Crossover: HL/SG-1 (roughly series 6 SG-1!verse, end series 3 HL!verse)

Characters: Daniel, O’Neill, Methos, Sam, Teal’c

For prompt: 026 Team mates

Summary: There are some issues that need clearing up.

“Knock knock?”

Daniel glanced distractedly at Sam as she let herself into his office.

“Hi.”

“Hi…So…how’s it going?”

Daniel shuffled through the books and papers on his desk, looking for something. “I think someone’s been in here while we’ve been away. I can’t find anything.”

“And you could before?” Sam wondered aloud, smiling wryly as Daniel glared at her.

There was a long pause as Daniel moved around his office, trying to put it in some kind of order. Eventually Daniel realised that Sam wasn’t going to say anything unless he prompted her.

“Is there something wrong Sam?”

She wrapped her arms around herself defensively. “No! No, of course not…”

He turned back to what he was doing, talking over his shoulder to her. “You’re freaked out that I’m Immortal?”

“What! No!” Sam began, then faltered. “Well…you’re really old,” she flapped in exasperation, “I guess I’m just trying to imagine what it would be like…”

Daniel frowned, trying to remember what he had been working on when he had written the page of notes he had just found. “To live 4000 years?” He finished for her, turning back to look at his friend. “Well only 3982 years actually…” He corrected absently.

“3- you don’t seem that old…”

“And what would that seem like?” He took pity on her. “Sam, no matter how old we get the world doesn’t change – we still have to have a job, a home, an income, food, all the rest of it. We still want the same things as everyone else…”

“I suppose, I’d just thought…”

“That there’d be something more?” Daniel smiled gently. “Sorry, life’s just the same no matter how long it goes on.”

Sam seemed to think about that for a moment. “Still,” she grinned with an excited glint in her eyes, “you must have seen some amazing things!”

Daniel just laughed, “I’ll tell you all about it.”

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“Adam? Or should I say Methos?”

Methos spun around from the box he was unpacking in his new office to see Jack leaning nonchalantly against his doorway. Ushering him quickly inside, Methos shut the door firmly behind them.

“You may not want to advertise that name.”

“And why’s that?” O’Neill asked nonchalantly.

Methos kicked himself for trusting Daniel and getting himself into this position. “Because most people think Methos is just a myth and I’d rather keep it that way.”

O’Neill just cocked an eyebrow. They both knew that this was one Immortal that was going to have to explain a few things before he could get any work done.

“Daniel told you about the Game? The Quickening?” Methos waited for O’Neill’s nod before going on. “When one of us takes the head of another Immortal we gain all their power through the Quickening. How strong that power is is determined by a few things, but mostly by age – so the world’s oldest living Immortal would never get a second’s peace if everyone knew who he was and decided to try and get a leg up on the Game by taking his head.”

“That’s you?” Methos bowed mockingly, but inside he was surprised by how easily Jack took it - though he would reserve judgement on the Colonel until he heard how old he was.

Jack seemed to think it over. “So if you’ve got all this power what’s to stop you just beating everyone who comes after you?”

Methos scratched the back of his neck, turning away in embarrassment and pretending to sort through one of the many boxes waiting for his attention. “I’m kind of out of practise with a sword…”

“You’re in a life-long fight to the death and you’re ‘out of practise’!” Jack asked incredulously.

Methos shrugged. “I disappeared for a while – took a break. 5000 years of fighting kind of wears a bit thin.”

Jack seemed unimpressed by his age and carried on as if it had never been mentioned. “I bet Danny-boy’s even worse. Well I can’t have members of my team getting killed off-duty. The two of you are going to be practising every morning at 0730 from now on.”

“And since when have I been one of your team?”

Jack grinned. “Since always. We didn’t tell you? Welcome to SG-1.”

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“Why did you have to go and say that to Jack?” Daniel whined as they made their way to a spare training room the next morning.

“I never thought he would do this. Besides I was going to start training again anyway.”

Daniel looked at his mentor, concerned. “It’s been a while since you cared about using your sword. Did something happen?”

“Almost, but it turned out ok. Still, it made me feel ridiculous – the world’s oldest Immortal unable to stand up to some century-old child.”

Daniel chuckled. “I guess pride has its uses.”

They entered the gym to see someone there before them. Teal’c stood off to one side, methodically going through a form with a solid wooden replica of a staff weapon. It reminded Methos of some of the methods he had learned with a quarterstaff long ago, the image so vivid that he could almost feel the smooth wood beneath his hands again. His felt his blood run just a little bit faster in excitement at the thought of the session to come, though he could see that his sometime student was still less than keen. Moving out onto the mats he hefted his Ivanhoe, moving slowly into one of the many forms that had become second nature to him over the centuries.

It was imperfect, not flowing as smoothly as he would have liked and without the power behind it that would only come from building up those muscles again, but it felt as natural as breathing, and by the time he was bringing his third pass through it to a close he was panting. As he took a breather he caught Teal’c’s eye where the larger man had been watching him. They shared the slightest of bows: that of men who understood each other. Methos knew a little about Teal’c’s background (that he had done some terrible things for the Goa’uld) and could feel a kinship with him, sure that Teal’c felt the same, though there was no way Teal’c could know of the atrocities Methos had perpetuated in his darker years. No matter how hard he tried to pretend he was nothing more than an academic, Methos knew that at heart he was a warrior, same as his burly companion.

Daniel on the other hand, clearly did not think of himself as a warrior. He grumbled and fussed over his practise until Methos had had enough and knocked his blade aside effortlessly.

“Come on – let’s spar for a bit.”

Daniel looked uncertain. “Do we have to?”

Angry, Methos cut him a neat slice across the top of his arm for his whining. “Be thankful you’re not my student anymore or I would have given you more than that! We’ve both become far too complacent, now fight me!”

Methos lunged forward, not waiting for Daniel to prepare himself, but found himself neatly blocked regardless and looked down into Daniel’s grinning face.

“Last time I said that as your student you killed me.”

Methos grinned wickedly. “If you don’t want me to do it again then you better had improved since then.”

Suddenly a siren sounded and a red light started flashing above their heads.

“Unscheduled off-world activation! SG-1 to the gate room!”

“Saved by the bell.”