Jack was bored. At the moment there was absolutely nothing he could do; he was in one of those annoying limbo moments where his next action hinged on a response which hinged on an action which wasn't happening any time soon. Any attempts to catch a nap eluded him. So he roamed the halls, tempted to return to Carter's office and see what the dynamic duo had discovered. That thought was a bit painful. He decided to wait for Daniel in his office. Surprise him when he walked in, admonish him for working 13 hours straight.

He wasn't sure which was more surprising; finding Daniel on a small cot crammed in the corner of the office, curled up on his side and facing away from the door, or the fact that he'd even been able to cram one into the small and crowded office space. His slow, steady breathing spoke volumes about the state of his rest, but for some reason Jack was reluctant to leave. Instead he sat at Daniel's desk, propped his feet, and watched the man in the corner.

The crick in his neck was not good. Jack groaned and shifted, then grunted as the chair tilted and released him, dropping him hard on his side. He cursed and heard a startled noise from the corner cot. "Mmff. . .whu. . .Jack? What – you okay?"

Jack winced and forced himself upright, grasping the back of his neck. "Peachy."

Daniel propped up on one elbow and rubbed his forehead. "What are you doing here?" he asked sleepily.

"Well, I thought I couldn't sleep."

"Looks like you were wrong."

"So it would seem." Jack used the edge of the desk to pull himself to his feet, upsetting papers as he did so. Daniel just winced and rolled to lay flat on his back. Jack replaced the fallen documents and gave his head a shake, trying to clear the clouds from his mind. "How'd you cram that thing in here, anyway?"

"I'm used to careful manipulation of objects."

He wasn't going to touch that. "Commissary?"

"Coffee?" Daniel asked through hands that were once again rubbing his face.

"Of course. I know better than to try and talk to you in the morning without it."

Daniel peeked through his fingers. "Are you sure you just couldn't sleep?"

Jack stopped halfway to the door and turned. "Well, okay, I might have been a little bored, or. . . concerned. . . about you, you know. . .nothing major."

Daniel smiled slightly and swung his legs over the side of the cot, gripping the side tightly as he convinced himself that it was okay to stand. He did so, feeling shaky for a moment, then followed his friend out to the hall. They were right outside when a yell stopped them. "Daniel! Hold up!"

Both men turned to see Stan Greyson running to him. The man skidded to a stop, panting. Jack tucked his hands into his pockets and waited, and Daniel noticed with mild amusement that he wasn't leaving. Nosy bastard.

"I heard you were at the lift. . .the elevator. . .when it exploded." He hunched over slightly, still trying to regain his breath.

Daniel frowned. "You okay?"

"Slight asthma, no biggie." He straightened and tried to take some deep breaths, then finally succumbed to the use of his inhaler. The action reminded Daniel of Robert Rothman, who usually had to take a hit on his inhaler after leaving everyone in the dust in his beloved marathons. Come to think of it, there were a lot of things about this guy that reminded him of Rothman. Maybe that was why he was drawn to him, it wasn't like they had much of a history back in school. He needed to remedy that. Stan's breathing calmed and he continued. "Glad to see you're okay."

"I'm. . .fine. . .thank you." Daniel was touched by the concern and wondered if the man had run all the way from, wherever, just to ask him that. He had been out of the infirmary for a while, but it was possible the list of injuries wasn't revealed for some time. Hell, seemed he was always on that list. It wasn't an injury roster, it was a list of Daniel's latest companions.

"Good. I'm glad." He smiled. "Well, I'll be about my work then. See you later, then? Maybe we can hook up for a drink."

"Sure." Daniel grinned.

"Good. Colonel." He gave Jack a nod and continued down the hall.

Jack pointed after him. "Now THAT guy gives me the creeps."

"He's just lonely, Jack. He's relatively new here, no friends. And you know how hard it can be to fit into this place."

"Maybe. I still say he's creepy."

"Of course he is." Daniel said as they resumed their trek to the commissary. "He's smart, he's asthmatic, he carries books around with him, he's skinny, he's clumsy. . ."

"Okay, okay, I get the point," Jack scoffed. "STILL say he's creepy."

Daniel just smiled and pushed the door open. The commissary was packed, which was unusual for the time of morning, but the lock down invited it. They waited for their coffee and grabbed a plate of food before seeking out Carter at the table they frequented. She looked up bleary-eyed as they sat across from her.

