Communication

by Annie

URL: http://www.area52hkh.net/asa/annie/comm.php
Summary: By refusing to talk, has Jack finally driven Daniel into leaving the SGC?

It was 5pm when Daniel entered the hotel lounge and sat at the bar. He was in Chicago with Jack for his high school reunion and had taken the opportunity to check in on Stephen at the museum. It had been several months since Sarah had disappeared after being possessed by Osiris and, although a story had been concocted to cover up the events in Egypt, Daniel had wanted to see that Stephen was okay for himself.

He had returned from his mission with SG-11 to find Jack waiting at the bottom of the ramp in the Gate Room asking if he wanted to take a trip to the Windy City. Daniel saw the chance for what it was, an opportunity for them to talk about why their friendship had gone askew. They were currently on day two of a five-day trip and the only thing that had happened was an argument that morning because the discussion had failed to take place. Daniel was tempted to return to Colorado Springs and tell General Hammond that he was resigning from the SGC, maybe then Jack would finally be happy and Daniel could get on with his life.

Checking his watch, Daniel saw that almost an hour had passed since he'd first sat down, so he looked at the barman and asked, "Can I have another Coke please?"

As he asked for his drink he heard someone else ask, "Can I get a beer?"

Daniel turned and saw a man standing next to a barstool three seats down from him. As they had both asked for a drink at the same time the barman wondered who he should serve first.

"I can wait," Daniel said.

"No it's fine. You should go first as you were already here," came the reply.

Daniel smiled and asked, "Why don't you take a seat and we can be served together?"

"Good idea."

The man moved to sit next to Daniel and put his coat on the seat next to him. When he was sitting down, Daniel held out his hand and said, "I'm Daniel."

"Tim. So, are you here on business, Daniel?"

"Mostly I'm here for pleasure with some business thrown in. I had a meeting yesterday and am meant to be going to a reunion tomorrow, night but the rest of the weekend is free. You?"

The barman placed their drinks in front of them as they talked and Daniel took a sip as Tim asked, "Just here to see family. Which school did you go to?"

"Oh it's not my reunion, I'm here with someone from work. It worked out pretty well, Jack came for his reunion and I get to check up and see how an old colleague is doing."

As they talked Daniel found himself laughing and having a good time. He hadn't felt so relaxed in a while. In fact, thinking about it, he figured out the last time he'd felt this good was before Jack had saved the planet from the replicators. After his return from off world and the mission on the Blackbird, Jack had changed. That was when the sniping and disagreements had started.

"Daniel?"

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Tim smiled and asked again, "Do you want another drink?"

Daniel looked at his watch and realised two things. The first being Jack had still not shown up and the second, he had been talking to Tim for over an hour.

"Actually I'm getting hungry. Do you want to get something to eat or do you already have plans?"

"Some food sounds good, but what about your friend? Won't he worry if you're not here?"

"I'll leave a message at the front desk in case he turns up," Daniel replied.

After paying for their drinks, Tim and Daniel left the bar and headed towards the hotel restaurant where they were quickly shown to a table. They ordered their meals, some more drinks and continued their conversation.

"You said you consult for the Air Force. What is it you do?" Tim asked as the waitress brought their starters.

"I'm into linguistics and the Air Force found a little niche for me doing translations. I'm starting to think it's time to move on though; there isn't much for me to do anymore, you know how priorities can change."

"Tell me about it, I've just found out I get a new posting tomorrow. Only been in my current one for a few months and now I'm apparently needed elsewhere."

"It must be difficult for you, all that moving at short notice."

"You'd think so, but I'm used to it. Dad was in the Marines as well, so I grew up going from one base to another. Mind you, having said that, we were usually stationed at each base for a couple of years at a time. John and I loved it, I think that's why we both ended up in the forces."

"John?"

"He's my older brother. He left home when I was ten as he wanted to join the Air Force and Dad went berserk. Everyone in the family had gone into the Corps and John deciding on the Air Force was like a slap in the face, he didn't handle it very well. I can't remember a whole lot of what happened except for the shouting and Dad telling John never to come back. No matter how hard Dad was discipline-wise, I know it must have hurt John that dad threw him out. The both of them were stubborn sons of bitches. Dad refused to ever try finding out where John was and died four months ago still cursing him."

"That's sad, families are important."

"That's what John said."

"Did you ever try to find him? I would have thought it would have helped if you knew he was in the forces."

"I finally managed to get in contact, but not until I joined the Corps. We're still in touch and try to meet up at least once a year if we can but our schedules don't always allow for it. It's good when the three of us are all together in the old house."

"The old house? I thought you moved around a lot," Daniel said as the waitress cleared their plates away.

"We did. Mom was left a house by her mom and it for a while it was our base. No matter where we were in the world, we always knew there was a home in a Chicago. I know we a lot of our time in Minnesota but that house held some special memories for John and I. Mom took us there when John turned sixteen; Dad was away on an assignment and we couldn't go with him. She wanted John to have a settled period before he applied to college. Maybe it was just as well Dad wasn't home and we had the time to ourselves seeing what happened between them. When John left, Dad transferred all his plans for the future to me. I sometimes wish I'd listened and done what John suggested though."

"Why, what did he say?"

"He said I should be true to myself and do what made me happy, not what Dad had planned for me."

"It sounds like good advice. I gather from what you've just said you had plans other than joining up."

"I'd wanted to be a teacher like Mom, though I wanted to teach sports. You know, it didn't matter how much older or busy he was, John always had time to play catch, hit a puck around or help me with my homework; he said one of the unwritten duties of being an older brother was to make sure no one got left out. I remember Mom being proud of him because he refused to drop subjects when his teachers thought he had taken on too much. He passed every one of them with flying colours and the colleges were lining up, begging him to join them. Not only was he the all-round athlete, he was the smartest kid in the group and ended up being the class valedictorian."

"He sounds like the sort of older brother everyone should have."

"He was. Mom always teased me that I had a large case of hero worship, that John could never do anything wrong in my eyes. I suppose she was right, he was like a god to me. Didn't hurt that whenever I did anything wrong he covered for it, took whatever punishment Dad gave out without dropping me in it. Dad wanted him to follow in his footsteps, join the Marines then get married and have children. That was one of the problems between them, John knew what he wanted from life and it wasn't that. He was going to join the Air Force so he could fly and when he came out he was going to find his soul mate. Male or female, it didn't matter. That's what caused that final argument when Dad kicked him out, John being bi. Dad said he would be 'corrupting' me. He never knew I found out about John before he did."

"Wouldn't that be difficult when he joined the forces? I'm only a civilian and I know what it's like, if someone is even suspected of being gay or bisexual."

"I realised later that John knew what he was getting into when he made his choices. He knew he would have to live with the secrets and hide the fact he was bi. I guess he was willing to do it for the life he wanted. Anyhow that's enough about my family, I haven't told some of this stuff to people I've known for twenty years." Taking a sip of his drink Tim asked, "So, what about you?"

"Me? Oh I moved around quite a bit myself. My parents were archaeologists and would move from dig to dig. I went with them. I learnt more about life and the world than I ever would have in a school. After they died I moved from one home to another till I was old enough to go to college. I came up with some wacky ideas that my colleagues laughed at, ended up with a ruined reputation in the academic community and was approached by the Air Force to work for them. That's when I met Jack. I spent about a year and a half away with my wife until Jack came to bring me back because the Air Force needed to talk. I started working for them full time on Jack's team, but unfortunately Sha're died last year. I was lucky enough to have Jack there to help pick up the pieces. Four years after returning and I'm still there."

"You said you were thinking of moving on. Don't you enjoy it anymore?"

"I love it when I get the chance to really do my job; it's the best thing going. But as I said priorities change and I don't get much of an opportunity anymore. That's been causing things to become strained between us. It's making things difficult at work. He's career military and very good at his job, the Air Force would be lost if he were to leave. It would be much easier if I went as a new linguists can always be bought in to cover my duties."

"Is it really that bad? I mean what about you? Would you be able to get more work? You've just said that your reputation is ruined."

"I honestly don't know. Enough time has gone by that I should be able to get some sort of work on a dig somewhere. It'd be easier for Jack if I left. The arguments and friction would stop."

"You must care for him a lot."

"What makes you say that?"

"If you're willing to give up a job you love for someone else's happiness then he must be a really good friend."

"I guess he is. There's almost nothing I wouldn't do for him. He's become my family. He's been there when I've been woken up by the nightmares, wouldn't leave my bedside when I was hurt and on occasion, had to drag me out of the office long enough for me to actually see something of the outside world. He's given me something I haven't had since my parents died."

"And what's that?"

"Friendship. Even with things taking a turn for the worse, he's still the best friend I have."

"And yet you're willing to leave."

"Go figure. I just think it could help things if we had some space; we practically live in each other's pockets. I can't believe I'm telling you this stuff. Like you, I've just said things I haven't told anyone else. Things I didn't think I'd find myself comfortable thinking about, let alone saying."

"So why have you?"

"Because I needed to talk to someone before I burst and I can't talk to anyone at work anymore. Because I won't be seeing you again, I'm not worried about anyone getting hurt by what I've said. Because I thought this weekend was going to be the opportunity for us to talk but he's gone off who knows where. Because we had an argument this morning that makes me wonder if any of this is worth it. Because you remind me of the Jack I used to know and the way we used to talk before our friendship seemed to fly out the window. Pick a reason. Pick all of them in fact because they all work."

"Why don't you wait till you see him? Tell him what will happen if you both don't talk things through. By the sounds of it, you don't really want to leave, you just want the trouble between you to stop. Running away won't work, you'll just get eaten up inside. Don't let what happened between my dad and brother happen to you," Tim suggested sympathetically.

Daniel smiled sadly. "Okay, I'll give it another go but I don't see things getting any better. I really can't believe how easy it is to talk to you."

"I know what you mean. I've told you things that no-one outside the family knows, which is amazing." Tim checked his watch and realising the time said, "Well it's time for me to leave, I have a flight back to my base in three hours and I need to get to the airport. Thanks for a pleasant evening, Daniel, I hope you sort things out with your friend before it's too late."

Standing up, Tim put on his coat and shook Daniel's hand.

"Hope you enjoy your new assignment, Tim. Thanks for listening."

Tim left the restaurant and Daniel watched him head for the main desk to ask for his luggage. Within five minutes the Marine officer had left the hotel in a cab.

***

The next morning, Jack woke up at 0630. He was tempted to leave the hotel before Daniel got up for breakfast. The argument the previous day still smarted and his resolve to set things straight between them was slightly dented. When he had come back from the mission to P2X 729 he knew things wouldn't be able to continue the way they were. Watching the robotic SG-1 die was difficult but had been made slightly easier by the fact that he could see that his Sam and Teal'c were fine.

That Daniel wasn't there was another matter. Waiting at the bottom of the ramp, Jack had had to restrain himself from going up to the control room and dialling the god-forsaken planet Daniel was having fun on with SG-11. When the wormhole had finally engaged and the iris opened Jack watched as the team returned to Earth along with Daniel. He had opened his mouth to say welcome home but what came out shocked him, almost as much as he could see it had shocked the archaeologist. He had asked Daniel if he wanted to come along on his trip to Chicago after their next mission. Unfortunately that had been delayed slightly after the disastrous results from sending the MALP through the Gate and Carter's subsequent possession by the entity attempting to destroy the base.

