Bowing to the inevitable
Mar. 9th, 2009 05:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dani_the_girlTitle: Bowing to the inevitable
Fandom: SG1, set early season 3, I suppose.
Summary: Daniel is injured in custody and Jack won't leave him behind. Afterwards, neither of them can leave it alone.
Notes: I have no idea where this came from. I also don't really know what to make of it. I veer between re-reading it and really liking it and re-reading it and thinking nooo, it's all wrong!. As such, I would really value any crit. anyone feels inclined to offer.
Daniel shifts his weight when he sees him coming into the room, Jack notices. He's no longer just standing quietly between the guards, now he's balanced, ready for fight or flight, if Jack has either up his sleeve. He's not bound but the two guy are holding on tight to one arm each, controlling his movements. Jack feels a stab of guilt. Not yet, he tries to telegraph with his eyes.
"So, how've you been? Treating you well, are they?" he asks, making sure to keep the tone light, folksy.
Daniel grimaces. "Not so much, no." One of the guys holding his arms says something and yanks his wrist, twisting it behind him. Daniel goes white and shuts up. Broken arm, Jack thinks. Shit. He suddenly realises that Daniel is balanced the opposite way from how he would naturally, ready to lead with his left shoulder, trying to minimize the pressure on the right.
"Hey!" Jack snaps. "I was told I could talk to him. That means him talking back. And hostage! The hell happened to 'just to ensure good faith'?"
This leads to a low voiced conversation between the guards and a check on their radio. Finally, they grunt something to Daniel, who translates "Apparently, we can talk, but they've been told not to let go of me and not to let you closer than 10 foot." Abruptly, he switches into Farsi. "Jack, do you understand this?" The guards glare at him, but don't look surprised. Jack wonders whether Daniel's been talking to himself in other languages just to mess with their expectations.
"I'm rusty," Jack replies in the same language. "Go slow."
"OK. I think they speak more English than they're letting on - they've been listening to you talking to Sam and Teal'c at the gate. Either they don't realise how much Goa'uld I can speak or they don't care what I hear, so that could be positive or not, but they're not planning to let us off the planet when Sam fixes the DHD."
"Yeah, I figured," Jack sighs.
"They found my GDO in my pack and they want to know what it's for. That, and they want gate addresses. When you make it back to the gate, don't let them see you dial. Just get through and don't come back here until you've got backup."
"The hell we will," Jack replies, keeping his voice soft, conversational.
"If you come back for me, they're just going to grab the rest of you," Daniel insists in the same tone.
"If we don't, they'll have no reason to keep you alive anymore," Jack snaps, temper rising despite his best efforts.
"I'll be their only remaining source of information," Daniel sighs. "I'm sure they'll be careful. After they broke the arm and I didn't say anything, they stopped it for the moment. I think they're waiting until they've got us all here under control so they can use us against each other. You have to go."
Jack wants to protest, to jump the guards, to do something, but the look on Daniel's face stops him. He knows Daniel is right and Daniel is telling him he's strong enough to do this. "OK," he says. "We'll come back for you."
Daniel smiles grimly. "Bring backup and painkillers," he says. "Good luck."
"We'll come back for you," Jack repeats. Daniel nods. Jack glares at the goons. "I'll see you again," he says, dropping back into English. "Your choice what happens to you when I do." They sneer at him and pull Daniel away, back into the cell area. He stares after them for a minute, still fighting the urge to follow, just knock these guys out, grab Daniel and run. They'd never get out of the building, even if they tried it, he reminds himself and they can't get off-world until Carter fixes the gate. Eventually, he turns on his heel and marches out of the building, back to where Sam and Teal'c are waiting, working on the DHD.
Carter starts to say something as soon as she sees he's close enough but he stops her with a hand. "Little pitchers," he mutters. Teal'c looks confused, but lets it ride.
"Can you come and help me with this connection, sir," Sam substitutes. "I need a second pair of hands."
"Sure," he says, falsely cheerful, "quicker it gets done and all that." Quicker we can come back and blow these guys to hell and back, he thinks. He briefs her in low whispers as they work. She looks like he's about to say something when he recounts his agreement with Daniel, but decides against it. "First things first," he says softly, holding some part of the casing out of her way so she can fiddle with it, "we've gotta get rid of these guys. Any chance you can rig that?"
Her brow creases. "I think so. It'll only work once though."
"Once'll be enough," he promises. He palms one of the screwdrivers from the kit their captors have given her and slides it into his sleeve before standing up. One of the guards immediately covers him. "Hey," he says, holding up his hands to help with the innocent expression, "just stretching my legs." Teal'c repeats it in Goa'uld. The guard glares at him, but lowers his weapon fractionally, seemingly not committed to forcing them to stay all in a huddle. Good. He glances over at T., makes fractional eye contact before flicking his eyes over their guard and back to the Stargate. Teal'c nods infinitesimally. Good.
The urge to pace makes strolling nonchalantly up the steps of the gate and leaning back hard, but he forces himself to relax. Carter'll be ready when she's ready and there's no hurrying that. He surveys the small clearing, trying to figure out the best way to move, what cover he can take advantage of, anything to help the one shot come off.
There are five guards in the clearing with them, all armed with what seem to be intar laser weapons, all in Jaffa armor, but no headgear. Two of them, one dark, one blond, who seems to be in charge of things, are standing just far enough away from where Carter is working to look aloof but close enough to be following it pretty carefully and, presumably, listening in. A third, short and squat but powerful looking, is covering Teal'c, whose been allowed to stay with them to translate. They all seem a little afraid of Teal'c and the guy barely takes his eyes of him, Jack notes. That leaves one guy keeping an eye on the route back to the main compound and running the radio, and one Jack mentally dubs Lazy sitting, or rather lounging, over the heap of their equipment waiting allegedly to be returned to them when they've fixed the DHD, but which is presumably destined for whatever researchers those guys have got.
It takes about another 30 minutes before Carter looks over at him, a slight smile on her face indicating she's got things set up to her liking. He spreads his hands out on his thighs, fingers spread. Give me 10 seconds. Her eyes flick down and back up to his face again, waiting. He pushes himself up away from the stonework and starts to move down the steps. Blond glares at him, but doesn't raise his gun.
