"Daniel?"
"Jack? Uh, this is strange."
"You think?"
"I can see through you..."
"Yeah. You're more transparent than usual yourself. Any idea where we are?"
"A big, featureless, foggy place with no physical resistance -- including gravity and air pressure. We don't seem to be floating but we're not standing on anything either."
"Thanks. I figured that much out on my own. Are we dead?"
"It doesn't feel like we're dead."
"Yeah, well, you should know."
"Stop that."
"Stop what?"
"Stop flicking your hand through my shoulder. It's very disconcerting."
"Hey, you think this is heaven?"
"I thought we'd decided we weren't dead?"
"No, we'd merely established that you don't feel like you're dead."
"So heaven for you involves heavy fog, no actual physical form, and me?"
"Okay, maybe it's hell."
"And thank *you*. Maybe we should try to figure out how we got here. Once we've established that, we might be able to determine where we are."
"We got here because, once again, you reached out and touched someone -- something. How many times do I have to tell you not to do that?"
"Weren't you the one who stuffed his head in the Ancient's data base?"
"Teal'c did it first."
"Oh, very mature, Jack. And let's not forget you touched the ring as well or you wouldn't be here. And stop *doing* that!"
"Sorry."
"Okay, we entered the temple and the lights came on. Sam made a comment about no visible technology, Teal'c said it wasn't Goa'uld, I noted that the architecture was vaguely Roman, you muttered something about there being only one entrance and, if the bad guys showed up, we were trapped. I asked what bad guys, you told me to pick one, then I saw the writing on the plinth and walked toward it."
"Plinth?"
"Obelisk. The big rock pillar in the center of the temple."
"Right. The one with the big brass ring around it that you immediately had to go grab hold of."
"I didn't grab it. I may have leaned on it a little in order to get a better look at the plinth because I thought I recognized the language carved into it but I didn't grab it. You grabbed it. And me. And here we are."
"So it's my fault."
"I didn't *say* that, Jack."
"All right, fine. We know how we got here. We still don't know where here is. We feel like we're in our bodies and all physical functions seem to be intact even though we don't appear to have any physical presence. We're breathing, our hearts are beating, I can raise my hand and waft it through your shoulder..."
"Waft? And by the way, stop it!"
"...but although we can see and hear each other just fine, we have no sense of touch, no sense of smell..."
"*Smell?*"
"Oh for cryin' out loud, Daniel, I'm not saying you smell. I just saying that we seem to short a few senses here. Not to mention any kind of gross mobility."
"So, basically, all we can do it hang here and talk."
"Yeah. That settles it. It's hell."
"Daniel, I don't *want* to hear your theory about why Goa'uld society evolved the way it did. Nor do I want another lecture on cross cultural drift, cultural contamination, a hundred and one variations on the afterlife, or why some goddess named Nuts might be the original Goa'uld queen!"
"Nut."
"No. I'm just tired of listening to you."
"Her name was Nut. Singular. And if you're tired of listening to me, just think how tired I am of hearing the Jack O'Neill color commentary on an entire hockey season."
"Three seasons."
"Whatever."
"So maybe we should just *not* talk."
"Fine."
"Fine."
"What the hell is taking Carter and Teal'c so fucking long to figure this goddamned thing out! I am going to go completely fucking insane if I have to stay here much longer!"
"You're over-reacting, Jack. It can't have been that long. We're not hungry, we're not thirsty..."
"We're not physical! We can't *get* hungry and thirsty! And we've been here for hours; maybe days. HEY! HELLO! CARTER! TEAL'C! SOMEBODY! ANYBODY!"
"Would you stop that! We've already established beyond any possible doubt that there's no one here but me. You screaming your head off doesn't help anyone."
"Makes me feel better."
"Well, I'm happy for you."
"Good."
"Good!"
"So maybe we should talk."
"Yeah. We tried that. It didn't work."
"Maybe we should try talking to each other instead of at each other."
"Oh, come on Daniel, we're guys. Guys don't do the talk to each other thing. And before you get all pissy, you're as bad at it as I am. The moment, the second, things get personal, you bail. You're *fine*. You may be bleeding from a thousand fucking wounds that no body can see, but you're fine. You're dead. You're alive. You're fine."
