Possession 1

Possession

by Sistine

URL: http://www.area52hkh.net/ass/sistine/possession01.php
Summary: Jack's carelessness brings about a situation that may ruin his friendship with Daniel

"Well, this is a galactic waste of time," Jack observed as he looked around at the room. Bare walls, a dusty floor, a wooden table and chairs, and a few scattered kitchen items such as cups and bowls littered the floor. Other than that, there was nothing.

"We only just got here, Jack," Daniel protested. He hated it when Jack made sweeping judgements like that. Sometimes he was right but Daniel hated it just the same.

"How long does it take to see that there's nothing here?" The whole planet had been eerily deserted so far. The buildings were basically all intact but there was nothing to suggest that they'd ever been occupied except for a few basic items of everyday living. But there was no trace of the race that had occupied them.

"There might be something in another building that indicates who might've lived here," Daniel shot back.

Sam rolled her eyes. The men had been sniping all morning, the direct cause being unknown. Obviously, though, the colonel had said something that had upset Daniel, and then Daniel would've then lashed out at the colonel. It was getting ridiculous. The bickering had started after Urgo's visit - all of a sudden, the colonel's attitude had changed. The sniping had become more frequent, Jack becoming more 'the colonel', and Daniel retreating into his shell when he wasn't arguing with his team leader. It had to stop before it drove the team apart.

"Fine. Teal'c, you and Daniel check out the nearest buildings to the left, Carter and I'll take the ones to the right. Ten minutes and then we're outta here," Jack ordered as he brushed his fingertips over the inside of the wooden cup he'd picked up from the floor. The wood felt warm and vaguely damp but Jack attributed it to the temperature on the planet which had been frosty that morning. Perhaps some moisture had gathered on it.

"As you wish, O'Neill." Teal'c exited the room gracefully, concerned about his friends. O'Neill had not seemed well these past few weeks and had frequently lost his temper with DanielJackson. Teal'c perceived that O'Neill was undergoing a crisis where his heart and mind were conflicted over his relationship with the young civilian, and this struggle was affecting his work. Therefore, Teal'c had made up his mind to talk to O'Neill about this after the mission. The Jaffa could not stand back any longer and let him destroy DanielJackson.

Jack looked in that direction when Daniel didn't voice an immediate objection and saw the sadness and resignation in the expressive blue eyes. Strangely, he didn't feel a tinge of regret at putting those emotions there but rather a hint of triumph. Daniel was finally learning his place.

Daniel turned and followed Teal'c out the door. He didn't know why Jack was always fighting him at the moment. The only reason he could think of was that Jack had finally got sick of having to look after him all the time and was attempting to provoke Daniel enough for him to want a transfer. Every time Daniel thought about it, he felt sick. He thought that he and Jack had finally got their relationship back on track after Sha'uri died, then suddenly, everything was turned upside down. Daniel hit back at Jack in their arguments so that the older man wouldn't see how much hurt he was causing. But the bickering was wearing on Daniel's soul and he didn't know how much more he could take.

The ten minutes passed quickly. No-one found anything else so Jack felt his earlier assessment was justified. He was feeling very smug about this, especially when Daniel and Teal'c came back to admit their defeat.

"Can we go now?"

Two annoyed expressions and one raised eyebrow showed just what everyone else thought of that question. But no-one said anything.

"Daniel, can we go?" Jack enunciated the words clearly, wanting the linguist to admit he was wrong.

Daniel crossed his arms. "Yes, Jack, we can go."

"Thank-you." Jack felt that hint of triumph again. He'd won that round. And from now on, he'd win a whole lot more.

SG-1 headed back to the gate, Jack in the lead, followed by Teal'c, and the two scientists walked a little way behind them. Sam and Daniel were talking quietly with each other.

"Are you alright, Daniel?" Sam asked, noting the body language.

"I'm fine," Daniel responded automatically.

"The colonel is getting way out of line," Sam protested. "I should report him-"

"For what? Arguing with his civilian consultant? All of the CO's on base would have to be reported as well," he pointed out.

"But this isn't like him. He usually-"

"Daniel, get up here!" Jack called out, not liking the archaeologist talking with Carter. The colonel had noticed how well the two got along and he didn't like it.

"Why?" He hadn't done anything wrong, and there were no natives around to talk to. So why did Jack want him?

"Because it's an order, that's why!" He didn't have to explain his orders to his team; they just had to follow them.

Daniel shared a glance with Sam, who was equally bewildered, and then reluctantly he moved up to the front with Jack. This was weird. No matter how mad Jack usually got, he rarely pulled rank on Daniel. Why now?

Jack watched with satisfaction as Daniel drew near. He'd have to teach the linguist to obey orders without questioning them but at least following them was a good start. He ignored the bowed head and crossed arms; Daniel would soon understand that it was for his own good.

* * * * * *

After visiting the infirmary, Daniel went back to his office. Jack hadn't said a word to him on the planet, and only orders once they were on the base. He'd stayed quiet as Jack had told Hammond, in front of a gate-room full of people, that 'you know Daniel, he had to make sure that there were no rocks to be studied'. If it had been in fun then it wouldn't have been so bad. But Jack had been serious and condescending, and even the general had noticed this, hence why Daniel currently had a reprieve from Jack's presence as the general had wanted to talk to him.

Daniel really couldn't understand what was going on. Why was Jack behaving like this? There was no reason for it. And certainly no reason to order Daniel to report to Jack's office in one hour. What was he doing?

Shaking his head, Daniel settled down to work.

* * * * * *

Jack was furious. It was now five minutes past the time that Daniel was supposed to have come to his office. This was inexcusable. Jack would just have to teach him a lesson. And he knew just the way to do it. Because not only was Daniel a member of SG-1 but he was Jack's. And Jack would prove that to him.

He found the archaeologist working hard in the young man's cluttered office. Taking advantage, Jack slipped into the room quietly and locked the door. Then, using his best 'colonel' voice, he asked loudly, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Daniel jumped at the interruption and was about to reply sarcastically but then he noticed something ominous about Jack's demeanour. He didn't want to antagonise Jack so he replied mildly, "Working on the translation from P4R-982."

