Common Sense

by Clancy Thomas

URL: http://www.area52hkh.net/asc/clancy/common.php
Summary: Not Supplied

Part 1

Daniel regained consciousness with a jolt. His eyes snapped open and a million cameras, or so it seemed, flashed in unison, capturing the tear-shiny blue eyes in their surprised, stranded in the headlights stare, snatching the new light from his grasp and returning all to black. Blinding him. From somewhere under the darkness a voice screamed at him.

'Don't look at them Daniel! For christ's sake, if you can hear me, don't open your eyes!'

Too late, Jack, thought Daniel ruefully. I've got my eyes open and I can see precisely squat now. Daniel wondered what the flashes were that had done this to him, where Jack and Sam and Teal'c were, and why his hands were staked out away from his body. In fact, an explanation as to why he seemed to be pinned to the ground as helpless as a starfish that was forgotten by the tide and left to shrivel on the sand, would be a good place to start. Daniel blinked rapidly trying to induce tears to soothe his smarting eyes. He felt the warm liquid well up and spill down his cheeks to no avail. He remained in the dark. After a few minutes of blindness he gradually adjusted to an acute awareness of his four remaining senses. He didn't hear Jack call out again, and no one answered his tentative entreaties.

'Jack? Sam? Teal'c?' Nothing. 'Anyone? I'm Daniel.... Friend....Hello?' No reply, only a soft rustling. He held his breath and listened closely to the slight sound. It was constant, but inconsistent, sometimes louder, sometimes slower. Daniel tried to think what it reminded him of, but the only picture that formed in his mind was that of a room full of mute children opening Christmas presents one after another, carefully trying not to rip the wrapping paper and folding it up for a rainy day. Although this accurately described the sound, Daniel surmised that unless he'd found his way into Santa's grotto, it was probably not the most likely explanation.

Experimentally, he sniffed the air. If his sight and hearing were failing to explain his surroundings, maybe his sense of smell would help him out. Daniel was reminded that smell was the sense with the most direct link to the brain and memory. Old memories, buried deep in the tender archives of his complicated mind, could be tweaked and nudged into the light, by the alarming scent of burnt toast, a whiff of wood smoke, a puff of musty air as he opened a fragile leather volume. Daniel found a photo, song or name rarely held the same power for him. He missed Shau're the most when he opened his closet and pressed his face into the old Abydonian robes hanging at the back in the shadows. Sometimes the right combination of spices when he was cooking could send him back thirty years to the campfires of Egyptian digs, curled up warm in his mother's lap while all around him people handed round bowls of steaming food, laughing and telling stories, singing in the dying desert twilight. Sometimes, when Jack wore that particular aftershave, Daniel suddenly and acutely remembered how it felt to be nineteen and sharing a dorm room with the object of his desires, eating, sleeping, waking, changing alongside him, and having to hold his breath every day, lest he be suspected, discovered, by anyone, by him.

Daniel filled his lungs to capacity, but smelled nothing. Not even anything to signify whether he was indoors or out. Dammit! He wanted to scream out in frustration, but eerily, the rustling and the darkness made him afraid to make a noise again. If something was out there, he didn't want to give it cause to find him, not when he couldn't defend himself. Not that he was that great at defending himself anyway, but he could usually make some sort of a fist of it. Or he would run, find Jack, seek his sure protection.

Three down, two to go, thought Daniel as he waggled his fingers. They felt a little cold but apart from that, nothing. He couldn't move any more than his fingers and toes anyway, and his head from side to side, fat lot of good that did him. He was lying on a hard surface, the pins and needles in his butt and the lump developing on the back of his head, told him that much. It was also chilly. Daniel sighed, four down, one to go.

Slowly, he poked out the tip of his tongue and wet his lips. He didn't expect to taste anything, it was more of a last ditch desperate effort to discover something about his situation. So Daniel was quite shocked to find his lips tasted sweet, as if he'd been eating something sugary which had left a slight residue. He rolled it round on his tongue, kinda like a cross between fudge and..... glue. Daniel felt his tongue start to stick to the roof of his mouth and he frantically tried to work up enough saliva to try to free it, his mind rushing ahead to the likely consequences if he wasn't able to breathe through his mouth. The hysterical fear of suffocating only really appreciated by those who suffer with their sinuses, he heaved with relief as the grip dissolved and he felt his tongue drop back to its rightful place.

