Inescapable: Chapter 22

AN: Disclaimer and all in Chapter 1.

Apologies for the major delay in this things have been far too hectic for me recently to even think up another chapter never mind write one so please, forgive me! And of course I hope you enjoy the story. I'm adding on the end of the last chapter to remind people of what happened last as its been so long since I updated.

"How do you feel about a fishing trip, Daniel?"

The room suddenly went silent, so silent in fact, that the blurred motion of Jack's head whipping towards Sam nearly sounded like a whistle.

"Carter?"

"Sir?"

Daniel didn't know what she'd done, but Jack wasn't particularly happy about it and Daniel was suddenly very happy about it.

"I think I'd feel quite happy, actually," Daniel replied, smugly and smiling tightly at Jack.

Jack's lips parted as a glint shone in Sam's eyes. He was sooooo gonna get her for that.

"What the hell?" Jack swore vehemently under his breath and just… just resisted the urge to slam his hand through his mockingly shiny desk. Instead he exhaled nosily through his nostrils and glared at it, narrowing his eyes and marking a date in its future for some defacing. It gleaned at him as if it was taunting him. It knew where the letter was. It sooo knew! Hadn't he left it on that very spot this morning? He went over in his head what he had done that morning.

Came to work… had a coffee… stole Daniel's doughnut… hid Walter's appointment diary… wrote letter of resignation and set it on this very spot before I went to say 'hi ho' to SG-5.

He remembered writing the letter and he distinctly remembered leaving it tidily on the desk in front of his chair, giving it a jovial tap before he strolled on out.

"Goddamn walking documents!" He scowled. "Why can't I loose Daniel's like this?"

"Loose my what?"

Jack whipped his head up and threw an irritated glance at Daniel before checking under his desk for the tenth time already. As he did so he muttered something that Daniel couldn't quite hear but was certain was some sort of smart remark. Daniel rolled his eyes.

"Jack?" Daniel wondered aloud as he folded his arms and strolled on into the office, tilting his head to try and see what he was up to.

"What?" Came a bark, soon followed by a bang and a string of curses. Daniel muffled a laugh under his hand as Jack emerged rubbing his head, ruffling his hair, making himself appear even more ridiculous.

"As much as I really don't care anymore… but… what are you doing?" He asked, not hiding his amusement and happy that he had gotten sufficient satisfaction from this, so much so that he wasn't going to bother bringing up his doughnut going AWOL this morning.

"Looking for something," Jack replied grumpily, casting his eyes around him in the case that it had fallen to the floor and was kicked about the room.

"Your mind perhaps?" Jack threw Daniel a withering look and Daniel raised his eyebrows in response.

"Had to be Walter," Jack said to himself while Daniel watched him interestedly as he pulled himself from the floor with some effort and fell into his seat with a sigh. "This is revenge for stealing that godforsaken book."

"You stole what?" Jack's eyes found Daniel at his question.

"That infuriating huge black book that he always has when he trots in merrily to tell me I have another stuffed up, shit spouting-"

"-I get the picture," Daniel interrupted with a short wave of his hand.

"Daniel?" Jack looked at him fully and narrowed his eyes, his forehead creasing in question. "What are you doing in here anyway?"

"What did you loose?" Daniel ignored his question, knowing that when he eventually got around to pressing Jack about this would-be fishing trip that he was going to be out on his ass very soon after.

"A very important document," Jack told him, looking back down at his desk and clasping his eyes shut, willing the letter to appear magically before him. He opened them again to see the bare surface staring back at him. He swore it was trying to look innocent. "Damn letter eating desk…" he growled.

Daniel's brow furrowed and his eyebrows knitted as he blinked a few times wondering that maybe, just maybe, Jack really had lost his mind. He licked his lips and asked, "Don't you try to loose as many of those as possible?"

"Not this one." Jack didn't even bother to counter Daniel's accusation.

"You saved it, right?" Daniel said, unfolding his arms and walking closer to the bemused General. "Just print…" Daniel tailed off as he caught the look in Jack's eyes. "You didn't save it," he stated in an almost fatherly exasperated tone.

"It wasn't like I was going to need it again!" Jack protested, flailing his hand at Daniel in his defence.

"A very important document?" Daniel repeated slowly, almost teasingly.

"This particular one is only needed once." Daniel smirked and Jack could see the response to that on his tongue. "Don't!" He ordered. "So not in the mood, Daniel. Seriously."

"What happened to 'happy Jack'?" Daniel asked still with a smirk as he sat down.

Jack's eyes flicked to him and intended to throw a sarcastic remark at Daniel but his mind was filled with thoughts of writing another letter of resignation. He had done it a few times, and with reasons that made it not so much easy but essential at the time, perhaps for the wrong reasons and so he wondered why now, why when his reason was as good as it could ever hope to be, why it was so hard to write?

