Bound Reflections
by Carlyn
Part 13

Back to Part 12

-37-

Rolling onto his back, Jack stretched languidly, savoring the sensation as each long muscle was pulled taut then slackened into comfortable post-slumber relaxation. Recognizing the glow of daylight through his eyelids, he drew a deep breath and reluctantly lifted them on the morning.

Peering from half-opened eyes, he quietly studied the sunbeams creeping past the curtains covering the sliding glass door, judging from the angle at which they entered the room, that it was long past his usual rising time.

'Hardly surprising,' he groaned internally, 'I thought I'd never get Daniel to bed last night. Damn SG-15 and their fascinating find on P7... whatever.'

Sighing exasperatedly, Jack rolled to his left, groaning when he encountered the pillows mounded in the middle of the bed.

Annoyed, he shoved against the barriers, starting, eyes wide opened, when the movement elicited a muted snort from somewhere beneath the heavy comforter. He shifted fully onto his side and raised himself up on his elbow. Gingerly gripping the top edge of the comforter with two fingers and his thumb, he raised it, smiling softly at his adorably bed-headed partner burrowed beneath.

Folding the edge of the cover back, he carefully removed the pillows, watching Daniel for signs that the movement disturbed him. His lover's peaceful countenance so contrasted with the pale, sweaty version he'd encountered a few weeks ago that Jack turned uncharacteristically pensive, recalling the early morning incident that had been the impetus for the pillows' placement.

They had slept together for two nights, without incident, then sometime during the course of the third night Daniel had found his way back into Jack's arms and was tightly entwined when a nightmare assailed him. He had awakened in a dead panic, fighting the embrace, which in his dream had become the ensnarling grip of two Jaffa who held him immobile for Osiris's pleasure.

Afterward, sitting at the dining room table, talking over coffee, Jack had rubbed at the shoulder that Daniel had blindly clipped and questioned the wisdom of Daniel's decision to move back into their bedroom. Remorseful for the unintentional assault against his lover, Daniel had nevertheless refused to be deterred. Ultimately he had agreed — if it would make Jack feel safer, he'd smirked — to the older man's proposal of a pillow divider.

Jack dropped the pillows onto the floor behind him and moved closer to Daniel, prudently maintaining some space between himself and his unaware lover. Sliding down in the bed, he rested his head on his bicep, and, for several minutes, just watched the younger man sleep.

His eyes slowly wandered the full circumference of Daniel's facial features, lingering on the full pink lips slightly parted in repose. His gaze wrenched upward, drawn by the long lashes shimmying on the ends of Daniel's shuddering eyelids. The soft breaths that Daniel had been expelling became more pronounced, his chest pumping with increased velocity.

Fearful that Daniel might again be in the throes of a nightmare, Jack pushed himself up on his elbow, his right hand poised over Daniel's shoulder. He jerked the hand back when Daniel lifted his head suddenly, his slitted eyes aimed at his lover's chest.

"Daniel, you awake?"

"Mmmm," Daniel moaned, dropping his head back onto the pillow.

Wholly focused on Daniel's face, fully attuned to any change that might indicate his lover was in distress, Jack pulled a surprised gasp when Daniel's foot wormed its way between his calves.

Shifting towards the older man, Daniel wrapped an arm across Jack's shoulder, using the older man as an anchor to haul his still groggy body against his lover's solid form.

Turning his lower body slightly, Daniel slipped his topmost leg over Jack's, the other slipping naturally between Jack's thighs as he pulled himself in until their tee-shirted chests were pressed tightly together. Sighing softly, Daniel squirmed, nuzzling his face into the crook beneath Jack's chin.

"Well, good morning to you, too," Jack chuckled. Leaning forward, he placed a kiss amongst the soft tufts of brown hair tickling his lips. Bringing his arm up, he pressed his hand into the middle of Daniel's back and hugged the younger man to him.

Daniel moaned again and twitched, the change in position bringing his groin into contact with Jack's hip.

"Daniel?" Jack's voice broke, an involuntary gulp coming in the middle of the inquiry when Daniel's fully awake penis jabbed into him. "Hey," he coughed, grasping the shoulder near his face.

Daniel firmed his hold on his lover, further entwining their legs. Hooking the back of Jack's calf with his foot, he pressed his rigid member into Jack's hip then repeated the move. His breath quickened, deep inhalations devolving to short gasping pants.

Silently praying that it was the right thing to do, Jack skimmed his hand down Daniel's back, gently gripping his lover's buttock. He wondered absently whether Daniel could even feel his touch over the grossly contracted muscles, squeezed tighter with each thrust. Cupping the unyielding globe, he pulled Daniel against him, increasing the pressure incrementally until Daniel tensed.

Crying out his release, Daniel shuddered fiercely. His erection spilled its pent up offerings, wetting the front of his pajamas to saturation.

With a final spasm, Daniel slumped in exhaustion. Grasping at Jack with fitfully gripping fingers, he wept against the older man's neck, his soft sobs mingling with Jack's whispered reassurances.

Jack held his lover, rubbing his chin in comforting strokes across the top of Daniel's head until the younger man's breathing evened out. Unwinding an arm from behind Daniel's back, Jack fingered the hair at his partner's temple when Daniel released a ponderous sigh.

"You okay?"

Daniel's head moved against Jack's neck, the nod barely perceptible. After a moment he sniffled and pushed away, rolling to the side of the bed. "I'm gonna..." He gestured towards the bathroom.

"Sure. I'll go make coffee?" Jack shifted to his side of the bed.

"No. Wait there, okay?"

Settling immediately, Jack nodded. "I'll be here."

Daniel smiled faintly at the softly spoken promise — a promise that meant so much more than that Jack would be in the bed when he returned. Snagging some clean underwear on his way past the dresser, he retreated to the bathroom.

He came back shortly thereafter wearing just the underwear and his tee shirt. His stride broke slightly, and he ducked his head from Jack's too penetrating gaze. Walking quickly to the bed, Daniel slid beneath the covers Jack lifted for him, and into his partner's arms. He nestled himself against Jack's side, rested his head over Jack's solidly beating heart, and sighed softly.

Neither man said anything for several moments, content in their quiet closeness.

Finally, Daniel shifted. "I was so afraid I could never be aroused," he confessed quietly.

Releasing his hold, Jack skimmed his fingers down Daniel's face, to the shoulder beneath. He gripped it gently then slid his hand towards Daniel's neck. Cupping his lover's nape, he caressed the younger man's jaw line with his thumb. "Well, from my perspective, things seemed to be working pretty well."

Daniel lifted his head, his shining blue eyes seeking Jack's. "I'm not sure I even knew if it was real or if it was just an extension of my dream."

"Your dream? I thought you were having another nightmare."

"No." Daniel shook a hand loose from the sheets to knuckle his left eye then again settled against Jack. "It started out that way, but at some point it became an erotic dream. My first since..." His fingers twirled nebulously about their heads. "Very hot."

"Yeah?" Jack's brows danced over laughing eyes. "Care to share?"

Considering for a second, Daniel wriggled closer and tenderly rubbed his cheek against the warmth beneath it, a gesture of comfort for the younger man.

"It was strange, kinda all mixed up." He paused, seemingly distracted by his fingers which twitched restlessly on Jack's chest. Shaken from the spell by a gentle squeeze, he stilled the movement and hooked his hand over Jack's shoulder.

"Um, I was alone in this room. And, I don't know for sure but, I think it was my room at mental health. I wasn't wearing those damn white scrubs, though, so I can't be sure. It was completely bare, and I knew I couldn't get out, even though I never tried the door. I don't really remember if the walls were padded... but I think they were."

"Empty room, gotcha," Jack grunted, obviously unsettled by Daniel's preoccupation with the place that still gave them both nightmares.

"Right," Daniel replied, his tone apologetic. "I was just looking around, doing a sit rep like you've taught me, trying to figure out where I was, and when I turned towards the corner, this... shadow sort of seeped out from the floor, and I..." Daniel's brow knotted in concentration, "I think I started backing up really quick because I sort of stumbled and I thought I was gonna fall but then someone caught me around the waist."

Pausing to draw a shaky breath, Daniel released it quickly, the exhalation ending in a muted moan.

Jack squeezed his eyes shut in anticipation, knowing from the small sound Daniel uttered that his were not the arms wrapped around his lover in the dream.

"It was Osiris," Daniel unwittingly confirmed. "And once he got his hands on me, he wouldn't let me go. I fought him, but the harder I fought the more impossibly entwined we became until finally, I couldn't move at all."

Daniel's breath hitched, and he instinctively squirmed in Jack's embrace.

Loosening his grip, but refusing to relinquish his hold entirely, Jack whispered soothingly against the younger man's hair, "Nothing's gonna hurt you here, Daniel."

Daniel pressed his face into Jack's neck and Jack knew the younger man was concentrating on his softly spoken assurances, allowing the words to evoke a measure of calm in his disquieted soul. Daniel pulled one large, relaxed breath, nodding thanks against Jack's chest before resuming his account.

"He grabbed my chin, like he did on the ha'tak..." Daniel released his hold on Jack's shoulder to ghost his hand over the spot where he formerly sported the Goa'uld's finger marks, "and he turned my face and he held me there while the shadow that I'd been trying to get away from came closer. It floated towards me, kinda hugging the floor then, just before it reached me, it came upright... and I remember thinking it reminded me of those shows where a grizzly bear comes to its hind legs before attacking, you know, like in those man versus nature movies you like..." Daniel shrugged vaguely, aware suddenly he'd wandered slightly off track.

He didn't say anything for a few seconds then he tipped his head back slightly, saying to Jack's neck, "I'm sure you won't be surprised to hear that the shadow was really Sarah."

"Hmm," Jack droned.

