Fic: Got 'im
Title: Got 'im
Author: tresa_cho
Beta: brilligspoons
Summary: A trip off-world is disastrously jynxed by Jack being unable to keep his mouth shut.
Word Count: 3,871
Rating: PG-13; for sci-fi violence and intense situations
Disclaimer: do not own, if did own, would be making tons of money
Written For: kayra42
Prompt:
Two (2) Requirements:
1. before s6
2. offworld team story with established J/D
Optional Request: Daniel gets hurt but still saves the team
Restriction #1: schmoop
Restriction #2: character death
Notes: Thanks a bunch to brilligspoons for stepping up to beta this. I apologize for the shallow feel to the story, there seems to be a deeper background that I wasn't able to tap into for this fic. Perhaps another day when the boys co-operate... I hope this fits your prompt, at least!
“Cake walk,” Jack said. Daniel winced at him.
“It’s probably not a good idea to jinx a mission like that,” he commented mildly. Jack cocked an eyebrow. “Does the phrase: famous last words, ring any bells?”
“Since when are you Mister Superstitious?” Jack asked dryly. Daniel set his lips. Sam picked that moment to walk up with Teal’c in tow.
“Daniel’s right, sir. As soon as you make a comment about how easy the mission is going, things tend to get… hairy,” she said helpfully. Daniel tipped his head to her in wry gratitude. Jack sighed heavily and turned his eyes towards Sam. “It’s nothing like Asgard technology, but it does pretty much the same thing within our brand of physics,” Sam said, starting her preliminary report. “In fact, if we had a few more years I’m sure we’d be able to come up with something like it. Once we have a viable theory that unifies quantum mechanics with special relativity, who knows what could happen on our own planet! We might be able to tear a whole in space-time itself and then…”
Jack cleared his throat loudly, interrupting her. She pursed her lips in frustration and finished her report. “They’ve agreed to let us access to the machine while we’re here, and have agreed to trade negotiations for completely manufactured drives.”
“Great!” Jack clapped his hands and leered at Daniel. “See? Told you it’d be easy.”
Daniel rolled his eyes. “We don’t know what they want for trade yet. It’s ridiculous to assume the trades will go smoothly. How often do they?”
“Well, there was that one time on the planet of the Monkey See Monkey Do people that it went fairly simple…” Jack pointed out. Daniel folded his arms across his chest.
“Do we really want to start that discussion again, Jack?” he asked, a hint of tension in his voice. Jack heeded the warning and glanced at Sam.
“I’m assuming you want to get started immediately,” Jack said. Sam nodded, her eyes darting between her commanding officer and Daniel. “Take Teal’c with you.”
“I think I should go with her, Jack,” Daniel spoke up. Jack glared at him. “There might be something she needs translated.”
“Fine,” Jack snapped. Daniel shouldered his pack and moved the few steps to stand beside Sam. “Radio check-in at nineteen hundred. That’s apparently when these people eat their dinner. We’ve been invited to a banquet to honor the arrival of the origins of their race.” Sam nodded and started off towards one of the engineering buildings they had been shown. Teal’c cleared his throat from his position behind Jack. “Not. Now, Teal’c,” Jack said through gritted teeth.
“I was merely going to state that it may be to your advantage to separate yourself from DanielJackson for a period of time. It seems there is tension between you both,” Teal’c rumbled. Jack groaned and shifted the bag on his back.
“Great. I’m getting relationship advice from the stoic warrior-man.”
“When you and DanielJackson revealed the nature of your relationship, you placed your trust in MajorCarter and I. We merely wish to see you happy. I am expressing my feelings regarding the status of your command. You seem to be frustrated.”
“Yes, well, what isn’t frustrating when dealing with Daniel? Come on. Let’s see what else the welcoming committee can show us.”
The dinner was lively and boisterous. The table was huge and round, with all of the town’s highest authorities seated around it. The diameter was large enough that several dancers could climb into the center and perform tantalizing moves that seemed to defy gravity. Sam was enthralled as she watched the girls, barely touching her dinner. Daniel was just as intrigued, but Jack could see from his face that it was for a completely different reason. Daniel was interested in the cultural applications of a table dance. Sam was… well… There was a reason she had accepted Jack’s relationship so quickly.
“Sir O’Neill, what would the chances be that we could obtain some of your fabulous weaponry?” Master Nicolai, one of the town’s leaders, leaned on his elbows as he questioned Jack. Jack silently cursed the low table that negated the necessity for chairs. His back would not thank him tomorrow for sitting cross-legged for any amount of time.
“Probably next to nothing, unfortunately. We don’t trade weapons. We have a ton of other useful, um, awesome stuff for you that I’m sure you’d be interested in though. Seeing as our cultures… you know, diverged… a long time ago.” Jack took a sip of water. “Look, I’m not good at the whole negotiations thing. They’re going to send a team after us and they’re the ones who handle it. But I can tell you with certainty that we aren’t going to give you guns.”
