...don't lose your head...
~
"Teal'c, have you seen the Colonel?" Sam asked, coming up to him on the fourth level of the Hatak vessel.
Teal'c's hands were folded behind him and he gave Sam a puzzled frown. "No, I have not. Is there a reason you wish to find him?"
"No," she said absently, thinking. She keyed the mic of her radio. "Colonel, come in."
"O'Neill. What is it, Carter?"
His voice was toneless, which perked up the alarm in both Sam and Teal'c.
"Sir, where are you?"
"Fifth level, in what appears to be their science lab and makeshift interrogation room."
Sam frowned. "Sir, are you alright?"
"Not at the moment, Carter."
Teal'c cut in quickly. "Are you in trouble, O'Neill?"
"No, Teal'c. I'm fine...it's just...I think the two of you need to see this for yourselves."
Sam's frown deepened. "On our way, sir."
"Sir, which corridor?" Sam called when they arrived on the fifth level via the ring transporter.
"Go to the second doorway down, left of the ring room."
"Copy that," she answered. She and Teal'c moved hurriedly and when they entered, they saw their commander across the room and to their right, leaning against the left frame of a doorway that apparently led to another room. He was facing them, so they could see the blank expression, but what worried them was his pale color. They approached him, worried.
"O'Neill?" Teal'c asked.
Jack pointed behind him with his thumb, gesturing at the unseen room. "In there."
Sam started to look around him but Jack reached out and caught her arm. "The robot me said their Daniel was dead."
"Yes, sir?"
"He's...it's...part of him...it...is in there."
She frowned again, confused. It hadn't been a comfortable thing at all to see their own robot counterparts die, but...surely seeing Daniel's robot self wouldn't be harder...would it? The more Sam thought about it, however, the more she dismissed her silent question. If a robot of a loved one were in that room... Before entering, she said, "Sir...it isn't Daniel."
"I know that, Carter," Jack said irritably, "but the robot is...decapitated. There're also...pieces...of a body in there, probably one of the snakes, judging by the over-the-top wardrobe."
Teal'c inclined his head as Sam looked back at him, her eyes wide. She glanced at Jack and nodded. "Warning taken, sir."
She and Teal'c entered the room, parts of which were a heap of rubble from an obvious explosion. Perhaps that explosion was what caused her robot counterpart's facial 'wounds'. The twisted metal and uniform of a robot's body lay to the front of the debris. Behind it, the smoking ruins of another body, clad in black - the one to which Jack had referred. Nothing else but wisps of blonde hair were recognizable as human. To their right, on one undamaged table in the corner, lay the undamaged head of Daniel's robot, though around it were scattered bits of debris.
Sam and Teal'c peered at it, feeling a deep sense of shock. The face appeared serene, almost smiling. It simply looked...asleep. It was also wearing a bandana, giving the more real illusion that it was Daniel. Or could have been. Sam noticed that hair was long. The robot had apparently never cut his...its...hair. Sam reached out to touch the bandana, then the hair at the nap of the...neck. It felt lifelike, and somehow, even more so, separated from the body like that.
Sam now understood why Jack looked so pale. Finding an image of Daniel, dead, would be hard, and even if this wasn't the real Daniel, it was close enough. An image of finding her father like this made her shiver.
"Are you alright, Major Carter?" Teal'c whispered.
She looked up at him, finding his face emotional. She nodded silently. "Are you?" she asked, seeing the turmoil in his eyes.
"I...am."
They left and found Jack standing in the center of the larger room, facing the main door.
"Sir?" she asked, as she and Teal'c walked over, framing him. "You okay?"
Jack cleared his throat, then straightened. "No problems, Carter. Let's get this place cleaned up." He turned to Teal'c, his face back to its normal, no-nonsense, business-first state. "The Jaffa that served on this ship?" he asked, knowing Teal'c would catch what he meant.
Teal'c recognized the change in mood and acted accordingly. If Jack didn't feel like discussing it, then that was just fine with Teal'c. He did not wish to discuss it, either. Watching his own counterpart die was bad enough. Seeing Daniel's head...well, he could understand the emotion.
"They are presently confined to the second level," he answered. "Most have expressed a desire to return home, and to their Goa'uld superiors, but some have not."
