It was Daniel who finally found him. Every call had been ignored. An APB on his truck had resulted in a call from the local cops that it was in his driveway. No one on the base had seen him in two days. His team was frantic as they raced to his house only to find it empty.
Until Daniel found him in the attic.
He didn't say a word. The peaceful look on the hardened colonel's face told him everything. Quietly, he slipped back down the stairs and collected his teammates, directing them to the living room.
"It's the anniversary of Charlie's death," Daniel said softly.
"We know that," Sam hissed back.
"He's fine," Daniel said, pointing upward. It was Teal'c who caught her arm when she charged towards the stairs. "Looks like he cried himself out. We can yell at him later. For now, he needs the sleep," Daniel insisted.
"Could he not allow his friends to share his grief?" Teal'c asked, still holding tight to Sam, though she had stopped struggling.
"I think it was just what he needed this year. Next year we can get him drunk and listen to stories," Daniel said, finally giving in to the big grin that had been building since he found his friend. "On another note, does anyone know where he keeps his camera?"
"Why?" Sam asked suspiciously.
"Because he's curled up in the attic with the biggest, cutest teddy bear I've ever seen, and I want evidence," Daniel said, laughing.
"In the drawer under the phone," Teal'c said, a rare evil grin crossing his face for a moment before his usually impassiveness reappeared.
Sam and Teal'c watched as Daniel slipped back upstairs, nearly silent after years under Jack's training. However, the flash must have been too much, even for the exhausted colonel. It wasn't long before they heard Daniel thundering back down the stairs and Jack bellowing, "Oh, for crying out loud," on his heels.