“Is that so? Even if the Libby-Sheffield Drive could turn the tide in your war? It is amazing that your scientists have not figured out the, what do you call it, physics of the engine yet.” Master Nicolai chuckled lightly as he sloshed wine around in his goblet. Jack had to force back a mental image of Nicolai as an evil overlord stroking a cat while cackling about a brilliant plan.
“Yea, we have policies and stuff. Mostly about helping other cultures kill things. We have this thing against helping kill things. It’s a thing.” Jack coughed and held up something on his plate. “Is this rabbit?”
“No. It is a native creature called a tr’klay. Though it does highly resemble your rabbit. It is a quick devil, and terribly hard to catch. Their meat is a delicacy, which we are privileged to serve you.” Master Nicolai held up a morsel. “Eat healthy.”
Jack nodded and downed a bite as his host did the same. It tasted a bit like chicken, much like anything they ever ate off-planet. He sighed inwardly. Didn’t the universe have any sense of variety?
It was near midnight when their hosts finally showed them to their rooms. Jack and Daniel were granted a room together, and Sam said she was fine sleeping in the same room as Teal’c. Jack preferred not to have separate rooms, even though the natives had been tremendously friendly so far. Despite what the rest of his team was saying, he hadn’t let his guard down.
“Will you be needing anything?” their escort asked as he stood in the door. Daniel was already off into the room, examining the bookshelf that came with the suite.
“No, thanks. I think we’re good.” Jack waved the boy away. The door shut behind him, leaving Jack with Daniel in a deafening silence. Jack could tell Daniel was tense. He always got tight in the shoulders and purposefully ignored him. Jack started unpacking and gathering his gear to clean up for bed. “You coming Daniel?” he asked finally, when his eardrums threatened to burst from lack of sound.
Daniel made a noncommittal noise and kept staring at the book in his hand.
“Daniel,” Jack called sharply.
“What? Jack?” Daniel smacked the book in his hands closed and whirled. Jack frowned.
“Look, whatever I did, I’m sorry, okay? Why are you so pissy?” Jack put his hands on his hips, trying to keep his voice low. He didn’t know how thin the walls were in this building.
“I don’t know. Possibly because someone keeps rubbing my nose in the terrible things we’re doing to the people of P3X-680? At this very moment?” Daniel slammed the book down.
“Do you have to take it out while we’re on a mission?” Jack asked, watching Daniel stride over to his pack and start pulling out his bedtime routine. “Can’t it wait till there’s actually a couch I can sleep on?”
“God dammit, Jack. Is there anything that you won’t make into a joke?” Daniel snapped.
“You’re the one who isn’t letting this go,” Jack threw back. “What happened to ‘agree to disagree’? Or, the one that usually kills the conversation, ‘we can’t do anything now because it’s out of our hands’? Some of our jobs won’t end with sunshine and rainbows, Daniel.”
“I know that,” Daniel replied crossly. He jerked his shirt off and threw it onto the bed. Jack eyed it warily. When he turned his eyes back to Daniel, he found the linguist glaring at him. “I just wonder… why you would ever think it was right in the first place…” He stared at Jack, as if looking for an answer. Then he turned his eyes down and threw back the covers of the large bed. “I’m going to sleep,” he said decisively. He climbed onto his side, took his glasses off, curled in on himself, and closed his eyes.
Jack sighed heavily and stripped to his boxers. He checked the safety on his gun, made sure the berretta was in reach, and climbed carefully into bed. It took him a while to fall asleep. Whenever Daniel was angry with him, the tension seemed to radiate through the mattress and force Jack’s eyes open. Even if Daniel was already asleep. Like right now.
One moment Jack was thinking lazily about the merits of having separate beds, and the next he was blinking to see through a thick cloud of dust. His chest exploded in pain, and pressure on his ribs was making it hard to breathe. His legs were twisted in the sheets, but the bed was nowhere in sight. The room was a mess of shattered wood and crumpled steel. Jack pushed himself up on his elbows and twisted. He was pinned by a fallen beam.
He tried tugging himself free, but the weight was heavy on him. He could almost feel it grate against his bone. With a yelp of pain, he pulled his hips free and his legs slipped out unhindered. He crawled on his hands and knees away from the wreckage. His hand fell across his BDU slacks and he quickly shimmied into them.
“Daniel!” he called hoarsely. The dust was making his throat scratchy. “Daniel!”
“Jack?” A wobbly voice rose out of the darkness. Jack scrambled towards it on his hands and knees.
“Daniel.” Jack found Daniel propped up against what was left of the wall. He was in bad shape. “Hey, hey, hold on buddy,” Jack murmured, touching Daniel’s jaw. “Help!” he called through the dust and dark. “Someone! There’s been an explosion!”
“I can’t really feel anything, Jack,” Daniel groaned. Jack touched his hand carefully to Daniel’s hair.
“I know. Just hang on. Stay with me for a sec, kay?” Jack hissed out. He could hear shouting coming from somewhere. “Hey. You were right, you know, about the people on P3X-680. Daniel. Hey.” Jack tapped Daniel’s cheek, trying to keep him focused. “I’m sorry I’m such a jerk about things. When we get home I’m going to make a huge platter of those Greek things that you love. But ya gotta stay awake for me.”