The chill of the surface he was lying on began to seep into his bones and Daniel's weary, unseeing eyes sagged shut. To his surprise, he slept. Soundly, or rather, without sound, as it were.

~~~

Jack had never been so thankful for the God of ray-bans. Those slips of tinted plastic were the only things between him and helplessness. Teal'c and Carter had escaped.... He thought....Probably. He and Daniel had been first through the gate and he'd had time to signal retreat to Carter as the other two emerged from the wormhole. Teal'c had assessed the scene in a split second, grabbed Carter by the sleeve and yanked her over to take cover behind the DHD. Jack admired that, a man of swift action was Teal'c. The creatures hadn't been interested in the two other soldiers, and had been annoyingly impervious to the bullets and staff blasts issuing forth from that quarter. They'd seemed satisfied with capturing O'Neill and Daniel, trundling off into the undergrowth within the blink of an eye with their prize. Jack figured Teal'c and Carter had been able to dial out and report the loss back to base and would soon be returning with reinforcements. Probably...

Jack sighed. Oh yeah, he really practiced what he preached. That was why he was still here, after he had escaped, trying to liberate Daniel single-handedly instead of sensibly hot-footing it back through the gate and gathering reinforcements, with lots of sunglasses.

Try as he might, he just couldn't leave Daniel behind, not even for the time it would have taken to launch a rescue mission. Still, he suspected that Teal'c and Carter would most definitely be organising one right this minute and that provided a little comfort.

Jack sucked in his breath sharply as the creatures moved in around the prone man once again. He'd taken the risk of calling out to his friend the first time he detected the young man was beginning to wake up, but Daniel had roused too quickly and opened his eyes before Jack could warn him. Jack felt sick as he watched the startled man reel in the shocking light-show and become temporarily blinded by the cascade of flashes. At least, Jack hoped it was temporary. How easily did retinas burn anyway? He wished now he hadn't teased Daniel about his glasses just before they stepped through the gate. Maybe they would've miraculously somehow stayed on his face as they were transported through the peaceful glades and moist wooded hollows. Maybe they would've afforded him some kind of reflective protection as the sunglasses had given Jack. Maybe.

Still, one useful bit of information had been gained from his fruitless words of warning. The creatures couldn't hear him, or if they did, they weren't interested. Then again, they weren't much interested in him full stop. It hadn't been the most artful of escapes. Jack had woken to find himself pegged out on the floor, just like Daniel, but in another room in this vast underground catacomb of tunnels and hidey-holes. The creatures hadn't removed any of his weapons or clothing, just staked him out so as to make it quite difficult to get free. Jack had also been assaulted by the flashes when he opened his eyes but his sunglasses had stopped him being blinded and gradually he had made sense of his surroundings and his peculiar hosts.

The creatures were tall, over 8 feet, and dressed in identical stiff floor length opalescent garments. They obviously weren't concerned about detection as the material resulted in an irritating rustling that accompanied every single movement. To top it off the creatures moved in unison, like a pack of sheep, one of them rustled, so too did the whole blinking lot. Blinking was the right word too, thought Jack grimly. The creatures had enormous, headlight-esque eyes mounted, bulbous and protruding, on the front of their heads. These bowling ball sized monstrosities were surrounded by thick black lids and lashes a supermodel would probably hock her grandmother for. The eyes exuded a searing, penetrating glare, like all the light in these underground tunnels had been sucked into their heads and was beaming back out of these genetic miner's lamps. The creatures blinked. They blinked rapidly, and often. When they did so, the flashes were so frenetic as to induce the kind of sick, about-to-have-a-seizure feeling usually reserved for roller-coasters, gate-travel and wunderkind films. If someone was not wearing sunglasses, Jack supposed they could cause blindness. He had remembered too late that Daniel was not wearing any.

After only a few minutes the creatures had become tired of studying Jack and wandered away. Jack had struggled in his bonds and found that if he tugged hard enough at his left hand, he could loosen the ropes enough to slip his hand free, from there the rest had been easy. He would've liked to have said it was his superior commando skills which got him successfully down the looping dirt corridors undetected, but it could've equally been the fact that they were either deaf or simply not particularly bothered that Jack had managed to escape.

Finding Daniel had been easy, freeing Daniel was not going to be quite so simple.

The creatures were crowding around him, near enough to lean over the defenseless man in a way Jack interpreted as threatening, but not so close that Daniel could feel their presence. Jack lingered in the shadows of a nook carved into the crumbling wall by a steady trickle of water which dribbled down his collar as he pressed his back into the dirt. Colonel Jack O'Neill still had his weapons, there was no way he was going to let a few dozen lamp-heads keep his geeky archeologist. No sir.

As it happened, there was no need for dramatics. After a while they drew back and Jack was relieved to see that Daniel was still in one piece and looking none the worse for whatever they'd done that Jack hadn't been able to see through the crowd.

The strange, voiceless creatures blinked at each other several times and filed out into the tunnels, rustling their way into the darkness, leaving Jack alone with Daniel in the damp room.

Jack paused, resisting the urge to leap across the room to his friend and release his bonds. First thing, make sure the coast is clear. Jack ducked his head out into the corridor. Not a lamp-head in sight. Good.

Now how to do this without scaring the shit out of Daniel? He decided to try the gentle approach.

'Daniel,' he called softly.

No reply.

'Daniel,' he called again a little louder.

'Jack?' the querulous reply.

'They're gone Daniel. I'm coming over to cut you loose.' Jack hastily crossed the dirt floor and grasped one of his friend's chilled hands in his own. Pulling out his knife, he set about cutting Daniel free from the metal pegs set deep in the ground. Pausing briefly to rub the reddened wrist, Jack then scrambled around to the other hand and grasped that one in his warm fingers. He ignored Daniel's slight flinch of surprise when he first made contact, not wanting to acknowledge what it indicated - that Daniel couldn't see him even though his bright blue eyes were wide open in apprehension and fear. With brutal speed he sliced through that rope and through those which bound his feet.

'Come on, we've got to get going before they get back.'

Daniel lay on the ground for a few moments as if stunned.

