The Way It Should Be

by Sistine

URL: http://www.area52hkh.net/ass/sistine/wayitsh.php
Summary: The way the episode Nemesis should have gone if Daniel's appendix hadn't burst

Downtime was always one of Daniel's favourite times. They had a week off and Daniel was going to use the time to catch up with all the artifacts that had been piling up on his desk. A whole week with no interruptions.

"Hey, Daniel."

Except maybe one. Daniel looked up to see Jack standing in the doorway, dressed in casual clothes - a brown leather jacket and beige cargoes... Nice. Daniel wished that he had a similar dress sense. The casual clothes indicated Jack was on his way out of the Mountain and wouldn't provide too much of a distraction. "Hey."

"How ya doin'?" Jack observed his archaeologist, who looked firmly entrenched behind his desk. Daniel was looking in good health after the appendicitis scare a few days ago - when would the kid learn to *tell* them when he was in pain? His appendix could have burst. As it was, it was only a scare and the appendix had settled down again. But Jack was keeping a close eye on Daniel just in case it flared up again.

"Good." Daniel looked at Jack; something was different. "Did you get your hair cut?"

"Yeah, why?"

"No reason." Except it brought out the silver in Jack's hair. Daniel thoroughly approved of the military haircut on Jack, although he would never tell his friend that.

"You know," Jack said, coming to lean against Daniel's desk, arms crossed over his chest. "We have a week downtime. What are you doing for it?"

Daniel raised an eyebrow; he thought that would have been fairly obvious.

Jack shook his head. "You need to get a life. Wanna come fishing with me?"

"Fishing?" Daniel couldn't fathom why he was being invited.

"Yes, Daniel, fishing. As in you, me, a lake, some fishing rods, fish that grow *this* big," Jack demonstrated with his hands, exaggerating the length of the fish by several inches. "What do you say?"

It wasn't really his idea of fun but since Jack was inviting him... "Okay, sure, I'll come." He always enjoyed spending time with Jack, and the peaceful surroundings would be ideal for getting some of his reading done.

"Really?" Jack was a little surprised; he knew Daniel had a different idea of fun to him, and hadn't been sure the linguist would agree to come. But he was pleased that Daniel had agreed, looking forward to spending some quality time with his friend. "Sweet. How soon can you be ready?"

Daniel's eyes widened. "You want to leave now?" He looked around his office in panic; he still had a lot of things to do.

Jack merely raised an eyebrow; he was in casual clothes, of course he wanted to leave now.

"Give me ten minutes," Daniel said, starting to get his papers together. Then he thought of something. "Uh, Jack?"

"Yeah?" Jack halted on his way to the door and turned around to face Daniel.

"Are you inviting Sam and Teal'c as well?" Daniel wasn't sure why but he didn't want this to be a team vacation. He wanted to spend some time just with Jack.

"Teal'c is off in the Land of Light, visiting his son, and Carter's doing some experimenting with her doohickeys," Jack explained.

Daniel felt somewhat deflated; so Jack was only asking him because everyone else was busy. "Are you sure you want me to come then? I mean, Sam would probably want to go with you." He knew Sam felt more than admiration for Jack, despite the fact that they could never have a relationship – well, not one that anyone else could know about anyway.

"I don't want Carter to come," Jack stated firmly. "She doesn't know how to have fun. You, on the other hand, have a lot of potential in that regard," he said with a grin. "So, ten minutes, Daniel. No books." Jack started walking again.

"What?" Daniel looked around him at the books and papers lining his desk. No books? How was he going to survive a week without any books? Maybe he could sneak a few in without Jack knowing – once they got there, Jack couldn't exactly tell him to send them back. Still, he ought to check with Jack and see whether there was any room for negotiation. He got up and ran after the older man. "Jack?"

Jack spun around, a little worried. Had Daniel changed his mind? "Yeah?" he said cautiously.

"No books at all?"

Jack relaxed and grinned at Daniel. "No books, Daniel. None at all. I'm sure you'll enjoy the great outdoors if you actually--"

~~~

"-get out there and experience it," Jack said before realising he wasn't in the base. Nope, this looked suspiciously like an Asgard ship and hey! There's the Earth! Definitely not in Kansas any more. Whaddya know, Thor had come a-calling. So where was the little guy? "Thor?!" He started walking through the ship. "Hello?" But he was only met with silence. This wasn't like Thor. Something was screwy.

~~~

The elevator doors opened on Level 27 and three people got out. General Hammond led the way, with Sam and Daniel following close behind.

"I'm pretty sure it was Asgard transportation technology," Daniel was saying. He was still stunned at Jack's sudden disappearance, and he hoped that it *had* been the Asgard who had taken him.

"For Jack's sake, let's hope you're right," Hammond commented.

"It might depend on what they want this time," Daniel said dryly. The last time Thor had come calling, it had been over the Protected Planet Treaty business. He still didn't understand why Thor had chosen Jack as the Earth's representative, considering the two of them hadn't met at that stage - or had they? When Jack had taken that intergalactic trip to their homeworld to get his brain fumigated of its unwanted download, he said he had met some Asgard. Maybe Thor had been there, or maybe he had just heard about it from the other Asgard; that was probably why Jack had been chosen. Or maybe the Asgard had just pulled his name out of a hat. Who knew?

Hammond walked into his office. "True. Send a message through the Stargate to Teal'c." He picked up the phone.

"Yes, Sir," Sam replied. She turned and left the office.

Daniel followed her down to the control room. "What do you think Thor wants this time?"

"I don't know. Let's hope it has nothing to do with the Goa'uld," Sam replied. She approached Sergeant Davis, who was seated at the controls overlooking the gateroom. "Dial-up P3X-797, General Hammond's orders."

Daniel stared at the gate as it started spinning. What *did* Thor want with Jack?
~~~

The part of Jack that loved anything that flies was simply loving this chance he was having to look around the Asgard ship. The military part of him, however, was on high alert for any more of those bug things. "Thor?" he called again.

//Greetings, O'Neill//.

The voice seemed to come from all around him. Jack looked around for the source then figured it must be part of some ship-wide communication system.

//Turn right, then enter the door at the end of the corridor,// Thor's voice continued.

Sensor system too, Jack reasoned, as the little guy obviously knew where he was. He followed the instructions and came to a door. Next to the door was a glowing white oval stuck into the wall. When he put his hand over it, the door opened and Jack went inside.

Thor was lying on a weird-looking bed that was several feet high. Jack slowly walked over to him, positive that he wasn't going to like the reason Thor was there.

"O'Neill," Thor said weakly.

Jack stopped next to the bed and leaned on the edge to get a better look. "Thor? You all right?" He wasn't an expert on Asgard physiology but Thor didn't look too good.

Thor turned his head to look at Jack. "I am dying."

"What happened?" Jack inquired sympathetically.

"It is, as you humans say, a long story."

~~~

The inescapable fact was, he wasn't going home. Thor had disabled the downwards transporter beam so the Replicators couldn't leave and now Jack was stuck on the ship too. He was going to die. Some vacation this had turned out to be.

His thoughts turned to fishing. He would never again experience the simple pleasure of sitting next to his lake in Minnesota, waiting for the fish to bite. It wasn't catching the actual fish – of which he had to admit, there were few in his lake – but the act of fishing that was what he enjoyed. But would anyone listen? No – they just teased him about not catching anything. The simple art of fishing was what he had been going to teach Daniel this week. Now, he would never get the chance.

Jack absently moved one of the stones on the panel to another one, and Thor's image started droning on about the engines. He tried to listen but now that he had thought about Daniel, he couldn't get the linguist out of his head. Daniel – his very unlikely friend. The young genius who, for some strange reason, considered Jack to be his friend too. They were best friends, frequently hanging out at Jack's place when they weren't at the mountain despite the fact they had little interests in common. But in spite of what Jack had said only six weeks ago – time seemed to fly when one was constantly in peril – their friendship had a solid foundation, forged in the deserts of Abydos and cemented by their experiences since. No-one else knew as much about Jack as Daniel did, and vice versa. Their friendship seemed to have no boundaries, and Jack realised that he was going to miss that. Well, presuming he could miss anything once he was dead.

