New Beginnings

by Annie

URL: http://www.area52hkh.net/asa/annie/beginnings.php
Summary: Daniel asks Jack to help him forget his pain after his grandfather decides to stay with Quetlzelcoatl. This leads to a new beginning for the guys

"Or radiation sickness?" Jack asked with a smile.

"Goodnight, Sir."

Jack walked away as the elevator doors closed on Sam and headed towards Daniel's office. When he got there, he closed the door behind him and sat down on one of the stools.

"Where are you? Where did you disappear to?" he whispered to the otherwise empty room. It was strange being in the office without Daniel to talk to, or have a laugh with.

It was just strange without Daniel.

That was when it hit Jack exactly how he felt about the archaeologist. Somewhere along the roller coaster journey of the last few years he had fallen in love with him. Sure, Jack had been out with men before he joined the Air Force, but Daniel was the first man he had wanted to be in a relationship with.

The sort of relationship he had had with Sarah.

~~~

Several hours later, after Nick had managed to persuade General Hammond that Daniel was at the SGC, Jack found himself back on P7X 377. This time though, he was watching Daniel make friends with a great big honkin see-through alien calling himself Quasi-coat or something. Jack knew what Nick was going to say even before the words came out of the old man's mouth.

"No, Daniel. Let me."

"Nick!" Daniel said, shocked.

"This was my life's work, I've been hoping for another chance at this for twenty-nine years. Please."

Daniel's heart started to break once again as he said, "You just came back into my life."

"I'll be back again. Please?" Nick begged.

Daniel just looked at his grandfather. It didn't even register when Quetlzelcoatl said; "Look again into the eyes of the skull."

What did register though, was Jack saying, "Well Nick, take notes," as he walked towards Sam.

"I will."

"You have to tell me everything," Daniel told him, forcing a smile.

"I promise. Daniel, I am proud of you."

"Goodbye. Grandpa."

Daniel walked towards the pedestal and for the third time looked into the eyes of the skull. A light enveloped the three members of SG-1, and when it faded, Quetlzelcoatl and Nick were no longer to be seen.

"Daniel..."

"Let's go Jack," Daniel interrupted. Wrapping his arms round himself, he walked past his team mates towards the exit to the pyramid.

"Damn it Nick," Jack muttered bitterly, "you just had to do it, didn't you? Doesn't matter that Daniel's now lost every member of his family, you just had to put yourself first. Again."

"At least he's still got us, Sir," Sam said.

"Yeah, and what do we do? We leave him behind," Jack replied as he crossed the narrow bridge to the exit.

"We didn't know what had happened to him, Sir. If we'd stayed any longer we'd have been dead and the SGC wouldn't have known that Daniel was missing. They would have assumed he was dead with the rest of us and not even looked for him," Sam argued as she followed her CO out.

"How about when we left him behind with Nem? Or when we left him in that padded room? Or when I left him on Klorel's ship?"

Sam remembered feeling guilty for the times they'd left Daniel. She could hardly forget, since every one was burned into her memory. There had been a logical and rational reason every time it had happened, but that didn't stop her feeling bad about every one of them. She glanced over to where Daniel was standing, an invisible wall of self-protection erecting itself around him before her eyes, brick by brick.

"Look, he's got that huggie thing going. Daniel's not a happy camper," Jack said. Not that Jack needed to say it, Daniel being upset wouldn't have been any clearer if he had erected a sign saying, "Leave me the hell alone!" and surrounded himself with barbed wire and an electric fence.

Daniel was already dialling them home as they arrived at the 'gate. Sam sent the GDO signal and they walked silently into the wormhole once they were sure that the iris would be open for them.

General Hammond and Teal'c were waiting at the bottom of the ramp as they materialised in the SGC.

"Welcome back. Dr Jackson, it's good to see you."

Daniel didn't stop to answer, he just continued walking out of the room and towards the elevator.

Back in the gate room, General Hammond turned to Jack and Sam and asked, "What happened? Teal'c told us that you'd been teleported. Where's Daniel's grandfather?"

"Well Sir, the short story is; we've made a new friend, the T-man here has a snake so couldn't be included and Daniel's grandfather skipped out on him. Again. Permission to go find him, Sir."

"Of course, get Daniel out of here when you've got the all clear from Dr Frasier. We can debrief at 0900 tomorrow."

Jack headed towards Daniel's office, but was surprised when he finally found Daniel in the infirmary, and not attached to his coffee pot. After Janet had given them the all clear, he guided the young man out of the mountain without even stopping to get changed.

~~~

Two hours later, Daniel was sitting on the couch in Jack's living room with a far away look in his eyes. Jack carried a mug of coffee and a bottle of beer through from the kitchen, placed them onto the coffee table, and sat down next to Daniel in silence.

"Why Jack? Why didn't he want to stay with me? And why the hell can't I hang onto anyone I care about?" came a tiny whisper a short time later.

"I don't know, maybe he just needed to prove to himself he wasn't crazy. It doesn't mean he loves you any less, Daniel."

"I... I just wish I could have got to know him. He was away for my childhood, and when he was around all we'd do was disagree over our respective beliefs."

"You can go visit you know. Just ask George sometime, it'll be okay."

Staring ahead, Daniel asked, "Help me forget, Jack. Even if it's only for an hour." Then, turning to look at the man sitting next to him, Daniel whispered, "Please."

Deciding now was the time to do what he had been thinking about since his revelation in Daniel's office; Jack put his hands on Daniel's shoulders and softly kissed his lips.

