One of the men stared at Daniel, taking offense at the shaggy hair and the non-military bearing of the scientist.
“I'm a Marine, not a box hauler,” the man spat disapprovingly.
“Joe, I'm not sure ...” the other man spoke up.
“You wanna be a grunt for a geek, Colender, then go ahead.” Looking back at Daniel, the first man stated, “I have better things to do.”
The archaeologist looked down, his arms folded tightly across his chest in a self-hug. He'd been an idiot to ask for help. Like everything else in his life, he'd have to do this on his own.
~When are you going to learn, Jackson? Nobody cares about you,~ Daniel bemoaned and then wondered how he was going to move the boxes by himself.
“Marine!” Jack barked, seemingly coming out of nowhere.
Both men immediately snapped to attention as the colonel approached.
Jack stared at the three huge boxes and then said lightly to his teammate, “I thought you had your stuff moved in.”
“Uh, well, these are ... computers and ... I'm not really sure, but it has my ... name on it,” Daniel said, his lack of confidence showing at the moment as he pointed at the label on one of the boxes.
Addressing the military men, Jack said, “Doctor Jackson gave you an order.”
“An order? Sir, he's a ...”
Jack cocked his head, his eyes widening at the potential insubordination that was in the works.
“Do it *now*, unless you've decided you'd rather work on latrine duty in Alaska,” Jack threatened calmly but forcefully.
“Yes, Sir!”
Practically knocking Daniel over as he moved to pick up the first box, the first Marine was visibly unhappy. Jack could see it in his eyes and in his demeanor. The brush back was also an obvious clue.
When the boxes were in place, the men looked at the colonel expectantly, hoping to get out of the area in a hurry.
~I know those expressions,~ Jack thought as he stared at the men. ~They can't wait to get out of here. Hmm ... what can ... ah, yes. Time to scare them a little,~ he decided inwardly. “Very good,” he responded to the expectant stares. “One more thing, you hit Doctor Jackson while moving the boxes.”
“Jack ...”
“Daniel,” Jack said in warning, facing the man briefly as he instructed, “listen and learn.” He refocused and warned, “Marine, I could send you to the brig.”
“Sir, he's just a ...”
“A what?” Jack questioned harshly, moving into the man's personal space. “Marine, pay attention. This is the one and only time I'm going to explain this to you, or anyone else on this base. Disrespect of Doctor Jackson will not be tolerated. Any request he makes *is* an order. Pass it on, or pack your bags.” After a beat, he ordered, “Get out of here.”
As quickly as they could, the two men left the scientist's corner office.
“Now *that* is how you give an order, Daniel.”
“Jack, I don't do orders,” Daniel responded, his arms still protecting himself.
“You do here. You're the highest ranking civilian on this base,” Jack reminded.
Daniel chuckled, “Jack, I'm the *only* civilian on this base.”
With a smirk, Jack replied, “Yeah. Sweet, isn't it?”
With an amused shake of his head, the younger man walked over to one of the boxes and began to open it. His demeanor, however, indicated that he still wasn't comfortable with the idea of giving orders.
Walking a couple of steps towards the archaeologist, Jack spoke, “Daniel, you can't be afraid to tell those grunts what to do.”
“Jack ...” Daniel licked his lips and looked away. ~You'll make it worse.~ He took a big breath and then looked down as he continued, “Just ... I mean, don't ...”
“Don't what?”
“They'll just ...” Daniel began. ~You don't understand my world, or what those men will do when you're not around.~
Jack was confused by his friend. He hadn't a clue what he was trying to say.
“Daniel, English,” the colonel requested.
“We're different, Jack,” Daniel pointed out.
“Yeah, I've noticed that. There's the hair,” Jack said, pointing at the shag of the younger man. “And the knees,” he said, leaning over slightly and tapping just above the kneecaps. “Yours have to be in better shape than mine.”
“Jack ...”
“Let's not forget the brain power,” Jack continued. “I figure I understand about thirty percent of what you say. Of course, I'm only listening to ten percent.” Seeing his friend's glare, he added with a defensive smile, “Joking. I'm just joking.” He cocked his head to the side and grimaced. “Well, sometimes ...”
“Jack!”
Helping the man to remove the computer equipment that was in the first box, Jack insisted, “You're working for Uncle Sam now, Daniel, so, like it or not, you're in the order-giving business.”
“I'd rather not think of it like that,” Daniel replied.
“Get use to it, Dannyboy,” Jack teased.
“Jack, don't call me that!”
“Now, see. Was that so hard?” Jack challenged, his smile growing. “I'm meeting Kawalsky for lunch. Join us.”
“No, um, but ... thank you.”
“Turkey ... chicken ... ham: food, Daniel. You have to eat.”
“I will. I just need to ... to, uh, get this ... set up,” Daniel answered nervously, not wanting to intrude on Jack's lunch with Kawalsky, knowing the two were good friends.
“Okay. You got this?” Jack asked, looking at the other boxes.
“Yeah, thanks.”
“You're welcome.”
Jack smiled and walked out, leaving the shy younger man alone with his artifacts and new equipment.
Daniel still wasn't comfortable giving orders, and he doubted he ever would be, but he did enjoy his friendship with the colonel. He thought that was a little odd, but he didn't question it too much at the moment. After all, he had a lot to do. The SGC was just about to begin a journey that he was certain would change all of their lives. He also had a private mission, to find his wife and bring her home.
“Dannyboy!” Jack called out from the doorway.
“Jack, do not call me 'Dannyboy',” Daniel replied sternly. “That's ... an order.”
“Good. Very good,” the smiling colonel praised. “And if you *don't* have a decent lunch, I'm going to make you eat a double dinner tonight, so lunch, Daniel -- food, glorious food!” he exclaimed cheerfully before continuing on his way.
~Gawd, he's incorrigible,~ Daniel chuckled inwardly. He stared at the doorway where the colonel had been standing only a few seconds before. ~Well, Jackson, maybe you have one person that cares.~
The archaeologist smiled in the direction of the vacant doorway and then focused on the contents of the boxes. He was in a much better frame of mind now and ready to continue with his work. The future was brighter than he realized, but, for now, he was at least at peace. Times would change, and for the better. It only required a little time, and both Jack and Daniel had plenty of that in their future.
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