Chapter 2
It was Jack's third night of freedom before they were discovered. He and Daniel were reclined between two blankets, watching the stars roll across the sky. It didn't take long for Jack to drift to sleep, the first time he had done so without the assistance of Janet's sedatives. Daniel smiled, shifting slightly to pull the blanket up to Jack's chin, when he heard a twig snap nearby.
His body tensed, ready for action, and his slight movement transferred to Jack who slowly opened his eyes with a haunted expression, as though he knew someone was coming to hurt him and he was resigned to that fate.
Daniel didn't have time to warn him before two shadowed forms appeared and a flashlight beamed into his face, moments before he heard the tell-tale sounds of weapons at the ready.
"Identify yourselves." Someone ordered, moving closer to the blanketed forms, probably expecting two horny teenagers.
"Dr. Daniel Jackson. Don't shoot." He ordered, but before he could continue he felt movement behind him and suddenly Jack shoved him down against the ground and launched himself at the two guards who had been performing a perimeter sweep. "Jack, stop!" he shouted but the men had already brought their weapons up and directed them straight at Jack's chest. "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!"
Jack stopped himself just inches from the two men, stepping forward until his chest pressed against the barrel of one of their weapons, taunting him.
"Jack, don't do this."
But Jack's anger and frustration got the best of him and he glared at the two men, rage pounding through his veins and all he could think was that he would like to be the one inflicting the damage this time, instead of receiving it. It was his turn, and he was in the position to do it.
Both guards suddenly recognized that this was Colonel O'Neill. After the defeat of Anubis all the base personnel were apprised of the Colonel's return and given the basics of his condition, but not many had actually seen him to verify the rumors. Actually being face to face with this man, the former leader of SG-1, the legendary Jack O'Neill, was a bit of a shock, but even more shocking was the glint in his eye, the unmasked hatred and open wrath.
Three fries short of a happy meal.
They couldn't hurt him. They couldn't even threaten him. Without even thinking about the consequences they both lowered their weapons.
Shock and confusion was evident in O'Neill's face, before he reached out and gently pressed his hand against the chest of one of the men, who stood still and firm. O'Neill pushed at him again, stepping into his personal space, but still the man offered no resistance. "Colonel. We're glad to have you back with us." He said softly.
"Jack." Daniel spoke soothingly as he walked up to Jack's side, grabbing his arm gently and tugging him away from the men. "You back with us, now?"
Jack jerked his arm away from Daniel and turned abruptly, walking towards the tree line and the cover of darkness.
"Jack. Stop."
Instead, Jack broke out into a run, dashing towards the trees and disappearing into the cloak of shadows.
The three men chased after him, hoping to calm him before he hurt himself. Daniel didn't have to order them not to cause any bodily harm to their target.
Jack O'Neill was trained in special ops. He knew how to disappear, and with nothing but the pale moonlight and a couple flashlights, Daniel didn't expect he'd be able find his friend unless he wanted to be found. Jack was still weak from his malnourished condition but considering what he had done to escape from Ba'al's fortress he could still move far and fast if he felt the need. Daniel just hoped Jack was willing to turn himself in. He just had to come back to his senses.
He shouted out Jack's name, calling him back, trying to coax him into returning to the SGC, reminding him that they weren't there to hurt him, that they were friends and he wanted to help him. Just as the two guards were about to call in reinforcements they heard a strangled, "Daniel?"
Daniel followed the voice. "Jack? Where are you?"
"I can't make it go away. I don't want to feel like this."
Daniel moved towards a fallen tree and realized that Jack was curled up behind it, protecting his ribs as though he expected to be kicked. "I know you don't, Jack." He wasn't sure what Jack was feeling, but he had a pretty good idea. Hate. Anger. Fear and pain. He felt it all.
"How do I make it stop?" Jack was pleading now, begging for help, for guidance.
He knelt down beside his friend, placing a hand on Jack's shoulder before pulling him into a hug, rocking him gently. "One day at a time, Jack. I've got your back."
"You've got my six?" Jack asked, with a touch of humor that worked its way to Daniel's heart.
"Military lingo never was my thing. The one language you've got over me."
"I had to be good for something."
"You're good for a lot of things, Jack. You've done a lot of good."
"Hmm. Can we still come up here at night? Can you still break me out of there?"
Daniel turned to glance at the two guards who shook their heads slightly, looking ashamed. They had already had to report the incident when they began their chase after Jack. They'd been ordered by Weir to return Colonel O'Neill and Doctor Jackson to the SGC, immediately.
"I'll try, Jack. Somehow I'll get you out."
"I was asleep."
"Yes, you were."
"It felt good to sleep. I want to sleep, Danny. I want to sleep and never wake up."
"No you don't, Jack. You want to live."
