Everybody Knows

by Glenda

URL: http://www.area52hkh.net/asg/glenda/everybod.php
Summary: Jack thinks too much but Daniel won't let it get to him.

"Danny?"

"Yes, Jack." Daniel looked up from the Caesar Salad he was making.

"I can't do this anymore."

"Do what anymore? Drink bad American beer?" Daniel nodded at the bottle of Bud Jack was holding.

"No. I meant I can't be with you anymore."

"Why?" Daniel asked as he put the salad on the formal dining table set for two.

"I thought being with you was worth all of the risk to our career, to my freedom, and never having kids."

"You told me you didn't want kids, and thanks for including my career in your risk assessment," Daniel said, turning back to his homemade spaghetti sauce. It was Jack's favourite.

"It's just the kind of guy I am, and I never said that I was completely sure that I wasn't ever going to want kids again. Just that I couldn't image wanting them right now. If I'm with you that point is kind of moot, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is. I'm not about to let you get me pregnant." Daniel pulled the meatballs out of the oven.

"I'm not trying to hurt you."

"No, of course not, you just want to fuck me over for your career."

"This was never supposed to get serious. I told you that when we got together. This was supposed to be..."

"What was this supposed to be, Jack? Please tell me; I really want to know."

Jack knew that Daniel had a right to be angry but he also owed his friend the truth. "I don't know. It was supposed to be fun, simple, a few laughs and a roll in the hay."

"No strings attached."

"Yeah, but..."

"But what?" Daniel asked, wiping his hands off.

"Things changed. It's starting to get too damn serious."

Daniel knew what Jack meant; they had started to say I love you after sex and not just in the throes of passion.

"And now you're panicking?"

"You're damn right I am. Do you have any idea what would happen if we were caught?"

"Hammond would call you into his office and ask if you wanted to retire, make Sam the head of SG-1, and then he would hire you as a civilian consultant. You would join SG-1, and Sam would defer to your expertise. At least off world, on base it might be a little different."

"And you know all this how?"

"He told me," Daniel explained as he opened an expensive bottle of red wine.

"What!"

"You don't have to shout, Jack. I'm right here."

Daniel was sure he could see the muscles in Jack's jaw clenching. He hoped he didn't break any teeth.

"Fine. What?" Jack's voice was barely a whisper.

"Do you remember the fight we had on P9U 933?"

"Can't say that I do?"

"Okay, do you remember the Choacia?"

From the angry look in Jack's brown eyes, Daniel guessed that the answer was yes.

"And the fight we had over them, and were still having during our debriefing."

Daniel could still get mad over that whole argument. Just because they didn't have any super-duper weapons didn't mean they weren't worth getting to know. Their leader, Kilpio was full of stories about how they had ended up on the planet the Choacia called home. They had some interesting practices when it came to gender issues. The males were the ones that stayed in the village with the children while the women hunted. It would have been great to study from an anthropological point of view. There were also some great ruins a half a day's walk away. From the description Kilpio gave, they had sounded Ancient, but Jack and directives from the Pentagon said the planet was useless, so after six hours Jack told them to pack up and head out. Daniel had been furious when he touched the ramp and by the end of the debriefing he had been seething.

"Oh yeah, the coca people. I still don't see why it had you so riled up that I ordered us home. They had nothing of value. And that Kilowatt guy was looking a little too closely at you."

"I'm not getting into that 'discussion' again."

"Damn, I love it when you get all hot and bothered over some damn rocks."

"Artefacts, and just a few minutes ago you didn't want to bother with me anymore."

"Oops."

"Anyways." Daniel would not be sidetracked; he had made a great supper and he was going to enjoy it with his lover, whether the lover liked it or not.

"You recall Hammond telling us to leave and not to come back until we could be civil to each other, and that we had better work things out or we weren't going to be allowed back off world."

Daniel couldn't really blame George; the Urondon fiasco was still clear in all their minds.

"Yeah, I thought my ears would ring for a week after that dressing down."

"Mine were a little sore, too," Daniel admitted, adding the spaghetti to the boiling water. "But I couldn't argue with the results. Finally, we were able to admit that there was something more going on between us than we first thought."

"I thought you were going to tell me about Hammond's little plan."

"I'm getting to it. The general knew something was up the next morning. He was sure it going to take us a week or more to work things out."

"It might have, if you hadn't jumped me and shoved your tongue down my throat."

"Yeah, well it seemed like talking wasn't doing any good." They had spent three hours rehashing the same problem over cold pizza and flat beer until he had gotten tired of it and kissed Jack. He figured they might as well have something tangible to fight over than what might have happened on a planet light years away.

"Yeah, well, sometimes talking is overrated," Jack said.

"That was what I told Hammond when he asked us how we worked out our problems."

"Oh, God, I can't believe that General George Hammond knows about us."

"Jack, you can't believe that he's the only one?"

"Sure, I can. You mean there are more?"

