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Singing in the Rain (a The Price of Knowledge interlude)
Story Notes: Rating: G Series: The Price of Knowledge
Rain drummed on the roof and spattered against the window pane. Jack opened one eye groggily to check the clock at his bedside. 0300. As a lightning flash briefly illuminated the room, he did a mental run-down of the windows and doors in the house, making certain he’d locked everything up after their guests had left. A rumble of thunder started low and grew in intensity, reverberating in the room. Beside him on the bed, Daniel stirred and opened his eyes, blinking in sleepy confusion. “Jack?” “Ssh. It’s just a thunderstorm,” he whispered. “Go back to sleep, Daniel.” Easier said than done. The room lit up again, and the crack of thunder seemed to shake the whole house. Daniel bolted upright in bed. His head swiveled as his gaze frantically searched the room. Jack realized this was the first thunderstorm they’d had since Daniel’s descension and the kid might not understand what was going on. Jack extended a comforting hand only to meet air as Daniel suddenly cried “Cairo!” and slid out of bed. While Jack’s sleep-befuddled brain was still processing why Daniel was yelling about a place in Egypt, Daniel scampered from the room. Jack groaned and heaved himself up. He had dragged on a pair of slippers and a bathrobe before he remembered Cairo. The newest addition to their household was a stuffed monkey presented by Sam after the barbecue. Daniel had fallen in love with the thing. Jack wasn’t sure why it was called Cairo. He’d missed Daniel’s entire discourse on the monkey’s name while he was putting away the leftover steaks and salad. As he shuffled into the living room, scrubbing at his hair and yawning, a gust of chilly, rain-tinged air swept past. The porch door was wide open. The rug beside it was already damp. Jack snapped alert and hurried to the porch, calling for Daniel. Tucked in one of Adirondak chairs, Daniel scanned the cloudy night. His lips parted in wonder as lightning split the sky. He looked tiny, swamped by the huge chair, and vulnerable with bare feet and thin pajamas. Thunder boomed. Daniel shivered and petted the stuffed animal nestled in his lap. “It’s okay, Cairo,” he whispered. “I’ll keep you safe just like Jack keeps me safe.” Jack stepped onto the porch, shielding his eyes against the drizzle pouring down. “Daniel, come inside. You’ll catch a cold, getting all wet like this.” “I’m not wet. Cairo was, but I dried him. He was hiding under the table so he was only a little wet. We’re gonna watch the thunderstorm.” Jack felt a trickle of rainwater glide down his back. “Daniel, come on. We’re getting soaked.” Daniel shook his head and stayed stubbornly ensconced in the chair. Jack muttered under his breath and stalked over, intending to scoop up the kid and haul him back to bed. As he approached the chair, however, he felt the rain lessening. Right beside the chair, there was no rain at all. Daniel was right. He wasn’t wet. Jack checked to see if they were under the roof’s overhang. They weren’t. “Daniel?” Daniel lifted his head and grinned. “Look, Cairo. Jack comed to sit with us.” Clutching the stuffed monkey, he wiggled to one side and waited expectantly for Jack to settle next to him. Jack did so, finding that both kid and chair were completely dry. Daniel scrambled onto Jack’s lap, fidgeted a moment, and then pulled away. “Jack, you’re wet!” “Duh. It’s raining.” A blast of warm air swirled around them like a mini-tornado. Jack would have jumped from the chair if he hadn’t had to juggle the kid and monkey in his lap. He couldn’t help the bleat of surprise, though. Daniel giggled at the noise, patted his hands over Jack’s now-dry clothes, and squirmed into a comfortable position with his head resting against Jack’s shoulder. He sighed happily. “That’s better.” Jack looked out past the porch and saw the leaves of the nearby trees bend under the weight of a relentless downpour. “Daniel, why isn’t it raining on us?” “Cairo likes to be dry cuz he’s a desert monkey, and I wanted to watch the thunderstorm, so I maked a bubble so we wouldn’t get wet.” He said it so casually, as if making a “bubble” that repelled water was the easiest thing in the world. Of