Rainbow Warrior (Part 2/2)

by Lady Grey

URL: http://www.area52hkh.net/asl/ladygrey/rainbow002.php
Summary: In response to a direct order from the President, the military finally takes steps to correct its discriminatory attitude toward gay and lesbian soldiers. Following this groundbreaking event, Jack O'Neill comes out to his team, losing the support of one of them. Daniel decides to help his friend truly come to terms with his newly recognized orientation, and gets far more than he ever expected

Two Weeks Later

Daniel watched Jack watching him. Every time he'd looked up from his book, he'd caught Jack eyeing him, rather than the big screen TV and the noisy hockey game rushing across it. He risked a glance at Jack's crotch and saw the outline of his dick, half-hard, down one leg of his sweat pants.

Turning his gaze back to the pages of his book, he stared at it without seeing a word.

For weeks now he had been working on seducing Jack. At every opportunity when they'd been at home, he'd made an effort to touch Jack, casual touches like innocent strokes up his arms, caressing his face, smoothing a hand down his chest. At first, Jack had flinched away, but eventually he'd allowed it. He'd gone to boldly feeling him up, inviting him to bed, and now Jack was leaning into those caresses, eyes closing, breath catching.

Tonight when Daniel had brought him a beer after dinner, he'd draped himself over the back of Jack's recliner and rubbed his palm up and down Jack's chest, asking him about his day. He'd set the bottle down on the table between their chairs and then squatted down beside Jack, letting his fingers stroke idly across Jack's thigh as he listened to talk of some training disaster that had resulted in one airman needing stitches and a night in the infirmary.

He'd gradually moved his caresses toward Jack's crotch, feeling his dick wake up and take notice through his sweats. Daniel had seen the fire in Jack's eyes, heard his breathing go quick and shallow, but Jack hadn't made a move. Daniel had taken the hint that Jack wasn't ready yet and moved to the other chair.

Daniel was prepared to wait as long as Jack needed, even if it took years. They'd said all either of them could say about the situation, and now it was up to Jack. Whenever he gave the signal, Daniel would know Jack had finally faced his fears and was ready to move past them. Until then, Daniel was content to take things slow and easy.

When Jack had turned his attention to the television, Daniel had taken his seat and began to read, doing a little research for one of the other academics, to help with a translation problem at the base. While holding the book with his left hand, Daniel had stroked his fingertips up and down Jack's arm, dangling over the side of his recliner. He'd played with Jack's fingers, pulling his hand away just long enough to turn the page before stroking Jack again. Gradually he became aware of Jack shifting in his chair and stole a glance. Jack had looked away, but not before Daniel had caught him staring. Several times.

Then he'd noticed that Jack's erection wasn't going away, and took that as a good sign that Jack might be ready for the next step. Only he wasn't going to be the one to take the lead here, and Daniel knew it. Jack would just sit there and watch the game, then say good-night and head for his room, most likely to take care of his boner by himself.

This was what Daniel had been preparing himself for, and it was now or never. As the last buzzer sounded in the game and the final score flashed at the bottom of the TV screen, Daniel closed his book. Setting it on the table, he reached for the remote and turned the set off. Light from Jack's living area spilled through the open theater doors, giving them illumination enough for Daniel to rise from his chair, offer Jack his hand and pull him to his feet.

Daniel gazed into his shadowy face, fully aware of Jack's arousal and fear. He slipped his arms around Jack's waist and held him, his chin on Jack's shoulder.

Jack held his arms up and away, not returning the embrace, but Daniel could feel his heartbeat pounding against his chest.

"It's okay," Daniel whispered, turning his head so that his lips were right by Jack's ear.

A gasp slipped out of Jack, and Daniel felt him shudder.

"Put your arms around me," instructed Daniel quietly. "Hold me."

Those long limbs descended gently as falling snow, settling around his shoulders.

Daniel pressed closer, groin to groin, until he could feel Jack's hard-on against his thigh. "Please, Jack. Let's go upstairs," Daniel whispered. He reached up and grasped Jack's earlobe with his teeth, just enough to earn another gasp and shiver from his friend. "I'm ready to go exploring, and I can tell you are, too."

He stepped away, one hand sliding down Jack's arm until he could lace his fingers with Jack's, and then led him upstairs to the master bedroom.

Jack stood still while Daniel turned down the bed, just watching him arrange the covers. Taking a box of condoms and a bottle of lube from the nightstand, Daniel made sure Jack saw the items, knowing that would illustrate to him that Daniel had, indeed, been thinking about doing this for long enough to have prepared in advance.

Both of them were already dressed for bed in T-shirts and sweatpants. Daniel lay down on the bed and waited for Jack to meet him on the pillows. Daniel took Jack's right hand in his and placed Jack's palm against his cheek. He held Jack's hand in place, rubbing against it, meeting his gaze and smiling at him a little, aware of the deer-in-the-headlights look in Jack's eyes.

Daniel was nervous, but he felt very sure that this was exactly the right thing to do. He might botch things, but as much as they cared about each other, Daniel was certain they'd be able to laugh about it one day. He'd done his homework, studied up on what to do, but he felt oddly virginal with Jack. His heart was hammering, afraid he'd mess this up for Jack, when that was the last thing he wanted to do.

He glanced downward as he moved Jack's hand down his body, across his belly, turning his hand around so that his fingers pointed downward as he neared his crotch. He could see Jack's cock stiffening faster now inside his sweatpants, rising in little jerks that mirrored his pounding pulse.

That was a good sign. He was obviously turned on, but he still wasn't moving on his own, just letting Daniel move him around, obviously terrified.

This feels so good to me," Daniel commented, hoping to encourage Jack, but he was equally surprised to find his words were true. He closed his eyes as he pushed Jack's hand down against his crotch, and gasped when Jack's fingertips touched his still sleeping cock through his clothes. "Does it feel good to you?"

Jack groaned in answer. His eyes rolled closed briefly, and then reopened to make eye contact. His lips were parted, breath coming shallow and harsh.

Daniel pushed Jack's hand lower, and felt his fingers close around his flaccid shaft. It responded with a rush of heat and pressure, his belly and thighs tingling in response. It had been a very long time since anyone had touched him there, and he found he wanted to get off very much... even if it were with another man. It would still be sexual release, and it would be good for both of them.

Snuggling closer, Daniel closed the gap between them. His thighs were touching Jack's, his hand comfortably wedged between them. He could feel Jack's full dick against his thigh, and the heat of it surprised him for an instant.

"We can do this," Daniel promised seductively. He let go of Jack's hands and reached for him, pulling him into an embrace. He spoke against Jack's neck while he nuzzled his ear. "I'll do anything you want, try anything you want to." He closed his eyes and an image flashed into his consciousness, of the two of them in a clinch, grappling with each other, tongues battling in a desperate kiss.

The thought of that sent a shaft of pain lancing through his heart, made him want to pull away, roll back and put some distance between them. There was something about kissing Jack that made all this somehow more than just sex, something more intimate and personal. He didn't think he could do that, and hoped Jack wouldn't try it with him.

He needed to get Jack naked and touching him, or he might lose his resolve, and that could be a disaster for both of them.

Daniel grasped the hem of Jack's T-shirt and pulled it upward. "Come on," he urged softly. "Take this off." He let go when Jack sat up to remove his shirt and did the same, hurriedly pushing off his sweatpants and dropping them off the bed. He stretched out on the clean white cotton sheets in what he hoped was a sexy pose and waited for Jack to finish undressing.

Pulling the covers up a little, Daniel was pleased that his dick had gotten with the program and hadn't wilted with that alarming vision. If lying there with a hard-on wasn't an invitation to have sex, Daniel didn't know what else he might do to convince his reluctant friend to join in and have some fun.

Jack yanked the covers up to his waist as soon as he was naked and flopped back onto the pillow, meeting Daniel's gaze. "I'm scared, Danny," he whispered thickly.

"Touch me," Daniel repeated. "Anywhere you want. I want you to."

Jack's fingers crossed the space between them and stroked gently across his pectoral. He explored Daniel's chest gingerly, hesitantly, and Daniel watched as the fear slowly died out of Jack's eyes, replaced by a look of wonder that made him absolutely radiant. He watched as Jack's fascination grew, until he leaned over and brushed his lips against Daniel's nipple, his eyes closing in delight.

Jack kissed him there. His tongue slipped out and licked the hard little nub, and then his lips closed over the aureole and Daniel groaned as the sensation went straight to his dick. He rolled backward and Jack came with him, half lying across him now. Jack was propped up on his left elbow, and his right hand was busy squeezing Daniel's bicep, greedy fingers stroking up and down his arm.

Daniel smiled and flexed beneath Jack's grip.

"Jesus," Jack moaned around a mouthful of nipple. He squeezed harder, pressing his body against Daniel's. He undulated like a snake, rubbing himself along the younger man's length.

"God, that's good," Daniel gasped, throwing his head back. He slipped his fingers around Jack's nape, pulling him closer, encouraging him to suck harder. He tightened the muscle under Jack's mouth, and suddenly Jack was nibbling all over his chest, working his way downward. Daniel flexed and relaxed his muscles as Jack's lips wandered across them, and he discovered that was an incredibly erotic sensation. He felt powerful, sexy; sure of himself in a way he hadn't been with women.

Jack's right hand moved down from his arm to his hip, his thigh, and finally to his cock. Curious fingers explored his balls, the firmness of his shaft, the shape of the helmeted head. Daniel lay helpless beneath the tender assault, letting Jack move him around, spread his legs and lie between them. He lifted his head and watched in fascination as Jack knelt between his ankles, bent over him, looking and touching, exploring what lay before him.

It was beautiful, seeing Jack experiencing at last what he'd wanted all his life, and forbidden himself to ever have. Daniel was moved when Jack bent down to his cock and stroked the head across his lips, over his cheeks, all over his face. He pressed his nose into the crease between balls and thigh and inhaled deeply, and Daniel felt him shudder with pleasure. Watching Jack was incredibly erotic. It turned Daniel on.

Jack opened his mouth to take him inside, and Daniel reached out, touched his shoulder, and said, "Wait." He rolled his upper body enough to reach the condom box and started to open it.

"No," Jack whispered, reaching out to touch his chest.

Daniel stopped fiddling with the box and made eye contact.

"We're both clean," Jack told him, his voice tight. "They make sure of that at the base. And I want..." His head lowered, his face coloring. When he spoke again, it was in a pained whisper that clearly revealed his sense of shame. "I want to drink your come. I want to taste you. Please?"

The box was tossed aside on the bed, still within reach for later use, but not for the moment.

It tore Daniel up inside to see how difficult a time Jack was having with coming to terms with his orientation; that guilty look on his face, the shamed blush in his cheeks, the lowered eyes and anguished tone of voice.

"Jack, there's nothing wrong with what we're doing," Daniel said gently. Curling up, he leaned back on one elbow and reached out to touch Jack's cheek with his right hand. "There's nothing to feel guilty about here. I'm happy to be here with you. What you've been doing with me feels amazing. I like it, and I don't want you to stop. If you want me to come in your mouth, I'll do it. Don't be ashamed for wanting this. It's part of who you are."

Without making eye contact, Jack nodded and bent back down to Daniel's cock. He took his time, renewing his acquaintance after the brief interruption, and when he was ready, he took Daniel into his mouth. The sensation took Daniel's breath away, making him collapse onto the pillows and close his eyes, losing himself in the bliss of an uncertain but very enthusiastic blowjob.

Jack's hands explored him while his lips and tongue made magic with his dick and balls. Daniel writhed in concert with the waves of sensation, deliciously erotic, heightened by the incredibly sexy noises Jack was making. That he was into what he was doing was obvious. Daniel managed to raise his head and glance down between his legs at his friend and saw that Jack was pumping his own erection while he sucked Daniel's cock, and just at that moment, jets of pearly white semen shot out, splashing against Daniel's thighs, his balls and belly.

The sight drove Daniel over the edge, and his hips came off the bed as he drove himself deep into Jack's mouth, his hands fisting up in the sheets, his teeth clenched around the rhythmic grunts forced out by his orgasm. He crashed back to the bed as it began to wane, boneless and utterly spent. Jack continued his oral assault, gently drawing his shrinking shaft deeply into his mouth, his eyes closed in bliss.

Daniel lifted one foot and stroked it over Jack's side, caressing him gently until he let go and moved up onto the bed, stretching out beside Daniel. He propped up on one elbow and gazed down into his friend's eyes.

"That was great," Daniel told him honestly. "Very hot. Did you like it?"

The look in those whiskey-brown depths changed instantly from satisfaction to guilt. Jack flopped onto his back on the pillow beside Daniel's, his face aimed at the ceiling. "Just like I thought it would be," he admitted.

"So, was it good, or would you prefer to try something else next time?"

Jack closed his eyes and sighed. "I could suck you off all day, every day, and never get tired of it," he admitted frankly. "So, anytime you want a blowjob, just let me know."

Daniel grinned. "I'll be taking you up on that," he promised. "C'mere."

"Okay." But Jack didn't move.

Rolling over, Daniel situated himself right up against his friend, threw one leg and one arm across him rested his cheek against Jack's shoulder. "You okay?"

"I'm just a little weirded out," Jack admitted, an edge of tension in his voice.

"I'm not. I kinda like this."

"Are you sleepy?"

He was. Sex did that to him, but it had also been a long evening, and he was tired. He sat up, grabbed the covers from the foot of the bed and pulled them up over them both. "Didn't you say you liked to talk after sex?"

Jack didn't answer. Daniel lifted his head and saw by the light of the bedside lamp that Jack's eyes were closed. His breathing was deep and even. He gave every appearance of being sound asleep. Smiling a little to himself, he settled his head back on the pillow, snuggled in close, and hurried to join him.

***

The lamp was still lit when Daniel opened his eyes again. He checked the bedside clock and the big, blurry red numbers announced that it was just after 1 AM. Jack had his back to him and had thrown the covers off. It was warm in the room, and a light sheen of sweat made his skin glisten.

Daniel studied him. He knew that body so well, every curve of muscle and bone, every scar, but tonight he'd seen Jack as he had never been before – aroused and enchanted by Daniel's body, but ashamed of his desire for another man. He couldn't imagine what Jack was going through, working to change the programming of a lifetime to answer an instinctive, in-born need.

Jack was homosexual. There had been stereotypical hints, of course – his love of opera, his pop culture expertise, his vainglorious attitude about how he looked – but Daniel had never associated that with his orientation. This new-found knowledge didn't change how Daniel felt about him; if anything, it made him feel closer to his friend.

If Daniel were honest with himself, he'd truly enjoyed having sex with Jack and was happily looking forward to more. Thinking about it gave him another hard-on, and he wondered if Jack would be averse to being awakened for a second round. Daniel's gaze wandered down Jack's lean form and stopped at his buttocks.

Hadn't Jack mentioned wanting to try that?

The idea made Daniel so hard his cock hurt. He scooted up closer to Jack, pressing himself against Jack's backside. Propping up on his right elbow, he leaned down, brushed his lips against Jack's shoulder, and slipped his arm over his waist.

Jack stirred slightly, his hips pressing backward, eyes still closed. "Fuck me," he whispered. His hand closed over Daniel's hand on his belly, and his eyes opened slightly. He turned his head, looking right at Daniel, eyes wary but blazing with tightly leashed desire. "You wanna?"

Daniel nodded. He reached over Jack for the bottle of lube on the nightstand, then searched around in the covers for the box of condoms. Jack sat up, moved the pillows around on the bed, shoving Daniel's far to one side, bunching his up and tucking it beneath his belly as he lay face down in the middle of the bed. His buttocks were lifted in the air, knees spread, making himself ready for Daniel.

Taking the lube with him, Daniel knelt between Jack's legs. He set the bottle down and ran his hands over Jack's back and buttocks, deftly stroking the heavy balls dangling against the pillow. It felt alien, but he thought it would be the right thing to do. Jack moaned softly with approval, and Daniel followed his hands with his lips, teeth, and tongue, nibbling, licking and kissing, warming Jack up, getting him excited all over again.

He reached for the lube and flipped the cap open, getting ready to slick himself up.

"Fingers first," Jack panted. "Loosen me up a little."

"Okay." Daniel drizzled a little of the thin, slippery liquid onto his fingertips, stroking them over the cleft as he nipped one butt cheek. That got an appreciative moan, and he found himself impatient to be pushing inside that tempting little hole. He touched it, his fingertip swirling around the outside, teasing, stroking, coaxing Jack to open for him. The skin glistened with lubricant, and with a little pressure, Daniel watched in fascination as his finger slid right inside.

It was sexy as hell, and he heard himself groan in unison with Jack. He pushed deeper, twirling his finger in a slow circle until his digit was fully imbedded in Jack's willing ass. His dick strained, his balls aching with need. His heart was pounding so hard it shook his whole body, and it took every ounce of his control to hang on and make himself take his time. He added another finger, then another, waiting until Jack begged each time for more. He drizzled more of the lubricant on and added a fourth finger, his mouth dry and breath catching in his throat as his own need pushed him toward union.

He was trying so hard to be gentle and patient, but when Jack urged Daniel to fuck him with a note of desperation in his breathless voice, Daniel couldn't wait any longer. He hurriedly slipped on a condom, then doused his cock with the lube, gripped it with a shimmering hand, and drove it into Jack's hungry ass. He froze at Jack's shout, thinking he'd hurt him, but then Jack rammed himself backward, slamming Daniel all the way into him.

Daniel watched, stunned, as Jack fucked himself on Daniel's dick, the muscles in his back and hips bunching and straining as he worked to move faster, harder, deeper. It was intoxicating. Daniel had never witnessed such abandon, such raw passion, and the sight and sound of Jack's pleasure fuelled a fire within him that utterly destroyed his control. He held onto Jack's lean hips and pounded himself furiously into Jack's ass, but it wasn't enough.

Roughly, he reached under Jack and yanked his hips higher in the air, allowing him room to reach beneath him, groping for his dick. He squeezed it, pulling on it, matching his own thrusts stroke for stroke. Jack arched his back, bringing his hips up higher, and with Daniel's next drive, Jack screamed, high-pitched and loud.

"Jack! Did I hurt you? I'm sorry!" Daniel blurted, frozen in fear.

A breathless, filthy chuckle muffled by the bed sheets wafted up to him. "Didn't hurt, Daniel," Jack promised. "So good I couldn't stand it." He panted a couple of breaths. "Do it again, and don't stop till you come."

"What did I do?" Daniel tried to remember exactly what move he'd been making, but it had been startled out of his consciousness.

"Just fuck me," Jack ordered. "We'll figure it out."

Shaken, Daniel withdrew slowly and slid back in with great care, feeling his way along.

"Oh! That's it," Jack called enthusiastically. "Go for it, big guy. Make me scream again."

With every stroke, Jack was shouting now. Daniel could feel Jack's body clench around his cock when he hit the right spot, and very quickly his uncertainty vanished in the face of Jack's pleasure. That sense of power filled him again, driving his thrusts harder, deeper, slamming their bodies together to the sound of Jack's astonished, delighted cries, pleas for more that turned into passionate curses as he reached his limit and came in Daniel's hand.

The sensation was maddeningly wonderful, throbbing all around Daniel's cock, stealing his breath, his thoughts, his control. He was nothing but motion, sensation, separated from any sense of self. Every breath sounded Jack's name, a mantra drawing him closer, driving him deeper. He needed more, needed to be closer, so he leaned over Jack's back, his hands stroking through Jack's chest hair, his teeth scraping Jack's skin as he struggled to hold on just a little longer, pumping into him with a mindless rhythm.

One of Jack's hands closed over his, holding it tightly against his pounding heart.

As Daniel kissed a ridge of muscle in Jack's back, flexed against his face, he felt his balls tighten, his orgasm striking through him like a bolt of lightning, pulsing as he came in Jack's ass.

He relaxed against Jack's backside, suddenly exhausted, his face sliding against Jack's sweaty back. He started to move, to pull out, but Jack stopped him.

"Stay there," he murmured quietly, reaching around to lay his hand on Daniel's side briefly. "I like how this feels."

Daniel smiled. "Yeah, I could tell." He pulled one hand out from beneath their stacked bodies and patted Jack's back with it. "So you enjoyed 'taking it up the ass'? Isn't that how you put it?"

"Yup. Did. Think I'm definitely gay, big guy."

Daniel's laugh was low, raspy, breathless.

Jack turned his head slightly on the pillow, trying to catch a glimpse of Daniel. "You're okay back there? I mean, this had to be a pretty big deal for a straight guy."

"I'm good," Daniel assured him happily. "No problem."

He licked Jack's back, which drew a pleased moan from his partner. He tightened his embrace, pressing against Jack's ribs. He was still grinning, and realized that this was a moment of pure happiness; he hadn't had many of those in his lifetime, so he captured it all in his memory. He took in the scent of Jack's body and the heavy, musky odor of sex and semen, the deep shadows cast by the dim light of the bedside lamp, the slick feel of the thin layer of sweat between their bodies, and how cool his backside was as the air in the room dried the moisture off.

He could feel Jack's heart beating through his shrinking cock, and reminded himself how much he cared for his friend; more than he'd ever cared about any other man. This wasn't love, he assured himself; not like men and women felt for each other, but Daniel recognized that it was every bit as deep and soul-filling as what he'd felt for Shau'ri; maybe even deeper, on some levels.

It just wasn't' the kind of love Jack was looking for and needed. Daniel could do this with him, but he wasn't gay. This intimacy was fulfilling, but it wasn't the kind of love that made lifetime commitments. It would only be temporary, but he would savor it for as long as it lasted, and when Jack felt brave enough to seek love on his own, Daniel vowed he would stand back and be happy for him. Jack was a good judge of character, so Daniel had no doubt the man he would choose as his lover would be a good guy, someone who would treat him right.

But just in case, Daniel promised himself to have a talk with Mister Right, to assure him that, if he ever intentionally hurt Jack, he'd have to answer to Daniel Jackson.

Daniel kissed him again, nibbling his way up Jack's back to his nape, and Jack shivered deliciously, his hands gripping the covers.

"God, Daniel," he gasped. "What you do to me..."

Jack tensed, and Daniel's cock finally slipped out of him. A disappointed little grunt followed, and Daniel chuckled as he retrieved the used condom and tossed it into the bedside waste bin. He wriggled against Jack's back with a satisfied sigh. "I'll admit I was a little lost in a few places, but once I got my bearings--"

"You did good," Jack told him.

Daniel rolled off him, and Jack pulled his pillow out from underneath him so he could stretch out. He reached out and put his hand on Jack's side as the other man turned to face him. "Are you sore?" he asked tentatively.

Jack's smile was brilliant, joyful. "Yeah. May not be able to sit down tomorrow, but I don't mind a bit." His expression grew serious, thoughtful. "We shouldn't have done this, Daniel. I know you say you'll be okay with it, but it changes things between us. Things that... maybe they shouldn't be changed."

Moving his hand from Jack's side to his cheek, Daniel stroked his face and hair idly, and sighed. "I feel closer to you now than I ever have, Jack," he admitted freely. "I think it might be a good change. Let's give it some time, okay? I have a lot of things I want to show you."

After a moment, Jack lifted his head and came toward Daniel, obviously intent on a kiss.

Daniel moved back on his pillow and laid his fingers across Jack's lips. "Don't," he said gently. "I think you should save your kisses for the man of your dreams. Let his be your first."

For a few seconds, Jack didn't move, staring at Daniel with shock and disbelief in his eyes. Then he was out of the bed, scooping up his clothes and striding out of the bedroom.

Daniel knew instantly that he'd pushed the wrong button and hurried after Jack, buck naked and not caring at all that they were walking through the living room, past the tall cathedral windows, into Jack's wing of the house.

He barely made it to the bedroom before Jack slammed the door.

