Chapter 5

The next day, Jack was back at the mental health facility.

"Jack O'Neill to see Daniel Jackson," he told the woman behind the desk.

She frowned, flipping through the booklet on the desk, but he just smiled and nodded, feigning patience. While he waited, running through the same scenario that he'd faced yesterday, Jack contemplated his next move.

Touching Daniel was a bad thing. He had that covered. He'd struck out the first time at his house, and then the second time yesterday. Obviously, that was a no-no.

So, he'd have to rely on talking.

Jack sighed. He was screwed.

After the receptionist did her thing, and went through the motions, she introduced Jack to another assistant, this one named Herman. Herman reminded Jack of that Wolfcastle character on the Simpsons. He was tall, blonde, and had enough muscle to make Schwarzenegger jealous in his early days. But he was an upbeat man and very…cozy.

"Just this way, Sir," he said cheerfully. "So, you used to work with Daniel?"

"Yeah," Jack replied cautiously. "He used to work for me."

Herman's eyes lit up. "I heard that Daniel was an archaeologist or a linguist at some time. That sounds absolutely fascinating."

God, this man was Jonas on steroids.

"He was good at what he did," Jack admitted, slowing down as they reached the doorway to Daniel's room. Hesitantly, he hovered by the door, resisting the urge to peek. "Can I see him?"

Herman nodded, but held up a hand. "Let me go in first. Daniel needs consistency, and slight changes can set him off."

"So I've noticed," he mumbled to himself, wishing they'd have told him this yesterday.

Sighing, Jack watched Herman disappear into Daniel's room. Jack was never a patient man, even though he had learned to be, especially on those long missions in Special Ops, but he just didn't have time to be standing around waiting for Daniel to get his act together.

He took a small step inside the room.

A nurse was leaving, or least he thought that was what she was. Whoever she was, she smiled at Jack and slipped out of the room without a word.

Jack decided he already liked her way better than the old bat that was in here yesterday.

Herman was on the other side of the room, tending to Daniel. Today, Daniel seemed less fascinated with the window and had taken to lying on his bed. Jack wasn't sure which sight was more pathetic: watching Daniel gaze longingly out a window or watching him curled up on a ball on his bed, his back to the world.

The medical aide was certainly trying to rouse him. Leaning over Daniel, he was talking to him softly, rubbing his arm gently. When Daniel got into a mood…

"Rise and shine, Daniel!" Herman said loudly, but without malice. "I have a nice man here to see you who is dying to talk to you. Why don't you turn around and say hello?"

Jack heard a low grunt from Daniel, and judging by the pleased expression on Herman's face, this was a good sign. Testing the waters, Jack decided to move closer, circling around the bed to stand by Herman's side.

Jack's face fell.

Daniel still held that desolate empty gaze.

To Jack's dismay, he was curled up into a ball, his vacant gaze staring right through him. Jack had a hard time accepting the nothingness in Daniel, having grown accustomed to his animation and vitality that managed to push into everything. Daniel was the type of person that said "hello" like it was the most precious word in the world.

And now here he was, just lying there. The only hint of the old Daniel happened to be his glasses that lay untouched on the nightstand by his bed.

"Daniel," Jack said softly, taking a step closer. He ignored the pain flaring through his back, his side, his head, focusing on getting through to the man. "It's Jack."

His voice seemed to have struck something in Daniel today, and Jack was surprised to find Daniel shift his head slightly to gaze at him. His eyes flickered with a moment of what Jack hoped was lucidity, only to be once again shut out by a veil of blackness that strangely reminded him of poison.

When he realized Daniel's gaze hadn't ventured off him, Jack pressed a bit further. He took another step, hesitant at first, but growing with more confidence as Daniel remained, waiting. Jack's confidence grew, and he felt hope for the first time in three days. Grinning, he walked towards Daniel's bed.

That's when he started to hyperventilate.

"Damn," he swore, quickly stumbling back, and away from Daniel.

