Long Shadows

By immertreu

October 4, 2008

Many thanks again to my beta Karen.:)

Slashers, read at your own risk. ;)

This story takes place in Season 3.

SG-1's return from P3R-223 was an usually quiet one. No running, no projectiles following the four of them through the gate – and, luckily, none of the team members had added any new injury to their amazing collection. SG-1 strolled down the ramp very casually, talking and chatting about the peaceful inhabitants of the planet they had just visited.

Daniel vividly explained something about the rite for a good harvest they had witnessed to their team leader, but Jack wasn't really listening and watched Sam and Teal'c instead who were no doubt discussing the interesting plant the two of them had discovered on the river bank close to the village and which Teal'c had mentioned to be a very powerful healing herb. From the look on Sam's face she was dying to get back to her lab and start experimenting with their discovery. Teal'c looked pleased with himself, as far as Jack could tell. The Jaffa was still hard to read, but his expression had loosened up a little over the past two years.

Everybody turned around when suddenly the event horizon popped out with the usual 'whoosh' behind the now closed iris and the seven chevrons winked out. Everyone's attention was still on the not so new but still fascinating Stargate behind them, when Jack suddenly turned towards Daniel, grabbed his friend by the shoulders and planted a kiss on his mouth before he retreated with a mischievous sparkle in his eyes. Everyone stared, and Daniel just gaped open-mouthed at his friend, his color swinging from flushed red to ashen and back to red within seconds. He tried to speak various times, but no words would come, so he finally gave up, just turned around and stalked out off the gate room without looking back. Sam looked after her fleeing friend with a worried frown on her face while a stunned looking Teal'c cocked a questioning eyebrow at Jack who just shook his head and followed Daniel - not quite in a run but definitely in a hurry. That left Sam and Teal'c to deal with a curious General Hammond who had just set foot into the Gate room through the opposite door.

When Jack entered the locker room, Daniel refused to face his friend and continued storing his equipment in his locker. Hunched shoulders and rapid movement spoke of hardly contained anger and even Daniel's back seemed to stare at Jack furiously. But Jack had never been one to be intimidated so easily so he waited until Daniel was finished and just stood there, waiting. Jack rounded the bench in the middle of the room to talk to his friend, but the glare coming his way stopped him dead in his tracks. Both men just stared at each other, angry and hurt blue eyes boring into apologizing brown until Daniel finally spoke up.

"What the hell were you thinking, Jack?" he demanded to know. Jack almost recoiled. He'd never seen his friend this furious.

"I…uh…" Hell, usually it was the man standing before him who sometimes stuttered from excitement or awkwardness, not him. He took a deep breath and tried again. "I wasn't thinking. It was just a joke," he managed lamely.

"A joke?" Daniel yelled. His voice caught and he almost choked on his next words. "I didn't see anybody laughing. Did you?" he asked angrily, a steely tone Jack had never heard before in his voice.

Jack shifted uncomfortably under the icy blue of his friend's eyes that seemed to spear his heart. "Uh…no." He swallowed hard. "Look, Daniel, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to upset you…"

He couldn't finish his sentence because his usually very controlled and soft-spoken friend took a step closer until they stood almost toe to toe. "Upset?" he yelled. "I'm not upset! I'm… truly pissed! You embarrassed me in front of the whole base - hell, even General Hammond was there in the control room - and it was just a joke for you?"

Daniel spun away, grabbed the jacket he'd thrown onto the bench when he'd entered the room a few minutes earlier and tried to rush to the door, only to be stopped by Jack who blocked his path by simply stepping sideways and now stood unmoving, hindering his escape.

"Daniel, please, I'm sorry. I really am. It was just a spur of the moment, absolutely stupid idea, one of my stupider ones, and I swear I'll never do anything that stupid again." I hope, he added in thought. "I just thought we all could use a good laugh. Come on, have you never kissed a guy just for fun to surprise him?"

To Jack's chagrin, Daniel had let him finish and now even answered him. "No, I haven't. And I never will." With that, he took a step backwards and carefully locked eyes with his older friend who was shocked by the pain he saw in Daniel's eyes. Jack moved back, too, until his spine hit the doorframe and so gave his teammate the room he obviously needed right now.

Daniel sighed and slumped on the bench, his hands still clawed around the jacket, his knuckles white, his gaze on the floor. He drew a few deep breaths and hugged himself tightly.

"So...you don't think I'm… you know…?" He helplessly flapped a hand, momentarily lost for words. And suddenly Jack understood. He all but jumped and knelt down in front of his young friend. He tried to put as much warmth as possible into his voice.

"No, Daniel, I didn't…not that there would be anything wrong with that, but no, I don't think you're gay. It was just a silly joke, possibly the stupidest idea I ever had. I apologize for my behavior and give you permission to shoot, er, punch me, the next time something similar comes to my mind." That last remark even made Daniel smile a little.

Jack took one of Daniel's trembling hands in his own and to his surprise, Daniel didn't flinch - or worse - slap him for it. "Can you forgive me?" he asked.

And after what seemed to be an eternity for Jack, Daniel nodded, his eyes still on the floor, and motioned for Jack to sit down on the bench. "You'll ruin your knee, you know," he tried to joke. Glad that his friend's voice sounded almost normal again, Jack released his hand, got to his feet and sat down next to Daniel, trying not to crowd him but at the same time showing 'I'm here for you'. There had to be a reason why Daniel had reacted so fiercely, and he wanted to find out in order to understand and help. After a few moments of silence, Jack dared ask, "You wanna talk about it?"