“Why are you only nice to me when I’m bleeding out?” Daniel gasped, his voice tight and strained. Jack’s hands continued to soothe Daniel’s face and throat.
“That’s not true, Danny boy, that’s not true,” Jack murmured fiercely, resisting the urge to snap at the comment. The beam of a flashlight broke through the dusty haze, and Jack yelled out for help. Daniel went slack in his grip as Sam, Teal’c, and Nicolai clambered through the darkness to them.
“Sir!” Sam was on her knees beside Daniel, checking his vitals with her flashlight in hand. Teal’c knelt stoically by Nicolai.
“Your wing was the only one targeted. We can only assume your party was the intended victims of this attack,” the master said quickly. “The bomb in Master Teal’c’s room was fortunately disarmed in time. Medics are waiting for you two. We need to get you out of this rubble.” Nicolai shoved his hand into Jack’s armpit and heaved, helping Jack find his way through the destruction. Sam and Teal’c followed with Daniel between them.
The paramedics, or the society’s equivalent of, reached for Jack but he swiped them away. “I’m fine. Daniel, look at him,” he grunted.
“Sir, we shouldn’t give him anything but he won’t make it back to the gate,” Sam called over the commotion. Jack’s brain swirled. Whatever the medicines did, they could deal with it.
“Let them help him. Get him stable enough to get through the gate,” Jack ordered. Sam let the medics through to see Daniel. In the light of the rescue vehicles, Jack could see the extent of the damage. Daniel was covered in blood from various gashes. His glasses were gone, and one of his arms was bent at an unnatural angle. Jack swallowed hard and accepted the wet rag handed him to clean up.
“Sir.” Sam crouched beside him. “They’re taking Daniel to a medical facility. We have to follow them. Master Nicolai offered to take us.” Jack nodded.
“Go to the gate and hail General Hammond. Tell him what happened and that we need medical assistance,” Jack snapped. Sam nodded, her face pale in the glaring lights of the rescue vehicles. Teal’c swept after her at a trot as she ran for the Stargate. Nicolai drew Jack to his feet and shoved him unceremoniously into a car sort of thing. Five minutes later they were sitting outside a pretty fair mock up of a hospital ward.
All of his wounds were superficial, so he waved off the nurses trying to patch him up. He sat, waiting for word on Daniel’s condition, with the linguist’s words careening around in his head. It wasn’t true. It wasn’t. Jack was nice all the time… Most of the time…
There had to be a reason Daniel said it, though, delirious as he was from the explosion. If that was how he felt… Jack dropped his throbbing head into his hands and rubbed his temples. Somehow this had gotten completely out of hand.
The door opened and Jack snapped his head up. A doctor person walked up to him and stared at him through thick glasses. “He’s stable. For now. We’ll know in the next few days if he’ll go into a coma or start to heal.”
“We won’t be here for days,” Jack growled. “My team and I are going back to our base to get him treated. Just get him ready to move.”
“I’m afraid that’s impossible, sir. If he is moved in his current state, his body won’t survive the shock. He’ll die.” The doctor peered at him. “You may see him if you wish.”
Jack didn’t need to be told twice. He was in the room before the doctor had pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
Daniel looked terrible. He was deathly pale, and connected to some sort of breathing apparatus. An IV was pushed into his arm, and the monitors beside him hummed and beeped in a faintly earth-like manner. Jack shook off the feeling of stepping into the Twilight Zone and approached the bed. He drew up one of the chairs in the room and sat down to begin his vigil till Sam and Teal’c brought the reinforcements.
Voices in the hall rose in pitch outside the door. Jack cocked his ear curiously and stood silently from the chair. He padded to the door and pressed his back against it, listening breathlessly to the conversation in the hall.
“You have to! It is of vital urgency to national security that you do this. I’ll have you arrested and deported!”
“It goes against your entire medical code, Master. You can’t honestly expect me to break one of the very laws I swore by when entering this nation!”
“I’m giving you a direct order from a Master himself. You cannot afford to disobey it, doctor. That man needs to die tonight, before he has a chance to recover. We cannot hope that he will die of the explosion if what you’ve said is true. You have to do it, and do it before the night is over.”
“I won’t. It goes against everything I learned and everything I stand for.”
Jack heard what sounded like a body falling to the floor and glasses skittering across the floor. He jumped back from the door as Nicolai pushed it open. The master froze, not expecting Jack to be there, but before Jack could knock him away he held up what Jack could only assume was a gun.
Jack backed away and let the master enter. “So sorry this had to end so soon,” Nicolai smiled grimly. “But we do need your weaponry, and it is of utmost importance that we have the time to examine it. Funeral rituals on this planet require the mourners to remain in the place of the death for a year to properly pay their respects. Both sides of the war acknowledge the time limit. You would be kept here for the full amount of time as was proper.” He paused, closed the door and moved between Jack and Daniel’s bed, precisely where Jack did not want him.
“I was hoping I could get away without using this. The bomb was placed very carefully and I wish it had done the trick. Unfortunately one cannot depend on covert means in circumstances such as these. They usually fail miserably. I’m sorry, Master Jack. In another time our people could have been friends.” Nicolai switched something on the thing in his hand, and Jack felt time slow.
