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 had situated his own sleeping bag next to Daniel's and was dozing with one hand on his assault rifle and the other on Daniel in a sort of resting guard. He was alert enough to react quickly, yet resting his mind and body in preparation for what might come. It was a soldier's reflex, born out of a keen sense of survival and too many nights spent in dangerous territory,
Daniel had barely stirred in the few hours since Carter and Teal'c had left. His breathing was regular and even and Jack had felt it was safe enough to rest awhile. He'd spent enough time waiting for Daniel to pull out of things like this that Jack knew he should conserve his strength while things were calm.
Jack dreamed...
Alone...so alone. A grief that possessed no voice threatened to pull him irretrievably into its depths. There was nothing he could do...no one left to turn to...Like when they had died but somehow worse....at least then there was no hope....Now the hope w as almost as impossible to bear as the loss....
Jack started suddenly and awoke.
"Where in the hell did that come from?" Jack found himself shuddering in the darkness trying to shake that unbearable alone-ness...
Twice now he had felt a party to memories and feelings he knew were not his own...
Daniel stirred next to him and whispered something in his sleep that Jack couldn't quite hear. Reaching out to touch his friend's forehead once again, Jack muttered a soft curse. Daniel's fever was dangerously high. Somehow, Jack knew, he had to find a way to cool Daniel down before they ran the risk of febrile seizure...or worse.
Moving quickly, but as gently as possible, Jack dragged Daniel out of the tent seeping bag and all. Once out under the cooler night sky, Jack unzipped the sleeping bag and removed Daniel's shirt, then his shoes and socks. Daniel shivered a little, but when Jack checked again Daniel seemed much cooler.
Jack retrieved their half-empty canteen and touched Daniel gently on the shoulder.
"Danny..." he had barely whispered it, but Daniel's eyes shot open and once again Jack was caught up in that deep, pervasive loneliness....
Daniel blinked and the moment passed.
"Jack?" Daniel's voice was plaintive and desolate, almost a reflection of that feeling that Jack had just experienced. Jack was beginning to form what even he would have called a hare-brained theory, but just now Daniel needed him.
"You need to drink a little bit, Danny..."
Daniel nodded understanding and raised himself up on his uninjured arm. Taking only a small sip, Daniel fell back...none too gently.
"Christ, Danny, sorry about that. Never claimed to be much of a nurse."
Daniel smiled at the lame joke and seemed only then to notice the fact that he was now outdoors. His eyebrows raised in the question he lacked the strength to ask.
Jack nodded. "Yeah, I...uh...thought it would be cooler out here. Too hot in that tent to sleep."
Again those expressive eyebrows quirked in a way that told Jack that they recognized a lie when they heard one.
Jack grimaced in apology. "Your temperature's been getting pretty high, Danny."
Daniel nodded, forgiving the white lie. He looked around then back at Jack. "Sam? Teal'c?"
"They went for water. If we're lucky some food..."
Daniel tried to raise himself up again in alarm. "No, Jack...Too dangerous...not for me..." The effort of animation was just too much for Daniel and he fell back again, but this time Jack caught him and eased him back down.
" Daniel...damn...Not just for you....We're all gonna need it and soon...."Jack tried to explain, trying to head off the guilt he knew Daniel would try to take on for placing his friends in danger.
Daniel nodded again in acceptance, but his fever bright eyes spoke of friends, family...so many gone due to his actions.
A heavy weight...dragging him down..down...
"Daniel!" Jack spoke more sharply than he'd meant to, but that palpable thought...which Jack now knew was not his own....could not be ignored. "They'll be okay, Daniel. It's not your fault, none of this is..."
Daniel looked into Jack's eyes as if seeking something...and finding it. He arched those expresive eyebrows again and then....
If you say so, Jack.
Jack nearly jumped as he realized he had been looking straight at Daniel...but Daniel had not spoken those words out loud. As he watched Daniel's eyes close again, Jack shuddered.
'This is getting a little too weird.'