SG-1 Gen Fic: For Every Action 3/10
Ah, the SG-1 spam continues. :)
Title: For Every Action
Category: H/C with a Daniel slant, Team
Season/Spoiler: Very early S2
Rating: R
Word Count: 5,858 this chapter, 44,850 total
Summary: Sam and Teal'c trek through the rainforest, while Jack and Daniel take a bath.
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There was nothing more he could do, so Teal’c dug. The small hand trowel Daniel Jackson carried in his daypack did not lend for expeditiousness in the task. It had taken him nearly three quarters of an hour to clear half of the dial. O’Neill had provided some assistance, though it had been impeded by inadequate equipment. The large shells they had found on the beach were not effective tools.
“Teal’c, tell me you’ve got that thing uncovered.”
“I have not,” Teal’c said. He found himself annoyed at O’Neill’s demand. “The layers of earth under the sand are quite compact.”
He suspected his ill temper was due to lack of water. He did not want to consider how dehydration was affecting his teammates, especially Daniel Jackson. Teal’c glanced toward the trio and was glad he had not given his canteen to the Wiutehian slum residents. What little fluid his ill friend had received had come from it, but it was not a permanent source. The scant remains of that canteen spurred him to dig harder.
“Yeah, I know.” O’Neill joined him once again. “I’m sorry. It’s just…”
“Daniel Jackson is ill and it is imperative we make the DHD functional.”
“Teal’c, I’m getting dehydrated and my body’s not overheating from the inside out.”
They ceased speaking and resumed digging. Teal’c maintained a careful eye on O’Neill. Overexertion would only cause another one of them to become ill. That issue should not be much of a concern, considering top of the DHD was nearly exposed. He had an unexpected feeling of apprehension and doubt. He broke the earth up with determination. O’Neill cursed as another shell shattered.
“I’ll be right back,” O’Neill told him.
Teal’c wiped his forehead clear of sweat and nodded. He glanced toward Captain Carter and Daniel Jackson. Their positions remained the same, though it looked as though Daniel was moving fitfully. He returned his attention to his task, surprised to see there was very little left to do. He shoveled and scraped until there were no obstructions remaining.
“Hey, you’re done.”
“Indeed,” Teal’c said. His mouth felt as though it were full of sand.
“Nice work. Dial it.” O’Neill punched him lightly on the arm before padding away. “Carter, let’s get him ready to go.”
Leaning down into the shallow hole, Teal’c looked for the point of origin symbol. When he had determined it, he began pushing glyphs. The DHD did not activate, nor did the Stargate. It was illogical, but he attempted to dial again. He was disappointed, if not surprised, when the action yielded no results.
“Teal’c, I said to dial home,” O’Neill shouted. “What’s the holdup?”
“There is a malfunction.” He knew it would be a waste of energy to attempt to dial again. Instead, Teal’c moved to join his other three teammates. “The Stargate will not dial.”
Captain Carter ceased putting items into her daypack, and her posture reflected what he himself felt inside - trepidation. Though she had remained in the shade, the captain had also not partaken of water. The task of determining the cause and repairing the malfunction would very likely fall to her. Teal’c did not know if she was going to be capable of it. With sufficient hydration and food, she might still have had difficulty. But without? The task would be nearly insurmountable to accomplish.
“It won’t dial?”
“I am afraid it will not. Pressing the glyphs elicits no response.”
“Wait,” Captain Carter said. She frowned at him. Her hand still rested on Daniel’s forehead. “Does the DHD have no power or is there a disconnect between it and the ‘gate?”
“I am uncertain where the problem lies.”
Teal’c gave his attention to O’Neill, expecting immediate direction. O’Neill was not looking at or paying attention to him, but to Daniel. Vocalization was not required to know where O’Neill’s mind was traveling as he divided his attention between Daniel and the canteen.
“Nothing surprises me anymore,” O’Neill said, clenching his jaw for one second as he assessed the situation. “Okay, new priority. We need to dig out the whole DHD to get to the base so Carter can work on it, but before we do that we need to find a fresh water source.”
“I will go,” Teal’c said.
“I appreciate the volunteer, but not alone, you won’t.” O’Neill walked toward their packs, leaning to pick one up. “We don’t know what’s out there.”
Teal’c had not had the opportunity to be at Daniel’s side since he had fallen ill. While he waited for O’Neill to ready himself, he stared down at his friend. O’Neill had once told him humans were unique beings. Behavior patterns were not always good indicators of motive or character. Friends sometimes acted like enemies, and enemies as friend. This was something he understood, as it was often this way with Jaffa as well. He found behavior patterns were difficult to assess with Daniel, who was at his best when in motion and stillness boded ill. In this case, the ill was quite literal and it was worrisome.
“Sir,” Captain Carter said.
Teal’c looked away from Daniel, watching her scramble to her feet.
“I think I should go with Teal’c.”
“Carter, you’re the closest thing we have to a medic.”
“I don’t know what’s wrong with Daniel, sir, and you expended more energy digging than I did just sitting here. One sick person is enough to worry about, don’t you think? If you go out there and get heat exhaustion - ”
“Anh, Carter!” O’Neill said. “You’ve made your case.”
O’Neill breathed deeply and glanced down at the canteen again, then at Daniel Jackson. He smacked his lips together, as if testing the dryness in his mouth … or unconsciously wishing to take up the canteen.
Teal’c could not blame him. His own tongue yearned to be quenched. He pushed the thought away and retrieved his staff weapon. What Captain Carter said was logical. It did not matter who accompanied him, so long as they found water.
“Okay,” O’Neill said at last. He handed his pack to Captain Carter, then reached for his sunglasses. His attention remained on Daniel as he put them on, covering his eyes. “Be careful.”
The animal life they had seen was scant and had not been a danger thus far. Teal’c did not believe there was a significant physical threat, though exploring deeper into the jungle might yield just such a thing. That would be a battle for later. The plant life left no question that the planet received ample rainfall, and with rain came natural reservoirs. The existence of both forms of life meant it was only a matter of time and diligence to locate the necessary fresh water. Should they fail, it was also possible they could wait until the next rainfall. He did not think that advisable, for any of them.
“We will, sir. If he wakes up, try to get a little more into him.”
A little was all they had. Teal’c did not wish to delay any longer. He began walking slowly, allowing time for Captain Carter to join him. Under normal circumstances, their surroundings were such that his companions would find great enjoyment in exploration. Now, he thought they held a similar view as his - there was only one purpose. While his purpose on every mission was to find means to free his people, this was not his focus now. It could not be.
“So I guess we get to figure out what’s out there after all, huh,” Captain Carter said as she joined him. She smiled, lopsided and without feeling. “Lucky us.”
“We will find what we seek,” Teal’c told her, with feeling.
His former duties as First Prime prepared him for a task precisely such as this. He was a hunter as much as he was a warrior. He was adept at locating hidden items. Searching his surrounding for clues of a water source was not so different from seeking humans in concealment. He did not believe he it would be wise to mention this comparison to Captain Carter.
“We have to, Teal’c. Where do we start?”
