It was almost time to go back to work, and the conditioning was wearing off, slowly but surely. Jack hoped it would be completely under control before they had an actual mission, because he knew he couldn't let the team go into the field if he and Daniel weren't in control. He would explain the situation to the general before he would risk his people--but he really hoped it didn't come to that.
They had spent the last week finding new and inventive ways to entertain themselves. Daniel had introduced Jack to rimming, which sounded disgusting when described out loud, but felt fantastic when Daniel held him down, ignored his half-hearted protests, and went for it.
Later, Jack returned the favor. But he insisted that they both take a long, thorough bath first.
Carter and Teal'c had been over a few times, bringing food and movies and good company. One night, all of them but Teal'c had gotten rather smashingly drunk and the whole story of conditioning and breeding and road construction had come out. Jack would have been worried about Carter's reaction if she had been able to stop laughing.
In the morning, they did talk about it seriously. Daniel made some excuses and took Teal'c upstairs to show him something on the computer, leaving Jack alone in the living room with a pale, hung over Carter. Daniel kept giving him meaningful looks as he went up the stairs, until Jack rolled his eyes and called out, "Yes, Daniel, I get it. Carter gets it. Teal'c gets it. The people down the street get it. Thank you for your subtlety."
So Jack had The Talk with Carter, which wasn't nearly as bad as he thought it would be. She saved him from a lot of awkward sidestepping by getting right to the point.
"I don't have a problem with it, sir. And I won't tell anyone."
Jack raised his eyebrows, offering a weak smile. "That easy, huh?"
"I could make it harder." Carter gave him a pointed look, and let him squirm uneasily for a minute before relenting. "Actually, things have changed for me. I might have had a problem with this if it had happened sooner, when I was still... confused."
"Confused," Jack echoed neutrally.
Carter looked down, and then peeked up at him with a slightly embarrassed smile. "You remember when the Prometheus was trapped in that nebula and I got a concussion?" At Jack's cautious nod, she went on, "I worked some things out then. Realized where my priorities were, and where they should be. I let some things go."
"Well. That's good."
She nodded. "Yes. And besides, I'm with Pete now."
"Yes," Jack said, suddenly feeling that they were on safer ground. "How's that going, by the way?"
"Good," Sam replied, smiling. "Really good, actually. I, ah... I think I'm... it's good."
Jack nodded. "Glad you're happy."
"Same here, sir."
After that, the team had hung out together for a while longer, Sam teasing both of them mercilessly, Teal'c watching with quiet amusement. He kept inserting sly comments into the conversation that could have been perfectly innocent, but probably were not.
When the other two left, Jack and Daniel were spoiled for choices on how to spend their last evening of downtime together. Daniel was vacillating between two of his favorites when Jack suggested that they simply do both. Daniel said that he loved the way Jack thought.
They hadn't actually said that they loved each other, but then, it wasn't really necessary. Jack liked that he didn't have to say it. Daniel knew.
When it was very late and Jack felt deliciously heavy, slow, and sleepy, Daniel said, "We could take turns."
Jack lifted head slightly and wondered how Daniel had the energy to sit up, much less speak. "Daniel, we have to get up and go to work in three hours. Can this wait?"
Grinning, Daniel laid on top of Jack, chest to chest, propping his head and shoulders up with his elbows. He let most of his weight rest on Jack, who did nothing to discourage him. He loved how Daniel felt on him, the solid presence, warm and heavy, keeping him anchored.
"I'm tired of waiting," Daniel murmured, craning his neck down to nip at Jack's jaw line, and nuzzle the side of his throat.
"I'm just tired," Jack countered, yawning for emphasis. But that didn't stop him from angling his neck for more nuzzling.
"I think taking turns would be fair."
Jack sighed and opened his eyes reluctantly. "Taking turns with what?"
Daniel gave him a meaningful look.
"Oh," Jack said. "I thought we weren't doing that."