Daniel was so shocked when he felt Jack's lips touch his, he didn't move. After a few seconds he felt Jack's tongue slide over his lips, and without thinking Daniel opened them. Jack's tongue quickly slid inside and as he explored the depth, Daniel's hands snaked round his neck. They broke for air but were soon kissing again, Daniel leaning back pulling Jack with him until they were both lying on the couch.

Jack unbuttoned Daniel's shirt, then pulled the black tee shirt off allowing him access to the smooth chest underneath. Grinning at the way the younger man was emitting small moans of pleasure, Jack lowered his head and caught one of Daniel's nipples in his mouth. He suckled at it, causing the moans to grow louder, and then with a trail of kisses he moved across to the other one to give it the same treatment. Stopping, he looked into Daniel's eyes and saw the passion there.

"Daniel, are you sure about this?"

"Yes."

Jack kissed Daniel again, then made his way down Daniel's body. His hands reached down and once he had opened the fly, quickly pulled the pants down past Daniel's slim hips once he had opened the fly. Daniel threw his head back and let out a gasp as he felt Jack's warm mouth descend on his crotch, his briefs quickly becoming wet from his own pre-cum and Jack's saliva.

"Jack. Oh God, Jack. PLEASE," Daniel's voice was hoarse with need as his hips jerked upward.

"Yeah, I know love."

Jack hooked his fingers in the waistband of Daniel's briefs and gently lowered them over his erection. After a quick glance up at his lover's beautiful face, Jack slid Daniel's cock deep into his mouth.

Without realising what he was doing, Daniel started to move his hips back and forwards, stopping only when Jack's hands came to rest on them. He knew that with the sensations that Jack was creating within his body, he wasn't going to last for very long. In fact, when Jack flicked his tongue against his cock he wasn't going to last at all.

"JACKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!" he screamed as his body rocked from the explosive release.

Jack didn't move from his position until he was sure that Daniel had finished. Once he was, he made his way back up Daniel's body, stopping only long enough to suckle once again at the nipples. He kissed Daniel then pulled the shaking man into his arms.

The two men lay together on the couch, Jack holding Daniel close with one hand and stroking his back with the other.

"Are you sorry?" Jack asked.

"No. Are you?"

"God no. It's just..."

"What Daniel? It's just, what?"

"It's not what I expected, especially after recent events with Maybourne."

"I had to do that Danny, you know that. The Nox, Asgaard, Tollan. They were all threatening to remove themselves from the Alliance, and Travell wouldn't let me tell you about it. No matter how much I argued she..."

"I know, General Hammond explained it to us. Sam was wondering if it was something she had done for a while but we all realised nothing had changed went we went through to Bedrosia. Having said that, I'd be lying if I said it didn't hurt, what was said about our friendship."

"You know, those are the times when I really hate my job."

"It doesn't matter now. As you said, you didn't have a choice. If Maybourne had been even slightly suspicious it all would've been for nothing."

"Almost was for a few seconds."

"Huh?"

"When I was standing in the gate room, for a few seconds it felt like I'd lost you. That I'd lost SG-1. If people were talking about my blow up with Hammond after we came back from Tollana, they really would have been talking then."

"Aw Jack, you do care." Daniel said laughing.

"Better believe it." Jack said seriously. Then, with a small grin, he asked, "So, you didn't expect this huh."

"Hoped, sure. Expected, no."

Jack pulled back slightly. "Hoped for? You mean you've thought about this as well?"

"Yeah."

"How long have you been thinking about it?"

"For a while."

"And what were you thinking?" Jack asked slightly apprehensively.

"That I care for you Jack. What about you, you said 'as well'?"

"Well it took me longer to figure it out, but what'cha expect from a dumb ol' broken-down Colonel like me?"

Daniel levered himself up on an elbow, and looking down at his lover, said, "They don't make just anyone a Colonel, Jack. And as for giving someone dumb the command of the first team of the SGC, I can really see General Hammond doing that. Stop telling yourself that you're dumb, you're one of the brightest people I know."

"Whatever you say Danny. Notice you didn't say anything about me being old and broken-down though," Jack replied wiggling his eyebrows.

Daniel laughed, settled back down against Jack, and said, "You're not old, nor broken-down. Most people would glad to be half as fit as you are, and you're only a couple years older than me."

"More like 10."

"What's that in the grand scheme of things? Who cares how old either of us are, what matters is what we make of our time together."

"Our time together, that sounds good. I mean you care for me after all?"

"Well you haven't exactly told me how you feel yet fly-boy. All you've said is that you figured it out later than me. When did you figure it out? And what did you figure out?"

"When? Not long before Nick came to the General and I to say that you were around. What? That I love you."

"You love me? Wow."

"Wow?"

"You've just said you've been thinking about this as well, so I thought maybe you care for me. The fact you actually love me is more than I ever hoped for."

"How could I not love you? How can anyone not love you?"

"Nick doesn't love me. In fact he couldn't wait..."

"Aww Danny, Nick loves you. Just because he's not around..."

"He was never around Jack. Even when my parents were alive I can count how many times I saw him on both hands. After they died, I saw even less of him till I was an adult and became, interesting. He couldn't wait to get back out there, out to his life. He didn't need a skinny little geeky boy hanging around him, no matter how much that kid needed him. I went from one foster family to another, some I enjoyed and some I didn't. Never once did I feel loved after they died, till I met Sha're."

Jack's hand stopped in the middle of stroking Daniel's back, and he exclaimed, "Jesus Daniel, that's over 20 years! No wonder you find it so difficult to believe people love you. Are you seriously telling me there was no-one who was there for you, at all?"

"There were two people when I worked for Dr. Jordon in Chicago. Sarah and I were close, but nothing happened between us, it would have held up her career. Steven was interested in Sarah.  So there I was wondering aimlessly through my life, and I get the chance to come work here, on a mysterious project. And suddenly, I meet someone I fell in love with. That gave me focus I can tell you, falling in love with someone you want to spend the rest of your life with."

