Hidden Truths
by Kym
EMAIL: kymz5@yahoo.com
STATUS: Complete
RATING: PG
CATEGORY: Romance D/J
SEASON: 3
SUMMARY: Daniel and Janet discover that love is nothing to hide from
DISCLAIMER: SG1 its symbols and characters belong to MGM, Showtime, Gekko and a lot of other talented
people, I however, am not one of them. I think it’s great that they understand that no infringement is intended and they let us all write and haven’t asked us to take our stuff down and started proceeding to sue us all. No money ever changes hands for any of this, but it is a lot of fun.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is only my second romance and it’s much more metaphorical than I usually write. There’s one kind of fantasy thing and the whole thing is a little weird. It’s all very experimental for me--so input would be great.
They stood like skeletons against the dark blue sky.
It was all that remained of the ancient temples. A
forgotten religion of a forgotten people. The ones who
inhabited the planet now said they knew nothing about
them. The ruins had simply always been there. So
Daniel Jackson went to them, to find their secrets.
He liked the ruins. He liked *all* ruins. They were
changeless, at least in one lifetime. Ruins never died
and they never turned their back on you because of
unpopular academic ideas. They were a mystery, but
they were a dependable one.
As he started dusting away the ages of dirt that
had built up on the alien etchings of the floor, he
began to feel himself floating. Not in any real sense,
but in mind and in spirit. At first he thought it was
just due to a change of altitude or climate, but then
he remembered the words of the Shaman as she handed
them cups of water to drink in the ceremony that
morning:
“It is the blood of our world, it carries life. It
will turn into wine in your veins and give you the
answers you seek.”
Not an uncommon religious idea-water to wine-wine to
blood- an atonement, a cleansing, a rebirth.. It was
all just symbolic-but maybe not--
A warmth come over his body and a dull buzz filled
his brain. He could feel his blood pump lethargically
through his veins and could hear his breathing slow.
It left him giddy, an unmistakably drunken giddy. He
tried to stand, but his legs wouldn’t move. A tunnel
of darkness engulfed him.
***************************
It was all very odd. First the ceremony and now being
taken out to be shown their “medical wonders”. When
SG1 told the people of this world that they wanted to
share knowledge, the natives had exclaimed they
would be happy to give what knowledge they had-about
the land and the sea and the healing gifts they gave.
It sounded like a strange statement coming from a
people who seemed much less technologically advanced
than Earth. But as Daniel said, they had misjudged
that sort of thing before and Janet knew that many
medicines on Earth came from plants. So here she was
Janet Fraiser, a seeker of science, following their
Shaman, ready to learn what ever knowledge their
highest healer could give.
They had been walking a long time, talking and
looking and then walking again, unit they finally came
to the edge of a steep cliff. The Shaman asked Janet
to sit and rest with her awhile. She did. Below the
cliffs were rolling hills with crystal lakes that
dotted that land like droplets of water. The Shaman
was telling her how their world pampered them, gave
them all that they asked for, and all they needed to
do was be kind to her. But the Shamans words grew
distant as Janet’s mind began to wander. The sun gave
a comforting warmth which provided a lethargy that
made it difficult to concentrate. It was all so
beautiful, so peaceful. She wished she had someone
special there to share it with, but she didn’t believe
the person she wanted most, was ready to be with
another yet. Her eyelids grew heavy and sleep covered
her like a familiar-worn blanket.
There was the sent of cinnamon and fresh bread and
meat sizzling. He was home on Abydoss with Sha’re,
rousing from a nights sleep. She was caressing him,
gently teasing him awake He was safe and happy; Ra had
been vanquished and Daniel had finally found love. He
could now start a family with his new bride, a family
that would be permanent and lasting.... But when
Daniel opened his eyes he found he was still in the
ancient temple, the morning odors of the tent he
shared with Shar’re had turned to the dank mustiness
of the ruins.
“You think of the one that is gone.”
He didn’t know where the voice came from and he
hadn’t intended to answer it but he heard himself say,
“Yes.”
“It is good to keep memories of the ones we loved,
but to honor them we must love again.”