"Yeah," Daniel sighed, the warm breath tickling across Jack's skin. "I don't remember her exact words, but she kept screeching at me that I was useless and that the only way I'd amount to anything was if I gave in to her and followed her direction..."

Daniel's jaws worked convulsively for a moment, his teeth agitatedly raking his bottom lip. "And all the while Osiris was right at my ear snarling that she was wrong and the only thing I was really good for was a deep, hard fuck."

Jack cursed soundlessly. "Daniel," he said brusquely, his tone intended to put a stop to the recitation.

"No, Jack, it's okay." Daniel shifted, pushing himself up on his elbow to gaze into Jack's face. He smiled softly, intimately aware that Jack's apparent ire was sparked by his concern, and patted the older man's shoulder in even strokes meant to reassure as well as pacify. "Believe it or not, this is where it gets good."

Accepting Jack's lack of response as his blessing to continue, Daniel drew a fortifying breath. "I admit, I was pretty overwhelmed with the two of them assailing me like that and... I almost gave in to despair."

"You had better be gettin' to the good part real quick here, Daniel," Jack warned, pinning the younger man with a narrow-eyed glare to stress his displeasure.

"Jack." Daniel countered his lover's hardened stare with a tender gaze, large blue eyes begging patience and trust.

Jack's lips tightened further in opposition, but finally he nodded, the gesture nearly imperceptible.

"I was ready to give up. But then I heard this quiet voice... at first I wasn't sure I'd even heard it. But then it said again that they were both full of shit." Daniel's somber countenance brightened with a faint smile. "It was you, Jack. It was your voice. And as I started to pay more attention to your voice, it became louder than Osiris's lecherous whisper and louder even than Sarah's deprecatory shriek.

"You encouraged me to fight them, to reject their twisted opinions of my worth — or lack of worth — and accept myself the way you see me.

"And I remembered how patient you were with me when we first admitted the attraction between us. I wasn't sure what to do about it and, though you clearly wanted a relationship, you never pushed. But you wouldn't give up on me either.

"I was so tempted to surrender to my desire that very first time you kissed me, do you remember? I think I actually stopped breathing. You took my hand, and smiled that rakish smile at me, and then you leaned in... so slowly, giving me time to retreat if I chose to..."

"And you grabbed me and damn near sucked my tongue down your throat," Jack's chuckled reminiscence rumbled in his chest, the vibrations causing the hand Daniel rested near his breastbone to twitch.

Daniel shrugged vaguely. "I told you I wanted to say yes right then and there."

"But you were scared." Jack's mirth fled with the comment.

Daniel's mouth ticked to the side. "I was damaged goods, Jack. The tragedies you knew about were just the beginning. I'd dealt with so much emotional crap in my life..." Daniel shook his head, halting that thought in its tracks.

"But you wouldn't be put off — even when I told you about Sarah..." Daniel ducked his head, shame for his past with the willowy redhead rushing through him with the mention of her name.

"Daniel." Jack tightened his grip on his preoccupied lover, shaking him slightly to keep him from yielding to his former lover's lingering hold.

Jolting, Daniel sighed. "Sorry," he whispered.

Determinedly redirecting himself, Daniel asked rhetorically, "Where was I... oh, yeah, our first kiss." Stirred by the memory yet again, Daniel shifted restlessly. "I'd been staring at your mouth wondering, for years, what you tasted like."

"I knew you'd taste like coffee," Jack interjected wittily.

"Well, duh," Daniel reproved, eyes squinting mock derision into Jack's smugly grinning countenance. "Didn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out." Daniel's eyes acquired a wicked glint. "Too bad," he added saucily, "I would love to have seen the look on Sam's face when you asked her opinion."

"Smartass," Jack grumbled lightly. Recovering quickly, he nudged Daniel's shoulder. "So, what did I taste like?"

Daniel smiled softly. "I was more interested in texture than actual flavor," he explained.

Pressing against the mattress, Daniel boosted himself up until his face hung over Jack's. He settled on top of his lover, chest to chest, and concentrated his gaze on Jack's thin lips. Sliding a hand along Jack's jaw line to the corner of his mouth, he fingered the bottom lip.

"It's funny. In your overall body language, your lips aren't really all that expressive, but, boy, did they get the point across when they touched mine."

Jack's brows leapt upward. "You don't think my lips are expressive?" he whined.

His eyes narrowed in irritation, Daniel lifted them to meet his lover's. "Jack," he sighed with barely contained impatience.

"Right. Not the point of this conversation. But let's file it away for later, huh?"

"Sure," Daniel agreed curtly. Shaking his head, he opened his mouth to resume the original discussion.

"They're more expressive than Teal'c's, though, right?" Jack challenged hopefully.

Attempting a stern glare in response to the repeated interruptions, Daniel instead had to turn away from the mock-concerned expression Jack adopted. He visibly wrestled with the smile that wanted to break out and ruin their tender moment but, glancing back at the now impish countenance, he gave in. Ducking his head next to Jack's, he snickered in the older man's ear.

"You're incorrigible," Daniel complained.

"It's part of my charm," Jack countered.

Daniel lifted his head, smirking dubiously. "Yes, General Hammond has often listed it as one of your most endearing qualities."

A look of muted horror passed over Jack's features. "I can't believe you just brought the general into our bedroom. While we're in our bed."

"You started it," Daniel stated matter-of-factly.

"Did not."

Refusing to be drawn into a verbal sparring match, Daniel smirked peevishly. "Do you want to hear about my dream or not?"

Like a kid who'd just been promised a pony if he paid attention in school, Jack's focus snapped into place. "Your hot dream. Yes. Please continue."

Daniel stared blankly at the spot just above Jack's head. "I have no idea what I was saying now."

"You were telling me how I curled your toes with my inexpressive lips," Jack supplied helpfully, a smug grin stretching his mouth.

Smiling indulgently, Daniel nodded. "Right."

Daniel took a moment to resituate himself, snuggling down beside Jack, his cheek pressed into the hollow just below the older man's collarbone. He squirmed slightly when Jack's hand came up to gently caress his shoulder. Comfortably ensconced, he inhaled deeply.

"You kissed me in my dream, too," he said quietly. "As their voices grew dimmer, Sarah and Osiris lost their power over me and I got away. I squirmed out of his hold and lunged at Sarah and she dissolved into shadowy smoke. I turned to confront Osiris, and he was gone.

"And I was alone and suddenly the barren room was a grassy hill, and the sun was shining, and there were butterflies." Daniel smiled softly against Jack's chest. "I was standing under this tree... and you came from behind it. And we kissed.

"Your lips were firm, commanding — so much like your military self — but at the same time, soft and giving. You pressed your lips to mine then you pulled back ever so slightly and sighed. I could feel your breath on my mouth and I opened my eyes."

Daniel paused, a gulp interrupting the flow of his words, and Jack canted his head, scrutinizing his lover's features. Daniel smiled gently but his eyes held a measure of bewilderment.

"I saw tears," he continued. "I gasped and wrenched away, figuring I must have done something wrong. And your eyes opened and... God, Jack, that look..."

A tear slid from the corner of Daniel's eye. Following the line of his nose, it journeyed down his face to his lips, where it was mindlessly captured by a nervously flicking tongue.

"It was like an 'I'm so glad you're home' hug and a passionate caress all in one. I had never felt so wanted, so cherished..." Daniel's voice quavered. Turning his face into Jack's chest, he sniffled discretely. "But at the same time I was so terrified."

"Terrified? Of what?"

Daniel hesitated, not quite able to stifle a distressed moan. "That once you knew the truth, you'd push me away. I was so unworthy of the devotion I saw in your eyes..." Daniel pulled a shaky breath and Jack's arms came around him, comforting and safe.

"But I needed you so badly. So I closed my eyes and fell headlong into that deep, welcoming pool of love reflected in your gaze.

"And you saved me — from my past, from myself. You made me believe that I deserved more than what fate had given me so far."

Clearing his throat, Daniel pushed against Jack's hold, shifting to gaze into his lover's strong, adoring eyes. "All of those things I was feeling that first time you kissed me, physically, emotionally, were magnified in my dream and... the love I felt from you and for you filled me with desire and... God, Jack, it was so real... your touch was like a spark of electricity that sent prickles through every nerve ending until I thought I'd come just from the sensation of your fingers in my hair." Daniel shivered as the memory reverberated through him.

"You kissed me again and gently guided me to the grass. I remember it smelled kinda sweet, so maybe there was clover nearby or something... anyway, the grass was soft and cool and you lay down on top of me and the contrast was immediately apparent — you were hard and so warm.

"Slowly, you kissed a scalding trail from my mouth, across my jaw and down my throat. You stopped at the top button of my shirt and waited for me to look in your eyes. You gave me that devilish grin and lowered your head. As your fingers undid the buttons, your lips followed. Occasionally your tongue would dart out and wet my skin and, I swear, the saliva sizzled like drops of water on a hot griddle, you had me so worked up."

Daniel breathed a long sigh. "You skimmed my abdomen with your fingertips and moved your hand below my belt..." he paused, his eyes drifting to Jack's shoulder. "You palmed me and..." Daniel's breath caught in his throat and his eyes leapt back to Jack's intensely piercing ones, "I had an erection. I don't know if I knew in my dream that I should be elated by that," he said distractedly, "but it felt so good, your hand around me...

"But then you took it away." Daniel pouted softly. "You came up on your knees and pulled off your tee shirt. You unbuckled your belt and slowly pulled down your zipper. Your eyes never left mine..."

Daniel's eyelids drooped slightly, a familiar response to the need he'd seen in 'dream' Jack's gaze. His breath hitched, a precursor to the soft pants that issued thereafter as the monologue continued.