"You were supposed to be in my office seven minutes ago." He casually went over to the other door, closed it and locked it.

Biting his lip to prevent his first response from getting through, Daniel stated, "I'm sorry. I lost track of time."

"Then I suggest you learn to keep track of it." Jack went over and slammed his hands down on the desk, making Daniel jump slightly. Jack loved the startled look, not to mention the one of passive resistance. He'd soon wipe that resistance off though and replace it with submissiveness. "And while we're on duty, you should call me 'sir' or 'colonel', understood?"

"Jack..."

"Understood?"

This was not the time to argue about it. "Yes, sir." It felt strange having to say that. Jack had never insisted on Daniel calling him anything other than 'Jack'. But if this was how Jack wanted to play it, then Daniel would play along. For now.

"One more thing. While we are on base, I don't want you talking to Carter."

Daniel looked at Jack incredulously. "But Jack - colonel - she's part of SG-1. How can I avoid talking to her?" This was ridiculous.

"You'll think of something." Jack reached out and caught Daniel's chin in a vice-like grip. Daniel looked back with a mixture of fear, confusion and defiance. "But I don't want you associating with her."

"Why?" The question was out of Daniel's mouth before he could stop it, and the increased pressure on his jaw made him wince.

"Because she wants you. And she can't have you." Jack reached out with his other hand to gently stroke Daniel's fringe back from his forehead. "You're mine."

"What?" He had to have heard that wrong. He was not Jack's. "Jack..." he said as he reached up to swat Jack's hand away.

With a sudden move, Jack pulled Daniel to his feet and then brutally kissed him, trapping the young man in place by placing a strong arm around his waist, also trapping one arm.

Daniel struggled against Jack, even stamping on his foot, but he couldn't break the other man's bruising grip. He couldn't believe Jack was doing this to him! In the privacy of his dreams, Daniel had occasionally wondered what Jack would be like to kiss but never had he imagined this.

He felt himself being forced backwards until his legs touched the cupboards lining the wall. Jack forced one of his legs in between Daniel's and then started rubbing his groin against his victim. Daniel felt how aroused Jack was, and felt a wave of helplessness wash over him. If Jack tried to rape him, Daniel probably wouldn't be able to do anything to stop him because Jack was much stronger. He continued to struggle though, tears welling up behind his eyes. This couldn't be happening! How dare Jack do this to him!

As suddenly as he had started the kiss, Jack stopped. He drew away far enough to see Daniel's face, drinking in the unhappy expression and noticing the unshed tears. He gently gripped the base of Daniel's throat, enjoying the fear he'd put in the linguist's eyes. Now Daniel would understand that he was Jack's. "Mine," he growled.

Daniel didn't move for fear of provoking another assault. He could still feel Jack's hardness pressed into his hip and it scared him that Jack was getting off on all this.

Jack moved his hand away from Daniel's throat and gently traced the swollen lips with his fingertips. "So beautiful," he commented idly, remembering the sweet flavour of those lips. His hand then travelled down Daniel's throat to rest on Daniel's chest, feeling the fast heartbeat under his hand. "I won't let anyone else hurt you," he promised. "You're mine now. Understand?"

Daniel nodded woodenly.

"And if you tell anyone, Carter's going to meet with a little 'accident'," Jack threatened, knowing exactly how to manipulate the young man. "Everyone will know you're mine soon enough but until then, it's our little secret, okay?"

"Yes," Daniel managed to say past the lump in his throat. There went that option.

"Yes, what?" Jack asked, bringing his hand up to Daniel's throat again and pressed lightly against the windpipe with his thumb.

"Yes, sir."

Jack stepped back then, releasing Daniel from his hold. Immediately Daniel crossed his arms over his chest, hugging himself, struggling to keep his emotions in check until Jack left the room.

"Much better. Tonight you will be at my place at 1900 hours sharp." Jack had had a glimpse of how sweet Daniel tasted. Tonight, he would taste the rest of him and then take Daniel willingly or unwillingly - preferably the latter. Jack got excited just thinking about it. It would be so sweet.

"Yes, sir," Daniel said quietly. After that demonstration, he knew exactly what Jack had in mind for tonight.

Jack nodded in satisfaction. The boy was a fast learner. Unlocking the door, he made his exit.

On shaky legs, Daniel made his way over to the door, shut it and locked it. Then he slowly slid down the door until he was sitting on the floor, and then he let the tears flow. He'd never felt so used, scared or humiliated in his life, and knowing it was Jack who had caused it made it even worse. He trusted Jack, and Jack had just betrayed that trust in the biggest way. He couldn't even tell anyone because not only would it be humiliating but Sam would get hurt when Jack found out. And he couldn't let that happen. If he ran, Jack would track him down and then hurt the both of them. He couldn't let that happen either. But he couldn't let Jack continue to hurt him; he wouldn't allow it. No matter how close Jack was, he wasn't allowed to do this to him. So there was only one course of action. And Jack did say to find a way to avoid seeing Sam.

Wiping away the tears, Daniel stood up and went over to his desk. Picking up the phone, he dialled the number of someone whom he could trust to protect Sam. He couldn't ask Teal'c, although he would be the ideal person, because he didn't want to have to explain why.... not yet, anyway.

"Lou? It's Daniel. I need you to go up to Sam's lab immediately. Don't let her out of your sight." He paused to listen to the question from Ferretti. "I can't tell you right now but I'll explain later." Hopefully. "Thanks."

He put the phone down. At least Sam was protected if Jack tried to harm her. All Daniel had to do now was go and talk to Hammond, and then get out of the SGC as quickly as possible before Jack found him.

Daniel waited for half an hour to let the red eyes and swelling disappear before he left his office. While he was waiting, he typed up his resignation. There was really no other choice. If he could get far enough away from Jack, then he couldn't hurt him any more. He couldn't let the general know the real reason for his decision even if Jack did currently deserve to be locked up.

