"Hey Daniel, where you going?" Daniel turned around.
"Oh, hey Sam. I just planned to go outside for a walk around. Just finished those translations SG-9 brought back from PG6-873."
"Oh. Well, have a good night." Sam waved with her free hand, and kept heading to the lab on level 21.
"Yeah, I will, thanks. Have a good night Sam." Daniel did a small wave, and speed walked to the elevator; afraid of being commandeered for more work if he didn't leave soon.
He signed out at a strange look from both sets of SFs, and took a lungful of the cool Colorado air. Daniel loved the night; and it was nice to see some stars for the first time since Sha're. Contented, Daniel shoved his hands in his BDU pants, and took a brisk pace out of the parking lot, heading for town.
"There he is!" Brad whispered harshly. He received a smack from Charles. "You nitwit, you want him to hear us?! Now, you circle around that way, and don't forget to tell Bryan to bring the van." The two figures crept behind the hedges at the corner of Rosewood Drive, and prepared to intercept their prey.
Wow, isn't this great, beautiful night, little chilly, but clear. Oh, look, it's the constellation of Orion! Daniel sighed contentedly. I could ask Jack to take me fishing soon; that lake in Northern Minnesota must be beautiful at this time of night. Unexpectedly Daniel was startled out of his peaceful reverie by a bloodcurdling scream emanating from the alley ahead. He heard some men yelling, and the scream again.
Swearing the scream was from a female in need of help, Daniel dashed around the corner and into the alley only to be met by a fist in the stomach.
"Oof!" Daniel wheezed as the air was forced out of his lungs. Dots swirled sickeningly in front of him as he tried to get some air into his starved lungs. He knew he should scream, but he couldn't. Something was put over his mouth, and his senses were bombarded with a chemical odour as his world blanked out.
Charles and Brad picked Daniel off of the alley floor, and ruthlessly tossed him into the back of the van, slamming the doors shut and yelling at Bryan to take them out of there before they were caught. The un-marked van's tired squealed as it disappeared into the night.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Daniel coughed as a musty smell struck his nostrils.
"He's awake. When are we going to start?" "Not now. Give him time to sweat first."
He blinked blearily and winced as the needles went through his numb hand. Damn. My circulation's cut off. Now why. Daniel attempted to move his hands, only to find them restrained tautly away from him. Daniel blinked some more, noticing he was again without his glasses, and saw he was in a very large, very empty room. From what he could tell, it was the clichéd abandoned warehouse. As his vision became a little bit more focused, Daniel moved his head around his immediate area. Table. Rope. Conspicuous one-way glass window. Great. Now all I need is MacGyver, and I'll be out of here in a jiffy. He shivered. Nice little draft they've got here. Oh. Daniel felt his face go red. He was secured to the wall, and wearing only his BDU pants. Oh, shit.
As if watching Daniel being finished surveying his surroundings; the intercom above the window blared,
"Name." Daniel snorted. Way too cliché.
"You first." His voice gave out, and in response he cleared his throat.
"You may call me 'Master'," the intercom said. Daniel snorted audibly.
"The slave trade ended decades ago, where have you been?"
"You and I both know you aren't what you appear to be." The voice on the intercom made it clear that humour was not going to be tolerated, so Daniel adjusted accordingly.
"You mean to say I do not appear to be pissed off as hell, cold, and very, very disobliging of this treatment?" Daniel glared at the window. If they want blunt, I'm going to give them blunt.
"Explain that wound on your side." Intercom Man ordered.
"Oh that?" Daniel looked down at the staff weapon scar raking down his side. "I got that being hauled behind the Nazi truck back when I played Harrison Ford's stunt double in Indiana Jones."
Intercom Man laughed coldly. "You are only making this more difficult for yourself. You will tell us what we want to know. Now, the one on your shoulder."
"Oh, that one's from when I found with the 1st Canadian Regiment in World War One. Shrapnel." Daniel sighed in boredom.
"You are becoming less and less amusing." A second man on the intercom warned.
"Oh, just wait until I tell you about the scar on my butt I got in a rush for the summer clearance sale at JC Penney."
"Krys, get in there. It appears our guest needs more motivation." Intercom Man ordered with an evil quirk in his voice.
Daniel heard the stomping of heavy footsteps come closer until a large muscular man that could've put Teal'C in a heap came around the corner. Oh, shit. Daniel didn't much care for the mischievous look on his face either. Oh, double shit.
Daniel managed a weak smile. "Hello sir, how are you doing today?"
Krys just smiled and cracked his knuckles threateningly, stretching his legs.
"Now, your name." Intercom Man ordered.
"That's classified." Daniel stated.
"Krys." Intercom Man crooned.
The big man took a few steps forward and aimed a vicious kick at Daniel's unprotected midsection.
"Argh, GOD!" Daniel yelled in agony and gasped for air.
"Now, 6 inches higher and he can put you in a coma, but we won't do that. Name." Intercom Man sounded very smug.
"Daniel." He gasped out.
"That's better. Daniel what?" Intercom Man coaxed.
"That's it. Just Daniel." Daniel said almost pleading that they believe him.
"Krys."
Krys aimed another hard kick a little higher.
"AAAAAHHHHHHH!" Daniel screamed as he heard something snap. "Bastard!" he panted out.
Krys rewarded him with a rock-hard fist to the nose.
Daniel continued panting and spat out some blood. "That's it, I swear."
"Krys." Intercom Man ordered again.
"Jackson! It's Jackson!" Daniel yelled in horror.
"Jackson Daniel or Daniel Jackson?" The other man behind the intercom inquired.
Jackson Daniel? What the hell?!
"Daniel Jackson. But everyone knows me as Doctor Jackson. Check my file." Daniel gritted out as he tried desperately to control his breathing. C'mon, Jack spent weeks forcing this on me; some of it must've sunk in.
"We will." Intercom Man said, emotionless. There was a pause of about five minutes; all of which Daniel spent keeping a good eye on Krys just in case he wanted to try some off the job fun.
"Family?" Intercom Man continued as if nothing had happened, as Krys was busying himself wiping Daniel's blood from his knuckle.
"None." Daniel was almost breathing correctly now.
"Number?" Intercom Man continued; evidently satisfied with that answer.
"I'm not military." I don't even think Jack knows his own number. Daniel took a deep, shuddering breath, hoping his answer would be accepted. There was a pause, and Daniel held his breath.
"Okay," Intercom Man said, "Now that you're starting to come around, we're going to start with the harder questions. What is the purpose of the Cheyenne Mountain base?"
"Deep space radar telemetry." Daniel sighed to himself. I told them to come up with a better story than that. Now their bad story is going to get me killed.
"Wrong answer. Krys." Apparently it was Intercom Man 2's turn.
Krys kicked Daniel brutally in the midsection four times, the cracks resonating the empty room becoming louder and louder. Finally he stopped, and the three men saw Daniel dangling limply from the wall. Krys lifted Daniel's head up from his chest and opened an eye behind the swelling of his nose to check for faking.
"He's out of it." Krys said, somewhat disappointedly.
"Oh, good job Bryan, I didn't tell you to kill him!" Brad yelled as he came out of the glass room. "We didn't even get to the important questions!"
"No, no, Brad it's perfect. This 'Doctor Jackson' knows who's in charge now, and he won't cross us again. This is going splendidly." Charles grinned as he dropped Daniel's head to dangle lifelessly on his chest again. "Just splendidly."
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Daniel woke up with his head pounding. He tried to take a deep breath, but his chest constricted in an array of pains. Memories came flooding back to him, and fought from crying out to keep his captors unaware of his coherency.
"We know you're awake." Daniel heard Intercom Man say, although he didn't sound like he was over the intercom. Daniel opened his eyes a slit tentatively, and looked at the figure in front of him. He was dressed wholly in black, except for the holes in the ski mask around his face for his eyes. Daniel could clearly see he was a white man, with blond hair and blue eyes. Although both could have easily been faked. Daniel opened his eyes more, and tried to gaze past the horrible swelling mass that used to be his nose. He regarded Intercom Man in silence.
"You may wonder why we brought you here. You see; we aren't really bad people." Intercom Man started while Daniel bit back the retort that was sure to get him another broken rib. If that were possible. "We're from an organization of human beings that don't want your interference in our world."