"I tried to take off my own clothes, but you stopped me. You pinned me with that authoritative glare of yours, but it was tempered, softened by desire." Daniel's tongue poked between his lips, quickly sweeping from one corner of his mouth to the other.

"You undid my belt and zipper and slipped your hands into the waist of my pants and sort of slid them around and down until you cupped by ass. Then you must have hooked the pants with your fingers, because the next thing I knew, I felt the cool ground against my bare backside.

"You leaned back and pushed your pants down over your hips and thighs, and then you lay on top of me..."

"And I think this is where I came in," Jack interjected, the serious smile in his eyes offsetting his crooked grin.

Daniel stared at him a moment, taken aback by the interruption, then, blushing slightly, he smiled and settled against his lover. "Yeah, I guess you did," he chuckled, squirming a bit when Jack's arms tightened around him.

They snuggled silently for a moment.

"Whatcha thinking?" Jack's soft whisper broke into the serenity.

Confirming the older man's suspicion that his mind had not been idle, Daniel pushed himself upward, once again gazing with rapt attention into his lover's face, "Jack, this could be the breakthrough we've been waiting for."

Jack reached up, skimming his fingertips through the hair on Daniel's forehead. "It's like I've been telling you, Daniel, you need to just let go."

Narrowing his eyes, Daniel slid his mouth to the side in a dubious smirk. "Quit thinking so much and let my feelings guide me," he intoned, muted skepticism present in every word. But even as he repeated his lover's advice, the discontentment bled from his face, seemingly flowing from the mouth that suddenly fell slack in amazed understanding. "Like in my dream," he whispered.

"Daniel?"

Daniel blinked, stunned to find Jack's overly concerned eyes scanning his features. Pulling a face at the realization that he must have zoned out briefly, Daniel settled a little more comfortably against his lover and sighed. "In my dream I was scared shitless to let you love me, but I pushed all that away and let what I was feeling guide me."

"And look how well it turned out." Jack observed, his gratified smile hovering near smug satisfaction.

Shaking his head, Daniel chuffed a small laugh. "You were right." Turning, he slid a leg over Jack's knees.

"Daniel? What are you doing?"

"We need to repeat the experiment, Jack. One successful test does not a proof make." Pushing off the mattress, Daniel spread himself on top of the older man. He leaned in and, while brushing his lips over Jack's, shifted his hips to crush his groin against his lover's.

Jack gasped and, gripping Daniel's shoulders, separated their mouths.

"Daniel... God, I want this as much as you do, probably more, but I don't want to move too fast here..."

"Too fast? Jack we haven't been able to make love in nearly five months. This is the first hopeful sign that we've had."

"All I'm sayin' is, I think we should take is slow. Maybe we should discuss it with Dr. Meck..."

Struggling backward, Daniel plopped his butt onto Jack's thighs, his incredulous gape holding a hint of anger. "You want to talk to my shrink about it?"

"I just want to make sure that you're really ready for this."

"I'm ready," Daniel shouted, his brows bunching at the unexpected volume. "God, I've been ready for months," he continued, purposefully softening his voice. "And now my body finally seems to have gotten with the program." Daniel fell towards Jack and supporting himself on his arms, slowly lowered his body onto his lover's. "I don't want to wait any more," he breathed. "I want you."

"Dan —" Jack uttered, a grimace pulling at the corners of his mouth before it was captured in a passionate kiss.

Knowing that Daniel would not be deterred, Jack cautiously returned the kiss. Easing his hands to the small of Daniel's back, he parted his lips slightly in invitation. He grunted in surprise, one hand slipping lower on Daniel's back and grasping convulsively, when the younger man's tongue darted in to fill his mouth.

Seemingly lost in the euphoria of Jack's mouth against his own, of Jack's hands kneading his buttocks and lower back, Daniel wrapped his arms around his lover's shoulders. Enveloping him in a tight hold, he rolled them both until he sunk deep into the bedding, Jack's weight settling evenly over him.

Their lips separated and the breath Jack attempted to draw caught in his throat when the younger man laid a searing trail of kisses across his jaw. Arching his neck to give his lover better access, Jack moaned, the moist heat of Daniel's tongue swiping quickly over his earlobe before plunging deep into the canal itself.

Something stirred in the area where their genitals met, and Jack shifted, giving his quickening penis more freedom. He moved again, and distantly registered Daniel's whimper when the tip of his member poked into the juncture between the younger man's hip and thigh.

Daniel wrapped his hands firmly around his lover's biceps, grasping hard enough to pinch skin. "Jack," he croaked.

Jolted from his arousal by the anxiety evident in Daniel's voice and the fingers digging painfully into his flesh, Jack surged upward. Lifting himself on fully extended arms, he gazed down into his partner's face.

Daniel stared back through eyes twice their normal size, the vivid blue standing out grossly against paling cheeks. His mouth hung open, faint rasps of breath expelled in too rapid succession. The azure orbs flinched infinitesimally, when Jack shifted, the change in position intensifying the contact between their lower bodies.

Cursing, Jack rolled quickly to the side, turning in time to see Daniel scramble backward and slump against the headboard, hugging his legs close to his chest.

"Sorry. Sorry," the younger man mumbled, pressing his forehead into his knees.

Scrubbing a hand roughly over his face, Jack climbed to his knees next to Daniel, reaching a tentative hand towards his lover. "God, babe, there's nothing for you to be sorry about."

Receiving no response from his lover, Jack let the hand fall, dejected, onto his thigh. Upon contact, it curled into a fist, the nails gouging tiny lines into the leg of Jack's flannel pants. He blew out the breath he'd been holding since Daniel had crawled away, his chin dropping to his chest as though his strength had fled with the air.

"Damn it," Jack gritted out. Lifting his head, he raked Daniel's withdrawn features with repentant eyes. "I'm the one who's sorry, Daniel. I shouldn't have let you start something. I knew it was too soon."

Daniel stiffened, his head jerking upward until wild eyes met Jack's. "You shouldn't have let me? It wasn't your decision to make, Jack." The eyes flashed angrily, tears magnifying the emotion. "God, am I never going to get back control over what I want? Janet tells me I can't do this, Dr. Meck tells me I should do that, and now you..." Daniel cringed, clearly aghast at the outburst his frustration had sparked. Shrinking from the pain in Jack's eyes, he turned away and laid his head against his knees.

Instinctively, Jack reached out to comfort the younger man, but as his fingers settled, Daniel jerked his shoulder away.

"Just... just gimme a minute, oh... kay?" Daniel stuttered tautly.

Backing off immediately, Jack nodded agreement. "Sure. I'll just go make some coffee." Without waiting for a response, Jack soundlessly slid off the bed and exited the bedroom.

Slouching into his compact posture, Daniel let loose the bitter tears of distress and disappointment he'd determinedly held back in the presence of his lover.

Jack's heartbroken expression of regret still ringing in his ears, Daniel allowed himself only another moment of self-pity. Sniffling loudly, he swept the tears from his face with his hand and stiffened his back, a physical sign of his intellectual resolve.

He had had a breakthrough today when he'd achieved an erection and an orgasm following his dream. So why had that suffocating feeling of loss come back when he'd tried making love with Jack again?

The desire was there, damn it. He wanted so much to resume the physical part of their relationship, his inability to do so was downright painful. So why had he responded one time and not the other?

'That dream was so erotic... it was second nature to reach out for Jack. Even in that otherworldly state between sleep and full wakefulness, it didn't take any conscious thought to...'

Daniel gasped. "Maybe that's the variable — my state of consciousness."

Bounding off the bed, he paced its length and agitatedly shuffled a hand through his hair, unwittingly pulling it upright in spots. "If that's the case, then maybe... if I can find a way to integrate my uninhibited subconscious actions and my conscious mind..."

He snagged his glasses from the bedside table on his third pass, automatically shifting them into place while he ruminated. "Hypnotherapy just might accomplish that but..." a cheerfully expectant grin animated his previously disheartened features, "I have unfettered access to one of the most experienced practitioners of meditation on the planet — in the galaxy, actually."

Darting back to the bedside table, he snagged the cordless phone. Punching buttons with his thumb as he went, Daniel headed for the bathroom.

He tersely advised the switchboard of the party to whom he wished to speak and instantly muttered an apology under his breath, thinking his anxiety had made him sound overly abrupt. Turning on the shower, he let his gaze wander while he waited. His eyes fell on the hamper, and his lips pursed thoughtfully as he caught sight of his soiled pajamas with their reminder that hope was not lost.

Wrapping his unoccupied arm around himself against the chill, he waited for Teal'c to answer.

Following another apology, a soul-strengthening hug and a quick cup of coffee, Daniel excused himself, telling Jack he'd checked in at the mountain and found out his staff was having trouble deciphering some of his notes on a translation.

Heading directly for Cheyenne Mountain, completely focused on his mission, Daniel barely acknowledged anyone who greeted him.

Arriving at Teal'c's quarters, Daniel lifted his hand to knock. Pulling it back, he stared at the metal door, absently stroking his thumb over his bottom lip. 'This will work,' he recited internally, adopting the statement as a mantra intended to direct his whole being toward attaining his goal.

"Daniel Jackson."

Daniel blinked, and the blank gray barrier resolved into the somber features of his Jaffa friend.

"Teal'c," he acknowledged, momentarily confused. Shaking himself from his preoccupation, Daniel returned Teal'c's bow and, at the Jaffa's welcoming gesture, entered the room.

As he crossed the threshold, Daniel's gaze wandered the small space. There was no illumination save the more than fifty candles that burned, lending an orange cast to everything within their influence. Daniel's nostrils flared reflexively, and he blinked back tears generated by the slight haze that tickled his sinuses.

"Is everything as you requested, Daniel Jackson?"