'Come on,' Jack tugged at the hands he still held in his own.

Daniel blinked and shook his head. 'I can't.' His voice was bleak. His hands started to shake.

'Course you can, let's go.' Jack tried to pull him up to a sitting position.

'Jack, I can't see anything. You should leave me here, get yourself out.' Daniel wrenched his hands from his team-mate's grasp and scrubbed at his face, as if abusing his eye sockets was going to make a difference.

Jack decided some quick foxing was in order if he was to get both of them the hell out of Dodge.

'Well, of course you can't see anything Daniel. We're underground. It's pitch black. These guys haven't discovered the delights of electricity yet. I guess they don't need it.'

Daniel stared intently at his hands and waved them in front of his nose. 'Then how come you can see? You saw me.'

Jack drew in a breath. This had to sound convincing. 'Night-vision goggles, had a pair tucked away in my pack that I didn't even know were there, how about that for luck huh? But I couldn't find a spare pair so you're just gonna have to trust me. I won't lead you into any walls just for a laugh I promise. At least, not until we're well away from the lamp-heads.'

'Lamp-heads? You mean there were lights in here, with them? I heard them, but I couldn't see them... I heard them.... I heard you call out...' Daniel waved his hand in front of his eyes again. Jack quickly leant back, lest the roaming hand brush past his face and Daniel realise he had no goggles, just sunglasses.

'What, lights? No, I just called them that cos they all looked like an ugly old lamp my aunt used to have. A kinda mushroom coloured greeny-brown get-up, with lumps.' It was lame but it was all he could come up with just then, anything to get Daniel moving.

Jack moved behind his friend and gently slipped his hands under Daniel's upper arms and hefted him up till he was standing. Holding the slight man with strong arms around Daniel's waist, Jack whispered a final reassurance in his ear. 'Daniel, you've got to trust me. Just let me lead you and we'll get out of here. I promise. Trust me.'

Slowly, Daniel slid his hands down to grip the arms wrapped around his waist, steadying him. He nodded, then whispered, 'sure, I trust you.'

Jack nodded in reply, then remembered Daniel couldn't see him. He moved around in front of Daniel. 'This is how we're going to do it. You tuck your hands into my belt okay. Get a tight grip because sometimes we might have to run quite fast.'

Daniel nodded then bit his lip worriedly. No sooner had he done that than he flinched as if stung and started making retching movements, bending away from Jack. He wasn't sick but he spat onto the floor, then straightened.

'What's wrong? Did they do something to you?' Jack placed a worried hand on the quivering man's shoulder.

Daniel shrugged. 'I don't think so. I don't know. Maybe....'

Jack thought he heard the rustling returning. He quickly pulled Daniel in behind him and helped him find his belt, hooking Daniel's fingers into the back of his trousers.

'You right then? Let's go!' Daniel didn't move.

'What's the problem now?' Jack grunted.

'Why don't you just use your torch? Then I could see too.'

Jack cursed under his breath. Come on Jack, why wouldn't you use your torch? Think quickly now or Danny's gonna remember he has one too and start waving it about.

'Uh, because we don't want them to see us Daniel do we? Use a bit of nous for once willya?' He felt bad lying to the vulnerable man but he knew Daniel wasn't going anywhere until he was logically satisfied that there was no option other than letting Jack lead him.

'Oh, okay then,' Daniel was subdued. Jack felt his fingers adjust slightly against his waistband.

The two men shuffled towards the doorway and Jack poked his head out cautiously, checking for the creatures. The tunnel was empty. 'Go,' he muttered under his breath for Daniel's benefit and they inched their way down the corridor, Jack wincing as Daniel stumbled onto his heels several times. He stopped abruptly at the point where the tunnel turned the corner and absorbed the jolt as Daniel ran into him.

'Just try to anticipate when I'm slowing down huh?' Jack rubbed the small of his back where Daniel's fingers had accidentally knuckled into his spine.

'Fuck you,' came the low reply. 'You can see.'

Jack rolled his eyes and started moving off down the crumbling tunnel again, his reluctant passenger pausing, then stumbling after.

Daniel was reminded why he had always hated those trust games they made them play in foster homes.

Like maggots crawling out of the dirt, a group of the creatures rustled out of a dark side tunnel and turned down the corridor ahead of them such that Jack and Daniel were effectively following the luminescent opal guides.

Jack slammed into the dirt wall of the tunnel, trapping Daniel's arms and half his body behind him and crushing the bewildered man into the dirt. Daniel yelped in Jack's ear at the unexpected movement but Jack reached around and gripped his upper arm tightly to indicate he should shut the hell up, right now. Jack stared after the creatures as they trundled away into the gloom. He waited until he could no longer detect the rustling, then cautiously pulled away from the wall and started creeping along the tunnel again. He'd gone a fair way along the gently upward sloping tunnel before realising the absence of any warm fingers tucked into his waistband. Funny how quickly he'd become used to them being there. Swiftly doubling back down the tunnel he located Daniel still slumped up against the black dirt wall.

Jack reached out and took Daniel's hand, prising it away from the clammy dirt. Daniel's head jerked up and his breath came out in short rapid gasps.

'Who is it? Jack?' he shuddered and tried to twist his hand from the grasp.

'Of course it's me, who else would it be?' Jack tightened his grip and rubbed his thumb reassuringly over the back of Daniel's hand.

'I don't know that do I? You could just say you were Jack and I wouldn't know the difference.'

Jack shrugged helplessly, then kicked himself as he realised Daniel wouldn't see that either. He pursed his lips and looked up and down the tunnel. He really didn't like hanging around in this place, he needed to get Daniel out of there before those lamp-heads discovered their prize specimen had gone walkabout. Jack sighed. 'What can I do to convince you Daniel? This is me, Jack, your best friend, you know me better than anyone else, apart from possibly my ex-wife.' Jack squeezed Daniel's hand again. 'What can I say? Remember when you were in Machello's body, and no one believed it was you until you told us stuff about ourselves that only you would know. What can I say to convince you?'

Daniel tilted his head back into the dirt wall and sighed. 'That's good enough for me. I knew it was you Jack. I'm just.... frustrated, and a little bit scared.' He shrugged. 'It doesn't matter. Lead on McDuff.'

Daniel offered his hands, palms up. Jack paused for a moment, studying the raw, smudged skin, the long, slender fingers, imagined them slipping into the back of his pants again, tucking in, the warmth of the skin against skin. Was that why he was so willing to break his own rules to rescue Daniel? Mind over matter Jack, you've got a job to do. Jack shook his rapidly clouding head.