"You and Sha're were special together, I'm sorry I pulled away when she died. I just... I..."

"Doesn't matter Jack, in fact I think it was best. I would have ended up resenting you if you had got too close then, I was feeling guilty enough over what had happened and needed some space."

"Guilty? Love, you have nothing to feel guilty over. You spent almost three years searching for the love of your life..."

Looking into Jack's eyes, Daniel interrupted softly, "No Jack. I spent almost three years searching for my wife. The love of my life was at my side during the whole journey."

"Wha? We are talking about Sha're aren't we?" Jack asked, slightly confused.

"We are. And yet we're not."

"Daniel, now is not the time to get all cryptic on me. What are you talking about?"

"I said I met someone and fell in love with them. You assumed I meant Sha're."

"And you didn't?"

"No Jack. I meant you. I met and fell in love with you. That's why I felt guilty; I still had you in my life. The reason I got as close to Ke'ra as I did was I knew I needed someone who wasn't you. That way, if anything ever happened between us, I wouldn't have anything else to be guilty over. If that makes any sense."

Jack lay there stunned. Daniel loved him, had loved him for almost 4 years. If he was truthful with himself, Jack knew that he had been in love with the archaeologist for almost the same amount of time. It had just taken him a bit longer to figure out.

"Are you OK with this Jack?"

"OK? Of course I'm OK. I've just found out the man I want to be with forever feels the same way I do. I'm way better than OK."

Daniel laughed then stretched up slightly so he could kiss Jack's open mouth. This time his was the tongue that explored, his were the hands that traced the hard muscles underneath. Breaking away from the kiss, Daniel got up off the couch.

"You have too many clothes on Jack." he said as he held out his hand. Jack dazzled his young love with his smile as he practically jumped up.

"So Dannyboy, what do you suggest I do about it?" he asked with a leer.

Daniel didn't answer. Instead he leant over and the next thing Jack was aware of was the fact he was being carried upstairs on the shoulder of his naked lover.

"Danieeeel!"

Reaching Jack's bedroom, Daniel dropped him onto the large bed.

"What I suggest is that you get out of them. In fact..."

Jack had sat up which gave Daniel the chance to climb onto the bed and straddle his lap. Undoing Jack's shirt, he said, "I think" kiss "you should be quiet" kiss "and let me have" kiss "some fun of my own."

Daniel felt Jack's cock harden in interest. Pulling Jack's t-shirt over his head, Daniel started to move down Jack's body in an echo of what happened earlier on the couch. Concentrating on undoing Jack's belt and fly, he didn't even hear the phone ring.

"Damn!" Jack exclaimed. Leaning over, and being careful not to move Daniel from his current position on his knees, Jack picked up the phone from the bedside table.

"What?" he snarled into it.

Daniel started to kiss his way up to Jack's neck, and towards the ear that wasn't currently attached to the phone. Reaching it, he took it in his mouth and started to suck.

"Uhhhhh. No, I'm fine. What? Now? Yeah alright, we'll be in twenty."

Slamming down the phone, Jack moaned as Daniel sent shivers of delight throughout his body.

"Love, we... Yeah, just there, I... Stop, we, ahhhhh, have to stop."

Pulling back slightly, Daniel asked, "Why?"

"We have to go into the Mountain. That was Caaaart... JEEEEEZUUUUS!!!!" Jack exclaimed as Daniel, whose hands had made their way into his pants, started to massage his throbbing cock.

"You like?"

"Uh huh. I..." Jack moaned in pleasure as his lover continued his massaging. Then, when Daniel removed his hand, Jack protested.

"I thought we have to get to Cheyenne? That was what you said isn't it?"

Jack didn't answer; instead he pulled Daniel in for another kiss and didn't let go until they were both short of breath.

"What did Sam want?" Daniel asked, slightly light headed.

"Hammond's called us back in, something to do with Jacob. I said we'd be there in twenty."

Daniel climbed off Jack's lap saying, "In that case we better get going. After I've found my clothes of course. What on earth did you do with them?"

"They're by the couch. And what do you mean we better get going?"

"Just that. We better get going. General Hammond wouldn't have called us in if it wasn't important." Daniel responded as he walked out of the bedroom.

Jack watched Daniel's naked behind as it disappeared down the hall and slowly stood up. Things were uncomfortable; in fact they were very uncomfortable. After putting his t-shirt back on, Jack did his pants up and the tightness in his clothes around his groin area was almost painful. Heading downstairs, he saw Daniel was almost dressed.

"You realise everyone is gonna know something's up if I go into the mountain in this condition. I can hardly stand straight, let alone walk." Jack complained.

Daniel looked over, saw what Jack was talking about, and said, "Well, there's not exactly a lot I can do about that now. You're the one who told Sam we'd be there in twenty minutes." Picking up his jacket, Daniel headed towards the door and said, "Can hardly keep everyone waiting now, can we?"

"For crying out loud! You're serious, you little shit, aren't you? You really expect me to walk into the mountain like this. And you claim to love me!" Jack said, shaking his head, as he picked up his keys and followed the other man outside.

"Think of something else Jack," Daniel suggested as they climbed into Jack's truck.

"Like what?"

"Like Maybourne naked in your bed. With, let's say Samuels. Or how about..."

"I get the idea thanks." Jack shuddered as the unwanted picture came into his head.