Stone cold dead.

Blown into a million pieces dead.

He was never going to see Daniel again.

Jack abruptly found himself sitting on the floor, his legs unable to support him. He was never going to see Daniel again. His heart wrenched and he actually felt dizzy, such was the pain he felt at that thought. Jack hadn't realised just how much he had grown used to the young man. No, not grown used to – that was the wrong phrasing. It was so much more than just 'grown used to'. Jack searched for a phrase that would fit but he couldn't find one; their friendship was unique to him. He would even go so far as to say that he and Daniel were like an old married couple, finishing each other's sentences, knowing in detail each other's daily routines...

An old married couple...

No – he couldn't be. There was no way he could be in love with Daniel.

His heart disagreed, thumping loudly in an effort to convince Jack otherwise. Then his mind showed him scenes from the past – his jealousy over Shyla and Kira; his deep anger at Hathor; his willingness to retire when Daniel was thought dead on Nem's world; how hard it had been to walk away from Daniel on Klorel's ship; how warm he felt when Daniel reached out and touched his arm or back...

'Okay, already!' he shouted at himself. 'I get it! I love Daniel Jackson!'

He was glad he was already sitting on the floor, otherwise he would have fallen down at that thought. He loved Daniel. Sure, Jack had had some experience with men but there had never been one that had made him fall in love before.

Wait – fall in love? That was totally different to loving Daniel because he could love the linguist as a friend. Being in love – that implied wanting to be with him all the time, and wanting to have sex with him... Well, Jack had to agree with the first point – if Daniel didn't come to his house, Jack made sure to go to the young man's apartment. But he had always thought that it was because he had to make sure Daniel took a break from working. Never once had it crossed his mind that it might be more.

With the benefit of hindsight, he could see it was just because he wanted to be with Daniel, that he enjoyed spending time with him. And the fishing trip – that was less about teaching Daniel to fish and more about just enjoying his company. Who knows what might have happened if they had actually got to go fishing? Maybe he would have had this same revelation and he could have got together with Daniel. Now he would never know.

Jack's mind flashed to what it would have been like if he and Daniel had spent the week making love. He knew what Daniel looked like naked – it was hard not to notice when they were in the showers together – but he had never really paid attention except to note that it wasn't just Daniel's face that attracted the predators. But now he let himself linger on every part of Daniel's body: the long legs; the slim body; the taut buttocks... The sudden rush of blood south left Jack feeling dizzy again. Okay, so that solved the question of whether he found Daniel attractive. Pity he couldn't do anything about it now that he was about to die.

Pulling himself together, Jack got to his feet. His erection had faded with that thought about dying, and his soul was aching again. It was too late now to tell Daniel about his feelings but he still had a job to do and he needed to do it right so that Daniel – and the rest of the world – remained safe from the Replicators. That would be his final act of love for Daniel.

Too bad he would never know that Jack had done it for him.

~~~

Daniel drummed his fingertips on the tabletop as he waited for Teal'c to arrive. It had been a long hour since Jack had been transported up to goodness knows where, and Daniel was anxious to find out what had happened. Teal'c wouldn't be able to tell him, of course, but it would be a comfort to know that all of SG-1 would be working on this.

The sound of heavy footsteps on the stairs alerted Daniel to Teal'c's presence. He, Sam and the general all turned towards the stairs.

"Teal'c, thank you for returning," General Hammond said as Teal'c entered the briefing room.

"Why have I been summoned, General Hammond?"

Daniel took a deep breath. "Hey, Teal'c," he greeted their friend. "Thor's back. And he took Jack."

"For what purpose?" Teal'c asked gravely as he sat down opposite Sam.

"We're not sure yet," Hammond replied.

A light appeared behind Daniel, immediately drawing the attention of everyone in the room. A hologram of Jack, his back to the room, stood in the spot where the bright light once blazed.

//Hello? Hello? Testing, testing! Is this thing on?// Jack was saying, looking around him.

"Jack!" Daniel cried, frankly overjoyed to see his friend alive and well, even if he could see through him.

//Daniel?// Jack whirled around at the sound of his voice, beaming when he saw the group assembled behind him. //I made it!// he beamed. //Cool!//

As Jack's eyes met his again, Daniel thought he saw an extra bit of warmth in them but dismissed that as only his imagination. "Jack? What's going on?"

//I need some stuff – a Spaz-12, a BF-8, 10 pounds of PBX, and a USAS at the base of the Stargate in, oh, five minutes. If it's not too much trouble.// He smiled and Daniel couldn't stop the corners of his mouth twitching in response. Jack seemed to be alright at the moment, which was a weight off Daniel's mind.

"That's a lot of explosives, sir," Sam commented, wondering what he needed them for.

"May I ask why?" General Hammond wanted to know. It sounded like Jack had landed in a dangerous situation.

//Saving the Earth stuff, general. Basically, Thor's ship has been taken over by a bunch of nasty techno-bugs and if we don't stop it, and them, well it's not going to be pretty, sir.// The image shuddered for a moment then cleared again.

"Were the Asgard not able to defeat them?" Teal'c asked solemnly.

Jack gave that famous wry smile. //Guess not.//

"So, sir, are you saying that these bugs are so technologically advanced they are a threat to the Asgard?" Sam questioned, already dreading the answer.

//Yeah. Which is why it really wouldn't be a good idea if they land and infest the Earth like they plan to. Which is why I need all the ordnance.//

'And some back-up from your team', Daniel thought as Hammond asked Jack what he was planning to do.

//Destroy the ship,// Jack said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"We'll be ready in ten minutes, Sir," Sam stated, mentally calculating how much time it would take to get everything ready. "Thor can transport us up there to help you."

Jack grimaced, his eyes darting away, and Daniel knew something was seriously wrong.

//Thank you, Carter, but that's not gonna happen. Thor and I can handle things up here just fine.

"What are you talking about Jack, of course we're going up there! You need our help – to – to – you need us!"

"No, Daniel. Not going to happen."

"Where's Thor?" Daniel said suspiciously. "Put Thor on, Jack."

//Um, Thor's kind of...indisposed at the moment.// Jack hesitated, knowing he couldn't lie to Daniel. //He's, uh, actually dying.//

Dying? "So, you need us," Daniel stubbornly asserted. So transport us up."

Jack looked right at Daniel, obviously having anticipated what he was going to say. //I could. But... I'm not going to.//

For that response, Jack received a head tilt from Teal'c. "Explain."

//Look, Thor had to disable the outgoing transporters, to keep the bugs from escaping. So anybody who comes up is *not* getting down.// Jack gestured with his hands for emphasis.

That meant... "Jack, if you can't get off the ship..." Then he was going to die up there. Daniel's heart seized; no, they couldn't let that happen!

//Yeah. I know.// Jack looked away, resigned to his fate. Then he turned back and looked at each person in turn, his gaze lingering on Daniel. //Look, my time's almost up here. Have the stuff ready in ten minutes. Wish me luck!//

"Colonel--"

"Jack--"
//Ah!// Jack held up one finger to silence them. //It's an order, and it's final.//

"Good luck, Jack," Hammond said, hoping that the colonel could pull a miracle out of his bag of tricks and come home safely – but he knew that was near impossible.

//Thank you, Sir.// Jack turned away to fiddle with something and then disappeared.

Daniel got up and walked over to the window overlooking the Stargate while the others talked. There had to be a way down from the ship. He didn't want to lose Jack; the older man meant too much to him. Who else would make him eat and sleep when he didn't want to, or invite him over to watch hockey games even though he didn't like them? Jack was the best friend he had ever had, and Daniel's gut tightened when he thought about losing him. There had to be a way to get him off that ship.

As he stared at the gate, he started to get an idea. "Sam, Jack said that the ship could still transport things up there, right?"

"Right." Sam looked at Daniel with a puzzled expression.

"Well, what about the other Stargate?" Daniel asked, turning around to face the others.

There was silence in the room for a few seconds. Then Sam spoke. "He wouldn't have a DHD," she pointed out.

"But if we hooked it up to a Naquadah reactor before we beamed it up, we could dial the gate manually. Not like we've never done it before!" Daniel reasoned. "Then all we have to do is dial out – to wherever, and then dial home from there."

"Wait a second," Sam said. "We?"

Daniel gave her a half-smile. "You weren't planning on listening to Jack, were you?"

"I believe this plan could work," Teal'c put his two cents worth in.

"I don't know, Daniel, certainly it would work, but it would require us to sacrifice our back-up Stargate. I believe that's something we should consider doing only as a last resort."

"What?" Daniel bristled. "You don't think Jack's life is more important than a Stargate?"

"That's not what I'm saying, Daniel. Using the Stargate isn't the only option, here," Sam stated. " Sir, Thor's ship should have an airlock, so one of our shuttles should be able to dock with it," she said, turning to Hammond. "That way we could get off the ship and it wouldn't be necessary to sacrifice one of our Stargates."

Daniel stared at Sam – why wasn't she supporting his plan? "A shuttle won't make it in time if things go wrong. However, a powered up Stargate could be beamed up to us in seconds – they could even have our destination pre-dialled!"

"Well, what about the permanent iris?" Sam pointed out. "They would have to detach that from the gate before we could use it."

"How long is that likely to take? An hour? A few days?" Daniel asked impatiently. Every second they wasted was time they couldn't afford to waste.

Sam looked away then grudgingly replied, "An hour, maybe two."

"I'll get onto both ideas immediately then," Hammond stated. He would get things organized for the spare Stargate first, then worry about the shuttle. "The three of you had better get ready."

"Thank you, sir," Daniel said, genuinely grateful. He knew that the general wouldn't like his flagship team going up to the ship but at least with the Stargate, they would have a fighting chance to survive. Never had he been more grateful that the general wasn't one to leave his people behind – or stranded, in this case.

