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Chapter Eight: Tell Me Why

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Daniel awoke to find himself wrapped in Adam's arms. He sighed, lazily caressing Adam's chest with his fingers, lost in thought.  Last night had been pure bliss. He felt - sated, the tensions of the last four years finally appeased. 'Damn, but it felt good, only - Geez, he was back to that again. The past is the past; let it lay, Daniel'.

Daniel failed to notice when his bed partner woke under the absent stroking of his hand.   Methos saw *that* look in Daniel's eyes again. The hunger was gone, but the underlying want was still there. He knew that look. Adam had worn it a time or two himself; simply needing to forget, but knowing you can't. Not when you already belonged to someone else.

Methos rolled over onto his side, turning Daniel with him.  Smiling his 'Good Morning', he pressed a light kiss on Daniel's lips.

"So, what was his name?"

"Wha...what?"

"The real reason you are out in the middle of this godforsaken desert digging in the sand. *His* name."

"Oh! Er,...Jack." Daniel looked a bit askance. "You knew?"

"Well I don't suppose you're actually mooning over that piece of rock in the sky every night."

Daniel chuckled. "No, I don't think so."

"So why did you leave? Married?"

"No, worse. Military." He responded with a grimace.

"Ah." Adam toyed with Daniel's hair, sliding the silky blond strands through his fingers.

"Why are you here, Adam?"

"Finishing my Masters. This was an elective. Sounded interesting, a chance to see some of the history I study up front." He shrugged carelessly, as if it wasn't important.

"Oh."

"Will you go back?"

"I don't know." Daniel rolled over on his back to look up at the ceiling. "It depends."

"On what?"

"Look, I don't want to talk about it, Adam. Just drop it, okay?" Daniel rose from the bed, slipping over Adam to get to his feet. He was already off balance. He *really* didn't need to discuss Jack on top of everything else. What the hell was he thinking?

That was the problem, Daniel decided. He hadn't thought at all, just let go and had his way with whatever warm, willing body that had come along. He had used Adam, and Adam hadn't seemed to mind.

That bothered him.

"Okay," Methos held his hands up. "I won't mention Jack's name again."

Daniel cast a murderous glare over his shoulder at him and pulled a clean pair of shorts from the trunk. Methos just rolled over on his side, grinning deviously and watched Daniel thrust first one foot, then the other into his tattered clothing. A gust of wind brushed over Methos' bare skin drawing his attention from Daniel's delicious behind to the tent's entrance. In the doorway stood a man obviously shocked to find a naked man in Daniel's space.

"Oh, Daniel?" Methos questioned innocently, never taking his eyes off of the stranger.

"What?" Daniel, still peeved, was searching through his trunk for some clean socks, and never noticed the visitor.

"*Your* Jack wouldn't happen to be about, oh, six feet, early forties, grey hair, well built....would he?" Methos didn't really expect an answer. The man in the doorway said it all. At the first mention of his name, Jack stiffened ready to tear into this stranger laying so wantonly in Daniel's bed.

"Adam." Daniel growled, forcing his attention back to the sprawling man. "I told you I didn't want to talk..." He trailed off noticing that Adam was intently watching something else. He spun to see what Adam found so interesting, only to find Jack standing in his doorway.

"Jack?!"

"Daniel." Jack nodded his head in Daniel's direction, his tone subdued.

"I believe that's my cue to leave." Scooping up his towel from where it was hastily tossed last night, Methos sauntered over to the front of the tent, and paused just as he reached the other man. The dark brown eyes regarded him shrewdly not trusting 'Adam', for a second. The man reminded Methos of someone from his own past; someone else who used to be able to see right through his schemes.

"Pity."

"Excuse me?" The cultured tones really rubbed Jack the wrong way.

"I said 'pity'."

"I heard you the first time. Care to enlighten me?"

"Pity you're already taken." Laughing at Jack's indignant expression, Methos walked out, wrapping the towel around his waist. "Do have fun, Daniel," he called as he left. The words lay heavily in the still morning air.

Jack keep a sharp eye on the other man as he left, running the brief conversation over again in his mind.

"Wanna tell me what that was all about?"

"No".  Daniel folded his arms over his chest.  "Why are you here, Jack?"