He grabbed one of Daniel's hands, turned and started running up the tunnel again, dragging the surprised man along behind him.

Part 2

They ran for what seemed like an age, along the slowly ascending tunnel. Jack ran almost as blindly as Daniel, not pausing to check side corridors for the telltale rustling or opal glow, not caring about the noise of his ragged breathing or their clumping footsteps, just running, getting away from the claustrophobic rat-like maze, honing in on a small, feeble glow far in the distance which could be an exit. Jack could feel Daniel's grip tighten as he tried to signal without words that he was having trouble keeping up. Jack slowed his pace a little and tried to think of something reassuring to whisper.

'Not long Danny, there's a light up ahead which I think might be our way outta here.'

Daniel flailed his head from side to side, looking all around. 'Where, where, I don't see it!'

'Just trust me Daniel,' Jack panted and resolved not to open his big mouth again until they were well away. He was relieved when that seemed to satisfy Daniel and his companion felt silent again, concentrating on keeping up with the soldier's long strides.

After a few minutes Jack noticed a change in the air. It was slightly less musty, not exactly fresh, but there was definitely a draught coming from the direction of the light. He moved up a gear, sensing that they could be nearing the surface, and tried to ignore Daniel's laboured breathing behind him.

Soon, they reached the end of the tunnel. It was up or nothing. Jack grinned and gave silent thanks to hostile aliens who thoughtfully fixed ladders to the walls beneath escape holes. He reached out and tugged at a rung. Yes, it was stable and probably able to take their weight. Daniel sighed in his ear, sounding relieved that they had come to the end of their marathon. Jack looked at his friend. Daniel was rubbing his eyes again.

'Don't do that, you'll just make it worse.'

Daniel squeezed his eyes shut for a moment then opened them wide, blinking rapidly. 'How can it get any worse?' He sighed again. 'Thanks Jack.' Jack frowned. 'For what?'

Daniel raised a hand and waved it in the air. Jack ducked but not quickly enough as Daniel's roaming fingers brushed lightly over his cheek and up over his eyes and forehead.

'For confirming what I already knew.' His hand fell back to his side.

Jack shrugged weakly. 'Can't put anything past you can I?'

Daniel ran a hand through his hair. 'I've had enough practice at subterfuge to know that you're crap at it.'

'It's probably only temporary Daniel. Didn't you ever stare at the sun when you were a kid, just cos your mum said you'd go blind if you did and you didn't believe her?'

Daniel shook his head slowly. 'But I'm guessing you did.'

'Of course, and everything goes black for a moment, then you see spots and after a few minutes everything's dandy again. I'm pretty sure what you have is just a bad case of that. It'll all come back soon.'

Daniel grimaced. 'Okay, well, based on the oh-so-scientific experiments of an eight year old Jack O'Neill, I feel highly reassured now. Thanks Jack.'

Jack flared up at the ingratitude. 'Hey, I was just trying to help! If you want to wallow in self-pity that's your look-out. Me, I'm getting out of here before our neighbourly lamp-heads get a clue!' Jack reached up and grabbed a rung of the metal ladder. He swung himself up and climbed a few rungs towards the small opening about 15 metres above their heads.

'Fine!' spat Daniel sourly. He took a step forward and walked face first into the dirt wall. Jack flinched for him, that's gotta hurt. But Daniel just turned around and slid down the wall, ending up sitting on the ground with a bump. He pulled his knees up and hugged them to his chest. Jack paused on the ladder. He'd let him sweat a bit before going back down to fetch him.

Then again, maybe this wasn't the best time to be arguing. Jack spotted a faint fluttering of lights, maybe about 500 metres down the tunnel back in the direction they'd come. That would be the lamp-heads, he guessed. Maybe they missed me after all.

Jack scooted down the ladder and landed with a thump next to Daniel.

'Back already?' Daniel quipped shakily.

Jack jerked him up by his shirt collar. 'Get over it already Daniel, the lamp-heads are on our case. We've got to get out of here now.' He shoved the bewildered man in front of the ladder, grabbing his hands and placed them on the rungs.

'Climb, that's an order.'

Daniel felt around for a rung with his foot, missed, and found it on the third try.

'How far do we have to climb Jack?' All hostility gone from Daniel's voice now, revealing the uncertainty and fear he'd been unsuccessfully trying to hide.

Jack put a hand on his shoulder. 'I'll be right behind you. I'll tell you when you're near the top.'

Daniel grinned half-heartedly. 'At least I won't have to worry about my fear of heights. Can't really look down can I?'

Jack returned the grin. 'Just think of it this way. You're actually not climbing very high, cos the more you climb the closer you'll get to ground level, in a way.'

Daniel chuckled and stepped up to the second rung. 'Jack-logic. I'll buy it this time.'

Jack stepped up onto the ladder behind Daniel. As the lights drew close enough for them to detect the tell-tale rustling of the shimmering material, Daniel inched his way up the ladder. Jack kept so close behind him that occasionally his friend's foot would brush against the top of his head. It didn't take long to reach the opening. Jack called out directions and Daniel was able to wriggle out through the hole without falling.

When Jack poked his head out of the fissure, he was less than thrilled with the scene that greeted him. Night, woods to the east, an open plateau to cross before reaching cover, and every so often, a flash of light which told him the creatures had extended their search for the fugitives to above ground. Then there was Daniel, a sitting duck, crouched down on the ground by the opening, completely vulnerable and dependent on him to get them out of here. Jack hefted himself out onto the grass beside Daniel. Being more hindrance than help in the darkness of night, Jack took off his sunglasses and hung them around his neck in case he needed them again quickly.

'Where are we Jack?' Daniel whispered.

'We're on a kind of plateau. To our left we have woods, to our right we have honking great lamp-heads with an axe to grind. Peachy huh. Oh and it's night, so I think we can safely say the natives will be active for a while yet.' He looked over to see what effect that information was having on his companion.

Daniel was staring into space. His unseeing eyes had a strange luminous quality, the usual dark blue seemed to have diluted, and they shone, not with the quivering quality of tears, but a strong, radiating glow. Uh-oh, thought Jack, in his experience, glowing eyes were never a very good sign.

'Um, Daniel?'

'Yes Jack?' Daniel automatically turned to look at him, then cursed softly when he remembered that was pointless.

'You haven't been ingesting anything unusual lately have you? Say, perhaps, a Goa'uld maybe?'