"You realise I'm gonna have to get another bed now. And redecorate my bedroom."

~~~

Thirty minutes had passed since Sam's call to Jack's house to the two men walking into the briefing room. They saw General Hammond, Sam, Teal'c and Aldwin already seated.

"Colonel. Dr Jackson. Have a seat," General Hammond said.

"I though Jacob was gonna be here?" Jack said.

"Unfortunately after returning from Netu, Selmac was needed almost immediately for another mission," Aldwin replied. "We have lost contact."

"Again?" Jack asked.

~~~

Half an hour later, a fully kitted-out Daniel exited the elevator and ran down the corridor towards the gate room. Reaching it, he walked to the side of the rest of his team and Aldwin at the bottom of the ramp. Looking up, he saw that four of the chevrons on the Stargate were lit.

"What's up?" Jack asked when he saw Daniel hold his side.

"Nothing."

Jack raised his eyebrows so Daniel said, "I just got a stitch, that's all."

Up in the control room, Sergeant Davis was keeping an eye on the dialling sequence when an alarm came up on the computer. Hitting the alarm button, he leant over to the PA system and said, "Unscheduled off world activation!" as the wormhole sprung into life.

"Close the iris," General Hammond, who was stood next to him, said, "Who is it?"

In the gate room, SG-1 and Aldwin watched the Iris close as a group of SFs ran in, weapons at the ready.

Seeing the GDO signal come through, Sergeant Davis replied. Hammond ordered, "Open the iris." and made his way down the stairs. When he reached the gate room, the iris was once again open and the wormhole was casting it's blue light over the room. Before anyone had a chance to say anything, a figure stepped through.

"Dad!" Sam exclaimed.

Jacob strode down the ramp as the wormhole deactivated and said, "Hi Sammie." Turning to Hammond, he said, "George, sorry about that. Got held up and the Council started to worry."

"That's quite alright Jacob, as long as you're OK."

"I'm fine, came as soon as I heard Aldwin had come asking for help. Glad I got here before anyone left. If it's OK with you, I'll spend some time here before I head back." Jacob replied.

"That's fine. I'm sure the Major will appreciate it."

"I think it would be best if I returned. Sorry to have disturbed you General. It is good to see that you are well Selmac." Aldwin said.

"Thank you Aldwin."

Turning to SG-1, Hammond said, "I know we were going to debrief in the morning but seeing as you're all here we'll do it in ten minutes. Jacob." The two Generals walked up towards the control room as SG-1 made their way to the locker room.

~~~

"So Nick decided to stay and we came back. And at that point I'd like to apologise for my behaviour on my return." Daniel said as he sat down.

"That's OK son. We'll arrange a follow up visit in six months and maybe, if they're available, SG-1 can go. Thank you for your time everyone, I'll see you all back here on Monday. Have a nice weekend," Hammond replied.

Jack, who raised his eyebrows as if to say, "What did I tell you?" and Daniel smiled.

"So gang, who's coming round tonight? We'll watch a game or two, have a couple of beers. Whatcha say?" Jack asked.

"I am sorry O'Neill but Major Carter and I have plans for tonight," said Teal'c.

"Carter!"

"I'm taking Teal'c to a motor show that's on in town." Seeing Jack's eyebrows raise, Sam continued, "Teal'c is interested Sir."

"I bet."

"Besides, the show closes tonight and I..."

"You want to do something you enjoy that doesn't include saving the world. It's OK Carter, I understand." Turning to Daniel, Jack asked, "So what about you?"

"I just need to finish the translation SG-2 will need in the morning. Give me a couple of hours and I'm all yours."

"A couple of hours! What am I meant to do with a couple of hours?"

"Oh I don't know Jack, how about write some reports. Or trying to figure out how you're going to redecorate?" Daniel said with a grin as he walked out of the briefing room.

"Why I oughta," Jack said, his mouth hanging open.

"Sir, Teal'c and I are getting something to eat in the commissary before we leave if you want to join us." Sam offered with a laugh.

"That sounds good. Thanks Carter."

The three remaining members of SG-1 collected Jacob and went to the commissary. When they finished their meals, Jack sat trying to figure out what had been bothering him since the aborted rescue mission, not really listening to the conversation going on around him.

"Sir?"

"What?"

"What's wrong? You're sitting there looking like you've just sucked a lemon."

"I don't. Do I?"

"Sammie's right Jack. You look, well you look bothered." Jacob said.

"It's just. Something's not right and I... I'll figure it out. So, guys. When you leaving for the show?" Jack asked as he drank the last of his coffee.

"We are in fact leaving in ten minutes O'Neill. Are you sure that you and DanielJackson would not like to join us?" Teal'c asked.

"Nah, that's OK Teal'c. Daniel and I..." Jack trailed off.

"Sir?" Sam asked, confused.

"Daniel. That's what's been bothering me."

"DanielJackson has been bothering you?"

"No. Well, actually yes. Did either of you notice that Daniel was holding his side when he got to the gate room earlier?" Jack asked his team mates.

"Yeah, he said he had a stitch," Sam replied.

"So, why was he still holding his side after the debrief? A stitch doesn't last for that long. Think about it, when have you know Danny boy to get a stitch?" Jack said as he looked at his 2IC.

"I'm sure Daniel's all right Sir. He'll be finishing his translations just like he said he would, and will expect to see you in," Sam checked her watch, "about ninety minutes. Having said that, I think it's time for us to leave."

"I might just take a trip to his office anyway," Jack said as they all stood.

"Why don't you let Daniel finish his work Jack, then go visit?" Jacob suggested.

"Nah, I'll go check on him now. Have a good time," Jack replied and headed out of the commissary.

"I'm sure that'll make Daniel happy, having his work interrupted," Sam said with a smile. She followed her father and Teal'c out into the corridor and asked, "Do you think we should go drag the Colonel away?"

"I think that DanielJackson is capable of looking after himself. Especially when it comes to O'Neill," Teal'c replied.

Sam laughed as she pressed the button for the elevator.

