stargateficrec | Numerology, by Random (PG) (Reply)

Rec Category: Episode Fix

Pairing: none
Category: episode fix, Jack O'Neill, Daniel Jackson, gen, angst
Warning: reference to canon character death; some violence
Author on LJ: unknown
Author's Website:

Link: Numerology

Why This Must Be Read: I've recced some of Random's fics in the past. Here is an author whose characterization of Jack and Daniel is solid gold. Just about everything Random writes is well worth reading, but this particular story serves as a fascinating character study for both Jack, whose POV tells most of the story, and Daniel, who spends most of this fic off in Omaland.

The premise of this fic is technically simple: at the beginning of Redemption, Sam remarks that they've tried ten different replacements for Daniel, and all of them have failed. In Numerology, Random takes us through those ten attempts and SG-1's struggles to find someone who can fit that Daniel-shaped gap. But it's Jack's churning thoughts that make this story so fascinating, as he pins down exactly what Daniel was and why he's so badly missed.

There are so many parts of this story that are worth highlighting. There's the exact reason why Mathison only managed to last two hours; there's Jack's reluctant realization of how Daniel's all-too-frequent guilt-tripping was actually symptomatic of his essential sense of responsibility. We get Hammond's frustrated efforts to help Jack find a new fourth, and the SGC's surreptitious betting pool on the results - especially Janet's opinion. There's even the reluctant humor of Brown's spectacular failure, when boot polish becomes more important than fixing the DHD. But most importantly, there's Jack's unhappy understanding of just what they're missing, and how impossible it will be to replace Daniel Jackson.

The end of the story shifts from the beginning of Redemption to Fallen, when Daniel is back and Jack expects him to slip effortlessly back into the complicated relationship they once shared. The final section is told from Daniel's POV, and his confusion and self-doubt, as he warily wends his way through the minefield of Jack's expectations, leave him feeling unsure - but we, the readers, are very sure indeed of how happy SG-1 is to have their real fourth back.

If you're a Jonas fan (and I'm sure they exist somewhere <bg>), this is not a Jonas-bashing fic, so don't worry. Numerology is a wonderfully absorbing and most satisfying story that will leave you not quite sure where canon stops and Random's fanon begins.

"Jack, this one really is going to have to stick."

"Yes, sir." The answer had become automatic. He'd picked a young officer, fresh from the Academy, made sure Carter and Teal'c met the man before the paperwork went in, had tried to do all he could, just as ordered. But wasn't that what he'd thought the last however many times it was?

Carter liked Hagman. "He's young, but he's smart."

Teal'c assessment was a little more blunt. "I believe he can be trained."

That was good enough for Jack.

Besides, he figured as soon as Hagman went bust, he'd have enough ammo to go back to Hammond and argue again that they didn't really need a fourth.

Took Hagman all of eight days to really screw up, even though he started heading that way right off. Day one, he started second-guessing himself, hesitating over translating local dialects, and then saying he was sure when he wasn't.

Jack knew then just how much SG-1 had been spoilt by what they'd lost. How many times had he heard those words, "I don't know." How many times had that phrase made him want to demand why didn't the guy know, damnit? And it hit him then how few people actually ever said that.

I don't know.

Smart people--except maybe Carter--never admitted that. They started talking in long sentences and kept talking. Anything to impress you with how much they did know. Anything to keep from admitting a weakness. Now Jack saw just how valuable those words were.

I don't know.

That meant I won't give false hope. They came with the implied assurance the guy would not give up until he actually did know--god, didn't he always have to know more? And, crap, but that's what he'd said before he'd gone.

He didn't know where he was going. Didn't know if he'd be back.

Now Jack didn't know what he was going to do.

And he had a kid in over his head who didn't know enough to admit when he didn't know. That nearly killed them all.

The kid botched the translation, thought the locals wanted to talk when that was the last thing on the meeting agenda. Jack's knee blew on the run back to the 'gate. He sent Carter and Teal'c ahead to secure it, get it open, and he really tried not to kill any of the locals; P90's against blowguns just seemed a little too one-sided in this mess. Hagman at least had guts enough to stick with him, even as the man rationalized the disaster, talking the whole way on that limping run back to the Stargate. And every jab of pain into Jack's knee told him this was no way to build a team.

Hammond's face on the other side told him the same, gave him a full blast of disappointment and frustration.

Yeah, another one bites the gate ramp.