"I'm not..."
"You are."
"I don't..."
"You do. And you know what? That's fine. You want to deal with it on your own? Deal. You don't want to let me help? No problem. I've got other things to do. You're a grown man, Dr. Jackson. You can make your own decisions."
"Jack..."
"And while we're talking about the decisions you've made, why'd you stop coming over? You used to come over all the time -- take-out, barbecue, movies, hockey... Oh wait I forgot, you hate hockey."
"You stopped asking."
"What?"
"I stopped coming because you stopped asking."
"I *never* asked."
"Yeah, you did. Any time we were about to have a weekend off, you'd stick your head in my office Friday afternoon and say, Chinese, or pizza, or tell me the title of some stupid movie I had to watch in order to fully assimilate into modern American culture..."
"I *never* said fully assimilate."
"...and then you stopped. Right about the time when you realized you cared for Sam more than you should."
"Jesus. How..."
"Teal'c thought I should see the security tape."
"He had no right..."
"He didn't like one member of the team being left in the dark about possible changes in the team dynamic. And you know what, Jack, I couldn't see what all the fuss was about. You care about Sam more than you should? So what, you care about General Hammond more than you should! And Sam, Sam was clearly in love with the idea of you, not the real you which became blatantly obvious as time passed and her brain caught up with the fantasy life she built up around the other Dr. Carters. Sure, she loves you but she's not in love with you more than you were in love with her. But *that* was when you stopped dropping by my office and suggesting things. First time it happened, you were off the base before I realized it had gotten so late and I called, remember? And you said Jesus, Daniel, not tonight. Like I was the last person on the planet you wanted to see. And by the time we had another Friday night with an actual Saturday off after it, with no galactic or medical or military or political crises, I didn't even expect you to stop by because by then you'd pushed me away so hard I had whiplash. We talked about work, when we talked at all. And you know what really hurt? I don't know why you suddenly chose to leave me, I don't know what I did, but that was *your* choice -- you had no right to take Sam with you!"
"I didn't take Carter anywhere!"
"Yeah, you did, Jack. You took her off where you were, that no Daniel zone. You started doing stuff with Teal'c that you used to do with me..."
"You were always working!"
"Because I had no where else to go! You were all I... you guys were... FUCK IT! Never mind."
"Oh throw yourself a pity party, Daniel."
"What?"
"Okay, so your parents died, so Nick didn't want you, so you had a shitty childhood, so you've got abandonment issues up the wazoo. You're thirty-five years old, suck it up and get over it. At least you don't keep getting left behind to mourn."
"What?"
"Mourn, Daniel. You speak twenty-three languages and you don't know what that means? It's what you do when the people you care about die. And die. And fucking keep on dying and you never know if maybe this is going to be the time that dead means forever and you just can't take it anymore; you're tired of having your heart ripped beating and bloody out of your chest. So you take the caring and you wall it away and you pray that maybe, just maybe that'll be enough because you've been through that final fucking tragedy once before when someone you loved more than life itself died and you know you won't survive it happening again!"
"I know mourning, Jack! It's what you do when the people you love have a snake stuffed into their heads and you can't do a god damned thing..."
"Sha're died almost two years ago!"
"I'm not talking about Sha're!"
"Okay. You're right. We have to talk."
"You think?"
"Daniel, don't be an ass."
"So. Who goes first?"
"Age before beauty."
"Jack..."
"Buy a clue, Daniel; look in a mirror. And I'm going first."
"So?"
"Yeah. Okay. When Anise had me strapped in that Tok'ra zatarc detector thing and Carter was so sure she knew why we were failing and I had to actually acknowledge what I was feeling, when I had to actually ask myself if I was in love with Carter, I found out that as much as I may love her, I wasn't *in love* with her. She's my friend, and my team mate, and the best 2IC I ever had, and we've been through hell together..."
"I was there, Jack."
