Written for the Gengate WordFic challenge - write a fic using the letters from The Joy of Jack Whumping as the first letter of each new paragraph.
The day started off like any other: the alarm went off too early, the sun came up, shower, breakfast, drive to the mountain, harass Daniel, go through the Stargate. It was normal. Everyday. There was no reason to think that it would be different than any other day. But the one thing Jack had learned in his years working Black Ops and now at the SGC appearances could be deceiving. Just because the day seemed like any other day didnt mean it was going to be like any other day.
His first clue should have been when his coffee maker went on the fritz. While it was true that Daniel was the legendary coffee drinker of the SGC, it didn't mean that he was the only coffee drinker of the SGC. Jack needed a cup of coffee in the morning to jump start his bones. Having the thing gurgle and die with only a thin stream of coffee-colored water dripping into the pot below didn't bode well for the rest of the day.
Even after he stopped at his favorite coffee place only to find a closed for renovations sign in the window, it didn't occur to Jack the mess the day would turn out to be. Some days you just turn a blind eye to all the signs and portents and go blindly forward doing all the things you normally do because there was no sense of dread, no pretentious music to warn you of what was going to happen next. You just step blithely forward and, without warning of any sort, step into a hole and end up alone and hurting in the dark.
Just because you had been sitting in said hole for an hour wondering where everyone was, why no one had even bothered to come look for you was no reason to think that anything was wrong. No, there were lots of things that could be keeping his team from noticing his absence. When he'd left to do a perimeter check, Daniel was absorbed in his archaeologist stuff, studiously working at ignoring Jack. Things had been strained between them since the whole business with Makepeace and his rogue NID team of thieves. Jack really didn't have a choice about going along with the plan, but Daniel in particular hadn't taken it well that he'd been lied to. Jack had truly regretted the no foundation comment, but he'd had to get Daniel out of the house before anyone suspected anything. Jack sighed, leaning his head back, letting it rest against the cold packed earth. If it were up to Daniel, it could be days before he noticed Jack was missing. Besides, it was Teal'c and Carter that he was counting on missing him and coming to pull him out of his current predicament.
Only they had gone to scout the area, leaving Jack to look after their archaeologist. And Carter had taken her little case for collecting samples with her. She was a little like Daniel when she went into scientist mode and she could be gone for hours, happily putting little clumps of dirt into tiny individual bottles.
You just hadn't lived until you'd spent hours watching Daniel happily translate and Carter filling up those little bottles of hers. Still he'd much rather be doing that, then stuck at the bottom of a deep dark pit with a bum knee and a radio that was in pieces from his having landed on it. Exploration of the known universe was supposed to be a grand adventure filled with evil villains and saving the world on a twice-weekly basis. Jack thought they needed to rewrite the brochure because he sure wasn't having a grand adventure today. In fact the whole day just sucked swamp water. He peered up at the small hole he'd fallen through. It was so grass covered that he'd missed it. Just stumbled right into it. No way was Carter and Daniel going to find it. Even if they were looking for him. If.
Of course that still left Teal'c. Teal'c was probably his best chance of getting out, too. Teal'c wasn't as mad at him as the other two. He'd been the First Prime of Apophis. He understood doing damn distasteful things because it was your duty, been forced to do a few of those in the service of his god. Yep, if he was going to get rescued, Teal'c was his best bet. The big Jaffa would be able track his footsteps and find the hole he'd fallen into. Studying the sheer walls of his prison, Jack knew he wasn't climbing out without help. He'd fallen at least twice his height. Normally that might not have been a problem, but he hadn't seen it coming. Now his knee was shot from impact with the packed earth, just standing was problematic. So, all he had to do was sit tight until someone missed him. All.. Right. Patience wasn't something Jack ONeill had in abundance. But it was all he had left at the moment. He'd already tried calling for help thinking perhaps Daniel was close enough to hear him, but that got old fast. He could see the light changing as the sun shifted above him. Soon it was going to be dark. Everyone would gather around the campfire for the evening meal. Would his team come to look for him then?