Daniel furrowed his brow as he tried to figure out what had inspired that question. 'Jack, I know I got a little ticked off back there, but I think I'm entitled to be a bit out of sorts and that's no reason to go accusing....'

Jack cut him off. 'Daniel, your eyes are glowing.'

Daniel flinched. 'Jack that's not possible.'

'Oh, I'd say it is, and I'm going have to ask you to keep your eyes shut or we're going to give away our position.'

'It's not a Goa'uld Jack.' Daniel shut his eyes. 'I can't hear another voice, I don't black out, at least, I don't think I have. Maybe it's something else....' He groped round for Jack's arm, locating it and gripping on tightly. 'I haven't done anything, have I?... Something I wouldn't know about...'

Jack laid a reassuring hand over his friend's. 'No, it's alright, you're still you. I just tend to get a bit paranoid when a member of my team starts sporting glowing eyes. You know how it is....'

Daniel sighed and knuckled his other fist into one of his eye sockets. 'I think they, the creatures, did something to me Jack.'

'No kidding,' Jack said lowly. 'The question is what, and is it reversible?'

'I guess the best thing would be to get back to base as soon as possible. See what Janet can do for me.' Daniel didn't sound too optimistic. Jack studied his friend. His head hung down and he was back to hugging his knees again. Not coping well, in Jack's humble opinion. He looked up and scanned the area, mapping out a route for them to take across to the woods, trying to estimate in which direction the Stargate lay.

'Jack?'

'What?'

'I hope I get my sight back before we leave here.'

'Why do you say that?'

Daniel bobbed his head around in frustration. 'Because I think if I leave without knowing what those creatures look like, it will be worse, in the long run.'

'Worse?' Jack wondered how it could possibly be worse.

Daniel nodded.

Jack noticed the a few of the bobbing lights getting closer on the western edge of the plateau. Wordlessly he stood up, taking Daniel's hand as he did so, and pulling the other man to his feet.

His voice was barely a whisper. 'When I say go, you run. We will be heading down into a forest, so there may be some uneven ground. We're going to have to move fast. Don't let go of my hand, okay?'

Daniel wrapped his fingers around Jack's tightly and nodded.

'Go,' Jack muttered, and the two men took off moving swiftly over the exposed plateau towards the woods. Daniel tried hard not to slow them down. His natural instinct was to move cautiously, he imagined that with every step he was going to run smack bang into a tree, or a wall or something else hard and unyielding... and painful. Every time he placed one foot in front of the other he cringed thinking the ground wouldn't be there, that he'd be falling, which he knew was irrational, but still.... A few times that almost happened, when they came to a ditch or hollow. Jack tried to mutter in advance 'up now,' or 'jump,' but Daniel wasn't always able to keep up. He felt branches scratch by his face and tried putting his other arm up to protect himself but that threw him off-balance. Once he nearly pulled Jack down with him as he stumbled to his knees over a gnarly tree root. But Jack was solid and firm and pulled him upright, keeping them moving forwards through the darkness of Daniel's world.

Jack flinched every time he looked back at Daniel and dragged him stumbling through another muddy ditch or scrub thicket. He'd always known Daniel wasn't a hardened military soul like the rest of them - him, Carter, Teal'c - they all recognised that the archeologist was more vulnerable physically on missions because he didn't have the same amount of military skill or training. He also knew that Daniel was vulnerable in more complicated ways, in his tendency to become emotionally involved in issues and with the sometimes unpleasant job they had to do. How many times had Daniel been physically or emotionally hurt by the cultures they had encountered, when usually all he was trying to do was help them. Again and again Daniel seemed to be the one targeted by the Goa'uld system lords for 'special' treatment. If anyone was susceptible to manipulation or emotional black-mail, it was Daniel, but Jack also felt that there was an internal strength in Daniel, something radiating deep in his inner core which kept him going, bouncing back, when others would have run screaming for the hills long ago. Jack hoped Daniel could find that strength now, because frankly, strong, hard Colonel Jack O'Neill couldn't think of anything more frightening than trying to elude an enemy when you couldn't even see to defend yourself, not even knowing what that enemy looked like. Daniel was clinging to his hand like it was a lifeline. He resolved not to break physical contact with his team-mate until his sight was restored or they made it back to base. If he couldn't salve the fear, the least he could do was curb the loneliness.

'Oh fer cryin' out loud....' Jack cursed softly. A huge mob of the freaking lamp-heads were blinking and bobbing about in the forest up ahead - right between them and the meadow where the Stargate was situated. He pulled up sharply in the cover of a dense copse, Daniel ran into him and tumbled into a thorny shrub.

'Gees, Jack! A little warning wouldn't go astray!' Grumbling, Daniel used Jack's arm as a lever to hoist himself out of the bush. Jack clamped a hand over Daniel's mouth and pulled him down to crouch beside him. Daniel blinked in alarm and Jack spoke quickly and lowly to reassure him.

'There's too many of them between us and the Stargate. We're going to have to wait it out. Just give me a minute okay.'

Daniel nodded and clamped a hand over his eyes so as not to give them away.

Jack spotted a likely looking tree just metres to their left. He waited until the closest beams had swept past them like searchlights, tucked Daniel under his arm and made a dash for the craggy tree, hoping like hell that it was hollow.

It was, with just enough room for the two men to squeeze inside.

Jack did a quick pat down, hoping that there were no snakes in this world and if there were, that they didn't make their homes in hollow trees. He shrugged off his jacket and laid it on the ground for them to sit on. Then he gently grabbed Daniel, who was standing stock still in the centre of the tree, unsure whether he could move or talk, and put pressure on his shoulders to indicate that he should sit down. Keeping one hand resting on Daniel's shoulder, Jack took one last look out at the surrounding forest, but the lights appeared to have moved away, for now. He breathed a sigh of relief and settled down on the ground next to his friend.

'Daniel,' Jack said, keeping his voice low, 'we're in a hollow tree, for the moment the creatures seem to have moved away. We're going to stay here the rest of the night and try to make it across to the gate in the morning.'

'How do you know they won't stick around in the daylight?' Daniel asked softly.

'Trust me Daniel, if you'd seen them, you'd pretty much assume they were nocturnal too.'

Daniel pulled his knees into his chest and leaned closer to Jack, seeking out the body warmth in the cool night air. Jack remembered his resolve and moved his arm around Daniel's shoulders.

