The Chrysalis Series
"No More Butterflies"
written by:
Dragonfly
|
A/N: Wow, what started out as a simple little project, turned into one of the greatest challenges I have experienced in writing so far. So now
I'm sitting here, a year after this project first began and I am completely overwhelmed. For those of you who have stuck by me from chapter
one's posting...you kept me going. Your words of support encouraged me. You made me want to post the next chapter and you made me
want to try my damnedest in making it even better than the last. Thank you. My betas...I admit, I've been through many for this story. Mostly
those kind enough to help me in their passing...but two, two dug their heels in and dared not leave. Danielle and Heidi. For a writer, I am at
a loss for words. Danielle, you were the one that inspired me to start writing in the first place. And Heidi, your faith in me wouldn't let me stop.
To the best girls in the world. I never could have done it without you.
Also, a honkin huge thanks to Sunny for helping me with the Portuguese!! *smooch*
~*~*~*~*~*~
Happiness comes and goes, but innocence is lost forever. A gift as precious as life, but more fragile than it. For a life can
be reclaimed--whether by medical persuasion or a desperately needed epiphany. Innocence, however, once lost, can
never be captured again.
Its absence barely noticed through the numbing pain, until, one day, you find yourself looking in the mirror at a stranger.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Chapter One
***
“Ring around the rosie,
Pockets full of posies,
Ashes, Ashes,
We all fall down!”
***
~// Colors tickled his vision as they danced through the air on the wings of monarchs. Finding sanctuary from the city,
Daniel and the butterflies shared something in common--for when the rush of sounds and smells overwhelmed them, they
would retreat above it, to the “Garden in the Sky”.
…at least that’s what he liked to call the magnificent greenhouse on the roof of their apartment building.
Seven year old Daniel Jackson had just moved to New York with his parents. It was his first time in America, and he was
thrilled.
He liked to think of the city as one gigantic excavation site. Unfortunately, regardless of how hard he tried to convince his
parents that he was old enough to venture it alone; his explorations had been limited to their apartment building and the
museum his parents were working at.
He found the garden on the fourth day, after finding Mr. McGee, the bellhop, and a maid in a rather precarious position in
a closed off section of the building. He figured that, as long as they didn’t tell on him for being in that section…he wouldn’t
tell on them for being out of uniform.
Nearly everyday Daniel would come to the garden and spend hours “exploring” with the butterflies which never failed to
greet him. Together, they sought adventure in the wild jungles or safaris of the New York City rooftop. And together, they
faced the dangers of a seven year old boy’s imagination.
Though Daniel had to admit, at first, he really didn’t think he was going to like it living in the city. But as he stood from his
magical playground in the sky and watched as the people below breathed life into it, his body trembled with excitement.
Home…
Standing in the protective circle of his friend’s, Daniel looked on hopefully. A pack filled with all the necessities of a young
explorer-- crayons, an Egyptian coloring book, complete with fold out map, a flashlight and some old translations his father
had been working on- was the only weight he carried on his shoulders.
…and his only worry…was making it back on time for dinner. //~
~*~*~*~*~*~
Daniel took in the field before him and trembled.
The smells of war assaulted his nostrils and threatened to expel what little food Jack had forced into him. There was once
hope here. A great promise of uniting nations.
Now, there was only death.
The tall golden grass and wildflowers used to sway lively to the wind. Now they lay limp, stained red and black with the
scars of war.
Two weeks. Two weeks of negotiations. Two weeks of begging for peace, grabbing at straws and common ground. Two
weeks of teetering on the edge of devastation. Two weeks of trying to save the people he had come to know as friends.
Two weeks gone in a flash of debris.
Bodies upon bodies lie unceremoniously amongst each other, while Daniel watched, as what remained of their loved ones
filter through them looking for hope.
…but they would find none. Because each body lay in the same position life had abandoned them in.
As Daniel looked on, the sounds of mourning slowly started to seep into his consciousness, leaving an ache in his soul he
knew he would never completely be free of.