Daniel spun, throwing himself slightly off balance. Recovering easily, he straightened and bobbed his head a little too eagerly. "Yeah, it looks fine. Um, this is..." one slim finger flitted nervously in the direction of the candles, "this is your usual set up, huh? For meditating?"

"Indeed, it is. As you are aware from your previous visits."

Wiggling the finger once more, Daniel dropped his hand to his side. "Sorry," he muttered, lifting his shoulders in an apologetic jerk. "That's uh, a little distracted babbling."

Not expecting a response, Daniel turned away from Teal'c and began a slow circuit of the room. He felt the Jaffa's steady gaze on him, following his halting trek from one point to another.

Teal'c raised a brow then stepped over to his customary spot and effortlessly settled on the floor, his long legs folded in front of him. His intense eyes followed his teammates' agitated roaming for a minute longer then, drawing a calming breath, he boomed into the corners of the room, "Daniel Jackson, I believe you will find a stationary position more conducive to successful meditation."

Stopping dead in his tracks, his soft-soled shoes shushing against the concrete floor, Daniel stared dumbly for a second. "Right," he acknowledged sheepishly and quickly, but much less gracefully, mirrored Teal'c's posture.

Wriggling to a comfortable position, Daniel pulled a quick breath and turned his attention to the Jaffa. "Teal'c, remember how you helped me access the memories from when I was ascended? I was able to remember that Ry'ac and Bra'tac were in trouble."

"Had you not done so, they would both be dead. I will always be grateful to you for my son's life."

Daniel's answering smile was ill-defined. He nodded stiffly manifestly uncomfortable with the praise.

"Those memories were just out of reach. I tried for days to bring them to a place where I could recall them. I knew those memories contained important information, but it wasn't until I meditated with you that I was able to capture them." Daniel's bottom lip briefly disappeared into his mouth.

"I need your help again to access something in my subconscious."

"You have other ascended memories you wish to retrieve?"

"No." Bowing his head, Daniel spoke to the floor between them. "This isn't easy. I'm still not really comfortable discussing it..."

Daniel closed his eyes against the burning discomfort of the heat and smoke, and instantly the dark space was filled with Jack's face, his eyes shining mischievously, a crooked devil may care grin tugging at his lips. Mustering his resolve, Daniel raised his head, determined blue eyes locking with Teal'c's dark, concerned ones.

"I had an erection this morning, something I've not been able to achieve since the rape." Shaking his head against the remorse and sorrow reflected in Teal'c's eyes, Daniel pushed on. "I was asleep — or, more correctly, I was in that state between sleep and waking. I had this dream and my physical body... reacted." Daniel's hands twitched and grasped before him as though attempting to clutch the words he needed from the air.

"I understand," Teal'c said softly.

Daniel stilled, his hands falling into his lap. His shoulders slumped slightly. "I was so sure I had it back. But then I tried to recapture it when I was awake and..." Lowering his eyes, Daniel shook his head.

"Jack thinks the key is giving myself over completely to my emotions, and... I think now that he might be right, but..." Daniel shifted restlessly, "I don't know if I can do it. Not yet. Dr. Meck wants to try hypnosis but I'm afraid that'll take too long."

Consciously stilling, Daniel raised determined eyes to his friend's. "It's there, Teal'c. I know now that I'm capable of a normal sexual response. But, like those ascended memories, the trigger to that response is in a place I can't readily access. I need you to help me find it. It's hiding somewhere in my subconscious, I know it. We just have to figure out a way to bring it to a place where I can make use of it while I'm awake."

Daniel smirked humorlessly. "Otherwise, Jack's gonna have to learn to accept snoring as a verbal response to his lovemaking." Feeling the heat of blush, Daniel hoped the candles' orange glow masked the accompanying redness from his friend.

His mouth twitching infinitesimally at Daniel's awkward joke, Teal'c pinned the younger man with a fierce gaze. "I believe your goal is attainable, Daniel Jackson," he said simply. "It would be my honor to guide you back to your rightful place in your partnership with O'Neill."

Drawing a spontaneously thankful breath, Daniel released it in a contented whoosh. Nodding, he closed eyes instantly brimming with hopeful tears and worked his fingers behind his glasses, poking at a few that escaped.

He ducked his head, giving himself a second to recover control before looking up to meet the even gaze of his friend. "Is now a good time?"

-38-

"Oh, come on!" Jack shouted at the television, once again propelling himself in frustration against the back of the couch. "What is wrong with you ref? That was clearly high-sticking!"

Daniel quickly moved his coffee cup out at arm's length when the rich brown liquid began sloshing over the rim, threatening his copy of The Saga of the Volsungs.

'At least this cup's only warm,' Daniel thought, recalling another time when a similar incident had scalded his fingers.

Holding the coffee over the edge of the couch, Daniel closed his book, and laid it on the cushion beside him. Bending forward, he placed the mug on the floor and shook his hand like a dog after a rain shower, wiping the remaining dampness on the thigh of his jeans.

He removed his book to the relative safety of the small table to the left of the couch, carefully checking for stray droplets of coffee and other debris that might mar the tome before reverently laying it upon the magazine strewn surface. Snatching off his glasses, he folded them and placed them on top of the book.

Angling his back into the corner of the couch, Daniel lifted his long legs onto the cushions. Inching his feet towards Jack, he vigorously kneaded the older man's thighs with his toes.

His full attention still on the hockey game, Jack mechanically grabbed Daniel's sock covered feet and pulled them into his lap. In spite of his excitement over the game, Jack's hands gently massaged Daniel's feet, none of the wrath he expressed towards the players or officials on the screen being telegraphed into his touch.

Relaxing further into the space between the arm of the couch and the cushion at his back, Daniel folded his arms against his chest and closed his eyes. Having nothing else to occupy his mind, he went back to that afternoon's session with Teal'c.

Four days ago he'd begun his training, pushing his conscious mind to embrace the subliminal feelings that had inspired his pre-awake arousal. Painstakingly, diligently, he had followed the mental path Teal'c directed him down. And always afterwards, he had a sense of accomplishment, a satisfaction he rarely felt after a counseling session of late. Though, to be fair, he'd opted not to try hypnosis.

Still, he had yet to test whether the instruction had been effective, reluctant to confirm his fear that he had actually made no progress towards his objective. Even cuddling with Jack prior to bedtime, he carefully kept his attention away from the press of their bodies, concentrating instead on the wiry chest hair beneath his fingers or Jack's breath, warm and moist, against his temple.

Distantly, Daniel heard a curse, and a fond smile crept across his features. Jack's displeasure when focused on him, totally flummoxed Daniel, often reducing the normally calm, articulate multiple PhD to frustrated stammering. Even in those moments, Daniel admired the strength in Jack's ire, the raw power he brought to every battle — whether against the Goa'uld or, in the present case, an uncooperative sports team.   

His thoughts having come back to Jack, Daniel became aware again of the soothing strokes Jack applied to the soles of his feet. He wriggled his toes appreciatively as Jack lightly increased the pressure.

In his mind's eye, Daniel called forth an image of those hands, so familiar to every part of him. Almost from the beginning of their acquaintance, Jack had been very tactile in his dealings with Daniel. Having experienced the harmful qualities of another's touch, Daniel had wanted to flinch away — even the year he had spent with Sha're and the people of Abydos hadn't erased the memories of Sarah's destructive caress.

But, when, on his first day back on Earth, Jack had raised a hand and gently gripped his shoulder in the hallway of the SGC, Daniel had been too captivated by the sincere concern in Jack's gaze to worry much about the contact.

Over the years, Jack had found numerous occasions to lay his hands on Daniel — to guide, commend or comfort.

And, eventually, to pleasure.

Daniel smiled softly. The first time Jack had touched him intimately, the barest kiss of fingertips against cheek, was the only time Daniel had seen the older man hesitant to handle him. Though Jack was unaware at the time of Daniel's hurtful past, still he had approached his potential lover as he would a skittish colt, knowing instinctively that his archaeologist required patient encouragement.

Daniel had surprised even himself with his initial reaction to Jack's affection. He had had no intention of jumping into a physical relationship with his team leader; even so, he had found himself desperately wanting all that Jack had offered. So, when the older man had finally touched tentative lips to his, Daniel had devoured them with an urgency that had frightened them both.

Pulling back, breathless and trembling from the passionate kiss, Daniel had voiced his inclination to take things slow, his face noticeably pinking at the comically skeptical brow Jack raised. Smiling crookedly, Jack had agreed that that was the best course of action.

When, after what had amounted to nearly three weeks of foreplay, they'd decided the time was right to consummate their relationship, still Jack moved agonizingly slowly. Taking his sweet time, as Jack explained it, he'd kissed and stroked Daniel until the younger man whimpered and writhed with anticipation.

Finally beginning the process of removing his lover's clothing, Jack had kissed a trail down Daniel's chest and across his abdomen as he released the buttons on the blue checked shirt. Sliding the slate gray cotton pants over impatiently thrashing legs, Jack had leaned down and kissed Daniel's ankle, his tongue flicking across the overheated flesh. Working his way up the leg, Jack had licked and sucked his way to Daniel's full, straining penis. Flashing a lovingly lopsided grin, he'd lapped at the pre-cum glistening on the tip before taking the rock hard member into his mouth.

Daniel's foot jerked spasmodically as Jack's thumb raked a spot made tender by the glass that had been imbedded there. One hand shifted, settling in a gently restraining hold on his calf.

Daniel's eyes shot open, and he gasped silently.

Jack's attention never left the hockey game. Staring at the screen, his hands worked diligently, independent of his notice. While the left one kneaded the ball of Daniel's right foot, the thumb pressing steadily, Jack's right hand rested on Daniel's leg. Like that of its mate, the fingers gently but firmly compressed his flesh, working in a slow, circular pattern.

