Title: Plan B

Author: Glenda

gkbgood@yahoo.ca

Warnings: Language, violence, kissing

Disclaimers: They aren't mine. I'm just playing with them

Rating: R

Summary: Daniel is in the wrong place at the wrong time but it wakes Jack up to his own feelings for his best friend.

Archive: if you want

Website: http://www.shadowandsoul.com


Plan B
by Glenda

Jack reached his hand out, hoping to grab and destroy whatever it was that was making that annoying racket. Finally, his hand came into contact with the culprit, the phone.

Okay, he could remember what to do. He stretched out for the handle and lifted it to his ear.

He hoped he didn't sound to much like Elmer Fudd. "Hello?"

"Is this Colonel Jack O'Neill?"

The man holding the phone looked at the clock. It read 4:13a.m. If it meant going back to bed he was sure he could be Jack O'Neill. He had only managed to get to bed about two hours earlier. Why did he let Teal'c convince him to go to that bar? Oh yeah, Jell-O wrestling. Too bad Daniel had been too busy to join them.

"Ah, yeah this him. I mean, I'm him. What can I do for you?"

"My name is Detective Frank Russell. Do you know a Daniel Jackson? Your name was listed as his next of kin."

Jack sat straight up in bed, he fumbled for the light. Next of kin? What happened that Daniel needed a next of kin? He was at the mountain, nothing bad should have occurred there, at least nothing worse that a paper cut.

"What happened?"

"He was attacked some time yesterday night."

Jack knew there was something the detective wasn't telling him. "Attacked? By whom?"

"Sir, I think you'd had better get down here. I don't want to talk about this over the phone. I'm sure you understand."

Understand? Hardly. All he wanted to do was see Danny. He could feel his heart contracting in fear. "And here would be?"

"Memorial Hospital. Your. . . friend is in rough shape."

Friend? What the hell did he mean by that? Of course Daniel was his friend. His best friend in fact.

"I'll be there in 30 minutes."

"ICU floor three."

Jack shivered as he hung the phone up. ICU? What the hell happened? Russell said Daniel had been attacked. The last time he saw him had been Friday; Daniel was safely ensconced at the mountain working on some big deal translation for SG-9.

When he asked Teal'c to call the doctor to invite him to come with them to see the wrestling, the Jaffa had said that Daniel had said that the two of them should go without him. Daniel insisted the last time they had dragged him out to watch the ladies wrestling had disgusted him. Granted that, was in the middle of Carter's invisible friend's visit. Not that it had stopped Daniel from cheering Big Bertha on as she pummelled Masked Mavis.

"Damn it, I should have gone there, dragged him out by his ears in front of the whole goddamn SGC, if I had to." Jack continued to berate himself as he got dressed. He knew he and Daniel had been having their share of troubles these last few months.

"Okay, okay. So it's been a little more than their share," Jack admitted getting his keys, wallet and cell phone from the table and heading out the garage door.

He knew that he'd been avoiding Daniel, actually, face it, O'Neill, you've been running away from the guy. Ever since that damn mission when Daniel had been kidnapped by an Unas. That was when he gave in and admitted how he really felt about the good doctor. At first, he thought it had been a bad case of being horny. He'd have to be dead not to realize how good looking his social scientist was.

The idea of having sex with a man wasn't a foreign concept; he'd fooled around in the past with men. Some of his mission could get very long and boring especially without any horizontal extracurricular activities. There was never any tenderness behind what they did. They fucked, plain and simple. The idea of having an actual loving and mutually exclusive relationship was what was throwing him.

But with Daniel he wanted more, so much more that he was driving himself crazy. He loved Daniel, the same way he once loved Sara. He wanted nothing more than to hold Daniel in his arms at night and kiss him awake in the morning.

Okay, so there was one problem, Jack knew that Daniel was straight. He'd been married for Christ's sakes. Very happily until Apophis came along and claimed Shau'ri as his bride's host.

Jack started up the truck. He wondered whether he should call Sam and Teal'c, they were as close to Daniel as he was. Maybe even Janet so that they could get a second opinion.

"No, I'll wait," he said to the empty truck. He wanted to see Daniel first. He knew it was being selfish but he was the one listed as Daniel's next of kin. He had to know what had happened before he'd call the rest of the team, Janet and General Hammond.

For all he knew someone had tried to kidnap Daniel, maybe the NID or worse the Russians. That's what had to have happened. It was the only explanation he could come up with. Someone had set out to hurt his Daniel, and once he found that someone they would pay big time.

The hospital was only a few miles away but to Jack it felt like an eternity. "Guess travelling through the Stargate's spoiled me."

In spite of the late hour or maybe because of it, parking spots were few and far between. After the third time around the lot Jack lucked out and managed to pull into a spot just ahead of another car. Normally, he would have felt bad stealing a spot but not when Danny was waiting for him.