"Just taking a leak," Jack says lazily, moving off to the side. Teal'c translates and Blond gestures at the trees off to the right. Better than he'd hoped. He quickly ducks inside the tree line and immediately changes direction, moving as quietly as possible to get an angle on the kit pile by Lazy.
"Got it," he hears Carter's voice, triumphant, before a rush of movement. "Hey," she snaps, indignant, "it still needs testing."
"We will test it," retorts Dark, in English. "You will give us address."
He's almost behind the weapons pile now, all five guards have their attention focused on the DHD. He steps up to the edge of the tree line again. Radio has moved up to Blond and Dark standing right by the DHD with Carter, Shorty, next to Teal'c, scowling but no longer covering him, and Lazy, standing up now and watching the action. Perfect.
"I think it'd be better if I tested it," Carter says reluctantly. "I've used these before."
"You will give us address," repeats Dark and raises his gun to point directly at Sam.
She squirms, but nods. Nicely played, Jack thinks, watching her draw the symbols for an uninhabited world in the ground with one of the screwdrivers while Blond hunts for them on the console. Having finally found all seven, he hits the big red button and his yell is immediately truncated as electricity arcs out of the console and into his body. He drops.
Immediately, Jack dives for Lazy, screwdriver sliding out of his sleeve and into his hand. Bewildered by the sudden sound from behind, the guard turns back towards him just as Jack reaches him. A quick punch in and out with the screwdriver and the guy is grabbing his neck trying to hold in his blood and his breath. He spins away and drops and Jack grabs the first thing that comes to hand from the pile - a zat.
Teal'c has taken advantage of the shock of the electrocution to disarm and drop Shorty, leaving them with just the two. Carter drops and rolls out of the way to give him a clear shot and the two weapons fire simultaneously, Jack's zat and Teal'c's stun gun each dropping one remaining guard.
He pauses to take stock. Could have been better, could have been worse. Two fatalities, both on the other team. He tosses Carter her zat and picks up his own P90 to clip it back on before handing out the packs.
"What of Daniel Jackson, O'Neill," Teal'c asks.
"Not in great shape. He gave me the heads up - we're going to have to do an extraction. Carter, get back to the SGC, pick up SGs 3 and 12 then come back. T, you're with me. We'll hold the gate until you get back.
"Sir," Carter says hesitantly, "is that such a great idea?"
No. But if they're still here, there'll be no delay on getting the S&R teams through to back them up. "We'll be fine as long as you're fast. Leave us your pack too, we'll set up enough C4 to blow up any patrols well before they get close."
"It is a defensible position, Major Carter," Teal'c remarks.
Of course it is, Jack thinks. That's how they got jumped in the first place. He bites off the urge to snap at Sam - she's just being cautious and after they day they've had, it's not that surprising. "Get moving, Carter," he says firmly.
"Yes, sir," she says and picks up a branch to disengage the extra connections she'd made on the DHD. As the wormhole blossoms into existence, he and Teal'c are already setting up their perimeter.
"Jack!" Daniel exclaims, low voiced, when he gets the door open. He's sitting on the floor, cradling the broken arm in his lap and Jack rummages in his pocket for the syringe of morphine Janet had provided but Daniel reaches up with his good hand and knocks it away.
"No, I can't," he says softly, and Jack notices his eyes are fever bright, pupils pinned. "They gave me something." He pauses. "Something to encourage me to be talkative. Could have been anything."
Jack swears under his breath. They've been warned over and over again of the risks of mixing drugs, who knows what the interactions might be. "Don't suppose it was mixed with a pain killer," he says, but there's little likelihood of it. Not for an interrogation drug.
Daniel snorts softly. "It's intense. Sensitises. Everything feels sharp edged."
Jack nods and shakes out the sling splint he's bought. "Come on, lets get this over with. This should hold it still enough to get you out of here."
Daniel draws in a breath, hissing through his teeth, when Jack lifts the arm to slide the sling underneath. "What did you say to them?" Jack asks, hoping to distract Daniel while he straightens the bone.
"Told stories," Daniel says vaguely. "Meeting Sha're for the first time. Nearly getting shot on the dig in Cairo with Sarah. Going on missions with you."
Jack raises an eyebrow. "Any specifics?"
Daniel laughs slightly breathlessly and then bites down on a yell as Jack pulls from the wrist, allowing the injured arm to straighten up and fall supported into the open split. "Nothing they were interested in," he replies, panting a little. "Shall we go." He's biting his lip as Jack secures the wrappings, binding the injured arm firmly against his chest and Jack wonders if it's just the pain or if he's trying to shut himself up still. Wonders how long it will take before the damn drug wears off and they can give him the morphine shot.
It feels like an age before they're actually ready to move. Jack passes Daniel a zat to carry in his good hand and thumbs the radio. "Carter, I got it. We're heading your way."
"Good to hear, sir. Teal'c already called in. Our position is secure, but the next check in will be due in 5."
Daniel looks enquiringly at him. "Took out the back door guard post," Jack whispers. "They're due to phone in. T already has your kit back." He flips the tracker over to Carter's homing chip, not trusting himself to navigate the maze without at least some guidance. He hadn't met enough guards on the way in to leave a body trail, thank God.
Even with the cast on, they can't move fast. Jack contemplates taking the zat back off Daniel so that Daniel can focus on his balance, on compensating for the weight of him arm pressed against his chest instead of swinging free, but decides against it. The minimal increase in their speed wouldn't be worth taking away the reassurance of being able to defend himself again. Instead, he prowls forward and back along their route as Daniel progresses, trying to anticipate problems, surprise any wandering patrols before they have a chance to be difficult and drops two, giving silent thanks for the zats once again. This is so much easier when you can shoot first without any qualms.
Finally, they make it back to where Carter and Teal'c are holding the door open for them. Carter visibly unclenches when she sees them both and she starts towards him. "Radio check-in requested 5 minutes ago, sir. Patrol will likely be dispatched any minute." As she finishes, the alarm starts to sound.
