Settled Down 4
dream a little dream
Summary: Daniel's tired and Jack's worried. Contains a little consensual bondage.
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed,
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed:
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,
Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st,
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
-
I'm snuggled under the covers and in Jack's arms as he speaks his words of love to me by reciting Shakespeare from memory. Does he have a clue just what that does to me? Does he really know how much I love him? I try to tell him, but he's the romantic one, always the one with the gestures. All I get to do is to stumble over the one thing I have for him - words. And sometimes I find it so hard to find the right ones.
"Daniel, come on, I've got coffee."
I hear Jack's voice breaking through the haze as I try to wake up. I am trying, honest.
"Wake up, Daniel, we've got to go to work. Remember, big mountain, long time in elevator, big round stone thingy, standing water, people shooting at us. You know, fun stuff. Up and at 'em Rock Boy."
"Off. Fuck. Now. Coffee. Gimme."
"Here you are, oh light of my life. Enjoy it with my compliments. It does this old heart of mine no end of good to know just how much you love me."
"Cut the sarcasm, Jack," I manage to finally string a coherent sentence together. What does he expect? I glance at the clock and discover I've had all of two hours' sleep. I shouldn't have got up after our lovemaking and carried on with that translation, but I just couldn't sleep. Fucking marvellous.
"Breakfast is nearly ready, dear. Cooked the way you like it."
Okay, what does he want? He's not normally this sweet.
"I'm not in the mood, too tired. You couldn't get a rise out of me this morning if you strapped a fucking scaffold pole to my dick."
"Hey! I don't only love you for your body," he says. Now I know I'm in trouble.
"What do you want then?"
"Damn, Daniel, do you have to be so suspicious?"
"Jack, you're being nice to me. Of course I'm suspicious."
"That's my boy! I'm so proud. I'll tell you when we get home."
See? I fucking knew it.
Oh boy, I can barely keep my eyes open. I have no idea how I'm going to get through this briefing let alone go through the gate this afternoon. This should be a standard recon mission. I emphasise 'should' here because I'm on SG-1, consistently voted the team 'most likely to meet and greet the universe's weirdest and wackiest' for six years. We only dipped out on having it for seven years because SG-6, the Marines, went through a particularly bad patch a couple of years back. Boy, was that messy or what? Talking of 'what'?
"Daniel? Are you with us?"
"Sure, um, yes, of course I am. Where else would I be? Riding a camel in Siberia? Downhill skiing in Holland? Coral reef diving off the coast of Norway? Of course I'm freaking here."
"Shi-it, Daniel, what's frosting your cookies this morning?" Jack's a bit fed up of my bad mood I think. I can't help it, I've been having a run of nights where I've only managed to get a bit of sleep. Of course I'm snappy.
Great, Hammond's here. Perhaps we can get this over and done with.
"Good morning SG-1. Did you sleep well?"
He gets a chorus of 'yes, thank you' and a grunt from me.
"Daniel's been pulling allnighters again, Sir," Jack spills. Sneak.
"Dr. Jackson, are you fit to go through the gate this afternoon?" he asks, a little concerned by the tone of his voice.
"Of course, Sir, I won't let you down." I have to at least sound enthusiastic.
I force myself to give my report to the briefing and do it as quickly as I can. Thank God, Sam and the others have nothing to add so we're dismissed.
"Daniel, wait up," Jack says as I head off to my office.
"Hey, what's up, why can't you sleep at night? I know you go through phases of this but this has been going on for longer than normal. Come on Daniel, if you can't tell me, who can you tell?"
"Nothing to tell Jack, my sleep pattern's out of whack, that's all. It happens, it will get better. You know me, I'll get home from this mission and probably sleep for a day or two. You knew that taking me on; my sleeping habits have always been weird, you knew you'd never beat them. I'll try and get my head down for a nap in my office before we go, how about that?"
We've reached his office.
"Come in, Daniel," he orders.
We go in and shut the door behind us.
"Daniel, do I have to drop you from this mission? I can't in all conscience take you through the gate if you're going to drop on me. You know this."
I know it and I know it's not personal.
"Jack, I'll be fine, honestly. Come on, I've gone through on a damned sight less sleep than I've been having."
"Ok-ay, tell me this then. Is it something I've done? I mean, ever since I got my memory back you've been really busy and often not coming to bed at the same time as me. Did it bother you that much?"
"No, no, God no Jack, nothing like that. I've just been trying to catch up on a backlog of work. You know how it is, go away for a couple of days and you never get them back. I'm nearly as up to date as I was. I'm not trying to avoid you, honestly. C'mere." I put my arms out to him and he falls into them. Damn, he's tense.
I try to kiss him but he stops me, "Not on base, Daniel. I know we've done it before but we shouldn't."
Damn. "Jack? Have I done something to offend you? Because if I have I'm really sorry. I don't want to spoil what we have, you've got to know that."
"Shh, babe, no you haven't, I'm just trying to behave. You know what I'm like, I doubt I could stop at a kiss."
His eyes are twinkling at me, but I still detect a note of worry there.
"Well, if you're sure. I'll see you for lunch?"
"Of course, I'll call you."
I don't know what's up with Daniel. He doesn't usually have so many bad nights in a row. Perhaps he's right, perhaps I'm worrying about nothing. I'll just have to wait and see.
It's lunchtime so I'm off to pick him up from his office.
"Knock, knock," I call.
"Come in Jack, I'm nearly ready."
I go into his office and I can't see him.
"Um, Daniel? Where are you?"
"Oh, down here. I dropped something and it rolled under my desk. Damned thing has disappeared."
I look down. Ah, there are his feet.
"What is it?"
"Oh, just a little bit of an artefact, it came unscrewed and I dropped it. Damned annoying. You know how careful I like to be with these things."
"Sure. Look, why don't you come and have something to eat, perhaps you'll find it when you're a bit more refreshed."
He crawls out from under the desk and looks up at me with a grin.
"Yeah, you're probably right. It's such a nuisance. Hang on a mo, let me get cleaned up."
He's a bit over-cheerful. Has he been on the coffee again?
"Daniel, how much coffee have you been drinking?"
A hurt expression comes my way.
"Not much, just a few mugs. No, I'm not wired. I had a nap. Is that all right for you, Colonel, Sir?"
Ouch. He really is pissy today.
"Hey, what's with the bad temper, Daniel? I'm just worried about you, that's all."
I watch him as his entire body tenses and then he makes a conscious effort to relax.
"I'm fine, okay? I'm just getting fed up of people thinking that there's something wrong with me. I'm all right. I'll be perfectly okay to go through the gate this afternoon. Don't you trust me?"
"Always, Daniel. You should know that by now. You ready?"
He nods and we go to get something to eat.
I don't believe it. Daniel beat me to the gate room. Obviously trying to make up for earlier. Ah well, I'll let it go now, but I'll have to keep a close eye on him out there. The wormhole's established and out we go.
Aw hell, here we go again.
"Daniel, wait up!" I call as he goes haring off.
"Jack, I saw someone, or something, hell I don't know but whatever it was it went that-a-way. Come on."
Dammit, is he ever going to listen to me? For someone who's permanently tired he doesn't half run fast. Teal'c's more like me, stamina rather than speed, and Carter's just gritting her teeth and trying to keep up.
Daniel's stopped dead in front of us and we screech to a halt behind him. He's pointing at something in a shallow valley. Oh wow. The UAV couldn't have come this way, 'cause we never saw this.
There's some sort of settlement here, in what can only be described as a paradise setting. It is truly beautiful. The only thing is it's inside some sort of dome. What looks like a force field is arched over the town, shimmering in the sunlight - at least that's what it looks like to my poetic nature.
"See Jack, told you, didn't I?" he puffs.