"Not underground, imprisoned. I can't do it anymore. It's too far, it's too deep. Don't take me back there."
"Jack, I have to. I'll get you out as soon as I can, we'll stay on the surface somewhere comfortable. Maybe they'll let me take you to my place, we'll have Teal'c and Sam over, just the four of us."
"Anything. I want out."
"I know you do. It may be a few days but I promise we'll get you out of there. The SGC is still out of commission for another month so I don't have anywhere else to be or anything to do. And Teal'c has been moaning about not having anyone to watch the games with. And Sam, well you know how she is, we've got to do something to get her out of her lab."
"You've been taking care of her?"
"We all took care of each other. We knew you'd want us to, Jack. Otherwise, I doubt any of us would have lasted the year."
"I was worried. He kept telling me stories about you guys. About your deaths. Rumors he'd heard. I tried not to believe him but sometimes…sometimes I let it get to me."
"He was just trying to hurt you, Jack. We were okay. And we're all here now. That's what's important."
"Daniel?"
"What?"
"My leg is falling asleep."
Daniel laughed and moved away, releasing Jack and helping him to his feet, letting him kick his leg around to restore blood flow. "You're a real piece of work, you know that, right? Trying to have a serious conversation and what do you do?" He shook his head in amusement.
"You know how I love sharing stuff." Jack joked, glancing at the two guards. He nodded at them briefly, acknowledging their efforts to help him. "Janet's going to make my butt a pincushion isn't she? Little porcupine." He moaned piteously.
"Probably. We don't want to keep her waiting."
Jack stared down at the ground as they walked, not really watching where he was going and implicitly trusting Daniel to get him where he needed to be. As they approached the front gate of the Cheyenne Mountain complex he finally looked up and tensed, his steps faltering as he peered through the chain link fence. He remembered the metal web Ba'al had held him against with his artificial gravity technology the first few months of his captivity. Eventually his captor became annoyed with the great distance between him and his victim, and moved on to more conventional means of inflicting pain. Stab and twist.
"No," he whispered, stopping and taking a step backwards, right into the chest of one of the SFs. He sprang away at the touch, dropping to his side and curling up, covering his face with one arm. "Stop it! I don't know anything."
"Jack! Stop, nobody's going to hurt you. Come back, you're safe here, remember, you made it back to Earth." Daniel reached out to try to touch Jack's arm but in a flash Jack had him in a chokehold, holding him between himself and the two SFs, and cutting off the supply of oxygen to Daniel's lungs.
"Get away. Move back or I'll kill him."
Daniel struggled for air, knowing that if he died Jack would never forgive himself and would never recover. He couldn't let that happen to his friend. Using the training that Jack and Teal'c had taught him years ago he safely twisted out of Jack's weaker grasp, hearing the sickening pop of Jack's shoulder dislocating before he crashed to the ground, Daniel straddling his chest to pin him to the ground.
"Get a medic," he shouted at the SFs, hating that he had hurt Jack. "Jack? You okay?"
Jack was non-responsive, his eyes wide and glazed, seemingly lifeless, and if it weren't for the subtle raising in Jack's chest indicating that he was still breathing, Daniel wouldn't have believed there was still life there.
He knew the look. He had seen it before, the first time they met.
When Charlie died and Jack had lost a piece of his soul.
"Oh God, Jack. I didn't mean to hurt you. You can still trust me, I couldn't let you hurt me, I know you couldn't have lived with that. I did it for you. You're going to be okay. Janet will take care of you. Come back, Jack. Come on."
After a moment Jack's eyes seemed to focus again, and he looked straight into Daniel's concerned face. "Thank you." He said quietly.
"For what, Jack?"
"For the pain."
Daniel's eyes widened in horror. "No Jack. Not the pain. You don't need the pain to live."
"I need the pain. I'm alive with the pain."
"No. You're alive because…because you're you. Because you have a soul."
"No. The pain keeps me alive. I need the pain."
"You don't. You need comfort and warmth and love. You don't need the pain. Feel my hand, my touch, doesn't that tell you you're alive?" He held one hand over Jack's heart, the other supporting the back of his head.
Jack closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "It hurts, Daniel. Everything hurts."
"Focus on my hand, Jack. Concentrate on my hand. It's warm, right? Comforting? Don't get caught up in the past, just think about what you have now. You have me and SG-1, and we'll never let anything happen to you again. Do you trust me?"
"I was going to kill you."
"I would never have let you do that. I stopped you, didn't I? You're safe with us, Jack. We can save you from yourself."
"Save me." He repeated.
"That's right. You just have to hang in there for us. You have to fight for us. I know you can do it. Just hang in there. It'll get better."
"When?"
Daniel sighed heavily, wishing he knew the right words to say. "When you're ready to let go."
"Let go of what?"
"Whatever darkness is plaguing your soul."
TBC
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