mug, not repressing a grin that made him look like 10 years younger.

"Our?" Daniel inquired lightly, feeling oddly fragile.

"Yeah. That's what I said." He waggled his mug in the air.

Smiling himself, Daniel raised his mug and clinked it against Cam's

"To Uncle Leroy's." Mitchell stared with happy disbelief on his face.

"Damn Jackson, you are all fulla surprises this morning."

With a light smile and an exaggerated, two shouldered shrug Daniel merely took another mouthful of coffee, enjoying the Christmas morning look on Cam's face and wondering if he was wearing a similar expression. Mitchell offered him a granola bar, and Daniel took it with a grimace, knowing that Mitchell would harp on his not eating breakfast for the entire day if he refused. There would be time to talk about plans, of ships and string and sealing wax soon enough. The mission was in front of them, and they fell into discussing it without awkward segue. They were professionals, after all. But even as they talked, the possibilities of their future together, glowed like a touchstone in Daniel's chest, replacing the cold shiver that the dream had left him with, a talisman against the dark.

"So. About the temple? We keep at it?" Mitchell frowned. "I honestly can't see us discovering anything happy in a place with a statue made from human bones Jackson."

"That's been on my mind too." Arms crossed over his chest mug propped on a forearm. "I keep thinking of Pelops, and Nirrti. That statue reminds me of the set-up we found, where Jack aged?" Mitchell was nodding, with a scowl."The Gou'ald were imitative, not inventive... if a scam worked once, they'd play it a thousand times." Daniel's lips curved up slightly in an unconscious ghost of a smile, and Mitchell knew he was quoting Jack.

"You know if we walk away, eventually, someone else will come back to putz with it. Even if we get them to redline this planet Jackson, they'll read everyone else's reports and say, what was the fuss about? Let's go back and poke around." Cam saw Daniel nodding grimly at this. SG-1 had been the prime nosy poker in the past, Daniel knew up front at what cost.

Studiously frowning Daniel asked Cam, "Something bothered you last night with the UAV results, what was it?"

Mitchell sucked his front teeth, and nodded. "Planet like this should have larger animals on it. UAV didn't pick up any herds of deer, antelope or zebra. "

"No alpaca's either." Daniel deadpanned and Cam chuckled.

"Nope. But there SHOULD be. There should be larger animals, grazing animals...shouldn't there?"

"Zoology isn't my side of the house. I'll ask Doctor Merchant, he's the zoologist." Daniel took another thoughtful sip, and then said softly.

" You're right, of course. Someone would come back. Someone curious or maybe they'll start colonizing Gate accessed worlds." Daniel hunched his shoulders irritably. "It's a cliché but I have a bad feeling about this."

"Well, then its best if we handle it." Mitchell stared at the lighted tent flap, "I wish Sam, Teal'c and Vala were here."

Daniel nodded his agreement, and gnawed on the granola bar. They began to discuss what they would be telling General Tottington and the SGC in their morning report.

Next: Lt Gavins Gets Coffee