Which was why he was still mad about the argument the previous morning. They had flown to Chicago on the Thursday and, after settling into the hotel, Daniel had gone to see Stephen at the museum. They hadn't seen each other for the rest of the day as Jack had returned to the suite rather late. Then the next morning, when they were heading down for some breakfast, Daniel had asked what had gone wrong between them. Jack knew he had panicked when he said he didn't want to talk about it, but when Daniel replied saying they needed to talk it had rapidly gone down hill. It ended with Jack storming out of the suite telling Daniel to leave him the hell alone. He'd returned late at night, missing their planned dinner, and though Daniel was already in bed he had left a note saying they really needed to talk things through. Sighing, Jack got up and went to have his shower.

Half an hour later and the noise of activity in the room next to his woke Daniel. He had returned to the suite after Tim left but had found it difficult to sleep and had been awake when Jack had returned in the early hours of the morning. He listened as Jack stopped by the table where the note was then make his way to the door of Daniel's room. Daniel had watched the doorknob move slightly and then listened to Jack walk into his own room. Getting up, Daniel sighed and headed to his own bathroom to get ready for the day ahead.

When he was ready, he walked into the living area and saw Jack sitting on the couch waiting for him. Heading to the coffee already made for him, Daniel gave a small smile and grunted, "Thanks."

After taking a sip he asked, "What time does your reunion start tonight?"

"Nineteen hundred hours with a speech from the valedictorian which I'm really looking forward to."

"Sounds like fun."

"Oh yeah. I can't wait to see the old class, all those CEOs with BMWs and Rolexes showing me the photos of their happy families asking what I've been up to. I won't be able to tell them most of what I've been doing in the Air Force, and what I can talk about they won't want to hear because it'll offend their sensibilities."

"You knew all that before you came up here, so why worry about it now?"

"I'm not worried about it, I'm just expressing my excitement at what's in store. Actually, I meant to ask how your friend is? Did he ask any questions about what happened?"

"Stephen was Stephen. We had a, I suppose some would call it a conversation. Obviously he's concerned about what went on with Sarah but he seems to believe the cover story the Air Force came up with. He wasn't too impressed to see me but then again he never was, even when we were on speaking terms."

"So whatcha do yesterday?"

"I went round the Institute's museum."

"Didn't you go round that enough when you studied there?"

"The displays do get updated Jack, and I wanted to see the Egyptian and Persian galleries. They were both recently renovated. The Egyptian gallery reopened back in May '99 and the Persian gallery only last September. Just because it's a museum doesn't mean it's stuck in a time warp."

"So you spent a day of your vacation in a museum. Daniel, you really need to get out more."

"I get out enough thank you. What exciting things did you do yesterday?"

"I went round the old neighbourhood, met up with a couple of guys from high school and..."

"And?" Daniel prompted when the other man trailed off.

"I went round the Adler," Jack mumbled.

"Adler as in the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum? That Adler?"

"Yeah, it's always helped me think things through."

"And you accuse me of needing to get out more," Daniel said as he headed towards the coffee making facilities. When he was once again sitting down with a coffee he asked, "Are you ready to talk yet or are we going to get into yet another disagreement?"

"Daniel I... Do we have to do this now? I know I've said this before but we'll talk later. I promise."

"It keeps getting put off, Jack. Something comes up or you don't feel like talking or we get sent on another mission. We're here now with no emergency phone calls getting us to save the planet yet again. No interruptions."

Sitting down, Daniel looked at his friend as he sat uncomfortably on the sofa and said, "We need to do this, Jack. Our working relationship is down the drain and halfway along the sewer, our friendship is quickly following it. We need to figure out how to get things back to how they were before it's too late."

"I know we do, Daniel. Just not now, please. I still have some things I need to..."

"Why did you bother asking me along for the weekend if you don't want to talk? I barely saw you yesterday; today you don't want to talk about it and before you know it, we're back at the SGC no nearer to sorting this out."

"How about tomorrow? Get the reunion out of the way first, then we can talk."

"Jack."

"I just... Daniel, just drop it for now. Please."

Daniel started to get annoyed. Putting his cup on the table, he stood up and started to pace the room.

"No, I won't. I can't. We need to sort this out, how many times do I need to say that?"

"Maybe if you dropped it for a short while I might start listening to you."

"I knew this was a mistake. I knew I shouldn't have told Tim I'd try again," Daniel muttered to himself.

"Tim? Who the hell is Tim?"

"Someone I met in the bar last night. We had dinner and talked."

"What exactly did you talk about?"

"What do you think, Jack? He talked about his life, I talked about mine."

"How did it get round to you saying you'd try again? And more to the point, do you make it a habit of picking up strangers in bars?"

"When my so called friend doesn't show for an arranged meal and I'm by myself in a hotel, yes."

"So you had a meal with someone you've never met before..."

"Well that is the definition of a stranger, Jack."

"You've never met before," Jack continued through gritted teeth, "and you discuss... what exactly?"

"It doesn't matter does it, because you're not going to talk to me are you? Even if it meant the safety of the world you still wouldn't talk."

Daniel made his way to the door to the suite, picking up his coat on the way.

"Where are you going now?"

"What does it matter, Jack? I just need to get away from here."

"I want to know where you're going, Daniel, and I want to know now," Jack answered as he followed the other man.

"Tough. I want to talk but you don't seem to care about that, so why should I care about what you want?"

"Because at least I'm not a security risk by not talking."

Daniel spun round and stared at Jack in amazement.

"You really think I'd be a security risk? You think so little of me that you think I'd talk to anyone and everyone about what we do?"

"Well you were willing to talk to a stranger you'd only just met last night about what's wrong between us. So, what did you two geniuses have to say about me? Did he tell you how to sort out the problem you have with your stupid CO?"

"I've never said you're stupid, Jack because I know you're not. You wouldn't be a colonel in the Air Force if you were. You're the one who seems to think it's okay to go round making everyone believe you don't know the difference between a quark and a quasar. Tim suggested that I talk to you about what was wrong before it was too late, before we got to the point where we didn't even want to sort it out. Well guess what. I've just reached it. If you don't want to talk then fine, just don't expect me to stick around."

Daniel put his arm out so he could open the door but before he could touch the handle Jack grabbed hold and pulled him round.

"Don't even think about leaving, Daniel."

"Why should I stay? Just give me one good reason."

Jack whispered, "I... I..."

"You can't, can you, Jack?" When Jack closed his mouth without saying a word Daniel said, "Let me go."

Jack didn't let go, in fact his grip got even tighter.

"Let me GO!" Daniel exclaimed as he managed to wrench his arm away, "I don't know what sort of game you're playing, but I've had enough. Of it, and of you."

Daniel flung open the door and stormed out into the hallway. Making his way to the elevator, he didn't even stop when Jack called out his name.

Watching his friend leave Jack knew that things hadn't gone as he planned. In fact things had gone to hell in a hand-basket.

***

Jack entered the hotel suite thinking about the events of that morning. Recent events made him realise that life was too short to have disagreements with the people he cared about and he had said some things that morning he needed to apologise for. Knowing he'd soon have to get changed for the reunion Jack was half way to his room before realising how quiet the suite was. It felt empty. Empty like his life. Taking a deep breath, he headed for Daniel's room to apologise to the younger man. Knocking, he opened the door and said, "Daniel, I'm sorry about ear..."

Looking around, he saw the room was empty. Making his way to a telephone, Jack called down to the front desk.

"This is Jack O'Neill in one seventeen, my friend's things appear to have... He did? When? No, that's okay. Thank you."

Putting down the phone Jack knew maybe this time he had pushed things too far. Daniel had left to go back to Colorado.

***

Daniel headed towards the briefing room not looking forward to seeing Jack again. SG teams one and three were being sent on a mission together, and on entering the room he saw two members of SG-3 sitting at the table whilst Teal'c and Sam were talking to someone who had his back to him.

"Hey Teal'c."

"Daniel Jackson."

Sam looked up when she heard the voices, saw Daniel and said, "Daniel, come meet the new CO of SG-3."

When the man turned Daniel saw he had already met him.

"Tim? What are you doing here?"

"Daniel? This is your translation job?"

"Um yes."

Just then someone walked in behind Daniel and he saw the surprise on Tim's face. Daniel saw the name on Tim's jacket as he turned to see the new arrivals were General Hammond and Jack.

O'Neill? Nah, they can't be related. Can they? Seeing the look on Jack's face he realised maybe they could.

"Major O'Neill, welcome to the SGC. Sorry I haven't had an opportunity to see you before this but something came up that required my attention. I understand you already know Colonel O'Neill," General Hammond commented with a wry smile.

"Yes, Sir."

"Timothy, it's good to see you again. It was a surprise to see your name on the roster this morning."

"I only got my posting yesterday."

"Welcome to the madhouse, I'm sure you'll have fun," Jack said smiling as he held out his hand to the younger man.

"Thanks bro," Tim replied, slightly confused to see his elder brother in the room.

"Gentlemen, if you're ready," General Hammond said with a smile.

Both O'Neills replied, "Yes Sir," as one and sat down at the table.

Things had turned surreal for Daniel. Brothers. They're brothers!

"Daniel, you sitting down anytime soon?"

"Yeah, sorry. I uh..."

"You alright?" Jack asked, a bit concerned by Daniel's reaction.

"I'm fine, just wasn't expecting to see Tim here that's all."

"Okay," Jack replied as he turned to face the General. Then something struck him. Tim. Turning to face Daniel again who was sitting next to his younger brother, Jack thought Is this Chicago Tim?

Somehow the three men made it through the briefing and as soon as George said everyone could leave, Daniel shot out of his chair and headed out of the room. Tim quickly left as well and caught up to the archaeologist in the hallway.

"Daniel, we need to talk."

"Not here. Come on, we'll go to my office."

Daniel led the way, both men walking in silence until they reached the room when Daniel said, "So Jack's your brother."

"Yeah."

"I can't believe this," Daniel said anxiously, "I really can't... The one person I've opened up to turns out to be Jack's brother. This is great, just great. I knew I shouldn't had talked to anyone."

"You said yourself you needed to. Why are you beating yourself up?"

"You really need to ask why?"

"So what if you told me about the problems you're having with John. Daniel, maybe this will give him the kick up the ass he needs to talk to you."

"What makes you think he hasn't already?" picking up an object from his monitor and fiddling with it.

"The fact it's John we're talking about. I learnt by the time I was six that he'd go the extra mile for someone else, but ask him to talk about his feelings... I'll just say you've got more hope of the Roswell aliens appearing on Earth than you do of that. Nice toy by the way, where did you get it?"

"From a friend; a couple of years back when SG-1 did one of our 'save the world' missions, I thought the others had died. They thought I was dead and when we met up in the gate room Jack called me 'Space Monkey' for some reason, says he doesn't know where it came from," Daniel explained as he put his cuddly toy back on the top of his monitor. It was a little monkey in a red space suit. "Anyway she bought me this shortly afterwards to remind me how lucky I was, not that I needed reminding. And I hate to tell you this but you're wrong about two things. The Roswell aliens are a race called the Asgard and their Supreme Commander, Thor, visited the SGC during our second year of operation. Jack sometimes talks about his feelings; he just doesn't seem to want to talk to me anymore as he's recently found someone else to listen," he concluded with a sad smile.

"You're kidding about the aliens aren't you?" Before Daniel could reply, Tim carried on, "No of course you're not. Little grey men, people with snakes in their head or gut. I suppose this is my life from now on. Never knew translation work could be so exciting."

"Oh believe me it can be the best job in the universe. So, this was the new assignment you were talking about on Friday."

"Yep, I was shocked when I got here and learnt what it is you do. Are you still thinking of leaving?"

"I... Well... I wrote my resignation letter yesterday, I just haven't given it to General Hammond yet."

"Are you going to?"

Checking his watch, Daniel saw they were close to the time they would need to be in the Gate room.

"We'd best get going. Wouldn't want you to be late on your first trip through the Gate."

"Are you going to give your letter to the General?" Tim asked again.