Teal’c had not expected the deferment to his expertise. O’Neill always assumed control, as was his right. He was glad Captain Carter provided him the opportunity to utilize his strengths. This was not arrogance. He could accomplish the task more quickly than any of his companions. He looked to the trees. The birds that had lit upon them had not come back. He pointed with his staff weapon, indicating the direction they had flown.
“We follow the indigenous species on this planet.”
They walked. This time, as he suspected would be the case, Captain Carter did not express enjoyment for the exploration at hand. Teal’c wished their task were not so bleak and necessary, though he knew the yearning was foolish. In his belly, his symbiote warned him he was fast approaching dehydration and that he would need to kel no’reem soon to gain some equilibrium in his body. His own physical needs must wait.
“I’ve been trying to understand what happened to Daniel,” Captain Carter said.
Teal’c kept his attention focused on the flora around them, seeking confirmation this was the route the bird creatures had taken.
“It just doesn’t make sense that he’d be the only one to get sick, unless he was sick before he got here.”
“Daniel Jackson did not appear unwell before we embarked on our mission,” Teal’c said. He located avian fecal matter ahead. They were traveling on the correct course.
“Yeah, he didn’t exhibit any symptoms at the SGC. Whatever it was, it hit fast.”
“Indeed.”
Talking was not a very efficient use of energy, but he knew it was Captain Carter’s manner of exercising her thoughts. As long as there was no danger of alerting hostiles, he did not mind hearing her voice. He did indulge in a wish that they were on a standard mission, one in which he would also hear O’Neill and Daniel join in conversation. He shook his head slightly, frustrated by his continuing, futile wishes.
“I’m a little concerned than any one of us could be affected similarly. Just because it didn’t manifest in Daniel until we got here doesn’t mean there wasn’t a contagion on base. So we might have all been exposed to it. It could simply be taking longer for symptoms to show in us.”
That would be a very unfortunate occurrence. O’Neill had already expended much of his body’s moisture in the effort to unearth the dial home device, and he knew his own body chemistry was being compromised similarly. There was a limit to his infant Goa’uld’s healing abilities. If either of them became ill, it was likely they would suffer greatly.
“As much as I don’t really care about Bajiar and his people, I really hope we didn’t expose the Wiutheians to something dangerous. We can’t just go blundering around causing illness on every planet we visit.”
“Doctor Fraiser would never allow such a thing to happen.”
It remained a valid concern, but one they could not realistically dwell upon. If they did so, the Stargate program would likely cease. It was a moral quandary Teal’c had not witnessed from Apophis, or from nearly all of his Jaffa counterparts. Even if he believed closing down the Stargate for fear of what could happen - a proposal Senator Kinsey had supported intensely - was not the correct course of action, he had to admit it was welcome to see a delineation of morals.
“You’re right. What would be the point of having the Stargate and being too afraid of using it?”
Teal’c smiled to himself. Every day with the Tau’ri proved to him he had made the correct decision in joining them, in small ways and in large. Captain Carter had just made an effective demonstration. The vegetation around them was becoming denser, to the point he had to lever some of it out of the way with his staff weapon. It was an encouraging sign.
“I hope we find something soon,” Captain Carter said. “I have no idea how long the days are here.”
He turned his gaze to the sky and noticed there was now only one sun in it. The end of the daylight hours was very near. He should have realized the natural light had diminished quite some time ago, as the remaining sun kissed the horizon. Teal’c knew he was not infallible. He was, however, embarrassed. He began to hear something which presented him tempered hope.
“I believe we are close, Captain Carter.”
The cries of the bird creatures, accompanied by small splashes of water, filled the air. Teal’c glanced at his companion. She did not give indication she also heard, and he knew his heightened hearing was responsible. Still, it pleased him to know they were within easy walking distance now. He chastised himself again for not anticipating nightfall. He did not believe they could make it to the water and back to the beach before light was lost entirely.
“How close?”
“It is not far,” Teal’c said, “but I fear it is still too great a distance to traverse during daylight.”
“Okay.” Captain Carter tilted her head as if attempting to hear the water for herself. She frowned, thumbing her radio. “Carter to O’Neill.”
“I read you, Captain.”
“Sir, Teal’c says he can hear water but that we won’t get to it and back to your position before the second sun sets.”
“Do it.”
“Sir, we don’t -”
“I said do it, Carter,” O’Neill said stridently. “Teal’c, you guys won’t have a problem finding your way back here in the dark, will you?”
Teal’c frowned down at Captain Carter. She did not disguise her concern well, and this was a blessing to him. O’Neill’s responses were sharper than necessary, given that it was customary for a subordinate to seek approval before embarking on a mission.
“We will not,” he said into his own radio.
“Sir, what’s - ”
“O’Neill out.”
“- going on?” Captain Carter finished, though she had been dismissed.
Ultimately, Teal’c decided, it did not matter if he and Captain Carter knew the detailed reasons for O’Neill’s aggravation. What did matter was obtaining the water and bringing it back to camp in an expeditious manner. He stared at the sun, now half submerged into the horizon.
“Let us make haste, Captain Carter.”
“Right behind you,” she said.
In the blanketing twilight, they carried forward into the dense underbrush. Their task would become more difficult before it would ease. Teal’c swept aside clinging branches and leaves with renewed vigor. He tried and failed not to think about the number of possible reasons for O’Neill’s distraction. None of them were good.
~~*~~
Every time Jack wanted to cave to temptation and take a drink from the canteen, he looked at Daniel. A more effective cure for enticement there could never be. Nearly all the light was gone already, and with it went the warmth. The air was cooling in really short order. He kept one eye on Daniel while he foraged the immediate vicinity for the makings of fire. He felt a fool for handing over virtually every useful item in his pack back on Pwhateveritwas.
“Wasn’t my idea. Remember that, Daniel?” he mumbled. “I didn’t even think we should have brought our packs on that little jaunt. That was your idea, and so was giving away all of our stuff. Now we’re stuck here with no food and no water. You know this is going on your permanent record, right? File under: Stupid Things Daniel’s Done.”
He didn’t know why he bothered talking. Daniel couldn’t hear him and even if he could, it wasn’t Daniel’s job to make final decisions. It was his and his alone. He sighed. Verbally beating either one of them up about errors in judgment was a fruitless use of his energy at this point. What was done was so very much done, and no one could have predicted the result.
He sure as hell had no clue why Bajiar hadn’t simply let them go home. It seemed an extreme measure to ship off anyone who discovered Wiutehian dirty laundry to some far away land in order to prevent word from spreading. At least Jack suspected that was the actual reason, and it galled him. He thought humans on Earth were a bunch of self-absorbed idiots, in each other’s business when there was no reason to be. If Bajiar knew how little he really cared … but it hadn’t really been him. No, showing emotion had fallen on Daniel. Finally, something he could assign blame about.
“You wouldn’t have let it go. I saw the way Bajiar wanted to spit in your face back there. You’ve got quite a sphere of influence, there.”
Jack grunted, tugging at a dead vine. It wouldn’t budge. After a minute, he gave up. His muscles protested lack of hydration, and damn if he just didn’t care about working any harder at the task. He’d make do with what he had, measly pile of sticks that it was. He trudged back over toward Daniel’s prone figure, scowling at the DHD. It was so pissing useless he thought that if he had any urine left in his body, that’s precisely what he would do all over it.