~~~

Daniel ran into his office before gearing up and grabbed an encyclopedia on Norse runes, figuring that if they were going up to an Asgard ship, then any instructions were probably going to be written in runes. He had a pretty good knowledge of them but he wanted the encyclopedia just in case.

Sam had already changed by the time he got down to the locker room, and Teal'c was still inside. Daniel saw that both of them had changed into black clothes, so he pulled his similar ones from the rack.

"You do not need to come, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c stated. The young man was foremost a scholar, not a warrior, so he would be more valuable on Earth.

"I know that. But I want to. Jack's in trouble up there – and so is Thor," Daniel added, almost forgetting about the Asgard in worrying about Jack. "Besides, my place is with SG-1. I have to go."

Teal'c inclined his head. He had thought Daniel might feel that way about it. "We would not be a team without you," he stated.

Daniel ducked his head at the praise. "Thank you," he said, although he wasn't sure that it was true. The team seemed to function well enough without him on the occasions he had been unable to go on missions with them. He put aside his doubts as he finished getting changed and grabbed the rest of his gear. "Let's go."

~~~

Jack had skimmed through all the recordings during the ten minutes he had been waiting, mainly focusing on the device that was going to transport the cargo to the ship. He had made sure that he concentrated, even though the techo-babble had made his eyes glaze over again because – knowing his team – his cargo would probably include three people. SG-1 was a close-knit bunch and despite the fact he'd told them there was no way off the ship, his team would still come for him. Daniel especially, Jack reckoned, would not let his best friend die without trying to somehow save him. Jack smiled at the thought; no, Daniel would not let him die. And if anyone could figure out a way to save all their asses, it would be Daniel.

//The molecular transportation device is pre-programmed to target the area directly in front of your earth-based Stargate,// Thor's voice was saying. //Enter these symbols on the console in front of you. Thirty seconds after entering the code, the targeted material will be transported to the indicated cargo hold.//

Jack raised his eyebrows, wondering at the reason for the time delay. When he'd experienced the technology before, he'd had the impression beaming was virtually instantaneous. He looked at his watch. The ten minutes were nearly up. Time to leave then. Jack entered the symbols and then ran out the door, missing the last of Thor's instructions: //Remember, the transportation device emits energy strong enough to attract the Replicators.//

~~~

SG-1 entered the gate room geared up and ready to be transported up to Thor's ship. Daniel thought about what they were going to do, and he hoped that they could pull this off. Otherwise it would be a very short rescue.

There was a white flash of light and suddenly Daniel's viewpoint changed from the gate room to the interior of Thor's ship. He didn't have time to form any thoughts before Jack came barreling through the door.

"Dammit! I gave you people a direct order!" Jack complained. In a way, he was happy to see them but he didn't want them to think they could get away with it again. Not that there would be an again but it was the principle of the thing.

Sam handed him a gun, ignoring the complaint. "General Hammond overruled you, sir. We have a way off the ship. Two ways, in fact." She knew Daniel's idea had a better chance of working but didn't think that the gate would be ready in time.

Jack was slightly distracted and didn't take the comment in; he was too busy listening to a sound that was becoming all too familiar. "What I wouldn't give for some bug spray," he muttered under his breath. "Grab what you can," he ordered. "Company's coming. We have to make tracks." He grabbed the handle of the nearest container.

As they headed out, bugs streamed towards them from the connecting corridor, attracted by the energy emitted by the transporter. They ran for the nearest bulkhead, managing to close the door on most of the replicators, but a few got through with SG-1. Teal'c tried zatting them with no effect. Jack registered this sobering fact with some alarm, dropping the case he was hefting to bring his weapon into play. He didn't know what good it would do – if the zat didn't phase them, it wasn't likely a P-90 burst would slow them down but he sure wasn't going to get overrun without trying. He put the container down and readied his rifle to fire.

He didn't have any more time to think about it – a bug leapt at him and he fired without thinking. To his utter surprise and delight the thing completely shattered, little bits of it falling to the ground and not moving again. Taking what he'd been given, he kept firing and blasting the buggers to smithereens, peripherally aware of his teammates around him following his example with conventional weapons and enjoying similar success.

"Cool!" Jack commented, as the last of the bugs were eliminated. He was getting really sick of those things. "Let's move!" He took hold of the handle again and, with Daniel, headed down the corridor.

Teal'c and Sam picked up a smaller case each and followed them.

It didn't take long to get back to Thor. "Hey buddy," Jack greeted the Asgard. He put down his end of the container and quickly crossed to the Asgard. "How ya feelin'? You remember Daniel, Carter and Teal'c?"

"Why did you bring them?" Thor inquired.

Jack looked at his team. "Anyone?"

"We believed we could be of assistance," Teal'c replied.

"Now you will all die," Thor stated weakly. This was not the outcome he wanted.
Daniel held up one finger. "Actually, we won't. We have a plan."

Jack raised an eyebrow; he should have guessed. "Care to share?" he said sarcastically.

"Yes," Daniel said patiently, well used to dealing with Jack in this mood. "We transport the spare Stargate up here."

Jack looked at him in amazement. "Are you kidding me?"

"No, I'm not," Daniel replied, putting his hands on his hips and bracing for an argument.

"The Stargate?" Jack couldn't get his mind around that. "Let me guess, this was your idea." It had all the hallmarks of one of Daniel's ideas - that being, something no-one else would ever think of.

Daniel's lips thinned. "What, that automatically makes it a bad idea?"

