Not Forgotten

AUTHOR: Lady Anne 
EMAIL: rnee@excite.com 
RATING:  G
CATEGORY: Angst, smarm, holiday fic 
SUMMARY: Daniel receives a valentine from an unexpected place.
SPOILERS: Slight spoilers for Forever in a Day, Crystal Skull, Gamekeeper

Daniel sat on the floor staring at the box in front of him as if afraid it might develop teeth and bite him. He was filled with a mixture of excitement and heavy sadness looking at it knowing what it represented to him. Should he open it, see what was inside? Should he put it aside until he felt better able to deal with the contents?

Tentatively he reached a hand out to touch it, skimming the top lightly. It was just a cardboard box, nothing to be afraid of. That’s what he told himself. Then why was his hand shaking? He drew his hand back, opening and closing it nervously. He shook it out and tried again, reaching out slowly...

"Hey, Daniel, what are you doing sitting on the floor?" Jack’s voice startled him and he jerked his hand back as if burned.

"Jeez, Jack, give a guy some warning, will you?" He moved away from the box, hoping to draw his friend’s attention away from it.

"What you got?" Jack sauntered over to inspect the box. He put his hand on it and Daniel had to stop himself from pulling him away. He looked at the return address and turned a surprised glance in Daniel’s direction, "Nick?"

"It’s nothing," Daniel kept his tone light. He hoped desperately that Jack wouldn’t press the issue. "It’s just some of his stuff the care facility found when they were packing up his things. They thought I might want it."

"Oh, well that’s cool." Jack lost interest in the box and perched on the edge of Daniel’s desk. "So, what you got going tonight? Any big plans?"

"Plans for?"

"Didn’t you notice it’s Valentine’s Day? Sheesh, they have all those hearts and roses things all over the commissary. You’d have to be blind not to see it."

Daniel sighed, "I noticed, Jack, but it’s not like I have anything to celebrate." He didn’t have to elaborate. Jack sensed the pain that emanated from his friend. The loss of his wife, Sha’re had hit him hard. He had been despondent ever since. It was true that he had been reconciled with his grandfather, Nick, but then the man had left his grandson’s life again, choosing to stay with ‘the giant aliens.’

"Hey, Mr. Glass-is-Half-Empty, we have each other, we have the SGC, we have," Jack leaned in and said the word with special emphasis, "hockey, as in tonight. Two tickets." He patted the pocket where the holy tickets were kept safe. "Come with me. I’d ask Teal’c, but he always wants to join in the fights on the ice."

Daniel’s eyebrows rose incredulously, but there was a smile hovering at the corners of his mouth. Jack almost thought he was going to give in, but then he shook his head, "No, I think I just want to be alone tonight."

Jack tsk’d with his tongue, "That’s no good, Danny boy. You should be with your friends in the time honored tradition of the bachelor on Valentine’s Day, drinking beer and watching other men beat themselves silly on the ice."

"Jack," Daniel’s voice rose, "just no, okay?" The plea in his eyes was too much and Jack gave in.

"Okay." Jack started to leave, but then he turned back. There had been something in his friend’s voice. "Daniel?"

Daniel didn’t look up at him, but his whole body screamed, ‘Just go away.’

Jack had never been one to take the subtle clues, "Talk to me."

With a ragged breath Daniel dropped into his chair, "It’s just that… Valentine’s Day has always been bad for me. Even before Sha’re. Okay?"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Would you go away if I said no?"

"No."

Daniel took a deep breath. For a moment Jack thought he wasn’t going to say anything. When he finally spoke his voice was so quiet Jack could barely hear him, "Valentine’s Day was my… mom’s favorite holiday. She loved it: she’d cut pictures out of magazines, draw pictures with crayons and markers, use lace doilies-the whole thing. She would write notes for us to read years later, like a time capsule." He paused, his hands clenched around the coffee cup that was always on his desk.

Jack didn’t make a sound as Daniel continued, "I had this special box she gave me to put my cards in each year. When we left Egypt to go to New York, it got packed away somewhere, I never knew where. When they…" he paused to swallow the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat and his voice sped up, "died, it was just a couple of days before Valentine’s Day. I was taken away so quickly. I never got any of my things back. I just wanted that box, but no one knew where it was." It had been years since he’d thought of this. He’d dealt with it. He had, he told himself firmly.

There was quiet in the office when he was done. "Maybe you need some new memories, Daniel," Jack said, "not to take the place of those memories, but to add to them. Come to the game with me tonight," he urged.

Taking his glasses off, Daniel swiped at his eyes with a rough hand, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He nodded. "Alright, but if I’m lousy company, it’s your own fault."

"And that’s different from normal, how?" Jack asked, a smirk on his face.

Maybe a mindless hockey game and beers with Jack was better than being alone with his memories. "What time?"

"Can you be ready by 17:00? I’ll drive. We can stop and get something to eat on the way."

"Sounds like a date," Daniel agreed, waiting for the inevitable reply.

"Hey, don’t say it like that. People talk you know."

"Yeah they do. Jack?" The Colonel had been on his way out. He looked back. "Thanks… you know… for everything." For being a friend and forcing him to talk about it.

Jack heard the unspoken words, "I know," he said quietly. "It’s what friends are for.

Whistling a jaunty tune, he left Daniel alone.

Daniel approached the box again with determination. The things inside had belonged to his parents. Suddenly, he wanted the connection to them, on this day above all others.

He found the expected assortment of books and field journals, some even written in his father’s hand. He placed them aside reverently, he would spend time reading through them later. There were letters and papers; and then, at the bottom of the box, he found it – an old wooden box wrapped lovingly in a piece of cloth to keep it safe.

Opening it slowly, almost afraid there would be nothing inside, he found all of the valentines that his mother had given him. They were faded and worn with time, but they were still beautiful in his eyes. He looked through them one by one, reading the words again, until he got to the last one. He picked it up curiously, reverently; it was one he’d never seen before. A red heart, it was decorated with snippets of pictures of mother’s and sons. He opened it and the tears fell at last,

"Daniel, my son. I just want you to know that wherever you go, whatever happens to you in your life, that my love will be with you always. Mom."

He sat there a long time, clutching the card, reading and rereading the words. He knew his parents had loved him, he had known that they still did, even in death. This small gift from his mother, crafted with love all those years ago was proof of that.

Slowly he rose, putting the rest of the items back into the cardboard box. He ran a gentle hand over the journals. He tucked the little wooden box into a drawer of his desk. Before he turned out the lights to go meet Jack, he placed the card from his mother next to his picture of Sha’re.

Valentine’s Day hadn’t turned out so badly after all.

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Author's Note:  I, of course, have to thank the whole Valentine's Thread on OS, without their challenge this fic would never have happened.  Also thanks to the whole group in chat the night this particular plot bunny was born.  You know who you are.  Thanks to Gategrrl who gave some amazing input and told me what to cut, even when I didn't want to.  As always thanks to Sue who makes sure that the final story has all of its commas in the right place and is the best that it can be.  Any mistakes you may find are sadly enough my own.

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DISCLAIMER:  © February 2004  They’re not mine, but that’s alright as long as I can take them out and play with them whenever I want ;-) The characters mentioned in this story are the property of Showtime and Gekko Film Corp. The Stargate, SG-I, the Goa'uld and all other characters who have appeared in the series STARGATE SG-1 together with the names, titles and back story are the sole copyright property of MGM-UA Worldwide Television, Gekko Film Corp, Glassner/Wright Double Secret Productions and Stargate SG-I Prod. Ltd. Partnership. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author.