"Any particular reason you're getting up my nose this afternoon, Spacemonkey, or do you just enjoy it up there?" Daniel scrunched his nose in distaste at Jack's metaphor while Jack wiggled two insisting eyebrows at him.

"Actually," Daniel began, now was as good a time to leave as any. "I was wondering when this fishing trip is taking off." Jack's eyes narrowed to slits and Daniel felt the urge to lift himself from the seat. "I mean, I know you like to be organised for fishing and I was just -"

"Daniel?"

"Yeah?"

Jack pointed to the open doorway and Daniel followed his finger and glanced out, turned his head and looked back at Jack. Jack's face grew hard and appeared to be getting a rosy shade of angry. Daniel bit on his lip and as Jack bared his teeth, the archaeologist fled from the office faster than dust shooting up his nose.

"I really don't know, sir."

"Walter, this is not a joke…"

"I didn't take it, sir. Perhaps you placed it somewhere else and forgot?"

"Are you telling me I'm senile as well as wrong here Sergeant?"

"Sir, I-"

"O'Neill," Teal'c bowed his head a touch at both Jack and the visibly squirming Walter. He smiled a little in response to Walter's pleading eyes.

"One moment, T," Jack held up a hand. "It was on my desk, right here." Jack slapped his hand hard on the desk and while Walter flinched, Teal'c raised a curious eyebrow. "I know I didn't touch it. I left it all neat and crisply here." Teal'c did a Teal'c grin at Jack's phrase and listened on with interest. "Now unless some letter eating aliens have invaded the base in the last few hours, no one else comes into my office when I'm not here!"

"SG-1 come here quite frequently, O'Neill," Teal'c reminded him.

"Bah!" Jack flicked his wrist at the useless information. "None of you would…" Jack tailed off and his eyes phased out of the room momentarily. "He wouldn't…" He whispered in thought then glanced to Teal'c with panicked eyes. "Would he?"

"To whom do you refer?"

"Rockboy! I swear if he-"

"Rockboy?" Teal'c inquired yet knowing exactly who Jack was talking about.

Jack apparently was aware he knew also as he continued without further pause. "Do you think Daniel would ever try to stop me from retiring?"

Teal'c's eyebrows did a little dance as he considered Jack's question. "It would depend on your motives, I believe."

"Retiring?"

It took Jack a few seconds to realise it was Walter that had spoken, and it was more than likely the look in Walter's eyes that said 'did I just say that out loud?' that drew this conclusion for him. He scowled at Walter and shouted, "Out!" The Sergeant was gone in a flash.

"My motives, eh?" Jack looked intently at Teal'c, then to the ground. "What if they were… you know…?" Jack shrugged.

"I do not."

"You know?" Jack prompted and grimaced at the thought of having to spill this, to Teal'c, here, now. "About… happiness." Jack visibly winced and avoided Teal'c's eyes. He chanced a look up to see Teal'c's lips quirking. "Well?" He asked, getting impatient.

"I believe he would have no reason to stop you," Teal'c answered.

Jack sighed, "No, I suppose not." A thought came to him and he glanced sharply to Teal'c. "You?"

"You know I only wish for your wellbeing, O'Neill, if that should mean you need to step away from the fight then it should be done."

"Yeah…" Jack said quietly, "I thought so." He smiled faintly at Teal'c and his eyes drifted towards the briefing room, gravitating towards the Stargate. He noticed Walter at the window, looking down to the Gate Room and shouting at someone out of sight about some technoproblem no doubt.

"What of Colonel Carter?" Teal'c wondered.

Jack scratched his cheek and blinked his eyes in dismissal. "No, Carter's the last person that wants me to stay here right now."

"Are you certain?" Teal'c asked with a knowing edge to his voice. Jack was about to nod when Sam walked up beside Siler and he smiled as she got engrossed in helping the confused looking technician. "Does Colonel Carter not wish to remain in your presence?"

"Of course she does, T," Jack replied with a taste of irritation.

"And would not your resignation lessen the time she spends with you?"

"Not with what… wait…" Jack's mind finally connected with what Teal'c was saying. He smiled at the Jaffa's coyness and gave him a pat on the shoulder to which Teal'c bowed in response as Jack sailed past him for the door to the briefing room.

Jack turned the handle and poked his head out, "Oh, Carter?" The blond head bent over a notebook with Siler, whizzed around with an arrestingly sweet smile. He flashed a tight smile of his own in return. "A moment please?"

Short I know, but more will follow soon, I promise. Any thoughts?