Disclaimer: Sadly, Jack and Daniel are not mine. They belong to persons much richer and happier than myself.
A/N: Well, I like the ending to this one, but not necessarily the beginning and the middle. But feedback is love, let me know what you think!
Are You Lonesome Tonight?
by cestmoi01
Daniel paced back and forth in the living room of his apartment, restless. He crossed the room many times, opened a window, crossed the room again, shivered, closed the window, and resumed his pacing. He flopped down onto the couch, turned on the TV, flipped trough the seventy-two channels once, twice, three times before he gave up hope of finding anything decent to watch, and turned the TV off again.
He stalked to the kitchen, flung open the fridge door, glared at its contents and slammed it shut again. He banged through every cupboard, giving each a cursory glance, before returning to the fridge. Again, he closed it in disgust then began circling around the small kitchen.
On the counter, he spied a dirty coffee mug, the bottom of which was filled with revolting dregs. He cleaned it out, a little more forcefully than was probably prudent, and returned it to its proper place. He looked around the kitchen again, hoping for something else to clean, some other task with which to occupy his empty time, and when he found nothing he appeared momentarily at a loss what to do.
He stalked back out to the living room, threw himself onto the couch and tried to find patterns on his ceiling. When his fingers and toes began tapping, impatient with his brain, he rolled off the couch again and moved about the room straightening knick-knacks and organizing stacks of books. He retrieved an archaeology magazine that he hadn't been able to read because of their latest trip off-world and settled onto his couch, prepared to be engrossed but finding instead that he couldn't concentrate on the damn thing. In an uncharacteristic fit of anger, he flung it across the room.
Finally accepting that there was nothing to do in his lonely apartment, Daniel entered his bedroom, rolled himself up in the warm comforter on his bed and went to sleep.
Or at least, he tried to.
Pretended to.
God, he was kicking himself for not accepting Jack's invitation! Why had he done that? He didn't know. He couldn't remember. He hoped it had been a damn good reason, because this…aloneness…was torture! There was nothing to do and no one to share it with.
Maybe he should call Jack, and he rolled over and reached for the phone before he aborted the movement, dropping his hand limply back onto his pillow.
Yeah, right. And say what? "I'm sorry for waking you up, Jack – or not waking you up, I hope you weren't doing anything important when I interrupted you – but I'm regretting not taking you up on your offer and could I come over to your house now anyway?"
Uh-huh. That would go over well.
He might as well resign himself to a lonely night, so he pulled the comforter tighter around himself and tried to relax his tense body and his anxious mind enough to go to sleep.
And then there was a knock on the door of his apartment.
'What the--?" Daniel stumbled blearily out of bed and to the front door. He opened it up, squinting, to see Jack's tired face smiling back at him. He blinked and scrubbed his eyes, certain he must be dreaming (although that generally required being asleep, which he wasn't sure he was), and opened them again to find Jack still there, now looking a little uncertain.
"I couldn't sleep…" he offered gruffly.
And Daniel smiled – sleepily, contentedly – and stepped aside to let him in.
A/N: Feedback is love! Let me know what you think.