"We also have a NASA shuttle on standby that we can EVA across to," Sam cut in, not wanting things to get nasty. "Does this ship have an airlock?" she asked Thor.

"Yes."
Jack turned away from Daniel and looked at Carter, glad there was a back-up plan that made more sense. "So, we plant some PBX, then jump ship just as we blow it."

Thor looked at the humans in puzzlement. "What is PBX?"

"An explosive," Teal'c replied.

"You just have to tell us the best places to plant it," Jack added.

"All Asgard ships are equipped with internal dampening fields that activate in the event of an explosion."

Okay, that was a problem. "Well, how exactly do you expect us to destroy the ship?" If they couldn't blow it up, then their options were extremely limited - almost non-existent, in fact.

Thor looked directly at O'Neill. "If I knew a fast, simple method, I would have destroyed the ship myself before endangering your lives."

"Of *course* you would have." Jack didn't exactly believe that statement. The Asgard were *how* many millennia ahead of humans in technology?

The sarcasm totally bypassed Thor. "The technical specifications of the Biliskner were contained within the recordings I made for you." Which you have not read, he implied.
When the rest of his team turned to look at him, Jack had the grace to look apologetic. "Oh. I haven't had time to watch all the stones," he explained to them.

"The stones?" Daniel asked.

Jack moved over to the control panel with the stones and writing on it, and Daniel followed. "Stick that on there," he indicated one of the stones with his hand.

Daniel did so and immediately Thor's visage appeared on the large viewscreen. //--Is powered by 4 neutrino ion generators. In your Earth units of measurements, each unit--//

At the confused looks from his team, and the knowing one from his linguist, Jack said, "Yeah, my eyes glazed over right about there." So he wasn't technically minded - what was wrong with that? That's what he had Carter on his team for.

Sam sighed. "I guess we better go through all these recordings." She stepped over next to Daniel. They were a good team, because Daniel was able to read the runes and tell her exactly where to put the stones to get specific information, and on the occasions that writing appeared on the diagrams that she couldn't read, he would delve into the book he had brought along and translate for her.

While they were doing that, Jack and Teal'c talked to Thor about the Replicators. "They were discovered on an isolated planet in our home galaxy some time ago. The creators were not present."

"Most likely destroyed by their own creation," Teal'c surmised.

Thor agreed. "The Replicators were brought aboard the ship for study before the danger could be fully comprehended."

"We do that all the time," Jack stated. "We kind of expected more from you guys." What was the point of being advanced if it overrode all common sense? The Tollan were a case in point, not recognizing the Goa'uld as a threat until it was almost too late. It seemed that advanced cultures considered themselves virtually invulnerable until something came along to show them they weren't. Superior technology bred superior arrogance? Nice to have something to look forward to.

"Overconfidence in our technology has been our undoing," Thor stated, unknowingly following Jack's thoughts. "The entities learned from the very means that were employed to stop them. They have become a plague on our galaxy that is annihilating everything in their path."

"So why haven't they landed the ship already?" Jack asked. Surely that would be the next logical step.

"Their odds of survival in a new environment depend on numbers. They are currently feeding off this ship and replicating."

That caught Sam's interest. "Are you saying they are actually *eating* this ship?" That was most interesting.

Thor nodded weakly. "Ingesting the alloys, yes. They will continue until they risk compromising the integrity of the hull. Then they will land in search of more raw materials."
"How intelligent are they?" Daniel queried. If they weren't able to learn quickly...

"Their capacity for learning is extremely high," Thor shot down that thought. "Each entity is capable of individual behavior, yet they all act with a common purpose."

"What's that?" Jack asked.

"Self-replication."
Over at the console, Sam had been thinking. "Hang on. Thor, you said that they wouldn't risk compromising the integrity of the hull?"

"That is correct."

Then she had an idea. "Can this ship withstand an uncontrolled re-entry into the atmosphere?"
"No. The heat from the friction would cause the ship to burn up."

"So all we have to do is crash the ship into the atmosphere," Daniel voiced what they were all thinking.

"You will have to regain control of the navigational computer," Thor pointed out. "Otherwise your plan will not work."

"Sounds like a plan," Jack commented. "Call up our ride and tell them to dock and hang out while we point the ship futz with the navigational – thingee. Point the ship at Earth, then hop the shuttle and skedaddle. Works for me."

"What if they change the ship's course after we've left the ship?" Daniel said.

"Could they do that?"

"They could, O'Neill," Thor affirmed.

"Crap," Jack grumbled. "That means somebody is going to have to stay with the ship."

"Until practically the last minute," Sam finished glumly. "To make sure the Replicators don't regain control of the ship before it burns up in reentry."

"So, no shuttle," Jack quipped.

"No shuttle," Daniel said with a grin.

"All right then. Carter, contact Hammond, tell him thanks for the shuttle but it's not gonna work. Oh, and see if the other gate is ready to go... just in case." Things could get messy very quickly. "Teal'c, shall we go and find the bridge?"

~~~
"Well, that didn't work," Jack commented a while later as he and Teal'c came through the door carrying two more containers. He set his container down near the others and then walked away over to Thor; he had a soft spot for the small Asgard. "How ya doing, Thor?"

"Sir, Thor's not doing well," Sam answered for the Asgard. "That pod could put him in a deep stasis that would preserve his life."

"Then do it." She should have done that ages ago.

"He won't let me," Sam told him.

Jack smiled down at Thor. "So you're not being a particularly cooperative patient." On that alone, Thor would fit in perfectly with the rest of SG-1. Maybe, if they got out of this, Jack could make him an honorary member.

"As long as I am conscious, I still may be of some assistance," Thor replied with dignity.
"Yeah, however, if you're *dead*..." Jack pointed out.

"As I have said, if you do succeed in destroying this ship, we will all die."

~~~

After Thor's cheery comment, SG-1 set about working out a way of destroying the ship without destroying themselves as well. Sam came up with the idea to destroy the deceleration drive, which would give them plenty of time to get off the ship before it burned up in Earth's atmosphere. Teal'c and Jack volunteered to place the explosive on the ship's hull – Teal'c almost unable to return because of malfunctioning systems – and then they returned to the others. It had been a close call, and if Sam hadn't been able to re-aim the transporter beam, then they would have lost Teal'c. Dying in space – not the nicest way to die.

Daniel went over to Teal'c as soon as the Jaffa entered the room; it had been too close. "Are you going to be OK?" he asked as he helped Teal'c to sit down.

"I will be fine."

Daniel smiled inwardly; he knew what his own 'fine' meant. He started to help Teal'c out of the space suit.

Jack felt a twinge of jealousy as he saw Daniel being so solicitous with Teal'c but ignored it, knowing that now was not the time. "What happened?" he asked, turning his attention to Thor. The Asgard was now fully encased in his little pod.

"He was dying," Sam replied. "We had to put him into stasis."

'Definitely not good', Jack thought. "So now--?"

"So now we wait, and blow the bomb at the right time."

Right. That they could do. "Which is – when?"

"When we start to enter the atmosphere." Sam moved back to the control panel and showed her CO on the viewscreen. "Too early, and theoretically re-entry could be aborted by the bugs. We wait too long into the descent and the bomb could burn off before we could detonate it."

"Think you could fix that beam-down thing?" No harm in trying, and fortunately, they would soon have the Stargate on board.

"Not without Thor's help, sir."

"Too bad we didn't think about that earlier," Jack said. "Okay then, time to contact Hammond and tell him we're about to relieve Earth of one spare Stargate." Jack tried to activate the communicator with the stones but nothing happened. "All right, this thing's not working!"

"The vessel is beginning its descent," Teal'c intoned when there was a slight shift in gravity.

"Then now would be a good time to bring the gate aboard," Daniel stated.

Jack turned to his 2IC. "Carter, bring the gate aboard."

