Bound Reflections
by Carlyn
Part 10

Back to Part 9

-28-

Janet Fraiser looked up from her gloved hands, eyes wide, at the pale, slack form in Teal'c's arms. She gaped, horrified, at the blood on Daniel's neck and chest.

"Put him here, Teal'c," she instructed, rushing over as the Jaffa gently, lovingly, deposited his precious cargo onto the indicated infirmary bed. "Karen, start an IV."

"Right away, Doctor," Karen acknowledged, retrieving a bag of solution and the tubing from a nearby cabinet.

"What the hell happened?" Jack shouted from his prone position on the bed just down the way from Daniel's. He scowled and pushed at the rather large, burly nurse whose hands on his shoulder kept him from sitting up.

"I believe one of the orderlies was attempting to abscond with Daniel Jackson," Teal'c opined, smoothly stepping out of the way to give Karen access to his friend. He stood stiffly to the side, hands behind his back, in the Jaffa version of parade rest.

"Abscond? You mean kidnap?" Jack gasped angrily.

"Jeffries?" Janet glanced up from her examination, surprise then anger settling on her gnarled brow.

"It appears this Jeffries..." Teal'c nodded thanks to the doctor for supplying the name, "intended to secret himself away with Daniel Jackson. For what purpose, I am, at this time, unsure. He wielded a scalpel and when the guards refused to let him pass he used the blade on our young friend."

"He cut Daniel with a scalpel?" Jack lifted himself onto his elbows, ignoring the nurse's disapproving glare. "Doc?"

"There's a lot of blood, Colonel, but the wound looks superficial." Janet motioned to the nearby cart loaded with gauze and antiseptic. "Karen bring me that basin and get a set of vitals, please."

Turning her attention for just a second from the patient on the bed in front of her, Janet snapped towards the patient two beds over, "Lieutenant Miller, if Colonel O'Neill so much as places a toe over the side of that bed, I want you to administer a sedative."

"Doc!" Jack protested.

"I have my hands full here, sir," Janet replied, adding the respectful title to her reprimand without conscious thought. "I don't need the added stress of picking you up off the floor and re-stitching that wound in your forehead."

Huffing in defeat, Jack collapsed back into the pillows and shot his 'bad-ass colonel' sneer at Lieutenant Miller. When the older woman, apparently unruffled, just smiled pleasantly and made a show of checking his IV, Jack sneered discontentedly and returned his gaze to Fraiser and her patient.

The petite doctor swiped large pieces of gauze, one after another, over Daniel's neck. Each pristine white square was dyed deep crimson by the time Janet tossed it in the basin resting on the bed next to Daniel's hip. She continued the process until the gauze going into the basin was tinged more pink than red.

"It's not deep," Janet sighed. "A butterfly should do." She accepted the bandage from Karen and closed the wound.

Sliding her fingers over his neck, Janet gently palpated the abrasion under Daniel's jaw line, frowning at what looked to be the beginning of another bruise. She shifted her gaze to the new finger marks on his cheek, positioned higher on his face than the fading ones. Stripping off her exam gloves, she tightened her lips, disgusted that the injuries had been caused by a member of her staff.

"Daniel Jackson is injured on the back of his neck as well," Teal'c announced quietly.

"What?" Janet's head shot up, her disbelieving eyes locked on Teal'c's.

"What?" Jack echoed, his inquiry, spurred by Janet's, twice as loud as the original.

Janet quickly donned fresh gloves and slowly turned Daniel's head away from her. She narrowed her eyes at the Jaffa, slightly miffed that he had not already informed her of the additional trauma.

She turned to Karen. "His vitals were stable?"

"Yes, Doctor," Karen confirmed.

"Alright," she said decisively, "we need to get him into a fresh gown anyway. We'd better check him over thoroughly."

As Karen removed the basin of soiled gauze and left to retrieve a clean hospital gown, Janet pulled the curtain partially around Daniel's bed and his large Jaffa rescuer.

"What's goin' on?" Jack demanded, unmistakably ready to push his way past Janet's heavy if he didn't get some answers soon, sedative or no.

Janet glanced back at Daniel then came quickly to Jack's side. "Looks like Mr. Jeffries wasn't content to just take Daniel for a ride in his wheelchair," she said grimly. "We're going to change him and check for addition injury."

"What else did that bastard do to him?" Jack snarled, his eyes going cold and murderous.

"That's what we want to find out, Colonel," Janet said with forced patience, softening her tone in an effort to calm him. "Daniel has another cut on the back of his neck. I just want to look him over, make sure we don't miss anything."

Both Jack's and Janet's eyes followed Karen as the nurse approached with another basin and the clean gown.

As Janet turned to go back to her needier patient, Jack laid a restraining hand on her arm. "You'll let me know?"

"I'll let you know what we find," Janet agreed solemnly, "if you agree not to give my staff any more trouble."

"Brunhilde, here, doesn't seem too put out," Jack smirked at the nurse, who still hovered over him.

Frowning admonishingly at him, the severity softened by an eye roll, Janet shook her head and returned to Daniel's bedside. She pulled the curtain around as she walked to the head of the bed, giving Daniel as much privacy as the curtain afforded.

"Teal'c? Where did you find Daniel? He wasn't still in the wheelchair or you would have brought him back in that."

"Daniel Jackson was on the floor in the hallway of Level 17, several meters from his wheelchair."

Janet pulled a wry face. "Okay, that means he either fell or was pushed from the wheelchair." She glanced at Karen and sighed. "Let's check him for broken bones before we turn him over."

Karen nodded and placed a hand on Daniel's shoulder, gently running her fingers over his clavicle, manipulating the area to test for undue movement.

Giving herself just a moment to regroup, Janet watched the unconscious man's peaceful features for any indication that Karen's probing was causing him pain, before engaging in her own survey.

They quickly and skillfully completed their inspection for broken bones, and, having found none, proceeded to cut off Daniel's clothing, checking for hidden injuries as they did so.

Noting finger marks near the bandage on Daniel's shoulder wound, Janet cursed and reached across his prone form to remove the gauze. Carefully palpating the area, she sighed softly, finding none of her carefully placed stitches had been disturbed.

Redirecting her attention, she frowned at a purplish area on Daniel's hip, the bright coloration stark amidst the fading bruises from Daniel's run in with Osiris.

"Doctor Fraiser."

Tearing her gaze away from Daniel's abused body, Janet raised wary eyes to Karen's.

"There's a small puncture wound in the lateral aspect of the upper right thigh."

Janet gaped, momentarily taken aback then turned to Teal'c. "Did you see a hypodermic laying anywhere around where you found Daniel? Do you know if Jeffries had one on him?"

"I do not," Teal'c replied, his sneer an obvious self-reproof. "I shall go now and inquire of Jeffries what has become of this hypodermic." Teal'c spun and pulled the curtain aside.

"I need to know what was in it, Teal'c," Janet called after the swiftly retreating figure. "If he injected Daniel with something, I need to know what it was and how much."

"Injected!" Jack bellowed. "The son of a bitch drugged Daniel?"

"Not now, Colonel!" Fraiser ground out. "Karen, draw some blood for a tox screen."

"Doctor Fraiser." Teal'c stepped back around the curtain, carefully holding out a hypodermic needle. "I encountered a guard on his way to the infirmary with this," the Jaffa reported. "It was located in Daniel Jackson's wheelchair."

Holding the hypo up to the light, Janet remarked, "There's still quite a bit of fluid in here. Lieutenant Miller?"

Janet stepped around Daniel's bed and pulled back the curtain. Requesting the vial of blood from Karen, she handed it and the hypo to Miller. "Take these to the lab. I need a drug analysis stat."

Miller snapped off a "Yes, ma'am," and headed briskly to the lab.

"Doc!" Jack yelled.

"It was probably just a sedative, Colonel. Daniel's vitals are stable. I don't think he's in any danger." Janet sighed heavily. "Now, please, just let me finish my exam. I promise, once I'm done, I'll fill you in."

Janet tipped her head in the direction of Jack's unintelligible response and said pleadingly to Teal'c, "Why don't you go keep the colonel company? And make sure he stays in bed," she added quickly.

Bowing acquiescence to her request, Teal'c headed for his agitated team leader.

Janet exhaled forcefully and ducked back behind the curtain, drawing it closed again. Leaning down to inspect the small hole in Daniel's leg, she frowned in disconcertment.

"Okay, let's finish this. I want to get a good look at his nape. Go on the other side so we don't have to roll him onto the injection site."

Karen nodded, moving quickly around the bed while Janet gently rolled Daniel towards her. Once he was in position, held firmly in Karen's expert grip, Janet leaned in and examined the wound. Satisfied that the nick was not a threat to Daniel's health, she swabbed the area thoroughly, covered it with a bandage, and scanned the rest of his exposed flesh.

Scowling deeply at the additional bruises mottling Daniel's still healing form, Janet gently fingered each one to ensure that none was more serious than they appeared. Finally, she stood back.

"Okay, Karen" Easing her patient's descent back to a prone position, she instructed, "Let's put him on a monitor for the night." Pulling the sheet over Daniel's exposed flesh, Janet rested a hand lightly on his shoulder. "I'll be right back to help you get him dressed," she sighed. Taking another good look at her patient, Janet side-stepped through the curtain.

As she reappeared, Jack sat up stiffly, kept in bed only by the restraining hand on his shoulder. The corners of Janet's lips twitched slightly, as much in amusement at the colonel's frustration at being thwarted in his effort to leave the bed, as in thankfulness for the Jaffa who, rank notwithstanding, followed her directive over his CO's.

"He's fine, sir," she said softly, before anyone had a chance to ask. "There are a few more bruises and it looks like Jeffries cut him a few times, but neither of the wounds is serious."

"What about the drug?" Jack roughly shrugged his shoulder, but the large hand remained. Putting on his best colonel glower, he glanced askance at his mountainous teammate. Teal'c blinked curiously, and Jack's lips disappeared, replaced by a hard, straight line. Taking a more direct approach, Jack reached up, making a sweeping motion with his fingertips until the hand retreated.

Ducking her head, Janet gave in to a smile at Jack's unusual command style. Quickly schooling her features, she looked back up. "We don't have the labs back yet. But Daniel appears to be resting comfortably." Scanning the colonel with a critical eye, she added, "It wouldn't hurt you to get some sleep."

In response, Jack's eyes cut to the curtain separating him from his lover. "I'm not tired," he snapped.

"I could help you with that." Janet's relaxed stance became formal, doctor-like.

Jack eyed her suspiciously. "Yes, I just bet you could."

Offering a smug grin in reply, Janet patted his shoulder. "I'll let you know what the tests show as soon as I hear something." She nodded to Teal'c and returned to Daniel's bedside.

Gazing up at his stony-faced companion, Jack shifted restlessly into the pillows, but stiffened reflexively when the base commander entered the infirmary.

"Relax, Colonel," Hammond ordered, coming to Jack's bedside. He glanced at the curtained-off area. "How is Dr. Jackson?"

"That damn orderly, Jeffries, stuck him with a needle," Jack bit, pulling an apologetic grimace for his less than respectful tone. "Fraiser thinks it was just a sedative but we're waiting for lab results."

Hammond's forehead descended, the lack of an appreciable eyebrow having no detrimental impact on the overall effect of his scowl.

"I've just come from talking with Mr. Jeffries," Hammond said through lips stiff with anger. "It appears Dr. Cooksey was not the only one willing to do the NID's dirty work."

"Son of a bitch," Jack spat explosively.

"Indeed," Teal'c intoned quietly, a severely arched eyebrow rising and falling in perturbation.

"I'll fill you in when you get out of here," Hammond assured. "How are you feeling, Colonel?"

"I've got one hell of a headache, sir, but Doc Fraiser assures me my head's just as hard as ever."

Hammond released some tension in an amused gust of breath. "Glad to hear it, son."

Nodding his agreement, Jack quickly ventured, "General, what happened in that interview room? I know Sarah Gardner's dead. One of the nurses told me after Fraiser took care of my head." As though prompted by his words, Jack's wound began to tingle, and he gingerly rubbed the area next to his bandage. "I was in the room when it happened, but the bitch had cold cocked me. How did she end up dead?"

Hammond relayed the details, including the fact that Daniel had retrieved Jack's pistol and fired at his former lover.

"She was hit five times," the general continued. "We won't know for certain until the autopsy's done which bullet or bullets actually ended her life."

"She was gonna kill Daniel." Jack's eyes clenched tight with the memory.

Hammond glanced at Teal'c. "According to the guards, they heard the commotion and looked through the window. They saw Dr. Gardner strike you with one of the crutches. She was holding a dagger over you when they burst in."

Opening his eyes slowly, hoping that might help him get a grasp on what he had just heard, Jack blinked in the direction of Daniel's curtain-enclosed bed, then turned to meet Hammond's penetrating pale blue eyes.

"From what they said, if Dr. Jackson hadn't fired when he did, Dr. Gardner would have stabbed you in the heart. None of them thinks they could have gotten off a shot in time to stop her."

Jack's eyes wandered back towards his lover, whose presence he felt keenly though the younger man was still hidden from view. The corners of his mouth turned downward sharply as he processed the general's news, concerned only about what it meant for Daniel's well-being.

"So, there's no possibility that he'll face charges," Jack deduced hopefully.

"There will be an official inquiry, but, no, it doesn't seem likely. It's pretty clear Dr. Jackson acted to save your life. And his was not the only gun discharged. Chances are his single bullet didn't kill her."

'Right. Since when have the odds been in Daniel's favor?' Jack worried silently, knowing that whatever the autopsy showed, Daniel was likely to beat himself up with guilt over Sarah's death.

