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I am a table. I am a rectangular four-foot wide by eight-foot long, golden oak table with lots of grain, a leg on each corner, and a polyurethane sealant. This is important, because though it removes me from the level of 'fine' furniture, it adds to my versatility and my longevity. I was purchased in the early 90's by the U.S. Air Force Quartermaster in a spasm of upgrades for the offices of NORAD. After I was delivered, I was reassigned to a priority slot in a new command under the mountain cryptically referred to as SGC. I can seat eight formally, ten comfortably, and twelve friendly. Because I was purchased without chairs, I knew that my life would be one of utilitarianism not formal dining. In other words, I'll see a lot of service of all kinds.
I have been sitting in tall military Jack's Office since his promotion. It used to be Big military Hammond's office, but now Tall Military Jack sits in here. He seems to need me a lot more than Big Military Hammond did. There are always lots of papers and folders on my top. Tall military Jack is now very important. He talks to every team now, not just his own. He even talks on the red phone and says sir a lot. I've never heard him say sir so often.
He reads an awful lot too. Everything that small military Walter puts on me, he reads. He reads and he talks. He talks to the paper, he talks to the desk and he even talks to me. Sometimes he talks to Big Military Hammond even though his old friend is no where to be seen. I'm not sure that tall military Jack enjoys his new job.
Tall civilian Daniel, big alien Teal'c and tall military Sam come to visit often. Sometimes they are together, sometimes one at a time. I think that he likes it better when they come. He smiles a lot then, especially at tall civilian Daniel, though sometimes it sounds like he is threatening him. But tall civilian Daniel laughs at him when tall military Jack says 'Just wait until I get you home.'
But lately he hadn't been smiling much at all. Last week some evil mobiles had stolen the Stargate. I've seen the Stargate and it is very big. I don't know how anyone could take it but it made everyone very unhappy. Even the voice on the other end of the red phone was angry. Tall military Jack talked long and soothingly to 'Mister President', telling him that SG1 would surely find it and bring it back. He thought that someone called the Trust had taken it. He says many words about them. He says he can't wait to get his hands on them' too, but it doesn't sound the same as when he says it about tall civilian Daniel. Several teams and big alien Teal'c were off- world and I know tall military Jack was very worried about everyone.
SG1 found the Stargate and it had been brought back. Tall enlisted Siler and my other mobile friends in maintenance fixed it back in its place. Tall lady Sam said it wouldn't go anywhere again. Large Alien Teal'c looked ominous, and nodded his head. Tall military Jack had been very relieved, not only about the Stargate but that everyone had come back safely.
After the Stargate had been secured, tall military Jack had come back into his office and shut the door and he turned the button on the doorknob. Then he turned off the overhead light, sat down at his desk and put his face in his hands. He sat there for a long time and didn't say a word. Even when the black phone made a ringy noise. He just picked the handle up and sat it back down on the box part.
Several minutes later, there came a tappy noise at the door. At first tall military Jack ignored the sound. Then a voice called his name from the other side. It was tall civilian Daniel's voice and he called to his friend in a soft soothing tone.
"Jack, let me in." Tall military Jack didn't answer him. "Jack, come on. I know you're in there. Look I need to see you. Please let me in so we can talk about this."
Finally, tall military Jack sighed and got up from the desk and let his friend in. Tall military Jack just came and sat back down at the desk and tall civilian Daniel pushed some papers aside on my surface and he sat on his hip on my broad strong top. He knew that he could trust me to hold his weight as I had supported him many times in our relationship.
At first the two mobiles didn't say anything to each other. Then tall military Jack finally sighed and looked at his friend. "Did you clear medical yet?"
"Yes, I'm fine." The other man replied. "Just a little head . . . I'm fine."
"What happened to give you a headache?"
"Nothing."
"If you were fine, you never would have let the headache word slip. What happened?"
Tall civilian Daniel shifted his weight on me and sighed. "All right. I got zatted."
I could hear tall military Jack sigh. "Who zatted you?"
"Jennings. One of the bad guys from the Trust."
"Duh." Tall military Jack looked at him. "Where is he now?"
"Well, Teal'c killed him with a staff weapon. Then we rescued Sam and beamed to the Prometheus." Tall civilian Daniel continued. "It was the same guy who kidnapped Teal'c's neighbor and me last month. The one I gave the translation too." He looked at his friend leaning on the desk. "Uh, the good news is, this is what they needed the translation for."
"This is good news?"
"Well, we got the Stargate back."
"And the bad news is you almost got killed . . . again . . . alone . . . again . . . without backup . . . again."
"We had Teal'c."
"But, that was luck. You didn't expect Teal'c to be there." Tall military Jack looked at his friend. "One big, honking steak dinner to the man from Chulak."
Daniel smiled his real smile. "Yes, that's a definite must. Can we go back to O'Malley's yet?"
"Only if we promise to behave." Tall military Jack raised his head and smiled his real smile back at his friend.
"I'm not sure I can." Tall civilian Daniel slipped off me and went to stand next to his friend. "I might want to do more than behave."