Jack walked in through the automatic doors. The large reception area was decorated in greens and dusty rose. He shuddered. Sara had once had the entire bedroom this colour. She told him that's what happens when you aren't home enough, you don't get input into the important decisions like what colour to paint the bedroom.

He looked around for someone to direct him to the elevators but there wasn't anyone on duty at this time of night. After a couple of wrong turns, he managed to find the right hallway.

The detective had said the third floor ICU was where he would find Daniel. With a car all to himself he headed to the third floor. As the elevator went up he could feel his stomach swirling around. Daniel had to be hurt really bad if he was in the ICU. They wouldn't have put him in there without a good reason. You needed more than a headache or a hangnail.

Jack stepped out onto his floor. There was a sitting area decorated all in blue right in front of the elevators and another family room they called it a little farther down the hall. Inside there were a couple holding hands and wiping tears away. The woman was clenching a teddy.

Jack let his sympathy show for the couple as he walked by. He knew exactly what they were feeling he only hoped they would handle it better than he and Sara did. They should have been stronger but instead of coming together they polarized; each going in their own direction.

He almost walked right into the metal doors that separated the ICU from the rest of the floor. There was a note on the door; authorized personnel only, please press red button for admittance.

"If only the mountain has this good of security," he grumbled pressing the button.

"Yes?"

Jack leaned forward to talk into the speaker. "This is Colonel Jack O'Neill of the US Air Force. I was called by a Detective Russell about a friend of mine, Daniel Jackson."

The door swung open.

Jack shrugged and walked through the entrance. He was greeted by a large black man in a dark blue suit and a shiny gold badge.

"Colonel O'Neill?"

"Yes. Detective Russell?"

The other man held out his hand, Jack reached out and shook it.

"I'm sorry to get you out at this time of night. But you were listed as next of kin and we were hoping to keep this quiet for you and you . . . friend."

"Okay, what is it with you and the word friend. That's what Daniel is, he's my friend. My best friend and has been for nearly five year. So I'd really like to know what you are hinting at."

"Mr Jack . . . "

"That's Doctor Jackson. He has three PhDs. The man's a fucking genius."

"Sorry." Russell made a note in his black book. "Doctor Jackson was attacked leaving The
Metropolis."

"Am I supposed to know what a metropolis is?"

Russell looked very uncomfortable. "I'm not sure how to tell you this but The Metropolis is a gay nightclub. Your friend was attacked when he came out of the club."

"Daniel? I think you are mistaken. He was married to a very beautiful woman. He adored her. Believe me, if Daniel were gay I would know about it."

Jack paced back and forth. He would know if Daniel were interested in men, wouldn't he? Get real, Jack. You never told Daniel about you dalliance on the wild side, so why would he tell you a damn thing, especially after the shitty way you've treated him this past year.

"Yes, sir, I'm sure you would. We are trying to keep this quiet. I am familiar with the Air Force and other members of the armed service when it comes to same sex relationships."

"Quiet?"

"When I saw Daniel's next of kin I assumed that you and he were or are ah . . . together. If you know what I mean."

God, if it were only the case. If he and Daniel were lovers there was no way his Spacemonkey would have been out cruising some gay nightspot trying to get lucky.

"No, detective we aren't together." At least not yet. That might change when he get out of here, if Daniel would have him.

"I'm sorry sir. But Jackson does work for the military. I saw an I.D. for Cheyenne Mountain."

"He's a civilian consultant. The rules don't apply to him, at least they aren't supposed to."

But Jack knew that was a crock of shit. He had heard some rumours going around that a few of the Marines were sure Daniel was gay. They had every intention of settling it with the doctor until Teal'c had moved in and shut them up with a few words and scary look that only the former first Prime of Apophis could show. Teal'c not only stopped any attack on Danny but on any other gay member; real or suspected, of the SCG.

"We found a stamp on his and his companions hand from the bar."

"Whoa! Companion? He wasn't alone."

"No. sir." Russell consulted his book again. "He was accompanied by a Captain Richard Maury."

Jack nodded. Maury was a recent addition to SG-14. He was a military historian. He was brought onboard to see if he could add some strategy to their dealings with the Gou'ald

"Where is he? I'd like to talk to him."

"Ah, I'm sorry, sir. Captain Maury died at the scene."

Jack grabbed onto the rail that was attached to the wall. "Dead."

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry. There was nothing that could be done."

"What happened, exactly?"

"We aren't really sure. We are still investigating, talking to the patrons. But this isn't an isolated case. We've had a couple of reports and more rumours about other attacks."

"Rumours?"

"Colorado Springs isn't exactly the most liberal of towns, Colonel O'Neill. There is a lot of homophobia out there, and most people are in the closet not because they want to be but because they are too scared to come out."

O'Neill nodded. "Sounds like something you know about?"

"Don't ask, don't tell? Yes, sir. Four years in the Navy before I had enough."