He plopped down next to Daniel, who remained uncannily still. He’d deny it to the grave, but what he really wanted right about now was for Daniel to talk. Didn’t matter what, just so long as he was up and around and active. Jack swallowed, even though there was no saliva in his mouth. He reached for the canteen. Carter was right. It wouldn’t be good for any of the rest of them to get sick, and he needed water.
“Just a little,” he said, and he tipped the canteen to his lips.
There was just a little in there, as it turned out. One swallow, maybe two, and he had consumed the last of their reasonably fresh, uncontaminated water. It was good to feel something other than a thick tongue in his mouth. For a brief moment, that was justification, but then … then came regret. Jack glanced at Daniel, half expecting him to be awake, begging for just a little water without even saying anything at all. A simple glance would do Jack in, but there was continued to be no movement. Funny, he’d even take recrimination right about now.
There was no sense in crying over water already drank. He couldn’t put it back. He couldn’t stop the guilt. He arranged the sparse kindling and took a match to it. He hoped he could keep the fire going until Carter and Teal’c got back with more water, when they could go for more combustible wood without leaving Daniel unattended. He looked at his sleeping companion again, reaching over and taking the damp bandana from his forehead. It actually wasn’t damp anymore, dried from the heat of Daniel’s body. The half shell that had housed seawater was also dry.
“I’ll be right back,” he said, gaining some small comfort in pretending Daniel could hear him.
He grabbed the shell, stood and clicked on his vest flashlight. The beam was a bright ribbon, cutting into the blue of dusk. He could have made it to the edge of the damnably salty water and back without the benefit of artificial light, but he wasn’t willing to take the chance. Here there be monsters or something like that. Jack wasn’t about to fall for pretty façades again, even if they’d been here hours without incident. For all he knew, the big bad monsters didn’t come out until night. It was a thought that only served to worry him about leaving Daniel alone even for a short time, and that Carter and Teal’c were out there in the fast approaching dark.
The water lapped onto sand, no threat imminent. He crouched down and stuck his hands in the water, soaking the bandana and filling the shell. He still felt sticky from the afternoon’s exertions. He put the shell down for a second so he could swipe the bandana over his face, then dunk it into the water again to rinse off his sweat. He slopped it back into the shell and stood. He moved back to the small camp.
He saw it before he had traveled three steps, but dismissed it as an illusion of twilight and heavy foliage. Then movement shadowed in front of the fire, and Jack dropped everything so he could pull his handgun - he’d, damnit, left the MP-5 just sitting there - as he started to trot.
“Hey!” he shouted.
He’d seen the birds before from a distance, but he hadn’t really paid attention to them. Now, up close and personal, he saw they were fierce, nearly featherless things. They didn’t seem fazed by him yelling, but they also didn’t seem to be threatening in any major way. One hopped closer to Daniel. Jack took aim at it, raising his voice in warning again. It turned its strange, bony head toward him, eyes reflecting fluorescent from the flashlight.
Disconcerted, Jack faltered and came to a brief stop. He knew the water’s edge couldn’t be more than twenty paces from the bivouac site, yet it was taking him forever to get back there. The bird thing closest to Daniel screeched once, head tipped back and beak agape. It sent a chill down his spine. He started running again, watching it duck its head toward Daniel. For one horrifying moment, Jack thought the thing was going to clamp its huge jaws on his friend’s still form.
He pressed the trigger lightly, but before he got a shot off, the birds just … flew away. Heart racing, he holstered his gun and dropped down next to Daniel. After conducting a rapid visual scan, he couldn’t see anything wrong - no cuts, no bruises, no thread of cloth disturbed. What the hell? It was only upon his perusal of the campsite did he realize it: while the ringleader had distracted him, his cohorts had snagged Carter and Daniel’s packs. And his weapon.
“Goddamnit,” Jack said. It wasn’t a huge loss, just another ding that happened to leave him and Daniel without any resources. So, yeah, it was a huge loss. “At least they weren’t hostile, huh?”
Might as well have been. There was no telling how long Carter and Teal’c would be on their water-finding mission, and the gravity of their pack-less situation weighed on him. The fire crackled and popped pitifully, fading to embers. He was doing a bang up job here. At least he could still try to keep the fever in check with … the bandana that he’d dropped somewhere along the way.
“Son of a bitch.”
His skin prickled. He squinted up to the tops of the trees, finding them indistinct and shadowy. He couldn’t tell if the birds had flown up there and were waiting for him to stray again. Not that there was anything more for them to take, besides Daniel. Okay, that was a creepy thought. Jack decided the night air would do well enough for keeping Daniel cool, and that the bandana could stay lost until at least one sun rose. And if the fire went out because he’d been too damn foolish to collect enough … actually, they should have been prepped for that before Carter and Teal’c even left.
“I’m oh for what? Four? Rest assured, your permanent record is going to be just fine, Daniel. It’s mine that’ll bear the marks.”
Damnit, Jack didn’t like to admit it, but he hated when he was left alone on a mission quickly going down the spiral. It gave him too much time to contemplate his navel, and his navel was very linty. He didn’t know when he had allowed himself to be the master of doom, because he knew he hadn’t always been such a sniveling sap.
“But I should get over myself, right?” Daniel didn’t answer, just like he hadn’t for hours now. “Right. Let’s see how you’re doing for a happy change of pace.”
The change of pace wasn’t a good one, and that didn’t surprise him either. Damnit, Daniel was cooking from the inside out, on a slow burn. He frowned. He was no medical expert but he thought delirium went hand in hand with fevers as high as he could tell Daniel’s was. It figured; Daniel couldn’t even act normal while sick. Instead of rolling around restlessly, Daniel was too still.
“Shit.”
God help them if there were fish as big and ugly in the water as the birds in the trees were, because into the deep blue sea they were going. No thinking allowed. Thinking bad. Jack had just re-established that. Twenty steps with a dead weight were going to be no picnic, though. It would be easier to drag Daniel than to lift him to the shoulders, so Jack wrestled the limp man into a sagging, seated position and wrapped his arms around Daniel’s chest in a strange embrace.
“Oof,” Jack said as he faltered his way to his feet. “You’re heavier than you look, boy.”
Once standing, he steered toward the water and scuttled backward through the sand. Heat seeped from Daniel into him, chasing away any chill he felt. A burst of static from his radio made him jump. He almost lost his grip on Daniel and was struggling not to do just that when Carter’s tinny voice came through.
“Carter to O’Neill.”
He was so close, so close, but he couldn’t respond and keep shuffling at the same time. He stopped, shifting so most of Daniel’s weight was on his right side. He thumbed the radio’s switch.
“I read you, Captain.”
“Sir, Teal’c says he can hear water but that we won’t get to it and back to your position before the second sun sets.”
It was already pretty much set here, which meant Carter and Teal’c were a fair distance away. He managed a look at his watch, surprised to learn he’d been stewing in his own juices and otherwise making stupid errors for a couple of hours. Jack thought about the dirty trick the birds had pulled on him, but knew he could count on Teal’c to be far more alert.
“Do it.”
“Sir, we don’t -”
Daniel started sliding out of his tentative hold.
