Daniel's Birthday Surprise

by Ghostdreamer 

Chapter 1

General Jack O'Neill replaced the handset with a self-satisfied smirk. He might be in Washington, but he could still make jump in Colorado, in fact, he said jump, they asked 'how high' bless 'em. Of course, he should have known that that black haired nut-job Vala would be waaaay ahead of him.

~~~~

In Sam's lab the four co-conspirators did a high five. Grins spread across their faces, even the normally stoic ex-first prime of Apophis sported a grin that Garfield would have been proud of.

"Now all we have to do is a). Keep sunshine occupied, and b). Come up with a reason that he'll buy for General O'Neill's presence." Lt. Colonel Cam Mitchell mused out loud.

Vala arched an eyebrow and drew in a breath earning herself a glare from the aforementioned Lt. Colonel.

"I was thinking more along the lines of a nice dig on a quiet planet." He said forestalling what was obviously going to be some outlandish suggestion from the former thief. She pouted and crossed her arms clearly feeling thwarted. Still, there'd be plenty of opportunity to get Daniel a little - well very tipsy at the party, and, if she had her way, alone afterwards.

"P5J996." Sam announced. "It's perfect. SG-11 checked it out last week, nothing there but some ruins, covered in inscriptions, and what they suspect is some kind of hall of records. General Landry was going to offer Daniel the chance to go there anyway, after the last couple of years..."

They all fell silent. The last two years had been tough, especially on Daniel. They still had a lot of work ahead of them, but for now, the remaining Priors hadn't posed a particular threat, and according to Ba'al/Adria, the Ori themselves had been destroyed.

"You think he'll buy it?" Cam asked. "I mean, it's been so long..."

Sam handed Cam some 8 x 10 glossies. "Oh try stopping him." She said smugly. Cam studied the pictures and grinned.

"Okay, so, we pack him off to Daniel Disney Land 2 here, but, how do we make sure he doesn't get himself in to one of his scrapes?"

"I will accompany DanielJackson." Teal'c intoned. "I will ensure that he remains in one piece, un-transformed in to an agent of the enemy, and most importantly, alive."

"That's a huge task you got yourself there muscles." Vala added. She had been unconvinced when she'd first began to hear of the trouble that Daniel seemed to attract, but having seen what he'd been through since she'd stepped through the Earth gate two years ago. Well, it's a miracle the guy wasn't in one of Earth's Institutes for the Insane.

"Well, if we can keep him off-world until the day of the party, we won't have to explain General O'Neill's presence." Sam pointed out.

"Okay, so, now all we have to do is come up with a plausible reason as to why we're not going as a team." Vala pointed out.

"I mentioned to him the other day that they've been hounding me at Area51 to help them with their research on Merlin's Phase Shifting device." Sam offered.

"And, I could really do with getting in some flying hours." Cam stated innocently.

"And, what about me then." Vala said petulantly. "It's not like I can say I'm just going to visit family, help Sam, or even go off world without arousing suspicion."

"Hmm, okay, how about..." Cam pondered looking deliberately bewildered.

"It's a tricky one Cam." Sam joined in.

"Indeed. ValaMalDoran has made it her goal to become attached to DanielJackson at the kran."

They all looked at Teal'c with a mixture of expressions.

"Kran...that would be...?" Cam said with a mischievous smirk.

"Hip." Vala interjected and then turned on Teal'c "And exactly what is THAT supposed to mean?" She demanded.

"Joined at the hip, it's an Earth expression Vala, it means that you spend most of your energy trying to stay as close to Daniel as you possibly can." Sam explained.

"Well. General Landry did tell him I was his responsibility. I mean, surely it's easier for him to keep an eye on me if I'm with him." She snapped defensively.

Cam and Sam laughed and Teal'c did what passed as an eyebrow raise of amusement.

"What?" Vala huffed irritably.

"For someone who can be so devious, Vala, you sure are easy to read at times." Cam grinned and gave her shoulders an affectionate squeeze.

"Okay, well, come on, you all have to admit that what Daniel needs is the love of a good woman." She confessed.

Sam spurted the swig of coffee she'd just taken half-way across her lab.

"What?" Vala was affronted.

"ValaMalDoran. You possess many admirable traits and qualities." Teal'c stated. "But being a female of virtue is not one of them."

"Okay, I guess you have a point. But a person can change you know." She drifted off dreaming of getting Daniel alone and in a 'mellow' mood after his surprise birthday party.

"Vala?" She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Oh, yes, sorry, I was just thinking. Maybe we could tell him I've got to go on some kind of course or something." She stammered.

"Well, unless anyone else can come up with anything better." She added realising they were all staring at her.

"Okay, so, we've got three days to get this thing planned. After all this will be the first time in ten years that he's actually been on base for his birthday." Sam said hoping that she wasn't tempting fate here.

"Yeah, let's see, year one he was on Abydos, year two presumed dead, year three phase shifted, year four, you all though you were workers on that ice planet, year five, undercover Goa'uld spy, year six, well..." Cam was interrupted by Sam.

"Let's not go there Cam eh." She said looking pained. Vala huffed impatiently.

"Year seven being held prisoner in some jungle on your world." She continued. "Year eight, trapped on that planet with that Lida person." She said with more than a hint of malice in her voice, "And last year, stuck on that same planet and almost executed." She finished.

"Well, thank you both for a potted version of the misadventures of Dr Daniel Jackson."

They all turned at sound of an extra voice.

"Dr Lam." Cam greeted the exotic looking CMO, and daughter of General Landry.

"That's not the half of it." Sam muttered darkly, feeling a little bad for resenting Dr Lam's presence as it only served to remind her that they no longer had Janet with them. She gave herself a mental shake, it wasn't Dr Lam's fault, it was no one's fault except that damned Jaffa who'd shot her.

"I understand that this will be the first years since the Stargate program began that Dr Jackson will, barring any form of intervention, actually be on Earth and in one piece, and I understand also that you are planning a surprise party for him, so, if you need any assistance to keep him occupied whilst you make your preparations, I am certain that I could find a reason to keep him confined to the infirmary should you need some time to make your final preparations." She announced with a conspiratorial smile. They were all surprised; they'd all tagged her as somewhat uptight and straight-laced.

"Well, There will be the time between him arriving back from his mission, and the actual party starting, we have a special surprise and were trying to think of a way to keep it a surprise." Sam said thoughtfully.

"A suspect contagion would mean that I could keep him isolated upon his return whilst I conduct tests." She offered.

"Carolyn, I never had you pegged as devious." Vala admitted a little begrudgingly. The cool headed Doctor merely inclined her head at the other woman's reluctant compliment.

"It's a bit mean though isn't it, keeping Daniel confined to the infirmary and making him think he could be carrying a pathogen." Sam said accusingly.

"Well, it's for his own good."

"What's for my own good?"

They all jumped as Daniel entered the room looking decidedly suspicious. Especially as his team mates appeared to be conspiring with Dr Lam, a woman who was generally regarded as somewhat aloof. How much had he heard!!!

"Err, you going to P5J996, it'll be like a holiday for you, all those lovely ruins and that Hall of Records to spend hours drooling over a bunch of dusty scrolls, me, I'd rather be soaking up the sun on a beach on Maui." Cam hedged.

"Well, are you sure you guys don't mind of I go then, I mean, It's been ages since I got the chance to just dig around in the dirt, and stare at rocks, to use a Jack-ism."

"Daniel, you've earned it." Sam said convincingly. "Besides, it'll give me the chance to go to Area51, and Cam needs to put in some flight hours, Teal'c wants to go with you, I think he feels the need for a break too, he said he found the appearance of the planet appealing, didn't you." Sam looked pointedly at Teal'c.

"Indeed I did DanielJackson. I believe that it will be an ideal location for me to - chill."

Daniel couldn't resist smiling at Teal'c's use of the slang word. Even after all these years, it still sounded odd when Teal'c did that.

"And, apparently, I've been booked on some course or other, naturally, I'd much rather be searching for hidden treasures with you." She purred as she moved in to Daniel's personal space. "But, now that I'm a fully fledged member of the SGC, I have to at least try to abide these ridiculous rules, one of which states that I have to complete a course in basic arms handling or some such ridiculous nonsense. Not that I need it of course, I'm more than capable, but, something called Health and Safety insists that I do."

The other three couldn't help but admire Vala's petulant tone and disdainful expression. She almost had them convinced.

"I guess I'd be lying if I said I'm not dying to have a look through that Hall of Records. Not that I won't miss you guys, of course." He added almost as an afterthought, his mind already on what he needed to take, if he had enough spare batteries and memory cards for his digital camera, would there be a way to power up his laptop.

"I'll er...catch you guys later...lunch..?" He muttered distractedly as he wandered off to his office.

"Well, that went well." Vala said brightly once they were certain he was out of earshot.

"Teal'c, you okay with babysitting Jackson for the next couple of days then?" Cam asked him.

"Indeed, however I do have one request, that you ensure that there are copious quantities of blueberry pie available at the festivities."

They all grinned and went their separate ways.

~~~~

Teal'c was striding along the corridor when he realised that Vala was dogging his heels. His attempts to ignore her failed, until he paused turned and stared at the feisty woman.

"You require my attention ValaMalDoran?" He drawled. Despite his outward appearance, he did like this lively woman, even though he knew that she made DanielJackson feel great irritation with her constant attempts to seduce him. Teal'c was well aware that his friend's desires lay elsewhere.

"Well, Muscles." She trailed a finger down one of his bared biceps. "I want to get Daniel something really special for his birthday, but..." The timbre of her voice changed to a whine..."I'm not allowed to go off-base alone, and besides which, I don't have any of your currency or those little plastic 'credit' card things. I mean, I could get a hold of one." Her eyes sparkled mischievously.