course, for Daniel who still had all that ascended knowledge zipping around in his brain, it probably was. Freaking out about it wasn’t going to stop Daniel, even if it did make Jack feel better. Jack grumbled for a bit about his nice, warm bed and kids who had lessons in the morning and colonels who had to go to work until Daniel shushed him impatiently. “I’m trying to listen, Jack!” “Listen to what? Obviously not to me.” “To the rain. It’s singing. Can’t you hear it? All the different sounds.” He tilted his head back, looking upward into the sky. The expression on his face was one of total enchantment. Jack didn’t get it. It was just rain. “Daniel?” “Sssh. Listen.” He sighed. Just who was the adult around here anyway? Okay, he’d listen for a minute, so he could say that he had, but then they were off to bed. Jack listened. After a moment, he realized Daniel was right. The rain came in different sounds. The dull clunks against the roof, the gentle splash upon tree leaves, the patter against the window panes, the plop-plops landing on the porch, the tiny plink of raindrops joining the already-formed puddles. The rain was singing, interspersed with the staccato beat of thunder and the ever-present swish of wind. The tops of the pine trees swayed as if dancing to nature’s rhythm. “What’s it singing?” Daniel whispered. “I wanna know the words, Jack.” Jack floundered, unaccustomed to being the one with all the answers. “Um, well, let’s see. It’s singing, right? So there’s singing in the rain.” He warbled the chorus to “Singing in the Rain” while Daniel giggled. “That’s not what it’s singing.” “No? Okay, wise guy. You tell me what it’s singing.” Daniel listened for another moment, as absorbed as if the rain were an ancient artifact. “I know part of a poem called ‘Song of the Rain.’ It’s by Khalil Gibran, the Prophet.” Daniel launched into recitation, flowing easily over the Arabic language. Jack caught a couple words, thanks to an unwelcome indoctrination many years ago, but he’d forgotten most of the language since then. Daniel must have originally learned the poem in Arabic. Since his descension, he usually couldn’t speak in other languages without an opening prompt from someone else. “You wanna run that one by me in English?” Jack said when Daniel finished. Daniel gave a put-upon sigh and translated, “ ‘I am dotted silver threads dropped from heaven by the gods. Nature then takes me, to adorn her fields and valleys. I am beautiful pearls, plucked from the Crown of Ishtar by the daughter of Dawn to embellish the gardens. When I cry, the hills laugh. When I humble myself, the flowers rejoice. When I bow, all things are elated.’” He glanced upward at Jack, his eyes shining. “That’s what the rain is singing, Jack.” “You’re right, Danny,” he replied softly. “That’s exactly what it’s singing.” They listened to the dotted silver threads and the beautiful pearls as they continued to wash down on the earth. Gradually, the weight on Jack’s shoulder grew heavier, and Daniel’s breathing deepened. With Daniel asleep, the “bubble” disappeared. An occasional sprinkle misted over them, but the rain shower had mostly ended. Jack sat there, smelling the rain-freshened soil and listening to the distant song of rain, wind, and thunder. He didn’t do this enough. He got caught up in the whole “saving the earth” thing and forgot to appreciate the things of earth that he loved. He needed to stop more often and just enjoy life. He looked down at the child cradled in his arms, reminded of how precious life was. He had Daniel back. A happy, trusting Daniel who could hear the rain sing and know that Jack needed to hear it too. He dropped a gentle kiss on the top of Daniel’s head, feeling blessed beyond measure, all because a monkey had been forgotten outside. Jack gave Cairo’s nose a grateful pat. ¤
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Disclaimer: The Stargate characters all belong to Gekko Film Company, Glassner/Wright Double Secret Productions, MGM-UA Worldwide Television, Showtime, Sci Fi Channel, and Stargate SG-1 Prod. Ltd. Partnership. This fanfic is not intended to infringe on any of those rights and is meant solely for the purpose of entertainment. All other characters, the story idea, and the story itself are the sole property of the author. |