"Yes. I'll give it to him when we get back," Daniel replied as he made his way to the door.

***

Both teams returned from the mission safely and on time, though things had deteriorated between Jack and Daniel with Jack being exceptionally nasty with his comments. Daniel hurried his shower and medical check, leaving the infirmary before the rest of his team arrived for theirs, his determination to leave the SGC now unshakeable.

Later that day, Sam walked up to Janet's front door and heard a delighted squeal from Cassie. Wondering what had excited the teenager she went round to the back where the noise was coming from. On entering the yard she saw Jack on the floor with Cassie's dog sitting on top of him, Cassie trying to pull Toby off but laughing too much to be really effective. Teal'c was standing over the pair, watching the antics of the group on the ground. Walking up to Janet, who was standing on the porch, Sam greeted her friend.

"Hi, Sam. I hope you don't mind the extra guests but Cassie was saying the other day she hasn't seen you all for a while and when the colonel asked how she was in the infirmary earlier..."

"You invited them over as well. Of course I don't mind." Together they watched as Teal'c bent over and plucked the dog from where it was sitting enabling Jack to get onto his feet. The three of them walked towards the porch, Toby bounding around their feet.

"I was going to ask Daniel but he wasn't around when I tried his office," Janet said as they made their way into the house.

"I saw him as I was leaving and he said he'd made plans to go out with Tim. Something about showing him the town," Sam answered.

No one commented about how quiet Jack was for the rest of the evening.

***

Daniel poured the coffee and carried the mugs into his living room. Handing one to Tim who was standing at the music centre he sat down on a couch and made himself comfortable.

"You managed to get me into bars I haven't been in during the four years I've been here," Daniel said after taking a sip of his drink. "Mind you, that's not too difficult as I never seem to go out that much."

"No problem," Tim replied as he pressed play on the CD player.

Daniel laughed then asked, "So what did you think of your first trip through the Gate?"

"Cold. Disorienting. Strange. Thrilling. In a nutshell it was everything I was told it would be," Tim answered as he sat down opposite Daniel.

"The coldness seems to effect you less the more you go through, the first few times we went through ice formed. Sometimes it's difficult to keep on your feet when you get to the other side but on the whole it all gets better with practice," Daniel said. Then he started to tell stories about his time at the SGC.

"...then Teal'c walked through. I know the rest of us were messy but I swear there wasn't any part of him that wasn't covered with mud; he dripped all the way to the showers. The cleaners loved us for that one."

"It sounds like there's never a dull moment what with alien incursions, attacks from outer space, robot copies, attack of the mud puddles. I've moved to the twilight zone," Tim commented with a laugh as a new song started playing.

"I didn't realise I had this." Sitting back, the two men sat and listened to Billy Joel as they finished their drinks.

"Well it's here so you must." Tim picked up the CD case and passed it to Daniel who, after looking at it, said, "Actually this is Jack's. I should return it to him."

Buddy Holly, Ben Hur, space monkey, mafia...

Sniggering, Tim said, "We might just have figured out where John got his space monkey comment from. So, tell me more about Major Carter."

"Sam? Oh I get it, going out this evening was your way of getting the low-down on her," Daniel grinned.

"Hey, I've enjoyed your company as well. It's been a good evening."

"It has. To tell the truth I recently heard that she already likes someone, so you maybe out of luck there. Sorry."

"Oh well, win some, lose some. Have you spoken to General Hammond yet?"

"I'm seeing him after SG-1's briefing tomorrow morning."

"You know I'm here if you need to talk."

"Thanks, Tim."

"No problemo. So, are you going to tell me about any more of your adventures?"

The clock on the mantle chimed causing Daniel to check his watch and exclaim, "4am! I didn't realise it was that late."

"Don't you mean that early? No wonder it's starting to get light," Tim replied trying to stifle a yawn. "It's funny, I was fine till I found out what time it is and now I'm tired. Think it's time for me to get going."

"Why don't you stay here instead of driving back to the base? The couch is yours if you want it."

"I think I'd better, I'd just end up having an accident if I drove back now. Thanks, Daniel."

After clearing away the mugs, Daniel headed into his bedroom and emerged a short while later with a pair of sweats and some bedding. Handing the sweats to Tim, Daniel turned the couch into a bed whilst the other man headed to the bathroom.

The next morning came quickly, along with some problems. The first was that Daniel had forgotten to set the alarm so they were running late. The second came to light when they reached their vehicles; Tim had a flat battery after forgetting to turn off his lights.

"This day just keeps getting better and better," Daniel muttered as the other man relocked his car. Seeing Tim pull out his cell phone Daniel called out, "I'll give you a lift in and you can call the garage from work. I won't be able to bring you back though as we're due to head out this afternoon."

"Thanks, Daniel, I'm sure someone will be able to give me a lift."

They made it to the base with enough time for Daniel to make SG-1's briefing. As they were about to go their separate ways at one of the many hall junctions, Jack walked round the corner. On seeing them the Air Force Colonel said, "Morning."

"Morning, John. Have a good evening?" Tim asked.

"Yes thanks. You?"

"I had a great evening, really enjoyed myself. Anyhow, I'd better get going so I'll see you later guys."

"Yeah. Bye, Timothy."

Tim walked off, leaving the others standing in the corridor, Jack unsure what he should say to Daniel. It was made a moot point when the younger man walked away and headed towards the briefing room without having said a word.

After the briefing had finished and SG-1 had been dismissed, General Hammond invited Daniel into his office for their talk. Jack, hearing this, left with a scowl on his face.

"What can I do for you son?" George asked as he sat down behind his desk.

***

A fully kitted out Jack walked into the Gate room as the seventh chevron locked and saw the rest of his team waiting for him at the bottom of the ramp. Walking up the ramp, Jack entered the wormhole without a word. Daniel went through last, and emerging on the other side the first things he saw were lots of trees and the MALP.

That will make Jack happy, he thought.

The next thing he noticed was the fact that there was a spear on the ground in front of Jack.

"Jack?"

"Time to leave, dial it up."

Daniel was about to argue that he should be allowed to greet the natives, which the MALP had failed to show, when he noticed that they were pointing their spears at Sam and Teal'c so instead turned to dial home. He had managed to complete the sequence and press the red crystal in the centre before a spear landed next to the DHD.

"I don't think they're too happy about me doing that actually," Daniel said as the natives watched him.

"So I noticed," muttered Jack as the leader of the natives stepped forward attempted to take his gun, "Hey! Leave that alone will ya."

"Hews toa unbor grustin."

Jack looked towards Daniel, the question clear in his eyes.

"I have no idea, it doesn't sound like anything I've heard before."

"Fuy nasn hews. Hews toa unbor grustin."

"Not understanding a word you're saying," Jack tried to explain.

"Unbor grustin!"

"Look, I don't know what you're talking about."

"It appears he wants your weapon," Daniel said when the irate leader tried to once again take Jack's gun.

"Carter, see if..."

He didn't have the chance to go any further because General Hammond's voice came over their radios, "SG-1 please report."

If the team had thought the natives were agitated before the General spoke, it was nothing to the way they started shouting and screaming whilst waving their weapons afterwards. Three of them grabbed hold of a struggling Sam, another two attempted to take the staff-weapon away from Teal'c whilst a third threatened him with a knife. As Daniel managed to press the button on his radio the leader finally succeeded in ripping the gun from out of Jack's hands.

***

"We need some..."

The transmission stopped mid sentence and the wormhole disengaged, sitting at the dialling computer Sergeant Davis wondered what sort of trouble SG-1 had managed to get into this time.

"Redial P2X 527 and see if we can get anything from the MALP," General Hammond ordered and Davis began the process.

When the wormhole formed the occupants of the control room watched as the pictures being transmitted back to the SGC showed there was no one in sight. What they could see though were SG-1's weapons, jackets and packs lying on the ground in front of the gate.

"What teams are ready to go?"

Davis checked and replied, "The only fully operational team currently on world is SG-3, though there are members of SG teams six and ten available who are cleared for duty."

"I want everyone who can walk and carry a gun from those teams in the briefing room in five minutes."

***

Jack, Sam and Teal'c were locked in a cell while the natives carried off a stunned Daniel in a different direction.

"I wonder why they decided to take Daniel?"

"I don't know but remind me to ask them when they come back, Carter."

"It could be because Daniel Jackson accessed the Stargate, O'Neill."

Jack snorted and replied, "Maybe they decided they wanted a linguist, or maybe someone wearing glasses or I don't know, Teal'c. Let's just see if we can get out of here and find him before they can do any more damage."

An hour later and they were still no closer to getting out of the sturdy room when the door to the cell opened and a body was thrown in.

"Daniel," Sam exclaimed. She took a step forward but wasn't able to catch him before he fell to the floor. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he muttered. Sitting up he gave the rest of the team the opportunity to see the evidence of the beatings he had sustained.

"What happened?" Jack asked as he watched the other man try to make himself comfortable.

"They talked. I didn't understand. They hit me. What do you think happened, we had a tea party?"

"I don't know with you, Daniel, you've managed to play nice with an Unas before now."

"At least I had a chance to understand Chaka. Even after spending quality time with the locals I don't have a clue where to start with their language and still don't know what sent them off the deep end."

"Maybe you found something to touch they didn't like?"

"As far as I can tell that's a coin toss between the DHD and my radio," Daniel replied as Sam checked him out.

"It might have been General Hammond's voice. They seemed to get upset when he spoke via the radios."

"Could be, Carter, " Jack confirmed. "How's he doing?"

"Definitely has a couple of nasty bruises and I think there are at least two cracked ribs and a possibility of a concussion."

"You can forget the concussion, I can still see straight."

"Even if things are blurred," Sam said as she noticed the lack of glasses.

"Even if things are slightly blurred," Daniel agreed. "So what's the plan for getting out of here?"

"We wait till they come to get one of us and jump them," Jack replied.

"That sounds... like a plan," Daniel mumbled to himself as he leant back and closed his eyes.

A short while later a noise from outside the door alerted SG-1 to the fact they were about to receive visitors and Sam whispered, "Wake up, Daniel, it's time to move."

"I'm awake," he replied opening his eyes and carefully getting to his feet.

"Teal'c, you're up here with me. Carter, stay with Daniel."

Jack stood to one side of the door as it opened and was about to grab the person walking in when he realised whom it was and exclaimed, "Timothy! What are you doing here?"

"The Marines are here to save the butts of the Air Force. You ready to leave?"

"I think that would be a yes. What took you so long?" Jack asked as he took the gun that was being passed to him.

"We thought we'd do some sight-seeing before we came visiting you, nice place by the way. Midge and the others have the rest of your weapons outside."

"Okay folks it's time to move," Jack said quietly as Tim made his way out of the cell. SG-1 followed the marine officer to where the rest of the rescue team were and as they rearmed, Lt. Ford of SG-6 reported there had been no disturbances. The group of eleven SGC personnel silently made their way out of the village but were less than half a mile clear before they heard the alarm bells being rung.

"Teal'c and I will bring up the rear, let's move it folks before they find us or cut off our access to the Gate," Jack ordered.

They quickly made their way the two miles back to the Gate and were within a hundred yards when Teal'c reported that the natives were starting to surround them.

"Damn," Jack muttered and turning to the rest of the group shouted, "When we get there, I'll cover Daniel while he dials and sends the signal, the rest of you can keep the locals at bay. Move it everyone."

Making it to the pedestal Daniel started to dial home while everyone else took a defensive position. When the first spear landed a few yards away they started to fire in the direction of the natives. The wormhole sprung into life and after what seemed like a lifetime, Daniel shouted it was safe to go through.