"Then see to their transportation, Teal'c," Jack said as he left the room, his teammates following.
Teal'c nodded.
"Carter, get your teams here asap. Let's get this bucket of bolts up and running and off this goddamned planet."
"Yes, sir."
Daniel adjusted his field pack as he walked into the gateroom. The gate was already dialing Juna and he nodded to Hammond up in the control room.
"Colonel O'Neill's message stated that he'd meet you on the peltac, Doctor Jackson."
"Thank you, sir," Daniel replied, nodding. He turned toward the gate and watched the wormhole open. Walking up the ramp, he turned back and gave Hammond another nod before stepping through the event horizon.
As Hammond watched him disappear, he sighed. He and Daniel had had a chat just before Daniel had geared up to leave, and though the archaeologist-cum-linguist had informed Hammond of his desire to remain with SG-1, Hammond hoped that Daniel wouldn't change his mind. He didn't like his flagship team split up and knew, just as Major Carter and Teal'c did, just how much Daniel's absence had affected his team, specifically his team leader and friend. Hopefully, Hammond mused, the Colonel would stop being a grouch for a while.
Daniel made his way to the ship, nodding to the few people of Juna he met on the way, but he didn't stop to talk as he normally would. His mind was on one thing only - seeing his team...and Jack. He'd read Jack's report and after learning how the robots had died, he'd instinctively known that there was something Jack had left out. He didn't know what it was, but whatever it had been, it had made Jack's usual report style...abbreviated. Jack's reports had always been short and to the point, but he did explain things. He hadn't done that in his Juna report and Daniel wondered what it was about the robots that had bothered his lover so much that it would affect the style of his report, even to that tiny degree.
Daniel had a feeling, however. Though he knew that Jack didn't see the robots as real, or alive, their exact lookalike nature spooked him. It might be that Jack was bothered by their deaths, more than he was willing to admit. And maybe, just maybe, Jack had seen Daniel's robot dead. Which meant he was freaking a bit.
Daniel knew how he would feel if he'd seen Jack's robot dead. Knowing it was a robot and remembering that when looking on its lifeless form would...well, it would not be easy to digest. Especially after his and Jack's long separation. Missing someone always created an insecurity, even if it was imagined and unfounded, and though Daniel was quite certain he'd be upset at the sight of Sam and Teal'c's robot selves...dead...it would be different with Jack. And always would be.
As he approached the ship, thoughts of seeing the robots fled as Daniel thought of the last time he'd been with Jack. His lover was probably still mad at him. Daniel knew that Jack hadn't wanted him to go offworld with another team - again - not after Sam had been invaded by that entity. Jack had wanted him close, but SG-11 had asked if Daniel could join them, so Jack had okayed it, probably out of respect. Daniel found himself loving the man all the more because Jack had done that, even though Daniel knew that his lover's personal feelings were filled with anger and resentfulness.
And the worst part of this last mission...Daniel found himself regretting being there. He'd been distracted, and though he'd put in one hundred percent on the mission, he knew that his mind and heart hadn't been in it. His thoughts about needing time away to reexamine his future hadn't disappeared, and he still had to sort out what he wanted, but finding his way no longer included separation from Jack. Not like he had thought he needed. He had thought Jack would be a distraction. Truth was, all he had done was worry about him. First those goddamn fireflies or whatever they were. Jack could have been killed. Then this latest thing with Chronus.
Daniel had decided that no matter what was going to happen to them all, to himself, the SGC, solving it by himself wasn't the answer. He needed to be with his lover, his friends. Surrounded by people whose opinions meant the world to him.
He walked past the security contingent inside the entrance to the pyramid...and froze. There was an SG contingent there, and on the floor, draped with grey tarps, were three body shapes.
"Doctor Jackson, glad you could join us." Major Warren of SG-3 held out his hand and Daniel shook it.
"Thanks," he said, almost absently as his eyes kept returning to the covered bodies.
Major Warren nodded at them. "Yes, those are what you think they are. They're sort of ghoulish. I had to cover them up, looking like your teammates as they do. Spooky. Colonel O'Neill said the bodies are to stay here until that Harlan character comes here to retrieve them."