"What?" Daniel asked tiredly.
"We know what you are, and we don't want our planet turned into an intergalactic vacation spot." Intercom Man stated.
"Listen, I think you've been watching too many Spielberg films. Just because I'm serving in a base that runs classified operations doesn't mean I'm involved with aliens." Intercom Man sighed stressfully.
"We have catalogued every person coming in and out of that base, and we've never seen you before. Suddenly, an unknown person that is almost too young to have been here before our organization shows up. Do you know what that means?"
"You missed me?" Daniel supplied weakly.
Intercom Man laughed. "If only. We know you are an alien life form, and if you ever want to see your beloved base again; you'd better tell us all we want to know."
"Or?"
"Or not only do you not see your base, you'll never see outside again either. In fact, when Krys is finished, you won't see very much at all." Intercom Man smiled. "We'll give you about 5 minutes to think about that." With that, he got up from the chair and walked back to the glass room.
Oh, great. Why me? Hmm. Give up the base and all of my secrets, which unfortunately for me don't include being an alien, or, give up my life. Let's see. Who important is at the base? My team. And there are all of the allies to think of. What the hell am I thinking? Of course I'm not giving up the base. Oh, shit, this sucks. Daniel sighed.
"I wasn't supposed to go down like this." He muttered under his breath. "So much for being a help; I'm a frigging test subject."
"Jackson, your time is up, what is your decision?" Intercom Man 2 said. Daniel winced. Jackson. Why did I tell them anyway?
"Decision?" he quipped, "I was supposed to be making a decision? Oops. Tell me again what I'm supposed to be deciding; us aliens have horrible memories you know."
"Whether you wish to live or die." Intercom Man sneered.
"Oh, well, in that case, what do you want to know?" Daniel said, sounding much more upbeat than he felt.
"What alien abilities do you have?" Intercom Man 2 was back apparently.
"Well. let's see. I'm a psychic, so I know that Krys isn't Bug Guy's real name, um, I can turn invisible, I have telekinetic abilities, so I can escape at any time. have I forgotten any clichéd Sci-Fi references? Oh, yes, now I remember, I can speak in your head and control you at will." Daniel said sarcastically.
Intercom Man 2 sighed. "Krys. Phase Two."
Laughter was heard from around the corner as squeaky metal wheels got closer and closer. Krys came into view pushing what appeared to be an old aluminium operating table stacked with odds and ends. Daniel sighed again, What is with these people and clichéd interrogations?! We've got the glass window from 'True Lies', the intimidating big guy from. hell, anything, and the table of torture from that Lethal Weapon. 3 I want to say. God I spend too much time with Jack.
"So, planning to play a little softball?" Daniel suggested hopefully as Krys selected the aluminium baseball bat from the table.
"Something like that," Krys said, "But I don't see any softballs, so I'll have to improvise."
God there are some times I wish I were female.
Krys merely smiled, and the bat hit home. Repeatedly.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Daniel coughed continually and spit out more blood. "God, what is your people's problem?"
"Tell us what we want to know." Intercom Man said.
"What is it you want to KNOW?!" Daniel yelled. "You haven't asked me ANYTHING!"
"What are your abilities?" Intercom Man repeated the question from what seemed like hours ago. Daniel coughed once more and cleared his throat,
"I'm not an alien!" He rasped.
"Krys." Intercom Man 2 ordered.
"NO! I'm telling. the truth." Daniel groaned, "Check the files at the Grace Memorial Hospital."
Kris took a step back, and a long silence dragged out from behind the intercom. Daniel willed his info to check out; it was his only defence against the people he was captive to. He closed his eyes and waited for the next move in the game.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
"Jesus living Christ, how did we make this mistake?!" Brad yelled in horror to Charles at the image of Daniel assailing their vision.
"He should be an alien Brad, that was the whole frigging point of us being here." Charles said edgily as his massaged the bridge of his nose. "But now we see that we shouldn't have trusted Ben to give us a break."
"Well, what are we going to do now?" Brad asked quietly.
"We're going to get what we came for. Get Bryan in here."
Brad donned his mask and opened the door of the room. "Bryan! Er, Krys, get in here!"
Daniel's head snapped up. Bryan? After a moment, he laid his head back down again slowly, and closed his eyes, committing the new name to memory.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
"Alright Daniel, what can you tell us about Cheyenne Mountain?" Intercom Man leaned forward on his seat.
"Why aren't you hiding your identities?" Daniel asked, already knowing and not really caring for the answer.
He just smiled. "Answer the question."
"I don't know, I'm just a translator. They give me translations, and I translate them." Daniel said slowly.
"Alright Bryan; take him down from there. He can't help us after all." Intercom Man smiled.
Bryan dutifully undid the restraints on Daniel's arms, and even caught him as he fell, laying him carefully down on the concrete. Daniel shuddered as his bare torso hit the cold concrete.
"Now, now Bryan, that's not very nice is it? Putting him on the floor like that. Here, put him on this table here." Intercom Man 2 wheeled up the operating table, and Bryan placed him on it.
"There you go Brad." Bryan sneered; obviously not pleased that his was the only identity compromised.
"W-What are you doing?" Daniel stuttered out through his chattering teeth.
"Well," Intercom Man said as he tied Daniel's legs down, "we've figured out that you can't be of assistance, so we're just going to have to help ourselves."
"Oh, like hell." Daniel pushed himself up and backhanded Intercom Man, attempting to undo to his feet. Intercom Man grabbed Daniel's weak hand before it made any contact with his head and shoved him back down. Hard.
"Still a little cocky I see." Intercom Man sniggered, "Well, we'll have to fix that then as well." He kept a steady hand on Daniel's chest as Brad and Bryan bound Daniel's hands. Daniel was muttering something under his breath in another language; which Charlie assumed to be his 'home' language. Brad and Bryan looked at him quizzically and he shrugged. "Get the supplies."
"Yes Charles, Jack." Brad and Bryan said together, walking off to an unknown area behind the encompassing metal room.
Charles leaned in close to Daniel. "You can stop this." He taunted in a hushed voice, "You don't have to do it the hard way like those two have planned."
Daniel turned his head slowly and looked at him. "What do you mean?
"Tell me what that base really does; and I'll tell them you escaped."
"Your word." Daniel said hesitantly.
"My word."
"You ever seen 'Farscape'?" Daniel whispered.
"No." Charles was intrigued. "What about it?"
"Well, this guy, John Crichton had a theory that if you accelerated at the right angle towards the gravitational pull of a planet and then angled off, you'd be shot into deep space. At the base, they built a spacecraft and tried it. The original pilot, Sam Carter, made it work and arrived at my planet. He took me back as proof, and we've been studying it as a plausible public travel from planet to planet ever since." Daniel looked up at Charles, relief flooding through him, as it appeared he believed it.
"Are there any secret entrances to the base?" Charles asked.
"I'm not sure; as you know, this is my first time outside the base."
"Very well." Charles undid the restraints, "You're free to go. But warn your people never to come here again, and get out of here yourself. We want no interference." Daniel rolled painstakingly off of the table and hobbled toward the exit. Bryan came around the corner when he had almost made it, closely followed by Brad.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" he smirked, "A little escape artist." Bryan motioned for Brad to stay back, and kicked hard at Daniel's kneecap, chuckling as it snapped the wrong way. "Well, that could stop you from running away again, but let's be absolutely sure."
Bryan used his the tip of his steel-toed boot to flip Daniel over onto his side and proceeded to kick him in the abdomen.
"Please... stop...please.....please." Daniel whimpered softer and softer until the pleas grew fainter than the sound of the boot hitting flesh.
"Bryan, stop!" Brad shrieked in disbelief.
Bryan gave a grunt of effort as he shoved his boot into Daniel's stomach a final time, then all was quiet. Daniel lay silently motionless on the concrete. Bryan looked up to Charles for guidance; Brad was breathing hard, eyes wide. Charles flicked his eyes to Daniel and back to Bryan in a silent order. Bryan nodded, and flipped Daniel onto his back with his foot. Daniel's head lolled lifelessly to one side, and Bryan looked in sheer disbelief to the blood on his boot. Blood was dripping from Daniel's barely open mouth, his eyes red-rimmed and barely open. The shocked silence was suddenly ended when Brad broke free of the nauseating display.