'I wish I had seen them, just once.'

Jack was confused. 'Didn't you see them when we got caught? Straight after we gated here?'

Daniel shook his head sadly. 'All I saw were big flashes of light, then I was knocked out.'

'So you got two blasts of it. It's starting to make sense now.' Slowly Jack was putting together the pieces.

'Then you've gotta explain it to me Jack because I'm completely lost.' Daniel heaved a sigh and leaned in closer.

'Well, I'm no Carter, but the thing with these lamp-heads is, they've got these big bright eyes, kinda like spotlights, and when they look at you, there's this blast of bright light, right?

'Yeah....and....' Daniel prompted him.

'And, well, it must be designed to stun the prey, knock it out. I was wearing sunglasses, so it didn't work on me, but you, you lucky guy, got two doses. One when we were caught and another when you woke up.'

'So you're saying they didn't mean to hurt me.'

'Hang on, don't go giving them humanitarian medals just yet Daniel. It's just a theory. Isn't that what you always say?'

Daniel fell silent, contemplating. After a few minutes he lifted his face in Jack's direction and blinked rapidly a couple of times.

'Are they still glowing Jack?'

Jack studied the eyes offered to him generously. The colour had returned almost to normal, the glow was gone but it was replaced by a cloudiness, a kind of fog that bled out of the pupil. The rims were reddened and looked tender. As he gazed into them, tears welled up and washed over the misty blue centres, Daniel blinked and a trickle escaped down his cheek. Jack wiped it away with his thumb, cupping his hand around Daniel's chin.

'I think they're getting better, you don't look so much like a snake-head.' He chuckled to let Daniel know he was teasing, the younger man gave a weak smile in return.

Part 3

Resting his head back against Jack's shoulder, Daniel looked thoughtful. 'You know, since I've been unable to see, my other senses have become a lot more acute, even in such a short space of time.'

'Yeah? Like how?' Jack was relieved that Daniel seemed to be relaxing a little, so relieved he was even willing to humour him and pretend to be interested in geeky musings.

'I can hear much more. Not necessarily louder, but I can hear more sounds, even when it's silent, it's not really silent. As soon as we got out of those tunnels, I could hear the change in the air, and now, in this tree, I can hear you breathing and it's as clear as your voice.' He paused. 'I can't say I've ever listened to you breathe before.'

Self-consciously, Jack caught his breath, unwilling to give in to such close scrutiny. He wondered if Daniel had picked up the quickening in his breath a few minutes ago as the young man had snuggled into the crook of his arm.

Daniel chuckled. 'It's alright Jack, you can breath again, I promise I won't listen anymore. So that leaves me with three senses.'

Jack smiled and let out the breath. It was still a struggle to keep breathing normally though. He tried to talk to keep his mind off it. 'So what about those other three senses then? They getting any fun?'

Daniel rested his hand lightly on Jack's knee, fiddling with a fold in the material of his trousers.

'Well, my sense of smell has never been that great, you know, the allergy thing.' He shrugged. 'But um, sitting inside this tree, I am well aware we could both do with a shower, and I could probably pick what kind of aftershave you're wearing.'

'And that would be...?'

Daniel grinned. 'The same one you always wear.'

Jack's breathing quickened again. 'Oh, been paying close attention to my personal habits have we Dr Jackson?'

'No more than usual,' muttered Daniel, so low that Jack almost missed it, would have missed it, except that he was taking lessons from Daniel in the employment of his various senses.

'So that leaves touch...' Jack couldn't help but stiffen. It would be almost too much to hear Daniel's answer to that one.

'Well, with the way you've been pulling me about tonight Jack, I'd have to say that my sense of touch has had a bit of a workout.' He grinned ruefully.

'You didn't seem to mind,' Jack nudged him playfully, but Daniel suddenly turned serious.

'I didn't have much choice Jack.' Daniel's tone was cold.

Jack raised his eyebrows and was about to retort when Daniel shrugged again and nestled further into Jack's side. 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. I know I owe you for getting us out of there. Thanks, I do appreciate it.'

'No problem.' Jack tightened his arm around Daniel. 'I can't imagine how frightening it must be to suddenly be blinded. I'm glad you were able to trust me, I know I forgot to explain things to you a few times, but back there on the plateau I kinda decided that I'd keep some sort of physical contact with you at all times, so you wouldn't think I'd forgotten you.

'Oh, that's nice,' Daniel leaned his head to one side so that his cheek was just touching Jack's neck. He sighed. 'I think I could learn to appreciate touch more often.' Daniel was feeling brave, not being able to see Jack's expression was making him reckless. It was like how he could climb the ladder and forget his fear of heights because he couldn't see how high he was. It was the look of rejection or scorn, or worse, that Jack would probably wear, which had stopped Daniel from testing these waters before. He knew he would never be able to stand seeing the disgust in his friend's eyes if he revealed his true feelings. But in his current dark world, all he had to go on was the inviting arm around his body, the quick, hot breath over his head, the heart beating rapidly next to his own.

He slid his hand further up Jack's thigh, favouring the inner side. Jack shifted slightly, moving even closer. Daniel's hand slipped down between Jack's legs, he felt the vibrations as the older man suppressed a groan in his throat. That was a good sign. He delved further into the folds of the thick trousers where they bunched up at the top of Jack's thighs, courtesy of their cramped quarters.

'Oh I definitely think touch is one of the most underrated senses...' Jack intoned softly over Daniel's lowered head, and groaned again as Daniel's exploring fingers found what they had been searching for.

Daniel was surprised at how aroused Jack was already, the erection felt hard and strong through the coarse material. He rubbed tentatively at Jack's groin, enjoying the moans of appreciation from his friend. He almost gasped with surprise when he felt Jack's cock twitch forcefully in his fingers, slipping his hand down further, he cupped the firm balls in his palm, rubbed gently, then moved back up to the jutting erection. Still no protest from Jack, so Daniel guessed he could continue. If Jack wanted him to stop, then he'd have to have the guts to say it out loud. But Daniel tended to think his body was saying the opposite, much louder.

Jack couldn't believe his luck. He couldn't believe that Daniel was attracted to him too. He caught his breath as he felt Daniel start to fumble with his fly, his erection straining against his pants. This was moving way too fast for an old man, he thought, his mind spinning and begging him to slow down. Cupping his hand under Daniel's chin, Jack gently brought his head up so that they were at eye-level with each other. Daniel closed his eyes and sighed, his hand still rhythmically kneading at Jack's groin.