His mind made up, Daniel went down to the general's office. Hammond was sitting behind his desk reading reports when Daniel knocked. It was now or never. "General, can I speak with you for a moment?"

"Sure, son, come on in." Hammond looked up and noticed that Daniel was nervous. What did he have to be nervous about?

Daniel entered the office, closing the door behind him. He crossed his arms and stated, "General, I don't know exactly how to say this but I want to resign from the SGC." He handed the piece of paper over.

"Resign?" Hammond echoed as he took the letter. The request was totally unexpected.

"Yes, sir." Please don't ask me why, General, Daniel thought.

"Why? If it's because of Colonel O'Neill's current behaviour, you can simply transfer to another team." He wasn't oblivious to the recent tension between the two men.

If only he knew. "I know, sir. But I don't think I can go through the gate any longer." More to the point, Daniel figured it would quickly get to the stage of Jack not letting him go on missions if he stayed. So he'd get in first.

"But what about the boy?" The older man knew that Daniel had taken Sha'uri's death hard but had thought that the linguist wanted to find the Harsesis.

"He'll be better off without me, sir." Oma Desala would care for him better than he ever could.

Hammond doubted that. "You won't change your mind?"

"No, sir."

The general sighed. "Very well." He noticed the determined set to Daniel's shoulders. There was no talking the young man out of this. "If you need any help..."

"I'll call, thank-you, sir." Now he had to move quickly or Jack would find him. First stop, his office.

* * * * * *

"He what, sir?" Jack was angry. What did Daniel think he was playing at?

"He resigned, Jack. I was hoping you might know the reason."

"No, sir. But I'll find out." Jack hung up the phone and glared at it. Daniel wanted to resign, did he? That was just not allowable. Daniel had to remain here where Jack could keep an eye on him. Furious, he stormed out of his office.

Upon reaching Daniel's office, he found that the door was locked. Just as well he knew how to override the lock. The door slid open and Daniel quickly moved away from his centre desk, hands in front of him. Jack closed the door and advanced on his prey.

"You said to think of something," Daniel reminded Jack as the colonel quickly closed in on him. He tried to keep the desk between them so that Jack couldn't reach him.

"This isn't what I had in mind."

"Well, I can't stay on the team and not talk to Sam," Daniel pointed out as he dodged Jack's grab. "And if I transfer off, she'll want to know why. I figured that if I wasn't here, you wouldn't have to worry about anyone trying to take me away from you." Jack was acting like Daniel was his possession so the linguist tried to appeal to that side of the colonel.

That reason made sense to Jack. "You are a clever boy," he commented patronisingly. The thought of Daniel in his house, in his bed, permanently had a certain appeal. "But you should've asked me first."

"Sorry, Jack... sir." Daniel definitely didn't like the glint in Jack's eyes. He moved backwards as Jack suddenly came across the desk but didn't move quickly enough. Jack grabbed him by the upper arms and forced him back against the bookshelves. Artifacts on the top shelf rattled with the impact.

Jack used his body weight to hold Daniel in place, bringing one arm up to rest against Daniel's throat. "You weren't trying to run, were you?"

"No... sir," Daniel added when the arm pressed harder. Not again, he thought.

"Good." Jack removed the arm and pressed both hands against the shelves either side of Daniel's head, then leaned in to suckle the soft skin of the linguist's throat. He could almost taste the fear on Daniel's skin and it was intoxicating. Slowly, he ground his groin into Daniel's, enjoying the feel of the pliable flesh against his.

With a surge of anger, Daniel went to push Jack away but the colonel was too quick and he pinned Daniel's wrists painfully to the shelves. Daniel hoped that no bones were broken, given how hard his wrists had slammed into the shelves. "Jack, please don't do this!" The only response Jack gave was to bite the skin at the base of his throat, then slowly lick the blood away.

Desperately, Daniel glanced at the door but it was shut; he didn't know whether Jack had locked it when he'd come in. No-one would be able to help him. His legs were pinned by Jack's so he couldn't even knee Jack in the groin.

Jack abruptly straightened but didn't release his hold on Daniel's wrists. "On the floor now!"

"Jack..."

"Now!"

Daniel definitely did not want to lie down but found he had no choice as the pressure on his wrists increased and then suddenly his right leg was kicked out from under him. Collapsing to the floor, Daniel found himself on his back with Jack straddling him, still holding onto his wrists. Daniel tried to remember all the self-defence techniques Jack had taught him in case he was ever in a situation like this but for the life of him, he couldn't remember one of them. The shock of it actually happening made remembering very difficult.

Jack grinned down at the scared young man. He had been planning to wait until that night but the urge to take Daniel now was overwhelming. Keeping Daniel's wrists pinned with one hand, he used the other to move the t-shirt up so that the linguist's smooth chest was revealed. "Beautiful," he muttered before he leaned down to reverently lick the length of the young man's torso while suggestively rubbing his hard groin against Daniel.

There had to be a way to stop this, Daniel thought, and then his gaze landed on his desk. Or more to the point, the underside of his desk where a zat was hidden in case of emergencies. This counted as an emergency. Now all he had to do was get his hands on it.

Teeth biting his nipples briefly distracted him and he had to bite back a cry of pain. He could not let Jack see how much he was hurting him.

"All mine," Jack muttered as he feasted on Daniel's chest, unconsciously moving forward a bit so that Daniel could move his legs a little.

Slowly, so that he didn't disturb Jack, Daniel moved both his feet so they were on the outer side of Jack's legs. Now all he needed was for Jack to free his hands, and then he should be able to roll Jack off him.

Jack inched his way down Daniel's body, finding his progress blocked a little because of Daniel's raised legs but not caring. Releasing his hold on Daniel's wrists, he trailed a path down one arm while the other hand circled the young man's navel and then dipped lower. He was getting so close to the promised land.

Without hesitation, Daniel grabbed the nearest arm and simultaneously pushed upwards with his hips, forcing Jack off to one side. The momentum sent Jack rolling away, and Daniel used the opportunity to grab the zat.

