The morning was cool, with a heavy mist drifting lazily across the pond's surface as Jack and Sam settled themselves in chairs on the dock. Sam wrapped herself snuggly in an old army blanket, curling her feet up beneath her in the chair, while Jack stretched out in his, clearly amused by her layers.
"Would you like me to build you a fire?," he teased, eyes dancing with mirth.
"I'm fine," she replied, not taking the bait.
"I've seen Eskimos dressed in fewer layers."
"Are you going to be like this all day? I can go somewhere else to read."
"No, no. It's just, you look cold."
She rolled her eyes. "I have a blanket. I'm fine."
"All right. I'm just saying..."
"Jack!"
"You're very pretty today."
"Thank you."
She opened her book, trying to ignore his persistent gaze.
"So, you're really going to read?"
She peered over the edge of her page, trying not to laugh. "Is there something you'd rather I do?"
"I have a spare rod in the shed if you'd like..."
"Jack."
"I know, I know. You'll sit with me, but you won't fish with me. I just don't see why."
Sam lowered her book, still trying to keep her own amusement under wraps. He only got worse with encouragement. "Knowing the precise odds of catching a fish in this pond really does take some of the fun out of it," she replied.
"I could add some fish, if you'd like."
"Jack, is there something on your mind?"
"No. I don't know. Maybe?"
Sam sighed. "Spill."
"They're a bit of an odd match."
"Who?"
"Daniel and Vala."
"And we're normal?"
"Uh...yeah," he said.
"Uh-huh."
"It's just, she seems to annoy him. A lot."
Sam cocked an eyebrow meaningfully at her husband.
"What?!," he asked, defensively. "I don't annoy you that much, do I?"
Sam grinned. "Probably not. But Teal'c says they were happy together. And that Daniel asked for this."
"Maybe he was hallucinating?," Jack tried.
Sam shot him a look. "We're not actually setting them up, Jack. We're just presenting them with an opportunity."
"I don't remember him being so crabby," Jack noted.
"I know," Sam said with a frown. "It took me a long time to notice, but the more I think about it, the more I think he's been like that since his second ascension."
"You think they did something to him?"
She shook her head. "More like, I think seeing Abydos destroyed was the last straw. He blames himself. Blames himself for letting the Ori into our galaxy as well."
Jack's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "That's heavy."
"No kidding. But it makes me think that a lot of his irritation has very little to do with Vala at all."
"Oi," Jack muttered, running a hand across his face.
"Yeah. I plan on keeping a close eye on him this week," she confessed.
"Well, I've got your back," Jack replied, smiling just a little.
"I know," she said, lacing her fingers together with his as they settled in for a quiet day on the dock.
Teal'c and Daniel had taken over the living room for their meditation, having determined that the crisp October weather was a little too brisk for deep internal reflection out on the back deck. Drawing the curtains shut and lighting their candles, they sat facing each other at opposite ends of the room, eyes closed, breathing deep.
It had been nearly two years since Daniel had last joined his friend in silent meditation. The threat of the Ori had not permitted much time for any sort of spiritual release, and Daniel now found that he was having a difficult time relaxing into the required meditative trance.
Everything had been so much simpler when they only had the Goau'ld to worry about.
Now his mind was full of doubts and fears, burdened by regrets. For someone who had died and ascended twice now, he was beginning to feel disturbingly world-weary. As if there just wasn't anything left to give; he was already entirely gone.
He shifted uncomfortably, his back and legs beginning to ache from his position on the floor. He tried to ignore it, focusing instead on slowly filling his lungs, clearing his head. Teal'c's steady breathing was a soothing reminder of where he should be right now, lost in the calming planes of subconsciousness.
In. Out. In. Out. Daniel's muscles began to relax, easing some of his earlier discomfort. In. Out. In. Out. His head swam, somewhere on the cusp between awake and asleep. In. Out. In. Out. Somewhere, far away, someone was humming. Daniel's muscles tensed, his eyes snapping open with a start.
Daniel rose stiffly to his feet, purposefully making his way towards the source of the distraction. Sliding the screen door aside and stepping into the cool morning air, he found the Vala sitting in a lawn chair, her novel abandoned in favour of a fashion magazine, which she carelessly perused while humming along to something Daniel vaguely recognized from the radio on the way up.