The Tydens did not cry for their loss…they hummed. One desolate tone, over and over. Daniel was told that they would do
this for an hour for each one lost. His heart could not fathom absorbing endless echoes of grief for days and days on end.
If only he could have found a solution.
If only he could have found what was needed to prevent this.
Tears rolled off Daniel’s face unchecked, piercing the stale air in their slow descent as they magnified the despair
surrounding them before colliding with the ground, spreading the ashes of war in all direction of the wind.
…if only he could have understood.
Hearing burnt terrain slowly crunch under footsteps, Daniel turned to find the village’s Medicine Man staring intently at him.
He was the leader now, as their Chief had perished-- along with over half of the villagers.
…if only they would have let us help.
Not yet in the traditional dress of a Chief, Juni stood before Daniel in animal skin pants and moccasin covered feet. Blood
covered his bare tan chest- reminiscent of the battles he fought, after one was already lost.
As the Medicine Man, Juni was considered to be of most value- he had the ability to heal those injured. For this reason, he
was sent to safety weeks ago, along with the very youngest.
However, no one, including women or children were spared from the enemy’s rage. It was merely luck that some were left
standing. Not mercy.
…and now the man before him had nothing left to do but pray.
“Sua alma sangra.” He spoke softly, pointing at Daniel’s face as if shocked.
Regarding the new chief, Daniel slowly brought a hand up and touched his fingers to his face. Pulling away he stared
desolately at the salty liquid that spilled between his fingers.
“What’d he say?” Jack prodded gently, finally walking up beside him after deciding that he had been hovering for far too
long.
Swallowing hard, Daniel’s weary eyes never left his fingers. “He said…” The archaeologist’s voice caught momentarily as
he struggled to find it. “…he said my soul bleeds.”
~*~*~*~*~*~
Jack placed a comforting hand over his friend’s shoulder and wasn’t surprised to be greeted with tremors. He knew how
hard these past weeks had been on Daniel. He knew how hard he fought to keep peace.
He knew he was blaming himself.
…and ultimately, he knew how close he got to the villagers who now lay dead at his feet.
The Tydens became instant allies the second they had gated to their world over six months ago. They had loads of
Naquada and were more than willing to share. They only asked that it be mined in the least destructive way possible and
that SG-1 tell them stories.
Yes, tell them stories of our travels.
Apparently they too had an almost childlike curiosity. Just like someone else Jack knew. Who, by the way, was more than
happy to oblige.
Daniel had been visiting and swapping stories, at least once, if not two times a week for the past six months…usually with
Teal’c in tow. Jack had forbid…er, strongly advised against Daniel going off world alone…or with another team for that
matter. (They never read the little booklets he gave out on, “The Proper Handle and Care of One Archaeologist”.)
Not that Jack would hear a bit of complaint from either of his friends. Teal’c fell in love with the language, just as quickly as
Daniel fell in love with the people and had been an eager student from nearly day one.
Jack dotingly remembered how excited his friend had been when he first started to communicate with the villagers…
// “Oh wow.”
“What is it, Daniel?” he asked, stepping closer to the younger man.
“They’re speaking Portuguese!” the linguist exclaimed excitedly.
Jack slowly nodded his head. “And? So? Therefore? What does it mean?”
Daniel’s eyes went wide as his hands started their animations. “It could mean a number of things, Jack. Their language is
the purest we’ve come across.”
“Daniel.” Cut to the chase.
“It, it, it could mean, Jack, that the Goa’uld haven’t been here.”
Jack raised his eyebrows at this. “Why?”
“Because without the Goa’uld bringing in slaves from other places, their culture has remained as one. It’s remained the
same, without any outside influences.”
Daniel gasped.
“What?” Jack asked, suddenly concerned.
“Do you know what this means?”
Jack thought it looked like his archaeologist was about to start jumping up and down. “Ummm, that the Goa’uld haven’t
been here?”
“No Jack! Well, YES! But, but, but don’t you see??” …and starts the hopping.