Nicolai raised the thing in his hand to Jack’s forehead, and then his chest exploded in a cloud of blood. Jack staggered backwards as Nicolai collapsed onto him, and dumped the body on the floor. His eyes whipped to the bed where Daniel was propped up on one elbow, breathing harsh and ragged. His other arm was outstretched, holding his berretta in a shaking grip. His face twisted in pain and determination, and when he saw Nicolai on the ground he fell back against the pillows.
Jack bolted to his side. “Daniel. Can you move? We have to get out of here,” he whispered quickly. Daniel groaned but set his jaw as Jack hauled him from the bed. He had already torn all the wires and tubes from his arm during his quick-draw.
They managed to get into Nicolai’s car thing and get back to the stargate. As Jack pulled up, he saw Sam and Teal’c being held by Nicolai’s men. Daniel was slipping in and out of consciousness in the passenger seat, and there were at least three guns between them and the gate.
“Wait here,” Jack ordered. Daniel could do nothing but nod as Jack slipped quietly from the car doohickey and crept closer to the group. Jack was getting ready to leap at one of the guards when Nicolai’s car’s lights flooded the area and the horn started wailing. Startled, the guards froze long enough for Sam and Teal’c to surprise two, and Jack handled the last one.
“Sir! Where’s Daniel?” Sam asked as Jack snapped the zip ties around her wrists.
“Who do you think is making all the noise and going to get us shot?” Jack groused. Teal’c’s eyebrow did the stupid little raisey thingy but Jack didn’t have time for that now. “Get him out of that jalopy and get to the gate. Now.”
Jack ran to the DHD and dialed the gate. Sam, in an amazing feat of agility, sent out her ID signal while supporting Daniel with one shoulder. They all tumbled through the gate and everything went black.
…*…
Jack blinked and found himself staring at the white ceiling of the Infirmary. He groaned and sat up, tossing back the starched covers. “Oh good, you’re awake.” Janet stepped to the foot of his bed. “How do you feel?”
She had that tightness about her lips that told him he had done something Bad. “I feel like I was hit by a truck. Where’s Daniel?” Jack glanced around the room.
“There, sleeping, and if you disturb him I will tear out your larynx. You’re lucky he’s so stubborn.”
Jack could read between the lines. Stubborn enough to pull through whatever the explosion had done, the escape after, and the alien treatments. He glanced to where she had pointed and got up. Dragging a chair behind him he pulled it over to Daniel’s bed and sat beside it, listening to the now-familiar hum of machinery and the beeping that meant Daniel’s heart was still beating.
Janet closed the curtains around him, sealing him off from the low murmur of the rest of the room. Jack settled back for a long wait in an uncomfortable chair. The debriefing wouldn’t occur until Daniel woke, and Sam and Teal’c were still getting checked over by Janet.
The machine blurped, and Jack glanced over to see Daniel pursing his eyebrows, getting that pinched look that hinted he had a migraine. When he finally blinked his eyes open, Jack stood and sat on the bed. He drew his hand over Daniel’s arm and smiled gently. “Hey,” he said.
“Did I get ‘im?” Daniel asked, his voice rough. Jack reached for the cup of ice chips on the bedside and slipped one into Daniel’s mouth.
“Yea, Daniel, you got him,” Jack said quietly. He let his fingers twist the hospital shirt the nurses had fit Daniel into. “I love you, you know that right?”
Daniel’s lips pursed. “Jack,” he drawled softly. “We’re on base.”
“You didn’t answer the question, Daniel,” Jack said, his body unconsciously tensing.
“Yes, I know,” Daniel said, irritation creeping into his voice. He struggled onto his elbow (one arm was in a cast) and looked at Jack curiously. “What is it?”
“You said something after the explosion. That I’m only kind to you when you’re… dying,” Jack bit out uncomfortably.
“Well, if you don’t talk to me about anything, Jack, how am I supposed to know what’s going on in your head?” Daniel said finally, after a moment of silence. “You always joke around and I hate to be cliché but you never talk about what you’re feeling.” Daniel grimaced but plowed on, “I just have to be sure. I need to hear it sometimes.” He rested his uninjured hand over Jack’s and squeezed Jack’s fingers. He closed his eyes and lay back in the bed. “Can we talk about this later? I shot someone today.”
“And a very good shot it was,” Jack said softly, trailing his fingers down Daniel’s arm. “Saved my life.”
“I know. You owe me,” Daniel murmured, already slipping back to sleep. The curtains pulled back and Jack winced.
“Excuse me. I’m here for the Colonel’s larynx,” Janet snapped. Jack rolled his eyes and patted Daniel’s hand. He stood and winked goodbye to his boy. Daniel smiled and rolled his eyes.
‘I’ll spring you as soon as I can,’ Jack mouthed over Janet’s head. Daniel waved him away as Janet closed the curtains around his bed to let him sleep. Jack was chased out of the Infirmary by one of Janet’s watchdogs (commonly known as privates), and as he walked towards his office he made a resolution to start giving Daniel what he needed.
