Title: Like the Rain
Fandom: SG1
Rating: M
Length: 624 words
Content notes: Character Death. Some angst. Also for my JD Fic-A-Thon with the prompt, "rainstorm" and my H/C Bingo table with the prompt "PTSD"
Summary: Daniel has never liked the rain


Daniel glanced out the window at the pouring rain. Thunder and lightning rent the air every few minutes, and the rain fell in thick grey sheets. It was a warm afternoon, thoroughly typical of summer in the Springs, and the damp heat permeated the living room through the window screens. Another rumble of thunder boomed out over the house, but Daniel didn't even flinch.

As a child, Daniel had been fascinated by rainstorms. Living in Egypt, they were a rare occurrence; something mythical and magical that he only read about in books. However, his first thunderstorm happened in New York, only four days after his parent's death. The rumbling erupted without warning over the hotel room and his eyes filled with the image of his parents dying. The rumble of falling rock and the rumble of thunder were too similar for him to distinguish, and he ended up in the back of the closet, his hands clutched over his ears, screaming.

It had taken him years, but Daniel had learned to control his gut reaction to thunder. It didn't make the rainstorms any easier, but he no longer flinched at the first spatter against the window. He was able to play music or watch a movie, anything to fill his ears as he waited out the storm. And then, like magic, he was suddenly back in a desert. And for those long blissful months, there was no thunder, no reminders.

And then Daniel came back through the gate, and moved to Colorado Springs. The first bolt of thunder, two days after he moved into his new apartment, was like a lance through his brain, and he found himself back in that museum again. Now he lived through a wet summer season whenever he was home, and frequently encountered rain and thunderstorms on foreign planets. He had dealt with it, as best he could, until the mission when he relived his parent's death over and over again.

After the debriefing, the last thing Daniel wanted was to go home to his apartment alone. He fully intended to stay in the mountain, deep below the surface, and lose himself in his work until he couldn't remember anything. Unfortunately, Janet had forbidden it, and had all but tossed him in the elevator herself. On the surface, Daniel walked out of the mountain and into a full blown summer shower. He had frozen, stuck in the memories of the past, for who knew how long.

Eventually, Jack had happened upon him. Daniel didn't know what was happening until he found himself in Jack's living room, bundled in a blanket, holding a hot mug of tea. He had tried to explain, but the words wouldn't come, and it turned out that Jack didn't need them anyway. He simply held Daniel's hand tightly until the rain stopped.

That was years ago, and Daniel had weathered many more thunderstorms with Jack. He had even taken a long walk in the summer rain earlier this season, holding Jack's hand the whole way. Jack loved the rain; holding out his arms and tilting his head back to drink it in. Daniel had wryly pointed out that the water was probably full of toxic chemicals from the atmosphere, but Jack had just laughed and squeezed his hand. They had both returned to the house soaked to the bone, but the subsequent sex on the porch, just inches from the falling rain, had been amazing.

Now, Daniel just sat in the living room reading while Jack folded the laundry, enjoying the sound of the rain hitting the roof and tolerating the thunder that rumbled out occasionally. Now, Daniel might even admit to enjoying these afternoon showers with Jack. Now, Daniel might actually like the rain.

And the lyrics that inspired this: Clint Black's Like the Rain