Daniel felt relieved that they weren't being shipped home. The very idea of the Area 51 scientists performing post-mortems on the likenesses of SG-1 would be enough to give them all the creeps.
"Probably Jack's idea."
"Probably, sir."
"So...no fourth, then?"
"From what I know, your double is on the ship."
"Oh." Daniel winced, remembering that his counterpart had been decapitated and then brought aboard the ship for study. "Jack must be in one hell of a mood."
"He's not a happy camper, no, Doctor Jackson, but he is very psyched about this ship."
Daniel grinned. "I'll bet." Daniel bit at his lip, thinking. "So, how's the ship so far? Any problems?" he asked, curious.
"None so far, though the scientists - no offense..."
"None taken."
"...are bitching about the doors not locking. Privacy. The military isn't that concerned with that...well, not on a ship like this, anyway. Normal quarters would be another thing entirely but I didn't really expect locks on Jaffa quarters, you know?"
"Gotcha. So, any other problems I should probably be warned about before going up and hearing them again?" Daniel asked, giving Warren a sarcastic grin.
Warren smirked back. "Not that I know about, though Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter have probably found new ones."
Daniel sniggered. "No doubt." He looked around, then found the ring platform and pointed with his thumb. "I'll just go on up. Nice to see you, Major."
"You, too, Doctor."
Daniel took one more look at the shapes on the floor. He wanted to uncover them, to see the bodies for himself, but he couldn't bring himself to. Not that he was exactly afraid. It was the company. If he were alone, then he would, but with Warren and his other Marines hanging around? No way in hell.
He pressed a few buttons to the right of the ring platform, then stepped within the circle. In seconds, he was on the Hatak vessel and on the top floor that led to the peltac. Making his way down the corridor, he passed a few SG members, carrying Goa'uld crates into the ring room, apparently going to storage or some such place as the crates were likely filled with supplies.
Entering the peltac, he paused. Across the room, standing at the peltac's main console, Jack was studying a schematic displayed on the holoscreen. Sam and Teal'c were to his right, with Sam pointing, talking - explaining. And amazingly, Jack seemed to be listening, nodding, unlike what Jack normally did with Sam - interrupting her for the short version. From what Daniel could hear, Sam was using her 'short' explanation. Teal'c was also grinning. The scene was almost surreal.
Daniel bit nervously at his lip and walked toward them. A sudden feeling of being excluded from his small circle of friends plagued his mind and he quickly squashed it.
"Hey, guys. Uh, how're you doing?"
Jack, Sam and Teal'c straightened with surprise and turned round.
"Daniel!" Sam smiled.
"It is good to see you, Daniel Jackson. You are well?"
"Fine, Teal'c. Hey, Sam." Daniel's eyes flickered between them, and after nodding and giving them a soft smile, he focused on Jack. The man smiled widely at him, obviously pleased to see him, and even though there were other SG folk were around, he pulled Daniel into a friendly hug.
Daniel was intensely relieved. So relieved in fact that a flush suffused his face. He hadn't thought that Jack's reaction was that important, but who the hell had he been kidding? Jack's reaction was paramount.
"Hey," Jack said fondly, releasing him and stepping back. "'Bout time you decided rejoin the team. You done playing with your rocks?"
Daniel smiled warmly. "Yeah, Jack, I'm done playing with my rocks." He grinned hugely then, emphasizing 'playing with my rocks' for the double meaning. "So, miss me?"
"Nahhhhhh," Jack waved off half-heartedly. "I knew you'd be back."
Sam looked disgusted and softly thumped her C.O. in the shoulder. Daniel smirked as he nodded, tilting his head slightly as he accepted Jack's PDA for what it meant. The man was so very glad to see him. Only Daniel's eyes told Jack how much the feeling was reciprocated.
"So..." Daniel replied after a moment's silence.
"So..." Jack answered, trying to assume his normal countenance. Seeing Daniel there, so very much alive, had put his heart into overdrive and it was all he could do to keep himself from smiling at the man like an idiot.
