Daniel couldn't seem to get warm. He was sitting huddled in the corner of a small stone cell, pointedly ignoring the offered trey of food set near the door. Even if he hadn't been too nauseous to eat, the bland gruel didn't look very appetizing and, though he didn't think they would bother to drug it, not when they could just as easily drug him without the subterfuge, he still felt wary of accepting anything from his captors. At least his head was finally clearing.
He jumped, startled, when the door swung open. He squinted towards the form of two large men, trying to see without his glasses. He didn't like not knowing who he was facing. If he could get to know who someone was then they could get to know who he was and maybe they would be more reluctant to hurt him. As it was, he didn't even know if it they were the same goons from before or if this was the first time they'd come. He tried not to cringe when they entered the room. There was still enough drugs left in his system to leave him disoriented, exaggerating his reactions.
"Dr. Jackson," faceless goon number one said, "You are to come with us." When Daniel made no move to leave his corner, the two men took him by the arms and lifted him effortlessly to his feet.
"Ah, yes," Daniel said, unexpectedly happy because his tongue seemed to be working again, "Excuse me, but, can you tell me where I am?"
"We cannot," the second goon answered.
"Ok…" Daniel said, and then gave all his attention over to walking. It seemed a lot harder than he remembered, even with a guy holding him up on either side. Perhaps it would go better if the motion wasn't upsetting his stomach. Luckily, it was only a short walk from his small cell to the room he was being taken to. In fact, it looked like another small cell except that this one had a desk, a small bed, and a woman in it. The two men let him go at the door and he took the last few steps himself, right past the woman, to take a look at the object sitting on the desk. It was a small white box, lined in gold with symbols covering it. It looked like some sort of puzzle or toy and Daniel immediately reaching out a hand to touch it, fascinated, when a voice from behind him made him jump.
"Dr. Jackson!" the woman said, sharply, and he spun around half expecting to see Jack there, warning him not to touch anything. Finally, his eyes made contact with the real speaker, and inwardly he cringed away from her cold gaze.
"Colonel Attison," he said, and she looked slightly startled. He guessed she didn't expect him to remember her name. Considering how zoned out he was at their first meeting, he was somewhat surprised as well, but some things just stuck with him. Jack was always surprised from how much he remembered after their drunken nights and…whoa, still a little dazed, mind kind of wandering there. The colonel was speaking but he had stopped paying attention.
"We have a special project for you here," she was saying, and he wondered vaguely what he had missed while he was thinking about Jack, "We have a translation we need you to do for us." Daniel nodded carefully, looking thoughtfully at how her mouth moved. Her voice was sharp and her bearing proud. Jack was a colonel too, but he didn't talk like that, all stiff and formal. Colonel Attison looked like she never smiled. Jack often smiled, especially that innocent, sarcastic sort of grin. Daniel frowned. How can a smile be both innocent and sarcastic? He was still puzzling over the mysteries of Jack's grin when he noticed that Colonel Attison was decidedly frowning. He blinked, moving his gaze back up to her eyes.
"Do you understand?" she demanded, and she was definitely frowning.
"No," Daniel answered, frowning slightly himself as he tried to rewind in his head and figure out what he had missed. Her frown deepened, and suddenly Daniel found himself laying over the table, his arm twisted back painfully.
"We need someone who can read Goa'uld. You know Goa'uld," she hissed in his ear, "Translate this now, or I break your arm." In response, Daniel whimpered. Just as suddenly, she released him and he crumpled to the floor, his arm still throbbing painfully. He looked up at her with a puzzled, hurt sort of expression. She spun around to face the two goons.
"Watch him," she said, "Do not let him touch the artifact, if it needs to be moved or handled one of you will do it. And if he refuses to translate…persuade him." That said, she left swiftly. There was a brief silence in the wake of her departure. Finally, one of the goons approached Daniel.
"Start translating," he directed. Daniel blinked up at him, blankly. He had an idea that he should be moving, but the ground felt comfortable where he was. Then the man reached down and hauled him up by the same arm the colonel had been twisting. Daniel yelped and glared at the man. The man said nothing, simply turning him around and half dragging him to the chair at the desk. Daniel caught sight of the box again and immediately forgot about glaring at the goons as he studied it. Intrigued, he once again reached out a hand to touch.
"Hey!" the second goon said sharply, and his hand was rapped sharply.
"No touching," the first said, "Start translating." Daniel glared at them, sulkily, but he couldn't resist the puzzle before him. There was paper and pencils all ready for him and he began to work out the symbols. He mumbled happily as he studied the box, taking in the intricate design and how it overlaid itself. This was much more fun than huddling in a corner in a cell or being strapped to a table. He still felt a bit strange, a bit disconnected and floaty, but really, it wasn't so bad now. He looked up at the two goons watching him, and smiled contentedly, but they didn't look inclined to smile at all. In fact, they looked a bit bored. Really, Daniel thought, they were like Jack, getting bored when he was finding the most interesting things to do. Daniel wished that Jack were there. Jack would be more fun than these two, even if he was bored. Daniel needed to find Jack. He stood up and started towards the door.
"Hey," goon one cried, "Where do you think you're going?"
"To find Jack," Daniel explained reasonably, but he was pushed roughly back into his seat. Daniel frowned at them in a way that Jack definitely would have called pouting if he was there, which was ridiculous because Daniel was a grown man and he most certainly didn't pout. Daniel would tell him that if only he'd come there so that he could tell him. Jack needed to be there. Daniel's frown deepened and suddenly he was blinking back tears. He wanted Jack to be there. He wanted to be where Jack was. Then he looked at the box again and looked at what he had written and remembered, he was doing translating, and it was fun. Forgetting his pouting and his tears, he started working again.