Jack was brought out of his reverie by Lieutenant Miller's return. He called out to Dr. Fraiser, who emerged from behind the curtain, pulling the barrier back to give Jack his first unobstructed look at his soul mate.

In the harsh infirmary lights, Daniel's features appeared washed out, and even in repose the full brows scrunched slightly in distress. Jack glared at the small white bandage on Daniel's neck, only slightly whiter than the skin beneath it, wishing he had the cause of the injury within his grasp.

Pulling his attention away from Daniel's still form, he pushed himself higher in the bed, giving Janet his complete attention.

"It was a sedative," Janet confirmed, scanning the report Lieutenant Miller had provided. "My guess is Jeffries intended to drug Daniel into submission. But, given that there was so much of the drug left in the hypo, I'd bet Daniel didn't take too kindly to the idea, and stopped him somehow."

Jack gazed fondly at his soundly sleeping partner. "Guess he didn't reckon on our obstinate archaeologist."

"It does appear as though Daniel put up quite a fight." Janet's eyes followed Jack's and she frowned, remembering the fresh bruises on Daniel's already battered body.

"Is he going to be alright?"

Turning troubled eyes to the General, Janet nodded curtly. "Eventually," she said, a touch of anger coloring the response. "If we can manage to get him through the week without another beating."

"Not to worry, Doc," Jack grinned, tipping his head towards Daniel.

The others turned at his direction, surprised to find Teal'c had soundlessly, and without calling attention to himself, ambled to the opposite side of the room. He now stood, an imposing guardian, at the side of the archaeologist's bed.

Jack sighed and raised his arms, resting his head in the cup created by his intertwined fingers.

"Daniel's got his very own watch-Jaffa."

Not unexpectedly, Daniel did not wake at dinnertime. Not even when the cover for Jack's dinner plate 'accidentally' crashed to the floor. Everyone within earshot jumped a meter off the ground at the loud report, with the exception of Teal'c, who merely canted his head, brow lifted quizzically, and Daniel, who slept on, blissfully ignorant.

Daniel continued to sleep when they shifted him, bed and all, back to 'his' room, after the infirmary was notified that SG-10 was coming in hot. Mounting token resistance, Jack agreed to be transported to the private room in a wheelchair but, steadfastly masking his stiffness, he climbed on his own into the second bed.

Once someone brought him the news that no one on SG-10 had been seriously wounded, Jack left strict orders to rouse him if Daniel woke up, and finally succumbed to the medical staff's suggestion that he try and get some sleep.

Some while later he slowly opened his eyes, sensing a change in his environment.

Except for calls of nature, Teal'c had not left Daniel's side. Still it took Jack a few seconds to realize that the low rumble that had pulled him from his slumber was the large man's voice.

"I am uncertain, Daniel Jackson. Perhaps General Hammond can supply that information when he arrives in the morning."

Turning his head, Jack saw Teal'c standing on the far side of Daniel's bed, gazing down at the tousled head resting in the pillows. Daniel nodded slowly in response to Teal'c's statement.

Jack drew a breath to ask why the hell Teal'c hadn't woken him, but held it when Daniel's soft, weary voice sounded.

"Teal'c, I owe you an apology."

Because Daniel was facing away from him, Jack could not see the younger man's face. Yet, being intimately familiar with his archaeologist's expressions, he could easily picture the pained, regretful look that went with the tone.

His guess was confirmed by the concern twisting Teal'c's face. Jack adjusted his attention briefly to the steady beep of the monitor registering Daniel's vitals.

"Are you certain I should not call for Doctor Fraiser?"

"No." Daniel's lips smacked, followed by a gentle clearing of his throat. "Is there water?"

Teal'c turned immediately and lifted the Styrofoam cup from the bedside table, holding the bent straw towards his friend.

"Thank you," Daniel whispered after he had drunk his fill. Teal'c bowed his head before setting the cup back on the table.

Nothing more was said for a few moments, and Jack thought Daniel must have fallen back to sleep. He adjusted his position infinitesimally and considered following Daniel's lead, when his beloved broke the silence.

"I lied to you, Teal'c. You and Sam."

The confession was so faint, even Jack, whose ears were trained to detect the slightest sound, strained to hear the words.

"I didn't want to lie. I..." The heavy sigh was followed by a burst of short, muffled coughs.

Lifting his head until it was just above the pillow, Jack was able to see that Daniel was turned to the side, one shoulder off the bed, supported in Teal'c's firm grip. He winced at the short, dry barks Daniel released into the hand cupped over his mouth.

The steady chirrup of the monitor stuttered slightly, Daniel's exertions causing enough strain to momentarily increase the rate of his heartbeat.

After what to Jack seemed an eternity, Daniel nodded almost imperceptibly, and Teal'c lowered the younger man to the mattress.

Daniel cleared his throat. "Thank you. Again."

"Dr. Jackson?"

Jack's head dropped onto his pillow, his eyes closing until he squinted through the barest slit. He cursed mentally as Lieutenant Miller crossed the threshold, looking pointedly at him before moving next to Daniel's bed. With a slight bow, Teal'c stepped back to give her room.

"Teal'c, you should have let me know he was awake," she reprimanded, clearly unimpressed by the dark glower her comment produced.

'Hey that's my line,' Jack silently groused.

"How's the pain, Dr. Jackson?" Miller glanced at the monitor while fingering his wrist. "One to ten."

"Um, it's fine, really, Lieutenant —"

"One to ten," the nurse repeated more forcefully.

When Daniel didn't respond right away, Jack guessed the younger man had refused to play, his brows undoubtedly drawn stubbornly over the bridge of his nose. Ultimately, Daniel just sighed resignedly.

"Six," he muttered, ill-humoredly. "But before you ask, I don't want any pain meds."

Miller's hand paused midway to the bag of IV solution suspended on the pole next to his bed. She glanced down at him, adjusted the flow on the IV, then reached down and smoothed out his blanket.

"You know you should be sleeping."

"I've been sleeping for... what time is it?"

"Oh three forty," Miller responded immediately, having just looked at her watch while checking Daniel's pulse.

"God, another fourteen hours," Daniel snapped disgustedly.

"Now, Dr. Jackson, you know your body needs that rest to heal properly," Lieutenant Miller spouted mechanically.

Daniel appeared stupefied by the rote nature of her recitation, and Jack imagined Daniel's face losing all expression as he stared at her, dumbfounded.

Jack bit back a laugh, realizing that Miller had given Janet's stock response to Daniel's usual impatience with forced inactivity during a stay in the infirmary — straight out of the manual she claimed to have self-published, "Handbook on Dealing with a Sick or Injured Daniel Jackson."

Jack closed his eyes, envisioning the change in Daniel's expression, the full lips pulling taut, the blue eyes narrowing irritably as he, too, realized what had just happened.

Miller smiled pleasantly, patting his blanket-covered knee. "Use the call button if you change your mind about the meds."

"Thanks," Daniel snarked.

Nodding farewell to Teal'c, she spun smartly and returned to the main ward.

Grousing under his breath, Daniel shifted awkwardly, digging his elbow into the pillows to raise himself further in the bed.

"Perhaps you should attempt to acquire additional rest..." Teal'c began.

"No," Daniel said firmly.

Jack winced. Willfulness was one of Daniel's less endearing traits.

After the day he'd had, Daniel had to be beyond exhausted and feeling every one of those new bruises as keenly as if Jeffries, the bastard, was assailing his back while he lay there. But, Daniel still had something to say, and nothing short of one of Fraiser's 'knock you on your ass' concoctions was going to keep him from saying it.

Daniel fiddled a bit with the edge of the blankets.

"I didn't want to lie to you, Teal'c," Daniel resumed as if they had not been interrupted. "I just... I couldn't tell you the truth."

"I do not understand, Daniel Jackson. When have you been untruthful with me?"

In his mind's eye, Jack saw the bottom corner of Daniel's lip disappear, pulled into his mouth by the teeth that worried it. Large, sleep-dulled blue eyes gazed up, the uncertainty reflected there swiftly overshadowed by resolve.

"Remember a few months back? When Osiris was manipulating my dreams, trying to get me to reveal the location of the Lost City?"

"Indeed." Teal'c's brow crooked, his curiosity peaked.

Jack groaned inwardly as the events surrounding the Osiris dream manipulation episode replayed in his brain. Figuratively smacking himself up side the head after learning the truth of Daniel's relationship with Sarah Gardner, Jack had fallen all over himself apologizing to Daniel for the 'kinky' remark. Even Daniel's adamant reminder that, at the time he made the comment Jack had no clue about Daniel's past, didn't assuage his guilt.

Realizing he had been lost in his memory for a second, Jack cursed himself for indulging his own demons even while Daniel tried to exorcise his. He purposefully shifted his concentration back to his lover.

Daniel inhaled — through his nose this time Jack surmised, detecting the faint whistle Daniel always seemed to develop in his sleep — and released a slow stream of air.

"My relationship with Sarah wasn't exactly like I described it," Daniel declared quietly.

Jack peered across the intervening beds for Teal'c's reaction. True to character, the Jaffa remained inscrutable. Except for the sadness in his dark eyes, detectible even from Jack's position.

"I told you that Sarah broke if off with me when I worked through our anniversary... and she did leave in a pretty big huff that night," he chuckled, his untoward mirth fleeing almost immediately. "But the next morning, she was right back, ready to forgive me."

Daniel sighed. "So, I knew I'd have to be the one to end it."

"You wished to terminate your relationship with Sarah Gardner?"

"I had to get away from her," Daniel exclaimed, his confession heavy with the desperation he had no doubt felt at the time he made the decision originally. He paused and Jack imagined Daniel's tongue sweeping his bottom lip, more a stall tactic than an actual need for moisture.

"She used me," Daniel finally said, the statement a barely audible whisper. "She hurt me and humiliated me and I... I wasn't strong enough to tell her to stop," Daniel ground out, self-loathing evident in his strained tone.

For a moment, the only sounds were the heart monitor and Daniel's harsh breathing. Then the younger man sniffled once before resuming.

"You probably remember what I was like when we first met."

Daniel's apparent non sequitur failed to confound Teal'c. Jack watched the Jaffa's head slowly bob in the affirmative, though his expression remained neutral.

"You have changed much since our initial encounter."

"Thanks to you. You and Sam and Jack. I screwed up a lot in those first few years." Daniel snorted, a sound replete with censure. "A lot. But you guys stuck by me."

"You had no such support when you met Sarah Gardner?"

Jack envisioned the surprised gape Daniel wore at Teal'c's inquiry. Though they took the form of a question, the words formed a succinct statement of Daniel's greatest failing, one Jack was thankful Daniel had mostly overcome: his inability to believe in his own inner strength. Ironically, it had taken ascension — essentially isolating himself again — for Daniel to discover that strength.

"No," Daniel replied simply.

Teal'c's gaze grew soft and earnest. "Please elaborate, Daniel Jackson."

Daniel squirmed a bit under the large man's scrutiny, and Jack imagined his lover lowering his gaze as he began to speak.

"You know that I grew up in foster care."

"I am aware," Teal'c confirmed.

"I got shuffled around quite a bit. I never lacked for anything, the families always made sure I had plenty to eat and a bed to sleep in, but... I didn't get a lot of personal interaction." Daniel's tone was matter-of-fact, thoroughly devoid of the bitterness one would expect to hear considering his experience.

"These families," Teal'c used the word as though, based on Daniel's statement, he believed it a misnomer, "did not nurture you as one of their own?"

Jack cringed at the seemingly innocuous question, an expression no doubt mirrored by his archaeologist. Daniel shifted restlessly on his bed.

Jack reflected briefly on how odd it was that after all this time, Teal'c, one of Daniel's closest friends, was still unaware of the details of Daniel's childhood. But then, Daniel was extremely reluctant to talk about that time in his life — the way Jack was reluctant to talk about Charlie. Jack mentally extended an empathetic hand of support to his love.

As though he felt the comforting touch Jack offered, Daniel stilled.

"No one really knew how to relate to me," Daniel explained. "And to be fair, I was very standoffish — I didn't want another family, I wanted the one I had lost. And after a while, the foster families just stopped trying."

Jack silently cursed those adults who had decided it was not worth their effort to tear down the emotional walls erected by an intellectually gifted, heartbroken child.

"Long story short," Daniel continued, the curtness of his tone indicating his desire to move quickly from prolonged talk of his formative years, "I never saw Sarah coming. I knew kids could be mean — I'd certainly had enough experience in that department. But, until I met Sarah... No one had ever told me a woman could be capable of such..." Apparently unsure how to complete his thought, Daniel raised his shoulder in a half-shrug.

"When her attentions turned sadistic, I didn't have anyone I could really talk to about it - not that I was anxious to let anyone know what she was doing... what I was allowing her to do.

"I felt so stupid... and trapped.

"So I did the only thing I could think to do. I ran away. I sabotaged my career and left Chicago — just to get away from Sarah."

Daniel groaned softly, and Jack saw the blankets rise and fall as his lover attempted to find a comfortable spot on the hard infirmary mattress. With a resigned grunt, he settled.

"You must have believed you had no choice but to take such drastic measures," Teal'c decided. There was no judgment in the voice, no hint that the course of action Daniel had chosen was faulty.

Daniel huffed an incongruous laugh. "Actually, the sabotage was unintentional. I knew I wasn't ready to present my theories on the pyramids. I had no hard evidence to back them up. But I'd discovered that, while Sarah was intrigued by my research, she was vehemently opposed to my coming forward with it. So, thinking that I'd finally found a way to get rid of her, I got myself invited to give a lecture in Los Angeles."

"Where you met Catherine Langford."