"Yeah, you did Daniel. Where's the person you saw?"
"I have no idea," he says, but I can tell that his mind is already elsewhere.
I get a sit rep, always a good thing to do. Asking for one when you don't really know what to do next always makes you sound like you have a clue.
Teal'c says he has never seen this before. Carter - well, she's expounding some wonderful (I'm sure) theory on the nature of the power behind the force field, so nothing out of the ordinary here. And Daniel. What is he thinking? Coming to think of it, what is he doing?
"Daniel! Come back here!" Oh no, not again.
Teal'c's off quickly and tackles Daniel, holding on to him tightly.
"Um, guys? What's going on?"
He had no idea what he was doing or where he was going.
I don't like this, I don't like this one bit.
"Daniel, why did you go off like that?" I ask, taking Teal'c's place as the one to hold on to him.
"I have no idea, Jack. Where are we?"
"Going home, that's where. If you're unaware of your surroundings, you need to be checked out. Perhaps this is connected with all those sleepless nights."
"Hold on a minute, Jack, don't start panicking over nothing. Explain what's happened since we got here."
I pull him to sit on the ground, still holding on to him because I don't want him running off again, and tell him what's gone on.
"Okay - so, couldn't the possibility exist that I'm somehow being directed here? Maybe telepathically?"
Whoo boy, he's at it again.
"Daniel, couldn't the possibility equally be that you are just FUCKING SHATTERED?"
Okay, okay, I know I'm a bit tetchy, but I'm worried sick about him. He glares at me, the others wisely stay away from what (it turns out) they have called a 'domestic' from, ooh, about our fifth mission as a team. Seven years ago. Huh.
Daniel sighs, pulls me close and whispers, "Then how do you explain that, Jack?" jerking his thumb at the settlement. You know, I hate it when he's like this.
Jack's mother-henning me again. I know he means well, and I understand why he's doing it, but I wish he would just trust my judgement for once. We have to go to the settlement. I'm - I don't know - I think I'm being called there. What is going on?
"Jack, I think I can hear the inhabitants calling me," I say, though I'm not really sure why.
He's gone into full colonel mode, deciding whether we should go there or send another team. He looks at me hard and then nods.
"Carter, Teal'c, do you sense any Goa'uld presence?"
"No, Sir." "I do not."
"Daniel, this feeling you've got. Any sense of foreboding or dread?" In other words is my 'radar' on alert?
"None Jack, it's peaceful here. I don't feel anything out of the ordinary at all. We should go down. Be careful. I think we should stick together though. Don't ask me why, but we should definitely stick together."
Another hard stare and then he nods again, taking me at my word. I breathe out deeply. There was a time when he wouldn't have trusted me like this. I'm so glad it's over.
It takes us an hour to reach the force field. I have absolutely no idea how I'm going to get us in here and if I can communicate with the inhabitants if I manage it.
"How are you feeling now, Daniel?"
"Not worried about the people here, if that's what you mean, but I'm getting flashbacks to Abydos."
The others look at us as Jack grins.
"Communication problems, and you have no idea what you're doing?" he suggests with a laugh.
I just laugh back. Sam looks confused.
"When we got to Abydos the first time, Sam, I had no idea, not a fucking clue."
"You managed it though Daniel. You'll do it again." Aw, that's sweet.
We walk for a while, not finding anything obvious about how to get in. It's getting late now, the sun is starting to set. We haven't seen any sign of the people. I have no idea who they are.
"Here's a good spot," Jack calls. "Set camp. We can have another look in the morning."
The tents are quickly up, and we fall into our well-known routines. I'll do first watch. It gives the others the chance to sit up and keep me company. I know them and why they do it, they don't mean it as an insult. They just want to take care of me. I'm quite touched, actually.
"So Daniel, do you have any idea why you knew this place existed yet?" Sam's hugging a coffee as we sit around our camp fire and chat.
"I'm not sure. I felt there was something bringing me here, can't be more specific than that. The only thing I can think of is that I haven't been sleeping well recently. Perhaps that has affected my brain waves or something."
"It's as good a theory as anything," Jack agrees. "Talking of which, bed, Daniel and now. NO arguments."
I'm tired anyway so I give in without a struggle. Jack organises the watches. He'll do this one, then Teal'c then Sam. I always get either the first or last one and it would seem the first one is over.
Sam comes and joins me in the tent. This is also quite normal for us.
"Hey, Daniel, what's up with the sleeping?" she asks as she burrows into her sleeping bag.
"I don't know, Sam, just my usual I think. I hope it stops soon, it's driving Jack nuts."
She wriggles over to me and I wrap my arm around her. It's nice this, snuggling up like a pair of love birds. Boy, I really am tired. Perhaps I will sleep well tonight.
Daniel's out cold. I've managed to wake Carter without disturbing him. Poor kid, he needs the sleep. I lay down behind him and put my arm around his waist. That didn't even get a murmur from him. That's unusual, I normally get some sort of sleepy acknowledgement. Carter says we talk to each other in our sleep. He must be too tired to even do that. Woo hoo - the linguist has stopped talking!
She's shifted over, too tired to go to the other tent. I know, this looks positively perverted, but Teal'c is the only one that actually needs his own tent - the meditation thingy works better if he doesn't have to contend with snoring. Carter's not used to sleeping on her own anymore, neither are Daniel and myself. So, we snuggle. Daniel's the filling in the sandwich. This sometimes encourages us to make very filthy suggestions, but it's only in jest. Though, the way Carter looks at him sometimes... nah, she's crazy about Ed. I'm glad about him, he's a great guy and he's nuts about her. Treats her right, respectful like, yeah, he's a good guy. Not good enough for her really, but then, nobody would be for my or Jacob's taste... I was a dad for crying out loud - so sue me.
Hmm, need to sleep now. Very, very slee-eepeee.
"Colonel, Sir, time to wake up."
Dammit woman, do you have to sound so chirpy? Hang on, I'm channelling Daniel here. Speaking of whom...
"Daniel, come on pal, time to wake up. Daniel?" Oh God, now he crashes. "Carter, bring some coffee in, would ya? Come on babe, open those baby blues. Shout at me if you want, but you've got to get up now."
Hell. Not even a 'fuck off Jack'. What I wouldn't give to be cursed now. Ah, coffee has arrived. I waft it under his nose.
"Out cold, eh, Colonel?" Carter asks. "How else do you get him up in the mornings?" Damn woman knows how, I know it. She's smirking.
"No method that is allowed while we're on duty, that's for sure," I growl back.
A giggle from her and she crawls out of the tent. I hear her call, "Teal'c, come on, let's survey the land, shall we? I guess we'll be gone for - ooh let me see, twenty minutes or so?
Witch.
Okay, that means I get twenty minutes to do exactly what I shouldn't do. I know Carter though, she and Teal'c will have their radios handy and she knows mine is right next to me. We'll be okay. Wouldn't put it past her to put up perimeter sensors either.
Okay, I'm going in - or down, depending on which way you want to look at it.
Bag's unzipped, BDUs are undone - dammit, he didn't go commando. Okay, wriggle his boxers a bit and gotcha. He stirred. A bit of him is doing a lot more than stirring. That's my boy. I remember him doing this to me on our first mission as a couple. Hell, he was scared shitless of me then. He was so brave though. Come on Daniel, this has got to be waking you up. Maybe a little extra stimulation? Oh yeah.
"Ja-ack," hey, I got a moan.
Where's that lube? I fumble for it, found the pack. It's hard to do this when your face is buried in your honey's crotch. Got it. Grease up the fingers and go for a, eh hem, two pronged assault.
"Jack!" That got his attention. "What the fuck are you doing? Oh God don't stop. Please, hmm, yeah, ooh just there. What if the other's come?"
It's not them coming I'm interested in.