"Shut up, Daniel, I'm not done. I love Carter for and because of all those things. But I'm not in love with her, never have been. I told the absolute truth to that detector thing, no conflicts, no questions, no doubts, because in realizing I wasn't in love with Carter, I discovered who I was in love with. My friend, and my team-mate, and my conscience, and quite possibly the most irritating man I've ever met. You."
"Me?"
"I think we've established beyond any possible doubt that you're the only other person in here. The depths of my feelings scared the piss out of me and I knew that if I lost you now I wouldn't survive. So I ran. I pushed you away, and I don't know the fuck I thought I was doing with Carter. And you kept on dying only now I was so twisted up inside I couldn't be there for you. I couldn't welcome you back. I couldn't yell at you for taking stupid chances. If I opened up even a little, if the walls cracked even a little, it was all going to come pouring out and drown us both."
"I'm a pretty strong swimmer, Jack."
"Daniel..."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound so facetious. All I meant was..."
"I should have trusted in love to see us through?"
"Something like that."
"Yeah. Well. So?"
"So?"
"So, now it's your turn."
"Oh. Right. The return of Hathor. And you becoming a Goa'uld and all I could think was I can't lose another person I love. Not that way. Not again. And I realized that I loved you, not like I loved Sha're because you're different people but still... love. Until you came out of those trees and were so obviously still you, I was locked away some place dark and frightening. You being alive freed me but I thought it was just love like, you know, like a friend love until Ke'ra."
"What?"
"I was so raw from losing Sha're, really, finally, losing her and Ke'ra was beautiful and smart and she needed a moment to let go of..."
"Danny? I thought you were supposed to be talking about us?"
"I'm getting to us. That night, when Ke'ra and I reached out and tried to lose the pain in each other..."
"Nice euphemism."
"Jack!"
"Sorry."
"Anyway, all I could think of was you."
"While you were...?"
"Yeah."
"Sweet."
"If you don't wipe that smug expression of your face, you can talk to yourself for the next couple of hours."
"Sorry."
"So I can continue without interruption?"
"Please."
"Okay. I knew then that what I felt for you went way beyond friendship, even a friendship like ours that had gone through the fire -- a couple of fires -- and come out the other side intact. I needed you like I needed air and water and sometimes when you looked at me, I almost dared to believe you needed me too and then..."
"You found yourself so alone you almost took a walk off your balcony."
"That wasn't your fault."
"That you were alone? Yeah, it was."
"No, you were right, I'm a grown man. I should have fought for the things that were important to me. I should have fought for you."
"I'm sorry I let it get to the point where you needed to."
"I'm sorry I didn't."
"I'm sorry I..."
"Jack. Not a competition."
"Right. Are we okay?"
"Well, we're still hanging here with no bodies, no way of effecting our immediate environment, no way home, only now we've admitted to... to..."
"Daniel?"
"Jack, did we just admit we love each other?"
"I certainly hope so."
"And are in love with each other?"
"Got it in two. I don't know why people think you don't pay attention."
"God."
"No. Just me."
"You're looking smug again. So... what now?"
"Aural sex?"
"I meant..."
"What happens after Carter gets off her size twelve ass and figures out how to get us out of here?"
"Something like that."
"I attempt to make up for lost time by checking out your tonsils with my tongue."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
"In front of Carter and Teal'c?"
"So first I'll order them to turn around and disregard any moist noises."
"Moist noises?"
"Did I not mention that besides the whole love thing comes a big bunch of want? Want as in wanting us naked and horizontal as soon as possible?"
"Oh."
"You okay with that?"
"Yeah. I mean... yeah."
"Good. Because you know, that whole being a guy means after the admission of love comes hot sweaty sex then cuddles on the couch with a game and a beer."
"Okay, well, being as how I'm also a guy, that's a plan I can work with in the short term although I fully intend to fight you for the remote, but what about..."
"Long term? And that whole me being in the military and you working for the military and the military not being exactly open-minded about that sort of thing? We'll find a way."
"I'm beginning to think we could actually do this."
"Could. Can. Will do this, Daniel. I can't... I won't..."
"I know. Me either. There's just one thing..."
"Well, I'm leaning toward a black lab. Anything smaller just seems a little too gay."
"And that's the point. We've been talking for what... hours?"