“Aaaaa…” Jack slowly snaked his arms out and shrugged.
“Jack! This means that it’s very possible that Earth did not influence the Portuguese culture. That, in fact, it was the other
way around.”
When Daniel’s eyes begged him to see the significance, Jack started to nod his head…however, it quickly turned into a
shake. “I’m sorry Daniel but…”
“Jack this means that the culture… the Portuguese History is thousands of years older than we thought.”
“Sooo, a few more candles on the cake.”
“Jaaaack.”
Jack had to wipe his mouth to stifle a grin. Sometimes his friend was just too easy to tease.
“Daniel, they seem friendly enough. I’ll ask Hammond for a few more days.”
This earned him a rare and full blown smile. “Thanks, Jack!” //
The memory of his smile, however, quickly started to dissipate and break up by the tremors Jack could feel coursing
through him.
He was actually surprised that his friend was still standing. He hadn’t been eating and had barely been sleeping since this
whole mess started. And when they walked through the gate, just about a half an hour ago and saw the
destruction…Daniel swayed right into Teal’c’s firm grip.
He really needed to get him out of here.
“Daniel…” Jack didn’t know what to say. Are you okay? Just didn’t seem appropriate, because he knew the answer. No.
Neither did, It’s alright. Because it wasn’t.
“Let’s go home.” He finally managed to whisper, as he squeezed his friend’s shoulder.
Daniel lifted his head to say something, but stopped when Juni placed his hand on the side of his head and whispered
something in his ear that not even Jack could hear.
And then his friend swayed.
And then he fell.
“Daniel!” Jack cried out, as he stepped behind the younger man and eased him down into his lap. Sweat was suddenly
coating his face despite the chill in the air, and his breaths were coming in quick, short gasps.
“Daniel?”
When Daniel grabbed the front of Jack’s shirt and squeezed his eyes shut, as if in pain, Jack began to frantically check him
over.
Did he get bit by something?
Was there a sniper?
“Everybody get down!” he screamed, just in case, but nobody moved and he couldn’t find any blood.
“Daniel?” he called desperately, his voice rising with the beat of his heart, but only received a tiny sob before his friend’s
head rolled listlessly against his chest…his hand falling to the side.
Carter and Teal’c were crouching beside them now.
“Sir! What happened?” Carter asked, already checking her surrogate brother over.
“I don’t know. He was just standing there talking with…” Jack paused as realization dawned on him. Looking up at Juni, his
voice was hard. “What did you do to him?”
“Sir?” Carter stopped her ministrations and looked between her CO and the Medicine Man.
“He was fine, Carter… well, at least standing, and then he put his hand on him!” Jack couldn’t help but scream as he
angrily gestured towards the man.
“I do not believe Juni would harm DanielJackson.”
Shaking his head, Jack ran a hand that wasn’t supporting the archaeologist, down his face. “Carter?”
“I don’t know, sir. I can’t find anything physically wrong with him, at least, outwardly. But he’s in shock. We need to get him
back to Janet.”
Jack nodded and Carter moved to give Teal’c more room to pick up Daniel, but Juni swiftly took her place. And despite
Teal’c’s previous statement, he aimed his staff weapon at the new Chief.
“Come no further.”
Juni looked up at Teal’c confused, but stepped back and glanced down anxiously at the man in Jack’s arms. “Ele não deve
permanecer mais aqui. Há coisas demais acontecendo. Ele está enfraquecendo.”
“Teal’c?” Jack asked for a translation.
“He says that we must leave with DanielJackson immediately. That there is too much for him here. That he weakens.”
Jack really didn’t have time for this and the constant humming was starting to give him a headache. “Well, what the hell’s
that supposed to mean?” he asked, frustrated, as he looked between the two.
“Sir.” Carter was kneeling beside Daniel again. “His pulse is weakening and getting more erratic.”
“Let’s go!” Jack immediately started to extract himself from under his friend, but was stopped as Juni clamped down on his
shoulders.
