Seize the Day by  Biblio
Alternate Universe Novella, Jack and Daniel, AU, First Time, Romance. 
Rating: NC-17
Notes: This story was written in homage to the incomparable author Elizabeth Peters, who took care to write about the partnership of true equals.  Jack and Daniel's ages, nationalities and histories have been altered to suit 1897 but their essential characters I hope remain true to the boys we know and love in SG-1.  Archaeological history is borrowed from Flinders Petrie.
Acknowledgements: My sincere thanks and appreciation to Sally and Marcia for nagging, feedback and contribution of story demands - um - ideas, and to Phee the Alpha Beta :)  The story itself is Marcia's birthday fic.
When a passionate, idealistic young English archaeologist meets his cynical, aggravating American patron, more than cultures clash.   

Seize the Day by Biblio 

Tell-El-Amarna, Egypt, 1897

The first stars were lighting the night sky by the time Daniel arrived back at the expedition house.   He was late - hours late.  Hardly a good impression to make on General Hammond's friend and, more importantly, a potential sponsor for this season's excavation. 

  Daniel found he couldn't fault General Hammond for withdrawing his patronage, even though it left the excavation, and Daniel himself, in the most difficult of circumstances. 

The drought which had struck at many of America's western states was taking too great a toll on the rancher's finances to allow him to continue to support what was after all merely a cherished hobby of his late wife.  His retrenchment was a matter of necessity; he had his little granddaughters to provide for, as well as his many employees in Texas.  Daniel could only admire General Hammond's generosity in sending this old military friend of his to Egypt in the expectation he would provide for his pet archaeologist.

  It touched him, to not be forgotten when the general had so many more important matters to tend to.

  He knocked politely on the sturdy wooden door to the house, dutifully extending the requisite courtesy, but walking into the house without waiting for a response, wryly aware his home for the past year could soon belong to the stranger who was visiting it for the first and possibly the last time. 

  "Hello?" he called as he made his way down the narrow hallway opening out into the central courtyard of the house.  Squat and ugly when viewed from the exterior, inside General Hammond had spared no expense to secure his comfort and that of his guests.  Amarna House boasted a large, well-appointed drawing room which was open its entire length to a small, fragrant garden bordered by several bedrooms, a bathroom, offices and storerooms, the kitchen and servants quarters.

  "Colonel O'Neill?" Daniel called again as he walked cautiously from the garden into the elegant drawing room.  The dining table was set for two, the lamps spilling light over the pianoforte and the comfortable furnishings, colour glowing in the heaped cushions of rich silk, the fine woollen carpets underfoot and the leather bindings of the many books. 

  Wondering if he would have to go to the lengths of searching through each room of the house for the absent O'Neill, Daniel took a moment to polish the lenses of his spectacles, ruefully aware his handkerchief was the only clean article he possessed.  He was already terribly late for his appointment, but perhaps there was still time to wash and dress for dinner?  Which would give more offence, tardiness or...?

  "You're late," a cool, authoritative voice drawled from immediately behind him.

  Startled by the unheard approach, Daniel quickly turned to find himself facing a tall, well-favoured man some years older than himself, with close-cropped roan hair, deep brown eyes and a tanned, wintry face.  "Sir?"

"Jack," Colonel O'Neill corrected, a blinding smile warming his face as Daniel shyly shook his proffered hand.  "Dr. Jackson?" he enquired.  "Daniel," he amended smoothly, taking the liberty of Daniel's given name before he could make a reply, neatly hooking his elbow to lead him over to the gleaming mahogany dining table.

  Looking cautiously at Colonel O'Neill's casual attire - the man was in his shirt-sleeves rather than evening dress - Daniel felt better about his own disarray.  General Hammond had been very particular in his ways; the influence of his dear wife, he claimed.  Daniel had always taken the time to change for dinner on the all too frequent occasions he had been unable to convince his employer he was more comfortable in his tent at the site, near the men.  Regrettably, the general's wish had been perforce Daniel's command. 

  As would this man's be, if he chose to invest in the excavation a little of the fortune he'd reputedly made prospecting in the Klondike this past year.

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