The warmth of the afternoon sun greeted the three members of SG-1 as they
exited the deep underground of the SGC. It was a comfort greatly welcomed,
seeing as the planet they had just returned home from that very morning had
shown them nothing but cold rain, and freezing winds.
Colonel Jack O'Neill spread his arms out to their full extent, and breathed
in deeply. "God, I just love the summer time. Warmth, sun, warm
air…..warmth."
"It's nice to see the sun again." Sam added, smiling at Jack's obvious
enjoyment of being warm and dry once again. It had been unpleasant listening
to his complaints while they'd been offworld, and she'd let her CO know it
almost as often as he'd bitched. "And, I LOVE the fact that I don't have to
hear anymore rain-related superlatives flying around."
"Hey, when the weather's crappy, one can't help letting a few choice words
slip out." Daniel smiled innocently, stepping up next to the Major. Jack was
a few steps ahead, walking backwards so he could face them. Sam laughed
sarcastically at the statement.
"Few? Come on, Daniel. You're the one whose was letting the weather have it
in twenty-three OTHER languages…." She jabbed at his arm with her finger.
Daniel's attitude the whole mission had been more than a little grouchy, and
Sam knew it wasn't just because of the weather. Well, actually…..Jack had
been upset over the weather, and had decided to take it out on the
archaeologist, who was already pissy for the same reason. Sam had come to
the conclusion that freezing rain, plus two bickering best friends equals
the male version of PMS.
"You have to admit, Daniel. You were the worst of us all." Jack shrugged,
ignoring the death glare the younger man shot his direction.
"If you hadn't of been PICKING on me, I might have been a little bit
friendlier." Daniel replied, still somewhat annoyed at Jack for singling him
out on the mission.
"I wasn't PICKING, Daniel. You wouldn't keep quiet about the damn situation
we were in, and it kind of grated on my last nerves. That's all." Jack said
innocently, causing Daniel's temper to flare up just a little bit more.
"You're the one who started the damn bitching, Jack. THAT grated on MY last
nerve, and I couldn't stand listening to it anymore. And then, you started
yelling at me, because I was complaining? Sounds a bit hypocritical to me."
He replied in a sardonic tone.
"I was NOT being hypocritical." Jack turned his back to the pair, signaling
he didn't want to get into it AGAIN. Daniel, however, wanted this to be
over, and done with. All he really wanted was some kind of apology from his
older friend.
"Yes, Jack, you were." Anger seeped into his response, and caused Jack to
stop, and face him.
"Dammit, Daniel…." Jack's own annoyance finally showed, but Daniel cut him
off before he could finish what he was going to say.
"Oh, there goes the 'DAMMIT DANIEL' again. I thought you'd have worn
yourself out with that one by now, after this mission." Daniel stepped up to
Jack, more hurt in his voice than anger. "But, I guess not. You never can
admit your wrong to me, can you? It's too difficult to APOLOGIZE, right
Jack? I'm always to blame…"
Sam sighed. Obviously the PMS hadn't quite worked its way out of their
system yet. She knew she needed to put a stop to this, at least until they got
out of earshot of the SGC. Rumors were always abundant, and she didn't need
the two of them adding another.
"Okay, guys…" she stepped in between the two, making sure she could see
them both pretty much. "Let's settle down. We can work this out over some
pizza, can't we?" Sam made sure her voice was as friendly as possible. It
was one thing to have them bickering at each other, but making either of
them mad at her would only make things worse.
Daniel looked between his two friends, and let out a heavy sigh. Sam was
right. She was always right. Maybe Jack was right too. He really didn't care
anymore, now that he thought about it. The fact that Jack was always going
to blame things out on him, his fault or not, had taken the fight out of the
whole situation. "Yeah, we can. That's if Jack wants to, of course." He tried
to as upbeat as Sam appeared to be, but he was too hurt.
Jack glanced at his two 'geeks', now looking at him for his thoughts on
pizza. He knew if he accepted, he'd get into it with Daniel again about the
mission later on, and he so didn't want to talk about it anymore. It was
over and done with, but Daniel never would let it rest there. He tried one
lame excuse, which he expected them to throw down easily. "What, a team
night without T.?"
Daniel and Sam looked at each other a moment, realizing they were short one
member for a normal team night. Teal'c was holed up in the infirmary with a
broken ankle. Without Jr. to heal him like he use to, T. wasn't allowed to
leave the SGC. He had, however, insisted that the three of them still enjoy
themselves, despite his absence.
"Jack, Teal'c practically told us to get together tonight…." Daniel smiled
despite his mood. He knew Jack wasn't totally up to the idea of hanging out
because of him. And to be honest, he himself just wanted to be away from the
man for a few days, but Sam looked so excited, and he hated to disappoint
her.
Jack also caught on to Sam's silent urging for this to happen. He sighed
finally in defeat. "Yeah, you're right. He did. Pizza at my place then?"
"Yes!" Sam couldn't help herself from saying excitedly.
"Sure." Daniel shrugged.
"Alrighty then, let's get to it." Jack clapped his hands together,
preparing himself for the night ahead.
