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 awoke to the sun beating low on his left. 'Setting?' he questioned himself. Daniel was laying across his legs, unconscious and so still for a moment that Jack hesitantly reached for a pulse. Steady, not necessarily strong...
Jack just sat there for a moment absorbing what had happened over the past night and day. Had they really come that far? It seemed like a lifetime ago... A ghost of Daniel's loneliness and grief lingered even now and Jack tightened his grip on his friend for a moment, as if to assure him that he wasn't alone. Nobody should have to suffer so much in one short life, Jack thought. Nobody as intrinsically good as Daniel deserved to. Granny O'Neill used to say that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger...well Daniel must be awfully strong, he'd suffered through all this stuff and it had killed him...twice.
Jack had always felt a deep kinship and respect for Daniel, which was strange considering their diverse backgrounds, but now he realized just how deep those feelings went. Over the past two years, nobody had stood by him like Daniel. Through the good times and the bad....Jack wondered if he'd done enough to return that support.
Jack felt his sleeping friend's forehead. Cooler, definitely cooler. He realized he was thirsty and the canteen was an arm's length beyond his reach. He started to shift Daniel over so he could get up, but Daniel awoke with a jump.
"Jack!" he shouted looking around him, clearly unsure of his surroundings.
"Here, Danny, I'm here..."
Daniel turned to look at Jack for a long moment, bright blue eyes unguarded and full of tears.
"Daniel, what's wrong?" Jack asked in gentle concern, almost sure he already knew.
Daniel dropped his head into his hands, "Hurts so much, Jack..."
"What hurts?"
Jack almost couldn't hear Daniel's muffled voice, "You..."
Jack had guessed that his own feelings had filtered through to Daniel. 'Like the kid needed any more grief...'
"Daniel...I...I'm sorry."
But Daniel was shaking his head, " 'S'okay...I...just..."
Jack nodded in understanding. "Yeah...I feel like a peeping Tom."
Daniel gave a hoarse breath of a laugh, nodding. "Yeah.."
"Head still hurt?" Jack asked as Daniel put his hands to his temples again.
"Like somebody dropped a pyramid on it..."
Jack retrieved the medkit and pulled out a couple of painkillers for both of them. On his way back over to Daniel, he grabbed the canteen. Daniel accepted both with a grateful sound and drank just enough to help the pills down. Jack urged him to take more, but Daniel shook his head. He could read the situation as well as Jack could. Checking his watch and doing the math, Jack realized they'd missed eight radio checks, they'd been out of it for sixteen hours. Carter and Teal'c must be worried sick about them by now. The next check was due in 20 minutes. Even at best speed, with no rest, it would take them until well into the next day to return.
Daniel shifted a little, pulling the light sleeping bag around himself.
"Cold?" Jack asked, a bit concerned. The sun was still quite warm on his back.
Daniel shrugged, trying to make light of it. "Just a little..."
Jack reached out once again to check Daniel's temperature, it was warmer now than before. Evidently the venom was not yet out of Daniel's system. Jack stood up and stretched, with night approaching he needed to get a fire started and food prepared. As he worked, he kept one eye on Daniel. The younger man seemed distracted, as if trying to work something out in his head. It didn't take Jack's new-found insight into his friend for to realize that when Daniel had things figured out he'd talk about it, it was something Jack had come to understand a long time ago.
Right on time Carter answered the radio check. "Sir? Sir? Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, Carter. For now everything's quiet." Jack proceeded to explain what had been happening to them, skipping over the personal details.
"But you're okay for now?" she asked, even over the staticky connection the concern in her voice was evident.
"Yeah, we're fine. How's the water situation?" He didn't have to explain to her that they were fast running out.
"Found it six hours ago, we're on our way back."
Jack sighed in relief and told Carter,"Great job. Are you two okay?"
Carter's laugh was audible. "Yes, Sir. We're tired, but travelling at a good pace. We should be back around noon tomorrow."
"We're aren't going anywhere," Jack responded, making Carter and Daniel laugh.
Jack signed off on that note, reminding them again to be careful.
Jack dished out the food, took the plates over and sat down beside Daniel.
"Not the best job I've ever done, but it'll fill you up." Jack apologized.
Daniel nodded, still distracted, and started to pick at the food
"Daniel? What is it?"
The younger man shook his head. " Jack, what if it happens again? They'll be back tomorrow...We'll all be in a mess...I don't think I...I can go through that with anybody else..."
Daniel ducked his head again, embarrassed at the depth of truth in those simple words.
Jack had to admit that he, too, would have found it difficult too share the intimate and private details of his life with anyone but Daniel. After all, even though they'd known each other only a relatively short time, he'd come to regard Daniel as his clo sest friend. From Daniel's side of things last night, Jack knew that his friend felt the same kinship with him. They were more than friends, more than brothers. It was something Jack didn't possess the words to explain. He'd described it once as 'family,' but even that wasn't enough; Jack felt that way towards all of his team. But with Daniel it was different. It was a closeness born of shared experience and shared pain, of common goals and disparate viewpoints, of deep respect and trust earned through ha rdship, and of mutual support through the worst and best of times.
"What makes you think it'll come back?" Jack asked, knowing even as he did so what the answer would be.
Daniel blushed a little, looking embarrassed again. "I..uh..I've 'heard' every thought you've had since the fever came back."