"I want to. And so do you."
"Well." Jack tilted his head to one side, blinked slowly. "I want to do it, yes. Just not so sure I want to be... done."
Daniel smiled, his mouth warm and mobile against Jack's bare shoulder. "Same here. But remember how much you didn't want to try the rimming until I demonstrated its more enjoyable qualities?"
"Bluh. I won't deny that it felt fucking great, but that doesn't mean I want to talk about it. Still weirds me out a little."
"So we don't have to talk about it."
Jack lifted his head slightly, so he could look at Daniel. "Uh, Daniel, in case it escaped your notice, we are talking about it."
"About what?"
Jack closed his eyes. Daniel always did this to him. "Taking turns?"
"So you like the idea?"
Despite his annoyance, Jack couldn't help laughing at the look on Daniel's face, the smug little 'I outmaneuvered you' smile. "I'm still waiting to hear the idea, Daniel. Sometime today, maybe?"
"No, I think I'm pretty much done for today." Daniel frowned down at where his groin was pressed into contact with Jack's and wiggled slightly, testing for a response. "Nope. Tomorrow."
"You're doing that on purpose."
"Doing what?"
Groaning in frustration, Jack arched his back and rolled them, landing on top of Daniel with an 'oof!' and a triumphant grin. "Stop talking in circles."
Daniel gave him a sly, slippery look, but relented when Jack raised his eyebrows and pinned him more firmly to the mattress. "I'm willing to try it," he said. "Both giving and receiving. But only if you'll try it too."
Jack screwed his face up and rolled off, lying beside Daniel and staring up at the ceiling. "Dammit, Daniel," he muttered. "You never make anything easy, you know that?"
"I know." Daniel slid one hand over and laced it with Jack's, rubbing his thumb over the inside of Jack's wrist, where the skin was soft and thin, and he could feel a pulse. "If you really hate the idea, say so, and I'll drop it. I mean that."
"Yeah," Jack said softly. "I know you do."
They were quiet for a long time, and Daniel thought that Jack had probably fallen asleep. He sighed and turned toward him, curling against his side and shelving the conversation for another time. But Jack surprised him, pulling him close, giving him a sudden, fierce hug.
"Who goes first?" Jack whispered in his ear, still holding him tightly. Daniel stiffened in surprise, and Jack squeezed a little tighter for a moment before letting go. He pulled back, lying on his side, his face inches away from Daniel's.
"Really? You're willing to try?"
Jack shrugged, offered a half smile. "What the hell," he said. "Never know unless you try."
Daniel felt a slow grin spread across his face, and he kissed Jack impulsively, holding his head in both hands. "Thank you," he murmured. "I know this is a big deal for you."
"Don't worry, Daniel," Jack leered, "it'll be a big deal for you too." And he waggled his eyebrows so suggestively that Daniel laughed, throwing his head back and really letting go.
"So, I repeat my earlier question--who goes first?"
Daniel shrugged. "Flip a coin?"
"Where's the fun in that?" Jack stared at the ceiling thoughtfully. "No, let's make this really interesting. Maybe a little competition?"
"What kind of competition?" Daniel asked, fixing Jack with a suspicious stare.
"Let's say... next one to initiate sex is the first one to get..." Jack made explanatory hand gestures.
Daniel smiled. "What, you think that'll be me? You think I have no patience? No willpower?"
"Hey, you said it, not me."
"Need I remind you which one of us caved first when we were in the cell?"
Jack sniffed dismissively and burrowed close to Daniel, closing his eyes.
"Hey! Don't we need ground rules? What, exactly, constitutes 'initiating' sex? And does the one who does it have to bottom right then, or later? If later, how much later? Are there limits on procrastination? And what about--"
"Daniel."
"What?"
"Go to sleep."
They made it through the road construction on the way to work the next day without major incident. Provided that driving down the road with Daniel's hand in Jack's pants could be considered a minor incident. But that connection proved to be sufficient, and they made it in with self control and dignity intact. And more importantly, clean pants.