Author: tresa_cho
Beta: brilligspoons
Summary: A trip off-world is disastrously jynxed by Jack being unable to keep his mouth shut.
Word Count: 3,871
Rating: PG-13; for sci-fi violence and intense situations
Disclaimer: do not own, if did own, would be making tons of money
Written For: kayra42
Prompt:
Two (2) Requirements:
1. before s6
2. offworld team story with established J/D
Optional Request: Daniel gets hurt but still saves the team
Restriction #1: schmoop
Restriction #2: character death
Notes: Thanks a bunch to brilligspoons for stepping up to beta this. I apologize for the shallow feel to the story, there seems to be a deeper background that I wasn't able to tap into for this fic. Perhaps another day when the boys co-operate... I hope this fits your prompt, at least!
“Cake walk,” Jack said. Daniel winced at him.
“It’s probably not a good idea to jinx a mission like that,” he commented mildly. Jack cocked an eyebrow. “Does the phrase: famous last words, ring any bells?”
“Since when are you Mister Superstitious?” Jack asked dryly. Daniel set his lips. Sam picked that moment to walk up with Teal’c in tow.
“Daniel’s right, sir. As soon as you make a comment about how easy the mission is going, things tend to get… hairy,” she said helpfully. Daniel tipped his head to her in wry gratitude. Jack sighed heavily and turned his eyes towards Sam. “It’s nothing like Asgard technology, but it does pretty much the same thing within our brand of physics,” Sam said, starting her preliminary report. “In fact, if we had a few more years I’m sure we’d be able to come up with something like it. Once we have a viable theory that unifies quantum mechanics with special relativity, who knows what could happen on our own planet! We might be able to tear a whole in space-time itself and then…”
Jack cleared his throat loudly, interrupting her. She pursed her lips in frustration and finished her report. “They’ve agreed to let us access to the machine while we’re here, and have agreed to trade negotiations for completely manufactured drives.”
“Great!” Jack clapped his hands and leered at Daniel. “See? Told you it’d be easy.”
Daniel rolled his eyes. “We don’t know what they want for trade yet. It’s ridiculous to assume the trades will go smoothly. How often do they?”
“Well, there was that one time on the planet of the Monkey See Monkey Do people that it went fairly simple…” Jack pointed out. Daniel folded his arms across his chest.
“Do we really want to start that discussion again, Jack?” he asked, a hint of tension in his voice. Jack heeded the warning and glanced at Sam.
“I’m assuming you want to get started immediately,” Jack said. Sam nodded, her eyes darting between her commanding officer and Daniel. “Take Teal’c with you.”
“I think I should go with her, Jack,” Daniel spoke up. Jack glared at him. “There might be something she needs translated.”
“Fine,” Jack snapped. Daniel shouldered his pack and moved the few steps to stand beside Sam. “Radio check-in at nineteen hundred. That’s apparently when these people eat their dinner. We’ve been invited to a banquet to honor the arrival of the origins of their race.” Sam nodded and started off towards one of the engineering buildings they had been shown. Teal’c cleared his throat from his position behind Jack. “Not. Now, Teal’c,” Jack said through gritted teeth.
“I was merely going to state that it may be to your advantage to separate yourself from DanielJackson for a period of time. It seems there is tension between you both,” Teal’c rumbled. Jack groaned and shifted the bag on his back.
“Great. I’m getting relationship advice from the stoic warrior-man.”
“When you and DanielJackson revealed the nature of your relationship, you placed your trust in MajorCarter and I. We merely wish to see you happy. I am expressing my feelings regarding the status of your command. You seem to be frustrated.”
“Yes, well, what isn’t frustrating when dealing with Daniel? Come on. Let’s see what else the welcoming committee can show us.”
The dinner was lively and boisterous. The table was huge and round, with all of the town’s highest authorities seated around it. The diameter was large enough that several dancers could climb into the center and perform tantalizing moves that seemed to defy gravity. Sam was enthralled as she watched the girls, barely touching her dinner. Daniel was just as intrigued, but Jack could see from his face that it was for a completely different reason. Daniel was interested in the cultural applications of a table dance. Sam was… well… There was a reason she had accepted Jack’s relationship so quickly.
“Sir O’Neill, what would the chances be that we could obtain some of your fabulous weaponry?” Master Nicolai, one of the town’s leaders, leaned on his elbows as he questioned Jack. Jack silently cursed the low table that negated the necessity for chairs. His back would not thank him tomorrow for sitting cross-legged for any amount of time.
“Probably next to nothing, unfortunately. We don’t trade weapons. We have a ton of other useful, um, awesome stuff for you that I’m sure you’d be interested in though. Seeing as our cultures… you know, diverged… a long time ago.” Jack took a sip of water. “Look, I’m not good at the whole negotiations thing. They’re going to send a team after us and they’re the ones who handle it. But I can tell you with certainty that we aren’t going to give you guns.”
“Is that so? Even if the Libby-Sheffield Drive could turn the tide in your war? It is amazing that your scientists have not figured out the, what do you call it, physics of the engine yet.” Master Nicolai chuckled lightly as he sloshed wine around in his goblet. Jack had to force back a mental image of Nicolai as an evil overlord stroking a cat while cackling about a brilliant plan.