Daniel stared at the hand, his mouth falling open to accommodate the sudden need for additional oxygen. Like his kisses the first time they had made love, Jack's fingers spread fire through Daniel's calf. Closing his eyes, the better to concentrate on the sensation, Daniel followed the burning path as it slowly traveled over his knee and upward, creeping its inexorable way across his thigh.

When it reached the juncture between thigh and hip, Daniel's groin exploded with heat. Seemingly resurrected by the fire, Daniel's cock twitched awake, and astonished blue eyes flew wide to witness the event.

"Jack?"

"Yeah," Jack responded distractedly, eyes still riveted to the television.

Daniel issued a strangled susurration which, if the alarmed expression on the face that swung in his direction was any guide, obliterated all interest in the hockey game from Jack's memory.

Feeling strangely anxious, Daniel darted unnaturally large eyes between his lover's concerned visage, the hand on his leg and the growing bulge in his pants.

Jack's eyes followed. "Is that ...?" He lifted a hand, one finger waggling crazily.

"Oh, yeah," Daniel responded, a too-giddy lilt in his voice.

"Sweet," Jack grinned.

Keenly aware of Jack's attention, Daniel returned his incredulous but hopeful gaze to his burgeoning groin.  After a minute, a not so gentle nudge to his calf redirected his attention.

"Hey."

Shifting his startled eyes upward, Daniel gaped at Jack, who angled his chin towards the sight that had Daniel so fixated.

"What do we do now?"

"What?" Daniel gasped.

"I mean, are you... well, okay, I can see you're aroused, but, should we..." Jack's brows waggled suggestively.

Daniel stared blankly. "I don't... I have no idea," he laughed absurdly. "I never thought about what I'd do when I finally got to this point." His lungs began pumping madly, a cold sweat tingling his brow.

"Okay," Jack replied with exaggerated calm. "Take it easy. A panic attack's probably not the best response." He patted the leg under his hand, modifying the movement to glide the hand across Daniel's jeans in short soothing strokes.

"Oh, God," Daniel moaned, arching his neck against the arm of the couch. "I'm not panicking," he panted. "I just... I'm a little overwhelmed. It's been so long..."

Lifting his hand, Jack scooted sideways, gently settling Daniel's feet on the cushions, and came to his knees beside his excitable lover.

"Slide down," he suggested, cautiously gripping Daniel's ribcage to assist the younger man in lying flat on the couch. "Good."

Steady brown eyes captured hyper-aware blue ones as Jack laid his hand over Daniel's, giving it a small squeeze. "Let's just take is slow. We've done this before. We'll figure out what works best as we go, okay?"

Daniel nodded stiffly, pulling a stuttering breath to compose himself.

"Okay," Jack agreed. "First, Daniel, I need to know — no jokin' around here — are you ready for this? If I touch you..."

"I'm ready," Daniel said, the conviction in his eyes overcoming the subdued volume of the assertion. "I've wanted this for months."

Nodding affirmation, Jack pinned his lover with a slightly skeptical gaze. "But Sarah... and Osiris..."

"Are gone, Jack," Daniel stated emphatically.

With some effort, he pushed himself up on his elbows, his eyes never leaving Jack's. "It's been weeks since I've had a nightmare — well, unless you count the one I had the other night. But I think that one is gonna be my last. I finally got free of both Sarah and Osiris, and you helped me do that."

Tugging his shirt from his waistband, Daniel lifted his lover's hand and flattened it, palm down, on his bare abdomen. "You touch me all the time and it's been months since that's triggered a flashback." His eyes grew more fervent. "I know it's you, Jack."

Lowering his eyes to Jack's hand on his belly, Daniel spread his fingers out on top of it, pressing gently, and moved the hand from side to side across his skin. "I love your hands on me, so strong and warm." Intense blue eyes, darkened with desire, met Jack's. "I trust you, Jack. Unreservedly. The problems I've been having... it was never because I doubted you."

Curling his fingers against the soft, pink flesh beneath them, Jack smiled, though there was a hint of pain in his eyes. "I know that, Daniel," he acknowledged softly. "You've always been hardest on yourself." Jack lifted his free hand to gently stroke a knuckle across Daniel's cheekbone.

Daniel closed his eyes and, angling his head back, sighed appreciatively.

Jack dropped his hand to the strong shoulder beneath the cheek he caressed. "Why don't you lay back?"

Daniel turned towards Jack, his eyes opening lazily. He shifted and dropped gracelessly onto his back, his hand still holding Jack's against him. Grinning drunkenly, he maintained eye contact with his partner as the older man leaned forward.

Daniel tilted his head to received Jack's kiss. As their lips touched, a barely audible moan rumbled in his throat. Focused on the hot, slick feel of Jack's mouth gliding along his, Daniel shuddered, peripherally sensing Jack's fingers skimming his body as they expertly unfastened the buttons of his shirt. Faintly aware of the chill air touching his skin as more of it was exposed, Daniel was fully cognizant of the warm, firm palm that settled again, possessively, yet non-threateningly, just below his ribcage.

Jack released his lips and Daniel exhaled, a quiet murmur of protest wafting on the breath.

"Patience," Jack chuckled into the passion-filled, half-masted blue eyes silently berating him.

Jack turned on his knee and winced, stifling a curse as the move pulled at the joint. Ghosting his hand over Daniel's torso, quirking a self-satisfied grin at his partner's sharp intake of breath, Jack hooked a finger behind the buckle of Daniel's belt. Tugging firmly, he wrestled the belt loose, working his fingers behind it to one handedly release the button on Daniel's jeans.

The heel of Jack's palm scraped the hardened mound beneath Daniel's zipper and the younger man, gasped, jerking involuntarily from the sensation.

Watching his lover writhe feverishly, Jack felt his own cock stir. Snatching his hand from Daniel's waist, he quickly unzipped his own pants, giving his growing erection room to expand.

He glanced back at Daniel's face, only to find most of it hidden behind one of Daniel's long, agile hands. The younger man's full lips were parted beneath the shield, short quick breaths being expelled between them. His tongue darted out, laying a damp trail across the bottom lip. Its mission complete, the tongue retreated into the hot, dark confines of Daniel's mouth, followed quickly by the lip it had just caressed.

Turning his attention back to Daniel's lower body, Jack tweaked a brow at the long legs that still kicked restlessly. He placed a tentative hand on Daniel's thigh to still the movements. From the corner of his eye, he saw the hand lift from his lover's face, and he turned his head, a smile automatically gracing his lips at the seductively dark blue eyes peering at him from beneath passion-heavy lids.

His eyes never leaving Daniel's, Jack skimmed his hand over Daniel's hip and reached for the zipper of his jeans. Pulling it slowly downward, he leaned in and placed a soft kiss on the skin just above the waistband of Daniel's boxers, quietly proud of the sloppy grin his partner wore as a result.

Jack's gaze sobered somewhat as he shifted closer to the couch. Gingerly fingering the waist of Daniel's jeans, he waited for the younger man's permission to proceed. Receiving it in the form of a microscopic lowering of Daniel's eyelids, Jack began slowly peeling the garment from the trim, lithe body.

His hands skated along the warm skin just beneath Daniel's waistline until they met in the small of his back. Plunging his fingers beneath the edge of the fabric, Jack pushed downward. He briefly cupped the firm globes of Daniel's ass through his lightweight boxers, before rearranging his grip on the denim. Careful of Daniel's sensitized anatomy, he slid the material downward until the jeans pooled at the younger man's ankles. Pulling the hems over Daniel's feet, he grasped both legs in one hand and pulled the garment free, tossing it haphazardly over his shoulder. Noting Daniel's bare toes wriggling excitedly, Jack tipped his mouth in bemusement at the realization that he'd taken Daniel's socks with the jeans.

He redirected his gaze, better able to appreciate Daniel's tumescence without the heavy denim covering. Raising himself to his full kneeling height, Jack loomed over his partner, raking his gaze from the prominent bulge at Daniel's groin, up and over the taut belly, across the broad chest, to the ardent blue eyes intently focused on his.

Firming his eye-lock with the younger man, Jack quickly removed his chinos and briefs, teetering slightly when he slipped them over his knees. He grinned outright at Daniel's hesitant smile and made a show of discarding the garments in the same manner as he had Daniel's jeans. Jack's erection bobbed with the movement, springing from beneath his black tee shirt to anoint the garment with pre-cum.

Eyes dipping briefly, Daniel's mouth took on an appreciative slant. Reaching out, he invited Jack closer. Accepting the offer gladly, Jack followed the guidance of the hand wrapped around his hip.

Daniel turned on his side giving Jack room to sit. Settling on the edge of the cushions, Jack leaned in for a kiss, grunting against his lover's mouth when Daniel lifted his upper body to meet him halfway. Daniel's hand skimmed the small of Jack's back, hugging the older man to him.

As their lips met, Jack's hand dove beneath the opening of Daniel's shirt. Gingerly groping for the small nipple concealed beneath the pale gray fabric, Jack ghosted a digit over the nub before gripping it firmly between his thumb and forefinger. He pulled back just enough to allow Daniel's gasp of surprise to escape before again sealing their mouths in a breath-stealing kiss.

Carefully settling the full weight of his upper body against Daniel, Jack shuddered when the younger man's hand drifted up his back, the fingertips maintaining just enough contact to tickle, and splayed between his shoulders. Daniel's other arm wrapped firmly around his waist, exerting gentle force, and again Jack followed his lover's nonverbal cues, reclining further onto the powerful form.

Daniel's fingers dug into his flesh, seemingly attempting to gain purchase on his body with the intent of dragging Jack on top of him. A digit poked at his side and Jack grunted into Daniel's mouth. He turned his head away, his lips gliding slickly against those that again uttered breathy complaints.