"Oh my GOD Bryan, you KILLED HIM! God, you KILLED HIM! How could you do that? Oh, god, why didn't you stop?" Why didn't you stop?" Brad stumbled back against the wall, no longer able to stand.
"It wasn't a person. Pull yourself together man!" Charles chastised. "We knew this was going to happen; just not so soon. Bryan, is he actually dead?"
Bryan made a face. I just killed this guy and now he wants me to incriminate myself by checking his pulse and covering my hand in his blood? Hell, no. "You check."
"What? You're right there!" Charles yelled.
"Yeah, but I killed him. You cover your hands in his blood!" Bryan yelled back. Brad just sat in shock in the corner, which is what got him the undivided attention of Charles and Bryan.
"Hey, Brad! Check his pulse! Now, or you join him." Charles demanded.
"What? M-me? I can't. Oh, God, I can't." Brad stammered. Charles pulled a gun out of the back of his pants and cocked it.
"Oh, is that so?" Brad, keeping his eyes locked on the gun, scurried over to where Daniel lay.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, oh, God, I'm so sorry." Brad whispered as he moved Daniel's head to check his pulse. He pressed his fingers hard to the blood and sweat-slicked skin and felt a weak beat. He bit back a sigh of relief, closed Daniel's eyes, and pasted a look of sadness on his face; carefully laying Daniel's head back in its original position.
"He's dead." Brad stated, solemnly picking up the kerchief tossed to him and wiping the blood from his fingers.
"I don't believe him," Bryan growled.
"Well, okay then," Charles said, "Check the pulse yourself and prove him wrong. Uh huh, that's what I thought. Throw him in the van."
Careful to avoid the blood, Bryan slung Daniel limply over his shoulder in a fireman's carry and threw him carelessly in the van.
"Come on, it's been about a day, his friends will be looking for him and besides, it's almost light. Charles and Bryan got into the front of the van, making Brad get in the back. Comfortably seated in the corner; Brad straightened Daniel out and laid Daniel's head in his lap.
"I'm sure glad I wore black pants today buddy." Brad joked quietly. Daniel stirred.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
The van screeched around the corner of Rosewood Drive, headed for a familiar alley in the lowly populated section of town.
Jack O'Neill blinked at his clock in disbelief.
"Oh for cryin' out loud!" The red numbers '03:30' blared into focus. Jack continued grumbling and shoved his head into his pillow. The sound of screeching tires got nearer, and Jack tensed. "Well, I'm supposed to be at the base at 0500 anyway, I may as well get up and have some breakfast. Damned rag headed kids doing wheelies this late. This is a senior citizen neighbourhood dammit." Jack threw the covers off his bare torso and padded barefoot down the hallway to the bathroom.
"Ugh." he squinted as he turned on the light and took out a facecloth. Washing his face and turning the light off again, he ran his hand along the wall to guide him down the dark stairwell to the kitchen. Flicking the switch, Jack put a kettle on for coffee, and started rooting for a pan. Hearing the squealing tires once more, this time much closer, he flicked the light off and stared out the window at a dark van in the alley across the road.
The deep brown eyes watched in suspicious interest as a dark figure jumped out of the driver's side and proceeded around to the back.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
"Shh, don't move." Brad pleaded. The back doors of the van opened and Bryan peered inside,
"What was that pipsqueak?" he growled.
"What was what? I didn't say anything. Get this corpse off of me." Brad said in a high voice. Bryan muttered something under his breath, and dropped Daniel on the ground behind the van.
"There, happy?" Not waiting for a reply, he slammed the door in Brad's face and went back to the front of the van and sat back in the driver's seat. "Dumped and ready to go Charles." Bryan stated, starting the engine.
"Turn it off," Charles ordered, holding up a hand for silence. Bryan obliged. Charles listened, and heard another groan. Moving to get out of the van, he was halted by the sound of Brad's voice from the back. "Bryan," he groaned, "You shut the door on the end of my foot!" Charles looked at Bryan, who shrugged and re-started the engine before driving away.
In the back of the van, Brad sighed in relief.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
The moonlight glinted off of Jack's eyes as he shifted his position and reached into the secret drawer under the sink for his handgun. Moving back with the familiar weight of metal in his palm, he saw the figure of a large man open the back and drop another man on the ground. Slamming the door, the man went back to the front, started the van, waited a few minutes and drove away. Confident the coast was clear, but still keeping his senses on high alert, Jack O'Neill grabbed his coat and the flashlight from his porch, and turning off the motion sensors, went to see what had transpired.
Being the closest house to the alley Jack's only problem would be the streetlight above the alley entrance. That was the only reason he had seen the person or persons in the van. Jack was confident he could make it hugging the wall without being seen. Normally he would've just called the police like any other citizen, but he was almost positive that this van was the one repeatedly spotted outside the SGC. And being that Jack lived around here and the base, he wanted to know what was going on. Nearing the entrance, Jack pointed the gun to the ground and slipped into the alley.
Jack was immediately aware of the sound of soft moans and harsh breathing in the alley, and he was about to flick his light on when he heard something else.
"J'ck?"
"Yeah?" Jack whispered back.
Receiving no immediate answer, he flicked on the flashlight and shone it in front of him.
"Daniel?"
"Yeh."
"What the hell?" Jack whispered in surprise.
"Went for'walk Jack." Daniel whispered back.
"Remind me never to go for a walk with you."
Daniel smiled weakly, "'Kay Jack."
"I should probably call someone." Jack muttered in disbelief, "Can you wait a minute? I'll be right back."
"Hit the road Jack." Daniel whispered in relief. I'm going to be okay.
"Smartass." Jack muttered as he sprinted back home. I really need a cell phone.
Entering the house to the sound of a kettle whistling , Jack picked up the phone and called Janet on speed dial. "Hey, Doc? I'm going to need a medical team ready at the base entrance in 15 minutes. No, I'm fine; it's Daniel. How the hell should I know? Someone just dumped him in the alley across the road from my house. No, I don't know how bad he's hurt. Look, it's an alley. It's dark. Just have a team ready okay? Bye." Jack slammed down the receiver and turned the kettle off. Tearing up the stairs, he grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of jeans, threw them on and barrelled out the door to his truck, grabbing his BDU jacket off of the seat.
Jesus it's cold. Daniel shivered again. Where's my shirt? Where am I? Was that Jack wearing only sweatpants and a jacket? Why did I see that? Daniel snapped to attention at the sound of wheels squealing around the corner and coming closer. He quickly forced his eyes shut as a sudden blinding light blocked his vision.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Jack quickly turned off the headlights of his truck and jumped out. "Sorry Daniel."
Daniel blinked viciously at the dots in his vision. "S'okay Jack."
"Here, you look a little chilly." Jack handed Daniel the BDU jacket.
"Thanks, Jack." Daniel chattered out as he slipped on the jacket. The older man waited for him to finish putting on the jacket,
"You ready to go?" Jack asked.
"Um, I-I guess." Daniel whispered, "but I don't think I can walk."
"Okay. do you think you could limp?" Jack fumbled for the flashlight.
"Uhhh."
Turning it on, Jack shone the light to Daniel's knee. Facing the wrong way.
"Ouch." He said gently.
"Understatement of the year, Jack." Daniel winced as he tried to sit up. Jack opened the passenger side of the truck and put Daniel's arm over his shoulder to help him over.
"Easy as pie, okay? Just lean on me." Both men grunting with the effort, an attempt at standing was made.
"There, see? Piece of cake." Jack said cheerfully.
"Stop with the food analogies Jack, I'll be too hungry to walk."
"Well considering the look of your knee, maybe you should consider eating more. Gave out from under you; lack of nourishment."
Jack hobbled Daniel over to the open door. "Ready?"
Daniel gritted his teeth. "Ready." Jack picked Daniel up bodily and placed him in the seat.
"There." Daniel's eyes were screwed shut.
"Yeah." He muttered painfully.
"Seatbelt?"
"Uh, no. No. That's quite. alright." Daniel breathed.
