Daniel appeared to function normally. No one knew that he went home and got blitzed three or four nights a week. The rest of the nights he spent in his office, working until he dropped from exhaustion at his desk. He worked hard or got drunk to keep himself numb so he wouldn't feel or have time to think about what had happened - about what was missing from his life. He distanced himself from his team – stopped meeting them for lunch or seeing any of them after work.
Jack had been extremely patient with Daniel, but enough was enough. Daniel had spent the past six months avoiding Jack and the team, other than at work and in the field. Hammond had allowed him back on active duty after two months when Daniel had seemed alright.
Jack missed Daniel's company more than he could admit to anyone – more than he could admit to himself. There was an archeologist-sized hole in his life and he wanted things back to normal.
Jack had spent years after Sha're had disappeared opening Daniel up enough to allow a deep friendship to develop. Daniel had never had a long-term friendship before. He'd been moved around so much from one foster home to another, that he'd never learned how to be a friend. He was also so much younger that his classmates, both in high school and college, that he'd always been ignored – unless they needed help with school work. Sha're and the Abydonians had been the first people to give him a sense of belonging and stability. After Sha're had been taken as a host, Daniel hadn't known how to develop or maintain a friendship. Jack had been there to teach him.
Now Daniel had withdrawn and Jack was pissed off. He wasn't about to let him disappear into himself again. Not this time!
So, one Tuesday night Jack found himself ringing Daniel's doorbell. It took a few minutes for Daniel to open the door and when he did, Jack was face to face with a very inebriated archeologist. Daniel was barely able to stand and Jack wasn't sure how he'd managed to walk to the door and mustered up the dexterity to actually open it.
Daniel just stared at Jack, not speaking, wobbling on his feet. His eyes were bloodshot and unfocused; food dribbled down the front of his shirt. He wasn't the happy, silly drunk Jack had seen at team nights. This was a man beyond hope. Jack gently moved his friend aside and entered the house.
The place was trashed. There were dozens of vodka and liqueur bottles strewn about the room. Partially eaten, rotting food on the coffee table, on the floor by the couch, on the mantle. The smell was overwhelming. It smelled worse than the first car Jack had when he was a kid. His buddy, Eric, had thrown up in it one night after partying and the smell forever lingered. Jack was horrified. Daniel had never been neat, but he had always been clean.
Daniel had somehow managed to pick his way through the mess back to the couch without falling, where he picked up his unwashed glass and continued drinking.
Jack was too dazed to move. He finally snapped out of it and dug out his cell phone. Punching in speed-dial number two, he waited impatiently for Sam to pick up.
"Hello, sir."
"I'm at Daniel's. Pick up Teal'c and get over here right now. That's an order, Major!"
"God! Has something happened to Daniel?" Thinking out loud, Sam continued, "No, if he was sick or hurt you'd call Janet. What's wrong?"
"Just get here. Bring trash bags and cleaning stuff – LOTS of cleaning stuff." Jack flipped his phone closed and crammed it back into his pocket.
Daniel had slumped back onto the couch with his head down on his chest. He was pretending that Jack wasn't here. Maybe if I wish hard enough he'll go away. Daniel tried wiggling his nose like Samantha used to on Bewitched. Shit, didn't work.
Jack yanked Daniel up by the collar and dragged him back to his bathroom. He turned the cold water on in the shower and shoved the fully dressed drunk under the freezing stream, holding him there while he struggled to get away. Jack was cold with rage. It was obvious that this was a long standing habit and not just a one-night whim. He was furious with himself for not noticing that Daniel was in serious danger. How had the man functioned? How much of a shit-head was I not to notice? What am I going to do to bring him out of this? How much emotional pain is he going to have to go through in his life? Oh, god. He literally saved me from committing suicide on Abydos years ago and I'm not letting him take the coward's way out!
Jack heard Sam call out as she and Teal'c came through the still opened front door. "Carter, I'm back, here sobering up the local village idiot."
Sam poked her head into the bathroom. Seeing that Daniel was still fully dressed, she stepped all the way in and gasped in shock. She thought the living room was disgusting. There was old evidence that Daniel hadn't always made it to the toilet to throw up after a drinking bout. Dirty clothes were deposited about the tiny room until there wasn't any floor space to be seen. It was clear he hadn't cleaned the room in weeks, possibly months.
Sam looked at Jack's furious face and knew that he was blaming himself for Daniel's state. Tears began to trail down her face as it became clear to her just how much damage Daniel had done to himself. Shaken, she leaned against the doorframe for support.
"This is our beloved and highly educated friend, Daniel Jackson, multiple Ph.D." Jack's sarcastic tone changed to one of despair. "God, Sam, how did I let this happen to him?"