"God Jack, please, no, gotta stop, can't, not allowed. Oh GodohGodohGodI'mcomingJackbabyloveyouuuu."
Well, finally. He's awake.
"Morning!" I call up as cheerfully as I can and he looks down at me and cracks up.
"You're fucking nuts, aren't you?" he murmurs. "C'mere."
I make my way up his body.
"There's coffee to your side, it may be a bit cold now though."
He looks over, grabs the cup, there's still some steam coming out, and downs it in one.
"Coffee and sex. Not bad. Let me see, just what shall I do for my CO? You know they say no good deed goes unpunished, well in this case, you've just been very, very bad, so you need a reward."
That's Daniel for you. 0 - horny in no time at all.
"Can't, Carter and Teal'c will be back soon," I whimper.
"You sent them away?"
"Carter's idea, the coffee didn't wake you. She was right though."
"If you're sure. I'll make it up to you when we get home, hun. You, me, locked doors, candlelight, and a condiment of your choice."
Fuck - how am I supposed to think now? Or walk? Or even take a leak? It's hard to do that when your dick's pointing skyward.
A crackle on the radio warns me that the others are nearby. Good, it'll take my mind off the smutfest that Dr. Horndog has planned.
"Come on, eat and then we can explore this place again."
We crawl out of the tent, head off to take a leak and wash in the nearby stream (only wash in it, not take a leak, that wouldn't be right), and then head back for breakfast.
So, we're sitting round the camp fire. What now?
"So kids, anyone got any ideas how to get in here yet?"
The general consensus of opinion is that, well, no, not really. Daniel yawns again.
"Daniel? Are you all right?"
"Jeez Jack I only freaking yawned. What's got into you? It's getting to the stage that I can't do a fucking thing without you mother-henning all over the place."
He gets up and stomps off. I look over at the others and ask,
"What was that all about?"
Blank looks and shrugs hit me so I head off after him, my stomach is churning though. Somehow I know I'm not going to enjoy what's coming next.
"Daniel, wait up, will ya? Come on, tell me what that was, please."
"It's nothing, Jack. Sorry, okay?"
"No, it's not okay. Something's bugging you and I want to know what it is."
"Dammit Jack, will you just please leave me alone? It's nothing."
"It's not nothing and I'm not going to leave you alone, Daniel. I thought you'd know that by now. If you've got a problem, it's my problem too. Please babe, tell me."
He stops walking and turns around. I feel sick. His eyes are cold as ice.
"I don't have a problem," he says, his voice turning my blood to chilled water. A shiver runs down my spine. He just lied to me.
I wish Jack would just go back to the others. Can't he see that I want to be left alone for a bit? Is that too much to ask? I've given him everything I can of me, I just want a little space, just to deal, that's all.
"Daniel, please talk to me," he's begging.
Okay, time to put face number forty-seven on - 'It's nothing that you can help with so let's ignore it'. I sigh, shrug and say, "Jack, I wish you'd believe me for once. It's nothing, I promise. Come on, let's get back to the camp, the others will be wondering what's going on."
I put my hand out to his but he seems reluctant to take it. Of course he is. Face number twenty-seven, my 'I didn't really want that so I'm ignoring your rejection' face. I drop my hand and walk back. I'm going to have to be careful with what I say and do now. Don't want a repeat performance of that little spat.
Following a hunch I walk up to the force field and shut my eyes. I try to listen to it. It's humming, ever so gently. I can just make out a pattern in the noise. It sounds like singing. I couldn't reproduce it, it's far too complicated. There doesn't seem to be a bar structure, no beat either regular or syncopated. It's almost a mixture of the two. Point and counterpoint are battling for supremacy but neither wins. Harmonics overlay the point. It's awful and awe-full. You have to listen, really listen to hear the melody. There is one. Strange and wonderful at the same time. Truly alien. It's quite, quite beautiful.
I turn to describe my discovery to the others and find them staring at me.
"Daniel?" Sam's calling. "Thank God. You've been staring at that force field for at least twenty minutes."
"I have?" I ask. Would have said five tops.
"So, what have you figured out?" Jack asks. Damn, for a moment there he sounded interested but he drawled so much as he spoke that I know he isn't really. Better tell him though. Keep it short. He doesn't like explanations.
"It's music," I tell him and walk off to listen to another part of the field. I wonder if these beings like jazz?
"Music? Whatd'ya mean, music?" he asks. Oh, now you want an explanation.
"Just that, music. Listen to it, Jack."
"I can hear the humming noise but that's all," he calls.
"LISTEN Jack, really listen. It's not enough to hear it."
I stand by another part of the field. It's the same tune. I keep going, stopping every few yards, listening to the music. Finally, outside what looks like a pathway inside the dome, the tune changes.
"The door's here Jack," I tell him.
"How do you know that?" he sounds exasperated. Well, I could explain it in tiny detail but he'd only yell at me to shut up.
"Different tune," I tell him, put my hands on the field and it gives and I enter the dome.
One of these days I'm going to get inside his head and figure out what's going on in there. It will kill me. I know it will kill me. But I have got to know how he does that. I look at the others, they shrug. Even Major Einstein hasn't figured it out. It must kill her sometimes. She's got an IQ the equivalent of an entire marine SG team and he still thinks rings around her. It's got to hurt, that. We follow him, put our hands on the exact same spot and fall into the dome in his footsteps.
He smiles at me as we come in.
"See, told you so," he says sweetly.
"I wonder where everyone is?" I ask, ignoring his 'told you so'. That's not like him to say that.
"I think they're watching us, Jack. Put down your weapons. If we appear peaceful, I think they'll come out to greet us."
"Okay," I reply, remembering his performance on Kheb. I really hurt him then, only giving the order to drop the weapons after Bratac agreed. I tell the others to put their weapons down and to sit on the floor to wait. If we sit together quietly perhaps we'll be okay. And we'll be closer to the guns if Daniel's wrong.
Daniel looks like I've smacked him up the head with a plank. I think he was waiting for the argument. He's not gonna get one. I have no idea what's wrong with him, but I think I'm gonna have to throw him a few curve balls to find out. Starting with implicit trust. I do trust him. Especially when he tells me we're in deep shit. The second his radar goes off, we hide. Can't take any chances, see, not with my kids' lives. Doesn't matter if he's wrong then, you can't be too careful. I must admit that this is the first time I've done what he says straight away without even a questioning look aimed at him. This time he got a smile.
He sits down with us and waits for the other shoe to drop.
"Well, got any more ideas, Daniel?" I ask him.
"Perhaps they're observing us and how we interact with each other. If we appear peaceful and happy, they will have more reason to trust us and less reason to fear us. Can't you feel how peaceful this place is? There's no tension here, the gardens are exquisite, almost like a Japanese garden in structure but with plants that I've never seen before."
He's starting to get carried away. I love to listen to him when he's like this so I let him continue. He grinds to a halt and looks suspiciously at me.
"Go on, you were saying about the resemblance to Japanese gardens," I say.
"No, no, it was nothing."
Damn, he's shut down again.
"Daniel, I was interested in what you were saying. Please continue."
His guard has gone up. He quickly gives me a rundown on the similarities and differences to the Zen garden on Kheb and comes to the conclusion that we're not dealing with the same beings within the space of a few sentences. Pretty impressive.
"Thank you Daniel, that was very interesting. Do you have anything else to add? Anyone?"
Three head shakes come my way. Sweet, this should be quiet.
It is. Too damned quiet. I know, let's play a game, and not one of Daniel's brain busters either.
"When you get home, what is it that you want the most?" I ask.
Teal'c ventures first.
"I would very much like to visit that steak restaurant that General Hammond keeps talking of. The food there sounds most agreeable."
"Fair enough, Teal'c, next team night, The Homestead it is. Carter?"