"Looks like we'll have to run for the gate," he agrees, inwardly wondering whether Daniel will be able to run in his present state. Carter's assessing look suggests that she's thinking the same thing. They'll just have to make the best time they can. "We're on our way out," he radios to the other two teams. "Baker, set off your bangs and get moving. Hudson, tell me the gate is still clear."
"We're holding it, sir," Hudson radios stolidly.
"Right," he says softly to the team. "Carter, in front. Teal'c, on our six. C'mon, Daniel, let's get moving."
He sling's Daniel's good arm over his shoulder and snakes his own arm around him, supporting his balance. Daniel's eyes go very wide but he doesn't yell out so Jack assumes he hasn't jogged the break too much. That's not gonna last.
There's huge explosion at the front of the compound; Jack watches in satisfaction as the window in the back door they've just come out of shudders and barely holds. "That's SG-3 away. Let's move."
He leans against the door trying not to grin and watches Daniel pout.
"C'mon, Janet!" Daniel protests. "I'll be careful, there'll be no problem."
"Dr Jackson," Janet says severely, "that is a bad break and you cannot take care of it on your own. And you certainly can't drive while under the influence those pain-killers."
Daniel sighs and runs his good hand through his hair, making it stick up at crazy angles. "I just want a break from all this," he sighs, but the tone is resignation. Jack decides it's time to intervene.
"Hey, what's up?" he asks genially.
"Oh, apparently I can't look after myself and so I have to stay here on the base," Daniel says waspishly.
Janet smiles. "Dr Jackson needs to give his arm time to heal. Why don't you take him down to the mess and see if you can persuade him to have some dinner instead of fussing at me."
Daniel looks tired, Jack thinks. Tired and fed up. Which is not surprising after the week he's had. "How about I take him home, Doc. Provide some off base rest and recuperation. That do you?"
Janet subjects him to a long look. "He's not to put any pressure on that arm. He wants bread and jam, you open the jar for him. And no drinking."
Jack cocks his head on one side and looks at Daniel. "How 'bout it?"
There's an appreciable pause while Daniel scrutinizes him in turn. "Thanks, Jack," he says finally, softly.
He's quiet as they make their way up to the car and start rolling out of the mountain. As they clear the gates, Jack glances over and sees some of the tension dropping from his shoulders. Good move, Jack, he mentally congratulates himself.
As they start to come up on Springs proper, Daniel stirs himself and says "Janet's just being over protective. I'll be fine at home, Jack."
"And have me strung up when she finds out? Oh no, I don't think so. But we can head over to yours if you like and I'll stick around there. Even cook something if you fancy."
Daniel laughs. "I don't think my fridge contains anything very appetizing right now. Seriously though, Jack."
"Seriously," Jack says firmly, "you are not getting me into trouble with Frasier. C'mon, we'll hit your place."
Daniel subsides with a small frown on his face, but he's looking at least relatively cheerful. When they get there, Jack fixes coffee while Daniel pokes through the mail pile. Once they've both had something to drink, Jack roots around in the fridge and finds Daniel was right. Remains of a couple of takeout dinners, too old to be edible, some manky cheese, some elderly lettuce. "Not exactly a poster boy for healthy eating then?" he yells through to Daniel in the lounge.
"Too much else to do," Daniel yells back. "I'm sure your fridge is in a much better state."
As he hasn't been off base for almost a week either, it probably won't be, Jack thinks ruefully, but at least the moldering selection would *once* have provided some sensible meals. He walks through to the lounge again, where Daniel has got a heavy book propped up on the arm of the couch, balancing it with his cast.
"I'm gonna head out for some supplies. You want anything special?"
"Prawn crackers," Daniel replies promptly. "And more coffee, I'm running low."
"OK," Jack acknowledges. "And no opening jars with that hand while I'm gone, OK?"
Daniel makes a face. "I'll be fine. You want some cash for the food? There's some in my wallet." He shifts awkwardly so he can get at his back pocket, extracts the wallet and chucks it at Jack.
"Thanks," Jack replies neutrally. "See you in 10."
When he lets himself back in a quarter of an hour later, Daniel is awkwardly emptying the coffee maker one handed. When he sees Jack, he grimaces ruefully and steps away, leaving it to Jack to unclip the cover and fill the reservoir. "I didn't do anything with the other hand," he says defensively, before making a face. "There's not enough strength in it to try it even if I wanted to."
"Both bones get broken, that's gonna happen," Jack comments neutrally and sets the machine on to brew. He fetches Daniel down the books he wants from the higher shelves and starts on the dinner. Ordinarily, it wouldn't really be early enough to eat but they're both gate lagged as usual and he's getting hungry, so he figures they might as well eat now. Linguine with fresh tomato sauce. Easy to eat one handed.
Daniel comes and sits down at the table when called, bringing his book with him, and makes no comment on Jack's choice of cuisine. When he's swallowed his first forkful though, he looks up, surprised.
"Hey, this is good," he says, quirking an eyebrow, leaving the question implied.
"Yeah, well it's not worth cooking for one and cooking for four is too much hassle, but doesn't mean I can't do it when required," Jack replies faintly smugly. He picks idly at his own food, watching Daniel eat, his injured arm propped on the table. He's had to put on one of Teal'c t-shirts, as none of his will go over the cast without ripping and the chest and shoulders hang loosely on his frame, despite the muscle he's put on since he started with the programme. It makes him look younger, Jack thinks, more vulnerable. It'll take a while to build the muscles back up when the cast finally does come off, he thinks regretfully. Although on the other hand, it will mean Daniel putting in plenty of gym time.
"Will you stop looking at me like that!" Daniel snaps irritatedly.
"Like what," Jack defends, startled. He hadn't thought Daniel would notice. Absorbed in his book. Apparently not.
"Like you're feeling guilty about," he waves the cast around vaguely, "all this."
"Hey, I just wish we could have avoided it," Jack admits guardedly.
"So do I, but we couldn't have or we would have."