'You have one more sense Daniel....' Jack leaned in and hovered over those soft pink lips. Daniel's eyes shot open in alarm, his hand flew up and clamped over his mouth, just before Jack could kiss him.

'No, you can't!' He pulled back and dropped his hand from his mouth. 'You shouldn't kiss me.'

Okay, so now Jack was confused. What did Daniel want from him? 'Why not?'

'I think, they gave me something, maybe while I was unconscious, I remember licking my lips when I first woke up. I tasted something sweet, then it stuck my tongue to the roof of my mouth. It took ages to work it free, like glue, I've been avoiding touching my lips since then.'

Jack guided Daniel's face close to him again and studied his lips closely. They looked a little dry but that was all. 'I can't see anything, maybe that was it, now it's gone.'

Daniel closed his eyes and shivered in Jack's hold. Jack leaned in and nuzzled the young man's soft cheek. 'We won't know unless we try, and frankly, I can think of worse people to be glued at the lips with.'

Daniel's breath was moist and warm against Jack's fingers, his hand sought out Jack's body again, burrowing under the layers of clothing to reach smooth bare skin. Jack guessed that was permission to try granted and he gave a tentative lick with the tip of his tongue over the silky pink skin. He rolled the taste around in his mouth like he was judging a fine wine.

Daniel's brow furrowed with concern. 'How do I taste?' he inquired worriedly.

Jack mused. 'Sweet,' he answered finally, 'with a hint of something else I can't quite get a handle on, but I'm sure it will come to me if I taste some more.' He leaned in again but Daniel stopped him with another question.

'Not sticky then?'

Jack pretended to think about that. 'Not in my mouth,' he answered cheekily. Daniel grinned with relief and plunged his hand down under the waistband of Jack's trousers. Jack licked at his lips again and this time they parted and Daniel welcomed Jack's tongue into his exquisite mouth. Jack gorged himself on the taste of Daniel, sweeping his tongue around the sweet cavern, revelling in the shivers caused by the hot flickers of Daniel's swift tongue darting in and out of his mouth. He ran his hand round the back of Daniel's head and sank his fingers into the silky brown hair.

Despite not being able to see what he was doing, Daniel soon had Jack's belt and trousers undone and his erection bobbing free. Jack moaned into the kiss as he blissfully felt that tender hand move up and down his cock in swift, sure motions.

All too soon for Jack's liking, Daniel broke off the kiss and pushed him against the back of the hollow. He was panting slightly and when he spoke his voice was ragged.

'I want to touch you Jack.' 'I thought that was what we had going here... a kind of mutual, touching thing...' Jack replied, a little confused.

'No, I mean I really want to touch you, to sense you. Jack, I may never touch this intensely ever again. Will you let me?' He pushed up Jack's shirt and t-shirt and pressed his face against the bare chest, breathing in Jack's scent.

'Well, when you ask so nicely...' Jack was getting beyond speaking, it was as if Daniel had been flipping through his personal fantasy file and decided to enact them one by one. Daniel reverently fluttered his fingers slowly across Jack's chest, pausing to toy with the light fuzz of hair, sweeping over the distinctive ridges of muscle. He rubbed his cheek into the soft hair, his tongue seeking out the hard nub of erect nipple, lapping at it, nibbling delicately, until Jack thought he was going to pass out with the force of the internal heat coursing through his body.

Daniel's curious mouth moved downwards, meandering over stomach muscles, tonguing at his belly button, a swift hot flicker in and out, repeatedly, still reaching up with hands, who had missions of their own, waylaid with the exploration of Jack's chest. Jack knew he couldn't take it much longer and put his hands on Daniel's head, gently pressing downwards to let him know he was near the edge.

Daniel merely smiled and exhaled warm, moist air into Jack's groin as he peeled down his trousers. Jack braced himself against the tree as Daniel nuzzled at the twitching erection. He stared in fascination as Daniel breathed in, strongly inhaling the scent of Jack's arousal, then dabbed at the wet tip with one finger. He groaned as his lover finally embarked on the taste test, first nibbling at the tip, then taking long, languid sucks, moving right down the shaft and nuzzling his face into the fuzzy light curls of hair.

It didn't take Jack long to come. Daniel felt Jack swell in his mouth. He quickened his strong, swift pulls and sucked the salty explosion down his throat as Jack pulsed and came on his tongue. With one final deep inhalation, he let Jack guide him back up to be face to face, he reached out and with probing fingers found a mouth. Jack wrapped his lips around Daniel's fingertips and sucked them tenderly, one by one. Then Daniel leaned in and licked at Jack's lips as if that had become their signal 'let me in.' Jack's lips parted willingly and he felt lightheaded as he tasted himself, slightly bitter, on Daniel's sweet tongue.

Panting, he broke away from the kiss and looked into his lover's cloudy blue eyes.

'What can I do for you?'

Daniel smiled. He knelt up beside Jack and fumbled with his belt. Jack leaned over and took Daniel's hands in his. 'Let me do that. You've had all the fun so far,' he growled teasingly. He felt the strength of Daniel's arousal even before he freed the erection from the restrictive trousers and underwear. Letting the clothing fall to Daniel's knees and pushing up his shirt with one hand so he had a clear view, Jack admired the glistening cock for a moment before plunging his mouth down onto the shaft and gorging himself on the other, more savoury taste of Daniel. Swiping his tongue around the tip, he lapped up the moisture that had already gathered and gently applied pressure to the erection which swelled in appreciation of his attention. With his free hand, Jack slipped a finger up the inside of Daniel's thigh, to duck behind the tense balls after a quick fondle and probe mischievously at his tight opening.

Daniel groaned and quivered with pleasure, tensing around Jack's finger and twitching with approval in his mouth. Jack probed further and managed a quick swipe at the gland hidden high inside his lover which brought him to the brink of coming. A few strong sucks and Daniel was pulsing his orgasm into Jack who received the warm liquid enthusiastically.

With a final shudder, Daniel was spent and Jack pulled away from his groin, helping his lover who groped and fumbled for his trousers. Wrapping his arms around Daniel, Jack guided him down to cuddle next to him on the warm jacket. Daniel slipped his hand back up under Jack's shirt to rest against his warm skin, while he nestled his head on Jack's shoulder. Sleepily, Jack kissed the top of his head.

Feeling his lids grow heavy, Daniel shut his eyes and drifted off to sleep, this time, to the soft rhythm of his friend and lover's steady breathing.