Daniel caught the emotion in Jack's eyes and knew immediately that Jack needed a distraction back to the business at hand. Though he wanted to have a casual visit and catch up on what had been really going on, that could wait until later, and probably after they'd left the planet. Daniel pointed at the ship, twirling his finger. "Hammond filled me in on what happened. Harlan's gonna pick up the robots. So..." he added, pointing at the control console and the holoscreen as he gave Sam an amused look. "Teaching him anything interesting?" he asked, the point of his finger turning toward Jack.
Jack snorted and pretended to be aggrieved. "Hey, now," he warned. "Sam and Teal'c have been showing me the flight plan. We're taking this baby for a ride."
"Right. Vorash?"
"Oh yeah. Can't wait to see the looks on their faces."
Daniel glanced at Jack before peering at the data across the screen. "We're talking about the Tok'ra, right?"
Jack clapped him on the shoulder. "For a start, Daniel. For a start."
"So...gonna show me around then?"
"Sure. Wanna see your room?"
Sam snickered. "Nothing to see. We get to sleep on the floor."
"Spoilsport, and I meant he could put his gear down in there instead of lugging it around the ship," Jack mumbled. He waved at Sam. "Go do your engine thing and I'll show Daniel around."
Sam rolled her eyes as she left the peltac. "I'll see you later, Daniel. Call me if the Colonel gets you lost."
Jack frowned, then caught Teal'c smirking. "Very funny. I know my way around."
"If you say so, O'Neill."
As they walked around, they kept running into other SG personnel. Though Daniel didn't bother starting up any personal conversations, just the feeling of being in Jack's presence and listening to his voice as he rambled on excitedly about the ship was a comfort. A deep comfort. But all things had to end and after an hour, Jack was called down to the cargo hold to inspect the last of the weapons that had been ringed up just before the ship had taken off. They made their way to the ring room and Daniel grinned as Jack fidgeted.
"Go on, Jack. Have fun with your...guns. I'm just gonna go visit Sam."
Jack looked a little put out. "You don't wanna join me?"
Daniel smiled. "Later. Listening to you order the guys around isn't my idea of fun right now, so I'll take a rain check. We'll catch up later."
Jack sniffed dramatically. "Fine, go be with Carter. But after?"
"Yeah?"
"I'll be in our quarters."
"Our quarters?"
"We're sharing."
"Cool." Daniel gave him a smile, then swallowed as Jack gave him a filthy look before disappearing through the rings. When clear, he pressed a button, stepped inside the platform and was whisked away ten floors down to the engine room. All the while, butterflies took up residence inside his stomach, having nothing whatsoever to do with the transport rings or the nearly imperceptible movement of the ship.
Daniel paused at the door and peered into the engine room. He grinned and walked up silently behind Sam as she was absorbed in her examination of the crystals within one of the vertical panels pulled from the wall.
"Hey, Sam!" he said, causing her to jump about a foot. She turned swiftly and backhanded him across the chest, making his hands fly up to ward her off.
"Daniel!" she yelled. She turned away from him, lowering her voice. "Little shit."
Daniel stuck his tongue between his teeth, smiling mischievously. "Just checking on you before I head off to my room."
Sam rolled her eyes at him as she went back to her examination of the crystals.
Daniel's eyes narrowed with a bit of confusion. "There something wrong?"
"No," she answered. "Just double-checking them."
Daniel rolled his eyes that time. "Do you know the meaning of relaxation?"
She smirked at him. "Stop sounding like the Colonel."
"Right, sorry," he said, looking sheepish. He started to look around and Sam immediately knew something was on his mind.
"What, Daniel?"
"Um, nothing, I was just wondering how it went...you know, with the androids?"
She paused, glancing at him as he pretended to inspect the tall engine compartment in the back. When he looked back at her, she shrugged. "It was okay. Well, actually, it was...weird. They were very heroic."
He slowly made his way back over to her. "Yeah, so I read," he replied.
She paused again and looked at him over the top edge of the panel. "Done with your tour?"
Daniel shrugged. "For now."
"Thought you and the Colonel would be getting some rest before your shift comes up in..." and she checked her watch, "twelve hours."
Daniel nodded. "Jack told me, but he got a call to inspect the last shipment of weapons before we took off."
"Ah. So you didn't want to hang around?"
"Not really. I went to visit Teal'c, see how he was doing. Now, I'm here."