Jack shrugs. It wasn't that good an ambush. If he'd been more alert, perhaps. Looking back at it in his minds eye, the telltales were there. The noises off the path, not quite right for wildlife, the bent back branches where someone had moved into position through the brush and not fully returned to position. Everything had seemed deserted from the UAV footage but he shouldn't have relied on that.
Daniel sighs and leans back in his chair, his eyes never leaving Jack's face. "Why didn't you do what I asked you, Jack?"
Because you're not the leader of the team, Jack wants to snap. "It wasn't the best tactical decision," he says instead. "We needed to hold the Gate."
"Yeah, that's crap and you know it. All you needed to do was toss a grenade through before you stepped back in. You wanted to put pressure on Hammond to get the reinforcements through in a hurry, like he was going to delay things. Which means either you felt guilty about leaving me behind or you thought I'd start telling them things I shouldn't. Take your pick."
He lets a little bit of his surprise, his shock, show on his face. He can't imagine worrying that Daniel would say something he shouldn't under interrogation. If anything, it's the other way around. Daniel is too stubborn, too determined, he doesn't know when to bend, when to let out a titbit of something that won't help or might hinder. It's an admirable quality, a facet of Daniel's integrity, but Jack knows in his gut it'll get him in to trouble one day.
Across the table, Daniel is still watching him. Outwardly, he looks relaxed, but his eyes give away his tension and frustration. Suddenly, Jack too is irritated. Why shouldn't he feel concerned for his team, take a few risks on their behalf? He's about to say this, but then he remembers what it feels like. Sitting there and thinking that at least you got the others the hell away. Maybe what they did had been worse than Daniel has let on if that's what Daniel was holding onto.
"I promised you I'd come back for you." Daniel looks to be about to say something, but Jack holds off a hand, warding him off. "We didn't take any risks and we would have dialled out and come back with the cavalry if we'd had to. A surgical strike was the best way to do it if we could pull it off and luckily we could." He's watching Daniel's face carefully, trying to see if this is getting through to him. "I took it seriously, Daniel. I took those guys seriously. What we did was the best tactical decision."
Daniel drops his gaze, looks down at his plate. He is flexing the fingers of his broken arm, clenching and resting them. It's part of his physio exercises, Jack knows, but it looks like some form of punishment, an echo that Daniel is pushing himself through again. Finally he stills the fingers and looks back up at Jack. "Would you be cooking for Teal'c if they'd grabbed him, Jack? Or Sam?"
"Teal'c lives on base," Jack points out. "And Janet'd take Sam home herself so she and Cassie could fuss around her."
"You're avoiding the question."
No shit. "We would have done exactly the same thing, Daniel."
Daniel studies him for a moment. "Okay," he says after a second and turns back to the rest of his pasta.
Daniel may be temporarily satisfied, but Jack finds that he isn't. He returns to studying Daniel between mouthfuls of food and if Daniel notices it, he doesn't say anything else. He turns it over and over in his mind, Daniel's anger and his questions and the wariness in his stance and his stubborn nature and his integrity. He is suddenly sure that it all adds up to something, but he is still missing something, some piece of the puzzle that Daniel thinks he has, but he can't quite see. If only Daniel would just say, but of course that would be too easy.
They've finished dinner before he realises what it is. Daniel stands up to go back to his books and he's standing in the doorway when Jack suddenly asks "Daniel, who's Sarah?"
It's the right question. He can see by the way that Daniel freezes momentarily before turning back towards him, face in shadow between the pools of light in the kitchen and the lounge.
"Sarah?" Daniel queries quietly.
"On the drug. You told stories about Sha're and Sarah and me, that's what you said. Who's Sarah?"
Daniel won't look at him as he replies. "An old girlfriend. We worked together for a while."
It puts Daniel's fears in a whole new light, suddenly. Jack stands up from his own seat, circles around the table to where Daniel is waiting, vibrating. He's almost close enough to reach out, to touch and he waits for Daniel to pull away, to re-establish their space they way he has every time before, but Daniel is still. Jack waits until Daniel makes eye contact again before taking the last step, reaching out one hand to grasp the bicep of the unbroken arm.
"I think I know what the three of us have in common then," he says softly and leans in to kiss.
It's awkward, holding his body slightly twisted and tight so that he won't lean onto the cast held in it's sling across Daniel's chest, but at the same time it's right. Daniel's mouth is hot and for a few seconds he throws himself into it wholeheartedly, mouth open, tongue teasing at Jack's. Then he makes a choked off noise and steps back, two quick steps into the light of the living room.
"I'm sorry, Jack," he says. "I didn't mean to let you." He breaks off, shaking his head. "Damn opiates," he says a little shakily. "I'll call the base, get them to send someone out to pick me up."
Jack crosses the room, puts his hand on the phone to block any attempt. "The hell you will, Daniel. What's with you?"
"I may not be military, Jack, but I know the regulations. I have to be part of SG1." Have to find Sha're, the words hang unsaid. "So I can't do this. I didn't mean to let you know, I'm sorry."
Jack studies him, standing there, fragile but determined, and remembers his earlier thought. Too stubborn to know when to bend. "Daniel, as far the frat. regs go, you know why those are there? It's not because loving someone makes you a worse soldier. It's because it makes it harder to command that person, to make the same decisions for them that you would for anyone else. As far as we're concerned, that ship sailed a long time ago and I just got through telling you I'd do the same thing, take the same care of anyone else in my command."
"You took a crazy risk," Daniel insists.
"A calculated risk, Daniel. A risk that I took because you're a member of my team, and a risk that wouldn't have been different if we'd been anything else to each-other besides."
Daniel is staring at him, but Jack holds his ground, literally and metaphorically. Waits for Daniel to internalise it.
"OK," Daniel says after what feels like a lifetime. "I can live with that." He steps forward and Jack moves to meet him so that this time they are bathed in the warm glow of the lamps as they kiss, gently this time, without the heat and desperation of before, but with a sweetness, with promise. Daniel leans out again, studying him and then smiles. "I can live with that," he repeats and there's a promise there too and Jack takes it for what it is, something precious and breakable. Something to hold with care.