“I said do it, Carter,” he snapped, listing right along with Daniel. “Teal’c, you guys won’t have a problem finding your way back here in the dark, will you?”
“We will not,” Teal’c confirmed.
“Sir, what’s - ”
No time for this.
“O’Neill out.”
He devoted both hands to Daniel once more, cursing under his breath. The muscles of his lower back complained. All of his muscles, actually, were taxed from the day’s digging and absence of fluid. Couple that with Mr. Spaghetti and it was calamity in the making. Daniel slid down to the ground, and Jack followed, tripping and landing on top. His face planted directly into the fine sand. Breathing it in through his mouth did little to help the dryness already there. He coughed it out and gingerly disentangled himself from Daniel. He was glad there hadn’t been anyone around to witness that. The birds were indeed still around, and they laughed at him from atop the trees.
“Bite me,” he said.
On the plus side, the flashlight beam landed right on a sodden, sandy clump of cloth. The bandana wouldn’t do much while he and Daniel swam in the shallow shoreline, but it was a victory he wouldn’t scoff at. He shook off the indignity of falling on his face and clambered the rest of the way off Daniel. Despite the excitement of the last few minutes, Daniel still was unresponsive.
“Okay, big guy, let’s get back on track.”
He stared down, considering for seven seconds and deciding it wasn’t necessary to strip off any more of Daniel’s clothes. Jack arranged his friend carefully, and then shucked his own boots. He snatched up the dirty head rag and rinsed it out quickly. He took off his vest and piled it on top of his boots, arranging it so the flashlight aimed on Daniel. With the light on it should be easier to keep an eye on his stuff, keep it from getting filched by scavengers.
The flashlight, though, didn’t give much illumination, and he wished he didn’t have to tread unknown waters in the dark. It unnerved him that night had set in very quickly, and he hoped it wasn’t a long one. His stomach rumbled. The scant bit of water he’d drunk had done little to ease his growing hunger. If only they had known digging for the DHD was a monumental waste of time. If only they’d checked out their locale. If only … whatever. Jack unholstered his gun and maneuvered Daniel into the water, pushing him with his feet.
“Damn, that’s cold.”
The water licked at this toes. He should have taken his socks off. Oh, well, too late now. The whole nudging Daniel with his feet thing wasn’t really working, so Jack crouched down. He wrestled Daniel into a limp seated position and insinuated his arms underneath Daniel’s again. Plopping down on his ass, he snaked his arms around Daniel’s chest and his legs around Daniel’s lower half. He let his friend rest against his chest, trying to get comfortable with a 180-pound dead weight between his legs.
It didn’t really work too well. His lower back twinged. He switched to a one armed hold on Daniel, keeping his gun at the ready as he leaned back and rested on his other elbow. Not a permanent solution, but actually doable for the time being. Cold water numbed his legs, while Daniel’s heat radiated into his arms and chest. Jack sighed and scooted deeper into the sea, trying to immerse Daniel as much as he could.
“This had better work. I don’t want to spend the whole night here.”
But he would. Daniel knew that, or he would if he were awake. Jack wasn’t even sure why he was carrying on with the sarcasm and jibes. There was no need to keep himself in check when he was the only one here to hear anything. Maybe he didn’t particularly want to hear himself saying what he really felt. It wouldn’t do any more good to acknowledge that fear had a hold on his insides, and had for hours, than it was to bitch and moan.
“Even so,” he said, “I gotta tell you I’m concerned.”
Yeah, he was really letting loose now. Jack looked down at the top of Daniel’s head. The water lapped around them softly. If not for the circumstances, this would actually be a decent place to be. He started to shiver, though, as the chill increased.
“Hey, that’s actually kind of a good thing, right? For you, being cold is the optimum result here.”
Jack sat up again, hoping he was right. A fumbling hand to Daniel’s forehead revealed the fever still raged. Not truly a surprise, since they’d only been soaking for a few minutes, but still a disappointment. He eased back down and glanced up at the sky. The stars were starting to come out. He wondered if there was going to be a moon or not, and really hoped there was. Moonless planets were unsettling.
He watched the water, pretty sure they didn’t have anything to worry about. They weren’t in deep enough. He figured if they stayed on the shallow side they’d be fine. Sort of. He’d be fine, anyway. Jack jostled around a little bit, groping for his vest. He couldn’t reach it. That was okay, because it wasn’t a great idea to use it as a pillow anyway. Too many lumps and he really didn’t want it to get wet. The water tickled against his numbing skin, and damn he wanted to drink some. He shook his head, closing his eyes. He opened them and saw a sliver of light on the horizon.
“Look, Daniel, we’ve got moonrise.”
The sliver quickly turned into a wedge, then a semicircle. It was stunning to watch the glowing orb rise over near-black, shimmering water. Jack lost himself in it a bit, glad for the distraction. The moon was enormous. It illuminated the night sky so that visibility was actually better than it had been at dusk. Crisper, but washed by the color of the moon.
“Moon river, wider than a mile,” he chanted. Jack might just have developed the delirium Daniel was supposed to have. “La-la-la-lala. I don’t really know the words. Oh, I should stop trying…”
“Ungh.”
“When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore,” Jack sang, switching tunes.
Mmmm, pizza. Jack was much more confident about the lyrics of this one, but why were songs relating to the moon always about love? He stared at the near full moon and figured it was actually kind of appropriate. If he were still with Sara, a place like this would be right up her alley. It would hit every romantic note. He thought Daniel would probably like to bring Sha’re here when they found her. Too bad they didn’t really know the address of this place. Oh, yeah, and too bad that it was a one-way trip.
“Ungh.”
The guttural sound finally registered in his ears. He sat up so abruptly he got lightheaded. Daniel slumped down, and Jack barely caught him before he went head first into the water. Daniel didn’t feel awake, still heavy and limp.
“Daniel?” He shook … no, Daniel had started to shake. “Hey.”
“Jack,” Daniel said, almost as quiet as the lapping waves. “Wuh, why am I so cold?”
“Cold?” Jack said. “You’re cold? That’s great.”
“What?”
“What?” Daniel was cold. God, Jack hoped that meant the fever had broken at last. “I mean…”
“Jack, what are we doing in the water?” Daniel coughed, dry and raspy. “Actually, I could use some.”
Elation to crap in half a second flat. That had to be some kind of record.
“Sorry, Danny, can’t drink this stuff.”
“Ungh,” Daniel said.
Jack agreed, but couldn’t dwell. He’d done too much dwelling already. He also didn’t want to tell Daniel that there wasn’t any other water to drink.
“Let’s get out of here. Think you can stand?”
“Uhm.”
Apparently Daniel had to think about it, which screamed bad sign to him. Jack rubbed Daniel’s shoulder, encouragement or to help with the chill.
“No. Jack, I can’t, uh, I can’t feel my legs.”
“The water’s pretty cold, I can’t really feel mine, either.” Jack gave Daniel’s shoulder one more pat and then started fishing his legs around, prepping to stand up. He set the gun down in the sand, wincing on the inside at the thought of cleaning all the crud out of it later. “C’mon, I’ll help.”
“No, Jack, you don’t understand,” Daniel said, sounding panicked. “I really can’t feel my legs at all.”