"Try the whole damn base."

"No! That's not possible. We've been very careful. Not spending too many nights at each other's place and leaving afterwards."

A practice Daniel had never liked; he was a snuggler and hated having Jack leave his bed.

"For God's sakes, Jack, you were whistling the next day and had this big goofy grin on your face. Even an Asgaard would have known you got some, and since you were ordered to go home with me..." Daniel let the logical conclusion fall into Jack's head.

"Shit! How could I have been so stupid?"

"To have spent the entire night having sex with your civilian male teammate or to whistle?" Daniel asked, stirring the spaghetti.

"Both. I should have known better than to get involved with you, and I damn well know better than to change my routine when trying to hide something."

"So you should have gone back up to the mountain and growled at everyone and made all the marines cry?" Daniel handed Jack a couple of candles. "Put those on the table and light them."

"I have never made the marines cry, no matter how much I wanted too, and I don't growl that much."

"Jack, if it's any consolation, everyone thinks we've been making like bunnies for years now."

Daniel watched Jack blow out the match; he could see the worry in his lover's face.

"No, Daniel, that does not make me feel any better."

"What would make you feel better?" Daniel thought about trying to leer his way out of this whole conversation, but he could tell that this was going to be a big problem.

"Not having the world, hell, the entire universe knowing about my love life."

"It's not the whole universe, and why should you care?"

"What? This is my career we're talking about."

"You said your biggest fear was that we would be found out and you'd lose everything, but I'm telling you that even if everyone does know, they don't care. You're still the big bad ass colonel."

"Daniel, until you kissed me, I wasn't interested in another guy, ever."

"Same for me. If Sam hadn't mentioned all the UST that we were putting off I never would have thought to have kissed you that night either."

"UST?"

"Unresolved sexual tension. I have no idea where it came from, but according to Sam and Janet, we have tons of it."

"You took advice from those two on your sex life?"

"If I hadn't you wouldn't be having a sex life either, buddy."

"Oh yeah, right. Should I send them flowers?"

"Sam wouldn't mind a plant, and I think Janet would like some nice bath stuff more. Flowers don't last as long."

Daniel smiled as Jack wrapped his arms around his waist.

"You're brilliant, Doctor Jackson."

"Thank you, Colonel. Now move so I can drain the pasta and we can eat."

~~\\~~

As Jack wiped up the last of the pasta sauce with his garlic bread he tried to figure out when he lost control of the conversation about him and Daniel breaking up. What should have been a screaming match somehow evolved into a wonderful dinner. However it happened, he was grateful that Daniel was able to see past his bullshit and to figure a way to calm him down.

The problems were still there. He could be arrested or tossed into jail, but if Hammond was okay with them being in a relationship, then he was just going to have to deal with the whole mountain knowing about him and Daniel. At least they couldn't ask, 'cause he sure wasn't going to tell.

"Eat up, Jack, so we can have dessert."

Jack ran his eyes over his lover, and knew that he'd be ordering Daniel a la mode.

~~\\~~

Jack leaned against the headboard, running his fingers along Daniel's shoulder. The moonlight was shining through the large picture window, bathing Daniel, in its light. His heart gave a small leap. Damn, the man was gorgeous; he looked like an angel.

"What are you thinking about?" Daniel asked, stretching and reaching out to touch Jack's face.

"About how good you look and how big an idiot I am for almost walking away from you."

"I'm not sure about the first statement but, yes, you are, is the correct answer for the second one."

"Ouch," Jack said.

"Truth hurts?"

"Yeah. I am really sorry, Danny. I don't know what came over me."

"You looked in the mirror and suddenly realized that the man before you wasn't the man you thought you were. Instead of seeing a colonel, a father and husband, you saw a gay man and that scared you."

"How do you know that?"

"Because the same thing happened to me, too. The morning after we made love for the first time. I woke up next to you and I couldn't believe it. I had never fooled around, not even in college, I suppose because I was a few years younger than everyone else. But there I was cuddled up to you and it felt wonderful and it scared the hell out of me. I ran to the bathroom. I figured something must have changed; I must look different or have sprouted another head but nope, I was still me."

"You sprouted another head, Daniel, but it wasn't above your shoulders," Jack said, sliding his hand down Daniel's body.

"Why does everything have to turn into sexual innuendo with you?"

"Not everything."

"Jack," Daniel said, removing his lover's hand from his privates.

"Okay, I'm sorry, but you know I'm not great at this talking stuff. When things get complicated it's easier to make a joke and walk away. That was before I met you."

"What happened when you met me?"

"You really are going to make me say it."

"Say what?"

"That I'm in love with you, and that I'd do anything for you, even talk about my damn feelings," Jack said in a huff.

"There, was that so hard?"

"Argh," Jack answered when he saw Daniel's smirk. He flopped back on the bed, grunting when Daniel lay on top of him.

"I love you, too." Daniel leaned forward and brought their lips together.