Fandom: SG1, set early season 3, I suppose.
Summary: Daniel is injured in custody and Jack won't leave him behind. Afterwards, neither of them can leave it alone.
Notes: I have no idea where this came from. I also don't really know what to make of it. I veer between re-reading it and really liking it and re-reading it and thinking nooo, it's all wrong!. As such, I would really value any crit. anyone feels inclined to offer.
Daniel shifts his weight when he sees him coming into the room, Jack notices. He's no longer just standing quietly between the guards, now he's balanced, ready for fight or flight, if Jack has either up his sleeve. He's not bound but the two guy are holding on tight to one arm each, controlling his movements. Jack feels a stab of guilt. Not yet, he tries to telegraph with his eyes.
"So, how've you been? Treating you well, are they?" he asks, making sure to keep the tone light, folksy.
Daniel grimaces. "Not so much, no." One of the guys holding his arms says something and yanks his wrist, twisting it behind him. Daniel goes white and shuts up. Broken arm, Jack thinks. Shit. He suddenly realises that Daniel is balanced the opposite way from how he would naturally, ready to lead with his left shoulder, trying to minimize the pressure on the right.
"Hey!" Jack snaps. "I was told I could talk to him. That means him talking back. And hostage! The hell happened to 'just to ensure good faith'?"
This leads to a low voiced conversation between the guards and a check on their radio. Finally, they grunt something to Daniel, who translates "Apparently, we can talk, but they've been told not to let go of me and not to let you closer than 10 foot." Abruptly, he switches into Farsi. "Jack, do you understand this?" The guards glare at him, but don't look surprised. Jack wonders whether Daniel's been talking to himself in other languages just to mess with their expectations.
"I'm rusty," Jack replies in the same language. "Go slow."
"OK. I think they speak more English than they're letting on - they've been listening to you talking to Sam and Teal'c at the gate. Either they don't realise how much Goa'uld I can speak or they don't care what I hear, so that could be positive or not, but they're not planning to let us off the planet when Sam fixes the DHD."
"Yeah, I figured," Jack sighs.
"They found my GDO in my pack and they want to know what it's for. That, and they want gate addresses. When you make it back to the gate, don't let them see you dial. Just get through and don't come back here until you've got backup."
"The hell we will," Jack replies, keeping his voice soft, conversational.
"If you come back for me, they're just going to grab the rest of you," Daniel insists in the same tone.
"If we don't, they'll have no reason to keep you alive anymore," Jack snaps, temper rising despite his best efforts.
"I'll be their only remaining source of information," Daniel sighs. "I'm sure they'll be careful. After they broke the arm and I didn't say anything, they stopped it for the moment. I think they're waiting until they've got us all here under control so they can use us against each other. You have to go."
Jack wants to protest, to jump the guards, to do something, but the look on Daniel's face stops him. He knows Daniel is right and Daniel is telling him he's strong enough to do this. "OK," he says. "We'll come back for you."
Daniel smiles grimly. "Bring backup and painkillers," he says. "Good luck."
"We'll come back for you," Jack repeats. Daniel nods. Jack glares at the goons. "I'll see you again," he says, dropping back into English. "Your choice what happens to you when I do." They sneer at him and pull Daniel away, back into the cell area. He stares after them for a minute, still fighting the urge to follow, just knock these guys out, grab Daniel and run. They'd never get out of the building, even if they tried it, he reminds himself and they can't get off-world until Carter fixes the gate. Eventually, he turns on his heel and marches out of the building, back to where Sam and Teal'c are waiting, working on the DHD.
Carter starts to say something as soon as she sees he's close enough but he stops her with a hand. "Little pitchers," he mutters. Teal'c looks confused, but lets it ride.
"Can you come and help me with this connection, sir," Sam substitutes. "I need a second pair of hands."
"Sure," he says, falsely cheerful, "quicker it gets done and all that." Quicker we can come back and blow these guys to hell and back, he thinks. He briefs her in low whispers as they work. She looks like he's about to say something when he recounts his agreement with Daniel, but decides against it. "First things first," he says softly, holding some part of the casing out of her way so she can fiddle with it, "we've gotta get rid of these guys. Any chance you can rig that?"
Her brow creases. "I think so. It'll only work once though."
"Once'll be enough," he promises. He palms one of the screwdrivers from the kit their captors have given her and slides it into his sleeve before standing up. One of the guards immediately covers him. "Hey," he says, holding up his hands to help with the innocent expression, "just stretching my legs." Teal'c repeats it in Goa'uld. The guard glares at him, but lowers his weapon fractionally, seemingly not committed to forcing them to stay all in a huddle. Good. He glances over at T., makes fractional eye contact before flicking his eyes over their guard and back to the Stargate. Teal'c nods infinitesimally. Good.
The urge to pace makes strolling nonchalantly up the steps of the gate and leaning back hard, but he forces himself to relax. Carter'll be ready when she's ready and there's no hurrying that. He surveys the small clearing, trying to figure out the best way to move, what cover he can take advantage of, anything to help the one shot come off.
There are five guards in the clearing with them, all armed with what seem to be intar laser weapons, all in Jaffa armor, but no headgear. Two of them, one dark, one blond, who seems to be in charge of things, are standing just far enough away from where Carter is working to look aloof but close enough to be following it pretty carefully and, presumably, listening in. A third, short and squat but powerful looking, is covering Teal'c, whose been allowed to stay with them to translate. They all seem a little afraid of Teal'c and the guy barely takes his eyes of him, Jack notes. That leaves one guy keeping an eye on the route back to the main compound and running the radio, and one Jack mentally dubs Lazy sitting, or rather lounging, over the heap of their equipment waiting allegedly to be returned to them when they've fixed the DHD, but which is presumably destined for whatever researchers those guys have got.
It takes about another 30 minutes before Carter looks over at him, a slight smile on her face indicating she's got things set up to her liking. He spreads his hands out on his thighs, fingers spread. Give me 10 seconds. Her eyes flick down and back up to his face again, waiting. He pushes himself up away from the stonework and starts to move down the steps. Blond glares at him, but doesn't raise his gun.