"But, you do not think that DanielJackson would appreciate you stealing his credit card for the purpose of purchasing him a gift." Teal'c finished for her.

"Exactly, so, I wondered, could you take me shopping, I'll reimburse you, we have all afternoon, pleeeease." She batted her eyelashes at him. He sighed.

"Could not ColonelCarter or ColonelMitchell accompany you on such a trip?" He asked.

"Sam's sooo boring, all she wants to look at is books and sciencey things. Cam, well, he gets too distracted eyeing up Earth women. Come on Teal'c it'd be fun, I'll buy you dinner." She cajoled.

"I see, your request for a shopping trip has escalated in to a dinner invitation, for which I will be footing the bill." He drawled.

"Well, only until I can get to this planet I know where there's this huge cache of treasure that I found out about just before I came to Earth. I can reimburse you with some extra for you trouble." She favoured him with a wink. Teal'c was extremely doubtful about this cache of which she was talking, but, he recalled how restricted he'd been at first, and it was ultimately for DanielJackson's benefit.

"Very well, ValaMalDoran, I will clear it with General Landry and take you to Colorado Springs, they have a repository of books that I know that DanielJackson enjoys browsing, I am certain that you will find a suitable purchase for him within."

"Books! I'm not buying Daniel a book, he has more books than anyone person could ever need, oh no Teal'c, I have something far more exciting in mind."

Teal'c groaned inwardly, he was sure whatever it was, DanielJackson would hate it, and it would put quite a hole in his credit.

"I tried purchasing on your world wide web, but without a credit card, I could not, besides which, I need to look for something to wear."

Teal'c almost groaned aloud. Clothes shopping was not on his list of things he must do whilst living among the Tau'ri.

General Landry duly gave his permission for their trip, knowing that Teal'c would be off-world for the next two days, and also because, if any one could keep an eye on their resident raven haired whirlwind, it would be the stoic jaffa.

He took Teal'c aside and assured him that the SGC would fully reimburse of for any monies he spent on behalf of Vala, after all, by rights she should be drawing a pay-check.

~~~

Hours later Teal'c's usually inexhaustible patience was - well - exhausted.

"I was under the impression that you had already decided what you were going to purchase for DanielJackson." He said with a hint of impatience in his voice, a hint in his case was the equivalent of all out frustration in a normal person.

"Well, I changed my mind, I decided that upon having seen the item in the flesh, it didn't look so good."

Teal'c rolled his eyes heavenwards and hefted the vast number of bags that he was carrying for Vala. Somewhere among them was the item he had purchased. A small representation of a totem, which he had discovered was reputed to protect the owner from predators, and, in his opinion, DanielJackson needed all the protection he could get from the one who was currently drooling over a 1969 black Corvette Stingray in a car sales showroom.

"Do you think Daniel would like that, it kind of reminds me of me." She said. Teal'c looked at the price sticker. $20,000, he was fairly certain General Landry's offer of reimbursement did not extend that far. Although, he had to admit, it was rather a good-looking example of Tau'ri transportation.

"Are you aware that $20,000 is considered a great deal of money by the Tau'ri, DanielJackson would be most embarrassed at being presented with such a gift."

Vala huffed and pouted. Truth was she had no idea as to what to get Daniel. He seemed to have no interest in possessions as such, only musty old books and dusty old artefacts, and as far as she was concerned, what was even worse was the fact that he had absolutely no interest in their monetary value . Teal'c kept insisting that he valued friendship and loyalty above material things, a concept that she still had trouble dealing with.

"There is something that perhaps would please DanielJackson." Teal'c said thoughtfully. Vala perked up and he led here to a cook's store. Vala raised an eyebrow in enquiry.

"Do you trust me, ValaMalDoran." She thought for a moment and decided that she did.

He led her past the displays of crockery, glassware, pots and pans to a section at the rear filled with strange devices. One of which reminded her of something she'd seen a few years back on a planet ruled by Ba'al. She'd never discovered its purpose, but the human slaves had been terrified of it.

"I believe that this is a gift that DanielJackson would find it most difficult to refuse." He indicated another large very shiny structure sitting proudly on a table.

"Teal'c, what in the name of Ra would Daniel want with a symbiote stasis unit!" She asked, horrified.

"That is not a symbiote stasis unit, although, I can see the similarity, now that you have brought it to my attention. It is in fact a device for creating DanielJackson's favourite brew, but, perhaps it would inadvisable to inform him of your observation."

Vala smiled widely at her stoic companion, however, she was struck by a thought.

"Surely Daniel already has a coffee maker?"

"Indeed he does, but it has become inactive due to overuse, he was only remarking last week that he needs to replace it with a more efficient design."

Vala was convinced. Teal'c paid for the machine and an assistant helped carry it to the pool car they'd been lent.

Chapter 2

Daniel was a little put out. It seemed that his team had been going out of their way to avoid him since yesterday, and, when he'd called Jack in Washington, he'd been told that the General had gone on a few days vacation. Something that he was surprised to find hurt him a little. Jack had been pestering him for months to go to the cabin with him, and, he was owed about 5 years worth of vacation time, well, maybe that was a slight exaggeration, and, he thought it might have been nice to spend his birthday somewhere peaceful, and with his best friend whom, much as tried to deny it to himself, he missed terribly. Now he was heading off world with only one member of his team. Teal'c. He hoped they'd be back by Sunday, as he planned to ask the rest of SG-1 and a couple of others out for a little celebratory dinner or something. This was, after all the first time he would actually be on Earth since he joined the SGC. Well, even before that if you counted his year on Abydos where birthdays weren't regarded as anything particularly special.

"DanielJackson, you appear to be a little subdued." Teal'c remarked.

"Nah I'm fine Teal'c, thanks, just seems a bit weird, us going off-world without the others."

Teal'c regarded his friend.

"Indeed, however, I sense that a respite from the attentions of ValaMalDoran may be welcome. She still conducts herself as if you are bound to each other by the bracelets."

Daniel sighed. It wasn't that he didn't like Vala, he certainly respected her for the way she'd tried so hard to adapt and fit in, and her courage and intelligence certainly weren't in question. Neither was her loyalty or conviction. It was just...he pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind. He wasn't even going to go there. Maybe, he should try and make a go if it with Vala, it wasn't like women who didn't have some hidden agenda were exactly throwing themselves at him. At least she seemed sincere in her attraction to him, maybe, perhaps, possibly, crap, how did he tell anymore? Why, just once, couldn't life be easy, why was he still nursing this ridiculous attraction to one certain USAF General who currently resided in Washington, and was straight as the proverbial die?

The wormhole engaged with its customary 'kawoosh', and General Landry gave he, Teal'c and the other three archaeologists who were going with them, the go ahead and a warning to take care. Well, at least he had a pleasant couple of days ahead of him. That Hall of Records was calling to him like a siren's song, he should just quit feeling sorry for himself and enjoy this rare opportunity to peruse the scrolls and books without the usual pressures.

Cam, Sam and one other stood in the shadows at the rear of the control room.

"Is it me, or did our ray of sunshine seem a little down?" Cam said to no one in particular.

Jack, who had literally just arrived, had also noticed, and, he'd received a call from his office, that Daniel had called, and there had also been a message from him on his cell phone. He'd been quite cut up at how desolate Daniel had sounded beneath his 'cheery' façade. Hopefully, when he got back and realised why they'd all been avoiding him, it would make it all better.

"He'll be fine Cam." Sam assured her team-mate. "He's probably just wondering why we've all been apparently avoiding him since lunch yesterday."

"Yeah, well, all the stuff Vala has decided we need won't order itself." Cam pointed out.

Jack watched his two friends depart through the gate with narrowed eyes. Despite Teal'c's assurances, he had this nagging feeling that Daniel was going to get in to some kind of trouble or other. He always did, even nowadays, and, despite the fact that he was a perfectly competent soldier, and more than capable of defending himself, and those he was with.

"Sir? Did you bring..." Sam asked him, breaking in to his thoughts.

"Do bears...forget that Carter, of course I did. I may be completely grey now, that last little scrape Daniel got in to ended any chance of me retaining what few non-grey hairs I may have still had, but the minds still as razor sharp as ever." He decided to ignore his former 2IC's smirk.

"Okay, we've got till the day after tomorrow to get every thing ready. Teal'c will make sure Daniel keeps out of trouble, and Hayes, Dawson and Johnson are in on the gig too." Cam announced. "What is it that was so important that you brought, Sir?" His curiosity was piqued for sure.

"You'll find out when everyone else does Mitchell." Jack responded enigmatically. "He has no idea, does he Carter."

"No Sir." She assured him.

"Right, lets go see what the canteen staff have planned." Jack said and headed to the stairs.

~~~~

"Teal'c. Have I done anything to piss off the others?" Daniel asked as he made notations in his journal.

"What makes you think that DanielJackson?"

"Well, maybe I'm being paranoid, but I just got the impression that they were avoiding me yesterday, in fact, where were you all afternoon?"

"I was assisting ValaMalDoran on her trip in to Colorado Springs. General Landry granted her permission to go on a purchasing spree, but as she is not permitted to drive, and does not have access to currency, I was charged with the task of chaperoning her and assisting her with her purchases."

"Oh right." Daniel wasn't sure whether he felt snubbed, or that he'd been let off the hook somehow.

"Ms MalDoran is an extremely frustrating individual with which to undertake such a task, she is constantly distracted, is incapable of reaching an swift decision, and finds the other women of the Tau'ri worthy of the cruel side of her wit."

Daniel decided he'd definitely been let off the hook. His idea of shopping was browsing in the book store, spending time examining his purchases in the coffee shop, and, and this was only when necessity dictated, dashing through the men's clothing store as quickly as possible.