"Days. Weeks. Months, maybe."
"Okay. Months maybe. You've threat-assessed the shit out of our lives, we have strategy, we have tactics, we have contingency plans, hell, we have a *retirement* plan -- and in all that time, the whole gender issue hasn't come up."
"It came up. We seem to be pretty clear on the fact we're both guys."
"But the issue..."
"Do you *have* an issue, Danny? Because I don't."
"You don't? And Jack, that whole *wafting* with the hand thing... it goes double for other parts of my body."
"Look but can't touch. I'm really beginning to hate this place. And no Daniel, I don't have an issue. I was so twisted up in this that I came out way past issues. And besides..."
"Besides? Oh. You mean.... *besides*?!"
"Couple of times. You know, before Sara."
"Damn."
"Damn? What does that mean?"
"That we won't need the manual?"
"So you've never...?
"No entirely. No. Some stuff but not..."
"You drive me crazy when you do that, you know."
"Do what?"
"Look up through your lashes. It makes me want to climb into your pants with you."
"Oh. So, uh, is it just my eyes..."
"With my *feet*, Jack?"
"Hey considering your best fantasy involved my class A uniform and General Hammond's desk you are not one to point fingers, Danny-boy."
"Oh that wasn't my best fantasy, Jack. My best fantasy involves you under the briefing table and me attempting to give a power point presentation."
"Jesus. Is it getting hot in here? I think we're starting to make an impression on the non-physicality of this place."
"Or maybe we're just so horny we think we're making an impression."
"Okay, that seems more likely."
"Jack. What happens if..."
"We never get out of here?"
"If we never get out of here, at least we're here together. What happens if Sam gets us out and we don't remember any of this?"
"Not going to happen."
"Jack, we don't know..."
"Not. Going. To. Happen."
"You can't make it not happen just because you don't want it not to happen!"
"Yeah. I can. I don't care what kind of a sick sense of humour the universe has, nothing it can do can take away what we found in here. That whole opening up and sharing feelings thing -- way, way too traumatic to forget."
"I hear you..."
"So from now on, it's you and me. Us. I love you, Daniel. I have loved you for a long time. I will love for the rest of my life. Nothing is ever going to change that."
"Nothing?"
"Nothing. Nada."
"Good. Because: Te amo. Je t'aime. Ich liebe Sie. Li amo. Ya tebya lyublyu. Eu amo-o."
"Danny, you have no idea how much I want...
"...to touch you."
"Sir! Are you all right?"
"Carter!" Jack snatched his hand from the brass ring. The hand on Daniel's shoulder stayed where it was. "About fucking time!"
"Time for what, O'Neill?" Eyes narrowed, Teal'c flicked his gaze between the two men, settling it finally, questioningly, on Jack's face. "Major Carter and I turned to see you and DanielJackson flicker as though you were gone for an instant and then returned."
"An instant?"
Teal'c nodded.
"We were gone for..."
"...a heartbeat."
"Daniel?"
"The words on the plinth." Lifting his hand off the ring, Daniel traced the words carved into the rock. "It says, 'Between one heartbeat and the next, make time enough for love.' I thought I recognized the language. It's a Latin variation. Pretty close to the language of the Ancients actually although the syntax..."
"Daniel."
"Jack..."
"Are you guys okay? Your faces look a little... flushed."
Flushed? Jack could feel the heat in his face, see it in Daniel's. He grinned suddenly and Daniel's eyes widened. Then narrowed. Then gleamed. "Carter. Teal'c. Turn around."
"Sir, I think you've been effected by that flicker effect and you should..."
"Turn around, Major. You too, Teal'c."
"Daniel..." The colonel's grip on his shoulder looked like it had to hurt.
"It's okay, Sam."
Since the colonel was clearly waiting for his order to be carried out, she threw up her hands, exchanged a puzzled glance with Teal'c and turned, locking her gaze on a bit of leafy carving over the lintel. Fine. Whatever. If Colonel O'Neill didn't want her and Teal'c to watch him reaming Daniel out for touching yet another alien artifact that was his prerogative. Rank having its privileges and all. It's not like they wouldn't be able to hear...
... moist noises?