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One of Sam's favorite possessions was a hexagonal gold trinket box that Daniel had given her as a birthday present. It was the ornate kind of tacky that you saw in Pier One Imports that knocked off the real ancient artifacts--only hers was the real thing.
Made of gold, with little diamond and ruby inlays, mirrored glass all around the rim... something about it just screamed "I was a gift from Daniel Jackson." Sam had it in her office for just that reason; every time her eyes fell on the box, she remembered Daniel, the bright grin he'd had when he gave it to her, the blue wrapping paper it'd been wrapped in, and the little candies that he'd filled it with.
She'd caught the Colonel looking at the box more and more often these days; usually after they got back from an off-world mission and Jonas had invariably done *something* to piss Jack off... Jack would storm off, and Carter would later find him in her office, waiting for her and staring at the little gold box.
Picking it up from the desk, Sam turned the box in the light, watching it dance off the mirrored glass and wondering what it meant to the Colonel. Was it just a reminder that Daniel was gone, or a way to remind himself that Daniel had even been here; Jonas had taken over Daniel's lab and that remained a sore spot for all of SG-1.
Closing her hand around the box for a minute, she pressed the lid to her lips and shut her eyes as loneliness for Daniel overwhelmed her.
- = - = -
Jack stalked into Carter's lab, pissed off and giving off furious vibrations. Anyone that approached the lab gave it a wide berth as long as Jack was in there, and the irritation escalated as his eyes fell on the empty space where Daniel's box usually sat.
He didn't even bother to grunt to Carter as she came in, just stalking out and slamming the door shut behind him.
- = - = -
Sam looked at the empty spot on her desk, feeling like she'd just gotten rid of a chunk of herself, and turned to look after Jack's retreating back. Her fingers stroked over the bare table, and she sighed, turning her back to the little empty hole and burying herself in calculations.
- = - = -
Jack's office, ordinarily dusty and unused, had been occupied ever since Jonas had joined the team. Where Jack usually spent his time in Daniel's lab, without Daniel himself there, Jack had no urge to return. He'd been spending a lot of time pestering Carter, but that had just lost it's allure as well, and Teal'c had made it clear, in his usual silently brooding way, that he would not stand for the irritation.
That left one place for Jack to go, and that was his little cracker box of an office.
The frames rattled on the wall as he slammed the door, and he threw himself sulkily into the chair. There was absolutely--
Jack's booted feet kicked something skittering across his desk, and he pulled his feet down to look.
The little gold box that usually sat on Carter's desk was sitting precariously on the corner of his own, lid askew and spilling out the paper clips and rubber bands that she'd stuffed in there as it had sat on her desk. The box was small enough to fit in the palm of Jack's hand, and he cradled it carefully as he emptied the box and then placed the lid back on.
He gave it a squeeze, feeling the rough edges cutting into his hand, but didn't relax his grip until the box was safely tucked away in his vest pocket. He reminded himself to thank Carter later, and possibly apologize for being such an ass about ignoring her completely earlier.
And as Jack's hand absently patted the pocket holding the box, somewhere above him, Daniel Jackson smiled.
The End