Inescapable Chapter 15

AN: Disclaimer and all in Chapter 1.

Yeah, yeah. I know I'm cruel and all that. Teehee! No really, I'm sorry... actually I'm not. Thanks for the reviews again.Anyway, maybe this'll help pacify you a little. Possibly. I think.

Jack's head lifted out of his hands as the noises in the room grew louder. His tired, dry eyes appeared from beneath wispy eyelashes and he glanced at Daniel. His stirring had gradually been getting more frantic in the half an hour he had been in the infirmary. He dropped his hands into his lap and pushed on his knees as he stood from the chair and strolled over to Daniel's bedside.

The man's face was troubled, strained and Jack could swear he saw something glisten at the corner of his left eye. Jack sighed. Daniel was mumbling now, very obviously having a nightmare.

"No…" Jack frowned as words slipped from Daniel's unconscious form. "No!" The cry was accompanied by furious thrusting suddenly as Daniel's arms clawed at something and his body was flung about in the bed. Jack launched for him before he fell out.

"Daniel!" He secured his hands around Daniel's wrists and tried to pin them down. Daniel still fought against him so he gave him a fierce shake and shouted, "Daniel!"

Daniel's body stilled and his eyes shot open seeing Jack instantly. Daniel flinched considerably, trying to pull his arms free. Jack scowled at him and held on. "Hey!" He protested and Daniel stopped and stared at him with a weird sense of surrender in his eyes. Jack let him go quickly and took a step back, for some reason he was acutely uncomfortable with this situation. He glanced away, not wanting to look at Daniel, especially when he saw the glistening from the corner of his eyes, trickle down into his hair.

"Sam…" Daniel breathed. Jack's eyes found him briefly at the tone he used. "Sam's gone…"

Jack cleared his throat and glanced past the empty chair he'd been sitting in. He sighed and looked back to Daniel, who was now turned on his side, his back to Jack. Jack closed the distance he had put between them in a swift step and in a fluid motion his hand was squeezing Daniel's shoulder.

"Hey, Danny?" Daniel didn't respond. "Daniel," Jack said more forcefully and his friend's head twitched backwards a little. "Sam's here, she's not gone." Daniel's head whipped around, along with most of his upper body. Jack held back a wince at the desperateness in his eyes. "You were having a nightmare," he explained softly, now pressing on his shoulder and forcing him to lie on his back. "Look." Jack pointed across the room to where he'd been sitting and Daniel's eyes followed his finger growing large when they fell on Sam, lying just as she had been when he first woke up.

"Oh, God," Daniel whispered, his breath catching in what Jack couldn't decide was relief, distress or possibly both. Jack gave him a reassuring squeeze again and pocketed his hand. "I thought…"

"Yeah," Jack cut in, not needed or wanting Daniel to finish. "Hey, don't give up on her yet." Daniel took a deep breath and gazed at him, his eyes telling Jack he would never do such a thing. Jack threw him a half smile. "Carter's a tough cookie." Daniel nodded and his hand went to his temple as he finally registered the pain there.

Jack licked his lips as he watched the pain etched in Daniel's face. "Quite a knock you took," he motioned with his own head to Daniel's and Daniel's fingers stopped their massage on his temples.

"It's nothing," Daniel muttered and his hands dropped to his sides.

"Daniel…"

"Jack, don't."

Jack cleared his throat and sent a firm expression Daniel's way.

"Don't start with the 'It was all my fault complex', Daniel," Jack spat, annoyed. "I know how you're feeling but-"

"You're not the one that ran off out on that-" Daniel shouted.

"Daniel!"

"-planet. How could you know-"

"I know!" Jack's face hardened as his roar silenced Daniel instantly, shocking him. The hand that had flung into the air in response to the explosion within him, was now hanging there and he thrust a finger at Daniel. "She didn't get injured on that damn planet Daniel! She was hit in the 'gate room - why? Because the order to close the iris wasn't fast enough!" Jack was forced to draw air at last and his chest heaved as emotionally stunned eyes remained immovable from Daniel.

"Jack," Daniel began, about to launch into exactly the same conversation Jack had with him without even realising it. Jack, however, knew exactly what he was going to do. He waved his hand at Daniel and calmed himself, tearing his eyes away reluctantly.

"It's not my fault - that's what you're going to say, right?" Daniel blinked at him, his mouth ajar. Jack half rolled his eyes. "I know me telling you it isn't yours either isn't going to stop you going through the 'what ifs' but we both should know better. It's the Jaffa's fault." Jack saw Daniel swallow and a haze cover his eyes briefly and wondered what it was. "And if she could, Carter would kick both our asses for even thinking otherwise in the first place." With that, Jack lips were forced to quirk slightly and he couldn't stop himself from looking over at Carter, knowing that if she could hear them somewhere she'd be grinning and saying, 'Damn right!… Sir'.

"You're right," Daniel acquiesced in a soft resigning tone, staring down at his body sheepishly.

"I am…?" Jack was still thinking on Carter and what her reactions would be to all the goings on in this room since she'd arrived. He shook his head as he saw her pull a scowl at him and point to Daniel. "I am," he said more sure of himself now as he turned to look at Daniel again. "Right!" Jack went over to his seat again and picked up the book he'd been reading earlier. "I've gotta go." He glanced at Carter and hesitated. He was unexpectedly seeing her in his mind's eye shooing him away, 'I need my beauty sleep, sir'. Even if he didn't agree with that, in more than one way… perhaps Daniel did.