"Everyone back through the Gate," Jack called out as he turned to the rest of the group, "Major O'Neill and..."

"Jack!"

Turning in time to see Daniel darting towards him, the next thing Jack knew he was lying on his back face to face with the archaeologist who was lying on top of him.

"Daniel? What the..."

Pain flashed in Daniel's eyes before they slowly closed and the younger man's head fell onto Jack's shoulder.

"Daniel. DANIEL!"

On hearing the cry of her C.O. Sam turned to see Jack and Daniel on the ground, a spear sticking out of Daniel's back.

***

There was pandemonium in the Gate room by the time Sam stepped through the wormhole. Jack stood at the bottom of the ramp watching as Janet and two of her nurses worked on Daniel who was lying face down on a trolley, the spear still in his body.

"Are you hurt, sir?" she heard one of the nurses ask as the iris closed.

"What?"

"There's blood on your uniform."

"It's Daniel's," Jack replied as he his gaze drifted down to the blood covering the front of his BDUs.

"Come on let's get him out of here. Get Doctor Warner and prepare the O.R., I want him on the table," Janet called out.

Jack looked up in time to see the group as it left the Gate room. By this time Sam, Teal'c and Tim had moved to stand next to him as General Hammond walked over to the small group.

"Colonel?"

"I didn't see it coming. Daniel, he..." Jack trailed off, staring in the direction the injured man had been taken.

"It's okay, Jack. Go get checked out, you can let me know what went on in the infirmary."

The three remaining members of SG-1, along with their rescuers, walked out of the Gate room and headed for the infirmary. Jack was sitting on one of the beds waiting for someone to start his medical when General Hammond walked in to see how everyone was doing. Jack vaguely heard his 2IC inform the General what had happened, from the moment when they had stepped through to the supposedly uninhabited world right through to when Daniel was injured, and they were still talking when Janet had walked into the curtained area.

"Ready for your exam, Colonel?"

"How's Daniel?"

"Doctor Warner is with him now and I'll go in once I've finished your exams. Okay, we'll start by getting this uniform disposed of and you into a gown. I'll be back," Janet answered.

She walked round the curtain and Jack heard her ask one of the nurses to get a gown and biohazard bag for him. When the nurse entered the small area a few moments later she saw that Jack had already removed his jacket and was in the process of taking off his t-shirt. Leaving the requested items on the bed she left Jack to get changed.

When Janet returned she saw Jack was wearing the gown whilst sitting on the bed staring into space. She quickly removed the bag with Jack's uniform in it then went in to start the exam.

"Okay, Colonel let's start with... Where did this come from?"

"Uh?" Jack muttered when he realised he was being spoken to.

"The blood, Colonel. Where did the blood come from?" Janet asked.

Looking down Jack saw that there was a large red patch on his fresh gown.

"I... Um... I must have had some on my hands..."

"I don't think so, not this much anyway. Lie back and let me have a look at you."

Janet pulled on a pair of gloves while Jack did as he was told and then moved his gown. She saw the source of the blood was a wound Jack had sustained.

"Why haven't you mentioned this?"

"Because I didn't know I had it."

"You don't get hurt like this an not realise it, sir."

"I've been more concerned with Daniel. Now that you've mention it, it does sting a little."

"Which translated means it hurts like hell but you're too stubborn to say anything."

"Would I downplay being hurt, Doc?" Jack asked.

"Yes you would," she replied shaking her head good-naturedly.

Calling a nurse over, Janet tended to Jack's wound then performed the routine tests.

"Take things easy for at least two days, Colonel and you'll be fine. And when I say easy, I mean I want you to keep off your feet and get plenty of rest, no boxing with Teal'c or having fun with the new recruits. Am I making myself clear enough?" Janet ordered when she had finished.

"Like crystal," he answered as a nurse bought him a fresh uniform to change into. Standing up so he could get changed, Jack swayed slightly and he muttered, "Whoa."

Janet moved next to her reluctant patient and placed a steadying hand on his arm.

"Are you all right?"

"Just a little dizzy that's all."

"That'd probably be because of the blood you've lost. As I said, take things easy and you'll be fine. I want to keep an eye on you for the next few days to make sure the cut starts to heal nicely and I figure I'll know where to find you."

"That you do, Doc, that you do. And talking of Daniel, isn't it time you were finding out how things are going?"

"I guess now I've finished patching you up, it is. I'll be back to see you later," Janet said as she left.

A few hours later Doctor Warner entered the main ward of the infirmary and gave a tired smile as he pulled the theatre cap from his head. Seeing SG-1 he walked over to them.

"Dr Jackson is in recovery at the moment. The spear ruptured his spleen on the way through but fortunately was deflected off a rib and didn't hit any other major organs."

Seeing the confused look on their faces he clarified, "A ruptured spleen causes severe bleeding and is very difficult to repair so we've had to remove it. Dr Jackson required multiple transfusions whilst on the table and it was touch and go for a while as we tried to keep up with the blood loss. The operation in itself was straightforward but we'll have to watch him closely for signs of infection."

The doctor paused to allow what he had just said to sink in.

"I've discussed it with Dr Fraiser and we're going to keep him sedated overnight, so he probably won't wake up until tomorrow morning. The corpsmen will bring him through from recovery in about thirty minutes and I'll keep you all updated on his condition."

Looking at the anxious faces, Doctor Warner acknowledged the bond between SG-1 with his parting words, "I guess there's no point in telling you all to go and get some rest is there? He'll be sore for a few days and need a few weeks off to recuperate but he will be fine."

Having said that, he left the small group to wait. Once Daniel was settled in the small room off the ward and the nurses had stopped fussing around his bed, Jack grabbed his usual chair and swiped a pillow from a bed. Taking them through to where Daniel slept, he sat in what was his acknowledged position beside Daniel's bed, which was where Janet found him when she stopped by a few minutes later to check on Daniel's condition. Jack quizzed her about the operation and asked if Daniel would really be okay without a spleen. He was reassured to hear that, while the spleen played a significant part in fighting infection, people could live normal lives without one, so settled back to wait for the archaeologist to wake up.

***

Sam entered the commissary feeling utterly drained. First there had been the worry when the natives had taken Daniel away and then the incident at the Gate as they came home. Seeing Jack sitting there, pale from his own wound and worried about Daniel, had been difficult. Unlike the rest of the SGC, she and Teal'c had talked and had a fair idea what the problem between the two men was but had no idea how to help. The only time she had managed to get Daniel to even consider talking they'd been recalled to the SGC for the visit to the Tok'ra to finalise the plans for the treaty. Normally "don't ask, don't tell", would have meant it would be extremely difficult for her to approach her CO, but after the zatarc incident they had had a long talk. A talk that had included Sam hesitantly asking and Jack reluctantly telling that whilst he cared about her more than he should, he was in love with the team's archaeologist. To the complete opposite of Jack, Daniel had refused to talk to her about what was bothering him after Anise had left the base.

Heading to the counter to get a coffee, she saw Tim sitting at one of the tables nursing a drink. After getting hers she headed over to where he was and said, "Hi."

"Hi, Sam."

"I don't want to disturb you, I just wanted to say thanks for the save."

"No problem." Motioning to the chair opposite him, Tim asked, "Do you want to sit down or are you in a hurry to get back?"

"I was actually going to my lab but I can stay for a while."

"How's Daniel doing?"

"He's come out of surgery and Doctor Warner says he'll be okay though it'll take some time before he's on his feet again," Sam replied as she sat down at the table.

"That's a relief, I know everyone was worried. How's John?"

"John? Oh, Colonel O'Neill. He's sitting at Daniel's bedside as we speak. As soon as Daniel was brought out of theatre he was there ready with his chair and cushion. Janet hasn't said a thing. I think she's happy as she can keep an eye on his wound."

Tim smiled and said, "I take it he still hates anything to do with the medical profession."

"Oh with a passion. The only time he's happy to be around Janet is when we're over her place spending time with Cassie, on down time or if one of us is sick and he sticks around to make sure we're okay."

"So how are you doing?"

"Fine thanks, now we know Daniel's out of danger. You'd think with the amount of times we've either lost him or he's died on us, I'd be used to this."

"An old CO of mine said the moment we get used to losing someone is the day we should stop what we're doing. I know it's a lot to deal with, losing team mates I mean, but we can't let ourselves stop caring or we'd become robots."

"Been there and done that already, thanks," Sam relied with a smile.

"Daniel mentioned something about that. They died recently didn't they?"

"A couple of weeks ago on Juna. The Colonel, Teal'c and I each watched as our counterparts died and it wasn't fun."

"What about Daniel?"

"He was away with SG-11. His copy was killed before we arrived and even though deep down I knew he was all right, part of me wasn't happy till we saw him walk down the ramp. Teal'c was with me in the control room when they returned and the Colonel was waiting at the bottom of the ramp. We all prefer it when the team is together."

"I can understand that."

Sam bit her lip and looked nervously at Tim.

"What?" he asked.

"I was wondering. Um..."

"Yes?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to get a coffee sometime?"

"Isn't that what we're doing now?" Tim said waggling his eyebrows.

Sam laughed and replied, "I meant outside of the mountain. When we're away from work, would you like to get a coffee sometime?"

"I'd heard you were... well..."

"I'm what?"

"Already interested in someone."

"Who would give you that idea?"

"Daniel."

"Daniel! Whatever made him say that?"

"I don't know. He told me he'd recently heard you're already interested some...Sam, are you all right?"

Sam had gone pale as a thought occurred to her.

"He couldn't have. It was meant to stay in the room. How would he have heard?" she muttered.

"He couldn't have what? What was meant to stay in what room? Sam?"

"Something happened recently but we both agreed what was said wouldn't leave the room."

"So, what was said?"

"I..."

"Come on, Sam. It's obviously already left the room if Daniel has heard about it. You never know, it may explain some things regarding his and John's friendship."

"You're right. Basically it looked like the Colonel and I had been re-programmed by the Goa'uld to become assassins during one of the trips we went on. In clearing our names we had to admit that we felt more for each other than we should, which, we realised, could easily be taken the wrong way. We meant we cared for each other too much as team-mates, we're more like a family now and losing anyone would hurt too much. I'm not interested in the Colonel that way, heck I find it difficult to call him anything but 'sir'. Daniel must have heard about it, but I have no idea who from."

"You're right, it could be taken the wrong way. Does Daniel realise that? Because if he doesn't... well that would explain something else he said."

"I dread to ask?"

"He said that Jack had stopped talking to him and had found someone else who'd listen."

"Meaning me? Shit, I never realised how the Colonel and I talking things through was affecting him. I was stupid to suggest we could leave it in the room. We both should have trusted in Daniel and told him what had happened."

"Well that can't be changed now, the only thing you can do is to tell him what happened when he wakes up."

"If he listens to me. The last time I tried to get him to talk he said he was fine and walked away. It all makes sense now I know why."

"Well we need to get the two of them talking or it ain't going to be pretty."

"It's not exactly a nice picture at the moment but you're right, something needs to be done and you're the one to do it."

"Did I just get volunteered for this?"

Sam grinned. "As much as I hate to admit it, you're the one they both seem comfortable talking to. Looks like you're the only candidate to be the go-between."

"Yeah yeah, right. I've only been here for five minutes and already I'm interfering in John's life."

"It's not interfering, Tim. It's putting something wrong right."

"A rose by any other name is still a rose, Sam."

"Well, Major Go-between-O'Neill, you still haven't answered if you want to get a coffee."

"How remiss of me, Major Misunderstood-Carter. Of course I would like to accept your invitation to have coffee with you away from the mountain. We could really splash out and get something to eat as well if you wanted."

"I know a great place for pasta if you like Italian."

