DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognisable characters and property of Stargate SG-1 belong to MGM/UA, World Gekko Corp. and Double Secret Productions. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment purposes and no money was made from it. Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any other characters, the storyline and the actual story are the property of the author. Not to be archived without permission of the author(s).
'This is getting monotonous....'
Jack was seriously becoming annoyed with P3J159, and its unseen inhabitants.
Daniel and Carter were trying to sleep while Jack and Teal'c guarded the entrance to the lean-to. Jack had given Daniel another of the painkillers, hoping it would help the younger man relax enough to sleep. Glancing over his shoulder, Jack could see that Daniel's eyes were closed, but somehow he doubted that it was in sleep.
Jack traded glances with Teal'c before resuming his scan of the darkening forest around them. The vaguely wolf-like howling rose and fell in intensity, but never stopped...like a gathering storm...
Jack shivered a little at the feeling...he didn't like being trapped this way...he didn't like that some 'spirit' had decided that beating up on Daniel was a fun way to spend the night...he didn't like the look he was catching in Daniel's eyes; the uncertainty, the self-doubt, the very real fear that he had to be on guard...even with them...lest his sanity be questioned again...
Long ago in their relationship, Jack had discovered something very essential about Daniel...the key, as it were, to understanding some of the things that drove the young man... against all odds...to go out on the limbs upon which he all too often balanced. Daniel would not, could not bear to encourage a lie. He'd been isolated among the people he been foisted upon after the death of his parents, unable to adjust to the lie his life had become. He'd been exiled from his colleagues for a his rebellious stand, had been isolated at the SGC for his differences, had stood apart for as long as Jack had known him.
The transition to becoming part of SG-1 had been hardest for Daniel in many ways...the young man simply lacked the skills to 'join' in, to smoothly become a part of something. It had been a long road to acceptance for Daniel...but he finally had. Jack, Sam and Teal'c had earned every measure of trust the young man had placed in them...until Machello's little device had set up a chain of events that all of them were still reeling from.
It hadn't been one of Jack's better moments, he simply knew that he'd failed Daniel...and couldn't imagine why his friend continued to trust him...
Jack caught Teal'c looking back over his shoulder and shook his head....this was getting to be a habit...
"Jack?"
Jack turned to look at Daniel, who was sitting up. "Yeah, Daniel?"
"Something's coming...."
Jack looked back toward the forest. There was a deepening of the shadows beyond the trees nearest them, a displacement of darkness with deeper darkness...
Jack felt his muscles tense and saw Teal'c doing the same...and then it was there.
Jack felt a pressure in his head as the darkness overtook them and strained to reach back toward Daniel, hoping against hope that he could somehow protect him.....
He heard Daniel call out something, then the blackness took over...
Jack became aware of gathering mist and voices...or something like voices....chanting in the depths of it. He stood up and turned in a slow circle.
Something was coming through the fog...
Daniel.
But not Daniel.
It was as if everything about his friend had been stripped to its purest essence. The light of intelligence shone out of his eyes with a brilliance that hurt Jack to observe. The great caring heart, the compassion, the intensity...all were there radiating out from Daniel like sunlight breaking through clouds
Daniel smiled and the simple clarity and honesty of the expression merely served to confirm for Jack the things his gut already knew about his friend.
"Where are we, Daniel?"
Daniel smiled again and nodded. "Yeah, Jack...it's me. You look a little 'different' here, too."
Jack was confused. "Here?"
Daniel nodded, making an educated guess. "In the Spirit Dance...?"
"Okay..." Jack had a feeling he wasn't going to like the answer, but he asked the question anyway. "Where're Teal'c and Carter?"
Daniel shook his head. "I don't know...I don't think 'they' needed them here."
"They?"
Daniel nodded and Jack realized he already knew the answer.
"The spirits...?"
Daniel smiled again. "Or some reasonable facsimile."