"Yes, sir." Sam fiddled with the controls so that the Stargate would be transported on board in the correct place. "Colonel, it would be a good idea to get to the transporter room before we bring the gate on board, otherwise it will be swarming with Replicators."

"I know." They had discussed this part of the plan earlier. "There's a thirty second delay on the transporter anyway." Jack went over to one of the containers and pulled out a couple more rifles. He handed one to Daniel, then slung the other one over his shoulder so that he didn't run out of ammunition.

"And someone needs to stay here and make sure the Replicators don't abort the re-entry before we blow the engine," Sam pointed out.

"You volunteering?"

"Yes, sir."

Jack nodded. "Okay. We'll dial the gate; you make sure this ship is going to crash. Don't be late. Let's go," he said to the others.

Daniel picked up his backpack, not wanting to leave his reference book behind, and then followed the other two out the door. Fortunately, they didn't encounter any Replicators on the way to the transporter room. "Close the doors!" Jack ordered as they ran into the room. A flash of light indicated that the gate had arrived. Jack looked up at it; it seemed much smaller than the one in the gate room.

"One Stargate all hooked up and good to go," Jack beamed. "Thank you, George! Okay, kids, let's dial this sucker before the company shows up."

Putting his rifle out of the way, Teal'c went over to the gate and started moving it manually. Jack covered one of the doorways while Daniel covered the other, mimicking the older man's pose perfectly.

"Where are we going?" Jack asked casually.

"Does it matter? We're just going to turn around and dial home as soon as we get there," Daniel pointed out.

"What, no souvenirs?" A skittering noise sounded off to Jack's right and he turned in that direction. A hole had appeared in the wall and a Replicator was advancing through it. "We got bugs!" Jack fired, destroying the metal bug.

Daniel turned and, moving so that Jack wasn't in his line of sight, started shooting at the Replicators coming through the wall. Replicator blocks started to litter the floor.

"O'Neill!" Teal'c called as he saw Replicators pouring down the wall behind the Stargate.

Jack turned and started firing at the new lot of bugs. He could hear Daniel firing continuously at the other Replicators, and he prayed that they would both be able to keep ahead of the bugs.

Teal'c redoubled his efforts to move the ring on the Stargate, knowing they were running out of time. Giving thanks for the symbiote that provided him with extra strength, Teal'c moved the final glyph into place. "Get down!" he yelled to his two teammates.

Daniel and Jack ducked just as the wormhole whooshed into life. Neither man bothered to stand up again, instead remaining on one knee in order to accurately shoot at the Replicators. "Carter!" Jack yelled into his radio. "Let's go!"

On cue, there was a flash and Sam appeared along with Thor's stasis pod. "All set, sir!"

"Can we blow this thing yet?" Jack asked, not taking his eyes off the bugs, which were still pouring into the room.

"Not yet!" she yelled back. She pushed Thor's pod over to the Stargate and then sent him through. Then Sam got her rifle out and joined in the shooting.

"Carter?" They were going to be overrun soon as the bugs just kept pouring into the room.

"Not yet!"

Jack waited a few seconds then yelled, "Carter!"

"Now!"

Jack pressed the button then yelled, "Go!" His team quickly jumped into the wormhole, and then Jack followed.

Tumbling out the other end, Jack found himself tangled up with Daniel. He looked down into the surprised blue eyes and smiled. "Hi."

"Hi." Daniel found himself effectively pinned to the ground by Jack's weight. Surprisingly, he didn't mind it too much... for a short time. "You can get up now," he prompted.

"Right." Jack got to his feet and offered Daniel a helping hand to do likewise. He then looked around to see if everyone was accounted for. "Everyone okay?"

"Yes, sir," Sam replied from her position a few meters away.

"I am, O'Neill, as is Thor," Teal'c stated, having already checked on the Asgard.

"Great." Jack went over and checked on Thor for himself. Then he surveyed the surroundings. Trees. Lots of trees.

~~~
It took ten minutes for an Asgard ship to appear overhead, during which time SG-1 just sat and waited. Before any of them could blink, Thor disappeared in a flash of white light, and then the Asgard ship flew off.

"Hey!" Jack called after the retreating ship. "What about us?"

Teal'c almost smiled. "It appears they have somewhere else to be," he commented.

"Yeah, so do we," Jack muttered, still staring after the ship. They had just saved Thor from annihilation - the least the Asgard could do was give them a lift! Shaking his head, Jack pushed the annoyance aside; it would have been cool to arrive back on Earth the same way he had left. "Okay then. Daniel, dial it up."

Jack grinned as he watched Daniel cross over to the DHD. They were going home. This vacation was turning out much better than he'd thought a few hours ago. Now if only he could go fishing with Daniel, his vacation would be complete.

~~~

"Daniel?" Jack said as the linguist started to head in the other direction. They had both just finished getting changed into casual clothes and Jack had assumed they would head straight for the surface.

"Mmm?" Daniel stopped and looked at Jack.

"Where are you going?"

"I have to get some books." Maybe since they had just saved the world again, Jack would relent on this point.

"Oh no, you're not." The revelation he'd had on Thor's ship that he was in love with Daniel meant that he did not want the younger man to have anything to distract him from being with Jack. That was the whole point of going fishing – well, maybe not the whole point but definitely one of the top two... okay, it had become the main reason. Jack wanted Daniel to be with him whether it was just talking or making love. Of course, he wasn't sure yet that Daniel loved him too but Jack figured the isolation might make it difficult for the linguist to hide them. At least, that's what he was hoping. Jack grabbed hold of Daniel's arm and started pulling him towards the elevator. "There are no books allowed on this fishing trip."

"But Jack--"

"No 'buts', Daniel. No books allowed. The purpose of going fishing is to relax and *fish*." Jack had one particular fish in mind that he wanted to land.

"Just one." Daniel turned his best pleading expression on Jack, knowing the older man would cave in. "Please?"

Jack sighed; he was definitely toast when Daniel looked like that. Those big blue eyes... oy! "Just one." He released Daniel.

"Thank you." Daniel raced off and came back a couple of minutes later with a very thick book. "Okay, I'm ready."

Jack eyed the book suspiciously. "I said one book, Daniel, not fifteen," he complained.

"Actually, this is one of the smaller ones. Shall I take it back and get a bigger one?" Daniel asked with a grin, turning as if ready to go back and get it.

In reply, Jack took hold of Daniel's arm and pulled him to the elevator. "This one will be fine." He mentally shook his head; only Daniel would take a book that big on a fishing trip. However, he would make sure that Daniel didn't get to read one single line of it.

~~~

"So was it really your idea to beam the gate up?" Jack asked that night at his house. Because of the long trip, they had decided to get an early nights sleep before setting off in the early hours of the morning. Daniel had been very quiet and Jack was getting worried.

"Yes, it was. And thank you *ever* so much for being supportive of it," Daniel said sarcastically before he could stop himself. He bit his lower lip then looked at Jack apologetically. "Sorry."

"For what? I *should* have been more supportive of it," Jack acknowledged. As they were both sitting on the couch, he put his arm around Daniel's shoulders and squeezed. It occurred to him that Daniel rarely got praise for any good ideas that he had, and Jack decided to change that starting now. "It was a good idea, and one that certainly saved our butts. I owe you one, okay?"

"Okay," Daniel agreed, slightly stunned at the praise. He felt a warmth inside him at the words and the touch, and he smiled tentatively at Jack in response.

"Sweet." Jack made a mental note to praise Daniel more often; that smile was too rare on the young man.

~~~
The trip was long, taking just over twenty hours, and the two men took it in turns to drive. Once they got to the cabin in Minnesota at midnight, they had a snack and then went straight to bed. It was then that Daniel noticed the problem they were going to have.

"Isn't this going to be awkward?" he asked, eyeing the one and only double bed with what nervousness. He knew that he tended to snuggle in his sleep and he didn't want to wake up in the morning plastered over Jack.