Herman was there in an instant, calming down the panicking man. Jack could only watch helplessly as some stranger brought Daniel to a sitting position, and wrapped his arms around him, giving him comfort like he was child. Daniel shook, and glared at Jack like he was a Commie, before digging his head into Herman's neck.

Now that was really starting to piss him off.

He'd already lost Carter and had no way to contact Teal'c. He wasn't about to lose Daniel, too.

Muttering under his breath, Jack searched through one of his pockets, determined to make amends and find a way out of this nightmare. All the while, he kept his eyes on Daniel and Herman, growing more angry and frustrated as every minute passed.

It wasn't supposed to be this way.

"Hey," he said, withdrawing a small object from his pocket. He rolled it over in his hands, forcing a gentle smile Daniel's way. "I got something for you."

Jack extended his hand, careful not to impose himself onto Daniel. He could tell that under his timid and frightened exterior, Daniel was curious, and wanted nothing more than to explore and investigate the object that Jack was waving in front of him. Tantalizing and new, it waited for Daniel. Jack waited for Daniel.

Finally, the curiosity won over the fear, and Daniel pushed away from Herman, his focus divided between the item and Jack. Jack waved it again, teasing him, trying to free Daniel from himself.

"That's it," Herman said with encouragement. "Why don't you go see what it is?"

Daniel hesitated, glancing over once at Herman before sliding off the bed. On wobbly limbs, he started to walk to Jack, his right hand nervously stretching out towards the prize.

"This is great," Herman said brightly. "Daniel rarely has break out moments like this."

Jack felt proud, despite himself, while continuing to dangle the object in front of Daniel. "Come here," he told him. "And I'll show you how to use it."

Daniel stopped two feet away from Jack when the terror returned to his eyes. Jack put on his best face, and tried his best to show that he was perfectly okay with things, but deep down he figured that Daniel could see through him, see into him.

That was a creepy thought.

"Alright," Jack said, turning over the toy in his hands. He'd bought the stupid thing at the local junk shop, but he still felt that it was something Daniel could appreciate. "Look, watch."

Jack held up the pyramid, allowing the light to catch some of the shiny gold paint on its surface. As he turned it, the pyramid almost seemed to come alive, and glow from deep inside, as if it were the Great Pyramid itself. Smiling, he knew that Daniel was completely captivated, and had quickly closed the distance between them, his eager hands ready and waiting to accept the toy. But Jack wasn't finished. Not yet.

He held up his finger, and reached over to push a button in the front.

With a click, a small little mummy popped out of the pyramid, standing straight up in front of the side of the toy. It was connected to the inside and it could easily be pushed back to start over again.

Daniel, who hadn't been expecting the surprise, jumped back about a foot or so, his eyes wide as he stared at the toy. For a minute there, Jack was afraid that Daniel was going to have a fit and break down again. Instead, his reaction took Jack by surprise.

He made a loud noise, something that sounded like a cross between a moan and a wheeze. Whatever it was, Herman seemed unbelievably pleased, and encouraged Jack to do it again.

Jack complied. He slid the mummy back inside, much to Daniel's disappointment, before pressing the button again.

This time, Daniel didn't jump, but began to fidget in his spot, making weird noises again. This moany-wheeze came out sounding something like "hee" without the "haw," but drawn out and low pitched. He sounded like a friggin' donkey.

Jack did it again, listening to the sound erupt from Daniel. The other man was quickly becoming agitated though, shifting his weight, licking his lips, his fingers twitching as he waited.

Jack knew that look. That was Daniel waiting for coffee or just itching to touch a new artifact.

Looking for some kind of guidance, he focused his attention on Herman, while continuing to make the mummy appear and disappear. "Going to give me a clue?"

Herman chuckled. "That's a laugh. He's having fun. I'm really impressed."

"That's a laugh?" Jack asked incredulously. The mummy revealed itself, causing Daniel to "laugh" again. "Damn."