"Sounds like a plan to me. Let me know when you want to go out and I'll be there, assuming I'm not off world that is."

They talked for a while longer before Tim said, "Right, I'm off to visit that mother hen of a brother. See you, Sam."

"Okay, it's time I got to my lab anyway. See you later, Tim."

Tim walked into the small room where Daniel was recuperating from his operation and saw Jack sitting at the archaeologist's bedside.

"John. I hear he's going to be okay."

"So Doc Warner said, but he hasn't woken up yet so I can't check."

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

"You've just had a chunk of metal in you."

"Yeah, and it had to go through Daniel to get there. Part of me doesn't understand why he did it, not after the way things have been between us. But then I think back to the original mission on Abydos, the way he saved my life before we became friends, and I realise it's the sort of thing he'd do for anyone. Which is just as well seeing the only thing I've given him over the last few months is a reason to hate me. "

"He did it because he cares, you idiot."

"Oh and what gave you that impression?"

"Well for a start he told me so in Chicago, even though things had become strained between you."

"I hate to think what's going to happen when he leaves."

"What do you mean, when he leaves?" Tim asked, wondering just how much Jack knew.

"Don't play the innocent with me, Timothy. I heard the two of you talking in his office when you asked if he was still leaving. He said he'd written his resignation and was going to see the General. Well he did, right before we left for 527, " Jack replied bitterly.

"He's only done that to try and make things easier for you."

"How exactly do you work that one out?"

"Because it's what he said. That you're needed and the Air Force can get anyone in to do his work."

"That's a load of crock. Daniel's the best there is. The SGC will be lost when he goes."

"For crying out loud, John, why can't you see what's right in front of you? You never used to be this blinkered, you'd always be able to see the big picture. That's what made you the best player on the ice, it's one of the reasons so many colleges wanted to sign you up and you know it."

"I suppose. It's just, it's just..."

"It's just you don't want to lose him as you care more than you should and I don't mean in a team way."

Jack whipped round to see if anyone was close and could overhear the conversation before hissing, "Get Davis to announce it over the speakers, why don't you? And what gives you the idea that I care for him like that?"

"Because I remember Chris," Tim answered as he shut the door.

"Chris?"

"You remember Chris don't you? Your 'friendship' led to a few arguments with dad."

"Yes I remember, but I can't see what he has to do with Daniel."

"I saw the two of you had fallen for each other. You spent the entire summer going off to wherever it was the two of you kept disappearing to. I know I was only seven at the time but I can still remember the almighty arguments when dad announced he had a new posting and we'd have to leave. I've only been here a short time, but it's what you have with Daniel. You just can't see past the end of your nose to notice, though."

"Well it doesn't make any difference what I feel now, not seeing as he's found someone else."

"And who would that be?"

"You."

"ME!" Tim nearly exploded with laughter at Jack's comment.

"Yeah you. Been here, what five minutes and you've already spent the night at his place."

"You're jealous."

"Am not."

"Yes you are. You forget I know you, John. All right there was a long time when we weren't in contact but I can still recognise when you're jealous."

"So what if I am, you haven't denied staying at his place?"

"Only because we up till 04:00 talking. I've known for years you like Daniel, so why would I put the move on him, even if I was interested in men?"

"How did you know I do?"

"The way you talked about him every time we met up. Your eyes would go all soft and you'd get this really stupid sappy look on your face. And for your information bro, I spent the night getting the low-down on Sam."

"Sam?"

"Your 2IC."

"Carter! Are you telling me that you like Carter?"

"Yes I like Sam," Tim confirmed. "We had a chat earlier and she asked me out for a coffee."

"I don't believe I was jealous of my own brother and there wasn't anything to be jealous of."

"Blinkers remember? You realise you're going to have to tell Daniel how you feel don't you?"

"I want to. Believe me I've tried, but every time I open my mouth to tell him how I feel some nasty comment comes out instead. I can talk to others about it but not him. This really isn't a conversation we should be having, especially on base."

"It seems to me you won't go anywhere till he wakes up and you need to get this clear in your head before he does. Who better is there to talk to than your younger brother?"

"I would have said Daniel, but after recent events I think I've lost that right."

"You're going to have to say something before you really do lose him. Why are you so... so... well, scared for lack of a better word?"

"Because it could all go wrong if he takes it badly. He doesn't know that I'm bi as it's not something that comes up in everyday conversation. Not to mention "don't ask, don't tell", a regulation you seemed to have forgotten."

"No I haven't and yes he does."

"Yes he does what?"

"Know. That you're bi."

"And how would he know that?"

"Because it did come up in everyday conversation. When we were in Chicago I happened to mention my brother John was bi and had joined the forces. We didn't realise till I got here that Jack and John were one and the same."

"That's great. Here I am, trying to figure out how to tell him, and he already knows. I suppose that's one less thing I'm going to have to explain when he wakes up, even if I have no idea what he currently thinks after the last couple of days. All I've got to do now is explain why I've been such an ass recently."

"Daniel said something I think maybe you should know."

"What's that?"

"Even with things going bad between the two of you, you're still the best friend he has."

"He still thinks that? About me?"

"When did you become such an idiot, John? Before or after you made it to Colonel? No wonder you're no longer brown up top, your brain cells have leaked out and dyed your hair grey!" Tim said as he headed towards the door.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Somewhere I can get a decent conversation."

"You realise we need to have a talk ourselves."

"I know we do. I want all the details about what you've been doing here, well apart from saving the world I mean."

Jack grinned and as his brother reached the door called out, "Hey, Tim. Say hi to Carter for me."

Tim laughed, told Jack to get some rest and left him to contemplate their conversation.

***

Deep in thought, Jack was startled to realise that General Hammond was standing by his side.

"Sir."

"Relax, Jack. How is he?"

"We'll see when he wakes up."

"How are you holding up?" George asked as he moved to take the seat previously been occupied by Tim.

"I'm fine, the Doc said to take things easy for a couple of days though."

"So she informed me."

Silence fell in the room except for the beeping from the monitors attached to Daniel.

"I've received a phone call from the President," Hammond said after a while, "Apparently he's pleased with the SGC and the work we've been doing over the last few years. He's decided to give some awards and your team will be getting the Air Force Presidential Unit Citation.

"We are? Sweet."

"I was going to let you all know together but after the events of the last few hours I decided to let you know now. I'll inform Major Carter and Teal'c and leave you to tell Daniel."

"Thanks."

"I'll leave you to it, Jack. Just try to follow Doctor Fraiser's orders and get some rest."

"I will when he wakes up."

Jack watched as the other man left the room and looked at Daniel. Seeing no change, Jack rested his head against his arm and closed his eyes. A nurse entered the room and Jack waited till she had performed her checks before asking, "How's he doing?"

Startled by his voice the nurse jumped slightly. "Colonel. Sorry, sir, I didn't mean to wake you. Doctor Jackson is coming along nicely, he should be waking up shortly."

"Thanks. You didn't wake me by the way," Jack replied, his head still resting on his arm. A few moments later the nurse left the room, closing the door behind her.

Jack lifted his head and was amazed to find he must have dozed off as thirty minutes had passed since the nurse's visit. Turning to check on the archaeologist Jack frowned when he realised Daniel didn't look right. Okay lying in an infirmary bed recovering from surgery after having a piece of wood thrown through you wasn't right but Daniel seemed... Well he seemed off.

Picking up the phone, Jack dialled Janet's extension and heard, "Doctor Fraiser."

"Something's wrong with Daniel."

"Colonel?"

"Can you come and check him out, he doesn't look right."

"I'll be right there."

When Janet walked into the room Jack turned to her and said, "Thanks."

"That's okay," she replied as she picked up Daniel's chart.

"I'm telling you, Doc, something's wrong. I can't explain it but I just know."

Knowing Jack wouldn't have called her unless he was sure, Janet started to perform a check on Daniel's pulse for herself. Frowning, she reached for the blood pressure cuff and when she saw the results flash up on the monitor she quickly pulled back the sheet and began to press down on Daniel's abdomen. Not finding anything of significance she moved his hands out to his side and examined the area over the left kidney. As deeply sedated as he was Daniel let out a muted groan of pain and shifted restlessly in the bed.

"What is it?" Jack asked.

"You're right," she exclaimed as she pressed a button next to the bed, "I think he's bleeding internally somewhere around his kidney." Janet reached for the roller clamp on the sedation infusion and sped up the rate.

"But Warner said he was going to be fine," Jack's voice rose, "I don't understand."

"I don't have any answers for you, now but we'll have to go back in and sort it out," she answered before moving to the phone and summoning Doctor Warner. Before Jack could say anything several nurses arrived and readied Daniel for the journey to the O.R.

"Janet?"

Looking at Jack Janet took enough time to say, "Until we get in there, I just don't know," before following the bed out of the room and down the corridor. Picking up the phone, Jack informed Sam and Teal'c of what was happening then made his way to where Daniel would be operated on again.

***

Jack, Sam, Teal'c and General Hammond were waiting for Janet as she exited the O.R. They all managed to keep quiet long enough for her to say, "It was close but he's going to be all right."

"Doctor Warner said that last time," Jack commented.

"I know he did, but this time we've made sure of it. If you want to follow me to my office, I'll tell you what we've done."

With that Janet made her way along the corridor knowing that the group would be following her. Settling herself behind her desk, she watched as the small room soon filled up.

"Okay, here's what happened. When the initial surgery was performed we didn't see any other injuries but there was a small haematoma on the kidney."

"English, doc," Jack said.

"Sorry," she replied wearily, "A haematoma is basically a bruise and in Daniel's case it was caused by the spear passing by his kidney. Because the surface covering the kidney remained intact, the bleeding was contained until after we replaced the blood loss. Once his blood pressure improved the bleeding started again, but his vitals didn't originally show anything because the bleed was encapsulated. When the covering of the kidney ruptured with the pressure, that's when we when realised something was wrong. The haematoma has been drained and the damage to the kidney repaired. We'll have to watch even closer for signs of kidney failure and the risk of an infection is still great."

Janet watched as Sam, Jack and even Teal'c slumped back into their chairs with relief and continued, "Daniel is going to be very sick for a few days and it'll obviously take him longer to recover after two major operations in thirty-six hours, but unless his kidneys play up or he gets an infection, he will be demanding coffee in a day or so. Which," she said with a wry grin, "he will not be allowed until he has totally recovered."

She continued to answer a few questions, then watched as the rest of SG-1 made their way to Daniel's room after thanking her. Turning to General Hammond Janet said, "We were lucky Colonel O'Neill caught it when he did. If he hadn't, the bleeding would have continued and it'd probably have been too late by the next scheduled check up. He's just saved Daniel's life."

"So I gathered. How long before he is on his feet again?"

"As I said, we're going to have to watch for any problems with his kidney and to see if he gets an infection, but if he's all right in a few days, I think Daniel should be ready for light duties in about six weeks. I'm going to want to keep an eye on Colonel O'Neill as well, just to make sure he rests."

"I think you'll have no problems in that matter doctor as I doubt he'll be leaving the infirmary any time soon."

"Yes, I know. But unfortunately I can't see him following any orders to get any proper rest till Daniel wakes up. And that will take some time. I may have to sedate him just to get him to take a break."

"Well if you need to, tell him I'll order a couple of SFs to restrain him while you administer one," Hammond replied.

Smiling at the thought, Janet stood saying, "Well I'll just go and check on SG-1, then I've got to collect Cassie."

"How is she doing?"

"She's doing well. Her latest school report..." Janet continued with her tales as they made their way into the corridor and followed the path that led to Daniel.