"Will you just lie down?" Jack said in exasperation as he got into the bed and moved over to the far side. Trust Daniel to debate this.

That was not a tone to be argued with, and even Daniel recognized that. Daniel lay down on his back, then took his glasses off and placed them out of the way on the bedside table.

"Could you turn off the light?"

Daniel sighed and got out of bed again. He hit the light switch next to the door and the room went dark. "If I injure myself, I'm blaming you," Daniel said as he walked carefully back to the bed, hands outstretched.

Jack grinned even though Daniel couldn't see him. He felt Daniel get into bed again, the action creating desire inside him. Technically, he had just gotten Daniel into bed; his grin widened at the thought. Too bad they weren't going to do anything while *in* bed except sleep. Still, it was a good chance for Daniel to get used to the arrangement. "Goodnight, Daniel."

"Goodnight, Jack." Daniel turned on his side facing away from Jack and closed his eyes, hoping that he kept his hands to himself tonight.

~~~
The first thing Jack became aware of as he woke up was something tickling his chin. He brought his hand up to his chin, thinking there was a fly there or something, and encountered something soft yet hard. And round. Opening his eyes to see what it possibly could be, Jack saw that it was brown hair that was tickling his chin. Or to be more precise, Daniel's short brown hair. Daniel's short brown hair still attached to the rest of the linguist who was currently wrapped around him in a very intimate manner. One of Daniel's legs had moved in between his and was only inches away from part of Jack's anatomy that was starting to take an interest in the situation, and Daniel's head was nestled under Jack's chin. Jack remembered previous occasions where he had woken up in similar embraces with lovers but since he and Daniel weren't lovers, this was very unusual.

Jack had never thought Daniel would be the cuddling type. He was always so hands off that Jack had always thought that even in bed, Daniel would keep his distance from his partner, whoever the girl was. Now he wasn't so sure. Maybe his subconscious allowed Daniel to seek out physical comfort while he was sleeping since he didn't allow it while he was awake. That was a reasonable explanation. It certainly made more sense than, say, Daniel being attracted to him or something.

He slid his fingers through Daniel's hair and felt the young man nuzzle his chest in response. A warm feeling flooded through him that had nothing to do with desire and everything to do with love. What would it be like to wake up every morning like this?

The only problem was – what if Daniel didn't feel the same way? Then they certainly couldn't have a deeper relationship. But if he did... Jack looked at the top of Daniel's head. What would a relationship with Daniel be like? Frustrating at times, that was for certain, for he doubted that Daniel would listen to him more in the field. But to have all Daniel's passion directed towards him – Jack imagined that would be incredible.

So, should he question Daniel on the subject or not? If Daniel rejected him, then the friendship between them would be severely dented, if not broken. What if Daniel didn't approve of homosexuality? Jack thought that the linguist was very unprejudiced about most things but what if this was the one thing he was against? But considering that they had almost died – again – there was really no use in waiting to find out. If the opportunity arose, he would have to take it because who knew when he would get another chance.

The feel of Daniel stirring interrupted those thoughts. Gently, Jack ruffled the young man's hair and said softly, "Morning, Danny."

"Mm-hmm," came the reply.

"Time to get up."

"Mm-hmm." Daniel liked it where he was. He was snuggled up to something warm, and the rhythmic rise and fall of the pillow was very soothing. Wait... the rise and fall of the pillow? Pillows didn't move. Groggily, he opened his eyes. He could see a white expanse of something. Daniel squinted and the objects came more into focus. The white wasn't a sheet, it was... Daniel abruptly sat up. Jack. He had snuggled up to Jack. That was definitely not good. "Um--"

"So, did you sleep alright?" Jack asked, seeing the embarrassment on Daniel's face.

"I think so." Daniel was embarrassed about what he had done, snuggling up to Jack as if they were lovers. What would Jack be thinking? "About this--" he started, gesturing between himself and Jack.

"Yes?" Jack prompted.

"It isn't what you think."

"So it wasn't because you were cold then?"

Daniel bit his bottom lip; so Jack hadn't thought it anything more. "Actually, it was."

Jack shook his head; Daniel really needed more practice in lying. He sat up and looked the young man directly in the eye. "Did you like it?" he asked bluntly.

"Um, wha-what?" Daniel stuttered, caught off-guard by the question.

"Did. You. Like. It?" Jack enunciated the words very clearly.

"Um, I--"

"Because I did," Jack put his heart on the line. No pussy-footing around; this might be the only opportunity he would have to find out whether he stood a chance with Daniel. He didn't give any thought to how it would affect their lives if they began a relationship - that was for later, when they returned home.

Daniel stared at Jack in surprise. "What, um, really?" He couldn't believe that. Jack *liked* Daniel snuggling up to him??

"Yes, really. And you...?"

Ducking his head, Daniel mumbled, "I liked it too." He was embarrassed to admit it. He had never been much of a snuggler although most of his girlfriends and Sha're had been.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you like it?" Jack asked.

"I don't know." Daniel retrieved his glasses and then stood up, deciding to go outside so he didn't have to answer any more questions. The subject was making him uncomfortable and he didn't know why. He looked down at the clothes he was wearing – sweats and a t-shirt – and decided not to bother getting changed. Well, maybe a jumper. He pulled one on and then headed for the door.

Jack stood too and moved to block the doorway. "Danny..."

'Danny.' The familiar shortening of his name that only Jack dared to use. "I don't know what you want me to say," Daniel stated, sensing that there was something more that Jack wanted.

Jack opened his mouth but no words came out; he didn't want to prompt Daniel because then he wouldn't know if the young man really wanted him or not.

"I'm going to go for a walk." He wanted to get away from Jack for a while so he could think about the strange questions his friend had been asking.

"Breakfast will be in half an hour," Jack told Daniel as he walked out of the bedroom.

Daniel nodded and kept walking. Outside, he wandered along the bank of the lake until he found a nice big tree. He leaned back against it and then slid to the ground. He needed to think.

Back at the cabin, Jack had followed Daniel outside and had watched his path into the trees so that he knew where Daniel would be if it was necessary to find him. Then he took a seat on the verandah and waited.

~~~
Daniel stared at nothing as he thought about Jack's words earlier. His best friend had admitted to liking having Daniel in his arms. Daniel had to admit that he had liked being there. He had felt warm and... and safe. That was the only word that fitted. Jack had made him feel safe. The feel of Jack's chest beneath his cheek, slowly rising and falling, had soothed him before he had known what it was.

He supposed it was understandable because he had always considered Jack to be a safe haven from his troubles. Not consciously, and not at first, but recently he had found himself always going around to Jack's house if there was something he didn't want to think about or if something was troubling him, knowing that Jack would be able to help him whether they talked about it or not. He had always thought that was because they were best friends. Now it seemed it could be for another reason altogether.

"Hey."

Daniel looked up, startled. Jack was standing over him, holding out a piece of toast. "Thank you," he said, taking the offered food.

"You're welcome." Jack sat down opposite Daniel and leaned back against a tree. "So, have you been thinking?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Daniel replied. "I need some more time."

"More time for what?" Jack asked casually. 'Please let it be to think about us', he prayed.

Daniel sighed, knowing that Jack would eventually wear him down. "To think."

"About?" Jack prompted.

"Jack, do we have to talk about this?" Daniel complained. "Surely you have more important things to do."

"Danny, nothing is more important right now than you," Jack stated, meaning every word.

That surprised Daniel. "Why now?"

"Excuse me?"

"Why am I important now?" Jack never thought he was important - or more to the point that what he had to offer was important. Daniel crossed his arms, hugging himself. "Because Sam didn't want to come fishing with you?"

"No," Jack denied. "I thought we had settled that the other day. *You* are the one I wanted to come fishing with me. And why would wanting Carter to be here make a difference anyway?"