"I know, it takes a little getting used to," Herman said with a smile. "But you're doing great. Move in a little closer and see if he'll let you show him how to work it."

Taking a step forward, Jack brought the toy out close to Daniel. Suspicion began to fill Daniel's eyes, but Jack kept to his task. He slid the mummy back in, and brought his finger into position, waiting.

"Okay, watch," he told Daniel. "I press this and the mummy comes out of it."

Jack went through the scenario five times with Daniel, each time receiving the same response. Though, Daniel had yet to try and take the initiative to do it himself.

"You press it," he said, trying to slip the toy into Daniel's hands.

Daniel's immediate reaction was to stiffen and back away, the fear coming back to take him. Feeling like someone punched him in the gut, Jack watched with sorrow as Daniel cowered back by Herman's side, digging his face in his neck.

"Daniel, you know better than that," Herman admonished lightly as he pushed him away. Forcing Daniel to sit straight, Herman positioned him to look at Jack. Then, he beckoned Jack with a wave of his hand. "He's going to give it you. You'd really like it, wouldn't you?"

Daniel gazed at them warily, but didn't nod or shake his head. He remained tense, though, watching Jack closely as he came to stand beside Herman.

"Now watch," Herman told him, holding the toy with Jack at the same time. Herman brought one of Daniel's fingers close to the button, making sure all three of them were touching the object at the same time. "Press down."

The instant that Daniel's finger touched the pyramid and the mummy came flying out, Daniel broke into another laugh. That was it. After that, Daniel seemed to relax.

Daniel easily accepted the toy from Jack after that, and amused himself by pressing the button over and over again. Herman had to remind him a few times to slide the mummy back into the pyramid to get it to work, but after just a couple of set backs, Daniel was good to go.

Over the next couple of hours, while Daniel entertained himself with his new toy, Jack and Herman had a nice chat. They discussed the Colorado Rockies, but Jack's heart lay with the Twins and the Cubs; nothing Herman said could change his mind. And they hadn't even talked about hockey at that point.

By the end of their time together, Jack had learned a great deal. Apparently, Herman knew all about what happened the other day, and he also thought that MacKenzie could be an ass. Herman strongly felt that Daniel should get as many visitors as he could, especially people that he knew back in "his old life." So, knowing who Jack was, Herman thought it was appropriate to let Jack do this thing.

"Just remember," Herman told him as Jack gathered his jacket and prepared to leave. "Mac comes here every other day around three in the afternoon. Get here well before then, and you shouldn't have a problem."

Committing the time to memory, Jack nodded. Avoiding confrontation with MacKenzie was a good thing right now, especially since he seemed to have ties with Schneider.

"Anything else I should know?"

Herman leaned against the doorframe, his gaze shifting to Daniel every few seconds. "He doesn't get very many visitors, but Colonel Carter comes nearly everyday, usually in the early morning."

Good intel to know, Jack thought to himself. As he gazed at Daniel, watching the man's fascination never cease over the new toy, Jack felt that maybe it would be a good idea for Carter not to know he was popping by everyday. She would probably figure it out eventually, but with the tension between them, later would be better than sooner. He just hoped that the nurses and doctors didn't say too much, and that Carter didn't check the visitors' roster too often.

"Well, Daniel, time for me to go," Jack said quietly. Daniel didn't answer him, or even look over at him, but Jack wasn't expecting much from him anyway. With a sigh, Jack headed to the door and patted Herman on the shoulder.

"Daniel," Herman said gently. "Do you want to say goodbye to your friend?"

Daniel didn't turn around, but Jack heard him snort, then laugh as the little mummy popped out of the pyramid again. Herman sighed and gazed sympathetically at Jack, clasping him on the shoulder.

"That's actually pretty good for him. You caught him on a good day. Don't get down over it. He says goodbye in the only way he can."

Jack nodded a thanks, and took once last look at Daniel before he left.