"Yo, Jackson. Wanna' spar a bit?" Mitchell's slap across his back was enough to give Daniel the impetus he needed.
Rage over the man taking Vala away burned through him and he forced a smile.
"Sure Cam. After you." He extended an arm toward the gym, missing the grim smile his teammate wore. Pulling on the requisite headgear and gloves, he moved fluidly across the sparring mat.
He was ready to fight, was actually looking forward to -
- Lying on the mat staring at the ceiling.
His mind groggily replayed the last few seconds of what he could remember, and, dimly, he recalled Mitchell's haymaker connecting solidly with his jaw. That settled the question of how he ended up on his back. Shaking his head, he rolled onto his side, felt warmth drip from between his lip. He watched three bright red drops of blood land on his sleeve and surged to his feet.
"Come on, Jackson. What're you waiting for?" Cam asked.
The words were deceptively masked. Anyone nearby would have thought it was good natured teasing between friends.
Daniel knew they were meant to wound.
Rising out of his crouch with a battle cry, he plowed into Mitchell and began pummeling the first hint of flesh he could find. Right hook to the jaw, and he was back on the floor.
"You know, your girlfriend is one tough cookie. You keep knocking her off her feet, and she just rolls with the punches and gets back up." Mitchell continued. Daniel was up and swinging wildly, just wanting to shut the other man up.
He caught Mitchell in the stomach, felt something akin to pleasure as he watched his friend double over from the pain.
"You know, she hits harder than you do. She throws books at me, now. Said if I couldn't talk about you nice, she'd kill me. She's flat on her back, carrying the kid you want her to kill, and she's defending you." Mitchell panted, easing back up. When Daniel moved back in to follow up, Mitchell cracked him hard in the ribs, following with another punch to the jaw. While Daniel was making his way to his feet, Cam kicked him, hard, knocking him back to the mat.
"She's been through so much, and you just…you just keep making her feel worse. Dammit, Jackson, she's dying. She knows it. But she's carrying this baby as long as she can in the hope he makes it. She's willing to give up her life to give him his. I gotta' tell you, man, you don't deserve her. You don't deserve the baby. Sad part is, she's doing this for the best reason of all, a life that you two created, and you continually cut her down because of it. Don't think I haven't noticed how you treat her in the commissary, how you give her barely a passing glance as you both sit in the briefing room. Carter and General O'Neill see it too. In fact, Sam asked me to talk with you about it."
He slid down the wall to rest on the floor, sensing that his words had finally hit home.
"Sam asked you to beat the crap out of me?" Daniel finally asked.
"Uh, actually, no. Her exact words were, 'Cam, I just need you to tell him Vala needs him right now. No fights or anything, just, talking.' Someone else said you were thick skulled, contrary, and in general when you think you're right you fight tooth and nail to protect your point of view. So, I decided to rough you up a bit." Mitchell replied. The two fell silent for several moments while Daniel considered this.
"That would be General O'Neill. He actually endorsed my suggestion." Mitchell added when his teammate hadn't spoken.
"I can't lose her. Can't lose someone else I love." Daniel finally murmured.
"Don't. Don't go there. She's got a plan. She always does. Her and Carolyn have been talking about this for weeks. It's gonna' be risky, but Carolyn says there might be hope if Vala doesn't carry to term. She's figuring out a way to take the baby before he's ready, but able to live in an incubator. Fingers crossed, it'll work." Mitchell explained.
"You couldn't have told me this before you beat the hell out of me?" Daniel asked, a grin lighting his features.
"Vala didn't want you to know, in the chance that things go south. As her teammate, I understand the need for silence. As a friend to both of you, I felt it was my call. She didn't specifically ask me not to tell you. Just mentioned that she wasn't going to do so until they had set a date for all this and ironed out the details. So, if words get back to a certain young woman who goes by the name Vala, I'm denying that I ever told you anything. Understood?"
At Daniel's nod, Cam gently punched him in the shoulder.
"We good?" He asked.
Daniel sighed, stood and pulled off a glove to extend his hand to his friend, pulling Mitchell to his feet.
"Yeah, we're good." he replied. As they filed out of the exercise room, Daniel paused. "Hey Cam?"
Mitchell turned, caught an uppercut to the jaw, crashing down to the floor in surprise.
"Okay, now we're good." Daniel smiled.