"Just taking a leak," Jack says lazily, moving off to the side. Teal'c translates and Blond gestures at the trees off to the right. Better than he'd hoped. He quickly ducks inside the tree line and immediately changes direction, moving as quietly as possible to get an angle on the kit pile by Lazy.
"Got it," he hears Carter's voice, triumphant, before a rush of movement. "Hey," she snaps, indignant, "it still needs testing."
"We will test it," retorts Dark, in English. "You will give us address."
He's almost behind the weapons pile now, all five guards have their attention focused on the DHD. He steps up to the edge of the tree line again. Radio has moved up to Blond and Dark standing right by the DHD with Carter, Shorty, next to Teal'c, scowling but no longer covering him, and Lazy, standing up now and watching the action. Perfect.
"I think it'd be better if I tested it," Carter says reluctantly. "I've used these before."
"You will give us address," repeats Dark and raises his gun to point directly at Sam.
She squirms, but nods. Nicely played, Jack thinks, watching her draw the symbols for an uninhabited world in the ground with one of the screwdrivers while Blond hunts for them on the console. Having finally found all seven, he hits the big red button and his yell is immediately truncated as electricity arcs out of the console and into his body. He drops.
Immediately, Jack dives for Lazy, screwdriver sliding out of his sleeve and into his hand. Bewildered by the sudden sound from behind, the guard turns back towards him just as Jack reaches him. A quick punch in and out with the screwdriver and the guy is grabbing his neck trying to hold in his blood and his breath. He spins away and drops and Jack grabs the first thing that comes to hand from the pile - a zat.
Teal'c has taken advantage of the shock of the electrocution to disarm and drop Shorty, leaving them with just the two. Carter drops and rolls out of the way to give him a clear shot and the two weapons fire simultaneously, Jack's zat and Teal'c's stun gun each dropping one remaining guard.
He pauses to take stock. Could have been better, could have been worse. Two fatalities, both on the other team. He tosses Carter her zat and picks up his own P90 to clip it back on before handing out the packs.
"What of Daniel Jackson, O'Neill," Teal'c asks.
"Not in great shape. He gave me the heads up - we're going to have to do an extraction. Carter, get back to the SGC, pick up SGs 3 and 12 then come back. T, you're with me. We'll hold the gate until you get back.
"Sir," Carter says hesitantly, "is that such a great idea?"
No. But if they're still here, there'll be no delay on getting the S&R teams through to back them up. "We'll be fine as long as you're fast. Leave us your pack too, we'll set up enough C4 to blow up any patrols well before they get close."
"It is a defensible position, Major Carter," Teal'c remarks.
Of course it is, Jack thinks. That's how they got jumped in the first place. He bites off the urge to snap at Sam - she's just being cautious and after they day they've had, it's not that surprising. "Get moving, Carter," he says firmly.
"Yes, sir," she says and picks up a branch to disengage the extra connections she'd made on the DHD. As the wormhole blossoms into existence, he and Teal'c are already setting up their perimeter.
"Jack!" Daniel exclaims, low voiced, when he gets the door open. He's sitting on the floor, cradling the broken arm in his lap and Jack rummages in his pocket for the syringe of morphine Janet had provided but Daniel reaches up with his good hand and knocks it away.
"No, I can't," he says softly, and Jack notices his eyes are fever bright, pupils pinned. "They gave me something." He pauses. "Something to encourage me to be talkative. Could have been anything."
Jack swears under his breath. They've been warned over and over again of the risks of mixing drugs, who knows what the interactions might be. "Don't suppose it was mixed with a pain killer," he says, but there's little likelihood of it. Not for an interrogation drug.
Daniel snorts softly. "It's intense. Sensitises. Everything feels sharp edged."
Jack nods and shakes out the sling splint he's bought. "Come on, lets get this over with. This should hold it still enough to get you out of here."
Daniel draws in a breath, hissing through his teeth, when Jack lifts the arm to slide the sling underneath. "What did you say to them?" Jack asks, hoping to distract Daniel while he straightens the bone.
"Told stories," Daniel says vaguely. "Meeting Sha're for the first time. Nearly getting shot on the dig in Cairo with Sarah. Going on missions with you."
Jack raises an eyebrow. "Any specifics?"
Daniel laughs slightly breathlessly and then bites down on a yell as Jack pulls from the wrist, allowing the injured arm to straighten up and fall supported into the open split. "Nothing they were interested in," he replies, panting a little. "Shall we go." He's biting his lip as Jack secures the wrappings, binding the injured arm firmly against his chest and Jack wonders if it's just the pain or if he's trying to shut himself up still. Wonders how long it will take before the damn drug wears off and they can give him the morphine shot.
It feels like an age before they're actually ready to move. Jack passes Daniel a zat to carry in his good hand and thumbs the radio. "Carter, I got it. We're heading your way."
"Good to hear, sir. Teal'c already called in. Our position is secure, but the next check in will be due in 5."
Daniel looks enquiringly at him. "Took out the back door guard post," Jack whispers. "They're due to phone in. T already has your kit back." He flips the tracker over to Carter's homing chip, not trusting himself to navigate the maze without at least some guidance. He hadn't met enough guards on the way in to leave a body trail, thank God.
Even with the cast on, they can't move fast. Jack contemplates taking the zat back off Daniel so that Daniel can focus on his balance, on compensating for the weight of him arm pressed against his chest instead of swinging free, but decides against it. The minimal increase in their speed wouldn't be worth taking away the reassurance of being able to defend himself again. Instead, he prowls forward and back along their route as Daniel progresses, trying to anticipate problems, surprise any wandering patrols before they have a chance to be difficult and drops two, giving silent thanks for the zats once again. This is so much easier when you can shoot first without any qualms.
Finally, they make it back to where Carter and Teal'c are holding the door open for them. Carter visibly unclenches when she sees them both and she starts towards him. "Radio check-in requested 5 minutes ago, sir. Patrol will likely be dispatched any minute." As she finishes, the alarm starts to sound.