"Checking to see how I'm doing?" she asked, a hint of a smile in her eyes.
"Yeah. So, how you doin'," he asked, giving her a hard look. "Really?"
"I'm fine. Little spooky seeing your double, but...I'm not the one who's really spooked about that."
"Jack."
"Yeah."
When he didn't say anything else about it, Sam got impatient with him. "You haven't talked with him yet, have you?"
"Um, no, thought to wait till later."
"Daniel..."
"What?"
"You're avoiding him."
"No, no, I'm not," Daniel replied. "I mean...well, we have some things to talk about but I figured I'd give him space first."
She gave him a look of exasperation. "Daniel, yours isn't a new relationship. The longer you stay away, the more alienated the Colonel feels."
"You think that's what he's feeling?" Daniel asked, his eyes widening.
She sighed. "I would."
He cringed. "Right. Sorry, Sam."
"Daniel, I can sort of see how you would want to reexamine stuff, so it's not a problem with me. I'm your friend, so I know you've had a tough time of it this year, especially after seeing Shifu and what's happened to him. So...how are you doing? Are you okay?"
He gave her a serious look. "Yeah, Sam. I am."
"Figure anything out?"
"A little, but mostly I just...I needed the time away I guess to appreciate what I have, limited as it is."
"You think you're limited?"
He nodded. "I can't do a whole lot, not while we're restricted with that mandate."
She sighed heavily. "I know." She stared at him for a moment. "I'm sorry you've ended up becoming more the soldier, but pure exploration does tend to make one do that, encountering the unknown and all."
"I know that, Sam. I encountered all kinds of threats being on digs on Earth. I've always been fit, too, though a lot more so with the SGC, so that part of our job doesn't bother me."
"It looks good on you," she said, blushing slightly.
He smiled a little. "You...you think...that?"
She pointed at his body. "I know it embarrasses you, but you've beefed up."
He shook his head. "No, no, no, no, no, it doesn't."
Sam didn't believe him.
"No, it doesn't embarrass me. I just don't...buy it."
Sam rolled her eyes in disgust. "Daniel, I've never known a guy like you."
"I hope that was a compliment," he said, his face guarded, bland.
"It was. So...are you back?" Her expression was hopeful and he gave her a tiny smile.
"I am."
She returned the smile. "Good. I missed you."
"You, too, Sam."
She bit at her lip. "Did the time apart help with figuring out what you needed to?"
"Sort of, like I said, I now appreciate what I have. But..."
"But?"
"I want to make a difference and with the internal politics that we have to put up with, it's like hitting my head against a goddamned brick wall."
She sighed and went round to him, giving him a hug. He returned it, their arms tightening around the other. When they let go, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, then unnecessarily wiped it away. Her lipstick had long worn off. "It's what happens under the military hat, Daniel."
"I know that. It's just that this," and he waved at the ship, "is much bigger than all of us and...well, when governments get involved...I don't know. It's why I feel limited, restricted. I can't do what I want to do to make a difference and it's...frustrating."
"Yeah, I know. I am a scientist, too, Daniel. I'd much rather be transforming the technology we get, like the naquada, on powering things that will improve our lives. But for the time being, we have to use it for defensive tech. I know that bothers you but--"
"No, Sam, I get that part. It's just...you know what I mean."
"Yeah, I know."
They both took deep breaths and blew them out.
"So, getting back to the Colonel--"
"Sam."
"Daniel."
Another long silence.
"He's mad at me."
"Did he look mad earlier?"
"No, but maybe that was just...you know, seeing me. Especially after seeing that...robot. It, you know, scared him."
"It scared me, Daniel, but mostly because you weren't here. If you had been, I don't think it would have had as big an impact."
Daniel sighed. "Yeah, I figured that, but..."
"No 'buts'. Do you think he wants any more time to think?"
Daniel shrugged. "No, but I think he wants to talk even less."
"Standing here isn't going to tell you that you're wrong."
"You think he wants to talk?" he asked, surprised.
"Not...any more than usual, but you know him better." She gestured at the engine room's main door. "Go, Daniel. Stop worrying about me, and Teal'c, and go talk to him."
"I'm not worried about you and Teal'c. I was just catching up." He paused. "Teal'c took time out of his kel-no-reem to talk."