As Daniel pushed it open, Jack instantly confronted him. "You'll fuck me, but you won't kiss me?" Jack railed, his eyes hot with pain and bottled rage. "I knew this was a bad idea. Of all the people-- You were the one – You're absolutely the last person I should've been fucking, on this or any other planet. Now get the fuck out of my bedroom!"

"No, not until you hear me out," Daniel shot back. He crossed his arms over his chest, his chin jutted out stubbornly. "If I hadn't taken you there, you would've gone the rest of your life without ever truly experiencing what it is to be gay, wouldn't you?"

Jack just glared at him. He stormed over to his bed, dropped his T-shirt on it, wrestled his sweatpants into submission and yanked them on.

"We both know that's true," Daniel added insistently. "Now you know for sure. You've experienced the pleasures of gay sex, and you know you like it. You'll want it. You'll be driven to act on your urges at some point, and the next time you meet a guy who turns you on, it'll be harder to brush him off. I want to make you comfortable with who you are, so at some point, it'll be so natural to you, you won't even consider turning the next guy down. You'll be asking him out, getting to know him, letting a real relationship develop until you find yourself head over heels in love with him. And when you take him to bed, you'll be ready to love him for the rest of your lives. That's what I want for you, Jack."

Daniel sat down on the edge of Jack's bed. Self-consciously, he pulled the covers over his lap, staring down at the floor. "I just thought there should be something that you save for the man you really want." He sighed, and when he spoke again, his voice was softer. His throat constricted, unexpected emotion gripping him. "I took your virginity tonight, you know? Don't think that doesn't mean a whole helluva lot to me, because it does."

He looked over at Jack, begging him to understand how difficult this had been for him, too. "I know how hard it was for you to let me seduce you, and I was deeply aware that every touch, everything we did together, was a first for you." He heard the hitch in his voice, but couldn't straighten it out. "Hell, it was for me, too. I've never been with another man before, but I enjoyed it. I'm humbled that you trusted me enough to let me touch you like that. It's important."

He took a deep breath, feeling his eyes burning with the need for tears, but he fought them back. "I care about you, Jack. I wouldn't have done this for anyone else."

Jack paced the room while he'd been talking, staring at the floor. His long, angry strides gradually shortened, slowed, and finally stopped as the honest emotion behind Daniel's words sank in and calmed him. After a moment's silence, Jack came over to the bed, sat down beside him and hugged him fiercely.

"I'm sorry," he whispered against Daniel's neck. One hand cradled the back of Daniel's head, the other splayed against his naked back. "But I still think this was a bad idea. I know you've got my best interests at heart, but it's wrong for us to do this. You're not gay. If you were, things would be different, but you're not, and that makes this... unnatural for you. It's gonna muck things up between us, and when it does, you won't be able to look at me anymore."

Daniel pushed back from the embrace and took Jack's face in both hands. "No, it won't. I promise. I won't let it."

There was such sadness in Jack's eyes. Daniel wanted to kiss him then, kiss all that away, but he held back. He needed to keep some kind of distance between them, because in spite of what they'd just done, that would be too much, too intimate.

"You're not going to lose me, Jack." He reached for him, pulled him back into his embrace. When he felt Jack relax moments later, he suggested they get some sleep and see how things stood in the morning.

With a nod of agreement, Jack headed for his bed and turned it down. Daniel followed him and got in on the other side. "What time's your alarm set?"

"Oh-six-hundred. Aren't you gonna sleep in your bed?"

"Nah. Need to change the sheets. We made kind of a mess." Daniel settled in, snuggling in close. "I know we've shared a tent in the field for years, but you'll like sleeping with someone again. I don't know how different it'll be with a man instead of a woman, but I'll bet you enjoy it." He smiled. "G'night, Jack."

"G'night, Daniel."

Jack turned off the lamp and put his arm around Daniel's waist.

"This is different," he whispered a little while later, "in all the best possible ways."

Daniel felt a kiss pressed against his hair, and moments later, slipped off to sleep.

The Next Evening

Daniel strolled into the theater, drawn by the sound of explosions. He found Jack sprawled in front of the TV, a half-empty bag of Smart Food in his lap and a Guinness in his grip. He looked drowsy, and Daniel checked his watch. It was after 10 PM, and Jack would be heading for bed soon – probably his own.

All day, Daniel had been thinking about how best to indoctrinate Jack into the differences of a male/male relationship. He thought about all the sweet things that Shau'ri had done for him, little expressions of affection that had meant so much. Part of that had been frequent kisses, but he wasn't doing that with Jack. What he needed were "guy" things that would make Jack smile and fill him with warmth, things that would illustrate the difference between having a man for a lover and sharing his life with a woman.

Wandering up to the empty seat in the front row, he settled in and reached across the padded arm of the chair. Jack's left hand dangled off the arm of his recliner, and Daniel laced their fingers together. "Hey," he called when Jack turned his head toward him, glancing first at their clasped hands. "You look tired. Did you have dinner?"

"Chinese," Jack answered automatically. He blinked, obviously trying to wake up a little, his gaze going back and forth between their hands and Daniel's face. "There's still some in the fridge, if you want it."

"Nah, I ate in the commissary hours ago. Sorry I was so late. We have a mission briefing tomorrow." Daniel gave his hand another squeeze, rubbing his thumb along the back of Jack's hand. "Wanna go to bed?" He rose, let go of Jack's hand and squatted down between his roommate's feet, sliding his hands over Jack's jeans-clad thighs.

Desire flared up in Jack's eyes, and the response in his crotch was immediate. "Look, Daniel, I appreciate what you're trying to do here, but--"

"I really enjoyed last night," Daniel said, cutting off Jack's coming protest. "And it's been a long time for both of us, going without any kind of release. Hell, I haven't been laid since before I was dead, till last night. I'm thinking we're both due. Don't you want to be with me, Jack?"

Daniel heard him swallow. In response, Daniel dropped to his knees, pressing forward against the chair, gazing up into Jack's dark eyes. Daniel smoothed his hand over Jack's crotch, massaging the growing erection there, and was rewarded with a half-smothered groan. Jack started to writhe in the chair.

"C'mon, Jack. Let's go to bed. We can even talk first, if you want." Daniel turned off the TV, setting the remote back down on the table between the chairs.

Jack started to protest again, and Daniel squeezed his dick. "I thought what we did last night was really hot," he admitted. "I wanna do it again. Don't you?"

"You know I can't say no to you," Jack answered huskily. "Bastard." His tone was teasing, playful, his face softened with pleasure, eyes heavy-lidded with desire.

Daniel stood up and hauled Jack out of the chair by tugging gently on his hand. He let Jack lead the way, watching his ass move as he walked, feeling his own arousal start, inspired by the view and his memories of the previous night. Holding that rough, calloused hand sent warmth all through Daniel.

He moved up by Jack's side, releasing his hand and cupping Jack's left buttock fondly. "All I've thought about today was fucking you, Jack," he murmured.

"Holy shit," Jack wheezed. He looked at Daniel with panic-stricken eyes. "Who are you, and what have you done with my geek?"

Daniel chuckled, low and dirty in his throat. He pushed Jack up against the nearest wall and rubbed himself against the other man. "Wanna fuck you," Daniel growled, nuzzling Jack's throat and cheek. "Wanna make you scream again."

"Uhhhhnnnn," Jack groaned. He reached for Daniel's hips and pulled him close. His eyes closed and his head fell back against the wall with a solid thunk.

"Bed," Daniel ordered, grazing his teeth over Jack's exposed throat. "And I want you naked when you get there."

A mewling little whimper slipped out of Jack, and he slid down the wall slightly when Daniel stepped back from him and waited for him to follow. When Jack didn't move, Daniel slipped his fingers into the waistband of Jack's pants and hauled him away from the supporting wall. "Bed," he said again, his voice husky with desire. "Naked. Now."

He propelled Jack toward his room, following him inside. "Got any lube?" he inquired, peeling off his chocolate brown sweater. He dropped it on the floor, took off his glasses, folded them up, and unfastened the snap on his jeans as he walked toward the nightstand.

Jack was standing beside the bed, his feet and torso bare, clad only in his jeans. With a guilty glance behind himself, he pulled open the nightstand drawer and pulled out a small bottle of Astroglide. "It's not what you think," Jack told him as he turned around and sat down on the bed, staring forlornly down at the floor. "I had it for a reason. Not to use with another guy, but... with a... thing."

Daniel frowned, not sure what he was talking about. "What kind of a... thing?" He laid his glasses on the nightstand and looked at Jack, his head down, face almost hidden from Daniel's view.

Whatever he said was so faint Daniel couldn't understand him. "Huh? I didn't catch that." He did notice, however, that Jack's interest had flagged. In fact, it was gone completely.

"I wanted to know what it was like," Jack admitted in a mortified whisper. His face was red to the roots of his silver hair. "And afterwards, I." He swallowed hard. "I threw it away." He shifted nervously on the bed, hands now clasped in his lap. "A dildo. I thought it was the only way I'd ever know."

Jack's anguish lanced through Daniel's heart. His friend carried so much guilt, so much shame and uncertainty, just for being who he was, and that hurt Daniel deeply. "There's nothing wrong with curiosity," he assured his friend, sitting down beside him. He put his arm around Jack's back, hugging him close, and with his left hand he stroked his palm along Jack's thigh, back and forth, back and forth. "You could've kept it, Jack. I'm okay with stuff like that. They've been used for centuries--"

"No history lessons, please," Jack cut in, a trace of irritation in his voice. "It just felt... wrong, afterward. I can't explain it, Daniel. It wasn't right. It was just sex. No love in it anywhere, and that's what I." He sighed, and fell back against the bed, covering his blushing face with his hands.

"That's what you need," Daniel finished for him. "That's what you want, and it's out there for you somewhere. He's out there, Jack. Waiting for you to find him." Daniel stood up and shucked off his pants, toed off his socks and sat back down on the bed. He laid half across Jack's reclining body, looking down into his cooling face, his left hand skimming slowly down Jack's belly toward his exposed crotch. "And until you find your dream guy, you've got me. My friendship. I care about you, Jack. I want you to be happy."

He slipped his fingers into Jack's pants, exploring the now-soft flesh of his penis.

"C'mon," whispered Daniel. "Let's get naked and get under the covers, and we'll just hold each other for a while, okay?"

Jack sat up slowly as Daniel moved away. He rose and finished undressing, and by the time he finished, Daniel had turned down the bed and slid between the sheets. He'd moved back to the side of the bed that Jack didn't use, waiting for his friend to settle.

Lying on his back, Jack stared up at the ceiling, fingers laced together under his head.

Daniel studied what he could see of him. This was so familiar; pieces of so many nights they'd slept together on other worlds, enclosed in a single tent, separated by their sleeping bags. Wiry hair sprouted from beneath Jack's armpits, and his muscles declared that his bed partner was decidedly male. He even smelled masculine; his after-shave scented with woods and spices. There was no mistaking that this was no soft woman, and yet Daniel still felt the warmth of arousal while he looked at his friend.

"You're a good-looking man, Jack," he rumbled. Daniel peeled back the covers a little, revealing the mat of curly silver hair spreading across his chest and trailing down his belly. "I'll bet a lot of guys think you're hot. I've even seen some of them looking. I'm a lucky man to have you here with me."

Jack turned his head to make eye contact. "You comin' on to me?"

With a grin, he answered, "Why, yes, I do believe I am. You mind?" He slid his hand down Jack's belly and copped a feel. "Well, look what I found. I do believe you're quite all right with the idea, too," he teased.

Groaning and closing his eyes, Jack undulated beneath his questing fingers. "Jeez, Daniel." He gasped sharply as Daniel's fingers encircled his reviving cock.

Daniel leaned down and nibbled at Jack's collarbones. He kissed and licked all over Jack's neck and shoulders while squeezing and stroking his dick to readiness. Pressing himself against Jack's hip, he thrust gently against the dry skin, pushing away the slightly unsettled feeling brought on by the knowledge that he was with another man.

This was Jack, and that made it all right.

Jack's arms settled over him, his hands tenderly stroking Daniel's hair and back. That felt good, and reminded Daniel that the caring between them was mutual. He admitted to himself that he really was enjoying this, because Jack was an attractive man whom Daniel cared for deeply, and Jack's responses to his touch were exciting. Daniel felt a guilty thrill that he could turn Jack on so thoroughly. It was a powerful feeling.

He rolled on top of Jack, reaching for the bottle of Astroglide, and when he started to move away, Jack clutched at his hips, holding him in place.

"Stay here," he whispered. "This is nice."

Daniel set the bottle back down and propped himself up on his elbows. He gazed down into Jack's face, inches away, close enough to feel the warmth of his breath against his lips and chin. There was such wonder in those liquid brown depths; it took Daniel's breath away.

"You like having me on top of you?" Daniel asked gently. "I'm not too heavy?"

"Feels nice," Jack repeated. His right hand moved away from Daniel's hip to his cheek. "God, Daniel. You're so..."

"Horny?" he teased, wriggling against him, pushing his erection into Jack's belly.

"Handsome," Jack blurted softly. "You still don't see that, do you? How you look to other people."

Daniel sobered. "That's not something I ever really think about, no. Women don't usually look at me and see a guy they'd be interested in dating, much less going for anything more."

Jack shook his head against the pillow. "I think they do see you, Daniel. You just don't catch them staring, but they see. They also know you're unattainable. You give off these 'don't touch me' vibes."

"I know." Daniel frowned. "It's an old habit. I spent so much time pushing people away when I was a kid, I forgot how to let them close."

"You let me in," Jack went on quietly, his fingertips exploring the curve of Daniel's jaw, his lips and chin, his reverent gaze following his fingers as the moved over Daniel's face. "Why is that, Daniel? As much of a pain in the ass as I've been, and you still like me – I don't get that."

Cradling the side of Jack's face in his palm, Daniel connected with Jack's eyes. "Abydos," he answered softly. "Thor's Hammer. Nem. The Cor-Ai. Kelowna. There are a lot of reasons I trust you. We've had a lot of years to learn to look over our differences, and I think, deep down where it matters most, we're pretty much alike."

Half of Jack's mouth hitched up in a grin, and his eyes twinkled. "Well, we've both got boners right now," he observed.

"Mmm-hmmm." Daniel reached for the bottle of lube and lifted himself off Jack just enough to squirt a generous amount of the slippery liquid between them.

Jack gasped. "Oooo, that's cold!"

"It'll warm up," promised Daniel. He set the bottle back down and settled over Jack, rubbing himself back and forth to spread the lubricant. He wallowed on Jack, surprised and delighted with the feel of Jack's hard-on rubbing against his own erection and poking into his belly. It was exciting. Arousing. Forbidden.

He felt very naughty, and loved it. He grinned down at Jack. "Belly fuck?"

Jack just nodded, his hands catching Daniel's waist, holding onto him, pulling him closer. He wasn't smiling now. His eyes glittered with desire, and his breathing was short and shallow.

Daniel was amazed at how turned on he got when Jack looked at him that way. He felt those big, masculine hands smoothing over his buttocks, squeezing and massaging, then moving up his back, mapping out the large plates of muscle on either side of his spine, dipping possessively into the small of his back. Daniel bent down and kissed the side of Jack's neck, earning a soft groan of approval. He nipped the soft skin there, and Jack's fingers dug into his back.

Need began to nudge him for attention, and he started to thrust against Jack's belly. Long, slow strokes rubbed his cock alongside Jack's. It felt strange. It wasn't the slick, wet, surrounding heat of a woman's body. It seemed somehow even more sexual, more powerful than making love to a woman. His arousal grew quickly, heating him up inside, filling him with a strength he'd never felt before. It pushed him to the edge, and he fought to maintain some sort of control, but realized he was slipping fast, sliding headlong toward ecstasy.

His delicate nibbles around Jack's neck and shoulders became hungry bites. His hands clawed at Jack's hips and thighs, bringing his legs up to embrace Daniel's waist. Jack arched beneath him, thrusting in a complementary rhythm, groaning and sighing and calling Daniel's name until he begged Daniel to come with him.

Fastening his mouth to Jack's neck, Daniel sucked hard, trying to anchor himself against Jack's passion, but there was no use fighting it. Their bodies straining, limbs clutching and clinging, they came in the slick, sweaty void between them, collapsing in a panting heap when the intense pleasure began to fade.

Daniel lifted his head wearily and eyed his friend in the lamplight, taking note of the dark red suction bruise on the side of Jack's glistening, sweaty neck. He glanced at Jack's smiling face, wondering what the hell he was so smug about.

"You gave me a hickey, didn'tcha?"

Daniel cleared his throat. "I didn't mean to," he said to the pillow beside Jack's head. "I guess I got a little carried away."

"No shit," Jack agreed enthusiastically, "but don't worry. I won't tell anyone you marked me. They'll all just assume I'm seeing someone, and I'm not tellin' who. Nobody will know but us."

For a moment, Daniel was quiet, just looking at the evidence of his passion. It was arousing. He'd never done that before, not with any of his past lovers, because he knew they hurt. It damaged the person being marked, and he'd always treated the women in his life with the utmost care and respect, never letting his passion rule him so profoundly that he lost control like that.

But Jack wasn't a woman. He was a big, strong man, bigger than Daniel was himself, though he outweighed Jack by a few pounds of sheer muscle. Seeing that mark on Jack's neck – a brand of ownership that he had placed there – brought with it a sense of possessiveness that shocked Daniel to the core. He was fucking Jack O'Neill, sexually dominating him, and that knowledge set him on fire.

He thought about kissing Jack on the mouth and wiping that insufferably pleased look right off his face. If he could get his dick up again, he knew he'd be fucking Jack into the mattress next time, making him scream and come all over both of them. He wanted that, ached for it. He needed it.

And that scared him.

Daniel disentangled himself from Jack, stretched out beside him and tucked his face into the crook of Jack's neck. He clasped Jack's hand and held it over his heart, amazed that they'd managed to get the lubricant all over both their torsos. He could smell their semen and it turned his stomach a little, but he couldn't let Jack know that. The sex was way too good; he was enjoying it far too much, and that made Daniel a little sick.

He wasn't gay.

He just wasn't, and he had to make sure Jack knew that, so he didn't expect this sort of thing to continue.

"One of these days," Daniel said quietly, "you're gonna meet a really hot guy, maybe someone like Nikolai. You'll talk and get to know each other. You'll hold hands, like we did tonight, and you'll fall in love. You'll have all this and so much more. It'll be beautiful. I want that for you."

"I know you do, and I'm touched that you dream that for me," Jack murmured. "It means a lot, but I can't dream those things for myself. I just can't."

Daniel didn't argue with him. He'd find a way to make Jack face his fears and conquer his shame of being a gay soldier, for he was certain that was at the heart of Jack's resistance to accept the possibility of love with another man in his life. When he did that, he'd happily commend Jack's heart into the care of another man, one who would care for him as deeply as Daniel did himself.

Three Months Later, PX4-010

It was night, and it was cold, and Jack didn't like the feel of the forest around them. The trees were bizarrely shaped, and the first contact team had declared that they could uproot themselves and walk, albeit slowly. The gay SAR team had been called in to find SG-11's missing archaeologist, and after three days of searching, Jack and his unit had found the man relatively unharmed, held prisoner by some of the sentient alien creatures that populated that strange, unnerving world.

A harmless demonstration of their firepower had effected Doctor Nikolai Sikorsky's release, and now the SAR team was on its way back to the stargate with him and the rest of SG-11. Sentries had been posted to watch for pursuit, but Jack really didn't think anyone was coming after them. The aliens had been genuinely afraid and apparently glad to be rid of them. As long as the SG people were in retreat, he felt pretty certain there wouldn't be any attempt to stop them from going home, but it was always better to be cautious.

Jack cast a glance at the ugly, twisted trees and felt his insides quiver with revulsion. Better to think of something else and let his team do its job. It was time for him to be getting a little shut-eye anyway. Dumping out the biodegradable contents of his half-eaten MRE, he stowed the pouch in a Ziploc bag and tucked it into his backpack for disposal once they returned to base.

He gave a nod to his 2IC, passing command to Major Campisi for a few hours. Just before he ducked into his tent, Jack noted that the rest of his team was also stationed at the perimeters of the camp, keeping watch on the eerie woods.

The rest of the SAR team had already gone to their tents, except for their team medic, who was finishing up a field dressing on some of Doctor Sikorsky's injuries. Niko had deep lacerations on one arm, and they'd already starting to get infected when they'd found him, so the medic had given them a vigorous debridement, medicated them with an antibiotic salve, and had just now finished bandaging him up.

Jack watched Sikorsky as he stood and rolled down the sleeve of his BDU jacket.

The man was drop-dead gorgeous, and whenever he was around, Jack found it hard to take his eyes off him. Jack remembered him from the wedding a few months earlier, when he'd been surprised to learn he was one of the new hires in Daniel's department. Sikorsky had just finished training and been assigned to SG-11 when Jack met him during the reception. Since then, Jack had worked with him a couple of times on rescue missions, whenever the SAR folks had needed the assistance of one of the linguists, and Daniel hadn't been available.

Nikolai had also been a frequent dinner guest of Daniel's, along with a handful of the other gay academics at the SGC. Jack wasn't completely clueless. He'd known what that had been about, and he'd politely stayed out of Daniel's machinations as much as possible. It had been difficult to stay away when this guy was in the house, though, because he was such a knockout, and so affable. Jack had liked him instantly, but had continued to shy away when Nikolai wanted to get personal.

Sikorsky was a little shorter than Jack, a little beefier, but he had such gentle manners that few people really noticed what a big man he was. All they saw were lapis-colored eyes, a blinding smile, and a thick mane of straight blond hair with just enough curl at the ends to frame his perfect face. Wherever he went, people's eyes followed, but in the field his troops were professionals and kept their attention on their duties, all but ignoring the pretty boy.

"Sikorsky," Jack called when the medic was finished with him, "you're with me." He nodded toward his tent, and with a smile, the civilian followed him inside the low-pitched temporary dwelling.

Jack sat down to unlace his boots, setting them off to one side, within easy reach of his sleeping bag, while Sikorsky knelt down to prepare his own bed. Jack took off his BDU jacket and black ball cap, but nothing else, and lay down. He folded the bag over himself, not bothering to zip it up, listening to his tent-mate undressing for a night's rest.

"We could zip our bags together and share some body heat," Sikorsky suggested playfully, stripping off his pants and kneeling down with the grace of a dancer, hesitating before covering himself up in his own sleeping bag. He waggled his eyebrows at Jack and grinned shamelessly.

"We could, but we're not," Jack told him flatly, keeping it all business. He glanced over at the flirty expression on the man's face as he zipped himself up in his own bag. "How's the arm?"

Nikolai sighed. "It's fine. Just a few scratches. That balm or whatever the hell it was your medic was putting on me hurt like hell, but it's better now." He turned his head to make eye contact. "Say, Jack, d'you mind tellin' me why Daniel keeps trying to throw us together, when you so obviously don't wanna gimme the time o' day?"

Jack enjoyed the sound of Nikolai's deep Southern accent. His voice rippled like velvet over his nerve endings, giving him goose bumps every time the man spoke. Physically, everything about him was attractive, but Jack already knew he had a reputation for sleeping with any big dick with an interest. One-night stands were not Jack's thing, no matter how hot and tempting the package.

"Nothing personal, but that's none of your business," Jack told him, "so don't go there, all right?"

"It never is personal with you," Nikolai sighed back. "I've been tryin' to hook up with you since I first laid eyes on you, and you keep brushin' me off. I even asked around about you, and you know what the guys say? That you're untouchable. I don't get that."

"It's not yours to get," said Jack, closing his eyes. "Catch some rest while you can, Sikorsky. It's still a long trek back to the gate."

Nikolai fell silent, and Jack switched off his flashlight, plunging the tent into darkness. He turned over, putting his back to the man to get some privacy.

