Origin Tag

Jack forced himself to leisurely stroll down the hall, though his feet fought to walk to the beat of his heart, which happened to be thumping a mile a minute. He had to see him. He had to see for his own eyes that he was still in one solid, corporeal piece.

Coma, burning to death and finding a new big and nasty to wreck havoc on the universe, all in one day. Yup, that was his Daniel.

He leaves him in someone else's care for one mission and this is what happens. See, this is why SG-11 lost their privileges looong ago. Not that he didn't trust Mitchell, he just…hell, he didn't know. He didn't know anything anymore. For cry'in out loud, he should be on a plane right now heading away from this place, heading away from nearly a decade of memories.

If these walls could talk. he thought idly, his pace never faltering.

Though restored with a slab of this and that and a couple layers of paint, Jack could still point out where the scars should lay from their stand against the Replicators and Retu…and various other…situations.

He could also point out the exact spot where Daniel puked all over his shoes. Yup, brand new too. Jack could tell he was sick, even though his friend appeared to still be in denial stage about it and was dragging him home to get some real rest when up came more food than he thought possible…at least for Daniel. The boy never did eat much.

Finally rounding the last bend, it took all Jack had to slow his pace, because he found himself walking a lot faster than he intended, and silently ease into the room. His heart instantly calmed, however, at seeing one, solid corporeal known as Daniel Jackson, typing away at his computer.

He couldn't help but smile when his friend first greeted him as if it were completely normal that he'd be there. As if he expected him to come sauntering in after a difficult mission to pull him away for a bit.

Who would pull him away now?

…and it wasn't really a lie that he was in the neighborhood.

"Sorry you missed Daedalus."

"No you're not."

Got me there. "You're right. I'm not."

Jack was doing pretty well. He had refrained from pulling his friend into a bear hug…though it had been close and he even stopped himself from rubbing his head. It wasn't even something he had done in a while, but suddenly he found the urge nearly overwhelming.

Still, he was beginning to think he'd make it through without any embarrassing displays of affection until, that is, Daniel confided in him that he was scared.

Aw, damnit.

Daniel doesn't do scared. Jack had learned that quickly. He did curious. He did cautious. But he didn't do scared.

Damnit

Jack's resolve instantly began to crumble and nearly fell completely apart when Daniel wearily averted his troubled eyes. And in that heart wrenching moment, Jack realized there were two things he could do. He could, One: Offer some awkward and useless encouraging words and pat him on the shoulder. Or Two: Pull him into a fierce hug and then pack up all his kids and catch the next flight outta there.

He decided to go with number Three. Changing the subject, while telling his friend in two words that no matter what came their way, they'd deal with it. Together.

"I'm hungry."

And of course number three worked.

A small smile touched Daniel's lips and offered the General hope. "Me too."

Good ole' number three. "Wanna?"

"Mmm-hmm"

And so, just like any other day they headed out, side by side. They'd grab Teal'c on the way and hope Carter was finally available, then after picking up a movie and some grub, they'd all gather at…well, it would probably be Daniel's house now, and just relax the night away.

Teal'c would sit on the floor, completely engrossed in the movie. Carter would curl up with a blanket on the chair and Daniel would no doubt, fall asleep half way through the movie and end up stretching out on the couch until his legs rested on top of Jack's knees.

And Jack wouldn't have it any other way.

Silently walking down the corridor, Jack was reminded again of all battles that were fought, the victories that were celebrated and the friendships…the family that was created within these walls. And though right now he didn't know yet how many more times he'd be walking these particular streets of wordless history, he realized, as he draped an arm across his friend's shoulders and squeezed, that it didn't matter.

Because he wasn't going anywhere just yet.

The end…for now.