"Hang on just a second."

Jack reached awkwardly behind him and grasped Daniel's hand. Unwinding the younger man's arm from around his waist, he slid out of Daniel's hold. Planting both palms against the couch cushion, he hoisted himself noisily to his feet, more than one colorful curse escaping when his left knee popped. Once upright, he sidestepped and pivoted. Lifting his right leg he planted his foot on the couch between Daniel's legs, which splayed open further, bent-kneed to accommodate him. As gracefully as his stiff legs would allow, Jack settled on his knees, and gazed down at his lover's rapidly expanding chest. Jerking his eyes upward, he smiled into blue eyes dark with lust, and kiss-swollen lips, slackened to allow the passage of air.

Grinning wickedly, Jack skimmed his fingers along the inside of Daniel's thigh, shifting the hand to press down on the leg when Daniel bucked wildly. Before the younger man had calmed completely, he hooked the waistband of Daniel's boxers and tugged them over the prominent hips. Maneuvering carefully around the hardened shaft, he eased the boxers down. Once Jack got the underwear past well-muscled thighs, on a silent signal, Daniel pulled his knees to his chest, allowing Jack to quickly snatch the garment completely off.

Jack dropped the boxers over the side of the couch and fell forward, extending his arms to either side of Daniel's impatiently wriggling body. Collapsing onto his elbows, he slid his hands beneath Daniel's shoulders and pushed with his toes until he lay on top of the younger man, Daniel's head cradled in the palms of his hands.

Daniel's legs wrapped around Jack's waist and pulled him closer. One strong hand gripped Jack's shoulder while the other wound itself in the hem of Jack's tee shirt, snatching it up to maximize the skin to skin contact.

Tipping his head back, Daniel closed his eyes and released a soft moan. Notwithstanding the encouraging noises his lover made, Jack cautiously settled all of his weight, pressing the younger man into the soft cushions.

Pulling a contented smirk at Daniel's happy sigh, Jack captured the widely parted lips, his tongue immediately pushing through the opening in search of its counterpart. Daniel's tongue rose to meet him, encircling and caressing, in diminutive reflection of the lover's embrace.

Slowly withdrawing his tongue from Daniel's mouth, Jack released the warm lips, and placing his chin against Daniel's nudged it into the air. He angled his head to lave Daniel's exposed throat, just under the jaw line. Nibbling his way back, he nipped the earlobe he found at the end of the trail, his stubbled cheek scraping coarsely again his lover's.

Daniel mewled and shifted beneath Jack's bulk, the twinge of teeth against ear lobe making him jolt.

His face nestled into the space behind Daniel's jawbone, Jack inhaled sharply when his lover's twitch brought their cocks into alignment. Jack's eyes clenched tightly together, his whole being focused suddenly on their pricks snuggled side by side between their bodies.

Placing a soft kiss against his lover's neck, Jack pressed his elbows into the couch. Lifting his upper body slightly, he adjusted the angle of his pelvis, increasing the contact between their groins, and hitched his hips forward.

"No. Jack, wait."

Jack's head came up, his eyes snapping open instantly to rake his lover's face with an apprehensive glare.

Daniel gasped at the care-worn anxiety reflected in Jack's eyes. The troubled countenance filled him with such a feeling of safekeeping and love that he sighed reflexively. A gratified smile tugging at his lips, he gazed passionately into the large, dark eyes.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, the soft tone of his voice calming. "I didn't mean to scare you. I'm fine, really." Daniel's eyes darted lower, squinting into the small space between their bodies. "It's just that... well, if you keep doing... that, I'm gonna come right here and now."

His mouth dropping open, Jack's brow gathered over the bridge of his nose. After a second, he blurted, "I thought that was the idea."

"No."

Daniel had barely gotten the word out before Jack carefully dragged his knees closer to Daniel's buttocks and pushed himself up. Bending Daniel's knee, he slid the leg around his torso then turned and sat against the back of the couch, Daniel's legs draped over his thighs. Jack's penis stood in silent disgruntlement.

As Jack climbed off him, Daniel reached out, too late to keep the older man from backing away. Once Jack settled on the couch, Daniel stretched his fingers in entreaty, waiting for Jack to take his hand.

Their fingers entwined, Daniel swung his feet over the side of the couch. Taking advantage of Jack's grasp, he pulled himself into a sitting position then pivoted and lifted his ass into Jack's lap, draping one long arm across Jack's shoulders.

Relaxing into the arms that wrapped protectively around him, Daniel rested his forehead against Jack's temple for a moment. Drawing all the devotion and desire that stirred deep within him to the surface, Daniel pulled back to gaze into Jack's eyes, willfully displaying all of those emotions and more.

"Not like this, Jack. I don't want our first time to be a quick tumble on the couch in your den."

Jack's eyes widened minutely and Daniel tenderly caressed his jaw with warm, reverent fingers.

"I want you," he said huskily, "completely."

Moving his loving caress to Jack's lip, Daniel smiled fondly at the slightly stunned look in the older man's eyes. Gently gripping the strong chin, Daniel guided Jack's face to his own and seized his lover's mouth in a kiss that was both powerful and romantically sweet.

When they parted, Daniel dragged eyes brimming with need to meet Jack's similarly lust-filled brown orbs.

"Make love to me, Jack," Daniel said, his tone equal parts request and demand. He pinned Jack with a look so intense, so earnest, that the older man's breath caught audibly in his throat.

"Daniel," Jack eventually croaked out, the tiniest bit of uncertainty creeping into his gaze.

"Jack," Daniel jumped in before his lover could protest. "I want this. I need it." Daniel lowered his eyes to Jack's shoulder, wetting his lips as sufficiently as he could with the little moisture he had in his mouth.

"I know I said before that Osiris is gone," he murmured, "but I'll never know for sure until I make love with you." Drawing a slow breath, Daniel straightened his back and again locked eyes with his partner.

"I need you to erase any doubt that might be lurking. Now. I don't want to wait, Jack. Let's get rid of that damn Goa'uld once and for all."

For a few long moments, Jack said nothing, only searched Daniel's face with dark assessing eyes. His examination apparently completed, he smiled softly and leaned toward Daniel, taking the dry, full lips in a passionate kiss.

As it ended, Jack blew out an even breath. Slipping a hand under Daniel's knees, he grimaced slightly into his lover's adoring countenance. "I suppose you expect me to carry you to the bedroom," he said with mock annoyance.

Daniel smiled. "I think I can manage to get there on my own."

Jack returned the smile, then, quickly sobering, he slid Daniel's legs over the side of the couch. The second the younger man's feet hit the floor, Jack pushed himself up. Utilizing his hold on Daniel's waist and the arm Daniel still hung around his neck, Jack dragged them both to an upright position. He shifted his hold to Daniel's hip, turning his partner towards him.

Sliding a hand under Daniel's shirt, Jack pulled the firm figure tight against his own hard body and pressed lips flush with excitement to Daniel's. He groaned softly when his lover's tongue sought immediate entry and opened gladly to receive it.

Their tongues wrestled, Daniel asserting dominance then backing off to allow Jack to possess his mouth. Daniel's hands clawed their way up the back of Jack's tee shirt until his long, nimble fingers burrowed into the short silver hairs at the back of his head. Applying moderate pressure to Jack's skull, Daniel held the older man in place while he once again plundered his oral cavity.

Finally tearing his lips away, Daniel gasped out, "Bedroom," and, snatching Jack's hand from his waist, led the way at a brisk pace.

They had no sooner crossed the threshold when Daniel launched himself into Jack's arms, his own arms wrapping tightly around the older man's neck. Jack's grunt of surprise was quickly swallowed by Daniel's mouth and the tongue that once again dove between his lips as though seeking refuge.

Inching them towards the bed, Jack glided his fingertips up Daniel's chest, smiling against Daniel's mouth when the younger man shuddered. Resting his hands briefly on the strapping shoulders, Jack pushed the shirt off and down Daniel's arms, which fell at his sides to accommodate the descent.

Daniel kicked absently at the material pooling behind him. Taking Jack's cue, he pulled their mouths apart and snagged the hem of the older man's tee shirt. Pushing it quickly up and over Jack's head, he tossed it over his shoulder and stepped back, raking his totally naked lover with a lecherous stare.

Lifting a leg onto the bed, Daniel fell gracefully onto his hip and rolled to his back. Digging his elbows into the mattress, he scooted further back and spread his legs, offering Jack full access to his body. He captured his lover's eyes, consciously projecting his desire in the sensuously languid flutter of his lashes.

Jack swallowed convulsively and his cock leapt at the sight. Staring dumbly for a second, he physically shook himself out of his carnal trance and lunged to the side of the bed.

Falling forward, he landed with his hands on either side of Daniel's hips. He dragged his knee up and began a slow crawl across the mattress until he was positioned over the younger man's supine form. Rising on his toes, he held his body stiff, as though he intended to demonstrate a proper military push up.

Quirking a self-indulgent grin, Jack glanced between their bodies. His overly eager penis bobbed over Daniel's more than willing shaft, seemingly straining to brush its anatomical counterpart, so close, yet just out of reach.

His dick twitched again, weeping pearly drops of seminal fluid that hung suspended from the tip for the span of a heartbeat before plummeting, loosed by Jack's purposeful shimmy, to splatter against the taut skin covering Daniel's prominent hipbone.

Daniel's breath stuttered and he trembled. Arching his back, he raised his arms and clasped Jack's buttocks, tugging until the older man collapsed on top on him. When their groins met, Daniel reflexively canted his hips to solidify the contact.