"Right." Daniel's face lifted in a fond grin. "I still can't believe that she offered me a job right after I was laughed off stage." The smile drained slowly from his face. "I guess I should have expected the uproar my theories caused, but at that point all I was thinking about was escaping a situation I found impossible to live with."

"You did not intend to permanently remove yourself from the archaeological community?" Teal'c asked, his dark eyes reflecting the somberness of his voice.

"No." The bitterness that was lacking in Daniel's recounting of his childhood experiences reverberated in spades in that single word. "I figured I'd find a position in another archaeology department somewhere or spend a few years on a dig."

"It was your wish to return to Chicago."

"Professor Jordan, my academic supervisor, was an excellent teacher... and a good friend. He disapproved of my decision to go public with my theories. I regret that there were hard feelings between us when I left.

"I had hoped that Sarah would become bored and move on. I would like to have gone back and worked with Dr. Jordan again. Make amends."

Daniel sighed, a mournful sound. "But that just wasn't possible," he finished quietly.

Jack closed his eyes and swallowed, his chest clenching at the pain in Daniel's voice. Daniel grieved for a life that could have been, a life outside the Stargate Program.

But as much as Jack hurt for Daniel, he couldn't share in the younger man's grief. Because the alternate path set out for Daniel had led him into Jack's heart.

"Sarah Gardner had much to answer for," Teal'c growled, his voice harsh with undisguised anger at the woman who not only abused his friend, but was also responsible for Daniel's unwilling status as an academic pariah.

"I'd say she paid an adequate price," Daniel replied somberly.

"You are much too generous, Daniel Jackson."

"Yes, he is." Grunting, Jack pushed himself upright.

Startled, Daniel whipped his head around. "Jack," he breathed, seeing the older man sitting up in bed. Forcing additional volume, he asked, "Are you alright?"

"Oh, yeah," Jack groaned, "It'll take a lot more than an aluminum pole to the head to keep me down."

Jack deftly removed the IV from the back of his hand and slid from his bed. Pausing just long enough to make sure he could manage the dizziness, he slowly made his way toward Daniel.

Daniel's huge, moist eyes watched his lover's every careful step with rapt intensity. As Jack neared the side of his bed, Daniel frowned deeply at the bandage and black eye his lover sported.

"Hey, what's with the face? I told you, I'm fine."

Visibly resisting the urge to reach out and tactilely confirm Jack's claim, Daniel flashed a tight smile. "You sure? 'Cause you look like you've just gone ten rounds with Evander Holyfield."

"Whoa, boxing references. I'm impressed," Jack nodded approvingly. "Maybe I'm rubbing off on you a bit after all.

Daniel's face lit with a genuine smile. Lowering his eyes shyly, he shrugged. "Maybe you are at that."

Jack grinned, a self-satisfied gleam in his eye. He quickly sobered as his gaze wandered to the finger marks on Daniel's cheek.

"How about you?" he inquired. "I hear you had yourself quite an adventure yesterday."

Daniel's smile faded. Raising his eyes, he cut them to Teal'c, who stood forgotten on the opposite side of his bed.

Following the troubled blue eyes, Jack directed his attention to the Jaffa. "Hey, T, why don't you go ahead and call it a night, huh? I've got him now."

"Teal'c, wait." Daniel's hand shot out, hooking Teal'c's forearm before the man had a chance to move.

The Jaffa gazed down at the hand gripping his arm, smiling gently when Daniel snatched his hand back guiltily. "There is no need for further apology, Daniel Jackson," he rumbled. "I can find no wrong in your actions... not in your prevarication to Major Carter and myself, nor in your dealings with Sarah Gardner."

His mouth gaping in surprise at the statement, Daniel raised his brows quizzically. He opened his mouth wider to respond but was cut off by Teal'c's subdued boom.

"I do not believe you guilty of foolishness or naiveté."

Daniel fidgeted, but Teal'c's earnest gaze pinned him in place, his rounded eyes held captive by the dark piercing ones boring into them.

"You did only as you have always done, Daniel Jackson. You sought to find good, even in one who did not deserve such regard. That you failed to find it is no fault of yours."

Visibly overcome by his friend's absolution, Daniel tipped his head in what Jack suspected was a move designed to hide the tears gathering in his eyes. His hunch was confirmed when the younger man lifted a hand and knuckled the tell-tale moisture from his cheek.

Daniel sighed deeply. "Thank you, Teal'c," he whispered. Unexpectedly, the sigh morphed into a huge yawn.

"You should now resume your rest," Teal'c instructed. "Will you require assistance in attaining an adequate sleep state?"

"If you mean will I need pain medication to get comfortable, the answer is no, thank you," Daniel replied, a hint of genuine amusement breaking through his solemnity.

"Then I shall bid you good night, Daniel Jackson. O'Neill." Teal'c inclined his head towards each man as he spoke their names.

Daniel's "'Night, Teal'c" blended smoothly with Jack's "Later, T."

Teal'c's gaze lingered on O'Neill's. Stoically accepting the unspoken gratitude in his commander's eyes, he backed away from the bed and silently exited the room.

Watching his large friend until he had crossed the threshold, Jack turned his gaze on his lover once Teal'c disappeared from view.

Daniel wriggled and kicked once, then finally stilled under the blankets.

"You should go back to bed," he snuck out before another yawn assailed him.

"Nah, I'm good," Jack said, smiling contentedly into the glazed azure orbs that peeped from beneath intermittently batting eyelids. He wandered around to the other side of the bed and took up the chair Teal'c had placed there before the infirmary lights were dimmed for the night.

By the time Jack had settled, Daniel was snoring softly, the ever present nocturnal nasal tune echoing in the vacant corners of the room.

Sliding his backside to the edge of the seat, Jack shimmied against the plastic back until he found a comfortable position. Crossing his arms over his chest he watched Daniel's peaceful features until, lulled by the steady beep of the heart monitor, his own eyes slid closed.

-29-

Daniel came unhurriedly to awareness.

Acknowledging the increased illumination against his eyelids as evidence of the new day, he declined to participate, choosing to keep his eyes closed against the harsh glare.

He turned his head to the side and nuzzled his face against the pillow, the new growth on his cheek rasping faintly against the fabric. Wriggling into the mattress, he slowly increased the movement, incrementally stretching bruised back and shoulder muscles.

Moaning in pleasure as the soreness lessened, he gave a final stretch, buried his nose into the pillow and inhaled deeply.

As his eyes flew open, Daniel had no time to ponder whether it was the lack of pungent medicinal smells he usually associated with the infirmary or the strange presence of a cloyingly lingering floral scent that had brought him to full wakefulness.

Bright sunlight poured into the room, filtered only by the antique white sheers fluttering gently on the cool breeze slipping through the narrowly opened window. Heretofore unnoticed bird songs wafted in on the current.

His torpid flesh newly stimulated by the unexpected presence of a window, Daniel realized the bed he occupied was much too soft for the infirmary. Lifting his head from the pillow, his wildly darting eyes took in the rest of his surroundings.

The gasp Daniel had uttered on discovering he no longer lay in the infirmary froze in his throat when he spied the long, upright shafts at the bottom corners of the bed. He struggled to a sitting position, pivoting his upper body to confirm the ominous presence of the third and fourth elements of the four poster bed. Sarah's bed. Clutching at the heart pounding madly in his chest, he shivered at the sensation of cold fingers against his bare chest.

Collapsing back on his elbows, Daniel dropped his gaze and his eyes fell on the white toes poking from beneath the pale blue sheet. He shifted his leg until the foot emerged fully from its hiding place and his forehead scrunched in confusion upon finding the ankle encased in plaster.

He let his eyes follow the long line upward from the ankle, over shin, knee and thigh to his slightly jutting hip bone.

Breaths coming in panted gulps, Daniel fought the disorientation and mounting panic that came with learning he was naked in Sarah's bed.

Casting his gaze about for his pants, he discovered that, other than the bed and the window, the room was utterly barren. There was not even a door through which he might escape.

"It's about time you woke up," a female voice, distinctly British, purred.

Head jolting towards the sound, Daniel shuddered involuntarily as Sarah Gardner slunk her way in his direction, her small, bare breasts swaying with the motion.

"No," Daniel whispered, disbelieving.

Sarah lifted a leg onto the bed and, falling on her hands and knees, crawled, cat-like, across the mattress, her movements long and lazy, her eyes blazing hungrily.

Instinctively, Daniel kicked out with his good leg. He dug his heel into the mattress and pushed backward, the thrust propelling him diagonally towards the top corner of the bed. His hands worked in concert with his foot, tugging against the sheets behind him in a desperate reverse scuttle to escape the approaching predator.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Sarah sneered. Lunging at him, she flung her hands in his direction, releasing long, razor-like claws from the ends of her fingers. Plunging the talons into the skin and muscle at Daniel's hips, a mad cackle answering his agonized scream, she dragged herself up his body until she lay on his chest. Slowly pulling her nails from his sides, she wrapped the dangerous digits around his shoulders, sliding forward until their eyes met.

Her slight weight, coupled with the pain of her invasion into his flesh, was enough to still his frenzied scramble. "Please," Daniel panted against the lips that hovered just over his own. Lifting shaking hands, he pushed weakly against her.

"Mmmm. That's right, beg for it," Sarah murmured, smothering Daniel's protests with her greedy mouth.

Sarah screwed her hips into his, creating an incongruous and unwelcome stirring in his groin and Daniel turned his head away, whimpering in despair.

Concentrating on squelching the fire that Sarah sought to stoke, Daniel failed to notice that Sarah had grasped his wrists. As she moved his hands up over his head, he realized with alarm what she intended, and yanked his arms out of her hold, hissing in response to the furrows her nails made in his left forearm.

"No," he said firmly. Lifting his hip, he attempted to throw her off.

"No is not an option," a deep voice said from behind him.

Tilting his chin up, Daniel gaped in horror into the eyes that glowed down at him. Adjusting his gaze slightly, he released an involuntary moan of apprehension at the engorged, weeping penis Osiris waved in his face.

The Goa'uld's hand encircled his wrists and Daniel cried out. Pulling ineffectually against the iron grip, he cursed when Osiris jerked his arms towards the corner post.

Shifting onto her knees, Sarah leaned over Daniel. Her naked midriff pressing into his cheek, she wrapped two silken scarves tightly around his wrists, fastening them equally as tightly to the post of the bed. Once Daniel was securely bound she climbed off him, scooting to the side, and rested on her knees, a sadistic smile splitting her features.

"Sarah," Daniel gasped pleadingly. He tugged against the ties, dismayed to find they would not budge. Beating back the panic that threatened to overwhelm him, he sputtered, "What are you going to do?"

Sarah glanced across his rapidly rising and falling chest. Followed her gaze, Daniel cringed when Osiris grinned suggestively down at him. He slammed his head into the pillow beneath it. "God, no! Please! Don't do this to me again!"

"Daniel," Sarah snapped, her tone clearly admonishing, "What have I told you about talking during our sessions?"

A sound as of heavy fabric being torn drew Daniel's wide-eyed attention once again to the side of the bed.

"I have just the thing," Jeffries said, holding up the generous portion of duct tape he had just torn from the roll he tossed haphazardly away. His full cock danced with the motion.

"No!" Daniel kicked and tried to roll away from the advancing gag, heedless of the pain the movement caused in wrists and shoulders already stretched to their limits.

Despite his fervor, he was no match for the three of them, and Daniel was unable to stop the tears of despondency spilling from his eyes when the tape closed over his mouth.

Smiling appreciatively at his restrained form, Sarah chirped brightly at Osiris. "Shall we allow our new associate to go first?"

"That would only be fair," Osiris replied agreeably, "since you and I have already had the pleasure."

Osiris bent over and, digging his fingers into Daniel's hips, effortlessly flipped the archaeologist onto his stomach.

"There you are, Mr. Jeffries. Enjoy."

The mattress dipped as Jeffries climbed eagerly onto the bed, and Daniel screamed into his gag, pushing himself up on the heels of his hands, legs flailing.

"Ach, there'll be none of that," Osiris snapped. Laying a hand on the back of Daniel's neck he forced his victim's head onto the bed, applying sufficient pressure to hold Daniel's upper body in place.

At the same time, Sarah slipped off the side of the mattress and came to the bottom of the bed. Grasping Daniel's casted ankle she quickly shackled it to the bottom bedpost with another scarf. She gripped and tightly held Daniel's left ankle, helpfully spreading the archaeologist's legs apart for Jeffries.

"Now then," Osiris growled, firming his grip on Daniel's neck for emphasis, "you just lie there quietly and take it. Ungrateful wretch. Have you learned nothing from Sarah's instruction?" Gesturing to the man who waited patiently for his chance, Osiris said invitingly, "Proceed, Mr. Jeffries."

Daniel stiffened, guttural protests issuing from his throat, as Jeffries moved between his wide opened legs. The orderly prized his buttocks apart with rough fingers and Daniel kicked wildly, nearly succeeding in loosing Sarah's grip on his ankle. Osiris increased the pressure on his neck until Daniel was sure it would snap.

That concern was driven from his mind by the thick, wet object poking at his anus, seeking entry.

Having positioned himself, Jeffries gave a triumphant howl and shoved forward.

Jack's eyes shot open at Daniel's first muffled cry. Sitting upright, he leaned towards the younger man, all senses alert.

Daniel lay on his side, facing Jack, his face angled down into the pillows. From his position in the chair, Jack could easily see the outline of Daniel's eyes as they raced back and force beneath fluttering lids.

Daniel's lips moved silently, wordless panting gusts escaping between them as his respirations quickened. His hands grasped spasmodically at the blankets, twisting and pulling. He stilled for just a second before his legs began moving restlessly.

