The Acceptance

Jack could hear his heart pound against his chest and his shallow, quick breaths as though his ears were doing the breathing. A wall pressed firmly against his back effectively stopped him from moving, and he focused on the cool cement, using it to try to regain control over himself.

When the nausea had suddenly disappeared, it felt like everything was suddenly rushing in on him. The room, the whole base was suddenly oppressive and the rush of adrenaline, made him momentarily forget he where he was, focusing entirely on the near panic the sensations were causing.

Damn it! He took a breath and ran his hands over his face, leaning heavily against the wall. Where the hell was this coming from? What the hell was going on with him? He stilled his hands as they ran through his hair, and took a deep steadying breath while he tried to think clearly through the anger that was beginning to grow inside him at the complete lack of control he had over himself.

He really wanted to know exactly what the hell was going on.

Jack allowed his hands to fall to his sides and opened his eyes cautiously in case the light stung. It didn't. And he found himself facing a concerned look from the Doc—which only seemed to make the anger grow.

She looked about to say something, but he cut her off. "I want out."

He strode past her and walked up to the door of the isolation room.

"Sir?" she asked following him.

He didn't glance at her, continuing to look at the only exit in the room. "Get. Me. Out," he said through gritted teeth. He had the urge to punch the door, or hit it, but suppressed it, settling for clenching both his fists.

"Sir, I really can't –"

She stopped when he turned to look at her, his forehead pressed lightly against the metal.

She sighed, almost tiredly, and swiped her card through the sensor. "I'm coming with you, though," she stated as a condition as the door opened.

He didn't respond, just walked out of the room.

There was a guard on duty, which Jack ignored completely, walking right past him when the marine tried to stop him. Fraiser intervened, and quickly told the guard to give a message or something to Hammond. Jack really wasn't listening. He didn't care.

He just needed to get out. Away from the surreal happenings of the SGC. Away from the confining sub-levels and the weirdness that went on. He wasn't going to go AWOL, he wouldn't leave the grounds. Even though he was beyond angry—beyond pissed off, actually—he would get himself under control and wait for the explanation. And it had better be a damn good one.

The elevator doors opened for him then and he stepped inside, Fraiser right behind him. Purposely, he leaned against the wall next to the phone and crossed his arms, glaring straight ahead of him. Yes, he was preventing her from using the phone. He'd be damned if he was going to let her trap him in a room no bigger than a closet.

She didn't try to use it though, she just kept studying him with her eyes, silently. He glanced down at her briefly and she met his gaze calmly, as though she was trying to comfort him without saying anything. She wasn't afraid of him, and for some reason he felt she should be.

He shifted his head to look at the ascending numbers and took a deep breath. The numbers changed and suddenly the elevator stopped. He didn't move a muscle, tensing slightly as the doors slid open. He wasn't sure why, it was almost instinctive.

Daniel entered with an open book in his hand. Out of the corner of his eye, Jack could see Daniel glance at first Fraiser, then him. He reached to press the number of the floor he wanted but the Doc stopped him.

"I need you to do something for me, Daniel," she said hurriedly, putting her foot between the closing doors to keep them open.

He looked at her curiously. "What is it?"

"Go with the Colonel. I'll be up in a few minutes, just don't let him leave the grounds." And then she slipped out of the doors which were trying to close for the second time.

Jack could feel Daniel's eyes on him and he tensed a little more, his anger flaring. He felt as though Daniel was accusing him of something or… arguing with him. He clenched his hands again and determinedly stared at the changing numbers. It made no sense, the rational part of his mind protested, yet he felt defensive which pissed him right off.

Daniel didn't say anything the entire way up, and Jack was thankful for that. The archaeologist sometimes didn't know when to shut up and luckily this wasn't one of those times. Jack tried, unsuccessfully, to rein in his anger on the way up, but it wasn't until he actually got outside the complex that he found himself relaxing a little.

He took a breath of the cool evening air and sighed, feeling a tightening in his chest he didn't even realize was there, loosen. He looked up at the rapidly darkening blue sky feeling more like himself than he had in days. The anger was still there but it seemed to be easing off, slowly… Very slowly.

Jack felt another rush of restlessness and looked around him; at the tunnel entrance and then the gate in front of him—yeah, okay so he thought he wasn't going to leave the base, but at that moment he didn't want anything more than to walk through that gate and go home.

"Jack?"

He ignored Daniel's voice and continued to walk toward the gate.

Daniel pulled up beside him nervously. "Uh, Jack?"

Again he didn't say a word, he was over half way there… Maybe…

Just then, Daniel stepped in front of him, forcing Jack to stop and to focus his attention on the other man.

"Janet said you can't go off base. I think…" Daniel was cut off as Jack narrowed his eyes and took a challenging step forward. The younger man hesitated, knowing he wouldn't be able stop Jack if he decided he really wanted to go.

He would try anyway.

Jack eyed the archaeologist as he squared his shoulders, looking back at him determinedly, and took another step forward. Daniel reached out a hand to stop him, when suddenly, he growled. He… growled… Growled? Jack blinked in surprise as Daniel's eyes went wide and he pulled his hand back.