Daniel leaned his head back until it touched the tree trunk, avoiding Jack's eyes. "Because you have a crush on her," he stated. He had known this for some time. "And when she's around, nothing else appears to be important." Daniel knew he was being unfair to Jack – he was always the one invited around to Jack's house – but it was the way he felt sometimes. He was always on the outside of any group, and SG-1 was no different. Jack, Sam and Teal'c were all warriors, he was a scholar – that tended to put him at odds with the others much of the time. He had learnt to use their weapons and done their training but he still couldn't think like them and that meant he would never fit in properly.

"You are very important to me, Daniel," Jack stated firmly. When there was no response from the linguist, just a sceptical silence, Jack moved over to crouch in front of Daniel. "Look at me," he ordered.

Slowly, Daniel brought his head forward to look at Jack. There was a lot of emotion in those deep brown eyes and Daniel couldn't distinguish them all. "What?"

"Never *ever* doubt your importance, Daniel Jackson." Jack used the linguist's full name for emphasis. "To me, to SG-1 or to the Stargate program. Heck, without you there wouldn't even *be* a Stargate program."

"Yes, there would," Daniel contradicted him. "Remember the alternate realities?" Where he had turned down Catherine's offer and therefore never joined the SGC, yet the program still existed.

Jack wished he could forget. "Yes, I do. And you'll notice that in both of them, because you weren't around, it took them longer to open the Stargate, they hadn't made all the allies we had because they didn't go to Chulak, and I was dead." It was a very eerie feeling to know that his alternate selves were dead. "And the reason for all that was that you didn't join the SGC."

Daniel shook his head. "I think you're overestimating my contribution." There could be many reasons why those realities had turned out that way.

"I don't think so." Jack settled himself down properly; his knees didn't like it when he crouched. "How many times have you averted potential disasters on planets because of your 'talk first, shoot last' policy? Too many to count," Jack answered for Daniel. "Your knowledge and linguistic skills are invaluable, and even if your viewpoint on a situation doesn't match mine, I value your input because it makes me think about other options."

Daniel looked down again, unaccustomed to all this praise coming from Jack. "Even if I'm being 'flaky'?"

"*Especially* when you're being flaky," Jack agreed. "Because that's usually when you have the best ideas." A raised eyebrow told Jack just what Daniel thought of that statement. "I know I don't often say when you have a good idea, and I'm sorry."

"You *never* say when I have a good idea," Daniel countered to hide his embarrassment at Jack's words.

"True. I promise I'll try to more often, okay?" He didn't want Daniel to feel undervalued. Jack reached out and lifted Daniel's chin again so that the young man was looking at him.

"Why are you saying all this?" Daniel inquired. Jack had never said anything like this to him before. And coupled with the comments earlier...

It was Jack's turn to look at the ground but only for a moment. When he lifted his head again, love shone from his eyes. "I'm not good with words, Danny, so I'll show you." He leaned in to briefly press his lips against Daniel's.

Stunned, Daniel didn't do anything except stare at his best friend. Then he got his brain in working order. "You-you-you kissed me!"

"Got it in one." Jack just grinned at his linguist; the kiss hadn't set the world alight but there was definitely promise there even if Daniel hadn't responded.

"Why?"

"Why do you think?"

"I-I don't know." Daniel absently touched a finger to his lips; Jack had kissed him!

Jack stared patiently – and hopefully – at him. "Yes, you do." He caught Daniel's hand and held onto it firmly. "And I'm pretty sure you feel the same way."

Daniel's eyes widened. "I don't, I-I... how do you feel?"

"It's not obvious? I love you." Jack felt good saying that out loud.

"You-you do?" Daniel wished he could stop stuttering but Jack's revelation – not to mention the kiss – had thrown him totally off-balance. Jack nodded. "And you think that I... you know?"

"Yes. Why else would you have been cuddled up to me this morning? And I don't buy that line about being cold," Jack stated. He hitched closer to Daniel to catch the linguist's other hand. "I wouldn't be saying anything if I didn't think there was a possibility that you loved me too."

"But we're so different," Daniel protested, trying to process the fact that Jack was now holding *both* of his hands.

"So? How much in common did you have with Sha're?" Jack pointed out. "And Sara and I weren't exactly the same either."

Daniel fell silent at the mention of Sha're, her death still causing a muted pain in his heart. He thought about what Jack said and realised that he was right; Sha're had been different from him, mostly because she came from a totally different culture. But the relationship had still worked out well. "How long have you felt this way?"

"I'm not sure, to tell you the truth," Jack gave Daniel another grin. "It only hit me when I was alone on Thor's ship. I was going to die and instead of concentrating on the recordings, all I could think about was you."

"Oh." Daniel didn't know what to say to that.

"I'm going to go back inside," Jack said, seeing that Daniel needed some more time to think. "When you're ready, come and find me." He squeezed Daniel's hands and then let go, preparing to leave.

"Jack." Daniel reached out and placed his hand on Jack's arm. "Why are you telling me all this? Aren't there rules?" He couldn't believe that Jack would be willing to break those rules with him.

"Yes." But he was prepared to break them for Daniel.

"So why?"

"In case it escaped your notice, we almost died the two days ago. In our job, life is too short *not* to say anything." And although Jack was a typical guy, he could express his feelings when it was important to him.

"Oh," Daniel said again. He thought about that and made a split-second decision. Grabbing the back of Jack's neck, he pulled the older man in for a kiss.

Stunned by the move, it took a couple of seconds for Jack to respond. When he did, he was very enthusiastic, kissing Daniel hard at first but easing off when he became aware of Daniel's relative inexperience. Jack had never heard mention of how much experience Daniel had with women but judging by the kiss – and, come to think of it, Daniel's stunned expression in the Abydos gate room when Sha're had kissed him – Jack guessed that Daniel had been more interested in books than dating.

Jack pulled back and saw that same stunned expression on Daniel's face. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Daniel replied automatically. In some ways, he was better than fine but in others... He shifted uncomfortably, his erection pressing against the front of his trousers. He couldn't remember the last time he'd got hard that fast! His body had definitely enjoyed that kiss, which lead him to wonder whether it was because of lust or love.

"Listen." Jack reached out and impulsively brushed the back of his hand over Daniel's cheek, the stubble scratching him. "That wasn't a commitment. If you don't want to take this further, you don't have to." He had to give Daniel that option no matter how much he wanted otherwise.

"But you want this."

"Yes." Jack thought that was pretty obvious. "But if you don't, then we will just remain friends." Although how he could see Daniel every day and know there was only friendship between them, he didn't know.

Daniel looked into Jack's warm eyes. "Would that be possible?" Whatever he decided, he didn't want to lose Jack.

"I hope so." Jack tried to hide his disappointment that Daniel was considering just being friends.

"It's not - I'm not saying no, Jack," Daniel hastened to assure him. "It's just... all this has taken me by surprise." His head was still whirling with the knowledge that Jack loved him, and that he desired Jack.

"I understand. I'm still feeling a bit overwhelmed myself," Jack confessed. "Do you want some space to think?"

"Please."

Jack nodded. "In that case, I'll head back. Don't be too long, okay?"

