Author's Notes: Three chapters in one night, baby!
Studying by a small kerosene lamp as dusk approached, Daniel removed his glasses and rubbed a hand across his eyes. Frustration hit him all at once, and he shut the reference book he'd been looking through and pushed it roughly aside. Elbows on the small table, he buried his face in his hands.
"Daniel?" Jack questioned, having watched the whole thing as he sat on his own bedroll, playing Solitaire. He threw a card toward the other man after getting no response. "Daniel!"
Daniel turned around in his chair, surprised after being hit with the card. "Yeah?"
"What's with you?" Jack questioned.
"Uh, nothing." Daniel answered, turning back to the table. "Nothing."
"Nothing?" he repeated.
"Jack - "
The colonel in Jack decided to cut right to the center of his team member's issues. "Who is this guy Bailey, and why are you letting him intimidate you?"
Daniel sighed and slumped down in his chair, feeling defeated. "You don't understand."
"Well, explain it to me." Jack replied shortly to his friend's back.
Daniel stood and faced him. "Harrison Bailey is the most brilliant -"
"Why is everyone so insistent upon kissing his ass?" Jack interrupted, not being able to restrain himself. Upon seeing Daniel's flustered look, he continued. "Every single one of you, with the exception of Elena, seems to be under the impression that he's some big shot when he's really just an arrogant -"
"Jack, I'm in over my head here." Daniel confessed earnestly, not allowing his friend to finish.
"You think you're not good enough?" Jack questioned incredulously.
"I'm not!" Daniel nearly shouted. "I can't do this! I'm getting nowhere!" he gestured wildly.
"Do you see the way these guys look at you?" Jack set the cards he was still holding aside. "Do you hear the way they talk about you?"
"Jack -"
"Not to mention the fact," he interrupted again, "that you're doing things they can't even imagine. Every day you go to work and..." Jack floundered, "examine deep space... something."
"Yeah." Daniel began pacing.
Jack watched him for a few moments and softened his tone. "Daniel -"
Daniel stopped and wrapped his arms around himself defensively. protectively, his own voice also more subdued. "It's not about me wanting to prove myself or to - to redeem myself or return to academia; I hear the way they talk about me. Do you?" he asked. "Really? All I hear is the promise I had, the potential before I threw it all away. Without a research grant, without being published, you're nothing. You mean nothing." Daniel sighed again. "I'm gonna go back to the temple." He turned to leave.
"Maybe you should take a break." Jack called out, effectively stopping the archaeologist, if only briefly.
"This is my break, Jack." Daniel answered without turning around. "Look," he continued, facing Jack again and sounding incredibly tired, "we're due back in three days. One of those days will be spent flying. I came here to help, and so far I haven't done much of anything. What good am I if -"
"Daniel." Jack silenced him. "Listen to yourself. 'What good are you?'"
Daniel closed his eyes and his shoulders slumped noticeably. "I'll come get you if I find anything."
Jack looked at the flap of the tent for a few seconds before picking up his cards and throwing them, one at a time, toward it.