A/N: Just a rather short update, the rest is soon to follow, as soon as I can edit and have it betaed.

And just a teensy leeetle begging for feedback, otherwise I don't know whether I'm galloping off into the totally wrong direction.

Reeling And Dealing

On the evening of the next day, after he had had an almost boring day at work, Jack looked forward to meet Buffy at a record store mid-town. They had agreed on this days before, since Buffy found that his collection of CDs urgently needed something by someone born after World War II as she had jokingly put it.

He was on time and waited the requisite half hour before pulling out his cell and dialling her own cell number.

After about the tenth ring he hung up and tried both home and work.

Neither call got him his girlfriend.

Another wait of ten minutes and he headed back home.

He didn't get a hold of Buffy the whole evening.

The next morning on his way to the mountain he swung by Buffy's apartment. Nobody stirred even after leaning on the door bell for a minute flat. Jack checked the hallway and then picked the lock a bit clumsily, it had been a while after all.

The door swung open and suddenly Jack felt his heart thump heavily in his throat.

The apartment was empty. Not only was there no Buffy nor Dawn but also what little furniture there was, had been pushed to the walls and covered with white sheets. His feet felt leaden as he entered the bed room. The mattress was lying slightly askew on the bed, obviously for airing and all the closet doors were open, revealing only empty hangers.

Not a single sign that anyone lived here right now or even recently. Slowly he went back to the living room again, letting his gaze sweep the non-descript room where nothing personal caught the eye anymore.

"She can't be gone." Jack's own voice startled him and the flat echo he received from the liveless apartment felt like sucker punches.

Jack spent 9:30 to 12 o'clock reading reports from four different missions, one of them by SG-9 who had negotiated trade relations with the Gunak, a race who considered the correct form of address of utmost importance and spent hours on instructing SG-9.

He made notes in the margins. When Major Kovacek noticed, he inhaled a piece of bagel.

From 12 to 12:45 Jack ate in the commissary: chicken broth, pizza and "Turkish Delight" for dessert. The commissary staff felt slightly guilty when he asked for seconds since "Turkish Delight" was actually the whipped up remains of yesterday's vanilla pudding with lots of sugar and some pistaccio sprinkled on top.

12:45 found Jack back at his desk, making some calls.

At thirteen hundred hours Jack rose and went to the observation room expecting the klaxons going off for the scheduled return of SG-3 and 10. They were right on time. Seeing the all clear from Major Ferretti, Jack sent both teams to the Infirmary and ordered the debriefing for 14:30. After that he lingered a bit, unnerving Sergeant Harriman and finally went downstairs to the gate room to see off SG-2 for a visit to the alpha site.

At 14:30 Jack held the debriefing. When he asked for clarification and indepth explanation for the third time, Major Ferretti actually stuttered.

After finishing the rest of the reports in the afternoon, every single one of them, and writing some memos Jack looked over his desk, actually seeing the wood for the first time since starting at what he still sometimes thought of as General Hammond's job.

He spent a further eighteen minutes staring at the clock on the wall, waiting for 18:15.

Security at the base entrance logged General O'Neill as off-base at 18:25.

Daniel never had any illusions that he was a very perceptive person, unless it involved papyrus or ancient pottery, but even he knew something was off with Jack. It had started with Jack's approval form for the hideously expensive aquisition of a canopic jar from Christie's only two days after Daniel had filed for it and was confirmed when Daniel thought back and couldn't remember the last time Jack had come into his office stealing his coffee, holding up the wall and making a nuisance of himself.

Daniel didn't bother knocking on the already open door to Jack's office but instead came right in and closed the door behind him.

Jack looked up from squinting into his computer, no easy smile welcoming Daniel as usual.

"Daniel, what can I do you for?"

"Hey Jack, I thought maybe we could … talk."

Jack's eyebrows got lost in his hairline, sitting back in his chair, he steepled his fingers and very sedately said: "Uh-oh."

Daniel grabbed the visitor's chair, sat down and hunched forward, his arms on his knees, the very picture of the attentive friend, he figured.

"Well, you have been kind of .. off lately."

"Off?"

Daniel felt it was the appropiate word from all twentythree languages at his disposal.

"Yes. Is everything alright?"

"Peachy."

Ok, subtlety obviously wasn't working if Jack was going to be difficult.

"I noticed certain things. You haven't been quite your usual charming self lately." A rueful non-smile twisted the corners of Daniel's mouth.

"When have I ever, Daniel." Came the caustic reply.

Daniel wasn't about to be baited and instead forged ahead: "Is everything ok between you and Buffy?"

Daniel watched Jack closely but couldn't read him.

But then Jack slowly leaned forward, putting his elbows on his desk and unexpectedly answered: "Buffy split up with me." His voice carried no inflection. Then, for a very short moment wry amusement shone through. "Actually she more like split, period."

Daniel let out a surprised "Huh."

He honestly didn't know what was more disconcerting, the fact that Jack had opened up to him or the fact that Daniel knew why Buffy probably had left and Jack didn't.

It spoke volumes of Jack's inner turmoil that he had chosen to talk to Daniel at all. Every time before, he had just shrugged anything off apparently so easily that Daniel had come to think of Jack as an emotional duck, everything just seemed to roll right off.

Daniel mentally shook himself, now wasn't the time for musing on his interpretation of Jack's dealing capabilities.

"Have you tried home, work, her flat? Of course you have." Daniel interrupted himself before Jack could. "She just left? No note, no 'Dear John' letter?" Daniel winced at his lack of tact.

"Nope."

Jack's monosyllabic answer unnerved Daniel since Jack usually wouldn't let him off the hook so easily.

"How about having Sam look for her?"

Jack's sarcastic snort, reassured Daniel that Jack wasn't completely at the end of his rope.

"Sure, that would go over well. 'Carter, you mind doing some hacking since I seem to have misplaced my girlfriend.'"

"I see your point."

Uncomfortable silence settled between the two. Daniel was fiddling with his hands.

"I could check with Dawn's university in Germany."

"Nah, don't bother." Jack sounded bitter. "It's not the first time I got dumped. 's not like we ever really fit that well. She was too young."

But even Daniel could see the pain in Jack's eyes, now that he knew it was there.

tbc