Three hours later, Daniel was sitting next to Jack as they watched a hockey game on TV. If anyone that didn't know them, were to come in and see them sitting how they were, Daniel with his head leaned back, rolled toward Jack, and the Colonel with his arm resting on the back of the couch, behind Daniel's head, they would have thought they were a couple.

Of course, to Daniel at least, that wouldn't have been so bad. In fact the younger man would have probably smiled at the idea.

"Jack…I think I'm going to go to bed."

The older man frowned and turned to look at his couch companion, "Why? I thought you wanted to watch that old black and white movie that was on right after the game."

Daniel stood taking his glasses off, rubbing his face, "I'm…just really tired…Jack."

The Colonel almost fell for it but then Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose, which meant he was tired, but only of keeping up an act of some kind, "Daniel…actually I wanted to talk to you."

"About what?" he was squeezing his eyes shut now.

"About why…you've been so distant with everyone lately."

Two very blue eyes looked over at him, wide with shock, "I haven't been distant. Sam and I went out and saw a movie the other night and I took Teal'c to game a few weeks ago. I was planning on taking him to an art exhibit or something else next week, since no one else seems to have time for him…"

Jack squinted at him, thinking he heard a double meaning in there somewhere, "Ok then, why…we've been distant."

He swallowed hard and looked away, doing his famous self hug, "You're the one that started that. I asked if you wanted to go to that star watchers exhibit and you said you had other things to do."

"Well just because I couldn't go one time-"

"A few days later I asked if you wanted to come over and help me paint my living room and you said that you were…busy."

Jack looked ashamed, "Well I was. The General was going to have my neck if I didn't start filling out some of that mountain of paper work."

"I asked you to do a lot of things and you just brushed me off. I even asked you if you would take me out to your cabin to go fishing and you said you had to do yard work. I offered to come over and help but you said you didn't need any."

That one stuck Jack dead. He would usually jump to take anyone fishing, especially out at his cabin, even if over half the base made fun of him because as the legend stated, there weren't any fish in the pond, to begin with, "I guess I didn't hear you or-"

"You were ignoring and avoiding me," Daniel said in a cold accusing voice. "Even when we're at the SGC, you only talk to me to tell me there's a meeting. Just like the other day when I was-" he stopped and rolled his eyes around the room. "Sorry. I don't think this was a good idea."

"Of course it was. I missed having you around. Come on and sit back down. We'll watch something you wanna watch."

Daniel met his eyes, "Really? Then why did it take you two months to notice that we hadn't been speaking?"

"Stress?" Jack tried.

"I'm going to bed Jack, and in the morning I'm going home."

"No. You're staying here until we work this out," Jack said in a determined voice.

Daniel glared at him, "This isn't something you…we can just work out! You can't just fix our…friendship…by inviting me over for a beer!"

"Of course I can't….You don't even 'like' beer."

Fed up, the younger man walked out of the living room and down the hall to the spare bedroom.

"Daniel! I'm not done talking to you yet!"

But there was not returning answer from the other man.

Jack quickly got up and went after Daniel, catching him in the extra bedroom with his shirt half-way over his head.

"Get out!" the linguist yelled as soon as he saw Jack.

"It's 'my' extra bedroom!"

"Well I'm changing!"

The Colonel rolled his eyes, "We're both guys Daniel. It's not like I'm going to see anything I haven't seen before in the locker room."

Daniel blushed trying to cover himself with his arms, "Please just-"

Jack saw the tears whiling up in the younger man's eyes, "What's really wrong? It has nothing to do with me ignoring you, does it?"

" I don't want to talk about it. Go away…"

Of course the older man ignored him and went closer, reaching out, trying to take him into his arms, "Come on Danny. We've done this before."

Daniel glared at him with teary eyes, before throwing his T-shirt at Jack's head forcefully, "I. Said. Get. Out."

"I want to help."

"If you want to help you'll leave me alone! I'm going home!"

"I won't let you," Jack said coldly.

At first it seemed like Jack had won, but then Daniel chilled his orbs and focused them on Jack with a vengeance, "You fucking son of a bitch… We're not friends any more Jack! The guy I used to know, the real Jack O'Neill, died a long time ago, fighting the Goa'uld and he left me behind…to fend for myself!"

Jack paled, "Daniel I didn't-"

"And whoever you are…Please…let me go because even though you look like him. You're not…"

"Daniel...? I'm sorry. I-"

"NO! You're NOT! How CAN you be sorry? You can't even BEGIN to understand what I've WENT THROUGH THE LAST TWO MONTHS!" Daniel's frozen eyes thawed some, "And if you were my Jack…you'd let me go."

Jack wanted to keep him there, but he'd rather let him go than make him even more miserable, "Fine… Leave."

Daniel grabbed his bags, unzipping one and taking out a shirt to put on, before he picked them back up and pushed past Jack. He ran down the hall and out the front door before the Colonel had even thought about moving. He watched Daniel hurry off down the sidewalk and almost thought about running after him to at least give him a ride over to his apartment. Instead, he dropped down to sit on the edge of the bed, knowing that Daniel would have his cell phone with him, and that he'd call a cab or the mountain and get a ride home that way.

"Guess I screwed that one up. They're going to kill me," he said to the shirt on the floor that Daniel had thrown at him.