~~~

Meanwhile, Jack was headed towards Daniel's office, worried about his new lover. Was he was regretting what had happened? Reaching it, he walked in and saw Daniel leaning over his desk, obviously in pain.

"Hey Danny, what's wrong?"

"That stitch I had earlier, it turned into full-blown cramps and nausea."

"You know, Carter's the one who's meant to have the wrong time of the month not you."

"Ha de ha ha. I'll get something to eat and I'll be fine."

"When was the last you ate?"

"I think it was before we visited P7X 377," Daniel said as he went to stand up. Feeling dizzy, he quickly sat down again.

"No wonder you can hardly stand. I'll go get you something from the commissary, whatcha want?"

"Oh god I'm gonna..."

Daniel lurched to the small sink where he was promptly sick. After he had finished, Jack helped Daniel back to his chair and said, "This is more than just going without food. Why haven't you gone to the infirmary with this?"

"I'll be fine Jack, I need to get this translation finished."

"Fine my ass," Jack said as he picked up the phone. "Hi Doc. Think it would be possible to make a house call to Daniel's office?"

~~~

"Dad, no more!" Sam exclaimed as Jacob told Teal'c yet another story from her youth. "Please, if you love me at all, stop with the stories."

Bringing her car to a halt, the three occupants got out and made their way into the mountain.

"Sammie, can't a proud poppa share some stories with his daughter's friend?"

"Not the sort of stories you've been sharing, no. I'm sure Teal'c wants to hear all about Mark and I and the trouble we used to get into," Sam said with a laugh.

"I am more than happy to hear stories about your youth Major Carter," Teal'c said as they exited the elevator.

"As long as you don't tell the Colonel, he'll never let me live some of the stuff down," not wanting the evening to end just yet, she asked, "Is anyone up for a coffee?"

Getting affirmative responses, the three of them walked towards the commissary and the late night batch of coffee that was always available. It had become 'always available' after a conversation Daniel had with the catering manager once, because he was pulling an all-nighter and the coffee had run out.

The manager later said, "Reports that I've ordered enough coffee for Dr Jackson, which will add another billion dollars to the SGC annual budget, are slightly exaggerated."

When they had their cups of steaming drink, the three of them made their way to a table. They hadn't even had a chance to sit down before an airman walked up and reported that the Tok'Ra had called Jacob back.

"I'll walk you to the gate room," Sam said.

"That's OK Sam, you stay here with Teal'c."

"Are you sure Dad?" Sam asked, giving her father a hug.

"Yeah, I'll see you soon OK. Stay safe," Jacob replied. Giving Sam a quick peck on the forehead, he turned and left.

Sitting down, Sam looked at her team mate and asked, "Did you have a good time?"

"I did Major Carter, thank you."

"You know you can call me Sam when we're on downtime Teal'c."

"Thank you, SamanthaCarter."

Sam smiled, knowing it was the best she was going to get at this time. The two friends chatted for a while and, although it was close to midnight, Sam decided to get another drink. She had just sat back down at the table when two nurses walked in.

"I can't believe how close it was Peta."

"Tell me about it Kath. I thought we were going to lose him this time."

"We did lose him, it's lucky the Colonel called Dr Frasier when he did."

Having got their drinks, Peta and Kath sat at a table oblivious to everything else. As the commissary was quiet, their voices easily carried to where Sam and Teal'c were sat.

"I didn't realise it was that close. Huh, at least you were in there and didn't have to try stopping the Colonel from... pacing."

"That bad huh?"

"Worse. I know we joke about his mother hen routine when his team's hurt, but this was beyond anything I've seen before. At one point I thought he was going to barge into the OR and try to help Dr Frasier do the surgery."

"Nah he wouldn't," Kath said. Then seeing her friend's face, she asked, "Seriously? He was that bad?"

"Seriously. You can call me a coward if you want but I'm telling you, I wouldn't have been anywhere near Colonel O'Neill if Dr Jackson hadn't made it."

"What!"

Turning, Peta and Kath saw the others for the first time.

"Major Carter. Teal'c. Sorry, we didn't see you," Peta said.

"What did you just say about the Colonel and Daniel?" Sam demanded to know.

"Dr Jackson was brought into the infirmary earlier suffering from appendicitis. Colonel O'Neill found him," Kath replied.

Sam and Teal'c got up and rushed to the infirmary. When they reached it, they saw Jack sitting on a chair next at Daniel's bedside.

"Colonel, we just heard," Sam whispered when they got close.

"Carter. Teal'c. Have a nice evening?" Jack whispered back.

The three of them left Daniel sleeping on his bed, walked around the curtain and continued their conversation in hushed tones.

"Yes thanks Sir. How's Daniel?"

"Not sure, haven't seen Janet yet."

"What happened O'Neill?" Teal'c asked.

"I went to his office and he wasn't feeling well so I called Janet. They operated and brought him out about a while ago. Can you believe he wasn't feeling too good but all he wanted to do was finish his translation?"

General Hammond walked up to the bed and said, "I've spoken to Dr Frasier, and she advises that it's going to take Dr Jackson at least a week before he gets back on his feet. So, as of now, SG-1 is on a two week vacation."

"Thanks Sir," Jack said, "Are you sure we'll be able to get away this time? No emergency call back to the mountain?"

"I think we can do without you for a while Jack," Hammond replied with a smile, "Take the time off, and enjoy yourselves." With that, he left the infirmary leaving the others standing next to the curtain.

"So folks, any ideas what you're gonna do?" Jack asked.

"I shall ask General Hammond if I may take this opportunity to visit Ry'ac," Teal's responded.

"Good idea. It might be best go and speak to him now, I think he has a couple of meetings in the morning," Jack suggested.

"O'Neill. SamanthaCarter," Teal'c gave a small bow and quickly left to speak with the General before he left for the night.

"Samantha Carter?"

"I asked him to call me Sam when we're on down time Sir."

"Ah, that explains it.  So Carter, decided what you're going to do?"

"I'm not sure yet. I have a few things in my lab that need some work doing on them so might spend some time there. What about you? Do you have any plans?"

"Might stick around for a while, see how Daniel is. Work something out when I know how he's doing."

"Well I'll see you in the morning then. Say hi to Daniel for me."

"Yeahsureyoubetcha."

Sam gave a small laugh and left Jack to return to Daniel's bedside. When he walked round the other side of the curtain, Jack was surprised to see Daniel's blue eyes looking back at him.

"Hi."

"Uhh."

"How you feeling Danny?"

"Sore. Sleepy."

"Go to sleep then."

"You?"

"What about me? I'm not sleepy."

"How's you?"

"I'm fine, thank you very much. Just been given two weeks vacation by George and I'm trying to plan what to do."

"I heard. Go fishing."

"Pardon me?"

"Go fishing," Daniel replied sleepily, "Take Sam with you, get her off base for a while."

"Oh, she said hi by the way."

"Yeah, I'll see her in the morning. Go fishing Jack and I'll be here when you get back."

"So..."

"So, what?"

"Are you still OK with what happened?"

Daniel gave a small smile and said, "Actually I'm pissed because we can't continue for a while."

Jack could see that Daniel was fighting to stay awake, so he sat down and said, "Go to sleep Danny."

"Uh huh. Night Jack."

Making sure no one was around, Jack whispered, "Night love."

After a while, when he was sure that Daniel was going to stay asleep this time, Jack got up and went in search of Janet. He found her in her office filling out a report. Knocking gently on the door, Jack entered the room.

"Hi Doc."

Janet looked up and gave a weary smile.

"Colonel. How's Daniel?"

"Just gone back to sleep, he woke up just long enough to tell me to take Carter fishing."

"I'm sure she'd enjoy that," Janet said with a laugh. Seeing that Jack wasn't ready to leave yet, she waved to a chair and said, "Sit down and we'll talk."

Once Jack was sitting down, he asked, "How long do you think he was in pain?"

"Well early indications of a grumbling appendix are minor pain, slight nausea and weight loss which can go on for a couple of weeks. Daniel mentioned that he had an ache in his side last week but said it was from bumping against a table. There wasn't a bruise or tenderness so I wasn't worried and told him to let me know if it continued. The signs that problem could be getting worse are; pain and cramping in the lower right abdomen, a loss of appetite, nausea, either diarrhoea or constipation, vomiting or a low fever that increases as the infection gets worse. As the inflammation gets worse, the pain increases and it would become more generalised over the whole abdomen. You can have some or all of the signs."

"I saw him holding his side and he said it was a stitch. Apart from that he didn't say anything till I went to his office earlier."

"That sounds like Daniel, he's not one to complain."

"Yeah, and if he ignores it long enough it might just go away."

"Well if he had ignored it much longer, the pain would have gone away. When an appendix ruptures, the pain stops because the internal pressure on the bowel is released. The problem is, things go downhill from there and it becomes a medical emergency. In Daniel's case, his body went into shock because of the rapid drop in blood pressure after we opened him up and released the pressure in his abdominal cavity. Fluid had been collected in the cavity and he began to bleed again."

"Just how close was it?"

"Too close, we had to restart his heart twice. It's lucky you got to him when you did, any longer and we would have been dealing with a serious infection as well. It would have made it much harder to save him."