He did not hesitate in firing it.

As Jack lay stunned, Daniel shakily got to his feet and ran for the door. Unlocking it, he sprinted for Sam's lab, which wasn't too far away from his office, wanting to make sure that Jack hadn't gone there first. He knew that she would've been protected by Ferretti but even so, he needed to make sure.

"Daniel! What happened?" Sam asked with concern as the dishevelled archaeologist ran into her lab. She took in the shaking hands and the trickle of blood at the base of his neck.

"You're alright?" Daniel asked.

"I'm fine. But what happened to you?"

"Jack... attacked me. I had to zat him," Daniel explained in a rush, sitting down on the floor, his legs losing the strength to hold him up. He couldn't say how Jack had attacked him - that would get Jack jailed. Until he knew why Jack had done this, the less said the better. His nerveless fingers dropped the zat onto the floor.

"I'm on it," Ferretti said. Without another word, he headed off to Daniel's office to arrest the colonel.

Sam went over to Daniel, knelt down beside him, and embraced him. "Are you alright?"

"No," Daniel admitted. How could he be alright? His best friend had just tried to rape him! Not only that, but Jack had threatened Sam and had been treating Daniel like his possession. So no, he wasn't alright.

He wasn't aware of muttering the last couple of sentences out loud. Sam heard some of it and tried to make sense of it. 'Possession'? What did he mean? "We'd better get you to the infirmary," Sam said, stroking the short hair. She'd try to talk to him later about it.

"Sam..."

"Daniel, you've been hurt," Sam argued, touching her finger to Daniel's throat and then showing the blood to her 'little brother'. "So no arguing." She then took another look at the injury. It looked suspiciously like a bite. What would the colonel have been doing that would've involved biting... oh.

"Let's go then," Daniel said, unaware of the direction of Sam's thoughts, slowly getting to his feet.

Sam helped him get up and then asked, "Did the colonel threaten me? Is that why you sent Ferretti here?"

Daniel nodded, hugging himself. Thank goodness Jack hadn't tried to hurt Sam.

"What did he do to you?" Sam wanted to know. The colonel might be their CO but that didn't mean that he could go around hurting Daniel, especially like this.

"Please, Sam, not now." It was going to take all his willpower to get to the infirmary now that shock was setting in. If he had to explain everything, he wouldn't have enough energy left to move.

"Okay." Sam helped Daniel to the infirmary and left him on one of the beds while she went to find Janet. She found the doctor in her office. "Janet?"

"Yes, Sam." Janet set aside the file she was looking at. "What's up?"

"It's Daniel. Colonel O'Neill attacked him."

Janet was on her feet and moving at the mention of the linguist. "That doesn't sound like the colonel."

"I know. Janet," Sam put a hand on the doctor's arm to halt her progress. "Daniel has a bite mark on his neck. So either the colonel is a vampire or..."

Janet filled in the blanks in her head. Poor Daniel. "I understand."

The two women went back into the infirmary. Daniel was sitting where Sam had left him, his arms tight across his chest and his eyes staring blankly at the floor. That was definitely not a good sign.

"Daniel, can you tell me where you're hurt?"

The archaeologist held out two shaky hands, palms down. Sam gasped at the bruises that were beginning to darken but Janet merely examined them clinically. They must've been hit pretty hard on something. "Daniel, how did you get these?"

"On the bookshelves," Daniel replied, wincing as he remembered Jack slamming them into the hard wood.

Sam and Janet shared a glance. It sounded so out of character for the colonel to be so violent.

"Daniel, I'm going to need to do a full examination." If she didn't look, Daniel wouldn't tell her. "Sam, could you leave us?"

"Sure." Sam put a gentle hand on Daniel's shoulder. "I'll be back later, okay?"

Daniel just nodded. He didn't want to be here. Janet would notice the other bite marks and jump to the correct conclusion, and then she'd have to tell the general, and Daniel was going to be so embarrassed. By tomorrow, everyone on base would know that Jack had attacked him, even if they didn't know the specifics. But the lack of details wouldn't bother some people; they'd just make them up. There was nothing like a closed environment for the latest gossip and rumours.

* * * * * *

As Daniel lay resting in the infirmary, Janet filled Hammond, Sam and Teal'c in on what she'd found. They all found it absolutely shocking that it was Jack who had done this. The question now was 'why?'.

"Suggestions anyone?" Hammond asked. If there wasn't a very good explanation for the attack, Jack would lose his career over it.

"The only time the colonel has ever hit Daniel was when he was under the influence of the Touched virus," Sam pointed out.

"Perhaps it was something on the planet," Teal'c suggested.

"Colonel O'Neill did have raised adrenaline levels when he came back," Janet remembered. "But other than that, everything was normal."

"Did the colonel touch anything or go anywhere by himself while you were on the planet?"

"The only thing that he touched was a wooden cup in one of the buildings," Sam stated, thinking back over the mission.

"Immediately after that, he looked at DanielJackson," Teal'c added.

Could it be that simple? they all thought.

"Daniel mentioned something about not being Jack's possession," Sam recalled the muttered words. "What if there was something in that cup that heightens feelings or something?"

"It's possible," Janet agreed. "In this case, I'd say it amplified Colonel O'Neill's protectiveness towards Daniel into jealousy, if what Daniel said about Sam being threatened is true, and also released the 'Alpha Male' instinct of dominating his 'possession'."

"Like the Touched Virus," Hammond concluded.

"Very similar, yes. And because Daniel was the first one he saw..."

"He became the object of O'Neill's jealousy," Teal'c concluded, although there was an alternative reason. Knowing Tau'ri prejudices though, he decided not to bring it up.

"Poor Daniel," Sam muttered. "Of all the people to do this to him..." He trusted the colonel so much; this could totally destroy all that.

"Agreed. Major Carter, I want you to go back to the planet and retrieve that cup - carefully - and then run some tests on it," Hammond ordered.

"Yes, sir."