“NO! Wait!” He cried with a heavy accent, in what little English he had learned. “Você deve permanecer próximo. O
guardião de sua alma deve permanecer próximo, ou ele estará perdido!”
Jack raised his eyebrows at Teal’c, who had his own raised in like. But there was also concern in the Jaffa’s eyes.
“I believe he says that, as the guardian of DanielJackson’s soul, you must remain close to him or he will be lost.”
Jack’s eyebrows flew up even further as disbelief and mild amusement danced across his features. Wait until he told Daniel
that one. “Guardian, eh?” he instead sombered, looking up at the chief. “I think your getting your signals crossed there,
buddy.” He grunted trying to get out from underneath Daniel again, but the chief just tightened his hold and continued to
stare at him. Jack shook his head and sighed. They didn’t have time for this. Daniel needed help. “Teal’c get him away from
me.”
The former First Prime simply reached an arm out against Juni’s chest and eased him back, ignoring the man’s protests.
Tenderly lifting his fallen friend into his arms, Teal’c started the short trek back to the gate, accompanied on each side by
his teammates. When the young scholar’s arm fell limp and started swinging by his side, Sam and Jack both reached for it
and tucked it safely back over Daniel’s middle.
Never saying a word, they silently marched through the mourners, as their own thoughts were a thousand miles away and
resting in their Jaffa friend’s arms.
They could hear yelling over the sounds of mourning, but did not turn around.
“O Guardião é o único que pode trazê-lo de volta! O Guardião é o único que pode trazê-lo de volta!”
It wasn’t until Carter was dialing up, that Jack even bothered to ask Teal’c what Juni was screaming.
“He keeps repeating that you are the only one that can bring him back, O’Neill.”
“O Guardião é o único que pode trazê-lo de volta!”
“Yeah? Well, he’d better hope that if we do come back, Daniel is on his own two feet.” Jack declared, before throwing a
concerned glance towards his friend’s limp form and walking through the event horizon.
“O Guardião é o único que pode traze-lo de volta!” was still being yelled over the hummers and the fallen loved ones they
gathered around as the Stargate disintegrated.
~*~*~*~*~*~
~// Daniel spun himself in circles beneath his friends’ wings. “Ring around the rosie…” he sang with childish delight.
“Pockets full of posies…”
He learned this…game, watching the other children at the park today.
They all gathered hands and ran around in a huge circle over and over-- sometimes rather fast, while singing this song.
When they got to “ashes, ashes, we all fall down”, they’d let go of each other and dramatically fall to the ground in a heap
of laughter.
Daniel, at first, couldn’t find the point…or the appeal for that matter, but when he finally joined the group, for the sole
purpose of research of course…it didn’t become any clearer.
All he knew was that for some reason, it was ridiculously fun!
Even doing it by himself! He couldn’t believe he never heard of it before!
…he couldn’t believe…he couldn’t believe it was so much fun!
Laying on the rooftop, breathless and still slightly tickled from dizziness, Daniel watched as the butterflies played tag above
his head in the sun’s rays.
…and he couldn’t help but think that-- nope life in the big city really wasn’t so bad after all. //~
~*~*~*~*~*~
Every once in a while, one has a dream that refuses to release its hold. These prove to be even more disturbing than a
nightmare…for at least you can remember those and know why your heart races from slumber.
These dreams, however…they follow you into consciousness, but refuse to reveal themselves. Lingering in the shadows of
your mind, they offer nothing but malaise.
Slowly trying to open his eyes, Daniel became aware of a great sorrow heavily weighing on his heart and soul. So heavily,
in fact, that his mind urged him to retreat back into oblivion.
And if it were not for the firm grip someone had on his hand…he would have.
“Daniel?” So softly spoken, yet he still heard the hopeful plea Jack’s voice carried.
“mmm…”
“Doc! He’s coming around!”