~~~

A couple of hours after leaving Janet, a refreshed Jack walked back into the infirmary to see Daniel propped up in bed and awake. It was a good sight, especially after what she had said about how near they had come to losing him. Jack wanted to give him a hug, to give him the longest kiss either of them had known, but he knew there were too many people around so ended up asking how he was doing. After satisfying himself that the younger man was going to be OK, Jack headed off for his fishing trip. Because Daniel had asked him to, he needed to ask Sam if she would come as well, even though he knew she would decline. It was only going to be a quick visit because he planned to be back in time for when Janet let Daniel go home, and he planned to see the scar, as well as other body items, as soon as he could after that happened.

Well, so much for plans! Jack thought as he stood on Thor's ship. Now all I have to do is get the explosives and blow this joint.

When Jack had walked through the corridors of the Asgaard ship and saw the metal spiders, his gut told him things were bad. The moment Thor said the trip was one way Jack had felt like screaming at the universe and fates. Being the trained officer he was though, he used the stones to gain as much information as he could on this new enemy before coming up with a plan of action.

As he pushed the stone that would allow him to speak to the people in the SGC, his only regrets were the fact that he would be leaving Daniel behind, and he wouldn't be able to say goodbye. The only comfort Jack had was the fact Sam and Teal'c would be there for Daniel to help him through the pain.

~~~

Daniel managed to walk up the stairs to the briefing room wondering what he would find. Janet had not been happy that he had left his bed, especially as a few hours before he couldn't even contemplate getting out to go fishing with Jack. All she had told him was that Jack, Sam and Teal'c were aboard Thor's ship, and that there was a very good possibility that they weren't coming back. When he heard Major Davis calmly say that they were preparing to throw everything had at it, Daniel had felt a shiver run down his spine and fear grip his heart.

Later, after what seemed like an eternity, there was still no news, General Hammond suggested to Daniel he return to the infirmary.

"Sir, I know there's no reason for me to be here, but I just... I feel like I should be here. That's not totally true, actually I feel like I should be up there with them," Daniel responded, thinking I should be up there with Jack. I can't lose him so quickly.

When the General replied, "Now you now how I feel most of the time."

Daniel had to bite back his retort of, "No you can't know. It's not your lover up there who could be dead."