"Did, errrr, did Jack mention anything about taking a vacation when you spoke to him last?" He asked hesitantly and, he hoped, casually.

"He did not, however, I would not expect O'Neill to appraise me of his intentions regarding his personal life."

At that moment Hayes called Daniel over to take a look at some particularly ancient and fragile looking documents. Although there was nothing Earth shattering to be found in the Hall of Records, as an anthropologist and linguist, Daniel found everything fascinating, and was thoroughly enjoying what almost amounted to a mini-break in his book.

Caught up in the dilemma of how best to preserve these delicate documents, whilst being able to attempt to transcribe them made him forget his concerns at his friend's behaviour. It was only when night fell, and they were sitting around the fire they'd built in the hearth in one of the less ruined buildings, did his feelings of insecurity descend upon him once more. It was his turn on watch, SOP decreed that even on a proven to be safe planet, protocols must be adhered to. The others were asleep in the smaller chambers that led off from this main room. Even Teal'c was catching some zzs. Something he still found odd even after three years of him no longer having to perform kel-no-reem.

It was in the silence that he realised that it wasn't so much the behaviour of SG-1 that was bothering him, it was Jack and his sudden and unannounced decision to go on vacation that was at the root of his feelings of hurt. Jack had been constantly hounding him to take a break and go to the cabin with him for months now, maybe he'd just got bored with his excuses, if you could call fighting the Ori, trying to help quell another war between Caledonia and the Rand Provinces, attempting to find Merlin's weapon, being kidnapped and priorized, excuses, he thought to himself somewhat bitterly, and of course, that was only the tip of the iceberg. Surely Jack understood that.

He'd been looking forward to spending some time with his long time friend, catching up, just enjoying his company, engaging in banter, arguing about what to watch on TV, what toppings to have on the pizza. All the things they used to do all those years ago. He wanted to recapture something of what they used to have before he ascended, before that awful last year beforehand, and that they'd almost returned to before Jack had accepted the transfer to Washington. Not usually a one to dwell on the past, he indulged himself for a while. His thoughts then drifted towards what could have been, another road he usually tried to avoid treading. What ifs were destructive and achieved nothing. He was never going to have the kind of relationship he really wanted with Jack. He should just forget those thoughts and get on with his life.

Even though, it was nice to imagine, if anyone had the slightest idea as to why he'd never embarked upon another relationship after Shau'ri, well... better not go there.

So deep in thought was he, that he didn't here Dawson come to relieve him.

"Hey Dr Jackson, time for you to get some shut eye." The young scientist informed him as he poured himself a mug of what passed as coffee.

"Daniel." Daniel smiled. No matter how many times he told them, these younger members of his department just couldn't bring themselves to call him anything other than Dr Jackson. A hangover from their University days he figured. He'd been exactly the same with Professor Jordan.

"Watch out for the moths, they're huge here and have a tendency to get in your hair." He warned the younger man, indicating his bandanna as he rose and made his way to his chosen sleeping chamber.

Sleep came quickly, the air on this world was fresh and bracing, even in the Hall of Records, which had surprised him as the building had been sealed for countless centuries. It had given him cause for concern, books and scrolls needed certain conditions to remain in any kind of state of preservation, and yes, some were quite badly degraded. But, more than he'd expected were almost pristine. A mystery, but a good one, he figured.

Morning came with the smell of freshly brewed coffee and torrential rain. Fortunately, the building they'd chosen for their camp was relatively waterproof. The Hall of Records was sound, so he had no worries about the documents being drenched. However, the route back to the 'gate was a different matter. The 'gate was set in a depression in the ground. A stream ran alongside the track, and the 'gate itself was mounted on a plinth in the centre of what looked like what may have been a small lake at some point in the past. Judging by the standing water, it had been raining for quite a while.

"Teal'c, I think it might be an idea to check out conditions around the 'gate." He suggested as he hunkered down and accepted the steaming mug that Teal'c handed him.

"Indeed DanielJackson, I was about to embark on that very mission, it is my belief that the area around the Stargate may be susceptible to flooding."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Daniel said moving to the doorway and staring through the rain at the distant mountains.

"If it's raining up there too, it's likely that the water will be making it's way down here, there could be a chance of flash floods. We might well have to abandon the site before the 'gate gets submersed." He advised, wondering why the Stargate had been placed in such a vulnerable position.

Teal'c cocked an eyebrow. The plans back at the SGC depended upon them remaining here until tomorrow morning. However, it would be foolish to risk being stranded should the 'gate be submersed, not to mention the repercussions if the carefully laid plans of their friends were for nothing.

"I'll come with you Teal'c." Daniel announced draining his mug and refilling it straight away. "This is great coffee by the way, did you sneak some French roast with you?"

"I do not enjoy the coffee that the SGC supplies either." Teal'c confessed.

"Okay, this does not look good." Daniel said as they stood at the edge of the depression. Water had filled the ancient lake and was spilling over the edges. The DHD was already almost completely underwater, and the base of the plinth on which the 'gate stood was barely visible. To make matters worse, the track between the 'gate and the ruins wound it's way through a narrow gorge, and, when he looked closely, he could make out markings on the walls that indicated that the water levels in the past had been high enough to render the 'gate underwater and inaccessible. However, the lack of vegetation and animal life also indicated that there hadn't been much rain on this world for a very long time. Maybe since before the 'gate had been placed in it's current location. He had seen indications in one of the scrolls that the 'gate hadn't always stood where it did now.

"We're going to have to head out straight away." He decided as a clap of thunder rent the skies. Lightening flickered and the rain continued. The skies were leaden, indicating that this was no sudden shower.

"Come on, let's tell the others. The Hall of Records will be safe, it's on that rise, well above any flood levels in the past he added indicating the watermarks on the rocks . I did wonder, usually it would be the residence of the leader of the community who commanded the most elevated position. But, these people apparently valued the written word above all else."

"I am certain that once the floodwaters have subsided, you will be permitted to conclude your exploration of this place." Teal'c reassured him.

~~~~~

"Unscheduled off-world activation!" Walter's voice announced over the tannoy. Sam looked up from her task in shock.

"Daniel's expedition is the only team off-world at the moment." She pointed out. "And they aren't due back till tomorrow morning!"

Jack felt a chill. Early return usually meant trouble. Hell, Daniel on a mission without SG-1 usually meant trouble.

"Carter, go and find out what the problem is, and, assuming they're only coming back 'cos they got bored, find a way to keep Daniel in the infirmary or something. Lam said she'd cooperate didn't she?"

"She did, Sir, we kind of hoped it wouldn't come to that. You know how much Daniel hates being stuck in the infirmary."

Jack sighed, cruel it may be, but if this surprise party was to be a surprise, it was their only course of action. If Daniel was allowed to wander around the SGC, he was sure to suspect something, nosey little bugger that he was. They'd spent far too long planning this, ensuring that they would all be on base, that he could get away from that damned boring desk job in Washington, just to make up for eleven years, and not to mention how many before that, missed birthdays. It was the least he could do for Daniel. He wanted to do so much more, but, he couldn't without giving the game away. He'd spent too many years accepting that he could never have the kind of relationship he wanted to have with Daniel, hell, he'd been that close to giving in when Daniel had beamed him on the Odessey. Seeing his Danny all priorised had scared the crap out of him. Hell, everything that Daniel had done since he'd left the SGC had scared the crap out of him. How many times had he written his request for reassignment back to the SGC. He needed to be here, keeping an eye out for Daniel, not stuck behind some desk reading about the scrapes the secret love of his life kept getting in to.

~~~~

Sam's eyes widened in shock as she entered the control room, there seemed to be a tidal wave flooding through the event horizon.

"It's Dr Jackson's team Colonel, I'm not sure about the water though." The diminutive Tech Sergeant announced.

"Get med teams down the stat, and a crew to deal with the water, better tell them hazmat, we have no idea as to whether that's just water, or something else." She finished in a doom-laden voice. She could make out the five figures who'd literally been washed through the 'gate and cursed out loud. Every fibre of her being wanted to rush down there, but common sense told her to be cautious. They had no idea of knowing if the 'water' was safe. The SFs who were already down there, and therefore exposed, were helping the four drenched men to their feet. They were all coughing and spluttering and heaving for breath. The med teams arrived and she organised tech's to check out the liquid.

"Colonel?" She turned and told General Landry what she knew.