Daniel kept staring at his feet and sighed. "No…Yes…I don't know." Jack could almost hear him think and after a while, Daniel started to talk, so quietly that Jack had to strain his ears to understand his troubled friend.

"It was many years ago. I was studying for my first PhD in Chicago and I was the youngest student, of course." A small smile flickered across his face. "I was a little shy, especially with the girls." He blushed. "And in the beginning, I didn't really talk much." He finally looked up at Jack who quickly hid the grin that had threatened to spread across his features. Daniel and not talking? Hardly imaginable, he thought and managed to chuckle only inwardly.

Daniel hadn't seemed to notice and continued, his previously even voice becoming a little strangled. "The girls thought I was cute, with my long hair and blue eyes and all." He sighed again. "And the boys thought I was funny and hardly ever acknowledged me." Daniel paused to moisten his suddenly parched lips but then pressed on, talking faster and faster so Jack could hardly follow anymore.

"And then there was David. Eight years older than me, tall, strong… and somehow he'd developed an interest in me. I tried to avoid him because his stares scared me, but one day he caught me in the library when everyone else had already gone home for the night. He forced me into a corner, tried to kiss me and even managed to lift my shirt a little before I could bring up my knee and then thumbed him into the eye. I ran from the library as fast as I could and never saw him again. But I never forgot him, the fear and shame of that moment." He blushed deeply. "That's why I reacted the way I did, Jack. I…"

Jack interrupted him. "I know. Now. And I'm sorry I made you remember." Daniel just nodded and looked at his friend who suddenly smiled. "I'm sure David never touched a pretty boy again without asking first." Daniel glared at him and he raised his hands in defeat. "Hey, I'm just saying. You can punch pretty hard if you want." And to his immense relief, his young friend started chuckling and his eyes regained their usual lively blue, all traces of fear and anger vanishing. His giggling suddenly became a full-hearted laughter and Jack stared at him as if he'd lost his mind – again. "Daniel?" he asked.

Daniel, still laughing, turned to Jack. "You should have seen Teal'c's face!" he snorted. "And Sam…I think I've never seen her so stunned and puzzled, she was just standing there gaping at us." And Jack, glad that Daniel was finally able to laugh about the whole affair, joined his friend with chuckles of his own. "I told you so," he managed to puff out while tears of laughter were streaming down Daniel's face.

Sam chose that moment to appear in the doorway. "Sir? Daniel?" she asked cautiously. She looked as if she'd expected to find her teammates at each others throats, not sitting in the locker room, giggling and laughing like children. She carefully stepped into the room, eyeing her two friends skeptically. "Carter!" the Colonel chirped. "Hi, Sam!" Daniel piped in, trying to dry his streaky face.

She chose her position close to the door. She didn't want to take any chances with these two today. "What are you doing?" she asked, brows furrowed in bewilderment. "Ah, um, we're just having a little fun," Daniel offered unhelpfully.

"I see," she answered, suspicion still resonant in her voice. "I take it your show in the Gate room was just that, a show, right?" Jack quickly glanced at Daniel who shrugged. "Yep," he simply stated, his most innocent - and still very unbelievable – smile plastered onto his face.

And finally, the absurdity of the situation cracked Sam up. She took two steps to the bench and sank down heavily, humor sparkling in her bright eyes and a mischievous grin on her face. "Someone has to talk to Teal'c," she giggled. "He thinks you've gone mad."

Just at that time, the mentioned Jaffa peered into the locker room, saw his laughing friends huddled together on the bench – and retreated with a slight shake of his head, not sure what to make of his teammates' weird behavior since their return to Earth. Maybe they had caught some alien virus on their mission? He decided to pay Dr. Fraiser a visit and ask for her opinion.

When Teal'c had closed the door again, Jack took a deep breath and calmed down enough to speak again. "Yep," he answered belatedly to Sam's suggestion. "I'll do it. Just give me a minute to recollect his astounded face." He closed his eyes for a minute, still grinning, then he got up to search for one confused Jaffa who needed a private lesson in human humor, the previous events still vivid in his mind. The laughing face of his favorite archaeologist in the world, blue eyes sparkling with joy and his whole body shaking from laughter, was a sight Jack wouldn't forget in a very long time.

When he reached the door, Daniel called after him. "Thanks, Jack." Jack looked back. "Any time, Daniel." And with that he left the room, leaving Daniel and Sam alone so they could have something to talk about.

And something good had come out of this after all. Their trust was growing. The two men understood each other much better now. And most important of all, their friendship would hold – now and in the future, whatever the universe might throw at them.

Meanwhile, Dr. Fraiser and General Hammond had a chat about the unusual behavior of their flagship team. "General, I found an alien virus in Teal'c's bloodstream, but he hasn't been affected yet because his symbiote is protecting him like Sam's protein marker left by Jolinar has to be protecting her. Teal'c came to see me after the events in the Gate room and I have already been able to generate an antidote. It's not a serious illness, just the symptoms are a little… odd." She couldn't really hide her giggle but the General had problems of his own and hid his smiling face behind the file she'd given to him. "So they'll be back to… normal… soon?" he asked. "I think so, Sir." "Good. Keep me posted." "Yes, Sir," she answered. "Never a dull moment around here, Sir." And Janet fled before either of them could burst out into real laughter, still giggling and already thinking about the places where she might find SG-1 and their kissing bug before Daniel showed symptoms, too.