"I want," she says enthusiastically, "a quiet night in, a box of Godiva chocs, a bottle of wine and a good film."
"What, no Ed?" I tease.
"Oh yes, it wouldn't be a great night without him," she replies with a filthy grin.
"Sounds good Carter, can't help you with that one though, you're on your own. Daniel?"
He looks up, a little lost if you ask me.
"What?"
"What do you want when we get home?"
"Want? Me? Oh no, don't need anything, Jack, I've got what I need."
"Daniel, I said 'want' not 'need'. The two can be mutually exclusive. Want implies that it isn't necessary but would be most enjoyable. So, whatd'ya want?"
He's giving me his 'deer in the headlights' look.
"N.n.nothing, I'm happy as I am thanks."
That's the second time you've lied to me this morning Daniel and I still haven't got a clue why. So, while I tell the others that I want a very specific meal, something that Daniel cooks beautifully I might add, I'm going to do some figuring. First, this not wanting anything. Everybody wants something, even if it's only a quiet night in. How often has he got something he truly wants? Well, he got me, didn't he? He swears that is what he wanted most in the world and he's never given me cause to doubt him. So, why is he afraid to want anything else? Because that was what I saw in his eyes - fear. Hell, this must date back to when he was a kid. One night, when he was stinking drunk, he confessed that he never let himself want so he wouldn't be disappointed when he didn't get. So, he must want something desperately to be so scared that he won't get it.
The other thing, this leaving him alone crap. He and I, we share stuff all the time. We don't have secrets. He knows my deepest, darkest stuff, things I never told anyone. So why won't he tell me? Unless it's about me? I'm guessing it's one of two things. One, and the thing I really don't believe, and don't want to believe, is that he's leaving me. Maybe for someone else. No, Daniel's loyal. He's heartbreakingly loyal. The other thing is that he's afraid that I'm going to leave him. So he's trying to deal with his fear of this on his own. I'm the only person he turns to these days, but if he's afraid that I'm going to do this, he'd have only himself to try to sort it out with. Him and his thoughts. Aw Daniel, that's it, isn't it?
"Daniel, can we have a talk, please? I've got a problem I need your help with."
"Sure Jack, what is it?"
"Um, not here. Hope you guys don't mind, but this is kinda personal and as nothing seems to be happening around here we're going to take a walk. Keep a watch, will ya?"
Carter and Teal'c acknowledge me, I think they've picked up on Daniel's despair.
I catch hold of his hand and we walk; I realised the second he pulled his hand back earlier that I should have grabbed it, it just took me too long to process that he wanted me to hold it. He must have thought that I didn't want to. Not true, Daniel, not true.
"So Jack, what's the problem?"
"I'm afraid, Daniel."
"Of what?"
Bless him, his eyes are full of concern for me.
"I'm losing you and there doesn't seem to be a damned thing I can do about it. Don't you want me anymore?"
Whoa. That got a reaction.
"What? What's that supposed to mean? Haven't I done enough to show that I love you? Haven't I proved that I mean it? What more do I have to do, Jack?"
There's a note of absolute panic in his voice. This is the man that spits in the eyes of intergalactic megalomaniacs and he's scared shitless.
"You don't have to do anything, Daniel. It's just you're pushing me away and I don't know why. We've always shared everything since we've got together. Everything, Daniel. Fear, joy, pain, happiness, everything. But recently you've been pushing me away. What have I done to upset you?"
"N.n.nothing Jack you haven't it's not you it's me." That tumbled out in a rush, barely a break between each word.
"Then what? Please Daniel, this is killing me to watch you like this, help me out, will ya?"
Silence for a moment, he's processing. Then he proves that despite his fragility he's a brave man.
"Have you any idea what it was like to nearly lose you twice in a couple of days? I know this was a while back now, but when you lost your memory my heart broke in two."
He stops, turns his back on me. I'll hug him in a minute, but the time isn't right yet.
"Go on, Daniel, I'm listening."
"First you turned on me, saw me as you did all those years ago. I didn't know what to do, Jack. You were there, in one piece, but you might as well have been dead. You despised me from the word go. I could feel it, Jack. That hurt. I didn't blame you, I don't blame you now. You were lost, afraid and then I was stupid enough to, as you thought, 'out' you in front of other officers. I'd grown so used to other people knowing that I didn't think. I'm sorry for that."
"Daniel, if you remember, I fell in love with you all over again in a matter of hours. That's got to count for something."
He turns back, there are tears in his eyes but they are filled with love and compassion too.
"Oh it did, Jack, it really did. You have no idea how much it meant to me. But then I lost you all over again. Reliving those times, those bad times between us..." his voice trails off, his shoulders drop and I know he's going to lose it. Okay, it's hug time now.
"Shh, babe, we got through it, didn't we? You showed me, you helped me, you got me back. If anything I love you more for it."
"You do?" Boy, does he look surprised or what? So much so he steps back.
"Why wouldn't I, Daniel? Come on, spill, don't keep anything back, this is hurting me to see you like this." That's it, make this about me hurting and not him and he'll talk.
"I, I, I, um, I thought that if you remembered those times... so much more clearly than when they were in the past, you'd... oh God this is so hard..." Hell, his voice is cracking here. I help him out.
"You think that I would carry those feelings into the present, that I couldn't possibly love you the way that I had, that I wouldn't feel the loyalty that I feel for you. Am I in the right ball park here?"
"Um, yeah, stupid I guess, isn't it?"
"No Daniel, it's not stupid. It's understandable. It's also wrong. I was in love with you even when I was being the world's biggest prick. I never stopped being in love with you Daniel, not once. Not when I was shouting at you, not when I was virtually ignoring you, not once. I had to hide it and that made me the way I was. I'm never going to be able to apologise enough for my behaviour then, I know, but you have to know this. I am never going to leave you. Got it? I know I've said it before and you've accepted my word then, but you have to know. If you leave me I will stop living. You are my reason to live, Daniel. I know you hurt then, and I know you don't blame me for the hurt. Let me take that blame if it will make your life easier. I've got broad shoulders," I add with a shrug.
"You've got beautiful shoulders," he replies shyly.
Dammit Daniel, one look and I turn to mush.
"Daniel, what is it you want the most when we get home?"
He looks at me coyly and says, "You. I just want to keep you."
"C'mere. And stop your fretting, will ya? I'm yours, you're mine. Nothing is going to change that, ya hear? Nothing."
He steps over to me and I hug him hard. Perhaps he'll sleep a bit better now.
I feel like such an idiot. I came so close to losing him back then that it scared me rigid. These last couple of months I've done everything I can to not annoy him. I don't want to drive him away. I've been trying not to depend on him, just waiting for the day that he says it's over. It's not been easy. Of course, not sleeping has made me cranky and I've been pushing him away just like I didn't want to. I know he loves me. I know he'd rather die than lose me. So why is there this one tiny bit of me which refuses to believe it and refuses to shut up? When something like this happens it gets louder and louder and I can't hear the rest of my heart. I'm a twit - plain and simple.
He's got me by the hand, holding tightly and not letting go. We're heading back to the others. They look relieved. I guess I've been horrible to them too. Got some major sucking up to do in my near future. But not right now...
"Oh, hello. My name is Daniel, this is Jack, this is Sam and this is Teal'c. We're peaceful travellers." I've given up on the titles at first contact, they rarely mean anything to aliens anyway. If necessary I'll explain later.
These people look, um, strange. They're greenish in hue - sort of like a white-skinned person who looks like he's gonna hurl. I'd say they're about five feet tall. Humanoid, but no way in hell are they human. They have slanted, thin slit eyes which are a deep-green. Their hair is strange. There are many different colours; blues, pinks, yellows (not blonde, really yellow), reds and all other shades and hues except brown and black. Various theories are rattling through my brain at the moment, but the first thing and most obvious one is 'plant'. Perhaps they have chlorophyl instead of blood? Okay, I'm losing it here.