~~~

Jack thought it was ironic. Here he was once again going to contact the SGC using the holographic device, and again all he could think about was leaving Daniel behind.

When the stones didn't work and they could hear the replicators overhead, Jack thought Enough is enough. I am so not leaving you alone. We will find a way to get back, I promise.

And when Sam told him she had an idea, he knew they would succeed.

~~~

Daniel's heartbeat seemed to slow when General Hammond said to deploy all available assets to intercept the ship.

Surely you're not giving up on them General? We came just as close when Apophis' ships attacked and we still won through.

His heartbeat seemed to stop all together when the General said that they had no choice but to assume SG-1 had failed, and that they had to destroy the ship.

No don't give up. They will come back. They have to.

His heart began to break when Major Davis said the Russians had spotted the ship.

Don't leave me Jack.

Then his heart started to beat again, became whole, when the Stargate disappeared from the gate room.

You're alive.

~~~

"Nine days! We've been stuck here for nine days. You'd think they'd have the door open by now."

Sam and Teal'c tuned out Jack as he continued to rant about their time on P4X 234. They didn't even take any notice when he made his way across to the DHD and started to punch the glyphs that took them home.

"But no." punch "Here we are," punch "still on" punch "this" punch "god" punch "forsaken" punch "planet" punch "trying to get" pushing down hard on the red dome in the centre of the DHD "HOME!"

The Stargate sprung into life, the vortex surprising them.

"FINALLY!" Jack shouted. He walked to the event horizon, turned to the others and asked, "Ready to go home?"

"Yes Sir." Sam replied with a smile as she picked up her jacket.

"Indeed O'Neill."

When they reached the SGC they were all glad to see Daniel standing at the base of the ramp waiting for them. Jack and Daniel looked at each other and a conversation seemed to pass between them.

*I've missed you.*

*Missed you too. How you feeling?*

*Better now you're back. Don't do that to me again.*

*Sorry love, didn't have much choice seeing Thor did his Scotty impression and beamed me up.*

*Excuses excuses.*

*I love you.*

*Love you too.*

All Jack said aloud was, "Well it's about time," to which Daniel replied, "It's great to see you guys too."

After General Hammond insisted Jack had a shower, Daniel followed the rest of the team into the corridor and said, "It's good to have you all back. It felt wrong, being here whilst you were out there."

"Well next time we'll wheel your hospital bed along with us," Jack replied.

"I can just imagine Janet going along with that," Sam retorted.

Stopping outside the locker room, Jack grinned and said, "Well it could save time."

"How?" Daniel asked.

"It'd mean you'd already be on the bed after getting hurt on the mission."

Daniel's jaw dropped as Jack disappeared through the door.

~~~

Later on, after the debriefing had finished, Jack finally caught up with Daniel in his office. He watched the younger man for a few moments before stepping inside and closing the door.

"Is the camera still off?"

Daniel didn't reply, He just stood up, stepped towards Jack and pulled him in close for a kiss. Everything they had both felt during the events of the previous week and a half; the sorrow, fear, pain, anger, despair, all came out in the kiss whilst their hands roamed over each other's bodies. They would break for air, but would soon start to kiss again.

Finally, when they were both satisfied that the other was still alive and safe, Jack pulled away slightly and said, "I'm not gonna think about Maybourne this time."

Daniel was about to ask what Jack meant when he realised the problem, it was the same one he was currently experiencing.

"Did you lock it?"

Once Jack locked the door, Daniel pulled him close for another kiss. Their erections ground into each, and Daniel's hands reached for Jack's belt and fly. As soon as they were undone, the pants were pushed to the floor.

"We shouldn't be doing this on base," Jack managed to get out.

"If you think I'm going to wait till we get back to your place, you've got another thing coming," Daniel said as he got down on his knees and pulled Jack's briefs down.

Jack had to stop himself from shouting out loud when he felt Daniel's warm mouth surround his cock. He had been waiting for this moment for what seemed like forever, and now it was finally here.

"Jeeze!" he exclaimed as Daniel slowly licked the underside, from the base to the tip. Swirling his tongue round the head, Daniel once again took Jack's erection in his mouth and started to suck. Jack leant back against the door as the powerful sensations in him threaten to make his legs buckle. He couldn't believe how good this was, how right it felt being with Daniel.

Daniel continued to suck and soon Jack felt that familiar tightening.

"I... Daniel, I..."

Daniel realised what was going to happen but didn't move from his position. Soon enough, Jack's semen was pouring down his throat and after making sure that there would be no more, Daniel got up and looked into his lover's eyes.

"I love you. Don't scare me like that again."

Pulling him close, Jack said, "I don't plan on going out there again without you. I promise. Whatever happens, it happens to us both."

"Good, I'll hold you to that," Daniel whispered.

Jack, feeling Daniel's erection pressing into his groin, said, "We'll have to do something about that."

Daniel smiled and asked, "Got any ideas?"

"Oh yeah," Jack said as he started his way down Daniel's body.

~~~

The next day as they walked along the corridor, Daniel said, "I got pretty much caught up with the translations waiting for you to come back."

"You mean you weren't in the gate room trying to get things moving along quicker? Daniel, I'm wounded." Jack replied with a grin.

"Well, I did have time to threaten Siler with his wrench once or twice."

"That's better, glad to hear it."