All he could think about, once his eyes were closed, was Daniel. Images streamed through his mind, threatening to arouse him. The last few months had been the hottest time of Jack's life; a constant diet of touching, sharing and togetherness that filled him with a twisted kind of peace derived from the knowledge that this was exactly what he'd wanted and needed all his life, and torturing him with the fact that he would never truly have it. Daniel seduced him regularly, making him feel as if he were the sexiest, most desirable man alive. Their time together was, for lack of a better word, romantic.

Daniel was simply amazing. He'd taken to sex with Jack like a duck to water, and the passion he'd revealed to Jack had blown him away. They'd fucked in nearly every room of that huge house, and sometimes Daniel had gotten so hot he'd taken Jack up against the nearest wall. Daniel was also marking him on a regular basis now, always above the waist where others would see, and Jack could tell that doing it turned him on. Daniel had been being surprisingly alpha with him, and it'd been damned good, truly the stuff of dreams. But every time Daniel fucked him, he'd immediately destroy the afterglow with a reminder that Jack could have all that with someone else, if he'd just go out looking for it.

Loving Daniel like that had become agony. Every orgasm was followed by an enormous sense of dread, knowing what Daniel was going to say, and when he did, the moment those well-intentioned words left his mouth, Jack's heart would turn to stone, the walls would come up, and he would struggle to keep the pain of that sweet rejection to himself.

It wasn't just the suggestions that he go looking for someone else, either. Daniel had never gone down on him, wouldn't even kiss Jack's body below the waist, except for his ass, or above the chin, for that matter. Jack figured he understood why, of course. Daniel was undoubtedly holding onto his heterosexuality and avoiding doing the things that might cross too deeply into gay territory. Jack doubted Daniel was even aware of what he wasn't doing, but Jack noticed. He never asked Daniel for anything or made any suggestions; he simply took whatever Daniel was willing to give him and didn't complain. They just didn't talk about it.

Jack knew he needed to stop their sexual relationship. He had to find a way to end the unintentional torture, before it drove him nuts. He didn't want to argue with Daniel about it; didn't want to tell him that the sweet pressure he was applying wouldn't change his mind about dating or sleeping with other men. After all, Daniel had accomplished what he'd intended -- Jack was well broken in. He DID love it, and he DID want more.

There was only one thing that would deter Daniel from his course of action, and Jack knew it.

With a sigh, he turned over onto his back again. "Nik?" he called softly into the darkness. "You still awake?"

"Yes, Jack. It's damn hard to lie down next to you and actually sleep. Without at least one orgasm first, anyway." His delivery was dry and slightly irritated.

"Listen, I've been thinking maybe you're right. Maybe we should try dating," Jack said slowly. "Nothing fast or fancy. I'm kinda old-fashioned about that sort of thing. So if you're still interested..."

He could hear the smile on the other man's face when he spoke. "Really? No shit? What changed your mind?"

"Daniel. He's been nagging at me for months to get started. I'm thinking taking the plunge is gonna be the only thing to get him off my back."

Nikolai chuckled. "Oh, baby! I'd love to have Daniel on my back! I've been lustin' after him for fifteen years."

Jack snorted. "Yeah, well, he's not interested in either one of us, so I guess we're stuck with each other."

There was rustling and unzipping in the dark tent, and Jack already knew what that meant.

"Stay put, Sikorsky," he ordered firmly. "No fooling around in the field. That's my rule. We keep it at home, not off world."

Silence.

Jack heard the zipper in action again, followed by a defeated sigh from the archaeo-linguist.

"So what am I supposed to do with this boner?" he asked, his voice husky with invitation.

"Try reciting the military alphabet. Backwards. Always works for me." Jack turned over again, a plan forming in his mind. Maybe it wasn't a good plan or a smart one, but it was the best he could come up with at the moment. If he were lucky, it might even work.

The one thing he didn't want was to lose Daniel's friendship; that meant more to him than anything else. He could live the rest of his life in complete celibacy, because he'd had the love of his lifetime in his arms and in his bed. He could stand beside Daniel and never touch him again, because that was what Daniel wanted – to be relieved of the burden of sleeping with another man. He was doing this out of kindness and charity, and Jack didn't want to be a pity fuck any longer.

Being with another man was the only thing that would convince Daniel that his plan had worked, so that was what Jack was going to give him. Sikorsky would be a mere pawn in this scheme, but he wasn't the type to fall in love. He just wanted a piece of Jack's ass, or for Jack to have a piece of his. Either way, once Daniel believed he was free of his obligation, Jack would break it off with Nikolai, and he and Daniel could get back to being just friends.

He didn't even have to really go to bed with anyone. All he needed was for Daniel to think he had, to see Jack with someone and let Daniel draw his own conclusions. Once Daniel was satisfied that his plan had worked, he'd back off.

Then Jack would spend the rest of his life with love at arm's length, always just out of reach. That was best for both of them. It was what Daniel wanted, and making Daniel happy was the important thing. Jack closed his eyes, committed now to this course of action that would free them both from bondage.

Four Days Later

Daniel barely heard the sound of voices floating up from downstairs. He was concentrating on studying a text in Phoenician, making notes as he went. He let his attention stray long enough to confirm that one of the voices belonged to Jack before shrugging off the fact that Jack was now home from wherever he'd been all day. Jack had been vague about where he was going when he left that Saturday morning, but Daniel had a lot of work to do and not much time to do it. He had stayed home and gotten started on that, and only now did he realize he hadn't had anything to eat.

He glanced at his watch. It was early evening, and the sun would be going down soon. Closing the book, his pen marking his place, he set it aside on the arm of the chair and rose.

Rather than disturb Jack with his guest or guests downstairs, Daniel headed for the circular stairs, cut through the foyer into the dining room, and busied himself in the kitchen making a quick sandwich. When that was done, he added some potato chips to the side of the plate, poured himself a tall glass of iced tea, and put away the bread and lunch meat. Taking the plate in one hand and beverage in the other, he returned to the library the way he had come.

Setting his dinner down on the table beside his chair, he contemplated taking a little break and seeing who it was Jack had brought home with him. Strolling over to the balcony railing, he looked down into the living room. At first, he didn't see anyone, but the sound of a soft groan drew his gaze to the sofa facing the fireplace.

Movement caught his eye. His ears perked up, and Daniel was certain he heard soft moans and sighs. He squinted, trying to see in the fading light downstairs, and the action he'd noticed, mostly hidden by the back of the sofa, became more obvious. He could see Jack's familiar hands, stroking downward across a broad back covered by a white shirt. Jack's face was lifted and turned away and a blond head was busy with his neck. Jack's jeans-clad knees were bent and raised into view behind the sofa back. The other man's unshod, stockinged feet were lifted into the air as he lay on his belly against an almost-reclining Jack O'Neill. The sounds were now wet murmurs of pleasure as the other man moved down Jack's chest.

Jack was down there. With another man. A man who was kissing him.

Daniel could see it all.

His fingers tightened on the balcony railing until they turned white, his teeth clenched so hard his jaws hurt. He stared; couldn't even blink. Heat rose up inside him, urging him to action. He wanted to go down there and pull that man off Jack.

"C'mon, darlin'," urged a breathless, familiar voice between kisses. "Let me make you feel good. Wanna make you come. Let's take this behind closed doors."

"No. Stop." Jack's voice was soft, barely more than a whisper, and Daniel's ears strained to hear it. "Nik, don't."

Hatred filled Daniel at the sound of that name. Nikolai Sikorsky sat up, breathless, his golden hair mussed by roving hands. Jack's hands.

"What? Jack, I thought you wanted this." He looked down. "Your dick sure does." He grinned, flashing that megawatt smile. "C'mon, Jack. Dan'l could walk in on us any minute. Let's go to your room. You're so hot, moi mileya."

He came at Jack again, aiming for his lips, and found himself on his back on the floor.

"Sorry," Jack apologized instantly. "I have a thing about Russians." He helped Nikolai up, and immediately the blond was pushing him back against the seat cushions, straddling his lap. "Wanna see you naked, Jack," he purred, pushing Jack's shirt open. "Wanna ride your big, beautiful dick, Hot Stuff. You're a Top, aren't you, big guy?"

Jack groaned, a sound of unabashed need. Nikolai rode Jack's crotch like a rodeo bull rider, grinding his ass against Jack's dick. Daniel saw Jack's body arch up toward him, heard him grunt with need.

"Damn it, I said no!" Jack reiterated, tossing his would-be lover onto the floor again. "What part of that did you not understand, Sikorsky?"

Daniel strolled along the banister, blatantly eavesdropping, struggling to control the rage he was feeling. He watched as Jack sat up on the sofa, turning to put his feet on the floor as he nervously ran his hands through his hair and started re-buttoning his shirt.

Nikolai had been lying on top of Jack. Between his legs. Rubbing on him, making him hard. Offering Jack his ass. Whorls of color swirled around the edges of Daniel's vision. His lips pressed firmly together. His breathing was quick and shallow, and his whole body was quivering with fury.

"I don't – I can't do this, Nik. I thought I could, but I can't. I just can't. I'm sorry." Jack sighed. "Maybe you should go."

Sikorsky stood up beside the couch, looking down at his date, hands on his hips. "I just got here. You've spent all day leading me on, gettin' me all worked up, and now you wanna just cut me off? You never struck me as a cock tease, O'Neill."

Slowly, Jack lifted his head, making eye contact for a second before returning his gaze to the floor. "Wasn't tryin' to be. This was wrong for us to try. Wrong for me, anyway." He leaned over and put his head in his hands. "Please. Don't make this harder than it has to be."

For a moment, Nikolai just stared at him. When he sensed this wasn't going any further, he stepped into his discarded shoes and strolled toward the front door. "Let me know if you change your mind, Jack. I might not be waitin' by the phone, but I'll get here as quick as I can."

Jack mumbled something Daniel couldn't hear, but he didn't wait for anything more. He headed for the circular stairs by the front door, arriving at the foyer just after Sikorsky had gone outside. Following him, Daniel pulled the door quietly closed and caught the man by the elbow as he was pulling his car keys out of his pocket. His shirt was still unbuttoned, his hair mussed, his half-hard dick still showing down the leg of his jeans.

Nikolai smiled at him, apparently surprised to see him there. "Oh, hi, Dan'l."

Daniel moved in on him, standing almost nose-to-nose. Speaking through lightly clenched teeth, gazing right into his startled eyes, Daniel told him, "If you ever touch Jack O'Neill again, I'll beat you to a bloody pulp. Capiche, Sikorsky?"

Recoiling, obviously shocked by Daniel's venom, he stammered, "Wh-what? What'd I do? We were just makin' out, Daniel. He wanted me to. He fucking started it! He invited me here." His blue eyes narrowed. "And you've been singin' his praises to me, havin' me over to dinner, assignin' me to SAR missions under his command wherever you could, takin' every opportunity to push Jack and me together. You wanted this. Practically engineered it yourself, an' now you're bitchin' at me for touchin' him? What's up with that?"

"None of that matters," Daniel ground out. "He doesn't want you touching him. Doesn't want you fucking him, and neither do I." He poked the other man in the chest with one finger, his chin thrust out, body tense and ready for a fight. "Ya got it?" He wanted Sikorsky to take a swing at him so he'd have an excuse to pound him into the dirt. Daniel had learned a lot about hand-to-hand combat over the last ten years at the SGC; way more than Sikorsky knew, and Daniel was itching for battle.

Sikorsky glared at him, a frown tugging his perfect brown eyebrows downward. "Poshol na moi huey," he spat angrily.

"You go jump on a dick, Niko," Daniel retorted, translating and throwing the phrase right back at him in English. "Any dick but Jack's. Or mine."

The blond wilted a little, some of the anger seeping out of him, leaving only disappointment in its wake. "Yeah, I got it, boss-man. I thought things'd be different with Jack. Thought he might be somebody I could settle down with." He smiled bitterly, easing back from Daniel, putting some space between them. "Wouldn't you know the one man I really believed I could hang my heart on doesn't want me?" He shook his head, looking down at his keys in his hand. He sorted through them for the one to his Land Rover before giving Daniel another calculating stare.

The other man's heartfelt lament got through to Daniel, making him realize that Sikorsky's interest in Jack had been genuine, deeper than he had expected. It was like a cold dash of water in his face, cooling his rage instantly. "I'm sorry, Niko," he told the man honestly. "I shouldn't have tried to play matchmaker. It's just that, from what Jack told me, you were just what he was looking for, aside from being... well, promiscuous. He's not exactly okay with that, but I figured if anybody could get him out on the dating scene, it'd be you." He shrugged. "I should've kept my nose out of it."

"May I ask what Jack told you?" Nikolai asked quietly, still studying his boss. "I mean, about what he wanted in a lover."

Daniel repeated it verbatim. He watched Sikorsky's expression change from intent to surprised, with a huge, irrepressible grin. He shook his head and chuckled as Daniel finished the list. "Well, I'll be damned," he murmured. He clasped Daniel's face in both hands and said, "Daniel, Daniel. What am I gonna do with you? Dushka, he wasn't describing me." He patted Daniel's cheeks and chortled, "Don't you get it? He was describing you!"

He leaned in and kissed Daniel on the mouth, quick and soft, and then glanced over his shoulder toward the front door. Daniel followed his gaze and saw Jack standing there with his hands stuffed into his trouser pockets, watching them and looking none too pleased. Daniel pushed Nikolai away and stepped backward. He stared his long-time friend in the eye and growled, "I told you in college I wasn't like that. Kiss me again, and I'll knock your ass into next week." He eyed Jack again, then looked back at Nikolai. "And leave Jack alone. He's made his position clear. Just be friendly; nothing else."

"Sure thing, Dan'l," Sikorsky told him, unlocking his vehicle. "This city's crawling with hot men in uniform, an' I'm enjoyin' making my way through every single one of 'em." He winked at Jack as he opened the car door. "All but the one I most wanted. Too bad he's not available. Somebody else got to him first." He grinned at Daniel, got into the Rover, and drove away.

Embarrassed and certain he was blushing, Daniel hugged himself and plodded up the front walk to the steps where Jack stood, waiting for him.

"Hey, Jack," he said, unable to find anything better to say.

"You let him kiss you," Jack accused.

Daniel frowned and shook his head. "Nah, he just surprised me. I wasn't expecting it. Told him if he did it again, I'd sic Teal'c on him."

Jack turned and walked into the house, with Daniel right behind him. "Were you getting the lowdown on our date?"

"Not exactly." Daniel wasn't too eager to tell Jack what he'd been discussing with his colleague. What Nikolai had said confused him. How could Jack have been describing Daniel to his face? Why wouldn't he have just said--

Daniel stopped walking. His head came up. Everything made perfect sense, now that Niko had rubbed his nose in it. Of course Jack wouldn't tell Daniel that he wanted him, because Daniel wasn't gay!

Everything fell neatly into place, and Daniel's stomach turned over.

Jack turned around just then and must have seen that all was not well with Daniel Jackson. "You okay?" he asked, reaching out for him.

Instinctively, Daniel avoided his grasp. "I just feel a little sick," he answered brusquely. "Must have been that sandwich I ate. I'll be fine." He waved away Jack's hands and sidestepped, heading at a brisk walk for the living room stairs. "I'm just gonna... I've got more research to do, and then I'm gonna go to bed. I'm not feeling so good."

"Can I get you anything?" Jack called from the foyer behind him.

"No, Jack, really. I'll be fine." He put a hand to his stomach, where it felt like a flock of pigeons had been startled into flight. Retreating to the quiet of the library, Daniel ignored the uneaten sandwich, still sitting on the plate where he'd left it, and began to pace, his mind awhirl with all that had just happened.

He couldn't think clearly. He sat down to mindlessly eat the sandwich, but the first bite stuck in his throat, and he couldn't bear to eat the rest. He sneaked downstairs to dispose of it quietly, making sure Jack was nowhere around before dropping it into the trashcan and covering it with a paper towel. Then he went back upstairs to his bathroom, turning on the hot water for a long soak in the tub, hoping that would relax him enough to go to sleep.

Only he couldn't relax. He kept thinking about Jack, about all they'd done together, and how Daniel had felt during and afterward. The initial reluctance to have sex with Jack had dissipated quickly, replaced by a hunger that had startled Daniel at first, but he hadn't paid much attention to it, brushing that aside, telling himself that he was doing this for Jack.

That hadn't been completely true, though. He'd also been doing it for himself. He liked fucking Jack. Found himself thinking about it more and more frequently. Fantasized about it, thinking up different things they could do together. Touching Jack was wonderfully comforting, and sitting with him in the theater room, watching TV together and holding hands had been incredibly sweet. He'd begun to enjoy it, and loved coming up behind Jack in the kitchen and just hugging him. Best of all was waking up with him in the morning, untangling himself from those long arms and legs and seeing Jack's face on the pillow next to his as he awakened.

Thinking back over those memories, Daniel began to realize what he'd been feeling during those moments, and it shook him up. He'd been happy; content as he had so rarely felt in his lifetime. Sex with Jack was filled with that same joy, and a sense of rightness that had blown away his initial resistance to the idea of being intimate with another man.

Daniel looked out the window at the lights of the city shining against the darkness. He couldn't possibly be in love with Jack O'Neill. Could he? Because if he were, that would mean everything he believed about his orientation had been a lie. Wouldn't it?

He dropped his hands into the bath water and lifted some to his face, splashing the hot liquid over his skin. It felt good, and the heat made his eyes droop. He was tired, so very tired, and just wanted to sleep. Wearily, he climbed out of the tub and grabbed a towel, dried himself off and wandered naked into the bedroom to fetch his pajamas.

Just after stepping into them, Daniel heard soft footsteps on the polished wood floor, and turned to see Jack approaching the bed. Without a word, he turned down the covers and got in on the side opposite where Daniel slept, turning his back to the empty side of the bed.

Daniel headed back toward the bathroom to finish getting ready for bed, then hesitated at the doorway. "I thought you'd be sleeping in your room tonight."

"Not if you're sick," Jack answered flatly. "I can't hear you from downstairs, and if you need me, I'll be right here. When you're feeling better, I'll start sleeping in my room again." He turned slightly, gazing at Daniel over his shoulder. "Unless you want me to move out completely."

"No, Jack, I don't want you to move out." The thought of Jack and Nikolai making out grated against his consciousness. He turned away, his stomach roiling again, and went into the bathroom to brush his teeth. When he was finished, he headed for the bed, turning out lights as he went, only the bedside lamp still lit. Setting his glasses on the nightstand, he glanced over at the man in his bed.

He understood that things were different between them now. Jack had finally taken his advice and brought someone home. He'd been on a date, probably out all day with Niko, working up to bringing him home for sex... only Jack hadn't been able to go through with it.

Daniel slipped beneath the covers and turned out the lamp on the nightstand, plunging the room into darkness. After a few moments, his eyes adjusted and he could see a little moonlight coming in through the sheers covering his bedroom windows. He could feel Jack behind him, and knew that his friend – his lover – was still awake. He was painfully aware that Jack hadn't touched him, obviously keeping his distance because he'd brought Nikolai home, and because he thought Daniel was sick. Jack was trying to take Daniel's advice and start dating, but he didn't know if that were because Jack agreed and was ready to start his search for a mate, or if Nikolai's bold statement were correct.

He'd need to talk to Jack about it at some point, but the time for that wasn't tonight. Daniel was tired. His emotions were on a roller coaster ride, and he couldn't think through what was happening to him. He needed time to sort everything out; that was all.

Closing his eyes, he tried to sleep, to shut his mind off and just get some rest. He turned over, unable to get comfortable. He couldn't even lie still, his body complaining and adjusting, looking for some position that would allow him to settle, but he couldn't find it.

After several minutes, Jack scooted backward in the bed. Without a word between them, Daniel got one arm around his waist and they spooned up together, Jack's back pressed up against Daniel's chest, warming him through and through. He relaxed, his face leaning against Jack's nape. Daniel closed his eyes again, and in moments, found his way to sleep, with Jack in his arms.

Two Days Later

Daniel stood in the control booth, his heart torn in two. He wanted so much to just run down into the embarkation room and grab Jack, pour his heart out to him right then and there, but it was too late now. Jack's mind was already elsewhere, involved in the rescue mission.

Jack's eyes swept over his team, checking them for readiness, then turned up to the booth to find General Hammond and give him the thumbs up. The general gave the order to dial the gate, and as soon as he turned away, Jack's gaze moved to Daniel's face, regret and pain in those warm brown eyes.

As Jack put his back to the window, facing the ramp, Daniel started to panic, knowing his friend might well return on a stretcher, or not at all. He bent down and grabbed the microphone, pushing the button to allow him to speak into the 'gate room. "Jack!" he called.

Instantly, Jack's helmeted head turned to look up at him with expectant eyes.

"Come back to us," Daniel blurted. "Bring 'em home safe."

That wasn't what he'd wanted to say. He watched as Jack gave him a tiny smile and a thumbs-up sign, before he turned away again. Daniel couldn't form the words with his mouth, couldn't grasp the slippery thought well enough to hang onto it, and then Jack was gone through the wormhole, into yet another battle to save the lives of others.

Daniel left the control room with his insides churning, knowing he'd blown an important opportunity, one that might have been his last to tell Jack how he felt. Gaze on the painted stripes on the corridor floor, he headed back to his office, but as he entered the elevator he met the eyes of another of Jack's gay soldiers, probably on his way home for the day, judging by his civilian clothes.

"Doctor Jackson," the airman greeted him quietly.

As he nodded at the man, Daniel couldn't stop staring at the pin the other man wore on the collar of his jacket. Realization struck him like a lightning bolt, ideas forming at light speed in his consciousness. By the time the airman reached his destination, Daniel had returned to his office. He sat down in his chair, connected to the Internet, and began to search for rainbow pins like the airman had been wearing. He made his purchase and ordered the shipment express, hoping they'd arrive in time, and went to present his thoughts to General Hammond.

After he'd signed out for the day, he stopped by one of the gay-friendly stores in town, where he bought all the rainbow flags, pins and bracelets he could find. He did his best to make it through a lonely evening in an empty house, worrying about Jack. Morning finally came after a restless night with little sleep, and he returned to the base early, handing out the items to the men guarding the gate.

A surprised look flitted across their faces. "Thanks, Doctor Jackson, but I'm not gay," said the officer who checked his ID.

"Me, either," he told the man, looking up at him earnestly from behind the wheel of his car, "but I have friends in the military who are. They've put their lives on the line plenty of times for me, for all of us, and by wearing their symbol I'm showing my support for them. Think about that. You know what they did in Afghanistan and Iraq. Maybe one of them saved someone you love. This is a great way to thank them for being there, and to show your support off duty."

Shortly after mid-morning, the supply officer came to his office with a cart, stacked high with several boxes. He thanked her and started to cut through all the wrapping on the cartons. When that was done, he took the cart and headed for the infirmary, leaving pins with each of the wounded recently brought back from the other side of the 'gate by the gay SAR unit. Then he went to the commissary and handed out some more. He went up to the control room, into the officers' lounge, to the academic staff's offices and by the general's office to inform him that the items they had discussed were being delivered. He handed them out in the corridors to whatever personnel he saw, until he had only two left. After a brief visit to Teal'c's quarters to leave a pin there for him, he took the empty cart back to the supply station and returned to the 18th floor.

Passing by his own office, he continued down the corridor to Sam's lab. He found her sitting on a tall stool at her workbench, safety goggles over her eyes, prying into the parts of an alien machine.

A week earlier, SG-1 had been caught in a territorial dispute off world, and during the conflict, Sam had been injured and separated from her team. Teal'c had radioed in the request for SAR support, and Jack and his team had been the ones to bring her home. Getting to her in the midst of that civil war hadn't been an easy task; Jack and his men had risked their lives to get her back safely, and everyone knew it.

At his knock, she glanced up and gave him a smile. "Hey, Daniel. What's up?"

She turned her gaze back to the machine and deftly removed a small metal shield. A light inside flashed on, and she backed up a little, grabbing for one of her measuring devices. "Well, it's not radiation, so that's good. Let me just..." She went after the insides with a pair of long handled forceps, and the light went off. "There, that's better."