"Shit. Nightmare," Jack muttered, the statement drowned out by the increasingly rapid chirps from the heart monitor. Coming to his feet with a groan, he rested a hip against the bed and gently palmed Daniel's nape.

Daniel twisted away from him, and Jack increased the pressure on Daniel's neck slightly, the touch intended to both comfort and restrain. "Ach. Come on, Daniel, don't do that," he grumbled. "Wake up."

Lieutenant Miller rushed into the room, having been alerted by the monitor's irregular beeping. Jack didn't even spare her a glance as she came to the bedside.

Daniel stiffened and moaned low in his throat, a piteous sound.

"Daniel, wake up!" With his other hand, Jack grasped his lover's bicep and shook him.

Daniel flailed again, the movement so sudden it shook Jack's hand loose from his arm. Jack added pressure to Daniel's nape and grabbed at the flailing arms, capturing and holding one wrist against the bed.

With a roughly drawn gasp, Daniel pulled away from Jack, turning rapidly onto his back and nearly over the opposite side of the bed. "No!" he screamed, his eyes wide in terror.

His hold on Daniel lost by the younger man's sudden movement, Jack grappled for the front of Daniel's hospital gown, sliding him back to the center of the bed.

Since saving Daniel from a tumble to the concrete floor was his first priority, Jack noticed only after his lover was safely positioned, that Daniel's breaths were coming too quickly. The younger man heaved, seemingly unable to get sufficient oxygen, his eyes large and glassy. Beneath Jack's fingers, Daniel's flesh quivered with tremors, each one like a muted electrical current running just beneath the surface.

Lieutenant Miller quickly lowered the bed until Daniel lay flat and grasped his wrist to manually check his heart rate.

"He's had a nightmare," Jack informed her. Sliding his hand behind Daniel's shoulder, Jack began massaging in gentle, calming circles. "It's alright, buddy, you're okay now," he said softly.

Daniel continued to gasp but his breathing appeared to ease under Jack's ministrations. Within moments, his eyelids dropped.

Nodding approvingly when Daniel's racing heartbeat slowed, Miller retrieved a clean cloth from the bedside table and dabbed at the sweat on Daniel's brow and neck. "You're very good at this, sir," she said quietly.

Glancing up at Miller, he shrugged his acceptance of her praise, before returning his attention to the man on the bed.

"Daniel and I have been through a lot of nightmares together."

He continued to soothe Daniel's anxiety, sighing gratefully when the trembling began to subside. Feeling uncomfortable with Miller's continued presence during what, to him, felt like an intimate moment with his lover, Jack cut his eyes back towards the exit. "I think he's alright now, Lieutenant. You can just ask Dr. Fraiser to check on him when she comes in."

"Yes, sir," Miller assented, squeezing Daniel's forearm once before leaving the men alone.

"J'ck?"

Watching Miller cross the room, Jack started, unsure whether he had actually heard the barely audible uttering of his name. Gazing down he pulled a relieved smile at the dual flashes of blue that appeared under droopy eyelids, disappeared briefly as the lids slid closed then came into view again.

The eyes slammed shut and Daniel grunted, his muscles tensing in what Jack surmised was a remnant of the nightmare. Daniel's Adam's apple bobbed jerkily beneath a heavy swallow.

"Yeah, Daniel, it's me. You know where you are?"

Nodding, Daniel pulled in a shaky breath and released it in a gusting sigh.

Giving the shoulder a tender squeeze, Jack raised the bed until Daniel reclined at a comfortable angle. "You wanna tell me about it?" he ventured in a hushed tone.

Daniel sighed again and peered out from half-masted eyes, his brows hanging low on his forehead.

"I was in Sarah's apartment... and she..." He paused, his breath catching.

"Okay." Jack patted the shoulder soothingly. "You're here now. She can't hurt you any more."

"He raped me," Daniel said softly.

"Osiris," Jack supplied, not really surprised that mention of Sarah brought memories of the Goa'uld that had inhabited her.

"No." Daniel pinched his eyes shut. "Jeffries."

"What?" Jack rasped, managing to keep his outraged voice at a harsh whisper. "Jeffries raped you? Why didn't you say...?"

"No." Daniel raised his hand, clumsily patting Jack's chest. "In my dream. He raped me in my dream."

"Oh," Jack breathed, tension exiting his body with the air. He reached out and casually scraped the tear from Daniel's cheek with his fingertips.

"Osiris was there though," Daniel continued. "I'm sure if you hadn't wakened me, he would have taken another turn. He was certainly ready for it."

"Damn it, Daniel," Jack whispered angrily, infuriated that even in sleep Daniel found no respite from the demons that plagued him.

"I guess we don't have to ask Teal'c for help interpreting this dream, do we?"

"You've got it figured out, do you?" Jack asked wearily, wondering idly why Daniel felt the need to put meaning to his dreams.

"Well, there's no deep secret here," Daniel replied conversationally. Except for the tell-tale tracks of his tears and the general disheveled look of him, no one walking into the room now would recognize that he'd just woken up screaming from a nightmare.

"I just had this huge confrontation with Sarah," Daniel explained, his fingers pulling the imaginary pieces of his argument together. "Now, in Chicago every time I challenged her, Sarah would come on stronger in our next 'session.'"

"Sarah was there?"

"Yeah. Didn't I say?"

"No. I..." Jack's brow turned downward as he re-ran Daniel's first comment in his head. "I think you just said you were in her apartment."

"Oh. Well, yeah, she was there. And very feral, too."

"Feral?" Jack's brows lifted skyward.

"Predatory," Daniel confirmed. "She had these claws..." He held his hands up, curving his fingers inward.

Glancing up at Jack's incredulous face, Daniel reasoned, "Well, it makes sense. I had just beaten her conclusively. She'd have to come back at me with something pretty heavy."

Jack simply nodded. It occurred to him to remind Daniel that Sarah really couldn't come at him with anything now that she was dead, but Daniel seemed intent on puzzling out the events of his dream.

"Where did Osiris fit in?" Jack asked, reluctant to know the details of Daniel's troubling dream, but knowing he had to move the analysis along.

Apparently lost in his contemplation of Sarah's appearance in his dream, Daniel turned vacant eyes in Jack's direction. Almost immediately, his eyes skittered away.

"He held me down," Daniel said after a moment. "He held my arms while Sarah tied me to the bed. And..." Daniel ran his hand over his nape, "then he grabbed the back of my neck and sort of pushed me into the mattress while Jeffries..."

Swallowing dryly at the realization that his touch could well have triggered that aspect of Daniel's dream, Jack shifted uncomfortably. "What the hell was Jeffries doing there?" he asked brusquely, his self-rebuke making the question harsher than he had intended.

Daniel raised large, startled eyes at the tone, his mouth hanging open in a stupefied gape.

"I don't mean 'what was he doing.'" Jack drew air quotes around the phrase. "I mean, why was he even there?"

Daniel snapped his mouth closed, and again, his eyes darted from Jack's.

"Well, I'd guess because he'd just..." Daniel ventured, his hand jerking fitfully as he stammered out his thoughts. "Well, he essentially... I mean he'd just kidnapped me so... I'd guess that would color my view of his..."

"Daniel." This time the harsh tone was deliberate, intended to capture and hold Daniel's scattered attention. "Did Jeffries do something more than nick you with the scalpel and knock you around?"

"That's not enough?"

"Daniel," Jack said again, with as much patience as he could muster given Daniel's obvious attempt to avoid answering the question. "Did Jeffries try to...?" Jack tipped his head towards Daniel's groin.

"No!" Daniel blurted. "No, he..." Daniel released a gust of exasperated breath. "He grabbed my leg. When we were in the elevator he grabbed my leg, and I thought he..."

"You thought he was planning..."

"To rape me, yeah." Shaking his head as though clearing the notion from his mind, Daniel drew a deep breath. "It was that grope that raised my adrenaline level enough to finally fight off the sedative, I think." He snorted a small laugh. "Ironic, huh?"

The irony was lost on Jack as his own thoughts overshadowed Daniel's comments.

"Wait a minute," he said abruptly. "When did Jeffries inject you with the sedative?"

Daniel's forehead puckered at the unexpected question. "Um, in the hallway just off the corridor to the interview rooms. Why?"

"You were still aware when he got you in the elevator."

Daniel shrugged. "I managed to knock the needle out his hand before he could administer the full dose."

"If you knew what was going on when you made it to the elevator, you were still awake when he took you by the security station," Jack deduced.

Daniel's face blanched and Jack surmised that his lover had figured out what he was after. He increased the intensity of his stare. "Why didn't you alert one of the guards?"

Daniel turned away, sweeping his tongue over dry lips. He gestured to the bedside table. "Can I have some water?"

Jack's eyes narrowed at the attempt to stall. "Answer my question first."

Daniel glanced up at Jack's scowl, then down to his own fidgeting fingers. He attempted to wet his lips again with his tongue then pulled the bottom one into his mouth.

"You're not gonna like the answer," he finally whispered.

"I gathered that much by your reluctance to give it," Jack replied. He drew a calming breath through his nose, consciously relaxing his severe stance. Gently gripping Daniel's shoulder to draw the younger man's attention to him, he directed softly, "Tell me anyway."

Heaving his own sigh, Daniel raised his gaze incrementally, finally locking onto Jack's concerned dark orbs. Shifting his shoulder into the pillows, he began slowly, "Jeffries had a scalpel."

"I know," Jack interjected. "I mentioned the scalpel earlier, remember?"

Daniel's brows gathered over the bridge of his nose. "Right. Sorry." He didn't say anything else until Jack canted his head, widening his eyes in a gesture of expectation.

"As we were nearing the security desk, Jeffries pressed the tip of the scalpel against the back of my neck."

"That's how come there's a wound there." Jack nodded in the direction of Daniel's nape, and Daniel brought a hand up, rubbing it across the small bandage. The hand slithered away from his neck and fell against his thigh.

"Yeah," he said softly. Half a heartbeat later he blurted, "Jeffries said if I didn't cooperate he was gonna shove the end of that scalpel between the vertebrae in my neck and sever my spinal cord."

Jack felt the heat of anger envelope him and knew from Daniel's downcast eyes that the emotion had been manifested in a visible flush. "The son of a bitch," he spat. "And you believed him."

"I don't know what I believed," Daniel chuckled softly. At a greater volume the laugh might have been considered borderline hysterical. "All I do know is that blade was poised to do some pretty serious damage, and Jeffries was threatening to make me a quadriplegic." Daniel frowned at the hands trembling in his lap. "Apparently, he didn't care so much about killing me as making sure I was 'utterly useless,' I think is how he put it."

Jack placed his hand over Daniel's quaking fingers, squeezing the digits gently.

Slipping one hand from under Jack's, Daniel rubbed at the moisture under his nose with the side of his index finger. He smiled wanly at the tissue Jack produced from the bedside table. Picking the Kleenex from between Jack's lax fingers, he gently blew his nose.

Jack lifted the trash can from the floor so that Daniel could deposit his used tissue. "It's not true, you know that, right?"

Dropping the balled-up paper in the proffered receptacle, Daniel cleared his throat, blinking uncertainly under Jack's earnest gaze. The older man leaned closer.

"You could never be useless Daniel. Not to the program... and not to me."

Emotionally overwhelmed from the trauma of the past week and visibly moved by Jack's sentiment, Daniel closed his eyes against the swell of tears that, in spite of the barrier, plopped softly on the bed sheets.

"Come 'ere," Jack whispered coarsely. He wrapped his arms around Daniel's shoulders, carefully pulling the injured man against him for a comforting hug — as much for himself as for Daniel.

He held on, Daniel clinging to him just as tightly, while the younger man sobbed softly into his chest. Knowing full well that he might have to explain his actions if someone walked in on them, Jack bent his head and touched his lips to the back of Daniel's neck, just above the bandaged wound that had been the catalyst for Daniel's most recent catharsis.

"I love you, Daniel," he whispered so only his lover's ears could hear. "I love who you are. What you know and share so freely. The way you have of taking on other people's pain like it's your own. Giving of yourself to ease their burden, even when giving causes you harm."

He moved one hand to cradle Daniel's head against his chest, placing a kiss on the soft hair. "The way you love me, in spite of the fact that I gripe at you constantly for making me crazy with all those other characteristics."

Daniel snickered softly against Jack's chest and shifted backward, sitting up when Jack relaxed his hold. Studying his partner through wet lashes, Daniel smiled sadly.

Jack rubbed a hand along Daniel's arm. "That's who you are Daniel. Not this."

Daniel's smile broadened. He bobbed his head in understanding.

"And nothing will ever make me love you less," Jack concluded, squeezing Daniel's arm for emphasis.

Daniel gazed into the very depths of Jack's dark brown eyes, and Jack openly displayed the truth behind his words. The younger man's eyes glistened with additional tears before he lowered his head and sniffled loudly.

"You sure are effusive this morning," he whispered.

Jack smiled crookedly. "What can I say? You've brought out the romantic in me."

Daniel chuffed a muffled laugh and again leaned into Jack's hug. They remained like that for a moment — Jack offering emotional as well as physical support with the hand he stroked against Daniel's arm; Daniel sitting, head bowed, in Jack's slack embrace, each basking in the nearness — when suddenly Daniel's head came up, his eyes large with anxiety. He clutched at the hand on his bicep.

"Jack," he gasped urgently, "Jeffries said he was working for someone else. Someone who wants me out of the SGC."

Jack slid his hand off Daniel's arm, capturing the clenching fingers and holding tightly. "I know, Daniel," he said, a remorseful wince pinching his features.

"You know?"

"Well, not that Jeffries was involved, but we found out the other day that the NID had placed a mole on base." Jack grimaced again. "I'm sorry, Daniel, I should have warned you, but I never really had the opportunity."

