stargateficrec | Points in Time, by Brenda Anders (PG-13) (Reply)

Rec Category: Episode Fix

Pairing: none
Category: episode fix, Daniel Jackson, team, Jack and Daniel friendship, character study
Warning: none
Author on LJ: unknown
Author's Website: Brenda Anders at Bunnyfic

Link: COTG here; you can follow the links to each subsequent section, or go to individual parts here (about halfway down the page)

Why This Must Be Read: This series is one of the best episode tags out there. Period. It's also one of the best Jack and Daniel friendship series out there, and it's tempting to rec it in both categories at once, but there's no sense in getting entirely carried away, is there?

The format of this series is simple: Each one opens and closes with an excerpt from Daniel's journal, while the episode itself is retold from various points of view, mostly Jack's or Daniel's. Quotes from the actual episode highlight the changes in POV. The series follows many of the pivotal episodes of the first four seasons; I believe there are additional episode fixes that were published in fanzines, but I don't know if Brenda ever intends to release them online.

While the first few stories are more team-oriented, the series quickly focuses more intently on the Jack and Daniel dynamic. And it's really, really good. The voices are real, the characterization is sound, and we get to watch and enjoy the slow evolution of Jack, Daniel, and their friendship throughout the first four seasons of the show.

My personal favorites include Solitudes - I must be one of three SG-1 fans who think the SGC half of that episode was much more interesting than the Antarctica half - The Fifth Race, Shades of Grey, and the section that includes both Forever In a Day and Past and Present, rightfully putting the two together as both tragedy and subsequent recovery. All of these are wonderful, however, and once you've started reading them, it'll take more willpower than I have to stop yourself from continuing on from one episode to the next.

From The Fifth Race:

To quote Dorothy: There's no place like home. Even those automatic rifles pointed at me as I stroll down the ramp sing 'home sweet home' to me. I see Daniel do a sharp turn in the control room and rush out, followed by Teal'c.

Daniel's waiting for me at the bottom of the ramp with a look on his face that I recognize immediately. I probably wore that same stunned/relieved/please-let-me-believe-my-eyes expression when I stood in this very room and laid eyes on him, alive and well, after I thought he'd died on Apophis' ship. When he stood on this ramp not that long ago and watched me walk through the Gate, his emotions were on his face for all to see. Ah, Danny, I'm sorry you had to go through that, but have I got a story to tell you!

Teal'c joins Daniel at the ramp and I give him a quick, acknowledging nod, but return my attention to Daniel, who still looks like he's afraid to believe his eyes. "I'm back," I announce. Look at me, Daniel, I'm here and I'm speakin' English again. I'm okay, kid.

Daniel's eyes don't leave my face. "What happened?"

"Do you still possess the knowledge of the Ancients?" Teal'c asks.

I know how much Daniel really wanted that knowledge -- almost as much as I didn't want it in my head, thank you very much -- and I give a little sigh for his loss, but it's a relief for me to say, "Nope. Don't remember a thing."

But there's plenty I do remember. Like Daniel sticking to me like glue through this whole mess, refusing to leave my side, refusing to give up when I was close to doing just that. And I remember the look on his face when we stood here on the ramp and he said, "If you go, you might not be able to come back."

There's something else, too. He was right. About the Ancients and Thor and the alliance, and, hell, just about everything else he was spouting off. I can't wait to get everyone into the briefing room and tell him that in front of the whole bunch of 'em. And I'm going to make sure I'm sitting across from him when I do because I want to see his face.

The thought of that makes me smile, but when I look back at Daniel, I see he's still staring at me a little anxiously. The tension of those long hours spent trying to find a way to prevent my mind from being overwritten by an alien database obviously haven't faded yet. Don't you worry, Danny, there's a six pack in my refrigerator with your name on it, and by the time you get through with that, you won't even remember what you were worried about.

"But you know that meaning of life stuff?" I ask him, already anticipating his reaction when I tell him what happened.

There's the faintest frown of confusion on his face, but he nods slightly.

With great satisfaction, I tell him, "I think we're going to be all right."