Ah, shit.
to chapter four
Title: For Every Action
Category: H/C with a Daniel slant, Team
Season/Spoiler: Very early S2
Rating: R
Word Count: 5,858 this chapter, 44,850 total
Summary: Sam and Teal'c trek through the rainforest, while Jack and Daniel take a bath.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
There was nothing more he could do, so Teal’c dug. The small hand trowel Daniel Jackson carried in his daypack did not lend for expeditiousness in the task. It had taken him nearly three quarters of an hour to clear half of the dial. O’Neill had provided some assistance, though it had been impeded by inadequate equipment. The large shells they had found on the beach were not effective tools.
“Teal’c, tell me you’ve got that thing uncovered.”
“I have not,” Teal’c said. He found himself annoyed at O’Neill’s demand. “The layers of earth under the sand are quite compact.”
He suspected his ill temper was due to lack of water. He did not want to consider how dehydration was affecting his teammates, especially Daniel Jackson. Teal’c glanced toward the trio and was glad he had not given his canteen to the Wiutehian slum residents. What little fluid his ill friend had received had come from it, but it was not a permanent source. The scant remains of that canteen spurred him to dig harder.
“Yeah, I know.” O’Neill joined him once again. “I’m sorry. It’s just…”
“Daniel Jackson is ill and it is imperative we make the DHD functional.”
“Teal’c, I’m getting dehydrated and my body’s not overheating from the inside out.”
They ceased speaking and resumed digging. Teal’c maintained a careful eye on O’Neill. Overexertion would only cause another one of them to become ill. That issue should not be much of a concern, considering top of the DHD was nearly exposed. He had an unexpected feeling of apprehension and doubt. He broke the earth up with determination. O’Neill cursed as another shell shattered.
“I’ll be right back,” O’Neill told him.
Teal’c wiped his forehead clear of sweat and nodded. He glanced toward Captain Carter and Daniel Jackson. Their positions remained the same, though it looked as though Daniel was moving fitfully. He returned his attention to his task, surprised to see there was very little left to do. He shoveled and scraped until there were no obstructions remaining.
“Hey, you’re done.”
“Indeed,” Teal’c said. His mouth felt as though it were full of sand.
“Nice work. Dial it.” O’Neill punched him lightly on the arm before padding away. “Carter, let’s get him ready to go.”
Leaning down into the shallow hole, Teal’c looked for the point of origin symbol. When he had determined it, he began pushing glyphs. The DHD did not activate, nor did the Stargate. It was illogical, but he attempted to dial again. He was disappointed, if not surprised, when the action yielded no results.
“Teal’c, I said to dial home,” O’Neill shouted. “What’s the holdup?”
“There is a malfunction.” He knew it would be a waste of energy to attempt to dial again. Instead, Teal’c moved to join his other three teammates. “The Stargate will not dial.”
Captain Carter ceased putting items into her daypack, and her posture reflected what he himself felt inside - trepidation. Though she had remained in the shade, the captain had also not partaken of water. The task of determining the cause and repairing the malfunction would very likely fall to her. Teal’c did not know if she was going to be capable of it. With sufficient hydration and food, she might still have had difficulty. But without? The task would be nearly insurmountable to accomplish.
“It won’t dial?”
“I am afraid it will not. Pressing the glyphs elicits no response.”
“Wait,” Captain Carter said. She frowned at him. Her hand still rested on Daniel’s forehead. “Does the DHD have no power or is there a disconnect between it and the ‘gate?”
“I am uncertain where the problem lies.”
Teal’c gave his attention to O’Neill, expecting immediate direction. O’Neill was not looking at or paying attention to him, but to Daniel. Vocalization was not required to know where O’Neill’s mind was traveling as he divided his attention between Daniel and the canteen.
“Nothing surprises me anymore,” O’Neill said, clenching his jaw for one second as he assessed the situation. “Okay, new priority. We need to dig out the whole DHD to get to the base so Carter can work on it, but before we do that we need to find a fresh water source.”
“I will go,” Teal’c said.
“I appreciate the volunteer, but not alone, you won’t.” O’Neill walked toward their packs, leaning to pick one up. “We don’t know what’s out there.”
Teal’c had not had the opportunity to be at Daniel’s side since he had fallen ill. While he waited for O’Neill to ready himself, he stared down at his friend. O’Neill had once told him humans were unique beings. Behavior patterns were not always good indicators of motive or character. Friends sometimes acted like enemies, and enemies as friend. This was something he understood, as it was often this way with Jaffa as well. He found behavior patterns were difficult to assess with Daniel, who was at his best when in motion and stillness boded ill. In this case, the ill was quite literal and it was worrisome.
“Sir,” Captain Carter said.
Teal’c looked away from Daniel, watching her scramble to her feet.
“I think I should go with Teal’c.”
“Carter, you’re the closest thing we have to a medic.”
“I don’t know what’s wrong with Daniel, sir, and you expended more energy digging than I did just sitting here. One sick person is enough to worry about, don’t you think? If you go out there and get heat exhaustion - ”
“Anh, Carter!” O’Neill said. “You’ve made your case.”
O’Neill breathed deeply and glanced down at the canteen again, then at Daniel Jackson. He smacked his lips together, as if testing the dryness in his mouth … or unconsciously wishing to take up the canteen.
Teal’c could not blame him. His own tongue yearned to be quenched. He pushed the thought away and retrieved his staff weapon. What Captain Carter said was logical. It did not matter who accompanied him, so long as they found water.
“Okay,” O’Neill said at last. He handed his pack to Captain Carter, then reached for his sunglasses. His attention remained on Daniel as he put them on, covering his eyes. “Be careful.”
The animal life they had seen was scant and had not been a danger thus far. Teal’c did not believe there was a significant physical threat, though exploring deeper into the jungle might yield just such a thing. That would be a battle for later. The plant life left no question that the planet received ample rainfall, and with rain came natural reservoirs. The existence of both forms of life meant it was only a matter of time and diligence to locate the necessary fresh water. Should they fail, it was also possible they could wait until the next rainfall. He did not think that advisable, for any of them.
“We will, sir. If he wakes up, try to get a little more into him.”
A little was all they had. Teal’c did not wish to delay any longer. He began walking slowly, allowing time for Captain Carter to join him. Under normal circumstances, their surroundings were such that his companions would find great enjoyment in exploration. Now, he thought they held a similar view as his - there was only one purpose. While his purpose on every mission was to find means to free his people, this was not his focus now. It could not be.
“So I guess we get to figure out what’s out there after all, huh,” Captain Carter said as she joined him. She smiled, lopsided and without feeling. “Lucky us.”
“We will find what we seek,” Teal’c told her, with feeling.
His former duties as First Prime prepared him for a task precisely such as this. He was a hunter as much as he was a warrior. He was adept at locating hidden items. Searching his surrounding for clues of a water source was not so different from seeking humans in concealment. He did not believe he it would be wise to mention this comparison to Captain Carter.
“We have to, Teal’c. Where do we start?”
Teal’c had not expected the deferment to his expertise. O’Neill always assumed control, as was his right. He was glad Captain Carter provided him the opportunity to utilize his strengths. This was not arrogance. He could accomplish the task more quickly than any of his companions. He looked to the trees. The birds that had lit upon them had not come back. He pointed with his staff weapon, indicating the direction they had flown.
