Chapter Eight: Monkey in the Middle
The SGC

Lochus faborichat e capu capitus vulnus...

Scribbling translations in his notebook, Daniel paged slowly through the images of the medical device. It all seemed to be about thought control, so while the translations themselves weren't difficult, the ideas were rather abstract.

And the feeling of someone watching him wasn't helping. He glanced back to find Jack leaning against the door frame. "Hey, Jack."

The other man didn't speak, just continued to stare at him darkly.

Daniel went back to his translations, knowing that one of two things would happen: either whatever was bothering Jack would get under his skin enough that he would start talking of his own volition, or he would tire of the fact that Daniel refused to play his game and walk away. However, after a solid five minutes of trying to ignore the eyes burning a hole in the back of his shirt, he just couldn't hold the high ground anymore. "Did you come here just to stand there and look imposing, or did you have something to say?"

"I came here," Jack growled, pushing off the wall to stand upright, "to tell you to grow a pair."

It took him a moment to formulate a response to that, blinking slowly. "Excuse me?"

"You need to go talk to her."

"Are you kidding me?" Daniel could not have been thrown more off-kilter if Jack had actually hit him. "You can't actually want that."

"She wants that," the other man pressed. "She's hurting right now, and you're the only one who can help fix that."

"I... but... uh..." He rocketed to his feet. "Do you have any idea how awkward this is?"

"Yes, Daniel, I know exactly how awkward this is! I stood in these boots first, if you recall! And I sucked it up, because she needed that."

Oh. Right. He'd all but forgotten the other other Sam, the one who'd come through the quantum mirror from a world where she'd been married to Jack. "Okay, but that was different."

"Yeah? Why?" Jack challenged.

"Because... because..." Because it wasn't him, that was why. "Because you think about her that way, and I don't!" he protested finally. "You get that she has feelings for you, because you feel the same way about her!"

His friend's face promptly turned so murderous that Daniel counted himself a little bit lucky to be alive. Still, he couldn't help but push the issue. "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot," he said sarcastically. "That's the can of worms we're not supposed to open until the rapture. Give me a second to seal that back up, would you?"

"That's a crappy excuse, Daniel, and I don't believe it for a second." Jack's voice was sour.

"What do you mean, you don't believe it?"

"Well, for one, that would officially make you the only man on base who doesn't have a thing for her."

The archaeologist studied his friend for a long moment, trying to pin down exactly what it was that bothered his friend so much about that. "Look, I'm not saying she's not a great catch," he said finally. "I mean, she is. Smart, funny, attractive. I've just never thought of her that way."

Jack's expression could only be described as pure disbelief.

"Hey," Daniel defended. "When Sam and I met, I was married. Very happily married, I might add. And when Shar'e disappeared, I was a little too heartbroken to go scouting around for other women. By the time I got over that, someone," he pressed, pointing a finger squarely at his friend, "had made it incredibly clear that she wasn't exactly available."

"I did no such thing."

"You punched me in the face, Jack!"

The other man's eyebrows rose a little, then a little more as he remembered the little incident with the Land of the Light. Getting up close and personal with a jealous Jack's fist that day for only inquiring as to Sam's health was not something Daniel was apt to forget.

"Yeah, well, that wasn't exactly me," he defended.

"No, it was you, just sans self-control." And it was only one piece of evidence out of a whole file drawer full. "All I'm saying is that I've tried my damndest to stay out of it, Jack, because you're my friend. Because you made your stance on all this pretty clear years ago, and I respect that. Because I didn't want things to get messy, but now..."

"This is about as messy as it gets."

Daniel sighed. "Yeah. So I can't, Jack. I just can't."