SEASON / SEQUEL: sequel to The Second Empire of the Sun
RATING: PG / K
CONTENT WARNINGS: no whumping. Sorry, girls.
SUMMARY: Has Jack ever said thank you to Daniel after the events with Ra?
DISCLAIMER: This story is written entirely for entertainment and is not intended as an infringement against the copy written material that belongs solely to Showtime, MGM/UA, Gekko Films, et al. I'm only playing with their characters and will return them as soon as the story is finished. The following story is the property of the author and is not to be copied, or published without the express, written consent of the author.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Just playing with the word Sound. Thanks to Tanya and Chrisbod for letting us in on the fun. This was just a short piece that came to me and needed to be done. Enjoy and let me know; I * LOVE * feedback.
Dedicated to the royal reviewers of the story Second Empire of the Sun: JAJJAJ, , Zeilfanaat, Not a Zatarc, PatriciaS, Hawkeye4077, CountryPixie, Hearty1, nchan, bookbrook, nana lee and sh777.
It was dark outside. The only small beams of light entering his room through the small, narrow window above the diva were those of the stars high up in the sky.
It was quiet and peaceful, and Jack O'Neill engulfed the silence, allowing it to ease his mind. Although he was wide awake, he already felt more rested than he had managed during his time in the infirmary.
He just lay there, on his back, two hands folded comfortably underneath his head, so he could watch the stars. Not a single sound fought its battle with the silence, nothing dared to disturb the peace of a dreadful long night.
It was actually his first night at home, since their pleasant encounter with Ra and having ended up in the middle of a Goa'uld war between this freaking snakehead and the other devil called Apophis. He'd spent over two weeks under the scrutiny but well-meant care of Janet Fraiser and he was relieved that she finally had let him go.
Okay, she was probably more relieved. So he hated the infirmary. So he couldn't find the privacy he needed to deal with what happened, to deal with himself. How could he curl up and draw back into the safe surroundings of his shelf, with Janet coming in to poke him, with nurses to arouse him when he finally managed to close his eyes and with his teammates, unintentionally leaving him no room to withdraw into the solitude.
There were always sounds disturbing him, interrupting him as he tried to find some peace. Yeah, Jack had been more than ready to go home, and Janet's staff was probably ready to kick him out or go on strike.
The sound of silence.
He'd missed it. He needed it; to come to terms with what had happened. With almost losing Daniel, with almost dying himself. Again. This was getting old fast, although when they would keep up with this pace he doubted he'd ever get old at all.
No sounds were surrounding him anymore. Just silence.
He sighed, shifted, then lifted his head and reached for the glass of water on his night-stand. He sipped slowly, listening to the soft bubbling sound the water made through the straw.
No nurse came running in to assist him with something he was perfectly capable of doing himself. No Janet bantering him that he should drink more, or less, of whatever she came up with.
Just nothing.
He carefully placed the glass back and lay back again.
Daniel had driven him home this morning. He remembered every detail of the ride home, the way he had enjoyed the sounds of the world around him, the sound the motor of his jeep made while driving, the way the wind blew through the branches of trees, making the leaves crisper softly.
Then, when they entered his home, the quiet reassuring sounds of his house. The old wooden door cracked when Daniel pushed it open after unlocking it with Jack's keys. It reminded him he really needed to put some oil in the hinges.
All quiet, peaceful sounds; unfortunately followed of course by the non-stop rambling by his friend.
"Jack, sit down. Jack, you need to rest. Put your feet up, Jack. Let me get you something to drink. Are you okay, Jack?"
Damn, the archaeologist needed a life. He'd had Janet and her whole staff fussing over him for over two weeks, couldn't they leave him alone for a bit, for crying out loud?
Okay, so Daniel had the best intentions. He knew that. Still, it had taken him all of his self-control not to shove the archaeologist out of the door. To be honest, though, Jack had been relieved that his friend had stayed after all. Not that he was about to admit it, but he wasn't that strong yet and the ride home and all had taken more of him than he would have imagined.
