Jack sat outside the infirmary. As he'd been warned, Janet and her team had started the cooling process after the fever reducing thingamajiggies didn't work.
It was early morning now- the rest of SG-1 was officially on duty. Having been personally notified by Hammond that Daniel was sick, Sam and Teal'c also sat beside Jack in the waiting room.
"How is he, sir?" Carter said, watching her CO.
"He'll be fine, Carter. Fever, puking. Doc's got it under control."
Sam's brow furrowed.
"Then what are you worried about, sir?" She said carefully.
Jack looked up.
"Have you noticed him being, I dunno, off recently?"
She shook her head.
"T? How 'bout you?"
Teal'c inclined his head.
"DanielJackson seemed to be ill yesterday. I recommended that he visit the infirmary, though he declined."
"Of course he did," Jack said with a sigh.
"I'm more worried about his mental state. In the last six hours, he's clung to me like a baby monkey, shut me out completely, and then- here's the best part- just tried to beat me up! I don't know what's going on with him."
"It's the fever," Carter said.
"I dunno. It seems deeper than that somehow, and both of ya know how well I do with deep."
Sam frowned.
"So, you think something's bothering him?"
Jack nodded. "He asked me not to 'hurt him again' just before he conked out. I can't wrap my head around it."
"Did you not just betray him, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked, tilting his head towards Jack.
"What, the whole Asgard thing? He was really upset about that earlier, but I figured it was the fever talking."
"What if it's not, sir? I mean, you essentially shattered his trust in you. All of us know that Daniel can be upset easily when someone he trusts causes the damage. You could have inadvertently hurt him deeply, sir."
"You must also consider DanielJackson's history, O'Neill. Because of it, he is a private man, and the bonds of trust that he does form will cause considerable damage to him if broken."
Jack sat back in chair, letting their words sink in.
He'd broken their carefully built friendship with that OP. Now, he'd have to pick up the pieces and see if he could put humpty dumpty back together.
"Aw, Crap."
o-O-o-O-o
"Come."
Jack opened the door.
"Colonel?"
"General. We need to discuss something."
"Have a seat, Colonel."
Jack sat.
"Sir, it's regarding a certain kind of upcoming mission."
"Go on,"
"Although I am glad we agreed to the whole Asgard thing- not that they gave us much choice in the matter- we need to think about what we're going to do the next time I need to do an undercover mission."
Hammond sat forward.
"Get to the point, Jack"
"Sir, I can't hurt Daniel like that again."
"What?"
"I broke his trust in me sir, something that's very valuable to both of us. I need your permission that- if this ever happens again- I can tell him what's up."
Hammond cocked his head.
"Jack, what the hell are you talking about?"
He sighed. "Sir, I was forced to say some pretty nasty things to Daniel when he came looking for answers. I had to throw him off the scent for the sake of that godforsaken mission. He's hurting, General. I don't want to do that ever again. Sir."
Hammond sat back in his chair.
"Colonel, the purpose of an undercover mission is to keep it undercover."
"Daniel can handle keeping the secret, sir. What he can't handle is one of his friends betraying him."
Hammond looked at him. Really looked.
"Okay, Colonel. If we're ever in a situation like this again- and I deem the circumstances appropriate- you can tell him."
Jack stood.
"Thank you, sir."
"You're welcome, Jack. I hear he's still ill?"
Jack nodded. "Yeah. Speaking of…"
"Go," Hammond said with a smile.
Jack closed the door behind him.
o-O-o-O-o
Two hours later, Daniel was weakly pulling off his blankets as his fever broke in a deluge of sweat. A quick bath from the nursing staff had him feeling much better, and ready to receive visitors again.
Sam pulled back the curtain slightly, and when she got a gentle smile from Daniel, stepped inside.
"Hey," he said quietly, looking thoroughly wrung out and slightly embarrassed.
"Hey Daniel," she replied, moving the infirmary chair closer to his bedside.
"Feeling better?"
Daniel nodded slowly.
"Yeah. Sore, really sore."
"I'll bet. The Colonel told me enough."
She looked down at her folded hands tucked in her lap.
"I wanted to talk to you, Daniel," she said carefully, watching his face.
He blinked sleepily at her.
"Quite frankly, we're worried."
"About me?" Daniel asked softly.
"Yes. It feels like you're hurting," she said.
Daniel frowned.
"I just told you I'm sore, and I've got a killer headache."
Sam looked up.
"That's not what I mean, Daniel."
It was his turn to look down at his lap.
"We're going to help you figure this out,"
Daniel's eyes were fierce.
"And what exactly do you think 'this' is?" He said evenly.
Sam sighed inwardly. His defenses were up.
"I'm talking about your friendship with Jack. It took a hit, right? Teal'c and I are here to help. We're your friends, Daniel."
He nodded slowly.
"I know."
"Do you want to talk to him now?" Sam asked, moving to stand.
"No." He said evenly.
"Okay," she said, "can I get you anything before I send Teal'c in?"
Daniel shook his head.
"Thanks, Sam."
"No problem."
o-O-o-O-o
It was almost two hours before Daniel could be convinced to try and move something down his digestive tract.
