Chap 4

"Where's Daniel?" Jack looked around, puzzled. The infirmary was very quiet with only one airman, who was suffering with the flu, in residence. Janet was nowhere to be seen, no doubt taking advantage of the rare quiet to catch up on her myriad of duties. The only one in the infirmary besides the sleeping airman was Janine, the nurse who had taken care of Daniel throughout much of his illness.

"Oh,good morning, sir. Dr. Fraser already saw him. He said he was going to go to his office."

Jack glanced at his watch. It was zero six thirty. While it wasn't unusual for him to be at work this morning, Daniel was supposed to be working short hours. There was no need for him to be in so early.

Unless he was trying to avoid Jack.

If he was trying to avoid Jack the early hour made perfect sense. Daniel knew that Jack usually arrived at six, worked out, showered, read his email, dealt with any urgent issues and then went to a zero eight hundred briefing with the general and the other team leaders. That was usually done by nine. He'd grab a coffee, and then SG-1 would meet at 9:30 if they were planning an imminent off-world mission. Otherwise, he'd go back to his office and work on his reports or any of the other paperwork his position as second in command generated. This would usually occupy him until noon when the team would try to catch lunch together. Not always possible, but it was nice when it happened. The afternoon was almost always devoted to planning future missions, and catching up on what each member of the team was doing.

Jack knew that Daniel was only supposed to be working four or five hours a day. It was reasonable to assume that meant the archeologist would come in at eight or nine and leave shortly after lunch. That would leave plenty of time when he and Jack would have gaps in their schedule. By coming in at six, Daniel would have to leave at ten or eleven in the morning, if he was following the doctor's orders, making it much harder for Jack to casually run into him.

Jack didn't really think Daniel was that sneaky. At least, he hoped not, because he really didn't like to think Daniel was that intent on avoiding him. But why else would Daniel be coming in that early? Jack didn't know but he intended to find out. He had no intention of wasting all the time he'd invested in trying to figure out the archeologist… and he wasn't about to let the hard won friendship slip away. Determined, Jack headed for Daniel's lab.

"Daniel?"

"Hmmm?" the archeologist didn't look up from the text he was studying. Jack stood in the doorway, watching. He'd been there for several minutes, waiting for Daniel to notice him. Daniel, however, was so deeply involved in the manuscript he hadn't noticed his team leader, and Jack had grown tired of waiting.

"What'cha doing?"

Daniel finally looked up, and then glanced back down again at the text. "Oh! I'm just working on this manuscript that SG-3 brought back from their last mission. It's a completely new dialect of Goa'uld. I can't make heads or tails out of it so far." Rather than sound discouraged, the archeologist sounded delighted at the challenge.

"Oh," Jack walked a little further into the room. "You going to be able to get it?"

"Oh, sure. Eventually." Daniel was serenely confident. He turned to meet Jack's gaze. "What's up? I thought you had budget meetings this morning."

Jack grimaced. "Yeah. We're on a break. Big fun up there though."

Daniel chuckled sympathetically, and then looked back at the text longingly, and Jack knew he was dying to get back to it. Jack cleared his throat. Daniel reluctantly turned away from the tattered, yellowed papers in front of him. "Jack?"

"Daniel. I just wanted to… well, you know…"

"I know."

"You know I didn't know you were sick, right? On the planet?"

Daniel nodded, his expression unreadable. He glanced back at the text he'd been working on, and with a resigned sigh pushed it away. He pulled over a stool, and gestured for Jack to sit. "I know," he repeated quietly before looking away.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Jack asked. "You could have died, Daniel! If we'd been further from the gate, if we hadn't been able to get you back to Janet in time…" Jack broke off shaking his head. "Damn, you really scared me."

"Sorry."

"Daniel." Jack's voice was firm, with a touch of command in it. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Daniel looked away, his gaze falling on his shelves. For a few minutes he didn't speak. Jack forced himself to be patient. Finally, Daniel took a deep breath and turned back to Jack. "Not enough energy."

"Not enough energy?" Jack asked, puzzled.

Daniel nodded.

"Sorry, Daniel, I'm not following."

"It would have taken too much energy, Jack. You were already upset, and I knew you'd argue, or say something about why was I sick, had I wasting too much time on pieces of broken pottery, or not got enough sleep and let myself get sick… or something else that I was supposed to have done that I hadn't done, or done something I shouldn't have, or… I don't know. But I was sure I was going to have to explain myself, justify myself, and… I just didn't have the energy." Daniel hadn't been meeting Jack's eyes, but now he looked up and gave a small smile. "Besides, I thought it was a virus, and I could rest when we got back. I didn't know I was going to get that sick."

Jack didn't reply, his thoughts racing. He had thought Daniel might be afraid of being thought weak, and so had tried to cover up his illness, but this took him by surprise. Daniel looked up at him again. "Jack, why didn't you-" he broke off, shook his head. Jack waited for him to continue. When he didn't Jack prompted him. "Daniel?"