"Jack? Did, uh – did you just… growl?" Daniel watched him cautiously, unsure what to do. He didn't want to cause a fight between them by saying or doing something that might set him off—he was doubtful of Jack's mental state—and so, he didn't move or say anything more; continuing to block the path to the gate, but otherwise allowing the older man his space.

He had. He had growled. That definitely was not normal. He sounded like a dog for crying out loud! The surprise and confusion cleared his mind and he remembered Fraiser's explanation as to what was wrong with him.

He turned away from Daniel with a sigh, and walked to the side of the tunnel entrance to the trail he knew was there. Despite his newly regained control, he still had excess energy and didn't want to go back in the base. He could hear the younger man follow behind him and paused, waiting until he caught up.

They walked for a few minutes before Daniel broke the, admittedly, somewhat awkward silence.

"Did Janet, uh, explain…?" Daniel trailed off, not knowing quite how to ask, and wishing afterward, he hadn't tried.

Jack glanced briefly sideways at the archaeologist who was watching him curiously and uncertainly. "Yes."

There was a short pause. Jack liked one word responses, if used right, they can really throw people off balance.

"Do you believe her?" Daniel probed quietly, wanting to know what Jack thought of all this, how he was handling it. If he didn't believe this…

Now that threw him off guard. He turned to look at Daniel, making sure he kept his face blank. He studied the younger man's face for a moment then looked forward once more and shrugged noncommittally, picking up his pace a little.

"Come on Jack," Daniel said, starting to sound a little irritated. "It's not that hard of a question. Yes or no?"

He didn't pause, he didn't slow his pace or even glance at the younger man, but he did think about it. Did he believe Fraiser? …Yes. But…

He kept silent for a few more moments, trying to think it over again. It didn't work and Daniel broke the silence once again. Did no one ever tell him that 'silence was bliss'?

"I guess it's no then…" the archaeologist said quietly. He was concerned for his friend, but he wasn't an easy person to get to open up.

Jack spun around angrily. "A goddamned werewolf, Daniel! Me! A were – wolf. Yes, I believe Faiser, but… Damn it! Werewolves are fake! They aren't real!"

Daniel looked at him a little hesitantly. "But they are real Jack, maybe not here on Earth, but the myths must have come from somewhere."

Frustrated, he threw up his hands and turned around, running them through his hair. He started walking again.

Daniel jogged up beside him. "We – we went back to P97-3X4. They said they would help."

"Do they have a cure?" Jack asked offhandedly, already guessing the answer.

"Uh, no…"

"So, what are they gonna do then? Teach me to howl at the moon?"

He could practically feel Daniel's glare. "Jack!"

Sighing, he slowed down a little, turning the brisk walk into an almost leisurely pace. God, he wished he wasn't here right now…

"What, Daniel?"

The younger man hesitated for an instant before answering. "They, uh… They're going to come here. Tell us as much information about…" He paused trying to think of the right word, "…this…" and one, inconveniently, not coming to mind, "as possible."

Jack raised his eyebrows a little. "When?"

"Two days?"

He nodded once, accepting, and they both fell silent. Jack felt way better out here than he had at any point during the last couple days inside the SGC. Well, at least any of the times he was conscious… It was almost as if he felt more at home, more comfortable out here. Again, the feeling didn't quite feel like it was his, though. Almost like it was coming from him, but a part of him was completely against it… or something. Whatever. Anyway, he was all for the camping and nature adventure stuff… He liked the look of green forests and blue and starry skies, but this was different. He wasn't ever quite this—what's the right word? Close? Attached? …Something like that…—to it. It felt almost… natural to be here.

Daniel glanced sideways at Jack for the second time in maybe, ten minutes. Jack seemed like he had calmed down a lot since his angry rant, but now the archeologist was curious as to what was going on in the other man's head. He wondered what it would be like to actually be faced with what Jack was facing, and what side effects were affecting him that they didn't know about. It had occurred to Daniel at some point that Jack may not have been in full control of what he was doing up until he had growled. Which seemed to have surprised both of them, not just him.

Suddenly, Daniel jerked himself out of his thoughts and looked around, it was getting dark even with the full moon and lights from the compound. "Shouldn't we, uh, turn around… go back. Janet might be waiting for us."

Jack glanced at him and shrugged calmly. "Nah."

Deciding that he should be a little bit more in control of this situation since he was the mentally stable one of the two of them, he stopped walking. "We should go back," he said firmly.

The colonel turned around as Daniel stopped, but continued to walk backward along the path. He raised his eyebrows. "Are you sure?" He smirked a little. "'Cause you're not gettin' there any faster then."

Daniel looked at him confused. "What?"

"The trail, Daniel. It loops around," he said as though he were explaining something to a slow child. He turned around again as the younger man caught up to him. "We're almost back where we started."

"Oh." And with a slight shrug, made there way out.

A/N Thanks to my friend Sara for her help on this chapter :-D