“Yea, we have policies and stuff. Mostly about helping other cultures kill things. We have this thing against helping kill things. It’s a thing.” Jack coughed and held up something on his plate. “Is this rabbit?”
“No. It is a native creature called a tr’klay. Though it does highly resemble your rabbit. It is a quick devil, and terribly hard to catch. Their meat is a delicacy, which we are privileged to serve you.” Master Nicolai held up a morsel. “Eat healthy.”
Jack nodded and downed a bite as his host did the same. It tasted a bit like chicken, much like anything they ever ate off-planet. He sighed inwardly. Didn’t the universe have any sense of variety?
It was near midnight when their hosts finally showed them to their rooms. Jack and Daniel were granted a room together, and Sam said she was fine sleeping in the same room as Teal’c. Jack preferred not to have separate rooms, even though the natives had been tremendously friendly so far. Despite what the rest of his team was saying, he hadn’t let his guard down.
“Will you be needing anything?” their escort asked as he stood in the door. Daniel was already off into the room, examining the bookshelf that came with the suite.
“No, thanks. I think we’re good.” Jack waved the boy away. The door shut behind him, leaving Jack with Daniel in a deafening silence. Jack could tell Daniel was tense. He always got tight in the shoulders and purposefully ignored him. Jack started unpacking and gathering his gear to clean up for bed. “You coming Daniel?” he asked finally, when his eardrums threatened to burst from lack of sound.
Daniel made a noncommittal noise and kept staring at the book in his hand.
“Daniel,” Jack called sharply.
“What? Jack?” Daniel smacked the book in his hands closed and whirled. Jack frowned.
“Look, whatever I did, I’m sorry, okay? Why are you so pissy?” Jack put his hands on his hips, trying to keep his voice low. He didn’t know how thin the walls were in this building.
“I don’t know. Possibly because someone keeps rubbing my nose in the terrible things we’re doing to the people of P3X-680? At this very moment?” Daniel slammed the book down.
“Do you have to take it out while we’re on a mission?” Jack asked, watching Daniel stride over to his pack and start pulling out his bedtime routine. “Can’t it wait till there’s actually a couch I can sleep on?”
“God dammit, Jack. Is there anything that you won’t make into a joke?” Daniel snapped.
“You’re the one who isn’t letting this go,” Jack threw back. “What happened to ‘agree to disagree’? Or, the one that usually kills the conversation, ‘we can’t do anything now because it’s out of our hands’? Some of our jobs won’t end with sunshine and rainbows, Daniel.”
“I know that,” Daniel replied crossly. He jerked his shirt off and threw it onto the bed. Jack eyed it warily. When he turned his eyes back to Daniel, he found the linguist glaring at him. “I just wonder… why you would ever think it was right in the first place…” He stared at Jack, as if looking for an answer. Then he turned his eyes down and threw back the covers of the large bed. “I’m going to sleep,” he said decisively. He climbed onto his side, took his glasses off, curled in on himself, and closed his eyes.
Jack sighed heavily and stripped to his boxers. He checked the safety on his gun, made sure the berretta was in reach, and climbed carefully into bed. It took him a while to fall asleep. Whenever Daniel was angry with him, the tension seemed to radiate through the mattress and force Jack’s eyes open. Even if Daniel was already asleep. Like right now.
One moment Jack was thinking lazily about the merits of having separate beds, and the next he was blinking to see through a thick cloud of dust. His chest exploded in pain, and pressure on his ribs was making it hard to breathe. His legs were twisted in the sheets, but the bed was nowhere in sight. The room was a mess of shattered wood and crumpled steel. Jack pushed himself up on his elbows and twisted. He was pinned by a fallen beam.
He tried tugging himself free, but the weight was heavy on him. He could almost feel it grate against his bone. With a yelp of pain, he pulled his hips free and his legs slipped out unhindered. He crawled on his hands and knees away from the wreckage. His hand fell across his BDU slacks and he quickly shimmied into them.
“Daniel!” he called hoarsely. The dust was making his throat scratchy. “Daniel!”
“Jack?” A wobbly voice rose out of the darkness. Jack scrambled towards it on his hands and knees.
“Daniel.” Jack found Daniel propped up against what was left of the wall. He was in bad shape. “Hey, hey, hold on buddy,” Jack murmured, touching Daniel’s jaw. “Help!” he called through the dust and dark. “Someone! There’s been an explosion!”
“I can’t really feel anything, Jack,” Daniel groaned. Jack touched his hand carefully to Daniel’s hair.
“I know. Just hang on. Stay with me for a sec, kay?” Jack hissed out. He could hear shouting coming from somewhere. “Hey. You were right, you know, about the people on P3X-680. Daniel. Hey.” Jack tapped Daniel’s cheek, trying to keep him focused. “I’m sorry I’m such a jerk about things. When we get home I’m going to make a huge platter of those Greek things that you love. But ya gotta stay awake for me.”