"I really need to see Danny." Jack felt ready to explode with anger, fear and love. He had to know that Daniel was all right. Then he could try and deal with someone trying to kill his friend for nothing more than for being on a date with Captain Maury.

"Of course. It's room 303." Russell pointed around the corner. "I'll go see if I can find Doctor Dredger. I'm sure you'll have questions for her."

Jack was on his way the minute he heard the number. He waved at the rest of the words Russell said. "Yeah, you do that."

Slowly Jack pushed the curtain back. He had to fight to keep the tears back. The man before him looked nothing like the man that he loved.

Daniel had to room to himself, something Jack was grateful for. Strangers didn't need to see him crying.

Jack was very careful as he reached over to take Daniel's hand into his. He had to work his fingers in past the wires and the IVs that were running along his arm

Daniel's pale body blended into the sheets. There was the sounds of the infirmary that after all the years at the SGC, Jack had earned to hate. The heart monitor continuos beeping. The respirator seemed to be on the downbeat to the sound of the monitor. The air rushed in and out. It was almost hypnotizing.

He saw that there was a unit of blood running into Daniel's other arm. It was almost empty.

Jack sat down in the plastic chair. It was as uncomfortable as the ones his ass knew so well in the SGC's infirmary.

Jack ran his fingers gently over the bandages that covered Daniel's head. He wished there was a single lock of hair that he could play with. He loved Daniel's hair. When Hathor the queen bitch had cut it off he had wanted to weep. It had been one of his deepest fantasies to run his fingers through it. But even a small wisp would have been enough.

"Oh Danny, what the hell happened to you? How do you manage to get yourself into this kind of trouble? I know you don't expect things like this to happen here but you of all people know how dangerous people can be on this planet."

Jack jumped when he heard the curtain being drawn back. In walked an older but striking woman with dark hair, with a few touches of silver. She was probably around his age, Jack
figured. He was never very good at judging age. He always thought Daniel was about twenty-five not thirty-five as his birth certificate kept insisting.

"Colonel O'Neill?"

Jack stood up to greet the woman. There was a slight German accent. He was sure if Daniel were awake he would be able to tell him exactly where in Germany she came from.

"Yes. You must be Doctor Dredger."

"I am. I'm sure you have a hundred questions about young Daniel."

"Don't let him hear you call him young. He gets a little testy about his age."

She smiled. "Well, at my age everyone is young."

Jack shared a small laugh with her. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I'm sure the kids around me should still be in kindergarten not out flying millions of dollars worth of equipment."

"Would you be more comfortable in my office? We can talk privately there."

Jack looked down at Daniel and caressed the inside of his friend's wrist. "No, I think I had better stay."

"Of course." The doctor grabbed another chair from outside the room and sat down across from Jack on the other side of Daniel.

"I'll tell you all that I can. Approximately around 21:30 last night I operated on your friend here. He had internal bleeding and three cracked and one displaced ribs; which punctured his lungs. As you can see we've had to replace his blood. Tomorrow we'll check his haemoglobin levels and if they are high enough then he won't need another transfusion. We have him sedated. That's partly for the pain and to also reduce any chan..."

"Doc, that's enough. I don't care why you're doing it, I only want to know if it's going to work and that I'll have my friend back."

"I can't make promises but I think his chances are good. We were able to operate quickly. I couldn't help but notice that he has a few scars besides an appendix one."

Jack hung his head. "We work for the military. Sometimes people get hurt. It's part of the job. But I can get our CMO at the base to call you if you have any big questions. Not that she'll be able to tell you much. Security and all that crap."

"That would be nice."

Jack watched as the doctor gathered her papers. "How long do you think he'll be unconscious?"

"We're going to keep him under for a couple of day just to make sure his lungs are healing all right. We also have to be careful that there is no brain swelling. It could cause a seizure."

Jack turned back to his friend. Daniel had to be okay. Without this gentle man in his life he wasn't sure how he would be able to go on. It was only Daniel's sheer force of will that got him off Abydos in one piece. He was all set to die there and take anyone that got in his way with him.

"I need to call the rest of the team. We're the closest thing he has to family. His parents were killed when he was eight." Jack ran his finger lightly over a dark purple bruise that was starting to appear on Daniel's left cheek.

"Visiting hours start at eight. I think for right now, you're all that Daniel needs."

Jack agreed. He knew he has to call Hammond in the morning and let him know what happened. He wasn't sure what to do about the gay bar details.

"Goodnight, Colonel O'Neill."

"Please call me Jack. I suspect we are going to be seeing a lot of each other over the next few days."

"Nice to meet you Jack. I'm Vivian."

Jack watched the doctor head back out. She pulled the curtain shut and he was left alone with Daniel.

"Just the two of us, eh? I have so much to tell you, Danny. I wish you were awake to hear it but I think it might be easier on both of us if I practice first. I love you, Daniel. I have for a while now but I was a stupid ass and I let those feelings scare me. I'm so sorry. There how did that sound?"

