This short story was written in response to a screencap challenge, in which Jack and Daniel were exiting the elevator at the SGC. Daniel had his head down and was hugging himself, as he does when something is troubling him.
"Hi kids," Jack greeted them cheerily as he entered the commissary. He looked across to where Sam and Teal'c were seated, then to the coffee machine, where he expected the third member of his former team to be standing. No Daniel.
"So! No Daniel?"
"No, sir," replied Sam.
"He will not wish to miss the coffee, O'Neill," stated Teal'c.
"He's probably catching up on the work he missed while he was with the Replicators. He only got back yesterday, remember? Sir?" Jack knew Carter could always be called upon to defend Daniel.
Jack suddenly had a faraway look on his face as he replied, "Yes, I remember, Carter. That flag will never have the same significance again." He blinked and brought himself back to the present.
A sudden flush came into Sam's cheeks. "Oh … oh, no sir, it won't."
"Indeed," stated Teal'c.
"Yeah … well … okay. I just thought it'd be kinda normal to meet up for coffee and pie before the briefing. So, Teal'c, what's the pie of the day?"
Teal'c raised an eyebrow and Jack noticed a small twitch at the corner of his mouth, as he replied, "There are two, O'Neill. Peach and pumpkin. Do you wish me to get you some?"
"Yeah, sure. I'll get the coffee."
"Blue Jell-O for me, please, Teal'c," called Sam, as Teal'c stood up.
"O'Neill, do you require peach or pumpkin pie?"
"Both, Teal'c. You can never have enough pie," Jack grinned as he noticed Teal'c's raised eyebrow again and the look of surprise on Sam's face.
When they were all settled at their usual table, with pie and coffee, Jack asked, "So, Carter. How's Pete?"
Sam nearly choked on a mouthful of Jell-O, then replied, "Pete?"
"Yes, Carter. Yanno, Pete Shanahan, Denver cop. They guy you were gonna marry?"
"We broke up, sir, as you well know," Sam replied quietly.
"I know that. Just wondered if you'd heard from him."
"No, sir, I haven't," Sam stated flatly. "Have you heard from Kerry Johnson?"
Teal'c looked up then, a quizzical look on his face. "KerryJohnson? The CIA agent?"
"Yeah, T," Jack growled and scowled at Sam, "Low blow, Carter."
"No lower than your question." She smirked, then added "Sir."
"Oka-ay, yes, I did have a brief ... thing … with Ms. Johnson, Teal'c, although I would prefer if you'd keep it quiet. As you know, Carter," he added firmly, "we broke up. too. And before you ask, it was by mutual agreement."
"Sir! We were all worried sick about Daniel and you … you were …"
"Carter!" Jack snapped, interrupting Sam. "Let that be an end to it. Understood?"
"Y-y-yessir. Sorry, sir. I shouldn't have … sorry." She knew she shouldn't have mentioned it in front of Teal'c. She also knew she shouldn't have berated him about the timing of the affair.
"I will say nothing, O'Neill. You may be assured of that."
"Thanks, T," said Jack as he cut Sam another stern look.
They finished their food and coffee, but Daniel still hadn't put in an appearance.
"Okay, you guys go ahead. I'll go and look for Daniel. See you up there," said Jack.
They all entered the elevator together, but Jack got off at level 18 leaving Sam and Teal'c to continue on to level 27 and the briefing room.
He walked quickly along the corridor to Daniel's office, still huffing and puffing to himself about Sam's lack of discretion in front of Teal'c.
He peered through the open door to see Daniel sitting on his chair. Although Jack could only see his back, he assumed Daniel was concentrating on some report or writings of some sort. If he'd been paying more attention, he might have noticed Daniel was just staring into space.
"Oh, Dan-iel," Jack sing-songed, "you missed the coffee and pie. Wanna try and make it for the briefing?"
"What? Oh … oh, yes. Coming," Daniel mumbled.
Jack turned and started to walk back to the elevator, grumbling all the way about his recent promotion to General and the desk job that went with it. He could hear Daniel shuffling along behind him. If he'd thought about it then, he would have realized that something wasn't quite right, but he was too engrossed in his own thoughts.
Jack called the elevator and held the doors open until Daniel was inside. He pressed the button for level 27, still complaining to no one in particular, about boring briefings and boring paperwork. By the time the doors opened, he had got on to the fact that the sedentary job meant that his shirts were getting too tight and he'd have to start going to the gym more often.
As he left the elevator, Sam and Teal'c stepped forward to meet them.
