Daniel's Favor by Mandarax
Rated T
Disclaimer – yeahsureyoubetcha.
Summary – Daniel always appears to have the worst sense of timing ever. Why? J/S.
Author's note – I keep reading stories where Daniel always walks in on Jack and Sam and interrupts them. And I've been trying to look for hints of that on the show but actually didn't find one except for the one in Lost City. This is just one explanation for why Daniel's got the worst sense of timing ever.
**
Jack stood outside Daniel's apartment for several long minutes before taking a deep breath and knocking on the door. Long seconds during which Jack contemplated leaving passed before the door swung open and Daniel smiled at him.
"Hey Jack, whatcha doing here?"
"Am I interrupting?" Jack peered in behind Daniel.
"No, not at all, come on in." Daniel opened the door further and moved away to allow his friend in. Then, closing the door he followed Jack to the living area.
"So…?"
Jack shove his hands into his pockets and looked around the room. Then he took a breath and exhaled it slowly. He turned and looked Daniel straight in the eyes. "How long have we known each other?"
"Two years, if you count the one I was on Abydos," Daniel replied.
Jack nodded. "We're friends, right?"
"Sure," Daniel said quickly.
"Would you call us close friends?"
Daniel stared at Jack warily. This wasn't your typical Jack O'Neill. "I guess. Jack, what's going on?"
Jack sat down on the couch. "Got a beer maybe?"
"Yeah." Daniel headed to the kitchen and got two bottles of beer. He uncapped them and handed one to his guest upon returning to the living area. He sat down across from his friend. "So?"
Jack used the time to compose himself and figure out what he wanted to say. "I need a favor."
"Shoot."
"It's pretty complicated. And will probably last a couple of years."
Scenarios were running through Daniel's head, going from bad to worse with every word Jack said. "Ooookay."
"And you can't ask too many questions."
"Errr.. Okay." Daniel raised an eyebrow.
"In fact, you can't ask any. At all. Ever. Or at least until I say otherwise."
"Jack, what the hell is going on?"
Jack sighed into his beer. "Just accept the terms."
"Okay, I accept."
"Oh, and you can't ever tell anyone that I asked you to do this. Ever."
"What is 'this'?" Daniel was irritated now.
"There may be situations…" Jack started but trailed off. He wasn't quite sure how to present the problem. Or the favor, for that matter.
"There may be situations where…" Daniel prompted.
"I may have –" Jack snorted to himself. "Listen, Sam and I… No." He shook his head, stared at the carpeted floor for a moment and started again. "I think I'm attracted to Captain Carter. And I shouldn't be. Ever. She's a subordinate. And I don't know if it's just attraction because she's young and beautiful and smart as hell or if it's more. Yet."
Daniel nodded. Married or not, he wasn't blind. "She is amazing, isn't she?"
"See that's exactly the problem. You say that and I know you mean it like she's your little sister. But me? If I dare think it, well, let's say I don't dare."
Daniel understood. "You don't want to be in that position where you might think it."
"Not just think it. I'm afraid I'll do something about it, and I'll ruin her stellar career. She has a future, that one," Jack confessed, frustrated with himself.
"What if it's mutual?"
"Why would it be? She's too smart to fall for a washed out soldier like me."
Daniel sighed, he didn't want to get into a conversation about why she really could fall for him because he's not as bad as he thinks, try as he might.
"Anyway, even if it's mutual," Jack went on, "it's still not going to happen, not allowed and inappropriate."
"So what do you want me to do about it?"
"I want you to be my conscience," Jack stated matter-of-factly.
"Meaning?"
"Interrupt us whenever you think we may be in a compromising position. Stop me from ruining her career and by extension, my own. Stop me from making a fool of myself. Be our chaperon. Develop the worst sense of timing ever."
Daniel thought about Jack's request for a moment, eyeing his friend. Was this really something that he could do? For both their sakes? It'll protect Sam just as much as it'll protect Jack. He thought about it for long moments, silently sipping his beer. Finally, he nodded.
"Okay."
Jack looked relieved. "Okay. Good."
He was going to say something more but thought again and closed his mouth.
"Another beer?" Daniel offered.
"I'm probably going to hate you for interrupting, if the situation where you have to stop us does ever arise," Jack said instead of answering the question.
"I know."
"I won't really hate you."
"I understand."
Jack smiled at his young friend. "Thanks, Daniel. You're a good friend."
"What are friends for, huh?" Daniel grinned.
"You can't tell anyone I asked you to do this."
Daniel nodded his understanding. "I won't.
Over the years there have been many situations where he had to butt in. He'd kept count of every single time he'd stopped Jack from kissing Sam. By the time Jack became a General, Daniel had counted 15 different times. And those were the real ones he stopped. He'd walked in on so many friendly conversations, shared meals, phone calls not even related to either of them that his 'sense of timing' had become a thing of legend around the SGC. It was as if he developed a sixth sense for getting into situations he really was not needed at. He had a hard time not stopping Jack and Sam kissing in different time lines, at the last moment remembering that they were allowed to do what they were doing in these timelines because Sam wasn't in the Air Force, and Jack never asked his favor. And every time he heard a joke of which he was the butt of, he reminded himself of that day years earlier when Jack asked him to do this for him, for Sam's sake.
When it became obvious that the attraction was mutual after all, he took it upon himself to watch out for Jack's well being as well. And if that meant interrupting her time with Pete, well, so be it. She and Jack might not be able to be together he told himself, but someday they will be and there's no point ruining a perfectly good relationship before it even begun.
So it was years later when there was a knock on his front door, that he swung the door open and raised an eyebrow at his guest.
"Since when do you knock?"
"Am I interrupting something?"
Daniel smiled. It was that kind of conversation.
"No, come in, Jack."
He led them to the kitchen where he offered his friend a beer and leaned back against the counter. "What's up?"
"How long have we been friends?"
"Going on ten years."
"And would you consider us close friends?"
"More like family," Daniel clarified.
"Yeah?" there was a hint of a smile in Jack's expression.
"Yeah."
Jack nodded. "I, uh…" He met Daniel's gaze. "Do you remember that favor I asked you years ago?"
"Sure."
"Thank you, Daniel, for all those times you, uh, stopped me from doing anything."
"That's what family's for," Daniel tipped the beer in Jack's direction.
Jack gave him a tight lipped smile. "I know I may have gotten you the reputation on base for having the worst timing ever. Sorry."
"I can live with it. Actually got me in a few entertaining situations."
"You'll have to tell me about them someday."
"Someday." Daniel nodded, then cocked his head. "You came to ask me to stop."
"Yeah."
"I know we said no questions, but can I ask why?"
Jack smiled. Daniel wasn't stupid. He knew there was a good reason if Jack was asking him to stop chaperoning them. "Because the next time I'm in a situation where I can kiss Sam, it won't end with a kiss and I don't want you anywhere near me. And I'm pretty sure you don't want to be there either."
Daniel chuckled. "Okay. I can do that. Hey, Jack, did you ever figure out if it's just attraction to a beautiful, smart, intelligent woman or something more?"
"Definitely something more," his whole expression turned softer, the kind of expression Daniel didn't think he'd ever seen on Jack O'Neill in nearly 10 years. It was the same expression he'd seen on Sam's face many, many times over the years, though he never called her on it. It was how he knew that the feelings were mutual.
That something more, that expression on Sam's face, the same one Jack now wore? It was the expression of pure love.