Chapter One

“But you look like a hippie, Daniel,” Jack whined in a nasal tone, his lips curved in a smirk that bordered on the insolent as two of his fingers scissored the air with wicked intent. “I’ll just give it a trim, honest.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively, as if that in itself would bring Daniel to trust him with his locks.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, Jack,” Daniel replied as his blue eyes searched his friend’s face for the punch line he just knew had to be there. Trouble was it was probably a punch line that would leave him looking like an idiot, or Paul Bunyan. “I just happen to like my hair this way.”

‘And when it comes right down to it, I may trust you with my life, but not my hair, Jack,’ Daniel added to himself. ‘Besides I heard that the nurses in the Infirmary think it makes me look cute. And there was this one raven-haired lieutenant . . .’

“What’s the matter? You afraid I’ll make you look like a jarhead?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact. I am,” Daniel muttered half to himself as he folded his arms across his chest. If he let Jack have his way, he would have only fuzz on his head and be dressed like a logger in red plaid.

“Ack. I’m wounded, wounded I say,” Jack clapped his hand over his heart dramatically.

‘Trust Jack to hear whatever I don’t want him to hear, and totally ignore me when I want him to listen,’ Daniel rolled his eyes and sauntered off to the kitchen in search of more Hawaiian-style pizza in the hopes that Jack might be distracted from his latest fixation. With luck, he just might escape with his hair intact. He’d thought a team night at the colonel’s house would be a good idea, but now he was having second thoughts.

Their latest adventure had involved being sent backward in time to the year 1969. Apparently their little jaunt had revived memories of a wilder time and place for Jack. Once clad in faded blue jeans and a second-hand black leather jacket, his military persona had seemed to melt away, leaving a man Daniel hardly recognized. Though the man he knew as his team commander had shown himself briefly when the subject of Vietnam and running off to Canada to avoid the draft had come up.

As for him, he had little memory of that year since he’d been only four. His main memories involved toddling with a tot-sized shovel in hand, digging in the sands of Egypt. Even then he’d been following in his parent’s footsteps while with them on an archeological dig. All in all, those had been happy times for him, ones he treasured all the more after his parents’ tragic deaths.

His pizza located, he picked it up in his fingers and folded it as he took a bite, the mozzarella cheese stretched out into a long string before he lipped it off. Glancing over his shoulder, he noticed that Jack appeared to be deep in conversation with Sam.

Teal’c seemed oblivious to whatever the colonel was cooking up this time, immersed in a Star Trek episode. Daniel shook his head as he tried to visualize Teal’c emulating Captain Kirk, or even Spock. Come to think of it, they did have the eyebrow thing in common, he thought with chagrin. Not that he’d watched it as a kid, but he had watched a couple of episodes at Teal’c’s insistence – purely for the cultural insights of course.

Jack’s long fingers curled protectively around the neck of his Guinness as he gesticulated in his direction.

“And I don’t trust Sam either,” Daniel called out.

She responded by shaking her head firmly. “Leave me out of this, sir. If he wants his hair long, let him. But I’ll admit he looked pretty good with his hair slicked back.”

“See? What did I tell ya?” Jack looked triumphant and raised his Guinness one-handed to his lips for a sip.

Daniel, having quit the kitchen, smirked at his friends around his mouthful of pizza as he joined them. Swallowing allowed him to answer that challenge.

“As you are well aware, I was in disguise, Jack. And besides, I’d sooner let Teal’c cut my hair than either of you.”

“I can guess why,” O’Neill began, “Since Teal’c doesn’t know how to cut hair. I’d say that’s a safe bet.”

Before Daniel could think up and use a smart reply, Teal’c added his opinion from the couch.

“I would be honored to cut your hair, Daniel Jackson.”

“You would?” Cut in Jack, who sounded astonished.

“You know how?” was Sam Carter’s mystified declaration.

Teal’c stood, clicked off the TV and DVD player and placed the remote control in its accustomed location on the coffee table before joining his companions.

“O’Neill, do you have scissors?” He asked as he stood before their dumbfounded faces.

“Now?” Daniel blurted, who was getting the sinking feeling that he was going to regret this entire night. But at the moment, he was trapped, with no way to gracefully refuse.

“I do not believe any of us are scheduled to be elsewhere,” answered the seemingly unperturbed but unusually tenacious Teal’c.

Jack had left the room at a near run when asked for scissors, he returned from the direction of his bathroom, a small box, and a bath towel in his hands and a wide grin on his face. A glare from Daniel caused him to immediately wipe the near smirk off of his face. But Carter distracted him by snatching up the towel and towing Daniel into the kitchen to sit him down on one of the chairs there.

“Now you’re talking,” Jack said with an approving smile. “It’ll be much easier to clean up the clippings on the linoleum floor.” He paused dramatically. “After the deed is done.” He grinned broadly and Daniel expected him to break into maniacal laughter, complete with madly rubbing his hands together at any moment. He didn’t but he probably was thinking it, Daniel could tell.

“Thank you, sir. It comes from having a brother and a dad in the military,” replied Carter. “Mom used to cut their hair herself in the kitchen.”

Daniel knew he’d lost control of the whole situation as he found himself under Teal’c’s appraising eyes. He felt like a four-year old, back when his mother would cut his hair in camp while on the many digs he’d spent his all too few years with his parents. That thought alone kept him from protesting, though he so wanted to re-experience the bitter sweetness of familiarity.