"It doesn't matter, Jack. If you didn't suspect Jeffries, chances are..." Daniel's words trailed off, his eyes shifting focus.

"Daniel?"

Daniel blinked and cleared his throat before answering. "I just remembered something. A couple of days ago, Jeffries was taking my lunch tray, and he got this look, like he..." Daniel scrunched his brow and shook his head slowly. "It was like he wanted me to know he didn't like me."

"Shit," Jack spat, "Why didn't you say something."

Daniel shrugged. "I'm not exactly trusting my perceptions just now, Jack. I mean, I thought Jeffries planned to rape me in that elevator, though now that I've had time to think about it, I believe he was just trying to get my attention."

Jack drew a long breath and blew it out quickly. "Right. Well, we still don't know how many there are, so from now on you're gonna have a security detail..."

"Jack," Daniel protested.

"Consisting of me, Teal'c, Carter, and Ferretti. One of us will be with you at all times."

Daniel pulled away from Jack's hold and fell discontentedly into the pillows. "I suppose I can put up with that," he smirked.

"Well it's a good thing, because it's non-negotiable. We've got two of the bastards in custody, but until we give the base a clean sweep, I don't want you left alone."

"Two? Who was the other?" Daniel's ample brows hovered inquiringly over eyes enlarged with expectation, his pale forehead severely wrinkled by the gesture.

Manifestly irritated that he had to divulge the information, Jack ground out. "Dr. Cooksey. SG-10's linguist."

"Art Cooksey?" Daniel's brows dropped precipitously, hanging low over troubled eyes.

"Yeah. Sorry."

Daniel had no time to respond as the tell-tale click of heels on concrete heralded the arrival of the base CMO.

"Dr. Jackson, I heard you were awake," Janet called brightly approaching the bed. "How are you this morning?"

"Fine," Daniel answered distractedly, keeping his eyes on Jack, who took a step away from the bed as Janet came nearer.

"Why don't I be the judge of that, hmmm?" Janet pulled her stethoscope from the pocket of her lab coat and, draping it around her neck, passed a disapproving glare over Jack's hovering form. "Colonel O'Neill, why are you out of bed?"

His gaze snapping to Janet's scowl, Jack bristled, his eyes narrowing minutely.

Recognizing that Jack was about to challenge Janet, likely with some smart ass remark that would guarantee his next physical was an interesting experience, Daniel jumped on his partner's intended retort. "I asked Jack to stick close after the nightmare," he fibbed, turning pleading eyes on his lover, asking him to accept the explanation without comment.

Janet softened her chastising gaze. "I take it you're feeling alright?" she inquired of the colonel.

"I'm good," Jack confirmed curtly. He twitched his lips testily, unwilling to give up that small sign of rebellion even for Daniel.

"Mmmm," Janet smirked. "Another one who thinks he knows better than the medical staff." She jerked her head back over her shoulder. "Dr. Warner is out on the ward. Ask him to give you a once over before he signs your discharge papers."

Figuring he should make good his escape before she changed her mind, Jack patted Daniel's hand in parting and turned away. He took two shuffling steps, pulling up short at the foot of the bed, his eyes unerringly finding those of his mate. "Can I come back?"

Grinning indulgently, Janet offered, "I should be through in about an hour. Why don't you come back then and you and Daniel can have breakfast together?"

Thinking on it for just a second, Jack shot an exaggerated grin in Daniel's direction. "I'll do that, thanks," he said, and spinning on the ball of his foot, strode jauntily out of the room.

Daniel smiled softly after his retreating lover, watching until Jack disappeared around the doorjamb.

Leaning back, he held up his arms, elbows locked, for Janet's inspection. "Which one would you like to poke today?" he asked good-naturedly.

After helping Daniel to and from the bathroom, Janet took his vitals, drew blood, and rechecked all his wounds, including a thorough evaluation of his casted ankle.

Reclining into the pillows Janet had just rearranged for him, Daniel made a swipe at his glasses which still rested on the bedside table. Aborting the action when overtaxed muscles conveyed excruciating objection, he snapped his mouth closed over an embarrassing bleat and gestured timidly. "Can I have my glasses?"

Janet frowned at his obvious discomfort and handed the lenses to him. Wincing in sympathy when he carefully settled the glasses against his still tender face, she smiled in genuine pleasure once they were in place.

"There," she bubbled, "now you look like the Daniel we all know and love."

Daniel smiled, but there was a sadness in his eyes which belied the expression.

Janet watched him for a moment, her doctor eyes assessing his physical condition, her friend eyes scrutinizing his emotional needs. Suspecting he was feeling far from Daniel-like after the past few days, Janet tucked her hands in her pockets, and asked gently, "So, how bad was it?"

Daniel cut his eyes to hers and was clearly overwhelmed by the concern he saw behind her clinical doctor stare. Removing his glasses from his face, he gently massaged his eyelids. "The nightmare?" he asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"You had Lieutenant Miller pretty concerned for a moment."

Daniel peeked briefly from behind his fingers. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset anyone." He adjusted his grip, gingerly poking the inner corners of his eyes. "I can handle the nightmares," he muttered into the palm suspended over his mouth. "It's the ..." His hand slid from his face, falling slack in his lap next to the one holding his glasses. He exhaled a weary sigh which was immediately followed by a moist sniff.

Taking the box of Kleenex from the bedside table, Janet held it before Daniel while he pulled at the tissues with a shaky hand. Watching him closely without openly staring, she frowned at the tears that slid down his cheek and hung for just a second on his bruised jaw before plummeting to the shoulder of his hospital gown. She set the box of tissues on the bed next to his thigh, guessing he would have further need of them.

Daniel scrubbed the tissues over his face then loudly blew his nose. Sniffling quietly, he balled the tissues in a fist, dropping the wadded mass onto the bed next to his leg.

Snatching another tissue from the box, Daniel contemplated the edges he tore, taking a moment to collect himself.

"I keep feeling it. Some... sometimes it's like it's happening all over again." Stealing a glance at Janet, he clarified, "In my dream, my nightmare..." In spite of his efforts to remain calm his respirations increased in anticipation of having to relive the carnal details of his nocturnal tragedy.

Janet laid a soothing hand on his arm, rubbing gently. "It's alright, Daniel. You're safe here. Take your time."

Daniel pushed the tissue angrily into the corners of his eyes. "I'm really tired of this, you know?" he complained, offering a wan smile. He glanced down at the small hand, powerful for all its femininity, which supportively squeezed his arm.

Drawing a huge breath, he pushed it out through his opened lips. "I was raped in my dream. And when I woke up, I could still feel the invasion..."

Janet nodded, the edges of her mouth pulled into a sympathetic grimace. "It's not uncommon, especially this soon after an attack." Her lips lifted in an apologetic smile. "Which doesn't really help, I know."

Daniel released his glasses, dropping them into his lap, and settled his hand over Janet's. "It's okay, Janet. You're doing all you can, I know that. It's just gonna take time."

Slipping her hand from beneath his, Janet tapped him playfully on the shoulder. "Now you're stealing my lines," she groused teasingly.

Daniel ducked his head and grinned. "Sorry," he muttered. "Can't seem to stop practicing medicine without a license."

Rolling her eyes as though giving great consideration to her response, Janet said, "Well, I'll let it slide... this time."

Raising his eyes, Daniel attempted a smile and nodded. "So what happens now?"

"Well, assuming all of your tests come out alright, and you don't have any complications from your latest adventure, you'll start physical therapy in three to four weeks."

"A month? You're not gonna keep me in here the whole time?"

Janet might have laughed at the panicked look in his eyes except that, with Daniel, she knew the panic was genuine.  To him, being cooped up in the infirmary for that length of time, unless he was flat on his back, unconscious — or suffering withdrawal from a sarcophagus addiction — was akin to being imprisoned.

"No," she said reassuringly, grinning in satisfaction when his stressed posture relaxed. "But, you're not going to be able to go home by yourself. You'll have to keep your weight off that ankle for a while then we'll move on to partial weight-bearing for a few weeks before the PT. You'll need to stay with someone until you're steadier on your feet." Her grin turned mischievous. "Think you can find a friend to take you in?"

Flushing at her knowing expression, Daniel mumbled, "I'm sure someone will take pity on me."

"I thought there might be someone," she teased.

Daniel's shoulders once again stiffened, the cause of his obvious anxiety becoming immediately apparent when he asked, "What about the... other therapy?"

"The psychiatrist?" Janet asked, wincing when his eyes darted to his lap. "I've been in contact with him. He said he can set up a schedule as soon as I've released you from the infirmary."

"And..." Daniel sighed, pointedly exhaling his tension with his breath, and met her gaze steadily, "you can arrange that for me?"

"I'll set up the initial appointment, yes. You and Dr. Meck will have to determine when and how often you'll need to see him."

"Okay." Daniel nodded, the dread reflected in his eyes slowly giving way to determination.

Janet carefully schooled her reaction to his change in attitude, but inwardly she beamed. Daniel was one of the most resolute men she had ever met. Once he accepted that the only way to get what he wanted — some semblance of the life he had before Osiris abducted him — was to follow her prescribed treatment plan, nothing, not even his intense dislike for mental health professionals, would keep him from achieving that goal.

Not that she could blame him for his ill feelings towards psychiatrists. She knew from what little medical history she had been able to obtain from Daniel's time in the New York State foster care system, that none of the numerous counselors and psychiatrists they had sent him to had been able to build a rapport with the too-bright-for-his-own-good, grief-stricken little boy. And, of course, his encounter with Dr. McKenzie had been nothing short of disastrous.

Refusing to follow that line of thought any further, Janet put on a smile and asked lightheartedly, "Now, what would you and the colonel like for breakfast?"

"Oh." Daniel studied the hand that held his glasses poised midway between his lap and his face. His forehead knotted, the fatigue lines in the corners of his eyes magnified. "You know, I'm not really hungry."

Janet's smile faded and she tipped her head back, leveling a disapproving squint at her patient.

"Daniel," she began, her tone admonishing. Biting her lips at his almost imperceptible flinch, Janet pulled a deep breath and said more kindly, "Hungry or not, you've got to eat something. We don't need to add severe weight loss to the inventory of your medical traumas."

Daniel's leg moved restlessly. "I just... I don't..." He shook his head, obviously frustrated.

"You're nauseous," Janet surmised. "And have been since the assault."

Daniel closed his eyes and, sighing softly, barely nodded his head.

"That's a normal reaction, Daniel."

Daniel threw his head back into his pillow. "God! Normal is so not a word that should ever be used in this situation."

Startled briefly by his outburst, Janet recovered quickly. "No, you're right. This whole situation is —"

"Aberrant, perverse, freakish, warped."

"I was going to say unusual, but that doesn't quite cut it. I think your descriptions are much more apt."

Daniel shrugged, his lips curving slightly with something akin to humor. "I'm a linguist. I can find exactly the right word for every occasion."

'Except your words failed you on that Goa'uld mothership, didn't they?' Janet thought sadly, knowing Daniel would have tried his damnedest to talk his way out of the rape.

Neither of them said anything for a moment and, as Janet watched Daniel's harried, sunken features visibly straighten and firm, she marveled at the strength that allowed Daniel, through sheer willpower, to once again pull himself back from the edge of despair.

"Toast," Daniel suggested into the quiet, slipping his glasses around the still prominent bruise on his cheek.

"That's a good start," Janet agreed. "I'll just ask for a whole smorgasbord, and the two of you can share."

"Fine," Daniel consented.

Janet walked to the doorway and asked the first person she saw to call down to the commissary. As she walked back towards him, Daniel ventured, "Janet, can I have some books? I mean, now that I'm finally conscious, I'm gonna go crazy just lying here."

Fighting a smile when he brought the patented Jackson "puppy dog eyes" into play, made even more pathetic by the scrapes and bruises marring his face, Janet narrowed her eyes in dissent for just a second to let him know she wasn't always going to be such a pushover, then softened her gaze.

"I'll have Sam bring you something. Was there anything in particular you wanted?"

"My journals," he tossed out without hesitation. He pushed himself upright, his enthusiasm approaching his usual animated manner when books were the topic of conversation. "Sam will know the ones I need. And the translation I was working on for SG-5... unless... someone else has probably finished that already." He flicked his hand in an 'it doesn't matter' gesture. "I'm sure there's something in my inbox that I can —"

"No work, Daniel," Janet interjected, her mouth screwed up in displeasure. "If you want some light reading material, a magazine or a paperback, I'll be happy to accommodate you. But I do not want you trying to maneuver one of your thirty pound tomes with strained muscles that are still healing, nor will I let you turn your infirmary room into a second office."

Collapsing into his pillows with a dejected sigh, Daniel nearly whined, "Can I at least have my personal journal?"

Suspecting that he would fill the pages of his journal with his thoughts and feelings about the recent assaults — a kind of therapy in itself — Janet relented. "I'll ask Sam to get it from your office," she said. "And, if you have anything up there that would qualify as relaxing reading material ..."

Daniel smiled broadly enough to tweak his wounded cheekbone as evidenced by the wince that preceded the smile's slight fading.

"Scripta Minoa, the first volume." He paused, his jaw working silently for a second before he closed his eyes with an impatient huff. "Uh,The Hieroglyphic and Primitive Linear Classes," he recited, as though reading the title his memory had superimposed against the backs of his closed eyelids. "It should be on the second bookshelf to the right of the doorway."

Janet cocked an eyebrow. 'Only you would find that relaxing,' she said in her head, but to Daniel she queried, "And how much does this book weigh?"

Daniel opened his eyes and shrugged his shoulders to his ears, poking his bottom lip out reflectively for good measure. "Coupla pounds?"