"Okay." Jack shut the door carefully and went over to the driver's side. Sliding into his seat and starting the ignition, he said quietly: "Alright. We're halfway there." Daniel looked at him quizzically,
"Which one of us are you reassuring?"
"You of course."
"Oh, me? I'm fine; never better. How about you?" Daniel flinched.
"Peachy. So, when was the last time you ate?" Jack focused half on the road and half on Daniel; afraid he was going to pass out before they got there.
"Oh, uh. Uh. What's today?"
"Must be Wednesday by now. Yeah. Early, early Wednesday."
"Okay then, uh. Monday." Daniel decided. "Why are you up so early?"
"Squealing tires. I was asleep until you had to bring that van over here." He joked.
"Oh. Sorry."
"Oh for cryin' out loud, I was joking."
"Hmm?"
"Dannyboy? You feeling alright?" Concern covered Jack's face.
"Tired."
"Well, stay up. You're not allowed to sleep until Janet says so." Jack uttered forcefully while looking for a quicker route to the SGC.
"Janet?" Daniel asked hazily.
"Oh crap." Jack gunned it.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
"Doc! Doc! Hey, you! Get Fraiser out here!" Jack yelled to an SF as he slammed his door and sprinted over the other side.
"Daniel! Damn it, stay with me. Come on." Jack tapped him on the cheek.
"Wha?" The red-rimmed blue eyes opened a slit. "Huh?"
"Just stay awake, okay?" Jack urged.
"'Kay." Daniel forced his eyes open. Stay awake. stay awake.
"Colonel O'Neill? Oh, good. He's still awake." Janet ushered Jack out of the way. "Daniel, can you tell us what happened?"
"Jack...?" Daniel offered quietly.
"He said that he went for a walk." Jack shrugged. "His knee's blown out the wrong way and I think he's got a few broken ribs. From the way he was walking and breathing. He didn't say much Doc."
"Thank you Colonel. Hermes, pull the stretcher up here. Daniel, we're going to move you inside, okay?"
"Great." He mumbled. "Am I allowed to sleep now?"
"Not quite yet Danny." Janet looked up at Jack approvingly.
"Sub-Level 28 please." Janet said absently to the SF as the group of them got in the elevator.
"So Colonel," she started as the door closed, "I'm intrigued as to why you'd be in the alley across the road from your house at this time of the morning."
"Loud." Daniel mumbled absently.
"I'm sorry Daniel, but you have to be kept awake." Janet said.
"Actually Doc, he was explaining why I was in the alley at 3am. His kidnappers weren't the subtle type. Squealing tires, dark vans, dropping people in the alley and driving off, you know, clichéd kidnappers." Jack supplied helpfully.
"I see." Janet got her professional doctor voice on, "So how much sleep did you have last night Colonel?"
Jack got his deer-in-headlights look, "Er, you see Doc, I had a really early night last night. Didn't even stay up for The Simpsons."
"You didn't get to bed until midnight, did you?" Janet accused. Jack hung his head.
"No brownie points for being a good citizen?"
The voices started to echo and fade out.
"Now, Colonel, I've told you---"
"I've been good, I swear!"
"When wa."
"Two."
Daniel couldn't make sense of them anymore, only catching the odd word of the conversation. He tried to take a deep breath, but found he couldn't. Lulled by the subtle spice scent of Jack's jacket, he felt himself drifting away ever so slowly until everything dimmed out.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
"Colonel, you are hitting an infirmary bed for some good quality sleep."
"But Doc---" Jack put on his best puppy face. Must get Daniel to teach me that sometime.
"That's an order." Janet turned back to the stretcher as they hit the 28th level. Jack's sure-fire argument was cut-off.
"Daniel? Damn. Hermes! Get down to the infirmary and make sure everything's prepped NOW!" Janet and Jack rolled the stretcher out of the elevator at top speed.
"Doc?" Jack questioned uneasily.
"He's lost consciousness again, and his pulse is slowing. We have to get in there and fix the damage quick; it's surprising he's lasted this long." Janet said hurriedly. They got to the infirmary doors in record time, and yet again Colonel Jack O'Neill was locked out of the operating room. There are some things not even rank will get you.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
"How's he doing?" Jack asked as Janet came out of the infirmary after what seemed like forever.
"Surprisingly well. He's going to be fine."
"Good Danny." Jack whispered to himself as he sighed in relief.
"You can go see him now, but he won't be conscious for awhile." Janet said.
"I probably should. With Teal'C and Carter out on leave, I wouldn't want him to start worrying." Jack was just happy for an excuse to get out of this chair. It didn't have his ass groove in it like the one next to Daniel's bed in the infirmary.
Janet looked at him sympathetically.
"And besides," he added as he looked up at her, "He is a member of my team."
Janet smiled. "I'm sure he appreciates that more than you know." She put her hand on his shoulder and went to check the rest of her patients.
Yeah, probably, Daniel's strange that way. Jack smiled.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Beep. beep. beep. beep.
Daniel opened his eyes a bit. Why do I always wake up like this? In the infirmary, in a backless dress, only the sound of the ten-gazillion machines hooked up to me to wake me up?
"Good morning."
Daniel opened his eyes wider and looked to his left. Oh, and I forgot the overly concerned Colonel half-asleep beside me.
"Good morning Jack." He replied, surprised at the hoarse whisper he made. He cleared his throat quickly.
"How're ya feelin'?"
"Fine." Daniel answered tentatively. "How are you?"
"Peachy." Jack said with a grin.
Oookay, I either nearly died, or Jack feels guilty about something.
"Um, Jack? You feeling alright?" Daniel asked carefully.
"As per my reply of 'peachy'." Jack gave Daniel a funny look, "Why?"
"No reason." Jack raised an eyebrow.
"Well, I tried to contact your 'real' friends, but Sam and Teal'C are on leave with their families. So I'll just have to do." Daniel studied Jack carefully.
"Leave?"
"Yep."
"And I'm stuck with you."
"Yep."
"Non-negotiable?"
"Yep."
"Damn."
"Yep." Jack grinned.
"Ok, just how close was I to dying?" Daniel asked in disbelief.
"You'll have to ask Fraiser; I wasn't allowed in. But I got the idea you weren't doing to bad aside from when you passed out on us in the elevator."
"Sorry."
"Don't be. Fraiser totally forgot about sentencing me to an infirmary bed when she thought your butt needed saving." Jack looked extremely cheery about that.
"Speaking of my butt needing saving," Daniel cleared his throat, "I really want to thank you for saving my life. Again. I wouldn't have made it without you. Again." He added as an afterthought.
"It was Doc that saved your life, not me." Jack waved him off.
"Okay then, I want to thank you for coming out into a cold, dark alley wearing only your coat and sweatpants, calling Janet, getting your truck, lending me your jacket, and driving me to the base while annoying me with pointless questions so that I'd stay awake until Janet said I could sleep." Daniel smiled. Jack looked at Daniel in surprise.
"You were faking, weren't you?! How did you remember all that?! And more importantly, you tell no one about my sweatpants."
"The memory's the first thing to go Jack." Daniel smirked, and then got serious. "And I won't tell anyone." he gradually raised his voice, "that you SLEEP WEARING ONLY SWEATPANTS!" Jack looked indignant,
"That's the last time I save your life!"
"I'm just trying to get you a girl Jack." Daniel grinned devilishly, "I could describe you in just sweatpants to the entire nursing staff later. I can just picture them, drool dripping from their mouths."
"Ow Jack!" Daniel rubbed his arm in mock pain. "Hit me while I'm half- dead, jeez, where's the love around here?"
"Smart ass." Jack said, and lowered his voice to a whisper, "Don't try that ever again, or I'll be forced to cheer you up."
"Really? How would you do that?" Daniel asked, intrigued.
Jack leaned in closer to Daniel, so no one else would hear and started:
"Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream,
Merrily, merrily, merrily---"
"Oh, god, no Jack, please!" Daniel quickly slid over to the opposite side of the bed, cringing in terror. "STOP! Doc! JANET! Save me!" Daniel yelled in mock anguish.
Doctor Janet Fraiser watched the scene from the observation room. She shook her head to herself and smiled. Kids. She supposed she should be worried about Daniel pulling his stitches and not healing properly, but something told her to leave them alone.