"Not bad. If I wasn't with someone I'd jump at the chance."

Jack spun around. "Christ! What the hell do you think you were doing sneaking up on me like that?"

Russell stepped into the room. "I coughed but you didn't hear me. Besides, I thought you might like to know that we caught the assholes that did this. They were busy bragging all over town. Seems they think it's their sworn duty to clean up the streets. I'm sure we'll have no problem convicting them. They're willing to be martyrs for their righteous cause. Their words not mine. They are eighteen. I think they are in for a surprise when they get to prison and become part of the menu."

Jack couldn't seem to find it in himself to feel sorry that a couple of kids are going away. He normally would try to find some kind of compassion inside himself but all he could feel was anger and a little sorrow that he or Teal'c weren't the ones to have found them first. Three shots with a zat and no one would have been the wiser.

"Yeah, that's great news."

Russell reached over and put his arm on Jack's shoulder. "There's no reason for you to join them in prison, O'Neill. They are going to go for a long time. Not only for what they did to your friend and Maury but for three other men they almost killed. We've got them. Once Daniel wakes up and we get his statement, even if they plea down they will still be gone for twenty-five years."

"Twenty-five years for someone's life? Hardly seems fair. And what about Danny? What if he's got brain damage and can't do his job or be who he was? Then he's as dead as Maury."

"I wish I could say something to make you feel better. I know it's an old cliche but it's true just the same, it's going to take time."

"I hate cliches."

Russell smiled. "Me too."

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

Frank turned and headed back into the room. "What?"

"If it were your partner. . . " Jack stopped he hadn't even told Daniel how he felt about him and suddenly he was picking out china patterns.

"If it was Joel lying there, no force in this world that would have stopped me from finding them. I can only hope my common sense would have stopped me from doing anything stupid. But if Joel had died I would have killed the fuckers, then myself. Jack, you don't get many chances at love, grab them when they come by, or you are going to wake up one day an old man, who's very alone."

"Thanks."

"You're welcomed. See, I knew there was something going on with you two."

"Don't ask, don't tell."

"Good luck." Russell waved and left the room.

Jack took Daniel's hand in his and gave each finger a kiss. He couldn't wait to feel those fingers caressing his skin. Taking his . . .

"Whoa, Jack, slow down. You haven't even talked to Daniel."

What if Daniel didn't feel anything close to what he felt for the doctor. What if Maury had been the big love of his life next to Shau'ri? What if Daniel decided men weren't worth the trouble if this was what was going to happen?

Jack knew that if Daniel gave him the word he would drop everything; the SGC, his house, his cabin. Whatever and move to San Francisco, or maybe he'd like to go back to Egypt and dig in the dirt.

He could handle that. Watching Daniel do his thing; playing with his rocks. He could hold Daniel's tools or umbrella to keep him from getting sunstroke.

"Jack O'Neill, you are the biggest sap." The fact of the matter is no matter where Daniel went he wanted to go. To Egypt, California or PT5 642, he didn't give a damn. And when Daniel woke up that was exactly what he was going to tell him.

Even if Daniel didn't feel that way about him, he knew that Daniel would forgive him and they could still go on being friends. As much as not being lovers hurt, worse was not having any Daniel in his life at all.

Jack pulled his chair as close as he could get and laid his head next to his sleeping beauty. He was going to have a busy day tomorrow calling everyone to let them know what happened to Daniel. Shortly after eight a.m. tomorrow this little room would be full of people wishing Daniel a speedy recovery. But for now he wanted to spend time with his best friend and with one ounce of good luck his lover.

Jack closed his eyes lost in the sounds of Daniel being alive, the respirator and the monitor and hopes for the future.



~~\\~~
Part 2

Jack wiped the sleep out of Daniel's eyes with the rough cloth one of the nurses had given him. If this didn't wake up the doctor nothing was going to.

"Come on, Danny. It's time to wake up. Enough of this crap, three days of sleep is plenty, even for you. You've got to get better so that I can tell you I love you and you can tell me to go straight to hell. Even though I have to tell you, I'd rather hear, it's about fucking time and you love me too."

"O'Neill."

Jack turned to see Teal'c enter the small cubicle that over the last couple of days had become the colonel's whole world. He stared for a moment at the Jaffa.

"T, what the hell is that on your head?"

"Do you not like it? Major Carter assured me you would."

"Yeah, I love it. But who got you an Avalanche toque."

"Major Ferretti. He and a few others attended a game last week and purchased it for me. I was waiting for a reason to wear it. I am only sorry that it was to come here and offer you and Daniel Jackson comfort."

"Me too. I'm going to go and take this water out and grab a coffee. Is there any thing I can get you?"

"I am in need of nothing except Daniel Jackson's return to good health."

"Yeah, we could all use that."