- - - - - -
"I'm just saying, Carter. You know he's going to have a few beers too many,
and start into the damn argument again." Jack glanced over to the passenger
seat where his 2IC sat, listening patiently.
It was the least she could do, seeing as he was giving her a ride. Her car
was out of commission for a little while, and she had been bumming rides
from both Jack and Daniel for the past week. Daniel had given her a ride to
work the day they'd left on the mission, and now it was Jack's 'turn' to
give her a ride. They were all going to Jack's house anyway.
"I know, Sir. But maybe it's for the best." At Jack's quick glance her
direction, Sam added. "It will TRULY settle this."
"You mean you think it's unsettled too?" Jack whined, shaking his head.
"I think you're the only one who thinks it is settled, Sir." Sam replied
sympathetically. She could understand where he was coming from. Bickering
with Daniel could be trying on one; she knew from experience.
"Okay, maybe I know it's not." Jack admitted, receiving a smile from Sam.
"But he goes and gets upset over everything. If he wouldn't get so upset…."
"And if you wouldn't go blaming him for everything…" Sam added.
"I DON'T do that, Carter. Not EVERYTHING." Jack exclaimed truthfully.
"I know that, Sir." Sam sighed, glancing at Daniel's SUV behind them
through the side rearview mirror. "But you do it a lot. So much, that
Daniel's starting to believe everything really is his fault. He's only been
back a short while, and it's hard with you always going at him."
Jack glanced at her, a half-surprised look of guilt on his face. "He
really thinks that?" He looked through the rearview mirror at his friend.
Daniel looked to be deep in thought, rubbing his neck absently. Maybe this
really did need to be talked out.
"Yes, he does." Sam placed her hand on Jack's leg. "All he wants is an
apology. Even if the two of you are both to blame for this past mission,
just tell him your sorry. He'll understand."
"Yeah…" Jack sighed. He placed his foot on the gas as the light turned
green, his mind on Daniel. Suddenly realizing Sam had just implied that the
two men were both asses this past trip, he was about to reply to her
statement, when he glanced in the rearview mirror. What he saw made his
heart stop.
He'd heard of people saying when you see a car accident, it seems to happen
in slow motion. This was the fastest damned slow motion he'd ever seen in
his life. He watched, within one horrifying second, as Daniel's SUV got
t-boned by a car that had blown the red light, and come blazing at full
speed into the intersection.
The sound of the impact seemed to explode within his head, and he barely
registered Sam whispering a terrified 'Oh my God!' Jack slammed on the
brakes, and was out of the truck before any other person on the road had a
chance to realize what had just happened, Sam right behind him.
"DANIEL!" Jack yelled, running faster than he ever had before in his entire
life. He heard Sam echo the name a few steps behind him.
Debris was all over, and people were beginning to get out of their stopped
cars by the time Jack came to a halt in front of the wreckage. Daniel's SUV,
which had been traveling east behind Jack's truck, was now just within the
northbound lane, facing the opposite direction it had been going. The little
red sports car that had hit him was now facing east, its front end totaled.
Jack's eyes then fell on the driver's side window of his friend's vehicle.
"Daniel!" he screamed again. Jumping over chucks of motor, and bumper, and
crunching glass with his every step, Jack came up to the driver's door. He
could see his friend through the cracked glass of the window. A crack that
had been made by Daniel's now bleeding head, which was resting against the
glass. Jack placed his hands on the door, and called to his friend once
more, face almost touching the window. "Daniel! Danny, can you hear me?!
Answer me, PLEASE!"
Sam came rushing up beside Jack, having stopped to call 911. "Oh God,
Daniel!"
"He's not answering me, Sam…" Jack said, trying, and failing, to sound
calm.
"We need to get this door open…" Jack went to grab the handle, but Sam's
hand stopped him.
"No, Jack!" When he looked at her confused, Sam pointed to the window.
"Daniel's leaning on this door. If you open it, you could do more damage. Go
around to the passenger side. I'll try and wake him…"
Jack nodded, glad Sam was able to have a brain in a crisis like this.
Making his way to the other side, Jack didn't even bother to notice the
immense damage done to the vehicle. The passenger door had been flung open
by the impact, and Jack climbed into the SUV.
"Daniel?" he called softly to his friend. When no response came, Jack moved
closer to his friend, trying to get a better look at his condition.
Despite the protests of his own body, the Colonel crouched in the small
space between the passenger and driver seat. Glass from the shattered
windshield was everywhere, and he had to be careful where he placed his
hands.
"Daniel, if you can hear me, please say something." he tried again to get
some kind of answer, and his heart skipped a beat when it actually happened.
"Jack?" It was barely above a whisper, and frighteningly weak, but Jack had
heard it. And it was all he could do to keep his shout of relief from coming
out.
"I'm right here, Danny." He gently placed his hand on the younger man's
leg, ignoring the small shards of glass pricking into his palm.
"My…..h-head hurts, Jack." Daniel whispered very slowly, having trouble
making a coherent sentence come past lips. He was having trouble making
anything coherent, period. The only thing holding him to consciousness was
the hand on his leg.