***

Sixteen hours later and Janet was back on duty. After getting a report from her nurses she headed to the small side room where Jack was still sitting at Daniel's bedside, his head close to Daniel's as he talked quietly. He didn't hear her until she was right beside him and said, "Colonel O'Neill, I thought that I told you to rest when I left last night. The nurses tell me you haven't moved from that chair."

Jack turned to face the doctor and even though she had been prepared for him to be tired, the bloodshot eyes and deep black circles that stood out on his pale face shocked her. A fine sheen of perspiration had her putting down a glass of water on the bedside table and reaching to confirm that his temperature was elevated.

"I'm fine," he snapped. "There's plenty of time for sleeping when Daniel wakes up."

"You're not fine. You have a slight fever and by all accounts you haven't slept for roughly sixty hours. What are you going to do, not move from that seat until he wakes up?"

"That was the plan."

Seeing the look on his face she said softly, "Jack, you're going to be no good to Daniel if you collapse."

"Funny, Doc. Now you're sounding like Timothy."

"Your brother," Janet said as realisation dawned about whom Jack was talking.

"Yeah, he popped by earlier and we had a chat. Told me to get some rest before Daniel woke up."

"He's right and seeing you're ignoring both of us, I'm sorry but I have no other option." Janet sighed, knowing that her next actions would only serve to increase Jack's dislike of the medical profession. "I've discussed the matter with General Hammond and if you don't agree to take a sedative and rest, he's willing to order the SFs to restrain you while I administer one."

Knowing he was beaten Jack accepted the pills Janet was holding.

"I'll ask Sam and Teal'c if they can sit with him for a while," she assured him as Jack allowed himself to be led away with just a backward glance at the sleeping archaeologist.

***

Daniel slowly became aware of the fact he could hear muted voices. Opening his eyes, he saw Sam and Teal'c sitting to one side of his bed.

As if aware of the scrutiny, Teal'c looked over and said, "Daniel Jackson."

"Hi," he whispered.

"Don't talk, Daniel, I'll get Janet," Sam said as she stood up.

Daniel gave a small smile as he watched her leave and took the opportunity to have a look around. Noticing the lack of Jack, he turned back to Teal'c and had just managed to ask for some water when Janet walked in, a cup of ice chips in one hand.

"Good to see you awake, Daniel, you had us all worried there for a while."

She gave him the ice chips and quickly did a couple of checks before pronouncing herself happy with his progress. After staying to talk for a while, Janet soon left Sam and Teal'c with orders not to tire Daniel too much.

A nurse knocked on her office door some time later to alert her to the fact Jack had woken up. Closing the file she was currently updating, Janet got up and headed for the cubicle she had left Jack in. Pulling back the curtain she was happier to see his eyes were clearer and the dark smudges under them were diminished.

"How's Daniel?"

"Hello to you too, Colonel. Actually Daniel's better than I had hoped for. He woke up and spent some time with Sam and Teal'c before they let him get some rest. So, how are you feeling?"

"I'm good. Can I go see him?"

"Let me give you a quick once over then you're free to go," she replied and quickly went about her tasks. Putting down the thermometer she made her diagnosis.

"You've still got a slight temperature which I'll want to keep an eye on as your wound has become infected."

"Does that mean I'm stuck in here?"

Janet shook her head and said, "Not necessarily. I want to start you on a course of antibiotics but you can check on Daniel for a few minutes first if you promise to come back here as soon as you finish."

"Yeah I will.

"In that case you can leave..."

"Thanks doc," was Jack's reply as he picked up his jacket and quickly headed towards Daniel's room.

"You're welcome," Janet replied to the empty space

Jack stopped at the door and watched as Daniel smiled at something Tim said. Even though he knew there was nothing to be concerned about, Jack still felt a stab of jealousy as this was how things used to be between him and Daniel. 'Used to be' being the important words.

Taking a steadying breath, Jack walked into the room and said, "Hi folks."

Daniel looked up and the smile left his face when he saw Jack standing at the bottom of the bed. Tim, on the other hand, smiled as he stood to make room for his brother.

"I'll leave the two..."

"There's no need to go, Tim," Daniel interrupted.

"We need to talk, Daniel."

"There's nothing to talk about, Jack. Just... go away."

"Please, I don't have much time but there's something I need to tell you. Something you need to hear," Jack almost pleaded.

"It's too late."

Jack saw the resolve in Daniel's eyes, stepped back towards the door and said, "I'll come back later."

"Don't bother yourself," Daniel replied as Jack left the room.

"That wasn't very nice of you," Tim commented.

"I know he's your brother but..."

"This has nothing to do with John being my brother, Daniel. It has everything to do with the way you just treated him."

"Me. Treated him? That's rich after everything he's put me through."

"He's been worried about you."

"So worried it's taken him over eleven hours to come and see how I'm doing."

"I imagine it's taken him that long to wake up from whatever sedative it was Doctor Fraiser gave him."

"Excuse me?"

"John stayed by your bedside after you came out of theatre. He's the one who noticed your condition was deteriorating and called the doctor in quickly enough that they could repair the damage that was originally missed. Doctor Fraiser finally had to sedated him so he could get some rest."

"I didn't know."

"Hadn't anyone told you?"

"No, and I didn't ask when I saw he wasn't here. After the way he's been in the last few days I just assumed he wasn't interested when he didn't show up."

"The two of you really need to talk to each other. There's things he needs to say, things I think you both need to say."

"I've tried. After we met in Chicago I gave it another go but we ended up arguing. I honestly don't think there's anything left between us."

"Oh believe me, after the talk John and I had earlier I can guarantee there is. I think the last few days have made him finally realise it's now or never."

"For what?"

"For him to tell you why he's been such an ass to you. His words, not mine."

Daniel gave a small smile as he remembered the last time he had felt comfortable enough to call Jack an ass. Well technically it had been Nick telling Jack not to be an ass, but the words were originally Daniel's.

"Okay, the next time he stops by I won't ask him to leave. You never know, we might even be able to salvage something of our working relationship."

"And what about your friendship?"

"Hopefully that as well."

Noticing the time, Tim said, "Sorry to have to leave but I need to get going. Now you've woken up I have a hot date with a lovely lady and a bowl of pasta."

"That was quick."

"What was?"

"Finding someone to go out with you. I thought you liked Sam."

"That's who the date is with."

"But..."

"But you've heard she and John cared for each other more than they should?" Tim said deciding it was time to try and clear up another misunderstanding.

Daniel slowly nodded his head. "How do you know?"

"I've been talking with Sam as well. She said they care for each other because they consider SG-1 to be a family and not because there's a grand passion between them. They'd agreed not to mention it to anyone so how did you hear?"

"From Anise. I asked her how Sam and Jack had been cleared as zatarcs and she said that they had only been hiding their true feelings for each other."

"Which lead you to think there was something going on between them."

"Why did they talk to you but never mention it to me?"

"John hasn't said a word about it. As I said, I was talking to Sam and she told me it was agreed not to mention it outside the room in case someone heard, got the wrong idea and started the base rumour mill going. She didn't realise there was the possibility that you knew what had gone on, in fact she's wondering how you could have found out."

"Talking of Sam, you'd better get going as she's one lady you don't want to keep waiting."

"I know. I'll drop by later okay?"

"Sure. Thanks, Tim."

"No problem," came the reply as the Marine officer left the room.

***

The next day when George made his way into the room he was glad to see that Daniel looked better. There had been a lot of anxiety within the SGC when he had taken a turn for the worse and people like Ferretti were happy to hear things were improving.

"Should you be reading that, son?"

Looking up guiltily from the book he had managed to obtain, Daniel gave a small smile, shook his head and said, "Janet doesn't know."

"But you needed something to do. It's all right, Daniel, I won't say anything. Doctor Fraiser said it would be a while before you're able to go on a mission so I was wondering if you'd want some reading material. It looks like you beat me to it."

"Thank you, Sir."

"So has Colonel O'Neill given you the good news?"

"What news would that be?"

"About the President awarding SG-1 with the Presidential Unit Citation. He's going to be visiting the SGC and wants to present it to the team in person."

"The Presidential Unit Citation. I don't think I've heard of that."

"It's awarded to a unit for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy. The President acknowledges that while Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter were awarded with the Air Medal for their help in stopping the Apophis and Klorel invasion, yourself and Teal'c were passed over. He said the way in which SG-1 has consistently worked for the best interests of Earth and her allies, including their recent action in defence of the Asgard in stopping the replicators, has marked you as worthy recipients of the citation. I'm surprised Jack didn't say anything about it."

"Someone was already visiting when he came by. He said he'd come back later."

"I suppose now he knows you're going to be okay he can get some rest himself. I know it wasn't a serious wound but Doctor Fraiser was concerned..."

"Jack was hurt? Wh... what happened?"

"He was so worried when he carried you through the wormhole he didn't noticed the spear had caught him as well.

"Is he okay?"

"He's going to be fine. It went through you into him but there wasn't too much damage. It wasn't until his exam that anyone realised he'd been hurt."

"And Janet's sure he's going to be all right?"

At this point Janet walked into the room, saw the book and asked, "And where did you get that, Daniel?"

"I'm not revealing my source," he replied with a small grin.

"Well as long as you realise you still need to take it easy."

"I do. How's Jack, General Hammond just told me he'd been hurt as well?"

"He's going to be fine. I'm hoping the raised temperature he's running has more to do with the fact he'd been sitting by your bed and had had no sleep rather than any infection he may have caught. I've told him not to even think about doing anything strenuous for a couple of days and will keep an eye on him. I'm surprised he didn't tell you, he couldn't wait to get out of the infirmary and see how you're doing for himself," Janet replied with a smile.

Feeling distinctly uncomfortable at the way his lack of knowledge had come about, firstly because he hadn't asked after Jack and secondly because he'd sent the man away, Daniel asked, "So when can I get out of here?"

Janet shook her head amazed he was even thinking of leaving and answered, "When I say so. You've just had two major operations, Daniel, and it will take time before you're back on your feet. Until I'm happy, you're not going to give any of us another scare. You're staying here."

The klaxon sounded and General Hammond crossed to the phone and contacted the control room. After putting it down he turned and explained that the Tok'ra had decided to pay them a visit.

"Glad you're all right son," he said as he left Daniel and Janet to see who had turned up.

"So how has Jack been really?"

Sitting down on the chair next to Daniel's bed Janet said, "You mean apart from the fact he didn't know he'd been injured by the spear, that he refused to get any rest till you woke up, so in the end I had to sedate him and that he's been grumpier than a bear with a sore head who had his last fish taken from him? He's fine."

Seeing that Daniel was struggling to keep his eyes open, Janet gently took the book he had been reading and ordered, "Get some rest, Daniel. I'll leave this here for when you wake up."

"Thanks, Jan," he replied as he closed his eyes.

"No problem, just don't do it again."

Janet waited till she was sure Daniel was asleep before slipping out of the room. Turning to head towards her office she saw Jack walking towards her.

"How is he?"

"Asleep. Where have you been? I haven't seen you around the infirmary."

"I've been asleep in one of the spare quarters. That and I've been catching up with Tim."

"Well sleep is the best thing for you. You must have needed it if you slept after the sedative had worn off. I suppose you'll be sitting by Daniel's bed till he wakes up," she commented with a grin.

"Um, not sure if he'll want to see my ugly mug when he wakes up. May scare him," Jack answered.

Janet laughed then saw the haunted look in Jack's eyes and knew there was something wrong. First Daniel hadn't known Jack had been hurt and now Jack wasn't sure Daniel would see him.

"He's been asking after you, you know."

"He has?" Jack asked, slightly incredulously.

"Yes he has. If you want to go in and wait for him to wake up, I'll get you a coffee."

Just then an airman walked towards them and told Jack that General Hammond wanted to see him in the briefing room.