They don't speak, but I can hear them.
"You are noisy Daniel. Transmit your thoughts to us. Do not use your mouth. Use that only for singing."
Singing? Ok-ay, how in hell's name am I hearing them in English?
"We don't use telepathy. We can only speak, I'm afraid," I drop my voice, hoping the noise level is more acceptable.
They huddle. No noise comes from them, it's quite disturbing.
"Daniel?"
"They transmitted their thoughts to me, Jack, they don't like us speaking. It's too noisy." I whisper to him so as not to disturb the others.
I'm put in mind of the 'Plant Boy' episode. Not only did it get me a never to be forgotten nickname, but there's something about these aliens that is very similar. Okay, they don't look anything like them. They appear to have different sexes, so the androgynous aspect is not there. But, and this was speculation, the people of PJ2-455 were telepaths and directly linked to the noise levels of the surrounding plant life. This bunch are much more sophisticated in many ways - certainly technologically they are, and their ability to communicate with me and understand when I speak marks them as having extremely quick brains. However, I am constantly reminded of that planet.
"Jack, what does this place put you in mind of?" I wonder if he remembers?
"Plant Boy," he says with a grin. Good, it's not just me.
The others nod their assent, they can see the resemblance too.
One of the aliens comes back to me.
"How did you find this place?"
"I saw something and followed it. We saw the dome. Our species is very curious. Tell me, what do your people call yourselves?"
He looks at me and decides - something. Oh. Wow. Fantastic!
"Jack, guys, these are the Furlings!"
The other three are as amazed as I am. As quietly as I can I say, "We've heard of you. We're friends of the Nox and the Asgard and enemies of the Goa'uld. We are the Tauri, from the human's first world. We've wanted to meet your people for a long time."
"You know the Nox and the Asgard?" Disbelief at my statement is obvious.
"Yes, yes, we met the Nox years ago. They said we were very young, and they were very kind to us. Lya, one of their number, has met us on our own world and that of the Tollen. Though they're not around anymore," I say sadly. Moving swiftly on, "We met the Asgard on one of their protected planets. And after an accident where Jack got the knowledge of the Ancients downloaded into his brain, he went and visited them in their own galaxy. We've done loads of things with them since. Jack and Thor are good buddies. Jack's our official liaison with them. You don't believe me, do you?"
"You say you are enemies of the Goa'uld, yet you are accompanied by a Jaffa and the female has the presence of one in her."
I quickly explain about Teal'c and Jolinar.
"There is one way to help us in our belief of your story." They tell me. Oh boy, Jack is never going to agree to that.
"Telepathy? You gotta be kidding, right?"
"Um, no, sorry Jack, they want to give us the ability. Without us having it they can only talk to us, not understand how we feel or anything. Like I can hear the one voice that's in my head but not the others or their emotions. The noise we're making with our mouths is hurting them, I think. I have an idea that the singing they're talking about maintains the force field."
Sam's giving me her look. It's the one that says, 'Oh God, he's at it again. Weird theory which I'm about to try and debunk but then the git's going to prove me wrong... Again.' She says nothing. Jack turns to her and asks her if she thinks it's possible.
"Colonel. According to all the known laws of physics, half the stuff we do on any given day isn't possible. So, who the fuck knows?"
Oh dear, I think Sam's not a happy camper. She always gets like this when the Jolinar thing gets thrown in her face and it's not helping that I'm encroaching on her territory. I smile at her, a 'forgive me Sam, please,'-type smile. Aw, she forgives me.
"So, is this going to wear off?" Jack asks. I'm guessing he means the telepathy.
"How should I know?" I reply.
I ask the Furling and he shrugs. He doesn't know either. He's also not sure if it will even work on the other two. Oh great, here we go again. I explain what he said and Teal'c's eyebrow does its 'it's good to be a Jaffa, I don't get saddled with all this crap' thing. Sam sulks.
"Jack, it's the only way they're going to believe us. Come on, it's not as if we have any secrets from each other, is it?"
"True, but if the other two can hear our thoughts..." he leaves that one hanging.
I see his point. However, he agrees and so the Furling touches us all, one by one on the head. At first there's nothing, then all of a sudden our brains are full of noise. OW! That hurts.
We're all affected and the Furling is distressed by the reaction that we are showing. He says we should leave the dome and he takes us to the door, coming out with us as we exit.
The noise you are hearing is all the voices of the Furling people.
He explains how to shut out the noise and suggests we spend the rest of the day practising the blocking method before returning to discuss things with them. He also agrees that we are telling the truth having seen that in our minds, so he's happier to talk about a friendship between our peoples. Actually, as soon as he goes the noise disappears.
We watch him as he goes and then sit down around a camp fire that we've quickly built. Coffee's brewing and MREs are heating (bleuch) and we're saying absolutely nothing.
*This is fun.* Ha, Jack, no it's not.
(I can think of many other things I would rather be doing.) I'm inclined to agree with Teal'c here.
/Yeah Teal'c, me too./ Okay Sam, we get the message.
Right, I think we're all of the same opinion, but don't you think that it would make more sense if we were to actually turn it into something positive?
(I would rather turn into a frog.)
/You tell him, Teal'c. Jeez, Pollyanna there always has to look for the bright side, doesn't he?/
Oh, as opposed to Miss Glass-is-not-just-half-empty-but-fucking-smashed, eh?
/Listen to you, Daniel! We've been treading on egg shells for weeks now because of you and your precious state of mind!/
What? My state of mind? Jeez, you've not exactly been Miss Congeniality yourself, have you?
(Neither of you have been pleasant company recently. In fact, at the moment I would rather stick my penis in a meat grinder than sit here and listen to more of this rambling.)
/Well go on then Teal'c. You stick it in and I'll turn the fucking handle, Mr. I'm-so-superior./
*Fucking hell, who pissed in your breakfast, Carter? This is the situation we find ourselves in, we should try to figure out how to use it to our advantage.*
Thank you, Jack.
/Typical, they're always ganging up on us./
Sam! If you've got a problem with us working on the same team you should say. In fact, you should have said over two years ago.
/I haven't!/ She doesn't sound too convincing to us.
*Carter?*
/Um, um, holy Hannah, look just forget it./
No, Sam, tell us now.
(What Major Carter is trying to say is that you two can be a little, er, over-affectionate towards each other.)
/Over-affectionate? I'd say positively lovey-dovey. Sometimes it's like living in a fucking Harlequin romance novel. If they do gay ones that is. Probably call it the Queen and Queen series./ Sam emphasises the point by sticking her finger down her throat and making retching noises.
Jack and I look at each other in surprise.
*We so do not act like that, Carter.*
Come on Sam, you tell me when do we do that?
/P34-710/
What, that planet where we all got completely smashed on what turned out to be an aphrodisiac? Come on, that wasn't our fault. Besides, what happened between you and Teal'c there, eh? If you were feeling half as horny as I was you'd have said anything.
*Daniel! You said that just to get laid?*
NO I DIDN'T. Stop putting words into my mouth, um, mind. Dammit.
Right, I'm going to completely piss them off now and think in a different language. Oh yes, I know. Heh, heh, heh.
Shit. Daniel's thinking in French. He fucking would. Teal'c's muttering something in some other language and Daniel's shooting him fierce glances. Heaven only knows what they're saying, and Carter is scowling at me and working on something of Einstein's.
"RIGHT! I've had it with you lot. A couple of minutes inside each other's heads and we're at each other's throats. This has got to stop and stop now. We've got only about four hours before the sun goes down. I want to make sure that we're okay to go back into the dome tomorrow morning."
