Author's note: Sorry about how long this took. I had a friend over yesterday, and I actually spent time with my family today! It was so nice.

OOOOOOO

The hotel restaurant was crowded and noisy, but Jack was hungry enough not to care – although he was fortunate enough that the only empty table was one in a far corner. He sat down and the waitress brought him a glass of ice water and a menu and asked him if he wanted anything to drink while he was deciding what he wanted to eat. He ordered a cup of coffee and she left – which was good because he didn't want to try and make small talk with a stranger just then.

He didn't take any time at all deciding what he wanted, but she had a lot more people than just himself to wait on, so it was a while before she returned to take his order. He debated asking her to give him his order to go so he could take it up to his room, but didn't want to make her have to do anything special for him – she was already dealing with several tables filled with young people and their tired parents.

An hour and a half later it was well into the afternoon, he had finished his steak and eggs and was nursing a final cup of coffee while he brooded. Nothing had been solved. He didn't feel any better – that tight knot of guilt was still there in the pit of his stomach wrestling with his lunch – and he was getting another headache from listening to the children at the table next to his whining because they were going to miss seeing something called a Sorcerer's stone.

He was about to get up and go back to his room where he might be able to find something for the headache, when he suddenly wasn't alone any longer.

Without waiting for an invitation, Daniel sat in the booth across from him, his blue eyes watching him with a mixture of uncertainty and concern.

"Hey."

Jack frowned.

"Hey…"

"You missed the Quidditch demonstration."

"Pretty exciting stuff?"

Daniel shrugged.

"I didn't understand most of it – and they kept throwing these odd-sized balls around the room while people who were pretending to be riding broomsticks chased after them and tried to throw other balls throughsome hoops."

"Sounds thrilling…"

"The kids thought it was… they were screaming their little lungs out."

Jack snorted, and Daniel reached across the table and took his coffee from him, taking a tentative sip to see if it was still warm, and then a longer, appreciative gulp. That was the good thing about Seattle; they knew how to do coffee.

"Who won?"

"Beats me." Daniel took another sip of the coffee, and then changed the subject – like Jack had expected him to in the first place. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Quidditch?"

Daniel didn't even acknowledge the attempt at humor.

"Something's bothering you. What is it?"

Jack shook his head, meeting Daniel's gaze with a level one of his own.

"Nothing. I'm fine."

"You're hiding."

"So?"

"So when something's bothering you and you want to brood about it, you tend to end up in a corner. Like this one."

"This was the only table open."

"I'm surprised you didn't eat in our room. So… what is it?"

Jack scowled. He hated that Daniel knew him so well – although at the same time, he liked it, too. That was the sign of a close team, after all.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"I just had a hard morning, that's all."

"We did, too. But we're not sulking about it."

"Yeah, well… you're all better than me, okay?"

Daniel knew Jack was trying to get him mad – or get him to say something that would make Jack mad – so they could start arguing. Which would change the subject completely.

"Want to talk about it?"

"No."

"So there is something bothering you."

Jack scowled again. He hated being talked into a corner, too.

"At the moment, it's you."

"Jack…"

"Daniel, I'm fine. I'm just a little tired, and I have a massive headache building."

"So you can join us for the next workshop?"

"I didn't say that."

"It's join us or I sit here and bug you until you tell me what's going on…"

Jack's scowl hadn't even faded.

"I'm-"

"Fine. Yes, I know. So you'll be joining us, then? From what Sam says, the next workshop will be all about the various magical animals and other creatures that inhabit the Forbidden Forest."

"What's the Forbidden Forest?" Jack asked, ignoring the look of disbelief coming from the kids at the table that had been whining. Obviously it was something he should have known about. Jack bit back a rude word, and looked at Daniel – more to avoid the gaze of the little kids than because he was curious.

"Beats me," Daniel said, shrugging. He stood up, and waited, obviously planning on staying there until Jack stood up as well. If he didn't want to talk, fine, but Daniel wasn't going to let him mope. "It's forbidden, after all. How should I know what it is?"

Knowing Daniel was stubborn enough to stand there all afternoon, Jack sighed, and reached into his pocket for his wallet. Fine. He'd learn all about the animals in the Forbidden Forest. If that's what it took to get Daniel to leave him alone.