Stargate SG-1 Ficlet: Acceptance
Apr. 24th, 2026 05:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
badly_knittedTitle: Acceptance
Fandom: Stargate SG-1
Author:
badly_knittedCharacters: Daniel, Jack.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 807
Spoilers: Meridian.
Summary: Daniel has come to terms with what’s going to happen to him, but now he needs to get Jack to stop blaming himself.
Written For:
be_themoon’s prompt ‘any, any, I will not have you tainted by my pain’, at ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
threesentenceficathon.Disclaimer: I don’t own Stargate SG-1, or the characters.
It was surprising how quickly everything had gone to Hell. It wasn’t the first time Daniel had gotten caught up in a situation that had spiralled out of control; that was the way things often were for the SGC’s flagship unit. They went where no one from earth had gone before, at least not of their own free will, and there were no shortage of dangers on the worlds they visited. Anything could happen at any time, especially if they had the misfortune to run into Goa’uld.
So no, not the first time things had gone bad for him, but it was going to be the last time. That was inevitable, and he’d already made what peace he could with it. Now it was just a matter of time before… Well, the end. Everyone died eventually though; nobody got to live forever. It was the natural order of things, but in some ways, he’d lived more than most people ever got the chance to. He’d packed a lot into his life, not all of it good, especially this last part, but looking back, overall he was satisfied with what he’d achieved. Why wouldn’t he be?
Daniel dragged himself out of his musings at the sound of a tentative rapping on the open door of his room and looked up, already knowing who it would be. Janet wouldn’t have bothered knocking, neither would Teal’c, knowing it wasn’t necessary, and Sam had only recently left.
Jack looked obscurely guilty as he entered the infirmary, and Daniel hated that, because no matter what he might think, this wasn’t Jack’s fault. Daniel had gotten himself into this mess all by his own efforts; he’d known what he was doing, known what the likely consequences would be, and he’d gone ahead and done it anyway, because… Because if he hadn’t, the situation would have been even worse, and many more lives might have been lost instead of just the scientists in the lab.
And his own, but for the moment Daniel was trying not to think too much about that. Janet was doing all she could with what twentieth century medicine there was for treating radiation poisoning, but he wasn’t naïve; he knew there was little anyone could do for him right now except try to alleviate the worst of the discomfort, and at the moment it wasn’t too bad. Right now, he could still talk, and think, and make sure the rest of SG-1, his colleagues, his friends, understood that he didn’t regret his actions. The personal consequences he could have done without, but… a classic case of ‘No good deed goes unpunished’.
So he managed a smile, because the last thing he wanted was to drag any of his friends down with him. They didn’t deserve to feel bad over this; there was nothing any of them could have done.
“Don’t look at me like that, Jack. This isn’t your fault. I did what I had to, and given the same choice, I’d do it again. You’d have done the same if you’d been in my place, so don’t you dare try to take this on your shoulders. Sometimes things just… happen.”
“It sucks.” Jack slumped onto a stool.
Daniel nodded. “That pretty much sums it up, yes.”
“This shouldn’t be happening!”
“But it is. Getting angry won’t change anything.”
“Someone should be angry! You’re not!”
“Because there’s no point. Getting angry won’t make me feel any better.” In truth, nothing would, but Daniel didn’t need to point that out; Jack already knew. It wasn’t exactly a secret.
“I don’t know how you can be so calm.”
“I’m not calm, I’m scared, but Fraiser’s pumped me full of everything she can think of, so…” He trailed off. “Can’t feel much of anything right now.” There was pain, but at least for now it was bearable. That wouldn’t last, but Daniel would take what he could get. “Jack, it’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. It’s really not.”
“It is.”
“Daniel, so help me!”