Tears freely running now, Sam managed to choke out, "How could all three of us have missed what he's been doing to himself?"
Sam slid down the doorframe until she was huddled on the floor sobbing deeply. Jack turned off the water and let Daniel slide down until he was lying in the tub, fully clothed, soaking wet, shivering and hovering between sentience and oblivion. Jack moved over to Sam and gathered her in his arms, allowing her to weep out her fear and sorrow.
Teal'c came to the bathroom and took in the scene before him. Jack looked up to see a tear trickling from the corner of one large, soulful eye. "I will change the sheets on his bed. The stench emanating from them is not conducive to rejuvenating slumber."
Sam began to regain control and separated reluctantly from Jack. He slowly released his arms from around her, regretting the loss of warmth and comfort from her body against his.
"Sir, I'll start on the living room. You get Daniel squared away and into bed. Then I think that the three of us need to talk about what should be done."
Jack simply nodded. He knew that if he tried to speak, he'd lose it and break down. He needed to be the strong one to keep the team functioning.
Several hours later, the three had managed to gather the trash and dirty laundry from around the house. Jack said he would call his cleaning service to come finish the cleaning and shampoo the smelly carpets.
"I think it's clear that we can't leave him alone at all. Someone has to be with him at all times." Jack sat on the edge of the couch with his head buried in his hands.
"I will be most delighted to assist DanielJackson by staying here." Teal'c immediately volunteered.
"Thanks, Teal'c. Carter, tomorrow you talk to Janet about what's been happening. Also, go to Hammond and let him know that Teal'c, Daniel, and I will be late. We're not scheduled for a mission for a few days, so we can be late for once. Teal'c, you and I need to talk to Daniel in the morning and see if we can figure out what's going on with him. God, what a mess." Jack slumped back on the couch and ran his hands over his face.
XXXXXXXXXX
The next morning, Daniel was up at the usual time to get ready for work. As he got up to get clean clothes, he noticed the room was neater than he'd remember. Must have cleaned up last night. Good for me! Don't want to be a drunk and a slob.
Jack and Teal'c heard Daniel moving around in the bedroom. Teal'c went in to start coffee while Jack headed for Daniel's room.
"Hey, Danny," Jack pushed open the bedroom door to find his friend rummaging through his dresser.
"Jack! What are you doing here so early?"
"Been here all night. We cleaned up your place."
"We? Sam and Teal'c are here?" Daniel's shocked face paled as he realized that they had seen how he'd been living.
"Yes, Sam was and Teal'c still is here. Daniel, we need to talk when you're dressed." With that, Jack left the room.
Daniel stood, frozen. OK, new plan. I've only got a few months to get through and I need to hide this from Jack. Keep calm, Jackson. You're smart. You can get through this. I've got to stay on the team. Everything depends upon it.
After Daniel dressed, he reluctantly headed out to the living room to face his friends. Jack and Teal'c sat on the couch waiting. Jack handed Daniel a mug of coffee as he entered the room and pointed to a chair placed opposite the couch.
"God, Daniel, how… I really don't know how to start this conversation." Jack was seldom at a loss for words, but this situation completely baffled him.
"Perhaps, DanielJackson, you can tell us when you first began imbibing alcoholic beverages with the purpose of becoming inebriated." Teal'c's soft, deep voice began.
"I'm doing my job. I haven't screwed up anything at work." Daniel's face was impassive and his eyes were cold. "Other than that, my life is my own to do with as I see fit."
"We're your friends, Danny. We care about you, a lot." Jack sighed and drew his hands down his face and said softly, "You made Sam cry – again – and, dammit, Daniel, that's something I won't allow."
Daniel's face flushed at this. He didn't want to cause pain to his friends. He just wanted them to leave him alone until he did what needed to be done.
Jack leaned forward and placed his hand on Daniel's arm. "Daniel, get professional help. This," Jack waved his hand around, referring to the still unclean house, "is not you. Let us help."
"I'm fine, Jack. Everything's under control. Can we go to work now?" Daniel set his empty mug down and stood.
Teal'c stood and stepped in front of Daniel so that the two men were only inches from one another. "Soon after you descended, you told me that you had finally found where you belong; that you were part of something important. Do you no longer feel this way?"
A flicker of emotion flew across Daniel's face before the mask was again in place. "Teal'c, I am still part of that. I have been doing my job. I just don't want you guys in my private life."
Daniel turned, grabbed his jacket and keys, and left.
"That went well." Jack's terse remark reflected his frustration with the situation.
A/N: Very unDaniel-like behavior, but very human - it gets worse before it gets better!