"I'm not sharing a tent with you two tonight," Sam snipes. "It's not normally too bad when you snuggle but I don't think I'm going to want to know what you are thinking about when you do."
"It shouldn't be too bad," Daniel answers. "If we continue to work on our 'walls' as Jack says, things should get a little quieter."
"First of all we have to send a message back to the SGC or we'll get locked out," I tell them. "Carter, Teal'c, double time it back to the gate and let Hammond know we're okay and what's going on."
/So you and Daniel Dear can get some quality nookie time in, eh?/
"Oh my God," she says out loud. "I didn't mean that, honest." She's really blushing now.
"Of course you meant it, Carter," I say sweetly - leaving my mind blank. She can worry about consequences later.
"I'll go on my own," Daniel offers. "I can outrun any of you anyway."
"Nobody should go on their own, anywhere, Daniel," I tell him.
He turns and smiles, "Jack, I won't be completely on my own. I'll have you up here," he points to his head, "and here," he points to his radio. "If I have any problems you'll know about it quickly. Don't worry, I'll be fine. And you know I can get there quicker than anyone."
Against my better judgement I have to acknowledge that he's right.
He's taking his boots off. I know he prefers to run barefoot but I'm not happy about it.
"Jack, will you stop worrying about me, please. Most of the ground is grass and moss. I haven't seen any animals here apart from a few butterflies. I doubt I'll be bitten by anything."
He grabs a GDO and takes off.
Okay, I'm pacing. I know I'm pacing. I've been trying to keep the others out of my head and to stay out of theirs. All I can think about is Daniel anyway.
*Daniel? Can you hear me?*
Of course Jack, I can. Funny, I can't hear the others. You must need to be in line of sight to hear those that you don't want to be connected to. So to speak. That could explain why we stopped hearing the Furlings. I'm at the top of the hill now, I should be seeing the gate soon.
*Great. By the way, what if the General thinks that something's wrong with you being on your own?*
You think he'll think I'm pulling the same stunt I did on Shyla's planet?
Jeez, even in his head he's sounding bitter.
*It's a possibility babe. I don't usually send a single person to the gate after all. If I were him I'd be a bit suspicious.*
You've got a point, I suppose. Um, is there some sort of message I can give him, something that I wouldn't know? You know, to prove that it comes from you?
*Hum, oh, yeah, um, OH! I know. If he asks, tell him to say 'bubbles' to Mom.*
Bubbles?
*Yeah. She'll know it's from me. Best not mention about the telepathy though, don't want the NID waiting for us when we get back.*
Good point. Okay. I'm here now, just dialling up.
We've disconnected as it were so that he can concentrate on talking to Hammond. I am so not telling him about 'bubbles'.
Oh God, it's the Pissy Princess and the Jaffa Jester. Don't know how I'm going to cope with all the love that comes my way.
/Colonel, Sir, I'm sorry about the way I behaved earlier. It was inexcusable of me. You and Daniel aren't like that. I don't know what's got into me./
(I too must apologise for my remarks, O'Neill.)
*Don't sweat it, we'll survive. Have you come up with anything about the Furling guys?*
(Major Carter believes that they may have some connection to the plant life.)
*Daniel said something about that to me earlier, but he wasn't sure. He said that the green hue reminded him of chlorophyl. What do you think, Carter?*
/Sir, I'm a physicist not a biologist, but I'd say he has a point. Who knows? We see some pretty weird things going on out here, so the chances are that it's possible./
More sitting and waiting. I know that Daniel's okay, I check up with him every so often. Ya know, this could be useful if we get to keep this ability. No more radio checks, just nice, silent head check-ins instead. The enemy would never know we were there.
Carter and Teal'c agree that this could be useful, but they say that their awareness of my own thoughts seems to be diminishing. That could be because they are getting used to it, or it could be because of their naquada/blood thing. Great, Daniel's back.
"Time to eat and then time for bed kids. I don't think we need watches tonight. Carter, put up some sensors, Daniel, make some coffee. Teal'c, could you put up another tent for Carter? You did bring another one, didn't you? Good. I'll get the dinner on."
Hmm, like this. Sam's in her own tent so Jack and I are zipped up together.
/Daniel, can you hear me?/
Yes Sam, you're coming across loud and clear.
I can hear her giggling in her head. /I'm really sorry for being so grumpy./
Me too, it's okay. We all have off days. Besides, it's PMS time, isn't it?
/You keep track of that?!/
Sam, darling, how long have I known you?
/Fair enough. I guess you notice, eh?/
Angel, everybody notices it. Don't sweat it. Remember that all three of us were married. We don't blame you or mind or anything.
/Huh. And I thought I hid it well./
You try, sweetie, you try. We can't ask more of you than that. Wooo.
/What was that?/
Eh hem, sorry about that. Jack's asleep but it doesn't stop him wanting to get, er, close.
/I think I'd better go to sleep./
Stick around. You said you wanted to know what it was like, didn't you?
/What 'what' was like?/
Wait and see.
I don't know what's gotten into me but I'm feeling incredibly horny at the moment. I unzip the bag and open it and I am going down. Oh yes, love this, love getting this but I love giving it. Sam said she's never done this. I wonder if you can give head vicariously?
"Daniel, oh God, babe what are you doi... oh never mind. No, please don't stop. Ye-es, ohfuck, please. M.m.more."
Let's go for it. She's never going to get it otherwise. That's it Jack, spread them and gimme. I'm fucking him with my tongue and he's writhing around. I'm so enjoying this, even more so as I can feel what he's feeling. I can hear her in my head, even her mental breathing is speeding up. Back up, licking, sucking, rasping with my teeth. My fingers are going to town now. Jack can't take any more. I can feel him, he's nearly there, nearly, and... Oh God he's coming hard. And coming. Whoo boy - I think I just drained him. I need him now.
"Jack, I want you. Can I? Please hun."
"Whatever," he gasps.
I grab the lube that we always bring now - on the off chance we'll get lucky - and I'm going for it. Sam's feeling how good it is to get and to give at the same time. Lucky girl.
/Daniel/ she's panting as I lay exhausted on Jack, /thank you. I think I understand you both a lot more now. Wow. I don't know what to say. Don't worry, I won't tell him I was, um, tuned in. You really do love doing that for him, don't you? I thought you were having me on before./
No, I wasn't Sam. I told you, it's the most intimate thing you can do. It feels fantastic and when you see the reaction you get...
/I know, I could feel it. I was feeling Jack's emotions through you. It must have been amazing for you, to feel what he was feeling at the same time./
Best ever in some ways. I hope he and I stay connected when we get home. I've got a few things I'd love to try.
/It would be a great way for him to find out just how much you really love being tied up *giggle*./
Oh yeah.
/What's he doing now?/
Snoring his head off, but he's got a smug grin on his face.
/I'll bet. So have I. Night Daniel./
Yeah. Night angel.
I'm not sure what was going on last night, but Carter is looking at me and, well, smiling. It's unnerving. I know she's got PMS. I watch the date. Religiously. Hey, I was married once. She shouldn't be smiling at me. Perhaps she heard us last night. Daniel was very naughty. We shouldn't do that, we try to keep our hands off each other off-world. We just don't always succeed that's all. He's not really very fair on me. When he's got his mouth on my dick my IQ heads south and there's fuck all I can do about it.
We're back in the dome and all of us are coping a lot better now. Information is being exchanged. The Furling guy told us his name - Diacretinus or something. I dunno, sounded Latin to me. He must be a plant. All plants have Latin names. Woo hoo - the colonel made a funny. Damn. Nobody heard it.