"Less than an hour ago, Dr Jackson came into my office wanting to resign," Hammond told the others. And he hadn't given the young man time to get away, instead calling Jack immediately. "I'm assuming now that this attack wasn't the first one."

"Daniel did arrange to have me guarded, so obviously he knew the colonel was dangerous," Sam agreed. She'd first noticed the colonel's strange behaviour on the planet but hadn't thought anything of it. If only she had realised something was wrong.

The quartet were silent. Teal'c was blaming himself for not protecting the young scholar, and the others were wondering why the bad things always seemed to happen to Daniel. As one, they turned to look at the huddled figure lying on the end bed. What a mess this was.

* * * * * *

When Jack came to, he found that he was lying on a bunk. And when his eyes focused further, he realised there were some bars blocking his vision.

Bars? Jack sat up, noticing one of the guards was talking on the phone. What was he doing in a cell and who was the guard talking to? None of this made any sense.

"Hey, guys, what's happening?"

The guards remained silent; didn't even blink. So much for that approach.

Something niggled at the back of his mind. A memory - a flash of blue lightning. And a person behind it.

Daniel?

Had Daniel zatted him? If so, why?

Hammond entered the room then, coming to a halt in front of the bars. Teal'c was close behind. "Good to see you awake, colonel."

"It's good to be awake, sir," Jack let his puzzlement show. "And I'd love to know why I'm in here."

"After your attack on Doctor Jackson, where did you expect to be?"

"Danny?" Jack's face drained of all colour. He'd hurt Danny? How?

Hammond took a close look at his 2IC. Jack looked truly bewildered and there wasn't a trace of the anger from earlier. "You don't remember?"

Jack shook his head. "I keep getting flashes but they don't make any sense. I hurt Daniel?" Please don't let that be true.

"Indeed you did, O'Neill," Teal'c replied. "But we believe you were influenced by something on the planet."

"I don't... remember." Jack tried to piece the flashes together in order to make sense of what he'd done. "The last thing I remember clearly is picking up a cup on the planet. It felt warm and damp." He paused. "What'd I do?"

The general motioned for the guards to leave the room. After they had done so, Teal'c answered, "You attempted to become intimate with DanielJackson and in doing so, hurt him a great deal."

Jack felt sick. He hadn't... no, he couldn't have. He wouldn't dream of doing that to Daniel. Okay, maybe the intimate part had crossed his mind but never through violence. In his mind's eye, he saw a terrified and confused Daniel; blood at the base of Daniel's throat; Daniel holding a zat gun. No, this wasn't happening.

"Jack," Hammond said softy, "It's not your fault. You were under the influence of an alien substance."

'That made me hurt my best friend," Jack got out past the lump in his throat. Daniel must be hurting so badly right now. "Can I see him?"

"If Doctor Fraiser clears you, and if Doctor Jackson wishes to see you."

In that case, probably not. "How come the doc never picked this up when we came back?"

"It only showed up as extra adrenaline. She thought it was because you and Doctor Jackson had been fighting again."

Such a silly argument it had been this morning too. And it all started because Jack was busy trying to deny his attraction to his young male teammate. "I see." He closed his eyes briefly, trying to remain in control. "Let's do the tests."

* * * * * *

Daniel heard two sets of footsteps approach his bed and he kept his eyes resolutely closed. He didn't want to talk to anyone at the moment.

"Danny?"

Oh god, it was Jack. Daniel kept his back to him and his eyes closed tightly. They let Jack out? What were they thinking?

"Daniel, please talk to me," Jack pleaded. He couldn't stand to see Daniel like this. "I am so sorry that I hurt you. Fraiser tells me that something on the planet affected me. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Then what exactly did you mean to do, colonel?" Daniel felt pushed into responding angrily, turning over and flashing angry blue eyes at the older man. "It's not like you haven't been waiting for an opportunity to force me off the team. Well, congratulations, you've managed it."

Jack paled at the news. Daniel had thought Jack didn't want him around any more. "That wasn't what I wanted."

"Could've fooled me," Daniel shot back.

"It wasn't... it isn't what I want." Jack was well aware of Teal'c's presence behind him, ready to step in if necessary. "I admit I've been acting pretty stupid recently but I have never wanted you to leave."

Daniel ignored that statement; he'd lived with the arguing for too long to believe it.

"I do not believe that was his intention, DanielJackson," Teal'c interrupted. It was time for some truths. "I believe O'Neill was angry with himself, not you."

How did Teal'c know that? Jack wondered. That was exactly the reason Jack had been hitting out. "Exactly." He then caught sight of Daniel's wrists, which were now a lovely purple colour. "Did I do that?" he asked, nodding at the wrists.

"Yes, you did. You also did this," Daniel roughly pulled the bandage off his neck to show Jack the bite, "and you would've done a whole lot more if I hadn't stopped you!"

Jack felt light-headed and had to sit down. Confronted with the evidence, he had to admit that he had indeed tried to have sex - he couldn't say the other term - with Daniel. "The zat," he said faintly, remembering the blue flash.

"Yes, the zat." Daniel was a little disconcerted. Didn't Jack remember what happened? And why did he look so pale?

"You had a zat in your office?"

"Sam thought it would be a good idea in case of emergencies."

Jack had to agreed. Daniel wouldn't have been able to stop him otherwise. "Smart woman." He forced himself to look Daniel in the eye. "I am so sorry, Danny. I know I've stuffed things up between us and please believe me when I tell you that I would never have chosen to hurt you in such a way; I care for you too much to do that. If anyone should leave, it should be me." Even though he wasn't himself, he'd accept full responsibility for his actions.

Daniel was speechless as the anger drained away. He'd never heard Jack apologise so eloquently before. Not only that but Jack had just admitted to caring a lot for him. What exactly did that mean? "It really wasn't you?" he managed to ask. "You don't want me to leave?"

"Really, and I don't," Jack replied. If Daniel left, he'd feel like a part of him was missing. "Do you think you'll ever be able to forgive me?"

Daniel thought about that. Would he? "It'll take some time," he warned. The memories wouldn't be easy to repress.