"Well, you look like shit," Jack muttered.

"Thanks, sir." Sam quipped. She pushed around her oatmeal.

Daniel cut into his pancakes and raised a large chunk to his mouth, then paused. He was used to seeing Sam on the brink of collapse after a hard night's work, but this was different. "You okay?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, you don't look okay. Did you sleep at all?"

"No." Sam stifled a yawn. "Been going over the analysis. I think your theory is holding out."

"What theory?" Jack asked.

"I'll let Daniel tell you."

He was not appeased. "Oh, must you?" he asked sarcastically.

She was tempted, but talking would refocus her mind. "Fine. The readings of the explosion's energy surge are off the scale. It should have caused more damage than it did. By my latest reasoning, there shouldn't be anything left but maybe half the mountain, and that's without full potency."

"So it malfunctioned." Jack said, spooning fruit loops into his mouth.

"Very much so. At full intensity it would take out the state, and possibly half the US."

"Excuse me?" He chewed as Daniel turned to him.

"You know, for once I'd like to see you eat something different," Daniel mumbled. Jack responded by thrusting another spoonful into his mouth and chewing exaggeratedly. Daniel sighed and turned back to Sam. "So the readings pan out?"

"I have no doubt of it. Why it didn't take out the entire station, I've no idea."

"Well, that's reassuring," Jack muttered. "So, someone feel like telling me exactly what's going on? No need, I'm just your CO and all."

"Sorry, sir." She stifled another yawn and poked at her bowl.

Jack snatched the spoon from her. "Forget it. I'll suffer through the lecture," he glanced at Daniel who looked affronted, "go to bed. You've thought yourself into a corner. Can't do anything else right now, so rest. I'll pull the info from Daniel," he cast another wary eye in the young man's direction, "and hope I survive the ordeal."

"Sir. . ."

"That's an order, Major. Now don't make me put you to bed myself."

Sam stood. "Wouldn't dream of it, sir." She picked up her bowl and walked off.

Daniel chewed his lips and stared at the pancake on his fork. "You know. . ."

"Shut up and eat."

He looked startled. "I thought you wanted an explanation?"

"Eat first. I'm not nearly awake enough."

"You were awake enough to hear it from Sam."

"Says who?"

"You asked!"

"Eat." The younger man frowned and looked at Jack, then pointedly shoved the fork full into his mouth. Jack toyed with his cereal, then eyed his friend. "Sure you're okay?"

"Thought you said to shut up and eat."

"I can still talk."

"But how am I supposed to answer?"

"Just hush. And listen." Jack pointed at Daniel with his spoon. "You remember that artifact that you brought back from PX4112? The one you just had to have, the one you just had to study?"

Daniel's eyes widened in surprise, and he decided to played along. "Sure. It was an exact duplicate of the. . ."

"Ah-ah! I'm talking." Jack held up his hand. "You remember that it was considered volatile and had to be locked away after you were found unconscious in your office?"

"Of course."

His brows quirked questioningly. "Think it's still there?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Cause we looked already. It's gone."

"What?"

Daniel's fork clattered on the plate. "Jack, what on earth made you think of that? It took us forever to come up with that!"

Jack wasn't about to mention how that scene kept playing in his mind, how scared he'd been seeing Daniel unconscious that day, knowing radiation was the cause. It wasn't something he could put out of his mind easily, not after. . ."Now you know I'm not up on all this sciencey stuff, but I think it registered the same energy output when we locked it away that the explosive had. We were supposed to return it to the planet, then the labs wanted it, then all that crap with the Unas started, then you had to go and get yourself kidnaped in some jungle. . ."

"Yeah, and I suppose you blame me for that."

"Of course!" Jack thrust another spoonful into his mouth.

"Of course. If that artifact is the cause, will you blame me for the explosion as well?"

Jack leaned in. "Daniel, I would love to." He tossed the spoon into his empty bowl.

Daniel grinned. "Jaaaaack, you've been studying! You launched your own investigation! I'm impressed!"

"The military doesn't give birds to idiots, Danny-boy. We just give them back"

Daniel thought about that, and smiled. Then he sobered and took a deep breath. "Jack, if this is the cause. . .I mean. . ." he closed his eyes in dread, "there's something I should tell you."