Her brows rose. "About?"
He shrugged again and folded his arms in his trademark self-hug. "Just...I mean, I was just letting him know that I'm back, for good, this time. I'm sorry I put such a strain on the team."
She slapped at him. "Don't be an idiot, Daniel. You didn't do any such thing."
He shook his head. "Yes, I did, Sam."
She could see how very tense he still was, despite his assertions at feeling better. She turned him around and shoved him at the door. He looked over his shoulder, his brows knotting. "Don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out?"
"Something like that." She watched him walk to the exit, then called after him. "Daniel?"
He turned. "Yeah?"
She looked down at the crystals, shining her penlight on them, purposely choosing not to look at him. "Make sure the door's locked."
His mouth dropped open as his brows rose significantly. "I thought they didn't work?"
"They do now, Daniel."
Daniel felt a warm flush pass over him. He wasn't sure if it was anticipation or embarrassment. "Um, thanks, Sam, but...this is technically a mission. Nothing's gonna happen."
"Just in case, Daniel. Have a good night." She still wasn't looking at him but when he left and the door closed behind him, she looked at where he had been and smiled.
Daniel opened the door to his and Jack's room and found his lover sitting on his 'bunk', a small flat, horizontal panel that projected from the back wall. In front of it, on the floor, was a single-sized thin mattress, blanket, and pillow. Looking behind him, Daniel touched the control and the door closed. He touched another large button, twice, and the door's mechanism clicked. It was now locked. He turned and fixed his gaze on Jack as he slid his jacket off and tossed it aside, watching it fall next to the second mattress on the floor...his.
Jack looked up at him from the notes he was obviously making in a notebook. Daniel frowned, staring at the booklet.
"You've got a field journal now?" he asked, feeling strangely cut off and missing more than he thought he should be.
"No, just for this mission. Making notes about the ship, et cetera."
"Oh." Daniel bent over and unlaced his boots, pulled them off and tossed them next to his jacket, then sat down on his mattress.
Jack frowned. "Why are you over there?"
"We probably should talk."
"I was mad, now I'm not."
"Then you don't wanna talk about it?"
"When we get home, Daniel."
"Oh. 'Cause if you want me to explain or anything--"
"Daniel, you're here. That's all that means a damn to me right now."
"Oh."
Jack set his notepad down, stood up slowly, and walked toward Daniel. "You lock the door?" he asked, his eyes showing puzzlement as he glanced at the mechanism.
"Yeah."
"I didn't think they could be locked, except for the prisoner cells."
"Sam fixed them," Daniel told him, looking up, his eyes fixed once again on Jack's face, his lips. They travelled down his body, taking in the slight rise in Jack's trousers. And the strange fact that Jack had removed his boots.
"That was nice of her," Jack replied, his eyes giving his sitting lover the same once-over. "Wish she'd told me though."
"I think you guys were preoccupied with the ship itself. She's still checking on the crystals, by the way." Daniel scooted back on his bed, making room for Jack to sit down...if he wanted.
Jack looked mildly interested. "Something I should know about?"
"No, she's just being thorough. Frankly, I think she's bored."
"Probably."
"I saw Teal'c, too. He's fine. Meditating."
"Good. He does that a lot."
Daniel grinned because Jack wasn't paying attention to what he said, which meant he wasn't interested in talking.
"Jack?"
"What?" Jack asked, hesitating at the foot of Daniel's 'bed'.
"I...uh...we're on a mission, Jack."
"And your point is?"
"So...we can't...do anything."
"No," Jack said as he sat down gingerly in front of Daniel, his legs bent out in front of him, spread. "We can't do anything."
Daniel barely heard him as his eyes focused on his lover's tantalizing crotch. He cleared his throat and pointed with his thumb at Jack's bed. "Then maybe you should be over there."
"I thought maybe we could...catch up. You could tell me about all the boring rock stuff and I could fill in anything Hammond left out."
"Your report was fairly thorough."
"Yeah, but you know I always leave a few things out."
"Yeah, this time I caught that. But you don't really want to hear about rocks, scribbles, and the fairy tales that go with them...do you?"
"Not really."
"Okay, so...?"