"I understand." It would also take some time to regain Daniel's trust, and for him to be comfortable with Jack. Still, it would be worth the effort. "Listen, I'd better go before Fraiser kicks me out."

A thought suddenly occurred to Daniel; two thoughts actually. "Are you in trouble for this?"

"Only if you press charges, I think." Considering he'd been drugged by something alien, Jack thought his chances of getting off were quite good.

"There's no need for that," Daniel replied. If it wasn't Jack's fault, then he shouldn't be punished for it - the military way, anyway. "Did Ferretti hurt you?"

"What?" Jack was confused now.

Daniel couldn't look at Jack. "After I, uh, zatted you, I, uh, he was guarding Sam so I-I kinda told him you attacked me 'cos I went to Sam's lab straight afterwards to make sure you hadn't gone there first."

Jack tried to follow the sentence and got the general idea. In his drugged state, he'd obviously used Carter as leverage against Daniel, so then the linguist had quite obviously tried to protect Carter. And for him to have threatened Daniel meant that something else had gone on earlier. "So this wasn't the first time I... um..."

"The second. You said you'd hurt Sam if I didn't co-operate."

No imagination was needed to guess with what. But Jack had to know what he'd done. "I didn't..."

"No," Daniel assured him. But he couldn't look at Jack as he said it so the latter got suspicious.

"What did I do?"

Daniel winced. How could he tell Jack this? He looked at Teal'c, who was standing a discreet distance away. "You, um, you kissed me."

He'd kissed Daniel?! Part of him wished that he could remember it but the other part was shocked. No wonder Daniel was so upset with him, especially if it had been done forcibly. "I'm sorry. I didn't do anything else, did I?"

"No. The rest you were going to do to me tonight. But then you got mad when I resigned." Daniel didn't know how he was managing to sound so matter-of-fact when he was shaking inside.

Jack got up and went over to sit on the edge of Daniel's bed. He didn't miss the automatic tensing in Daniel's reaction, and immediately he stood up again. "Please don't resign." He wanted to reach out and smooth the hair away from Daniel's forehead but knew he couldn't. Not now. "I don't want you to go."

Daniel's eyes held Jack's and measured them for sincerity. "I'll stay," he said finally.

The relief Jack felt was heartfelt and it showed on his face. "Thank-you." He then heard Janet approaching so he said, "I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay." Daniel watched Jack leave, his emotions more confused then they were before. He wanted to stay mad at Jack for doing this to him but he couldn't because it hadn't been Jack. He still felt humiliated though - and used - and he hated feeling that way. Why did these things always happen to him?

Janet came up to Daniel's bedside and watched him watch Jack. She knew the key to Daniel's mental recovery depended on whether he could trust Jack again. The signs looked promising so far. Then she noticed he'd torn the bandage off and promptly set about fixing it.

That brought Daniel out of his reverie. He looked down at what she was doing then back up sheepishly. "Sorry."

"No problem. Just don't make a habit of it," she admonished him with a smile. "Now, I'd like you to stay overnight and get some rest. Okay?"

He didn't really need to and he told Janet so.

"Humour me. You've had a huge shock today." Normally she'd send him home with the colonel but that wasn't an option this time. And Sam was offworld collecting the wooden cup so she couldn't keep an eye on him either.

"DanielJackson may rest in my quarters," Teal'c stated, coming back into the infirmary. He had see O'Neill back to the guest quarters, and had returned to give support to the young linguist. "He will not be disturbed there."

"Thank-you, Teal'c, that sounds perfect." She could depend on Teal'c to look after Daniel. "Now, go get some rest," she ordered Daniel.

Several minutes later Daniel found himself lying on Teal'c's bed, the Jaffa standing concernedly by the bedside.

"You will rest now, DanielJackson."

"Thanks, Teal'c." Daniel closed his eyes, feeling much safer than he had all day. Teal'c would look after him. Not even Jack could get through Teal'c...

The Jaffa watched the linguist fall asleep, moving only when he was sure that he would not wake the young man. His young 'brother' looked so vulnerable when sleeping that Teal'c found that he understood why O'Neill cared so much for him. Yet underneath that vulnerability there was stubborn personality; an interesting combination. It was no wonder that O'Neill had chosen DanielJackson as his victim, for Teal'c had no doubt that the choice was intentional, not simply chance. The drug had simply brought O'Neill's possessive thoughts to the fore in a violent manner. He would have loved DanielJackson fighting back, knowing that what he was doing would pierce the scholar's soul. However, Teal'c would keep the theory to himself. It would do neither man any good to know of it, nor did anyone else need to know. O'Neill need to be made aware, though, that his actions over the past few weeks had been dishonourable and that he should make known his feelings to DanielJackson. It was the honourable thing to do.

Teal'c gently stroked the young man's hair away from his forehead in a paternal gesture, then seated himself on the floor to perform kel'noreem. He had taken away DanielJackson's life with Sha'uri; he would help him find a new one with O'Neill.

* * * * * *

One week later...

"Hey, Daniel," Jack said as he strolled into Daniel's office. He was pleased to see that the archaeologist didn't jump at the sound of his voice. It had taken Daniel a week to stop reacting to Jack's presence or voice, which had made Jack feel guilty every time. The scar at the base of Daniel's throat had almost gone, and the bruises had faded to a dull yellow. Soon he'd be back to normal.

"Hey, Jack." Daniel looked up from the artifact he was holding and smiled at his friend. There was a restlessness to Jack's body language which indicated he was eager to get out and do something, preferably on another planet.

"Whatcha doing?" Jack stood at the end of the desk, uncertain as to how far he could get into Daniel's personal space.

"The usual." He was actually examining a piece of Mycean pottery that SG-11 had found on P9X-333 but he figured Jack wouldn't really want to know about that. "You?"

"Oh, the usual." Jack stuck his hands in his pockets. "Ready for our trip off-world tomorrow?"

"Yes, I am." They were going to spend a couple of days on P5C-968, exploring the planet and interacting with the locals. Daniel knew this was supposed to be an easy mission to see if he could continue working with Jack but he already knew the answer to that. He could.