Lifting his ass in the air, Jack uttered a strangled cry. He squinted admonishingly into his lover's mildly startled blue eyes. "Daniel, if you're serious about wanting to make love, you'd better cut that out. I've been waiting as long as you have and the wrong move now could spoil the fun in a big hurry."

"Sorry." Daniel shrugged his right shoulder, offering a chagrined twist of his mouth. "Guess I'm just a little impatient."

Jack's glare softened. Sighing, he struggled to his knees, determinedly ignoring Daniel's objection and the fingers that pinched at his skin in their attempt to hold him down.

From his vantage point above his lover, Jack took the time to scrutinize the younger man's state. Other than the disagreeable pout he'd just affected, Daniel's body language jibed with his expressed wish to engage in intercourse.

Lively eyes, which usually darted within their environment to take in every detail, were focused, laser-like, on Jack's face, their vivid blue pupils blackened with desire. A wet, pink tongue darted out, obliterating Daniel's pout, then, just as quickly retreated, once again pulling the full bottom lip into Daniel's mouth with it. The smooth, white chest rose and fell rapidly as the lungs beneath pulled short, panting breaths. There was no tension in the beautifully muscled body; Daniel was completely relaxed into the mattress, motionless except for the occasional anticipatory squirming of shoulders or hips.

Daniel's penis stood in rigid contrast to the slackened condition of his frame. Glistening with pre-cum, the fully erect cock danced erotically under Jack's watchfulness, inspired to seductive twitching by the dark gaze.

Grinning appreciatively, Jack again shifted his attention from Daniel's groin to the starkly intense eyes.

"Open up for me, Daniel," he ordered softly.

Bending at the waist, Jack caressed the inside of Daniel's thighs as his partner slid his heels back and to the sides, spreading his legs as requested. Jack kicked out, reclining onto his chest, and lowered his face to Daniel's crotch.

Briefly snuffling the short, springy hair surrounding the impressive shaft, Jack lapped at its base then dove beneath to tickle Daniel's balls with the tip of his tongue. Daniel jumped and Jack tightened his hold on the younger man's legs, grinning, quietly proud, when Daniel released a hearty moan.

Extending his tongue further, Jack tipped one of the sacs upward, and gaping wide, inhaled the gonad into his mouth. He rolled the small sphere on his tongue, continuing to apply gentle suction for added effect. Fleetingly he considered humming, but feared that, in Daniel's heightened state of arousal, the vibration might send the archaeologist over the edge.

Jack lathed Daniel's balls until the linguist began muttering unrecognizable phrases and yanked repeatedly on the bed coverings. Lifting his head, Jack grinned broadly at the bottle of lubricant dangling before his face.

Glancing sidelong he noted that Daniel's side of the bed was disheveled, the pillow upended and leaning lengthwise against the headboard.

"A little impatient, huh?" Jack laughed softly, wondering idly how long Daniel had been secreting the lube under his pillow, waiting for the opportunity to use it.

Jack released his hold on Daniel's legs, and grasped the proffered container. His eyes followed Daniel's hand as it withdrew, sliding across his chest and up his neck to rest temptingly against his jaw.

Daniel held his head, neck and shoulders aloft, his smoldering blue gaze aimed in Jack's direction. Clearly aware he had his lover's attention, he moved the hand across his chin. One long, thin finger teased his fleshy bottom lip before disappearing up to the first knuckle, into the warm, moist chamber beyond. Jack blew a hot, gusty breath across his dick and Daniel threw his head back, shuddering violently.

"Damn it, Daniel," Jack complained half-heartedly, lifting a hip to allow his freshly stimulated cock to spasm more comfortably. "You're playing with fire here."

While the prolonged foreplay was a major turn on, having reached the point where almost every action increased the sexual tension, Jack knew that, unless he took Daniel's less-than-subtle hint, one or both of them was going to blow before the main event.

Pushing himself up on his elbows, Jack one-handedly opened the lube and squeezed a generous portion onto his other hand. Working the viscous substance over and through his fingers, he glanced at Daniel's puckered entrance, then raised his eyes above the straining cock and pumping chest to Daniel's neck, obscenely elongated and exceedingly inviting in its current position.

Jack determinedly redirected his thoughts. "Daniel," he called softly.

After a moment Daniel's face appeared above his shoulders, his skin fever-flushed, his eyes half-lidded with desire.

"I'm gonna use my fingers..." Jack warned, still anxious that Daniel might react badly to the penetration.

"God, please," Daniel breathed, his eyes rolling upward before he again fell back against the bed. His leg shifted and his anus tightened noticeably in anticipation.

Shoving aside the lubricant, Jack touched one anointed fingertip to Daniel's opening, spreading a thin coating of the stuff at the point where he would soon fill his partner. Holding his breath, he teased the spot briefly then placed his digit against the pucker and pushed gently, advancing slowly beyond the tight ring of muscle, giving Daniel ample time to adjust to the breach.

"Shit," Daniel gasped, the sharp inhalation followed by short, forceful pants.

Watching intently, Jack released his breath in a slow stream, satisfied that his partner's outburst was not anxiety-ridden but was instead part of his battle against the urge to climax. Intimately familiar with Daniel's reactions, Jack sensed his lover gain a measure of control just in time to ride out the sensation of a two-fingered penetration. Daniel's hands convulsively twisted in the bedspread, his heels pressed firmly into the mattress.

Resting his temple against Daniel's thigh, Jack registered the tension in the strong leg muscle, and guessed, based on the just detectable tremors that his lover would not hold out much longer. Quickly but thoroughly completing his preparation, Jack snatched the lube and heavily slicked his cock. Clambering to his knees, he leaned over Daniel, his knuckles planted into the bed on either side of the younger man's hips. Nudging Daniel's left side he waited until the wild blue eyes found his.

"Are you ready?"

"For a couple of months, now," Daniel huffed in response.

Jostling his shoulders into the soft surface beneath him, Daniel shot a hand out and snagged his pillow. He sat up just high enough to thrust the pillow behind his head and shoulders then pulled his knees towards his chest and wrapped his hands behind the joints to hold his legs in place.

Jack adjusted his position, threading his arms through Daniel's upturned legs until they rested against his biceps. He shuffled closer, aligning his enthusiastically twitching dick with Daniel's expectantly quivering opening. His eyes glued to his lover's face, alert for any sign of distress, he shifted forward.

Daniel released his pent up breath at the same rate Jack slowly slid into him, his eyes never leaving his lover's. He pulled quick replenishing drafts each time Jack paused, releasing it all in a whoosh when Jack's balls snuggled against his backside, a sign that they were joined completely, perfectly. Daniel's eyes slid closed and a beatific smile lit his face.

Jack's modification had left Daniel's hands free and they wandered upward to grip Jack's jaw and draw the older man to him. At the same time, he hauled himself upward until their lips met. He slid his hands around Jack's neck to his back. Gently clawing his way to just below Jack's shoulder blades, Daniel tugged until he was close enough to wind his arms around his lover, firmly enfolding him.

Deepening the kiss, Jack canted his hips. Daniel jerked and tightened around him, and Jack gasped, his lover's unrestrained mutterings sounding in his ear. Surmising that his dick had found Daniel's prostate, Jack repeated the move and was rewarded with a whimpered cry from his partner and a spastic clenching of his deeply embedded cock.

Daniel released his clutch on Jack and slumped to the bed. "Do it, Jack," he bit urgently, the need screaming from his severely dilated eyes. "Hard and fast."

Requiring no further prompting, Jack drove forward. He angled his arms so that his elbows pressed into Daniel's thighs, attempting to hold his lover's lower body still while he stroked the tight channel with quick, deep thrusts.

"Jack."

Gasping his lover's name, Daniel reached blindly for him, the pleasure screaming through his body robbing him of all conscious thought. Having been deprived so long, Daniel's desperation to feel Jack all around him was overwhelming, the need as basic as air to his survival.

Daniel hooked his hands behind his partner's shoulder blades and pulled the older man forward and down until their chests pressed together. He wrapped his legs around the strong body that pistoned into him, his muscles taut with the impulse to drive his lover deeper.

Grunting, he prodded Jack's ass with his foot, moaning ecstatically when his lover instantly obeyed his demanding nudge. Propelling himself forward, Jack wrapped his fingers around Daniel's shoulders and hugged the younger man to him with a fierceness born of all-encompassing passion.

Daniel's penis lurched, and Jack tilted his pelvis, once again stroking Daniel's prostate.

"Jack!"

In a matter of seconds, all elements of Daniel's being rushed to his center. His belly contracted with the intensity of the internal caress combined with the squeezing and rubbing of his cock between his and Jack's bodies. He came with a near primal shout, the warm, milky cum his trapped penis shot quickly pooling in the hollow beneath his sternum.

Jack followed right behind, crying Daniel's name into his lover's ear. He crushed his partner into the mattress, embracing him tightly while he emptied himself into the receptive form. He held on while the aftershocks of their lovemaking wracked his body, sighing contentedly when Daniel's arms wound around him, clutching him firmly.

Once his heart began beating more normally, Jack thought about shifting off Daniel, but the younger man, apparently able suddenly to read his lover's mind, nixed that idea, increasing the strength of his hold. Jack wriggled within the encircling limbs, scrubbing his early evening stubble against Daniel's firm, smooth pec.

Daniel relaxed his legs, and his feet landed with a thud on either side of Jack's thighs. No longer fixed in place, Jack's wilting cock slid out of his ass, tucking itself into the sheltering cavern between Daniel's buttocks. Daniel moaned at the loss.

Jerking his head from his lover's chest as though it had suddenly become scorching hot, Jack turned to him, eyes wide with apprehension. "You okay?" he asked, struggling to climb off Daniel's ribcage.

Enfolding the retreating man more securely, Daniel chuckled, "I'm fine, Jack." Grinning, he sighed happily, "I don't think I've ever been better in my life."