"Daniel." Sam said softly, with a smile on her face. Then Jack noticed the look of concern that took the place of the smile, as she asked, "What's wrong?"
Jack turned around to see Daniel standing in the far corner of the elevator, head down and arms wrapped tightly around his body.
"What the f …?" he started as he held the doors open. Jack knew that posture very well. All was not well with Daniel.
"Carter, Teal'c. Briefing in 30 minutes," he snapped. "Daniel, my office. Now!" Jack grabbed Daniel's arm and pulled him out of the elevator.
Sam and Teal'c looked at each other and then stood back to let Jack haul Daniel up to his office.
As they passed the stairs, Jack shouted down to the control room, "Walter, no interruptions. Period!"
"Er … Yes, General." The surprised voice of Walter Harriman drifted up to them.
"Oh, and disable the camera in my office."
"The camera, sir? Oh! Yes sir," came the disjointed voice again.
Jack pushed Daniel into the office and spun him around.
"Oka-ay, spill!"
Daniel looked up at Jack and spoke quietly; his voice tinged with sadness, "Why? Why did you do it?"
"What? What the fuck have I done?"
"Kerry Johnson," Daniel snapped. "Why?"
"Kerry …?" Jack frowned as he tried to process Daniel's question. Then, "Oh crap! You heard. You were at the commissary and you heard."
"Yes, Jack, I heard," said Daniel. "I thought you … we … you know, after that Russian fiasco, I thought we …" He stopped as realization hit him. "Fuck! It was just a one night stand to you, wasn't it? Just a 'fuck Daniel to keep him happy, then move on' moment. Huh! You know. I thought you cared. I thought we really had something. Well, excuse me for getting it all fucked up!"
Daniel extricated his arm from Jack's grip and headed towards the door.
"Daniel, stop! It wasn't a one night stand. I do care." Jack paused as he chose his next words carefully and then spoke quietly, "I care a lot. More than I should."
Daniel spun around, his face flushed with anger, "So, why did you do it and why didn't you tell me when I came back yesterday."
"Okay. Okay, Daniel. Sit down and I'll try to explain."
Daniel sighed, but walked slowly across the room and sat in the visitor's chair.
"Look," Jack took a deep breath and exhaled before continuing, "Someone must've notice something or maybe they were just clutching at straws … I don't know … but I heard a rumor linking my name and yours. I had to do something to put a stop to it, so …"
"Jack!" Daniel's blue eyes sparked with anger. "Are you saying you had an affair with Kerry Johnson to stop the rumor?"
"No-o, I'm saying I let people think I was having an affair with her to stop the rumor."
"God, Jack, how could you? You used her?"
Jack's face was flushed as he looked down at the floor. "Yeah," he said quietly. "I used her and yeah, I feel bad about it, but I had to do something, Daniel. My career is on the line here, yanno?"
"Oh, God," Daniel groaned. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"You only came back to us yesterday and you've been in the infirmary all night. I was going to explain tonight when we got home."
"Home? Us? You still want there to be an 'us' after you slept with her?"
"Yes, I did sleep with her. Several times, in fact. But, I didn't … um … I didn't … we didn't … have sex. Nearly did, but I couldn't go through with it. Couldn't do that to you. Blamed the drink a couple of times and she accepted it, but then she realized the truth, or thought she did."
"WHAT? She knows about you and me?" Daniel panicked and Jack leaned down to take hold of his upper arms.
"No, it's okay. She just thought I had issues with someone that I needed to sort out. She didn't know who. Probably thought it was Carter or someone. Anyway, she ended it."
"You told Sam it was a mutual agreement."
"Yeah, well …" Jack looked a little shamefaced. … I couldn't have her think I was dumped."
Daniel's face lit up as he laughed. "So-o-o, no more rumors?"
"Nope!"
"Okay, so where do we go from here then?"
"Thought you'd never ask. C'mere!" Jack pulled Daniel towards him.
"Jack! The door?"
"Locked."
"Camera?"
"Disabled, remember? Now will you come here? Gotta take the briefing in …" Jack looked at his watch … 15 minutes."
Daniel wrapped his arms around Jack and hugged him so tightly Jack thought his ribs would break.
"Daniel," he gasped, "don't go away again."
"You know I can't promise that, Jack, but if I do go, I will always come back to you. Always."
Jack sighed. He couldn't ask for more than that, could he? Later, when they get home, he'll show Daniel just how much he cares.
He nuzzled Daniel's ear and whispered, "Always is all I need."