"Hmm." Janet eyed him suspiciously. "You know I'm going to have Sam bring it to me first."

"I figured as much," Daniel sighed.

Janet patted his knee, turning to acknowledge Lieutenant Miller, who came into the room carrying a tray loaded with covered plates. "The colonel should be back soon." Janet glanced at her watch, noting it was almost exactly an hour since she'd sent him away.

"I'm back," Jack announced, skidding through the doorway and twisting to avoid running into the nurse's back. He skimmed his fingertips through his still damp hair, whooshing his relief at having averted the collision.

As he approached the bed, Janet inhaled deeply, the immediate area infused with the warm, rich scent of Jack's sandalwood shower gel.

"Janet, when can I get a shower?" Daniel flushed slightly, smiling apologetically to Lieutenant Miller, who stood directly over him, setting the tray down on the table suspended over his bed. "I mean, not that the sponge baths haven't been great..."

"No offense taken, Dr. Jackson," she assured him with a quick smile. "Did you need anything else, Dr. Fraiser?"

"No, Ginny. Thank you. Go on home. I think between the two of us, Colonel O'Neill and I can manage to take care of Dr. Jackson until Karen comes on."

"Yes, ma'am," Miller replied, nodding her goodbye to both men before exiting.

"About that shower?" Daniel reiterated. He closed his eyes briefly, his sour look advertising the wave of nausea that had hit him as soon as Jack removed the cover from one of the plates on the tray.

Deciding against calling him on the reaction, Janet instead shook her head. "That cast has to stay dry, Daniel," she rebuked mildly. "Besides, I can hardly turn you loose in a shower with only one good leg."

"Hell, I've seen you almost go down in the showers when you had two good legs," Jack volunteered. He settled on the edge of the bed and bit a sizeable chunk off a piece of bacon.

"Jack," Daniel growled under his breath, shooting his lover an irritated glare, "you're not helping."

Jack stopped mid-chew, pushing the other half of his bacon strip towards Daniel as a peace offering, a chagrined grimace pulling at his lips.

"Eat something, Daniel," Janet suggested. "And maybe I'll let you soak in the hydrotherapy tub for half an hour. Will that do?"

Snatching the bacon from Jack's hand, Daniel grinned broadly. "That would be great, Janet. Thanks."

Janet nodded and left the two of them to their breakfast.

Daniel dropped the bacon on the nearest plate, rubbing his thumb against the greasy residue on his fingers. Curling his lip in disgust, he eased a napkin from under a plate and vigorously wiped his hands clean. He tossed the napkin onto the pile of plates, and leaned back to watch Jack eat.

After a minute, Jack stopped shoveling food into his mouth, sat back and gestured at the feast. "Uh, aren't you supposed to be helping me with this?" he asked around a mouthful of eggs. He surreptitiously fingered a particle of food that had flown from his mouth and landed on Daniel's blanket.

"That's okay; I'm not hungry," Daniel moaned, sliding further down in the bed.

Jack dropped his fork on the plate and wiped his hands and mouth with his napkin. "Fraiser said you should eat," he urged, the force of the remark a definite nudge to obey the doctor's directive.

Pushing his lips out in a disconcerted moue when Daniel failed to respond, Jack lifted the lid off another plate. "Hey, waffles. You like waffles." Jack snagged the syrup pitcher ensconced between the plates and poured a little of the sticky substance over the fluffy squares. Cutting off a corner of the waffle, he speared it, tapped the small bite on the edge of the plate to shake loose any syrup that might drip on the linens and held the fork to Daniel's face.

"Come on, open up," he cajoled.

"Jack," Daniel said testily.

Seeing his opportunity, Jack maneuvered the waffle between Daniel's parted lips and slid the empty fork out, quickly closing his fingers over Daniel's lips to keep the younger man from expelling the food.

"Chew," he suggested, nodding his head in approval when the jaw beneath his fingers moved up and down. "Now, swallow," he prompted after a minute.

Daniel closed his eyes and did as requested, making a show of pushing the food down his throat against the revolting of his stomach.

Jack held a glass of water before him. "Try chasing it with this."

Daniel opened his eyes and grabbed the proffered beverage, taking a deep swallow. Lowering the cup, he opened his mouth and breathed deeply until his nausea abated.

"Wanna try another?" Jack danced the next little piece before his lover's indulgently amused lips.

"Can I feed myself?" Daniel asked, slipping the fork from between Jack's fingers.

"Sure," Jack agreed. "As long as you actually do."

Daniel's eyes flashed annoyance but Jack pressed on, undaunted. "Janet's worried about you... and so am I," he quietly admitted.

"Jack, there's no need —"

"You went nearly two days without food while that damn Goa'uld had you," Jack growled, the passion startling Daniel. "You've barely eaten anything since you've been home, and what you did eat, you just brought back up again. Your body's been through a lot the last few days and if you don't eat, you're not gonna get better."

Biting down on his bottom lip to stop the worry-spawned torrent of angry sounding words, Jack shook his head.

"I want you to get better, Daniel," he continued, his tone just short of begging. "There's only so much Janet can do with the IVs." Jack huffed a shaky breath. "She told Hammond that, unless you start eating by the end of the week, she's gonna consider inserting a feeding tube." His tongue darted between his lips. "I don't want you to have to go through that. And I know you don't want it. So, please, for both our sakes, eat as much of this as you can. Okay?"

Blinking back tears, Daniel swallowed hard. "I'll try, Jack," he whispered. Offering a brittle smile, he pulled a quick breath, nodding decisively.

Gingerly palming Daniel's bruised cheek, Jack flashed a hopeful grin. "That's all I ask."

Daniel's smile broadened, actually touching his eyes. He popped the second bite of waffle into his mouth and, locking eyes with Jack, chewed and determinedly forced it down.

As Daniel put the edge of his fork to the waffle, cutting off another piece, Jack lifted the small plate of bacon in his direction.

Shaking his head emphatically, Daniel groaned, "Let's not push it, okay?"

Mouth sliding into an apologetic smirk, Jack withdrew the offering and resumed his own meal.

A short while later, Jack pushed away from the table with a hearty groan. Watching Daniel finish off a glass of orange juice, he gazed down at the younger man's plate, noting with satisfaction that Daniel had eaten over half of his waffle.

Clipping back into the room, Janet pulled up next to the bed. "Well, looks like you got at least some of your appetite back," she beamed.

"Not really," Daniel admitted, rubbing his disquieted belly. "But I want to get better." He shot a shy grin at the originator of the sentiment. "And eating is part of that process, no matter how much my stomach thinks otherwise."

"Let's just hope it stays down this time," Jack said absently.

Daniel leveled Jack with a snarky glare. "Thank you so much for your vote of confidence."

Jack opened his mouth to reply, but Janet, no doubt recognizing the beginnings of a bout of playful banter between the men, interjected, "How about that bath?"

She deftly moved the rollaway table away from the bed, careful not to unsettle the precariously stacked mounds of dirty dishes. "Or would you rather stay here and trade barbs with the colonel?"

Daniel raised his brows, a delighted smile revitalizing his battered features. Pushing the blankets back, he dragged his legs towards the edge of the bed. His glance fell on Jack and the smile faded. "I hate to leave you, but I really need this bath," he said guiltily.

"Hey, you'll get no argument from me," Jack quipped. "Sponge baths can only do so much." He waved his hand in front of his face and added a smug grin to his teasing tone.

"Ass," Daniel hissed.

"I have to see the general anyway," Jack added, gripping Daniel's bicep to keep him upright on the bed while Janet brought a wheelchair over.

Once Daniel was safely seated, Jack gently squeezed his shoulder goodbye, and followed them out of the room. Nodding acknowledgment to Teal'c, who joined the procession in the hallway, he stood just outside Daniel's doorway and watched his lover and his entourage recede. As they turned the corner, headed to the physical therapy room, Daniel's tousled head swiveled back. Jack raised his hand and waggled his fingers at his visibly contented partner.

Smiling with unabashed joy at the sight of a Daniel who seemed well on his way to recovery from an assault by an alien being, once the archaeologist disappeared from view, Jack sobered, his hand falling to his side. Putting his game face on, he made his way to Hammond's office intent on finding out if they had learned any more about the terrestrial threat to Daniel's well-being.

-30-

"Makepeace!?"

Jack snatched his attention away from his CO, swiveling his incredulous gaze between Samantha Carter and Lou Ferretti, both of whom sat, obviously ill-at-ease, to the side of Hammond's desk.

"As far as we know, sir, Colonel Makepeace is not directly involved," Sam asserted, purposely keeping her voice calm. She recognized by his rigid posture and white lips — so firmly set that they'd lost color — that the colonel was fast approaching a meltdown. Between Daniel's abduction, the news of his sexual assault and the discovery of a network of NID moles on base, O'Neill's temper was on hair trigger status and his 2IC had no desire to be the catalyst for the imminent explosion.

Jack's eyebrows hovered dangerously low over his piercing glare. "But this guy..." he looked expectantly at Lou, who instantly supplied the name he was groping for, "Jeffries, he's somehow related to Makepeace?"

"Yes, sir. Jeffries was married to Colonel Makepeace's sister." Sam skittered her eyes away from O'Neill's, exceedingly uncomfortable with her part in confirming for him the connection between Daniel's attacker and the man Jack helped send to prison.

"Major Ferretti and Major Carter interviewed the prisoner," General Hammond stated evenly, his stolid manner no doubt designed to set a calm tone for the proceedings. "Apparently Mr. Jeffries has been very forthcoming."

Quirking his scarred brow, Jack gazed pointedly at Lou Ferretti.

Lou softly cleared his throat. "Three months after Colonel Makepeace was convicted of treason, his sister, Annette Tifton Jeffries, died in a single car accident. But Jeffries doesn't think it was an accident."

Jack squeezed his eyes shut, a clear sign he was attempting to grasp the significance. "So, what, she was run off the road? Her car was tampered with? What's that got to do with Daniel?"

"No, sir," Ferretti said, a shake of his head punctuating the words. "Jeffries believes his wife killed herself. She was, Jeffries said, unable to live with the injustice done to her brother. He's convinced that she deliberately drove her car into a utility pole because the thought that Makepeace would be executed for treason was too much for her to bear." Lou lowered his eyes to Jack's knees. "And he holds you and Dr. Jackson personally responsible, sir."

Jack lurched forward in his seat. "Okay, me I get. I'm the one who put that bastard Makepeace away. But why is Jeffries blaming Daniel?"

Sam and Lou glanced at each other, neither of them overly eager to explain Daniel's supposed part in Makepeace's downfall.

"Carter." Though not loud, O'Neill's bark was nevertheless demanding.

Clearing her throat, Sam lifted her head and steadfastly met his steely glare. "Evidently, Makepeace frequently grumbled against Daniel, sir. Jeffries said that Makepeace told them that it was quote, 'the influence of that goody-two-shoes Jackson,' unquote, that made it necessary for him to take drastic measures."

"He blamed Daniel for his treason?"

"In essence, yes. Or at least that's how Jeffries interpreted his complaints. At the time Makepeace was railing against Daniel, Jeffries and his wife had no idea what 'drastic measures' Makepeace was talking about. The colonel refused, at least, to divulge specifics of base operations."

"How very patriotic of him," Jack sneered.

Sam merely nodded her agreement. "Anyway, after Colonel Makepeace was convicted, his sister obsessed over his fate and, ultimately, killed herself."

"According to Jeffries, Colonel Makepeace and his sister were very close," Hammond divulged, glancing down at the report on the desk before him. "She took her little brother's downfall extremely hard."

Lou stirred in his place next to the desk. "And the NID saw an opportunity to get someone on the inside. Someone who was predisposed to the idea of removing Daniel from the program."

"Surely base security looked into this guy," Jack said, knowing full well that they had.

"The standard background check was performed," Lou confirmed. "It turned up the fact of his wife's death, but her maiden name showed as Tifton — apparently she and Makepeace had different fathers — so that didn't trigger any alarms. Jeffries had experience working in a hospital and he passed the psych eval." Lou paused dramatically. "One well-placed phone call and he was in."

Jack immediately rose to the bait. "Placed by whom?" He swung his gaze to Hammond, his attention drawn by the folder the general repositioned in front of him. Jack turned his head slightly and silently read the tab — Jeffries, William.

"Mr. Jeffries came highly recommended by Dean Barry, an aide to Senator Laughton."

"Colorado's Senator Laughton." Jack grimaced at the general's confirming nod.

"Barry claimed he knew Jeffries from college," the general added.

"What does he have to say about it now?"

"We haven't been able to talk to him," Lou said, irritation evident in his faint scowl. "He left Senator Laughton's employ about a month after making that call. None of Laughton's other aides know where he's gone and the good Senator himself was 'unavailable'"

"Convenient." Jack smirked humorlessly.

"Yeah, isn't it just," Sam griped.

Lou leaned forward in his chair, his eyes sparkling mischievously. "We were able to find something of interest, though."

Jack's brows rose expectantly. "Do tell."

Lou glanced at Hammond, who nodded his approval for the major to continue. "We've had a little time to dig into Senator Laughton's record. Remember a few years back he sponsored that big specialized technology bill?" Taking the colonel's noncommittal shrug as an affirmative response, he resumed. "Laughton pretty much banked his re-election on that bill's passage. But for the longest time it looked like he didn't have the support needed to get it passed. Then suddenly, two weeks before the big vote, he was able to garner the backing of enough of his colleagues that it squeaked by."

Lou turned to Sam who took up the narrative. "From what we've gathered, the bill would have failed except for the support of one man, who not only backed Laughton's bill, but worked tirelessly to make sure it passed."

"Oh, don't tell me." Jack closed his eyes and scrunched his face as though anticipating a physical blow.