Jack studied his partner's face for a moment, his lips constricted minutely at the fatigue and stress-engendered creases at the corners of Daniel's eyes. As he watched, the grooves appeared to soften and smooth, more nearly resembling laugh lines than torment-ridden furrows.

"Well, if you want a second opinion, I'd say you look better, too." Jack smirked brazenly. "Post-coital glow suits you."

Daniel's glow brightened with the addition of a pinkish blush.

Beaming smugly, Jack shifted sideways and slid the bulk of his body weight off Daniel. He settled his hip and lower body on the mattress, and pressed himself to Daniel's side. Resting his chin on his lover's chest, he gazed into the much-adored blue eyes.

"So, do we get Dr. Meck a thank you gift or..."

Squinting bemusedly, Daniel drew his brows together. "What for?"

"What for?" Jack parroted. He poked his hip into Daniel's thigh. "Obviously the hypnosis worked."

"Ah," Daniel huffed, a mysterious twinkle accompanying his sly smile. "I, ah, I declined Dr. Meck's suggestion of hypnosis."

"What?" Jack rolled back and pushed up onto his elbow.

"As a matter of fact, I cancelled my last appointment with him."

Jack tilted his head, looking askance at his lover. "If you didn't see Dr. Meck on Friday, where did you go? You left the house at your usual time."

"Yeah."

"So?"

"I went to see Teal'c."

"Teal'c." Jack raised his bisected brow and narrowed his eyes, the look just on the edge of suspicion.

"Yeah. Teal'c has been helping me with..." Daniel gestured to their spent cocks.

Jack's right brow collided with its counterpart in the middle of his forehead.

"We've been meditating, Jack," Daniel clarified, with an impatient shake of his head. "That's where I was Saturday and this morning, too. There was no emergency with a translation." He shrugged his shoulder by way of apology.

Locking eyes with his lover, Jack deliberately evened out his features. "You've been meditating with Teal'c?"

Daniel fidgeted but managed to maintain the older man's gaze. "Remember the other morning? I had that erection during a dream, so I knew that, at least on a subconscious level, I was capable of responding sexually. I hoped that by meditating I could learn to pull those subconscious feelings to a place where they'd actually do me some good when I'm awake enough to enjoy it."

"Feelings?" Jack queried, a meaningful slant to his brow.

Giving his head an affectionate shake, Daniel offered an indulgent grin. "I said before, Jack, you were right. I was letting my brain have way too much influence. I needed to just let it all go and feel." The grin slid from his face, the weightiness of his words dragging his lips into a thoughtful frown. "Somehow I knew what happened in that dream was the key — I completely gave myself over to my need — my feelings." His mouth pulling faintly sideways in a wistful smirk, Daniel sighed. "I thought once I figured it out, I could recreate it —"

"But you were still afraid to trust yourself that much," Jack muttered.

Glancing away from his lover's sweetly sad expression, he located and grasped Daniel's hand. Squeezing gently, he brought the hand to his lips and placed a soft kiss on one of the knuckles. He raised his eyes to Daniel's again, smiling into the blue orbs that darted from his lips to latch onto his supportive gaze.

"I think it would have taken a long time," Daniel said, "certainly longer than I wanted to wait, before the therapy got me to a place where I'd let myself rely completely on my feelings again. Every time I thought about what happened the last time I trusted myself..." He exhaled a sharp breath. "I needed to get past that block, take my thought processes out of the equation, and let myself just feel. Like in that dream."

"So," Jack wrapped up brightly, hoping to ease Daniel's melancholy pensiveness, "We have Teal'c to thank for..." He flicked his finger vaguely in the direction of Daniel's groin.

Daniel's face broke out in a spontaneous smile. Shaking his head, he rolled his eyes upward, making a show of considering his reply. "Well, not directly, but, yeah, if not for him, we wouldn't be lying here on a Sunday evening all sweaty and covered in cum."

Jack grinned, an impish gleam lighting his eyes from within.

"What?" Daniel asked, Jack's mischievous look putting him on guard.

"I was just thinking. I hope it doesn't go to the big guy's head. I mean, how would we explain the plaque on the wall outside his quarters: 'Dr. Teal'c. Sex Therapist. Office Hours by Appointment?'"

Snorting, Daniel shook his head again. "You know, I'm amused as often as I'm amazed by the way your mind works."

"There's a compliment in there somewhere, I'm sure," Jack smirked. Enjoying Daniel's uninhibited mirth for a just a minute longer, he cleared his throat.

"Uh, how intense was this instruction Teal'c gave you?"

Daniel pulled back slightly, a circumspect narrowing of his eyes accompanying his cautiously curious, "Why?"

"Well, I was just wondering whether, maybe... you've got a shorter recovery time." Jack waggled his brows suggestively and slowly inched his way back on top of his lover. Daniel's lips, pursed as they were in surprise, were too tempting to resist, and Jack covered them with his own.

Moaning throatily, Daniel reveled in the sensation of Jack's body moving against him. Once again bundling his lover into his embrace, he opened to Jack's questing tongue, and silently thanked their Jaffa friend for his guidance

Huddled in the passenger seat of Jack's truck, Daniel rubbed his gloved hands together, biting back a curse against the frigid wind. "Get this thing started. I need heat," he groused as soon as his partner was settled in the seat next to him.

"Okay, okay. Keep your pants on," Jack barked. Shoving his keys into the ignition, he snapped his head to the right, raising a quizzical brow at his snickering archaeologist.

"I don't believe you've ever given that particular order before," Daniel tittered, his broad smile dimpling his cold-pinked cheeks. "You're usually yelling at me to get my pants off."

Jack cranked the engine, his hand immediately shifting to the heat control, setting it at maximum. "Hey, if I had my way, you'd be without pants all the time. I think it's a damn shame to cover an ass as fine as yours."

Feigning shock, Daniel ultimately found it difficult to maintain the ruse, instead allowing his true emotions to mold his features.

"What?" Jack returned Daniel's painfully expansive smile.

Backing off the smile, Daniel sighed contentedly. "It's finally okay, Jack," he said softly. "You can joke like that, say things like 'I ought to expose my ass for the world to see' and I don't automatically feel threatened by it."

"Who's jokin'," Jack smirked, the sarcastic smile instantly morphing into a contrite line when Daniel narrowed his eyes slightly. "Sorry. I get what you're saying. For my part, I'm glad to be through with counseling." Jack tipped his head towards the windshield and, on the other side of it, Dr. Meck's office, where they had just completed their last session.

"Yeah."

Eyes darting sideways at his lover's oddly melancholy response, Jack turned to face Daniel. Extending a hand over the center console, he tugged the younger man's hands from between his thighs. "What's goin' on?" he asked, easing off Daniel's gloves to rub at chilled fingers.

For a minute, Daniel mutely watched Jack's fingers lovingly massage warmth back into his digits. Then, slipping his hand out of Jack's hold, he turned his wrist and grasped the older man's hands in his. He smiled softly when Jack squeezed with gentle pressure.

"This was our final connection, our last reminder of... everything. Sarah and Osiris are dead, Cooksey and Jeffries in prison, Agent Webb's getting help. And now, no more counseling."

"But that's a good thing, right?"

The corners of Daniel's mouth pulled upward, but the resulting expression was incongruously sad.

"Daniel?"

"It's dumb... it's..." He sighed softly, shaking his head. "I can't help feel that I'm leaving a part of myself behind... that, now that the final link is severed, a part of me is gone, too. A part that — no matter how much I hated him sometimes — was there at the beginning, when we first met. He's part of who I was when we fell in love."

Jack's mouth twitched in a sympathetic grin, his brows hovering low over understanding eyes. "But I never saw that guy, Daniel, that guy you described to Teal'c that night in the infirmary after Sarah attacked you."

Working a hand loose from Daniel's clasp, Jack reached up and brushed his knuckles against his lover's chapped cheek. "Sure, you're different after what's happened. Hell, we both are. But we're still us."

"Us." Daniel echoed on a whispered breath. His lashes fluttering closed, he leaned into Jack's caress, a bashful smile tugging at his lips.

Jack took a moment to fully enjoy the placidity radiating from his partner. Daniel wore a look of complete contentment, his face, at least for the moment, free of the worry lines brought about by too many demands and his own too-tender heart.

Frowning slightly at the tiny new scar high on Daniel's cheekbone, the one acquired at the hand of a sadistic snake powered by a mad-woman's crazed obsession, Jack shook his head, throwing off the burden of the past five and a half months. Skimming his fingers along the faintly stubbled cheek, he lovingly cupped his palm against the face of the man who meant everything to him and asked quietly, "So, what now?"

Daniel's eyes opened slowly, the lashes quivering tantalizingly over brilliant blue irises, and fixed themselves on Jack's.

"I have no idea," Daniel responded, a genuine smile slowly taking over his features. "But we have the rest of our lives to figure it out."

"Now you're talking." Jack nodded once. "Fasten your seatbelt," he ordered mildly, "This promises to be one hell of a ride." Clicking his own belt into place, Jack threw the truck into gear.

Daniel watched Dr. Meck's office recede as Jack backed the vehicle away. Reaching for Jack's hand once his lover set the truck on the course to home, he kept his eyes forward, figuratively turning his back on the last representation of his hurtful past, his damaging ties to Sarah Gardner, and Osiris's twisted reflection of her cruel attention.

Turning to Jack as his lover pulled their conjoined hands to his lips and planted a soft kiss on Daniel's fingers, Daniel smiled, his eyes meeting Jack's, their souls coming together in a brief, intense embrace.

As one they turned to the road ahead, their lives irrepressibly bound in their mutual love, and set their sights squarely on the path that lead to their united future.

The End

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