"I'll pop back later. Thanks, Janet."

"Make sure you come to see me before you do as I'll want to check your temperature."

"Yes, Doc. Whatever you say, Doc," Jack called out as he walked away. When he entered the briefing room a few minutes later Jack saw that Sam and Teal'c were already there.

"Any idea what's going on?" he asked them.

"It may have something to do with the fact that dad's here," Sam replied just as the door to General Hammond's office opened and the two men walked into the briefing room.

"Sammie. Jack. Teal'c."

"Hi dad."

Teal'c nodded at the former Air Force general as he sat down.

"Jacob, what can we do for the Tok'ra this time?" Jack asked.

"The Council has asked if we can borrow the ship you recently acquired."

"Pardon? You want to use our ship?"

"We'd like to take the chance to move somewhere new, Jack. Somewhere the System Lords won't know about."

"What about Tanith?" Teal'c queried.

"We've kept him out of the loop on this one, he won't find out till it's too late to inform Apophis."

"One moment. Let me get this right. You want to use our ship?"

"It would be a great advantage, Jack."

"The ship we acquired after that snake Crumbus finally got what was coming to him? That one?"

"I've given the go ahead, Colonel. When the Tok'ra are ready to move, you'll travel with Jacob to the Alpha Site to collect the ship and then onto Revanna," George advised his 2IC.

The talking carried on for a few more minutes before George dismissed the meeting and getting up, Sam asked Jack if he had seen Daniel.

"No, I was about to visit when I got called up here. I'll go back and see if he's woken up yet," Jack replied before leaving.

Jacob turned to his daughter and asked, "What's wrong with Daniel?"

"How about I explain over a coffee?"

"Only if pancakes and syrup are in the offer as well. They're one thing I miss living with the Tok'ra."

Sam smiled and agreed to meet her father in the commissary after he had finished talking to George. Teal'c declined the offer to join them so Sam made her way to the food hall by herself. After getting a cup of coffee and placing an order for fully loaded pancakes, she turned and saw Tim sitting with the rest of his team. As she started to make her way to one of the few empty tables the rest of SG-3 team left Tim sitting at the table so she changed direction and was soon standing by his side. Tim looked up, smiled and asked if she wanted to join him.

"We seem to be making a habit of this," Sam commented as she sat down.

"I'm not complaining seeing as I got to go on a date with you last night," Tim answered laughing. "It was good to see Daniel looking better."

"Yeah I know. Hopefully this time he won't give us another scare."

"Hopefully this time he and John will talk.

"The Colonel was on his way to see him after leaving the briefing."

"Hi, Sammie."

Sam looked up and saw her father standing next to the table holding a coffee.

"Have a seat, dad."

As he took the seat next to his daughter, Sam made the introductions.

"Good to meet you, Sir."

"Call me Jacob. I suppose you have the same smart mouth as your brother."

Tim laughed and nodded. "So my father told me. He seemed to think it was a bad thing for some reason."

"Can't imagine why," Jacob answered with a grin. Turning to Sam he asked, "So where are the pancakes I was promised?"

"Just waiting for them, dad," Sam answered.

"How are you? George told me about you being possessed by an entity."

"I'm good, thanks, dad. I suppose it was a lot like having a Goa'uld in the head as I couldn't talk or do the things I wanted to do. At the same time I was aware that I was in a position to totally lose myself as it started to take up more space in my brain. I'm just glad the Colonel got it to stop its plans and that Daniel figured out it was me in the mainframe."

"Talking of Daniel, you were going to tell me what happened to him."

While Sam explained everything that had happened on P2X 527, Jacob's pancakes arrived. He took his last bite just as she came to the end of her tale - finishing with the fact Daniel was going to be out of action for at least a month.

"And as that time frame doesn't really factor in his second operation you can see why he won't be able to come to Revanna with us."

"If you've got the healing device handy, I can give it a whirl," Jacob suggested.

Sam shook her head. "Why didn't I think of that?" she wondered out loud.

"Maybe because you've had other things to worry about?" her father offered.

"Excuse me, but healing device?"

Both Carters looked at Tim's confused expression, looked at each other then burst out laughing. Sam quickly explained about the healing device and how the Tok'ra used it to repair the damage done to a body rather than use a sarcophagus.

"John gave me his take on the Goa'uld and Tok'ra earlier. The way he explained it is they're both snakes but the Tok'ra are slightly better and the only snake he has any sort of trust in is Selmac."

Jacob dropped his head and when he bought it back up his voice had changed as he said, "I must remember to thank Colonel O'Neill for his confidence in me."

"Holy!" Tim exclaimed jumping to his feet. "What the heck was that?"

Jacob repeated the action of dropping his head and lifting it then spoke in his own voice, "That was Selmac, though she doesn't usually say a lot."

"You mean that when Sam just said you're a member of the Tok'ra she meant..."

"That I have a snake in my head? Yes, she did," Jacob answered.

The small group continued to talk for a while before Jacob suggested they made their way to the infirmary. Meeting up with Janet, Sam explained the idea to the doctor and she agreed that it would be a help to Daniel's recovery. Soon the healing device was out of the safe and the four of them made their way to Daniel's room. On entering Sam and Tim were both surprised to see Teal'c sitting by the bed with no sign of Jack.

"So how are you feeling, Daniel?" Janet asked when she saw that he was awake.

"Better than I did before, thanks," he replied, "Nice to see you, Jacob. Teal'c was telling me you'd stopped by."

"You too, Daniel."

"Where's Colonel O'Neill?" Sam asked, sitting on the edge of Daniel's bed.

"I haven't seen him," Daniel answered.

"O'Neill was not here when I arrived," Teal'c offered.

"But he was on his way down to see Daniel," she stated.

"I can explain that," Janet said, "Colonel O'Neill came for a check up on his way down and as he still looked a little flushed..."

"Is he okay?" Daniel asked quickly.

"Contrary to my hopes, his elevated temperature was the result of an infection rather than his initial refusal to take things easy. I'd started him on some antibiotics and told him to rest but because of the rise in his temperature I've had to up the dosage and insert a drip. Hopefully this time he'll improve."

"I could have a go on Jack as well," Jacob offered.

"What do you mean 'as well'?" Daniel asked.

Jacob showed him the healing device and explained that he was willing to help Daniel recover from his injuries. This was something that Daniel grasped at with both hands, desperate as he was to get out of the Infirmary and back to work to relive the boredom. Soon the hum of the active device could be heard and after a short while, Jacob switched it off.

"There you go. One healed archaeologist."

Daniel smiled as Janet quickly ran through some tests, even though she had seen the alien device work miracles.

"Well I'll let you out of here, but I expect you to visit me tomorrow so I can check on your progress and I still want you to take it easy for the next couple of days."

"All the damage that was done to Doctor Jackson has been healed, Doctor Fraiser," Selmac stated, then gave control back to Jacob.

"I understand that but I'd still like to keep an eye on him."

"I'm fine."

"Who's the doctor around here, Daniel?"

"Well Sam's a doctor," Jacob replied grinning.

"And Daniel's a doctor," Tim said.

"I meant, who is the medical doctor round here?" Janet exclaimed, shaking her head.

"I believe you are the only medical doctor in the room," Teal'c responded.

"At least someone has some sense. Thank you, Teal'c."

"Thanks, Janet. I'll take things easy," Daniel said with a grin.

Janet raised her eyebrows knowing exactly how different their definitions of taking things easy were but didn't say anything. Soon a fully clothed Daniel joined the small group as they headed to where Janet was keeping Jack. Noticing how quiet it was, she pulled back the curtain and saw that her reluctant patient was asleep, the dark circles under his eyes a contrast against his flushed cheeks. Although she hadn't said anything to the rest of SG-1, what with Daniel's injury worrying them enough, Janet had been concerned with the way the infection had progressed and was glad of the offer Jacob had made.

Jacob took up position next to the bed and a yellow light was cast over the sleeping figure. When he was finished he stepped away to allow Janet to take Jack's temperature. She quietly announced that it had indeed lowered and stated her decision to let Jack wake naturally.

"Do you mind if I wait with him?" Daniel whispered.

Smiling, Janet shook her head and soon Daniel was left alone in the cubicle, a quiet snore his only company. Sitting down, he wondered if things were ever going to be all right between them. He was still trying to work the answer out when he realised that a pair of brown eyes was looking at him.

"Nice of you to wake up."

Jack grunted and sat up. Rubbing a hand over his face he realised that the IV was no longer attached. As Jack looked at his hand, Daniel realised what he was thinking so explained, "Jacob used the healing device on us."

Jack took another look at the younger man as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and said, "No wonder you're looking better."

"I wanted to apologise for earlier, Jack. I was..."

"You've nothing to apologise for, Daniel. If anything, I'm the one who should be apologising."

"Well we shouldn't be talking about this here. Do you want to go somewhere else?"

"You mean somewhere we can talk without the ever present rumour mill starting up?"

Daniel nodded, so Jack carried on by saying, "I would invite you back to my place but I'm not..."

"That sounds good. Once Janet releases us both, how about I meet you there about seven?"

"Are you sure? We could always go to a bar somewhere."

"Your place is somewhere private where we can say what needs to be said. You are going to talk this time aren't you? No backing out because you want to talk later?"

"No backing out. I'll see you there. Thanks for giving me another chance."

"Just don't waste it this time. I'm not sure how many more there's going to be," Daniel replied before leaving.

***

Daniel arrived at Jack's house several hours later, wondering how the evening would end. Would they finally talk about what was wrong between them or would it finally be the end of their friendship? Daniel had realised that it was all very well Tim telling him that Jack was ready to talk, but until Jack did, nothing could be resolved.

Jack opened the door just as Daniel was about to knock, having looked out for the younger man for the last half hour.

"Come on in."

"Thanks."

"Do you want something to drink?"

"Sure."

"Coffee?"

"That'll be good, thanks."

"Go on through and have a seat, I'll be there in a minute."

Jack carried the coffee through, handed Daniel his mug and then sat in the chair opposite. After taking a sip from his own mug he said, "Before we start..."

"Jack. You said you'd talk," Daniel interrupted.

"I will. I just want to say 'thank you' first."

"Uh, what for?"

"For saving me back on 527."

"Oh. Um, that's okay."

"If you hadn't..." Jack trailed off. After a few heartbeats he continued, "Thank you for still being you."

"For still being me? Jack, you're not making a whole lot of sense with that. Who else would I be?"

"When I was waiting for you to wake up, I kept trying to figure out why, after all the shit I've thrown your way, you'd want to save me? I haven't given you many reasons recently to be my friend but you were still there for me. I realised it's who you are, it doesn't matter who the person it is, you'll still try to save them... Crap, I'm not good at explaining things, am I?"

"You're doing fine."

Jack looked down at his cup and said, "You saved me from the staff blast on the original mission. Why should it be such a shock to find out you'd be there for me now?"

Recognising it for the rhetorical question it was, Daniel didn't reply. Jack continued, "Are you going to be okay?"

"I'm fine."

"You just had a lump of wood thrown through you, Daniel. There has to be some consequences from that."

"There are always consequences to what we do. You and Teal'c get to take a deep space ride thanks to Apophis, Sam gets to host a snake and an electrical entity while I get to have the wooden body ornament and die a couple of times."

"You sound okay about it all."

"How do you want me to sound, Jack? Would hysterical cover it? As the saying goes, 'Shit happens'."

"I'd just like to hear more from you than you're fine all the time."

"At least you hear more than McKenzie does."

"Is he giving you trouble?"

"Not as such. I'm just not comfortable talking to the person who convinced everyone I'd had a first break psychotic episode."

"Don't forget the part about how it could have manifested into full blown hebephrenic schizophrenia."