"Jack?" Daniel questioned to breath of laughter that fell from Jack's lips as he stood in a daze at Carter's bed. Jack seemed to phase back into realty with a shake of his head and turned to face Daniel with a gentle smile on his face.

"I'll let you get your beauty sleep, Daniel…" Jack was already gone before Daniel had time to glare at him.

"If you've come to spring me out, you're a little late." Daniel grinned as he buttoned up his shirt and turned to see Jack swinging in the doorway with raised eyebrows.

"Nuts!" He cursed and sauntered on in, offering Sam a quick glance as he did. "Was hoping I could piss the Doc off a little more this week."

"You're gonna send him to a mental institute if you don't stop torturing him, Jack," Daniel told him turning from the bed and grabbing the bag he'd quickly thrown the junk he'd managed to gather during his three weeks in the infirmary into.

"Aren't you supposed to be discouraging me here, Daniel?" Jack wiggled his eyebrows as he swooped in and took the bag from Daniel's hands. Daniel's forehead creased but he decided against the 'I'm not an invalid' line as Jack stood bouncing on his toes wearing the first genuine smile Daniel had seen in weeks. "Come on." Jack ushered him out and Daniel didn't miss the glance he gave in the way of Sam, yet again.

"Maybe you could have my bed now."

"What?" Jack pretended he hadn't the foggiest idea about what Daniel was insinuating.

Daniel sighed deeply and folded his arms. "How many nights have you actually gone home in the past three weeks?" Jack's only response was to side-glance and lift his left eyebrow quickly. "You can't spend your life sitting in that room, waiting for her to wake up, Jack."

Jack stopped abruptly and turned angrily to Daniel. "What else am I supposed to do, Daniel?" He snapped.

"Get on with your life," Daniel suggested in a soft tone. "I'm not suggesting you give up on her-"

"It sure sounds like it!"

"I just… Jack, she wouldn't want this for you." Jack was walking again and Daniel struggled to catch up, his leg still not properly healed.

"She'd do the same for me," Jack threw over his shoulder.

Daniel was nodding even though Jack wasn't looking. "That doesn't necessarily make it the right thing to do."

"I never was good at following the rules." Jack's tone had softened and his step had slowed, obviously realising Daniel's struggled to keep up with him.

"Jack." "DanielJackson."

Teal'c and Kerry Johnson were standing at the top of the corridor and greeted the two men together. Daniel smiled at Teal'c, amused at the glee on the Jaffa's face and the blush that was creeping up Kerry's face.

He bowed his head to both of them and as Kerry added a belated greeting to him he couldn't decide if the blush was for her tardiness or for the fact that she had just called Jack by his first name at work. He knew about their relationship, but Jack had clearly expressed that it was never going to interfere with work. Truth was, Daniel hadn't seen it interfere with much at all since he'd become privy to it. Kerry had been in the infirmary once and to his knowledge, Jack had barely left it. He was there when Daniel awoke and fell asleep. What time that left for Kerry or their relationship to interfere even with Jackhad Daniel baffled. He would question Jack on it later.

"I am pleased to see you," Teal'c said, very clearly pleased.

"Me too," Kerry said and Daniel just looked at her.

"Ah," Jack was noticing the awkwardness. "T, why don't you take this?" He threw Teal'c Daniel's bag. "Take him to the commissary and I'll be down in five, okay?" Teal'c nodded once and quirked an eyebrow at Daniel, titling his head in a prompt for them to leave. Daniel threw one last look at Jack and Kerry and headed off.

When they were gone, Kerry turned to Jack. "I don't think Daniel likes me very much," she said with speed, hoping he would drop any topic regarding the awkwardness just now. Jack threw his eyebrows up in a shrug and pressed his hand to her lower back, urging her to walk with him.

"I wouldn't take any offence to it, Daniel doesn't even like me." He grinned and she gave him a weak smile. He was in a better mood than he had been in for a very long time now.

"You're glad he's out of the infirmary, aren't you?"

"Of course I am," he replied in a tone that loudly wondered if she was crazy.

"I mean… never mind." She shook her head and stared straight in front. "How's Colonel Carter?" She looked to her right where Jack was walking when he didn't answer immediately. His head had fallen into his chest and he was paying intricate attention to his boots.

"No change." It was the same two words she had heard him say whenever she brought up his 2IC recently - the only two words.

"I'm sorry." The only two words she would say in response. A sigh escaped him and she felt a pang of empathy resonate inside her. She wanted to hold him, she wanted to comfort him. But, that, he would never let her do. Not only because he refused to admit he needed someone to comfort him, but because he refused to admit he had something he needed to be comforted over. She sighed and he must have heard it as his eyes lifted slightly to look at her.

"What do you say to dinner tonight?" She changed the subject quickly. "I could cook…"

"Sure," he answered but his tone betrayed his enthusiasm. "I'll see you later." Another sigh passed from her nostrils this time and she stared at the ground not wanting to watch him stride away from her for the hundredth time in the past few weeks. It wasn't meant to be this hard. It hadn't been this hard.

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