“We follow the indigenous species on this planet.”
They walked. This time, as he suspected would be the case, Captain Carter did not express enjoyment for the exploration at hand. Teal’c wished their task were not so bleak and necessary, though he knew the yearning was foolish. In his belly, his symbiote warned him he was fast approaching dehydration and that he would need to kel no’reem soon to gain some equilibrium in his body. His own physical needs must wait.
“I’ve been trying to understand what happened to Daniel,” Captain Carter said.
Teal’c kept his attention focused on the flora around them, seeking confirmation this was the route the bird creatures had taken.
“It just doesn’t make sense that he’d be the only one to get sick, unless he was sick before he got here.”
“Daniel Jackson did not appear unwell before we embarked on our mission,” Teal’c said. He located avian fecal matter ahead. They were traveling on the correct course.
“Yeah, he didn’t exhibit any symptoms at the SGC. Whatever it was, it hit fast.”
“Indeed.”
Talking was not a very efficient use of energy, but he knew it was Captain Carter’s manner of exercising her thoughts. As long as there was no danger of alerting hostiles, he did not mind hearing her voice. He did indulge in a wish that they were on a standard mission, one in which he would also hear O’Neill and Daniel join in conversation. He shook his head slightly, frustrated by his continuing, futile wishes.
“I’m a little concerned than any one of us could be affected similarly. Just because it didn’t manifest in Daniel until we got here doesn’t mean there wasn’t a contagion on base. So we might have all been exposed to it. It could simply be taking longer for symptoms to show in us.”
That would be a very unfortunate occurrence. O’Neill had already expended much of his body’s moisture in the effort to unearth the dial home device, and he knew his own body chemistry was being compromised similarly. There was a limit to his infant Goa’uld’s healing abilities. If either of them became ill, it was likely they would suffer greatly.
“As much as I don’t really care about Bajiar and his people, I really hope we didn’t expose the Wiutheians to something dangerous. We can’t just go blundering around causing illness on every planet we visit.”
“Doctor Fraiser would never allow such a thing to happen.”
It remained a valid concern, but one they could not realistically dwell upon. If they did so, the Stargate program would likely cease. It was a moral quandary Teal’c had not witnessed from Apophis, or from nearly all of his Jaffa counterparts. Even if he believed closing down the Stargate for fear of what could happen - a proposal Senator Kinsey had supported intensely - was not the correct course of action, he had to admit it was welcome to see a delineation of morals.
“You’re right. What would be the point of having the Stargate and being too afraid of using it?”
Teal’c smiled to himself. Every day with the Tau’ri proved to him he had made the correct decision in joining them, in small ways and in large. Captain Carter had just made an effective demonstration. The vegetation around them was becoming denser, to the point he had to lever some of it out of the way with his staff weapon. It was an encouraging sign.
“I hope we find something soon,” Captain Carter said. “I have no idea how long the days are here.”
He turned his gaze to the sky and noticed there was now only one sun in it. The end of the daylight hours was very near. He should have realized the natural light had diminished quite some time ago, as the remaining sun kissed the horizon. Teal’c knew he was not infallible. He was, however, embarrassed. He began to hear something which presented him tempered hope.
“I believe we are close, Captain Carter.”
The cries of the bird creatures, accompanied by small splashes of water, filled the air. Teal’c glanced at his companion. She did not give indication she also heard, and he knew his heightened hearing was responsible. Still, it pleased him to know they were within easy walking distance now. He chastised himself again for not anticipating nightfall. He did not believe they could make it to the water and back to the beach before light was lost entirely.
“How close?”
“It is not far,” Teal’c said, “but I fear it is still too great a distance to traverse during daylight.”
“Okay.” Captain Carter tilted her head as if attempting to hear the water for herself. She frowned, thumbing her radio. “Carter to O’Neill.”
“I read you, Captain.”
“Sir, Teal’c says he can hear water but that we won’t get to it and back to your position before the second sun sets.”
“Do it.”
“Sir, we don’t -”
“I said do it, Carter,” O’Neill said stridently. “Teal’c, you guys won’t have a problem finding your way back here in the dark, will you?”
Teal’c frowned down at Captain Carter. She did not disguise her concern well, and this was a blessing to him. O’Neill’s responses were sharper than necessary, given that it was customary for a subordinate to seek approval before embarking on a mission.
“We will not,” he said into his own radio.
“Sir, what’s - ”
“O’Neill out.”
“- going on?” Captain Carter finished, though she had been dismissed.
Ultimately, Teal’c decided, it did not matter if he and Captain Carter knew the detailed reasons for O’Neill’s aggravation. What did matter was obtaining the water and bringing it back to camp in an expeditious manner. He stared at the sun, now half submerged into the horizon.
“Let us make haste, Captain Carter.”
“Right behind you,” she said.
In the blanketing twilight, they carried forward into the dense underbrush. Their task would become more difficult before it would ease. Teal’c swept aside clinging branches and leaves with renewed vigor. He tried and failed not to think about the number of possible reasons for O’Neill’s distraction. None of them were good.
~~*~~
Every time Jack wanted to cave to temptation and take a drink from the canteen, he looked at Daniel. A more effective cure for enticement there could never be. Nearly all the light was gone already, and with it went the warmth. The air was cooling in really short order. He kept one eye on Daniel while he foraged the immediate vicinity for the makings of fire. He felt a fool for handing over virtually every useful item in his pack back on Pwhateveritwas.
“Wasn’t my idea. Remember that, Daniel?” he mumbled. “I didn’t even think we should have brought our packs on that little jaunt. That was your idea, and so was giving away all of our stuff. Now we’re stuck here with no food and no water. You know this is going on your permanent record, right? File under: Stupid Things Daniel’s Done.”
He didn’t know why he bothered talking. Daniel couldn’t hear him and even if he could, it wasn’t Daniel’s job to make final decisions. It was his and his alone. He sighed. Verbally beating either one of them up about errors in judgment was a fruitless use of his energy at this point. What was done was so very much done, and no one could have predicted the result.
He sure as hell had no clue why Bajiar hadn’t simply let them go home. It seemed an extreme measure to ship off anyone who discovered Wiutehian dirty laundry to some far away land in order to prevent word from spreading. At least Jack suspected that was the actual reason, and it galled him. He thought humans on Earth were a bunch of self-absorbed idiots, in each other’s business when there was no reason to be. If Bajiar knew how little he really cared … but it hadn’t really been him. No, showing emotion had fallen on Daniel. Finally, something he could assign blame about.
“You wouldn’t have let it go. I saw the way Bajiar wanted to spit in your face back there. You’ve got quite a sphere of influence, there.”
Jack grunted, tugging at a dead vine. It wouldn’t budge. After a minute, he gave up. His muscles protested lack of hydration, and damn if he just didn’t care about working any harder at the task. He’d make do with what he had, measly pile of sticks that it was. He trudged back over toward Daniel’s prone figure, scowling at the DHD. It was so pissing useless he thought that if he had any urine left in his body, that’s precisely what he would do all over it.
