It had been two days since David got to see the Stargate in action, and he found himself wishing that he would get a chance to go through it. He knew it was dangerous, and he was in no physical condition to defend himself in a war zone, but he wanted to feel how the Stargate worked. He wanted to travel to other worlds, breathe in the alien atmosphere. He wanted to explore.

Forty years ago he would have been content in merely the knowledge that those worlds existed, but ever since his miraculous recovery he had strived to experience the world outside of books.

Yet, here he was inside a lab, several hundred feet beneath the Earth's surface, reading. Life seemed so unfair at times.

He needed some fresh air.

"Excuse me, Dr. Granseth?"

David looked up at the voice, instantly recognizing Dr. Jackson. "Yes?"

Dr. Jackson entered the lab, extending his hand to David. "I'm Daniel Jackson. We haven't met, yet, so I thought I'd introduce myself, and see how you're settling in around here."

"I appreciate that, Dr. Jackson. This place is incredible. I can't believe this has all been going on without the world knowing about it. Your team has done an amazing job."

Daniel smiled awkwardly at the praise. "Thank you. And it's Daniel. So I understand you're a friend of Jack's," he said without further preamble.

David was taken by surprise. "I wouldn't say friends, I hardly even know him. He did vouch for me to get into the Stargate Program. I understand he doesn't do that a lot."

Daniel chuckled as he sat down in the chair next to him, swinging back and forth in it slightly. "He never does that. To be honest, it's got me a little curious. Jack's intolerance for scientists is well-documented. It's more a case of 'proving your worth' than 'benefit of the doubt.'"

"And you've obviously proven your worth."

"Ah, well, um. Extenuating circumstances."

David didn't need to ask for an explanation. "So how is Colonel O'Neill? I haven't seen him around the last couple days, I know he had a pretty bad headache after that mission."

Daniel rubbed at his temple, looking down at the floor. "Turns out there was something on the planet that our sensors didn't pick up the first time. It was some kind of failed experiment the Goa'uld abandoned. Unfortunately without any written details," he added under his breath.

"So Colonel O'Neill's intuition was right."

Daniel sighed dramatically. "It usually is. We sent SG-8 back to the planet and they had to return in less than three hours. Lieutenant Walker and Dr. Travers nearly passed out from the pain."

"Your team was out there for eight hours," David stated, wondering how Colonel O'Neill had managed the pain for so long.

"Yep," Daniel said simply. "Sam will probably be by to put you to work on the device, as soon as we get it cleared through quarantine. We're pretty sure it's turned off now, General Hammond doesn't want to risk it affecting the personnel on the base."

"Wise man, General Hammond," David stated wryly.

Daniel's lips quirked up in a small smile. "Yes, he is. That's funny, you sounded just like Jack."

"I did?"

"Mm-hmm." Daniel glanced down at the reports David had been reading. "I should let you get back to that."

"Actually, I was just thinking about heading up to the surface and getting some fresh air for a change. It was nice meeting you, Daniel," he said, offering his hand to Daniel again.

"Yeah, you too," Daniel replied sincerely, genuinely liking the older man. "See you around."

As David made his way to the surface Daniel ran down to the recreation room where he knew Jack was working out in an effort to avoid his paperwork. He checked to make sure Jack was alone in the room and that he wasn't holding anything heavy before he exclaimed, "You're his brother!"

Jack looked over his shoulder, unperturbed by Daniel's disruption, and sat down on the bench, picking up the free weights. "I know I'm repeating myself here, but I haven't got a clue what you're talking about."

Daniel stepped in front of Jack and folded his arms across his chest. "Come on, Jack, I sat in the room with him for less than a minute and it was so obvious. I realize it's none of my business…"

"You're right, Daniel. It isn't."

Daniel knelt down on the floor, looking up at him, his expression full of understanding and compassion and refusal to let this go. "He's your brother, Jack. I know how you feel about family, I know how important it is to you. So what happened? Why didn't you tell him who you were the second you realized he was here? Why the games?"

"It isn't a game."

"He thinks you were a figment of his imagination. How could you let him believe that?

Jack looked down at him, clearly irritated, but dropped the weights and picked up a towel, wiping the sweat off his face and arms. "I didn't know they lied to him until Carter told us the other day." He stood up angrily, twisting the towel between his hands. "I sent him thousands of letters, for five years and I never got one response. David was the only good thing in my life back then, and when he never wrote me back…" he trailed off, his fist lightly tapping the side of his leg.

"You thought he didn't want you in his life anymore," Daniel finished for him.

"Not exactly. I thought he was afraid of me. It never made any sense to me because David was the last person on Earth who would ever hurt me."

"Why would he be afraid of you?"

Jack scowled and shrugged his shoulders. "Doesn't really matter."

