Don't own 'em,don't make no money from 'em,don't wanna be sued.
"Catherine Langford was important to DanielJackson."
"She brought him here." Jack nodded.
"I think she was family to him...and I'm sure she thought of him like a son or grandson." Sam nodded as they pulled up to Daniel's house.
The trio exited the truck and walked to the door.
"Music." Teal'c cocked his head as they reached the porch.
"Moonlight Sonata." Jack murmured.
"It stopped." Sam noted.
Jack rang the bell and a moment later Daniel answered.
"Hey, what are you guys doing here?"
"In the neighborhood." Jack replied.
"Right." Daniel eyed him.
"We wished to see if you were well." Teal'c answered.
"I'm fine."
"Daniel."
"I miss her, okay." Daniel sighed.
"I knew her a lot longer but she had a real soft spot for you." Sam smiled.
"Her niece said she thought of me like a son." Daniel shrugged but smiled softly.
"You gonna make us stay on the porch?" Jack moved him aside and led them inside.
"Hey guys, come on in." Daniel rolled his eyes and closed the door.
"Were you playing music DanielJackson? It was most pleasant."
"Thanks." Daniel walked over to the upright paino and touched it gently.
"You know, I always wondered about that."
"What?" Daniel turned to Jack puzzled.
"When fish guy had you and we went to close up your apartment, no piano. New apartment, piano. What's the deal?"
"It's a long story."
"I'm free for a few hours." Jack replied dropping onto the couch.
Sam and Teal'c settled in as well.
Daniel shook his head and sat on the chair he used when he played.
"It belonged to my great-grandmother, it came over on the boat from Europe. It was passed to my grandmother then on to my dad. He taught me, said I had an ear, came in handy on P2A-018."
"The sentinel." Sam recognized the designation.
"Yeah, the shield was harmonious."
"No wonder Greeves helped us fight off the Jaffa leaving you with Kershaw." She nodded.
"The piano..." Jack waved his hands and Daniel rolled his eyes but continued.
"Obviously it couldn't go on digs so dad left it with a close friend. He kept it until I was twenty-four. My apartment was basically a walk-in closet--"
"It was small?" Teal'c asked.
"Livingroom, bedroom and kitchen would fit into this room." Daniel answered.
Teal'c nodded for him to continue.
"I could never sell it." He touched the piano again. "I put it in storage, paid six months at a time from what I made lecturing. When I was twenty-six the whole 'aliens built the pyramids' lecture disaster occured. I was laughed out of the archeological community, lost my apartment and had two suitcases and this piano to my name."
"Then you met Catherine." Sam supplied.
"Yeah. Before we went to Abydos she asked if there was anything I needed to have taken care of...I asked her to keep the piano safe. I think she knew what it meant to me."
"She paid up the storage bill." Jack nodded.
"Not exactly."
Jack looked at him.
"I told you it was long." Daniel defended.
Jack rolled his eyes then motioned him to continue.
"You know I didn't see her again until the archived footage of Ernest going through the gate surfaced. She scolded me for being back that whole time and not letting her know." Daniel smirked recalling her chiding. "Anyway, just before they left she invited me to come and visit, it wasn't until after Shifu came that I decided to get away. She scolded me then for waiting all those years to take a break. One night, after dinner, she took me into the den and there was the piano. She had taken it out of storage and kept it in her home for me after we left for Abydos. She sent it to me just before we went to Loren's planet." He stood and lifted the lid then pulled out an envelope and handed it to Sam,who was closest,she read it aloud.
'Dear Daniel,
Now that you have a larger apartment you need this back.
You have many gifts, including music, she's been tuned and
Ernest and I expect a concert when we visit.
"General Hammond called her when you uh..." Jack motioned toward the ceiling.
Daniel nodded, he didn't tend to use the word much either.
"She asked if she could have it. She was worried it would be sold or something I think, so we sent it to her. You should have heard her when I called to tell her you were back, she wanted to talk to you right there and then, I told you had a memory problem and it might be a good idea to wait."
"A couple of days after I moved in here a truck delivered it with a note. It said, 'CALL ME!', signed Catherine. We talked for over an hour." Daniel smiled.
"Now see, you could have said she kept the piano for you, long story short." Jack grumbled and rose.
"That story is like an archeological dig." Daniel rose as well.
"Long and tedious!" Jack groused.
Daniel stepped forward and placed his hands on Jack's shoulders.
"It's all in the details." Daniel smiled, squeezed his shoulders then dropped his hands and headed for the kitchen.
"Details! Grab your jacket."
"Why?"
"We're taking you to dinner." Sam answered getting to her feet.
"Why?"
"To celebrate the lives of CatherineLangford and JacobCarter." Teal'c replied.
" So no more why." Jack looked at him.
"Oh, okay." Daniel grabbed his jacket, keys and wallet and they headed for the door.
"Good food," Jack slung an arm around Daniel's shoulder, "good memories," he put the other around Sam's shoulder.
"And good friends." Daniel finished with a smile.
"That's what I'm talkin' about!" Jack grinned and pulled them out the door.
"Indeed." Teal'c smiled, closed the door and followed.
I saw 'Fire and Water' again and wondered if the piano were there and thought maybe Jack would be as curious if it wasn't and didn't turn up until 'The Light' so this story was born.