It turns out these guys stopped gate travel a couple of millennia back. Just not interested. They stay a secret from the rest of the galaxy by people not being able to see them. Sorta like an ostrich burying its head in the sand. If it can't see you, you can't see it, therefore it doesn't exist and can't be hurt. These guys do it with brain waves. Daniel described it like that platform in the Harry Potter books. You can only see the dome if you know it's there. He was tired - beyond tired really - and so his brain wasn't working like the rest of ours. He saw one of the Furlings who'd come to investigate the gate being opened and 'knew' that there had to be something here, somewhere for the creature he'd seen to live. So he saw the dome. And because he'd seen it and could point it out to us, we saw it. Or something like that. I guess I lost him somewhere around the Harry Potter bit.
Daniel was also right about the force field being created by the Furling's singing. I can hear it now. It's kinda weird but it grows on you. Well it would, it's a plant thing. The actual plants here are encouraged to grow by the noise. See, I told Daniel that talking to my buddleia would help.
Carter is getting permission for some of our biologists to return to study the horticulture and the medicinal properties of some of the more unusual plants. Turns out they use herbs to cure everything, including a form of cancer that they can get. I'd have said black spot would have been a bigger problem. She's going to send a couple of physicists to study the force field too. It's got something to do with harmonics apparently. I'll believe her, thousands wouldn't.
We're going home. There's nothing more for us to do here. I have no idea how we're going to explain the telepathy. It's probably going to wear off as soon as we get back. The new guys are going to have to submit to the procedure too, so we'll need volunteers. I think they'll have to wait to see if it wears off with us.
Daniel's dialling up and away we go.
Fuck, it's noisy in here. My head is splitting.
Jack, can you hear me?
*Yeah Daniel, I think we're going to have to work on those walls a bit more though. Try not to look at anyone.*
/Colonel! Daniel! Help me!/
*Carter? What's wrong?*
Sam, talk to us.
/Fuzzy, the noise, my head, it hurts./
Sam, angel, concentrate on my voice. Come on, you can do it. Just listen to me.
Daniel's taking over, he's holding her and rocking her gently as we sit on the ramp. The General and the Doc are stood in front of us, looking worried as hell. Teal'c's looking rough too.
*Teal'c, buddy, can you hear me?*
(Just about, O'Neill, you are quite faint.)
"General. We need to get somewhere quiet, away from everyone. Now Sir, please."
Good man, he's acting on my request. We're being shepherded to an isolation room. Only he and the Doc are following us.
"Colonel, will you please tell us what this is all about?"
"Noise, Sir. To communicate with the Furlings they gave us the ability to hear other's thoughts. Telepathy. Carter and Teal'c seem to be the worst affected by other people being around, Daniel and I seem to be able to control it better. The Furlings weren't sure how the procedure would work on them. If we can be left alone for a while..."
"I understand, but why didn't Dr. Jackson tell us this in his report?"
"NID, Sir, we didn't want them to come and dissect our brains. We're quite attached to them."
"Understandable. Is this going to wear off?"
"We don't know, Sir, we just don't know. Please General, keep this off the record for now. If we send others there then they'll have to know. It's the only way the Furlings can communicate, but for now we'd like this to be kept quiet."
"Of course. I tell you what, as soon as Dr. Frasier has finished with her usual tests, why don't you all head down to a VIP room and hide out there for a while. I'll make sure you're not disturbed."
"Okay, but I think we'd all like to get home as soon as, it will be a lot quieter there."
We wait for Janet to do her tests, the rest of us laughing at Jack.
"It's my head they fucked with Janet!"
"Oh yeah?" Oops, oh shit. Deep doo doo time.
"DANIEL!" I'm off. Hell, I can't go anywhere.
I stick my head around the curtain and smile at Janet.
"Daniel?" she's looking at me and giving me her cheeky, flirty look.
"Ah, so sue me, I was horny," I say with a shrug.
"You know the rules, Daniel, off-world you should use protection," Janet scolds.
"Um Jan, it's not as if either of us ran off with a Furling for cryin' out loud," Jack reminds her. "You didn't, did you Daniel?" he adds, his eyes twinkling at me.
Jack and I have now found a great use for telepathy.
I'm yelling at him, telling him how hurt I am. He's yelling at me, telling me not to be so stupid and sensitive.
*Hey Daniel, do you think they'll guess we're having them on?*
Prob'ly, but what the hell, can you see their faces? Hey, do you think we should throw things? You know, pillows and stuff. Maybe Jan will want to get rid of us sooner.
*Good idea. Pillow fight?*
That's what I love about you Jack, you always seem to know what I'm thinking.
The other three are looking horrified, Jack and I are doing what we can not to laugh our asses off. Pillows are going everywhere, obscenities are being screamed, it looks like we're about to fight for real.
Do you want to end this now?
*Don't leave me!*
The fight, you wombat.
*I knew that. Okay then. Dramatic finish or shall we just stop?*
Dramatic finish, most definitely. Can't just stop. Got any ideas?
*Oh yeah, Got a great one. C'mere Daniel. You know I still love you, don'tcha?*
Only as much as I love you Jack. Hmm, this is nice.
Oh boy it is. In the middle of a particularly interesting stream of invectives he just grabs me and kisses the shit out of me.
"Right, that's it, you two. Out of here now!" Janet orders.
Mission accomplished.
The four of us are in a guest suite. Teal'c's really quiet and Sam's hugging herself. I don't like the look of this.
"Teal'c, are you all right?"
"I am fine, Daniel Jackson. The noises in my head are dissipating."
"Perhaps it's wearing off then. That's good, right?"
"It is." See it didn't do much for his conversational skills then.
"Sam? What's up?"
"It's quiet, don't like it, I feel alone."
"You're not alone, angel, we're here. C'mere, do you want a cuddle?"
She snuggles into my arms and I stroke her back. She's sleeping now and Teal'c's suddenly in a deep state of kel'no'reem. Jack and I don't want to wake them.
Do you think it's going to leave us, Jack?
*I don't know, Daniel. I don't think I want it to.*
You don't?
*Not really. I kinda like being in your head. I'm just glad I don't get to see how it works, that's all.*
<giggle> Yeah, I know what you mean. It frightens the shit out of me sometimes.
*Daniel? What if it doesn't go? Do you think they'll let us out of here?*
I have no idea Jack. I don't know if we'll be able to use it to listen in to other people's thoughts. I don't know about you but I'm finding the whole thing a lot quieter now. It could just be because the other two are sleeping but I can't seem to reach them. Can you?
*No, I can't. It won't be so bad if we stay like this, will it?*
Just listening into each other's thoughts? No, I think I could get used to that. Mind, it'll spoil Christmas and birthdays, neither of us will be able to surprise the other.
*Damn. Yeah, perhaps it's not all it's cracked up to be.*
Poor Jack, he loves nice surprises and getting presents.
Carter's crying and Teal'c's trying to look stoic. They've lost the ability to hear us and I think it's really affecting them. It's amazing how quickly you can get used to the sound of other people's voices in your head. It's quite comforting too. I also don't think that it's helping that Daniel and I can still talk to each other. I tell the others to try to come to terms with it, seek help if they want. We need to debrief with the General and I don't think he's going to like the fact that Daniel and I are still connected. Whatever, we have to go now.
Daniel's walking hand-in-hand with Carter. I think the physical contact with him is helping. I put my hand on Teal'c's shoulder and steer him to the briefing room. He seems to relax a little when I do it.
We're here, explaining what happened to the General. He seems to be a bit worried about sending people back to the Furlings though.
"General, Daniel and I could go back, but neither of us are botanists. We wouldn't have a clue what to do or ask when we got there. Not to mention the shield thing that Carter wants her people to look at. It's way beyond our expertise."
"Do you think that it's worth the risk, Colonel?"