She put the tool aside and pushed back from the bench, reaching for a pair of crutches propped up beside her. "Hey, this is a good time to take a break. Wanna go with me to get some coffee?"

"Maybe in a minute," he told her. "I wanted to talk to you about something first."

"Sure thing. Shoot." She balanced on the crutches, keeping her injured foot off the ground.

Daniel glanced down at it. "How's your foot today?"

"Good. I should be able to bear weight on it in another week." She hobbled toward him a few steps to demonstrate.

He met her eyes then. "I've got something for you." He held out the pin to her, watching her eye it in distaste.

"I don't want that thing," she snapped, her pleasant mood suddenly gone. She crutched her way back to her stool.

"They saved your life," he reminded her gently. "Jack saved your life, just like he's done hundreds of times. He's always been gay, Sam. He couldn't admit it to himself or to anyone else for a long time, but he hasn't really changed as a person. He's still basically the same man we both know and love, and we owe him the honor of allying ourselves with him."

"I'm not a lesbian, and I'm not wearing that damned pin," she growled, turning hot, angry eyes up to meet his.

Daniel's lips pressed together in disapproval. He reached up with his other hand and fingered the pin on his own lapel, drawing her eyes to it. "I know we're not supposed to have personal insignia on our base fatigues or uniforms, Sam, but I thought, just this once, maybe we might let these men know they're valued, so I talked to General Hammond about it. He's sent out a memo that allows the pins to be worn today only, by those who choose to do so, in honor of our gay comrades-in-arms, to welcome them home."

She stared at him, her expression hard and unforgiving.

"Western society was built on the ideas of the ancient Greeks, the first to bring civilization out of tribal chaos, the first to order thought into hard sciences... and they were an inherently bisexual society that glorified male love. They recognized the human animal has shades of gender, varying from strictly heterosexual to strictly homosexual, with the majority of humanity falling into the bisexual middle."

He set the pin onto her workbench beside the machine. "Jack isn't unnatural; he's perfectly normal. And he's the same man he always was, deserving of our respect and support. I intend to wear these colors with pride, because he and the other Rainbow Warriors are out there, putting their lives on the line to save others, because that's the job they've chosen to do."

Sam was staring at the pin now, uncertainty flickering in her expression.

"Jack could've retired a long time ago, Sam. He stays for us, for all of us, and we owe him a helluva lot more than wearing a stupid pin on our civvies or fatigues. I know his deception hurt you, and I'm sorry for that, but try stepping into his shoes for a while. He deceived himself for most of his life, denied his natural instincts, because he knew he couldn't have what he wanted and still be who he was: a soldier. That's all he's ever wanted to be, and if he'd been true to himself, he'd have been denied that until now. When you think about all Jack O'Neill has contributed through the stargate program... Our whole world owes him, Sam. More than we can ever repay in our lifetimes."

He turned on his heel and left to return to his office. The translation he'd been neglecting for the last few hours was still there, waiting for him, and with a sigh he sat down and started working on it in earnest. Four hours later, his back started to ache from too much sitting, so he stood up and decided a trip to the bathroom and a pot of coffee were in order, and stepped around the desk to head toward the door.

A slight thumping sound caught his attention and made him pause. Sam rounded the corner, stumping in on her crutches. She came at him full speed, her eyes full of tears, and crashed into him at the last second, her arms going around his waist and the crutches dropping away.

"I'm sorry, Daniel," she sniffed against his jacket. "I've been thinking and thinking about it, and I can't forget what you said. As usual, you're right--"

"It's okay, Sam." His arms went around her, and he held her close. "I know you've had your own reasons for how you reacted. You two have a complicated history."

Sam hiccupped softly. "When I saw him on that planet... saw him coming for me, I was so relieved. I knew they'd sent the best we have to rescue me, and I was gonna be okay. I couldn't wait for him to get to me. I hugged him then, but when he came to see me afterward in the infirmary, I wouldn't even look him in the eye. Didn't even thank him for saving my life. And he did, Daniel. He has so many times."

Daniel tightened his embrace around her. "They get that a lot," he murmured against her hair. "They're used to being judged and unappreciated."

Straightening in his arms, Sam wiped at her cheeks. She lifted her chin and looked into his face with a steely, watery gaze. "That stops here and now," she told him defiantly.

Reaching into the pocket of her fatigue jacket, she withdrew the rainbow-striped pin, took it out of the wrapper, and attached it to the lapel of her fatigue jacket.

When she finished, she smiled up at him through her tears. "Thank you. You have such a way of helping people see things differently. You're an amazing man, and I'm so proud to call you my friend." Her fingertips stroked the enameled pin. "The Colonel, too. And I'm planning to invite him out to dinner when he gets back. Maybe I can try to make amends."

He patted her arm, his heart twisting up inside him. "If he gets back," he reminded her solemnly, "but it'll still matter for all the others to see the rest of us wear their colors. They're good people, you know. In a lot of ways, some of the best we have, I believe."

She nodded. "Yeah. I got the memo about Rainbow Day. It was a good idea."

"Hammond thought so, too," he told her with a smile.

Claxons sounded on every floor, announcing an unauthorized incoming wormhole. Daniel started off at a run for the elevator, then turned to look at Sam, whom he knew would be coming to follow him. He retrieved her crutches and handed them to her, waiting for her to come along with him.

"Go. I'll catch up," she promised, shooing him off after she positioned her crutches beneath her arms.

He dashed off and hurried down to the 27th floor, racing into the control room just as the first soldiers were stumbling out onto the ramp. Blasts of light from staff weapons shot from the event horizon into the room, impacting against the wall, and as the fire increased, the last of the SGC SAR soldiers stumbled through.

Face darkened with soot and sweat, Jack O'Neill glanced up at the control booth and shouted, "Close the iris!"

The trinium blades swirled into place and locked, and the weary soldiers slumped against the railing and the ramp, exhausted and panting – but all eight of the SAR team and the four members of SG-9 were back home; if not in one piece, all still alive.

Medical staff rushed in and carted off the wounded, and the SAR team dragged themselves to their feet, raising their eyes to their commander in the control room.

Daniel saw the astonishment in their faces as they saw the rainbow insignia on General Hammond's collar, and on all the control booth staff. They glanced around at the Marines on duty in the 'gate room, and saw insignia there. He watched Jack raise questioning eyes to him, and take note of the pin on Daniel's blue base fatigues.

Jack smiled then, his face radiant, his eyes filled with gratitude. His gaze shifted to the general, and he drew himself up ramrod straight. "SGC SAR, reporting in, sir. All personnel present and accounted for."

"I'll expect a debriefing in one hour, Colonel," Hammond intoned. "Welcome home to you and your team."

Jack nodded. "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

Daniel was first to move, heading down the stairs toward the 'gate room, meeting Jack as he shepherded his men toward the infirmary for their post-mission check. Daniel checked him over with his eyes, noting a bloody stain on Jack's BDU jacket. He made eye contact then. "You okay?"

"Just some scratches," Jack told him. "Nothing to worry about." His gaze fell to Daniel's collar, and he reached out to stroke his fingertips across the enameled surface of the lapel pin. "Was this your idea?"

"I thought it was a fitting tribute," Daniel told him. "A show of support, for all the Rainbow Warriors have done for the rest of us. It's the least we can do."

"That's nice, but not necessary." Jack's expression was guarded, uncertain. "Might make folks think you're gay, if you wear that."

An ache started in Daniel's chest. "If enough straight people show their support of gays, then maybe eventually it won't matter."

He wanted so much to tell Jack how he felt, but he couldn't. Not yet. There were other issues between them, things that would have to be laid out plainly before Daniel could lay his heart bare to the other man.

"It's a nice gesture, Daniel. Thank you." Jack turned away, following his men toward the elevator. "Gotta go to the infirmary now. I'll see you later tonight."

"Call my office when you're done, and I'll drive you home."

"I can drive just fine," Jack told him. "It's just scratches."

Daniel glanced down at the bloodstain. It looked larger now. He didn't panic, but his anxiety levels rose sharply at the sight, and he ended up going with Jack all the way to the examination room. He returned to work, waiting for a call from the infirmary to let him know Jack had been discharged and debriefed.

Hours later, Daniel escorted him to the surface, with Jack now dressed in clean civvies. "Let me drive you," Daniel suggested. What he really wanted was to talk with Jack on their way home. They'd ridden in separately due to their different schedules, and Daniel was desperate to be alone with him.

"I'll meet you there," Jack told him. "Chill out, Daniel. I'm fine."

Without an invitation, Daniel followed Jack to his truck and got in the passenger side. Jack eyed him with a slight frown. "We can ride in together in the morning," he explained. "I just... I need this, Jack. Don't make me go home in the Jeep. Please?"

Jack just looked away and started the engine. They started the drive home in silence, as Daniel struggled to figure out how to get things started. His mind kept going back to Jack and Nikolai on the couch, and the jealousy he'd felt for his colleague for touching Jack.

"How's Nikolai?" Daniel asked cautiously.

"You saw him come out of the wormhole with us," Jack shot back easily.

"Um, I didn't really notice," Daniel confessed. "I was watching for you."

"Well, he's fine. Took a hit in the shoulder, but he'll recover."

"What about your injury?" Daniel glanced down at where the bloody spot had been.

"Got some stitches and a few days off. I'll be okay. Stop worrying, okay?" His voice was gentle, calm, and it put Daniel slightly more at ease.

Daniel just stared at his friend. Jack was sitting right there, driving himself home. He was not sitting beside Sikorsky's bedside in the infirmary, the way Jack always did with those whom he loved, which could only mean that what had happened between him and Sikorsky had been about lust and attraction, not about love.

He smiled, relief filling him with its gentle, relaxing warmth. "That's good," he said softly. "I'm glad he's okay. I'm glad you got everyone home."

Jack just gave him a tense little nod of acknowledgment. They traveled in silence the rest of the way home, while Daniel rehearsed in his mind how he should go about making his announcement to Jack. Nothing felt right; just grabbing him as soon as they got inside the door might be awkward in light of Jack's injury. He couldn't take Jack by the hand and walk him to the door, because the entrance they used most often was the garage entry into the mud room, which was just a few steps from the door; and words simply couldn't cover adequately all the things he wanted to tell Jack.

He had no idea how to do this. He hadn't been good at it with women, and he seemed to be even less skilled with this particular man, when it came to emotional issues. Rather than make a complete fool of himself, he decided to relax and wait for an opening to present itself, and he'd make the most of it.

As the garage door was closing behind them, they got out of the truck and went into the house. Daniel followed Jack through the mud room, across the dining room, into the foyer, and on into the wing that was Jack's residence. He watched Jack's pace, the way he held himself, and knew his friend was in pain.

"Can I get you anything?" he asked, trailing Jack through the sitting room and into Jack's bedroom.

"Nope. Think I'm just gonna turn in. I'm tired. Did you want something? 'Cause I'm not up for sex tonight." He opened the dresser and tossed a T-shirt and sweat pants on the bed, then sat down on it to take off his shoes.

Daniel didn't leave. He stood near the bed with his hands shoved into his trouser pockets. Glancing around the room, he wondered how they would commingle Jack's things with his... or even if that were a possibility. When he turned back to look at his friend, Jack was reaching for the blankets, turning down his bed.

"Um, I know the stairs might be kinda tough at the moment, but wouldn't you rather sleep up there with me?" he asked.

"Don't wanna fuck," Jack returned with a weary sigh. "Just wanna sleep."

He hesitated. "Then may I sleep here with you tonight?" He swallowed hard. "I think I need that."

Jack was looking at him now, his eyes burning like coals. He appeared a little angry. "I told you, I'm not interested--"

"I don't want us to fuck," Daniel assured him. "I just want to be with you. To be wherever you are."

The irritation in Jack's expression faded, replaced by weary resignation. "Suit yourself." He peeled back the covers and unbuttoned his shirt, wincing as he slipped it off his shoulders.

Half of Jack's chest was covered with bruises and a large bandage covered his lower right side. Gauze wrapped around his waist to hold the dressing in place.

Daniel sucked in a breath between his teeth. "Jeez, Jack, I thought you said it was just scratches?" He came close and reached out to touch him, then drew his hands back at the last moment. He didn't know how much the injuries hurt, but he suspected Jack was in a fair amount of pain.

When Jack didn't respond, reaching to unzip his khaki trousers, Daniel sat down on the foot of the bed, staring at his feet rather than at his friend. He heard Jack stand up and shuck off his pants and let them drop to his ankles. Jack sat back down and pulled his feet out, leaving the garments on the floor.

Daniel turned his head just enough to glance at Jack's lower body, and saw that there were more bruises and scratches on his lower belly and hip. He had to grit his teeth to keep from touching, while the need to do so boiled up inside him. He just wanted to hold Jack, to comfort him somehow, to let him know how upset Daniel was that he'd been hurt.

"We got into it pretty good with some Jaffa," Jack told him. "There was a knife fight. I won. A couple of Jaffa dumped a statue on me. My guys took care of things and got me out from under the damn thing. I'm fine, Daniel. It wasn't even close to life-threatening, and nothing's broken."

Daniel's stomach clenched at that abbreviated retelling. This had never happened to him before, but his reaction didn't bother him like he thought it should have. He knew what it meant, how different things were now. Mouth dry, hands trembling in his lap, he waited for Jack to finish dressing in his T-shirt and sweatpants and reach for the covers. He gave Daniel a quizzical look, waiting for him to move so he could fully turn down the bed and get in it.

"Please sit down with me, Jack," Daniel whispered, staring down at his hands in his lap. He tried to swallow as Jack obeyed without protest. He didn't say a word, just sat and patiently waited for Daniel to take point in the conversation.

"I'm not gay," Daniel began, knowing those were the wrong words to lead off with, but they were also the only ones that fit. He played with his fingers idly, as he so often did when he had nothing to do with his hands. "I've never been attracted to men. Whenever I thought about sex and love, it was always with a woman in mind."

He heard Jack's impatient sigh, and hurried on to finish. "But there's this one guy I've recently discovered is way, way more important to me than I thought he was. His smile can turn a bad day into a good one. His arms have held me together when I shattered. And touching him has been some of the most fulfilling moments of my whole life. I don't know how it happened, but it has. The only problem is, I don't know how he feels about me. If I'm not what he wants, I don't want to lose his friendship, so I'd... I'd like some advice from someone who knows a little more about this sort of thing than I do."

After a long silence, Daniel turned his head slightly and glanced at Jack's lap. Jack's hands were pressed into the bed on either side of his thighs, and after another breath, he began to speak, his voice a low, rumbled whisper. "There was this guy I met along time ago. Arrogant little prick. Hot as a damn firecracker, and he didn't even know it. First time I saw him, I wanted to punch his lights out. I thought I hated him, but I didn't. Took me a while and a lot of time thinking about it to realize I wanted him, and that's why I wanted to hit him at first. Because that would be physical contact. I'd be close to him if we were fighting, maybe wrestle him to the ground. I could touch him, get my hands on him."

His fingers clenched in the blankets. "I got over that combativeness pretty fast. Had to, because we were working together. I was responsible for him, but he ended up saving my life. He did that a lot."

Jack's hands release the blankets and skimmed around his belly, as if protecting himself from something.

"I almost hated him for that," Jack went on quietly, "but way down deep, I knew I couldn't hate him. I respected him. Maybe even liked him a little. Over the years I learned to care about him a lot, like he was part of my family, but always keeping him at arm's length, because I couldn't afford to let him get close. Not until the military changed its policy, and I could finally admit to myself the truth about what I am. What I've always been." He shot a shy, hesitant glance at Daniel, then looked back at his knees. He plucked listlessly at the gray cloth of his sweatpants.

Reaching out, Daniel laid his hand over Jack's, gently gripping them, offering what comfort he could. He knew this was hard, could feel how much it cost Jack to open up to him like this. He remembered Niko's observation, and all the pieces fell into place. He glanced up at Jack, a wry smile playing about the corners of his mouth.

"And when you told us that day that you didn't think you'd ever be with anyone, it wasn't because you had trust issues, was it, Jack?"

"Yes and no. It wasn't exactly a lie." Jack stole another brief look at him, boyish and slightly embarrassed. He put his hands on his thighs, and Daniel took one in his grip, lightly lacing their fingers together and giving him a squeeze.

"You didn't trust other men getting that close to you, because your heart was already taken, wasn't it?" The unfolding joy in Daniel's heart filled him and dampened his eyelashes. He felt a smile tugging at his lips, dancing in the corners, waiting to be released. He almost couldn't believe his good fortune and how easily the pieces of their puzzle were snapping together, at long, long last.

"Yes."

Then something else occurred to Daniel, hitting him in the heart like a sledgehammer. "Oh, God. What I did to you! How it must have hurt you, for me to take you to bed and do all the things you wanted to do with me, knowing it was just sex, and not the love you wanted. I wouldn't even let you kiss me. My God, Jack. I'm so sorry."

Jack shrugged, finally meeting Daniel's eyes and holding his gaze. "I thought it was as close as I'd ever get to the brass ring. Don't be sorry, Daniel. I'm not." He smiled then, crooked and wounded, but joyful. "I had the dream. I could've lived the rest of my life with just what you gave me. It was enough." He squeezed Daniel's hand and the smile disappeared. "But I couldn't let you keep doing it. You wanted me to take action, and I knew that was the only way to make you stop--"

His voice caught, and he looked down at their clasped hands. "You were trying to help me, I know," Jack admitted, the fingers of his free hand idly caressing Daniel's knuckles, tracing patterns on the back of his hand. "But every time we made l-- uh, every time we f-fucked... you kept telling me how great it would be when I found someone, gently pushing me away. You wanted me to see other men, so I figured I'd let you off the hook, so you wouldn't have to hold me by the hand anymore. I knew you didn't really want me, Daniel. I had to let you go, in order to keep you with me. You know, as a friend."

Daniel studied Jack's face now, misery etched into every familiar line. "Maybe it's a good thing you brought Nikolai home. It was kind of a wake-up call for me, I guess, 'cause when I saw him kissing you, I swear to God, I wanted to beat the shit out of him. I followed him out to his car and told him to stay the hell away from you, or I'd hurt him."

Jack lifted his head, looking him in the eye for the first time since they'd entered his bedroom. "You did?"

"You bet. I was jealous as hell," Daniel admitted. "He's the one who told me what was really going on. He's the one who figured out what was really happening to me. That's when I had to admit it to myself – you know, how I really felt, and I finally started to realize the truth." He shook his head in wonder.

Grief rose in those beautiful brown eyes, and Jack looked away. "But you said it yourself. You're not gay. Whatever you're feeling for me, that'll pass. You're probably just being a little territorial, is all."

"It's way more than that, Jack. I've been thinking about little else now for days, trying to figure out what the hell all this means. When I saw you leaving on this last mission, I got it. Big fucking clue bus ran me over a couple of times. I'm bisexual."

"So what are you waiting for?" Jack asked him solemnly. He lifted aching, hopeless eyes to Daniel's, too afraid to believe what he was hearing.

"I'm waiting for you to kiss me," Daniel whispered shakily. He was painfully aware that this was a turning point in both their lives. There would be no going back after this. "You were supposed to save this for the man you fell in love with, remember? I know you and Nikolai already... I missed out on being your first everything, but I want you to kiss me," he whispered, eyes prickling with tears, "because I've fallen in love with you."

Jack's pupils reacted, filling his eyes with hungry black. "Really? You sure?"

Daniel reached out one hand and stroked Jack's cheek with trembling fingers. "Pretty weird for a former straight guy, huh?"

Longing and need flickered like flames in Jack's eyes. "No," he said softly, his voice rough with emotion. "That's not weird at all, Daniel. But you're wrong about Nik and me. I wouldn't let him kiss me on the mouth, because in my heart, that was for you to do. Nobody else. That's why I stopped him, why I couldn't go through with doing anything with him. I would have waited for you forever, if I'd believed there was any possibility, but I didn't. I couldn't hope. I just took what you gave me, and let that be enough. It was enough."

Daniel shook his head. "No, Jack. There's so much more." Daniel reached out with his other hand and held Jack's face, holding him steady, and then Daniel leaned in. Eyes closing on the way, he brushed their lips together.

Hot, sweet pain lanced through Daniel's heart. Jack opened to him, so Daniel pressed closer. He slipped his tongue into Jack's mouth, and the pleasure of it made him groan. Need sparked into roaring flame, and he found himself pushing Jack backward, crawling down his throat as he poured himself desperately into that kiss.

He heard Jack grunt into his mouth, and scrambled off him, remembering too late that Jack was wounded. "I hurt you," he blurted. "I'm sorry. I forgot you were injured."

Jack just lay back against the bed where Daniel had pushed him, his head turned to maintain eye contact. A wicked little grin danced across his lips. "Y'know, I'm kinda hungry, after all. Maybe we should have some... uh... dinner."

"I'll cook," Daniel volunteered, a bright smile bursting across his face, "but I think I'd like an appetizer first, if that's okay with you."

He got off the bed and went down on his knees before Jack, nudging his legs apart. Eager hands caught at the elasticized waistband of Jack's sweats as the older man sat up, grinning broadly now.

"Whoa, hold on, there!" he said, pushing Daniel's hands away, but he had already managed to pull Jack's pants down around his hips. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Giving you a blow job, if you're up to it," he returned happily.

"Daniel, you've never had a dick in your mouth before," Jack reminded him. "You don't know how."

"Neither did you, the first time you went down on me," Daniel returned teasingly. "I'll bet I can figure it out. I'm a pretty smart guy, you know."

"You're still an arrogant little prick," Jack chuckled with a crooked grin. "Makes me crazy when you do stuff like that." He leaned back on his hands and let Daniel pull his pants the rest of the way off, spreading his legs for his lover. He sobered as he watched Daniel take hold of his rising cock, his smile vanishing, heart shining in his brilliant azure eyes.

Daniel felt his own dick swell and knew this was one of the best things that had ever happened to him. He was happy, deliriously so, and knew without a flicker of doubt that he was deeply and truly loved by this man, his best friend... his lover. He looked down at the hot, silky flesh in his hands, and saw that it was beautiful.

Jack wanted him. Jack loved him. Was in love with him. Few things in Daniel's life had ever felt so utterly right.

"It'll be okay, Danny," Jack whispered, stroking his hair with one hand. "I've waited all my life for you, and now I know you were supposed to be the one to be with me like this."

Daniel licked away the drop of pre-come; surprised by the unfamiliar taste. He kissed all over the rigid shaft, the flat belly and hard-muscled thighs. He snuffled in the thatch of silvery pubic hair and licked the soft, loose skin of Jack's balls. He explored every nook and cranny, tasting, nibbling, kissing everything he saw or touched. The more he licked, the stronger the craving grew until he tentatively slipped Jack's cock into his mouth and gave it a nervous suck. He didn't have a clue if he was doing anything right until--

"Fuck!" Jack gasped. "Oh, fuck. Danny. Danny..."

Both of Jack's hands were in his hair now, restlessly exploring his neck and shoulders. Daniel could feel his hands trembling, heard his breathing quicken and knew Jack was close. That excited Daniel, and he relaxed his throat and swallowed still more, pushing Jack's length into his mouth until his nose buried up in curly pubic hair. He couldn't breathe like that, so he pulled away, sucking hard as he backed off.

Looking up, Daniel saw that Jack was now leaning on only one hand for support, the other gently gripping Daniel's hair. Jack lifted his hips off the bed, trying an experimental thrust into Daniel's mouth, but a grimace of pain announced he wasn't up to that just yet. Jack's eyes watched him hungrily, and Daniel stared straight back at him as his lips slid down Jack's erection again.

"Oh, baby," Jack whispered reverently, his hand lost in Daniel's hair at the back of his head. Jack's eyes filled and spilled over, fat tears rolling down his lean cheeks, but he didn't look away. "Love you," he croaked, his voice breaking with emotion. "For so long. God, Danny. I love you."