Jack returned Daniel's kiss and, if he hadn't just spent the last hour participating in some active monkey love, his other head would be waking up. But for now he was happy to return Daniel's slow lazy kisses.

"This is nice," hummed Daniel, laying his head on Jack's shoulder.

"Yep."

"So no more running, and no more freaking out?" Daniel asked.

"At least until tomorrow when I'm sitting across from Hammond and I realize that he knows what you and I were doing tonight."

"I don't think George has that great an imagination. Now Sam and Janet, that's a whole other ball game."

Jack couldn't hold his groan in. "Why did you tell me that? I am so not looking forward to my next medical. I know next time Janet does her finger probe, I'm going to be turning beet red."

"As long as you let Janet know that you're taken."

"Oh, I'm sure she'll be able to tell that from the examination, if she didn't already know."

"Just remember that she and Sam have been at it for over a year."

"God! I didn't need to know that." There were two beautiful women, and a few months ago he might have spent a nice night dreaming about them, but now he had the hottest thing under the mountain in his bed.

"Does it really bother you, Jack?"

"Carter and Frasier? No."

"Not that. I would have thought it should have eased some of your worries. If everyone knows but doesn't care-"

"Then I should just go with the flow and relax?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"Conditioning, I guess. I've been taught for a very long time that if you're a man you don't show any signs of weakness. Hell, that alone cost me Sara. She wanted me to cry and show that I was feeling as devastated as she was, about Charlie but I couldn't. I couldn't let myself cry. Not until I came back from Abydos, then I cried. I cried about losing Charlie, and Sara. I even cried when I realized that I'd lost you too. Not that I really understood why until you were taken by that damn Unas."

"You know that's wrong. Showing real emotion proves how strong you really are."

"I guess. But there's also the NID, and Kinsey what happens if they were to find out about us? Or anyone new that comes along and doesn't approve of us, or even knows us and what we've done for the planet?"

"I can't argue with you, Jack, those are important reasons for us to call it quits," Daniel said.

Jack sat up and looked down at Daniel. "No."

"No?"

"No, that's not what you're to say."

"And what should I have said?"

"You're supposed to give me all the reasons why we should just say fuck 'em all and not worry about it."

Jack watched as Daniel looked at the clock.

"This is a record even for you, Jack. Two panic attacks in under two hours."

"Damn," Jack said, falling back to the bed.

"Do you really want me to remind you why we are together?"

"Sure," Jack sighed. "I think I need a little reassurance."

"Okay."

Jack moaned into his lover's mouth when Daniel brought their lips together. He lost himself in the feeling of completeness that being near Daniel brought to his life.

"Does that help?"

"Oh, yeah," Jack sighed, pulling Daniel close to him.

He, no, they took a risk for love, and if it cost him his career, so what. He had let the Air Force take him away from Sara and the few years they had with Charlie. He wasn't going to let them take Daniel away, not without the biggest fight they had ever seen.

"You okay?" Daniel asked.

"Yeah, I think I am and I know we're going to be, too. I love you, and you're right-"

"My favourite words, I love you and I'm right."

Jack rolled his eyes but wouldn't let Daniel sidetrack him. "What I'm trying to say is that I love you and that I think saving the world a few times should give us some latitude and that if that's not enough I can walk away with a clear conscience."

"Me, too. Maybe we could find a nice love shack on some planet far away. I'm sure Thor wouldn't mind helping us."

Jack smiled as he listened to Daniel talking between yawns.

"Danny."

"Yeah."

"Go to sleep. We can talk about all of this tomorrow."

"Okay, don't freak on me tomorrow."

"I'll do my best, but even if I do, I know you'll be there to pick me up."

"Yeah sure you bet."

Jack would have called Daniel on the lack of accent when saying one of his favourite catch phrases, but since the other man was almost asleep, he would wait for another time.

He settled down and pulled Daniel over and laid his lover's head on his chest. He took in the scent of Daniel's herbed shampoo and ran his hand down Daniel's back before pulling the blanket up to cover them both.

Making love with Daniel was fantastic, but then so was the afterwards the talking and general peaceful feeling he got when he was with Daniel, knowing that he got to see a side of him that no one other then Shau'ri had ever seen.

"Jack, you are one lucky son of a bitch," he said, reminding him of how stupid he had been earlier to think he could ever really have walked away from all of this.

Closing his eyes, Jack tried not to think of tomorrow's briefing. He wasn't sure whether he would be able to control his brain when he saw Carter or Frasier, or worse what would happen when he saw Hammond.

"Jack, go to sleep. Your thinking is keeping me awake."

"Yes, dear."

"Jack?"

"What?"

"Do you really want kids? I mean because if you do, we could talk to the Asgaard I'm sure they have ways of-"

"Go to sleep, Daniel."

"Okay."

Shaking his head in wonder at his lover, Jack closed his eyes and let the night carry him away.

The End