"Vala," he said in exasperation. "What are you doing?"
Vala looked up at him in surprise. "Well, what does it look like, Daniel? I'm sitting out here, freezing my butt off, trying to keep busy so you and Teal'c can have your little meditation time while Samantha and her husband can have their alone time. And I'll tell you, it's not exactly fun."
"What's with the humming?," Daniel demanded, cutting to the chase.
Vala blinked. "Humming?"
"Yes! Humming," Daniel shouted. "How is anyone supposed to relax with you out here making all that noise?!"
Vala put her magazine down, rising to her feet. "Honestly, Daniel, it couldn't have been that loud if I didn't even realize I was doing it!," she countered hotly.
Daniel growled in frustration. "You always do this, you know," he accused angrily. "You just can't leave well-enough alone. If it's not brightly coloured, obnoxiously loud or garishly flashy, you're just not interested. And when you're not interested in something, everyone around you has to suffer for it!," he shouted.
"What's that supposed to mean?!," she demanded angrily.
"It means you're a nuisance, Vala! A constant, throbbing pain in my neck! Why'd you even come up here? You know as well as I do this isn't your sort of place. It's too quiet. Too dull," he sneered.
"Samantha invited me," she answered more softly, struggling to keep her emotions in check.
"You don't belong here," he snarled. "Not at the cabin, not at the SGC, and not on Earth. You make a mess of everything. You're a loose cannon, and one of these days, you're going to get us all killed."
"That's enough, Daniel," Jack's voice rang out, slicing through the fury gripping the younger man. Daniel glared at Vala, not caring that her bottom lip trembled as tears of betrayal streaked down her face, not caring that all their friends had just born witness to his ire, not caring that somewhere deep down, he was already beginning to loath the man he had become. None of it mattered anymore.
Jack grabbed him roughly by the shoulder, pushing him down the stairs and across the lawn towards the small shed.
"What the hell has gotten into you, Daniel?," he growled, twisting the younger man around to face him.
"I can't think with her around," he ground out, glaring balefully in the direction from which they had just come.
"Somehow, I don't think Vala's the problem," Jack remarked, letting Daniel go with a tiny shove. Wrenching the shed door open, Jack started removing tools, handing them to a suddenly bewildered Daniel.
"Jack, what are you doing?," he asked uncertainly.
"Solving the problem," Jack snapped.
"Wouldn't it be more humane simply to shoot me?," Daniel asked, dubiously eyeing the assortment of saws, axes, shovels, and blades being handed his way.
"Probably," Jack growled, retreating from the shed and closing the door. "But I don't want you dead, Daniel, I want you fixed. And if you don't want to talk, you're at least going to think."
Jack stalked off, heading towards the road. Daniel followed, his anger dissipated and a sense of foreboding taking its place.
"Jack, where are we going?," Daniel asked, concerned.
"Where do you think, Daniel?," Jack demanded, rounding on him once more. Daniel blinked.
"I don't know," he answered honestly.
Jack turned back around and kept walking, leading Daniel from the main road onto the trail. The trail.
"Jack, you can't seriously mean...?"
"Work it out, Daniel," Jack ordered, motioning towards the thick undergrowth encroaching on the meandering path.
"Where do I even begin?," Daniel asked helplessly.
"Wherever you want," Jack replied. "That's the beauty of the trail. I'll bring a tent and some supplies later on," he added.
Daniel gaped at him. "You're kicking me out?," he asked incredulously.
"Trust me, Daniel, it's for your own good," Jack replied. "Now get to work. We only have a few days out here, and I want this dealt with before we all have to leave again."
"Jack..."
"Look," he snapped, "I know I haven't been around much lately, but the Daniel I know doesn't lose it like that. That's my job. You're supposed to be the voice of reason."
They locked eyes.
"Jack," he tried again.
"No, Daniel. You're better than this. Work it out." And with that, Jack stalked off, leaving Daniel alone in the woods with nothing for company but an odd assortment of tools, and an even odder assortment of emotions.