Daniel looked up, and briefly an emotion Jack couldn't identify flashed across his face. But it was gone too quickly, and Daniel's face had become an unrevealing, mask. "It's nothing," the tone was level, pleasant.

Jack stared at him. This was like pulling teeth. For a moment he considered giving up, but something, maybe the tension in Daniel's shoulders, or the fact that the archeologist hadn't returned to the manuscript yet, told him he should stay and try one more time.

"Okay, Daniel. I'm sorry. Okay? I knew something was wrong. You weren't being yourself. But damn it, I was so mad."

Daniel nodded. "I know. What I didn't know was why. Exactly."

"Because, Daniel, I thought you trusted me."

If Jack was looking for a reaction he couldn't have been more successful. Daniel's mouth dropped open, and he froze. For several seconds he stood that way, before managing to close his eyes. "What… I… I trust you, Jack. I… why… what?" Daniel sputtered.

Jack couldn't help but smile. It was a rare occasion when he was able to render Daniel speechless. But the smile quickly faded. "Yes, Daniel. I thought you trusted me. Trusted me enough to believe that I would consider both sides of the situation. But you didn't give me a chance to do that. You backed me into a corner… and it pissed me off."

Daniel's eyes were nearly bulging out of his head. "I DO trust you, Jack. If you can't see that-"

"Then why didn't you give me a chance to deal with the situation?"

"Because I didn't think you'd listen—"

"See? You didn't trust me."

"No! I knew you'd do the right thing, once you got all the information. And you did. I was just afraid you wouldn't get all the information in time. You were so caught up in all the technology they had. I just wanted more information. What's wrong with that? Isn't it my job? To find out about the people we meet? To learn about them? It's your job, and Sam's, to figure out the technology, and the military applications, right?"

Jack nodded.

"And it's mine to figure out about the people. Right?"

Jack nodded again.

"So I was just trying to do my job! But you wouldn't let me. And this isn't the first time. And I get so tired of fighting. Just to do my job. That's what I meant. I just didn't have the energy to fight you anymore, Jack." Daniel paused, his eyes skipping from one item to the next in his office. "Can you understand that?"

Jack wasn't sure how to respond. He knew what Daniel meant and he, too, was tired of fighting. It seemed like he'd been fighting for his entire career. Fighting with bureaucrats for funding, fighting with higher headquarters for resources, fighting with pencil pushers who didn't understand the situation on the ground, and, for the last few years, fighting with a civilian archeologist, who, ironically, he'd had to fight to get on his team in the first place. He considered his words carefully, knowing instinctively that if they didn't get this right, now, they might never.

"I can, Daniel. Can you understand I want the same thing? To be allowed to do MY job, without having to fight about it every single time? Do you understand my responsibilities? Which include keeping the team intact and alive? Including you. Making sure you can do your job IS part of my job. And I get tired, too, Daniel. Tired of having to explain myself every step of the way--and so I quit trying. Because sometimes I just don't have the energy either. Can YOU understand?"

Daniel dropped his head, embarrassed. He had been so convinced he was right, that he held the moral high ground. But…Jack was right. Daniel might not have meant to but he had very effectively undermined his team leader. And it was Jack's job to take all the information they had and make the best decision he could. For every one. And if he sometimes cut Daniel off a little too early, and seemed to not be considering all options— well then, it was Daniel's job to bring it to his attention… but maybe there was a better way of doing that. For the first time, Daniel recognized just how far he must have pushed Jack— and how tolerant Jack really had been.

Sheepishly Daniel raised his gaze to find Jack staring at him, worried. Daniel managed a genuine smile. "In other words, we both want the same thing."

"Yeah," Jack replied, and then as he thought about it he realized how true it was. "Yeah, that's right. So maybe you can let me do my job, and I'll let you do yours." Jack grinned. "I'll even try to act interested."

Daniel took the little offering. He shook his head in feigned dismay. "I don't want you to hurt yourself."

Jack sobered. "Seriously, Daniel. I NEVER want you to think you can't tell me if you've got a problem. No matter what, you need to let me know if you're sick, or hurt, or… anything. Cause I can't do my most important job if I don't know."

Daniel tensed. He had thought, for a moment, that maybe Jack actually cared about how he was doing. But no, it was all about the job. Defeated, he asked, "What job is that?"

Jack thumped him twice on the shoulder and then strode out of the room. Over his shoulder he called, "Being your friend, of course."

Daniel smiled. Of course.

The end.

Prompt: The challenge prompt for this story was: Daniel is sick or injured but he hasn't let on to the team until it's almost too late.

AN: I will be taking a hopefully short break from writing SG-1 stories. I have an Enterprise story that needs to get finished, and I don't have any SG-1 ideas currently brewing. I've appreciated every one who has read and reviewed. Thank you so much.