"I see, you made the right decision then Colonel. We can't be too careful." He assured her. He'd learned very quickly that nothing, no matter how ordinary it seemed at first glance, could be taken at face value.

~~~~

Daniel coughed up what seemed a Lake Eerie's worth of water.

"It's just water, I don't need to go to the infirmary, all I need is a hot shower and some dry clothes." He spluttered for what seemed the hundredth time.

"Nevertheless Dr Jackson, all of you, including the SFs will have to be checked out, just in case." The stern Dr Lam insisted. "Now are you going under your own steam or do I have to have you strapped to a gurney."

With a sigh of resignation, which turned rapidly in to a bout of coughing. Daniel followed the CMO. She could be just as bad as Janet at times, He thought with a pang of sorrow. He still missed her, they all did.

Once satisfied that all that had come through the 'gate was water. Sam reported to Jack and the others and went to get an update from Dr Lam.

"Well, I can use the premise of testing them for toxins from the water, but, there really is no reason to detain any of them." She told her. Sam's gaze flickered to Daniel who was sitting on one of the beds looking extremely put out.

"However." The attractive dark haired woman continued archly, "Teal'c did tell me that Dr Jackson swallowed a great deal of water when the first wave of the flash flood hit, and, that cough could indicate some fluid in his lungs, perhaps it would be best if he was to stay in overnight for observation."

"It's you decision of course Dr Lam, we all have Daniel's best interests at heart." Sam agreed in an equally arch tone.

Daniel watched as Sam approached him.

"So Daniel, what happened?" She perched on the bed opposite.

"Well." He began trying to get the water out of his ears. "Rain, a lot of it, I surmised that there was a strong likelihood that the area around the 'gate might be susceptible to flooding, and I could see it was raining up in the mountains. So, we headed to the gate, the DHD was already submerged, more or less, I figured that it would be best if we got through while we still could, I managed to dial home, but, just as I was hitting the final symbol we were hit by the precursor to the flood. I managed to complete dialing, but the main flood hit us just as we were coming through. I'm fine, we're all fine, just got a little wet, that's all."

"Well, let me be the judge of that Dr Jackson. You are exhibiting signs of water in your lungs, I'm going to start you on broad spectrum antibiotics, in case of infection, the last thing you want is to come down with a bout of pneumonia do you." She fixed him with a stare Janet would have envied.

"But, I feel absolutely fine, well, I will do when I've been allowed to shower and change." He added petulantly.

"By all means, there's a set of scrubs ready for you in the bathroom." She nodded toward the infirmary bathroom. "While you shower and change, I'll inform General Landry that I'm keeping you in for observation." She added crisply.

Daniel huffed and pouted but his desire to be out of these uncomfortably damp clothes overrode his need to object, for now. He hopped off the bed and realised he was the only one being detained, in fact, apart from Siler, who was being treated for yet another electrical burn, he was the only present inmate.

"Dr Jackson." Carolyn responded to his query on the matter. "You are the only one who inhaled half a lake, therefore, you are the only one who needs observing."

Daniel sighed and complied. Maybe Sam would bring him his laptop. He asked and permission was granted.

"Well, I'll grab your laptop, but I'm afraid I can't hang around, got to go off to Area 51, but I'm glad you made it back in one piece. I'm sure Dr Lam will release you after an overnight stay." She squeezed his shoulder, and gave him a reassuring smile, but, he could see that her mind was already elsewhere.

~~~~

"Well?" Jack enquired when Sam finally returned to the comm. where preparations were well under way.

"He's fine Sir, just a little wet, and very put out that not only does he have to stay in overnight, but, that he's the only one of the five who have to do so."

"The Doc gonna slip him a mickey, make sure he doesn't make a run for it during the night?"

"Sir, Dr Lam would never resort to such methods, although, she has slipped a light sedative in with his 'antibiotics', that should make him sleep well." In truth, he was only on a saline drip, with a few vitamins added just for good measure.

Jack decided that when it came to being devious, women definitely had the edge over men. Poor Danny, he mused, still, this party would more than make up for him being stuck in the infirmary.

Chapter 3

Sam looked around and wondered whether it had been a wise move letting Teal'c and Vala choose the theme, in fact, whose idea had been to have a 'theme' in the first place. For some reason they'd chosen a seventies disco look. Teal'c and Mitchell were busily engaged in hoisting a massive glitter-ball up in to the centre of the room. A platform had been raised complete with coloured lighted panels a la 'Saturday Night Fever' She looked at Jack who rolled his eyes theatrically.

"I am NOT wearing a white suit with flares." He announced firmly. "Whose bright idea was it to let that con-woman loose in the internet, anyway." He glared at Vala who was busy making a huge 'Birthday Banner' complete with glitter and flashing lights.

"Well, if nothing else, it'll certainly be a sight to remember, I'd better go and fix up the dry ice machine." She added with a cheeky grin. Jack groaned. He knew his friend, and Daniel would hate all this, a few friends, some wine, and a few nibbles would have been more than sufficient. But Vala had gone all out. Ah well, he supposed the guy did have thirty odd years of missed birthdays to make up for, and, on the plus side, if they got invaded by hostiles right now, they'd probably take one look at all this, and run screaming for the nearest black hole.

"How's Siler, by the way?" He asked before she vanished.

"Oh, he'll be fine Sir. He said he's used to it by now."

Jack recalled that Siler and electricity seemed to have a love hate relationship. The man was a whiz with anything mechanical and electrical, yet was constantly suffering electrical burns. It had become a bit of a standing joke in the SGC. He decided that the 'kids' were handling things pretty well on their own, with Daniel safely ensconced in the infirmary, he decided to hole up in the VIP suite for a while. Besides which, he had a little surprise or two of his own for Daniel. He wished he could stop by and say hi, he hadn't seen him since that whole prior incident, but he wanted to keep his presence a surprise.

Once in the peace and quiet of the VIP suite that Landry had let him use for the duration of his stay, he pulled out the gift he intended to give Daniel after the party, preferably when they were alone. It had taken a bit of tracking down, and a lot of research, but he was more than satisfied with the results. Luckily, Catherine Langford's niece had come up trumps and let him rummage amongst the personal effects of her aunt's that she'd kept, and, he'd managed to track down the unit where Nick Ballard's stuff had been put in to storage after he'd decided to stay with the crystal skull aliens. Being a General in Washington did have some perks, he thought, smiling to himself.

~~~~

Daniel was not in the best of moods. He'd been told that the comm. was being treated for an ant infestation, so there was only very a very limited selection of food available, and, even worse, only instant coffee. He couldn't help wondering how ants had managed to get all the way down here. No one had stopped by to see him since Sam had dropped off his laptop. Dr Lam kept adjusting the, as far as he was concerned, totally unnecessary IV. She'd muttered something about precautions, lung infection, and dehydration. He'd been almost drowned, taken in enough water to put out a forest fire, so how on Earth could he possibly be dehydrated !!!

Night came and he found himself feeling unaccountably sleepy. Boredom, he figured, and drifted promptly off to sleep.

~~~~

Jack tossed and turned, there was something about the VIP suites that made sleep always come slowly for him, probably the lack of windows, natural light and fresh air. He was beginning to wish he'd booked in one of the hotels in the Springs, or, better still, had kept on his house instead of selling it. He also felt a little guilty that they'd all gone to O'Malleys for dinner, while Daniel was stuck in the infirmary. However, it had given him a chance to probe Vala about how she really felt about Daniel, apparently, very much. She'd also kept hinting at some 'surprise' she had planned for him at the party, but no amount of alcohol, or carefully worded questions could pry the information from her. He had a feeling whatever it was, poor Danny was going to be horribly embarrassed.

It had been a great evening as it transpired, the first time he'd socialised with Mitchell and Vala. He had to admit, Vala was fun, bubbly, vibrant, and extremely intelligent and could hold her own with the best of them. Maybe, she was just what Daniel needed. Someone to remind him that there was more to life than studying rocks and chicken scratches, risking his life every five minutes, and when he wasn't doing that, beating himself up because he thought he'd let someone or other down. In a way, he thought, maybe, she was possibly what he would have been like had he been a female.

~~~~

Daniel woke up early. He grudgingly admitted to himself that he'd just had the best nights sleep he'd had for ages. He felt rested, refreshed, and certainly not like someone who should be stuck in the infirmary. He voiced that opinion to the nurse who brought him some breakfast.

"Dr Lam has to sign you off, she won't be in until midday I'm afraid. She just wants to ensure that you are not released prematurely, I can have some of your research brought to you, if you like."

Daniel realised it wasn't the nurse's fault he was stuck in here. He forced a smile and scribbled a list, which she promised to pass on to Nayan.

~~~~

While they were finishing 'doing up' the comm. Vala had mysteriously disappeared. Jack was convinced it was to do with the 'surprise' to which she had been alluding last night, but every one he asked denied any knowledge of her whereabouts or what she was up to.

Bra'tac and Ry'ac arrived on time. There was no way they were missing out on a Tau'ri celebration, curiosity of nothing else provided motivation. Jack just hoped Ba'al wouldn't stop by for old times sake. He was impressed at the program Carter had written that would automatically direct any emergencies to the Alpha Site. Short of an all out Ori invasion, nothing was going to halt their plans. The Alpha site had been briefed, and was more than capable of handling most things, and happy to help out for such a cause. Jack couldn't help feeling proud that 'his' Danny inspired such good feelings in everyone.

The day flew by, the catering staff were having a ball being able to prepare something other than the usual commissary fare. For once, alcohol was being supplied to all attendees who were off-duty, those whose shifts coincided with this unprecedented event, would have to abstain off course. There was not a single member of the SGC who objected to the base being put in to chaos in order to spring this surprise.

~~~~~

Daniel was bored senseless, even the research Nayan had brought him was failing to hold his attention. He'd been told that Dr Lam had been unavoidably detained. Lunch again was a Spartan affair, the comm. still being out of action due to the 'ant' infestation, something that he was not quite convinced about. He was not only bored, he was growing more and more annoyed at being confined here simply because his attending physician had got herself stuck in traffic, or whatever the excuse was. He was also beginning to grow suspicious. However, unless he could hold of General Landry, or Dr Lam turned up, he was stuck here. He had considered discharging himself, but, for one reason, and one reason only, he hadn't. He didn't want to get the nurse in to trouble. She was new to the base, and terrified that she wouldn't come up to scratch, as she'd confided in him over lunch. There was no way he was going to be the cause of her getting in to trouble.

~~~~~

Jack stood back and surveyed the scene. The comm. was unrecognisable. It looked like it had come straight out of 'Saturday Night Fever' whoever had let Teal'c and Vala choose the theme could find themselves posted somewhere very cold and very wet.

"Sir, well, what do you think, not to over the top, is it?" Sam asked him, biting her lower lip. She was definitely of the opinion that it was. She'd envisioned some streamers and balloons, maybe a banner, but this...

"Yes Carter, it is waaaay over the top, but, it's too late to do anything about it now." They were interrupted by a 'whoop' from Mitchell.