Once more he heard an involuntary answer escape his
lips, “I’m not sure I want to. I’m not even sure I
can.”
“There is another for you,” the voice said.
Daniel shook his head quickly. “*Is my sanity
slipping?*” he thought. “* After all there’s no one
here with me, so there can’t be a voice.*” He shook
his head again, but the voice didn’t leave.
“You know this to be true,” it said.
Daniel covered his ears, but couldn’t block it out.
The voice surrounded him, was inside of him, was a
part of him. It continued to speak.
“It is so plain, even others know it to be true,
others see you love Janet.”
He wasn’t sure how the voice could know that. He had
barley admitted it to himself. His mind said her
name.
*Janet*
But she had never shown any interest in him. How
could he possibly presume that she....
The voice said her name again and Daniel’s mind
echoed it.
*Janet*
The thought of her name took him out of the hollowed
shell of the temple... it took him away....
.....away to his office at the SGC. He was talking
to Jack, asking him -as casually as possible-what the
regs were on civilians dating military personnel that
worked at the same installation.
Jack looked surprised, then pleased, then finally
answered. “As long as their not consistently on the
same team or one isn’t in a supervisory capacity over
the other, I believes that regs wouldn’t prohibit a
civilian from dating someone on the same base where
they worked. So...are we talking hypothetically or
would we be talking about some military personal that
I would know personally?”
Daniel hadn’t answered because he was nearly certain
Jack already knew. The question was simply Jack being
Jack. After all, his friend had seen him fall in love
before and Daniel was certain he could recognized the
signs. Of course, before the it had always come fast
and hard. This time it was much slower, like a flower
blooming.
Daniel was back in the ruins, back to dankness and
the must. They were comforting smells- familiar ones.
He didn’t like going where the voice was taking
him-into vulnerability and the unknown. He liked the
certainty of the ruins, the unchangability of history,
but he felt himself being pulled from all that.
“Don’t be afraid,” the voice became a whisper that
was lost in the wind. Daniel found himself in a grassy
field.
***************************
“Why do you distance yourself from him?”
The Shaman was speaking but her lips weren’t moving.
“What do you mean?” Janet found she didn’t need to
move her lips either.
“You can show him the way, others have said as much.”
The words the Shaman said made Janet blink in
disbelief. How could this woman know that. The simple
statement was unexpected, but true.
When Janet opened her eyes again she found herself
in the infirmary. She was working with Sam, going
through old records, when they came across Shar’re’s
file.
“Do you think Daniel still thinks about her?”
“All the time,” Sam could tell that wasn’t the reply
Janet was hoping for, so she gave her another. The
answer to the real question that Janet was asking; to
give her the encouragement that she knew Janet
needed-the encouragement she wanted to hear.
“But I think he is ready to move on. One things for
sure though, who ever helps him in that will have to
be willing to open up too. Let him know that it’s
going to be all right.”
Suddenly, Janet was back on the planet, with it’s
look of an endless manicured lawn and it’s warm day
of summer.
“Your last mate was--unsatisfactory.” The Shaman
spoke in silent words.
“He was a chauvinist dog, well actually I shouldn’t
call him that. I like dogs.”
“If you close yourself off, you will never touch the
one you want now.”
The Shaman turned to Janet and handed her a tied
leather bracelet with a decorative silver knot which
dangled and danced from the strap.
“This will help you to find your way,” the Shaman
said as her voice faded into silence
Janet could still see green hills, but the cliff was
gone as was the Shaman. In the distance she could see
Daniel.
They agreed that they didn’t know how they got to
where they were now, but knew they had to find a way
back to the gate or the village or some place
familiar. Not knowing which direction the gate or the
village were and since their radios didn’t seem to be
working, they decided to head towards the setting sun,
simply because that was as good of a destination as
any. They had only gone a few feet when they ran into
an invisible wall. They followed it around and found
that they had suddenly, unexplainably, been confined
to a very small area.
“Bounty hunters,” Daniel barley said it aloud.
Janet looked at him, questioning and he repeated it
again.
“Bounty Hunters, last time I saw a wall like this it
was a trap set up by a bounty hunter.”
“How did you get out of it?”