"I know, buddy. You whacked it pretty damn hard…" Jack moved slightly so he
could get a better view of the trauma. Blood was slowly streaking its way
down the left side of Daniel's face. A lot of it was already on the window,
and soaking into Daniel's t-shirt.
"I'm sorry…" Daniel's voice dropped drastically, almost to a point where
Jack couldn't hear him. It caused the Colonel's already racing heart to
speed up even more.
"No, Daniel…..I need you to stay with me…Danny? DANIEL?" Jack patted
Daniel's leg gently, but the archaeologist was unconscious again. "SHIT!"
Sam called to him from the opening on the passenger side. "Colonel?"
Jack turned frustrated eyes on the Major, and saw that the paramedics were
approaching the vehicle. It would only be a moment before he was forced to
leave his best friend, to save him. Quickly, he returned his attention back
to Daniel. Placing his now bleeding hand on the younger man's cheek gently,
Jack silently prayed to every god and deity he could remember that Daniel
would be okay. He HAD to be.
- - - - - -
'Dammit Daniel….'
The words kept playing over and over in Jack's head, as he sat watching the
motionless form of his best friend lying in the hospital bed. He didn't know
what was worse. Watching Daniel get hit by the car, or sitting here waiting
to see if Daniel would even wake up again.
It had been four days since the accident, and Daniel still hadn't regained
consciousness. The doctor said they didn't know if he would or not, the
trauma to his head had been so severe. Jack had argued the fact, and had
fought for Janet's own opinion, but she too had said that Daniel might never
wake up.
Still, Jack wouldn't let it sink in. He'd spent every moment of the past
three days at the side of this bed, talking and reading to the
archaeologist. And still, nagging at his brain was the last REAL thing he'd
said to his friend before the accident.
'Dammit Daniel…'
Why had he been so stubborn? Why hadn't he just apologized to Daniel when
he'd had the chance? Now, it was too late….almost. Jack decided that if he
was ever going to do right by Daniel, this was it.
Jack crossed his arms down on the bed, resting his head down on top of
them. He gently took Daniel's limp hand within his own, and began to stroke
the top of it with his thumb.
"Hey buddy…..I really need you to wake up now, okay?" he said with a
suggestive smile, looking upon his friend with tears stinging his eyes. "I
need you to wake up because I don't think I can go through losing you again.
No, I know I can't. Danny, I can't do what we do without you. I need you out
there, watching my back. Saving my ass."
The smile faded into a sad line. "I…..all of us…Sam and Teal'c……Janet,
Cassie, George….we need you here to save us from losing hope. You are our
hope, Danny." Jack paused a moment to try and calm himself, but the tears
began to fall anyway.
"Daniel, I'm sorry." He blurted out suddenly. He was hoping getting his
apology out there would make Daniel wake up and go say something like 'HA! I
knew it!' or some other such thing to show Jack this had all been some sick
joke to make him apologize.
The silence in the room, save for the continuous beep of the machine telling
him his friend was, indeed, still alive, caused Jack's emotions to well up
even stronger.
"Daniel, please!" He whispered hoarsely. "Talk to me, say anything! Tell
me how much of an idiot I've been since you returned….." Still the only
reply to his request was the continuous beeping. He buried his face in his
arms, and let out the sob that was waiting to be let free. And he continued
to stoke Daniel's hand.
"I would never do that…."
Jack was so wrapped up in his grief, that he wasn't sure where he'd heard
the words come from. "What?" he mumbled into his arms, figuring Hammond, or
Sam had come in.
"I said…." Jack raised his head abruptly, realizing now who had said the
words. His gaze was met with two very glazed blue eyes. "I would never call
you an idiot…." A faint smile played on the younger man's lips. "At least
not seriously."
Jack's voice had barely gotten a chance to return to him when he jumped
out of the chair. "Daniel!"
"Hey Jack…." Daniel smiled lazily. They obviously had him on some serious
meds, because he was feeling PRETTY good right about now.
"Daniel, your awake!" Jack laughed, the emotion still raw in his chest. He
placed his free hand on Daniel's cheek, careful to avoid the bandage
covering the archaeologist head.
"You said you needed me to wake up…..so, I did." Daniel yawned, giving
Jack and apologetic look. "Sorry it took so long….I couldn't really form
words right then…….drugs…." he trailed off, smiling some more.
"When have you ever followed orders exactly as I want them to be
followed?" Jack smiled, a few tears still streaking down his cheeks. He was
ecstatic just to see those blue eyes, and hear the words come from Daniel's
lips. Half-slurred, jumbled words, but they were Daniel's, and that's all
that mattered. Jack pulled his chair closer so Daniel could easily look at
him, and sat down. The younger man's hand was still clasped in his.
"Never." Daniel smirked, turning his head to gaze at Jack. "Now, what do
you want me to talk about…"
"It doesn't matter, Danny." Jack shrugged. "As long as I can hear your
voice….it doesn't matter."
~The End~
BACK
DISCLAIMER: All characters and property of Stargate SG-1 belong to MGM/UA, World Gekko Corp.
and Double Secret Productions. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment and no money
was made from it. Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real
persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any other characters, the
storyline and the actual story are the property of the author