"Good." He wished he was. "Listen, uh..."

"Jack, can you please pass me that brush?" Daniel pointed to one almost underneath Jack's hand.

"Uh, sure." Jack handed it over, their fingers touching as he did so. To his relief, Daniel didn't flinch back or react in any way other than normal. Another good sign.

Daniel felt a flicker of something low in his belly when his fingers touched Jack's. He knew it wasn't fear but apart from that, he didn't know what it was. Putting the puzzle aside for the moment, he concentrated on the pottery. "Thanks."

"No problem." It really wasn't.

"Uh, Jack?"

"Yes, Daniel?"

Daniel took a deep breath and looked at Jack. "I'm sorry I zatted you."

"You had no choice." If he hadn't, then both of them would be feeling a whole lot worse right about now. And he would've damaged Daniel so badly, not only physically but emotionally. "You were also right in having me locked up."

Daniel really hadn't wanted to tell anyone what Jack had been doing but the threat to Sam had overridden his natural instinct to hide the situation. "I didn't want to."

Jack briefly rested his hand on Daniel's arm, comforting the linguist. "I know. But if someone's hurting you, Daniel, then you have to speak up. No matter who's doing the hurting. Okay?"

"Okay." Daniel agreed but knew that it would always depend on who else would get hurt.

"Listen, do you want to come over tonight?" Jack had missed Daniel's presence at his house, and if Daniel was pretty much back to normal, then it couldn't hurt to invite him around. Plus, Teal'c had been on at him for a week to say something to Daniel about his feelings. The past week of soul-searching had established that Jack did indeed love Daniel; and Teal'c was encouraging him to do something about it. So tonight, if Daniel agreed to come, he would.

"Sure." Daniel felt comfortable enough to do that again. In fact, he was rather looking forward to being in Jack's company again. "Seven o'clock?"

"Sounds good to me." That gave him a few hours to get up his courage and hope that Daniel would still be his friend afterwards.

* * * * * *

At a few minutes past seven that evening, Daniel pulled into the driveway at Jack's house. He'd been looking forward to this all afternoon - a chance to get his routine back to normal. The only thing marring the evening was the news Sam had brought him just before he'd left. She'd analysed the wooden cup and its contents from B8Q-111, and discovered that it had contained a chemical designed to release one's aggressive and possessive instincts - kind of like the Touched virus. The planet's former inhabitants would have been free to act on those instincts, and they'd probably ended up killing each other in fits of aggression or jealousy. Which meant Jack had been freed to act upon his possessive instincts, which had apparently been focused on Daniel being his.

When Daniel had figured this out - and he hoped that Sam hadn't - he'd been shocked. Jack, acting the way he had, had been trying to claim Daniel as his own. The only theory Daniel could come up with to justify that was that Jack was attracted to him. He'd never mentioned it, choosing rather to push Daniel away. Daniel knew that Jack cared for him - the older man had said so - but for him to want him... that was hard to take in. But it did explain a few things.

After Daniel had got over the shock, he found the idea that Jack wanted him quite flattering, appealing even. But, like Jack, he wouldn't do anything - not that he knew what to do - because he didn't want Jack to get into trouble over it. He wanted - needed - Jack around. So it was with mixed feelings that Daniel walked up the path and rang the doorbell.

"It's open," Jack called from inside, so Daniel opened the door and went in.

Jack was in the kitchen taking a pizza out of the oven. Daniel stood in the doorway, amazed. "You cooked? Wow."

"Technically,' Jack replied, putting the tray down on the cutting board so it didn't scorch the benchtop. "I got it from the supermarket and added extra stuff on the top." He grinned at Daniel, who returned the grin.

"Close enough." Actually Daniel was flattered that Jack had gone to the trouble of cooking.

"If you can get the beer, we'll be right," Jack instructed.

"Right." Daniel went over to the fridge and opened the door.

Jack took the opportunity to look properly at Daniel. The linguist was wearing a blue-checked shirt - Jack really had to take him shopping - and grey slacks, both of which brought out the blue in Daniel's eyes. Although it was the rear view that Jack was currently interested in. Just looking made Jack's mouth dry. Why did Daniel have to look so good? It just wasn't fair.

Daniel was very aware of Jack's eyes on him, and he felt a little self-conscious. He'd never been an object of lust before and it was a little weird. He couldn't understand why Jack would want him. There was nothing about his body that would inspire such a reaction.

They got the food organised and then sat down on the couch in the living room to eat. Jack turned the TV on, saying, "There's a special on Egypt on the Discovery Channel. I thought you might like to watch that."

"Thanks." As he leaned back, he realised that Jack had been extra nice to him all week. Careful too, not reaching out like he normally did. As if he were afraid of how Daniel would react. Jack was overcompensating for his violent behaviour by going to the other end of the scale. Although it was sweet, it was also annoying; he was not made of China, he wouldn't break if Jack yelled at him. Somehow he needed to remind Jack of that.

He waited until after the program finished to do that. He wanted to see what the so-called experts said this time. Daniel then started in on all the points that were wrong, hoping that Jack would either disagree or shut him up. When neither of those things happened, Daniel got mad. "Jack!"

"What?" Jack hadn't really been following Daniel's rant, just being content to sit back and listen to the sound of his voice. Now that he was paying attention though, he could see Daniel was angry. "What'd I do?"

"Nothing! That's the problem!"

Jack frowned in confusion. "You've lost me."

"All week you've been agreeing with me, Jack, no matter what I've said. Doesn't that strike you as a little strange?"

"Is that a rhetorical question or am I allowed to agree with that?" A hint of sarcasm surfaced in Jack's voice. "Actually, no, it's not strange. I'm allowed to agree with you whenever I want."

"But you normally don't, Jack, that's the point." Daniel was getting nice and angry now, drawing on the residual anger from last week. "You haven't argued with me since I zatted you. Why?"

"I don't know."

"Yes, you do."

Jack was silent. He knew why and by the sounds of it, Daniel had worked it out too, which he should've expected.

