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Jack was bored. As strange as it was, even a unique program like Stargate had moments like this. The others were busy, and Jack wasn’t quite desperate enough to stand over Daniel’s shoulder while he read an ancient book, although it might amuse him to bother Daniel. But he wasn’t there yet.
He soon found himself in a section of the base that he didn’t usually venture into, where scientists studied artifacts brought back from their journeys through the Stargate, Asfar as Jack was concerned, he’d seen them once, and that was enough. But now he was bored enough to glance down the empty hallway before trying a door. It opened, and he quickly checked the room to make sure no one else was there to question him. Thankfully, it was empty.
Wandering inside, he barely restrained himself from poking at the instruments until he saw what they were all directed toward: a mirror. Something in the back of his head prickled as if it were familiar, but he figured he must have seen it when they first brought it back. It looked like an ordinary mirror, but there was something strange about it.
He frowned as he approached. Soon, he realized what was strange – the room reflected in the mirror wasn’t the one he was standing in. The furniture was similar, but the arrangement was different, and books were scattered all over the tables. Very familiar books, in fact. It hit him suddenly; it looked like Daniel’s office. Just as he realized this, a familiar figure stepped into view. Even from the back, Jack recognized Daniel. He quickly glanced over his shoulder, but there was still no one else in the room.
“Daniel?” Jack called out, frowning as he reached toward the mirror.
The moment his fingers brushed its surface, a familiar feeling washed over him, like the sensation of being transported through the Stargate.
He barely had time to mutter, “Oh shit…”
Before he found himself in the room he had seen through the mirror. Was this some kind of transportation mirror?
“Well, that’s handy”, he remarked, turning to look at the other mirror, likely linked to the one he had just touched.
A loud crash stopped him, and he quickly spun around to see that Daniel had jumped in surprise, dropping whatever he had been holding.
“Jack!” Daniel’s familiar frustrated tone made it clear that Jack had startled him.
Jack couldn’t help but grin, but he stopped when an unfamiliar female voice call out – “Jack!”
Confused, he turned toward the voice and, to his surprise, saw a mid-sized animal jumping at him. Jack yelped as it hit his chest with enough force to nearly knock him over.
“You’re back!” the creature cried in a happy tone, now clinging to him with four feline paws while a pair of wings flapped to keep it balanced. “I’ve missed you so much!”
Wait. It talked.
What the hell?
“Get it off me!” he shouted, admittedly slightly panicked, staring wide-eyed at the creature that seemed to be trying to burrow under his jacket.
Suddenly, it tensed, and a hawk-like head looked up at him, startling him enough to almost yelp again. The sharp-looking beak was a little too close for comfort. The creature somehow managed to look hurt by his reaction, but Jack refused to feel guilty.
“Isis..” Daniel said, and Jack looked up at him, surprised to see tension and suspicion in his eyes – directed at Jack, not the animal. “Get over here.”
“What..?” the creature asked, sounding confused, while Jack decided it was best to stay as still as possible until those claws and beak were further from his skin.
“I don’t think that’s our Jack”, Daniel told the creature.
That’s when it hit Jack where he recognized the mirror from. Double-shit.
“What do you mean?” the creature asked, looking into Jack’s eyes with its sharp yellow raptor eyes. “It’s Jack!”
Jack would’ve said something by now, but the truth was that he was a bit shaken by the tone in the creature’s voice; it seemed to know him very well, enough to sound hurt by the suggestion that he wasn’t who he appeared to be.
“Look around, Isis”, Daniel continued calmly, despite looking anxious that the creature still so close to Jack, and he had the feeling that it was out of concern for the creature and not him. “Do you see Thea anywhere?”
The creature, by the name of Isis apparently, suddenly looked as if it remembered something and anxiously scanned the room for someone or something. It looked more distraught when it didn’t see whatever it was looking for, it gazed back into Jack’s eyes, and he could see when it understood.
“You’re a Jack from another reality…” Isis said softly, sounding so sad that Jack couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for it.
“Um, yeah, sorry about that”, Jack said awkwardly.
“You even smell like him”, it said with longing, nuzzling closer to him.
“Isis!” Daniel snapped, and Jack noticed the blush rising on his cheeks, which intrigued him.
“All right, all right”, Isis muttered, carefully releasing Jack’s clothing without tearing the fabric. With a few flaps with its wings, it landed on the floor and reluctantly walked to Daniel’s side. Jack noted that Daniel seemed relieved with Isis closer to him and not Jack, which stung a little. Did Daniel think Jack would hurt a pet? If that’s even what it was … it talked.
“It talks”, Jack pointed out, blinking at the strange creature.
“It?” Isis retorted with an annoyed but hurt tone. “I’m not an ‘it’!”
“Uh, of course, sorry”, Jack replied to it, er, her, then looked at Daniel for an explanation.
“Isis is my daemon”, Daniel said, now studying Jack curiously.
“A demon?” Jack asked incredulously.