"Are you still planning on that fishing trip?"

"Of course, and you're coming as well Danny boy. Ah ah ah! No arguing, you've just said you're about caught up. The Doc's already told me she wants you out of the mountain taking it easy for at least a week. Something about you not listening to her advice earlier."

"I was too busy trying to get to the gate room to hear." Daniel said sheepishly.

"She told me you took off rather quickly when the alarm sounded." Jack said as they came to the elevator. "I'll check on Carter and meet you up top in ten."

~~~

Daniel had just about made it to the locker room when he was informed that he was needed in the briefing room, and when he made it there he saw General Hammond and Teal'c.

"I guess we aren't going on leave then?" he said as Jack and Sam walked into the room.

"Sorry SG-1 but something has come up." the General replied.

When Major Davis arrived from the Pentagon and he heard what it was, Daniel started to wonder if he was ever going to get some time away with Jack.

~~~

"You better go ahead and blow this thing!"

"That's not exactly a positive attitude Jack."

"Listen to me! WE ARE NOT GETTING OUT OF HERE! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED, BLOW IT!"

"JACK!"

Daniel couldn't believe what Jack was asking him to do. Even over the break up in the feed, he could hear his lover tell Major Davis to give the order to fire on the Blackbird. Seeing Jack covered in the metal spiders, Daniel knew he had to do what Jack was asking him to.

"OK, OK!"

As Siler counted down the time till the Dallas' torpedoes hit, Daniel thought that first his grandfather had decided to live on another planet, and that now he was losing two of his adopted family.

More importantly, he was losing the love of his life.

Not taking his eyes from the screen, Daniel listened as Siler said, "Direct hit."

Bye babe. I'll always love you.

A light appeared on screen and Jack disappeared. The Asgaard, it had to be. Sam had helped them with their problem and they had arrived to help just as Thor had promised. To anyone looking at him, Daniel looked as if he was in shock. Inside, however, he was jumping up and down for joy like a little boy. Jack was still alive and his family was intact. Without even looking at the rest of the room he knew the people around him hadn't grasped the significance of the light yet.

"They're OK."

"What?" Major Davis asked.

"The... The..." Daniel pointed up to the heavens knowing Jack was up there, "The... Th... Th... They're OK!"

A few minutes later and they got a phone call from the SGC saying that Jack, Sam and Teal'c had been beamed into the briefing room. Everyone was congratulating each other, slapping the person next to them on the back. Looking around at the happy people, Daniel grinned and wondered how quickly he would be able to make it back to Colorado.

If he knew how to contact him, Daniel would have asked Thor if wouldn't mind a doing him a little favour.

~~~

"If you drop Dr Jackson at home we'll continue up to Cheyenne."

"What? Janet, I'm coming back with you," Daniel said. They were currently in the transport as it carried them back to the SGC and Daniel couldn't wait to get there.

"Daniel, I want you to go home and rest. You can come to the base in a few days, your work will still be there," Janet replied.

"Believe it or not, I'm not going for the work. I want to see the others for myself. Janet, I promise if you let me go back with you I'll be good and do as you say. I just... I need to see them for myself."

Janet smiled at the look of hope on Daniel's face and, knowing she wouldn't be able to disappoint him, said to the driver, "Change of plans. We're all going to base."

"Thanks Jan."

"If you go anywhere near your office or do anything I consider stressful, I'll have the guards escort you from the base."

~~~

Fifty minutes later, the truck drove through the checkpoint and as soon as it stopped Daniel climbed out. He headed towards the elevators, Janet at his side. Heading down, they waited in silence for their ride to reach Level 19 where Sam's lab was.

When the doors opened and Daniel stepped out, Janet held the doors open long enough to say, "I mean it Daniel. I even hear a rumour you're in your office, let alone on Level 18, I'll have you escorted off base. And no getting someone to bring you work either."

Daniel laughed as he watched the doors slide shut, then turned and headed along the corridor. Reaching the lab, he stopped as he heard Sam, Jack and Teal'c having a conversation.

"Seriously, Daniel's coming fishing with me."

"Are you sure you didn't hit your head on the sub Sir? Dr Warner did check you over didn't he?"

"Very funny Carter. I asked him and he said he'd come."

"Was that before or after he awoke from the anaesthetic O'Neill?"

"It was after Teal'c. I'm still going though," Daniel answered as walked into the lab. Seeing his friends sat round the desk, he stopped and smiled.

"Daniel, it's good to see you," Sam said getting up to hug him, "How you doing?"

"Fine, now I've seen you guys," Daniel replied as he held Sam in his arms.

"It is good to see you as well DanielJackson."

"You too Teal'c. Jack."

Jack went over and gave Daniel a quick hug conscious of the fact there were two observers.

"So Space monkey. You ready for that fishing trip of a life time?"

Daniel groaned when Jack called him that and asked, "You realise you're responsible for the nick name the nurses gave me, don't you?"

"Which one Daniel?" Sam wanted to know. There were so many nicknames going round, most for the archaeologist with Jack running a close second.

"Hunky monkey," Daniel said slightly disgusted.

Jack and Sam both struggled to keep the laughter in, but after looking at each other they couldn't contain it.

"H...h...hunky!" Jack spluttered

When it looked like the laughter wouldn't stop, Daniel said, "Laugh it up fuzz ball and I won't go fishing with you."

Whilst Jack and Sam struggled to stop laughing Teal'c watched in bemusement. Daniel sat watching his team mates, happy in the knowledge that for the time being his family was safe. He had a week away with Jack at his cabin to look forward to, with just the two of them going, and Daniel was pretty sure that fishing wouldn't be mentioned too often.

For the first time in many years, he was truly happy.