Inescapable Chapter 16

AN: Disclaimer and all in Chapter 1.

I hope this chapter clears a few questions up for some people - I didn't know you were such an anxious bunch! Hope you enjoy!

"You heading home?"

Daniel waved his goodbye to Teal'c who was off to pack for a trip to see his son. His eyes slid to Jack, who was being overly obvious that he hoped Daniel was going to stick about.

"No, I was gonna go check out my lab - see what state it's in," he answered as they replaced the trays they had used as they were leaving the commissary. He wasn't staying just because Jack wanted - or needed - him but because he actually wanted to. As far as he was concerned, the SGC was in no short way, home. And right now, he needed home as much as it needed him.

"It's always in a state, Daniel," Jack quipped as they automatically headed in the direction of Daniel's lab.

"Funny, Jack."

"You're not supposed to be working for another few days, remember?"

"I remember," Daniel sighed. "I just want to look."

"No translating."

"No."

"Or referencing."

"None."

"No rock dusting."

"Wouldn't think of it."

"Or reading."

"What!"

Jack just shrugged at him. "Reading is work for you… isn't it?" He looked confused.

"People do read for relaxation, Jack."

"People, yes. You read for…" He knew there was a point in there somewhere but his only argument to put forward at the moment seemed to be his trademark confused look.

"Reading is what I do, Jack," Daniel said calmly.

"Yes, it is." Daniel looked at Jack, realising this as one of those 'Jack O'Neill' moments that no one in the galaxy, and possibly a few others, that anyone but Jack O'Neill would ever understand. Sometimes, Daniel even wondered if Jack understood them.

"I promise not to pop an eye socket," Daniel said, hoping the compromise would at least allow him to peek at the latest mission archaeological reports. Jack nodded. They walked in silence until they reached his office. Daniel poked his head in… and sneezed.

"Jeez, has anybody even been in here in three weeks?"

"Beats me," Jack offered, following Daniel in and picking up a rock to toss about on the way. He danced it between his hands while Daniel disturbed more dust as he rooted through his belongings, sneezing furiously and grunting a few times when it strained his still tender injuries.

"You okay?"

"Fine," he grumbled, gripping his desk a little tighter than necessary. Daniel spied what Jack had in his hands and what he was doing with it. He rolled his eyes. "Please put that down, Jack, it's not a juggling ball." Jack eyed the thing… for all he knew, it could be. Noticing the stare Daniel was giving him he swiftly set it down on the bench beside him.

"So…?" Jack trailed and Daniel glanced at him questioningly.

"So?" Daniel mimicked him, giving Jack his full attention. He was hanging around him like a bad smell since he'd gotten out of the infirmary and that could only mean one thing, he needed to talk about something that only Daniel could help him with.

"So…"

"Jack!" Daniel protested folding his arms and leaning against the support of his desk. "Spit it out."

Jack blinked, and said, "I called Pete a few days after…" He tailed off and Daniel realised it wasn't the first time that Jack had stopped short of saying it. He had never actually referred to it as anything. Not as after Carter got shot, or after Carter nearly got killed, or when Carter was put into a coma. He hadn't once said it. Jack was one big walking example of denial.

"Yeah?" He would spare him the awkwardness, as he had done a few times before.

"I told him I thought he should know… I supposed he might have been worrying about her…"

"And?" Daniel had a feeling he knew where this was going and he wondered exactly how much he should tell Jack. "He never came to visit," Daniel pointed out, never having seen the man in the infirmary.

"He did."

"Oh?"

"A few times."

"And?"

"He said Carter… he said the engagement was off." Jack scratched his head and waited for Daniel's reaction.

"I know."

"You… knew?"

"Sam told me," Daniel told him, ignoring the shock on his face. "Did he tell you why she broke it off?"

Jack, who had been studying the floor of Daniel's lab quite interestedly, seemed now to be very interested in Daniel. He shook his head and found the faculty to ask, "Did she tell you?" He swallowed, hard, his heart beating wildly. He was abruptly back in the observation room, talking to Pete, his heart beating the same way then as it was now while Pete told him of their break up.

"She didn't tell you?" Pete seemed to sound surprised. Jack only shook his head, reproaching himself as he remembered Sam wanting to talk to him on several occasions - could that have been it? "I'm surprised."

"Why?" Pete only shrugged cryptically at his question.

"Take care of her, General," Pete said as he walked past and left.

Jack barely registered him leaving as he stared down at Carter and whispered to her, "Always."

"She talked to me about it, yeah." Daniels response brought him back into reality again and he waited for an elaboration. Daniel lifted his eyebrows above his glasses and then let them relax again. "I could tell you, Jack, if that's what you really wanted."

Jack gazed at Daniel, pondering that statement. It was what he wanted, but he wasn't about to give up on the fact that Sam would tell him herself some day soon and so he resolutely told Daniel, "No, no." Daniel pursed his lips, satisfied and bowed his head, back to sorting the mess before him.

"Exactly how long has that question been nagging at you?" Daniel wondered aloud as he noted Jack was getting pensive again. Jack looked at him with an expression that showed he really wished he'd dropped it.

"Since Pete told me, the day after." This time, Jack didn't even trail; he simply stopped the sentence as if there was nothing it could've gone beyond. He quirked an eyebrow and shuffled some notes.

"Why didn't you just ask me?" Jack shrugged and Daniel pointedly stopped what he was doing, demanding an answer with unyielding eyes.

"You had enough on your mind without my personal misgivings."