Teal'c started him with slowly sipping a warm broth while the two of them talked quietly in the far corner of the infirmary.
Sam came in later after he'd successfully kept that down with green jello from the commissary, while Teal'c continued to explain to Jack why his presence was "not desired at this time."
Eventually, Janet gave the all-clear for his first real meal in nearly 24 hours- mashed potatoes and a banana.
After he'd kept that down with no struggle, Janet released him to go home under one condition- no driving.
Jack, for once, had listened to his team and stayed far away from the recovering archeologist- he definitely wasn't in the mood to contend with the Jaffa anyways.
And then there was Daniel- Jack hadn't realized he'd gotten a few good blows in until he looked in the mirror to see the beginnings of a bruise forming on his jaw.
Teal'c was probably right, it was best to give the man a wide berth.
Not that he was scared of Daniel- just giving him space to process his emotions.
Yeah.
That's it.
Now, however, Jack's carefully constructed plan was falling to pieces as Carter explained that Daniel wanted to ride home in his truck.
Archeologists.
Always unpredictable.
o-O-o-O-o
Daniel made it up through the elevators, into the truck, and all the way to the parking lot of his apartment before he spoke.
"I'm sorry," he said.
Jack removed the key from the ignition calmly. "What for?"
"I remember everything."
"Really?" Jack said, surprised.
"Well, no, not everything everything, but… enough."
"Enough, eh?"
"Jack?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry."
"What could you possibly be sorry for, Daniel?"
He raised a finger when Daniel opened his mouth. "Aht! Don't say anything. For getting upset? That's a natural reaction to how I hurt you. You had a right to be angry, and I'm truly sorry I didn't give you a chance to talk to me about it.
"For having a couple nightmares? I've been there, Daniel. I'll never be upset about that.
If it's for being sick, don't even go there. It was out of your control, and it takes a lot more than a little body ick to send me running."
Daniel blinked.
"Wow. Uh, that might be the most amount of words I've ever heard you say at once," he said.
"What I was going to say is 'I'm sorry for the scare at four o'clock in the morning,' but yeah, I guess all of that too."
"Ah," Jack said, looking away.
"It's okay, Jack," Daniel said.
"I'm pretty sure that's what I'm supposed to say to you," Jack countered, "and I completely understand if it takes time- a lot of time even, to rebuild the trust we had before. I'm a patient man, Daniel."
Daniel couldn't help the chuckle that escaped.
"Yeah, right. I do trust you, Jack. I didn't after… it happened, but I do now." He laughed. "You let me get snot all over your Chicago cubs t-shirt. And you came when you heard I was sick."
Jack raised an eyebrow.
"And I don't hold a puke bowl for just anybody," he added.
Daniel turned towards Jack and smiled. A real, genuine smile.
"Thank you, Jack," he said, "for staying."
Epilogue: Two Weeks Later
Daniel had made almost a half dozen phone calls, and ended up driving nearly two hours to a small market far outside of Colorado Springs to obtain the needed ingredients.
Another two hours of careful cooking, mostly by memory, and he had his dish prepared.
Daniel cradled his large ceramic pot in one arm while he knocked on Mrs. Markle's door with the other. A moment later, the door swung open to reveal her smiling face.
"Daniel! Oh, come in, goodness you look so much better!"
Daniel smiled back- her energy was contagious.
"I brought you something," He said, holding out the pot so she could see.
"What is it?" She asked, slightly wary.
"It's called Molokhia. It's a traditional Egyptian dish, kind of like chicken soup."
"How interesting," She said.
"It looks disgusting, I know, but it's just a spinach-like leaf making it green."
"Well then, let me get some bowls and we'll try it!"
Daniel scooped some of the soup into the thick porcelain bowls provided. He watched with a slightly amused smile as Anne scooped up some and took a tentative sip.
"Oh my, Daniel, this is amazing!"
He grinned.
"I had it all the time in Egypt," He said casually.
"How much time did you spend in Egypt?" She asked, taking another spoonful.
"My early childhood. It's one of my favorite dishes from the area, though I haven't made it in years. Thank you for giving me a reason to make it again."
"Is this for a few weeks ago?"
"Yes, I wanted to thank you with a little more than words or a card. I appreciate what you did for me."
Anne gave him a soft smile.
"It's my nature to help, Daniel. I was just doing what's right."
Daniel's brow furrowed.
"I only have one question, though. How did you know to come over in the middle of the night?"
"Ah, your bathroom and my bedroom share the same wall."
Daniel grimaced. "I'm sorry you had to hear that," he said, turning away slightly.
"I'm not. You shouldn't be either," she said firmly.
Anne had another bite of soup before changing the subject.
"So, you grew up in Egypt, but you're familiar with other cultural dishes? Do you travel a lot?"
"You could say that," Daniel said with a nod.
Thanks for reading, ya'll. I really appreciate the support. This story was finished only because of the tremendous response to my other story, Desperate Times, so thank you to everyone who commented over there as well.
Whumptober is almost upon us… you can put your money on some shiny new whump fics.
I'm taking suggestions/requests