"Kinsey," Lou confirmed.

"Ach! So Laughton owed Kinsey a favor."

The heads of both junior officers bobbed steadily.

"Unfortunately, without Mr. Barry's confirmation that he made that call by order of Senator Laughton, we'll never be able to prove that Kinsey was behind Jeffries's hiring." Hammond's lips puckered from the disagreeable tang of the words.

"Damn it," Jack muttered under his breath. Shifting agitatedly, he brought a fisted hand to his temple, unfurled his fingers, and scrubbed them roughly over his head. After a moment he fell back into his chair.

"Okay, so Kinsey found a way to get Jeffries in here. Did he also keep everyone from finding out about the connection between Jeffries and Makepeace?"

"Actually, sir," Sam replied hesitantly, "that connection was made several years ago at the JAG office."

"When his sister died, Colonel Makepeace petitioned to be allowed to attend the funeral," Hammond elucidated before Jack could react. "No one bothered to tell us because Makepeace's request was denied. Since he was staying behind bars, and posed no threat to anyone under this command, we weren't informed of Mrs. Jeffries's death."

"So it was all just a series of improbable circumstances that kept us from protecting Daniel from this maniac," Jack concluded bitterly.

Clearly unhappy with Jack's assessment, Ferretti shook his head. "You shoulda heard him, Colonel. The bastard was so proud of himself, wailing on Daniel the way he did — not the least bit remorseful that his victim was wheelchair bound and mostly defenseless. He kept telling us how glad he was that the original plan failed, and he got his chance at the Doc —"

Instantly alert, Jack pinned Ferretti with dangerously dark eyes. "What original plan?"

Ferretti winced, undoubtedly wishing he'd found a less volatile preamble to introduce the information they were about to disclose.

"Jeffries planted the knife Sarah Gardner attempted to use in the interview room," Sam eased out, hoping to settle the colonel with her steady delivery. "He taped it under the table within easy reach from either chair."

"He planted the knife?" Jack gaped at all three of his colleagues in turn. "How the hell did he manage that? And how did she know that the knife was there?"

Lou shrugged. "Jeffries knew that, eventually, Daniel would go see Sarah. He told us he volunteered to accompany Dr. Cho when she tended the wound Sarah received during your interview the other day. Apparently, he found an opportunity to covertly slip Sarah a note while he was there, letting her know he would hide the blade under the table. Then he offered to stay behind and clean up the discarded swabs and bandage wrappings so that he'd have a minute alone in the room to accomplish his goal."

Jack grimaced at Daniel's continued rotten luck — the guards could easily have put Sarah in a different interview room when Daniel came to see her.

"What about the linguist, what's his name, Cooksey? Was he working with Jeffries, too?"

"Dr. Cooksey's reason for wanting Daniel out of the way is far less original," Sam offered with a disgusted smirk. "He wanted Daniel's job."

"But he obviously wasn't acting on his own either," Ferretti pointed out. "He got that large charge of cash from somewhere, and he'd told more than one colleague that he expected to get the top civilian spot if, for any reason, Daniel had to quit."

"Damn it." Jack rubbed his forehead with bruising fingers. "Kinsey again?"

"We haven't found a connection yet, but I'd bet my first born he's behind it," Lou sneered.

Jack huffed at the comment. Ferretti's love for his children was near legendary. For him to make such a statement, he'd have to be pretty damn sure of his suspicions.

"What has Dr. Jackson said about Jeffries's actions?"

Rattled briefly by the question, and its attendant memory of his previous discussion with Daniel, Jack rearranged himself until he faced Hammond directly. "Jeffries told Daniel he was working for someone who wants him out of the SGC." His left eye clenching with what it presaged, Jack appended unhappily, "I don't think he knows about Jeffries's personal reasons for attacking him."

Clearly having read Jack's displeasure, Hammond bent forward a bit, his posture supportive. "Would you like me to tell him?"

Jack blinked, his lips pulling up slightly in a grateful smile. "No, thank you, sir. I'll tell him. I just wish I could omit the part where Jeffries suspects his wife committed suicide. The last thing Daniel needs is additional guilt."

"Even if it was suicide," Lou interjected, "it wasn't Daniel's fault she took her own life."

"Right," Jack agreed. "You know that, and I know that..."

"But Daniel's going to blame himself anyway," Sam concluded.

"Just can't keep the weight of the world off his shoulders." Jack's usual sarcasm held a note of melancholy.

Swinging his gaze to each in turn, Jack saw the same look in both majors' and in the general's eyes — sympathy for the fact that he had to tell Daniel about Jeffries's reasons for attacking him and relief that none of them had to do it.

"You're dismissed, Colonel," Hammond said.

"Thank you, sir." Pushing himself wearily from his chair and heading to the door, Jack thought how much he usually hated being sequestered with the general in his office and how ironic it was that he now wished for some reason for Hammond to keep him here just a bit longer.

Finding Daniel's bed empty, Jack made his way down to physical therapy. Encountering Teal'c in the entrance to the wing containing the massage table, shower and hydrotherapy equipment, he nodded to the big guy then peeked around the doorjamb into the room.

"He's still in there?" Jack glanced from his watch to the man reclining in the hydrotherapy tub. Daniel's eyes were closed, his IV-encumbered hand gently gripping the side of the tub. Following the IV tubing up from Daniel's hand, Jack noted that the solution was suspended from the pole attached to the back of Daniel's wheelchair, which sat just to his left.

Swinging his gaze over his archaeologist, Jack thought at first that Daniel's posture looked relaxed, if a bit awkward with his casted right leg suspended in a harness above the water. However, even from his vantage point across the room, Jack could detect the strained tightening of Daniel's forehead.

"Yes," Teal'c replied softly, ill-ease coloring the word. "Doctor Fraiser has suggested several times that Daniel Jackson should exit his bath, but he has become more agitated with each request."

Jack closed his eyes, exhaling forcefully. Daniel had displayed similar behavior after his encounter with Hathor, at that time needing frequent long showers. He wondered briefly that Daniel would get into a hot tub after that incident, but the bath he sat in now bore no resemblance to the one the Goa'uld had occupied. Besides, they'd disposed of that one right after she left.

"Where's Fraiser now?" Jack asked, shaking himself back to the present.

"Doctor Fraiser indicated that she had business to attend to in the infirmary and would return shortly." Teal'c tipped his chin towards the second doorway to the left of the tub. "However, I believe that she has stepped away to regain control of her emotions."

Gazing into Teal'c's face for a moment, Jack detected faint lines of stress in the corners of the Jaffa's eyes and mouth.

"That bad, huh?" He turned back to watch Daniel.

"It is difficult to see our young friend in such distress," the Jaffa admitted.

"Yeah." Jack squeezed Teal'c's shoulder as he pushed past him and moved towards Daniel.

Jack made no effort to mask his approach, but Daniel's eyes remained closed. Grabbing a wheeled stool on his way to the tub, Jack slid it noisily across the concrete, pulling it to an abrupt stop next to the hydrotherapy tub. He sat down with a heavy grunt. Still Daniel did not acknowledge him.

Gripping the side of the tub with his left hand, Jack quickly swung his gaze around the small room, confirming the security camera was not currently recording. Returning his attention to the occupant of the bath, Jack noted that Daniel's shoulders had stiffened. The archaeologist's right hand, which rested over his groin, was balled into a tight fist.

"Hey, Danny," Jack greeted with muted cheer.

"Go away, Jack." Daniel's response was gruff and decidedly unwelcoming. "I don't... I just need to soak a while longer."

Jack clenched and flexed his free hand in an effort to relieve some stress. 'Ah, shit,' he thought miserably. To Daniel he said, with just a touch of hurt in his voice, "What? A guy can't just sit with his best friend and chat while his friend has a bath?"

"Fraiser wants me to get out," Daniel stated then lowered his voice to just above a whisper. "I'm not ready."

Jack raised his brows at Daniel, who, to his recollection, had never called Janet 'Fraiser' without putting 'Doctor' before it.

Noting for the first time that the contents were still, Jack let his hand slip over the side of the tub, grimacing at the barely lukewarm temperature of the water Daniel was immersed in. "Hey, your bath water's getting a little cold."

Daniel's mouth slid into a disgruntled smirk. "Janet turned the jets and heating element off a while back. She thinks I won't stay in a cold bath." Daniel's tone indicated that he had every intention of proving her wrong.

Briefly turning away from Daniel's pained expression, Jack chastised amiably, "You're getting a little pruny there." He nodded at Daniel's hand, though Daniel could not see the gesture. "And how about your leg? It can't be good having it hanging in the air like that for over an hour, can it?"

Daniel shrugged, and immediately his right hand shot out of the water to grip the side of the tub as the movement unbalanced him and he slipped sideways.

Jack's hand quickly covered Daniel's and his other arm encircled the younger man's upper back, keeping his head above water. "Okay, maybe it's time to get out now, huh?"

"No," Daniel snapped, bringing his left hand across to push at Jack's arm. Cool air generated by the action wafted over the surface of the water, and Daniel shuddered.

With his head bent over Daniel's shoulder, Jack noted the goose flesh rising on his lover's skin, his nipples peaked responsively. Rubbing his hand briskly over Daniel's upper arm, he declared assertively, "That's it, Daniel. You're chilled now. We're gettin' out."

Pressing his face into the crook of Jack's conveniently placed neck, Daniel whispered, "Jack, please."

Daniel's dispirited entreaty shifted Jack from his gruffly protective stance, nudging him towards compassionate consent to the appeal.

Pulling Daniel closer to him, Jack glanced up as Janet Fraiser's petite form rounded the doorway in his direct line of sight. She paused just on the opposite side of the entrance, her hands jammed in her lab coat pockets, a clinically assessing set to her eyes.

Jack's eyes were attracted to the left pocket of the doctor's lab coat which bulged and gathered under her fidgeting hand. More than once Jack saw the outline of something in the pocket that looked suspiciously like a hypodermic.

Warning Fraiser off with a cutting glare, Jack lowered his head slightly, the motion snuggling Daniel's head to him as well as positioning his mouth over Daniel's ear. "No," Jack breathed emphatically. "I'm sorry, love. You have to get out now. You're risking additional complications."

Daniel fisted his hand in the material of Jack's BDU jacket, and moaned softly.

Firming his grip, Jack caressed the icy skin with his thumb. "Come on, Daniel. You know it doesn't matter how long you stay in this water. You can't wash away the memory." When Daniel's fingers twisted more securely into the fabric beneath them, Jack added, "Please, babe, I don't want you to get sick."

Shivering, Daniel sniffled. Nodding jerkily, he relinquished his death grip on Jack's shirt and shifted away.

Relaxing his hold, Jack glanced briefly at Fraiser before calling over his shoulder. "Teal'c you wanna give us a hand here?"

While Teal'c moved to the left side of the tub, Janet slipped in behind him, removed Daniel's glasses from the seat of the wheelchair and replaced them with a thick, fluffy towel from the nearby shelves.

Teal'c came to one knee and waited patiently while Daniel disentangled himself from O'Neill and draped his IV-constrained arm across Teal'c's shoulders. The former First Prime wound one strong arm around Daniel's back and, once the younger man leaned into the hold, dipped the other into the bath water, sliding it under Daniel's thighs. Lifting the young man high enough for O'Neill to unhook the harness from his injured leg, giving no indication that the front of his tee shirt and pants were being soaked in the process, Teal'c took a step back and gently settled his friend in the wheelchair.

The Jaffa released his hold and reached back to remove Daniel's arm from his shoulder, careful not to dislodge the IV. He straightened and side stepped away from the wheelchair. Almost immediately, a large towel covered Daniel's legs and another draped over his shoulders, blanketing his upper body.

Sighing tiredly, Daniel raised his eyes to Janet's, closed them briefly while nodding his thanks, then turned his attention to Jack, who skirted the tub and came to his knees in front of him. He brought up a hand to finger the wrinkled patch on Jack's BDU jacket.

"I'll get Daniel some clean scrubs," Janet announced, turning quickly to the exit.

Disconcertment obvious in his normally stoic features, Teal'c stated quietly "I will be in the hallway if you require further assistance, O'Neill." He spun gracefully on the ball of his foot and briskly walked after the CMO.

Sparing his retreating friends little attention, Jack clasped the towel covering Daniel's lap and gently rubbed it over the younger man's legs, gazing up into shadowed blue eyes. "How ya doing?" he asked gently.

Gripping the arm of the wheelchair, Daniel shifted his butt and, averting his eyes from Jack's, shrugged minutely. "I'll be fine."

Jack released the towel and scooted closer. Lifting a hand, he held Daniel's chin in a loving caress and directed the startled gaze to his own. "You will be, Daniel. It's gonna take a while, but you will be fine." Smiling sadly at the tear slowly making its way down Daniel's injured cheek, Jack released his lover's chin and tenderly thumbed the droplet from his face. "I told you before, I'm not going anywhere. We'll take this one step at a time — one crisis at a time. We will get you through this. Okay?"

Daniel drew a deep, stuttered breath and slumped forward. Resting his head on Jack's shoulder he once again nestled his face against the older man's neck.

Encircling his love with strong, supportive arms, Jack cradled the back of Daniel's head, clutching the younger man to him, relishing the warm, gusting pants being expelled against his skin.

From his vantage point outside the therapy room, Teal'c watched his CO comforting their teammate and silently vowed to safeguard the men and assist in whatever way he could to get them back to where they had been before Osiris and Sarah Gardner had disrupted their lives.

Once Daniel was dried and dressed, Jack wheeled him back to the infirmary, followed closely by Janet and Teal'c. The procession returning from the physical therapy room was a much more somber one than that which had left the infirmary nearly two hours prior.