“Why are you only nice to me when I’m bleeding out?” Daniel gasped, his voice tight and strained. Jack’s hands continued to soothe Daniel’s face and throat.
“That’s not true, Danny boy, that’s not true,” Jack murmured fiercely, resisting the urge to snap at the comment. The beam of a flashlight broke through the dusty haze, and Jack yelled out for help. Daniel went slack in his grip as Sam, Teal’c, and Nicolai clambered through the darkness to them.
“Sir!” Sam was on her knees beside Daniel, checking his vitals with her flashlight in hand. Teal’c knelt stoically by Nicolai.
“Your wing was the only one targeted. We can only assume your party was the intended victims of this attack,” the master said quickly. “The bomb in Master Teal’c’s room was fortunately disarmed in time. Medics are waiting for you two. We need to get you out of this rubble.” Nicolai shoved his hand into Jack’s armpit and heaved, helping Jack find his way through the destruction. Sam and Teal’c followed with Daniel between them.
The paramedics, or the society’s equivalent of, reached for Jack but he swiped them away. “I’m fine. Daniel, look at him,” he grunted.
“Sir, we shouldn’t give him anything but he won’t make it back to the gate,” Sam called over the commotion. Jack’s brain swirled. Whatever the medicines did, they could deal with it.
“Let them help him. Get him stable enough to get through the gate,” Jack ordered. Sam let the medics through to see Daniel. In the light of the rescue vehicles, Jack could see the extent of the damage. Daniel was covered in blood from various gashes. His glasses were gone, and one of his arms was bent at an unnatural angle. Jack swallowed hard and accepted the wet rag handed him to clean up.
“Sir.” Sam crouched beside him. “They’re taking Daniel to a medical facility. We have to follow them. Master Nicolai offered to take us.” Jack nodded.
“Go to the gate and hail General Hammond. Tell him what happened and that we need medical assistance,” Jack snapped. Sam nodded, her face pale in the glaring lights of the rescue vehicles. Teal’c swept after her at a trot as she ran for the Stargate. Nicolai drew Jack to his feet and shoved him unceremoniously into a car sort of thing. Five minutes later they were sitting outside a pretty fair mock up of a hospital ward.
All of his wounds were superficial, so he waved off the nurses trying to patch him up. He sat, waiting for word on Daniel’s condition, with the linguist’s words careening around in his head. It wasn’t true. It wasn’t. Jack was nice all the time… Most of the time…
There had to be a reason Daniel said it, though, delirious as he was from the explosion. If that was how he felt… Jack dropped his throbbing head into his hands and rubbed his temples. Somehow this had gotten completely out of hand.
The door opened and Jack snapped his head up. A doctor person walked up to him and stared at him through thick glasses. “He’s stable. For now. We’ll know in the next few days if he’ll go into a coma or start to heal.”
“We won’t be here for days,” Jack growled. “My team and I are going back to our base to get him treated. Just get him ready to move.”
“I’m afraid that’s impossible, sir. If he is moved in his current state, his body won’t survive the shock. He’ll die.” The doctor peered at him. “You may see him if you wish.”
Jack didn’t need to be told twice. He was in the room before the doctor had pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
Daniel looked terrible. He was deathly pale, and connected to some sort of breathing apparatus. An IV was pushed into his arm, and the monitors beside him hummed and beeped in a faintly earth-like manner. Jack shook off the feeling of stepping into the Twilight Zone and approached the bed. He drew up one of the chairs in the room and sat down to begin his vigil till Sam and Teal’c brought the reinforcements.
Voices in the hall rose in pitch outside the door. Jack cocked his ear curiously and stood silently from the chair. He padded to the door and pressed his back against it, listening breathlessly to the conversation in the hall.
“You have to! It is of vital urgency to national security that you do this. I’ll have you arrested and deported!”
“It goes against your entire medical code, Master. You can’t honestly expect me to break one of the very laws I swore by when entering this nation!”
“I’m giving you a direct order from a Master himself. You cannot afford to disobey it, doctor. That man needs to die tonight, before he has a chance to recover. We cannot hope that he will die of the explosion if what you’ve said is true. You have to do it, and do it before the night is over.”
“I won’t. It goes against everything I learned and everything I stand for.”
Jack heard what sounded like a body falling to the floor and glasses skittering across the floor. He jumped back from the door as Nicolai pushed it open. The master froze, not expecting Jack to be there, but before Jack could knock him away he held up what Jack could only assume was a gun.
Jack backed away and let the master enter. “So sorry this had to end so soon,” Nicolai smiled grimly. “But we do need your weaponry, and it is of utmost importance that we have the time to examine it. Funeral rituals on this planet require the mourners to remain in the place of the death for a year to properly pay their respects. Both sides of the war acknowledge the time limit. You would be kept here for the full amount of time as was proper.” He paused, closed the door and moved between Jack and Daniel’s bed, precisely where Jack did not want him.
“I was hoping I could get away without using this. The bomb was placed very carefully and I wish it had done the trick. Unfortunately one cannot depend on covert means in circumstances such as these. They usually fail miserably. I’m sorry, Master Jack. In another time our people could have been friends.” Nicolai switched something on the thing in his hand, and Jack felt time slow.