Now, his private nurse was sound asleep in the spare bedroom and all was quiet. Finally.
Finally he could lay back and relax; enjoying the sound of nothing.
"Noooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!"
A loud, harsh scream broke through the night and Jack quickly jumped out of bed, wincing as his body protested the sudden movement.
Daniel.
He rushed to the other room, to find one very restless, tossing and turning archaeologist in the grip of a huge terrifying nightmare.
"Pull him up, pull him up," the sleeping man whispered desperately.
Jack grabbed him firmly by one shoulder. "Daniel! Wake up!" When it didn't work, he shook him a bit harder. "Daniel, damnit... you're dreaming!"
Daniel gasped; then opened his mouth to draw a deep breath. His eyes slowly opened and Jack saw the confusion shining through.
"Daniel, ssshhh. You're having a bad dream. It's okay," the older man tried to calm him.
"Jack?"
"Yes, Daniel, it's me. Are you with me now?"
"Think so," the younger man said, brushing his eyes with the palms of his hands. He struggled to sit up. "Wow."
"Wow, what?" Jack demanded.
"Nothing, Jack. Really," the archaeologist apologized, slowly waving the situation off with one hand. "Just a bad dream. You should go back to bed."
Jack made no intentions to leave, though. He sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at his friend. "What was the dream about?"
"Nothing," muttered Daniel.
"Yes, it was," objected Jack.
"Was not."
"Was."
"Not."
"Damn it, Daniel!"
"Well..." murmured Daniel, looking down at his hands that were fumbling with the sheets.
"Well?"
"I just... keep seeing you plunging that river over and over again," Daniel admitted.
"Oh."
"I saw you falling, Jack. At least six times. And there was nothing I could do to stop it," Daniel started.
"Must have been frightening," Jack shivered, remembering all too well how he'd felt at the time, not knowing whether he would make it back to the surface each time that snakehead dropped him.
"I thought you were drowning. I thought I'd lost you." Now Daniel looked up, staring his friend straight in the eyes.
"And still you dove after me. That was really, really crazy, ya'know," Jack said, not knowing what else to say.
"Why?"
"Why?" Jack spat out. "You didn't know if the river was deep enough, for starters. You didn't know if I was still alive..."
"What difference would it make, Jack? Do you think Apophis was going to let me live?" Daniel shot back.
"I prefer dying while trying to save you instead of being killed by one sneaky Goa'uld."
"Mmm."
"I almost lost you, Jack. You could have died," Daniel whispered.
"Yep," Jack agreed. "But I didn't. You saved me."
"I did?"
"Yes, you did. You hauled me out of the water in time. You pulled me out after we plunged down that fall. You kept me from suffocating..." Jack hesitated a bit. "You… you did good, Daniel."
"I almost lost you," Daniel struggled, not willing to listen yet.
"You did good out there, Daniel," Jack repeated slowly, locking his brown eyes on the blue ones. "I..."
Daniel stared back, questioningly. "What?"
"I..." Jack stammered, looking down now. "I don't think I've thanked you for that."
A huge smile formed on Daniel's lips as he bent forward to slap the Colonel on his shoulder. "You just did, Jack. You just did." He yawned, pressing one hand over his mouth. "Go back to bed, Jack, and get some sleep. Janet is going to kill me if she finds out I'm withholding you your rest."
"You just leave Janet to me," Jack chuckled. "You're going to be okay?"
Daniel nodded, sliding backwards in the bed. "I think so. Goodnight, Jack."
"Night, Daniel." O'Neill left, leaving the doors of both rooms open this time, so he could hear Daniel sooner when needed. He walked over to his own bed, looked outside the window at the stars before crawling under the blankets.
No more stillness. He could easily hear Daniel's slow intakes of breath. Mmmph. It sounded as if he was snoring now.
The sound of silence was gone. Not that it mattered to Jack. It was replaced by something more comforting.
The sound of friendship.
THE END