"Misgivings?" Daniel raised his voice, exaggerating his surprise at the word. He would've thought anything to do with Sam and Pete breaking up had very little to do with misgivings when referenced solely to Jack personally. Jack tightened the muscles in his cheeks, avoiding Daniel's eyes and damning his brains inept ability in vocabulary. Almost as soon as he'd damned it, he decided it wasn't truly its fault, no; it was Daniel's super stocked vocabulary that should be damned. "Is that the only reason?" Daniel had obviously taken the hint that he wasn't going to bite on that particularly juicy bait. Well, juicy for Daniel anyway.

Problem was, he had picked up on the other reason Jack hadn't spoken to him about this. Or so it seemed, he at least picked up on the fact that there was something else, underlying, and it wouldn't have the slightest thing to do with his former lame answer. No, nothing at all.

Damned vocabulary… all of them.

"I didn't want Carter to hear." There, he said it. Daniel made an 'ah' with his mouth and let it melt into an amused smile. Jack exhaled, blowing his cheeks out.

"I see. So, would this have anything to do with the way you hesitated horribly, with panicked eyes on Sam, while you answered my question about Jacob?"

"Might do," Jack winced. Now that Daniel was getting the picture, it was making him feel more ridiculous by the second.

Yes, Daniel, I didn't want to talk about it because I keep seeing Carter's reaction to everything I say, in my head. I've finally gone nuts and you have proof!

"Where is he, Jack?" Daniel knew, even when Jack had relayed that Jacob was on a deeply covert mission and couldn't be contacted for a while, that there was more to the story, if that had been the story at all. Jack looked up from the ground, eyelashes fluttering in an upset manner.

"He's dying, Daniel."

Daniel felt a pain shoot up into his brain and it took him a moment to connect it with the fact that he had just jerked wildly.

"Oh, God," he said, almost speechless with shock. "W-what… what…?"

Jack closed his eyes and they flew open almost instantly, his lips twitching at the distress this conversation was having on his emotions. "It's Selmak, he's been in a coma since we swatted the Replicators. The toxins were already released… there's nothing they can do."

"Does he know?" Jack nodded.

"He should've been here a few days ago but he wasn't feeling up to travelling." Daniel winced. "I think the news threw him for a loop. He only found out recently - he actually was on a mission where he was unreachable - tying up some post-war crap…" Jack was going to explain but Daniel nodded his understanding. Details weren't needed. "He's coming tomorrow." Daniel nodded.

"Poor Jacob, I can't imagine-"

"I can," Jack cut him off, knowing exactly what he was going to say. Daniel immediately berated himself for even thinking of saying it as he had a sudden flash of Jack's son, Charlie.

"I'm sorry." Jack waved a hand at him.

"She better wake up soon, Daniel. I don't want to be the one who has to tell her he's gone." Jack glanced sadly over his shoulder as he walked out. "I don't think I could handle it."

He waited until Jack was gone until he let a soft sigh fall from his lips and prayed for Sam to wake up.

"I heard you were keeping my spot warm."

Daniel smiled as he entered the infirmary and Saw Jacob propped up on the bed that he had been in just yesterday.

"I hope the grooves are to your liking. Took three weeks to put those puppies there!" He joked and Jacob chuckled lightly as Daniel came to rest in a position he had seen Jack stilted to for the past few weeks, between him and Sam. He took hold of what the Doctor had dubbed Jack's chair and swung it around to sit down.

Thinking on Jack, he was reminded of something. "Ah, Jack told me to tell you he's sorry he wasn't there to welcome you in - it's been a crazy day. He said he'd be down later."

Jacob nodded and glanced sadly to Sam. "I have no doubt," he said. "How's he taking this?"

Daniel blinked and said, "You know Jack… more importantly, how are you taking this?" He side stepped the question, feeling a few days wouldn't even scratch the surface on how Jack was taking all this.

Jacob tore his eyes away from Sam and looked at Daniel, not unaware of how he had changed the subject. "You should never have to outlive your kids," Jacob said, bowing his head and masking some of the pain in his eyes as he did.

"No, you shouldn't," Daniel agreed softly and was quietly reminded of Jack again. "But I'm sure Sam will be fine, Jacob."

"Yeah," Jacob whispered. He smiled then and said, "So, how's Jack taking it?" He smirked, letting Daniel realise that he really hadn't missed the abrupt change in subject. Daniel scratched his nose in a nervous gesture and tightened his lips across his face.

"He's been in here nearly every night I was able to count," Daniel told him, hoping he was putting it into a nutshell. Jacob nodded and his eyes drifted towards Sam again. "He just sits, reads and watches. I can't say if he's even really slept." Jacob nodded again and his head lulled back onto his pillow, imagining exactly how Jack would be. "He even talks to her." Jacob and Daniel smiled warmly together. With a little mirth still in his voice Daniel told him, "He has full blown conversations, imagining how she would reply." Jacob chuckled and Daniel found he was grinning. "I caught him trying to bribe her with blue Jell-O once." Jacob shook silently with laughter, as did Daniel at the sight of Jack waving the bowl of wobbling food under Carter's nose.

"Sounds like Jack, all right," Jacob mused, closing his eyes.

"I should let you get some rest," Daniel said, standing to leave. Pausing, he thought he should warn Jacob about something. "He doesn't like talking about her as if she wasn't there." Jacob opened his eyes and seemed to be shocked that Daniel would even insinuate he do such a thing. "In the room, I mean," he clarified and Jacob's outrage softened into understanding and finally into a smile. Daniel gave him a nod as he left.

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