"Okay," Daniel agreed. He watched Jack stand up and walk slowly away, then he settled back to think.

~~~

Daniel went over in his mind all the pros and cons of a relationship with Jack. The biggest positive was that there was no-one he trusted more than Jack – and that was also the biggest negative because if something went wrong later, he would be left with no-one. Well, he would still have Sam and Teal'c, providing nothing happened to them, but the same level of trust wasn't there. They were his friends but he didn't spend the majority of his downtime with them, and there were many things about his personal life that he hadn't told them. There were virtually no secrets between himself and Jack; Daniel knew Jack better than he had known anyone in his life.

Daniel shook his head; why hadn't he seen any of this before? The answer was easy: because he hadn't been looking. After Sha're had died, he hadn't wanted another relationship for two reasons – because he hadn't wanted to get hurt again, and because he hadn't wanted to hurt his new partner. Rebound relationships never worked out, and deep down, he had known that Kera would go back to her planet and therefore she was safe; nothing could ever have happened between them. But Jack – this was totally different.

Did he want to be with Jack? There was no question of them living together, a fact that Daniel was grateful for at the moment because it would allow them to have space when necessary. But as for the rest – the togetherness, the support, the having of someone who knew you and still loved you – Daniel found that he wanted that. And he wanted it with Jack.

'So', Daniel thought, 'I want to have a relationship with Jack'. That was one thing sorted out. The next thing was – love or lust? Going back over all the things he had been thinking about, Daniel determined that it wasn't lust, especially given that before Jack had kissed him, he had never thought about Jack in that way. So that left love. A love that had grown so gradually, he hadn't even realized it was there. He should have, looking back on the way he had felt when Jack was stranded on Edora, not to mention the hurt when he thought that Jack had rejected their friendship soon afterwards. The signs had all been there – he just hadn't seen them.

'Enough of the past', he told himself. He had to look to the future now, and that future would be with Jack. Daniel had read enough of the classics to know what he was getting himself in for in terms of the physical – he just hoped he would enjoy it.

With a smile Daniel stood up and headed back to the cabin. Jack was sitting on the verandah and was just watching him approach. "Hey."

"Hey yourself. Want some more breakfast?" Jack had finished making the toast and porridge, and then had come back out to wait.

"In a minute." He sat down in the other chair, which was right next to Jack's. "I've decided," he said.

"And?" Jack prompted although he had already guessed what the answer would be; Daniel wouldn't be so close if he was going to say 'no'.

"Where would you like to go for our first date?"

Jack grinned and then placed his arm over Daniel's shoulders. "Well, we are alone out here, with no-one around for miles, and a big lake in front of us."

"You want me to *fish* on our first date?" Daniel teased with an answering grin.

"Why not?" Jack replied.

Daniel just stared at Jack. "Is there somewhere we can go in town, a restaurant maybe?"

"Actually there is. Would you like to go there one evening?" He could do traditional dating.

"Please." Daniel leaned into Jack's one-armed embrace but found that the chair arm got in the way. He sat up straight again, uncomfortable. "You said something about breakfast?"

"Ah, so no sex before dating," Jack commented with a grin. "I can do that."

Daniel shook his head, although he too was grinning. "Jack, you have to give me some time to get used to this."

"How much time?" Jack shot back.

"I'll let you know when I'm ready." Daniel stood up and headed inside.

It was Jack's turn to shake his head; this was going to be interesting. How long would it take before Daniel's curiosity about the physical side get the better of him?

~~~

The morning was spent fishing, and then about mid-afternoon, Jack decided to take Daniel on a walk around the lake. He held out his hand to his new partner, who was lying prone on the grass.

After looking at it for a few seconds, Daniel took the proffered hand and allowed Jack to pull him to his feet. "Let me guess, you're a romantic at heart," he said dryly when Jack didn't let go of his hand.

"Yep. Just don't tell the marines."

"Even if I did, they'd never believe it," Daniel stated as they headed off. He couldn't quite believe it himself – Jack, the alpha male soldier, was holding his hand! And it was nice too, which surprised him.

Halfway around the lake, Jack removed his hand from Daniel's and then wiped it on his cargoes. "Sorry, sweaty," he explained. He hadn't let go of Daniel's hand for half an hour, and the weather was warming up.

"That's okay." Daniel surreptitiously wiped his own hand dry. "I can't believe you have held my hand for this long," he stated, trying to make the comment sound normal but not entirely succeeding. It was strange to be walking around the lake while holding Jack's hand.

Jack shrugged. "How many opportunities will I get when we're back home to do this? I'm just making the most of the time we've got." And since there was no-one around, he could show his love for Daniel without worrying about narrow-minded rules and people.

That sobered Daniel. "How is this going to work when we get home?" They wouldn't be able to behave as lovers outside of their homes and Daniel resented that fact. "I mean, do you think we'll still be able to work together?"

"Sure." Jack had no doubts about that. "And to rebut the arguments you no doubt have in your head, I have always treated you differently to Carter and Teal'c because you are the civilian of the team, therefore there's nothing to worry about on that score. However, how we are going to work together in the upcoming months when I'm going to want to jump you all the time, I don't know."

Daniel ducked his head in embarrassment; hearing comments like that from Jack was going to take some getting used to.

"Oy," Jack sighed in defeat as his libido fired up at the sight. "Do you have any idea how much of a turn-on that is?" Daniel in shy mode just seemed to press all his buttons. And he was willing to bet that now he was looking, Daniel in any mode was going to turn him on. Putting his arms around Daniel, he drew the linguist into a tight embrace.

"I can kind of feel it, Jack," Daniel commented dryly when he felt the hardness pressing against him. He felt his own erection start to grow in response. "I never suspected that you could do this to me." He put his arms around Jack's neck then, feeling uncomfortable with that, moved them lower so that his hands were linked behind the older man's back.

"A case of not seeing what was right in front of us," Jack agreed. He brought one hand up to run through Daniel's short brown hair. "Your hair is darker than it used to be."

"My hair was always darker underneath," Daniel told him. "The difference is, now you can see it."

"Does that mean you were dying it all those years?"

"Excuse me?"

Jack's grin reformed at the indignant response. "I'll take that as a 'no'." He leaned in to press a kiss just Daniel's right ear. A gasp told him that he had hit a 'hot spot'. "You like that?"

"Uh..." The kiss had sent shivers down his spine and desire into his groin. "What are you doing?"

"Well, if I have to explain it to you, I'm obviously not doing it right." Jack pulled back and looked into the clear blue eyes. Up this close, Daniel's eyes looked so big and the sight filled him with love. How could he have thought – even briefly – that Carter's blue eyes were the ones that he had occasionally seen in his dreams? His subconscious seemed to have recognized what he felt for Daniel long before his conscious mind did.

"No, you're doing fine," Daniel assured him. "It's just – this will take some getting used to."

"Do you want me to back off?" Jack asked, not wanting to make Daniel uncomfortable.

"Not too much." He had to get used to it eventually. "But we will have to be careful around Sam and Teal'c." He wanted to tell them but he suspected that Sam had a crush on Jack and Daniel didn't want to find out for sure.

"Yeah." Jack didn't want to put either of them in a position where they would have to lie about his and Daniel's relationship. He rested his forehead against Daniel's. "One last kiss before we go back?" He would try to wait until they were back at the cabin before trying again.

Daniel smiled. Somehow, he didn't think it would be.

~~~

When evening came, Jack took Daniel by the hand and led him outside onto the verandah where they could get a better view of the stars. Then the older man sat down, his back against the wall, and pulled Daniel down to sit in between his legs. Jack held Daniel close, his arms wrapped tightly around the younger man as they sat and looked up at the stars. "Just think," he said, interrupting the silence. "If your appendix had burst, you wouldn't be here right now, and we probably never would have done this."

"Maybe somewhere out there, in an alternative reality, that happened," Daniel commented. Given the infinite number of realities that could be out there, it wouldn't surprise him.

"Kinda makes you glad to be in this one, doesn't it?" Jack kissed the side of Daniel's neck. He thought of the two realities they'd seen where he had been involved with Carter. That wasn't right, him and Carter. Him and Daniel – that was the way it should be, and he pitied any version of himself that didn't have Daniel in their lives this way.

Daniel smiled; glad was an understatement. He relaxed back against Jack, thoroughly content. He felt Jack's head move and he turned his head so that their lips could meet. Oh yes, this was definitely the way it should be.