Nicolai raised the thing in his hand to Jack’s forehead, and then his chest exploded in a cloud of blood. Jack staggered backwards as Nicolai collapsed onto him, and dumped the body on the floor. His eyes whipped to the bed where Daniel was propped up on one elbow, breathing harsh and ragged. His other arm was outstretched, holding his berretta in a shaking grip. His face twisted in pain and determination, and when he saw Nicolai on the ground he fell back against the pillows.
Jack bolted to his side. “Daniel. Can you move? We have to get out of here,” he whispered quickly. Daniel groaned but set his jaw as Jack hauled him from the bed. He had already torn all the wires and tubes from his arm during his quick-draw.
They managed to get into Nicolai’s car thing and get back to the stargate. As Jack pulled up, he saw Sam and Teal’c being held by Nicolai’s men. Daniel was slipping in and out of consciousness in the passenger seat, and there were at least three guns between them and the gate.
“Wait here,” Jack ordered. Daniel could do nothing but nod as Jack slipped quietly from the car doohickey and crept closer to the group. Jack was getting ready to leap at one of the guards when Nicolai’s car’s lights flooded the area and the horn started wailing. Startled, the guards froze long enough for Sam and Teal’c to surprise two, and Jack handled the last one.
“Sir! Where’s Daniel?” Sam asked as Jack snapped the zip ties around her wrists.
“Who do you think is making all the noise and going to get us shot?” Jack groused. Teal’c’s eyebrow did the stupid little raisey thingy but Jack didn’t have time for that now. “Get him out of that jalopy and get to the gate. Now.”
Jack ran to the DHD and dialed the gate. Sam, in an amazing feat of agility, sent out her ID signal while supporting Daniel with one shoulder. They all tumbled through the gate and everything went black.
…*…
Jack blinked and found himself staring at the white ceiling of the Infirmary. He groaned and sat up, tossing back the starched covers. “Oh good, you’re awake.” Janet stepped to the foot of his bed. “How do you feel?”
She had that tightness about her lips that told him he had done something Bad. “I feel like I was hit by a truck. Where’s Daniel?” Jack glanced around the room.
“There, sleeping, and if you disturb him I will tear out your larynx. You’re lucky he’s so stubborn.”
Jack could read between the lines. Stubborn enough to pull through whatever the explosion had done, the escape after, and the alien treatments. He glanced to where she had pointed and got up. Dragging a chair behind him he pulled it over to Daniel’s bed and sat beside it, listening to the now-familiar hum of machinery and the beeping that meant Daniel’s heart was still beating.
Janet closed the curtains around him, sealing him off from the low murmur of the rest of the room. Jack settled back for a long wait in an uncomfortable chair. The debriefing wouldn’t occur until Daniel woke, and Sam and Teal’c were still getting checked over by Janet.
The machine blurped, and Jack glanced over to see Daniel pursing his eyebrows, getting that pinched look that hinted he had a migraine. When he finally blinked his eyes open, Jack stood and sat on the bed. He drew his hand over Daniel’s arm and smiled gently. “Hey,” he said.
“Did I get ‘im?” Daniel asked, his voice rough. Jack reached for the cup of ice chips on the bedside and slipped one into Daniel’s mouth.
“Yea, Daniel, you got him,” Jack said quietly. He let his fingers twist the hospital shirt the nurses had fit Daniel into. “I love you, you know that right?”
Daniel’s lips pursed. “Jack,” he drawled softly. “We’re on base.”
“You didn’t answer the question, Daniel,” Jack said, his body unconsciously tensing.
“Yes, I know,” Daniel said, irritation creeping into his voice. He struggled onto his elbow (one arm was in a cast) and looked at Jack curiously. “What is it?”
“You said something after the explosion. That I’m only kind to you when you’re… dying,” Jack bit out uncomfortably.
“Well, if you don’t talk to me about anything, Jack, how am I supposed to know what’s going on in your head?” Daniel said finally, after a moment of silence. “You always joke around and I hate to be cliché but you never talk about what you’re feeling.” Daniel grimaced but plowed on, “I just have to be sure. I need to hear it sometimes.” He rested his uninjured hand over Jack’s and squeezed Jack’s fingers. He closed his eyes and lay back in the bed. “Can we talk about this later? I shot someone today.”
“And a very good shot it was,” Jack said softly, trailing his fingers down Daniel’s arm. “Saved my life.”
“I know. You owe me,” Daniel murmured, already slipping back to sleep. The curtains pulled back and Jack winced.
“Excuse me. I’m here for the Colonel’s larynx,” Janet snapped. Jack rolled his eyes and patted Daniel’s hand. He stood and winked goodbye to his boy. Daniel smiled and rolled his eyes.
‘I’ll spring you as soon as I can,’ Jack mouthed over Janet’s head. Daniel waved him away as Janet closed the curtains around his bed to let him sleep. Jack was chased out of the Infirmary by one of Janet’s watchdogs (commonly known as privates), and as he walked towards his office he made a resolution to start giving Daniel what he needed.