Other things needed to be healed first.
"Oh, hey Sam. I just planned to go outside for a walk around. Just finished those translations SG-9 brought back from PG6-873."
"Oh. Well, have a good night." Sam waved with her free hand, and kept heading to the lab on level 21.
"Yeah, I will, thanks. Have a good night Sam." Daniel did a small wave, and speed walked to the elevator; afraid of being commandeered for more work if he didn't leave soon.
He signed out at a strange look from both sets of SFs, and took a lungful of the cool Colorado air. Daniel loved the night; and it was nice to see some stars for the first time since Sha're. Contented, Daniel shoved his hands in his BDU pants, and took a brisk pace out of the parking lot, heading for town.
"There he is!" Brad whispered harshly. He received a smack from Charles. "You nitwit, you want him to hear us?! Now, you circle around that way, and don't forget to tell Bryan to bring the van." The two figures crept behind the hedges at the corner of Rosewood Drive, and prepared to intercept their prey.
Wow, isn't this great, beautiful night, little chilly, but clear. Oh, look, it's the constellation of Orion! Daniel sighed contentedly. I could ask Jack to take me fishing soon; that lake in Northern Minnesota must be beautiful at this time of night. Unexpectedly Daniel was startled out of his peaceful reverie by a bloodcurdling scream emanating from the alley ahead. He heard some men yelling, and the scream again.
Swearing the scream was from a female in need of help, Daniel dashed around the corner and into the alley only to be met by a fist in the stomach.
"Oof!" Daniel wheezed as the air was forced out of his lungs. Dots swirled sickeningly in front of him as he tried to get some air into his starved lungs. He knew he should scream, but he couldn't. Something was put over his mouth, and his senses were bombarded with a chemical odour as his world blanked out.
Charles and Brad picked Daniel off of the alley floor, and ruthlessly tossed him into the back of the van, slamming the doors shut and yelling at Bryan to take them out of there before they were caught. The un-marked van's tired squealed as it disappeared into the night.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Daniel coughed as a musty smell struck his nostrils.
"He's awake. When are we going to start?" "Not now. Give him time to sweat first."
He blinked blearily and winced as the needles went through his numb hand. Damn. My circulation's cut off. Now why. Daniel attempted to move his hands, only to find them restrained tautly away from him. Daniel blinked some more, noticing he was again without his glasses, and saw he was in a very large, very empty room. From what he could tell, it was the clichéd abandoned warehouse. As his vision became a little bit more focused, Daniel moved his head around his immediate area. Table. Rope. Conspicuous one-way glass window. Great. Now all I need is MacGyver, and I'll be out of here in a jiffy. He shivered. Nice little draft they've got here. Oh. Daniel felt his face go red. He was secured to the wall, and wearing only his BDU pants. Oh, shit.
As if watching Daniel being finished surveying his surroundings; the intercom above the window blared,
"Name." Daniel snorted. Way too cliché.
"You first." His voice gave out, and in response he cleared his throat.
"You may call me 'Master'," the intercom said. Daniel snorted audibly.
"The slave trade ended decades ago, where have you been?"
"You and I both know you aren't what you appear to be." The voice on the intercom made it clear that humour was not going to be tolerated, so Daniel adjusted accordingly.
"You mean to say I do not appear to be pissed off as hell, cold, and very, very disobliging of this treatment?" Daniel glared at the window. If they want blunt, I'm going to give them blunt.
"Explain that wound on your side." Intercom Man ordered.
"Oh that?" Daniel looked down at the staff weapon scar raking down his side. "I got that being hauled behind the Nazi truck back when I played Harrison Ford's stunt double in Indiana Jones."
Intercom Man laughed coldly. "You are only making this more difficult for yourself. You will tell us what we want to know. Now, the one on your shoulder."
"Oh, that one's from when I found with the 1st Canadian Regiment in World War One. Shrapnel." Daniel sighed in boredom.
"You are becoming less and less amusing." A second man on the intercom warned.
"Oh, just wait until I tell you about the scar on my butt I got in a rush for the summer clearance sale at JC Penney."
"Krys, get in there. It appears our guest needs more motivation." Intercom Man ordered with an evil quirk in his voice.
Daniel heard the stomping of heavy footsteps come closer until a large muscular man that could've put Teal'C in a heap came around the corner. Oh, shit. Daniel didn't much care for the mischievous look on his face either. Oh, double shit.
Daniel managed a weak smile. "Hello sir, how are you doing today?"
Krys just smiled and cracked his knuckles threateningly, stretching his legs.
"Now, your name." Intercom Man ordered.
"That's classified." Daniel stated.
"Krys." Intercom Man crooned.
The big man took a few steps forward and aimed a vicious kick at Daniel's unprotected midsection.
"Argh, GOD!" Daniel yelled in agony and gasped for air.
"Now, 6 inches higher and he can put you in a coma, but we won't do that. Name." Intercom Man sounded very smug.
"Daniel." He gasped out.
"That's better. Daniel what?" Intercom Man coaxed.
"That's it. Just Daniel." Daniel said almost pleading that they believe him.
"Krys."
Krys aimed another hard kick a little higher.
"AAAAAHHHHHHH!" Daniel screamed as he heard something snap. "Bastard!" he panted out.
Krys rewarded him with a rock-hard fist to the nose.
Daniel continued panting and spat out some blood. "That's it, I swear."
"Krys." Intercom Man ordered again.
"Jackson! It's Jackson!" Daniel yelled in horror.
"Jackson Daniel or Daniel Jackson?" The other man behind the intercom inquired.
Jackson Daniel? What the hell?!
"Daniel Jackson. But everyone knows me as Doctor Jackson. Check my file." Daniel gritted out as he tried desperately to control his breathing. C'mon, Jack spent weeks forcing this on me; some of it must've sunk in.
"We will." Intercom Man said, emotionless. There was a pause of about five minutes; all of which Daniel spent keeping a good eye on Krys just in case he wanted to try some off the job fun.
"Family?" Intercom Man continued as if nothing had happened, as Krys was busying himself wiping Daniel's blood from his knuckle.
"None." Daniel was almost breathing correctly now.
"Number?" Intercom Man continued; evidently satisfied with that answer.
"I'm not military." I don't even think Jack knows his own number. Daniel took a deep, shuddering breath, hoping his answer would be accepted. There was a pause, and Daniel held his breath.
"Okay," Intercom Man said, "Now that you're starting to come around, we're going to start with the harder questions. What is the purpose of the Cheyenne Mountain base?"
"Deep space radar telemetry." Daniel sighed to himself. I told them to come up with a better story than that. Now their bad story is going to get me killed.
"Wrong answer. Krys." Apparently it was Intercom Man 2's turn.
Krys kicked Daniel brutally in the midsection four times, the cracks resonating the empty room becoming louder and louder. Finally he stopped, and the three men saw Daniel dangling limply from the wall. Krys lifted Daniel's head up from his chest and opened an eye behind the swelling of his nose to check for faking.
"He's out of it." Krys said, somewhat disappointedly.
"Oh, good job Bryan, I didn't tell you to kill him!" Brad yelled as he came out of the glass room. "We didn't even get to the important questions!"
"No, no, Brad it's perfect. This 'Doctor Jackson' knows who's in charge now, and he won't cross us again. This is going splendidly." Charles grinned as he dropped Daniel's head to dangle lifelessly on his chest again. "Just splendidly."
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Daniel woke up with his head pounding. He tried to take a deep breath, but his chest constricted in an array of pains. Memories came flooding back to him, and fought from crying out to keep his captors unaware of his coherency.
"We know you're awake." Daniel heard Intercom Man say, although he didn't sound like he was over the intercom. Daniel opened his eyes a slit tentatively, and looked at the figure in front of him. He was dressed wholly in black, except for the holes in the ski mask around his face for his eyes. Daniel could clearly see he was a white man, with blond hair and blue eyes. Although both could have easily been faked. Daniel opened his eyes more, and tried to gaze past the horrible swelling mass that used to be his nose. He regarded Intercom Man in silence.
"You may wonder why we brought you here. You see; we aren't really bad people." Intercom Man started while Daniel bit back the retort that was sure to get him another broken rib. If that were possible. "We're from an organization of human beings that don't want your interference in our world."