"Still...I feel the need to catch up with my archaeologist. That a problem?"
Daniel swallowed at the thought of...catching up. Sitting this close to Jack, he could smell the man's scent. It was always so...arousing. "No, no, no...not a problem."
"Good." At Daniel's words, all Jack could think of was one thing. Well, two things, but first... "So...how long were you gone exactly?"
Daniel frowned, confused. Jack knew very well how long he'd been offworld with SG-11. "With SG-11...ten days."
"And how long were you home after that? When Carter was hit with that alien crap?"
"Three days," Daniel said with slightly more seriousness.
"And how long were you gone with SG-6 while I was getting bug zapped on that moon?"
"Five days," Daniel said slowly.
"So...we've been...apart...for eighteen days?"
Daniel swallowed, feeling the need rise inside him. "Yeah."
Jack did as well but he held himself in check...for the moment. "And you figured out what you needed to figure out, right?"
"I think so," Daniel replied, then in one fluid motion, he pulled his shirt over his head. He paused, letting the shirt remain on his arms just below his biceps. It gave the appearance of his arms being bound, which he knew was an extreme turn on for the both of them.
"You're back, for good. Right?" Jack asked as his own shirt slowly come off over his head.
"Yes. For good," Daniel replied as his shirt fell to the floor. Jack tossed his on top. "Um, what about the mission rule?" he asked, his breath hitching as Jack pushed up on his knees and carefully closed the distance between them, walking on his shins instead of his knees.
"Well...we have to follow it. All I'm doing right now is making sure you're...okay."
Daniel looked down at his knees. "Your knees okay?"
"Had a few shots before coming back here. My knees are just fine, Daniel."
Daniel swallowed. Oh, God. "So...it's...inspection time?"
"Yes."
They both swallowed as their hands went to their trousers, opened them, and pushed them over their hips, followed by their shorts. Their cocks, hard, ruddy, waiting, bobbed up and down.
"We can't take our time with this, though," Daniel whispered as he lay back, pulling Jack on top of him. He hissed as their groins met.
"Unfortunately, no, we can't," Jack replied, resting on his forearms. He breathed in sharply, feeling the pleasure spike through him as his cock rubbed against Daniel's.
Daniel couldn't think of anything else to say as he looked into those smouldering eyes. He reached up and roughly pulled Jack into a hard kiss, diving his tongue into his mouth and tasting everything anew. The feel of their skin, touching and rubbing, was electric, both comforting and uncomfortable. They each wanted more. The intense excitement ran through them as they firmly rubbed and ground against the other, creating sparks that they repeated again and again.
Daniel broke their kiss and moved his hands over Jack's back, loving the feel of hard muscle. His hands moved down, enjoying the feel of dampening skin. At last, he latched onto his lover's ass, squeezing, molding. Daniel wanted to spread his legs, but his pants restricted him, so instead, he pushed up, slightly thrusting, rocking. A finger made its way between Jack's buttocks, tempting him, teasing him. Jack thrust down, quickly.
Daniel heard himself gasp. "I missed you," he breathed.
"Me, too," Jack replied. He kept thrusting, loving the feel of Daniel's finger nudging against his hole. His cock throbbed madly each time Daniel threatened to insert. Sliding an arm underneath his lover's buttocks, Jack grinned as Daniel lifted up slightly, allowing him room to do what Daniel had a feeling he'd...
Daniel gasped again as Jack didn't waste time, inserting his middle finger. Daniel clenched his buttocks, gripping Jack's finger, and thrust upward, rapidly, encouraging Jack to move, to push. Another encouragement followed. His eyes, wide and dark with lust, wouldn't leave Jack's, and he breathed, "Yes."
Jack swallowed again, shoved his finger deep, and closed his eyes. Daniel followed suit, sliding his finger inside and pumping immediately with no thoughts to tease. Jack loved it. "Oh, yeah."
Quickly, feverishly, they guided the other to intense, short orgasms. Lying there, panting heavily, they kissed, waited, kissed again, and finally parted to clean up.
Silently, they stripped down to their underwear, nudged the mattresses next to each other, and laid down. Tired from stress, sleepy from their orgasms, and satisfied that the other was nearby, they pulled their blankets up over them and went to sleep.