Teal'c headed over to stand watch while O'Neill went to get his coffee. "You must fight the blackness that surrounds you. You must return to us Daniel. We are all at a loss without but O'Neill is at a standstill. You must never doubt the depth of his feelings for you."

"You heard what I said to Daniel?"

"What about it?"

"You can't tell that to anyone else."

"Ah yes, don't ask, don't tell."

"Yeah, that." Jack went back to his chair. He was sure that the damn thing was going to give him haemorrhoids.

"I still do not understand what happened to other night. These men beat Daniel Jackson because he was gay. What does being happy have to do with being almost killed?"

He along with Detective Russell had decided that the official story could be that Maury and Daniel were near the bar but not in it. The last thing Daniel needed was to become a target for homophobic bigots at Cheyenne mountain. He told Hammond, Janet, Teal'c and Carter the truth the next morning. They were all incredible angry. It was a good thing the perps had been locked up already.

"Gay doesn't mean happy. Well, yes, it does mean that but not in this case. They tried to bash Daniel's skull in because he was with another man." Jack almost choked when he said another man. He wanted to be angry at Daniel for being with Maury. How could he have been with the a lowly captain when there was a slightly used colonel right in front of him? You know exactly why Jack, you treated Daniel like shit and he went looking somewhere else.

Jack turned away from the black cloud he could feel threatening to overwhelm him. He needed to be here for Danny, not lost in his own remorse and pity. He took the younger man's hand into his and sat back down in his chair.

"Explain why Daniel Jackson's being with another man was a problem."

Christ, he hated having to explain this kind of crap to Teal'c.

"Yeah, well, some people think that men should only date women and that women should only be with a man. The problem is these people can get a little violent when they don't get their way."

He was sure that as a species humans weren't that far above the Goa'uld in the Jaffa's mind when he told him about how cruel a race the Tau'ri could be.

"There is too much hatred on this planet. I have to tell you, O'Neill, that such a thing is barbarous. On Chulak, a relationship between two people who truly love each other is revered. Love is too a rare thing to find to let something as insignificant as gender destroy it. I hope that you are able to tell Daniel Jackson the truth about how you feel."

Jack smiled sadly at his old friend. "I hope so to. I was so damn busy trying to run away from what I felt that I chased Daniel into Captain Maury's arms. If I'd had the balls to tell Daniel how I felt then he wouldn't have even been there in the first place."

"There is no room for guilt, O'Neill. It will not bring back Captain Maury, nor will it get Daniel Jackson out of this bed any faster. You and I both know that Daniel will have enough trouble dealing with all that happened. He will not need your guilt or anger. It will impede his recovery."

"Angry? I'm not angry."

Teal'c raised his eyebrow.

"Okay, so I'm a little angry. I'm angry at the creeps that did this to Daniel. I'm angry that Daniel was with Maury instead of with me. There used to be a time when Danny would always spend Friday nights with me. But I messed that up, big time. So yeah, I'm angry at a lot of things and people but I'm the angriest with myself."

Jack turned his attention away from the Jaffa and back to Daniel.

The doctor's colour had finally started to return. There hadn't been a need for anymore transfusion and Daniel had been off the respirator for twenty-four hours. He still had the nasal cannula to help him breath.

Doctor Dredger had said that everything looked good and was healing nicely. But they wouldn't know about any brain damage until he woke up. Janet had stopped by earlier and confirmed what Vivian had said.

"I will wait outside, O'Neill to give you some time alone with Daniel Jackson. Call me if you need anything."

"I just want him to wake up."

"Then give him something to come back to."

He heard Teal'c leave but his mind was on something else. Jack ran his finger lightly against the dark purple bruise on his love's cheek. There were a few spots of putrid green and yellow starting to show through.

"Give you something to come back to? After what you went through at the hands of those assholes how could anyone expect you to want to come back. This world hasn't been very easy for you, has it, Danny?"

Jack sighed loudly. He hated talking to himself. But everyone said that it was good to talk to coma patients.

"I don't know what I can say that will make you want to come back except . . . I need you Danny and I love you. I know it's lousy timing to finally decide to tell you this but you know the old cliche about not knowing what you've got until you almost lose it. Or something like that."

Jack took a swig of his lukewarm coffee. "Yeck. I can definitely tell you that it wouldn't be the coffee here that will bring you back. Even Carter's campfire, burned brew is better than this. I should take a sample back to the mountain and see if we could turn it into a weapon to use against you know who."

Now that the bandages on Daniel's head had been reduced to a couple of smaller patches, Jack could indulge in a long held fantasy. He ran his fingers through the short brown hair. It was just as soft as he imagined. He wondered what Daniel was going to say when he found out there were a couple of bald spots where the doctors had to stitch up a hole left by the baseball bat that according to witnesses the bashers had hit Daniel with before anyone could stop them.