“I’m okay with it. I mean, it’s not like I have much choice, but… I know what’s going to happen to me, and I’ve accepted it, as much as anyone can. I have no real regrets… Well, I regret not managing to get Sha-re back, but that was always a longshot. I tried. There was nothing more I could’ve done. The rest of it…” Daniel shook his head. “No regrets. I’ve seen and done so much. Wish it wasn’t ending quite so soon, but I’ve had more than I ever expected to. The rest of you will carry on without me. That’s what matters.”
“So, what next?”
Daniel managed a wry smile. “You sure you want me to go into detail?”
“No, but tell me anyway.”
“Okay, but it’s not gonna be pretty. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
The End
So no, not the first time things had gone bad for him, but it was going to be the last time. That was inevitable, and he’d already made what peace he could with it. Now it was just a matter of time before… Well, the end. Everyone died eventually though; nobody got to live forever. It was the natural order of things, but in some ways, he’d lived more than most people ever got the chance to. He’d packed a lot into his life, not all of it good, especially this last part, but looking back, overall he was satisfied with what he’d achieved. Why wouldn’t he be?
Daniel dragged himself out of his musings at the sound of a tentative rapping on the open door of his room and looked up, already knowing who it would be. Janet wouldn’t have bothered knocking, neither would Teal’c, knowing it wasn’t necessary, and Sam had only recently left.
Jack looked obscurely guilty as he entered the infirmary, and Daniel hated that, because no matter what he might think, this wasn’t Jack’s fault. Daniel had gotten himself into this mess all by his own efforts; he’d known what he was doing, known what the likely consequences would be, and he’d gone ahead and done it anyway, because… Because if he hadn’t, the situation would have been even worse, and many more lives might have been lost instead of just the scientists in the lab.
And his own, but for the moment Daniel was trying not to think too much about that. Janet was doing all she could with what twentieth century medicine there was for treating radiation poisoning, but he wasn’t naïve; he knew there was little anyone could do for him right now except try to alleviate the worst of the discomfort, and at the moment it wasn’t too bad. Right now, he could still talk, and think, and make sure the rest of SG-1, his colleagues, his friends, understood that he didn’t regret his actions. The personal consequences he could have done without, but… a classic case of ‘No good deed goes unpunished’.
So he managed a smile, because the last thing he wanted was to drag any of his friends down with him. They didn’t deserve to feel bad over this; there was nothing any of them could have done.
“Don’t look at me like that, Jack. This isn’t your fault. I did what I had to, and given the same choice, I’d do it again. You’d have done the same if you’d been in my place, so don’t you dare try to take this on your shoulders. Sometimes things just… happen.”
“It sucks.” Jack slumped onto a stool.
Daniel nodded. “That pretty much sums it up, yes.”
“This shouldn’t be happening!”
“But it is. Getting angry won’t change anything.”
“Someone should be angry! You’re not!”
“Because there’s no point. Getting angry won’t make me feel any better.” In truth, nothing would, but Daniel didn’t need to point that out; Jack already knew. It wasn’t exactly a secret.
“I don’t know how you can be so calm.”
“I’m not calm, I’m scared, but Fraiser’s pumped me full of everything she can think of, so…” He trailed off. “Can’t feel much of anything right now.” There was pain, but at least for now it was bearable. That wouldn’t last, but Daniel would take what he could get. “Jack, it’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. It’s really not.”
“It is.”
“Daniel, so help me!”
“I’m okay with it. I mean, it’s not like I have much choice, but… I know what’s going to happen to me, and I’ve accepted it, as much as anyone can. I have no real regrets… Well, I regret not managing to get Sha-re back, but that was always a longshot. I tried. There was nothing more I could’ve done. The rest of it…” Daniel shook his head. “No regrets. I’ve seen and done so much. Wish it wasn’t ending quite so soon, but I’ve had more than I ever expected to. The rest of you will carry on without me. That’s what matters.”
“So, what next?”
Daniel managed a wry smile. “You sure you want me to go into detail?”
“No, but tell me anyway.”
“Okay, but it’s not gonna be pretty. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
The End