"What?" Daniel asked tiredly.
"We know what you are, and we don't want our planet turned into an intergalactic vacation spot." Intercom Man stated.
"Listen, I think you've been watching too many Spielberg films. Just because I'm serving in a base that runs classified operations doesn't mean I'm involved with aliens." Intercom Man sighed stressfully.
"We have catalogued every person coming in and out of that base, and we've never seen you before. Suddenly, an unknown person that is almost too young to have been here before our organization shows up. Do you know what that means?"
"You missed me?" Daniel supplied weakly.
Intercom Man laughed. "If only. We know you are an alien life form, and if you ever want to see your beloved base again; you'd better tell us all we want to know."
"Or?"
"Or not only do you not see your base, you'll never see outside again either. In fact, when Krys is finished, you won't see very much at all." Intercom Man smiled. "We'll give you about 5 minutes to think about that." With that, he got up from the chair and walked back to the glass room.
Oh, great. Why me? Hmm. Give up the base and all of my secrets, which unfortunately for me don't include being an alien, or, give up my life. Let's see. Who important is at the base? My team. And there are all of the allies to think of. What the hell am I thinking? Of course I'm not giving up the base. Oh, shit, this sucks. Daniel sighed.
"I wasn't supposed to go down like this." He muttered under his breath. "So much for being a help; I'm a frigging test subject."
"Jackson, your time is up, what is your decision?" Intercom Man 2 said. Daniel winced. Jackson. Why did I tell them anyway?
"Decision?" he quipped, "I was supposed to be making a decision? Oops. Tell me again what I'm supposed to be deciding; us aliens have horrible memories you know."
"Whether you wish to live or die." Intercom Man sneered.
"Oh, well, in that case, what do you want to know?" Daniel said, sounding much more upbeat than he felt.
"What alien abilities do you have?" Intercom Man 2 was back apparently.
"Well. let's see. I'm a psychic, so I know that Krys isn't Bug Guy's real name, um, I can turn invisible, I have telekinetic abilities, so I can escape at any time. have I forgotten any clichéd Sci-Fi references? Oh, yes, now I remember, I can speak in your head and control you at will." Daniel said sarcastically.
Intercom Man 2 sighed. "Krys. Phase Two."
Laughter was heard from around the corner as squeaky metal wheels got closer and closer. Krys came into view pushing what appeared to be an old aluminium operating table stacked with odds and ends. Daniel sighed again, What is with these people and clichéd interrogations?! We've got the glass window from 'True Lies', the intimidating big guy from. hell, anything, and the table of torture from that Lethal Weapon. 3 I want to say. God I spend too much time with Jack.
"So, planning to play a little softball?" Daniel suggested hopefully as Krys selected the aluminium baseball bat from the table.
"Something like that," Krys said, "But I don't see any softballs, so I'll have to improvise."
God there are some times I wish I were female.
Krys merely smiled, and the bat hit home. Repeatedly.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Daniel coughed continually and spit out more blood. "God, what is your people's problem?"
"Tell us what we want to know." Intercom Man said.
"What is it you want to KNOW?!" Daniel yelled. "You haven't asked me ANYTHING!"
"What are your abilities?" Intercom Man repeated the question from what seemed like hours ago. Daniel coughed once more and cleared his throat,
"I'm not an alien!" He rasped.
"Krys." Intercom Man 2 ordered.
"NO! I'm telling. the truth." Daniel groaned, "Check the files at the Grace Memorial Hospital."
Kris took a step back, and a long silence dragged out from behind the intercom. Daniel willed his info to check out; it was his only defence against the people he was captive to. He closed his eyes and waited for the next move in the game.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
"Jesus living Christ, how did we make this mistake?!" Brad yelled in horror to Charles at the image of Daniel assailing their vision.
"He should be an alien Brad, that was the whole frigging point of us being here." Charles said edgily as his massaged the bridge of his nose. "But now we see that we shouldn't have trusted Ben to give us a break."
"Well, what are we going to do now?" Brad asked quietly.
"We're going to get what we came for. Get Bryan in here."
Brad donned his mask and opened the door of the room. "Bryan! Er, Krys, get in here!"
Daniel's head snapped up. Bryan? After a moment, he laid his head back down again slowly, and closed his eyes, committing the new name to memory.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
"Alright Daniel, what can you tell us about Cheyenne Mountain?" Intercom Man leaned forward on his seat.
"Why aren't you hiding your identities?" Daniel asked, already knowing and not really caring for the answer.
He just smiled. "Answer the question."
"I don't know, I'm just a translator. They give me translations, and I translate them." Daniel said slowly.
"Alright Bryan; take him down from there. He can't help us after all." Intercom Man smiled.
Bryan dutifully undid the restraints on Daniel's arms, and even caught him as he fell, laying him carefully down on the concrete. Daniel shuddered as his bare torso hit the cold concrete.
"Now, now Bryan, that's not very nice is it? Putting him on the floor like that. Here, put him on this table here." Intercom Man 2 wheeled up the operating table, and Bryan placed him on it.
"There you go Brad." Bryan sneered; obviously not pleased that his was the only identity compromised.
"W-What are you doing?" Daniel stuttered out through his chattering teeth.
"Well," Intercom Man said as he tied Daniel's legs down, "we've figured out that you can't be of assistance, so we're just going to have to help ourselves."
"Oh, like hell." Daniel pushed himself up and backhanded Intercom Man, attempting to undo to his feet. Intercom Man grabbed Daniel's weak hand before it made any contact with his head and shoved him back down. Hard.
"Still a little cocky I see." Intercom Man sniggered, "Well, we'll have to fix that then as well." He kept a steady hand on Daniel's chest as Brad and Bryan bound Daniel's hands. Daniel was muttering something under his breath in another language; which Charlie assumed to be his 'home' language. Brad and Bryan looked at him quizzically and he shrugged. "Get the supplies."
"Yes Charles, Jack." Brad and Bryan said together, walking off to an unknown area behind the encompassing metal room.
Charles leaned in close to Daniel. "You can stop this." He taunted in a hushed voice, "You don't have to do it the hard way like those two have planned."
Daniel turned his head slowly and looked at him. "What do you mean?
"Tell me what that base really does; and I'll tell them you escaped."
"Your word." Daniel said hesitantly.
"My word."
"You ever seen 'Farscape'?" Daniel whispered.
"No." Charles was intrigued. "What about it?"
"Well, this guy, John Crichton had a theory that if you accelerated at the right angle towards the gravitational pull of a planet and then angled off, you'd be shot into deep space. At the base, they built a spacecraft and tried it. The original pilot, Sam Carter, made it work and arrived at my planet. He took me back as proof, and we've been studying it as a plausible public travel from planet to planet ever since." Daniel looked up at Charles, relief flooding through him, as it appeared he believed it.
"Are there any secret entrances to the base?" Charles asked.
"I'm not sure; as you know, this is my first time outside the base."
"Very well." Charles undid the restraints, "You're free to go. But warn your people never to come here again, and get out of here yourself. We want no interference." Daniel rolled painstakingly off of the table and hobbled toward the exit. Bryan came around the corner when he had almost made it, closely followed by Brad.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" he smirked, "A little escape artist." Bryan motioned for Brad to stay back, and kicked hard at Daniel's kneecap, chuckling as it snapped the wrong way. "Well, that could stop you from running away again, but let's be absolutely sure."
Bryan used his the tip of his steel-toed boot to flip Daniel over onto his side and proceeded to kick him in the abdomen.
"Please... stop...please.....please." Daniel whimpered softer and softer until the pleas grew fainter than the sound of the boot hitting flesh.
"Bryan, stop!" Brad shrieked in disbelief.
Bryan gave a grunt of effort as he shoved his boot into Daniel's stomach a final time, then all was quiet. Daniel lay silently motionless on the concrete. Bryan looked up to Charles for guidance; Brad was breathing hard, eyes wide. Charles flicked his eyes to Daniel and back to Bryan in a silent order. Bryan nodded, and flipped Daniel onto his back with his foot. Daniel's head lolled lifelessly to one side, and Bryan looked in sheer disbelief to the blood on his boot. Blood was dripping from Daniel's barely open mouth, his eyes red-rimmed and barely open. The shocked silence was suddenly ended when Brad broke free of the nauseating display.