“We didn’t really. He let us out because he wanted us
to do stuff for him...it’s a long story.” He stopped
abruptly and started feeling the walls that confined
them. Janet, realizing he was looking for some form of
escape, started to help. After about 5 circlings of
their unseen barrier he finally exclaimed.
“There’s no way out of here.”
“I guess we just wait until they come looking for
us.”
“Unless we think of some way to fly out.”
As he spoke his body lifted, his feet dangling a few
inches above the ground.
“What the ...”he didn’t get a chance to finish the
sentence before he drooped gently to the ground.
They looked at each other, both thinking and feeling
the same thing. It was beyond belief and reason, but
still--a wonderful riddle to be solved.
“How did that happen?” Daniel asked.
“I don’t know.. you just said ‘unless we think of
some way to fly out of here’...”
Janet felt herself become weightless. She was
floating like a feather in a gentle breeze, then she
softly set down next to Daniel.
There was a long moment of silence until Daniel
broke it by flatly stating “This is impossible.”
“But it happened. If it happened it can’t be
impossible.”
“There has to be an explanation. People can’t fly,
it’s ---well--impossible.” Daniel stopped for a moment
then started again. “It’s against all physical law,”
he said, obviously pleased he had found a scientific
answer.
“Bees can’t fly either, according to all physical
laws, but they do.”
Daniel shook his head and began to turn away from
Janet but she held him by the arm.
“Listen Daniel, we both know that there are things in
the universe we can’t explain. The Shaman told me that
this world gives them everything they wanted, all they
have to do is be good to her. I thought she was just
talking about food and water and nature, but maybe she
was talking about this too.”
Janet closed her eyes and thought of flight. She once
again had the sensation of weightlessness, so was not
surprised when she looked down to find her feet had
left the ground.
Janet stretched her hand down to Daniel, inviting him
to join her, “Try it with me.”
“I don’t know, I’m not really fond of heights.”
Janet suddenly realized his phobia was the real
reason for his skepticism and decided she would have
to persuade him.
“Come on Daniel, there’s no other way out.”
He was still resisting so she decided to try another
angle, “It’ll be fun,” she coaxed.
Janet spoke with such a sense of innocent adventure
he couldn’t resist, despite his fears. Daniel closed
his eyes and felt himself rising. In a short time, he
felt Janet gently grasp his hand. Her skin was cool
and soft making him want to open his eyes so he could
see her and be with her. When he did, he found they
were no longer standing on the grassy leaves of the
field, instead they were hovering above them, maybe
15-20 feet.
“Lets try and move!” Janet exclaimed As she said the
words they began going in the direction they had been
walking.
She started to laugh, which made him laugh. Once
again, their thoughts and feelings were the same. It
was all so improbable; they were *actually * flying.
They were soaring, gilding, --sailing. The sky had
become their ocean and the clouds were sandy white
islands.
As quickly as it happened they began to descend,
falling as softly and lightly as leaves from a tree.
Janet was still laughing, her hair windblown and
tussled, like a tomboy school girl. “*She’s lovely,--
no radiant, well perhaps there isn’t even a word for
it,*” Daniel thought.
“I wonder why it let us down?” he asked.
“I guess this is far as we needed to go,” Janet
suggested.
Daniel and Janet started walking towards the sun
again. They were two children hiking, marveling at
the smell of the grass and the tiny flowers that tried
to hide from view, wondering at the babbling brooks
and the curious animals that peaked out from their
holes to see who the new visitors were. They were
things they had both seen on other planets, but on
this planet they all seemed part of an endless summer,
and that made it all seem new.
Darkness came bringing with it cool breezes and
insects singing. The moon hung like ice and the stars
were crystal. They made a fire, more for light than
warmth, and sat close together-so close they could
feel each breath the other took.
They sat like that, close, for a long time, until
Janet picked up a stick to poke at the dying flames.
Her stirrings made sparks of fireflies which danced,
scuttle about, and then died in the darkness. As she
brought the flames back to life, Daniel noticed the
bracelet.
“Where did you get that?” he asked holding her arm to
get a closer look.
“It was a gift from their Shaman, she said it would
help me find my way.”
