Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate, any of its characters or any thing else related to it.
Sunday mornings were perfect for sleeping in. So why was he up? He should have been asleep right now. They had just finished a particularly harrowing assignment and General Hammond had given SG-1 a few days before their next mission.
Although Jack O'Neill usually never slept late, he had hoped that on his day off he could perhaps sleep in for once. Unfortunately his internal clock had other ideas. Still, it was probably a good thing that he had woken up so early. Carter and Teal'c were supposed to be coming over for breakfast this morning.
Daniel was already there as he had stayed extremely late into the night and they were both so tired that Jack thought it unwise that Daniel should drive home—especially with his track record of bad luck. Jack had figured that Daniel would probably fall asleep at the wheel and careen off the road into a ditch, or be abducted by aliens as he was driving back. With those thoughts in mind, Jack allowed Daniel to stay the night in the spare bedroom.
Jack had already started on breakfast: bacon, boiled eggs, biscuits, apple turnovers and the essential coffee. Soon the kitchen was filled with the smell of breakfast. It smelled good and was making him hungry. Looking over at the clock, he saw that he had about 25 minutes before Carter and Teal'c showed up. He decided that he better go wake up Daniel.
Making sure that everything was well underway, Jack went to go get Daniel up. Heading down the hall to the spare bedroom, Jack unlocked the front door so that Carter and Teal'c could come right in. Jack knocked on the door and then walked in. Daniel was sprawled out on the bed. "Daniel, breakfast in fifteen. Carter and Teal'c are gonna be here in a few minutes," Jack said. Mumbling something that sounded like "Go away," Daniel rolled over and tried to burrow his head under the pillow in an attempt to shut Jack's voice out.
Undeterred, Jack shook Daniel slightly. "C'mon, Danny-boy. They're gonna be here any minute!" The doorbell rang. "It's open!" Jack shouted, causing Daniel to clutch the pillow over his head tighter and mumble obscenities into it.
Jack left and went to greet Carter and Teal'c. He found both of them in the kitchen waiting for him. "Mornin' guys!" Jack greeted. "Morning, sir," "Good morning, Colonel O'Neill," Major Carter and Teal'c answered respectively. "Where's Daniel?" Sam asked. "Still asleep," Jack answered.
Getting out four plates, Teal'c held each of the plates out as Jack put the food on it. Carter got out several glasses and took drink orders from Teal'c and Jack.
They all sat down at the table, and waited a few moments to see if Daniel would join them. After about two minutes, Jack got up from the table. Sam and Teal'c watched as he left the room and came back a few short moments later, Daniel in tow.
"Sir, what are you doing?" Carter asked, very confused. Jack set Daniel down at the table. Teal'c and Carter exchanged looks, wondering what Jack was doing.
They began to eat, Carter and Teal'c occasionally glancing at Jack and then at Daniel. About ten seconds into the meal, Jack spoke up. "So, Daniel, how did you sleep last night?" There was no answer. Teal'c looked at Jack. "Colonel O'Neill, are you feeling well?" "Just fine, Teal'c," Jack answered. Carter and Teal'c exchanged looks again. "Then why are you attempting to converse with a photograph of Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked.
In the empty chair, Jack had placed a picture of Daniel, taken on one of their off-world missions. Jack answered. "Daniel, you're being awfully quiet. Are you feeling well?" Jack asked the picture again. Carter couldn't help but grin. Even Teal'c seemed amused, in that certain way of his.
Down the hall, they could hear Daniel moving around in the room, shuffling around. "Are you sure you don't want something, Daniel?" Jack said to the picture of Daniel, concern laced in his voice. The door opened and the sound of bare feet hitting the floor echoed down the hall, coming closer.
Daniel came walking down the hall and into the kitchen where the other three were. "Are you sure you're feeling okay? You haven't eaten anything," Jack said conversationally. "Jack, I'm—" Daniel stopped when he saw the picture of him on the table and Jack talking to said picture. "And just what do you think you're doing with that?" he asked. Jack took a sip of orange juice as he looked at Daniel's reaction and nearly spit it out. Trying not to choke on it, he settled for swallowing part of it, choking on part of it and coughing out the rest.
"Are you okay, sir?" Carter asked. "Fine, Carter," Jack answered through his coughing. Daniel sat down at the table with the rest of them, removing his picture and setting it down on the floor. "What were you doing with this?" he asked Jack, waving the picture frame about in the air. "Substitute breakfast partner," Jack answered. They ate in silence, the only sounds being the quiet clinking of silverware on the plates.
"You know, you make a much better conversational partner in the morning in that form," Jack said after a moment and then ducked a split second later as Daniel flung a dishrag at his head.