Daniel's saviours had shown up in time to save his life but not soon enough to save Richard Maury's. The police had said that Maury had taken most of the blows protecting Daniel. Jack was sorry to see the life of a good man cut down in his prime but he was grateful that Daniel was still here.

It had been a long three days; full of worry and fear. The first day Jack had been afraid to sleep in case something happened to Daniel but now that it looked like the doctor had turned to corner he was afraid to leave in case Daniel woke up. The last thing he wanted the younger man to be when he came to, was alone. The nurses were very understanding about his need to stay. He only wished Fraser and her group of bloodsuckers would learn from them.

Jack jerked awake when he chin hit his chest. The adrenalin that had been coursing through his veins over the last few days had begun to dissipate and his body was beginning to feel every one of his fifty-odd years.

"I'll just take a few minutes to sleep. Then I'll be good to go for another twelve hours."

~~\\~~

Jack felt a light caress over his head. He opened his eyes and came eye to eye with a blue blanket. Right. Daniel's bed in the ICU.

He tried to stretch out the kinks in his back. When Daniel was out of this place he was going to need a massage.

"Daniel?" Jack looked down and saw two very tired blue eyes looking back at him.

"Jack," croaked Daniel. "Where `m I? What . . . "

"Shush Danny. I'll tell you everything I can. But first we need to get the doctor and tell her you're awake."


~~\\~~
Part 3

"What's taking so long?" Jack turned around and headed back to his starting place. He had a rhythm working for him. With every step his worrying increased.

"I'm sure that they are just being thorough, sir."

Jack has to stop from glaring at his second-in-command. He knew Sam was trying to do her best but he didn't want platitudes, he wanted to be with Daniel. Jack needed to see for himself that he was safe and sound.

He'd called Sam at the Mountain right after he told the doctor that Daniel had awoken. Sam, Janet and Detective Russell all appeared about the same time.

Vivian had been kind enough to let Janet as Daniel's usual doctor be present for the exam and then both of them had insisted on being in the room when Russell questioned the doctor.

That had been an hour ago. Jack was sure that he was going to end up in the second floor if someone didn't come and tell him what was going on.

"O'Neill, pacing will not make them move faster."

"I can't just sit there wondering what's going on. I'm giving them five more minutes then I'm going in."

"That will not be necessary, Colonel O'Neill."

Jack spun around, Detective Russell was putting away his notebook.

"Got everything you wanted?" Jack cringed at the anger in his voice. He knew the cop was only doing his job but he didn't like being shut out. He wanted to be the one Daniel told his story to.

"Doctor Jackson was understandably upset when we told him about Captain Maury's death."

"You told him that? What kind of an idiot are you?"

"Excuse me Colonel, I don't think I understood you."

Jack knew he should stop while he was ahead but he couldn't. He needed someone to attack and the large detective was just the person.

"You heard me. You go in there and tell him that a friend died. You should have let one of us tell him. Daniel is very sensitive, he shouldn't have been alone." Jack had planned to tell Daniel what had happened the night he and Maury were attacked but before he could everyone descended on the young man and he had been kicked out before he had the chance to tell Daniel anything.

"Colonel, we could not let you or anyone else contaminate the info. And that's what would have happened if you had gone in there and told Doctor Jackson everything you knew. We needed his information as accurate as was possible."

"Detective Russell, what was Daniel able to tell you?"

"Unfortunately, not much Major Carter, he could recall walking down the street with Captain Maury and after that the details are fuzzy. Both doctors are hopeful that as time passes he might remember more. If that happens, call me. We won't be able to do much about the Maury case without Jackson being able to identify the perps. We can get them on the other charged though."

Jack was beginning to feel a sense of doom formulating in his stomach."I hope you didn't tell him that."

"Of course I did."

"Are you always so kind to men that have been beaten. Why didn't you just say that he was responsible for the whole thing and that without him Maury's killers won't be punished?"

"Colonel, I think you are being unfair to Detective Russell."

"I don't think so, Carter."

"It's all right. Major. I want these animals behind bars for murder, and for that I will not apologise. If Doctor Jackson remembers anything more, call me."

"Okay. So I over reacted a little but we all know how much trouble Daniel is going to deal with this. Let's not forget about the whole light thing."

Daniel had a lot of trouble dealing with the fact that he'd been the only one of the first contact team that made it back from the Goa'uld pleasure palace. Survivor's guilt Fraser has called it. God knew Daniel had plenty of that. It wasn't a stranger to Jack either. There had been missions for him where only the love he felt for Charlie and Sara got him home.

He knew that this was just another thing to add to the growing list of things he and Daniel were going to talk about.

"Colonel O'Neill, you and the rest of you team can go in and see him now."

Jack dismissed Russell with a wave of his hand when he saw Cheyenne's own Napoleon entering the hallway. He let Carter and Teal'c go first.

"How's he doing, Doc?"

"I think he's in a little bit of shock. I also think he's embarrassed."