"Whoa guys, this is great, reminds me of my High School prom, Jackson's gonna freak." He said with a positively evil grin. Jack rolled his eyes and Sam looked a little sheepish.

People were beginning to congregate now and the pile of presents was growing to mountainous proportions. Now that, Jack felt darned good about. Daniel deserved to see how fond of him every one was. Maybe this would turn out alright after all.

"Mitchell, you got any idea what Vala's got planned?" He asked the younger man.

"Nope, she's keeping that one close to her chest, I know Teal'c's in on it though, but, trying to get anything out of him..."

"Blood out of a stone, easier to get a dead man to talk, yadda yadda yadda." Jack supplied.

"You know that better than me, Sir." Cam admitted. Jack sighed. Even after ten years among the 'Tau'ri' Teal'c still found an almost childish delight in the things Earth folk got up to, Vala would have re-ignited his interest in the 'strange ways of the Tau'ri.' Ahh well, Daniel had survived system lords, destroyers of worlds, drug dealer princesses, rohypnol breathing goa'uld bitch queens, surely an evening of cringing embarrassment wouldn't kill the guy!

Chapter 4

Daniel let out an audible sigh of relief when Carolyn arrived in the infirmary. Now, he could finally get out of here and, preferably go home.

"Okay, all your tests have come back fine, lungs appear to be clear, temp and bp normal, I see no reason to detain you here any longer."

"I could have told you that twenty four hours ago." Daniel snapped, his patience having run out long ago.

"I've sent someone to fetch you some clothes. Apparently, there was an incident in the locker room, I'm afraid all the clothing that was in the lockers need to be de-contaminated."

Daniel frowned and snapped a little more harshly then he intended. "Wha...ants in the comm. an 'incident' in the locker room, why do I feel that there's something going on here?" The exotically attractive CMO raised an eyebrow at his outburst.

"Dr Jackson, you of all people should appreciate that things happen. As soon as someone finds you some clothes, you may go. Unless of course, you wish to roam the corridors of the SGC in scrubs."

"Okay, I'll wait." He conceded grudgingly, at least he had his laptop, after his earlier bout of sulking, he'd spent the time catching up on a backlog of work. At least that was a plus side to his enforced, and he was convinced bogus stay in the infirmary. He still thought something was going on, he now wanted to find out what.

An hour later Nayan brought him some clothes. He eyed up the selection with suspicion.

"These aren't mine."

"No, I'm sorry Daniel, there was not time for me to find your house and fetch clothing of your own, Colonel Mitchell kindly donated these."

Daniel decided that made sense, since he'd moved house recently and Nayan didn't know where he now lived. It did occur to him that surely Mitchell's clothes should have been affected by this so-called locker room incident, but he was more eager to get out of here than play twenty questions with Nayan. At least he and Mitchell were roughly the same size. He waited for Nayan to scurry away and went in to the bathroom to grab a shower and shave and to dress. Once dressed, he hunted down the young nurse and apologised for having given her a hard time. He was a little perplexed when she blushed and giggled like a schoolgirl. He then grabbed his laptop and headed to his office, intending to pick up some files and head off home. He supposed he ought to stop by on General Landry first, just to let him know that he was heading off, and maybe, see if he could snag a days holiday, he still had some unpacking to do, and with the rest of SG-1 away, which begged the question, how come Teal'c hadn't stopped by for a visit, there wasn't a mission scheduled for a few days.

He was surprised to find General Landry absent from his office. Walter was nowhere to be found either, there was an unfamiliar face manning the control room. He stopped by Teal'c's quarters, but the jaffa was not there, he'd actually been intending to ask if he'd like to come to his place for pizza, seeing it was his birthday. He'd have liked to ask the others, but they were all off doing whatever it was they'd said they were doing. He sighed, oh well, he'd kind of gotten out of the habit of celebrating his birthday anyway. Feeling a little low, he made his way to the elevator, Dr Lam knew he was heading home; she'd make Landry aware of that fact, he figured.

When he entered the elevator he was pleased to find Teal'c in there.

"Hey, Teal'c, I was beginning to think the entire SGC was deserted." He said with a smile.

"DanielJackson." The jaffa responded. "I am pleased to see that you have been released from the infirmary. Perhaps you would care to partake in a meal with me." He offered. Daniel thought for a moment.

"Well, I was thinking of getting home and ordering in some pizza, maybe you'd like to join me, my treat, seeing it's my.." Teal'c cut him off before he could finish.

"Much as I would enjoy being your guest and having pizza purchased for me, I do have plans."

"Oh." Daniel said in a small voice. Of course, just because SG-1 tended to spend at least eighty five percent of their time together, didn't mean that Teal'c, or any of them come to that, didn't have a life.

"Okay, Teal'c, I'll take you up on that offer of a meal in the comm. I take it the 'ant' problem's been dealt with then?"

That almost caught Teal'c out, then he realised that must have been something that the infirmary staff had told him to account for the scant offerings that were available while the preparations had been going on.

The elevator stopped at the appropriate floor and they both alighted.

"What's up with the lights Teal'c?" Daniel had noticed that the corridor was very dimly lit.

"I believe that the 'ants' may have affected some of the electrical systems on this floor. They were most fearsome and insidious."

Daniel's eyebrows rose. Ants affecting electrical wiring, he didn't think so. Rats maybe, replicators definitely, he gave an involuntary shudder at that thought. Although apparently eliminated from this galaxy, there were according to reports, a different kind of replicator at large in Pegasus.

"They were extremely large ants, I have only seen ants as large as these on Chulak, and that was many years ago, when I was a boy, they had mandibles that were capable of severing a finger if one was careless enough to allow one to get in close proximity." Teal'c was getting a little too in to the swing of this particular subterfuge.

"Let's eat, Teal'c, I assume they've got the comm. back up to speed, I'm starved." He strode towards the door, it sounded like there was quite a crowd already there, maybe they were all starving after being offered only limited rations this past couple of days.

"Odd, the door seems to be jammed." Daniel remarked as he tried to open it, he peered through the small window, and to his puzzlement, it was pitch black in there.

"Teal'c, looks like we've got a problem here, maybe we should alert security or something?" He suggested, feeling a twinge of unease.

"That will not be necessary DanielJackson." Teal'c said and gave Daniel a gentle shove, he was propelled through the door which had miraculously opened and before he could gather his thoughts, the lights came on and he was deafened by a huge cheer and shouts, which sounded suspiciously like people yelling 'SURPRISE!'

He blinked several times, and gradually took in the scene before him, well, in the few seconds he had before he was engulfed in a massive hug from Sam.

"Happy birthday Daniel, I hope you're not mad at us." She grinned as she pulled away. Daniel was dumbstruck. There was a huge glittery banner with 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY DANIEL - HOPE YOU LIKE CAKE" emblazoned in it in huge colourful letters.

As he stood there, mouth hanging open in shock, he was swamped by people clapping him on the shoulder and shaking him by the hand, all offering him birthday wishes and within seconds, his arms were filed with presents.

"I...I don't know what to say..." He finally stammered.

"Well, perhaps next time I confine you to the infirmary, you will realise that I always have a very good reason." Carolyn Lam said from behind him, and before he realised it she was planting a kiss on his cheek. "Happy Birthday." She added with a smile.

Daniel was completely overwhelmed at the amount of people there, and, when he finally took in what had been done to the comm. he almost went in to shock.

"Let me guess, Vala and Teal'c, where is Vala by the way?" He hadn't spotted Jack yet. Jack was hanging back waiting for everyone else to do their thing first. He was enjoying just watching Daniel's reaction.

"Indeed DanielJackson, I have recently been watching movies with ValaMalDoran, and the movie 'Saturday Night Fever' is one of her favourites. She also appears to enjoy the movie 'Grease'"

"Grease." Daniel squeaked and was assailed by a vision of Vala wearing spray on pants and an off the shoulder top, doing an impression of Olivia Newton John.

As Daniel scanned the disco decorated room he spotted Jack and his breath caught in his throat. It hit him anew how badly he had missed him, and he quickly tried to make his way through the throng. He realised that Jack was grinning at him. God he loved the way Jack looked when he smiled like that. As he neared his best friend in the universe a commotion arose at the far end of the comm and he realised that everyone's attention was on a giant birthday cake that was being wheeled in by two tired looking, long suffering comm. staff members. The music swelled and he instantly recognised the 'Happy Birthday' song being ever so tunefully sung to him by all around. A wave of embarrassment flowed over him and 'blushing' wasn't a strong enough word for what was happening to his cheeks at that precise moment. As he watched the staff members wheel the large and rather sugar filled looking cake in he immediately experienced a feeling of dread. There was only one explanation he could think of for the size of the cake and the lack of Vala and that explanation was just asking for trouble.

"Daniel, are you okay?" Sam queried seeing his pained expression.

"Just tell me Vala's not..."

Quickly the birthday song reached its climax and on the final 'happy birthday to yoooouuu' the entire top of the cake burst open and in a truly clichéd fashion Vala literally popped out sporting an ever so pleased with herself smile on her face. Then, obviously pre-planned, the two grinning SFs took her by the arms and elegantly lifted her from the cake and onto the floor below.

Daniel watched Vala's display with his mouth agape while the rest of the entire male contingent whooped and hollered. Sam was grinning evilly at him, so much for 'friends' he thought wryly. He tried to catch Jack's eye again, a plea for help as Vala sashayed toward him, unfortunately, her extremely tight dress and unfeasibly high heeled shoes caught her out and she began to stumble causing her to look a bit like monkey at a new years eve party who'd had one too many margaritas. In an effort to regain her composure she fell backwards and landed ass first in the cake sending the sugary frosting spraying off in every direction.