"Oh my GOD Bryan, you KILLED HIM! God, you KILLED HIM! How could you do that? Oh, god, why didn't you stop?" Why didn't you stop?" Brad stumbled back against the wall, no longer able to stand.
"It wasn't a person. Pull yourself together man!" Charles chastised. "We knew this was going to happen; just not so soon. Bryan, is he actually dead?"
Bryan made a face. I just killed this guy and now he wants me to incriminate myself by checking his pulse and covering my hand in his blood? Hell, no. "You check."
"What? You're right there!" Charles yelled.
"Yeah, but I killed him. You cover your hands in his blood!" Bryan yelled back. Brad just sat in shock in the corner, which is what got him the undivided attention of Charles and Bryan.
"Hey, Brad! Check his pulse! Now, or you join him." Charles demanded.
"What? M-me? I can't. Oh, God, I can't." Brad stammered. Charles pulled a gun out of the back of his pants and cocked it.
"Oh, is that so?" Brad, keeping his eyes locked on the gun, scurried over to where Daniel lay.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, oh, God, I'm so sorry." Brad whispered as he moved Daniel's head to check his pulse. He pressed his fingers hard to the blood and sweat-slicked skin and felt a weak beat. He bit back a sigh of relief, closed Daniel's eyes, and pasted a look of sadness on his face; carefully laying Daniel's head back in its original position.
"He's dead." Brad stated, solemnly picking up the kerchief tossed to him and wiping the blood from his fingers.
"I don't believe him," Bryan growled.
"Well, okay then," Charles said, "Check the pulse yourself and prove him wrong. Uh huh, that's what I thought. Throw him in the van."
Careful to avoid the blood, Bryan slung Daniel limply over his shoulder in a fireman's carry and threw him carelessly in the van.
"Come on, it's been about a day, his friends will be looking for him and besides, it's almost light. Charles and Bryan got into the front of the van, making Brad get in the back. Comfortably seated in the corner; Brad straightened Daniel out and laid Daniel's head in his lap.
"I'm sure glad I wore black pants today buddy." Brad joked quietly. Daniel stirred.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
The van screeched around the corner of Rosewood Drive, headed for a familiar alley in the lowly populated section of town.
Jack O'Neill blinked at his clock in disbelief.
"Oh for cryin' out loud!" The red numbers '03:30' blared into focus. Jack continued grumbling and shoved his head into his pillow. The sound of screeching tires got nearer, and Jack tensed. "Well, I'm supposed to be at the base at 0500 anyway, I may as well get up and have some breakfast. Damned rag headed kids doing wheelies this late. This is a senior citizen neighbourhood dammit." Jack threw the covers off his bare torso and padded barefoot down the hallway to the bathroom.
"Ugh." he squinted as he turned on the light and took out a facecloth. Washing his face and turning the light off again, he ran his hand along the wall to guide him down the dark stairwell to the kitchen. Flicking the switch, Jack put a kettle on for coffee, and started rooting for a pan. Hearing the squealing tires once more, this time much closer, he flicked the light off and stared out the window at a dark van in the alley across the road.
The deep brown eyes watched in suspicious interest as a dark figure jumped out of the driver's side and proceeded around to the back.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
"Shh, don't move." Brad pleaded. The back doors of the van opened and Bryan peered inside,
"What was that pipsqueak?" he growled.
"What was what? I didn't say anything. Get this corpse off of me." Brad said in a high voice. Bryan muttered something under his breath, and dropped Daniel on the ground behind the van.
"There, happy?" Not waiting for a reply, he slammed the door in Brad's face and went back to the front of the van and sat back in the driver's seat. "Dumped and ready to go Charles." Bryan stated, starting the engine.
"Turn it off," Charles ordered, holding up a hand for silence. Bryan obliged. Charles listened, and heard another groan. Moving to get out of the van, he was halted by the sound of Brad's voice from the back. "Bryan," he groaned, "You shut the door on the end of my foot!" Charles looked at Bryan, who shrugged and re-started the engine before driving away.
In the back of the van, Brad sighed in relief.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
The moonlight glinted off of Jack's eyes as he shifted his position and reached into the secret drawer under the sink for his handgun. Moving back with the familiar weight of metal in his palm, he saw the figure of a large man open the back and drop another man on the ground. Slamming the door, the man went back to the front, started the van, waited a few minutes and drove away. Confident the coast was clear, but still keeping his senses on high alert, Jack O'Neill grabbed his coat and the flashlight from his porch, and turning off the motion sensors, went to see what had transpired.
Being the closest house to the alley Jack's only problem would be the streetlight above the alley entrance. That was the only reason he had seen the person or persons in the van. Jack was confident he could make it hugging the wall without being seen. Normally he would've just called the police like any other citizen, but he was almost positive that this van was the one repeatedly spotted outside the SGC. And being that Jack lived around here and the base, he wanted to know what was going on. Nearing the entrance, Jack pointed the gun to the ground and slipped into the alley.
Jack was immediately aware of the sound of soft moans and harsh breathing in the alley, and he was about to flick his light on when he heard something else.
"J'ck?"
"Yeah?" Jack whispered back.
Receiving no immediate answer, he flicked on the flashlight and shone it in front of him.
"Daniel?"
"Yeh."
"What the hell?" Jack whispered in surprise.
"Went for'walk Jack." Daniel whispered back.
"Remind me never to go for a walk with you."
Daniel smiled weakly, "'Kay Jack."
"I should probably call someone." Jack muttered in disbelief, "Can you wait a minute? I'll be right back."
"Hit the road Jack." Daniel whispered in relief. I'm going to be okay.
"Smartass." Jack muttered as he sprinted back home. I really need a cell phone.
Entering the house to the sound of a kettle whistling , Jack picked up the phone and called Janet on speed dial. "Hey, Doc? I'm going to need a medical team ready at the base entrance in 15 minutes. No, I'm fine; it's Daniel. How the hell should I know? Someone just dumped him in the alley across the road from my house. No, I don't know how bad he's hurt. Look, it's an alley. It's dark. Just have a team ready okay? Bye." Jack slammed down the receiver and turned the kettle off. Tearing up the stairs, he grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of jeans, threw them on and barrelled out the door to his truck, grabbing his BDU jacket off of the seat.
Jesus it's cold. Daniel shivered again. Where's my shirt? Where am I? Was that Jack wearing only sweatpants and a jacket? Why did I see that? Daniel snapped to attention at the sound of wheels squealing around the corner and coming closer. He quickly forced his eyes shut as a sudden blinding light blocked his vision.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Jack quickly turned off the headlights of his truck and jumped out. "Sorry Daniel."
Daniel blinked viciously at the dots in his vision. "S'okay Jack."
"Here, you look a little chilly." Jack handed Daniel the BDU jacket.
"Thanks, Jack." Daniel chattered out as he slipped on the jacket. The older man waited for him to finish putting on the jacket,
"You ready to go?" Jack asked.
"Um, I-I guess." Daniel whispered, "but I don't think I can walk."
"Okay. do you think you could limp?" Jack fumbled for the flashlight.
"Uhhh."
Turning it on, Jack shone the light to Daniel's knee. Facing the wrong way.
"Ouch." He said gently.
"Understatement of the year, Jack." Daniel winced as he tried to sit up. Jack opened the passenger side of the truck and put Daniel's arm over his shoulder to help him over.
"Easy as pie, okay? Just lean on me." Both men grunting with the effort, an attempt at standing was made.
"There, see? Piece of cake." Jack said cheerfully.
"Stop with the food analogies Jack, I'll be too hungry to walk."
"Well considering the look of your knee, maybe you should consider eating more. Gave out from under you; lack of nourishment."
Jack hobbled Daniel over to the open door. "Ready?"
Daniel gritted his teeth. "Ready." Jack picked Daniel up bodily and placed him in the seat.
"There." Daniel's eyes were screwed shut.
"Yeah." He muttered painfully.
"Seatbelt?"
"Uh, no. No. That's quite. alright." Daniel breathed.
