AN: This is kind of long... but anyway... remember R&R
Never.
The conversation has been a long one; Jack himself is having about as much fun as his best friend, the archeologist.
"Why?" Jack knew he didn't have to talk, but it confused him more if he didn't. Cha'til shrugs the answer, picking up human customs faster than any other 'guest' they had had.
"How long did you live alone?" Jack knew Daniel only spoke so he could hear. She shrugs again and smiles.
Didn't really keep track.
Some scenes run through their minds, big fields of flowers, beaches, oceans and forests.
"Wow." Both Jack and Daniel murmur at the same time. Than suddenly the pictures turn to a scene they know, it's the temple; a figure looking too much like a Jaffa is in the shadow, than just as quickly as it came it disappears again. They both had closed their eyes automatically like they had been doing for a while and Daniel is the first to open them. He looks over at Cha'til and sees the sadness in her eyes. He nudges Jack out of his haze and nods over to her making him look at her.
"Are you okay?" She nods, slowly, as if the image is still haunting her.
"Colonel, Daniel." Janet has just come around the edge of the curtain. She is dressed in her civvies and a briefcase swings at her side. "You have to let her sleep sometime tonight, you two should get some too." The two nod in unison as if they were connected and whisper goodnight to their new friend and glance at their watches, surprised looks emerge on their faces.
"Colonel!" Daniel stops and Jack punches the air like he does when he's interrupted, than turns around to look at Hammond.
"I knew it, didn't I tell you?" the statement is aimed toward Daniel even though Jack isn't looking at him; he shrugs and nods his answer.
"Sorry Colonel." Jack nods, more or less excepting the apology. "You've been talking to Cha'til for the better part of the day, just wanted to know what you learned."
"We um..." Daniel starts.
"There was at least one Jaffa there." Jack said as if he wants to get this over with and leave.
"Is that it?"
"Well we started to talk about it and she stopped talking."
"Thanks Colonel." Hammond turns around and Jack shrugs.
"Ready?" Jack asks, still watching Hammond.
"Why not." Came the answer, Daniel shrugs, turns around along with Jack, they both step into the elevator at the same time and watch the door slowly shut.
"I follow you?" they both are standing next to their own cars, coincidentally sitting next to each other; Jack nods in answer and smiles. The two get into their cars, they both start their engines and than take one last look at one another before pulling out in a rush.
"Carter." Jack just walked into Sam's lab, he had slept peacefully that night and gotten to the base earlier than usual; Sam is in her usual spot over one of her projects.
"Sir." She pauses to look up at him. "How's Daniel?"
"Don't know." He shrugs, looking around the room and than looks back at Sam. "Whatcha doing?"
"Just trying a few things sir." She bends down again to see the paper that sat in front of her. Jack leans forward; resting his elbows on the table in front of him and rests his chin on them.
Jack!
His name startles him and he jerks up straight, catching Sam's attention.
"What's wrong sir?" He shakes his head and waves goodbye as he walks out the door.
"Jack! Where've you been?" He's walking into the infirmary, where Daniel, Janet, Teal'c and Hammond stood.
"Ah... talking to Carter." Jack looks over at the bed that he and Daniel had been sitting next to the day before. "Where's Cha'til?"
"I thought you could tell us that." Jack shrugs as if to say 'don't know'.
"You're sure?" Jack nods to Hammond and watches as he walks out the door.
"She couldn't have just walked off, could she?" Daniel shrugs and Janet looks over at Jack.
"It'd be hard, there's always someone in here." Jack walks over to stand next to Daniel and stares at the bed as Daniel does the same.
"Let's go." Daniel just nods, as if they had the same idea at the same time, which happens more than anybody would know. Janet watches as the two best friends walk out the door.
"Where we going?" Jack shrugs.
"No idea, where would Cha'til go?" Daniel stops in the middle of the hall, as if someone was standing in his way. Jack takes one more step, not noticing, than turns around and faces Daniel. "What?"
"She wanted to know of our planet." Jack understands him, better than most people would, and grabs the nearest phone.
"Has anyone come up top that didn't have authorization?" He pauses. "A woman, brown hair, blue eyes, tattoo on her head, probably in scrubs." There's a long pause as he listens. "You're sure?" Jack hangs up the phone and looks back at Daniel. "Any other ideas?"
"Not right now." Daniel starts walking down the hall again with Jack in step next to him.
"Where are we going Danny Boy?" Daniel smiles at the nickname, than turns a corner. Jack walks past it than quickly catches up with him again.
"Looking for Cha'til." Daniel had waited to answer until Jack was next to him again, not letting him see the grin on his face.
"So we're gonna walk around until she pops up?" Daniel shakes his head.
"You hear from her today?" Jack cocks his head, thinking about the last couple of hours.
"Yeah, only once." Daniel stops, looks through a cracked open door and continues on.
"When?"
"Right before I headed for the infirmary."
"Where were you?"
"Carter's lab."
"Oh."
"See her yet?" Daniel stops and hops on the elevator.
"I think I know where she is." Jack looks over at Daniel, confused. "She wanted to know about our world, but also about the history." Jack looks at the number Daniel had pushed and finally gets what he's saying.
"I got it." They both walk out the elevator at an equal pace, both knowing where they're headed.
"Quiet." Daniel says before he opens the door to his lab, the only room with books, and lots of them. Daniel continues to walk in, closer to the books as Jack hangs back at the door.
"Cha'til?" Daniel says as if he might scare her if he talked too loud. Suddenly Greek starts to pop into their heads, Daniel understands it, and Jack looks over at Daniel for a translation.
'Later.' Was his answer, more mouthed than anything.
"You're good." Daniel says, as if a complement was needed.
More Greek, it sounds like gibberish to Jack but Daniel smiles as if she had made a joke or he was proud of her, like he had been teaching her. Daniel looks back at Jack and shakes his head, like he is laughing on the inside.
"I think you may be confusing Jack." A book slams shut at the back of the office and the Greek suddenly stops, Jack sighs in relief.
Sorry.
"It's okay, but thanks anyway." Jack quickly walks up to Daniel.
"Where are you?" Daniel walks towards his Greek section.
Not there.
"Playing hide-and-seek now?" The office is silent and the sound of a book being placed back on a shelf can be heard. Light footsteps seem to be walking away from them. Her bare feet make little steam marks on the floor, Daniel passes them and points, and Jack smiles.
What is hide-and-seek?
"Well... it's a kids game where one kid would count and the others would hide, than the person counting would try to find them." Jack explains, Daniel looks at him with his best 'what did you do that for' look, Jack just shrugs.
No.
The footsteps stop again and another book is taken off the shelf. Daniel turns around a table piled high with artifacts and he smiles.
"Hey." Jack sneaks around the corner and watches as Daniel sits down next to Cha'til. Her brown hair hangs over her face as she all but sticks her nose in the book. She had slipped on a hoodie and a pair of sweat pants she had found on her travels.
"That's ancient Egypt." Cha'til smiles as Daniel points to a drawn picture.
"I'll go tell Hammond." Daniel nods and Jack walks out the office door, quietly closing it behind him.
TBC