"Looks like we'll have to run for the gate," he agrees, inwardly wondering whether Daniel will be able to run in his present state. Carter's assessing look suggests that she's thinking the same thing. They'll just have to make the best time they can. "We're on our way out," he radios to the other two teams. "Baker, set off your bangs and get moving. Hudson, tell me the gate is still clear."
"We're holding it, sir," Hudson radios stolidly.
"Right," he says softly to the team. "Carter, in front. Teal'c, on our six. C'mon, Daniel, let's get moving."
He sling's Daniel's good arm over his shoulder and snakes his own arm around him, supporting his balance. Daniel's eyes go very wide but he doesn't yell out so Jack assumes he hasn't jogged the break too much. That's not gonna last.
There's huge explosion at the front of the compound; Jack watches in satisfaction as the window in the back door they've just come out of shudders and barely holds. "That's SG-3 away. Let's move."
He leans against the door trying not to grin and watches Daniel pout.
"C'mon, Janet!" Daniel protests. "I'll be careful, there'll be no problem."
"Dr Jackson," Janet says severely, "that is a bad break and you cannot take care of it on your own. And you certainly can't drive while under the influence those pain-killers."
Daniel sighs and runs his good hand through his hair, making it stick up at crazy angles. "I just want a break from all this," he sighs, but the tone is resignation. Jack decides it's time to intervene.
"Hey, what's up?" he asks genially.
"Oh, apparently I can't look after myself and so I have to stay here on the base," Daniel says waspishly.
Janet smiles. "Dr Jackson needs to give his arm time to heal. Why don't you take him down to the mess and see if you can persuade him to have some dinner instead of fussing at me."
Daniel looks tired, Jack thinks. Tired and fed up. Which is not surprising after the week he's had. "How about I take him home, Doc. Provide some off base rest and recuperation. That do you?"
Janet subjects him to a long look. "He's not to put any pressure on that arm. He wants bread and jam, you open the jar for him. And no drinking."
Jack cocks his head on one side and looks at Daniel. "How 'bout it?"
There's an appreciable pause while Daniel scrutinizes him in turn. "Thanks, Jack," he says finally, softly.
He's quiet as they make their way up to the car and start rolling out of the mountain. As they clear the gates, Jack glances over and sees some of the tension dropping from his shoulders. Good move, Jack, he mentally congratulates himself.
As they start to come up on Springs proper, Daniel stirs himself and says "Janet's just being over protective. I'll be fine at home, Jack."
"And have me strung up when she finds out? Oh no, I don't think so. But we can head over to yours if you like and I'll stick around there. Even cook something if you fancy."
Daniel laughs. "I don't think my fridge contains anything very appetizing right now. Seriously though, Jack."
"Seriously," Jack says firmly, "you are not getting me into trouble with Frasier. C'mon, we'll hit your place."
Daniel subsides with a small frown on his face, but he's looking at least relatively cheerful. When they get there, Jack fixes coffee while Daniel pokes through the mail pile. Once they've both had something to drink, Jack roots around in the fridge and finds Daniel was right. Remains of a couple of takeout dinners, too old to be edible, some manky cheese, some elderly lettuce. "Not exactly a poster boy for healthy eating then?" he yells through to Daniel in the lounge.
"Too much else to do," Daniel yells back. "I'm sure your fridge is in a much better state."
As he hasn't been off base for almost a week either, it probably won't be, Jack thinks ruefully, but at least the moldering selection would *once* have provided some sensible meals. He walks through to the lounge again, where Daniel has got a heavy book propped up on the arm of the couch, balancing it with his cast.
"I'm gonna head out for some supplies. You want anything special?"
"Prawn crackers," Daniel replies promptly. "And more coffee, I'm running low."
"OK," Jack acknowledges. "And no opening jars with that hand while I'm gone, OK?"
Daniel makes a face. "I'll be fine. You want some cash for the food? There's some in my wallet." He shifts awkwardly so he can get at his back pocket, extracts the wallet and chucks it at Jack.
"Thanks," Jack replies neutrally. "See you in 10."
When he lets himself back in a quarter of an hour later, Daniel is awkwardly emptying the coffee maker one handed. When he sees Jack, he grimaces ruefully and steps away, leaving it to Jack to unclip the cover and fill the reservoir. "I didn't do anything with the other hand," he says defensively, before making a face. "There's not enough strength in it to try it even if I wanted to."
"Both bones get broken, that's gonna happen," Jack comments neutrally and sets the machine on to brew. He fetches Daniel down the books he wants from the higher shelves and starts on the dinner. Ordinarily, it wouldn't really be early enough to eat but they're both gate lagged as usual and he's getting hungry, so he figures they might as well eat now. Linguine with fresh tomato sauce. Easy to eat one handed.
Daniel comes and sits down at the table when called, bringing his book with him, and makes no comment on Jack's choice of cuisine. When he's swallowed his first forkful though, he looks up, surprised.
"Hey, this is good," he says, quirking an eyebrow, leaving the question implied.
"Yeah, well it's not worth cooking for one and cooking for four is too much hassle, but doesn't mean I can't do it when required," Jack replies faintly smugly. He picks idly at his own food, watching Daniel eat, his injured arm propped on the table. He's had to put on one of Teal'c t-shirts, as none of his will go over the cast without ripping and the chest and shoulders hang loosely on his frame, despite the muscle he's put on since he started with the programme. It makes him look younger, Jack thinks, more vulnerable. It'll take a while to build the muscles back up when the cast finally does come off, he thinks regretfully. Although on the other hand, it will mean Daniel putting in plenty of gym time.
"Will you stop looking at me like that!" Daniel snaps irritatedly.
"Like what," Jack defends, startled. He hadn't thought Daniel would notice. Absorbed in his book. Apparently not.
"Like you're feeling guilty about," he waves the cast around vaguely, "all this."
"Hey, I just wish we could have avoided it," Jack admits guardedly.
"So do I, but we couldn't have or we would have."