"Okay." Jack shut the door carefully and went over to the driver's side. Sliding into his seat and starting the ignition, he said quietly: "Alright. We're halfway there." Daniel looked at him quizzically,
"Which one of us are you reassuring?"
"You of course."
"Oh, me? I'm fine; never better. How about you?" Daniel flinched.
"Peachy. So, when was the last time you ate?" Jack focused half on the road and half on Daniel; afraid he was going to pass out before they got there.
"Oh, uh. Uh. What's today?"
"Must be Wednesday by now. Yeah. Early, early Wednesday."
"Okay then, uh. Monday." Daniel decided. "Why are you up so early?"
"Squealing tires. I was asleep until you had to bring that van over here." He joked.
"Oh. Sorry."
"Oh for cryin' out loud, I was joking."
"Hmm?"
"Dannyboy? You feeling alright?" Concern covered Jack's face.
"Tired."
"Well, stay up. You're not allowed to sleep until Janet says so." Jack uttered forcefully while looking for a quicker route to the SGC.
"Janet?" Daniel asked hazily.
"Oh crap." Jack gunned it.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
"Doc! Doc! Hey, you! Get Fraiser out here!" Jack yelled to an SF as he slammed his door and sprinted over the other side.
"Daniel! Damn it, stay with me. Come on." Jack tapped him on the cheek.
"Wha?" The red-rimmed blue eyes opened a slit. "Huh?"
"Just stay awake, okay?" Jack urged.
"'Kay." Daniel forced his eyes open. Stay awake. stay awake.
"Colonel O'Neill? Oh, good. He's still awake." Janet ushered Jack out of the way. "Daniel, can you tell us what happened?"
"Jack...?" Daniel offered quietly.
"He said that he went for a walk." Jack shrugged. "His knee's blown out the wrong way and I think he's got a few broken ribs. From the way he was walking and breathing. He didn't say much Doc."
"Thank you Colonel. Hermes, pull the stretcher up here. Daniel, we're going to move you inside, okay?"
"Great." He mumbled. "Am I allowed to sleep now?"
"Not quite yet Danny." Janet looked up at Jack approvingly.
"Sub-Level 28 please." Janet said absently to the SF as the group of them got in the elevator.
"So Colonel," she started as the door closed, "I'm intrigued as to why you'd be in the alley across the road from your house at this time of the morning."
"Loud." Daniel mumbled absently.
"I'm sorry Daniel, but you have to be kept awake." Janet said.
"Actually Doc, he was explaining why I was in the alley at 3am. His kidnappers weren't the subtle type. Squealing tires, dark vans, dropping people in the alley and driving off, you know, clichéd kidnappers." Jack supplied helpfully.
"I see." Janet got her professional doctor voice on, "So how much sleep did you have last night Colonel?"
Jack got his deer-in-headlights look, "Er, you see Doc, I had a really early night last night. Didn't even stay up for The Simpsons."
"You didn't get to bed until midnight, did you?" Janet accused. Jack hung his head.
"No brownie points for being a good citizen?"
The voices started to echo and fade out.
"Now, Colonel, I've told you---"
"I've been good, I swear!"
"When wa."
"Two."
Daniel couldn't make sense of them anymore, only catching the odd word of the conversation. He tried to take a deep breath, but found he couldn't. Lulled by the subtle spice scent of Jack's jacket, he felt himself drifting away ever so slowly until everything dimmed out.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
"Colonel, you are hitting an infirmary bed for some good quality sleep."
"But Doc---" Jack put on his best puppy face. Must get Daniel to teach me that sometime.
"That's an order." Janet turned back to the stretcher as they hit the 28th level. Jack's sure-fire argument was cut-off.
"Daniel? Damn. Hermes! Get down to the infirmary and make sure everything's prepped NOW!" Janet and Jack rolled the stretcher out of the elevator at top speed.
"Doc?" Jack questioned uneasily.
"He's lost consciousness again, and his pulse is slowing. We have to get in there and fix the damage quick; it's surprising he's lasted this long." Janet said hurriedly. They got to the infirmary doors in record time, and yet again Colonel Jack O'Neill was locked out of the operating room. There are some things not even rank will get you.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
"How's he doing?" Jack asked as Janet came out of the infirmary after what seemed like forever.
"Surprisingly well. He's going to be fine."
"Good Danny." Jack whispered to himself as he sighed in relief.
"You can go see him now, but he won't be conscious for awhile." Janet said.
"I probably should. With Teal'C and Carter out on leave, I wouldn't want him to start worrying." Jack was just happy for an excuse to get out of this chair. It didn't have his ass groove in it like the one next to Daniel's bed in the infirmary.
Janet looked at him sympathetically.
"And besides," he added as he looked up at her, "He is a member of my team."
Janet smiled. "I'm sure he appreciates that more than you know." She put her hand on his shoulder and went to check the rest of her patients.
Yeah, probably, Daniel's strange that way. Jack smiled.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Beep. beep. beep. beep.
Daniel opened his eyes a bit. Why do I always wake up like this? In the infirmary, in a backless dress, only the sound of the ten-gazillion machines hooked up to me to wake me up?
"Good morning."
Daniel opened his eyes wider and looked to his left. Oh, and I forgot the overly concerned Colonel half-asleep beside me.
"Good morning Jack." He replied, surprised at the hoarse whisper he made. He cleared his throat quickly.
"How're ya feelin'?"
"Fine." Daniel answered tentatively. "How are you?"
"Peachy." Jack said with a grin.
Oookay, I either nearly died, or Jack feels guilty about something.
"Um, Jack? You feeling alright?" Daniel asked carefully.
"As per my reply of 'peachy'." Jack gave Daniel a funny look, "Why?"
"No reason." Jack raised an eyebrow.
"Well, I tried to contact your 'real' friends, but Sam and Teal'C are on leave with their families. So I'll just have to do." Daniel studied Jack carefully.
"Leave?"
"Yep."
"And I'm stuck with you."
"Yep."
"Non-negotiable?"
"Yep."
"Damn."
"Yep." Jack grinned.
"Ok, just how close was I to dying?" Daniel asked in disbelief.
"You'll have to ask Fraiser; I wasn't allowed in. But I got the idea you weren't doing to bad aside from when you passed out on us in the elevator."
"Sorry."
"Don't be. Fraiser totally forgot about sentencing me to an infirmary bed when she thought your butt needed saving." Jack looked extremely cheery about that.
"Speaking of my butt needing saving," Daniel cleared his throat, "I really want to thank you for saving my life. Again. I wouldn't have made it without you. Again." He added as an afterthought.
"It was Doc that saved your life, not me." Jack waved him off.
"Okay then, I want to thank you for coming out into a cold, dark alley wearing only your coat and sweatpants, calling Janet, getting your truck, lending me your jacket, and driving me to the base while annoying me with pointless questions so that I'd stay awake until Janet said I could sleep." Daniel smiled. Jack looked at Daniel in surprise.
"You were faking, weren't you?! How did you remember all that?! And more importantly, you tell no one about my sweatpants."
"The memory's the first thing to go Jack." Daniel smirked, and then got serious. "And I won't tell anyone." he gradually raised his voice, "that you SLEEP WEARING ONLY SWEATPANTS!" Jack looked indignant,
"That's the last time I save your life!"
"I'm just trying to get you a girl Jack." Daniel grinned devilishly, "I could describe you in just sweatpants to the entire nursing staff later. I can just picture them, drool dripping from their mouths."
"Ow Jack!" Daniel rubbed his arm in mock pain. "Hit me while I'm half- dead, jeez, where's the love around here?"
"Smart ass." Jack said, and lowered his voice to a whisper, "Don't try that ever again, or I'll be forced to cheer you up."
"Really? How would you do that?" Daniel asked, intrigued.
Jack leaned in closer to Daniel, so no one else would hear and started:
"Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream,
Merrily, merrily, merrily---"
"Oh, god, no Jack, please!" Daniel quickly slid over to the opposite side of the bed, cringing in terror. "STOP! Doc! JANET! Save me!" Daniel yelled in mock anguish.
Doctor Janet Fraiser watched the scene from the observation room. She shook her head to herself and smiled. Kids. She supposed she should be worried about Daniel pulling his stitches and not healing properly, but something told her to leave them alone.
Other things needed to be healed first.