He plopped down next to Daniel, who remained uncannily still. He’d deny it to the grave, but what he really wanted right about now was for Daniel to talk. Didn’t matter what, just so long as he was up and around and active. Jack swallowed, even though there was no saliva in his mouth. He reached for the canteen. Carter was right. It wouldn’t be good for any of the rest of them to get sick, and he needed water.
“Just a little,” he said, and he tipped the canteen to his lips.
There was just a little in there, as it turned out. One swallow, maybe two, and he had consumed the last of their reasonably fresh, uncontaminated water. It was good to feel something other than a thick tongue in his mouth. For a brief moment, that was justification, but then … then came regret. Jack glanced at Daniel, half expecting him to be awake, begging for just a little water without even saying anything at all. A simple glance would do Jack in, but there was continued to be no movement. Funny, he’d even take recrimination right about now.
There was no sense in crying over water already drank. He couldn’t put it back. He couldn’t stop the guilt. He arranged the sparse kindling and took a match to it. He hoped he could keep the fire going until Carter and Teal’c got back with more water, when they could go for more combustible wood without leaving Daniel unattended. He looked at his sleeping companion again, reaching over and taking the damp bandana from his forehead. It actually wasn’t damp anymore, dried from the heat of Daniel’s body. The half shell that had housed seawater was also dry.
“I’ll be right back,” he said, gaining some small comfort in pretending Daniel could hear him.
He grabbed the shell, stood and clicked on his vest flashlight. The beam was a bright ribbon, cutting into the blue of dusk. He could have made it to the edge of the damnably salty water and back without the benefit of artificial light, but he wasn’t willing to take the chance. Here there be monsters or something like that. Jack wasn’t about to fall for pretty façades again, even if they’d been here hours without incident. For all he knew, the big bad monsters didn’t come out until night. It was a thought that only served to worry him about leaving Daniel alone even for a short time, and that Carter and Teal’c were out there in the fast approaching dark.
The water lapped onto sand, no threat imminent. He crouched down and stuck his hands in the water, soaking the bandana and filling the shell. He still felt sticky from the afternoon’s exertions. He put the shell down for a second so he could swipe the bandana over his face, then dunk it into the water again to rinse off his sweat. He slopped it back into the shell and stood. He moved back to the small camp.
He saw it before he had traveled three steps, but dismissed it as an illusion of twilight and heavy foliage. Then movement shadowed in front of the fire, and Jack dropped everything so he could pull his handgun - he’d, damnit, left the MP-5 just sitting there - as he started to trot.
“Hey!” he shouted.
He’d seen the birds before from a distance, but he hadn’t really paid attention to them. Now, up close and personal, he saw they were fierce, nearly featherless things. They didn’t seem fazed by him yelling, but they also didn’t seem to be threatening in any major way. One hopped closer to Daniel. Jack took aim at it, raising his voice in warning again. It turned its strange, bony head toward him, eyes reflecting fluorescent from the flashlight.
Disconcerted, Jack faltered and came to a brief stop. He knew the water’s edge couldn’t be more than twenty paces from the bivouac site, yet it was taking him forever to get back there. The bird thing closest to Daniel screeched once, head tipped back and beak agape. It sent a chill down his spine. He started running again, watching it duck its head toward Daniel. For one horrifying moment, Jack thought the thing was going to clamp its huge jaws on his friend’s still form.
He pressed the trigger lightly, but before he got a shot off, the birds just … flew away. Heart racing, he holstered his gun and dropped down next to Daniel. After conducting a rapid visual scan, he couldn’t see anything wrong - no cuts, no bruises, no thread of cloth disturbed. What the hell? It was only upon his perusal of the campsite did he realize it: while the ringleader had distracted him, his cohorts had snagged Carter and Daniel’s packs. And his weapon.
“Goddamnit,” Jack said. It wasn’t a huge loss, just another ding that happened to leave him and Daniel without any resources. So, yeah, it was a huge loss. “At least they weren’t hostile, huh?”
Might as well have been. There was no telling how long Carter and Teal’c would be on their water-finding mission, and the gravity of their pack-less situation weighed on him. The fire crackled and popped pitifully, fading to embers. He was doing a bang up job here. At least he could still try to keep the fever in check with … the bandana that he’d dropped somewhere along the way.
“Son of a bitch.”
His skin prickled. He squinted up to the tops of the trees, finding them indistinct and shadowy. He couldn’t tell if the birds had flown up there and were waiting for him to stray again. Not that there was anything more for them to take, besides Daniel. Okay, that was a creepy thought. Jack decided the night air would do well enough for keeping Daniel cool, and that the bandana could stay lost until at least one sun rose. And if the fire went out because he’d been too damn foolish to collect enough … actually, they should have been prepped for that before Carter and Teal’c even left.
“I’m oh for what? Four? Rest assured, your permanent record is going to be just fine, Daniel. It’s mine that’ll bear the marks.”
Damnit, Jack didn’t like to admit it, but he hated when he was left alone on a mission quickly going down the spiral. It gave him too much time to contemplate his navel, and his navel was very linty. He didn’t know when he had allowed himself to be the master of doom, because he knew he hadn’t always been such a sniveling sap.
“But I should get over myself, right?” Daniel didn’t answer, just like he hadn’t for hours now. “Right. Let’s see how you’re doing for a happy change of pace.”
The change of pace wasn’t a good one, and that didn’t surprise him either. Damnit, Daniel was cooking from the inside out, on a slow burn. He frowned. He was no medical expert but he thought delirium went hand in hand with fevers as high as he could tell Daniel’s was. It figured; Daniel couldn’t even act normal while sick. Instead of rolling around restlessly, Daniel was too still.
“Shit.”
God help them if there were fish as big and ugly in the water as the birds in the trees were, because into the deep blue sea they were going. No thinking allowed. Thinking bad. Jack had just re-established that. Twenty steps with a dead weight were going to be no picnic, though. It would be easier to drag Daniel than to lift him to the shoulders, so Jack wrestled the limp man into a sagging, seated position and wrapped his arms around Daniel’s chest in a strange embrace.
“Oof,” Jack said as he faltered his way to his feet. “You’re heavier than you look, boy.”
Once standing, he steered toward the water and scuttled backward through the sand. Heat seeped from Daniel into him, chasing away any chill he felt. A burst of static from his radio made him jump. He almost lost his grip on Daniel and was struggling not to do just that when Carter’s tinny voice came through.
“Carter to O’Neill.”
He was so close, so close, but he couldn’t respond and keep shuffling at the same time. He stopped, shifting so most of Daniel’s weight was on his right side. He thumbed the radio’s switch.
“I read you, Captain.”
“Sir, Teal’c says he can hear water but that we won’t get to it and back to your position before the second sun sets.”
It was already pretty much set here, which meant Carter and Teal’c were a fair distance away. He managed a look at his watch, surprised to learn he’d been stewing in his own juices and otherwise making stupid errors for a couple of hours. Jack thought about the dirty trick the birds had pulled on him, but knew he could count on Teal’c to be far more alert.
“Do it.”
“Sir, we don’t -”
Daniel started sliding out of his tentative hold.