"Jack, I'm okay now. And I know you're not going to hurt me again. That wasn't you anyway. At least, not entirely you."

The older man looked up sharply. Had Daniel guessed about Jack's feelings?

Daniel waited for a response but when Jack remained silent, he continued. "The drug didn't create those emotions, Jack; it just let them out. Why didn't you tell me about them?"

That provoked Jack into replying. "What, that I wanted to sleep with you? That I felt more for you than just friendship? How could I, Daniel? I didn't understand it myself until recently!"

"So you pushed me away because you didn't know what was happening? Because you were scared of what it meant?"

"I can't feel that way, Daniel! Not only are you male but you're my teammate! Getting involved is not allowed!"

"We already are involved, Jack! Not in the physical sense, granted, but emotionally we've been involved ever since you brought me back from Abydos. What's wrong with discovering that it's more?" As Daniel spoke, he realised it was the truth. They were involved, in fact they were like an old couple. Did this mean he cared about Jack as more than just a friend too?

"I don't know!" This was not how the conversation was supposed to go, Jack thought. "I freaked out, I guess. What, I was supposed to take it in my stride that I wanted to seduce my best friend all of a sudden?"

When he put it that way, it was understandable that Jack hadn't mentioned anything because suddenly Daniel was doing a little freaking out of his own. The idea of Jack wanting him had only been abstract before but now that they were actually discussing it, it was hitting home just what Jack was wanting.

Jack watched Daniel go pale and wished he could read the linguist's mind. Right now, it looked like Daniel was shocked at what Jack had just said. That was not the reaction he'd wanted. "I'm sorry, Daniel. I didn't mean to tell you like this."

"Were you ever going to tell me?" Daniel wanted to know.

"My original plan was going to be when I retired. Then it was changed to tonight. Teal'c threatened actual bodily harm if I didn't," Jack answered both the spoken and unspoken questions.

"Teal'c knows?" And he hadn't said anything to him about it?

"He had his suspicions, and after B8Q-111, he put two and two together and told me you had a right to know." Otherwise Jack would not be having this conversation.

"He approved?" Somehow Daniel was disturbed by the fact that Teal'c had encouraged Jack to sleep with him.

Jack grinned ruefully. "Only when he was convinced that I really loved you, yes. If he didn't believe me, or if he had disapproved, I'd be occupying a bed in the infirmary right now."

Daniel, however, didn't laugh at the attempted humour. He hadn't heard anything after the first sentence. Jack loved him? "You, uh, you..."

"I what?"

"You said you only wanted to sleep with me," Daniel accused. "You didn't say anything about love." That made a huge difference. No wonder Jack was so upset after the attacks.

"Well, I am now." Why was Daniel so... oh. Of course. To Daniel, the motivations and feelings were extremely important. "So now you know."

Daniel looked at Jack for a few moments longer, then dropped his gaze. He didn't know what to think. It was one thing knowing that Jack wanted his body; it was another thing entirely if it was because Jack was in love. With him, Daniel Jackson. It defied the imagination.

The silence stretched on for a bit and Jack began to get worried. "Uh, Daniel? Whatcha thinking?"

"I don't know," Daniel murmured. "I mean, I never imagined anything like this. I thought you didn't want me around anymore, that you were sick of baby-sitting me on missions." He gave a self-depreciating huff of laughter.

"Daniel, I can't undo the past," Jack said, coming to kneel in front of the archaeologist and taking Daniel's hands in his. He ignored the surprised look and continued on. "But I can make the future better. I promise I won't let this interfere with my work anymore. I won't hurt you again."

"Don't make promises you can't keep." Jack's hands felt nice and strong on Daniel's, and the latter found himself comparing that grip to the one a week earlier. Jack was strong but Daniel somehow knew that he would never use that strength to hurt him... not deliberately, at least.

"Daniel, I don't want to lose you. If you want us just to remain friends, I can do that. If you want more..." He left the rest of the sentence unsaid.

"I... I'll need some time to think, Jack." There was so much he needed to sort out. "I can't - right now, everything's mixed up."

"I know the feeling." Jack smiled softly. "Get back to me in a few days, okay?"

Daniel nodded, then stood up. He needed some space.

"Where're you going?" Jack asked, standing up also and following Daniel to the door.

"Home. I think we both need some space and I-I can't think about this when I'm with you," he admitted.

"Okay." Taking a chance, Jack leaned in and briefly touched his lips to Daniel. If there'd been any indication that Daniel really didn't want the same as Jack, then he wouldn't have dared. But there was hope, so Jack was just giving Daniel something extra to think about. "'Night, Daniel."

"Night, Jack," Daniel echoed faintly, stunned at what Jack had just done. There had only been the barest of contact, so different from the assault that had left his lips swollen, and waaaay nicer. He knew that Jack wasn't pressuring him for a favourable decision - the brevity confirmed that - but was only giving a hint of possible things to come. And maybe, just maybe, to show how much he really did love Daniel.

Jack watched Daniel slowly walk to his car, obviously already thinking. It was probably really bad timing to spring this on the young man right before a mission but considering his recent behaviour, it couldn't make things much worse. If he was really lucky, their professional relationship would improve, closely followed by their personal one. If he was unlucky... well, he'd cross that bridge when he came to it.

* * * * * *

Jack looked at where the gate was supposed to be. Instead of green grassland - and the gate - there was nothing but rocks. The gate and the DHD were gone.

It had been a routine mission, one that had extended into a week. The locals were friendly, and everyone had had fun exploring the planet. He personally had enjoyed watching Daniel exploring. It had felt like they had got their relationship back on track again, and Jack had been very careful not to pressure Daniel for an early decision. Watching Daniel's body language though, Jack had been fairly confident of Daniel saying 'yes'.

Now he'd never know.

Daniel was light years away and Jack was stuck on Edora with no way home. He had no doubt that his team would try everything to get him back but it would take a long time. Time he wouldn't get to spend with Daniel.

Life sucked.

Next: Honour