Carter caught them in the hall before the morning planning brief, and immediately started to snicker. She covered her mouth and turned away, but made no other effort to stop laughing.
"Problem, Major?" Jack asked pointedly.
"No, sir. Just remembered something funny I heard last week."
Daniel was turning a sort of deep mauve color, which only served to set Carter off again, and she held a hand out, shaking her head. "No, stop, Daniel."
"Stop what?"
She grinned brightly at him. "Never mind. I'm just glad you didn't tell me before the mission debriefing. I never could have kept a straight face."
Daniel snorted and gave her a sideways smile. "Why do you think I didn't tell you?"
Jack rolled his eyes. "Kids? Shall we?" And he escorted them into the briefing room, carefully sitting across from Daniel, the wide table between them. No point in tempting fate, after all.
"Good morning, SG-1," General Hammond said, sweeping into the room. "I trust you enjoyed your downtime?"
Carter began to cough, and quickly drank from her glass of water. Daniel sought refuge in his coffee cup, his lips twitching. Jack leaned back, smiled blandly, and said, "Yes, sir. A good time was had by all."
Hammond looked curiously at Teal'c, who appeared to be the only one at the table acting completely normal. Teal'c looked impassively back, giving away nothing.
"Right," the general said. "Let's begin."
Getting down to business proved to be a dash of cold water to Sam and Daniel, who quickly stopped behaving like giddy children and became the professionals they were. Jack took a moment to watch his team around the table, reveling in the fact that he was back, that things were normal again.
Hammond was discussing their upcoming mission schedule, and he turned on the display screen with his remote. Dates and planet designations were listed, each one with a brief explanation of their objectives. Jack was relieved to see that they had no missions for another week, which should be enough time to fully overcome their conditioning.
The general clicked his remote again, and the screen changed. An aerial map provided by the UAV, with color coded deposits of minerals. Click. Change. More colors.
Daniel closed his eyes and took a deep gulp of coffee. He tapped his fingers restlessly on the table and then stopped when he realized the sound was making it worse. He snuck a glance over at Jack, who was very deliberately not looking at him.
The next screen was a risk analysis for a Goa'uld controlled planet with a rich naquada mine and shoddy guard system. The data was displayed in a grid. Colored squares.
Daniel bit his lip and shifted in his seat, opening his legs, slumping down, then straightening and closing them again. He tried crossing his knees together briefly, thought that he probably looked like a kid who needed the bathroom, and concentrated on sitting still.
Click. Click click. Tap tap tappy taptap.
Daniel frowned, staring at the General, but he was still talking about the risk assessment. That screen hadn't changed. Still colored squares. Daniel looked away, and found the source of the sound.
Jack. Fiddling with his ballpoint pen. He was looking directly at Daniel, a small smile on his face. He pushed the button on the pen, released it, and pushed it again. Clickclick. Tapped it on the table. Pushed the button again. Smiled a little wider.
Daniel stared at him, lost, wondering what the hell Jack was doing. They were in a briefing, with the General, for god's sake. This was hardly the time to... to start something. No, Daniel corrected himself. Jack wasn't starting something. He was initiating something. Something they would have to finish later. But not too much later.
He entertained a brief but highly incendiary fantasy involving Jack, a storeroom, and a conveniently broken security camera. He had just gotten to the part where he shoved Jack over a desk that happened to be just the right height and started pulling his uniform pants down, kissing every bit of skin revealed as he went, when he remembered he was in the middle of a briefing and redirected his thoughts.
Daniel cut his eyes sideways, indicating the screen display to Jack with a glance. Jack looked at it, nodded, and clicked his pen again. He lifted his eyebrows slightly, then let them drop. Rapped his knuckles lightly on the table. Click, click, tap tappity tap.
Daniel began to smile.
Finis
August 17 – 26, 2004