“Not too short if you please,” he asked of his alien friend. ‘Please don’t let me regret this,’ he added in his thoughts.

“As you wish.”

In matters involving danger, Daniel trusted Teal’c, but he wasn’t too sure that the wonderful memories that this had brought back would be entirely worth it over the time that it might take to re-grow his hair if the Jaffa was pulling his leg.

“Teal’c,” he started as clippings fell to his towel-covered chest, “How do you know how to cut hair?” Then he noticed the wads of hair that were accumulating on his chest and the floor around him and his enthusiasm diminished markedly.

“Not all Jaffa are warriors, required to be hairless. And all were children before even that. Hair cutting is what would be known here as a male bonding experience,” the big man solemnly replied.

“No barbers then?” Jack interjected, his curiosity getting the best of him.

“No, it would be an insult to accept or offer monetary compensation for such an honor.”

“Teal’c this is fascinating, you’ve never mentioned this before,” interjected Daniel in an excited voice.

“You have never asked,” Teal’c replied holding up a hand mirror that O’Neill had gotten on a second run towards the more private areas of his home.

Daniel peered into the mirror, his hands going to his head. He had to confirm what he saw with touch. ‘I should have let Jack cut it.’

“Umm,” he paused, struggling to put his thoughts into words without insulting his friend. “This is how they wear their hair on Chulak?”

“One of many styles, but it is the most common. And I have seen it here on Earth also.”

“Here? Where?” Sam asked.

“On the statues accredited to the Greek Empire,” answered Teal’c. Warming to the topic he offered: “There are many similarities between the ancient Greeks and Chulak.”

“We’ll have to explore those one day,” Daniel stated, only to switch topics. “Jack, any pizza left?”

“Sure, unless you ate it all already, Mr. Greek God,” Jack commented with undisguised glee as his fingers hung quotes around the phrase.

Daniel brushed his hair with one hand and winced when he encountered only air. After having his hair the same length for so many years, he realized with a pang that his new style would take some getting used to. ‘Maybe it doesn’t really look so bad,’ he thought hopefully. ‘Yeah, once I’ve gotten used to it, it won’t be so bad.’

“On second thought, maybe I should just call it a night,” his mind was on the acute absence of hair against his neck and ears. “Don’t we have a briefing in the morning?”

“That we do,” Jack nodded. “At oh-eight thirty.”

“I’d better be going too, sir,” Carter called from the kitchen. “I wanted to look over the UAV readings from that planet. At first glance, some of them looked like there might be...”

Jack covered his ears with his hands. “Ack Carter. It’s my home. A strictly no-techno-babble zone.”

Sam closed her mouth with an audible snap and looked hurt. “Sir?”

Jack’s face softened as he seemed to realize he might have hurt her feelings. “You didn’t look at them right away?” Jack’s eyebrows raised in a question, though Daniel suspected the man was just giving her a hard time. “I’m shocked that you left it this long.”

“Sorry, sir. But you were insistent about this team night, and I thought with everything else that had happened, that this was more important.”

“Relax, Carter. I was only kidding. It did you good to get out of the mountain and do something fun for a change. Am I right?”

She frowned, “Yes, sir. It did. I wouldn’t have missed seeing... Star Trek for the world.”

Teal’c raised one eyebrow. “I do not understand. Did you not view this as a child?”

“Um, no, Teal’c. I didn’t watch much TV. I was too involved with . . . other things.”

“See? I’ll bet even as a kid you were an egghead.” He paused when Sam looked hurt. “And I mean that in the best possible way.”

“Whatever you say, sir.”

“Well, on that note, I guess I’ll leave... before things get any worse.” Daniel raised his hand to rub his bare neck and then lowered it with an air of self-conscious embarrassment when he noticed Teal’c watching him from the living room.

“You are not pleased with your hair cut Daniel Jackson?”

Daniel’s eyes roamed the room frantically as he searched for an easy out. Finding none, he sighed. “Um, yeah, it’s just that I’m not used to having such short hair.”

Jack looked doubtful and mouthed the word, “Liar” well out of view of the Jaffa.

“You can ride back to the SGC with me, Teal’c,” Sam offered. “I’ll want to get an early start on the findings from the UAV.”

“Of course you do,” Jack shrugged and for a moment, Daniel could have sworn the man looked worried as he waved them toward the door. “See ya tomorrow morning then.”

As he left, he looked back. The look of concern was gone, replaced with a gigantic yawn, leaving Daniel to wonder if he had only imagined it.

Orginal Header:

Title: “Out of Sight”
Authors: DinkyJo; [a synthesis of Dinkydow and JoleneB
Category: Prequel for “Out Of Mind”, action/adventure, drama
Pairings: some Jack/Sam but very UST
Content Level: 18+
Season: Season 2
Spoilers: “1969”
Warnings: Death of major characters, but with a sarcophagus handy, it’s not permanent.
Summary: If you can’t remember dying – did you?
Disclaimer: We don’t own them, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, Gekko Productions do. We won’t make any money out of this venture and will put the characters back the way we found them when we’re finished with them... mostly.
Author’s Notes: Dinky: I noticed that very little was said about what happened after SG-1 gated to a planet that was ruled by an “unknown Goa’uld”. This is our version of the prequel for “Out Of Mind”.
JoleneB: I’m not one that’s into deathfic, but who can pass up writing one? Especially one equipped with a ‘get out of death free card?’