"Sir, the way I see it is this. Carter and Teal'c are a bit down at the moment, they're tough, they'll get over it. We weren't connected for that long. As for Daniel and me, we'll deal with it when it happens."
"If it happens, Colonel."
"Yeah, well, there is that. General, if it makes you feel any better, I can only hear Daniel's thoughts. The ability to tune into the others or anyone else has gone. Perhaps it's because Daniel and I are, um, close that we've retained this ability."
Jack, it could be because neither of us wants it to stop. Think about it. No more misunderstandings or, er...
*Doubts?*
Yeah, sorry about that.
*Don't be. I understand. You have a point. I quite like being here.*
Me too.
"Colonel!"
"Yes General?"
"I asked how long you think it will take for you and Dr. Jackson to get used to this connection."
"Oh, sorry, we're used to it already, Sir. I'd like to suggest a day or two for the others to come to terms with what's happened, but Daniel and I are fine."
"Really?" Janet looks a tad sceptical. "When Daniel says he's fine he's usually in pain."
"Honestly Janet," he replies, "I feel terrific. No problems. In fact I'm happier than I've been in a while. I think I'll sleep well tonight. If I go home, that is. Catnapping at the SGC doesn't constitute good sleep in my book."
"Very well, if that's all right with you Doctor, I'll send you all home for two days."
Janet agrees and we stand up to leave.
"Teal'c, do you want to come to our place?" I ask, knowing that Daniel's worried about him too. Carter's got Ed so she won't be alone.
"I think I will visit my son if you do not mind, O'Neill. Thank you for your invitation."
"T, do what you think will be best for you. And you should know that you don't need an invitation to our house. You belong there too."
Woo hoo, a smile. He nods and takes his leave and Daniel and I finally get to go home.
Aw typical, Mom's there.
"Hey Mom, what's up?"
"Oh hello boys, I was just here feeding the fish. George told me you two can read minds, is that true?"
"Just each other's Mom," Daniel says as he kisses her cheek. "I think Sam's going to need you. She's lost the ability and she's feeling pretty down about it. Teal'c's headed to the Land of Light, but I think that Sam will want to talk."
Mom gets the message and says she'll head over to see her right away. Supermam to the rescue.
We ate at the SGC so we're heading straight for bed. It's pretty early but we're both shattered. It's weird, but we're talking in a mix of mind stuff and voice. Guess we'll have to remember to use our voices at work. It could cause problems otherwise. Damn, I didn't lock the front door.
Jack, lock the door and bring up a glass of water, will you please?
This telepathy has its uses.
Under the covers, we're snuggling up together.
Do you know what I liked best about being on the planet?
*Go on.*
Making out. Feeling what you were feeling on top of what I was feeling.
*I know what you mean. I got the same back from you. Must've been why you were so horny.*
What do you mean?
*Well, I was asleep, right?*
Right.
*You were awake and, if I know you, wanting sex, right?*
I was awake, wasn't I? Of course I wanted sex. It's a guy thing.
*So, you said it was me doing this, hmm, yeah that, that started you off.*
Yeah.
*So, we have you feeling horny, me connected to you and feeling what you were feeling. I act on it - in my sleep I might add - and you feel what I'm feeling. Which is what both you and I are feeling. So by the time the feeling has got back to you it's at least triple-strength. With me so far?*
This sounds like one of Sam's theories, but I think I'm with you.
*So, you go down, I'm going 'woo hoo', you're enjoying the hell out of yourself anyway, so am I, your triple-strength libido has now reached epic proportions. I've got what you're feeling back and then you're adding and so on ad infinitum.*
I can see what you're saying. Sort of like a feedback loop.
*Got it. Want to try it again?*
Now you're talking.
Oh boy, Daniel's got the handcuffs out. I guess now is as good a time as any to see why he likes this. I know he's tied me up but I wasn't so securely fastened to the bed. I got through that, faked it a bit if I'm honest. It was good, better than I expected, but I prefer freedom. We're already naked, which is an advantage, so I take one of his wrists and put the cuff on it. I feel the shiver of anticipation as it runs down his spine. I tell him to get on his knees. I get a filthy, filthy grin back. Oh yeah, he loves this.
Jack, please, blindfold me again. I loved it when you did that.
Oh crap. I don't know what possessed me to do that back then, but he says he enjoyed it, so...
Oh God, yes.
I can feel what he's feeling and with the blindfold on his other senses are working overtime. The trust he has in me not to hurt him is incredible. I feel amazed by it. I've hurt him so many times in the past but he knows I couldn't hurt him on purpose.
I'm not getting any cream this time, but he's definitely getting the works. The moans he gives as I push his butt cheeks apart are driving me nuts. He LOVES this. Jeez, I'M loving this. This is like - um - WOW. I have got to try the tongue thing. OHMYGOD I can feel that. He's babbling in I don't know how many different languages, begging me to fuck him though, I can tell. I can FEEL that's what he wants. Oh no Daniel, not just yet. Soon. Very soon. Let's see what happens when I go underneath him and lick his balls. WHOO MOMMA! I am going to let him do this to me. I have got to. He's getting so much out of this. So am I now. He's giving me completely free rein with his body to do as I please because he knows I'll treat him with respect. I don't think I have ever been paid a greater compliment. I'm gonna take him now, I'm finger fucking him and pushing him to fuck my mouth. This is incredible. I can feel how good this is for him, how desperate he is to get off. How much he wants me in two places at once.
He's coming, I can tell, the urge for me to give up and fuck him is getting strong for me. I can hold out though. Please let me hold out. Oh yes. Swallow and fast. I didn't think he contained that much. It's pouring over my lips, I can't swallow fast enough. He has never come that hard before I'm sure.
I catch my breath and get back on my knees. It's going to be worth the sore knee tomorrow, that's for sure. A quick lube job and I'm pushing in hard. He doesn't want me to be gentle. He wants me to fuck him till he passes out. I'm going to give it a go. I won't last, it's not possible. This is fucking incredible. I can feel how good this is for him and it's increasing my own pleasure. Pity it won't increase my stamina. Oh God I'm gonna-a-a-aa---YES!
It takes all my remaining strength to remove his blindfold and undo just one cuff. I know he needs to hold me now. Just like I need him to.
Jack.
Even his mind is sounding exhausted.
*Yes babe?*
That was the most incredible experience of my life. Thank you.
*Ditto; I'm fucked Daniel.*
Um, no, I think you'll find that I am. You, however, are amazing and I love you to death.
*I love you too. You do understand that now, don't you? You do see that I couldn't ever leave you, that there's nothing in me that could ever persuade me to go.*
Yes Jack, for the first time I know with absolute certainty.
*You've spent the last two and a bit years afraid you were going to lose me, haven't you?*
He looks at me and says - "No, nearly the last eight, Jack."
I can't say anything for a moment so I hug the stuffing out of him.
"It's not gonna happen Daniel. I can't promise I won't die, but I can promise that I won't leave you. Believe me?"
"I believe you. You know I wouldn't go either, don't you?"
"Oh yeah babe, I know. Come on, sleep."
"After that you're going to sleep?"
"What am I?"
Oh yeah, definitely a man.
He's gone. I can't hear him in my head. I know he's here in my arms but he's left my head. No, I didn't want this, I wanted to keep him there, I need to keep him there.
"Hey," he croaks, "Daniel, why can't I hear you?"
"It's gone, Jack, it's all gone."
"Hell's teeth. I was so looking forward to a repeat performance of last night too."
"How can you think of sex at a time like this?"
"I'm a guy."
"Oh yeah. So, what do we do now?"
"We have the next couple of days off and then go back to work."
"Just like that?"
"Just like that Daniel. Back to normal."
"By the way Jack, what was it you were going to ask me to do when we got back?"
"Ah, you're just going to have to wait, Daniel dear. I'll tell you later."