In The Land Of Hope, There Is No Winter 3
Through The Winter: In Search Of Hope
by Bethany
URL: http://www.stargateslash.com/asb/bethany6/inthel03.php
Summary: Daniel is frightened of the baby's impending birth, and life for everyone afterward
Daniel turned away from the window, and looked to Jack, who was just walking in to the room...
There was such anger in Daniel's eyes that Jack had to stop and ask him, "What? What have I done wrong?" His voice was not angry itself, but admittedly concerned.
"It's not you, Jack!" Daniel said, tears in his eyes.
Jack went straight to him, and tried to walk him around to sit on the sofa, but he wouldn't.
"The pain in my ankles is preferable to the sores of sitting on my butt all day long!" He eventually confessed. "And I'm pissed off enough as it is! Why did they pick men, Jack!?? WHY?? Tell me that!!!"
"I can't, Danny..!" Jack was honest. "Maybe, they were afraid the same thing would happen again, with women, maybe whatever it was that made them unable to have kids, it was contagious to all women..."
"Why didn't you ask them, back at the beginning... Why didn't you ask them for me??" Daniel cried.
"I'm sorry, Daniel..." Jack sighed. "The question was asked; they mumbled stuff like what I just said; said men were stronger, more capable of having babies in their book, because women had so obviously failed!"
"How am I supposed to have a baby, Jack? Did they tell you that!?"" Daniel said slowly. "It's impossible!"
Jack nodded. "The said they made it possible." He allowed himself a heartbeat. He had to, and he hated the pause because he knew it would worry Daniel ever more. "But Janet says she can give you a caesarean." He concluded.
"Yeah, and then she'll snatch the baby from me, or someone will..." Daniel looked fearful, not missing a moment of what Jack had just told him. Then, he deliberately changed track, onto another worry. "I might be bringing about the death of another planet for all I know! Mine probably..." Daniel said.
"Don't listen to the bigwig propaganda, Daniel..." He put his hand on Daniel's stomach, with a prayer that his words were true... "It's just a baby... The scientists assured us, until they were blue in the face, literally, that they'd only done it to bring about babies for their world..."
"Like I said, they'll probably want mine back... They think it's theirs, don't they?" Daniel asked Jack.
"We won't let them take the baby, Daniel..." Jack stated, meaning every word.
"Or anyone else?" Daniel asked.
"No one's taking the baby, Daniel. No one." Jack tried to assure him.
"They'll try, Jack. They're paranoid. They have to be. It's their job. It used to be ours, to watch everything like hawks!" Daniel reminded him. "What if I'm in the wrong?? And how in fucking hell am I supposed to give birth?? Sure, Janet says 'have a caesarean', but how do we know it'll work out that way?? What's going to happen to me?? What will the baby do?"
"Daniel," Jack put his hands on Daniel's shoulders gently. "The baby is just a baby... It's been checked often enough..."
"They can't even tell what gender I'm carrying, Jack... What if it doesn't have one? And, if it does, and none of us can figure that out on the scans, what else aren't those scans revealing..?!" Daniel tried to understand it all, knowing he didn't have the full picture.
"Don't let anyone hear you talk like that, Daniel. Please. I know you really believe the baby's normal. Like I said, don't listen to the propaganda. Don't get sucked in!" Jack pleaded.
"I was sucked in the day they took me, Jack...They fooled me, and they took me, and they did this to me!" Daniel began to cry.
Jack took Daniel in his arms, and kissed the top of his head, his face, his lips. "We will find some time, some place, for you to just heal, Daniel... We will. That planet is under observation, let me tell you... And I know the bigwigs who aren't helping you any, they're getting the reports. They will be convinced, one day..."
"And me??" Daniel looked up at Jack.
"And you, too, sweetheart..." Jack told him, praying it would be so, for all of their sakes...
"I'm so bad..." Daniel cried into Jack's shirt, gripping it. "I don't truly want them to have started picking on women, Jack..."
"I know, darlin', I know that. I promise you." Jack carefully held Daniel close to him. "Don't worry. You're not bad, Daniel. You're so not a bad guy! I'm here, and we're gonna get everyone through this..!"
The End