Daniel whimpered, his own emotions welling up inside him. He wanted to say those words back to Jack, but couldn't let go. He sucked harder, gagged a little when he got a little too much and backed off slightly, swirling his tongue all over that long, thick shaft, and closed his eyes as Jack started to chant, his head tipped back in ecstasy.

"Ah ah ah ah ah oh!"

Liquid heat exploded into Daniel's mouth. He choked slightly, freaking out just a little before he got a grip and forced himself to swallow every drop, waiting until the last pulse has ebbed and Jack's hard-on began to soften before downing the last of his come. Daniel licked and sucked a little longer, running his tongue along the sensitive spot just beneath the head, pleased when Jack twitched and gave a little gasp of pleasure.

"You can stop now," Jack panted. "I think I'm done."

Releasing his lip-lock, Daniel smiled and said, "Maybe I'm not." He nibbled around Jack's belly and thighs, taking care to avoid the wounded and bruised places, until he felt satisfied. Jack had fallen back against the mattress, and Daniel crawled up over him, poised on all fours, gazing down into his face.

The tear tracks were just drying, leaving a shiny trail where they'd fallen. Those had been tears of joy, Daniel knew, and Jack hadn't wiped them away. Daniel kissed them, grazing his lips across Jack's before he pulled away to look into his lover's eyes again.

"I could give you a hand job," Jack whispered, his fingers stroking lovingly across Daniel's cheek, but that's about all I can manage right now."

Daniel shook his head. "I got what I needed." He smiled again. "You called me 'baby.' "

For a moment, Jack looked a little afraid. "Is that okay?"

His grin widened. "Nobody's every called me that before. I don't know."

"I'll try to watch it in the future, then, but I might get carried away sometimes when we're fucking, and let it slip."

"I didn't say I didn't like it." Daniel nuzzled his lover's cheek, "and we'll be making love, not fucking." He felt Jack's smile and settled down at his side.

"Would you be okay with me calling you that, when we're here at home?" Jack was positively radiant.

Daniel had never seen him look so happy. "What do you think?"

"Just answer the question, genius."

"I'll be your baby, if you'll be mine," Daniel told him gently. He captured Jack's mouth with a slow, tender kiss, his fingers exploring that familiar face, the close-cropped silver hair, the strong shoulders and chest. They drew apart and just gazed into each other's eyes for a moment. Then Jack's stomach rumbled.

"Hungry?"

"I could eat." Jack sighed, his arm draped over Daniel's ribs. "I like the sound of that, Danny."

"I want you to move in with me," Daniel told him. "As soon as you're able. Put your stuff wherever you want it."

"Huh?" Jack frowned, trying to understand. "I already did that, months ago."

"I mean, I want you to move into my room." Daniel hesitated, then corrected, "Our room. I want you with me, always."

"We haven't even dated, and you want me to move into your bed? How do we know this is even gonna work?"

Daniel laughed a little. "Well, if we haven't killed each other by now, it MUST be love!" he declared. Sitting up, he glanced down at Jack's battered body and sobered. His fingers traced lightly over the bandages. "We don't have any guarantees there's even gonna be a tomorrow, considering what we do for a living, so we shouldn't waste another minute. We have something extraordinary, Jack, and we've already been working everything out while I was fooling myself into thinking I was educating you."

"You weren't fooling yourself," Jack assured him. "Everything you did for me was a conscious act of love, though you didn't realize it at the time. That makes it even more special."

"I thought I was pretending, but I wasn't. You've changed my whole world, Jack. Now I want you to share it with me."

Jack's stomach growled. "After dinner, okay?" he teased. "Help me up. I'm broken."

Daniel stood up and took Jack's hands, gingerly providing resistance for Jack to pull himself upright with a grimace. Once they were both on their feet, Daniel carefully put his arms around his lover and held him close. "I love you, Jack O'Neill." He brushed another light kiss on Jack's lips and pulled away, catching his hand and leading him off toward the bedroom doorway.

"Uh, shouldn't I put some clothes on?" asked Jack, stopping a few feet from the bed, "or do you prefer me like this?"

"If you weren't purple and green and bandaged in places, naked would be very nice," Daniel admitted, "but you probably ought to cover all that up, so I don't keep kicking myself for not being with you."

"You're not on my team," Jack reminded him. "Which is a good thing, because I don't think I could work with you now."

Daniel nodded. "I don't know, Jack. Have you ever heard of the Sacred Band of Thebes?"

Jack shook his head. He picked up his clothes and dressed slowly. "What is it?"

"They were an army of lovers," Daniel told him quietly. "Plato hypothesized that such an army would be undefeatable. He said men might love country and family, but in the face of overwhelming danger, even the bravest might turn and run, hoping for their forgiveness. But if the one you loved most in the world were standing by your side on the battlefield, you'd have such strength, you'd stand and fight to your dying breath, rather than be seen as a coward in the eyes of your beloved.

"A Theban general put that idea to the test and every battle they fought, the Sacred Band remained undefeated, sometimes against incredible odds, until Alexander the Great met them on the plain of Chaeronea. The only survivors of the Sacred Band were those too badly wounded to continue fighting. Most of the army of lovers died to a man on the battlefield, and when Philip of Macedon saw where they'd fallen and recognized their regalia, he fell to his knees and wept. That battle was a turning point in Greek history, for it marked the beginning of the fall of the Greek Empire, represented by the death of the most glorious army the Greeks had ever known – an army of gay men."

He eyed Jack. "I think we always fought well together. I believe we still could."

Jack stood very still while Daniel gave his impromptu lecture. When he finished, Jack just stared at him. After a few moments, Jack spoke, his voice deep and rough with emotion. "So, you think you want to ask for a transfer to the SAR team?" Jack shook his head. "You're needed on SG-1, babe. That's where you belong."

Daniel nodded. "So do you, and I'm going to talk to General Hammond about it tomorrow."

"Don't do that," Jack returned quietly. "I belong with the SAR team. Besides, if Hammond knew we were a couple, he'd split us up anyway. Just leave it alone, okay?"

Daniel felt himself blushing. "I still think we could do more on the same team. Like we used to before you left."

Jack strolled toward him, slipped his arm around Daniel's waist, and led him out of the bedroom, into the sitting room beyond. "I know," Jack assured him, "but we're still making a difference, and sometimes we do go on missions together. It's best that you're not under my direct command. Unless we're naked, of course."

They didn't speak as they walked together through the arched doorways into the foyer, through the dining room and into the kitchen. Jack sat at the bar while Daniel rummaged through the pantry for plates and glasses, and they talked about mundane things while Daniel puttered in the kitchen, stealing little kisses across the bar.

He felt Jack's eyes on him, watching his every move, aware that their whole world had just changed. Jack seemed to be waiting for something, so Daniel straightened up, closed the refrigerator, and set the package of sliced roast beef and other goodies on the bar. He leaned over and kissed those silent lips tenderly, deeply, then drew back and said, "Spill it, Jack. You want to say something, but you're not sure how I'll react. Right?"

Jack nodded, his eyes never leaving Daniel's face. "I guess I just want you to be really sure about this." His finger traced the air back and forth between them. "Us."

"I've been thinking about it for a while now," Daniel assured him. "I'm sure. Why? What are you afraid of?" He turned away, fetching the bread and a couple of plates from the pantry. He set those on the bar and took a knife from the silverware drawer, then started building their sandwiches, intentionally not looking at Jack to allow him time to gather his thoughts and space to speak his heart without any extra pressure.

"Because I think you may have in your mind that things won't be much different between us," Jack explained, "and I know they will. See, all this playing around we've been doing has been one-sided. You don't know what it'll be like to let me love you back."

Daniel glanced briefly up at him. "I know. That's partly what the blowjob was about, too, Jack. Because I wasn't really loving you before, either. All you ever got from me was fucked. No kisses; no real loving when we were intimate. Everything was all surface, no substance, so you don't really know what it's like for me to love you, either."

A crooked smile tweaked up one corner of Jack's mouth, shy pleasure at that idea. "Yeah. I got that. So it's gonna be different for both of us," he stated. He cocked his head and gave Daniel a mysterious smile. "Are you sure you can handle the unbridled passion of Jack O'Neill? It's pretty intimidating, Doctor Jackson. You might not survive it intact."

Daniel's butt clenched involuntarily. "I took your virginity. Looks like you're gonna get mine. Just... I'll need to work up to that, okay? I've still got some adjustments to make." He tapped his temple with one finger for emphasis.

Jack's eyebrows shot up his forehead. "Really? Jeez, Daniel, I wasn't talking about that."

Brows furrowing, Daniel asked, "Then what were you talking about?"

For a moment, Jack didn't move. Then he got off the stool, came around the end of the bar and eased Daniel away from the counter. He slipped one arm around Daniel's waist, cradled the back of his head in one hand, and gazed into Daniel's eyes with a look of such adoration that it took Daniel's breath away. Then Jack kissed him within an inch of his life, expressing such sensuality and skill, Daniel didn't even know where he was anymore.

When Jack finally pulled away from him, Daniel's knees were jelly. Jack had somehow backed him up and braced him against the refrigerator, and it took a moment for that fact to register.

"Oh, my," Daniel breathed. His dick was standing at attention, and he was unable to form a coherent thought for a moment.

Jack's hand slipped down between them, deftly unfastened Daniel's belt and trousers, and slipped inside his pants. Daniel gasped as Jack's hand started working him, his attention riveted to those glittering brown eyes staring hungrily back at him. Daniel whimpered, clutching at Jack's back, fingers twisting up in his T-shirt.

"You've always taken the lead, baby," Jack breathed against his mouth. "Now that goes both ways. Sometimes I'll be the one to start things. I'm an alpha male, in case you hadn't noticed. I like being dominant, and I haven't been with you, because I couldn't be. Not then."

His tongue snaked out and licked at Daniel's lower lip. He closed his teeth over the wet spot, just holding Daniel in place while his fingers stroked Daniel's rigid cock, easing him out of his pants. Then he kissed Daniel with such bruising intensity that their teeth clashed together. His body shoved Daniel hard up against the fridge, his hand insistent, demanding. Jack was devouring him, crushing him, working his foreskin against the head of his dick with a hot, calloused thumb. Daniel felt himself slipping, giving in, releasing control. He came hard, groaning down Jack's throat, utterly helpless against Jack's passion, completely overwhelmed by it.

When he could breathe again, when he could open his eyes, he found himself seated on Jack's thigh, his back pressed against the refrigerator with Jack's leg rammed between his own. Daniel couldn't see anything past Jack's face hovering so close to his. Jack's hand slipped away from his nape and reverently touched his cheek.

"You okay, Danny?"

"No," he panted, struggling to catch his breath. "Yes." A grin quirked up the corners of his mouth. "Maybe. Wow, Jack. You should come with a warning label."

Jack glanced down at Daniel's wilting dick, then raised his hand to his face. Making eye contact with Daniel, dark eyes sparkling with mischief, Jack licked Daniel's semen off his fingers. "You're the one who just came," he observed, his voice a low, filthy purr. He kept licking, his smile widening between swallowing and the thrusting and curling swipes of his tongue.

"Oh, fuck," Daniel whispered. "I'm in over my head now." He struggled to stand up under his own power, limp and sweaty and completely blown away. "I am so going down..." He reached for Jack's sweat pants, but a wet hand swooped in and caught him by the wrist.

"You already took care of me earlier, and I'm dying of starvation here. Wounded man, too. Serving his country, and all that."

"Drama queen," Daniel teased, leaning in to give him a quick peck on the lips. He tucked his dick into his pants and zipped them up as Jack stepped away to return to his seat. Daniel glanced at the wet stain on his clothes and sighed. He'd be changing before bed anyway, so he ended up taking off his come-stained pants and leaving them in a heap on the kitchen floor. He felt a little drafty wearing just his shirt and shorts, but he could deal with it long enough to eat dinner.

Daniel noticed Jack's grimace as he resumed his seat on the stool. "Need some pain meds? I'm sure Doctor Brightman gave you some."

Jack nodded. "Didn't feel a thing while I was jerking you off, but damned if I don't now. There's a bottle in the pants I left on my bedroom floor."

"Why don't you get settled in the theater, and I'll bring you dinner and meds," Daniel suggested. "We can sleep in your room tonight, so you don't have to do the stairs."

"Sounds like a plan." Jack rose from the stool and padded off toward the north wing.

Daniel changed into a pair of blue plaid pajama pants and an undershirt while he was upstairs. Returning to the kitchen, he finished making their sandwiches and put them on a tray with two glasses of iced tea, stopping by Jack's bedroom long enough to collect the pill bottle. He watched while Jack took the medication, then sat down with him to eat their dinner in companionable silence, watching the news together.

Daniel held Jack's hand when they were finished, waiting until his lover's eyelids began to droop before urging him out of the chair and putting him to bed. Tomorrow he'd move Jack upstairs, into the bed they would be sharing for the rest of their lives, if Daniel had anything to say about it. Once he had Jack tucked in, he stood beside the bed, watching Jack sleep, remembering their lovemaking in the kitchen.

Things would be different now, he realized. Some part of him had always known Jack was a deeply passionate man. He knew he'd gotten only a small glimpse of it that evening, and there was much more to come. He thought about their relationship, and Jack's claim of being an alpha male, dominant among his peers, and Daniel knew that was inherently true.

It wasn't, however, completely true of how he related to Daniel. Most of the time, Daniel was content to follow Jack's lead, giving the appearance of being submissive to him; however, when Daniel disagreed, he and Jack butted heads, or Daniel simply did what he believed was right, usurping Jack's power as team leader and forcing Jack to follow along behind him.

They were equals, shifting the power from one to the other, depending on what the situation required. Daniel could see that becoming part of the pattern of their intimate relationship, too. If this house were to be Jack's as well as Daniel's, there would be big changes coming. Jack loved to be fucked, and Daniel loved fucking him. If the reverse weren't true, then they'd have to figure things out as they went along. If the sample Daniel had just gotten were any indication of what lay in store for them, Daniel thought being Jack O'Neill's lover might just be the best thing that ever happened to him.

Jack's lover.

That sounded so odd, he thought, grinning as he shook his head at himself. He trudged upstairs, washed up and brushed his teeth, and then got into bed beside his best friend and lover. For a long time he lay in the darkness, thinking about things and watching Jack sleep. Few people were as fortunate to find love like this; love that they hoped would last beyond death, and now Daniel had done it twice in his lifetime.

He closed his eyes and thought about Sha'uri, summoning up a mental image of her to ask her what she thought about all this. He was surprised at her answer, laughingly telling him that she preferred his being with his friend to having to share him with another woman in the afterlife. Daniel inwardly laughed at himself, wondering where the hell that had come from.

He turned to scoot up close to Jack and spoon him so he could fall asleep. It occurred to him that, on the nights Jack had been absent for some off-world rescue mission, Daniel had found it nearly impossible to sleep, and now he knew why. This was where Jack belonged, and Daniel felt certain that Jack had the same problem with sleeping alone.

They needed each other to be whole. It was as simple as that.

One Month Later, P7X-941

Daniel awakened slowly, turning over at the sound of soft snores. He glanced at Colonel Dixon in the neighboring bunk and, satisfied that his new CO was in no danger of rousing, Daniel eased out of his borrowed bed. He pulled on his boots and BDU jacket and left the guest room he and Dixon had shared for the past week, stopping by the toilet facilities before heading outside for a little fresh air.

It was a peaceful place, where life was an odd combination of primitive and advanced. The aliens who lived there had determined centuries earlier that a rugged lifestyle was beneficial to good health, and so they lived spartan lives, with few technological conveniences. Theirs was an exquisitely balanced society, and Daniel had enjoyed his stay with the people who called themselves Antinoans.

They were descended from a mix of cultures – Spanish, Greek and Egyptian – taken by the Goa'uld by ha'tak from the city of Antinoopolis on the banks of the Nile. Their language was an eclectic mix of the three, which Daniel had found challenging, but after a week's constant exposure, he was picking it up well enough to communicate adequately for the purpose of treaty negotiation.

Most dwellings, like the guest dormitory in which SG-1 was staying, were simple adobe huts with thatched roofs. The aliens' clothing was also plain – lightweight tunics over clingy breeches, with more elaborate capes and cloaks to keep out the cold. The Antinoans' major concession to technology was an armband that everyone wore, containing citizen identification, medical status, and financial data.

There were no cars or other transportation devices. People walked wherever they went, and domesticated animals provided hauling power for big loads. Emergency conveyance was done with matter transporters similar to the ring devices, located at key points throughout the cities, but only for use in dire circumstances.

On the whole, they were an interesting people, particularly because their political and spiritual hierarchies were exclusively dominated by homosexuals. Most of the alien societies the SGC teams had encountered during their travels shared a similar acceptance of homosexuality, and like pre-Judeo/Christian societies on Earth, gay men often held positions of power and served as spiritual leaders of their various peoples. The Antinoans had flourished for centuries under the benevolent rule of intelligent, erudite leaders who were chiefly gay men, similar to the ancient Greeks who had created and defined Western civilization on Earth.

Daniel and the other SGC academics had reported this tendency in numerous studies of the various cultures they'd visited off world, and coupled with recent scientific data that supported the hypothesis that sexual orientation was hard-wired into the brain before birth, he believed this had been a large part of the reason the President and Joint Chiefs had adopted the orientation-inclusive policy regarding gay and lesbian soldiers, as well as the even more recent passage of laws allowing homosexual marriage in the US. If Earth expected to take its place as a leader among worlds, then it would necessarily need to accept those other world leaders as equals and demonstrate that by how their ilk were treated among our own.

The resulting changes in American society over the last two years had been tempestuous, but startlingly positive.

Pondering all that as he strode along the flagstone path that served as a city street, Daniel arrived at the home where Jack and a few of his men were staying as honored guests. His lover had been bunking in with their guides, Hadrian and Kheftum, along with a couple of other members of his team. General Hammond had sent the SAR members along after the first day's report, as a demonstration to the Antinoan leaders that gay men were a valued part of Earth society. Jack and his men might not have been able to understand more than a few words of this strange new tongue, but body language and similar thinking communicated easily, and the aliens had accepted them immediately.

It was just after dawn and the neighborhood was still hushed and relatively still. Daniel had been unable to sleep in his quarters with Colonel Dixon. He missed Jack, and had come hunting him, hoping to burrow into his arms for a few moments before everyone rose for the day. Jack had thought it best that he and Daniel not share quarters off world, stating that he believed it might interfere with his alertness should anything go wrong, and Daniel had acquiesced without argument. Part of him relished the break from the closeness he'd lately shared with Jack, giving him a little space to think. Only Daniel had found he hadn't really been able to rest without Jack beside him.

He walked with his arms wrapped around himself, more for the agitation going on inside him than as a reaction to the morning chill. His thoughts about Antinoan society cycled back around to his own personal situation, which tugged his head down, watching where he stepped instead of what lay ahead, lost in his thoughts.

He didn't understand any of this. He loved Jack and knew to the roots of his soul that they belonged together, but whenever Jack initiated sex or even came to him to kiss and cuddle, Daniel instinctively backed away. If he started it, he was okay with it, and that didn't make any sense to him, either.

What made everything much worse was that he had caught himself flirting with women lately. Jack never saw it and didn't know it was happening, but Daniel was ashamed of it, cutting it off as soon as he realized he was doing it. The only reason he could think of for both behaviors was heterosexual programming – he was afraid of being labeled a gay man and was desperately clinging to straight behavior, which was ludicrous, since he was willingly involved in a gay relationship.

Daniel was fairly certain he wasn't gay; Jack was the only man toward whom he'd ever felt any sort of sexual attraction. Daniel's sexual energy and fantasies had always been centered around women, until now. He didn't know how to reconcile what he was with what he was doing, and he didn't know how to get around this irrational fear that seemed to be pushing them apart.

A pair of familiar boots appeared in his line of sight, and Daniel raised his head in surprise, lifting his troubled eyes up to meet Jack's.

Apparently, he hadn't been sleeping too well, either, and was fully dressed and up before dawn, just as Daniel was himself.

"Morning," he said quietly.

"Mornin'." Jack's reply was hesitant, subdued.

Tension had been rising between them for the last few days, and Daniel knew he was the cause of it. He'd found himself pulling back when Jack came to kiss him, making excuses to stay up late and work when Jack announced it was time for bed. They still hadn't done "the deed" with Daniel on the receiving end, and he seemed to be drifting farther and farther from being ready for it. He hadn't been able to talk to Jack about it, either, and so far Jack hadn't pressed him on the subject, just let him evade the issue, waiting patiently for things to change.

"Did you sleep?" Jack asked him quietly.

Daniel shook his head, certain there were probably dark circles under his eyes, plainly announcing his inability to rest without Jack beside him. "Jack, I--" He shook his head. "I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm trying to work out why I keep pushing you away. I really am. I just can't get my mind in the right place with us."

"I know." Jack's voice was gentle. He made sure to keep his hands to himself, when it was so obvious he wanted to touch Daniel. "Don't worry about it. We'll work it out." He offered a fragile smile, but the longing in his eyes was unmistakable. "The boys are makin' breakfast. You hungry?"

Daniel shrugged. Head down, he followed Jack into the courtyard and through the front door of the guides' home. 'The boys,' as Jack called them, were a couple of men in their 70s, but both still fit and spry. Hadrian had been an athlete and coach in several of their Olympic-style sporting events; Kheftum was a history teacher who still taught occasionally at their premiere university. They'd shared a home for nearly 30 years and seemed quite happy together.

However, when Jack and Daniel were let into the house that morning, it appeared they'd caught their hosts in the midst of a slight disagreement. Hadrian seemed adamantly against whatever they'd been discussing; Kheftum was quietly pleading his case and apparently won the argument. Hadrian turned away from their guests and returned to cooking while Kheftum set the table.

<"Should we go?"> asked Daniel discreetly, bending close to Kheftum's ear, speaking slowly in the difficult alien tongue. <"We did not intend to interrupt a private moment.">

<"No, no,"> Kheftum assured him. <"We were simply discussing whether we should take you to the great library today or wait until you were ready to return home. Hadrian is a little... reluctant to go there, but it does not matter. All will be well. We shall go today."> He smiled and gestured them into chairs at the table. <"Please, sit. Eat. All will be well.">

Hadrian served up a nourishing breakfast of what looked like scrambled eggs, some kind of thinly sliced meat, a bowl of fruit and a thick, spiced tea that smelled faintly of apples. Daniel noticed that Jack kept his gaze on his plate or joked with Kheftum in English, knowing the old man wouldn't get the punch lines. Kheftum flirted openly with Jack, winking and nudging him, making him smile.

After the meal, Daniel pitched in to help Hadrian wash the dishes, and they exchanged knowing glances over the suds, shaking their heads at the pair's antics.

When the morning chores were done, the foursome hit the street together, not waiting for the rest of the SAR team or SG-1 to join them. They walked deep into the heart of the city to an enormous building, visible from everywhere due to its height. A spiral ramp made its way around the exterior all the way to a beacon at the pinnacle. Great arched windows and doorways marked off the various floors, each getting smaller, rising toward the spire at the top. Jack had dubbed it the Tower of Babel upon first glimpse of the structure, reaching way up into the sky.

The base of the building was fully a city block in circumference. Rising close to 50 stories high, no other building in the city was as grand or as tall, and when they entered it, Daniel realized that this was the seat of Antinoan knowledge. There were books, printed on paper and bound in leather, wood and other alien materials, but there were also computers and other electronic devices that Daniel knew would make Sam salivate. Deciding that he had to bring her there, he requested of Hadrian that someone be sent to fetch her and the rest of the team, as soon as they were up and dressed.

<"They will be brought here,"> Hadrian assured him. <"Other guides will escort your people as soon as they--"> He stopped talking. His expression closed, and he straightened to his full height.