“I said do it, Carter,” he snapped, listing right along with Daniel. “Teal’c, you guys won’t have a problem finding your way back here in the dark, will you?”
“We will not,” Teal’c confirmed.
“Sir, what’s - ”
No time for this.
“O’Neill out.”
He devoted both hands to Daniel once more, cursing under his breath. The muscles of his lower back complained. All of his muscles, actually, were taxed from the day’s digging and absence of fluid. Couple that with Mr. Spaghetti and it was calamity in the making. Daniel slid down to the ground, and Jack followed, tripping and landing on top. His face planted directly into the fine sand. Breathing it in through his mouth did little to help the dryness already there. He coughed it out and gingerly disentangled himself from Daniel. He was glad there hadn’t been anyone around to witness that. The birds were indeed still around, and they laughed at him from atop the trees.
“Bite me,” he said.
On the plus side, the flashlight beam landed right on a sodden, sandy clump of cloth. The bandana wouldn’t do much while he and Daniel swam in the shallow shoreline, but it was a victory he wouldn’t scoff at. He shook off the indignity of falling on his face and clambered the rest of the way off Daniel. Despite the excitement of the last few minutes, Daniel still was unresponsive.
“Okay, big guy, let’s get back on track.”
He stared down, considering for seven seconds and deciding it wasn’t necessary to strip off any more of Daniel’s clothes. Jack arranged his friend carefully, and then shucked his own boots. He snatched up the dirty head rag and rinsed it out quickly. He took off his vest and piled it on top of his boots, arranging it so the flashlight aimed on Daniel. With the light on it should be easier to keep an eye on his stuff, keep it from getting filched by scavengers.
The flashlight, though, didn’t give much illumination, and he wished he didn’t have to tread unknown waters in the dark. It unnerved him that night had set in very quickly, and he hoped it wasn’t a long one. His stomach rumbled. The scant bit of water he’d drunk had done little to ease his growing hunger. If only they had known digging for the DHD was a monumental waste of time. If only they’d checked out their locale. If only … whatever. Jack unholstered his gun and maneuvered Daniel into the water, pushing him with his feet.
“Damn, that’s cold.”
The water licked at this toes. He should have taken his socks off. Oh, well, too late now. The whole nudging Daniel with his feet thing wasn’t really working, so Jack crouched down. He wrestled Daniel into a limp seated position and insinuated his arms underneath Daniel’s again. Plopping down on his ass, he snaked his arms around Daniel’s chest and his legs around Daniel’s lower half. He let his friend rest against his chest, trying to get comfortable with a 180-pound dead weight between his legs.
It didn’t really work too well. His lower back twinged. He switched to a one armed hold on Daniel, keeping his gun at the ready as he leaned back and rested on his other elbow. Not a permanent solution, but actually doable for the time being. Cold water numbed his legs, while Daniel’s heat radiated into his arms and chest. Jack sighed and scooted deeper into the sea, trying to immerse Daniel as much as he could.
“This had better work. I don’t want to spend the whole night here.”
But he would. Daniel knew that, or he would if he were awake. Jack wasn’t even sure why he was carrying on with the sarcasm and jibes. There was no need to keep himself in check when he was the only one here to hear anything. Maybe he didn’t particularly want to hear himself saying what he really felt. It wouldn’t do any more good to acknowledge that fear had a hold on his insides, and had for hours, than it was to bitch and moan.
“Even so,” he said, “I gotta tell you I’m concerned.”
Yeah, he was really letting loose now. Jack looked down at the top of Daniel’s head. The water lapped around them softly. If not for the circumstances, this would actually be a decent place to be. He started to shiver, though, as the chill increased.
“Hey, that’s actually kind of a good thing, right? For you, being cold is the optimum result here.”
Jack sat up again, hoping he was right. A fumbling hand to Daniel’s forehead revealed the fever still raged. Not truly a surprise, since they’d only been soaking for a few minutes, but still a disappointment. He eased back down and glanced up at the sky. The stars were starting to come out. He wondered if there was going to be a moon or not, and really hoped there was. Moonless planets were unsettling.
He watched the water, pretty sure they didn’t have anything to worry about. They weren’t in deep enough. He figured if they stayed on the shallow side they’d be fine. Sort of. He’d be fine, anyway. Jack jostled around a little bit, groping for his vest. He couldn’t reach it. That was okay, because it wasn’t a great idea to use it as a pillow anyway. Too many lumps and he really didn’t want it to get wet. The water tickled against his numbing skin, and damn he wanted to drink some. He shook his head, closing his eyes. He opened them and saw a sliver of light on the horizon.
“Look, Daniel, we’ve got moonrise.”
The sliver quickly turned into a wedge, then a semicircle. It was stunning to watch the glowing orb rise over near-black, shimmering water. Jack lost himself in it a bit, glad for the distraction. The moon was enormous. It illuminated the night sky so that visibility was actually better than it had been at dusk. Crisper, but washed by the color of the moon.
“Moon river, wider than a mile,” he chanted. Jack might just have developed the delirium Daniel was supposed to have. “La-la-la-lala. I don’t really know the words. Oh, I should stop trying…”
“Ungh.”
“When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore,” Jack sang, switching tunes.
Mmmm, pizza. Jack was much more confident about the lyrics of this one, but why were songs relating to the moon always about love? He stared at the near full moon and figured it was actually kind of appropriate. If he were still with Sara, a place like this would be right up her alley. It would hit every romantic note. He thought Daniel would probably like to bring Sha’re here when they found her. Too bad they didn’t really know the address of this place. Oh, yeah, and too bad that it was a one-way trip.
“Ungh.”
The guttural sound finally registered in his ears. He sat up so abruptly he got lightheaded. Daniel slumped down, and Jack barely caught him before he went head first into the water. Daniel didn’t feel awake, still heavy and limp.
“Daniel?” He shook … no, Daniel had started to shake. “Hey.”
“Jack,” Daniel said, almost as quiet as the lapping waves. “Wuh, why am I so cold?”
“Cold?” Jack said. “You’re cold? That’s great.”
“What?”
“What?” Daniel was cold. God, Jack hoped that meant the fever had broken at last. “I mean…”
“Jack, what are we doing in the water?” Daniel coughed, dry and raspy. “Actually, I could use some.”
Elation to crap in half a second flat. That had to be some kind of record.
“Sorry, Danny, can’t drink this stuff.”
“Ungh,” Daniel said.
Jack agreed, but couldn’t dwell. He’d done too much dwelling already. He also didn’t want to tell Daniel that there wasn’t any other water to drink.
“Let’s get out of here. Think you can stand?”
“Uhm.”
Apparently Daniel had to think about it, which screamed bad sign to him. Jack rubbed Daniel’s shoulder, encouragement or to help with the chill.
“No. Jack, I can’t, uh, I can’t feel my legs.”
“The water’s pretty cold, I can’t really feel mine, either.” Jack gave Daniel’s shoulder one more pat and then started fishing his legs around, prepping to stand up. He set the gun down in the sand, wincing on the inside at the thought of cleaning all the crud out of it later. “C’mon, I’ll help.”
“No, Jack, you don’t understand,” Daniel said, sounding panicked. “I really can’t feel my legs at all.”
Ah, shit.
to chapter four