"That can wait until later in the evening . . . after the dinner." Tall military Jack put his arms around the other man's waist and pulled him close. He leaned his head against his friend's middle. "I don't think I can do this, Danny."
"What?"
"This General shit." He said to the stomach he was leaning on. "Letting my kids go out alone without me . . . sitting here . . . wondering what's happening to you while Carter gets captured, you get kidnapped, you get trapped in a damned civil war, Teal'c gets lost, you all get zatted, tortured. . . ."
"Stop it, Jack. Just stop! You're doing a good job." Tall civilian Daniel put his hands on his friend's head and ran his fingers through the short, silver hair. "Everyone is very happy with your commanding the program." Tall civilian Daniel used the hand to pat him gently on the shoulders. "Do you know what they're saying?"
Tall military Jack shook his head, rubbing his forehead on his friend's middle. "Sure, they're saying 'What the fuck does he think he's doing in that office anyway?' "
"No, Jack. That's not what they're saying."
"No?"
"No. They say that they can trust you. They say that you won't leave anyone behind, and that they like having you in charge because you know what it's like out there." He moved his hands to tall military Jack's face. "They say you're a good man to work for. They say they know they can trust you."
"That's a pretty big order."
"We have a pretty big man in charge now . . . not that General Hammond wasn't liked and trusted . . . but they always knew that he hadn't been . . . out there." Tall civilian Daniel waved a hand toward the great big room with the Stargate in it. "They know that you have . . . and they trust you."
"We trusted George."
"We did, but SG1 knew him better than the other teams did. George was a good man, a great leader, but you . . . you're one of us." Tall civilian Daniel smiled his smile and tall military Jack had to smile back. "They know you can make the right decision . . . the hard decision."
"Like today?"
"Yes, just like today." Tall civilian Daniel nodded. "Colonel Pierce told us that he had wanted to fire on Osiris's ship and that you wouldn't let him."
"Not a good example, Daniel."
"Why not?"
"Because I should have ordered him to shoot," I could hear tall military Jack sigh. "But I couldn't let him."
"Oh?"
"Because you were on it. You and Carter . . . I didn't know about T . . . I couldn't take the chance of your being killed again."
"It was the right decision, Jack."
"I couldn't know that. All I could think about was my team being on that ship." Tall military Jack pushed himself away from tall civilian Daniel. "The Trust got away with Osiris's ship."
"Yes," the younger man said solemnly. "Yes, they did. But, their leader is dead. We got the Stargate back and we're alive. I'd say that was a successful decision."
Tall military Jack was looking down at the papers on his desk. I don't know why. It was too dark in the room to read anything.
"The ship would have taken off with you, Carter and the Stargate. The Prometheus couldn't have tracked them. It's still in refit. You could have been lost."
"But we weren't." Tall civilian Daniel sat on the desk's corner. "And you would have found us. I know you." He sighed and reached over to touch his friend on the shoulder. "Jack, remember four years ago when General Hammond retired?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Remember how we came in hot taking fire from the planet and General Hammond held the iris for us?
"Yeah."
"Well, we knew that he would. We knew that he'd wait til the last possible moment to close us out."
"Yeah, so?"
"Well, Jack. That's how they feel about you. Everyone knows that you will hold the gate iris for them. That you won't let them down."
Tall military Jack sighed. "One day I'll have to close the iris, Daniel. I won't have a choice."
"We know, but we'll also know that you held out as long as you could . . . that you didn't give up without a good reason . . . that you tried."
"People will still die."
"But they'll die knowing that you did all you possibly could . . . held on until the end . . . until there was no other choice." Tall civilian Daniel nodded. "They'll know, you'll know that you did everything humanly possible . . . that you didn't panic or do it for a stupid reason or do it just because someone ordered you to."
"I don't know, Daniel. I'm not sure."
"I am."
"Why?"
"Because I know you . . . and I believe that you're the best there is. You know the game, you know the score and you know what depends on the game." Tall civilian Daniel leaned over and patted his friend on the shoulder, then left his hand there. "Jack, you wrote the playbook."
Tall military Jack looked up at him oddly. "Sometimes, Danny, I don't even know what game we're playing."
"The most important one of all . . . life . . . for us and everyone else." The tall younger mobile looked down at his friend. "Come on, lets go get that steak."
"And for dessert?"
"For dessert, you get pie."
Tall military Jack smiled up at him. "Pie is good, but . . . Danny is better."
Tall civilian Daniel laughed softly and bent to kiss his special friend. They stayed that way for a long time, just holding each other. Then they left the desk and walked through the dark room together, locking the door behind them.
I am a table. I am a rectangular four-foot wide by eight-foot long, golden oak table with lots of grain, a leg on each corner, and a polyurethane sealant. This is important, because though it removes me from the level of 'fine' furniture, it adds to my versatility and my longevity. I was assigned to a priority slot in a new command under the mountain cryptically referred to as SGC. I have seen many amazing things in my life here. But the best things I have witnessed are the trust, loyalty and faith that these mobiles give to each other as their lives change and their love continues.