Daniel glanced in the direction Hadrian was looking. A handsome man in a deep blue robe with a lighter blue cloak over it had just come into the room. He was about Jack's age, with long silver hair pulled back into a ponytail at his nape. He held a book in one hand, his head bent over it, barely noticing which way he was going as he read.

<"Who is that?"> Daniel asked him, more interested in his guide's reaction than in the person in question.

Hadrian didn't answer. He just stared at the man, his expression in turn wistful, and then agonized. Grief etching deep lines into his face, he turned away and left the library, head high, shoulders squared, propping himself up with as much pride as he could manage.

Kheftum sidled up to Daniel, his voice quiet, with an edge of pain. <"That is Darius,"> he explained. <"One of our great scholars, now in charge of the library. He was once Hadrian's pupil, then his companion. He was Hadrian's one great love.">

Daniel eyed the old man in disbelief. <"I thought that was you. The two of you seem so happy together.">

Nodding, Kheftum agreed. <"We are happy, yes. We have always been so, but Darius..."> He shook his head. <"He and Hadrian had something very special. They share a single soul, even now, so many years after they walked away from each other. The pain of Darius' choice is timeless, always fresh and raw. All it takes to awaken is for one to see the other.">

Turning to look at the other man, he saw that Darius had caught sight of Hadrian leaving the library's foyer. Regret, shifting into grief, filled the man's handsome face. He hung his head and closed his book. He sighed and looked longingly at the empty doorway, then turned and found Kheftum with his eyes. He offered a sad smile and a nod, then turned and walked away, his shoulders drooping, head down in defeat.

<"What happened to them?"> Daniel asked. <"If they loved each other so much, what made them separate?">

Kheftum shook his head, the lines in his elderly face deepening with pain. <"Darius was a lover of women. He wanted children, and Hadrian could not give him that."> He shook his head sadly. <"As fortune would have it, Darius married a woman who could not give them to him, either, and though he loves her dearly, she could never be what Hadrian was to him, but his choice was made.">

He sighed and offered Daniel a smile filled with decades of anguish. <"And I could never be what Darius was to Hadrian, though I have tried. I would have given anything, even my life, to be that to him, but I could not. His heart was already taken when I found him. He settled for me, and has loved me passionately, but I must always live with the knowledge that I am his second choice. I know if Darius were to lay down his fertum pride and open his arms once more to Hadrian, I fear I would be forgotten from his life in an instant.">

<"Fertum?"> asked Daniel.

<"That is what we call those who bond to the opposite sex; those who breed.">

Heterosexuals, Daniel translated to himself. He stared at the floor, remembering the faces of the men and the lifetime of pain all three of them carried. He raised his eyes to Jack's. Jack hadn't understood a word of the conversation, but read the situation plainly enough to see their grief. He had his shields up, keeping aloof from it all, but he couldn't shut Daniel out. Daniel lived inside his shields, and the distance Daniel had recently put between them was revealed in the liquid depths of Jack's eyes.

He was at risk of losing Jack, and he knew it, just as Darius had lost Hadrian so long ago. Each of them had found others to love, to share their lives and their beds, but their hearts were forever taken, just as his and Jack's were.

On the spot, Daniel resolved not to make the same mistake Darius had. Nothing was more important to Daniel than Jack's happiness. No matter what it cost him, no matter what sacrifices it took, Jack was worth it. That certainty filled Daniel up, washing away any lingering doubts about what it was to be a man. He was still the same man he'd been before he first made love to Jack. Nothing in him had diminished; in fact, he recognized at last that he was stronger now than he'd ever been, strengthened by Jack's love for him. He was whole, for the first time in his life, because he now realized that Jack was the other half of his soul.

What did it matter if Jack overwhelmed him in the bedroom? His partner was sexy as hell, and it didn't feminize Daniel to surrender his body to Jack. Daniel wasn't a woman; couldn't be one, and Jack didn't love him like one. He loved Daniel like a man; treated him like a man and reveled in his masculinity. Daniel's muscles and sexual aggressiveness turned Jack on wildly. Daniel got off on that, too, and for the first time, it really registered to Daniel that their relationship could not be couched in heterosexual terms. He wasn't "the woman" in the relationship if he submitted to Jack anymore than Jack filled that role when Daniel was the dominant partner. They were equals, men cut from the same cloth where it mattered most.

They loved each other for who they were, soul to soul. If that made him "gay," then so be it.

He smiled at Kheftum. <"Thank you, teacher,"> he said quietly. <"You have taught me the greatest lesson of all.">

Kheftum frowned at him and scratched his head. <"I did?"> he asked in confusion.

With a nod, Daniel took a step toward Jack, pulled him into his arms, and kissed the startled man full on the mouth.

Jack recoiled, glancing around, taken aback by Daniel's public display of affection. "What the hell?" he asked, his glance going to the library's main door. He nodded, drawing Daniel's attention there. "Have you lost your mind? We're in the field, for cryin' out loud."

Daniel's timing could not have been more perfect for this revelation, since Sam and Teal'c stood just inside the arched doorway. Teal'c never missed a stride as he continued toward them, but Sam stood stock still, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open in shock. She and Teal'c weren't aware that Daniel had been Jack's lover now for several months. No one knew. Everyone assumed Daniel Jackson was still straight, when the truth was more that he'd always been bisexual, and it had taken falling for another man to make him realize that truth about himself.

Daniel knew he'd be having a serious talk with Sam soon, and she might or might not be okay with learning that he and Jack were lovers, but it was time Daniel had his own coming out, announcing to everyone that he and Jack were a committed couple. That thought brought another issue sharply into focus, and without giving it another thought, he dropped to one knee and took Jack's hands in his.

"Will you marry me, Jack?" he asked sincerely, looking up into those startled, gorgeous brown eyes. "I want you with me for the rest of our lives. I want people to know you're mine, and I'm yours, and I want us to wear rings to announce that to everyone. Is that okay with you? Wanna get hitched and make me an honest man?" Hope filled the smile he aimed up at his lover, joy and peace warming him through and through.

Jack backed up a couple of steps, looking like a startled rabbit about to take off for the hills. "Daniel, what did the boys put in your breakfast? You're freakin' me out, here."

Daniel got up and followed Jack, slipping his arms around his waist. "I mean it, Jack. Let's get married. I've never asked anybody before, and it'll crush me if you say no. You know you want to be my husband." He leaned in close and whispered where only Jack could hear him. "And I've decided not to give up my virginity till our wedding night, so if you ever want your dick up my sweet ass, that's the only way you're gonna get it." He pulled back and flashed a wicked grin, dimples and all, knowing Jack couldn't resist that. "Please?"

Jack was holding him by the shoulders, staring at him like he'd lost is mind. "Dammit, Daniel," he murmured. "What the hell am I gonna do with you?"

"Marry me," he answered brightly. "Yes or no?"

O'Neill let go of him and backed up a step. "You know how I feel about weddings," he growled, frowning.

"Yeah, well, you've never had one with your soul mate, either," Daniel argued gently, "and we both know that's what we are. Let's make it public and permanent. You be my husband, and I'll be yours. Aren't I worth a few butterflies in your stomach and a little tape on your shoes?"

"You're worth anything," Jack assured him instantly. He gazed into those blue eyes, oblivious to the rest of SG-1 finally making it across the wide foyer to join them. He swallowed hard and then said solemnly, "Okay. I'll do it, Daniel. You want me – you got me. I gotta admit, though, you shocked the hell outta me with this."

"Hey, I surprised me, too," said Daniel with a nervous laugh.

"What's going on?" Sam demanded, frowning between both of them.

"I just proposed to Jack," Daniel announced happily. He turned to face her, sobering. "And he accepted. I hope you'll be happy for us, Sam."

A tempest of emotions clouded her face. Anger, hurt and jealousy warred in her eyes, and without a word, she walked off toward the entrance. She kept her back to them as she stood near the front doors, looking out into the city.

Daniel started to go after her, but Jack held him back.

"Give her some time, Danny," he murmured, his fingers stroking fondly over Daniel's nape.

Teal'c gave them a rare smile and a slight bow. "I wish you long lives filled with joy," he told them.

"I'd better explain to our hosts what just happened," said Daniel. He turned to Kheftum and briefly related the situation, and watched the older man's face soften into an understanding smile. He congratulated them both.

After a few more minutes of discussion, Teal'c went to talk with Carter and the rest of the group began exploring the library, with Kheftum describing the various sections as they toured the huge building. They adjourned for lunch and rejoined Hadrian and the rest of the teams at a small outdoor café, where they dined on simple roasted meats, fresh fruits, and lightly steamed vegetables. The old men seemed subdued during the rest of the day, and when they prepared to return to their various quarters, Daniel waited until they were alone and gave Jack another brief, sweet parting kiss.

Carter kept her distance from Daniel during the rest of the mission, and he began to wonder if he'd lost her friendship in the same way she had withdrawn from Jack after his coming out. Things had gotten better between them lately; she had been visiting them at their house, oblivious to their intimacy. Now that it was out in the open, and Daniel had admitted they were a couple, she had separated herself from them again.

Daniel thought he understood that. She had wanted Jack for herself, and once she realized she'd never have that, it had taken her a long time to come to terms with it. Now reality had been thrust sharply back into focus; she had lost him a second time – to one of her best friends. Daniel wasn't sure she could forgive him for that, but he'd wait and see. Trying to talk to her about it in the field was not a good idea.

They stayed for two more days before returning home, bringing with them a signed treaty of alliance and some wonderful new gadgets and medicines. For once, Daniel hurried through his report and the debriefing with General Hammond, anxious to get home with Jack. There was a lot to do to prepare for a wedding, not the least of which was to choose the date.

More than anything else, however, he wanted Jack in his bed for a few hours of hot sex, followed by a full night's sleep, and he felt pretty certain Jack would want the same.

Two Nights Later

Jack was busy licking all the come off Daniel's chest and belly, and he lay still beneath that hot, hungry tongue. A million things were whirling through Daniel's mind, all of them centered on the man prowling between his legs. They had a future together. He wanted to grow old with Jack, but there was no promise of that in the jobs they did. So many sweet things lay ahead for them to discover about each other, not the least of which was the impending loss of Daniel's virginity.

"What's it like?" he murmured aloud.

"Hmmm?" Jack lifted his head from Daniel's navel, tongue still probing the depths of that little hole. He slurped noisily and licked his lips. "What's what like?"

Daniel looked down at him, into his happy face, his beautiful brown eyes positively dancing with joy. Daniel couldn't help smiling, too. "What does it feel like when I'm inside you?"

Jack slithered up his body like a snake, settled on top of him, and propped up on his elbows. The look in his eyes was sinfully sexy, smoldering with simmering passion. "Feels a little weird at first," he admitted, his voice a low rumble. "Of course, I'm talking starting with the fingers. Kinda like getting your annual exam."

"Oh," said Daniel unhappily.

"It's different when you're not in a surgical gown and grabbing your ankles." Jack grinned and rubbed his nose against Daniel's. "When you're looking into the face of the man you love, and it's his finger, and you can see in his eyes how hot he thinks it is to be doing that to you, everything changes. It feels good. Sexy. Maybe a little like forbidden fruit or something."

This was starting to sound a little better. Daniel nuzzled Jack back, almost kissing him, but holding back, wanting to hear what his lover had to say. Jack's breath felt warm against his lips, and smelled like Daniel's semen. He smiled at that, warm all the way to his toes.

"You start to like it, and then you want more. Need it." Jack's knee rubbed against Daniel's calf. He bent down and placed a light kiss on the side of Daniel's neck. "The more you get, the more you need. Harder, faster, more, till you've gotta have my dick in there, because you can't stand it, it's so good."

Daniel's heartbeat was speeding up, listening to that purring, rumbling voice, and looking into those liquid brown depths between kisses. "Yeah?"

Jack nodded, the tip of his nose brushing Daniel's. "Yeah. And then I'm inside you, and it hurts, and you can't move, can't even breathe for a minute."

"It hurts?" Daniel frowned. "I hurt you? Jeez, Jack! You didn't tell me I was hurting you."

Shaking his head, Jack lifted a hand to Daniel's face, his fingertips tracing the curve of his cheekbone. "It hurts because it's sort of like second nature to resist, and no matter how prepped you are for it, you never really are. But once I'm in there, you'll start to relax, and it won't hurt anymore. I promise, it'll start to feel good again. That's when I'll start to move inside you."

Jack dug his toes into the bed between Daniel's legs, pushing his body upward against Daniel's. Then he relaxed, then dug in again, rocking Daniel very gently, very slowly. Jack's belly was pressing against Daniel's spent cock, and the sensuality in his description and the movements he was making awakened new interest tingling in his crotch.

"Fucking me," Daniel whispered, getting caught up in the explanation.

"Yes," Jack whispered. "I'll be fucking you. I'll have your legs over my shoulders, and I'll be looking into your eyes and making love to you. I'll be inside you, Daniel. We'll be as close as two people can get."

Daniel started to squirm. "Jesus, Jack. Maybe we should go ahead and--"

"No," Jack breathed, shaking his head. "On our wedding night. Not before. And you haven't even heard the best part."

"There's more?" Daniel's mouth went dry. His toes curled. He lifted his legs and embraced Jack around the waist with them. This was so hot! Jack was the most incredibly erotic lover he'd ever had.

"While I'm inside you, when I get you at just the right angle, my dick will be rubbing right over your prostate, back and forth, with every thrust." Jack was starting to get a little breathless now. Desire glimmered in his eyes. "That's your pleasure-center, Daniel. Every graze will be like a mini-orgasm, pushing you closer to the big one. It's a fucking light show behind your eyelids, babe. The Fourth of July inside your body. Bet you didn't know your happy button was on the inside, did you?"

"Oh, fuck," Daniel wheezed. "I want you, Jack. Right now. Please."

Jack kissed him senseless, leaving him boneless and dizzy on the pillow; hard as a rock beneath Jack's belly.

"On our wedding night," Jack promised him fervently, "I'll be inside you, Danny." He kissed his way down Daniel's body and took his cock into his mouth, distracting Daniel from his curiosity with other expressions of his love.

When Jack had swallowed the last drop, he climbed wearily onto his own pillow and, with Daniel's arm draped over him, drifted off to sleep. It took a little longer for Daniel to get there, because he had another learning experience on his mind. What he had previously envisioned with some trepidation, he now awaited eagerly.

Three months, however, was a very long time to wait, and Daniel was not a patient man.

Five Nights Later

Daniel lay back against the porcelain tub, humming softly to himself as his fingers made wet trails through Jack's chest hair. His lover lay back against him, eyelids heavy, sated and relaxed as they soaked in the hot water after a long session of lovemaking. For the moment, there was nothing more pressing than the decision when to get out of the tub and start getting ready for bed.

The doorbell made that decision arrive a little sooner than expected.

"I'll get it," Jack offered, and rose out of the water, sloshing Daniel in waves that jostled him all around the tub.

"Wonder who it could be, at this hour," Daniel murmured, hauling himself out of the tub as well. He hurriedly dried himself off, watching Jack pull on his robe and head downstairs. Daniel dressed quickly in a T-shirt and jeans, then went to see who had come calling so late at night.

Jack had just opened the front door when Daniel arrived and saw Sam standing on the doorstep.

She looked troubled. Somber. "May I come in? I mean, I know it's late, and--" She glanced at Jack in his robe and Daniel's damp hair. "I hope I wasn't interrupting, but this'll just take a minute."

"No, Sam, please, come in," Daniel said quickly, gesturing her inside. "We were just getting ready for bed. It's okay." He smiled, nervous because he couldn't read her well enough to know what was on her mind.

She smiled a little, politely. "Thanks."

Jack led her into the living room, standing near the fireplace while Daniel sat with her on the sofa.

"Wouldja mind if I, ah--" Jack glanced down at his damp feet. "I'll just be a sec."

"Oh, no, that's fine," she returned, then gave an embarrassed laugh. "I probably should've called, but I was just driving around and thinking and--" She shrugged. "Maybe you shouldn't have given me that remote access to your gate, Daniel."

"Everyone on the team has one, Sam. It's okay. You're family." Jack headed for the staircase to go upstairs and change, and Daniel smiled back at her. "Can I get you something? Coffee, maybe?"

"Some water would be good." She smiled back at him, a little more relaxed and genuine this time.

"Sure thing." He went into the kitchen and fetched a bottle of water from the fridge. Moments after he'd returned to the living room, Jack was coming down the stairs to join them. He took up a post in front of the fireplace, hands thrust into the pockets of his sweatpants.

Sam sighed, then leaped right into what had brought her there. "Listen, I've been thinking a lot about--" She swallowed hard, then glanced at the bottle of water in her hands, then back at Jack, then at Daniel. "About the two of you. I always knew you guys were close. I just didn't understand how close."

"It's not what you think, Sam," Daniel assured her. "We were just friends for a long time. Just till a couple of months ago. I was trying to play matchmaker for Jack, and when I finally got him to date someone else, I realized I didn't want him with anyone else." He grimaced a little. "It was quite a shock, believe me. I never expected to find myself in love with another man. Especially this one."

He gazed up at Jack, at his familiar face, the concern he saw there for both of them, his fear that he might have lost Carter's friendship yet again. He and Daniel hadn't talked about it, but Daniel knew how he felt. The same worry had been plaguing him, but neither of them had known what to do about it.

"That's what Teal'c said," she confessed.

Daniel's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Teal'c? How'd he know that?"

Sam smiled fondly. "He doesn't miss much." She chuckled. "And he's been working on me for most of the last week, trying to get me to see how right you two are for each other." Her expression sobered, and she glanced between them. "You've been like an old married couple for years, anyway. I can't imagine better partners for either of you, really. I can't see either of you with anyone else, actually, which is pretty funny, when you think about it."

She quirked a half smile as she hung her head. "You know, when that other Sam Carter came through the quantum mirror, I kept thinking her marriage to the Jack O'Neill in her timeline was some kind of cosmic sign that I was supposed to be with the one in mine." She sighed, her grin disappearing. "But she wasn't military, and I couldn't step off the team. I wanted the prestige of being on SG-1. I just wanted all of it, everything. The husband of my choice, kids, career." Carter shrugged and lifted her eyes to meet Jack's. "Then when you came out, I..."

Carter pushed to her feet, arms crossed over her chest, staring at the floor as she paced. "I'd built up this idea in my head that you'd retire one day, and that's when my dreams would come true. When I knew that would never happen, I was kind of glad to know you weren't going to be with anyone else. Then when I realized you two were involved..."

"I'm sorry, Carter," Jack murmured, then corrected himself. "Sam."

She shook her head. "It's okay, sir," she told him, her expression soft and serene. "I've been thinking about this a lot over the last few months, and I realized something – you were always honest with me. Always. I knew you cared about me more than you should have. You cared about all of us that way. I was the one who made more of it than it was, and I have no one but myself to blame."

"That's not entirely true, Carter. I played a part in all that, too. I gave you just enough attention to keep you looking my way, without quite stepping on the regs. I swear, though, it wasn't intentional. I was fooling myself, too, for a long time."

"I know that now. But there was way more of me in the 'us' that never was, than there ever was of you." She frowned. "Did that make any sense at all?"

He grinned. "I got it, Carter. And thank you."

"For what?"

Jack's gaze was steady and warm. "For your friendship, from both of us. We didn't want to lose you. I did, for a while."

"Daniel reminded me what the important things are," she admitted, fingering the rainbow insignia on the bodice of her dress. "Like no one being left behind. I forgot that for a little while."

Jack felt the warmth of her friendship flowing through him, grateful for its return. "He's good at that," he observed. "Smart man, our Daniel."

"He's always belonged to you more than he ever has to the rest of us. Everybody knew that." Sam's smile was brilliant when she met Jack's gaze again, filled with genuine joy. "You two are so right for each other, you know? Flint and steel."

Nodding, Jack agreed with her wholeheartedly.

"We didn't intend for this to happen," Daniel assured her. "I'd never have believed it could, if you'd suggested it six months ago." He shook his head and met her steady gaze, imploring her to understand. "We never meant to hurt you, either of us, and we have. I can't tell you how sorry I am about that."

"I know," she told him, giving him a sad smile. "You were right, Daniel. The two of you haven't changed a bit. I looked at both of you differently, for my own selfish reasons. I just wanted you to know that I've thought about it, and I really don't want to give up my place in your lives. You've both been like family, and I'd miss you too much."

Relief surged through Daniel, the fear and worry he'd been holding onto expelled on a sigh. "Thanks, Sam." He stood up and came to her with outstretched arms, and she stepped into them, returning his hug. "We love you, y'know."

A genuine smile lit up her face. "Yeah, Daniel. I know." She patted his shoulder and stepped out of his embrace. "Love you, too."

"Don't I get a hug?" asked Jack.

She chuckled. "Of course." Her embrace of Jack was quick and stiff, and when she tried to step away, he hung onto her, refusing to let her go.

"We're having a moment here, Carter," he teased in a rumbling whisper. "Don't hurry it up."

With a slight laugh, she relaxed and held him a little longer, slipping away when he released her. "So how are the wedding plans coming? I heard you two set a date."

"Yeah, about that." Jack glanced at Daniel, then back at Sam. "Daniel and I are kinda clueless about this whole wedding thing, so we were kinda hoping you might help out with that. If you wanted. No pressure or anything, you know."

"We wanted to have the whole team involved," Daniel added. "Both in planning and execution."

"Execution?" Jack asked, his voice squeaking. "Jeez, Daniel, it's a wedding, not a firing squad."

"Funny you should mention that," said Sam with a grin. "Teal'c told me that weddings on Chulak have those. Deceptive grooms and brides have been executed at the altar for being unwilling to keep the promises made to their lovers in the heat of passion."

"That gives a whole new meaning to the phrase 'shotgun wedding' in my book," observed Jack sagely. "Maybe I should rethink asking him to be my best man. He might bring a real shotgun with him."

Daniel frowned at him. "You're not getting out of this, Jack," he warned. "Cold feet are not allowed. Besides, he's my best man."

"No, he's not. He's gonna be mine."

"Already asked him, and he said yes."

"But I'm the Colonel. I outrank you."

"No, you don't."

"Do."

"Don't. I don't have a rank for you to outrank!"

"Hey!" Sam's eyes were sparkling and she was just short of giggling. "Knock it off, guys. There's plenty of time to get all this worked out, and I'll help make sure everything goes off without a hitch. It'll be a great wedding. Besides, you'll probably both be so nervous, neither one of you'll be able to remember it without the photos."

Both men looked at her, their argument temporarily forgotten.

Daniel glanced back at Jack. "As long as you don't leave me standing at the altar, I don't care if it's just you, me, Sam, Teal'c, and the minister. Whatever you want, Jack."

"So why don't we talk about that over dinner tomorrow night?" suggested Sam.

"We'll cook," added Daniel.

"Why don't you two do the planning, and I'll take care of drinking the beer?" Jack was starting to get that deer-in-the-headlights look.

Daniel turned to Sam. "Here? Tomorrow night, after work."

"I'll bring Teal'c and the reference material."

"Reference material?" asked Jack, frowning.

"Girls have bridal magazines," Sam explained. "I'm sure there's an equivalent guide to gay weddings, and I'll help Daniel with the research."

"Oy," said Jack, turning a bit pale. "Think I'll turn in. You two can talk about all the lace and flowers."

"No lace," Daniel assured him, "and no flowers. We'll do something more macho."

"It'll be appropriate, I promise," Carter told him with a grin. "G'night, sir."

"Good night, Carter."

Daniel watched Jack pad barefoot up the stairs and walked Sam to the door. His heart was dancing. "I'm so glad you're okay with this," he told her earnestly. "We wouldn't have wanted to do it without you."

She sobered. "But you would have, if I'd cut you out of my life, and that would have been the right thing to do." She sighed and patted his shoulder. "I know I made the right choice here, Daniel. My life is better with both of you in it. I've already seen what it's like when you're not, and I don't want to go there again." With a small smile, she added, "Besides, it's time I moved on. My brother has been after me to meet this guy he knows in the Denver Police Department, and I think I'll give it a shot, see what happens."