For once in his life, Jack was stuck, uncertain what to do. Surely he hadn't alienated his team so much that they'd just leave him stuck down a dark hole? Maybe they'd go back to Earth and report to Hammond, "Sorry, sir, we lost him." And that would be that. Hammond would replace him with Ferreti or maybe even promote Carter. They'd have a memorial service where everyone would say really nice things, but privately they'd all be relieved that he was gone. Life would go on. He'd die in a hole on an alien planet and maybe the world would be a better place without him...
"Jack?" Daniel's voice from overhead startled him. Hed' almost convinced himself that his team would forget him, leave him, just write him off. Deep in his own pity party, he hadn't actually expected to be rescued. "You down there?" There was a too-bright flash in his eyes as Daniel used his flashlight to peer down the hole. Then there was a small shower of dirt and pebbles that rained down on Jack before they were joined by the archaeologist himself.
Astonished, Jack couldn't even think of anything witty to say except, "Daniel?"
Calling up, Daniel said, "Sam, Teal'c, he's down here." The sun disappeared as presumably the other two members of his team peered down the hole. "We're going to need a rope to get out though."
Kneeling next to him, Daniel surveyed him critically. "You hadn't been by to bother me in an hour, I got worried," he said with an easy smile.
"Worried?" Jack shrugged. "You know me, I was just hanging out here." He felt a surge of warmth that Daniel had missed him. Maybe he hadn't been as big as an ass as he thought. Daniel extended a hand, helping him stand. He tried putting a little weight on his knee and it shot pain through his whole body. Getting home was going to be such a treat. But it felt good knowing that he was going to be going home.
Home. Who knew that such a small word could have so much meaning? Home is where the heart is. Home on the range. There's no place like home. Home, sweet home... A rope fell down through the hole and Jack shifted away putting all his weight on the bad knee. The pain took away his breath. Home was still really far away.
Unable to stifle a moan, Jack clutched Daniel's shoulder until the pain subsided to a manageable level. Daniel didn't say a word, just stood, providing him an anchor and a crutch. When he could see that the pain had passed he asked, "Do you want something for the pain before we get you out of here?" Jack could see the concern in his friend's eyes.
Mutely, Jack shook his head. He didn't like the pain medications. They made him sleepy and muddled. Maybe once they were back on earth and he was safe in the clutches of the Napoleonic power mongerer, then he would submit to pain meds, but not now while they were still off-world. There was still too much that could happen to them, and he needed to keep his wits about him. Jack just stood as Daniel wrapped the rope around him and tied it off expertly.
Pulling on the rope, Daniel called up, "He's ready, Teal'c. Be careful, he's injured his knee." The rope tightened around him and he found himself hanging in mid air. Daniel steadied his body and Teal'c pulled from above. Pulled him out of the pit both literally and figuratively, out into the sun. Jack had never been happier to see that big ole yellow ball high in the sky.
In less time than he would have thought possible, Carter had seen to his knee and Teal'c retrieved Daniel. Actually it was a nice change to sit and let Carter be in charge. She did a good job of getting everything organized as Teal'c built a make-shift stretcher. He fussed about being put in the stretcher just so they'd know he didn't have a concussion or more serious injury.
Never had he been so glad to find himself in the infirmary, under warm sheets with an IV of blessed pain-killer. His team gathered around his bed, laughing and joking about the great "O'Neill rescue" until his eyes grew heavy and sleep drug him into its depths.
Great, Jack thought, just what he needed. As soon as he was well enough to leave, his team would be camped out at his house, motherhenning him to death, fussing over him, refusing to let him do anything for himself, just generally making a nuisance of themselves. Then he smiled as he drifted off to sleep. It was just what he needed, just what his team needed. Maybe it hadn't turned out to be such a bad day after all.