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).
Chapter 20: A Break in the Clouds
There was something on his head...icy...and something else on his back. No, not on his back, against it...
Jack.
Daniel had to work to remember anything about the previous night.but the words came back to him, the dreams...the feeling of restoration. He had faced the demon, and if there hadn't been any great epiphany of change...there had at least come a measure of peace...
Peace in letting go.
Peace in accepting his best friend was human...things had happened...would continue to happen...to test and strain their connection. They just had to work a lot harder to keep it from happening again.
Daniel lay there a moment, assessing his condition. He felt pretty well actually...tired and achy. Thirsty, hungry. His back and ankle were stiff; he really wasn't enthusiastic about moving any time soon. All in all though, he felt ...better.
'Probably that last dose of Tylenol...' Daniel smiled at the memory of Jack waking him a couple of hours before, offering more of the pills...both of them at their stubborn best. Not surprisingly, Jack had won. 'That bottle must be getting pretty low by now...'
Daniel shifted carefully, trying not to disturb Jack, and retrieved the water bottle. Lying back on his pillow, Daniel studied what was visible of the debris pile under the tarp...the haphazard patterns somehow deliberately intricate in their juxtaposition. Daniel had likened it earlier to a house of cards, but now he could see it wasn't...it was more like the old kid's game with the colored sticks...the pile seeming so fragile yet strategic pieces could be removed without affecting the overall integrity. Daniel rose up quickly, noting how the large crossbeam held everything pressed firmly down...if it weren't for the weight of the beam...
That was it!
Daniel recalled working on a dig site in South America during his junior year of college. The site crew had elected to erect a tent over the dig due to the early onset of the rainy season. Daniel had watched in utter fascination as the workmen had raised logs with pulleys, bringing the heavy supports upright with surprising speed and very little effort.
'We could do it...just the two of us. I don't suppose Uncle Gil keeps a supply of pulleys on hand but surely we can improvise something...'
Daniel pulled the coverings off himself, tucking them carefully back around Jack. Daniel was fairly sure the older man had spent most of the night tending his semi-delirious bedmate. Daniel couldn't recall a single moment of clarity throughout the long night that did not hold some image or sound of Jack...words of comfort, of shared pain, of promise, of apology...
Daniel sighed and pulled his crutch close to help him stand. It was harder getting up than it had been the day before...the weakness dragged him down. He wanted nothing more than to lie back under the covers and wait for help that might never come...
They had to do it now...Daniel knew he couldn't continue to push himself this way, sooner or later his body would simply call 'time' and refuse to obey. If they were very lucky, the pressure on Jack's legs hadn't caused some sort of permanent damage...who knew how the blood flow was being affected? Jack hadn't complained of any undue pain...which might or might not be a good thing...
It took several long minutes for Daniel's vision to clear once he was on his feet. Placing the crutch careful he hobbled back down the hallway toward his first destination...the bathroom.