"Best of luck, Sam. Keep me posted." He squeezed her hand and watched her go out to her car from the doorstep, get into it, and drive away.

Three Months Later

Jack straightened his tie for the third time in as many minutes. Nature was apparently cooperating with their plans for an outdoor wedding, because the sky was clear and the moments before dawn were just warm enough to be comfortable. At this hour, the Garden of the Gods was virtually empty, save for a few joggers who gave the military folks a wide berth.

The Rainbow Soldiers lined the path up to the High Pavilion, where the ceremony would take place, each of them dressed in their finest. Having Jack's unit serve as honor guard had been a surprise, one arranged by the wedding coordinator, Major Samantha Carter. The wedding party itself was divided in two, with the military guests who were Jack's closest personal friends standing with him, and Daniel's best friends among his academic staff somewhere else. The two parties would be meeting on the trail to the pavilion, each led by the grooms.

That, too, had been Carter's idea, and both men thought it was fitting.

Jack hadn't seen Daniel that morning. He'd spent the night at Carter's, arguing that tradition dictated they not see each other till the ceremony, even though Jack reminded him that was for brides, not gay grooms. Then he overheard them talking about a shipment of something they were expecting overnight, and supposed that might be the real reason for Daniel's absence. Jack missed him and hadn't slept worth a damn without his lover. More than anything, he just wanted to get this done so he could be alone with Daniel again.

He cleared his throat and checked his watch, then shot a glance at Carter. She was just finishing up a call on her cell phone, and while she was occupied, he slipped off his left shoe and inspected the sole, just making sure no one had tampered with his footwear. Hastily slipping it back on, he straightened his Class A jacket, then went for his tie again and resettled his cap on his head. He had gotten his hair cut the previous afternoon and shaved his face within an inch of his life, hoping he looked okay.

"You look perfect," Carter told him, as if reading his mind. "Stop fidgeting." She hesitated. "Sir."

"I just want to look my best," Jack told her nervously. "God, I hate weddings."

She grinned. "Even this one?"

"Until I lay eyes on Daniel, yes," he declared emphatically. "After that, I probably won't see anything else in the park."

Sam chuckled at him and shook her head.

General Hammond ambled up to them, looking spit-and-polish perfect in his Class A's, with pounds of medals on his chest, bright, shiny stars on his epaulets, and the rainbow insignia on his shirt collar. "It's time, Jack," he called softly. "Are you ready?"

"I still don't know which one of us is the bride," Jack joked. "That could complicate things later on, you know."

Both his companions laughed softly, walking with him out onto the path. The other officers fell in behind them, forming into perfect columns of two. Jack was in the lead, with Carter and Hammond directly behind him, and the handful of others stepping in precision.

The indigo sky had given way to lighter blue, and at the horizon a pale pink corona announced the rising sun. The temperature was just right – not too warm for the June morning, a slight breath of breeze occasionally disturbing the leaves of the trees lining the path. Birds were just starting to sing, waking for the day and providing a soft background to the patter of dress shoes clattering softly against the concrete path up the hill toward the pavilion.

Halfway up the trail, Jack spotted Daniel's group. Teal'c stood a little apart from them, perfectly turned out in a pale gray suit. Standing at the head of the group of men in suits and women in long dresses, Jack spied his husband-to-be, standing arm-in-arm with Catherine Langford Littlefield.

Daniel moved onto the path with a sure step, head up and eyes bright, a big smile on his face. He looked splendid in a navy suit over a pale blue shirt and one of Jack's ties all in shades of blue and white. Over the top of that hung a gold chain with a medallion bearing the eye of Ra. Jack recognized it instantly as Catherine's, and that she had loaned it to Daniel again, for luck.

He saw Daniel squeeze the old woman's hand and let her go to walk beside Ernest, the couple just behind him as he fell into step at Jack's side.

To one side of the covered structure, two of the Rainbow Soldiers stood guard beside a small table on which many small white boxes sat. They were triangular in shape, almost like little pyramids, and Jack wondered what they were. He did a quick count and noticed that there were 39 of them, and that each of the boxes had a glyph from the stargate drawn on the end, one for each constellation. That had to be Daniel's doing. Jack grinned, wondering how he'd gotten clearance for that. Then again, everyone at the wedding was associated with the program, so no harm was done. No one outside the SGC would know what the symbols were, anyway. Only Daniel had recognized their significance, back in the early days of research on the stargate.

Jack's stomach quivered. "This is it," he said quietly to Daniel as they approached the shaded pavilion.

"I'm ready," Daniel said confidently. He reached out and grasped Jack's left hand, holding onto him lightly, proudly.

Jack took off his cap as he stepped under the pavilion's roof, handing it off to the General.

A guitarist seated near the back of the pavilion began to play, and a moment later, he sang the old Irish song, Danny Boy, by special request from Jack. Standing in the center was a silver-haired woman dressed in a long black robe with an ornately embroidered stole around her neck. The two grooms stopped in front of her, and those behind them moved into place until the trio was completely surrounded. Major Campisi from Jack's unit served as official photographer, and he slipped easily through the crowd, silently commemorating the event on film.

"Who are these men who come to be married?" asked the minister, addressing the crowd.

Jack answered first, then Daniel, and they took each other's hands as the officiate began to speak.

Most of the ceremony was a blur to Jack, some of it familiar, some of it simply ignored because he was looking into Daniel's eyes, before God and a good part of the SGC, to promise the rest of his life to this one man. The fear he'd felt during his previous wedding wasn't there at all, just as Daniel had predicted. A sense of wonder and joy enveloped him, and when the time came to recite his vows, he took a piece of paper from inside his jacket and unfolded it noisily.

"Dear Daniel," he read.

The crowd tittered a little at his intended joke.

"I promise I won't bother you in the mornings till after you've had your coffee."

Everyone laughed at that. Jack grinned at them over his shoulder, pleased that his jokes were actually getting the intended response for a change.

"I promise to let you talk all you want about old stuff, unless, of course, you're talking about me."

"Jack." Daniel's voice was soft, spoken through clenched teeth in a smile of warning.

"I promise you can watch the History Channel all you want, as long as I get equal time for hockey and The Simpsons."

Daniel just pressed his lips together and shook his head, letting Jack go ahead with his stand-up routine. He, too, was smiling. Jack even got the dimple.

"I promise arguments about every little thing we disagree on, because we disagree on just about everything. And after we're done arguing, we can make up, because that's the best part."

He looked down at the rest of his vows and swallowed the lump in his throat, keeping his eyes on the paper, his voice clear and steady. "Lastly, I promise you everything I am, because I'm a much better man now, for having had you in my life these last ten years. I promise to be faithful, because no one gets left behind on my team. And more than all this, I promise you all the time I have left, and all the love I can give. You've had all that for a long time anyway, but it's a good thing we're doing here, making it legal in front of everyone, so they'll all know..." He raised his eyes to Daniel's to finish it. "...that I love you more than I ever believed it was possible to love anyone, and I know without a doubt that you love me that much, too. I know that because you're here, right now, and two years ago you weren't. Love was what brought you back to us. To me. Love is our miracle to keep, Daniel."

Then it was Daniel's turn to recite his vows. His, of course, were memorized.

"To my beloved Jack, I offer my time and all my skills. I'll give you what patience I have and work on developing more. I offer you all my worldly goods, but more than that, I give you the heart you won long ago, when I didn't even realize I'd given it away. You're the man I always wanted to be, and it's been my privilege to walk beside you these past ten years. I honored you first as my friend, then as my lover, and now, as my husband, for the rest of our lives. I will comfort you with my body and my love. I will always strive to please you and make you proud of me, and I now pledge before the world and this assembly, that my heart belongs to the rainbow warrior who walks among the stars. Now and forever, you are my soul mate, and I am yours."

After a pause, he added, "I love you, Jack O'Neill, and I promise I always will."

Jack could hardly see Daniel for the tears in his eyes. He managed to blink them away and somehow made it through the rest of the ceremony, getting Daniel's custom-made ring on him, content with the weight of the matching one encircling his finger. A quote from Kahlil Gibran had been laser-inscribed on the inside both rings. It read, "Marriage is the golden ring in a chain whose beginning is a glance and whose ending is Eternity." That had been Daniel's idea, his choice of posy, and Jack loved it.

He meant for the kiss at the end to be chaste and sweet, and it was at first, but then Daniel's tongue slipped into his mouth. They melted into a deep, dreamy kiss filled with exotic promises, surrounded by easy laughter and the gentle clapping of their friends.

The look in Daniel's eyes when they drew away from each other was incendiary.

"Alpha, bravo, Charlie, delta..." Jack recited under his breath, trying to cool his reaction. He felt Daniel's hand slip into his and give him a squeeze as they turned around to face their guests as husbands.

"And now, may I present to you, Colonel Jack O'Neill-Jackson and Doctor Daniel O'Neill-Jackson," the minister declared. "Those whom God has joined together, let no one put asunder."

The audience cheered. Photos were taken, and shortly afterward the guests began to line up at the table outside the pavilion. As Carter handed out the boxes to specific people, Teal'c called out to everyone, bringing their attention to him.

"DanielJackson has taught me much of this land that has become my home," he announced, obviously careful about what he said in that public place. "He once told me of a legend among the native tribes of this country, which states that, if one desires a wish to come true, you must first whisper that wish to a butterfly. These creatures make no sound, so the butterfly cannot reveal that wish to anyone, save the Great Spirit who hears and sees all. In gratitude for giving the butterfly its freedom, the Divine always grants the wish."

He gazed fondly at the newlyweds, standing hand in hand in the early morning light, and gave them a deep bow of respect. "Let us now whisper our wishes for the happiness of these two brave men, and set these tiny messengers free, in the hope that our wishes for them may be granted."

Teal'c held one of the boxes up to his mouth and whispered to it. Others followed suit, and in a moment the air was filled with the brilliant oranges, browns and blacks of a flock of Monarch butterflies, winging their way skyward. Some settled on nearby flowers, spreading their wings and soaking up the warmth of the brightening sunshine.

"Nice," Jack observed privately to Daniel. "A little girly, but nice."

Daniel elbowed him gently. "Not girly. A Native American tradition."

"Neither one of us is Native American," Jack teased.

"Well, bird seed wasn't appropriate, since that has connotations of fertility," Daniel shot back quietly, "and I couldn't see all those men in uniform blowing bubbles, which is the new big thing to do at weddings instead of throwing rice, and--"

"The butterflies were good," Jack assured him with a wink. "I liked it."

"Thank you." Daniel lifted his chin with stubborn pride. His brow wrinkled with uncertainty. "They were okay?"

"They were nice," Jack reiterated. He raised his eyebrows in question. "Party time?"

Daniel gestured toward the path with a nod. "Off to the reception hall."

Jack crooked his elbow toward Daniel. "I hope there's beer."

Daniel just looked at Jack's proffered arm, lifted his nose in the air, and walked right past Jack. "Follow me," he told his husband.

"I'm used to that," Jack teased. He retrieved his cap from Hammond and replaced it on his head after stepping out from under the covering roof of the pavilion, smiling as he watched Daniel glance back at him over his shoulder. Jack's long stride covered the distance between them, and he clasped Daniel's hand as he caught up.

The two men headed down the trail with their entourage in tow. The limousine Jack had arrived in carried them to the reception hall they'd chosen, in the ballroom of a downtown hotel. Gifts were stacked on tables in the entry area, and Teal'c and Sam would cart them away to be opened later by the grooms. A hearty breakfast followed by cake and other goodies were eaten and toasts were offered with champagne and mimosas.

Hours passed as they were celebrated by their friends and their peers, hand in hand, until it was time for the happy couple to depart. They gave a heart-felt farewell to their guests and passed through the lobby, heading for the elevators. Jack had booked them a room upstairs where they could change into comfortable clothes, relax and make love before Jack sprang his surprise wedding gift on his husband.

As they were exiting the elevator, a trio of young women crossed their path, just coming out of one of the posh rooms. They were giggling and dressed to the nines, obviously ready to conquer the city. One of them, a leggy brunette in a short red dress, eyed the way he and Daniel stood hand in hand, and smiled shyly at him.

"Hey," she said quietly.

"Ma'am," Jack answered politely. He pulled Daniel a little closer.

The woman's eyes moved to Daniel's face, and she sobered as she turned her attention back to Jack. "Listen, I know you don't know me or anything, but are you one of the rainbow guys who went to Afghanistan?"

"Yes, ma'am. I was there." Jack felt himself tensing up, getting ready for a potential hostile reaction. Civilian response to the gay soldiers wasn't always positive.

She smiled again. "Then I'd like to say thank you, sir. May I shake your hand?"

Jack extended his right toward her and smiled as he lightly gripped her slender fingers.

The two girls behind her were whispering now, and the brunette shushed them. When she turned back to face Jack, she read his nametag and her eyes widened. She looked up at his face and her mouth fell open. She covered it with her left hand until he released her right. "Ohmigod, you're him, aren't you? You're THE Colonel Jack O'Neill! The one who captured Osama Bin Laden!"

"Um, yes, ma'am, that's me," Jack admitted. He sidled backward a half step. They were looking a little too excited now, and the hotel room down the hallway was starting to appear awfully far away. "Good day, ladies."

The trio did not get onto the elevator, just stood where they were as the doors closed behind them. Jack could hear them whispering among themselves, and he stopped and turned around to face them when the brunette called his name. Daniel let him go and stood at his side, ready for action.

"Um, Colonel, sir? Could I--could I get a picture with you? Please?"

Jack looked at Daniel, who was grinning proudly. "You've got fans, Jack," he observed fondly. "Go ahead. Pose with 'em. I'll take the picture."

"You're such a nice guy," Jack teased, patiently taking his place in the middle of the group, and letting Daniel do the honors with the camera one of them pulled from a purse.

"Thank you so much!" the brunette gushed, shaking his hand again. "I'm sorry we interrupted you and your boyfriend--"

"Husband," Jack corrected. He eyed Daniel and gave him a grin that made Daniel's smile vanish. Turning to his audience, Jack told them, "You ladies will be kicking yourselves later if you don't get a picture with him, too, because one day, Doctor Daniel O'Neill-Jackson is gonna be even more famous than this old soldier."

"Jaaaaack!"

"He is hot," observed the blonde who owned the camera.

"The hottest guys are always gay," moaned the redhead with a sigh through her smile. "Or otherwise taken. C'mere, honey." They pulled a slightly reluctant, blushing Daniel into their midst and Jack futzed with the camera, taking a shot of their shoes before he figured out how to work it.

He handed the camera back to the blonde and wished them a good evening.

"Wait! Can we get a picture of the two of you together?" she asked.

Dutifully, they posed side by side, barely touching.

"How about if you kiss each other?" she asked after the flash went off.

"Not while I'm in uniform, ladies," Jack told them politely. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we have a honeymoon to start."

"Oh! You just got married? Congratulations!" The girls were giggling and cheering, and raced away to the elevator in happy abandon, thrilled to have met a real live hero.

"That was very nice of you," Daniel observed, "but was it really necessary to drag me into it? They don't know me from Adam."

"They will, Daniel," he corrected as they made their way down the corridor. "One day, they'll have that picture of you blown up, framed and hanging in their living rooms, so they can tell all their grandkids they met you once."

Daniel just grinned and shook his head. "You're the hero. Not me. And you're the one with the fans."

"They just don't know about you yet." Jack unlocked the room with his key card. "But they will, one day. The whole world's gonna know you, Danny. Just wait."

They entered the hotel room, unpacked their luggage that had been sent up earlier, and toasted each other with champagne while they put their things away.

"I can't believe you're mine," Daniel whispered with a smile as he finished in the closet and turned to study his mate, his eyes roving appreciatively over the man in uniform.

"Never thought this would happen in a million years, babe," said Jack, glancing at him as he closed the closet door.

"Neither did I." Blue eyes dropped downward, and scanned slowly back up to Jack's face. "I love seeing you in your Class A's. You're stunning. Funny how I couldn't see that before." He grasped the back of Jack's neck and slowly ran his fingers down his jaw line. "You take my breath away," he whispered.

Jack felt himself blushing. "Want me to keep it on?" he asked hesitantly, fingering his jacket.

Daniel laughed. "Maybe some other time we can play soldier and archaeologist, but today, I want skin. Nothing but skin." The Class A jacket came off in Daniel's eager hands, and Jack hung it up with great care.

By the time they had both hung up their coats and ties, Daniel was giggly and talking smutty under the influence of the champagne, his blue eyes bright with anticipation. He was a little unsteady as he closed the closet door, and Jack caught him by the shoulders and righted him, their bodies brushing up against each other as Daniel recovered his balance.

He sobered instantly, looking up into Jack's eyes. "This is it, isn't it?"

Jack nodded. "Soon." He stepped away and brought the champagne bottle over to refill their glasses. "Relax, babe. Everything's gonna be just fine."

They sat on the bed and finished the bottle, setting the empty back into the bucket of melting ice.

Jack couldn't help glancing at the heavy gold ring on his left hand, glinting in the soft lamplight as he set their flutes on the nightstand.

Married, he reminded himself as he stole a glance at his new husband. Till death... but Daniel had already showed him that their vows would go way beyond that. Jack suspected they'd be together in some form for eternity, and part of him wondered if that reincarnation thing had already happened, and they'd already been lovers in previous lives, growing closer each time.

He grinned at himself and shook his head. He was too old to be waxing so romantic, and Daniel would probably have teased him mercilessly if he'd said any of that out loud. But then, Daniel didn't know what a romantic Jack was; at least, not yet. Not entirely. He'd seen glimpses, but Jack had been sparing with his attention, gradually increasing it so Daniel would have time to adjust. He didn't want to smother his lover or scare him off, because the full-blown Jack O'Neill in love was a powerful thing. Sometimes he even scared himself with the things he was thinking and wanted to do. He'd never been this crazy over anyone– not until Daniel Jackson had come into his life.

He watched Daniel rise and take the shoes he'd left by the bed and carry them to the closet. Then he noticed Daniel's head bobbing and darting all around the beautifully appointed room, his shoulders twitching, and finally, playing with his hands as he continued to stand by the closet door.

"Daniel, you're fidgeting," Jack observed.

With a pained smile, Daniel nodded. "Nervous bride, I guess."

Jack understood instantly. "You don't have to, you know," he reminded his husband, going over to meet him and draping his arms over Daniel's shoulders.

Daniel's head bobbed again. "I know. I want to, Jack. I'm just a little – got butterflies, you know? Excited and scared all at once." He slipped his hands around Jack's waist. "I'll be fine, once we get started."

"I plan to take your mind off it," Jack declared, "starting right now." He pulled Daniel into an embrace and kissed him soundly.

"God, you're good at that," Daniel breathed appreciatively when Jack let him up for air.

"C'mon. Let's go to bed," he suggested, and brought Daniel's hand up to his lips. He kissed the wedding ring gleaming in the afternoon sunlight, then raised his gaze to his husband's. "We don't have to do this right now, you know, if you're still not ready."

Shaking his head, Daniel chuckled. "This isn't like any other day, Jack. This is our wedding day, and I want to make love with you while the sun's still shining. I want to see your body and your eyes in the daylight." He took off his glasses and laid them aside on the nightstand. "You ready?"

"We've got the rest of our lives, Danny. I know you want it to be right now, but if that changes, you let me know, and we'll do something else. And when it does happen, I want it to be slow and gentle and beautiful, not crazed and needy. Not for your first time."

Those blue eyes met his brown ones with amazement gleaming in them. "You really are in love with me, aren't you?"

"I married you, didn't I?" Jack asked with a soft smile. "C'mon. Get undressed; I wanna look at your muscles."

Daniel undressed while Jack watched.

He was such a well-made man, Jack observed privately. No softness anywhere; just big plates of toned male muscle under gleaming satiny skin. Only his arms and face were tanned from his time outdoors; the rest of his skin was pale and creamy. Daniel was an attractive man, but not everyone saw that behind the glasses. Jack did, though, and when Daniel smiled, it was like turning on halogen headlights in a dark garage. Those dimples were cruel. His eyelashes were a sin, and his mouth – that lower lip alone could drive a man to ruin.

Jack was a very lucky man, and he knew it.

"Mind if I shower?" Daniel asked.

"You just had one a few hours ago, and you're about to get all sweaty here," Jack reminded him affectionately.

"So I wanna be fresh for you. Got a problem with that? Besides, I got all sweaty at the altar. I was a little nervous. Okay, a lot nervous."

"Then how 'bout if I join you?"

Daniel's response was a grin and a wink.

Jack rose from the bed, unbuttoning his shirt as he watched Daniel walk toward the bathroom, getting an eyeful of that gorgeous six. Daniel had long, heavily muscles legs, built for power, and an ass to match. Jack smiled as he reminded himself that he'd be plunging into that delectable derriere in the near future, and that thought brought a little tingle to his crotch, a sweet ripple of response that told him it might be sooner rather than later.

They took their time in the shower, soaping each other up, kissing under the spray, touching and exploring each other, in no hurry for anything more. When they finished, they dried off and Daniel wrapped a towel around his waist out of habit. Jack pulled it off and tossed it on the bathroom floor.

With a rakish grin, he patted Daniel's bottom and moved past him into the bedroom. Stark naked, he began gathering up his clothes, neatly putting them away in the closet, and watched Daniel do the same. Soon enough, they retreated to the bed, which they turned down together. Jack fetched the lube and condoms from his suitcase and put them onto the nightstand, where they would be in easy reach.

Daniel slid beneath the covers and lay on his pillow. He turned and smiled at Jack, his eyes filled with love and desire. "I guess I'm ready now."

Lying on his side, propped up on his left elbow, Jack gazed down into his husband's face. "And now," Jack murmured, "I get to love you like I've wanted for a long time." He laid his index finger across Daniel's lips to keep him quiet. "I'm gonna take my time, so you'll need to be patient with me. We only get to have your first time once, and I want us to remember every detail."

Azure eyes shining with joy and anticipation, Daniel nodded in agreement. Jack lifted his finger away, following it up with his lips, dry and smooth, just gliding across Daniel's mouth with his own. Back and forth he moved, mapping out every curve and hollow, until he had the landscape memorized. He rubbed his nose against Daniel's briefly before he pulled back to gaze into his eyes again.

Desire sparkled back at him beneath heavy-lidded eyes with blown pupils. Jack didn't have to look to know that Daniel was sporting the beginnings of an erection now. He could feel his arousal, as well as Daniel's anticipation, well mixed with a little trepidation.

Jack lifted his right hand and settled it over Daniel's heart while he gazed into his eyes, feeling the rhythm speed up beneath his palm. Daniel's skin was cool from the shower, but warmed rapidly under his gentle touch. He looked at his hand, nestled between the swells of male muscle and satin skin, and was filled with wonder. "Mine," he murmured possessively.

"Yes," Daniel answered. "Forever."

Leaning down, Jack placed a kiss on Daniel's chest, then rose up slightly and feasted his eyes on the rest of the beautiful body that he could touch and stroke and kiss all he wanted. The knowledge of it rocked him, humbled him, filled him with peace. He brushed his lips against a freckle on Daniel's belly and claimed it as his own, then closed his eyes, lost in sensation, exploring Daniel's body with his face. He laved the curving pelvis jutting up beside Daniel's flat abdomen, and nuzzled into the thatch of curly brownish-gold pubic hair.

"Mine," he breathed.

He dragged his mouth across Daniel's cock. "Mine," he whispered tightly, his voice hurting his throat, barely able to believe this miracle in his life. Jack slid down in the bed, caressing Daniel's thighs with his cheek, his forehead, his nose. He stroked Daniel's instep with his throat, moving back upward with rows of kisses trailing up Daniel's shins.

