Waiting
In Line
a Stargate SG-1 fanfiction by Adele Shakal
Waiting In Line
Author: Adele Shakal
Email: adele@shakal.org
Website: http://www.shakal.org/
Date: October 30, 2001
Season: 1
Spoilers for: the movie, and first season up to and including Hathor
Category: humor, seasonal
Series: Teambuilding Series
Archive: Please do not archive without prior permission... but feel free
to link to http://www.shakal.org/sg-1/inline.html.
Summary: Set in October, episode-wise set anytime after Hathor and before
But For The Grace Of God.
Rating: No pairings, and rated PG-13ish for language.
Disclaimer: The characters and universe contained in this story are Copyright MGM/Showtime/Gekko/Double Secret. No ingringement on their copyright is implied.
Notes: Folks have asked for followups to Quite Some Party. Wow, thanks for your feedback!! Here's the first companion piece to that fic, and readers should be familiar with it before reading this one. I'm thinking of these as the Teambuilding Series now, and yes, that means I'll be writing more of them. Happy Halloween and joyous Samhain, friends!
Thanks to J and E... fellow wranglers of free-range plotbunnies!
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Before, I'd have laughed my ass off at anyone who'd said a good squad could be willing to walk through hell for a such a dweeb. Before, hell, I'd have knocked the crap out of anyone who'd told me I'd be willing to walk through hell for such a dweeb.
That was before I got to know this particular dweeb, though.
I mean, he looks like a complete wimp. Spends most of his time eating chocolate and guzzling coffee. Got no exercise at all until he had to when he joined the SGC. Never leaves his books and rocks and pottery bits unless you pry him away with an offer of sweets. Fell flat on his ass when Kowalski just shoved him a little on that ramp on Abydos! I really miss Kowalski. He always knew how to cut loose after a tough day.
That was one bad scene, that first trip to Abydos. I've been on some thoroughly fubared missions, but I really thought we might've bought it that time. Didn't expect to make it home safe, much less be tromping off across the universe on a regular basis.
But I'll be damned if he didn't get us home safe. Translated enough of that funky Egyptian the natives mumbled to understand what was going on. Spent the night alone with the head badass alien and still had the guts to turn and fire on 'em the next morning. Stood up for himself in a couple of close quarters fights with the badasses, dressed in nothin' but rags against their funky armor that just seemed to bounce bullets.
I've seen way too many of those badasses over the past couple of years. I know what seeing 'em does to you after a while, know the gut twist of reaction almost too personally to notice it now. I've almost bought it a few times out there myself, and not just on Abydos. And I've seen him face the bastards down, with no shakes, no hesitation, even with no more paleness than he usually has. The man just doesn't get out in the sunlight enough, you know? But he faces those snakes down, every time. He's been controlled by them, but never for long, and he doesn't get all weepy or sappy afterwards, either. He just picks up and puts himself back together and goes into the ring for another round.
Damned impressive.
That'd be damned impressive for any civvie, actually. But a geeky guy that half the folks who meet him think is queer? They were playground pulp back in high school! Easy targets, quick to cave, run and hide. I figured when I signed on with Uncle Sam that protecting the weak meant that I might be duty-bound to stand up for his type. It's the honorable thing to do, to protect those unable to watch their own six, you know?
That made playing second banana to him pretty weird.
It's not just his know-how of ancient stuff that comes in handy on the far side of the Gate. And it's not that I'm unwilling to take on the really out-there missions... I did volunteer for this gig. He just seems to be at the center of some of the most dangerous shit out there, and he comes through OK. Yeah, we've had to save his butt a couple of times, but he's saved the whole planet more times than that.
I'd walk through hell just to return the favor. I should make sure the General knows it. But I just don't get the opportunity very often.
His team takes pretty good care of him. And they keep getting themselves into situations where giving 'em backup just isn't possible.
I know there's queers in the military, and the don't ask don't tell thing keeps 'em in pretty deep cover, but I'd never noticed any around. If there were any in my combat units, they kept it real quiet and were sturdy enough guys to be the oddball queer who was musclebound and a real macho guy at heart... not like most of the queers I'd run across before, I guess.
Which brings me to the strange conclusion that maybe Jackson's not gay after all. Or that not all the wimpy guys I helped bully around way back when were really gay. Or maybe that more queers than I'd thought are actually OK guys...
Hell, what do I know, anyway. I go in, I kick ass, I get the job done. That's my job.
What the man does in his private time is his own business. Never thought I'd think this, but I respect the man, regardless. Just like I respect his CO.
Now there's the best damned soldier I'd ever want to share a foxhole with. But more than that, he's not your standard commander. Not too many guys can describe what it is about him that makes you just trust him to lead you through whatever shit comes your way, but he's got it. He didn't have it back on that first trip to Abydos, but he sure has it now.
I'd walk through fire for him, too. He's saved my butt more'n once.
The grapevine on base occasionally comes up with theories about him and his team members... but I squash 'em pretty fast if I get wind of 'em. He'd never do anything to undermine his team. And I refuse to speculate on how he keeps that team working. Bunch of misfits, according to all the old boy wisdom, but they're the flagship unit of our command. I trust him to do his job like no one else can, and to lead them doing the best job they can.
What they do on their own time is their own business. Just as long as they keep saving the day, I'll do what I can to keep them in business.
Guess that's why I was OK enough with the whole second banana thing to bring up this kinda whacked idea with my team. We've gotta play along with this whole teambuilding thing the suits cooked up, anyway. Turns out they liked the idea... being sidekicks to SG-1 is a damned sight better than being sidekicks to anybody else, and we all know it. Boy, do we know it.
Now, if I could just convince this pimply-faced moron to just hand over the damned things so I can get out of here, we might be on time for tonight's party... I sigh. How long have I been waiting in this line, anyway?
"Yeah, that's right. I put in the order last week. One banana, one new-style Robin, one moth Arthur, and one Tonto, all adult size extra large. Last name is F-E-R-R-E-T-T-I. Do I need to talk to your boss, or are you gonna find the costumes?"
~ - ~ fin ~ - ~
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