Title: Damage Control
Author's LJ/DWJ: redbyrd_sgfic / redbyrd
Categories: drama, missing scene
Warnings: some bad language
Author's Webpage/Fic list: Redbyrd's Stargate Fanfiction
Link to story: Damage Control

Why this should be read: One of my favorites, I have reread this story so many times that it's characterization of Steven Raynor has become cannon for me. Part of the fun of this fic is the view of Daniel through Steven's eyes and his comparison of pre-Stargate Daniel to the changed person he meets during "The Curse". But I also became very fond of Steven and really felt for him by the end.

Redbyrd brings some sanity to the Stargate world and the stakes in war against the goa'uld, the loss of Sarah and Dr. Jordan feel more real because of it. She writes "I wanted to tie up some of the loose ends in this episode and to try developing Steven's character into something a bit more complex than the very limited view we got from the show. I felt he couldn't be all bad if his first thought when they find him injured at the end of the episode was to apologize to Daniel."

"Hey, Steven." Daniel greeted him casually, and took the seat beside the bed uninvited. "How are you feeling?" He unclipped the sunshades from his regular glasses and replaced them.

Steven looked at Daniel uncertainly. He was still angry about the disappearing act that Daniel had pulled five years ago, and how hurt Professor Jordan- and all of them- had been not to hear from him. But the resentment that had flared at the funeral had largely burnt out. And Daniel was the first person to come in who might know what was going on, and he was full of questions. "Everything hurts," he said honestly.

"Par for the course." Daniel assured him. "The doctors say you're healing up nicely, and in a few weeks you'll be good as new. You'll be out of here in a few days."

Well, there was an opening. Steven replied, "Yeah, about 'here', Daniel. Why am I in a military hospital? Nobody will tell me."

Daniel gave him a guarded look. He couldn't get over the change in Daniel. He had barely recognized him at the funeral. His hair was almost dark, with none of the near-blond streaks it used to have from the desert sun, and the short almost military cut was a sharp contrast to the shaggy mop that he remembered. At the funeral, Daniel had been wearing a conventional dark suit which hadn't been so strange given the occasion, but now he was neatly attired in a plaid shirt and slacks. A far cry from the baggy jeans and oversized T-shirts that were his usual casual wear in the old days. "I guess that's partly my fault."

What? Oh, his question. "Your fault? How could you be responsible for me being in a military hospital?"

"We pulled a few strings." Daniel told him in a matter of fact tone.

"Pulled strings? You?" Steven was more confused than ever. "You joined the military?"

Daniel sat back in the chair, keeping his eyes on Steven's face. "Not exactly. I'm a civilian consultant to the Air Force."

"To the Air Force?" Steven was beginning to feel like a parrot. "What does the Air Force need with an archeologist?"

Daniel said, "I can't actually discuss what I do for them, Steven. It's classified."

Steven just looked at him.

He raised an eyebrow and looked a bit amused. "Think about it. I'm a linguist as well as an archeologist, remember? So how many obscure dialects do I know? And where am I specialized?" Daniel shrugged. "Do I have to draw you a diagram?"

That actually made a weird sort of sense. He knew that Daniel wasn't just a theorist who analyzed ancient writings, he also spoke a ridiculous number of modern languages with astonishing fluency. And a lot of them were dialects native to the Middle East, Africa and southeastern Asia, which were all political hot spots most of the time. He could see why the government might find someone with Daniel's skills useful. But- "I can guess why they might want you, but why would you want to do it?"