Jack grazed his teeth over the crease between belly and thigh, and was rewarded by a soft moan. Daniel was undulating beneath him, spreading his legs wide for his husband. Jack rose to his knees, his body tucked up tightly, so he could run both hands over Daniel's lightly-furred legs. He stroked Daniel's belly while he licked the creases, then suckled at his balls.

That got a loud groan and a shudder of appreciation, and Jack sighed in happy response, sending a breath of heated air against Daniel's buttocks. He groped for the lube on the nightstand and, while he kept Daniel occupied with a thorough exploration of his nether region by Jack's nimble tongue, he squeezed a little of the gel into his hand and closed his fingers over it to warm it up.

Taking Daniel's cock in one hand, Jack poised the other and looked up toward his husband's face. "Babe," he called softly. "Gonna touch your ass now. Just my fingers. Gonna be inside you, just a little."

"Yes," Daniel whispered back. He didn't look down at Jack, but his hands closed over the sheets, gripping them tightly in his fists.

"Relax," Jack told him quietly. "Easy, Danny. I love you."

With the greatest care, Jack massaged the gel all around Daniel's anus, then slowly, gently slipped inside him.

A gusted moan was Daniel's response. His hips began to move, pressing down, pulling back, undulating against that invading digit. Jack gave him more, twirling his finger until it was fully embedded all the way to the base.

God, Daniel felt so good! Jack's cock was aching, so hard it hurt, but he couldn't hurry this; wouldn't rush it, for Daniel's sake. He took Daniel's cock in his mouth, swirling his tongue all around the shaft, licking and nibbling, just the way he knew Daniel liked it.

Gently, gradually, he primed Daniel until he felt the muscles loosen, finally ready for him. Daniel was beyond caution now, writhing and whimpering on the bed, his eyes tightly shut, his fists pulling at the sheets. He was begging, pleading for Jack to fuck him, and when he was sure, Jack withdrew his hand and sat up on his knees. He put the condom on quickly, faster than he'd ever done it in his life.

The moment he reached for Daniel's legs, those blue eyes flew open, and Daniel's head came up. He was panting hard, his eyes dilated by need laced with fear.

"Not taking anything from you," Jack promised, his voice a raw ache in his throat. "You're still a man; still everything you've ever been. This doesn't change you, except to make you mine, just like I'm yours."

Daniel let his head drop back against the pillow. He nodded, swallowing visibly, without taking his eyes off Jack. He settled Daniel's calves onto his shoulders and leaned over him, bending his body tightly closed, raising his hips off the bed and settling them against his thighs. He looked down at Daniel's ass and took his cock in hand, guiding himself to that slick, swollen pink opening into his husband's body. His eyes filled, and he blinked to clear them.

"Jack!" Daniel cried, a note of desperation in his voice.

"I love you, baby," Jack whispered, looking into Daniel's eyes, pausing to wait for permission. "What do you want me to do?"

Tears dampened in Daniel's lashes. He pulled at Jack with his legs. "I'm scared, but I want you inside me," he whispered, his voice trembling. "I love you, Jack. No one else will ever touch me like this. Only you."

"Deep breath," Jack prompted softly. His heart ached with love and joy held tightly inside, everything under iron control, for Daniel's sake. "Now, let it out slowly."

Jack waited until Daniel had exhaled and then pushed, just a tiny bit, until the head of his dick slipped into that tight little hole. His knees hurt, but he didn't care. He could feel the sweat on his forehead start to bead up and trickle down his face, but he didn't try to wipe it away. All he could see was Daniel's face, the look of surprise, the moment he began to relax, and his nod to tell Jack to give him more.

Unable to look away from Daniel's eyes, Jack watched him as he pushed deeper, felt the moment the pain hit, and the instant it eased. He slowly slid further inside until Daniel had taken all of him. Jack's body was shaking so hard he could hardly keep his balance, much of his weight resting now on the backs of Daniel's thighs and his own aching knees. He pressed closer until he could reach Daniel's mouth and kissed him, brief and sweet, rocking back and sliding out, then gently pushing into him.

"You're inside me," Daniel whispered in awe. "You're fucking me. Oh, Jack. My love. Mine." He reached up and grasped Jack's nape, pulling him back down for a hungry kiss, his knees up by his ears. In and out, sweeping in for kisses and then looking into Daniel's eyes, Jack rocked with his husband. The rhythm quickened. Breaths shortened, sharper, interspersed with gusted groans of pleasure and soft whimpers of need. Jack moved his knees back a little, taking some of the pressure off and easing his pain, allowing him to thrust harder, pumping himself into Daniel's backside.

He reached down with one hand and lifted Daniel's hips, adjusting the angle slightly, and knew instantly when he hit Daniel's prostate. He cried out and arched upward, and when he opened his eyes again, seeking Jack's steady gaze, Jack nodded and smiled. He brushed over it again, watching Daniel's incredulous moment of discovery turn to instant addiction. Daniel surrendered completely, groaning behind clenched teeth, giving up his last shred of control, letting Jack set the pace, letting Jack own him.

"Love you," Jack whispered, reaching down to grasp Daniel's cock with his free hand. He stroked and squeezed it adoringly, sensing Daniel's headlong rush to orgasm. He watched Daniel's face darken, felt him arch up, tighten, and release with a rhythmic shout. Hot semen splattered Daniel's face, chest, and belly, dribbling out over Jack's hand.

He was close now, his gaze locked on Daniel's face as he came. Jack let go of Daniel's cock and reached beneath him, holding Daniel's buttocks with both hands. Jack pistoned into him, slamming into his ass with all of his strength. He watched, amazed, as Daniel kept coming, his chin tucked almost into his chest, his body bent double; his shouts ebbing to gusted groans. Jack swept in, needing a kiss, heedless of Daniel's hungry mouth devouring his, Daniel's fingers digging mercilessly into his hip, seeking better purchase.

Everything hurt. His mouth, bruised by Daniel's teeth. His side, ravaged by Daniel's fingernails. His knees, pushed beyond their limits. His balls, pumping every ounce of semen out in his body. His heart, strained to bursting with a love he could no longer contain. He tore himself away from Daniel's mouth and wailed in anguished ecstasy, pleasure and pain intermingled into one great, throbbing release. He poured himself into Daniel, all his strength pulsing away with his seed, leaving him a weak, boneless mess, unable to do anything but breathe.

When he could manage to open his eyes again, he was lying on his side, his head at an odd angle to the rest of his body. He guessed he had fallen over at some point after his climax, but couldn't remember doing it. "Daniel?" he whispered.

Carefully, he lifted his head and adjusted it so he could see his mate, lying on his side right in front of him. Daniel had his left hand behind him, probably touching his backside and remembering how it had felt for Jack to make love to him there. Daniel was smiling. "Hey," he said quietly. "You okay?"

Jack stretched and straightened out, moving in closer until their bodies were touching. He put his hand on Daniel's arm and ran his fingers lightly back and forth over the swell of his biceps. He loved Daniel's muscles, so big and hard. "I think I passed out. And anyway, I should be asking you that," Jack murmured. "Did I hurt you?"

Daniel shrugged and brought his hand forward, resting it on Jack's waist. "No more than you warned me about." He grinned wickedly. "And your description paled beside the reality, Jack. That had to be the longest orgasm I've ever had. Longest, and by far, the best. We are so doing this again!"

"Not right away, I hope, because I don't think I've got any more left in me for a while. Give me a couple of hours." Jack couldn't stop smiling, couldn't keep his fingers off Daniel's face or out of his mussed hair. "You're probably gonna be a little sore, too. We might hold off doing any more of that till tomorrow."

"Happy?" asked Daniel softly.

"Delirious." Jack kissed him, quick and playfully. "Practically ascended."

"Well, we did it," Daniel mused. "We're married. Husbands."

"Yup. Can't get rid of me now, Danny."

"Like I'd want to? Not a chance." Daniel sat up just enough to grab the covers they'd pushed down to the foot of the bed, and pulled the sheets and blankets up over them. "Well, aside from some more pillow talk, I'm pretty tired myself. Maybe we'll have a little nap, go out to dinner, then come back for another round or two. We can fuck all night, if we want, then sleep in. What d'you say?"

"Yeah. About that."

"About what?"

"Morning." Jack started to sit up, but his body wasn't cooperating. "I was gonna get up and get the tickets, but I can't right now, so I'll just tell you about it."

"Tickets? What'd you do, Jack?" Daniel's eyes were gleaming.

"We have two weeks off, with nothing to do but each other, and I don't intend to spend it at home watching hockey games in between long, leisurely fucks. We're going on a honeymoon, Doctor O'Neill-Jackson. I bought the tickets, made the reservations, and our passports are all up to date. All we have to do is go back to the house tonight and pack, then catch the plane in Denver tomorrow morning."

Daniel was smiling, very smug. "Where are we going, Colonel O'Neill-Jackson?"

Jack relaxed on his pillow. "London, Paris, the Riviera, Rome, Athens, and Egypt."

"Wow. That's some honeymoon! A European tour, huh?"

"Nothing's too good for you. I figured we'd see the popular tourist attractions in the big cities, unless you know of better things to see."

"Egypt isn't a city, though. It's a whole country."

"Well, duh, but you grew up there, so I figured you could show me around to all the places worth seeing."

"Okaaaaay. So whatcha wanna see?"

Jack cocked his head and met Daniel's beautiful blue gaze. He touched Daniel's cheek with his fingertips tenderly. "I want to see your childhood," he murmured. "I want you to take me to all the places that were important to you, when you were a boy. I don't care if we see the Sphinx or the pyramids, unless they were part of your favorite memories. That's what I want to see in Egypt. Your past. I want to share that with you, and I'll give you mine."

For once, Daniel didn't have anything to say. He bent down and kissed Jack with trembling lips, and at some point Jack tasted tears. He didn't know whose they were, and he didn't really care.

Same Day

It was early evening when they returned home. The taxi dropped them off at the front door, since Jack had ridden to the wedding with Teal'c and Daniel had come in with Sam, so both their vehicles were still parked in the garage. Jack unlocked the door and Daniel hurried inside to disengage the alarm system. Once the door was closed, Daniel stood in the middle of the foyer, smiling.

"What's up, Daniel?" he asked suspiciously. "You look pretty smug."

"I got you a wedding present, too," he admitted. "It's in the living room. I had General Hammond let the delivery guys in this morning while Teal'c had you busy doing stuff for the wedding."

"Yeah?" Beaming, Jack hurried into the living room, leaving the suitcases in the foyer. Balanced against the cathedral windows was a large package wrapped in white paper, tied with a silver and white cord, with a fanciful knot at the center.

Jack shot a glance at his husband and then stepped up to the giant package. It was taller than he was at the apex, kind of house-shaped with a high-pitched, deeply sloping roof, and broader than he could reach with both arms spanned their widest. Whatever it was, it was big and heavy, as Jack discovered when he grasped one side of it and tried to pull it away from its resting place.

He wrestled the cord down the sides until it dropped to the floor, leaving a wide expanse of paper to be plundered. He looked for a seam, found one, and stuck his finger into it, giving it a good rip. Bright color gleamed back at him, and in seconds he had all the wrapping torn away to reveal the contents.

It was a leaded stained-glass window, featuring a multi-colored rainbow sweeping in a graceful arc across most of the surface. The sky behind it was gray and cloudy, and in the distance a lightning bolt glimmered in pure white. At the wide base of the rainbow, sitting half-buried in the grassy soil, sat a silver pot of golden coins, and inscribed into the pot were their names and the date of their marriage. Seven coins lay scattered on the ground around the pot, and Jack recognized the glyphs on them, and the order in which they were laid out, as the stargate address for Abydos, where it had all begun for them.

"It's beautiful, Daniel," he murmured appreciatively.

Daniel glanced upward, drawing Jack's gaze with his. "I'm gonna have it mounted up there, in the apex of the big windows, so it won't block the view," he told Jack. "I'll have it lit up on both sides, so it'll always be shining, visible from outside and in, like a beacon."

"I see you put the date on it, so I wouldn't forget our anniversary," Jack teased.

Blushing slightly, Daniel just ducked his head and chuckled. "Actually, that was so I wouldn't forget," he admitted, "and just so you know, if you do, it's okay with me. We'll celebrate our anniversary whenever we both remember."

"Then we'll be celebrating every day." Jack faced his husband, took his cheeks in his hands, and kissed him up against the windows. Daniel offered no resistance, just letting him plunder his mouth. The more aroused he became, the more he reciprocated until he was devouring Jack, his fingers clawing against Jack's shoulders.

Jack pulled away at last, taking Daniel's hand and leading him up the stairs to their bedroom, their errand of packing for their two-week honeymoon temporarily forgotten.

EPILOGUE, Ten Years Later

Jack drowsed in the recliner, vaguely thinking it was probably time they replaced the furniture in the theater. His chair was comfortable, fitting his butt just the right way, but it was starting to wobble when he got in and out of it, and one of the arms was beginning to pull away from the frame. Maybe later in the week, he and Daniel would go out shopping for replacements.

He looked to his left and spied Daniel in his chair, a book open in front of him, a notepad under his right hand, working, as always.

They'd done great things together since they'd first met twenty years back, and that hadn't changed since their wedding. Retirement hadn't been an easy decision, but he and Daniel had bowed out at the same time the previous week. Daniel was still serving as a consultant to the SGC, doing research and helping with some of the stuff exploratory teams brought back through the 'gate, but he wasn't going through it himself anymore, and that was just fine with Jack. Daniel was home every day, with couriers bringing his work to and from the base.

All was right with their world, including the final defeat of the Goa'uld, wrought in spectacular fashion over the skies of Earth's major cities and Colorado Springs a year past. The battle had been too public to cover up, and seemed a fitting end to their careers. It had simply taken them a little longer to tie up all the loose ends and bow out of active duty.

Shortly afterward, the stargate program went public, and key personnel became instant celebrities, whether they wanted media attention or not. As a result, Jack and Daniel's estate was constantly guarded in order to keep the fans, the press, and the curious off their doorstep.

The government had relaxed some of its prohibitions against public knowledge of what was happening off-world, and once missions were completed and declassified, experts from the SGC gave sanitized public briefings. Due to this, Jack and Daniel had become some of the biggest celebrities in the world, constantly in demand for lectures, talk shows and other public events, but they rarely spoke publicly, and only after accepting invitations cleared by the US government. Daniel had hired a PR manager to buffer the attention from the public and sort through invitations for both himself and Jack.

All the attention had made them virtual recluses in their home, and they were considering moving to one of the colonies off-world, possibly in Teal'c's new neighborhood on Chulak, to get away from it all.

Jack reached over and patted Daniel's arm, pointing to the holograph viewer that had replaced their plasma screen TV a couple of years earlier. This was alien technology, brought to Earth through the stargate, and it had taken the entertainment industry by storm. Daniel still didn't watch it much, preferring his books to moving pictures, but this was a news story both of them had been eagerly anticipating.

The reporter was a woman with long, light brown hair and a look of serenity about her. She was dressed in a smart navy suit over a white blouse, and on her lapel, she wore a small pin with bands of color across it – the recently adopted rainbow insignia of the First World's military – topped by a white pyramid. The woman's name was printed across the screen, and Jack saw Daniel smile and settle back into his chair, putting his work aside for the moment.

"Ten years ago," she said, "the United States military enacted the abolishment of its ostracism of gay and lesbian soldiers, fostering the creation of several military units engineered to offer the opportunity to serve to homosexuals. Recently, this insignia--" She touched the pin on her lapel. "--long used by gay military personnel for off-duty wear, has become the symbol for tolerance and unity in all of Earth's military; indeed, it has come to represent acceptance in mainstream society as well.

"The Rainbow Warriors, as they were once called by their peers and the public at large, went on to become some of the most decorated units in the history of the modern military. The Air Force unit's first commander, then at the rank of colonel, led his men into the wilds of Afghanistan and rooted out terrorist leader, Osama Bin Laden, bringing him to justice for his crimes against the American people on September 11th, 2001."

Daniel reached over and grasped Jack's hand, curling his fingers into his palm.

He'd never told Daniel how close he'd come to dying during that mission, and he hoped his husband would never find out. That would only upset him, and this long after the fact, it would be unnecessary pain. He'd survived, and that was all that was important now.

The reporter went on, speaking into her microphone with the shadow of a mountain in the background behind her. "Colonel Jack O'Neill – who later rose to the rank of Major General, now retired – was offered his choice of posts after that mission, and returned to the top secret military base beneath Cheyenne Mountain, now known as the home of Stargate Command. He'd been a key figure in the pursuit of allegiances and technology that would help humankind defeat the dreaded Goa'uld, vanquished last year in a cataclysmic battle that changed our world and our view of the universe forever."

"She's good," Jack said, pleased with the report so far, "but she hasn't said a word about you."

"Give her time," urged Daniel. He squeezed Jack's hand.

"Shortly after returning to Stargate Command," the woman continued, "Colonel O'Neill married Doctor Daniel Jackson, also a primary on the stargate program; the man responsible for breaking the millennia-old code that allowed us to open the stargate. Both men had been on the first team sent to explore the galaxy through the Ancients' wormhole generators. For more than a decade, the two were friends and teammates, and after Colonel O'Neill's startling admission of his homosexuality, the two fell in love.

"The epic tale of the stargate was initially their story. Now this exciting tale includes hundreds of people who regularly interact with citizens of other worlds, providing help and support to those less advanced than ourselves, and learning from those societies that have outstripped us in science and technology. The Rainbow Warriors have also proven to be some of our best ambassadors off world, and have been well received by the aliens they have met. They have been some of our most valuable resources in the exploration of our galaxy.

"The Rainbow Soldiers hold a special place in the hearts of many, for their compassion toward the unfortunates they have met along the way. These soldiers have been seeking the lost and rescuing those in danger for more than a decade, and one of the people they rescued was a little girl, the last of her people on another world. Colonel O'Neill, Doctor Daniel Jackson, Major Samantha Carter and the rebel Jaffa warrior, Teal'c, brought her back through the stargate with them. They found a home for her on Earth and have remained dear family friends. She is one of the many who would not be here without those who later became the Rainbow Warriors, whom we are honoring here today at Cheyenne Mountain, the home of NORAD and the SGC."

The reporter turned to her left, giving focus to a huge bronze replica of the stargate in the distance. Four bronze figures stood on the base, inside the big ring. One was a woman, her head bent, looking at an instrument she held in her hands. Another was a tall man with a bald pate and a raised emblem on his forehead. He carried a staff weapon and was looking off in the distance, as if watching the horizon for trouble. Two other men stood together, one with a P-90 balanced on his right hip, the other clutching a journal at his left side. Those two figures – the scholar and the soldier – were holding each other's hands.

Jack lifted his chin slightly. He'd seen the statues up close when they were being installed, and the likenesses were good. He'd been touched that all four of the figures were wearing the rainbow insignia on their collars, the only spot of color on the otherwise dark metal sculptures.

"This monument," the woman declared as the camera moved back to focus on her face, "honors both the dedicated men and women of Stargate Command, and the Rainbow Warriors who played such a vital part in its success. As one of the people they saved, I can tell you that I'm glad they're here, watching over us, bringing home the lost, never leaving anyone behind, because I was that little girl they rescued so many years ago on a planet called Hanka. I recently received permission to reveal my origins, since the existence of the stargate is no longer classified."

The camera centered on the two figures holding hands. "Apparently, this alien device seems to have the power to join human hearts, as well as far-flung worlds scattered throughout the galaxy. At least, it has for these two men, General Jack O'Neill-Jackson and Doctor Daniel O'Neill-Jackson. They are heroes to their nation, their planet, and many other worlds out there in the vastness of space.

"It is now considered an honor to wear the rainbow pin, recently approved by the Joint Chiefs as regulation insignia, for those who serve at Stargate Command. The military has 'gone gay,' as has society at large. No longer are gay people persecuted for their orientation, denied equal treatment under the law, or seen as deviant or disturbed. Homosexuality is legally accepted all over the world – in fact, it is accepted in virtually every society explored through the stargate, which was what prompted then President Harrison to propose this measure to the Joint Chiefs a decade ago. And now Earth, the legendary First World of the Tau'ri, stands ready to lead the league of allied worlds to a new era of freedom, peace and plenty.

"Today, we officially adopt the rainbow symbol, once used as a banner exclusively by homosexuals, to represent all civilizations, all races, all beings who choose to work together toward a common good. This logo has been chosen to represent the newly formed League of Worlds, symbolizing the many, coming together to form the one. Soon this symbol will be worn all over Earth, all over the galaxy, proudly declaring support and acceptance of others. It has become the intergalactic symbol of friendship and love."

She smiled into the camera. "I would also like to issue my personal thanks to my dear friends, Jack, Daniel, Sam and Teal'c. Without you, I literally wouldn't be here. This is Cassandra Fraiser, native of the planet Hanka and adopted Tau'ri, reporting to you live from Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado Springs. Good night."

"Cassie did good," Jack observed, turning his eyes to Daniel's face. Jack lifted the remote control and pushed the button to turn the holographic projector off for the night.

"All grown up," Daniel murmured. He yawned loudly, then tucked the tablet into his book, set both aside on the table between the chairs, and eyed his husband. "You 'bout ready for bed, baby?"

"Yup. You in the mood for a little fun between the sheets?"

"I'm always up for that," admitted Daniel with a smile. "No pun intended. Anything in particular you wanna do?"

God, Daniel was so beautiful. His hair was just beginning to silver at the temples, there were lines around his mouth and eyes, and a permanent crease in one cheek where his dimple was deepest, but Jack didn't see any of that. "You," Jack breathed. "That's what I want, babe. Any way you want me." Jack still looked at that beloved face through his memories, recalling him when he was standing under the desert sun of Abydos, his long hair blowing in the wind around his smooth, youthful face.

"Well, then, in that case..." Daniel got to his feet and gave Jack a hand up out of his recliner. They headed into the living room and up the wide staircase with their arms around each other, filled with peace, content in the knowledge that they had the rest of their lives, no longer afraid that each day might be their last. There were still no guarantees, but the odds were in their favor at last and with that, they could relax a little and enjoy their golden years together.

Jack thought about how lucky he was to have this wonderful man in his life, glancing over his shoulder at the stained glass rainbow gracing the top of the cathedral windows, its colors painting them vividly as they trudged up the wide stairs toward their bedroom. He thought about the statues of SG-1 now guarding the entrance to the tunnel, and knew that, long after he and Daniel were gone, the monument to their love and their life's work would still be there. He and his husband would be together through eternity, if not in the flesh, then in the spirit and in bronze.

Life didn't get better than they had it now, and Jack was grateful. He thought about the things Cassie had said in her report, and couldn't help smiling. All they'd suffered in their journeys on SG-1 and other teams paled in contrast to the adventure and fun they'd had exploring other worlds, meeting aliens and learning new customs. It had been the ride of their lives, and now they'd given up the speed in favor of quiet walks and the constant reassurance of each other's company.

Jack gazed at Daniel's profile, his head down, obviously thinking weighty thoughts. This was the pot of gold at the end of his personal rainbow, he thought. Daniel was a treasure, and as they passed through the library doors, he saw those gorgeous eyes twinkle with mischief. Oh, he'd been thinking, all right.

"First one in bed naked gets to bottom," he challenged, and then he was off like a shot with Jack crying foul and demanding more warning and a do-over for the race. Daniel would beat him anyway because he was twenty years younger and Jack's knees were crap, but it was a moment for them to play, and Jack had a few dirty tricks up his sleeve that just might get him to the bed first.

This was their way: playful, fiery; up one moment, and down the next. Life with Daniel was never easy, always unpredictable, and that was what made it so wonderful.

He grinned as Daniel sauntered back to where he stood with his hands defiantly on his hips.

Daniel faced the bedroom doorway and lined up with Jack, preparing for the race. "Ready now?" he asked lightly.

Jack just looked at him. "Always," he murmured as he leaned in for a kiss.

FINIS