"Embarrassed about what?"

"The way you found out about him."

"You mean being interested in guys?"

"Yes, Colonel, that's exactly what I mean. He's well aware of don't ask, don't tell. I think he's afraid you won't want him on the team any more."

"Nothing could be further from the truth."

"I'm not the one that needs to hear that." Fraser opened the curtain for Jack.


~~\\~~
Part 4

"It is good to see you awake Daniel Jackson. We were most worried about you."

Jack stood back and watched as Carter and Teal'c both tried to engage Daniel in small talk to no avail. It was clear to anyone trained in Daniel that the other man wanted to be alone but was too polite to say anything.

"Hey guys, I think Daniel needs his rest. Why don't you head on down to the cafeteria and get some lunch? I have to say a few things to Daniel and then I'll join you."

Jack could feel the fear coming off of the other man as his friends left. That thought hurt Jack; he wanted to be Daniel's friend.

"Russell said you didn't remember what happened to you the other night." That's it, Jack, just jump him.

Daniel shook his head. "I don't."

"What do you remember?"

"Jack, I went over this with the detective. Why do you want to know?"

"Because I want to help. I want to see those assholes in jail for what they did."

"You do? I thought maybe when you found out about Rick and I, you wouldn't want me around anymore. If you want me off the team . . . "

"Don't be stupid of course I want you on SG-1."

The look of surprise was enough to break though any reservations Jack had about telling Daniel how he felt about him.

"Daniel, I know it hasn't felt like it in a long time but you are my best friend. I'm sorry you felt you couldn't tell me about you being gay."

He watched Daniel cringe when he said gay.

"What is it, Danny?"

"I wanted to tell you but I just didn't know how to tell you. I've made the mistake of telling other straight friends that I liked both women and men. They always seem to think I'm checking them out or trying to hit on them."

"I wouldn't have minded if you want to."

"What?"

"You heard me." Jack reached out and took Daniel's hands in his. "Feel free to check me out any time you want to. You aren't the only one that hasn't been completely honest. I've done some fooling around before with guys."

"You have?"

"Before I got married. So you aren't the only one that likes to play both sides."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"The same reason you didn't. I could loose my job and my pension. I really hadn't thought about it much. When I was away on missions for a long time it was just a stress reliever but then something changed."

"What?"

Jack leaned over letting his lips caress Daniel's. "I fell in love with you. I'm so sorry I pushed you away." He leaned forward to give Daniel another kiss but the doctor held out his hand and hit Jack in the chest.

"And you think that makes everything all right? You know how badly you treated me."

"I know."

"No, I don't think you do."

"Daniel, calm down or the nurses will be in here."

"I don't care. I thought you had found out that I was in love with you. I thought you wanted me off the team but couldn't think of anyway to tell Hammond, so you were trying to push me away so I'd leave the team. That's why I was taking so many missions with other teams. I was hoping some time away would help."

Once again Jack wanted to slap himself. How could he have been so stupid to let things get this far out of hand?

"You have no idea how sorry I am."

"Or how sorry you are going to be when I get out of here and can kick your ass properly."

Shit, Daniel really was pissed. Jack knew any hopes he had for he and Daniel to become lovers went out the window. But now all he could do was grovel if he hoped to ever be friends with Daniel again.

"I don't really expect you to forgive me or even return my feelings but I hope we can go back to being friends."

"Friends? I don't think so."

"Daniel . . . "

"Jack, didn't you hear me when I said I was in love with you?"

"Yeah, but I thought that must have changed since you were with Maury."

"Rick and I were nothing more than friends. Yes, we were coming out of the bar together but we both showed up there looking for a little companionship. You couldn't have believe my shock when I saw him there. We talked for a bit. We were both got tired of avoiding the jerks so we left. That was all that happened. The next thing I know there are these stupid neanderthals surrounding us. Rick managed to get a baseball bat away from one of them but he didn't see the pipe that one of his friends was carrying. Oh God, Jack it was horrible. There was blood everywhere. I've never seen anything like it before. Not even with the Goa'uld. He didn't deserve that."

Jack slid next to Daniel and pulled him close. "Oh Danny, no one deserves that, no one. I'm so sorry you had to see that." He could feel Daniel clutching at his shirt. The shirt he hadn't changed in a couple of days.

"Sorry about the smell. I've been stuck in the hospital worrying about a friend."

"Good thing my nose get stuffy when I cry like a baby. I can't smell a thing."

"Eww, gross." Jack grabbed a handful of tissues when Daniel wiped his nose on his white t-shirt.

"Sorry." Daniel started to giggle but the laughing soon turned to sobs. "Jack, I don't understand what happened. Why is Rick dead?"

"I don't know, Daniel. I don't know." Jack continued to hold Daniel, whispering nonsense in his ear. He hoped that the younger man would calm down and sleep. He needed to talk to Sam and Teal'c, tell them what happened. They were all going to have to be around to give Daniel the support he needed to get better.