“Daniel? Do you know where you are?” This voice sounded from the other side of him and usually came armed with a
bright light, which Daniel swore; sole purpose was to fuse the nerve endings of his eyes together. That could only mean…
“Jck?”
“I’m right here,” His friend eased as he squeezed his hand. “Answer the Doc.”
“…firmary.” He managed to croak out just as his eyelids finally released the death grip they had on his eyeballs…though
only for a few seconds.
Daniel felt something brought up to his lips but turned his head. As thirsty as he was, he didn’t think his stomach could
handle so much as a drop from an ice chip.
“Do you know why you’re in my infirmary, Daniel?” he was asked, as his eyelids were pried back open and the inevitable
light assaulted his retinas.
He honestly didn’t. He couldn’t even remember the last thing that happened and didn’t so much care. His whole body ached
and he just felt so worn and overwhelmed with emptiness and grief.
He wanted nothing more than to curl up and cry himself back to sleep.
He wanted nothing more than to shut the world out and hope that when he woke again, the pain that was currently
consuming his body would be nothing more than a distant memory.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Jack couldn’t believe it. Daniel had turned down ice chips. They were usually the equivalent of coffee when he first woke
up in the infirmary.
He guessed Frasier wasn’t too concerned about him becoming dehydrated, since she already had an IV in…but still, the
man just turned down…'coffee'!
Something was definitely wrong…
“Daniel?” Janet repeated, when she wasn’t given an answer. “Do you know why you’re in the infirmary?”
Jack watched as Daniel simply shook his head, his eyes already closing again as he tried to turn onto his side. When Janet
placed a gentle hand on his shoulder to ease him back, he sobbed and tried again.
Jack winced. “Is he even awake, Doc?” Daniel usually tried to bite back his emotions…not that he was always successful,
but to see him so…well, emotional, concerned him.
“I think so, sir,” she softly replied, letting Daniel go and watching him as he immediately curled up on his side toward Jack.
When he brought the hand that Jack still held, up beside his forehead and grabbed Jack’s wrist with his other hand, Jack’s
embarrassingly paternal heart went to mush.
“Ahh, Doc? Are you sure he’s not in any pain? Migraine maybe?”
Janet shook her head. “I really can’t know for sure. I can give him a mild pain reliever, but aside from that…I can’t do
anything else until he’s more coherent. I’m afraid, sir, that I just can’t find anything physically wrong with him other than a
low grade fever and low blood sugar.”
“Have you looked at him lately, Janet?” Jack snapped, gesturing to the form currently hanging onto him like a security
blanket. “Does this look like everything’s okay in ‘Dannyville’?”
“I’m sorry sir,” She briefly looking down at her hands. “But I just don’t know what else to tell you.”
Sighing, Jack scrubbed his face with his free hand. “I know. I’m sorry.”
“I think it’s possible that he could be catching a nasty flu that’s been going around. Cassie is home sick with it now. It may,
sir, on top of everything that has happened-- be the cause for his current state. Actually, being sick and then put through
such a traumatic event…not to mention the added stress he’s had the past few months with the robberies in his
community… Well, I can’t say that I’m surprised.”
After briefly eyeing her troubled C.O., Frasier continued dolefully. “The truth of it is, sir. …despite our best efforts, our
favorite archaeologist has worked himself into the ground… and it’ll probably take him awhile to get back on his feet.”
Jack couldn’t seem to find his voice, so he nodded instead and rested his forehead in his hand. Call it instinct, or Daniel’s
luck, but Jack just knew there was something more to his friend’s collapse and subsequent shock.
His current state was testimony enough for that. Daniel just wasn’t a touchy-feely kind of guy.
…and when his friend whimpered in his sleep again and tightened his hold, Jack couldn’t help but wonder what was in store
for the younger man now.
Chapter Two
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DISCLAIMER: All characters and property of Stargate SG-1 belong to MGM/UA, World Gekko Corp. and Double Secret Productions. This fan fiction was created
solely for entertainment and no money was made from it. Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or
dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any other characters, the storyline and the actual story are the property of the author.