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 25: Sunshine
Jack could feel the heat radiating off Daniel, amazed once again at the sheer tenacity of the younger man...the stubborn refusal to give in. They had made it this far. They were alive, reasonably ambulatory, had plenty of food on hand...the only thing they really lacked was a heat source, but Jack had an idea about that.
Stripping off the grimy clothes he'd worn for two days, Jack dressed quickly in another set of the seemingly endless supply of sweats, slipping a flannel work shirt on over it all for good measure. Digging around in the bottom of the closet produced a pair of hiking boots.just one size too large. Jack put them on and stood, feeling closest thing to clean he'd felt in days. A bath would have been the only thing better but with the electricity off, the well pump was essentially useless.
Heading down the hallway on legs a lot less achy than he had a right to expect, Jack retrieved the lantern and medicines next to their former bed and carried them to the bedroom. The next order of business was to cut the hallway off from as much of the weather as possible. Commandeering Daniel's tarp, Jack tacked it onto the walls at the end of the hallway...after he made his final trip out, he'd tack the bottom of the tarp down as well, effectively cutting off most of the drafts.
Jack traveled on toward the kitchen; amazed that Daniel had managed to maneuver the debris with his bad ankle. The missing roof was a renewed shock from his upright angle, seeing the edge of one of the couches...barely visible now, Jack sent up a heartfelt word of thanks to the patron saint of errant colonels and their archaeological sidekicks. The fireplace was intact...hardly covered, everything had fallen away from the stone structure...and Jack had an idea...
A search of the pantry and kitchen cupboards yielded everything he needed...camp supplies, soup, coffee, juice and bread only just starting to freeze. Moving back to the fireplace, Jack piled the grate full of the plentiful supply of kindling formerly known as the roof. The seasoned cedar and pine caught quickly, burning with a delicious heat. Jack filled the old metal coffee pot with grounds and bottled water, setting it close to the flames. A cast iron Dutch oven served as a soup pot, Jack poured three cans in and put it next to the coffee. Heading back to the kitchen, Jack ducked into the pantry again, digging amongst the disorganized mess for something he knew Uncle Gil always kept...
There, half hidden by fishing gear...kerosene lamps...three of them and all full. Jack had every reason to know that it didn't take much of a heat source in a well-insulated room to keep things comfortable. And this cabin...what was left of it...was damn well insulated. Jack transported the lamps to the bedroom then went back for the food, dishes and more water. One last trip to put the fire out and Jack was ready to seal off the hallway.
Moving back to the bedroom, Jack lit one of the lanterns...placing it on the bedside table. Jack poured two mugs of coffee and a dose of the Nyquil. Taking one of the mugs over to the bed Jack waved the mug under Daniel's nose...laughing as Daniel's expression registered the coveted smell. The blue eyes opened fractionally, tracking the mug as it moved.
Daniel reached out a hand only to find it holding the small dosage cup of Nyquil. Jack smiled at the successful maneuver and nodded encouragingly, holding the coffee back as an obvious bribe.
"Funny, Jack..." Daniel swallowed the dose with a grimace, then grabbed the mug as it passed and sat up to sip at it, sighing in utter satisfaction at the taste. His expression grew confused. "How did you...?"
Jack drank deeply from his own cup and smiled. "A little boy scout ingenuity."
Daniel's eyebrows quirked in confusion, but he shrugged it off in favor of more coffee. "Didn't know they had a coffee badge..."
"Yep, right after the '15 ways to cook breakfast on a stick' badge..."
Jack went to dish up the soup, bringing back a bowl for each of them.
"Eat up...it'll be dark soon. We'll get a good night's sleep then figure out where to go next."
Daniel nodded, sighing as the warm soup soothed his throat. They ate in a silence once again comfortable. Jack smiling at the slightly drunk expression on Daniel's face as the Nyquil worked its green magic, Daniel smiling with the dopiness encouraged by it. All too quickly the green magic defeated the lure of food or coffee and Daniel's eyes slid closed. Laughing gently, Jack pulled the covers over Daniel...reflecting once again on Daniel's inability to hold his alcohol...even in medicinal form.
Jack refilled his coffee cup, placing the Tylenol and Nyquil close to hand on the nightstand, and settled back on the bed, drawing the blankets over his legs. Daniel muttered something in his sleep, shifting over a little to draw on Jack's warmth. With a careful hand, Jack gauged Daniel's temperature as moderately high...not nearly as hot as it had been the previous night. One way or another, though, they still needed to get back to civilization.
'I've had enough of this Oh, Pioneers living to last me a lifetime...'