Jack shrugs. It wasn't that good an ambush. If he'd been more alert, perhaps. Looking back at it in his minds eye, the telltales were there. The noises off the path, not quite right for wildlife, the bent back branches where someone had moved into position through the brush and not fully returned to position. Everything had seemed deserted from the UAV footage but he shouldn't have relied on that.
Daniel sighs and leans back in his chair, his eyes never leaving Jack's face. "Why didn't you do what I asked you, Jack?"
Because you're not the leader of the team, Jack wants to snap. "It wasn't the best tactical decision," he says instead. "We needed to hold the Gate."
"Yeah, that's crap and you know it. All you needed to do was toss a grenade through before you stepped back in. You wanted to put pressure on Hammond to get the reinforcements through in a hurry, like he was going to delay things. Which means either you felt guilty about leaving me behind or you thought I'd start telling them things I shouldn't. Take your pick."
He lets a little bit of his surprise, his shock, show on his face. He can't imagine worrying that Daniel would say something he shouldn't under interrogation. If anything, it's the other way around. Daniel is too stubborn, too determined, he doesn't know when to bend, when to let out a titbit of something that won't help or might hinder. It's an admirable quality, a facet of Daniel's integrity, but Jack knows in his gut it'll get him in to trouble one day.
Across the table, Daniel is still watching him. Outwardly, he looks relaxed, but his eyes give away his tension and frustration. Suddenly, Jack too is irritated. Why shouldn't he feel concerned for his team, take a few risks on their behalf? He's about to say this, but then he remembers what it feels like. Sitting there and thinking that at least you got the others the hell away. Maybe what they did had been worse than Daniel has let on if that's what Daniel was holding onto.
"I promised you I'd come back for you." Daniel looks to be about to say something, but Jack holds off a hand, warding him off. "We didn't take any risks and we would have dialled out and come back with the cavalry if we'd had to. A surgical strike was the best way to do it if we could pull it off and luckily we could." He's watching Daniel's face carefully, trying to see if this is getting through to him. "I took it seriously, Daniel. I took those guys seriously. What we did was the best tactical decision."
Daniel drops his gaze, looks down at his plate. He is flexing the fingers of his broken arm, clenching and resting them. It's part of his physio exercises, Jack knows, but it looks like some form of punishment, an echo that Daniel is pushing himself through again. Finally he stills the fingers and looks back up at Jack. "Would you be cooking for Teal'c if they'd grabbed him, Jack? Or Sam?"
"Teal'c lives on base," Jack points out. "And Janet'd take Sam home herself so she and Cassie could fuss around her."
"You're avoiding the question."
No shit. "We would have done exactly the same thing, Daniel."
Daniel studies him for a moment. "Okay," he says after a second and turns back to the rest of his pasta.
Daniel may be temporarily satisfied, but Jack finds that he isn't. He returns to studying Daniel between mouthfuls of food and if Daniel notices it, he doesn't say anything else. He turns it over and over in his mind, Daniel's anger and his questions and the wariness in his stance and his stubborn nature and his integrity. He is suddenly sure that it all adds up to something, but he is still missing something, some piece of the puzzle that Daniel thinks he has, but he can't quite see. If only Daniel would just say, but of course that would be too easy.
They've finished dinner before he realises what it is. Daniel stands up to go back to his books and he's standing in the doorway when Jack suddenly asks "Daniel, who's Sarah?"
It's the right question. He can see by the way that Daniel freezes momentarily before turning back towards him, face in shadow between the pools of light in the kitchen and the lounge.
"Sarah?" Daniel queries quietly.
"On the drug. You told stories about Sha're and Sarah and me, that's what you said. Who's Sarah?"
Daniel won't look at him as he replies. "An old girlfriend. We worked together for a while."
It puts Daniel's fears in a whole new light, suddenly. Jack stands up from his own seat, circles around the table to where Daniel is waiting, vibrating. He's almost close enough to reach out, to touch and he waits for Daniel to pull away, to re-establish their space they way he has every time before, but Daniel is still. Jack waits until Daniel makes eye contact again before taking the last step, reaching out one hand to grasp the bicep of the unbroken arm.
"I think I know what the three of us have in common then," he says softly and leans in to kiss.
It's awkward, holding his body slightly twisted and tight so that he won't lean onto the cast held in it's sling across Daniel's chest, but at the same time it's right. Daniel's mouth is hot and for a few seconds he throws himself into it wholeheartedly, mouth open, tongue teasing at Jack's. Then he makes a choked off noise and steps back, two quick steps into the light of the living room.
"I'm sorry, Jack," he says. "I didn't mean to let you." He breaks off, shaking his head. "Damn opiates," he says a little shakily. "I'll call the base, get them to send someone out to pick me up."
Jack crosses the room, puts his hand on the phone to block any attempt. "The hell you will, Daniel. What's with you?"
"I may not be military, Jack, but I know the regulations. I have to be part of SG1." Have to find Sha're, the words hang unsaid. "So I can't do this. I didn't mean to let you know, I'm sorry."
Jack studies him, standing there, fragile but determined, and remembers his earlier thought. Too stubborn to know when to bend. "Daniel, as far the frat. regs go, you know why those are there? It's not because loving someone makes you a worse soldier. It's because it makes it harder to command that person, to make the same decisions for them that you would for anyone else. As far as we're concerned, that ship sailed a long time ago and I just got through telling you I'd do the same thing, take the same care of anyone else in my command."
"You took a crazy risk," Daniel insists.
"A calculated risk, Daniel. A risk that I took because you're a member of my team, and a risk that wouldn't have been different if we'd been anything else to each-other besides."
Daniel is staring at him, but Jack holds his ground, literally and metaphorically. Waits for Daniel to internalise it.
"OK," Daniel says after what feels like a lifetime. "I can live with that." He steps forward and Jack moves to meet him so that this time they are bathed in the warm glow of the lamps as they kiss, gently this time, without the heat and desperation of before, but with a sweetness, with promise. Daniel leans out again, studying him and then smiles. "I can live with that," he repeats and there's a promise there too and Jack takes it for what it is, something precious and breakable. Something to hold with care.