"Jack?"

"Yeah, Spacemoneky?"

"Did you mean it when you said you loved me?"

"Yeah, I still do. I love you very much and as sorry as I am about Captain Maury but I'm happy that you are still among the living."

"I love you too. But it's going to take me a while before I'm up to doing anything."

"That's understandable. After all you've just had major surgery."

Daniel yawned. "No, Jack, what I mean is that I've never done anything with another man."

"What?"

"I said . . . "

"No, I heard that but what were you doing in a gay bar."

"What do you think I was doing?"

"That's what I like to know. You almost got yourself killed coming out of that bar."

"I was tired of dreaming of you; hoping you'd finally get a clue and ask me out. I've liked guys and girls equally but when you are always the youngest in the class you never got much attention paid to you unless they were looking for a target. It didn't change much after highschool. When I was in college, there were a couple of guys but they wanted to move to fast and didn't want to wait for me to be ready so I dropped them. That did nothing for my reputation. So I stuck with the girls pretty much after that. Then I met Catherine and you pretty much know the rest."

"I'm sorry Danny. I shouldn't have yelled. But you have no idea how much I've worry about you these last few days. Not only have I been dreaming about what I'd do to the creeps that hurt you if I could get them alone; I've been kicking myself for not having told you how much you mean to me. You want slow babe, I can go so slow, Mario Andretti will look like a glacier"

Jack leaned down and licked Daniel's lips before placing his own gently onto his friend's.

"You keep kissing me like that and you won't have long to wait."

Jack leaned in for another kiss, it was soft and gentle but Jack could feel Daniel's strength behind it. His Spacemonkey had been through so much in his short life but somehow he kept coming back stronger than ever. This time it would be different, Daniel wasn't going to have to do it alone. They would be strong together this time.

He could see Daniel fight back a yawn. "I won't take it personally."

"Sorry, I think Fraser stuck something in my IV. The doctor said that they'll move me to a regular room later today."

"Good then we'll have a door. I'll make sure they give you a private room. I think the Air Force can afford it."

"Jack, we can't fool around."

"Who said anything about fooling around? That makes us sound like teenagers. You and I Doctor Jackson have some serious necking to do. You also have to talk to Russell and tell him everything about that night."

"I can't, Jack. Rick's family didn't know about him. He said they would be devastated if they knew their only son was gay."

"Daniel, how much better are they going to feel if their only son's murderers get away with it? I know it's going to be hard for them but they deserve the truth. I'm sure Russell could figure a way to keep Maury's orientation quiet. I'm sure with your testimony it won't even make it to trial."

"I'll think about it, okay?"

"Okay." Jack knew Daniel and the idea of letting any injustice go by wouldn't sit well with the archaeologist. Daniel would be calling Russell tomorrow to tell him everything he knew.

"I'm really tired."

Jack smiled at what he called Danny's little boy lost voice. "Yeah, I know. You need to get your sleep. I'm going to go see if Teal'c left any food in the cafeteria. And once you are better and out of this place we can see about going out. Just you and me."

"A date?"

"Yeah, a date. Don't sound so surprised."

Daniel's smiled turned into another yawn. "All right, but no hockey games."

"Would I do that?"

"Or fishing."

"Okay." Jack ran his fingers through Daniel's hair. "I was thinking about the new exhibit at the LA county museum. They are having a display of ancient Chinese art work. Would you like that? And there's the Getty of course."

"LA?"

"It's going to take you a few weeks to be back on your feet. Now listen."

"Yes, sir." Daniel tried to salute but Jack caught his hand and he began to caress the inside of his wrist.

"I have a friend of mine from my old special ops days that had a small house in Santa Barbara. We could go there for a couple of days. Check out the missions in the area. There's this really cool Danish town I've heard about."

"Solvang. You'd do all this for me? That's a lot of history, Jack."

"Danny, I'd do anything for you."

"Okay."

"Okay, you'll go?"

"Of course I'll go and you can have one hockey game while we are there. Either Ducks or Kings, whoever is playing."

"Duck and Kings? How did you know those are the teams?"

Jack, I love you and you love hockey. I've sat on your couch almost every Friday night watching some sporting event. I know. Cubs, Twins, Blackhawks, Avalanche, Broncos and Bears. Am I forgetting anything?"

"No, you got them all." Daniel had named all of his favourite teams. "I'm impressed."

"You should be. I wouldn't do that for anyone else."

"Go to sleep babe. I'll be back when you get up."

"Hmmm, that sounds like a plan."

Jack watched as Daniel nodded of into a drug induced sleep. He knew that Daniel would be out for a while. Long enough that he could grab some chow with the rest of his team and even run home to shower. He knew that Daniel's nose was very sensitive to smells.

Or he could just sit here and watch his love sleep. Yeah, plan B. always go with plan B.



The end