Daniel was transfixed, remnants of embarrassment and now, mortification on Vala's behalf taking him over. Before anyone else could move, Teal'c stepped forward and hauled Vala from the remains of the cake. Daniel had to give her her due, she recovered admirably, brushed herself down, flicked back her mane of jet black hair and took a deep breath. Teal'c reached out and plucked something from her cleavage. He studied it for a moment, and then popped it in his mouth.

"Mmmmm, Lemon." He intoned with one eyebrow askance. "Perhaps, ColonelCarter, you might wish to send a portion to DrMcKay in Atlantis."

With that the tension was broken and everyone broke in to good-natured laughter. Vala engulfed Daniel in a hug and aimed what was intended to be a positive face-sucker at him. He decided she'd earned it and suffered as the entire assemblage clapped and cheered.

Jack, watching from the sidelines decided Daniel had had enough and needed rescuing, besides, he'd decided he didn't like watching his Danny's face being hoovered off by what he now seriously considered his rival.

Daniel had caught Jack approaching them from the corner of his eye, and managed to extract himself from Vala's embrace. There was a look in Jack's dark brown eyes that intrigued him, his heart fluttered, if he wasn't so convinced otherwise, he'd have sworn it was something like possessiveness. Jack gently manoeuvred Vala away from Daniel.

"Great call with the cake Vala." Jack said generously to the clearly besotted woman. "But, it might be an idea if you loose the frosting." He advised. At that moment, Sam came and suggested she accompany Vala to the locker room and help her clean up.

Jack took advantage of the fact that everyone else was distracted by the distribution of birthday cake and herded Daniel over to a quiet corner.

"Danny, you okay, you look kinda..."

"Shocked, stunned, overwhelmed..." Daniel filled in.

"All of the above and more." Jack smiled and Daniel's knees went a little wobbly.

"Last thing I expected, to be honest Jack, I was on my way home, I was expecting a quiet night in, was going to ask Teal'c over for pizza, I thought all the others were..I never dreamed, I mean, and..."

"Daniel, you're babbling, try breathing for a start." Jack had taken him by the shoulders and was staring intently in those blue eyes he loved so much.

"I'm just...I can't believe you came all the way from Washington, I mean, this is what you came for, I'm sorry, maybe you had a meeting, and just happened to be here..."

"Daniel. Breathe. Yes, I came for your birthday, although." He looked around him. "Didn't expect all this, a few nibbles, couple of bottles of bubbly maybe...I'm gonna have to have serious words with Carter and Mitchell. Letting Teal'c and Vala organise things."

Daniel only heard the part where Jack said he'd come just for him. Jack, had come all the way from Washington, just so he could be here for HIS birthday. For Him. Wow!

"Danny, you still with me there, you kinda zoned out for a second or two."

Daniel blinked a few times, and Jack's knees went wobbly.

"Sorry Jack, I guess I'm just completely overwhelmed, and.." He broke in to one of his rare grins. "Well...this is all a bit OTT, isn't it." He laughed.

"Well, whatdya expect when two aliens are let loose with the party plans."

"Yeah." Daniel sighed. "Poor Vala." He added thoughtfully.

"Well, gotta give her full marks for guts, and she sure looked great in that dress thing that was sprayed on her." Jack studied Daniel's face, wanting to gauge his response.

"Dress, can't say I really noticed." Daniel admitted, although, he wasn't going to admit that it was because he was to busy trying to catch his eye.

"How could you not Daniel, she's hot!"

Daniel felt a surge of - jealousy? Jack thought Vala was hot?

"You don't think so, she sure has it bad for you Danny-boy."

Daniel sighed.

"I guess I know that...it's just..."

"Daniel, Sir, cake?" Mitchell, with the kind of crap timing usually reserved for Sam, had come over with two portions of lemon birthday cake.

"Er, thanks Mitchell." Jack took the proffered plates and internally cursed. He was sure that both he and Daniel had been on the cusp of admitting something to each other.

"Er, General." Cam prompted. Jack stared dumbly at him for a moment, then he remembered.

"Ahh, yes, Daniel, pressie opening time." He lightly grabbed Daniel's arm and guided him over to the huge mountain of gifts.

Daniel swallowed convulsively.

"It'll take me forever to open all these." He murmured in to Jack's ear, not wanting to offend anyone, of course. He found a glass thrust in to his hand.

"Here, have a swig of this, the sooner you get started, the sooner you finish."

He shrugged, took a swallow of the actually rather nice champagne and started in a bemused fashion at the pile.

"Here Sunshine, let me help." Cam couldn't have looked more excited than if they'd been his presents. He handed Daniel a gold wrapped gift.

"From me." He announced happily.

What seemed like hours later, there was only one thing left. Daniel had to admit, he was impressed at how well people had chosen. Although, he was a little concerned when Vala presented him with something book sized. Knowing her it was probably the Goa'uld Karma Sutra. To his relief and delight though, it was a beautiful volume of the history of coffee. He was touched that she'd been so thoughtful. He adored Teal'c's gift, and fully appreciated the albeit humourous intentions behind it.

"Okay Daniel, just this last one. It's actually from all of SG-1." Vala announced, she'd tipped Sam and Cam off, and all they had all been more than happy for the highly expensive coffee machine to be a shared offering. Daniel cast a wary eye at the huge brightly wrapped item.

"Go on Daniel, it won't bite, even if it does remind me of..."

"Reveal your gift DanielJackson." Teal'c cut in. Daniel complied and stood back awestruck at the complex chrome and stainless steel structure.

"Oh My God!" He breathed. He'd seen this online and had coveted one for ages.

"Personally, I think it looks exactly like a symbiote stasis unit that I saw in one of Ba'al's strongholds when I was...well, you know..but, the others all assure me that it is indeed a coffee machine." Vala told him. Daniel was lovingly caressing the smooth shiny surfaces.

"Can we fire her up now?" He said and everyone burst in to laughter.

"Daniel, later huh." Jack said admiring the machine that looked more like something that belonged in that weird art gallery in the UK, in his opinion.

Daniel managed to stammer out a thank you speech, and, someone good-humouredly suggested that maybe they could get on with the party. But, Jack forestalled them.

"Almost forgot." He said. Daniel wondered what was coming next. It also occurred to him that Jack hadn't given him anything yet, not that it mattered, Jack was here, that was more than enough. Jack was calling for everyone's attention.

"Usually, this, and, I think every one here would agree that it's long overdue, would be presented by the President of the United States." As he spoke, he withdrew a box from his pocket. "However, Dr Daniel Jackson, I hope you don't mind my doing the honours this time."

Daniel tensed. Exactly what was Jack up to. He caught Sam's eye and she gave him a smile of encouragement.

"It is with the greatest honour, and, on behalf of the President, and people of the United States of America, that I present you with the Presidential Medal of Freedom."

Daniel was speechless. This was the highest civilian award possible in the US. Not that he ever considered that he'd be deemed worthy, or ever expected, or had even thought about getting a medal. He stared at the medal, with it's Red, White, Blue and gold design, the blue and white ribbon complete with an eagle. He had never craved this kind of recognition, never really considered it at all. The only recognition he'd really hoped for was that one day, his peers in academia would realise that he'd been right all along.

Suddenly, he found himself enveloped in one of Jack's brand of hugs

"You earned it a hundred times over Spacemonkey'" Jack breathed in his ear, and Daniel wished this part of his birthday could go on forever. Just being held, like this, by Jack, was all he ever wanted.

Vala, standing next to Teal'c, was watching the two men. The sounds of everyone clapping faded in to the background and she drew in a sharp breath. Teal'c looked down at her and placed a large hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him and saw the gentle, sympathetic smile on his face.

"I never stood a chance, did I?" She said sadly.

"You have just seen what I have been seeing for many years, Vala MalDoran. Perhaps soon, DanielJaskon and O'Neill will also see." He said.

She sighed heavily. Her attraction to Daniel had been instantaneous when she'd first encountered him on the Prometheus. When she'd arrived on Earth, one of her main goals had been to seduce him and complete that particular bit of unfinished business. She'd tried so hard, the more he resisted, the more deeply she fell for him. There had even a couple of times when she'd thought she'd almost broken through his defences. But, now seeing him with Jack O'Neill, well, she'd actually begun to suspect when Daniel had been 'priorised' and the General had come to be with his friend without a second thought. Now, she was certain, and Teal'c words just reinforced that. Well, she told herself, if that's what Daniel really wanted...

The moment passed as Daniel found himself once again being clapped on the back and his hand shaken so many times he thought his arm might drop off. Eventually he was once again being embraced by Vala.

"Congratulations Daniel. I have no idea what this actually means, but, I am certain that you President doesn't give these things out lightly." She pressed her cheek against his. "Take a chance Daniel, tell him how you feel before it's too late."

Daniel frowned and stared at her.

"Jack, he feels the same, surely you must know that, and, for what it's worth, I couldn't have lost out to a better person."

With that she melted in to the crowd. Teal'c offered his own congratulations.

"It is only fitting DanielJakcson, that finally your President has seen fit to acknowledge your contributions over the years. Unlike myself, who was given one of the highest accolades possible by the free jaffa nation, and SamanthaCarter, who received promotions, as have ColonelMitchell, and O'Neill. You have been overlooked for far too long, and you should take a lesson from your President. Do not leave of something that can be dealt with in a more timely manner." With that Teal'c looked at him with one of those meaningful stares, and then over to Jack who was watching him with that odd, enigmatic look again.

Daniel was again puzzled. First Vala, now Teal'c. Was it that obvious? Shit! Who else - knew, suspected, whatever?

"Well Daniel, guess this will one birthday you won't forget in a hurry." Sam said coming over to him. He searched her face for signs of...