“No, a daemon”, Daniel corrected with a roll of his eyes that was so familiar to Jack that he immediately felt relieved, it might not be his Daniel but it was for sure Daniel. “Daemons are metaphysical manifestations of the human psyche, existing externally as animal forms that symbolize an individual’s core personality traits.”
Jack blinked but decided not to delve further. Instead, he looked at Isis and asked – “And what kind of animal are you?”
“I’m a griffin”, she said proudly, turning her feathered head to the side to display her hawk-like head and Jack could see the feathers turn into fur further down on the neck where the rest of her body had the form of a small lion, expect for the wings, with a tufted tail. Jack had to admit, in secret, that once you got past the beak, raptor eyes, and sharp claws – she was quite beautiful, in the way of how you might admire wild predators adapted for dominance.
“A griffin?” Jack echoed disbelievingly, looking up to Daniel. “Isn’t that a myth?”
“Some people”, Daniel started, and Jack was amused to see that he was looking a bit embarrassed, “might have mythological creatures as daemons. It’s rare, but it happens.”
Jack had a question on his mind, but before he could ask, the door to the office opened, and instinctively, he stepped back a few paces to stay out of view.
“Honey, I’m home!” a familiar voice called, and Jack was treated to the strange feeling of seeing himself step into the room, arms wide open.
Isis immediately brightened and leaped into the air, but this other Jack was ready, catching her easily. Jack felt a little embarrassed for being scared by her when he saw how she melted into the other Jack’s arms and rubbed her face against his, like a pet happily greeting its owner. She didn’t seem dangerous when the other Jack mumbled softly to her while curling his arms around her and scratching under a tufted ear.
“Hi Isis”, other Jack said with a soft tone that felt unfamiliar to Jack, as he hadn’t seen himself with that look in a long time. “I’ve missed you too.”
A grey-and-white shadow hurried from the other Jack’s side, and Jack was surprised to see a dog run up to Daniel. But soon, he realized he had just found the answer to his earlier curiosity. Was this other Jack’s daemon? The dog jumped up onto Daniel, placing its front paws on his stomach wagging its tail excitedly. However, Daniel had tensed up when the other Jack barged into the room and now carefully watched him. He placed a hand on the dog’s head in greeting, but the dog, clearly confused by Daniel’s lac of reaction, looked toward where Daniel was looking and immediately stiffened.
“Jack?” the dog’s female voice called out as she stepped in front of Daniel, keeping a guarded eye on Jack.
The other Jack looked up from his cuddle (which was clearly what it was) with Isis, and when he saw Jack, he immediately tensed up as well. However, Jack noticed that he made sure to be gentle when putting Isis down before preparing to confront him if necessary.
“He’s from another reality”, Daniel quickly explained before the other Jack could react further.
“Hi”, Jack said, and the other Jack narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
Tough crowd, Jack thought. He couldn’t really blame him; in fact, he understood perfectly.
After some further explanation from Daniel and then from Jack himself, it seemed that the other Jack finally accepted what had happened. Jack learned that the other Jack’s daemon was indeed the dog that had rushed up to Daniel, and her name was Thea. Soon, Jack was taken to the other reality’s Hammond for a brief meeting before the other Jack was, well, killed because Jack was there. To their surprise, they discovered that there were almost no differences between their realities, apart from the obvious daemons. He also had the opportunity to meet Sam and Teal’c’s daemons. Sam’s was a small owl, while he couldn’t recognize the creature that served as Teal’c’s daemon, which appeared to be a strange mix between an oryx and polar bear – an animal from the planet Chulak, apparently. Not something Jack would want to encounter in the wild.
Once they had exchanged their knowledge, Jack was taken back to the mirror, where he could return to his reality. Daniel and Isis were there, as it was in their office, while the other Jack and Thea refused to leave them alone with Jack. This might’ve offended him, but he understood the other Jack’s reluctance to leave them alone with an unfamiliar Jack, even it that Jack was himself. He would’ve done the same thing.
“I’ve noticed something”, Jack said to Daniel, who looked to him curiously. “You seem to avoid touching other people’s daemons.”
“Yes”, Daniel responded, looking pleasantly surprised like he did when Jack made an insightful observation about another culture. “Touching other people’s daemons is somewhat of a taboo. It’s considered intimate.”
“Isis didn’t seem to mind”, Jack pointed out, raising an eyebrow and reminding them both of her reaction when he and the other Jack arrived.
“Ah”, Daniel said slowly, looking down to the paper in his hands before glancing over at the other Jack, who stood a few steps away. He was blushing again. “It might be different in close relationships.”
“How close?” Jack asked, a suspicion creeping up on him.
“Very close”, the other Jack replied before Daniel had a change to respond, stepping closer to them. “The kind you don’t ask about.”
The other Jack gave Jack a meaningful look while Daniel coughed, slightly embarrassed.
“Ah”, Jack said, glancing between them.
“I take it we’re not like that in your world?” Daniel asked kindly, glancing up to him.
“No. No..”, Jack replied immediately, shaking his head.
“Too bad”, the other Jack muttered, glancing at Daniel. Jack recognized that warm look; he hadn’t seen it on his own face in years – not since his last relationship.