Calling to Karen and one of the male nurses as they came through the main ward, Janet ordered Jack and Teal'c to wait outside, out of the way, while they got Daniel situated.

Pulling a discontented scowl, Jack halted just outside the door and watched as the medical personnel transferred Daniel to the bed and hovered, checking his IV, his casted foot, and his various cuts and scrapes.

For his part Daniel lay motionless and quiet, seemingly oblivious to the buzzing medical staff.

Standing sentry-like against the wall next to the door, Teal'c observed his CO's fidgeting vigil and correctly surmising the cause to be worry, offered a word of comfort. "Daniel Jackson has endured many trials these past few days, O'Neill, and he is understandably weary of the fight. However, I believe his inner strength remains intact. In the end, he will prevail."

Reluctantly pulling his eyes away from Daniel and his attendants, Jack briefly held Teal'c's gaze, his eyes transmitting affection-laden thanks. Suddenly dropping his line of sight to the floor, he muttered angrily, "Think he can take another kick in the gut?"

Teal'c's mouth tightened and his brows lifted in surprise before they settled ominously over his piercing eyes.

"I've got something to tell him that's..." Jack glanced at his archaeologist and huffed a bitter laugh. "Well, knowing Daniel, it's gonna hurt him every bit as much as being beaten on by that damn orderly."

"Jeffries." Teal'c growled the name with the same contemptuous sneer he used when speaking of the Goa'uld.

"Yeah." Jack turned and squarely faced his larger friend. "That son of a bitch hid the knife in the interview room. The one Sarah Gardner tried to kill Daniel with."

"And you, as well, O'Neill," Teal'c reminded him.

Jack shrugged vaguely, obviously considering the threat to himself as inconsequential.

"Sarah Gardner was acting out the final stage of Obsessive Ex Syndrome," Teal'c remarked, adding when Jack raised inquisitive brows, "I have done research on the subject since we last spoke of it, O'Neill. In this final stage, the obsessed person resorts to violence to regain control of the one over whom she is obsessed. Often she will attack the object of her obsession — or someone close to him."

"Yeah, that's what I read, too. I just wish I had remembered it when Daniel and I were baiting her back in that interview room," Jack sighed.

"You could not have known that Sarah Gardner had a weapon at her disposal, O'Neill. And ultimately she failed in her attempt to harm you both."

Nodding acknowledgment of the fact, Jack smirked ill-humoredly, "But she did make it possible for Daniel to fall into Jeffries's hands. And he had his own agenda."

Before Teal'c could inquire what that agenda entailed, Jack stepped away from him and entered Daniel's room. Glancing around the threshold, Teal'c inclined his head to Janet Fraiser, who waved him into the room.

As Jack rounded the bed, Daniel curled onto his side to face his lover, his right hand slipping beneath his cheek.

Pulling the covers over her patient's back, Janet re-checked the placement of the IV needle in his hand and patted his arm. "Daniel, how are you feeling? Do you need anything for pain?"

Daniel turned his upper body slightly to look into her normally vibrant brown eyes, visibly saddened that the eyes meeting his were dulled with worry. "I'm fine, Janet. Really. Thank you for agreeing to the bath. I think that soak helped work out some of the kinks." He rotated his shoulder to demonstrate.

Janet smiled tightly. "I'm glad," she said awkwardly.

Pulling his hand from beneath his jaw, Daniel flicked his index finger in the direction of his teammates. "I just wanna talk to Jack and Teal'c for a minute then I think I'll take a nap."

"You'll let me know if you need anything." Janet raised her brow at the colonel, including him in the query.

"Sure," Daniel affirmed.

Janet's small hand squeezed his bicep, and as he turned over, Daniel closed his eyes and listened to the stiff, terse tap of her retreating feet.

"Daniel?" Jack's much larger hand gripped him in the place Janet's hand had just vacated.

Sighing softly, Daniel opened his eyes to gaze into Jack's concerned face. "She's upset."

"Who, Fraiser?" Jack shifted his gaze to where the tiny CMO had disappeared around the doorframe.

Daniel nodded glumly. "It's got to be frustrating for her. She's a healer. Her entire being is wrapped up in making people whole again." Daniel paused, his eyes wandering to the place where his hand fingered the sheets. "But there's only so much she can do to help me and every time I have a setback..."

"Hey," Jack shook Daniel gently to get his attention. "Fraiser's been around this block before." Considering for a second, he tipped his head and shrugged. "Okay, not this exact block, but she's been in the neighborhood.

"The point is, whatever sense of failure she's feeling, Fraiser can handle it. You have to start concentrating on you. Not really what you're best at I know," he added when Daniel screwed his face up disagreeably. "But you said it yourself; Fraiser can't help you with this. And..." he lowered his voice, murmuring softly, "as much as I wish I could make it all go away, there's only so much I can do."

Daniel shifted, his right hand snaking across his neck to envelope the one resting on his shoulder. "God, Jack, I hadn't thought of that, how you must be feeling about..."

"Ach!" Jack cut off his lover's words with an admonishing finger. "Refocus," he rebuked, using the tone he employed off-world when redirecting his distracted archaeologist's attention back to where it should be. "Worrying about how I'm feeling is not going to help you. From here on out I don't want you thinking about how anyone is feeling except you. Got that?"

Daniel rolled onto his back, patently discontent, dislodging Jack's hand in the process. "How can I not think..."

Throwing up his hands, Jack snapped, "Just don't! That's an order," with exactly the same impatience he experienced off-world when Daniel disregarded his less-than-gentle prodding.

Daniel snorted, which so far had never happened in these kinds of situations off-world.

Jack spun on Teal'c, who seemed far too amused by the exchange, and, scrunching his brows in irritation, turned back to Daniel when the younger man cleared his throat.

"Number one," the archaeologist said with a little smile, "when was the last time barking at me really worked?" His mouth drooped to a flat line. "And secondly, you can't just order me to not think about something."

Jack let out a defeated gust of air. "No good, huh?"

"No," Daniel said softly. He touched his fingertips to Jack's hand, which now rested on the edge of the mattress. "But I love you for trying. And I get your point. I will try to focus on me and my recovery."

Jack nodded, glanced over his shoulder at the grinning Jaffa, and nodded again. "That's all I ask," he said simply.

Flushing self-consciously at their unguarded expressions, Daniel shifted and pressed his hands into the mattress attempting to push himself into a more upright position. Jack rested a hand on his back, helping him maneuver, and positioned the pillows more comfortably before Daniel relaxed into them.

Whispering his thanks, Daniel smoothed down the blankets that covered his thighs and turned an inquiring eye on Jack.

"General Hammond have anything interesting to say?"

Caught off guard by the question, Jack failed to totally mask the alarm that welled up at the thought of the conversation that had to follow.

"Jack?" Daniel's eyes widened, darting between his lover and the Jaffa standing behind his shoulder.

Finally noticing that Daniel's level of discomfort escalated visibly with each second he delayed, Jack swallowed leadenly and ground out, "Unfortunately, yeah."

Daniel again glanced at Teal'c, whose expression was particularly stoic.

Releasing a dramatic sigh, Jack muttered to Teal'c, "Pull up a chair."

Teal'c tipped his nose slightly upward. "I would prefer to remain standing, O'Neill."

"Then bring me that stool," Jack said, gesturing to the tall chair which had been pushed into the corner when they'd taken Daniel out earlier. Accepting the seat with a curt nod, Jack made a show of getting comfortable, a stall tactic he soon learned was not lost on Daniel when the archaeologist sighed an impatient, "Jack."

Stilling his movements immediately, Jack glanced guiltily at his lover and cleared his throat. "We know why Jeffries wanted to kill you," he spat, utilizing the old 'removing a band-aid quickly hurts less' philosophy.

Daniel's mouth dropped open slightly. "He wanted to kill me? I thought... he said someone paid him to get rid of me."

"Yeah. I don't think they'll be coming after you again. We're not letting our guard down..." Jack glanced significantly over his shoulder at Teal'c, "but they know we're on to them."

Daniel blinked once, before his eyes narrowed. "You know who 'they' are?"

"We can't prove a connection," Jack said unhappily, "but it looks like Kinsey set both Jeffries and Cooksey on you."

Jack watched Daniel's mouth working mutely until he figured the younger man had had enough time to digest that bit of information. He lowered his head and pressed on. "Apparently, Cooksey went along because he wanted your job." Pausing just long enough to raise his eyes to Daniel's, offering his lover his supportive gaze, Jack continued, "Jeffries had a more personal reason for agreeing to get into bed with Kinsey."

His eyes growing larger, Daniel turned his shoulder into the pillow to face Jack more directly. "He said something like that after he'd given me the sedative." His generous brows knotted in confusion. "But what personal reason could he have had?"

Dropping his face from Daniel's line of sight just long enough to wince his disgust, Jack again locked onto his lover's unsettled blue eyes. "Jeffries was married... to Makepeace's sister," he said slowly. Once Daniel's surprised brow had settled and he'd nodded for him to continue Jack added, "Not long after Makepeace was convicted, she... apparently she drove her car into a utility pole."

Daniel stared, uncomprehending for a second, before his mouth dropped open and the color drained from his face. "She killed herself?"

Anticipating Daniel's untenable connection between his position in the SGC and the young woman's death, Jack hoisted up a remonstrative finger. "That's not been proven and even if she did, it's got nothing to do with you."

Daniel opened his mouth to argue and Jack stiffened, staring the younger man down with his hard colonel eyes. "Ach!" he bleated, shaking the finger again.

When Daniel slunk into the pillows, clearly aggrieved by the gesture, Jack slid from his perch on the stool. Pacing the length of Daniel's bed, he ran a hand roughly over his face and into his hair. At the bottom of the bed he turned back to find Daniel with his head down, though Jack could still see his distressed scowl.

"I swear, Daniel, sometimes your leaps of logic make Superman's single bounds look like little girl jumps on a hopscotch board," he huffed exasperatedly.

Daniel's head jerked upward. His features remained tight but the blinking eyes bespoke his confusion. "What?"

"Superman? Leaping tall buildings?" Jack lifted an expectant brow and shook his head in an 'is any of this ringing a bell?' gesture. "Your leaps are higher than that?" Daniel continued to look at him as though he was speaking a language Daniel hadn't yet managed to learn, and Jack threw up his hands. "Never mind. The point is — none of this was your fault."

When Daniel drew a breath, Jack skipped to the head of the bed, quickly jumping on anything that might have followed. "Ach! Talking here."

The blue eyes dropped from his again, and Daniel crossed his arms tightly over his chest, ostensibly a move designed to express his stubbornness. But Jack knew instantly he had hit one of Daniel's regret buttons and the arms were really an illusion of comfort for his friend.

Even though he'd come back from Glowyland with a stronger sense of purpose and his place in the world, still Daniel hadn't learned to avoid personal involvement in every tragedy made known to him. But he had repeatedly gotten the shit kicked out of him in the past few days and Jack wasn't about to let his lover beat himself up any further.

Leveling an 'I dare you to deny it' glare at the younger man, Jack said with confidence, "Admit it, you were just about to suggest that Mrs. Jeffries's death is somehow your fault."

Daniel flushed slightly. "Isn't that what Jeffries thinks?" he replied hotly.

"Jeffries is a delusional nut!" Jack exclaimed at a volume that startled even him.

Briefly cutting his gaze to the door, expecting a hypo-wielding little Napoleon to come marching through any second, he purposely lowered his voice.

"Look, Daniel." Laying a hesitant hand against the younger man's arm, he sighed when the arms drew tighter. "I'm not saying you shouldn't feel bad about it. Okay? Hell, I feel bad, too. And maybe even a little guilty."

Daniel grew wide-eyed, his defensive posture easing considerably.

"I'm talking guilty in the way we all feel guilty when someone connected with the program is injured or dies," Jack made clear. "And guilty does not necessarily mean responsible. You do understand the distinction?"

Mouth drawing down in an irritated frown, Daniel muttered through tight lips, "Yes, Jack. I am a linguist."

With a quick shake of his head, Jack clarified. "I know you know up here," he said, lifting his hand to caress Daniel's temple. "But how about here?" The hand dropped to rest over Daniel's heart.

Daniel's pique melted instantly at the gentle touch. Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes and he blinked rapidly, sending them scattering.

Jack caught one on the edge of his finger. "You're far too tenderhearted for your own good," he grumbled warmly. "And while I do understand your feelings of sorrow, I'm going to insist that you get over it and concentrate on your own well-being."

"O'Neill is correct, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c, who had been so still and quiet that both men had forgotten his presence, rumbled softly. "While the death of Jeffries's wife is regrettable, your welfare is of far greater concern."

Eyes smiling thanks at the Jaffa, Jack disavowed the notion that Teal'c's comments had been coached by keeping his expression neutral. He didn't say any more, giving their loving declarations of concern a few moments to sink in.

Finally, Daniel visibly relaxed, his eyes drooping tiredly with the release of his pent up tension. Jack tugged the covers closer over Daniel's chest. "I believe you promised Fraiser a nap."

His lover shot him a withering look, the snarky effect totally undone by the drowsy glaze banking the fire that would normally blaze from his vibrant blue eyes with that expression.

An adoring smile spread over Jack's features. "Go to sleep, Daniel," he said quietly. When Daniel expended the effort to raise an eyebrow at him, Jack snickered, "Just a suggestion."

Closing his eyes with a concordant nod, Daniel pulled a deep calming breath, and sunk deeper into the pillows, appearing, even before the corresponding exhalation escaped his slack lips, to drift off.

Turning his broad grin on the Jaffa at his back, Jack motioned the other man towards the door, making his careful way around his recovering archaeologist.

Part 11

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