Daniel sighed, knowing there was little chance he'd be getting anymore information out of Jack. "If you won't talk to me about it, will you at least talk to him? Sam told me what he said during his interview, Jack. He misses you."

"It's not that simple, Daniel," Jack said softly, staring straight ahead at the wall.

"It rarely is." Daniel walked away, intending to leave his friend to think things through alone, but turned back to offer one last piece of information. "He went up to the surface to get some fresh air. If you hurry you might catch him."

--

David was enjoying his walk along the mountainside, instantly feeling rejuvenated after the hours on end he had spent beneath the surface in the controlled environment of the SGC. Ever since his recovery, throughout his entire academic career, he had always tried to spare a few minutes a day to enjoy the outdoors and get in a little exercise. That was something he had learned from Jack, though he never did learn how to ice skate.

"Mind some company?"

David jumped at the intrusive voice, he hadn't realized anyone was nearby but then he noticed that he had been headed back towards the entrance so he shouldn't have been surprised to run into other people.

Colonel O'Neill was sitting on a boulder, his legs stretched out in front of him, a pair of sunglasses covering his eyes.

"Colonel, sorry. I didn't see you there."

"Ah-huh. Taking in the clean mountain air, Doc?"

"Something like that."

"Yeah, sometimes you just need to get out of the mountain and smell the daisies. It's nice to see one of you people taking care of yourself, for a change. Only time Carter and Daniel see the sun is on other planets."

David smiled at the hidden affection within that statement. "Unfortunately, I don't have that option. Though personally, I'm quite content with this planet. I don't think you'll ever find a world out there that could compete with Minnesota."

"Minnesota, eh?" The Colonel pulled off his sunglasses, looking up at him shrewdly. "You play hockey, Doc?"

"Never even learned how to skate, actually," he admitted.

Colonel O'Neill shook his head in feigned disappointment, sliding the glasses back on and standing up. "Unnatural."

David stared at him as he walked away, beckoning him to follow. That was surreal. He followed the Colonel back inside as the leader of SG-1 listed off several planets that were similar to Minnesota. And several with beaches. And a few that didn't have a lot of those pesky trees.

David was beginning to understand, as the pieces to the puzzle fell together.

--

Thirty-seven years ago

Jack glanced at his grandfather, who was sound asleep in the chair, a blanket pulled up around his shoulders, his chin tucked down against his chest. With nowhere else to go, Jack had run to the only person he knew might be willing to give him a chance: his mother's father. It had been a cold trip to the cabin up north, he'd only had the clothes on his back, he didn't have food or money, but he knew enough about survival in the harsh winter of Minnesota to make it all the way.

When he'd burst through the front door, without knocking, less than an hour before sundown and immediately curled up in front of the fire his grandfather had been incredibly perturbed but accommodating. The elder man helped Jack warm up by the fire and brought him something warm to eat. It wasn't until Jack was comfortable and his belly was full that he finally told the old man who he was. His grandfather didn't ask him why he was there, nor did he ask about the bruise on his cheek, the tears in his pants and jacket, or the lack of sufficiently warm clothes. He just put Jack to bed in the spare room with extra blankets and told him he was welcome to stay as long as he needed.

That had been a month ago.

Jack re-read what he had written on the page in front of him.

Dear David,

I hope this letter finds you well. Grandpa says that's how you're supposed to begin a letter, and since I do hope that you're feeling well, I decided to humor him. He has an amazing library here at the cabin. It's too far to the nearest school so he's home-schooling me, I think he called it. We spend a few hours every day reading through the books he got from the school last week, and then we go outside and he teaches me how to survive out here in the wilderness. Finally, a subject I can understand.

We were tracking wolves today, but we have to be careful of the hunters. There are traps all over the place, Grandpa says it's almost like a minefield these days. I think he's exaggerating but it's hard to tell. I don't think I could ever kill a wolf. Some folks say they're dangerous, but I don't think so. They're only trying to protect themselves, and the others in their pack. I think it's noble.

I'm still waiting for a response from you. The post office sent me your forwarding address, so I guess you moved. Maybe you didn't get my first letters, but they weren't returned to me so I hope you did. Write me as soon as you can, please?

Love,

Your brother, Jack

He sighed as he tucked the letter into the envelope along with the others he had written in the past three days. They were all the same, describing the mundane details of his life and then begging David to write to him. He wanted to say so much more but he couldn't put his feelings into words. He was never great at expressing himself, and he felt a bit like a fool whenever he got remotely sentimental, so he avoided it at all costs.

Maybe that was the problem. Maybe David needed to know that he was, in fact, a human being with emotions. Not just some weird alien freak with magical healing powers.

At the bottom of the page, beneath his signature he wrote:

P.S. I miss you