"And, wasn't it great that General O'Neill made it. It's so good to see him again." She lowered her voice to a conspiratorial tone. "I'm hoping to spend some time alone with him before he has to go back."

Daniel sighed with relief. She hadn't dropped any cryptic hints so he was probably safe in assuming she didn't suspect anything.

"Hey Sunshine, great party, Walter's organising a disco dance competition, I'm gonna see if that cute little nurse - Amelia, is up for it, bet Vala wouldn't say no if you asked her." He added with what could only be termed an 'evil' grin.

"I think I'll pass, got two left feet when it comes to that kind of thing." He said self-deprecatingly.

"Sam, how about you? I know that young Graham Simmons is still nursing a crush on you."

Sam blushed and then laughed.

"Way to young, besides, I'm not after getting involved with anyone, and Simmons is a little too intense for me anyway, and, apart from that I'm with Daniel in the two left feet thing unless it's slow and easy." She grinned as she knocked back what looked like a blue jello vodka shot.

Chapter 5

It was hours later, Vala had snagged young Simmons and the pair had been announced the undisputed winners of the disco competition. Simmons had proven to be a dark horse and had shown some scarily good prowess on the dance floor.

"Does that poor kid know exactly what he's letting himself in for." Jack whispered in Daniel's ear. Daniel felt goose-bumps rise on his skin as Jack's warm breath ghosted over it. Daniel hadn't even realised the object of his unrequited lust had sidled up behind him.

"He's got to learn someday, Vala won't hurt him, much." Daniel smiled.

"How about we blow this Popsicle stand, let the kids enjoy themselves, I think you've had your fill, and I think you can sneak away without offending anyone."

"Where are you staying?" Daniel's heart was pounding.

"VIP Suite, but, to be honest, kinda wished I'd checked in to a hotel, I just can't relax properly in those damned concrete boxes." He admitted.

"You could, errr, I have my spare room." Daniel stammered.

"Really, I thought you were still living in that tiny cramped little apartment you got after that Osiris thing?"

"Yeah,well, you'll be pleased to know I finally bought a place."

"Really? About time too Danny, throwing all that money away renting. Soo, spare room with my name on it?"

Daniel was so tempted to tell him no, it was the master bedroom that had both their names on it, but, he backed out, meant to much for him to be able to brush it off as a joke, although...

"Better let Carter know, Landry headed for the hills hours ago." Jack said looking around for his former 2IC. She was looking decidedly worse for wear, having downed a few too many blue jello vodka shots. He espied Mitchell who was animatedly chatting away to a pretty little blonde in a corner.

"Be right back Danny, and for cryin' out loud, we'll come and get your presents tomorrow." He couldn't help but grin as Daniel was looking just like a little kid at Christmas trying gather up as many presents as he could in to his arms. In turn Daniel blushed a little and looked like a kid caught with his hands in the cookie jar. He relieved himself of the main bulk of his burden but kept a hold of a box of handmade walnut choc chip cookies and a pack of his favourite brand of coffee beans.

"Okay Danny." Jack smirked "You can take those, I'll have Walter pack up the rest for you and have it all sent to your office."

With a lingering look at the elaborate coffee machine, Daniel caught up with Jack who was trying to attract Mitchell's attention.

"Acht, this is no good, where's Teal'c?" He muttered frustratedly. Teal'c was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh to hell with it Daniel, come on, let's go, we gotta sign out anyways." He grabbed Daniel by the arm and led him to the door. Daniel allowed himself to be towed along by Jack. Much as he was flattered and filled with gratitude to his friends for giving him this party, he just wanted to be somewhere quiet and less crowded. Besides, he figured, he wasn't the only one was going to be surprised this day, night, rather.

They reached the surface.

"Are you okay to drive Daniel, I mean, I haven't had that much to drink, but, I was driven here, no car and all that, I could drive, s'not a problem."

"No I'm fine Jack, besides, I moved house, remember." Daniel responded and Jack wondered what the enigmatic little smile was all about.

"See you've still got this old banger then." Jack remarked as Daniel led him to his beat up old Ford.

"Yeah well, I was going to get a new one, but I kind of blew all my money on this house, next being dead bonus I get will go on a new car - okay."

"Whatever Daniel, you coulda had my truck you know."

Jack sat back and enjoyed the ride down the familiar road. He did miss being at the Mountain, he missed Colorado Springs, missed his house, missed being out in the field, going through the gate and risking his life each time he did so, but, most of all, he missed seeing the man seated next to him on a daily basis. The odd phone call and e-mail just didn't cut it somehow.

"Daniel, exactly where is this new house of yours?" Jack asked as they turned off the main road and in to an all too familiar road.

"You'll see." Was all he got. It was dark, this part of the Springs was not very heavily populated and didn't have much in the way of street lighting. He should know, he'd lived around this part for long enough.

"Daniel. This is MY house." Jack stated when Daniel pulled the car in to a familiar driveway.

"Correction Jack, this is MY house." Daniel said smugly.

"Hang on, you bought MY house, how come no one told me, what happened to the Simpsons?"

"Too quiet for them, they bought a place closer to the centre of town."

"So, you bought it, may I ask why?"

"It's a nice place, the price was within my range, I know it, all it's funny little quirks, you know that Jack, I stayed here often enough." He left out the part where by living in Jack's house, he felt kind of closer to him. The Simpsons hadn't been there long enough to much in the way of major remodelling, although, they had replaced the leaky shower in the en-suite and given the place a lick of paint, and installed a hot tub on the deck.

Jack was actually speechless.

"Danny, if you'd have wanted to buy my house that badly, I'd have let you have it in the first place. You know I never really wanted to get rid." He finally said after several moments.

Daniel smiled in the darkness.

"I know, but, I wasn't exactly in a position to buy a place at the time. I was supposed to have been going to Atlantis, remember?"

"Ahh, yeah, still, you got there in the end, was it worth it?"

Daniel mumbled something that Jack didn't quite catch.

"What was that Danny, I'm not quite deaf - yet, but if you mumble."

"Nothing Jack, come on let's get some coffee going, and.." He looked a little sheepish "You might have to help me look out some clean sheets and pillows, and blankets, I kind of haven't finished unpacking yet."

Jack shrugged. "Whatever. As long as you've got the TV up and running." He added with a crooked grin that sent Daniel's stomach back flipping. Maybe bringing Jack here hadn't been such a good idea. It seemed that tonight, every smile, gesture, look, touch, sent him in to a haze of sexual tension.

"Okay, see what you mean about the boxes." Jack complained as he caught his shin on a packing crate just inside the front door. "Have you actually unpacked ANYTHING?"

"Coffee maker, toaster, a couple of mugs, oh and the TV was installed by the guys from the store, so, didn't have to bother with that." Jack looked in the living room and fell instantly in love.

"Wow Daniel, err why such a honkin' great TV if you don't mind me asking?"

"It was on offer, free DVD and delivery, besides, it's so big I can actually see the screen without these." Jack heard a clatter as Daniel dumped his glasses on the counter top. There was a weariness in Daniel's voice all of a sudden.

"Daniel?" He felt concerned, or of course, Daniel could just be tired.

"I'm fine Jack. I guess today's just finally caught up with me a little. I mean, one minute I'm pissed as hell for being stuck in the infirmary for no apparent reason, then, when I finally get out, I can't find anyone to go out to dinner with, I guess there's no point trying to tell you that I was feeling a little hurt that I hadn't even gotten a birthday card from anyone." His unspoken - not even from you Jack, hung in the air between them.

"Oh crap, gotta get something from the car, keys Danny?"

Daniel threw him the keys, probably remembered he'd left his overnight back in the trunk.

"Get the coffee poured Daniel, I'll be right back."

Daniel found a couple of clean mugs and poured the coffee, opened the box of cookies and cleared a few boxes off the coffee table and waited.

"Okay, pressie time Daniel, thought I'd forgotten didn't you?" Jack sing-songed and dumped a medium sized package on Daniel's lap. He then picked up his mug of coffee and snagged a couple of cookies before plopping down in a chair opposite Daniel, He wanted to see his face when he opened his gift.

Daniel carefully unwrapped the package and found a box within, well, two boxes actually. He looked at Jack a little myopically; Jack nodded for him to proceed.

Daniel opened the first box, inside was what looked like a large tooled leather bound photo album. There was gold writing on the front.

"A History of the Stargate on Earth." The legend read. Daniel opened it and found it contained pictures and copies of documents detailing everything from the original discovery made by Dr Langford back in 1928, the first attempt to activate it, and Ernest Littlefield's trip, right through to his own work translating the cover stone back in 1994, and culminating with the formation of SG-1 a year later."

"I kind of figured that one day it'll have to go public, and, who better than to have some kind of proper record than you. Besides, I already knew that you would get enough coffee, cookies, reference books and stuff today to last you at least a week." He winked at that, Daniel had been given enough of the above to be able to open a well-stocked store.

"It's..." Daniel was lost for words. The amount of work that must have gone in to this was incredible. There was stuff that even he hadn't ever seen before.

"Of course, I don't have to remind you that until the damned thing does go public, that's classified, and, if you show anyone outside the SGC, I will have to shoot them."

Daniel grinned and opened the second box. Again it was an album. But unlike the first one, this one was not inscribed on the cover. But he did find an envelope between the first pages.

"Errr, don't open that till I'm gone, huh?" Jack asked. Daniel carefully placed the envelope on the coffee table, he realised that Jack was leaning forward, watching him intently, tension positively radiating from him. When he saw the first pictures, he knew why.

"Jack, how did..." Daniel said shakily.

"Hey, Being stuck behind a desk in Washington does have a couple of perks, one of which is that I can gain access to all kinds of stuff."

"But Jack..."

"Daniel, Just..."

"Jack, I don't understand..."

