Title: Campfire Stories
Author: Wonderland
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Don’t own ‘em, wish I did, you know who does, yadda, yadda, yadda
Summary: Missing Scene from ‘Painted Soldiers’. As Tejas said, they are
gathered around the warmth of Daniel’s coffeemaker, telling stories.
NCIS/Stargate SG-1 crossover
Season/Spoiler info: Into The Fire
General George Hammond finally broke
the silence in the elevator. “I hope I don’t have to remind you that Dr.
Jackson is a civilian and as such…”
“He hasn’t seen what we’ve seen.” Agent
Jethro Gibbs finished. “I’ve got more civilians on my team than soldiers. They
do take a bit of special handling, don’t they, sir?”
“Dr. Jackson more than most, I’m
afraid.”
Gibbs understood both the tone and the
implied warning. That Hammond genuinely cared for Jackson was fairly apparent
and that he wouldn’t brook any mistreatment. Gibbs followed him through yet
another rat’s maze of corridors until he heard two voices, loud and
challenging.
“I’ve just got to know, Daniel. Come
on, ‘fess up.”
“How the hell would I know why she cut
my hair?”
Hammond chuckled softly as he paused at
the door. “Colonel O’Neill, I don’t believe you two were formally introduced.
Agent Jethro Gibbs, Colonel Jack O’Neill.”
“Colonel.” Gibbs leaned forward to
shake the offered hand.
“Agent Gibbs. You know the rest of my
team. Carter, Daniel and I think you met Dr. Fraiser.”
“General, have a seat,” Carter jumped
up to offer the general her chair, moving to perch on the side of the desk
behind which Jackson was firmly planted. O’Neill boosted himself back up on the
lab table and Dr. Fraiser swung her chair over to Jackson’s side. Clearly, the
wagons had been circled, Gibbs realized.
“Would you like something to drink,
sir? We’ve invaded Daniel’s stash.” Fraiser addressed the general.
“I promised Agent Gibbs that I knew
where he could get a good cup of coffee.”
Fraiser rose and fussed over the cups,
handing the general his cup. “How do you like your coffee, Agent Gibbs?”
“Black is fine, thank you. And it’s
Jethro.” Gibbs took a testing sip. “That is good coffee.”
“Daniel has educated all of our
palates.” O’Neill nudged a chair with his foot. “Take a load off.” O’Neill
watched Carter dump sugar in her coffee, watched Daniel wince before he asked
quietly, “Your investigation about over?”
“Yeah, we’ll be leaving in the
morning.”
“Find out anything you didn’t know?”
“No, I can report to the Corporal’s
family, in all good conscience, that he died in service to his country.”
“I just want you to know how much it
hurt Daniel to leave him behind. He, well, he doesn’t think like a soldier.”
Gibbs glanced over as Fraiser hovered
over Jackson. “I can see that. So, Colonel, mind if I ask you a question?”
“Shoot.”
“The woman who kidnapped you guys. What
happened to her?”
“Killed her with my own hands,”
O’Neill’s face was wintry.
“Good, good,” Gibbs nodded.
*
“No, no! It did not happen like that!”
Jackson protested vehemently.
“It happened exactly like that!”
O’Neill argued. “You got married to a girl you’d known less than an hour.”
“We’d known each other more than an
hour.”
“Okay, you married a girl you’d known
an hour.”
Gibbs snorted into his coffee. “I’ll go
you one better than that, kid. I know someone who married a woman without
knowing what her name was.”
Jackson grinned. “And that tops my
story. Who was it, Agent Gibbs?”
“Me,” he answered laconically.
They all laughed out loud. “My husband,” Fraiser confessed, “couldn’t
tell the difference between the Army and the Air Force.”
“My fiancé thought he was a god.”
Carter mournfully countered.
“Don’t they all?” Fraiser whipped back.
Gibbs leaned back in his chair and
watched as the four of them – General Hammond had begged off to complete
paperwork two pots of coffee ago - argued about whose love life sucked the
most. “Are they always like this?” He quizzed O’Neill.
“Believe me, you do not want to get
Carter and Daniel started. And if the doc gets in there with them? I’m usually
looking for the closest exit.”
“You guys seem pretty close.”
“Battle tends to do that to you. But
you know that, being a Marine and all.” O’Neill eyed him with a blank
expression.
“I don’t remember telling you I was a
Marine?” Gibbs observed.
O’Neill shrugged. “I did a little
poking around. I like to know who’s having a go at my team.”
“I don’t blame you, Colonel.” Gibbs
unfolded his legs and rose. “You’ve got a team you can be proud of.”
They both looked over at Carter and
Fraiser, who were trying to coerce Daniel into going home. O’Neill smiled.
“Yeah, I surely do. Walk you home, Gibbs?” He stood back and watched Gibbs take
his leave of Daniel and Carter, watched him charm a phone number out of
Fraiser.
“You don’t object to me giving Dr.
Fraiser a call?” Gibbs waited while O’Neill slid his keycard for the elevator.
O’Neill laughed sharply. “My money’s on
Fraiser. You’re gonna have little tiny boot prints all over that big, broken
Marine heart, but, hey, it’s your life.”
“Yeah, it’s my life.” They rode the
elevator up in silence. “Call me the
next time you make it to DC, I’ll buy the first round.”
“You’re on, Gibbs.” They shook hands
outside the guest quarters. “I gotta go rescue Daniel from the Smothers
Sisters. Take care.”
Gibbs watched him hurry down the hall
before he opened the door to join his own team.