Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose as Jack paced the room. "Can you please sit down?" Daniel asked, replacing his glasses and looking toward his friend.
"You were not thinking, Daniel. It could have been worse than before!"
Daniel fought the urge to hit Jack, instead he gave into the weariness that was slowly consuming him. "It wasn't exactly great before."
Jack had the grace to stop pacing and sat in front of him. "I know, Daniel. I've watched you struggle for a while."
"You've been gone most of the time, Jack. How can you see me struggle? Wouldn't it be more likely Cam seeing this?"
"Ya, well," Jack did a small dismissive wave with his hand. "He's been busy. I know he has been worried about you too."
As if on cue, Cam and Vala came in, followed by Sam, on crutches, and Teal'c holding a tray of tea. Schrödinger followed close by also.
"Pounding on my door everyday and hounding me falls into the 'caring' category?" Sam sat beside him and patted his leg gently. He looked down and followed her hand up to her face. "I guess I should of said thank you than."
"Look, buddy, I know it was hard knowing Sam was still on the planet, but you need to think about how I felt. I was the one who lead this mission – one last mission." Daniel heard himself snort, and gazed past the younger man out the picture window. "I guess I could have been more sensitive to how you were feeling."
Vala bit her lip and stepped toward Daniel. "I sent Cam everyday to see how you were doing. I didn't think you wanted to see any of us – me particularly."
Daniel turned his gaze toward her. "Now that you mention it, I am awfully tired." He slipped his hand away from Sam's arm and got up and left them staring after him as he walked up the stairs, hoping his mind would go blank and he wouldn't continue the nightmares. Sam was home after all, what was there to be afraid of?