"You've remembered what his diagnosis was?"

"Of course I have. It's not everyday my best friend sees dead people walking then gets institutionalised. Hebephrenic schizophrenia is a severe form of schizophrenia characterised by the predominance of incoherence, blunted, inappropriate or silly affect, and the absence of systematised delusions."

Jack looked at Daniel's open mouth and continued, "I looked it up then got Fraiser to talk it through with me. I should have been asking more questions seeing as you were having delusions. Kinda didn't tie in with what he was spouting off about."

"Um. Yeah." Deciding it was time for more drinks, Daniel headed into the kitchen with the empty cups. When he returned and had sat down Jack asked, "So how do you want this talk to go?"

"How about we start with you explaining why you've been acting as you have over the last few months."

"Start with the easy stuff why don'tcha? I know we've already talked about some of this, but would you accept it's because I'm an ass?"

"Jaack!"

"Right, didn't think you'd let me off so easily." Jack took a deep breath then said, "It's because I realised I have feelings for you."

"What? You mean apart from the hate, loathing and impatience that's been coming through?"

"I never had those feelings, Daniel."

"It certainly seemed like it to me. You've taken every opportunity to belittle my work or shout me down, starting with telling me to shut up in front of Alar and his council on Euronda."

"I know and I'm sorry for what I said back then. But just now, when I said I have feelings for you, I meant I have feelings for you."

"Come on Jack, you can do better than that."

"I'm in love with you."

"Oh."

"I tell you I'm in love with you and all you can say is oh?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry, I thought I'd be able to keep them under control and not let it affect our friendship. Shows what I know huh?"

"When did you realise you had these..."

"Feelings?"

"Uh huh."

"I figured that maybe what I felt was something more than friendship when waiting for you to come out of surgery after your appendix blew. Then, when I found you on the balcony saying nothing meant anything, I was sure. Hearing Hammond say SG-5 had died, watching you slip into that coma then carrying you back through to P4X-3476 after you coded really iced the cake."

"So you realised you're in love with me then you tried to bury the feelings under a ton of rock. Were you ever going to say anything to me?"

"I wanted to, believe me I wanted to, but every time I opened my mouth all this crap came out of it instead. Me being bi isn't a topic I expect to come up in conversation, but once I found out you knew I suppose it was something we'd have to talk about eventually."

"I must have missed that memo because how was I meant to know you're bi-sexual?"

"Timothy said he told you when you met up in Chicago."

Daniel looked confused for a few seconds then figured out what Jack was talking about.

"Yes we talked about his brother being bi, but no I didn't equate that fact to you, even after I found out you were related. We talked about a lot of things that night..."

"Daniel?" Jack prompted when the other man fell quiet.

"Tim said your father died a few months ago."

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"It happened during that whole thing with the Enkarens was going on. When we went back to the base to get some more personnel, I got the call to say he'd died. Hammond asked if I wanted to go back for the funeral. I didn't, end of story."

"Jesus, Jack. I know you didn't exactly get on with him, but your father dies and you carry on your mission."

"What did you expect, Daniel? That I'd rush off to Chicago to mourn? Well I'm sorry but I had that man in my life for eighteen years and when I joined up, the only things I was sorry to leave behind were mom and Timothy."

Jack got up and walked to the window so he was looking at his back yard.

"When he found out I wanted to join the Air Force and he almost lost it. He spent the best part of a week telling me to lose the damn fool notion and join the real service. You were either a Marine or you were a pansy, which was kinda funny when you consider that I am."

Jack leant forward so his forehead was touching the cold glass. Closing his eyes, he quietly continued, "Then he found out about my sexuality and I'll never forget the things he said. Told me he wouldn't let me corrupt Timothy, that I was a disappointment to the O'Neill name, that I should get my head out of my ass and get me a real girl. He threw me out and said he never wanted to see me again. I used to write to Tim and Mom telling them what was going on in my life, how it was working out and how I'd met a girl I wanted to marry. You know the sort of thing. I never once heard back from them and it wasn't till I met up with Tim again that I found out they never got any of the letters. My father was a narrow-minded bigot and the only reason to have gone would have been to make sure the sorry son of a bitch got buried."

Jack turned around so he was now facing Daniel.

"I went and saw Mom when you went to see Stephen that day. It was the first time I'd seen her since he threw me out, and she got me to take her to the cemetery. That's the reason I didn't want to talk the next morning, I was trying to figure some stuff out in my head."

"Like what?" Daniel asked, unsure if Jack would continue.

"We did some talking at his graveside, about the fights dad and I got into all the time. She told me some things I never knew about the old man, things my grandfather had done that turned him into the man he was. It explained a lot. Didn't mean I forgave him, but it did help. Then we talked about how I'd been after Charlie died. I told her how a man I'd only known for two weeks managed to get me to want to live again when everyone else, including Sara, failed. I said you were in town with me and she asked if she could meet you."

"But I left."

"I didn't give you much of a reason to stay did I?"

"So what was your problem after Chicago? What on earth had happened that made you act even worse?"

"I was jealous of Tim. You got really close really fast and I... I missed that. I missed not having you as a friend even though I knew it was my own fault. Then I heard you'd written your resignation and I lost the plot all together."

"How did you hear that?"

"I went to your office to talk after the briefing and heard Tim ask you if you were still leaving. You said you'd written the letter and was going to give it to George when we got back. Then you went and saw him before we shipped out to 527 and I just... Well I was hardly going to tell you how I felt after that."

"You should have told me. Why didn't you? Did you think I would walk away or something? Stop being your friend maybe?"

"You know something, Tim called it right. We were waiting for you to wake and he told me I was scared. I was scared to feel, scared to admit that I love you, scared to lose you because you wouldn't feel that way about me. I didn't know what to think except that losing people is hard and I'd already lost too many in my life. I knew I didn't want to lose you as well and it never registered I had till it was too late."

"Yes it's hard losing people, Jack, but the hardest thing I've done was to watch the person I love be in love with someone else."

"Excuse me?" Jack asked confused.

"The hardest thing I've done was to watch the person I love and think they're in love with someone else."

"I heard that the first time but what does you being in love..." Jack groaned then said, "You're in love with Carter."

Daniel replied softly, "Even now you still haven't asked me how I feel, Jack. Haven't you even considered the possibility I could feel the same way about you, that you do about me?"

"No."

"Why not?" Daniel asked astonished.

"What would someone like you see in a cranky old bastard like me?"

"What do you mean 'someone like me'?"

"You're intelligent, caring, honest, compassionate, insightful, loyal, smart and do you want me to go on?"

"N...no. I... You think... You really think that about me?"

"Of course I do, Daniel. What did you think? That I'd fall in love with some shallow airhead?"

"No, I just didn't realise you thought that about me. Recently I thought I was just the nuisance you had to take along with you and that hurt."

"Why didn't you talk to someone? Do something?"

"What do you expect me to do, Jack? The only person who could have helped was the person who hurt me in the first place?"

"Shit, I've really mucked things up haven't I?"

"Not totally."

"So if you're talking about me, who was I meant to be in love with?" Jack asked.

"Sam."

"Carter! For crying out loud, Daniel, why would I be in love with Carter?"

"Your reactions when Sam was possessed by the entity last week didn't help. You wouldn't leave her bedside."

"Do you remember all that crap that went down with Jolinar?"

"Yes but what does that have to do with this?"

"After everything calmed down, I promised Carter if she was ever in that position again, with something controlling her actions, that I'd find a way to free her or I'd make sure it didn't continue. All the time I was in that room with her I was wondering what would I have done if it had been you on that bed, if that blasted program had chosen you to infect instead of her. Then I had to zat her in the corridor and while we thought she was dead, you figured it all out. If it had been you trapped, I don't think any of us would have realised it. We could...I could have lost you."

"We got her back, that's all that matters in the end."

"You said that didn't help. Why did you think I was in love with her in the first place?"

"I heard what the both of you said during the zatarc testing the second time."

"How did you find that out? Only Sam, Teal'c and the Doc were there and they wouldn't have said anything."

"Have you forgotten that Anise was there as well?"

"To forget her means I have to think about her, and are you telling me that snake said something? Because if she did I'm going to yank it out of the bimbo host, rip it in two and shove the pieces where the sun don't shine!" Jack said, his voice rising.

"When everything had settled down from Sam shooting Martouf, I asked her how you had both passed the test. She told me what you'd said."

"We meant..."

"I know that now. Tim put me straight."

"And how does he know about it?"

"Samaskedhimoutforacoffeeandhesaidthathethoughtshewaswithsomeoneandshewantedtoknowwhy..."

"Take a couple of breaths Daniel, "Jack interrupted, "then would you care to translate that last bit into English."

"Because Anise told me the two of you care more for each other than you should, I thought you were together. When I found out Tim was interested in Sam I told him that I thought she already had someone."

"So..."

"So when Sam asked him out for a coffee he told her what I'd said. That was when they worked out I probably knew and she explained it all to Tim. He, in turn, explained it to me."

"So much for everything we said staying in the room."

"Maybe next time you decide to declare you have feelings for Sam you'll let me know about it before hand so I don't start jumping to conclusions."

"Jumping? Gating would be a better word to describe it," Jack said, turning in time to see Daniel start to laugh. Reaching over Jack tickled the younger man where his shirt had risen up. Daniel's eyes shot open at the sensation of Jack's fingers on his skin and turning, saw the mischief on the other man's face.

"This calls for war," he declared and pretty soon both men were engaged in a mock battle. Before Jack had even realised what had happened, or how it had happened, he was lying on his back with Daniel on top of him. Looking at the archaeologist's face, Jack saw that the once clear blue eyes were almost all black.

"Daniel."

Seeing his own hunger reflected in the eyes of the man underneath Daniel murmured, "Jack," and leant forward to bring their lips together.

What started as a gentle kiss rapidly grew as both men wanted to taste more of the other, Jack opening his mouth to allow Daniel's tongue entrance, and when they finally pulled back both men were panting.

"Wow."

"Wow indeed."

"And for your information, I never got to give my resignation to George," Daniel commented, going back to something Jack had said earlier.

"But I thought..."

"I was going to but he got a call on the red phone before I could say anything. Then, of course, I haven't really had time since we got back from the mission."

"So you're still a part of SG-1. Sweet."

"And I see the same sort of characteristics in you that you see in me. You're intelligent, even though you try to play dumb, as well as caring, honest, loyal and do you need me to go on?"

"No, but you forgot to list the fact I sometimes don't listen to you on a mission when you're trying to say something important and..."

"And none of that matters because I know that when you're needed you'll be there. For all of us."

"But..."

"Don't start arguing with me on this, Jack. I love you, all of you," Daniel stated, "The good and the not so good things."

"Uh huh," Jack muttered, distracted by the finger his soon-to-be lover was running along his bottom lip which causing him to shiver.

"Like that do you?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure you want this Jack? That you want us to be together?"

"Of course I do. However far you're wanting to take it is fine by me."

Daniel smiled and leant forward to bring their lips together again as Jack's hands roamed the length of his back under his shirt. After they parted he said, "You know Sam's not going to be sending the MALP through till 10 o'clock tomorrow, so we don't have to be in early."

"Why so late? Normally she sends them through before the sun rises."

"She and Tim are going out tonight."

"Way to go Tim."

"And no teasing Sam."

"What? Not even a little bit?"

Daniel just looked at the other man, stood up taking Jack's hand and pulled him off the couch.

"Not even a little bit. You should be glad we're getting to go on a mission instead of spending the next couple of months on medical stand down."

"You realise we've both been injured. Maybe we should build our strength up," Jack replied with a grin as Daniel led him towards the bedroom.

"Bed. Now."