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).
Jack spent the majority of the next hour wondering what could possibly be going on inside his friend that suddenly his thoughts and emotions were broadcasting all over the place like a bad AM radio station.
'Sure wish I could change the channel for him, " Jack thought to himself, still bothered by the waves of pain and loneliness he'd felt earlier. He had always understood that Daniel missed Sha'uri, but had never fully grasped how deeply the younger man still felt the loss.
Two years or two hundred would be the same to Daniel, Jack realized. The wound of separation was just as raw now as the day it was made. Jack guessed that Daniel had just become more adept at hiding those feelings. Jack envied Daniel, in a way, his ability to give his heart and soul so completely, but also pitied him for the same reason.
Daniel's fever was spiking again, sweat poured off his skin now and he was starting to grow restless...
Pain!...pain like he'd never known...Questions...no answers, got to find the answer....Jack?...I don't know...Sha'uri?...help me, Jack...
Pain!...Shot?...Got to stay awake...They'll hurt Jack...got to stop them here...
Jack felt himself fall too his knees, the impact jarring him out of the haze of Daniel's nightmarish memories.
'God, so much for one kid...man...to...'
And Jack knew that this was only a small portion of what Daniel had been forced to deal with since that long ago day they had first stepped through the Stargate. The suicidal soldier and the allergy-ridden geek. Jack knew that he'd always tended to think of Daniel as a kid, but deep down he knew...had always known...that Daniel was as much, or more, of a man as those swaggering military heroes he'd always admired. It took more than strength of body to be a man; it took strength of character and a strength of spirit that Jack hadn't realized the full measure of...until now.
Jack knew he had to pull Daniel out of these fever-driven memories before they were both caught up and unable to function. Each time Jack felt himself drawn into Daniel's psychic backlash, it seemed harder and harder to separate from it.
"Daniel!" Jack practically shouted it, shaking his friend forcefully. "Daniel, you've got to wake up!"
Jack, Sam...gone...can't be gone...got to find...Jack ...my friend...my fault....
The substance of those thoughts rattled Jack enough to enable him to pull out of Daniel's delirium and in desperation he struck Daniel across his uninjured cheek, apologizing to his friend even as he did so.
"God, Danny, I'm so sorry..."
Jack? Why?
Jack guiltily recognized the source of that question...the last time he had hit Daniel, but he swallowed hard against the bitter memory and slapped Daniel again.
Daniel raised his hand then in a defensive gesture, his fever-bright eyes snapping open in confusion.
"J-jack? What's happening?"
Jack sat back on his heels, shaking his head. "I dunno, Danny. Seems like you're going through every bad thing that's ever happened to you...and sharing."
Daniel looked at Jack so strangely that Jack laughed and ruefully tried to explain what had been happening over the past several hours.
Daniel's brows furrowed in concentration. "The ...bug?"
Jack shrugged helplessly and grinned. "Stranger things have happened...mostly to us."
Daniel smiled weakly and nodded, "Don't know if I like this one, though..."
Jack understood what Daniel meant; Daniel only shared his personal thoughts and feelings with three other people on Earth...Jack, Sam and Teal'c.
"I'm not real happy about it either, but look at it this way, at least I'm the only one around..."
Jack didn't finish, but Daniel nodded as if he had. Jack knew more intimately than anyone all the little hells that had been Daniel's life...before and after the Stargate, but he had always respected the barriers that the younger man had placed around cer tain areas of his life, just as Daniel had always respected Jack's. This seemed too much like an invasion of trust...like reading Daniel's diary without permission, only worse.
Daniel smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry..."
Jack sighed and shook his head in consternation. "Will you stop apologizing! This isn't your fault..."
Daniel shook his head, "No, Jack. Not for that...."
"What, then?"
Daniel looked up at his friend in perfect earnestness. " For what I'm going to put you through if this doesn't stop," he whispered.