stargateficrec | Live Fire by Synecdochic (PG by reccer)

Show: SG1
Rec Category: Character: Daniel
Characters: Daniel, Jack
Pairing: none
Het/Slash/Gen: gen
Warning: various spoilers for early Season 1 episodes
Author on LJ: synecdochic (though she's mainly on DW now)
Author's Website: SG1 tag on DW, SGA tag on DW, Venus in Furs
Link: Live Fire

Why this must be read:

A fascinating look at early!Daniel trying to find his place in the SGC and on SG-1. Looked down upon by other SGC personnel, Daniel has to learn some hard truths about opening up and trusting his team, especially Jack, to have his back. There's also the fact that Daniel's a crack shot!! We get to learn that the SGC isn't the first time Daniel's held a pistol. Oh to have been a bug on that range wall to see Jack's face... LOL Just a very intriguing and insightful look into both Daniel's and Jack's characters as they try to find their places in this new world and reality.

Story Summary: So I'd been getting some ribbing -- goodnatured enough, you put more than two guys together in a locker room and there's going to be some ball-busting involved, it's some kind of primitive ritual or something -- about the fact that my team consisted of me, two scientists and someone who was born halfway across the galaxy.

His stance was unorthodox. Wasn't Weaver, wasn't Isosceles. Modified Weaver, really, his body turned to the right, with his right leg behind him bearing most of his weight on a slightly-bended knee, his pelvis canted back so he was half-sitting in place, his feet perpendicular to each other like some kind of fucked-up ballet pose. Looked stable enough. I watched as he bit his lip, took a breath, let it out slowly, cupped the butt of the pistol with his off hand, rolled his shoulders once, and took aim.

The shots echoed between us, and the familiar scorched-earth scent of discharge wafted clear. We used the standard silhouette targets on the range. His first shot went high and left, hitting the shadowed figure in its left shoulder outside the target range, and he dropped his right shoulder, scowled, and corrected.

The rest of the magazine cleared 9s and Xs. All right, one stray shot in the target's throat, when Daniel hadn't recovered enough from the recoil. But if the guy had been firing at us, a throat shot would have made him stop pretty damn fast, too.

When Daniel was done, he thumbed the safety, released the magazine, opened the action, checked the chamber, and set the pistol back down on the counter. Pointing downrange. He rolled his shoulders again, wincing a little, and said, still facing downrange like he couldn't even bear to turn and look at me, "I shot my first pistol when I was seven, Jack. Archaeological camps are common targets for looters. I'm not saying I'm the best shot in the universe, and I'm certainly not used to shooting back under live fire, which, yes, I need practice with. But you don't need to treat me like a liability."