Daniel woke up, startled. Feeling a naked body moving against his back, he relaxed, knowing it was Jack. He looked over his shoulder and found the man's dark, intense eyes staring into his. He quickly snaked his arm around Jack's neck, pulling him into a fervent, hungry kiss. "Yes, Jack," he said, whispering his words against Jack's lips. "Fuck me." He gasped as he felt Jack's already-lubed fingers coating his anus, sliding inside. "Yes, God, yes."
Jack kissed him, quickly, roughly. "I need you."
"You have me," Daniel automatically responded, then gasped again as Jack sheathed himself inside his body. "God." Jack filled him slowly, fully. He felt simply glorious. "Feel good," he managed.
Propped up on one arm, Jack sighed shakily with agreement and began to move, taking Daniel's cock in his free hand, pumping in time with his hips.
"God, yes," Daniel told him breathlessly. "Give it to me. Remember, you can't take your time."
Jack started to say something in return, but the intense pleasure of having Daniel's muscles tightly surrounding his cock seemed to choke off any reply. He took his hand from Daniel's erection and slid his fingers over Daniel's chest, pinching his nipples firmly, twisting the nubs.
Daniel gasped. "Yes," he whispered. "More." He wanted so much more, and all of it right now.
Jack looked over his lover, savoring the sight of Daniel's back and wide shoulders, the ass he now plowed into. Good. It was so good. "God, I missed you."
"Yes," Daniel replied, the word barely heard as he inhaled sharply. Jack's cock found his gland. "Fuck, yes."
Jack ran his hand down his lover's abdomen, luxuriating in the feel of his lover's need, Daniel's body trembling with tension. He his took hold of his lover's cock and pumped, firmly. Daniel gasped, making Jack smile.
"More?" he asked, his voice the barest whisper.
"You know it," Daniel answered gruffly.
Jack's lip curled ferally. "Want it rough," he whispered hoarsely.
Daniel clenched his buttocks and bit his lip. "Fuck, yes."
Yes, Jack thought. His fingers tightened, pumping rapidly, as he bulled his cock into Daniel's body, pistoning hard. Daniel dropped his forehead to the mattress and latched his mouth onto his arm to keep from crying out his pleasure. The sound of his muffled cry told Jack more than words ever could. Jack's groin and thighs slapped almost viciously against his lover, the rhythm fast and furious now. The sensation was tremendous, beautiful. Jack loved how Daniel felt, nestled snugly around his cock, his vibrating body hot and sweaty before him. Jack would never tire of this. Ever.
Daniel straightened his arm out in front of him, his fingers digging into the mattress pad, clutching spasmodically. "Harder." He raised his ass to meet Jack's quickly ramming thrusts and suddenly Jack was leaning over him, pushing Daniel half onto his stomach. Daniel's fingers clutched the mattress tightly, keeping his body slightly raised. "Do it, Jack. Let fucking go."
Jack's fingers left his cock and closed around Daniel's. "Yes," Jack whispered as his body's weight settled over Daniel's ass and legs. The sweat poured from them both as he slammed and pounded into his lover's body. Daniel loved this position and raised his ass higher, relishing the rough pleasure his body was receiving.
"Yes, Jack!" he whispered.
Again and again and again, Jack plunged into his lover's ass, their balls swinging energetically with each rapid movement. Daniel was gasping uncontrollably now as Jack's cock continually massaged his gland, his anus.
"Yes," he kept whispering, feeling his climax close and when Jack's teeth touched the nape of his neck and bit down, that was it. "Fuck!" he gasped harshly, coming hard, his semen spurting thickly onto the mattress, some of it catching his chest. He squeezed his eyes shut as the acute pleasure swam over him, the tremors rocketing through his body.
Jack growled his name against his neck, biting harder as he came hard. Jack's arms wrapped around him and Daniel felt his lips kissing the back of his neck, smoothing out the bite. He smiled.
"Feel better?"
"Much."
"Me, too. We broke our rule though."
"Yes, we did." Jack didn't let him go, however. Not even when their erections softened. "I really missed you."
"I missed you, too. And...I'm not leaving again, Jack."
"No, not if I can help it, you're not."