“ I think it looks Celtic.”
“* Forever the archeologist.*” she thought and
simply said:
“I think it looks pretty.”
He smiled and gently ran his hand down her arm, “I
think it does too.”
She blushed and pulled away, certain of how she felt,
but uncertain if she should show it. Daniel pulled
away as well.
“*How could I be so stupid?*” Janet thought.
She wanted him deeply, but she had just thrust him
away. Loosing him by showing an ambiguity that Daniel
couldn’t know was only born from fear.
She nervously picked up the stick and began to stir
the fire again. As she did, a spark caught the leather
strap of her bracelet causing it to fall into the
flames. Janet scrambled for it clumsily, burning
herself for her efforts. Drawing her hand back
quickly, she shook her fingers to cool them, and
watched helplessly as the fire fed on her new gift.
She was amazed when she saw that Daniel wasn’t going
to let it be destroyed. It was such a gallant thing to
do, so uncustomary from other men she had known, such
a surprise, that it awoke feelings in her soul that
she thought were dead. She watched as he snatched up
the stick and pushed the bracelet from the fire; but
in his haste, he burnt himself as well. Pulling his
hand towards her, she held it delicately, to examine
the damage.
“I don’t think its too bad,” she said. “It will just
be a little red for a while.”
“*Forever the Doctor,*” he smiled and thought
Daniel picked up the bracelet and tied it to her
wrist, knotting it carefully to avoid her burn. It was
such a simple and perfect act of kindness that it
touched Janet’s heart, like nothing else had for a
long time.
“Thank you, for saving my bracelet,” she said softly
as she kissed the red mark the flames had given him.
“Your welcome,” he replied, as he kissed her in like.
She touched his cheek softly and his eyes lifted to
meet hers. Cupping Janet’s face in his hand, he drew
himself in closer to her. They could see the
reflection of the fire in each others eyes and realize
it was the reflection of their souls as well. They
felt a yearning that swelled into desire; a craving
that had to be fed. For the third time that day they
both shared the same thoughts and feelings. They
belonged to each other, utterly and completely.
Pressing their lips one to the other, they once again
began to fly.
**************
Daniel woke, groggy and confused. The sun was
beginning to set and he knew he had to get back to the
village, then back to the gate, then back home. It had
been a totally unproductive day thanks to that water
or wine or whatever it was. He gathered up his things
and thought to himself how completely ridicules the
dream he had was. People can’t fly and Janet would
never think of him as anything more than a friend. But
it had been such a vivid, pleasant dream, he half
wished he could have stayed there, never to wake up.
By the time he got to the village the others were
waiting.
“Have so much fun we lost track of time did we?” Jack
asked impatient and sarcastic.
“Ya, I guess, ” Daniel was still too pre-occupied by
his strange dream to pay Jack much notice. The images
were so clear, the feelings so real, it was hard for
him to stay in the world where he found himself now.
“What happened to your hand?” Jack asked gesturing to
a red mark that didn’t really hurt.
Daniel remembered a burn in the dream, but couldn’t
remember what really happened “I must have burnt it on
one of the tools I left in the sun. It’ll be OK.”
“*That must have been it,*” he thought. “* I must
have burnt it, then incorporated that into my dream.*”
He started helping the others pack up for the trip
home, trying his best to avoid looking at Janet. He
couldn’t stand her being so close and so distant all
at once. When their chores finally did force an
encounter he was surprised to see she was wearing a
bracelet- one she didn’t have before.
“Where did you get that?” he asked, then realized
that he had asked that same question in the dream.
“Their Shaman gave it to me,..” it seemed like she
was going to say more, but instead turned away.
He hadn’t meant to say it, it was too much like the
dream. but the words came anyway. “It looks Celtic.”
“I think it looks pretty.” Janet almost stooped
herself before the last word was said. Daniel could
have sworn he saw her blush.
“I think so too,” the words could barley be heard.
He took her wrist to examine the bracelet closer and
noticed a small reddish burn. With out speaking or
thinking he turned his hand to reveal a similar mark.
Their eyes touched and for the fourth time that day,
their minds and souls became one.
End
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