~~~

Bright, hot sunlight streamed in to the hollow tree, waking the two men, curled around each other on a bed of leaves and a green airforce jacket. Daniel was the first to sit up, blinking and rubbing his watery eyes in the fierce sunlight... Sunlight !!...

He grabbed Jack by the shirt and excitedly shook him into awareness.

'Jack, Jack, it's daylight isn't it? Isn't it? It's a little foggy still, but I can see it!'

Jack ran his fingers through his hair and poked his head out of the tree. Trees, birds, blue sky, the Stargate twinkling in the distant meadow. Yes sir, it was indeed daylight. He shuffled back into the hollow where Daniel bounced about on his knees, barely containing his rapture at the restoration of his sight.

Jack caught hold of his bobbing head with both hands and studied his eyes intently. Still very red-rimmed, but now returned to their normal colour and liveliness, Jack sealed his approval with a kiss to the fluttering lid of each. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out his sunglasses. He pressed them into Daniel's hands.

'Now, you put these on, and you don't take them off until we are back in the SGC okay? That's an order.'

Daniel looked up in concern.

'But what about you?'

Jack gave a wry smile. 'Oh, I think I'll manage.'

He looked out of the hollow once more but the forest was empty. No rustling, no opal coloured lamp-heads beetling about.

'You know Daniel...'

'Yes Jack?'

'Remember last night....'

Daniel felt his cheeks redden and grow warm at the memory. 'Uh-huh.'

'You said you didn't think you'd be able to experience touch so intensely ever again. On account of it being heightened by your blindness.'

'Yes....'

'Well, remind me, when we get back to base, that there's a few tricks I need to teach you.'

Daniel raised his eyebrows. 'Tricks, Jack?'

'Uh, methods then. Anyway....' he held out his hand to his lover.

'Do you want to be leader this time?'

Daniel grinned and guided Jack out into the sunlight.

THE END