"Daniel, I wracked my tiny brain over what to get you, I spoke to everyone, surfed the net for weeks, but, nothing seemed - right. So, I was talking to my secretary, an amazing lady by the way, and with full clearance. She kind of helped me out quite a bit.

Daniel slowly went through the album. Jack and his secretary had really pulled something incredible out of their hats. There were pictures of his parents, his grandfather, even some of him as a little kid in Egypt with his parents. Articles from journals about his parents, stuff that he knew vaguely existed, but had never been able to track down. It was something he'd treasure forever.

"I er, wasn't sure how you'd react to this Daniel, I mean, maybe it's brought up a whole bunch of crap memories."

Daniel stared at Jack.

"No, Jack, I'm just stunned, I mean, how did you find all this, I never knew half of these photographs existed.."

"Nick, when he decided to stay with the Giant Aliens, Hammond arranged to have all his stuff put in to storage. I had a word with Hammond, he gave me the go ahead, and I found a whole bunch of stuff. I figured Nick wouldn't mind you having it now, the rest is in the unit, mostly clothing and a couple of bits and pieces. This is all the stuff that I figured would mean the most to you."

Daniel stroked a particular picture, he vaguely remembered it being taken, he'd been five or six and it was him proudly holding up the first artefact he'd ever found all by himself. His parents were looking so proud.

"You were one hell of a cute kid Danny." Jack said softly.

"You wouldn't be saying that if you'd known me when I was a teenager." Daniel countered. "I was the classic gifted little bastard. The people I was staying with at the time must have been saints to have put up with me so well."

"Daniel, you don't mind that I went through all Nick's stuff, do you?"

Daniel realised that Jack must have been going through hell wondering what his reaction was going to be. He blinked away a stray tear. Forty-two years old and he was welling up like some emotional wreck here. No-one had ever done anything like this for him in his life, ever. He was deeply touched, and the fact that Jack had been the one to do this made it all the more special.

"Hey, don't go telling Carter about this, she might think I'm turning soft in my old age."

Daniel regarded the man seated opposite him, anyone who knew Jack well knew that inside, the man was a marshmallow. Sure he could kill, armed or with his bare hands, could hold his own with the most cold hearted of bastards, but, that was on the outside. One only had to see the way he'd cared so deeply for his teammates over the years, the way he talked about Charlie, on the rare occasions that he did, and, the way he interacted with kids, Skaara, Reetu Charlie, Merrin, Cassie to name but a few. And, that was one of the many reasons he'd fallen so truly madly deeply for the guy, the fact that he was hot as hell as well was just an added bonus.

Jack enjoyed the silence for a moment, just happy to watch Daniel's face as he went through the album. It had pained him to see how little there had been recorded of Daniel's early years, but, there again, his folks had died when he'd only been eight, and they'd spent most of their time travelling around and digging around in the dirt. But, one thing had stood out like a beacon. Claire and Melbourne Jackson had absolutely adored their son.

Finally Daniel put the albums aside with the same level of care that he'd use to handle any fragile, ancient artefact. He sipped his now tepid coffee and grimaced.

"I'll go put on a fresh batch." He announced. Jack rose and followed him in to the kitchen.

"Hey, quite a day Daniel, you sure surprised the hell out of me when I realised it was MY house you'd bought, and I thought it was odd that I'd sold it to the Simpsons."

"You know, when you told me their name, I thought you were kidding, but, when I met them, well, I could actually see the resemblance, you know, everyone thought that was their actual name, in fact, it was only when I signed the papers that I found out they're actually called Dalton. No wonder Mrs Dalton gave me that weird look when I called her Mrs Simpson."

"Well, can you blame a guy?" Jack said in a mock affronted tone. He found himself gazing at Daniel's ass as he bent down to wipe up some water that had splashed on the floor. Those jeans were tighter than Daniel usually wore, then he remembered, they were Mitchell's. Well, he could cope with thoughts of wanting to get in to Mitchell's pants' as long as it was Daniel inside of them. God this was insane. All these years of suppressing his inappropriate thoughts, and now, tonight, he was like a hormonal teenager on viagra. He thanked some deity or other that he'd opted for loose fitting pants.

"Err, just gonna use the bathroom." He suddenly announced. He needed to get his head straight, and his pants!

Daniel straightened up and watched Jack's retreating back. There was definitely something going on here tonight. Even when he wasn't looking, he was aware that Jack kept staring at him. And, those albums, a lot of thought had gone in to those, a hell of a lot more than guys usually expended on gifts for another guy. Or, maybe he was making too much of it. But, Jack knew more than anyone what a gift like that would mean to him. He decided he was just tired and a little overwhelmed at the evening's events. He was overreacting to a birthday present for crying out loud. Hell now he was using Jack-isms in his head! Talking of tired, he really ought to make the spare room vaguely habitable. It was filled with boxes currently, and he had no idea where the spare bedding was, maybe he should have driven Jack to a hotel, but it was far too late now. Crap, where was that carton.

"S'up Daniel, you look like you've just lost the Stargate or something." He hadn't heard Jack sneak up behind him.

"Jack, you just knocked about ten years off my life!"

"Soo, that makes you almost the same age as me then, cool."

"Don't think it quite works that way. I was just trying to think where the spare bedding is, need to make up the spare bed for you."

"Ahh, now, that's gonna seem odd, sleeping in the spare room in MY house."

"MY house Jack, and believe me, you don't want to be roughing it on the couch."

"Well, there's always your bed."

Daniel froze. Had Jack just said what he thought he'd said? He was kidding, right, making one of his bad jokes.

"Well, it is a king-size." He responded, deciding to go along with Jack.

"Well, plenty of room for both of us then."

Daniel could feel Jack's breath on the back of his neck. Like earlier, back at the SGC when Jack had whispered in his ear, he felt goose-bumps, the nice kind. It occurred to him that he should have changed out Mitchell's skin-tight jeans before now; they were getting decidedly uncomfortable. Shit, now he was stuck here until things calmed down a little down there.

"Daniel, is that coffee ready yet." Jack's breath ghosted across the back of his neck again and his legs turned to jelly.

"Go and make yourself comfortable, I'll umm, bring it through in a minute."

Jack was sure there was a hitch in Daniel's voice. Although not actually touching him, he could feel the tremors that were running through his body.

"Well, don't be long, don't wanna let things go cold."

Daniel drew in a shaky breath as Jack moved away, and he felt strangely bereft as the warmth caused by Jack's close proximity vanished. He had been so tempted to just lean back against Jack, but, he was scared. He was probably completely misreading the entire situation. But, he knew now that he wanted Jack more than he'd ever wanted anyone in his life. He cursed to himself, why now were all these long buried feelings surfacing?

He picked up the two replenished mugs and joined Jack in the living room. Jack was sprawled on the couch looking completely at home. Well, he supposed, in a way he was. As far as he was concerned, it was still Jack's house really. Buying it had been a completely emotional decision. Probably a foolish basis on which to invest almost every penny he had, but, it was a good, sound house, in a nice peaceful location, and, filled with some great memories, sad ones too, but the good far outweighed those.

"Hey, I took a look out the windows, is that a hot tub out there on the deck Daniel?" There was a devilish note in Jack's voice.

"Yeah, the Simps...Daltons had it installed. I've not had a chance to use it yet, it's all plumbed in and ready to go, and, they chose the perfect spot, not overlooked.

Jack looked at him and raised an eyebrow in a positively rakish manner.

"Fancy christening it?"

Daniel almost dropped the mugs. As it was some hot liquid splashed on to his hand causing him to draw in a sharp breath.

"Hey, Daniel, here let me.." Jack leapt up and relieved him of the mugs. Daniel decided the night was turning a little surreal. He couldn't deny that he hadn't fantasised about him and Jack together, naked in that tub.

"Shit Daniel, sit down before you fall down, if I'd have known you'd go in to shock like this, I'd never have mentioned it."

"No, I'm fine Jack, you just...caught me out, that's all." However, he did allow Jack to guide him to the couch. He also considered calling Jack's bluff.

"I was serious by the way, about the tub and the bed." Jack said suddenly. He was tired of pussyfooting around. It was obvious that Daniel and he were on the same page regarding their feelings towards one another.

"You..you are?"

Jack sat down next to Daniel. Close enough so that their shoulders were touching.

"Daniel. I think we both feel the same way here. Why don't we just admit it instead of pretending otherwise. Look, I miss you like crazy, I hate the idea of you going off world without me watching out for you."

"Mother henning me you mean."

"If that's what you wanna call it, then yeah. Look, Mitchell's a good guy, Vala, a mental case, but I'd trust her more than a few I can think of, Carter and Teal'c, well, they're a given. But, can you imagine how I felt when you were in that coma after you and Vala used those stone things, I read the reports Daniel, Vala was dead, which meant you were next. And, when you vanished and them came back as a damned prior, there was no way I could stay away. You know how close I was to throttling that little weasel Woolsey?"

"Jack, if it had been Sam, or Teal'c, you'd have felt the same."

"Yeah, maybe, but, not quite the same. I'm fond of them, I care about them, hell of course I'd have been there for them, but Danny, with you it's different. When something bad happens to you, I feel it, when someone threatens you, I have the same feelings I would if someone had threatened Charlie, or Sara. Daniel, can't you just accept that I love you, but, not just that, I'm IN love with you."

There, he'd done it, for better or worse, he'd finally bared his soul, opened is heart and a whole bunch of other clichés. Now he needed to get a reaction from Daniel. He risked a sideways glance and saw that Daniel was smiling.

"Well, I guess I'd better fire that hot tub up then."

FIN

   Author's Note: I'd like to thank two of my best friends for supporting and helping me with ideas and Beta-ing for me.